The Department of Housing and Urban Development on Monday temporarily revoked its notice of federal funding for homelessness programs after two lawsuits challenged policy changes included in
the notice that advocates warned would drastically cut permanent housing programs and send people back on the streets.
HUD withdrew the notice Monday afternoon, shortly before a U.S. District Court hearing in Rhode Island on two lawsuits filed by the National Alliance to End
Homelessness and 20 states, Politico reported. The department posted an update to its website, stating that the withdrawal will allow it “to make appropriate revisions“ and that it “intends to exercise this discretion and make changes to previously issued CoC NOFO to account for new priorities.”
ABOVE: Volunteer Michael Uhler takes Lisa Chance’s donation Tuesday during the 39th annual FoodNet Food for Families Food Drive hosted by KLFy-TV and Catholic Charities of Acadiana at the Cajundome.
RIGHT: Volunteer David Moresi sorts donations at the Cajundome during Tuesday’s food drive.
STAFF PHOTOS By LESLIE WESTBROOK
Tiny earbones in fish unlock their secret lives
Scientists seek anglers’ contributions to study population
BY MIKE SMITH
It’s a moment that can spark dread among even the most scrupulously
Also included in the rescinded funding notice were a litany of ways an agency could be disqualified from receiving federal funding, including public complaints, showing racial preference, participating in harm-reduction models
ä See HUD, page 9A
Those priorities emphasized transitional housing with work requirements and addiction treatment, at the expense of permanent housing solutions. The policy change also mandated that only 30% of the agency’s Continuum of Care funding can be used for permanent housing, down from roughly 90%. The Acadiana Regional Coalition on Homelessness previously said the changes would create chaos and exacerbate visible homelessness in the region, affecting at least half of the 350 households in permanent housing or rapidrehousing programs.
330,000 people pushed to other plans
BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer
Louisiana has halted a contract with United Healthcare to provide Medicaid coverage for roughly 333,000 people in Louisiana, less than a month before next year’s agreement was set to take effect. People on the United Healthcare plan will be redistributed to other plans, the Louisiana Department of Health said.
abiding Louisiana fishermen. As you return to the dock after a fine day on the water, solemnly serious men or women in state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries T-shirts approach.
The initial, slightly paranoid thought for many anglers: Yikes, did I mismeasure a speckled trout and accidentally keep one slightly under the 13-inch limit? But no reason to worry in this case. The Wildlife and Fisheries gang isn’t looking to confiscate your catch. They only want your fish’s earbones. It’s not some ritual described in a Dr John song. The earbones, or otoliths, collected through a quick slice to the head, have revealed a wealth of information on the secret lives of fish to marine biologists, especially age. That info is then used to help determine the health of fish populations. The practice is by no means limited to Louisiana, or even the Gulf. Globally, it has uncovered vital new info over the years, including the fact that red snapper can live to 50 years old or
ä See EARBONES, page 7A
“The immediate impact is the chaos and confusion.”
SEN.GERALD BOUDREAUX, D-Lafayette
“LDH will begin the transition process of moving your Medicaid members to other contracted Medicaid Managed Care Plans for a January 1, 2026 effective date,” Medicaid Director Seth Gold wrote to United in a letter dated Dec. 2. “We expect United to continue to abide by all of the terms of its current contract with LDH through the expiration date. We also expect your full cooperation with transitioning your members to their new Medicaid Managed Care Plans.”
Some state leaders said they were concerned the abrupt change could cause confusion or disruptions for the thousands of people who rely on that Medicaid health plan, like requiring them to find new doctors.
“The immediate impact is the chaos and confusion,” said Sen. Gerald Boudreaux, D-Lafayette, a longtime member of the Senate health committee. He also sits on the budget oversight committee that approves the contracts.
See MEDICAID, page 9A
Two earbones, or otoliths, are removed from a flounder for study by scientists.
PHOTO PROVIDED By LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF WILDLIFE AND FISHERIES
Shooting in Kentucky leaves 1 dead, 1 hurt
FRANKFORT, Ky. At least one student was killed and another was critically wounded in a shooting at a residence hall at Kentucky State University on Tuesday, and a suspect was in custody, officials said.
Police in Frankfort, the state’s capital city said the campus was on lockdown. Video from WLKY-TV in Louisville showed multiple police vehicles outside a cluster of dormitories and crime scene tape in a courtyard
One student who was shot at the residence hall, Whitney M. Young Jr Hall, is in critical condition but is stable, according to the university The school is not immediately releasing the names of the students.
Frankfort police said it responded to an incident involving “an active aggressor” and that the campus was secured Kentucky State is a public historically Black university with about 2,200 students. Lawmakers authorized the school’s creation in 1886.
San Diego approves $30 million settlement
SAN DIEGO The San Diego City Council on Tuesday approved a $30 million payment to the family of a 16-year-old killed by police in one of the largest such settlements in U.S. history The settlement exceeds the $27 million the city of Minneapolis agreed to pay the family of George Floyd, whose May 2020 murder by a police officer who knelt on his neck sparked a nationwide racial reckoning. Surveillance and body-worn camera footage from Jan. 28 showed Konoa Wilson running away from someone who pulled a gun and fired at him in a downtown train station. As he exited the station, Wilson encountered San Diego Police Officer Daniel Gold. In the lawsuit against the city and Gold, the family alleged the officer “instantly, without any warning,” fired two shots at Wilson as he ran by striking him in the upper body. The lawsuit identified Wilson as Black Council member Henry Foster III became emotional when speaking about the shooting, sharing his fears about the dangers that Black youth face: “If only you could understand the fear I feel when my son leaves the house.”
“Kanoa’s life was taken while fleeing from gunshots, and he found himself running into the arms of a police officer This should not have happened,” Foster said A spokesperson for the San Diego Police Department said Gold is currently on an administrative assignment while the shooting is under investigation. The lawsuit said Gold did not announce he was a police officer until after shooting him in the back. It said Wilson was running past the officer “in an attempt to get to a place of safety.”
TV producer on ‘Most Wanted’ list for fraud
SANTA ANA, Calif. — The former head of a California company that produced true crime TV shows has been added to the FBI’s Most Wanted list years after being charged with portraying herself as an heiress to get millions of dollars from lenders.
Mary Carole McDonnell, 73, is believed to be in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, the FBI said on Dec 5 McDonnell is the former chief executive at Bellum Entertainment LLC, based in Burbank, California, which produced shows such as “It Takes a Killer” and “I Married a Murderer.”
Bellum was having financial problems in 2017 McDonnell was able to get a $14.7 million loan from a bank after falsely claiming she was related to the founders of McDonnell Douglas, a leading aviation and aerospace company, and had $28 million in a trust account, according to court documents.
“It is alleged that McDonnell also defrauded additional financial institutions in a similar fashion, with an estimated loss of over $15 million,” the FBI said. A grand jury indicted McDonnell in 2018 on charges of fraud and identity theft. She has not been found.
Zelenskyy reaffirms refusal to cede land
BY PAOLO SANTALUCIA and ILLIA NOVIKOV Associated Press
ROME Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelenskyy has reaffirmed his strong refusal to cede any territory, resisting U.S. pressure for painful concessions to Russia as he moved ahead Tuesday to rally more European support for his country “Undoubtedly, Russia insists for us to give up territories. We, clearly, don’t want to give up anything. That’s what we are fighting for,” Zelenskyy told reporters in a WhatsApp chat late Monday “Do we consider ceding any territories? According to the law we don’t have such right,” he said. “According to Ukraine’s law, our constitution, international law, and to be frank, we don’t have a moral right either.”
In an interview with Politico released Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump pressed Zelenskyy to accept the U.S. proposal that Ukraine cede territory to Russia arguing Moscow has the “upper hand” in its nearly 4-year-old invasion, and that Zelenskyy’s government must “play ball.”
Zelenskyy met in Rome with Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, discussing the progress of the peace process, her office said. They emphasized the importance of U.S. and European unity and of solutions “that will have repercussions on the continent’s security,” the statement said. They also discussed “developing robust security guarantees to prevent future aggression and maintaining pressure on Russia to join the negotiating table in good faith,” it said.
Earlier, Zelenskyy met with Pope Leo XIV at Castel Gandolfo, a papal residence outside Rome. The Vatican said Leo reiterated the need for continuing dialogue and “expressed his urgent desire that the current diplomatic initiatives bring about a just and lasting peace.”
The Holy See has tried to stay neutral in the war while offering solidarity and assistance to what it calls the “martyred” people of Ukraine. Leo has met three times with Zelenskyy and has spoken by telephone at least once with Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling for a ceasefire and urging Moscow to make gestures promoting peace.
On Monday, Zelenskyy held talks in London with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to strengthen Ukraine’s hand amid mounting impatience from Trump.
U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators completed three days of talks Saturday aimed at trying to narrow differences on the Trump administration’s peace proposal.
A major sticking point is the suggestion that Kyiv must give up control of the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine to Russia, which occupies most but not all of the territory Ukraine and its Europe-
an allies firmly resist the idea of handing over land.
“You know a lot of people are dying,”
Trump told Politico on Monday, claiming that other Ukrainian officials that he identified only as Zelenskyy’s “lieutenants, his top people” agree with the U.S. administration.
Other than Zelenskyy’s comments Monday, Ukrainian negotiators have said little in public about the content of the U.S. proposal or their attitude toward it
Speaking to reporters again Tuesday on WhatsApp, Zelenskyy said three documents were being discussed with American and European partners a 20-point framework document that is constantly changing, a document on security guarantees and a document about Ukraine’s recovery.
Zelenskyy told reporters that Ukraine’s updated version of the proposal would be given to the U.S. on Wednesday Russia, Trump said, is too powerful for Ukraine to continue fighting.
“I give the people of Ukraine and the military of Ukraine tremendous credit for the, you know, bravery and for the fighting and all of that,” he said. “But you know, at some point, size will win, generally.”
Trump also repeated his call for Ukraine to hold a presidential election even though martial law doesn’t allow it and Zelenskyy, elected in 2019, had his five-year term extended because of the war Trump’s position on Ukraine’s failure to hold an election mirrors frequent statements on the subject by Putin.
Responding to Trump’s remarks, Zelenskyy asked for help from the U.S. and possibly Europe “to ensure security for the elections” and suggested that Ukraine could be ready to hold balloting in 60 to 90 days.
In past comments, Zelenskyy has declined to hold elections until a ceasefire is declared and martial law lifted, and Ukrainians have largely supported that decision.
Court questions limits on political party spending in federal elections
Conservative justices appear to back drive to overturn precedent
BY MARK SHERMAN Associated Press
WASHINGTON Conservative Supreme Court justices on Tuesday appeared to back a Republican-led drive that would erase limits on how much political parties can spend in coordination with candidates for Congress and president and overturn a quarter-century-old decision.
A day after the justices indicated they would reverse a 90-year-old precedent limiting the president’s power to fire independent agency heads, the court took up a 2001 decision that upheld a provision of federal election law that is more than 50 years old
The lawsuit, which originated in Ohio, includes Vice President JD Vance, who joined in the Republican challenge to the limits when he was a senator from Ohio
The arguments touched on whether Vance would run for president in 2028, and whether his plans should figure in the outcome.
The case is the latest in which the conservative majority could upend congressionally enacted limits on raising and spending money to influence elections.
The court’s 2010 Citizens United decision opened the door to unlimited independent spending in federal elections.
Two hours of arguments showed entrenched divisions between the liberal and conservative justices over campaign finance restrictions.
“Every time we interfere with the congressional design, we make matters worse,” said Justice Sonia Sotomayor, a dissenter in Citizens United and the court’s other campaign money cases.
By contrast, Justice Samuel Alito, a member of the Citizens United majority, described the decision as “much maligned, I think unfairly maligned.” The effect of the decision was to ”level the playing field,” Alito said, by expanding the right to spend freely that had previously belonged only to media companies.
The limits on party spending stem from a desire to prevent large donors from skirting caps on individual contributions to a candidate by directing unlimited sums to the party, with the understanding that the money will be spent on behalf of the candidate.
The Republican committees for House and Senate candidates filed the lawsuit in Ohio in 2022, joined by Vance and thenRep. Steve Chabot.
The court should cast a skeptical eye on the limits because they are “at war” with recent high court decisions, lawyer Noel Francisco said, representing Republican interests. The Federal Election Commission, which changed its view on the issue after Trump took office, also argued that the limits should be struck down.
Democrats are calling on the court to uphold the law, even though there is wide agreement that the spending limits have hurt political parties in an era of unlimited spending by other organizations.
“That’s the real source of the disadvantage, right?” Justice Brett Kavanaugh said. “You can give huge money to the outside group, but you can’t give huge money to the party And so the parties are very much weakened compared to the outside group.”
Alito, Kavanaugh and Justice Clarence Thomas all voiced skepticism about the limits, while the three liberal justices signaled they would vote to uphold them. The other three members of the court either said nothing during the arguments or not enough to indicate how they might vote.
Pope insists on Europe role in Ukraine peace
BY NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press
ROME Pope Leo XIV insisted Tuesday that Europe must have a role in any Ukraine peace deal and criticized what he said was the Trump administration’s effort to “break apart” the long-standing U.S.-European alliance.
Leo spoke to reporters after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is on another tour to rally European support for Kyiv The American pope said they discussed the need for a ceasefire and the Vatican’s efforts to facilitate the return of Ukrainian children taken by Russian authorities.
Leo was asked about the U.S. peace proposal and the seeming sidelining of European powers in the process. Speaking as he left his vacation home in Castel Gandolfo, Leo insisted that Europe’s role was crucial to any deal.
“Seeking a peace agreement without including Europe in the talks is unrealistic, given the war is in Europe,” he said. “Guarantees are also being sought for security today and in the future. Europe must be part of this, and unfortunately not everyone understands this, but I think there is a great opportunity for European leaders to unite and seek a solution together.”
Zelenskyy has said there are three documents in the peace agreement being discussed with U.S. and European partners, a framework document of 20 points, a second document with security guarantees, and a third document about Ukraine’s recovery Leo was asked about the U.S. peace plan for Ukraine but appeared to respond to a broader question about the Trump administration’s views on the U.S.-Europe alliance. Just last week, the Trump administration released its U.S. national security strategy, which questions the U.S.-European alliance and stresses a desire to improve U.S.Russia relations. Leo said what he had read would “make a huge change in what was for many many years a true alliance between Europe and the United States.” Additionally, some comments by U.S President Donald Trump suggest an effort “trying to break apart what I think needs to be an alliance today and in the future.”
While some people in the United States may agree with that effort, “I think many others would see things in a different way,” Leo said. The Holy See has tried to remain neutral in Russia’s war while offering solidarity and concrete assistance to what it calls the “martyred” people of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, is received Tuesday at Chigi Palace by Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ANDREW MEDICHINI Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Pope Leo XIV wave to journalists Tuesday at Castel Gandolfo, Italy
Senate to vote on Cassidy’shealthproposal
Republicanspush back on taxcredit extension
BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer
WASHINGTON U.S. Senate
leaders said Tuesday the chamber will vote Thursday on U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy’shealthcare legislation, calling it the Republican response to aDemocratic proposal to extend tax credits that 24.3 million working Americans and small businesses —nearly 300,000 of whom live in Louisiana use to buy healthinsurance.
The legislation, which was officially released Tuesday, is cosponsored by Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, and Sen. Mike Crapo,R-Idaho.
Cassidy chairs theSenate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee and Crapo chairs the Senate FinanceCommittee,the two panels that overseethe Affordable Care Act.
Sen. Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.,told reporters Monday that he favored the Cassidy-Crapo proposal as the Republicans’ entrée into the extension debate.
Thesubsidies, which go directly from the federal government to insurance companies, expire Dec. 31 —meaningpeople who get theirhealth insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace willhave to pay the policy’s entire amount.That would cause their premiums to double, on average, beginning in three weeks on Jan.1
Cassidy
Thune promised Democratic senators avote on extending for three years the tax creditsthat are designed to cover the gapbetween what insurance companiescharge for theirpolicies and what peoplecan afford topay on their own.Avote on the Cassidy-Crapo legislation will be teed upassoon as the Democratic vote finishes.
The Cassidy-Crapo measure wouldn’textend the tax credits. Instead,the bill proposesgivingthe moneythat hadgone to insurance companies as subsidies to pay policypremiums,directly to beneficiariesinthe form of ahealth savings account
that could be used solely for medical expenses.
Cassidy said people could decide on theirown if they want to use the money to buy the more expensive policy with lower deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses or purchasealess-expensive policy anduse the savings to pay for thehigher deductibles and expenses when care is sought.
“Instead of 100%ofthis money going to insurance companies, let’sgive it to patients,” Cassidy said Tuesday.“By giving themanaccount thatthey control, we give them the power.We makehealth care affordable again.”
Cassidy saidthe legislation requires policyprices to decrease by 11% over the next few years.
Theproposalsneed 60 votes to succeed. Fifty-three Republicans,45Democrats and two independents who caucus with the Democrats sit in the Senate.Senators are expected to vote along partylines, so neither the Democratic nor theRepublican measure is expected to succeed.
If one does attract 60 votes,the instrument will head to theHouse, whose
Texaslaunchesplantoopenchaptersof TurningPoint USAinevery high school
BY JADEN EDISON The Texas Tribune
Texas has launched apartnership with Turning Point USA to create chapters of the right-wing organization on every highschool campus in the state
Gov.Greg Abbott, Lt.Gov Dan Patrick and Turning Point USA Senior Director Josh Thifault revealed the initiative during anews conference at the Governor’s Mansion on Monday.They did not outline any plans that would require schoolstoinitiate the clubs, but Abbott said that he expects “meaningful disciplinary action” to take place against “any stoppage of TPUSA in the great state of Texas.”
“Let me be clear: Any school that stands in the way of aClubAmerica program in their schoolshould be reported immediately to the Texas Education Agency,” the governor said, referring to the name of the high schoolclubs.
The announcement comes after Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath, who stood behind Abbott at Monday’sgathering,privately met with Thifault in early November to discuss expanding the organization’s presence in the state’sschools, which was first reported by The Texas Tribune. Four daysafter that meeting, Patrick said he wouldcommit$1million in campaign funds to help bring the project to fruition Turning Point USA was founded by Charlie Kirk, the late right-wing activist who was often praised by conservatives as achampion of free speech and criticized for comments that many other Americans found hateful. Kirk was killed in early September while speaking on acollege campus in Utah Kirk’sorganization has traditionally operated on college campuses,promoting itself as ahub for young people committed to conservative values. The group is also known for having created aso-called professor watchlist, which allows users to search for educators perceived as supporting and promoting liberal viewpoints in the classroom. Turning Point’swork hasat times caused tension, particularly among students and faculty members who have reported being harassed becauseofthe negative spotlight placed on them by the organization.
The group’s“Club America” chapters, meanwhile, operate in high schools. The clubs aim to “build strong networks, spearheadimpactful initiatives, help students register to vote, and inspire meaningful conversations about the foundations of afree society,” ac-
cordingtotheir website. TurningPointorganizers say they have received
tensofthousands of new inquiriesabout starting local chapters sinceKirk’sdeath.
Republican-majority members are trying to comeup withtheir own version to competewith theDemocratic three-year extension. Democratic insistence that the Republican-dominated House and Senate extend the tax credits led to the historically longfederal government shutdown afew weeks ago.
Republicanshavespent the last 15 years trying to scuttlethe AffordableCare
Act and have portrayed the extension as aDemocratic efforttocover up skyrocketing insurance costs.
Thetax credits were enhanced during the COVIDpandemicaspeople returnedtowork, often for employers who didn’toffer insurance. Though these beneficiaries no longer qualifiedfor Medicaid, theystill couldn’tafford thepolicies on the private market.
Democrats don’tdisagree
thatcosts have risenbut arguethatchanges required by Republicans and the courts diminished the effectiveness of plan. Theyagreed that changes arenecessary but wanted theextension to avoidpeople suffering while Congress leans into ahealth care debate.
Email Mark Ballardat mballard@theadvocate. com.
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Retiring admiral briefs Congress on boat strikes
BY STEPHEN GROVES and LISA MASCARO Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy admiral who is retiring early from command of the campaign to destroy vessels allegedly carrying drugs near Venezuela spoke to key lawmakers Tuesday as Congress seeks more answers on President Donald Trump’s mission, which, in one instance, killed two survivors clinging to the wreckage of an initial strike.
The classified video call between Adm. Alvin Holsey, who will be retiring from U.S. Southern Command in the coming days, and the GOP chair and ranking Democrat of the Senate Armed Services Committee represented another determined step by lawmakers to demand an accounting from the Department of Defense on the threats against Venezuela and the strikes, especially after a report that two survivors were killed during one operation in September
Sen. Roger Wicker, the Republican chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, declined to discuss the specifics of the call, but described Holsey as a “great public servant.” Congress is also demanding that the Pentagon turn over unedited video of the strikes, as well as the orders authorizing the attacks, as part of its annual defense authorization bill.
It was a sign of how the Sept. 2 strike, which legal experts say may have violated the laws governing how the U.S. military uses deadly force, has awakened the Republican-controlled Congress to its oversight role after months of frustration at the trickle of information coming to Capitol Hill from the Pentagon.
“There is a growing demand that everyone get a right in the Senate to see it,” said Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee.
He added that Holsey answered the senators’ questions and they “got a little more clarity” but also said that “there are still many questions to be answered.”
Wicker said that the Pentagon is weighing concerns about whether the video would disclose classified information.
What lawmakers learn from Holsey could shed new light on the purpose and parameters of Trump’s campaign, which has struck 22 boats and killed at least 87 people since it started in Septembe.
Holsey became the leader of U.S. Southern Command just over one year ago, but in October, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that Holsey would be retiring early from his post. As commander of U.S. forces in the region, Holsey oversaw a command structure that has in recent years been mostly focused on building stability and cooperation across much of the region.
Trump’s drug boat campaign, however, has added a new, deadly dynamic to its mission. Rather than trying to interdict drug-
carrying vessels, as forces like the U.S Coast Guard have traditionally done, the Trump administration asserts that the drugs and drug-smugglers are posing a direct threat to American lives. Officials say they are applying the same rules as the global war on terror to kill drug smugglers.
Republicans have mostly stood behind the overall campaign, but Democrats say the logic underpinning it is deeply problematic.
“They are using expensive, exquisite American military capabilities to kill people who are the equivalent of corner dealers and not making progress interdicting the trafficking by the cartels,” said Sen Chris Coons, D-Del.
Lawmakers are also questioning what intelligence the military is using to determine whether the boats’ cargo is headed for the U.S. As they have looked closer at the Sept. 2 strike, lawmakers learned that the destroyed boat was heading south and that military intelligence showed it was headed toward another vessel that was bound for Suriname.
Still, it remains to be seen whether the Republicancontrolled Congress will push back on the Trump administration’s campaign.
“I want a full set of data to draw my conclusions from,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who had previously demanded accountability after it was revealed that two survivors had been killed Trump this week justified the strike by claiming that the two suspected drug smugglers were trying to right the part of the boat after it had capsized in the initial attack. However, Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley, the special operations commander who ordered the second strike, told lawmakers in a closed-door briefing last week that he ordered the second strike to ensure that the cocaine in the boat could not be picked up later by cartel members
A group of senators — three Democrats and one Republican — is also preparing to force a vote on legislation as soon as next week that would halt Trump’s ability to use military force against Venezuela directly without congressional approval.
Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat who is sponsoring the legislation, said that after reading the classified legal opinion from the Department of Justice that underpins boat strikes, he had “deep skepticism about the legality of any of these operations.”
The senators have already tried unsuccessfully to pass a similar resolution, but almost all Republicans voted against it. However, the senators say there is renewed interest from GOP lawmakers amid the Trump administration’s increasing threats against Venezuela, as well as scrutiny on the strike that killed survivors. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., argued that the laws governing when it is legal to fire on shipwrecked troops also protect American soldiers who are caught in the same situation
Trump threatened to veto defense act over base names
Speaker Johnson removed language from bill, rep says
BY JOHN M. DONNELLY CQ-Roll Call (TNS)
WASHINGTON White House officials told lawmakers in recent days that the president would veto the fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act if Congress did not delete House- and Senate-passed language ensuring U.S military bases do not bear names associated with Confederate officers, the sponsor of one of those provisions said Monday
The Trump administration also told senior lawmakers the president would veto the NDAA over its collective bargaining protections for Pentagon civilians, a knowledgeable source said Monday
The provisions on the Confederacy that were a part of both the House and Senate bills were retained in the compromise NDAA that was agreed upon by Republican and Democratic Armed Services leaders and was recently sent to congressional leaders for finishing touches, knowledgeable sources said So too were the collective bargaining provisions, they said.
But Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, did as Trump wished and removed both sets of provisions in the last days of talks over the final NDAA text, which was finalized Sunday lawmakers confirmed on Monday
Army base names
On the Civil War issue, Trump had vetoed the fiscal 2021 NDAA over its creation of a commission to rename military facilities and assets that have borne the names of Confederate officers or otherwise paid homage to the Confederacy Congress overrode that veto.
Nine major Army bases were renamed in 2023 using the commission’s recom-
U.S. F-18 jets enter Venezuelan airspace for 40 minutes
BY ANTONIO MARÍA DELGADO Miami Herald (TNS)
Two U.S. F-18 fighter jets flying in tandem entered Venezuelan airspace Tuesday, circling over the Gulf of Venezuela in the latest show of force against the regime of Nicolás Maduro.
The flyover — carried out despite the Venezuelan regime’s possession of a number of Russian-made anti-aircraft batteries — took place less than 100 miles northeast of Maracaibo, Venezuela’s second-largest city Thousands of Venezuelans tracked the aircraft online through specialized tracking websites, watching as the jets traced a bow-tie-shaped pattern over the gulf.
The fighters remained inside Venezuelan airspace for at least 40 minutes at an altitude of roughly 25,000 feet before leaving the area.
The U.S continues to build its military presence in the Caribbean, heightening tensions with Caracas. Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro has accused the Trump administration of preparing “acts of aggression” under the cover of counternarcotics operations.
mendations.
But this year the Trump administration undid the commission’s work.
The White House veto threats in recent days, which have not previously been reported, show the Confederacy issue still matters to Trump, not to mention the subject of control over the federal civilian workforce.
“The President’s threat to veto the bill over this amendment as he has done before — only proves that the President and this administration aim to politicize and demoralize every servicemember who chooses to put their life on the line while serving their country,” Rep. Marilyn St ric kla nd, D -Was h. , the author of the House provision on base names, said via email.
“Speaker Johnson and the President killed my bipartisan amendment that passed in committee — at the last minute. They are choosing to honor Confederate traitors, who fought to uphold the institution of slavery and lost a war, rather than supporting our servicemembers 40% of whom are people of color.”
The White House, asked last week if it would veto the NDAA if it contained the provisions requiring that the commission’s non-Confederate names be used, referred
a reporter to statements of administration policy on the House and Senate NDAAs that expressed “strong” opposition to the provisions but did not threaten a veto.
A Johnson spokesperson did not immediately reply to a request for comment on whether the speaker had removed the base-naming provision at the White House’s request.
Bipartisan votes
Earlier this year, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth moved to change the names of nine Army bases that two years before had seen their names changed in accordance with commission recommendations back to their former Confederate homages.
Hegseth said, though, that the names now would be honoring non-Confederate military heroes who happened to share last names with the Confederates.
For example, Fort Gordon in Georgia was renamed Fort Eisenhower in 2023, but this past June the base name reverted to Fort Gordon — this time, Hegseth said, in honor of Medal of Honor recipient Master Sergeant Gary Gordon.
Eight other bases followed similar patterns. Their formerly Confederate-aligned names, now restored in indirect fashion, are: Fort Ben-
ning, Fort Bragg, Fort A.P Hill, Fort Hood, Fort Lee, Fort Pickett, Fort Polk and Fort Rucker
The GOP majority Armed Services Committees in both chambers voted earlier this year for NDAAs that would restore in whole or in part the Naming Commission’s recommendations. The House Armed Services Committee adopted an amendment to its NDAA by Strickland to require all the base names to change to the commission’s recommendations.
The Senate’s version included language backed by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., to restore the bases in Virginia — Forts A.P. Hill, Lee and Pickett — to the names chosen by the commission.
Both provisions made it into the final measure, lawmakers said.
Rep. Adam Smith, DWash., the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, expressed concern in a statement Monday about “how a number of issues were handled by the Speaker and the White House during final negotiations, disregarding input from committees of jurisdiction and forcing in provisions without four-corner agreement,” which he said “goes against the longstanding tradition of the NDAA negotiations process.”
Dream Address Awaits
longer instead of the previously believed 10 or so —determined in part thanks to traces of radioactive carbon from nuclear testing
It has become such an important aspect of fisheries research that it’shard to imagine atrueassessment of the condition of life in the underwater worldwithout them, scientists say.Ithas played akey role in assessments of the state’s speckled trout and redfish populations, among others.
“It’scritically important,” said Andy Fischer, abiologist director at the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. “Age is one of the most important variables that goes into astock assessment becauseittells yousomuchabout the fish —not just the one fish,but the population as awhole.”
Fischer, who hasbeenworking with otoliths since he studied at LSU in the 1990s, said one of his professors would call thebones the “CD-ROM” of fish since “it’s gathering all this information while the fish is alive.”
Today, thatprofessor might refertoitasavirtual realitytour of the fish’slife.
‘Super important’
It’snot unusual to see department staff at marinas asking for otoliths. Anglers’ participation is entirelyvoluntary. Theprocess takes afew minutes andcan be done while you get your boat back on the trailer It also does no damage to your fillets. Sometimes the bones can be pulled through the gills,though often aslice to the head witha hacksaw is necessary The tiny bones hold information that can offer deep insights into the fish’slife, which involves rings that form on the bone,similar to rings inside the trunk of atree.
Those rings allowscientists to tell the age of the fish, the initial clue that permits them tobegin solving abiological Rubik’sCube.
They do that by combining the fish’sage with other information, such as its length, weight and reproductive data.
Deeper analysis can follow,like examining the calcium and strontium in the bone to figure out what types of habitats the fish frequented, said Fischer.Which fish move in and out of fresh, brackish and
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries staff removeotoliths.
salt water,for example, andwhen do they do it?
Calculating all of thatfor onefish is interesting, but not of great use on its own to state fisheriesbiologists. Theyrequire astatistically significant samplesize, and that’s why you might see them at the docks.
Beyondaskingrecreationalanglers for their earbones, the state also seeks permission from commercial docks to operate there. Fishing rodeos, too, can be useful. For stock assessments, Louisiana’s fisheries biologists aim to collect at least 500 otolithsper species every year from recreational anglers, andanother 500 from commercial operations.
Todd Masson, host of the popular Marsh Man Masson YouTube channelonsoutheastLouisiana fishing, said he is always happy to participate when asked for his fish’s otoliths. He notedthatit’shugely important to have scientifically sound estimates of fish stocks in Louisiana,given thestate’scoastal
“It’scritically
Age is one of the most important variables that goes into astock assessment because it tells you so much about the fish not just theone fish, but the population as awhole.”
ANDy FISCHER,
biologist directoratthe state Department ofWildlife and Fisheries
land loss.
“Stock assessments in general super important,” said Masson.
“With coastal land loss, we’re losing so much nursery ground habitat for these fish to growinthat we’vegot to maintain good data as to how sizable our stocks are. If we’re unaware of that, we can’t makesensible changes in managementprotocols.”
‘It’sfascinating’ Rings of otoliths have been examined for around acentury or
so, but the sciencesurrounding it hasbeen honed andrefined over theyears, said Simon Thorrold, a scientist at theWoods Hole Oceanographic InstitutioninMassachusetts. It has been used by Louisiana’sfisheries biologists over the past several decades.
Thepracticehas allowedfor a steady stream of new discoveries as scientistsuse them to mapout fish lives andhabitats.
Thorrold noted advancements made in understanding the lives of red snapper as one example. Otolith analysis revealed evidence of radioactive carbon from nuclear testing in the 1940s, showing the fish were far older than previously estimated.
“They’re used literally around theworld by fisheries departments and researchers,” he said.
He said what makes them so useful is that, unlike human earbones, theyare “metabolically inert, whichmeans that once material gets laid down in the otolith, it is not reworked later.”
“It’skind of stored. It’skind of trapped in there forthe rest of the fish’slife,” said Thorrold.
In Louisiana, coastal anglers have seen the results of such research every time they head out in their boats.
They maynot like recent reductions in the amount of speckled trout and redfish they can keep, but those changes wereinformed by stock assessments showing the need to address declines in populations.
Fischer said that while researchers cansometimes meet resistance at thedockswhentheyapproach anglers, most are happy to oblige, especially when they learn more about the process.
“I think everybody understands the concept of rings on atree,” he said. “Well, mostpeople don’trealize that you can do that with fish. So Ithink people find it’sfascinating.”
Email Mike Smithatmsmith@ theadvocate.com.
PHOTO PROVIDED By LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF WILDLIFE AND FISHERIES
BRIEFS FROM WIRE REPORTS
PepsiCo to cut prices, eliminate products
PepsiCo plans to cut prices and eliminate some of its products under a deal with an activist investor announced Monday
The Purchase, New York-based company, which makes Cheetos, Tostitos and other Frito-Lay products as well as beverages, said it will cut nearly 20% of its product offerings by early next year. PepsiCo said it will use the savings to invest in marketing and improved value for consumers. It didn’t disclose which products or how much it would cut prices.
PepsiCo said it also plans to accelerate the introduction of new offerings with simpler and more functional ingredients, including Doritos Protein and Simply NKD Cheetos and Doritos, which contain no artificial flavors or colors. The company also recently introduced a prebiotic version of its signature cola.
PepsiCo is making the changes after prodding from Elliott Investment Management, which took a $4 billion stake in the company in September In a letter to PepsiCo’s board, Elliott said the company is being hurt by a lack of strategic clarity, decelerating growth and eroding profitability in its North American food and beverage businesses.
U.S. stocks stable ahead of Reserve meeting
NEW YORK U.S. stocks largely held in place on Tuesday as Wall Street waits to hear what the Federal Reserve will say Wednesday about where interest rates are heading.
JPMorgan Chase was the heaviest weight on the market after a top executive, Marianne Lake, said the bank’s expenses could rise to $105 billion next year. That would be up 9% from an estimated $95.9 billion in expenses this year, though Lake also said JPMorgan Chase is “feeling pretty good about the underlying financial health of the borrowers in our portfolio.” Its stock fell 4.7%.
Another drop came from Toll Brothers, which lost 2.4% after the homebuilder reported weaker results for the latest quarter than analysts expected.
CEO Douglas Yearley Jr said demand for new homes remains soft across many markets, and he talked about “affordability pressures” that could be affecting potential homebuyers.
One big factor in that affordability question is mortgage rates. They’re cheaper than they were at the start of the year, though they perked up a bit after October. That’s largely because of questions in the bond market about how much more the Federal Reserve will cut its main interest rate.
The widespread expectation is that the Fed will cut interest rates Wednesday afternoon, which would be the third such easing of the year Lower interest rates can give the economy and prices for investments a boost, though the downside is they can worsen inflation.
Oreo adds zero-sugar cookie options
Mondelez said Tuesday that Oreo Zero Sugar and Oreo Double Stuf Zero Sugar will go on sale in the U.S. in January They’re a permanent addition to the company’s Oreo lineup.
It’s the first time Mondelez has sold sugar-free Oreos in the U.S. They’re already sold in Europe and China, the company said.
Mondelez said consumers are increasingly seeking what it calls “mindful indulgence,” and the new Oreos will fill an existing gap in the market for sugar-free sandwich cookies. Others have also noted the trend toward healthier snacks. In a report earlier this year, the market research company Circana found that a majority of Americans are seeking out snacks they consider “good for them.”
Snack giant Mondelez said it spent four years developing nosugar Oreos so it could ensure the cookies still tasted like the originals. For sweetening, the Oreos contain maltitol, a type of sugar alcohol that’s also found in some fruits and vegetables; polydextrose, a soluble fiber; sucralose, a sweetener derived from sugar; and acesulfame potassium, a synthetic sweetener.
WASHINGTON The Environmental Protection Agency has removed any mention of fossil fuels the main driver of global warming — from its popular online page explaining the causes of climate change. Now it only mentions natural phenomena, even though scientists calculate that nearly all of the warming is due to human activity
Sometime in the past few days or weeks, EPA altered some but not all of its climate change webpages, de-emphasizing and even deleting references to the burning of coal, oil and natural gas, which scientists say is the overwhelming cause of climate change. The website’s causes of climate change page mentions changes in Earth’s orbit, solar activity Earth’s reflectivity volcanoes and natural carbon dioxide changes, but not the burning of fossil fuels. Seven scientists and three former EPA officials tell The Associated Press that this is misleading and harmful.
“Now it is completely wrong,” said University of California climate scientist Daniel Swain, who also noted that impacts, risks and indicators of climate change on the EPA site are now broken links “This was a tool that I know for a fact that a lot of educators used and a lot of people. It was actually one of the best designed easy access climate change information websites for the U.S.”
Earlier this year, the Trump administration removed the national climate assessment from government websites.
“It is outrageous that our government is hiding information and lying,” said former Obama National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief and Oregon State oceanographer Jane Lubchenco.
“People have a right to know the truth about the things that affect their health and safety, and the government has a responsibility to tell the truth.”
An October version of the same EPA page, saved by the internet Wayback Machine, said: “Since the Industrial Revolution, human activ-
The Environmental Protection Agency has removed any mention of fossil fuels — the main driver of global warming — from its popular online page explaining the causes of
ities have released large amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, which has changed the earth’s climate. Natural processes, such as changes in the sun’s energy and volcanic eruptions, also affect the Earth’s climate. However, they do not explain the warming that we have observed over the last century.”
That now reads: “Natural processes are always influencing the earth’s climate and can explain climate changes prior to the Industrial Revolution in the 1700s. However, recent climate changes cannot be explained by natural causes alone.”
“Unlike the previous administration, the Trump EPA is focused on protecting human health and the environment while Powering the Great American Comeback, not left-wing political agendas,” said Brigit Hirsch, EPA spokesperson, in an email. “As such, this agency no longer takes marching orders from the climate cult. Plus, for all the pearl-clutchers out there, the website is archived and available to the public.”
Clicking on “explore climate change resources” on the EPA archived website leads to an error message that says: “This XML file does not appear to have any style information associated with it.”
Democratic EPA chief Gina McCarthy blasted current EPA chief Lee Zeldin, calling him “a wolf in
sheep’s clothing, actively spiking any attempt to protect our health, well-being and precious natural resources.”
Nearly 100% of the warming the world is now experiencing is from human activity, and without that, the Earth would be cooling and dropping in temperatures until the Industrial Revolution, Swain and other scientists said. The EPA listed natural causes “might be causing a very tiny amount of warming or cooling at the moment,” he said.
Marcia McNutt, a geophysicist and president of the National Academy of Sciences, said that there is consensus among experts from the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, or NASEM, on the causes of climate change.
“Numerous NASEM reports from the nation’s leading scientists confirm that the climate is changing as a result of human activities,” McNutt said. “Even the EPA acknowledges that natural causes cannot explain the current changes in climate. It is important that the public be presented with all of the facts.”
Former EPA climate adviser Jeremy Symons, now a senior adviser for Environmental Protection Network of former EPA officials, said: Ignoring fossil fuel pollution as the driving force behind the climate changes we have seen in our lifetime is like pretending cigarettes don’t cause lung cancer.”
Judge overturns wind energy block
BY MATTHEW DALY and JENNIFER MCDERMOTT Associated Press
WASHINGTON A federal judge on Monday struck down President Donald Trump’s executive order blocking wind energy projects, saying the effort to halt virtually all leasing of wind farms on federal lands and waters was “arbitrary and capricious” and violates U.S. law
Judge Patti Saris of the U.S District Court for the District of Massachusetts, vacated Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order blocking wind energy projects and declared it unlawful.
Saris ruled in favor of a coalition of state attorneys general from 17 states and Washington, D.C., led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, that challenged Trump’s Day One order that paused leasing and permitting for wind energy projects.
Trump has been hostile to renewable energy, particularly offshore wind, and prioritizes fossil fuels to produce electricity
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell hailed the ruling as a victory for green jobs and renewable energy
“Massachusetts has invested hundreds of millions of dollars into offshore wind, and today, we successfully protected those important investments from the Trump administration’s unlawful order,” Campbell said in a statement.
James said she was grateful the court stepped in “to block the administration’s reckless and unlawful crusade against clean energy.”
ASSOCIATED
Judge Patti Saris, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, vacated the Trump administration’s Jan. 20 executive order blocking wind energy projects and declared it unlawful.
White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said Monday night that offshore wind projects were given unfair, preferential treatment during the Biden administration while the rest of the energy industry was hindered by burdensome regulations.
“President Trump has ended Joe Biden’s war on American energy and unleashed America’s energy dominance to protect our economic and national security,” Rogers said in a statement to The Associated Press.
The coalition that opposed Trump’s order argued that Trump doesn’t have the authority to halt project permitting, and that doing
so jeopardizes the states’ economies, energy mix, public health and climate goals.
States in the coalition say they’ve invested hundreds of millions of dollars collectively to develop wind energy and even more on upgrading transmission lines to bring wind energy to the electrical grid.
The government argued that the states’ claims amount to nothing more than a policy disagreement over preferences for wind versus fossil fuel energy development that is outside the federal court’s jurisdiction. Justice Department lawyer Michael Robertson said in court that the wind order paused permitting, but didn’t halt it, while Interior Secretary Doug Burgum reviews the environmental impact of wind projects.
The executive order said there were “alleged legal deficiencies underlying the federal government’s leasing and permitting” of wind projects under the Biden administration.
A previous judge in the case allowed it to proceed against Burgum, but dismissed an action against Trump and other Cabinet secretaries. Judge William Young allowed the states to proceed with claims that blocking permits for wind energy projects violates the Administrative Procedure Act, which outlines a detailed process for enacting regulations, but not the Constitution.
Wind is the United States’ largest source of renewable energy, providing about 10% of the electricity generated in the nation, according to the American Clean Power Association.
Trump OKs Nvidia sales to China
BY JOSH BOAK Associated Press
WASHINGTON President
Donald Trump said Monday that he would allow Nvidia to sell an advanced type of computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China.
There have been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips to be sold to China as it could help the country better compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities, but there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia
The chip, known as the H200, is not Nvidia’s most advanced product. Those chips, called Blackwell and the upcoming Rubin, were not part of what Trump approved.
Trump said on social media that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping about his decision and “President Xi responded positively!”
“This policy will support American Jobs, strengthen U.S. Manufacturing, and benefit American Taxpayers,” Trump said in his post.
Nvidia said in a statement that it applauded Trump’s decision, saying the choice would support domestic manufacturing and that by allowing the Commerce Department to vet commercial customers it would “strike a thoughtful balance” on economic and national security priorities.
But a group of Democratic senators objected to the chip sales.
“Access to these chips would give China’s military transformational technology to make its weapons more lethal, carry out more effective cyberattacks against American businesses and critical infrastructure, and strengthen their economic and manufacturing sector,” said the statement.
The group included Sens. Chris Coons of Delaware, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Jack Reed of Rhode Island, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Brian Schatz of Hawaii, Andy Kim of New Jersey, Michael Bennet of Colorado and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan.
The senators noted that Chinese AI company DeepSeek recently said the lack of access to advanced American-designed chip was their biggest challenge in competing with U.S. companies involved in AI. Trump said the Commerce Department was “finalizing the details” for other chipmakers such as AMD and Intel to sell their technologies abroad.
The approval of the licenses to sell Nvidia H200 chips reflects the increasing power and close relationship that the company’s founder and CEO, Jensen Huang, enjoys with the president. But there have been concerns that China will find ways to use the chips to develop its own AI products in ways that could pose national security risks for the U.S., a primary concern of the Biden administration that sought to limit exports.
PRESS FILE PHOTO
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JOSHUA A. BICKEL
climate change.
andusing language that defines sexbeyond the binary
“I’m very frustrated about this process,” said ARCHExecutive Director Elsa Dimitriadis. “Administrations are free to change their minds, have aphilosophical shift, but the truncatedtime period, the chaos behind thisprocess, hasbeen really hurtful to our system of care.”
Dimitriadis isn’texpecting many substantive changes to the funding notice. She hopes Congress will signal to the administration thatit wants 2024 funding reinstated.
In November,19attorneys general and two governors sued the Trump administration over itspolicy to cut funding for permanent housing.
The National AlliancetoEnd Homelessness filed alawsuit for injunctive relief on Dec. 1, alleging that the NoticeofFundingOpportunity violated the Administrative Procedure Act and the Constitution due to the timing requirement andthe imposition of retroactive
conditionsonfederal funds, according to thePublic Rights Project. Thelast-minute withdrawal is
expected to extend funding gaps for ContinuumsofCare thatwill rundry in Januaryafter an already delayedprocess caused by
the federal government shutdown.
The process is likelytodrag on further if the revised notice retriggersthe 60-day application
process, Dimitriadis said.
“Any delay is difficult for us to manage because the later we get in the year forthat process to happen, the moredelay in funding will occur.Normally,there is asmooth system there where we don’thave lapses in funding,” Dimitriadis said. In the meantime, the Continuum of Care is exploring ways to move people between programs with different funding cycles to minimize service disruptions. She is also asking all partners to continue working on their applications.
During the Monday hearing, U.S. District Court Judge Mary S. McElroy,aPresident Donald Trump-nominated judge, criticized theearlywithdrawal and questioned HUD’sattorney about the agency’s processofrulemaking and action, and accused the department of “intentional chaos,” according to news organization NOTUS.
She gave HUD until Monday to explain whyitrescinded its notice. The next court appearance is scheduledat9 a.m. Dec. 19. Readers can watch the court case live online.
The letter from the Health Department did not provide areason for the decision, but Attorney General Liz Murrill said it was aresult of an ongoing legal battle with United Healthcare over aseparate issue related to its managementof pharmacy benefits for the state
“This is very simple Iexpect acompany that makes millions of dollars off the state to comply with our laws to remain eligible forthatcontract,” Murrill said Tuesday
AUnited Healthcare spokesperson disputed Murrill’sclaims, but acknowledged it waslosing the contract.
“Weremain committed to workingwiththe Louisiana DepartmentofHealth through this transition,” the company’s statement said. “Wevalue thelongstanding relationship with the State of Louisiana that has allowed us to provide access to high quality care and coverage to more than 300,000 Medicaid members.”
Six companies provide health insurance to about 1.4 million people as part of Louisiana’sMedicaid program. The United Healthcare contract is the second largest. The plan served 333,246 plan members as of Nov. 1, and the contract for the upcoming 2026 calendar year was projected to be worth about $4.2 billion, according to theHealth Department.
Three-year contracts for all six companies end on Dec. 31. On Nov.20, state Health Department officials asked lawmakers to approvea one-year extension for 2026 —including for United Healthcare.
“This is the fourth year of an expected five-year contract,” Health Secretary Bruce Greenstein said during ahearing on the request Greenstein at the time told lawmakers that state health officials felt “very good”and had undergone akind of reset with “our plans and their leadership to have atrue partnership.”
There was no mention that any of the contracts would not be extended, and Tuesday’snews surprised many lawmakers.
“Wehad no idea there was
any problems with renewals,” said Boudreaux.
The contract change was first reported by theLouisiana Illuminator
The department earlier this month was also prepared to end its Medicaid contractwith Aetna,which is owned by health giant CVS.Inanearlyidentical Dec. 2letter,Gold informed the company it would not be renewing its Medicaidcontractexpiring atthe end of theyear and wouldtransition members to other health plans.
The Aetna plan covers 157,730 people, and its oneyear agreement is worth about $1.9 billion, according to the HealthDepartment.
Butina statement Tuesday,health officials announcedtheynow planto renew theagreement with Aetna
On Dec. 2, Murrill sent aletter to the department saying United Healthcare had failed to cooperatewith thestate’s “pharmacy benefit managementoversight.”
Pharmacy benefit managers negotiate drugprices between drugmakers and large institutions
She said thestate had asked United Healthcare to provide copies of its subcontracts with its pharmacy benefit manager,OptumRx. Thecompany in 2022only provided“partial andlargely redacted materials,” Murrill said, which prompted alawsuit that year,which is ongoing.
“Because United has been outofcontractual compliance since at least fall 2021, has failed to provide complete, unredacted access to necessary documentsand data,and hasnot submitteda credible plantocure these systemic deficiencies, it is the opinionofthe Attorney General that United is noteligiblefor an extension or renewal,” Murrill wrote to the Health Department earlier this month.
UnitedHealthcare in a statement saidit“has always maintained compli-
ance with Louisiana law andour Medicaid contract andhavebeenconsistently responsive to the State’srequest fordata records and documentation.”
“Wewill continue to demonstrate ourcompliance with the state,” thecompany said.
Murrill raised similar concerns with Aetna, which is part of theCVS family of companies thatinclude apharmacy benefits manager.The state has multiple active lawsuits against CVS over allegationsthat it distorted the drug market and drove up prescription drug costs.
But theattorney general said Monday that CVSwas engaged in settlement talks with Louisiana.
In astatement Tuesday, CVS said, “Weare operating business as usualin supportofour members and provider relationships. We thankLDH for their collaboration.”
Louisiana health officials on Tuesday did not respond to questions abouthow the impending endtoUnited Healthcare’sMedicaidcontract will impact members whohavehealth insurance through that plan.
However,state legislators raised that question.
“Thetiming of it couldn’t be at amore inconvenient time,” saidBoudreaux, noting that thedecision came withjust weeksleft in December.“Health care is complicated andpeople don’tunderstand it,and when we have more variablestoit, that further complicates it.”
Boudreaux said there’s arisk thatsomeone who switchesinsurers will no longer be covered by the doctors and health care providerstheyare already seeing.
“That’sreality— that there are gonna be some where they’re not covered,” he said.
Stateleaders need to make sure that Medicaid patients who have been on
the United Healthcare plan will stillbeable to be seen by theirdoctors, he said.
Senate health committee
Chair state Sen. Patrick McMath, R-Covington, said he and insurancecommitteeChair stateSen.Kirk Talbot, R-River Ridge, are consideringholding ajoint
hearing about“the termination of thesecontracts and the potentialimpacts.”
“Politics aside, as alegislator and as chairman of the Senate Health andWelfare Committee, my foremost responsibility is protecting the health andsafetyofall Louisiana residents,” Mc-
Math said. “I want to assure those who maybeaffected,the Legislature will work within its limited authority to prevent disruptions in access to health careservices, and thatensuring continuity of care will remainour top priority,” he said.
STAFF FILEPHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK
Aman sleepsoutside the Salvation Army men’s shelter in Lafayette.
FM 88.7 was included in an initial round of grant funding fromthe Public Media Bridge Fund, designed to support localpublic media across the country in response to the elimination of federal funds for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
The escape of threeinmates fromthe St. Landry Parish Jail wasthe result of long-neglected structural failures, SheriffBobby Guidroz said Monday as he presented video and photographs of the facility’sdeteriorating conditions. The sheriff described the facility as “severely overcrowded” and suffering from years of neglect, moisture damage and unresolved maintenance issues in thebriefing Monday Of the three inmateswho escaped Dec. 3, Keith Eli,24, of Opelousas, is still missing. Joseph Allen Harrington, 26, of Melville, took his own life during aSWAT standoff in Port Barre, and Johnathan Javon Joseph, 24, of Opelousas,was captured “without incident” by aSWATteam.
Authorities reportedthe escape was discovered in the morning following ahead count. The inmates found adegrading part of an upper wall area and, overtime, removed the mortar,allowing them to remove concreteblocks and provide their exit, officials said. Parish officials have suggested staffing shortages could have contributed to the breakout, according to Guidroz. But in anews conference, he said that was not
Corrections worker arrested after narcotics found
ASt. Landry Parish Jail employee was arrestedafter being caught allegedly bringing illegal narcotics into the parish facility late on Nov. 29,according to Sheriff Bobby Guidroz.
Advocate staff reports
Accordingtothe sheriff, an assistant warden saw an employee, 21-yearold Jaylan Nicholson, on security camerascarrying packagesintoa storageroomjust before midnight Suspecting contraband, he alerted narcotics detectives, wholater determined the packages contained illegal drugs.
Grants totaling$26 millionwill be distributed across 74 organizations operating186 radio and television stations nationwide. In the initialwave, the fund prioritized support forstationsfacing thelargest financial challenges. KRVS Radio Acadie, housed at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette campus, is one of two Louisiana award recipients. The other is WLAE-TV, out of New Orleans.
The Public Media Bridge Fund was launched by thePublic Media Companynonprofit in August, immediately following congressional action that rescinded $1.1 billionin funding and future appropriations for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The CPB was created by Congress underthe Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, with the majority of its funding going towardfinancial support for local public media stations.
The grants aredesigned to sustainlocal news, cultural programming andemergency alerts in the midstoffinancial uncertainty for localstations, particularly those in rural areas.
“Our goal wastopresent each grantee with afoothold to stabilize their infrastructure and continue their vital services. Thanks to the rapid and generous response of
philanthropic leaders across the U.S., we’ve been able to raise crucial funds andquicklyget them into the hands of thestationsthat need them the most,” said Tim Isgitt, CEO of Public Media Company
“These grants not only take another step forward in the collaborative effort to respond to acrisis but also create an opportunityto developa sustainablefuturefor public media that builds stronger
STAFFPHOTOSByBRAD KEMP
ABOVE: Nathan Carmichael, left, andKenzie Smith compete Saturdayinthe 20-mile loop during the2025 Loup Garou TrailRun at Chicot State Park in Ville Platte. The race, named after amythicalcreature in French,Canadian andAmerican folklore that is said to be created by acurse,consists of 5- to 20-mile loops around Lake Chicot. Runnerscould complete distancesof20, 40, 60 or 100 miles.
LEFT: Trail runner Austin Richard,right,is greeted by hisfiancée, SheonaBello,after he finishes.
BELOW: One of thetrailrunners finishesa20mile loop in thedark.
The VermilionParish Sheriff’s Office has released new information followinglast week’s capture of inmate GavinGarnica, whoseescapeprompteda multiagency,multistate manhunt.
Authorities said fallout from theescapecontinues as investigators examine how he got out andwho helped him Garnicaescaped from the Ver-
milionParish Jail on Dec.3 after climbing afence on the property, according to the Sheriff’s Office For roughly eight hours, law enforcement agenciesacross the region mobilized to locate him. Sheriff Eddie Langlinais said investigators quickly learned Garnicadid notact alone. Langlinais said Garnica’ssister,Alivia, took him to the Houston area and was later arrested Thesearchfor Garnica stretched across multiple jurisdictions, accordingtothe Sheriff’s Office. With assistance from Jennings police, Louisiana State
Police, the U.S. Marshals Service andthe FBI, authorities tracked Garnica back into Louisiana. Langlinaisconfirmed thata violent incident in Jennings further narrowed their search. “They had acarjacking that occurred in Jennings,and it was by Gavin Garnica,”Langlinais said. “And we were probably within amile or two fromhis location when the carjacking happened.” Garnica is expected to face additional charges frommultiple jurisdictions, including those relatedtothe Jennings carjacking andpotential federal charges The Sheriff’s Office acknowl-
edged weaknesses in Vermilion Parish Jail procedures and infrastructure that allowed Garnica access to an unauthorized area andsaiditisworking to implement security upgrades aimed at preventing future incidents “There weresome deficiencies that we later identified,” Langlinaissaid.“He was in an area he should nothave been in. Why did that happen? And then thearea he wasin, why was it not more secure? Butwe arelooking at hardening those areas andmakingitbetterfor the public for that not to happen again.”
ä See KRVS, page 4B
OUR VIEWS
Newface, same story on La. public health leadership
Louisiana has anew face of public health, but unfortunately,itlooks like more of the same. Gov.Jeff Landry appointed Dr.Evelyn Griffin to be the state’ssurgeon general this week after Dr.Ralph Abraham departed for ajob at theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention.
An OB-GYN in Baton Rouge, Griffin, like Abraham, has been avocal skeptic about the safety and efficacy of vaccines. We suspect that is her primary qualification for the job. While the announcementofher appointment mentions her work on maternal mortality,a grave problem in our state, the governor’soffice gave few details and did not make Griffin available for an interview Fromher resume, though, we can see that she ticks all the boxes on hot-button issues. In 2021, she testified beforeastate Senate committee in favor of aban on medical interventions for transgender youth. She serves on the CDC’sAdvisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP,which, despiteanuproar from the medical community, voted last week to end the recommendation that all children receive the Hepatitis Bvaccine.
At atime when the effects of cuts to Medicaid and Affordable Care Act subsidies are still to be felt, there are many serious challenges facing our health care system in Louisiana, especially in rural areas. We wish we could say with confidence that our public health system had serious people at the helm who are ready to respond to these challenges. But this surgeon general pick seems driven more by the same, tired old debates, rather than aforwardlooking vision. When Abraham became the first person to hold the newly created position of surgeon general in Louisiana in 2024, we expressed concern that he was anoted vaccine skeptic who had recommended the unproven drug ivermectin to treat COVID.
So it was no surprise when Abraham disparaged the state’sresponsetoCOVID before a House committee shortly after being named. It was no surprise when it was announced that the Louisiana Department of Health would end mass vaccination efforts. It was no surprise when flu and RSV cases spiked. It was no surprise when hospitalswent on alert this springfor cases of measles, adisease once thought eradicated in this country It was no surprise that thestate’s child vaccinationrates continued toslip, and in some parishes are now below the threshold for herd immunity
And now,itisnosurprise that Abraham has been tapped to be second in command at the CDC, which itself is being remade by Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.tofollow an anti-vaccine and even anti-science agenda.
It is perhaps Abraham’sreward for sticking to the well-worn script. But Louisiana needs more than aregurgitation of stalerhetoric. It needs arobust public healthadvocateprepared to address some of the nation’sworst health care outcomes. All we can say is we hope Griffin surprises us.
LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR ARE WELCOME. HERE AREOUR
GUIDELINES: Letters are published identifying name, occupation and/or title and the writer’scity of residence
TheAdvocate |The Times-Picayune require astreet address andphone number for verification purposes, but that information is not published. Letters are not to exceed 300 words. Letters to the Editor,The Advocate, P.O. Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588, or email letters@ theadvocate.com. TO SEND USA LETTER, SCANHERE
Weforgetour historywhen we mistreat immigrants
People came from all over theworld. Thank you, Ken Burns, for reminding us thatthe colonies became aliving experiment in government.
Iamsoproud of being an American. However,Idonot like what my country is doing with immigrants today
My hope is to give themafair chance to become documented. The crimerate among migrants is lessthan therate among average citizens Giving themafair chance means helping themtobecomecitizens. The Trump administration wantsto give priority to White South Africans, and not all fit in that category.
Who are theseimmigrants the pres-
ent administration is fighting to deport? They are part of thefabric of our society. They help us build our houses; they pick our crops; they staff our hotels; they tend our elderly and infirm. They arepartofour America. Do we send them back to where they came from? Or do we offer to give themachance to stay,becomevetted, perhaps become citizens, so they are given the chance to call this great country home?
Please, my friends and neighbors, help to do what is right and American for those being dealt with as criminals.
BETSY KYLEBURKE NewOrleans
We continue to letdomesticviolencesurvivors down
Ihad to leave thecityIlove because the systemfailed me. For six years, Ilived in terrorofa person determined topunish me for leaving our relationship. When the protection order that had kept me safe eventually expired, therewas no meaningful protection left
Leaving New Orleans broke my heart. As Ipacked glitteryshoes, sequined outfitsand feather boas into boxes —things that only make sense in the Gulf South —Ikept wondering: How will Irebuild?
Ithink about New Orleans every single day. Astory from afriend who visited or afew barsofbrass music, all of it feels like missing someone you love but cannot see. Becauseit’sa place Ican never return. This is what it looks like when asystemfails domestic violence survivors.
Ajudge granted me aprotection order.The police, however,often said there was nothing theycould do.
“I’msosorry,ma’am,” Iheardagain
and again.
“Yes,theyshouldn’thave followed you, but theynever gotout of the car.”
And all the while Iwas working as asocial worker,helping families navigate systems that Imyself couldn’t rely on to keep me alive.How do you protect your clientswhen you cannot protect yourself?
For six years, Ichose silence, only because theretaliation was so relentless thatspeaking out felt unsafe. Iam asocial worker,trained to navigate complex systems. And even Icould notnavigate our legal system well enough to protect myself. Whathappens to victims who don’thave the money,the time, the resources or the emotional stamina to fight asystem built on technicalities and loopholes?
We have to do better. This starts by raising awarenessofsystems that aren’tworking.
KAYTEE GILLIS Michigan
Health care coverage should focusonall
Ifollow the newspaper’sOpinion section.
Why has themainstream media not honestly presented the facts on health care costs? There are over 300 million residentsinthe U.S.,not just the24 million on Obamacare.
Why not provide graphics on normal privatehealth insurance costs vs. Obamacare subsidizedcosts with deductibles of both?
Afamily of four on private insur-
ance pays upwards of $2,000 per month for thesame coverage Obamacare participants get forbelow $250. Agraphic of the subsidies’ amount per income range would clarify the need for help for all people, not just the 24 million on Obamacare, which is the root of the problem
Does the newspaper have the courage to publish this information?
How the newspaper continues to allow Quin Hillyer to spew arevisionist narrative of social commentary is beyond comprehension. In his opinion piece published on Nov.16, he claims Zohran Mamdani to be a “nearly-radically Islamic, essentially proto-socialist.” Beyond Hillyer’s basic hatred forany worldview that isn’this own, it should go with basic comprehension that there is absolutely nothing wrong with being Muslim.Asthe fastest-growing religion in the world, millions would agree. Hillyer continues to flamethe fire of alarmism forthe boogeyman of “help thy fellow neighbor,” by attempting to demonize socialist ideals. His failed landing? Mamdani identifies proudly as ademocratic socialist.
Congratulations to Hillyer forgoing on to reject the sad existence of Nick Fuentes. However,before he writes another piece, maybe Hillyer should examine how his basic lack of understanding of how the fundamental foundation of U.S. ideals is rooted in asystem of suppression that continues to disenfranchise individuals whowere never apart of our Founding Fathers’ definitions of aperson. He goes on to attack ayounger generation untimely fedupwith the economy his generation has leftthem —but particularly young White men whohestates whine about how tough their lives are. Never once does Hillyer take the time to self-reflect that his writing contributes to the samerise in Christian nationalism he claims is too extreme forhis views.
Hillyer’sviewsare centered on a “pick yourself up by the bootstraps” mentality that is an absolute myth constructed by Hillyer’sgeneration, whoinherited massive economic wealth but voted foreconomically oppressive systemsthat are eliminating the middle class as we know it, preventing these youth from accessing the samebountiful economic opportunities he inherited. No wonder the kids are fedup.
CAITLIN SHEEHAN NewOrleans
Boat attack should angerAmericans
George Will
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth seems to be awar criminal. Without a war.Aninteresting achievement. In 1967, novelist Gwyn Griffin published aWorld WarIInovel, “An Operational Necessity,” that 58 years lateris again pertinent. According to the laws of war,survivors ofa sunk ship cannotbeattacked. But aGerman submarine captain, after sinkingaFrenchship, orders the machine-gunning of the ship’screw, lest their survival endanger his menbyrevealing where his boat is operating. In the book’s dramatic climax, a postwar tribunal examinesthe German commander’smoral calculus.
No operational necessity justified Hegseth’sdefacto order to kill two survivors clinging to the wreckage of oneofthe supposed drug boatsobliterated by U.S. forces near Venezuela. His orderwas reportedbyThe Washington Post from two sources (“The order was to kill everybody,” one said), and has not been explicitly deniedbyHegseth. President Donald Trump says Hegseth told him that he (Hegseth)“said he did not say that.” If Trump is telling the truth about Hegseth,and Hegseth is telling the truth to Trump, it is strange that (per the Post report) the commander of the boat-destroying operation said he ordered the attack on the survivors to comply with Hegseth’s order
Forty-four days after the survivors were killed, the four-star admiral who headed the U.S. Southern Command announced that he would be leaving that position just ayear into what is usually athree-year stint. He did notsay why Inferences are, however,permitted. The killing of the survivors by this moral slum of an administration should nauseate Americans. Anationincapable of shame is dangerous,not least to itself. As the recent “peace plan” for Ukraine demonstrated.
Marco Rubio, who is secretary of state and Trump’snationalsecurity adviser,seemed to be neitherwhenthe president released his 28-point plan for Ukraine’sdismemberment. The plan was cobbled together by Trump administration and Russian officials, with no Ukrainians participating.Itreads like a
wish-list letterfromVladimir Putin to SantaClaus: Ukraine to cedeland that Russia hasfailed to capture in almost fouryearsof aggression; Russia to have avetooverNATO’scomposition, peacekeeping forces in Ukraine and the size of Ukraine’sarmed forces.And more.
Rubio, whose well-known versatility of convictions is perhaps not infinite, told some of his alarmed former Senatecolleagues thatthe plan was just an opening gambit from Russia —although Trump demanded that Ukraine accept it within days. SouthDakotaRepublican Sen. Mike Rounds, apreciseand measured speaker,reported that, in a conference call with abipartisan group of senators, Rubio said theplan was aRussian proposal: “He made it very clear to us that we arethe recipients of aproposal that was delivered to one of ourrepresentatives.Itisnot our recommendation. It is not our peace plan.” Hourslater,however,Rubio reversed himself, saying on social media that the UnitedStates “authored” the plan. The administration’sfloundering might reflect more than itscharacteristic incompetence. In adarkening world, systemicweaknesses of prosperous democraciesare becoming clearer Harvardsociologist Daniel Bell’s1976 book, “TheCultural Contradictions of Capitalism,” argued that capitalism’s successundermines capitalism’smoral andbehavioral prerequisites. Affluence producesa culture of present-mindedness and laxity; this undermines thrift,
industriousness, discipline and thedeferral of gratification.
Today’scultural contradictions of democracy are: Majorities vote themselvesgovernment benefitsfunded by deficits, which conscript the wealth of future generations who will inherit the national debt.Entitlements crowd out provisions for national security. And an anesthetizingdependency on government produces an inward-turning obliviousnesstoexternal dangers, and a flinching from hard truths.
Twoweeks ago, the chief of staff of the French army said: “Wehave the know-how,and we have theeconomic and demographic strengthtodissuade the regime in Moscow.What we are lacking …isthe spirit which accepts thatwewill have to sufferifwe are to protect what we are. If our country waversbecauseitisnot ready to lose its children …ortosuffer economically because thepriorityhas to be military production, then we areindeed at risk.” Putin has surely savored theFrench recoil from thesewords.And he has noticed that, concerning Ukraine and the attacks on boats near Venezuela, the Trumpadministration cannot keep its stories straight.This probably is for reasons Sir Walter Scottunderstood: “Oh, what atangled web we weave,/ when first we practise to deceive!” Americans arethe deceived.
Email George Will at georgewill@washpost.com.
Closingthe door on immigration? Notyet.
Can the United States comeupwith an immigration policy that will prove sustainable? Twowriterswhom I respect and take delight in reading, despite their widely differing views, Tyler Cowen, who favors more immigration, and Christopher Caldwell, who favors less, have their doubts. Both, incidentally,are writing forThe Free Press, Bari Weiss’ eclectic startup They are writing at atime when President Donald Trump’sexecutive branch is splashily and aggressively enforcing supposedlyunenforceable immigration laws, and Congress still has Trumpish Republican majorities. Illegal immigration hasbeen reduced toward zero, and the political stars seem in alignment, at least theoretically, for reductions in legal immigration as well. But that seems unlikely. And not just because of timidity of lawmakers but because the two writers take too mechanical aview of mass immigration. For people don’t uproot themselves and head for unfamiliar lands for just marginal economic gain
Europe hasmade itself an afterthought
In the contentionover the U.S. peace plan for Ukraine, the Europeans are in their accustomed role —carping from the sidelines. Not only can the once-great European powers no longerdictate the fate of far-flung parts of the world, theycan’t even dictate the endofa war involving aEuropean country whose fate theydeem crucialtotheir own future.
We’re alongway from the British controlling about aquarterofthe globe’s territory in the early 20th century; alongway from British and French diplomats, Mark Sykes and François GeorgesPicot respectively,drawing the lines in 1916 to divide up the OttomanEmpire;alongway from Napoleon sitting with Tsar Alexander in Tilsit in 1807 andrearranging the map of Europe
Francewas once so diplomatically central thatthere aredozensofTreatiesofParis, whether in 1259 (between King Louis IX of Franceand King Henry III of England) or in 1951 (setting up the European Coal and Steel Community).
Now,Francescurriesaround with its European counterparts to react to whatever the American president is doing.
It’sgottensobad that some European analysts speak of apotential “scramble for Europe,” or attempts by richer, more powerful outside countriestoinfluence the course of Europe
The late conservative commentatorCharles Krauthammer maintained of the U.S., “decline is achoice.”
This isn’tquite right with regard to Europe, whose great powers were kneecapped by the cataclysms of the early 20th century.France bore the brunt of World WarI,suffering 1.4 million dead and4.3 millionwounded and aruinous economiccost.
As for Britain, stretched to the max, it got steadily eclipsedinpower andinfluencebythe United StatesasWorld WarIIprogressed. The less said aboutGermany’srole in all this, of course,the better And thenthe European colonial empires inevitably dissolved.
Michael Barone
In my 2013 book, “Shaping Our Nation: How Surges of Migration TransformedAmerica andIts Politics,” I argued that the unusual phenomenon of mass migration only occurs when large numbers of people are pursuing dreams or escaping nightmares. Cowen, amarket-friendly economist, sees it differently.Lookingback,he thinks that America had “a fine policy” before2016, “keep(ing) borders nominally restricted but allow(ing) immigration, both legal and illegal, to become increasinglyattractivetopeople around the world.” Mordantly, he adds, “I call this ‘asymptotically approaching open borders.”’
To which voters, as he points out, react negatively as they do to mention of an explicit open-borders policy. They’refearful that some largeproportion of the 95% of human beingswho don’tlive in the U.S. would like to come here. The 1965 Immigration and National-
ity Act imposed limits, for the first time, on immigration from Latin America, andfew Mexicans arrived in the stagflationary 1970s. But mass chain migration to Ronald Reagan’ssunny California began in the 1980s and crested in the2000s as banks, incentivized to loan to Hispanics, issued $300,000 mortgages to borrowers with no money down, no W-2s, no assets. That led to the2007 housing market collapse, which turned immigrants’ dreams of unloading their houses for $600,000 into bankruptcy nightmares. Netmigration from Mexico turned negative for adecade, andthe Biden-era surge of illegal immigrants came not so much from Mexicans but from Central Americansand assorted others, crossing Mexico to be welcomed acrossthe Rio Grande. The Trumpadministration’ssuccess in border and internal enforcement will, for atime, disincentivize illegal migration by turningwould-be migrants’ dreams into nightmares.
While Cowen thinks that’scruel, Caldwell hails it as astep toward “America’sthird great slammingofthe Golden Door.” The first, he dates from 1775 to 1815. Butthose were mostly wartime years —the American Revolution up through 1783, theworld war between revolutionaryand Napoleonic France and parliamentaryand commercial Britain for all but one year from 1793 to 1815. Thesecondstarted with passage of theImmigration Act of 1924, which virtually eliminated immigration from eastern andsouthern Europe, dominant in the Ellis Island era (1892-1914, 191924). Butthe law’seffect was limited. It blocked several million migrants in the prosperous 1920s but very few (though, tragically,some refugees) in thedepression 1930s, when there was little migration, internal or international. And world war,in1939-45, as it hadin1914-18, cutimmigration toessentially zero. The1924 law remained in effect till
1965 and limited postwar immigration from Italy and Greece, but many prewar immigrants from those countries returned home, and many southern Europeans postwar headed to newly prosperous northern Europe. Andof course, there was no substantial postwar immigration from Eastern Europe, behind theIron Curtain.
Caldwell credits the“pause” in immigration following 1924 for encouraging assimilation into an American mainstream Butthat was furthered more by the sudden appearance of mass media —radio, movies, television —and by World WarII, which put 16 million men in anation of 131 million into the military, puttingliterally in uniform Americansofall origins.
They partook of acommon popular culture transmitted by universal media and established anational consensus that dismantled the separate segregation system established and maintained in the South for 75 years. That,perhaps as much as changes in the 1965 law, may have madethe dream of life in the United States seem achievable to millionsinLatin America and Asia during thegreat immigration surge in thequarter-century from 1982 to 2007. If theforces of assimilation were not as strong in those years as they were in the 1940s military or the New York City public schools acentury ago, that’s somethingtoworkonnow
In themeantime, it’sanexaggeration to say that America is closing its doors when it swears in about 800,000 new American citizens every year.There are arguments for changing our legal immigration system to prioritize highskill migrants, as well as toreduce or (as Iwould prefer) increase thetotal flow of immigrants. Butthere are limits on what the law can do when, despiteeconomic incentives, people only take the unusual step of uprooting themselves to pursue dreams or escape nightmares
Michael Barone is on X, @MichaelBarone.
So,Europe wasgoing to be diminishedcomparedtoits glory days. Its current fecklessness, though, hasindeed been achoice, borne of strategic fantasy and economic incompetence.
Strong militaries were deemed as athing of the past, or something unnecessary as long as Uncle Sam wasaround. The Brits, for instance, arehard-pressed to maintain a 73,000-strong army,and the size of its oncestoriedsurface fleet is at ahistoric low.
Europe imagined itself “a diplomatic superpower,”but haslearned to regretthat“soft power” notbacked up by hard powerisoflimitedutility
Both the Nobel Committeeand Amnesty Internationalhaveconsiderable soft power,too, but no onepaysattention to them regarding high-level geopolitical questions.
Economically,the EU “regulatory superpower” hashobbled growth —over the last 30 yearsWestern European labor productivity declinedfrom95% of the U.S. level to 80% —while Europe’s commitment to “net zero” greenhouse emissions has driven insane energy priorities.
Yearsinto the Ukraine war,Europe is still dependent on gasimports from Russia
None of this means that the U.S. should go outofits way to give Europe the back of its hand. Whatever its otherfailings, Europe has collectively givenUkraine more aidthanthe United States, andwas justifiably furious at the initial28-point Ukraine proposal. That plan hadthe embattled country handing over to Moscow strategically important territory that is still in Ukrainianhands; agreeing to alimit on the size of its military; and the U.S. taking currently frozen Russianassets in Europe to rebuild Ukraine (getting 50% of any profits) andtopursue joint investment projects with Russia
Negotiations with the Ukrainians have reportedly produced amorereasonable version, but it is Washingtonand Moscow that matter most here
The analyst Robert Kagan famously wrote yearsago that, in their divergent approaches to the world, “Americans are from Mars and Europeansare from Venus.” Having long outsourced powerpoliticstoMars, it turns out thatVenus haslimited influence even in her ownbackyard.
Rich Lowry is on X, @RichLowry.
Rich Lowry
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JULIA DEMAREENIKHINSON
President Donald Trumpspeaks during aCabinet meetingatthe White House on Dec.2 in Washington, as SecretaryofState Marco Rubio,left, and Defense SecretaryPeteHegseth, look on.
LSUstudentspresent at AI showcase
Industryleaders reflecton changing technology
BY HALEY MILLER Staff writer
Overlooking TigerStadium and the Mississippi River,students in LSU’sartificial intelligence capstone course presented their business-focused AI solutions to industry partners in the Baton Rouge area.
One project envisioned an AI-driven career mapping tool for Entergy employees. Another proposed asingle entry point for Our Ladyof the Lake’sAItools, embedded in Microsoft Teams. A third presentation called for Generative Engine Optimization, enabling businesses to structure their online presence to maximize visibility in AI-generated answers.
“If AI can’tfind you, your customers won’tbeable to, either,” LSU junior Reese King summarized for the crowd.
In lieu of afinal exam, the students explained their semester-long projects as part of the LSU College of Engineering AI Showcase, which took place Monday night beforean audienceofpeers, alumni andindustry professionals. LSU partnered with BASF,Entergy,Our Lady of the Lake and Performance Contractors Inc. for this cohort of the capstone class.
The students also heard from university and private-sector leaders about entering ajob market destabilized by the mass adoption of AI across industries.
“AI’snot going to take your job unless youdon’t know how to use AI,” said Roy Martin, CEOofthe timber company RoyOMartin, during apanel discussion “That’smyadvice.” As it stands, AI has mostly taken over redundant, tedious tasks in their respective industries, the business leaders said. Other panelists included Art Favre, founder of Performance Contractors Inc., and Steve Webb, CEO of Neighbors Federal Credit Union.
“It’sgoingtobeagreat opportunity,and Ithink it will be very,very gratifying to the ones that really get into it andstick to it and become very goodintheirfield,” Favresaid
LSU hasoffered the capstone course for five semesters, workingwith 10 sponsors and teaching 114 students since its inception, said James Ghawaly,assistant professor of computer science.
University officials stressed the course as evidenceofLSU’scompetitiveness inAIeducation.The LSU Student Senatepassed legislationinNovemberrequesting an AI fundamentalscertificateavailableto all students.
“It’sgenerally an approach to AI education and training that Ithink is emblematic of whereLSU is going,” College of Engineering Dean Vicki Colvin said.“What we’ve really been able to do here is think about how we’regoing to solve problemsinindustry, create solutions through AI,not just toys.”
Ghawaly said thecollege is alsodeveloping abachelor’sdegreeinAI, an increasingly popular offering.
Mississippi StateUniversity offers aBachelor of Science in artificial intelligence.
“This is really rigorous, hard stuff,” Ghawaly said.
“This is the stuff where we’re teaching students how
AmisduTeche performs in Cypress LakeStudios at KRVS on June 20, 2024, in Lafayette. Theirliveperformance was one of severalbeing recorded at the studio as part of an Acadiana music spotlight projectorganized in partnership withthe nationalradio program ‘WorldCafe.
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more engaged and more connected communities.” Public Media Company saidthat organizations that received bridge fund grants are facingacute funding gaps in the next six months.Most of these stations, in communities from Alaska to Texas, re-
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Guidroz said the investigation required additional review,but detectives ultimately gathered enough evidence and probable cause to arrest Nicholson. He praisedboth the corrections staff and narcotics investigators for their work on the case.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the St.Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office at (337) 948-6516or
lied on CPB for more than 25% of theirannualoperating revenue. The funds wereraised from awide range of sources, including the John S. and James L. KnightFoundation,Pivotal Ventures, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation,the Schmidt Family Foundation, the MellonFoundationand The Dolby Family After an open call for applications in the fall, se-
Crime Stoppers at (337) 948-TIPS. Tips canalso be submitted through the P3 app or bydialing **TIPS on amobile phone. Callers can remain anonymousand maybeeligible fora cash reward.
Man accusedofchild pornpossession
ASt. Martinville man was arrested on child porn counts, according tothe Louisiana Bureau of Investigation. Ronnie Alexander, 19, of St. Martinville, was booked
lected stations wereevaluated to ensure that their services in each region were unique, nonduplicativeand essential forthe area. KRVS programming promotesthe sounds and cultureofAcadiana locally andacrossthe country, thanks to nationally syndicated programs like “World Cafe,” which partnered with KRVS lastyear to feature emergingartists from southwest Louisiana.
on three counts of possessing child sexualabuse materials involving children younger than 13. Agents saidthey received atip from the National Center for Missingand Exploited Children, which led to thearrest. The investigation involvedmultiple agencies, including Homeland Security Investigations and sheriff’s offices from St. Martin and St. Charles parishes. Alexander was booked into theSt. Martin Parish Jail, but his bail information was not available.
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true,adding the escape resulted from the weakened cinderblocksrather than any failure in training or staffing. He said theescaperesultedfromstructural failures, notemployee performance.
“We’ve been asking for help to comeand fix this. We send work orders from us directly to our parish government,” he said.
Guidroz saidthe structural issues are mainly on thejail’sthird floor,which serves as the maximumsecurity level and is built with older, moistureaffected cinder blocks.
Lower floors, he said, are constructed with brick and mortar and do not have the same issues.
Avideo released during theconference shows the inmatesclimbing down the side of thebuildingusing materials left on the jail’s roof by acontractor hired by the parish government to repair water leaks. Extension cords, sheets and rope created “an opportunityfor anyinmate to slide on out,”hesaid.
Photographs presented at the briefing showed vent slats removed in abathroom,which Guidroz said could be usedasweapons, and several cell doors and windows without functioning locks. Another photo showed an attempted roof repair inside acellwhere toothpaste and toilet paper had been used to plug aleak
“Those makeshift repairsreflect howlongstanding water intrusion has gone unaddressed,” he said. Other images showed blistering paintand softening cinder blocks caused by moisture,which Guidroz said allowedthe escapees to chip away at the wall and kick outthe plasterfor their escape. Ad di tio na lp ho to s showed cell doors miss-
ing locking components, water-damaged wiring and camera equipment inside an electrical closet, and water pooling on cell floorscausedbyplumbing failures. Inmates have also been without hot waterfor months.
“I think it’saviolation of their civil rights,” Guidroz said. He said theissue has been presented to the parish but hasnot been addressed. After seeking a private contractor who specializes in repairs, an estimate to fix thedeficiencies was provided to the parish government, which Guidroz said was declined. The use of the parish’sjail maintenance tax, which he said collects between $750,000 and$800,000 annually,was also questioned.
Parish President Jessie Bellard wasnot immediatelyavailable to comment.
In December, Bellard sued the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office over inmate expenses, accusing Guidroz of “enrichment” of his department by taking in state inmates andbilling the parish government forunnecessary transfers.
Guidrozsaidadditional officershavebeen placed on the jail’sthird floor to maintain security while the parish considers potential solutions, and he hashiredajailarchitect to helpdesign improvements andlong-termmeasuresto prevent future escapes.
Email Ja’kori Madison at jakori.madison@ theadvocate.com.
Unofficial notification, keep your tickets
STAFF FILEPHOTO By LESLIEWESTBROOK
LSU junior Reese King,economics,starts her presentation on GenerativeEngine
SPORTS
Reinstated Skipper gives UL secondary a boost
BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer
The UL Ragin’ Cajuns will have at least one more player available for the 68 Ventures Bowl game against Delaware on Dec. 17 in Mobile, Alabama.
After senior safety Tyree Skipper was suspended for the rest of the season by the Sun Belt Conference after his part in the postgame fight with Texas State on Nov 8, league commissioner Keith Gill reduced Skipper’s suspension by a game on Tuesday Consequently, Skipper will be allowed to participate in the Cajuns’ bowl game. Prior to the ruling, Skipper was set to become the only player on either team to serve more than a two-game suspension
“After speaking with Louisiana head coach Michael Desormeaux and Tyree Skipper,
BY WILSON ALEXANDER Staff writer
LSU interim coach Frank Wilson has had conversations about his future with new coach Lane Kiffin, but he does not expect clarity until after the Texas Bowl.
LSU plays No. 21 Houston on Dec. 27 inside NRG Stadium in Houston and Kiffin said last week in his introductory news conference that Wilson will serve as the interim coach through the bowl game Wilson has expressed a desire to stay at LSU.
“We’ve had conversations, and for me and for coach Kiffin, it’s let’s play this game on the 27th and we’ll go into those details later,” Wilson said Tuesday “We just want to finish what we’ve started with this football team, give them our undivided attention before transition happens.
“Until then, nothing will necessarily happen in that regard. There will be opportunity there. Where that lies, I’m not sure But the priority is our current football team.” Now in his second stint at LSU, Wilson has been the running backs coach for the past four seasons, and he was promoted to interim head coach after the firing of Brian
REVIEW
SAINTS STINGIER
BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer
Brandon Staley loves the “silent tape.”
The silent tape, or the All-22 copy of each game, tells the truth. It provides the entire picture, angles of what can’t be captured on the broadcast And there’s no commentary to influence the New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator, not that he’d be tempted in the first place. The answers Staley needs are right there, ready to watch. Lately, for those bothering to watch, the silent tape is sending a clear message: His defense has improved vastly
The unit is far from perfect, but it is approaching top10 territory in a number of categories — and already broken through at a few spots.
BY ROD WALKER Staff writer
After holding the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to 3 of 13 on third down in Sunday’s upset win, the Saints rank sixth (35.5%) in third-down defense. That’s 15 spots better, and six percentage points lower, than they ranked a year ago. The defense is now 12th in yards allowed per game, sixth in passing yards allowed per game and tied for 11th in expected points added per play — a stat that measures efficiency
What’s even more apparent is the Saints may bend but the defense doesn’t break often. Slow starts remain a significant issue for New Orleans as the black and gold has allowed opening-drive touchdowns in four of the last five games, bringing its total to a league-high eight such scores.
Derik Queen turns 21 in less than three weeks.
Players his age aren’t supposed to be this good this soon. They aren’t supposed to put up numbers like the ones he put up Monday night at the Smoothie King Center Queen finished with 33 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists and four blocked shots in a 135-132 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.
“He played his a** off tonight,” teammate DeAndre Jordan said. Queen filled up the stat sheet in a way that few have. Only LeBron James, Luka Doncic, De’Aaron Fox and Victor Wembanyama have recorded a 30-point triple-double before their 21st birthday Queen is the first center with a 30-point triple-double as a rookie because Wembanyama’s came in his second season. Queen’s came in just
the 25th game of the season. Queen is also the first player to have a 30-point triple-double with four blocked shots since 1973-74 when the league first began keeping track of blocked shots. (Yeah, Wilt Chamberlain probably did it before then.)
“It means a lot,” Queen said. “Pretty good for a person who didn’t have a preseason and was hurt A lot of people doubted. I even had a little bit of doubt myself with my first time being injured and how things have been going this season.” Games like this one should remove any doubt about the guy Joe Dumars traded up for in the draft. The oddsmakers in Vegas currently have Queen as the third
BRAD KEMP
has
Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin carries the ball against Saints cornerback Alontae Taylor in the first half of their game on Sunday in Tampa, Fla. As the season has progressed, the Saints have started to do a better job of holding teams to field goals when they reach scoring territory. AP PHOTO By JASON BEHNKEN
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ColtssignRivers, 44,topracticesquad
QB retiredafter 2020 season,helping Indy with depthatposition
BY MICHAEL MAROT Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS The Indianapolis Colts bolstered their injury-depleted quarterback corpsTuesday by bringing 44-year-oldPhilipRivers out of retirement andsigning him to the practice squad, aperson with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press.
Themove comes lessthan24 hours after Coltscoach Shane Steichen confirmed Indy’sstarter,Daniel Jones, would miss the rest of this season after tearing his right Achillestendon and backup Riley Leonard injured his right knee during Sunday’sloss at Jacksonville.
Rivers hasn’ttaken asnap since finishing his career with aplayoff loss following the Colts’ 2020 season. That was the last time Indy (8-5) made the postseason. The eight-time Pro Bowler announced hisretirementinJanuary 2021 and has been coaching St.Michael High School in Fairhope, Alabama, ever since.
But it’snot clear how longitwill take Rivers to learn Indy’s playbook —orwork his way into game shape —asthe reeling Colts try to snap athree-game losing streak next weekend at Seattle (10-3)
“Things happen, wacky stuff has happenedinthis league, your depth gets tested, your resolve gets tested as you get thrown into some adversity as aunit, as acoaching staff, as aposition group,” offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter said, declining to
Former Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers watches warmupsbefore a game between the Chargers and the DenverBroncos on Dec.10, 2023, in Inglewood, Calif. Rivers came out of retirement and wassigned to the injury-depleted Indianapolis Colts practice squad this week.
takespecific questions about Rivers. “We’vebeen through some fire out there, but our coaching staff’s excited to draw aplan up andteach it.”
Neither Steichen nor players were made available because the Colts typically take Tuesday off. Rivers rejoinsateam desperately tryingto rebound from its worst stretch of the season,four lossesinfive games. The result: Indy has fallenout of the race for the AFC’s top seed and is tied for second in theAFC South with Houston(8-5),one game behind division leader Jacksonville (9-4). Rivers ranked among theNFL’s career leaders in yardspassing with 63,440,421 touchdownpasses and 12 4,000-yard seasons when he retired and was asemifinalist in his first year of eligibility for thePro Football Hall of Fame last month.
So,the questionis, how much does Rivers have left in thetank?
In his first and only season with Indy,itappeared his arm strength already was diminishedthough he masterfully navigated the Colts through aseason unlike any other —playing in front of emptyor sparsely-populatedstadiums because of theCOVID-19 pandemic.
Also unclear is whether the Colts will need him this weekend.
Jones was having acareer year and had entered the midseason MVP discussionbut hadstruggled over the last five games. He also played through alower left leg injurythat impeded his mobility during each of Indy’slast three losses. Then Sunday,hecrumpled to thegroundand grabbedtoward his lower right leg on aplay he did not takeahit. He slammed his helmet intothe ground before
limping off thefield. Jones later returned to the rainy sideline in a protective walking boot.
“He’ll have surgery within the week,” Steichen said Monday “Obviously,just really feel for him, just an unfortunatesituation. The work he puts in, the grind, a team captain for us. One of the toughest guys I’ve ever been around. Just praying foraspeedy recovery for him.”
Leonarddid asolid job in relief of Jones,going 18 of 29 for 145 yards and one interceptioninhis most extensive action sinceNotre Dame lostlastyear’snational championshipgame. When he reported to theteam headquarters Monday, they found out Leonard also had been hurt during the game.
The orbital bone injury to Anthony Richardson, the No. 4draft pickin2023, only compounded theproblem. He still has not been activated from injured reserve to practice, and SteichensaidMonday he did not expectRichardson’sstatustochange this week, either
That left the Colts with only oneotheroption—veteran Brett Rypien,who hasnot been elevated from thepractice squad to the activeroster since he wassigned in mid-October —ifLeonardcan’t play this weekend.
So theyadded Rivers,who was with theSan Diego/LosAngeles Chargers when Steichen was servingasthe team’squarterbacks coachand interimoffensive coordinator.Oddly,Leonard played prepball at adifferent high school in Fairhope.
And now all three will be working together to trytohelpIndy turn things around as it enters a brutal final four-gamestretch to salvage itsplayoffhopes.
Stefanski, Reid make head-scratching, late-gamecalls
Browns,Chiefslose closegames after questionable play callsinfourthquarter
BY ARNIE STAPLETON Associated Press
Kevin Stefanski has seen enough of Shedeur Sandersto make the fifth-round rookie the Cleveland Browns’startingquarterback over the final month of another lost season.
The question is whetherSanders will be under center for the biggest moments down the stretch.
Analysis
He wasonthe sideline Sunday when theBrowns were going for atwo-point conversion to tie their game against Tennessee with aminute remaining after Sanders had just engineered his fourth touchdown drive and thrown for nearly 400 yards.
Sanders rallied the Browns (310) from a31-17 deficit with two late touchdowns, but after running it in for a7-yard touchdown, he fumbled the exchange from backupcenter LukeWypler, who had replaced starter Ethan Pocic (Achilles) in the third quarter Sanders didn’tevenget the chance to atone for that after throwinga7-yard touchdown pass to Harold Fannin with just over aminute remaining to pull the Browns to 31-29 as Stefanski decided on aWildcat formation for the potential tying two-point conversion. Running back Quinshon Judkins took the direct snap butmishandled the ball and failed to pitchit to wide receiver Gage Larvadain on an end around. Judkins ran backward andlaunched apass across the field to Larvadain that was batted away as theTitans held on for their secondwin of the season. Stefanski, the Browns’sixthyear head coach, took responsibility for the failed two-point play at the end, but he didn’texplain why he chose to run the Wildcat with the game on the line rather than leaving in Sanders, who threw for three touchdowns and ran for another in his best game of the three
TitansquarterbackCam Ward, left, and BrownsQBShedeur Sanders greet each other after their game on SundayinCleveland. Brownscoach Kevin Stefanski opted not to use Sanders on atwo-point conversion withjust more thana minute to go after Sanders had rallied the Browns from 14 pointsdowntowithin two.
he’sstarted Sanders, whofell to the fifth round in the draft after being projected as atop Day 1pick, threw for 364 yards, the secondmost by arookiequarterback picked144th overallorlater since 1966. Jacksonville’sGardner Minshew,the 178th pick in 2019, passed for 374 yards against Carolina. Sanders also joinedformer LSU standout and Cincinnati QB Joe Burrow as theonlyrookieQBs with at least 350 passing yards, three touchdownpasses anda rushing score in agame. But with the game on the line, Sanders was on the sideline. “I wouldwish Iwould always have the ball in my hand, but that’snot what football is,” Sanders said. “I know we practiced something, andweexecuted it in practice, and we just didn’tseem to this day.So, Iwould nevergo against, you know,kind of like what the call was or anything.”
Stefanski’stwo-pointdecisions weren’t the only head-scratchers in Week 14. One of the biggest blunders came from the league’s winningestactiveheadcoach,Kan-
sas City’sAndy Reid,who went foritonfourth-and-1fromthe Chiefs’31inagame that was tied at 10 with just under 11 minutes remaining. Patrick Mahomes’ pass to Rashee Rice was incomplete and theHouston Texans got theball already in field-goal range.They scored ago-aheadtouchdown, andthe Chiefs couldn’trecover in a20-10 loss thatdethroned the reigning nine-timechamps in the AFC West. “I was confident we could”convert, Reidsaid. “I thought it was an opportunity.Iwas wrongin hindsight.Itwas wrong. We’ve been pretty good on fourthdowns. Imessed that one up. Reid was actually playing the odds. TheChiefs werethe 13th team since 2000 togofor it on fourth down inside theirown 35 in the fourth quarter of atied game. Others were 8for 12, with the Bucs the last to do it in the 2023 opener againstthe Vikings with aconversion thatled to agamewinning field goal. Their 10 pointsmarked the Chiefs’ lowest output at Arrow-
Phillies to keepslugger
Schwarberon5-year deal
Kyle Schwarber is going back to Philadelphia, agreeing to a$150 million, five-year contract withthe Phillies, aperson familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Tuesday Schwarber is coming off aterrific season with the Phillies, setting career-highs with an NL-best 56 homers anda major league-high 132 RBIs. He also scored acareer-high 111runswhile leadingthe club to its second straight NL East title. Schwarber’s23homersagainst left-handed pitching set amajorleague recordfor alefty batter passing Stan Musial(1949) and Matt Olson (2021) at 22. Schwarber finished second in the NL MVP race behind Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani. The 32-year-old Schwarber rejected a$22,025,000 qualifying offerfrom PhiladelphiainNovember
Phillies extend manager Thomson through2027
The Philadelphia Phillies signed managerRob Thomsontoaoneyear contract extensionthrough the2027 season after he ledthe team to four straight trips to the playoffs
The 62-year-old Thomson guided the Phillies to the 2022 World Series and the 2023 National League Championship Series, and led them in 2024and 2025 to NL East titles
The Phillieswere eliminated in four games by the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Division Series.
Thomson has led the Phillies to the second-most wins (346) and second-best winningpercentage (.580) amongall teams in MLB, behind only the Dodgers (368 wins, .616). He replaced Joe Girardi as Phillies manager on June 3, 2022.
Dodgerssign Mets closer Diaz to $69M contract
Closer Edwin Díaz has agreed to a$69 million, three-year contract with the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, aperson familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. Díaz’sagreement includes deferred payments by the Dodgers, whoalready owed $1.051 billion in deferred paytoeight playersfrom 2028-46.
Athree-time All-Star who turns 32 on March 22, Díaz joins aDodgersbullpenthatstruggledlast season, causing the team to shift rookie starterRoki Sasaki to closer in the postseason. Los Angeles relievers had a4.27 ERA. Díazhad 28 saves in 31 chances last season with a6-3 recordand 1.63 ERAfor theNew York Mets He struck out 98 in 661/3 innings.
Steelersthink WR Metcalf will play on Monday night
Abrief hospital visit won’tkeep Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf fromplaying next week against Miami.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said Metcalfwas hit in the abdomen at some point during Pittsburgh’s 27-22 victory in Baltimore on Sundayand remained behind when the issue persisted after Metcalf was treated with over-the-counter remedies during the game.
Metcalf finished with season highs in receptions (seven) and yards (148) as Pittsburgh regained control of the AFC North.
head Stadium with Mahomes undercenter
So, the Chiefs (6-7) will not win a10th straight AFC West title. After reaching the Super Bowl five times in the past sixyears, winning threetimes, they’ll need to winout andget alot of help just to reach the playoffs.
The Denver Broncos (11-2), winners of 10 straight, weren’t in acelebratory mood —atleast not publicly —after the Chiefs were eliminated from AFC West contention
“Everything right nowhas that ‘work in progress’ sign,” Broncos coach Sean PaytonsaidMonday.
“I recognizethe question in that theChiefs’ loss last nighteliminated them from winning the division, and yet we have astretch here with some real good football teams coming in andfocusing on what we can do to win thedivision. The Chargers are very much alive in that battle.”
TheChargers beat theslumping Philadelphia Eagles 22-19 Monday nighttostay two games behind the Broncos, whom they playintheir regular-season finale in Denver next month.
Tomlin said Metcalf is “moving in the right direction,” and he doesn’tanticipate theissuejeopardizing Metcalf’s availability when the Steelerstry to win their 23rd straight homeMonday night game.
Messi honoredasMLS’ firstback-to-backMVP
Inter Miamistar Lionel Messi is the unquestioned force in Major League Soccer right now,ona run like nobody else the league has ever seen.
The38-year-old Argentine star and captain of the MLS Cup champions has become the first back-toback MVPinMLS history,asthe honor was announced Tuesday
The back-to-back MVPs represent another first for Messi in what seems like anever-ending list of his career accomplishments and was widely expected,almost assumed after he had aleague-best 29 goals alongwith 19 assists during the regular season.
He also becomes just the second two-time MVP the league has ever seen, joining Preki, thewinnerof the award in 1997 and 2003.
AP FILEPHOTO
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By SUE OGROCKI
But as the season has progressed, the Saints have started to do amuchbetter job of holding teams to field goals when they reachscoring territory
In the last four games,the Saints have allowed nine field goals compared to just six touchdowns.The latter is tied with theMiami Dolphins —winners of four straight for the fewest touchdownsallowed in the league during that span
“Not all 3-10 (records)look the same,” linebacker Demario Davis said. “What Imean by that is nobody wants to be in adversity …but you can either lay downin those times or you can show up. And Ithink if you look at how we play the game defensively …what it shows is youwould not think you’re looking at a3-10 defense.”
There aremanyreasonsbehind NewOrleans’ growth.Rookies such as safety Quincy Riley and Jonas Sanker are starting to benefitfrom their heavy amount of reps. The defense, as awhole, has gotten more comfortable with Staley’sscheme, which relies on alot of zone to prevent opposing offenses from going over the top. Andplayers andcoaches have said they’veimproved after facing many of the league’stop teams early on. But the Saints’ turnaroundalso centers around amindset.
“One thingabout our defense is we keep coming back,” cornerback Alontae Taylor said. “Our number is called and we go out there and play.” Statstoknow
9.4%: TheSaints arealsomuch better at limiting explosive plays this season. The Saints have allowedexplosivestohappenononly
QUEEN
Continued from page1C
favorite to win Rookie of theYear behind only Cooper Flagg (Dallas Mavericks) and Kon Knueppel (Charlotte Hornets). Not bad for a player selected with the 13thpick. It is only fitting that another rookie that some doubted (NewOrleans Saints quarterback TylerShough) was sitting courtside Monday night witnessing his first Pelicans game. It’searly,but both Queen and Shough look like they could be on their way to becoming the facesof their respective franchises.
9.4% of their plays, the eighth-best markinfootball. Lastyear, the Saintsranked 23rd at 11.7%.
28: Chase Young has playedin only eight games,but he leads the Saints in pressures with 28, according to Next Gen Stats. The defensiveend’s strong playisanother reason New Orleans has gotten better over thecourse of the season. He missed the first five weeks with acalf injury
4%: According to The Athletic’s
projected draft order,the Saints now have a4%chanceoflanding the No. 1pick in next year’sdraft after upsettingthe Buccaneers. The Saintswill take wins where they can get them, however Up next
It’s arematch with the Carolina Panthers.
The Saintshave another chance to play spoiler as Carolina (7-6) is nowtiedwithTampaBay for the
“That wasimpressive. Idon’tknow how to say it other than that. It wasaspecial performanceonhis parttomakeplays, pass the ball. create for others and getto the rim. .Inclutch moments, for him to have that poise at this young ageisspecial.You don’tsee that too often.”
JAMES BORREGO,Pelicans interim coach
Queen showed some of everything, scoring atwill while also getting his teammatesopenlooks and rebounding
“That was impressive,” Pelicans interim coach James Borrego said.
“I don’tknowhow to sayitother than that. It was aspecial performance on his parttomakeplays,
back MansoorDelane,quarterback
Garrett Nussmeier and linebacker Whit
pass the ball createfor others and get to therim. He made timely plays, too. In clutch moments, for himtohavethatpoiseatthis young age is special. Youdon’tsee that too often.”
Evenmore impressive is that Queen’s big night came despite a slowstart. His stats at halftime
NFCSouth lead. The Panthers have had twoimpressive wins since their humiliating loss to New Orleans lastmonth. BryceYoung threwfor 448 yardsagainstthe Atlanta Falcons and then helped pull off an upset over the Los Angeles Rams The Saints last swept the Panthers in 2023.
Email MatthewParas at matt. paras@theadvocate.com
werefour points, six rebounds and three assists.
Then he got going, scoring 21 pointstogowithfour rebounds and fiveassists in the third quarter
“I started off withadunk and thatgot me going,” Queensaid.
“Everything wasjust flowing.”
It also helped that he got some lecturesfrom veteran teammates Jordan and Kevon Looney
“Therewas no excusewhy he can’tdothat the wholegame,” Jordan said. “I think that’sthe next challenge forhim. Being able to turn that motor on from the tip to start the game. It’s just growth.But he played amazinginthe second half.”
Queenshot 11 of 15 from the
Tyree’sremorse forhis rolein the postgameincident at the conclusionofthe TexasState at Louisiana football game became apparent,” Gill said. “Since his suspension, Tyreehas issued apublic apologyand accepted full responsibility for his lapse in judgment, has not misseda team meeting or function and has served on the scout team to aidinLouisiana’s preparations forits final tworegular-season games.”
Gill said Texas State athletic director DonCoryellsupported the decision to reinstate Skipper as well.
Skipper was UL’s fourth-leading tackler this season with 52 tackles, one sack, one interception,one pass breakup andone fumble recovery Skipper’s junior season was cut short with aseason-ending knee injury
In his absence, the Cajuns have gotten solid play from redshirtfreshmanLakeBates and true freshman Steven Ranel. In other personnelnews ahead of the bowl game, starting left tackle BryantWilliams reportedlyplans to enter thetransfer portal. The portal doesn’topen untilJan.2,soit’sstill possible for Williams to play in the bowl game before leaving for anew school.
If Williamsdoesn’treturn, the UL offensive line will be in even moretrouble after losing 10 linemen at different times during the course of the season, including four options at tackle.
Email KevinFoote at kfoote@ theadvocate.com.
floor.One of his few missescame on the final shot he took as he missed a3-pointer with seven seconds left that would have given the Pelicans alead.
As Queen walked to the other end of the court after the miss, he dropped hishead. Jose Alvarado walked up to him, put his hand on Queen’s chin andpicked his head up. The missed shot wasabout the only thing that went wrong for Queen on this night.
“I wanted that shot to go in,” Queen said. “The next one is definitely going to go in.”
Email RodWalker at rwalker@theadvocate.com.
Continued from page1C
Kelly.Wilson worked onKiffin’s staff as the wide receivers coach at Tennessee in 2009.
Kiffinalready has putmostof theLSU offensivestaff in place, butitstill hasanopeningfor a running backs coach. It’s unclear whether Wilsonwillberetainedin that capacity
Ole Miss running backs coach
Kevin Smith coached with Kiffinfor eight of the past nine seasons,but he has not yet followed him to LSU.
Wilson said the offensive coaches that finished theseasonwith LSU will coach the team through the Texas Bowl, even though they are not expected to be retained.
“I’ve done it before, so it’snot totally strange for me, individually,” Wilson said of coaching through the bowl game withoutclarity
“There’sa2025 footballteam that I’ve been apart of —we’vebeen apart of —since inception, the beginning of the season,thathas one more game to finish. That’s very natural for us. Because of my relationship with coach Kiff, it allowsustohavesmoothtransition, interaction in the building.”
TexasBowlroster
LSU will be withoutseveral starters in the Texas Bowl.
Weeks will not play because of injuries.
Wide receiver Aaron Anderson‘s status is in doubt,and center BraelinMoore has achance to play.Defensive end Jack Pyburn and others may opt out, Wilson said, but that has not been finalized
“Weare in discussion with some of those veteran playerswho may opt out,” Wilson said. “We’re anticipating having the lion’sshare of ourteam in quantity andin quality to be able to participate.”
LSUbeginspracticing forthe bowl Thursday
Delane has played through a core muscle injury since Week 4, and he had to push through the end of theregular season. He didnot play againstWesternKentucky, but he returned to start aweek later against Oklahoma. Delane,a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, is projected as afirst-round NFL draft pick.
Nussmeier did not play the last three games after aggravating an abdominal injury,Wilsonpreviously said. Withouthim, sophomore quarterback Michael VanBuren is expected to makehis fourthstraight start. Weeks returnedfrom abroken ankle to play in the last two games of the regular season, but he has been dealing with ankle pain all season. There are ongoing conversations about Weeks’ future at LSUwith one more season of
agameonSept.
eligibility remaining.
LSU players are alsobeginning to enter thetransferportal.Wilsonsaid sophomoredefensive
lineman Ahmad Breaux will play in the TexasBowl before he enters theportal. “I thinkwe’llhave theguys
thatwefinishedthe season with,” Wilsonsaid. “We’re still working through it. We have acouple of young guys thathave entered the portal. Some will play.Somemay not, necessarily.”
Perkinstothe NFL?
LSU linebacker Harold Perkins accepted an invitation to the EastWest Shrine Bowl, the gameannounced Tuesdaymorning, anotherindicationthat he will enter the 2026 NFL Draft.
Perkins has one more year of eligibility as aredshirt junior after sufferinga torn ACLfour games into the 2024 season, but he was also honoredonLSU’ssenior night last month.
Though players can back out of postseason showcases after accepting an invitation,theycannot return to school if they play in the game. Perkins hasnot formally announced his plans as of Tuesday
Often playing theStar position, which is ahybrid linebacker/ safety role, Perkins has recorded 56 tackles, eight tacklesfor loss, four sacks, three interceptions, oneforced fumble and seven quarterbackhurries this season. After coming to LSUasafivestarrecruit in the 2022 class, Perkins said he intendedtoleavefor theNFL in threeyears.His plan changed because of the injury,but he returnedtoLSU this year with the intention of turning pro after the season LSU
Wilson saidTuesday that corner-
STAFF FILEPHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK
LSU linebacker Harold Perkins pressures FloridaquarterbackDJLagway during
13 at TigerStadium. Perkins accepted an invitation to the East-West Shrine Bowl on Tuesday
Hall not apologizing for Tulane promotion
BY GUERRY SMITH
Contributing writer
Will Hall is not the surefire, home-run hire that Jon Sumrall was two years ago as the Tulane football coach. No one could have been. The similarities between the two, though, start with the confidence they projected in their introductory news conferences with the Green Wave.
Two days short of two years from Sumrall’s opening salvo in New Orleans, Hall, 45, was unapologetic Tuesday for not being the fans’ top preference to take over a program that will face Ole Miss on Dec. 20 in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
“I know I wasn’t the first choice for some people in here, but I can promise you this — I am the best choice and the right choice for this place at this time,” he said in front of an audience at the Glazer Family Center connected to Yulman Stadium. “The power of belief is so strong I believe in me, and I believe in Tulane and I believe in these players, and I believe in where we’re going.”
Sumrall talked openly about reaching the CFP in December 2023 when no one expected it. Hall, whom Sumrall hired as the Tulane passing game coordinator this year, doubled down on that prediction now that Sumrall turned his bold statement into a reality on his way to the coaching job at Florida.
“Sometimes when you promote from within, there’s a feeling of aw, let’s hug each other and hold
hands and be all lovey-dovey and everybody feels good about it,” Hall said. “That’s not what this is. This is about one thing — winning. I was promoted because I have the best chance to win here right now I fully expect to be in here next year celebrating another CFP selection show.”
The outside skepticism comes from recent history. Sumrall arrived off back-to-back Sun Belt Conference championships at Troy in his first two years as a head coach. Hall, from Amory, Mississippi, returned for his second stint as a Tulane assistant this past spring after being fired midway through 2024 at Southern Mississippi with a 14-30 record as the head coach.
In a search that hit a speed bump when LSU defensive coordinator Blake Baker decided to stay with the Tigers rather than accept an offer from Tulane, Hall beat out everyone else after an impressive opening interview
“His passion was just evident,” said athletic director David Harris, who was the primary decision-maker with assistance from Tulane chief operating officer Patrick Norton and deputy athletic director Justin Schemmel. “The fact he knew and understood what it meant to win here, that he cared very deeply for our studentathletes, that he is an excellent recruiter we understood he was the exact right person for this position.”
PREP REPORT
vs. No. 14 Ouachita Parish (10-4), noon Division I select: No. 1 Edna Karr (13-0) vs No. 3 St. Augustine (12-1), 3:30 p.m. Basketball Boys Lafayette 70, Rayne 50 Northside 74, North Central 58 Church Point 69, Bunkie 56 Kaplan 49, Basile 43 Ascension Episcopal 43, Centerville 30 Opelousas Catholic 57, Port Barre 16 Wednesday’s games Opelousas Catholic at Opelousas, Rayne at Crowley Helix at Acadiana Renaissance, Kaplan at Hathaway, Westminster-LAF at St. Edmund. Girls Lafayette Christian 48, New Iberia 21 North Central 47, Breaux Bridge 20 Sacred Heart 63, Comeaux 25 Sam Houston 50, Opelousas 49 Teurlings 70, Kaplan 32 HL Bourgeois 50, Westgate 33 Church Point 46, Bunkie 27 Ascension Episcopal 54, Centerville 17 Opelousas Catholic 39, Port Barre 17 St. John 39, Westminster-LAF 16 Wednesday’s games Lafayette Christian at Lafayette, Abbeville at Northside, Rayne at Crowley, Catholic-NI at Opelousas Catholic, Central Private at Lafayette Renaissance, Hanson at Ascension Episcopal. Soccer Boys Episcopal of Acadiana 6, Westgate 0 Kaplan 4, Highland Baptist 2
Hall overcame his failure at Southern Miss because of his track record everywhere else. During his two years as the Tulane offensive coordinator under former coach Willie Fritz, the Wave averaged the third-most points and the third-most yards in school history (2019), then upped its scoring average the following season (2020).
He recruited record-setting quarterback Michael Pratt, who started for him in 2020 as a true freshman and led the Wave to the American Conference championship two years later
Earlier in Hall’s career, he went 25-11 as the coach at Division II West Alabama from 2011-13 and 31-9 at Division II West Georgia from 2014-16.
“What happened at Southern Miss was certainly something we paid attention to, but it wasn’t a disqualifying factor,” Harris said. “It was something we needed him to answer for, and he did answer for it. We were satisfied with what he shared with us.”
Neither Harris nor Hall would go into specifics about what went wrong for him at Southern Miss, but Hall gave what he admitted openly was a vague explanation.
“I’ve got to be me,” he said. “Being me works. It’s worked everywhere else I’ve been, so I will be unapologetically me every minute of every day.”
Being himself certainly won over the Tulane players. Harris recounted how a bunch of them went to his office unannounced and made the case for Hall’s promotion, praising him for 30 minutes.
“That was powerful,” Harris
said. “It was not just because he’s a great coach and not even because they liked him as a person, but they talked about how he challenged them to be the best versions of themselves. It really caught my attention that he was finding a way to show love as well as to challenge them. It’s rare you have a coach who finds that balance.”
As passing game coordinator, Hall spent his time in the receivers’ meeting room. Anthony Brown-Stephens, a redshirt junior wideout with 35 catches for 466 yards, expects few defections to the transfer portal after Hall’s promotion.
“He loves the players and we love him,” Brown-Stephens said. “When they announced it, it was surreal. He’s going to bring the grit. He’s going to bring us another playoff run He’s going to bring it all.”
How many coaches Hall retains from the current staff is unclear He said he would not call plays but would run his offense, which will be a pro-style system similar to what Tulane has now with a little more tempo added.
“I knew I’d be a head coach again,” he said. “I believe that’s what God put me on this Earth to do. I’m blessed to be here right now I also feel like I deserve to be here right now for everything I’ve been through.”
He offered a final reply to anyone who envisioned another name as coach a week ago.
“Pete Carroll was USC’s fourth choice when they hired him,” he said. “Everybody there is pretty excited (about what he did).”
Campbell 1, Rusty Trotter 1, Hayes Trotter 2; Erath: Landon Romero. Assists Lane Girouard 2, John Austin Levin 1, Cameron Foret 1, Parker Roberts 1, Rusty Trotter 1. Wednesday’s games Beau Chene at Ascension Episcopal, Westminster at Catholic-NI, Lafayette Christian at Kaplan, Vermilion Catholic at Comeaux, Westminster at Catholic-NI, Acadiana Renaissance at Acadiana, St. Martinville at Carencro, Liberty at David Thibodaux, Dutchtown at Lafayette High. Girls Catholic-NI 7, Dunham 0 Southside 1, Episcopal of Acadiana 0 Highland Baptist 3, Kaplan 2 Carencro 4, Opelousas Catholic 1 New Iberia 2, Vermilion Catholic 1 Westminster 1, Beau Chene 1 David Thibodaux 8, Sacred Heart 0 Livonia 8, Opelousas 0 Acadiana 8, St. Martinville 0 Wednesday’s games Sacred Heart-GC at Beau Chene, Westminster at Catholic-NI, Lafayette Christian at Kaplan, Opelousas Catholic at Westgate Vermilion Catholic at Comeaux, Cecilia at Livonia, St. Martinville at Carencro, Barbe at St. Thomas More, Lafayette High at Dominican.
SCOREBOARD
Dicker 31, 7:26 Phi—FG Elliott 44, 2:16 LAC—FG Dicker 46, :08 Overtime LAC—FG Dicker 54, 6:24 A—72,241. Phi LAC First downs 19 16 Total Net Yards 365
17, Sochan 1-2 0-0 2, Olynyk 4-7 1-2 11, Johnson 5-8 1-2 12, Harper 10-16 1-2 22. Totals 49-99 20-25 135. NEW ORLEANS (132) Bey 7-11 2-2 17, Murphy III 13-21 4-5 32, Queen 11-15 11-13 33, Fears 2-8 0-0 5, Jones 6-10 5-5 17, Matkovic 2-2 0-0 4, Peavy 2-7 0-0 4, Missi 1-1 0-0 2, Alvarado 4-7 0-0 10, Hawkins 0-1 0-0 0, McGowens 3-5 1-1 8. Totals 51-88 23-26 132. San Antonio 35 42 23 35 — 135 New Orleans 25 32 45 30 — 132 3-Point Goals—San Antonio 17-36 (Champagnie 5-9, Barnes 4-7, Olynyk 2-4, Fox 2-5, Johnson 1-1, Castle 1-2, Harper 1-3,
STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD
‘It
A dance at Angola provides a moment to reunite
BY SARA CLINE Associated Press
her wedding But for one night at Louisiana’s largest maximum-security prison, Harris made his own moment with his 17-year-old daughter while donning a custom tux and clutching a bouquet of roses: reuniting at the prison’s first father-daughter dance, where they embraced to Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely” at a pinkheavy party last month that was widely shared on social media
“Seeing her in a dress crying and running to me just broke me down,” said Harris, who has nine years left on his sentence, in a phone interview from the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. “It made me think of all the years I missed out on in her life.”
AP PHOTO/GOD BEHIND BARS
A prisoner at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola embraces a loved one before a father-daughter dance inside the lockup on Nov. 22.
The lockup is the latest in the U.S. to hold a daddy-daughter dance, including one in Washington, D.C., that was featured in the Netflix documentary “Daughters” last year In Louisiana, prison officials say the dance could become another tradition at the rural lockup in Angola, which every October hosts the country’s last remaining prison rodeo. It has more than 6,300 prisoners, including dozens of people on death row, and is on the same grounds where a notorious lockup was converted into an immigration detention facility in September
Assistant Warden Anne-Marie Easley said she hoped the dance would bring a sense of hope that can be elusive in a prison where many are serving decades-long or life sentences For some men, it was a chance to reunite with their daughters for the first time in months or even years — an opportunity to rebuild relationships and heal wounds. For others, it meant a night where they wouldn’t be seen as an inmate but rather a dad.
The prison picked nearly 30 inmates to participate due to good behavior, among other factors. Videos posted from the event showed fathers in tuxedos complete with pink boutonnieres breaking down in tears as their daughters ran up to them in sparkly dresses, shrieking with excitement. They reunited in the middle of a pink carpet overlayed with petals, with breezy drapes hanging overhead A dance space was set up
Making moves
Lafayette’s newest spot for fast roast beef po-boys, fresh Gulf shrimp now open
TBY JOANNA BROWN Staff writer
here’s a new spot in Lafayette to grab crawfish étouffée, fried shrimp and catfish, or a smothered roast beef debris po-boy — all in the drive-thru.
Off The Hook opened on Monday to a crowd of people eager to try Cajun favorites, merged with the convenience of a fast-casual chain restaurant, with local cred The restaurant was founded in 2012 in Thibodaux, and has since expanded to cities around south Louisiana, including Houma, Baton Rouge, Hammond and Denham Springs. Lafayette is now home to the company’s ninth store at 101 Liberty Ave., where Viva La Waffle was formerly located off Kaliste Saloom Road. According to Off The Hook’s CEO and founder Paxton Moreaux, they liked the location and jumped on it — and have an eye toward continued expansion across the state.
Moreaux, a Thibodaux native, said that he and his father started the business as a side project to the family’s billboard company, Bayou Signs Outdoor They embarked on a rebrand for Off The Hook eight years ago, tightening up the concept, look and recipes in preparation to scale.
“We’re pretty uniquely positioned, in terms of having the quality of food you’d typically get in 45 minutes to an hour at a sit-down place, we can kind of pump it up with our systems and processes in
3 to 5 minutes,” he said. They exclusively use wild-caught Gulf shrimp and fish from Louisiana and Mississippi, according to Moreaux. “We’re definitely a shrimp place, and it will always and forever be locally sourced, typically from Delcambre or Delacroix.
“We cut and cook our own roast beef weekly, the sauces are homemade with spices and seasoning blends from Paul Prudhomme in New Orleans, the gumbo is pro-
STAFF PHOTOS By LESLIE WESTBROOK Chicken and sausage gumbo, a roast beef po-boy and the catfish and shrimp platter are all on the menu at Off The Hook.
CEO Paxton Moreaux stands inside the newest location of Off The Hook restaurant in Lafayette.
OFF THE HOOK
Continued from page5C
duced by chef John Folse in Donaldsonville —all to our spec and our recipes.”
The restaurant’sNew Orleans-style roast beef debrispo-boy is oneoftheir top sellers after the fried seafoodplatters, anditis also aLouisiana-sourced sandwich, with bread from Leidenheimer and mayonnaisebyBlue Plate —both storied New Orleans companies.
Off The Hook is largely afamily operation, with Paxton Moreaux joined by brothersCameron and Jordan Moreaux over training and project management, respectively.For this south Louisiana family,expanding arestaurant chain alongside billboards andreal estate seems to come naturally— as well as the drive to keep everything as close to home as possible.
Said Paxton Moreaux, “I really saw an opportunityas we expanded to pass on some
Weddingfee concerns
Dear readers: We’ve received hundreds of letters concerning weddings where thebride and groom want to charge people to attend. Apparently,this is now atrend in America where thehappy couple want to have thewedding of their dreamsbut can’t afford alavish celebration. The reaction from the public was more than I had expected, but below are afew of theresponses we received. —Heloise Weddingfees
they want, they should start saving foritasyoung as they can. —Mary, in The Villages, Florida Weddingfeescont’d
includes the bridesmaids and groomsmen the night before the wedding?
Chicken Cordon Bleu sandwich n Maxwell’s Market,6241Perkins Road, Baton Rouge
of that Cajunheritage.I’m proudtolive in Thibodaux, andmygrandpa’sfamily is from Church Point, Rayne, some Lafayette. Twomain Cajun hubs, if you will —the Thibodaux-Houmabayou region, into Lafayetteand Acadiana.”
“If we execute well, people aregoing to gravitatetowards thefoodand our product, which is over-the-top, friendlycustomer service and that Southernhospitality element that we pride ourselves on,” hesaid
With amenu that encompassesall of theflavors of the region, andastaffed-up restaurant prepared to get busy,Moreauxand team have no plans to slow down just yet. OffThe Hook Lafayette opens at 10:30 a.m. every day,and therestaurant closes at 10 p.m. (11 p.m.onFridays and Saturdays).The drive-thru closes at 9p.m.
Email Joanna Brown at joanna.brown@ theadvocate.com.
—Margaret DeLaney, health coordinator Wing combo n Lee’s Chicken and Cracklins, 320 LeeDrive, Baton Rouge
Iwas on West Lee Drive for an assignment and found myself hungry and right by Lee’sChicken and Cracklins, which just opened about amonthago. Themenufeels pretty similar to Blue Store Chicken’smenu. The
I’ve been on the hunt for agood delicatessen in Baton Rouge. Imagine my surprise when afriend told me of along-standing staple, Maxwell’sMarket. Now that Iknow Maxwell’s exists, Ican’tseem to stop ordering their sandwiches. My favorite so far has been the Chicken Cordon Bleu sandwich. My first thoughts were notably skeptical —how did they plan to make arenowned French dish fit between bread? But wow,did theydo it well. The fried chicken is aboneless thigh that is perfectly crispy on the outside and juicy in the middle. The star of the show is paired with ahealthy stack of salted ham, amelted thin slice of Swiss cheese, creamy yet tangy honey mustard anda fluffy brioche bun. Addaside of sweet potato fries and asideCaesar salad and it becomes the perfectlunch.
DANCE
Continued from page5C
in the prison’sBible college
The dance was put on by God Behind Bars,which hosts other reunification events and religious services in prisons nationwide. In videos the group posted before the dance, some prisoners said they wanted to apologize for all the years they missed. Others called the
dance the most important prison visitoftheir lives. Thenight includedthe mensurprising their daughters with aline dance after weeksofpractice. For Harris, thebest part was when he and hisdaughter slow danced to“Butterfly Kisses,” asongabout adad’s unconditional lovefor his daughter. In thatmoment,Harrissaidmemories rushed back of life before prison, when hisdaughter wasjust
cashier told me about a three-wing combofor $6.69, which Ididn’tsee on the menu but sounded perfect.The wings came with shrimp fried rice and achoice of potatowedges or aHawaiian roll. The shrimp fried rice impressed me, coming from somebody who is largely indifferent to fried rice. The taste of shrimp was embedded in the dish, making everybitepacked with flavor.The chicken came hot and well seasoned.
If I’m by LSU’scampus, this’ll be my new go-to for quick-service fried chicken.
—Maddie Scott, features reporter
2years old. Howshe would sleep on his chest,play with his hair andhow he would buy her little dresses. Beforethe night was over,he gave heraBible with passages he highlighted. “That’sreally the heart of it at the end of the day,” said Jake Bodine,founder of God Behind Bars. “Show these individuals who is counting on them andoncetheyrealize the weight of that, they will holdthemselves accountable for change.”
Hints from Heloise
Dear Heloise: Iread your letter this morning about couples who want to charge their guests to attend. No way,nohow! It’s totally presumptuous and tremendously rude. If a lavish wedding is what
By The Associated Press
Today is Wednesday, Dec. 10, the 344th day of 2025. There are 21 days left in the year
Todayinhistory: On Dec. 10, 1906, President TheodoreRoosevelt becamethe first American to win aNobel Prize, winning theNobel Peace Prize for helping to negotiate peace in theRusso-Japanese War.
Also on this date: In 1861, theConfederacy admitted Kentucky as it recognized apro-Southern shadow state government that was acting without the authority of the pro-Union government in Frankfort In 1898, atreatywas signed in Paris officially ending the Spanish-American War.
In 1964, Martin Luther King Jr.received his Nobel Peace PrizeinOslo,say-
Dear Heloise: Ihate lavish weddings. They’re usually too loud, too crowded and too expensive. Asking people to pay to see this kind of spectacle is stressful for family and friends, especially if money is tight as it is for mostpeople these days.
Sarah M., in Lansing,Michigan
Paid presence
Dear Heloise: Ithink asking people to pay to attend awedding is ridiculous! What happened to the parents of the bride paying forthe wedding and the groom’s family paying forthe dinner that
TODAYINHISTORY
ing he accepted it “with an abiding faith in America and an audacious faith in the future of mankind.”
In 1967, singer Otis Redding, 26, and six others were killed when their plane crashed into aWisconsin lake; trumpeter Ben Cauley,amember of the group the Bar-Kays, was the only survivor In 1994, Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize fortheir efforts to advance the Middle East peace process.
In 2007, former Vice President Al Gore accepted the Nobel Peace Prize with acall to confront human-caused climate change and stop waging waronthe environment.
In 2021, atwo-day outbreak of tornadoes in the U.S. Midwest and South killed morethan 90 people
However,when you are the grandma, Iamsure that you wanttogo. So, pay forthe wedding, but don’t give them agift. Your paid presence is enough of a gift. —Grandma, in TheVillages, Florida
Weddingfeesbackfire
Dear Heloise: My oldest sister tried this pay-toattend approach with her wedding, and no one responded. Noteven our two grandmothers wholove us. They found her request for“donations of $250” to be tacky and tasteless. My sister got married at city hall and was divorced 15 months later! —CarolynB., in Yorktown, New York
Send ahinttoheloise@ heloise.com.
across five states, including 77 in Kentucky.The National Weather Service recorded morethan 40 twisters Dec.10and Dec. 11. In 2022, Morocco became the first African country to reach the World Cup semifinals by beating Portugal 1-0. Today’sbirthdays: Actor Fionnula Flanagan is 84. Actor-singer Gloria Loring is 79. Republican Sen. John
is 51. Actor Emmanuelle Chriqui is 50. Actor Raven-Symone is 40. Actor/singer Teyana Taylor is 35. Actor Kiki Layne is 34. Cyclist Jonas Vingegaard is 29.
Local support. Local impact. TheAmerican RedCross in Louisiana serves4.65millionresidentsacrossall64parishesandextendshopeto communitiesacrossthenationandaroundtheworld.Whenyousupportyour localRedCross,youmakeadirectimpactinyourcommunity Poweredbygenerosity. TheRedCrossisnotagovernmentagency.Wearea501(c)(3) nonprofitthatreliesonthepowerofvolunteersandthegenerosity ofdonorstocarryoutourhumanitarianmission. RedCrosssupportersprovideabeaconofhope.Fromhelping duringdisasters,toprovidinglifesavingtrainingandsupporting militarycommunities,theRedCrossistherewhenhelpcan’twait.
PHOTO By MARGARET DELANEy
The Chicken CordonBleu sandwich at Maxwell’sMarket
STAFF PHOTO By MADDIESCOTT
Chicken wings, potato wedges and shrimp fried rice from Lee’s Chicken and Cracklins
STAFF PHOTOSByLESLIEWESTBROOK
Lafayette is nowhome to Off The Hook’s ninthstore at 101 Liberty Ave.
The roast beef debris po-boyisstyled after the NewOrleans classic.
sAGIttARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Be clear regarding your expectations to avoid disappointment. Communication requires thought, detail and verification to ensure you get the most out of each encounter today.
cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Your situation is looking up. Let go of the past and what holds you back, and embrace what excites you most Distance yourself from confinement and people who want to suppress you.
AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Address matters that are clouding your vision. Once you clear a path, you'll recognize the possibilities. A domestic change is overdue and will offer peace of mind, mental stimulation and profitable prospects.
PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Research, educate and check out your options. A change of scenery will offer insight into the possibilities. Map out a plan that won't jeopardize your finances but will provide an affordable and sustainable future.
ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Put your energy where it counts. Learn and hone skills through repetition. If you take shortcuts, you'll cheat yourself and are unlikely to achieve the results you desire
tAuRus (April 20-May 20) Consider sticking close to home and doing things that make your life easier. Sometimes it's best to put yourself first. Address what others want head-on and take care of your needs.
GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Impulsive choices will cost you. It's the result, not the
process, that requires your undivided attention. Stop looking for instant gratification when persistence is necessary to reach your goal.
cAncER (June 21-July 22) Discipline and novel plans will help you conquer what you set out to do. Common sense will bring higher returns if you are patient. Put your energy into planning, building, promotion and getting things done LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) It's what you do that will make a difference. Participation is the name of the game; stop talking and start doing. Be a leader and start a movement, and your gestures will pave the way. VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) You can make a difference if you pitch in and help. Go where the action is and do your part The people you meet will enrich your life. Be clear about what you are willing to do and put up with.
LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) You know what you must do, so stop procrastinating and start the process. Research, expand your knowledge and engage in activities that will make a difference.
scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Channel your energy into something creative you wish to pursue. Exploration, expansion and experience will all play a part in how you advance and move into a new phase or lifestyle
Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, past and present. Each letter in the cipher stands for another.
toDAy's cLuE: V EQuALs P
FAMILY CIrCUS
CeLebrItY CIpher
beetLe bAILeY
Mother GooSe And GrIMM
bIG nAte
Sudoku
InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. Theobject is to place the numbers 1to9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. Thedifficulty level of theSudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.
Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer
nea CroSSwordS La TimeS CroSSword
THewiZard oF id
BLondie
BaBY BLueS
Hi and LoiS CurTiS
By PHILLIP ALDER Bridge
Andre Maurois, a French author who was born Emile Salomon Wilhelm Herzog and died in 1967, said, “Conversation would be vastly improved by the constant use of four simple words: I do not know.”
Themeaningofresponder’sfirst-round bid in today’s deal is not known by some of my students. I have mentioned it a few times,butperhapsitisforgottenbecause it comes up rarely.
After opener bids one of a major and the next player makes a takeout double, a response of two no-trump guarantees at least four-card support for partner’s suit and game-invitational or better values (at most eight losers).
In borderline cases, this gives the opener space to make a help-suit gametry at the three-level (which would be impossible after a three-heart limit raise if the intervenor had passed). This use of two no-trump also permits a jump raise tothreeheartstoshowfour-cardsupport and a weaker hand, which responder hopes will effectively inconvenience the opponents. Finally, if responder has a big balanced hand, he starts with a redouble. Against four hearts, West leads the diamond queen. How should South plan the play?
Declarer should see that he might lose one trick in each suit. If he takes the first trick and plays a trump, West wins with his ace and returns a diamond, condemning South to defeat. Instead, declarer should lead his club at trick two. East wins and plays back a diamond,butSouthwins,
Previous answers:
InstRuctIons:
toDAy’s WoRD — MEsQuItE: meh-SKEET: A spiny tree or shrub chiefly of the southwestern U.S.
Average mark 20 words
Time limit 30 minutes
Can you find 25 or more words in MESQUITE?
yEstERDAy’s WoRD — FIctItIous
that covers a transgression seeks love; but he that repeats a matter separates very friends.” Proverbs 17:9
