The Acadiana Advocate 12-08-2025

ROOKIE QB SHOUGH’SHEROICS EARN THE SAINTS WINOVER

Louisiana schools geta chance to shine

State’snew grading system rewardsfor studentgrowth

BY PATRICK WALL Staff writer

Principal Jenenne Coulonwas observing ateacher’s lesson last month when text messages came pouring in. School grades had been released.

For Louisiana educators, the annual school ratingscan inspire delight or dread —a year’sworth of grueling work condensedtoa single A-F grade, which thepublic often sees as shorthand for whetheragiven school is “good” or “bad.” This year was especially nerve-wracking as the state issued,inadditiontoschools’official grades, simulatedscores based on atougher rating system that takes effect next year Coulon ran back to heroffice at Judge Lionel R. Collins Elementary School and pulledupthe grades.

The Marrero school, where about 90% of students areeconomically disadvantaged,had seen its rating fall to aD last year after taking in about100 students from two shuttered campuses. But this year,things drastically improved: Not only did Collins land on the state’slist of top-growing schools, boosting its official rating to aC,but its simulated grade was aB— the highest in Coulon’sdecade leading the school. She shrieked and cried, then collected herself before makinga schoolwide announcement. Finally,the grade reflectedthe school she knows, where educatorsstrive with each lesson, tutoringsession and pep talk to push students steadily forward.

ä See SCHOOLS, page 5A

BRINGON THEBOIL

State’sresidents andrestaurants preparefor ‘optimistic’ craw

fish season

BY JOANNA BROWN Staff writer

After amoderately dryand warm fall season, crawfish are starting to emerge from their burrows andland in boiling pots across Acadiana.

Todd Fontenot, an LSU AgCenter crawfish extension agentbased in AcadiaParish, said he is “optimistic for the season” —although he resists delving intoprediction,saying that thelifecycle of these crustaceans is extremely weather-dependent.

“We’re expecting anormal season,barring any adverse weather conditions,”hesaid.

“Last year,wewere very fortunate. We had some severecold, veryshort-lived, and a record-breaking snow,and fortunately we came out of allthatreally well. But those kinds of things can change your season, practically overnight.”

Some experts criticizeU.S.actions near Venezuela

BY BILL BARROW Associated Press

Avideo of aU.S. militarystrike on an alleged drug boat in theCaribbean that killed two survivors of theinitial attack shows“nothingremarkable,” the Republican

Last January,historicblizzard conditions in Louisianadropped up to 10 inches of snow in theLafayette area, around 7inches in Baton Rouge and the highest recorded total of over 13 inches near Grand Coteau.

Fontenot said theanomalous snowfall, stretching across the heart of crawfish country,had little impact on last year’s season, beyond delaying the emergence of somecrawfish.

“Wewere very fortunate that hit when it did,” he said.“Last year,our yields were definitely notrecord-breaking, but much better than the year of the drought.”

During summer 2023, intense heat and extremely low precipitation across the state led to $290 million in agricultural losses, according to professors Paul Miller andMatt Hiatt, of theDepartment of Oceanography

ä See CRAWFISH, page 5A

who leads the Senate Intelligence Committee said Sunday, andhe would not oppose its public release if the Pentagon were to declassify it

Arkansas Sen. TomCotton,who backs President Donald Trump’scampaign againstsuspected drugsmugglers,ispartially aligning himself with Trump and top Democrats in favor of releasing the video of the Sept

2attack. It was the first in what has becomea monthslong series of American strikes on vessels near Venezuela that theadministration says were ferrying drugs. At least 87 people have been killed in 22 known strikes.

ButCotton, among the top lawmakers on national security committees who were briefed Thursday by the Navy admiral

BY STEPHENMARCANTEL Staff writer

Part of thefederalspending bill that endedahistoricgovernment shutdown could also put an endto hemp-derived THCproducts in Louisiana.

The 2018 Farm Bill legalized industrial hemp and created aloophole that effectively legalized the psychoactive chemical THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol,found in the plant.

The bill ledtoaburgeoning industry in Louisiana producing edibles, drinks and tinctures, with some companies based in Lafayette Parish. Anew federal banis expected to take effect in the next 12 months, and if nothing changes fromnow,those businessessay they could lose everything.

That threat hadDwayneDugas, ownerofBlue Basin Canna,focused on his television as lawmakers in Washington sought to end the federal shutdown.

“It became adaily job for me,” Dugas said. “Pretty much glued to the TV,emailing people,making social media posts for everybody to email and call their congressman.”

Currently, state law caps products at 5milligrams of THCper item, with retailers only allowed to sell gummies in packs of eight.

Thenew federal lawwould prevent the sale of intoxicating hempderived and hemp-based products and would limit total THC per container to 0.4 milligrams. It would limit THC content to no morethan 0.3% on adry-weight basis.

ä See HEMP, page 5A

commandingthose strikes, is splitting withDemocrats over whethermilitary personnelacted lawfully in carrying out asecond strike to kill the two survivors. The nine others aboard the boat also werekilled. “I think it’sreally important that this video be made public. It’s not lost on anyone, of course, that the interpretation of the video broke downprecisely on

ä See STRIKE, page 5A

STAFF PHOTO By BRETT DUKE

JudgeLionel R. CollinsElementary

Principal Jenenne Coulon walks with secondgrader Indie Girard at the school in Marrero on Wednesday.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL DUNLAP

Angie Roches pours cooked crawfish into acontainer at University Seafood on Saturday.

The 2026 crawfish season in south Louisiana looks likeitwill be normal, according to LSU AgCenter crawfish extension agent Todd Fontenot.

Bullet-pocked lynching marker goes on display

ATLANTA A historical marker from the site of a 1918 lynching that was repeatedly vandalized in recent years is now safely on display in Atlanta in an exhibit that opens Monday

It memorializes an event that some people in rural southern Georgia have tried hard to erase: the killing of Mary Turner by a White mob that was bent on silencing her after she demanded justice for the lynching of her husband, Hayes Turner, and at least 10 other Black people

Pocked with bullet holes and cracked at its pedestal by an off-road vehicle, the Georgia Historical Society marker reads in part: “Mary Turner, eight months pregnant, was burned, mutilated, and shot to death by a mob after publicly denouncing her husband’s lynching the previous day No charges were ever brought against known or suspected participants in these crimes. From 1880-1930, as many as 550 people were killed in Georgia in these illegal acts of mob violence.”

Now each word damaged by bullets is projected on a wall, and visitors hear those words spoken by some of Turner’s six generations of descendants.

Americans learned about these lynchings in 1918 because they were investigated in the immediate aftermath by Walter White, who founded the Georgia chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and would become an influential voice for civil rights nationwide. A light-skinned Black man who could pass for White, he interviewed eyewitnesses and provided names of suspects to the governor of Georgia, according to his report in the NAACP’s publication, The Crisis.

Cinnabon worker fired after racist outburst

ASHWAUBENON,Wis.— A Cinnabon worker in Wisconsin has been fired after a racist outburst directed at two customers went viral, the Georgia-based cinnamon roll chain said.

Cinnabon posted a statement on social media that the worker, who it did not identify, was “immediately terminated” by the franchise owner over a “disturbing video” of the incident.

“Their actions and statements are completely unacceptable and in no way reflect the values of Cinnabon, our franchisees, or the welcoming environment we expect for every guest and team member,” the company added in a follow-up statement to The Associated Press on Sunday.

The video was posted on TikTok and showed a White, female employee cursing at and taunting the customers from behind the counter as one of them recorded the encounter At one point she is seen on video uttering a racial slur and saying, “I am racist and I’ll say it to the whole entire world. Don’t be disrespectful.”

The employee was also recorded giving an obscene hand gesture at customers and exchanging expletives with one of the people at the store.

Java island zoo releases photos of panda cub

JAKARTA, Indonesia A zoo on Java island released photos of Indonesia’s first locally-born giant panda cub, and said the male cub was showing signs of being in good health.

The mother, 15-year-old Hu Chun, gave birth to Satrio Wiratama — nicknamed Rio — on Nov 27 at the zoo’s facility in Cisarua, West Java province

The name symbolizes the hope, resilience and shared commitment of Indonesia and China in protecting endangered species, Taman Safari Indonesia said in a statement Sunday

“This birth is the result of a long-term international cooperation program that has been ongoing for a decade, since the arrival of giant pandas Hu Chun and Cai Tao to Indonesia in 2017 as part of a 10-year conservation partnership with China,” said the statement.

Rio is in stable condition and under 24-hour monitoring by zoo’s team, showing healthy early signs such as strong vocalization, effective nursing and steady weight gain.

Israel: Ceasefire will enter 2nd phase soon

BY MELANIE LIDMAN and KIRSTEN GRIESHABER Associated Press

TEL AVIV, Israel Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel and Hamas are “very shortly expected to move into the second phase of the ceasefire,” after Hamas returns the remains of the last hostage held in Gaza Netanyahu spoke during a news conference with visiting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and stressed that the second phase, which addresses the disarming of Hamas and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, could begin as soon as the end of the month.

Hamas has yet to hand over the remains of Ran Gvili, a 24-year-old police officer who was killed in the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war His body was taken to Gaza.

The ceasefire’s second stage also includes the deployment of an international force to secure Gaza and forming a temporary Palestinian government to run day-to-day affairs under the supervision of an international board led by U.S. President Donald Trump.

A senior Hamas official on Sunday told The Associated Press the group is ready to discuss “freezing or storing or laying down” its weapons as part of the ceasefire in a possible approach to one of the most difficult issues ahead.

Netanyahu said few people believed the ceasefire’s first stage could be achieved, and the second phase is just as challenging.

“As I mentioned to the chancellor there’s a third phase, and that is to deradicalize Gaza, something that also people believed was impossible. But it was done in Germany, it was done in Japan, it was done in the Gulf States. It can be done in Gaza, too, but of course Hamas has to be dismantled,” he said.

The return of Gvili’s remains and Israel’s return of 15 bodies of Palestinians in exchange would complete the first phase of Trump’s 20-point ceasefire plan.

Hamas says it has not been able to reach all remains because they are buried under rubble left by Israel’s two-year offensive in Gaza. Israel has accused the militants of stalling and threatened to resume mili-

Benin’s

leader condemns foiled coup attempt

BY VIRGILE AHISSOU and OPE ADETAYO Associated Press

COTONOU,Benin — Benin President Patrice Talon on Sunday condemned an attempted coup that was foiled by the country’s army in his first public comments since sporadic gunfire was heard in parts of the administrative capital, Cotonou.

A group of soldiers appeared on Benin’s state TV earlier Sunday to announce the dissolution of the government in an apparent coup which would have been the latest of many in West Africa. The group called itself the Military Committee for Refoundation.

Later, Interior Minister Alassane Seidou announced in a video on Facebook that the attempted coup had been “foiled,” but Talon, whose location was unclear did not comment.

“I would also like to take this opportunity to express my condolences to the victims of this senseless adventure, as well as to those still being held by the fleeing mutineers,” the president said in a televised address to the nation that ended his silence. “I assure them that we will do everything in our power to find them safe and sound.”

The coup attempt is the latest in a string of military takeovers and attempt-

tary operations or withhold humanitarian aid if all remains are not returned.

A group of families of hostages said in a statement that “we cannot advance to the next phase before Ran Gvili returns home.”

Meanwhile, Israeli military Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir on Sunday called the so-called Yellow Line that divides the Israeli-controlled majority of Gaza from the rest of the territory a “new border.”

“We have operational control over extensive parts of the Gaza Strip and we will remain on those defense lines,” Zamir said. “The Yellow Line is a new border line, serving as a forward defensive line for our communities and a line of operational activity.”

Merz said Germany, one of Israel’s closest allies, is assisting with the implementation of the second phase by sending officers and diplomats to a U.S.-led civilian and military coordination center in southern Israel, and by sending humanitarian aid to Gaza.

The chancellor also said Germany still believes that a two-state-solution is the best possible option but that “the German federal government remains of the opinion that recognition of a Palestinian state can only come at the end of such a process, not at the beginning.”

The U.S.-drafted plan for Gaza leaves the door open to Palestinian independence. Netanyahu has long asserted that creating a Palestinian state would reward Hamas and eventually lead to an even larger Hamasrun state on Israel’s borders.

Netanyahu also said that while he would like to visit Germany he hasn’t planned a diplomatic trip because he is concerned about an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court, the U.N.’s top war crimes court, last year in connection with the war in Gaza.

Merz said there are currently no plans for a visit but he may invite Netanyahu in the future. He added that he is not aware of future sanctions against Israel from the European Union nor any plans to renew German bans on military exports to Israel.

Germany had a temporary ban on exporting military equipment to Israel, which was lifted after the ceasefire began on Oct. 10.

Soldiers ride in a military vehicle Sunday along a street amid an attempted coup in Cotonou,

ed takeovers that have rocked West Africa. Last month, a military coup in Guinea-Bissau removed former President Umaro Embalo after a contested election in which both he and the opposition candidate declared themselves winners.

Talon did not provide figures on casualties or hostages in Sunday’s attempted coup.

“In the early morning of Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, a small group of soldiers launched a mutiny to destabilize the state and its institutions,” Seidou said. “Faced with this situation, the Beninese Armed Forces and their leadership, true to their oath, remained committed to the republic.”

The regional bloc, the Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, said it ordered the deployment of troops from Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast and Ghana to support Benin’s army to “preserve constitutional order and the territorial integrity of the Republic of Benin.”

ECOWAS earlier called the attempted coup “a subversion of the will of the people of Benin.”

Judge deals setback to DOJ effort to indict Comey again

BY ERIC TUCKER Associated Press

WASHINGTON — A federal judge has dealt a setback to Justice Department efforts to seek a new indictment against former FBI Director James Comey, temporarily barring prosecutors from using evidence they had relied on when they initially secured criminal charges.

The ruling Saturday night from U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly does not preclude the department from trying again soon to indict Comey, but it does suggest prosecutors may have to do so without citing communications between Comey and a close friend, Columbia University law professor Daniel Richman. Comey was charged in September with lying to Congress when he denied having authorized an associatetoserveasananonymous source for media coverage about the FBI. In pursuing the case, prosecutors cited messages between Comey and Richman that they said showed Comey approving of Richman interacting with journalists for certain FBIrelated coverage. The case was dismissed last month after a different federal judge ruled that the prosecutor who filed the charges, Lindsey Halligan, was unlawfully appointed by the Trump administration. But that ruling left open the possibility that the government could try again to seek charges against Comey, a longtime foe of President Donald Trump. Comey has pleaded not guilty, denied having made a false statement and accused the Justice Department of a vindictive prosecution After the case was thrown out, lawyers for Richman sought a court order to bar prosecutors from continued access to his computer files, which the Justice Department obtained through search warrants in 2019 and 2020 as part of a media leak investigation that was later

closed without charges. Officials searched the files for communications between Comey and Richman they could use to build the case against Comey But Richman and his lawyers say prosecutors exceeded the scope of the warrants, illegally held onto communications they should have destroyed or returned, and conducted new, warrantless searches of the data.

Kollar-Kotelly on Saturday night granted Richman’s request for a temporary restraining order, instructing the department “not to access the covered materials once they are identified, segregated, and secured, or to share, disseminate, or disclose the covered materials to any person, without first seeking and obtaining leave of this Court.” She gave the Justice Department until Monday afternoon to certify that it is in compliance with the order She said her order would remain in effect through this coming Friday, “or until dissolved by further order of this Court, whichever comes first.”

“Petitioner Richman has also shown that, absent an injunction, he will be irreparably harmed by the ongoing violation of his Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable seizures arising from the Government’s continuing retention of the image of his computer and related materials,” she wrote in granting Richman’s request. A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment Sunday on the ruling and what it meant for revived charges against Comey It is not clear that the Justice Department could secure new charges against Comey even if it could rely on Richman’s communications. Comey’s lawyers have said the statute of limitations on such a case — the congressional testimony at issue was given on Sept. 30, 2020, or more than five years ago has expired.

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ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ABDEL KAREEM HANA

Palestinians walk Saturday through the destruction left by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, northern Gaza Strip.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO

Benin.

Recordsoffer detailsinN.O.immigration crackdown

BY JIM MUSTIAN and JACK BROOK Associated Press

State and federal authorities are closely tracking online criticism andprotests against the immigration crackdown in New Orleans, monitoring message boards around the clock for threats to agents while compiling regularupdates on public “sentiment” surrounding the arrests, according to law enforcement records reviewed by The Associated Press

The intelligence gathering comes even as officials have released few details about thefirst arrests made last weekaspart of “Catahoula Crunch,” prompting calls for greater transparency from local officials who say they’ve been kept in the dark about virtually every aspect of the operation.

“Online opinions still remain mixed, with some supporting the operations while others are against them,” said abriefing circulated early Sunday to law enforcement. Earlier bulletins noted “a combination of groups urgingthe public to record ICE and Border Patrol”as well as “additional locations where agents can findimmigrants.”

Immigration authorities have insisted the sweepsare targeted at “criminal illegal aliens.” But the law enforcement records detail criminal histories for less than athird of the 38 people arrested in the first two daysof the operation.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol agents questionoccupants of avehicle they pulledoverFridayduring an immigration crackdown in

in an operation welcomed by Louisiana’sRepublican Gov Jeff Landry.Both the FBI and Customs and Border Protection have stationed agents at theLouisiana StateAnalytical and Fusion Exchange, an intelligenceand data sharing centerthatisclosely following discussions on the online forum Reddit that local residents have used to exchange informationabout the immigration raids.

One briefing noted that some“have gone so faras to accuse agents of racially profiling Hispanic areas specifically.” Another flagged social media posts suggesting agents “are notkeeping with the missionoftargeting criminal immigrants only.”

And athird pointed out that critics of the raids “bring up past hurricanes and the work done by immigrants” in their aftermath.

support”toimmigration authorities and warned the public that troopers will arrest anyone who assaults afederal agentorcauses criminal damage to property

“The Louisiana State Police remains vigilant in monitoring socialmedia activity related to protests, activism and other forms of public response,” Trooper Danny Berrincha, astate police spokesperson, wrote in an emailto theAP. “Through theLSP Fusion Center,weactively track developments and facilitate the sharing of information and communication among ourpartner agencies.”

“It confirms what we already knew —this wasnot aboutpublic safety, it’sabout stoking chaos and fear and terrorizingcommunities,” saidstate Sen. Royce Duplessis, aDemocratwho representsNew Orleans. “It’sfurtheringa sick narrativeof stereotypesthatimmigrants are violent.”

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not respondto questionsabout theintelligence gathering andreferredthe AP to a priornews release touting “dozens of arrests.” The agency has not releasedan accounting of the detainees taken into custody or their criminal histories. DHS has publicly detailed only six arrests stemming from the operation —all people withcriminal histories— including aman they vaguely said wasconvicted of “homicide” and another convicted of sexual assault. The agency,which hasseveralhun-

Local leaders toldthe AP those numbers —which law enforcement officials were admonished not to distribute to the media —undermined the stated aim of theroundup. They also expressed concern that the online surveillance could chill free speech as authorities threaten to charge anyone interfering with immigration enforcement.

Kremlinpraises new U.S. security strategy

Russian strikes kill 4inUkraine

BY SUSIE BLANN Associated Press

KYIV,Ukraine Russia on Sunday welcomed the Trump administration’s new national security strategy in comments by the Kremlin spokesman published by Russia’sTassnews agency Dmitry Peskov said the updated strategic document was largely in line with Moscow’svision.

“Thereare statements there against confrontation and in favor of dialogue and building good relations,” he said, adding that Russia hopes this would lead to “further constructive cooperation with Washington on the Ukrainian settlement.”

The document released

Fridayby theWhite House said theU.S.wants to improve its relationship with Russiaafter years of Moscow being treated as aglobal pariah and that ending the war is acore U.S.interestto “reestablish strategic stability with Russia.”

The spokesman’scommentscame as Russian missile, drone and shelling attacks overnight and Sunday killedatleast four people in Ukraine, after U.S. and Ukrainian officials wrapped up athird dayoftalks aimed at endingthe war

Aman was killed ina drone attack on Ukraine’s northern Chernihiv region Saturdaynight, localofficials said,while acombined missile and drone attackon infrastructure in thecentral cityofKremenchukcaused powerand water outages. Kremenchuk is home to one

dred agentsonthe ground in southeastLouisiana, has said it aims to make at least5,000 arrests in theregion over an operation expected to lastup to twomonths “Americans should be able to live without fear of violentcriminal illegal aliens harming them, their families or their neighbors,”

DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said.

DHSand Republican leaders have framed the crackdown as targeting the most violent offenders. But the records reviewed by the AP identify only nine of the38 people arrested in thefirst days as having criminal histories that rose beyond traffic violations —information theintelligence bulletins warn “should notbedistributed to the media.”

New Orleans City Council President J.P.Morrell said the statedgoals of the operation to arrest violent offenders did not alignwith therealityofwhat is taking place.

“There’s literally no infor-

mation being given to the city of New Orleans whatsoever,” Morrell said. “Ifthe goal wasfor them to come here andaugment existing law enforcement,topursue violentcriminals or people with extensive criminal histories, why wouldn’tyou be moretransparent about who you’ve arrested and why?”

Morrelland otherofficials have said the crackdown appears to be adragnet focused on people withbrown skin, citing viral videos of encounters such as masked agents chasing a23-year-old U.S. citizenreturning home from the grocery store.

Law enforcement officials have been carefully trackingsuchfootageand public reaction. “For some supporters,the videos with sounds of children crying in the background as theirparents areplacedunder arrest, is weighing heavyontheir hearts,” one briefing stated.

The records also shed new light on cooperation among state andfederal authorities

of Ukraine’sbiggest oilrefineries and is an industrial hub.

Kyiv andits Western allies say Russia is trying to cripple theUkrainian power grid anddenycivilians accessto heat, light andrunning water for afourth consecutive winter, in what Ukrainian officials call “weaponizing” thecold.

Three people were killed and 10 others wounded Sundayinshelling by Russian

troops in Ukraine’sKharkiv region, according to theregional prosecutor’soffice.

Thelatestround of attacks came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday he had a“substantive phone call” with American officials engaged in talkswith aUkrainian delegation in Florida.He said he hadbeen given an update overthe phone by U.S.and Ukrainian officials at the talks.

“The chatter is slower during the night, mainly just commenting on posts from earlier in the day,” one of the briefings states. “Once daylightarrivesand agencies are back out, the chatter and new posts will pick back up.”

The briefings have identified no threats to law enforcement, but the fusion center has sought to debunk what it called false reports that apedestrian was fatally struck by law enforcement. “Ithas been confirmedthat this actually did notoccur,” the centertoldlaw enforcement on Saturday One briefing describedan incident involving “suspiciouspersons/protesters” whoshowed up early Saturday at an ICE facility in St.CharlesParish, where records show the detainees wereexpected to be processed.

Some local officials said they hadbeen unaware of the state’srole in the online monitoring. Louisiana State Police pledged “operational

The fusion center also has trackedthe toolsusedbyprotesters to foil federal immigration enforcement, highlighting social media links to whistle handouts, trainings on filming federal agents and the emergence of ahotline for reporting arrests. The surveillance extended to activist discussions about immigration authorities’ presencenear an elementary school and recapped demonstrations inside theNew Orleans City Council chambers and elsewhere.

“Theycan monitor me all they want,” said Rachel Taber,anorganizer with the New Orleans-based grassroots advocacy group Union Migrante,whichshares crowdsourced reports and videos of the federal immigrationenforcementoperations. “Weare not doing anything illegal.”

Beth Davis, aspokesperson forIndivisibleNOLA, which hasorganized some of thetrainings described in the law enforcement briefings, said it was sad authorities seemed preoccupied with law-abiding citizens. “That theyfeel threatened by a bunch of community organizers that have nothing other than phones and whistles blows my mind.”

Fire at nightclub in Indiakills 25

By The Associated Press

NEW DELHI— Afire ripped through apopular nightclub in India’sGoa state, killing 25 people, including tourists, the state’schief minister said Sunday

The blaze occurredjust past midnight in Arpora village in North Goa,a party hub, some15-miles from the state capital, Panaji.

Goa’sChief Minister Pramod Sawant said most of the dead were the club’s kitchen workers, as well as threetofourtourists. Six people wereinjured and are in stable condition,he said. Allthe bodieshave been recovered.

By The Associated Press

LONDON Policearrested a man at London’sHeathrow Airport on Sunday after a crowd of people were hit with pepper spray during a robbery at aparking garage that caused several hours of travel disruptions. Five people weretaken by ambulance to ahospital andanother16, including a 3-year-old girl, were treated at thescene, officials said. None of the injuries was believedtobeserious. The incident in the Terminal3garage on the outskirts of Londonhappened when agroup of four men stole a woman’ssuitcaseinaneleva-

torand sprayedher with an irritant, Metropolitan Police said.

Passenger TomBate said he saw three young men in blackwith theirheads covered runfrom the elevator and thenheexperienced aburning sensation in his throat and immediately began hacking.

Police said the robbery victim andthe assailants knew each other andthe crime was not being investigated as terrorism

Bate said he initially feared the worst as alarge group of officerscarrying guns —a rarity in theU.K. where most police don’tcarry weapons— ranpasthim shouting.

The fire was caused by agas cylinderblast and hasbeen extinguished, the Press Trust of Indianews agency reported, quoting local police. However,witnesses told the agency that the fire began on the club’s first floor,where nearly 100 tourists were on the dance floor.Several rushed to the kitchen below in the chaos and got trapped along with staff, it said.

Fatima Shaikh said the commotionbegan as flames erupted, according to the news agency.“We rushed out of the club only to see that the entire structure wasupinflames,” she said.

The nightclub, located

along the Arpora River backwaters, had anarrow entry andexit that forced the firefighters to park their tankers about 1,300 feet away,delayingthe efforts, the news agency said. Sawant said the club had violated firesafety regulations. The state governmentordered an inquiry to determine the exact cause of the fire and responsibility,hesaid, adding that authorities would act against the club management and officials who allowed it to operatedespite theviolations.

Local village council official Roshan Redkar told the newsagency that authorities had earlier issued ademolitionnoticefor the club, whichdidn’thave construction permit from the government. But higher officials rolled back the order,hesaid.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By GERALD HERBERT

Kenner

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTO Anightclub in Arpora in Goa, India, is charred after a fire early Sunday

PHOTO PROVIDEDByUKRAINIAN 65 MECHANIZED BRIGADE

AUkrainian soldier tests land drones on Saturday in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine.

Number of Pearl Harbor survivors is dwindling

People turn to other ways to learn about the bombing

BY AUDREY MCAVOY Associated Press

HONOLULU Survivors of the 1941 Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor have long been the center of a remembrance ceremony held each year on the military base’s waterfront.

But today only 12 are still alive — all centenarians — and this year none were able to make the pilgrimage to Hawaii to mark the event Sunday

That means no one who attended had firsthand memories of serving during the attack, which killed more than 2,300 troops and catapulted the U.S. into World War II. The development is not a surprise and is an evolution of an ongoing trend. As survivors fade, their descendants and the public are increasingly turning to other ways of learning about the bombing

“The idea of not having a survivor there for the first time — I just, I don’t know — it hurt my heart in a way I can’t describe,” said Kimberlee Heinrichs, whose 105-yearold father Ira “Ike” Schab had to cancel plans to fly in from Oregon after falling ill.

Survivors have been present every year in recent memory except for 2020, when the Navy and the National Park Service closed the observance to the general public because of coronavirus pandemic health risks.

The ceremony began with a moment of silence at 7:55 a.m. local, the same time the attack began on Dec. 7, 1941. Solemn rituals followed. Fighter jets flew overhead in “missing man formation,” in which one jet peels off to symbolize those lost. Survivors typically present wreaths to honor the dead, though active duty troops have assumed this job in recent years Survivors also would rise to salute active

duty sailors who themselves salute as their ship passes the USS Arizona Memorial, which sits above submerged hull of the battleship sunk in the attack

About 2,000 survivors attended the 50th anniversary event in 1991. A few dozen have showed in recent decades. Last year, only two made it. That is out of an estimated 87,000 troops stationed on Oahu that day

Many survivors were jovial despite the occasion, happy to catch up with old friends and pose for photographs Even so, harrowing recollections were seldom far from their minds.

In 2023, Harry Chandler gazed across the water while telling an Associated Press reporter how he was raising the flag at a mobile hospital in the hills above the base when he saw Japanese planes fly in and drop bombs. Chandler and

his fellow Navy hospital corpsmen jumped in trucks to help the injured.

He spoke of seeing the Arizona explode, and of hearing sailors trapped on the capsized USS Oklahoma desperately tapping on their ship’s hull to summon rescue. He helped care for Oklahoma sailors after crews cut holes in the battleship.

“I can still see what was happening,” Chandler said. He died the next year at a senior living center in Tequesta, Florida.

The bombing has long held different meanings for different people, the historian Emily S Rosenberg wrote in her book “A Date Which Will Live: Pearl Harbor in American Memory.”

Some say it highlights the need for a well-prepared military and a vigilant foreign policy To some it evokes then-President Franklin

D. Roosevelt administration’s “ineptitude or deceit” and the unfair scapegoating of the military Others focus on the “treachery” of Japan or the heroic acts of individual troops, she wrote.

Asked what he wanted Americans to know about Pearl Harbor, Chandler said: “Be prepared.”

“We should have known that was going to happen. The intelligence has to be better,” he said.

Lou Conter, who was Arizona’s last living survivor when he died last year at 102, told the AP in 2019 he liked to attend to remember those who lost their lives.

“It’s always good to come back and pay respect to them and give them the top honors that they deserve,” Conter said.

Heinrichs’ father has been six times since 2016. The former tuba player on the USS Dobbin likes to go not only to remember those

killed but also in place of his late band mates; his three brothers who fought in World War II; and the now-deceased Pearl Harbor survivors he has met.

Retired National Park Service

Pearl Harbor historian Daniel Martinez said the circumstances resemble the early 20th century when Civil War veterans were dying in increasing numbers. Awareness grew that soon they wouldn’t be able to share their stories of Gettysburg and other battles, he said.

Martinez knew something similar could happen with Pearl Harbor survivors and recorded their oral histories. During a 1998 convention, he conducted interviews 12 hours a day for three days. The Park Service today has nearly 800 interviews, most on video.

“They remain as a part of the national memory of a day that changed America and changed the world,” Martinez said.

The Park Service shows some in its Pearl Harbor museum and aims to include more after renovations, said David Kilton, the agency’s Pearl Harbor interpretation, education and visitor services lead.

The Library of Congress has collections from 535 Pearl Harbor survivors, including interviews, letters, photos and diaries Over 80% are online. They are part of the library’s Veterans History Project of firsthand recollections of veterans who served in World War I onward. Many were recorded by relatives, Eagle Scouts and other amateurs interested in documenting history

The Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors gives presentations in schools and marches in parades to share the stories of their families. The California chapter has added six new members this year, including two great-grandchildren of survivors.

“When they’re all gone, we’re still going to be here,” said Deidre Kelley the group’s president. “And it’s our intent to keep the memory alive as long as we’re alive.”

BY MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press

TOKYO Japan and Australia urged calm on Sunday after Chinese military aircraft locked radar on Japanese fighter jets, a month after the Japanese leader’s recent remarks on Taiwan that stirred tensions between Tokyo and Beijing.

Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said Japan formally protested the incident, calling it “an extremely regrettable” act and “a dangerous” one that “exceeded the scope necessary for safe aircraft operations.”

“We have lodged a strong protest with the Chinese side and demanded strict preventive measures,” Koizumi said.

Japan’s Defense Ministry said China’s military aircraft J-15 took off from the Chinese carrier Liaoning near the southern island of Okinawa on Saturday and “intermittently” latched its radar on Japanese F-15 fighter jets on two occasions Saturday, for about three minutes in the late afternoon and for about 30 minutes in the evening. It was not made clear whether the radar lock incident involved the same Chinese J-15 both times. Japanese fighter jets had been scrambled to pursue Chinese ones that were conducting aircraft takeoff and landing exercises in the Pacific. They were pursuing

the Chinese aircraft at a safe distance and did not take actions that could be interpreted as provocation, Kyodo News agency said, quoting defense officials, when the radar lock happened. There was no breach of Japanese airspace, and no injury or damage was reported from the incident

Senior Colonel Wang Xue-

Feds waive part of Biden-era fine against Southwest Airlines

BY DEE-ANN DURBIN Associated Press

The U.S. Department of Transportation is waiving part of a fine assessed against Southwest Airlines after the company canceled thousands of flights during a winter storm in 2022. Under a 2023 settlement reached by the Biden administration, Southwest agreed to a $140 million civil penalty The government said at the time that the penalty was the largest it had ever imposed on an airline for violating consumer protection laws. Most of the money went toward compensation for travelers. But Southwest agreed to pay $35 million to the U.S. Treasury Southwest made a $12 million payment in 2024 and a second $12 million payment earlier this

year But the Transportation Department issued an order Friday waiving the final $11 million payment, which was due Jan. 31.

The department said Southwest should get credit for significantly improving its on-time performance and investing in network operations.

“DOT believes that this approach is in the public interest as it incentivizes airlines to invest in improving their operations and resiliency, which benefits consumers directly,” the department said in a statement. “This credit structure allows for the benefits of the airline’s investment to be realized by the public, rather than resulting in a government monetary penalty.” The fine stemmed from a winter storm in December 2022 that paralyzed South-

west’s operations in Denver and Chicago and then snowballed when a crew-rescheduling system couldn’t keep up with the chaos. Ultimately the airline canceled 17,000 flights and stranded more than 2 million travelers.

The Biden administration determined that Southwest had violated the law by failing to help customers who were stranded in airports and hotels, leaving many of them to scramble for other flights. Many who called the airline’s overwhelmed customer service center got busy signals or were stuck on hold for hours.

Even before the settlement, the nation’s fourth-biggest airline by revenue said the meltdown cost it more than $1.1 billion in refunds and reimbursements, extra costs and lost ticket sales over several months.

meng, spokesperson for the Chinese navy, defended China’s flight training near the island of Miyako Saturday saying Beijing announced the exercises beforehand and accused Japanese aircraft of “harassment.”

“We solemnly asked the Japanese side to immediately stop slandering and smearing, and strictly restrain its frontline actions.

The Chinese Navy will take necessary measures in accordance with the law to resolutely safeguard its own security and legitimate rights and interests,” Wang said in a statement posted Sunday on the Chinese Ministry of Defense website.

Relations between Japan and China have worsened after Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said in early November its military could get involved if China were to take action against Taiwan, the self-governing island that Beijing claims as its own.

Takaichi later Sunday called the radar lock-in “extremely disappointing.”

“We will act calmly and

resolutely,” she said, vowing to do the utmost in carrying out surveillance operations around Japanese waters and airspace, while closely watching Chinese military activity around Japan.

Japan and Australia, whose defense ministers held their scheduled talks in Tokyo on Sunday, expressed worry over the development.

“We are deeply concerned by the actions of China in the last 24 hours,” Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles told a joint news conference Sunday after holding talks with Koizumi. “We expect those interactions to be safe and professional.”

Australia does “not want to see any change to the status quo across the Taiwan Straits,” Marles said, adding that China is his country’s largest trade partner and he wants to have productive relations with Beijing.

“We continue to advocate to China about these issues again, in a very calm, sensible and moderate way,” he said.

Japan and Australia, dur-

ing Sunday talks, agreed to bolster military ties to lead the region’s multilateral defense cooperation. The two ministers agreed to form a comprehensive “framework for strategic defense coordination” and discuss further details. Tokyo has been accelerating its military buildup while expanding its defense ties beyond its only treaty ally the United States. It now considers Australia to be a semi-ally Marles also visited a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries shipyard in Nagasaki on Saturday to observe production of the upgraded Mogamiclass frigate that his country chose in September as a replacement for its aging fleet. Saturday’s radar lock is believed to be the first involving Japanese and Chinese military aircraft. In 2013, a Chinese warship targeted a radar on a Japanese destroyer, Kyodo said. Fighter jets use radars for search operations or fire control ahead of a missile launch.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MENGSHIN LIN

World War II veterans and government officials salute Sunday during the 84th Pearl Harbor remembrance day ceremony in Honolulu.

KyODO NEWS PHOTO

Japan’s

SCHOOLS

Continued from page 1A

“I felt vindicated,” Coulon said. “We work so hard over here, and now it’s showing up in the accountability system.

For most schools, the simulated scores were a worrying preview of challenges ahead. Hundreds of campuses, including 75% of the state’s high schools, would have earned lower grades under the new rating system than the current one, which ends this year

Yet just over 130 public schools, or about 10% of the total, defied the trend. Those campuses, almost all elementary or middle schools, managed to get higher grades under the tougher system.

One likely reason is that the schools excel at catching up students who start behind

The new rating system rewards that by putting much more weight on growth, or how much students’ test scores improve each year while deemphasizing proficiency, or the share of students who met grade-level targets.

Focusing on proficiency can penalize schools that serve more economically disadvantaged students, whom research shows often enter school below grade level, said Douglas Harris, a Tulane University economist who studies education. By contrast, growth accounts for students’ different starting points by emphasizing progress over final scores.

“Schools don’t control where students are on the first day of school,” Harris said in an email, “but they do control what students learn and how they grow So, we should reward them for that.”

Rewarding progress

The state’s new rating system, which will be used to calculate school grades next fall, puts a premium on such growth.

Students’ year-over-year improvement on state tests will count for 54% of each K-8 school’s grade, more than double its weight un-

HEMP

Continued from page 1A

The new law would not impact the 20 states that allow recreational use of marijuana or the 40 states, including Louisiana that allow marijuana use for medical purposes. However, under the new limitations, businesses that rely on low-level THC or alternative cannabinoids will now be federally illegal once the law goes into effect.

The state industry, which is about 5 years old, had sales last year of about $33 million, generating about $4.3 million in tax revenues in Louisiana, according to the Louisiana Hemp Association. If the law goes into effect, it will come at a steep cost for Dugas, who said he used his entire life savings to keep his company afloat when Louisiana, one of the most regulated states in the U.S., tightened the screws on hemp-derived THC products.

growth-driven rating system, jumped to a C.

Though its proficiency rates remain far below state averages, with just 19% of students reaching mastery or above in English and 11% doing so in math, its growth rate is exceptionally high.

Two-thirds of students made gains in English last school year and nearly 60% did in math, far outpacing the state’s growth rate.

“Every student can grow,” Underwood said, “and we can do our part to grow them.”

Helping students soar

CRAWFISH

Continued from page 1A

& Coastal Science at LSU.

Southwest Louisiana experienced moderate drought conditions again this year in the late summer and fall, but there is little reason for concern regarding the upcoming season, said Fontenot.

“We really haven’t gotten rain till now, and the main problem with that is it was more costly for producers to flood their ponds initially because the ground was so dry,” Fontenot said. “It might slow down some early production a bit, but in most cases, we’re seeing a lot of young emerging crawfish.”

Restaurants like The Cajun Table in Lafayette and the Blues Man Seafood and Catering drive-thru in Broussard are selling boiled crawfish at $35 for 3 pounds. During last year’s season, area restaurants were pricing a 3-pound platter from $25 to $35 at the end of Janu-

ary

Many crawfish producers across the region also grow rice, relying on both crops to make a good year

der the current system. Proficiency will make up 46% of each elementary school’s grade, down from 70%.

“We see elementary schools that are doing really good work and they’re growing kids, but they previously haven’t received the letter grade recognition that they probably deserve,” said state Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley “Now, they’re finally going to be honored.”

Schools will also be graded on how many of their lowestperforming students improve each year. That metric aims to focus educators’ attention on the most struggling students, not just those who are closest to reaching mastery the third of five achievement levels in the state’s system and the point at which state leaders consider a child fully prepared for the next grade level.

Jeff Powell, superintendent of the Rapides Parish school district, said he appreciates that the new expectations have come with support. For example, Brumley and the state Education Department launched a program, which the Legislature funded, to provide struggling students with intensive tutoring.

“What we’re seeing is law policy and resources converging to get the desired outcomes,” he said.

Rapides Parish is poised to do well under the new system, with 13 of its schools getting higher simulated grades than official ones this year — more than any other district Powell said there’s no “secret sauce” for nurturing student growth, but

“I’m kicked in the face again. The state’s been doing it for four years, and now the federal government,” Dugas said.

The ban has Blaine Jennings, owner of Lafayettebased Virgin Hemp Farms, worried as well. While Jennings also sells CBD products, he said around 95% of his sales come from THC products. CBD, or cannabidiol, is a nonintoxicating compound produced by hemp plants.

A ban on hemp-derived THC would likely leave him with no option but to shut down his business and deal with the debt he took on to start it.

“It’ll be a huge kick in the gut to all of these business owners that have invested, sometimes everything, just for the opportunity,” Jennings said. “And they gave us the opportunity in the beginning, and people jumped in with all these hopes.”

Both Dugas and Jennings agreed that the industry needs better regulation, from

an essential ingredient is highly skilled and motivated educators.

“This is the result of a lot of teachers doing a lot of really hard, good work,” he said.

One school’s turnaround

The revised rating system has revealed the hidden strength of schools like Shady Grove Elementary Based in Monroe, where the share of children living in poverty is nearly four times the national rate, Shady Grove serves an especially high-need population. Many of its students start far behind academically, making proficiency — defined as scoring at the “mastery” level or above on state tests — a high bar to reach.

Under the current accountability system, in which proficiency rates drive elementary schools’ grades, Shady Grove earned F’s the past two years.

“That hurt,” said Principal Janitra Underwood. “I knew the work we were doing to get where we needed to be.”

In her four years at the school’s helm, she’s pushed her staff to closely track student data, provide extra help to struggling students and reward student growth. To celebrate reading gains, the school gave out ice cream sandwiches that students could slather with chocolate syrup, gummy bears and other toppings.

This year, the hard work finally paid off. Shady Grove improved its score by more points than any other school in the state, raising its grade to a D. Its simulated grade, generated by the new

increasing the legal age to purchase to 21, truth in labeling, childproof packaging and maximum THC limits.

The federal government, slowly but surely, is posturing that one day marijuana will be legal, Jennings said. Why wouldn’t it use hempderived THC as a sort of regulatory testing ground? he asked.

“I think Louisiana is actually the bellwether state in this situation because we are one of the most-regulated states with industrial hemp,” Jennings said.

The hemp THC industry provides jobs and helps people, Dugas said His clientele is mostly older people and those suffering from painful medical conditions like cancer

When his clientele heard about the ban, many called Dugas to ask whether they’d be able to “get their medicine,” he said

Email Stephen Marcantel at stephen.marcantel@ theadvocate.com.

At Collins Elementary in Marrero, Principal Coulon has a two-pronged strategy to help every student soar

First, teachers stick to grade-level material during core classes like English and math, rather than slowing down to reteach concepts that some students missed Second, the school devotes an hour every day to specialized support to help stragglers catch up and push topachievers further

During that time, students are divided into groups. Some get lessons from the classroom teacher to fill gaps in their learning. Others get individual support from different staffers, like the school’s master teacher or English language instructor Still others work with tutors over video.

“That’s where our growth comes from,” Coulon said of the daily personalizedsupport period. “I can tell you that.”

The school’s growth numbers are striking, especially in math. Nearly 70% of students improved their scores this year, almost 30 percentage points more than the share of students statewide who made math gains.

Coulon said she’s especially gratified by the gains because she promised “to leave these students in a better place” before she retires, which she expects to do soon The progress also affirms her belief that every student can succeed with the right support

“Once you give them the opportunity to excel and grow,” she said, “they’re going to take off.”

Those producers are hoping to have a strong season this year to make up for challenges in the rice market, said Fontenot, who works closely with area farmers to check on the health of their ponds.

STRIKE

Continued from page 1A

party lines,” said Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee. He said he has spent “years looking at videos of lethal action taken, often in the terrorism context, and this video was profoundly shaking.”

When Trump was asked Wednesday whether he would release the video of that follow-on strike, he told reporters, “I don’t know what they have, but whatever they have we’d certainly release. No problem.” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a Fox News interview Saturday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California that officials were reviewing the video.

“The price of rice is terrible right now, and those producers are really relying on their crawfish to provide,” he said. “We’re definitely hoping for a good season for them. That was the really good thing about last year crawfish were reasonably priced for the consumer, but there was enough production that it was good for the farmers. I hope that’s what we’ll see again, because that’s what makes for a great season.”

“Whatever we were to decide to release, we’d have to be very responsible” about it

“That boat was still a valid target,” Cotton said, arguing that releasing the video would prove that the two survivors of the initial strike remained a threat.

“It’s not gruesome. I didn’t find it distressing or disturbing,” he said, explaining why he does not have a problem with releasing all the footage.

“It looks like any number of dozens of strikes we’ve seen on jeeps and pickup trucks in the Middle East over the years.” He added that “there’s nothing remarkable on that video, in my opinion.” The classified sessions on Capitol Hill came after The Washington Post reported that Adm. Frank “Mitch”

Bradley had ordered a follow-on attack that killed those survivors, to comply with Hegseth’s demands. Bradley told lawmakers there was no “kill them all” order from Hegseth, but a video of the entire series of attacks left some lawmakers with serious questions. Legal experts have said killing survivors of a strike at sea could be a violation of the laws of military warfare. Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, and Himes are among those who have seen the video and they disputed Cotton’s characterization.

“I have no doubt that these guys were involved in the running of drugs. But in that instance, these guys were about to die,” Himes said. Smith added: “It did not appear that these two survivors were in any position to continue the fight.” Himes said lawmakers are aware of the partisan divide. Some legal experts have disputed that the United States is in an official armed conflict with Venezuela, raising questions about the legalities of using American military personnel for what would amount to law enforcement activities that require due process. Other experts have said that, regardless of the terms of engagement, international law does not allow further attacks on defenseless survivors of a previous attack. Specifically, Pentagon protocols say that firing upon the shipwrecked is illegal.

STAFF PHOTOS By BRETT DUKE

Judge Lionel R. Collins Elementary School Assistant Principal Jennifer Dykes looks over students working in a fourth grade math class at the school in Marrero on Wednesday.

Judge Lionel R. Collins Elementary Principal Jenenne Coulon said she’s especially gratified by the gains the school has made.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL DUNLAP Angie Roches pours boiled crawfish into a container at University Seafood on Saturday.

Brazilian steakhouse slated for downtown Lafayette

Santa Picanha expected to open within a month

BY JOANNA BROWN Staff writer

Lafayette is about to get its own Brazilian steakhouse, inspired by churrascaria-style restaurants featuring grilled meats and flavorful gaucho cuisine

If you’ve experienced a Brazilian steakhouse concept like Rodizio Grill (which closed in Lafayette in 2018) or Texas de Brazil in Baton Rouge, the offerings will be familiar — but Santa Picanha will offer a slightly different experience.

These restaurants, inspired by the South American barbecue favored by the “gauchos” (cowboys) of southern Brazil, typically offer white tablecloth all-you-can-eat service, with the meats carved tableside. Santa Picanha’s owner, Gustavo Rosenstengel of Lafayette, said that his

ä See STEAKHOUSE, page 4B

Church of the Ascension announces new rector

BY JOANNA BROWN Staff writer

An Episcopal congregation in Lafayette has announced the installation of a new rector for the parish

The traditional Sonic Christmas Parade rolls down Jefferson Street on Sunday

Lafayette were greeted by floats, marching groups and Santa.

CHRISTMAS CHEER

The Episcopal Church of the Ascension, located downtown near the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, is welcoming the Rev Matthew Ainsley and his family from Horizon West, Florida, where Ainsley served as vicar of All Souls Episcopal Church.

According to a statement from the church, Ainsley received his Master of Divinity degree from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and completed further Anglican studies at Nashotah House Theological Seminary in Wisconsin. He was called to Ascension after a search led by vestry member George Arceneaux, who said in a statement, “committee members fell in love with Fr Matt and Kasey for their faith, energy, and engagement, and especially with Fr Matt’s approach

ä See CHURCH, page 4B

Owner says new tattoo shop prioritizes autonomy

No Masters opens in former Be True site

BY ASHLEY WHITE Staff writer

At No Masters Tattoo and Piercing in Lafayette, there’s a guiding principle for artists and clients: autonomy

It’s a concept that’s evident throughout the shop, from its name to the paint on the walls to how each artist decorates their workstation Owner and manager Cypress Dickerson wants each client who walks through the doors of No Masters to understand that “I hope that they get to come here and they feel respected and they feel listened to,” she said.

“That they can get artwork and piercings that are high-quality that they feel good about, not only when they leave and they’re still on that high, but they still feel good about it years later.”

The shop had its soft opening last week in the spot formerly occupied by Be True Tattoo and Piercing. While most of the artists from Be True still call the shop home, the space has transformed to reflect its new name. Dickerson, who’s from Breaux Bridge, was the manager of Be True for the past two years She was handling inventory, client relations and other front-of-house duties. Even though she wasn’t a tattoo artist or piercer the shop’s residents shared their experiences

with her They talked about art history and theory It’s how Dickerson came to love the industry she said.

“As a kid, I would see tattooed people and think they were so cool,” she said. “Meeting a bunch of them — and them being such big softies that just love to sit there and draw and paint and listen to music all day and talk and laugh in the shop it felt really good.”

In June, a car drove off Jefferson Street and crashed into the front of Be True. The person working the front counter was injured and it caused extensive damage to the shop. The artists were able to work at Be True’s sister shop while renovations were ongoing. While that work was happening,

ä See TATTOO, page 4B

STAFF PHOTOS By LESLIE WESTBROOK

Crowds along the route through downtown

Ainsley

ABOVE: A rider throws a treat to the crowd during the parade. RIGHT: The Tabasco Girls dance team performs.

LEFT: Jeeps with Christmas inflatables roll down the street. BELOW: Santa greets the crowd.

STAFF PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK

Cypress Dickerson owns the recently opened No Masters Tattoo and Piercing in Lafayette.

Protectshrimp industryfrom unfair competition

As alifelong Louisiananborn intoafamilywith over acentury in the shrimp industry —my father co-founded the American Shrimp Processors Association and Louisiana Shrimp Association —Iurge action on avital resource: shrimp.

Americans love shrimp,asmy father’s business envelopes said: “People Love Shrimp.” Anutritious and economic bedrock, it faces unfair foreign imports. The Gulf of America yieldsapproximately 100 million pounds yearly,about 25% of U.S.consumption, and creates thousands of Louisiana jobs. Yetimports exceed 1.6 billion pounds— 90% of what we eat, witharound $6 billion in value. While we can’t produceenough domestically,our imports must meet our standards. Secretary of Health andHuman Services Robert F. KennedyJr. warns that foreign shrimp carries banned antibiotics,bactericides and cesium-137. These foster resistance and cancer risks. Europe rejects them, and we should too. From personalexperience, I saw subsidized sources undercut us with predatory pricing. The solution: targeted tariffs, strict chemical/antibioticlimits, thirdparty certifications, FDA testing. This protects fishermen, processors and wageswhile keeping shrimp available and affordable. Istand with President Donald Trump and Secretary Kennedy Let’sprioritize American health andworkers. Regulate wisely,import safely andkeep “People Love Shrimp” apromise.

ERIC F. SKRMETTA public service commissioner

Politicianstrying to make it so voters don’t matter

The multiple gerrymandering initiatives taking place across the country remind me of acomment attributed to JosefStalin during hisdictatorialrule of the Soviet Union. Stalin said it didn’t matter who voted; what mattered was who counted the votes. Today in the United States, it doesn’tmatter who votes. How thevotes are counted and allocated is what is important. MARK WEBER NewOrleans

YOUR VIEWS

HonorLSU’s firstsuperintendent in naming of renovatedbuilding

As the founding executive director of LSU’sLouisiana Emerging Technology Center and acurrent economic development professional, Iurge LSUtorename the LETC “Sherman Hall” to honor Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman, the university’sfirst superintendent. Shermanhelped launch theLouisiana State SeminaryofLearning &Military Academy in 1860, establishing the discipline, leadership and academic rigor that would define LSUfor generations.

As LSU’sfirst leader,Sherman built the foundation of what became Louisiana’sflagship university.Herecruited the inaugural faculty,structured thecurriculum on the modelofWestPointand set high standards for excellence. Though he left before the Civil War, hisinfluence endured; LSU’smilitary character guided its re-establishment in Baton Rouge in 1886 on the grounds of the former U.S. military post that became its home fordecades. Recognizing Sherman’s

role would honor bothLSU’sorigins and the proud militarytradition that continues to serve Louisiana’speople and economy

The newly renovated LETC will soon house LSU’sreactivated cadets, which includes ROTC programsfor theArmy,Air Force and Navy.The 65,000-square-footfacility will accommodate up to 700 cadets and cadre and serve as the cornerstone of LSU’snew Cyber-Military Corridor,anintegrated environment for military training, leadership development and cybereducation —leveraging its proximity to theCenter for Computation &Technology Louisiana’smilitary and defense sectors now generatemore than $17 billion annually in economic activity.Naming the LETC “Sherman Hall” would connect LSU’sproud militaryroots to its modern mission of service, innovation and leadership forLouisiana and the nation.

ARTHUR R. COOPER Prairieville

WhiteChristianscan’t serveGod,MAGA

When U.S. Rep.Clay Higgins of Louisiana’s 3rd District wrote on X, “Any American whohas been receiving $4200 per year of free groceries and does NOT have at least 1month of groceries stocked should never again receive SNAP, becausewow, stopsmokingcrack,” my first thought was, “Didn’tJesusimplore us to feed the hungry instead of hurling racial slurs?”

If you remain loyal to theMAGA movement, youhave chosen to serve money,not God. “No onecan serve two masters. “You cannot servebothGod and money.” (Matthew 6:24).

Residents should be grateful to Landry for welcoming immigration enforcement

Gov.JeffLandry’spolicy of increased immigration enforcement is exactly the kind of leadership Louisiana needstoprotect its communities andthe rule of law.We cannotoverlook that Louisiana is home to asubstantial population of illegaland unvetted immigrants, with many newly arrived in recent yearsunderthe disastrous Biden administration.

In 2020, Oscar Urias, an immigrant here illegally,brutally murderedtwo people in LaPlace and was arrestedafter walking down the street covered in blood. In 2016, Denis Rodriguez, also an immigrant here illegally.struckaSt. JohnParish fire truck, killing Fire ChiefSpencer Chauvin and wounding two otherfirefighters. This goes to showhow the Democrats’ immigrationpolicydirectly harms Louisiana families.

LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR

AREWELCOME.HEREARE

OUR GUIDELINES: Letters are published identifying name and the writer’scity of residence.The Advocate |The Times-Picayune require astreet address and phone number for verification purposes, but that information is not published. Letters are not to exceed 300 words. Letters to the Editor,The Advocate, P.O. Box588 Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588, or email letters@theadvocate.com. TO SEND US ALETTER, SCAN HERE

History shows that White Christians aligned with Republicans to opposedesegregation andsoon after to support anti-abortion policies. Psychologists have coined the term “moral self-licensing,” which describes the phenomenon of doing one good thingtojustify overlooking abad one. Moral self-licensing is applied to President Donald Trump’s

infidelity and dishonesty, U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson’slack of compassion, humility or inclusivity,aswell as Higgins’ four marriages and failure to pay child support or his taxes. Youcan no longer call yourself aChristian while supporting MAGA policies that lower tax rates for therichest in our country by denying food or healthinsurance to others. The scriptures make clear that only those who provide comfort to tired, hungry,sick or imprisoned “strangers” will ascend to heaven. Conversely,those who deny aid to immigrants and those in need are doomed to “eternal punishment.” AreWhite Christians OK with eternal punishment?

Iknow what it’s like to quit an addiction —I’ve been sober now for 27 years —soI understand that leaving the MAGAdoctrine may takeyou all alittle time. Youhave until November 2026.

LINDAMEREDITH Monroe

LSUwomen’s soccer team deserves spotlight

Ihave aquestion that has nothing to do with politics. Does anyone in your sports department have even apassing interest in futbol? Youknow,toquotePelé, the beautiful game,soccer? TheLSU Women’s soccer team played abeautifulgame in the SEC tournament opener andwon! They had adecent turnout. Ican’thelp but wonder why your organization has largely ignored its season. Perhaps we need more articles about coaches being firedfor losing seasons, or maybe it’sthe potential money to be madebythose aspiring high school athletes that gives them so much copy. Please don’t misunderstand,Irespect all athletes.

Butthese young college athletes had awinning season that was largely ignored both by LSUand this paper as they advanced in their hopes for thenational championship. Ihope you will consider giving them kudos by at least publishing an occasional article about their progress. If you pass by Burbank or any park with space to play on weekends, you will see alarge number of local players, bothyouth and otherwise. Or go to one of the local watch parties at certain sports bars. There is definitely an interest. So, shameonyou and LSU fornot publicizing awinning local college team.

LYNNE MAYES Baton Rouge

Strong interiorenforcement sends aclear message that our borders andlawsmatter to the people of Louisiana WhenLouisiana residents complain aboutlate-night disturbances,trash in public gathering spots andsafetyconcerns, law enforcement authorities have a duty to respond. Authorities were receiving these complaints in KennerbeforeU.S.Immigration and Customs Enforcement and LouisianaState Policedetained 13 illegal immigrants on Nov.8.This follows last month’sarrest by FBI and state lawenforcementofaHamasassociated terrorist in Lafayette, who was involved in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack in Israel. Multi-agency operations thataim to restore public orderand to identify those who pose criminal risks are legitimate exercisesofstate andfederal authority,and serve to make communities safer for allLouisianians. Ensuring public safety for Louisianafamiliesisa clear priority for Landry

National analysesshowthe illegaland unvettedimmigrant population grewsignificantly in recentyears, placing strains on local services andlaw enforcement resources.

Iapplaud Landry and Attorney General Liz Murrill for prioritizing the safety andwell-being of Louisiana citizens. Elected leaders like Landry who act to restore order deserve our unwavering support.

NICHOLAS JAMES LaPlace

This doesn’tfeellike winning to most people

Iam80years old and retired. I support my daughter and grandchildren. Iama disabled veteran whoretired 22 years ago. Isit here all day listening to how great Iam doing. Does anyone go to the store anymore? The only ones doing great are the Elon Musks, Donald Trumps, Jeff Landrys and others whohave not been to the store for the last several years. Icannot believe that intelligent people can believe the lies.

FREDERICK GOTTSCHALK

Zachary

STAFF FILEPHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

GIFT GIVINGTIME!

Holidayoffice parties are happening, andgiftswaps are apopular event at many of them. It looks likesomeone’sabout to getanexciting present this year!

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

Thewinningpunchline will be lettered into the word balloon and runon Monday, Dec. 15 in our printeditions and online. In addition, the winner will receiveasigned print of thecartoon along with acool winner’sT-shirt! Some honorable mentions will also be listed.

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

DON’T FORGET!All entries must includeyourname,homeaddressand phone number.Cell numbers are best.

Thedeadline for all entries is midnightonThursday, Dec. 11. HappyHolidays, everyone! —Walt

Trump’swar on drugscould be lunacy

Since President RichardNixon declared a“WaronDrugs”in1971, federal, state and local governments have spent an estimated $1 trillion fighting it —and losing. Donald Trumpnow seems fullyengaged in that futile conflict, adding his own twisted brand of violence.

High school seniors completing college applications confront asmorgasbord of choices. Herewith, eight suggestions:

Arizona State University,because of its School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership. University of Florida, because of its Hamilton School forClassical and Civic Education. Florida State University because of its Institute forGovernance and Civics. The University of Texas, because of its School of Civic Leadership, and Civitas Institute. The University of Tennessee, because of its Institute of American Civics. The University of North Carolina because of its School of Civic Life and Leadership. The University of Mississippi because of its Declaration of Independence Center forthe Study of American Freedom.

And The Ohio State University,because of its new Salmon P. Chase Center forCivics, Culture, and Society.These eight, with similar programs gestating in other states, are reviving universities’ civic seriousness —that is reinvigorating the humanities, inspiring students eager to grapple with big questions and reversing academia’sforfeiture of its prestige.

All eight share the Chase Center’sconviction that “American citizenship is ahigh calling.” And that “citizenship well-lived” must be grounded in “the historical ideas, traditions, and texts” —the Federalist, SupremeCourt cases, consequential rhetoric, etc. —that have shaped America’spolity and society

Such programsare usually prompted by state legislatures, which, although occasionally clumsy and overreaching, are less threatening to academic freedom than are today’scampus monocultures enforced by censorious faculty factions. Such programshave inexpungible political resonances, so planting them in the groves of academe requires delicate tenacity

The planting presupposes that the nation’sintellectual patrimony is worthy.Nowadays, this is controversial. But the Chase Center and kindred programsoperate on the assumption that “progressive patriotism”isnot an oxymoron. Furthermore, civics programsoften provide courses (e.g., military and diplomatic history,and political theory) that other departments ignore. Courses found only in civics programssometimes even include those on the American Revolution and American intellectual history

Many academics seem mystified about the 20-plus-year decline of humanities majors. William Inboden believes curricula pertinent to civic thought, but nowadays largely neglected, can “reset the demand signals in the academic marketplace” forcourses and forspecialized faculty to teach them

It’snot enoughto bomb boats “suspected” of ferryingdrugs to the United States.Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the military, after the initial strike, to “kill” survivors clinging to life rafts on thewaters below Shocked lawmakers, bothRepublican and Democratic, are calling such actions “war crimes.” Thelaw of war authorizes the use of deadly force against enemy combatants. Butonce they’re no longer athreat,the obligation is to care for the wounded That’sbeside the matter of whether the targets were, in fact,drugboats. Some may be, but the U.S.military is fully capable of stopping,boarding andinterviewing the crew of alittle vessel sailing through theCaribbean or Pacific. And even if the boats are carrying drugs, there’snoeasy way of knowing howmany of their passengers were traffickers and how many were the traffickers’ hostages. Druggangsare known to threaten innocents andtheir children to force participation in the ferrying business.

How well has this “war” been working out? Not well. Fentanyl, asynthetic opioid,has killed more Americans than thewars in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan combined. And lined up behind it are still more vicious street drugs. In 2023,about 110,000Americans died from drug overdoses, nearly 10 times the number in 1999. The death toll fell in 2024,due mostly to the availability of naloxone, which can reverse overdoses. But it was still seven times the drug-related fatalities of a quarter century prior This is counting deathsfrom both opioids andstimulants, the category forcocaine. Deadly synthetic opioids such as fentanyl are now often added

President Donald Trumpspeaks during aCabinet meetingatthe White House on Tuesday in Washington, as Defense SecretaryPete Hegseth looks on.

to the cocaine. Arecent CDC report found that nearly 80% of cocainerelated deaths involved drugs with opioidsmixed in, especially fentanyl. Youcan’t stopfentanyl from enteringthisorany other country.Fentanyl the size of apencil eraser can kill dozens of people. Howhard is it to hide that tinyamount sewn in ateddy bear’snose? Not hard at all. Akilogram of fentanyl contains up to half amillion potentially lethal doses. Akilogram is only 2.2 pounds. Aquart of milk weighsabout that. In fiscal 2025, theCoast Guard seized almost510,000 pounds of cocaine. That was themost in its history but afraction of the cocaine that got past our borders —drugs arriving by land, sea and air Go ahead and keep trying to prevent these drugsfromcoming in, but let’s notpretend that this bombing of unidentified boats is anything morethan another Trumpperformance. Perhaps it’sanotherway to divert attention from theEpstein files.

If this were really about punishing drug lords, Trumpwouldn’thave just issued afull pardon to Honduran exPresident Juan Orlando Hernandez. Convicted last year of partnering with traffickers, Hernandez is credited with helping flood theU.S. with hundreds of thousands of kilograms of cocaine. ADrug Enforcement Administration agent, who worked on the Hernandez case but was not allowed to comment publicly,called the pardon “lunacy.” That show of inconsistency was so crashing, you can’thelp but suspect Trump’smotive was to even further distract thepublic from theinvestigation into the sex trafficking of underage girls. It was piled right onto the macabre videos of the U.S. military dropping bombs on small boats. That would seem the best explanation for these bizarre Trumporders— short of lunacy,that is.

Froma Harrop is on X, @FromaHarrop. Email her at fharrop@gmail.com.

Former Arizona governor DougDucey,who oversaw the 2017 birth of ASU’s program,helped to ignite this movement. Inboden has spread the movement’sgospel (literally,“good news”) through good works at two universities. He left the University of Texas to assist the flourishing of Florida’sHamilton School, then returned to Texas as provost. The Hamilton School, which has its own majors, degrees and tenured faculty,is not an agency of “counter-indoctrination,” it is a small cluster of liberal arts excellence. It leavens the educational menufor asmall(about 1,500) but intellectually thirsty fraction of Florida’s40,000 undergraduates eager to study the Western civilization of which our nation is an emanation and elevation.

Writing in National Affairs, Inboden notes that universities should be conservators and transmitters of the best that has been thought and said. Therefore they have an inescapably conservative function that is the essence of universities’ “social contract with American society.” The rupture of that contract included Yale’s1995 rejection of a$20 million giftbecause it wasdesignated for studying Western civilization.

Students, Inboden says, have been voting with their feet, walking away from the sterile humanities dogmathat identity (racial, ethnic, sexual) is the decisive dimension of human identity.This idea, which discounts the history-making role of ideas, yields, Inboden says, an “impoverished view of the human person, the communities we form,and the endeavors we undertake.”

No wonder disappointed students and dismayed scholars are flocking to places like Hamilton. It had morethan 2,000 applicants forthe first 55 faculty positions it filled, and in one year hired four Harvard and four Cambridge Ph.Ds.

Ohio State’sChase Center advances the 21stcentury renaissance of civic education by invoking Salmon P. Chase, President Abraham Lincoln’s treasury secretary,then chief justice of the SupremeCourt. He lived alifeof19th-century usefulness and heartbreak: Implacably anti-slavery, he lost three wives and four of his six children to diseases. Ohio State is aland grant university spawned by legislation signed by Lincoln, the 1862 Morrill Act.

Long ago, adroll president of the University of Oklahoma vowed to make OU an institution its football team could be proud of. Ohio State —a top 15 research university in aNational Science Foundation survey,ranked ahead of Harvard and Yale, and decent at football —issuch aplace, and becoming even better because of the Chase Center. Email George Will at georgewill@washpost.com

Froma Harrop

George Will

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JULIA DEMAREENIKHINSON

Diocese exempts faithful amid sweeps

BY AIDAN McCAHILL

Staff writer

TheCatholic Diocese of Baton Rouge has announced that Catholicsaffected by ongoingimmigration enforcementactivity willnot be required to attend Mass.

The announcement, read Sunday during Mass across the Baton Rouge Diocese, comes the first weekafterfederalauthoritiesbegan immigrationsweeps across south Louisiana. As many as 250BorderPatrol agents are planning to detain at least 5,000 peopleinthe New Orleans area, and into Baton Rouge andMississippi.

“Since many of the faithful genuinely fear immigration enforcement actions, thereby making it untenable for them to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation, Ihereby grant a dispensation from theobligation to attend Mass for those Catholics rightfully afraid to participate in Mass because of their fear,” Bishop Michael Duca wrote

Adispensation is an exemption from canonlaw granted by church authority duringaspecific time of hardship.

The statement also encourages those accepting the dispensation to maintain their spiritual practice at home during holy days by gathering with family for prayer. Ducasuggested daily Mass readings, praying the rosary or reciting anovena for intercessory protection as suitable spiritual alternatives to Mass.

“These expulsions are affecting notonlyour CatholicHispanic brothers and sisters butalsorefugeesand immigrantsofall denominations from other nations who form the rich tapestry of our local communities. These are our neighbors, coworkers, and parishioners,” the statement adds.

Dozens of people appear to have been detained so far as part of the New Orleans operation, which beganWednesday, though it’sunclearifany have beenarrested in Baton Rouge. The diocese’s letter was published less thana month after the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued aspecial message condemning such deportations and opposing what it describes as inhumane treatment of immigrants.

Gregory Aymond, archbishop of NewOrleans, also released a similar statement Thursday.And Pope LeoXIV has publicly criticizedthe U.S. immigrationcrackdown. Both the U.S.Conference and theBaton Rouge statements describe national security andprotectionofhuman dignityasnot mutually exclusive, andboth advocate for immigration reform.

“But fornow,let us pray for those immediately affected, especially during this Advent season—atime in which we should be anticipating the joy of Christmas, surrounded by our familyin celebration, instead of the experience of anxiety and fear,” Duca wrote.“As Pope Leo XIV reminds us, ‘God has aspecial placeinhis heart for those who are discriminated against and oppressed, and he asks us, hisChurch, to make adecisive and radical choice in favor of theweakest.’”

CHURCH

Continued from page1B

toministry, which merges innovation and church growth with the profound beauty of orthodox Anglican/Anglo-Catholic tradition and worship.”

The Ainsley family,including wife Kasey and the couple’stwo daughters,has already been welcomed by the new parish with aCajun dinner and aspecial chapel service at Ascension Episcopal School.

“I am so grateful to serve you as rector and look forward to allthatGod will do in this special place,” Ainsley said of the welcome.

The Episcopal Churchof the Ascension, 1030 Johnston St., is amember church

TATTOO

Continued from page1B

achange in circumstances ledto Be True needing newownership. Dickerson, who had joked with team members previouslyabout openingher own shop, sawher opening.

Dickerson knew hershop needed adifferent aesthetic than Be True —less like adoctor’soffice and more like aspace wherecreativitythrives.

Oneofthe tattooartists, Makayla Dupre, crafted amural for behind the counter and artist Vick Montes completed the back wall’smural. There’sa bookcase filledwith literatureontattooing and reference art. The bathroom ceiling is plastered with rose stencilslikethose that atattoo artist would use to transfer the arttoaclient.

STEAKHOUSE

Dickersonfound a5-gallon bucket of pink paintand usedthat to brighten the space.

“(With) wanting to put power back into people’schoices of what theywant to do with their bodies, both in theirpersonal lifeand also in the tattoo shop,” Dickerson said, “ofstanding up for yourselfand being ableto talktoyour artists and know that you’re not going to be dismissed forwanting to change anything, Ifelt like pink was apowerful color for that.”

‘Right in my soul’

Dickersonmet with the formerBeTrue staff at Mel’sDiner to tell them she was opening herown shop in thesamespace She asked who was interested in working there. They all saidyes.

While talking about thechanges, they were talking about names forthe newshop. Montes said “no masters,” aterm often associated

with the anarchist philosophy

“It just felt right in my soul,” Dickerson said. “Again,taking back that powerofyourbodyas aclient

“Also, being able to takethe power of your artasatattooer and apiercer,ofknowing that you can stand your ground and know ‘this is what I’mdoing and we can collaborate as people, but you’re not going to push my boundary to do somethingthatI’m uncomfortable with just for adollar.’”

Thenamealso represents the type of work environmentshe wantstofoster: collaborative versusa top-down approach. There are still some renovationsthat need to be completed beforeagrand opening in January,Dickerson said. AGoFundMe is helping with some of those costs.

In the meantime, clients can visit the shopduring itswalk-in hoursfromnoonto8 p.m. Tues-

day through Thursday and from noonto9 p.m. Friday andSaturday.

Throughout the rebuild and dissolutionofBeTrue to open No Masters, thecommunity has ralliedbehind Dickerson andthe team.It’sbeenmovingfor Dickersontosee thatsupport.

“Growing up,I didn’t have abig community,”she said.

“But coming into this and seeing these people that I’ve seen amilliontimescome into the shop, and we’ve had conversations, and they get jewelry from us, and they get services, seeing that they care about the people that work here hasbeen really wonderful.

“It’ssomethingI don’tever want to takefor granted.Noone has to care about us this much, but theydo.”

Contact AshleyWhiteatashley. white@theadvocate.com.

spot will be more casual,withà la carte ordering, an open kitchen and alunch counter

“I don’ttypicallyenjoy thecommon Braziliansteakhouse experience that most people are familiar with —all-you-can-eat, with asalad bar and meats coming to your table for apretty hefty price. For me, being Brazilian, it’snot close to what Igrew upwith,” said Rosenstengel, who is from PortoAlegre, thecapital city of Rio Grande do Sul in southern Brazil.

“I’m trying to do this alittlemore familyfriendly, withmore casual, quick service.”

Rosenstengel hopes to open within the month, once finishing touches and inspections are completeat 406 GarfieldSt., in the building formerly occupied by the restaurants Gather and ScratchFarm Kitchen.

The kitchenand grill will be exposedtothe dining room, withbar andtableseating.

“I always wanted to have an open kitchen, wherepeople can look and maybe point and choose whatever piece of meat they want. Youcan sit at thecounter and watch people cooking,”Rosenstengel said. “I really want to be able to share the history behind why we cook the way we cook,soIwould loveto

of the Anglican Communion.

The installation Mass will be celebrated by the Rev.Jacob Owensby, bishop of theDiocese of Western Louisiana, at 6p.m. Tuesday

Email Joanna Brown at joanna.brown@ theadvocate.com

Continued from page1B LOTTERY SATURDAY,DEC.6,2025

PICK 3: 1-8-6

PICK 4: 0-3-6-0 PICK 5: 2-4-9-7-6

have people ask questions.”

Picanha is themostpopular cut of beef in Brazilian barbecue, or “churrasco,” and it is taken from thetop of the cow’srump. Skirt steak, chicken, sausages, pork and grilled vegetables are also popular offerings at churrascarias, with sides like rice, chimichurri,salad, bread and roasted potatoes

Rosenstengel, who has abackground in hospitalitymanagementand catering, lived in San Diego beforemoving to Lafayette 15 yearsago. He said thatthere

is asmall Brazilian community in Acadiana, mostly professionals working in oil and gas, and in the past, he has hosted catering pop-ups that have introduced his style of Brazilianbarbecue to Lafayette,while introducing more of the Brazilian communitytoeach other

He hopes that Santa Picanha will continue to serve as agathering spot, especially next year during the FIFAWorld Cup, which will be hosted at sites in Canada, Mexico and the United States. Santa Pi-

canha’stelevisionswill show the games, Rosenstengel said.

“I’m excited to jumphead first into my dream,which is to have abrick-and-mortar space where Ican host family andfriends andthe wholecommunity,and share with everyone whatBrazil’sfood is about. And, you know, give everyone alittle piece of my heartand my upbringing,” he said.

Email Joanna Brownatjoanna. brown@theadvocate.com.

STAFFPHOTO By JOANNA BROWN

Brazilian steakhouse Santa Picanha, 406 GarfieldSt., in Lafayette is set to open soon.

STAFF PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK

Inside No Masters Tattoo and

pink walls that owner

CypressDickerson says makea ‘powerful’ statement.

SPORTS

LSU set to make third Texas Bowl appearance

BY WILSON ALEXANDER

Staff writer

There’s something about LSU, interim head coaches and the Texas Bowl.

LSU is going back to the Texas Bowl for the second straight year, it was announced Sunday The Tigers will finish their season against the No. 21 Houston Cougars at 8:15 p.m. CT on Dec. 27 at NRG Stadium in Houston, a familiar place for the team. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.

ä Texas Bowl LSU vs: Houston 8:15

It will be the third trip to the Texas Bowl in the past five seasons for LSU. The Tigers will play their last game under interim head coach Frank Wilson, and they also played in the Texas Bowl in 2021 under interim coach Brad Davis.

LSU lost that game 42-20 to Kansas State with a depleted roster Last season, LSU beat Baylor 44-31 in the Texas Bowl It has made one other appearance in the Texas Bowl, when it defeated Texas Tech 56-27 in 2016.

Led by former Tulane coach Willie Fritz, Houston went 9-3 this season while playing in the Big 12. The Cougars got off to a 7-1 start this season, but they split their last four games They still finished ranked in the top 25 of the final College Football Playoff rankings. LSU (7-5) will try to finish a disappointing season with a win. It started the year with CFP aspirations after signing the No 1

‘We said Shough it’

“The world counted us out, baby, but we’re still fighting, we’re still swinging,” Jordan said. “They didn’t

BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer

TAMPA, Fla Zoom in on the victorious postgame locker room, that space that has been so hard for these New Orleans Saints to occupy this year, where Cam Jordan broke the team down after they beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24-20 at a rain-soaked Raymond James Stadium. It was Jordan who, earlier in the week, acknowledged the Buccaneers’ recent supremacy in the NFC South because of the edge they’ve had on the rest of the division at the most important position And it was Jordan, referencing his own team’s quarterback, as he delivered those closing words.

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff

PHOTO By CHRIS O’MEARA

STAFF FILE PHOTO By BRAD KEMP

tight end Caden Jensen, left, celebrates his

with wide receiver Dale Martin during their game against

Ventures Bowl in Alabama.

LSU posts season-high point total

Tigers stifle UNO in lopsided road win

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

The LSU women’s basketball team climbed back over the 100-point threshold on Sunday in the Lakefront Arena, notching its season-high point total in a 126-62 drubbing of UNO.

That offensive output is the third-largest in program history for the Tigers, who scored that many points because they turned defense into easy offense.

The Privateers (0-8) turned the ball over 27 times, and LSU capitalized with 43 points off those mistakes. Most of those giveaways led to open shots around the rim The No. 5 Tigers (10-0) in their fifth win of at least 60 points this year — converted 37 of the 46 layups they attempted and scored more points in the paint (86) than UNO did altogether But coach Kim Mulkey still thinks LSU could’ve played a better defensive game.

“My first thought,” she said, “is that’s too many points to give up.” Sophomore center Kate Koval, a Notre Dame transfer, scored a career-high 22 points on 9-of-9 shooting. Junior guard MiLaysia Fulwiley, a South Carolina transfer, tallied 18 points, eight assists and three steals.

LSU entered Sunday’s game undefeated, fresh off a road win over the only high-major team on its nonconference schedule On Thursday, Duke managed to hold the Tigers below the 100-point mark becoming the first team to do so this season. LSU still, however, scored 93 — the second-highest total the Blue Devils have allowed across the past six seasons. UNO is still winless. Before Sunday, the Privateers had lost three of their first seven games by more than 30 points. Their most lopsided loss was a 61-point drubbing by Oklahoma State in their season opener LSU won by an even larger margin on Sunday in large part because it continued to force UNO into turnovers.

The Privateers gave the ball

away 18 times in the first half, and the Tigers used those opportunities to score 26 easy points — the kind of offense that gave them a 63-29 halftime advantage.

LSU started to pull away halfway through the first quarter

First, MiLaysia Fulwiley collected a steal and tossed an outlet pass to freshman guard Bella Hines, who banked in one of the nine layups the Tigers converted in the first quarter Koval scored three of those buckets, including the one Fulwiley set up for her on the fastbreak opportunity LSU found on the possession after Hines’ layup.

“I think (Koval’s) confidence is really, really high right now,” Mulkey said. UNO shot only 31% from the field. The Privateers attempted more 3-pointers (26) than layups (17), largely because LSU used its size and length advantages to wall

off their drives to the rim LSU, on the other hand, shot 59% from the field. Turnover issues cropped up on the Tigers in the first quarter, when they gave away five possessions, but disappeared the rest of the way LSU turned the ball over only eight times across the second, third and fourth.

Six Tigers scored in double figures. ZaKiyah Johnson added 17 points and six rebounds, while Grace Knox chipped in 12 points and 12 rebounds. Transfer forward Amiya Joyner finished with 14 points and 10 boards, and sophomore point guard Jada Richard posted a double-figure scoring tally for the third time in the past four games. On Sunday, she notched 12 points and eight assists — to only two turnovers.

“We’re a work in progress defensively,” Mulkey said. “I think

the effort is there I thought we got better in spurts tonight, but it’s hard because everybody’s playing everybody’s subbing in and out.”

LSU has four games left on its nonconference schedule. The next one — a meeting with Mulkey’s alma mater Louisiana Tech will tip off at 3 p.m. Saturday in the Smoothie King Center UNO will keep looking for its first win of the season, starting next Sunday against Tulane in Fogelman Arena. LSU has now scored at least 100 points in nine of the 10 games it’s played this season. The Tigers hit that mark in each of their first eight games, setting an NCAA record for consecutive 100-point outings.

Email Reed Darcey at reed. darcey@theadvocate.com

Texas Tech ends LSU men’s 8-game win streak

BY TOYLOY BROWN III Staff writer

LSU faced, by far, its biggest test in the nonconference part of its schedule when it played No. 19 Texas Tech at a neutral site, and the Tigers showed there’s still plenty of work to be done for the 2025-26 season.

The Tigers were unable to compete with their first ranked opponent of the year, losing 82-58 on Sunday at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, in the Coast 2 Coast Challenge.

LSU (8-1) trailed by as many as 30 points and never led. The defeat ends the team’s eight-game win streak, the longest under coach Matt McMahon. Their previous best under the fourth-year coach was seven straight during the 2022-23 season.

“Give credit to Texas Tech,” McMahon said on the LSU sports radio network. “I thought they played outstanding. We did not answer the bell in the first half, and therefore, they were able to dominate the game.”

Dedan Thomas had 13 points on 5-of-14 shooting, one assist and two steals. Christian Anderson led Texas Tech (7-2) with 27 points and eight assists.

Texas Tech’s top shooters, Anderson and Donovan Atwell, each drained a 3-pointer to give it an 8-1 lead against LSU, forcing McMahon to call a timeout after three minutes of game action. The timeout didn’t cool down the Red Raiders’ deep-range scoring. They made seven of their first eight attempts, helping them get out to a 31-13 lead with 8:52 left in the first half. Anderson, a 6-foot-3 point guard, led the charge with 12 points and four assists to that point.

The sophomore made his team’s fifth 3-pointer, which was a heav-

LSU guard Dedan Thomas, right, shown during a game against Alcorn State last month, scored 13 points in a loss to Texas Tech on Sunday.

ily contested shot from the right corner over the 6-10 Michael Nwoko with the shot clock running down. LSU’s Thomas was the primary defender on Anderson and while he stayed attached, the screens set by Texas Tech repeatedly created space for Anderson to make pull-up jumpers.

“They really assaulted the 3-point line in the first half,” McMahon said. “Hit some tough ones late in the clock, but then we missed a couple of assignments, and they made us pay You look for the game, get outscored 27 points from behind the arc. That’s the difference in the game.” Anderson entered halftime with 20 points, five rebounds and five assists, giving Texas Tech a 47-26 lead.

LSU couldn’t buy a basket, open or contested, in the first half. The Tigers struggled to finish in the paint as Nwoko drew a lot of at-

tention and missed shots because of the congestion. They also had five turnovers, three from Thomas, in the first 12 minutes. Most of the mishaps were due to inaccurate passes as the receiver tried to carve out space for the catch. Thomas and Max Mackinnon were unsuccessful on their floaters early When they created shots for themselves, Texas Tech’s defense swarmed and made the looks difficult Catchand-shoot opportunities were rarely dropping for McMahon’s team. Mackinnon struggled especially as the 44% 3-point shooter missed all his open looks. The Portland transfer closed the first half 0 of 9 from the field and 0 of 5 from beyond the arc. He finished the game with two points from the free-throw line. LSU went into halftime making 9 of 35 shots and 2 of 13 on

McLaren driver Norris clinches his first F1 title

McLaren driver Lando Norris held his nerve but could not hold back the tears after clinching his first Formula 1 title at the seasonending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday Red Bull driver and defending champion Max Verstappen won the race with Norris placing third behind McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri in second, which allowed Norris to finish two points ahead of Verstappen in the season-long standings.

Norris became Britain’s 11th F1 champion, a racing journey that began with kart racing when he was 8 years old. The first of his 11 F1 wins came last year, when he finished second in the standings. Norris also denied Verstappen a fifth straight title.

Matsuyama rallies to win Hero World Challenge

NASSAU, Bahamas Hideki Matsuyama holed out from the 10th fairway for eagle on his way to an 8-under 64 and stuffed his 9-iron to 2 feet on the 18th hole in a playoff to defeat Alex Noren and win the Hero World Challenge for the second time.

Noren also shot a 64, making an 18-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole in regulation to force a playoff.

His 20-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole missed to the left.

Scottie Scheffler, going for a third straight title at Albany Golf Club, fell back on the par-5 11th when he hit driver off the fairway with a speck of mud on his golf ball. It led to a bogey and he never caught up.

Matsuyama won the first tournament of the year in Hawaii and the final tournament of his season.

Reitan wins, earning his first trip to the Masters

SUN CITY, South Africa Kristoffer Reitan held on over the back nine Sunday and closed with an evenpar 72 to complete a wire-to-wire victory in the Nedbank Golf Challenge, his second European tour title of the year that will send him to the Masters for the first time. The Norwegian began the final round with a five-shot lead, but he saw the lead shrink to a single stroke when he played the back nine without a birdie.

He held his nerve against Jayden Schaper of South Africa (68) and Dan Bradbury of England (66) for a one-shot victory Reitan, who earned a PGA Tour card for 2026 by finishing eighth in the Race to Dubai, finished at 17-under 271.

Neergaard-Petersen wins at Australian Open

3-pointers. The makes from beyond the arc came from Thomas and PJ Carter a Memphis transfer To open the second half, McMahon made a change from his starting lineup. Carter replaced Mackinnon and Robert Miller replaced Pablo Tamba, who had three fouls. Nwoko, who finished with 10 points, was involved early, as he managed to score twice on his go-to hook shot. The paint scores didn’t lead to defensive stops. On one possession after a missed 3-pointer from Anderson, Texas Tech’s LeJuan Watts corralled the rebound, which led to a second open 3-point attempt that went in for Jaylen Petty The Red Raiders took a 55-32 lead at the 15:47 mark of the second half. With a little over 14 minutes left in the game, LSU started to apply some full-court pressure. That temporary change, along with crisper team defense, prevented Texas Tech from increasing its lead in the first nine minutes after halftime. However, the Tigers couldn’t string together a scoring run because Texas Tech had five second-half offensive rebounds by the 11:25 mark, which helped it remain in control.

LSU continued to falter offensively due to Texas Tech’s aggressive defense and never cut into the deficit. Ron Zipper, who played the final eight seconds in the first half, checked in with 5:45 remaining in the game The 22-year-old freshman from Israel made the team’s only two 3-pointers after halftime.

The Tigers went 4 of 24 from beyond the arc and Texas Tech was 13 of 27.

LSU’s next game is against SMU (9-1) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Smoothie King Center.

MELBOURNE, Australia Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen won the Australian Open on Sunday and earned a spot in the Masters when he scrambled for par on the final hole at Royal Melbourne for a 1-under 70 to crush the hopes of home favorite Cam Smith, who missed a 5-foot par putt to force a playoff. Smith and Neergaard-Petersen came to the 72nd hole tied at 15-under par after a thrilling contest over the last nine holes. The Dane went after the right pin and it faded beyond the bunker into difficult rough. He did well to flop that to 10 feet.

The Dane finished at 15-under 269. Smith started the last round two shots back, drew level by the turn and led outright after sinking a 10-foot birdie putt on No. 10.

Texas businessman who owned Dallas teams dies DALLAS Tom Hicks, the Texas businessman and philanthropist who owned two Dallas-area professional sports franchises and an English Premier League soccer team, has died. He was 79. Spokesperson Lisa LeMaster said Hicks died peacefully Saturday in Dallas surrounded by family Hicks owned the NHL’s Dallas Stars from 1995–2011, winning the Stanley Cup in 1999. He also owned baseball’s Texas Rangers from 1998-2010, a period when they won three American League West Division titles and made their first World Series appearance just months after the team was sold. In 2007, he acquired a 50% stake in Liverpool.

Hicks served as a paratrooper in the Army Reserves and

STAFF FILE PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

STAFF PHOTO By ENAN CHEDIAK

UNO guard Shanihya Brown, left, goes up for a shot against LSU forward Kate Koval during a game at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans on Sunday.

Indianajumps to No.1 in AP Top25ahead of Georgia

BY ERIC OLSON Associated Press

Indianaisthe No.1 team in The Associated PressTop 25 college football poll for the firsttime after going through the regular season and Big Tenchampionshipgame 13-0, ending Ohio State’s14-week run atop the rankings.

TheHoosiers’13-10 winover the Buckeyes in Indianapolis on Saturday night made them the unanimous pick for No. 1and they locked up the top seed fortheir second straight appearance in the 12-team College Football Playoff. Georgia, which beat Alabama by threetouchdowns in theSoutheastern Conference title game, moved up one spot to No. 2for itshighest ranking of the season. Ohio State, the defending national champion, slipped two spotsto No. 3. TexasTech, a27-point winner over BYU in the Big 12 championship game, also has its highest rankingofthe seasonafterrising one rung to No. 4. Oregon was No. 5and followed

by Mississippi,Texas A&M, Oklahoma,NotreDame and Miami. Miami moveduptwo spots and returned to thetop 10 for thefirst time sincemid-October.Alabama and BYU each dropped one spot to Nos. 11 and 12. Among Group of Five teams,

American Conference champion Tulanejumpedfour spots to No. 17 for its highest ranking in two years. Sun Belt Conference champion James Madison remained No. 19.

ThefinalAPTop 25 will be released Jan.20, theday after the national championship game.

Poll points

n Indiana, which hadthe most losses in majorcollege football history priortoCurtCignetti’s arrival two years ago, hadnever been ranked higher thanNo. 2 before Sunday. Thatwas theposition the Hoosiers held forseven straight weeksbeforethey rose to the top. They were 100 ballot points ahead of Georgia TheBulldogswerejust12points ahead of Ohio State.

n With thelimitedschedule of games,all teamsthat wereinthe Top25remained in the poll.

n Virginia took thebiggestfall after losing in overtime to Duke in theACC championship game, going from No. 16 to No. 20.

NotreDameleftout of playoff whileAlabama andMiami getin

BY MARK LONG Associated Press

Snubbed by the CollegeFootball Playoff, Notre Dame snubbed its nose at asecond-tier bowl game. The ninth-ranked Fighting Irish responded to getting droppedin the CFP rankings for the second consecutive week by turning down an invitation to play in the PopTarts Bowl in Orlando, Florida.

“As ateam, we’ve decided to withdraw our name from consideration for abowl game following the 2025 season,” NotreDame wrote in astatement posted to its official Xaccount. “Weappreciate allthe support from ourfamilies and fans, and we’re hopingto bring the 12th national title to South Bend in 2026.”

Although it mightbethe exact reaction that many Notre Dame fans wanted, it’sfar from ideal forthe long-term viabilityofnonplayoff bowl games.

The decision also denies Notre Dame’sseniors achance for one final game, denies underclassmen from afew extra weeksofpractice and denies alegion of fans is there abigger brand in college football? —from watching this team play again.

Unlike Iowa State and Kansas State, which each got fined $500,000bythe Big 12 for opting outofa bowl game because of coaching changes, NotreDame won’tget punished because it’s not afull-fledgedmember of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Despite winning every game for nearly three months, Notre Dame dropped behind Miami in thefinal CFP rankings and was left out of the 12-team bracket entirely

The Fighting Irish, who won their last 10 games by an average of nearly 30 points, watchedchampionship weekend from afar,idle as an independent with no options to impressthe selection committee one last time in aleague title game.

Continued from page1C

to win.It’ssomething we’re very proud of.” As for player availability, Desormeaux said “no”when asked if he’s aware of anyplayers opting out of the bowl.

Also, the head coach said he doesn’tforesee any players who haven’tbeen playing being healthy enough to return forthe bowl. His players, though, claim the team is readyfor one more game.

“It’shuge,man,” seniorwide receiver Dale Martin said. “That’sfive straight yearsof going to abowl for me.It’sanother chance —one last time to play with my brothers and just get out on the field and playfor theCajuns.

go. Ithink we’re on four now,so to getthatextra win, onemore and hold up atrophy is big, so it’s like real big, especially when we went through this year,(it) would be huge for us.”

While the Cajuns enter the game on afour-gamewinning streak to finish the regular season 6-6overalland 5-3inSun Belt play,Delaware finished 6-6 overall and 4-4 in Conference USA. Because of alack of six-win teamstofill out bowlspots, Delaware was allowedtomakeits first bowlappearance.

“I feel like this is going to be areal important game forus, especially getting that win. What we went through earlier in the season wasn’t easy. It took alot to gettowhere we’ve gottogo.”

“We’re rolling. We’re keepingour momentum. We’re going to keep doing what we’re doing keep fighting and keep winning each day.”

ROBERTWILLIAMS,UL senior receiver

The Cajunsown an all-time bowl record of 8-6, but have lost three in arow sincethe New Orleans Bowl win over Marshall in 2021.

“I feel like this is going to be a real importantgamefor us, especially getting that win,” UL senior receiver Robert Williamssaid.

“What we went through earlier in the season wasn’teasy.Ittook alot to get to where we’ve got to

The Blue Hens have aquarterback in NickMinicucci with 3,507 yards passing and 22 touchdowns this season and two receivers in Sean Wilson and Kyre Duplessis with over 700 yards receiving.

“We’ve gottoget ourpassrush going,”Desormeaux said. “It’shard to throw consistently wheneveryou have pressure on you, so we have guys who can rush thepasserand we need those guys to do agood jobfor us.

“They’ll certainly test your discipline on the back end, making sure whenever you’re playing zone, you’re dropping in the right spots. We’ve got to get rid of someofthe bigonesthat we’ve been giving up on some of these double moves andthings like that.”

Email KevinFoote at kfoote@theadvocate.com.

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman, left, greets players as they return to the sidelineduring the second half of agameagainst PittsburghonNov.15inPittsburgh.

Athletic director Pete Bevacqua and coach MarcusFreeman hadtaken thehighroad in recent weeks, avoiding too much lobbying and believingtheir winning streak would be enough to earn aberth over Alabama.

Miami (10-2) ended up knocking the Irish (10-2) out. With BYU losing to TexasTech in theBig 12 title game, the committeeranked Miami and Notre Dame next to each other and turned to thehead-to-head metric to determine whichone wouldget the No 10 seed

It was Miami, which beat Notre Dame 27-24 in Week 1ofthe regular season.

HunterYurachek, the chair of the selection committee, said members rewatched the game and were struck byMiami’sshutting down of aNotreDame running gameina way nobody else did this season.

“Then there wasobservation fromthe coaches in theroom where Notre Dame did alot of chasingofsome of theathletic receivers, especially on the Miami side,” Yurachek said. “And it just felt like there was alittle bit more

athleticism on theside of Miami versus Notre Dame.”

The Hurricanes will play at Texas A&M in theopening round of theplayoff.

No. 12 BYU, No. 13 Vanderbilt and No. 14 Texas —and, to alesser extent,AtlanticCoast Conference championDuke —are sure to have issues with the final CFPstandings, too.

“Weare notentitled to anything and we’re notvictimizedbyany process or any committee,”Vandy coach ClarkLea said. “Thisis about ownership over what we’ve created,and the opportunity we created for ourselvesistogoand know exactly what our season is going to be finished.”

But no one has abigger gripe than Notre Dame, which dropped one spot after beating Stanford 4920 and thenfell another while not playing. Fans onlinehad demandedthe Irish boycott theirbowl game, cancel theirschedulingagreement withthe ACC and reassess future slates. Some called for Bevacqua to be fired.

Notre Dame lost consecutive games toopen the season against

LSU

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transfer portalclass in the country,but the Tigers fell well short of expectations and fired head coach BrianKelly in themidst of his fourth season.They have gone 2-2 under Wilson with losses to Alabamaand Oklahoma.

Houston went 4-8 during Fritz’s firstseason, butithas turned things around this year.Ithas scored 28.3 points per game, ranking 65th in the country,and it has allowed 21.8 points per game, which ranks 40th nationally.Its losses came against Texas Tech,

West Virginia and TCU

It’s unclear what the roster will look like. LSU wide receivers Kylan Billiot and JelaniWatkins have decidedtoenter the transfer portal when it opens Jan. 2, but there are no other knownoptouts or transfers at this point.

LSU’soffensive coaching staff is also in fluxafter the hiring of new head coach Lane Kiffin.Wilson will coach through the bowl game,Kiffin said,but hisfuture with the team is uncertain after that. Kiffinhas brought in a new offensive staff, while LSU retainedmostofits defensive staffafter defensive coordinator BlakeBaker passed on jobsatTulane and Memphis.

STAFFPHOTO By BRAD KEMP

UL footballplayers celebrate awin over UL-Monroe on Dec.29. The Cajuns will extend their season by playing the 68 Ventures Bowl against Delaware.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MICHAEL CONROy

Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza celebrates afterthe

game against Ohio State on SaturdayinIndianapolis.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By GENE J. PUSKAR

SAINTS 24, BUCS 20

RB Neal earns game ball

BY LUKE JOHNSON AND MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

TAMPA, Fla.

— All this talk about ball security during a rainy game at Raymond James Stadium, and there was Devin Neal forgetting to secure the ball. Thankfully for him, this was after a play He was too caught up in the celebration after he caught the late signal from the referee that he’d scored his first touchdown of his professional career with the New Orleans Saints.

And, doubly thankfully, someone on the Saints equipment staff had the good sense to grab the keepsake for Neal’s collection. In fact, the rookie running back came away from Sunday’s win in Tampa Bay with a pair of mementos.

and go about it in the wrong way and not focus on getting wins, but we fight for each other, and I think that represents our culture as a whole. And I’m just excited to keep on building.”

Neal and fellow rookie Tyler Shough were the engines that ran the Saints offense Sunday With New Orleans being forced to lean on the ground game in challenging conditions, Neal carried the ball 19 times for 70 tough yards against a Buccaneers unit that had allowed only three players to top 70 yards all season coming into Sunday’s game.

let me dump it down by running back, and let’s just make a play Whatever happens, happens.”

A sixth-round pick out of Kansas this year, Neal has started each of the last two games for the Saints while Alvin Kamara has dealt with a knee injury

Why no challenge?

Well before the Saints’ victory over the Buccaneers, Kellen Moore left fans puzzled over his decision not to challenge a controversial spot on third down that forced his team to settle for a field goal.

camera (angle) because we were already in tempo,” Moore said. “Usually, (the) TV (broadcast) is going to go right to the live action in those scenarios, so (it was) a little bit tricky.”

The Saints then went for it on fourth-and-1, and while they converted, the play was penalized for an illegal man down the field. Moore then settled for a 30-yard field goal, which Charlie Smyth made. Moore is 0-for-3 on challenges this season, his first as a head coach.

Odds and ends

2-1-1, Smith 2-1-0, Dennis

1-1-0, Diaby 1-1-0, McCollum 1-1-0, Reddick

1-1-0, Brewer 1-0-0, Nelson 1-0-0, Parrish 1-0-

0, E.Roberts 1-0-0, L.Hall 0-2-0, D.Jones 0-1-0.

INTERCEPTIONS—New Orleans, Taylor 1-10. Tampa Bay, McCollum 1-19. MISSED FIELD GOALS—New Orleans, Smyth

48. OFFICIALS—Referee Clete Blakeman, Ump Scott Campbell, HL Andy Warner, LJ Kent Payne, FJ Karina Tovar, SJ James Coleman, BJ Jonah Monroe, Replay Chad Adams.

Bucs defensive lineman Logan Hall was the first to arrive, and when Shough spun out of his tackle, he pounded the dirt in disgust. Two-time Pro Bowler Vita Vea came next, and he couldn’t corral the rookie either For good measure, Anthony Nelson came free and was left in the dust like the others.

Shough saw daylight and sprinted toward it, and if those first three defenders weren’t going to get him, neither were the other eight. His 13-yard touchdown run gave the Saints a 24-17 lead they would not relinquish.

“That was a big-time play,” coach Kellen Moore said.

If that felt rare, it’s because it has been. Since Drew Brees retired, the Saints have had 30 opportunities to put together a go-ahead drive in the final 10 minutes of games, including Sunday Shough’s run was only the fifth go-ahead touchdown the Saints have scored in those situations, and it marked only the second time New Orleans had hung on for a win (the other being Seattle in 2022).

Quarterback wins may not be a real statistic, but big plays in big moments do matter — perhaps to no one more than the players

Shough shares a locker room with As he was saying how much he respected Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield, Saints linebacker Demario Davis said the quarterback position was what

There was that game ball from his first touchdown — a three-yard plunge to cap an impressive tonesetting touchdown on the game’s opening drive — and there was the game ball he received from coach Kellen Moore after the Saints’ 24-20 win over Tampa Bay

“Special, special moment for me — and not only for me, but for this team,” Neal said. “I just think it’s a representation of who we are. We can easily just be down

He contributed some big plays as a runner, including a 21-yarder that represented the longest run by any Saints running back this season. But he also added a crucial 14-yard catch on third down to set up the go-ahead score in the fourth quarter, catching a pass in the flat and turning upfield for a big gain.

On the play, Shough was dealing with pressure up the middle and he dumped it off to Neal well shy of the first down marker Neal did the rest.

“I’m just glad Tyler saw me in time, had enough trust in me,” Neal said. “... He just has a natural feel, like, the pocket’s collapsing,

But the coach had a reasonable explanation for why he didn’t throw the red flag: He couldn’t see a replay to see if it was truly a bad call.

On third-and-2 with 2:26 left in the third from the 9-yard line, running back Audric Estime rushed for what officials initially indicated was a first down. So to avoid a challenge from the Tampa side, Moore said the Saints tried to push the pace by running tempo — but the Saints failed to get the next snap off in time as the officiating crew then changed the spot of the ball and ruled it to be fourth-and-1.

“We weren’t able to get the

decided the game in the Saints’ favor Sunday In Shough, he sees someone who has the “it factor.” The it factor being “that thing that separates some of my top quarterbacks in the league from the rest of the guys,” Davis said. The conditions made that specific type of heroics a necessity The Saints and Buccaneers spent most of Sunday’s game playing in a driving rain, and both offensive play-callers leaned heavily into the run game. Shough contributed two of the Saints’ three rushing touchdowns,

and as a team, New Orleans had one of its best rushing efforts of the year, turning its 32 attempts into 139 yards against one of the NFL’s better run defenses But for all Shough did late, the game ultimately came down to what the Saints defense would do against Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield. Holding a 24-20 lead, New Orleans took over at its own 18 with 4:54 remaining. Shough converted a pair of clutch third downs with tough throws to Devaughn Vele, but he couldn’t pull off the trifecta. His

third-and-11 pass fell incomplete with 1:54 remaining, and the Saints sent the punting unit onto the field — which actually made some happy “We’ve been waiting for a twominute drive to be on (the defense) the whole year,” Davis said. “. It’s been a long time coming, and it was interesting that it ended as fast as it did.”

The Buccaneers needed to go 80 yards with no timeouts to take the lead. They didn’t even make it 10 yards. With Davis in coverage, Mayfield’s fourth-down pass to Cade

Shough’s 34-yard touchdown run was the longest run by any Saints player since Taysom Hill‘s 75-yard touchdown against the Cleveland Browns in November of last year It was only the Saints’ second run of 30 or more yards since the start of the 2023 season Right tackle Asim Richards, who filled in for injured starter Taliese Fuaga, left in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s win with an ankle injury William Sherman replaced Richards in the lineup Baker Mayfield‘s 55.1 passer rating against the Saints was his second-worst single-game mark since he took over as the Buccaneers’ starting quarterback.

Otten on fourth-and-4 picked up 3 yards — the fifth stop the Saints defense came up with on fourth down Sunday New Orleans took over and kneeled out the clock on their third win of the season. The game started to turn early in the second half when Alontae Taylor injected some life into the Saints sideline by picking off Mayfield on the opening drive of the second half.

Trailing 10-7 at the time, New Orleans took the lead when Shough found a seam off the left end on a read option and out-raced the Buccaneers defense for a 34-yard touchdown run. It was the longest run by any Saints player this season

Shough finished the game with modest stats as a passer, going 13 of 20 for 144 yards and an interception that was a result of a miscommunication with Chris Olave. But he contributed 55 yards and two scores on the ground and, most importantly was a central figure in a winning effort. Days before the game, he was asked if he was treating the closing stretch as an audition to keep the job in 2026, with the Saints appearing destined for a top draft pick — where franchise quarterbacks are typically drafted.

Sunday, the tone shifted: Does he feel he’s opened eyes with his play? Shough didn’t bite. “I really care about what the guys in the locker room think of me,” Shough said. “I want to instill the belief that we can win out,

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JASON BEHNKEN

ampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Elijah Roberts tackles New Orleans Saints running back Devin Neal in the second half of a game on Sunday in Tampa, Fla.

SHOUGH STANDS TALL

1

Rookie quarterback Tyler Shough hada brilliant day, leading the Saints offense to asecondhalfcomeback and rushingfor twosecondhalftouchdowns in the rain. He finished the daywith modest numbers (13 of 20 passing,144 yards, one interception; 7carries for 55 yards), butitincluded several big plays on third down and is the typeofvictory that will lead the Saints to believe theyhavetheir quarterback of the future, no matterhow hightheirdraft pick is next spring

SAINTS 24,BUCS20

MOORE FINDS MORE

2

Shough isn’t the only rookie whoimpressed Sunday. First-year head coachKellen Moore had agood daycallingthe offense, fromthe scripted first drivethat produced Devin Neal’s first career touchdown to the fourth quarter,whenthe Saints were finding ways to runthe ball in bad weatheragainst a good rushing defense.The resultwas acareer dayfor yetanother rookie: Neal finished with70yardsand the touchdownon19carries, plusa big 14-yard catch to convert athird down on the Saints’ final touchdowndrive.

TOUGH ‘D’WHENITCOUNTED

3

The Saints defense wasn’t perfect, but it was very good when it counted. The Buccaneers were only 3of13onthird down and 2of7 on fourth down.The five fourth-down stops included threestuffs in short-yardagesituations near midfield, flipping field position, as well as the stop that ended the game. Anddon’t forget acouple of third-down stops inside the 25-yard line that forced Tampa Bay into field goals. That ultimately wasthe difference in thegame.

‘Westuffed themiddlelikea turkey’

NewOrleans defensedominates on fourth down

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

TAMPA, Fla. CarlGranderson hadan idea what was coming, thanks to what happened 42 days earlier In October,during in the first meeting between the New Orleans Saints andthe TampaBay Buccaneers,the Saints bottled up their NFC South rival’srushing attack with adominant goal-line stand. And they nearly had another later on So on Sunday,when theBuccaneers lineduptogofor it on fourth-and-1 from midfield, Granderson knew there was no way that Tampa Bay would send Bucky Irving straight ahead.Not afterlasttime.

“Westuffed the middle like aturkey,” Granderson said. “They couldn’t run up the middle. .Weknew they were going to try and hit (the) outside. It was awrap after that.” Granderson read the pitch and immediately wrapped up the running back for a7-yard loss —the first ofa remarkable five fourth-down stops in NewOrleans’24-20win over theBuccaneers. Tampa Bay finished the afternoon just 2of7onfourth down Like in the previous matchup, the Saints controlled the line of scrimmage Sure, Tampa Bay rushed for179 yards on 39 carries. But more oftenthan not, when the Buccaneers needed justa few yards to keep their drives alive, it was the Saints’ defensive line that blew up the play as soon as it started. And this time, unlike the first meeting, they won the game.

“Everything’sonthe line,” Saints defensive endCam Jordan said of those fourth-down moments. “That’s what gets players excited. When you’re on defense, you’re like,‘Man, putitonme. Put it on us.’” Each stop proved huge for New Orleans. Excluding quarterback Baker Mayfield’sbatted-down Hail Mary right before halftime, three of theother four stops gaveNew Orleansgreat field position. And though they initially failed to capitalize on severalofthe chances, the offense finally delivered in the fourth quarter when they scored thegame-deciding touchdownfresh

Kellen Moore needed awin like this one. Ascrappy,out-of-the-mud (both literally and physically) victory against aquality opponent thathis New Orleans Saints simplyout-toughed.

The Moore era in New Orleans got off to astart as gloomy as the Sunday afternoon weather at Raymond JamesStadium.

There weren’tawhole lot of wins (just two) through the first dozen games under Moore, and there wasn’tawhole lot of optimism. Nothing seemedto suggest the Saints weretrending in the right direction. Every week, something popped up that needed to be fixed. Penalties. Red-zone woes. Turnovers. Defensive lapses.Moore’s decision-making. Moore’sgame management. Something.

Saints linebackerDemario Davis, center,celebrates with safety Terrell Burgess, left, and cornerbackQuincyRileyafter stopping the Tampa BayBuccaneers on fourth down in the first half on SundayinTampa, Fla

off cornerbackKool-Aid McKinstry’s fourth-and-2 passbreakup.

McKinstry’sPBU in particular also showedhow it wasn’t just thedefensive line thatchanged thegame. The Bucs’ Chris Godwin initially appeared to catchthe pass right in front of the chains when the second-year cornerback came flying in withathunderous hit, causing the wide receiver to bobble the ball and force the incompletion.

“I wentuptohim and told him, ‘Man, Idon’t thinkyou realize howbig aplay that was,”cornerback AlontaeTaylor said.

To even get to fourthdown, the Saints hadtobeexcellent on third down. And they responded with some of their best effort of theseason. New Orleansheld Tampa Bay to 3of13on third down, whichtieda season-best percentage for the Saints. What was theother game?The first Bucs’meeting, of course.Tampa Bay also went 3

of 13 in that one.

Maybe themost important of all of them was Michael Davis’ coverage on tight endCadeOtton with just under five minutes left. Davis, aseldom-used corner,was on thefieldaspart of a packagethatrequired another defensive back. Butheblanketed thetight end, preventing him from catching a potential game-tying touchdown.

TampaBay settled for the field goal, its last pointsofthe afternoon.

“We’re there to ruin their season,” Davis said. “We’re out of playoff contention. They’re still in the hunt, so we’vegot to ruin their season. We came in here andplayedhard.They underestimated us alittle bit.” TheSaints indeed playedspoiler. The Buccaneers fell to 7-6 on the season, dropping them into afirstplace tiewiththe CarolinaPanthers. TampaBay and Carolina still have to face each other twice in the finalfour

games, puttingthe NFCSouth very much up forgrabs.

New Orleans, at 3-10, won’tbepart of that divisional hunt. But so much of thisseason has been about buildinga foundation for the future.And awin over ateamlike theBuccaneers— who have won the South four straight years —only adds to that. They were even tested in new ways Sunday, 13 gamesinto the campaign. Demario Davis said the defense had been waiting all year for agameto truly be put on their shoulders in the final minutes. Andwith1:48left, Davis and the unit got their wish. The defense took thefield,needing to prevent TampaBay from driving 80 yards for agame-winning touchdown.

“It was like adog licking its chops,” the linebacker said.

TheBuccaneers instead went 9, stopped just short of the sticks on fourth-and-4.

Panthers. Maybe theSaints will do the Bucs afavor next week when the Panthers come to theSuperdome.

The Saints, who already have one winagainstthe Panthers,are just 3-10 and at thebottom of that same NFC South ladder.Credit goes to Moore for having ateam that hasn’tquit.His players hadevery reason to give up after winning just one of their first eight games.

“Kellen’sgot ice in his veins,” said Saintslinebacker Demario Davis. “Hedon’t change, win or lose. He comes in and he’sthe same person every day. As human beings, you respect that more than anything. Youmay agree or disagree with somebody, but when somebody is the same person every day,it’slike, ‘OK, Ican rock with you. Iknow you’re not gonna changeup.’And that’show he’sbeen.

But Sunday,the Saints finally put it alltogether and beat the TampaBay Buccaneers 24-20inthe most impressive and complete victory since Moore took over Moore was his same stoic self after thewin, not showing much emotion. Butonthe inside, you know he hadto be smiling from ear to ear

This was asignature win against a Bucs team that was fightingtostay alone atop the NFC South standings. Instead, the Saints played spoiler,and now the Bucs (7-6) are tied on the top rung of the division with theCarolina

He’s been steady.Hedoesn’tflinch.”

Moore’steam didn’tflinch either Every time theSaints scored Sunday, theBucswouldanswer withascore of their own.But the Saintsjust kept making plays. One of the best decisions Moore madewhenhelanded theSaints job washiring Brandon Staley to be his defensive coordinator.That was evident Sunday, as theSaintslimited Baker Mayfieldtoarough passing day Mayfield completed 14 of 30 passes for122 yards withatouchdown and an interception. It was the second time

in six weeks the Saints held Mayfield in check. Mayfield completed 15 of 24 passes for 152 yards in the Bucs’ 23-3 victory in the Dome in October. This time, theSaints flipped the script,with Tyler Shough doing his best Mayfield impersonation in the win. Shough ran for two touchdowns and threw for another and the Saints scored 20 pointsina gamefor the first time since beating the New York Giants in Week 5. The 24 points were much needed for Moore, who was hired because he was supposed to be an offensive mind. There have been times this season when that was in doubt,especially in games when the Saintsfailed to score once inside the

red zone. The Saints went2for 3in the red zone Sunday.They also got plenty of help from their defense, holding the Bucs to 3of13onthird downs and 2of7 on fourth downs. This was the very definition of the complementary football Moore had been waiting to see.

“When you’ve only wonacouple games during the season, there is alot of adversity you face,” Moore said. “So forour guys to come out and have the energy and the physicality they played with, Ithought it was a credit to our guys. They are aspecial group that keeps playing.”

The Bucs, ateam the Saints once dominated, had wonthe last three games in the series. The Saints have never lost four straight games to the Bucs, and they made sure not to start on Sunday

Nothing was going to stop them

Not the Bucs. And not Mother Nature, who pouredrain on the field muchofthe afternoon and made this game asloppy one. Moore, who monitored the weather in away that would have made former local meteorologist Margaret Orr proud, made the adjustments and leaned on arunning game that has struggled most of the season. Running back Devin Neal rushed for 70 yards, and Shough rushed for 55 more. Both Shough and Neal scored their first rushing touchdowns, making it abig day for the two rookies. And the rookie head coach’sday wasn’tsobad either

Rod Walker

AP PHOTO By CHRISO’MEARA Saints head coach Kellen Moore smiles after atouchdownagainst the Buccaneers on Sunday

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOByJASON BEHNKEN

Allen’s 4 TDs lead Bills over Bengals

By The Associated Press

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y Josh Allen

threw for three touchdowns and ran for one, Christian Benford scored the go-ahead TD on a 63yard interception return, and the Buffalo Bills rallied from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Cincinnati Bengals 39-34.

Allen scored on a 40-yard rush, breaking his record of 36 for the longest by a Bills quarterback, and Buffalo flipped the game with big defensive plays on a snowy afternoon in western New York. Benford and defensive end A.J Epenesa intercepted former LSU standout Joe Burrow on consecutive plays from scrimmage, leading to the Bills scoring three touchdowns in a span of 4:20 in the fourth quarter

Benford’s interception the cornerback leaped to snag Burrow’s lob intended for Ja’Marr Chase — gave Buffalo its first lead with 5:25 remaining.

The Bills then went up 39-28 after Epenesa’s interception, which he caught after Burrow’s pass was tipped by defensive tackle Jordan Phillips. On fourth-and-goal from the 3, Allen found tight end Jackson Hawes for a touchdown

The Bills (9-4) have won two straight for the first time in a month, and they kept pace in a tightly packed AFC race.

The Bengals (4-9) saw their already shaky playoff prospects dim even further Their only realistic shot entering the weekend was winning the AFC North, but they fell three games behind Pittsburgh. Burrow’s boost to the Bengals lasted only one week after he oversaw Cincinnati’s 32-14 win over Baltimore in the starter’s first game after missing nine with a toe injury

TITANS 31, BROWNS 29: In Cleveland, behind a strong running game along with key plays on defense and special teams, the Titans snapped a seven-game skid as they held off the Cleveland Browns.

Tony Pollard rushed for a careerhigh 161 yards and two touch-

Buffalo

downs as Tennessee averaged 5.3 yards per carry The defense forced a pair of turnovers in the second half and the special teams blocked a punt, with those plays leading to 17 points

SEAHAWKS 37, FALCONS 9: In Atlanta, former New Orleans Saint Rashid Shaheed returned the second-half kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, Seattle’s defense came up with three turnovers and the Seahawks won for the seventh time in eight games, beating hapless Atlanta.

Sam Darnold threw for 249 yards and three touchdowns, including a pair of scores to Jaxon Smith-Njigba and another to Cooper Kupp. The Seahawks (10-3) broke away from a 6-6 tie at halftime with a 31-point beatdown of the Falcons over the final two quarters.

JAGUARS 36, COLTS 19: In Jackson-

ville, Florida, Trevor Lawrence threw two touchdown passes, Travis Etienne ran for two scores and Jacksonville moved atop the AFC South with a victory against rivals Indianapolis.

The Jaguars (9-4) won their fourth consecutive game and extended the Colts’ misery in Jacksonville. Indianapolis (8-5) most recently won at EverBank Stadium in 2014, an 11-game skid that includes a matchup in London.

VIKINGS 31, COMMANDERS 0: In Minneapolis, J.J. McCarthy threw a career-high three touchdown passes in his first turnover-free game, returning from his latest injury absence in prime form for the Vikings in a victory that sent the Washington Commanders to their eighth straight loss.

McCarthy went 16 for 23 for 163 yards in his seventh NFL start, after sitting out last week in Seattle

with a concussion while the Vikings were shut out for the first time in 18 years and dropped their fourth consecutive game with the offense in disrepair. One week later, they got to deliver the shutout in just their second turnover-free game of the season.

STEELERS 27, RAVENS 22: In Baltimore, Aaron Rodgers threw for 284 yards and a touchdown and even ran for a TD in perhaps his best game with the Steelers, and Pittsburgh took sole possession of first place in the AFC North, holding on for a win over the Ravens when a Baltimore touchdown with 2:43 remaining was overturned by a replay review The Ravens (6-7) had caught Pittsburgh in the standings despite a 1-5 start, leading to the latest round of speculation — plus some chants from fans suggesting Tomlin’s 19-year tenure as Steel-

SCOREBOARD

Williams 3-6 2-2 9, Wilson 0-0 0-0 0 Wolf 3-7 0-0 7, Powell 1-4 0-0 3, Sharpe 7-8 2-3 16, Saraf 3-8 0-0 7. Totals 47-89 11-14 119. New Orleans24203126101 Brooklyn35273423—119 3-Point Goals—New Orleans 9-25 (Hawkins 2-4, Bey 2-5, Murphy III 2-7 Matkovic 1-1 McGowens 1-1, Alvarado 1-3, Peavy 0-1, Fears 0-3), Brooklyn 14-35 (Porter Jr. 5-10, Demin

2-4, Clowney 2-5, Wolf 1-2, Mann 1-3, Powell 1-3, Saraf 1-4, Williams 1-4). Fouled Out— None. Rebounds—New Orleans 36 (Queen 9), Brooklyn 45 (Claxton 11). Assists—New Orleans 30 (Alvarado 6), Brooklyn 36 (Claxton 10). Total Fouls—New Orleans 15, Brooklyn 17. A—17,055 (17,732) Pro football NFL glance

CONFERENCE

ctPFPA

Monday, Dec. 15 Miami at Pittsburgh, 7:15 p.m. College football Major scores Saturday’s games EAST Villanova 14, Lehigh 7 SOUTH Duke 27, Virginia 20, OT Georgia 28, Alabama 7 Prairie View 23, Jackson St. 21 South Dakota 47, Mercer 0 MIDWEST Illinois St. 29, N. Dakota St. 28 Indiana 13, Ohio St. 10 W. Michigan 23, Miami (Ohio) 13 SOUTHWEST Stephen F. Austin 41, Abilene Christian 34 Tarleton St. 31, North Dakota 13 Texas Tech 34, BYU 7 FAR WEST Montana 50, S. Dakota St. 29 Montana St. 21, Yale 13 UC Davis 47, Rhode Island 26 FCS Playoff Glance Second Round Saturday’s games Illinois St. 29, North Dakota St. 28 UC Davis vs. Rhode Island, n Villanova 14, Lehigh 7 Tarleton St. 31, North Dakota 13 Montana St. 21, Yale 13 SFA 41, Abilene Christian 34 South Dakota 47, Mercer 0 Montana 50, South Dakota St. 29 College Football Playoff First Round Friday, Dec. 19 No. 9 Alabama (10-3) at No. 8 Oklahoma (102), 8 p.m. (ESPN/ABC) Saturday, Dec. 20 No. 10 Miami (Fla.) (10-2) at No. 7 Texas A&M (11-1), noon (ESPN/ABC) No. 11 Tulane (11-2) at No. 6 Mississippi (111), 3:30 p.m. (TNT/HBO Max) No. 12 James Madison (12-1) at No. 5 Oregon (11-1), 7:30 p.m. (TNT/HBO Max)

(ESPN) 68 Ventures Bowl Mobile, Ala. Louisiana vs. Delaware, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN) Dec. 18 Xbox Bowl Frisco, Texas Arkansas State vs. Missouri State, 8 p.m. (ESPN2) Dec. 19 Myrtle Beach Bowl

(10-3) at No. 8 Oklahoma (102), 7 p.m. (ESPN/ABC) Dec. 20 College Football Playoff First Round No. 10 Miami (Fla.) (10-2) at No. 7 Texas A&M (11-1), 11 a.m.

ers coach might be nearing an end.

DOLPHINS 34, JETS 10: In East Rutherford, New Jersey, Tua Tagovailoa remained unbeaten against the New York Jets and put his cold weather woes on ice, and Miami had three rushing touchdowns to run away with a victory

With Miami’s fourth straight win, Tagovailoa improved to 7-0 against the Jets as a starter and 8-0 overall in games in which he has played against the AFC East rivals. And with the temperature 41 degrees at kickoff, Tagovailoa moved to 1-7 in his career when the temperature is 46 or colder

BRONCOS 24, RAIDERS 17: In Las Vegas. Bo Nix passed for 212 yards and rushed for a touchdown, and the Denver Broncos didn’t fall behind for the first time this season as they defeated Las Vegas Raiders. The Raiders lost quarterback Geno Smith, who injured his right hand and shoulder in the third quarter and was replaced by Kenny Pickett.

RAMS 45,CARDINALS 17: In Glendale, Arizona, Matthew Stafford threw for 281 yards and three touchdowns, Puka Nacua and Blake Corum both scored twice and Los Angeles rolled past Arizona to stay tied for the NFC West lead.

The Rams (10-3) scored 35 unanswered points to bounce back from last week’s turnover-filled loss to the Panthers and win for the seventh time in eight games. They are tied with the Seahawks atop the division, one game ahead of the 49ers.

PACKERS 28, BEARS 21: In Green Bay Wisconsin, Keisean Nixon intercepted Caleb Williams’ pass in the end zone with 22 seconds remaining to preserve Green Bay’s victory over Chicago that moved the Packers into first place in the NFC North.

The Bears were facing fourthand-1 from Green Bay’s 14-yard line when Williams faked a handoff and rolled to his left. Tight end Cole Kmet had gotten behind Nixon in the end zone, but Nixon made a leaping catch of the underthrown pass.

at No. 4 Texas Tech, noon (ESPN) At Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Calif Alabama/Oklahoma winner at No. 1 Indiana, 4 p.m. (ESPN) At Sugar Bowl, New Orleans Tulane/Mississippi winner at No. 3 Georgia, 8 p.m. (ESPN)

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By GENE J PUSKAR

Bills quarterback Josh Allen scrambles away from Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Oren Burks during a game on Sunday in Orchard Park, N.y

BREAKING THEBANK

CrystalFabergé eggcrafted forRussian royaltyshattersrecordand sellsfor $30.2M

By The Associated Press

Arare crystal and diamond Fabergé egg crafted for Russia’srulingfamily before itwas toppledbyrevolution shattered records Tuesday as it sold at auction in Londonfor $30.2 million.

TheWinterEgg, which was compared to theiconic “Mona Lisa,” was just one of seven of the opulent ovoids remaininginprivate hands,Christie’sLondonauction house said.

The4-inch-tall egg is made from finely carved rock crystal, covered in adelicate snowflake motif wrought in platinum and 4,500 tiny diamonds.Itopens to reveal a removable tiny basket of bejewelledquartz flowers symbolizing spring.

Thesaleprice, which included abuyer’s premium, topped the $18.5 million paidata2007 Christie’sauction for another Fabergé egg created forthe Rothschild banking family.

Craftsman Peter Carl Fabergéand hiscompany created more than 50 of the eggs for Russia’simperialfamily between 1885 and1917, each elaborately unique and containing a hidden surprise.Czar Alexander III started the tradition by presenting an egg to his wife eachEaster. Hissuccessor,Nicholas II, extended the gift to his wife and mother

ä See FABERGÉ EGG, page 8C

Forthose with

gift your time or an item with purpose

What types of Christmas gifts are suitable forarelative with Alzheimer’s disease?

The giftoftimeisalways aperfect giftfor someone with Alzheimer’sdisease or dementia.

People going through this journey appreciate the companionship and socialization because they feel isolated most of the time. Spending time with the person, engaging in activities of their preference, taking rides in acar,giving soothing hand massages with scented lotions, involvement in holiday decorating and cooking, looking at photo albumstogether are all examples of activities of engagement that the affected person would surely appreciate. Youcan makeapersonalized scrapbook or memoryalbum foryour relative, either digitally or using it as ameans for an activity that you and your relative could work on and create together.Imagine the pleasure the person would receive going through old photographs and reminiscing with you! Plus, adult coloring books are popular,and someolder adults, including those with memory impairments, take pleasure in coloring, especially when the activity is accompanied with children/grandchildren.

Be cautious, however,that the drawings to color are not too busy or intricate as this might confuse the person or makethem less interested in the activity.Not only will these types of pastimes provide hours of enjoyment, but you can learn agreat deal about your relative during the dialogue that results from this sharing of time together

Purposeful gifts are also good choices, such as toiletries, combs, brushes, easy pull-on clothing and sweaters, handkerchiefs or socks. Additionally you can purchase gifts that provide some mental stimulation, such as easy word searches, matching games, fidget therapy tools or apackage of letter tiles to make words (like Scrabble). There are also numerous apps specifically designed to stimulate the brain, and these apps can be downloaded on a tablet or iPhone if your relative has access to one. Someaffected people might be hesitant at first to use electronics, but you could easily guide them through the programs, and these could not only motivate and pass the timeinauseful way,but also provide mental stimulation and engagement. Magic Piano, Pocket Pond, Flower Garden, Book of You, and Lumosity are great apps, to nameafew,todownload for older adults and those with Alzheimer’sdisease or dementia. Additionally,ifyour relative enjoys animals, robotic pets provide hours of entertainment and are maintenance free (joyforall.com or mindcarestore. com). Further,giftcards to purchase favorite songs and tunes to download on atablet or iPhone would provide your

The Winter Egg by Fabergé, displayed at Christie’sauction roomsinLondon, sold for over$30 million, arecord according to the auction house. | ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By KIRSTy WIGGLESWORTH

Strong bonesaren’tbuilt by calciumalone

Dear Doctors: Doestaking calcium help keep your bones strongor not? Iamgoing through perimenopause now,and osteoporosis is on my mind. Afriend says that just acalcium supplementisn’t enough, you need to thinkabout vitamin K. Ihaven’teven heard of that. Can you please explain?

Dr.ElizabethKo

Dr.EveGlazier

ASK THE DOCTORS

Dear Reader: Perimenopause refers to the physical changesthat take place as awoman nearsthe end of her reproductiveyears. A shift in hormone productionbythe ovaries triggers these changes. Most notably,estrogen begins to fluctuate and gradually decline.As blood levels of estrogen and other reproductive hormones rise and fall, arange of symptoms occur These include irregular periods, hot flashes, sleep disruptionand mood changes. Because estrogen helps maintain bone density, perimenopausecan also setthe stage forosteoporosis.This is when the cycleofbone remodeling falls out of balance. Bone tissue is broken downmorerapidly thanitcan be rebuilt. This results in porous, brittle and fragile bones that can be easilyinjured. That bringsustothe concept of supplemental calcium. The idea is that, because dietarycalcium pro-

TODAYINHISTORY

By The Associated Press

Today is Monday, Dec. 8, the 342nd day of 2025. There are 23 days left in the year

Todayinhistory:

On Dec. 8, 1941, the United States entered World WarIIasCongress declared war againstImperial Japan aday after the attack on Pearl Harbor Also on this date: In 1980, rock star and former Beatle John Lennon was shot to death outside his New York City apartment building by Mark David Chapman.

In 1987, President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev signed atreaty at the White House calling for the destruction of intermediaterange missiles.

In 2012, Texas A&M

TRADITIONS

Continued from page7C

remain Gramercy,Lutcher and Paulina. Celebration in the Oaks at City Park in New Orleans Each year,City Parkturns itself into aglowing reminder of why New Orleans does holidays its own way More than amillion lights wind through the ancient oaks, whether you choose the 2-mile driving tour at 4Friederichs Ave. or the walking path at 7Victory Ave. The tradition dates back to the 1980s and has growninto the park’s largest fundraiser Ticket information is at celebrationintheoaks.com/ tickets. Louisiana Lights: Where theHolidays Shine in Baton Rouge For the second year, Burden Museum and Gardens in Baton Rouge is hosting ayears-in-the-making immersive light show for the holiday season. Running through Dec. 30, guests walk through illuminated pathways and holiday scenes throughout the gardens. The paths are designed to be accessible for young and old to enjoy time together and outside

quarterback Johnny Manziel became the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy In 2014, the U.S.and NATO ceremonially ended their combatmission in Afghanistan, 13 years after theSept. 11 terror attacks sparked their invasion of the country to topple the Taliban-led government In 2016, John Glenn, whose 1962 flightasthe first U.S. astronauttoorbit the Earth made himanAmerican hero andpropelled him to along career in theU.S. Senate, died in Columbus, Ohio, at 95. In 2022, Russia freed WNBA star Brittney Griner in ahigh-profile prisoner exchangewith the U.S that released Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.Griner hadbeen detained for nearly 10 months.

vides theraw material for bone remodeling, adding the mineral to thediet should help offset the bone loss. Butaswith many of our bodily processes, thereality is morecomplex. Calcium does not act alone. Itsefficacy in bone remodelingistied to vitamin D, zinc, magnesium, phosphateand vitamin K—more specifically, vitamin K2. Vitamin Dboosts the absorption of calcium and phosphate from theintestine. It keeps blood levels of these minerals within the range needed tobuild bone. Zinc, magnesium and vitamin Deach play arole in promoting bone formation.They support thebalance between bone growthand resorption.Phosphorus contributes to bone mineralization.Vitamin K2 makes sure that calcium in the

blood getstothe matrix of the bone, not the softtissues of the circulatory system.Itdoes this by activating aprotein that binds calcium to the bone matrix.

As one reader wrote to us on this topic, “… taking calcium alone without zinc, magnesium and vitamin K2 is like trying to make acake when the only ingredient you put in the bowl is flour.” That means thinking about multiple dimensions wheneating for skeletal health. It is possible to get each of these important building blocks in dietary supplements. However,we always urge patients to seek out real food sources. Youcan find vitamin K2 in animal-based and fermented foods, including cheese, butter,egg yolks and liver.The traditional Japanese dish knownasnatto,

madefrom fermented soybeans, is also arich source of vitamin K2.Vitamin K2 is also produced in the gut microbiome. Good sources of zinc and phosphorus include red meat,poultry,seafood and shellfish, eggs and milk. You’ll find vitamin Dinfatty fish like salmon, eggs, liver and dairy products. And formagnesium, look to the plant-based world with leafygreens, avocados, bananas, nuts, seeds and legumes. Bottom line: Strong bones aren’tbuilt by calcium alone.

Send yourquestions to askthedoctors@mednet.ucla. edu, or write: Ask theDoctors, c/oUCLA HealthSciences Media Relations, 10880 Wilshire Blvd.,Suite 1450, Los Angeles, CA, 90024.

Recognizingfriends versus foes

In 2024, insurgents completed their occupation of theSyrian capital of Damascusasa half-century of Assad family rule swiftly crumbled. Russian state media reported that President Bashar Assad was in Moscow after fleeing the rebel advance.

Today’sbirthdays: Flutist

James Galway is 86. Author Bill Bryson is 74. Actor Kim Basinger is 72. Commentator andcolumnist AnnCoulter is 64. Actor Wendell Pierce is 63. Actor Teri Hatcher is 61. Basketball Hall of Famer Teresa Weatherspoon is 60. Baseball Hall of Famer Mike Mussina is 57. Actor Dominic Monaghan is 49. NASCARdriver Ryan Newman is 48. Singer Nicki Minaj is 43. Country singer Sam Hunt is 41. Actor AnnaSophia Robbis32.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By BRADKEMP

The Noel Acadien au Villagefeatures half-a-millionlights, including the fully lit chapel, lighted holidaydisplays, live entertainment,carnival rides, local cuisine, photos with Santa and holidayshopping in the Christmas Store.

Dear Heloise: I, too, had no idea who was calling me —whether it was a“friend or foe” so to speak. Ihave aSamsung phone, and Icategorized my contacts,such as all doctors, family members, auto services, and medical groups (i.e., radiology and labs), by assigning different ringtones to each of the groups. Iget hundreds of suspected spam and political calls. So, if Ihear the default ringtone, Idon’tanswer the call and check my voicemails tosee if someone left amessage there. If there is no message, I block thenumber.When a distinct ringtone is heard, Iknow to answer —B.E., in Vail,Arizona

attend awedding is just classless. If you’re worried about your ROI (return on investment), don’tspend a lot on your reception. Cut back on frivolous things.

—Patty C., in Waterbury, Connecticut

Yellow glassware

Pay-to-attendweddings

Dear Heloise: I’ve read your column for many years. This is thefirst time that Ihave responded to an inquiry.Telling guests how much they have to pay to

Dear Heloise: My great-grandmother’scrystal glassware has turned yellow.It is about 150 years old and washand-carved in Poland. Iwant to clean this stemware, but how? —Jenna S.,in Columbia, South Carolina Jenna, mixequal amounts of white vinegar and warmwater —enough to cover the stemware and let it soak. Stubborn spots may need apaste of baking soda or adenture tablet to gently clean any cloudy areas. Rinse and polish with alint-free cloth or acoffee filter —Heloise Peelingvegetables

Dear Heloise: Iwanted to write in response to the

womanwho wastaught to peel her vegetables in the sink, but then had such a hard timegetting all the peelings out the way.What Ihave always done is to take an old newspaper, spread out acouple of layers of it in the dry sink, and peel my potatoes and carrots and what not in there. Then Iwould just wrap it up and take it out to the composter,throwing

Each night’sfirst session begins at 5:30 p.m., with the final entry at 8:30 p.m. and themed nights planned, includingBarks &Bright Night, when guests are invited to bring their pups for anight at the lights Ticketsare $24. Formore information,visitbatonrouge. com/louisiana-lights.

FABERGÉEGG

Continued from page7C

Czar Nicholas II commissioned the egg for his mother,Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, as an Easter present in 1913. It was one of two eggs created by female designer Alma Pihl; her other egg is owned by Britain’s royal family The Romanovroyalfamily ruled Russia for 300 years

GIFTS

Continued from page7C

relative withaccess to hours of listening to their much-loved music.

NatchitochesChristmas Festival For the 99th year,Natchitoches is doing up for Christmas. Festivities run through Jan. 6. On Saturdays, thereare lights and displays alongthe banks of the Cane River.There arehorse-drawncarriages along with live music, fireworks and kids activities. It’sasmall town done up for the season. Most of the downtown joins in, but the

before the1917 revolution ousted it. Nicholas and his family were executed in 1918. Boughtbya London dealer for 450 British pounds when the cash-strapped Communist authorities sold off some of Russia’sartistic treasuresinthe 1920s, the egg changed handsseveral times.Itwas believed lost for twodecades until it was auctioned by Christie’s in 1994 for more than 7million Swissfrancs($5.6 million

If your relative is living independently or with a caregiver,you might opt to purchase gift cards to anearby grocery store, pharmacy or favoriteeatery.These types of gift cardsare practical andare alwayswelcomed and very appreciated presents. Lastly,you can also honor your relativebydonating in their name to alocal charity.Though it is not atangiblegift, perse, it isone that providesatouching remembrance of your relativeand their legacy

center of it all is 781 Front St., Natchitoches Noel Acadien au Villagein Lafayette In Lafayette, guestsenjoy awalkingtour of half amillion lights, including the historical park’sfully litchapel. Theevents host live entertainment, carnival rides, local cuisine, photos with Santa and even some holidayshopping in the Christmas Store.Tickets are $8 in advanceand $10 at the gate.For more information, acadianvillage.org.

Allproceedsdirectly benefit LARC’sAcadian Villageand the residential, vocational and community supports andservices at LARC.

at the time). It sold again in 2002 for $9.6 million. Each time theegg has sold, it hasset aworld record price for aFabergé item, Christie’ssaid. Margo Oganesian, the head of Christie’sRussian art department, called the egg“the‘Mona Lisa’for decorativearts,” asuperb example of craft and design. There are 43 surviving imperial Fabergé eggs, most in museums.

This column first appeared in TheAdvocateonDec. 4, 2023.

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

Hints from Heloise

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Having aplan in place will help you head toward the end of the year with less stress. Considerwhat you enjoy doing most andset your routine around what makesyou happy.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Call forhelp if that's what's necessary to get things doneortobethe one to make adifference. Be openand upfront, andshow dedication and willingness to do your part

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) You are in a good position. Yourdedication, insight andability to motivate others will encourage positive change and provide an opportunity to make adifference.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Emotions will surface if youoverreact or offertoo muchbefore you find out what you'll getinreturn. You have plenty to gain if you are patient and willing to compromise.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) Observe, listen andlearn. The information you gather and the ideas that arise from your encounters will motivate you to rethink what youwanttoaccomplish.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Questioneverything, setabudget and use your energy wisely, andyou will be happy with the outcome. Knowing howtorelate and respond to people will help you inch yourway onward and upward.

GEMINI(May 21-June 20) Change begins with you. Be the host, and the response will make youfeel good about yourself

andthe difference youcan make to thoseyou touch emotionally with your warmthand consideration.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Speak boldly, but share your thoughts and feelings in apeaceful and loving manner. You'll get far more in return if your demeanor is positive andyou are willing to see and understand other people'sperspectives.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Howyou engage in social or networking events will determine what you get in return. You'll gain themost through kindness, consideration andunderstanding. Personal progress and love areinthe stars.

VIRGO(Aug.23-Sept.22) Be observant Pay attention to what's unfoldingat home. Set apriceand sticktoyour budget.Anger willadverselyaffect the outcomeofatricky situation. Choose your words and actions wisely.

LIBRA (Sept.23-Oct. 23) Activity, fitness, health andworking to look and feel your best willbeuplifting. Explore what intrigues youand expand your interests to meet your demands.

SCORPIO(Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Concentrate on what'sessential. Participation encourages learning and doing things differently. It's time to make updates across the board.

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

TODAy'SCLUE: AEQUALS B

CeLebrItY CIpher

For better or For WorSe

And erneSt

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

LAGoon

Sudoku

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

Saturday’s Puzzle Answer

THewiZard oFid

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

CurTiS

Bridge

BY PHILLIP ALDER

P.G. Wodehouse, my favorite author, said, “Golf, like measles, should be caught young.”

Hecouldhavealsoaddedbridgetothat sentence.Andsometimeswhenyouhave the opponents caught, do notlet them escape —double and extract apenalty

One aspect of that will be my theme this week.Opener bids one of asuit andthe next player doubles. What does responder’s redouble mean?

He promises at least 10 high-card points anddeniesfour-card or better support if partneropened in amajor, and denies five-card or better support if partner bid aminor.

Afterthis redouble, thesimplest rule is that either the opening side plays the contract or the intervening sideplays in something doubled —asintoday’s deal.

WhenSouthdoubles,Westshouldsmell blood. He redoubles, planning to double anythingtheopponentstry.Here,maybe Northshould immediatelybid one notrump as he does not have fourcardsin an unbid suit. But one no-trump doubled cancost 1,100.

Against twoclubs doubled, West leads the spadequeen, then shifts to thediamond 10.

East wins that trickand switches to a trump, duckedtoWest. He leads another diamond andEast returnshis second trump. West wins and plays athird diamond,Easttakingthetrickandswitching to the heart eight. West wins and now has ahardplay to find. If he leadsatrump into South’s ace-queen, the penalty is also 1,100. Anything else and declarer escapes for “only” 800. ©2025 by NEA,Inc.,dist.

By Andrews McMeel Syndication

wuzzles

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

Previous answers:

word game

InsTRucTIons: 1. Words mustbeoffour or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters

ToDAY’s

Average

Can

today’s thought “And when all the people saw it, theyfellontheir faces: and they said,The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God.” 1Kings 18:39

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles