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La. gets $208M for rural health care

Funds to aid hospitals, those with chronic conditions

BY MATTHEW ALBRIGHT Staff writer

Louisiana will get more than $208 million from the federal Rural Health Transformation Program, which the state plans to spend on efforts like treating chronic health conditions, recruiting and retaining doctors and nurses and shoring up hospitals and health clinics, officials announced Monday.

The $10 billion program was created in the Working Families Tax Cuts Act — otherwise known as the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” — that enacted much of President Donald Trump’s domestic agenda.

Louisiana’s share of the program is “among the highest in the nation,” the Louisiana Department of Health said in a news release. Nearly 1.1 million people live in rural parishes, more than a third are on Medicaid and more than 1 in 5 are covered by Medicare.

“The use of this funding will transform lives through innovative approaches to improve health

ä See RURAL, page 4A

STAFF PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK

Firefighters Jaron Royer, left, and Luke Kilchrist lower the U.S. flag to half-staff Friday outside the Lafayette International Center in remembrance of those lost in the New Orleans terror attack on New year’s Day in 2025. Gov. Jeff Landry designated the first four days of this year as a mourning period across Louisiana in honor of the 14 lives lost in the attack on Bourbon Street.

Officials believe sparkling candles ignited bar fire

BY JOHN LEICESTER, JAMEY KEATEN and STEFANIE DAZIO Associated Press

CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland — Investigators said Friday that they believe sparkling candles atop Champagne bottles ignited a fatal fire at a Swiss ski resort when they came too close to the ceiling of a bar crowded with New Year’s Eve revelers.

Authorities planned to look into whether sounddampening material on the ceiling conformed with regulations and whether the candles, which give off a stream of upward-shooting sparks,

ä See FIRE, page 4A

Human trafficking survivor now fights to protect others Experience is helping La. shape policy to combat trade

BY AIDAN McCAHILL Staff writer

When the FBI first told Michelle Johnson she was a victim of human trafficking, she didn’t believe them. It was 2011. She was in her 20s and facing jail time after authorities conducted a sting operation on her “pimp,” Carlos Lampley.

Trafficked? That couldn’t be true, she thought. It was around the same time the movie “Taken” was popular, and

WEATHER HIGH 74 LOW 46 PAGE 6A

she and a group of Lampley’s girls had just watched it with him. In her mind, that’s what trafficking was.

“We weren’t drugged, we weren’t chained, we weren’t brought to another country,” she said.

Besides, she thought Lampley had loved her. He told her so, even as he forced her into sex work in New Orleans’ French Quarter, Baton Rouge and online for more than three years, beating her if she didn’t bring back enough money.

“He was the first person to ever ask me about my life,” she said. “I didn’t know what love was.”

From the outside, she was a prostitute. But as she began revealing details to prosecutors, the picture shifted. To-

day, Lampley is serving a 40-year sentence in federal prison for one count each of trafficking a child for sexual purposes, human trafficking and attempted human trafficking.

Johnson, after years of intensive therapy, now shares her harrowing experience. She has used it to raise awareness and to counsel countless victims who continue to endure what she once did.

In 2024, the state identified 1,350 new trafficking victims — most younger than 17 — while continuing to serve nearly 1,000 already in the system, according to state data. Officials warn that overlapping reports mean some

STAFF PHOTO By JOHN BALLANCE

Michelle Johnson, a survivor of human trafficking, now serves as chair of Gov. Jeff Landry’s Human Trafficking ä See SURVIVOR, page 3A Prevention Commission and Advisory Board.

Business ......................3B Living............................7C Opinion ........................4B Classified .....................2B Metro ...........................1B Sports ..........................1C Comics-Puzzles .. 9C-11C Nation-World ................2A

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2A ● Saturday, January 3, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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New Year’s Eve attack plan in N.C. disrupted, FBI says

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

Pipe bomb suspect to stay jailed before trial

WASHINGTON — A federal magistrate judge on Friday refused to order the pretrial release of a man charged with planting two pipe bombs outside the headquarters of the Democratic and Republican national parties on the eve of the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew Sharbaugh ruled that Brian J. Cole Jr. must remain jailed before trial. The magistrate concluded there are no conditions of release that can reasonably protect the public from the danger that Cole allegedly poses.

Justice Department prosecutors say Cole confessed to placing pipe bombs outside the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee headquarters only hours before a mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol. According to prosecutors, Cole said he hoped the explosives would detonate and “hoped there would be news about it.”

After his arrest last month, Cole told investigators that he believed someone needed to “speak up” for people who believed the 2020 election, which Democrat Joe Biden won, was stolen and that he wanted to target the country’s political parties because they were “in charge,” according to prosecutors.

If convicted of both charges against him, Cole faces up to 10 years of imprisonment on one charge and up to 20 years of imprisonment on a second charge that also carries a five-year mandatory minimum prison sentence.

6.5 magnitude quake rattles Mexico, killing 2

MEXICO CITY — A strong earthquake rattled southern and central Mexico on Friday, interrupting President Claudia Sheinbaum’s first news briefing of the new year as seismic alarms sounded and leaving at least two people dead.

The earthquake had a magnitude of 6.5 and its epicenter was near the town of San Marcos in the southern state of Guerrero near the Pacific coast resort of Acapulco, according to Mexico’s national seismological agency.

There were more than 500 aftershocks.

The state’s civil defense agency reported various landslides around Acapulco and on other highways in the state.

Guerrero Gov. Evelyn Salgado said that a 50-year-old woman living in a small community near the epicenter died when her home collapsed. Authorities also said that a hospital in Chilpancingo, Guerrero’s capital, suffered major structural damage and various patients were evacuated.

Residents and tourists in Mexico City and Acapulco rushed into the streets when the shaking began. Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada said that one person died after suffering an apparent medical emergency followed by a fall while evacuating a building.

Kenya: Building under construction collapses

NAIROBI, Kenya — A multistory building under construction in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, collapsed Friday, leaving at least four people believed trapped.

Rescue workers are digging through the rubble. The building was in an area of Nairobi known as South C, according to the Kenya Red Cross, which said in a statement that a multiagency response team was at the scene “managing the situation.”

Geoffrey Ruku, the Cabinet secretary in charge of public service, told reporters that four people were believed trapped.

Safia Ali Aden, the sister of one of those trapped, told reporters at the scene that her brother made a phone call “while under there.”

“We are asking the government to be speedy in the rescue so we can find my brother alive,” she said.

There was no immediate comment from authorities on the likely cause of the collapse.

Building collapses are common in Nairobi, where housing is in high demand and unscrupulous developers often bypass regulations or simply violate building codes.

in custody after a federal Plot inspired court appearance Friday.

by Islamic State An attorney representing did not immediately regroup, officials say him spond to an email or phone

BY GARY D. ROBERTSON and ERIK VERDUZCO Associated Press

PHOTO PROVIDED By FARS NEWS AGENCy

Protesters march Monday in downtown Tehran, Iran.

Trump, Iran trade threats over protests

America’s wide military footprint in the Demonstrations region. Iran in June attacked Al Udeid Base in Qatar after the U.S. strikes on widen across Islamic Air three nuclear sites during Israel’s 12-day war on the Islamic Republic. No one was Republic; at least 7 killed injured, though a missile did hit a radome

BY JON GAMBRELL Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — President Donald Trump and top Iranian officials exchanged dueling threats Friday as widening protests swept across parts of the Islamic Republic, further escalating tensions between the countries after America bombed Iranian nuclear sites in June.

At least seven people have been killed so far in violence surrounding the demonstrations, which were sparked in part by the collapse of Iran’s rial currency but have increasingly seen crowds chanting anti-government slogans.

The protests, now in their sixth day, have become the biggest in Iran since 2022, when the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody triggered nationwide demonstrations. However, the demonstrations have yet to be countrywide and have not been as intense as those surrounding the death of Amini, who was detained over not wearing her hijab, or headscarf, to the liking of authorities.

Trump initially wrote on his Truth Social platform, warning Iran that if it “violently kills peaceful protesters,” the United States “will come to their rescue.”

“We are locked and loaded and ready to go,” Trump wrote, without elaborating.

Shortly after, Ali Larijani, a former parliament speaker who serves as the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, alleged on the social platform X that Israel and the U.S. were stoking the demonstrations. He offered no evidence to support the allegation, which Iranian officials have repeatedly made during years of protests sweeping the country.

“Trump should know that intervention by the U.S. in the domestic problem corresponds to chaos in the entire region and the destruction of the U.S. interests,” Larijani wrote on X, which the Iranian government blocks. “The people of the U.S. should know that Trump began the adventurism. They should take care of their own soldiers.”

Larijani’s remarks likely referenced

there.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that “the Great People of Iran will forcefully reject any interference in their internal affairs.

Similarly, our Powerful Armed Forces are on standby and know exactly where to aim in the event of any infringement of Iranian sovereignty.”

Araghchi also said that Trump’s message likely was influenced by those who fear diplomacy between the two nations without elaborating.

Video circulated on social media late Friday showed protests continued in many cities across the country, including at least three points in the south and east of the capital Tehran. The Associated Press cannot independently verify the footage.

No major changes have been made to U.S. troop levels in the Middle East or their preparations following Trump’s Iran post, said a U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military plans.

Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who previously was the council’s secretary for years, separately warned that “any interventionist hand that gets too close to the security of Iran will be cut.”

“The people of Iran properly know the experience of ‘being rescued’ by Americans: from Iraq and Afghanistan to Gaza,” he added on X. Iran’s hard-liner parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf also threatened that all American bases and forces would be “legitimate targets.”

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei also responded, citing a list of Tehran’s longtime grievances against the U.S., including a CIA-backed coup in 1953, the downing of a passenger jet in 1988 and taking part in the June war.

The Iranian response came as the protests shake what has been a common refrain from officials in the theocracy — that the country broadly backed its government after the war.

Zelenskyy taps Ukraine’s head of military intel as new chief of staff

BY ILLIA NOVIKOV

the current minister for digital transformation, as the new minister of defense.

Fedorov, 34, is credited with spearheadKYIV, Ukraine — President Volodymyr Zel- ing the introduction of drone technology enskyy on Friday appointed the head of in Ukraine’s army and introducing sevUkraine’s military intelligence as his new eral successful e-government platforms chief of staff, a move that comes as the in his current role.

U.S. leads a diplomatic push to end RusHe replaces Denys Shmyhal who took up the post last July in a major sia’s nearly 4-year-old invasion. government shake-up. Zelenskyy Announcing the appointment thanked Shmyhal and said he of Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, Zelenwould be taking up another role skyy said Ukraine needs to focus in government. He also credited on security issues, developing its the ministry for reaching a target defense and security forces, and production of more than 1,000 peace talks — areas that are overinterceptor drones per day in Deseen by the office of the president.

Zelenskyy had dismissed his Budanov cember. previous chief of staff, Andrii Earlier, Zelenskyy appointed Yermak, after anti-corruption officials Foreign Intelligence Service head Oleh began investigating alleged graft in the Ivashchenko to replace Budanov as intelenergy sector. ligence chief.

The president framed Budanov’s apBudanov is one of the country’s most pointment as part of a broader effort to recognizable and popular wartime figsharpen the focus on security, defense ures. He has led Ukraine’s military inteldevelopment and diplomacy. ligence agency, known by its acronym “Kyrylo has specialized experience GUR, since 2020. in these areas and sufficient strength to A career military intelligence officer, achieve results,” Zelenskyy said. he rose through the defense establishBudanov, 39, said on Telegram his new ment after Russia’s illegal annexation of position is “both an honor and a responsi- Crimea in 2014. He also took part in spebility — at a historic time for Ukraine — cial operations and intelligence missions to focus on the critically important issues linked to the fighting with Moscow-backed separatist forces in eastern Ukraine beof the state’s strategic security.”

In his evening address, Zelenskyy an- fore the full-scale invasion of February nounced further changes to his team, say- 2022. He reportedly was wounded during ing he had proposed Mykhailo Fedorov, one such operation.

Associated Press

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The FBI said Friday it disrupted a New Year’s Eve attack plot targeting a grocery store and fast-food restaurant in North Carolina, arresting an 18-year-old man who authorities say pledged loyalty to the Islamic State group.

Christian Sturdivant was charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. Investigators said he told an undercover FBI employee posing as a supportive confidant about his plans to attack people. Their online messages, along with a recent search of his home, indicated attacks would occur with knives and hammers, according to prosecutors and records.

Worried Sturdivant might attempt violence before New Year’s Eve, the FBI placed him under constant surveillance for days, including on Christmas, U.S. Attorney for Western North Carolina Russ Ferguson said.

Agents were prepared to arrest him earlier if he left his home with weapons, Ferguson said at a news conference in Charlotte.

“At no point was the public in harm’s way.”

Sturdivant was arrested Wednesday and remained

message seeking comment.

Another hearing was scheduled for Jan. 7.

The alleged attack would have taken place one year after 14 people were killed in New Orleans by a U.S. citizen and Army veteran who proclaimed support for IS on social media.

The FBI has foiled several alleged attacks through sting operations in which agents posed as terror supporters, supplying advice or equipment. Critics say the strategy can amount to entrapment of mentally vulnerable people who wouldn’t have the wherewithal to act alone.

Searches of Sturdivant’s home and phone uncovered what investigators described as a manifesto detailing plans for the attack, FBI Special Agent in Charge James Barnacle told reporters.

“He was willing to sacrifice himself,” Barnacle said.

A handwritten note found in a trash can at Sturdivant’s home listed details of the planned attacks and the number of intended victims at a Burger King restaurant and unnamed grocery store, according to an FBI affidavit.

The note also said he would attack arriving officers and “hoped to die by the hands of police.” Ferguson said the attack was to take place in Mint Hill, a bedroom community of Charlotte.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ERIK VERDUZCO

FBI Special Agent in Charge James C. Barnacle, Jr., center; U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina Russ Ferguson, right; and Mint Hill Police Chief Joseph Hatley speak Friday in Charlotte, N.C.

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SURVIVOR

Continued from page 1A duplication, but they believe the numbers still significantly understate the problem. The practice is not confined to drug cartels or private islands, they stress, but is widespread — including in Louisiana, where the convergence of Interstates 10, 12 and 55 helps fuel the trade.

“Not everyone understands that human trafficking is happening in your own backyard,” said Jordyn McDempsey, a criminal investigator for Louisiana State Police’s Special Victims Unit. “Within the last 15 years, we’ve really seen just how many people are influenced and coerced and forced to do these things.”

The growing victim count reflects both progress and challenge. Since 2017, the number of trafficking victims receiving state services has more than tripled, jumping 242%, an improvement officials credit to recent legislation and increased awareness.

“The question becomes, is human trafficking occurring at higher rates? Or are we doing a better job at identifying trafficking victims? I tend to think it’s the latter,” said Mary Kate Andrepont, executive director of the Governor’s Office of Human Trafficking Prevention.

But law enforcement has struggled to keep pace, and specific arrests for trafficking remain low. Louisiana made just 46 human trafficking arrests in 2024 — the first year the state systematically tracked such data — roughly the same number as eight years earlier.

“The money and the manpower that’s devoted to strictly human trafficking is pretty minuscule compared to what’s really needed,” said East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore.

How it begins For Johnson, it started at a Waffle House on Siegen Lane in 2007. A new friend had asked her for a ride to the restaurant to meet someone. A man in a car pulled into the parking lot and motioned for Johnson, then 19, to get in.

“The moment I got in his car, he told me he was a pimp. I laughed and said there is no such thing,” she said. “He laughed with me.”

She had a car, a job and an apartment. Raised in a difficult home, she had recently escaped living with an older man who had exploited her for sex since she was 16. The severe, untreated trauma left her unable to recognize danger.

“You’re sitting there and you have a lack of fear response,” she said. A common trauma response, she added, is to “fawn,” rather than fight, flee or freeze.

“It’s where you just go along with it.”

The day after the car ride, her new friend called and asked if she could stay at Johnson’s place. Only later did Johnson realize the woman had been recruiting her for Lampley.

“From there, I should’ve ran and ignored all of them,” she said. “She recruited me the moment I was emotionally upset about something.

But she’s also a victim … so I don’t hate her.”

Lampley drew Johnson in gradually. She didn’t have a phone, so he lent her his on the condition she return it to his hotel each night.

“For him, that was my vulnerability,” she said. “When I wouldn’t let him sell me, he became my boyfriend.”

He listened when she shared pieces of her troubled past. Then he crashed her car. Then he told her to stop working.

“That trafficker uses that grooming to then gain power and control, which then leads to exploitation,” said Holly Tupper, executive director of Unbound Now Louisiana, a nonprofit that in 2025 provided services for 145 victims of child sex trafficking in the state.

Tupper said most victims come from vulnerable backgrounds. State data show that in 2024, 85% of victims served in Louisiana were 17 or younger, with the highest share coming from East

STAFF FILE PHOTO

A billboard on Interstate 12 near Drusilla Lane in Baton Rouge warns of the dangers of human trafficking. up all night so you get beaten by your pimp.’ ” One night around 2010, the FBI staged a sting operation targeting Lampley. Johnson was outside and saw them approaching and tried to send a warning.

As in domestic violence cases, persuading victims to cooperate remains one of the biggest hurdles for prosecutors. After years of grooming and abuse, many do not see themselves as victims — even in cases when they have been tortured.

Identifying victims is also challenging. They use a rotating cast of apps designed to evade law enforcement.

Most ads show only body parts. Some platforms require sellers to post ID with their photos, but fake identification is common.

“If we get a trafficker’s phone and we’re looking at the ads, we don’t know if it’s a juvenile or not,” said Sonya Cardia-Porter, an assistant district attorney in East Baton Rouge who prosecutes sex crimes.

Language barriers, distrust of law enforcement, interstate and cross-border gang involvement and a relatively young body of case law — because federal anti-trafficking statutes date back only to 2000 — add to the complexity. Many prosecutors opt to pursue lighter, more familiar charges, such as child porn, statutory rape or prostitution-related counts.

“You don’t have time to develop a suspect or a trafficking issue; you have to focus on what you do have,” Cardia-Porter said.

East Baton Rouge Parish prosecutors have brought 13 human trafficking cases in the past three years. Statewide, 54 trafficking-related Barriers to freedom cases reached final dispoOn Johnson’s first night sition in 2024 across 11 of on Bourbon Street, she just Louisiana’s 42 judicial disstood there. She had been tricts. In only one of those driven from Baton Rouge did a trafficking conviction with a car full of girls, — which brings at least 10 where she had been told to years in prison — stand on find a date. Lampley beat the final charge. her when she had no money to show for herself the next A seat at the table morning. Another girl was About a year after the inisent to show her the ropes tial sting operation, Lampley the following night. still forced Johnson to work Each night for three years, nightly. But she was detershe was driven to New Or- mined to escape his grip, leans. If she hadn’t made whether “in a body bag or enough money by 6 a.m., on foot,” she recalls. the route continued — truck Then the FBI conducted stops in LaPlace, then across another online sting with the river in West Baton agents posing as buyers.

Rouge, or postings on escort This time, Johnson quietly sites. unlocked the door to Lamp“You just never slept. ley’s hotel room and kept it You’re deprived of food. open as agents climbed the You’re deprived of sleep. stairs.

You’re deprived of medical “I knew I was going to be needs,” she said. in jail for a while,” she said.

Trafficking and prosti- “I was literally so happy.”

She spent about a year tution often spike around major events, McDempsey and a half in prison before said, such as the Super Bowl, being released in 2013. Durmajor concerts and Mardi ing that time and for years Gras. after, she lived with com“It’s easy to make money plex PTSD, having to rewhere there’s a lot of people. learn how to eat and sleep It’s almost ideal with these and function in society. She major events,” she said. struggled to find a job and Escape seemed impos- underwent multiple surgersible for Johnson. One pimp ies, including heart procemoved down the street to dures and facial reconstruckeep a watch on her. When tion. Therapy did not seem she fled to her mother’s to help at first, but slowly, house, Lampley or an asso- things improved.

“It was the people that ciate would eventually show up outside. To protect her believed me, learning to trust others that would have family, she always left.

Johnson also became your best interest, and those known to local law enforce- people empowered me,” she ment, accumulating pros- said.

Eventually, she testified titution charges and traffic against Lampley at his trial. tickets.

“I couldn’t just pick up the Her victim advocate sugphone and say, ‘Hey come gested she might make a help me,’ ” she said. “They powerful advocate herself. would pull me over and tell So she went back to school, me, ‘We’re gonna hold you and in 2017, the year Lamp-

Baton Rouge and Orleans parishes.

Nationally, 60% of child sex trafficking victims were involved in the child welfare system. Louisiana mirrors those trends.

“Part of it is a lack of resources for DCFS who really are responsible for those kids,” said Melanie S. Fields, an assistant district attorney in Moore’s office who handles trafficking and sexual exploitation cases.

“A youth that runs from placement, they have to have food, clothing and a need for relationships,” Tupper added. “There are all these basic human needs that are needed. It ends up that traffickers exploit that need.”

Recent Baton Rouge-area cases involving massage parlors and a Nicholson Drive brothel have highlighted the presence of foreign nationals in the trade, both as victims and perpetrators. Statewide, however, more than 70% of trafficking victims are U.S. citizens.

Tupper said many traffickers hang out outside group homes, shelters and food banks, though social media has now allowed them to message potential victims online. McDempsey, with the State Police, added she has investigated cases where recruitment occurs at schools, hospitals and rehab centers.

“It’s not walking around Walmart and getting kidnapped,” she said.

Other times, trafficking begins in the home. It is estimated that 10% to 20% of such cases in Louisiana involve a family member, according to data provided by the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office.

ley was sentenced, she began teaching youth at Florida Parishes Juvenile Detention Center about trafficking and exploitation.

“I was scared to death, but I looked at the kids and was like, I think I need to do this to make sure they know what could happen,” she said.

Louisiana also intensified its anti-trafficking response.

In 2017, then-Gov. John Bel Edwards created the Human Trafficking Prevention Commission and Advisory Board, and Johnson was appointed as a member.

At the Capitol, she met state Sen. Beth Mizell, one of the Legislature’s most persistent voices on trafficking. She shared how her criminal record followed her and how survivors are often forced into crimes as part of their exploitation.

Mizell listened, and Johnson was soon testifying in the House and Senate in support of post-conviction relief for trafficking survivors.

“They never stopped me.

I just shared everything.

They listened,” she said.

“God kind of gave me levels.

I realized I had something to offer.”

Act 130, known as “The Michelle Johnson Act,” was

passed in 2021, making it easier for survivors to expunge their records. The same year, Edwards created the Governor’s Office of Human Trafficking Prevention, which collects statewide data and coordinates responses with law enforcement and nonprofits.

The most significant antitrafficking legislation came in 2023. Act 662 created a hotline through the Department of Child and Family Services — which received over 1,000 reports this year — and dedicated $4 million annually to victim services and funding nonprofits like Unbound Now, which deploys advocates to meet child victims in Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Covington.

Louisiana State Police also adopted a more victim-centered approach, increasing training on spotting trafficking and trauma-informed response. McDempsey said building trust with victims — an approach not used in the past — is both the hardest and most rewarding part of her work.

“You’re staying in contact for years to come,” she said.

As more cases move through courts, Andrepont believes prosecutions will become more straightforward.

“Every year, I think we’re gonna start to see more and more cases make its way through prosecution,” Andrepont said.

And while trafficking arrests remain low, the net law enforcement is casting for related crimes has grown larger, seeping into the digital world. Surging arrests for child porn and sexual assault against minors have nearly doubled the total of sexual exploitation-related apprehensions since 2018, to 1,571 in 2024.

“For so long we just talked and talked and never saw any impact in getting the traffickers off the street,” Mizell said. “And I do see that now.”

In 2025, Louisiana joined a small group of states by making the purchase of sex a felony, marking a signifi-

cant push to go after the demand side of the business.

Johnson, who now chairs Gov. Jeff Landry’s Human Trafficking Prevention Commission and Advisory Board, supports the shift but stressed that an impetus for enforcement of the new law is still needed.

“Why do people want to bring people into our country? Because we are the buyers, we have the money,” she said.

Gaps remain Many believe the reason the number of child sex victims is so high is because that is where the resources are dedicated. Labor trafficking is still a blind spot, and Act 662 doesn’t fund services for adults, though the state is now looking to expand the model.

“We focus a lot on minors, and we forget that once they turn 18 and they’re still in it, they’re still gonna be in it as an adult,” Johnson said.

Aside from a few Homeland Security Investigations and FBI officers, few local officers investigate trafficking full-time. McDempsey said State Police take proactive approaches when possible, but most cases come from hotline tips.

“Sometimes we’re so overloaded with those cases that are being reported that we try to plan our proactive approaches around what we have going on,” she said.

“We have these people in front of us first that we have to help.”

Johnson continues to teach classes on human trafficking to law enforcement and at the Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women, serves as an expert witness in court cases and works as an advocate for victims — the same kind of advocates she credits with helping her reclaim her life. Her journey has sparked a passion for making sure others don’t feel as alone as she once did. It burns bright.

“I can’t prevent trafficking,” Johnson said, “but I can prevent victims from feeling like they’re all alone in the process.”

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4A ● Saturday, January 3, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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Trump eyes overhaul of ‘president’s golf course’ He has yet to play course located inside Joint Base Andrews

event center as part of the project.

“President Trump is a championlevel golfer with an extraordinary eye for detail and design,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement. “His vision to renovate and beautify Joint Base Andrews’ golf courses will bring much-needed improvements that service members and their families will be able to enjoy for generations to come.”

Plans are in the very early stages, and the cost of — and funding for — the project haven’t been determined, the White House said.

Trump has said only that it will require “very little money.”

The Andrews improvements join a bevy of Trump construction projects, including demolishing the White House’s East Wing for a sprawling ballroom now expected to cost $400 million, redoing the bathroom attached to the Lincoln bedroom and replacing the Rose Garden’s lawn with a Mar-a-Lagolike patio area.

Outside the White House, Trump has led building projects at the Kennedy Center and wants to erect a Paris-style arch near the Lincoln Memorial, and has said he wants to rebuild Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia.

On Wednesday, meanwhile, the

Trump administration ended a lease agreement with a nonprofit for three public golf courses in Washington — which could allow the president to further shape golfing in the nation’s capital. The White House, however, said that move isn’t related to the plans for Andrews.

When the president is golfing, Andrews officials block off nine holes at a time so no one plays in front of him, allowing for extra security while also ensuring consistent speed-of-play, Thomas said.

That’s relatively easily done given that the courses aren’t open to the public. They’re usually reserved for active or retired members of the military and their families, as well as some Defense Department-linked federal employees.

Thomas remembers playing a round with the older President Bush, a World Golf Hall of Fame inductee known for fast play, while first lady Barbara Bush walked with Millie, the first couple’s English Springer Spaniel. George W. Bush also played fast, Thomas said, and got additional exercise by frequently riding his mountain bike before golfing.

When he wasn’t golfing at Andrews, Obama tried to recreate at least part of the experience back home. He had a White House golf simulator installed after thenfirst lady Michelle Obama asked Thomas how they might acquire a model that the president had seen advertised on the Golf Channel.

Thomas gave her a contact at the network.

Obama famously cut short a round at Andrews after nine holes in 2011 to hustle back to the White House for what turned out to be a top-secret review of final preparations for a Navy SEAL raid on the compound of Osama bin Laden.

But, while Thomas was golfing with presidents, he said he never witnessed play interrupted by an important call or any major emergency that forced them off the course mid-hole. There also were never any rainouts.

“If there was rain coming, they’d get the weather forecast before we would,” Thomas said. “They would cancel quick on that.”

hospital. She did not know if the others survived.

On Instagram, an account filled up with photos of people who were unaccounted for, and friends and relatives begged for tips about their whereabouts.

Valais regional government head Mathias Reynard told RTS radio Friday that officials have “numerous accounts of heroic actions, one could say, of very strong solidarity in the moment.”

He lauded the work of emergency officials on the day after the fire but added “in the first minutes it was citizens — and in large part young people — who saved lives with their courage.”

Clavier, the Parisian teenager, said he did not see the fire start, but he saw servers arrive with Champagne bottles topped with the burning sparklers.

Two women told French broadcaster BFMTV they were inside when they saw a male bartender lifting a female bartender on his shoulders as she held a lit candle in a bottle. The flames spread, collapsing the wooden ceiling, they told the broadcaster.

One of the women described a crowd surge as people frantically tried to escape from the basement nightclub up a flight of stairs and through a narrow door.

Another witness speaking to BFMTV described people smashing windows to escape the blaze, some gravely injured, and panicked parents rushing to the scene in cars to see whether their children were trapped inside.

Gianni Campolo, a Swiss 19-year-

old who was in Crans-Montana on vacation, raced to the bar to help first responders after receiving a call from a friend who escaped the inferno. He described people on the ground suffering from terrible burns.

“I have seen horror, and I don’t know what else would be worse than this,” Campolo told French television network TF1.

Marc-Antoine Chavanon, 14, joined the effort to get people out of the tavern.

“People were collapsing. We were doing everything we could to save them,” he said. “There was one of our friends: She was struggling to get out. She was all burnt.

You can’t imagine the pain I saw.”

The severity of the burns made it difficult to identify bodies, requiring families to supply authorities with DNA samples. In some cases, wallets and any identification documents inside turned to ash in the flames.

Emanuele Galeppini, a promising teenage Italian golfer who competed internationally, was officially listed as missing. His uncle Sebastiano Galeppini told Italian news agency ANSA that their family is awaiting the results of DNA tests, though the Italian Golf Federation on its website announced that he had died.

With high-altitude ski runs rising nearly 9,850 feet in the heart of the Valais region’s snowy peaks and pine forests, Crans-Montana is a major destination for international alpine skiing competitions.

It’s also home to the European Masters each August.

many of those policies.

Democratic-led states have argued the formula is unfair to larger states that don’t agree with the president’s health agenda. And some Democratic officials and health care leaders have argued that the fund isn’t enough to offset looming Medicaid cuts.

n The rural health care workforce, which is facing “persistent recruitment and retention challenges,” n Upgrades and infrastructure for rural health care facilities like clinics, critical access hospitals and community-based organizations.

Louisiana health care providers have long warned of growing staffing problems in clinics and hospitals in more remote parts of the state.

“Recruiting doctors and nurses into those communities is a very tough proposition,” Reynolds said.

And, with fewer doctors and specialists within a reasonable range of home, it can be hard for rural residents to reliably treat chronic conditions.

BY WILL WEISSERT

Associated Press

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump has spent much of his two-week vacation in Florida golfing. But when he gets back to the White House, there’s a military golf course that he’s never played that he’s eyeing for a major construction project.

Long a favored getaway for presidents seeking a few hours’ solace from the stress of running the free world, the Courses at Andrews — inside the secure confines of Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, about 15 miles from the White House — are known as the “president’s golf course.” Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Joe Biden have spent time there, and Barack Obama played it more frequently than any president, roughly 110 times in eight years.

Trump has always preferred the golf courses his family owns — spending about one of every four days of his second term at one of them. But he’s now enlisted golf champion Jack Nicklaus as the architect to overhaul the Courses at Andrews.

“It’s amazing that an individual has time to take a couple hours away from the world crises. And they’re people like everybody else,” said Michael Thomas, the former general manager of the course, who has golfed with many of the presidents visiting Andrews over the years.

Andrews, better known as the home of Air Force One, has two 18hole courses and a 9-hole one. Its facilities have undergone renovations in the past, including in 2018, when Congress approved funding to replace aging presidential aircraft and to build a new hangar and support facilities. That project was close enough to the courses that they had to be altered then, too.

Trump toured the base by helicopter before Thanksgiving with Nicklaus, who has designed

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By CHARLES DHARAPAK

President Barack Obama, from right, Vice President Joe Biden, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich walk on the first green during a round of golf at Andrews Air Force Base in 2011. top courses the world over. The president called Andrews “a great place, that’s been destroyed over the years, through lack of maintenance.”

Other golfers, though, describe Andrews’ grounds as in good shape, despite some dry patches.

Online reviews praise the course’s mature trees, tricky roughs, and ponds and streams that serve as water hazards. The courses are mostly flat, but afford views of the surrounding base.

The first president to golf at Andrews was Ford in 1974. Thomas began working there a couple years later, and was general manager from 1981 until he retired in 2019.

He said the Secret Service over the years used as many as 28 golf carts — as well as the president’s usual 30-car motorcade — to keep the perimeter secure.

“It’s a Cecil B. DeMille production every time,” said Thomas, who had the opportunity to play rounds with four different presidents, and with Biden when he was vice president.

He said the commanders in chief generally enjoyed their time out on the course in their own unique ways, but “they all like to drive the cart because they never get an op-

portunity to drive.”

“It’s like getting your driver’s license all over again,” Thomas laughed.

Trump golfs most weekends, and as of Friday, has spent an estimated 93 days of his second term doing so, according to an Associated Press analysis of his schedules.

That tally includes days when Trump was playing courses his family owns in Virginia, around 30 miles from the White House, and near his Florida estate Mar-a-Lago, where he’s spending the winter holidays. It also includes 10 days Trump spent staying at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, where his schedule allowed time for rounds of golf.

Trump has visited Andrews in the past, but the White House and base have no record of him playing the courses.

Andrews’ military history dates to the Civil War, when Union troops used a church near Camp Springs, Maryland, as sleeping quarters. Its golf course opened in 1960.

The White House said the renovation will be the most significant in the history of Andrews. The courses and clubhouse need improvements due to age and wear, it said, and there are discussions about including a multifunctional

FIRE

Continued from page 1A were permitted for use in the bar.

Forty people were killed and another 119 injured in the blaze early Thursday as it ripped through the busy Le Constellation bar at the ski resort of Crans-Montana, authorities said. It was one of the deadliest tragedies in Switzerland’s history.

Officials said they would also look at other safety measures on the premises, including fire extinguishers and escape routes. The attorney general for the Valais region warned of possible prosecutions if any criminal liability is found.

Arthur Brodard, 16, from the Swiss city of Lausanne, was among the missing. His mother, Laetitia, was in Crans-Montana on Friday and frantic to find him.

She held out “a glimmer of hope” that he might be one of the six injured people who had yet to be identified.

“I’m looking everywhere. The body of my son is somewhere,” she told reporters. “I want to know, where is my child, and be by his side, wherever that may be — be it in the intensive care unit or the morgue.”

The injured included 71 people from Switzerland, 14 from France and 11 from Italy, along with citizens of Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Luxembourg, Belgium, Portugal and Poland, according to Frédéric Gisler, police commander of the Valais region. The nationalities

RURAL

Continued from page 1A care access in rural communities across the state,” said Secretary of Health Bruce Greenstein in the release.

Jeff Reynolds, executive director of the Louisiana Rural Hospital Coalition, said a great deal of work is ahead to determine how exactly the state will distribute the money.

But he said the state is prioritizing areas where help is “desperately needed.”

“This type of investment is very appreciated and very needed,” he said.

The rural health program was created to address concerns that

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ANTONIO CALANNI

Mourners gather at a memorial of flowers and letters on Friday near the sealed off Le Constellation bar, where a devastating fire left 40 dead and 119 injured during the New year’s celebrations in Crans-Montana in the Swiss Alps. of 14 people were unclear.

Among the crowd was Axel Clavier, a 16-year-old from Paris, who said he felt as if he was suffocating inside the Swiss Alpine bar where moments before he had been ringing in the new year.

The teenager escaped the inferno by forcing a window open with a table. The dead included one of Clavier’s friends, and he told The Associated Press that two or three other friends were still missing hours after the disaster.

An impromptu memorial took shape near the bar, where mourners left candles and flowers. Hundreds of others prayed for the victims at the nearby Church of Montana-Station.

A French teenager on Friday brought a bouquet of tulips to the regional hospital in Sion for her best friend, a fellow 17-year-old girl who was badly burned and in intensive care. The two attend school together in Lausanne, said the girl, who was in distress and did not give her full name to the AP. But when she arrived at the hospital, her friend had been heavily sedated for a dressing change and could not see visitors. It was the latest in hours of heartbreak for the teen, who had intended to join a dozen schoolmates at the bar but ultimately decided against it.

She said she has since learned that two of the 12 are in a Zurich

tighter restrictions on Medicaid, enacted in the same law, would leave more people without health insurance and potentially deal a huge financial blow to alreadystruggling rural health care providers.

distributed based on a formula developed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that considers rural population size, the financial health of a state’s medical facilities and health outcomes for a state’s population.

That formula ties $12 billion of the five-year funding to whether states are implementing health policies prioritized by the Trump administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” initiative. Examples include requiring nutrition education for health care providers, having schools participate in the Presidential Fitness Test or banning the use of food stamp benefits for soda, candy and other “junk foods,” according to Medicaid administrator Mehmet Oz. Louisiana has already enacted

Louisiana gets a big share The way the program is structured benefits Louisiana.

U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, was one of the senators who pushed for the fund to be added.

He said in a statement that he was “proud that Louisiana has secured an outsized share of this historic investment that will save lives and improve rural health care.”

Half the money will be distributed equally across states, regardless of size, and the rest will be

Where the money will go In the news release, the Department of Health laid out four “key groups” for the program. n Rural residents with chronic or complex conditions like hypertension and diabetes, n People who need coordinated care across multiple providers, like those with behavioral health needs, perinatal or postpartum risks and cancer,

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Saturday, January 3, 2026 ● 5A

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Grandmother, grandson burn to death in Gaza tent Angelina Jolie visits Rafah crossing

BY WAFAA SHURAFA Associated Press

DEIR AL BALAH, Gaza Strip — A grandmother and her 5-yearold grandson burned to death in Gaza when their tent caught fire while cooking, as thousands of Palestinians endure colder weather in makeshift housing.

The nylon tent in Yarmouk caught fire Thursday night while a meal was being prepared, a neighbor said. A hospital official said that two Palestinian men were killed

by Israeli gunfire on Friday in Gaza.

The shaky 12-week-old ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas militant group has largely ended largescale Israeli bombardment of Gaza. But Palestinians are still being killed by Israeli forces, especially along the so-called Yellow Line that delineates areas under Israeli control.

On Friday, American actor and film producer Angelina Jolie visited the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.

Over the past few weeks, cold winter rains have repeatedly lashed the sprawling tent cities, causing flooding, turning Gaza’s dirt roads into mud and causing damaged buildings to collapse.

Aid groups say not enough shelter materials are getting

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JEHAD ALSHRAFI

Fatima Abu al-Bayd inspects what remains of her mother’s tent on Friday after her mother, Amal Abu Al-Khair, and grandchild, Saud, were killed when it caught fire overnight at the yarmouk displacement camp in Gaza City. into Gaza during the truce.

Figures recently released by Israel’s military suggest it hasn’t met the ceasefire stipulation of allowing 600 trucks of aid into Gaza a day, though Israel disputes that finding.

Israel has said throughout the war that Hamas was siphoning off aid supplies, preventing the population in Gaza from receiving them.

Last month, the World Food Program said that there have been “notable improvements” in food security in Gaza since the ceasefire.

Palestinians have long called for mobile homes and

caravans to be allowed in to protect them against living in impractical and worn out tents.

Jolie met with members of the Red Crescent on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing and then visited a hospital in the nearby city of Arish to speak with Palestinian patients on Friday, according to Egyptian officials.

Her visit sought to raise support for the displaced and humanitarian workers in the crises in Gaza as well as in Sudan, Jolie’s team told The Associated Press in a state-

ment.

“What needs to happen is clear: the ceasefire must hold, and access must be sustained, safe and urgently scaled up so that aid, fuel and critical medical supplies can move quickly and consistently, at the volume required,” Jolie said about Gaza.

Reopening the crossing, which would allow Palestinians to leave Gaza — especially the ill and wounded who could get specialized care unavailable in the territory — has been contentious. Israel has said that it will only allow Palestinians

Associated Press

ADEN, Yemen — Yemen’s separatist movement on Friday announced a constitution for an independent nation in the south and demanded other factions in the war-torn country accept the move in an escalation of a confrontation that has pitted Gulf powerhouses Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates against each other.

The UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council depicted the announcement as a declaration of independence for the south. But it was not immediately clear if the move could be implemented or was largely symbolic.

Last month, STC-linked fighters seized control of two southern provinces from Saudi-backed forces and took over the Presidential Palace in the south’s main

city, Aden. Members of the internationally recognized government — which had been based in Aden — fled to the Saudi capital Riyadh.

On Friday, Saudi warplanes bombed camps and military positions held by the STC in Hadramout province as Saudi-backed fighters tried to seize the facilities, a separatist official said. It was the latest direct intervention by Saudi Arabia, which in recent weeks has bombed STC forces and struck what is said was a shipment of Emirati weapons destined for the separatists.

Ostensibly, Saudi Arabia and the UAE and their allies on the ground in Yemen have all been part of a Saudi-led coalition fighting Iranian-backed Houthi rebels who control the north in the country’s decadelong civil war. The coalition’s professed goal has long been to

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO

Supporters of the Southern Transitional Council, a coalition of separatist groups seeking to restore the nation of South yemen, hold South yemen flags during a rally Friday in Aden, yemen. restore the internationally recognized government, which was driven out of the north by the Houthis. But tensions between the factions and the two Gulf nations appear to be unraveling the coalition, threatening to throw them into outright conflict and further tear apart the Arab world’s poorest country.

The head of the STC, Aidarous al-Zubaid, issued a video statement Friday saying that the constitution his group issued would be in

effect for two years, after which a referendum would be held on “exercising the right to self-determination for the people of the South.”

During those two years, he said, the “relevant parties” in north and south Yemen should hold a dialogue on “a path and mechanisms that guarantee the right of the people of the South.”

He said that if the other factions don’t agree to his call or if they take military action, “all options remain open.”

PAKISTAN

Journalists, YouTubers, ex-officers sentenced over riots

BY MUNIR AHMED

Associated Press

ISLAMABAD — A court in Pakistan’s capital sentenced seven people, including three journalists, two YouTubers and two retired army officers, to life imprisonment on Friday, after convicting them of inciting violence during riots in 2023 and spreading hatred against state institutions.

An anti-terrorism court judge, Tahir Abbas Sipra, announced the verdict in Islamabad after completing trials held in absentia.

None of the accused were present in court. They have been living abroad after leaving the country in recent years to avoid arrest.

Those convicted include former editor Shaheen Sehbai; two other journalists, Sabir Shakir and Moeed Pirzada; YouTubers Wajahat Saeed Khan and Haider Raza Mehdi; and retired army officers Adil Raja and Akbar Hussain.

According to the court order, the charges against the men stemmed from the violent unrest that erupted in May 2023 after the arrest

of former Prime Minister Imran Khan in a graft case.

At the time, thousands of Khan’s supporters attacked military installations, torched government property, ransacked the residence of a senior army officer and damaged the state-run Radio Pakistan building.

Khan was also indicted in 2024 on charges of inciting violence against military and government targets. He has denied the allegations.

He was ousted from power by his political opponents through a no-confidence

vote in Parliament in April 2022.

According to the prosecution, the seven men, who are known for publicly supporting Khan, had incited people to violence during the riots on May 9, 2023, when demonstrators targeted military installations, because Khan repeatedly blamed his removal on the United States and Pakistan’s military.

The U.S. government, the Pakistani military and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who replaced Khan after his ouster, have denied the allegations.

Greece cuts student population at universities by half

By The Associated Press ATHENS, Greece — More than 300,000 inactive university students have been removed from the rolls in Greece, cutting the country’s official student population by nearly half, authorities said Friday.

The move marks the end of a decadeslong practice — formally abolished in recent

legislation — that allowed extended enrollment to facilitate lifelong learning and lengthy breaks for work.

On Friday, the Education Ministry said that 308,605 students admitted to staterun universities’ four-year degree programs before 2017 had been removed from the records.

“Student status is not valid for life in any modern Euro-

Israel that killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage.

On Friday, two Palestinian men were killed in separate incidents by Israeli gunfire in the Khan Younis area of southern Gaza, a hospital official said. Israel’s military said troops operating in the southern Gaza Strip killed a person who “crossed the Yellow Line and approached the troops, posing an immediate threat to them.”

Meanwhile, Israel continues operating in the occupied West Bank.

On Friday, the Palestinian Prisoners media office said that Israel carried out numerous raids across the territory, including the major cities of Ramallah and Hebron. Nearly 50 people were detained, following the arrest of at least 50 other Palestinians on Thursday, most of those in the Ramallah area.

Israel’s military said there were arrests made of people “involved in terrorist activity.” Last week, a Palestinian attacker rammed his car into a man and then stabbed a young woman in northern Israel, killing both of them, police said.

The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society says that Israel has arrested 7,000 Palestinians in the West Bank and Jerusalem this year, and 21,000 since the war began. The number arrested from Gaza isn’t made public by Israel.

Associated Press writer Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.

Judge dismisses Louisville police reform agreement

Yemen’s separatists announce constitution for independent south

BY AHMED AL-HAJ and FATMA KHALED

to exit Gaza, not enter, until militants in Gaza return all the hostages they took in the attack on Oct. 7, 2023, which triggered the war. The remains of one hostage are still in Gaza.

Israel also says Palestinians wanting to leave Gaza will have to get Israeli and Egyptian security approval.

Egypt, meanwhile, says it wants the crossing immediately opened in both directions, so Palestinians in Egypt can enter Gaza.

That’s a position rooted in Egypt’s vehement opposition to Palestinian refugees permanently resettling in the country.

For more than two decades until 2022, Jolie worked with the U.N. refugee agency, including as a special envoy.

On Friday, the foreign ministers of Arab and Muslim countries, including Egypt, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, expressed concern about Gaza’s humanitarian situation.

The situation has been “compounded by the continued lack of sufficient humanitarian access, acute shortages of essential lifesaving supplies, and the slow pace of the entry of essential materials,” according to the joint statement.

The Palestinian death toll from the war is at least 71,271, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between militants and civilians in its count. The Israel-Hamas war began with the Hamasled Oct. 7 attack in southern

pean university,” Education Minister Sofia Zacharaki said. “We want degrees with value, which reflect effort, skills and passion.”

Ministry officials said that about 35,000 people successfully applied for reenrollment in 2025.

Opponents of the conservative government’s reform, mostly from the academic community, argue the sec-

ond-chance program failed to address the scale of disruption caused by Greece’s severe financial crisis in the previous decade.

The country’s active student population stands at just over 350,000, studying at 25 public higher education institutions, according to 2024 data from the Hellenic Authority for Higher Education.

Settlement had been spurred by Breonna Taylor’s death

BY DYLAN LOVAN Associated Press

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A federal judge in Kentucky has dismissed Louisville’s proposed settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over police reforms after the department withdrew its support of the plan earlier this year.

The Justice Department announced in May it was canceling proposed consent decrees with Louisville and Minneapolis that sought to curb police racial bias and abuses after the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor that spurred nationwide protests in the summer of 2020.

U.S. District Judge Benjamin Beaton wrote in a Dec. 31 ruling that “the responsibility to lead the Louisville Metro Police Department in compliance with federal law must remain with the city’s elected representatives and the people they serve.”

A judge in May dismissed Minneapolis’ proposed consent decree, which places a federal officer in charge of tracking the progress of reforms laid out in the agreement.

Justice Department officials under President Joe Biden’s administration conducted a multiyear investigation in Louisville prompted by the fatal shooting of Taylor and police responses to public protests in 2020. A draft of the investigation was released in early 2023, alleging the Louisville Police Department “discriminates against Black people in its enforcement activities,” uses excessive force and conducts searches based on invalid warrants.

New DOJ leadership accused the Biden Justice Department of using flawed legal theories to judge police departments and pursuing costly and burdensome consent decrees.

The consent decrees with

Louisville and Minneapolis were approved by the Justice Department in the final weeks of the Biden administration, but the settlements had to be approved by a judge.

Beaton wrote that his ruling “doesn’t prevent the parties from undertaking the hard work of reform themselves.”

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg pledged to continue to pursue reform after the Justice Department’s withdrawal of support in May. The city created a local police reform plan and hired an independent law enforcement consulting group as monitor.

Greenberg said some of the progress in 2025 included addressing a backlog of open records requests and making police shooting body camera videos public within 10 business days.

In a statement Friday, a spokesman for the mayor said Greenberg is “committed to ongoing reforms” and “did something no mayor in the country has done — he voluntarily created and implemented” Louisville’s own reform plan.

The city initiated some reforms after Taylor’s death in March 2020, including a city law banning the use of “no-knock” warrants. The warrants were typically used in surprise drug raids. The city also started a pilot program that sends behavioral health professionals to some 911 calls.

The city also paid a $12 million wrongful death settlement to Taylor’s family.

Earlier this year, former Louisville Police Detective Brett Hankison became the first officer involved in the Taylor raid to go to prison.

A judge sentenced Hankison to nearly three years in prison on an excessive force conviction despite the Justice Department’s efforts to reduce his sentence to one day of time served.

Hankison shot 10 rounds after police were fired on by Taylor’s boyfriend from inside her apartment.

Hankison shot blindly into Taylor’s windows but didn’t strike anyone inside or in a neighboring apartment.

6A ● Saturday, January 3, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

Acadiana Forecast TODAY

SUNDAY

MONDAY

lll

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

ALMANAC

AIR QUALITY

LAFAyETTE THROUGH 5 P.M. FRIDAy

YESTERDAY

TEMPERATURE

THURSDAY

High/low Normal high/low Record high Record low

GOOD

77°/56° 62°/44° 81° in 1952 18° in 1928

MAIN POLLUTANT Ozone

READING 32

TODAY

PRECIPITATION

Sunny and pleasant

HIGH

LOW

Mostly sunny and nice HIGH

74° 46°

Local Summary

Mostly sunny; pleasant

LOW

HIGH

68° 46°

LOW

72° 56°

Partly sunny

Mostly cloudy

HIGH

HIGH

LOW

78° 63°

24 hours through 5 p.m. Fri. Month to date (normal) year to date (normal)

A thunderstorm around

LOW

HIGH

79° 65°

LOW

79° 64°

National Summary

MISSISSIPPI

Jackson 62/41

Longview 63/43

Many 60/42

Hattiesburg 74/47

Alexandria 62/42

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

Cairo COMITE

Near Olive

Baton Rouge 74/47 Beaumont 73/48

Port Arthur 72/49

Lafayette

AMITE

Near Darlington Denham Springs Port Vincent

New Orleans 78/52

Lake Charles 72/46

TICKFAW

Montpelier Holden

Houma 80/52

ATCHAFALAYA

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

TIDES HIGH

First FT. LOW

Lake Pontchartrain (Tchefuncte River) 6:54a 0.7 Shell Beach 12:36a 1.6 South Point, Marsh Island 12:16a 1.6 Cypremort Point 9:25p 1.3 Grand Isle (Barataria Pass) 9:39p 1.2 Mississippi River (Southwest Pass) 8:49p 1.5 Wine Island 10:47p 1.4

FT.

6:56p -0.5 12:47p -0.8 7:43a -1.4 11:50a -1.0 8:09a -0.9 6:22a -1.1 9:11a -1.1

HIGH

Second FT. LOW

--------6:02p 1.6 -----------------

FT.

--------8:19p 1.5 -----------------

Forecasts and graphics, except KATC forecasts, provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2026

Simmesport Melville Krotz Springs Butte La Rose Bayou Sorrel Morgan City

FLOOD STAGE 24-HOUR STAGE CHANGE

34 48 48 35 27 22 17

-2.80 16.10 19.20 7.50 4.00 2.61 1.90

+1.09 -0.61 -0.60 none +0.10 +0.01 +0.29

40

14.29

-0.37

19

-1.43

none

18 29 8

-0.98 10.13 0.42

-0.01 -0.03 -0.03

13 15

1.70 0.85

-0.06 -0.01

47 34 29 20 12 6

6.27 4.09 3.89 2.89 2.30 2.35

+0.31 +0.07 +0.26 -0.07 +0.30 +0.16

7:05 a.m.

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Monroe 58/40

Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today

SOURCE: AIRNOW.GOV

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THE NATION AND WORLD

A storm will bring rain and spotty severe thunderstorms to the Southeast today. There may be a little snow in Virginia. Meanwhile, a large storm will spread heavy rain to the West Coast with heavy snow in the mountains. Snow showers will continue near the Great Lakes. The rest of the nation will be dry, mostly sunny and turning warmer.

Shreveport 63/47

MAIN POLLUTANT Particulates

SUN AND MOON

Pleasantly warm today with plenty of sunshine. Winds northwest 8-16 mph. Clear and cooler tonight. Winds north 7-14 mph. Mostly sunny and nice tomorrow. Winds north-northeast 6-12 mph. Clear tomorrow night.

LOUISIANA FORECAST

GOOD

Trace Trace (0.38”) Trace (0.38”)

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

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38 87 55 33 36 66 37 35 78 64 53

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70 38 53 74 9 28 62 39 62 29 50

48 26 41 44 1 20 43 26 53 21 38

pc s c pc pc c s s c sn s

61 37 49 73 11 28 63 37 60 24 52

41 28 32 42 -8 14 44 25 49 13 38

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

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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 Sun. Mon. Tue. Wed. Thu. Fri.

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11:01a 4:45a 11:33p 5:17p 12:04p 5:49a ---- 6:19p 12:38a 6:51a 1:05p 7:19p 1:37a 7:50a 2:02p 8:14p 2:32a 8:43a 2:55p 9:06p 3:22a 9:33a 3:43p 9:54p 4:08a 10:18a 4:28p 10:39p

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

Coast Guard searches for survivors of boat strikes Likelihood of finding anyone diminished days after attack

BY BEN FINLEY and KONSTANTIN TOROPIN Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Coast Guard said Friday it’s still searching for people in the eastern Pacific Ocean who had jumped off alleged drug-smuggling boats when the U.S. military attacked the vessels days earlier, diminishing the likelihood that anyone survived.

Search efforts began Tuesday afternoon after the military notified the Coast Guard that survivors were in the water about 400 miles southwest of the border between Mexico and Guatemala, the maritime service said in a statement.

The Coast Guard dispatched a plane from Sacramento to search an area covering more than 1,000 miles, while issuing an urgent warning to ships nearby. The agency said it coordinated more than 65 hours of search efforts, working with other countries as well as civilian ships and boats in the area.

The weather during that time has included 9-foot seas

and 40-knot winds. The U.S. has not said how many people jumped into the water, and, if they are not found, how far the death toll may rise from the Trump administration’s monthslong campaign of blowing up small boats accused of transporting drugs in the region.

The U.S. military said earlier this week that it attacked three boats traveling along known narco-trafficking routes and they “had transferred narcotics between the three vessels prior to the strikes.” The military did not provide evidence to back up the claim.

U.S. Southern Command, which oversees the region,

said three people were killed when the first boat was struck, while people in the other two boats jumped overboard and distanced themselves from the vessels before they were attacked.

The strikes occurred in a part of the eastern Pacific where the Navy doesn’t have any ships operating. Southern Command said it immediately notified the U.S. Coast Guard to activate search and rescue efforts for the people who jumped overboard before the other boats were hit.

Calling in the Coast Guard is notable because the military drew heavy scrutiny after U.S. forces killed the survivors of the first attack

in early September with a follow-up strike to their disabled boat. Some Democratic lawmakers and legal experts said the military committed a crime, while the Trump administration and some Republican lawmakers say the follow-up strike was legal.

There have been other survivors of the boat strikes, including one for whom the Mexican Navy suspended a search in late October after four days. Two other survivors of a strike on a submersible vessel in the Caribbean Sea that same month were sent to their home countries — Ecuador and Colombia.

Authorities in Ecuador later released the man, saying

they had no evidence he committed a crime in the South American nation.

Under President Donald Trump’s direction, the U.S. military has been attacking boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific since early September. As of Friday, the number of known boat strikes is 35 and the number of people killed is at least 115, according to numbers announced by the Trump administration.

Trump has justified the boat strikes as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States and asserted that the U.S. is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels.

Minnesota must provide documents to feds in child care fraud probe

BY CHARLOTTE KRAMON Associated Press/ Report for America

Minnesota officials have until next week to provide the Trump administration with information about providers and parents who receive federal child care funds or risk losing potentially millions of dollars in federal funding, state officials said Friday.

In an email sent Friday to child care providers shared with The Associated Press by multiple providers, Minnesota’s Department of Children, Youth, and Families said it has until Jan. 9 to provide a set of verifying information about recipients. The announcement earlier this week by the Trump administration that it would freeze child care funds to Minnesota and the rest of the states comes after a series of fraud schemes at Minnesota day care centers, many run by Somali residents. The move came after a right-wing influencer alleged there were widespread abuses.

The Administration for Children and Families, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, provides $185 million in child care funds annually

to Minnesota, federal officials have said.

The email instructed providers and families who rely on the frozen federal child care program to continue the program’s “licensing and certification requirements and practices as usual.” It does not say that recipients themselves need to take any action or provide any information.

“We recognize the alarm and questions this has raised,” the email said. “We found out about the freezing of funds at the same time everyone else did on social media.”

The state agency added that it “did not receive a formal communication from the federal government until late Tuesday night,” which was after Health and Human Services Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill posted about the freeze on X. All 50 states will have to provide additional levels of verification and administrative data before they receive more funding from the Child Care and Development Fund, which is designed to make child care affordable for low-income families.

The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Govern-

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By GIOVANNA DELL’ORTO

People hold signs as they gather Wednesday for a news conference at the state capitol in St. Paul, Minn. Minnesota officials have until next week to provide the Trump administration with information about providers and parents who receive federal child care funds or risk losing potentially millions of dollars in federal funding, state officials said Friday. ment Reform will hold a hearing Wednesday to discuss the allegations of fraudulent use of federal funds in Minnesota. An HHS spokesperson said that the child care fraud hotline put up by the federal agency earlier this week has received more than 200 tips.

Minnesota has drawn ire from Republicans and the

Trump administration over other fraud accusations.

Administration for Children and Families Assistant Secretary Alex Adams told Fox News on Friday that his agency sent Minnesota a letter last month asking for information on the child care program and other welfare programs by Dec. 26, but

didn’t get a response. The state did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Small Business Administration Administrator Kelly Loeffler posted Thursday on X that the agency suspended 6,900 Minnesota borrowers of COVID-19 era loans because of suspected fraud. Trump has also tar-

geted the state’s large Somali community with immigration enforcement actions and called them “garbage.”

Minnesota Democrats say the Trump administration is playing politics and hurting families and children as a result. Minnesota’s Department of Children, Youth and Families said in a news release Friday that inspectors conduct regular oversight activities for the child care program, noting that there are 55 related open investigations involving providers.

It also said that investigators did spot checks and reviews on nine centers and found they “were operating as expected.” One center was not yet open at the time.

“DCYF remains committed to fact-based reviews that stop fraud, protect children, support families, and minimize disruption to communities that rely on these essential services,” the department said. “Distribution of unvetted or deceptive claims and misuse of tip lines can interfere with investigations, create safety risks for families, providers, and employers, and has contributed to harmful discourse about Minnesota’s immigrant communities.”

METRO

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

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S at u r d ay, J a n u a ry 3, 2026

1Bn

ELECTION 2026

Special elections set for May 16

BESE, Supreme Court seats on primary ballot

BY PATRICK WALL Staff writer

STAFF PHOTOS By LESLIE WESTBROOK

Dutch Bros Coffee, a company with over a thousand stores across the U.S., is setting up its first outlet in Lafayette, with the property bought by the Blue Ox Group from builder Petron for under $1 million.

Dutch Bros expanding into La.

Oregon company adds to list of area coffee options

BY JOANNA BROWN Staff writer

No matter the season or occasion, Lafayette loves a cup of coffee.

On the last day of the year, we added a new coffee house to the list of restaurants and cafes that opened in Lafayette in 2025: Dutch Bros, a national drive-thru coffee chain known for fast, friendly service and a wide array of specialty beverages that feature coffee, every way you like it.

Dutch Bros, open at 5711 Johnston St., follows other recent entries to the Lafayette coffee market — She Brews It at 2015 Cameron St., 7 Brew Coffee at 4308 Ambassador Caffery Parkway, and a new Starbucks at 3225 Louisiana Ave. Many of their drinks can be ordered hot, iced or blended, exponentially increasing the range of options to try. I got the “Kicker,” hot — an Irish cream-flavored “Dutch Fave” that carried just the right amount of sweetness and creaminess, while allowing the coffee to shine through. I think it would also be delicious blended into an icy frappe on a hot day, which would create a completely different beverage experience for your commute.

ä See EXPANDING, page 2B

New Orleans-area voters will cast ballots in May for a new state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education member to replace Paul Hollis, who stepped down this month to lead the U.S. Mint.

A special primary election will be held May 16 for the vacant board seat representing District 1, which covers parts of Jefferson, Orleans, St. Tammany and Tangipahoa parishes, the Louisiana Secretary of State’s Office said Tuesday. Primary elections for a vacant state Supreme Court seat and a U.S. Senate seat also will be held that day.

If no candidate gets a majority, a runoff will take place June 27 before the Nov. 3 general election.

In the meantime, Gov. Jeff Landry is expected to appoint an interim member to replace Hollis, said Ronnie Morris, the board’s outgoing president. A spokesperson for Landry declined to comment Tuesday on when the governor will announce his interim pick for BESE, whose 11 members set statewide education policy.

Hollis, a former Republican state lawmaker who was elected to BESE in 2023, resigned from the board on Dec. 19 after the U.S. Senate confirmed him as the 41st director of the U.S. Mint. The winner of the special election will serve the remainder of Hollis’ term, which ends in 2028.

Hollis said Tuesday that it was an honor to serve on BESE. “Setting policy and visiting so many classrooms over these years has been both productive and rewarding,” he said in a text message, adding that he was thrilled by Louisiana students’ recent gains on national reading and math tests. “With a solid educational foundation, our children can do anything, and I am so pleased to see the incredible progress.”

ä See PRIMARY, page 2B

Lawsuit challenges state restrictions on voters in jail Manager Angela Queen hands a drink to a drive-thru customer on Wednesday at Dutch Bros Coffee in Lafayette.

Those awaiting trial should be able to cast ballots, advocates say

BY MATT BRUCE Staff writer

Scott blazes linked to New Year’s celebrations Multiple incidents involve fireworks, bonfires

BY JA’KORI MADISON Staff writer

The Scott Fire Department responded to six separate incidents on Wednesday night due to fireworks and bonfires associated with New Year’s celebrations, officials say.

The Scott Fire Department was dispatched to the 200 block of Olive Vista Drive at 9:38 p.m. for a reported residential fire.

Upon arrival, firefighters observed smoke and fire emitting from the roof area of the home.

An investigation determined the fire to be accidental in nature.

The incident originated inside

the fireplace and extended into the chimney before spreading to the roof, likely due to excessive heat, fuel buildup or structural vulnerabilities within the chimney system.

The attic space and roof sustained moderate fire damage.

The American Red Cross assisted the displaced family of three by providing hotel accommodations for the night.

No firefighters or residents were injured during this fire.

At 10:07 p.m., the Scott Fire Department was dispatched to assist the Judice Fire Department with a residential fire in the 200 block of Stoneburg Drive.

Upon arrival, SFD assisted with active firefighting operations and established water supply to support suppression efforts.

A third fire was reported at 12:17 a.m.; the SFD was dis-

patched to the 1300 block of Roper Drive for a reported residential fire.

Upon arrival, personnel observed fire coming from the porch roof area of the residence.

Firefighters were able to quickly bring the fire under control before it extended into the living area of the home. The investigation determined the fire to be accidental in nature, caused by fireworks landing on the porch roof and igniting accumulated pine needles.

Due to the rapid knockdown, damage was limited to the roof area and was minimal. The homeowner, who was out of town at the time of the incident, was notified.

The final reported fire occurred at 12:54 a.m. in the 100 block of Bermuda Drive. Firefighters observed a fire on the

exterior carport wall of the home. The investigation determined the fire was accidental and caused by fireworks that were improperly discarded into a trash container next to the residence, allowing the fire to spread to the structure.

The home sustained minor damage, and no injuries were reported.

In addition to the four fires, the Scott Fire Department responded to two other residential fire calls.

Investigations revealed both incidents involved controlled bonfires that did not pose a threat to nearby structures, according to a department news release.

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

An advocacy group is fighting to keep Louisiana election officials from enforcing state laws that prevent some jailed East Baton Rouge voters from casting ballots from the parish prison while they await trial.

Voice of the Experienced, or VOTE, filed the Dec. 12 lawsuit in the 19th Judicial District Court against the state of Louisiana, Secretary of State Nancy Landry and East Baton Rouge Registrar of Voters Steve Raborn.

VOTE is a grassroots nonprofit founded and operated by released prisoners. The group advocates for currently and formerly incarcerated people. They filed their latest legal challenge on behalf of Rachael Day, a 36-year-old Denham Springs woman who has been jailed at the parish prison for more than six years awaiting trial. Day and two other people were indicted for second-degree murder and armed robbery charges that stem from the August 2019 killing of Jody Arcediano, a 36-yearold Zachary man shot dead inside a

ä See LAWSUIT, page 2B

2B ● Saturday, January 3, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

Closed U.S. 90 bridges face additional delays Project still without funding, officials say

BY MARTHA SANCHEZ Sun Herald

The plan to fix five deteriorating bridges on U.S. 90 at the Mississippi-Louisiana state line is stalled again because a federal program that could fund the project has not reopened since the government shutdown in the fall, a lawmaker said.

Louisiana state leaders intended to apply for the money in late 2025.

The state’s transportation department has estimated it will cost between $150 million and $350 million to reopen the bridges, which have been closed for more than three years.

Now lawmakers say they hope the grant program will open in January. “We share your frustration,” state Rep. Stephanie Berault, R-Slidell, said earlier in December.

“We are hopeful this will get done soon.”

The 3-mile stretch from Pearlington, Mississippi, into Louisiana closed in May 2022 after inspectors realized the 1930s-era bridges were not safe. Louisiana lacks the money to replace them and does not know when they will reopen.

The dilemma is keeping communities on the state line frustrated.

Local businesses in Pearlington are losing customers who can no longer reach the small town. Residents are worrying over the loss of a hurricane evacuation route. Mississippi drivers who commute to Slidell and New Orleans have lost STAFF FILE PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD a detour that many once used when The plan to fix five deteriorating bridges on U.S. 90 at the Mississippicrashes closed two-lane Interstate 10.

Louisiana state line is stalled again because a program that could fund Progress seemed possible last the project has not reopened since the government shutdown. summer. State Rep. Brian Glorioso, R-Slidell, announced on social media in August that the state “Louisiana should be guaranNow, Berault said, “unfortunatewould submit a federal grant ap- teed to get this grant based upon ly we’re just waiting to see what plication to replace four of the five the information we have been pro- the federal government does with that program.” bridges. vided,” he said in August.

The effort to get money through the funding source, called the Bridge Investment Program, could be helped by two influential Louisiana leaders in Congress: House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and House Speaker Mike Johnson.

Mississippi and Louisiana are also working together to repair the East Pearl River Bridge, which must allow rocket equipment to pass to the Stennis Space Center. The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development is creating several designs for rebuilding the other bridges so it can “move immediately” once it gets funding, said Daniel Gitlin, a spokesperson.

“The amount of money that becomes available, and when it becomes available, will dictate the project,” he said. “The positive news is that once funding does become available, we have positioned ourselves to be ready to move forward.”

Westwego man gets 35 years in sex abuse case Search warrant found explicit images of children

dren, authorities said.

Among those were videos of a sleeping child who was being fondled and touched by a man’s genitals. Investigators later identified Devenny as the man in those videos, auBY MICHELLE HUNTER thorities said.

The child appeared in Staff writer other explicit images reA Westwego man ac- corded over the course cused of recording him- of several years, beginself as he sexually abused ning when the victim was a child has pleaded guilty about 4, according to auand faces a lengthy prison thorities. Investigators sentence, according to later determined the child Jefferson Parish was known to DeCourt records. venny.

Darrell Devenny, At least one of 63, was sentenced the images taken to a total of 35 while the child years in prison was out in public after admitting to appeared to have molestation, posbeen digitally alsession of child tered by artificial pornography, inde- Devenny intelligence softcent behavior and ware to make it other charges on Dec. 16. appear as if the child was Devenny was arrested in nude, authorities said.

March by agents with the Devenny admitted using Louisiana Bureau of In- AI to create some of the vestigations. The agency pornographic images, also had received a tip about known as “deepfakes,” aca sexually explicit image cording to authorities. He of an infant that had been also admitted to viewing uploaded to the internet by and saving other sexually an email address linked to explicit images of chilDevenny, authorities said. dren.

Agents executed a Devenny was booked search warrant at Deven- with production of child ny’s house in Westwego pornography, several dozand discovered dozens en counts of possession more lewd images of chil- of child pornography and

LAWSUIT

Continued from page 1B Baton Rouge hotel room.

The plaintiffs cite four provisions of Louisiana’s election code that work in concert to effectively deny eligible first-time voters their right to cast a ballot if they’re behind bars.

The petition claims Louisiana’s current interplay of voting laws forces some pretrial detainees to miss out on several state, municipal and federal elections if they remain jailed months or years while they await their day in court.

“VOTE believes that currently and formerly incarcerated people have

PRIMARY

Continued from page 1B Voters in the May primary election will also choose a replacement for former state Supreme Court Justice Will Crain, who gave up his seat last month to become a federal judge. Also on the ballot is a high-profile U.S. Senate race, in which Sen. Bill Cassidy is running for reelection.

Under Louisiana’s new closed party primary system, Republican and Democratic Party candidates can

creating unlawful deepfake images.

The Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office formally charged Devenny on May 27 with molestation of a juvenile, video voyeurism, sexual battery of a victim under the age of 13, three counts of possession of pornography involving a juvenile and four counts of indecent behavior with a juvenile under the age of 13, according to court records.

Devenny pleaded guilty before Judge Stephen Grefer of the 24th Judicial District Court. Grefer sentenced Devenny to 35 years in prison for the molestation and sexual battery charges as well as one count of possession of pornography involving juveniles under 13.

Devenny was ordered to serve 10 years for video voyeurism, 25 years for the indecent behavior charges and 20 years for the remaining pornography charges. All of the sentences will be served at the same time.

Once released from prison, Devenny will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life, according to court records.

EXPANDING

Continued from page 1B

STAFF PHOTOS By LESLIE WESTBROOK

Nayeli Mojarro makes a drink order at Dutch Bros Coffee in Lafayette on Wednesday. BELOW: Employees and a drivethru customer wave on Wednesday.

Email Michelle Hunter at mhunter@ theadvocate.com.

a unique perspective and should be included in the electorate,” the lawsuit states. “As such, VOTE’s mission is to restore the full civil and human rights of those affected by the criminal legal system.”

Convicted felons can lose their right to vote, and people declared mentally incompetent might have interdictions that restrict their voting rights.

But people convicted of misdemeanors and inmates in jail who’ve yet to be convicted at all remain eligible to participate in elections, according to state law.

People in jail can vote absentee. But Louisiana statutes require voters who register online or by

mail to cast their ballots in person if they’ve never voted before as a security measure. The law makes exceptions for deployed military service members, disabled citizens, people in Department of State confidentiality programs and college students going to school outside their parish of residence. But Louisiana does not allow first-time voters to cast absentee ballots if they are in jail on election day or during the early voting period leading up to an election.

Jails, prisons and other penal institutions are also barred from having polling locations on their premises, according to state law.

“Louisiana law makes it impossible for these first-

sign up to run by paying a filing fee during the Feb. 1113 qualifying period. Thirdparty candidates must submit petitions by Jan. 30 signed by qualified voters in their districts to make it onto the ballot.

Typically, candidates for BESE or the state Supreme Court would need to garner at least 1,000 signatures.

However, because the seats opened just a few weeks before the petition-filing deadline, Landry issued executive orders this month reducing the number of required signatures for those races to 150.

It remains to be seen whether Landry will appoint an interim BESE member before the board meets on Jan. 13-14, and BESE member Simone Champagne is sworn in as the board’s new president.

They have seasonal drinks available like the “Candy Cane Mocha,” which comes with peppermint, chocolate milk and espresso, and the “Golden Eagle,” another fan favorite on the Dutch Faves list, is a caramel and vanilla flavored coffee garnished with a caramel drizzle.

The national chain is one of the most popular coffee brands in the United States, and it expanded to Louisiana this year with locations in Baton Rouge, Lake Charles and now Lafayette.

Another location is planned for Shreveport. The business was founded in Oregon in 1992, and they now have 1,012 locations in 18 states.

Dutch Bros has created a drive-thru experience much in the vein of behemoth chains like Chickfil-A, which today feature multilane drive-thrus fully staffed with employees to expedite orders. It’s not often entertaining to wait in a line of cars in a drive-thru — but at Dutch Bros, employees line up with smiles and conversation to make the trip feel like you’re arriving at your friendly neighborhood coffee spot, even if you never have to leave your car.

Dutch Bros Lafayette hours are from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Email Joanna Brown at joanna.brown@ theadvocate.com.

time voters who are in jail to cast their ballot,” the plaintiff states.

The Secretary of State’s Office declined to comment Tuesday, citing the fact that it’s pending litigation.

Attorneys say Day registered to vote at an October 2024 registration drive VOTE held in the Parish Prison. She’s never voted before and expects to remain in the Baton Rouge jail through next year’s elections. Court records in Day’s criminal case show no date has been set for her

murder trial.

VOTE argued that denying voters like Day the right to vote undermines efforts to register inmates and noted that the sheriff of local jails verifies detainees’ identities and eligibility to vote. That should qualify them to cast absentee ballots.

VOTE is asking a 19th Judicial District judge to issue a permanent injunction stopping state election officials from enforcing the statutes that they claim violate jailed voters’ rights.

“Petitioner Day and many Louisianans who VOTE serves in jails are eligible to vote, but are disenfranchised because they are seeking to vote for the first time and anticipate being incarcerated through an upcoming election, thus leaving them no opportunity to vote in person or via absentee ballot,” plaintiff attorneys wrote in Day’s lawsuit.

Email Matt Bruce at matt.bruce@theadvocate. com.

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Wall Street edges higher in a wobbly start to 2026

BY DAMIAN J. TROISE

Associated Press

NEW YORK — U.S. stocks eked out small gains on Wall Street Friday in a wobbly day of trading to kick off the new year.

Markets were mostly quiet on the first trading day of 2026, with the influential technology sector driving much of the up-and-down action. The mostly minor moves also cap off a tepid and holiday-shortened week. Markets were closed on Thursday for New Year’s Day. Foreign markets fared better and benchmarks in Britain and South Korea hit records.

Technology stocks steered the market, especially companies with a focus on artificial intelligence, continuing the trend that pushed the broader market to records

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By RICHARD DREW

Trader Fred Demarco works Friday on the floor of the New york Stock Exchange. in 2025.

Nvidia jumped 1.3% and was the biggest force trying to push the market higher.

But a 2.2% fall for Microsoft helped to check those gains.

Tesla also weighed on markets with a 2.6% drop after

reporting falling sales for a second year in a row.

Nvidia, Microsoft and Tesla are among the most valuable companies in the world and their outsized valuations give them more influence on the stock market’s direction.

That includes sometimes pushing the market up and down from hour to hour.

Technology companies have been a major focus because of advancements in artificial intelligence technology and the potential for growth within the sector.

Wall Street has been betting that demand for computer chips and other items needed for data centers will help justify the big investments from technology companies and their pricey stock values.

Furniture companies gained ground following President Donald Trump’s move to delay increased tariffs on upholstered furniture. RH rose 8% and Wayfair rose 6.1%.

E-commerce giant Alibaba climbed 4.3% and Baidu, maker of the Ernie chatbot, jumped 9.4% in Hong Kong after it said it plans to spin off its AI computer chip unit

Kunlunxin, which would list shares in Hong Kong early in 2027. The plan is subject to regulatory approvals.

Wall Street will move past the mostly quiet holiday season starting Monday. The first full week of the new year will include several closely watched economic updates. They will also be some of the last big updates the Fed sees before its next meeting at the end of January.

Next week will feature private reports on the status of the services sector, which is the largest part of the U.S. economy, along with consumer sentiment.

Government reports on the job market will also be released. The hope is they’ll help paint a clearer picture of how various parts of the U.S. economy closed out 2025 and where it might be headed in 2026.

The Fed has had a more difficult task because of the complex shifts within the economy. It cut interest rates three times toward the end of 2025, partly to help counter a weakening jobs market.

But inflation remains above its target rate of 2% and cutting interest rates could add more fuel to rising prices. Consumers have already expressed more caution amid the squeeze from stubborn inflation and the U.S. trade war with much of the world has added more uncertainty.

The Fed has already signaled concern and caution.

Wall Street is betting that the central bank will hold its benchmark interest rate steady at its January meeting.

AP business writer Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this report.

Tesla no longer world’s biggest EV maker China’s ByD takes over while U.S. company’s sales fall for 2nd year

BY PAUL HARLOFF and BERNARD CONDON Associated Press

NEW YORK — Tesla lost its crown as the world’s bestselling electric vehicle maker on Friday as a customer revolt over Elon Musk’s right-wing politics, expiring U.S. tax breaks for buyers and stiff overseas competition pushed sales down for a second year in a row.

Tesla said that it delivered 1.64 million vehicles in 2025, down 9% from a year earlier.

Chinese rival BYD, which sold 2.26 million vehicles last year, is now the biggest EV maker.

It’s a stunning reversal for a car company whose rise once seemed unstoppable as it overtook traditional automakers with far more resources and helped make Musk the world’s richest man.

For the fourth quarter, sales totaled 418,227, falling short of even the much reduced 440,000 target that analysts recently polled by FactSet had expected. Sales were hit hard by the expiration of a $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicle purchases that was phased out by the Trump administration at the end of September.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By NOAH BERGER

Tesla vehicles line a parking lot at the company’s Fremont, Calif., factory on Aug. 5.

Even with multiple issues buffeting the company, investors are betting that Tesla CEO Musk can deliver on his ambitions to make Tesla a leader in robotaxi services and get consumers to embrace humanoid robots that can perform basic tasks in homes and offices. Reflecting that optimism, the stock finished 2025 with a gain of approximately 11%.

The latest quarter was the first with sales of strippeddown versions of the Model Y and Model 3 that Musk unveiled in early October

as part of an effort to revive sales.

The new Model Y costs just under $40,000 while customers can buy the cheaper Model 3 for under $37,000.

Those versions are expected to help Tesla compete with Chinese models in Europe and Asia.

For fourth-quarter earnings coming out in late January, analysts are expecting the company to post a 3% drop in sales and a nearly 40% drop in earnings per share, according to FactSet. Analysts expect the down-

ward trend in sales and profits to eventually reverse itself as 2026 rolls along.

Investors have largely shrugged off the falling numbers, choosing to focus on Musk’s pivot to different parts of business. He has been saying the future of the company lies with its driverless robotaxis service, its energy storage business and building robots for the home and factory — and much less with car sales.

Tesla started rolling out its robotaxi service in Austin earlier this year, first

with safety monitors in the cars to take over in case of trouble, then testing without them. The company hopes to roll out the service in several cities this year.

To do that successfully, it needs to take on rival Waymo, which has been operating autonomous taxis for years and has far more customers.

It also will also have to contend with regulatory challenges. The company is under several federal safety investigations and other probes. In California, Tesla

is at risk of temporarily losing its license to sell cars in the state after a judge there ruled it had misled customers about their safety.

“Regulatory is going to be a big issue,” said Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives, a well-known bull on the stock. “We’re dealing with people’s lives.”

Still, Ives said he expects Tesla’s autonomous offerings will soon overcome any setbacks.

Musk has said he hopes software updates to his cars will enable hundreds of thousands of Tesla vehicles to operate autonomously with zero human intervention by the end of this year.

The company is also planning to begin production of its AI-powered Cybercab with no steering wheel or pedals in 2026.

To keep Musk focused on the company, Tesla’s directors awarded Musk a potentially enormous new pay package that shareholders backed at the annual meeting in November.

Musk scored another huge windfall two weeks ago when the Delaware Supreme Court reversed a decision that deprived him of a $55 billion pay package that Tesla doled out in 2018.

Musk could become the world’s first trillionaire later this year when he sells shares of his rocket company SpaceX to the public for the first time in what analysts expect would be a blockbuster initial public offering.

Ford working on fixing quality after record year of recalls

BY BREANA NOBLE

The Detroit News (TNS) Ford Motor Co. ended a record-breaking recall year with 152 notices to consumers in 2025 concerning safety issues or product defects requiring repair. But executives say quality costs are improving.

The Dearborn, Michigan, automaker nearly doubled the record previously set

by General Motors Co. of 77 recalls in 2014, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s recall tracker. From faulty parking modules that create the potential for rollaways to risks of parts detaching from SUVs to notices that an electrical short may create conditions for a fire to spark, issues have run the gamut.

And those cost the automaker time, money and reputation among consumers.

“I would like the consumers to know that we stand behind our products,” Kumar Galhotra, Ford’s chief operating officer, said in an interview with The Detroit

News. “Our initial quality has improved substantially this year, and if something does go wrong with their vehicle, I want them to know that we will act promptly to take care of it.”

Stellantis NV reported 53 recalls in 2025. GM was fourth in recalls with 27, according to NHTSA, behind RV manufacturer Forest River.

The recall totals are a sign of the Blue Oval’s prioritization of quality, safety and warranty cost reductions, Ford executives said. Over the past two years, the company doubled its safety team to find and fix problems, and now it is testing critical systems to failure. Initial quality for products rolling off the line in 2025 is among Ford’s best ever, according to internal data, said Josh Halliburton, Ford’s executive director of quality.

But for customers, recalls can come with frustrations.

John MacLellan, 37, an attorney in Jacksonville, Florida, faced challenges with buying a Mustang Mach-E this

summer after the automaker ordered dealers not to deliver the electric vehicles due to a lockout issue.

“They text me that they’ll get the keys ready, and then I hear nothing, and I hear nothing,” MacLellan said about reaching out to a dealer to buy the SUV. “I see the news on Reddit. It makes you a little leery that it could theoretically trap a kid inside.”

Ford last month also cited cost improvements in its announcement to raise its 2025 adjusted operating earning guidance to about $7 billion.

That was up from $6 billion to $6.5 billion it stated in November, though still would represent a more than 30% decrease from 2024 following the advent of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, supply chain disruptions, the expiration of the federal plug-in vehicle tax credit and consumer sentiment deterioration.

Galhotra declined to provide financial specifics, citing the company’s blackout period ahead of reporting earnings, but said costs have

DETROIT NEWS PHOTO By CLARENCE TABB JR.

Jim Duncan, 49, a technician at Village Ford Service Center, installs an instrument panel cluster update on a recalled 2023 Bronco Sport on Tuesday in Dearborn, Mich. improved for multiple quarters now and part of that is quality and warranty.

Last year’s recalls included about 40 reissued related to software. An audit found the company didn’t have a robust way of ensuring the software was in the right place. The effort was to ensure the software had been installed correctly.

Dealers like Jim Seavitt,

owner of Village Ford in Dearborn, said their service departments regularly have full-day schedules of addressing recalls. Meanwhile, dozens of new vehicles sit on the lot, unable to be delivered because they need a fix.

“They’ve taken a lot of what could be customer-paid work, and they don’t pay that well,” Seavitt said of the impact of the recall repairs on

his business. “It used to be: ‘Quality is job one.’ Somewhere, they lost that.”

Consumers weigh dozens of matters in a decision to buy a vehicle, including recalls and repairs, said Stephanie Brinley, S&P Global Mobility’s AutoIntelligence principal automotive analyst.

They can forgive a mistake, but how an automaker addresses the problem is what really makes a difference.

“Some people get a bunch of recall notices and don’t think it’s important and don’t do anything about it,” she said. “Having a ton of recalls looks bad, but on the other hand, it’s how well it’s handled from the consumers’ perspective — how quickly, how well or how efficiently.”

Third-party product testing has validated Ford’s claims of improved quality. Ford scaled Consumer Reports’ brand reliability ranking, finishing at No. 11 in the top half of all brands included, up from No. 22 the year prior. It was its best placement in the past 15 years. Lincoln was No. 20.

OPINION

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

ANOTHER VIEW

A buried autopsy and the new face of the status quo

Entering a new year is a time to look back for lessons learned and forward for what’s next.

In the world of politics, this means looking back at how Democrats got where they are and looking ahead to where Republicans, the “in” party, may end up in November’s midterm elections.

After Democrats lost the White House and Congress in 2024, party leaders commissioned an autopsy of the election. It was recently completed — and promptly buried. It must have been hair-raising.

If Democrats won’t face their own reality and tell you what led to their defeat, I will.

First, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

By 2024, voters had concluded Biden was unfit to continue as president. His policies were unpopular, and his disastrous debate performance made a loss to Donald Trump look likely. Democrats panicked; they pushed Biden aside at the eleventh Ron and slated a new nominee, Kamala Faucheux hour Harris.

Plenty of voters were relieved they didn’t have to choose between Biden and Trump, a matchup they dreaded. But they were also unsettled by how Biden’s campaign ended and how Harris took his place — without primaries, caucuses or debates. It didn’t feel right.

As vice president, Harris was chained to the administration’s record. Her own inability to defend that record — and, when need be, to distance herself from it — ultimately sunk her candidacy. She now blames lack of time as the reason she lost. She’s wrong, of course — lack of time actually helped her. Wonder what the autopsy says about that?

Second, Democrats went too far during the early years of Biden’s presidency. Political analyst and Shreveport native Charlie Cook, a longtime friend, says the Democratic Party was “tone deaf” after it won in 2020: “Biden and his team committed a political cardinal sin — misreading their election and presuming a mandate when none existed. ... Decisions were made that planted the seeds of (their 2024) loss.”

Democrats allowed themselves to become the party of political correctness, open borders and soft-on-crime policies. They underestimated the risk of being perceived as the cradle of woke — handing Republicans a club that they used to beat them unmercifully.

Third, the big, ugly status quo. Americans wanted change in 2024. Exit polling showed that more than two-thirds viewed economic conditions negatively, and Trump won 70% of them. Another 73% said they were dissatisfied or angry with the way things were going in the country, and Trump won 62% of them.

You don’t need much of an autopsy to see that Democrats were on the wrong side of these numbers.

Looking toward this year’s midterm elections, Republicans are now riding the back of that angry tiger called status quo. If things go well, they’ll benefit; if not, they’ll be eaten by it. Their success or failure depends upon Trump. Republican candidates are so tightly linked to the president that they will have little room to pivot away if needed.

To face this new reality, Republicans have two things to watch: First, the warning signs. In 2025, Republicans lost governorships in Virginia and New Jersey by bigger margins than expected. They dropped 13 seats in Virginia’s House of Delegates and five seats in New Jersey’s General Assembly. They lost California’s closely watched redistricting referendum (by a landslide), along with key down-ballot races in Pennsylvania and Georgia.

New polling from the Economist/YouGov shows that only 27% of independents — those voters who often swing close elections — have a positive opinion of Trump.

Second, public concern about national conditions. The latest Quinnipiac poll finds that solid voter majorities disapprove of Trump’s handling of big-ticket issues: 59% on health care, 57% on the economy, 55% on deportations, 55% on trade and 54% on foreign policy. Polls on the cost of living and the Epstein files are even more sour.

This is why Republicans, on average, are currently losing by four points when voters are asked which party they prefer to control Congress.

When President Franklin Roosevelt asked his vice president, John Nance Garner, for his assessment of how his plan to pack the Supreme Court was doing in Congress, the crusty Garner puffed on a cigar and asked his boss, “You want it with the bark on or off?” FDR replied, “The rough way.” Said Garner, “You’re beat.”

The party that assesses its weaknesses the rough way, and acts quickly and wisely, won’t have to do an autopsy later.

YOUR VIEWS

Landry should focus on La. problems Doesn’t Gov. Jeff Landry have more important things to do than to be President Donald Trump’s envoy to Greenland?

By most quality-of-life metrics, Louisiana is last or almost last among the 50 states in areas like literacy, infant mortality, the economy, etc.

(Thank God for Mississippi). Because of politicians like our governor, Louisiana has been and will continue

Changes to college sports weaken fan loyalty It’s not the same. Our usual group of fans were less inclined to gather for grilling and watching the Tigers on television this year. No one doubts that talent levels are exceptional and that athletes as agents for revenue for the university are due some compensation. It’s just that we don’t feel loyalty to a team whose stars are not loyal to us, having been employed by up to three other schools before transferring here.

Another revealing measure of loyalty is the number of potential NFL athletes declining to play in postseason games. Might not end well for their marketability.

I suggest that all Division I schools have two teams. One would play in a “gladiator league“ where phenomenal athletes can be recruited and traded at will and play a postseason schedule beginning in late January when football diehards are suffering with withdrawal.

The other regular-season team would be populated with true scholar-athletes, the many all-district and all-state players who don’t have the speed or stature to compete with the gladiators, but who are hometown heroes who love the game and are more career-oriented outside of sports performance.

Four other suggestions to improve the game of football: 1. Coaches get paid the percentage of their salaries as their season’s win/loss record with pre-agreed-upon goodbye severances.

2. Make the point-after-touchdown more competitive. It’s almost a “gimme “ now.

3. No more “icing” the field goal attempts. It has nothing to do with good sportsmanship and frustrates television viewers.

4. Also, as in rugby, no more taking a knee to run out the clock. I’m not familiar with another sport or even occupation, except investing in the stock market, where this is admirable, prudent or possible.

But I suppose these days, university football does have more in common with the $tock market.

STEPHEN WILSON Baton Rouge

Ron Faucheux is a nonpartisan political analyst, pollster and writer based in Louisiana.

China to take Taiwan. It sets a bad example. It is also evidence that Republicans like Landry will do anything to please President Trump even if it upsets an ally, violates international law and hurts our national security. Rather than celebrate Landry’s appointment, people in Louisiana should be appalled by this appointment.

to lose its “best and brightest” to other states.

Moreover, this newly created position is not only absurd, but it is damaging to U.S. national security.

Greenland belongs to Denmark, a NATO ally. Secondly, Trump’s position and Landry’s position is that if you want to annex another country, just take it. This gives the green light to Russia to take Ukraine and to

NORMAN PLOTKIN Lafayette

New battleships seem like little more than show What would be the mission of the Defiant-class (BBG) battleship?

Would it be sea control? Sea denial? Support for Marine Corps amphibious assault? Or is it merely like a Mardi Gras float bristling with every imaginable munition that can be heaped on and be merely for show —the Golden Fleet that only the president’s sense of aesthetics appreciates?

Could it survive counter battery fires of every type of its proposed weapons — nuclear cruise missiles, high kinetic energy rail gun projectiles, laser munitions, five-inch naval artillery?

And, don’t forget the lowly

sea mine. Real World War II Iowa-class battleships were designed to take a hit by a 16-inch naval cannon round, which was their primary battery, and still execute its mission.

Seems to me that this BBG class would be nothing more than a show boat — if it would ever actually be constructed, launched and commissioned.

Finally, is there an opportunity cost to be reckoned?

What really useful ships or submarines would be deferred in order to fund this class of showboat? What has the U.S. Congress to say about this new direction?

LAWRENCE IVERSON Metairie

Enough shame to go around as immigration raids continue Shame on President Donald Trump. By his words and actions, he has proven to be a racist president who thinks it’s OK to refer to fellow human beings as garbage. This doesn’t make America great.

And it’s wrong.

Shame on Congress. It has abdicated its powers and is complicit in allowing our military to murder suspected enemies without a declaration of war or proof that they are, indeed, enemies.

This is cowardice. And it’s wrong.

Shame on Homeland Secu-

rity. It has invaded our towns with covered faces and racially profiled our neighbors who helped rebuild our city after Katrina. This is bullying. And it’s wrong.

Shame on us, America. We all need to speak up. Show up.

Vote. Donate. Call out injustice and hatred. Name it what it is: a shame. If we do nothing to stop the corruption of our values, our communities and our leaders, we will get more of the same. And that’s just wrong.

JOSHUA MAYER New Orleans

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SPORTS

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S at u r d ay, J a n u a ry 3, 2026

SAINTS AT FALCONS • NOON SUNDAy • FOX

TOP OF THE CLASS

1Cn

UL hoops teams look for more wins Men, women set to play doubleheader at Cajundome

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

At first glance, UL’s doubleheader Saturday in the Cajundome may seem like a futile exercise.

After all, the men’s team is 3-12 and 1-2 in the Sun Belt after Wednesday’s home loss to South Alabama, while the women are 1-12 and 0-3 after a blowout home loss to Troy.

But there’s actually reasons to be hopeful as coach Quannas White’s men’s team takes on Southern Miss at noon and coach Garry Brodhead’s women’s team challenges South Alabama at 3 p.m.

For the men, it’s a chance to exact some revenge against Southern Miss. White was ejected on Dec. 18 after arguing with referees about the huge deficit in free throws during a game in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

The Eagles won 62-54, thanks largely to shooting 39 free throws compared with only 13 for UL. Free-throw disparities have been a problem all year for the Cajuns, but it was especially bad that day in Hattiesburg.

UL hasn’t outshot many opponents from the field this season but did against Southern Miss, 35.1% to 33.3%.

The other issue in that loss was not being

ä See UL, page 4C

Saints safety Jonas Sanker leaps to make an interception during a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Dec. 7 in Tampa, Fla. Sanker was a third-round pick. AP PHOTO By PETER JONELEIT

Saints’ 2025 rookies look like one of best groups in NFL

K

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer STAFF PHOTO By BRAD KEMP

ellen Moore would say that even he didn’t know exactly what to expect from the New Orleans Saints’ rookie class. The coach liked the picks, sure, but he’s been in the NFL long enough to know that rookies sometimes have to sit behind veterans and reps can be limited.

UL guard De’Vion Lavergne is hoping to put a complete game together when the Cajuns take on Southern Miss at noon Saturday in the Cajundome.

But in his first year since being hired by the Saints, Moore couldn’t have asked for much more.

“Right demeanor, right mindset,” he said.

The Saints haven’t struck gold the same way they did in 2017, but for a franchise desperately needing

an injection of youth, this year’s rookie class appears to be the team’s best since then.

In just one group, the Saints have found a quarterback of the future, a franchise left tackle, two defensive starters and a rotational running back. Those players will have to continue to progress for them to reach their potential, but those five are off to extremely promising starts. ä See SAINTS, page 4C

Star quarterback Chamblliss keeps Rebels’ season rolliing

BY SCOTT RABALAIS Staff writer

In the post-Sugar Bowl news conference Thursday night, Georgia coach Kirby Smart made a simple declarative statement to explain his Bulldogs’ wild 39-34 loss to Ole Miss on New Year’s night in the Caesars Superdome.

“They made more plays than we did,” Smart said.

Perhaps he was thinking back to a pair of plays in particular made by Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, plays that typified his amazing, MVP-worthy performance.

It was early in the fourth quarter. Ole Miss faced third and 7 at its 28 trailing Georgia 24-19. Chambliss rolled right to pass but was immediately cornered by three blitzing defenders.

Instead of panicking or throwing the ball away, Chambliss spun back to his left near the Rebels’ goal line. Running in a wide arc, he finally flipped a pass near the Georgia sideline to wide-open running back Kewan Lacy. He shook off a shuddering hit by Bulldogs safety

KJ Bolden and lunged forwa ard for the first down to the Ole Miss 36.

Next play, Georgia defenssive lineman Christian Miller came c right up the middle into ChamC bliss’ face mask, but the Olle Miss quarterback showed a su urgeon’s touch, sliding right to loftt a 44-yard pass to Harrison Wallace over o cornerback Ellis Robinson to the e Bulldogs’ 20.

Three plays later, La acy scored on a 5-yard run, a crucial tou uchdown drive in the Rebels’ eventual victory y.

“Their scrambles,” Smart S said, “were explosive. A lot of creditt to that kid and their offense.”

The win was doubly y sweet for Chambliss, who now heads to the e College Football Playoff semifinals. No. 6--seeded Ole Miss (13-1) will play No. 10-seed ded Miami on Thursday in the Fiesta Bowl.

This win was alsso sweet redemption for what happened the first time the Rebels faced Georgia. Ole Misss led 35-26 going into the

ä See REBELS, page 5C

ä Fiesta Bowl Ole Miss vs: Miami

6:30 P.M.THURSDAy, ESPN

Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss AP PHOTO By MATHEW HINTON

‘Real deal’ arrives for LSU men’s basketball BYY TOYLOY BROWN III Staaff writer

Mike Nwoko’s voice booms more than M mo ost on the LSU basketball team.

One of the messages the Mississippi State O tra ansfer has preached all season is for his tea ammates to brace themselves for the challen nge of Southeastern Conference play. ““I’m very confident heading into SEC play, for sure,” said Nwoko, ä LSU at Texas who is averaging 16.1 A&M 3 P.M. points per game on a conference-best 71.2% from SATURDAy, ESPNU the field. “Being one of the few guys that was on an n SEC team last year, I definitely warned tthese guys a whole lot about, ‘Hey, the real deal is coming.’ ” Dedan Thomas nodded when he heard th his. That message has resonated with a tea am that has only two players in the rotatio on who played in the SEC last year. This do oesn’t include Jalen Reed, who is out for th he season because of a left Achilles injury.

“We have a lot to prove still,” said Thomas, who is averaging 16.2 ppg. “12-1, we handled w business nonconference, so like he said, the real deal is about to start.”

ä See LSU, page 4C

2C ● Saturday, January 3, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS On TV MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL 10 a.m. Virginia at NC State ESPN2 11 a.m. Virginia Tech at Wake Forest ACCN 11 a.m. Northeastern at Campbell CBSSN 11 a.m. Clemson at Pittsburgh CW 11 a.m. Kentucky at Alabama ESPN 11 a.m. UTSA at Temple ESPNU 11 a.m. Providence vs. St. John’s FOX 11 a.m. Villanova at Butler TNT 11 a.m. VCU at Duquesne USA noon Oklahoma St. at Texas Tech ESPN2 noon Auburn at Georgia SECN 12:30 p.m. ByU at Kansas St. CBS 1 p.m.

Boston College at Georgia Tech ACCN 1 p.m.

Dayton at Loyola of Chicago CBSSN 1 p.m.

Vanderbilt at South Carolina ESNU 1 p.m.

Xavier at DePaul FS1 1 p.m.

Kansas at UC FPEACOCK 1 p.m.

Houston at Cincinnati FOX 1 p.m.

Baylor at TCU TNT

1 p.m.

La Salle at George Washington USA 1:15 p.m. North Carolina at SMU CW 2 p.m.

Tennessee at Arkansas ESPN2 2:30 p.m. Mississippi at Oklahoma SECN 2:45 p.m. Duke at Florida St. CBS 3 p.m.

Oral Roberts at N. Dakota St. CBSSN 3 p.m.

LSU at Texas A&M ESPNU 3 p.m.

Arizona at UTA PEACOCK 3 p.m.

Rhode Island at George Mason USA 4 p.m.

Minnesota at Northwestern BTN 4 p.m.

Colorado at Arizona St. ESPN2 5 p.m.

Davidson at Saint Joseph’s CBSSN 5 p.m.

Wichita St. at Charlotte ESPNU 5 p.m.

UCLA at Iowa PEACOCK 5 p.m.

Mississippi St. at Texas SECN 6 p.m.

Illinois vs. Penn St. BTN 7 p.m.

Wyoming at New Mexico CBSSN 7 p.m.

Purdue at Wisconsin FOX 7:30 p.m. Florida at Missouri SECN 9 p.m.

Boise St. at San Diego St. CBSSN WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL 11 a.m. Seton Hall at UConn FS1

IN BRIEF

FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

7 p.m.

Southern Cal at UCLA PEACOCK HORSE RACING 1:30 p.m. America’s Day at the Races FS2 3 p.m.

America’s Day at the Races FS1 MEN’S LACROSSE 9 p.m.

Calgary at San Diego ESPNU NBA 4 p.m.

Minnesota at Miami NBATV 6:30 p.m. Philadelphia at New york NBATV 9:30 p.m. Boston at L.A. Clippers NBATV NFL 3:30 p.m. Carolina at Tampa Bay ABC 7 p.m.

Seattle at San Francisco ABC NHL 11 a.m. Pittsburgh at Detroit ABC 6 p.m.

Toronto at N.y. Islanders NHLN MEN’S SOCCER 8:55 a.m. Dundee at Dundee United CBSSN 9 a.m.

Burnley at Brighton USA 11:15 a.m. Al Taawoun at Al Ittihad FS2 11:30 a.m. Arsenal at AFC Bournemouth NBC 9 p.m.

Empire at San Diego FS2

Seahawks, 49ers face off for top seed

BY JOSH DUBOW

AP pro football writer SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The playoffs start a week early for the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers.

The top two teams in the NFC West will square off Saturday night in a rare regular-season game with such high stakes as the winner will earn the top seed in the NFC playoffs with a first-round bye and home-field advantage before the Super Bowl.

“I think in football, out of all sports, home-field advantage is the biggest advantage because I think crowd noise truly affects the game in terms of pass rush and things like that,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. “But, the main thing is just it’s one less game. I’d love to be home. That’s our goal. If that doesn’t work out, we’re excited to go on the road, too.”

This game between the Seahawks (13-3) and 49ers (12-4) marks just the fourth time since seeding began in the NFL in 1975 that two teams will play on the final week of the season with the winner guaranteed the No. 1 seed, according to Sportradar.

Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold lost in this spot last year with Minnesota against Detroit, with the only games with stakes like this coming in 1993 when Dallas beat the New York Giants on the way to a second straight Super Bowl title and in 1979 when Dallas beat Washington.

The game in 2019 came close with the Niners clinching the top seed with the win that was sealed when San Francisco linebacker Dre Greenlaw tackled Jacob Hollister at the 1 on fourth-and-goal in the closing seconds. A Seattle win that night would have given the Seahawks the No. 2 seed and a firstround bye.

The two rosters have undergone nearly a complete overhaul since that game six years ago with only seven players who appeared in that game currently on the active rosters of the two teams.

“That game right there definitely left a sour taste in my mouth,” said Seahawks defensive tackle Jarran Reed, who was a part of that game.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By EAKIN HOWARD

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey, center, runs against Chicago Bears safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, bottom, during a game in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday. ä Seattle at San Francisco.

7 P.M. SATURDAy, ABC.

“I remember that play like it was yesterday. You don’t forget those types of games; it’s a big moment.

We’re not going to shy away from that. It’s down to it, everything is on the line right now and we know that.”

Running games heat up Despite the presence of Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco’s running game struggled to get going for much of this season. That’s undergone a dramatic change in recent weeks.

After ranking last in the NFL in yards per carry in the first 10 weeks at 3.51, the 49ers have gotten going down the stretch run.

San Francisco is averaging 4.69 yards per carry the past three games and ranks third with 161 yards per game in that span.

“I think it’s just a collective effort of guys just sticking to the plan, continuing to get better,” McCaffrey said. “There’s not one

answer. I think it’s 11 guys just committing to it. ... I think we’re seeing it and hitting it, and we just got to keep it rolling.”

The Seahawks have seen a similar recent turnaround.

Following a thrilling 38-37 overtime win against the Rams where they rushed for 171 yards, Seattle rattled off 163 yards rushing in its victory over Carolina, led by Zach Charbonnet’s season-high 110 yards.

But it won’t be easy on Saturday against the 49ers’ sixth-ranked rushing defense, which allows an average of 103 yards per game.

Pressure on Purdy Brock Purdy has been playing at an MVP level and peaking at the right time for the 49ers. During the last three games for San Francisco, he has thrown for 893 yards with 11 TDs, two TD runs and a 131.5 passer rating.

It’ll be critical for the Seahawks to put pressure on the 49ers’ offensive front, which could be without tackle Trent Williams after he suffered a hamstring injury against

Chicago. Regardless, they’ve done a fine job of protecting Purdy, allowing one sack in each of their wins over Chicago and Indianapolis.

The 49ers now have scored 40 or more points in back-to-back games for the first time since 1995.

“We know they’re a good offense and we’re a good defense,” defensive tackle Jarran Reed said. “Saturday is going to speak for itself.”

Schedule concerns The game being moved to Saturday night wasn’t beneficial to either team with Seattle coming off a cross-country trip to Carolina and San Francisco playing back-toback games on short weeks after a Monday night game in Indianapolis in Week 16.

The Seahawks are the 20th team in the past three seasons to play back-to-back road games with the second coming on a short week.

The previous teams went 6-13.

The 49ers will be the 15th team in the past three seasons to play back-to-back short weeks, with the previous 14 splitting the games.

Panthers, Buccaneers battle for NFC South

BY ROB MAADDI

them to a 15-1 record and a Super Bowl appearance 10 years ago.

Carolina has gone through three TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Buc- coaching changes and started 10 caneers are one game away from different quarterbacks since their finishing off an epic collapse and wild-card berth in 2017.

Dave Canales took over as head entering an offseason of uncercoach in 2024 after one season tainty.

The Carolina Panthers are clos- as the offensive coordinator for ing in on their first playoff berth the Buccaneers where he helped Mayfield revive his career. He’s in eight years.

Two teams heading in opposite turned the Panthers around and directions battle for the NFC Bryce Young is still developing in South title on Saturday. But this his third season since he was the No. 1 overall pick in 2023. isn’t a winner-take-all game.

The Panthers (8-8) can still clinch the division title with a Bowles’ future loss because the Buccaneers (7-9) The Buccaneers have lost seven have to win and the Falcons (7-9) of eight and eight of 10. Most orgamust lose or tie the Saints (6-10) nizations would make significant for Tampa Bay to get in. changes after freefalling. Todd “First and foremost, we have to Bowles has led the team to three win on Saturday, so that’s the main division titles in his first three seafocus,” Bucs quarterback Baker sons, but is 1-3 in the playoffs.

Mayfield said. “(We) can’t control He’s signed through 2028, so what happens in the game Sunday, that helps his case. It also wasn’t but we can control how Saturday Bowles’ fault the Bucs lacked talgoes, how we prepare. ... The goal ent on defense and endured sevis still to go out there and try and eral injuries to key players. find a way to win. Obviously, then play the waiting game, but we Running Panthers have to take care of our business A strong running game helped and that’s winning on Saturday.” propel Carolina into the playoff If the Panthers win, they’ll earn hunt earlier in the season and took their first division crown since some pressure off Young.

Ron Rivera and Cam Newton led Rico Dowdle combined for 389 AP pro football writer

ä Carolina at Tampa Bay. 3:30 P.M. zik wouldn’t call it a tush push,

joking that “we didn’t push the tush.”

But it’s something the Panthers yards rushing in wins over Dallas have been working on because and Miami in Weeks 5 and 6, but they don’t feel comfortable ushas only surpassed 80 yards rush- ing the undersized Young in those situations. ing once since.

The Panthers are averaging 31.8 rushing attempts in their eight Action Jackson wins, but only 24.1 attempts in Opposing teams tend to shy their eight losses. away from throwing at Panthers “Good things happen when you two-time Pro Bowl pick Jaycee run the ball; you run the ball when Horn, which means fellow corgood things happen,” Canales said. nerback Mike Jackson has seen “It works both ways, and it’s a part plenty of action this season. of who we are.”

And he’s been up for the chalDowdle was listed on the team’s lenge. injury report early in the week Jackson leads the league with 19 with a toe injury, but said it’s not passes defensed – one shy of the an issue and he’ll be fine to play. franchise record — and had an inThe Bucs are seventh against terception last week against Sam the run, though they haven’t done Darnold. anything well on defense lately.

“We’ve been so blessed with the way Mike has really played these Carolina sneak last few years and certainly exIt’s not quite the Philadelphia ceeded the expectations of a lot Eagles’ version of the “tush push,” of people, but did not exceed his but the Panthers began employing expectations,” defensive coortheir own short-yardage play last dinator Ejiro Evero. “When you week against the Seahawks by mo- look at the way he prepares, the tioning backup tight end Mitchell extra time he spent with coach Evans under center to take a quar- (Jonathan) Cooley in the meeting terback sneak on a fourth down at- rooms, this guy is as dialed-in a player as I’ve ever been around in tempt.

Offensive coordinator Brad Id- that position.”

SATURDAy, ABC.

LSU hosting highly touted transfer quarterback Sorsby

LSU is set to host former Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby on a visit this weekend, according to multiple reports Friday.

Sorsby, a redshirt junior with one year of eligibility remaining, is considered one of the top players in the transfer portal. He visited Texas Tech, another team in need of a quarterback, on Friday.

Sorsby threw for 2,800 yards, ran for 580 and scored 36 combined touchdowns this season. His mobility gives him an ideal skill set for new head coach Lane Kiffin and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. Since starting his college career at Indiana, Sorsby has thrown for 7,208 yards and 60 touchdowns. He transferred to Cincinnati before the 2024 season and started for the past two years under coach Scott Satterfield.

Cardinals place receiver Harrison on injured reserve

TEMPE, Ariz. — The Arizona Cardinals placed receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. on injured reserve on Friday, ending a disappointing season for the second-year player.

The 23-year-old left last week’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals because of a foot injury and coach Jonathan Gannon already said earlier this week that he wasn’t expected to play in the finale against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.

Harrison also dealt with a heel problem and missed a few weeks because of an appendectomy.

The No. 4 overall pick out of Ohio State in 2024 played in 12 games this season, including 10 starts.

He caught 41 passes for 608 yards and four touchdowns, struggling to make the big plays that the Cardinals expected.

Dolphins place TE Waller on IR, sign RB Edwardss

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The Miami Dolphins placed tight end Darren Waller on injured reserve Friday with a groin injury and signed running back Donovan Edwards to the active roster off Washington’s practice squad.

Waller will miss the Dolphins’ regular-season finale at New England on Sunday, ending his lone season in Miami with 24 catches for 283 yards and six touchdowns.

The Dolphins are also dealing with injuries to several other key players entering Sunday’s game.

Edwards entered the NFL as an undrafted college free agent with the New York Jets in 2025. He played collegiately at Michigan, rushing for 2,251 yards on 422 carries with 19 touchdowns in 14 career starts.

Aikman to advise Dolphins in search for new GM

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman will be advising the Miami Dolphins in their search for a new general manager.

Aikman, who led the Dallas Cowboys to three Super Bowl wins and is now an ESPN analyst, isn’t expected to remain with the organization beyond their GM search, ESPN reported. Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel welcomed the outside help.

The Dolphins fired longtime general manager Chris Grier on Oct. 31 after a 2-7 start to the season. McDaniel has remained head coach despite questions about his job security.

Aikman has been in the broadcast booth since he retired from a 12-year career.

Boxer Joshua’s driver charged after deadly crash

LAGOS, Nigeria — The driver in a deadly car crash that injured heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua and killed his two friends in Nigeria was charged, the police said on Friday.

Adeniyi Mobolaji Kayode, 46, was charged with dangerous and reckless driving in southwestern Ogun state following Monday’s crash, police spokesman Oluseyi Babaseyi said in a statement on Friday.

The vehicle carrying Joshua, Sina Ghami and Latif “Latz” Ayodele hit a stationary truck on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway which links Ogun state to Lagos.

The defendant was charged on four counts, including dangerous driving causing death, reckless and negligent driving, driving without due care as well as driving without a valid national driver’s license.

H

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The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Saturday, January 3, 2026 ● 3C

ALL-METRO CROSS COUNTRY GIRLS RUNNER OF THE YEAR

BOYS RUNNER OF THE YEAR

STAFF FILE PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

FILE PHOTO By ROBIN MAy

Abigail Leger of Teurlings Catholic, right, edges St. Thomas More’s Camryn Haik in the 1,600-meter run at the Class 4A, Region II track meet on April 30 at Brusly High. Leger went on to finish as state runner-up in the Division II state cross country meet in the fall.

Talan Sievers, of Lafayette Christian, competes in the Class 2A, Region II track meet on April 30 at UL. Sievers won the LHSAA Division IV cross country championship in a time of 15 minutes, 30.6 seconds and helped the Knights to a runner-up finish.

ABIGAIL LEGER TEURLINGS CATHOLIC, JUNIOR

TALAN SIEVERS LAFAYETTE CHRISTIAN, JUNIOR

Before the start of the cross country season, Teurlings Catholic’s Abigail Leger set some lofty goals.

The junior accomplished nearly all of them.

“Coming into the season, my goals were to (set a personal record), improve from last season and hopefully win state,” Leger said. “I just wanted to give my best and I that’s what I did.”

The only thing Leger, who set a personal record during a meet held at the Episcopal School of Acadiana at midseason, didn’t accomplish was win a state title, finishing as the state runner-up in Division II with a time of 18 minutes, 57.3 seconds.

“I was just trusting my training,” Leger said.

“I went into the race with a positive mindset and wanting to do my best for my team. I was actually pretty happy with the outcome. I did the best I think I could have done.

(Finishing second) gives me the motivation to come back and get a higher place next year.”

Lafayette Christian’s Talan Sievers wasn’t happy with the way his cross country season began.

But Sievers was more than thrilled with the way it ended.

Not only did Sievers help lead the Knights to a state runner-up finish in Division IV, but he won the individual state championship after finishing the 3-mile race in 15 minutes, 30.6 seconds at Northwestern State in Natchitoches. Sievers finished the race more than 60 seconds ahead of his opponents.

“I was really happy with my season this year,” said Sievers, a junior. “I started off slow, having a few problems, but I bounced back really quick. I got into a rhythm and started (setting personal records). I won district and regionals.

Regionals was my fastest time ever and the fastest time in the state for 3 miles. I won state, too, by breaking the Division IV record,

Rebels coach Kelly LaMaison was equally pleased with Leger’s performance.

“She exceeded expectations,” LaMaison said.

“Abigail is a workhorse. She loves to work. She doesn’t have as much varsity experience as most juniors, but she competes really well.”

For her efforts this past season, Leger was named the Acadiana Advocate’s Girls Cross Country Runner of the year.

“That is awesome,” LaMaison said. “I’m ecstatic for her, because she deserves it. She is willing to do all of the little things when no one is watching.

“Great things come to great kids who work really hard.”

Leger said she was grateful for the honor and that the recognition is another reward for her hard work.

“It makes me really happy,” she said. “It shows that my training and everything my team did has paid off.”

Eric Narcisse

which I already had. So it was a good season overall.”

Sievers’ father, Brad, who is the Knights’ coach, said Talan’s consistency was the biggest reason for his success.

“Consistency and staying healthy were the keys to his success,” he said. “Last year, I think he finished sixth and didn’t really have a great race up there, but he had been sick and dealing with some health issues. But this year, he didn’t have that and was able to put the miles in and just stay consistent.”

For his efforts, Sievers was named the Acadiana Advocate’s Boys Cross Country Runner of the year.

“It’s really an honor,” Talan said. “My goal coming into the season was definitely to break 15 (minutes) and I was able to do that. That was big for me.”

Eric Narcisse

BOYS COACH OF THE YEAR

GIRLS COACH OF THE YEAR

TOBY BLISSETT HIGHLAND BAPTIST

LAURA JONES-MAGANN EPISCOPAL SCHOOL OF ACADIANA

Highland Baptist coach Toby Blissett has had a lot of success over the past four years.

Much of that success has been tied to the girls team, which won the 2023 Division V state title and was the state runner-up this past season and in 2022.

But that’s no longer the case.

Blissett led the Bears to the Division V boys state championship this past season,

It had been four years since the Episcopal School of Acadiana’s girls cross country team placed in the top three at the LHSAA state meet in Natchitoches.

That drought came to an end this past season when coach Laura Jones-Magann led the Falcons to a third-place finish at the Division V state meet at Northwestern State.

It was the first time the Falcons placed in the top three since 2021, when they were favorites to win the state title and a bad case of the flu thwarted their title hopes.

For her efforts, Jones-Magann was named the Acadiana Advocate’s Girls Cross Country Coach of the year.

Eric Narcisse

after three runners — Tyler Blissett, David Nowakowski and Richard Nowakowski — finished in the top five. Tyler Blissett won the individual state title and David Nowakowski finished as runner-up.

For his efforts, Toby Blissett was named the Acadiana Advocate’s Boys Cross Country Coach of the year.

Eric Narcisse

BOYS ALL-METRO TEAM

GIRLS ALL-METRO TEAM BELLA BIGGERSTAFF Ascension Episcopal Top time: 17:35.60

ABBY KATE MENDOZA St. Thomas More Top time: 19:00.50

ALIVIA TASSIN David Thibodaux Top time: 19.19.40

TALAN SIEVERS Lafayette Christian Top time: 14:41.20

BARRETT RICHARD David Thibodaux Top time: 15:38.10

CHIMAOBI OKECHUKWU Westminster Christian Top time: 16:03.40

ABIGAIL LEGER Teurlings Catholic Top time: 18:37.50

JIYA LODHA Episcopal School of Acadiana Top time: 19:08.20

ELLE SMITH St. Thomas More Top time: 19:28.90

TYLER BLISSETT Highland Baptist Top time: 14:43.70

JOHN HENRY FITZGERALD St. Thomas More Top time: 15:39.00

JACKSON DELAHOUSSAYE Teurlings Catholic Top time: 16:04.50

KENYA CUMMINGS David Thibodaux Top time: 18:38.00

AARYAM SALEH Teurlings Catholic Top time: 19:13.20

ELLA BLAKE Highland Baptist Top time: 19:31.20

MADDOX TOLBERT Lafayette High Top time: 14:59.50

JACKSON TOLBERT Lafayette High Top time: 15:47.60

GRAYSON GILLEY Southside Top time: 16:20.60

ADDISON AUCOIN Lafayette High Top time: 18:38.90

MADALYNN SALSMAN Highland Baptist Top time: 19:16.00

ABIGAIL HEBERT North Vermilion Top time: 19:33.40

EMERSON CULLEN David Thibodaux Top time: 15:07.90

ZACK MONTET North Vermilion Top time: 15:55.50

CHISOM OKECHUKWU Westminster Christian Top time: 16:23.50

MIA CESTIA St. Thomas More Top time: 18:40.0

SOPHIE WILSON Episcopal School of Acadiana Top time: 19:16.80

MORGAN TAVARES Lafayette High Top time: 19:40.90

WYATT PRICE Notre Dame Top time: 15:25.40

WYATT GAUTREAUX Lafayette High Top time: 16:02.50

PARKER GAUTREAU Lafayette Christian Top time: 16:24.50

4C ● Saturday, January 3, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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Mulkey ‘stunned’ by rebounding woes Kentucky cashed in on second chances in win

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

Kentucky coach Kenny Brooks thinks it was about 2 a.m. one morning this week when it caught his attention.

Brooks was up late watching one of coach Kim Mulkey’s news conferences. His ears perked up when Mulkey pointed out that she didn’t have a single post player who had previously competed in the SEC — something she said throughout the LSU women’s basketball team’s nonconference slate.

“And we do,” Brooks said.

So Kentucky took advantage.

Across the past five seasons, only one team has earned a wider rebounding margin in a game against the Tigers than the No. 11 Wildcats (14-1) did Thursday in their SEC opener — a game they won 80-78 on a last-second 3-pointer.

Kentucky won the rebounding battle 45-29. The 17 offensive boards it corralled, then turned into 18 second-chance points, are tied for the most LSU has allowed one of its opponents to collect since Mulkey took over the program in 2021. The No. 5 Tigers (14-1), on the other hand, grabbed only four offensive rebounds — a new single-game low for the past five seasons.

ä LSU at Vanderbilt

4 P.M. SUNDAy, ESPN

“I’m just stunned that we got outrebounded like we did,” Mulkey said. “That literally was the difference in the game.

“If you would’ve told me that we would’ve been outrebounded with this group I have, there’s no way I would’ve believed you. But that goes back to experience. That goes back to toughness. And we just got to get better.”

Kentucky is one of the tallest, most physical teams in the SEC. Four of its five starters are at least 6 feet tall. Forward Amelia Hassett is a 6-4 senior. Forward Teonni Key is a 6-5 senior. Center Clara Strack is a 6-5 junior.

LSU has size, too. Transfer center Kate Koval is 6-5, but she’s a sophomore who logged only about 13 minutes per game in ACC play last season at Notre Dame. Transfer forward Amiya Joyner is 6-2, but she spent the past three years at East Carolina.

The Tigers’ other two post players — Grace Knox and ZaKiyah Johnson — are long and athletic, but they’re freshmen who haven’t yet faced the kind of players they’ll encounter this season in January, February and March.

Key grabbed 5.8 rebounds per game during Kentucky’s nonconference slate, but on Thursday, she outrebounded LSU’s entire frontcourt by herself. She grabbed 16 boards. Koval, Joyner, Knox and Johnson combined to pull down only 13.

Mulkey has said she thinks she’ll need her guards to help her post players clean up misses. They just didn’t crash the glass often enough on Thursday, when Mikaylah Williams (eight rebounds) and Jada Richard (three rebounds) were the only guards who corralled more than one board.

Flau’jae Johnson grabbed 13 rebounds in LSU’s win over Kentucky last season, but she collected only one board in the 38 minutes she played on Thursday.

“It is a big thing,” Brooks said.

“We didn’t specifically game-plan for it, but we knew we could have, maybe, an advantage with some experience when things got a little bit tough.”

How can LSU fix the issue?

Mulkey said she’ll address it in the film session and practice she and her staff plan to hold ahead of the Tigers’ next game against No. 12 Vanderbilt, which will tip off at 4 p.m. Sunday.

“You go hard,” Mulkey said, “but you don’t go long. You go hard in

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU coach Kim Mulkey reacts to a turnover against Kentucky on Thursday at the PMAC. The Wildcats won 80-78. the areas that you need to fix.

Rebounding, blocking out, those types of things. You go hard in the film room. You grab their attention in the film room.”

There’s urgency to improve on the glass. Because LSU lost to Kentucky, it is now 0-8 under Mulkey in games against SEC teams ranked in the top 12 of the AP Top 25 poll.

That series of games includes five matchups with South Carolina, two with Texas and now one with the Wildcats.

The schedule doesn’t get any easier. Four of the Tigers’ next five games are on the road, and three

of those contests are against teams ranked in the top 12 of the latest AP poll — No. 2 Texas, No. 8 Oklahoma and No. 12 Vanderbilt.

Before the game against the Commodores rolls around, Mulkey wants LSU to first renew its commitment to cleaning the glass, erasing a deficiency opposing coaches can notice in late-night prep work.

“The entire game was lost because of rebounding,” Mulkey said. “And we gotta go fix that.”

Email Reed Darcey at reed. darcey@theadvocate.com.

LSU

UL

When the UNLV transfer was asked whether LSU was underrated before the season, he said “absolutely.” Three months later, Thomas said the team still possesses a “chip on our shoulder” because it wants to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2021-22 season.

The most critical part of the regular season has arrived. The Tigers open SEC play against Texas A&M (10-3) at 3 p.m. Saturday at Reed Arena in College Station, Texas.

The Aggies played five high-major opponents during their nonconference slate, losing to Oklahoma State, Central Florida and SMU. LSU also played SMU, which it beat 89-77 in New Orleans. Texas A&M fell to the Mustangs 93-80 in overtime at a neutral site in Texas.

Texas A&M will be without one of its biggest portal additions in Mackenzie Mgbako, who is out for the season because of a foot injury.

Regardless, LSU coach Matt McMahon has immense respect for first-year Texas A&M coach Bucky McMillan’s group.

“This Texas A&M team (is) really, really good,” McMahon said. “(Averaging) 96 points a game and some change offensively, really explosive there. On the defensive side of the ball, they turn you over at a high rate, as coach McMillan’s teams have always done. They score a lot of points off their defense, and (they’re) an older, really experienced team.”

The Aggies frequently use various full-court defenses. The relentless pressure on ballhandlers results in steals for breakaway layups and other kinds of dead-

able to contain the Southern Miss bench, which outscored UL 33-18.

Israel Hart led that charge with 17 points in 19 minutes, followed

by Chiante Tramble with 11 in 29 minutes.

The Cajuns need to keep forward Todd Jones out of foul trouble, which plagued him against Southern Miss and South Alabama. His work on the boards against UL-Monroe played a big role in that win for UL. Dorian Finister has been the most consistent player for UL this season, and he scored 20 at Southern Miss. If UL is going to bounce back from letting one slip away in a 63-58 loss to South Alabama on Wednesday, someone besides Finister and Jaxon Olvera will need to provide an offensive spark.

“I’ve got confidence in all my guys, not just Jaxon, but, you know, Jaxon knows I believe in him, and he had some really huge, huge threes,” White said of Olvera’s 18 points Wednesday. “He’s a three-level scorer, and he’s the guy that can score the ball, you know, not just from the three.”

De’Vion Lavergne has showed some signs in recent games of becoming a reliable player.

“The way he comes in a practice every single day has not changed,” White said of Lavergne. “He hasn’t wavered at all. For one, he’s a God-fearing young man, that’s first and foremost. But what I talk to all of our guys about is it’s about the work of meeting God halfway.

“You get a confidence from your preparation, and the other thing is the entire coaching staff, Email Kevin Foote at including myself, not losing con- kfoote@theadvocate.com.

Continued from page 1C

Continued from page 1C

SAINTS

Continued from page 1C And that’s not all. The Saints also made four other selections, two of whom could emerge as starters next season. The final two, a pair of seventh-rounders, have contributed in spots as well.

As the season comes to a close Sunday, the success of the draft class prompts one question: Is it the best in the league?

That’s obviously subjective, but the group has earned high marks.

The Ringer’s Todd McShay, for instance, had quarterback Tyler Shough and left tackle Kelvin Banks taken first and fourth overall in a recent exercise of redrafting the 2025 class. Ben Solak from ESPN had four Saints make his allrookie team, tied with the Arizona Cardinals and Cleveland Browns for the most selections. And according to oddsmakers, Shough is the outright favorite to win Offensive Rookie of the Year.

The development of the rookies is a large reason the Saints have rattled off four straight wins.

“They’ve gotten better, obviously, throughout this whole process,” Moore said. “(They’re) guys that obviously you can see carrying significant roles moving forward.”

According to Stathead, the

STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

LSU forward Mike Nwoko is fouled by Southern Miss forward Tylik Weeks, center, as Southern Miss forward Djahi Binet defends on Monday at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

fidence in any of our guys.”

That includes true freshman Joshua Lewis and redshirt freshman Karris Bilal.

For Lewis, it’s about continuing his recent success beyond the 3-point line as well as his midrange game, particularly in the lane.

“He also continues to play hard into those things that don’t really show up,” White said. “He’s going to continue to get better, and his best basketball is ahead of him.”

As for Bilal, White said: “His teammates and the whole coach staff believe in him. As time goes on, he’ll get more time.”

On the women’s side, the Cajuns fell to Troy 80-54 on Thursday. Thanks to a 60-37 rebounding margin, the Trojans had a 23-4 edge in second-chance points.

Amijah Price continues to show promise for UL with 15 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Next up is South Alabama, which is 1-5 on the road this season. The Jaguars also have struggled in Sun Belt play at 0-3 with losses to Southern Miss 8465, Arkansas State 74-61 and ULMonroe 61-44.

The Jaguars have four scorers averaging 9.4 or more points, led

by Cardasia Harris (13.2 pts, 9.0 rebs). The team is shooting 36.4% from 3-point land to only 24.1% from UL. South Alabama is averaging 20 turnovers a game, so it’s critical the Cajuns maximize those opportunities to overcome any shooting problems.

So the possibility of the Cajuns collecting a few wins Saturday is perhaps more likely than it seems on paper.

ball turnovers. Texas A&M is tied for 15th in the country in forced turnovers per game (16.38), which is second in the SEC behind only Georgia.

“Ball security will be at a premium,” McMahon said. “Then decision-making, if you’re fortunate enough to beat the press, becomes critically important when you get in some of those scramble advantage situations.”

LSU will not counteract its opponent’s style of play by trying to force its own turnovers. McMahon said that isn’t where his team’s strength lies. Instead, the Tigers will trust Thomas to handle the pressure and, when facing multiple defenders, to pass to the open man.

Thomas leads the SEC with 7.1 assists, which is tied for ninth in

the country. Even more impressive is that he averages only 1.8 turnovers.

When the ball crosses half court, LSU has faith in its offense. It’s going to have a heavy dose of Thomas pick-and-rolls with bigs, along with post-ups for Nwoko and perimeter scoring from Max Mackinnon.

But the SEC experience that Nwoko, sophomore Robert Miller and even Reed possesses is important for the Tigers.

“I think this is where you rely on a Mike Nwoko, who started every game last year in SEC play,” McMahon said. “Jalen Reed, I’m still counting on him and holding him accountable from a leadership standpoint as someone who’s been through these SEC battles, and I think he’ll continue to have a great impact on our team.”

Saints’ class has taken the fourthmost snaps in the NFL this season, not including work on special teams. Total snaps may not be a perfect metric to capture a group’s impact, but the Saints (3,260 combined snaps) are behind only the Cleveland Browns (3,875), New York Jets (3,625) and Tennessee Titans (3,371).

Of those three, the Browns might have the best argument for having a more impactful set of rookies.

Cleveland has gotten a combined 72 starts from its seven drafted rookies, the most in the NFL. That group includes a disruptive interior pass rusher (Mason Graham), a stud linebacker (Carson Schwesinger), a potential star running back (Quinshon Judkins) and an electric tight end (Harold Fannin). And that’s before you get to Shedeur Sanders, the polarizing quarterback who will lead Cleveland in quarterback starts this season.

Other teams with great returns on their class include the Falcons (the defense-heavy approach paid off), the New England Patriots (Drake Maye got some help) and the Seattle Seahawks (their first two picks could be All Pros down the line).

But the case for New Orleans would be how the rookies have stepped up beyond initial expectations.

Derek Carr, for instance, had yet to retire when the Saints drafted

and collected. He’s like our best communicator on the O-line at left tackle, as far as helping guys out, helping receivers out. He’s been an unbelievable player for us this year, and I think he’s stepped up big time.

“It’s hard whenever you’re a first-round draft pick living up to some of those Twitter trolls or whatever. He’s done his job, he’s obviously going to be here for a while and continue to do great things.”

Most likely not every 2025 pick for the Saints will turn out to be a star. Third-rounder Vernon Broughton played in only one game before suffering a seasonending hip injury. Seventh-rounders Fadil Diggs and Moliki Matavao have bounced between the STAFF FILE PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD active roster and practice squad.

Saints rookie cornerback Quincy Riley, center, celebrates a San Francisco And players can regress.

But the Saints had nine selec49ers stop with teammates during the first half on Sept. 14 at the tions this past April, their most Caesars Superdome. Riley was a fourth-round pick. since 2015. And for as many swings as New Orleans took, the Shough in the second round. While ber the pre-draft scuttlebutt that the hit rate looks pretty good. there was uncertainty about the Texas product might be better suit“It’s a credit to (general managveteran’s shoulder injury, it wasn’t ed to play guard instead of tackle? er) Mickey (Loomis) and the staff clear how much the rookie would Banks leads the entire 2025 draft for seeing that vision that way, as end up playing in 2025. Third- with 1,052 snaps — all at tackle. far as, we want good players on the “He’s elite,” Shough said of field and off the field, how can we round safety Jonas Sanker and fourth-round cornerback Quincy Banks. “Especially for how young continue to get better and go forRiley were also thrust into roles he is, being thrust into it right ward from there,” Shough said. away. Some of the stuff he does is earlier than anticipated.

Even Banks, the ninth overall unbelievable from a physical per- Email Matthew Paras at matt. pick, came with questions. Remem- spective. And he’s also cool, calm paras@theadvocate.com

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The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Saturday, January 3, 2026 ● 5C

OLE MISS 39, GEORGIA 34 THREE AND OUT: ROD WALKER’S TOP TAKEAWAyS FROM OLE MISS’ THRILLING WIN OVER GEORGIA

1

KING TRINIDAD I’ve had a chance to watch some stellar college quarterback play in the Dome over the years. Joe Burrow.

Trevor Lawrence. Justin Fields. Michael Penix. Add Ole Miss electrifying QB Trinidad Chambliss (30-44-320-2 TDs) to the list. And a tip of the hat to Georgia’s tough-as-nails Gunner Stockton, too. Chambliss surely has LSU fans salivating at the possibility of him following Lane Kiffin to Baton Rouge.

But first things first, Chambliss has at least one more game to play when the Rebels face Miami in the semifinals at the Fiesta Bowl. Assuming Chambliss gets another year, he’ll be a Heisman front-runner wherever he decides to play.

2

SO SWEET The announced attendance at the Sugar Bowl was 68,371. It would have been one more if former Ole Miss/current LSU coach Lane Kiffin attended. Instead, Kiffin attended the LSU women’s basketball game in Baton Rouge. The 92nd edition of the Sugar Bowl delivered big time and will likely go down as one of the better games in the event’s storied history. It was no doubt the best game in the quarterfinal round of this year’s College Football Playoff. The Cotton Bowl, Rose Bowl and Orange Bowl were decided by an average of only 22.6 points.This one came down to a final, thrilling minute.

3

THE RUST FACTOR Maybe it’s best to stay away from one of those top-4 seeds in the College Football Playoff. We’re two years into the 12-team playoff format and the teams that have had the long layoffs have usually lost. Georgia, which hadn’t played since the SEC championship game on Dec. 6, was the latest victim. Teams with the bye are now 1-7 over the past two seasons. Arizona State, Oregon, Boise State and Georgia all lost after a bye last season. This season, Ohio State, Texas Tech and Georgia (again) all lost. The only exception has been Indiana. The No. 1 Hoosiers thumped Alabama 38-3 earlier Thursday in the Rose Bowl.

Ole Miss has become SEC’s great powder-blue hope No Lane, no problem.

The Ole Miss Rebels are the SEC’s last team standing.

Who would have thought that six months ago?

Heck, who would have thought that a month ago, when their head coach, Lane Kiffin, abandoned them for LSU? Now, the Rebels are the undisJeff puted kings of the Duncan SEC. They are the league’s only remaining team after dispatching Georgia 39-34 in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal game Thursday night at the Sugar Bowl.

As college football enters its final two weeks of play, the SEC, the sport’s most popular, hyped and dominant conference, has been reduced to a single representative. It’s Hotty Toddy or bust for the league.

It’ll be up to the Rebels to carry the torch for the league when they battle Miami next weekend in the CFP semifinal game at the Fiesta Bowl.

If, indeed, it just means more in the SEC, the league’s members have certainly not acted like it this bowl season. Other than Ole Miss, the league has proven to be a fraternity of frauds.

Bama? The conference’s longtime standard-bearer was blasted from CFP by Indiana, 38-3, in the CFP quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl. It was Alabama’s worst loss in more than a quarter century, since a 42-6 beatdown at Arkansas in 1998.

Texas A&M? They were punked

by Miami in the first round, mustering just a field goal in a demor-

STAFF PHOTO By BRETT DUKE

Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, left, and running back Kewan Lacy hold up the Sugar Bowl trophy following the team’s win over the Georgia Bulldogs in the 92nd Sugar Bowl game on Thursday at the Caesars Superdome. alizing 10-3 loss.

Oklahoma? The Sooners failed to boom for most of the game in their 34-24 first-round CFP loss to Alabama in Norman, Oklahoma.

Meanwhile, league stalwarts LSU and Tennessee went down in their bowl matchups against Houston and Illinois. And the

league’s nouveau riche – Vanderbilt and Missouri — took it on the chin, falling to Iowa and Virginia, respectively.

Of course, that’s more than Auburn, Florida and Arkansas can say. They were so bad, they missed the bowl season entirely.

The SEC is a woeful 4-8 this

postseason, its record in the CFP an underwhelming 3-4. The league’s only wins have come over Group of Five (Ole Miss over Tulane) and intra-conference competition (‘Bama over Oklahoma, Ole Miss over Georgia).

When SEC teams have stepped out of their own ranks, they have

fared poorly, going 2-6. (Mississippi State can still save a little face for the conference by beating Wake Forest in the Duke Mayo’s Bowl on Friday.)

It’s been a while since we’ve seen the SEC look this bad and perform this poorly on a national stage.

If the Rebels can’t run the table, it will be the third year in a row the SEC has gone without a national title. Big Ten teams have won the last two, and the league has a great chance to make it three for three with Indiana and Oregon still alive.

The last time the SEC went this long without a national champion was 2002, when Florida State, Oklahoma, Miami and Ohio State completed a four-year run of non-SEC champs. Since then, an SEC team has played for the national title at least once every two or three years. In that span, the SEC has won 14 of 22 championships.

As you can imagine, the rest of college football is showing no mercy on the SEC, especially after the league’s commissioner, Greg Sankey, had the audacity to claim that seven conference teams deserved to make the 12team CFP this year. After years of having sand kicked in their proverbial faces by the biggest bullies on college football’s beach, the other conferences and their fans are having a field day with the SEC’s struggles. It will only get worse if/when Ole Miss is eliminated.

No, it’s up to the Rebels now.

If the SEC is going to salvage its reputation as college football’s best league, it will be up to them to make it happen. They are the SEC’s great powder blue hope.

NOTEBOOK

Carneiro breaks field goal mark twice

BY ZACH EWING and ROD WALKER Staff writers

STAFF PHOTO By BRETT DUKE

Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss throws a pass against the Georgia Bulldogs during the first half of the 92nd Sugar Bowl on Thursday at the Caesars Superdome.

REBELS

Continued from page 1C

about 12 people in there, like at a watch party,” Kiffin said in an ESPN interview earlier this season. “Get him on the phone (Kiffin told his staff). He’s flying here tonight.”

Now one of the big questions is after Ole Miss flies to Arizona for the Fiesta Bowl — then possibly Miami for the CFP championship game — could Chambliss be flying elsewhere?

College football’s two-week transfer portal window opened Friday. To play at Ole Miss or anywhere else next season — Chambliss was asked at Tuesday’s Sugar Bowl media day about speculation that he could follow Kiffin and Weis to LSU — he would have to be granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA. As of late Thursday night, Chambliss said he was still waiting on word of his appeal.

“Hopefully we hear an answer soon,” Chambliss said. “I’ve got people working on it.”

Meanwhile, he’s working on keeping Ole Miss in the national championship hunt.

fourth quarter Oct. 18 in Athens but gave up 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to lose 4335. Chambliss was just 1-of-10 passing in that fourth quarter for 1 yard in what was his first FBS road start.

“I didn’t play my best in the fourth quarter (at Georgia), so I wanted to redeem myself,” said Chambliss, who completed 30 of 46 passes for 362 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another 14 yards. “Our coaches put us in a great position and we executed.”

One of those coaches Chambliss mentioned was offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr., who eventually will be the LSU offensive coordinator under Lane Kiffin when the Rebels’ CFP run ends.

It was Weis who was mesmerized watching highlights of Chambliss leading Ferris State in Michigan to the 2024 Division II national title, calling in other assistants and finally Kiffin to confirm what he was seeing.

For more LSU sports updates, “By the time we were done sign up for our newsletter at watching the whole thing, there’s theadvocate.com/lsunewsletter

The Sugar Bowl has been around for 92 years, so theoretically records should be hard to come by.

That wasn’t the case until Thursday night at the Caesars Superdome, where Ole Miss and Georgia each set a significant Sugar Bowl record in the first half — in one case two separate times.

Ole Miss kicker Lucas Carneiro set a game record that had lasted 54 years when he kicked a 55-yard fi eld goal in the first quarter. He later hit the game-winner from 47 yards out with nine seconds left in the Rebels’ 39-34 win.

Carneiro then broke his own Sugar Bowl record that lasted all of 15 minutes when he drilled a 56-yarder later on the Rebels’ next drive for a 6-0 Ole Miss lead.

The previous record belonged to Oklahoma’s John Carroll, who kicked a 53-yard field goal in the 1972 Sugar Bowl at Tulane Stadium.

Later in the first half, Georgia’s Daylen Everette scooped up a fumble

by Ole Miss running back Kewan Lacy and raced 47 yards for a Bulldogs touchdown. It was the eighth fumble return for a touchdown in Sugar Bowl history and by far the longest, more than doubling the previous record of Jim Bacon’s 20yard scoop-and-score for Virginia Tech in the Dec. 31, 1995, game.

Carneiro’s chance at a third 50plus yard field goal was sabotaged by poor clock management at the end of the first half. Ole Miss tight end Dae’Quan Wright was tackled inbounds at the Georgia 35 with less than 10 seconds left, and the Rebels seemed unsure of whether to spike the ball (it was fourth down) or rush the field goal unit on. Time expired

third and 10, the Ole Miss defense finally had its stop. Alas, Georgia’s Brett Thorson hit a beautiful punt that was downed at the 2-yard line.

Georgia also successfully faked a punt in the third quarter, with little-used wide receiver Landon Roldan completing a 16-yard pass to Lawson Luckie after a reverse.

The Philly Special-type play converted a fourth and 5 and led to a Bulldogs field goal.

Hall of Famers The Sugar Bowl recognized its 2026 Hall of Fame class during a STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD pre-game ceremony.

The four members of this year’s Ole Miss kicker Lucas Carneiro class were: Notre Dame quarterreacts after kicking the gameback Tom Clements (1973), Ole Miss winning field goal against Georgia quarterback Bobby Franklin (1960), Alat the Sugar Bowl on Thursday. abama linebacker Barry Krauss (1978 and 1979), and Missouri halfback before Carneiro had a chance.

Johnny Roland (1966).

It was a return to the Dome for A little more defense Clements, who served as quarterWhen the Rebels and Bulldogs backs coach for the Saints from met in the regular season Oct. 18 1997-1999. in Athens, Georgia, they combined for 78 points, 55 first downs, 861 Lagniappe yards … and only two punts, both The announced attendance was

by Ole Miss in the fourth quarter. 68,371, a sellout. … This was the The Sugar Bowl was quite a first College Football Playoff quarcontrast. The teams combined terfinal game out of eight tries in for three punts by the end of the which both teams led during regufirst quarter and five in the first lation. … Thursday’s game was the half, including three forced by first time since the 1963 season that Ole Miss. Rebels coach Pete Gold- two SEC teams played each other in ing, who was the team’s defensive the Sugar Bowl. In that one, No. 8 coordinator before replacing Lane Alabama beat No. 7 Ole Miss 12-7.

Kiffin as head coach last month, Despite being in the same conferhad repeatedly referenced the ence, it was the first game between fact his unit didn’t force a single Alabama and Ole Miss since 1944. punt in the first meeting. … The referees for the Sugar Bowl He didn’t have to wait long for were from the Big Ten Conferthat to change in the rematch. ence. The first penalty flag of the Georgia’s first drive did gain 29 night wasn’t thrown until the 11:39 yards and two first downs, but mark of the second quarter, a facewhen Suntarine Perkins batted down a mask infraction against Georgia’s pass at the line of scrimmage on Rasean Dinkins.

6C ● Saturday, January 3, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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ACC improves its nonconference showing

BY AARON BEARD AP basketball writer

DURHAM, N.C. — It wasn’t long after sixth-ranked Duke finally fought off a pesky Georgia Tech team that coach Jon Scheyer pointed to the lesson emerging from the Blue Devils’ Atlantic Coast Conference opener.

“I think for our guys ... they’re learning very quickly that from this point forward, you’ve got to fight, scrap and claw for every game you play,” Scheyer said.

It’s a message set to apply across the ACC considering the league is on better footing compared to this time last year as the conference slate takes hold.

Notably, the ACC had a stronger showing in marquee nonconference matchups and has shown more depth of quality teams compared to last year with Duke operating as a one-team show on the way to the Final Four. And that means more games ahead for teams to help their postseason résumés in league play, something that wasn’t happening last year as the ACC faced a dwindling number of March Madness bids before posting its lowest haul in a dozen years.

“I just feel like the league as a whole, it’s so much better,” said Terrence Oglesby, a college basketball and NBA TV analyst who played at Clemson. “Maybe not top to bottom, but top to about 13, 14 (teams). It’s a league that should stand up pretty well on Selection Sunday just because of how the metrics are going to work.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By BEN MCKEOWN

Duke head coach Jon Scheyer, right, speaks to players Cameron Boozer, third from right, Isaiah Evans and Patrick Ngongba, left, during a timeout on Wednesday against Georgia Tech in Durham, N.C.

a multiyear discussion about getting men’s basketball back in line with its tradition-rich history as a calling-card sport for the league. By last March, the 18-team ACC had secured just four tickets to March Madness, the lowest since getting four as a 12-team conference in 2013 and part of the larger decline from a record nine bids in both 2017 and 2018.

The four bids in 2025, though, was a reasonably predictable outNumbers up come at this time last year based The ACC stumbled through a on indicators like the number of rough 2024-25, a low point amid AP Top 25 teams, NET rankings

and Quadrant 1 wins that top a postseason résumé. That’s why the numbers stand out now as the ACC shifts into conference play (all data runs through Dec. 29 for both years): —The ACC has four ranked teams in No. 6 Duke, No. 12 North Carolina, No. 16 Louisville and No. 21 Virginia, up from one last year.

—The league has eight teams in the top 40 of the NET rankings, the constantly shifting sorting tool used by the NCAA selection committee. That’s up from five last year, right behind the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference (each

with nine), and ahead of the Big 12 (seven).

—The ACC has 16 Quad 1 wins and 19 in Quad 2, up from 10 and 13, respectively, from last year.

—And the ACC has gone 38-39 against the Big 12, Big East, Big Ten and SEC, a win rate of 49.4%, according to Sportradar. The ACC was just 17-52 (24.6%) in those games last year to rank by far the worst of the top leagues in those matchups.

Postseason implications The impact of the nonconference play lingers in establishing

a pecking order when it comes to league strength. And the stronger that league is, the more chances to teams to help their cases for NCAA Tournament bids by winning conference games.

That’s why Oglesby pointed to the ACC’s showing so far as “night and day,” and why he’s feeling confident in his preseason projection of the ACC getting eight bids.

The ACC is now heading into a shorter league schedule after reducing its 20-game slate to 18, which gave teams more room to schedule quality nonconference matchups. It’s all up to league teams now to capitalize on the opportunities ahead leading to Selection Sunday (March 15).

Virginia Tech (12-2, 1-0) offers an example. The Hokies haven’t been to the NCAAs since winning the ACC Tournament in 2022. But they added key pieces like West Virginia transfer Amani Hansberry and top international prospect Neoklis Avdalas in an offseason retooling. And they opened league play Wednesday by beating the ranked Cavaliers in triple overtime.

The league’s overall improvement means the Hokies have nine Quad 1 opportunities ahead, too.

There’s a visit from Duke (Jan. 31) and a second matchup against the rival Cavs (March 7), but road games with SMU (Jan. 14), N.C. State (Feb. 7), Clemson (Feb. 11) and Miami (Feb. 17) offer valuable opportunities, too.

“Great admiration for them,” Hokies coach Mike Young said of Virginia after the win. “But dammit, I’ve got a good basketball team, too, all right? And I’m not going to shy away from that.”

SCOREBOARD Odds

Indiana

Sports Betting Line NFL

Southwest Division

Saturday

FAVORITE at TAMPA Seattle

Sunday

OPEN 3 4½

FAVORITE OPEN at MIN 1½ at CIN 8½ at HOUSTON 4½ at JAX 4½ at ATLANTA 5½ Dallas 1½ at LA RAMS 4½ at NE 2½ at BUFFALO 9½ Kansas City 6 at DENVER 2½ at PHILA 4½ at CHICAGO 1½ Baltimore 3

TODAY O/U UNDERDOG 3 (43½) Carolina 2 (47½) at SAN FRAN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG 8½ (37) Green Bay 7½ (44½) Cleveland 10 (39) Indianapolis 12½ (47½) Tennessee 3½ (44) New Orleans 3½ (49½)at NY GIANTS 7½ (46½) Arizona 11½ (45½) Miami 7½ (37½) NY Jets 5½ (36½) at VEGAS 12½ (37½) LA Chargers 4 (39) Washington 3 (50½) Detroit 3½ (41½) at PITT

College Football Thursday

Fiesta Bowl FAVORITE OPEN Miami (FL) 3

TODAY O/U UNDERDOG 3 (51½) Ole Miss

Peach Bowl Atlanta FAVORITE OPEN Indiana 4

TODAY O/U UNDERDOG 4 (47½) Oregon

Friday, Jan. 9

NBA

Saturday

FAVORITE Minnesota at TORONTO at NEW YORK at CHICAGO at SA Houston at GOLDEN ST Boston

LINE 2½ OFF OFF OFF OFF 7½ OFF 2

O/U UNDERDOG (236½) at MIAMI (OFF) Atlanta (OFF) Philadelphia (OFF) Charlotte (OFF) Portland (226½) at DALLAS (OFF) Utah (221½) at LA CLIPPRS

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Saturday

FAVORITE at NC STATE Clemson at ALABAMA Villanova at ST. JOHN’S at TEXAS TECH at GEORGIA BYU Kansas Vanderbilt Houston at TCU North Carolina at ARKANSAS Duke Arizona at IOWA Illinois Purdue Florida

NHL

LINE 3½ 2½ 5½ 1½ 10½ 10½ 4½ 9½ 6½ 16½ 9½ 1½ 1½ 1½ 16½ 18½ 4½ 18½ 8½ 7½

UNDERDOG Virginia at PITTSBURGH Kentucky at BUTLER Providence Oklahoma State Auburn at KANSAS STATE at UCF at S. CAROLINA at CINCINNATI Baylor at SMU Tennessee at FLORIDA STATE at UTAH UCLA at PENN STATE at WISCONSIN at MISSOURI

Saturday

FAVORITE LINE UNDERDOG at DETROIT -149 Pittsburgh at COLUMBUS OFF Buffalo at NEW JERSEY -132 Utah at EDMONTON -186 Philadelphia Montreal -123 at ST. LOUIS Tampa Bay -192 at SAN JOSE Colorado -142 at CAROLINA at WASHINGTN -337 Chicago at OTTAWA -141 Winnipeg at N.Y ISLNDRS -114 Toronto at CALGARY -132 Nashville at LOS ANGELES -141 Minnesota Boston -116 at VANCOUVR

LINE +124 OFF +110 +154 +103 +159 +119 +267 +119 -106 +110 +119 -104

NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE New York Boston Toronto Philadelphia Brooklyn

Southeast Division

W 23 21 20 18 10

L 10 12 15 14 21

Pct GB .697 — .636 2 .571 4 .563 4½ .323 12

Orlando Miami Atlanta Charlotte Washington

W 19 19 16 11 8

L 15 15 19 22 24

Pct GB .559 — .559 — .457 3½ .333 7½ .250 10

Detroit Cleveland Chicago Milwaukee

W 25 19 16 14

L 9 16 17 20

Pct GB .735 — .543 6½ .485 8½ .412 11

Central Division

28

.176

San Antonio Houston Memphis Dallas New Orleans

W 24 21 15 12 8

L 9 10 18 23 27

Pct GB .727 — .677 2 .455 9 .343 13 .229 17

Oklahoma City Denver Minnesota Portland Utah

W 29 23 21 14 12

L 5 10 13 20 21

Pct GB .853 — .697 5½ .618 8 .412 15 .364 16½

L.A. Lakers Phoenix Golden State L.A. Clippers Sacramento

W 20 19 18 12 8

L 11 14 16 21 26

Pct GB .645 — .576 2 .529 3½ .364 9 .235 13½

Northwest Division

Pacific Division

Thursday’s Games

19

College basketball Men’s state scores, schedule Wednesday’s games

Tulane 79, East Carolina 70 South Alabama 63, UL 58 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 83, UNO 69 Stephen F. Austin 74, Northwestern State 64 Nicholls 71, Texas-Rio Grande Valley 69

Lamar at McNeese, n Louisiana Tech at Middle Tennessee, n

Saturday’s games

Southern Miss at UL, noon Texas State at UL-Monroe, 2:30 p.m.

LSU at Texas A&M, 3 p.m.

East Texas A&M at Nicholls, 3 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin at Southeastern, 3:30 p.m.

UNO at Northwestern State, 3:30 p.m.

Prairie View A&M at Grambling, 4 p.m.

Texas Southern at Southern, 5 p.m.

Southern at Lamar, 6 p.m.

Sunday’s games

Saturday’s Games

Minnesota at Miami, 4 p.m.

Atlanta at Toronto, 6:30 p.m.

Philadelphia at New York, 6:30 p.m.

Charlotte at Chicago, 7 p.m.

Portland at San Antonio, 7 p.m.

Houston at Dallas, 7:30 p.m.

Utah at Golden State, 9 p.m.

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

Pro football NFL AMERICAN CONFERENCE

Florida Atlantic at Tulane, noon Louisiana Tech at Western Kentucky, 2 p.m.

Canisius 85, Fairfield 81 Castleton 96, SUNY-Canton 91 Cornell 133, Alfred State 65 Grove City 69, Alfred 42 Merrimack 75, Mount St Marys 65 Niagara 64, Sacred Heart 61 Northern Vermont-Lyndon 85, Massachusetts 74 SUNY-Plattsburgh 76, Clarkson 72 Sage College of Albany 93, John Jay College 87 Southern Connecticut State 79, Mercy 76

Pct PF PA .813 452310 .688 446357 .438 337386 .188 292468

x-Jacksonville x-Houston e-Indianapolis e-Tennessee

W L 12 4 11 5 8 8 3 13

T 0 0 0 0

Pct PF PA .750 433329 .688 366265 .500 436374 .188 277437

Pittsburgh Baltimore e-Cincinnati e-Cleveland

W L 9 7 8 8 6 10 4 12

T 0 0 0 0

Pct PF PA .563 371363 .500 400372 .375 396472 .250 259361

UL-Monroe 61, South Alabama 44 Southern 70, Prairie View 55 Troy 80, UL 54 Texas Southern 61, Grambling 58 Kentucky 80, LSU 78

T 0 0 0 0

Pct PF PA .813 382308 .688 365321 .375 350314 .125 227420

Sam Houston at Louisiana Tech, n

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

W L 13 3 11 5 6 10 2 14

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

W L 11 5 7 8 4 12 3 13

T 0 1 0 0

Pct PF PA .688 362301 .469 454477 .250 332434 .188 347422

Carolina Tampa Bay e-Atlanta e-New Orleans

W L 8 8 7 9 7 9 6 10

T 0 0 0 0

Pct PF PA .500 297364 .438 364397 .438 334384 .375 289364

y-Chicago x-Green Bay e-Minnesota e-Detroit

W 11 9 8 8

L 5 6 8 8

T 0 1 0 0

Pct PF PA .688 425396 .594 388344 .500 328330 .500 462397

x-Seattle x-San Francisco x-L.A. Rams e-Arizona

W L 13 3 12 4 11 5 3 13

T 0 0 0 0

Pct PF PA .813 470289 .750 434358 .688 481326 .188 335451

North

West

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

Carolina at Tampa Bay, 3:30 p.m.

Seattle at San Francisco, 7 p.m.

Sunday’s Games

College football Bowl glance

SOUTH

Florida International 89, New Mexico State 74

MIDWEST

Grand Valley State 79, Michigan Tech 75 Northern Michigan 101, Davenport 65

Women’s state scores, schedule Wednesday’s games

Stephen F. Austin 76, Northwestern State 71 Nicholls State 66, UTRGV 56

Thursday’s games

Independence Bowl Louisiana Tech 23, Coastal Carolina 14 Music City Bowl Illinois 30, Tennessee 28 Alamo Bowl TCU 30, No. 16 Southern Cal 27, OT

Wednesday

ReliaQuest Bowl No. 23 Iowa 34, No. 13 Vanderbilt 27 Sun Bowl Duke 42, Arizona St. 39 Citrus Bowl No. 14 Texas 41, No. 18 Michigan 27 Las Vegas Bowl No. 15 Utah 44, Nebraska 22

Friday

Armed Forces Bowl Texas State 41, Rice 10 Liberty Bowl No. 22 Navy 35, Cincinnati 13 Duke’s Mayo Bowl Mississippi St. vs. Wake Forest, n (ESPN) Holiday Bowl No. 21 Arizona vs. SMU, n

College Football Playoff

Quarterfinals Wednesday At Cotton Bowl, Arlington, Texas No. 10 Miami 24, No. 3 Ohio St. 14

Friday’s game

Saturday’s games

Arkansas State at UL-Monroe, noon Lamar at McNeese, 1 p.m.

Northwestern State at Nicholls, 1 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin at Southeastern, 1 p.m.

Nicholls at Northwestern State, 1 p.m.

Prairie View at Grambling, 2 p.m.

Tulane at Wichita State, 2 p.m.

Texas Southern at Southern, 2 p.m.

East Texas A&M at UNO, 2 p.m.

South Alabama at UL, 3 p.m.

Thursday At Orange Bowl, Miami Gardens, Fla. No. 5 Oregon 23, No. 4 Texas Tech 0 At Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Calif.

No. 1 Indiana 38, No. 11 Alabama 3 At Sugar Bowl, New Orleans No. 6 Ole Miss 39, No. 2 Georgia 34

FCS glance Semifinals

Sunday’s game

LSU at Vanderbilt, 4 p.m.

Montana State 48, Montana 23 Illinois State 30, Villanova 14

Women’s national score

Final

Friday’s games EAST

Monday Frisco, Texas Illinois State (12-4) vs. Montana State (13-2), 6:30 p.m., ABC

Fairleigh Dickinson 68, Mercyhurst 46 LIU 72, Central Connecticut 56 Towson 57, Campbell 54

SOUTH

Hockey

FAR WEST

NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE

Belmont 78, Bradley 57 Samford 70, Fisk 54

UC Riverside 65, Hawai’i 58

Late Thursday No. 11 Kentucky 80, No. 5 LSU 78 KENT

Hassett Key Obi Strack Morgan Carroll Blue

FG

FT

Reb

0-4 8-14 3-11 6-13 7-10 0-1 0-0

0-0 0-0 1-1 9-16 0-0 3-10 3-7 4-9 7-12 0-3 0-0 0-2 0-0 0-0

Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS 16 39 31 31 39 6 3

1 0 2 1 12 0 0

2 2 3 4 2 0 0

0 17 6 15 24 0 0

Atlantic Division Detroit Tampa Bay Montreal Buffalo Florida Toronto Boston Ottawa

GP 42 40 40 39 39 40 41 39

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

40 41 39 41 39 40 42 39

24 22 20 21 18 21 19 17

13 15 12 15 12 17 18 16

GP 39 41 41 41 40 42 40 39

W 30 25 24 19 18 16 15 15

L OT Pts GF GA 2 7 67 159 88 9 7 57 143 113 10 7 55 129 108 19 3 41 126 118 18 4 40 114 133 18 8 40 105 146 18 7 37 112 130 20 4 34 113 122

WESTERN CONFERENCE Central Division

Colorado Dallas Minnesota Utah Nashville St. Louis Chicago Winnipeg

Pacific Division

3 4 7 5 9 2 5 6

51 135 122 48 116 117 47 119 114 47 133 118 45 126 126 44 109 120 43 109 116 40 118 131

GP W L OT Pts GF GA Edmonton 41 20 15 6 46 137 138 Vegas 39 17 11 11 45 122 123 Anaheim 40 21 16 3 45 137 141 San Jose 40 20 17 3 43 124 139 Seattle 38 17 14 7 41 99 112 Los Angeles 39 16 14 9 41 102 107 Calgary 40 18 18 4 40 108 117 Vancouver 39 16 20 3 35 112 136 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.

Thursday’s Games

Ottawa 4, Washington 3 Utah 7, N.Y. Islanders 2 Toronto 6, Winnipeg 5 Tampa Bay 5, Los Angeles 3 Montreal 7, Carolina 5 Pittsburgh 4, Detroit 3, OT Chicago 4, Dallas 3 Seattle 4, Nashville 1

Friday’s Games

Dec. 30

T 0 0 0 0

NATIONAL CONFERENCE

Joyner 27 7-8 0-0 1-5 0 1 14 Koval 17 1-4 0-0 1-2 0 5 2 F. Johnsn 38 7-13 1-1 0-1 2 1 15 Richard 31 4-9 4-4 0-3 2 4 14 Williams 38 9-17 5-6 0-8 5 2 26 Knox 21 1-3 3-4 2-4 0 2 5 Fulwiley 16 1-6 0-0 0-1 1 3 2 Z. Johnsn 12 0-1 0-0 0-2 2 2 0 Team 0 0-0 0-0 0-3 0 0 0 Totals 200 30-61 13-15 4-29 12 20 78 Percentages: FG .492, FT .867.

3-Point Goals: 5-11, .455 (Williams 3-5, Richard 2-4, F.Johnson 0-2) Blocked Shots: 4 (Fulwiley 1, F.Johnson 1, Joyner 1, Koval 1) Turnovers: 8 (Williams 2, Fulwiley 1, Z.Johnson 1, Joyner 1, Knox 1, Koval 1, Richard 1) Steals: 5 (F.Johnson 3, Koval 2) Technical Fouls: None Kentucky 22 19 19 20 — 80 LSU 23 18 24 13 — 78 A_11,485 Officials_Tiffany Bird, Ifeyinwa Seales, Toni Patillo

Birmingham Bowl Georgia Southern 29, Appalachian State 10

Friday’s game EAST

W L 13 3 11 5 7 9 3 13

West

Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS

Dec. 29

Men’s national scores

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

North

LSU

Friday’s games

Friday’s Games

South

Boone 35 6-16 1-2 1-4 3 4 18 Team 0 0-0 0-0 0-1 0 0 0 Totals 200 30-69 12-2217-45 19 17 80 Percentages: FG .435, FT .545.

3-Point Goals: 8-27, .296 (Boone 5-13, Morgan 3-3, Hassett 0-3, Key 0-2, Obi 0-3, Strack 0-2, Carroll 0-1) Blocked Shots: None.

Turnovers: 10 (Key 4, Obi 4, Hassett 1, Team 1) Steals: 4 (Boone 1, Key 1, Morgan 1, Strack 1) Technical Fouls: None FG FT Reb

Southern Miss 87, UL-Monroe 73

Brooklyn at Washington, n San Antonio at Indiana, n Atlanta at New York, n Denver at Cleveland, n Charlotte at Milwaukee, 7n Orlando at Chicago, n Portland at New Orleans, n Sacramento at Phoenix, n Oklahoma City at Golden State, n Memphis at L.A. Lakers, n

East

Cleveland at Cincinnati, noon Dallas at N.Y. Giants, noon Green Bay at Minnesota, noon Indianapolis at Houston, noon New Orleans at Atlanta, noon Tennessee at Jacksonville, noon Arizona at L.A. Rams, 3:25 p.m.

Detroit at Chicago, 3:25 p.m.

Kansas City at Las Vegas, 3:25 p.m.

L.A. Chargers at Denver, 3:25 p.m.

Miami at New England, 3:25 p.m.

N.Y. Jets at Buffalo, 3:25 p.m.

Washington at Philadelphia, 3:25 p.m.

Baltimore at Pittsburgh, 7:20 p.m.

Thursday’s game

Houston 120, Brooklyn 96 Miami 118, Detroit 112 Philadelphia 123, Dallas 108 Boston 120, Sacramento 106 L.A. Clippers 118, Utah 101

South

Pro basketball

Atlantic Division

6

WESTERN CONFERENCE

W 24 24 22 21 21 19 21 19

L OT Pts GF GA 14 4 52 130 134 13 3 51 135 107 12 6 50 137 136 14 4 46 124 121 15 3 45 126 124 15 6 44 134 134 18 2 44 130 134 15 5 43 129 127

GP W

L OT Pts GF GA

Metropolitan Division

St. Louis 4, Vegas 3 N.Y. Rangers vs. Florida at loanDepot park, n Minnesota at Anaheim, n Seattle at Vancouver, n

Saturday’s Games

Pittsburgh at Detroit, 11 a.m.

Buffalo at Columbus, 2 p.m.

Utah at New Jersey, 2 p.m.

Philadelphia at Edmonton, 2:30 p.m.

Montreal at St. Louis, 3 p.m.

Tampa Bay at San Jose, 3 p.m.

Chicago at Washington, 6 p.m.

Colorado at Carolina, 6 p.m.

Nashville at Calgary, 6 p.m.

Toronto at N.Y. Islanders, 6 p.m.

Winnipeg at Ottawa, 6 p.m.

Minnesota at Los Angeles, 8 p.m.

Boston at Vancouver, 9 p.m.

Transactions Major League Baseball

American League MINNESOTA TWINS — Acquired 1B Eric Wagaman from the Miami Marlins in exchange for LHP Kade Bragg. Designated 3B Ryan Fitzgerald for assignment.

National League WASHINGTON NATIONALS — Agreed to terms with 1B Matt Mervis on a minor league contract.

BASKETBALL

National Basketball Association MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES — Signed C Christian Koloko to a 10-day contract.

FOOTBALL

National Football League ARIZONA CARDINALS — Placed WR Marvin Harrison Jr. on injured reserve.

BALTIMORE RAVENS — Signed NT John Jenkins to a one-year contract extension.

MIAMI DOLPHINS — Placed TE Darren Waller on injured reserve. Signed RB Donovan Edwards to the active roster. Released CB Clarence Lewis from the practice squad.

MINNESOTA VIKINGS — Signed DL Taki Taimani to the active roster.

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS — Placed WR Mason Tipton, DB Michael Davis, and TEs Jack Stoll and Zaire Mitchell-Paden on injured reserve.

Signed WRs Ronnie Bell and Samori Toure and OLB Fadil Diggs to the active roster.

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS — Signed OLB Jason Pierre-Paul to the active roster. Waived LB John Bullock. Activated DT Calijah Kancey from injured reserve.

HOCKEY

National Hockey League COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS — Placed D Brendan Smith on injured reserve.

EDMONTON OILERS — Recalled Fs Quinn Hutson and Isaac Howard from Bakersfield (AHL).

NEW YORK ISLANDERS — Assigned D Marshall Warren to Bridgeport (AHL). Activated G Ilya Sorokin from injured reserve.

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING — Signed D CharleEdouard D’Astous to a one-year, one-way contract extension.

VANCOUVER CANUCKS — Placed F Marco Rossi on injured reserve. Recalled F Arshdeep Bains from Abbotsford (AHL).

LIVING

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

|

S at u r d ay, J a n u a ry 3, 2026

7Cn

Roy Petitfils

A few solutions to help teens, yourself If you are raising or working with teens or preteens today, congratulations: you are engaged in one of the most psychologically demanding jobs on the planet.

You are attempting to guide a developing human brain — one that is unfinished, emotionally volatile and desperately trying to orient them toward adulthood, competence and something resembling wisdom.

This is no small task.

Teens live at the intersection of chaos and potential. They are not children, but they are still not adults. One minute they are capable of abstract moral arguments that would baffle Socrates and the next they sleep through a police siren alarm and are late for school. This is not a malfunctioning system; it is the system.

Many adults assume teens are either fragile glass figurines or fully formed grown-ups who “should know better by now.”

They are neither. Teenagers are apprentices to adulthood. And apprentices, by definition, make mistakes — often loudly and with dramatic flair.

So what can we do to help them through this time?

Provide structure. Children and adolescents crave boundaries, though they balk at them constantly.

Clear expectations, consistent consequences and predictable routines help reduce their innate anxiety. Loosey-goosey structure does not liberate teens — it actually terrifies them. When everything is negotiable, their natural insecurities are heightened. Enforcing expectations is not being mean, its being loving.

Treat them seriously. Teenagers are wrestling with real questions: Who am I? Do I matter? Is life meaningful? But they are also convinced that a bad haircut is a social death sentence. Hold space for their concerns without validating every emotional catastrophe.

Sometimes the most helpful response is a calm perspective and well-timed, “You’ll survive this. I promise.”

Orient them toward responsibility. Modern culture tells teens that life’s goal is to “be happy,” which is vague, unstable and largely dependent on Wi-Fi strength. A better aim is competence. Give them meaningful responsibilities — real ones, not fake participation trophies. Responsibility builds confidence. Confidence reduces anxiety.

Anxiety is currently winning, so we should probably change tactics.

Model what you want them to be. Teens have a Ph.D. in picking up on hypocrisy in others, albeit not always for themselves. If you demand respect but speak with contempt, they pick up on that. As unfortunate as this is, if our standards for them are higher than we hold ourselves, our best efforts will often be thwarted. Fortunately, they are aware when we put effort in. And an occasional acknowledgment of our own shortcomings helps too.

Use humor generously. Humor disarms defensiveness. It reminds everyone that this phase, while intense, is temporary. One day, your teenager will sleep until noon, eat all your food and then leave. And you will miss them. Probably.

Teenagers don’t need adults who are perfect. They need adults who are stable, honest, patient and brave enough to stand between them and chaos — even when chaos is very loud and wearing headphones.

Petitfils is a licensed professional counselor in Youngsville.

From book-sized to oversized, Jency Griffin Hogan’s Jesus paintings span all the emotions.

PROVIDED PHOTOS

A PATH TO HEALING

Creative Baton Rouge couple turns adoption loss journey into an intimate art show

BY JUDY BERGERON Staff writer

They named him Hart.

The baby boy, something they’d dreamed and prayed about for years, was finally in their arms.

Just months after bringing him home, though, adoptive parents Jency Griffin Hogan and Aaron Hogan were forced to give back Hart, and it shattered theirs.

With infertility issues, unsuccessful in vitro fertilization procedures and two prior adoption fails, this latest roadblock to parenthood was devastating for the Baton Rouge couple.

“I come from a family, like my parents, when anything hard happened, we always were like, ‘focus on spirituality and Jesus,’” Griffin Hogan said.

That unthinkable day Jency Griffin Hogan, left, and Aaron Hogan sought a reset in Greece after the loss of baby Hart.

The Hogans, who pursued private adoption through a local attorney, met and gave support to baby Hart’s biological mother

during her pregnancy. The infant, born chemically dependent due to the mother’s drug use, spent his first weeks in a hospital NICU, with the Hogans by his bedside.

“We gave him a foundation of safety and love that he needed while he was coming off of his drugs,” Griffin Hogan explained.

“I was in the NICU with him for five weeks, and we had him home.

He got a very strong foundation of lots of prayer, lots of love.”

Four months into life with Hart, his biological father came forward; his sister, Hart’s aunt, wanted to adopt him. She took the couple to court and won.

On Dec. 4, 2024, the Hogans had to tell Hart goodbye.

“When I handed him over to the aunt, he was a happy, beaming (baby). No screaming, no crying. He started to smile really big for the first time,” Griffin Hogan recalled.

ä See ART, page 8C

One Serop’s Cafe closing, another expanding Corporate location will be folded into Perkins site

BY MADDIE SCOTT Staff writer

After 25 years of serving Greek and Lebanese food at 7474 Corporate Blvd., Serop’s Cafe is closing and expanding into another location.

The Corporate Boulevard spot will expand into the existing Serop’s Express at 9848 Perkins Road, which is across from Perkins Rowe, according to the Corporate Boulevard location manager Jose Lemus.

Lemus, and almost all of the staff from the soon-to-close spot, will transition work to the Perkins Road location.

Serop’s Cafe opened on Government Street (now closed) in 1979 and currently serves the Baton Rouge community with five locations around the city, Lemus said.

The expansion means there’ll be more tables and chairs added as well as an expanded menu, which will be available beginning Monday. The full menu will be similar to the one at Corporate Boulevard, with a variety of kebabs, pasta, fried shrimp, seafood gumbo and more.

The Perkins location is not expected to temporarily close for expansion, Lemus said.

The Serop’s Cafe on Corporate Boulevard is closing.

STAFF FILE PHOTO

8C ● Saturday, January 3, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

Next time, make the kind gesture Dear Miss Manners: It’s frigid cold here these days, but that didn’t stop a huge turnout for a very popular food truck. The lines were pretty long, both to order and to pick up, but people passed the Judith 15-20 minutes chatMartin ting with each other MISS and joking about MANNERS the cold.

An elderly man (late 70s, maybe?) pulled up in his car with (I assume) his wife in the passenger seat. The gentleman got out and stood in line, using a cane, while his wife waited in the car. He had on a jacket and wore

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gloves, but a strong wind was blowing.

I was in the food-pickup line, and noticed that he looked uncomfortable. Ahead of him in line was a woman wearing a very cozy-looking fur coat. I approached her and whispered that the gentleman behind her looked like he was struggling, and that it would be nice if she offered to hold his place in line.

That way, he could return to the car until it was his turn to order.

She looked blankly at me and said, “What man?” I indicated the gentleman behind her. She glanced back and said “Oh,” nothing more.

Embarrassed, I mumbled, “It was just a thought, to help the old

guy out” and slinked back to my place in the pickup line. She never made a move to assist the man, but my order came out quickly and I hurried away.

Miss Manners, was I out of line to make that suggestion? Had I been in the order line, I would certainly have made the offer.

But the look of disdain on the face of that woman was colder than the blasting winter wind. Did I do the wrong thing?

Gentle reader: It is awkward to suggest that someone else engage in an act of kindness on one’s behalf. While your intentions were good, this woman was not likely to have been paying attention to your position at pickup, and was

probably wondering why you did not offer to stand in line for this man yourself.

Miss Manners suggests that if the situation comes up again, you alert the food truck workers and enlist their help. Or ask the wife in the car to keep your food warm while you go help her husband.

Dear Miss Manners: I have been invited to a dinner at my CEO’s home, along with members of the board. Is it still appropriate to arrive with flowers or wine for the host? I don’t know if the CEO drinks wine.

Would I be seen as “brownnosing” if no one else brings anything? I am 57 and kinda oldschool.

Gentle reader: Flowers are the most gracious option. Miss Manners assures you that they will be taken as they were intended: as a thank-you for hosting a dinner party, not a bribe for future promotions.

Old-school or not, you will have to show up with a lot more than flowers if you want to brown-nose your way into a better job.

Send questions to Miss Manners at her website, www. missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

Please be considerate with noise Dear Heloise: I have one neighbor around the corner who just put up a flagpole in their front yard. I have another neighbor who has hung wind chimes from a tree in their front yard. I can easily hear the clang clang from the flagpole and the ding ding from the chimes in my house, Hints from even though my Heloise windows are closed. I work from home, and this is very distracting. To make matters worse, I live in Buffalo, N.Y. In the winter, it is windy almost every day, which makes the noises louder. If I can hear the noises, even though I am not close to either house, I can only imagine how other neighbors feel, those who live closer. Homeowners should be considerate of neighbors before putting up flagpoles, wind chimes or anything else that makes noise 24 hours a day! — Chris K.

A lotion trick Dear Heloise: I live in the beautiful Sonora Desert, where dry skin is a year-round concern.

Our dermatologist said the best place to moisturize your skin is in the shower, after a quick dry off. Keeping the moisturizer in the shower is no problem, but how could I reach the middle of my back?

So I put a dab of moisturizer on the back of a long-handled plastic mixing spoon. This works great! — Chris R., in Sonora Desert, Ariz.

Chris, yes the desert is so dry, but certainly also beautiful! What a fabulous way to give yourself an extra hand!

— Heloise

White board Dear Heloise: My husband is in assisted living. I keep an erasable white board in his room. When we have a visit or trip planned, I write it on the board. It helps him remember, and the staff loves it. That way, they make sure he’s ready. I also write sport schedules.

I keep the same type of board in our home garage. I write reminders: get gas, fill bird feeders, take X in the house, bring X to the garage. It saves me from standing in the mudroom trying to remember what I came for. Thank you. — Barb Crandell, via email

Baking frozen pizza Dear Heloise: I have a different way than D.R.C. to keep my oven clean from melted pizza cheese. While the oven is heating up, I put a pizza pan on the shelf below, where the pizza will be. Melted cheese will drop onto this pan. When the pizza is done, I slide it off the rack onto the hot pan. The hot pan will keep the pizza warm longer. — C.C.B., in Vermont

Aaron Hogan enjoyed photographing churches all over Santorini, including this one which seems to disappear into the sky.

ART

Continued from page 7C His emotions were a stark contrast to the ones she experienced with Hart. She said he hardly slept and was “shaking and convulsing.”

The Hogans said they were traumatized by witnessing Hart’s drug withdrawal.

“I’ve had to work through that a lot. Just letting go of watching a baby struggle like that,” Griffin Hogan said. “Knowing that there’s so many out there that are probably going through that and being in the NICU and seeing all the different babies. So he is in a good place with his aunt, but we did not get to keep him.”

The couple chose to forgo any contact with Hart going forward. It just would’ve been too difficult and hurt too much, they said.

Turning grief into art The Hogans — she’s an actress and producer, he’s a photographer — leaned into their creative nature to muddle through their individual emotions.

Just one day after giving up Hart, Griffin Hogan felt compelled to paint, something she hadn’t done since eighth grade. Her heart told her to paint Hart’s face, but as she put brush to canvas, she noticed that it was Jesus’ countenance she was creating. She went with it.

Griffin Hogan stood among 22 “Jesuses,” all painted since the loss of Hart, on different-sized canvases, representing the gamut of loss-triggered emotions. Some are a rainbow of colors, others one intense hue.

She painted “Jesus No. 3” while staying at a friend’s beach house, still early on in the grief process.

“And then I kept getting com-

pelled to keep going,” she said. “I cried all night one night, just didn’t sleep well. I started painting ‘Jesus No. 7.’ While I was painting him, I turned around to do something, came back, and he was crying with me. He had little tears where I had painted, tears coming out of his face.”

After the Hart trauma, Hogan

chose to bury himself in his photography, his comfort zone. He worked every day for months.

“I was struggling with how to find an identity outside of this fatherhood that I thought I was going to be, because I spent all my childhood not wanting to be a father,” Hogan admitted. “And then God revealed Email Judy Bergeron at to me I’m going to be a dad. Then jbergeron@theadvocate.com.

TODAY IN HISTORY

Cleaning dryer screens

By The Associated Press

Dear Heloise: I would like to add a much simpler solution to clean the lint off of a dryer screen. Just wet the tips of your fingers (I use the residual water in the dump sink next to the dryer), then swipe across the screen. Every bit of lint comes off instantly. Easy peasy! — Irene, New York

Today is Saturday, Jan. 3, the third day of 2026. There are 362 days left in the year.

Today in history: On Jan. 3, 1920, Boston Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sold the contract of Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees, beginning a championship era for the Yankees and decades of heartache for Red Sox fans. (The Red Sox would ultimately break the “curse” in 2004, winning their first World Series in

Send a hint to heloise@ heloise.com.

PROVIDED PHOTOS

‘Jesus No. 6’ by Jency Griffin Hogan

this whole thing became this new identity I immediately took on ... with pride.”

Packing for their monthlong trip to Greece in June, Hogan included his camera, although he planned to leave it in the room most of the time, to have “nonphoto time.” On the beautiful island of Santorini, the couple hoped to extend the healing, reset and formulate next steps in their efforts to find another baby.

Inspired by Santorini’s breathtaking views, architecture and rich culture, Hogan rethought leaving the camera behind.

“I came back with 4,000 amazing pictures. I was captivated by the light that was there, literally bouncing off of these white walls, putting Jency in this gorgeous light,” he said. “She became my muse. So I got back to the roots of why I got into photography in the first place, ... self-discovery and interest in capturing God’s beauty outside of working for clients.”

Griffin Hogan, meanwhile, kept painting and turning new ideas into drawings for future paintings back home in Louisiana. She thinks “Jesus No. 25” might round out the collection, but she’s not sure.

She is certain, however, that they’ll never forget Hart.

“Looking back, having named him that, I’m wondering if some part of me knew. Maybe that name was symbolic of what was going to happen,” she said. “He was always going to be in my heart, but I wasn’t going to get to keep him. He’s in here (touching her chest), but I don’t have him.”

The Hogans’ paintings and photography are on display at Light House Coffee, 257 Lee Drive, Baton Rouge, for the first two weeks of January.

86 years.)

Also on this date: In 1777, Gen. George Washington’s army routed British troops in the Battle of Princeton, New Jersey, a key turning point in the Revolutionary War. In 1861, more than two weeks before Georgia seceded from the Union, the state militia seized Fort Pulaski, in the coastal area east of Savannah, at the order of Gov. Joseph E. Brown.

In 1959, Alaska was officially admitted as the 49th U.S. state.

In 1977, Apple Computer, months after its founding, was incorporated in Cupertino, California, by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Mike Markkula Jr. In 1990, ousted Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega surrendered to U.S. forces, 10 days after taking refuge in the Vatican’s diplomatic mission.

In 2022, a jury in San Jose, California, convicted Elizabeth Holmes of duping investors into believing that her startup company Theranos had developed a

revolutionary medical device that could detect diseases and conditions from a few drops of blood Today’s birthdays: Musician Stephen Stills is 81. Musician John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) is 80. Actor and entrepreneur Victoria Principal is 76. Actor-director Mel Gibson is 70. Basketball Hall of Famer Cheryl Miller is 62. Singer and television personality Kimberley Locke is 48. Former NFL quarterback Eli Manning is 45.

R&B singer Lloyd Polite Jr. is 40.

Actor Florence Pugh is 30.

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Saturday, January 3, 2026 ● 9C

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FrAnK And erneSt

bIG nAte

zItS

zodIAC CAPRICoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Put your money where it matters most. Don't scrimp on necessities, health or a lifestyle that offers peace of mind and the freedom to live your life your way.

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Go over your finances, investments and any recurring payments or subscriptions, and consider what you can eliminate. Take responsibility for your life and your happiness.

PIsCEs (Feb. 20-March 20) You can't make a difference if you don't participate. Be brave, share your thoughts and concerns, and see what happens. You can reach personal goals if you are fearless, trusting and believe in your abilities.

ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Steer clear of anyone trying to start a fight or to dictate what you can or cannot do. Keep busy with odd jobs and tidying up loose ends. Make changes to how you earn or handle your money. tAuRus (April 20-May 20) A change is in order. Look for a way to improve your lifestyle. A visit to a place that inspires you to adjust your current space to serve you better will pump you up and motivate you to pursue your dreams.

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Do the legwork and implement a positive change. Educate yourself; reach out to experts, ask questions and verify information. How well you prepare will determine your success.

CAnCER (June 21-July 22) Follow through.

You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Nurture meaningful relation-

ships and share your long-term goals, intentions and future commitments.

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Sit back, wait and watch what unfolds around you.

Observation is your ticket to making better moves when the time is right.

Stay on top of what's available to you through institutions and government programs.

VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) Embrace change and adopt an attitude that allows you the freedom to be a pioneer and a leader. Social events will connect you to like-minded people and prospects that excite you.

LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Tone down the rhetoric when dealing with family and friends. You don't want to send a negative message when positive reinforcement is necessary. Refuse to let uncertainty daunt you. sCoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Let your creativity lead the way. Attend events that will encourage you to meet new people and to engage in entertaining conversations that offer a unique perspective on life, love and what's available to you. sAGIttARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Being a good listener will pay off. Domestic situations are being tested by those you share space or other life necessities with. Offer others the same freedom you want for yourself.

The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact. © 2026 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: D EQuALs H

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

SherMAn’S LAGoon FAMILY CIrCUS

dooneSbUrY

10C ● Saturday, January 3, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

CurTiS

Hi and LoiS

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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 ● Saturday, January 3, 2026 ● 11C

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B.C.

Bridge

By PHILLIP ALDER Gottfried Leibniz, a German mathematician and philosopher who died in 1716, said, “Music is the pleasure the human mind experiences from counting without being aware that it is counting.”

Bridge experts count almost on autopilot. They track high-card points, winners, losers, trumps and hand distributions.

Less capable players often stop at winners and losers. This deal would be easy for an expert and hard for others.

After South opened one heart, North had an awkward response. His hand had the high-card strength for a gameinvitational limit raise, but it had only seven losers (two spades, two hearts, two diamonds and one club), which made it worth a game-force. North struck a strange compromise by jumping straight to four hearts, hoping that this would not result in a missed slam.

West leads the diamond king and continues the suit. South ruffs, draws trumps in two rounds, and runs the club jack. How should East defend?

Anyone who does not count will think that his side must take two spade tricks immediately. He will win with the club king and shift to a low spade. It is true that declarer might misguess by putting up his spade king — but then again, he might not.

Southisknowntohavestartedwithfive hearts and one diamond. Whatever his

garfield

Pearls Before swiNe

hagar the horriBle

seven black-suit cards, after he has run dummy’s clubs, he must have two spades left. So there is no hurry to break open that suit. East should take his club king and return a club. Then, when a spade is led from the board, East can play his 10 to ensure that the defenders will take two tricks in the suit for down one. © 2026 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 — sQuABBLInG: SKWA-bling: Quarreling over petty matters.

Bizarro

marmaduKe

Average mark 30 words Time limit 55 minutes Can you find 48 or more words in SQUABBLING? yEstERDAy’s WoRD — AnALoGuE ague alga algae aloe alone along analog angel angle noel lagan

lane lean loan loge lone long lounge luge lune lung lunge

ogle gala gale genoa glean glen glue goal gone guano ulna

elan

loCKhorNs hidato Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

today’s thought “And that he died for all, that they which live should not from now on live to themselves, but to him which died for them, and rose again.” 2 Corinthians 5:15 This is the Christian life. Are you a Christian? — G.E. Dean

12C ● Saturday, January 3, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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Redesigned + reimagined.

Best app ever?

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Y’all see Stephen Marcantel’s new story?

We did! On the new Acadiana Advocate app!

Wait, you’re reading it on the app?

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