The Acadiana Advocate 01-14-2026

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La. could get $350M in federal funds Hurricane, flood protection part of budget bills

BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer

WASHINGTON — Louisiana is poised to get hundreds of millions of dollars for stronger levees, flood walls, pumps and other projects to guard against hurricanes.

The U.S. Senate is expected to consider this week three appropriations bills that have already cleared the House of Representatives. They include $356,523,193 in earmarks for 51 community projects in Louisiana.

Roughly a third of that, $137.5 million, would be dedicated to construction and maintenance for the Morganza to the Gulf hurricane

protection system in Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes.

Another $500,000 is for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to study hurricane flooding on suburban northshore communities. And $3.25 million would augment the St. Tammany Parish Flood Management, a joint state-federal project already underway to prevent flooding in and around Slidell.

“My top priorities in this bill are hurricane and flood protection,” said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson. “The bill we passed includes critical funding I included for Morganza to the Gulf and additional flood protection projects across southeast Louisi-

ana, which will better prepare our communities and protect the lives and livelihoods of the families who live here.”

The “Community Project Funding” is part of three government spending bills the House passed Thursday with three weeks left to avoid another federal government shutdown on Jan. 30.

The House has passed legislation to fund the work of roughly half the federal government. Another six spending bills are poised to be considered.

The Senate is expected to take up the measures this week. If

STAFF FILE PHOTO By TRAVIS SPRADLING

The ‘Bubba Dove’ Floodgate in the Houma Navigation Canal is part of the ä See BUDGET, page 6A Morganza to the Gulf flood protection system.

FRESH IN FIGHTINGVILLE

Doctor who mailed abortion pills to La. charged Medication sent from Calfornia to St. Tammany patient

BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer

STAFF PHOTO By BRAD BOWIE

Paige Polk displays produce from local farms as she readies the Fightingville Fresh Market to open for business on Tuesday in the Fightingville neighborhood of Lafayette. The neighborhood farmers market operates from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays.

A California doctor has been accused of sending abortion pills to Louisiana and charged with a felony in St. Tammany Parish, and state officials want California to turn the doctor over to Louisiana for prosecution.

It’s the latest front in a growing national debate — with Louisiana at the center — over how states that ban using drugs for abortions can enforce their laws against doctors in states that have kept the practice legal.

Attorney General Liz Murrill on Tuesday announced her office brought charges against Remy Coeytaux, a doctor in Sonoma County, for the crime of abortion by means of abortion-inducing drugs.

Gov. Jeff Landry signed an extradition request on Tuesday, a spokesperson said.

Murrill said her office is committed to pursuing “individuals who flagrantly and intentionally violate our laws by sending illegal

ä See ABORTION, page 7A

Denmark, Greenland leaders stand united against takeover call Comments come on eve of talks with U.S.

BY EMMA BURROWS, GEIR MOULSON and AAMER MADHANI Associated Press

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By EVGENIy MALOLETKA

Passengers walk out from a plane after arriving at the airport in Nuuk, Greenland, on Monday.

WEATHER HIGH 66 LOW 48 PAGE 8A

NUUK, Greenland — The leaders of Denmark and the country’s territory of Greenland on Tuesday offered a united front against President Donald Trump’s calls for the United States to take over the strategic Arctic island on the eve

of critical meetings in Washington on the matter.

In perhaps their sharpest pushback to date, Denmark and Greenland’s prime ministers underscored that the territory is part of Denmark, and thus covered by the umbrella of the NATO military alliance. A U.S. attempt to take over or force the secession of the massive island would tear apart the transatlantic alliance, which has been a linchpin of post-World War II security.

But Trump brushed off the concern, telling reporters in Washing-

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ton, “That’s their problem.”

The leaders, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland Prime Minister JensFrederik Nielsen, sought to underscore their solidarity as their foreign ministers, Denmark’s Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Greenland’s Vivian Motzfeldt, prepared for talks at the White House on Wednesday with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

“Dear Greenlanders, you should

ä See GREENLAND, page 7A

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2A ● Wednesday, January 14, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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Top central bankers express ‘full solidarity’ with Powell

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

Trevor Noah to host Grammys for final time

NEW YORK — Trevor Noah will be hosting the Grammy Awards for the sixth consecutive year, but this time, it’s being billed as a farewell gig.

The Recording Academy announced Tuesday that the South African comedian is returning “one final time” for the Feb. 1 show, for which he will also serve as an executive producer. Only singer Andy Williams, who hosted the Grammys seven times in the 1970s has hosted more often.

Noah himself is a four-time Grammy nominee, and is up this year in the best audio book, narration, and storytelling recording category for “Into The Uncut Grass,” a children’s story.

Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga and Jack Antonoff are among the leading nominees for the 68th annual Grammys, to air live on CBS and Paramount+ from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

BTS announces world tour after military service NEW YORK — The BTS comeback is upon us.

The K-pop septet has announced a 2026-27 world tour, kicking off in South Korea in April and running through March 2027 with over 70 dates across Asia, North America, South America, Australia and Europe.

They mark the group’s first headline performances since its 2021-22 “Permission to Dance on Stage” tour.

BTS will make its return to music on March 20, following a nearly four-year hiatus after all seven members had to complete South Korea’s mandatory military service.

‘West Wing’ actor booked on sex abuse charges ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Emmy Award-winning actor Timothy Busfield turned himself to authorities on Tuesday to face child sex abuse charges in New Mexico stemming from allegations that he inappropriately touched a minor on the set of a TV series he was directing.

His apprehension comes after authorities in Albuquerque issued a warrant for his arrest on Friday on two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse. A criminal complaint alleges the acts occurred on the set of the series “The Cleaning Lady,” which was filmed in Albuquerque.

Busfield, who is married to actor Melissa Gilbert, is known for appearances in “The West Wing,” “Field of Dreams” and “Thirtysomething,” the latter of which won him an Emmy for outstanding supporting actor in a drama series in 1991.

Busfield was being booked

by Albuquerque police on the charges, said Gilbert Gallegos, spokesperson for the city police department.

Busfield denied the allegations last fall when interviewed by authorities as part of an investigation, the complaint said.

Ex-Navy SEAL convicted of plan to fire explosives SAN DIEGO — A jury has convicted a former Navy SEAL with neo-Nazi beliefs of transporting fireworks across state lines with plans to shoot explosives at police during last year’s “No Kings” protest in San Diego, federal prosecutors said.

Following his conviction on Monday, Gregory Vandenberg was ordered held in custody until his sentencing hearing, which has not yet been scheduled. He faces up to 10 years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

During a five-day trial in Albuquerque, New Mexico, prosecutors outlined Vandenberg’s intention to travel from El Paso, Texas, to California to injure law enforcement officers at the June 14 rally.

Investigators found messages on his phone indicating he was angry with President Donald Trump because he believed the U.S. government is controlled

by Israel and the Jewish people, according to prosecutors. His home screen on his phone displayed a picture of the Taliban flag.

BY DAVID MCHUGH Associated Press

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO

Iranians attend an anti-government protest Friday in Tehran. The death toll from nationwide protests surpassed 2,000 people on Tuesday, activists said.

Activists: Iran death toll surpasses 2,000 Chaos recalls 1979 revolution

BY JON GAMBRELL Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The death toll from nationwide protests in Iran surpassed 2,000 people on Tuesday, activists said, as Iranians made phone calls abroad for the first time in days after authorities severed communications during a crackdown on demonstrators.

The number of dead climbed to at least 2,003, as reported by the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. That figure dwarfs the death toll from any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Iranian state television offered the first official acknowledgment of the deaths, quoting an official saying the country had “a lot of martyrs” and that it did not release a toll earlier because of the dead suffering gruesome injuries. However, that statement came only after activists reported their toll.

The demonstrations began a little

over two weeks ago in anger over Iran’s ailing economy and soon targeted the theocracy, particularly 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Images obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press from demonstrations in Tehran showed graffiti and chants calling for Khamenei’s death — something that could carry a death sentence.

Soon after the new death toll became public, U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform: “Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING — TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!!”

He added: “I have canceled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY.” However, hours later, Trump told reporters that his administration was awaiting an accurate report on the number of protesters that had been killed before acting “accordingly.”

Trump said about the Iranian security forces: “It would seem to me that they have been badly misbe-

having, but that is not confirmed.”

Iranian officials once again warned Trump against taking action, with Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, responding to U.S. posturing by writing: “We declare the names of the main killers of the people of Iran: 1- Trump 2-” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The activist group said 1,850 of the dead were protesters and 135 were government-affiliated. Nine children were killed, along with nine civilians it said were not taking part in protests. More than 16,700 people have been detained, the group said.

With the internet down in Iran, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult.

The AP has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Skylar Thompson with the Human Rights Activists News Agency told AP the new toll was shocking, particularly since it reached four times the death toll of the monthslong 2022 Mahsa Amini protests in just two weeks.

Russia launches strike on Ukraine power grid

BY ILLIA NOVIKOV

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Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine — Russia launched a second major drone and missile bombardment of Ukraine in four days, officials said Tuesday, aiming again at the power grid amid freezing temperatures in an apparent snub to U.S.-led peace efforts as Moscow’s invasion of its neighbor approaches the four-year mark.

Russia fired almost 300 drones, 18 ballistic missiles and seven cruise missiles at eight regions overnight, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on social media.

One strike in the northeastern Kharkiv region killed four people at a mail depot, and several hundred thousand households were without power in the Kyiv region, Zelenskyy said.

The daytime temperature in Kyiv, which has endured freezing temperatures for more than two weeks, was about 10 degrees F, with streets covered in ice and the rumble of generators heard throughout the capital.

Kyiv has grappled with severe power shortages for days, although Mayor Vitali Klitschko said Monday night’s strikes caused the biggest electrical outage the city has faced so far.

More than 500 residential buildings remained without central heating Tuesday. Throughout the city, bare trees were weighed down with icicles and snow was piled up next to sidewalks.

Olena Davydova, 30, charged her phone at what is called a “Point of Invincibility” shelter in Kyiv’s Dniprovskyi district. The government-built temporary installations, often large tents on the sidewalk, provide food, drinks,

FRANKFURT, Germany — Central bankers from around the world said Tuesday they “stand in full solidarity” with U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, after President Donald Trump dramatically escalated his confrontation with the Fed with the Justice Department investigating and threatening criminal charges.

Powell “has served with integrity, focused on his mandate and an unwavering commitment to the public interest,” read the statement signed by nine national central bank heads including European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey.

They added that “the independence of central banks is a cornerstone of price, financial and economic stability in the interest of the citizens that we serve.

It is therefore critical to preserve that independence, with full respect for the rule of law and democratic accountability.”

The dispute is ostensibly about Powell’s testimony to Congress in June over the cost of a massive renovation of Fed buildings. But in a statement Sunday, Powell, abandoning his previous attempt to ignore Trump’s relentless criticism, called the administration’s threat of criminal charges “pretexts” in the president’s campaign to seize control of U.S. interest rate policy from the Fed’s technocrats.

Trump has repeatedly criticized Powell and the Fed for not moving faster to cut rates.

Economists warn that a politicized Fed that caves in to the president’s demands will damage its credibility as an inflation fighter and likely lead investors to demand higher rates before investing in U.S. Treasurys.

Fed actions have impacts around the world due to the U.S. dollar’s role as the leading currency for trade transactions and central bank reserves. Fed interest rate changes can affect the dollar’s exchange rate against other currencies and the value of foreign investors’ U.S. assets.

PROVIDED PHOTO

Emergency services personnel work Tuesday to extinguish a fire following a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine.

warmth and electricity.

Davydova said she had been without power for nearly 50 hours. That forced her to adopt some new routines: sleeping in one bed with her child and two cats, storing fresh food on the balcony, and using candles after dark.

She said she is taking the changes in stride.

“I still have enough patience. I’m not reacting to this in a very emotional way,” she told The Associated Press.

Elsewhere, friends and relatives gathered in apartments still with power or hot water, at least temporarily, to charge their phones, take showers, or share a warm drink.

Klitschko ordered the city to provide one hot meal per day to needy residents.

He also announced that workers in the city’s water, heating and road maintenance services would receive bonuses for working “day and night” to restore critical infrastructure.

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Minn. protesters, agents square off 5 federal prosecutors quit after fatal shooting of Renee Good

BY MARK VANCLEAVE and TIM SULLIVAN Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS — Federal officers dropped tear gas and sprayed eye irritant at activists Tuesday during another day of confrontations in Minneapolis while students miles away walked out of a suburban school to protest the Trump administration’s bold immigration sweeps.

Meanwhile, the fallout from the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman by an immigration agent reached the local U.S. Attorney’s Office: At least five prosecutors have resigned amid controversy over how the U.S. Justice Department is handling the investigation, according to people familiar with the matter.

The government’s immigration crackdown is soon headed to a federal court where Minnesota and two mayors are asking a judge to immediately suspend the operation. A judge set a status conference for Wednesday.

Gas clouds filled a Minneapolis street near where Renee Good was fatally shot in the head last week. A man scrubbed his eyes with snow and screamed for help while agents in an unmarked Jeep sprayed an orange irritant and drove away.

It’s common for people to boo, taunt and blow orange whistles when they spot heavily armed agents passing through in unmarked vehicles or walking the streets, all part of a grassroots effort to warn the neighborhood and remind the government that

limit the surge.

The lawsuit says Homeland Security is violating the First Amendment and other constitutional protections by focusing on a progressive state that favors Democrats and welcomes immigrants.

“What we are seeing is thousands — plural — thousands of federal agents coming into our city. And, yeah, they’re having a tremendous impact on day-to-day life,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said.

Homeland Security says it has made more than 2,000 arrests in the state since early December and is vowing to not back down.

Spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, responding to the lawsuit, accused Minnesota officials of ignoring public safety.

ICE tactics on docket

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ADAM GRAy

A protester is detained by federal agents Tuesday near the scene where Renee Good was fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer last week in Minneapolis. they’re watching.

“Who doesn’t have a whistle?” a man with a bag of them yelled.

Brita Anderson, who lives nearby and came to support neighborhood friends, said she was “incensed” to see agents in tactical gear and gas masks, and wondered about their purpose.

“It felt like the only reason they’d come here is to harass people,” Anderson said.

In Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, students protesting the immigration enforcement operation walked out of school, as students in other communities have done this week.

Good’s death has ripple effect The departures in the U.S. Attorney’s Office include First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson, who had been leading the sprawling prosecution of public fraud

schemes in the state, according to people who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters.

With the Department of Homeland Security pledging to send more than 2,000 immigration officers into Minnesota, the state, joined by Minneapolis and St. Paul, sued President Donald Trump’s administration Monday to halt or

Separately, in a different lawsuit, a judge said she would rule by Thursday or Friday on a request to restrict the use of force, such as chemical irritants, on people who are observing and recording agents’ activities. Government attorneys argued that officers are acting within their authority and must protect themselves.

The Trump administration has repeatedly defended the immigration agent who shot Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, saying he acted in self-defense. But that explanation has been widely panned by Frey, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and others based on videos of the confrontation.

State and local authorities are urging the public to share video and any other evidence as they seek to separately investigate Good’s death after federal authorities insisted they would approach it alone and not share information.

Ban on trans athletes likely to stand Supreme Court signals support for state laws

BY MARK SHERMAN Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday appeared ready to deal another setback to transgender people and uphold state laws barring transgender girls and women from playing on school athletic teams.

The court’s conservative majority, which has repeatedly ruled against transgender Americans in the past year, signaled during more than three hours of arguments it would rule the state bans don’t violate either the Constitution or the federal law known as Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in education.

More than two dozen Republican-led states have adopted bans on female transgender athletes. Lower courts had ruled for the transgender athletes who challenged laws in Idaho and West Virginia.

The legal fight is playing out against the backdrop of a broad effort by President Donald Trump to target transgender Americans, beginning on the first day of his second term and including the ouster of transgender people from the military and declaring that gender is immutable and determined at birth.

The justices are evaluating claims of sex discrimination lodged by transgender people versus the need for fair competition for women and girls, the main argument made by the states.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who coached his daughters in girls basketball, seemed concerned about a ruling that might undo the effects of Title IX, which has produced dramatic growth in girls and women’s sports.

Kavanaugh called Title IX an “amazing” and “inspiring” success.

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4A ● Wednesday, January 14, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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Marine Le Pen’s appeal trial begins in Paris

Far-right leader’s 2027 presidential bid at stake

BY SYLVIE CORBET Associated Press

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By SETH WENIG

Nurses strike Tuesday in front of Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx borough of New york.

Hospital, nurses fail to negotiate

what it described as said Liliana Prestia, speakNyC’s largest cized the union’s “reckless de- ing at a rally Tuesday at and “troubling pro- Mount Sinai’s flagship camnursing strike in mands” posals” in contract talks. pus on Manhattan’s Upper hospitals also sought East Side. “It was Mount Sidecades stretches toThe downplay the strike’s im- nai’s cruel attempt to stop us into second day pact, with Montefiore claim- from joining the strike line

ing it has “not canceled even one patient’s access to care” during the work stoppage.

Mt. Sinai said around 20% Associated Press of its regular nurses have so NEW YORK — Hospital offi- far opted to remain on duty cials and union leaders trad- rather than join the strike ed barbs Tuesday, but failed line.

“This strike is designed to to return to the bargaining table on the second day of create disruption, but our New York City’s biggest patients are continuing to receive the care they trust nursing strike in decades.

The union accused one us to provide,” NewYorkhospital, Mount Sinai, of il- Presbyterian, one of the legally firing three nurses, impacted hospital systems, though the medical center said in statement.

But the fired Mt. Sinai claimed the individuals had sabotaged emergency pre- nurses maintain they’re beparedness drills. ing silenced for being outAnother hospital, Monte- spoken union organizers.

“We will not be bullied,” fiore Medical Center, criti-

BY PHILIP MARCELO and JOSEPH B. FREDERICK

and to make us an example to our fellow nurses.”

Union officials said none of the hospitals has agreed to additional bargaining sessions since their last meetings on Sunday. Montefiore, however, said the union hasn’t reached out.

The union says roughly 15,000 nurses walked off the job Monday morning at multiple campuses of the three hospital systems.

The hospitals, in response, have hired droves of temporary nurses as both nurses and administrators have urged patients not to avoid getting care during the strike.

PARIS — France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen denied any wrongdoing as she appeared in court on Tuesday to appeal an embezzlement conviction, with her 2027 presidential ambitions hanging on the outcome of the case.

Le Pen, 57, is seeking to overturn a March ruling that found her guilty of misusing European Parliament funds in the hiring of aides from 2004 to 2016. She was given a five-year ban from holding elected office, two years of house arrest with an electronic bracelet, a further two-year suspended sentence and a $116,800 fine.

“I’d like to tell the court that ... we did not feel we had committed any offence,” Le Pen told the three-judge panel. She said European Parliament officials did not at the time tell her party that

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By CHRISTOPHE ENA

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen leaves for a break Tuesday during her appeal trial after an embezzlement conviction in Paris. the way it was hiring people was potentially against any rules.

“We have never concealed anything,” she added. The room was packed with dozens of reporters and members of the general public.

The European Parliament’s lawyer, Patrick Maisonneuve, said he disagrees with Le Pen’s presentation of the institution’s role as “an arbitrator.”

“There’s a contradiction in saying at the same time: ‘I

deny you the right to examine the content of my work as a member of parliament’ and then saying: ‘but the European Parliament didn’t conduct a thorough review,’” Maisonneuve told reporters.

Le Pen was seen as the potential front-runner to succeed President Emmanuel Macron in the 2027 election until last year’s ruling, which sent shock waves through French politics. She denounced it as “a democratic scandal.”

South Korean prosecutor seeks death sentence for ex-leader

BY HYUNG-JIN KIM

from office in April and is in jail, faces eight trials over various charges related to SEOUL, South Korea — An in- his martial law debacle and dependent counsel on Tues- other scandals that flared day demanded the death during his tenure. Charges sentence for former South that he directed a rebellion Korean President Yoon Suk are the most significant ones.

Independent counsel Cho Yeol on rebellion charges in connection with his short- Eun-suk’s team requested lived imposition of martial the Seoul Central District Court to sentence Yoon to law in December 2024.

Yoon, who was removed death, describing his decree Associated Press

as “anti-state activities” and “a self-coup.” Cho’s team alleged that Yoon aimed to prolong his rule by neutralizing the constitutional structure of state governance systems.

Speaking in the same room later, Yoon slammed investigations on his rebellion charges, saying they’ve been “frenzied” and have involved “manipulation” and “distortion.”

Clintons refuse to testify , s a r G i d r a M in House Epstein probe The Taste of Daily GOP threatens contempt proceedings

BY STEPHEN GROVES Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Tuesday that they will refuse to comply with a congressional subpoena to testify in a House committee’s investigation of Jeffrey Epstein even as Republican lawmakers prepare contempt of Congress proceedings against them.

The Clintons, in a letter released on social media, slammed the House Oversight probe as “legally invalid” and wrote that the chair of the House Oversight Committee, Republi-

can Rep. James Comer, is on the cusp of a process “literally designed to result in our imprisonment.”

“We will forcefully defend ourselves,” wrote the Clintons, who are Democrats.

They accused Comer of allowing other former officials to provide written statements about Epstein to the committee, while selectively enforcing subpoenas against them.

The intensifying clash adds another dimension to the fight over Epstein, raising new questions about the limits of congressional power to compel testimony.

It also comes when Republicans are grappling with the Justice Department’s delayed release of the Epstein files after a bipartisan push for their release.

Comer said he’ll begin contempt of Congress proceedings next week. It potentially

starts a complicated and politically messy process that Congress has rarely reached for and could result in prosecution from the Justice Department.

“No one’s accusing the Clintons of any wrongdoing. We just have questions,” Comer told reporters after Bill Clinton, a onetime Epstein friend, did not show up for a scheduled deposition at House offices Tuesday.

He added, “Anyone would admit they spent a lot of time together.”

Clinton has never been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein but had a well-documented friendship with the wealthy financier throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. Republicans have zeroed in on that relationship as they wrestle with demands for a full accounting of Epstein’s wrongdoing.

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Affordable Care Act enrollments down 3.5% Spike in costs blamed for decrease

BY ALI SWENSON and NICKY FORSTER Associated Press

NEW YORK — Fewer Americans are signing up for Affordable Care Act health insurance plans this year, new federal data shows, as expiring subsidies and other factors push health expenses too high for many to manage.

Nationally, around 800,000 fewer people have selected plans compared to a similar time last year, marking a 3.5% drop in total enrollment so far. That includes a decrease in both new consumers signing up for ACA plans and existing enrollees re-upping them.

The new data released Monday evening by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is only a snapshot of a continuously changing pool of enrollees. It includes sign-ups through Jan. 3 in states that use Healthcare.gov for ACA plans and through Dec. 27 for states that have their own ACA marketplaces. In most states, the period for shopping for plans continues through Jan. 15 for plans that start in February.

But even though it’s early, the data builds on fears that expiring enhanced tax credits could cause a dip in enrollment and force many Americans to make tough decisions to delay buying health insurance, look for alternatives or forgo it entirely.

Experts warn that the number of people who have signed up for plans may still drop even further, as enrollees get their first bill in

BUDGET

Continued from page 1A approved by the Senate and signed into law by President Donald Trump, money becomes available.

There’s also federal money, requested by members of the Louisiana delegation to the U.S House and Senate, for more localized projects.

For instance, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette is getting $5 million for its semiconductor technology.

The Lafayette Consolidated Government for Water and Wastewater Laboratories Replacement Project is up for $1 million, as is the St. Bernard Parish Culvert Drainage Improvements Project.

New Iberia is to receive $750,000 toward pump station construction. Denham Springs will receive $1.4 million for police cruisers.

The East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney’s Office is slated to get $1.25 for its Crime Gun Intelligence Center Program and Baton Rouge is to receive another $1 million for its Stormwater Quality Improvement Project. LSU expects $2.5 million for an electron microscopy sight.

And $8 million is set aside for two phases of the City of Kenner for Wastewater Treatment Plant Stabilization and Improvement Project, according to a long list of “Community Project

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By PATRICK SISON

Nationwide, around 800,000 fewer people have selected Affordable Care Act health insurance plans compared to a similar time last year.

January and some choose to cancel.

The declining enrollment comes as Congress has been locked in a partisan battle over what to do about the subsidies that expired at the start of the new year. For months, Democrats have fought for a straight extension of the tax credits, while Republicans have insisted larger reforms are a better way to root out fraud and abuse and keep costs down overall. Last week, in a remarkable rebuke of Republican leadership, the House passed legislation to extend the

“My office works tirelessly each year to deliver on Louisiana priorities and pass fiscally responsible appropriations bills. I will continue to ensure that our district’s needs are properly represented in the appropriations process.”

REP. CLAy HIGGINS, R-Lafayette Funding” attached to each of the bills.

“My office works tirelessly each year to deliver on Louisiana priorities and pass fiscally responsible appropriations bills,” said Rep. Clay Higgins, R-Lafayette, who was part of 11 requests going to his 3rd Congressional District. “I will continue to ensure that our district’s needs are properly represented in the appropriations process.”

“Earmarks” allow individual representatives and senators to get federal dollars for specific projects important to their individual districts.

They have been a political cudgel for much of the past two decades, with critics calling them “pork trough spending.”

But defenders argue they provide much-needed funding for local projects, such as ball fields, parks and bridges. And earmarks can

subsidies for three years. The bill now sits in the Senate, where pressure is building for a bipartisan compromise.

Up until this year, President Barack Obama’s landmark health insurance program had been an increasingly popular option for Americans who don’t get health coverage through their jobs, including small-business owners, gig workers, farmers, ranchers and others.

For the 2021 plan year, about 12 million people selected an Affordable Care Act plan. Enhanced tax

be an important incentive to persuade congresspersons to help pass budgets that allow the government to continue operations.

In 2021, earmarks were rebranded as Community Project Funding, or Congressionally Directed Spending, and required additional disclosures about the individual projects.

Issues with the Community Project Funding and Congressionally Directed Spending were part of the reason a dozen fiscal hawks last week threatened to sidetrack the appropriations legislation.

As part of the negotiations, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, Scalise and other members of the House GOP leadership agreed to several points, including the removal of funds for a project in Minnesota, where there’s controversy over how previous dollars were spent; and splitting what had been a single bill into three instruments, so that members could vote against earmarks with which they couldn’t agree.

The legislation passed the House overwhelmingly Thursday night.

Congressional leadership of both parties is trying to break the decade-long cycle where Congress passes extensions, then throws all expenditures into a single “omnibus” bill, usually thousands of pages long, that is presented for a single up or down vote. Democratic and

credits were introduced the following year and four years later enrollment had doubled to over 24 million.

This year’s sinking sign-ups — sitting at about 22.8 million so far — mark the first time in the past four years that enrollment has been down from the previous year at this point in the shopping window.

The loss of enhanced subsidies means annual premium costs will more than double for the average ACA enrollee who had them, according to the health care research

Republican members have been unable to agree on the amounts to be spent and on partisan riders, such as requiring or forbidding the agency from participating in “diversity, equity and inclusion” policies.

Historically, the federal government is funded by Congress passing a dozen bills that authorize specific amounts the agency can

nonprofit KFF. But extending the subsidies would also be expensive for the country. Ahead of last week’s House vote, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that extending the subsidies for three years would increase the nation’s deficit by about $80.6 billion over the decade.

Robert Kaestner, a health economist at the University of Chicago, said some of those who abandon ACA plans may have other options, such as going on a partner’s employer health plan or changing their income to qualify for Medicaid. Others will go without insurance at least temporarily while they look for alternatives.

“My prediction is 2 million more people will lack health insurance for a while,” Kaestner said. “That’s a serious issue, but Republicans would argue we’re using government money more efficiently, we’re targeting people who really need it and we’re saving $35 billion a year.”

Several Americans interviewed

by The Associated Press have said they’re dropping coverage altogether for 2026 and will pay out of pocket for needed appointments.

Many said they are crossing their fingers that they aren’t affected by a costly injury or diagnosis.

“I’m pretty much going to be going without health insurance unless they do something,” said 52-year-old Felicia Persaud, a Florida entrepreneur who dropped coverage when she saw her monthly ACA costs were set to increase by about $200 per month. “It’s sort of like playing poker and hoping the chips fall and try the best that you can.”

spend each fiscal year. But to achieve the goal of passing 12 appropriations bills, members from both parties need to agree.

“Through bipartisan, committee-led consensus, we are delivering full-year measures that spend less than current funding, implement critical priorities for our districts, and continue to advance the America

First agenda,” said House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole, R-Okla.

Cole added in a floor speech: “It wasn’t meant to be easy. In fact, difficulty is what separates serious legislating from political convenience.”

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GREENLAND

Continued from page 1A know that we stand together today, we will do so tomorrow, and we will continue to do so,” Frederiksen said during a joint news conference in Copenhagen.

“If we have to choose between the United States and Denmark here and now, we choose Denmark. We choose NATO. We choose the Kingdom of Denmark. We choose the EU,” said Greenland’s Nielsen.

Tensions have grown this month as Trump has ramped up calls for a U.S. takeover of the island. He has repeatedly said he’s considering a range of options, including military force, to acquire Greenland.

Asked by reporters about Nielsen’s comments saying Greenland preferred to stay with Denmark, Trump said: “I disagree with him. I don’t know who he is. I don’t know anything about him. But, that’s going to be a big problem for him.”

Trump earlier this week reiterated his argument that the U.S. needs to “take Greenland,” otherwise Russia or China would. He also says he’d rather “make a deal” for the territory, “but one way or the other, we’re going to have Greenland.”

Danish officials have made clear they are open to ex-

with support last week as within the alliance,” Rutte they intercepted an oil tank- said, at the European Parliaer for alleged violations of ment in Brussels. “My role has to be to make sure we U.S. sanctions.

The official, who was not solve issues.”

He said that the 32-nation authorized to comment publicly on the sensitive matter military alliance must foand spoke on the condition cus on providing security of anonymity, declined to in the Arctic region, which provide details about what includes Greenland. “When the support entailed. it comes to the protection of The U.S. interception in the High North, that is my the Atlantic capped a weeks- role.” long pursuit of the tanker Nathanielsen said Greenthat began in the Caribbean landers understand the need Sea as the U.S. imposed a for increased monitoring in blockade in the waters of the Arctic amid growing Venezuela aimed at captur- geopolitical insecurity. But ing sanctioned vessels com- she said “it is just unfathing in and out of the South omable to understand” that Greenland could be facing American country.

The White House and Pen- the prospect of being sold or ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ALASTAIR GRANT tagon did not immediately annexed.

A bipartisan U.S. congresrespond to requests for comNaaja Nathanielsen, Greenland’s minister for business and mineral resources, speaks ment. Danish support for sional delegation is headed during a news conference in the Houses of Parliament in London on Tuesday. the U.S. operation was first to Copenhagen for meetings on Friday and Saturday in reported by Newsmax.

Separately, NATO Secre- an attempt to show unity bepanding cooperation with allow U.S. military bases very worried” over the U.S. the U.S. military in Green- on Danish soil. It widened administration’s desire for tary-General Mark Rutte tween the United States and refused to be drawn into the Denmark. land, but have repeatedly a previous military agree- control of Greenland.

Nathanielsen said she “People are not sleeping, dispute, insisting that it was stated the territory is not ment, made in 2023 with the for sale.

Biden administration, where children are afraid, and it not his role to get involved. thinks the people of Green“I never, ever comment land should have a say in Since 1945, the American U.S. troops had broad access just fills everything these military presence in Green- to Danish air bases in the days. And we can’t really when there are discussions their own future. understand it,” Nathanielsen land has decreased from Scandinavian country.

Naaja Nathanielsen, said at a meeting with lawthousands of soldiers over 17 bases and installations Greenland’s minister for makers in Britain’s ParliaNOTICE OF VACANCY on the island to just the re- business and mineral re- ment.

APPOINTMENT OF ST. MARTIN PARISH REGISTRAR OF VOTERS Meanwhile, Danish offimote Pituffik Space Base in sources, said it’s “unfathTHE ST. MARTIN PARISH COUNCIL SHALL APPOINT AN INDIVIDUAL TO the northwest with roughly omable” that the United cials have also sought to unSERVE AS THE ST. MARTIN PARISH REGISTRAR OF VOTERS. 200 soldiers today. The base States is discussing taking derscore that Denmark has supports missile warning, over a NATO ally and urged remained a faithful ally of All interested applicants shall submit applications and resumes as follows: missile defense and space the Trump administration the United States.

1). Sent to the Clerk of the Council through email at: bgillespie@stmartinparish.net, surveillance operations for to listen to voices from the A Danish government of2). Hand delivered at the following address: 301 W. Port Street St. Martinville, Louisiana the U.S. and NATO. Arctic island’s people. Na- ficial confirmed on Tuesday 70582; Denmark’s parliament thanielsen added that peo- that Denmark provided U.S. 3). Via U.S. Mail to 301 W. Port Street St. Martinville, Louisiana 70582. approved a bill last June to ple in Greenland are “very, forces in the east Atlantic All applications and resumes shall be attention to the St. Martin Parish Council, Attention: Clerk of the Council, Brooke Thibodeaux.

ABORTION

Continued from page 1A abortion pills into our state, placing women in danger.”

“This is not health care; it’s drug dealing,” she said in a statement.

Mifepristone and misoprostol are commonly used to terminate a pregnancy, but they also have other uses, such as managing miscarriages, inducing labor and stopping hemorrhaging in pregnant and postpartum women.

The charges against Coeytaux are similar to an ongoing criminal case in West Baton Rouge Parish, where a New York doctor was indicted for allegedly prescribing abortion pills online to a teenage girl in Port Allen. New York officials have refused to comply with an extradition request in that case.

Some legal scholars believe clashing state-level abortion regulations will ultimately end up before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Murrill has been working to limit the use of medication for abortions in Louisiana and across the country.

On Wednesday, she’s scheduled to testify before a U.S. Senate committee for a hearing on the issue.

Under Louisiana law, the crime of abortion by means of an abortion-inducing drug occurs “when a person knowingly causes an abortion to occur by means of delivering, dispensing, distributing, or providing a pregnant woman with an abortion-inducing drug.”

An unnamed complainant found out in October 2023 that she was pregnant and

learned about a company called AidAccess that prescribes and ships abortion pills in the United States, according to an affidavit for an arrest warrant approved by 22nd Judicial District Court Judge Richard Swartz in May 2024.

She paid for mifepristone and misoprostol, which she took after the drugs were mailed to her, causing the termination of the pregnancy, the affidavit says.

Through a subpoena to Venmo, an investigator from the Attorney General’s Office learned the payment for the medication went to an account owned by Coeytaux, the affidavit says.

A U.S. Postal Service inspector confirmed the pills were shipped by Coeytaux, the document says.

Coeytaux did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday.

The Attorney General’s Office filed formal charges on Jan. 7, and the judge signed a probable cause order the next day. Murrill sent Landry the extradition request on Jan. 9.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office did not return a request for comment Tuesday on whether he would honor Louisiana’s extradition request.

Coeytaux also faces a federal wrongful-death lawsuit filed by a man in Texas for mailing abortion pills to a woman who was pregnant with his child.

In the civil case in Texas, Coeytaux is represented by the Center for Reproductive Rights.

Center for Reproductive Rights President and CEO Nancy Northup said the organization is not represent-

ing Coeytaux in Louisiana’s criminal case.

But she noted in a statement: “These allegations are just that: allegations.

As such, they are unproven and should not be reported as fact.”

“While we can’t comment on this matter itself, one thing is clear — the state of Louisiana is going after doctors for allegedly harming women, yet they are enforcing an abortion ban that puts women’s lives at risk every day,” Northup said.

Louisiana launched a similar, first-of-its-kind case in early 2025 against Margaret Carpenter, a doctor from New York who allegedly prescribed mailed abortion pills to a minor teenage girl and her 39-year-old mother in West Baton Rouge Parish.

District Attorney Tony Clayton secured a grand jury indictment for the same crime for which Coeytaux was charged, and Landry also signed an extradition request in that case.

But New York Gov. Hochul has refused to comply with the request.

Also last year, in legal filings in a separate federal lawsuit related to federal rules for mailing abortion medication, Louisiana said a woman named Rosalie Markezich took abortion pills and terminated her pregnancy in October 2023 after getting them through the mail from Coeytaux.

Markezich, who is also a plaintiff in that lawsuit, said in legal filings she felt pressured by her boyfriend to have an abortion.

Murrill spokesperson Lester Duhé declined to confirm if last week’s charges in St. Tammany Parish are con-

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nected to Markezich, citing the fact that a victim is involved in the case.

He said there are “multiple cases” involving Coeytaux and Carpenter.

“We expect there to be more indictments in the future,” Duhé said.

Murrill sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in October over its decision to let mifepristone be sent through the mail. Before 2021, the drug had to be taken in the presence of a provider.

Staff writer Emily Woodruff contributed to this report.

ALL APPLICATIONS AND RESUMES MUST BE RECEIVED NO LATER THAN 4:00 P.M. ON JANUARY 27, 2026.

THE ST. MARTIN PARISH COUNCIL WILL CONDUCT INTERVIEWS OF ALL QUALIFIED APPLICANTS AT A SPECIAL MEETING AT 10:00 A.M. ON SATURDAY, JANUARY 31, 2026.

QUALIFICATIONS FOR APPLICANTS FOR REGISTRAR OF VOTERS ARE PROVIDED FOR IN LOUISIANA REVISED STATUE 18:52 WHICH PROVIDES AS FOLLOWS: Louisiana Revised Statute 18:52. Qualifications of registrars A. Each applicant to fill the office of registrar of voters shall be a registered voter. If appointed to fill the office of registrar of voters, the applicant shall become a resident and registered voter of the parish in which he is to perform his duties prior to taking the oath of office. The registrar shall remain a resident and qualified voter of the parish in which he is to perform his duties.

B.(1) The registrar shall possess at least one of the following at the time of appointment: (a) A baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution and two years of full-time, professional work experience. (b) An associate degree from an accredited institution and four years of full-time, professional work experience. (c) Seven years of full-time, professional work experience. (d) Five years of full-time employment in a registrar’s office in Louisiana.

(2) For purposes of this Subsection, “professional work experience” means experience in an occupation which requires specialized and theoretical knowledge usually acquired through college training or through work experience and other training which provides comparable knowledge.

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8A ● Wednesday, January 14, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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ALMANAC

AIR QUALITY

LAFAyETTE THROUGH 5 P.M. TUESDAy

YESTERDAY

TEMPERATURE

High/low Normal high/low Record high Record low

GOOD

60°/36° 62°/43° 80° in 2017 11° in 1918

MAIN POLLUTANT Particulates

READING 34

TODAY

PRECIPITATION

GOOD

24 hours through 5 p.m. Tue. 0.00” Month to date (normal) 2.42” (2.57”) year to date (normal) 2.42” (2.57”)

MAIN POLLUTANT Particulates

SUN AND MOON Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today

7:05 a.m.

5:29 p.m.

3:48 a.m.

1:52 p.m.

SOURCE: AIRNOW.GOV

NEW

FIRST

FULL

LAST

JAN 18

JAN 25

FEB 1

FEB 9

THE NATION AND WORLD Today City

LOUISIANA FORECAST

RIVER STAGES MISSISSIPPI

Monroe 61/30

Shreveport 63/30

Jackson 57/29

Longview 62/28

Many 61/29

Hattiesburg 62/33

Alexandria 62/30

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

Cairo COMITE

Near Olive

Baton Rouge 65/34 Beaumont 69/38

Port Arthur 68/39

AMITE

Lafayette

Near Darlington Denham Springs Port Vincent

New Orleans 67/39

Lake Charles 68/36

TICKFAW

Montpelier Holden

Houma 67/40

ATCHAFALAYA

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

TIDES HIGH

First FT. LOW

Lake Pontchartrain (Tchefuncte River) 3:58a 0.4 Shell Beach 10:11p 1.0 South Point, Marsh Island 4:12p 1.4 Cypremort Point 7:06p 1.1 Grand Isle (Barataria Pass) 6:32p 0.8 Mississippi River (Southwest Pass) 5:45p 1.1 Wine Island 7:40p 1.0

FT.

4:17p -0.3 10:01a -0.5 5:20a -0.8 9:06a -0.7 5:26a -0.5 3:43a -0.7 6:28a -0.7

HIGH

Second FT. LOW

FT.

---------------

---------------

---------------

---------------

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

-3.80 15.20 18.70 7.10 3.50 2.89 1.40

+1.16 -0.36 -0.10 +0.10 -0.10 none -0.47

40

14.87

+1.33

19

-0.14

-3.52

18 29 8

4.93 27.38 3.10

-5.12 +0.71 +0.38

13 15

9.88 7.66

-3.39 -0.38

47 34 29 20 12 6

6.41 4.20 3.89 2.94 3.10 2.06

+0.08 +0.25 +0.29 +0.27 +0.30 +0.31

Austin Boston Dallas Fairbanks Honolulu Las Vegas Louisville Miami Nashville

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

Thursday

Hi

Lo

W

Hi

Lo

W

City

68 49 60 -18 79 72 48 79 48

35 40 33 -27 68 45 23 64 23

s r s sn sh s r t r

64 46 59 15 77 68 32 74 35

41 18 44 9 66 44 25 46 26

s sf s sn pc s sf c c

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

45 90 59 41 49 65 46 48 81 75 50

38 73 42 31 46 52 37 40 63 61 43

s pc pc r c pc sh r sh pc sh

49 91 58 42 50 68 44 50 78 74 54

45 74 44 33 47 52 33 37 61 63 42

c pc pc c c pc c c r pc pc

Kuwait City London Madrid Mexico City Montreal Moscow New Delhi Paris Rome Stockholm Tokyo

Hi

Today

Thursday

Lo

W

Hi

Lo

W

67 69 52 78 43 53 40 74 68

39 54 35 54 16 30 19 47 57

c c c s r c c s c

52 64 35 79 19 41 34 74 60

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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.

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1:24a 8:01p 2:09a 8:47p 2:55a 9:35p 3:44a 10:23p 4:34a 11:13p 5:25a ---6:16a 12:28p

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1:49p 2:34p 3:22p 4:10p 5:00p 5:50p 6:40p

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Child care funding continues for state Federal probe does not target Louisiana

BY PATRICK WALL Staff writer

In recent days, some Louisiana child care providers feared they might have to shut down due to a federal funding freeze threatened by the Trump Administration in response to explosive allegations of fraud at Minnesota day care centers.

While the federal government has moved to withhold funding from several states, Louisiana will continue to receive its muchneeded child care money, state Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley said Tuesday. He said federal officials notified his agency this week that the funds will continue to flow after Louisiana verified it has strong safeguards in place to prevent fraud.

Map updates residents on parish projects

“We are not Minnesota,” he said during a state Department of Education meeting Tuesday.

“Even though the feds have rightful concerns about what they have seen in other states,” he added, “they’ve reviewed our processes and they feel that they are sufficient.”

Last week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said it was pausing billions of dollars for programs that support low-income families in five Democrat-led states — Minnesota, New York, California, Illinois and Colorado — due to “serious concerns about widespread fraud and misuse of taxpayer dollars.”

(On Friday, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to release the money while the affected states challenge the move

in court.) The fraud allegations came after a right-wing influencer posted a widely viewed video claiming he uncovered massive fraud in Minneapolis day care centers run by Somali residents.

At the same time, HHS ordered all states to provide additional documentation to continue receiving federal child care funds. On Jan. 1, the Louisiana Department of Education sent a letter to early learning providers saying the review process “may temporarily delay the release of some child care funding nationwide,” but that Louisiana was working with the federal agency to prevent that.

Louisiana received $128 million in federal child care funds last fiscal year, state officials said. Providers have been “terrified” by the prospect of losing that money,

said Rochelle Wilcox, who operates three early learning centers in the New Orleans area and cofounded the early learning advocacy group, For Providers By Providers.

“They were asking, ‘Are we going to be able to open our centers?’ ” she said. “It was mass hysteria.”

Louisiana uses the federal money to support its Child Care Assistance Program, which helps low-income parents pay for child care while they work or attend school or job training. The program, which also gets $78 million in state funds, gave more than 28,000 children access to child care services last fiscal year, state officials said. More than 7,000 additional eligible children were on the program’s waitlist this fall.

Wilcox said the federal subsidies are critical to working parents, who otherwise couldn’t af-

ford professional child care, and to the providers who serve them.

“If we don’t have early care and education, then parents can’t work,” she said. “We are the workforce that powers the rest of the workforce.”

Louisiana’s licensed child care providers face extensive state regulations and monitoring.

In an interview, Brumley said the state Department of Education’s early learning licensing team conducts about 30 unannounced site visits every day, and every center receives at least one such visit per year. The department also reviews attendance data to confirm that centers are serving the children they receive funding for, and a dedicated fraud unit in the early learning office investigates any irregularities.

“We feel really comfortable with the safeguards that we have in place,” he said.

Freedom still rings

Users can see real-time status, costs and more

BY STEPHEN MARCANTEL Staff writer

Lafayette Consolidated Government has launched an interactive map that allows residents to view ongoing infrastructure projects around the parish.

The Capital Improvement Map outlines $186 million in infrastructure improvements currently in the pipeline, according to an LCG statement.

It provides residents with a realtime view of projects, including costs, locations, timelines and status updates.

With the map comes the creation of the Capital Improvement Department, helmed by Martin Poirrier. The new department is a reorganization of Public Works, which officials said overlapped with other departments.

Changes were adopted in December and took effect on Jan. 5.

A graduate of Acadiana High School and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Poirrier previously held roles in LCG’s Department of Public Works and Lafayette Utilities System, where he served as chief civil engineer.

As director of capital improvements, Poirrier will lead the centralized management of LCG’s capital projects, overseeing coordination, project controls and execution across departments.

Warren Abadie will continue in his role as director of traffic, roads and bridges. The drainage department also remains a separate department directed by Brian Smith.

Officials said the shuffling is intended to clearly define responsibilities and leadership following a strategic review in 2025. The review identified that public works could place greater emphasis on drainage and streamline development.

“This reorganization is about delivering better results for the people of Lafayette,” Mayor-President Monique Boulet said. “When residents see road work, drainage improvements or construction in their neighborhoods, they deserve projects that are well-planned, clearly communicated and delivered efficiently. These changes allow us to plan more intentionally, deliver projects more effectively and make project information easier to access.”

Lafayette MayorPresident Monique B. Boulet, left, and Margaret Trahan with the Daughters of the American Revolution raise the America250 Flag at City Hall on Monday in Lafayette. The Lafayette Consolidated Government raised the America250 flag to mark the beginning of a yearlong recognition honoring the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

STAFF PHOTO By BRAD KEMP

Viral video of bridge Woman sought after courthouse escape columns isn’t in La.

BY CLAIRE TAYLOR

DOTD says structures don’t match Basin Bridge footings

officials say.

The video, shared on Instagram by an account “601andpark” shows a person on a boat pointing out support columns that appear to have badly degraded. As of late Tuesday morning, the post had 26,000 likes and

BY ALYSE PFEIL and MATT ALBRIGHT more than 2,000 comments, many Staff writers of them raising concern or outrage A video spreading widely on so- about the state of the bridge.

“These are the Supports for the cial media purports to show support columns for the Atchafalaya Basin Atchafalaya Basin Bridge that carBridge, which carries Interstate 10 ries Interstate 10 & connects Labetween Baton Rouge and Lafayette, fayette & Baton Rouge Louisiana!” crumbling into the swamp — but the ä See BRIDGE, page 4B structures aren’t in Louisiana, state

Staff writer

Authorities are searching for a New Iberia woman who walked out of a courthouse during sentencing Monday and later taunted law enforcement on an Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office social media page.

Jada Landry, 27, of New Iberia, was found guilty of aggravated battery and was facing sentencing Monday at the Iberia Parish courthouse when she fled custody.

The vehicle she used to

drive away in has been found, the Sheriff’s Office reported, but Landry remained at large as of Tuesday morning.

Later on Monday, Landry teased law enforcement officers, writing on the Sheriff’s Office Facebook page, “They can have they cuffs back not me tho!!”

Commenters on the post encouraged her with posts calling her “the GOAT,” “Gangsta” and advising her, “Don’t let them steal your

ä See ESCAPE, page 4B

OPINION

2B ● Wednesday, January 14, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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

OUR VIEWS

New library at LSU needs as much support as sports We’ve been watching with interest the progress toward constructing a new library on LSU’s campus. In recent months, the state’s flagship university has moved quickly and decisively, with no expense spared, to shore up its struggling football program. Meanwhile, plans to tear down the decrepit LSU Main Library, formerly Middleton Library, at the center of campus and replace it with a more modern building have proceeded at a more glacial pace.

Not long ago, officials were saying that a groundbreaking for the new library would take place in summer 2026. That date has now been pushed to spring 2027.

Nevertheless, we are pleased to see that utility work has now begun at the site and early renderings of the exterior design have been released. While Paul Favaloro, LSU’s executive director of planning, design and construction, said that the project is still in the design phase, this latest update should give students and faculty some encouragement that the project will come to fruition by the projected fall 2029 opening date. The three-level, 198,000-squarefoot building will hold between 1.6 million and 2 million books and media. It also will have a cafe and student support services.

The new $154 million structure, officially named the LSU Library Learning Commons, will be located on the south part of the campus, just east of Tiger Stadium, an area which the university’s master plan envisions as a new entryway to the university. The project also calls for the demolition of the current library, opening up LSU’s quad and returning it to its former glory.

With the millions upon millions going into the pockets of coaches and athletes at LSU, we know this project is only a drop in the bucket to support that part of the university not dedicated to the business of throwing, catching, blocking and tackling. Still, we are glad to see LSU make the investment. Like the new dormitories that broke ground in December, it shows the university is focused on its mission of making the student experience better.

This new library will be paid for by state and donor funds. The LSU Foundation has set a goal of $35 million in donations, and so far, $12 million has been raised. Surely we can come up with nearly $54 million to pay off the contract of a failing football coach virtually overnight, Louisiana has the resources to fund a new library that will benefit our state’s students for generations to come.

We would argue that the return on that investment will far outlast the shine of a national championship trophy, the value of which depreciates as soon as a new champion is crowned.

And while gridiron greatness is certainly worthy of praise, we can imagine this library will help create champions in all walks of life.

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

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

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YOUR VIEWS

Landry should not be involved in Greenland folly

Don’t misrepresent Acadian history to justify U.S. immigration policy a devastating toll, including the deaths of his wife Agnes, their five sons and half of his grandchildren. After the fall of Quebec in 1759, Broussard was imprisoned for several years on Georges Island in Halifax Harbor.

After the war ended in 1763, Broussard led 202 Acadians on an arduous voyage to Louisiana. The Jean-Baptiste Semer letter confirms they arrived in February 1765. That letter appears in our book “Acadie Then and Now,” winner of the 2015 Prix-France-Acadie.

Historian Carl Brasseaux wrote in “Quest for the Promised Land” that French administrators under Spanish rule documented the Acadians’ unexpected arrival and provided them shelter, food and supplies. Shortly after leading his people to resettle along Bayou Teche, Broussard died in October 1765.

Amazingly, Landry seems oblivious to the fact that the reason Cajuns live in Louisiana today is because British forces rounded up and expelled them.

Morgan Landry wrote that he submitted his Jan. 8 letter to clarify Acadian history. Instead, by advancing an anti-immigrant agenda, he conflated different periods of our diaspora and added confusion. His account relied on a book he self-published, which Amazon describes as a genealogy of his own family. He cited this work as a historical source without disclosing that he authored it.

There are clear parallels between the first group of Acadians who arrived in Louisiana in February 1765 and many refugees today. That group was led by Beausoleil Broussard, the central figure of Acadian resistance after England conquered Nova Scotia.

British authorities exploited the Acadians, and Broussard spent much of his life resisting their rule. He was declared an outlaw, with a bounty placed on his head.

In 1755, then Lt. Gov. Charles Lawrence ordered the deportation of the Acadians. As leader of a paramilitary resistance, Broussard waged a violent guerrilla campaign. The conflict took

President Donald Trump has nominated Gov. Jeff Landry to be the U.S. special envoy to Greenland. Landry stated, “It’s an honor to serve you in this volunteer position to make Greenland a part of the U.S.” That is arrogant! Greenland is an autonomous part of the Kingdom of Denmark, a NATO ally. He and Trump are talking illegal criminal acts against international law and order. That is gross imperialism and un-American. Any attempt to annex Greenland by any means, especially by force, will totally anger our allies, especially NATO and EU allies, and also most civilized, intelligent, patriotic Americans.

That would be totally stupid, shortsighted and shooting the U.S. in the head, not just the foot. That kind of imperialistic action would only encourage adversarial dictators, such as Russia’s Putin and China’s Xi, to do the same, leading to world chaos.

WARRIN PERRIN Lafayette

GARY BECKMAN Shreveport

Let’s rededicate ourselves to American values

Dictators can look to Trump for justification after Venezuela Re: “Mike Johnson says Trump’s Venezuela attack justified; Troy Carter says it’s unconstitutional,” published Jan. 3.

When will the Trumpian sycophants in Congress do their job and stop kowtowing to President Donald Trump’s maniacal actions? The unhinged and self-serving military attack Trump has taken in Venezuela has opened the door to military takeovers all over the globe — including the United States.

What a vivid red carpet he has rolled out for the likes of autocrats such as Vladimir Putin in Russia or Kim Jong Un in North Korea.

All any leader now has to do is “shout fire in a crowded theater,” magnify the scream with deliberate falsehoods and

the path to war (and war crimes) has been paved.

What’s next? Will Trump call for violent takeovers of states or cities within the United States that he views as enemies? Will he create repetitive lies stating that Greenland poses a threat to the United States so he (or Jeff Landry) can run that country, too?

To the Mike Johnsons of Congress, do you remember the term checks and balances? Do you remember the oath of office pledging allegiance, not to an individual, but to the Constitution?

God help us all, as we witness one destructive, un-American action after another.

As we enter 2026, I want to publicly reaffirm my commitment to voting for traditional American values.

Our tradition of democratic institutions and the peaceful transfer of power.

Our tradition of freedom of speech and expression, especially when criticizing the government.

Our tradition that the rule of law applies to all — no one stands above it.

Our tradition of every citizen’s right to vote.

Our tradition of swearing allegiance to the Constitution, not a crown.

Our tradition of standing with our historic allies in NATO, including Canada and Denmark, who stood with us through WWII, the Cold War and 9/11.

Our tradition of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, with each of us free to define what happiness means.

Our tradition that citizens are not subjects and officials are not sovereigns.

Our tradition of soldiers as guardians of our country and police as guardians of our countrymen.

Thank you for upholding these.

GLORIA DAUPHIN Gretna

Public has a right to know more when it comes to sports Transparency for the general public must be included in the new atmosphere and attitude that college football players are experiencing. We must have at least one annual public, printed disclosure of each team member’s annual remuneration, current major declared, class year (freshman, sophomore etc.), current grade-point

average and any previous college team of which they have been members.

It is no longer a college boy playing for his team, and as it was in the past, perhaps getting free tuition, free books and maybe some tutoring. It’s a whole different ball game nowadays.

BUTCH THORNTON New Iberia

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COMMENTARY Celebrating Maduro’s downfall Trump treats Venezuelans are celebrating in the attack on America that was as deadly streets of Caracas and around the as a military attack in a conventional world after U.S. forces staged a flawwar. Democrats in Congress want to invoke the War Powers Act to prevent less removal of brutal dictator and the president from additional military narco-trafficker Nicolas Maduro and action in Venezuela. his wife. Not celebrating are most Again, The Washington Post editorial congressional Democrats, a few Regot it right when it said: “Madupublicans and the new mayor of New York City, Zohran ro’s removal sends an important Mamdani, whose foreign policy message to tin-pot dictators in credentials are akin to dining Latin America and the world: at International House of PanTrump follows through. Presicakes. dent Joe Biden offered sanctions Even The Washington Post, relief to Venezuela, and Maduro Cal which is no fan of Donald responded to that show of weakThomas ness by stealing an election.”

Trump and most of his policies, spoke well of the operation that Nobel Peace Prize winner and captured Maduro, calling the action “a opposition leader Maria Corina Machamajor victory for American interests” do posted on X: “The time for freedom and noting “Just hours before, support- has come! (Maduro) will face interive Chinese officials held a chummy national justice for atrocious crimes meeting with Maduro, who had also against Venezuelans and against citibeen propped up by Russia, Cuba and zens of many other nations.”

Iran.” So, according to Democrats it’s Additional justification for military OK for some of America’s adversaries action came from an article by Elliott to play footsie with Maduro, but not Abrams, published in National Review OK to break his legs and topple his evil days before the raid and re-published regime? by the Council on Foreign Relations: Democrats are already on the wrong “Last year the democratic forces there side of deporting undocumented immi- won a landslide victory in the presigrants and many social issues. Do they dential election — despite the fact that also want to go on record defending the regime tried desperately to fix the Maduro? outcome. Edmundo Gonzlez, the oppoIt’s useful to read the first sentence sition candidate and a virtual unknown of the Federal indictment of Maduro: prior to his candidacy, won 70-30 and “For over 25 years, leaders of Venezue- would have won by a greater margin la have abused their positions of public had the election been fair. Had Mara trust and corrupted once-legitimate in- Corina Machado, whom the opposistitutions to import tons of cocaine into tion had chosen as its candidate, been the United States.” Maduro oversaw an permitted to run, the margin would,

again, have been greater. The desire of the Venezuelan people to get rid of the corrupt and brutal Maduro regime is clear.”

Lefties are already in the streets with their “free Maduro” signs, but their numbers are a pittance compared to those celebrating his removal. Maduro’s trial in New York will likely be a spectacle, but the big question is what comes next?

Trump says the U.S. and oil companies will “run” Venezuela for an unspecified amount of time. That will only work with the support of the military and the Venezuelan people, whom Trump says will become “rich” after Maduro’s removal and the ability of citizens to acquire what Maduro has denied them, including and most importantly, freedom.

Dictators in Cuba, along with the ayatollahs in Iran and the Mexican government which has insufficiently battled the dominant drug cartels take note. Trump is serious when he makes promises. He may often embellish and say things that aren’t true, or repeat himself, but especially in the case of removing a threat to the United States, he means business.

Go ahead, Democrats, and try to make the case that Maduro should have remained in power and continued to kill Americans and his own people.

That won’t benefit your electoral prospects in the next election.

of officers, some of them will turn out to be bad people, or bad decision-makers. For the public’s safety and the legitimacy of the police, that latter group must be held accountable.

Trying to separate the “what” from the “who,” I confess I am struggling to see what conservatives believe is obvious: that officer Jonathan Ross had good reason to believe Good was trying to hurt him with her car.

I’ve watched all the videos I can find in slow motion and in real time, and I see a man filming with his phone at the corner of a car making a K-turn, and may have knocked into him as it moved.

Ross seems to be leaning over the hood from a side angle to put the first shot through the windshield and firing the second and third shots into the car from the side, which makes it hard to believe that he thought the car was aimed at him or anyone else. The road appears clear behind him.

That’s not the final word, of course; though a news outlet disseminated his cellphone footage, his body-cam video, if it exists, hasn’t been released.

Further investigation and more videos may reveal additional details. Unfortunately, we’ve become so polarized on the “who” that I no longer trust this administration — which immediately deemed Good a “domestic terrorist” — to adjudicate the “what.” And that is even more troubling to me than the death of Renee Nicole Good.

It is incongruous that Donald Trump, who advertises his disdain for things European, wants to give us something that no one in his or her right mind wants: a knockoff of France’s Arc de Triomphe. Which is bad enough.

Worse, he wants to situate it on a Washington site where it will clutter one of the world’s great urban vistas. He would place it on the Virginia side of the Memorial Bridge, below the Custis-Lee George mansion, which sits on high Will ground in what became Arlington National Cemetery.

In this house, George Washington Parke Custis, grandson of Martha Washington through her first marriage, saw his daughter marry Lt. Robert E. Lee in 1831, 31 years before his Army of Northern Virginia tried to dismember the nation. By connecting the national capital with Virginia, whose capital was the Confederacy’s capital, Memorial Bridge symbolizes national unity.

Given Trump’s gargantuan exercises of executive discretion regarding great matters of state, it might seem quaint to wonder why he cannot be stopped from treating Washington as his chew toy. This would be unworthy of our nation if he had exquisite taste. The fact that he revels in being a vulgarian takes a toll on the nation’s soul.

Urban aesthetics can be conducive to urbanity, of which there is never enough. G.K. Chesterton said Times Square would be a wonderful sight “to anyone lucky enough to be unable to read.” Its garishness has a kind of democratic beauty, a chaos of advertising for foods and entertainments that appeal to the lowest common denominators in each of us.

Trump’s Oval Office, stuffed to overflowing with gold bric-a-brac, might be beautiful to someone who is colorblind. Or to connoisseurs of high-end Gilded Age brothels. It would be nice if he would confine his ornamenting fidgets to Mar-a-Lago, about which we can say what a wit said of the State Department: It is like tundra — anything done to it would improve it. The Oval Office can be, as it were, visually fumigated quickly for the next occupant. Getting rid of an Arc de Trump would be resisted by curators of Trump’s legacy.

Trump has the terrible strength peculiar to people who are incapable of embarrassment, and cannot fathom that they look ridiculous.

Recently, however, Republicans in the House of Representatives, hitherto impeccably obedient to him, seem to have become healthily embarrassed about their subservience. There have been silent insurrections.

The New York Sun reads Congress’s spending bills so that the rest of us do not need to. It reports that the annual spending bill funding the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts refers to this venue by that name. If you can hardly believe this impertinence, check the bill’s page 371.

The Trump administration said in December that the Center’s board voted to authorize what he hastened to do: He slapped his name above Kennedy’s on the building. His press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, explained that this honors “the unbelievable work” Trump did in “saving the building.” Leavitt has Flaubert’s flair for le mot juste: “unbelievable.”

The military authorization bill passed by Congress and signed by the president last month refers to the “Department of Defense,” not the “Department of War,” as the current commander in chief likes to call it. Is Congress, by this act of lèse-majesté, claiming a right to name the departments it creates? What next? Will Congress involve itself in what the Defense Department does, such as waging war?

What evidently will not come next is the “Melania Trump Opera House” at the Kennedy Center. Last year, the Sun reports, some congressional Republicans, seeking fresh forms of obeisance, introduced an amendment to an appropriations bill to rename the Opera House.

Amazingly, the amendment did not make it to Melania’s husband’s desk.

The Arc de Triomphe was commissioned by Napoleon in 1806, after his victory in the immense 1805 battle of Austerlitz, to celebrate France’s military glories, and himself. At Austerlitz, which was then in Moravia but now is in the Czech Republic, Napoleon’s 68,000 troops defeated almost 90,000 Russians and Austrians.

Perhaps the Arc de Trump, its gold paint glistening when bathed by sunsets, will celebrate, in addition to its namesake, the triumph of U.S. forces in the Battle of Nuuk. With a population of less than 20,000, and boasting that its rush hour traffic lasts 15 minutes, Nuuk is the capital of, and largest city in, Greenland.

Megan McArdle in on X, @asymmetricinfo.

Email George Will at georgewill@washpost. com.

Email Cal Thomas at tcaeditorstribpub.com.

People see what they want in protests “Who, whom?”

It’s a famous formulation, originally attributed to Vladimir Lenin. It is a formula that abjures any principle in favor of raw power: Actions are justified not by abstract rules but because they are done by the right people, for the right people and to the wrong people.

Clearly, this is a formula for a police state, not a democracy where we are all equal before the law Megan Megan and where government McArdle power rests on the consent of the governed. But though we ought to know better, “Who, whom?” thinking pops up in democracies all the time.

In 2012, a group of law professors published the results of an experiment they had run on 202 adults who were shown a video of protesters. Participants were given the text of a law regarding protests at sensitive facilities and asked to determine whether the police had been justified in shutting down the protest.

Half were told that the video showed pro-life demonstrators at an abortion clinic. The other half were told the protest occurred outside a college career-placement office where military recruiters were conducting interviews, and that the protesters were rallying against the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy for gay and lesbian service members. The results were depressing, if not entirely surprising.

People disposed to support abortion rights and oppose “don’t ask, don’t tell” thought the police were justified in clearing protesters away from the abortion clinic but not the recruitment office. Those whose views went the other way reached the opposite conclusion from the same facts.

The internet has let us run real-life versions of this experiment several times: Kyle Rittenhouse, Covington Catholic High School and, now, the shooting of a Minneapolis woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer. Every time, the debate has devolved into warring camps who know what they saw and hate their opponents for disbelieving their own eyes.

Obviously, fallible humans will never get entirely beyond questions of who and whom, especially since the questions occasionally matter. Cops have powers the rest of us don’t, so it’s important to know whether someone breaking into a house is a police officer before you tackle them — just as it’s reasonable for police to treat a cartel enforcer as more dangerous than a Midwestern grandmother.

But beyond a certain point, “Who, whom?” is irrelevant. It doesn’t mat-

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ADAM GRAy

Federal agents drive through smoke from tear gas dispersed during a protest on Monday in Minneapolis. ter whether Renee Nicole Good was a mother, a poet and a nice person, nor does it matter whether she was illegally hindering operations of ICE officers by blocking their vehicles, a tactic I disapprove of strongly but does not merit the death penalty. It doesn’t matter whether the operation was necessary or immoral. It doesn’t even matter whether she was fleeing the scene or disobeying orders — they had her license plate and could have arrested her at home. What matters is whether that officer reasonably believed she was a threat to him or other people.

We should not let this incident polarize us into a debate over whether cops are the good guys or the bad guys, as happened after George Floyd’s murder.

We all have an interest in public order, which is why the “defund the police” movement was so misguided. But we also have an interest in regulating police power, because none of us wants to be in a world where we can be shot for failing to perfectly comply. We need police.

But we also need guardrails to keep police power from being abused, which means we need to recognize that law enforcement officers are neither angels nor demons, always wrong or always right. They’re fallible human beings who have been given a tough job and awesome power.

Sometimes they will reasonably fire even though later analysis will show that the shooting was mistaken or avoidable. And sometimes they will fire unreasonably, because if you give guns and authority to hundreds of thousands

Washington like his chew toy

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4B ● Wednesday, January 14, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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Smitty’s ordered to clean up, correct leaks EPA issues new compliance order on lubricants plant

Spigot stuffed with rag

BY DAVID J. MITCHELL Staff writer

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ordered Smitty’s Supply Inc. on Tuesday to clean up and correct dozens of leaks and other failures in handling hazardous waste at its Tangipahoa Parish lubricants complex, which exploded and burned down last year, agency officials said.

The compliance order is the second the EPA has issued against Smitty’s and the third regulatory action overall since the devastating fire at the plant on Aug. 22 that spilled millions of gallons of oil and other products into private ponds and the Tangipahoa River.

The latest order comes after inspectors documented more than 200 spills at the Roseland area plant that largely predated the fire, more than 250 damaged waste containers and more than 300 unlabeled or mislabeled containers, according to an agency news release.

On Monday, authorities confirmed the EPA had opened an apparent criminal probe into Smitty’s last year that included a search of the complex in mid-November under the authority of a warrant. It’s not clear if that criminal inquiry is still active, but the new compliance order stems from an EPA hazardous waste inspection that predated the criminal investigators’ search by more than a month.

The inspectors, however, did look at some of the same warehouses and hazardous waste sorting practices that the criminal search reviewed in November, according to EPA inspection and other documents.

The new compliance order, issued with Smitty’s consent, “requires the company to address” the alleged hazardous waste violations within 60 days, EPA officials said.

Alleged violations include Smitty’s failure to do the following: make accurate hazardous waste determinations, minimize the possibility of releasing hazardous waste, carry out a required fire and spill contingency plan, keep hazardous waste containers in good condition and manage a category of hazardous waste found in more commonplace items, like mercury in everyday light bulbs.

Leaving containers mislabeled or unlabeled can mean workers and others

BRIDGE

Continued from page 1B the post states. “Someone needs to get to work!”

But that is not a Louisiana bridge.

The same video was previously shared on TikTok by user “buckmaster55” — with a location tag of Caryville, Florida. In both versions of the video, the

PHOTOS PROVIDED By U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCy

So much unknown liquid leaks inside Warehouse 10 at Smitty’s Supply on Oct. 8 that workers put down cardboard and absorbent material to try to control the spill, but they become heavily saturated anyway. A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency inspector photographed this and a few hundred other leaks and spills at the plant, which led to a new compliance order against the company over hazardous waste management and cleanup. The plant has flammable oil products, solvents and other materials. The warehouse wasn’t damaged in a massive fire at the plant last August. won’t know what they hold, if they include hazardous waste or if they pose other dangers.

“The company began to address areas of noncompliance following the inspection and has kept EPA informed of their work,” EPA officials said in a statement Tuesday. “This includes characterizing the content of totes and drums, addressing leaks by transferring the material into totes that are in good condition, and ensuring totes and drums are properly labeled.”

Store hazardous waste The August explosion forced the evacuation of about 800 people, including former Gov. John Bel Edwards, who lives nearby.

The incident also sent black soot across the region.

The spilled oil and other lubricants moved down the Tangipahoa nearly 47 miles to its mouth at Lake Pontchartrain. The fire took more than two weeks to fully extinguish.

Smitty’s spokespersons and one of its attorneys didn’t immediately respond to emailed requests for comment Tuesday. The company has said the fire and explosion were unavoidable, though the exact cause remains unknown.

Company officials have also said they are working with state and federal agencies and comply with environmental laws.

EPA officials offered no additional comments on Tuesday beyond the news

cameraman says, “better be careful coming over this I-10 bridge in Caryville!”

Besides, that’s not what the supports under the Basin Bridge look like.

“The substructure for the Basin Bridge is not designed that way,” said Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development spokesperson Rodney Mallet. “Those footing piles are designed differently.”

release and have declined to comment “on whether or not warrants were conducted” at Smitty’s.

When asked if or how the new compliance order was tied to the criminal warrant search in November, agency spokesperson Joe Robledo declined to comment.

“EPA cannot comment on any potential or ongoing investigations,” he said.

Smitty’s is authorized to generate, temporarily store and transport hazardous waste, including highly flammable oils, dangerous solvents, the carcinogen benzene and tetrachloroethylene, the EPA compliance order states.

Visiting between Oct. 7 and 9, the EPA inspectors focused on hazardous waste management in yards and warehouses that were and were not damaged by the fire.

The inspectors found areas inside and outside of undamaged warehous- Unknown liquids leak on Oct. 9 toward a drain in an outside es and yards, as well as container storage area Smitty’s grease plant, that were covered with leaks, grease or emulsified chemi- tainer labeling, stacking including floors coated with cals, and often shoddy con- and leak control.

Continued from page 1B Mardi Gras girl.”

Another warned Landry to stop posting on social media because law enforcement may be able to track her location through her cellphone posts.

A photo on the Facebook post shows Landry with a tattoo on her neck area with a large heart and “2-11-14” below it.

Sheriff’s Office officials warned anyone who sees

Landry not to approach her but instead to leave an anonymous tip on their app or call (337) 369-3711.

Acadiana Real Estate For Sale

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OPELOUSSAS 2-4-Plex Apts For Sale-In Opelousas, $290k/each (337) 942-8180

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., The Advocate’s ClassifiedAdvertising Departmentwill be closed on Monday, January 19th.

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MONDAY, JAN. 12, 2026 PICK 3: 8-3-5 PICK 4: 6-8-1-9 PICK 5: 7-4-9-3-3 POWERBALL: 5-27-4556-59 (4) Unofficial notification, keep your tickets.

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ESCAPE

In one part of the grease plant, a container of an unknown liquid had its spigot stuffed with a rag, which was saturated and leaking, according to the EPA. The floor around that container had a large spill covered with saturated pieces of cardboard, according to the agency.

Elsewhere, in an outside storage yard, an unknown liquid had leaked long enough that it had saturated absorbent material surrounding a drain and was getting through to the drain, EPA inspectors said in a report.

Inspectors also found concrete spill containment pads with large and old spill stains as well as cracks. Chemical totes and barrels that were dented or stacked precariously and had labeling that was no longer legible were also noted.

After the inspection, Smitty’s was required to submit its current fire and spill contingency plans, training records, inspection reports, material manifests and other records. They were used in the EPA’s assessment of Smitty’s compliance with hazardous waste rules.

On Oct. 13, days before EPA handed off day-today cleanup of the site to Smitty’s, the agency issued a separate consent order that required the company to take responsibility for the post-fire cleanup and laid out what it would need to do to complete that work.

EPA officials said Tuesday that some of the work required under that older order will meet the new requirements under the latest hazardous waste order.

On Nov. 5, the EPA and state agencies also sued Smitty’s in federal court over the fire, accusing the company of “repeatedly failing” to follow pollutioncontrol laws and maintaining “insufficient” spill-prevention plans.

The suit asks a judge to hold the company accountable for the pollution of the Tangipahoa and other state waters and to take steps to prevent future spills, forcing potentially millions of dollars in penalties.

Public Notices Bids/Proposals

PUBLIC NOTICE --REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS Notice is hereby given that Electronic Proposals will be received by the City of Scott, Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, until 2:00 P.M., February 11, 2026, for:

Public Notices Bids/Proposals

DISASTER DEBRIS MONITORING RFPs received after the above specified time and date will not be consid‐ ered.

Complete RFP packets may be viewed at www. cityofscott.org. No RFP may be withdrawn for at least ninety (90) days after the scheduled due date of the RFP. The Owner shall have the right to reject any and all proposals for just cause in accordance with State of Louisiana Public Bid Law and shall reject any l

Public Notices Bids/Proposals j y proposal not accompa‐ nied by any information required in the RFP docu‐ ments, or a proposal in any way incomplete or ir‐ regular. /s/ Jan-Scott Richard, Mayor PUBLICATION DATES: January 7, 14, 28, 2026.

170969 Jan. 7, 14, 28, 3t $73.66

CLASSIFIEDS WORK

PUBLIC NOTICE --REQUEST FOR QUOTATION LAFAYETTE CITY-PARISH CONSOLIDATED GOVERNMENT PURCHASING & PROPERTY MANAGEMENT DIVISION 705 W. UNIVERSITY AVENUE PO BOX 4017-C LAFAYETTE, LA 70502 Requesting quotes for: DEMOLITION as per specifications listed on attached for the following location: 107 A Begnaud Road Scott, LA 70583 Project Supervisor: Shane Rougeau Authorizing Agency: Grants Division Written quotes will be taken until closing time (5:00 pm) February 5, 2026.

Work must be completed according to the at‐ tached specifications.

Copies of the RFQ, the specifications, and quote forms are available at the office of Purchasing & Property Management located at 705 West Uni‐ versity Avenue, P. O. Box Lafayette, LA 4017-C, 70502, telephone number 291 8034 (Attn: 337 Keirston St. Amant; email kstamant@lafayettela. gov ) Work must be completed within thirty (30) days of notice to proceed given by the appropriate au‐ thorizing agency. The contractor successful must not begin work until a notice to proceed has been issued by the Project Supervisor.

All federal, state, parish, and city taxes due and payable on this bid shall included in the be amount bid on the quote form.

The successful vendor shall be required to fur‐ nish the attached certifi‐ cate of insurance, includ‐ ing Item I, II w/xcu, III, V, d ($ li

Public Notices Bids/Proposals

g VI and VII ($500,000 lim‐ its), complete for ap‐ proval by the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government Risk Man‐ agement Division. These include requirements General Liability with limits and $500,000 Lafayette Consolidated Government listed as Ad‐ ditional Insured, Auto Li‐ ability with $500,000 lim‐ its and Lafayette Consoli‐ dated Government listed as Additional Insured, and Workman’s Comp with $500,000 limits and a Waiver of Subrogation.

Please make note that XCU (or Underground, Ex‐ plosion, and Collapse) is required as part of Gen‐ eral Liability.

It is suggested that you speak with your insur‐ ance agent prior to sub‐ mitting a quote concern‐ ing the insurance and en‐ dorsements required by these specifications, as there could be additional premiums associated with this requirement.

If you have any questions about the quote process, please contact Keirston St. Amant @ 337 291 8034 NOTE: Any questions re‐ garding the specifica‐ tions must be addressed to Keirston St. Amant at kstamant@lafayettela. gov. Only questions in writing shall be ad‐ dressed. Please include in the email’s subject line – Questions – Demolition at 107 A Begnaud Road.

Quotations will be sub‐ mitted (on attached) and awarded on a TOTAL LUMP SUM PRICE BASIS per location.

You may: Email your quote to ksta‐ mant@lafayettela.gov Mail your quote to Lafayette Consolidated Government, Purchasing Department, Attn: Keirston St. Amant, PO BOX 4017 C, Lafayette, LA 70502, or Hand-Carry your quote to Lafayette Consolidated Government, Purchasing Department, Attn: Keirston St. Amant, 705 W University Ave, f

Public Notices Bids/Proposals y Lafayette, LA. Online at https://lafayet tecsdgovla.tylerportico. com/va/vendor-access/ registration NO ALTERNATE OR OPTIONAL BIDS OR QUOTES WILL BE AC‐ CEPTED OR READ UNLESS CALLED FOR IN THE SPECIFICATIONS. 173048-jan 14-18-25-3t $120.56

Legal Notices

PUBLIC NOTICE --NOTICE OF AUTHORIZATION OF DISSOLUTION Notice is hereby given pursuant to Section 250 Title 12 of the of Louisiana Revised Stat‐ ues that LHC Group Em‐ ployee Hardship Relief Fund, a Louisiana nonprofit corporation, has adopted a resolution by unanimous written a consent of its members authorizing its dissolu‐ tion and liquidation out of court. The post office address of Kimberly Sey‐ mour, the liquidator of the corporation, is 901 Hugh Wallis Road South, Lafayette, LA 70508.

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Cajuns beef up DL with Tarleton St.’s Stewart

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

There were several reasons former Tarleton State defensive tackle Brodrick Stewart decided to transfer to UL. For one, the Arlington, Texas, native’s mother is from Louisiana, so he’s been to the state and the idea of moving there made sense to him.

Secondly, the comfort level on his recent visit to Lafayette was good.

“The difference was the people,” Stewart said. “I feel like they wanted me more and I feel like I’ll get along more with the coaches there after visiting.”

The 6-foot-2, 310-pound Stewart is considered a run stopper with upside.

Stewart originally signed with Northern Arizona before transferring to Tarleton State, where he appeared in three games his first season before playing in 10 games this past season with six tackles and 11/ 2 tackles for losses.

Tarleton State, ranked in the FCS top 10 for much of the season, finished 12-2 and lost to No. 12 Villanova in the second round of the FCS playoffs.

Stewart said he was able to constantly improve his game to move up to the FBS level.

“I feel like I made a bit of progress in my three years in college now, so I’m developed to go to that next (level),” he said. “I’ve gotten more explosive coming off the ball shocking people.

Getting to the ball, I got faster to the quarterback or running back.”

Much like transfer offensive tackle Jayce Mitchell from Tulane, the Cajuns didn’t sign Stewart as a one-year quick fix, but as a talented player they hope will continue to develop. Stewart has three years of eligibility remaining.

There was a need for depth at defensive tackle with the losses of Kadarius Miller and Jaelen Crider to eligibility and Fitzgerald West to the transfer portal.

“I feel like there’s an opportunity for me to come in and get some playing time next season,” Stewart said.

“That’s what I’m looking forward to doing, coming in and playing.”

Stewart’s other transfer portal visits were to South Dakota State and North Texas.

In addition to Stewart and Mitchell, UL has also signed former Lafayette Christian linebacker Princeton Malbrue so far in the portal.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By ROSS D. FRANKLIN

Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt warms up before a game against Houston on Oct. 25 in Tempe, Ariz. The West Linn, Ore., native chose LSU over Kentucky, Tennessee and Miami and signed with the Tigers on Monday night.

Tigers betting Sam can

Breaking down the strengths and weaknesses of LSU’s new QB Leavitt

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

Lane Kiffin has finally found his quarterback.

On Monday, Arizona State sophomore quarterback Sam Leavitt signed with LSU out of the Analysis transfer portal, ending a roughly week-long saga for the top available signal-caller in the transfer portal.

LSU had to beat out Kentucky, Tennessee and Miami for his services. Leavitt visited all four schools, but landed on the Tigers after a visit to Baton Rouge early last week and a second visit from Kiffin in Knoxville, Tennessee, just before his trip to Miami.

At ASU, Leavitt led the Sun Devils to the College Football Playoff and a Big 12 Championship in 2024, nearly taking down Texas in the Peach Bowl to send ASU to the CFP semifinals. He was un-

able to build off that success much this year, after a foot injury during the season affected his play and ended his year prematurely.

So what kind of player is LSU getting in Leavitt? And what are strengths and weaknesses?

Here’s a film breakdown of LSU’s new starting quarterback.

Arm strength is a strength Leavitt loves to throw the ball deep.

In 2024, he had eight touchdown passes on balls thrown 20 yards or more past the line of scrimmage, according to Pro Football Focus. He posted a 105 NFL passer rating on those attempts, and his average depth of target overall was 9.3 yards. He was particularly adept at throwing the ball deep to either sideline, throwing for more than 200 yards to each side of the field on passes outside of the numbers and at least 20 yards downfield.

UL looks to rebound ä UL at Texas State.

7 P.M.WEDNESDAy, ESPN+ from poor homestand

STAFF FILE PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

LINEUP Steven Milam, 2B, Jr. Derek Curiel, CF, So. Trent Caraway, 3B, Jr. Jake Brown, RF, Jr. Brayden Simpson, 2B, Sr. Zach yorke, 1B, Sr. Cade Arrambide, C, So. Seth Dardar, DH, Sr. Chris Stanfield, LF, Sr. STARTING ROTATION Friday: Casan Evans, RHP, So. Saturday: Zac Cowan, RHP, Sr. Sunday: Cooper Moore, RHP, Jr. ä Milwaukee at LSU. 2 P.M. FEB. 13

ä See LEAVITT, page 2C

Cajuns hit road for four straight in SBC

LSU coach Jay Johnson gives encouragement from the dugout during a College World Series game against Arkansas on June 14 in Omaha, Neb.

PROJECTED STARTERS

At 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds, Leavitt doesn’t have an above-average size, meaning that the power he generates on his throws is more of a result of his natural arm strength and not his frame. But even with his size, Leavitt doesn’t have to strain much when he attempts deeper throws. His arm strength allows him to access all parts of the field, and he can drive balls into tighter windows with velocity if need be.

The deep passing game is a staple of Kiffin’s offense. Finding a quarterback who could find those playmakers and stretch defenses was a priority for Kiffin.

Arm strength was a critical attribute for Jaxson Dart and Trinidad Chambliss when they played for him at Ole Miss. It’s also a key aspect of Elon transfer Landen Clark’s game. Clark transferred to LSU on Sunday night to add depth to the

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

Taking a crack at LSU’s lineup, starting rotation

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

LSU baseball is back. And once again, the Tigers are heading into another season as a favorite to make it back to Omaha, Nebraska, and deliver another national championship to Baton Rouge.

Right-handers Zac Cowan and Casan Evans are poised to lead a rotation that has multiple options behind them. The lineup, which returns last year’s starting outfield, includes a potential top-10 pick in this summer’s MLB draft in Derek Curiel.

With preseason practices having started on Monday, here are The

STAFF FILE PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

All-American Derek Curiel is expected to play center field this season.

Advocate’s predictions for what LSU’s lineup, starting rotation and bullpen may look like to begin the season.

ä See LSU, page 3C

The job gets tougher for the UL Ragin’ Cajuns.

After claiming only one win in a four-game Sun Belt homestand, coach Quannas White’s men’s team begins a rugged four-game road stretch at 7 p.m. Wednesday against Texas State in San Marcos, Texas.

The Cajuns enter the game 4-14 overall and 2-4 in league play after a 90-70 loss to Troy on Saturday, while the Bobcats are 9-9, 2-4.

“We’ve got to be better,” White said. “We had 18 offensive rebounds against UL-Monroe (an 85-79 win), and then we gave up 18 against Troy (a 90-70 loss).

That’s not something that I would like to have happen ever again.

We’ve got to learn from it, get back to the drawing board and watch film.”

Texas State is 8-1 at home and 1-6 on the road. Most recently, the Bobcats lost 83-82 at Arkansas State and 80-70 at Southern Miss.

The Bobcats are led by doublefigure scorers Mark Drone (13.6

points per game, 2.9 rebounds per game) and DJ Hall (13.3 ppg, 7.6 rpg).

Texas State averages 74.9 points per game while giving up 72.2. On the boards, the Bobcats average 37.0 rebounds to their opponents’ 31.8.

Texas State shoots 32.1% from 3-point range while its opponents have have shot 35.9%.

“This team is good offensively,” White said of Texas State.

“They like to get up the flow and transition. They move the ball really well, similar to Troy. So I think the Troy game, learning from that game, will help prepare us for this one.”

That could work out in UL’s favor. The Cajuns have made double-digit 3s in five of their past six games. Overall, UL is shooting 31.7% from distance and allowing opponents to shoot 35.9%.

White said he’s confident in the progress his team has made from 3-point range.

“Our guys are working right now in the gym,” White said. “I think that’ll continue whether we play at home or on the road.

ä See CAJUNS, page 3C

2C ● Wednesday, January 14, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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Steelers’ Tomlin steps down Coach out after 19 seasons, mixed postseason results

BY WILL GRAVES AP sportswriter

PITTSBURGH — Mike Tomlin was an unknown when the Pittsburgh Steelers plucked him from obscurity in 2007 and handed the young and charismatic Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator one of the most stable jobs in sports.

Over the next 19 seasons, Tomlin carved out his own chapter with one of the NFL’s marquee franchises, winning a Super Bowl and going to another while becoming one of the most respected voices — if idiosyncratic — voices in the game.

Asked repeatedly what separated Tomlin from his peers, his players pointed to his consistency.

Tomlin was the same coach day after day, season after season.

That consistency, far too often of late, also bled into the results.

And after yet another quick playoff exit, Tomlin used his voice one last time to tell team president Art Rooney II that it was time to try something else.

The longest-tenured head coach

in major American professional sports stepped down from his job leading the Steelers on Tuesday, a seismic shift that will have ripple effects throughout the league.

“I am deeply grateful to Art Rooney II and the late Ambassador (Dan) Rooney for their trust and support,” Tomlin said in a statement released by the team.

“I am also thankful to the players who gave everything they had every day, and to the coaches and staff whose commitment and dedication made this journey so meaningful.”

Tomlin’s early success, however, leveled off into a pattern of solid if not always spectacular play, followed by a playoff cameo that ended with the Steelers looking outclassed at every turn.

The 53-year-old Tomlin won 193 regular-season games in Pittsburgh, tied with Hall of Famer Chuck Noll for the most victories in franchise history. But their resumes diverged when it comes to the playoffs. While Noll won four Super Bowls in the 1970s, Tomlin went just 8-12 in the postseason, losing each of his last seven playoff games, all by double-digit margins.

The last came Monday night, when the AFC North champions squandered some early momen-

AP PHOTO By GENE J. PUSKARP

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin reacts after a Houston Texans touchdown during a game on Monday in Pittsburgh.

tum before getting drilled 30-6 by Houston, the most lopsided home playoff loss in team history.

Tomlin did his best to tune out the noise and his team responded, the way it seemingly always did during his tenure. Pittsburgh won four of its final five games, including a sweep of Baltimore that gave the club its first AFC North title since 2020.

The Steelers finished with 9 or 10 wins in each of Tomlin’s final five seasons, often doing just enough

to squeak into the playoffs before being exposed by a more talented opponent.

Tomlin had two years left on the contract extension he signed in 2024, with the club holding the option for 2027.

His departure leaves the Steelers looking for a head coach for just the third time since they hired Noll in 1969.

Pittsburgh likely won’t lack for attractive candidates. The club’s stability — the team has had just three head coaches since 1969 — combined with its ability to remain competitive even without a franchise quarterback for the last half-decade means whoever gets the job will be given substantial leeway to get the team back to the top.

The announcement came as somewhat of a shock. In the final question he fielded as head coach, Tomlin painted an upbeat picture about the team’s future.

Tomlin’s two predecessors are in the Hall of Fame. Tomlin could very well find himself getting fitted for a gold jacket of his own. Yet rather than try to come back next year and break Noll’s record for regular-season wins, he opted to, as Noll once famously put it, “get on with his life’s work.”

North Vermilion girls pick up big wins Patriots are 16-1, beat Ponchatoula in tournament

BY MIKE COPPAGE Contributing writer

There is something special brewing in Vermilion Parish.

It’s not a roux or a hand-crafted ale.

Instead, it’s the North Vermilion girls basketball team, which followed a record-breaking 2024-25 season by winning 16 of its first 17 games, punctuated by a victory over a top-eight Division I Ponchatoula team on Saturday.

The Patriots, who won 27 games last year and are No. 2 in the Division II nonselect power ratings, got off to a slow start and trailed almost the entire first half against the Class 5A Green Wave, which has noteworthy wins against Fairview, Vandebilt Catholic and Cedar Creek.

“It’s absolutely (a signature win,)” Patriots coach Jack LeBlanc said

LEAVITT

Continued from page 1C Tigers’ room, becoming the first quarterback Kiffin has acquired since coming to Baton Rouge.

LSU has been aggressive with bringing in receivers in the portal capable of making big plays downfield, adding the likes of Hawaii transfer Jackson Harris, Kansas State transfer Jayce Brown and Old Dominion transfer Tre Brown. That aspect of LSU’s offense had been missing the past two seasons under former offensive coordinator Joe Sloan.

Mobility, creating plays At least in recent years, mobility has been a requirement at quarterback for Kiffin’s offense.

It was a calling card trait for Dart and Chambliss, and it is a critical piece of Clark’s game.

The same can be said for Leavitt, who ran for 502 yards in 2024 and 398 this season when not factoring in lost sack yardage, according to PFF. He had 79 scrambles for 751 yards across two seasons in Tempe and was often used in the designed quarterback run game, executing 43 designed runs for 149 yards.

after the 50-45 win in a tournament game played at Madison Prep. “For us to travel to Baton Rouge after playing a game Friday night and play a team like Ponchatoula that is prepared and well-coached, it’s a great win.

“It puts us on the map, I think.

That might be a bad thing. People might start paying attention to us more, but if this doesn’t give us confidence, I don’t know what will.”

Stevie Brasseaux (15 points) staked the Patriots to a 2-0 lead, but Ponchatoula (12-8) stormed back to lead by as many as eight points before going into halftime ahead 25-23. Devasia Williams made her first four field goals for the Green Wave in the first quarter but didn’t get another basket until the fourth.

“With Ponchatoula not playing Friday, they had a few days to prepare for us,” LeBlanc said. “They’re well-coached. It took us time to adjust to their offense with our zone defense.”

LeBlanc said he challenged Chloe LeBlanc and Charli Knickerbocker, who alternated guarding the taller

Williams.

“They were getting in there and trying to push as much as possible,” LeBlanc said of the juniors. “One had four fouls, and the other had five. They stepped up and helped us out to keep No. 2 (Williams) from getting all those points down low.”

Once the Patriots seized the lead at 27-25 early in the third quarter on a bucket from reigning District 4-4A MVP Kenzie Marceaux, they never trailed again. Point guard Reagan Semien, who was a focal point of the Ponchatoula defense, pushed the lead to 45-37 with 3:20 remaining with two of her six points.

“When we got the lead, I pulled the ball out and made them extend their defense,” LeBlanc said. “They kind of lost track of Reagan. They weren’t able to help as much. We were able to spread them out defensively, and she was able to get to the rim for some big buckets.”

Sophomore Ashante Rose scored 11 points in her first game back since sustaining an injury in the season opener and created prob-

lems for the Green Wave with her defensive skills. Marceaux was in double figures as well.

“It’s tough to score on us,” LeBlanc said. “The girls have been playing in this system for a long time. All the girls played in junior high for my assistant, Mya Touchet.

They’ve all been in the system so long that there’s not much teaching going on once they get to high school.”

LeBlanc said there have been some games where Semien, Marceaux and Brasseaux — who he said had a breakout campaign last season — accounted for all the scoring. Rose provides a spark offensively and defensively.

“We’re always in the right spot defensively,” LeBlanc said. “That’s what we hang our hat on. This is my fifth year here (since taking over the program from the current principal), and with Mya at the junior high, I don’t see it slowing down anytime soon.”

Both North Vermilion and Ponchatoula lost in the quarterfinals last season.

Leavitt’s tape is also littered with throws on the run and outside the structure of the offense. He’s not afraid to escape the pocket and attempt throws downfield on the move, adding an unpredictable element to an offense that pairs well with Kiffin’s structured scheme.

Chambliss’ creativity outside the pocket helped elevate Ole Miss’ offense this season. Leavitt provides a similar attribute with his elusiveness and creative running style.

and he often embraces contact while running with the football.

His competitive nature is why he isn’t afraid of getting hit.

Leavitt plays the game as if his hair is on fire. Although that trait is commendable, Kiffin and his staff will need to teach Leavitt to slide and avoid contact more often so he can stay on the field.

backs toward the end of the 2024 season, almost always delivering those balls accurately and on time.

Crucially, Leavitt isn’t afraid to throw intermediate passes over the middle of the field, but his willingness to toss balls into tight windows sometimes comes back to bite him. Sometimes he’ll misread the defense and almost get intercepted. Other times, the pass will get broken up because the pass wasn’t quite good enough.

His accuracy on shorter fade balls to the end zone also needs improvement, but throwing to 6-foot-7 Trey’Dez Green should help Leavitt in that regard.

The foot injury Leavitt’s foot injury sidetracked what was expected to be an elite season for the secondyear starter. The ailment affected his play for most of this year, and he eventually underwent season-ending surgery and missed the final five games.

Because of the injury, Leavitt’s availability for spring practices is up in the air. That’s not a promising sign for a quarterback needing to learn a new offense with new weapons.

Even if Leavitt fully recovers from his foot injury, his rugged style of play also leaves him prone to new injuries. Like Jayden Daniels, Leavitt takes big hits on the run and in the pocket,

Short to medium accuracy At least on the stat sheet, Leavitt lacks consistency on short to intermediate throws. He finished toward the bottom half of the Big 12 in NFL passer rating on intermediate throws (10-19 yards past the line of scrimmage) this past season, completing just 44.2% of those attempts.

He was much better on those passes the year before, but Leavitt wasn’t very efficient on short passes (0-9 yards past the line of scrimmage) in 2024, completing just 72% of those throws and finishing in the bottom half of the conference in NFL passer rating.

Leavitt will occasionally rush his footwork and mechanics on short attempts, but when he’s set and unbothered by the rush, his accuracy is usually strong to all parts of the field. He was particularly good at throwing screens and swing passes to running

Summary Leavitt has the tools to be a starting quarterback in the NFL. His arm strength, mobility and playmaking ability outside of structure are all clear strengths.

However, in order for him to reach his potential, he’ll need to be a little more consistent on a down-to-down basis and take better care of himself on the field.

Leavitt’s existing foot injury is a clear red flag. But in terms of his tape and pure talent, LSU has signed a player who could be one of the top quarterbacks in the country in 2026.

Diamondbacks acquire All-Star 3B Arenado

PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks acquired eight-time All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado in a trade Tuesday with the St. Louis Cardinals, adding an accomplished veteran to a team trying to return to the playoffs for the first time since a surprise World Series run in 2023.

St. Louis received minor league pitcher Jack Martinez in the deal.

The Cardinals are also sending $31 million to the D-backs to offset the $42 million Arenado is owed over the next two seasons.

A 10-time Gold Glove winner, Arenado has played for the Cardinals the past five seasons and was shopped extensively after the 2024 season and this offseason.

The 34-year-old isn’t the offensive force he used to be but will still provide experience at the position.

Eagles fire offensive coordinator Patullo

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Eagles are moving on from offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo.

Coach Nick Sirianni announced Tuesday that he’s going in a different direction after one year with Patullo calling plays.

The Eagles (11-7) lost OC Kellen Moore after winning the Super Bowl in 2025 — Moore took the head job in New Orleans — and turned to Patullo to maintain familiarity and continuity for quarterback Jalen Hurts, running back Saquon Barkley and receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. Patullo had been the Eagles’ passing game coordinator since 2021.

Now the Eagles will have a fifth different offensive coordinator in Sirianni’s six seasons.

Stewart returns to NASCAR at Daytona International

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Tony Stewart will return to NASCAR competition for the first time since 2016 when he drives for Kaulig Racing in the debut of the Ram Truck at next month’s season-opening race at Daytona International Raceway.

Stewart, a three-time NASCAR champion and Hall of Fame inductee, last raced a truck in 2005 at NASCAR’s national level. He drives for Dodge in the NHRA drag racing series and racing for Kaulig as it brings Ram trucks back into NASCAR was a perfect re-entry for the brand.

Stewart is the first and only driver to win all three USAC National championships (Midget, Sprint, Silver Crown) in one year (1995). He also won NASCAR championships in 2005, 2008 and 2011.

Gold medal gymnast Hartung has died at 65

LINCOLN, Neb. — Jim Hartung, a two-time Olympian who helped lead the 1984 U.S. team to its first and only gold medal in men’s gymnastics, has died. He was 65.

The University of Nebraska announced Hartung died Saturday night. He had been a Cornhuskers assistant coach for 19 years. No cause of death was given.

Hartung was a member of the 1980 Olympic team but did not compete because of the U.S. boycott of the Moscow Games. In 1984 in Los Angeles he teamed with Bart Conner, Tim Daggett, Mitch Gaylord, Scott Johnson and Peter Vidmar to win the team gold and he also made the individual finals on the vault.

Hartung is survived by four children.

Bills’ Shavers tears knee ligament ahead of Broncos

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bills are down a second receiver in two days after coach Sean McDermott on Tuesday revealed Tyrell Shavers is out after tearing a knee ligament.

Shavers was hurt during a play in the first half of Buffalo’s 27-24 wildcard playoff win at Jacksonville.

He then played through the injury and finished with a 14-yard catch.

The news on Shavers comes a day after McDermott announced receiver Gabe Davis tore a ligament in his left knee against Jacksonville. Davis was placed on injured reserve on Tuesday.

The injuries leave Buffalo with just three receivers on the active roster as they travels to play the AFC’s top-seeded Denver Broncos in a division playoff game on Saturday.

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Wednesday, January 14, 2026 ● 3C

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SCOREBOARD High schools Basketball Boys scores

Eunice 66, Breaux Bridge 63 Opelousas 57, Church Point 50 Central Catholic 97, Acadiana Renaissance 61 Berwick 52, Erath 45 Iota 54, Basile 27 Loreauville 52, Glencoe 20 Midland 90, South Beauregard 80 West St. Mary 67, Jeanerette 58 Westminster 71, Menard 56 Westminster-LAF 58, Grace Christian 25

Girls scores

Acadiana 56, East Feliciana 32 Terrebonne 50, New Iberia 42 Eunice 37, DeQuincy 4 Westlake 48, Northside 38 Opelousas 38, Church Point 37 Crowley 29, Berwick 26 Lafayette Christian 72, Lafayette Renaissance 9 Midland 63, South Beauregard 45 Ascension Episcopal 23, Gueydan 17 Jeanerette 48, West St. Mary 15 Menard 63, Westminster 17 Westminster-LAF 45, Grace Christian 24

Acadiana 56, East Feliciana 32

ACADIANA (56) Brea Moncada 1, Brooklyn White 22, Jayla Carmouche 18, Jayniah Gauther 2, Izzy Ladet 4, Destin Fonlong 2, Antointte Marie 7. Totals: 19 (3) 9-10.

EAST FELICIANA (32) Kariah Dunn 11, Joshaylan Seiders 2, Jakaylin Jarrell 2, Jamya Deloch 7, Kenane Coleman 10. Totals: 11 10-12.

Acadiana 11 16 19 10 – 56 East Feliciana 2 7 8 15 — 32 3-pointers – ACAD: Carmouche 2, Marie 1.

Total Fouls: ACAD 18, EF 14.

Soccer

Ascension Episcopal 4, Vermilion Catholic 1 Episcopal of Acadiana 6, Highland Baptist 2 Lafayette Renaissance 3, St. Martinville 1 Westminster 7, Westminster-LAF 3 New Iberia 5, Carencro 2

Ascension Episcopal 4, Vermilion Catholic 1

Goals — AES: Hayes Trotter 2, Lane Girouard 1, Rusty Trotter 1; Assists — AES: Cameron Foret 2, Lane Girouard 1.

Girls scores

Ascension Episcopal 9, Vermilion Catholic 1 ESA 1, Highland Baptist 0 Erath 8, Opelousas 0 Kaplan 4, Comeaux 4 New Iberia 8, Carencro 0 Southside 6, Acadiana 0 Barbe 2, Lafayette 0

Odds NFL FAVORITE at DENVER at SEATTLE

OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG 1½ 1 (46½) Buffalo 6½ 7½ (45½) San Fran

FAVORITE at NE LA Rams

OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG 2½ 3 (41) Houston 4½ 3½ (49) at CHICAGO

Sunday

College Football Monday

CFP National Championship Miami Gardens, Fla. FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG Indiana 7½ 8½ (48½)Miami (FL)

NBA

Wednesday

FAVORITE at INDIANA at PHILADELPHIA at NEW ORLEANS at CHICAGO at DALLAS at SACRAMENTO at LA CLIPPERS

LINE OFF OFF OFF OFF OFF OFF OFF

O/U (OFF) (OFF) (OFF) (OFF) (OFF) (OFF) (OFF)

College basketball Wednesday

FAVORITE at WOFFORD VCU East Tennessee St Butler at PURDUE Pittsburgh at GEORGE WASH. Auburn Illinois State at GEORGIA at CINCINNATI Tulsa at SOUTH FLORIDA San Diego State at KANSAS STATE at MEMPHIS at SAINT LOUIS UCLA Illinois North Carolina at TEXAS TECH Portland at ARKANSAS Vanderbilt at SMU at DENVER

LSU

11½ 1½ 12½ 13½ 20½ 12½ 11½

Pacific at OREGON STATE Nevada at WASHINGTON Arizona State TCU at CAL

Pro football NFL Wild-card playoffs Jan. 10

UNDERDOG Toronto Cleveland Brooklyn Utah Denver New York Washington

LINE UNDERDOG 5½ Chattanooga 4½ at RHODE ISLAND 7 at W. CAROLINA 1½ at XAVIER 9½ Iowa 2½ at GEORGIA TECH 11 Davidson 1½ at MISSOURI 5½ at INDIANA STATE 10½ Ole Miss 6½ Colorado 3½ at CHARLOTTE 18½ East Carolina 2½ at WYOMING 2 UCF 10 Temple 18½ Fordham 4½ at PENN STATE 9½ at NORTHWESTERN 2½ at STANFORD 17½ Utah 1½ at PEPPERDINE 11½ South Carolina 6½ at TEXAS 7½ Virginia Tech 7½ Oral Roberts

L.A. Clippers Dallas Utah Sacramento New Orleans

16 15 14 10 9

Monday’s Games

23 25 25 30 32

.410 16½ .375 18 .359 18½ .250 23 .220 24½

Utah 123, Cleveland 112 Indiana 98, Boston 96 Philadelphia 115, Toronto 102 Dallas 113, Brooklyn 105 Sacramento 124, L.A. Lakers 112 L.A. Clippers 117, Charlotte 109

Tuesday’s Games

Phoenix at Miami, n Chicago at Houston, n Denver at New Orleans, n Minnesota at Milwaukee, n San Antonio at Oklahoma City, n Atlanta at L.A. Lakers, n Portland at Golden State, n

L.A. Rams 34, Carolina 31 Chicago 31, Green Bay 27

Jan. 11

Buffalo 27, Jacksonville 24 San Francisco 23, Philadelphia 19 New England 16, L.A. Chargers 3

Jan. 12

Wednesday’s Games

Houston 30, Pittsburgh 6

Cleveland at Philadelphia, 6 p.m.

Toronto at Indiana, 6 p.m.

Brooklyn at New Orleans, 7 p.m.

Utah at Chicago, 7 p.m.

Denver at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.

New York at Sacramento, 9 p.m.

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

Divisional playoffs Saturday

Buffalo at Denver, 3:30 p.m.

San Francisco at Seattle, 7 p.m.

Sunday

Houston at New England, 2 p.m.

L.A. Rams at Chicago, 5:30 p.m.

Conference championships Jan. 25 AFC

AFC lowest remaining seed at AFC highest remaining seed

NFC

NFC lowest remaining seed at NFC highest remaining seed

Super Bowl LX Feb. 8 At Santa Clara, Calif.

Conference championships winners, 5:30 p.m. (NBC/Peacock)

Boys scores

Saturday

at SANTA CLARA Loyola Marymount at UTAH STATE Michigan at ARIZONA at BYU Duke

LATE MONDAY

Houston 30, Pittsburgh 6

Houston 0 7 0 23 — 30 Pittsburgh 3 3 0 0 — 6 First Quarter Pit—FG Boswell 32, 6:02.

Second Quarter Hou—Kirk 6 pass from Stroud (Fairbairn kick), 8:28.

Pit—FG Boswell 35, 1:57.

Fourth Quarter Hou—FG Fairbairn 51, 13:07.

Hou—Rankins 33 fumble return (Fairbairn kick), 11:23.

Hou—Marks 13 run (Fairbairn kick), 3:38.

Hou—Bullock 50 interception return (kick failed), 2:39.

A—67,297.

Hou Pit First downs 21 13 Total Net Yards 408 175 Rushes-yards 31-164 18-63 Passing 244 112 Punt Returns 3-22 1-14 Kickoff Returns 3-59 4-100 Interceptions Ret. 1-50 1-0 Comp-Att-Int 21-32-1 18-34-1 Sacked-Yards Lost 3-6 4-36 Punts 3-41.667 6-45.5 Fumbles-Lost 5-2 2-1 Penalties-Yards 6-44 3-24 Time of Possession 32:22 27:38 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING—Houston, Marks 19-112, Chubb 1048, Stover 1-4, Stroud 1-0. Pittsburgh, Warren 12-43, Gainwell 6-20.

PASSING—Houston, Stroud 21-32-1-250.

Pittsburgh, Rodgers 17-33-1-146, Rudolph 1-1-0-2.

RECEIVING—Houston, Kirk 8-144, Higgins 3-39, Collins 3-21, Schultz 3-12, Hutchinson 2-21, Stover 2-13. Pittsburgh, Gainwell 4-26, Valdes-Scantling 3-26, Austin 3-8, Metcalf 2-42, Thielen 2-25, Smith 2-(minus 1), Freiermuth 1-18, Warren 1-4.

MISSED FIELD GOALS—None.

Pro basketball NBA Conference Glance EASTERN CONFERENCE Detroit New York Boston Toronto Philadelphia Orlando Cleveland Miami Atlanta Chicago Milwaukee Charlotte Brooklyn Washington Indiana

L 10 14 15 17 16 18 19 19 21 20 22 26 26 28 31

Pct GB .737 — .641 3½ .615 4½ .585 5½ .579 6 .550 7 .537 7½ .513 8½ .488 9½ .474 10 .436 11½ .350 15 .297 16½ .263 18 .225 20

Oklahoma City San Antonio Denver Minnesota L.A. Lakers Phoenix Houston Golden State Portland Memphis

W 33 27 26 26 23 24 22 21 19 17

L 7 12 13 14 14 15 14 19 21 22

Pct GB .825 — .692 5½ .667 6½ .650 7 .622 8½ .615 8½ .611 9 .525 12 .475 14 .436 15½

WESTERN CONFERENCE

a freshman. The rest of the infield defensively is somewhat of a question mark, but the addition of CaraContinued from page 1C way and others likely means that Reaves won’t have to play third Projected lineup base anymore.

LSU’s bench isn’t as deep as it was a year ago, but Patrick, Serna 1. Steven Milam, 2B, Jr. and Braun are three freshmen to 2. Derek Curiel, CF, So. keep an eye on. Patrick is an elite 3. Trent Caraway, 3B, Jr. athlete, Serna has plus power and 4. Jake Brown, RF, Jr. Braun was an excellent contact 5. Brayden Simpson, 2B, Sr. hitter in high school. Harden also 6. Zach Yorke, 1B, Sr. had a breakout sophomore season 7. Cade Arrambide, C, So. at McLennan Community College, 8. Seth Dardar, DH, Sr. hitting .354 with 12 homers and 21 9. Chris Stanfield, LF, Sr. Bench: Tanner Reaves, INF, fifth- steals. year, Sr.; Mason Braun, 1B/OF, Fr.; Daniel Harden, OF, Jr.; Omar Starting rotation Serna, C, Fr.; William Patrick, OF, Friday: Casan Evans, RHP, So. Fr.; Eddie Yamin, C, R-Jr.; Ethan Saturday: Zac Cowan, RHP, Sr. Clauss, INF, Fr.; Jack Ruckert, Sunday: Cooper Moore, RHP, Jr. INF, Fr. Midweek candidates/multi-inning options: Breakdown: Yorke was excellent Cooper Williams, LHP, So.; William during the fall. His patience at the Schmidt, RHP, So.; Gavin Guidry, plate makes him a sneaky candi- RHP, R-Jr.; Jaden Noot, RHP, R-Jr.; date to lead off if coach Jay John- Reagan Ricken, RHP, Fr.; Marcos son decides to move Curiel and Paz, RHP, Fr. Milam into run-producing roles.

Breakdown: Evans and Cowan are Caraway only hit 12 home runs in fairly obvious candidates to fill the his first year as a starter for Or- top two spots in the rotation. Both egon State, but he has the talent to played massive parts in LSU’s run blast more. to an eighth title and thrived in Reaves may start at second base multi-inning roles. Moore takes the or designated hitter, depending on last weekend rotation spot after the matchup. Simpson gets the nod walking just 19 batters in 882/ 3 inat second for now because of his nings as a sophomore. The Kansas proven power (22 homers a year transfer’s stuff isn’t overwhelmago) and right-handed bat. Dardar ing, but he threw well in the fall. can also play second, third or first, If Moore doesn’t start or if there’s but slides in at DH after hitting 13 an injury, Williams is a strong canhomers last year. Like last season, didate to earn a rotation spot given Pearson could be the DH against his strong finish last year. Johnson lefties. said he’s the only lefty who will Defensively, Johnson had al- work toward a multi-inning role ready announced that Curiel heading into the season. Schmidt would be sliding to center field had an uneven freshman year, but with Stanfield transitioning to left. he has the potential to be a future Arrambide will need to take a step ace, especially if he can improve forward defensively behind the his command and the shape of his plate after struggling at times as fastball. Schmidt and Williams

Men’s national scores

EAST Babson 69, Springfield Pride 66, OT Keuka 65, SUNY-Brockport 62 Penn State-Berks 105, Pennsylvania College 101, OT Penn State-Brandywine 78, Valley Forge 51 Penn State-Harrisburg 70, Notre Dame (MD) Gators 65 SUNY-Cortland 69, Buffalo State 51 SUNY-Morrisville 93, SUNY-Fredonia 86 Salisbury 94, Penn State-Abington 88

Women’s state schedule Tuesday

Tulane at Temple, n

Wednesday

Troy at UL-Monroe, 6:30 p.m.

Women’s national scores EAST Cornell 106, SUNY-Delhi 27 SOUTH East Carolina 79, Tulsa 48 MIDWEST Western Illinois 74, Eastern Illinois 61

Pro hockey

Tennis

NHL Conference Glance

WTA Adelaide International 1 Results

EASTERN CONFERENCE Carolina Detroit Tampa Bay Montreal N.Y. Islanders Toronto Buffalo Philadelphia Washington Boston Pittsburgh Florida New Jersey N.Y. Rangers Ottawa Columbus

GP 46 47 44 46 45 45 44 44 46 46 44 45 46 47 44 45

W L OT Pts GF GA 28 14 4 60 158 139 28 15 4 60 149 145 28 13 3 59 158 115 26 14 6 58 157 151 25 15 5 55 134 125 23 15 7 53 152 143 24 16 4 52 143 138 22 14 8 52 133 132 23 17 6 52 150 133 25 19 2 52 152 146 21 14 9 51 140 135 24 18 3 51 139 145 23 21 2 48 123 143 20 21 6 46 122 139 20 19 5 45 141 148 19 19 7 45 135 153

WESTERN CONFERENCE

GP W L OT Pts GF GA Colorado 45 33 4 8 74 182 103 Dallas 46 27 10 9 63 160 130 Minnesota 47 26 12 9 61 148 130 Vegas 44 21 11 12 54 144 136 Edmonton 46 23 16 7 53 156 153 Seattle 44 21 15 8 50 123 128 San Jose 45 23 19 3 49 143 162 Los Angeles 45 19 16 10 48 120 128 Utah 46 22 20 4 48 139 130 Nashville 45 21 20 4 46 125 148 Anaheim 45 21 21 3 45 150 168 Chicago 46 19 20 7 45 130 146 Calgary 45 19 22 4 42 116 135 St. Louis 46 17 21 8 42 114 161 Winnipeg 44 17 22 5 39 130 138 Vancouver 45 16 24 5 37 124 164 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.

Monday’s Games

Seattle 4, N.Y. Rangers 2 Florida 4, Buffalo 3 Tampa Bay 5, Philadelphia 1 Montreal 6, Vancouver 3 Detroit 4, Carolina 3, OT New Jersey 5, Minnesota 2 Edmonton 4, Chicago 1 Dallas 3, Los Angeles 1 Toronto 4, Colorado 3, OT

Tuesday’s Games

Calgary at Columbus, n Montreal at Washington, n Tampa Bay at Pittsburgh, n Vancouver at Ottawa, n Carolina at St. Louis, n Detroit at Boston, n Edmonton at Nashville, n N.Y. Islanders at Winnipeg, n Dallas at Anaheim, n Toronto at Utah, n

Wednesday’s Games

W 28 25 24 24 22 22 22 20 20 18 17 14 11 10 9

Alabama-Birmingham at Tulane, 6:30 p.m.

UL at Texas State, 7 p.m.

Seattle at New Jersey, 6 p.m.

Ottawa at N.Y. Rangers, 6:30 p.m.

Philadelphia at Buffalo, 6:30 p.m.

Vegas at Los Angeles, 9 p.m.

College football College Football Playoff National championship

Monday At Miami Gardens, Fla. No. 1 Indiana vs. No. 10 Miami, 6:30 p.m.

(ESPN)

College basketball Men’s state schedule Monday

Florida A&M 91, Grambling 84 Southern 77, Bethune-Cookman 73 UNO 79, Southeastern 76 McNeese 94, Nicholls 68 Northwestern State 64, Texas-Rio Grande Valley 63

Wednesday

Kentucky at LSU, 6 p.m.

Middle Tennessee at Louisiana Tech, 6:30 p.m.

Late Tuesday At Memorial Drive Tennis Centre Adelaide, Australia Purse: $1,206,446 Surface: Hardcourt outdoor Women’s Singles Round of 32 Diana Shnaider, Russia, def. Leylah Annie Fernandez, Canada, 7-5, 6-3.

Kimberly Birrell, Australia, def. Anastasia Potapova, Russia, 6-4, 6-4.

Marketa Vondrousova, Czechia, def. Liudmila Samsonova (7), Russia, 6-1, 4-6, 6-2.

Maya Joint, Australia, def. Sofia Kenin, United States, 7-6 (3), 6-4.

Tereza Valentova, Czechia, def. Jelena Ostapenko, Latvia, 7-5, 3-2, ret.

Yulia Putintseva, Kazakhstan, def. Dalma Galfi, Hungary, 6-4, 6-4.

Katerina Siniakova, Czechia, def. Dayana Yastremska, Ukraine, 6-0, 6-1.

Women’s Singles Round of 16 Victoria Mboko (8), Canada, def. Anna Kalinskaya, Russia, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (6).

Mirra Andreeva (3), Russia, def. Marie Bouzkova, Czechia, 6-3, 6-1.

Women’s Doubles Round of 16 Asia Muhammad, United States, and Erin Routliffe (3), New Zealand, def. Nicole Melichar-Martinez, United States, and Cristina Bucsa, Spain, 6-4, 3-6, 10-6.

Demi Schuurs, Netherlands, and Ellen Perez, Australia, def. Nicole Fossa Huergo, Argentina, and Dalma Galfi, Hungary, 6-3, 6-4.

ATP World Tour ASB Classic Results

Wednesday At ASB Tennis Arena Auckland, New Zealand Purse: $700,045 Surface: Hardcourt outdoor Men’s Singles Round of 16 Marcos Giron, United States, def. Alex Michelsen (6), United States, 6-4, 6-4.

Ben Shelton (1), United States, def. Francisco Comesana, Argentina, 7-5, 6-4.

Men’s Doubles Round of 16 Albano Olivetti and Theo Arribage, France, def. Vasil Kirkov, United States, and Bart Stevens, Netherlands, 6-1, 6-4.

Late Tuesday Men’s Singles Round of 32 Alejandro Tabilo, Chile, def. Camilo Ugo Carabelli, Argentina, 6-4, 6-2.

Alex Michelsen (6), United States, def.

Mariano Navone, Argentina, 2-6, 6-2, 7-5.

Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, France, def.

Roberto Bautista Agut, Spain, 6-3, 7-6 (2).

Marcos Giron, United States, def. Alexandre Muller, France, 6-2, 6-2.

Hamad Medjedovic, Serbia, def. Aleksandar Kovacevic, United States, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (2).

Fabian Marozsan, Hungary, def. Gael Monfils, France, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4.

Men’s Doubles Round of 16 Patrik Rikl and Petr Nouza, Czechia, def.

Santiago Gonzalez, Mexico, and David Pel, Netherlands, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 10-8.

Robin Haase, Netherlands, and Constantin Frantzen, Germany, def. Robert Cash and James Tracy (4), United States, 6-3, 5-7, 10-7.

Finn Reynolds and James Watt, New Zealand, def. Sander Gille, Belgium, and Sem Verbeek, Netherlands, 6-4, 6-7 (2), 13-11.

WTA Hobart International Results

Wednesday At Hobart International Tennis Centre Hobart, Australia Purse: $283,347 Surface: Hardcourt outdoor Women’s Doubles Quarterfinals

Eri Hozumi, Japan, and Fang-Hsien Wu (3), Taiwan, def. Aldila Sutjiadi, Indonesia, and Giuliana Olmos, Mexico, 6-1, 6-3.

Late Tuesday Women’s Singles Round of 32 Anna Bondar, Hungary, def. Ella Seidel, Germany, 6-0, 6-1.

Rebecca Sramkova, Slovakia, def. Varvara Gracheva, Russia, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.

Iva Jovic (3), United States, def. Janice Tjen, Indonesia, 6-0, 6-1.

Peyton Stearns, United States, def. Barbora Krejcikova, Czechia, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (4).

Magdalena Frech, Poland, def. Elsa Jacquemot, France, 6-4, 6-0.

Tatjana Maria (6), Germany, def. Venus Williams, United States, 6-4, 6-3.

Wang Xinyu, China, def. Talia Gibson, Australia, 6-2, 6-3.

Women’s Doubles Round of 16 Eri Hozumi, Japan, and Fang-Hsien Wu (3), Taiwan, def. Momoko Kobori and Ayano Shimizu, Japan, 6-3, 6-1.

Transactions MLB American League

CLEVELAND GUARDIANS — Agreed to terms with 3B Carter Kieboom on a minor league contract.

National League

ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS — Acquired 3B Nolan Arenado and cash considerations from St. Louis in exchange for RHP Jack Martinez.

CINCINNATI REDS — Agreed to terms on minor league contracts with RHPs Tejay Antone, Hagen Danner, Lyon Richardson and Carson Spiers, C Will Banfield, INFs Michael Chavis, Garrett Hampson and Michael Toglia and LHP Joel Valdez.

LOS ANGELES DODGERS — Agreed to terms with INF Andy Ibáñez on a one-year contract. Designated INF/OF Tyler Fitzgerald for assignment.

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES — Acquired RHP Chase Shugart from Pittsburgh in exchange for INF Francisco Loreto.

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS — Traded 3B Nolan Arenado and cash considerations to Arizona in exchange for RHP Jack Martinez.

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS — OF Justin Dean claimed off waivers by the Chicago Cubs.

NFL

BUFFALO BILLS — Placed WR Gabe Davis on injured reserve. Signed WR Kristian Wilkerson to the practice squad. Signed OL Nick Broeker to a reserve/futures contract. Designated DT Ed Oliver and WR Curtis Samuel to return from injured reserve.

CHICAGO BEARS — Reinstated T Braxton Jones from injured reserve. Signed LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin to the active roster. Placed LBs T.J. Edwards and Ozzy Trapilo on injured reserve. Signed LB Nephi Sewell to the practice squad.

GREEN BAY PACKERS — Signed WR Isaiah Neyor to a reserve/futures contract.

LOS ANGELES CHARGERS — Fired offensive coordinator Greg Roman and offensive line coach Mike Devlin. Signed LS Peter Bowden, WRs Dalevon Campbell, Luke Grimm and JaQuae Jackson, DL TeRah Edwards, RB Amar Johnson, LB Emany Johnson, C Josh Kaltenberger, TEs Tanner McLachlan and Thomas Yassmin, OLB Garmon Randolph, G Branson Taylor, QB DJ Uiagalelei and CB Isas Waxter to reserve/futures contracts.

LOS ANGELES RAMS — Promoted OLB Nick Hampton from the practice squad to the active roster. Signed DB Alex Johnson to the practice squad. Placed CB Ahkello Witherspoon on injured reserve.

MIAMI DOLPHINS — Signed S Omar Brown to a reserve/futures contract.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS — Signed CB Miles Battle, RB D’Ernest Johnson, T Lorenz Metz and WR Trent Sherfield Sr. to the practice squad. Released DL Fabien Lovett and WR Brandon Smith from the practice squad.

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES — Released offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo.

PITTSBURGH STEELERS — Announced the resignation of head coach Mike Tomlin.

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS — Designated LB Fred Warner to return from injured reserve.

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS — Designated LB Chazz Surratt to return from injured reserve.

NHL

CALGARY FLAMES — Placed F Blake Coleman on injured reserve. Placed F Martin Pospisil on long-term injured reserve and assigned him to Calgary (AHL).

COLORADO AVALANCHE — Reassigned F Zakhar Bardakov to Colorado (AHL).

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS — Recalled F Dysin Mayo from Cleveland (AHL).

EDMONTON OILERS — Placed C Adam Henrique on long-term injured reserve. Reinstated Ds Jake Walman and Tristan Jarry from long-term injured reserve.

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS — Placed D Erik Karlsson on injured reserve. Promoted Fs Tristan Broz and Ryan Graves from WilkesBarre/Scranton (AHL). Reassigned F Rafael Harvey-Pinard to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

SEATTLE KRAKEN — Reassigned F Oscar Fisker Molgaard to Coachella Valley (AHL).

Reinstated C Chandler Stephenson from the non-roster list.

went to the same physical training program in Arizona over the summer, Johnson said.

Guidry’s inclusion on this list, Johnson said, is contingent on how he progresses physically this preseason after missing all of last year with a back injury. Johnson said he believes he has the repertoire to start.

Bullpen High-leverage options: Mavrick Rizy, RHP, So.; Santiago Garcia, LHP, Jr; Danny Lachenmayer, LHP, So.; Dax Dathe, RHP, fifth-year Sr.; Deven Sheerin, RHP, R-So.; DJ Primeaux, LHP, R-Jr.; Guidry, Williams, Noot, Schmidt, Paz, Ricken Depth pieces: Ethan Plog, LHP, So.; Connor Benge, RHP, Sr.; Grant Fontenot, RHP, 5th-yr. Sr.; Zion Theophilus, RHP, Fr.; John Shahrdar, RHP, Sr.; Jonah Aase, LHP, Fr. Breakdown: LSU rebuilt its stable of left-handers over the offseason.

Garcia and Lachenmayer were the two biggest names added out of the transfer portal. Aase was the only freshman lefty, but he will likely miss the year after undergoing Tommy John surgery in March.

Plog posted a 5.49 ERA for Iowa Western Community College last spring as a freshman, and Primeaux made tweaks to his game over the offseason that Johnson said will be “really, really helpful for him.”

On the right-handed side, Sheerin is an under-the-radar name to watch after he missed all of last season recovering from a torn ACL. Dathe is about to embark on his seventh season of college baseball after turning into a star pitcher for Division II Angelo State last year.

Email Koki Riley at koki.riley@ theadvocate.com.

STAFF PHOTO By BRAD KEMP

UL guard Joshua Lewis drives to the basket against Troy forward Thomas Dowd on Saturday at the Cajundome.

CAJUNS

Continued from page 1C I think all the work that you put in from the summer up until now should translate. The guys are playing with more confidence offensively.”

The transition game could play heavily Wednesday. UL has improved offensively with De’Vion Lavergne handling more of those duties, but White’s primary concerns are on defense.

“We’ve got to get back with a sense of urgency and we talked

to the guys about purposeful communication,” White said.

“It’s communicating … it’s something you have to do in transition over and over and over again.

You need all five guys talking, you know, and that’s one of the things we went over (Monday) at practice. We may have spent 15, 20 minutes, just on transition defense.”

Dorian Finister (13.8 ppg, 4.9 rpg) and Jaxon Olvera (11.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg) leads the Cajuns in scoring. Joshua Lewis (8.1 ppg, 3.8 rpg) and Lavergne (7.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg) have also come on strong recently.

4C ● Wednesday, January 14, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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Burley Lemon

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Keep fillets of salmon moist with simple trick

LIVING

LINDA GASSENHEIMER

Tribune News Service (TNS)

Looking to add more flavor and keep salmon fillets moist, I sauteed them on a bed of creamy spinach and seasoned them with garlic and dill. The result was tender, flavorful salmon with a touch of freshness from the herbs.

For a colorful and easy side, I mixed quick-cooking couscous with roasted red peppers. The couscous takes just five minutes in the microwave — no pot to wash and dinner’s ready in a flash. It’s a quick, vibrant meal that’s as delicious as it is simple.

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

|

W e d n e s d ay, J a n u a ry 14, 2026

5Cn

TNS PHOTO By LINDA GASSENHEIMER

Garlic and Herb Salmon and Creamy Spinach

Yields 2 servings. Recipe is by Linda Gassenheimer.

6 ounces freshly washed-ready-to-eat spinach (about 6 packed cups) 2 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream ¼ teaspoon salt Pinch black pepper 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 tablespoon minced garlic 2 teaspoons olive oil 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill 2 tablespoons lemon juice 2 (6-ounce) salmon fillets 1. Remove large stems from spinach. Mix sour cream, salt, pepper and nutmeg together in a small bowl. In another small bowl, combine garlic, olive oil and dill.

2. Add spinach to a large skillet and saute 2 minutes or until spinach starts to wilt. Spoon out any liquid.

3. Pour the sour cream mixture over the spinach and mix it in to the spinach. Spread the spinach mixture over the skillet.

4. Arrange the salmon on top of the spinach. Spread the garlic mixture on top of each filet.

Cover the skillet with a lid and cook 5 minutes; a meat thermometer should read 125 F. 5. Squeeze lemon juice over fish. Lift spinach and fish to two plates, spooning any sauce left over fish.

NUTRITION INFO PER SERVING: 358 calories (47 percent from fat), 18.6 g fat (4.2 g saturated, 7.9 g monounsaturated), 87 mg cholesterol, 39.7 g protein, 8.2 g carbohydrates, 2.9 g fiber, 451 mg sodium.

Pimento Couscous Yields 2 servings. Recipe is by Linda Gassenheimer. ½ cup quick-cooking pearl couscous ¾ cup water 1 cup sliced canned roasted red pepper 2 teaspoons olive oil Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1. Add couscous to a large microwave-safe bowl. Add water. Cover bowl with a plate or plastic wrap. Microwave on high 5 minutes. Remove and stir couscous. Most of water should be gone and couscous should be soft. If needed microwave, covered, for another minute.

2. Add roasted red pepper, olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.

Return cover to bowl and let sit while making the salmon dish.

NUTRITION INFO PER SERVING: 169 calories (29 percent from fat), 5.4 g fat (0.8 g saturated, 2.3 g monounsaturated), no cholesterol, 5.0 g protein, 25.9 g carbohydrates, 3.0 g fiber, 14 mg sodium.

PHOTOS By LEE BALL

Randy Gaspard is served his fried chicken dinner as he dines with friends. The family-owned Mama’s Fried Chicken, of Opelousas, recently expanded to New Iberia.

‘More than fried chicken’

Family-owned Acadiana restaurant expands, attracts long lines while preserving togetherness

BY JOANNA BROWN Staff writer

When you own a poultry business, it just makes sense to open a chicken restaurant.

That’s the story behind Mama’s Fried Chicken, the Opelousas restaurant that has been slinging chicken, biscuits and sides since 1977. Founded by A.C. Bellard, of Bellard’s Poultry, the business still operates today on a simple concept: start with a good product, treat it well, and watch the lines form out the door.

Bellard’s grandson, Ryan LaGrange, has been busy managing those lines alongside siblings Kristin and Jacob Cooley for the past week at Mama’s third location, open now at 101 E. Admiral Doyle Drive, New Iberia. Their two Opelousas locations will remain open, and Ryan LaGrange said that the reception from the New Iberia community has been “better than we ever imagined.”

“I think it’s been the most warm welcome we’ve ever had,” he said.

“We have many longtime employees that are helping us get going and get off the ground in the right way, while maintaining the same culture where everybody’s not just

Ryan LaGrange, co-owner, from left; Aaron Leleux, manager; Kristin Cooley, co-owner; and Jacob Cooley, co-owner, stand in front of the recently opened Mama’s Fried Chicken. a number, but they’re part of our team and like family.”

Mama’s New Iberia is operating the same fast-casual concept as the Opelousas stores, with a drivethru and a cheery dining room where families dig into platters of fried chicken, burgers, fried fish, po-boys, fried okra, corn nuggets,

biscuits, red beans and rice and more. The menu is a Cajun-meetsSouthern, crispy-fried wonderland.

Why do people love Mama’s? I can shed some light on that. In a world where fried chicken is universally beloved but often misused, Mama’s

ä See MAMA’S, page 6C

“We have my grandfather to thank for all of this. He was the vision. He came from nothing and built his own business, Bellard’s Poultry, which supplies all of our chicken and raw product. ... We’re most proud to keep it going for his name, and to make him proud.”

RyAN LaGRANGE, co-owner of Mama’s Fried Chicken

Rediscover hearty favorites from local establishments Spaghetti and Meatballs from Jed’s Local

STAFF PHOTO By MADDIE SCOTT

Staff report

The Spaghetti and meatballs Best n Jed’s Local, 672 Jefferson HighThings way, Baton Rouge We Ate I’ve been trying a lot of ItalThis ian food lately, as someone who Week largely didn’t eat the cuisine growing up. After trying carbonara, bolognese and cannelloni from various spots, I decided the

next dish on this Italian escapade should be a comforting classic.

Enter Jed Local’s Thursday lunch special: spaghetti and meatballs with housemade marinara, Parmesan and toasted bread. This was a dish my Cuban abuela made for my brothers and I growing up (really my only exposure to Italian food), and as corny as it is, I felt transported back to her kitchen, sitting at

her counter, eating her rendition of the pasta.

Inside the Mid-City restaurant, the meatballs were juicy and packed with flavor. The marinara was delightful, and the dish felt like nostalgia, love and heartiness all on one plate. What a treat.

— Maddie Scott, feature reporter

ä See BEST, page 6C

6C ● Wednesday, January 14, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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Reader sounds off on tourism practices from tobacco Dear Heloise: I asked you producers, but also for to remind readers of the smokers to stop smoking. environmental harms of Similarly, caring for the tourism travel so that they planet requires cormight consider traveling less. You printporations and the public to exercise ed this letter, and their environmental in your response, responsibility. We you placed most of consumers decide the blame on global how much and what warming and air Hints from we consume. Those pollution from fosHeloise of us who are privisil fuel companies rather than on tourleged to have money available for the pursuit of ism, implying that changpleasure can choose enviing travelers’ behaviors is unimportant. ronmentally friendly habCertainly, these compaits. — Andrew H., via email Andrew, this column pronies bear the greater blame because, for decades, they vides hints for readers to misinformed citizens about help make their work and the harms of their products personal lives a little easier. (as tobacco producers arHowever, I try to never tell anyone how to live their gued against linking their products to respiratory dis- lives.

As for tourism, I think eases). However, the wellbeing of future generations with the high cost of living getting higher every day, depends on all humanity — that is, everyone living in fewer people will be travelharmony with Earth. ing in 2026. And there is Antismoking campaigns more hope on the horizon rightly call not only for — the birth rate in many adjustments to business countries such as China,

Japan, the United States, and Russia are declining, which means fewer consumers. More and more people are looking at how they live and spend their income.

More of us are recycling, are using solar and wind energy, and have decided that keeping up with the Joneses is a waste of our time and money. Yes, there is still waste, and some people will always need to have the latest gadgets or fashion trends. But more and more people are becoming aware of the impact each of us has on this planet.

More people have come to realize that designer clothes and fancy cars are nice but don’t bring peace of mind, a healthy body, or lasting joy to our lives. I do agree with you on one thing: Earth is our home, and it’s time that we cleaned house.

— Heloise Send a hint to heloise@ heloise.com.

STAFF PHOTO By JOANNA BROWN

MAMA’S

The Cajun brisket plate lunch from La Cuisine de Maman at Vermilionville in Lafayette

BEST

Continued from page 5C Fried Chicken hits all the right notes. The generous pieces of white and dark meat are well and noticeably seasoned with Mama’s special blend, but aren’t overly hot. The skin is crispy and isn’t caked on, the sides are always fresh, and the flaky, buttery biscuits are the size of a child’s head.

LaGrange pointed out that all of the sides are made in-house, and while people know the restaurant for their fried chicken, the seafood and sandwiches are also big sellers — and the biscuits fly out the door by the dozens and half-dozens.

He said, “We have my grandfather to thank for all of this. He was the vision. He came from nothing and built his own business, Bellard’s Poultry, which supplies all of our chicken and raw product. He started that business almost 70 years ago now, and worked many, many long

ment seriously.

— Joanna Brown, staff writer

Continued from page 5C

Chicken Croissant Sandwich

Cajun brisket

n La Cuisine de Maman at

PHOTO By LEE BALL

Double drive-thru lines fill the parking lot at Mama’s Fried Chicken in New Iberia. hours to the point he could hardly stand up straight as he got older, but he told himself he was not going to raise his family to struggle the way he was raised.

“We’re most proud to keep it going for his name, and to make him proud.”

The result, according to LaGrange, is that Mama’s serves “some of the freshest chickens kicking around.

That’s not a secret, but that’s part of what helps our fla-

vors and our product. We want people to feel as though they’re getting a homecooked meal that maybe their mom or grandmother would have prepared.”

Mama’s Fried Chicken in New Iberia is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and closes at 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Vermilionville, 300 Fisher Road, Lafayette

n Brew-Bacher’s Grill, 8415

A delicious Cajun lunch inside a living history museum on the banks of the Bayou Vermilion is a top-tier lunch plan. The restaurant at the Vermilionville Historic Village, La Cuisine de Maman, is open 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, and diners do not have to pay the museum entrance fee.

The small restaurant specializes in Louisiana home cooking, with huge biscuits, tender meats and gravies, and one of the best hidden-gem gumbos in town.

I was in the mood for a comforting and satisfying lunch that could be delivered to work, and Brewbacher’s was top of mind.

I selected a chicken croissant with grilled chicken and their flavorful sweet potato fries. The sandwich was exactly what I wanted — a rich, buttery croissant with a juicy grilled chicken breast, Swiss cheese, bacon and avocado. The meal was filling and delicious.

Brew-Bacher’s still satisfies after all of these years.

— Joy Holden, features reporter

Bluebonnet Blvd., Baton Rouge

STAFF PHOTO By JOy HOLDEN

The chicken croissant sandwich and sweet potato fries from Brew-Bacher’s Grill in Baton Rouge

Everything on my Cajun brisket plate was tender, flavorful and imbued with the spirit of Acadiana.

This museum knows that one of the best ways to share Cajun and Creole culture is through food, and they take the assign-

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

TODAY IN HISTORY the opera in Paris. Though bystanders were killed, the emperor and empress were Today is Wednesday, unharmed and the revoluJan. 14, the 14th day of 2026. There are 351 days tionary was swiftly capleft in the year. tured and later executed.

Today in history: In 1943, U.S. President On Jan. 14, 2013, cyclist Franklin D. Roosevelt, BritLance Armstrong ended a ish Prime Minister Winston decade of denial by confess- Churchill and French Gen. Charles de Gaulle opened ing to Oprah Winfrey dura wartime conference in ing a videotaped interview Casablanca, Morocco. he’d used performanceIn 1963, Democrat enhancing drugs to win the George C. Wallace was Tour de France seven consworn in as governor of secutive times. The interview was aired as a two-part Alabama with the pledge, “segregation now, segregaspecial later in the week.

Also on this date: tion tomorrow, and segreIn 1858, Napoleon III gation forever!” It was a survived an assassination view he later repudiated. attempt by an Italian revoIn 1967, the “Summer of Love” unofficially began lutionary and accomplices who threw explosives at the with a “Human Be-In” inemperor’s carriage as he volving tens of thousands and wife Eugénie headed to of young people at Golden

By The Associated Press

Gate Park in San Francisco.

In 1994, U.S. President Bill Clinton, Russian President Boris Yeltsin and Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk signed the Trilateral Statement, an accord to dismantle the nuclear arsenal of Ukraine.

Today’s birthdays: Drag racer Don “Big Daddy” Garlits is 94. Actor Faye Dunaway is 85. Actor Holland Taylor is 83. Guitarist-producer T-Bone Burnett is 78. Filmmaker Lawrence Kasdan is 77. Filmmaker Steven Soderbergh is 63. Actor Emily Watson is 59. Rapperactor LL Cool J is 58. Actor Jason Bateman is 57. Rock musician Dave Grohl is 57.

Rock singer-musician Caleb Followill (Kings of Leon) is 44. Actor Zach Gilford is 44.

Actor Grant Gustin is 36.

The American Red Cross of Louisiana is here all year.

YEARS

Local support. Local impact.

TONIGHT AT 7PM

The American Red Cross in Louisiana

serves 4.65 million residents across all 64 parishes and extends hope to communities across the nation and around the world. When you support your local Red Cross, you make a direct impact in your community.

Powered by generosity.

The Red Cross is not a government agency. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that relies on the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors to carry out our humanitarian mission.

Red Cross supporters provide a beacon of hope. From helping during disasters, to providing lifesaving training and supporting military communities, the Red Cross is there when help can’t wait.

TONIGHT AT 8PM

KLPB 24

www.lpb.org

Be the help Louisiana needs. redcross.org/louisiana

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Wednesday, January 14, 2026 ● 7C

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FrAnK And erneSt

bIG nAte

zItS

zodIAC CAPRICoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Put yourself out there and make your voice heard.

Everything comes at a price, and it's up to you to decide what you are willing to sacrifice to follow your heart.

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Stick to your plan regardless of what others do. Work to stay in sync with what's current and marketable. Let your uniqueness lead the way and your discipline help you cross the finish line.

PIsCEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Participate in events that matter to you, and you'll gain insight into how you can make a difference while connecting with like-minded people. A change of habits will lead to progress. Romance is favored.

ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Invest in something that matters, and you can make a difference. Use your imagination, and offer your skills, time and experience to bring about change. tAuRus (April 20-May 20) Keep your expenses under control. Don't pay for someone else's mistakes or poor judgment. Focus on getting ahead and staying up to date with technology and what's happening in your community.

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) If you want something, find a way to make it happen.

Your opportunities will come through communication and recognizing when to make your next move. Go where the action is. Travel and partnerships are favored.

CAnCER (June 21-July 22) Mixing business with pleasure will backfire if you haven't thought matters through. Use your intel-

ligence, protect your reputation and focus on unique ideas, a disciplined attitude and positive change.

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Do something you enjoy with someone you love. Personal improvements will boost your confidence and encourage you to do things you enjoy. Express your feelings and find out where you stand with someone you want to spend more time with.

VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) Be careful how you divvy things up. Partnerships will suffer if you let someone get away with something that irks you. Speak up rather than allowing your emotions to swell out of proportion. Romance is favored.

LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Fast talk and action will be necessary. Too much of anything will weigh you down. Problems at home or work will escalate quickly if you aren't prepared to make a move. Address financial constraints before it's too late. sCoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Emotions will trigger uncertainty and change. Think on your feet and be ready to make a move.

You have more opportunities than you realize. Romance is favored. sAGIttARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Stop doubting yourself. Build equity and look for ways to use your skills and money to get ahead. Invest in your ability to be competitive and be ready to parlay your skills into something you want to pursue.

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: n EQuALs F

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

SherMAn’S LAGoon FAMILY CIrCUS

dooneSbUrY

8C ● Wednesday, January 14, 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 ● Wednesday, January 14, 2026 ● 9C

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B.C.

Bridge

By PHILLIP ALDER Elizabeth Gaskell, a 19th-century English novelist and short-story writer, said, “How easy it is to judge rightly after one sees what evil comes from judging wrongly!”

At the bridge table, how easy it usually is to see the winning line after going down from playing wrongly.

This deal is a good example of that.

West leads the club queen against four spades. How should South proceed?

A less experienced player follows “rules” and has trouble spotting when they are not appropriate. Here, declarer would see nine trumps and think “nine never” — do not finesse for the queen; instead, play for the drop. But when the queen does not appear and he turns to diamonds, East ruffs the third round and shifts to the heart queen, giving the defenders one spade and three hearts.

Let’s analyze this deal without using rules. If spades are 4-0, especially if West has them all, South is in difficulty. But if the trump split is more favorable, he is sitting prettier. Outside spades, declarer has six winners: four diamonds and two clubs. So he needs only four spade tricks, not five. Next, he can lose four tricks only if East gets on play and leads a high heart through South’s king, with West having the ace. Then declarer could lose one spade and three hearts.

garfield

Pearls Before swiNe

hagar the horriBle

It is time for an avoidance play. After winning the first trick, declarer should play a spade to dummy’s ace and follow with a spade to his jack. Here, that brings home an overtrick. But even if the finesse were to lose, the heart king and the contract would be safe with West on lead. © 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 — LoGICALLy: LA-jih-kuh-lee: Analytically true or valid.

Bizarro

marmaduKe

Average mark 25 words Time limit 40 minutes Can you find 31 or more words in LOGICALLY? yEstERDAy’s WoRD — nARRAtoRs narrator aorta arrant arson rant roan roar roast tarn taro torn

trans tsar oast osar santo saran snort soar sonar sonata sora

sort star

loCKhorNs hidato Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

today’s thought “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”

Colossians 3:17 This is the Christian life. Let others see Jesus in you. — G.E. Dean

10C ● Wednesday, January 14, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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Wall Street pulls back from its records

NEW YORK — Wall Street pulled back from its records on Tuesday following a mixed start to the latest profit reporting season for big U.S. companies.

The S&P 500 fell 0.2% from its all-time high set the day before. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 398 points, or 0.8%, from its own record, while the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.1%.

U.S. companies are under pressure to deliver strong growth in profits to justify the runs to records their stock prices have made. Analysts expect companies in the S&P 500 index will deliver earnings per share for the final three months of 2025 that are 8.3% higher than a year earlier, according to FactSet. JPMorgan Chase helped kick off the latest reporting season by delivering weaker profit and revenue than analysts expected.

Its stock fell 4.2% and was one of the heaviest weights on the market.

Inflation cools slightly for December WASHINGTON — Inflation cooled a bit last month as prices for gas and used cars fell, a sign that stubbornly elevated cost pressures are slowly easing.

Consumer prices rose 0.3% in December from the prior month, the Labor Department said Tuesday, the same as in November.

Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices rose 0.2%, also matching November’s figure.

Increases at that pace, over time, would bring inflation closer to the Federal Reserve’s target of 2%.

Many economists had expected inflation to jump last month as the government resumed normal data collection after the six-week shutdown last fall, so the modest increases that matched the November figures came as a relief. The price of manufactured goods was flat in December, a sign that the impact of tariffs may be starting to fade.

“Distortions caused by the government shutdown have made the inflation data harder to interpret, but the recent run of figures suggests inflation has peaked,” Michael Pearce, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, wrote in a note to clients.

Signs that inflation is cooling could make it more likely that the Federal Reserve will reduce its key interest rate later this year, which could translate into lower borrowing costs for mortgages, auto loans, and credit cards.

Meta begins layoffs with shift to wearables Meta Platforms Inc. is beginning to cut more than 1,000 jobs from the company’s Reality Labs division, part of a plan to redirect resources from virtual reality and Metaverse products toward AI wearables and phone features.

Affected employees were notified Tuesday morning, according to an internal post from Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth that was reviewed by Bloomberg News.

The cuts are expected to hit roughly 10% of employees within the Reality Labs group, which has about 15,000 workers, Bloomberg reported earlier this week.

As part of the reduction, Meta is pivoting its Metaverse efforts to focus on mobile devices, according to Bosworth’s memo. The company is also planning to cut back on its virtual reality investments to make the business “more sustainable,” Bosworth wrote.

“We said last month that we were shifting some of our investment from Metaverse toward wearables,” a company spokesperson said. “This is part of that effort, and we plan to reinvest the savings to support the growth of wearables this year.”

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Trump warned by Wall Street execs He’s told to stop attacking the Fed, credit card industry

BY KEN SWEET Associated Press

NEW YORK — Up until this week, Wall Street has generally benefited from the Trump administration’s policies and has been supportive of the president. That relationship has suddenly soured.

When President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill into law in July, it pushed another significant round of tax cuts and also cut the budget of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, at times the banking industry’s nemesis, by nearly half. Trump’s bank regulators have also been pushing a deregulatory agenda that both banks and large corporations have embraced.

But now the president has proposed a one-year, 10% cap on the

interest rate on credit cards, a lucrative business for many financial institutions, and his Department of Justice has launched an investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that many say threatens the institution that is supposed to set interest rates free of political interference.

Bank CEOs warned the White House on Tuesday that Trump’s actions will do more harm than good to the American economy.

BNY Chief Executive Officer Robin Vince told reporters that going after the Fed’s independence “doesn’t seem, to us, to be accomplishing the administration’s primary objectives for things like affordability, reducing the cost of borrowing, reducing the cost of mortgages, reducing the cost, of, everyday living for Americans.”

“Let’s not shake the foundation of the bond market and potentially, do something that could cause interest rates to actually get pushed up, because somehow there’s lack of confidence in the Fed’s indepen-

dence,” Vince added.

The Federal Reserve’s independence is sacrosanct among the big banks. While banks may have wanted Powell and other Fed policymakers to move interest rates one way or another more quickly, they have generally understood why Powell has done what he’s done.

“I don’t agree with everything the Fed has done. I do have enormous respect for Jay Powell, the man,” JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon told reporters Tuesday.

Along with the attacks on the Fed, President Trump is going after the credit card industry. With “affordability” likely to be a key issue in this year’s midterm elections, Trump wants to lower costs for consumers and says he wants a 10% cap on credit card interest rates in place by Jan. 20. Whether he hopes to accomplish this by bullying the credit card industry into just capping interest rates voluntarily, or through some sort of executive action, is unclear.

The average interest rate on credit cards is between 19.65% and 21.5%, according to the Federal Reserve and other industry tracking sources.

A cap of 10% would likely cost banks roughly $100 billion in lost revenue per year, researchers at Vanderbilt University found.

Shares of credit card companies like American Express, JPMorgan, Citigroup, Capital One and others fell sharply Monday as investors worried about the potential hit to profits these banks may face if an interest rate cap were implemented.

In a call with reporters, JPMorgan’s Chief Financial Officer Jeffrey Barnum indicated the industry was willing to fight with all resources at its disposal to stop the Trump administration from capping those rates. JPMorgan is one of the nation’s biggest credit card companies, with its customers collectively holding $239.4 billion in balances with the bank, and having major co-brand partnerships.

Jacobs to lead in delivery of West Feliciana data center Tech, engineering company partners with developers of Hut 8 project

BY IANNE SALVOSA Staff writer

Jacobs, a technology and engineering company, will provide engineering, procurement and construction management services to the River Bend data center in West Feliciana Parish.

The Dallas-based company will partner with developer Hut 8 in the $7 billion project from pre-construction to the final stages of building the AI data center. The companies will use an engineering, procurement and construction management model, which has become increasingly popular in the energy industry, that allows a company to deliver ready-to-use infrastructure to a developer.

Dana Tilley, Jacobs’ senior vice president of advanced facilities, global growth and strategy, said the company will work as a partner and advisor for Hut 8 and is responsible for the delivery of the project.

Jacobs serves as a project manager and “engineer of record” for the construction of the data center, which involves two 450,000-square-foot buildings in its first phase.

The company will lead in procurement and serve as a construction manager, bringing in vendors and subcontractors to provide additional services needed.

Construction commenced on the center in August and the first phase is expected to be completed by the end of the year, with the data center expected to be ready for commissioning — testing to ensure systems are in optimal shape — in 2027. The project will create about 1,500 construction jobs and will create 100 permanent jobs when completed, according to project backers. West Feliciana Parish will receive up to $90 million annually from the data center thanks to a tax structure approved in the fall.

Tilley said Vertiv, an Ohio-based company that provides digital infrastructure for data

STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

Construction on the Hut 8 data center continues along La. 964 in St. Francisville. centers, will work with Jacobs on the project.

“We provide Hut 8 with program-level delivery of the entire project so that Hut 8 can focus on its core business,” Tilley said in a statement.

He declined to comment on how much Hut 8 will pay Jacobs for their services. The company has already begun work on the project and will peak in the spring and summer.

Jacobs has provided consulting, design and construction management services for data centers internationally, which made them an appealing partner to Hut 8, Tilley said.

The company will work with local and national trade contractors to conduct hiring for construction workers. Tilley said Jacobs has worked with local specialty contractors like Cajun Industries for prior projects.

Jacobs has more than 270 offices worldwide, with two Louisiana outposts in Baton Rouge and Metairie.

Hut 8 CEO Asher Genoot said in a release that the EPCM model and partnership with Jacobs lessens the risk in delivering the data center.

Hut 8 aims to emulate the EPCM and partnership model with other data centers, Genoot said in the release. The Miami-based company has at least 19 data centers completed or in the works.

Last month, Hut 8 announced it would partner with Fluidstack and Anthropic to provide the data center’s infrastructure and equipment in a 15-year, $7 billion deal. Google will provide a financial backstop for Fluidstack, meaning it will take over as a partner on the project if Fluidstack defaults.

Bargain grocer Aldi seizes moment in an era of higher prices Aldi said Tuesday that it will said that grocery prices electricity in recent months, acDiscount chain wants partment jumped 0.7% in December from cording to a survey from The As- add new distribution centers in previous month, and that price sociated Press-NORC Center for Florida, Arizona, and Colorado to open more stores the and is still committed to investing hikes accelerated faster in 2025 Public Affairs Research.

BY MICHELLE CHAPMAN Associated Press

The discount grocery chain Aldi is expanding rapidly and plans to open more than 180 U.S. stores this year as more Americans skip nights out at restaurants and cook at home due to anxiety over the nation’s economy.

The chain, with U.S. operations based outside of Chicago, went on an expansion tear soon after inflation began to spike in 2021 and opened a record number of new stores last year.

Food inflation has slowed, but it was still up 2.4% last year, according to U.S. data, and has soared about 25% since the pandemic.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Labor De-

than they had in the previous two years.

Last month beef and veal prices climbed 1% from November, and are up 16.4% from last year. Coffee prices increased 1.9% in a month and are up almost 20% over a year. Egg prices dropped 8.2% in December, continuing to fall after surging last year after a bird flu outbreak.

Trump’s message on inflation during his presidential campaign and his promises to lower prices immediately if elected have rankled some Americans who feel it is not a priority for the administration after all.

The vast majority of U.S. adults say they’ve noticed higher than usual prices for groceries and

Aldi has sought to snap up market share as more families trade down, meaning they are changing where they shop to cut costs.

Americans are dropping trusted name brands for cheaper storebrands and swapping out the places they’ve shopped for years in favor of discount or thrift stores. It’s been a boon for national bargain stores chains like Dollar General and Dollar Tree.

That shift had begun before President Donald Trump’s trade war began, but appears to have accelerated over the past year.

Aldi said in 2024 that it planned to open 800 new stores by 2028 as inflation worries spread. It announced plans to open a record 225 locations last year in the U.S.

$9 billion in the U.S. through 2028.

The company is also looking to open more than 50 stores in Colorado within the next five years and plans to double its Las Vegas store count by 2030.

The expansion will give Aldi almost 2,800 stores by the end of the year, which gets its closer to its goal of 3,200 stores by 2028.

Traditional grocers are under pressure from bargain chains, massive retailers like Walmart, and also relatively new players like Amazon.com. In December, Amazon said same-day perishable grocery delivery had been expanded to more than 2,300 cities and towns, and the online giant said it has more expansion plans for this year.