On first day of sweeps, agents made arrests at stores, worksites; some businesses serving immigrants closed
BY JAMES FINN Staff writer
Federal agents on Wednesday launched immigration enforcement sweeps across the New Orleans region, targeting south Louisiana as the next host of the escalating immigration crackdown from President Donald Trump’s administration.
Agents detained dozens of people outside home improvement stores, in shopping mall parking lots and at worksites in residential neighborhoods, according to eyewitnesses, immigrant rights groups and reporters who viewed some of the arrests. One witness described agents rounding up two dozen day laborers outside a Lowe’s. Videos that circulated on social media showed agents surrounding workers atop a house under construction in Kenner
The operation, which is expected to last for an indefinite period, follows immigration sweeps led by the U.S. Border Patrol in Chicago and several cities in North Carolina. Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino, who has faced scrutiny for those operations’ tactics, arrived in New Orleans on Wednesday to lead the Louisiana effort. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said the Louisiana operation had been christened “Catahoula Crunch.” Federal officials did not respond
Merger of EMS, Fire Department called
off
BY AIDAN MCCAHILL Staff writer
Baton Rouge’s Emergency Medical Services will no longer merge with the city’s Fire Department, officials announced Wednesday, scrapping a controversial plan initially proposed by Mayor-President Sid Edwards in June.
the top job to Department of Revenue Secretary Richard Nelson.
Nelson will begin leading the state’s community college system, which includes 12 schools, effective Jan. 1.
Edwards says ‘juice wasn’t worth the squeeze’ Edwards
During a Wednesday news conference, Edwards said the merger which would have gradually brought EMS employees into the Fire and Police Civil Service system, would no longer happen.
“I was going to hear everyone out and listen, and I did,” Edwards said about the plan “The juice wasn’t worth the squeeze.”
Edwards added he still believed the plan would have been beneficial from an efficiency standpoint, but indicated he would rather shift his attention to other issues.
“Where we’re at right now in the parish, the (Thrive) initiative not passing, all the things we have to deal with. With public safety being No. 1, the homeless initiative and blight I just really want to put my focus on that,” he said.
The idea was to give “greater job protections, clearer career advancement, and consistent standards across public safety roles,” according to the initial release announcing the merger But paramedics pushed back against the move from the start, with many citing a lack of clarity behind the plan Surveys conducted over the summer showed that very few EMS employees supported a merger, but the majority said they needed more information.
“This is what we were hoping for, this is what the majority of the department wanted,” Janice Willard, president of the Baton
ä See MERGER, page 8A ä See BORDER, page 6A
Revenue Secretary Nelson to lead La. community college system
“Secretary Nelson is a problem solver a bridge builder, and a leader who recognizes the critical role our colleges play in every region of Louisiana,” Tim Hardy, chair of the LCTCS board, said in a statement. Nelson has been at the helm of the Department of Revenue since early 2024, when he was tapped to lead the agency by Gov Jeff Landry He is a former state representative from Mandeville who ran for governor in 2023 but dropped out and endorsed Landry
Current President Monty Sullivan in October announced he would retire early next year He was appointed to the role in 2014.
“Under Dr Sullivan’s leadership, LCTCS nearly doubled its number of
ä See NELSON, page 8A Nelson
STAFF PHOTOS By CHRIS GRANGER
U.S. Border Patrol agents detain and handcuff a man on Williams Boulevard in Kenner as they begin their ‘Catahoula Crunch’ sweeps around the New Orleans metro area on Wednesday. It wasn’t immediately clear why the unidentified man was being detained.
Chief Patrol Agent of U.S Customs and Border Protection Gregory Bovino, center, tours the New Orleans metro area on Wednesday.
BRIEFS FROM WIRE REPORTS
Power outage hits
Cuba’s western region
HAVANA A blackout hit Havana and the rest of the western half of Cuba on Wednesday, leaving millions of people without power on an island struggling with chronic outages blamed on a crumbling electric grid.
Lázaro Guerra, general director of the Ministry of Energy and Mines, said the massive outage was caused by a failure on a transmission line that connects two major plants. He said power would be restored gradually
In Havana, dozens of police officers were trying to direct traffic while many students who were already in school were sent back home. Small businesses that have generators resumed their sales, especially of food. Some areas had intermittent internet service, so many residents were left wondering what had happened.
“There’s no connection. No one knows why the power is out.
They’re not saying anything; it’s all silence,” grumbled Raúl Calderón, an 82-year-old retiree, as he waited to hear official reports on the radio.
A total blackout hit Cuba in September, with officials blaming aging infrastructure and fuel shortages at power plants. The ongoing outages also affect water service and impact the island’s fragile business sector Safety volunteer charged in shooting of protester
A safety volunteer accused of fatally shooting a man who was participating in a “No Kings” protest in Salt Lake City in June has been charged with manslaughter, prosecutors announced Wednesday.
Matthew Alder allegedly fired at a man who was holding a rifle during the demonstration, injuring that person and killing Arthur Folasa Ah Loo, a beloved Utah fashion designer Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill also announced that the man with the rifle, Arturo Roberto Gamboa, will not be charged.
Gamboa was initially arrested on suspicion of murder, accused of creating the dangerous situation that led to Ah Loo’s death, police said at the time. Utah is an open-carry state, meaning people who can legally own a firearm are generally allowed to carry it on a public street W.Va. reinstates school vaccination mandate
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia Board of Education on Tuesday reinstated a school vaccination mandate after the state Supreme Court paused a lower court’s ruling that allowed parents to cite religious beliefs to opt out of shots required for their children to attend classes.
The Supreme Court earlier Tuesday issued a stay in last week’s ruling by Raleigh County Circuit Judge Michael Froble in a class-action lawsuit. In issuing an injunction, Froble said children of families who objected to the state’s compulsory vaccination law on religious grounds would be allowed to attend school and participate in extracurricular sports.
The Supreme Court halted Froble’s ruling pending resolution of appeals in the case. In light of that, the board said in a statement that it “is reinstating its directive to county boards of education not to accept religious exemptions to compulsory vaccination laws. This directive will be in effect until the Supreme Court issues further guidance.”
The board had suspended the vaccine mandate last week after Froble’s ruling, which said that a state policy barring parents from seeking religious exemptions violated the Equal Protection for Religion Act signed into law in 2023 by then-Republican Gov Jim Justice.
West Virginia was among just a handful of states that granted only medical exemptions from school vaccinations when Republican Gov Patrick Morrisey issued an executive order in January allowing religious exemptions In June, the board directed public schools to ignore Morrisey’s executive order Two groups had sued over the executive order, saying the Legislature not the governor has the authority to make such decisions.
Trump pardons Texas representative
Cuellar accused of bribery, conspiracy
BY MICHELLE L PRICE Associated Press
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump pardoned Texas Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar and his wife in a federal bribery and conspiracy case on Wednesday citing what he called a “weaponized” justice system.
Democrat, of going after the congressman and his wife “for speaking the TRUTH.”
to work. Nothing has changed. We will continue working hard.”
parents.
Trump, who has argued that his own legal troubles were a partisan witch hunt, said on social media without presenting evidence that Cuellar and his wife, Imelda Cuellar, were prosecuted because the congressman had been critical of President Joe Biden’s immigration policies. Trump, a Republican, said in a social media post that Cuellar “bravely spoke out against Open Borders and accused Biden, a
Federal authorities had charged Cuellar and his wife with accepting thousands of dollars in exchange for the congressman advancing the interests of an Azerbaijancontrolled energy company and a bank in Mexico. Cuellar is accused of agreeing to influence legislation favorable to Azerbaijan and deliver a pro-Azerbaijan speech on the floor of the U.S. House. Cuellar has said he and his wife are innocent. The couple’s trial had been set to begin next April.
“Henry, I don’t know you, but you can sleep well tonight,” Trump wrote in his social media post announcing the pardon. “Your nightmare is finally over!”
Cuellar, who spoke to reporters outside his congressional office on Wednesday thanked Trump in a brief statement. “I think the facts have been clear about this, but I would also say I want to thank God for standing during this very difficult time with my family and I,” he said. “Now we can get back
Cuellar was asked if he was changing parties and said, “No, like I said, nothing has changed.”
A spokesperson for Biden did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
The U.S Constitution gives the president broad power to grand pardons for federal crimes. The pardons don’t erase a recipient’s criminal record but can be seen as act of mercy or justice, often in cases that further public welfare.
Trump’s pardons this year have included a string of unlikely beneficiaries who are boldfaced names and frequently politically aligned with the president. He pardoned dozens of Republicans accused of participating in his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Biden. He gave clemency to all of 1,500plus people charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
In Trump’s social media post, he included a copy of a letter that Cuellar’s two daughters, Christina and Catherine, had sent to him on Nov 12 asking that he pardon their
Veteran who saved lives on Omaha Beach dies
BY SYLVIE CORBET and JEFFREY SCHAEFFER Associated Press
PARIS Charles Shay, a decorated Native American veteran who was a 19-year-old U.S. Army medic when he landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day and helped save lives, died on Wednesday He was 101.
Shay died at his home in BrettevilleL’Orgueilleuse in France’s Normandy region, his longtime friend and carer Marie-Pascale Legrand said.
Shay of the Penobscot tribe and from Indian Island in the U.S state of Maine, was awarded the Silver Star for repeatedly plunging into the sea and carrying critically wounded soldiers to relative safety saving them from drowning. He also received France’s highest award, the Legion of Honor, in 2007.
Shay had been living in France since 2018, not far from the shores of Normandy where nearly 160,000 troops from Britain, the U.S., Canada and other nations landed on D-Day on June 6, 1944. The Battle of Normandy hastened Germany’s defeat, which came less than a year later
“He passed away peacefully surrounded by his loved ones,” Legrand told The Associated Press.
The Charles Shay Memorial group, which honors the memory of about 500 Native Americans who landed on the Normandy beaches, said in a statement posted on Facebook that “our hearts are deeply saddened as we share that our beloved Charles Norman Shay has returned home to the Creator and the Spirit World.”
“He was an incredibly loving father, grandfather, father-in-law, and uncle, a hero to many, and an overall amazing human being,” the statement said. “Charles leaves a legacy of love, service, courage, spirit, duty and family that continues to shine brightly.”
Ready to give his life
On D-Day, 4,414 Allied troops lost their lives, 2,501 of them Americans More than 5,000 were wounded. On the German side, several thousand were killed or wounded Shay survived.
“I guess I was prepared to give my life if I had to. Fortunately, I did not have to,” Shay said in a 2024 interview with The Associated Press.
“I had been given a job, and the way I looked at it, it was up to me to complete my job,” he recalled. “I did not have time to worry about my situation of being there and perhaps losing my life. There was no time for this.”
On that night, exhausted, he eventually fell asleep in a grove above the beach.
“When I woke up in the morning. It was like I was sleeping in a graveyard because there were dead Americans and Germans surrounding me,” he recalled. “I stayed there for not very long and I continued on my way.”
Shay then pursued his mission in Normandy for several weeks, rescuing those wounded, before heading with American troops to eastern France and Germany, where he was taken prisoner in March 1945 and liberated a few weeks later
Spreading a message of peace
After World War II, Shay reenlisted in the military because the situation of Native Americans in his home state of Maine was too precarious due to poverty and discrimination. Maine would not allow individuals living on Native American reservations to vote until 1954.
Shay continued to witness history returning to combat as a medic during the Korean War, participating in U.S. nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands and later working at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Austria.
For over 60 years, he did not talk about his World War II experience. But he began attending D-Day commemorations in 2007 and in recent years, he has seized many occasions to give his powerful testimony and spread a message of peace.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-21, Shay’s lone presence marked commemoration ceremonies as travel restrictions prevented other veterans or families of fallen soldiers from the U.S., Britain and other allied countries from making the trip to France.
Sadness at seeing war back in Europe
For years, Shay used to perform a sageburning ceremony, in homage to those who died, on a bluff overlooking Omaha Beach, where the monument bearing his name now stands.
On June 6, 2022, he handed over the remembrance task to another Native American, Julia Kelly, a Gulf War veteran from the Crow tribe. That was just over three months after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in what was to become the worst war on the continent since 1945. Shay then expressed his sadness at seeing war back on the continent. “Ukraine is a very sad situation I feel sorry for the people there and I don’t know why this war had to come,” he said. “In 1944, I landed on these beaches and we thought we’d bring peace to the world. But it’s not possible.”
“When you and your family faced your own challenges, we understood that pain in a very human way,” Cuellar’s daughters wrote in their letter “We watched from afar through the eyes of daughters who knew what it felt like to see parents under fire.”
In a statement, Imelda Cuellar’s lawyers said Wednesday they were gratified by Trump’s pardon of their client.
“She has always maintained her innocence,” the statement said. Henry Cuellar still faces an Ethics Committee investigation in the House. It began in May 2024 shortly after his indictment and was reauthorized in July The committee said it was in contact with the Justice Department about mitigating the risks associated with dual investigations while still meeting its obligations to safeguard the integrity of the House.
Cuellar, who has served in Congress for more than 20 years, is a moderate Democrat who represents an area on the Texas-Mexico border
Doctor who sold ketamine to Perry gets 2½ years
BY ANDREW DALTON Associated Press
LOS ANGELES A doctor who pleaded guilty to selling ketamine to Matthew Perry in the weeks before the “Friends” star’s overdose death was sentenced to 2½ years in prison on Wednesday Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett handed down the sentence plus two years of probation to 44-year-old Dr Salvador Plasencia in a federal courtroom in Los Angeles.
The judge emphasized that Plasencia didn’t provide the ketamine that killed Perry, but told him, “You and others helped Mr Perry on the road to such an ending by continuing to feed his ketamine addiction.”
“You exploited Mr Perry’s addiction for your own profit,” she said. Plasencia was led from the courtroom in handcuffs as his mother cried loudly in the audience.
Perry’s mother stepmother and two half sisters gave tearful victim impact statements.
“My brother’s death turned my world upside down,” sister Madeline Morrison said crying. “It punched a crater in my life. His absence is everywhere.” Plasencia was the first to be sentenced of the five defendants who have pleaded guilty in connection with Perry’s death at age 54 in 2023. The doctor admitted to taking advantage of Perry, knowing he was a struggling addict. Plasencia texted another doctor that Perry was a “moron” who could be exploited for money, according to court filings. Prosecutors had asked for three years in prison, while the defense sought just a day in prison plus probation.
Perry’s mother talked about the things he overcame in life and the strength he showed.
“You called him a ‘moron,’” Suzanne Perry said, addressing Plasencia. “There is nothing moronic about that man. He was even a successful drug addict.”
Cuellar
ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By DAVID VINCENT
World War II veteran Charles Shay, then 96, pays tribute during a ceremony in the Normandy American Cemetery of Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France, June 6, 2021.
Hegseth faces more scrutiny from Congress
BY STEPHEN GROVES and LISA MASCARO Associated Press
WASHINGTON Pete Hegseth barely squeaked through a grueling Senate confirmation process to become secretary of defense earlier this year, facing lawmakers wary of the Fox News Channel host and skeptical of his capacity, temperament and fitness for the job.
Now, in what may be his most career-defining moment yet, Hegseth is confronting questions about the use of military force and demands he release the videotapes after a special operations team reportedly attacked survivors of a strike on an alleged drug boat off the coast of Venezuela Some lawmakers and legal experts say the second strike would have violated the laws of armed conflict.
“These are serious charges, and that’s the reason we’re going to have special oversight,” said Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the Republican chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
PRESS PHOTO
ASSOCIATED
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks Tuesday during a Cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington.
from rebranding it as the Department of War to essentially discarding the rules that govern how soldiers conduct themselves when lives are on the line.
Hegseth on Tuesday cited the “fog of war” in defending the follow-up strike, saying that there were explosions and fire and that he did not see survivors in the water when the second strike was ordered and launched. He chided those second-guessing his actions as being part of the problem.
he said. “No more politically correct and overbearing rules of engagement, just common sense, maximum lethality and authority for warfighters.”
But now lawmakers and military and legal experts say the Sept. 2 attack borders on illegal military action.
tions provide a rare moment of Congress asserting itself and its authority to conduct oversight of the Trump administration.
“He’s not part of the Washington elite,” said Schmitt, R-Mo. “He’s not a think tanker that people thought Trump was going to pick And so, for that reason and others, they just, they don’t like him.”
And it’s posing a potentially existential moment for Hegseth as the congressional committees overseeing the military launch an investigation amid mounting calls from Democratic senators for his resignation
Vowed a ‘warrior culture’
Since working to become defense secretary Hegseth has vowed to bring a “warrior culture” to the U.S government’s most powerful and expensive department,
The scrutiny surrounding Hegseth’s brash leadership style is surfacing what has been long-building discontent in Congress over President Donald Trump’s choice to helm the U.S. military
Hegseth’s
BY LISA MASCARO and BEN FINLEY Associated Press
WASHINGTON The Pentagon’s watchdog found that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth put U.S. personnel and their mission at risk when he used the Signal messaging app to convey sensitive information about a military strike against Yemen’s Houthi militants, two people familiar with the findings said Wednesday Hegseth, however, has the ability to declassify material and the report did not find he did so improperly, according to one of the people familiar with the findings who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the information.
That person also said the report concluded that Hegseth violated Pentagon policy by using his personal device for official business and it recommended better training for all Pentagon officials.
Hegseth declined to sit for an interview with the Pentagon’s inspector general but provided a written statement, that person said. The defense secretary asserted that he was permitted to declassify information as he saw fit and only communicated details he thought would not endanger the mission.
The initial findings ramp up the pressure on the former Fox News Channel host after lawmakers had called for the independent inquiry into his use of the commercially available app. Lawmakers also just opened investigations into a news report that a follow-up strike on an alleged drug-smuggling boat in the Caribbean Sea in September
killed survivors after Hegseth issued a verbal order to “kill everybody.”
Hegseth defended the strike as emerging in the “fog of war,” saying he didn’t see any survivors but also “didn’t stick around” for the rest of the mission and that the admiral in charge “made the right call” in ordering the second strike. He also did not admit fault following the Signal revelations, asserting that the information was unclassified
“The Inspector General review is a TOTAL exoneration of Secretary Hegseth and proves what we knew all along — no classified information was shared,” Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, said in a statement. “This matter is resolved, and the case is closed.”
President Donald Trump “stands by” Hegseth, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement, adding that the probe affirms that “no classified information was leaked, and operational security was not compromised.”
In at least two separate Signal chats, Hegseth provided the exact timings of warplane launches and when bombs would drop before the men and women carrying out those attacks were airborne.
Hegseth’s use of the app came to light when a journalist, Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic, was inadvertently added to a Signal text chain by then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. It included Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of National
Yet the approach to the operation was in line with the direction of the military under Hegseth, a former infantry officer with the Army National Guard, part of the post-Sept. 11 generation, who was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan and earned Bronze Stars.
During a speech in September, he told an unusual gathering of top military brass whom he had summoned from all corners of the globe to the Quantico Marine Corps Base in Virginia that they should not “fight with stupid rules of engagement.”
“We untie the hands of our warfighters to intimidate, demoralize, hunt and kill the enemies of our country,”
“Secretary Talk Show Host may have been experiencing the ‘fog of war,’ but that doesn’t change the fact that this was an extrajudicial killing amounting to murder or a war crime,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. “He must resign.”
Rep Don Bacon, a Republican who served 30 years active duty in the Air Force, finishing his career at the rank of brigadier general, said he hasn’t been a fan of Hegseth’s leadership. “I don’t think he was up to the task,” Bacon said.
Will he keep Trump’s favor?
Trump a Republican, has largely stood by his defense secretary, among the most important Cabinet-level positions. But the decisions by Wicker, alongside House Armed Services Chair Mike Rogers of Alabama and the top Democrats on the committees, to open investiga-
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., who shepherded the defense secretary’s nomination to confirmation, has said the boat strikes are within Trump’s authority as commander in chief — and he noted that Hegseth serves at the pleasure of the president.
“I don’t have, at this point, an evaluation of the secretary,” Thune said at the start of the week. “Others can make those evaluations.”
But Hegseth also has strong allies on Capitol Hill, and it remains unclear how much Republicans would actually be willing to push back on the president, especially when they have spent the first year in his administration yielding to his various demands.
Vice President JD Vance, who cast a rare tiebreaking vote to confirm Hegseth, has vigorously defended him in the attack. And Sen. Eric Schmitt, another close ally to Trump, dismissed criticism of Hegseth as “nonsense” and part of an effort to undermine Trump’s focus on Central and South America.
Tension between some Republican lawmakers and the Pentagon has been rising for months. Capitol Hill has been angered by recent moves to restrict how defense officials communicate with lawmakers and the slow pace of information on Trump’s campaign to destroy boats carrying drugs off the coast of Venezuela. As he defends his job, Hegseth has spoken to both Wicker and Rogers, the top lawmakers overseeing the military Rogers said he was “satisfied” with Hegseth after that conversation, while Wicker said that he told Hegseth that he would like him to testify to Congress. Hegseth at first tried to brush aside the initial report about the strike by posting a photo of the cartoon character Franklin the Turtle firing on a boat from a helicopter, but that only inflamed criticism of him and angered lawmakers who felt he was not taking the allegations seriously
Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and others, brought together to discuss March 15 military operations against the Iranbacked Houthis Hegseth had created another Signal chat with 13 people that included his wife and brother where he shared similar details of the same strike, The Associated Press reported. Signal is encrypted but is not authorized for carrying classified information and is not part of the Pentagon’s secure communications network.
Hegseth previously has said none of the information shared in the chats was classified. Multiple current and former military officials have told the AP there was no way details with that specificity, especially before a strike took place, would have been OK to share on an unsecured device.
The review was delivered to lawmakers, who were able to review the report in a classified facility at the Capitol.
Hegseth said he viewed the investigation as a partisan exercise and did not trust the inspector general, according to one of the people familiar with the report’s findings. The review had to rely on screenshots of the Signal chat published by the Atlantic because Hegseth could not provide more than a small handful of his Signal messages, the person said.
When asked about the investigation in August, Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson told reporters that “we believe that this is a witch hunt and a total sham and being conducted in bad faith.”
The revelations sparked intense scrutiny with Democratic lawmakers and a small number of Republicans saying Hegseth posting the information to the Signal chats before the military jets had reached their targets potentially put those pilots’ lives at risk. They said lower-ranking members of the military would have been fired for such a lapse.
Some Democrats on the House and Senate intelligence committees suggested Wednesday that Hegseth’s actions would be a fireable
offense for anyone else.
“This was not an isolated lapse. It reflects a broader pattern of recklessness and poor judgment from a secretary who has repeatedly shown he is in over his head,” Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia said in a statement.
The Houthi rebels had started launching missile and drone attacks against commercial and military ships in late 2023 in what their leadership had described as an effort to end Israel’s offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Following the disclosure of Hegseth’s Signal chat that included the Atlantic’s editor, the magazine released the entire thread in late March. Hegseth had posted multiple details about an impending strike, using military language and laying out when a “strike window” starts, where a “target terrorist” was located, the time elements around the attack and when various weapons and aircraft would be used in the strike. He mentioned that the U.S. was “currently clean” on operational security
Europeans accuse Putin of feigning interest in peace
Five hours of talks produce no breakthrough
BY LORNE COOK and ILLIA NOVIKOV Associated Press
KYIV Ukraine Ukraine and its European allies accused Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday of feigning interest in peace efforts after five hours of talks with U.S. envoys at the Kremlin produced no breakthrough.
The Russian leader “should end the bluster and the bloodshed and be ready to come to the table and to support a just and lasting peace,” said U.K Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha urged Putin to “stop wasting the world’s time.”
The remarks reflected the high tensions and gaping gulf between Russia on one side and Ukraine and its European allies on the other over how to end a war that Moscow started when it invaded its neighbor nearly four years ago.
A day earlier, Putin accused the Europeans of sabotaging the U.S.-led peace efforts and warned that, if provoked, Russia would be ready for war with Europe. Since the 2022 invasion, European governments, along with the U.S., have spent billions of dollars to support Kyiv financially and militarily Under President Donald Trump, however, the U.S. has tempered its support — and instead made
a push to end the war Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, said Tuesday’s talks at the Kremlin between Putin and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner were “positive,” but he wouldn’t release any details.
Witkoff and Kushner are set to meet with Ukraine’s lead negotiator, Rustem Umerov, on Thursday in Miami for further talks, according to a senior Trump administration official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity
Trump said Witkoff and Kushner came away from their marathon session
with Putin confident that he wants to find an end to the war “Their impression was very strongly that he’d like to make a deal,” Trump said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said “the world clearly feels that the possibility of ending the war exists.”
In comments from his evening address posted on Telegram, Zelenskyy said the effort depends on “constructive diplomacy plus pressure on the aggressor Both components work towards peace.”
Where the peace talks go from here depends largely on whether the Trump administration decides to increase the pressure on Rus-
sia or on Ukraine to make concessions.
A U.S. peace proposal that became public last month was criticized for being tilted heavily toward Moscow because it granted some of the Kremlin’s core demands that Kyiv has rejected as nonstarters.
Many European leaders worry that if Putin gets what he wants in Ukraine, he will have free rein to threaten their countries, which already have faced incursions from Russian drones and fighter jets, and an alleged widespread sabotage campaign.
The Russian and American sides agreed Tuesday not to disclose the substance
of their Kremlin talks, but at least one major hurdle to a settlement remains — the fate of four Ukrainian regions Russia partially occupies and claims as its own.
After the talks, Ushakov told reporters that “so far, a compromise hasn’t been found” on the issue of territory, without which the Kremlin sees “no resolution to the crisis.” Ukraine has ruled out giving up territory that Russia has captured.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday it was “not correct” to say that Putin had rejected the U.S. peace plan. He declined to elaborate on the talks.
Foreign ministers from
European NATO countries, meeting Wednesday in Brussels, showed little patience with Moscow
“What we see is that Putin has not changed any course. He’s pushing more aggressively on the battlefield,” Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said. “It’s pretty obvious that he doesn’t want to have any kind of peace.”
Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen struck the same note. “So far we haven’t seen any concessions from the side of the aggressor, which is Russia and I think the best confidencebuilding measure would be to start with a full ceasefire,” she said.
BY JESSE BUNCH
The Philadelphia Inquirer (TNS)
A University of Delaware student who planned to target a campus police building with firearms was arrested last week and charged with federal weapons crimes, authorities said.
Luqmaan Khan, 25, of Wilmington, vowed to “kill all” as he mapped out violent schemes in his journal — ones that involved Glock pistols, stun grenades, an assault rifle, and other “urban warfare setups,” according to a criminal complaint filed by the FBI.
New Castle County police discovered the alleged plot when, authorities say, they happened upon Khan behaving suspiciously in a disc golf park late last Monday When officers found Khan alone in a Toyota around midnight after the park had closed, they said, he repeatedly reached around in the vehicle and became nervous when questioned why he was there. Khan was arrested for resisting arrest after he refused to get out of the driver’s seat. When officers searched the car, they found a loaded Glock .357 handgun, a brace for semiautomatic pistols that have been converted into machine
guns, four loaded extended ammunition magazines, body armor, binoculars, and a notebook, according to the affidavit of probable cause for his arrest. That notebook is now the center of an investigation being handled by agents with the FBI’s Wilmington office.
The marble composition book was littered with references to different firearms and the ideal scenarios for their use, the affidavit said. Khan noted that an assault rifle was best for “open spaces,” while a Glock pistol was better for “fast transition fighting.” He suggested tear gas could be used for “room clearing,” the document said, while a sword or knife would allow for “no noise kills.”
Khan’s notebook also included a hand-drawn map of a building that federal authorities say appears to be the University of Delaware campus police station. It included notes about entry and exit points to the building at certain times of the day, the affidavit says. Meanwhile, Khan named a University of Delaware police officer as a “specific target” according to the affidavit, which did not identify the officer Khan, the document said, “intended to use the weap-
ons he amassed to commit ‘ambushes’ and ‘surprise attacks’ on targets” at the university
Laura Carlson, the university’s interim president, said in a letter to the campus community that Khan has been “temporarily separated” from the university as the investigation continues and is barred from accessing campus buildings.
Khan’s writings repeatedly mentioned becoming a “martyr,” authorities said. In an interview with the FBI after his arrest, the affidavit said, Khan told investigators that martyrdom was “one of the greatest things you can do.”
Khan, who was born in Pakistan and emigrated to America in his youth, is a U.S. citizen who lived alone and had no criminal convictions, federal authorities said.
Federal agents searched his residence last week and recovered an additional unregistered 9 mm Glock pistol with a machine gun conversation kit, an M4 rifle with a scope and red dot sight, 10 more extended magazines, and a second body armor plate.
Federal prosecutors charged Khan with possessing a machine gun and an unregistered firearm. If convicted, he faces a maxi-
mum sentence of 10 years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By EVGENIy MALOLETKA
A mother cries in front of the coffin of her son Oleh Borovyk, a Ukrainian serviceman who was killed in fighting with Russian forces near Pokrovsk, during his funeral ceremony in Boiarka, Ukraine, on Wednesday.
to requests for tallies of the number of people the operation had detained on Wednesday
The DHS spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin, said agents would focus on detaining immigrants with serious criminal records. In Chicago and North Carolina, the majority of detainees had no criminal backgrounds.
A New Orleans-based advocacy group, Union Migrante, said federal agents had detained people at four large homebuilding stores: Lowe’s locations on Elysian Fields Avenue in New Orleans and on Veterans Boulevard in Metairie, and Home Depot stores in LaPlace and Gretna. The group also reported arrests at a car wash in LaPlace.
Reporters for The TimesPicayune | The Advocate witnessed Border Patrol agents making arrests on Williams Boulevard in Kenner, known for its large presence of immigrant-run businesses. Federal agents in tactical gear, some wearing masks, placed people in handcuffs as they moved through the area.
“Welcome to operation Catahoula Crunch,” Bovino told reporters.
Border Patrol’s arrival in the Crescent City brings a vanguard of Trump’s agenda to detain and deport millions of undocumented immigrants to a multicultural region whose music, cuisine, revival after major hurricanes and tourismdriven economy have long been shaped by those from other countries.
Hispanic residents both those with and without legal status — were on edge for days before the official announcement Advocates and immigration attorneys have circulated advice about what rights residents can exercise if Border Patrol agents show up at their homes and businesses.
The FBI and Louisiana State Police on Wednesday confirmed their involvement in the operation, saying the agencies would work together to “investigate and arrest anyone assaulting law enforcement officers, unlawfully impeding federal law enforcement activity or assisting anyone to commit this criminal activity,” according to a news release.
The FBI opened an online tip line asking people to share video or audio of “any violent and/or criminal activity associated with Catahoula Crunch.”
“We will not tolerate assaults on law enforcement officers in Louisiana and there will be consequences,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Tapp, of the New Orleans Field Office.
Republican state leaders, including Gov Jeff Landry and Attorney General Liz Murrill, have welcomed the immigration sweeps. Louisiana’s Republican supermajority state Legislature has passed laws seeking to penalize local officials who ob-
struct immigration agents and restricting public benefits available to people without legal status.
Immigration advocates and the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana sued Murrill on Wednesday in New Orleans’ federal court over Louisiana Act 399, a law that threatens prosecution of people who interfere with immigration agents. They argued the law restricts First Amendment rights to free speech Landry said in a radio interview that the operation would aim to arrest violent offenders and tamp down on crime. New Orleans’ crime rate is at a historic low
“This is going to run until we get them all off the street,” Landry said Locally, the operation has faced pushback from officials including Helena Moreno, New Orleans’ Democratic mayor-elect Moreno said in an interview Wednesday that she worried about Border Patrol officials masking their faces and not wearing identifiable uniforms while making arrests, which she warned could cause confusion and lead to violence.
“Do we want the most violent criminals off of our streets? Absolutely Yes. I don’t think anyone is going to object to that,” Moreno said. “We want the most violent criminals off of our streets, whether they’re le-
gal or illegal. But what we’ve been seeing across the country and in other cities is that Border Patrol appears to be targeting Brown people and potentially violating even some of their due process rights.”
The Louisiana operation marks a new phase in the administration’s broadened use of Border Patrol to carry out its immigration agenda. The agency has historically operated in border towns, port cities and along the country’s frontiers, rather than in urban centers.
Though Border Patrol has long had a presence in the Crescent City, the size and scope of the new operation exceeds its typical role.
Around 250 Border Patrol agents plan to detain at least 5,000 people across a region stretching north to Baton Rouge and East into Mississippi, according to internal documents.
That figure exceeds the number detained in Chicago and North Carolina, according to DHS tallies.
About 4,000 people were detained in the weekslong Chicago sweeps, during which a federal judge accused Bovino of lying and improperly using chemical irritants against protesters.
Bovino has defended the agency’s tactics, saying agents use the least amount of force necessary to make arrests.
In Chicago’s Operation
Midway Blitz, the Trump administration touted arrests of “pedophiles, abusers, rapists and other violent thugs.” But of about 4,000 people detained by federal agents there, officials identified just over 100 who had criminal records, news outlets have reported.
Those included some with violent offenses, including murder, as well as others with nonviolent charges, like crossing the border without authorization. Of 372 people arrested in Charlotte, 44 had criminal records, according to DHS tallies reported by The New York Times.
In New Orleans, agents arrived on familiar turf for Bovino. After rising through the agency, he was promoted to lead its New Orleans sector in 2019, according to news releases from that period.
Arrests performed in and around New Orleans mirrored those reported in Chicago and Charlotte, with most occurring in public
spaces such as parking lots outside large stores.
A man interviewed by The Times-Picayune | The Advocate, who declined to provide his name because he feared retaliation, said he was among a group of people looking for work between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. outside the Lowe’s on Elysian Fields Avenue Five Border Patrol vehicles approached the group, asking them if they were “legal” or not, he said.
He estimated that 25 agents were at the scene.
The man said several people ran away, and that Border Patrol agents pursued them. He said the agents detained about two dozen people.
The agents arrived and left in the span of about 25 minutes, he said. The man was not among those detained.
The operation launched as New Orleans’ outgoing Democratic mayor, LaToya Cantrell, faces federal corruption charges brought by
the Trump administration’s Justice Department. Federal prosecutors say she committed a series of crimes in a bid to conceal allegedly improper spending of public cash on an affair with her police bodyguard. Cantrell has pleaded not guilty Federal prosecutors earlier this year dropped corruption charges against another Democratic mayor, Eric Adams of New York City, in a deal that administration officials said would make it easier to carry out immigration sweeps. Cantrell has not responded to requests for comment on the immigration sweeps. A Trump spokesperson did not respond to a phone message. Before the operation kicked off, signs of anxiety had rippled across New Orleans for days.
Like other businesses in the Mid-City neighborhood, Taqueria Guerrero opened after Hurricane Katrina to serve a growing Latino population that came to help rebuild from the storm’s devastation Amid news of the impending Border Patrol operation, the restaurant closed indefinitely this week, citing fear among staff and clientele of the impending sweeps.
Hundreds of people showed up to ply the restaurant with lunch orders and words of support on Sunday, its last day open. By afternoon, the typically quiet spot had sold out of a slew of staples pupusas, huaraches, gorditas, horchata and nearly all its flavors of aguas frescas.
Signs plastered on the restaurant’s glass doors told immigration agents to stay away On Wednesday, the restaurant was dark and shuttered.
Other businesses popular with Hispanic residents later closed their doors, too. “We’re temporarily closed until further notice,” read
STAFF PHOTOS By CHRIS GRANGER
U.S. Border Patrol agents gather outside of their vehicles as Chief Patrol Agent of U.S. Customs and Border Protection Gregory Bovino, second from right, travels through Metairie and Kenner on day one of the ‘Catahoula Crunch’ sweeps on Wednesday.
U.S. Border Patrol agents stop and photograph a man on Williams Boulevard in Kenner on Wednesday.
ACLU sues La. over law blocking interference
Legal conflict develops as immigration operation begins
BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer
A new state law against interfering with immigration officers is so broadly written that it violates the First Amendment by limiting free speech, the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana argues in a new lawsuit Filed as immigration officers descend on southeast Louisiana for an operation dubbed “Catahoula Crunch,” the lawsuit, now pending in federal court in the Eastern District of Louisiana, targets Act 399. That law, by state Sen. Jay Morris, R-West Monroe, makes it a crime to “knowingly commit any act intended to hinder, delay, prevent, or otherwise interfere with or thwart federal immigration enforcement efforts.” The lawsuit also names Attorney General Liz Murrill, who has publicized the law ahead of the Border Patrol’s arrival in New Orleans. Immigration Services and Legal Advocacy, or ISLA, the main plaintiff in the lawsuit, is a New Orleans-based organization that offers legal help to immigrants in Louisiana. In November, it stopped offering “Know Your Rights” workshops to immigrants because it feared doing so would violate Act 399, according to the lawsuit.
“ISLA wishes to advise people about the rights of immigrants during Operation Swamp Sweep, but the newly added language included in Act 399 makes doing so without legal assurances virtually impossible,” attorneys for the ACLU wrote, using an earlier name for the immigration crackdown in New Orleans The lawsuit asks the court
to declare that the law violates the First Amendment and to block the state from enforcing it against ISLA. It also alleges the law violates the 14th Amendment because it is overly vague.
“I have not received service of process of this complaint apparently filed today,” Murrill said in a statement Wednesday “Our law is constitutional and we look forward to defending it in court.”
Act 399, which makes interfering with immigration enforcement operations an obstruction of justice, took effect Aug. 1. People who break the law face up to six months in prison if the offense involves an official act of a government agent, and up to one year in prison if it involves a civil immigration proceeding. They could also face up to $5,000 in fines.
Murrill has repeatedly warned the public against breaking the law during the rollout of the Catahoula Crunch operation
“Individuals who interfere with ICE, Border Patrol, or assault law enforcement are committing a State crime and will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” she said in a release Wednesday In the past, ISLA has used Know Your Rights workshops to inform immigrants that they can demand a judicial warrant if ICE appears at their homes, and that they may film ICE arrests, the ACLU’s lawyers wrote.
They halted that activity around Nov 18, after news broke that the Border Patrol would be leading an immigration crackdown in southeast Louisiana and Mississippi, according to the lawsuit.
“The ability to challenge government action without facing arrest is what separates a free nation from a police state,” said Alanah Odoms executive director of the ACLU of Louisiana.
“Louisiana is choosing the police state We’re going to court to protect every Louisianan’s First Amend-
ment right to speak truth to power.”
Morris, who authored Act 399, said he believes it will hold up in court.
“There are lots of cases which support the constitutionality of laws that restrict people from inhibiting law enforcement from doing their jobs,” he said.
Catahoula Crunch follows Border Patrol-led operations in Chicago and North Carolina that drew backlash over the tactics federal agents used. In Chicago, federal agents tackled protesters, shot pepper balls at the heads of journalists and clergy members, used tear gas and rubber bullets without warning, and laughed as a protester’s ear bled, a federal judge wrote in a scathing review of those tactics informed by body camera footage.
Greg Bovino, who heads the Border Patrol, has said the agency is protecting officers from threats they received after arriving in Chicago.
In Louisiana, 250 Border Patrol agents plan to detain at least 5,000 people across a region stretching from Baton Rouge to Mississippi according to internal documents reported last month by The Associated Press. Louisiana’s Act 399 also expanded the definition of
malfeasance in office, making it a crime if a public official or employee “takes any official action, fails to perform an official duty, or refuses a lawful request for cooperation” from federal immigration authorities “with the intent to hinder, delay, prevent, or otherwise interfere, ignore, or thwart federal immigration enforcement efforts.”
Nor can state or local law enforcement release people they know “illegally entered or unlawfully remained in the United States” without giving advance notice to ICE.
Either of those actions would carry a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.
The law conflicts with a 12-year-old settlement that bars the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office from holding some detainees past their release dates in order to help federal immigration authorities. Under the agreement, deputies may not heed ICE detainer requests unless a person was charged with murder, aggravated rape, aggravated kidnapping, armed robbery with a firearm or treason.
The Sheriff’s Office did not return a request for comment.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By GERALD HERBERT
STAFF PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER
Althea Vallotton, right, stands outside her home in Kenner as a contractor friend and others help secure her roof Wednesday after the U.S Border Patrol surrounded her house earlier in the day and detained most of the men who were helping rebuild her hurricane-damaged
Rouge Paramedics Association, said about the mayor’s decision. “We need to be allowed to function on our own.”
As of July the Baton Rouge Fire Department had 563 employees, while EMS, which oversees ambulance services, had 259.
Chris Landry, who Edwards promoted from interim to permanent EMS director at the news conference, and Fire Department Chief
Michael Kimble had each repeatedly said employees would not lose their jobs and that EMS employees would benefit by entering the Fire Department’s service system, with more structured promotion and protections.
Officials had also assured that EMS would have kept its funding source — a 10-year property tax of 3.1 mills, worth about $16 million in revenue for the department each year
But it was unclear how much money would be saved without cutting positions or funding for EMS, or how the two agencies would reconcile their different jurisdictions: The Fire Department mainly serves the city, while EMS provides
That
NELSON
Continued from page 1A
graduates, tripled foundation assets, and invested more than $500 million in new and modernized training facilities across the state,” said an October news release announcing the departure.
Nelson has collected a diverse array of educational, professional and political experiences over the years.
Most recently, leading the state’s tax agency, he spearheaded a plan backed by Landry to slash the state’s individual and corporate income tax rates, replacing the lost revenue with a half-cent increase to the sales tax rate. That was accomplished in a special session late last year
Before his bid for governor, during which tax reform was a signature issue, Nelson served in the Louisiana House beginning in 2020. As a state lawmaker, Nelson
eschewed culture-war fights in favor of policy debates.
“Everything I’ve worked on — from improving Louisiana’s tax structure to strengthening our economic competitiveness leads back to one essential truth,” Nelson said in a statement. “Our state’s future depends on a skilled workforce and strong pathways to opportunity LCTCS is the engine that drives that progress.”
Nelson said during a brief phone interview that advocating for the value of Louisiana’s community college system has been important to him throughout his time
as a legislator and as a Cabinet
secretary
“The amount of money that we spent on the community and technical college system I felt like that was probably some of the best dollars we spent as far as the benefit that comes to the taxpayer,” he said.
The incoming LCTCS president also spent seven years in the U.S. Department of State Foreign Service before getting into politics. During that stint, he held posts in Washington, Germany and the country of Georgia. He has an undergraduate degree in biological engineering from LSU and a law
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Asked about stepping into a role in a brand-new industry, Nelson said that there may be a lot to learn from “the nuts and bolts perspective, but I think the problems are generally the same.”
He noted that he now has experience in the private sector, state government and the federal government, affording him a breadth of experience.
“I’m really an engineer, and I think engineers look for efficiencies, they look to solve problems, and I’ve just been able to do that effectively in state government thus far,” he said.
Nelson’s appointment as LCTCS president marks the latest in a slew of leadership changes happening across Louisiana higher education.
Southern University President Dennis Shields confirmed at a Board of Supervisors meeting the day after Thanksgiving that he would step down at the end of the
also claimed Edwards’ proposal was an attempt to address the cityparish’s budget shortfall at EMS’s expense.
“The current administration, in collusion with the Baton Rouge Fire Department, has decided that it desires to eliminate (EMS) …” Robert Aguiluz, attorney for the East Baton Rouge EMS Paramedic Association, wrote. “The Administration’s move is simply a ‘money grab.’”
A judge temporarily blocked the Baton Rouge Fire and Police Municipal Civil Service Board from voting on whether to reclassify the fire chief position to oversee EMS. The judge’s order was later dissolved, and the board voted to approve the reclassification. Edwards said the lawsuit played no role in his decision to cancel the merger
“The lawsuit didn’t bother me one lick,” he said. “It didn’t motivate me one way or the other.” Aguiluz said Wednesday the lawsuit would continue until the Edwards administration formally presents its cancellation plans in court. Willard added she would like to see the case resolved to establish legal precedent for the future.
“This isn’t the first time it’s ever come up,” Willard said, referring to the merger “And I don’t believe it’ll be the last time.”
year, saying “the board wanted to go in a different direction.”
Earlier last month, LSU named Wade Rousse president of the LSU system. Rousse was previously serving as president at McNeese State University At the same time, the university selected James Dalton for a job as executive vice president LSU system and chancellor of the flagship campus in Baton Rouge.
The two men replaced former LSU President William Tate IV, who in June left Louisiana for Rutgers University in New Jersey And the University of Louisiana at Lafayette is without a permanent president after Joseph Savoie in July announced his retirement, leaving a job he had been in since 2008
The University of Louisiana system Board of Supervisors has said it intends to create a search committee to find a permanent replacement, though it’s unclear when that will happen.
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STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS
EMS Director Chris Landry speaks at a news conference Wednesday along with East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Sid Edwards, center, and Baton Rouge
BR schools leader reassuresfamilies
Policy protects children amid immigrationsweep,Colesays
BY CHARLES LUSSIER Staff writer
Amid concerns about the justlaunched immigration sweepin theNew Orleans area,the East Baton Rouge Parish school system is assuring parents and students that district policy bars law enforcement from removing students from school unless “authorized to do so by aparent/legalguardian or pursuanttoanorder from the court.”
“This policy was adopted several years ago to enhance the parents’ abilitytoprotect their children’s rights,” Superintendent LaMont Cole wrote in aone-pageletter
“All principals have been briefed on this protocol.”
Cole’sletter,whichisalso in Spanish, was distributed Wednesday to principals, who in turn distributed it to parents.The letter was nototherwise publicized by theschool district.
“Wewould also like to emphasize that, to date, neither Immigration andCustoms Enforcement agents
(ICE) nor U.S. BorderPatrol Agents haveapproached any EBR school,and neither has indicated an intent to do so,” Cole wrote. East Baton Rouge’spolicy is similar to onesacrossthe country andhavebeen invokedbyschool leaders elsewhere since President Donald Trumpreturnedto theWhite House in January and instituted awide-ranging, ongoing crackdown on immigration into the United States.
In early February,soon after Trump took office, Cole sent out asimilar letter to families across the school system.Itwas sparked, then as now, by concernsabout dropsinstudent attendance from potentially affected families.
Thatletter was moresweeping in its promise to parents.
“All children are safe, protected, and cared forwhile in our schools,”
Environmental advocate
Willie Fontenot dies at 82
He wasgiven unique role in La.government
BY ALEX LUBBEN Staff writer
William “Willie” Fontenot somehow became an environmental activist with real powerinLouisiana —nosmallfeatina state that has long embracedthe oiland petrochemical industries.
That power was eventually taken away, but not before Fontenot forged alasting legacy working on behalf of Louisiana communities. He is now beingremembered for those efforts, with the renowned environmental activist who held auniquerolein state government having died on Nov.23athis home in BatonRouge.He was 82. His career intersected with aperiod of Louisiana’shistory when, under an environmentally minded attorney general, Fontenot was tasked with organizing community groups and helping them leverage statepowers to confront polluting industries. That was aposition that was created for Fontenot, and onethatwould notbe filled afterhewas forced out of his job in 2005 followinga tense interaction with law enforcement outside an Exxon refinery.
Alivesportsticker hangsabove abar and massivetelevision displayatBally’sBaton RougeCasino on Wednesday. Thenew property includes 800 slot
“As far as Ican tell, Ihavethe only job in anygovernmentalagency wherepart of my job is to go out andhelporganize citizens,”Fontenot said in arecorded interview.“It sounds likemaybeit’sthe only job like it in the world.” He found communityand common cause in the environmental movement, which was his political home formore than five decades. He got his start with the Sierra Club’schapterinNew Orleans, where he focused on issues relatedto coastal wetlands. In Baton Rouge, he worked with the Louisiana WildlifeFederation, starting in 1975. Then, under Louisiana Attorney General William Guste, he worked as an environmental community liaison —ajob that was created in 1978 specificallyfor Fontenot —organizing communitiesfacing environmental problems.
“Attorney General Guste said, ‘The citizens need some help dealing with environmental problems, how to file a
ä See FONTENOT, page 2B
Cartoonist Handelsman to retire at endofDecember
BY KEITH SPERA Staff writer
BY TIMOTHY BOONE Staff writer
Wendie Green was hiredtowork at the Belle of Baton Rouge in September 1994, twoweeks before Baton Rouge’s first riverboat casino opened.
Overher 31 yearsatthe casino, she hasseen a number of changes —the riverboat has had three different names and multiple owners —and Green has held avariety of jobs. She has been acocktail server,atrainer,asupervisor and worked in guest services. Now she is asenior slot attendant.
“I’ve pretty much done it all,” she said.
But at 6p.m. Saturday,Green will have her highest-profile jobwhenshe cuts the ribbononthe landbased Bally’sBaton Rouge Casino and Hotel.The $141 million expansion is the biggest change since the casino opened.
“Thisishome forme,” she said. “But nowI’ve got awhole new home.”
Slotmachinesand table games will no
Walt Handelsmanisputting away his pen and ink after decades of delighting Louisiana with his alternately humorous and poignant takes on the city’speculiarpolitics, personalities and events. Handelsman, 69,willretirefrom The Times-Picayune |The Advocate at theend of December. “I’ve been thinking about it for awhile,” he said. “I’ve been doing daily cartooning for roughly 45 years. Ifelt like it’s timeto takeabreak from daily deadlines, reflectonmycareer relax and look forward to doing other creativethings.” He’ll concludehis career withhis annualyear-endroundup of his favorite
He’s wontwo Pulitzersin four decadesofdrawing ä See HANDELSMAN, page 2B
STAFF PHOTOSByJAVIER GALLEGOS
Fontenot
ä See SWEEP, page 2B
ä See BALLY’S,
Second suspect arrested in death of 73-year-old
Baton Rouge police have arrested a man and a woman for allegedly beating, kidnapping and stabbing to death 73-year-old Woodrow Vaughn. Edward Hayes Jr 50, was arrested Tuesday evening by Baton Rouge police officers. He was booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish prison on counts of firstdegree murder, second-degree kidnapping, obstruction of justice, negligent homicide and battery of the infirm. Vaughn’s girlfriend, Breanna Terrance, 30, was also arrested on Nov 24 by U.S Marshals on counts of first-degree murder second-degree kidnapping and obstruction of justice Police were first made aware of Vaughn’s disappearance on Nov.
HANDELSMAN
Continued from page 1B
21 by his family, and were updated on Nov 23 when the family got new information about Vaughn’s final whereabouts.
CRIME BLOTTER staff reports
locally and nationally themed 2025 cartoons. He also plans to pen a farewell to readers featuring memorable cartoons from years past.
His overall body of work spans an estimated 12,000 daily drawings plus cartoon strips, animations, nine books of his editorial cartoons and one children’s book. His cartoons, which he still hand-draws before coloring them digitally, are syndicated by Tribune Content Agency to media outlets across the country At one point, they appeared in more than 200 newspapers nationwide.
“When I watch the news, I’m taking notes,” he said “It’s interesting to think about not having to respond to a news event right away in a cartoon for the next day.”
Life-changing classified ad
Handelsman grew up in Baltimore as the son of a surgeon. After graduating from the University of Cincinnati in 1979, he placed a classified ad in The Baltimore Sun seeking an entrylevel advertising job.
One respondent was Howard Blankman, who, along with his wife Iris, ran Quality Composition, a Baltimore ad layout firm. At Quality, Handelsman pasted up advertisements for grocery stores and other clients.
The couple’s daughter, Jodie, worked there as a typesetter In 1982, she and Handelsman got married.
At night, Handelsman practiced cartooning and hustled freelance assignments. In 1982, the Patuxent Publishing Corporation, a chain of weekly newspapers in Maryland, hired him as an interim, full-time cartoonist.
He moved on to the Scranton Times, a daily newspaper in Pennsylvania, in 1985. He launched a weekly comic strip called “The Hound and the Bureaucrat,” won his first national award and signed a national syndication contract with Tribune.
When editorial cartoonist Mike Luckovich left The Times-Picayune for The Atlanta JournalConstitution in 1989, Handelsman applied to replace him. He and Jodie had never visited New Orleans prior to his Picayune interview Wandering the French Quarter, Handelsman, who had played harmonica in a Scranton blues band, liked what he saw and heard.
In New Orleans, they cultivated a wide circle of friends even as Louisiana’s customs, quirks and, especially, its politicians provided a never-ending source of material.
“Everything was perfect for cartooning and perfect for having a fun life and meeting a million friends,” he said.
The likes of Edwin Edwards, David Duke and Mike Ditka populated his drawings, along with multiple presidents and ordinary New Orleanians.
“The average person you meet here turns out to be a character That’s part of what’s fun about being a cartoonist here and just being here.”
In addition to five daily cartoons a week, he produced his “Picayune Toons” comic strip every Monday for years. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning in 1997, the same year the Picayune earned its first Pulitzer, for Public Service.
A move to New York
In 2000, the New York tabloid Newsday solicited Handelsman to chronicle the “Subway” World Series between the Yankees and Mets. The next year, Newsday of-
A tip from Facebook told the family that Vaughn had been attacked just before 2 a.m. the morning of Nov 21, outside of the AM Food Mart on Highland Road.
The family received video footage of the incident in the parking lot from the store owner which showed Vaughn being beaten, according to police records.
In the footage, a green Toyota Sienna rental van driven by Terrance pulls into the parking lot.
A man, later identified as Hayes, can be seen approaching the vehicle and speaking with Terrance, then walking to the passenger side.
fered Handelsman a job.
Leaving New Orleans was “a very tough decision,” he said. But the opportunity to work at a larger newspaper in the No. 1 media market and be closer to his aging parents prevailed
During 12-plus years at Newsday, he won another Pulitzer Looking to stay relevant as readers moved online, he started creating labor-intensive animations.
But New York was not New Orleans, despite his family’s boisterous takeover of a Long Island sports bar during Saints games: “Socially, I recognized pretty quickly that the whole family really missed New Orleans.”
He made multiple trips back after Hurricane Katrina, covering the aftermath for Newsday and helping friends and former colleagues. Those visits “really bonded us to the city We recognized how much we still felt a part of this place.”
Return to New Orleans
A New Orleans newspaper war created an opportunity for Handelsman to return.
In 2012, Advance Media, which owned The Times-Picayune at the time, reduced home delivery to three days a week. Later that year, Baton Rouge newspaper The Advocate launched the daily New Orleans Advocate.
After John and Dathel Georges bought The Advocate in 2013, they, editor Peter Kovacs and publisher Dan Shea courted Handelsman to return to New Orleans.
“Walt’s work stands with the best editorial cartooning ever published,” said Rene Sanchez, current executive editor of the Times-Picayune.
After Georges Media Group bought The Times-Picayune and NOLA.com from Advance in 2019, Handelsman’s cartoons were restored to the Picayune’s editorial page.
A periodic cartoon caption contest he launched at Newsday grew in popularity A November 2025 contest garnered 1,200 entries.
He gradually shifted the caption contest away from political themes to lighter topics. “Politics are so negative now This is a reprieve from all that negativity It’s been a delightful thing for me to do.”
As retirement looms, he’s reflected on the difficult times in his life. His younger sister, Jane, and her husband, Pryor, died in a 1989 plane crash while on vacation in Mexico. Older brother Bruce, a painter and photographer died of lymphoma in 1992 (Another brother, Steve, is a retired Washington, D.C.-based NBC correspondent.)
In a 1997 photograph of Handelsman celebrating his Pulitzer win, a lump is visible on his upraised arm. The lump turned out to be a sarcoma. The cancer returned during his tenure at Newsday and was once again treated successfully
“I was very fortunate,” he said.
“It certainly makes you appreciate the positive things that have happened in your life when you see how tricky life can be.”
In the constant rush of a 24-hour news cycle, selecting a cartoon topic that will still be relevant the next day is a challenge. Hence the title of his most recent book, “I’m Drawing As Fast As I Can.”
“That’s how it feels sometimes,” he said. “There’s so much to keep up with.”
He’s looking forward to traveling with Jodie, illustrating her children’s books and spending more time with their two adult children. But he’ll miss cartooning and interacting with readers.
“That’s something I’ve done since I was in my 20s But at the same time, I’m looking forward to stepping back from that task and seeing what else lies ahead.”
There, he’s seen opening the door before slamming it on Vaughn’s leg and beginning to punch him, police said. Terrance, at the same time, begins to hold Vaughn down and punch him herself, according to the affidavit for her arrest. Hayes then puts Vaughn into the backseat of the car and enters the passenger seat, himself, according to the arrest affidavit. Through the footage alone, the victim’s family was able to identify Hayes, saying they’ve known him all his life and that he grew up in the same neighborhood as where the attack took place.
According to records provided by BRPD, Terrance then drove the car away Later that day, just before 1 p.m.,
SWEEP
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Cole wrote then.
The new letter, which coincides with the launch of the operation known as “Catahoula Crunch,” qualifies that promise made 10 months ago.
“We take all reasonable efforts to see that children are safe, protected, and cared for while in our schools,” Cole writes now
BALLY’S
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longer be crammed into a threelevel riverboat; instead, they will be spread out across the casino’s 25,000-square-foot atrium.
The new property includes 800 slot machines, 20 to 25 table games, a sportsbook, a center bar a twolane bowling alley and a dedicated smoking area. The expansion and remodeling added 350 jobs, bringing the total number of employees to just over 500.
The area that had been the atrium’s stage, where live music and boxing matches happened, has been transformed. It now is a hightech DraftKings sportsbook with a 46-foot screen and a ticker that wraps around, constantly displaying the latest scores and betting odds.
The gambling area has retractable shutters that can open and showcase the giant glass roof in the atrium, said Brett Buscher a senior project manager for W.E. O’Neil Construction, which handled the renovations for the property Plans are to open the shutters in the late afternoon to let the evening light shine through. (Buscher said the shutters can’t stay open during the daytime because the heavy glare could interfere with table games.)
Despite the high-tech touches,
FONTENOT
Continued from page 1B
complaint, how to figure out what their problems are, how to work with public officials and the news media,’” Fontenot told The TimesPicayune in 2005.
“He put his whole heart into his work,” said Marylee Orr the executive director and a co-founder with Fontenot of the Louisiana Environmental Action Network (LEAN)
He seemed to know everyone in the environmental space and everything about local environmental issues.
“He was like Wikipedia before they had such a thing,” Orr said.
‘An effective advocate’
But the political tides shifted, and in 2005, Fontenot was pushed out of the position he had held for 27 years. He had recently taken a group of students on a community tour near the ExxonMobil refinery in Baton Rouge that exploded on Christmas Eve in 1989, killing two workers and injuring four others. For years, Fontenot led tours near industry sites in Louisiana. But that day, guards confronted the group and told Fontenot to collect the students’ driver’s licenses. He refused.
Two weeks later, the attorney general, Charles Foti Jr., gave Fontenot a choice: He could retire or face disciplinary hearings that would lead to his firing.
“He was such an effective advocate and community organizer,” said Billy Goodell, an attorney who worked alongside Fontenot at the Attorney General’s Office. His firing was “pure politics,” he added.
East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s deputies were called to Lafitte Street regarding a man down. The man was identified as Vaughn, who was found dead with multiple large stab wounds.
Inmate charged with manslaughter in fight
An inmate at the Ascension Parish jail has been charged with manslaughter after an inmate he fought with earlier this week died in the hospital from his injuries, according to the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office. Stacy Leblanc 56, of Belle Rose, faces a count of manslaughter after the other inmate, who received a severe head injury and was hospitalized in the ICU, died, the Sher-
The new letter, reworked by school attorneys to reflect changes in law since February, spells out what would happen if law enforcement officers who lack a court order would nevertheless try to apprehend a student on school property
“If a law enforcement officer attempts to arrest a student without presenting a court order, the principal is advised to record the officer’s signature, badge number, agency name, the date and time of the arrest, the student’s name,
iff’s Office said in a news release Wednesday Leblanc had previously been charged with second-degree battery in the case.
Victim of fatal stabbing ID’d by officials
A man was found fatally stabbed in the parking lot of a Baton Rouge apartment complex Tuesday night, Baton Rouge EMS officials said. Robert Gipson, 44, was found at about 9:30 p.m. at the Lakeside Villas Apartments on Weldwood Drive, near Interstate 12 and Millerville Road. The victim was identified by the Coroner’s Office. No further details were immediately available.
and the reason given for the arrest,” according to the latest letter “Principals are also required to make every effort to notify parents as soon as possible, except in cases involving suspected child abuse.”
The East Baton Rouge Parish school system has more than 38,000 students, making it the second-largest traditional school district in Louisiana. About 11% of those students are Hispanic, almost 4% are Asian, and more than 5% are not proficient in English.
the building’s history has been preserved. The design has a modern industrial feel that pays tribute to the building’s former use as an Illinois Central Railroad Depot. A massive chunk of railroad tracks serves as the host stand for the casino hotel. The casino player’s club stand is designed to look like a space where you would purchase a train ticket.
The original plaque for the illfated Catfish Town retail development from the early 1980s is still in place. The renovation was not without its challenges. Care had to be
The role Fontenot vacated would not be filled. It existed for him, and only him. He had served in the role under three attorneys general.
“We don’t have anybody like Willie now in government. We haven’t had anyone like that for a long time,” said Audrey Evans, who worked alongside Fontenot as a community outreach coordinator with the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic.
“What we lose with him, if we don’t remember that there ever was someone like Willie Fontenot in the state government, is the concept that the government could even serve the function of helping people to understand what to do when they’re faced with an environmental situation.”
‘Focused on solutions’
But neither his firing from the Attorney General’s Office nor the loss of his sight kept Fontenot from environmental justice work.
The Opelousas native continued to advocate alongside the Sierra Club and LEAN, and advised communities that sought his expertise.
Indeed, for the last three decades of his life, Fontenot was legally blind, suffering from a condition that caused him to lose sight in the center of his field of vision.
But somehow, he always seemed to know exactly where he was, his family and friends said.
After Fontenot could no longer drive, his son, Jacques, got a special driver’s license at 13 that allowed him to ferry his father to and from community meetings.
“We were driving over the Atchafalaya Spillway on the interstate — you know, along that road, everything looks the same, right?” said Jacques Fontenot. “He said,
taken to attach the Bally’s sign to the atrium in order not to crack the glass. Workers opened up a storm drain during demolition and found an 8-foot alligator living inside. Officials were very conscious of the property’s history and its importance to the community, said Lauren Westerfield, a spokesperson for Bally’s. “We wanted to be sensitive to that, but also build something that’s modern and can service our guests for what they need today,” she said. Email Timothy Boone at tboone@theadvocate.com.
‘In a mile, there’s going to be a cypress tree off to the right with a square cut in it.’” Someone, years prior had cut into it to make a jewelry box, Fontenot told his son.
“In one mile, there it was,” his son said. “People would get lost, and think, ‘Man, I wish we had that blind guy around to direct us.’” In much the same way that he was able to find his way in the landscape with a kind of oracular second sense, those close to him described Fontenot as able to steer the energy of the environmental movement in the state over his long career as an activist. He was a modest and calming presence, someone who didn’t get overwhelmed in the face of adversity, and with a slow persistence, made change.
“I never, ever heard my dad complain about industry about the people who he was working against,” said his daughter, Dona Fontenot. “He didn’t fixate on the problem. He focused on solutions.”
A celebration of life will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. Dec. 28 at The Guru, in the Circa 1857 complex at the corner of Government and 19th streets in Baton Rouge.
STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS Games on the casino floor at Bally’s Baton Rouge are seen on Wednesday.
Duncan,James SealeFuneralHome, 1720S.Range Ave. at 12pm
Kaufman, Leahnea
FirstBaptistChurch of Algiersin
Walker,LAat11am.
Parrino, Janice
ResthavenFuneralHomeat11am.
Tidwell, Larry
JourneyChurch,17407 Greenwell Springs Rd.Greenwell Springs, LA at 6pm.
day, the 5th of December, from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM at WinnfieldFuneral Home. A second viewing will take place on Saturday, the 6th of December, from 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM at Hollywood Street ChurchofChrist 5111 Hollywood Street. The celebrationoflifeservices shall follow at 10:00AM. Her earthlyremains shall be laid to rest at Moriah CemeteryinFranklinton, Louisiana.The distinguished& solemn arrangements have been entrusted to the careofWinnfield Funeral Home of Baton Rouge &C.D.Slaughter, FDIC
Obituaries Durrett, Jackolyn W
Walter Hardy Bozant entered this world in March of 1929 and passed on to Heaven on December 2, 2025
Thereal adventure began in his teenage years. At the age of 15, he hitchhiked out west to fight forest firesinIdaho. He did that for two summers until it was time to come home and be asenior in high school. After graduating from Baton Rouge High School, Hardy attended Louisiana State University and earned aBachelorofScience in 1950. He received his conscription draft notice on Christmas Eve 1951. He served his tour of duty in the Army Veterinary Corps during the Korean War and received an honorable discharge in 1956. After returning home from the army, he continued his studies at LSU and would graduate with a Master of Science in 1958 and aMasters Degree Plus 30 in 1960. WhileatLSU he was aproud member of the LSU Tiger Marching Band. In 1960, while leading the music at Hebron Baptist Church, Hardy met and marriedMary Elizabeth "Liz" Bezar. That same year Hardy began his teaching career at the newly opened Broadmoor High Schoolin Baton Rouge. He began teaching advanced math and science classes, served as aguidance counselor and assistant principal and finally retired from Broadmoor as its principal in 1994. The legacy he leaves behind is one of servanthood. The patriarch of our family set alegacy of service that does not count the cost or keep score. He has joined his Mother Blanche Causey and son, Wade Bozant in Heaven. He leaves behind his wife of sixty-five years, Liz Bozant; son Kent Bozant (Amy); daughters Sherri Bunch (George) and Staci O'Neal (Greg).
"A woman of dignity knows that her worth is not defined by society's standards, butbyher own strengthand character."
Jackolyn W. Durrett, a beloved and kind-hearted soul, passedawayon November 22, 2025,atthe ageof88. Shewas alongtime resident of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and was known for her faithful dedicationtoher community and family
BornonSeptember 25, 1937,inMeridian, Mississippi,Jackolynpursued a Master Degree in Social Work from Louisiana State University (LSU). Her passionfor helping others was evident in hercareer and her personal life.
Jackolyn was an avid readerand amemberof several book clubs, where she sharedher love forliterature with friends and fellow enthusiasts. Her commitment to her faith was demonstratedthrough her active participation as amemberofThe First MethodistChurch.
Jackolyn is survived by her children, Douglas (Suzie) Durrett of Zachary, Louisiana,and Suzanne (David)Mott of Roswell Georgia. Her legacy continues through her grandchildren, Whitney Strong,MasonMott, and SarahMott, and herfourgreat-grandchildren. She is also survived by her twobrothers, Bobby Walkerand Mike Walker, and herlifelong friend Ann Smith. Shewas precededin death by her parents, NolanJamesWalkerand Hazel Walker; her husband, Joseph Durrett; and her newbornchild, Phillip Durrett.
Lynn
Our Sweet DebbieLynn Forbespassed away peacefully on Monday, Dec. 1, 2025. She was62 years old. Visitation willbeatFeliciana Baptist Church in Clinton on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025 from9am until service at 11am. Aprivatefamily burial willbeheldatHillcrest Memorial Gardens in Baker. She is survivedby her mother and stepfather, Rita (Janette)and David Hancock,Sr. Brothers, RandelForbesand wife, LuLu, andDavid Hancock,Jr. and wife, Laurieand asister, ShereeForbes. 7nieces & nephews, 8great nieces and greatnephews and 1 greatgreat nephew. She is preceded in deathbyher father, Donald (Don) Forbesand grandparents, Elmerand EdithForbes and Clyde and ClodieMorgan. Pallbearers willbe Ricky Forbes, Rocky Forbes, Ken Mann, Grayson Terrell, Richie Ginn, Jimmy "Tub"Newcomb,David Martinez,and RayMartinez. Honorary pallbearers willbeJessieGuillot,Steve Martinez and JasonSterling. Debbiewas amember of Feliciana Baptist Church. She wasa graduateofArlingtonVocational School. She was amember of theRoad Runners Special Olympics. She was crowned Ms. BakerJr. High. Debbie had alovefor music and dance and a love forpeople like no one else. She wasthe heart and joy of our family and willbegreatlymissed. The Familywouldliketoexpresssincere thanksto The Graham House forall of their 42 plus years of care and compassiongiven to our Sweet Debbie. Memorial donations may be madetoSt. Jude. Share sympathies, condolences, and memories at www.Cha rletFuneralHome.com.
Grant, Loretta Marie
Louisiana, on April 7, 1978, to David andStacyCashio Court marriedthe love of her life,Colby Higginbotham, on December31, 2010. The twowere togetherfor nearly 20 years and married fornearly15. She was truly his world.She attended Northwestern StateUniversityinNatchitoches, latertransferring to and graduatingfromSoutheastern Louisiana University in Hammond. Adedicated accountant and bartenderfor almost 30 years, Courtney was deeplyloved by her family and friends. She was agenerous soul with an open door for anyone in need.She worked tirelessly and lovedfiercely -she was aproud mother,devoted wife, grandmother and aloyal friend. She wasa Proud Bandido OL Lady, perfectly at home on the back of Colby's motorcycle. She adored her brothers and sisters,and she was cherished in return. She wasalso deeply involvedinSpanish Town MardiGras, especially the Spanish Town LadiesAuxiliary, where she gladly stepped into any role where she was needed.
Sheissurvived by herdevotedhusband, JamesColby Higginbotham; herchildren,Joshua PaulJannise, Cameron Lidell Jannise, AudreyJosephineHigginbotham, andQuinn JewelAnciet Higginbotham; grandson, Cameron Lidell Jannise Jr.; herparents, David andStacy Cashio; andbrothers, David Wayne Cashio Jr.and Benjamin Joseph Cashio. Sheisprecededindeathbyher maternal grandparents,Nelson and ShirleyDoucet; paternalgrandparents, Joseph andElizabeth Cashio anduncles, Nelson Doucet and Joseph Cashio Jr.Serving as Pallbearers will be Jason Broussard, Oscar Williams, John Hampton,JustinPeck, JustinBurmaster,Quincey Brady, Sammy Hymel and Sethan Daigle.Honorary Pallbearers includeDerrick Johnson, Kino Fuqua, Joe Chaney, and EddieDotson In lieu of flowers, thefamily requests that donations be made to the Spanish Town Ladies Auxiliary of Baton Rouge at stlabr.dona tions@gmail.com. Thefamilywould also like to extend theirheartfelt grati-
tude to the ICU team at Baton Rouge General,especially Dr.Godke, for the compassionatecare they provided. Visitation serviceswill be held at Ourso Funeral Home, locatedat 13533 Airline Highway, Gonzales, LA, 70737. The first visitation is scheduled for Friday, December 5, 2025, from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Asecondvisitation will take place on Saturday, December 6, 2025, from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm. Service willbeginat12:00 PM with interment to follow at St.Mary's Episcopal Church in Morganza, Louisiana.
God in his infinite wisdom received Loretta home on Monday, November24, 2025 Avisitationwillbeheld at Demby& SonFuneral Home,900 Magnolia St Donaldsonville,LaonFriday, December 5, 2025 from 4-6 pm.Visitation willcontinue at 10 am at The Church International Donaldsonville, 613 W. 7thSt, on Saturday, December 6, 2025 with funeral services at 11 am. Interment immediatelyfollowing at Pearly Gates, Donaldsonville,La Brock, Charlene Magee
It is with profound sorrow that we announce the passing of Ms. Charlene Magee Brock who departed this earthly life on the 26th of November, in the year of our Lord 2025,at the distinguished age of 91. Apublic viewing shall be held in her honor on Fri-
Jackolyn'slifewas a testament to herloving nature and her unwavering dedicationtothose she cherished. She will be deeply missedbyall who knew her Relatives and friends areinvited to the chapel of Rabenhorst Funeral Home fora memorial visitation on Saturday, December 6, 2025 beginning at 10:00AM until the memorial service beginning at 12:00PM. In lieu of flowersthe family requests donations be made to the charity of your choice
Higginbotham, Courtney Cashio
Courtney CashioHigginbotham, 47, of Gonzales, Louisiana, passed away on November 25, 2025. She was borninPointeCoupee,
In this seasonofgiving, we would be remiss not to recognize one of themost significant philanthropic giftsour statehas seeninrecent years. MacKenzie Scott, whofounded Amazon with ex-husband Jeff Bezos, has beenquietly giving away her fortune tononprofits, universities and charities around thecountry.But we note how particularly generous shehas been to Louisiana Nearly 50 organizations around thestate have receivedalmost$240million from Scott since 2020. Those organizationsrangefromLafayette Habitat forHumanity to Capital AreaUnited WayinBaton Rouge to Cafe Reconcile in New Orleans.
But by far the biggest focus of Scott’slargesse is education, especiallyHistorically Black Colleges and Universities. Her latestgifts, announced last month, include$38 millionto Xavier University,the nation’s only Black and Catholic HBCU, and $19 million to DillardUniversity,the state’soldest HBCU. Both gifts were the largest in each school’shistory.And thatis saying something. Xavier, founded inNew Orleans by Saint Catharine Drexel, is celebrating its100th anniversary this year. And Dillard is 156 years old.
It is Scott’ssecond roundofgifts to these schools. Dillard received$5million in 2020, and Xavier received $20 million that year.This year, it is estimated that she gave around$900 million to HBCUs.
Many HBCU leaders arecallingthe gifts transformative as they face headwinds due to federal cuts. Xavier University wasforced to lay off 46 employees in October,and a$20 millionfederal grant to Dillard forcampusinfrastructure was recently canceled.
The Trump administration did direct more nearly $500 million more to historically Black and tribal institutions earlier thisyear. Butthat money came largely due to cutstootherprograms that benefited minoritystudents
In atime of such uncertainty,Scott’sphilanthropy is especially usefulasitcomes in the form of unrestricted gifts, allowingthe universities to use the funds as they see fit. Scott offers ashining example of howphilanthropy can shore up institutionsthathave long producedfar greaterresults with farfewer resources thanthey deserve. Thefact that she does so with little fanfare reflects the realization that evenwith these massivegifts,many HBCUsremainchronically underfunded.
It’sclear that Scott and her advisers aredoing theirhomework and seeing the contributions that HBCUs make to our society. They educate asignificant proportionofBlack professionals, including 40% of all Black engineers and70% of Black doctors.
Generations of Louisiana studentswill benefit from these gifts. We don’tknowwhatdrove Scott’sattention to astate where she hasnoobvious connections. But we like to think that perhaps somewhere in her circle is apersonwhose life has been changed by these Louisiana institutions. It would be more than fitting if theseHBCUs and nonprofits are now reaping the fruits of what they sowed long ago.
LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR ARE WELCOME. HERE AREOUR
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OPINION
EBRParishneeds to rethinkgovernance
LSUhas, wisely in my opinion, separated theroles of president of theLSU system and chancellor of theLSU campus in Baton Rouge. When those roles were combined, as they have been since 2012, there was an inherent conflict of interest for whoever holds that position. Is he or she advocating for the LSU system or for the LSU campus in Baton Rouge? Separating thetwo positions allows the clarification of and definition of their separate roles and responsibilities Adirect parallel exists regarding the governance of East Baton Rouge Parishand thecities within. The “consolidated” form of cityparish government began in 1949 when EBR Parish was mostly rural with Exxon (then Esso), thestate capitol complex, downtown, and LSUgrouped along the Mississippi River.Fast forward to today,and there are five separateand distinct cities in EBR Parish, but themayor of one of them, Baton Rouge, is also the parish executive. Whoever serves in that role is undertaking adaunting task by attempting to
Is it time to have an open, frank and honest discussion about the legitimatefunctions of local governmentand how to pay for them?
Now that Thrive has failed, what’sthe postmortem? It would be interesting toread an analysis of who voted how and why.MayorPresident Sid Edwards says, “We’re in aclimate of ‘no.’People are mistrusting. People are tired of being taxed. They’re fatigued withit.” My personal theory is that East Baton Rouge voters aretired of being bribed and blackmailed intosupporting unquestionably necessary individual services
The point is that we never seem to talk about government as a whole. What does it really cost? What do we get for it?Idon’tmean in ademagoguery sense. We need government,and we have to pay for it. It’seasy to just scream “waste” or “trickery,” votenoand stick our heads back in thesand. Buthow is thepublic supposed to know what’s
balance bothresponsibilities but is unavoidably conflicted regarding hisorher loyalty
Perhaps it is time to de-consolidatebyseparating the governance of EBR Parish from the mayor of Baton Rouge. Truly parishwide functions should be administered objectively and independently of any one city but for thetrue benefit of the entire parish and all five of its cities.
Consider a“council of mayors” with rotating chairs as an “EBR ParishCouncil.” The five mayors in EBR Parish (notie votes) could work withaparish administrator to oversee true parishwide functions. No additional elected positions would be needed. The mayorscould then focus moresharply on the governance and needs of their respective cities while cooperating (not competing) forthe greater good when addressingparishwide issues and positively promoting the excellence of EBR Parish
WILLIAM BROWN St. George
actually reasonable and necessary?
Here’smysuggestion.Baton Rouge has somevery capable minds. Why can’tweget somegood analytical benchmark data? First, how much do we spend andon what? Then, what do comparable cities spend, and on what (i.e., what might be considered reasonable)? How does EBRcompare on roads and bridges? What’sa normal expenditure for crimeprosecution? What do others spend, per capita, on social services? Should EBR be making that data-driven case? Is that type of analysis the role of the media? The Advocate, our television stations, the Baton Rouge BusinessReport, etc.? What about the Chamber? Hopefully,those are rhetorical questions.
Let’shave an informed discussion about the whole issue. What do we want to be and how do we pay for it?
GREGORYFROST Baton Rouge
Isee Louisiana is only ranked eighth in cancer deaths. Also, the Louisiana Environmental Action Network, anonprofit group, has set up air-monitoring stations all over that have already detected spikes in pollution levels from industry, such as chemical and petrochemical plants. Iknow the Legislature and Gov. Jeff Landry recently lowered of levels of environmental regulation with fewerenforcement actions, and they are working with the Trumpadministration to raise levels of cancer-causing chemicals in our air and water,but they can do better By lowering standards and halting enforcement, we can get Louisiana to be No.1incancer deaths!
Iknow our Republican legislators and Landry’sadministration can do this. Since we are last in education, heath care and lifeexpectancy,wehave to strive to be No.1 in something. We need to step up and promote Cancer Alley as atourist attraction to makeupfor the 35% of Canadian tourists whoare no longer coming to Louisiana. We can do this! Ican see Lt. Gov.Billy Nungesser coming up with anew slogan, “People are dying to visit Cancer Alley.”
GLENN MCGOVERN Metairie
To all those whoare upset about the Super Bowlhalftime performance: Given that the Super Bowlisabout big money, do you think the NFLislooking to attract bigoted Americans or the whole world? What would you think is the best business move?
And if you refuse to watch the halftime show,will you also refuse to watch the Super Bowl?
STEVE SCHMITT NewOrleans
Why is it that Zion Williamson is hurt every season and on the bench? Is this fair to the thousands of devoted fans that attend the Pelicans games?
NICHOLAS LAPARA Metairie
Requiemfor afakeTrump scandal
Nearlyfouryears ago, on Jan. 18, 2022, Iwrote about afrenzy that was sweeping the anti-Trump world. It had to do with anovel theory of the 2020 presidential election dispute: Here’sthe short version: Trump supporters in afew states—Georgia, Arizona, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Michigan, and New Mexico —were so brazenthat in the days before Dec. 14, 2020, when the Electoral College voted to confirm [former President] Joe Biden’svictory,they actually forged documents falsely purporting to be Electoral College results for [President Donald] Trump and sent them to the appropriateauthorities in Washington and in their home states. They then planned touse theforgeries to steal the election on Jan. 6, 2021. All the while, they hoped no one would notice. It was acrazy theory,for anumber of reasons discussed below.But the notion of so-called “fakeelectors” would not only consume Resistance World but would spread among Democratic officials in the justice system andbecome akey part of the antiTrump indictments of 2023 and 2024. Now it has all fallen apart. With the recent withdrawal of the case originally brought by the disgraced prosecutorFani Willis in Georgia, the theory thatsparked so much excitement on the anti-Trump fringe is finally dead. What is remarkable is that the glaring flaws in the “fake electors” theory were obvious all along. It just took this long for the wheels of justice to turn. After Willis was taken off her own case following the disgrace of her topdeputy,Georgia officials faced a daunting question: Who wants to pick up this prosecutionand run with it? It turned out nobody did, and the case eventuallyended up in the hands of thenonpartisan head of the ProsecutingAttorneys’ Council of Georgia, Peter Skandalakis. Last week, Skandalakis released acarefully argued 22-
page memo supporting his decision to drop the Williscase altogether
As farasthe “fake electors” theory is concerned, thesubstance of Skandalakis’ discussion boreastrikingresemblance to my column from January 2022. That’sbecausethe factsofthe case have always been thefacts of the case, before and after the antiTrump activists gotsoexcited.
teriouslycoordinated effort to have Republicans in multiple states forge election documents after the last election andpresentthemselves as fake electors to the Electoral College.”
First, Skandalakis explained thatwhat theResistance calls “fake electors” were, in fact, contingent electors. In this way: In early December 2020, the Trump campaign was litigating theresults of the election in Georgia. Butthe datewas approaching —Dec. 14 —onwhich the ElectoralCollege would have to vote.Republicans were concerned thatBiden’selectorswould be chosen on the 14thwhile thelawsuits were still pending. If Trump eventually wonthe litigation, he would then have zero electors. So, acting on the advice of the campaign’slawyers, the state Republican Party picked conditional Trump electors who could become real electors if —and only if —Trump won the lawsuit and was declared the winner of Georgia. They were contingent electors.
“Nothing in the evidence suggests that[the contingent electors] conspired tooverturn the election,” Skandalakis wrote. “On thecontrary,the record overwhelmingly demonstrates thatthe electors believed theiractions were legally required to preserve Georgia’selectoral votes in the event President Donald Trump prevailed in the then-pending lawsuit in Fulton County challenging theelection.”
Skandalakis noted that the evidence alsoshows that “theelectorsconvened the meeting pursuant to the advice of counsel.”
Also, the contingent electors did their work inpublic. Back when the scandal was raging, MS NOW’sRachel Maddow called the “fake electors” story a“previously unknown, mys-
In fact, thecontingent electors announced theirmeeting. They invited thepress to cover it. They tweeted about what they did. There were several news accounts about it. And they hired acourt reporter to make a transcript of the proceedings,which proved extremely valuable to Skandalakis as he reviewed what happened. It is important to point out that all this was known at thetime of the2022 “fakeelectors” freakout. Even Maddow could have known it, had she looked.
Now,you could say thecontingent electors were acting on pure faith when they did what they did. Certainly,thereappeared to be no chance of Trump winning thelitigation and thus winning Georgia. Indeed, that did not happen. Butthat does not mean thecontingent electors had ill intent. “It is not illegal tochallenge election results,” Skandalakis concluded. “As a prosecutor,Iamloath to use the criminal justice system to pursuelaw-abiding citizens who, in good conscience and upon theadvice of counsel, were asked to perform certain tasks in connection withthe litigation of an electionchallenge.”
Fani Willis knew all of this when shecharged one of the contingent electors, then-Georgia Republican Party chairman David Shafer,with1) Violation of the Georgia Racketeering (RICO) Act; 2) Impersonating aPublic Officer; 3) TwoCounts of Forgery in theFirst Degree; 4) Three Counts of False Statements and Writings; and 5) Criminal AttempttoCommit Filing False Documents. Others faced the same charges. The “fakeelectors” prosecution was BS from thebeginning. Andnow,atlast, it is over Email Byron York at byork@washingtonexaminer.com.
In 1940, WinstonChurchill ordered the evacuationof338,000 troops facing annihilation on the beaches of Dunkirk. Churchill called the successful operation “a miracle of deliverance.”Historians portray it as aperfect example of victory in defeat.
Democrats raging at eight members of their caucusfor ending the government shutdown might take afew lessons fromthe master of morale andstrategy.Whatsome hotheadsframed as “capitulation” is, in the long run, the wisestplan.
Right afterDunkirk, Churchill famously said, “Wars are not won by evacuations.” Thatisso, but stopping apotentialdisaster lets your side fight another day Ending the shutdown prevented negative outcomes that had begun chugging the Democrats’ way Shutdowns almost always bite the party that starts them. The record for this is so strong thatIthought Democratshad erredfrom Day 1. Iwas wrong. Democrats effectively used the headlines to highlight the issue sure to haunt Republicans comethe midterms: the soaring costofhealth care.
Paythe American inheritanceforward Democrats won victory in
Normally,atthis time of year,I dedicate acolumn to reflecting on the various innovations that have saved us from the normal human condition —which is to say,a life of frequent discomforts punctuated by even greater miseries. If you are temptedto rhapsodize aboutsome imagined Edenic past ask yourself whether you really have the fortitude to bury half your children before they finish puberty.Ipersonally do not. Iamsoft and pronetomelancholy.SoIwill be forever grateful that fortune deliveredmetothis placeand this time, where Ican wallow in peace and prosperity
Democrats prevailed in the recentelections, partly on threatstotheir health coverage, partly on rising food prices,tariff chaos and in-your-face corruption. But at acertain point, the news startedturning fromthe fight to extend the Obamacare subsidies to flights being canceled andthe poor losing food assistance. With Thanksgiving approaching, the sight of family members sitting on suitcases in airports was notoptimal. As many more Americansfeltshutdown pain at the personal level, Democrats were harderpressedtoavoid blame,evenifthe public likedcertain items theywere fighting for Now,some firebrands just want a fight. But their contentionthatreopening the government causeda loss of leverage is based on illusion. Democrats never held meaningful leverage because theydon’thave the votes. Republicanscontrolthe White House,the House andthe Senate To quote Barack Obama, “Elections have consequences.”
This year,however, I’ve been reflecting on another thing we oughttobe more grateful for:America herself. We have been taking her too much for granted recently,assumingthatshe will keep showering her gifts uponus without so much as athank-you note We’re like trust-funders whoslander capitalism and squander their incomes, secureinthe knowledge that the checks will keep coming They will not, unless we once again start treating America as something we have to earn, rather than something we’re entitled to.
Recently,Ihad the privilegeofhearing atalk by Gordon Wood, thegreat historian of the American Revolution. He reminded the audience that“the United States is not anation like other nations,and it never has been.”
“Most of the European states,” he continued, “were created outofaprior sense of acommon ethnicityorlanguage …undergirded by peoples who had apreexisting sense of their own distinctiveness, their own nationhood. In the United States, the process was reversed. Americans created astate before they were anation,and much of American history has been an effort to define the nature of thatnationhood.”
America had to invent itselfout of whatever parts happened to be lying around: 13 colonies, dozensofethnicities and language groups, uncounted religious sects. Yetout of this unlikely material, Americans wroughta miracle. They patched together acountry that not only held together but kept
gettingbigger,richer,freer and more essential to humanity Hindsight blinds us to how difficult that project was and how manytimes it almost failed. If George Washington had not been such an able general, the revolution might have been quashed. If the Founding Fathers had been less able statesmen, our fledgling nation might have disintegrated into 13 rival countries. Or it could have fallen apart in the 1860s, when the country ripped itself to shreds over the great flaw in ourConstitution: its allowance of slavery in thelandofthe free and the home of thebrave. That flaw could well have proved fatal
Instead,we fixed it, at enormous cost In theyears since, we have repaired many other holes that appeared in the patchwork. The results have not been perfect, andthere will undoubtedly be more patching to be done in thefuture. Butit’slasted longer than it had any right to, and it remainsa hell of abirthright. Such inheritances do not last unless they are tended to. Youcan’tjust assume everything will hold together Youhavetobewilling to do someofthe mending. Unfortunately,that’s gone out of style amongthe elites who are supposedto be knittingtogether this improbable nation.Overthe past couple decades,
thepeople in charge of our great sensemaking institutions —academia, the media, entertainment and the arts —decided that their main job was pointing out where the holes were and demanding that everyone else get busy fixing them. An emerging counter-elite of populist upstarts decided that it was much morefun to rip new holes than to figure out the boring work of governing. Both groups tended to see their opponentsasmortal enemies, rather than fellow Americans. Both spent alot of time pointing out flaws in Americanstyle free market democracy and little time reflecting on how pleasant,prosperous and free their lives were under that same system. Andboth groups were implicitly assuming that the work of keeping America in one piece belonged to someoneelse. It doesn’tbelong to anyone else. It belongs to all of us and each of us. No American can afford to be alazy trust-funder,living off passive income. We have to be active stewards of our legacy Fortunately,that trust still has alot of capital left, and no damage has been done that cannot be repaired with alittle hard work. And we should getbusy MeganMcArdle is in on X, @asymmetricinfo.
The electionofTrump and amostly pliant RepublicanCongress created suchconsequences as attacksonObamacare and, more ominously,our democratic institutions. Democratscan offer aprettier set of consequences, but theycan only deliver them if they retake control.
The Democrats’ winning message should be:Elect us andwewill restore health care security.Eventhe temporary loss of it will hit home.Asanothergreat American,JoniMitchell, sang, “Don’titalways seem to go thatyou don’tknowwhatyou’ve gottill it’sgone?” Now,ifthe shutdown worked in avoiding even some pain, thatwould be an argument in favor.But it wasn’t.
Speaking forDemocrats who votedtoreopen the government, Maine Sen. Angus King, an independent, posedthe right question: “Does the shutdown further the goal of achieving some needed support for the extension of the taxcredits?” (He’s referring to credits that were temporarily increased during the pandemic,making coveragecheaper for millions.)
These senators come from the swing states of Nevada, Virginia,Pennsylvania, New Hampshire andMaine. They are keytoDemocratsobtaining andkeeping amajority in Congress. Without them, Democrats have no hope of obtaining real power.And without real power, their politicsare just performance. As noted, the shutdown did succeed in putting the specter of lost health coverage front andcenter. Thatmissionhas been accomplished. Trump’snow railing that Obamacare is a“scam” to getthe insurance companies filthy rich. Democrats should thank him for calling this revered benefita“scam.”
Assessing the dire situation at Dunkirk, Churchill chosenot to make aheroicyet suicidalstand. But he followed closely with his immortal “Weshall fight on the beaches” speech —a rally to the nationfor continued resistance.
The midterms arethe beaches thatDemocratsshould be storming.
Froma Harrop is on X, @FromaHarrop. Email her at fharrop@gmail.com
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE
Miniature American flags flutter in windgusts across the National Mall near the Capitol in Washington, D.C.
ega McArdle M n
Froma Harrop
Byron York
Baton Rouge, LA -Anita Keating McAdams passed away on December 1, 2025 at the age of 83. She was born on October 8, 1942 in Covington, LA and graduated from Southeastern Louisiana University. She spent the majority of her career as the Dietitian at Zachary HighSchool where she retired from. Anita loved the outdoors, including gardening,fishing, and hunting, being known as an exceptional bow hunter. Anita was preceded in death by her parents, Klea Mae and Victor Keating, brother Felix Keating, and her loving husband of more than 52 years, Barney McAdams. She is survived by her sons Brent McAdams, and Brian McAdams(Laurey), sister Paulette Jenkins (Bobby), andbrother Terry Keating (Pam). Anita's life was a testament to her loving nature and unwaveringdedication to those she cherished the most. She willbe deeply missed by all that knew her. Visitation will be held on Friday, December 5from 9 am to 11 am at Central Funeral Home located at 9995 Hooper Rd.,Baton Rouge, LA 70818 withreligious services at 11am. Burial will follow the religious servicesatZoar Baptist Church located at 11848 Hooper Rd., Baton Rouge, LA 70818. In lieu of flowers, the familyrequests donations be made to thecharity of your choice.
Linda GailMichel passed awayather residenceinGonzales on December 1, 2025,atthe age of 76. She is survived by her husband of 60 years, Melvin Joseph"PoBoy" Michel, sons, Lyle J. Michel (Stephanie) and Rick C. Michel (Claire),grandchildren, Emily (Billie) Michel Erin Michel, AustinMichel, Alissa Michel,and Alden Michel, brothers, Norman Charles Arnold,Jr. (Jan), and LeoArnold(Kathleen) and numerous niecesand nephews. She is precededindeath by herparents, VelmaMae JarreauArnoldand Norman C.Arnold, Sr. The family would like to thank Pinnacle Hospice of Baton Rouge for alltheir care and support. Visitation willbeSaturday,December 6, 2025,at Ascension Funeral Home in Gonzalesfrom10:00 am until 12:00pm. In lieuofflowersdonationsmay be made to St JudeChildren's Research Hospital at www.stjude.org.
RamosSr., Ricardo
Ricardo Ramos, Sr.81. of Boerne, Texas passed away on November 26, 2025. BornAugust 20, 1944, in Port Arthur,Texas, precededindeath by hisparents CeliaCasteñeda, JamesAcosta,Sr.,and Jesse Ramos; hisdaughter, Claudia Ramos; and his sister,CamillaRichard. He is survivedbyhis wife, Ana Ramos; his childrenRebecca, Ricardo Jr.,
Robert (Lori), Regina (Scott), Jobie, Ramon, and Rodrigo (Ronika);16 grandchildrenand 7greatgrandchildren; and siblings Claudia (Terrance), JamesJr.,and Clarissa.
Ricardo proudlyserved as aSergeant in theUnited States Marine Corpsduring the Vietnam War. After his honorable discharge, he workedfor ExxonMobil Chemical Refinery in Baton Rouge, retiring in 2000. He loveddancing, was aMasterScuba Instructor spearfishing, and a Shotokon Black Belt. He also served in theMarine Corps League, Eastex Detachment, including three years as Commandant.
Afuneral service willbe held at McNuttFuneral Home in Conroe,Texas, December 4, 2025, visitation at 1:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers,please donatetothe Marine CorpsLeague, Eastex Detachment #779, P.O. Box 523, Conroe, TX 77305.
Hislegacy liveson through thelovehegave and thememories his familywillforever cherish.
Margaret Mary Sigur, age64, passedaway peacefully on November 6, 2025, after courageously facing EarlyOnset Alzheimer'sDisease for more than seven years.
BornonMay 19, 1961, in NewOrleans, Louisiana, Margaret was thebeloved daughter of thelateLouis Earl Sigur, Jr.and Alicia Chisholm Sigur. She graduated fromSt. Joseph's Academy in 1979 and went on to earna degree in GeneralBusiness from Louisiana StateUniversityin1984. During her time at LSU, Margaret was aproud member of Chi Omegasorority, where she formed lifelong friendships andmemories Margaret willberemembered as adevoted sister, aunt,and friend whose kindness,strength, and vibrant spirit deeply touched everyone who
knew her. She is survivedbyher five sisters: AlicitaSigur Collins (Craig)ofHouston, TX; Caroline Sigur LeBas (Michael)ofBaton Rouge, LA;Anne Sigur Lovellof Baton Rouge,LA; Michele Sigur Boatwright (John House) of Corvallis, OR; and JenniferSigur Hinton (Jason)ofBaton Rouge, LA. Margaret'slife was a beautiful example of love, resilience, and grace. Her familyand friends willforever cherish her memory and thelight she brought intotheir lives. She is also survivedby tennieces and nephews: Nicholas Craig Collins, Sarah CatherineCollins, KatelynMurphyHodges (Scott), William Foster Murphy (Meagan), Hunter James Lovell,Brennan Paul Lovell,Andrew Jerome Boatwright, Ashlyn Maria Boatwright,Briggs Nathan Hinton, and Stratton Lee Hinton. Margaretwas preceded in death by her parentsand her brother-inlaw, Paul Breaux Lovell Margaret devoted nearly 20 years of herreal estate career to Trizec-Hahn, whereshe served as Vice President and Office Landlord Representative, later continuingher work with BrookfieldProperties following itsacquisitionof thefirm. Complemented by her rich Cuban-French heritage, Southern Louisiana hospitality, and boundless energy, she left an indeliblemark on herindustry and in theheartsofmany leasing colleagues—many of whom became lifelong friends.
Margaret lovedthe greatoutdoorsand embracedevery adventure it offered.She found joyin fishing, skiing,swimming, and participating in the MS150 bike ride.Her zest for life,warmth,and laughterwillbefondly remembered by allwho had the privilege of knowing her.
AFuneral Mass to celebrateMargaret'slifewas held on Friday, November 21, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. at St. Michael theArchangel CatholicChurch, 1801 Sage Road,Houston, Texas 77056.
AFuneral Mass to celebrateMargaret'slifeinBatonRouge willbeheldon Friday, December 5, 2025, at 11:00 am at St.Aloysius CatholicChurch, 2025 Stuart Avenue,Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70808 with avisitation beginning at 9:30 am. AGravesideService willfollow at Greenoaks
Memorial Park, 9595 Florida Blvd., Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70815. Thefamilywishes to expresstheir deepestgratitude to Dr.PhilipBlum and hisstaff at PatientCenteredNeurology, Vitas Hospice,and her24/7caregiversfrom SHS—Nicolette,Elizabeth,Ozzie,and Remi—for theexceptional care andcompassion they providedoverthe last five years of herlife. In lieu of flowers, donationscan be made in Margaret's memory to https://www.alz.org/ Woods, Latanya (Wallace) Thomas,Jermaine (Tamerria) Woodson, andGilbert Woodson; 13 grandchildren;and 34 great-grandchildren. Sheisalso survivedbyher sistersMary FieldsAlexis, Barbara FieldsQuincy, Betty Fields, andDarleneFields; her brothers Horace Antoine, IsadoreFieldsJr., Willie Fields, Donald Fields, Tony James, Joseph Williams, andKerry Mason; herspecial cousin Wilson"Frog" Fields; and ahostofother relativesand friends who will forever hold herin theirhearts. Shewas precededindeathbyher lovinghusband, John Henry Woodson; herparents; her daughterRosie Carlette Woodson Dunn;her granddaughterLakoya Tarshae Kelly; hersister Geraldine FieldsPorter; andher brotherKelvin"PawPaw" Mason. Visitation will be held on Friday, December 5, 2025, at Hall'sCelebration Center, 9348 Scenic Hwy., from 10:00 a.m. until theFuneral Service at 11:00 a.m. Entombment:Heavenly Gates Cemetery of Baton Rouge.ServicesEntrusted to: Hall Davis andSon FuneralService
Pastor ShirleyFields Woodson, age 82, departed this earthly life on Monday, November 24, 2025. She wasborninWalls, Louisiana, to thelate Isadore"Rabbit" Fields and RosieRileyFields. A devoted servant of God, Shirleyfaithfully ledJesus theDoorMinistries Church of theLiving God as Pastor touching countless lives throughher ministry, compassion,and unwavering faith. Sheleaves to cherish hermemory herbeloved children: Jacqueline (Lee)
DEATHS continued from Michel, Linda Gail
McAdams, Anita Keating
Woodson, Shirley Fields
Sigur, Margaret Mary
EA RLYS IG NI NG PE RI OD
Wild signing daygood startfor
OK, now it truly hitshome as to how untenable the calendar is in collegefootball Whether you think Lane Kiffin should have left Ole Miss for LSU with the Rebels on the vergeofa College Football Playoff appearance or not, the reality is that he is at LSU now.At LSUtrying to form hiscoaching staff andpiece together aquality recruiting class as much as possible within the threeday early signing window that opened Wednesday
Scott Rabalais
If it all smacksof crisis management, it is.Itis, to borrow aline from Apollo 13 after the explosion in outer space, “a badway to fly.”And unfair to all concerned
But back to signing day.Kiffinleft Oxford for Baton Rougebecause he thought LSU would beabetterplace in the seasons to come even though Ole Miss is better rightnow
How much better he andLSU can make this coming season hinges on how they do with this high school recruiting class and into the transfer portal.
ä See RABALAIS, page 2C
LSUlands 11 at startofsigning period,but more commitmentsnot all-in
BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer
It hasn’tbeen anormal recruiting cycle for LSU.Far from it, to say theleast
The Tigers signed 11 playersonWednesday,the opening of theearly signing period for the2026 class, but that news wasonly thetip of theiceberg.
Five LSU commitments decided to hold off on puttingpen to paperwith theTigersonWednesday. The most notable among those recruitsis five-star University High defensivelineman Lamar Brown, theNo. 2 player in thenation, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings Brown, who declined to comment on thesituation when approached by The Advocate on Wednesday, was expected to be thecrown jewel of LSU’sclass. TheU-High star hasbeen committed to theTigerssince July,but Brown’s agent told On3Sports on Tuesday night that he andLSU’sother five-star commitment, defensive lineman Richard Anderson, would not signwith LSU during the earlysigning period.
BYCHRISTOPHER DABE Staff writer
When all was said and done, Richard Anderson stood before apurple and gold backdrop with an LSU hat atop hishead, just as the five-star defensive lineman from Edna Karr had planned formore than ayear
Only the recent coaching changethat brought Lane KiffinfromOle MisstoLSU causedthe 6-foot-4, 340-pound defensive line standout to have second thoughts about his decision to sign with LSU.Andersonisa five-star by mostmajor recruiting services.
“I’lllet coach Kiffinshare that message because he’s thehead coach at LSU,” Brown said. “For us, ourthing was to make sure that our player,our student was in the best position possible.”
Athree-time all-District 9-5A selection with multiple all-state honors amonghis accolades, Anderson will conclude his high school career with more than200 tackles and20tackles for lossalong with six forced fumbles during his three seasons on the Karr varsity team.
ä See ANDERSON, page 2C
“It got alittlerocky toward the end with the signing date,” Anderson said, adding that “I was just in my head alot.Atthe end of the day,Igot another game to go win, so I had to get it over with andstay home.” Anderson spokeTuesday nightwithKiffinand defensive coordinator BlakeBaker, he said Wednesday,and that conversation solidified his long-held choice of LSU. “It was good,” Anderson saidofthe talk with Kiffin. “I was like, I’m staying home. No better place than LSU.” Karr coach BriceBrown said Kiffinlisted thepotential coaches Anderson could have at his position once he arrives in Baton Rouge
LSUonWednesdayatEdna
It gota little rockytoward theend with the signing date. I wasjust in my head alot. At the end of theday,I gotanother game to go win, so I had to getitover withand stay home.”
RICHARD ANDERSON, Edna Karr defensivelineman
STAFFPHOTO By CHRISTOPHER DABE
Richard Anderson is surrounded by Edna Karr footballplayers and family as he signs with
Karr High School
CB Havon
THE RUNDOWN
Sizing up theTigers’ Classof2026(so far)
Alook at howthe LSU football program fared on the first day of the early signing period
HOWMANY PLAYERS
DID LSU SIGN?
Eleven, withatleast ahandful expected to followsuit. LSU had 15 recruits committed to its 2026 class when it hired coach Lane Kiffin. Since then, three left the group and four joined, giving the Tigers 16 verbal pledges ahead of the startofthe early signing period. LSU is still waiting for five of those players to sign —and three of those five are top-100 recruits, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. Somecould send in their paperwork by the end of the week. Others could wait until February. What’s important to note is that the class, likemanythings in and aroundthe program right now, is still awork in progress.
TOPTIGER
Brown
It’simportant —essential, really —that LSU gets asignature from Lamar Brown. If he signs with the Tigers, which he did not do Wednesday, then he’ll enroll as one of the most highly rated recruits LSU ever has landed. BrownisaUniversity High defensivelineman and the No. 2overall playerinthe 2026 class. On3 reported Tuesday that both Brown and five-star recruit and Edna Karrdefensive lineman Richard Anderson were waiting until Kiffin finalized his staff to sign, but Anderson reversed course and put pen to paper Wednesday.The Tigers are hoping that Brown will follow suit.
KEEP AN EYE ON
BlakeBaker,the young energetic LSU defensive coordinator.Kiffinwants to keep him on staff, but he couldsoon accept ahead coaching job.He interviewedfor the Tulane gig on Monday. Baker represents the domino that needs to fall before Kiffincan startassembling his defensivestaff —something ahandful of recruits want to see him do before theysign on the dotted line.Top-100 edge rusher Trenton Henderson did not sign Wednesday. Neither did top-100 defensivelineman Deuce Geralds, whosaid Wednesdaythat he’dsubmit his paperwork Friday.
WORK LEFT TO DO
Duckworth
Most of Kiffin’soffensivestaff is alreadyinplace, and that group of coaches is reportedly trying to makelastminute pushes to flip recruits whoaren’t committed to LSU or Ole Miss. Rivals recruiting expertSteve Wilfong,for instance, predicted Wednesdaythat four-star quarterback Landon Duckworth would flip his pledgefrom SouthCarolinatoLSU.Kiffinis alsoreportedly making arun at four-star Mississippi wide receiver and Auburnpledge
Jase Mathews, whotold Rivals on Wednesdaythat the Tigers and Rebels are trying to swoop in and add him to their classes at the last minute. He will sign on Friday.
—ReedDarcey
RABALAIS
Continued from page1C
If you factor in all of thesignings andcommitments, theTigers currently havea small but quality class of 16 highschool prospects in total. In the overall On3.com rankings, which take into account rankingsfrom other sites, LSUis arespectable 10th
However,based on theaverage ranking of the Tigers’ prospects, LSUis No. 1. Which metric you putthe most stock in is up to you. But thefact that LSU is No. 1accordingtoany sort of recruiting yardstick is remarkable consideringthe upheavalofthe past six weeks, starting Oct. 26 with Brian Kelly’s firing. It was awild 48 hours, theday leading up to the startofthe signingperiodand after. By nightfall Wednesday, LSUhad announced 10 prospects signed —though that numberdidn’tinclude the nation’sNo. 1defensivetackle, RichardAnderson of Edna Karr Anderson told reporters that he signed with LSU after areassuringtalk with Kiffinand defensive coordinator BlakeBaker Baker’sfuture, and that of members of his defensive staff, is amajor wild card in all of this. It’scertainly one of the factors thatkept one of the nation’stop prospects, University High defensive linemanLamar Brown, from sending LSU his signature Wednesday Kiffinreportedly wants to keep Bakeronstaff, but there are reportsout there that he’sbeing courted for the headcoaching jobsatTulane, his almamater, andMemphis. Then there’sthe future of Frank Wilson, theinterim LSU coach and longtime running backs coachunder Kelly AndtiedtoBaker’sfuturemay be that of popular defensive backs coach Corey Raymond. There were early reports Wednesdaythat Tigers commitment Havon Finney,afour-star cornerback from California, was going to delay signing with LSUlike Brown did, ostensibly because there is no clear wordon Raymond’sstatus. However,Finney sent in his
LSU
Continued from page1C
Anderson ended up reversing course Wednesday,announcing thathewould put pen to paper with LSU. Although LSU hasnot officially announced the signing as of 5p.m.Wednesday,Anderson is the No. 29 player in thenation and the No.2 recruit in Louisianaand is theNo. 11 person in the LSU class to supposedlysignWednesday “I talked to Lane Kiffin(last) night,” Andersontoldreporters after his announcement. “Itwas good. So Iwas like, ‘I’m staying home.’
Andersonsaidthat he had spoken with Brown before signing, addingthathewas the first person whoknew that Anderson officially would signwith LSU. However,he didn’tknow about Brown’sstatus as apotential signee as of midday Wednesday.
“He said he was going to hit me back later,” Anderson said in an interview with The Advocate.
Thedelayfor most of LSU’s unsignedcommitments has to do with the uncertainty that clouds LSU’sdefensive staffand interim headcoach/running backs coach Frank Wilson’s future with the program.
Wilson, who hasdeveloped a strong relationship withBrown is also theLSU recruiting coordinator.Along with Wilson, secondary coach Corey Raymond and defensivecoordinator Blake Baker have played abig role in recruiting Brown and LSU’s other remaining unsigned commitments.
LSUwouldliketoretainBaker, but he also has interviewed with Tulaneand Memphis for their open head coaching jobs, according to WVUE-TV.IfBaker were to stayat LSU, that could clarify Raymond’s future on the staff.
As for Wilson, he worked under KiffinatTennessee andmet with the new LSU coach Sunday.However,there has been no clear indication as to whether he’ll have a position on Kiffin’srevampedof-
ANDERSON
Continued from page1C
The top-seeded Cougars will face Catholic-Baton Rouge in an LHSAADivision Iselect semifinal
paperwork Wednesday afternoon. Does this mean Raymondhas a solidified spot on Kiffin’sretooled staff? Has Kiffinsold Finney on thenext defensive backs coach to enter the building?
As Itold you, it’sbeen wild.
The wildness may continue through Friday,asLSU hopes to finally land Brown and continues (as of this writing) to work on flipping four-star quarterback Landon Duckworthaway from SouthCarolina. LSU’srecruiting class is heavy on defensive linemen,especially if Brown eventually signs as expected, but thin on quarterbacks. As in zero tothis point.Whether LSUsigns Duckworth or not, it probably needs a quarterback from the high school
ranks and thetransfer portal in this recruiting cycle.
Significantly,LSU did nothold anews conference Wednesday with either KiffinorWilson, as theschool normally would to hype up the day’ssignees. By theway,remember that Kiffin saidMonday thatWilson would continue to lead this team on the field through whatever bowl game theTigers play in.
As much as Iamaproponent professionally of full disclosure at all times, Iget it personally Either KiffinorWilson would have gotten peppered with alot of non-recruiting questions; Kiffinabout the coaching staff and Wilson about his status with LSU going forward.
LSU RECRUITING CLASS OF 2026
PLAYER POS. HT.WT. HOMETOWN(SCHOOL)RATING
Richard Anderson DL 6-4 340New Orleans (Edna Karr) HHHHH
Brysten Martinez OT 6-5 300Gonzales (EastAscension) HHHH
HavonFinneyCB6-2 170 Chastworth, Ca. (Sierra Canyon) HHHH
“(Frankand I) spent alot of time together in the last 24 hoursas I’ve been here,” Kiffinsaid during his introductory news conference on Monday.“There’s alot of complicated moving parts(with the coaching staff),but we’ll definitely have that answer for you soon.” LSU commitments besides Brownwho haveyet to sign include four-star defensive lineman Deuce Geralds, four-star edge rusherTrenton Henderson, four-star offensive tackle Bryson Cooley andfour-star safetyDylan Purter Henderson and Purter plan to sign on Thursday,but On3 Sportshas reported that Purter is expectedto flip hispledge to Florida and sign withthe Gators instead. Geralds andCooley are scheduledtosignonFriday, per On3. The recruiting website also hasreportedthatAlabama and Ole Miss are working to flip Cooley’spledge, and Georgia Tech andOle Missare attempting to do the same with Geralds. Even beforeWednesday, LSU hadlost commitments frommultiple recruits, including four-star wide receiverKenny Darby, threestar wideoutKervin Johnson and three-staroffensive lineman Jalan Chapman. On the surface, losing so many commitments would signal arough start to Kiffin’stenure in Baton Rouge. On the flip side, new opportunities to add recruits have come as aresult of him and his new staff jumpingonboard. One of thebiggestpotential addi-
on Friday in Algiers as they seek a return trip to thestate championship in theCaesars Superdome. Andersondominated the state final last season with sixtackles behind the line of scrimmageina 53-8 victory over Alexandria. Andersonwas partofa15-play-
STAFFPHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER
Edna Karrdefensivelineman
Richard Anderson holds the ball during agame against John Curtis on Oct. 31 at the Shrine on Airline in Metairie. Anderson signed with LSU on Wednesday.
tions is four-star quarterback Landon Duckworth, who is the No. 10 quarterback in thenation. On3 has predicted that he will flip his pledge to LSU,becoming the first high school quarterback LSU hassigned since Colin Hurley in the2024 class. LSU still has Hurley and sophomore Michael VanBureneligible to returnatthe position next season, but Duckworth would be Kiffin’s first bigmove at apositionof need for the Tigers.
er signing class fromKarr, which celebrated those signings before a backdrop that included the purple and gold school colors. SafetyAiden Hall, another LSU commitment, was among those signees. For Hall, with more than 100 ca-
Both probably would have been short on answers. Wednesdaywas astart for LSU andKiffin, apromising start. But there is muchwork to do with the start of the transfer window amonth from nowand in the spring signing period. There is simply very little way to predictwho will be on the rosterin2026. Time, whichisin short supply,iswhat Kiffinand LSU need as much as anything. Time to figure outwho will coach andwho theywill be coaching come next season
For more LSUsports updates, signupfor ournewsletter at theadvocate.com/lsunewsletter
Another major domino that could fall LSU’s wayisfour-star wide receiverJase Matthews. TheNo. 13 wide receiver in the nation and a five-star recruit in On3’srankings, Matthewsiscommitted to Auburn buthas decidednot to sign until Friday in large part because of interest from LSU and Ole Miss. On3 also hasmentioned LSUas ateam in the mixto flip the pledge of Ohio State four-star wide receiver Jerquaden Guilford, who had showninterest in KiffinatOle Miss before making his pledge to the Buckeyes. He is the No. 22 wide receiver in the nation and the No. 1recruit in Indiana.
Kiffinand hisnew staffalready have flippedpledgesfromfour recruits, allofwhomsignedon Wednesday.Four-star wide receiver Corey Barber,four-star tight end JC Anderson and threestar offensive linemanRyan Miret were committedtoKiffin at Ole Miss before making the switch to LSU.
The new staffalso gained acommitment from four-starwide receiver Brayden Allen, aprospect at Lafayette Christian who originally pledged to Oklahoma.
Joining the latest additions to the class as signees weresix recruits who hadalreadybeen committedtoLSU under the previous regime.The Tigers signedfourstar offensivelineman Brysten Martinez, four-starcornerback Havon Finney,four-star safety Aiden Hall, four-starwide receiver Jabari Mack, four-star cornerback Dez Ellis andfour-star safety Isaiah Washington. On Monday,Kiffindidn’tmake any promises as to what his first recruiting class at LSU would shape into, only guaranteeing that LSUwould try to sign thebest class possible Wednesday As it turns out, LSU fans will have to waituntil at least Friday to see the final results.
“(The recruiting class) wasthe number one priority andisthe numberone priorityright now,” Kiffinsaid. “We’re on that.”
Email Koki Rileyat koki.riley@theadvocate.com.
reer tackles, seven interceptions and three touchdowns, the decision wasmadeeasier by thefact that he “wasn’tcommittedtoacoach,” he said. “I was committed to aschool.” Contact ChristopherDabe at cdabe@theadvocate.com
STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
NewLSU football coach Lane Kiffingives an opening statement at an introductorynewsconferenceon
MondayatTiger Stadium
WR Mack ‘never wavered’
Destrehan four-star prospect stuck with LSU amid coaching change to Kiffin
BY SPENCER URQUHART
Staff writer
Jabari Mack never doubted he would sign with LSU despite a coaching change that caused a shakeup in the Tigers’ early signing class
The Destrehan four-star wide receiver was one of 11 players to sign with LSU on Wednesday, the first day of the early signing period. Some LSU commitments, such as University High five-star recruit Lamar Brown, delayed signing as new LSU coach Lane Kiffin finalized his coaching staff, but there was no hesitation from Mack
The 6-foot, 200-pound Mack, who also played wildcat quarterback and on defense, committed to LSU in March and was the first player to sign with the Tigers on Wednesday morning.
“For me, it was about loyalty,” Mack said. “LSU is always an outstanding program no matter who’s coaching. My commitment never wavered. (The coaching change) never made me want to change my decision because I knew LSU was going to hire a great coach.”
The versatile Mack projects as a wide receiver at LSU and could also make a contribution in the return game. Before signing, Mack spoke with Kiffin about his potential role with the Tigers.
“(Kiffin) is a crazy offensive mind,” Mack said. “That’s really exciting for me because I know I’m going to get the ball in my hands. His message to me was that he wants me, and he feels like I’m going to be a great asset to the team.”
Mack, who had offers from Alabama, Texas and several others, finished with more than 1,000 yards from scrimmage as a junior and recorded an interception in Week 1 of his senior year that he returned the length of the field for a touchdown.
Destrehan’s Jabari Mack leaps over Hahnville’s Xavier Champagne on Nov. 1, 2024, in Destrehan.
Mack said he will enroll early at LSU and will continue the tradition of Destrehan football stars playing at LSU. That list includes Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson “There’s no doubt that (Mack) will go out and contribute in different ways to (LSU),” Destrehan coach Marcus Scott said. “Guys that played (at Destrehan) before always reach back and offer advice to the younger players.”
Other Destrehan signees
Destrehan quarterback Jackson Fields, cornerback Damien Richard and offensive lineman Earl Collins joined Mack as Division I football signees on Wednesday Fields signed with Incarnate Word after committing this summer A three-year starter, Fields drew attention after a long throw to Mack during Destrehan’s spring
Most agree college football calendar needs an overhaul
BY MARK LONG AP sportswriter
Lane Kiffin’s awkward and angstfilled departure from Ole Miss will happen again.
It’s inevitable unless college administrators and football coaches agree to reimagine an imperfect calendar that has been a mess for decades. Under the current format, national signing day happens during conference championship week, the transfer portal opens during the College Football Playoff and some coaches are secretly interviewing for other jobs before Halloween.
Clunky and clumsy at best. Chaotic and conflicted might be more accurate.
No one has an ideal solution. Even the thought of adopting an NFL-like format seems flawed
“You want the best idea? Blow it up and start from scratch,” UNLV coach Dan Mullen said. “It’s a shame you’re going to lose a lot of things that are great in college football, but you already have.”
Three Southeastern Conference programs — Florida, LSU and Ole Miss courted Kiffin for weeks before he finally picked the Tigers and left the other two fanbases in emotional shambles. The Gators pivoted to Tulane coach Jon Sumrall; the Rebels stayed in-house and promoted defensive coordinator Pete Golding.
Florida and Ole Miss were left trying to convince themselves they’re better off without Kiffin.
Anyone who has witnessed his messy exits from basically every job he’s held might not have needed much convincing.
was moved last year from the third to the first Wednesday in December
Even in an era of the quick fix through the transfer portal, football teams need high school athletes to build out rosters. What happens when things go bad? Take a look at Penn State, which fired its coach in October but has yet to hire a replacement. The Nittany Lions have lost dozens of commitments in recent days, have locked down just a handful of signees, all of which has prominent boosters demanding answers.
Finishing it out
A handful of Power Four schools hired Group of Five head coaches and allowed them to remain in place even though it made for a trickier signing day
Kiffin, meanwhile, said he wanted to coach the Rebels through the CFP but was told no thanks; Ole Miss officials surely didn’t want him having daily contact with players who could follow him to Baton Rouge.
“Somebody’s got to get all this stuff under control,” said new Oklahoma State coach Eric Morris, who is remaining with North Texas through the season. “Just makes no sense at any level that we’re sitting here talking about people that are going to be in the College Football Playoff, a team and their coach isn’t going to be there to help them get through the whole entire season.
“It’s not sustainable. There are so many things that are not sustainable right now in what we’re doing.”
A moving target
bowl games had been played and a national champion had been crowned.
But coaches grew tired of having to continuously court high school kids during the football season and wanted a chance to lock them up long before February In response, the NCAA delivered an early signing period in 2017.
That worked well for a while.
But with the CFP expanding the postseason and stretching games well into January, the early signing period started to muddy the calendar
It prompts ADs to fire struggling coaches in the middle of the season to get a jump on their search for a replacement, and the transfer portal made roster management even messier
“It’s a game of musical chairs, and we all know what happens to the guy who doesn’t get a seat,”
Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin said.
Stricklin has a solution, or at least a working theory of something that might work. His idea includes eliminating spring practice, moving signing day back to February, opening the transfer portal between March and April, and mandating that only players who were with a team last season can take part in offseason conditioning programs. And then newcomers would be allowed to join for summer workouts that would include the 15 practices normally held in the spring.
“Coaches don’t want to hear that because they think, ‘Oh my gosh, I’ve got to have eight months before I kick the ball off with these kids,’ ” Stricklin said.
game this year against Karr got millions of social media views.
“(Fields) has played a ton of snaps in some very big games,” Scott said.
“He won’t be rattled and will be able to keep his composure under pressure and perform. (Incarnate Word) is getting a very cerebral player and are also getting a kid that will outwork everyone around him.”
Richard signed with Louisiana
Tech, where he is projected to play cornerback.
Collins signed with Alabama A&M. His younger brother Jordan Collins is getting attention as a Class of 2028 recruit.
“It’s always good when kids get their opportunity to take their talents to the next level,” Scott said. “It speaks volumes to the support that they receive from their families, the community and their teammates.”
Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire had a different suggestion He wants to start the season a week earlier than usual, play conference title games over Thanksgiving weekend and play postseason games every seven days.
“You could play the national championship on January 1st and then the portal would open on January 2nd so the season would actually be over,” he said. “Until you do that, we’re still going to have this.” NFL-style calendar?
“They can get in the transfer portal, but they’ve got to go somewhere else; they can’t follow you,” he said. “Until there’s some penalties in that, we’re going to get the same thing over and over.” And it will lead to more Kiffinlike exits and fanbase excitability
But the real villain is a college football calendar that essentially forces teams to scramble to get coaches in place before signing day for high school recruits, which
Since the early 1980s, the muchanticipated — often overhyped — signing day had been in early February It seemed perfectly placed, set weeks after the last
“The football schedules combined with the semester structure, and the idea that everybody wants their teams put together in January, unless we fix that it’s never going to work.”
There has been rampant talk about college football adopting an NFL-style calendar, which would mean coaching movement after the season in January and February, player movement in March and then team workouts after And there are penalties for tampering with coaches and players under contract. McGuire said colleges should consider something similar He offered that teams who hire coaches who leave other teams in the middle of a playoff run — much like Kiffin did at Ole Miss — would be ineligible for the CFP the following year He added that those coaches making a jump would not be allowed to bring players with them.
“Does anybody have a perfect solution? No,” Mullen said. “Here’s why: There are 136 Division I teams. There’s a lot of different conferences. Every one of those 136 teams operates on a different schedule. I know it’s like, ‘Hey, let’s look at a pro model.’” Maybe the biggest problem with the pro model is that, even though college sports look more like the pros every day, there is still school and a school calendar involved.
“Then let’s go to every president and every chancellor and say, ‘If you’re a Division I school, classes start on this day and end on that day.’ That’s a way to fix it because then you can really set the calendar But it’s hard when some people are on quarters, some people are on trimester, some are on semester When everybody’s working on a different calendar, it’s hard to come up with the exact thing.” More angst-filled coaching changes inevitable under current slate
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By CHRIS WATKINS New Florida coach Jon Sumrall speaks during a news conference Monday in Gainesville, Fla. Sumrall will coach Tulane in the American Conference championship game on Saturday and would also coach the Green Wave if it reaches the College Football Playoff.
STAFF FILE PHOTO By BRETT DUKE
From Bear to Buckeye
Bradford leadsCatholicathletessigning with colleges
BY JACKSON REYES Staff writer
Five Catholic High student-athletes made their college choices official on Wednesday,the first day of the early signing period.
Bears safety Blaine Bradford, the No. 3-ranked player in the state, signed with Ohio State. Blaise Thomassie, athree-star offensive lineman, signed withStanford and linebacker Harrison Kidder signed with UL.
In baseball, pitcher Lucas Lawrence signed to play for OleMiss. Pitcher Mills Richardson signed with Southeastern Louisana.
Bradford aBuckeye
Bradford called it ajoyousmoment to sign with reigningnational champion Ohio Stateinfront of friends and family
He said his choice to play for Ohio State came down to hisvalues. The Buckeyes stood outwhen Bradford weighed the prosand cons of each school.
Bradford, a6-foot-1, 207-pounder,said the Buckeyes are gettinga physical player.
“They’re getting agreat leader,” he said. “They’re getting aculture (-changing) type of player,somebody who’sgoing to make abig difference.”
He saidhis relationship with Ohio State coach Ryan Day is great. Every time Bradford visits, they talk.
“He’sone of the people in college coaching who’srare,”Bradford said. “Wehave areally good connection.”
Bradford said he’d take alot from his time with Catholic tothe next level.
“The love, the respect of people,” Bradford said. “Thelovefrom God,how people can really love youthrough sport, communication skills, the list can go on and on.”
Thomassieready to work
Thomassie described signing a letter of intent with Stanford unbelievable.
“A lotofworkhas been going into this,” he said. “I’m really just excited to putpen to paper and have it done.”
Theelite level of academics and athleticsatStanford stood out to Thomassie. He said former Stanford and NFL great Andrew Luck, who serves as the football team’s general manager,drew him to the school. He’salso excited about new coach Tavita Pritchard.
“I believeinAndrew Luck,” he said. “The guys we’re bringing in; we brought22 guys in today. We’re on theupfor sure.”
Thomassie saidhe’stexted with Pritchardalittle bitand was supposed talkwith him Wednesday night
“I think Imissed him actually, while we were signing,” Thomassie said, “but I’m going to get on the phone with him.I’m really excited to talk to him.”
Thomassie said Stanfordisgetting an exciting player
“I’m aphysical, down-Southlineman,” Thomassie said. “I’m really athletic.I can make abig difference there early.”
Kidder signswithUL
Throughout his recruiting process, Kidder said the coaching staff at UL stood out.
“I really love the coaches there,” he said.“Theyreally made me feel
appreciated.”
Kidder saidthe Cajuns aregetting aplayer who flies around the field on defense.
“Just trying to make every play possible, and just never quit,” Kidder said. “Just ahard hitter.”
Richardson signswithSLU Richardsonwas thrilledtosign with theLionsbaseballprogram. He said he’sworked hard to reach this moment.
He creditedCatholic baseball coach Brad Basswith helping him develop and becomethe player he is.
Richardsonadded thatSoutheastern Louisiana is getting a pitcher who’sgoingtocontinue to workhard and become thebest player he can be.
Lawrence readyfor OleMiss
After making his choice of Ole Miss official, Lawrence was ecstatic.
“I’m feeling over the moon right now,”Lawrence said. “Getting to go to aprogramlike Ole Miss finally seals thedeal. Feels great.”
The culture of theschool and the coaches stood out to the pitcher Lawrence saidhefeltareal connection with theRebels’pitching coach Joel Mangrum.
The success of OleMissand the opportunity to play in theSEC werealso reasons Lawrence chose to sign withthe Rebels. He loves to takeonany challenge, and he said playing for OleMiss offered him that chance.
“They’re getting aguy who’s ready tocompete at any moment,” Lawrence said. “I’m ready to go after thebest of thebest at any time.”
Blue-chipcollege prospects make some surprising choices
BY STEVE MEGARGEE AP sportswriter
The changinglandscape of college football means the nation’s premier recruits are no longer signing with the same handful of programs.
That became particularly apparent this week when thenation’s top-ranked prospect landedin Vanderbilt of all places Vanderbilt parlayedthe first 10win season in school history into arecruiting coupwhen Nashville (Tennessee) Christian quarterback Jared Curtis decided to stay home and sign with the Commodores. Curtis is the No.1overall player in his class according to composite rankings of recruiting sitescompiled by 247Sports.
“Being here in Nashvilleand seeing what Vandy has been doing this season has been amazing, and over the past few weeks, Ifelt more and more that Iwanna be apart of that, to be close to home, to play in front of my familyand friends and to be what Ilovetobe, an underdog,” Curtis said Tuesday in an Xpost announcing his decision
Curtis had been committed to Georgia up untilthisweek. He instead is taking achance that he can help Vanderbilt continue to thrive after star quarterback DiegoPa-
via’s departure. “If you’re interested in inheriting success,ifyou’re interested in walkinginto atrophy case that’s already fulland ahallway full of NFL players on the walls, there are other programs where youcan do that,” Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea said Wednesday.“If you can walk these hallways and see your picture onthe wall and if you can look at an empty case and (see) the trophies that will go in there, if you want to put your signature on thesuccess, then this is the perfect place.”
Curtis’ decision wasn’t an aberration. Three of the 247Sports Composite’stop five prospects signed withhome-stateschools generally unaccustomedtoacquiring five-starrecruits Houston got the nation’sNo. 3 recruit by signing KeiseanHenderson of Legacy the School of SportSciencesinSpring, Texas. Edge rusher Zion Elee, rated fifth overall, is goingfrom Baltimore’s St.Frances Academy to Maryland.
That represents asea change from just five years ago, when seven of the 247Sports Composite’s top 10recruits signedwith either Ohio State or Alabama. “Thisiswhere collegefootball is at now,”saidAndrewIvins,the director of scouting at 247Sports.
Pair of Central football players
fulfill dreams
BY JACKSON REYES Staff writer
TwoCentral football players put pentopaper on Wednesday, the first day of the earlysigning period.
JaMichael Garrett, athree-star linebacker,signed with Ole Miss, while offensive lineman Graham Harris signedwithNorthwestern State.
‘That’smyguy’
Garrett’sinitialreaction to signing was relief. He saidhe’s been recruited since his freshman year
“It’sbeengood to find aprogramthat loves me, and Ilove them,”the 6-foot-1, 205-pound
Garrett said about Ole Miss.
“We’vegot good coaches anda good community.”
Garrett said newly appointed Rebels coach Pete Golding played akey role in his recruitment. He also hadoffersfrom Arkansas and Auburn, among others.
“Ever since then, he just constantlyrecruitedme,” Garrett said.
“He just mademefeel like I was at home.”
Garrett said the aspect about Ole Miss that excites him the most is the way Golding coaches andhow fast andphysical the Rebels’ defense plays. Golding was named head coach after the departure of LaneKiffin to LSU this past weekend. When Garrett saw the news that Golding would be elevated to head coach, he was delighted.
“I was like, ‘That’smyguy,’ ” Garrett said.
In his oneseason at Central, Garrett said the coaching staff helped shape him into aman.
He saidOle Misswill getaplayer who’sgoing to workhard.
“A leader that’sgoing to do anythinginthe world that makes sure theteam wins,” Garrett said, “and is going to do it the right way.”
HarristoNorthwesternState
Harris felt great after signing with the Demons.
“Just going from nothaving anything to nowbeing committed and just ready to go play at the next level,” said Harris, a6-2, 300-pounder
Northwestern State’scoaching staff andupward trajectory stood out to Harris. He said those twoaspects andthe newfacilities coming in madeitagreat timeto go there and continue developing as aplayer
The best part about signing for Harris is just continuing to play football.
He started games at Central as afreshman allthe way through his senior year with the Wildcats. He called histimewiththe school great andcredited coach David Simoneaux for his ability to connect with his players.
Harris said mental strength is the aspect he will take with him from Central to Northwestern State.
“Coach Simoneaux really knowshow to develop that,” Harrissaid. “Just bringing it on,not only to the next level, but in life.”
AREA FOOTBALL SIGNEES
POWER CONFERENCE SIGNEES/COMMITMENTS
BRYSTEN MARTINEZ
East Ascension (signed with LSU)
The No. 4-ranked playerinthe state and No. 10-ranked offensive tackle in the nation, according to 247Sports.The 6-foot-6, 300-pound tackle playedtight end this season and several snaps as the wildcat quarterback.
BLAINEBRADFORD
Catholic (signed with Ohio State) No. 3-ranked athlete in thestate and the No. 7-ranked safety in the country, Bradford (6-1, 207) is one of the four state athletes to be ranked in the top 100 overall in the nation, per 247Sports.
BLAISE THOMASSIE
Catholic (signed with Stanford) No. 25-ranked playerinthe state. The interior offensivelinemanis 6-4, 265 pounds. He is ranked No 62 at his position in the country by 247Sports.
JAMICHAEL GARRETT
Central (signed with Ole Miss)
“There has been a flattening of the curve.”
As college programs debate how to construct their rosters in an era of revenue sharing and determine how much to invest in the transfer portal, high school recruiting has become adifferenttype of game in whichblue-blood programs don’t have an exclusivehold on thenation’s top prospects.
“It parallels the NFL,” Ivins said. “Someschoolsaren’tgoing to want to tieup20% of their budget in a quarterback.They’re going to want to useitelsewhere. Everyone’strying to figure outhow to use their money.For programs that haven’thad aton of success, it’seasy to rally around aprogramchanging talent andmakethat investmentinhopes of breaking through.”
TheNo. 1spotinthe 247Sports Composite’steam rankings will go to either Southern California or Oregon, making thisthe first time since2008thathonor hasgoneto aschool from outside the Southeastern Conference. It could come down to thedecision of wide receiver Chris Henry (No. 10 in the 247SportsComposite),who had verbally committed to Ohio State but didn’tsign Wednesdayand was still considering bothOregon and USC.
The 6-1, 205-pound linebacker is the No. 12-ranked playerinthe state by 247Sports. Garretttransferred to Central from the state of Alabama.
TYRONE MORGAN
Woodlawn(signed with Baylor)
Morgan (6-4, 240) is the No.33 playerinthe state by 247Sports. Morgan playededgerusherfor the Panthers
JAVEN HOLMES
Madison Prep(signed with Houston)
The safety(6-1, 200) is theNo. 36-ranked playerinthe state. Holmes playedanintegral role in Madison Prep’srun to the playoff quarterfinals.
A6-4, 185 pound wide receiver. Washington tallied981 yards receiving this year and had 18 total touchdowns.
FCSSIGNEES/ COMMITMENTS
Lawson Dixon,University High WR (Southeastern Louisiana), Dylan Shelmire,ZacharyLB(Southeastern Louisiana), Keidrick Bailey,Zachary OL (Southeastern), Graham Harris, Central OL (Northwestern State), Cayden Randall,Woodlawn DB (Southeastern), Trevor Haman Dunham WR (McNeese), Sami Abdelhak,Southern Lab OL (McNeese), Hayden Ray,Denham SpringsTE(Southeastern), Miguel D’Angelo,Walker OL (McNeese), Patrick Gales,Brusly RB (signed withNicholls) JacksonReyes
Mugs, shirts, hats, posters,books.
Something for everyone at the Advocate Store!
STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK
Under the watchful eyes of parentsStacyBradford, left, and Erin Bradford, Blaine Bradford cracks asmile as he signs withOhio State on WednesdayatCatholic HighSchool.
SPORTS
Faulk’s philosophy
New Southern football coach lays out what to expect from him
BY TOYLOY BROWN III
Staff writer
Marshall Faulk’s job as Southern football coach got underway when he met the team about an hour after answering reporters’ questions.
The Pro Football Hall of Famer turned 22nd head coach of the Jaguars entered his first news conference Monday with great fanfare.
Southern football great Aeneas Williams, a fellow NFL Hall of Famer, spoke
glowingly about Faulk his former teammate Southern basketball legend Avery Johnson, a former NBA player and coach, did the same. Baton Rouge mayor-president Sid Edwards shook Faulk’s hand after he walked into the Leon R. Tarver II Cultural and Heritage Center to the horns and drums of the Human Jukebox and the cheers of the Southern faithful. When the celebratory welcome ended, Faulk answered questions about how he would fulfill his duties as Southern coach. Among the topics Faulk was quizzed
about was his coaching staff. Just as it would be for any coach, Faulk’s assistants will be crucial, especially as a firsttime head coach. He didn’t reveal any names, but he explained how far along he is in the process.
“Got a nice piece of it,” Faulk said. “We got to submit the names. They got to do the vetting. So pretty much 90% of the staff is put together already It’s just, we don’t want to release names, just in case
ä See FAULK, page 8C
Saints pleased with Shough’s footwork progress
BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer
The New Orleans Saints want
Tyler Shough to step up. But not in the way you think. For months, the Saints have worked on the rookie quarterback’s movement in and outside the pocket. They want him to step up, or climb, when edge rushers start to collapse the outside walls, keeping Shough safe. They want him to drift to extend plays. They want him to have a feel for when to take off and when to stay patient. All of this has been emphasized in practice, from the start of individual drills to even when Shough spent weeks running the scout team earlier in the season. Every team hammers home footwork for quarterbacks. But the time on task has been espe-
Saints at Buccaneers, NOON SUNDAy, CBS
cially crucial for Shough, the 40th overall pick who was dinged in the draft process by several analysts for having a poor reaction to oncoming pressure.
“Obviously, we drafted him high enough to think that’s not as big of an issue as maybe some people (did),” Saints quarterbacks coach Scott Tolzien said.
“I mean, that’s all I hear from the outside world
“So, that’s fine We’re just going to keep working at it.”
The Saints have been pleased with the progress.
Shough’s numbers under pressure this season haven’t been
LSU basketball remains unbeaten after OT win
BY TOYLOY BROWN III Staff writer
LSU’s second-half performance was unlike the composed 20 minutes it put together in the first half against Boston College. After leading by as many as 14 points in the first half, LSU found itself trailing by four points with 1:09 left in the game. But thanks to Dedan Thomas’ heroics, LSU survived an upset against Boston College, winning 78-69 in the ACC/SEC Challenge on Wednesday at Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. The contest was the first-ever meeting between the programs. This was the first true road game of the season for LSU (80) after it won its last two games in the Emerald Coast Classic in Florida on a neutral site. Thomas made his first field
goal of the second half with 52 seconds left in the game to cut LSU’s deficit to two points. After LSU stopped Boston College (45), Thomas went coast-to-coast for a clutch layup to tie the game at 61-61 and force overtime.
LSU’s first four points of the extra five-minute period came from Thomas. The Tigers took a 67-61 lead after a jump hook by Mike Nwoko with 3:20 left.
The team remained in control after Thomas set up Max Mackinnon for an open 3-pointer to take a 70-63 lead with 1:27 left.
The Tigers made all three of their field goals in overtime and made 10 of 10 free throws.
“We just went on the road, and in the second half of a game shot 9 of 34 from the floor, 26%, 1 of 11 from 3, 9%, and won the
ä See LSU MEN, page 7C
BY REED DARCEY Staff writer
A week-long layoff and five-hour
flight provided the LSU women’s basketball team some obstacles when it landed in a tropical locale the week of Thanksgiving.
Coach Kim Mulkey always expects to see some sloppiness on such trips.
But she didn’t see much on the most recent one, a two-game stint in which her Tigers picked up lopsided wins over Marist and Washington State to take their division of the Paradise Jam Tournament in the U.S. Virgin Islands. LSU rolled through those matchups Friday and Saturday, winning by a combined score of 225-88 and widening their NCAA-record streak to eight games of 100 or more points
“What I learned is what I’ve been knowing,” Mulkey told The Advocate on Friday “I’ve got a lot of talent. I’ve got a lot of weapons.”
Mulkey will learn more about the No. 5 Tigers (8-0) on Thursday when they face Duke on the road at 8 p.m. in an ACC/SEC Challenge matchup (ESPN). The game was supposed to be a battle between top-10 teams, but the Blue Devils — who were No. 7 in the preseason AP poll and the ACC coaches’ pick to win their league — have dropped five of their first eight contests and fallen out of the AP Top 25, taking away LSU’s only chance to play a ranked team before SEC play begins in January It’s still an important game for the Tigers. They need to prove that their record-setting start is more than a mirage, and that they can continue to follow in the footsteps of LSU’s 202223 national championship team. This season is starting to shake out just like that one did. In 2022, LSU had nine newcomers, a five-game streak of 100-point outings and a nonconference schedule without a ranked opponent.
Those Tigers, through their first eight contests, scored 98.3 points per game while shooting 52% from the field and 34% from 3-point range. They won by an average margin of 49.8 ppg, and they received an average of 26.1 ppg from their bench. They also scored 126.2 points per 100 possessions against all of their nonconference opponents, according to Her Hoop Stats data.
This LSU team is scoring 137.6 points per 100 possessions.
It’s putting up 112 ppg while shooting 56% from the field and 44% from 3-point range. The 2025-26 Tigers also have won their first eight games by an average margin of 59.8 points, and their bench is contributing 52.6 ppg. LSU leads Division I teams in all of those statistical categories And its defensive numbers look impressive, too.
The Tigers’ first eight opponents scored only 52.3 ppg, shot just 31% from the field and turned the ball over
STAFF PHOTO By BRETT DUKE
Saints quarterback Tyler Shough runs the ball against the Atlanta Falcons at the Caesars Superdome on Nov. 23.
STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
guard Mikaylah Williams drives
PHOTO By APRIL BUFFINGTON
New Southern football coach Marshall Faulk, left, shakes hands with Baton Rouge mayor-president Sid Edwards at a news conference held at the Leon R Tarver II Cultural and Heritage Center on Monday
STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK
LSU guard Dedan Thomas drives the ball down the court as Omaha guard Khamani Cooper defends on Nov. 21 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Thomas scored 23 points Wednesday against Boston College.
Sayin, Mendoza chase title, Heisman
BY MICHAEL MAROT AP sportswriter
INDIANAPOLIS Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin and Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza each have one prize in mind for their showdown this weekend in Indianapolis: a Big Ten championship.
It’s another one — Heisman Trophy winner that will consume most of next week’s debate.
The two first-year starters at their respective schools each played their way into frontrunner status by leading their teams to unbeaten regular seasons, posting outstanding numbers and delivering when the stakes have been highest. They get final chances to pad those Heisman resumes when No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Indiana square off in the Big Ten Championship Game.
Sayin and Mendoza appear tailor-made for the moment
“With the spotlight, with the pressure of it, comes a privilege,” said Mendoza, a two-year starter at California before arriving in Bloomington.
Mendoza has been deferential to his teammates and coaches all season, routinely using his platform to build up those who helped him reach the precipice of becoming the first Indiana player to win college football’s most prestigious award.
Sayin, meanwhile, has spent most of this season trying to get acclimated to being the starter for the defending national champs and more recently with a revolving door of receivers caused by injuries. He started his career at Alabama and redshirted last season in Columbus. He would be Ohio State’s first Heisman winner since Troy Smith in 2006.
Mendoza and Sayin find themselves as the feature attractions in a rare, late-season head-to-head matchup between the Football Bowl Subdivision’s last two unbeaten teams.
The tale of the tape is every bit as close as one might expect Sayin’ staggering 78.9% completion rate leads the nation as does his passing efficiency of
ä Indiana vs Ohio St. 7 P.M. SATURDAy, FOX
184.85. His 30 touchdown passes rank second nationally He’s 13th in passing yards with 3,065 and tied for 15th in points responsible for with 180.
Mendoza leads the FBS with 32 TD passes, ranks second in passing efficiency at 183.71 and points responsible for at 228, fifth in completion percentage (72.0%) and 27th in yards passing with 2,758. Both are 12-0 overall, 9-0 in conference play and have five interceptions. The biggest difference
statistically — Mendoza averages 13.07 yards per throw, No. 24 nationally, while Sayin ranks 62nd. And while Sayin’s signature moment came last week when he snapped a four-game losing streak to the dreaded Wolverines, Mendoza delivered two of this season’s biggest plays — beating an Iowa blitz with a tiebreaking, 49-yard TD pass to Elijah Sarratt with 1;28 left in a 20-15 victory and the incredible 7-yard TD pass to Omar Cooper Jr in the final minute to beat Penn State 27-24.
After throwing a tying Pick-6 late at then-No. 3 Oregon, Mendo-
za responded by taking Hoosiers on a 75-yard scoring march and throwing the go-ahead TD pass to Sarratt for a 30-20 victory that cemented Indiana’s spot in the national championship conversation.
“The Oregon game, I think, gave us a lot of credibility,” second-year Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti said.
“That was a step we had to take as a program go on the road, play a top five team and come back with a win. Oregon’s a great team and Dan Lanning is a great football coach and so, I think, from that point on, there has been a little bit more acceptance of where we’re at as a program.”
Mendoza has a chance to put an exclamation on Indiana’s second straight record-breaking season — if Indiana beats the Buckeyes for the first time since 1988, claims its first conference crown since 1967 and reaches to No. 1 in The Associated Press poll for the first time in school history
Sayin is trying to extend the nation’s longest active winning streak to 17 games, capture Ohio State’s first conference crown since 2020 and help the Buckeyes become back-to-back national champions for the first time in school history
Cignetti knows just how challenging it will be to derail those plans.
“Julian Sayin is a tremendous football player He’s young but doesn’t play like he’s young,” he said. “Super quick release, very accurate and he’s mobile They’ve got great weapons on the outside.”
But as coaches and players stay focused on Saturday’s contest, the quarterbacks are downplaying the game inside the game — whether the winner has the inside track to winning the Heisman.
“A lot of quarterbacks have struggled with (Ohio State’s defense) throughout the entire season, and there’s a reason for that,” Mendoza said. “I think it’s a great opportunity and a great challenge for the Indiana offense to play the Indiana brand of ball we want to play against such a great defense.”
ACC commissioner pushing for league to get 2 CFP berths
BY AARON BEARD Associated Press
Atlantic Coast Conference com-
missioner Jim Phillips is pushing for No. 12 Miami to earn a bid to the College Football Playoff along with the winner of the league championship game between No. 16 Virginia and Duke.
That comes with the ACC facing at least the chance of being squeezed out of the 12-team CFP entirely based on Tuesday night’s rankings.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Phillips was emphatic in making his case for the Hurricanes and then the league’s eventual champion. That comes after the ACC had a logjam of four 6-2 teams behind the Cavaliers, triggering a tiebreaker policy that worked through multiple steps before sending the five-loss Blue Devils ahead of the Hurricanes and others for Saturday night’s title game in Charlotte.
“I have conviction and confidence in our teams, starting with Miami,” Phillips told the AP. “The second piece of that is the Virginia-Duke winner should absolutely be in this College Football Playoff.”
Current scenario
The Hurricanes (10-2) have closed strong as the league’s highest-ranked team in the AP Top 25 and CFP rankings, while the Cavaliers (10-2) finished as the lone 7-1 ACC team. Duke’s inclusion, triggered by then-ranked SMU losing at California last weekend, represents a potential chaos agent.
Automatic CFP bids go to the five highest-ranked league champions. That theoretically accounts
first for the “Power Four” champions from the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten and SEC. Then would come the highest-ranked champ from a Group of Five league: the American, Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West and Sun Belt conferences.
In Tuesday’s CFP rankings, Miami is a bubble team for an at-large bid at No. 12 while the Cavaliers are 17th for a simple win-and-in scenario in Charlotte.
But Duke (7-5) is unranked.
Meanwhile, the American has both of its title-game teams (North Texas and Tulane) in the CFP rankings, putting that winner in line for a win-and-in ticket.
And then there’s James Madison (11-1), which entered the CFP rankings at No. 25 before Friday’s Sun Belt title game against Troy That, along with a Duke win against Virginia could potentially give the Sun Belt the fifth champion’s spot and leave the ACC’s CFP hopes resting with the on-thebubble Hurricanes.
Phillips who has previously been optimistic about landing multiple bids, knows the scenarios. He’s undeterred that the ACC deserves two bids all the same.
“I’m not naive,” he said, “but I have conviction about it.”
Miami’s case
Miami’s position stands out with the Hurricanes having a head-tohead win with Notre Dame, which sits two spots ahead in the CFP rankings despite that 27-24 season-opening loss.
That result would seemingly be a differentiator considering the teams have matching 10-2 records and comparable ESPN strength-of-schedule rankings
(Notre Dame 42nd, Miami 44th).
The Hurricanes have more wins against top-40 teams in ESPN’s College Football Power Index (five) than the Fighting Irish (two) and a better record against AP-ranked teams at the time of the matchup (Miami at 4-0, Notre Dame at 2-2).
Additionally, the teams had matching games against two bowleligible teams — home against N.C. State, at then-ranked Pittsburgh — among their four common opponents. The Hurricanes beat the Wolfpack and Panthers by a combined 65 points, more than the Irish’s 51 points in those games.
“I remain steadfast in my conviction, which has only grown stronger over the season — especially these last four weeks,” Phillips said. “The eye test, the stats, the results — they’ve earned a spot in the playoff.”
Those comparisons have also been a topic for Miami athletic director Dan Radakovich in socialmedia posts this week, with one noting: “Head-to-head not ‘a’ data point but ‘the’ data point!”
Phillips said he was “incredibly surprised and very disappointed” to see the Hurricanes didn’t rise after a 38-7 win against a Pitt team ranked 22nd in the CFP rankings last week. But Phillips pointed to selection committee chairman Hunter Yurachek saying no teams are locked into position, even if they’re not playing this week. Phillips said the ACC has been in constant contact with the committee “and that’s going to continue up to the selections.”
“We know the final rankings aren’t until Sunday, so there’s time for course correction by the committee,” Phillips said. “The
Southern women hand Arizona its first defeat
The Southern women’s basketball pulled off a 63-57 upset win over Arizona at McKale Memorial Center in Tucson, Arizona, on Wednesday Coach Carlos Funchess’ team was the first to beat Arizona (7-1) this season.
Southern (2-5) was led by DeMya Porter with 16 points. She made 8-of-13 shots and was the only double-figure scorer The Jaguars also got a big night from Mykayla Cunningham, who dished out nine assists to go along with four steals and two points. Arizona was unable to score efficiently, shooting 41.2% from the field and 23.1% from the 3-point line. Southern shot slightly better at 43.9% overall and 29.4% from 3. The Jaguars excelled at scoring points off turnovers with 25 points compared to Arizona’s 14
Kansas State football coach Klieman to retire
Kansas State football coach
Chris Klieman announced his retirement Wednesday after nearly 35 years in coaching and the last seven leading the Wildcats, a run that included a Big 12 championship three years ago and a bowl trip every season but one.
Klieman was planning to announce his decision later this week, but it was quickly moved up when word began to leak. He spoke briefly during a news conference originally called to discuss national signing day, then left without taking questions, leaving his close friend and Kansas State athletic director Gene Taylor to fill in the gaps.
Taylor proceeded to rip the the state of college athletics for its role in driving the 58-year-old Klieman away from the game.
Bills pass rusher Bosa dealing with hamstring ORCHARD PARK, N.Y Bills coach Sean McDermott on Wednesday listed edge rusher Joey Bosa as being week to week because of a hamstring issue that will further affect Buffalo’s already injurydepleted defense. McDermott did not provide a definitive timeline of how many weeks Bosa will miss except to say “we’re hoping it’s on the shorter end of it.”
The 10th-year player was hurt in the second half of Buffalo’s 26-7 win at Pittsburgh on Sunday It was a game in which Bosa helped turned the tide with a strip-sack of Aaron Rodgers, with Christian Benford returned 17 yards for a touchdown on the opening snap of the third quarter
Belichick, Kraft are finalists for Pro Football Hall of Fame
committee’s made it clear that idle teams can move up in the final rankings. And we’re going to continue our efforts, as there’s no question Miami’s a playoff team and they’ve earned a spot in the playoff.”
The Duke question
Virginia moved up a spot in Tuesday’s CFP rankings — “Pleased to see them move up, although I believe they should be higher,” Phillips said — to put them a win from the playoff.
A Duke win could make things dicier But Phillips was ready to make that case, too, leaning largely on schedule strength.
The Blue Devils won the ACC tiebreaker with the Hurricanes, Georgia Tech, SMU and Pitt by virtue of its ACC opponents having the best combined winning percentage in league play (.500).
Beating the Cavaliers would mark a seventh win against a Power Four opponent, while Duke’s five losses came to teams — including at Tulane in the American with a combined record of 4614 (.767).
By comparison, newly ranked James Madison lost its only game to a Power Four team (at ACC member Louisville), while only one of its wins came against a team with a winning record compared to Duke’s four
The Blue Devils’ opponents have a combined 98-58 (.628) record compared to JMU’s going 74-82 (.474), while ESPN ranks Duke’s strength of schedule at 74th compared to JMU’s at 118th.
“The management committee has made it clear this offseason that strength of schedule must be prioritized,” Phillips said.
Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft, two of the key pillars in the New England Patriots’ dynasty, were picked as finalists for the 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame class.
Belichick was picked as the coaching candidate and Kraft was picked as the contributor in results announced on Wednesday Three seniors candidates also made the final stage with Ken Anderson, Roger Craig and L.C. Greenwood all advancing.
The members of the 50-person selection committee can vote for three of the finalists. A maximum of three candidates can reach that threshold.
The committee will also vote on 15 modern-era finalists that are still to be determined with between three and five of those candidates guaranteed to get into the Hall.
NBA champion, 15-year veteran Campbell, 57, dies
Elden Campbell, a center who played 15 seasons in the NBA — including nine with the Los Angeles Lakers — and later won a championship with the Detroit Pistons, has died. He was 57.
Campbell’s family told the Pistons he died Monday No cause was given.
The 6-foot-11 Campbell was born in Los Angeles and excelled at Morningside High before heading to Clemson He was a first-team ACC selection in the 1989-90 season. He played nine seasons in Los Angeles, but he didn’t win a championship ring until later in his career with the Pistons — beating the Lakers in five games in 2004. Campbell played in 1,044 NBA games and averaged 10.3 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By RyAN SUN
Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin throws during the first half of a game against Michigan on Saturday in Ann Arbor, Mich.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By DOUG MCSCHOOLER
Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza looks to pass the ball during the second half of a game against Purdue on Friday in West Lafayette, Ind.
Pels concentrateonend-of-game situations
TheNew Orleans Pelicans’
film session Wednesday morning wasthe 19th one this season that came after aloss. This one was perhaps the toughest one to watch.
Many of the 18 previous losses were blowouts or games that were decided by the time the end of the fourth quarter came around. Tuesday’sovertime loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves was not only agame the Pelicans could have won but also one they should have won. The Pels led 129-125 when Jose Alvarado rebounded a missed shot by Donte DiVinceno with just 46.4 seconds remaining. But Alvarado turned the ball over,leading to aTimberwolves’ basket to make it atwo-point game. Jeremiah Fears missed acontested layup with 13.6 seconds left, and Minnesota called a timeout with seven seconds lefttrailing129-127. Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards drove to the basket for alayup to send the game to overtime and Minnesota pulled away.The Pelicanshad afoul to give on the Edwards’ drive but didn’tuse it. So it’seasy to understand why Pelicansinterim coach James BorregousedWednesday’spractice to focus solely on end-ofgame situations.
“(It’san) area of growth,” Borrego said. “You put yourself in those positions and now you’ve got to close. We are at thegoal
ä Timberwolves at Pelicans, 7P.M.THURSDAy,WAFB
line and we’ve gotto figureout howtoclose. It’s maturity.It’s execution. It’s poise. It’sconfidence.”
ThePelicans (3-19) don’thave to waitlong to see if thepractice
helped. They get another shot at the Timberwolves(13-8)on Thursdayatthe Smoothie King Center.
Losses in the clutchserve as teachable moments for a young team, particularly rookies such as Derik Queen and Fears. “Just be moredisciplined,”
Struggling Clippers cuttieswithPaul
BY GREG BEACHAM and TIM REYNOLDS AP sportswriters
Chris Paul’sreturn stintwiththe Los Angeles Clippers has come to an abrupt and stunning end, the franchise parting ways with one of its greatest players in alate-night meeting that will add another layer of drama to the team’sterrible start this season.
The news was delivered in ameeting in Atlanta that ended around 2a.m. Eastern time Wednesday,Clippers basketball operations presidentLawrence Frank said. Frank said he made the decisiontosever ties with Paulon Sunday,then told the franchise’s career assist leader that he needed to see him on Tuesday in Atlanta.
Frank did not confirm speculation that Paul and Clippers coach Tyronn Luehave been clashing or not speaking to one another,insisting the decision hadmultiplelay-
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game,” LSU coachMatt McMahon said on the LSU sports radio network. “Amazing. Ithought our guys showed incredibletoughness. Thomas hadaseason-high 23 points and seven assists,making 8 of 21 shots. Marquel Sutton had18 points and 13 rebounds.
Nwoko’spresencewas felt on the first possession when he finished an alley-oop dunk off apass from the top of the key by Pablo Tamaba. Nwoko scored the first six points for LSU and finished with 12 The Tigers grabbed three offensive reboundsand forced four turnovers within the first eight minutes of the game. They were 8of16from the field while Boston College was 3of8
But Nwoko pickeduptwo early fouls on back-to-back offensive possessions. He had aloose-ballfoul followed by an illegal screen at the 10:48 mark of the first half, limiting him to six minutes before halftime After he left the game,Boston College went on a6-0 run to cut its deficit to 16-13with 9:52 remaining in the first half. This was LSU’ssecond game without Jalen Reed and firstsince it ruled him out for the remainder of the season after suffering an Achilles tendon injury againstDrake on Friday. His absencewas felt early when McMahon brieflyused alineup with the 6-foot-7Tamba at center and6-9 Sutton at power forward with8:23 leftinthe firsthalf. McMahon wascomplimentary of Tamba, who had nine rebounds.
Sutton gave LSU its 18thpoint on afastbreak layup to breaka dry spell that included eight straight missed shots.
Thomas amped up his offensive aggression as the offense strug-
ers. Frank also insisted that Lue is safe,despite theClippers’ 5-16 start to this season.
“This decision had nothing to do with oneincident, onemeeting that did or didnot happen,” Frank said in avideoconference with reporters.“Some of our business, respectfully,I have to keep in house.But this didn’tcome down to one incident or one meeting. It just wasn’tthe right fit.”
Paul made the announcement on social media shortly before 3a.m.Wednesday,posting “Just FoundOut I’mBeing Sent Home” and adding apeace emoji. The Clipperswere in Atlanta fora road gameagainst theHawkson Wednesday night. Los Angeles lost at Miami on Monday night to extend its wildly disappointing start to theseason TheClippers’ flight to Atlanta from Miami on Tuesday was delayed forabout 41/2 hours, accordingto flightrecords, whichled
gledwithoutNwoko. After Sutton’s score, Thomas drove by adefender on the right baseline and finishedan and-onelayup
Hisprettiest finish came offa behind-the-backmove that led him downhill on the leftside of the basket,where he made alayup with his non-dominant right hand. That gave LSUa 35-23 lead with 1:06 left in the first half
Thomas had 11 points on 5-of-11 shootingand three assistsathalftime as LSU led 37-26. Boston College played impressively throughout thesecondhalf.
The Eagles scoredeight unanswered points to trimtheir deficit to 45-41 at the 14:23 mark. At that point, theywere 6of9from the field in that span while theTigers were 3of9
The home team’sbackup point guard, Luka Toews, ledthe comeback as he made afew pull-up jumpers and organized theoffense.
Toews had 12 of his14pointsafter halftime.
Sutton’s hustle andfree-throw shooting were essential for LSU in thewin.
“Marquel, yousaw hisversatility,” McMahon said. “Weplayhim out on the wing when we need to, we candownshift himtothe forward spot. Ithought he was really good there. So,you know,soproud of our guys. Great responsebythem. Now we got to build on it.” Boston College tiedthe game at 51-51 with 8:31 remaining, and LSU trailed for the first timewith 6:23 leftinthe game.Jayden Hastings scored ajump hook in the middle of thepaint overSuttontogiveBoston College a53-31 lead.
LSU’snext game will be against its first ranked opponent, No. 19 Texas Tech (6-2). The Tigers will playthe Red Raidersat2 p.m.Sundayat Dickies Arena in FortWorth, Texas, in theCoast 2Coast Challenge.
to the late-night sessionbetween Frankand Paul. The team didn’t land in Atlanta until shortly before 10 a.m.
“Because of the nature of the conversation it was along, long, long, long, long, long meeting,” Frank said. The 40-year-old Paul is playinghis 21st NBA season, andhe strongly hinted last month that it will be hislast. The 12-time All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medalisthas earned four All-NBA first-team selections and he ranks secondinNBA history with 12,552 assists. He was the firstplayertoscoreatleast 20,000 points while recording at least 10,000 assists; LeBron James andRussellWestbrook have both since done that as well.
“I don’tthink it will necessarily help our team,” Lue saidbefore the gameinAtlanta. “I don’tthink the reason why we’re 5-16 is because of CP.I just thinkthat it wasn’t a
Queen said.“Close out the game better.Noturnovers. No second chances for them.And just execute.”
Borrego’sWednesday practice consisted of the team going through various endof-game scenarios. It ranged from being up by twowith30 seconds left to being downby
2with30seconds left and everything in between
“Do it until youlike whatyou see,”Borrego said. “Make sure we areall talking about it, what we arelooking for,and try to replicateitasmuchaspossible. You can’t getthe pressure levelor stress levelthatyou’ll gettomorrownight or in agame,but you can certainly simulate it as much as youcan.” Borrego focuses on the details andisall aboutrepetitionuntil the team gets it right. Because of the way theschedule has played out, this wasjust his fourth actual practice withthe team since taking over for Willie Green. Alot of thepractice time has focused on what Borrego calls “more foundational stuff.”
“Thisteam has to dominate the margins,” Borrego said. “That’sthe goal right now.” Themargins are howthe team does after atimeout, and at the end of quarters and games.
“Those situations we want to dominate,” Borrego said. “It’svery doable. It’snot rocket science. (It takes) somefocus. You’vegot to give it attention. You’ve got to deal withit. Making sure guys know where they need to be. It allcomes downtothe details there.
“(Wednesday) was probably the mostdetailed, end-of-thegamepractice I’ve had in a while. It’s been aminute. It felt good.Wefeltthe painof last night. We owned it.That’s the beauty of this team.Nobody’shangingtheirheads.”
good fitfor what he waslooking for.
“DoIwant to see people go out like this?No, Ihavealot of respect for him.He’sbeen afriend of mine over the years, and you don’twant to see agreat go out like this. But I’m pretty sure he will find something, because he’s agreat player.”
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—the fourth-lowest averageinthe ACC. They can still challenge the Tigers, though. Duke just needs to slow down theLSU offense, which hasn’tlookedrusty or sloppy in anyofthe eight games this season “I don’tcare that they’re
STAFFPHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD
Pelicans interim head coach James Borregotalks withthe team during aplayreviewduring agame against the Golden State Warriors at the Smoothie King Center on Nov. 16.
Rod Walker
ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOByJAE C. HONG Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul warms up before the team’sNBA Cupgameagainst the Los Angeles Lakers on Nov. 25 in Los Angeles
U-High rallies to hand Zachary its first loss
BY CHARLES SALZER Contributing writer
University High junior Shance
James was nothing if not confident at the end of Wednesday’s game at Zachary, and it served him well with the game on the line.
James’ 3-pointer from the left corner gave the Cubs the lead with just over a minute left to play, and U-High went on to topple the previously unbeaten Broncos 53-46 at Zachary U-High (4-2) outscored Zachary 22-8 in the third quarter to take a 40-38 lead entering the fourth.
There were three ties, the last at 46-46, before James took a pass in the left corner After a pump fake sent a Broncos defender flying by, James lined up the 3-pointer that gave the Cubs the lead for good.
“As soon as I caught the ball, I knew it was going in,” said James, who finished with two 3-pointers and nine points “It was a great, action-packed game. I just shot it with confidence.”
Zachary’s Aidan Givens and Ian Edmund each missed 3-pointers in the closing seconds. U-High’s Jaxson Williams, the game’s leading scorer with 13 points, countered
with four free throws to put the game out of reach Zachary (4-1) led 30-18 at halftime, but was outscored 17-2 in the first six minutes of the third quarter The Broncos had eight turnovers in that stretch, and went on to trail by two points entering the fourth quarter
Givens topped Zachary with 12 points while Edmund and Cambren Price each scored 11.
“Defensively I thought we played OK in the first half, but the whole goal was to keep (Edmund) under 20 and make him work,” U-High coach Joe Spencer
and the Green Wave will have their work cut out in Friday’s American Conference championship game against North Texas.
Fast and deadly
North
Texas’ up-tempo offense leads nation in scoring and yardage
BY GUERRY SMITH
Contributing writer
Coach Jon Sumrall was only half joking when he asked for a monsoon on Friday night when 20thranked Tulane (10-2) hosts No. 24 North Texas (11-1) in the American Conference championship game. Even if a forecast of messy conditions materializes, the challenge of facing the nation’s leading offense in points and yards will be less than ideal.
What makes the Mean Green special is not the fast pace of the top FBS offense in scoring and yards. Tulane, a 21/2-point underdog despite playing at Yulman Stadium, faced even quicker tempos from Florida Atlantic, East Carolina, Tulsa and Ole Miss earlier this year
The difference is the effectiveness of North Texas’s ground game in an Air Raid scheme under coach Eric Morris.
Since suffering its lone loss to South Florida on Oct. 10, North Texas has averaged 203.2 yards rushing in its final six games — a total that would rank among the top 20 teams in the nation if it were over a full season. The Mean Green also is second to Florida Atlantic among FBS teams in yards passing per game (325.7) Yikes.
“They’ve always been explosive offensively and still are,” Sumrall said. “The biggest misconception of them is they just spread it out and throw it around, which they do, but they run it really well, too, so we will have our work cut out for us.” American Conference offensive
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(something changes) But, yeah, looking forward to working with the guys that we’re going to have on staff.” When he was asked about the possibility of bringing coaches back from the 2025 Southern team, he said he doesn’t know whether he will.
“I’ll meet with some of the guys and make that decision,” Faulk said. “I really don’t know as of yet.” Faulk’s only previous coaching job was as the running backs
ä North Texas at Tulane.
7 P.M. FRIDAy,ABC
player of the year Drew Mestemaker a growing legend who never started at quarterback in high school, has thrown for 4,228 yards in 13 games since replacing transfer-portal entrant Chandler Morris as a freshman in the 2024 First Responder Bowl Freshman running back Caleb Hawkins, the league’s rookie of the year, has rushed for 669 yards and 16 touchdowns in the past four games more than all but five other backs have scored all season Double yikes.
“The two biggest things I’ve noticed with their offense is their O-line is significantly improved from last year, and then Hawkins is a special player,” Sumrall said. “He’s really dynamic. He’s physical. He runs with leverage. He has good speed. You look up each week and it’s normal for them to score 50 points.”
That is exactly what happened in five of North Texas’s past six games. The exception was a 31-17 win against Navy, giving the Midshipmen their only league defeat.
The Mean Green has five common opponents with the Green Wave and scored more points in all of them, including a 55-17 trouncing of Texas-San Antonio at home 12 days before the Roadrunners raced past Tulane 48-26.
Tulane’s task is to make North Texas uncomfortable in the same way South Florida did while picking off Mestemaker three times (he threw only one interception in
coach at Colorado this season under Deion Sanders. The Buffaloes went 3-9 and averaged 123.3 yards rushing per game. While that was second-to-last in the Big 12, it was an improvement from last year’s 65.2 yards for the Buffaloes. Before Faulk answered questions, he told Southern fans and the administration in attendance that his ultimate goal is to win plenty of football games.
“I look forward to putting a winning football team out there that you’re happy to support, that you look forward to not just winning, but to dominate,” Faulk said. “One of the things that I used to love to hear Michael Irvin say was, ‘To beat a man, you attack his weak-
said. “Offensively, in the second half we passed better, we handled their pressure better and we made shots.”
U-High made 11 of 18 shots in the second half and finished the game shooting 47% (18 of 31). Zachary shot 30% (18 of 61) but pulled down 20 offensive rebounds The Broncos won the rebounding battle 39-34.
In the first quarter, Edmund and Price each made 3-pointers as Zachary moved out to a 16-6 lead.
U-High scored the last four points of the quarter, but made only one basket over the first four minutes
of the second quarter
A late three-point play by Givens propelled the Broncos into halftime with a 30-18 lead.
U-High’s third-quarter surge featured multiple baskets from Harris Sides and Williams. The Cubs ended the quarter with a three-point play by James and a layup from Jayden Williams.
“Zachary has an unbelievable program. They’ve got it rolling over here,” Spencer said. “We were hoping to stay in it and be there in the fourth quarter to try and pull it out at the end. We ended up being able to do it.”
Area schools file more appeals in redistricting plan
BY JACKSON REYES Staff writer
The LHSAA held its third classification meeting Wednesday, and several schools in the Baton Rouge area appealed their district placement. One of the notable proposed plans from the second district meeting was for District 4-5A and District 5-5A, involving the Ascension and Livingston parish schools.
Class 5A plans
The LHSAA’s second proposed plan for Class 5A met the wishes of the Livingston and Ascension parish schools, maintaining the districts as they were in the previous reclassification cycle.
In the proposed plan, Baton Rouge High School, Catholic, Central, Liberty, St. Joseph’s, Woodlawn and Zachary are placed in District 4-5A.
District 5-5A consists of Denham Springs, Dutchtown, East Ascension, Live Oak, Prairieville, St. Amant and Walker Live Oak principal Gary Jones spoke Wednesday, requesting that the current plan from the second meeting stay in place.
difficult to find and sometimes expensive to play
Eldringhoff said the main problem he wants to solve is to even the districts at six schools each.
“We’ll play anybody,” Eldringhoff said. “It doesn’t matter who it is.”
Shelton emphasized the importance of making it easier for athletes when it comes to scheduling.
“Competitive balance is not really what districts are for,” Shelton said. “It’s about easing the burden of scheduling and the current plan creates a burden for 12 schools.”
Class 1A appeals
Ascension Catholic, Ascension Christian and Catholic-PC each submitted separate proposed plans for Class 1A.
Ascension Catholic proposed a move to District 8-1A, which would move it away from schools closer to New Orleans and with Capitol, East Iberville, North Iberville, Southern Lab, St. John, Thrive Academy and White Castle.
the other 11 games) and limiting the Mean Green to a season-low 107 yards rushing. The three opponents who have won more than six times held North Texas well below its average of 511.8 yards and 46.8 points.
“Their quarterback and their run game is what makes them go,” linebacker Sam Howard said. “You have to stop that run game, make them one-dimensional and get after the quarterback and disrupt his timing because he’s an on-time thrower who makes great decisions.”
Tackling will be at a premium. North Texas gets its receivers in space in one-on-one opportunities and forces defenders to make plays or give up a long gain.
“We’ve done an OK job (with tackling),” Sumrall said. “We’ve tackled better in the box as of late. From the Memphis game moving forward you’ve felt us in the run game. On the perimeter, it’s been hit or miss. In the first part of the year, not great.
“I’ve seen some good things, but not consistent enough to feel like we’re going to go into this one and dominate We’ve got to play our best.”
The pressure will be on players like safety Jack Tchienchou and linebacker Chris Rodgers, the Wave’s co-leaders in tackles.
“We have to keep everything in front, allow nothing over the top and make the play when it comes to us,” Tchienchou said. “At the end of the day we have to stop the run, win those third downs, make them uncomfortable and get off the field.”
ness. To break a man, you attack his strength.’
This sentiment aligned with his answer on his coaching style. He said his coaching philosophy is not married to any single way to win games.
“I’ll never lose because I need to be in my identity, I’ll never do that,” Faulk said. “Whatever (opponents) are bad at, that’s what we are going to do, that’s it. It’s hard enough to win games, (but) to decide how you’re going to win games, with style or whatever, I just don’t believe in that.
“I’m a guy who loved to throw the ball, and I’m a running back I played in a passing offense, and at times we ran the ball more than we
“We are unified in our seven 5A schools in Livingston Parish and Ascension Parish,” Jones said.
He said all seven schools in the district are nonselect schools, with the opportunity to play in the playoffs against each other All schools in District 4-5A, except for Baton Rouge High School, proposed that the LHSAA go with its initial plan from the first district meeting, which placed Walker, Denham Springs and Live Oak in District 4-5A and shifted Woodlawn and Liberty to District 5-5A.
Catholic principal Tom Eldringhoff said the main reasoning behind that has to do with scheduling issues with uneven districts.
In the current plan, District 4-5A has only five schools that play football.
“It creates a problem at the end of our second half of our football schedule,” Eldringhoff said.
“We’ve got to find somebody, and if we don’t find somebody, then it’s an open date. That’s less football experience, baseball experience, it’s less competition for our athletes.”
Catholic athletic director Matt Shelton said their proposed plan is a no-brainer for that reason. He said it would be nearly impossible to find an opponent late in the season in a five-team district if the current plan sticks.
“It’s just hard to find people that will play somebody in the top enrollment class,” Shelton said. “I really believe that we’re going to struggle to find somebody.”
He added that Catholic, in particular has had to play outof-state opponents, which are
passed it. So I just believe in the thing that matters the most is you have more points than the opposition when the clock hits zero.”
Faulk was asked what his firstyear expectations are, and he said he doesn’t know yet because he doesn’t know his team. On Monday, a Southern staff member mentioned the program is 278 days from kickoff for the 2026 season. Faulk said that about halfway between then and now, he’ll be equipped to have expectations.
“I wish I could tell you, like, ‘Oh yeah, we’re going to be this,’ ” Faulk said. “I’ve watched these interviews a lot of times, and a lot of people have stood up here and just lied to you. And I’m not going
Ascension Christian proposed a similar move to District 8-1A with Ascension Catholic, but without the inclusion of Thrive Academy Capitol and Southern Lab.
Both schools stated similar reasons, with average travel in the LHSAA’s plan being 57 miles and 75 minutes on the road.
Ascension Catholic football coach Taylor James said the school has only one bus for athletics, so the LHSAA’s proposed plan is not feasible.
Ascension Christian assistant principal Josh Puryear stated his school has no bus for athletics and relies on parents driving athletes to games.
The current plan would increase the average one-way travel distance from 30 miles to 62 miles, which could lead to fewer parents volunteering and athletes being unable to compete.
Port Allen’s appeal
In Class 3A, Port Allen requested to be moved from District 7-3A to District 6-3A.
The change would move Port Allen with Baker, Belaire, Geo Next Generation, Glen Oaks, Helix Mentorship Academy and Istrouma.
The current plan has Port Allen with Collegiate Baton Rouge, Parkview Baptist, University High and West Feliciana. Principal JaKouri Williams said the main reasons were for safety traveling, instructional time and logistics.
The change would help the school avoid high-risk interstate congestion, reduce time needed for early dismissals and ensure more reliable arrival times, Williams said.
to do that. What we’re going to do is we’re going to work our butt off and go out there and take advantage of the opportunities that are given to us.”
Faulk gave some insight into how he’ll be with players on a personal level. After stating how he hadn’t met with players yet, he continued his answer and, within it, expressed his approach in fostering relationships.
“I remember being that kid sitting in there and listening to some coach talk to me,” Faulk said. “I’m gonna have a conversation with them. They’re gonna get the right to ask me questions. They need to know me. They need to know that I care.”
STAFF FILE PHOTO By BRETT DUKE
Tulane safety Jack Tchienchou breaks up a pass intended for East Carolina tight end Desirrio Riles on Oct. 9 at yulman Stadium Tchienchou
Four key starters for Saints miss practice
BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer
Four of the New Orleans Saints’ most important starters were not on the practice field as the team began its preparations for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Receiver Chris Olave, running back Alvin Kamara, offensive tackle Taliese Fuaga and safety Justin Reid did not practice with the team during the open media viewing portion of Wednesday’s practice.
Kamara missed last week’s game against the Miami Dolphins with a knee injury and was described as “week to week” by coach Kellen Moore before the game. Reid injured his knee on the first play from scrimmage against the Dolphins and played only a few more snaps before exiting the game.
Olave popped up on the injury report a week ago with a back issue and was questionable for the Dolphins game but wound up playing 87.5% of the snaps slightly above his season average. He was also listed with a back injury on the practice report Wednesday Fuaga returned to action last week after missing the previous two games with a knee injury He injured his ankle against the Dolphins — the opposite ankle that he injured earlier in the season They were the only players on the injury report Wednesday Everyone else was a full participant.
On the Buccaneers side, standout left tackle TristanWirfs (oblique) was the only player who did not practice, though several others were limited — including star wide receiver Mike Evans, who has been on injured reserve since fracturing his collarbone against the Detroit Lions in October.
Hill touches Taysom Hill finished last week’s game against the Dolphins with two touches, and Moore said Wednesday that he needs to get Hill more involved.
New Orleans went into that game with a plan to use Hill in heavy offensive sets that featured two or three tight ends. But the way the Dolphins
SAINTS
Continued from page 5C
particularly impressive, but they aren’t out of the ordinary for a rookie. What has been a pleasant surprise is the way that the 26-year-old has navigated the pocket, either to avoid pressure all together by stepping up or to create something out of nothing when on the move.
Shough’s two touchdown passes in the second half of Sunday’s loss to the Miami Dolphins illustrate the latter point. Coach Kellen Moore specifically noted Shough’s “quick ability” to find open space and hit Chris Olave on the move after the Dolphins’ rush forced him off his spot. In the fourth quarter, Shough rolled to his right to find Devaughn Vele in the back of the end zone. Neither play technically counted as Shough facing pressure, according to Next Gen Stats’ charting service. But that’s a credit to Shough for moving out of the way and avoiding trouble.
“A lot of the best quarterbacks in this league play off schedule,” Moore said.
“When you embrace there’s a second phase to a play, big plays happen because of it So, while you’re always trying to fine-tune the initial intent of the play there’s still big plays that are out there and available.” Shough’s initial feel for the pocket was one of the hurdles for him seeing the field. During the spring and summer, the second-round pick seemed a step slow when dealing with a pass rush.
defended those formations caused Moore to shift more toward running the ball out of three wide receiver sets.
Because of that, Moore said, Hill’s chances were limited. He finished the game playing 12 offensive snaps.
“That’s on me,” Moore said. “I think he’s done an awesome job. Two previous weeks, he had a nice impact on both those games playing close to 25 snaps, and that’s probably where it should be more often than not.”
About a year removed from a major knee injury that required extensive rehabilitation this offseason, Hill has yet to be a major factor for the Saints.
Though he’s had some nice moments particularly against the Carolina Panthers, when he iced the game with several clutch runs in the closing minutes — Hill is averaging 2.2 yards per carry this season, well below his career average (5.3).
Transactions
The Saints filled the two open spots on their roster by signing wide receiver Dante Pettis and offensive lineman William Sherman off their prac-
Shough had to get used to the game’s speed, but while that was happening, Spencer Rattler was distancing himself in the quarterback competition in part because of his own improvement under pressure. Before he was benched, Rattler noticeably cut his sack rate percentage from his rookie year In 2024, he took a sack on 8.9% of his drop backs compared to 6.57% in 2025. That difference meant that Rattler went from having the league’s ninth-highest sack rate to 18th among 36 qualified passers in 2025. Rattler was also very efficient under pressure, posting the league’s best completion percentage of 62.1% and the eighth-highest quarterback rating, according to Next Gen Stats.
If Rattler’s improvement was related in any way to working with this coaching staff, that could be a good sign for Shough as he continues to mature. In six games, four of which have been starts Shough has a 51.2% completion rate under pressure and a sack rate of 7.8%.
“We’re coached really well to not take negative plays in the pocket,” Rattler said.
Moore has said the drills the Saints run in practice are aimed at helping with that movement. While the drills are what most quarterbacks have seen by the time they get to the league, Tolzien said he utilizes what he has learned from his seven years as an NFL quarterback and his previous coaching stop with the Dallas Cowboys. The plan, he said, is to build
BY LARRY LAGE AP sportswriter
DETROIT The Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys are the top two teams in the hunt for an NFC wild card and are still holding on to hopes of competing for division championships.
Hutchinson has 8 1/2 sacks, a career-high four forced fumbles and 24 quarterback hits this season.
jobs for us,” Campbell said.
Potential shootout
tice squad.
The spots were made available Tuesday, when the Saints waived receiver Kevin Austin and offensive lineman Barry Wesley Pettis was out of practice squad elevations, having served as the team’s primary punt returner and kick returner since the team sent Rashid Shaheed to the Seattle Seahawks at the trade deadline. The 30-year-old Pettis has played only nine offensive snaps with the Saints this season, catching his lone target for 14 yards, but he has averaged 25.2 yards per kick return while also returning seven punts for 30 total yards with a long return of 11 yards.
He also filled in as a returner last season after Shaheed suffered a seasonending injury, contributing a 53-yard punt return and a 38-yard kick return.
Sherman was a sixth-round selection of the New England Patriots in 2021, but he’s played sparingly in his five NFL seasons. He appeared in two games with the Saints this season, playing two offensive snaps and seven special-teams snaps against the Falcons and Panthers.
muscle memory so the footwork comes naturally He’ll run mostly the same drills every practice to keep “the main dish,” but he will add new wrinkles to mix up “the sides.” Rattler said Tolzien will try to add a competitive element in certain moments to keep things fun.
“I’m a believer in that, no different from Steph Curry using the same pre-game routine for 82 games in an NBA season, there’s going to be drills that we’re going to repeat, and that’s OK because that’s how you build habits,” Tolzien said.
Shough also credits his improvement to his time with the scout team. Each week, defensive coordinator Brandon Staley installed gamespecific blitzes that gave Shough a better sense of what to expect, even when he was running the other teams’ concepts.
Shough’s second start, a win over the Carolina Panthers, showed just how comfortable the quarterback had seemingly become. He hasn’t been perfect since then — Shough’s turnovers (four interceptions and two fumbles) are another area he needs to clean up but he’s made plenty of strides in an area that many thought would be a concern.
“On scout team, more often than not, (the pocket) is not in your favor,” Shough said. “There’s guys in your face. You’re throwing in different lanes So I was just super intentional about two hands, trying to move up, trying to escape in different ways. I’m going to continue to try and do that.”
Detroit (7-5) hosts Dallas (6-5-1) on Thursday night and the winner will improve its position in the playoff picture while the loser may not have time to recover from the setback over the last month of the regular season.
“Our margin for error is very small right now,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “We’ve got to find a way to win this next one in front of us.
“Time’s running out.”
After starting 5-2, the two-time defending NFC North champions have lost three of five to fall behind division-leading Chicago (93) and second-place Green Bay (8-3-1)
The Cowboys, meanwhile, are surging into postseason contention behind a revitalized defense.
They’re over .500 for the first time this year thanks to three straight victories including one over Philadelphia — to potentially challenge the NFC Eastleading Eagles (8-3) for the division title.
Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott acknowledged he looked up the NFC playoff picture this week after he saw the AFC rundown on TV
“We just win and handle our business, we’ll put ourselves in a great spot,” Prescott said.
Call it a comeback
Lions edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson broke his left leg in two places in last year’s 47-9 early-season win at Dallas, ending his season.
“Knowing how good of a player he is, we’ll have eyes on him and as many hands as we can,” Prescott said.
While Hutchinson has had an impact in most games, he did not have a sack or a QB hit in last week’s loss to Green Bay
Testing a trend
Detroit has played 56 regular-season games over three-plus years without losing two in a row If the Lions win on Thursday night, the streak without consecutive setbacks will be the league’s longest since New England’s 57-game run that ended in 2006, according to Sportradar
Rubber match
The Cowboys and Lions are playing for the third straight year after splitting the last two memorable matchups in Dallas.
Detroit ended a six-game losing streak against Dallas with a 47-9 victory at AT&T Stadium last season. It was the most lopsided loss under owner Jerry Jones, who bought the Cowboys in 1989.
Two years ago, Detroit lost at Dallas 20-19 after a 2-point conversion pass to offensive lineman Taylor Decker was negated because the officials said offensive lineman Dan Skipper reported as eligible and Decker did not.
Each time Skipper has reported as eligible at home games since then, the crowd has roared for a player who has become an unlikely fan favorite.
“He’s reliable, dependable, and he does a lot of
Dallas has the NFL’s topranked offense, averaging 393 yards a game, and ranks second with 29.3 points per game. Detroit averages 376 yards of offense, ranking third, and 29.2 points to tie for third in the league.
The game will feature teams averaging at least 375 yards and 29 points for just the fifth time since 1970.
Still no Diggs
Dallas’ secondary has enjoyed the return of several injured players, most notably starting safeties Malik Hooker and Donovan Wilson But the Cowboys will have to wait at least another week to see 2021 All-Pro cornerback Trevon Diggs back on the field.
Diggs was ruled out for the seventh consecutive game with a concussion and issues with both knees, including a left knee that has been surgically repaired twice in the past two years. He was initially sidelined by the concussion, which he suffered in an accident at home.
The former Alabama player has never come close to matching his league-leading 11 interceptions in 2021, and he’s had a tumultuous year that included a workout bonus in his contract being withheld and a brief benching by first-year coach Brian Schottenheimer
“I know who I am,” Diggs told reporters this week, declining to go into detail on the circumstances of the concussion. “I know what I can do on the field, and I’m going to put that out there and show if they forgot, I’m going to make sure to remind them.”
STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD
New Orleans Saints wide receiver Chris Olave is tackled by Atlanta Falcons cornerback Mike Hughes during the second half of the game on Nov. 23 at the Caesars Superdome.
Turning up the heat
Chongqing chicken gets atouch of fire
BY GRETCHEN McKAY Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (TNS)
Do you love hot and spicy food? Long for adishthatsets your mouth on fire?
Me, too. That’swhy,whenever Idecide to try my hand at making Chinese food, Ialways reach for recipes that hang their hat on the crunchy,spicy condiment known as chilicrisp And when I’m in the mood for something really exhilarating? That calls for adishthat features Sichuan peppercorns and those tiny dried redchiles you just know are going to make you break out in asweat
If you’re unfamiliar,Sichuan peppercorns are the small, reddish-pink berriesthat often put the fire into Sichuan cuisine, which is known for its bold and spicy flavors.Sometimes ground into apowdery spice or used to infuse oil with azesty kick, the husky peppercornsinduceanintense tingling sensation on the lips and tongue that you’ll think will overstay its welcome. But after acouple of swallows, they actually leave behind woodsy,citrusy notes The numbing sensation is due to acompound called hydroxy-alpha-sanshoolthat causes abiting astringency on your mouth’s“touch” receptors. When combined with chiles or spices like star anise, garlic and ginger,it’sknown as mala —anumbing sensation combined with aspicy flavor
This Cook’sIllustrated recipe for Chongqing chicken, atraditional, spicy dish of chicken and dried red chiles,isasdramatic as it is mouthwatering
The first thing you notice is the rather intimidating amount of driedchilesthat give the stir-fry its amazing presentation. (No worries: Youaren’t expected to eat that sea of red but rather dig through it with your chopsticks on your way to the tender,battered chicken.) Second is the dish’sintoxicating aroma. Along with toasted Sichuan peppercorns and all those fragrant chiles, the stir-fry includes the Chinese version of the “holy trinity”in Cajun and Creole cooking— ginger,garlicand scallions. The recipe might seem like alot of work because the list of ingredients is on the long side, and you have to fry the batteredchicken twice so that every piece browns deeply.But in the end, it really doesn’ttake all that long and who doesn’t like aone-pan dish? In China, the dish is often made with chicken on the bone and fried naked, but here it’s crafted with boneless, skinless chicken thigh cut into bitesized pieces that’s been dipped in acornstarch-based batter In apinch, you could forgo the crispy coating and simply sear the chicken with afew tablespoons of oil in areally hot wok until every piece is browned and crisp on all sides.
See HEAT, page 2D
LIVING
parsley
1. Bring alarge pot of salted water to aboil. While waiting for the water to boil, cut about an inch off the end of the cabbage and gently pry off the outer leaves. The larger outer, greener leaves work best for rolling.
2. Removethe hard center rib fromthe bottom of the cabbage leaves. Carefully place the prepared cabbage leaves into the boiling water for about 4-5 minutes, then gentlytransfer the leaves to acolander to drain and cool. (Note: Ilike to save the inner smallerleaves to make cole slaw.) Alternatively,ifthe leaves are too tight and hard to pull off,you can place the whole cabbage in the boiling water and simmeruntil theleaves begin to fall away.Remove the leaves to dry in acolander
3. In alargemixingbowl place the ground meat, cooked rice, diced tomatoes, egg, salt, pepperand cayenne pepper. Mix together and set aside.
4. To make thesauce:Ina large pot over medium heat, add the olive oil and diced onion. Stir the onion in the hot oil until it is translucent. Thenadd the finely choppedgarlic. Stir for a couple of minutes.
The
first time that I tried this dish was when my mother-inlaw,Mae Faul, made me her delicious version of the classic comfort dish.
ameal.
At arecent farmers market, Inoticed thatseveral vendors had large, green,leafy cabbage for sale. While using thattomake several trays of cabbage rolls,I realizedthat the green leaves simmering in a light red tomato sauce madeitanideal holiday dish to share. In Louisiana, cabbage rolls areinexpensive comfort food eaten at weeknight meals and servedatholiday tables. Like gumbo,there seems to be hundreds of recipes and culturalnuances for stuffed cabbage rolls. In France, cabbage rolls arecalled “chou farci;” in Ukraine, “holubtsi;” Go for comfortthis holiday seasonwith stuffed cabbage rolls,roasted root vegetables andaspritz
If youlikeyour mashed potatoes alittle less creamy,try cutting ahalf cupofmilk
Mae grew cabbage in her vegetable garden, and over theyears, she successfully experimented cultivating bothgreen cabbage and napa cabbage. Her homegrown cabbage had large green leaves with intricate white veins. The leaves were strongand ideal as awrapper for meat and rice. She worked in her garden in themorning and cooked what she grewinthe evening. This taught me that freshproduce grown with careadds alot to
5. Addthe tomato sauce and crushed tomatoes. Simmer and stir.Then add the brown sugar,apple cider vinegar,and Worcestershire sauce.Stirthe sauceand letitsimmer.Then add fresh chopped parsley
6. Preheatthe ovento350 F. While the oven heats up, stuff the cabbage rolls.
7. To stuff aroll, place about ¼cup of the rawmeat andrice mixture toward the bottom end of the cabbage leaf, fold over the sides and roll to enclose the meat within the leaf
8. Place the prepared cabbage rolls in an oven-proof casserole dish, then cover the rolls with tomato sauce. Coverthe casserole dish with tin foiland bake for30-45 minutes. Serve the rolls with agarnish of freshly chopped parsley
BY CHRIS HEWETT
Kitchen” where the experts trumpeted anew, supposedly better way to mash, with the usual ingredients (potatoes, milk, butter,salt and pepper) but anew technique. We were intrigued, but decided we better not messwith akey component of our supertraditional holiday dinner.It’s not that we thought abasic mashwas unimprovable —itis
“Milk
PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE/
TNS PHOTO By GRETCHEN McKAy
Chongqing Chicken
PHOTO By LIZ FAUL
Liz Faul
By The Associated Press
Today is Thursday, Dec. 4, the 338th day of 2025. There are 27 days left in the year
Today in history:
On Dec. 4, 1991, after being abducted and held hostage for nearly seven years by Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, Associated Press correspondent Terry Anderson was freed from captivity. Also on this date:
In 1956, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins, dubbed the “Million Dollar Quartet,” gathered for the first and only time for a jam session at Sun Records in Memphis.
In 1964, police arrested some 800 students at the University of California, Berkeley, one day after the students stormed the administration building and staged a massive sit-in to protest university restrictions on political activity on campus.
In 1965, the United States launched Gemini 7 with Air Force Lt. Col. Frank Borman and Navy Cmdr James A. Lovell aboard on a two-week mission. (While Gemini 7 was in orbit, its sister ship, Gemini 6A, was launched on Dec. 15 on a one-day mission; the two spacecraft were able to rendezvous within a foot of each other.)
In 1969, Fred Hampton and Mark Clark, of the Black Panther Party, were shot and killed during a raid by Chicago police.
In 2016, a North Carolina man fired several shots from an as-
sault rifle inside Comet Ping Pong, a Washington, D.C., pizzeria, as he attempted to investigate an online conspiracy theory that prominent Democrats were harboring child sex slaves at the restaurant; no one was hurt, and the man surrendered. (Edgar Maddison Welch was later sentenced to four years in prison; in 2025, police shot and killed him during a traffic stop in which officials said he pulled out a handgun and pointed it at one of the officers.)
In 2018, long lines of people wound through the Capitol Rotunda to view the casket of former President George H.W Bush. In 2024, United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot on a midtown Manhattan sidewalk (The accused shooter, Luigi Mangione, has pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges.)
Today’s birthdays: Actor-producer Max Baer Jr is 88. Actor Gemma Jones is 83. Actor Jeff Bridges is 76. Actor Patricia Wettig is 74. Jazz singer Cassandra Wilson is 70. Basketball Hall of Famer Bernard King is 69. Baseball Hall of Famer Lee Smith is 68. Olympic pole vault gold medalist Sergey Bubka is 62. Actor Marisa Tomei is 61. Actor-comedian Fred Armisen is 59. Rapper Jay-Z is 56. Actor Kevin Sussman is 55. Actormodel Tyra Banks is 52. Football Hall of Famer Joe Thomas is 41. Musician Jelly Roll is 41. Singersongwriter Jin (BTS) is 33.
Milk-Simmered Mashed Potatoes
Serves 8. Recipe is adapted from Milk Street Kitchen.
with the milk, which should almost cover the potatoes, and salt.
2. Bring to a simmer (don’t boil) and cook on low until most of the milk is absorbed and the potatoes are tender (it took mine about 50 minutes). Stir frequently to avoid scorching
Roasted Root Vegetables
and in Poland, “golumpki.” It is fascinating how this combination of ingredients tender cabbage wrapped around meat and rice — has become a common meal loved all around the world.
1. Place potatoes in a big pot
POTATOES
Continued from page 1D
improvable, which is why heretics sometimes add garlic, sour cream or Gruyere — but a lastminute switcheroo seemed like a bad idea without having tried it first. Cut to me in October, trying it. My friend Peter and I set up a control group with the usual method: boil cut-up potatoes (I like Yukon Gold) in water, pulverize them and then add in milk and butter At the same time, we also tried the “Milk Street” method, in which you simmer the potatoes in milk (you don’t want to boil, which would scald the milk) until it’s almost all absorbed, then mash the butter in In both cases, I used a hand masher rather than a ricer or food processor Long story short: The “Milk Street” method is better Way better.
The control group was still good but, when tasted side-byside with the cooked-in-milk version, they seemed watery and as bland as mashed potatoes are always accused of being Cooking potatoes in milk makes them richer, with almost a caramelized element, and with a much creamier consistency, as if
3. Remove from the heat, add butter and mash with a hand masher seasoning with additional salt and pepper to taste.
they’ve been whipped. They feel fancier restaurant-y but I’m confident they’d go great with the rest of a family feast.
This recommendation comes with some cautions:
n If you have people wedded to those mashed potatoes they’ve enjoyed since the Carter administration, they will notice the difference.
n I like my mashed potatoes a little less creamy, so I’d cut a half cup of milk next time.
n Watch out for the salt because, unlike the usual method, you’re not going to be pouring off any of it with the cooking water
n The Milk Street potatoes may be a bit lumpy, possibly because the milk is there from the get-go, instead of being added after you’ve mashed the potatoes until smooth
The biggest concern may be that, unless you make them ahead, these potatoes place additional demands on your holiday-challenged stovetop. They cook at a much lower heat than the boiled-in-water variety, which means they’re on the range for more than twice as long, competing for space with everything else.
But if you have a six-burner model or special appliances to take the heat off your stove, these mashed potatoes are worth a try at the holidays. Or at least an experiment 11 months later
My mother-in-law’s version of the dish came with a warning to be careful not to eat the toothpicks, which she used to ensure the meat filling did not fall out of the cabbage wrapping during cooking. This method of securing the rolls is effective, but there are other ways to fasten cabbage rolls together You can roll them and place them seam-side down in the
HEAT
Continued from page 1D
Despite its fiery looks, the dish is not all that intense on the palate. But it probably helps to have a bowl of steamed white rice at the ready just in case.
You can find Sichuan peppercorns, chili flakes and dried Sichuan chiles in any Asian market.
Chongqing Chicken
Serves 4-6. Recipe is from Cook’s Illustrated. Steamed jasmine rice is traditionally served with this dish. In fact, some would say it’s essential because it helps soak up the numbing flavor of the Sichuan peppercorns. To round it out with vegetables, add some garlicky broccoli or bok choy on the side.
FOR BATTER:
2⁄3 cup cornstarch
pot so they stay together while cooking. If your roll rips, you can always patch it with part of another cabbage leaf. Preparing this dish takes a little practice, but even if your cabbage rolls aren’t made with perfect precision, the end result is just as tasty
A colorful tray of roasted root vegetables pairs perfectly with stuffed cabbage rolls. I used carrots, parsnips, beets, turnips and sweet potatoes, but you can follow this recipe and use only your favorite vegetables. To add a little spice and flavor, try making a harissayogurt dressing to drizzle over the roasted vegetables. Harissa is a hot chili pepper paste of Tunisian origin made from roasted chiles, garlic, cumin coriander and caraway seeds. Mix it with yogurt, lemon
1/4 teaspoon monosodium glutamate, optional
6 garlic cloves, minces 4 scallions, chopped 1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced into thin matchsticks
4 ounces small dried Sichuan chiles
2 tablespoons Sichuan peppercorns
1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
1. Make batter: Whisk cornstarch, flour and baking powder together in a bowl. Whisk in water until smooth, then refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, toss chicken, soy sauce and wine in second bowl, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Set wire rack in rimmed baking sheet Set second wire rack in second sheet and line with paper towels.
4. Add oil to a large Dutch oven until it measures 11/2 inches deep and heat over medium heat to 400 F.
5. Whisk batter to recombine. Add chicken and toss to coat.
6. Using hands, remove half of chicken from batter and place in single layer on unlined rack. Let rest for 1 minute to allow excess batter to drip off.
7. Working quickly, use spider skimmer or slotted spoon to lower chicken pieces into hot oil. Using tongs or cooking chopsticks, separate pieces so they fry separately.
(Be careful not to splash hot oil!)
juice, garlic, honey and olive oil.
During the holiday season, it’s fun to have a signature holiday cocktail ready to make. The Aperol spritz is very popular during the summer months because it is light and refreshing. This variation is made with cranberry juice and garnished with a sprig of rosemary, so it looks very seasonal and offers a light and refreshing pre-meal beverage. To make a nonalcoholic version, simply mix cranberry juice and soda water and add a slice of orange. Cheers to cooking comfort foods this holiday season!
Liz Sullivan Faul is a registered dietitian nutritionist who enjoys cooking and sharing meals with her friends and family
8. Fry chicken until light golden brown, about 2 minutes. Adjust burner, if necessary, to maintain oil temperature between 375 and 400 F.
9. Using spider skimmer, transfer chicken to paper towel-lined rack. Return oil to 400 F and repeat with remaining chicken, then transfer to rack.
10. Return oil to 400 F over medium-high heat. Working in 2 batches, fry chicken a second time until deep golden brown and crisp, 2-4 minutes. Return chicken to rack lined with fresh paper towels.
11. Whisk chili flakes, sugar, salt and MSG, if using, in a small bowl. Measure out 1/4 cup frying oil and set aside (Discard remaining oil or save for another use.)
12. Heat an empty 14-inch flatbottom wok over medium-high heat until just beginning to smoke. Reduce heat to medium-low, drizzle reserved oil around perimeter of wok and heat until just smoking.
13. Add garlic, scallions and ginger and cook, tossing constantly, until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
14. Add chiles and peppercorns and cook, tossing constantly, until just toasted, about 1 minute.
15. Add chicken and sprinkle spice mix evenly over top. Cook, tossing constantly, until chicken is well coated, about 1 minute.
16. Off heat, add cilantro and toss gently to incorporate. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.
PHOTO By LIZ FAUL Roasted
Vegetables and Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
BRIEFS
FROM WIRE REPORTS
Wall Street pulls near its all-time high
NEW YORK U.S. stocks rose near their record levels on Wednesday as mixed data on the economy kept alive hopes that a cut to interest rates is coming soon. The biggest jump in the S&P 500 came from Microchip Technology, which leaped 12.2% after saying it expects sales and profit for the final months of the year to come in at the high end of the forecasted ranges it earlier gave. CEO Steve Sanghi said business is doing better than expected, and it’s reducing inventory levels Marvell Technology was another winner and rose 7.9% after the supplier of semiconductor products delivered a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected CEO Matt Murphy credited demand for its data center products, while also announcing a purchase of Celestial AI to bolster its artificial-intelligence infrastructure business. The deal’s price tag could top $3.25 billion.
Stocks broadly got a lift from easing Treasury yields in the bond market. Yields fell after a report suggested U.S. employers outside of the government may have cut more jobs in November than they added
While the surprisingly weak report from ADP may be discouraging for people looking for jobs, it also bolstered expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut its main interest rate next week. If the Fed does, that would be the third cut of the year in hopes of helping the slowing job market.
Arizona attorney general sues Temu
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced Tuesday that Arizona is the latest state to sue Temu and its parent company PDD Holdings Inc. over allegations that the Chinese online retailer is stealing customers’ data.
Mayes said the app deceives customers about the quality of its low-cost products and collects what she described as a shocking amount of sensitive data without the consent of users, including GPS locations and a list of other apps on phones
According to the lawsuit, prosecutors are concerned about Temu being subject to laws in China that require Chinese companies to hand over data requested by the government, and that its code is designed to evade security reviews.
“It can detect everywhere you go, to a doctor’s office, to a public library, to a political event, to your friends’ houses,” Mayes said during a news conference.
“So the scope of this invasion of privacy is enormous, and that’s why I consider it possibly the gravest violation of the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act that we have ever seen in Arizona.” In a statement, Temu denied the allegations.
Australia to enforce social media age limit
MELBOURNE, Australia Social media platforms must report monthly how many children’s accounts they close once Australia begins enforcing its 16year age limit next week, a minister said Wednesday Facebook, Instagram Kick, Reddit, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X and YouTube would face fines of up to $33 million from Dec. 10 if they fail to take reasonable steps to remove accounts of Australian children younger than 16. Livestreaming service Twitch was added to the list of age-restricted platforms less than two weeks ago.
The Australian eSafety Commissioner will send the 10 platforms notices on Dec 11 demanding information about the numbers of accounts removed Monthly notices would follow for six months. Google said Wednesday that anyone in Australia under 16 would be signed out of its platform
San Francisco sues food manufacturers
City says top companies created ‘public health crisis’
BY JAIMIE DING Associated Press
The city of San Francisco filed
a lawsuit against some of the nation’s top food manufacturers on Tuesday, arguing that ultraprocessed food from the likes of Coca-Cola and Nestle are responsible for a public health crisis.
City Attorney David Chiu named 10 companies in the lawsuit, which argues that ultraprocessed foods are linked to diseases such as Type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease and cancer
“They took food and made it un-
recognizable and harmful to the human body,” Chiu said in a news release. “These companies engineered a public health crisis, they profited handsomely, and now they need to take responsibility for the harm they have caused.”
Ultraprocessed foods include candy, chips, processed meats, sodas, energy drinks, breakfast cereals and other foods that are designed to “stimulate cravings and encourage overconsumption,” Chiu’s office said in the release. Such foods are “formulations of often chemically manipulated cheap ingredients with little if any whole food added,” Chiu wrote in the lawsuit.
The other companies named in the lawsuit are PepsiCo; Kraft Heinz Co.; Post Holdings; Mondelez International; General Mills;
Kellogg; Mars Incorporated; and ConAgra Brands.
None of the companies named in the suit immediately responded to emailed requests for comment.
The Consumer Brands Association, a trade group that represents many food manufacturers, said companies adhere to the safety standards established by the Food and Drug Administration.
“There is currently no agreed upon scientific definition of ultraprocessed foods and attempting to classify foods as unhealthy simply because they are processed, or demonizing food by ignoring its full nutrient content, misleads consumers and exacerbates health disparities,” Sarah Gallo, senior vice president of product policy for the group, said in a statement.
In October, California Gov
Gavin Newsom signed a first-inthe-nation law to phase out certain ultraprocessed foods from school meals over the next decade.
San Francisco’s lawsuit cites several scientific studies on the negative impact of ultraprocessed foods on human health.
“Mounting research now links these products to serious diseases — including Type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, heart disease, colorectal cancer, and even depression at younger ages,” University of California-San Francisco professor Kim Newell-Green said in the news release.
The lawsuit argues that by producing and promoting ultraprocessed foods, the companies violate California’s Unfair Competition Law and public nuisance statute.
Trump proposal weakens vehicle mileage rules that limits pollution
Fuel economy reductions would reverse Biden policy
BY MATTHEW DALY and ALEXA ST JOHN Associated Press
WASHINGTON President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a proposal to weaken vehicle mileage rules for the auto industry, loosening regulatory pressure on automakers to control pollution from gasoline-powered cars and trucks.
The plan if finalized next year would significantly reduce fuel economy requirements, which set rules on how far new vehicles need to travel on a gallon of gasoline, through the 2031 model year The rules will increase Americans’ access to the full range of gasoline vehicles they need and can afford, officials said.
The administration projects that the new standards would set the industry fleetwide average for light-duty vehicles at roughly 34.5 miles per gallon in the 2031 model year
The move is the latest action by the Trump administration to reverse Biden-era policies that encouraged cleaner-running cars and trucks, including electric vehicles. Burning gasoline for vehicles is a major contributor to planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions.
“From day one I’ve been taking action to make buying a car more affordable,” Trump said at a White House event that included top executives from the three largest U.S automakers.
The rule reverses a Biden-era policy that “forced automakers to build cars using expensive technologies that drove up costs, drove up prices and made the car much worse,” Trump said.
Rule change will save money, Trump says
The action is expected to save consumers about $1,000 off the price of a new car Trump said. New cars sold for an average of $49,766 on average in October according to Kelley Blue Book.
Automakers applauded the planned changes They had complained that the Biden-era rules were difficult to meet.
Ford CEO Jim Farley said the planned rollback was “a win for customers and common sense.”
“As America’s largest auto producer, we appreciate President Trump’s leadership in aligning fuel economy standards with market realities,” Farley said.
Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa said the automaker appreciates the administration’s actions to “realign” the standards “with real world market conditions.”
Since taking office in January, Trump has relaxed auto tailpipe emissions rules, repealed fines for automakers that do not meet federal mileage standards and terminated consumer credits of up to $7,500 for EV purchases.
Environmentalists decried the rollback.
“In one stroke Trump is worsening three of our nation’s most vexing problems: the thirst for oil, high gas pump costs and global warming,” said Dan Becker, director of the Safe Climate Transport Campaign for the Center for Biological Diversity
“Gutting the (gas-mileage) program will make cars burn more gas and American families burn more cash,” said Katherine García, director of the Sierra Club’s Clean Transportation for All program.
Trump has repeatedly pledged to end what he falsely calls an EV “mandate,” referring incorrectly to Democratic President Joe Biden’s target that half of all new vehicle sales be electric by 2030.
EVs accounted for about 8% of new vehicle sales in the United States in 2024, ac-
cording to Cox Automotive. No federal policy has required auto companies to sell EVs, although California and other states have imposed rules requiring that all new passenger vehicles sold in the state be zero-emission by 2035. Trump and congressional Republicans blocked the California law earlier this year
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy urged his agency to reverse existing fuel economy requirements, known as Corporate Average Fuel Economy, soon after taking office. In June, he said that standards set under Biden were illegal because they included use of electric vehicles in their calculation. EVs do not run on gasoline After the June rule revision, the traffic safety agency was empowered to update the requirements.
Under Biden, automakers were required to average about 50 mpg of gas for passenger cars by 2031, compared with about 39 mpg today The Biden administration also increased fuel-economy requirements by 2% each year for light-duty vehicles in every model year from 2027 to 2031, and 2% per year for SUVs and other light trucks from 2029 to 2031 At the same time, it called for stringent tailpipe rules meant to encourage EV adoption.
ists Comcast wants to combine assets with NBCUniversal
BY MEG JAMES Los Angeles Times (TNS)
Paramount is raising the stakes in its bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, upping its offer for the assets with backing from Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds, including Saudi Arabia, while rival Comcast has proposed creating a new entertainment entity Instead of offering cash, Comcast has proposed combining NBCUniversal with HBO and the Warner Bros. film and television studios to form a separate stand-alone entertainment company, according to people familiar with the bids but not authorized to comment.
Such a combination would marry robust film studios, deep libraries and middling streaming services, Warner’s HBO Max and NBCUniversal’s Peacock. It would give Universal’s theme parks a wealth of fan-favorite characters — including Batman, Harry Potter and Sheldon Cooper — to build new attractions.
Comcast, which would maintain the controlling stake, is not interested in absorbing Warner’s basic cable channels. Representatives of Paramount, Comcast, Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery declined to comment, citing the confidential nature of the bids. Comcast, Netflix and Paramount each submitted second-round proposals to Warner’s bankers Monday Warner Bros. Discovery hopes to select an auction winner this month.
Paramount, controlled by Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison and his family, has been pursuing Warner Bros. Discovery since September — one month after the billionaire family took the keys to Paramount from former owner Shari Redstone. With its latest offer, Paramount is hoping to stay competitive with a largely cash bid from streaming giant Netflix, which is interested in Warner Bros.’ enduring intellectual property and the studio’s prestigious 110-acre lot in Burbank. Bid amounts were unclear Tuesday evening. However, analysts say the various combinations could value Warner Bros. Discovery at nearly $70 billion — triple the company’s trading levels in early September Paramount is the only bidder interested in swallowing Warner’s portfolio of cable channels that
include CNN, TNT Food Network, Cartoon Network and TLC.
Paramount’s bid provides debt financing from Apollo Global Management and sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, the knowledgeable people said. Should Paramount win the Warner auction, the Ellison family and RedBird Capital Partners would maintain majority control of the bulked-up enterprise.
The Middle Eastern investors would have only a small stake, one of the knowledgeable people said. Variety and Bloomberg previously reported on the Middle Eastern wealth funds’ involvement in Paramount’s bid. Bloomberg first reported on Comcast‘s bid structure. Each of the various deal configurations would face stiff regulatory scrutiny
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By EVAN VUCCI
Ford President Jim Farley, center, in an Oval Office event on Wednesday, said President Donald Trump’s vehicle mileage rollback proposal is ‘a win for customers and common sense.’
sAGIttARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Making amove, clearing space to start anew project or getting back to basics and doing what makes you happy will have acalming effect. Relax and live in the moment.
cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Shareyour ideas, anditwill lead to advancement. A partnership lookspromising,and financial gains areinthe stars. Payattention to detail and changes that are transpiring. Consider how you can utilize what's unfolding to your benefit.
AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Display your attributesand offer your services. Setyoursights on what you want, and don't stop until you are satisfied with the results. Actions speak louder than words; give it your bestshot.
PIscEs(Feb. 20-March20) Take better care of your physical andemotional well-being. Use intelligence to navigate your wayforward. Put your energy where it brings thehighestreturns
ARIEs (March 21-April 19) You're sitting on atime-sensitive opportunity. If you snooze, you lose. Do your due diligence andtakecredit where credit is due. Ownthe spotlight, and make things happen.
tAuRus (April20-May20) Pay attention, and nurture relationships that matter. Address domestic issues,resolve personal problems and devise innovative plansthatpromote good health and longevity.
GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Be yourself,display your values andmove in adirec-
tion that motivates and inspires you to complete your mission. Recognize what you want and how to get it.
cAncER (June 21-July 22) Explore the possibilities and open doors that lead to financial opportunities. Refuse to let insecurity standbetween youand your desires. Speak up,get what you wantin writing and be the one to make things happen.
LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) You can have fun without going overboard. An adventure, getting back to nature or setting personal goals that excite you will enhance your life and give you something to strive for and look forward to.
VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept.22) Avoid altercations with associates,thoseyou live withand love interests. Takeamoment to digest what'shappening and figure out who the playersare before you engage. LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Reach out to someone you miss or want to reunite with. Attenda reunionortakeatrip somewhere that motivates you to follow your heartand dreams scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov.22) Doingsomething you love will give you the boost you needtocarry on andtake care of your responsibilities. Atrip to visit a place or person who sparks your imagination will be rejuvenating.
cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, past and present.Each letterinthe cipherstands for another toDAy's cLuE:P EQuALsJ
FAMILYCIrCUS
beetLe bAILeY
Mother GooSe And GrIMM
bIG
Sudoku
InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with severalgiven numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1to9inthe empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.
Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer
THewiZard oF id
BLondie
BaBY BLueS
Hi and LoiS
CurTiS
Puzzle Answer
By PHILLIP ALDER Bridge
CalvinCoolidge said, “Never go out to meet trouble. If you will just sit still, nine cases out of 10 someonewill intercept it before it reaches you.” Does thatapply at the bridge table?
Probably one’s immediate reaction is that it does not. However, think some more and you will remember the times when you thought you weregoing down in your contract,but suddenly adefender came to your rescue.Atother times, though, matters are in your ownhands. You must take apositive step to ensure thatyou do notget into trouble —asin this deal.
South cruises into three no-trump. West leads the spade jack and Eastplays hisking.How should South steer?
Declarer starts with six top tricks: two spades (given the first trick), two hearts, one diamond and one club. As the other three winners must come from clubs, it is tempting either to cash the club ace or to cross to dummy’s heart ace and call forthe club queen. As you can see, after either of these lines,South’s shipsinks.
Thereisasafety-play that guarantees smoothsailing even if clubs split 4-0. At tricktwo,South shouldlead alow club fromhishand.Here,Easttakesdummy’s jack with hiskingand returnsaspade.
Each Wuzzleisa word riddle whichcreates adisguised word,phrase, name, place, saying, etc. For example: NOON GOOD =GOOD AFTERNOON
Previous answers:
word game
InstRuctIons: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four 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, or vulgar or sexually explicit wordsare not allowed.
unseen using nene nine seeing seen segue seine siege sign signee
sine sing singe snug suing sung egis engine ennui ensign ensue
ensuing ingenue gene genie genius genuine genus guise
thought “yet Ihave left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowedtoBaal, and every mouth whichhas not kissed him.” 1Kings 19:18
loCKhorNs
marmaduKe
Bizarro
hagar the horriBle
Pearls Before swiNe
garfield
B.C.
PiCKles
hidato
mallard fillmore
Designand Con‐structionfor theprojects forwhich they areapply‐ing. Unless indicatedoth‐erwise in theproject de‐scription,there will be no additional feefor consul‐tants. Facility Planning and Controlisa participantin theSmall Entrepreneur‐ship Program (the Hud‐sonInitiative) andappli‐cantsare encouraged to consider participation. Informationisavailable from theOffice of Facility Planningand Controlor on itswebsite at https:// www.doa.la.gov/doa/ fpc/ Applications shallbede‐liveredormailedor emailedto: LOUISIANAENGINEERING SELECTIONBOARD c/oFACILITYPLANNING ANDCONTROL E-Mail: selection.board@la.gov Deliver: 1201 NorthThird Street ClaiborneOffice Building SeventhFloor Suite7-160 BatonRouge,LA70802 Mail: Post Office Box94095 BatonRouge,LA 70804-9095
Usethise-mailaddress forapplications only.Do notsendany othercom‐i i hi d y municationstothisad‐dress. Themeetingdatefor the LouisianaEngineering SelectionBoard is Wednesday, January14, 2026 at 11:00 AM in room 1-136C Thomas Jefferson Room of theClaiborne Building,1201 North ThirdStreet,Baton Rouge, LA 70802. If youhavea disability andwould like to request an accommodation in ordertoparticipate in this meeting, please con‐tact ChristinaCardona at Christina.Cardona@la govor(225) 342-6060 as soon as possiblebut no laterthan48hours be‐fore thescheduled meet‐ing. 166880 Dec. 4, 1t $92.37
y patient’s dateof dis‐charge from facility in accordance with Louisianastate laws Afterthisperiod, records maynolongerbeavail‐able 165935-nov15-dec5-21t $3,277.89
PUBLIC NOTICE Facility Closureand Access to Medical Records Please be advised that Sage Rehabilitation Hospital’s SkilledNursing Facility (SNF)located at 8000 Summa Ave.,Baton Rouge, LA 70809 will ceaseoperationseffec‐tive December 1, 2025. However, Please know that Sage Rehabilitation Hospital’s InpatientRe‐habilitation hospital will remain open andopera‐tional Sage is committed to ensuring that allpa‐tients and/or theirautho‐rizedrepresentatives continue to have access to theirmedical records followingthe SNFunit’s closure. HowtoObtain Your MedicalRecords: Patients and/or theirau‐thorized representatives mayobtaincopiesof theirmedical records upon proper authoriza‐tion.Requestsshouldbe directed to the Health In‐formationManagement (HIM)Department: •Organization: Sage Re‐habilitation Hospital SNF •Department: Health In‐formationManagement / MedicalRecords •Phone Number: 225-8190703 •Mailing Address: 8000 Summa Ave.,Baton Rouge, LA 70809 Medicalrecords will be retained fora minimum of ten(10) years from the
Public Notice Notice is hereby given pursuant to ArticleIV, Section21(D) (1)ofthe LouisianaConstitution that Southwestern Elec‐tric PowerCompany (“SWEPCO”),anelectric public utilitysupplying retail electric serviceto approximately231,000 customersineleven Parishes in theState of Louisianathrough itsre‐tail business, andwho also serves customersin Arkansas andTexas filed with theLouisiana Public ServiceCommission (“LPSC”) itsApplication forapprovalofits pro‐posedSystemImprove‐ment Plan (“SIP”). SWEPCO is committed to providingsafe andreli‐able electric servicein Louisiana, andthe pro‐posedSIP is thenext stageinthe Company’s ongoingefforts toward that goal. SWEPCO’s proposed Sys‐temImprovement Plan is made to complement andenhance theCom‐pany’s existing resiliency investments, to harden thedistributionsystem such that theCompany caneitherprevent,bet‐terwithstand,mitigate, andmorepromptlyre‐coverfromresiliency events.The proposed SIP hasbeen designed as a broadset of projects,in‐cludingapproximately $401.8million (nominal) in resiliency projects whichwould trim ap‐proximately6,095 linemilesofRight of Wayand harden over 629 linemilesoverroughly four years. If approved,the SIPwillenableSWEPCO to better withstand, adaptto, andrecover from future events in its serviceterritory.The eleven Parishes through whichSWEPCO’sservice area extendsin Louisianaare:Bossier Bienville, Caddo,DeSoto, Grant, Natchitoches,Red
River, Sabine,Webster Winn, andVernon. On November21, 2025, SWEPCO filedits Applica‐tion with supporting ex‐hibits,captioned In Re: ApplicationofSouth‐westernElectricPower Companyfor Authoriza‐tion of (I)the System Im‐provementPlan(II) Re‐latedRateRecoveryand (III) ExpeditedTreatment, submittedinaccordance with theCommission’s Rules. Pertinentdocket informationisprovided in theCommissions Offi‐cial Bulletin.The pro‐posedratechangeis sought primarilytore‐coverthe cost associ‐ated with theproposed System Improvement Plan,includesa pro‐posedRider andfor othercosts to be placed into aregulatoryasset, if approved by theCom‐mission. SWEPCO’s appli‐cation filedwiththe LPSC maybeviewedin theoffice of theLPSCin BatonRouge,Louisiana andalsoonthe LPSC’s website(www.lpsc. louisiana.gov). Addition‐ally,SWEPCOmay be contactedat318-6733453 regardingany ques‐tions. 169029 Dec. 4, 1t $308.70
NOTICE Notice is hereby givento allcitizensand to all otherinterestedpersons that theMayor andCity Councilofthe City of Port Allenwillhold a public hearingfor the purposeofadoptingan ordinanceofthe City of Port Allenproviding for theamendment of ap‐pendix CSection 25 of thePortAllen Code of Or‐dinances,relativeto seweruserfees.The
y y City Council MayorTerecitaPattan Published12/4/2025 168745 Dec. 4, 1t $11.51
of the LouisianaConstitution andLa. R.S. 42:19.1,that a public meetingwillbe held on Tuesday, January 6, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. at the Fire Protection District No.6 Headquarters,7878 Prescott Road,Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 70812, to pass aresolutioncall‐ingfor theapproval of therenewal of thelevy andcollectionofthe 5 mill,nine(9) year,adval‐orem property taxon property within theDis‐trict(the“Tax”)and au‐thorizingthe callingof an election on Saturday May16, 2025,for submis‐sion of thequestionof this millagerenewal to thevotersofthe District apolitical subdivisionof theState of Louisiana. TheTax will expire at the endofthe 2025 taxyear andthe renewal will be forthe years2026 through2034 (inclusive). Therevenue collectedin the firsttax year from this renewedmillage is estimatedtobe $351,194.50. This Taxis dedicatedtofund thede‐velopment, operation andmaintenance of the fire protection facilities of theDistrictincluding thecostofobtaining waterfor fire protection purposes and fire hy‐drants within theDis‐trict.A public comment period shallbeafforded priortoactionbeing takenonagendaitems whichrequire avote. 169224-dec4-1t $45.27
ceived by theProcure‐ment Sectionofthe Divi‐sion of Administration, 1201 N. 3rd. St 2nd. Floor,Suite 2-160, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, at 10:00 A.M. forthe follow‐ing: RFxNo. 3000025456, ChemTreatBNWater TreatmentChem. -SW, 12/17/25 Bidproposalforms,in‐formationand specifica‐tionsmay be obtained by accessingthe bidnum‐berinLaPac at www.doa Louisiana.gov/osp or from theprocurement sectionlistedabove.No bids will be received afterthe date andhour specified.The rightisre‐served to reject anyand allbidsand to waiveany informalities. TomKetterer Director of State Procurement FAX(225) 342-8688 169032 Dec. 4, 1t $11.77
PUBLIC NOTICE ORDINANCE2025-22 CITY OF ZACHARY PARISH OF EAST BATONROUGE STATEOFLOUISIANA ORDINANCEPERTAINING TO THEENLARGEMENT OF THEBOUNDARIESOF THECITYOFZACHARY BY THEANNEXATIONOF TRACTBBOFTHE LAWRENCE B. RITTER TRACT, CONTAINING 7.9787 ACRES+/-,IN§9, T5S, R1E, L/E.340 ACRES (RoW), WITHIN EAST BATONROUGE PARISH LOUISIANAINTOTHE MU‐NICIPALLIMITSOFTHE CITY OF ZACHARY
BE IT ORDAINED,bythe City Councilfor theCity of Zacharythat: TheOrdinancesfor the City of Zachary, Stateof Louisianaare hereby amendedbyadding to theMiscellaneous Provi‐sionstoreadasfollows: Annexation of property being8010 Lower ZacharyRoadand owned by Lionel K. Lawson and LindaM.Lawsonand beingdescribed as Tract BB of theLawrenceB Ritter Tract, containing 7.9787 acres, more or less, in §9 T5S, R1E, less andexceptParcel4-5 containing 0.340 acres (Right of Way),within East BatonRouge Parish StateofLouisiana BE IT FURTHEROR‐DAINED,bythe City Councilfor theCityof Zacharythatthe City of Zacharydoeshereby annexintoits corporate andmunicipallimitsthis certaintract,lot andpar‐celofimmovableprop‐erty which is described as follows: ONE(1) CERTAINTRACT OR PARCELSOFGROUND together with allthe buildingsand improve‐mentsthereon,and all therights, ways,privi‐leges, servitudes,appur‐tenances andadvan‐tagesthereuntobelong‐ingorinanywise apper‐
