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

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F r i d ay, J a n u a ry 16, 2026

La. players indicted in federal gambling probe THE PLAYERS

The defendants who played basketball at Louisiana universities and are facing charges of bribery, fraud or aiding and abetting include:

Contributing writer

FEMA denies La. fund request Staff writer

Kevin Cross

Oumar Koureissi

Tulane forward 2020-2024

Diante Smith Nicholls forward 2023-2024

Nicholls forward 2023-2024

Carlos Hart UNO guard 2023-2024

Dyouavion ‘Jah’ Short

Cedouavious ‘Dae Dae’ Hunter

UNO guard UNO guard 2023-2025 2024-2025 Two people associated with the Northwestern State University men’s basketball team were implicated in Thursday’s indictment, but not named.

THE GAMES

Documents identify eight games where Louisiana men’s basketball players tried or successfully rigged games. n McNeese at Nicholls,

Feb. 17, 2024 n Tulane at East Carolina, Feb. 18, 2024

n Northwestern State

at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Feb. 19, 2024 n Tulane at Fla.Atlantic, March 2, 2024

n UNO vs. Lamar,

March 11, 2024 n UNO vs. McNeese, Dec. 28, 2024

Dec. 30, 2024 n UNO vs. Southeastern, Jan. 11, 2025

Longtime Assistant U.S. Attorney Walker retires

BY CLAIRE TAYLOR Staff writer

BY QUINN COFFMAN

Psi Phi fraternity, were arrested in March following Wilson’s death: Isaiah Earl Smith, 29, Caleb McAll five defendants charged with Cray, 24, and Kyle Thurman, 25. criminal hazing in connection with Two others, Winston Craig Sandthe death of Southern University ers, 22, of Monroe, and Jaydn Lanstudent Caleb Wilson pleaded not drum, 24, from Texas, were later guilty before a judge Thursday indicted and had warrants for their morning. arrests issued in December.

Three defendants, brothers in ä See HAZING, page 5A Southern’s chapter of the Omega

n UNO at Vanderbilt,

Last March, Gov. Jeff Landry’s homeland security agency told Louisiana taxpayers they likely wouldn’t be on the hook for $52 million the state spent to beef up security in New Orleans and temporarily shelter homeless residents during the winter tourist season.

They hoped the federal government, months after a Bourbon Street attack exposed local security flaws, would pick up the tab instead. But that didn’t happen, according to public records obtained

by The Times-Picayune this week.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has no money to reimburse Louisiana’s costs associated with Super Bowl LIX and Mardi Gras 2025, a Department of Homeland Security senior official wrote to Louisiana National Guard Maj. Gen. Thomas Friloux in June.

While the state could have used its existing, unspent FEMA grants to reimburse its costs, there was no unspent cash to use, he said.

“FEMA does not have additional funding available to supplement the existing … grant awards,” wrote David Richardson, an assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security on June 13.

In a statement Wednesday, Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness spokesperson Mike Steele did not comment on the denial.

“The success of last year’s Super

ä See FEMA, page 7A

Staff writer

PAGE 10C

$2.00X

BY SOPHIE KASAKOVE

5 plead not guilty in hazing death

WEATHER HIGH 71 LOW 37

3

2/$

Landry sought $52M to cover Super Bowl, Mardi Gras expenses

BY GUERRY SMITH

ä See GAMBLING, page 7A

Yellow Onions

ACADIANA

ADVOCATE

Former Tulane forward Kevin Cross was indicted in a Pennsylvania federal court on Thursday morning for point-shaving during the 2023-24 season as part of a sweeping investigation that also involved Nicholls State, included more than 39 men’s basketball players on 17 NCAA teams and started a year earlier in Chinese professional basä Fedeal ketball. prosecutors A c c o r d ing to the reveal indictment, sprawling Cross, then scheme. a senior, PAGE 1C was approached in mid-February of 2024 and offered payment to underperform in a Feb. 18 game at East Carolina. He proceeded to take only two shots in 32 minutes while scoring a season-low four points — far below his team-leading average of 17.5 — as the Green Wave lost 81-67 as a 21/ 2-point underdog. Federal prosecutors said he was paid approximately $30,000 after the fixers raked in at least $140,000 from bets placed on East Carolina.

Two weeks later, Cross agreed to shave points in a March 2 game at Florida Atlantic, according to the indictment, but that attempt was unsuccessful. He scored 14 points, and Tulane, a 15-point

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Prices good at all Lafayette, New Iberia and Youngsville stores January 16th - January 19th, 2026.

THE

Investigation nets more than 39 players nationwide

— ONLY —

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PROVIDED PHOTO

Caleb Wilson plays trumpet with Southern University’s Human Jukebox.

Longtime Assistant U.S. Attorney John Luke Walker, who prosecuted many high-profile cases in Lafayette, has retired after 36 years of service.

In addition, Vicki Chance, a support staff member, is moving to federal district court after 33 years of service with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western

Business ......................6A Commentary ................3B Nation-World................2A Classified .....................4A Deaths .........................4B Opinion ........................2B Comics-Puzzles .....7C-9C Living............................5C Sports ..........................1C

District of Louisiana.

“Luke and Vicki represent the best that public service has to offer: two people who have dedicated their lives to keeping their Louisiana community safe,” U.S. Attorney Zachary Keller said.

Their tenures, he added, “are models of integrity, professionalism and devotion to justice”

ä See WALKER, page 5A

101ST yEAR, NO. 200

2A ● Friday, January 16, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

S.C. outbreak ramps up U.S. measles cases

The U.S. measles outbreak that drove cases to a 34-year high in 2025 shows no signs of slowing, as 168 more people have become infected since the start of the new year.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Wednesday that a total of 171 cases have been confirmed this year in nine states. On Tuesday, South Carolina reported 124 new infections in just a few days. None of the new infections stemmed from international visitors, the primary source in prior years.

South Carolina’s total cases since its measles outbreak began in October have reached 434, with more than 400 people quarantined after exposures in local schools and churches. This is the second-largest state tally the U.S. has seen in the past year, trailing only Texas’ 2025 outbreak that infected 990 people.

“A lot of these cases are a result of activities over the holidays,” said South Carolina state epidemiologist Linda Bell in a call with reporters Wednesday.

For the U.S., 2,242 people were confirmed with measles across 44 states in 2025, which was the largest count since 1991.

Ailing astronaut, crew return to Earth early CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — An ailing astronaut returned to Earth with three others on Thursday, ending their space station mission more than a month early in NASA’s first medical evacuation.

SpaceX guided the capsule to a middle-of-the-night splashdown in the Pacific near San Diego, less than 11 hours after the astronauts exited the International Space Station. Their first stop was a hospital for an overnight stay.

It was an unexpected finish to a mission that began in August and left the orbiting lab with only one American and two Russians on board.

Officials have refused to identify the astronaut who developed the health problem last week or explain what happened, citing medical privacy.

While the astronaut was stable in orbit, NASA wanted them back on Earth as soon as possible to receive proper care and diagnostic testing. The entry and splashdown required no special changes or accommodations, officials said, and the recovery ship had its usual allotment of medical experts on board.

The astronauts emerged from the capsule, one by one, within an hour of splashdown. They were helped onto reclining cots and then whisked away for standard medical checks.

Judges allow California to use new House map SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California can use a new voter-approved U.S. House map that is designed to boost Democrats in the 2026 midterms, a federal three-judge panel ruled Wednesday.

In a 2-1 ruling, a three-judge panel in Los Angeles denied requests from state Republicans and the U.S. Justice Department to block the map from being used in future elections. The complaint accused California of violating the Constitution by using race as a factor to favor Hispanic voters when drawing the new district lines.

The map, aimed at giving Democrats a shot at flipping as many as five House seats next year, was decisively approved by voters through Proposition 50 in November. The effort was pushed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom to counter a similar effort in Texas backed

by President Donald Trump to help Republicans win five House seats. Republicans currently hold nine of California’s 52 congressional seats.

“Republicans’ weak attempt to silence voters failed,” Newsom said in a statement.

Republicans vowed to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.

California Democrats said that the new map was legal because it was drawn for partisan advantage. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that partisan gerrymandering is a political question and not one for the federal courts to decide.

lll

Israeli PM: Gaza announcement symbolic U.S. says ceasefire is in second stage

BY WAFAA SHURAFA and SAM METZ Associated Press

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli strikes in Gaza on Thursday killed nine people, including three women, a day after the U.S. announced that the fragile ceasefire would advance to its second phase.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the ceasefire announcement largely symbolic, raising questions about how its more challenging elements will be carried out.

Speaking with the parents of the last Israeli hostage whose remains are still in Gaza, Netanyahu late Wednesday said the governing committee of Palestinians announced as part of the second phase was merely a “declarative move,” rather than the sign of progress described by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff.

Israeli police officer Ran Gvili’s parents had earlier pressed Netanyahu not to advance the ceasefire until their son’s remains were returned, Israel’s Hostage and Missing Families Forum said Wednesday. Netanyahu told Gvili’s parents that his return remained a top priority.

The announcement of the ceasefire’s second phase marked a significant step forward but left many questions unanswered. Those include the makeup of the proposed, apolitical governing committee of Palestinian experts and an international “Board of Peace.”

The committee’s composition was coordinated with Israel, said an Israeli official speaking on the condition of anonymity.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ABDEL KAREEM HANA

A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches across Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, on Thursday.

Questions also include the timing of deployment of international forces and the reopening of Gaza’s southern Rafah border crossing, as well as concrete details about disarming Hamas and rebuilding Gaza.

In an interview on Wednesday with the West Bank-based Radio Basma, Ali Shaath, the engineer and former Palestinian Authority official slated to head the committee, said he anticipated reconstruction and recovery to take roughly three years. He said it would start with immediate needs like shelter.

“If I bring bulldozers, and push the rubble into the sea, and make new islands (in the sea), new land,

it is a win for Gaza and (we) get rid of the rubble,” Shaath, a Gaza native, said.

More than 450 people have been killed since Israel and Hamas agreed to halt fighting in October, Gaza’s Health Ministry said Thursday.

Nine people were killed Thursday in several strikes, according to local hospitals. The first strike killed two men, while three women and a man were killed in the second strike, according to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. Later, two people were killed and five injured when a strike hit a house, according to AlAwda Hospital in Nuseirat. In addition, one person was killed in Gaza

City, Shifa Hospital said. Israeli military officials did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on the strikes.

Separately, the military said that it had killed someone Thursday who had approached troops near the so-called Yellow Line — which divides the Israeli-held part of Gaza from the rest — and posed an imminent threat.

Gaza’s population of more than 2 million people has struggled to keep cold weather and storms at bay while facing shortages of humanitarian aid and a lack of more substantial temporary housing, which is badly needed during the winter months.

Muhammad Ali stamp released in his hometown

BY DYLAN LOVAN Associated Press

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Postal officials unveiled a commemorative stamp of boxing legend Muhammad Ali in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, on Thursday, featuring a photo of the champ in his fighting prime.

The Postal Service printed 22 million of the Ali stamps, which feature an Associated Press photo from 1974 showing the fighter holding up his gloves in a fighting stance. His last name, in bold black and red all-cap lettering, accents the stamp.

“We honor Muhammad Ali here in his hometown, a city that shaped him and that he reshaped forever,”

gathered to celebrate the issuance of the stamp, which went on sale Thursday.

“This stamp will travel millions of miles, it will pass through countless hands, but it will quietly remind the world of a man who dared to believe that kindness could be powerful and that being in service to others could be heroic,” said his widow, Lonnie Ali. The outspoken three-time heavyIMAGE PROVIDED By USPS weight champ mesmerized the The commemorative Muhammad world with his brash poetry and Ali stamp features a 1974 personality.

Associated Press photo of Ali. He stayed in the spotlight in his post-fighting days by continuing said longtime broadcaster Bob his philanthropy and support of Costas, who hosted the unveiling human rights issues.

In his boxing days, Ali once event.

The champ’s friends and family quipped that he should be on a

Stars and Stripes newspaper cuts out ‘woke distractions’

BY DAVID BAUDER AP media writer

The Pentagon said Thursday that it is changing the independent military newspaper Stars and Stripes so it concentrates on “reporting for our warfighters” and no longer includes “woke distractions.”

That message, in a social media post from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s spokesman, is short on specifics and does not mention the news outlet’s legacy of independence from government and military leadership. It comes a day after The Washington Post reported that applicants for jobs at Stars and Stripes were being asked what they would do to support President Donald Trump’s policies.

Stars and Stripes traces its lineage to the Civil War and has reported news about the military either in its newspaper or online since World War II, largely to an audience of service members stationed overseas. Roughly half of its budget comes from the Pentagon and its staff members are considered Defense Department employees.

The outlet’s mission statement emphasizes that it is “editorially independent of interference from outside its own editorial chain-of-command” and that it is unique among news organizations tied to the Defense Department in being “governed by the principles of the First Amendment.”

Congress established that independence in the 1990s after instances of military leadership getting involved in editorial decisions. During Trump’s first term in 2020, Defense Secretary Mark Esper tried to eliminate government funding for Stars and Stripes — to effectively shut it down — before he was overruled by the president.

Hegseth’s spokesman, Sean Parnell, said on X Thursday that the Pentagon “is

returning Stars and Stripes to its original mission: reporting for our warfighters.”

He said the department will “refocus its content away from woke distractions.”

“Stars and Stripes will be custom tailored to our warfighters,” Parnell wrote.

“It will focus on warfighting, weapons systems, fitness, lethality, survivability and ALL THINGS MILITARY. No more repurposed DC gossip columns; no more Associated Press reprints.” He said the department is committed to ensuring the outlet’s legacy of reporting news that’s important to service members.

Jacqueline Smith, the outlet’s ombudsman, called Parnell’s statement a surprise. She said Stars and Stripes reports on matters important to service members and their families — not just weapons systems or war strategy — and she’s detected nothing “woke” about its reporting.

“I think it’s very important that Stars and Stripes maintains its editorial independence, which is the basis of its credibility,” Smith said. A longtime newspaper editor in Connecticut, Smith serves in a role created by Congress three decades ago to ensure that independence, and she reports to the House Armed Services Committee.

It’s the latest move by the Trump administration to impose restrictions on journalists. Most reporters from legacy news outlets have left the Pentagon rather than to agree to new rules imposed by Hegseth that they feel would give him too much control over what they report and write. The New York Times has sued to overturn the regulations.

The Washington Post reported that applicants to Stars and Stripes were being asked how they would advance Trump’s executive orders and policy priorities in the role. They were asked to identify one or two orders or initiatives that were significant to them.

postage stamp because “that’s the only way I’ll ever get licked.”

The Forever Stamps come with a stamp sheet that also features a photo of Ali posing in a pinstripe suit, a recognition of his work as an activist and humanitarian.

Born Cassius Clay Jr., Ali, who changed his name after converting to Islam, died in 2016 at the age of 74 after living with Parkinson’s disease for more than three decades. He is buried in Louisville.

During his lifetime and posthumously, the man known as The Greatest has received numerous awards, including an Olympic gold medal in 1960, the United Nations Messenger of Peace award in 1998, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005.

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Trump threatens to use Insurrection Act lll

Protests against ICE grow in Minneapolis

BY STEVE KARNOWSKI, HALLIE GOLDEN and AAMER MADHANI Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS — President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to invoke an 1807 law and deploy troops to quell persistent protests against the federal officers sent to Minneapolis to enforce his administration’s massive immigration crackdown.

The threat comes a day after a man was shot and wounded by an immigration officer who had been attacked with a shovel and broom handle. That shooting further heightened the fear and anger that has radiated across the city since an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot Renee Good in the head.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, a rarely used federal law, to deploy the U.S. military or federalize the National Guard for domestic law enforcement, over the objections of state governors.

“If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ADAM GRAy

Federal immigration officers confront protesters outside Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis on Thursday. the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT, which many Presidents have done before me, and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great State,” Trump said in social media post.

Presidents have invoked the law more than two dozen

times, most recently in 1992

by President George H.W. Bush to end unrest in Los Angeles. In that instance, local authorities had asked for the assistance.

“I’m making a direct appeal to the President: Let’s turn the temperature down.

Stop this campaign of retribution. This is not who we are,” Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, said on X. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said he

would challenge any such action in court. He’s already suing to try to stop the surge by the Department of Homeland Security, which says officers have arrested more than 2,500 people since Nov. 29 as part of an immigration operation in the Twin Cities called Metro Surge.

The operation grew when ICE sent 2,000 officers and agents to the area early in January. ICE is a DHS agency.

Protests, tear gas

Shooting followed a chase

In Minneapolis, smoke filled the streets Wednesday night near the site of the latest shooting as federal officers wearing gas masks and helmets fired tear gas into a small crowd. Protesters responded by throwing rocks and shooting fireworks.

Demonstrations have become common in Minneapolis since Good was fatally shot on Jan. 7. Agents who have yanked people from their cars and homes have been confronted by angry bystanders demanding they leave.

“This is an impossible situation that our city is presently being put in and at the same time we are trying to find a way forward to keep people safe, to protect our neighbors, to maintain order,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of three people who said they were questioned or detained in recent days.

The lawsuit says two are Somali and one is Hispanic; all three are U.S. citizens.

The lawsuit seeks an end to what the ACLU describes as a practice of racial profiling and warrantless arrests. The government did not immediately comment.

Homeland Security said in a statement that federal law enforcement officers on Wednesday stopped a driver from Venezuela who is in the U.S. illegally. The person drove off then crashed into a parked car before fleeing on foot, DHS said.

Officers caught up, then two other people arrived and the three started attacking the officer, according to DHS. “Fearing for his life and safety as he was being ambushed by three individuals, the officer fired a defensive shot to defend his life,” DHS said. The confrontation took place about 4.5 miles from where Good was killed.

Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the man who was shot did not have a life-threatening injury. O’Hara’s account of what happened largely echoed that of Homeland Security, which later said the other two men were also in the U.S. illegally from Venezuela.

The FBI said several government vehicles were damaged and property inside was stolen when agents responded to the shooting.

Photos show broken windows and insults made with paint. A reward of up to $100,000 is being offered for information.

Court ruling jeopardizes freedom for pro-Palestinian activist

BY JAKE OFFENHARTZ and MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press

A federal appeals panel on Thursday reversed a lower court decision that released former Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil from an immigration jail, bringing the government one step closer to detaining and ultimately deporting the Palestinian activist.

The three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals didn’t decide the key

issue in Khalil’s case: whether the Trump administration’s effort to throw Khalil out of the U.S. over his campus activism and criticism of Israel is unconstitutional.

But in its 2-1 decision, the panel ruled a federal judge in New Jersey didn’t have jurisdiction to decide the matter at this time. Federal law requires the case to fully move through the immigration courts first, before Khalil can challenge the decision, they wrote.

“That scheme ensures that

petitioners get just one bite at the apple — not zero or two,” the panel wrote. “But it also means that some petitioners, like Khalil, will have to wait to seek relief for allegedly unlawful government conduct.”

The law bars Khalil “from attacking his detention and removal in a habeas petition,” the panel added.

T h u r s d a y ’s d e c i s i o n marked a major win for the Trump administration’s sweeping campaign to detain and deport noncitizens

who joined protests against Israel.

It was not clear whether the government would seek to detain Khalil, a legal permanent resident, again while his legal challenges continue.

In a statement distributed by the American Civil Liberties Union, Khalil said the appeals ruling was “deeply disappointing, but it does not break our resolve.” He added: “The door may have been opened for potential

re-detainment down the line, but it has not closed our commitment to Palestine and to justice and accountability.”

An outspoken leader of the pro-Palestinian movement at Columbia, Khalil was arrested last March. He then spent three months detained in a Louisiana immigration jail, missing his firstborn’s birth.

Federal officials have accused Khalil of leading activities “aligned to

Hamas,” though they have not presented evidence to support the claim and have not accused him of criminal conduct. They also accused Khalil, 31, of failing to disclose information on his green card application.

The government justified the arrest under a seldomused statute that allows for the expulsion of noncitizens whose beliefs are deemed to pose a threat to U.S. foreign policy interests.

European troops arrive in Greenland

BY EMMA BURROWS, CLAUDIA CIOBANU and DANIEL NIEMANN

Safety. Style.

Stress-Free Installation.

Associated Press

NUUK, Greenland — Troops from several European countries continued to arrive in Greenland on Thursday in a show of support for Denmark as talks between representatives of Denmark, Greenland and the U.S. highlighted “fundamental disagreement” over the future of the Arctic island.

Denmark announced it would increase its military presence in Greenland on Wednesday as foreign ministers from Denmark and Greenland were preparing to meet with White House representatives in Washington. Several European partners — including France, Germany, the U.K., Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands — started sending symbolic numbers of troops already on Wednesday or promised to do so in the following days.

The troop movements were intended to portray unity among Europeans and send a signal to President Donald Trump that an American takeover of Greenland is not necessary as NATO together can safeguard the security of the Arctic region amid rising Russian and Chinese interest.

“The first French military elements are already en route” and “others will follow,” French President Emmanuel Macron announced Wednesday, as French authorities said about 15 soldiers from the mountain infantry unit were already in Nuuk for a military exercise.

Germany will deploy a reconnaissance team of 13 personnel to Greenland on Thursday, the Defense Ministry said.

On Thursday, Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said the intention was “to establish a more permanent military presence with a larger Danish contribution,” according to Danish broadcaster DR. He said

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By EVGENIy MALOLETKA

Fishermen load fishing lines into a boat in the harbor of Nuuk, Greenland, on Wednesday. soldiers from several NATO countries will be in Greenland on a rotation system.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, flanked by his Greenlandic counterpart Vivian Motzfeldt, said Wednesday that a “fundamental disagreement” over Greenland remains with Trump after they held highly anticipated talks at the White House with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Rasmussen added that it remains “clear that the president has this wish of conquering over Greenland” but that dialogue with the U.S. would continue at a high level over the following weeks.

Inhabitants of Greenland and Denmark reacted with anxiety but also some relief that negotiations with the U.S. would go on and European support was becoming visible.

Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen welcomed the continuation of “dialogue and diplomacy.”

“Greenland is not for sale,” he said Thursday.

“Greenland does not want to be owned by the United States. Greenland does not want to be governed from the United States. Greenland does not want to be part of the United States.”

In Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, local residents told

The Associated Press they were glad the first meeting between Greenlandic, Danish and American officials had taken place but suggested it left more questions than answers.

Several people said they viewed Denmark’s decision to send more troops, and promises of support from other NATO allies, as protection against possible U.S. military action. But European military officials have not suggested the goal is to deter a U.S. move against the island.

Asked whether the European troop movements were coordinated with NATO or what role the U.S.led military alliance might play in the exercises, NATO referred all questions to the Danish authorities. However, NATO is currently studying ways to bolster security in the Arctic.

The Russian embassy in Brussels on Thursday lambasted what it called the West’s “bellicose plans” in response to “phantom threats that they generate themselves.” It said the planned military actions were part of an “anti-Russian and anti-Chinese agenda” by NATO. “Russia has consistently maintained that the Arctic should remain a territory of peace, dialogue and equal cooperation,” the embassy said.

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Machado says she gave Peace Prize to Trump

BY WILL WEISSERT, JOEY CAPPELLETTI and REGINA GARCIA CANO

told reporters after leaving the White House and heading to Capitol Hill. She said she’d done so “as a recognition for his unique commitment with our freedom.”

Even if it the gesture proves to be purely symbolic, it was extraordinary given that Trump has failed to support Machado eventually becoming Venezuela’s leader following Maduro’s capture in an audacious U.S. military raid this month.

Trump has also raised doubts about his stated commitment to backing democratic rule for that country, giving no timetable on when elections might be held — and Machado indicated he’d provided few details on that front during their meeting.

Before her visit to Washington, Machado had not been seen in public since she traveled last month to Norway, where her daughter received the Nobel medal on her behalf. She had spent 11 months in hiding in Venezuela before she appeared in Norway after the ceremony.

Nevertheless, after a closeddoor discussion with Trump, she greeted dozens of cheering sup-

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said she presented her Nobel Peace Prize medal to President Donald Trump during a meeting with him at the White House on Thursday, saluting his “unique commitment with our freedom” despite his repeatedly questioning her credibility to take over her country after the U.S. ousted then-President Nicolás Maduro.

Machado did not provide further details of the exchange, and the White House didn’t say if Trump accepted the medal, or provide more clarity.

The Nobel Institute, which awarded the prize, had said Machado couldn’t give it to Trump. The White House said before Trump’s meeting with Machado that, if she tried to do that, whether he accepted it would be entirely up to the president himself.

“I presented the President of the United States the medal, the Nobel Peace Prize,” Machado

porters waiting for her near the White House gates — stopping to hug many. “We can count on President Trump,” she told them, prompting some to briefly chant “Thank you, Trump,” but she didn’t elaborate.

Trump hasn’t commented on the meeting. But the jubilant scene stood in contrast to the president having signaled his willingness to work with acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who was Maduro’s No. 2.

In endorsing Rodríguez so far, Trump sidelined Machado, who has long been a face of resistance in Venezuela.

Trump has said it would be difficult for Machado to lead because she “doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country.” Her party is widely believed to have won 2024 elections rejected by Maduro.

Leavitt said Machado sought the face-to-face meeting without setting expectations for what would occur. Machado previously offered to share with Trump the Nobel Peace Prize she won last year, an honor he has coveted.

“I don’t think he needs to hear

anything from Ms. Machado,” the press secretary said, other than to have a “frank and positive discussion about what’s taking place in Venezuela.” Machado held a closed-door meeting with a bipartisan group of senators.

Her comments about presenting her Nobel award to Trump came after those discussions.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said that in their meeting, Machado told the senators, “If there’s not some progress, real progress towards a transition in power, and/ or elections in the next several months, we should all be worried.”

“She reminded us that Delcy Rodríguez is, in many ways, worse than Maduro,” he added.

Asked if Machado had heard any commitment from the White House today on holding Venezuelan elections, Murphy said, “No, I don’t think she got any commitment from them.”

But Sen. Bernie Moreno, ROhio, was exultant following the meeting, saying Machado “delivered a message that loud and clear: What President Trump did was the most important, significant event in Latin America.”

AP PHOTO By PABLO MARTINEZ MONSIVAIS

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado waves to supporters on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump in Washington on Thursday.

U.S. seizes 6th sanctioned tanker it says has ties to Venezuela

BY KONSTANTIN TOROPIN and MICHAEL BIESECKER

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea have seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says has ties to Venezuela, part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil.

The U.S. Coast Guard boarded the tanker, named Veronica, early Thursday, Homeland Security Sec-

retary Kristi Noem wrote on social media. The ship had previously passed through Venezuelan waters and was operating in defiance of President Donald Trump’s “established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean,” she said.

U.S. Southern Command said Marines and sailors launched from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to take part in the operation alongside a Coast Guard tactical team, which Noem said conducted the boarding. The military said the

ship was seized “without incident.”

Several U.S. government social media accounts posted brief videos that appeared to show various parts of the ship’s capture. Blackand-white footage showed at least four helicopters approaching the ship before hovering over the deck while armed troops dropped down by rope.

The Veronica is the sixth sanctioned tanker seized by U.S. forces as part of the effort by Trump’s administration to control the pro-

duction, refining and global distribution of Venezuela’s oil products and the fourth since the U.S. ouster of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro almost two weeks ago.

The Veronica last transmitted its location on Jan. 3 as being at anchor off the coast of Aruba, just north of Venezuela’s main oil terminal. According to the data it transmitted at the time, the ship was partially filled with crude.

Days later, the Veronica became one of at least 16 tankers that left

the Venezuelan coast in contravention of the quarantine that U.S. forces have set up to block sanctioned ships, according to Samir Madani, the co-founder of TankerTrackers.com. He said his organization used satellite imagery and surface-level photos to document the ship movements.

The ship is currently listed as flying the flag of Guyana and is considered part of the shadow fleet that moves cargoes of oil in violation of U.S. sanctions.

U.S. warns Iran that ‘all options are on the table’ in U.N. meeting

BY FARNOUSH AMIRI and EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS — After weeks of escalating tension, U.S. and Iranian officials faced each other Thursday at the U.N. Security Council, where America’s envoy renewed threats against the Islamic Republic despite President Donald Trump’s efforts to lower the temperature between the two adversaries.

The U.S. was joined by Iranian dissidents in rebuking the government’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests that activists say have killed at least 2,677 people.

“Colleagues, let me be clear: President Trump is a man of action, not endless talk like we see at the United Nations,” Mike Waltz, U.S. ambassador to the U.N., told the council. “He has made it clear that all options are on the table to stop the slaughter. And no one should know that better than the leadership of the Iranian regime.”

Waltz’s remarks came as the prospect of U.S. retaliation for the protesters’ deaths still hung over

the region, though Trump signaled a possible de-escalation, saying the killing appeared to be ending. By Thursday, the protests challenging Iran’s theocracy appeared increasingly smothered, but the state-ordered internet and communication blackout remained.

One diplomat told The Associated Press that top officials from Egypt, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Qatar spent the last 48 hours raising concerns with Trump that a U.S. military intervention would shake the global economy and destabilize an already volatile region.

During the meeting, Hossein Darzi, the deputy Iranian ambassador to the U.N., blasted the U.S. for what he claimed was America’s “direct involvement in steering unrest in Iran to violence.”

The U.S. requested the emergency Security Council meeting and invited two Iranian dissidents, Masih Alinejad and Ahmad Batebi, to describe their experience as targets of the Islamic Republic.

In a stunning moment, Alinejad addressed the Iranian representative directly.

“You have tried to kill me three

times. I have seen my would-be assassin with my own eyes in front of my garden, in my home in Brooklyn,” she said while the Iranian official looked directly ahead, without acknowledging her.

In October, two purported Russian mobsters were each sentenced to 25 years behind bars for hiring a hit man to kill Alinejad at her New York home three years ago on behalf of the Iranian government.

Batebi described the deep cuts the prison guards in Iran would inflict on him before pouring salt on his wounds. “If you do not believe me, I can show you my body right now,” he told the council.

Both dissidents called on the world body and the council to do more to hold Iran accountable for its human rights abuses. Batebi pleaded with Trump not to “leave” the Iranian people alone.

Russia was the only member of the council that defended Iran’s actions while calling for the U.S. to stop intervening.

Protests appear smothered Videos of demonstrations have stopped coming out of Iran, likely

signaling the slowdown of their pace under the heavy security force presence in major cities.

In Tehran, witnesses said recent mornings showed no new signs of bonfires lit the night before or debris in the streets. The sound of gunfire, which had been intense for several nights, has also faded.

The clampdown on the demonstrations has killed at least 2,677 people, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. The figure reported Thursday is an increase of 106 from a day earlier, and the organization says the number will likely continue to climb. The death toll exceeds that of any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The U.S.-based agency, founded 20 years ago, has been accurate throughout multiple years of demonstrations, relying on a network of activists inside Iran that confirms all reported fatalities.

With communications greatly limited, the AP has been unable to independently confirm the group’s toll. The Iranian government has Public Notices

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Sanctions on senior Iranians In other developments Thursday, the U.S. announced new sanctions on Iranian officials accused of suppressing the protests, which began late last month over the country’s faltering economy and the collapse of its currency. The Group of Seven industrialized democracies and the European Union also said they too were looking at new sanctions to ratchet up the pressure on Iran’s theocratic government.

Among those hit with U.S. sanctions was the secretary of Iran’s Supreme Council for National Security, whom the Treasury Department accuses of being one of the first officials to call for violence against protesters. The Group of Seven, of which the U.S. is a member, also warned they could impose more sanctions if Iran’s crackdown continues.

European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen said the 27-nation bloc was looking at strengthening sanctions “to push forward that this regime comes to an end and that there is change.

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Landry appoints new inspector general for La. Office to spearhead efficiency efforts

BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer

The office that investigates public corruption and white-collar criminal fraud across the state has a new leader after Gov. Jeff Landry on Thursday announced he is appointing Angele Davis as Louisiana inspector general and intends to “reform” the office to include work on government efficiency efforts.

Landry said he will enlist the help of lawmakers to determine exactly what changes to make to the Office of State Inspector General, and he said they likely will be heartened to have an executive branch official dedicated to finding “efficiencies in state government.”

Louisiana’s boards and commissions and higher education institutions could be areas of initial focus, Landry said.

HAZING

Continued from page 1A Together, the five pleaded not guilty to a combined 56 charges Thursday morning before 19th Judicial District Judge Nicole Robinson.

Smith, McCray and Thurman each face felony hazing charges. In addition, McCray was indicted on a charge of manslaughter, Smith was indicted for principal to manslaughter and obstruction of justice, and Thurman was indicted for obstruction of justice.

McCray has also been charged with seven counts of misdemeanor hazing.

Sanders and Landrum both face principal to felony hazing, as well as nine charges each of misdemeanor hazing.

The grand jury that put forward these charges declined to include another 21-year-old man in their indictment back in December.

WALKER

Continued from page 1A that shaped generations of prosecutors and staff in the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

One of Walker’s most notable cases, which he prosecuted in Lafayette, involved participants of the international “Dreamboard” child sexual exploitation website.

“Dreamboard” was a private membership site that required participants to upload videos of extreme sexual abuse of children.

The case involved 72 defendants and was one of the earliest significant prosecutions against online sexual abuse of children.

Walker also was on the U.S. Attorney’s Office team that prosecuted two bribery schemes in the District Attorney’s Office of the 15th Judicial District in Lafayette.

The first was when Mike Harson was district attorney

The new appointment came during a news conference dedicated to the results of Landry’s Fiscal Responsibility Program, a yearlong effort to find cost savings in Louisiana government.

The Governor’s Office said the program could save the state general fund $328 million and $603 million for federally funded programs, as well as $69 million from other funding sources.

However, an itemized breakdown clearly delineating how the savings will be generated was not provided.

For example, the documentation from Landry’s office says $407 million in savings came from “process efficiency” efforts, which, in part, include “consolidating duties, natural attrition and elimination of vacant positions” and “reorganization and consolidation … throughout multiple departments.”

Davis was former Gov. Bobby Jindal’s chief budget architect, serving as his commissioner of administration from January 2008

to August 2010, at which point she left for a private sector job.

Before that, she was culture, recreation and tourism secretary for Mitch Landrieu, who at the time was lieutenant governor, and she held the No. 2 post at the Division of Administration while Mike Foster was governor.

Davis also ran for state treasurer in 2017 but lost to John Schroder.

The state inspector general is a law enforcement agency that is part of the Governor’s Office. It investigates complaints of inefficiency, mismanagement, misconduct, fraud and corruption and is staffed by criminal investigators.

It collaborates with federal and state prosecutors and focuses on “securing criminal public corruption indictments and convictions,” according to its strategic plan.

Davis succeeds Stephen B. Street Jr., who served three terms and was initially appointed by Jindal and later by former Gov. John Bel Edwards.

“Serving for 18 years as Louisi-

The charges all stem from an alleged fraternity hazing ritual conducted for the Beta Sigma Psi chapter of Omega Psi Phi on Feb. 27, 2025, at a warehouse off Greenwell Springs Road.

East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore has previously described the indictment as “long and very thorough,” but said in December more suspects could be indicted should additional evidence come to light.

In the indictments, prosecutors allege that fraternity members endangered their pledges during the ceremony by lining them up to be punched multiple times, and that they later tried to persuade witnesses to give false information to investigators to avoid arrest.

Wilson is believed to have suffered a seizure and collapsed following one of the punches to his chest, according to police records. A pair of black boxing gloves was recovered from the warehouse.

When fraternity brothers delivered him to a hospital unconscious, they told staff there Wilson had been hit in the chest playing basketball at a local park.

Wilson, a former trumpet player for Southern University’s famed Human Jukebox marching band, was honored in the Legislature this year during a ceremony in the House chambers.

State lawmakers also proposed an anti-hazing house bill in Wilson’s name.

His family funded a billboard campaign in his honor, which coincided with a regional gathering of Omega Psi Phi brothers.

Tony Clayton, Southern’s board chair, has vowed to require all Greek organizations on Southern’s campus to turn recruitment over to older mentors in their organizations.

The Beta Sigma chapter of Omega Psi Phi has also been permanently expelled from Southern and had its fraternity plot removed.

in 2015. Harson was not implicated in the scheme, but was chastised by officials for not knowing about it and was not reelected.

A private detective, the late Robert Williamson, with help from Harson’s longtime secretary, Barna Haynes, bribed people in Harson’s office with money and gifts to get charges processed and taken off the records of defendants he “represented.”

Barna Haynes was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for her role in the pay-for-plea scheme.

Her husband, Gary Haynes, an assistant district attorney appointed by current District Attorney Don Landry, was found guilty in September and sentenced to seven years in prison for a kickback scheme.

Gary Haynes ran the pretrial intervention program.

He and Dusty Guidry, a contract employee in the same office, set lower standards for offenders to enter the

program, then directed them to classes and therapy provided by companies owned by local businessman Leonard Franques, who kicked back some of the money he made to Gary Haynes and Guidry.

All three are in jail on federal convictions.

Walker was honored with the Department of Justice’s Child Protection Award in 2013 and a Director’s Award in 2017 for the pay-for-plea case.

Chance served nearly 20 years as the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s victim-witness coordinator, often performing other functions in the office at the same time, such as writing news releases and organizing community events.

Before that, Chance spent 13 years as the legal assistant to the U.S. attorney and first assistant U.S. attorney.

ana’s Inspector General has been one of the great honors of my life, both personally and professionally,” Street said in a statement. “Time to move on to the next chapter. I’m excited for what the future holds.”

Next week, the administration for a third year in a row will unveil another “standstill” budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year, Landry’s top budget official, Commissioner of Administration Taylor Barras, said at the news conference.

That means the administration will ask state lawmakers to hold spending of money in the state general fund to roughly the same level as the prior year.

The proposed budget plan will shed more light on how exactly Landry wants lawmakers to appropriate state funds and where he thinks spending should be reduced.

Barras said the governor’s costsavings effort will allow the state to cut spending in some areas without the need for layoffs or cuts to services.

The governor also noted he wants to keep working toward eliminating Louisiana’s income tax.

Landry on Thursday said his Fiscal Responsibility Program, which has sometimes been referred to as LA DOGE, “is complete.”

But the government efficiency efforts will continue at the Inspector General’s Office, which will have “a new and an expansive role as a reformed office that also focuses on optimization and efficiencies within state government,” he said.

In addition to inspector general, Davis will also hold the title “chief integrity officer,” Landry said.

Davis said she was a team member on the Fiscal Responsibility Program last year and had a contract for that work through the Louisiana legislative auditor.

The Inspector General’s Office will continue the work the Fiscal Responsibility Program started of “creating efficiencies throughout the departments by structurally changing the way that we do things,” Davis said.

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Grok says it geoblocks content if it violates law

BANGKOK — Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok won’t be able to edit photos to portray real people in revealing clothing in places where that is illegal, according to a statement posted on X. The announcement late Wednesday followed a global backlash over sexualized images of women and children.

The pushback included an investigation announced Wednesday by the state of California into the proliferation of nonconsensual sexually explicit material produced using Grok .

Initially, media queries about the problem drew only the response, “legacy media lies.”

Musk’s company, xAI, now says it will geoblock content if it violates laws in a particular place.

“We have implemented technological measures to prevent the Grok account from allowing the editing of images of real people in revealing clothing such as bikinis, underwear and other revealing attire,” it said.

The rule applies to all users, including paid subscribers, who have access to more features. xAI also has limited image creation or editing to paid subscribers only.

The Associated Press confirmed on Thursday morning that the image editing tool was still available to free users on X using the “Edit image” button, as well as on the standalone Grok website and app. The tool was also able to generate images of people in bikinis on a free account based in California.

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Offshore wind gets another victory

pause of its Sunrise Wind project the government’s order to sus- kill birds.

Judge says developer ofpend the project. He faulted the Developers and states sued seek- for New York, with a hearing still to government for not responding to ing to block the order. Large, ocean- be set. Dominion Energy Virginia, can resume key points in Empire Wind’s court based wind farms are the linchpin which is developing Coastal Virfilings, including the contention of plans to shift to renewable en- ginia Offshore Wind, plans to ask construction that the administration violated ergy in East Coast states that have a judge Friday to block the admin-

BY MICHAEL PHILLIS and JENNIFER MCDERMOTT

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — A federal judge Thursday cleared the way for a New York offshore wind project to resume construction, a victory for the developer who said a Trump administration order to pause it would likely kill the project in a matter of days.

District Judge Carl J. Nichols, an appointee of President Donald Trump, ruled construction on the Empire Wind project could go forward while he considers the merits

proper procedure.

Norwegian company Equinor owns Empire Wind. Spokesperson David Schoetz said they welcome the court’s decision and will continue to work in collaboration with authorities. It’s the second developer to prevail in court this week.

The Trump administration froze five big offshore wind projects on the East Coast days before Christmas, citing national security concerns. Trump has targeted offshore wind from his first days back in the White House, most recently calling wind farms “losers” that lose money, destroy the landscape and

limited land for onshore wind turbines or solar arrays.

On Monday, a judge ruled that the Danish energy company Orsted could resume its project to serve Rhode Island and Connecticut. Senior Judge Royce Lamberth said the government did not sufficiently explain the need for a complete stop to construction. That wind farm, called Revolution Wind, is nearly complete. It’s expected to meet roughly 20% of the electricity needs in Rhode Island, the smallest state, and about 5% of Connecticut’s electricity needs.

Orsted is also suing over the

istration’s order so it can resume construction, too.

Trump has also dismissed offshore wind developments as ugly, but the Empire project is about 14 miles offshore and the Sunrise project is about 30 miles offshore.

The fifth paused project is Vineyard Wind, under construction in Massachusetts. Vineyard Wind LLC, a joint venture between Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, joined the rest of the developers in challenging the administration on Thursday. They filed a complaint in District Court in Boston.

45 sick in outbreak tied to supplement powder A nationwide outbreak of salmonella linked to Live It Up Super Greens diet supplement powder has sickened 45 people, federal authorities said Wednesday.

Twelve of the 45 people were hospitalized for their illnesses, but no one has died in the outbreak, the Centers for Disease Control said in a statement.

Live It Up, the brand behind the contaminated powder, issued a recall Tuesday, the Food and Drug Administration said.

The recall affects Live It Up Super Greens packs with expiration dates from August 2026 to January 2028, according to the FDA. It includes original and wild berry flavors.

The super greens supplements were distributed nationwide, and salmonella-related illnesses were reported in 21 states.

Anyone in possession of the recalled powder should throw it out or return it to the place of purchase, the CDC said.

Purchasers are also advised to look for salmonella symptoms, which include extreme diarrhea, vomiting and dehydration.

Minifridge recall expands to 964,000 NEW YORK — An appliance distributor is expanding a minifridge recall that now covers roughly 964,000 Frigidairebranded products sold in the U.S., after multiple fire reports.

Following a recall of about 634,000 minifridges last year, Canada-based Curtis International recalled an additional 330,000 of another model on Thursday. According to a notice published U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the recalled fridges have electrical components that can short circuit and ignite the plastic used to make the product — risking fires and potential burns for users.

The 330,000 Frigidaire minifridges now under recall carry the model number EFMIS121 and were sold exclusively at Target. Per the Commission, six reports of fires resulting in property damage have been linked to these products to date.

Owners of the recalled minifridges are urged to stop using them immediately and visit Curtis International’s website to learn how to request a refund.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JOSE JUAREZ

Guests and members of the media walk the floor at the North American International Auto Show on Wednesday in Detroit.

SPOTLIGHT DIMMING FOR EVs Automakers pivoting away from electric vehicles

BY ALEXA ST. JOHN Associated Press

DETROIT — At the North American International Auto Show, tires squeal as gearheads put shiny new vehicles through their paces on a pair of indoor tracks that sprawl across the event space.

One of those tracks used to be set aside exclusively for electric vehicles as U.S. automakers sought to quickly build out the cars of the future.

But no longer. This year, both strips are open to hybrids and gas-powered vehicles as Detroit continues a pivot away from EVs since President Donald Trump returned to the White House .

“The show will always reflect what’s happening in the industry at the consumer level,” said Todd Szott, chairman of this year’s event and an auto dealer.

“Obviously things have changed in the EV landscape.”

Some industry players say they’re emphasizing “consumer choice” in the cars they’re showing at Detroit’s premier auto event. But some experts expressed concern about the EV pullback’s long-term effect on American automakers as the rest of the globe — especially China — electrifies.

“What we worry about is how competitive will we be on the global stage as the market continues to advance around us,” Michael Robinet, vice president of forecast strategy at auto market intelligence firm S&P Global

Mobility, said during a panel Wednesday on industry trends.

Including plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, U.S. sales of electrified cars grew just 1% last year, according to data released by Benchmark Mineral Intelligence this week. Compare that to China, which saw 17% growth in plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles last year, and Europe, which saw a 33% increase. (U.S. pure-EV market share was just under 8% in 2025, with 1.23 million EVs sold — a slight decline from 2024.)

None of that seemed to alarm President Donald Trump earlier this week when he toured the Ford River Rouge Complex, which churns out pickup trucks and more in suburban Dearborn.

“Among my first acts in office was to end the radical left war on oil and gas and stop the crusade to kill American energy and, frankly, to open up cars so that you don’t have to have an electric car,” Trump said in remarks to an economic club before the plant tour.

Trump revoked a Biden-era target for half of new vehicle sales in the U.S. to be electric, and has tried to block money obligated to EV charging across the nation’s highways.

Under Trump, Congress cut tax incentives that saved buyers up to $7,500 on an EV purchase. The administration has also weakened fuel economy standards — going so far as eliminating penalties for the automakers who do not meet them — and gas mileage rules.

“I love electric cars. I think they’re great,” Trump added.

“But I’ve been saying it for four years. They wanted everybody to have an electric car in a very short period of time.”

Those changes have cut into the U.S. indus-

try in 2025 and cost automakers billions of dollars in investment.

Ford Motor Co. announced last month $19.5 billion in charges from electrification efforts and ending production of the all-electric version of the F-150 Lightning truck. Detroit rival General Motors also recently announced $6 billion in EV-related charges, among other losses, and has also rolled back some of its EV commitments.

“I still push for it because, I mean, it is the future of the company,” said Shawn Strain, marketing manager at Ford. “We still are just completely committed to EVs. And it may not be as overt as we once were.”

But industry experts at and outside of the show say it’s a tough time. The competitive auto landscape has been radically reshaped, they say, and China dominates what most see as the future of the industry.

“We have to look at what we’re up against.

In a word — China,” Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a speech at the show Thursday. “China wants to dominate every part of auto manufacturing. They’re making major headway.

“They’ve captured major market share almost everywhere except the U.S. and Canada,” she added. “We have to meet these challenges.”

Will Roberts, automotive research lead at Benchmark Minerals that released the 2025 data, warned that U.S. policy has made all the difference.

American automakers have responded to those changes, he said, but it would be good strategy if they made sure they were “keeping things ticking along in the background with a really compelling EV offering.”

Move onto land provides big boost in winnings for Bally’s

BY TIMOTHY BOONE Staff writer

Bally’s Baton Rouge brought in $3.8 million in revenues in its first month operating as a land-based casino — nearly six times as much as the casino generated in winnings a year ago.

The downtown casino, formerly known as the Belle of Baton Rouge, opened its long-awaited $141 million expansion on Dec. 6.

The casino moved into what had been its atrium after being in a small temporary location since January 2025, when the aging riv-

erboat that had been its home for more than 30 years sailed away to a Terrebonne Parish scrapyard.

In December 2024, the last full month operating as a riverboat casino, the Belle posted $659,570 in winnings, according to figures released Thursday by the Louisiana Gaming Control Board.

In December 2021, the Belle had $1.3 million in winnings. That was a few months after The Queen Casino & Entertainment bought the property. Bally’s merged with The Queen in February 2025.

Lauren Westerfield, a spokeswoman for Bally’s, said in an

email that the casino operator was pleased with the December numbers. Revenues and customer counts are continuing to grow this month, she said.

“All is looking promising,” she said.

The increased business at Bally’s helped boost the Baton Rouge casino market in December. The city’s three riverboat casinos reported $25.7 million in winnings last month, up 16.6% from December 2024. The Queen Baton Rouge, the other land-based downtown casino owned by Bally’s, saw its winnings go up 2.7% to $7.6 million, while

L’Auberge Baton Rouge was up 2% in winnings, bringing in nearly $14.3 million for the month.

The gains in Baton Rouge outstripped the increases seen at the state’s other riverboat casinos.

Riverboat gaming revenue statewide was up 10.6% in December, coming in at $167.8 million compared to the year earlier. In December 2024, there were just 14 riverboats operating statewide; Live! Casino in Bossier City didn’t open until February.

Email Timothy Boone at tboone@theadvocate.com.

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Friday, January 16, 2026 ● 7A

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FEMA

Continued from page 1A Bowl and Mardi Gras events is remarkable. Louisiana, along with our state, local and federal partners, was able to quickly enhance safety measures following the New Year’s Day terror attacks, while safely welcoming hundreds of thousands of visitors to the New Orleans region,” he said.

“It was worth the investment considering the fact LSU researchers say the impact from the Super Bowl alone was $1.25 billion,” Steele said.

The proposed reimbursement was sought to cover overtime pay for state police and Louisiana National Guard troops who manned checkpoints around the French Quarter — security the state deemed necessary after the Jan. 1, 2025, vehicle-ramming attack highlighted gaps in city resources.

So too, was it supposed to cover the temporary homeless shelter Landry’s administration erected ahead of the events for the homeless population living downtown, Steele said in March.

The relocation of homeless residents drew criticism for its cost from local officials, who said the state’s money could have been better spent on moving people into permanent housing.

When Landry’s shelter closed in late March, 108 people had been moved from there and into subsidized housing. State officials did not provide a tally of how many people remain housed when asked this week.

Steele said amid that criticism that he was “optimistic” the reimbursement would happen, and his

GAMBLING

Continued from page 1A underdog, rallied from a 20-point second-half deficit to lose by only six. The fixers lost around $200,000.

Unlike in other cases in the indictment, there is no mention of Cross being approached again to make up for the alleged failed attempt.

Tulane released a statement Thursday afternoon addressing the indictment.

“Tulane takes the integrity of intercollegiate athletics and the well-being of our student-athletes very seriously.

We cooperate fully with the NCAA and, where appropriate, with law enforcement authorities. Because this matter involves an ongoing legal process, the university is unable to comment further at this time. We remain committed to upholding the highest ethical standards as well as continuing to provide our student-athletes with education and resources on gambling risks, compliance, and personal responsibility.”

The two games Cross allegedly tried to fix were part of a dramatic, mystifying year-ending slide. Tulane, which returned three starters from a team that finished fourth in the American Conference, lost 11 of its last 13 games and finished in a fiveway tie for last in a league weakened by the departure of Houston, Cincinnati and Central Florida for the Big 12.

Earlier in the season, Cross

STAFF FILE PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

Louisiana National Guard members patrol the French Quarter in February ahead of Super Bowl LIX in 2025. then-boss, Jacques Thibodeaux, said in a March letter to the feds that the state’s security efforts “played a key role in filling gaps in the federal mission of safely conducting” Super Bowl and Mardi Gras.

A spokesperson for Mayor Helena Moreno did not respond to a request for comment on the denial. A spokesperson for council member Lesli Harris, who has been a vocal critic of the state’s spending on the temporary homeless shelter, also did not respond to a request

became the eighth player in NCAA history to register back-to-back triple-doubles and the first in 15 years to do it against consecutive Division I opponents.

“I was just surprised to see that (indictment) as much like everyone else this morning,” seventh-year Tulane coach Ron Hunter said Thursday. “I can’t comment too much about it and don’t know much about it to be honest with you. I’m saddened to a point that any of my former guys would be involved in anything, but it’s where we are in college athletics now.”

Cross was a four-year starter for Tulane after transferring from Nebraska in 2020-21. He scored 1,517 points, had 717 rebounds and handed out 394 assists with the Wave.

Former Nicholls reserve forward Omar Koureissi also was indicted for point shaving in the 2023-24 season, allegedly receiving $32,000 along with unindicted teammate Diante Smith, the Colonels’ leading scorer.

Nicholls, a 12-point underdog to Southland Conference front-runner McNeese State, lost 74-47 on Feb. 17 while Koureissi went scoreless and Smith scored 13, three under his average.

The fixers wagered about $100,000 on the game, the report said.

Nicholls coach Tevon Saddler was in his first season with the Colonels in 2023-24.

They finished 20-14 overall and 13-5 in the Southland, losing to McNeese State in the conference tournament

for comment.

The letter identified more than $43.5 million in equipment and services costs and more than $8.6 million in personnel costs that it sought reimbursement for, adding up to a total of just over $52 million. The majority of those funds would have reimbursed GOHSEP, with smaller amounts sought to pay back the state Department of Public Safety and Wildlife and Fisheries departments, and the Louisiana National Guard. The

championship game.

Smith and Koureissi each played only one year at Nicholls. Smith transferred to Texas-Arlington after the season, finishing his eligibility in 2024-25. Koureissi transferred to Texas Southern, where he is a senior this year.

Nicholls released the following statement Thursday afternoon: “Nicholls State University is strongly against any acts that go against our values and expectations. The Nicholls Athletics Department continues to provide gambling awareness education to student-athletes and does not tolerate participation in illegal gambling activities.”

Former LSU player Antonio Blakeney was named but uncharged in the 70-page indictment, although not for anything he did while he was a member of the Tigers.

Prosecutors said he was paid nearly $200,000 for fixing two games in the Chinese Basketball Association’s 2022-23 season and then helped recruit players for the point-shaving schemes in college games, including Cross, Koureissi and Smith.

Blakeney played for the Tigers in 2015-16 and 201617 and spent the following two years in the NBA with the Chicago Bulls.

UNO, which had three former players banned for life by the NCAA this past November following a probe into sports betting allegations, also appeared in the 70-page report. Former guard Carlos Hart, who started five games in 2023-

letter did not mention the specific security measures — such as the homeless shelter — that these agencies had undertaken.

But Richardson wrote in the June letter to Maj. Gen. Thomas Friloux of the Louisiana National Guard that FEMA does not have a grant program “for the exclusive purpose of providing funding to jurisdictions engaged in planning and operations for SEAR events.”

Super Bowl LIX was granted a level one Special Event Assessment

24, was indicted for recruiting an unnamed teammate to help shave points in the Privateers’ 2023-24 Southland tournament game against Lamar.

UNO, an 11-point underdog, lost 71-57, finishing its season 10-23, while Hart went 0 of 3 from the floor and scored one point. Hart received $20,000 in cash as a result, according to the indictment. He did not play anywhere last season before resurfacing at Eastern

Rating (SEAR), the highest potential threat rating the government can assign to an event, as is typical for that event. Mardi Gras 2025 was upgraded to a SEAR 1 rating following the Jan. 1 terrorist attack.

Though other unspent FEMA money could have covered the cost of the event with FEMA’s approval, if it existed, the state eventually determined “all current grant funding is fully committed to state and parish level projects,” Richardson wrote in the June letter.

Michigan this year.

The current climate left Tulane’s Hunter shaking his head.

“A hundred thoughts go through your head with a lot of things, but the most important thing for me was my team,” he said. “I met with the guys with the understanding it had nothing to do with any of them, but also to teach it as an educational point. You better make sure that you need to take care of what you need to take care

N O R T H A M ER I CA’S

of.”

Hunter admitted pointshaving concerns would not go away.

“You can’t control it,” he said. “Gambling is what it is. It’s been that way since Pete Rose, and now it’s just too accessible with phones and those types of things, but my job is to educate my guys as best as we possibly can. That’s what we wanted to get done today. The rest of it has to take care of itself.”

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Cold front moves through Lafayette Snow possibilities monitored by forecasters

BY JA’KORI MADISON

have surfaced about the possibility of snow precipitation. However, National Weather Service foreLafayette is expected to see a caster Marti Calloun said while cold front move through the area the setup is being monitored, confithis weekend, according to fore- dence in snowfall remains low due casters, prompting speculation to several limiting factors.

“We often see these situations about whether snow could reach where the cold air doesn’t get here parts of Acadiana.

With temperatures forecast to until the moisture is already swept reach below freezing after a cold out,” Calloun said.

Calloun explained that snow in front overnight Friday, questions Staff writer

Acadiana requires both subfreezing temperatures and sufficient moisture in the atmosphere at the same time, a combination that is often difficult to achieve in this region.

She added that much of the snow speculation circulating online is being driven by individual weather model runs that show extreme scenarios, which doesn’t always reflect the most likely outcome.

of that, the odds of getting snow really drop off,” Gilmore states. “As far as snow totals, we’re not even advertising that because we have such low confidence that scenario will play out.”

If snow were to occur, Gilmore said it would likely begin as rain before briefly changing to snow overnight as colder air moves in, and would be short-lived.

Conditions are expected to remain warm through Friday, with

“The possibility is there, but we’re still gathering the most accurate information we can to determine how or if snow could occur,” Calloun said. “I want to be sure before I say there’s going to be snow in the Lafayette area.”

Kevin Gilmore, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in New Orleans, adds that there’s a greater confidence for the potential for some snow along Interstate 55 and east, and in coastal Mississippi.

“If you start talking south or west

ä See COLD FRONT, page 4B

LOCAL COLOR

STAFF PHOTO By BRAD BOWIE

Bobby Alleman, left, and Dirk Guidry remove outdated signage from the side of the Children’s Museum in downtown Lafayette on Thursday. Guidry, a local muralist, is working on the piece that will eventually cover the space once occupied by the sign.

Multiple area events to honor MLK holiday Parades, prayer services and more taking place

BY JA’KORI MADISON Staff writer

Each year, Acadiana comes together to honor and celebrate the life of Martin Luther King Jr. On Monday, residents will observe Martin Luther King Day with a variety of events, including parades, community programs and prayer breakfasts, with some celebrations taking place over the weekend.

Here’s a list of events happening around Acadiana:

Lafayette Parish 40th annual MLK Celebration: Happening Monday at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Center, 309 Cora St. The event starts at 8:30 a.m. with a flag-raising and prayer breakfast. Other activities include

ä See EVENTS, page 4B

F-15 jets sighted in Louisiana sky planned live-fly air defense ex- focuses on search and rescue test their responses, systems NORAD tests air ercise over Southwestern Loui- operations, were expected to and equipment. in the exercise.

The Louisiana exercise is part siana. defense capabilities “It’s a regular exercise we do participate The Civil Air Patrol partici- of NORAD’s Operation Noble

BY CLAIRE TAYLOR

Staff writer

F-15 fighter jets may have been visible in the skies between Lafayette and Lake Charles on Wednesday morning as part of a routine North American Aerospace Defense Command exercise.

NORAD, in a news release Wednesday, announced a

to test NORAD’s alert capabilities around the country,” John Ingle, NORAD spokesperson, said.

The exercise, he said, was scheduled to begin around 10 a.m. and last about an hour.

F-15s and other general aviation aircraft from the Civil Air Patrol, a civilian nonprofit volunteer organization associated with the U.S. Air Force that

pants were probably from Texas or Louisiana, Ingle said.

The aircraft were expected to fly above 10,000 feet. Some parts of the exercise at lower altitudes may have been visible to people on the ground.

NORAD routinely conducts air defense exercises using various scenarios such as airspace restriction violations, hijackings and unknown aircraft to

Eagle, the name given to air sovereignty and air defense missions in North America, the news release states.

NORAD was expected to conduct a live-fly exercise overnight in the skies around Washington, D.C. The defense of Canada and the United States is NORAD’s top priority, according to the release.

Walmart’s distribution hub in Opelousas to get upgrade Walmart’s distribution center near Opelousas opened in 2000 with 600 employees and now employs up to 1,100.

PROVIDED PHOTO

Company to spend $330M at facility

BY ADAM DAIGLE

Acadiana business editor Walmart will invest $330 million in upgrades at its regional distribution center near Opelousas, officials announced Thursday.

The company is expected to retain its workforce and transition roles toward higher-skilled

positions in automation, robotics and advanced technology, according to an announcement from the office of Louisiana Economic Development.

Once complete, the Opelousas facility will be able to ship nearly twice the number of cases as a traditional distribution center, strengthening supply chain efficiency for Walmart stores throughout the region.

The facility, which opened in

ä See HUB, page 4B

2B ● Friday, January 16, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

OPINION lll

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

Investing in HBCUs is an investment in a better La. If you want to see the future of Louisiana, stand in the middle of an HBCU campus between classes: lab goggles in one direction, studentTramelle teachers in anothHoward er, nursing scrubs GUEST and hard hats in COLUMNIST between.

It’s the state’s talent engine at full throttle, training the doctors who will staff our hospitals, the engineers who will strengthen our levees and the teachers who will lead our classrooms.

We both chose HBCUs because we wanted an education that wouldn’t ask us to shrink, but to become who we are. What we found were communities that pair high expectations with highquality support. Advisors who call when you miss class. Professors who know your story and your goals. And peers that push you to be your very best.

That combination of belonging and rigor is why HBCUs accept first-gen, working and lowincome students and turn them

into degree-holders who stay in Louisiana and lift whole neighborhoods.

Unfortunately, due to our current political environKristian ment, the policy Coleman conversation around our camGUEST COLUMNIST puses has drifted from expanding opportunity to testing how much can be cut before the public notices. Attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion don’t just target programs; they undermine the sense of safety and belonging that keeps students enrolled.

Threats and political stunts ripple into day-to-day learning: student events canceled, stress rising and attention split from course work. Even when the headlines fade, the quiet strain remains.

Underfunding isn’t abstract.

It’s crumbling dorms, unreliable HVAC and labs that lag behind industry standards.

One-time federal dollars helped patch roofs and refresh a lab or

two. But when temporary funding becomes the plan, students live on a fiscal cliff. The semester a grant expires is the semester a tutoring center trims hours, or a scholarship doesn’t renew.

Leadership is left to choose between keeping the lights on and keeping the supports that carry first-gen and low-income students from enrollment to graduation.

So, what would it look like to fund HBCUs like the essential infrastructure they are? Start by building stability where students actually feel it. Turn sporadic infusions into dependable base funding. Pair sustained state appropriations with federal matches aimed squarely at historic gaps and aim the first dollars at learning conditions.

Protect the student-success infrastructure that quietly does the heavy lifting. Advising, emergency aid, summer bridge programs and mental-health counseling are not extras, they are the bridge from “admitted” to “alumnus.” If we want higher persistence and completion, we must stabilize the very services that drive both.

We must defend the mission that makes HBCUs work. Equity isn’t a talking point at HBCUs, it’s the operating system. Protecting that operating system means safeguarding civil-rights enforcement, need-based aid and campus policies that meet students where they are.

Finally, investments should also be tied to Louisiana’s economy in ways students can reach early. Health care, energy, coastal restoration, cybersecurity and teaching all need talent. Build paid internships, co-ops and faculty-industry research partnerships that begin sophomore year, not senior spring. When employers say they can’t find qualified workers, point them to the talent pipelines already running through HBCU classrooms.

If you’ve never walked on an HBCU campus, consider this an invitation. Meet the veteran finishing a degree between shifts, the biology major closing the lab at midnight, the first-gen student who just nailed a co-op interview because a career adviser stayed late.

Talk to the faculty member

running a research project on a shoestring budget and still placing students in graduate programs and industry jobs. None of this is accidental. It’s the product of institutions that were built to welcome, to challenge and to launch.

Investing in HBCUs isn’t a favor. It’s the most practical strategy Louisiana has to grow its middle class, stabilize critical workforces and keep homegrown talent in state. We can keep these campuses in permanent emergency mode or we can fund them for what they are: launchpads for students and engines for our economy. The first path guarantees the next crisis. The second builds prosperity we can measure in diplomas, paychecks and stronger communities.

Let’s finally meet HBCU excellence with equal investment and give our students the future they’ve already proven they can build.

Tramelle Howard is the state director at EdTrust-Louisiana.

Kristian Coleman is a senior at Southern University.

Trump’s signature trade Realism offers warnings on deal has delivered for La. Venezuela’s regime change President Donald Trump’s first term sues. produced one of the most consequential Start with Mexico. The USMCA reeconomic achievements Louisiana has quires all parties to regulate sectors seen in decades. The United Statessuch as energy fairly and impartially.

Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), Yet Mexico has repeatedly favored its his signature trade deal, enacted stron- state-owned energy provider, disadger protections for American vantaging American companies. workers and businesses and That matters in Louisiana, revitalized the export industries which supplies a large share of that account for more than a the oil and petroleum products quarter of Louisiana’s economic exported to Mexico. Energy output. alone accounts for nearly half Soon, the Trump administraof Louisiana’s exports to Canada Luke and Mexico. tion will have the chance to build Arabie Mexico has also altered cuson that success. A formal review GUEST of the USMCA begins this year. toms procedures with little COLUMNIST The process is already underwarning, slowing shipments of energy, agricultural goods way as the United States gathand manufactured products that move ers public input and evaluates how the through Louisiana’s ports. These agreement has performed. If Trump uses this moment to reinforce the deal’s unexpected rule changes violate the USMCA’s transparency requirements protections for American businesses, and undermine the reliability Louisiana he can deliver yet another boost to exporters depend on.

Louisiana’s economy.

Canada has posed challenges as well.

When President Trump signed the Certain customs policies have created USMCA in 2018, America’s North new administrative hurdles for AmeriAmerican trade relationships were strained. The old North American Free can exporters, affecting sectors like Trade Agreement (NAFTA) framework agriculture — a $13 billion cornerstone had become outdated and allowed of Louisiana’s economy, home to nearly competitors to exploit loopholes that 30,000 farms. harmed U.S. workers and manufacturThis year’s review is the right moers. ment to fix that.

The USMCA reversed that trend.

As the United States works to renew It tightened trade rules to encourage the USMCA, Trump administration more production in the United States, officials should focus on bolstering engave American businesses clearer acforcement, ensuring transparency and cess to Canadian and Mexican markets addressing areas where Mexico and and included new provisions to remove Canada have not fully complied with the agreement. barriers for agricultural and energy Strengthening the USMCA will benproducers — two pillars of Louisiana’s economy. efit more than just Louisiana — it will The results speak for themselves. enhance America’s overall economic As America’s fourth-largest exporting security. Reinforcing trade rules, esstate, Louisiana has been one of the big- pecially in energy, will help protect American competitiveness, support dogest beneficiaries of the agreement.

Last year alone, Louisiana exported mestic production and reduce reliance $10 billion worth of goods to Canada on imports. and Mexico, supporting more than The progress Louisiana has made 21,000 Louisiana jobs. Nearly 1 in every under the USMCA proves what strong, 8 exported Louisiana goods now goes America First trade leadership can to one of our two North American part- achieve. President Trump can put our state on firmer footing. ners.

Strengthening that deal will help keep That success is why Louisianans Louisiana competitive — and keep our should hope, above all, that President ports, farms and energy sector powerTrump renews the agreement during this year’s review. The USMCA has deing America’s future growth. livered for our state.

At the same time, there is room to Luke Arabie is a senior at Louisiana strengthen it. In several cases, Mexico State University, president of LSU’s and Canada have not fully upheld their Turning Point USA chapter and commitments — and the review offers secretary of Greater Baton Rouge a rare opportunity to address those isYoung Republicans.

With the American military’s ouster of leum assets in its territory as public propNicolas Maduro, the Venezuelan people erty. The whole point was to cut American face a vexing question. Whose servant and European oil companies down to size: would you rather be?

Mexican profits from Mexican oil for the I wouldn’t necessarily recombenefit of Mexicans. It was a form of “Mexico First.” mend posing this question to a Other major producers like BraVenezuelan expatriate in the near future. The fall of Maduro, an zil and Venezuela followed suit autocratic leader presiding over later in the twentieth century, as a sham democracy, naturally redid oil-pumping countries in other regions of the world. Now that it’s leased pent-up emotions. After Jason 2026, is the American government these feelings subside, however, Maloy back to grabbing at other counreason and reflection must take GUEST their place. tries’ oil? Does anyone imagine COLUMNIST Consider how people in Afghanithat, as long as they’re promised their freedom, they couldn’t posstan felt when the American military destroyed the Taliban government in sibly object?

2001.

Of course they could, and they will.

It must’ve been similar to people in Iraq It turns out that freedom comes with in 2003, or in Libya in 2011. The citizens choices. Which brings us back to the basic of all those places were understandably question: Who’s your master, Venezuela? delighted — at least for a while.

In the real world, almost all of the time, Then Afghanistan crumbled into a “freedom” doesn’t mean freedom from low-grade civil war, leading to eventual exploitation.

American withdrawal (after 20 years of It merely means the freedom to choose occupation) and the Taliban’s return. Iraq by whom you’re exploited. In a normally suffered through a decade of high-grade functioning democracy, free and fair eleccivil war before becoming more stable tions offer that choice. Notwithstanding recently in its second decade after the de- the federal indictment against Maduro, mise of Saddam Hussein. To this day, post- his crime against democratic theory was denying this kind of freedom to his own Qaddafi Libya is the scene of clashing people. warlords and routine diplomatic failures In the international arena, though, no to reunite the country. such choice is even possible. There are It’s a mixed record, at best. Don’t even no global ballot boxes or court dockets to mention the death and destruction on the protect you from foreign tyrants. ground, or the rather sour opinion that So here’s the tough lesson: If a domestic American voters have developed about militarized regime change. Recent events tyrant squashes your freedom or spoils the ballot boxes, you should fix it yourself, in Venezuela almost make you wonder internally. whether anyone in Washington rememIf a foreign power comes promising bers the last 25 years. liberation, it might look like the deal of In my charitable moments, though, I the century. But think carefully about imagine that President Donald Trump whether it’s easier to get rid of a foreign and Secretary of State Marco Rubio just tyrant or a domestic one. want to reduce the U.S. trade deficit by What foreign tyrant? I’m not talking getting the country back in the business of exporting democracy. There’s only one about Trump or Rubio, or not just those two. Spare a thought for all the presiproblem. A seller needs a buyer, and the customer reviews for this particular exdents and secretaries of state to come after them. Elected officers come and go; port have been poor.

American corporations are eternal.

Maybe Washington believes that Latin Latin Americans have long memories America is totally different from the that attest to these truths of political reMiddle East. Panama seemed to do well enough after their own autocrat, Manuel alism. Whoever may be thinking about Noriega, was apprehended by America’s handing over Venezuela to the U.S. mobile police force in 1989. military-petroleum complex will only be Yet Venezuela presents much bigger setting the stage for the country’s next problems than Panama — the oil, for inrevolution. stance.

Latin Americans tend to have pretty Jason Maloy is a professor and the long memories about oil. About a hundred Kaliste Saloom Endowed Chair in years back, Mexico was the first soverPolitical Science at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. eign state in the region to seize the petro-

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COMMENTARY FROM THE BOOKSHELF ‘MIRACLE CHILDREN’

By KATIE BENNER and ERICA. L. GREEN In our new feature From the Bookshelf, we bring you excerpts from nonfiction works that explore topics of relevance to our communities and our state.

Today, an excerpt from “Miracle Children: Race, Education and a True Story of False Promises” explores the incredible story of T.M. Landry College Prep in Breaux Bridge, where claims of extraordinary achievements by minority students came under scrutiny in 2018 after the students’ college acceptance videos went viral. The authors, Katie Benner, a New York Times investigative reporter, and Erica L. Green, a New York Times White House correspondent, spent years looking into the school and exposed the inconsistencies between what its founders, Mike and Tracey Landry, promised students and parents and what they actually delivered. They also probe why top-tier schools like Katie Benner Brown University bought into what the Landrys were selling.

Erica L. Green

‘There was no way out’

A

How Breaux Bridge’s T.M. Landry school gained the trust of Black parents and duped the nation’s most elite colleges

fter Brown accepted a T.M. Landry student, Mike and Tracey caught the attention of elite colleges, where people were excited by the discovery of transformative black educators who were achieving results.

Elisha Anderson, Brown’s admissions officer, followed up with a visit to Breaux Bridge and a tour of the school. He got to know the Landrys better and to meet more of their remarkable students. The stop was one of dozens Anderson would make during the fall travel season, when admissions officers visit high schools to talk to students, pitch their universities, and answer questions about the application process. They choose high schools that they hope will help them fulfill a variety of recruitment needs — for arts programs, athletic teams, and departments like math and science, each officer focusing on a specific part of the country, like the South.

Admissions officers build their travel schedules around the feeder schools that make up much of their applicant pools, sprinkling in places they hope might someday become pipelines — especially schools that produce graduates who fulfill hard-to-reach recruitment goals, like geographic, socioeconomic, and racial categories. Anderson and his colleagues become de facto advocates for the places and candidates they like, acting as a channel between applicants and admissions offices. Their visits, though short, ideally give them an inside look at the schools and their cultures.

T.M. Landry students had racked up a list of accomplishments ahead of Anderson’s arrival. Some were dual-enrolled at South Louisiana Community College, and others awaited word from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette about whether they would be accepted into the school’s dual-enrollment program. Children in third and fourth grade had begun pre-algebra courses, according to the Landrys, and various classes were practicing for the ACT. One promising eighth grader had scored 17 out of 36 on her standardized test, four years before she would be applying to college. Others her age were getting scores in the 20s. The T.M. Landry candidates all wanted to study math or science, as those majors supposedly led to high-paying jobs. These students were also bright, unfailingly polite, and wellspoken.

Anderson was impressed by what he saw and wanted his colleagues to see it, too. At around the same time, a Yale dean and lecturer who had grown up in Cajun Country and earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette paid T.M. Landry a visit.

The following summer, Elisha Anderson’s boss, Jim Miller, Brown’s dean of admissions, nominated the Landrys for an opportunity to attend the Harvard University Summer Institute on College Admissions.

The program, hosted by Harvard and the College Board, the company that administers the SAT, brings together high school counselors, college admissions officers, and other educators to discuss admissions trends and changes in higher education. Participants talk about ways to help students and their families apply to college and prepare for life away from home. Most important, they network, allowing high schools and their students to get on the radar of hundreds of competitive colleges and universities.

With Miller’s support, the Landrys attended the Harvard program — and they made a splash. Mike stood out in the sea

of men dressed in navy blue jackets and khakis. One day, he wore orange pants and a green striped shirt with a greenand-orange plaid bow tie; on another, a red blazer, a canary-yellow button-down, and matching red-and-yellow sneakers; and for a different event, highlighter yellow pants with a salmon-pink shirt, white blazer, and white silk bow tie. The crowd loved listening to the Landrys talk about the lack of opportunity for poor black students in Louisiana and the structural barriers that made it hard for their young people to succeed. The Landrys personally understood those challenges, they said, having navigated poverty and racism themselves.

Now the couple ran a school dedicated to helping kids discover their inner greatness. At T.M. Landry, average students were transformed into math and computer science prodigies, into learners who would thrive in an economy where math and science majors had an advantage. And everyone at T.M. Landry attended college, they claimed. Mike called their approach “education through empowerment.”

The Landrys got to meet with admissions officials from Columbia University, Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Michigan, Claremont McKenna

Q&A WITH THE AUTHORS Katie Benner and Erica L. Green will sit down with our education reporter Ashley White and sign copies of their book at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday at Cavalier House Books, 302 A Jefferson St., Lafayette.

College, and others. Richard Shaw, the dean of admissions at Stanford and former admissions head at Yale, quoted Mike in a speech he gave during the conference. “As Michael Landry says,” Shaw told the crowd, “‘If you just take the time and believe in them, there is no limit to what these kids can do.’ ” William Fitzsimmons, dean of admissions at Harvard, said that all the attendees should be working to empower disadvantaged youth — and he awarded Mike the conference’s first-ever prize for Best Dressed.

Mike and Tracey were a hit. They left the Harvard Summer Institute that year with connections to officials at influential institutions who wanted to help their students. They became conference regulars, expanding their network to include representatives from schools like Yale and MIT.

The Ivy League was the type of elite club that most people in the Breaux Bridge area had never thought much about. But once it was dangled in front of them, it became the kind of dream for which families would pay good money.

Mike and Tracey were living proof to parents that their children could not only be accepted but embraced by powerful people, and this became the school’s greatest recruitment and retention tool — one the couple pushed hard.

“This conference has earned TM Landry College Prep a prominent place in the minds of the movers and shakers of the best universities in the nation,” read one of the school’s Facebook posts from 2015.

“Michael and Tracey have formed relationships at this conference that will benefit their students for years to come.” In pictures, the couple beams from Fenway Park, attending a Red Sox game courtesy of Harvard, they said. In another, Mike poses inside a stately room, above the caption, “Mike enjoying the Ivy League lifestyle!”

Congratulatory messages poured in from the community, as if Mike and Tracey had won the lottery or accomplished some great feat. And in some respects, they had. The Ivy League lifestyle was the mountaintop for Mike. He now impressed upon the students that their mission was to go “up north,” where the white schools and cosmopolitan cities were — where the money was. Mike and Tracey were no longer just talking the talk but also walking the ivory tower walk.

They brokered new prospects for their students, for themselves, and by extension, for an entire community who felt validated by people they had never thought would give them their time or energy.

The following summer, the school’s Facebook page featured a series of photos of Mike and Tracey on a celebratory tour “up north.” They posted selfies from their “2nd trip to a Red Sox game!” At that year’s Harvard Summer Institute, they smiled with admissions counselors from Stanford and Harvard. They beamed in photos with deans at Brown and Princeton. They boasted of new friendships with staff from other colleges, such as the University of Michigan, and posted a picture of two women they called “New York Connects,” presumably referring to unnamed officials at Columbia University and NYU. Another post read, “Hobnobbing with the Dean of Harvard College Admissions, Dean Fitzsimmons, mentioned Mike Landry as Best Dressed 2nd year in a row.

Tracey wants a recount!”

Mike and Tracey returned from the tour with more ringing endorsements from some of the most influential white men in higher education, a group Mike would come to refer to simply as “the Deans.”

The couple’s ascent into what they called the “upper echelon” made their sales pitch to prospective families all the more compelling. But for T.M. Landry’s students, these relationships meant something more ominous. “There was no way out,” Raymond said. Every pupil understood that the college “they got into and their financial aid package really depended on Mike Landry, just because he always made it seem like he had these people in his back pocket.”

Excerpted from “Miracle Children” by Katie Benner and Erica L. Green. Published

by Metropolitan Books. Copyright ©2026

by Katie Benner and Erica L. Green. All rights reserved.

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Runners flock to BR for race Louisiana Marathon may set participant record

BY IANNE SALVOSA Staff writer

On its 15th anniversary, the Louisiana Marathon is racing toward its largest event yet.

The annual marathon held on Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend draws visitors from around the globe to Baton Rouge to compete and celebrate south Louisiana culture. This year’s race weekend on Saturday and Sunday will include runners from all 50 states and 15 countries, and Visit Baton Rouge estimates the event to have a $5 million economic impact on the city.

“Knowing that the event is putting heads in beds, putting people in restaurants in downtown Baton Rouge in a time that would normally be a very slow time, because it’s not football season, it gives me a lot of excitement,” said Mike Wattigny, marketing director of FreshJunkie Racing, which produces the marathon.

The high economic impact is driven by a spike in the number of runners participating in the event, which has a full marathon, half marathon, quarter marathon, 5K and a 1-mile kid’s marathon. Wattigny projects 9,500-9,700 runners will be at the starting lines, close to this year’s goal of 10,000 runners.

As of Wednesday afternoon, 8,973 runners are registered for the event, and participants can sign up until race weekend if spots are still available. Current registration for the race surpasses last year’s numbers of about 6,900 participants and is nearing the marathon’s all-time high of 8,648

COLD FRONT Continued from page 1B

highs near 70 degrees. The cold front is forecast to move through the area Friday night, bringing a slight chance of showers and dropping overnight lows into the mid-40s. Behind the front, much colder air

HUB

Continued from page 1B 2000 with 600 employees, now employs up to 1,100.

“Walmart’s modernization of its Opelousas distribution center is a powerful example of Louisiana’s strategy moving from plans to progress,” LED Secretary Susan B. Bourgeois said. “Logistics is a newly designated key industry in our statewide strategic plan, and this investment strengthens one

EVENTS

Continued from page 1B health screenings and vendor/organization booths, food available for purchase beginning at 11 a.m., and keynote speaker, the Rev. Frederick Haynes of Dallas, at 4 p.m.

St. Barnabas on MLK Day: Join the church for a hot meal for community members in need at Episcopal Church, 400 Camellia Blvd.

The event starts at noon Monday. Volunteers are welcome to attend to help set up and clean up. The menu consists of red beans and rice, sausage, cookies and hot chocolate. Food will be offered starting at 12:30 p.m. and will continue to be offered until supplies run out.

Vermilion Parish

runners in 2018.

This year’s nearly $5 million economic impact estimate exceeds that of past marathons, which raked in $1.6 million-$3.5 million from each marathon in the past few years. It is more than the economic impact of the Spanish Town Mardi Gras parade, which directly brings an estimated $2.1 million to the city, Cating said.

Baton Rouge’s mild January weather, the unique south Louisiana culture and the quality of race organizing attract both runners and their supporters from outside the Pelican State, said Laura Cating, senior vice president of marketing and communications for Visit Baton Rouge.

“It has really become a desirable destination for runners. We knock it out of the park each year and hopefully can do that again this year,” Cating said.

About 60% of runners hail from out of state, according to Wattigny.

Visit Baton Rouge works with FreshJunkie Racing as a sponsor of the event and helps compute its estimated economic impact from attendees’ spending on hotels, food and shopping and FreshJunkie’s expenses on race setup in Baton Rouge.

Lodging is the largest driver for the event’s economic impact, with most runners spending multiple

nights in Baton Rouge with family and friends. Many downtown hotels including the Hilton Baton Rouge Capitol Center, Courtyard Marriott Downtown and Hampton Inn & Suites are fully booked for Saturday and Sunday.

Searches for Airbnb listings in Baton Rouge on the marathon weekend have increased by double digits compared with searches for other January weekends, according to the company. The short-term rental company said most people booking Airbnbs for the marathon weekend are from out of state, particularly travelers from Houston, St. Louis and Richmond, Virginia. Bookings for last year’s marathon were up 13% from 2024.

For last year’s marathon, overall hotel occupancy was about 56%, which Cating said is much higher than a typical January weekend in Baton Rouge. This period is referred to as a “shoulder season,” when football season is over and Mardi Gras celebrations are not yet in full swing, so tourism is low.

“Any events that we can have in this season where it is a lighter visitation point, it’s of significant benefit to all of our local businesses,” Cating said.

The event has big appeal for serious runners: The full marathon is a qualifier for the Boston Marathon and has a relatively flat course, making it easier for runners to achieve a personal best time.

Over the past 15 years, FreshJunkie has refurbished its marketing approach, incorporating social media and TV news partners to promote the marathon. Three years ago, the company widened its social media presence with a network of ambassadors, micro-influencers equipped with coupon codes to encourage their followers to register for the race.

is expected to settle in for the weekend.

Saturday is forecast to be partly sunny with highs around 55, followed by a cold Saturday night with lows near 30. Temperatures could dip to near or below freezing for several hours early Sunday morning before rebounding into the upper 40s Sunday afternoon.

Overnight lows Sunday night are expected to fall to near 32 degrees.

While snow remains an uncertain and low-probability outcome, forecasters say residents should focus on the colder-thanaverage temperatures that is expected and continue to monitor forecast updates as more data becomes available.

of the state’s most important distribution hubs while protecting and advancing Louisiana’s workforce.”

The phased, multiyear project that is expected to begin this year is part of the retail giant’s nationwide initiative to upgrade all 42 of its regional distribution centers, LED officials said.

Louisiana’s central Gulf South location, strong workforce and competitive incentive programs positioned the state as a natural choice for the significant reinvestment, officials said.

The state’s incentives

package for the project includes a $10 million performance-based grant tied to equipment investments.

“Louisiana and Opelousas have been great partners for nearly 25 years,” said Mike Gray, senior vice president of Walmart Supply Chain. “By adding robotics and automation, we’re transforming how we serve our stores and customers. This investment allows us to grow alongside the community while creating new opportunities for career growth for our associates.”

Greene streets.

The event is from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. This gathering includes the morning stump service, a march in downtown Abbeville, and from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., the community can gather for speeches, performances and more. Temporary road closures will be in effect during this time to accommodate the service.

Citywide Committee, for the 40th year, will honor Martin Luther King Jr. with a parade.

The parade begins at 11 a.m. at the Eunice City Hall. Following the parade, the Dr. MLK Program will be held at 12:30 p.m. at the New Zion Baptist Church with the Rev. Allen Ben.

STAFF FILE PHOTO

By MICHAEL JOHNSON

Runners go down North Fourth Street during the start of the Louisiana Marathon in Baton Rouge on Jan. 19, 2025.

St. Landry Parish 44th annual MLK Parade: The city of Opelousas will hold a parade honoring Martin Luther King Jr. The event starts at 1 p.m. on Monday and will roll through the streets of Opelousas led by Opelousas City Council member Marvin Richard. The route starts at South City Park, then proceeds north on Market Street, east on Bloch Street, north on Union Street and ends at Holy Ghost Catholic Church.

MLK Stump Service Day: On Monday, Abbeville celebrates MLK Day with Evangeline Parish a Stump Service at the Dr. MLK’s Citywide Committee: corner of J.J. Joiner and On Saturday, the Dr. MLK

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

LOTTERY

Obituaries Holland, Azalie Crain

Funeral services will be held on Monday, January 19, 2026 at 1:00 PM in La Chapelle de Martin & Castille in Lafayette for Azalie Crain Holland, age 79, who passed away on Sunday, January 11, 2026 at her residence in Lafayette.

Interment will be held in Lafayette Memorial Park Cemetery.

Father Matthew Woollett will officiate at the services.

The family requests that visitation be observed on Monday from 9:00 AM until time of services.

Survivors include her nieces and nephews, Carolyn Crain Broussard and her husband, Mark, John Creighton Crain and wife, Lori, Allison Lagasse and her husband, Manard, and Stephen Istre; sister in law, Merilyn Wood Crain; great nephews and nieces, Matthew and Emily Broussard, Zackary and Azalie Crain, Camille Lagasse and Regina Ramirez.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Azalie Nelwyn Webb Crain and George Lawhon Crain, Sr.; and her brother, George Lawhon Crain, Jr. Azalie Crain Holland lived a life of grace, service, and quiet beauty. She was a proud graduate of Louisiana State University, earning her Bachelor's degree in Education. Azalie devoted many years to teaching in the Texas school system, where she lovingly guided young children in elementary classrooms.

While living in Houston, Azalie gave generously of her time. She volunteered with the Junior League, the Natural History Museum, and faithfully supported families of deployed soldiers. Her heart was always drawn to helping others.

Azalie found joy in life's simple and beautiful moments. She loved to travel,

read, and took great delight in decorating both her Lafayette and Houston homes for the holidays.

She loved puzzles and was often found at the table, quietly and patiently fitting each piece into place.

Always impeccably dressed, Azalie was known for her timeless style and love of jewelry. She enjoyed social gatherings where she could dress beautifully and celebrate life with others.

Her generosity extended through her philanthropy, as she proudly supported many local organizations and schools.

Azalie's love for Mardi Gras, especially the Order of the Troubadours, was deep and lifelong. Chosen as Queen Berengaria the 12th, she honored that title each year with pride. She spent countless hours in the workroom, carefully decorating the stunning costumes Troubadours is known for, placing each rhinestone with care. Most recently, she lovingly helped decorate her greatniece's Queen Berengaria costume, to be worn at this year's ball.

Diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at a young age, Azalie faced life with strength and discipline, taking great care of her health and body throughout her life.

Above all, Azalie cherished her nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and greatnephews as if they were her own children and grandchildren. She supported them in every season of life and loved them

deeply.

Azalie Crain Holland will be remembered for her elegance, generosity, and loving heart. She will be dearly missed by all who were blessed to know her.

Pallbearers will be John Creighton Crain, Mark A. Broussard, Jr., Manard Lagasse, Matthew Broussard, Zackary Crain, and Stephen Istre.

Honorary Pallbearers will be Larry Holland, Cameron Foreman, Jody Aucoin, and the Order of the Troubadours workroom krewe.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made in Azalie Crain Holland's name to The Healing House, w w w . h t t p s : / / h e a l i n ghouse.org/support-us/donate/, mailing address:160 South Beadle Road, Lafayette, Louisiana 70508, or Second Harvest Food Bank, www.https.//nohunger.org/donate, mailing address: 215 E. Pinhook Road, Lafayette, Louisiana 70501.

View the obituary and guestbook online at www.mourning.com Martin & Castille Funeral Home DOWNTOWN, 330 St. Landry Street, Lafayette, Louisiana 70506, 337-2342311

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Busted ‘retirement’ LSU gym coach’s joke leads to extra punch in lineup with ‘Granny B’

BY SCOTT RABALAIS Staff writer

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By KyUSUNG GONG

Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza rolls out during the Rose Bowl College Football Playoff quarterfinal game against Alabama on Jan. 1 in Pasadena, Calif.

Mendoza’s shine Indiana QB hopes to cap one of sports world’s greatest turnarounds with title

BY MICHAEL MAROT

AP sportswriter

Fernando Mendoza arrived on Indiana’s campus last January carrying huge expectations for himself and the program.

Outsiders almost immediately dubbed the new, highly touted transfer as the quarterback who could lead Indiana’s football program to unprecedented heights. Some even suggested Mendoza could be a Heisman Trophy candidate and possibly the top prospect in the 2026

NFL Draft.

But the grounded grandson of Cuban immigrants ignored the chatter and focused instead on proving himself all over again.

Mendoza wasted no time earning the respect of his new teammates thanks to a relentless work ethic. He quickly impressed coaches with his unflappable poise, uncanny natural instincts and unconventional study habits. The Miami native and former Cal star found his exuberant, humble personality fit per-

fectly in this Midwestern college town John Mellencamp depicted in his hit song “Small Town.” And eventually Mendoza’s penchant for making clutch plays put him on the big stage, winning college football’s most prestigious individual award in a landslide.

Now as the 22-year-old tries to etch one final chapter into this seemingly madefor-television Hollywood script — leading what had been major college football’s

ä See MENDOZA, page 3C

They call Courtney Blackson “Granny B” around the LSU gymnastics facility.

A fitting nickname for someone who is likely the first “retired” gymnast in program history.

Last year, LSU coach Jay Clark and lead assistant Garrett Griffeth were in Boise, Idaho, on a recruiting trip.

They were standing around talking to a group of workers at Mountain West Gymnastics where they were visiting when Clark jokingly asked: “Anyone here got any eligibility left?”

Blackson hesitantly ä LSU raised her hand.

“I think I do,” she at Georgia, 6 P.M. FRIDAy, SECN said.

“The joke turned serious,” Clark said Clark quickly asked Griffeth who Blackson was, and Griffeth explained that she had been a four-year gymnast at Boise State who now had embarked on her coaching career.

“I graduated from Boise State and I didn’t plan on coming back” to competitive gymnastics, Blackson said Monday.

“It truly was retirement.”

Clark checked Blackson’s credentials: An NQS (National Qualifying Score) above 9.90 in two events, nine all-conference honors, 18 career individual titles (including a perfect 10 on vault in the 2023 NCAA regionals) and a runnerup finish in that event at the 2023 NCAA championships.

Turned out, Blackson did have one year of eligibility left. She was one of thousands of college athletes who were granted an extra year of eligibility because the COVID-19 pandemic cut short their 2020 seasons.

Clark consulted with LSU’s compliance department and discovered that yes, Blackson could compete at LSU for the 2026 season, but that she would have to officially enter the transfer portal first. Despite having retired, she still technically was a Boise State gymnast.

Donning a purple leotard last Saturday for the Tigers’ season opener in the Sprouts Collegiate Quad outside Salt Lake City — Blackson’s first meet since the NCAA championships in April 2024 — she immediately proved Clark’s

ä See GYM, page 3C

Here is what to know about the NCAA betting scandal

BY AARON BEARD AP basketball writer

STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

LSU players, from left to right, Jalen Reece, Pablo Tamba, Marquel Sutton and Robert Miller join their teammates on the court as they wait on a video review of Kentucky’s buzzer-beating shot on Wednesday at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Kentucky defeated LSU 75-74.

LSU men’s heartbreaking loss leaves ‘emotional toll’

BY TOYLOY BROWN III

Staff writer

Max Mackinnon bent forward with his head down and hands on his knees under the LSU basket.

The guard stayed in the same place for 25 seconds after experiencing his team’s most crushing loss.

Collin Chandler of Kentucky threw a full-court, inbounds pass more than 70 feet through the air. The basketball went over the outstretched hands of LSU’s longest defender, Robert Miller, and connected with freshman center

Malachi Moreno, who buried the game-winning jumper near the free-throw line as time expired.

The stillness and deflated walk to the locker room Mackinnon disä Missouri at LSU, played was shared by 2:30 P.M. SATURDAy, SECN the rest of his teammates after the 75-74 defeat to Kentucky on Wednesday at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

After leading by as many as 18 points, LSU (12-5, 0-4 SEC) allowed Kentucky (11-6, 2-2) to catch fire,

ä See LSU MEN, page 3C

Federal prosecutors have revealed a sprawling scheme to rig men’s college basketball games while yielding big payouts to gamblers.

According to an indictment unsealed Thursday, fixers started with two professional games in China before turning their focus to recruiting college players in America to participate in similar point-shaving efforts as recently as January 2025.

The indictment, which includes charges against current and former college basketball players, coincides with multiple NCAA probes into sport-betting violations.

Here’s what to know about the latest case:

Flagged bets

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By GEORGE WALKER IV

NCAA president Charlie Baker speaks during the Division I business session at the annual NCAA convention on Thursday in Nashville, Tenn.

and therefore the bets related to it, by intentionally underperforming. Gamblers working with those players could then place wagers based on “higher degree of certainty” as to whether a team would cover or fall short of the spread, according to the indictment.

For example, the indictment charges former college and NBA player Antonio Blakeney — who played at LSU from 2015-17 — How scheme worked with taking payments from two Prosecutors say players in- high-stakes gamblers to undervolved could manipulate a game, perform while in the Chinese

Gamblers can bet on games with the point spread, a projected total by which one team is favored to win against another team.

Winning a bet on the favorite would mean that team won by more than the projected point spread. A winning bet on the underdog would require that team to win outright or lose by fewer points than the spread.

Basketball Association during the 2022-23 season.

In one such game in March 2023, Blakeney scored roughly 21 points below his scoring average and his team lost by 31 points. But that covered the spread for the favored opponent so fixers could win most of their bets, according to the indictment.

Fixers later recruited college players to help ensure their teams failed to cover the spread either for the first half or an entire

ä See NCAA, page 3C

2C ● Friday, January 16, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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Broncos DC concentrates on Bills Despite interviewing for head coaching jobs, Joseph’s focus remains on divisional playoffs

BY PAT GRAHAM

ä Bills at Broncos. 3:30 P.M.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Vance Joseph interviewed with five teams during the Denver Broncos’ bye week in his quest for a second crack at an NFL head coaching job.

What’s really on the defensive coordinator’s mind, though, is getting another shot at Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills this Saturday in the AFC divisional playoffs. He’s not even thinking of what may lie ahead.

“The job stuff for me is back burner. Winning is the priority right now, and what happens after happens,” Joseph said. “I can’t control that.”

The 53-year-old Joseph met with the Tennessee Titans, New York Giants, Las Vegas Raiders, Arizona Cardinals and Baltimore Ravens. He was Denver’s head coach in 2017 and 2018, going 11-21 in two seasons. Joseph was brought back in 2023 by coach Sean Payton and has turned the defense into one of the best in the league.

Those job interviews were hardly a distraction. All he had to do was remember what happened last season in the playoffs when Allen and the Bills beat Denver 31-7.

“So my focus was the Broncos the entire time,” he said.

Joseph’s defense allowed just 18.3 points per game this season while recording a franchise-record 68 sacks, topping last year’s mark of 63. Led by Zach Allen, Talanoa Hufanga, Nik Bonitto and Pat Surtain II, they kept teams out

of the end zone in a franchise-record five games this season. They also buckled down in the red zone, allowing teams to score touchdowns in just 20 out of 47 trips. It was the lowest percentage (42.6) in the league this season.

That sort of production — and his team’s 14-3 record — made him a hot head coaching commodity. Joseph has been all over the NFL and served in a variety of roles. He’s also been a defensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins and Cardinals, and coached defensive backs for the Cincinnati Bengals, Houston Texans and San Francisco 49ers.

“It’s flattering, but it speaks to the entire program,” Joseph said of all the phone calls. “I think when teams want to hire a coach from a winning program, they want the recipe.”

His defense is trying to find a recipe to stop Allen, who threw for 273 yards and a score and ran for two TDs in a 27-24 win at Jacksonville on wild-card weekend.

“He’s a special player,” Joseph said. “Obviously, there are certain guys in this league that can take over games, and he’s one of those guys.”

When Denver lost in Buffalo a year ago, Allen completed 20 of 26 passes for 272 yards and two scores. The Bills dominated time of possession, too, by a 41:43 to 18:17 margin.

“One thing we need to eliminate is his second-chance opportuni-

AP sportswriter

SATURDAy, CBS.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ADRIAN KRAUS

Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph watches play during a game against the Buffalo Bills in Orchard Park, N.y. ,on Jan. 12, 2025. ties,” Surtain said of Allen. “He thrives off that and finding opportunities even if the play is not there. He is a great player, so we have to game plan and eliminate the explosives.”

A difficulty every team encounters is finding a way to mimic in practice what Allen can do on game days.

“His legs are special, he’s got that size, he can make every single throw. That’s not different for us, but you can’t simulate it, obviously. If you could, you would. But you can’t,” Joseph said. “There’s one Josh Allen and he lives in Buffalo.”

Joseph runs an aggressive style of defense that, as Bonitto explained earlier this season,

“puts us in a great position.”

“It’s more of a partnership,” Joseph explained. “When you find a group of guys that you have success with, it’s special.

Because every team is going to change each year. So this team will change next year, and that’s sad. It makes me sad, but it will change.”

That’s why he’s cherishing this playoff run.

“You spend so much time with these guys,” Joseph said. “You watch them grow. You watch them get married, have kids. It’s personal. If it’s not personal, you can’t be the best coach you can be, or the best team. It’s always personal with me and my players.”

The people spoke to The Asso- Ravens was believed to be New in ‘07. Counting playoff games, Former leader of ciated Press on condition of ano- York’s top candidate in the pur- the seven coaches who followed nymity because the deal hasn’t suit of Brian Daboll’s full-time Coughlin in the organization have Ravens close to gone 45-105-1: a winning percentbeen finalized. Harbaugh is not successor. becoming head coach meeting with the Tennessee Ti- Fired by the Ravens after they age of .300.

General manager Joe Schoen, with the goal for Harbaugh missed the playoffs on a missed of NFC East team tans to “reach the finish line with the field goal attempt at the buzzer in who’s back for a fifth season run-

BY STEPHEN WHYNO AND ROB MAADDI

AP sportswriters

John Harbaugh and the New York Giants are working on an agreement to make him the team’s head coach, three people with knowledge of the decision said Thursday.

the season finale, Harbaugh is on track to pick the Giants over other possible landing spots, including Tennessee and Atlanta.

The Ravens made the playoffs 12 times during 18 seasons with Harbaugh in charge and won the Super Bowl in the 2012 season, a year after the Giants’ most recent championship under Tom Coughlin, who also led them to win it all

ning the football operations department, said he would cast a wide net in the coaching search.

Interviewing Raheem Morris and Antonio Pierce satisfied the NFL’s Rooney Rule requirements for minority or female candidates, and Harbaugh’s visit to northern New Jersey paved the way to make a hire before any of the more than half-dozen teams with a vacancy.

UL men fail to make plays late vs. Texas St.

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

The Cajuns trailed the rest of the way with a handful of their 10 turnovers over the final six minutes to prevent any comeback attempts.

UL actually made more free throws than the Bobcats, taking advantage of a game allowed to be more physical than usual. The Cajuns made 13 of 19 attempts at the line, compared to 6-of-10 shooting for Texas State.

But two missed free throws down the stretch were crucial for UL, but Milan Mejia’s 3-pointer with 1:04 left cut Texas State’s lead to 54-51.

The Bobcats then responded with a 5-0 run to sew up the win.

UL shot 36% from the field compared to 50% for Texas State, which outrebounded the Cajuns 34-24.

Kaden Gumbs led the Bobcats with 18 points, and DJ Hall had 16 points and 14 rebounds.

Dorian Finister continued his consistent season with 18 points and four rebounds for UL. De’Vion Lavergne was UL’s only other double-figure scorer with 10 points.

The UL Ragin’ Cajuns overcame a 13-point deficit with a hot streak early in the second half.

But the Cajuns had more turnovers and missed shots than points over the final six minutes to lose a 59-54 decision at Texas State on Wednesday at Strahan Arena in San Marcos, Texas.

UL fell to 4-15 overall and 2-5 in league play while Texas State improved to 10-9 and 3-4. The Cajuns will play at South Alabama on Saturday.

The Bobcats are 9-1 at home while UL dropped to 1-9 on the road. It was Texas State’s first win over the Cajuns since 2022. UL is now 22-9 against the Bobcats.

Tay Knox’s layup with 2:26 left before halftime gave Texas State its largest lead at 29-16. After trimming that margin to 29-22 at halftime, the Cajuns got hot for a 15-3 run to grab a 37-36 lead with 12:44 left on a free throw by Karris Bilal.

UL couldn’t maintain that momentum, allowing the Bobcats to respond with an 11-2 run to grab Email Kevin Foote at kfoote@ a 47-39 lead with 7:51 left to play. theadvocate.com.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — San Francisco star linebacker Fred Warner was ruled out for the 49ers’ divisional round playoff game against Seattle but could return from a serious ankle injury if the team wins this week.

Warner returned to practice this week for the first time since breaking and dislocating his right ankle in a loss at Tampa Bay on Oct. 12, with coach Kyle Shanahan initially describing it as a season-ending injury.

Warner had left open the possibility earlier this week that he could play on Saturday, but the 49ers ruled out that possibility Thursday. Shanahan said he remains hopeful that the four-time All-Pro could return if the Niners beat the Seahawks and advance to the NFC title game on Jan. 25.

Seahawks QB Darnold injures oblique in practice

Source: Giants, Harbaugh working on deal Giants,” according to one person.

A second person said the deal was not done but that “barring any setbacks” Harbaugh would become New York’s coach.

Harbaugh interviewed in person with the Giants on Wednesday, spending hours at the team facility in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Super Bowl-winning former coach of the Baltimore

49ers LB Warner ruled out for game against Seattle

RENTON, Wash. — Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold injured his left oblique during Thursday’s practice and was listed as questionable for Saturday’s NFC divisional playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers, but he said he’s confident he’ll play.

Darnold said he felt something in his oblique while throwing passes to receivers with no defenders.

The eighth-year quarterback said this is the first time he has dealt with an oblique issue and that he’ll be getting treatment leading up to the game.

Darnold passed for 4,048 yards with 25 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in his first season with the Seahawks, earning his second straight Pro Bowl selection. He led Seattle to a 14-3 record.

Kuminga demands trade away from Golden State

SAN FRANCISCO — Jonathan Kuminga wants out of Golden State.

Kuminga and his agent, Aaron Turner, have demanded the Warriors trade him, according to reports by ESPN and The Athletic.

Because summertime contract negotiations with the then-free agent extended to Sept. 30, the Warriors were restricted from trading Kuminga until Jan. 15.

Kuminga’s demand was made public early Thursday morning.

The Nets, Kings and Lakers have all been linked to him.

His Warriors teammates hold no ill will toward Kuminga as he seeks an exit from the only team he has ever played for, if Moses Moody is to be believed.

His playing time and role have fluctuated through the years.

Reds, pitcher Johnson reach $6.5M contract

CINCINNATI — Pierce Johnson signed a $6.5-million, one-year contract on Thursday.

The 34-year-old right-hander was 3-3 with a 3.05 ERA in 65 games last year for Atlanta. That included a streak of 26 batters retired over nine games from April 19 to May 10.

Johnson will be entering his ninth big league season. He gets a $5.5 million salary this year as part of a deal that includes an $8 million mutual option for 2027 with a $1 million buyout.

Johnson’s addition adds a veteran arm to the bullpen after the departures of Scott Barlow, Nick Martinez and Brent Suter. The Reds were eighth in the National League with a 3.89 ERA after making the postseason.

McIlroy leads after first round at Dubai Invitational

STAFF PHOTO By BRAD KEMP

UL guard Dorian Finister, left, led the Cajuns in scoring with 18 points, but Texas State made plays down the stretch Wednesday to topple UL.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Rory McIlroy posted a 5-under 66 to lead by one stroke after the first round of the Dubai Invitational on Thursday.

Scotsman Connor Syme and Spaniard David Puig were tied behind the Northern Irishman in second place, and English golfer Matt Wallace dropped two shots back into a five-way tie for third after late struggles.

Defending champion Tommy Fleetwood was three back in a tie for ninth in a large group including American Patrick Reed. He is among three players on the LIV Golf squad a year ago playing in Dubai.

As the European tour resumed following five events at the end of 2025, McIlroy made a fast start with four birdies in the first five holes on the course at Dubai Creek Resort.

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Friday, January 16, 2026 ● 3C

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MENDOZA

Continued from page 1C losingest program to its first national championship in front of a throng of family and friends just about a 40-minute drive from his parents’ home — Mendoza continues to insist he’s just along for the ride.

“I think it’s the other way around,” he said last Friday when asked about the impact he’s had on Indiana’s program. “If you told me (this would happen) a year ago — I believe a year ago today or the day before actually is the day I arrived on campus — Hoosier Nation, the coaching staff and the entire sports staff has given me so much opportunity here and (shown) so much belief in my character and my play, not only as a player, also as a leader that I’m forever in debt.”

Mendoza’s skill set By now, Mendoza’s tools on the field should be obvious.

His arm is strong enough to make any throw and his accuracy is almost unmatched. He’s also capable of extending plays with his legs and when the top-ranked Hoosiers (15-0, No. 1 CFP) need a key play, Mendoza seems to deliver on cue. Miami coach Mario Cristobal has seen all of it on film.

And while Mendoza graciously shares credit with those around him, coaches and teammates recognize they’re heading to Miami this weekend largely because of Mendoza’s ability to make a gamechanging play on any snap.

“The throws he makes, they just wow you every time,” All-American linebacker Aiden Fisher said.

“The job he’s done this year has been nothing short of remarkable.

He’s the best football player in the country, and I don’t think it’s close.

He’s done such a phenomenal job being a leader for us, somebody we can depend on, we can count on

every single time. He’s fantastic at everything he does.”

Teammates watched Mendoza spend countless hours studying film, dissecting defenses and preparing for every potential gameday contingency. In the rare moments Mendoza isn’t working, he’s probably watching other games searching for something he can add to his repertoire.

That example helped Mendoza not only win over the locker room but also become a beloved figure inside of it.

“He’s just the ultimate professional, a wonderful teammate,” starting center Pat Coogan said.

“He prepares like no one I’ve ever seen. He works his butt off like no one I’ve ever seen and he’s just an awesome locker room guy on top of that.”

But Mendoza’s reach goes far beyond football.

He often explains how the daily battle his mother, Elsa, wages against multiple sclerosis helped him learn to cherish every precious moment of this journey.

Mendoza also talks openly about how his faith has helped him excel as a person and a player and that he relies on prayer, meditation and Bible study sessions to navigate the highs and lows of life and football.

“He’s a special guy. I mean, he’s extremely intelligent, and people recognize that,” Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said. “He’s got a great relationship with the guys, and it’s mainly the older guys, obviously. Those guys hang together.

But I think what he’s done behind the scenes to bring the offensive unit even closer together — and those are a lot of things I’m not aware of at the time, I find out later — he’s just done a tremendous job in every single area you could impact team success.”

School in Miami.

His first scholarship offer came from Yale. His only FBS offer came from California. But it was there, in Berkeley, where Mendoza’s career trajectory changed.

After redshirting in 2022, he won the starting job in 2023 and threw for 1,728 yards, 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. In 2024, his completion percentage improved from 63.0% to 68.7% as he finished with 3,004 yards, 16 TDs and six interceptions.

The problem: He was sacked a staggering 41 times.

So when the opportunity came to play behind a better offensive line, chase a national title and join his younger brother, Alberto, in Bloomington, Fernando Mendoza was sold. Naturally, he started cramming even before Indiana’s winter semester started.

“Having that playbook at home already, because Alberto was in my parent’s house, I definitely started diving into it during Christmas break in the off time,” Fernando Mendoza said, referring to 2024. “Ever since I’ve been trying to be consistent in the film room, in the playbook in order to gain a mastery (of the offense).”

Mendoza leads the nation with 41 TD passes, a school record.

He’s the first Indiana player to win the Heisman and just the third quarterback to lead the Hoosiers to a Big Ten crown. He’s now the favorite to be the first draft pick in April, and he finds himself squarely in the middle of perhaps the most astounding twoyear turnarounds in sports history.

“It’s been a great journey, I believe, for all of us,” Mendoza said.

“I still remember when I was in the transfer portal, coach Cignetti said, ‘Hey, if you’re going to come here, you’re going to develop into a hell of a quarterback,’ and it wasn’t Mendoza’s results about, at that point, hey, ’I’m going Mendoza was hardly a house- to promise you a national champihold name coming out of power- onship.’ It was you’re going to dehouse Christopher Columbus High velop and have that belief.”

STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

Kentucky runs onto the court after scoring at the buzzer on Wednesday at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Kentucky defeated LSU 75-74.

LSU MEN

Continued from page 1C making 8 of 11 3-pointers in the second half.

“Obviously, a heartbreaking finish to the game,” LSU coach Matt McMahon said. “Clearly, there’s going to be an emotional toll here that we weren’t able to finish the deal.”

What makes the result more troublesome is the reality the Tigers face as the only Southeastern Conference team without a league win. The Tigers are 0-4 in the SEC for the first time since the 2012-13 season. That year, it finished 9-9 in the conference.

The emotional toll was seen in the expressions on players and coaches’ faces after the outcome. Despite falling further away from an NCAA Tournament berth, the team understands it can’t linger on the disappointment.

“We got to flush it,” said Mackinnon, who had 16 points and three assists. “Move on. Got Missouri coming here Saturday.

Must win.”

“We can’t change the past, so we just have to come out Sat-

urday as we did in the first half today,” said Marquel Sutton, who had 16 points and six rebounds against Kentucky. “We have to play like that in both halves.”

When LSU faces Missouri (134, 3-1) on Saturday at the PMAC, McMahon wants his team to replicate the positives it had against Kentucky. Nothing was more encouraging than the tenacious defense it played in the first half, allowing the Wildcats to start 1 of 12 from the field and not have an offensive rebound until 7:56 left before halftime.

McMahon said the inspired play was a direct result of practices on Monday and Tuesday, which were the best all season.

His group will have to practice just as well once again.

“I thought we got better tonight as a team, crushed for our players,” he said. “I’m crushed for our fans. The environment was awesome.

“Crushed we didn’t finish the deal, but the only way forward is to build on all those improvements that were made by our team over the last couple days and get ready to go on Saturday.

We got great people in our locker room, and they’ll respond the right way and be ready to go.”

GYM

Continued from page 1C offhand question back at that gym in Boise was a winning one.

After opening with a solid 9.825 on vault, Blackson followed with a 9.95 on uneven bars, giving “Granny B” a share of first place with Utah’s Ella Zirbes. Her big score turned out to be a big part of LSU’s first-place tie with preseason No. 1 Oklahoma (197.500).

“It was a super exciting moment,” said Blackson, who beamed beneath the Tigers’ now traditional “stick crown” and in a mid-meet interview on ABC. Suddenly, the 23-year-old Blackson is one of the LSU gymnasts to watch as the No. 2-ranked Tigers begin Southeastern Conference dual meet competition Friday at No. 8 Georgia (6 p.m., SEC Network).

“The amplitude of what she does — the Markelov (on bars) or the Khorkina (on vault) — is just huge,” Clark said. “We’re glad she’s here. We’re happy for her.”

Blackson is happy for herself.

“Being here at LSU is so much fun,” the Elk Grove, California, native said. “It’s a privilege and an opportunity. Definitely the whole package.”

Though she quickly showed her worth as a competitor in her first LSU meet, Blackson knows she’s a role player on this team. She is an event specialist, not an all-arounder like Kailin Chio (who won the

LSU gymnast Courtney Blackson vaults during the Gymnastics 101/ Open Mike Night on Jan. 2 at the STAFF PHOTOS By MICHAEL JOHNSON Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

LSU gymnast Courtney Blackson finishes her routine on the uneven bars at the Gymnastics 101/Open Mike Night on Jan. 2 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. all-around title in the Sprouts meet) or fellow transfer Madison Ulrich from Denver.

“There’s so much depth on our team,” Blackson said. “I’m just ready to fulfill my role. Whether it’s on bars or beam or being a cheerleader, I’m happy to do that.”

In Georgia, LSU faces a program that is trying to reclaim some semblance of its glory days when

it won a record 10 NCAA championships and 16 SEC titles. In their second season under co-coaches Cecile Canqueteau-Landi (formerly Simone Biles’ personal coach) and Ryan Roberts, the Bulldogs are coming off of a 197.000-196.250 win Saturday at No. 16 Ohio State.

Though LSU is trying to repeat as SEC regular-season champion (a title it shared with Oklahoma in

put a lineup out there to win this thing. Road wins and road scores need to be good. But the message gets repeated to them all the time: It doesn’t matter who’s on the floor with us.”

Sometimes, though, it does matter who is in the meeting, just in case that person has another year of eligibility.

2025), Clark doesn’t want his team to make too much of this meet.

“For the fans” the season opener means more, said Clark, a Georgia graduate and a longtime assistant and then head coach there. “We do have a regular-season (SEC) championship, and we want to win these, for sure. But philosophically, I haven’t given it another thought.

Email Scott Rabalais at “We’ve got to go compete and srabalais@theadvocate.com

SEC STANDINGS Team

SEC

Missouri Florida Alabama Auburn Georgia LSU Oklahoma Arkansas

NCAA

0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0

Pct. Overall

Pct.

Avg.

.000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000

1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 .833 .833 .000

197.230 197.725 197.475 197.150 197.000 197.500 197.500 196.700

4-0 3-0 1-0 1-0 1-0 2-0-1 2-0-1 0-1

Kentucky

0-0

.000

0-3

.000

194.925

Last week’s results Friday’s results

Florida 197.725, North Carolina 196.675, Temple 193.875 Alabama 197.475, Clemson 196.550 Auburn 197.150, NC State 196.075

Saturday’s results

Oklahoma 197.500, LSU 197.500, UCLA 197.000, Utah

in March 2024: Robert Morris’ first-round game against Purdue Continued from page 1C Fort Wayne in the Horizon League Tournament; UNO’s second-round game against Lamar in the Southgame, offering payments typical- land Conference Tournament; and ly ranging from $10,000 to $30,000 Abilene Christian’s two games (against Texas A&M-Corpus Chrisper game. ti and Tarleton State) in the CollegAffected games eInsider.com Tournament.

According to the indictment, the scheme eventually involved more Other schools affected than 39 players on 17 Division I Eastern Michigan, Nicholls men’s basketball teams who ma- State, Tulane, Northwestern State, nipulated or attempted to manipu- St. Louis, La Salle, Fordham, Buflate 29 games in the 2023-24 and falo, Southern Mississippi, North 2024-25 seasons.

Carolina A&T, Kennesaw State, Most games were in the regular Coppin State and Alabama State season and involved teams at the all had players who allegedly afmid-major level, though DePaul in fected games. the Big East had three games cited Four charged players competed in the indictment (against George- for their current teams within the town, Butler and St. John’s) from past week, but allegations against late in the 2023-24 season. them don’t involve the 2025-26 seaThe indictment listed at least son. They are Kennesaw State’s four postseason games affected Simeon Cottle; Eastern Michigan’s

195.900@ Minnesota 196.775, Arkansas 196.700 Georgia 197.000, Ohio State 196.250 Michigan 197.225, California 196.350, Michigan State 196.225, Kentucky 194.925# Missouri 197.275, Nebraska 194.600, Wisconsin-La Crosse 192.100, Wisconsin-Stout 184.675%

Friday’s schedule

LSU at Georgia, 6 p.m. (SECNetwork) Alabama at Florida, 6 p.m. (ESPN2)

Carlos Hart, with allegations tied to a previous stint at UNO; Texas Southern’s Oumar Koureissi, tied to his time at Nicholls; and Delaware State’s Camian Shell, tied to his stop at North Carolina A&T. Cottle, the preseason pick for Conference USA player of the year, is averaging 20.2 points and had 21 points in Wednesday’s win against Florida International. By Thursday, Kennesaw State had released a statement that Cottle was suspended indefinitely from all team activities.

Separately, Eastern Michigan announced Hart’s suspension from team activities pending the outcome of the case. Delaware State and Texas Southern didn’t immediately return emails for comment from The Associated Press on Thursday afternoon.

Arizona State at Kentucky, 6 p.m. (SECNetwork+) Oklahoma at Missouri, 7:45 p.m. (SECNetwork)

Sunday’s schedule

Auburn at Arkansas, 5 p.m. (SEC Network) @-at Sprouts Collegiate Quad, West Valley City, Utah (Session I) #-at Sprouts Collegiate Quad (Session II) %-at Ameritas Master’s Classic, Lincoln, Nebraska All times Central

president Charlie Baker said enforcement staff members from college sports’ governing body have opened sports-betting probes into roughly 40 athletes from 20 schools in the past year.

Eleven athletes from seven schools were ruled permanently ineligible, while 13 others from eight schools failed to fully cooperate in NCAA probes, with none competing today.

News of those cases has dripped out over the past year.

For example, the NCAA banned three players in September for betting on their own games at Fresno State and San Jose State.

In October, the NCAA announced three former Eastern Michigan players refused to cooperate with its investigation. Two of those, Da’Sean Nelson and Jalen Terry, are defendants in the unsealed inWhat has NCAA done? dictment.

A month later, the NCAA anIn a statement Thursday, NCAA

nounced sanctions against six more players, a list that included two defendants — former UNO players Cedquavious Hunter and Dyquavion Short — from Thursday’s unsealed indictment. Hunter, nicknamed “Dae Dae,” later said he participated in point-shaving on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

Later in November, the NCAA ruled former Temple guard Hysier Miller permanently ineligible for placing dozens of bets on Owls games, including some against his team, during the 2022-23 and 202324 seasons.

And in December, the NCAA said former San Francisco player Marcus Williams gave information about his stats in upcoming games during the 2024-25 season to a player from another school who was betting on his performances.

Williams reached a negotiated settlement to close the case and had no remaining eligibility.

4C ● Friday, January 16, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

WR Polk embraces ‘clean slate’ with Saints

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

On the second night of the 2024 NFL Draft, Ja’Lynn Polk was taken four picks ahead of where the New Orleans Saints jumped up to grab cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry.

The Saints had been infatuated with the wide receiver, but when he was selected, they made a move to ensure they wouldn’t miss out on another target they really liked.

Still, Saints general manager Mickey Loomis never stopped being a fan of Polk. And so when the opportunity to acquire the wide receiver from the New England Patriots presented itself last summer, Loomis and the Saints weren’t going to miss out a second time — even knowing full well that the 23-year-old would miss the entire season because of a shoulder injury.

“We were definitely high on Ja’Lynn in that draft,” Loomis said last week. “I mean, we talked about taking him at certain points.”

Loomis said he made the deal, which cost a late-round pick swap, with an “eye” toward the future.

But for the trade to be successful, Polk will have to show a lot more than he did in New England.

The Patriots cast Polk aside just one year after a disastrous rookie

STAFF PHOTO By BRETT DUKE

Washington Huskies wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk celebrates a touchdown against the Texas Longhorns during the first half of a College Football Playoff semifinal game in the Allstate Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1, 2023, at the Caesars Superdome. season in which the wide receiver caught only 12 passes for 87 yards.

He then fell out of favor with New England’s new coaching staff, which led the team to put him in trade talks.

But the Saints were not scared off by Polk’s rookie year. They acquired him in part because they thought a change of scenery could be good for him.

As the two sides have gotten to know each other over the last few months, Polk has framed his time in New Orleans as a fresh start — just as the franchise intended.

“I think it’s a clean slate, a good opportunity to be here, honestly, where I’m wanted,” Polk said.

“That speaks volumes. Just coming here, being wanted, me going through my process and just

seeing how hard these guys work week in and week out.

“I owe it to them to come here the moment I get to step on the field and be ready.”

Polk said the trade from New England didn’t catch him by surprise. Nothing about his first year went as planned, from his poor production to suffering the first of his two shoulder injuries near the end of the season. While he noted he has the “utmost respect” for the Patriots taking a chance on him, he said he was “excited” for a change.

Polk said he embraced the challenges of his rookie year. He said he “put a lot of good things on tape and I also put a lot of bad things on tape,” and that he has been focused on studying how to improve.

“You’ve got to be able to find the positives while you’re going through the negatives,” he said. “I think all the negatives that I was going through has been motivating me into what I’m becoming today and what I have become.

“It’s just adding fuel to that fire, man.”

A player like Polk doesn’t get drafted 37th overall without talent. At the University of Washington, he put together a strong final season with 69 catches for 1,159 yards and nine touchdowns.

A scouting report from NFL.com

praised Polk’s “consistent pace” in his routes and “strong hands,” while The Athletic noted he made himself a “sizable target” because of his 6-foot-1 frame and length.

It’ll be on the Saints to tap back into that skill set. Wide receivers coach Keith Williams said he’s been pleased with how Polk has attacked his rehab and with his participation in meetings throughout the year. New Orleans sees him as a key part of the room, alongside Chris Olave and Devaughn Vele — the latter of whom the Saints also acquired just before the season began.

“He’s real versatile,” Williams said of Polk. “He’s physical. He can catch. He’s smart. We interviewed him when he was coming out and I was impressed with him in the interview, and I was impressed obviously with him as a player.”

Polk said he sees his path to the Saints as a “full circle” moment.

Not only could he tell the team had interest before the draft but Polk also noted that one of his last games in college was the Sugar Bowl — when Washington prevailed 37-31 over Texas in the Caesars Superdome.

“I just miss being out there between those lines,” Polk said, “competing each and every day.

I’m excited.”

SCOREBOARD High schools

STATE COLLEGE BASKETBALL STANDINGS

Boys basketball Wednesday’s scores

Lake Charles Prep 52, Cecilia 41 Erath 41, Centerville 39 Delhi 42, Kaplan 34 Catholic-PC 64, Port Barre 34 Opelousas Catholic 69, Rapides 65

Friday’s games

Acadiana Renaissance at Carencro, David Thibodaux at Lafayette, New Iberia at Westgate, Southside at Bourgeois, Cecilia at Helix, West St. Mary at Comeaux, St. Martinville at Eunice, North Vermilion at Erath, Lafayette Renaissance at St. Thomas More, Mamou at Teurlings, Church Point at Abbeville, Opelousas Catholic at Crowley, Kaplan at St. John, Tara at Northwest, Holy Cross at Catholic-NI, Lake Arthur at Midland, Vermilion Catholic at Notre Dame, Pine Prairie at Gueydan, Family Christian at Highland Baptist, JS Clark at Ville Platte, Jennings at North Central, Westminster at Bunkie, Vermilion Catholic at Episcopal of Acadiana, South Cameron at Northside Christian

Girls basketball

Wednesday’s scores

Southside 75, Rayne 40 Northside 65, Breaux Bridge 18 Franklin 58, Westgate 53 Centerville 49, Erath 44 Delhi 41, Kaplan 39 Rapides 60, Opelousas Catholic 25 Southside 75, Rayne 40 SOUTHSIDE (75) Mariah Moore 12, Layla Breland 7, Lola Dimas 9, Annaleigh Horton 11, Chanel Fiero 2, Avery Rogers 4, Urijah Carmouche 27, Inaja Vice 2. Totals: 21 (9) 7-9.

RAYNE (40) Rhiana Gibson 7, Jayla Nave 6, Charlie Joe 4, Bailey Washington 16, Saylr Mouton 6. Totals: 16 8-14.

Southside 17 20 17 22 — 75 Rayne 9 13 12 6 — 40 3-pointers — SSIDE: Moore 1, Breland 2, Dimas 1, Horton 2, Carmouche 3. Total Fouls: SSIDE 12, RAY 9.

Friday’s games

Acadiana at Kaplan, Lafayette at Iowa, Northside at Southside, Beau Chene at Opelousas, Breaux Bridge at Livonia, David Thibodaux at Mamou, Vinton at Eunice, North Vermilion at ED White, Abbeville at Northwest, Acadiana Renaissance at Dunham, Opelousas Catholic at Crowley, Houma Christian at Catholic-NI, Delcambre at Franklin, Welsh at Lafayette Renaissance, Lake Arthur at Midland, Westminster-LAF at Ascension Episcopal, Vermilion Catholic at Gueydan, Family Christian at Highland Baptist, Jeanerette at Hanson, JS Clark at Ville Platte, Westminster at Bunkie, South Cameron at Northside Christian

Boys soccer

Wednesday’s scores

Ascension Episcopal 2, ESA 0 Vermilion Catholic 4, Catholic-N.I. 3 Cecilia 3, Opelousas 2 North Vermilion 1, St. Thomas More 0 Ascension Episcopal 2, ESA 0 Goals — AES: Hayes Beaullieu 1, Hayes Trotter 1. Assists — AES: Rusty Trotter 1.

Friday’s matches

Ascension Episcopal at St. Thomas More, Catholic-NI at South Beauregard, Westminster-LAF at Episcopal of Acadiana, Opelousas at St. Martinville, New Iberia at Comeaux, Carencro at David Thibodaux, Teurlings at Sam Houston, Sulphur at Acadiana, Lafayette at Sterlington, Southside at Barbe.

Girls soccer

Wednesday’s scores

Ascension Episcopal 4, ESA 1 Catholic-N.I. 10, Vermilion Catholic 0 Sulphur 5, Acadiana 1 St. Thomas More 6, North Vermilion 0 Acadiana Renaissance 4, Cecilia 0 St. Martinville 8, Westgate 0 Catholic-N.I. at South Beauregard, Carencro at Erath, Opelousas at St. Martinville, New Iberia at Comeaux, Sacred Heart-N.O. at St. Thomas More, Teurlings at Sam Houston.

Odds Sports Betting Line NFL Saturday

Sunday

OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG 1½ 1½ (46) Buffalo 6½ 7 (45) San Fran

FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG at NEW ENGLAND2½ 3 (40½) Houston LA Rams 4½ 3½ (48½) at CHICAGO

College Football Monday

CFP National Championship FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG Indiana 7½ 8½ (47½) Miami (FL)

COLLEGE BASKETBALL Friday

FAVORITE at KENT STATE Creighton at KANSAS at DEPAUL Ohio at DAYTON at BOISE STATE

NHL

Friday

FAVORITE at DETROIT at CAROLINA Tampa Bay

LINE 4½ 1½ 6½ 3½ 4½ 18½ 6½

LINE -241 -166 -185

UNDERDOG Toledo at PROVIDENCE Baylor Marquette at BALL STATE Loyola Chicago Colorado State

UNDERDOG San Jose Florida at ST. LOUIS

Women

American Conference

American Conference

Conference W L Pct Tulane 3 1 .750 Florida Atlantic 3 1 .750 South Florida 3 1 .750 Temple 3 1 .750 Memphis 3 1 .750 UAB 3 2 .600 Charlotte 3 2 .600 Tulsa 2 2 .500 Wichita State 2 2 .500 Rice 2 3 .400 North Texas 1 3 .250 East Carolina 0 4 .000 UTSA 0 5 .000

All games W L Pct 12 5 .706 11 6 .647 11 6 .647 11 6 .647 8 8 .500 12 6 .667 9 9 .500 14 3 .824 10 7 .588 8 10 .444 10 7 .588 5 12 .294 4 13 .235

Conference W L Pct Liberty 5 0 1.000 W. Kentucky 4 2 .667 M. Tennessee 4 2 .667 Missouri State 4 2 .667 Kennesaw State 3 3 .500 Louisiana Tech 3 3 .500 Jacksonville St. 3 3 .500 New Mexico St. 2 3 .400 Sam Houston 2 4 .333 FIU 2 4 .333 Delaware 1 4 .200 UTEP 1 4 .200

All games W L Pct 13 3 .813 11 6 .647 10 7 .588 10 7 .588 11 6 .647 10 7 .588 8 9 .471 9 6 .600 10 7 .588 9 8 .529 5 11 .313 5 11 .313

Conference W L Pct Vanderbilt 3 1 .750 Arkansas 3 1 .750 Missouri 3 1 .750 Texas A&M 3 1 .750 Florida 3 1 .750 Georgia 2 2 .500 Alabama 2 2 .500 Tennessee 2 2 .500 Kentucky 2 2 .500 Texas 2 2 .500 Mississippi St. 2 2 .500 Ole Miss 2 2 .500 Oklahoma 1 3 .250 Auburn 1 3 .250 South Carolina 1 3 .250 LSU 0 4 .000

All games W L Pct 16 1 .941 13 4 .765 13 4 .765 13 4 .765 12 5 .706 14 3 .824 12 5 .706 12 5 .706 11 6 .647 11 6 .647 10 7 .588 10 7 .588 11 6 .647 10 7 .588 10 7 .588 12 5 .706

Conference W L Pct McNeese State 7 1 .875 Stephen F. Austin 7 1 .875 Nicholls State 7 1 .875 Texas A&M-CC 5 3 .625 Lamar 4 4 .500 UNO 4 4 .500 N’western St. 4 4 .500 Incarnate Word 3 5 .375 East Texas A&M 2 6 .250 UTRGV 2 6 .250 Southeastern La. 2 6 .250 Hou. Christian 1 7 .125

All games W L Pct 14 3 .824 14 3 .824 8 9 .471 9 8 .529 9 8 .529 6 11 .353 6 11 .353 8 9 .471 7 11 .389 6 11 .353 5 12 .294 5 12 .294

Conference W L Pct Prairie View 3 1 .750 Ark.-Pine Bluff 3 1 .750 Florida A&M 2 1 .667 Bethune-C’kman 2 1 .667 Jackson State 2 1 .667 Alabama A&M 2 2 .500 Grambling 2 2 .500 Southern 2 2 .500 Alabama State 2 2 .500 Alcorn State 1 2 .333 Texas Southern 1 3 .250 Miss. Valley St. 0 4 .000

All games W L Pct 8 9 .471 6 11 .353 5 9 .357 5 11 .313 3 13 .188 9 8 .529 8 9 .471 6 11 .353 5 12 .294 2 13 .133 3 12 .200 1 17 .056

Conference W L Pct Troy 5 1 .833 Arkansas State 4 1 .800 Ga. Southern 4 1 .800 Southern Miss 5 2 .714 South Alabama 3 2 .600 Marshall 3 3 .500 Appalachian St. 3 3 .500 Georgia State 3 3 .500 Coastal Carolina 3 4 .429 Texas State 3 4 .429 James Madison 2 3 .400 Old Dominion 2 4 .333 UL 2 5 .286 UL-Monroe 0 6 .000

All games W L Pct 12 6 .667 12 5 .706 12 6 .667 11 8 .579 12 5 .706 11 7 .611 10 8 .556 6 12 .333 10 9 .526 10 9 .526 9 8 .529 5 13 .278 4 15 .211 3 15 .167

Conference USA

SEC

Southland Conference

SWAC

Sun Belt Conference

Friday’s matches

FAVORITE at DENVER at SEATTLE

Men

LINE +197 +139 +153

Rice Tulsa UTSA East Carolina South Fla. North Texas Charlotte Temple Fla. Atlantic Memphis Tulane UAB Wichita St. Lost 5

Conference W L Pct 3 0 1.000 3 0 1.000 3 0 1.000 3 1 .750 3 1 .750 3 1 .750 2 2 .500 1 2 .333 1 3 .250 1 3 .250 1 3 .250 0 4 .000 0 4 .000

Thursday’s Games All games W L Pct 13 3 .813 11 4 .733 8 6 .571 11 6 .647 10 7 .588 9 7 .563 8 9 .471 7 8 .467 7 9 .438 7 10 .412 6 10 .375 7 9 .438 3 14 .176

Conference USA

Sam Houston Missouri St. Middle Tenn.

Louisiana Tech Liberty Jacksonville St. New Mexico St. FIU UTEP Kennesaw St. Western Ky. Delaware

Conference W L Pct 3 0 1.000 3 0 1.000 4 0 1.000 2 1 .667 2 2 .500 2 2 .500 2 2 .500 1 2 .333 1 3 .250 1 3 .250 1 3 .250 0 4 .000

All games W L Pct 10 4 .714 11 5 .688 9 7 .563 9 5 .643 8 7 .533 8 8 .500 6 10 .375 8 6 .571 9 6 .600 8 7 .533 5 10 .333 6 10 .375

Vanderbilt South Carolina Tennessee Texas Alabama Kentucky Ole Miss LSU Oklahoma Georgia Mississippi St. Auburn Texas A&M Florida Missouri Arkansas

Conference W L Pct 4 0 1.000 4 0 1.000 4 0 1.000 3 1 .750 3 1 .750 3 1 .750 3 1 .750 2 2 .500 2 2 .500 1 3 .250 1 3 .250 1 3 .250 1 3 .250 0 4 .000 0 4 .000 0 4 .000

All games W L Pct 17 0 1.000 17 1 .944 12 3 .800 18 1 .947 17 1 .944 16 2 .889 16 3 .842 16 2 .889 14 3 .824 15 3 .833 14 4 .778 12 6 .667 8 5 .615 12 7 .632 12 7 .632 11 8 .579

Conference W L Pct McNeese 6 1 .857 SFA 5 2 .714 Lamar 5 2 .714 N’western St. 5 2 .714 UTRGV 5 2 .714 Nicholls 4 3 .571 UIW 4 3 .571 East Texas A&M 3 4 .429 Hou. Christian 2 5 .286 Southeastern 1 6 .143 TACC 1 6 .143 UNO 1 6 .143

All games W L Pct 12 4 .750 11 5 .688 8 6 .571 8 7 .533 8 8 .500 8 6 .571 6 8 .429 7 7 .500 4 10 .286 2 12 .143 2 12 .143 1 14 .067

Conference W L Pct 3 1 .750 3 1 .750 3 1 .750 2 1 .667 2 1 .667 2 2 .500 2 2 .500 2 2 .500 1 2 .333 1 2 .333 1 3 .250 0 4 .000

All games W L Pct 7 8 .467 7 9 .438 7 9 .438 5 9 .357 3 11 .214 5 10 .333 5 12 .294 3 12 .200 3 12 .200 3 13 .188 4 10 .286 2 13 .133

Conference W L Pct Marshall 6 0 1.000 Arkansas St. 5 1 .833 Ga. Southern 5 1 .833 Troy 4 1 .800 Southern Miss. 3 2 .600 Texas St. 3 2 .600 James Madison 3 3 .500 Old Dominion 2 3 .400 Georgia St. 2 3 .400 South Alabama 2 4 .333 ULM 2 4 .333 App State 1 4 .200 Coastal Carolina 1 5 .167 UL 0 6 .000

All games W L Pct 15 3 .833 14 4 .778 12 4 .750 13 3 .813 10 6 .625 7 8 .467 11 7 .611 10 7 .588 7 10 .412 9 7 .563 7 8 .467 8 7 .533 8 10 .444 1 15 .063

Milwaukee Indiana

23 32

SEC

Southland Conference

SWAC

Southern Texas Southern Alabama A&M Alcorn Florida A&M Alabama St. Grambling Mississippi Val. Jackson St. BCU Ark.-Pine Bluff Prairie View

Sun Belt Conference

New Orleans 116, Brooklyn 113 Chicago 128, Utah 126 Denver 118, Dallas 109 Sacramento 112, New York 101 L.A. Clippers 119, Washington 105 Orlando 118, Memphis 111 Phoenix at Detroit, n Boston at Miami, n Oklahoma City at Houston, n Milwaukee at San Antonio, n Utah at Dallas, n Atlanta at Portland, n New York at Golden State, n Charlotte at L.A. Lakers, n

Friday’s Games

Cleveland at Philadelphia, 6 p.m.

New Orleans at Indiana, 6 p.m.

Chicago at Brooklyn, 6:30 p.m.

L.A. Clippers at Toronto, 6:30 p.m.

Minnesota at Houston, 8:30 p.m.

Washington at Sacramento, 9 p.m.

Late Wednesday New Orleans 116, Brooklyn 113 FG

FT Reb

BRKLYN Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS

Clowny 31:09 3-7 0-0 1-7 6 3 6 Portr Jr.31:51 7-20 2-2 3-7 1 2 20 Claxtn 28:51 5-10 0-1 2-6 0 4 10 Demin 28:51 6-10 0-0 0-0 5 0 17 Powell 24:12 6-10 2-3 0-5 2 0 16 Thomas23:48 6-15 2-2 0-1 5 0 16 Sharpe 19:09 7-9 1-2 3-9 0 1 15 Traore 19:09 2-8 0-0 0-1 1 3 5 Mann 16:51 1-1 0-2 0-2 3 2 3 Wolf 16:09 2-5 0-0 1-5 1 6 5 Totals 240:00 45-95 7-1210-43 24 21 113 Percentages: FG .474, FT .583.

3-Point Goals: 16-43, .372 (Demin 5-9, Porter Jr. 4-12, Powell 2-5, Thomas 2-5, Mann 1-1, Wolf 1-3, Traore 1-5, Clowney 0-3).

Team Rebounds: 9. Team Turnovers: 1.

Blocked Shots: 5 (Claxton 2, Clowney, Demin, Wolf).

Turnovers: 10 (Claxton 2, Porter Jr. 2, Traore 2, Clowney, Demin, Mann, Thomas).

Steals: 3 (Wolf 2, Demin).

Technical Fouls: None.

FG FT Reb

NOLA

Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS

Bey 26:06 3-8 5-6 1-4 1 0 12 Willmsn29:45 11-14 3-5 2-6 2 1 25 Queen 16:16 0-5 4-4 1-6 4 0 4 Fears 30:08 3-13 0-0 2-7 4 1 7 Murphy 38:02 12-22 5-7 1-9 5 1 34 Missi 34:07 6-13 0-0 9-12 4 1 12 Matkvc 17:59 3-5 1-1 2-3 1 2 8 Poole 17:32 2-7 1-2 0-2 2 2 7 Hawkins15:19 1-5 0-0 0-2 0 0 2 McGowens14:472-5 0-0 0-2 1 3 5 Totals 240 43-97 19-2518-53 24 11 116 Percentages: FG .443, FT .760.

3-Point Goals: 11-33, .333 (Murphy III 5-13, Poole 2-4, Matkovic 1-2, Bey 1-3, McGowens 1-3, Fears 1-4, Hawkins 0-4).

Team Rebounds: 12. Team Turnovers: 1.

Blocked Shots: 7 (Matkovic 2, Williamson 2, Missi, Murphy III, Queen).

Turnovers: 8 (Williamson 4, Matkovic, McGowens, Poole, Queen).

Steals: 5 (Murphy III 2, Bey, Queen, Williamson).

Technical Fouls: None.

Brooklyn 31 24 32 26 — 113 New Orleans 27 27 33 29 — 116 A_16,201 (16,867).

Pro football Wild-card Playoffs Saturday, Jan. 10

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

Sunday, Jan. 11

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

Monday, Jan. 12

Houston 30, Pittsburgh 6

Divsional Playoffs Saturday, Jan. 17

Buffalo at Denver, TBD San Francisco at Seattle, TBD

Sunday, Jan. 18

Houston/Pittsburgh winner at New England, TBD L.A. Rams at Chicago, TBD

Conference Championships Sunday, Jan. 25 AFC

AFC lowest remaining seed at AFC highest remaining seed

NFC at COLORADO at LOS ANGELES

-306 -172

Nashville Anaheim

+244 +143

Pro basketball

Atlantic Division New York Boston Toronto Philadelphia Brooklyn

W 25 24 25 22 11

L 15 15 17 17 27

Pct .625 .615 .595 .564 .289

GB — ½ 1 2½ 13

Orlando Miami Atlanta Charlotte Washington

W 23 21 20 14 10

L 18 19 22 26 29

Pct .561 .525 .476 .350 .256

GB — 1½ 3½ 8½ 12

Detroit Cleveland Chicago

W 28 23 19

L 10 19 21

Pct .737 .548 .475

GB — 7 10

Southeast Division

Central Division

WESTERN CONFERENCE Southwest Division

NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE

17 9

.425 12 .220 20½

San Antonio Houston Memphis Dallas New Orleans

W 27 23 17 15 10

L 13 14 23 26 33

Pct GB .675 — .622 2½ .425 10 .366 12½ .233 18½

Oklahoma City Denver Minnesota Portland Utah

W 34 28 27 19 14

L 7 13 14 22 26

Pct GB .829 — .683 6 .659 7 .463 15 .350 19½

Northwest Division

Pacific Division L.A. Lakers Phoenix Golden State L.A. Clippers Sacramento

W 24 24 22 17 11

Wednesday’s Games

L 14 16 19 23 30

Cleveland 133, Philadelphia 107 Toronto 115, Indiana 101

Pct GB .632 — .600 1 .537 3½ .425 8 .268 14½

NFC lowest remaining seed at NFC highest remaining seed

Super Bowl LIX Sunday, Feb. 8 At Santa Clara.

UL at South Alabama, 3 p.m.

Lamar at Nicholls, 3 p.m.

Southeastern at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 3:30 p.m.

Louisiana Tech at Jacksonville State, 4 p.m.

Southern at Grambling, 4 p.m.

NW State at Incarnate Word, 4 p.m.

McNeese at Texas-Rio Grande Valley, 4:30 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin at UNO, 5 p.m.

Late Wednesday KENTUCKY 75, LSU 74 FG

Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS

LSU

Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS

Jelavi 21 4-7 1-2 2-5 0 1 11 Moreno 20 4-7 2-3 1-8 2 4 10 Aberdeen 34 5-8 5-5 0-1 4 3 17 Oweh 37 6-13 6-10 0-4 1 2 21 Williams 28 2-6 0-0 0-0 2 5 5 Chandler 24 3-6 1-2 2-3 3 2 9 Garrison 15 0-3 0-0 0-3 2 1 0 Dioubate 12 1-2 0-0 1-3 0 1 2 Johnson 8 0-4 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Totals 200 25-56 15-22 6-27 14 19 75 Percentages: FG .446, FT .682.

3-Point Goals: 10-23, .435 (Oweh 3-6, Aberdeen 2-3, Chandler 2-4, Jelavi 2-4, Williams 1-3, Dioubate 0-1, Johnson 0-2).

Team Rebounds: 2. Team Turnovers: 2.

Blocked Shots: 3 (Dioubate, Jelavi , Moreno).

Turnovers: 7 (Oweh 2, Aberdeen, Chandler, Garrison, Jelavi , Moreno).

Steals: 7 (Moreno 2, Oweh 2, Chandler, Jelavi , Williams).

Technical Fouls: None.

FG FT Reb Nwoko 20 1-2 1-2 1-2 0 2 3 Sutton 30 5-9 3-4 1-6 0 3 16 Tamba 29 3-4 2-6 1-4 2 4 10 King 27 5-6 2-2 1-3 1 2 12 Mackinnon37 4-16 6-6 0-3 3 0 16 Reece 30 2-7 5-6 0-5 4 2 11 Miller 23 3-3 0-2 3-7 2 4 6 Mosley 4 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Totals 200 23-47 19-28 7-30 12 17 74 Percentages: FG .489, FT .679.

3-Point Goals: 9-19, .474 (Sutton 3-4, Tamba 2-2, Reece 2-5, Mackinnon 2-7, King 0-1).

Team Rebounds: 2. Team Turnovers: None.

Blocked Shots: 6 (King 2, Miller 2, Nwoko, Tamba).

Turnovers: 12 (King 4, Nwoko 3, Mackinnon 2, Miller, Reece, Sutton).

Steals: 4 (Miller 2, King, Nwoko).

Technical Fouls: None.

Kentucky 22 53 — 75 LSU 38 36 — 74

Late Wednesday TEXAS STATE 59, UL 54 FG

Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS

TSU

Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS

Jones 28 1-2 1-1 1-6 0 4 3 Finister 35 5-11 6-9 2-4 0 1 18 Lavergne 29 4-8 1-2 0-2 2 1 10 Mejia 22 1-5 0-0 0-1 0 0 3 Olvera 36 2-9 1-2 0-0 1 2 6 Woodson 17 1-2 0-0 0-4 0 0 3 Collins 13 2-3 1-1 1-2 2 0 5 Bilal 12 1-6 1-2 0-0 0 2 4 Evans 6 0-1 2-2 0-0 0 0 2 Ratliff 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Totals 200 17-47 13-19 4-19 5 10 54 Percentages: FG .362, FT .684.

3-Point Goals: 7-19, .368 (Finister 2-3, Bilal 1-2, Lavergne 1-2, Woodson 1-2, Olvera 1-3, Mejia 1-5, Collins 0-1, Jones 0-1).

Team Rebounds: 5. Team Turnovers: None.

Blocked Shots: 5 (Jones 3, Bilal, Evans).

Turnovers: 10 (Finister 3, Lavergne 2, Evans, Jones, Mejia, Olvera, Woodson).

Steals: 7 (Mejia 2, Collins, Evans, Finister, Jones, Lavergne).

Technical Fouls: None.

FG FT Reb Hall 33 7-15 2-4 2-14 2 1 16 Knox 12 1-2 0-0 1-2 0 1 2 Bolden 30 2-6 0-0 1-5 2 1 4 Davis 20 0-2 0-0 0-2 1 4 0 Gumbs 40 8-11 1-2 0-2 2 1 18 Emmou 30 4-8 2-2 0-0 2 2 12 Fields 19 3-4 1-2 1-5 1 2 7 Lee 11 0-0 0-0 0-1 4 2 0 Willis 5 0-2 0-0 1-1 0 1 0 Totals 200 25-50 6-10 6-32 14 15 59 Percentages: FG .500, FT .600.

3-Point Goals: 3-7, .429 (Emmou 2-2, Gumbs 1-1, Davis 0-1, Hall 0-1, Bolden 0-2).

Team Rebounds: 2. Team Turnovers: 2.

Blocked Shots: 2 (Fields, Hall).

Turnovers: 11 (Hall 4, Emmou 2, Gumbs 2, Bolden, Knox, Lee).

Steals: 7 (Davis 2, Gumbs 2, Bolden, Hall, Lee).

Technical Fouls: None.

UL 22 32 — 54 Texas State 29 30 — 59 A_1,103 (7,200).

Women’s state schedule

Tuesday’s game

Tulane 71, Temple 58

College football

Troy 86, UL-Monroe 80

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 Wednesday’s games

Kentucky 75 LSU 74 Louisiana Tech 59, Middle Tennessee 58 Alabama-Birmingham 82, Tulane 69 Texas State 59, UL 54

Saturday’s games

Missouri at LSU, 2:30 p.m.

Georgia State at UL-Monroe, 2:30 p.m.

FT Reb

UL

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

College Football Playoff

FT Reb

KEN

Wednesday’s game Thursday’s games

NW State at Houston Christian, n Lamar at UNO, n Southeastern at UTRGV, n Stephen F. Austin at Nicholls, n Middle Tenn. at Louisiana Tech, n McNeese at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, n UL at Arkansas State, n

Saturday’s games

UL at UL-Monroe, noon Southeastern at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 1 p.m.

Lamar at Nicholls, 1 p.m.

Northwestern at UIW, 1 p.m.

Western Kentucky at Louisiana Tech, 2 p.m.

McNeese at UTRGV, 2 p.m.

UAB at Tulane, 2 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin at UNO, 2 p.m.

Southern at Grambling, 2 p.m.

Side-splitting stories you ’ ve seen him on the TV specials “D om ino Effe c t ” and “Mexicans Got on B o ot s.” Now c atc h s tand - u p c o m ed i an Ali Siddiq at 7 p .m. F r i d ay at t he R aising C a n e’s R i ver C enter Theatre for Pe r for mi n g Ar t s . T i c ke t s r ange fr o m $ 5 1 t o $ 7 2 . rai singcanesrive r c e nt er. c om .

LIVING

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

|

F r i d ay, J a n u a ry 16, 2026

5Cn

120 FILMS IN 8 DAYS

Cinema on the Bayou brings the world to Lafayette

STEEP CANYON RANGERS 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 22

CINEMA ON THE BAYOU Wednesday through Jan. 28 l $10-$100 (festival pass) l Cité des Arts, 109 Rue Vine, Lafayette, and St. Landry Cinema, 1234 Heather Drive, Opelousas l cinemaonthebayou.com

Mardi Gras is coming!

$45-$65

l

survive,

Contributing writer

ä See CINEMA, page 6C

l

‘If bluegrass music is going to

BY JOHN WIRT

The 21st Cinema on the Bayou film festival will present 120 films, most of them world and U.S. premieres, Wednesday through Wednesday, Jan. 21-28.

Festival screenings will take place at Cité des Arts in downtown Lafayette and St. Landry Cinema in Opelousas. Befitting south Louisiana’s French heritage and Acadiana’s historic bond with French-speaking Canada, more than 40 of this year’s selections are in the French language.

Cinema on the Bayou’s opening night film, “R. Roussil: From the Ground Up,” screens at 7 p.m.

Wednesday, Jan. 21, at Cité des Arts. A documentary about Robert Roussil, the Québécois sculptor who championed artistic freedom, the film examines his art and philosophy and visits his home of many years, an abandoned windmill in France.

Maxime-Claude L’Écuyer, the Montréal-based director of “R. Roussil: From the Ground Up” (lefifa.com/en/catalog/r-roussil-lecul-par-terre) is among the more than 50 filmmakers and actors attending Cinema on the Bayou this year. The cinéastes are traveling from Tokyo, New York, New Jersey, Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, Nashville, Memphis, New Orleans and Shreveport.

l Manship Theatre, 100 Lafayette St., Baton Rouge manshiptheatre.org and steepcanyon.com

it has to

adapt’

— Steep Canyon Rangers’ Barrett Smith

Steep Canyon Rangers busy building new bluegrass

F

BY JOHN WIRT

|

Contributing writer

ormed in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, circa 1999, the Steep Canyon Rangers base their neo-bluegrass music on 20th-century masters of the genre such as Flatt and Scruggs, Bill Monroe and the Stanley Brothers.

Grounded in tradition though they are, Barrett Smith and his fellow Steep Canyon Rangers nonetheless see bluegrass as a living, growing American art form.

“If bluegrass music is going to survive, it has to adapt,” Smith said from the band’s home base in Asheville, North Carolina. “We see ourselves as a part of that evolution.”

The Steep Canyon Rangers will bring their budding bluegrass to the Manship Theatre in Baton Rouge on Thursday, Jan. 22, and Chickie Wah Wah in New Orleans on Friday, Jan. 23.

Taking a forward path — one that includes the unconventional presence of a drummer — doesn’t stop the Rangers from flying the bluegrass flag. ä See RANGERS, page 6C

Send us your ball stories and photos

The Advocate will publish Mardi Gras ball stories from Carnival krewes in and around the Baton Rouge area. Stories and photos should be emailed at least two weeks before the ball to mardigras@theadvocate.com.

Stories should include the names of the ball captain, court and the ball’s theme. No costume descriptions will be included.

Provide one photograph of the king, queen and ball captain, and photos of the court in groups of three or more. We will do our best but cannot guarantee date of publishing.

Photos should be jpg attachments with a resolution of 300 dpi or more. Those in photo(s) should be identified from left to right. Do not send more than three photos in a single email.

Also, please include contact name and phone number.

‘The Pitt’ is back for another harrowing shift Noah Wyle, left, stars as Michael Robinavitch — aka Dr. Robby — in the Emmy-winning medical drama ‘The Pitt.’

HBO MAX PHOTO

By WARRICK PAGE

BY JOCELYN NOVECK

Can it be that Robby — dedicated, wise, overworked, charming and brilliant — isn’t wearing a helmet?

It’s such a jarring sight that, When we first glimpse Noah Wyle’s Michael Robinavitch — launching a Zoom interview with aka Dr. Robby, of course — in Wyle, it’s one of the first things Season 2 of “The Pitt,” he’s look- we must inquire about. Did we remember that right? Were we ing darned good, truth be told.

The beloved ER doc is riding his supposed to notice?

Yes and yes. motorcycle to work, wearing nice “You’re supposed to notice that shades, hair rustling in the earlyhe doesn’t wear it,” Wyle confirms. morning Pittsburgh breeze.

Wait — hair rustling? It’s only ä See 'THE PITT', page 6C then we notice what’s missing.

AP national writer

6C ● Friday, January 16, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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SHOWS TO WATCH — ACADIANA FRIDAY

LIVE MUSIC: Cane River Pecan Company Pie Bar, New Iberia, 5 p.m.

AUDREY BROUSSARD: Charley G’s Seafood Grill, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

FRIDAY NIGHT JAM: La Maison de Begnaud, Scott, 6 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Jim Deggy’s Brick Oven Pizza & Brewery, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Naq’s-n-Duson, Duson, 6 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Prejean’s, Broussard, 6 p.m.

CLIFF BERNARD: SHUCKS!, Abbeville, 6:30 p.m.

DYLAN AUCOIN & THE JUDICE RAMBLERS: Silver Slipper, Arnaudville, 7 p.m.

JULIAN PRIMEAUX: Hideaway on Lee, Lafayette, 7 p.m.

NIK-L-BEER CRUISE: Pat’s Atchafalaya Club, Henderson, 7 p.m.

ROSEN & SMITH COMBO: Whiskey and Vine, Lafayette, 7 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: The Barrel of Broussard, Broussard, 8 p.m.

WATT SHUFF AND SECONDHAND SMOKE: Toby’s Lounge, Opelousas, 8:30 p.m.

ASK FOR ASHLEY: Rock ‘n’ Bowl, Lafayette, 9 p.m.

SATURDAY

COREY LEDET & ZYDECO BAND: Buck & Johnny’s, Breaux Bridge, 8 a.m.

CAJUN JAM: Moncus Park, Lafayette, 9 a.m.

SATURDAY MORNING JAM SESSIONS: The Savoy Music Center, Eunice, 9 a.m.

CAJUN JAM: Tante Marie, Breaux Bridge, 11 a.m.

JAMMIN’ ON THE BAYOU: St. Landry Visitor Center, Opelousas, 1 p.m.

CAJUN FRENCH MUSIC JAM: Vermilionville, Lafayette, 1 p.m.

PAUL TASSIN: Charley G’s Seafood Grill, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Jim Deggy’s Brick Oven Pizza & Brewery, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Naq’s-n-Duson, Duson, 6 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Prejean’s, Broussard, 6 p.m.

RAIKWON GREEN: Buck & Johnny’s, Breaux Bridge, 6:30 p.m.

RORY SUIRE: SHUCKS!, Abbeville, 6:30 p.m.

PROVIDED PHOTO FROM LIVERPOOLLEGENDS.COM

Liverpool Legends, the Beatles tribute band who has toured the world, will take the stage at the Heymann Center in Lafayette at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 22. Tickets are $47-$93.

HIJACK THE FLOAT, S.W.A.M., DRIVE, DOCTOR! & EVIE RICHARD: The Loose Caboose, Lafayette, 7 p.m.

THUNDER CHILD: Gloria’s Bar & Grill, Lafayette, 7 p.m.

X-CHANGE: Silver Slipper, Arnaudville, 7 p.m.

BREAUX-MUNHOZ BRAZILIAN JAZZ & CLASSIC BRAZILIAN TUNES: Whiskey and Vine, Lafayette, 7 p.m.

FINAL ESSAY, GOODBYE ACADEMY, PHANTUM SUN, & HOLLEESTAR: Feed N Seed, Lafayette, 7 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Pat’s Atchafalaya Club, Henderson, 7 p.m.

HIGH PERFORMANCE: La Poussiere Cajun Dancehall, Breaux Bridge, 8 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: The Barrel of Broussard, Broussard, 8 p.m.

TROUBLE DOWN TECHE: Hideaway on Lee, Lafayette, 8 p.m.

TJ GAUTREAUX: Toby’s Lounge, Opelousas, 8:30 p.m.

VERMILLIONAIRES: Rock ‘n’ Bowl, Lafayette, 9 p.m.

Seafood Grill, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Pat’s Atchafalaya Club, Henderson, 7 p.m.

SUNDAY

WEDNESDAY

GLENN ZERINGUE: Whiskey & Vine, Lafayette, 11 a.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Tante Marie, Breaux Bridge, 11 a.m.

CAJUN JAM: Bayou Teche Brewing, Arnaudville, 2 p.m.

JAKE SPINELLA: Charley G’s

‘THE PITT’

PATRICIO LATINO SOLO: Cafe Habana City, Lafayette, 11 a.m.

BLUEGRASS JAM: Cité des Arts, Lafayette, 6:30 p.m.

TUESDAY

PAUL TASSIN: Charley G’s Seafood Grill, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

ROB SAXY: Whiskey and Vine, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

TERRY HUVAL & FRIENDS: Prejean’s Restaurant, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

GREENLIGHT SESSIONS OPEN MIC: Jefferson Street Greenroom, Lafayette, 7 p.m.

GROOVE ROOM: Blue Moon Saloon, Lafayette, 8 p.m.

DULCIMER JAM: St. Landry Visitor Center, Opelousas, 10 a.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Park Bistro, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

SAM SPHAR: Charley G’s Seafood Grill, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

THURSDAY

MICHALIS: Charley G’s Seafood Grill, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Naq’s-n-Duson, Duson, 6 p.m.

PAUL TASSIN: Whiskey and Vine, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

THAT BAD JAZZ COMBO: Hideaway on Lee, Lafayette, 7 p.m.

LIVERPOOL LEGENDS: Heymann Center, Lafayette, 7:30 p.m.

KIP SONNIER: SHUCKS!, Abbeville, 6:30 p.m.

Compiled by Marchaund Jones. Want your venue’s music listed? Email info/ photos to showstowatch@ theadvocate.com. The deadline is noon FRIDAY for the following Friday’s paper.

TODAY IN HISTORY

Continued from page 5C “But then, he tells people that he does. Which means, you know he’s lying. We don’t know what else he’s lying about.”

More broadly, it’s all part of the goal this new season, after an impactful, Emmy-winning debut that culminated with a mass shooting.

There were worries that they wouldn’t be able to up the ante.

Well, the idea is not to up the ante, Wyle says, but to more deeply explore characters and their issues.

“Our job isn’t to come up with another stunt that creates drama to be the catalyst for excitement on the show,” Wyle says. “Our job is to be faithful to the characters that we’ve initiated. To plot them in space and time in a real three-dimensional way, and allow their lives and what they’re going through to generate the drama and the tension.”

Hence the no-helmet scene — a last-minute decision the night before. They’d planned for Robby to wear a helmet. But Wyle says he suggested to executive producer John Wells that if he didn’t, “We won’t know what to trust and what not to trust from that moment forward, and the audience will be privy to a secret that the characters around him aren’t.”

“He dug it, so we went with that.”

MONDAY

ANDREW WAIN & LOGAN TURNER JAZZ: Whiskey and Vine, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

ABI & KJ: Gloria’s Bar & Grill, Lafayette, 7 p.m.

CAJUN JAM: Blue Moon Saloon, Lafayette, 8 p.m.

JOSH TAYLOR: Tap Room, Youngsville, 8 p.m.

By The Associated Press

HBO MAX PHOTO By WARRICK PAGE

Louisiana native Katherine LaNasa, right, is back for Season 2 as all-knowing charge nurse Dana on ‘The Pitt.’

Played by Sepideh Moafi, AlHashimi is a big proponent of AI and new technology — something Robby’s deeply skeptical of. On top of that, they’re not used to sharing leadership roles, even for one day (or season.)

“It’s a bit of a learning curve,” Moafi notes.

Talk about a learning curve: The actors, along with their characters, have absorbed a lot more new medicine.

“There’s a LOT more procedures,” pronounces Taylor Dearden, who plays Melissa “Mel” King, now a third-year resident. One of the first ones we witness is a doozy — a “clamshell,” in which surgeons cut across the chest to expose the heart and lungs. Cue Al-Hashimi’s line: “Convert to clamshell!”

As for Mel, who is neurodivergent, she’s dealing with a lot.

“All the confidence Mel’s gained 10 months later over the past 10 months is comThe timing — July 4 — was hard- pletely eroded … because she’s ly chosen haphazardly. Think holi- named in a malpractice suit,” day gatherings, fireworks, injuries Dearden explains. “It’s a really we can imagine and worse ones we tough day for Mel, trying to bolcan’t. But also, timing is important ster her own self-esteem when the for the characters — it’s been 10 odds are very much against it.” months since last season’s events.

Dr. Frank Langdon has spent Enter the real world those months in rehab. The hardWyle — who produces and writes driving senior resident with the as well as stars — says it happens much-noticed dimpled chin ran all the time: People in the health into serious trouble in the first care industry, who have roundly season when he was caught steal- embraced the show, weigh in with ing prescription meds to feed his stories. So do patients.

“We take case studies, anecaddiction.

Well, Frank’s been given a re- dotes, stories people tell us and it prieve, and he’s on his first day gets woven into the fabric of the back. Robby, for one, is not thrilled. show,” Wyle says.

A key example of an issue the But Patrick Ball, who plays Frank, is very relieved at his own show aims to grapple with: health reprieve. He’d been biting his nails insurance. There are scenes as he awaited his character’s fate. where patients wonder if they “Pretty much the entirety of can afford the ER care, argue my time on ‘The Pitt’ has been about expensive procedures or praying for a job and hoping I get advice on payment plans.

Wyle says creators, trying to don’t get fired,” Ball quips. “I was sweating pretty hard.” He got the keep up with developments in good news that he’d be back in a health insurance as they were call from Wells, while walking on writing, “talked to a lot of experts and we basically said, give us six a rainy New York street.

Louisiana’s Katherine LaNasa, months out, 12 months out, 18 who plays all-knowing charge months out. Worst case scenario, nurse Dana, had a similar sense what population gets hit the hardof uncertainty. She was a breakout est?” And they asked themselves: star of the first season, winning one “What can we put on TV that of the show’s five Emmys. But her would be helpful as an informacharacter also seemed headed out tive guide?” the door, disillusioned by a brutal Doctors as patients punch from an unruly patient.

“I’m like, really, please don’t get One key theme of this season, rid of me now!” LaNasa, a New Or- Wyle says: “Doctors make terleans native who grew up in Baton rible patients.” A case in point is Rouge, says she thought. Happily, Robby himself.

Dana too is back, taking charge as It’s not just the helmet thing. It’s her title implies, with that sassy also how he advocates that his staff but maternal demeanor. make use of mental health resourc“I think of her as like a basket- es, while he won’t do the same.

“Instead, he’s created a sort ball coach,” says LaNasa of Dana.

“She’s looking at what’s going on, of self-help version of a mental and what do people need to do health plan where he could fix up their best? … I have children that this old motorcycle and take it on are 24 years apart in age and so, I this slightly romantic, slightly litfeel like I’ve just been mothering erary odyssey-trip of self discovmy whole life.” ery,” Wyle says.

The fact is, Wyle himself is a In with the new pretty bad patient. Just ask him.

“I don’t go to the doctor,” the acA key arrival in the expanded cast is Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi, tor confesses, when asked what who’s planning to take over from kind of a patient he is.

Robby as chief attending doctor “In the same way that Robby’s while he goes on sabbatical (on not going to a psychiatrist, Noah his motorcycle!) doesn’t like going to doctors.”

Today is Friday, Jan. 16, the 16th day of 2026. There are 349 days left in the year.

Today in history: On Jan. 16, 1991, in a televised address to the nation, U.S. President George H.W. Bush announced the start of Operation Desert Storm, a combat operation that drove Iraqi forces out of Kuwait.

Also on this date: In 1865, Union Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman decreed that 400,000 acres of confiscated land in the South would be divided into 40-acre lots and given to former enslaved people. (The order, later revoked by President

Andrew Johnson, inspired the expression, “40 acres and a mule.”)

In 1942, actor Carole Lombard, 33, her mother, Elizabeth Peters, and 20 other people were killed when their plane crashed near Las Vegas while returning to California from a war-bond promotion tour.

In 1989, three days of rioting began in Miami when a police officer fatally shot a Black motorcyclist, causing a crash that also claimed the life of his passenger.

(The officer was convicted of manslaughter, but later acquitted in a retrial.)

In 1996, Wayne Newton performed his 25,000th Las Vegas show. Newton had performed more shows as a headliner in Las

CINEMA

Continued from page 5C Despite months of political and economic tension between U.S. President Donald J. Trump and Canada, filmmakers from Quebec City, Winnipeg, Saskatchewan and Montréal will also attend Cinema on the Bayou.

Rebecca Hudsmith, the festival’s director, and Pat Mire, founder and artistic director, are relieved that the Canadians, a group that normally participates in Cinema on the Bayou, have opted to return in troubled times.

“We’re surprised at the number of Canadian filmmakers (who will attend),” Hudsmith said. “Canadians are proud people. They have their own identity and culture and way of life. We should respect that. It’s offensive to them to be referred as the 51st state, but the connection between those folks and Cinema on the Bayou supersedes those political issues. I hope we’re part of keeping our two countries as friends.”

“They don’t really think of south Louisiana as part of the U.S,” said Mire. “They wouldn’t be going anywhere else, but it doesn’t hurt that they love our gumbo, too.”

Cinema on the Bayou highlights this year include closing night

RANGERS

Continued from page 5C “We play a lot of music that doesn’t sound like traditional bluegrass music,” Smith said. “But if you see us at the airport with our instruments, and you ask us what kind of music we do, we say we’re a bluegrass band.”

Smith, a bassist, guitarist and singer, is joined in the Rangers by Graham Sharp, banjo; Mike Guggino, mandolin and mandola; Aaron Burdett, guitar; Nicky Sanders, fiddle; and Mike Ashworth, drums, Dobro and guitar. All six of them sing.

The Steep Canyon Rangers maintain a packed tour schedule. They’ve released 14 albums, earned three Grammy nominations, one Grammy win and been inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame. Three albums recorded with Steve Martin and performances with the banjoplaying actor-comedian yielded a new level of success.

Working with Martin brought the Rangers to audiences they may never have seen otherwise. Smith furthermore credits increased interest in bluegrass music to Billy Strings, the 33-year-old singer, gui-

PROVIDED PHOTO

Noémie yelle plays Pat, an aspiring writer, in Canadian director yanie Dupont-Hébert’s dramedy ‘1+1+1 Life, love, chaos.’

Vegas than any other entertainer.

In 2018, authorities in Denmark charged inventor Peter Madsen with killing Swedish journalist Kim Wall onboard his private submarine. (Madsen would be convicted and sentenced to life in prison.)

Today’s birthdays: Opera singer Marilyn Horne is 92. Hall of Fame auto racer A.J. Foyt is 91. Country musician Ronnie Milsap is 83.

Filmmaker John Carpenter is 78.

Actor-dancer-choreographer Debbie Allen is 76. Singer Sade is 67.

Boxing Hall of Famer Roy Jones Jr. is 57. Model Kate Moss is 52.

Actor-producer-songwriter LinManuel Miranda is 46. Baseball great Albert Pujols is 46. SingerSongwriter Yebba is 31.

Mire in the year-round work required by Cinema on the Bayou.

“It’s a lot of work, but it’s fun, creative work,” Hudsmith said.

“Pat and I both love it and he is brilliant at it.”

Mire’s and Hudsmith’s goals for the festival include it being named an Oscar-qualifying festival by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Three films shown in previous years have won Oscars, including “I’m Not a Robot,” a narrative short from The Netherlands screened last year.

The week before this year’s festival, Mire’s and Hudsmith’s feature film collaboration, “Pointe Noire,” ran for weeklong engagements at the St. Landry Cinema and Parkway Cinema 6 in Natchitoches.

More screenings in Louisiana and Quebec will follow.

“Pointe Noire,” a murder mystery featuring Canadian film star Roy Dupuis, Myriam Cyr, Michael Bienvenu and Acadiana musician Zachary Richard, premiered at last year’s Cinema on the Bayou.

“We excited about letting that film go and take its place in the world,” Hudsmith said.

Tickets for Cinema on the Bayou, the festival schedule and film descriptions are available at cinemaonthebayou.com.

screenings on Jan. 28 of two narrative short films from Japan, “10 Days to Eternity” and “The Shore of Empathy.”

Tokyo filmmaker Taichi Ishikawa will present his film, “The Shore of Empathy,” and do a Q&A thanks to volunteer translator Jasmine Sakaguchi, a student from Japan who’s attending the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

“Of course,” Hudsmith said, “it’s for the whole community, and certainly for our filmmakers and Cinema on the Bayou.”

In December, Hudsmith retired from 32 years as the federal public defender for the middle and western districts of Louisiana. She’s doing freelance legal work now, Email John Wirt at j_wirt@msn. but hopes to find more time to help com.

tarist, banjo and mandolin player from Michigan whose hybrid of bluegrass, rock and jazz fills arenas nationwide.

“We’re on the upswing right now,” Smith said. “I attribute that largely to Billy Strings. He’s really good, first of all, and he’s a star.

That’s cool for bluegrass music, for the rest of us.”

A similar rise for bluegrass, Smith said, happened a generation ago when the Grammy-winning “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” movie soundtrack album hit sales of 10 million units. The album and film include bluegrass artists Ralph Stanley and Alison Krauss and Krauss band member Dan Tyminski’s Stanley Brothers-based rendition of the folk song “Man of Constant Sorrow.” “ ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’ and ‘Man of Constant Sorrow’ were hits,” Smith said. “All of a sudden, people were more interested in this American (roots) music. And now Billy Strings, he brings a lot of people in from the jam-band world.”

Smith didn’t join the Rangers until 2018, but he’s been in the band’s circle since he and the other members were college students in North Carolina.

“I’ve been close with all these guys, playing in little side bands with them,” he said.

The side projects include Smith’s Italian folk music duo with Guggino. The traditional music they play, Smith said, “it’s almost as if Italian string musicians had migrated to the U.S. earlier in history, filtered down to the Appalachian Mountains and invented bluegrass music.”

The other Rangers also have side projects, Smith added.

“Everybody is busy and creative, recording solo and with their little bands, but Steep Canyon Rangers is the center of it all,” he said.

Performing with Martin and his “Only Murders in the Building” co-star Martin Short is another Rangers priority. The collaboration dates to Martin’s 2011 album with the Rangers, “Rare Bird Alert.”

The Rangers’ dates with Martin and Short include shows this month in San Antonio and Austin, Texas.

“Our relationship with those guys runs so deep now,” Smith said. “It feels natural and it’s a big part of what we do. And they are not interested in stopping or slowing down. They love to work and create, hang out and have a good time. We like being a part of that.

We’re eternally grateful for it because it’s such a cool ride.”

Email John Wirt at j_wirt@msn. com.

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Friday, January 16, 2026 ● 7C

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FrAnK And erneSt

bIG nAte

zItS

zodIAC cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Go over fine details to ensure you aren't taking on more than you can handle. Consider whether you want to pursue what someone offers or choose a different path.

Emotional manipulation is apparent.

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Sit tight, observe and consider the cost associated with any change you want to make. Do your research and get what you want in writing.

PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) You are in a better position than you realize. Take advantage of an opportunity to mingle, socialize, network or address issues of concern. Mix business with pleasure.

ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Take a break.

Examine your routine, how you spend your time and earn your living, and how much attention you give to doing the things you love most. It's time to realign your schedule to meet your demands.

TAuRus (April 20-May 20) Lean into whatever you do, and you'll feel the benefits that come with feeling good about what you achieve. Personal and professional gain is within reach with a bit of time and effort on your part.

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Put your energy where it counts. Research, learn from experts, travel and prepare for what you want to pursue. Refuse to let anyone mislead or take advantage of you. Set your sights on what's feasible. cAncER (June 21-July 22) Invite change into your world. The possibilities are endless if you are willing to put yourself out there. Listen to your heart, consider

what others have to offer and start conversations that have substance.

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Take the initiative to make amendments where necessary.

Deal with institutions and government agencies, and tie up unfinished business.

Clear a path to bigger and better opportunities.

VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) Start the weekend off with a smile on your face. Take advantage of an opportunity to catch up with someone you love or to make plans that give you something to look forward to. Focus on creating positive change.

LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Rethink your lifestyle. Exposing yourself to a change will help you rediscover yourself and what you want to do next. Embrace new beginnings; check out people, places and positions of interest. scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Emotions and moneywon'tmix.Spendingonsomething you don't need may give you a rush at first, but it won't last. Pay more attention to what matters. Have a positive attitude and make gratitude your mantra. sAGITTARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Be careful not to share sensitive information or be too accommodating with people trying to take advantage of you. Protect your home, family and future by being resourceful and knowing when to say no.

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: H EQuALs V

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

SherMAn’S LAGoon FAMILY CIrCUS

dooneSbUrY

8C ● Friday, January 16, 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 ● Friday, January 16, 2026 ● 9C

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B.C.

Bridge

By PHILLIP ALDER H.L. Mencken said, “An idealist is one who, on noticing that a rose smells better than a cabbage, concludes that it will also make better soup.”

Or maybe that is someone who jumps too quickly to conclusions, which is also not a good idea at the bridge table. In today’s deal, South is in seven spades.

West leads the heart queen. How should declarer deliberate?

North’s raise to three spades promised some points. South’s plunge into seven spades was optimistic because he knew that he could not reach the dummy unless it contained the heart queen or a heart shortage. It would have been wiser to stop in six — except that that would have ruined the column!

Someone who is impulsive will win with his heart ace, cash the diamond ace and heart king, then ruff a heart on the board. But East would overruff to defeat the contract.

Yes, South needs to ruff a heart and discard his second low heart on the diamond king, but he needs only one trump for one ruff. So, he should start by drawing two rounds of trumps. Then he unblocks the diamond ace, cashes the second top heart, and ruffs a heart in the dummy.

garfield

Pearls Before swiNe

hagar the horriBle

Here, his care is rewarded when East has doubletons in both majors.

South pitches his last heart on a high diamond, ruffs a diamond back to his hand, draws West’s last trump, and claims. A broad smile is permitted from North! © 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 — XyLoPHonE: ZYE-lih-fone: A percussion instrument using

Bizarro

marmaduKe

wooden bars of graduated length, struck to produce the musical scale.

Average mark 27 words Time limit 45 minutes Can you find 40 or more words in XYLOPHONE? yEsTERDAy’s WoRD — oRPHAns orphan osar rash rasp roan parson posh harp hasp hoar hops

hora horn apron arson nosh sharp shop shorn snap soap soar

sonar sora span spar

loCKhorNs hidato Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

today’s thought “I spoke to you in your prosperity; but you said, I will not hear. This has been your manner from your youth, that you obeyed not my voice.” Jeremiah 22:21 Prosperity can rob us of God’s blessing. Think it over. — G.E. Dean

10C ● Friday, January 16, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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ALMANAC

AIR QUALITY

LAFAyETTE THROUGH 5 P.M. THURSDAy

YESTERDAY

TEMPERATURE

High/low Normal high/low Record high Record low

MODERATE

53°/39° 62°/43° 82° in 1928 23° in 1964

TODAY

PRECIPITATION

MODERATE

24 hours through 5 p.m. Thu. 0.00” Month to date (normal) 2.43” (2.98”) year to date (normal) 2.43” (2.98”)

MAIN POLLUTANT Ozone

SUN AND MOON Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today

MAIN POLLUTANT Nitrogen oxide

READING 51

7:05 a.m.

5:31 p.m.

5:37 a.m.

3:32 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 66/35

Shreveport 65/35

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

Jackson 68/36

Longview 63/32

Many 68/34

Hattiesburg 67/44

Alexandria 69/38

OHIO

Cairo COMITE

Near Olive

Baton Rouge 71/46 Beaumont 73/47

Lafayette

Port Arthur 71/49

AMITE

Near Darlington Denham Springs Port Vincent

New Orleans 71/50

Lake Charles 70/47

TICKFAW

Montpelier Holden

Houma 71/50

ATCHAFALAYA

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

Simmesport Melville Krotz Springs Butte La Rose Bayou Sorrel Morgan City

TIDES HIGH

Lake Pontchartrain (Tchefuncte River) 5:35a Shell Beach --South Point, Marsh Island 5:04p Cypremort Point 8:21p Grand Isle (Barataria Pass) 8:08p Mississippi River (Southwest Pass) 7:22p Wine Island 9:16p

First FT. LOW

0.5 --1.3 1.2 0.9 1.1 1.1

FT.

5:36p -0.3 11:22a -0.6 6:33a -0.9 10:26a -0.8 6:52a -0.6 5:02a -0.8 7:54a -0.8

HIGH

Second FT. LOW

--------11:29p 1.2 -----------------

FT.

--------7:25p 1.2 -----------------

FLOOD STAGE 24-HOUR STAGE CHANGE

34 48 48 35 27 22 17

-2.10 14.20 18.20 7.00 3.70 2.90 1.60

+0.80 -0.54 -0.40 +0.30 +0.20 +0.46 +0.08

40

15.14

+0.54

19

-0.98

-0.20

18 29 8

0.62 20.24 3.07

-0.77 -5.94 -0.37

13 15

3.53 10.80

-0.82 +1.45

47 34 29 20 12 6

6.09 3.90 3.68 2.97 2.40 2.61

-0.33 -0.27 -0.15 -0.08 none +0.76

Austin Boston Dallas Fairbanks Honolulu Las Vegas Louisville Miami Nashville

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

Saturday

Hi

Lo

W

Hi

Lo

W

City

73 34 59 33 78 70 46 68 50

39 28 36 5 67 44 30 59 32

s pc s sn pc s c s r

53 38 47 22 78 67 34 74 42

29 33 24 11 69 43 19 66 19

pc pc pc pc pc s c pc c

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

50 92 56 44 52 68 46 51 71 76 55

42 75 47 31 44 53 36 34 54 62 41

c pc pc pc c c sh s s s c

50 92 55 39 51 69 45 41 79 77 55

34 75 51 30 36 54 33 34 65 64 42

c pc r c c pc c c pc s pc

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

Hi

Today

W

Hi

Lo

W

71 60 36 78 35 49 46 74 59

50 42 31 49 32 37 20 47 45

s s pc s sn s pc s s

56 71 42 77 35 57 26 76 68

38 53 33 51 16 34 15 48 55

pc pc r s sn pc c pc pc

59 50 51 68 11 18 65 53 59 37 61

40 43 38 45 7 -3 46 41 41 34 44

pc pc pc pc s c c c pc c s

62 50 46 67 27 8 68 51 60 37 58

39 42 33 49 22 0 47 42 43 31 43

pc c sh pc sn c c c s c s

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

-10

-0s

0s

10s 20s 30s 40s 50s 60s 70s 80s 90s 100s 110s

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

Today Sat. Sun. Mon. Tue. Wed. Thu.

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

Major

9:09a 9:57a 10:47a 11:09a 12:01p 12:56a 1:47a

Minor

Major

2:55a 9:35p 3:44a 10:23p 4:34a 11:13p 5:25a ---6:16a 12:28p 7:07a 1:19p 7:58a 2:09p

Minor

3:22p 4:10p 5:00p 5:50p 6:40p 7:30p 8:20p

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

Arthur Hardy

looks back at 50 years of Mardi Gras in New Orleans

More than

300 +

incredible photographs

Each Mardi Gras Guide cover from the last 50 years!

All in one beautiful 120-page hardcover book

$ ORDER

39

95

plus tax & shipping

Saturday

Lo

A Celebration of Carnival is on sale now and is a great gift for anyone who loves Mardi Gras. This 120-page, heirloom-quality hardcover book from The Times-Picayune features Arthur Hardy’s intimate stories behind five decades of purple, gold, and green. Whether you remember saving throws from the ’80s, bringing your children to their first parade in the ’90s, or celebrating our resilience in recent years, this book honors your memories and the traditions you’ve passed down. Arthur Hardy has preserved the soul of what makes us New Orleanians, making this the perfect holiday gift for anyone who holds Carnival close to their heart.

or visit HARDY.PICTORIALBOOK.COM