The Acadiana Advocate 12-23-2025

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Landry to press Greenland to join U.S. Legal, diplomacy questions raised as governor accepts Trump appointment

BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer

WASHINGTON — Gov. Jeff Landry abruptly found himself in the center of controversy — internationally and at home in Louisiana — after President Donald Trump named

him a special envoy to Greenland in a Truth Social post late Sunday night.

Landry said on social media that he is happy to accept the “volunteer” post and help Trump “make Greenland part of the U.S.” That idea has enraged Danish and

special envoy would actuGreenlandic officials, who ally do. Landry’s office had summoned the U.S. ambasno further information than sador to explain the situawhat the governor said in a tion. short video Monday afterLandry also promised that he would remain Louinoon.

Landry outlined what he siana’s governor, which thought the special envoy raised questions about a Landry role would entail in the vidstate law that restricts elected officials from holding two eo posted on social media. offices at the same time.

Landry recounted a conversaThe White House did not respond tion with Trump about becoming to questions about what a voluntary the first special envoy to Green-

land, which is a part of Denmark, a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization — the mutual defense pact to which the U.S. is a member.

“The president said, ‘You know what, you went to Korea one time and came back with a steel mill.

Could you go to Greenland and talk to them about the opportunity of being a part of the United States?’ ”

ä See LANDRY, page 3A

Swamp complicates new plans for bridge over Miss. River DOTD closes in on final routes for federal consideration

BY DAVID J. MITCHELL Staff writer

STAFF PHOTOS By JAVIER GALLEGOS

John Manuel pokes at a sinker cypress log in the Tchefuncte River before securing it to the side of the boat using a rope and winch in St. Tammany Parish on Dec. 11. Manuel spends his days hunting the rare wood on the Tchefuncte. Sinker cypress isn’t just prized for both its durability and beauty, it’s a relic of Louisiana’s first major industry.

TREASURE

HUNTING

Searching for sinker cypress is an art, finding fortune in the lumber barons’ leftovers

Deep in the sloughs behind Don Ristroph’s family farm, cypress have towered over surrounding trees, high grass and crop rows for centuries, and, he says, in one or two cases, perhaps half a millennium or more.

On a Mississippi River bend known as Point Pleasant, the cypress swamp and its ancient trees south of Plaquemine are in the path of at least one of the final routes for a longawaited river bridge and could be negatively affected by being on the edge of another, Ristroph says.

Designated a state natural area, Ristroph’s cypress forest on the west bank of Iberville Parish presents another, potentially complicating, wrinkle in the running debate over where to build the $2 billion bridge and route its 600-foot-wide approach corridors linking the Mississippi bridge to La. 1 and La. 30.

State highway officials revealed this month that they are closing in on a preferred route for federal officials to consider by the middle of 2026. The state is weighing three alternatives: 11, 13 and 14. Alternatives 13 and 14 affect Ristroph’s property, according to state maps.

ä See SWAMP, page 6A

BY AIDAN McCAHILL Staff writer

John Manuel starts his workday on the Tchefuncte River, near its mouth at Lake Pontchartrain.

It’s a cloudless late morning, but as he accelerates past ritzy waterfront properties in Madisonville, the sun brings little relief from the December air. It’s one of those days that doesn’t feel like work to Manuel. With the boat running smoothly, his mind is free to focus on one thing: treasure hunting.

“God made me to do this,” he says. “This is what I enjoy; this is all the skill sets I was given.”

After turning a bend, only vegetation and the water he grew up on surround the homemade aluminum flatboat. He cuts the engine as it approaches a foam buoy near the bank — marking a discovery made in the shallow murk a week prior.

With a metal pole, he fishes for a rope connected to the buoy, hoisting it over a winch-operated pulley that reluctantly pulls the rope, then wraps the slack around a cleat on the top of the hull.

Manuel guns the engine and the boat shakes violently. But eventually, the butt of a log breaks the water’s surface, liberated from the

WEATHER HIGH 78 LOW 58 PAGE 6A

VENEZUELA

Trump warns Maduro against playing ‘tough’

BY AAMER MADHANI, REGINA GARCIA CANO and EMMA BURROWS Associated Press

A sinker cypress log is towed in the water in the Tchefuncte River in St. Tammany Parish on Dec. 11. mud.

“And we’re free,” Manuel says, with a laugh. “Y’all ain’t seen shaky.

That was really not shaky.”

He is towing an old-growth bald cypress — Latin name Taxodium distichum, also known as “wood eternal” — a tree that once dominated south Louisiana’s swamps, making light barely penetrable through the canopy. Related to the sequoia and redwood, some grew

200 feet high and had towered over the landscape since before the birth of Christ.

By the Great Depression, most had been cut down. Manuel’s log likely sank on its way to the mill more than a century ago. Sinker cypress, as they are now called, are both the last remaining traces of the original swampland and rel-

ä See TREASURE, page 4A

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump on Monday delivered a new warning to Venezuelan President ä President Nicolás Maduro as the U.S. unveils plans Coast Guard steps up efforts to interdict oil tankfor Navy ‘Golden Fleet.’ ers in the Caribbean Sea as part of the Republican PAGE 3A administration’s escalating pressure campaign on the government in Caracas.

Trump was surrounded by his top national security aides, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, as he suggested that he remains ready to further

Business ...................10C Deaths .........................4B Nation-World ................2A Classified .....................4B Living............................5C Opinion ........................2B Comics-Puzzles .....7C-9C Metro ...........................1B Sports ..........................1C

ä See MADURO, page 3A

101ST yEAR, NO. 176

2A ● Tuesday, December 23, 2025 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

Zelenskyy: Peace talk progress ‘quite solid’

KYIV, Ukraine — Initial drafts of U.S. proposals for a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia meet many of Kyiv’s demands, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday, although he suggested that neither side in the almost four-year war is likely to get everything it wants in talks on reaching a settlement.

“Overall, it looks quite solid at this stage,” the Ukrainian leader said of recent talks with U.S. officials who are trying to steer the neighboring countries toward compromises.

“There are some things we are probably not ready for, and I’m sure there are things the Russians are not ready for either,” Zelenskyy told reporters in Kyiv.

President Donald Trump has for months been pushing for a peace agreement. However, the negotiations have run into sharply conflicting demands from Moscow and Kyiv. But U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said Sunday he held “productive and constructive” talks in Florida with Ukrainian and European representatives.

Zelenskyy said that “nearly 90%” of Ukraine’s demands have been incorporated into the draft agreements.

The backbone of the proposed deal is a 20-point plan, he said.

There is also a framework document on security guarantees between Ukraine, European countries, and the United States, as well as a separate document on bilateral security guarantees granted to Ukraine by the U.S.

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Judge chides Maxwell over filing Epstein confidant mentioned victim names in court papers, official says

BY MICHAEL R. SISAK and LARRY NEUMEISTER

Associated Press

NEW YORK — A judge on Monday scolded Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime confidant Ghislaine Maxwell for including confidential victim names in court papers seeking to set aside her 2021 sex trafficking conviction and free her from a 20-year prison sentence.

Judge Paul A. Engelmayer said exhibits included with Maxwell’s habeas petition — which she filed on her own, without a lawyer — will be kept under seal and out of public view “until they have been reviewed and appropriately redacted to protect the identities of victims.”

Any future papers Maxwell files must be submitted under seal, the

judge wrote.

He said he “reminds Maxwell, in strong terms, that she is prohibited from including in any public filings any information identifying victim(s) who were not publicly identified by name during her trial.”

A message seeking comment was left with Maxwell’s lawyer, David Markus.

Maxwell filed the petition last Wednesday, two days before the Justice Department started releasing investigative records perMaxwell taining to her and Epstein in accordance with the recently enacted Epstein Files Transparency Act. Maxwell contends that information that would have resulted in her exoneration was withheld and that false testimony was presented to the jury. She said the cumulative effect of the constitutional violations resulted in a “complete mis-

carriage of justice.”

Engelmayer said Maxwell has until Feb. 17 to notify him whether she plans to include any information from the so-called Epstein files in her petition and must file an amended version by March 31.

Protecting victim identifies has been a key sticking point in the Justice Department’s ongoing release.

The department has said it plans to release records on a rolling basis by the end of the year, blaming the delay on the time-consuming process of obscuring victims’ names and other identifying information. So far, the department hasn’t given any notice when new records arrive.

That approach angered some accusers and members of Congress who fought to pass the transparency act. Records that were released, including photographs, interview transcripts, call logs, court records and other documents, were either already public or heavily blacked out, and many lacked necessary context.

Judge: Abrego Garcia can stay free for now

BY GARY FIELDS and TRAVIS LOLLER Associated Press

‘60 Minutes’ pulls story about deportations

An internal CBS News battle over a “60 Minutes” story critical of the Trump administration has exploded publicly, with a correspondent charging it was kept off the air for political reasons and news chief Bari Weiss saying Monday the story did not “advance the ball.”

Two hours before airtime Sunday, CBS announced that the story where correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi spoke to deportees who had been sent to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison, would not be a part of the show. Weiss, the Free Press founder named CBS News editor-in-chief in October, said it was her decision.

The dispute puts one of journalism’s most respected brands — and a frequent target of President Donald Trump — back in the spotlight and amplifies questions about whether Weiss’ appointment was a signal that CBS News was headed in a more Trump-friendly direction.

Alfonsi, in an email sent to fellow “60 Minutes” correspondents said the story was factually correct and had been cleared by CBS lawyers and its standards division. But the Trump administration had refused to comment for the story, and Weiss wanted a greater effort made to get their point of view.

“In my view, pulling it now after every rigorous internal check has been met is not an editorial decision, it is a political one,” Alfonsi wrote in the email. She did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.

Barry Manilow to have lung cancer surgery

Barry Manilow will be having surgery to remove a cancerous spot on his lung and will reschedule his January concerts, the singer announced Monday.

Manilow, 82, said doctors found the cancer after he had an extended bout of bronchitis — six weeks, then a relapse of another five weeks.

“My wonderful doctor ordered an MRI just to make sure that everything was OK,” Manilow wrote on Instagram. “The MRI discovered a cancerous spot on my left lung that needs to be removed. It’s pure luck (and a great doctor) that it was found so early.”

The singer added that doctors don’t believe cancer has spread, so for now he expects “No chemo. No radiation. Just chicken soup and ‘I Love Lucy’ reruns.”

A statement issued by Manilow’s representatives specified that the spot was a stage one tumor, and that the surgery would take place in late December.

The Senate’s top Democrat on Monday urged colleagues to take legal action over the incremental and heavily redacted release.

Minority Leader Chuck Schumer introduced a resolution that, if passed, would direct the Senate to file or join lawsuits aimed at forcing the Justice Department to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the law enacted last month that required disclosure of records by last Friday.

“Instead of transparency, the Trump administration released a tiny fraction of the files and blacked out massive portions of what little they provided,” Schumer, D-N.Y. said in a statement. “This is a blatant cover-up.”

In lieu of Republican support, Schumer’s resolution is largely symbolic. The Senate is off until Jan. 5, more than two weeks after the deadline. Even then, it’ll likely face an uphill battle for passage.

But it allows Democrats to continue a pressure campaign for disclosure that Republicans had hoped to put behind them.

ASSOCIATED PRES PHOTO By VASHA HUNT

People arrive Monday for a funeral service for Brown University shooting victim Ella Cook in Birmingham, Ala.

Hundreds mourn slain Brown University student

By The Associated Press BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A Brown University sophomore who was killed in an attack at the Rhode Island university was remembered Monday as “smart, confident, curious, kind, principled, brave,” at a funeral in her home state of Alabama.

Hundreds gathered at the Cathedral Church of the Advent in downtown Birmingham to remember Ella Cook, 19. She and freshman MukhammadAziz Umurzokov, 18, were killed Dec. 13 when a gunman entered a study session in a Brown academic building and opened fire on students. Nine other students were wounded.

Authorities believe the attack was carried out by Claudio Neves Valente, 48, who had been a graduate student at Brown studying physics during the 2000-01 school year. Neves Valente then fatally shot Massachusetts Institute of Tech-

nology professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro at Loureiro’s Boston-area home two days later, officials said.

Neves Valente, who had attended school with Loureiro in Portugal in the 1990s, was found dead days later in a New Hampshire storage facility, killed by a self-inflicted gunshot wound. An autopsy determined that Neves Valente died Dec. 16, the same day Loureiro died in a hospital.

The federal government has since announced an investigation into Brown to determine if the school violated the Clery Act, which requires higher education institutions to meet certain campus safety and security requirements in order to receive federal funds. As part of their investigation, the U.S. Department of Education on Monday said it had requested various information from Brown, ranging from security reports, audits, dispatch and call logs, to when emergen-

cy notifications have been utilized.

In Alabama, Cook’s family on Monday invited attendees to wear “Easter colors,” underscoring Cook’s Christian faith, at an Episcopal funeral service that also nodded to the Christmas season.

The Rev. Paul F.M. Zahl, who formerly led the church, read from several letters written by members of the Brown community to Cook’s parents, Anna Bishop Cook and Richard Cook, who raised Ella and her two younger siblings in the affluent Birmingham suburb of Mountain Brook.

“Ella was smart, confident, curious, kind, principled, brave. She had a big impact on campus in only three semesters,” wrote Brown professor of political economy David Skarbek. “I used to tell Ella, ‘We need an Alabama to Brown pipeline.’ In fact, her nickname on campus was Ellabama.”

Flash flooding in California leads to soaked roads, rescues, 1 death

BY NOAH BERGER and TRÂN NGUYEN

Associated Press

REDDING, Calif. — Heavy rain and flash flooding soaked roads in northern California, leading to water rescues from vehicles and homes and at least one confirmed death, authorities said Monday.

In Redding, a city at the northern end of California’s Central Valley, one motorist died after calling 911 while trapped in their vehicle as it filled up with water, Mayor Mike Littau posted online Monday.

Police said they received numerous calls for drivers

stranded in flooded areas.

“Redding police officer swam out into the water, broke the windows and pulled victim to shore. CPR was done but the person did not live,” Littau wrote.

The Redding area saw between 3 and 6 inches of rain from Saturday through Sunday night, the National Weather Service said.

As scattered showers lingered into Monday, some local roads remained flooded as street crews worked to clear debris and tow abandoned cars.

Dekoda Cruz waded in knee-deep muddy water to check on a friend’s flooded tire business, where the

office was littered with a jumble of furniture and bobbing tires.

Redding’s mayor warned of even more dangerous weather in the coming days, and the city distributed free sand bags to residents in preparation for the next storm.

The National Weather Service expects rain through the Christmas week as a series of atmospheric rivers was forecast to make its way through Northern California. A large swath of the Sacramento Valley and surrounding areas were under a flood watch through Friday.

GREENBELT, Md. — A federal judge on Monday questioned whether government officials could be trusted to follow orders barring them from taking Kilmar Abrego Garcia into immigration custody or deporting him.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis noted that Abrego Garcia was already deported without legal authority once and said she was “growing beyond impatient” with government misrepresentations in her court. “Why should I give the respondents the benefit of the doubt?” she asked, referring to the government attorneys.

Abrego Garcia’s mistaken deportation and imprisonment in El Salvador in March has galvanized both sides of the immigration debate. The Trump administration initially fought efforts to bring him back to the U.S. but eventually complied after the U.S. Supreme Court weighed in. He returned to the U.S. in June,

only to face an arrest warrant on human smuggling charges in Tennessee.

Xinis ordered Abrego Garcia released from immigration custody on Dec. 11 after determining that the government had no viable plan for deporting him. She followed that with a temporary restraining order the next day barring Immigration and Customs Enforcement from immediately taking him back into custody. The Monday hearing was to determine if the temporary restraining order should be dissolved.

The hearing was a glimpse into the complexity of immigration proceedings as Xinis tried to get information on the status of Abrego Garcia’s case. “I am trying to get to the bottom of whether there are going to be any removal proceedings,” she said as she questioned the government’s lawyer. “You haven’t told me what you’re going to do next.”

Xinis said she would leave the restraining order in place for now while she considers the issue.

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Trump announces plans for new Navy ‘battleship’

BY KONSTANTIN TOROPIN and AAMER MADHANI Associated Press

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has announced a bold plan for the Navy to build a new, large warship that he is calling a “battleship” as part of a larger vision to create a “Golden Fleet.”

“They’ll be the fastest, the biggest, and by far 100 times more powerful than any battleship ever built,” Trump claimed during the announcement at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

The ship, according to Trump, will be longer and larger than the World War II-era Iowa-class battleships and will be armed with hypersonic missiles, rail guns and high-powered lasers — all technologies that are still being developed by the Navy.

Just a month ago, the Navy scrapped its plans to build a new, small warship, citing growing delays and cost overruns, deciding instead to go with a modified version of a Coast Guard cutter that was

LANDRY

Continued from page 1A Landry said in the video, posted on X. “All we’re going to do is go have us a great conversation with those folks in Greenland. They’re in the Western Hemisphere — fits inside the Monroe Doctrine. And we’re going to bring them some great Cajun food.”

President James Monroe in 1823 established a doctrine that the U.S. wouldn’t meddle in European affairs and Europe’s powers would stay out of North and South America.

The governor was at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Sunday, according to Shane Guidry, a New Orleans businessman who is a close confidant and adviser to Landry.

What is Landry’s role?

It is not immediately clear what exactly Landry’s responsibilities as special envoy would entail. And that has some in Louisiana wondering about the legality of dual officeholding under state law.

The relevant law says that, with few exceptions, “no person holding an elective office, appointive office, or employment in any of the branches of state government or of a political subdivision thereof shall at the same time hold another elective office, appointive office, or employment in the government of a foreign country, in the government of the United States, or in the government of another state.”

But does the special envoy position, which Landry emphasized is “volunteer” and for which he will not be paid, count?

The Louisiana Board of Ethics did not respond to a request for comment.

Scott Sternberg, a constitutional lawyer in New Orleans who also represents The Advocate | The Times-Picayune, said his phone has been ringing off the hook from people asking those questions.

“There is a line. I don’t know where that line is,” Sternberg said.

State law has no prohibition against a governor, say, joining the President’s Council on Physical Fitness.

“But I don’t know because we don’t have enough facts,” Sternberg said.

Terry Ryder had a similar view.

He was an attorney for the Louisi-

Historically, the term battleship has referred to a very specific type of ship — a large, heavily armored vessel armed with massive guns designed to bombard other ships or targets ashore. This type of ship was at the height of prominence during World War II, and the largest of the U.S. battleships, the Iowa-class, were roughly 60,000 tons.

After World War II, the battleship’s role in modern fleets diminished rapidly in favor of aircraft carriers and long-range missiles.

The U.S. Navy did modernize four Iowa-class battleships in the 1980s by adding cruise missiles and antiship missiles, along with modern ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ALEX BRANDON radars, but by the 1990s all four President Donald Trump said Monday that the Navy is creating a ‘Golden were decommissioned.

Trump has long held strong opinFleet,’ which includes a new ship that will be longer and larger than ions on specific aspects of the Nathe World War II-era Iowa-class battleships and will be armed with vy’s fleet, sometimes with a view hypersonic missiles, rail guns and high-powered lasers — all technologies toward keeping older technology instead of modernizing. that are still being developed by the Navy.

During his first term, he unsucbeing produced until recently. The the new Ford-class aircraft carrier cessfully called for the return to sea service has also failed to build and Columbia-class submarines, on steam-powered catapults to launch jets from the Navy’s newest airits other newly designed ships, like time and on budget.

ana House and Senate, as well as deputy chief of staff for Republican Gov. Mike Foster, and executive counsel for Democratic Gov. Kathleen Blanco, during the time the Legislature was writing the laws that forbid elected state officials from holding most second jobs.

“We know what the word special envoy would mean when we look it up in a dictionary, but we don’t know what his duties are,” he said.

“The real issue would be if his duties actually pose a conflict with his obligations under his oath in Louisiana,” Ryder said. “I don’t think that there is a categorical prohibition here.”

That’s a point also raised by New Orleans U.S. Rep. Troy Carter, who is one of the highest-ranking elected Democrats in Louisiana and hasn’t been formally briefed on the appointment.

“What I will say is this: Any role involving official duties on behalf of the federal government deserves transparency and clarity,” Carter said. “Louisianans expect their elected officials to focus fully on the jobs they were elected to do, and any outside role, volunteer or otherwise, should be evaluated carefully to ensure it does not conflict with state law or constitutional requirements.”

Icy response from Greenland

law.

“They are fundamental principles. You cannot annex another country. Not even with an argument about international security,” the statement said.

Greenland has been part of Denmark for more than 200 years and is self-governed, except for monetary, defense and foreign affairs, which Denmark still controls.

Why Greenland?

Trump has coveted Greenland for a long time. Since he was elected for a second term in 2024, he has repeatedly said he wanted to acquire the icebound island with about 57,000 residents, occasionally mentioning the possibility of military intervention.

Greenland is slightly larger than the Louisiana Purchase. It has rare earth metals, which China now dominates, and its position has long been a security buffer against Russia. The U.S. military has bases on Greenland.

Back in January when Trump voiced the idea of the U.S. taking over Greenland, Landry wrote on X: “President Donald J. Trump is absolutely right! We need to ensure that Greenland joins the United States. GREAT for them, GREAT for us! Let’s get it done!”

The rhetoric has since died down.

“It seems to me that Gov. Landry’s appointment is intended as a signaling tool to, if you will, ratchet up the United States’ involvement or is trying to get the rest of the world accustomed to thinking that the United States will have a greater influence in this affair,” said Robbie Hogan, a professor in LSU’s political science department.

For Landry politically, the appointment also increases the governor’s visibility as someone of prominence with the respect of the president on an important international issue, he added.

“It gives Gov. Landry a foreign policy credential,” Hogan said.

“For someone who has, clearly who has, aspirations for some sort of national office, this gives him a new credential that he didn’t have before. And it puts Gov. Landry on a stage that he hasn’t been playing on before.”

Staff writer Tyler Bridges contributed to this report.

But Danish and Greenlandic officials were angered by Trump’s reigniting interest in acquiring Greenland, which is rich in minerals and sits astride important shipping routes — particularly as the North Pole ice pack is receding, thereby making the Arctic Ocean more navigable and the minerals more accessible.

“The talks from the United States have not been respectful,” JensFrederik Nielsen, Greenland’s prime minister, said at a Monday afternoon news conference in Denmark. “The words used have Nielsen not been respectful. That’s why we need in this situation, we need to stand together.”

Earlier in the day, Nielsen and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen issued a joint statement in reaction to Landry’s appointment, saying that national borders and the sovereignty of Email Mark Ballard at states are rooted in international mballard@theadvocate.com.

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MADURO

Continued from page 1A escalate his four-month pressure campaign on the Maduro government that began with the stated purpose of stemming the flow of illegal drugs from the South American nation but has developed into something more amorphous.

“If he wants to do something, if he plays tough, it’ll be the last time he’ll ever be able to play tough,” Trump said of Maduro as he took a break from his Florida holiday vacation to announce plans for the Navy to build a new, large warship.

Trump levied his latest threat as the U.S. Coast Guard on Monday continued for a second day to chase a sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration describes as part of a “dark fleet” Venezuela is using to evade U.S. sanctions.

The tanker, according to the White House, is flying under a false flag and is under a U.S. judicial seizure order.

“It’s moving along and we’ll end up getting it,” Trump said.

It is the third tanker pursued by the Coast Guard, which on Saturday seized a Panama-flagged vessel called Centuries that U.S. officials said was part of the Venezuelan shadow fleet.

The Coast Guard, with assistance from the Navy, seized a sanctioned tanker called Skipper on Dec. 10, also part of the shadow fleet of tankers that the U.S. says operates on the fringes of the law to move sanctioned cargo. That ship was registered in Panama.

Trump, after that first seizure, said the U.S. would carry out a “blockade” of Venezuela. Trump has repeatedly said that Maduro’s days in power are numbered.

Last week, Trump demanded that Venezuela return assets that it seized from U.S. oil companies years ago, justifying anew his announcement of a blockade against sanctioned oil tankers traveling to or from the South American country.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, whose agency oversees the Coast Guard, said in a Monday appearance on “Fox & Friends” that the targeting of tankers is intended to send “a message around the world that the illegal activity that Maduro is participating in cannot stand, he needs to be gone, and that we will stand up for

craft carriers instead of the more modern electromagnetic system.

He has also complained to Secretary of the Navy John Phelan about the look of the Navy’s destroyers and decried Navy ships being covered in rust.

Phelan told senators at his confirmation hearing that Trump “has texted me numerous times very late at night, sometimes after one (o’clock) in the morning” about “rusty ships or ships in a yard, asking me what am I doing about it.”

On a visit to a shipyard that was working on the now-canceled Constellation-class frigate in 2020, Trump said he personally changed the design of the ship.

“I looked at it, I said, ‘That’s a terrible-looking ship, let’s make it beautiful,’ ” Trump said at the time.

He said Monday he will have a direct role in designing this new warship as well.

“The U.S. Navy will lead the design of these ships along with me, because I’m a very aesthetic person,” Trump said.

our people.”

Meanwhile, Russia’s Foreign Ministry started evacuating the families of diplomats from Venezuela, according to a European intelligence official speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information.

The official told The Associated Press the evacuations include women and children and began on Friday, adding that Russian Foreign Ministry officials are assessing the situation in Venezuela in “very grim tones.” The ministry said in an X posting that it was not evacuating the embassy but did not address queries about whether it was evacuating the families of diplomats.

Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Yván Gil on Monday said he spoke by phone with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, who he said expressed Russia’s support for Venezuela against Trump’s declared blockade of sanctioned oil tankers.

“We reviewed the aggressions and flagrant violations of international law that have been committed in the Caribbean: attacks against vessels and extrajudicial executions, and the unlawful acts of piracy carried out by the United States government,” Gil said in a statement.

While U.S. forces targeted the vessels in international waters over the weekend, a tanker that’s considered part of the shadow fleet was spotted moving between Venezuelan refineries, including one about three hours west of the capital, Caracas.

The tanker remained at the refinery in El Palito through Sunday, when families went to the town’s beach to relax with children now on break from school.

Music played on loudspeakers as people swam and surfed with the tanker in the background. Families and groups of teenagers enjoyed themselves, but Manuel Salazar, who has parked cars at the beach for more than three decades, noticed differences from years past, when the country’s oil-dependent economy was in better shape and the energy industry produced at least double the current 1 million barrels per day.

“Up to nine or 10 tankers would wait out there in the bay. One would leave, another would come in,” Salazar, 68, said. “Now, look, one.”

The tanker in El Palito has been identified by Transparencia Venezuela, an independent watchdog promoting government accountability, to be part of the shadow fleet.

4A ● Tuesday, December 23, 2025 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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TREASURE

out with Shelby, everybody thought they were a swamplord,” said Manuel, a friend of Stanga’s. The show brought more customers but also a revolving door of hobbyists who gobbled up the easiest pickings but usually didn’t stick with it, Manuel said. Between the fuel and equipment costs, land access, knowledge required and dwindling supply, he is adamant that the business isn’t for everyone.

“There are so many better ways to make a living than this,” he said, though he adds it has become enough to sustain him. “It’s treasure hunting. I’m excited about it. Half the time I don’t wear shoes.”

Continued from page 1A ics of Louisiana’s first major extractive industry.

Now the rare wood is highly sought after, appearing in high-end New Orleans restaurants and on Pinterest boards alike. That demand has sparked a cottage industry across Louisiana’s swamps and rivers, one Manuel describes as “feast or famine” and, like the lumber barons before him learned too late, limited by finite supply.

“It’s a roller coaster. You could go three, four months with nothing,” Manuel said.

“If it is good and easy to get to, it’s already been gotten by me or someone else.”

Wood eternal Earlier in the morning, at his property in Folsom, an enthusiastic Manuel gives a tour of his inventory, beginning with a shed full of slabs.

“That’s the last stroke of an ax right there,” he said, pointing. “There are some old-timers that can still date when the tree fell by the type of ax used.”

The tastes of his buyers vary with time, he said. In vogue right now is pecky wood, distinctive for its meandering, cavelike grooves, created by fungi that grew in vertical spirals. Others prefer those peppered with shallow craters — the artistry of shipworm mollusks.

The bespectacled 45-yearold, sporting a goatee and camo fatigues, spent eight years as an Army combat engineer with deployments in Afghanistan. He returned home disillusioned and found solace in solitude and long days on the water. Eventually, he sold his heavy equipment business to hunt sinker cypress full-time.

“It was born out of just wanting to be away from folks and be in the wild, and it grew,” he said. “Before Katrina, there wasn’t anybody out here. I could go out into the lake (Pontchartrain), just walk to the shoreline and come across some ax-cut logs.”

Twenty years later, Manuel operates a dehumidifier kiln and a couple of industrial saws. He has amassed around 25,000 board feet of sinker cypress — industry lingo for 1 foot wide, 1 foot long and 1 inch thick. Depending on shape and quality, he prices it between $7.50 and $25 per board foot.

Richard Woods, as his name might suggest, owns Albany Woodworks, which sells reclaimed cypress about a half hour away in Tickfaw. He says the secret to the wood’s longevity is cypressene, a natural preservative oil that repels termites and protects the wood from rotting. But the oil doesn’t start accumulating until the tree is around 200 years old, he said. It also takes centuries for most of the cypress trunk to turn into dense heartwood, the tree’s “skeleton.” It is so sturdy that cypress logs carbon-dated to more than 50,000 years old have been found preserved off the coast of Alabama.

Most of Louisiana’s cypress trees growing today, however, are less than 100 years old, made up mostly of the softer outer layer known as sapwood.

“New cypress has none of the characteristics of the old virgin growth cypress,” said Woods, who sells old-growth cypress flooring, beams and doors — the latter beginning at $2,200 — to people all over the country. His customers are “people that know the difference, that remember

STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

John Manuel happily shows off a log of sinker cypress at his property in St. Tammany Parish on Dec. 11. Old-growth bald cypress, or sinker cypress as they are now called, once dominated cypress swamps and are both the last remaining traces of the original swampland and relics of Louisiana’s first major extractive industry. the heritage.”

Manuel is blunter: “Would you rather the thing you throw in the garbage in 10 years like the Ikea crap? Or have a $4,000 table, and when you die, your kids fight over who gets it?”

Yet the wood also has practical value. Baton Rouge is financing part of the LSU Lakes revitalization project by selling sinker cypress recovered from dredging.

Swampers and steam power In his backyard, Manuel turns over an untreated log, revealing a carved Roman numeral.

“I’ve found everything up to about 20,” he said, speculating that the markings come from surveyors denoting their respective tracts.

According to Jason Theriot, a historian who has spent years conducting archival research and interviews on Louisiana’s logging industry, the federal and state government began opening up Louisiana’s swamplands for sale in the mid-1800s. By 1880, most of the lands that contained commercially viable cypress and the less valuable, though still profitable Tupelo gum had been bought up by private companies, led by soon-to-be lumber tycoons F.B. Williams and R.N. Dowman.

Meanwhile, the second Industrial Revolution was in full swing. Railroads allowed sawmills to sell wood directly to places as far as Chicago, where it was used to fuel America’s urban and industrial expansion, according to Theriot, while steam-powered machinery descended onto the formerly impenetrable Louisiana swamps.

“That’s what allowed them to go into the middle of the swamp, particularly in the Atchafalaya Basin, in Manchac and other places like that, and be able to harvest at economies of scale,” he said.

Dredging companies constructed canals deep into the swamps, made wide enough to fit strategically-placed steam-powered-pull barges.

Smaller paths — about 100 yards long — were cleared in an outward, radial fashion from the barges.

At the end of the paths, cypress would have already been girdled (cut with a ring around the bark to slowly kill it) and later felled with axes, Theriot said. The work fell to “swampers,” poor men, many backwoods Cajuns, who lived in houseboat camps for weeks at a time, working around the clock in knee-deep water, braving alligators and mosquitoes as they traversed the thicket in shallow-bottomed pirogues.

“The actual felling of the cypress tree was the same in 1920 as it was in 1830. It was two guys with a passe-

par-tout — a 6-foot crosscut saw — going to town on it,” Theriot said.

Swampers would then drag a winch from the pullboat through the forest and chain the trees to the cable, which pulled them back to the canal.

“If you know anything about steam power, it doesn’t care,” added Manuel, himself an amateur historian. “It’s either going to get the log out, it’s gonna tear the log in half, or it’s going to rip up whatever it hits.”

Today, those with a keen eye traveling out of Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport or perusing Google Earth may spot remnants of the technique — patterns in the marsh grass resembling the spokes of a wagon wheel.

“You can still see them; there are hundreds of them,” Theriot said. “If you have aerials from the 1950s, they pop out as clear as day.”

At the canal, a team would nudge the logs to deeper water, then assemble thousands into a raft using spiked chains, after which a steamboat would tow them to the nearest sawmill — the largest in the world at the time located in Patterson, near Morgan City.

Some trees were too waterlogged or sap-heavy to float.

Others broke free. Still others were stored in ponds and lakes and forgotten. But the resource seemed so plentiful that losses largely went unnoticed.

“You’re tying up a raft of a thousand trees,” Theriot said. “If you lose one, it’s like shaking that basket of crabs: A couple of big ones are gonna fall out; you’re not gonna jump in the water after them.”

Around World War I, at the height of production, a single crew could clear about 1 square mile a year, according to Theriot’s research. Statewide, logging companies harvested around 1 billion board feet of cypress annually.

Shortly after the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, the last of Louisiana’s old-growth cypress forests had vanished — particularly devastating the Atchafalaya Basin, the largest wetland system in the U.S. — without a single chain saw being used.

“It only lasted 50 years, because that’s how efficient the entire system was,” Theriot said. “By 1929, the last cypress tree came up the gurney, and that was it. Guys went and found other jobs.”

and the time it takes to dry and treat the trees, it could be years before they end up in someone’s living room.

When asked how he makes his initial discoveries, Manuel is cagey, like a fisherman guarding a honey hole. All he reveals is that it involves side-scan sonar and GPS attached to his helm, years of accumulated river wisdom, and his buddy Rocky, a former Special Forces diver who attaches chokers to the submerged logs.

“There are only so many ways to skin a cat, but everybody has their own little technique,” he said.

Most believe Manuel’s trade began with the swampers who stayed behind after the sawmills closed, making use of what the lumber barons had lost.

“They fished and hunted in the basin their whole lives,” Theriot said. “It doesn’t take long for Cajun ingenuity to set in … and for that little cottage market to make its way up and down the bayou.”

Woods, who founded Albany Woodworks in 1980, began his business by selling reclaimed cypress torn from old buildings.

“When we ran out, we were looking for other sources,” he said. “We started learning from old swamp guys that there were a lot of logs still out in the swamp.”

Manuel lives about a half hour from Shelby Stanga, possibly the most famous sinker cypress hunter, thanks to the History Channel’s “Axe Men” and its spinoff “Legend of Shelby The Swamp Man,” which documented Stanga’s adventures in the 2010s.

“When the TV show came

Between heritage and ruin By noon, Manuel is idling back toward Lake Pontchartrain, where he will tie up the three sinkers now being towed behind his boat. Later, he will return with a pickup truck to drag them out. Between his existing inventory

REASON 94

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Being a good manager

systems, which prevent erosion and absorb flood waters, are seen as critical buffers against hurricanes and land loss. Still, it may be too little, too late for the cypress forests. Residential development, invasive nutria, sinking land, saltwater intrusion and altered hydrology in the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers all threaten any noticeable comeback.

“Cypress trees are hit from every single direction,” said Manuel, adding, “without any trees, you don’t have any seeds.”

Pockets of old-growth cypress remain, having escaped the saw by standing in residential areas, being dismissed as hollow, or simple luck. For some, the old giants evoke a proud heritage. For others, they’re monuments to what Louisiana destroyed.

Manuel, caught between the two forces that define his work, remains conflicted.

“God gave us this planet to subdue it and manage it,” he said. “But if you tear it up, you are a poor manager of what God gave you.”

Beside Manuel’s boat, snowy egrets and cormorants search for their next meals. New-growth cypress draped in Spanish moss line the banks, meager in size and numbers compared to their ancestors. Despite a small resurgence of cypress logging — both legal and illegal during the housing boom in the mid-2000s — tens of thousands of acres of cypress forest have since Email Aidan McCahill been replanted. at aidan.mccahill@ Their massive aquatic root theadvocate.com.

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ALMANAC

AIR QUALITY

LAFAyETTE THROUGH 5 P.M. MONDAy

YESTERDAY

TEMPERATURE

High/low Normal high/low Record high Record low

GOOD

77°/62° 63°/45° 81° in 1970 15° in 1989

MAIN POLLUTANT Particulates

READING 35

TODAY

PRECIPITATION

GOOD

24 hours through 5 p.m. Mon. Trace Month to date (normal) 7.43” (3.34”) year to date (normal) 72.26” (61.19”)

MAIN POLLUTANT Particulates

SUN AND MOON Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today

FIRST

7:01 a.m.

5:13 p.m.

9:48 a.m.

8:39 p.m.

DEC 27

SOURCE: AIRNOW.GOV

FULL

LAST

NEW

JAN 3

JAN 10

JAN 18

THE NATION AND WORLD Today City

LOUISIANA FORECAST

RIVER STAGES MISSISSIPPI

Monroe 74/59

Shreveport 76/61

Jackson 76/56

Longview 77/62

Many 77/58

Hattiesburg 76/57

Alexandria 76/58

FLOOD STAGE 24-HOUR STAGE CHANGE

Memphis Vidalia-Natchez Red River Landing Baton Rouge Donaldsonville Reserve New Orleans OHIO

Cairo COMITE

Near Olive

Baton Rouge 79/59 Beaumont 76/60

Port Arthur 74/60

Lafayette

AMITE

Near Darlington Denham Springs Port Vincent

New Orleans 76/60

Lake Charles 76/59

TICKFAW

Montpelier Holden

Houma 79/60

ATCHAFALAYA

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

TIDES HIGH

First FT. LOW

Lake Pontchartrain (Tchefuncte River) 9:02a 0.6 Shell Beach 3:39a 1.5 South Point, Marsh Island 1:30a 1.5 Cypremort Point 11:17p 1.5 Grand Isle (Barataria Pass) 11:20p 0.9 Mississippi River (Southwest Pass) 10:36p 1.2 Wine Island -----

FT.

8:56p -0.2 2:11p -0.4 9:42a -0.6 1:41p -0.1 10:05a -0.4 8:22a -0.5 11:07a -0.5

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Forecasts and graphics, except KATC forecasts, provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2025

SWAMP

Continued from page 1A

‘That ‘11’ thing’

Upriver of Point Pleasant, alternative 11 would completely avoid Ristroph’s west bank cypress swamp, as well as the most disruptive impacts to west bank industrial property and infrastructure, including possibly pipelines serving Shintech.

But the route would plow through part of another statedesignated natural area, the A.E. LeBlanc Natural Area, and potentially hit other pipelines, advocates say.

For the past several years, opposition to alternative 11 has been building from east bank landowners like Laura and Cliff Comeaux, who own the natural area, amid calls from them and others for the state to conduct a deeper, slower analysis known as an environmental impact statement.

Their 60-acre forest on Iberville Parish’s east bank near the community of Sunshine has cypress that predate the Louisiana Purchase’s signing in 1803, according to reports supplied by the family. The trees are part of a larger old-growth forest system held by several landowners of the back swamps at the center of Plaquemine Point.

With one of the state’s few regenerating cypress swamps, the A.E. LeBlanc swamp was dubbed one of Louisiana’s Most Endangered Places by the Louisiana Trust for Historic Preservation in 2024 and has drawn attention from LSU researchers and a collection of other groups.

A botanist studied the land through a Louisiana Native Plant Society grant for the Comeauxs and recently concluded the loss of the forest, due to its age and biodiversity, couldn’t be recovered through traditional payments to wetlands mitigation banks, calling the damage “unmitigatible.”

During recent public meetings this month on the bridge, some residents questioned why Louisiana has to make another sacrifice of its natural heritage.

“You’re going to take a

Simmesport Melville Krotz Springs Butte La Rose Bayou Sorrel Morgan City

34 48 48 35 27 22 17

-7.40 12.00 16.30 5.70 3.50 2.09 2.20

+0.30 +0.15 -0.20 -0.20 -0.20 -0.12 -0.08

40

16.77

+3.71

19

-1.41

-0.01

18 29 8

-0.81 10.46 1.69

+0.02 -0.08 -0.17

13 15

1.74 1.10

+0.01 -0.04

47 34 29 20 12 6

4.51 2.94 2.91 2.20 2.60 2.01

-0.02 -0.09 -0.17 -0.04 none -0.33

Austin Boston Dallas Fairbanks Honolulu Las Vegas Louisville Miami Nashville

The World Amsterdam Bangkok Barcelona Berlin Brussels Cairo Dublin Frankfurt Havana Hong Kong Jerusalem

Wednesday

Hi

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80 36 77 -14 81 63 61 80 64

65 32 64 -21 72 50 42 68 57

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New Orleans Orlando Philadelphia Phoenix Pittsburgh Raleigh St. Louis San Diego Tampa

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s pc c pc pc sn pc s r s sh

Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice.

-10

-0s

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SOLUNAR TABLE The solunar period schedule allows planning days so you will be fishing in good territory or hunting in good cover during those times. Major periods begin at the times shown and last for 1.5 to 2 hours. The minor periods are shorter.

Today Wed. Thu. Fri. Sat. Sun. Mon.

Major

Minor

1:27a 7:39a 2:20a 8:32a 3:11a 9:23a 4:00a 10:11a 4:47a 10:58a 5:32a 11:44a 6:19a 12:08a

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Minor

1:51p 8:03p 2:43p 8:55p 3:34p 9:45p 4:22p 10:33p 5:09p 11:21p 5:57p ---6:45p 12:32p

Shown are areas of precipitation and high temperatures for the day.

‘One of my big boys’ As the east bank cypress forest was, Ristroph’s 57acre forest in western Iberville was designated in 2006 as the St. Barbara Wetland Natural Area, named after a former plantation on the property, according to a state registry.

On a recent visit to the swamp, dried out from weeks of little rain, tall cypress knees and high, partially browned grasses surrounded one of the tallest, girthiest cypress and reached nearly to a man’s hips.

“That’s one of my big boys,” Ristroph said as the grasses rustled with his and a reporter’s steps underneath the towering tree.

While the big cypress’s exact age isn’t clear, Ristroph, 71, who grew up on the STAFF PHOTO By DAVID J. MITCHELL farm but now lives in Baton Don Ristroph stands next to the trunk of an ancient cypress Rouge, said a state wildlife official told him it could be tree on his family’s property on Point Pleasant south of close to 1,000 years old.

Plaquemine. Ristroph, who now lives in Baton Rouge, fears Ristroph said he didn’t two of the three final routes for the proposed Mississippi have the tree cored to verify River bridge would affect the cypress swamp and possibly its age, unlike trees in the LeBlanc forest. He was wordestroy the tree, estimated to be 1,000 years old. ried about damaging the old tree, but assumed it and at New Mississippi River bridge options least one other cypress in the natural area to be at least 500 State highway officials have narrowed down 32 possible years old. routes for a new bridge south of Baton Rouge to three in Others are younger but Iberville Parish. The three are routes 11, 13 and 14. probably still older than a century, he said.

Baton Rouge Brusly 10 Ristroph said he favors EAST BATON N ROUG GE alternative 11 because it 1 POTENTIAL PARISH avoids his property and the SITES FOR swamp, but also because he 30 r e v i R THE NEW Miss.

Addis believes it will be difficult to BRIDGE run a new highway on parts WEEST BATON N ROUGE PARISH of alternatives 13 and 14.

To reach La. 1, both routes 988 must slip through a narrow Bayou corridor between two Shin11 Paul tech plants, with pipelines Lane 75 77 13 and a high-voltage power Plaquemine line, according to state maps.

St. Gabriel “My biggest thing is, of 14 75 course, it’s just simply not 30 logical to go through that kind of narrow corridor 2 miles IBERVILLE right between two chemical PARISH 1 plants,” he said.

Source: Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development

forest down to be nice to chemical plants? Sorry,” said Les Ann Kirkland, 71, of Plaquemine.

She questioned why alternative 11 even remained an

Hi

Staff map

‘Good for all of us’

For a generation or more, the need for a new river option, fueling suspicion for crossing in the Baton Rouge her about the state’s review region has developed a growprocess. ing consensus. Over the past “I want that ‘11’ thing gone, several years, state highway and it should’ve been gone,” officials and their consulKirkland said. tants have narrowed down

STAFF FILE PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

Laura Comeaux pulls up a map on her phone of points of interest like centuries-old trees during a tour of the A.E. LeBlanc Natural Area and Old-Growth Cypress Forest on April 12.

would examine her claims but added they were not done with their analysis.

In a statement, a Shintech official didn’t state a preferred route but noted all three routes hit Shintech property. However, two routes — alternatives 13 and 14 — would affect “existing electrical and utility infrastructure and pipelines in their designated areas.”

Alternative 11 would cross “currently undeveloped Shintech property” on the west bank, the company executive said.

“Improved traffic flow and economic development are good for all of us living, working and doing business on the west bank. Locating the proposed new bridge in Iberville Parish would do just that,” said Danny Cedotal, Shintech Louisiana LLC’s vice president of manufacturing.

DOTD officials told the bridge district board that a draft environmental assessment with refined routes and costs, including for utilities, would be presented to the public in meetings planned for February.

Following those comments, a final route could be recommended for additional public hearings in June, followed by DOTD’s selection of a route for the Federal Highway Administration to consider, possibly approving it by next fall.

Christina Brignac, DOTD’s critical projects manager, said that if the process can settle on a preferred route without a significant impact, it can proceed to a final federal decision without doing the longer environmental impact statement.

A federal decision would open the door to further design, land acquisition and other preliminary steps, she said.

The bridge has about $400 million set aside for design and construction but has the prospect of toll-based financing and possibly a share of vehicle sales taxes after the end of a two-year pause enacted in late 2024, state highway officials said.

32 potential crossing routes to just the three in Iberville.

This analysis gave the Iberville Parish routes the highest rankings and determined each would draw roughly equal traffic loads, generate similar toll revenue and create moderate traffic improvement for the region.

But this preliminary analysis also gave alternative 11 an edge over 13 and 14 for lesser impacts on wetlands, power lines and river navigation and for greater ease in building the bridge.

Alternative 13 runs along the edge of Ristroph’s swamp but affects other wetland areas, including some larger, older trees on neighboring property. Alternative 14 runs right through the heart of the St. Barbara Natural Area owned by Ristroph.

Laura Comeaux has questioned the state’s analysis, however, telling the Capital Area Road and Bridge District earlier this month that the state’s wetlands review failed to collect a single soil sample inside the old-growth portion of the A.E. LeBlanc forest, instead hitting nearby grassy pipeline routes and cow pastures.

“We wonder what other landowners and tracts of land were avoided, and is this going to give a false impression that there would be no significant impact?” she asked.

In a later interview, she said the revelation of Ristroph’s natural area only increases the need for a more thorough environmental im- David J. Mitchell can be reached at dmitchell@ pact statement.

DOTD officials said they theadvocate.com.

METRO

Jan Risher is on vacation. Her column will return next week.

T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M

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T u e s d ay, d e c e m b e r 23, 2025

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Donations sought for church repairs Stained glass windows broken at St. Ann in St. Landry

BY JA’KORI MADISON

church at 8348 U.S. 190 on Nov. 29, where a church member went into the back hall of the church The St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s and noticed multiple stained glass Office is seeking information for windows had been broken from those responsible for vandalizing the outside of the building.

Additional damage included broSt. Ann Catholic Church, where parish supporters have started a ken PVC plumbing pipes, a damGoFundMe campaign for repairs. aged electrical outlet, cracked Deputies were called to the concrete sewer lids, a broken spot-

light at the front of the church, and cracked glass on a side door. The cost of repairs is estimated between $6,500 and $15,000. Friends and supporters of the church launched a GoFundMe to help the church recover and install security upgrades.

“Your support will allow us to make the necessary repairs to the

Staff writer

repairs will support broader preservation efforts.

Anyone with information is urged to callSt. Landry Crime Stoppers at (337) 948-8477, submit a tip online at stlandrycrimestoppers.com, use the P3 app, or dial **TIPS (**8477).

Callers may remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000.

church,” organizers wrote on the fundraising page. “Any amount will help, and we thank you for your support.”

In an update on the fundraiser, organizers said the campaign has already about $7,900 but still needs an additional $10,000 to $15,000 to fund security cameras and an Email Ja’kori Madison at jakori. alarm system, also stating that the madison@theadvocate.com.

Covington oil and gas company sells for $3.2B British energy firm to acquire LLOG

BY ANTHONY McAULEY Staff writer

A major British energy producer has agreed to buy Covingtonbased LLOG Exploration Co. in a $3.2 billion deal that brings one of the Gulf of Mexico’s most prominent privately held oil operators under foreign ownership and cements Louisiana’s role as a hub for deepwater energy expertise.

London-headquartered Harbour Energy said Monday it will acquire LLOG from its owners in a transaction combining $2.7 billion in cash and $500 million in Harbour shares. The deal, expected to close in the first quarter of 2026 pending regulatory approvals, marks Harbour’s entry into the Gulf and makes LLOG the foundation of its new American business unit.

LLOG, founded in 1977 and headquartered in Covington, is widely regarded as one of the most successful deepwater exploration and production companies operating in federal waters off Louisiana. The company has been a prolific developer of deepwater oil fields over the past two decades.

Under the agreement, LLOG will continue operating with its existing name and leadership team, and with its Covington headquarters remaining intact.

Chief Executive Philip LeJeune is expected to continue leading the company following the sale.

“We are proud to build on LLOG’s strong heritage in the Gulf,” Harbour CEO Linda Cook said in a statement, adding that the company plans to preserve the LLOG name to leverage its “history and reputation” in the region.

The acquisition gives Harbour control of LLOG’s portfolio of producing and developmentstage deepwater oil assets, including major fields such as Who Dat, Buckskin and the recently started Leon-Castile project.

Those assets are concentrated in the Mississippi Canyon and Keathley Canyon areas of the Gulf, where LLOG has long been one of the most active operators.

LLOG produces roughly 34,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and holds interests in more than 80 offshore leases, according to Harbour. The company’s reserves are heavily weighted toward oil, a profile that Harbour said improves its margins and extends the life of its global production base.

For southeast Louisiana, the deal underscores the enduring economic importance of offshore energy even as the industry consolidates and global players seek scale. While drilling activity in the Gulf has fluctuated over the years, companies like LLOG have continued to invest in complex deepwater projects that rely on specialized talent concentrated in the region.

LLOG has drilled more than

ä See OIL, page 4B

STAFF PHOTOS By BRAD KEMP

SEASON OF GIVING

TOP: Members of the cooking team plate meals to be served

Friday during the Lafayette City Marshal’s Office’s fifth annual jambalaya dinner for seniors at the Martin Luther King Recreation Center in Lafayette. The meal that was handed out to seniors consisted of two scoops of jambalaya, white beans and a cookie.

ABOVE: Lafayette City Marshal Reggie Thomas stirs a big pot of jambalaya.

RIGHT: Jambalaya is removed from a pot to be plated and distributed.

Options available for those dining out on Christmas

BY JA’KORI MADISON Staff writer

Christmas Day is a time for family gatherings and holiday feasts, but not everyone wants to cook at home.

For anyone looking for a place in Lafayette to enjoy a meal on Thursday, you’re in luck. Several local restaurants will be open, offering everything from a traditional menu to festive dinners. It’s recommended to call ahead and make your Christmas Day reservation at any of these

local spots.

Here’s a roundup of spots where you can celebrate the holiday without turning on the oven: n La Papa Loca, 4702 Johnston St., serving its traditional menu from noon to 10 p.m. n Katsu Ramen Bar, 3809 Ambassador Caffery Parkway, 106 C, serving its traditional menu from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. n Piccadilly, 100 Arnould Blvd., serving its traditional menu and an array of holiday food such as dressing, turkey and ham. The

restaurant will be open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. n Salt Grass Steak House, 4321 Ambassador Caffery Parkway, serving its traditional menu from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. n Destination India Restaurant & Bar, 5503 Johnston St., serving its traditional menu from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. n Tokyo Japanese Steak House, 3511 Ambassador Caffery Parkway, serving its traditional menu from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. n IHOP, all locations will be open 24 hours, serving its tradi-

tional menu. n Masala Indian Kitchen, 2208 Kaliste Saloom Road, serving its traditional menu from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for lunch and from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. for dinner.

Reservations are required. n Spicy House, 6699 Johnston St., serving its traditional menu from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. n Buffet City, 120 Curran Lane, Suite A, serving all-day dinner from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Email Ja’kori Madison at jakori. madison@theadvocate.com.

OPINION

2B ● Tuesday, December 23, 2025 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M/opinions

OUR VIEWS

La. tourism down, but not for lack of state leadership The verdict on Louisiana tourism in 2025 is beginning to come in, and unfortunately, the picture isn’t as rosy as expected.

Despite the tragedy on Bourbon Street on New Year’s Day, tourism started off strong this year with major events like Super Bowl LIX attracting thousands of tourists to New Orleans.

But a combination of factors, including the Trump administration’s trade and immigration policies, dampened enthusiasm for travel this year. That hurt Louisiana as the number of foreign visitors was down by 15% to 20% over the previous year.

Canadians especially were turned off from travel to the United States due to President Donald Trump’s tariffs and his rhetoric about making the country our 51st state. About 1 in 3 foreign visitors to Louisiana come from Canada.

And cultural events highlighting the state’s historic ties to the Francophone regions of Canada, such as the Grand Réveil Acadien, held in Lafayette in October, saw the effects of that resentment.

While final year-end numbers are yet to come in, there was a slowdown in travel to nearly all parts of the state. In New Orleans, hotel occupancy rates were down 5% compared to the previous year. One city that bucked the trend, however, was Baton Rouge, where new niche events are drawing people to the capital city like never before. The United States Bowling Congress Open Championship drew more than 58,000 visitors over five months to the Raising Cane’s River Center. And youth sports events, such as the Marucci World Series, are driving a whole new category. Hotel occupancy rates in Baton Rouge are up 1.9% so far this year, and hotel-motel tax revenues are up 6.9% year over year, according to Visit Baton Rouge.

Tourism officials say that because 2024 was such a banner year for tourism, especially in New Orleans, it’s important to take this year’s numbers with a grain of salt. And we have to add that even if there was a slump in 2025, it’s not due to lack of effort on the state’s part.

Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser has been a true champion of Louisiana’s tourism industry. He’s been everywhere promoting our state and has gone so far as to call on Trump to apologize to our Canadian neighbors. Even if he failed there, Nungesser and the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism get high marks for giving more people more reason to visit our state. The launch of the new Amtrak Mardi Gras line and the state’s inclusion in the new Michelin Guide American South are but two examples.

Tourism is about showing off our state, but it also is an industry that supports thousands of jobs that help feed families. So we salute all those working to make sure Louisiana is one of the places where visitors feel welcome.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ARE WELCOME. HERE ARE OUR GUIDELINES: Letters are published

identifying name, occupation and/or title and the writer’s city of residence.

The Advocate | The Times-Picayune require a street address and phone number for verification purposes, but that information is not published. Letters are not to exceed 300 words. Letters to the Editor, The Advocate, P.O. Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588, or email letters@ theadvocate.com.

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YOUR VIEWS

Docudrama on Garfield has much relevance today

Misguided ideology leads to attacks on those enforcing law It is truly stunning to watch many American youth condemn and rail against America’s military and law enforcement. These men and women who put their lives on the line every workday are husbands, wives, moms and dads to American families. Many go to church, attend sporting events and socialize together. They aren’t Nazis.

Many Americans are flummoxed by the actions of these misguided, radicalized individuals who throw Molotov cocktails, rocks and worse things at them in protest to their efforts to arrest and deport those who broke our laws and entered our country illegally.

What is even more perplexing is many radicalized American college students attack their parents who are religious, capitalist and conservative.

The radical left is no small segment of America. It has attracted enough followers to its ideology to elect a mayor who proudly declares to defund the police, offer free transportation and create government-controlled grocery stores.

Politicians are fully aware that their

plethora of freebies offered is unsustainable wherever it has been tried.

However, they are acutely aware that false promises frequently win elections. When they fail to keep their ridiculous promises, they invariably claim to be faultless. As a result, the voters are strapped with four years of misery and mismanaged city government.

The mayor predictably blames big business and the wealthy for never paying their fair share, which no politician ever defines. The elephant in the room is that the rich and big business will never allow themselves to be held hostage by any rogue politician. They have the means to escape the talons of big government by simply moving to a more friendly state.

Wake up, America. Only Santa and the Easter bunny give free presents.

Power-hungry politicians lavishly make promises they know they can never deliver. Nothing is ever free.

Someone always has to pay. When will we ever learn?

James A. Garfield, a figure relatively unfamiliar to the public, resurfaced in modern memory with “Death by Lightning,” a Netflix drama series released this November.

It follows Garfield’s presidency and his assassin, Charles Guiteau, who seeks meaning through various jobs, including politics.

After watching it, I read about these men further in Candice Millard’s “Destiny of the Republic.”

Her presentation of these curious American figures illuminated the complexities of political motivation and of finding life’s purpose, both of which mirror modern struggles.

Pursuing political office originates in seeking change or protecting tradition. Millard explores Garfield’s presidency through the conflict of progressive and traditional political pursuits, seen through Garfield and Roscoe Conkling. Both men understood the political benefits and power of their respective positions. However, motivation was their difference.

Garfield entered the presidency without initial interest but accepted it to improve his country, while Conkling tried to defend a harmful political tradition. Through this found purpose, Garfield defended his values while influencing another’s life purpose.

Guiteau embodies the desperation for life’s meaning. Millard describes Guiteau’s several near-death moments throughout the book, including in a ship crash. These moments strengthened his belief in being “God’s tool,” even as he failed in evangelization, publishing newspapers and speaking. Envy led to critiquing his environment and those more successful, such as Garfield.

Envy-driven insanity led Guiteau to rewrite history.

“Death by Lightning” mirrors modern political motivation and examines the discovery of life’s purpose. Garfield and Conkling’s conflict represents the extremes of political pursuit, with different motivations and mindsets. These 1880s politicians offer a leadership rhyme in modern times. Guiteau characterizes the pressure of finding one’s purpose and the darker consequences that result. I encourage everyone to watch “Death by Lightning.”

WESLEY T. RALSTON Metairie

Handelsman’s work made learning fun I am a retired Orleans Parish public school educator who missed the children so much that after I retired, I went back part-time. For the past five years, I have been a gifted resource teacher with the ReNEW and the Firstline Charter Networks.

Walt’s cartoon contest has been part of my curriculum. Walt’s contest has helped spark creativity, ingenuity and imagination in my students. He has contributed to my English language arts lessons and my Social Studies lessons and has added a bit of real-life experience to our class discussions.

He has helped me stretch the students’ problem-solving skills and logical thinking abilities. He has helped fill

the classes with laughter and comic relief. One of my students won the grand prize! Several have received honorable mentions over the years.

The students are always eager to enter the contest and delighted to see their names in print.

This generation has gotten so far away from tangible print. I love to bring the “hard copies” in for them to read. Maybe one day, print journalism will come back (Look at how vinyl albums have returned!).

I’m sorry you are retiring, Walt.

Maybe you will be like me and return part-time... no pressure!

DIXEY FACIANE New Orleans

Actions sow fear among law-abiding Latino community I just ate at a Latino restaurant in my neighborhood. I found that their restaurant employees were terrified of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement coming. They tell me that Latinos in the community are fearful of leaving their houses, that the stores owned by Latinos are closing, that La-

tino children are afraid to go to school, that Latino workers afraid to go to their jobs. These are hard-working, law-abiding people who no longer feel safe. These are not criminals. What is happening to our country?

ARLENE BAZIN Metairie

HADLEY SMITH Arnaudville

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Louisiana commissioner faces DWI allegations Lewis arrested in West Baton Rouge Parish

Lewis, 33, was arrested in West Baton Rouge Parish, officials said.

It is the West Baton Rouge Parish jail’s policy to not book firstoffense DWI offenders; therefore Lewis was not held.

First-offense DWI is a misdeBY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER meanor charge.

Staff writer State Police said Lewis was iniLouisiana Public Service Com- tially stopped for driving without missioner Davante Lewis was ar- headlights.

In a statement, Lewis said he rested on a count of driving while intoxicated over the weekend, a “will be working with lawyers to Louisiana State Police spokesper- contest the charge.”

“I have great respect for the son said.

men and women who serve our community in law enforcement, and I believe everyone, myself included, is accountable to the law,” he said. “I appreciate the professionalism shown during the encounter.”

Lewis said he understands “the gravity of the situation” and why the community is concerned.

“As I always have, I plan to remain accountable through both my words and my actions, not just through my words,” he said in the statement. “My hope is that our focus remains on the consis-

tent, good work we have accomplished advocating for Louisiana’s citizens.”

The five-member Public Service Commission regulates utilities in Louisiana, such as electricity, water, gas and some telecommunications. Lewis’ district covers majority-Black communities stretching from New Orleans up to West Baton Rouge Parish.

Lewis, a Democrat, is the first openly gay person elected to state office in Louisiana. Since ousting longtime Commissioner Lambert Boissiere III in a 2022

election, he has been a prominent critic of Entergy and other utilities.

Lewis is also a frequent foe of Gov. Jeff Landry. In February, the commission board voted to remove him from his role as vice chair after he called Landry an “a******” on the social media app X in response to a post Landry made mocking a transgender Department of Health Official in former President Joe Biden’s administration. Lewis argued he was being held to a different standard because he is Black.

RTA to provide transit passes to homeless in N.O. board approved vices offices, said the manent supportive housing tension of the long-stand- tation problems that are 3,000 available to agency’s Tuesday. move would ease everyday programs to transitional ing collaboration between particularly challenging The homeless services strains homeless residents housing, such as shelters. the RTA and the city. Fields for a community that often those in need office will then distribute face.

It has since paused those said since at least when he requires a range of ser-

BY JONI HESS Staff writer

New Orleans will provide free public transit to homeless residents under a partnership with the Regional Transit Authority and Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s administration, a bid to connect people to housing opportunities and jobs amid a rising homelessness rate.

The RTA will provide 3,000 transit passes a year to the city’s Office of Homeless Services and Strategies to facilitate residents’ transportation to shelters, clinics and housing appointments, among other needed services, according to the agreement the

OIL

Continued from page 1B 300 wells in the Gulf over its five decades of operation and has been credited with a significant share of deepwater discoveries since 2014. Its technical expertise in ultra-deep formations has made it a soughtafter operator and partner.

A visionary founder LLOG was founded by Gerald “Jerry” Boelte, a New Orleans native and LSU-trained petroleum engineer who built the privately held company into one of the Gulf’s most respected deepwater operators. Boelte, who died last year at age 77, was widely regarded as a visionary who believed smaller, technically focused companies could compete successfully with industry giants in complex offshore environments.

Under Boelte’s leadership, LLOG gained a reputation for nimble decisionmaking and disciplined risk-taking, often moving faster than larger competitors. The company expanded aggressively in ar-

the passes directly to people in need, and its staff would also respond directly should passholders violate any of the RTA’s rules. The RTA will spend an estimated $3,750 annually on the passes, which can be rolled over to the next year if unused.

“RTA is grateful for the opportunity to continue its strong partnership with the Office of Homeless Services and Strategies, which has been in place since OHSS’s inception as a city department in the spring of 2023,” said RTA spokesperson Zachary Stanfill in a statement after the vote.

Nate Fields, who leads Cantrell’s homeless ser-

eas such as the Mississippi Canyon, acquiring assets others abandoned after the 2010 BP oil spill and the temporary federal drilling moratorium. Energy analysts and industry peers have credited Boelte’s approach with helping LLOG thrive as a well-financed, operationally sophisticated player in one of the world’s most challenging offshore basins.

LeJeune said joining Harbour gives LLOG access to greater financial resources while allowing it to maintain its operational culture.

“We remain dedicated to maintaining the same high ethical and operational standards that have guided us for the past 48 years,” he said in a statement. “With a new partner whose vision aligns with ours, we see significant opportunities ahead.”

For Harbour, the acquisition represents a strategic expansion into a politically stable, infrastructure-rich offshore basin at a time when many international oil companies are narrowing their portfolios. The company already operates in Europe, Latin America and North Africa and produces more than 450,000

“They need to be able to get to and from doctor appointments, ... mental health care appointments,” Fields said. “It’s a huge burden for them financially.”

M a y o r- e l e c t H e l e n a Moreno, who takes office Jan. 12 and who is widely expected to appoint her own members of various boards and commissions and make other changes in City Hall’s operations, did not respond to a request for comment on the arrangement on Tuesday.

The deal comes as the Department of Housing and Urban Development issued rules in November that will redirect millions in grants that went to per-

barrels of oil equivalent per day globally.

Harbour said LLOG’s assets are expected to increase its overall production and cash flow over time, though the company emphasized that the transaction will not close until early next year. Financing for the cash portion of the deal will include new loans as well as existing liquidity.

LLOG’s owners will receive Harbour shares equivalent to an 11% stake in the combined company, subject to certain lock-up restrictions.

While the transaction is subject to federal regulatory review, no major obstacles are expected, according to the companies.

changes amid litigation from homeless service providers and states, though local providers say it’s unclear if the pause will hold moving forward or what any new rules would mean.

The change as originally envisioned would have cut permanent housing subsidies and put 2,600 formerly homeless residents across the metro area back on the street, local leaders have said.

UNITY of Greater New Orleans, an umbrella organization for homeless service providers, in September noted a nearly 8% uptick in the area’s homeless population.

The agreement is an ex-

Tammany, representing nearly 2,000 jobs, Durand said.

Russell Richardson, the CEO of St. Tammany Economic Development Corp., congratulated Harbour Energy and LLOG, saying in a statement that the acquisition reflects “the worldclass offshore energy ex-

joined in 2023, the city has relied on the RTA to transport homeless people during major disasters and other emergencies.

In September, when a five-alarm fire rattled the Gentilly Ridge apartments, which had housed homeless people since the Super Bowl, the RTA transported dozens of them to Joe Brown Park in New Orleans East. And Fields’ office has long worked to transport riders found lingering on buses with no planned stops to shelters.

“They’ve been really good partners since I’ve been here,” Fields said.

Fields expects the move will help address transpor-

vices to address their wellbeing, such as counseling, substance abuse treatment or case management services.

Limited access to transportation also creates barriers to employment and maintaining housing, especially if housed in an area far from needed services, according to a 2025 state legislative auditor report on New Orleans housing initiatives.

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pertise and deepwater operational leadership based in St. Tammany and across Funerals Today Louisiana.”

Staff writers Bob Warren Guidry, Rose and reporter Willie Swett Fountain Memorial Funeral Home, contributed to this article. 1010 Pandora Street in Lafayette, at 11 a.m.

Email Anthony McAuley tmcauley@theadvocate. com.

Nix, Donald

Delhomme Chapel of the Flowers, 1011 Bertrand Drive in Lafayette, at 11 a.m.

Start Your Move Today

St. Tammany employer LLOG is the 10th-largest employer in the oil and gas sector in St. Tammany per JobsEQ, a company that tracks labor market data, said Kristin Durand, communications director for St. Tammany Economic Development Corp. The company employed 125 people as of October, its website indicates.

There are 45 companies in the oil and gas sector operating in St.

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T u e s d ay, d e c e m b e r 23, 2025

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Bulldogs keeping game prep similar to last Sugar Bowl Georgia doesn’t plan to change much vs. Ole Miss

BY ZACH EWING Staff Writer

STAFF PHOTOS By DAVID GRUNFELD

sion I freshmen had notched at least 25 points and 10 rebounds in a game this season.

Knox became the fifth as LSU salted away its lopsided win over the Mavericks — a 6-6 Western

Don’t expect Georgia coach Kirby Smart to get caught up in any narratives about redemption for last year’s Sugar Bowl loss to Notre Dame or any calls for sweeping changes in preparation.

“As far as changes going to New Orleans, there hasn’t been a tremendous amount of change,” Smart said on Monday’s teleconference in preparation for this season’s game Jan. 1 against Ole Miss at the Caesars ä Ole Miss Superdome.

“We don’t think we vs. Georgia, did anything wrong 7 P.M. JAN. 1, ESPN in the prep last year.

We didn’t necessarily play a really good game, but we also played a really good football team. Extremely talented defense.”

Notre Dame won that College Football Playoff quarterfinal 23-10 on its way to an appearance in the national championship game. That Sugar Bowl was played a day late, on Jan. 2, because of the Bourbon Street terror attack in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day. Once the game started the next night, the Bulldogs seemed off kilter. They lost two fumbles, one which led to a short touchdown drive, allowed their other touchdown on the second-half kickoff return and went a combined 2 for 15 on third and fourth downs.

But Georgia also was dealing with a number of injuries, including one to starting quarterback Carson Beck that forced Gunner Stockton into duty. A year later, Beck has transferred to Miami, and Stockton has been a successful starter all season.

Still, Smart isn’t about to tie in that performance to this matchup against Ole Miss, which is also a CFP quarterfinal.

“Yeah, I can’t say we’re better for having gone through it,” Smart said.

“Would we be better if we won that game? Would we be as motivated if we won that game? I don’t know that.

I think the two teams are very different. I think we’re a different leadership group, a different team. It’s been a different kind of team all year, and not in a good or bad way reflected on last year.

“We’ve been there before, but a lot of these kids weren’t there. Some of them were. I think the two years are independent of each other.”

As for the Rebels, even last month feels like a long time ago; since then, Lane Kiffin has left for LSU, the team elevated defensive coordinator Pete Golding to head coach and Ole Miss thumped Tulane 41-10 in the first round of the playoff Saturday.

“Some of those things that you were just worried about one side of the ball;

ä See KNOX, page 4C

ä See GEORGIA, page 4C

Saints tight end Taysom Hill leaves the field after a 29-6 win over the New york Jets on Sunday at the Caesars Superdome.

ONE OF A KIND NFL, New Orleans will never see another Taysom Hill

Taysom Hill finally found a role he couldn’t play.

He’s not a eulogizer.

When asked after the Jets-Saints game Sunday to reflect on his time in New Orleans and if it might, indeed, have been the final home game of his legendary tenure in New Orleans, he became emotional. His eyes welled and his voice wobbled as he reflected on his historic nine-year career with the Saints.

“Look, my wife asked Jeff me (about the future) this Duncan morning, and I didn’t really feel any type of way, but as I was driving to the stadium, you start to think about the last nine years and what it’s meant to me and my family and the city and stuff,” he said. “So, for me personally, you just try to take it all in.

(My family) had a great experience here tonight, and I don’t know what the future holds for me, but it was a special day.”

If this was Hill’s final home game as a Saint — and it sure seemed that way, given how Hill and the Saints treated it — then it is important to take a moment to reflect on his legacy and recognize his greatness.

His rare physical skill set translated into one of the surprising and remarkable careers in league history.

Hill came to the Saints an unknown, as

Saints tight end Taysom Hill congratulates tight end Taysom Hill on his touchdown pass in the closing seconds against the Jets. an obscure waiver-wire claim from the Green Bay Packers in the fall of 2017.

The former undrafted free agent from Brigham Young quickly developed into a multi-purpose weapon thanks to the utility role former Saints coach Sean Payton fashioned for him.

Hill became so effective as a multipurpose Swiss Army Knife that NFL teams across the league tried to mimic the Saints’ success with him. Several teams drafted or signed athletic college

ä See DUNCAN, page 4C

LSU’s Knox shows ‘special’ potential conference matchup that turned played this season — and she State at LSU, Forward scores 25 ä3 P.M.Alabama into a 65-point blowout victory. used that extra run to pair a SUNDAy, ESPN+ “I said, ‘Holy cow,’ ” Mulkey career-high 25 points with 12 rein Tigers’ rout of said of the 6-foot-2 forward. “I bounds, three blocks and three out the LSU women’s basketball don’t even know if this kid real- steals.

Texas-Arlington team’s latest win.

Before Sunday, only four Diviizes just how special she can be-

At one point of Knox’s career day, coach Kim Mulkey turned to two of her assistants. She doesn’t Staff writer quite remember exactly what The innate size, speed and ath- play prompted her reaction. It leticism that made Grace Knox might’ve been something munone of the most coveted recruits dane. But it was notable enough in her class appeared through- to catch her attention in a non-

BY REED DARCEY

come.”

Knox turned in the best game of her young career on Sunday when the No. 5 Tigers (13-0) routed Texas-Arlington 110-45.

Mulkey put the 6-foot-2 freshman from Las Vegas on the floor for 28 minutes — the most she’s

New Orleans Bowl features players with Louisiana ties

BY SPENCER URQUHART Staff writer

There will be multiple players from Louisiana in the New Orleans Bowl game between Southern Miss and Western Kentucky on Tuesday at the Caesars Superdome.

Kickoff is at 4:30 p.m. The game will be televised by ESPN. The trip ä Western Kentucky t o N e w Orleans vs. Southern Miss, is a short 4:30 P.M.TUESDAy, ESPN one for the Sun Belt Conference’s Southern Miss (7-5), which is playing its first bowl game since 2022. Postseason travel has become routine for Conference USA’s Western Kentucky (8-4) having appeared in a bowl game every year since 2019.

The 25th New Orleans Bowl will

be a homecoming of sorts for players from both teams as a total of 10 Louisiana natives set to participate.

Eight of the 10 Louisiana natives play for Southern Miss, which recently saw coach Charles Huff leave after one season to coach Memphis. Southern Miss promoted offensive coordinator Blake Anderson to Huff’s place. Anderson will coach the bowl game and be the Golden Eagles’ coach going forward.

“Coach Huff did an amazing job,” Anderson said. “Didn’t expect to be in the situation here going into the bowl game taking over, but I’m excited about the opportunity. I want to be focused on this group, the finish line with this group of seniors.

They deserve that.”

Anderson is in his second stint at Southern Miss after being on the staff from 2008-11. The Golden

Eagles finished 1-11 last season.

Southern Miss has a 31-player senior class and landed several impact players in the transfer portal.

Defensive lineman J’Mond Tapp, a former Ascension Catholic star, transferred from Arizona State as a junior and was a first team AllSun Belt selection after recording 71/2 sacks.

Other Louisiana natives for Southern Miss include Lafayette Christian’s Anthony Richard, a starting cornerback who transferred from Marshall, and freshman kicker Creighton Wilbanks of Mandeville.

Quarterback Braylon Braxton is among the Golden Eagles’ 31 seniors. Braxton has thrown for 2,796 yards and 23 touchdowns seven interceptions this season

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JAMES KENNEy

Western Kentucky running back George Hart, a former Catholic of Baton Rouge star, dives into the end zone over Nevada defensive back Murvin ä See BOWL, page 4C Kenion on Sept. 20 in Bowling Green, Ky.

2C ● Tuesday, December 23, 2025 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS On TV

MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL 1 p.m.

Grambling at Ohio St. BTN 3 p.m.

UC-Riverside at UCLA BTN 5 p.m.

Harvard at St. John’s FS1 6 p.m.

Villanova at Seton Hall Peacock

COLLEGE FOOTBALL 1 p.m.

Toledo vs. Louisville ESPN 4:30 p.m. W. Kentucky vs. Southern Miss. ESPN 8 p.m.

UNLV vs. Ohio ESPN NBA 7 p.m.

Denver at Dallas NBC, Peacock

IN BRIEF

FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

6:30 p.m. New Orleans at Cleveland KNGC 9:30 p.m. Houston at L.A. Clippers NBC, Peacock NHL 3 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Toronto TNT, TRUTV 5:30 p.m. Dallas at Detroit TNT, TRUTV 8 p.m.

Philadelphia at Chicago TNT, TRUTV

Haven repeats as Class 2A Outstanding Player

BY JERIT ROSER

Written for the LSWA

Elijah Haven, a rare sophomore Outstanding Player selection in 2024, only surpassed that impressive performance with a recordbreaking and championship-winning junior campaign.

The Dunham quarterback repeats as the Louisiana Sports Writers Association’s Class 2A Offensive Outstanding Player, setting state single-season marks for passing touchdowns (62) and total touchdowns (73) and career touchdowns (180).

Haven joins fellow Division III select state finalist Luke Miller of Calvary Baptist and Mansfield coach Darrell Barbay as this year’s Class 2A superlative award winners.

The 6-foot-5, 215-pound Haven was 240-for-331 (72.5%) with 3,929 yards and 62 touchdowns with just seven interceptions. He also rushed 127 times for another 847 yards and 11 scores.

His prolific effort helped lead

his Tigers (13-1) to the program’s first title since 2004, defeating Calvary 34-17 in the Division III select state championship.

Miller led Calvary Baptist (12-2) to its second championship game in the past three years with his own standout performance in the middle of one of the state’s top defenses.

The senior finished with 123 tackles, one of Louisiana’s top totals, including seven stops behind the line with three interceptions and 11 breakups.

Barbay led Mansfield (10-3) to its first 10-win season and first quarterfinal run since 1993 and an undefeated District 3-2A title.

The Wolverines have improved their win total every season since Barbay’s hire in 2022, including three straight years with at least one playoff victory after a fouryear drought.

Mansfield opened the season with a wild comeback from 35-0 deficit to beat Minden 46-38 and rarely slowed down during a memorable run throughout the fall.

LSWA CLASS 2A ALL-STATE TEAM Offense Pos. Player WR Brayden Allen WR Braylun Huglon WR Jarvis Washington Jr. OL Christian Comeaux OL Ron Griffing Jr. OL Torrey Landry OL Micah Mosher OL Cooper Thomas QB Elijah Haven RB Caiden Bellard RB Joachim Bourgeois RB Jaidon Briggs PK Ty Knight ATH Braylon Walker

School Lafayette Christian Calvary Baptist Dunham Dunham Mangham Lafayette Christian Ouachita Christian Calvary Baptist Dunham Lafayette Christian Notre Dame Vinton Calvary Baptist Lafayette Christian

Ht. 6-2 5-10 6-4 6-2 6-1 6-3 5-10 6-0 6-5 5-10 5-8 5-10 5-11 5-11

Wt. 180 175 185 215 265 245 225 210 215 190 165 165 155 170

Class Sr. Jr. Sr. Sr. Sr. Sr. Sr. Sr. Jr. So. Sr. Sr. Sr. Sr.

Pos. Player School Ht. DL Jayden Arceneaux Lafayette Christian 5-10 DL Marvin Davis Ferriday 6-3 DL Cullen McIntosh Oak Grove 6-4 DL Eliot Trahan Dunham 5-9 LB Dean Ancalade South Plaquemines 5-9 LB Luke Miller Calvary Baptist 6-0 LB Cade Poland Mangham 6-1 LB Kendrick Wyatt Mansfield 6-2 DB Sabryn Bartholomew South Plaquemines 5-9 DB Luke Green Lafayette Christian 6-1 DB Matthew Hicks Holy Savior Menard 6-2 DB Zavier Ledet Catholic-N.I. 5-10 P Gavin Polk Ouachita Christian 6-2 ATH Devin Franklin Oak Grove 6-4 RS Owen Layton Oak Grove 5-8 OUTSTANDING OFFENSIVE PLAYER: Elijah Haven, Dunham OUTSTANDING DEFENSIVE PLAYER: Luke Miller, Calvary Baptist COACH OF THE YEAR: Darrell Barbay, Mansfield

Wt. 220 200 215 195 185 195 218 200 165 180 175 150 175 215 165

Class Sr. Sr. Sr. Sr. Sr. Sr. Jr. Jr. Jr. Sr. Sr. Sr. Sr. Sr. Sr.

Defense

Honorable mention

STAFF PHOTO By BRAD BOWIE

Dunham quarterback Elijah Haven looks for a receiver against Lafayette Christian in a semifinal playoff game on Dec. 5.

Daltin Albritton, D’Arbonne Woods; Izaac Andre, Catholic-NI; Aderrion Baker, St. Helena; Sam Brocato, Holy Savior Menard; Taj Callahan, Episcopal-BR; Thomas Carter, Slaughter Community Charter; Colby Casey, Mangham; Kameron Casnave, Northlake Christian; Joshua Casugay, Avoyelles; Nigile Ceasar, DeQuincy; Paityn Collins, Ferriday; Javontaye Dean, Green Oaks; Terroni Dominick, West St. Mary; Griffin Doucet, Notre Dame; Justin Drago, Country Day; Ja’Courey Duhon, Lafayette Renaissance Charter; Wesley Duplechin, Notre Dame; Aiden Fairchild, Pope John Paul II; Charlie Gilmore, Northlake Christian; Trevon Haman, Dunham; Henry Jackson, Isidore Newman; Tylon Jackson, Oakdale; Jacob Jeanise, Holy Savior Menard; Christopher Jones, Loreauville; Kevin Jones, Avoyelles; Kortlin Kyle, Vinton; Brodie Lejeune, Notre Dame; Geremy Lewis, Cohen; Dashun Lightfoot, Franklin; George Loop, Newman; Jaimason Marzell, Lafayette Christian; Owen Morris, Catholic-NI; Ian O’Boyle, Newman; Terrell Pegues, Mansfield; Brandon Perkins, Kinder; Jake Poirier, Catholic-NI; Jake Randle, Newman; Carson Riser, D’Arbonne Woods; Jack Roniger, Pope John Paul II; Eli Self, Kinder; Kaycee Sellers, Lafayette Renaissance Charter; Kaleb Simon, Lafayette Christian; Dominik Smith, Pope John Paul II; Kobe Smith, Avoyelles; Craig St. Cyr, Winnfield; Eyan Taylor, South Plaquemines; Isaiah Thomas, Kinder; Jude Turner, Ouachita Christian; Patrick Turpin, Ouachita Christian; Luke Vidrine, Ouachita Christian; David Weeks, Calvary Baptist; Detavious Williams, Winnfield; Keshawn Williams, Green Oaks; Jordan Willis, Northlake Christian; Deverrick Winnfield, Oakdale; Ja’Kyrin Woodard, Welsh; Hudson Wright, Country Day; Tyler Yokum, Lafayette Renaissance Charter.

PREP REPORT Tuesday’s schedules Boys basketball

Church Point at Acadiana, Crowley at Carencro, Southside at Catholic-NI, Ville Platte at Cecilia, North Vermilion at Midland, Opelousas at East St. John, Teurlings at Rummel.

Girls basketball

Church Point at Acadiana, New Iberia at Opelousas, Bourgeois at Southside, Ville Platte at Cecilia, David Thibodaux at Pineville, North Vermilion at Midland.

Boys soccer

Erath at Catholic-NI, New Iberia at Southside.

Girls soccer

Catholic-NI at Acadiana Renaissance, Cecilia at North Vermilion.

Area basketball tournaments STM Sunkist Shootout

(Boys at St. Thomas More) Friday’s Games 10 a.m. – Teurlings vs. Menard 11:15 a.m. – Lafayette Renaissance vs. St. Louis

12:30 p.m. – Sulphur vs. Ellender 2 p.m. – Shaw vs. Lafayette Christian 3:15 p.m. – Vandebilt vs. Neville 4:30 p.m. – Church Point vs. St. John XXIII 6 p.m. – Terrebonne vs. St. Thomas More 7:15 p.m. – Catholic-NI vs. Westgate

Darrell Mitchell Holiday Classic

(Boys, girls at St. Martinville) Friday’s Games 2 p.m. – St. Martinville vs. Lafayette High (boys) 3:30 p.m. – Loreauville vs. Rayne (boys) 4 p.m. – Beau Chene vs. Westgate (girls/ aux. gym) 5 p.m. – Comeaux vs. Breaux Bridge (boys) 6 p.m. – St. Martinville vs. New Iberia (girls/ aux. gym) 6:30 p.m. – Cecilia vs. Northside (boys)

Northwest Holiday Classic

(Boys, girls at Northwest High) Friday’s Games 1:30 p.m. – Douglass vs. North Central (boys) 3 p.m. – Washington-Marion vs. Beau Chene (boys) 4:30 p.m. – Northwest vs. Livonia (boys) 6 p.m. – Eunice vs. Karr (boys)

7:30 p.m. – Opelousas vs. Ville Platte (boys) Saturday’s Games Noon – Scotlandville vs. Ville Platte (girls) 1:30 p.m. – Northwest vs. Central Lafourche (girls) 3 p.m. – Eunice-Karr vs. WMarion-Beau Chene losers (boys) 4:30 p.m. – Opelousas-Ville Platte vs.

Northwest-Livonia losers (boys) 6 p.m. – David Thibodaux vs. WMarion-Beau Chene winner (boys) 7:30 p.m. - Northwest-Livonia vs. DouglassNorth Central winners (boys)

Vermilion Catholic Yuletide Classic

(Boys, girls at Vermilion Catholic) Friday’s Games 10 a.m. – Southside vs. Basile (girls) 11:30 a.m. – Ascension Episcopal vs. Crowley (boys) 1 p.m. – Erath vs. Lafayette Renaissance (girls) 2:30 p.m. – Avoyelles vs. Erath (boys) 4 p.m. – Acadiana Renaissance vs. ESA (boys) 5:30 p.m. – Vermilion Catholic vs. Delcambre (girls) 7 p.m. – Vermilion Catholic vs. Delcambre (boys)

Beal and Hebert Invitational

(Girls at Teurlings Catholic) Monday, Dec. 29 Games 1 p.m. – DeRidder vs. Breaux Bridge 2:20 p.m. – North Vermilion vs. Jeanerette 3:40 p.m. – Church Point vs. Carencro 5 p.m. – St. Thomas More vs St. Charles 6:20 p.m. – Teurlings vs. Iowa Tuesday’s Games 1 p.m. – Teurlings vs. Jeanerette 2:20 p.m. – St. Charles vs. DeRidder 3:40 p.m. – St. Thomas More vs. Iowa 5 p.m. – North Vermilion vs. Carencro 6:20 p.m. – Teurlings vs. Church Point

Kendall/Brad Fontenot Holiday Shootout

(Boys, girls at St. Edmund) Saturday’s Games 9 a.m. – Elton vs. Mamou (girls) 10:30 a.m. – Elton vs. Westminster (boys) Noon – St. Edmund vs. Pine Prairie (girls) 1:30 p.m. – Pitkin vs. Sacred Heart-VP (boys) 3 p.m. – Lacassine vs. Sacred Heart-VP (girls) 4:30 p.m. – Iota vs. Lacassine (boys) 6 p.m. – Basile vs. St. Edmund (boys)

UConn stays No. 1 in No. 2 Michigan closing women’s AP Top 25 gap on Arizona in AP poll

BY DOUG FEINBERG

Associated Press

UConn, Texas, South Carolina and UCLA all cruised to easy victories to remain atop The Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll released Monday.

The Huskies routed then-No. 11 Iowa in the Women’s Champions Classic on Saturday to stay unbeaten and hold on to No. 1 spot in the Top 25. UConn received 25 first-place ballots from the 32-member national media panel.

Texas got the other seven to stay No. 2 in the final poll of the calendar year. The next poll will be released Jan. 5.

Texas Tech (14-0) entered the poll for the first time since 2012 after beating then-No. 15 Baylor 61-60 on Sunday. The win over the Bears was the Red Raiders’ first over a ranked opponent this season and dropped Baylor to 22nd.

It also was Texas Tech’s first win over Baylor since 2011.

The top seven teams remained unchanged with South Carolina and UCLA following Texas. LSU, Michigan and Maryland were next. OU and TCU were tied for eighth with Iowa State 10th.

Rising Louisville

AP WOMEN’S TOP 25 Rec. Pts. Prv.

1. UConn (25) 12-0 793 1 2. Texas (7) 14-0 775 2 3. South Carolina 12-1 727 3 4. UCLA 11-1 710 4 5. LSU 13-0 644 5 6. Michigan 10-1 636 6 7. Maryland 13-0 580 7 8. TCU 13-0 564 9 8. Oklahoma 11-1 564 8 10. Iowa St. 13-0 556 10 11. Kentucky 12-1 439 12 12. Vanderbilt 12-0 417 13 13. Louisville 12-3 400 16 14. Iowa 10-2 368 11 15. Mississippi 12-1 359 14 16. North Carolina 11-3 301 18 17. Southern Cal 9-3 255 19 18. Notre Dame 9-2 242 20 19. Ohio St. 10-1 213 21 20. Nebraska 12-0 180 23 21. Texas Tech 14-0 126 22. Baylor 11-3 124 15 23. Tennessee 7-3 122 17 24. Michigan St. 10-1 88 24 25. Princeton 11-1 69 25 Others receiving votes: Oklahoma St. 37, Alabama 26, Stanford 21, Georgia 20, Washington 17, NC State 12, Arizona St. 7, Illinois 4, Oregon 3, BYU 1.

six straight games.

Conference supremacy With Washington dropping out of the Top 25 , the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference each have eight ranked teams. The Big 12 is next with four and the ACC has three. The Big East and Ivy League each have one ranked team.

Game of the week

Louisville climbed three spots Teams are off for the holidays to No. 13 after routing then-No. until Sunday when UCLA visits 17 Tennessee. The Lady Vols fell Ohio State as the only matchup to 23rd. The Cardinals have won between ranked teams that day.

BY JOHN MARSHALL

Associated Press

Arizona is still No. 1 in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll, but No. 2 Michigan is closing the gap.

The Wildcats topped the poll for the third straight week in the AP Top 25 released on Monday, receiving 38 first-place votes. The Wolverines had 19 first-place votes and closed the gap in total points.

No. 3 Iowa State had one firstplace vote, with UConn and Purdue rounding out the top five in the final poll of the calendar year.

The next Top 25 will be released Jan. 5.

Arizona (11-0) added another quality win to its resume last week, blowing out San Diego State 68-45. No. 13 Nebraska continued its rise, climbing to its highest ranking since reaching No. 11 in 1991-92.

LSU received votes for the fourth straight week after a 7865 win over Southeastern.

Rising and falling No. 15 Texas Tech made the largest move up the poll, rising four spots after rallying from a 17-point deficit to beat Duke 8281, ending the Blue Devils’ unbeaten start to the season. Duke dropped three places to No. 6 after its loss to Texas Tech.

No. 16 Louisville had the big-

AP MEN’S TOP 25 Rec.

Pts.

Prv.

1. Arizona (38) 11-0 1428 1 2. Michigan (19) 11-0 1408 2 3. Iowa St. (1) 12-0 1320 4 4. UConn 12-1 1281 5 5. Purdue 11-1 1174 6 6. Duke 11-1 1148 3 7. Gonzaga 12-1 1080 7 8. Houston 11-1 1061 8 9. Michigan St. 11-1 985 9 10. BYU 11-1 966 10 11. Vanderbilt 12-0 810 13 12. North Carolina 11-1 806 12 13. Nebraska 12-0 704 15 14. Alabama 9-3 638 16 15. Texas Tech 9-3 588 19 16. Louisville 10-2 555 11 17. Kansas 9-3 494 17 18. Arkansas 9-3 470 14 19. Tennessee 9-3 460 20 20. Illinois 8-3 429 18 21. Virginia 10-1 252 23 22. Florida 8-4 215 23 23. Georgia 10-1 127 25 24. Southern Cal 12-1 92 25. Iowa 10-2 79 Others receiving votes: Kentucky 78, Seton Hall 49, Auburn 39, St. John’s 23, California 19, LSU 17, UCLA 13, Clemson 9, Miami (Ohio) 6, Utah St. 5, Arizona St. 5, Indiana 4, Miami 4, Saint Louis 3, Belmont 2, Baylor 1, Oklahoma St. 1, UCF 1, NC State 1.

gest fall in this week’s poll, losing five spots after losing Tennessee and blowing out Montana. No. 18 Arkansas lost four places following a 94-85 loss to Houston.

In and out No. 24 USC is ranked for the second time this season following lopsided wins over UTSA and UC Santa Cruz. No. 25 Iowa (10-2) is ranked for the first time since early in the 2022-23 season with its best start since 2020.

Auburn dropped out after being blown out by Purdue, the Tigers’ third loss in five games.

Red Sox get All-Star 1B Contreras from Cardinals

BOSTON — The Boston Red Sox acquired three-time All-Star Willson Contreras from the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday in a trade for right-hander Hunter Dobbins and two pitching prospects.

The 33-year-old Contreras is a .258 hitter with 172 homers and 548 RBIs in 10 seasons with the Cubs and Cardinals. He spent most of his career as a catcher before moving to first base last year, when he batted .257 with 20 homers and 80 RBIs. Dobbins, 26, went 4-1 with a 4.13 ERA as a rookie in Boston last year before tearing the ACL in his right knee and missing the second half of the season. The Cardinals will also receive Single-A righties Blake Aita and Yhoiker Fajardo.

St. Louis also sent cash to Boston as part of the deal.

Chiefs announce stadium move to Kansas for 2031

TOPEKA, Kan. — The Kansas City Chiefs announced Monday they will leave their longtime home at Arrowhead Stadium for a new, domed stadium across the KansasMissouri state line by the start of the 2031 season.

The announcement came shortly after a council of top Kansas lawmakers voted unanimously inside a packed room at the state Capitol to allow the state to issue a little more than $2.4 billion in bonds to cover about 60% of the cost of the stadium, a training facility and retail and entertainment space.

The bonds will be paid off with state sales and liquor tax revenues. The Chiefs intend their $3 billion stadium project to be built in Kansas City, Kansas, near the Kansas Speedway.

NBA, FIBA moving closer to new league in Europe

The NBA and FIBA said Monday they will start the process of engaging with teams and owners about joining their planned new league in Europe next month.

As has been expected, the league will offer both permanent spots and “a merit-based pathway” to qualifying on an annual basis through FIBA’s Basketball Champions League or an end-of-season tournament, the sides said. Every team in a FIBA-affiliated European league would have the chance to qualify.

“The format of the league respects European sport model principles by offering any ambitious club in the continent a fair pathway to the top,” FIBA secretary general Andreas Zagklis said.

Saban has new role with Nashville Predators

NASHVILLE,Tenn. — Nick Saban knows his strengths with seven national championships as a college football coach. He also understands how to put coaches and athletes in the best position to succeed.

That’s what he hopes to bring to the NHL’s Nashville Predators after joining the franchise as a minority owner.

“I’m no expert in hockey, so don’t look at me like I’m going to make some huge impact coaching around here because that’s not going to happen,” Saban said Monday. “But I do have a pretty good idea of what it takes to have successful organizations.”

Saban made his first appearance Monday in his new role as a minority owner alongside Predators chairman Bill Haslam.

U.S.-born McGrath takes World Cup slalom win

ALTA BADIA, Italy — U.S.-born Atle Lie McGrath edged out Olympic champion Clément Noël to claim victory in a World Cup slalom Monday. In the last World Cup race before Christmas, Noël had been first after the morning run but let his lead slip early in his second go at the Gran Risa course.

McGrath, who skis for Norway, finished 0.30 seconds ahead of Noël and 0.39 faster than thirdplaced Loïc Meillard, the world champion. McGrath took silver behind Meillard in February.

“I am so incredibly happy. This feels absolutely insane,” said McGrath, who said he wasted a winning chance in slalom a month ago by placing third at Gurgl, Austria.

McGrath now has four career wins on the World Cup circuit, all in slalom where he also has six runner-up finishes.

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Tuesday, December 23, 2025 ● 3C

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LSU finalizes new hires on coaching staff

BY WILSON ALEXANDER Staff writer

Lane Kiffin has finalized the majority of his first coaching staff at LSU. The team announced 11 new hires Monday, all of which were previously known. But notably, LSU revealed the titles for defensive assistants Chris Kiffin and Lou Spanos, both of whom followed Kiffin from Ole Miss.

Chris Kiffin will be the linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator. LSU had to figure out his role after retaining defensive coordinator Blake Baker, who coached linebackers the past two years in addition to calling the defense. Chris Kiffin coached linebackers at Ole Miss this past season.

Spanos, a defensive analyst at Ole Miss, was named an assistant defensive line coach and pass rush specialist. LSU is expected to retain edge rushers coach Kevin Peoples, cornerbacks coach Corey Raymond and safeties coach Jake Olsen to complete the defensive staff.

LSU also confirmed the expected

Joe Houston. The terms of their deals are not yet known.

Smith came to the LSU football operations building Sunday with the rest of the new assistants who are still coaching Ole Miss through the College Football Playoff. He was hired to replace Frank Wilson, who is set to become Ole Miss’ new running backs coach and senior associate head coach after his last game as LSU’s interim head coach Dec. 27 in the Texas Bowl.

Smith spent eight of the past nine years with Kiffin at Florida Atlantic and Ole Miss, helping with a key part of the offense. A former UCF running back, Smith played five years for the Detroit Lions before he became a coach. He has coached New York Giants running back Devin Singletary, Cleveland STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON Browns running back Quinshon Judkins and Ole Miss star running New LSU football coach Lane Kiffin formally announced the hires of 11 back Kewan Lacy, a potential tarnew assistant coaches on Monday. LSU also revealed that Chris Kiffin will get for LSU if he enters the transbe the linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator and Lou Spanos fer portal. will be an assistant defensive line coach.

Lucas coached defensive ends and outside linebackers for the hirings of running backs coach and defensive line coach Sterling Lu- past four seasons at South Caroassociate head coach Kevin Smith, cas and special teams coordinator lina, where he helped with the de-

velopment of standout defensive ends Dylan Stewart and Kyle Kennard, one of the most productive tandems in the country in 2024.

He will replace former LSU star Kyle Williams, who was expected to step away after one season as a college coach.

Houston spent the past two years at Florida, and prior to that, he was a special teams assistant for four seasons with the New England Patriots. He has also coached special teams at Iowa State and Alabama.

After leaving for LSU, Lane Kiffin quickly filled his offensive staff by bringing most of his assistants with him from Ole Miss.

LSU has already agreed to terms with offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr., co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Joe Cox, wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator George McDonald, quarterbacks coach Dane Stevens, inside wide receivers coach Sawyer Jordan and offensive line coach Eric Wolford, the only one in that group who was not at Ole Miss this past season.

SCOREBOARD Odds Sports Betting Line NFL Thursday

FAVORITE at WASH Detroit at K.C.

Saturday

OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG 3½ 4½ (50½) Dallas 2½ 1½ (48½) at MIN 4½ 4½ (44½) Denver

FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG at LA CHRGRS 1½ 1½ (39½) Houston at GREEN BAY 1½ 2½ (40½) Baltimore

Sunday

FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG Seattle 1½ 7 (42½) at CAR Jacksonville 1½ 6½ (46½) at IND Tampa Bay 1 5½ (46½) at MIAMI New England 1½ 13½ (43½) at NY JETS Pittsburgh 2½ 4½ (34½) at CLE New Orleans 3½ 2½ (39½) at TEN at CINCINNATI 4 7 (53½) Arizona at LAS VEGAS 2½ 1½ (42) NY Giants at BUFFALO 1½ 2½ (43½) Phila at SAN FRAN 3 2½ (50½) Chicago Monday FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG LA Rams 8½ 8 (49½) at ATLANTA

College Football Tuesday

Boca Raton Bowl FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG Louisville 9½ 7½ (44½) Toledo New Orleans Bowl FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG W. Kentucky 3½ 4½ (55½) S. Miss Frisco Bowl FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG UNLV 3½ 4½ (62½) Ohio

Wednesday

Hawai’i Bowl FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG Cal 1½ 1½ (54½) Hawaii

Friday

GameAbove Sports Bowl FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG Northwestern 12½ 10½ (43½) C. Michigan Rate Bowl FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG Minnesota 3½ 2½ (47½) New Mex First Responder Bowl FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG UTSA 8½ 8½ (59½) Fla Intl

Saturday

Military Bowl FAVORITE OPEN Pittsburgh 6½ Pinstripe Bowl FAVORITE OPEN Clemson 3½ Fenway Bowl FAVORITE OPEN Army 3½ Pop-Tarts Bowl FAVORITE OPEN BYU 3½ Arizona Bowl FAVORITE OPEN Fresno State 3½ New Mexico Bowl FAVORITE OPEN North Texas 5½ Gator Bowl Jacksonville, Fla. FAVORITE OPEN Missouri 7½ Texas Bowl FAVORITE OPEN Houston 1½

TODAY O/U UNDERDOG 7½ (57½) E. Carolina TODAY O/U UNDERDOG 3½ (48½) Penn State TODAY O/U UNDERDOG 8½ (46½) UConn TODAY O/U UNDERDOG 4½ (55½) Ga Tech TODAY O/U UNDERDOG 4½ (42½) Miami (OH) TODAY O/U UNDERDOG 2½ (55½)San Dego St TODAY O/U UNDERDOG 6½ (48½) Virginia TODAY O/U UNDERDOG 2½ (41½) LSU

Monday, Dec. 29 Birmingham Bowl FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG Ga Southern 3½ 4½ (59½) Appa St.

Tuesday, Dec. 30

Independence Bowl FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG Louisiana Tech 9½ 8½ (50½) C. Carolina Music City Bowl FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG Tennessee 8½ 2½ (60½) Illinois Alamo Bowl FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG USC 6½ 4½ (57½) TCU

NBA

Tuesday

FAVORITE LINE at CHARLOTTE OFF at PHILA OFF at CLEVELAND OFF at MIAMI OFF at INDIANA OFF at ATLANTA OFF at DALLAS OFF at MINNESOTA OFF at SAN ANTONIO OFF at UTAH OFF at PHOENIX OFF at PORTLAND OFF at SACRAMENTO OFF at LA CLIPPERS OFF

O/U UNDERDOG (OFF) Washington (OFF) Brooklyn (OFF) New Orleans (OFF) Toronto (OFF) Milwaukee (OFF) Chicago (OFF) Denver (OFF) New York (OFF) Oklahoma City (OFF) Memphis (OFF) LA Lakers (OFF) Orlando (OFF) Detroit (OFF) Houston

COLLEGE BASKETBALL Tuesday

FAVORITE LINE UNDERDOG at ARMY 6½ Binghamton at CAMPBELL 3½ Green Bay at KENTUCKY 34½ Bellarmine at UCF 8½ Florida Atlantic at OHIO STATE 26½ Grambling at MISSOURI STATE 2½ Lindenwood at UCLA 25½ UC Riverside 4½ at CSU BKRSFIELD Idaho at ST. JOHN’S 25½ Harvard at LOYOLA MRYMNT 21½ Morgan State at SETON HALL 1½ Villanova

NHL

Tuesday

FAVORITE at TORONTO Dallas at BOSTON at CAROLINA at OTTAWA New Jersey

LINE UNDERDOG -140 Pittsburgh -129 at DETROIT -120 Montreal -152 Florida -155 Buffalo -120 at N.Y ISLNDRS

LINE +119 +109 +100 +127 +129 +100

at WASHINGTON -170 at MINNESOTA -198 at EDMONTON -188 at COLORADO -259 Philadelphia -122 at VEGAS -258 at LOS ANGELES -251

N.Y Rangers Nashville Calgary Utah at CHICAGO San Jose Seattle

+142 +164 +156 +210 +101 +209 +205

Pro basketball NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division New York Boston Philadelphia Toronto Brooklyn

Pct GB .714 — .607 3 .593 3½ .567 4 .296 11½

Orlando Miami Atlanta Charlotte Washington

W 16 15 15 9 5

L 12 14 15 19 22

Pct GB .571 — .517 1½ .500 2 .321 7 .185 10½

Detroit Cleveland Chicago Milwaukee Indiana

W 22 15 13 11 6

L 6 14 15 18 22

Pct GB .786 — .517 7½ .464 9 .379 11½ .214 16

W 21 17 13 11 7

L 7 9 15 18 22

Pct GB .750 — .654 3 .464 8 .379 10½ .241 14½

W 25 20 19 12 10

L 3 7 10 16 17

Pct GB .893 — .741 4½ .655 6½ .429 13 .370 14½

W 19 15 14 7 7

L 8 13 15 21 22

Pct GB .704 — .536 4½ .483 6 .250 12½ .241 13

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Southwest Division San Antonio Houston Memphis Dallas New Orleans

Northwest Division Oklahoma City Denver Minnesota Portland Utah Pacific Division L.A. Lakers Phoenix Golden State L.A. Clippers Sacramento

Sunday’s Games

Chicago 152, Atlanta 150 Brooklyn 96, Toronto 81 New York 132, Miami 125 Minnesota 103, Milwaukee 100 San Antonio 124, Washington 113 Sacramento 125, Houston 124, OT

Monday’s Games

Charlotte at Cleveland, n Indiana at Boston, n Dallas at New Orleans, n Utah at Denver, n Memphis at Oklahoma City, n Detroit at Portland, n Orlando at Golden State, n

Tuesday’s Games

Brooklyn at Philadelphia, 6 p.m.

Washington at Charlotte, 6 p.m.

Chicago at Atlanta, 6:30 p.m.

Milwaukee at Indiana, 6:30 p.m.

New Orleans at Cleveland, 6:30 p.m.

Toronto at Miami, 6:30 p.m.

Denver at Dallas, 7 p.m.

New York at Minnesota, 7 p.m.

Oklahoma City at San Antonio, 7:30 p.m.

L.A. Lakers at Phoenix, 8 p.m.

Memphis at Utah, 8 p.m.

Detroit at Sacramento, 9 p.m.

Orlando at Portland, 9 p.m.

Houston at L.A. Clippers, 9:30 p.m.

x-New England Buffalo e-Miami e-N.Y. Jets

South

Sunday’s Games

Buffalo 23, Cleveland 20 Carolina 23, Tampa Bay 20 Cincinnati 45, Miami 21 L.A. Chargers 34, Dallas 17 Minnesota 16, N.Y. Giants 13 New Orleans 29, N.Y. Jets 6 Tennessee 26, Kansas City 9 Atlanta 26, Arizona 19 Jacksonville 34, Denver 20 Houston 23, Las Vegas 21 Pittsburgh 29, Detroit 24 New England 28, Baltimore 24

Late Sunday New England 28, Baltimore 24 New England 0 10 3 15 — 28 Baltimore 7 3 7 7 — 24 First Quarter Bal_D.Henry 21 run (Loop kick), 12:21.

Second Quarter NE_H.Henry 1 pass from Maye (Borregales kick), 11:17.

NE_FG Borregales 45, 5:39.

Bal_FG Loop 36, 1:03.

Third Quarter NE_FG Borregales 41, 7:43.

Bal_Flowers 18 run (Loop kick), 4:35.

Fourth Quarter Bal_D.Henry 2 run (Loop kick), 12:50.

NE_K.Williams 37 pass from Maye (Stevenson pass from Maye), 9:01.

NE_Stevenson 21 run (Borregales kick), 2:07.

A_70,709.

NE Bal First downs 24 18 Total Net Yards 453 330 Rushes-yards 23-79 33-171 Passing 374 159 Punt Returns 0-0 1-11 Kickoff Returns 3-89 2-49 Interceptions Ret. 0-0 1-0 Comp-Att-Int 31-44-1 16-20-0 Sacked-Yards Lost 4-6 1-7 Punts 1-49.0 2-42.0 Fumbles-Lost 3-1 2-2 Penalties-Yards 5-50 7-28 Time of Possession 31:49 28:11 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING_New England, Stevenson 8-51, Maye 10-25, Henderson 5-3. Baltimore, Henry 18-128, Flowers 1-18, Mitchell 9-13, L.Jackson 2-7, Andrews 1-3, Huntley 2-2.

PASSING_New England, Maye 31-44-1-380.

Baltimore, L.Jackson 7-10-0-101, Huntley 9-10-0-65.

RECEIVING_New England, Diggs 9-138, Hollins 7-69, Henry 6-35, K.Williams 2-46, Hooper 2-34, Stevenson 2-27, Boutte 1-16, Henderson 1-9, Douglas 1-6. Baltimore, Flowers 7-84, Hopkins 4-41, Andrews 2-21, Ali 2-2, Kolar 1-18.

MISSED FIELD GOALS_Baltimore, Loop 56.

Old Dominion 24, South Florida 10

68 Ventures Bowl Delaware 20, UL 13

L 3 4 9 12

T 0 0 0 0

Pct .800 .733 .400 .200

Thursday’s games Xbox Bowl

Arkansas State 34, Missouri State 28

PF 410 434 317 282

PA 300 344 369 426

Pct .733 .667 .571 .200

PF 410 346 392 251

PA 312 249 303 403

Pittsburgh Baltimore e-Cincinnati e-Cleveland

W 9 7 5 3

L 6 8 10 12

T 0 0 0 0

Pct .600 .467 .333 .200

PF 365 359 359 246

PA 350 348 458 355

x-Denver L.A. Chargers e-Kansas City e-Las Vegas

W 12 11 6 2

L 3 4 9 13

T 0 0 0 0

Pct .800 .733 .400 .133

PF 362 349 337 217

PA 295 301 294 386

y-Philadelphia e-Dallas e-Washington e-N.Y. Giants

W 10 6 4 2

L 5 8 11 13

T 0 1 0 0

Pct .667 .433 .267 .133

PF 349 424 309 313

PA 289 454 404 412

Carolina Tampa Bay e-Atlanta e-N.O.

W 8 7 6 5

L 7 8 9 10

T 0 0 0 0

Pct .533 .467 .400 .333

PF 287 347 307 255

PA 337 377 360 338

x-Chicago Green Bay Detroit e-Minn

W 11 9 8 7

L 4 5 7 8

T 0 1 0 0

Pct .733 .633 .533 .467

PF 387 364 452 305

PA 354 303 374 320

NATIONAL CONFERENCE

North

Philadelphia 29, Washington 18 Chicago 22, Green Bay 16, OT

Cure Bowl

T 0 0 0 0

South

PA 279 299 293 414

Wednesday’s games

L 4 5 6 12

East

e-Eliminated from playoffs x-clinched playoff spot y-clinched division Thursday’s Games

PF 443 457 344 321

Salute to Veterans Bowl

W 11 10 8 3

West

Pct .800 .733 .714 .200

Jacksonville State 17, Troy 13

Jacksonville Houston Indianapolis e-Tennessee

North

T 0 0 0 0

Tuesday’s game

NFL AMERICAN CONFERENCE W 12 11 6 3

L 3 4 4 12

College football

Pro football

East

W 12 11 10 3

Saturday’s Games

L 8 11 11 13 19

Central Division

x-Seattle x-L.A. Rms x-San Fran e-Arizona

Seattle 38, L.A. Rams 37, OT

W 20 17 16 17 8

Southeast Division

West

Friday’s games

Myrtle Beach Bowl

Kennesaw State 41, Western Michigan 6

Gasparilla Bowl

N.C. State 31, Memphis 7

College Football Playoff

First round No. 11 Alabama 34, No. 8 Oklahoma 24

Saturday’s games

College Football Playoff

First round No. 10 Miami (Fla.) 10, No. 7 Texas A&M 3 No. 6 Ole Miss 41, No. 17 Tulane 10 No. 5 Oregon 51, No. 19 James Madison 34

Monday’s game

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl

Boise, Idaho Washington St.. 34, Utah St. 21

Rate Bowl

Phoenix New Mexico vs. Minnesota, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN)

First Responder Bowl

Dallas FIU vs. UTSA, 7 p.m. (ESPN)

FCS Playoffs

Illinois St. 30, Villanova 14 Montana St. 48 Montana 23 FCS Championship Montana St. vs. Illinois St.

College basketball State men’s schedule

Sunday’s games

Baylor 111, Southern 67 Nicholls at Pacific, n

Monday’s games

Louisiana Tech 90, Dallas Christian 37 Prairie View A&M at LSU, n

Tuesday’s game

Grambling at Ohio State, 2 p.m.

Men’s national scores Monday’s games EAST

Fordham 65, New Haven 47 George Washington 97, St. Mary’s College of Maryland 40 Saint Peter’s 116, Centenary (NJ) 50 Towson 72, Sacred Heart 47 UMass 91, Massachusetts-Boston 40 Wagner 74, Manor Blue Jays 57

SOUTH

Elon 97, Greensboro 63 Florida International 121, Trinity Jacksonville 70 Georgia 103, West Georgia 74 Louisiana Tech 90, Dallas Christian 37 South Carolina 95, South Carolina State 70 Virginia 95, American 51

MIDWEST

Bowling Green 125, Siena Heights 66 Butler 101, NJIT 52 Eastern Illinois 110, East-West 56 Miami (OH) 135, Milligan 81 Ohio 102, Miami Hamilton Harriers 59 SIU-Edwardsville 66, Western Illinois 61 Western Michigan 94, Defiance 57

SOUTHWEST

Abilene Christian 75, Texas Southern 68 North Texas 109, Science and Arts of OK 56 Seattle 71, UTSA 68 Tulsa 90, Denver 85

FAR WEST

Montana State 93, Northwest University 54 San Diego State 121, Whittier 59 UC Santa Barbara 79, Portland 61 Weber State 103, Lincoln University Oaklanders 64

USA Today Men’s Top 25 Poll

Rank Rec. Pts. Prv. Votes 1.Michigan 11-0 764 1 20 2.Arizona 11-0 754 2 11 3.Iowa St. 12-0 696 4 0 4.Connectct 12-1 662 5 0 5.Purdue 11-1 622 6 0 6.Duke 11-1 611 3 0 7.Gonzaga 12-1 584 7 0 8.Houston 11-1 565 8 0 9.MSU 11-1 532 9 0 10.Brigham 11-1 515 10 0 11.Vandrblt 12-0 433 12 0 12.UNC 11-1 402 13 0 13.Nebraska 12-0 371 15 0 14.Louisville 10-2 346 11 0 15.Alabama 9-3 306 16 0 16.Texas Tech 9-3 298 19 0 17.Kansas 9-3 276 17 0 18.Arkansas 9-3 227 14 0 19.Illinois 8-3 211 18 0 20.Tennessee 9-3 210 23 0 21.Virginia 10-1 189 22 0 22.Florida 8-4 154 21 0 23.Iowa 10-2 212 25 0 24.Georgia 10-1 60 NR 0 25.USC 12-1 35 NR 0 Dropped out: No. 20 St. John’s (7-4); No. 24 Auburn (8-4).

Others receiving votes: St. John’s (7-4) 32; Kentucky (8-4) 32; Seton Hall (11-1) 20; Utah State (10-1) 15; Auburn (8-4) 10; California (12-1) 9; Saint Louis (11-1) 8; UCLA (9-3) 8; LSU (10-1) 6; Yale (11-1) 4; Oklahoma State (11-1) 3; Clemson (10-3) 1; Indiana (9-3) 1; Saint Mary’s (10-2) 1.

State women’s schedule

Saturday’s games

Tulane 76, Delaware State 44 Texas State 79, UL-Monroe 69 Southern Miss 76, UL 58 Memphis 70, Southeastern 66 Louisiana Tech 97, Central Baptist 42

Sunday’s games

Mercer-Detroit 70, Tulane 67 Northwestern State 60, Lamar 57 LSU 110, Texas-Arlington 45 Southern Methodist 74, Southern 62

Monday’s games

Grambling 97, LeTourneau University 33

Women’s national scores

Boca Raton Bowl

Monday’s games EAST

New Orleans Bowl

SOUTH

Tuesday’s games

Boca Raton, Fla. Louisville vs. Toledo, 1 p.m. (ESPN)

New Orleans Western Kentucky vs. Southern Miss, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Frisco Bowl

Frisco, Texas Ohio vs. UNLV, 8 p.m. (ESPN)

Wednesday’s game Hawai’i Bowl

Honolulu Cal vs. Hawaii, 7 p.m. (ESPN)

Dec. 26 games

GameAbove Sports Bowl

Detroit Central Michigan vs. Northwestern, noon (ESPN)

Princeton 87, Temple 77 Villanova 85, St. John’s 48 Florida Gulf Coast 120, Fort Lauderdale 32 Grambling State 97, LeTourneau 33 Old Dominion 89, Indiana State 68 UAB 65, Samford 49 UNC Greensboro 77, South Carolina State 32 Wake Forest 78, Gardner-Webb 66

MIDWEST

Austin Peay 57, Loyola Chicago 47 Missouri State 65, Central Arkansas 61 Seton Hall 88, Creighton 79 Western Illinois 75, SIU Edwardsville 51

SOUTHWEST

Little Rock 73, Hendrix College 52 Oklahoma 126, North Carolina Central 54 Sam Houston 65, Northern Colorado 56

FAR WEST

Toledo 64, Long Beach State 43

Utah 63, Arizona 62

Pro hockey NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division Detroit Montreal Tampa Bay Boston Florida Ottawa Buffalo Toronto

GP 37 36 35 37 35 35 35 35

W 21 19 19 20 19 18 17 15

L OT Pts GF GA 13 3 45 116 119 12 5 43 117 122 13 3 41 113 94 16 1 41 120 120 14 2 40 112 112 13 4 40 117 110 14 4 38 109 115 15 5 35 109 118

Carolina Washington N.Y. Islanders Philadelphia New Jersey N.Y. Rangers Pittsburgh Columbus

GP 35 36 36 34 36 38 35 35

W 22 19 19 17 20 18 15 14

L OT Pts GF GA 10 3 47 119 101 12 5 43 114 96 13 4 42 105 103 10 7 41 103 99 15 1 41 102 108 16 4 40 97 102 11 9 39 107 113 15 6 34 105 124

W 26 25 22 18 14 15 15 13

L OT Pts GF GA 2 7 59 141 80 7 5 55 133 97 10 5 49 115 96 17 3 39 116 111 15 8 36 94 127 16 4 34 100 119 17 3 33 103 107 16 6 32 98 111

Metropolitan Division

WESTERN CONFERENCE Central Division Colorado Dallas Minnesota Utah St. Louis Nashville Winnipeg Chicago

GP 35 37 37 38 37 35 35 35

Pacific Division

GP W L OT Pts GF GA Anaheim 36 21 13 2 44 128 123 Vegas 34 16 8 10 42 103 102 Edmonton 37 18 13 6 42 125 127 Los Angeles 34 15 10 9 39 88 90 San Jose 36 17 16 3 37 107 122 Calgary 36 15 17 4 34 97 108 Vancouver 35 15 17 3 33 101 117 Seattle 33 13 14 6 32 83 104 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. Top three teams in each division and two wild cards per conference advance to playoffs.

Sunday’s Games

Detroit 3, Washington 2, OT Colorado 5, Minnesota 1 Buffalo 3, New Jersey 1 Dallas 5, Toronto 1 Nashville 2, N.Y. Rangers 1 Utah 4, Winnipeg 3, OT Ottawa 6, Boston 2 Pittsburgh 4, Montreal 3, SO Edmonton 4, Vegas 3

Monday’s Games

St. Louis at Tampa Bay, n Vancouver at Philadelphia, n Columbus at Los Angeles, n Seattle at Anaheim, n

Tuesday’s Games

Pittsburgh at Toronto, 3 p.m.

Dallas at Detroit, 5:30 p.m.

Buffalo at Ottawa, 6 p.m.

Florida at Carolina, 6 p.m.

Montreal at Boston, 6 p.m.

N.Y. Rangers at Washington, 6 p.m.

New Jersey at N.Y. Islanders, 6 p.m.

Nashville at Minnesota, 7 p.m.

Calgary at Edmonton, 8 p.m.

Philadelphia at Chicago, 8 p.m.

Utah at Colorado, 8 p.m.

San Jose at Vegas, 9 p.m.

Seattle at Los Angeles, 9 p.m.

Transactions Major League Baseball

American League ATHLETICS — Acquired INF Jeff McNeil from the New York Mets in exchange for RHP Yordan Rodriguez.

BOSTON RED SOX — Acquired 1B Willson Contreras and cash considerations from St. Louis in exchange for RHPs Hunter Dobbins, Blake Aita and Yhoiker Fajardo.

CLEVELAND GUARDIANS — Agreed to terms with RHP Codi Heuer on a minor league contract.

SEATTLE MARINERS — Agreed to terms with OF/1B Rob Refsnyder on a one-year major league contract.

National League SAN DIEGO PADRES — Agreed to terms with 3B Sung-Mun Song.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS — Agreed to terms with INF Warming Bernabel on a minor league contract.

FOOTBALL

National Football League GREEN BAY PACKERS — Reinstated DL Collin Oliver from reserve/physically unable to perform list. Placed TE John FitzPatrick on injured reserve.

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS — Reinstated DT DeForest Buckner from injured reserve. Waived QB Brett Rypien. Promoted WR Coleman Owen and G Josh Sills from the practice squad to the active roster.

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS — Signed QB Shane Buechele to the active roster from Buffalo’s practice squad. Placed QB Gardner Minshew on injured reserve.

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS — Reinstated DL Yetur Gross-Matos from injured reserve.

Promoted CB Eli Apple and LB Eric Kendricks from the practice squad to the active roster.

TENNESSEE TITANS — Signed LB Cam Riley and NT Isaiah Raikes to the practice squad.

Released WR Kristian Wilkerson from the practice squad.

WASHINGTON COMMANDERS — Signed QB Jeff Driskel off Arizona’s practice squad.

Placed G Sam Cosmi on injured reserve.

HOCKEY

National Hockey League NEW YORK ISLANDERS — Recalled G Marcus Högberg from Bridgeport (AHL).

NEW YORK RANGERS — Recalled F Brett Berard from Hartford (AHL). Placed F J.T. Miller on injured reserve.

4C ● Tuesday, December 23, 2025 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

Saints playing top-shelf defense of late New Orleans among league’s best since early November

BY LUKE JOHNSON and MATTHEW PARAS Staff writers

Things looked bleak back in early November, when the high-powered Los Angeles Rams offense throttled the Saints.

Led by MVP front-runner Matthew Stafford, the Rams operated at will against the Saints defense. Stafford threw four touchdown passes and had a 140.8 passer rating. Kyren Williams ran for 114 yards and a score. Los Angeles racked up nearly 300 total yards before halftime, coasting to 438 total in a 34-10 rout.

That game is especially notable because of what has happened after.

Since that game, the Saints rank No. 1 in the NFL in total defense (258.7 yards

DUNCAN

SAINTS NOTEBOOK per game) and No. 2 in scoring defense (15.8 points per game). Sunday against the Jets, they clinched their fourth win in their past six games by limiting New York to 195 total yards and six points.

Shough ROY? Tyler Shough has worked his way into the conversation for Offensive Rookie of the Year.

And with two games left, the Saints quarterback has a shot at winning the award.

Most sportsbooks list Shough as having the second-best odds behind Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan. In the past two weeks, Shough’s odds went from 250-1 to 4-1.

After Sunday’s 29-6 win

over the Jets, Shough was asked what he made of the possibility of earning the award.

“That’s obviously a great achievement,” said Shough, who threw for a career-high 308 yards. “But I think for us, that can be attained by finishing the season the right way with getting the victory next week and then the week after that. So that’s all I’m focused on right now. And we’ll go from there.”

Jets. Moore said Monday that both players are looking at “time lost” because of their respective injuries.

Moore didn’t say both players would miss the final two games of the season, and he sounded optimistic that neither injury would impact the players beyond the 2025 season.

Moreau’s injury occurred on a 5-yard catch early in the third period. Jets linebacker Quincy Williams dragged Moreau down with ‘Time lost’ what Moore called a “hipThe Saints are probably droppy” tackle, a reference going to be without tight end to the “hip-drop” tackle Foster Moreau and defensive the league is trying to ban tackle Bryan Bresee for their because of the high injury Week 17 game against the rates associated with the technique.

Tennessee Titans.

Both Moreau (ankle) and Bresee (knee) left the field in Email Luke Johnson at the third quarter of Sunday’s ljohnson@theadvocate. win against the New York com.

STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

Saints cornerback Alontae Taylor sacks New york Jets quarterback Brady Cook at the Caesars Superdome on Sunday.

may possess some of Hill’s traits, none had the combination of size, elite athleticism and unselfish mindset that made Hill a unicorn.

Physically speaking, Hill is one of one. He is faster than Alvin Kamara and as strong as some of the Saints linemen. He is agile enough to line up at wide receiver and can throw a football into the end zone from midfield.

Sunday was another vintage Hill performance. With a large group of friends and family watching from the stands, he ran 12 times for a team-high 42 yards. He added four catches for 36 yards and capped the day with

a beautiful 38-yard touchdown pass to Chris Olave.

The performance left Hill with 2,388 yards passing, 2,545 yards rushing, and 1,002 career yards receiving, making him the only player in modern NFL history with more than 1,000 yards passing, rushing, and receiving.

That’s not the only feat of his you’ll find in the NFL record books.

Hill is the first player in modern NFL history to score double-digit touchdowns three different ways in his career — as a rusher, receiver and passer.

He’s the first player since

the NFL merger in 1970 to run for three touchdowns, pass for another and return a kickoff in the same game.

During his career, he also blocked two punts and served as the personal protector on the punt team, the role he was in Sunday when he converted a fourth-and-1 on a fake punt.

Throughout it all, Hill has remained as humble and unassuming as the day he walked into camp nine years ago.

“He’s just a special guy,” coach Kellen Moore said.

“He’s an A-plus person and an A-plus player. The

things he can do from the capacity of having to handle all of these looks, structures and fundamentals that you have to play at all these positions, it’s just really, really special.”

Equally impressive, Hill never sought the spotlight.

In a world increasingly populated by shameless self-promoters, Hill is an outlier. The media-shy 35-year-old doesn’t post his workouts on social media, and he doesn’t make the rounds on the national talk show/podcast network.

Away from Airline Drive, he prefers to spend his time quietly and privately with

family and friends.

“Taysom is by far one of the best players I’ve been around, on and off the field,” tight end Juwan Johnson said. “He’s just such a selfless person, a selfless player.

He’s earned everything that he’s got. I’m grateful and I’m honored to be on his team.”

We should never overlook Hill’s extraordinary accomplishments or unique talents. What he did for the Saints is rare and unprecedented.

Everybody is looking for the “next Taysom Hill.”

The reality is, there isn’t one.

“The ball part of it is easy.

I don’t think whether it’s Continued from page 1C the Sugar Bowl, or the first round, or you’re playing Mississippi State: Once you now you’ve got a lot more get late in the season, if you problems to be able to help,” lose, you’re probably not Golding said. “But we’ve got going to be playoffs. Right a really good crew around now, if you lose, your seaus, guys who do a really good son is ended.”

Ole Miss will be dealing job.

with a condensed schedule compared to Georgia, which last played Dec. 6 in the SEC championship game.

“Moved on to Georgia (Monday) morning and walked through format,” Golding said. “We’re going to give them a couple of days off for Christmas, then bring them back Christmas

night and go to work as a normal Monday would be on the 26th.”

That brings to mind another possible concern for the Bulldogs: Last year, all four teams with first-round byes

lost their quarterfinal game.

Does extra rest mean rust?

Nah, Smart’s not biting on that, either.

“The negative is when you’re playing good football, a lot of times you want to

keep playing,” he said. “You want to stay in rhythm. …

But I’m excited about where our team is. I’m excited that they’re practicing the way they are and are excited about the opponent.”

Continued from page 1C quarterbacks in the late rounds and tried to make them their version of Hill, among them Jalen Milroe (Seahawks), Easton Stick (Chargers), Nick Fitzgerald (Bucs), Trace McSorley (Ravens) and Eric Dungey (Giants). The Saints even tried to get a younger version of him in 2020, when they drafted Tommy Stevens out of Mississippi State.

They learned what so many others did over the years. While many players

GEORGIA

KNOX

Continued from page 1C Athletic Conference team that couldn’t slow down the Tigers’ transition offense.

Only two Mulkey era-LSU opponents have turned the ball over more times than UTA did on Sunday (34).

Those opportunities benefited Knox. She used her speed to run the floor, positioning herself to score the kind of baskets that propelled the Tigers above the 100-point threshold for the 10th time this season.

Star guard Flau’jae Johnson served Knox two open layups with crafty bounce passes — one late in the first quarter and another halfway through the third.

Then senior transfer forward Amiya Joyner followed suit, leading Knox into a third-quarter fastbreak finish that widened LSU’s lead past 40 points.

Knox collected Joyner’s bounce pass without breaking stride, then flipped a shot off the glass and through the rim. Her momentum sent her tumbling across the baseline in front

BOWL

Continued from page 1C while battling a knee injury down the stretch.

“Braylon has been a lot of fun to be in a room with every day,” Anderson said. “I thought he played at an extremely high level for us and got hurt and battled through it. Happy to say that he’s healthy and will be able to play a much different game on Tuesday.”

A pair of Western Kentucky players are familiar to Louisiana high school football fans in Destrehan alum Jai Eugene and former Catholic-Baton Rouge standout George Hart. A defensive

of the LSU bench, but it didn’t foil her shot at the rim.

“She’s just an athlete,” Mulkey said. “Good lord, you can’t block her out. You can’t keep her from flying to the boards. She finishes in traffic. She works really hard defensively for a freshman. She’s going to make mistakes, but her mistakes are done with effort.

“She might have had her best game here, since she’s been at LSU.” According to Basketball Reference date, only two Division I freshmen have scored in double figures more times this season than Knox. She’s now hit that mark in 11 of the 13 matchups LSU has played so far, and she’s also one of seven Tigers with a double-digit scoring average — but the only one who’s converting more than 65% of her shots.

Before Sunday, Knox hadn’t attempted more than eight field goals in a game this year. Then she took 18 shots against UTA, using those extra looks to improve her career-high scoring output by 13 points.

LSU played the Mav-

ericks without ZaKiyah Johnson — the freshman forward who’s spent most of the season starting over Knox. Mulkey called her absence a “little mama pat on the hand” and said she’ll return to the floor next Sunday for the Tigers’ nonconference finale against Alabama State.

Johnson is one of the four LSU post players who will rotate in and out of close games once SEC play begins Jan. 1. They were each playing about 18 minutes per game before the Tigers routed the Mavericks, and they’ve each turned in their fair share of impressive performances.

Kate Koval chipped in 22 points on Dec. 7 against UNO. Joyner has four double-doubles. Johnson has the same number of 15-point outings.

And now Knox can claim the best scoring night any LSU player has had this season — an impressive feat for a freshman who plays on a team with established stars and national championship aspirations.

“She’s got some God-given tools,” Mulkey said. “She really does.”

back, Eugene is in his second season with the Hilltoppers after transferring from Tulane.

Hart, a senior running back, transferred from Arizona State.

“I’ve played (in New Orleans) a lot in high school for state championships, so it’s cool to have my last collegiate game here,” Hart said.

“It’s definitely a blessing that my whole family gets to see the last one.”

Western Kentucky has gone 4-2 in bowl games during the past six years under coach Tyson Helton. This year will be the second New Orleans Bowl appearance for the Hilltoppers, their first being a 44-23 win over South Alabama in 2022.

“(Southern Miss) is a great, complete team,” Helton said.

“I know coach (Anderson) very well. He does a great job. Statistically, we’re both about the same, so it should be a good game.”

This year marks the sixth New Orleans Bowl appearance for Southern Miss, which has a 4-1 record in the bowl. Their last appearance was a 28-21 win over UL in 2016.

“I think our fanbase is excited about what we’ve done,” Anderson said. “It would be awesome to get to (win) No. 8 considering all we’ve been through.”

Email Spencer Urquhart at surquhart@theadvocate. com.

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LIVING

T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M

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T u e s d ay, d e c e m b e r 23, 2025

5cN

Root of the issue

That shaded parking spot may spell trouble for your tree. Here are steps to diminish it.

Pulling your vehicle beneath the shady canopy of a tree may feel convenient. But making a habit of it can cause serious harm.

“Over time, repeatedly parking over these tree GARDEN roots and all NEWS of this soil can cause an early decline or even death of a tree,” said LSU AgCenter horticulturist Jason Stagg.

The weight of vehicles and rolling tires can strip bark off tree roots and crush the tissue inside of them. If you’ve ever seen exposed surface roots that look flattened and scarred, it’s possible they have sustained damage from vehicles. (Other common culprits for root damage are lawnmower blades and weed trimmer string.)

Compromised roots aren’t just unsightly. They have a harder time transporting water and nutrients from the soil to where they’re needed in the tree, Stagg said, and they are at higher risk of decaying.

Parking on tree roots also inflicts some less-obvious wounds. Fine roots and root hairs on the periphery of the tree’s root zone can be affected as well. These small roots do much of the heavy lifting when it comes to soaking up water to fuel the tree, Stagg said.

LSU AGCENTER PHOTO

By OLIVIA McCLURE

LSU AgCenter horticulturist Jason Stagg points to a tree root that has been damaged by vehicles.

Because they’re so heavy, vehicles compress the soil — further endangering trees’ health.

“Soil has something in it called pore space where air and water can be stored and taken up by the tree roots,” Stagg said. “Compacting the soil reduces the pore spaces, and you can actually begin to suffocate a tree.”

So, why does any of this matter? It’s easy to assume that a few scraped roots and some compacted soil won’t hurt a big, mighty tree. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Damage can add up over the years, leading to canopy thinning, branch dieback and increased vulnerability to pests and diseases, Stagg said. Trees tend to decline slowly and problems aren’t always apparent until it’s too late.

Keeping your trees healthy is important. You don’t want to risk a weakened tree crashing down in a storm. And remember: Mature trees can’t be replaced overnight.

Large, established trees boost property values and aesthetics, and they do a great job of absorbing stormwater runoff. Lose them, and you’ll lose those benefits, too.

With holiday guests arriving at many of our homes in the

ä See TREES, page 6C

STAFF PHOTOS By ROBIN MILLER

Meredyth yorek is a doctoral student in the LSU College of Art + Design. She is creating a three-dimensional model of the canoe, which the museum will make accessible through a QR code.

High & Dry

The dugout canoe was a three-seater, but when was it made? Rural Life Museum aims to solve mystery

T

BY ROBIN MILLER Staff writer

he smooth, rounded indentations have a way of humanizing the ancient canoe secured in the covered gallery behind the LSU Rural Life Museum’s barn.

These are places where people’s backsides wore down the wood in the dugout log while paddling along the waterways of what would become Louisiana. The log is believed to be cypress, and, as pointed out by Meredyth Yorek, it was well used.

Yorek is a doctoral student working on a degree in video game design and preservation at LSU, and the ancient canoe fits perfectly into her field of study.

She’s using the gaming side of her expertise to document the canoe through three-dimensional modeling and environmental design, showing the canoe as it would have appeared in the lakes, swamps and bayous when ancient people’s backsides were wearing down its surface.

“If, at any point, the canoe doesn’t survive the preservation process, the imaging gives us data to be able to look at how it was,” Yorek said.

“And from there, it’s allowed me to

yorek points out one of three rounded indentations in the surface in LSU Rural Life Museum’s ancient dugout canoe. These were where the canoe’s passengers sat, the indentations created by constant use. look into how we can transform the in her doctoral degree work. She’s museum experience — the experi- focused on using these technologies ence for the Rural Life Museum.” to improve museum accessibility and increase the lifespan of objects.

Access to the ancient The canoe in the Rural Life MuYorek noted that she tradition- seum, 4560 Essen Lane, is secured ally works with three-dimensional ä See CANOE, page 6C modeling and environment design

Tuba Kent named grand marshal of N.O. parade The Golden Band from Tigerland tuba player Kent Broussard marches down Victory Hill before a LSU football game last season.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

BY DOUG MacCASH Staff writer

Kent Broussard made history in August when he became the oldest freshman in LSU’s Golden Band from Tiger Land, by a long shot. The 66-year-old former liquor company executive suddenly became a sensation, being featured on “Good Morning America,” “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” and other national broadcasts.

Now “Tiger Tuba Kent” will appear in the Morpheus Mardi Gras parade. And he won’t even have to tote his heavy brass tuba along the 4-mile route. In a Facebook post on Wednesday, the krewe announced that Broussard will serve as the parade grand marshal, waving to crowds from the comfort of a float.

Broussard, a native of LaPlace, had played in his high school and college bands back in the 1970s.

ä See KENT, page 6C

6C ● Tuesday, December 23, 2025 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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Wearing hearing aids all the time then nap after lunch.

Dear Heloise: For our expen Do plan to stay 30-40 rienced citizens who have acquired hearing minutes maximum. aids, they shouldn’t Although your just employ them loved one may apintermittently. They pear to enjoy your should use them all visit, many older the time. Hearing folks tire easily, esaids reroute neural pecially if they feel paths in your brain, Hints from like they have to be Heloise “at their best” for a which upgrades your auditory abilivisit. n Do not plan to share a ties. — Jim R., in Houston meal, even if you bring the Visiting elderly friends food. Setting the table and cleaning up after causes Dear Heloise: Having spent stress (even if you do both) the past 15 years as a proand uses energy your fessional caregiver, stayloved one may not have to ing round-the-clock with one elderly client at a time, spare. n Do not bring food, I have some do’s and don’ts for visiting an older friend unless you have checked or family member: with your loved one in n Do not “pop in.” Inadvance and are sure that it is something they like, stead, schedule your visit ahead of time for midmorn- can have (no sweets for a ing or late afternoon. Many diabetic), and can easily older folks take a long time prepare themselves. Othto get ready in the morning, erwise, the food ends up

in the trash, causing more stress. n Do bring a child’s drawing and/or flowers (unless your loved one is allergic) and plan to share photos of children, relatives, pets and beautiful landscapes (unless your loved one is visually challenged). n Do keep the conversation light and positive. Talk about how their grandchild is enjoying kindergarten, not your upcoming health concern or a nephew’s divorce. Many older folks are prone to anxiety and feel helpless in the face of other’s troubles. n All that being said, do plan to visit as often as you can and enjoy being together. — Sarah Irwin, in Millboro,Virginia Send a hint to heloise@ heloise.com.

STAFF PHOTO By ROBIN MILLER

A detail shot showcases the dugout canoe’s wood grain at the LSU Rural Life Museum.

The ancient vessel eventually will be moved to a climate-controlled atmosphere within the museum.

CANOE

Continued from page 5C on specially constructed wooden brackets beneath the museum’s back gallery, and it has no moving parts.

It’s just a log that’s been scooped out to make the perfect, leak-free marine vessel.

If it’s determined to be cypress, the canoe would bear a natural resistance to rot, decay and insects. But even cypress falls victim to centuries of age and environmental elements.

“It is an Indian dugout canoe, so it’s ancient,” museum curator Katherine Fresina said. “From what I’ve been able to read, a lot of the dugout canoes that are local to this area are very flat, which is what we’re seeing here.

They didn’t have very high sides, because they had to go over the swamps, much like our pirogues. And so, this is most likely a one-to-threeman craft that was probably used to fish on the bayou and slowly travel down.”

Though the wood type hasn’t been determined, Fresina’s research shows that the majority of dugout canoes discovered in Louisiana are made from cypress.

She’s currently trying to connect with a professor in LSU’s Department of Coastal Environmental Science to test the wood and figure out what it’s made of.

“If we can get an age on it, that will help us identify the type of tree it’s made of,” museum director Bill Stark added. “That will also help us narrow down possibly what tribe made it.”

Figuring out who, where All Stark and Fresina know at this time is that the canoe was found near Lake Maurepas in the 1970s and brought to the museum, where it was braced above the barn’s back doors.

That is, until museum

workers removed it in the fall with a crane and makeshift web sling. Once it was placed on the brackets, deterioration was immediate.

Gaps that began showing up in the grain while braced on the wall became bigger.

“It’s getting redder in color, and I’ve noticed that if you brush your hand over it, the red comes off,” Yorek said. “I think it’s turning to dust.”

Yorek stands next to LSU Professor of Art Jane Ashburn, her adviser on this project. Ashburn teaches conservation and historic preservation classes and is applying her expertise not only to the canoe but also to the preservation of Steele Burden’s wall sketches inside the barn.

Burden, along with his siblings Pike and Ione, donated their family home of Windrush Plantation to LSU in the 1960s. The museum was established in 1970.

The dugout canoe, which measures a little more than 22 feet long, was among the items that the museum collected to bring to life Burden’s vision of focusing on rural settings and the daily struggles of farmers, laborers and enslaved people.

“A canoe like this could have traveled for hundreds of miles,” Fresina said.

“Where it’s from would depend on if it’s just a local fishing boat. Hopefully, we’ll get some information that will give us a better idea on who made it.”

And though the canoe seems to be emitting red dust in its new setting, dust itself isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

“Once it was taken down, and the moment we were able to slowly start dusting it off, we found this black dust that was most likely from how the canoe was made,” Fresina said. “They would burn coals, pile them inwards, and the coals would burn out the interior. Then they would chisel it away.”

Using modern technology Still, the canoe continues to change. The wood has expanded, as have its gaps.

“This crack was the reason we decided to take it down,” Fresina said, pointing to a place where the wood is beginning to break away.

“And with the museum having all of its activities going on within the last couple months, it was definitely a risk to take it down.”

Now the challenge will be finding a climate-controlled space within the museum.

Wherever they place it, Stark says it will have to be permanent, because they can’t risk moving it again.

Meanwhile, Yorek continues her digital documentation.

“I’ve been doing this through a process called photogrammetry, where we take a couple hundred to a thousand photographs to get every little detail of this object,” she said. “I use a simple Canon camera and a flash ring to take out the shadows, and I take photos of all of the surface details. It’s like a stop-action process.”

Yorek also makes laser scans of the surface, using a handheld device that emits a laser and uses light to measure the distance between it and the object. In turn, it creates a detailed image, called a point cloud, and she uses the data to create a highly accurate threedimensional model from the photographs and the lasers.

Once the canoe is permanently on display inside the museum, a QR code will be posted next to it. Visitors will be able use their phones to click on the code, which will direct them to an animated three-dimensional model created by Yorek.

And this way, the ancient three-seater will forever drift in Louisiana’s swamps and bayous.

Email Robin Miller at romiller@theadvocate.com.

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TODAY IN HISTORY Clement C. Moore.

In 1913, the Federal Reserve System was created as President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act. In 1948, former Japanese Premier Hideki Tojo and six other Japanese World War II leaders were executed in Tokyo after being tried for war crimes and sentenced to death by hanging.

In 1986, the experimental airplane Voyager, piloted

by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, completed the first nonstop, non-refueled round-the-world flight as it returned safely to Edwards Air Force Base in California.

In 2003, a Virginia jury sentenced teen sniper Lee Boyd Malvo to life in prison, sparing him the death penalty. Malvo and his older partner in crime, John Allen Muhammad, shot and killed 10 people over three

weeks in October 2002, terrorizing the Washington, D.C., area. Muhammad was executed in 2009.

In 2024, President Joe Biden announced he was commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row, converting their punishments to life imprisonment weeks before Donald Trump, an outspoken proponent of capital punishment, was to begin a second term.

Today’s birthdays: Former Emperor Akihito of Japan is 92. Actor-comedian Harry Shearer is 82.

Retired U.S. Army Gen. Wesley K. Clark is 81.

Actor Susan Lucci is 79.

Distance runner Bill Rodgers is 78. Football Hall of Famer Jack Ham is 77.

Political commentator William Kristol is 73. Author Donna Tartt is 62. Rock musician Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam is 61.

inside a tree’s root zone — often the case on small urContinued from page 5C ban lots — there are some things you can do to minimize negative effects.

Try to keep tires off coming days, you might be wondering how to deter large surface roots, and limit how long vehicles them from parking on top stay parked under a tree. of tree roots in your yard.

A quick and easy fix is to Avoid parking there durcreate a visual barrier with ing and after rains, as soil mulch. Stagg recommends compacts more readily mulching around trees when wet. anyway to suppress weed For a longer-term solugrowth, insulate roots from tion, you can explore conextreme temperatures and structing a parking pad retain moisture. made of permeable pavers If you or your visitors or a grid system. These have no choice but to park materials, when installed

properly, can help distribute the load of vehicles and reduce compaction while still allowing water and air to reach the roots.

Finally, if you have a driveway near a tree, know that roots covered by concrete or asphalt are still affected by soil compaction and limited airflow.

Over time, this can stress the tree just like parking directly on roots. The best thing you can do is monitor for signs of tree decline and contact a qualified arborist for advice if problems develop.

By The Associated Press Today is Tuesday, Dec. 23, the 357th day of 2025. There are eight days left in the year.

Today in history: On Dec. 23, 1972, in an NFL playoff game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland Raiders, Steelers running back Franco Harris scored a gamewinning touchdown on a deflected pass with less than 10 seconds left. The “Immaculate Reception,” as the catch came to be known, is often cited as the greatest NFL play of all time.

Also on this date: In 1823, the poem “Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas” was published anonymously in the Troy Sentinel of New York; the verse, more popularly known as “The Night Before Christmas,” was later attributed to

TREES

KENT

Continued from page 5C But he always nursed the ambition of joining the mighty LSU Tiger Marching Band. When he reached retirement age, instead of picking up a fly rod or a

golf club, Broussard bought a $3,000 tuba, moved to Baton Rouge, enrolled at the university, and tried out for the renowned band — successfully.

Broussard, who realized a lifelong dream, is an ideal grand marshal for the Morpheus parade, which is dedicated to the Greek

god of dreams. Formed in 2000, the Morpheus parade is a 24-float procession that follows the Hermes and Krewe d’Etat parades starting at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 13, on the Uptown route.

Email Doug MacCash at dmaccash@theadvocate. com.

YEARS

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TONIGHT 7PM

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The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Tuesday, December 23, 2025 ● 7C

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FrAnK And erneSt

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zodIAC cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Take ownership of what you do and say, and move forward with grace and determination. Enforce the necessary changes to clear your path and to ensure you reach your destination of choice.

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Pay it forward and do your part, and you'll get that good feeling that comes from looking out for those around you. A kind word or a helping hand can go further than a donation you cannot afford.

PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Be careful at functions that mix business with pleasure. The key to maintaining your position and reputation is to be thankful, accommodating and kind. A joyful attitude will turn you into the bright light in the room.

ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Put your excitement and vitality to good use. Staying healthy and keeping busy will help you avoid a run-in with someone who tends to push your emotional buttons. tAuRus (April 20-May 20) Don't share how much you earn or spend. Giving others a chance to weigh in on your plans will add to your confusion and put you in a vulnerable position. Avoid giving others reason to gossip.

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Speak from the heart when dealing with partners or people you hold in high regard, and you'll gain respect and honesty in return. Moving forward with a clear conscience is liberating. cAncER (June 21-July 22) Look for an opening and work your magic. Seiz-

ing a financial opportunity or pumping up your investments to ensure you get the write-offs you need is in your best interest.

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Refuse to let what others do interfere with your quality of life. Reach beyond any differences you have and make the most of the festive season.

VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) Put your energy where it will encourage you to excel and help you close the year on a high note. Personal change will not go unnoticed and will serve as a steppingstone to future accomplishments.

LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Get your surroundings ready to celebrate the festive season with friends and family.

Let past grievances go and find a way to start anew. Choose kindness over criticism. scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) You are best off contemplating situations before you embark on something you may not be able to finish. Refuse to let your emotions take charge and point you in a direction of no return. sAGIttARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Be careful what you wish for. Not everyone will respond to you in a jovial manner. Pull back, wait and watch for signals to guide you. Be grateful and gracious.

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

For better or For WorSe WonderWord

peAnUtS

SALLY Forth

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

toDAy's cLuE: I EQuALs D

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

SherMAn’S LAGoon FAMILY CIrCUS

dooneSbUrY

8C ● Tuesday, December 23, 2025 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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Sudoku InstructIons: Sudoku is a number-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 grid with several given numbers.

The object is to place the numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

BaBY BLueS

BLondie

THe wiZard oF id

nea CroSSwordS

La TimeS CroSSword

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Tuesday, December 23, 2025 ● 9C

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B.C.

Bridge

By PHILLIP ALDER Mickey Mouse said, “Arithmetic is being able to count up to 20 without taking off your shoes.”

Bridge requires counting, sometimes — but rarely — as high as 40. And occasionally it is the count in one specific suit that makes all the difference — as in this deal. South is in four hearts. West leads the club ace. How should the defense proceed?

East’s overcall is no thing of beauty, but everyone likes to bid these days, especially if the bid might make it harder for the opponents to find a major-suit fit and if it probably indicates the best lead for your side should you end on defense.

North then rebid three diamonds to show his six-card suit, and South bid what he hoped he could make.

East is wondering how many clubs his partner holds. If West has only three, East can win the second club, cash his heart ace, and take a third club trick for down one. But if West has four clubs, East must shift to a diamond at trick three, hoping to establish a winner there before South can draw trumps and run dummy’s spades. How will East know how many clubs West started with?

Under the club ace, East drops his king.

Then, in this deal, West continues with his club two, the lowest of three remaining

garfield

Pearls Before swiNe

hagar the horriBle

cards. East wins and leads the diamond nine, which defeats the contract.

If West had started with only three clubs, he would have led his original middle one at trick two, starting a highlow with a remaining doubleton.

Carding can be critical on defense. Discuss it with your partner. © 2025 by NEA, Inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

wuzzles Each Wuzzle is a word riddle which creates a disguised word, phrase, name, place, saying, etc. For example: NOON GOOD = GOOD AFTERNOON

PiCKles

Previous answers:

mallard fillmore

word game InstRuctIons: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed. 3.

Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.

toDAy’s WoRD — IDEntIty: eye-DEN-tih-tee: The distinguishing character or

Bizarro

marmaduKe

personality of an individual.

Average mark 15 words Time limit 25 minutes Can you find 22 or more words in IDENTITY? yEstERDAy’s WoRD — LAZuLItE late

zeal

till

laze

utile

tulle

lieu

tail

etui

lilt

tale

lite

tall

lute

teal

lutz

tell

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loCKhorNs hidato Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

today’s thought “And she shall bring forth a son, and you shall call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.”

Matthew 1:21 Sin is the main problem of humanity. Jesus came to save us from sin and its consequences. — G.E. Dean

10C ● Tuesday, December 23, 2025 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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BUSINESS T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M/news/business

DOW 48,362.68 227.79 0.47%

NASDAQ 23,428.83 121.21 0.52%

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

U.S. stocks rise at the start of a holiday week

NEW YORK — Stocks rose on Wall Street Monday to open what’s expected to be a relatively calm holiday week.

The gains were broad. Technology companies and banks did much of the heavy lifting.

Industrial companies also gave a strong push to major indexes.

The S&P 500 rose 43.99 points, or 0.6%, to 6,878.49. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 227.79 points, or 0.5%, to 48,362.68. The Nasdaq composite rose 121.21 points, or 0.5%, to 23,428.83.

Smaller company stocks did particularly well. The Russell 2000 index outpaced other major indexes with a 1.2% gain.

The gains also helped major indexes push further into winning territory for the month as a choppy December nears its end. Technology companies, especially those focused on artificial intelligence, have been the main force behind the market’s oscillations. The direction of AI-related stocks will likely determine whether the market closes out December with gains or losses.

“If a Santa Claus rally does kick in this year, St. Nick’s gift bag will likely need to be full of positive tech sentiment,” wrote Chris Larkin, managing director of trading and investing at E-Trade from Morgan Stanley.

Paramount Skydance rose 4.3%. The company sweetened its hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery with an “irrevocable personal guarantee” from Larry Ellison, the founder of Oracle and father of Paramount CEO David Ellison.

He is putting up billions of dollars to back the deal as part of the latest move in Paramount’s bidding war against Netflix.

Warner Bros. Discovery rose 3.5% and Netflix fell 1.2%.

Crude oil prices in the U.S. rose 2.4% to $58.01 a barrel.

Prices for Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 2.6% to $62.07 a barrel.

Italy antitrust agency fines Apple $116M ROME — Italy’s antitrust authority fined Apple $116 million on Monday after determining that operating one of its privacy features restricted App Store competition. Apple said it would appeal the sanction.

Apple abused its dominant position with its App Tracking Transparency, ATT, policy, which forces apps to obtain permission before collecting data to target users with personalized ads, the antitrust authority said in a statement.

The company rolled out ATT starting in April 2021 as part of an update to the operating system powering the iPhone and iPad. While the feature was designed to tighten up privacy, it faced criticism from Big Tech rivals that it would make it harder for smaller apps to survive without charging consumers.

The authority didn’t criticize the policy per se, but the fact that the Apple system requires third-party app makers to ask users for consent twice in order to comply with Europe’s strict privacy rules.

Instacart ends different pricing program NEW YORK — Instacart said Monday that it’s ending a program where some customers saw different prices for the same product ordered at the same time from the same store when using the delivery company’s service.

The program was meant to help grocers and other retailers learn more about what kinds of prices customers would pay for items, similar to how stores offer different prices for the same products at different locations. But it raised alarms after a report from Consumer Reports and two progressive advocacy groups, Groundwork Collaborative and More Perfect Union, said Instacart offered nearly 3 out of every 4 grocery items to shoppers at multiple prices in an experiment.

S&P 500 6,878.49 43.99 0.64%

EURO 1.1761 -0.0000 -0.00%

CRUDE OIL 58.01 1.49 2.64%

GOLD 4,444.60 83.20 1.91%

6-MO T-BILLS 3.6 -0.01 -0.28%

30-YR T-BONDS 4.83 0.01 0.17%

Jim Beam shuttering its distillery Industry slump puts pause on whiskey production

BY JANET PATTON and KARLA WARD

Lexington Herald-Leader (TNS)

One of Kentucky’s largest bourbon producers apparently is pausing whiskey production at the end of the year.

Jim Beam, which is one of the largest makers of American whiskey in the world, is planning to shut down production in Happy Hollow in Clermont Jan. 1 through 2026.

The visitors center on-site will remain open for Kentucky Bourbon Trail visitors.

“We are always assessing production levels to best meet consumer demand and recently met with our team to discuss our volumes for 2026,” according to a statement from the company. “We’ve shared with our teams that while we will continue to distill at our (Freddie Booker Noe) craft distillery in Clermont and at our larger Booker Noe distillery in Boston, we plan to pause distillation at our main distillery on the James B. Beam campus

TNS FILE PHOTO

Jim Beam, which is one of the largest makers of American whiskey in the world, is planning to shut down production in Happy Hollow in Clermont, Ky., Jan. 1 through 2026. for 2026 while we take the opportunity to invest in site enhancements.

Our visitor center at the James B. Beam campus remains open so visitors can have the full James B. Beam experience and join us for a meal at The Kitchen Table.”

Bottling and warehousing will still be operating at Clermont.

The news was first reported by Louisville Business Journal.

The move comes as Kentucky’s $9 billion bourbon industry grapples with a glut of whiskey and a slump in demand at home.

In response, the industry has pulled back production by more than 55 million proof-gallons (an

industry unit of measurement) or more than 28% through August, the lowest level since 2018.

At the same time, exports have been curtailed to major trading partners; Canada has been boycotting American spirits since March in retaliation for President Donald Trump’s ongoing trade war and U.S. whiskey sales to that country are down by more than 60% through October. Other Kentucky companies, including Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey maker BrownForman, also have announced layoffs or shorter pauses in production earlier in the year.

So far, Beam has not filed a layoff notice with the state of Kentucky, according to the state’s WARN Act online database. It is unclear how many jobs might be impacted.

Workers at Jim Beam are represented by United Food and Commercial Workers, and the company said it is in conversation with the union as it continues “to assess how best to utilize our workforce during this transition.”

The Clermont distillery is a major production facility in Kentucky, making the flagship brand as well as Basil Hayden, Knob Creek and others.

EAST COAST WIND PROJECTS SUSPENDED Trump administration cites national security concerns

BY MATTHEW DALY Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Monday suspended leases for five largescale offshore wind projects under construction along the East Coast due to what it said were national security risks identified by the Pentagon.

The suspension, effective immediately, is the latest step by the administration to hobble offshore wind in its push against renewable energy sources. It comes two weeks after a federal judge struck down President Donald Trump’s executive order blocking wind energy projects, calling it unlawful.

The administration said the pause will give the Interior Department, which oversees offshore wind, time to work with the Defense Department and other agencies to assess the possible ways to mitigate any security risks posed by the projects. The statement did not detail the national security risks. It called the move a pause, but did not specify an end date.

“The prime duty of the United States government is to protect the American people,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement. “Today’s action addresses emerging national security risks, including the rapid evolution of the relevant adversary technologies, and the vulnerabilities created by large- Burgam scale offshore wind projects with proximity near our east coast population centers.”

Wind proponents slammed the move, saying it was another blow in an ongoing attack by the administration against clean energy.

The administration’s decision to cite potential national security risks could complicate legal challenges to the move, although wind supporters say those arguments are overstated.

The administration said leases are paused for the Vineyard Wind project under construction in Massachusetts, Revolution Wind in Rhode Island and Connecticut, Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, and two projects in New York: Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind.

The Interior Department said unclassified reports from the U.S. government have long found that the movement of massive turbine blades and the highly reflective towers create radar interference called “clutter.” The clutter caused by offshore wind projects

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO

The Trump administration on Monday suspended leases for five large-scale offshore wind projects under construction along the East Coast due to what it said were national security risks identified by the Pentagon. can obscure legitimate moving targets and generate false targets in the vicinity of wind projects, the Interior Department said.

National security expert and former Commander of the USS Cole Kirk Lippold disputed the administration’s national security argument.

The offshore projects were awarded permits “following years of review by state and federal agencies,” including the Coast Guard, the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, the Air Force and more, he said.

“The record of decisions all show that the Department of Defense was consulted at every stage of the permitting process,” Lippold said, arguing that the projects would benefit national security because they would diversify the country’s energy supply.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I, said Revolution Wind was thoroughly vetted and fully permitted by the federal government, “and that review included any potential national security questions.” Burgum’s action “looks more like the kind of vindictive harassment we have come to expect from the Trump administration than anything legitimate,” he said.

The administration’s action comes two weeks after a federal judge struck down Trump’s executive order blocking wind energy projects, saying the effort to halt virtually all leasing of wind farms on federal lands and waters was “arbitrary and capri-

cious” and violates U.S. law.

Judge Patti Saris of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts vacated Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order blocking wind energy projects and declared it unlawful.

Saris ruled in favor of a coalition of state attorneys general from 17 states and Washington, D.C., led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, that challenged Trump’s Day One order that paused leasing and permitting for wind energy projects.

Trump has been hostile to renewable energy, particularly offshore wind, and prioritizes fossil fuels to produce electricity. Trump has said wind turbines are ugly, expensive and pose a threat to birds and other wildlife.

Wind supporters called the administration’s actions illegal and said offshore wind provides some of the most affordable, reliable electric power to the grid.

“For nearly a year, the Trump administration has recklessly obstructed the build-out of clean, affordable power for millions of Americans, just as the country’s need for electricity is surging,” said Ted Kelly of the Environmental Defense Fund.

“Now the administration is again illegally blocking clean, affordable energy,” Kelly said. “We should not be kneecapping America’s largest source of renewable power, especially when we need more cheap, homegrown electricity.”

Google’s parent buys data center energy specialist Intersect $4.75 billion deal to help power AI

By The Associated Press MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Google’s corporate parent on Monday announced an agreement to buy data center energy specialist Intersect for $4.75 billion as part of its effort to secure the vast amounts of electricity needed to power artifi-

cial intelligence technology.

Alphabet, which depends on Google’s search engine and other online services for most of its revenue, is buying out Intersect in its entirety after purchasing a stake in the San Francisco-based startup a year ago. Intersect had previously raised $2.1 billion from Google and other early investors.

After the acquisition is completed during the first half of next year, Alphabet intends to allow Intersect to operate independently

while continuing its efforts to secure the energy sources needed for the sprawling data centers being built to power the AI services rolling out from Google and rivals such as OpenAI. The power-hungry data centers, which are being likened to AI factories, is fueling a backlash in communities where residents have been interpreting their steadily rising electricity bills as evidence that they help helping footing the boom for a technology

boom that could still go bust.

Intersect focuses on finding ways to increase and diversify the supply of energy in an effort to keep hold down power costs. It’s already working on a data center for Mountain View, Californiabased Alphabet in Haskell County, Texas.

Google’s inroads with AI has helped increase Alphabet’s stock price by more than 60% so far this year, generating an additional $1.4 trillion in shareholder wealth.