The Times-Picayune 12-11-2025

QB SHOUGH’SRUNNING ABILITY HELPING SAINTS OFFENSE 1C

Sweeps netfewer arrestsinN.O.

Protests of immigration enforcement also milder

BY JAMES FINN Staff writer

When U.S. Border Patrol agents descended onto New Orleans one week ago as part of President Donald Trump’s federal immigrationcrackdown, local organizers andDemocratic officialsbraced formass arrests.

Images from Chicago and Charlotte,North Carolina, foreshadowed what could happen Border Patrol agents in recent months made thousands of arrests, wielded aggressive tactics and clashed with protesters in both cities.

But so far in Louisiana, where the Border Patrol operation is dubbed “Catahoula Crunch,” agentsappear to havenetted fewer arrests —with the U.S. Department of HomelandSecurity citing the overall number as dozens without giving specifics. They’vetargeted home improvement store parking lots, worksites and acar wash.Some U.S. citizens and permit-holders have been taken for questioning and then released.

Anddespite criticismfrom advocates and some local Democratic officials, the scope of the arrests around New Orleans and the intensity of responsive demonstrations —has remained more muted than in other cities, where mass arrests and protests flared up.

“Strictly from an enforcement standpoint, therehas not been

ä See SWEEP, page 4A

La.’sMedicaidcontractdecisionhas deep roots

Dispute stemsfrom drug prices,pharmacy benefitmanagers

BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer

Louisiana’slast-minute decision this month not to renew a$4.2billion contract with UnitedHealthcare to provide Medicaid benefits for roughly 330,000 people is the latest front in alarger battle some state officials are waging against major

healthcompanies over prescriptiondrug prices. That decision, made weeks before new health policies are set to take effect, caught legislators off guard and raised concernsabout disruptionsfor patients.

TheLouisiana Department of Health has said it will transition recipients to one of the five other existingcompanies providing Medicaid services

The problem does not appear to be with theUnitedHealthcare contract itself —in fact,the Health Department asked lawmakers last month to renew it —Attorney General Liz Murrill hastiedittoanother

issue:alawsuit over pharmacy benefit managers. Pharmacy benefitmanagers, or PBMs, negotiate drug prices on behalf of health plans. OptumRx has provided that service for the state government, andits parent company,UnitedHealthGroup, also owns UnitedHealthcare.

Gov.Jeff Landry,who was thenattorney general, suedUnitedHealthcare andOptumRx in April 2022, alleging they used thecomplexity of their business model to inflate the prices of drugs. The company

ä See CONTRACT, page 7A

Moreno may lack options in challenging Border Patrol

BY SOPHIE KASAKOVE and LARA NICHOLSON Staff writers

Mayor-elect Helena Moreno,who requestedthatthe U.S. BorderPatrol make several changes to its tactics while in New Orleans, mayface an uphill climb in gettingany of those changestotake place, basedonthe legaloptions available andthe experience of Democratic officials in other U.S. cities.

“We, of course, recognize federal law and federal enforcement authority,but we also stand here withan obligation to ensure that federal operations are conducted transparently, constitutionally and with respectfor local residents”

MAyOR-ELECT HELENA MORENO

Though she doesn’ttake office until Jan. 12, Moreno hasservedas the city’sdefacto leader since her October election victory.OnFriday,she demanded that the Border Patrol stop wearingmasks, provide local officialswith information on people it detains and focus only on violent criminals during its Catahoula Crunch operation.

“We, of course, recognize federal law and federal enforcement authority,but we also standhere withanobligation to ensure that federal operations are conducted transparently,constitutionally andwithrespect forlocal residents,” Moreno said.

In response, Border Patrol leader

ä See MORENO, page 5A

STAFF FILE

PHOTOByHILARy SCHEINUK

Gov. Jeff Landryand AttorneyGeneral Liz Murrill have been embroiled in alegal battle with major health companies over prescription drug prices.

STAFF PHOTO By BRETT DUKE

Customsand Border Patrol Commander GregoryBovino, right, walks withBorder Patrol agents in Kenner on Friday

Miss. man ordered freed after illegal sentence

A man illegally sentenced to 15 years in prison for a crime that carries a maximum penalty of five years behind bars is set to walk free, after Mississippi Gov Tate Reeves granted him clemency on Wednesday.

The Mississippi Court of Appeals ruled in May that Marcus Taylor’s sentence was illegal, but did not commute his sentence because Taylor had missed the deadline to apply for post-conviction relief. After rehearing the case last month, the court reversed course, ordering Taylor’s release.

Taylor accepted a plea deal in February 2015 for conspiracy to sell a Schedule III controlled substance. Both the trial court and Taylor’s plea petition incorrectly listed the maximum sentence as 20 years, according to the appeals court. Upon the state’s recommendation, a judge sentenced Taylor to 15 years.

“This is about justice, not mercy,” Reeves said in a statement.

“Mr Taylor has served more than 10 years of his sentence, and further service of this sentence in excess of the five-year statutory maximum constitutes a mischarge of justice.”

San Francisco woman gives birth in a Waymo SAN FRANCISCO Self-driving Waymo taxis have gone viral for negative reasons involving the death of a beloved San Francisco bodega cat and pulling an illegal U-turn in front of police who were unable to issue a ticket to a nonexistent driver.

But this week, the self-driving taxis are the bearer of happier news after a San Francisco woman gave birth in a Waymo.

The mother was on her way to the University of CaliforniaSan Francisco medical center Monday when she delivered inside the robotaxi, said a Waymo spokesperson in a statement Wednesday The company said its rider support team detected “unusual activity” inside the vehicle and called to check on the rider as well as alert 911.

Waymo, which is owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet, declined to elaborate on how the vehicle knew something was amiss.

The taxi and its passengers arrived safely at the hospital ahead of emergency services. Jess Berthold, a UCSF spokesperson, confirmed the mother and child were brought to the hospital. She said the mother was not available for interviews.

2 buildings collapse in Fez, Morocco, killing 22 RABAT, Morocco Two adjacent four-story buildings collapsed overnight in the Moroccan city of Fez, killing 22 people in the second fatal collapse there this year, authorities said Wednesday. Morocco’s state news agency, MAP, reported that the two buildings housed eight families. Sixteen people were injured and taken to the hospital Authorities said the neighborhood had been evacuated and search and rescue efforts continued.

It was unclear what caused the collapse or how many people were unaccounted for Authorities said an investigation had been opened. MAP reported that the structures were built in 2006 during an initiative called “City Without Slums.”

Fez is Morocco’s third-largest city and one of the hosts of this month’s Africa Cup of Nations and the 2030 FIFA World Cup. It is best known for its walled city packed with medieval souks. It’s also one of the country’s poorest urban centers, where aging infrastructure is common

Such building collapses are not uncommon in Moroccan cities undergoing rapid population growth. A collapse in May in Fez killed 10 people and injured seven in a building that had been slated for evacuation, according to Moroccan outlet Le360.

Building codes are often not enforced in Morocco, especially in ancient cities where aging, multifamily homes of cinderblock are common. Though the buildings that collapsed Wednesday had been built according to code, the Hespress news outlet reported, additional floors had been added to the structures.

Aid into Gaza falls short, figures show

Amount agreed upon in the U.S.-brokered ceasefire hasn’t come, according to analysis

BY JULIA FRANKEL Associated Press

JERUSALEM Aid deliveries into Gaza are falling far short of the amount called for under the U.S.brokered ceasefire, according to an Associated Press analysis of the Israeli military’s figures as humanitarian groups say the shortfall is severely impacting the strip’s 2 million people.

Under the October ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, Israel agreed to allow 600 trucks of aid into Gaza a day

However, Israel’s own figures suggest that an average of only 459 trucks a day have entered the Gaza Strip between Oct. 12, when the flow of the aid restarted, and Sunday, according to an AP analysis. COGAT, the Israeli military body in charge of coordinating aid entry, provided the figures.

COGAT said that roughly 18,000 trucks of food aid had entered Gaza from when the ceasefire took effect until Sunday, amounting to 70% of all aid that had entered the territory since the truce.

This means that COGAT estimates that including the rest of the aid items that are not food, such as tents and medicines — a total of just over 25,700 trucks have entered Gaza. That is well under the 33,600 trucks that should have gone in by Sunday, under the terms of the ceasefire.

In response to the AP analysis, COGAT insisted Wednesday the number of trucks entering Gaza each day was above the 600 mark but refused to elaborate why the figures don’t match or provide raw data on truck entry

COGAT used to give daily figures of trucks entering Gaza during the war but stopped doing so

when the ceasefire began. Rights groups say that is because it controls the crossings and has sole access to track how much aid and commercial goods are entering Gaza.

The United Nations and aid groups have often said the amount of aid entering Gaza is far lower than COGAT claims.

The U.N. says only 6,545 trucks have been offloaded at Gaza crossings between the ceasefire and Dec 7, amounting to about 113 trucks a day. That’s according to its online database. The U.N. figures do not include aid trucks sent by organizations not working through the U.N. network.

A Hamas document on Saturday provided to the AP put the amount of total aid trucks that have entered since the truce at 7,333.

This week, the U.N office for humanitarian affairs, known as OCHA, stressed a “dire” need for more aid for Gaza, saying Israeli restrictions on aid have bottlenecked recovery efforts.

Humanitarian groups say lack of aid has had harsh effects on much of Gaza’s residents, most of whom were forcibly displaced by war Food remains scarce as the Palestinian territory struggles to bounce back from famine, which hit parts of Gaza during the war

Since the U.S.-brokered ceasefire began on Oct. 10, the price for a 26.5-pound cylinder of cooking gas has shot up to $406, about 18 times what it was before the war

That has left many residents relying on firewood for both cooking and to stay warm as temperatures plunge ahead of winter including the 23-member Abed family in the northern city of Jabaliya.

“We are living under the rubble and sleeping on torn sheets We collect some firewood, and cut sponges to start a fire,” Marwan Abed 62 told the AP from under the crumbling concrete of his house. He said firewood is the only way “to keep the children warm” and to prepare coffee.

Rwanda-backed rebels say they’ve seized strategic city

BY WILSON MCMAKIN Associated Press

DAKAR, Senegal Rwanda-backed rebel group M23 said that it had taken control of the strategic city of Uvira in eastern Congo on Wednesday afternoon, following a rapid offensive since the start of the month and on the heels of a U.S. attempt to quell violence from the conflict

The announcement, made on social platform X by M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka encouraged citizens who fled to return to their homes. Uvira is an important port city on the northern tip of Lake Tanganyika and is directly across from neighboring Burundi’s largest city, Bujumbura.

M23’s latest offensive comes despite a U.S.-mediated peace agreement signed last week by the Congolese and Rwandan presidents in Washington. The accord didn’t include the rebel group, which is negotiating separately with Congo and agreed earlier this year to a ceasefire that both sides accuse the other of violating. However, it obliges Rwanda to halt support for armed groups and work to end hostilities.

Residents of Uvira reported a chaotic night where Congolese army troops fled, and gunfire was reported throughout the city

Congo Communications Minister Patrick Muyaya said in a speech that more than 100 people had died in the latest offensive, while not explicitly acknowledging the rebel takeover of the city Congo, the United States and U.N. experts accuse Rwanda of backing the M23, which had hundreds of members in 2021 Now, according to the U.N., the group has around 6,500 fighters.

While Rwanda denies that claim, it acknowledged last year that it has troops

and missile systems in eastern Congo, allegedly to safeguard its security U.N. experts estimate there are up to 4,000 Rwandan forces in Congo.

In a statement Wednesday, the U.S. Embassy in Kinshasa urged M23 and Rwandan troops to cease all offensive operations and for the Rwandan Defense Forces to withdraw to Rwanda.

On Wednesday morning, the Rwandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs blamed the Congolese armed forces for the recent ceasefire violations in a statement on X.

“The DRC has openly stated that it would not observe any ceasefire, and was fighting to recapture territories lost to AFC/M23, even as the peace process unfolded,” the statement said.

Earlier this year, M23 seized Goma and Bukavu, two key cities in eastern Congo, in a major escalation of the yearslong conflict.

Musk says DOGE only ‘somewhat successful’

BY BILL BARROW Associated Press

Mega billionaire Elon Musk, in a friendly interview with his aide and conservative influencer Katie Miller, said his efforts leading the Department of Government Efficiency were only “somewhat successful” and he would not do it over again.

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO, who also owns the social media platform X, still broadly defended President Donald Trump’s controversial pop-up agency that Musk left in the spring before it shuttered officially last month. Yet Musk bemoaned how difficult it is to remake the federal government quickly and he acknowledged how much his businesses suffered because of his DOGE work and its lack of popularity

“We were a little bit successful. We were somewhat successful,” he told Miller, who once worked as a DOGE spokeswoman charged with selling the agency’s work to the public. When Miller pressed Musk on whether he would do it all over again, he said: “I don’t think so. Instead of doing DOGE, I would have, basically, built worked on my companies.”

Almost wistfully, Musk added, “They wouldn’t have been burning the cars” — a reference to consumer protests against Tesla. Still, things certainly have turned up for Musk since his departure from Trump’s administration. Tesla shareholders approved a pay package that could make Musk the world’s first trillionaire. Musk was speaking as a guest on the “Katie Miller Podcast,” which Miller, who is married to top Trump adviser Stephen Miller launched after leaving government employment to work for Musk in the private sector The two sat in chairs facing each other for a conversation that lasted more than 50 minutes and spanned topics from DOGE to Musk’s thoughts on AI, social media, conspiracy theories and fashion. Miller did not press Musk on the inner workings of DOGE and the controversial manner in which it took over federal agencies and data systems.

Musk credited the agency with saving as much as $200 billion annually in “zombie payments” that he said can be avoided with better automated systems and coding for federal payouts. But that number is dwarfed by Musk’s ambitious promises at one time that an efficiency commission could measure savings in the trillions. Miller has not responded to an Associated Press request for comment.

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ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO

M23 rebels escort government soldiers and police who surrendered to an undisclosed location in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Jan. 30.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JEHAD ALSHRAFI

Displaced Palestinians repair their tents at a tent camp on the beach Wednesday after stormy weather in Gaza

Trumpsays U.S. hasseizedoil tanker

BY AAMER MADHANI, KONSTANTIN TOROPIN, JOSHUAGOODMAN and REGINA GARCIA CANO Associated Press

WASHINGTON President

PresidentDonaldTrump said Wednesday thatthe United States has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela as tensions mount with the government of President Nicolás Maduro.

UsingU.S.forcestotake control of amerchant ship is incrediblyunusualand marks the Trump administration’slatest push to increase pressure on Maduro, who has been charged with narcoterrorism in the United States. The U.S. has built up the largest military presence in theregion in decades and launched aseries of deadly strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern PacificOcean. The campaign is facinggrowing scrutiny from Congress

“We’ve just seized atanker on the coast of Venezuela, a large tanker,very large, largest one ever seized, actually,” Trump told reporters at the White House, later adding that “it was seized for avery good reason.” Trump did not offer additional details. When asked what would happen to the

oil aboard thetanker,Trump said, “Well, we keep it, I guess.”

The seizure was led bythe U.S. Coast Guard and supported by the Navy,accordingtoaU.S. official whowas notauthorized to comment publicly and spoke onthe condition of anonymity. The official added that it was conducted under U.S. law enforcementauthority

TheCoast Guard members were taken to the oil tanker by helicopterfromthe aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, the official said. The Ford is in the Caribbean Sea after arriving last month in amajor show of force, joininga fleet of other warships.

Video posted to social media by Attorney General PamBondishowspeople fast-roping from one of the helicoptersinvolved in the operation as it hovers just feet from thedeck

TheCoast Guard members can beseenlater in the video moving throughout the superstructure of the ship with their weapons drawn Bondi wrote that “for multiple years, the oiltankerhas been sanctioned by the United States duetoits involvement in an illicit oil shipping networksupporting foreign terrorist organizations.”

Venezuela’sgovernment said in astatement thatthe

network of shadow tankers that smuggled crude oil on behalf of Iran’sRevolutionary Guard and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group.

The network was reportedly run by aSwitzerlandbased Ukrainian oil trader, the U.S. Treasury Departmentsaid at the time.

seizure during aspeech before aruling-partyorganized demonstration in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital.But he told supporters that thecountry is “prepared to break the teeth of the North American empire if necessary.”

seizure“constitutes ablatanttheft andanact of international piracy.”

“Under these circumstances, the true reasons forthe prolongedaggression against Venezuela have finally been revealed. …It has alwaysbeen about our naturalresources, ouroil, ourenergy, the resources that belong exclusively to the Venezuelanpeople,” the statement said.

TheU.S. official identified the seized tanker as the Skipper

The ship departed Venezuela around Dec. 2with about

2million barrels of heavy crude, roughly half of it belonging to aCuban state-run oil importer,according to documents from thestateownedcompany Petróleos de Venezuela S.A.,commonly known as PDVSA, that were provided on thecondition of anonymity because the person didnot have permission to share them.

The Skipper was previouslyknownasthe M/T Adisa,according to ship trackingdata. The Adisa was sanctionedbythe U.S. in 2022 over accusationsof belonging to asophisticated

Venezuela has theworld’s largest proven oil reserves andproduces about1 million barrels aday PDVSA is the backbone of the country’seconomy. Its reliance on intermediaries increased in 2020, when the first Trump administration expanded itsmaximumpressure campaign on Venezuela with sanctions that threaten to lock out of the U.S. economyany individual or company that does business withMaduro’sgovernment. Longtime allies Russia and Iran, both also sanctioned,havehelped Venezuela skirt restrictions.

The transactions usually involve acomplex network of shadowyintermediaries

Many are shell companies, registered in jurisdictions knownfor secrecy.The buyers deploy so-called ghost tankers that hide their location and hand off their valuable cargoes in the middle of the ocean before they reach their final destination.

Maduro didnot addressthe

Maduro hasinsisted the real purpose of the U.S. militaryoperationsistoforce him from office. Sen. Chris VanHollen, D-Md., amember of theSenateForeign Relations Committee, saidthe U.S. seizing the oil tanker cast doubt on the administration’sstated reasons for the military buildup and boat strikes.

“This shows thattheir whole cover story —that this is about interdicting drugs —isabig lie,” the senator said. “This is just one more piece of evidence that thisisreally aboutregimechange —byforce.”

Vincent P. O’Hara, anaval historian and author of “The Greatest Naval War EverFought,”calledthe seizure “very unusual” and “provocative.” “As far as the principle of seizing ships on the high sea, that’sanimportant international question,” he said. “Nations go to war over that principle.” The Coast Guard referred arequest forcomment aboutthe tankerseizure to the White House.

BY STEPHENGROVES and BEN FINLEY Associated Press

WASHINGTON The House voted to pass asweeping defense policy billWednesday that authorizes $900 billion in military programs, including apay raise for troops and an overhaul of how the Department of Defense buys weapons

The bill’spassage comes at atime of increasing friction between the Republicancontrolled Congress and President Donald Trump’s administration over the management of the military The annual National Defense Authorization Act typically gained bipartisan backing, and the White Househas signaled “strong support” for the must-pass legislation, saying it is in line with Trump’snational security agenda. Yettucked into the over-3,000-page billare several measures that push back against the Departmentof Defense, including ademand for more information on boat strikes in the Caribbean and supportfor allies in Europe, such as Ukraine.

Overall, the sweeping bill calls for a3.8% pay raisefor manymilitary members as well as housing and facility improvements on military bases. It also strikes acompromise between the political parties —cuttingclimate and diversity efforts in line with Trump’s agenda,while also boosting congressional oversight of the Pentagon andrepealing severalold war authorizations. Still, hard-line conservativessaid they were frustrated that the bill does not do more to cut U.S. commitments overseas.

The legislation nextheads to the Senate, where leaders are working to pass the bill before theholiday break

Several senators on both sides of theaisle havecriticized the billfor not doing enough to restrict military flights over Washington. They hadpushedfor reformsafter amidaircollisionthis yearbetweenan Army helicopter and ajetliner killed all 67 people aboard the two aircraft near Washington’s RonaldReagan Na-

“Weneed aready,capable and lethal fighting force because the threatstoour nation, especially those from China, are more complex and challenging than at any point in the last 40 years,” said Rep. Mike Rogers, the GOP chair of the House Armed Services Committee Lawmakers overseeing the military said the bill would change how the Pentagon buys weapons, with an emphasis on speedafter years of delaybythe defense industry. It’salso akey priority forDefense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Rep. AdamSmith, the top Democrat on thearmed services panel, called the bill “the most ambitious swing at acquisitionreformthat we’ve taken.”

tional Airport. TheNational Transportation Safety Board has also voiced opposition to that section of the bill.

Lawmakersincluded a provision that wouldcut Hegseth’stravel budget by aquarter until thePentagon provides Congress withuneditedvideoofthe strikes against allegeddrug boats near Venezuela. Lawmakers are asserting theiroversight role afteraSept. 2strike wherethe U.S. military fired on twosurvivorswho were holding on toaboat that had partially been destroyed.

The bill also demands that Hegsethallow Congress to review the orders for the strikes.

Trump’songoingsupport for Ukraine and other allies in Eastern Europe has been under doubt over the last year, but lawmakers included several positions meant to keep up U.S.support for countering Russianaggres-

sion in theregion.

The defense bill requires thePentagon to keep at least 76,000 troops and major equipment stationed in Europe unless NATO allies are consulted and there is adetermination that such awithdrawal is in U.S. interests.

Around80,000to100,000 U.S. troops are usually presentonEuropeansoil. It also authorizes $400 million for each of the next two years to manufacture weapons to be sent to Ukraine. Additionally,there is a provisiontokeep U.S.troops stationed in South Korea, setting the minimum requirement at 28,500.

The bill makes $1.6 billion in cuts to climatechangerelated spending, theHouse Armed Services Committee said. U.S.military assessments have long found that climate change is athreat to national security, with bases being pummeled by hurri-

canes or routinely flooded.

The bill also would save $40million by repealing diversity,equity and inclusion offices, programs and trainings, the committeesaid.

The position of chief diversity officer would be cut, for example.

Congressisputting an official end to the war in Iraq by repealing the authorization for the 2003 invasion. Supporters in both the House andSenatesay the repeal

is crucial to prevent future abuses and to reinforce that Iraq is nowa strategicpartner of the U.S. Democrats criticized House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, for stripping aprovision from the bill to expand coverage of in vitro fertilization for active duty personnel. An earlier versioncovered themedical procedure, known as IVF whichhelps people facing infertility have children.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ARIANA CUBILLOS

Nicolas Maduro speaks at arally marking the anniversaryof the Battle of Santa Ines, which took place during Venezuela’s 19th-centuryFederal War, in Caracas,Venezuela, Wednesday.

anywhere near the same increase in enforcement we’ve seen elsewhere,” said Jeff Asher, a New Orleansbased crime analyst.

Federal officials have repeatedly declined to provide a full tally of people detained in the operation that commenced on Dec. 3, and the total number remains murky But based on reports from a combination of U.S. officials, immigration attorneys, advocacy groups and media citations, Border Patrol agents appear to have detained just a few dozen people in the New Orleans metro area in the operation’s first week.

A law enforcement memo reviewed Sunday by The Associated Press said agents had arrested 38 people in two days. Federal agents in Chicago, in contrast, arrested about 1,900 people from early September through mid-October, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrest data from the University of California, Berkeley Deportation Data Project. In Charlotte, where agents operated in force for five days, DHS said 425 people were detained.

Immigration attorneys and local officials cite a bevy of factors in explaining why the New Orleans operation has emerged, at least so far as relatively quiet by the standards of the Trump administration’s interventions in Democratic-led cities.

New Orleans has a much smaller immigrant population than those cities, leading local officials to say the operation’s goal of 5,000 arrests may be all but impossible to achieve. Support for the operation from local police agencies, which have been at odds with federal agents at times in other cities, may also have limited clashes with federal agents. And sweeps in Charlotte and Chicago gave organizers in New Orleans time to study Border Patrol’s tactics.

“The community has done an excellent job of protecting themselves and each other,” said Jeremy Jong, a New Orleans-based immigration attorney

There are still surefire signs of the operation’s impact: Businesses say they’re struggling to hire workers, school attendance has declined and attendance at Spanish-language church services has dropped Some business leaders have called Republican state officials to complain.

Lt. Gov Billy Nungesser said Wednesday he has received “a dozen calls” from business owners facing labor shortages as staff with valid work permits stay home out of fear of being detained by immigration agents.

Border Patrol agents also appear to be expanding their footprint in south Louisiana while detentions have continued. Agents detained at least three more people early this week in the Baton Rouge area, according to eyewitnesses, two of whom were

pulled from a car after agents smashed their windows. And Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino, who is leading the operation, said Wednesday on the social media site X that his agents had made new arrests in Slidell and Covington.

A DHS spokesperson did not respond Wednesday to questions from The TimesPicayune | The Advocate. Bovino and other DHS officials have touted the operation’s progress.

“We are arresting criminal alien(s) across a large swath of southern Louisiana,” Bovino said Wednesday on X New Orleans has also not seen the kinds of volatile protests that became widespread in Chicago during the Border Patrol’s operation there. In those, protesters and journalists at times faced tear gas and rubber bullets.

News reports about those incidents prompted court officials in New Orleans’ U.S. District Court for the Eastern District to brace for a potential wave of cases against demonstrators accused of assaulting federal law agents charges that became common in other cities the administration has targeted. One Washington, D.C., man was charged with assaulting a federal agent for throwing a sandwich at him. (He was acquitted.)

Claude Kelly the chief federal public defender in New Orleans, said his office had prepared to potentially represent an influx of defendants facing charges stemming from clashes with federal agents.

“But to date, we have not seen those,” Kelly said Demonstrators have gathered since the start of the operation in downtown New Orleans and Kenner where

Border Patrol agents have been the most active.

An entourage of protesters in the Jefferson Parish city blew whistles and shouted warnings to residents last week as Bovino and his agents moved through residential areas. But there were no physical confrontations between agents and demonstrators.

Some residents have welcomed Bovino. At the close of the operation’s first day, Bovino and his men strolled unencumbered through the Central Business District. And on Friday, Bovino stopped to use the restroom and buy snacks at a gas station on Williams Boulevard in Kenner with a gaggle of journalists in tow He declared that the bag of pork cracklins he picked was “really good for the keto diet.” Customers snapped selfies with him. Outside, a man hoisted a sign thanking ICE. Bovino handed him a trinket in the shape of a coin and told him he “loved” him before getting back in his unmarked SUV and riding to his next location.

Some critics have said the New Orleans operation has led to more pageantry than huge numbers of arrests.

For those who have been detained, the effect is “obviously horrible,” said Jong, the immigration attorney “But (Bovino) creates this giant spectacle where he goes through the CBD in New Orleans, promising to lock everyone up,” Jong said. “What does he have to show for it? 19 people a day? With as much time, expense, planning, money and waste of taxpayer dollars they’ve expended, it doesn’t seem like he’s achieved his stated aims here.”

Staff writers Lara Nicholson and Sophie Kasakove contributed to this report.

STAFF PHOTO By BRETT DUKE

Customs and Border Patrol agents question occupants of a vehicle they pulled over in Kenner on Friday.

STAFF PHOTO By ENAN CHEDIAK

A small group of protesters gather on Poydras Street on Saturday, calling for an end to the Border Patrol activity in the area.

Gregory Bovino told reportersFriday while walking with maskedfederal agents downMartiniqueAvenue in Kenner: “I think thisis about as transparent asit gets right here.”

Attorneys with expertise in civil liberties said that Moreno’slegal authority is constrained. As acurrent City Council member who doesn’tcontrol the city’spolice force or other levers of power,Moreno’s options are largelylimited to thebully pulpit, they said.

Moreover,even if she were mayor,the supportof federalintervention by Gov Jeff Landry,aconservativeRepublican and aclose Trump ally,and Attorney General Liz Murrill, who has warned local officials againstinterfering with federal immigration enforcement efforts, closes options taken in other states.

“From acity perspective, there’sreally not much thatshe can do,” said William Snowden, alaw professor at Loyola University.“When you’re trying to comparecity laws or state laws against federal laws, the federal law is going to win 10 times out of 10.” Moreno is further challenged by the political geography around her.Though she is set to lead the Democratic stronghold of NewOrleans, where many residents are troubled by the immigrationsweeps, her counterparts in Jefferson Parish —home to the state’slargest Hispanicpopulation and the focus of recent sweeps —have stayed largely silent on the issueor voiced support for it Catahoula Crunch,the latestofseveralBorder Patrol operations in U.S. cities, beganinthe New Orleans area on Dec. 3withagents fanning out to work sites, residences and home improvement store parking lots in what the Department of Homeland Security said was an effort to detain and deport undocumentedimmigrants with violent criminal histories.

“From

of federalauthority under the U.S. Constitution poses a major obstacletoany legal challengetothe operations from local officials. And, any legal case against federal agentsoverdue process violations wouldhave to be brought by theimpacted person or group, rather than on their behalf by city government City officials hadnot filed any lawsuits alleging illegal actionsbythe Border Patrol as of Tuesday afternoon

perspective, there’s really not much that

WILLIAM SNOWDEN, lawprofessor at Loyola University

Theobstacles facingMoreno or other public officials should theychallenge im mi gr a tio n enforcement couldbegreater than in some other progressive cities, where local officials have had the support of Dem ocrat ic state governments.

In Chicago, where Mayor Brandon Johnson andIllinois Gov.JB Pritzker have been aligned in their opposition to federal immigrationsweeps, Johnson signed an order creating “ICE-free zones,” limiting federal access to city properties, such as parking lots and garages, for immigration enforcementactivities. On Tuesday,Pritzker,a Democrat,approvedastatewide measure that restricts immigrationenforcement outside state courthouses and that makes it easier for residents to sue immigration agents.

cago’sthat would prohibit federal immigration agents from cityproperty made little progress, with Mayor Vi Lyles notingthatCharlotte officials’ influencewas limited by the state’sRepublican-controlled General Assembly,WFAEreported.

Landry,through aspokesperson, did not respond to arequest forcomment on Moreno’s demands. He is publicly supporting theBorder Patrol operations, saying he expectsthem to run until violent criminals are off the streets. In aletter issued on Friday,Murrill took adifferent tack, suggesting that NewOrleans police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick could be in violation of statelaw if her departmentfailed to cooperate with federal agents.

Murrillsaidina text messageFriday that it was not meantasathreat,and that she was advising Kirkpatrick “thatNOPDneeds to cooperateand its policy conflicts withstate law.Ihave no reasontobelieve she won’tcomply with state law.”

Kirkpatrick didnot respond to arequest for comment.

ShaneGuidry,aNew Orleans business owner who is one of Landry’sconfidants andhis point personfor New Orleans issues, suggested Moreno’sdemands were largely aimed at satisfying progressive supporters who oppose the Border Patrol enforcement activities.

and Kenner— have signed onto 287(g) agreements allowing local officers to carry out federal immigration enforcement.

Kenner Police Chief Keith Conley has also been outspoken in support of afederal immigration crackdown both before and during the BorderPatrol’sdeployment

Theparish’stop leader, President Cynthia Lee Sheng, aRepublican, has declined to comment on the issue anddeferred to local law enforcement, as hasParish Council chair Scott Walker In Kenner, MayorMichael Glaser has done thesame.

Jennifer VanVrancken, an at-large parish council memberand aRepublican, said she is “100% supportive of the goal” but would like to see changes made, like identifiable vehiclesand agents, and improved screenings of legal status.

Hans Liljeberg, aRepublican who represents Metairie, said that “outside of law enforcement, local officials wading intothe fray is pandering.”

“Wedon’timpact national policies,”headded.

Their supportfor the sweeps has won praise from Bovino, who wrote on social media last week thatthe Kenner Police Department is “all aboutasafe communityand thetaxpayer.”

“Welove them already,” he said.

At the news conference on Friday,Moreno andother officials didn’tsay what optionsthey might pursue if agents declined to meet their demands. In response to aquestion aboutwhat options local officials have, U.S. Rep. Troy Carter,DNew Orleans, said thathe would request a field hearingtodemand answers from federal agents.

“Wehave never seeninour history such achallenge,but we won’tquit,” saidCarter According to Snowden, even if federal agents’ sweeps were in violationof local and federal laws—like constitutional due process rights and astate law prohibiting mask-wearing in public —the “supremacy”

Localofficials in LosAngeles County are considering a law barringimmigration officials from wearing masks while conductingraids there, teeingupalikely legal challenge after theU.S. Department of Justice sued the state of California over a similarbillapproved by the California Legislature earlier this year.

In Charlotte, NorthCarolina, on the other hand, a similarproposal to Chi-

“If every citywould stop the rhetoric and actually want to cooperate, they may have moreinformation than what they’re being given,” said Guidry.“At the end of theday,she just got elected. She has to say something. She said what she needed to for her voter base.”

Moreno did not respond to arequest forcomment on Guidry’sstatement.

Of course, even if there is more resistance to Border Patroloperations in New Orleans, nearby areas are offeringsupport. In JeffersonParish, where mostof the BorderPatrol’srecent activityhas been focused, two municipalities —Gretna

StaffwriterJohnSimerman contributedtothisreport

STAFF PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER

BRIEFS FROM WIRE REPORTS

Stocks rise after the Fedcuts rates

NEW YORK The U.S. stock market rose to theedgeofits record on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve cut its main interest rate to bolster the job market, and hopes strengthened formore cuts to come in 2026.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.7% and finished just shy of its all-time high, which was set in October.The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 497 points, or 1%,and the Nasdaq composite rose0.3% Wall Streetloves lowerinterest ratesbecause they can boost the economy and send prices for investments higher, even if they potentially make inflation worse.

Traders are now bettingon a 71%chance that the Fedwill cut the federal funds rate at least twice next year

That’supfrom the 64% chance seen shortly before the Fed announced its decision, according to data from CME Group. The Fed also announced a program where it will buy shorter-term Treasurys to help keep the financial system running smoothly

It’snot alarge-scale programlike past efforts by the Fed to buy bonds to keep interest rates low and stimulate theeconomy,but it helps keep shorter-termrates lowerthan they otherwise would be

On Wall Street, GE Vernova flew 15.6% higher after the energy company raised its forecast for revenue by 2028, doubled its dividend and increasedits program to buy back its own stock.

Palantir Technologiesadded 3.3% after saying theU.S. Navywill use its artificial-intelligence platform as part of a$448 million program.

On thelosingend of Wall Street was GameStop, which fell4.3% after reporting weaker revenuefor the latestquarterthananalystsexpected The video-game retailer’s profit topped forecasts, though. Alltold,the S&P500 rose 46.17 points to 6,886.68. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped497.46 to 48,057.75, and the Nasdaq composite gained 77.67 to 23,654.16. In stock markets abroad, indexesweremixed amid mostly modest movements across Europe and Asia.

Cracker Barrellowers revenue forecast

Cracker Barrel posted lowerthan-expected sales in its fiscal first quarter and trimmed its revenue forecast for the year as it continued to feel the fallout from abotched plan to revamp its logo and restaurants. The Lebanon, Tennesseebased restaurantchainsaid Tuesday its revenue fell 5.7% to $797.2 million in thethree months ending Oct. 31.That was lower than the $800 millionWall Street anticipated, according to analysts polled by FactSet. Cracker Barrelsaid it now expects totalrevenueof$3.2 billion to $3.3 billion in its 2026 fiscal year.That’sdown from $3.35 billion to $3.45 billion previously Cracker Barrel announced in August that it was simplifying thechain’slogoaspart of alarger plan to modernize the chain’s dark, antique-filled restaurants. But the move had disastrous consequences. Fans didn’tlike that thenew logo didn’tinclude Cracker Barrel’slongtime mascot, an overall-clad man leaning on a barrel, or the words “Old Country Store.” They also rebelled against the store redesigns. Cracker Barrelbacktracked aweek later,saying it would keepthe logo In September, the company also suspended its planstoremodel stores. The chain operates around 650 restaurantsnationwide, with many in Texas, Florida and Tennessee.

BUSINESS

NOLA.COM/BIZ

FederalReserve cuts keyrate

Butitsignals higher barfor future reductions

BY CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP economics writer

WASHINGTON The Federal Reserve reduced its key interest rate by aquarter-point for the third time in arow Wednesday but signaled that it may leaveratesunchanged in thecoming months, amovethat could attract ire from President Donald Trump, who has demanded steepreductionstoborrowing costs.

In astatement released after a two-day meeting, the Fed’srate-setting committee suggestedfurther

rate cuts would depend on signs that the economy is faltering. And in aset of quarterly economic projections,Fed officials signaledthey expect to lower rates just once next year Wednesday’scut reducedthe rate to about 3.6%, thelowest it hasbeen in nearlythreeyears. Lower rates from theFed can bring down borrowingcostsfor mortgages,auto loans,and credit cards over time, though market forces can also affect those rates

ThreeFed officialsdissented from the move, the most dissents in sixyears and asign of deep divisions on acommittee that traditionally worksbyconsensus. Two officialsvoted to keep the Fed’s rate unchanged, while StephenMiran, whom Trump appointed in Septem-

ber,voted for ahalf-point cut. December’s meeting could usher in amore contentious period for the Fed. Officials aresplit between those whosupport reducingrates to bolsterhiring and those who’d prefer to keep rates unchanged because inflation remains above the central bank’s 2% target. Unless inflation shows clear signs of coming fully undercontrol,orunemployment worsens, those divisions will likely remain.

At anews conference following the announcement of the rate cut, Powell signaled thatthe Fed’skey rate was closetoalevel that neither restricts or stimulates theeconomy

As aresult, officials can now take a

step back and evaluate where the economy heads next. Powelldid,however,rule out an increase in rates. And Trump could name anew Fed chair as soon as later this month to replace Powell when his term ends in May.Trump’snew chair is likely to push for sharper rate cuts than many officials maysupport.

Astark sign of the Fed’sdivisions was the wide range of cuts that the 19 members of the Fed’sratesetting committee penciledinfor 2026. Seven projected no cuts next year,while eight forecast that the central bank would implement two or morereductions. Four supported just one. Only 12 out of 19 members vote on rate decisions.

Offshore drilling bids double in valueinfirstround of leasesales

BY MARKBALLARD Staff writer

WASHINGTON —Winningbids for offshore oil and natural gas rightsWednesday were twice as high asthe average price of the last lease sale —setting up Louisianatoreceive hundreds ofmillions of dollars forcoastal restoration andhurricane protection projects

Thewinning bidsgenerated $279.4 million at an averageof$1.5 million each, according to theU.S. Department of the Interior’sBureauofOcean Energy Management, which oversaw the sale for the rightstoexploreand exploit oil and gas reserves under theGulf’s sea floor.Thatcompares with an $842,817 average in March 2023, the last time rights were leased in the Gulf.

Thirty companies submitted 219 bids for tracts off the coasts from Texas to Alabama.

But the lion’sshare of bids were clustered 120 to 140 miles south of MorganCityand Houma in waters thatare about 265 feet deep.

Chevron USAInc.and BP Exploration made themost bids overall, mostlyinthis area. Both companies already have existing leases in the region.

“It’sagreat day forAmerican energy independence,” HouseMajority Leader Steve

BY MEG JAMES Los Angeles Times (TNS)

Congressional Democrats are sounding alarms over the deep involvementofSaudi Arabian and other Middle Eastern royal families in Paramount’sproposed bid forWarner Bros. Discovery Warner Bros. Discovery owns CNN, HBOand thehistoric WarnerBros. film and television studiosinBurbank.

Latelast week, the Larry Ellison-controlled Paramount came up short in the bidding for Warner Bros., in part, over the Warner board’sconcernsabout Paramount’sdeal financing. On Monday,Paramountlaunched ahostile

Scalise,R-Jefferson, saidWednesday. “We saw astrong interest in today’slease sale, andI’m proud that millionsofdollarsfrom this sale will go directly to Louisiana’scoastal restoration andhurricane protection efforts.”

Louisiana receivedabout $156 millionin 2024 from the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006. The state should receive morerevenues this year under GoMESA, in which the federal government shares aportion of its revenues from energy production with states bordering the federal waters. Scalise recently got thecap increased for theparticipating states.

“The new law finally increases the amount of revenue sharing dollars Louisiana is eligible to receive from offshore lease sales, like the oneheld today,that will result in millions in newfunding forour state’svital coastal restoration efforts,” said KristiTrail, executive director of the PontchartrainConservancy,based in New Orleans.

The Governor’sOffice reports that 15% of thestate’stotal employment —306,750 jobs —issupportedbythe energysector.That work generates about $25.5 billion in annual statewide earnings.

“These leasesales put Louisiana to work andputs ourstate at the forefrontoffurtheringAmerica’senergy dominance,” saidTommy Faucheux, president of the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil &Gas Association. “We are creating jobs, strengthening energy security,and delivering vital fundingtore-

takeover of Warner Bros., appealingdirectly to Warnershareholders— askingthemtosell their Warner stock to Paramount for $30 ashare. Paramount’s gambit hasthrown the auction,and Warner board’s selectionofNetflix’s$72 billion deal, into doubt. Paramount has long insisted that it represents the bestpartner for Warner Bros., in part,because of theEllison family’scozy relationswith President Trump. Thecompanyhas trumpeted itsabilitytogain the blessing of theTrumpadministration.

Paramount’s bid is heavily backed by Saudi Arabia, AbuDhabi and Qatar’ssovereign wealth funds. Thethreeroyal families

store Louisiana’scoastline.”

Wednesday’sBig Beautiful Gulf 1lease sale wasthe first of 30 scheduled to take place over the next decade.

Erik Milito, president of National Ocean Industries Association,a Washington-based trade group foroilfieldservices industry, said energy producersneed aregularcadence of lease sales to plan properly

“Knowing that BigBeautiful Gulf 2is coming in March 2026 allows companiesto plan, study and refine their bids,” Milito said. “Lease sales are foundational to U.S. energy production.”

Annual lease sales slowed under the Biden administration as part of an effort to lower carbon emissions that contribute to global warming.

Conservationists argue that increasedoil andgas activityisbad forthe environment both on and offshore.

“The Gulf is alreadyoverwhelmedwith thousands of oil rigs and pipelines, and oil companies are doing aterrible job of cleaning up after themselves,” said Rachel Mathews, asenior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity,anadvocacy nonprofit based in Washington.

“There’snothing remotely beautiful about selling off more of our public waters to the fossil fuel industry and putting Gulf wildlife at an even higher risk of dying in oil spills.”

Email Mark Ballardatmballard@ theadvocate.com.

have agreed to contribute$24 billion —twice the amount the Larry Ellisonfamily hasagreed to provide in financing for Paramount’s proposed $78 billiontakeover of Warner Bros. Discovery,according to regulatory filings. Trump son-in-lawJared Kushner’sprivate equity firm, Affinity Partners, would also have an ownership stake. On Wednesday,U.S. Reps. Sam Liccardo, D-Calif.,and Ayanna Pressley,D-Mass., called on WarnerBros.’board to recognize the consequences of selling the legendary company,which includes news organization CNN, to foreign governments. “This transaction raises national

security concernsbecause it could transfer substantial influence over one of the largest American mediacompanies to foreign-backed financiers,” Liccardo and Pressley wrote. Transactions “foreigninvestors with governance rights, access to non-public data,orindirect influence over content distribution creates vulnerabilities that foreign governments could exploit,” the lawmakers wrote. Paramount, in its regulatory filings, said the threeMiddle Eastern families had agreed to give up voting rights and arole in the company’sdecision-making —despite contributing more than half the equity needed forthe deal.

Powell

STAFFFILE PHOTOBy

SOPHIA GERMER

HUD pulls homelessness funding ahead of court case

BY STEPHEN MARCANTEL and SOPHIE KASAKOVE Staff writers

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has temporarily paused plans to shift federal funding for homelessness programs, after two lawsuits challenged that change and after advocates warned it would force thousands of people back out on the streets.

HUD withdrew its notice of federal funding for homelessness programs, which included the policy change, on 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 it “intends to exercise this discretion and make changes to previously issued CoC NOFO (policies) to account for new priorities.”

CONTRACT

Continued from page 1A

denies the allegations.

Landry also alleged the companies violated the terms of their contracts with the state by not providing documents the state requested, which UnitedHealth Group also denies The lawsuit has been mired for years in procedural fights.

It’s that dispute that spurred Murrill on Dec. 2 to write a letter to the Department of Health urging it not to renew UnitedHealthcare’s Medicaid contract.

“This is very simple I expect a company that makes millions of dollars off the state to comply with our laws to remain eligible for that contract,” Murrill said in a Tuesday statement.

The lawsuit and axed contract are only two ways Landry and Murrill are fighting over drug benefits Landry recently pushed for legislation restricting PBM ownership of pharmacies, and Murrill is prosecuting multiple other lawsuits related to that issue.

Landry’s 2022 lawsuit accuses United Healthcare and OptumRx, one of the largest PBMs in the country, of exploiting the complex prescription drug supply chain to inflate prices and overcharge Louisiana’s Medicaid program for those drugs.

“Defendants not only know that their business models generate overpayments, they count on the complexity of the system to get away with it,” Landry argued in the lawsuit. “Defendants have caused the State to grossly overpay for Medicaid services in Louisiana by measures of billions of dollars.”

UnitedHealthcare and OptumRx said in response that they “specifically deny the existence of, or their participation in, any scheme, deceptive or unfair practice, or any other wrongdoing.”

Landry, in his initial court filing, said the prices paid or charged for drugs as they

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 HUD’s funding for homeless residents can be used for permanent housing, down from roughly 90%. The state’s share of those grants totaled $93 million last year

When the policy shift was announced, New Orleans homeless services advocacy groups said the changes would force the city to stop covering rent payments for some 2,600 formerly homeless New Orleans and Jefferson Parish residents.

The Acadiana Regional Coalition on Homelessness also 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 other programs.

On Wednesday, Nathaniel Fields, the director of Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s Office of Homeless Ser-

move through the supply chain are largely a secret.

That secrecy, he argued, allows PBMs to “unlawfully” extract profits and increase “the costs for the party that ends up paying the final bill in this case the Medicaid Program.”

He argued that, under the state’s Medicaid contract with UnitedHealthcare, the Health Department and the Attorney General’s Office have the right to audit or inspect records related to it.

Landry’s office had begun a year earlier reviewing the state’s Medicaid contracts with UnitedHealthcare and OptumRx for potential fraud, waste and abuse.

He alleged that, months later, the companies had only provided some of the data requested, and the state lacked the necessary information to determine if drug costs were being inflated. He argued that represented a failure to abide by the terms of the agreement and a breach of contract.

UnitedHealthcare, in a statement Tuesday, said it has “been consistently responsive to the State’s request for data, records and documentation.”

Murrill, who served as the state’s solicitor general during Landry’s tenure as AG, took over the case when she became attorney general and Landry became governor in 2024.

The case is ongoing, but it’s tied up in procedural battles. On Nov 12, the Louisiana Supreme Court issued a ruling telling the state appeals court it was required to revisit an earlier decision in the case regarding attorney fees, which United has asked the high court to rehear That request is currently pending.

In a separate issue, the health companies argued that the Louisiana Constitution forbids the state from hiring a private firm on a contingency-fee basis unless it has authorization from the Legislature. They argued the state’s 2023 contract with the private firm Salim-Beasley was invalid

vices, said that advocates were hopeful that the withdrawal of the funding notice would at least give them more time to put together their application for funding. But without knowing how HUD intends to revise the notice or what the new timeline for applying for funding would be, advocates remain in limbo, he said. The back-and-forth from HUD makes “it hard for us to focus on the actual work,” said Fields. Also included in the rescinded funding notice were a litany of ways an agency could be disqualified from receiving federal funding, including if they receive public complaints, if they show racial preference and if they use language that defines sex beyond the binary “I’m very frustrated about this process,” said ARCH Executive Director Elsa Dimitriadis. “Administrations are free to change their minds, have a philosophical shift, but the truncated time period, the chaos behind this process, has been really hurtful to our sys-

under that law

The district court initially threw out the health companies’ claim, but the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal last month overruled that decision, saying that the claim is legitimate and returned the issue to the lower court.

That decision came the day after legislators approved renewing UnitedHealthcare’s Medicaid contract — and 10 days before Murrill sent a letter telling the Health Department not to move forward.

Both Murrill and Landry this year have picked other public fights with PBMs.

In the final days of the legislative session in June, Landry pushed for a ban on vertical integration of pharmacy benefit managers, which would have made it illegal for pharmacy benefit managers to own pharmacies in Louisiana.

Landry drummed up support for the vertical integration ban from dozens of state lawmakers, who argued health care giants and their PBMs were taking advantage of patients and pushing smaller, independent pharmacies out of the market.

The governor’s move elicited a quick and aggressive lobbying campaign against the proposal by CVS, which said its more than 100 Louisiana pharmacies would have been forced to close.

The company initiated a text message campaign to customers, calling on them to contact their elected officials to oppose PBM vertical integration ban.

Murrill, in response, began an investigation into CVS over the text campaign.

The vertical integration measure failed to advance on the last day of the legislative session.

But two weeks later, Murrill and Landry announced Louisiana was bringing three lawsuits against CVS.

The Louisiana officials alleged CVS improperly used customer data for political lobbying, abused its market power to increase drug costs and caused economic harm to independent pharmacies.

tem of care.”

Dimitriadis isn’t expecting many substantive changes to the funding notice. She hopes Congress will signal to the administration that it wants 2024 funding reinstated.

In November, 19 attorneys general and two governors sued the Trump administration over its policy to cut funding for permanent housing.

The National Alliance to End Homelessness filed a lawsuit for injunctive relief on Dec. 1, alleging that the Notice of Funding Opportunity violated the Administrative Procedure Act and the Constitution due to the timing requirement and the imposition of retroactive conditions on federal funds, according to Public Rights Project.

The last-minute withdrawal is expected to extend funding gaps for agencies that manage homeless services. Those agencies expected to see their funds run dry in January after an already delayed process caused by the federal government shutdown. The process is likely to drag on further if the re-

vised notice re-triggers the 60-day application process, Dimitriadis said.

“Any delay is difficult for us to manage because the later we get in the year for that process to happen, the more delay in funding will occur Normally, there is a smooth system there where we don’t have lapses in funding,” Dimitriadis said. In the meantime, Dimitriadis’ organization 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.

Martha Kegel, director of UNITY of Greater New Orleans, the umbrella services organization that manages the funding award for New Orleans and Jefferson parishes, said that the organization was continuing to work on the funding application according to the withdrawn funding notice. “We don’t know how long the recession will stand,” Kegel said of HUD’s withdrawal.

BY SETH BORENSTEIN AP science writer

Warm water and air andunusual weather conditions tracing back as far as tropical cyclone flooding in Indonesia helpedsupercharge stubborn atmospheric rivers that have drenched Washington state with almost 5trillion gallonsof rain in the past seven days, threatening record flood levels, meteorologists said.

The worst and most persistent of the heavy rains will linger to douse the same locationthrough late Thursday and early Friday morning before the river of moisture should lessen andmove around abit. But the West Coast likely won’tsee an end to the“firehose” of moisture until the week of

Christmas, said Matt Jeglum, acting sciencechief forthe National Weather Service’swestern region. Atmospheric rivers are long, narrow bands of water vapor that form over an ocean and flow through thesky,transporting moisturefrom the tropics to northernlatitudes.The PacificNorthwest gets acouple dozen each year, more thanother parts of theWest Coast, meteorologists said. But they’renot usuallythis big. Wednesday’sdownpourscoupled with Monday’srains have led to forecasts of record-setting flooding, particularlyonthe Skagit River,which flows through northern Washington and empties into the PugetSound,said Washingtonstate climatologistGuillaume Mauger

“The atmospheric rivers, the ARs, are continually reloading, saidformer National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrationchief scientist RyanMaue, nowa private meteorologist.

“The amount of rainfall in the three-week period couldbe, you know,20to30inches.That’s quite extreme.”

Maue added: “I wouldn’twant to live there. Not right now.”

Using rain gauge observations, Maue estimated almost 5trillion gallons —more than enough to fill Oregon’sCrater Lake or more than 18,000 Empire State Buildings fell in thearea over the past week. Oneweather station at Mount Rainier measured 21 inchesofrain since Thursday,Jeglum said.

“Those numbers are big, but are

not unheard of,” Mauger said.

Themoistureoriginated afew hundred miles north of Hawaii, wherethe Pacificisacouple degrees warmer than normal. That fuelsthe atmospheric river even more and then warmer airadds to that, said meteorologistJeff Masters, co-founder of Weather Underground and now at Yale Climate Connections. Because it’s so warm, alot more of thatmoisture is fallingasrainthan snow,hesaid.

Thesestorms “have been supercharged by the chain of events that began two weeks ago” muchfarther west than Hawaii, Maue said.

He pointed to an area near Indonesia that saw deadly flooding from tropical cyclones. That coincided with anatural season weather pattern that moves around ev-

ery 30 days or so —the Madden Julian Oscillation —which Maue saidwas thestrongest it hasbeen this timeofyear in decades. It sent outwaves that helped carry an “unbroken lineofmoisture” and energy from the Indonesia event toward the Americas. Ahigh-pressure ridge offthe California coast pushed theatmosphericriversystem north, further funneled by unusual warmth over Russia and cold over Alaska. And Washington became the bullseye.

Aquick analysisbyClimate Central lookingatthe heavyrainfound that ocean temperatures under the atmospheric rivers are10times more likely to be warmer than normal because of human-caused climate change.

N.O. council re-ups Entergy inquiry

Number of outages still an issue, committee says

BY BLAKE PATERSON Staff writer

Citing persistent outages, a New Orleans City Council committee on Wednesday voted to revive a dormant investigation into Entergy New Orleans’ management of its power lines, poles and other equipment.

The resolution approved Wednesday by the council’s Utilities Committee points to an uptick in outages caused by equipment failures and vegetation over the last two years and an “apparent lack of adequate asset management and maintenance.” It also notes that outages have disproportionately affected certain neigh-

borhoods, though it doesn’t identify which ones. The resolution, which still needs approval from the full council, would require Entergy to hire a consultant to provide an updated report on the steps the utility has taken to improve reliability It directs Entergy to pay for the report with funding it owes as part of a

settlement agreement with the city over poor reliability performance.

At Wednesday’s meeting, Entergy officials provided a presentation on the steps they plan to take in 2026 to improve reliability, including equipment upgrades and increased trimming of vegetation.

“Our goal is simple, fewer outages shorter outages and a better experience for every customer we serve,” Shelton Hudson, Entergy’s vice president of reliability told the council. Later a spokesperson said the resolution “requires a collaborative effort” between Entergy and the council’s consultants and other researchers, and that Entergy looks forward to working with those groups to beef up reliability New Orleans is the only city in the country to regulate a private utility when there is already a state

THE COOL LIGHT OF DAY

Walkers, runners and canines move beneath a canopy of live oaks as soft morning sunlight breaks through the cold-air mist in Audubon Park in New Orleans on Wednesday. Early-morning temperatures dipped into the 40s, but locals bundled up and headed out for a brisk start to the day

Office calls for reforms to complaint system

BY MISSY WILKINSON Staff writer

baseless allegations delayed promotions to crucial positions, leaving gaps in leadership during critical events, including a terrorist attack, the Super Bowl and Carnival season,” Inspector General Ed Michel’s office said in a letter Wednesday A key source for the allegations the IG’s Office found to be baseless was Mayor LaToya Cantrell, who declined to participate in the probe, according to the letter. NOPD Superintendent Anne

JEFFERSON PARISH

Protesters ask council to create ICE-free zones

Group seeks transparency from enforcement agencies

BY LARA NICHOLSON Staff writer

New Orleans-area faith, business and civic leaders on Wednesday asked the Jefferson Parish Council to protest Border Patrol’s presence in the area, the first public confrontation parish leaders have had with the issue after largely staying mum since arrests began last week

Roughly two dozen people urged members to demand that Border Patrol agents remove their masks and be more transparent about their operations.

People hold signs to speak out against collaboration with federal immigration agencies during the Jefferson Parish Council meeting in Gretna on Wednesday.

BY BEN MYERS Staff writer

New Orleans attorney Charles Schully and activist Toni Jones urged the council to create “ICE-free zones” on parish-owned properties and to ask the Gretna and Kenner police departments back out of their 287(g) agreements, which allow local officers to help carry out U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations

“Hispanic families and entrepreneurs have rooted themselves here, strengthened industries and enriched neighborhoods,” Mayra Pineda, CEO of the Metairie-based Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Louisiana, told the council. “It is only just that they feel safe, valued and protected in the place they call home.”

on the government’s behalf. Though council members didn’t respond during the meeting, at-large member Jennifer Van Vrancken said afterward that she plans to ask federal agents for more transparency and better screenings of legal status — two changes she has called for before.

“I thought it was very

ä See PROTESTERS, page 2B

STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

Birdcage calls attention to ICE raids

Artist constructs sculpture outside of City Hall

BY DOUG MacCASH Staff writer

A 9-foot-tall birdcage stood on the sidewalk near the Perdido Street entrance to City Hall on Wednesday morning. The cage, made of welded iron rods, was an artwork meant to provoke conversation about the immigration raids taking place in the region.

Visitors were invited to open the hinged door and enter the sculpture titled “Self-Imposed Exile,” to contemplate the concepts of capture and incarceration. Those willing to experience the interior of the cage were given a small glass bird sculpture as a memento.

A couple steps inside the metal birdcage that Mitchell Gaudet built and placed at City Hall in New Orleans on Wednesday.

The interactive sculpture was created by New Orleans-born artist Mitchell Gaudet, who may be best known for a decade-long project that has artistically tallied the annual number of murders in New Orleans Each January, Gaudet creates a stout iron frame upon which he

Founder of Mystic Kings parade accused of theft

Arrest comes days after permit issued for procession

BY DOUG MacCASH Staff writer

On Friday, Cecil Roebuck received a permit from the New Orleans Police Department that would allow him to debut a new Carnival-style parade on Jan 5. But on Wednesday morning, NOPD officers arrived at his MidCity float den to arrest him for an alleged theft reported in 2022. Roebuck first announced plans for the Mystic Kings parade in April. The proposed parade was meant to celebrate the biblical kings who traveled to Bethlehem at the birth of the baby Jesus. The threefloat procession would have begun the traditional Carnival parading season a day early Soon after the announcement of the new parade, controversy arose when City Council President JP Morrell publicly called the parade “a complete and total scam,” based on his knowledge of Roebuck’s previous business practices. Nonetheless, police granted Roebuck a parade permit, with the proviso that he pay the necessary fees — which total $33,000 — a week before the parade at the latest.

But when news of the permit appeared in The Times-Picayune, artist Skye Erie said her “blood boiled.” Erie claims that in 2022, Roebuck picked up two float sculptures from her Bywater studio, but failed to pay the agreed price of roughly $2,500, a felony amount in Louisiana.

According to Erie, Roebuck “said he would write a check, but he drove off” without paying anything. The sculptures were intended for the Krewe of Athena parade in Mobile.

Erie filed a complaint with the NOPD, and a warrant was issued for Roebuck’s arrest. But he remained free until Wednesday Roebuck could not be reached for comment Monday Dom Graves, another float sculptor who claims to have been cheated by Roebuck, said he knew there was an outstanding warrant for Roebuck’s arrest. When he read the permit story, Graves said he called Roebuck claiming to be interested in becoming a rider When Roebuck shared the address of his den, Graves said he called the police to report Roebuck’s whereabouts.

A representative of the NOPD Public Affairs Division confirmed on Wednesday morning that “Roebuck was arrested on an active warrant for one charge of theft in connection with an incident reported on July 25, 2022.” The arrest took place in the 500 block of David Street Graves said he drove to the den, waited for an officer to arrive and videoed Roebuck’s arrest

displays arrays of glinting castglass shapes, such as white flowers, hearts, fallen leaves and bullseyes. The number of glass ornaments indicates the number of deaths that year The attractive display lures passersby into conversations about New Orleans’ perennial plague of violence.

Gaudet, an Army veteran and Tulane University graduate who now lives in rural Mississippi, said he’s “disgusted” by the federal government’s current campaign to round up undocumented immigrants, which he described as “terrifying.”

Some visitors came to City Hall specifically to see the work, which Gaudet had previewed on social media. Two fellow artists showed up to read poetry and perform in the cage. And at least one passerby misunderstood the symbolism of the piece altogether

In a prepared statement, Gaudet said he has an acute empathy for the detained, because “my family was forcefully deported from Nova Scotia during the expulsion of the Acadians in 1767 and eventually immigrated to Louisiana.” He hopes his artwork provokes empathy in others.

On Wednesday, most pedestrians glanced at the unusual addition to the scenery but simply walked by

Wearing a Vietnam War veteran’s baseball cap and carrying a cane, 83-year-old Larry Morgan paused for a moment before declaring, “That’s where the City Council and mayor belong for stealing our money.”

“Lock ‘em up,” Morgan said.

In a telephone conversation on Wednesday afternoon, Gaudet said that there’d been a stream of visitors through the day Most of those interacting with “SelfImposed Exile,” seemed to be in sympathy with the immigrants, he said, but not all.

“There’s a lot of anger out there,” he said, reflecting on the experience.

Email Doug MacCash at dmaccash@theadvocate.com.

Fringe Fest fundraiser set for Friday

BY DOUG MacCASH Staff writer

The New Orleans Fringe Fest was part of the great flowering of the arts that sprang up unexpectedly in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The festival of oneact plays, puppetry, dance, performance art and other experimental theater debuted in 2006 and continued in one form or another for 15 years.

PROTESTERS

Continued from page 1B

powerful to see members of our community, especially ones I know I’ve worked closely with asking for assistance,” she said. “I do think it’s important for us, though we’re different structurally from New Orleans, to step up.”

The scene was peaceful compared with the rancor that erupted at last week’s New Orleans City Council meeting, in which roughly 30 people were ejected by police for causing an uproar It was one of two public calls for action on the issue in Jefferson on Wednesday, as an evening protest outside of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office headquarters drew a smattering of people.

Council Chair Scott Walker said before Wednesday’s meeting that the council would not tolerate disruptions. At the end, he commended attendees for being respectful. One person was briefly escorted out of the chamber for holding a sign that obstructed the view of others but was later allowed back in to speak.

Jefferson Parish, a Republican stronghold, has appeared to be the epicenter of Border Patrol’s operations over the last week, with much of that focus being on Kenner where roughly 30% of residents identify as Hispanic.

Local officials are highly limited in what action they can take against Border Patrol, especially as Gov Jeff Landry encourages Presi-

S&WB

Continued from page 1B

less cost It also said the composition of the committee scoring the proposals violated the S&WB bid solicitation because it lacked a public health expert.

The city’s health director, Dr Jennifer Avegno, was present for an initial scoring round but dropped out of later rounds to whittle down the finalists because of scheduling conflicts.

“The last-minute loss of the committee’s designated expert on health policy and the subsequent failure to appoint a replacement marks a potentially unlawful deviation from the board’s own RFP instructions,” Hayman wrote in his decision on Tuesday, adding that the board’s selection would jeopardize an $86 million federal grant for the project.

It is not clear when a new solicitation will be released, or when the work will begin. Federal regulations require replacement of all lead and galvanized pipes by 2037.

Hayman’s decision also contradicts the S&WB’s legal advisers, who agreed with the decision to to keep CDM Smith.

Now, a group of bohemian thespians hopes to rekindle the festival.

“Our goal,” said co-producer Grace Batz, “is to connect the theater community working together to find a broader audience.”

New Orleans performers “need a platform to perform their freakier pieces,” Batz said with a laugh. Batz said that if all goes as hoped, the resurrected Fringe Fest could take place in various

downtown showplaces in November 2026. But in the meantime, a Mini Fringe Fundraiser will be presented from 6 p.m. to 9:15 p.m. Friday at the New Marigny Theatre, 2301 Marais St., with early acts for all ages and adults-only performances to follow Suggested admission is $25 or “pay what you can,” Batz said. For information, email neworleansfringefest@gmail.com.

dent Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and Attorney General Liz Murrill threatens to enforce a state law prohibiting interference with ICE operations. New Orleans Mayor-elect Helena Moreno last week also asked agents to remove masks and be more transparent, but Bovino dismissed the request.

Van Vrancken pledged Wednesday to meet with Kenner Police Chief Keith Conley, Gretna Police Chief Brett Lawson and Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joe Lopinto to understand their perspectives. She also said she’s been working with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce to get information to distribute to residents, which Pineda affirmed. Also asking for action Wednesday were Dr Jolie LeBlanc, a fam-

“CDM Smith is profoundly disappointed by the decision to reject the findings of the independent hearing examiner,” the firm’s communications director, Julia Forgas, said in a statement. “While this decision is extremely unfortunate, the greatest impact falls on the residents of New Orleans — who deserve timely, safe, and compliant infrastructure improvements.”

Hayman also rejected Community Infrastructure Partners’ proposal to split the work with CDM Smith, with each firm working on either side of the Mississippi River Hayman said the proposal is inconsistent with the bid solicitation.

Community Infrastructure Partners CEO Shawn Kerachsky said he respects Hayman’s decision, though he added the rebid “resets the clock once again, leaving New Orleans residents to face a public health public health crisis that could have been addressed far sooner.”

“This outcome also underscores how critical rigorous due diligence is,” Kerachsky said in an email. “The cost and transparency concerns warranted deeper review and had that occurred, we believe the committee would have

Continued from page 1B

regulatory body in place In Louisiana, that body is the Public Service Commission.

The council regulates Entergy New Orleans and Delta State Utilities, the city’s new gas provider, while the Public Service Commission regulates Entergy Louisiana. A team of consultants and an in-house Council Utilities Regulatory Office assists in that effort.

The council first opened its investigation into Entergy in 2017, after an uptick in so-called “fair weather” outages, or failures during mild weather conditions. That spurred the council to put in place reporting requirements and benchmarks for reliability “Over the last year, year and a half, we’ve noticed that there’s been some trends that have started to go in the wrong direction,” Basile Uddo, a lawyer who works for Dentons one of the council’s utility consultants, said at Wednesday’s meeting. According to a report Entergy provided to the council in November there were nearly 121,000 outages related to equipment issues during the first three quarters of 2025 — an increase from 61,000 and 92,000 outages during the same period in 2023 and 2024, respectively In 2018, an Entergy contractor, Quanta Technology, produced a report that found that between 2013 and 2017, the average number of outage minutes per customer nearly doubled. Notably, more than half of the outages occurred during fair-weather conditions.

The resolution passed Wednesday directs Entergy to hire a consultant to update that report and determine whether the utility implemented its recommendations on improving reliability Council members didn’t comment at Wednesday’s meeting on the resolution.

But Council President JP Morrell, who chairs the council’s utility committee, sent several letters to Entergy in recent months raising alarms over increased outages.

ily medicine doctor for LCMC, Annalisa Kelly director of strategic initiatives and policy for the Jefferson Parish Economic Development Commission, or JEDCO; JEDCO board member Teresa Lawrence, Raiza Pitre, chair of the Hispanic Chamber’s executive board; and the Rev Melquicedec Castillo, a member of Faro de la Alianza, an association of Hispanic pastors and ministers. After the meeting, Walker said he appreciated people’s feedback “We heard them, and I certainly want our citizens to be treated fairly, but in this situation, our hands are tied,” he said Staff writers Hannah Levitan and Missy Wilkinson contributed to this report.

reached a very different conclusion.”

CDM Smith is a global engineering firm that has overseen pipe replacements in Chicago and Washington, D.C., and is also managing the $2 billion roads overhaul in New Orleans. Community Infrastructure Partners, founded in 2022 to specialize in water infrastructure, has performed replacement projects in Wisconsin and Rhode Island.

The S&WB issued its first solicitation in November 2024, drawing five respondents The selection process took longer than expected as the scoring committee debated over the two finalists.

The selection committee finally settled on CDM Smith in May, prompting the Community Infrastructure Partners protest and an arbitration hearing three months later The arbitrator Lee Phillips, said in a written decision that Community Infrastructure Partners hadn’t demonstrated any bias on the part of the committee.

Phillips said state law allows for “substantial compliance” with solicitation requirements, and the “unexpected recusal of one member was not shown by (Community Infrastructure Partners) to be arbitrary and capricious.”

“I hoped that we had moved beyond the days of extended power outages with every scattered shower and especially on clear weather days,” Morrell wrote in a Sept. 8 letter provided by his office. “However, the numerous outages this year show that Entergy New Orleans is regressing to its old ways.” Entergy provides electricity to over 210,000 customers in New Orleans. The utility delivers power through around 1,800 miles of distribution lines and 35,000 transformers. It owns around half of the roughly 95,000 distribution poles in the city, though it utilizes all of them, and manages nearly 2,200 transmission structures, 140 miles of transmission lines and 24 substations. At Wednesday’s meeting, Entergy officials pointed to a 30% drop in outages related to vegetation in the first three quarters of 2025 compared with 2024, which they attributed to better communication with the city’s Department of Parks and Parkways on trimming the tree canopy There were still twice as many outages this year compared with 2022 and 2023. Hudson said Entergy in 2026 plans to put more attention on preventing lightning-related outages, expanding real-time monitoring and installing socalled “self-healing networks,” which detect outages and reroute power to restore service faster Logan Burke, executive director of the Alliance for Affordable Energy, a consumer advocacy nonprofit, lauded the council’s decision to re-up the investigation.

“We are encouraged to see the council take some action on this remarkably poor service. New Orleanians are not getting what we’re paying for and increasingly cannot pay for,” Burke said. “We are hopeful that this investigation will result in strengthening performance metrics and penalties and actually get us where we need to go.”

LOTTERY

TUESDAY, DEC. 9, 2025

PICK 3: 9-7-3

PICK 4: 9-5-1-5

PICK 5: 5-0-9-6-4

MEGA MILLIONS: 19-32-41-49-66

MEGA BALL: 6

Unofficial notification, keep your tickets

STAFF PHOTO By ENAN CHEDIAK

Gaudet

Roebuck

STAFF PHOTO By BRETT DUKE

Melquicedec Castillo, a local pastor speaks out against collaboration with federal immigration agencies during the Jefferson Parish Council meeting in Gretna on Wednesday.

Five menindictedin Southern hazing death

BY MATT BRUCE Staff writer

Five men were indictedby an East Baton Rougegrand jury Wednesday on charges in connection with the hazing death of Southern University engineering student Caleb Wilson. Isaiah Earl Smith, 29, Caleb McCray,24, andKyle Thurman, 25, were arrested in March following an investigation into the Feb. 27 incident. Thethree Baton Rouge men were each indicted on felony hazing charges. In addition, McCray was indicted on acharge of manslaughter, Smith was indicted for principal to manslaughter and obstructionofjustice, and Thurman was indicted for obstruction of justice.

Winston Craig Sanders, 22, and Jaydn Landrum, 24, were indicted on principal to felony hazing and obstruction of justice. Sanders, of Monroe, and Landrum, a Texas man, have yet to be arrested. NineteenthJudicial District Commissioner Nicole Robinson issued arrest warrantsfor theirrespective charges on Wednesday The grand jury also indicted Smith, Thurman, Sanders and Landrum on nine misdemeanor counts of hazing apiece. McCray received seven of the misdemeanor indictments.

The panel determined therewasn’tsufficientevidencetopassdownindictmentsfor Jaylen Grissom, a21-year-old Houston-area man. Prosecutors soughtto charge him with principal to felony criminal hazing foraiding and abettingin Wilson’sfatal beating. The statealso aimed to convince the grand jury to indict Grissom on nine counts of misdemeanor hazing, to no avail.

According to police, the alleged hazing took place at a warehouse in the 3400 block of Woodcrest Drive, just off Greenwell Springs Road.

Wilson and eight otherOmega Psi Phi pledges lined up in order of height for afraternity ritual. During the ritual, McCray and company took turns punching the pledges in the chest four times with apair of black boxing gloves, according to police reports.

Wilson, a20-year-old Kenner native, collapsed after he was punchedand experiencedamedical episode.

PROMOTIONS

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Kirkpatrick said it was the mayor’s“opinions”about the final rankingsthat led her to pause the promotion process and requestthe IG investigation in October 2024.

Michel’soffice advised thedepartmenttooverhaul its anonymous complaint system to prevent future manipulation.

Multiple investigations earlier this year failed to substantiate allegations that NOPD’spromotion process was tainted.

Metadata obtained during the IG’sinvestigation sparked asecond, ongoing investigationinvolving a “lackofcandorand failure to cooperate,” Michel wrote in afour-page report detailing the captain and major promotions and the baseless complaints he said were intended to influence them. At issue were the rankings for candidates for the open posts. Leadingthe ranks for major were two then-captains, Precious Banks and Kendrick Allen. Both were in the department’sinternal affairs division, the Public Integrity Bureau, and had conducted an internal probeinto formerofficer Jeffrey Vappie’stime sheets.

Vappie is the mayor’s former police officer bodyguard, and now her co-defendant in afederal fraud case. Critics of the delays suspectedinappropriate meddling by the mayor

“When investigators requested an interview with Mayor Cantrell, who was the only person claiming

NewOrleans Area Deaths

Instead of calling 911, fraternitymembers waited to take Wilson toahospital and initially told authorities he collapsed at alocal park. The case was assigned to 19thJDC ChiefDistrict Judge DonaldJohnson. The five men are set to be arraigned in his courtroom Jan. 15.

Outside the courthouse, DistrictAttorney Hillar Moore described the 56-count indictmentas“very long andverythorough” and said his investigators continue to seek more information.

“We’re still looking at evidence; we’re lookingatcellphones,”hesaid. “Wehope that we will recover more information. We may return backtoagrand jury for some moreindictments if that informationever comes forward.Sothisisanongoing matter.But atthis point, the substantial players have been indicted.” Prosecutors, inthe indictments, allege fraternity members endangered the pledges and someofthe defendantstried to persuade witnesses to givefalse information to investigatorsto avoid arrest.

Wilson, aformer trumpet player for Southern University’sfamed Human Jukeboxmarching band, was honored in theLegislature this year during aceremony in theHouse chambers. State lawmakers also proposed an anti-hazing house bill in Wilson’s name.

Moore announced that Baton Rouge will hostanational anti-hazing conference next year.Wilson’sfamilyisexpectedto attend,as well as lovedones of former LSUstudent MaxGruver,an 18-year-old freshman who diedofalcohol poisoning from ahazing ritual in September2017.

Severalorganizations will converge to map out preventionplans to deterhazing on college campuses and at universities nationwide.

“I’m impressedwiththe evidence that we have in this case. Ithink it will be substantial, andwhenanyone across the United States sees the information that we have, they will be extremely mad and upset that these kids weresubject to this type of activity.And thatthis young mandied because of that,” Moore said.

to knowthe identity of any complainant, shedeclined to participate, responding, ‘No, thank you,’”the IG’s letter states. No compl ai nants emerged over thecourse of theIG’sinvestigation, even underthe promiseof confidentiality

Interviewswith 33 officers, including 14 officers named in four anonymous complaints made to the IndependentPoliceMonitor in October 2024, yieldedno evidence of cheating,exam manipulation or leaked test information.

Reviewsbyoutside assessorsand federal monitors also uncovered no proof ofbias

“The anonymous allegations lacked credibility andappeared to have been made after resultswere known, likely to influence or obstruct the promotion process,” Michel wrote.

TheIGadvised NOPD that anonymouscomplaints shouldn’thaltpromotions unless credible evidence exists, abusers of the system should face consequences and theIGshould regularly review the complaint process. “The NOPD will review the Office of Inspector General’srecommendationstostrengthen the promotional process moving forward,” said Officer Reese Harper,NOPD’sdirector of communications,ina statement.

“Our focus now is advancing promotions that support strong leadership andpublic safety for the City of New Orleans.”

Terry Davis, director of the Mayor’s Officeof Communications,saidthe NOPD’sstatement reflected thecity’sposition

Antoine, Brenda Arceneaux, Betty Bagneris, Shyrl BarbalichJr.,Robert Bonesio, Raelynn

Brown, Joyce BrownJr.,Albert Culasso,Miguel Damis,Lenord

Davis, Linda Endom,Franklin Gaubert,Bobbie Glynn, Walter Guerin,Shaquille Hebert,Sylvia Lee, Juanita LewisSr.,Michael McKenzie,Hannah Pugh, Donovan

Reeves Jr., Harden

Reuther, Preston Schomaker,Julia

Shorty,Debra

Singleton, Connie

Spindler,JoAnn

Thomas,Julius

Tortorich, Larry Townsend, Cynthia Wright,Charlie EJefferson

Garden of Memories

Aleman Sr., Larry BarbalichJr.,Robert Schomaker,Julia

Richardson FH Lee, Juanita LewisSr.,Michael NewOrleans

Boyd Family

Wright,Charlie

Obituaries

Aleman Sr., Larry Aleman Sr., Larry Eugene Larry Eugene Aleman Sr.,aged82, acherished fa‐ther, grandfather, greatgrandfather,and brother, passedawaypeacefully on December4,2025, in Slidell, Louisiana.BornonJanuary 22, 1943, in NewOrleans, Louisiana.BorninNew Or‐leans,LA. Larry wasthe beloved sonofthe late Lewis E. Aleman andthe lateGertrudeGuess Ale‐man.Hesharedhis child‐hood with hisbrothers, the lateLewis Aleman,Jr.,the lateDonaldAleman, RonaldAleman, andthe lateMichael Aleman,who willfondlyrememberhim for hisunwaveringlove and support. Larry's family was thecornerstone of his life, andhetook great pride in hisroleasa family man.His children,Renee AlemanBrockhaus andher husband Van, andLarry Aleman, Jr.and hiswife Kelli,willremembertheir fatherasa guidinglight and asourceofendless en‐couragement.The legacy ofLarry's kind spirit and loveoflifeiscarried on through hisgrandchildren Kayla,Tyler,Austin, Riley, Jackson,Kambry, and Chandler, andhis greatgrandchildren,Kylo, Kins‐ley,and Hazlie.Eachof themwas asourceofim‐mense joyfor Larry,and he was aconstantpresencein their lives, sharingintheir triumphsand offering comfort in timesofneed Larry's adventurousspirit was evidentinhis passion for flying.Asanairplane pilot,hespent countless hours in theskies above Southeast Louisianaand the Gulf of America, ex‐pertlypilotingamphibious planes. Hislovefor avia‐tionwas matchedbyhis enthusiasmfor sports cars, boats, fishing, and hunting—intereststhathe often shared with friends and familymembers Larry's presence wasa comfort to many,and his absence will be deeply felt byhis nieces,nephews, cousins,and themany friends he made through‐out hislife. As we bid farewelltoLarry Eugene Aleman, Sr we celebratea lifewell-lived—a life filled withlove, laughter,and the joy of shared experiences. Larry's spirit will forever soar, much like theplanes hesoskillfully flew,inthe heartsofthose who loved him.Relatives andfriends are invitedtoattend the visitationatGardenof MemoriesFuneralHome and Cemetery,4900 Airline Dr. Metairie,La. 70001 on Thursday,December11, 2025 from 9:00 am until 11:00 am with aService startingat11:00 am.Inter‐mentwillbeimmediately thereafter

Reeves Jr., Harden Townsend, Cynthia Charbonnet

Antoine, Brenda

Bagneris, Shyrl Guerin,Shaquille

McKenzie,Hannah

Pugh, Donovan

DW Rhodes

Brown, Joyce Damis,Lenord Shorty,Debra

Gertrude Geddes

Davis, Linda

JacobSchoen

Bonesio, Raelynn

Lake Lawn Metairie

Tortorich, Larry

Littlejohn FH

Singleton, Connie St Bernard

CharbonnetLabat

BrownJr.,Albert St Tammany

Honaker

Culasso,Miguel West Bank

DavisMortuary

Thomas,Julius

Mothe

Spindler,JoAnn

Robinson FH

Arceneaux, Betty

Gaubert,Bobbie

thelifeand legacy of the lateBrendaDuplessisAn‐toine will be held at St Josephine Bahkita(for‐merly St.Maryofthe An‐gelsChurch), 3501 N. Miro Street,New Orleans, LA on Saturday, December 13, 2025, 10 am,FatherExpid‐ito Arinaitwe, FMH, Cele‐brant.Interment Mount OlivetCemetery. Visitation 9 am in thechurch.Please signonlineguestbook at www.charbonnetfuneralho me.com. Charbonnet Labat Glapion,Directors (504)581-4411.

Arceneaux, Betty Jean Jones

Lemieux, ElderCynthia Dexter, ElderDeannaAp‐pleberryand alarge ex‐tendedfamilyofnieces, nephews,cousins,and friends.Relatives and friends of thefamilyas wellaspastors,officers, and membersofMount Calvary Church Interna‐tional, Little Zion Baptist Church of Avondale,LA, Nineveh BaptistChurch of Metairie, OaklandBaptist Church andPilgrim Baptist Church of Kenner arein‐vited to attend thefuneral servicesonSaturday, De‐cember13, 2025, Mount Calvary Church Interna‐tionallocated at 1600 WestwoodDrive Marrero, LA70072. Thevisitationwill begin at 9AMfollowedbya 10AMservice.Apostle Terry Gullagewillofficiate, and entombment will fol‐low in Restlawn Park Cemeteryand Mausoleum 3540 US-90, Avondale,LA 70094. Funeralplanningen‐trusted to Robinson Family FuneralHome, 9611 LA-23, Belle Chasse,LA70037 (504) 208-2119. Foronline condolences please visit robinsonfamilyfuneral‐home.com

Brenda Duplessis“Bren

Bren” Antoine, adedicated servant of God, transi‐tionedpeacefullyintoeter‐nal rest on Monday,De‐cember1,2025, at theage of79inNew Orleans, LA Mrs.Antoine wasbornon January 3, 1946 to thelate Wilfredand DorisB.Dup‐lessis. In addition to her parents,she is also pre‐ceded in deathbyher hus‐band, Ernest Antoine, Jr.; daughter, Suzanne;sib‐lings,Paulette,Elvar,Lydia, Ann Marie, Larry,Sr. and Gary, Sr.Brendaattended GeorgeW.CarverHigh School,New Orleans, LA and wasa faithfulparish‐ioner of St.Phillip the Apostle andOur Lady Star ofthe SeaCatholic Churches,where shewas dedicated to making sure thatall families had Thanksgivingmeals.She was awardedthe St.Louis Medal by theArchbishop PhilipM.Hannan, DD on May 20, 1993. Brenda was employedbyVincent Spaghetti Houseand Char‐lie Brownrestaurants Leaving to cherishher memoriesare five children Monica(Dave), Bryant,Wil‐fred(Crystal),Terry Ann and Ernest (Rose);twenty grandchildren,twelve great-grandchildren;one brother,Michael Duplessis, Sr.; five brothers-in-law, six sisters-in-lawand ade‐voted cousin,Antoinette Rudolph,aswellasa host ofnieces, nephews, other cousins andfriends.Rela‐tives andfriends of the familyare allinvited to at‐tendthe funeral. AMassof Christianburialhonoring

Betty Jean JonesArce‐neaux."He will wipe every tearfromtheir eyes.There willbenomoredeath or mourningorcryingorpain, for theold orderofthings has passedaway."— Reve‐lation21:4. With hearts full ofbothsorrowand grati‐tude, we gather to cele‐brate theextraordinary life ofBetty Arceneaux. Ade‐voted Christianand tire‐lessprayerwarrior,Betty lived as aradiant example offaith andcompassion. Her melodiousvoice lifted countless soulsinsong, while hersteadfastloveas a wife,the very embodi‐mentofmotherhood, nur‐turinggrandmother,loyal friend, andcherished sis‐ter touchedall who knew her.Above all, Betty was God's Child—abeaconof His love,grace,and unwa‐veringdevotionBetty Jean Jones Arceneaux, born De‐cember20, 1951, in NewOr‐leans,Louisiana,peace‐fully departed this life on November29, 2025, leaving behinda legacy of love faith,and service. Shewas the cherisheddaughterof the late Rafe JonesSr. and Susie MaeWhitsettJones A proudproduct of theJef‐fersonParishschoolsys‐tem,Betty dedicatedher professionallifetothe samecommunity that nur‐tured her, servingwithdis‐tinctionuntil herretire‐ment. Betty’s life was markedbyprofound love and devotion to herfamily. She was firstunitedin marriagetoPaulWilson, and together they were blessedwithfourchildren: Carl, Paul Jr Devron,and Nedra.InApril 1996, Betty married WilliamArceneaux Jr.,her beloved“King,” and welcomedtwo stepchil‐dren, Tequilla Arceneaux and WilliamArceneaux III. Betty andWilliam’s part‐nership wasa modelofen‐duringcompanionship and friendship; theirunity and joy were evidenttoall who knewthem. Apillarinher church andcommunity, Betty’s powerful voiceup‐liftedmanyasshe sang in the choir, andher stead‐fastprayers provided com‐fortand strength as a faithfulprayerwarrior.She inspiredgenerations through hertestimony, wisdom, andthe personal stories shesharedinSun‐day school,touching countless liveswithher faith.Betty deeply valued familyand thecreationof lasting memories.Her wit, humor,and practicallife lessons left alasting im‐pressiononeveryoneshe encountered.Her kindness, generosity, andgrace will belovinglyrememberedby all.She is survived by her devoted husband,William Arceneaux;her children, CarlJohnson (Shauntay), PaulWilsonJr. (Kelly), De‐vronWilson, andNedra Wilson;stepdaughter, TequillaArceneaux-Robin‐son (Patrick); grandchil‐dren: ZenobyaBrown Kayla Johnson, DalynWil‐son,Mayea’Wilson-Brit‐ton,Deryn Wilson,and Makhi Wilson;step-grand‐children: Darrelland Tyrell Walker; great-great-grand‐children: Mahundya Abron and Brighton Wilson;sis‐ters: Mary Jones, Susie Jones,Deborah Johnson (Leonard),and Shirley Kennedy (Willie);sistersin-law: Elaine Francis, Joyce Arceneaux, Oneita Austin(Michael),Rhonda Arceneaux,Wanda Thomas (Raynell),and StacyYoung (Eugene); goddaughter:Dr. Sonya Hazel; bonus chil‐dren: LatashaHales,Shan‐quelMorgan, QueniceMor‐gan,VictoriaMorganWilliams,Cherlyn Rogers, Myron Rogers,Vernitra BlakesShivers,Terry Delille,MonyeaBritton, David Franklin,BishopTy‐roneJefferson,and De‐mondMorton. Special Friends:Audry Morgan, Ralph Woodruff, KarenPat‐terson, Reginald Patterson Sr.,CharleneReed,Katricia Franklin,KiTaniand Nelson

Bagneris,Shyrl AnnPatterson

ShyrlAnn Patterson Bagneris, Esquire, beloved wifeofJohnHaroldBag‐neris anddevoted mother ofShyrl PhallonBagneris, transitionedtobewithour Lordand Savior on Thurs‐day,December4,2025. She was theyoungestof five childrenborntothe union ofElmenia Thomas Hornsby andWilliePatter‐son,Jr. Shyrlaccepted Christatanearly ageand was baptized at Mt.Moriah Baptist Church by thelate Rev.Ruben A. Hack,under the leadership of thelate Rev.SimmieLee Harvey She wasanactivemember ofMt. Moriah,participating inSundaySchool,Ideal Baptist Training,the Youth Choir andserving as Queen of theSunday School Parade.Educatedin the Orleansparishschool system, ShyrlattendedMc‐Donogh #24Elementary and Alfred C. PriestleyMid‐dle School.She went on to makehistory as oneofthe firststudentstointegrate Fortier High School (The Willow),graduatingin 1970. Even in themidst of socialchange, sheexcelled academicallyand socially, earning recognitionasa memberofthe HonorSoci‐ety,Project Opportunity Tarponettes, Tarpon Rep, Human RelationsCouncil and BlackHistory Club Fromanearly age, Shyrl was awoman who stepped boldlyintonew spaces Her courageatFortier laid the foundation fora life‐timeoftrailblazing. She continued hereducation at Louisiana StateUniversity withthatsamedetermina‐tionand purpose. During her time there, shebecame a CharterMemberofThe Iota ThetaChapter of Delta Sigma ThetaSorority, Inc., the firstBlack Greek-letter organizationfounded on LSU’s campus.Following thishistoricachievement, she earned herBachelorof Science before embarking onthe love storythat would define heradult life In 1975, shemet theloveof her life,JohnHaroldBag‐neris.Indedicationand de‐votiontotheir union,she later convertedtoCatholi‐cismsotheycould worship togetherasa family. Shyrl’s professional career began as aCustomerSer‐viceRepresentativeatBell South.However,her life‐longdesiretopursuelaw led hertoenrollatTulane University, where she earnedher JurisDoctorate inMay 1981. Shesuccess‐fully passedthe baronher firstattempt andwas ad‐mittedtopracticelaw later thatyear. Herillustrious legal career included ser‐vicewiththe City of New Orleans Department of PublicWorks as aHearing Officer, theOrleans Indi‐gentDefenderProgram as a Criminal DefenseAttor‐ney,SouthernUniversityof New OrleansasanAdjunct Professor;the City of New Orleans CivilService Com‐mission as aHearing Offi‐cer,the City of NewOr‐leans Department of Fi‐nance in Notarial Services and theCityofNew Or‐leans Department of Streets| ParkingAdjudica‐tionBureauasHear‐ing/Chief Officer. Shealso proudly served as Legal Counsel forthe Delta Sigma ThetaNew Orleans AlumnaeChapter Founda‐

Antoine, Brenda Duplessis'Bren Bren'

balich andDaisy Bouysou Barbalich.His celebration ofhis life andyes,his jokes willbeheldonFriday, De‐cember12, 2025 at Garden ofMemoriesFuneralHome and Cemetery in Metairie LA. Visitation will be 9:00 am-11:00 am with theser‐vicebeginning at 11:00. In lieuof flowerspleasedo‐nateinmemoryofBob to yourlocal church or to Je‐suitHighSchool.Though the worldisquieter with‐out hislaughterand jokes, weare grateful forthe joy and love he broughttoour lives.We aresurehe’sal‐ready making heaven laugh andsmiling down watchinghis family carry onhis legacy

Bonesio, RaelynnAnn

4B ✦ Thursday, December 11, 2025 ✦ nola.com ✦ The Times-Picayune tion.Inaddition to herhus‐bandand daughter,Shyrl alsoleavestocherish her memory, “fur baby,” Miss Lucky; sisters, Melvina McCoy,Louella Patterson and Portia P. Campbell along with ahostofnieces, nephews,cousins,other relatives andfriends who loved herdearly. In addi‐tiontoher parents, Sheis alsoprecededindeath by a brother, Willie J. Patter‐son,III; “fur baby”Shanna; nephews,Romel McCoy and Randal Meilleur;broth‐ers-in-law, Roosevelt McCoy andLaniche Joseph L.J.”Prevost;mother-inlaw,Laura Jarrow;fatherin-law, OnealJarrowand mother-in-law,Helen Da Salle Bagneris.Shyrl lived a life marked by faith,ser‐vice, excellence andlove. Her legacy continuesin every life shetouched, every person sheuplifted and everyspace she filled withwisdomand grace. May herlight foreverguide usand mayher memory remaina blessing to all who knew her. AMassof Celebration honoring the lifeand legacy of thelate Shyrl AnnPatterson Bag‐neris,Esquire,willbeheld atSt. PeterClaverCatholic Church, 1923 St.Philip Street,New Orleans, LA 70116 on Saturday,Decem‐ber 13, 2025 at 10 am Omega OmegaCeremony, conducted by theNew Or‐leans AlumnaeChapter of Delta SigmaTheta Sorority Inc.,willbegin at 8:30 am, followedbyvisitationat9 aminthe church.Inter‐mentMount Olivet Ceme‐tery. Please sign online guestbook at www.cha rbonnetfuneralhome.com. Charbonnet LabatGlapion, Directors (504)581-4411.

Robert P. BarbalichJr.

“Bob” 5/4/1949 -12/2/2025

Bob Barbalich(76) passed awayonDecember2,2025 leaving behind alegacyof laughter, love andcher‐ished memories.Bornon May 4, 1949 in New Or‐leans,Louisiana,hequickly discoveredthatlifewas morefun witha goodjoke ora harmless prank. If there wasa rubber snake, a whoopeecushion or a perfectly timedjokewithin reach,you couldcount on him to useit. To know Bob was to laugh– sometimes withhim,sometimes at him andsometimes at yourself. Hishumor was his wayoflightingupa room,easinga hard dayor reminding us nottotake lifetoo seriously. His pranksand storieshave becomememoriesfor manytoretellfor years. He had atalentin findingthe fun in everymomentand a greater talent in sharingit withthe rest of us.Hewas a wealth of knowledge and alwayshad agreat storyto share.Heloved NewOr‐leans andcould tell you endless historystories about it.HeattendedJe‐suitHighSchool before going to LSUwhere he pledged DeltaTau Delta. Hethenfollowedhis grandfather,fatherand un‐clesintothe familybusi‐nessand worked at Econ‐omy Iron Worksuntil he re‐tired.Hewas amemberof the Marine Club of NewOr‐leans,loved coaching his sonsinbaseballand volun‐teeringatPAC,takingva‐cations with hisfamily, tailgatingand going to LSU and Saints games, fishing, playing golf, andmostre‐centlybecomingthe “bird man”. Beyond hisjokes, Bob hada bigheart.He was always therewhen you needed him, listened tothose whoneeded him and used laughter as his way of saying “I’m here for you”. Hisfamilyand friends knew that beneath the greatjokesterwas a man who lovedhis family and friendsdeeply and lived fully.Heissurvived byhis 3children; Lindsey Sumich(Jonathan), An‐drewBarbalich (Lauren), and Stuart Barbalich (Brooke).The 9mostpre‐cious grandchildrentohim thatcalledhim Paw-Paw; HaileySumich, Lexi Sumich, Mollie Sumich, Matthew Sumich,Lucas Barbalich,Josephine (Josie) Barbalich, Wyatt Barbalich,Cooper Bar‐balichand Callie Barbalich. His 2sisters;Karen Smith (James) andSusan Wie‐gand. Hisformerwifeof33 years;Cynthia EngelBar‐balich, andnumerous niecesand nephews. He was preceded in deathby hisparents Robert P. Bar‐

Brown, Jr.willbeheldat The Garden of Prayer Fam‐ily WorshipCenter, 2605 Munster Blvd., Meraux,LA 70075, on Saturday,Decem‐ber 13, 2025 at 11 am,Pas‐tor Martin C. Sylvester, Of‐ficiating. IntermentProvi‐dence Memorial Park Metairie, LA.Visitation9 aminthe church.Final arrangementsentrusted to CharbonnetFamilySer‐vices (504) 302-1520.

Culasso,Dr. Miguel Angel

Raelynn AnnBonesio peacefullypassedawayon Monday, December 1, 2025, withJesus andthe Blessed MotherMarybyher side, she was81years old. She was born on December 25, 1943, in New Orleansand raisedinthe GentillyGar‐densneighborhood.She wenttoSt. Raphael Gram‐mar School.She graduated fromRabouin High School and attended Spencer Business College. She workedinthe food indus‐try forseveral yearsinthe cateringsector. Butthe mostenduringjob wascar‐ing forour grandparents in their lateryears andher fatherwho hadbecome disabled. When hermother died, shemoved in with her sister andfamily. Rae was abeautiful person in‐sideand out. Sheput everyoneelse firstand be‐foreherself.I thankGod thatshe wasmysister. GoodbyeRae,I love and missyou.Rae waspre‐ceded in death by her grandparents, Maud Mueller Guerra andAlbert Guerra; parentsVerna GuerraBonesio andRo‐mainBonesio;and aunt MaudThelmaGuerra. She issurvivedbyher sister CherylB.Stipelcovich; brother-in-lawBruce P. Stipelcovich;nephewScott A.Goodwill

Brown, JoyceNell

Withsadness we share the passingofJoyce Nell Brown, on Monday,Novem‐ber 24,2025. Please visit www.rhodesfuneral.comto viewservice information, signonlineguestbook, sendflowersand share condolences Damis, Lenord

Dr.MiguelAngel Cu‐lasso passedawayonDe‐cember1,2025, in Slidell, Louisiana,after an illness. Hewas 78 yearsold.Born onFebruary19, 1947, in Es‐peranza,Argentina,Dr. Cu‐lasso devotedhis life to the serviceofothers through medicine.In1979, hebegan practicing as a familyphysician in the Slidell area,where he be‐camea trustedand stead‐fastpresenceinthe com‐munity foroverfour decades.His unwavering commitmenttohis pa‐tientsand hisprofession was evidentinevery as‐pectofhis work—henever wishedtoretireand found daily joyincaringfor those who relied on him. He en‐joyed hostingfriends in his legendary “asados”.Dr. Culasso’s perseverance and dedication left alast‐ing impact notonlyonthe lives of hispatientsbut alsoonthose who hadthe privilege of knowinghim personally.His legacy is one of compassion,re‐silience, andtirelessser‐vice. He is deeply mourned byhis loving wife of 47 years,Angie K. Culasso;his son,MiguelAntonio Cu‐lasso anddaughter-in-law Karen Culasso;his daugh‐ter,LisaCulasso andsonin-lawHernanCifre;and his cherishedgrandchil‐dren, Chloe(7) andLeo (3). Hewas preceded in death byhis belovedson Daniel Culasso andbyhis par‐ents, Antonioand Emilia Culasso.Dr. Culasso will be rememberedwithpro‐found respectand affec‐tionbyall whose liveshe touched.May hismemory bring comforttothose who knewhim andcontinue to inspire dedication and kindnessinothers. ArrangementsbyHonaker FuneralHome, Inc.,Slidell, LA.

With sadnessweshare the passingofLenord Damis,onNovember28, 2025. Please visitwww.rho desfuneral.comtoview service information, sign onlineguestbook,send flowersand sharecondo‐lences. BrownJr.,Albert'Al'

Albert "Al" Brown, Jr., a devoted husband,father, veteran,musician, fisher‐man andman of faith,en‐tered eternalreston Wednesday,November26, 2025. Born on September6, 1957 in NewOrleans,Albert isthe sonofthe late Pearler Lambert-Johnson and Albert Brown, Sr.Heis the beloved husband of Erica SylvesterBrown for 33years andthe loving fa‐therofJalen (Dantrell) Andre (Jasmine)and Erian Brown. He is also survived byAlbertBrown IV and FrancheskaHolden; sib‐lings,Lydia (Donald) Stew‐art,YvetteThomas, Alvinette Johnson, Valerie (Willie) Hampton, Sonya Johnson,and SybilJohn‐son,along with ahostof grandchildren,nieces, nephews,cousins,other relatives andfriends.Rela‐tives andfriends;Pastor, officers andmembers of Third BaptistMissionary Church,GardenofPrayer FamilyWorship Center and all otherneighboring churches of Plaquemines, Orleans andJefferson Parishes; employeesofAl‐liedUniversal Security, Atmos Energy andPlaque‐mines Parish Government are invitedtoattend the funeral. ACelebration ser‐vicehonoringthe life and legacy of thelateAlbert

grandchildren, Jasmine, Jordan, Tia, Jada,Kelsey, Simone, Ahmad, Grace, and James II,12great-grand‐children, 8niecesand nephews,Lorenzo,Jr.,Mar‐quisha, Kimberly,Brian Tiffany, Emmanuel, Bre‐anna,Mia anda host of cousins,familyand friends.She waspreceded indeath by herfather SamuelE.Davis,her daughterShantellM.Davis, and heraunt Burnetta C. Davis.Relatives and friends of thefamily, also Pastor, officers andmem‐bersofNew Hope B.C. and Evening Star M.B.C. arein‐vited to attend theCele‐bration of Life Serviceon Saturday, December 13, 2025 at NewHopeBaptist Church,1807 Rev. John Raphael Jr.Way,New Or‐leans,LA70113 at 10:00 a.m.Visitationfrom9:00 a.m.until 10:00 a.m. Inter‐mentSt. Mary's Cemetery, 1900 HillaryStreet,New Or‐leans,LA70118. Youmay signthe guestbook on http://www.gertrudeged deswillis.com. Gertrude GeddesWillisFuneral Home, Inc. in charge (504) 522-2525.

Franklin"Frank" V. Endom Jr.passed away peacefully on December 3, 2025, following complications fromsurgery.Hewas 87. Visitation willbeheld at St.Aloysius Catholic Church on Friday, December12, 2025, from 9:00 to 10:00 am, followedbythe Mass of ChristianBurial at 10:00 am. To view theobituary and signthe online guestbook, please visit www.churchfuneralservic es.com.

found in Bobbie’sBeauty ShopinBuras stylinghair. In addition to hergiftfor hairdressing, Bobbie was a regularchurch goer and for many yearswas an ac‐tivememberofthe Buras Community Christmas Choir.Visitationwillbe heldfrom9:30a.m.until 11:00 a.m. at OurLadyof Perpetual Help (OLPH) Catholic Church locatedat 8968 Hwy.23, Belle Chasse, LA, on Thursday,December 11, 2025. Funeralservices willfollowat11:00 a.m.The familywould like to thank HeartofHospice and RobinsonFuneral Home for their loving care andsup‐port. In lieu of flowers, the familywould appreciate yourkindness, thoughts & prayers during this time Funeralplanningentrusted toRobinsonFamilyFuneral Home(504) 208-2119. For onlinecondolences,please visit www.robinsonfamilyf uneralhome.com.

Walter"W" Robert Glynn Jr., age 92, went to Heaven on Thursday December 4, 2025. He was anative of NewOrleans LA, aformer residentof Metairie, LA anda recent residentofMandeville,LA.

Belovedhusbandof JosephineLoCocoGlynn for72½ years. Father of Paula GlynnDickson(Jack) and Karen GlynnStroud (Charlie).Grandfatherof Jan Lousteau (Greg), ParkerHillery (Corin), Jeremy Stroud and ChristopherStroud (Ashley). Great grandfather of Aaron,Harrison, Graham, Andrew, Isabelle, Kayden,Cameron, Reese, Isaac andCaleb. Sonof thelateWalter GlynnSr. andThelmaRodriguez Glynn

Mount Hermon Baptist Church,3512 US -90, Avon‐daleLA70094 on Friday, December12, 2025 at 11 am, concluding at 12:12 pm. IntermentRestlawn ParkCemeteryand Mau‐soleum, 3540 US-90, Avon‐dale, LA 70094 andwillcon‐clude at 1pm. Visitation 9 aminthe church.Tohonor Shaquille’smemory, the familykindlyrequeststhat attendees wear lightblue, white andsilver. Please signonlineguestbook at www.charbonnetfuneralho me.com. Charbonnet Labat Glapion,Directors (504)581 4411.

T.

years of

on Friday, November 28, 2025, surrounded by

LindaFay Davis, age67, was born on December 1, 1957 departed this earthly lifeonMonday, November 24, 2025. Shewas alifelong residentonNew Orleans, LA, while brieflylivingin Alexandria, LA.She at‐tendedJames Weldon Johnson Elementary and was agraduateofAlcee Fortier High School and XavierUniversity. Linda was amemberofDelta Sigma ThetaSororityIn‐corporated. Shewas also a devoted member of the Evening Star Missionary Baptist Church formore than60years,where she servedasthe church sec‐retary. Ms.Davis wasa dedicated employee for the United States Depart‐mentofAgriculture for over40years.Linda was the beloveddaughterof RubyDavis.Lovingmother ofJames Crockett, Sr.(Jes‐sica).Devoted sister of Lorenzo Davis, Sr.(Joyce), SamuelE.Davis (Cassan‐dra), Albert Davis(Laura), and TammyDavis (Lloyd). Shewas also survived by 9

Bobbie Jean Spinks Coon Gaubert, age87, was calledhometoher heav‐enlyfatheronFridayDe‐cember5,2025, in Belle Chasse,Louisiana sur‐rounded by herlovingfam‐ily followinga long strug‐gle with illness. Sheissur‐vived by herdevoted hus‐bandofthe last 15 years, Rufus “Bob”Gaubert,with whomshe hadmanyad‐ventureswhich included eloping to LasVegas,trav‐elingtoEurope, andtravel‐ing extensivelyintheir RV Bobbiewas thedaughter ofWalterBeard Spinks,Sr. and PaulineSpinks, step‐daughterofLucille Spinks, sisterofWalter“Sonny” Spinks, Jr andthe wife of firsthusband HenryDavid Coon,all of whomprede‐ceasedher.Bobbiewas the motherofDouglas (Tammy-deceased,Jill) Coon,Michael (Sachiraya) Coon,Paula (Harold) Dove, the late Samuel Coon stepmotherofDaleAnn (Frankie) Adolph,Bobbie NellGaubert (Erron,Sr.-de‐ceased) Holland, andthe lateRufus “Junior Gaubert,Jr. Shewas the beloved grandmother/ stepgrandmother of James Coon,Davide(Jessica) Coon,the late Kyra Coon, Tayler(James) Burns, Leigh Ann (Edward) Kirby, Baiden Dove, Desney Armes, James (Kaci) Dove,Kayla (Richard) Haas,Brittany Dove, Amanda (Fred) LaRue,Frank “Buddy” Adolph, III, Erron(Patty) Holland,Jr.,and Brock (Megan) Holland. Bobbie alsoleftbehindgreatgrandchildren DerekCoon Dylan Coon,AudreyWolfe, OliviaWolfe,Lucas Burns, EdwardKirby III, Henry Kirby,JordenSavoie, Jay‐den Dove,BentlyDove, MacyHass, DamonHass, LeviGoings, Isaac Goings Izzy Goings,Layla Goings, and Alex LaRuetocherish her memory,aswellas manynieces, nephews, and otherrelatives.Inad‐ditiontothe relatives named above, Bobbie touched thelives of many and thereare countless people, usually friendsof her children or grandchil‐dren, who also called her Granny.” Before moving to Buras,Louisiana,Bobbie was born andraisedin Jonesville, Louisiana. She never meta stranger and foryears shecould be

Mr.Glynn wasa US Army Veteranofthe Korean War.Heretired from thephonecompany after 40 years of employmentand wasa parishioner of St.Edward The Confessor Church andSt. Mary Magdalen Church Mr.Glynnenjoyedtravelling with hiswife,theysaw theworld together.He wasa very active athlete an avidskier andfantastic ping pong player.Most of all he wasa tremendous familyman andloved spending time with his wife, children, grandchildren andgreat grandchildren

Relativesand friends of thefamilyare invited to attend thevisitation at LeitzEagan Funeral Home, 4747 Veterans Memorial Blvd Metairie, LA 70006 on Friday, December 12, 2025 beginningat9:00 AM with aFuneral Mass to follow at 11:00 AM in Leitz-Eagan Funeral Home'schapel

Fondmemories andexpressionsofcondolences may be sharedatwww.leit zeaganfuneralhome.com.

ShaquilleO’NealGuerin was born on March31, 1990, in Metairie,LAand passedawayonThursday, November27, 2025. Mr Guerinwas aresidentof Ponchatoula,LAatthe timeofhis passing. He is lovinglysurvivedbyhis de‐voted wife,Roxanne Guerin; children,Kajion Guerin, Nevaeh Guerin and Samya Guerin;mother, Lor‐raine BaggettGuerin; fa‐ther, KeithGuerin(Tamara Guerin);maternalgrand‐mother, AgnesCrawford; paternalgrandmother, Jeannette Guerin;maternal grandfather,SamuelCraw‐ford; maternal great-un‐cles, AllenBaggett and Ester Baggett; aunt, Trenise Thomas;siblings, EdriceRefuge(Maureen Refuge),Suzette Alston (WilliamAlston),Shane Ruth(BlairRuth),Darius Guerinand Romelo Styles Heisprecededindeath by his stepfather,Ervin Styles and paternal grandfather, Anthony Guerin.A Funeral service honoring thelifeof the late ShaquilleO'Neal Guerin will be held at

family. Shewas born in NewOrleanstoher lateparents, Emileand OpheliaTurner Shewas preceded in death by herlovinghusbandof 71 years, Whitman Hebert, herdaughter, Karen H. Spangler(late DavidSpangler), herson David W. Hebert andgreat grandson,Austin Burroughs Sheissurvivedbyher son Phillip A. Hebert(Toby), herdaughter in law Mary AnnHebert, hergrandson, DanielSchwab(Via), great granddaughters, Juliette, Aria &Avery.She is also survived by herbrother EmileTurner, Jr.(Jean) and ahostofnieces and nephews. Sheworkedmanyyears at Baptist hospital and retiredfromOchsner Hospital Shewas afounding member of St.Benilde Catholic Church Avisitation will be held from11:00 AM to 12:00 PM on 2025-12-13 at St.Benilde Catholic Church,1901 Division St Amass of christian burial will be held from12:00 PM to 1:00 PM on 2025-1213 at St.Benilde Catholic Church,1901 Division St Intermentwillbeprivate.

Juanita MartinLee,age 85, enteredher eternal rest on Thursday, December 4, 2025. Sheleaves to cherish hermemory herdevoted husband, Lionel Lee; her daughter, Belinda Martin (Billy Davis); herdaughterin-law,LaTysha Lee; eight grandchildren; sixteen great-grandchildren;and a host of belovedrelatives andfriends.

Afuneral service will be held on Friday, December 12, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. at Oakland Baptist Church, 825 Rev. Richard Wilson Dr Kenner,LA70062. Visitation willbeginat 10:00 a.m. Intermentwillfollow at Belle Grove Cemetery, Kenner,LA. Richardson Funeral Home of Jefferson, River Ridge,LA, is in charge of thearrangements. www.ri chardsonfuneralhomeofjef ferson.com.

Michael AnthonyLewis, Sr.enteredeternalrest at hishomeonFriday, December 5, 2025, at the age of 74. Aproud graduate of John H. Martyn High School. After graduating hermarriedHarriet Martin, andtothisunionone son,

Hebert, Sylvia Turner

Sylvia

Hebert,93

age passed away

her

Glynn, Walter Robert 'W'

Endom, FranklinVincent

BarbalichJr.,Robert P. 'Bob'

Gaubert, BobbieJean Spinks Coon

Lee,JuanitaMartin

Guerin,Shaquille O’Neal

Davis, LindaFay

Lewis Sr., Michael A.

Michael Lewis Jr., was born. Michael went on to serve his countrywith honor in the United States Air Force, completing 20 years of dedicated service. He later married the late Margie Ann Lewis, and together they welcomed two children, Shea and Deon Lewis. He was the beloved son of the late Willie and Frances Lewis. Michael leaves to cherish his memory three children, three grandchildren, five sisters, four brothers, and ahost of nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.

Afuneral service will be held on Friday, December 12, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. at Richardson Funeral Home, 11112 Jefferson Hwy., River Ridge, LA 70123.Visitation will begin at 9:00 a.m. A private burial will follow Richardson Funeral Home of Jefferson, River Ridge, LA in charge of arrangements. www.richards onfuneralhomeofjefferson. com

Hannah LeeMcKenzie, age 84, passedaway peacefullyonSunday, De‐cember7,2025, surrounded byher loving family. Born onJuly26, 1941 in St.Fran‐cisville, LA,Hannahde‐voted herlifetoher family, her faith andthe people she loved. Shespent many years workingatTulane UniversityHospital, where she served with dedication and compassion until her retirement. Herkindness, strengthand gentle spirit touched everyone blessed toknowher.Hannahis survivedbyher children, Alfreda McKenzie,Melvin McKenzie, Sr., Michael McKenzie, TalethaDuncan and CassandraDuncan, thirteen grandchildrenand thirteen great-grandchil‐dren, each of whomshe cherished with allofher heart.She is preceded in death by herbeloved son, Shawn Duncan;grandsons DwightCrier,Jr. andFrank McKenzie, herparents, foursisters and five broth‐ers.Thoughmanyofher loved ones have gonebe‐foreher,theyare nowre‐unitedineternal peace. A Celebration servicehonor‐ing thelifeand legacy of the late Hannah Lee McKenziewillbeheldat Faith Impact Ministry,8612 ChefMenteur Hwy, New Orleans,LA70127 on Satur‐day,December13, 2025 at 10am. Interment Resthaven Memorial Park, 10400Old GentillyRoad, New Orleans, LA 70127. Vis‐itation 9aminthe Church The familyextends their heartfelt gratitudefor the prayers,loveand support shown during this difficult time. Hannah’s warm pres‐ence, beautifulspiritand unwavering love forher familywillforever live on inthe hearts of thoseshe leavesbehind. Please sign onlineguestbook at www charbonnetfuneralhome com. Charbonnet Labat Glapion,Directors (504)581 4411

DonovanHesiodPugh entered thearmsofthe LordonWednesday,De‐cember3,2025 at theage of21. He wasa lifelong res‐ident of NewOrleans,LA. Donovan wasa graduate of WarrenEastonHighSchool and attended Southern Universitywhere he ma‐jored in Criminal Justice. Donovan wasdeeplyfam‐ily-orientedand knownfor his gentle spirit,his loyalty and hisabilitytomake everyonearound himfeel welcomedand loved. Beloved sonofWendy Hansell-Pughand Donald Pugh, Sr.Grandson of Tammy Pugh-Matthews and WayneMatthews; great-grandsonofWinnie Wilmore. BrotherofDonald

Pugh,Jr. (Choch). Cher‐ished nephew of Hessy Hansell-Burton, Tawanna Matthews, Orlander Cor‐nelius, Jr., andWayne Matthews. Godson of John Cannon, CherrelleDoaty and TonyaCannon. De‐voted partnerofHavilland T.Sutton. Donovanisalso survivedbya host of cousins,other relatives and friendswhomheloved and adored.Heispreceded indeath by hisgrand‐motherLeona Ellisia Hansell; great-grand‐motherBarbara AnnCor‐neliusand grandfather, Charles “Skip” Wilmore.A celebration servicehonor‐ing thelifeand legacy of the late DonovanH.Pugh willbeheldatRockofAges Baptist Church,2515 FranklinAve., NewOrleans, LA70117 on Saturday,De‐cember13, 2025 at 10 am PastorBrandon Boutin,Of‐ficiating. IntermentMount OlivetCemetery, 2050 Caton Street,New Orleans, LA. Visitation will beginat 8 am in thechurch.Please signonlineguestbook at www.charbonnetfuneralho me.com. Charbonnet Labat Glapion,Directors (504) 581 4411.

Reeves Jr., Harden 'Dude'

Harden “Dude” Reeves Jr. enteredintoeternal rest onNovember22, 2025, at the ageof74. Sonofthe lateHardenSr. andClara Reeves,husband of the lateJosephine Faye Reeves,fatherofKeisha (John) Green, Brandie Reeves,and Stephen(An‐gela) Reeves,stepfatherto Michael (Santana)Trahan, brother of IdaJones,Adline Reeves,Linda Reeves,Car‐olyn(Calvin)ReevesParker, Archie (Donna) Reeves,Christopher (Don‐nice) Reeves andthe late Ola Dominick,Altheaand Darlene Reeves.Brother-inlaw of TimLafleur, and Yvonne Johnson, grandfa‐therofGlenAlveris,De‐vondLeflore, BrandonEllis, Tre’von,A’myni, andSkylar Reeves,Tre,Dre,Vance and MakaylenGreen,Kanan Trahan, Ashley George, bestfriendRicky Frederick. Relatives andfriends are invited to join thefamilyto honor thelifeofHardenon Friday, December 12,2025 atThe Boyd Family Funeral Home, 5001 Chef Menteur Hwy New Orleans, LA 70126. Visitation will begin at9:00a.m.Servicesat 10:00 am Pastor Robert Davis officiating. Inter‐mentwillfollowatRest‐lawnCemetery, 3540 US-90, Avondale, LA 70094. Zoom Linkifunabletoattendin person. https://us05web zoom.us/j/6701186604? pwd=eGdmOVZBekI1d3d‐KcDh2MnNNeTNLZ‐z09&omn=83389522999. Meeting ID:670 118 6604 PasswordFCh34Y.Guest‐book Online:www.anewtra ditionbegins.com(504)2820600. Linear BrooksBoyd and DonavinD.BoydOwn‐ers/FuneralDirectors

Reuther, Preston

Preston John Reuther, 77, St. Joseph, Missouri died peacefully in his sleep November 29, 2025,after a lengthy battle with cancer. Preston was born January31, 1948 in Ventura, California. As a childhemoved to Louisiana wherehespent most of his life.AftergraduatingfromChalmette High School in New Orleans, he became apoliceofficer and attended Loyola University. Later he began designing wire sculpted jewelry,perfecting his craft. He marriedMaryDoyle on May22, 1998 in Hammond, Louisiana and theybegan travelingcoast to coastparticipating in jewelryshows. Preston pioneeredand showcasedthe art of wire sculpturedjewelry.His passion was makingjewelry.Heworked tirelessly ev-

ery day, creating his own unique designs. In 1994, Preston producedhis first of many instructional videos forhow to make wire jewelry. He started an online jewelry business and became known as "The Master Wire Sculptor". Through hisvideos,Prestontaught hundreds of individuals how to use his unique designs to starttheir own home jewelrymaking business.

Preston was preceded in death by his parents Thelma Nunez Reutherand Ed Reuther. He is survived by his loving wife, Mary and his sweetdog, Picolino.

Prestonwas of Christian faith. Natural Farewell under thedirectionof Meierhoffer FuneralHome and Crematory. At his request, Preston has been cremated and therewillbe no visitationorservice. The family suggests memorial contributions to Friends of theAnimal ShelterofSt. Joseph. Online guest book and obituary at www.meierhoffer.com

JuliaMarie Bull Schomaker,94, of Rayne, Louisiana,diedpeacefully inthe presence of family onSaturday, December 6, 2025, at Calcutta House Hospice in Lafayette,LA. Julia wasborninRayne, Louisiana on September19, 1931. Shegraduated from Rayne High School and later from CharitySchool ofNursing in NewOrleans Class of 1952. During her timeinNew Orleans, she discoveredher love of nursing andher love for her future husband,Harold “Hap” Schomaker, Sr.After marryingonFebruary10, 1952, Juliaand Hapresided inMetairie, LA where they raisedtheir threechildren, HaroldJr.,Stephen and Peggy.Theywereparish‐ionersofSt. Christopher Catholic Church in Metairie where Juliaservedinthe Altar Societyand contin‐ued hernursing career.At home, Juliawas knownfor her skills in thegardenand inthe kitchen. From grow‐ing avariety of plants, fruitsand vegetables to cookingCajun recipes, Julia wasalwaysproviding for others in oneway or another.Julia wasthe epit‐ome of resiliency,whether she wasrelocatingand re‐buildingafter Hurricane Katrina or recovering from hip surgeryatthe ageof 92. AfterHap’s passing, Julia made thepermanent movebacktoher home‐townofRayne,where she was able to reconnectwith manyfamiliarfaces.Julia isprecededindeath by her husband of 63 years, Hap Schomaker,her mother and father,RobertHarry and Jeanne Bull,Sr. of Rayne Louisianaand her siblingsRobertHarry (Wal‐terine) Bull,Jr. of Biloxi Mississippi,Ethel (Lawrence)Schexnayder of Rayne,La.,Charles Bull of Welsh,La.,Edward (Theresa) Bull of Arabi, La., Margaret(Ed)ForeofMis‐sissippi,Mildred(Phillip) Sylvestri,Sr. of NewJersey; nephews CharlesFore, Charles TimothyBull, John EdwardBull, DavidBulland WalterJosephBull; nieces Jeanne Worthingtonand Catherine Bull andgreat niece Dana Bull Hambau‐ugh.Julia is survived by her threechildren, Harold Schomaker Jr.(Lucindy), Stephen SchomakerSr. (Denyse)and Peggy Schomaker Prejean (Michael),her grandchil‐dren, Carly(Rob) Evens, LaurenSchomaker Stephen (Ashley) Schomaker Jr Meghan (Brian) Widmann, Sean Mc‐Govern, Michael(Hannah) Prejean, II, Zachary(Kati)

Prejeanand great-grand‐childrenEleanor,Myles Oliver, Wyatt, Wade,Emmy, Eli,Ellen,Cecelia,Ila,and Sylvie. Sheisalsosurvived byher twin brotherJulian BullofTexas,sister-in-law Lydia Bull andmanynieces (great),and nephews (great).The familywould liketoexpress theirdeep‐est gratitudetoa very dear familyfriendDebra Ozone, and Julia’ssitters Michelle Nonette,Geraldine Cormier,RamonaSemere, EllaBurleighalong with the staff of LeadingHomeCare ofCrowley,Ochsner Lafayette GeneralICU nurses, andCalcutta House at HospiceofAcadi‐ana fortheir compassion and care.The familyhas requested thevisitationto beheldatDuhonFuneral HomeinRayne,Louisiana onThursday,December11, 2025, from 5:00 p.m. until 9:00p.m.A Rosary will be recited on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.inthe FuneralHome Chapel. Visitation will re‐sumeonSaturday, Decem‐ber 13, 2025, at 11:30 a.m. until time of serviceall at St. ChristopherCatholic Church in Metairie.A Mass ofChristian Burial will be heldonSaturday, Decem‐ber 13, 2025, at 12:30 p.m. atSt. ChristopherCatholic Church in Metairie, Louisiana andburialat GardenofMemories. In lieuof flowers, Juliare‐quested donationstogo to: CharitySchool of Nurs‐ing Alumni Assoc.,P OBox 19103, NewOrleans,LA 70179. To offeronlinecon‐dolences, send flowersto the family, or planta tree inmemoryofJulia B. Schomaker,pleasevisit www.gardenofmemorie smetairie.com.

Connie HattieHolmes Singleton enteredinto eternal rest on Saturday November29, 2025. Beloved wifeofthe late Ernest Sin‐gletonSr.,lovingmotherof Lamar (the late Cheryl) Moore, Valerie(thelate Jerry)Lee, Jene`Moore, CherylMoore (the late Willie)Jordan, Eric (San‐dra)Moore andthe late Vanessa MooreLang (Clarence)Crump andJo‐vanka MooreCarter(Roo‐sevelt) Clark. Stepmother ofErnestJr.,Horace, Johnell,Gary, Lorraine Melony, Bernard, Lawrence and George Singleton, Charles andMichael Cuba, Laverne Branch,the late Gwendolyn,Josephand Darrell Singleton. Grand‐motherofPaulTrueblood KendraBold, LauraMoore, Lamar Lucas, MichaelLang Sr.,Lovelle Lang,Shontrell Moore, JonasMoore, Jovon Moore, CoyMoore, Lanisha Moore, ShonaTate, Ivy CarterJr.,ShennaCarter, KeishaCarter, Kevon Carter, La-QuandaMoore Alford, Tee`Arance Moore, Karel Moore, Raheem Moore, Eric Little,the late CherilynHerbert,David Moore, LakeivaLee and TravisMoore.Daughterof the late Elmore Sr.and RuthNaomi Adams Holmes. Sister of Edwin (Joyce) Holmes Sr., thelate Elmore(thelateAzanell) HolmesJr.,MarionHolmes, Adam(Doris) Holmes,Ed‐ward(Norma) Holmes and Barbara (the late William) Gant. Sister-in-lawofEarl Singleton.Godmother of Terry Flowers. Also sur‐vived by 48 greatgrand‐children, ahostofgreat great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins, other relativesand friends. Relatives andfriends,also pastor, officers andmem‐bersofSt. BernardCom‐munity BaptistChurch and CarverDesireBaptist Church,employees of The CityofNew OrleansBureau ofAccountingand NOFD are invitedtoattendthe funeral serviceonFriday, December12, 2025, at St Bernard Community Bap‐tistChurch,3938 St Bernard Avenue,beginning 10am. Rev. William Holmes, host pastor,Rev James Willis Jr., officiating. Church visitation 9am until servicetime. Inter‐mentResthaven Memorial Park. Professional services entrusted to Littlejohn Fu‐neral Home,2163 Aubry Street,Cal K. Johnson, Manager-Funeral Director Info:504-940-0045.

Terrytownresident, peace‐fully passedawaysur‐rounded by familyonSat‐urday,December6,2025 at the ageof84. Loving and devoted wife of 64 wonder‐ful yearstoFrank C. Spindler, Jr.Daughterand stepdaughterofthe late Mildred SchulzHardouin and John F. Hardouin.Lov‐ing anddevoted mother of Julie A. Spindler andCheryl S.Dobson(Ernest). Grand‐motherofMarlena Mon‐sour(Joshua),Chris Win‐ter,Jr. (Kelly), Darryl Win‐ter (Holly), JacobDobson, Rebecca Dobson,EricDob‐son andJessica Winter Great grandmotherof Justinand Athena Monsour and Aubree andHarlee Winter.Beloved sister of ElaineHardouinLandauer (thelateDavid), Jean Ann HardouinCedatol (Emmet) and thelateAlanJohn Silva.JoAnn is thebeloved aunt of many nieces and nephews.She wasa gradu‐ate of McDonogh High School (Class of ’59) where she wasanavidathlete playing softball, skating, prepsquad,and herfa‐vorite, bowling. She bowledinmanyleagues throughoutthe years, in‐cluding “The SlickChicks”, TheWildcatters”, and “Carter Cuties”. Aftergrad‐uatingfromhighschool, she marriedthe love of her lifeonApril 8, 1961, and workedfor afew yearsbe‐foredecidingtotakeona new role as amotherin 1964. Shebelievedthere was much beauty to see hereinthe United States and enjoyedroad-tripping overmanyyears to seea total of 38 states.Along‐sidetraveling around the States, shethoroughlyen‐joyed taking cruise ships withher familytothe Caribbean andAlaska. She took herroles as ahome‐maker,wife, mother and grandmother as herhigh‐est priority,truly making her familyfeel lovedand welcome.Familyand friends areinvited to at‐tendthe Visitation at Mothe FuneralHome, 2100 WestbankExpressway, Harvey, LouisianaonSatur‐day,December13, 2025 from10a.m.until 12:45 p.m.The Rosary will be re‐cited at thefuneral home onSaturdaybeginning at 12:45 andthe FuneralMass willbegin at 1p.m.Inter‐mentwillbeinWestlawn MemorialParkCemetery, 1225 WhitneyAvenue, Gretna, Louisiana. Thefam‐ily invitesyou to share thoughts, fond memories and condolencesonlineat mothefunerals.com

DebraF.Shorty, aretired SocialAnalyst II,passed awayonSaturday, Novem‐ber 29, 2025, at West Jeffer‐son Hospital in Marrero, Louisiana.Ms. Shorty was a long time resident of New Orleans. Shewas 73 She received theCertifi‐cateofMerit Awardfor Outstanding Service, signedbyMayor Sidney Barthelemy. Shewas the beloved mother of Catina Williams,Derrick Williams and ChanellWilliams; sis‐ter of thelateGussieJack‐son;grandmother to her cherished grandson Ryan Rivieriaand granddaugh‐ter NataliaWilliamsand is survivedbya host of niecesand nephews. She alsoleavesbehindher lov‐ing pets,Roxyand Ms.Bee Debra graduatedfrom Booker T. Washington High School,earnedanAssoci‐ate Degree in Business Ad‐ministrationfromDelgado Community College, a BachelorofArtsinBusi‐nessAdministrationfrom SouthernUniversityofNew Orleans,and latercom‐pleteda Master of Arts in CriminalJustice.Relatives and friendsofthe family are invitedtoattend aFu‐neral ServiceatD.W RhodesFuneralHome, 1020 VirgilSt.,Gretna, La.70053 onSaturday, December 13, 2025 at 12:30 pm.Visitation willbegin at 11:30 am until 12:30 pm.Interment: Evening Star Baptist Church Cemetery,817 Gre‐fer St., Harvey,Louisiana Arrangementsentrusted to D.W.RhodesFuneralHome, 1020 Virgil Street,Gretna, La. 70053. Please visit www.rhodesfuneral.comto signthe online guestbook share memories andcon‐dolenceswithfamily. Thomas,JuliusDonald

Julius Donald Thomas entered into eternalrestat Michael E. DeBakeyVA Medical Center in Houston, TXonTuesday,November 25, 2025, at theage of 81 Hewas anativeofNew Or‐leans,LAand aresidentof Houston,TX.

Singleton, Connie HattieHolmes

Schomaker, Julia MarieBull

McKenzie,HannahLee

Shorty,Debra F.

Spindler,JoAnn Silva

JoAnnSilva Spindler,a NewOrleans native and

Pugh,Donovan Hesiod

OUR VIEWS

Lake Borgne marsh projecta good step

We were gratified to seethe completion earlier this month of the state’slargestmarshbuilding effortto date

The Lake Borgne Marsh Creation Project in St. Bernard Parish, which officiallyhad a ribbon-cutting on Dec. 2, added more than3,000 acres of marshland to areas that had previouslybeenopenwater.Tobuild it,contractors dredged and deposited enoughsedimentto fill theSuperdome three times over,about 15 million cubic yards.

The completion of the four-year,$115 million projectrepresents amajor winfor thestate’s coastal restoration efforts, which aim to combat Louisiana’s land loss crisis.

Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Executive Director Michael Hare hailedthe project.

“By any measure —onscale, engineering complexity,environmental value —thisproject stands as one of the greatest achievements to date completed by CPRA,” he said at theribboncutting.

Superlatives aside, the addition of thousands of new acres of marshland,some of which was alreadysproutingcordgrass, is agoodthing for Louisiana.

But sunny statements aboutthe project come at cloudy times for the state’scoastalfuture Overall ratesofsubsidence andland loss are not expected to slow.The state calculates that it loses about one football field of land every 100 minutes. Over the last century, about2,000 square miles of Louisiana land have been lost. Thosestark figures were thereasonsbehind the creation of the CPRA and itsproductionof anew master plan for coastal restoration every five years. But the funds to pay for projectssuch as Lake Borgne largely come from BP oilspill money, which will end in 2031.

In addition, earlier this year,the state officially canceled two centerpiece projects in the plan, the Mid-Barataria and Mid-Breton sediment diversions. Those projects would have diverted grit-laden river water into the marshesoneither side, attempting to mimic theprocesses that built the delta in the first place

But they were both controversial, especially with local fisherman who feared thatthe impacts on their local waters would harm their livelihoods. Andinthe case of Mid-Barataria which broke ground in 2023 after yearsofstudies and planning, the cost had climbedfar beyond the original estimates.

CPRA chairman Gordon Doveand Gov. Jeff Landry believe that dredging, as wasdoneat Lake Borgne, is amore effective waytobuild landata lower cost.

At Lake Borgne, the new acres lie along the southeastern shore of the lake, near two popular marinasthathave longprovided adeparture point for Louisiana fishermen andduckhunters. Officials hope the new marsh at Lake Borgne will last even longer thanits expectedlife span of 20 years. So do we. Theappearanceofnew marshland is awelcome sight, onewehope is repeatedmanytimes in thefuture.

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 US A LETTER, SCANHERE

FormerS&WBleader deserves to be honored

The Sewerage &Water Boardand Entergy New Orleanswill soon commission thenew power complex on the Carrolton Campus, which has aredundant 50-megawattsubstation, turbine generation and modern frequency converters that will significantly improve power reliabilityfor the community For decades, S&WB has faced persistentchallenges withpower reliability and high costs; issues that worsened after Hurricane Katrina and the August 2017 flooding. Followingthat flood, Mayor Mitch Landrieu convened atechnical panel to propose power solutions, and while aplan was developed, it lacked sources of funding and recommendations for them.

Upon assuming therole of executive director,Ghassan Korban recognized that the existing power model was unsustainable. He identified theunreliabilityofaging boilers and steamdriven turbines,vulnerabilities in Entergy’sdistribution network and the

high cost of internal power generation. Korban reviewed prior recommendations, engaged stakeholders, secured funding and initiated acomprehensive transformation of the S&WB power system Once complete in thecoming months, this new facility will enable theretirement of steam boilers (several over 100 years old) and outdated turbines (No. 4and No. 5), save millions of dollars annually and deliver several orders of magnitudeimprovements in reliability.Korban oversaw this project from its inception until his departure in 2024, providing consistentleadership that madethis achievementpossible.

When thedirectors of the Sewerage &Water Boardconsider naming this facility,Irecommend that the Ghassan Korban Power Complex is appropriate, given his tirelessefforts to its success.

BRUCETHOMPSON NewOrleans

Immigrationactions arecausing harm to society

New OrleansPolice Superintendent

Anne Kirkpatrick is not exactly correct, stating that being illegal is not criminal. Use of the term, illegal immigrant,does not mean theperson is illegal —itmeans aperson’sstatus is illegal. Although having an illegal presence in theU.S. is not acrime, there is acrimeinhow that illegal presence came about. If aforeign national enters theU.S. illegally,bypasses inspection points, uses false government identitydocuments, has no visa or obtains any type of visa with the express purpose of using it to permanently remain in theU.S., both acriminal and civil violation occur

Reenteringthe U.S.after having been deported is afelony

According to the Biden administration, allimmigrants here illegally paynarco-

Twice in one week, an article appeared in your paper characterizing U.S. Rep.Troy Carter as a“loser” in theelections that just occurred. The gist of both articles stated that Carter backed three candidates for

terrorists or humantraffickers to be allowed to enter theU.S.; this is afelony Kirkpatrick is correct, however,in stating that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol are not executing criminal arrest warrantsduring deportation —that is civil. Although all of those being deported have indeed committed oneormore crimes, they are not being arrested for them and prosecuted. It would be simply impossible to prosecute the estimated 10 million who illegally entered theU.S. under President Joe Biden. The justice and penalsystem could not handle these numbers. Thus, the Attorney General madethe decision that it is in the best interest of the governmentand thenation to deport them

JOSEPH MOLYNEUX Metairie

various positions, allofwhom lost. So what?That’swhat mostelected officials do. They endorse candidates for public office. Sometimes those candidates win, and sometimes they don’t.

That’smyneighbor ICEiscoming after He painted my living room, Repaired the damaged sheetrock, Patched the leak in my roof

When he came back after months away (he wentwherever he could find work) He came over to console me about my wife’sdeath.

Yes, he is from Honduras, but Just like you and me he is here

Because he has adream of freedom

Justice, equality and opportunity forhis family

He has his papers but that doesn’t seem to matter He looks brownsohemust be one of them.

Meanwhile, our president puts up moregold gilding; Tears downthe East Wing (he promised he wouldn’ttouch it) By now we know he lies constantly He courts favor with People of the Lie.

Shaking hands with the Saudi murderer

Who lies just like him (“knew nothing about it”)

While his family brokers billiondollar deals.

Meanwhile, I’mwatching “The American Revolution,”

Seeing how desperately our ancestors suffered forfreedom

What kept them fighting through snow,ice and defeat?

Adream of freedom from tyranny

Yet, now,that past seemsforgotten

As just enough weredeceived by the wannabe king

And gave away their democracy to alying tyrant. My sadness is so deep, but then up surges the outrage: Icannot, will not submit to this tyranny of lies.

JIM O’NEILL Metairie

If Carter’sreelection depends on his actions in Congress and his representation of his constituents back home, he has nothing to worry about.

WILLIAMA.SCHULTZ NewOrleans

Murrilland Landry should

notlimit

Medicaid providers

Attorney General Liz Murrill is taking an animus againstpharmacy benefitmanagers way too far.Consequently, hundreds of thousands of Medicaid recipients might be moved intocoverage they think is lessoptimal than their current plans. This is bad governance. And though Murrill self-identifies as arock-solidconservative, there is nothing conservative about it The whole scenario, as described below,might at first sound complicated, but bear with me. The essential stateof playwill be clear soon enough. Here’sthe news: In concert withMurrill and apparentlyather behest, newly appointed Louisiana Medicaid Director Seth Gold on Dec 2sent aletter to United Healthcare sayingthe state won’trenew the company’scontract that (asofNov 1) serves 333,246 LouisianaMedicaid enrollees. LouisianaHealthSecretary Bruce Greenstein told the Louisiana Illuminator,which firstbrokethe story, that his department intends to move United’senrollees to one of four other providers in the next twoweeks, using acomputer algorithm to trymatching recipientswith the company best able to handle their cases Gold originally sent asimilar dismissal letter to another provider Aetna, but this newspaper reportedon Tuesday that Aetna’scontract will be renewed after all. Murrill had told the Illuminator that her office was near a settlement with Aetna’s parentcorporation, CVS, in amultipronged legal dispute she and Gov.Jeff Landry have waged against it and against United for how they operate pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs).

ingthe currentdecisions. She also said United is somehow not compliant with state law and “has engaged in frivolous attacksonthe AG’scontracting authority as well.” She did not specify which laws allegedly are being broken. OK, after that convoluted background,here’swhere thesituation actually gets simple.

Trump’sjob is to stay focused on theeconomy

Essentially,Murrill is cutting out United in a fitofpique.

Here’show: As this newspaper reported, healthchief Greenstein told aNov.20state legislative hearing that theLandry administrationsupported extending the contracts for all six companies currently providing MedicaidcoverageinLouisiana. Greenstein specifically argued that cutting the numberofproviders would be adisservicetorecipients.Lawmakerscomplied by voting to extend the contracts

was President Donald Trump’s first Commissioner of theAdministration on Disabilities and is affiliated with several national conservative outlets, said cutting the number of providers is inherently problematic. She said doctorsand pharmacies often accept Medicaid business from only one provider, and “algorithms aren’tpeople” with the ability to consider individual needs and “people with disabilities need to have relationships withnearby” pharmacies anddoctors.

PBMs essentially are middlemen, for prescription drug coverage, between pharmaceutical companies and insurers. Murrill confirmed to the Illuminator that the PBM-related lawsuitsare driv-

GIFT GIVING TIME!

Thevery next day,the Louisiana First Circuit CourtofAppeal sided with United in the lawsuit Murrill is wagingagainst the company.Within 11 days, theadministration completely reversed course and canceled the very contract extension for which it had requested approval.

How,pray tell, could United Healthcare becompliant with state law on Nov.20, then actually win alawsuit, and then haveMurrill quickly adjudge it noncompliant? The court ruled against Murrill and for the company, so how is the company the one that’s noncompliant?

Meanwhile, why should anyone be confident the statehealthdepartment can move333,000 people to other plans in just two weeks? Granted, the state is giving recipients90days to switch to yetanother plan if they don’tlike the onethe algorithmassigns. But why moveenrollees at all? If they like United’sservices, why make them scramble?

Melissa Ortiz, awheelchair user who

Holidayoffice parties are happening,and gift swaps are apopular event at manyofthem. Itlookslikesomeone’s about to getanexciting present! So,what’sgoingonin this cartoon? youtell me. Be witty,funny, crazy,absurd or snarky —just trytokeep it clean.There’snolimit on the number of entries.

The winning punchline will be lettered into the word balloon and runonMondayinour printeditions and online.Inaddition, thewinnerwill receivea signedprint of thecartoon alongwith acool winner’sT-shirt! Some honorable mentions will alsobelisted. To enter,email entries to cartooncontest@theadvocate.com.

Allentries must include your name,home address and phone number.Cell numbersare best The deadline for all entriesismidnight on Thursday HappyHolidays, everyone!— Walt

It could mean life or death, she said: Even “an infected pressure sore” can “kill awheelchair user in 72 hours.” Moreover,why would aconservative administration try to limit competition?Isn’tacentral tenet of conservatismthat market competition is good, and the more the better? Indeed, one of Murrill’sown complaints in her three suitsagainst CVSisthat itsbusiness practices allegedly limit competition. How is it bad for CVS to limit competition,but OK for thestate to limit aseparate competition that 12 days earlier it had encouraged?

Readingbetween thelines, Murrill’s real beef, no matter how little legal relevance it has, seemstobethe “frivolous attacks” she says the company made against her What,are her feelings hurt?

This is quite consistent, though, with her earlier lawsuit against CVS, where one of her main complaints was that CVS dared send electronic messages opposing an anti-PBM law she was supporting. The First Amendment doesn’t seem tomean much to our attorney general. Enough is enough: The Landry administration should immediately re-reverse course and keep United Healthcare as aprovider.Real lives are at risk.

Email QuinHillyer at quin.hillyer@ theadvocate.com

TheplantosaveCongressfor theGOP

White House Chief of StaffSusie Wiles says she has aplanfor keeping Congress in Republican hands in next year’smidterm elections. In an interview with the onlineshow “The Mom View,” Wiles said she hasn’tinformed the president about her plan, but said it involves putting him on the roadto sell to voters what he believesto be his and the RepublicanCongress’spolicy successes.

The big question is whether more than the most dedicated Trump supporters will buy it.

goalofa continued GOP congressional majority

1. This is not about you, but about the nation. Stop bragging and displaysome humility.

Cal Thomas Quin Hillyer

One of those who claim Trump has not done as good ajob as he promised is the retiring (but farfrom shy) Rep. MarjorieTaylor Greene, R-Ga. She told Lesley Stahl on “60 Minutes” that Trump has failed to keep domestic policyashis top priority.Inher resignationvideo, Greene said the president has forsaken the MAGA base, specifically pointing to his support of the crypto and pharmaceutical industries. She alsodoesn’tlike his saber-rattling with Venezuela and what she regardsashis failure to put “America first.”

As one who is also an experienced public speaker,Ioffer these suggestions which, based on past performance, he is unlikely to accept, but which in my judgment would help achieve his

2. Stop the swearing and namecalling.Ithelps no one and turns offindependents(and perhaps some of the Christian base)who voted for you in past elections

3. Stick with theeconomy and promise even moregood news to come as gas and other prices decline. Tell voters nottochange horses in midstream when theother “bank” is so close

4. Featureateach one of your rallies people who have been helped by your policies. Select them carefully so they don’tengage in theworship of you as so oftenoccurs in your sycophantic “Cabinet meetings.”Personalstories aremorepersuasive than your often ramblingand repetitive speeches.

5. Remindthe audience of thepolicies of the Bidenera that resulted in high inflation, which led to high costsand theopenborder which has allowed so many criminals intothe country who have contributed to rising crime rates in major cities.

6. Keep raising thefraud issue which hascontributedtothe debt.Especially

hammer MinnesotaGov.Tim Walz and Rep. Ilhan Omar,D-Minn., for themassive fraud in COVIDspending, some of which allegedly was funneled to terrorist groups at home and overseas.

7. Ask voterswhy they would even consider voting for Democrats who caused the current problems and canbe reliedontoperpetuatethemifthey win acongressionalmajority.

8. Tell voters that if Democrats do win acongressionalmajority,itwill mean moreinvestigations and more impeachment as before. Do voters really want to go down thatdead-end road again, wasting timeand money on thingsthatdon’t affect their lives?

9. Keep the speeches short.Brevity makes people remember more of what you say than blathering on for an hour or more.

10. Stop repeating what you have said dozens of times before, unless it is to drive home important pointsonthe economy.Don’tever mention the “stolen election” of 2020.

11. Useagood speech writer and stick to the script.Noad-libbing. There’smy“top 10” (plus one) list. Youcan thank me later,ifyou ever read it, or use any of thesesuggestions. Email Cal Thomasattcaeditors@tribpub.com.HeisonX,@CalThomas

If you wanttosee whyPresident Donald Trumpisvisited Pennsylvania to talk about affordability,and whyheisplanning rallies on the topic around the country in coming weeks, just look at the simple question asked in the new Harvard CAPS Harris poll: “What would you say are the mostimportant issues facing the country today?” The question wasopen-ended, and respondents could name morethan one issue. The top concern, named by 36% of those surveyed, wasprice increases, inflation and affordability.The No.2issue, named by 29%, was the economy and jobs. Put them together,and economic issues werebyfar the mostimportant issue named by the voters in the poll.

After that came anumber of issues that rank high on the importance scale, but not as high as the economy: health care, immigration, corruption, crime and drugs, federal budget deficits, terrorism and national security,taxes, guns and afew more.

Those are the major concerns. At the bottom of the list, that is, those issues named by fewer than 5% of respondents, were: foreign policy at 4%; political correctness and cancel culture at 4%; the Israel-Hamas-Iran conflict at 4%; defense at 3%; policing at 3%; Jan. 6at3%; antisemitism at 2%; and other,miscellaneous topics.

It is, of course, the world’sleast surprising newsthat the economy and affordability are at the top of voters’ concerns. The reason Trump is traveling to Pennsylvania and beyond to talk about affordability is that we are entering an election year,and asignificant number of voters, including someTrumpsupporters, believe the president has spent too much time paying attention to topics at the bottom of the voters’ list —namely foreign policy —and not enough timeonthe topic at the top of the list.

Americans elected Trumplast year,inpart, because former President Joe Biden had made such amess of the economy.Today,Trump points out, correctly,that he is dealing with the hangover of the inflation of the Biden years. “We’re bringing prices waydown,” Trumpsaid on Monday.“Youcan call it ‘affordability’ or anything you want—but the Democrats caused the affordability problem,and we’re the ones that are fixing it.”

But Trumpisstuck dealing with aparticularly sticky problem,explained by this simple statement: When inflation is going down, prices are still going up. Under Biden, inflation hit 9.1%, the worst in ageneration. But when the rate of inflation goes down, as it has —it’snow 3% —that meansprices are still going up, just at alower rate than during Biden’stimeinoffice. In Biden’slast year in office, he and other Democrats would often brag about inflation going down. That didn’tsit well with voters who knew,through their own painful experiences, that prices were still rising. The way out of the messwas not to makemisleading claims but to combine low inflation with rapidly increasing wages.

Trumpismaking real progress on that. “Wages are rising faster than prices —this is so important,” Fox Business’ Larry Kudlow, aformer Trumpeconomic adviser,said this week. “Wage incomefrom the latest numbers is plus 5.3%. Now, the core personal consumption deflator —that’sthe Fed’sinflation measure is 2.7%. That meansworking folks’ take-home pay is now ahead of prices by 2.6%. And there’s alot morecoming, with tax refunds next year and the One Big Beautiful Bill. In [Trump’s] first year,wages are already clobbering prices, and that’sthe wayitshould be.”

Still, it will take sometimefor wages to catch up with the cumulative effect of the Biden inflation. Plus, Trump’stariffs have raised some prices, although not nearly as much as predicted. With less than ayear until the 2026 midterm elections, Trumpwill depend on the economic benefits that Kudlow predicted to actually become areality

Trump’seconomic program has always been pretty simple: Cut taxes, cut regulation and makeenergy cheaper.The energy part, where prices can go downdramatically,has always been the key to his plan to bring downinflation.

“Energy has come downincredibly,” Trump told Politico in an interview this week. “When energy comes down, everything because it’s so much bigger than any other subject. But energy has come downincredibly When that happens, everything comes down.”

So now Trumpispreparing for2026 with a new emphasis on affordability.Ofcourse, he still has to deal with other issues; no president can focus on just one thing. But when voting is less than ayear away,it’savery good idea to listen to the voters’ concerns.

Byron York is on X, @Bryon York.Email him at byronyork@yorkcomm.com.

Byron York

with meteorologist DamonSingleton

listed in theUnitedStates Armyproudly servinghis country from 1962-1965 After numerous yearsof civilianlife, Julius re-en‐listedinthe Army for18 additional years, before re‐tiringasa Sergeant First Class. As an Army veteran, his life reflectedorder,dis‐cipline, trust, andrespect Hegavethoughtfuladvice, alwaystakingtimetoex‐plain thepossibleoutcome sothatyou canmakewise and informed choices. He loved bowlingand wasa proud member of ablow‐ing club that competed in manyleagues over the years.Inhis sparetime, he alsoenjoyed servingasan umpirefor countless base‐ballgames.Beloved hus‐bandofover25years to Darlene Thomas.Devoted fatherofDr. Joan Cooper (Oscar) Rainey,Norma Thomas, Julius Lucky, JD Lucky,and JellisaThomas. StepfatherofKeith (Chris‐tine) Johnson, Jr., Ariane (Charles) Thipado, Ashley (Kevin) Jackson, andthe lateKyron Jackson. Julius was also instrumental in the rearingofhis grandson LandonJackson.Son of the lateNormanand Hazel Onezine.Lovingbrother of JoanMarie Payneand the lateEarlRonaldRogers Brother-in-lawofTimmy (Terri)Jackson,Tyrone (Harolyn) Jackson, Donald (Lisa)Jackson andthe late HaroldGeorgePayne,and Diane Banks. Julius is also survivedby13grandchil‐dren, anda host of nieces nephews,cousins,other relatives andfriends.Rela‐tives andfriends of the family, also pastors, offi‐cers, andmembers of Greater MorningStarBap‐tistChurch andall neigh‐boringchurches arein‐vited to attend theCele‐bration of Life at Greater Morning Star Baptist Church, 1242 Vallette Street,New Orleans, LA on Friday, December 12, 2025, at10:00a.m. Pastor W. L. T. Littleton,officiating. Visita‐tionwillbegin at 8:30a.m. until servicetimeatthe church.Interment:Mt. OlivetCemetery-NewOr‐leans,LA. Arrangements by Davis Mortuary Service, 230 Monroe St.Gretna, LA Toviewand sign theguest‐book,pleasegotowww davismortuaryservice.com. Face MasksAre Recom‐mended.

Larry John Tortorich, retired Commander, United States Navy, passedaway peacefully at hishome in Metairie on December 5, 2025,surroundedbyhis family. He was 68 years old. Born in New Orleans, Larry was thelovingson of the late UrsulaSmith Tortorich and CharlesJ Tortorich, Jr.Heissurvived by his beloved wifeof34 years, Susan Casey Tortorich; his children Lt. Michael Tortorich (Lucy), John Tortorich (Isabelle), and AnneliseTortorich (Tyler); and his sister,Julie Ann Tortorich. Larrygraduated from St. LouisKing of France ElementarySchool (1971), ArchbishopRummel High School (1975), and Tulane University (1979). He laterearned aMaster's Degree in National Security andStrategic Studiesfrom theNaval WarCollegein Newport, Rhode Island (2001). Larry proudly served in the United States Navy, dedicating more than two decades toaviation maintenance,intelligence operations, and fleet readiness across the globe. Over the course of his distinguishedcareer, he served with multiple squadrons and commands, both afloat and ashore. His assignments included H-53 "VOD SQUAD"atNAF Sigonella, Sicily; Foreign Counter-Intelligence at OP009 in Washington,DC; the TASKMASTERS"ofHS-10 at NAS North Island, California; USSMidway(CV -41)inYokosuka, Japan; the "CLANSMEN" of VA-46 embarked in USSJohn F. Kennedy (CV-67); Light Attack Wing 1; CarrierAir Wing 6embarkedinUSS Forrestal (CV-59);Carrier Air Wing 17 embarkedin USSSaratoga (CV-60); the USDAO/USEmbassy NAPRO in Melbourne, Australia; NAS Jacksonville,Florida;the Tomahawk CruiseMissile Project, NAVAIR PEO (CU), PMA-280 at Patuxent River, Maryland;and the NATEC SouthernLiaison Office in

NewOrleans. Larrycompleted multiple deploymentsaboardU.S.aircraft carriersthroughout the WesternPacific, Mediterranean Sea, Indian Ocean, RedSea, and Adriatic Sea. His service included participation in Operation Ernest Will, Operation Desert Shield, Operation Desert Storm, and numerous contingency operations. His awardsinclude theMeritorious Service Medal (two awards), theNavy CommendationMedal (two awards), theNavy Achievement Medal,and various campaignand unit decorations. He was DAWIA Level II certified in Program Management, Joint Professional Military Education (JPME) qualified, and amember of the Navy's Acquisition Professional Community He was adedicated Sailor, atrusted shipmate, and a man who served hiscountrywith honor, courage, and commitment. Following his 24-year Navy career, Larry continuedhis servicetothe nation through his workwiththe DepartmentofHomeland Security.For 15 years, he served as aField Intelligence Officer for Louisianaand Mississippi applying his operational knowledge and analytical skilltoprotectcommunities and support national security. Alongside his Homeland Security work, Larryserved as an Adjunct Professorinthe Homeland Security Studies Master's Program at Tulane University, where he inspired studentswithhis real-worldexperience and steadypresence. He was a recipient of theJohnPercy Dyer Award for teaching one of theprogram's highest honors. Outside of his professional life,Larrywas aman of warmth, humor, and deep affection forthe people and placeshe loved. Atrue New Orleanian,heenjoyed MardiGras, cherished good food,and was an enthusiastic cookknown for his creativityinthe kitchen. Hisquickwit and senseofhumorbrought laughter to allwho knew him. An avid Saintsfan, Larryheldseasontickets formany years and took greatjoy in cheering on his team. He was happiest when spending time with his children and supporting them in alltheir various activities. Larry volunteered formany years as a h k h

coach at Lakeshore Playground and was active with theScouts, giving generouslyofhis time to help guide and mentor youngpeople. Larryhad a lifelong love of animals. Hisdogs— Emma, Rufus Coco,Lucy— and his belovedduck, Quackie, broughthim tremendous joythroughout theyears He also maintained aturtle sanctuary in his backyard, caring for rescued turtles and providingthema safe home. He also valued quiet reflection and spiritual renewal, spending time on retreat at Manresa,where thestillness and tradition of theplace held special meaningfor him. He enjoyed fishing and gardening,simple pastimes that brought him peace and satisfaction. Aboveall, Larrycarriedthe quiet pride of aman who served hisnationfaithfully and stoodwatch so others couldsleep in peace. His legacyendures in every life he touched, both in and out of uniform. Fair winds and following seas, Shipmate .wehavethe watch. Relatives and friendsare invited to attend services forLarry on Friday, December 12, 2025 heldatLakeLawn Metairie FuneralHome, 5100 PontchartrainBlvd.New Orleans, LA.Visitation will be from 11:00AM until the Mass begins at 1:00PM. Inurnment willfollow in Metairie Cemetery.

Townsend, Cynthia MarieThomas

CynthiaMarie Thomas Townsendpassedawayon December1,2025, at the age of 67. Cynthiaissur‐vived by twochildren, Ernest(Niya)ButlerJrand CyronaThomasLowe, eight grandchildren, Khalil (Merjani) Thomas,Summer Butler,Nigel Butler,Jade

Prater,ErnestButlerIII, CaywamieLoweJr.,Nirieya Butlerand Cace Lowe.Also survivedbya host of other relatives andfriends.Pre‐ceded in deathbyher hus‐bandTheriot Townsend, motherGwendolyn Thomas, father Alfred Joseph, twobrothersBruce and Danell Thomas and one sister Patricia Thomas Familyand friendsare in‐vited to TheCelebration of LifeService on December 12, 2025, for11:00 a.m. at GentillyBaptist Church 5141 Franklin Ave.,New Or‐leans,LA70122. Visitation willbegin at 10:00 a.m. PastorC.Maceo Bailey Jr Ph.D. of CentralWorship Center, officiating. Inter‐mentwillfollowatMount OlivetCemetery, 4000 Nor‐man MayerAve., NewOr‐leans,LA70122. Guestbook Online: www.anewtraditi onbegins.com(504) 2820600. Linear Brooks Boyd and DonavinD.BoydOwn‐ers/Funeral Directors.

friends. Relativesand friends of thefamilyalso pastors officers andmem‐bersofChristthe Savior Baptist Church,Westside MissionaryBaptist Associ‐ation,WestbankBaptist SundaySchool Fellowship ofChurches,aswellas other neighboring churches andassociations are invitedtoattend the celebration of life service which will be held on Sat‐urday,December13, 2025, atNew SunriseBaptist Church locatedat1325 Leboeuf Street Gretna,LA 70053. Thevisitationwill begin at 8a.m andthe service will beginat10 a.m.PastorHarveyJohn‐son is officiatingand Pas‐tor CornellSisleristhe hostpastor. Funeralplan‐ningentrusted to Robinson FamilyFuneral Home 9611 LA- 23, Belle Chasse,LA 70037, (504) 208 -2119. For onlinecondolences please visit www.robinsonfamilyf uneralhome.com

CharlieVan Simmons Wright, age90ofHarvey, Louisiana,passedaway Tuesday,November25, 2025 at herhomeinHar‐vey,Louisiana.She was bornonJanuary 5, 1935 to the late Lucille Taylor & MorrisSimmons both of Blackjack,Texas.She was married to thelateRoger Wrightand is themother toSharon(Pastor Harvey) Johnson Sr of Harvey,LA, and Gail (Wayne)Brown of Round Rock,Texas.Sister ofthe late AdaSimmons, and Gwennette (late Johnny) Norman Sr.Grand‐motherofKevin (Erica), Johnson,MinisterHarvey (Chantrelle)Johnson Jr Stepgrandmother of Ari‐anne Johnson, greatgrand‐motherofLayla Johnson and Kiersten Johnson. She isalsosurvivedbya host ofnieces, nephews, other relativesand devoted Howto

DEATHS continued from Tortorich, Larry John

Wright,Charlie VanSimmons

SPORTS

Reapingrewards

CFPberth paddingTulane’spockets whileboosting intangibles

LSUups salary to secure OC

BY WILSON ALEXANDER Staff writer

It didn’ttake longfor Michael Arata to feel the effect of Tulane’s first-ever College Football Playoff berth He started receivingtextmessages during his walk home from Yulman Stadium on Friday nightafterTulane qualified for the big dance bybeating NorthTexas in the American Conferencechampionshipgame.

Give me acall.

We’ve got to talk

What can Idotohelp?

Normally,Arata is theone doingthe calling. The former Tulane linebacker co-founded the Fear the Wave collective, which assists the athletic department’sfundraising efforts. Now, he

Tulane fans jump from the stands after awin against NorthTexas

Conference championship game at yulman Stadium on Friday.Tulane

conference title witha 34-21 victory.

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

Nearly every time Tyler Shough went to hand off the ball in Sunday’swin over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers,the defenseinfront of him would pause for asplit second to see what the New Orleans Saints quarterback was goingtodo. Wasittruly asimple handoff? Wouldthe rookietake it on his

own?

The Saints usedthe hesitation to their advantage.

“I thoughtTylerhavingthat abilitytorun the football obviously playedafactor into it,” coach

BY LARRYLAGE AP sportswriter

ANN ARBOR, Mich. Michigan fired footballcoach Sherrone Mooreon Wednesdayafter finding evidence of an “inappropriate relationship with astaff member,” astunning endtohis short tenure thatsaw the Wolverinestakeastep back on the fieldafter winning the national championship andgetting punishedbythe NCAA.

“This conductconstitutes aclear violation of university policy, and UM maintains zero tolerance for suchbehavior,” athletic director Warde Manuelsaid in astatement.

The announcement did not include details of the alleged relationship. Moore, whoismarried with threeyoung daughters, did not return amessage from The Associated Press seeking comment.

The 39-year-old Moorewas 9-3 this year after going8-5 in hisdebut season He signeda five-year contract with abaseannualsalary of $5.5 millionlast year.According to the terms of his deal, theuniversity will nothavetobuy out the remaining years of Moore’scontract because he was firedfor cause. College football’swinningest programissuddenlylookingfor a thirdcoach in four years, shortly after abusy cyclethatincluded

LSU and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr.struck an amended threeyear deal this week,accordingtoa copy of his updatedtermsheet included Wednesday in ameeting agenda forthe LSUboard of supervisors.The revised agreement cameafter Ole Miss expressed interest in keeping Weis past the College Football Playoff. Weis now will make $2.5 million peryear through 2028, and the deal includes an annual“look-in period” after every season designed to makehim the highest-paid offensive coordinator in the SEC. If necessary,LSU will give him araise so his salary exceeds the highest annual compensation of any other SEC offensive coordinator before incentives. The first look-in period will takeplace at theend of this season through March 1. At first, Weis signed athree-year,$6 million deal on Nov.30after coming to LSU with new head coach LaneKiffin, according to acopy of his original term sheet obtained by The Advocate through apublic records request. That wasadjusted within the past week. After his departure withKiffin, Weis returned to Ole Miss last weektolead the Rebelsoffensethrough the CFP. Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding told reporters Sunday “and at the end of this thing, whether that’shim being the OC at LSU or him being the OC here, that’s up to him and his family.” Weis signed his new deal Monday,and Ole Miss hiredEastCarolina offensive coordinator John David Baker the next day The deal is set to be approved Thursdaybythe LSU boardofsupervisors alongwith term sheetsfor Kiffin, defensive coordinator Blake Baker,and eight othernew coachesand staff members, according to the board’sagenda. The board is expected to approve previously reported termsfor Kiffin, Bak-

See

Lane Kiffinleaving playoff-bound Mississippi for LSU. Moore, the team’s former offensive coordinator, was promoted to lead the Wolverinesafterthey won the 2023 national title. He succeeded Jim Harbaugh, who returned to the NFL to lead the Los Angeles Chargers. The 18th-ranked Wolverines (93, 7-2 Big Ten) areset to play No 14 Texas on Dec.31inthe Citrus Bowl. Biff Poggi, who filled in for Moore whenhewas suspended earlier this season, will serve as interim coach. Moore, in hissecondseason,

wassuspended for two games thisyear as part of self-imposed sanctions forNCAAviolations related to asign-stealing scandal. TheNCAAadded athirdgame to the suspension, which would have kept Mooreoff thesideline for next year’sopener againstWestern Michigan. Moore previously deleted an entire 52-message text thread on his personal phone withformer staff memberConnor Stalions, who led the team’ssign-sealing operation. The texts were later recovered

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

Tulane linebackerChris Rodgers runs with the ball after aNorth TexasMean Green turnoverduring thesecondhalf of the American Conference championship game at yulman StadiumonFriday. The Green Wave will playOle Miss in the CFP on Dec. 20.

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

in theAmerican

wonthe

Jeff Duncan

STAFF PHOTO By BRETTDUKE Saints quarterback Tyler Shough runs the ball againstthe Atlanta Falcons at the Caesars Superdome on Nov. 23.

On TV

7p.m.

8p.m.

MEN’S

2:30p.m. Cal Poly at Kentucky ESPN2

6p.m. Minnesota at Pittsburgh ESPN2

8:30 p.m. Purdue vs.SMU ESPN2 BOYS HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL

7p.m. Archbishp Stepinc vs. Paul VI ESPNU GIRLSHIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL

5p.m.

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8:30 p.m.Florida

O-lineman Fuagabackatpractice

BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer

After missing lastweek’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Taliese Fuaga was back on the New Orleans Saints practice field Wednesday

The right tackle has missed four games this yearfor variousreasons, having dealt with knee and back injuries as well as aninjury to his other ankle. If being back at practice is asignhecould be available this weekend against the Carolina Panthers, the timing works out for the Saints. Fuaga’sprimary backup at right tackle, Asim Richards,missed Wednesday’spractice because of an ankleinjuryhesufferedin the fourth quarter of lastweek’s game. New Orleans was down to third-string tackle WilliamSherman late in Sunday’swin. He was one of three starters who was ruled out becauseofan injurylastweek, but he wasthe only one of those three to practice Wednesday.Neitherrunning back Alvin Kamara (knee/ankle)nor safety Justin Reid (knee) participated. Reid waspresent forthe prac-

Continued from page1C

Kellen Mooresaid

“It,” in this case, was aSaints run game that had one of its betteroutings of the season, amuch-needed performance for agroupthat was held to under 90 yards in seven of its previous eightgamesbefore beating its NFC South rival.

Shough was a“big part” ofwhy the Saints finished with 139 yards rushing on 32 attempts, Moore said. Against Tampa Bay, the 26-year-old rookie rackedup58 yards on five attempts beforehis two kneel downs. He also ranfor two touchdowns. Beyond the numbers, the mere threat of Shough helped unlock the team’srushing attack.

The Saints, for instance, used an 11-yard gain from Shough on their first drive to set up their first touchdownofthe afternoon. Just one play after the rookie quarterback’skeeper on arun-pass option, New Orleans ran the sameconcept again —but handed it offtorookie running backDevin Nealinstead for the touchdown. Then in the third quarter,Shough took off for a34-yard touchdown —againonanRPO where he ran to his left. Keeping Shough involved may

tice. He workedoff to theside with the athletictraining staff and stood by to watch the rest of thesafeties go through positional drills. Reid injured his knee early in theSaints’ Week 13 loss to the Miami Dolphins

“He was able to do some work with those guys as he continues to build back up,” coach Kellen Moore said of Reid. “We’ll see how it goes.”

Kamarahas missed eachofthe last twogames since injuring his knee in the first quarterofthe Saints’Week 12 loss to the Atlanta Falcons

Asked whether there was apossibility Kamara would miss the remainder of the season, Moore declined to getintoany specifics other than noting the Saints did not place Kamara on injuredreserve.

“We’ll just see how this thing progresses,” Moore said. “You neverwant to throw timelines on these things to make them concrete. He’sdoingeverything he can.”

Rookie Devin Neal hasserved as the lead back in Kamara’sabsence, turning his 37 touches into

be away to spark arun gamethat hasn’thad aton of success this season.

“(There’s an)element of keeping them honest,” Shough said. “Being able to havethe defense on their toes, notknowing who has theball, and I’vegot to continue to do my job of that on certainplays. That’s an element Ifeel like Ican continue to growatand be good at.”

Running the football always has been somethingthat Shough insisted hecould do. It was an element of hisgameat Oregon and Texas Tech, two colleges that relied on designed quarterback runs. In 2020 for Oregon and then in 2022 for Texas Tech, Shough had more than 200 yards rushing in each season on morethan65attempts

Butthen Shough’sinjury history —two broken collarbones and afractured leg —caused ashift.

When Shough transferred to Louisville in 2024 for his final collegiate season, the Cardinals placed lessof an emphasis on hislegs. This was done partly to keep him healthy, but Louisville also ran apro-style offense that asked Shough to stay in the pocket.

TheSaints aren’tasking Shough to run at the same ratehedid at his first two stops in college, but they aren’t afraid to use him,either The New Orleans coaching staff, like Shough, believes his injuries were more of abyproductofun-

153 yards fromscrimmage and a touchdown in the last twogames Neal also was listed on Wednesday’sinjury report as alimited participant

ThePanthersare comingoff a bye andappear to be relatively healthy,with only two limited players listed on theirinjury report in linebacker CaludinCherelus and corner Jaycee Horn,bothof whom are recovering from concussions

Record watch

Saintsquarterback TylerShough could etch his name into thefranchise record booksinacouple of different spotsthis weekend against the Panthers.

Because theSaints have not traditionally turned to rookie quarterbacks in starting roles, several franchise records for rookie quarterbacks arewithinrange for Shough despitethe fact that he is in line to make just his sixth career start He needs 106 yards passingto break the Saints’ rookie passing yards record, which was set last season by SpencerRattler (1,317).

Shough also needs two touch-

fortunatecircumstances than a playerpronetogetting hurt. The quarterback’sbrokencollarbone in 2021,for instance, came when Shough landedawkwardly on a dive to the end zone rather thana defender crushing him on the run. His2023season-ending leginjury occurred on ahip-drop tackle in the pocket

“There’sstill times when it’s advantageous,” Mooresaidearlier this season. “Part of the component is (you’ve got to) pick and chooseyour opportunities.”

Thatdecision extends to quarterbacks. The coach said signal-callers have to be smart aboutwhen to fight for extra yards and when to get out of bounds. Not counting kneel downs, the rookie has 23 rushing attempts in seven games. Nearly half 13 —havecomeoneitherRPOs or designed runs.The other10 have come on Shough scrambling, which has been an effective weapon (including his 18-yard, go-ahead scoreagainst Tampa Bay) Shough doesn’t seem to be putting himself in any extra danger when he runs. He slides, gets outof bounds and gives himself up when appropriate.

On Wednesday, Shoughrecalled an instance when he opted toavoid Bucssafety Antoine Winfield rather than try to “truck him” foran additional few yards.

Orioles sign former Mets sluggerAlonsofor 5years

The Baltimore Orioles agreed to a$155million, five-yeardealwith slugger Pete Alonso, aperson with knowledge of the agreement told The Associated Press on Wednesday It’s amajor movefor aBaltimore team that vowed to be aggressive after alast-place finish in the AL East. Alonso hit .272 with 38 home runs and 126 RBIs forthe New York Mets, posting an .871 OPS that was his highest since he hit 53 homeruns as arookie in 2019. Alonso, afirst baseman who turned 31 on Sunday,hit 264 homersoverseven seasonswiththe Mets. He’searned All-Star honors five times, including each of the past four years.

CommandersQBDaniels

to miss startvs. Giants

Quarterback Jayden Daniels will sit out the Washington Commanders’ game at the NewYork Giants on Sunday after aggravating his injured leftelbow last weekend.

Coach Dan Quinn said WednesdaythatDaniels did notre-dislocate the elbow —which originally washurt in aloss to the Seattle Seahawks on Nov.2—when the reigning AP NFLOffensive Rookie of theYearwas knockedtothe ground after throwing an interception in Washington’s31-0 loss to the Vikings on Sunday “Landing on it, like full-on” was theissue,Quinn said, noting that an MRI exam Monday and further testing this weekshowed “no structural setbacks.”

He said team doctors advised him to keep Daniels off the field againstthe Giants (2-11).Marcus Mariota will start for Washington.

downstobreak Archie Manning‘s record (six) set back in 1971.

Technically,both of those recordscould be claimed by Aaron Brooks (1,514 yards and nine touchdowns), who made his NFL debut in aSaintsuniform in 2000.But Brooks was not arookie, having spent the startofhis career with theGreen Bay Packers.

OldMan Rivers

Earlier this week, the Indianapolis Colts madenational headlines when theysigned44-year-old Philip Rivers to thepractice squad.

Rivers, wholast played in 2020 andwas recently named asemifinalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, is coming back to help a Colts team that lost starting quarterback Daniel Jones to aseason-ending injury in the midst of aplayoff push.

Riversisnearly seven years older than Moore, who is in his first season as the Saints head coach.

“I think it’sawesome for(Colts head coach Shane Steichen)and Philip to be back together,” Moore said. “It’s cool to see, and obviously gives them alittle bit of aboost in the situation they’re in.”

“I think fouryearsago,I probably would’ve tried something stupid and tried to hurdle or truck him or whatever,and I’ve gotten hurt,” Shough said. “But you’re going to try andget the first down, and I feel like I’ve had the opportunity to learn from thatwhere you’re not playingscared, butyou’renot playing dumb, either.”

Aquarterback’smobility always hasbeen an important part of Moore’soffense.

As an offensive coordinator,Moore called plays forDak Prescott, Justin Herbert and Jalen Hurts— all threats to take off and extendplays.Before Shough took over for theSaints this season, Spencer Rattler also usedhis legs afair amount. Moore liked to say that thesecond-year quarterback ranthe “fakest 4.9 ever.”

ButShough’sspeed has been forcing defenses to account for him. According to Next GenStats, the second-round pickhas the second-most carries (20) and thirdmost rushingyards (95) forhis position over the last three games. Shough, who rana 4.63 40-yard dash at the combine,clocked 19.43 mphonhis 34-yard touchdown run.

“Everyone kind of counts out hiswheels, but …that’sanother part of his game that’s very underrated,” Neal said of Shough. “Peopleare,hopefully,starting to notice.”

Raidersquarterback Smith questionable vs. Eagles HENDERSON, Nev.— Raiders quarterback Geno Smith did not practice Wednesday because of ashoulderinjury,placing hisstatusfor Sunday’s game at Philadelphia in question. Coach Pete Carroll termed Smith’sstatusasday-to-day. Kenny Pickett, who wasJalen Hurts’ backup last season with theEagles, took first-team snaps in practice. Smith injured his right (throwing) shoulder in the third quarterofSunday’s24-17 loss to Denver. He was not available for commentWednesday.

Pickett replaced Smith and completed 8of11passesfor 97 yards and atouchdown.

“Coming in late, Ididn’tmuch workwiththe first-team guys at all,” Pickett said. “So the fact Ican go outthere andget some (Wednesday) would be huge.”

Keydefensiveplayer for Hoosierstomiss CFP

Defensive end Stephen Daley is expected to miss the College Football Playoff after getting injured during No. 1Indiana’sBig Ten championship celebration.

Coach Curt Cignetti made the announcement Wednesday

Asocial media video showed Daley landing awkwardly on his right leg while high-fiving fans after the Hoosiers completed a13-10 victory over Ohio State to capture their first Big Tentitle since 1967.

Daley played akey role for the Hoosiers after transferringfrom KentState to Indiana this season. He had 38 tackles, 19 tackles for loss, 51/2 sacks, two forced fumbles and one pass breakup this season, earning allBig Tenhonorable mention honors. The Hoosiers will face the winnerofNo. 8Oklahomaand No. 9 Alabama.

Mavericks centerLively to miss rest of season

Dallas Mavericks center Dereck Lively is set forseason-ending surgery on his ailing right foot, another setback forthe promising but oft-injured player

Theteam saidWednesday the surgerywillbeperformed by Dr James CalderinLondon. The Maverickspreviously said Lively was seeking multiple medical opinions as discomfort in the foot lingered.

Lively’s final gameofthe season was a118-115 victory over New OrleansonNov.21. He then sat the second night of aback-to-back aftermissing 10 of the previous 14 gamesbecause of aknee injury.The foot issuearose after his return.

The 21-year-old Lively will have missed 148 of apossible 246 games by the end of his third season.

STAFFPHOTO By BRETT DUKE

NewOrleansSaints offensivetackle Taliese Fuaga, right, competes in the firsthalf against the NewEngland PatriotsonOct. 12 in the Caesars Superdome. Fuaga returnedto practiceWednesday and could playSundayagainst the Carolina Panthers

LSU’sthird-leading rusher enters portal

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

LSU sophomore runningback

Ju’Juan Johnson is planning to enter the transfer portal, he confirmedwith The Advocate on Wednesday Johnson was third on theTigers in rushing yards and carries while averaging 4yards per attempt this season. He began the yearasa clear part of LSU’srotation at running back with three or more carries in five of LSU’s first six games, but he faded down the stretch.He had only10carries over LSU’s final six contests.

Johnson, afour-star recruit from Lafayette Christian in the 2024 class, arrived at LSU as asafety but moved to running back midway through his freshman year. He then transitioned to quarterback to begin this season, but moved back to the backfieldafter freshman JT

Lindsey was suspended fromthe team. Johnson finishes hisLSU career with 259 totalyards from scrimmage. He had 17 catches for 72 yards to go along with 151 yards on theground this season. He had 36 total yards from scrimmage as afreshman

WithoutJohnson, LSU still has leading running backsHarlem Berry andCaden Durham set to return nextseason.Berry emerged as akey piece of the running back rotation this season as afreshman. Durham has battled injuries, butthe sophomore started as afreshmanand has averaged more than 5yards per carry duringhis time at LSU.

LSU didnot sign anyrunning backs fromthe 2026 class, meaning that it will have to turn to the transferportaltoadd more depth at the position.

Napier aims to buildon JMU’sCFP momentum

BY MIKE BARBER Associated Press

HARRISONBURG, Va.— Billy Napier will be watching 12th-seeded James Madison’sCollegeFootball Playoff game against fifth-seeded Oregon with an eye toward the future. The former Florida coach was introduced Wednesday asthe successor to Bob Chesney,who will leave James Madison for UCLA after the Dukes’ playoff run

“This place continues to make history and it’sour job to continue that,” Napier said. “It’sinthe DNA here.” Napier agreed to a five-year contract that will pay him aguaranteed $965,000 annually,adealthat ranks him in the top five among coaches in the Sun Belt Conference.

The contract includes a$2.5 million buyout if he leaves before the 2029 season. It goes down to $1.75 million if he leaves before the 2030 season, and $1.25 million if he leaves before the 2032 season Athletic director Matt Roan said in addition to asalary in the top end of the conference, Napier will have high-level pay for his staff and arevenue-sharing percentage that is the highest in the Sun Belt and competitive nationally “Wecertainly have enoughresources to be competitive,” Napier said. “I wouldn’tbesitting here if that wasn’tthe case.” Napier went 40-12 in four seasons at UL, then 22-23 in his four

years with theGators.His runat

UL sawhim dominate theSun Belt, making four appearances in the title game asWest Division champs and league titlesinhis finaltwo seasons there.

Napier never got things rolling at Florida, having just one winning season at 8-5 in 2024. He was3-4 when he was fired by theGators this season.

Chesney has led the Dukestoa 12-1record,the SunBelt championship and aspotinthe CFP. UCLA hadbeen pursuing him sinceit firedDeShaun Foster in Week 3.

“Where we’reatcurrently, we need to maximize the momentum that we have,” Napiersaid. “We need to take full advantage of these opportunities that come with the CollegeFootball Playoff.”

Calling the next 90 days “critical,” Napier said he’ll be focused on meeting and retaining the current players andhiring his staff.

In Napier,James Madison may have found acoach who can bring stability to aprogram that just hired its fifth coach in the last 10 years.

“This could be the price for success,” Roan said

ButhebelievesNapier’s experience at UL and theage of his childrencouldlead to adesire to stick in one place.

“This is aboutbuilding asustainable program that can have continued success,” Napier said. “To where Ican drive home everyday and feel good about the type of team we could have next year.”

Pavia, Leawin topSEC awards;two Tigers honored

BY MARK LONG AP sportswriter

Vanderbiltquarterback Diego Pavia, his coach Clark Lea and Texas A&M pass rusher Cashius Howell won top individualhonors from The Associated Pressfor the 2025 Southeastern Conference season. In results released Wednesday, the AP named Pavia the conference’s offensive player of theyear, Lea the coach of the year for asecond straight season and Howell the defensive player of the year Missouri running back Ahmad Hardy,asophomore who transferred from UL-Monroe, was namedthe league’snewcomer of theyear.Tennessee receiver Braylon Staley was named freshman of the year LSU’sonly two representatives on thetwo all-SEC teams came from the defense. Both senior cornerback Mansoor Delane and senior safety AJ Haulcy landed on the first-team defense.

Pavia, aHeisman Trophy finalist who led the Commodores to their first 10-win season in schoolhistory,completed 71% of hispassesfor 3,192yards.He accountedfor 4,018 total yards and36touchdowns, including 27 passing. He led theSEC and rankedfourth nationally with a 171.5 passer rating. Lea hasbeeninstrumental in

First-team offense

QB —DiegoPavia, Vanderbilt, 6-0, 207, Gr. RB —Ahmad Hardy,Missouri, 5-10, 210, So. RB —Kewan Lacy,Ole Miss, 5-11,210, So. WR —Chris Brazzell II, Tennessee, 6-5, 200, R-Jr. WR —Isaiah Sategna III, Oklahoma, 5-10, 182, R-Jr. TE —Eli Stowers, Vanderbilt,6-4, 235, Gr.

OT —Cayden Green, Missouri, 6-5, 324, Jr.

OT —Kadyn Proctor,Alabama, 6-7,366, Jr.

OT —Keagen Trost, Missouri, 6-4, 316, Gr.

OG —DJCampbell, Texas, 6-3, 321, Sr.

OG —Wendell Moe Jr., Tennessee, 6-2, 330, R-Jr.

C—JakeSlaughter,Florida, 6-5, 303, R-Sr.

First-team defense

DE/Edge —Cashius Howell, TexasA&M, 6-2 248, R-Sr.

DE/Edge —Colin Simmons, Texas, 6-3,240, So.

DT —WillEcholes,Ole Miss, 6-3,310, So.

DT —Christen Miller, Georgia, 6-4,310, R-Jr.

LB —CJAllen, Georgia, 6-1, 235, Jr.

LB —Xavier Atkins,Auburn, 6-0, 210, So.

LB —AnthonyHill Jr Texas, 6-3,238, Jr.

CB —Mansoor Delane, LSU,6-0, 190, Sr.

CB —Daylen Everette, Georgia, 6-1, 190, Sr.

S—A.J. Haulcy,LSU,6-0, 222, Sr.

Pavia’sdevelopment andthe rise of the program. Vandy has 17 wins over the last two seasons— the team’sbest two-year stretch in nearly acentury —and have sold out games alongthe way ThatsuccessmadeLea acandidate at other programs and prompted acontract extension last month. Lea also wasnamed the SEC’s coachofthe yearin2024after leading the ‘Dores to a7-6 mark. Howell leads the league and is

S—BrayHubbard, Alabama, 6-2, 213, Jr.

First-team specialists

PK —Tate Sandell, Oklahoma, 5-9, 182, R-Jr. P—Grayson Miller, Oklahoma,5-10, 200, Jr. All-purpose —KCConcepcion, TexasA&M, 5-11, 190, Jr.

Second-team offense

QB —TySimpson, Alabama, 6-2, 208, R-Jr. RB —Jadan Baugh, Florida, 6-1, 231, So RB —MikeWashington Jr., Arkansas, 6-2, 228, Sr. WR —KCConcepcion, TexasA&M, 5-11, 190, Jr WR —BrenenThompson, TexasA&M, 5-9, 170, Sr. TE —RohonJones, Arkansas,6-3,242, Sr. OT —Cayden Green,Missouri,6-5, 324, Jr. OT —TrevorGoosby,Texas,6-7,312, So. OG —Ar’maj Reed-Adams,Texas A&M, 6-5, 325, Gr. OG —Micah Morris, Georgia, 6-4, 330, R-Sr. C—DrewBobo, Georgia, 6-5, 305, Jr. Second-team defense DE/Edge —QuincyRhodes Jr., Arkansas, 6-6, 275, Jr. DE/Edge —R Mason Thomas,Oklahoma, 6-2, 249, Sr. DT —Gracen Halton, Oklahoma,6-2,292, Sr

coach Brad Davis,aBaton Rouge native who waswith the Tigers for the past five years.

tied for fourth nationally with 111/2 sacks. He has 151/2 sacks in two years with the Aggies. He spent his first two seasonsatBowling Green. Hardy led the SEC with 1,560 yards rushing, including 300 against Mississippi State last month, and scored 16 touchdowns. Staley caught 64 passes for 806 yards and six TDs. The 2025APAll-SEC team, as selected by media members who regularly cover the league.

DT —ChrisMcClellan, Missouri, 6-4, 323, Sr LB —JosiahTrotter, Missouri, 6-2, 237, R-So LB —TaureanYork,Texas A&M, 5-10, 227, Jr. LB —OwenHeinecke, Oklahoma,6-1,227, R-Jr. CB —Colton Hood, Tennessee, 6-0, 195, R-So. CB —Ellis Robinson IV,Georgia,6-0,180, R-Fr S—Michael Taaffe,Texas,6-0,189, Sr S—WydettWilliams Jr., Ole Miss, 6-2, 210, Sr. Second-team specialists PK —Peyton Woodring, Georgia, 5-10, 190 P—Brett Thorson, Georgia, 6-2, 235, Sr All-purpose —RyanNiblett, Texas, 5-10, 187, So. Individual awards

Coach of the Year —Clark Lea, Vanderbilt OffensivePlayerofthe Year —QBDiego Pavia,Vanderbilt DefensivePlayerofthe Year —DECashius Howell, TexasA&M Newcomer of the year —RBAhmadHardy Missouri Freshman of the year —WRBraylonStaley Tennessee

er,head of strength andconditioning Nick Savage, co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Joe Cox, passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach George McDonald, and director of player personnel Mike Williams.

LSU is set to approve atwo-year dealfor newoffensive line coach Eric Wolford that will pay him an average of $937,500 per year,and atwo-year deal for new quarterbacks coach Dane Stevens worth $350,000 per year.With Wolford confirmed as theoffensiveline coach, LSU needs only arunning backs coachtocompleteKiffin’s offensive staff.

Wolford has coached offensive lines in theSEC for thepast nine seasons. He worked at South Carolinafrom 2017-20 beforespending ayear at Kentucky.Hethen worked as theAlabama offensive line coach for two seasons until Nick Saban retired. After that, Wolford returned to Kentuckyfor the past two yearsuntil head coach Mark Stoopswas fired.Wolford will replace LSU offensive line

LSUalso is hiring director of football operations Thaddeus Rivers to atwo-year deal worth an averageof$312,500 anddirector of recruitingDwikeWilson to a two-year deal worth an average of $287,500 as several key staff roles change under Kiffinand general manager Billy Glasscock. All theterm sheets for the assistant coachesand staffmembers include aclausethatrequires them to pay300% of theirthencurrentsalary if they terminate their agreement without cause before theend of March. All of themwould owe 100% of their buyout after that date if theytake another college job. However, Weis would not have to pay anything if he leaves after the 2026 season Weis first overlappedwith Kiffinasagraduate assistant at Alabama, and he worked withhim at both Florida Atlantic andOle Miss.They have to overhaul an LSU offense that ranks 108th in thecountry in scoring at 21.8 points pergame. LSU firedoffensive coordinator Joe Sloan in the middle of theseason after dismiss-

ing head coach Brian Kelly LSU also temporarilyadjusted the compensation and incentives package for running backs coach FrankWilson, who wasnamed interim head coachafter Kellywas fired. Wilson earned $1.05 million this year,whichwas paid through monthly installments. He will make$169,583 moreper month in Novemberand December while he servesasinterim coach. Wilson received an additional $10,000 for his one regular-seasonSEC winagainst Arkansas and $50,000 for making abowl game.Hewould earn $100,000 if LSU beatsNo. 21 Houstonin the Texas Bowl. After the game, Wilsoncan leavebeforeMarch without havingtopay abuyout even though he hasanother year on his contract Wilson’s future at LSU is unclear.Hehas expressed adesire to stay and had conversations with Kiffin, but he said Tuesday he does not expect clarity until after the Texas Bowl. On3 reported Wednesday that Wilson is anametoknow in Texas’ search foranew running backs coach. None of LSU’s other offensive coaches from this past season are expected to be retained.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By SAM CRAFT

Florida head coach Billy Napier watches his teamlineupagainst Texas A&M on Oct. 11 in College Station, Texas.

WALKER IV

Vanderbilt quarterback DiegoPavia celebrates atouchdown during agame against LSUonOct. 18 in Nashville, Tenn.

Vanderbilt head coachClark Lea watches histeam warmupbefore a game against Kentucky on Nov. 22 in Nashville, Tenn.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU running back Ju’Juan Johnson high-steps away fromWestern Kentucky linebacker Jaylen Wester in the fourth quarter on Nov. 22 at TigerStadium.

Hall balances staff selections with preparation for CFP

BY GUERRY SMITH

Contributing writer

Soon-to-be Tulane head coach

Will Hall knows how important it is to put a terrific staff together, but he also understands nothing can get in the way of the Green Wave’s preparation for its Dec. 20 College Football Playoff game against Ole Miss.

It is a tricky combination as he fulfills his role as passing game coordinator while also talking with assistants who will not accompany Jon Sumrall to Florida about staying in New Orleans.

“We’re in the middle of a College Football Playoff run, and you don’t want to mess that up because it’s a special scenario,” Hall said. “There’s a little bit more moving parts than normal, and we’re trying to manage both sides of that in the best way to give us the best opportunity to go up to Oxford (Mississippi) and put our best foot forward.”

Sumrall will not take offensive coordinator Joe Craddock or defensive coordinator Greg Gasparato to Florida, reportedly hiring Georgia Tech offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner and Kentucky defensive coordinator Brad White for the same roles with Florida.

Hall has praised Craddock repeatedly for wanting him to join the staff this year rather than balking at the addition of a former Tulane offensive coordinator

“I want what’s best for Joe, and whatever that is, we’ll find out in the next few days,” Hall said Tuesday “He’s a great coach who has a lot of great opportunities he’s assessing right now He will be a head coach one day or a Power Four offensive coordinator making a whole lot of money, or he could stay here because he loves this place and we are so close.”

Hall said his first priority is naming a defensive coordinator, with Gasparato a possibility.

“Coach Gas is a phenomenal coach that has a lot of opportunities in front of him,” he said “He can be a head coach in the very near future as well. If he would like to be here, we’ll get that shored up just like with coach Craddock and the rest of the staff over the next few days.”

Crescent City connection

The lure of New Orleans was a huge factor in Hall joining Sumrall’s staff this year after being fired by Southern Miss midway through the 2024 season, and he believes the same attraction will be pivotal to his success as coach. He realized the benefit early in his tenure as former coach Willie Fritz‘s offensive coordinator in 2019-20.

“I told my wife after six

months, recruiting here is different,” he said. “I believe when young men come here, it changes them Choosing to come here is a tremendous advantage that puts you in front.”

Hall, a devout Christian, still found a city known for its hedonistic pleasures to be a perfect fit.

“It’s my favorite place we’ve ever lived,” he said “New Orleans wakes up happy, ready to attack the day If there’s not a party planned, there’s about to be one planned. I love that. I don’t think the good Lord wants us to not enjoy life.”

Institutional support

In a search that included several Zoom interviews and a few in-person interviews, Hall’s assuredness stood out to Tulane

athletic director David Harris

“We had a chance to sit down with him twice, and both times at the end of the interview he stood up, shook my hand and said, ‘David, I’m your guy,’ ” Harris said.

“And he was right He was and is my guy, and now he’s our guy.”

Harris added it was not just current players who endorsed Hall during the selection process but also staff members in and around the school, coaches and former players.

“While there is some science to these searches, there is also some art to it,” Harris said.

“Maybe there’s even a little bit of luck, but whatever it is, you’re just concerned that you have the right person for your program at the right time. I can’t remember a search where there were just so many people representing so many different groups coming forward saying we believe in this guy.”

No opinion

Hall’s sons, Tripp and Pete, have been back at John Curtis High since Hall returned to Tulane in the spring. They were third and fifth graders in 2019. Now, Tripp is a junior defensive lineman and wrestler for the Patriots. Eighth grader Pete, who was an everyday presence at Tulane practices as an 8-year-old in 2019, is a quarterback and basketball player

Laughing, Hall refused to get involved in Friday night’s controversial ending of the Curtis-St. Augustine Division I select semifinal game. Curtis coach J.T Curtis thought a Purple Knights player who was ruled out of bounds with four seconds left had landed inbounds. St. Augustine scored the winning touchdown as time ran out on the next play

“They’re both great programs,”

Hall said, intent on recruiting each

MICHIGAN

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and shared with the NCAA.

Just a few years ago, Moore was Harbaugh’s top assistant and regarded as a rising star Moore, who is from Derby, Kansas, didn’t start playing football until his junior year of high school. He played for Butler County Community College in Kansas and as an offensive lineman for coach Bob Stoops at Oklahoma during the 2006 and 2007 seasons. His coaching career began as a graduate assistant at Louisville before moving on to Central Michigan where he caught Harbaugh’s attention Harbaugh hired him in 2018 as tight ends coach. Moore was promoted to offensive line coach and co-offensive coordinator in 2021, when the Wolverines bounced back from

Tulane men dispatch NAIA foe amid exams

BY GUERRY SMITH Contributing writer

In the midst of final exams, the Tulane men’s basketball team passed the easiest test it will face all year

The Green Wave by no means aced it, though.

Rowan Brumbaugh led four players in double figures with 22 points and Tulane overcame an inattentive first half to polish off NAIA opponent Tougaloo 84-72 at home on Wednesday night After taking an 18-7 advantage, the Wave surrendered a 12-0 run and was ahead only 39-33 at halftime before gradually pulling away

“It’s never easy making a decision to play games during this time of the year or not playing games,” Tulane coach Ron Hunter said. “We came out and jumped on them, but it came too easily We just weren’t sharp today.”

Tulane (7-3) will face an infinitely tougher test at 11 p.m. Saturday in Las Vegas against UC San Diego, a 2025 NCAA Tournament team. Tougaloo (5-7), which was picked

DUNCAN

Continued from page 1C

was on the receiving end of the outreach.

“My phone was buzzing with texts, and you could feel it resonating all over the city,” Arata said. “The excitement and energy have been crazy.”

The impact from the historic achievement is still being felt by the team and school officials. But the tangible and intangible benefits are real, and many are already being realized on campus.

second in its league, had its fourgame winning streak snapped.

Brumbaugh turned in the play of the game, diving to the floor for a loose ball and flipping it over his head from a prone position to Asher Woods for a breakaway dunk that gave the Wave a 20-point lead with 6:03 left. Brumbaugh added a career-high-tying seven rebounds, six assists and three steals.

Scotty Middleton broke out of a scoring slump, hitting his first four 3-point attempts to match a careerhigh, and he also had a career-high 12 rebounds. Woods, who did not start for the first time since New Year’s Eve of last season, scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half, surpassing 1,000 career points along the way

“Not everybody gets to do it (score 1,000 points),” Woods said. “I really feel gratitude for getting the opportunity to do this.”

Yet it was still a very shaky night. Tougaloo, which had lost its only other game against a Division I foe 93-57 to Southern Miss, capitalized on lax transition defense with 15 fastbreak points in the

first half and took the lead, 19-18, on Tyler Hudson’s layup. Antonio Patterson, who entered averaging more than 20 points per game, scored a season-high 31 on 11-of-20 shooting.

Tulane went on an 8-0 run early in the second half and was ahead by double digits for the last 13 minutes. The result was never in doubt, but it was a dubious performance for long stretches. Tulane nearly matched Tougaloo’s 17 turnovers with 16 of its own, including four from Curtis Williams.

“What I’m not seeing is consistency,” Hunter said. “There have been times in every game where we look like world beaters. There are other times when we look like we’ve never seen a basketball. One of the hardest things in life for me is to continue to be patient and understand we have a good group. I wish it would happen tomorrow.”

Hunter started Josiah Moore for the first time, but he struggled after scoring five early points. Woods played most of the minutes in the second half

a 2-4, pandemic-shortened season and began a three-year run of excellence that culminated in the school’s first national title in 26 years.

He worked his way up within the Wolverines staff and filled in as interim coach for four games during the 2023 championship season while Harbaugh served two suspensions for potential NCAA rules violations.

Moore also served a one-game suspension during that year related to a recruiting infractions NCAA case. Earlier in the 2023 season, Michigan State fired coach Mel Tucker for cause after he engaged in what he described as consensual phone sex with an activist and rape survivor In 2012, Arkansas fired coach Bobby Petrino because of a sordid scandal that involved a motorcycle crash, an affair with a woman who worked for him and being untruthful to his bosses.

The financial windfall alone is extraordinary Win or lose its Dec. 20 rematch with Ole Miss, Tulane will receive $8.1 million from the CFP, most of which comes from its share of the CFP’s $8 million payout to the American Conference. Unlike most conferences, which divvy up postseason revenue equally among member schools, the American has a performance-based revenue-sharing system, which rewards programs for their individual success. As such, Tulane will receive $6.1 million of the CFP’s $8 million payout to the American and another $2 million for travel and operational expenses from the CFP

If Tulane upsets Ole Miss and advances to the quarterfinal round against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl, it will mean another $6 million to $7 million payday for the Green Wave.

“Obviously, this is a huge thing for us,” Tulane athletic director David Harris said. “For our football program, for the department and the entire university to be in a position where we’re playing on the biggest stage that college football has to offer, it allows us to take another step as far as our significance as a football program and significance as a university I can’t think of anything that’s more significant than being able to have a chance to play in the College Football Playoff game.”

It remains to be seen how Tulane will utilize the extra resources, but much of it is expected to be reinvested into the football

program, particularly the school’s Green Wave Talent Fund, which funds name, image and likeness (NIL) opportunities for the school’s athletes.

“Obviously, (the CFP berth) is something that you can’t necessarily plan for or budget for, from a financial standpoint,” Harris said. “For us, it’s an unexpected benefit that we’ll certainly put to good use as far as trying to continue the overall development of program.”

As great as the CFP payday is for Tulane, the ancillary benefits of media exposure, prestige and Q rating enhancement might be even more significant. As one of just 12 schools in the playoff, Tulane joins an exclusive club that includes, among others, college football bluebloods Alabama, Ohio State, Miami and Georgia. The game will be televised nationally on TNT/Tru TV in the 2:30 p.m. time slot on Dec. 20.

What’s more, the football program will receive two weeks of pregame publicity in the lead-up to the game. The value of the media exposure alone is expected to be in the millions.

“This is a moment of opportunity for us,” Tulane CFO Patrick Norton said Tuesday at the news conference to introduce Will Hall as the new football coach.

“Football has elevated the national profile of our university

and energized our community.”

It’s no coincidence, school officials say, that Tulane’s unprecedented recent run of success on the football field has dovetailed with record-breaking student enrollment figures and growth in research, enterprise, and bold investments in innovation and infrastructure.

“The rise of Green Wave athletics very much reflects the state of the university as a whole,” Tulane president Michael Fitts said. “We are truly a university on the rise.”

Time will tell whether the CFP appearance is a one-off or the start of something bigger and more tangible for Tulane athletics. The truth is it might take years to fully quantify the residual effects.

In the end, school officials are optimistic it will have a similar or even greater impact on the school as the Green Wave’s milestone win over Southern Cal in the Cotton Bowl nearly three years ago.

“I grew up playing football and to look at the names on that list — Georgia, Alabama, Miami — all the great names of college football, and now Tulane University fits in there,” Arata said. “What that means for the profile of our athletics program and being in that number, I mean, we made it. This is a defining moment in Tulane athletics history.”

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER Tulane linebacker Sam Howard reacts to a play against North Texas during the second half of the American Conference championship game at yulman Stadium on Friday. Tulane won 34-21.

STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

New Tulane football coach Will Hall speaks during an introductory news conference in the Glazer Family Center at yulman Stadium on Tuesday.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

Tulane Green Wave guard Rowan Brumbaugh passes the ball around Samford Bulldogs forward Jaxon Pollard during a game at Devlin Fieldhouse on Nov. 3.

THE VARSITYZONE

Source of pride

Membersof undefeated 1975 St. Augteamenjoying this year’s runby Purple Knights

The guys from St. Augustine’s 1975 state championship team still talk about it as if it happened yesterday

Riversideseeks to bring homegoldafter 2023 miss

BY CHRISTOPHERDABE Staff writer

Riverside has severalplayers who felt the sting of holding alead in the fourth quarter of a statechampionship gameonly to have it slip away two years ago. Senior quarterback Brock Bourgeois is athird-year starter who along with wideoutsKenric Johnson and Chris Becnel —each acontributor as eighth graders back then—plus defensive linemanAhmad Cage as astandout freshmanatthe time were key players wholost to Southern Lab in 2023. Now back at the Caesars Superdome to face No. 5Ascension Catholic (11-2) andstate record holding running back Trevin Simon in the LHSAA Division IV select state final set for 3:30p.m.Thursday,No. 2 Riverside (11-1) knowsbetter than most what is at stake this week.

and he’shad some really great games.”

“But there’ssomuch morethat he brings to ourfootball team fromacompetitiveness standpoint, atoughness standpoint and acoachability standpoint, where if youplayrunning back andO-line in ouroffense, that’s my baby,” Roussel said. “I coach these guys hard. He’sbeen funto coach and apleasure to coach.”

Obiekwe said he “never got a chance to play in the Superdome. Just week by week,it’sbeen in my headthatweactuallyhave a chancetomakea run to be able to do this.”

Obiekwe will notbethe only skilled back on the field for the state final. Simon, of Ascension Catholic, holds single-season state records for rushing yards with 3,765 and rushing touchdowns with 57. He ran for364 yards andsix touchdowns on 33 carriesina45-14 semifinalwin against Westminster Christian.

“Wegot one of these in 2023, a silver trophy,” Riversidecoach Lee Roussel said. “Now it’stime to get thegold one back home.” Bourgeois, Cage and senior safety Jace Trosclairhavebeen keycontributors for the past threeseasons under Roussel in his fifthyear as head coach. Akey difference-makerhas been senior running back Jayden Obiekwe, an East Jefferson transfer whothe LHSAA cleared to play afterWeek 2. TheRebels have scored40points or more in every game since then.

They always will, just likethey did three months ago when they celebrated the50year anniversary of one of themost dominant teams to ever walk thehalls of the school at AP Tureaud Avenue.

The reunion in Septembertook placethe weekend of St. Aug’s season opener,aconvincing56-6 victory over McDonogh 35 that was aprecursor of things to come in aseason that has been just as unforgettable as the one five decades ago.

The Purple Knights, for the first time since 1979, are playing football on the final week of the season. They will play for the Division Iselect title Saturday against Edna Karr,the Algiers juggernaut that has made Caesars Superdome its second home.

The ’75 team will be beaming with pride as it watches this year’steam try to become the fourth one in school history to win an LHSAA crown.

“It’ll be agreat big reunion, said Louis Holmes,who played quarterback for St. Aug in 1975. “Wehave Knightscomingfrom all over the world. If these kids pull off this win, it’sgoingtobe acelebration for the next six months.”

How big of adeal is this game for St. Aug alum?

Well, Rory Verrett (Classof 1988) is flying in from Portugal to be apart of what likelywill be one of the largest crowdstoever witness ahigh school gameinthe Dome.

There probably won’tbemany people in the stadium with more pride than the ones who played on St. Aug’s1975 state championship team. They helped pave the way for the St. Aug teams that won back-to-back titles in 1978 and 1979. And they were the first to win achampionship in the LHSAA. Prior to the 1975 season St. Aug also had won three state championships (1963, 1965 and 1966) in the all-Black Louisiana Interscholastic Athletic and LiteraryOrganization. St. Aug joined the LHSAA in 1967,but not before having to file alawsuit to be allowed to join an association that wanted to keep the school out Eight years later, St. Aug won the championship by beating Covington35-13 in agame played beforeapacked house at Strawberry Stadium in Hammond. The team finished the season 15-0. “Weran the table and we could have never dreamed of that,” said Oyd Craddock, acornerback and team captain. “That year taught

SUBMITTED PHOTO

The 1975 St.Augustine football team celebrated the 50-year anniversary of its statechampionship in September

Football state championships At CaesarsSuperdome

IV nonselect: No. 1Haynesville (130) vs.No. 2Mangham (11-2),noon Division IV select: No. 2Riverside (11-1)vs. No. 5Ascension Catholic (11-2),3:30 p.m. Division III select: No. 5Dunham (12-1) vs No. 6Calvary Baptist (12-1), 7p.m. Friday Division II nonselect: No. 1North Desoto (130) vs.No. 2Iowa(13-0), noon Division III nonselect: No. 1Jena (12-1)vs. No. 2Sterlington (11-2), 3:30p.m. Division II select: No. 1St. Charles (12-1)vs. No. 7Shaw(9-4), 7p.m. Saturday Division Inonselect: No. 1Ruston (11-2) vs No. 14 Ouachita Parish (10-4),noon Division Iselect: No. 1Edna Karr (13-0)vs. No. 3St. Augustine(12-1),3:30 p.m.

me alesson in life. When agroup of people unselfishly come together for something bigger than themselves, they can achieve beyond whatthey imagine. That’s what happened withus. We couldn’t have dreamed that would have happened.”

Much like Covington, most teams didn’tcome close to beatingSt. Augthat season. The team was led upfrontbyoffensive linemanLouis Oubre, who went on to play in the NFL

St.Aug shut outseven of its 10 regular-season opponents. The Purple Knights outscoredtheir opponents 409-64.

Their only real scare came in the semifinals against Sulphur They trailed 10-0 with alittle more than six minutes left before rallying for an 11-10 victory.That comeback reminded them of the one this year’steam had in last week’ssemifinal gameagainst JohnCurtis.

Curtis scored atouchdown with 39 seconds left to take a29-25 lead. St. Augustine answered by marching 70 yards in six plays andscoringthe game-winner as time expired on a3-yard touchdown pass from Vashaun Coulon to receiver Derrick Bennett. “THE GLASS CEILING HAS BEEN BROKEN!” broadcaster

and St. Augalum Vashon Jones screamed on the live stream footage that went viral

St.Aug defensive line coach

Matt Brown appreciates Jones’ metaphor

“Being close so many times and finally beingabletokick down that dooronPoydras Street is an amazingfeeling,” Brown said. “It means so much to so many people.Idon’tthink ourkids quite understand howbig it is. We tryto keep them level headed and keep them in themoment. Butwhen youstep back and actually look at

thebig picture, it’sa huge deal.”

Brown’suncle, a1962 St. Aug grad, lives in California and is planning to makethe trip to New Orleans.

It wouldn’tbepossible if not for those final 39 seconds against Curtis.

“Wehad aspectacular year, but this year’steam had themost spectacular moment,” Craddock said. “That drive and that moment, nothing is ever topping that.”

Well, except if the Purple Knights can somehow do what nobody has been able todoall season —beat the Karr Cougars, who have won five titles in the last nine years.

“Weknew (in 1975) that it belonged to us,” Holmes said. “The only way we would win it was if we had that mindset. Ibelieve this team has that same mindset.They know they are going up against a giant.You’ve got to be prepared. David’sgotta get those stones real smooth(to beat Goliath).”

Holmes threw three touchdownsinthe first half of the championshipgame 50 years ago. Four weeks beforethat game in Hammond, St. Aug played in the first high school game in theSuperdome.The Purple Knights beat Carver in the first round of theplayoffs in theDome, which hadopened just afew monthsearlier. Running back Earl Richardwas the first high school player to score atouchdown in theDome.

He’shoping to see more St. Aug touchdowns Saturday

“I’m abeliever that history can repeat itself,”Richard said. If it does, theplayers on this year’sSt. Augteam will get together 50 years from now and reflect on what then will be considered the good ole days for them. Just like the1975 team did in September

The players laughed. They shed afew tears. They presented a check to this year’steam. They sang thealma mater.And they released 17 balloons in honor of the ones who are no longer around. Fourteen players and three coaches, including legendary head coach Otis Washington.

“Excellence is what he always preached,”Richard said. “He’d be ecstatic about this squad and its accomplishments.”

Just like he was about the undefeated 1975 Purple Knights

Obiekwe ranfor 278 yards and six touchdowns in a42-14 semifinal win against Ascension Episcopal, aperformance that has become almost routine for the versatileball carrier RoussellaudedObiekwe for how he can not only “run the ball in between the tackles but make people miss. When he gets in the open field, he can pull away

Rousselnoted howAscension Catholic had a“good back last year” in Chad Elzy,the previous school record holder for rushing yards in aseason,and thatElzy —now at Kentucky State —was the running back when Ascension Catholic beat Riverside 40-35 in a state quarterfinal last season. Riverside also had its share of talented backs in recent seasons with Dedric Lastie (Nicholls State) preceded by Elijah Davis (UL).

“Whenyou’re agood program, it never graduates,” Roussel said aboutthe skilldevelopment that putsplayers in positiontosucceed.

For Riverside, which won its only state title in 2016, the return to the Dome marksa chance to make up forthe defeat it experienced two years ago —and to return homewith the right colored trophy

Shaw in differentheadspace forrematch vs.St. Charles

BY CHRISTOPHER DABE Staff writer

Thefirst meeting between Shaw andSt. Charles ended with Shaw coach Hank Tierney returning to his office and wondering what would come next forhis struggling football team.

The Eagles ended the season withtwo consecutive shutout losses, the first oneagainst Belle Chasse.

“Wefinished theseason hobbled,” Tierney said. “I don’t knowif(two straight shutout losseshas) ever happened in all my years of coaching. We really had abad end to the season from amental standpoint.”

Now witha secondmeeting against top-seeded St. Charles setfor 7p.m. Friday at the CaesarsSuperdomeinthe LHSAA Division II select state championship, Tierneycan credit aweek of physical practices for giving his team the reset it needed.

“Wewentgood on good,” Tierney said about how his seventhseeded team spent the bye week before it playedinthe second round against Haynes. “Wetried to getback to the Shaw mentality of being more physical and not pout. Just getting after one another.I think that picked us up alittle bit.”

Havingphysical practices with first-team units on the field during the open date after theregularseason was something “we neverdone… before,” said Tierney,who usually guards against wearing out his team before the playoffs.

“The idea was, we got to get better this week,” Tierney said.

“If we don’t, it’snot going to matter anyway.”

Shaw (9-4) cameintothe season with nine starters back from adefense that wona state championship in 2024, but the Eagles also had anew-look offense without nine graduated starters who accounted for nearly all of the production last season. Shaw started 1-2 with losses to Edna Karr and Rummel, then went on afive-game winning streak that included games against Lafayette Christian and

St. James, each asemifinalist in other divisions. Shaw ended the regular season losing 14-0toBelle Chasse,anothersemifinalist, and24-0toSt. Charles.

“The defense didn’tplay bad,” Tierney said about the unit that hasAdamGiglio as its coordinator.“The offense wasthree and punt, three and punt, and we just kept putting the defense back on the field.And they ultimately caved. Worn out, you know?” The physical practices helped Shaw get back on track as the Eaglesoutscored theirthree playoff opponents 114-13, including a 27-0shutout of Vandebilt Catholic in the state semifinals.

“Itgives youmore of areal look,” Shaw junior safety Rontrae Cartersaidabout the physical practices. “You get to understand howyou’rehitting somebody.Not just athud anda tap, youknow. It makes practice feel moreasif it’sagame.” Carter andhis cousinJ’Quan Carter, aseniorlinebacker,are among the leading players on defense. Other standouts include senior safety Jackson Williams, a Washington State signee, and juniordefensive endJaden Weber. Juniorlinebacker EthanLentz interceptedtwo passesinthe semifinal and returned one fora touchdown.

First-year starting quarterback Allen Shaw wasanall-district cornerback last season, and firstyear starter DeAndreeFranklin, asenior,has run for 951 yards and 18 touchdowns.

Against St. Charles (12-1), Shaw will facea team that is in the state finals forthe sixth timein thepastseven seasons, the first timeinDivision II. Shaw has lost to St. Charles three times in the past four seasons, but never with astate title on the line. Theturnaround fromWeek 10 until now should be enough to make the upcoming meeting morecompetitive than the shutout that left Shaw feeling like it hadreached alow point.Only now will the Eagles find out just how much that week of physical practices truly helpedtheirtitle aspirations.

SUBMITTED PHOTO

St. Augustine wona state championship in 1975.

Rod Walker

Sweet treats

Hopelessly devotedtocookies?

Trythisspicedtake on classicoatmeal

BY AMY DREW THOMPSON Orlando Sentinel (TNS)

Iampuzzling overwhatto call these cookies. For roughly 20 years,they’ve justbeen oatmeal cookies, becausethese are the ones we make. They have dried cranberries instead of raisins, because all of the people in the world who have been scarred by raisins have scarred me with their raisin trauma. Not really.I just like dried cranberries.

They’re colorful and fall-seasonal, and they go very nicely with the ginger that’salsobeen added to this warm, wonderful, seasonal cookie.

There’sanobvious namewe could give these cookies (hint: it rhymes with oatmeal-raisin), but sadly, that name is trademarked, and Idon’twant any trouble. And so, as Igoabout putting this story on the editorial budget, Iamstruggling. Iwant to call them cranberry-ginger oatmeal, but then it’spointed out to me that the oatmeal part should go first. Because they are, first and foremost, oatmeal cookies. And while oatmeal cookies, by any other name, still taste as sweet, the combination herein, to us, is perfection. Bake them alittle longer,and they’vegot more color and bite. Alittle less and they are chewy

They’re also wonderfully welcoming at their spicy,little cookie party.So, if you’re the sort who likes to meld the whole chocolate and oatmeal thing, might Isuggest some mini-dark or milk chocolate morsels?

Ginger is another thing.Iuse more than the below,which is a semi-neutralized recipe that I *think*, along time ago, came from acookbook. Ihonestly can’tremember.I just like them spicy.So, if you love ginger,use more. And if you like raisins, be loud and proud and use them, with or without the cranberries. And as Iamwrapping up this cute little blurb aboutcute little cookies, amighty bellow comes from the kitchen downstairs. Aclever one, too.

“How about CROATMEAL?!”

Ladies and gentlemen, we have awinner

By

AMyDREW THOMPSON

THESEASON OF FOOD ANDLOVE THE SEASON LIVING

Holiday

favorites glazed ham andBrussels sprouts gratin can feed afullhouse

December in New Orleans doesn’tarrive withawhisper; it crashes through the door like your favoritecousin who forgot to knock, arms full of presents and acooler of something inviting. The air turns crisp enough to makeyou reach for that jacket youswore you’d never need. Suddenly,the citytransforms into something that feels like coming

home, even if you’ve never left. This is themonth when New Orleansremembers what it does best:Gather people around tables that groan under theweight of love disguised as food. Walk through any neighborhood in December and you’ll catch it, that unmistakable scent of somebody’sgrandmother’skitchen working overtime. Pralines cooling on wax paper.Apot of gumbo that’sbeen simmering sincedawn,

its roux dark as Mississippi mud and twice as rich. Red beans that have been talking to aham hock all day long, learning its secrets. This is the food that doesn’tjust fill your stomach. It fills the spaces between people, the gaps that distance and time try to wedge between us. The holiday markets pop up like mushroomsafter rain —the French Market overflowing with handmade ornaments and the smell of hot beignets mixing with cinnamon and pine. Jackson Square fills with carolers who can’thelp but add alittle jazz to “Silent Night,” because even our Christmas songs need to swing. And everywhere, everywhere,

PHOTO By MONICA BELTON

ORLANDO SENTINEL/TNS PHOTO

BY GRETCHEN McKAY

(TNS)

StickySweetGlazed Ham

3. Pour thecan of CocaColaover the ham

4. Cover theham andbake for90minutes, basting every 30 minutes.

spray

1. Preheat the oven to

350 F. Coat alarge roasting pan with cooking spray and place the ham in the pan

2. Rub the brown sugar all over the ham, making sure to get it in between the slices

3tablespoons butter

¼cup shallots, sliced

2cloves garlic, minced

32 ounces fresh Brussels sprouts, cored and halved

¼teaspoon kosher salt

Pinch black pepper

¼teaspoon paprika

¾cup heavy cream

¾cup sharp white cheddar cheese, shredded ½cup Gruyere cheese, shredded 6slices cooked bacon, crumbled Minced fresh parsley,for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 375F

Add butter to alarge ovensafe pan or skillet and heat overmedium heat. Add Brussels sprouts, shallots and garlic, seasoning with kosher salt, black pepper and paprika. Saute, stirring occasionally,about 5-8 minutes.

5. Uncover and bakefor 30 minutes more or until ham is browned and caramelized.

6. Remove the ham from the panand place on aserving platter.Spoon the glaze from thebottom of thepan over the ham.See optional

Brussels Sprouts Gratin

step below if youprefer a thicker glaze. TO THICKEN THE GLAZE: Pour theham glazefrom the bottom of the roasting paninto asmall pot and bring to a simmer.Whisk together the cornstarch with2 tablespoons of coldwater.Pour the cornstarch mixture into the pot, whisking constantly Bringtoa boil andcookfor 1minute or until glaze is thickened.

2. Remove pan from heat, pour in heavy cream. Sprinkle shredded cheddar and gruyerecheese all over the Brussels sprouts. Top with crumbled bacon and bake about 12minutes, until cheese is meltedand bubbly

HOLIDAY

Continued from page1D

tablesare being set,chairs borrowed and extra leaves being added to accommodate one more, two more, however many show up. December is when the city stops pretending to be anythingother than what it is: Abig, messy,beautiful family reunion that lasts all month long because food is just love youcan taste That’sthe thing about December in New Orleans There’salways room for one more at the table. This is the month when we pull out our mama’srecipes, written on index cards stained withdecades of use.When we argue goodnaturedly about whether

the potato salad needs moremustard (it does) and whether the greensneed more vinegar (they definitely do). When we let the kids lick the spoon from the cake batter and pretend we don’tsee them sneaking cookies before dinner

The restaurants know what’sup, too. They’reservingRéveillon dinnersthat honor theold Creole tradition of late-night feasting after midnightMass. Turtle soup, oyster dressing, mirliton casserole —dishes that connect ustothe generations who camebefore, who also gathered in December, whoalso understood that the bestgift you can give someone isaseat at your tableand aplate piled high. As we head toward the newyear,New Orleans doesn’t getquieter —itgets

3. Sprinkle with additional black pepper andminced parsley if desired.

fuller.Fuller of laughter, fuller of stories, fuller of thekind of memories that stick to your ribs better than any roux. Becausehere, we know the truth: December isn’t about the decorations or the presents. It’s about the people squeezed around your table, the food thatbrings themthere,and the love that keeps themcoming back.

Kevin Belton is resident chef of WWL-TV and has taught classes in Louisiana cooking for 30 years. The most recent of his four cookbooks, “KevinBelton’sCookin’ Louisiana: Flavors from the Parishes of the Pelican State,” was published in 2021. EmailChef at chefkevinbelton@gmail. com.

MiniatureChicken PotPies

Makes 12 mini chicken pot pies. Recipe is by GretchenMcKay,Post-Gazette,with crust recipe by Martha Stewart.

FOR CRUST:

2½ cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more forwork surface

1teaspoon sugar

1teaspoon fine salt

1cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces

¼to½cup ice water FOR FILLING:

4tablespoons butter

2carrots, peeled and diced

2celeryribs, diced 1medium onion, diced ½cup chopped button mushrooms, optional

½cup all-purpose flour, unbleached

1½ cups chicken stock or broth

¾cup milk or half-and-half

1teaspoon dried parsley

1teaspoon dried thyme Salt and pepper,totaste

3cups cooked and chopped chicken breast from arotisserie chicken

¼cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for optional garnish

1. In afood processor, pulse together flour,sugar andsalt. Add butter and pulse again until the mixture resembles coarse meal,with afew pea-size pieces of butter remaining.

2. Sprinklewith¼ cup ice water, then pulse until dough holds togetherwhen

POTPIES

Continued from page1D

because its flaky and butterytexture goes well with both sweet and savory fillings. Also, it’seasy to follow and requires only ahandful of ingredients. This dough is so forgiving that it’s pretty hard for even novice cooks to mess it up. While you can, and prob-

squeezed betweenyour fingers, but still looks alittle crumbly.Ifnecessary,add more water,a tablespoon at atime. (I used the full ½ cup.) Be carefulnot to overmix; it will make thedough tough.

3. Divide dough in half, turneach piece out onto a piece of plastic wrap and gentlyshape into adisk. Wrap it tightly in the plastic, then place in the refrigerator to chill for at least 20-30 minutes while youprepare the filling.

4. Preheat oven to 375 F.

5. In alarge sauce potor Dutch oven, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add carrots, celeryand onionand cook until vegetables are softened,about 5minutes, then stir in chopped mushrooms. Continue cookingfor another 2minutes

6. Add flour and stir well to cover thevegetables, and cook for 1-2 minutes to eliminate raw flour taste. Slowly pour in chicken brothand milk,a little at time, andstir occasionally untilitforms asmoothsauce. Let sauce simmer until it thickens, about 5minutes, then add herbs.Mix to combinewell andseason to taste withsalt

ably should,make chicken potpie in a9-inch crust for an easy,one-dish family dinner, it’sjust aseasy to make minipot pies using amuffintin —simply cut thedoughinto roundslarge enoughtoline each muffin tin cupand divide the filling among them.

Thehandy, single-serving packages canbeenjoyed right away,warm from the pan, or frozen and reheated whenever theurgefor com-

CanIrevokemy open invitation?

Dear Miss Manners: Ireceived acancer diagnosis two monthsago. Initially,I was quite open in discussing it with others when warranted —for example, explaining to co-workers why Iwould be out on certain days. I had alot of optimismand didn’t feel Ineeded privacy,soIgave people carte blanche to ask questions. Now I’m regrettingthe open invitation.Mycancer is a little more serious than previously thought, and I’ve learned the hard way that well-meaning people accidentally deposit their fears and, frankly, conspiracies onto cancer patients.

thing non-health-related about themselves that you are confident they would like to share.

Dear Miss Manners: Ihave a widowed longtimefriend whoislike afamily member to me. He attends all our holiday meals. However,his partner of several years has becomea problem

and pepper

7. Stir in cubed chicken andParmesan cheese, if using. Set aside while you roll out dough.

8. Roll out dough on floured surface and cut out 24 circles with a4½-to-5-inchbiscuit cutter or glass. (I used a Tupperwarelid for thebottom anda slightly smaller pint glass for thetop layer.)

9. Lightly butterorspray a12-cup muffintin with nonstick cooking spray.Place a rough round intoeach muffin cup, withside hanging over 10. Divide chicken mixture between the cups,place another round on top and fold theoverhang inward. Crimp theedge witha floured fork.

11. Cutafew vents in the top of the dough toallow steam toescape, sprinkle with alittlegrated Parmesanand place in the oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until top is golden brown and filling is bubbling outaround theedges.

12. Allowpot pies to cool on thecounterfor about1015 minutes before serving, then gently run aplastic knife along the edges to lift each pie out without breaking the delicate crust.

fort food hits —say,after sportspractice or on movie night If you’re making thepot pies ahead of timefor later use, place unbaked pies in muffincups, wrap the muffinpan in foil, and freeze until solid (about 2hours). After ummolding, wrap theunbaked pies in plastic wrap, place them in alarge resealable freezer plastic bag and freeze them for up to 3months.

Judith Martin

MISS MANNERS

She becameaggressive at our daughter’sengagementparty,arguing with my best friend over politics. She wouldn’tback downwhen asked to change the subject. She even demanded that my friend leave my house, which of course I would not allow

It’swearing away at what’sleft of my optimism, and I’d really like to discuss anything else at this point.Isthere away to politely take back theinvitation?OramIjust going to have to lie in thebed I made?

Gentlereader: Only the truly heartless will ignore adirect request of, “Could we talk about something else?” For those who still persist,Miss Manners recommends either excusing yourself or asking some-

This Thanksgiving, we were at the homeofmy son’sin-laws, whograciously included my friend and his partner.The partner wasonnotice that this group did not like to talk politics and had different beliefsthan hers. Even so, she again started talking about uncomfortable subjects, and Iwas asked to intervene. She is getting areputation forbeing difficult. I already invited them to an after-holidays party,but Ican foresee moreissues

and don’tknow what to do. How do Ieither handle this at the party or disinvite them?I’m in aquandary.I don’twant my other friends leaving early to avoid her.Should Ibehonest with them?I know she’s not going to change. Gentle reader: This sounds like abetter conversation to have privately with the longtimefriend —with the understanding that you are asking forhis help in finding away foreveryone to get along, rather than coming in with aready-made solution. (Certainly do not say that you are considering uninviting them to the party.)

Miss Manners suggests this approach because you will learn where you stand. Your friend is himself navigating an apparently difficult relationship, and you may find he understands the situation and perhaps has constructive suggestions. If he instead says he sees no issues and that your family should just get over it, you may not be able to save the friendship, but it will still solve the longterm problem

Sendquestions to Miss Manners at herwebsite, www.missmanners.com.

Lemonjuice savesthe day

Dear Heloise: Ihave two thermal mugs. Oneisfor coffee, and one is for tea. They can’tbeused in the microwaveorinthe dishwasher.Toget the stains out,Iboil somewater and put it in themugs. Ithen add acouple of squirts of lemon juice. Ilet it soak until thewater gets cold. Later when I wash them with my other dishes, thestainsjust wipe away Ialso use this method to get therust out of my shower curtains. Iboil a pot of water withseveral squirtsoflemon juice. I movethe pot of water into thesink, add in the shower curtain (tamping it down occasionally), and launder it as usual after the water has gone cold. Iadmit Igot this hint from awoman’s magazine. It worked so well with the shower curtain that Itried it on the mugs, and it worked for them, too. —Liz Nass, via email Screw-on bottle caps

one example. What Ido after my first use is to snip off the twoextension tabs, which lock the cap when it’stwisted. Iuse toenail clippers. Then I reuse this modified cap forfuture bottles so that Ionly have to wrestle with anew cap once with each purchase. —Tom DiNapoli,inBatonRouge Wrongbin

trash or in the park’spublic trash cans, but if they have to use my bins, at least put it in the correct bin —the one with trash that goes to the landfill. J.T.,inLos Alamitos, California Snapping pricetags

Dear Heloise: Somescrewon caps require one to press in and turn the cap, which can be daunting. Mouthwash bottles are just

By The Associated Press

Today is Thursday Dec. 11, the 345th day of 2025. There are 20 days left in the year

Todayinhistory: On Dec. 11, 1936, Britain’sKing Edward VIII abdicated the throne so he could marry American divorcee Wallis Warfield Simpson; his brother, Prince Albert,became King George VI.

Also on this date:

In 1816, Indiana was admitted to theUnion as the 19th U.S. state.

In 1946, theUnited NationsInternational Children’sEmergency Fund (UNICEF) was established.

In 1972, Apollo 17 commander Gene Cernan guided lander Challenger to atouchdown on the moon,where he and Harrison “Jack” Schmittwould becomethe last two Apollo astronauts to walk on the lunar surface. They returned to Earth three days later with astronaut Ronald Evans, who remained

Dear Heloise: Thank you for the letters about dog owners picking up their dogs’ waste. Ilove the lady,in NewJersey,who told the offending dog walker to “get back here” and handed the walker paper towels to pick up after the dog! We live between apark and an apartment building and frequently find dog poo bags in our trash bins. It’s bad enough that these dog walkers think our bins are there fortheir dogs’ waste, but they don’tcare which bin they throw it in. We find dog poop thrownin with the recyclables, which contaminates the entire bin! Or they put it in with the compostable organics, which is also wrong. Iwish they’d put their dogs’ waste in their own

Dear Heloise: When Iwant to buy something on clearance, Isnap apicture of the item/price tag. Many times when Icheck out, the price is wrong, and it saves having to run through the store to verifywith the clerk what the correct price is. And it’seasy to delete the photo later —Annie H., via email Openingstuck-onlids

DearHeloise: Iwantedto write in regarding arecentletterfeaturing Mara Trotter’shint on opening lids on jars: Pleasetellher abetterway to open the lid on ajar is to taparound the lid with the handle of asilverware knife. Afew taps around the lid will make it easiertoopen, and youdon’t have to turn it upside down to tapiton the countertop! —Michele Cruz, via email Sendahinttoheloise@ heloise.com.

aloft in the command module.

In 1978, nearly $6 million in cash and jewelry were stolen from the Lufthansa cargo terminal at New York’sJohn F. Kennedy Airport; the “Lufthansa Heist,” the largest cash robbery in history at the time, wasimmortalized in the film “Goodfellas.”

In 1980, President Jimmy Carter signed legislation creating a$1.6 billion environmental “Superfund” to pay forcleaning up hazardous chemical spills and toxic waste dumps.

In 1997, morethan 150 countries agreed at aglobal warming conference in Kyoto, Japan, to control the Earth’sgreenhouse gases. In 1998, majority Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee pushed through three articles of impeachment against President Bill Clinton, over Democratic objections.

In 2020, the Supreme Court rejected alawsuit backed by President Donald Trumptooverturn Joe Biden’selection victory, ending an attempt to get legal issues that were rejected by state and federal judges before the nation’s highest court. Today’sBirthdays: Actor Rita Moreno is 94. Former U.S.

In 2008, former Nasdaq chairman Bernie Madoff was arrested, accused of running amultibilliondollar Ponzi scheme that wiped out the lifesavings of thousands of people and wrecked charities. (Madoff died in April 2021 while serving a150-year federal prison sentence.)

PHOTO By MONICA BELTON

Hints from Heloise

sAGITTARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Visualization will have an impact on how you think and what you do next. Put your emotions aside and let common sense be your guide. Don't feel pressured; time is on your side.

cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) A change of scenery will be a wake-up call. Rethink what's brought you to the place you are now, and you'll discover how to replenish what's turned sour or led you astray.

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Be a leader, not a follower. If you let someone manipulate you instead of following your heart, you'll end up backtracking. Life is about choices; do what's best for you.

PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Take your time; observe, plan and prepare to make your next move. Don't share too much information or leave yourself vulnerable to those eager to take credit for your ideas.

ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Question your motives; emotions can distort facts. Verify information before you act on it. It's vital to keep your plans and routine simple, doable and within budget.

TAuRus (April 20-May 20) A change is within reach. Weigh the pros and cons when dealing with financial, health and legal matters. Consider how much you are paying for your lifestyle and how much you receive for your services.

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Engage in something that raises your awareness. Cre-

ate a plan, engage in discussions with like-minded people and generate a stir that encourages doing something that makes you feel good about yourself.

cAncER (June 21-July 22) Do what matters most to you. Your surroundings will influence your attitude and productivity. Make home improvements that put your mind at ease, and implement a sensible budget.

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Socializing and entertainment don't have to break the bank. Get a makeover, formulate a plan for a healthy lifestyle or replace what's no longer of use with something that energizes you.

VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) Check out subsidy offers that can lower your overhead. A change can have a positive impact on your life. It's time to shake things up and rethink your long-term strategy. LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Take a trip, mentally or physically, that will encourage positive change. Reviewing your options and considering your past, present and future will help you gain perspective regarding the possibilities.

scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Open the doors of communication; network, socialize and discuss your thoughts, feelings and potential agenda. Verify information before you begin.

The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact. © 2025 by nEa, inc., dist. By andrews mcmeel syndication

FAMILY CIrCUS

Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, past and present. Each letter in the cipher stands for another.

ToDAy's cLuE: P EQuALs c

CeLebrItY CIpher

For better or For WorSe

SALLY Forth

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

SherMAn’S LAGoon

Sudoku

InstructIons: sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers1 to 9inthe empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. Thedifficulty level of the sudoku increases from monday to sunday.

Yesterday’s PuzzleAnswer

THe wiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

CurTiS

Bridge

By PHILLIP ALDER

After aone-level suit opening and a takeout double, if the responder bids a suitattheone-level,itisnaturalandforcing (anddoes not deny10points). Anonjump new suit at the two-level is weak.

An example is the North hand in today’s diagram.Responder bids two diamonds over West’s double. Andafter East passes, South takes ashot at three no-trump.

Westleadshisfourth-highestheartand East puts up the 10. How shouldSouth proceed?

When in no-trump, always start by counting your top tricks —your immediatewinners. HereSouth has six:two hearts (given thelead), two diamonds and two clubs. If he is going to get three more tricks, he needstoestablishdummy’sdiamonds and get back into the dummy to cash the new winners.

What is declarer’sdummy entry?

Right—the heart queen. Butthat will be an entry only if South can lead twice toward the queen, oncetomakeWest take hiskingand once to winwiththe queen. So, declarer’s first key play is to win trickone with the heart ace.

Then he should cash thediamond ace and continue with the diamond nine. When West plays low twice, South must overtake with dummy’s10. If East could win the trick, the diamonds would be breaking3-2andallwouldbewell.Here,

though, when East discards,declarer continues with two more rounds of diamonds. And eventuallyhe will forcethat dummy entryinhearts to get home. In caseyou are wondering, if the responder had had, say, 11 high-card points, not five, he would have had to start witharedouble.

©2025 by nEa,inc., dist. By andrews mcmeel syndication

Each Wuzzle is awordriddlewhich creates adisguised word, phrase, name, place, saying, etc. For example: nOOn gOOD =gOOD aFTErnOOn

Previous answers:

word game

InsTRucTIons: 1. Words must be of fourormore letters. 2. Words that acquire fourletters by the addition of “s,”such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed.3 additional words made by adding a“d” or an “s” may not be used. 4. proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit wordsare not allowed

ToDAy’s WoRD BARLEy: BAR-lee: The seed of acereal grassusedespecially in malt beverages.

Average mark20words

Time limit 25 minutes Can you find 25 or morewords in BARLEY?

yEsTERDAy’s WoRD —MEsQuITE

wuzzles

loCKhorNs

Pride cankeep us from the Lord.The Lord honorstrue humility. G.E. Dean

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles

hidato

mallard

dIrectIons: make a 2- to 7-letter word from the letters in each row. add points of each word, using scoring directions at right. Finally, 7-letter words get 50-point bonus. “Blanks” used as any letter have no point value. all the words are in the Official sCraBBlE® players Dictionary, 5th Edition.

ken ken

InstructIons: 1 Each row and each column must contain the numbers 1 thorugh 4 (easy) or 1 through 6 (challenging) without repeating. 2 The numbers within the heavily outlined boxes, called cages, must combine using the given operation (in any order) to produce the target numbers in the top-left corners. 3 Freebies: Fill in the single-box cages with the number in the top-left corner. HErE is a

Puzzle Answer

Scrabble GramS

Get fuzzy

jump Start

roSe iS roSe animal crackerS

DuStin

Drabble

Wallace the brave

breWSter rockit

luann

Dec. 11, 2025

Kreweof Tucks getting thepotty started with new den page 4 Judith Owen and Harry Shearer’s Christmas Without Tears benefit turns20 page 8 PAGE 6

don’t miss don’t miss don’t miss

girls play trumpets too

Louisiana vocalist Nell Simmons, recently seen on NBC’s “The Voice,” will join the musical ensemble for its annual holiday concert at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music, 1901 Bartholomew St., New Orleans. The group’s mission is to provide opportunities for young women to be creators, musicians and leaders in the jazz and contemporary music. Tickets start at $25. girlsplaytrumpetstoo.org.

chanukah

at riverwalk ‘messiah’

“Light Up The Night on the Mississippi” to celebrate the start of the eight-day holiday with the lighting of a menorah, latkes and gelt, dreidels, Jewish music, kosher food booths and more starting at 4 p.m. Sunday at the Riverwalk’s Spanish Plaza at the foot of Canal Street. The Chabad Lubavitch of Louisiana, celebrating 50 years, will conduct the menorah lighting ceremony at 5 p.m. chabadneworleans.com/riverwalk.

holiday on the

boulevard

The 25th annual Kwanzaa and Christmas marketplace and music festival is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Ashé Cultural Arts Center, 1719 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd., New Orleans. A toy, coat and thermal wear drive will be collected through Dec. 20. ashenola.org.

‘muppet christmas carol’ with lpo

The local symphony performs the soundtrack of Jim Henson’s classic movie retelling of the Charles Dickens’ holiday tale starring Michael Caine as Scrooge, and joined by various Muppets, including Kermit as Bob Cratchit and Miss Piggy as Emily Cratchit. The show is at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Mahalia Jackson Theater of the Performing Arts, 1419 Basin St. Tickets start at $34. lpomusic.com.

Get a Handel on the holidays when the Symphony Chorus of New Orleans, under the direction of Steven Edwards, presents the classic oratorio on two days at two locations. Joy Meade, Monika Cosson, Robert Wagner and Robert Feng provide the lead quartet with the chorus and orchestra at 7 p.m. Saturday at St. Dominic Catholic Church, 775 Harrison Ave., New Orleans. At 3 p.m. Sunday, the work will be presented at St. Mary’s Assumption Catholic Church, 923 Josephine St., New Orleans. Tickets start at $25. symphonychorus.org.

ABOUT LAGNIAPPE

The Lagniappe section is published each Thursday by The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate. All inquiries about Lagniappe should be directed to the editor.

LAGNIAPPE EDITOR: Lauren Walck, lauren.walck@theadvocate.com

COVER DESIGN: Andrea Daniel

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Valerie Andrews, Victor Andrews, Doug MacCash, Chelsea Shannon, Keith Spera

GET LISTED IN LAGNIAPPE

Submit events to Lagniappe at least two weeks in advance by sending an email to events@theadvocate.com.

ON THE COVER

Santa leads a decorated vessel navigating the shore of Lake Pontchartrain during the annual West End Christmas Boat Parade. Photo by Sophia Germer. Doug MacCash shares the details for Saturday’s event on Page 6.

carnival carnival carnival

PORCEL INPALACE

Kreweof Tucks expandsden,marking 58 yearsofpotty humor in NewOrleans

The Tucks paradebegan in1969 as an alternativetorespectable old-line Mardi Gras parading organizations. Wayalternative. Founded by Phi Kappa Theta fraternity brothers at Loyola University,the informal parade rambled on its own Uptown route, with decorated pickup trucks and fishing boats towed on trailers. Theprocession was litwith railroad flares.

Now,with 2,500-2,600 coed members and 40-some multisegment floats, the Krewe of Tucks is among the biggest of New Orleans’ Carnival parades. The krewe represents the irreverent side of the celebration, with bawdy,eternally adolescent humor that isanantidoteto the sometimes-pretentious aspects of the big party

On Sunday,the krewe unveiled anew 16,000-square-foot addition to its den at 4400 Washington Ave. Dressed ina white admiral’suniform trimmed in

STAFF PHOTOSByDOUGMacCASH

Krewe of Tucks co-founder and captain Lloyd Frischhertz leads atour of the krewe’s colorful newmeeting room.

gold, parade co-founder and captain

Lloyd Frischhertz led atour of the spiffy new digs

Frischhertz, apersonal injury attorney,wouldn’tsay what the new addition to the den cost, but he proudly announced that the krewe paid for it

Children cavort atop the Krewe of Tucks’toiletshaped king’sthrone at the new den.

“out-of-pocket” without need of aloan. The extension will savethe expense of renting space to store Tucks’growing fleet of floats.

The new building is next door to the krewe’sold float den, which got anew roof.Inaddition, Tucks renovated a meetingroom in the old den, with a floor painted purple, green and gold in apsychedelic patternthat looks like a tie-dyed T-shirt.

Frischhertz saidthe krewe can use thenew meeting room year round for routine and special events

While some parades of itsera had a rather dignified neoclassical tone, with themes involving Roman gods and such, Tucks took aslightly different tack.The krewe, which was namedfor acollege dive bar called Friar Tucks, lampooned Carnival tradition with a pair of royal thrones made from golden commodes mounted on aCadillac chassisand scepters madefrom toilet plungersand brushes

Even after all theseyears, Tucks’ hab-

it of tossing bathroom tissue into the trees along its route annoys segments of the Uptown crowd.

Float builderBarry Kern, who attendedthe unveiling of the den expansion, pointed out that, by his reckoning, Frischhertz is the longest-serving captain of any Carnivalorganization, having been apartofthe picture from the first parade,58years ago. Who knew the young upstart would someday be the most venerable of Mardi Gras leadership?

On Sunday, Tucks’ newmeeting room swarmed with costumed krewe members andwell-wishers. Looking out over the gaggle, Frischhertz said that he “neverliked agroup of people more.”

“They aregenuine,” he said, “and don’thave ameanboneintheir bodies. We’ve gotall walks of life here. We’ve got millionaires and people paying $50 permonth to paytheir dues.”

Sincethe COVID-19 pandemic, Frischhertz said, the krewe has donated $1 milliontovarious charities.

Speaking of the flourishing parade organization and its newden expansion, Frischhertz said that “whenmy fratbuddiesand Istartedthe krewe, this is what we had in mind.”Later he admitted, with asmirk, all he and his buddies usually hadinmind was “the next beer.”

The Krewe of Tucks hits the street at noon Feb. 14.

Email Doug MacCashatdmaccash@ theadvocate.com.

Purple, green and gold paint create a psychedelic floor inside the Tucks den.

Doug MacCash

Uptown bagelshopaninstant hitfor collegestudents

Anew eatery has quietly entered New Orlean’srising bagel shop scene

facility for Bruno’sTavern, bagel lovers often fill thetables and barstools in the small dining room

Shug’sBagels opened aboutthree months ago in an Uptown neighborhood near Audubon Park —and the linehas been long ever since.

SHUG’S BAGELS

7505 Maple St.

Daily from 7a.m.to 3p.m. Chelsea

The green-and-white shop welcomed guests at 7505 Maple St.in late August andheld agrand opening around Labor Day,slinging bagels with schmear,as breakfast sandwiches, for lunch andmore.

From breakfast to lunch, Shug’s is areliable spot forawell-pressed sandwich on atoasted bagel, or untoasted if you prefer,with customizationsand toppings like curry chicken salad, ghostpepper cheese, vanilla walnutspread or a hash brown.

In what used to be astorage

Owner Justin Shugrue opened his first bagel shop near Southern Methodist UniversityinDallas, targeting college studentsashis primary audience. He’s using the samemindset in New Orleans, blocks away from Tulane and Loyola universities.

On theweekends, college students fill the quaint dining room for acarb-loaded breakfast after a late-night.

On asuggestions board near the coffee creamer,aPost-it requests late-night bagels, and aPost-it response below suggeststhat New Orleansmight have aspot to get bagels later in the day in thefuture.

An Instagram user posted their build-your-own egg sandwich at Shug’sBagels using fried eggs, bacon, provolone, hot sauce, hash brown and avocado on a jalapeño cheddar bagel. Shug’s opened in the fall at 7505 Maple St.

Celebrate the holidays at BB’s Stage Door Canteen as the Victory Belles bring the sounds of the season to

10-30

PROVIDED PHOTOBy SHUG’S BAGELS

events events events cheer

ChristmasBoatParadetolight up West End, Lake PontchartrainonSaturday Full ahead

BY DOUG MacCASH Staff writer

Imagine afleet of as many as 50 smallsail andpower boats,plus jet skis, paddleboards and such, allfestooned with twinkling Christmas lightsand inflated holiday decorations.

Imagine this yuletide flotilla cruising picturesquely in line on Lake Pontchartrain led by Santa, Mrs. Clausand elves, at the bow of atransplanted lobsterboat.

That will be the scene Saturday as the32nd West End Christmas BoatParade sets sail. According to parade co-producer Tommy Taggart, Carnival-sized crowds are expected to watchthe glowing fleetfromthe New Canal Lighthouse and the restaurants that back up to theNew Canal.

Taggartsaidthe boatparade hasacolorful backstory.The event was launchedroughly 45 years ago by an old salt namedCaptain Ron Ferraro, who lived aboard his boatin themarina and, naturally,kept apet parrot on hisshoulder.The holidaycruise wasjust an “adhockaffair”backthen, Taggart said, called the Electric Light BoatParade.

It might have stayed asmall, informal affair forever,had it not been for an act of nautical daring. When asquall threatened to cancel the parade, acouple of fearless seafarersswiped aChristmas tree from the lobby of theyachtclub, roped it to aboatand defiantly setout intothe storm,delivering holiday cheer,despite the Pontchartrain’s wrath. One wondersifthere had been some groginthe eggnog.

The heroic incident,known to this day as the “WestEnd Christmas Miracle,” fueled interest in themaritimeparade, eventually leading to thegrand glittering armada it is today.

Holiday festivities in theWestEnd begin roughly at noon Saturday.The boat parade casts off at 5:45 p.m. from theNew Canal Lighthouse, cruises eastwardalong the lakefront to Canal Boulevard, whereitreverses course, returning to theNew Canal. Santa’s boat pauses at restaurant docks to dispense throws.

Email Doug MacCash at dmaccash@ theadvocate.com.

Decorated boats light up the waters of Lake Pontchartrain by the SouthernYacht Club and the New Canal Lighthouseduring the 2018 West End Christmas Boat Parade in New Orleans.

STAFF FILE PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER

music music music

Notsurprisingly,holiday musiciswoven into three of theupcoming week’s bigshows in NewOrleans. Keith Spera SOUNDCHECK ‘CHRISTMAS WITHOUTTEARS’20thANNIVERSARY

Judith Owen and Harry Shearer

TUESDAY,ORPHEUM THEATER

For two decades, jazz- and blues-based singer Judith Owen and her husband, Harry Shearer,have staged their “Christmas Without Tears” variety show.What started out as aliving room gathering has grown into astar-studded production —alternately irreverent, naughty and nice —that raises money for Innocence &Justice Louisiana(formerly Innocence Project New Orleans).

For the 20th anniversary, Owen has assembled aroster of top-tier talent. That roster includes IrmaThomas, keyboardist Jon Cleary,actors John Goodman and Bryan Batt—who will likely do holiday-themed readings —singer Tonya BoydCannon, burlesque performer Trixie Minx, avant-garde cellist Helen Gillet, pianist TomMcDermottwith sousaphonist MattPerrine, Patterson Hood of the Drive-By Truckers, guitarist Phil DeGruy and theRoots of Music Marching Band. Owen and her big band will showcase holiday fare from her mostrecent album, “Judith Owen Swings Christmas”; she’ll alsoprovide her usual quick-witted commentary as Tuesday evening’semcee. Tickets start at $47.

KELCYMAE’S 6THBIENNIALMERRY SONGWRITER REVUE

SATURDAY,BJ’S LOUNGE

Every two years, local Americana/alt-county singer-songwriter Kelcy Mae Wilburn,who performs under the band name Ever More Nest,hosts her “Merry Songwriter Revue.” The show gathers abroad spectrumofher fellow songsmithstoplaynew holiday-themed compositions and seasonal classics. Their originalcompositions are often served up with thestories behindthe songs.

The 2025 editionofthe “Merry SongwriterRevue,”the sixth overall, is Saturday at BJ’sLounge, aneighborhood watering hole in Bywater In additiontoEver More Nest,the rosterincludes Alex McMurray, Conor Donohue, DuskyWaters, GinaLeslie, Gregg Hill, Lilli Lewis and Paul Faith.

The music starts at 8p.m. Saturday.Admission is $15 at the door.

Kelcy Mae Wilburn

LESLIE ODOM JR.

WEDNESDAY,ORPHEUM THEATER

Leslie Odom Jr.was the original Aaron Burr in “Hamilton,” the smash Broadway musical that told the story of the founding of America in the voice of hip-hop. Since then, Odom’s multidisciplinary career has spanned TV and film roles, including an Oscar nomination forhis portrayal of singer Sam Cooke in the New Orleans-shot 2020 movie “One Night In Miami.”

But as anyone whosaw Odom’s performance in the Jazz Tent during the 2018 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival can attest, he doesn’tneed to assume the role of acharacter to communicate with an audience. Onstage in aconcert setting, he’scharming and charismatic as he deploys avoice wellsuited forthe classic American songbook —and for Christmas music.

Twoofhis first four albums were devoted to seasonal songs. His 2025 “Christmas Tour,” during which he intermingles holiday standards and maybe a“Hamilton” hit or two, stops at the Orpheum Theater on Wednesday. Tickets start at $62.

Leslie Odom Jr

music music music

Trans-Siberian Orchestra

OTHERNOTEWORTHYSHOWS

THURSDAY

Tipitina’shosts “Doin’ It ForDave,” abenefitfor local Americanasingersongwriter Dave Jordan,who had to cancel aslew of showsthisfall after suffering astroke onstage. Scheduled performers include bassist GeorgePorter Jr., of the Meters; drummer Stanton Moore, of Galactic; keyboardist John “Papa” Gros;Bonerama trombonist Mark Mullins; the IkoAllstars;,the DesertNudes;singersongwriter Lynn Drury;guitarist John Fohl; and members of Jordan’sband, the N.I.A. Tickets start at $25.

Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro has atribute to legendary bassist Jaco Pastorius featuring drummer Ricky Sebastian,who played with Pastorius, andbassist Pat Casey,who was heavily influencedby him. Showtimes are at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $30.

FRIDAY

The hard-touring, Grammy-winning, genre-defying New Orleans band Tank and the Bangas makes arare hometown appearance at Tipitina’s,withR&B singer Dawn Richard opening. Tickets are $30.

Chickie WahWah presentsa“Christmas Party” in the spirit of theold Donna’sBar and Grill featuring trumpeter LeroyJones’ Quintet.Tickets are $20.

Dr.Michael White,one of New Orleans’ preeminent traditional jazz clarinetists and composers, leadshis Original Liberty Jazz Band at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.at Snug Harbor ($45).

SATURDAY

Trumpeter Maurice “MoBetta” Brown has recorded and/ortoured withAretha Franklin, the Tedeschi Trucks Band,

TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA

WEDNESDAY,SMOOTHIE KING CENTER

Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s1996 debut,the rock opera “Christmas Eve and Other Stories,”isone of the best-selling holiday albums of the past 40 years. Itsclassical music/heavy metal mashup “Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24” has permeated popular culture from football games to car commercials to an episode of “The Office.” TSO’s“Wizards of Winter” is the soundtrack to countless holiday light displays.

Anderson. Paak, Kamasi Washington, KennyGarrett and many others, even as he’sreleased his own albums of forward-looking jazz. Brown performs shows at 7p.m. and 9:30 p.m.Saturday at theNew OrleansJazz &Blues Market.Tickets start at $31.

Dragon Smoke,the all-star New Orleans band featuringdrummer Stanton Moore andbassist Rob Mercurio of Galactic, keyboardist/singer Ivan Neville and guitarist/ vocalist Eric Lindell, fires up at Tipitina’s. Tickets are $30.

Still going and blowing in his 90s, jazz saxophonist Charlie Gabriel is joined by pianist Larry Sieberth at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. at Snug Harbor ($35).

SketchyMali,featuring guitarist Papa Mali plus MarcParadis and Andre Bohren of JohnnySketch &the DirtyNotes, takes over Chickie WahWah ($15).

SUNDAY

At Chickie WahWah, Gulf Coast blues’n’ boogie guitarist and singer Eric Lindell is backed by bassist RobertMercurio and keyboardist Rich Vogel of Galactic, plus Revivalists drummer Andrew Campanelli ($35).

Keyboardist JonCleary continues his “Kitchen Sink” concert series at Snug Harbor,switching off on various instruments alongside percussionist PedroSegundo.Show times are 7:30 p.m. and9:30 p.m. ($35).

MelvinFunkenstein’s7th Annual “Hannukah

People whowouldn’tdream of patronizing Iron Maiden or Judas Priest will happily attenda TSO concert that is just as bombastic, with anonstop barrage of pyrotechnics, lasers, lights and squalling guitar solos. TSO has sold morethan 20 million concert tickets despite being limited to ashort winter touring season. To maximize the number of shows, two companies of TSO musicians and singers tour simultaneously.One of those troupes fires up Wednesday at the Smoothie King Center; tickets start at $54.

Funkstravaganza” takes over Tipitina’s with alineup featuring Andriu Yanovski, Ari Teitel,Aurélien Barnes,Tony Hall, Brad Walker, Alvin Ford and more. Tickets are $20advance, $25 at the door

MONDAY

Patterson Hood, of Drive-By Truckers, pulls intoChickie WahWah. Tickets start at $40.

TUESDAY

Texas singer-songwriter Robert Earl Keen brings his “The Greatest Christmas On Earth” show to the House of Blues. Tickets start at $61. Drummer StantonMoore, of Galactic, powers ajazz trio at Snug Harbor at 7:30 p.m.and 9:30 p.m.($30).

Tank and the Bangas

stages stages stages

Theboysare back andforth

Quartetsplitting time forChristmas showsinKenner, French Quarter

Atrio of shows with aseasonalslant will open in the coming days, just in time for aholly,jolly dose of yuletide tunes.

The Big EasyBoys put the cool in Yule with “Christmastime in New Orleans” at Rivertown Theaters for the Performing Arts and the Historic BK House and Gardens.

The quartet, accompaniedbythe Big Easy Babes at the Kennershows, brings abit of nostalgia and fun to the performances of tightharmonies and fond memories with just atouch of cool to keep the season merry and bright. The new holiday revue, backedbya live band, is acompilation of favorites and holidayhits.

At Rivertown, the showsare at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Dec.19, 7p.m. Sunday and 2p.m. Dec. 21. Ticketsstart at $53. Visit rivertowntheaters.com.

At the French Quarter’sBKHouse, the concert will be at 6p.m. Dec.18. Tickets start at $30. Visit bkhouse.org.

Holiday forDixie?

Reality television personality Marguerite “God Warrior” Perrin hits the stage forthe first time in an immersive musical comedy at Café Istanbul.

The “Trading Spouses” veteran will starin “Dixie’s HolidayBar” about the legendary Bourbon Street personality fromthe 1950s who helped the LGBTQ+ community of patrons and performers.

The show,created by JasonDerek North and Vaughn Trudeauand written by Quinn L. Bishop, is set in 1956 for

Miss Dixie’sChristmas Variety Show fundraiser to help restore the bar after abrawl.A night of cocktails, carols and merry mayhem follows.

The show is at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Dec. 18 and Dec. 20-21 at 2732 St.Claude Ave. Tickets startat$30. Visit dixiesholidaybar.com.

‘Wonderful’atBB’s

BB’sStage Door Canteen at The National WWII Museum has no shortage of holidaycheer, witha packed calendarwith performances by the resident Victory Belles and their “Holidays in Harmony” show

But there’salways room for alittle bit more cheer,and in keeping withthe style of the times,the canteen presents aradioplay perfect for the season.

“It’sAWonderful Life: 1940s Radio Play” will feature ahostoflocal vocalicons and some young talents in a one-night-only offering Dec. 19 of the classic holiday movie of aman who sees what life would be like without him.

The original 1946 film,“It’sa WonderfulLife,” starring Jimmy Stewart,has become apillar of the Yule movie pantheon.

UsingFoley sound effectsand asizable company,the show bring the story to life as it would have been done in a radio studioduring thewar period.

Taking roles in the showare Robert Pavlovich, Wayne Gonsoulin, Marsha Preston, Jaunée Buisson, Holden Hebert,BasilMarie, Stephen Denning, Carlos Gonzalez, Jeff Crouere, Lisette Bayle,Leon Contavesprie, Peter Gabb, Jack Quarles, JimmyDeMontluzin, Soline Holmes, Will H. Lee and Jamie Montelepre. “Uncle” Wayne Daigrepont directs the production.

The showstarts at 6p.m. Tickets start at $27. Visit www.nationalww2museum org.

The Big Easy Boys will performinconcertatRivertown Theaters forthe Performing Arts in Kenner and at the Historic BK House and Gardens in NewOrleans.

In production

“A CHRISTMASCAROL”: 6p.m. Thursday; The Josephine,2400 Napoleon Ave. Crescent City Stage’s one-night-only reading of the popularadaptation by Patrick Barlow featuresMichaelA Newcomer as Scrooge and four actors as therest of thecharacters. Tickets will help fund Crescent City’sseason and studio programming. They start at $54. crescentcitystage.com

“ANNIE”: 7:30 p.m. Fridays andSaturdays, 2p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through Dec. 21;Slidell LittleTheatre, 2024 Nellie Drive.The Broadway smash, about aDepression-era orphan selectedtospend the holidays with megarich “Daddy” Warbucks, is filled withsinging orphans and memorable songs like “Tomorrow” and“You’re Never Fully DressedWithout aSmile.” Ticketsstart at $25. slidelllittletheatre. org.

“BACKTOTHE FUTURE: THE MUSICAL”: 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 2p.m. Saturday, and 1p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Sunday; SaengerTheatre,1111 Canal St. Basedonthe movie,the story focuses on the hapless teen whobefriended scientist Emmett “Doc” Brown. In a strange twist of fate, Marty engages the time-traveling ability of Doc’scarturned-time machine and is hurled back in time to when his parentswereteens, just before theyfell in love.Subtle changestothe timeline have rippling effects, andMarty must fixthingsbefore he (and his family) vanish. Tickets start at $39. saengernola.com.

“FANCY NANCY SPLENDIFEROUS CHRISTMAS”:

7 p.m. Fridays, 2p.m. Saturdays, 1p.m. Sundays, plus 4p.m. Sunday; Rivertown

Theaters for the Performing Arts, 25 Minor St., Kenner.Based on Jane O’Connor’sbooks as the title character prepares for afestive Yule, from tree trimming to sparkling fashions, all seems to be going well —until aholiday mishapstrikes. Tickets start at $20. rivertowntheaters.com.

“IT’SAWONDERFUL LIFE Y’ALL”: 7:30 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Dec. 18, and 2p.m. on Sundays through Dec. 21; Rivertown Theaters for the Performing Arts, 325 Minor St., Kenner.Local entertainment icon Ricky Graham has turned his focus to melding Crescent City character with aholiday hallmark in this takeoff of the 1946 film with New Orleans touches that will appeal to all ages. Tickets start at $43. rivertowntheaters.com.

“RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER”: 7:30 p.m. Friday and 2p.m. Saturday and Sunday; Jefferson Performing Arts Center,6400 Airline Drive, Metairie. The songs and characters from the Rankin/Bass stop-motion TV show are all there, from Rudolph and Hermey (the elf who wants to be adentist) to Santa, Yukon Cornelius, Clarice, Bumble (the abominable snowman) and all the elves and misfittoys in this production by Jefferson Performing Arts. Tickets start at $28. jpas.org.

“’TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS”: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2p.m. Sunday; Playmakers Theater, 19106 Playmakers Road, Covington. Holiday show about amouse, elf and little girl who won’ttake no for an answer. Tickets start at $23. playmakersinc. com.

EmailVictor Andrews at vandrews@ theadvocate.com.

Victor Andrews

Perrin

stages stages stages

FILE PHOTO By ERIKA GOLDRING

A Mini Fringe Fundraiser on Friday at New Marigny Theatre aims to help revive the New Orleans Fringe Fest, which would showcase more off-beat performances.

Relaunch in the works for eccentric, eclectic Fringe Fest

BY DOUG MacCASH Staff writer

The New Orleans Fringe Fest was part of the great flowering of the arts that sprang up unexpectedly in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The festival of one-act plays, puppetry, dance, performance art and other experimental theater debuted in 2006 and continued in one form or another for 15 years.

Now a group of bohemian thespians hopes to rekindle the festival.

“Our goal,” said co-producer Grace Batz, “is to connect the theater community, working together to find a broader audience.”

New Orleans performers “need a platform to perform their freakier pieces,” Batz said with a laugh Batz said that if all goes as hoped, the resurrected Fringe Fest could take place in various downtown showplaces in November 2026.

But in the meantime, a Mini Fringe Fundraiser will be presented from 6 p.m. to 9:15 p.m. Friday at New Marigny Theatre, 2301 Marais St., with early acts for all ages and adults-only performances to follow

Suggested admission is $25 or “pay what you can,” Batz said. For information, email neworleansfringefest@ gmail.com.

‘Nutcracker’ shows planned around the city

BY VALERIE ANDREWS Contributing writer

Like the snowflakes in the forest at the end of Act 1, there are plenty of options to catch a version of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s classical ballet “The Nutcracker,” an adaptation of E.T.A. Hoffmann’s tale of giant mice, dancing snowflakes, a growing Christmas tree and an enchanted nutcracker

Here’s a list of a few of them, so get up on your toes and twinkle over to a theater near you.

SOUTHERN YOUTH BALLET: 7 p.m. to 9 p.m Friday and Saturday; Slidell High School, 1 Tiger Drive, Slidell. Tickets start at $37.15 via eventbrite.com. visitthenorthshore.com.

NEW ORLEANS BALLET THEATRE: 7 p.m., with matinees at 2 p.m. Saturday through Dec. 23; Orpheum Theater, 129 Roosevelt Way, New Orleans. Tickets start at $51.55. neworleansballettheatre.com.

RIVER REGION BALLET: 7 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday; Lafon Performing Arts Center, 275 Judge Edward Dufresne Parkway, Luling. In collaboration with Ballet Images. Tickets start at $25. lafonartscenter.org.

JEFFERSON BALLET THEATRE: 7:30 p.m. Dec. 19 and 2 p.m. Dec. 20-21; Jefferson Performing Arts Center, 6400 Airline Drive, Metairie. Featuring the JPA Symphony Orchestra, conducted by maestro Dennis G. Assaf, directed by Kenneth Beck and choreographed by Kimberly Matulich-Beck. Tickets start at $38.75 via Ticketmaster jeffersonpac.com.

DELTA FESTIVAL BALLET: 6 p.m. Dec. 20 and 2 p.m. Dec. 21; Mahalia Jackson Theater, 1419 Basin St. in New Orleans. With the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. Tickets start at $54.90. mahaliajacksontheater.com.

NEW ORLEANS SCHOOL OF BALLET: 2 p.m. Dec. 20-21; Ursuline Academy, 2635 State St., New Orleans. With guest artists from the Dance Theatre of Harlem, Louisiana touches like pelicans and magnolias, and a female Nutcracker. Tickets start at $28. nosb.ticketbud.com.

“NUTCRACKER! MAGICAL CHRISTMAS BALLET”: 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Dec. 26;

Saenger Theatre, 1111 Canal St., New Orleans. Performing alongside members of the touring company will be New Orleans children from Arabesque

Ballet Theater International. Tickets start at $42. saengernola.com. Email events@theadvocate.com.

PROVIDED PHOTO By JOHN B BARROIS

The Jefferson Performing Arts Society’s ‘The Nutcracker’ at the Jefferson Performing Arts Center is among the versions throughout the month being produced by companies around the city