The Acadiana Advocate 01-30-2026

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ABOVE: CayleCarroll, 13, leads hisgray Brahman heifer through the livestock barnduringthe Acadiana District Livestock ShowonThursdayatBlackham Coliseum in Lafayette.

RIGHT: Opelousas SeniorHighstudent DeavenStevenson,18, shears aNigerian dwarf goat on Thursdayduring the Acadiana District Livestock Show.

STAFF PHOTOSByLESLIE WESTBROOK

Cold weather threatensfruit as growingseasons shift

BY CLAIRE GRUNEWALD

Staff writer

Strawberry farmers in southeast Louisiana spent Thursdaypulling back covers off rows of plants to feed them, picking anyripe fruit and then covering them rightback up again in preparationfor the

Reinsurers’ profitscould mean relief forLa. homeowners

It’s notyet clearhow large rate decreasescould be

BY SAM KARLIN Staff writer

After years of losses, fortunes have changed in boardroomsinBermuda andLondon. Reinsurers, whobackstop the globalinsurance industry,are seeing healthy profits.

An extraordinary spate of wildfires, hurricanes and other disasters wreakedhavoc on the reinsurance industry for several years, spurring widereaching effects that included surging insurance bills for Louisiana homeowners. Reinsurers charged higher prices to homeowners insurance companies, which got passed along to customers. The steep increases in Louisiana thrust the state into an insurance crisisthat’shollowing outhurricane-prone communitiesand softening the real estate market.

“Reinsurers have been doing well thepastfew yearsafter absorbing massive losses fora number of years.”

BRIAN KEEFER CEOofAllied TrustInsurance Company

But recentquiethurricane seasons and the soaring rates that reinsurers have charged have led to unusually strongprofits for the reinsurance industry,according to analysts. And with capital flowing freely,the pendulum is swinging back. Insurance companies whobuy protection from reinsurers are seeing huge slides in prices, which have dropped between 10% and 20%, by someestimates.

Strawberry farmersworktoprotect crop from freezing temperatures

weekend’scold weather South Louisiana is bracing for its second consecutive freezing weekend,under an extreme cold watch from Friday night through Sunday morning asanother blast of arctic air sweepsthrough.

Strawberry farmers in Livingston and Tangipahoa parishes prepped their farms last week and have kept their cold-weather coveragesystems in place in anticipation of this weekend.

Strawberry farmerRhonda Landry-Poché uses asystemof

blankets,hooksand lines to createagreenhouse effect during the cold to protect thestrawberry blooms, apart of theplant that is essential forfruit development andmakes strawberries in about 21-day cycles. Landry-Poché sprays thefruit with plant food and covers them again.

“When it gets coldlike this, that’s what we’re trying to protect,” she said. “What we’retrying to do is save thesebloomsbecause if not,

Farmer Rhonda Landry-Poché inspects the health of her strawberries on Thursday.

STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

Trump declares tariff on planes from Canada

President Donald Trump said he would charge a 50% tariff on aircraft from Canada sold in the U.S. and decertify all planes made in that country until Ottawa agreed to approve certain jets made by Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., an American firm.

Trump said Canada had “wrongfully, illegally, and steadfastly refused to certify the Gulfstream 500, 600, 700, and 800 Jets,” in a social media post Thursday In response, he said the U.S. would decertify “Bombardier Global Expresses, and all Aircraft made in Canada, until such time as Gulfstream, a Great American Company, is fully certified.”

Trump claimed that Canada was “effectively prohibiting the sale of Gulfstream products in Canada through this very same certification process.”

“If, for any reason, this situation is not immediately corrected, I am going to charge Canada a 50% Tariff on any and all Aircraft sold into the United States of America,” he added.

Earlier Thursday, Trump threatened to tariff countries that provided or sold oil to Cuba, in a move that could subject Mexico to higher levies.

Self-driving Waymo hits child near

school

LOS ANGELES A Waymo selfdriving taxi recently struck a child near a Santa Monica elementary school during dropoff hours, triggering an investigation into the incident by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The child sustained minor injuries, Waymo said. After being struck, the child stood up and walked to the sidewalk, where witnesses called 911.

Santa Monica Police said officers responded to the Jan. 23 incident close to Grant Elementary School. After being evaluated by responders from the fire department, the child was released.

The investigation said the child was running across the street toward the school when they were hit. Waymo said the child appeared from behind a large SUV

“The event occurred when the pedestrian suddenly entered the roadway from behind a tall SUV, moving directly into our vehicle’s path,” Waymo said in a statement. “The Waymo Driver braked hard, reducing speed from approximately 17 mph to under 6 mph before contact was made.”

There were other children, a crossing guard and several double-parked vehicles in the vicinity when the accident occurred, according to NHTSA.

Waymo reported the incident to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation and said it would fully cooperate. The Waymo involved was operating on the company’s fifth-generation automated driving system without a safety driver

Car rams into Chabad headquarters in NYC

A man was arrested after repeatedly crashing his car into the Chabad Lubavitch world headquarters in New York City on Wednesday night while people were gathered for prayer at the deeply revered Hasidic Jewish site.

No one was injured when the driver struck a door of a building in the complex before reversing and striking it several more times. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the incident was being investigated as a possible hate crime. Video of the crash that was posted online shows a car with New Jersey license plates moving forward and backward on an icy driveway leading to a building in the complex and ramming its basement-level doors.

The driver, who is wearing shorts, emerges, shouts to bystanders that “It slipped” and says something to police about trying to park.

The Chabad Lubavitch headquarters and synagogue in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood receives thousands of visitors annually Its Gothic Revival facade is very recognizable to adherents of the Chabad movement and has inspired dozens of replicas across the world.

Miss. nearer school cellphone ban

BY DEVNA BOSE Mississippi Today

Cellphones could soon become a rarer sight in classrooms, thanks to the Mississippi Legislature.

The House Education Committee passed a bill during its Wednesday meeting that would require local school boards to enact policies that restrict or prohibit the use of cellphones during the school day

The Senate Education Committee greenlit a similar bill during its meeting last week, which bodes well for the legislative success of the policy

Rep. Sam Creekmore, R-New Albany said similar bills have previously failed, but he’s optimistic that the Legislature can get the policy passed this year because it’s a priority for legislators in both chambers Creekmore also said he’s concerned about the amount of time students are spending on their phones and how that impacts their mental health.

Mental health issues among

teenagers have risen sharply since the early 2010s, coinciding with the widespread adoption of smartphones. “You just can’t ignore that,” he said.

Youth mental health concerns have sparked renewed interest in policies across the country Research links cellphone and social media usage among school-aged kids to negative mental health outcomes and instances of cyberbullying.

At least 33 states and the District of Columbia require school districts to ban or restrict students from using cellphones in schools, according to Education Week. A measure that would have done so in Mississippi died last session, even after Mississippi’s youth mental health task force recommended that all school districts implement policies that limited cellphone and social media usage in classrooms.

Still, districts have established their own policies — and seen the dividends. Creekmore cited the

success of a new school cellphone policy in Marshall County as an example, near his district. In 2024, Marshall County School District in Holly Springs became the first district in north Mississippi to restrict students’ use of cellphones in school Upon arrival at school, students store their phones in lockable pouches, which blocks access during class.

After implementing the policy, 88% of teachers in Marshall County schools saw an improvement in student engagement, according to the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. Jackson Public Schools established a stricter cellphone policy this past school year, requiring students to keep their phones out of sight and off their person during school. Since updating the policy district spokesman Sherwin Johnson said teachers report improved classroom management, better transitions between classes and more meaningful teacher-student

interactions across schools.

A Pew Research Center survey found that most adults support cellphone bans in middle and high school classes, but those who don’t say it’s because their child can use their phone during emergencies.

Creekmore said he’s raised similar concerns to law enforcement, who say having a cellphone during an emergency could be distracting.

Brigette Whaley, a professor at West Texas A&M University and former middle school teacher, has studied classroom cellphone policies in several states. She found that at one rural high school in Texas during the 2024-25 school year, a bell-to-bell phone-free policy resulted in more student engagement, less “drama” among students and less student anxiety and cyberbullying.

“What I’m seeing with teachers is that they’re definitely excited about building those relationships and community in their classrooms again,” she said.

Venezuelan lawmakers ease state grip on oil

BY REGINA GARCIA CANO Associated Press

CARACAS Venezuela Ven-

ezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez on Thursday signed a law that will open the nation’s oil sector to privatization, reversing a tenet of the self-proclaimed socialist movement that has ruled the country for more than two decades.

Lawmakers in the country’s National Assembly approved the overhaul of the energy industry law earlier in the day, less than a month after the brazen seizure of then-President Nicolás Maduro in a U.S. military attack in Venezuela’s capital.

As the bill was being passed, the U.S. Treasury Department officially began to ease sanctions on Venezuelan oil that once crippled the industry, and expanded the ability of U.S. energy companies to operate in the South American nation, the first step in plans outlined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio the day before. The license authorization by the Treasury Department strictly prohibits entities from China, Russia, Iran, North Korea or Cuba from the transactions.

The moves by both governments on Thursday are paving the way for yet another radical geopolitical and economic shift in Venezuela.

“We’re talking about the future. We are talking about the country that we are going to give to our children,” Rodríguez said.

BY IRIS KWOK Los Angeles Times (TNS)

Barbie’s male counterpart, it turns out, is not “just Ken.” His full name is Kenneth Sean Carson, according to Mattel, which says the doll saw a uptick in popularity following the hit movie’s release in 2023.

Ahead of Ken’s 65th birthday, the El Segundobased toy giant shared a laundry list of niche biographical details about the doll, including his official “birthday” — March 11, 1961, making him a Pisces — as well as his relationship history with Barbie.

The company said in a statement Monday that Ken has “experienced a resurgence in recent years.”

A Mattel spokesperson cited the “Barbie” movie as a driving factor, as it showed a “different side” of Ken. In a meta move, the company later in 2023 released Ken dolls modeled after Ryan Gosling’s portrayal of Ken. The “Kenbassador” line launched last year was

Workers of Venezuela’s state-owned PDVSA

Venezuela, to back an oil reform bill proposed

loosen state control and open the industry to private and foreign

Rodríguez proposed the changes after U.S. President Donald Trump said his administration would take control of Venezuela’s oil exports and revitalize the ailing industry by luring foreign investment. Private companies

The legislation promises to give private companies control over the production and sale of oil and allow for independent arbitration of disputes.

Rodríguez’s government expects the changes to serve as assurances for major U.S. oil companies that have so far hesitated about returning to the volatile country Some of those companies lost investments when the ruling party enacted the existing law two decades ago to fa-

a “great success,” the spokesperson said. Mattel doesn’t break out sales of Ken dolls, but on average, girls have one Ken doll for every seven Barbies they own.

Ruth Handler, the creator of Barbie, named the original doll after her daughter, Barbara. The glamorous doll, unique in that it depicted a grown woman rather than a baby, was an instant hit when it debuted at the New York Toy Fair in 1959. Barbie has significantly evolved in the decades since.

The Ken doll, created in 1961, was named after Handler’s son, Kenneth. He featured molded hair, wore red swim trunks and carried a yellow towel.

Kenneth Handler told The Times in a 1989 story that there were few similarities between him and the doll named after him He died in 1994.

“Ken doll is Malibu,” he said. “He goes to the beach and surfs. He is all these perfect American things.”

But when Kenneth Han-

vor Venezuela’s state-run oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA.

The revised law would modify extraction taxes, setting a royalty cap rate of 30% and allowing the executive branch to set percentages for every project based on capital investment needs, competitiveness and other factors.

It also removes the mandate for disputes to be settled only in Venezuelan courts, which are controlled by the ruling party Will change economy

Ruling-party lawmaker Orlando Camacho, head of the assembly’s oil committee, said the reform “will change the country’s economy.”

Meanwhile, opposition lawmaker Antonio Ecarri

dler was at Hamilton High School in Beverlywood, he “played the piano and went to movies with subtitles.” He continued, “I was a nerd — a real nerd. All the girls thought I was a jerk.”

Ken has dabbled in many different careers over the decades. There have been doctor pilot, tennis player, firefighter, lifeguard, barista and even Olympic skier Kens, among many others. In 2006, he received a “mid-life makeover” from celebrity stylist Phillip Bloch.

According to the company, Ken and Barbie “met” on the set of their first television commercial in 1961 and soon began dating. After more than four decades, the doll couple broke up in 2004, but reunited in 2011. Mattel was founded by Ruth Handler; her husband, Elliot Handler; and Harold “Matt” Matson in 1945 in a Los Angeles garage. The toy maker became a publicly traded company in 1960.

urged the assembly to add transparency and accountability provisions to the law, including the creation of a website to make funding and other information public. He noted that the current lack of oversight has led to systemic corruption and argued that these provisions can also be considered judicial guarantees.

Those guarantees are among the key changes for-

eign investors are looking for as they weigh entering the Venezuelan market.

“Let the light shine on in the oil industry,” Ecarri said.

Workers support overhaul

Oil workers dressed in red jumpsuits and hard hats celebrated the bill’s approval, waving a Venezuelan flag inside the legislative palace and then joining lawmakers in a demonstration with ruling-party supporters.

The law was last altered two decades ago as Maduro’s mentor and predecessor, the late Hugo Chávez, made heavy state control over the oil industry a pillar of his socialist-inspired revolution. In the early years of his tenure, a massive windfall in petrodollars thanks to record-high global oil prices turned PDVSA into the main source of government revenue and the backbone of Venezuela’s economy In tearing up the contracts that foreign companies signed in the 1990s, Chávez nationalized huge assets belonging to American and other Western firms that refused to comply, including ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips. They are still waiting to receive billions of dollars in arbitration awards.

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oil company rally Thursday in Caracas,

by acting President Delcy Rodríguez to

investment.

Border czar suggests possible drawdown

BY GIOVANNA DELL’ORTO and REBECCA SANTANA Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS The Trump administrationcould reducethe number of immigration enforcement officers in Minnesota, butonly if state and local officials cooperate, the president’s border czar said Thursday, noting he has “zero tolerance” for protesters who assault federal officers or impede the ongoing Twin Cities operation.

TomHomanaddressed reporters for the firsttime since the president sent him to Minneapolis following last weekend’sfatal shooting of protester

Alex Pretti, the second this month by federal officers carrying out the operation. His comments came after President Donald Trump seemed to signal awillingness to ease tensions in the Minneapolis and St. Paul area.

Homan emphasized that the administration isn’trelenting on its immigration crackdown and warned that protesters could face consequences if they interfere with federal officers.

But he seemed to acknowledge there had been missteps.

“I do not want to hear that everything that’s been done here has been perfect Nothing’sever perfect,” he said.

Homan hinted at the prospect of pulling out many of theroughly 3,000federal

officers taking partinthe operation,but he seemed to tie that to cooperation from state and local leaders and areductioninprotester interference.

“Thedrawdownisgoing to happen based on these agreements,”hesaid. “But thedrawdown canhappen even more if the hateful rhetoric andthe impediment and interference will stop.”

MPR NEWS PHOTO Posters depicting Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good are displayedona wall Thursdaynear the site where Pretti, a37-year-old ICU nurse, was fatally shot by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis.

Washington on Thursday he was “hopeful” that the numberoffederal officers in the city would be reduced.He saidpolice would do their jobs but not “somebody else’s,” referring to federal law enforcement.

On Thursday, asmattering of protesters braved thefrigid temperatures to demonstrate outside of the federal facility that has been serving as theoperation’s main hub.

transferring such inmates to the agency while they’re still in jail is safer because it means fewer officers have to be out looking for peoplewho are in the countryillegally.ICE has historically relied on cooperation from local and state jails to notifythe agency about such inmates.

“Give us access to illegal aliens, public safety threats in thesafety andsecurityof ajail,” he said.

The border czar,whose arrival followed thedeparture of the Trump administration’son-the-ground leader of the operation, Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino, also seemed to suggest a renewed focus on what ICE calls “targeted operations” focused on apprehendingimmigrantswho have committed crimes. Homan saidthe agency would conduct “targeted strategic enforcement operations” prioritizing “public safety threats.”

Collins: ICEends its surge in Maine

By The Associated Press

PORTLAND, Maine— Federal immigration officials have ceased their “enhancedoperations” in Maine, the site of an enforcement surgeand hundreds of arrests since last week, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins said Thursday Collins announced the development after saying she had spoken directly with Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.

“There are currently no ongoing or plannedlarge-scale ICEoperations here,” Collins said in astatement, referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “I have been urging Secretary Noem and others in the administration to getICE to reconsider its approach to immigration enforcement in the state.” Collins, aRepublican, said ICE and Border Patrol officials“will continuetheir normaloperations that have been ongoing here for manyyears.”

He alsosaidhe would oversee internal changes in federal immigration law enforcement, but he gave few specifics. “The mission is going to improve because of thechanges we’re makinginternally,” he said.“No agency organization is perfect. And President Trump and I, alongwith others in the administration, have recognized that certain improvements could and should be made.”

Pretti, 37, was fatally shot Saturday during ascuffle withthe Border Patrol. Earlierthis month, 37-year-old Renee Good was shot in her vehicle by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer

Sameera Hafiz, policydirector with theImmigrant Legal Resource Center, said Homan’scomments seemed to reflect arecognition that public opinion has turned against ICE, but she questionedhis argument thatcarrying out targeted operations would make the country safer

Minneapolis MayorJacob Frey told reporters in

Homan doubled down on theneed forjails to alert ICE to inmates whocould be deported, sayingthat

“His comments still seem to be based on the false premise that deporting peopleordeportation will make our community safer,” she said. “All the evidence and data has shown that deportations don’tmake our communities safer.Theydestabilize families, they tear communitiesapart, they hurt oureconomy.”

The Department of Homeland Security said in astatement that it would “continue to enforcethe lawacrossthe country,aswedoevery day.” ICEsaid in astatement that it performed its dutiesdespite meeting resistance from demonstrators. Collins’ announcement comes more than aweek after ICEbegan an operation it dubbed “Catch of the Day. Federal officials said about 50 arrests were made thefirst day and that roughly 1,400 people were operational targets in the mostly rural state of 1.4 millionresidents, 4% of whom are foreign-born.

More arrests, chargestiedtotheftsfromfederal agents’vehicles

BY PAUL WALSH

The Minnesota Star Tribune (TNS)

MINNEAPOLIS— Additional peoplehavebeencharged with stealing government property from federal agents’ vandalized vehicles during unrest afteran ICE officer shot and wounded a man in north Minneapolis two weeks ago.

ChargedinU.S.District Court in Minnesota with aiding and abetting the willful destruction of public property are: James Christopher

Lauer,21, of St. Paul; Michael Wallace Johnson III, 32,ofEdenPrairie;Korey Carroll, 33, of West Concord, Minn.; andLanishaLatrice Taylor,27, of Minneapolis.

All four were arrested,released on their own recognizanceand are scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 2. TheMinnesotaStar Tribune has reached out to attorneys for all four defendants for a response to theallegations Twohave replied and declined to comment On Jan. 14,FBI person-

nelwere assisting Department of Homeland Security officers with immigration enforcement near 24thand Lyndale avenues N.,where federal agents were forced amid unresttoabandon their vehicles and propertyatthe scene after an agent shot and wounded aman who allegedly attacked an officer during an arrest attempt. Federal officials have said several people stole from an unmarked FBIvehicle an assault-style rifle, its noise suppressor,ahandgun, am-

munition,bodyarmor,a handheld communications radio and alaptop computer, uniforms, other equipment and personal items.

Stolenfrom asecond agent’svehicle,according to federal officials, were FBI building accesscards, an FBI identification badge, body armor,aloaded firearms magazine,clothing credit cards,a driver’slicense, acellphone and a personal mailbox key “Lauer,Carroll, Johnson and Taylor are observed in-

teracting and/or conversing with one another and taking part in the destruction and/ or theft”fromthe agents’ vehicles, the criminalcomplaint read.

Arrests have been made and charges filed earlier against other people in connection with the thefts from the agents’ vehicles.

Brenna Marie Doyle,18, of Spokane, Wash., used stolen identification documents to threatentokill theofficer and hisimmediate family members, according to the

FBI and prosecutors. Raul Gutierrez, 33, of Minneapolis wascharged in U.S. DistrictCourt in St. Paul with illegal gun possession and theft in connection with allegedly breaking into an FBI vehicle and stealing arifle. FBI Director Kash Patel posted on Xthat Gutierrez belongs to the Latin Kings gang and has aviolent criminal history.U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi posted on socialmedia that Gutierrez also stole FBI body armor

Manwho squirted substanceonOmarcharged with assaulting,intimidatingher

nounced Thursday

BY ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and STEVE KARNOWSKI Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS The Justice Department has charged a man who squirted apple cider vinegar on Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar at an event in Minneapolis, accordingtocourt papers made public Thursday The man arrested for Tuesday’sattack, Anthony Kazmierczak, faces acharge of forcibly assaulting, op-

posing, impeding andintimidating Omar,accordingto acomplaint filed in federal court. Au th or ities determined that the su bstance was water and apple cider vinegar,according to an affidavit. AfterKazmierczaksprayedOmar withthe liquid, he appeared to say

“She’snot resigning. You’re splitting Minnesotans apart,” theaffidavitsays. Authorities also say that Kazmierczak told aclose associate several yearsago that “somebody should kill” Omar,court documents say Kazmierczakappeared briefly in federal court Thursdayafternoon.His attorney,Jean Brandl, told the judge her client was unmedicated at the time of theincident andhas nothad access to the medications he needs

to treat Parkinson’sdisease and other serious conditions he suffers from U.S.Magistrate Judge Dulce Fosterordered that Kazmierczakremainin custody and told officials he needstosee anurse when he is transferredtothe Sherburne CountyJail.

Kazmierczakalso faces state charges in Hennepin County forterroristic threats and fifth-degree assault, HennepinCounty Attorney Mary Moriarty an-

Kazmierczak hasacriminalhistory andhas made online posts supportive of President Donald Trump,a Republican.

Omar,arefugee from Somalia,has long been a fixture of Trump’santiimmigrant rhetoric. After she waselected seven years ago, Trump said sheshould “go back” to her country He recentlydescribedher as “garbage” and said she should be investigated. Dur-

ing aspeech in Iowa earlier this week, shortly before Omar was attacked,hesaid immigrants need to be proud of the United States —“not like Ilhan Omar.”

Omar blamed Trump on Wednesday for threats to her safety

“Every time the president of the United States has chosen to use hateful rhetoricto talk about me and the community that Irepresent, my deaththreatsskyrocket,” Omar told reporters.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ADAM GRAy

People participate during anoise demonstrationWednesday night outsidethe Graduate by Hilton Minneapolis hotel in Minneapolis.

Homan

New cold snap adds urgency to recovery

BY SOPHIE BATES, SUDHIN THANAWALA and RUSS BYNUM Associated Press

BELZONI, Miss.

— Hundreds of National Guard troops in ice-stricken Mississippi and Tennessee mobilized Thursday to clear debris and assist people stranded in cars or stuck at homes still without electricity as the Southern states raced to recover from a crippling winter storm before another blast of dangerous cold hits Friday

The National Weather Service said arctic air moving into the Southeast will cause already frigid temperatures to plunge into the teens on Friday night in cities like Nashville, where more than 80,000 homes and businesses still had no power five days after a massive storm dumped snow and ice across the eastern U.S.

Glyn Alexander, 73, endured three days without electricity before deciding to leave her home in Belzoni, a small city in the Mississippi Delta. She was cozier Thursday at a local warming shelter, where a generator kept the indoor temperature at a balmy 82.

“Three days in the cold, sleeping in the cold, eating in the cold,” Alexander said “I just couldn’t take the cold anymore.”

At least 85 people have died in areas affected by bitter cold from Texas to New Jersey. Roughly half the deaths were reported in Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana

The prolonged freeze left some residents increasingly desperate in a region unaccustomed to such conditions.

Emergency dispatchers in Mississippi received calls from people running out of food and medications while stuck at home. In Tennessee, social workers coordinated with police and firefighters to check on residents who hadn’t been heard from in days.

“No one really knew that it was going to be like this, or how bad,” said CJ Bynum, who used his Jeep to help drivers stranded along Interstate 55 in northern Mississippi, where 18-wheel trucks still lined the icy highway two days after traffic ground to a halt

Harriet Wallace, who works for a Nashville social services agency, said police and firefighters were visiting homes to check on older adults whose rela-

tives couldn’t reach them by phone. All were found alive, she said. For those without power who refused to leave, officers helped charge phones and get groceries.

“They are finding blankets and just sitting there with no TV, no power, nothing,” Wallace said. “Some are a little delirious.”

Major outages persist

More than 260,000 homes and businesses in states hit by the winter storm had no electricity Wednesday evening, according to the outage tracking website poweroutage.us. The vast majority were in Mississippi and Tennessee, with roughly 95,000 each.

Nashville Electric Service said Thursday that 963 linemen were repairing dam-

age after the storm snapped hundreds of power poles in the area. A utility vice president, Brent Baker, said Wednesday that full restoration could take until the weekend or longer Interstates 55 and 22 remained closed in northern Mississippi as emergency crews used tow trucks and snowplows to clear the highways. Mississippi Gov Tate Reeves said 650 National Guard troops were clearing fallen trees from roads and delivering meals, blankets and other supplies by truck and by helicopter The Tennessee National Guard said about 170 soldiers and airmen were assisting with recovery efforts, including helping more than 200 people stranded in vehicles and

homes and providing rides to nearly 300 emergency and health care workers.

Warming centers in Miss.

Mississippi officials say it’s the state’s worst winter storm since 1994. About 80 warming centers were opened across the state, known as one of the nation’s poorest. But for some communities, they weren’t enough.

In Batesville, Mississippi, where most of the city’s 7,400 residents were without power Thursday, Mayor Hal Ferrell said officials were dealing with outages at nursing homes, a shortage of generators for shelters and ice-covered interstates that slowed deliveries.

“We’re just stymied with everything we’re trying to do,” Ferrell said.

Health experts warn that prolonged exposure to cold without heat poses serious risks, especially for young

children, older adults and people with cardiovascular conditions.

“The body can handle cold temperatures briefly very well,” said Dr Hans House, a professor of emergency medicine at the University of Iowa, “but the prolonged exposure is a problem.”

As hypothermia sets in, the body shivers and reduces blood flow to hands and feet to preserve heat, House said, raising the risk of frostbite. As exposure continues, people can become sleepy and confused, and in severe cases the heart and lungs can fail.

Forecasters say the subfreezing weather will persist in the eastern U.S. into February and there’s high chance of heavy snow in the Carolinas, Virginia and northeast Georgia this weekend, possibly up to a foot in parts of North Carolina. Snow is also possible along the East Coast.

Newborn calf struggling in deep freeze brought indoors

BY DYLAN LOVAN Associated Press

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Kentucky fam-

ily battling extreme cold temperatures on their farm over the weekend opened their home to a newborn calf that was struggling in the deep freeze Hours later the calf, fed and fluffed, took a spot on the couch with the Sorrell family’s two children. Their mom, Macey Sorrell, snapped some photos and later posted them to social media, and the cuteness did not go unnoticed. The calf was born outdoors in single digit temperatures on Saturday. Macey Sorrell said her husband, Tanner went outside to check on the pregnant mother and

found the calf, suffering in the cold

“She was just frozen. Her umbilical cord looked like a popsicle,” Macey Sorrell said Thursday from her home in Mount Sterling, Kentucky. “It was just frozen.”

After losing a calf last winter to frostbite, the family moved quickly to bring the baby inside to clean her off and warm her up.

“When we brought her in, she had ice on her The afterbirth was still on her, I had to wipe all that off,” Sorrell said “I took out the blow dryer and warmed her up, and got her all fluffed out.”

Soon the calf was lying on the couch, cuddling with her young children

“They crawled up next to her

like it was just the most normal thing,” she said. Her 3-year-old son, Gregory, decided to name the calf Sally, a character from his favorite movie, “Cars.”

The family keeps about three dozen cows on their land and are used to bringing farm animals indoors from time to time. Sally was reunited with her mother the next morning, and is doing well, Sorrell said.

Sorrell said she almost didn’t share the photos on social media, because it was nothing new to the family to bring an animal indoors when necessary Several commented on the cuteness of the photos.

“It’s just part of what you do,” she said.

BY AAMER MADHANI and SUSIE BLANN Associated Press

KYIV,Ukraine

U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that President Vladimir Putin has agreed not to target the Ukrainian capital and other towns for one week as the region experiences frigid temperatures. There was no immediate confirmation from the Kremlin that Putin has agreed to such a pause. Russia has been pounding Ukraine’s critical infrastructure, hoping to wear down public resistance to the war while leaving many around the country having to endure the dead of winter without heat.

during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, adding that Putin has “agreed to that.”

“I personally asked President Putin not to fire on Kyiv and the cities and towns for a week during this extraordinary cold,” Trump said

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked earlier Thursday whether a mutual halt on strikes on energy facilities was being discussed between Russia and Ukraine, and he refused to comment on the issue.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy late Wednesday had warned

that Moscow was planning another large-scale barrage despite plans for further U.S.-brokered peace talks at the weekend.

Trump said he was pleased that Putin has agreed to the pause. Kyiv, which has grappled with severe power shortages this winter, is forecast to enter a brutally cold stretch starting Friday that is expected to last into next week. Temperatures in

some areas will drop to minus 22, the State Emergency Service warned.

“A lot of people said, ‘Don’t waste the call You’re not going to get that,’” the Republican U.S. president said of his request of Putin. “And he did it. And we’re very happy that they did it.”

Zelenskyy, for his part, thanked Trump for his effort and welcomed the “possibility” of a pause in Russian

military action on Kyiv and beyond. “Power supply is a foundation of life,” Zelenskyy said in his social media post.

Trump did not say when the call with Putin took place or when the ceasefire would go into effect. The White House did not immediately respond to a query seeking clarity about the scope and timing of the limited pause in the nearly four-year war

PHOTO PROVIDED By MACEy SORRELL Gregory Sorrell, 3, cuddles with a calf his family brought indoors during extreme cold temperatures in Mount Sterling, Ky., on Saturday. At right is his sister, Charlee Sorrell, 2.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By GEORGE WALKER IV

Utility workers restore power to a neighborhood Wednesday in Nashville, Tenn., after a winter storm passed through the area over the weekend

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By SOPHIE BATES

Sherry Miller who is staying at the Humphreys County warming center, passes the time playing dominoes with others seeking shelter in Belzoni, Miss., on Thursday.

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INSIDE WASHINGTONMARDI GRAS

It’s abig party, butpoliticsjusthappennaturally

Stephanie Grace WASHINGTON, D.C. Youcan’t walk

2feet at the annual Washington Mardi Gras —oreven on theway to it —without bumping into a politician, be it a major congressional figure (no other state has anything like Louisiana’s one-two punch of House Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise) or a mayor,legislator,sheriff or local council member

Case in point: People boarding the Wednesday morning nonstop flight from New Orleans toReaganNational Airport might have spotted ahigh-level consultation on criminal justice issuesinrows 9and 10, as two middle-seat passengers —Attorney General Liz Murrill and New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno —grabbed the chance opportunity to confer That the conversation between adie-hard Donald Trump Republican and aprogressive Democrat recently sworn in to office by Kamala Harris was friendly says much about the overall ethos of Louisiana’sannual Carnivalthemed extravaganza in the nation’scapital. This is atime when differences get put aside, andeveryone seeks out commonground and focuses on the state.Itwas both remarkable and not that Moreno’sjam-packed schedule of possible stop-bys listed afundraiser for Murrill and another for Republican Gov.Jeff Landry,who holds asecond, amorphoustitle as Trump’sspecial envoy to Greenland, theDanish semiautonomous territory thatthe presidentfor some reason desperately wantsas his own. Indeed, if there’s akeyword to describe the event, it’scamaraderie.

All that said, politics is never too far from the surface when so many pols and people who follow politics for aliving (or for fun) find themselves in one place. It’scertainly lurking around U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy and U.S. Rep. JuliaLetlow,members of the state’sGOP delegation who suddenlyfind themselves electoral adversaries. Trump’srecent endorsement of Letlow in the upcoming Senate Republican primary —obvious punishment for Cassidy’s2021 vote to convict Trump after his impeachment for inciting the Jan. 6attack on the U.S.Capitol —has put them in a zero-sum situation.

Nobody’sexpecting anyactual debate to break out, at least in public, but Letlow did hold afundraiser for her newly formed candidacy Wednesday night, even as Cassidy joined Johnson, Scalise andFrench ambassador Laurent Bili at his home in the elegant, snow-snarled Kalorama neighborhood to toast this year’sceremonial king and queen.

But among the masses,there wasdefinitely private chitchat analyzingLetlow’scomments at some of the gathering’sevents —including her frequentnods to her work with the president, which at one time wouldbeseen as bland talking points from a longtime team player but arenow interpreted by some as strategy from acombatant.

For his part, asmiling Cassidy appeared to be anything butthe dead man walking some now consider him. While working the room at the ambassador’s reception, he insisted that allfelt entirely normal and noted that thisisn’t even the firsttime that amember of the congressional delegation had challenged acolleague. He should know.In2014, when Cassidy still served in theU.S House, he ran against incumbent U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu. Politics found its way into the weekend then, too, as the two competing

lawmakers offered different versions ofaflood insurance fix that was comingtogether on Capitol Hill.

Of course, there’sone big difference betweenthenand now: Landrieu was aDemocrat, so Cassidy’schallenge wasn’tcoming from inside the house.

Whoyou are, whereyou stay It’snot just in thesuddenly hotSenaterace where Trump’s shadow is sometimes intruding

over the festivities. Onedevelopmentinrecent years is aremnant of the president’sfirst term, when Republicans far and wide —definitely including those from Louisiana —basically turned the hotel in Washington’shistoric Old Post Office then flag-shipped under the president’s personal brand intoa GOP clubhouse. Trump’sname has since come off what’snow known as aWaldorf Astoria, butthe muscle memoryholds. Today it’s still

somethingofa secondary and morepartisan-minded hub for theweekend —and apopular location for Republican fundraisers —alongside the traditional headquarters at theWashington Hilton.

Also, despite all the warm words, current divisive events did sneak into the speeches at the French ambassador’shome.

For onething, Johnson noted that he’djust come from the WhiteHouse, where he’d been strategizing about avoiding apotential partial government shutdown prompted by widespread fury over something that did not get an overt mention: The Trump administration’sbrutish immigration practices andthe recent killings of two citizens at the hands of masked Border Patrol and ICE agents.

Andsprinkled into all the talk of our nation’sand our state’s very long friendship with France —presenttension between the U.S. and Europe notwithstanding —were acouple of lighthearted cracks about tariffs.

So even as Bili gave ashoutout to Lafayette Parish Mayor-President Monique Boulet to reminisce about his visit to the Marquis de Lafayette’snamesake city —“I was reminded of the how deeply French culture is woven into

Louisiana’sidentity,for its people, its spirits, its food; the boudin wasexcellent” —heslid in aquip about one of multiple Trumppolicies causing international tension. After drawing laughs with a line about France proving that it’s“still one of the world’sgreatest powers,” Bili added: “This is where usually Isay Ihope we reciprocate the tariff 50 to zero.” Bigparties meet bigbusiness Washington Mardi Gras has become amust-attend occasion not just forpolitical and government types, but increasingly forbusiness leaders with investments in our state. For all the homegrown companies on site, though, perhaps it says something about Louisiana’s perennial underdog status that the biggest corporate-sponsored event is put on by aHoustonbased firm,Cheniere Energy Still, Cheniere plays big in the liquefied natural gas space, so its ties to Louisiana’senergy economy run deep. Each year it uses its party to makeasizable donation, this year of $100,000 to the McNeese Foundation to support its new LNG Center of Excellence.

It also drawsacrowdbyputting on an over-the-top show Wednesday’swinter-themed party at the National Portrait Gallery bordered on the otherworldly, with snowflakes projected onto the ceiling of the soaring courtyard, askater in amakeshift rink and so manywhite-clad acrobats that those seeking out the bigwigs (Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple, Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Susan Bourgeois, Louisiana House Speaker Phillip DeVillier and university presidents Michael Fitts of Tulane and Xavier Cole of Loyola, among manyothers) had to watch where they were going to avoid getting kicked in the head.

Nobody needs to fake winter conditions this weekinD.C., so the hosts did offer attendees someparting gifts: cups of hot chocolate to go along with pairs of Cheniere Carnival-themed socks. Here, Cheniere did offer anod to aLouisiana company: The socks were sourced from Bonfolk, a family-run small business, which the label says wasfounded in NewOrleans.

Email Stephanie Grace at sgrace@theadvocate.com.

At the French ambassador’s home, live music is played during aWashington Mardi Gras party Wednesday.

House SpeakerMikeJohnson, left, greets U.S. Sen.Bill CassidyasMajority Leader SteveScalise joinsthem duringa Washington MardiGrasparty on Wednesday

Performers hang from the ceiling at the Cheniere Energyparty during Washington Mardi Gras at the National Portrait GalleryonWednesday

left,

Performers roam the room at the Cheniere Energyparty for Washington MardiGras at the National Portrait Gallery.

CELEBRATING THE KING

Mardi Gras beads reflect off a wall as Sam Shannon, with the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans, spreads them out on a table.

Lori Murphy, of Nederland Jewelers in Lake Charles, uses her fingertips to straighten the bow on a box holding a king’s pin as she helps get a table ready for the start of the King’s Luncheon at the Kennedy Center

Gov. Jeff Landry, center, shares a laugh with New Orleans businessman Fred Heebe, right, as Heebe’s daughter, Sarah, left, who is queen of this year’s Washington Mardi Gras, joins her dad in meeting the governor on Thursday.

Washington Mardi Gras Queen Sarah Heebe, center in pink, poses for photos with festival queens from across Louisiana near a layer of ice and snow on the rooftop of the Kennedy Center on Thursday.

Guests at Thursday’s King’s Luncheon greet each other as they take their seats near where

U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, left was working the room at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Mardi Gras of Southwest Louisiana Queen Linley Wilcox wears her elaborate tiara at the King’s Luncheon.

Washington Mardi Gras King Gray Stream wears an LSU championship ring as he stands with LSU President Wade Rousse during Thursday’s luncheon.

STAFF PHOTOS By CHRIS GRANGER

Washington Mardi Gras King Gray Stream, left, gets a warm welcome from Gov. Jeff Landry, right, and his wife, Sharon, along with former U.S Sen. Mary Landrieu, center, as they greet each other for Thursday’s King’s Luncheon.

Washington Mardi Gras Queen Sarah Heebe is celebrated at the King’s Luncheon.

INSIDE WASHINGTON MARDI GRAS

As king, Gray Stream focuses on the economy

‘This

is not your normal event you’re in charge of’

BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer

WASHINGTON Lake Charles investor and philanthropist W. Gray Stream is from a storied family

His mother is the late country singer Lynn Anderson A portrait of his grandmother by celebrated Mexican artist Diego Rivera hangs in his father’s house.

Now as king of the 77th Washington Mardi Gras, Stream himself joins illustrious company His predecessors include Drew Brees, Richard Lipsey, Todd Graves and Roy O. Martin III, among other Louisiana titans.

Washington Mardi Gras is an annual event that draws thousands of Louisiana business and community leaders into a four-day retreat with local, state and federal politicians at the Washington Hilton, which dubs its bar the 65th parish Socializing around parties, hospitality suites and a formal ball lubricates business deals, Stream said He has an impressive résumé of volunteer work on the boards of a vast array of community organizations, from the Louisiana Innovation Council, which fosters growth for startups, to The National WWII Museum, which has become the top tourist attraction in New Orleans.

But Stream said one of the biggest reasons for accepting the kingship is his present position chairing the Louisiana Economic Development Partnership Board, a panel of private sector advisers developing a strategic plan for economic development.

“I’ve been to a lot of Washington Mardi Gras,” Stream said. “I feel like it just continues the focus on improving the brand of the state and leveraging the opportunity to get so many of our state’s business leaders, civic leaders, political leaders, investors whether they are Louisiana-based investors or they’re investors that are putting

their capital to work here and getting them all in one place.”

As chair of the Washington Mardi Gras this year it fell upon House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, RJefferson, to choose the event’s queen and king — the public faces of the event.

“I’m sure everybody has their own formula I look for somebody who, number one, is going to really enjoy and celebrate the culture of Mardi Gras and bring that to Washington,” Scalise said. “It’s probably a nine-month process from when I asked and he accepted, to what’s going to happen this week. We talk a lot and you can feel the energy and the growth of kind of how he’s grown into this role.”

Additionally, Washington Mardi Gras is an expensive endeavor for the participants paying dues, ticket prices, hotel rooms and airline tickets.

For the king, who sponsors and attends numerous events over the year, the cost in coin is much higher and time away from business

much longer

“It’s got to be somebody who’s got the ability to do it You know, it costs a lot of money to put this event on,” Scalise said. “This is not your normal event you’re in charge of.”

Stream wouldn’t say how much he has spent, other than to note being king is “very” expensive.

“You play an important role in enhancing everyone’s experience and making sure that, you know, it’s memorable,” he said.

Stream has made $475,954 in political donations over the years, mostly to Republican candidates and political action committees, according to the Louisiana Board of Ethics and the Federal Election Commission.

After Scalise asked, Stream said he first spoke to his wife. Once she was on board, he went to his siblings, cousins and others in his extended family

“I work in a family company, so I wanted to talk with my family and just make sure that everybody

was comfortable with the fact that there’d be a lot of exposure and a lot of distraction, candidly,” Stream said. “I got everyone’s support.”

Since 2013, Stream has led his family’s Stream Companies and Matilda Stream Management, which oversees companies and administers holdings involving land, agriculture and natural resources, along with a sizable investment portfolio.

“For instance,” Stream said, “either in the early stage investing that we do or some of the operating companies that we’ve started, Stream Wetland Services, one of our companies, we just built and restored and rehabilitated tens of thousands of acres of coastal wetlands and done a lot of various environmental improvement projects.”

The Stream company attracting the most attention is Gulf Coast Sequestration, which Stream founded to handle industry’s carbon emissions.

Lake Charles and east Texas are home to a number of petrochemical plants, refineries, electricitygenerating facilities, and other industries whose processes release large amounts carbon into the atmosphere. Companies are offered tax breaks for reducing carbon emissions.

The waste CO2 is shipped to Gulf Coast Sequestration in pipelines and pumped under pressure into geologic formations deep underground, where it turns to liquid and mixes with salt water in the rock.

The Washington Mardi Gras King’s Hospitality Suite will include landscape photos of the 30,000-acre Gray Ranch in Calcasieu Parish that his family has operated since 1896.

“That’s a big part of our family culture,” Stream said. “I mean, my catchphrase to our team is ‘Dedicated stewards, responsible pioneers’.”

His family has long been involved in public service, including contributions of art and money to the New Orleans Museum of Art.

But Stream credits Chris John, who was a congressman representing southwest Louisiana in the late 1990s and early 2000s, for inspiring an interest in public service along with business.

Stream joined John in Washington as an aide after graduating from Vanderbilt University and receiving his MBA in management and finance from Rice University

“It was a great kind of formative experience for me in getting my career started,” Stream said. “It really lit a spark of service for me to the state of Louisiana, for sure.”

He’s hoping to reconnect with the friends he made during those years in D.C. on John’s staff.

“We’re going to reminisce about how we were at the Washington Mardi Gras back then. How we worked the congressman’s suite. How we handed out tickets and did all the work necessary to make Washington Mardi Gras go smoothly How much fun we had,” Stream said. “And, now I’m the king.”

Email Mark Ballard at mballard@theadvocate.com.

Sarah Heebe a queen who talks quantum computing

‘She’s a Louisiana girl through and through’

BY JAN RISHER Staff writer

New Orleans native Sarah Heebe does not fit neatly into the traditional idea of a Mardi Gras queen — unless that idea includes conversations about quantum computing, a National Merit Scholarship and a deep interest in energy and climate policy

At 20, she’s also an accomplished trumpet player. She speaks Spanish. She’s a voracious reader who loves museums.

Her varied interests make complete sense to her

“It’s very New Orleans of me,” she said, laughing.

This year, Heebe will reign as queen of Washington Mardi Gras while juggling life as a sophomore at Yale University, where she is majoring in environmental studies.

“It was a very easy decision,” Heebe said. “I have such varied interests, and this felt like it was always going to be a magical experience.” Heebe was on summer break, taking classes through the London School of Economics, when she received the call naming her queen. She remembers being in a museum in Germany when she found out. She is bringing 24 fellow Yale students with her to the nation’s capital many of whom had never heard of Washington Mardi Gras before receiving her invitation

“I didn’t expect so many people would want to come,” she said. “It’s been a challenge trying to explain what Washington Mardi Gras is. There’s no real way to convey the sense of it. At first, I think I did a poor job. Then they started Googling it that’s when the questions started.”

Her friends, many coming by train from Yale, are from across the country and around the world. Together, they will experience a Louisiana tradition that Heebe herself is still getting to know She’s attended once before in 2024, when her father, Fred Heebe, served as king.

She says she didn’t approach her role as queen with a lot of expectations and has enjoyed the process thus far

“I’ve enjoyed meeting people from all over the princesses and festival queens,” she said. “That’s been one of my favorite parts.” Behind the scenes, the logistics of Washington Mardi Gras brought some surprises, but with the help of her mother, Jennifer Heebe, Sarah Heebe has been able to balance a rigorous school schedule and the required prep for her reign as queen. Meanwhile, her mom was back home in New Orleans with a kitchen table covered in index cards, trying to figure out charts for events — and enjoying the process. Jennifer Heebe was herself a Washington Mardi Gras princess in 1986. Sarah Heebe says she didn’t re-

alize “how many little things were involved.” Even so, her wardrobe planning has been stress-free. She built a spreadsheet for her necessary outfits, and with the help of New Orleans designer Suzanne Perrone, she’s ready to go. For Sarah Heebe, the wardrobe and the pageantry fit naturally alongside her academic life. She has a long history of taking things that seem intimidating and making them approachable including her award-winning capstone paper at Metairie Park Country Day School: “Quantum Armageddon or Elysium?: How Quantum Computing Might Change the World.”

“Once I learn how not to be in-

timidated by something, I can help other people learn the same,” she said. “Even with things people might think are frivolous.”

That instinct shows up in the details of her reign. Her breakfast theme is “Night at the Museum,” a nod to her love of museums and storytelling. The movie tie-in, she says, makes it more accessible for her generation. At Yale, Sarah Heebe says she is known among her friends for how often she talks about Louisiana.

“I never thought of myself as a classic Louisianan,” she said. “But the more I’ve grown, the more I want to represent my state — and do it in a positive way.” Being away from home has

sharpened that feeling. She misses the warm weather, oak-lined streets and po-boys. College, she said, gave her the distance to see Louisiana with fresh eyes.

“I’d certainly like to return,” she said. “Not just because the food is amazing, but because of the culture. It’s home.”

Her mother sees that same pull.

“She’s a smart girl,” Jennifer Heebe said. “But much more important than that, she has a heart of gold. She’s said all along that she wants to come home to New Orleans to work. She’s a Louisiana girl through and through.”

Email Jan Risher at jan.risher@ theadvocate.com.

PROVIDED PHOTO

Gray Stream is king of the 77th Washington Mardi Gras.

PROVIDED PHOTO

Sarah Heebe is queen of the 2026 Washington Mardi Gras.

STAFF PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER

King Gray Stream and Queen Sarah Heebe take pictures at the home of the ambassador of France to the United States, Laurent Bili, during a Washington Mardi Gras party on Wednesday.

we’ll be shut down for 21 days.”

Landry-Poché has about 8 acres and 130,000 strawberry plants in the ground.

Several strawberries at the end of the rows that weren’t fully covered are half-white and half-red, a sign of freeze damage.

“The cold doesn’t hurt the plants; it won’t kill the plant. It’s just the fruit and the blooms,” she said. “We have the possibility of losing that crop.”

Complicating the timing and strategy for protecting the blooms from freeze damage is that if the plants remain covered for more than three consecutive days they will attract strawberry mites.

Darryl Poché, a strawberry farmer, said January used to be when the strawberries were covered up the most for weather, but each year that cold front gets pushed back.

“January would be the time that you would spend more time covered up, now it seems like it’s moving further back more in February,” he said.

Poché said he grows strawberries from October to May and doesn’t pick strawberries until all the cold weather has moved out later in the season or during bursts of good weather such as on Thursday

“This year and last year have been very unusual. I actually started picking last year the week before Thanksgiving and this year the week after Thanksgiving when we had 70- to 80-degree days,” he said. “We have had seasons that we

REINSURERS

Continued from page 1A

Their good fortune has raised the possibility that Louisiana homeowners could finally see some relief this year as they renew or shop for property insurance policies.

“Reinsurers have been doing well the past few years after absorbing massive losses for a number of years,” said Brian Keefer, CEO of Allied Trust Insurance Company, who recently traveled to London to buy reinsurance. “Beginning in 2025, insurers are now finally starting to do better too.

The ones still suffering are the policyholders It is their turn now to get lower rates as the reinsurance costs soften.”

It’s not yet clear how large or widespread rate decreases could be in Louisiana.

Many insurers are still hesitant to write policies in south Louisiana, particularly for homes with older roofs.

And while inflation has cooled and the U.S. experienced unusually quiet hurricane seasons in 2024 and 2025 climate change has still scrambled the underlying fundamentals of the insurance business. Insurers are increasingly hesitant to insure places like south Louisiana, which has high exposure to hurricanes that are becoming more powerful because of climate change.

Meanwhile, a yearslong effort by the state’s Republican Insurance Commis-

for

didn’t pick anything until March.”

For other farmers with smaller operations, they will cover their plants, but just with a blanket sometimes.

Frank Fekete, who owns the only farm left in Livingston Parish’s historic Hungarian settlement,

has had his beets and strawberries covered with a blanket since last week.

Fekete grabbed a few strawberries that have now turned into “frog eyes,” which he calls strawberries with deformed lumps from the cold weather

“You can make jelly out of them, but you’re really not supposed to put them in the boxes,” he said.

Fekete owns about 10 acres of land, but only farms a portion of that. He expects to grow about 10,000 strawberries this year The farmer typically only sells his

produce at the Red Stick Farmers Market in Baton Rouge.

“It’s too cold to plant,” he said.

“We’re getting ready for spring.”

Email Claire Grunewald at claire.grunewald@theadvocate. com.

The

sioner Tim Temple and GOP lawmakers to deregulate the industry has not yet spurred significant drops in premiums, which Temple and lawmakers hope will happen by driving more competition into the market. The dynamic has caused a rift with Gov Jeff Landry, a Republican who backed a controversial new law last year to allow Temple to reject “excessive” rate hikes, something Temple vowed he won’t do. Temple went to London this month to show reinsurers the state’s latest coastal master plan and work on fortified roofs, which was part of a yearslong bid to entice the industry to write more business here. He said the presentation was well received, and that he’s hearing insurers are going to get significant savings, in large part because of abundant

supply in the reinsurance market.

“Over the last several years, reinsurers have made a lot of money Some property insurers have made a lot of money,” Temple said. “It’s time for consumers to share in that.”

Year of disaster, turmoil

When homeowners pay their insurance premium, usually through their mortgage company, the insurance company doesn’t keep all of the money

Instead, insurers send a significant portion — sometimes a majority — to reinsurance companies, many based in Bermuda and London. Those companies promise to help the insurer pay its claims, particularly if a major disaster like a hurricane or wildfire strikes.

The reinsurance business,

which faces far fewer regulations than homeowners insurance companies in the U.S., took a beating after years of wildfires and hurricanes from 2017 to 2022. A recent report by the reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter found the industry took a bath for several years in a row

“It was a business that was suffering from volatility and broadly poor returns,” said David Duffy, president of global clients at Guy Carpenter “Investors in reinsurance companies were really starting to lose their patience at the end of 2022 and 2023.”

In response, reinsurers hiked rates dramatically and pulled back on the risks they were willing to cover

But reinsurers’ fortunes changed in 2023, when profits soared to 22%, according to the Guy Carpenter report. Duffy called the margin “unusually strong.” And the windfall is expected to continue, with profits projected to be in the mid-teens for 2024 and 2025.

The amount of capital in the reinsurance industry skyrocketed as a result, reaching record levels in 2026, according to a report released last week by the ratings agency AM Best.

The agency said reinsurance prices for property fell by 10% to 20%, reaching levels last seen before the explosion in prices in 2023.

With capital flowing freely in the industry, the balance has swung back in the favor of insurers, Duffy said. More competition is driving

down costs.

Part of the equation is the unusually quiet hurricane seasons, Duffy noted. They will not last forever

“The trend has not been our friend in terms of climate change and the frequency and severity of storms,” he said. “The insurers and reinsurers are doing their best to price their risk to a not-excessive profit over the long term.”

Cuts on horizon?

Keefer, the Allied Trust chief executive, went to London four years ago after a spate of devastating hurricanes and found reinsurers were charging high rates for protection. The next year, Allied Trust paid $240 million to reinsurance companies for its coverage while only taking in $230 million from premium dollars. The company was going to lose money even if it didn’t have to pay a single claim.

Allied Trust started a series of rate hikes on Louisiana policyholders, some by more than 20%.

After years of net losses, Keefer’s firm posted a $5 million profit in 2024. And its latest quarterly filings for 2025 show the firm is on track for a banner year, with $16 million in net income through the third quarter He said the firm is still in a $27 million deficit from hurricane losses in 2020 and 2021.

Earlier this month, Keefer’s trip to London went much more smoothly He found there’s more competition that’s driving lower costs.

“With the combination of additional capital in the market and a relatively low year (of catastrophe losses), prices are starting to come down,” Keefer said. “As buyers of that cheaper reinsurance, we can pass those savings on to our policyholders.

“In fact, effective Dec. 20, Allied Trust lowered rates 2.3% overall with newer homes with (stronger) roofs going down more than 10% I would expect another rate decrease later this year after we finalize this reinsurance treaty.”

Monitoring rate filings

Temple noted that a 20% decrease in reinsurance prices doesn’t mean homeowners should expect a 20% decrease in their premium. And it takes time for reinsurance costs to flow down to homeowners because of the regulatory process. But he said his office will closely monitor the rate filings to make sure homeowners see the benefits.

Temple said he’s traveled to London and Bermuda several times in recent years to create a “buzz” around changes to Louisiana’s insurance laws, which have made it easier for insurers to raise rates and drop policyholders. His office has also supported bills to boost enforcement of building codes something that he’s eyeing again this year

“If you want to get in shape and lose weight you gotta get on a program and be consistent,” Temple said. “We need to be consistent.”

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

Zuckerberg, Musk vie for AI primacy

Meta Platforms Inc. will double capital spending to as much as $135 billion this year, an all-in bet on artificial intelligence as the U.S. tech giants battle it out for supremacy in the next wave of technological advancements. Tesla Inc. will spend $20 billion this year on pursuits including AI, self-driving vehicles and robotics — almost double Wall Street estimates and plow another $2 billion into Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk’s xAI startup. Investors should look forward to “a major AI acceleration” that’s been brewing within the tech industry for over a year, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Wednesday’s earnings call. After an overhaul of the company’s AI program in 2025, Zuckerberg said Meta will soon release new models and products. The availability of semiconductors will be a big bottleneck to growth. Musk said earlier this month that he’s weighed building his own factory for logic and memory chips and packaging for Tesla, in a podcast interview with Peter Diamandis, founder of the X Prize Foundation

“We’re going to hit a chip wall if we don’t do the fab,” Musk said. “We’ve got two choices: hit the chip wall or make a fab.” Apple’s iPhone sales surge to quarterly high Apple’s iPhone sales soared to a new quarterly record during the holiday season. The October-December results announced Thursday reflect the allegiance of Apple’s fans, who eagerly snapped up the latest iPhone 17 models even though the company still hasn’t delivered on its 2024 promise to smarten up the device’s Siri assistance with AI. Apple tried to offset its AI miscues with a new “liquid glass” design for the iPhone 17 and older models installed by way of a free software upgrade released last September. That formula helped produce iPhone sales of $85.3 billion, a 23% increase from the same time in the previous year It marked Apple’s highest iPhone sales for a threemonth period since the device’s debut in 2007.

The iPhone’s robust performance propelled Apple to a profit of $42.1 billion, or $2.84 per share for the quarter, a 16% increase from the previous year Total revenue also rose 16% from the previous year to $143.8 billion Apple is tapping into Google’s latest AI model, Gemini 3, in a tacit acknowledgment of its own shortcomings in a technology that’s widely considered to be the industry’s biggest breakthrough since the iPhone’s introduction.

Royal Caribbean confirms news ships

Royal Caribbean is making waves in the cruise industry with big plans for the next several years, including a new class of oceangoing ships and 10 new river ships. Royal Caribbean Group announced a series of agreements with the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in France to secure the construction of its new Discovery class. Jay Schneider, Royal Caribbean’s chief product innovation officer, previously noted that the new ships would be smaller than the cruise line’s gigantic Icon class ships. The news confirms two firm ship orders with options for four additional ships. The first ship in the class is set to debut in 2029, while the second ship is scheduled for delivery in 2032. While details on the new ships are scant, Royal Caribbean CEO Michael Bayley said the new Discovery class will put guests “at the center of it all.” The confirmation of the Discovery class comes on the heels of an announcement of more vessels for Celebrity River Cruises, a subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Group. Last September, Celebrity first shared its foray into the world of river cruising with two new ships debuting in 2027.

Markets end near even after swings

BY STAN CHOE AP business writer

NEW YORK A day of dramatic swings on Wall Street, including Microsoft’s worst drop in years and a sudden reversal for the price of gold, finished with only relatively modest moves on Thursday

The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% after flirting with its record high in the morning and dropping by as much as 1.5% later in the day The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 55 points, or 0.1%, after erasing an earlier loss of more than 400 points, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.7%.

Microsoft was the heaviest weight on the market by far, and the tech giant tumbled 10% even though it reported stronger profit and revenue for the latest quar-

ter than analysts expected. Investors honed in instead on how much Microsoft is spending on investments, whether growth in its Azure cloud business will slow and how long its push into artificial-intelligence technology will take to turn into big profits.

Tesla also weighed on the market after falling 3.5%. It delivered a bigger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected, but the results were sharply lower than from a year earlier Tesla’s leader, Elon Musk, has been trying to get investors to focus less on its flagging car sales and more on the company’s robotaxis and robots.

IBM climbed 5.1% after surpassing analysts’ expectations for profit and revenue. Southwest Airlines flew 18.7% higher

even though its profit fell short of forecasts. It gave a forecast for earnings in 2026 that blew past analysts’ expectations, saying it’s seeing strong momentum after making changes like charging baggage fees and having assigned seating.

Some of the wildest action in financial markets was again for precious metals.

Gold’s price rallied near $5,600 per ounce in the morning before suddenly and briefly dropping back below $5,200. It then steadied somewhat and rose modestly to another record.

It was only on Monday that gold’s price topped $5,000 for the first time, and it had nearly doubled over the last 12 months.

Silver, which has been zooming higher in its own feverish run, had

a similar and sudden reversal of momentum before ticking higher again.

Prices for precious metals have been surging as investors look for safer things to own while weighing a wide range of risks, including a U.S. stock market that critics call expensive, political instability, threats of tariffs and heavy debt loads for governments worldwide. Oil prices rose roughly 3.5% on worries about potentially rising tensions between the United States and Iran, which could ultimately constrict the flow of crude. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned the U.S. military “will be prepared to deliver whatever the president expects,” just a day after President Donald Trump told Iran to “make a deal” on its nuclear program.

Starbucks sees room to expand

Company plans hundreds of new U.S. stores, increased seating

BY DEE-ANN DURBIN Associated Press

NEW YORK Starbucks said Thursday that it plans to open hundreds of new stores across the U.S. and add seating capacity at thousands of existing locations, doubling down on a strategy of emphasizing the company’s cafes as community hubs even as consumer demand for drive-thru coffee grows. The company unveiled its plans during a presentation in New York for investors. After announcing in September that it would close hundreds of less profitable stores, Starbucks said it now expects to open up to 175 new U.S. coffee shops this year and around 400 in 2028. Its plans include smaller-format stores that are 20% cheaper to build but still offer comfortable seating, drive-thru service and mobile order pickup capacity Chair and CEO Brian Niccol said Starbucks ultimately sees an opportunity to build at least 5,000 new cafes across the U.S., with the smaller store format presenting much of that opportunity. There are thousands of sites where no Starbucks operates within a mile of a competitor, he said. Starbucks is particularly eyeing the central, southern and northeastern U.S. for store development

In some ways, Starbucks is running counter to a growing U.S. trend of drive-thru-only coffee shops like Dutch Bros and 7 Brew In September, the National Coffee Association, an industry trade group, found that 59% of U.S. coffee drinkers who bought coffee outside their home in the past week had used a drive-thru, which was an alltime high.

But Niccol said Thursday that over the last month, more than 60% of Starbucks’ customers came into a store to order their coffee, and he thinks it’s important for those stores to feel vibrant and inviting.

“Our cafes are our point of differentiation,” Niccol said. “We want people to be in our coffeehouses.”

Starbucks said it plans to add 25,000 additional seats to its U.S. cafes by the end of its fiscal year this fall. That’s part of an ongoing upgrade process that is intended to make existing stores warmer and more welcoming.

The improvements, which cost around $150,000 and are done overnight while stores are closed, have been completed at 200 locations and are expected to spread to 1,000 by fall. Starbucks expects to finish the retrofitting work in 2028. The company has

around 10,000 company-operated stores in the U.S. Niccol said Starbucks is seeing customers dwell longer in stores that are revamped.

Niccol, who joined Starbucks in 2024 to revive its flagging sales, said the company’s turnaround is taking hold. Starbucks has been adding staff and equipment to stores to improve service times and give employees more time to connect with customers. Among Starbucks’ priorities in the coming year is improving its afternoon business, which is weaker than its performance in the morning. In the spring, the company plans to introduce customizable energy drinks made with a proprietary green coffee extract. It’s also planning more snackable foods that are high in protein and fiber, like flatbreads, cottage cheese and protein popcorn.

The company is also installing equipment designed to speed up service. A next-generation espresso machine will cut in half the 70 seconds it now takes to pull espresso shots and double capacity to eight shots at a time, the company said. The machines will begin rolling out to U.S. stores in 2027.

Starbucks also expects changes to its loyalty program to boost sales. A three-tiered program set to start March 10 in the U.S. and Canada will have various benefits for Green, Gold and Reserve members. Starbucks has 35.5 million active loyalty members in the U.S. alone.

Green members will still earn one star per dollar spent, and stars can be redeemed for food and beverages. But they will earn a $2 credit faster than before and get free drink modifications once per month, the company said.

Minn. climate suit against oil industry can proceed

KRISTOFFER TIGUE

BY

The Minnesota Star Tribune (TNS)

A lawsuit from the state of Minnesota that aims to hold the oil industry accountable for allegedly misleading the public about climate change can move forward, a state appeals court ruled Monday

The ruling inches the case closer to trial after nearly six years of legal challenges. The decision affirms a lower court’s ruling, denying a motion by Exxon Mobil, Koch Industries and the American Petroleum Institute to throw the case out. The case now heads back to the lower court to begin the discovery process if no other attempts to dismiss it are

filed

The three-judge panel rejected the oil companies’ arguments that the case lacked jurisdiction in Minnesota, violated federal

law that prohibits discrimination between in-state and out-of-state businesses, and broke Minnesota’s anti-SLAPP law SLAPPs, short for strategic lawsuits against public participation, are defined by the state as lawsuits with the express intent to harass or interfere with a person’s constitutional rights, such as free speech. Minnesota’s suit, filed in 2020, is among dozens of pending cases filed by cities, counties and states that allege oil companies misled the public by hiding and downplaying evidence that burning fossil fuels heats the planet. Research shows that extreme weather, exacerbated by rising global temperatures, has caused more than $3 trillion in damage across the United States since 1980. The suits, if successful, could have broad ramifications, including forcing oil companies to pay

states billions of dollars in damages and requiring warning labels on petroleum products to inform consumers about their connection to climate change.

But attorneys familiar with the cases say it could be years before any of them make it to trial. Minnesota’s lawsuit, for example, has been tied up for years over peripheral issues such as whether it should be heard in a federal or state court. “It’s good news for the state, but too early to pop the Champagne corks,” said Michael Gerrard, founding director of Columbia Law School’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law Minnesota’s lawsuit faces other legal challenges as well. Those include whether state courts have the authority to issue decisions that could have broad ramifications on national environmental

policy Oil companies have argued that the lawsuits amount to climate policy that would be written by judges rather than lawmakers. In a statement to the Minnesota Star Tribune, American Petroleum Institute General Counsel Ryan Meyers called the lawsuits “baseless” and “a coordinated campaign” against the fossil fuel industry by Democrat-led states. “We continue to believe that climate policy belongs in Congress, not a patchwork of courtrooms,” Meyers said. The climate lawsuits aren’t novel. Many of them, including Minnesota’s, are adopting a legal strategy used by states to successfully sue tobacco companies in the 1990s. Those lawsuits ultimately forced tobacco companies to pay states billions of dollars and add labels to cigarette packs, warning that smoking can cause lung cancer

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By RICHARD DREW

Starbucks Chair and CEO Brian Niccol speaks Thursday during the Starbucks Investor Day event in New york.

Democrats, WhiteHouse strike spending deal

Homeland Security funding will be separated

BY MARYCLARE JALONICK, KEVIN FREKING and SEUNGMIN KIM Associated Press

WASHINGTON Democrats and White Housestrucka deal to averta partial government shutdown and temporarily fund the Department of Homeland Security on Thursday as they consider new restrictionsfor President Donald Trump’s surge of immigration enforcement.

As the country reels from the deaths of two protesters at the hands of federal agents in Minneapolis, the two sides have agreedto separatehomeland security funding from alarger spending bill and fund the Homeland department for two weeks while they debate Democratic demands for curbs on theU.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency

The deal comes after Democrats voted to block legislation to fund DHS on Thursday

“Republicans andDemocrats have come together to get the vast majority of the government funded until September” while extending current funding for Homeland Security,Trump saidin asocial media post Thursdayevening.Heencouraged members of both parties to cast a“much needed Bipartisan ‘YES’ vote.”

Democrats had requested thetwo-week extension and say they are prepared to block the wide-ranging spending bill if their demands aren’tmet, denying

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, amember of the Senate Appropriations Committee, is surroundedbyreportersWednesdayfollowinga closed-door Republican

spending legislation that funds the DepartmentofHomeland Security and aswath of other government agenciesatthe Capitol in Washington.

so agents are held accountable when they violate rules.

Schumer said agents should be required to have“masks off, body cameras on” and carry proper identification, as is common practice in most law enforcement agencies.

The Democratic caucus is united in those“common sense reforms,” and the burden is on Republicans to accept them, Schumer said.

“Boilitall down, what we are talking about is that these lawless ICE agents should be following the samerulesthatyour local police department does,” said Democratic Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota. “There has to be accountability.”

Stillfar apartonpolicy

Negotiations downthe road on afinal agreement on the Homeland Security bill are likely to be difficult.

Tillis said. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham saidsome of theDemocraticproposals “make sense,” suchasbetter training and body cameras. Still, he said he was putting his Senate colleagues “on notice”that if Democrats try to makechanges to the funding bill, he would insist on new language preventing local governments from resisting the Trump administration’s immigration policies.

“I think the best legislative solution forour country would be to adoptsome of these reforms to ICE and Border Patrol,” Graham posted on X, but also end so-called“sanctuarycity” policies.

Uncertaintyinthe House

Authoritiessay he told officers he hada courtorder to releasesuspect

BY MICHAEL R. SISAK

Associated Press

NEW YORK Aman claiming to be an FBI agent showed up to afederal jail in New York City on Wednesday night and told officers he had acourt order to release Luigi Mangione, authorities said. Mark Anderson, a36-yearold Minnesota native who has ahistory of drug and other arrests anddisclosed last year in court papers that he suffers from mental illness, was arrested and charged with impersonating afederal officer in afoiled bid to free Mangione from the Metropolitan Detention Center.Mangione is being held at the notorious Brooklyn lockup while awaiting state and federal murder trials in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Acriminal complaint against Anderson did not identify the person he attemptedtofree. Alaw enforcement official familiar with the matter confirmed it wasMangione. Theofficial was not authorized to speak publicly and did so on condition of anonymity Anderson was ordered held without bail after an initial appearance Thursday in Brooklyn federal court. He was not required to enter aplea. Aday after getting stopped at the entrance, he is now lockedupinthe same jail as Mangione, according to federal prison records. An online court docket did not include information on alawyer who could speak on Anderson’sbehalf.A message was also left for aspokesperson for Mangione’slegal team. In alawsuit last year alleging injuries from afall at acity homeless shelter,Anderson said he has “multiple disabilities” and has been ruled by the Social Security Administrationtobe“fully disabled because of mental illness.” He said he hadno money and said he received state and federal assistance.

Republicansthe votesthey need to pass it and potentially triggering ashutdown. The Senate couldvoteon the deal as soon as Thursday evening. Republican leaders who had wanted alonger extension of the Homeland funding were still checking with their conference to makesure there were no objectionstothe deal and it could pass quickly.

sible. We can’thave the government shut down.”

Rare bipartisan talks

In th e House, SpeakerMike Johnson, R-Benton, told The Associated Press on Thursday that he hadbeen“vehemently opposed” to breaking up the funding package, but “if it is broken up, we will have to moveitasquickly aspos-

The rare bipartisan talks between Trump andhis frequent adversary,Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer,came after the fatal shooting of 37-yearold Alex Pretti in Minnesota over the weekend andcalls by senatorsinbothparties for afull investigation. Schumer called it “a momentoftruth.”

“The American people support law enforcement They support border security.They do not support ICE terrorizing our streetsand killingAmericancitizens,” Schumer said.

The standoff has threatened to plunge the country intoanother shutdown, just two monthsafter Democrats

blocked aspending bill over expiring federal health care subsidies.Thatdispute closed the government for 43 days as Republicans refused to negotiate.

That shutdown ended when asmall group of moderateDemocratsbroke away to strike adeal with Republicans, butDemocrats are more unifiedthis time afterthe fatalshootings of Pretti and Renee Good by federal agents.

Democrats’ demands

Democratshave laid out severaldemands,asking theWhiteHouse to “end roving patrols” in cities and coordinatewithlocal law enforcement on immigration arrests, includingrequiring tighter rules for warrants. They alsowantanenforceable code of conduct

Democrats want Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown to end. “If the Trump administrationresists reforms, we shut down the agency,” said ConnecticutSen.Richard Blumenthal. “Weneed to take a stand,” he said.

But Republicans are unlikely to agree to allofthe Democrats’ demands.

North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis said he is opposed to requiring immigration enforcement officers to show their faces, even as he blamed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for decisions that he said are “tarnishing”the agency’s reputation.

“You know,there’s alot of vicious people out there, and they’ll take apicture of your face, and the next thing you know,your children or your wife or your husband are being threatened at home,”

Across theCapitol,House Republicans have said they do not want any changes to the bill they passed last week. In aletter to Trump on Tuesday, theconservative House Freedom Caucus wrote that its members stand with the Republican president and ICE. Johnson appeared open to thechanges, albeit reluctantly,and told the AP he would wanttoapprove the bills “as quickly as possible” once the Senate acts.

“The American people will be hanging in the balance over this,” Johnson said. “A shutdown doesn’thelpanybody.”

On Thursday evening, at a premiere of amovie about first lady Melania Trump at the Kennedy Center, Johnson said he would have some“tough decisions” to make aboutwhentobring the House back to Washington to approvethe bills separatedbythe Senate, if they pass. “We’ll see what they do,” Johnson said.

According to public records, Anderson has had numerous drug and alcohol-related arrests andconvictions over the last two decades in hisnativeMinnesota and in Wisconsin, wherehehas also lived Accordingtothe criminal complaint,Anderson approached the jail intake area around6:50p.m. Wednesday andtolduniformed jail officers that hewas an FBI agent in possession of paperwork “signed by ajudge” authorizing therelease of a specific person in custody at the jail.

When the officers asked forhis federalcredentials, Anderson showed them a Minnesotadriver’slicense, threw documentsatthem and claimed to have weapons, the criminal complaint said. The documents appeared related to filing claims against the Justice Department, according to an FBI agent who viewedthem and prepared thecomplaint.

Officers searched Anderson’sbag andfounda barbecue fork anda circular steel blade,the complaintsaid.In aphotoincludedinthe complaint, the blade appeared to be asmall pizza cutter wheel.

Anderson’sdriver’slicenselisted an address in Mankato, Minnesota, about 65 miles southwest of Minneapolis. He moved to New York for ajob opportunity and started working at aBronx pizzeria when that fell through, the law enforcement official said. Court recordsindicatehe hadbeen living in the city at least since2023, including at motels,ashelter and aBronx apartment. Acting as hisown lawyer he hasfiledhandwritten lawsuits against the Pentagon, Chinese and Russian ambassadors and aMinnesota police department,all of which havebeen thrown out. Another lawsuit, alleging aBronx pizzeria forced himtowork 70 hours aweek with no overtime, is still pending.

The alleged attempt to free Mangione added abizarre wrinkle to acritical stretch in his legal cases.

Hours before Anderson’s arrest, theManhattan district attorney’s office sent aletter urgingthe judge

in Mangione’s state case, Gregory Carro, to set aJuly 1trial date.

On Friday,Mangione will be in court for aconference in his federal case. The judge in that case, Margaret Garnett,isexpected to rule soon whether prosecutors can seek thedeathpenalty andwhether they can use certain evidence against him Last week, Garnett scheduled juryselection in the federal case for Sept. 8, with the rest of the trialhappening in October or January, depending on whether she allows prosecutors to seek thedeath penalty Mangione has pleaded not guilty in both cases. The statecharges carry thepossibilityoflife in prison.

Acause célèbre for people upset withthe healthinsurance industry,Mangione has attracted legions of supporters, some of whom have regularly turned up at his court appearances donning green clothing—the color worn by the Mario Bros. video game character Luigi —asasymbol of solidarity.Some have broughtsigns andshirts withslogans such as “Free Luigi” and “No Death For LuigiMangione.” Thompson,50, was killed on Dec. 4, 2024, as he walked to amidtown Manhattan hotelfor UnitedHealth Group’s annual investor conference. Surveillance video showed amasked gunman shooting him from behind. Police say “delay,” “deny” and“depose were written on the ammunition, mimicking aphrase usedtodescribe howinsurersavoid paying claims. Mangione, a27-year-old IvyLeague graduate from awealthy Maryland family was arrested five days later at aMcDonald’sinAltoona, Pennsylvania, about 230 miles westofManhattan.

days of courtproceedings in Pennsylvania, Mangione was whisked to New York and sent to the Metropolitan Detention Center

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE

meetingon

Johnson

Musician calls for community unity

Horace Trahan emphasizes peace amid violence concerns

BY JOANNA BROWN Staff writer

As a musician, Horace Trahan has never been known for pulling his punches.

The Cajun accordionist, lawn care business owner, family man and lifelong resident of Ossun doesn’t have a lot of time for subtlety His band,

Horace Trahan & the Ossun Express, plays somewhere almost every weekend, sharing the rollicking rhythms and direct emotions of Cajun and zydeco music — and Trahan embodies that same openness off the stage. His Facebook profile is a daily diary of shows, updates, music and news. Trahan, who’s been playing for crowds in French and English

since he was a teenager, is more than comfortable expressing himself to the public, even when the topic is an emotional one. So it was on-brand this week when the artist turned on his camera and published a video that spoke directly to events embroiling the American public.

An American kestrel, the smallest falcon in North America, perches on a power line as the waxing gibbous moon rises in the afternoon sky near Duson on Wednesday

Broussard Middle teacher facing child sex crime charges

Investigation continues into allegations

BY ASHLEY WHITE Staff writer

A Broussard Middle School teacher was arrested Wednesday and is facing charges related to child sex crimes, according to Lafayette Parish jail records. Christie Oster, 38, was booked with one count of carnal knowledge of a juvenile and one count of indecent behavior with juveniles. She is being held at the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center with bail set at $50,000. Oster was the 2025-26 Teacher

of the Year for Broussard Middle, according to a September Facebook post that has since been deleted. Oster has been placed on administrative leave, a Lafayette Parish school system spokesperson said. The Lafayette Police Department is still investigating the matter, a spokesperson said. Carnal knowledge of a juvenile can be committed when a person who is older than 17 has sexual intercourse with someone who is between 13 and 17 years old and the age difference is more than four years according to Louisiana state law If convicted, a person can be fined up to $5,000 and face up to 10 years in prison. Indecent behavior with juveniles can be committed when

lewd or lascivious acts are performed in front of a child under 17 and there is an age difference of more than two years between the two people; when texts, images or spoken communication depict lewd or lascivious conduct; or when someone grooms a child under the age of 17 and there is an age difference of at least four years. If convicted a person can be fined up to $5,000 and imprisoned up to seven years. Families are encouraged to talk with their children about sexual abuse to help reduce the odds a child will become a victim, according to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network. Some of the ways to reduce a child’s odds of being a victim include being active in a

child’s life, being aware of the signs of sexual abuse and who is involved in a child’s life, being open with children about topics that may seem embarrassing or uncomfortable, empowering children to say “no” and using anatomically correct words for body parts.

Signs of child sexual abuse include physical trauma to a child’s genital area, fear of being alone with a certain person, regression, reluctance to change clothes, increased isolation or social withdrawal, mood swings, changes in eating or sleeping patterns and a loss of interest in school or friends, according to the group.

Email Ashley White at ashley white@theadvocate.com.

Horace Trahan, a musician, family man and lifelong resident of Ossun, spoke out against federal actions in Minneapolis in a video posted to social media.

Frigid temps returning to area

Cold weather advisory issued for Lafayette this weekend

BY ASHLEY WHITE Staff writer

A cold weather advisory has been issued through noon Sunday as Lafayette and Acadiana are expected to see more below-freezing temperatures, according to the National Weather Service in Lake Charles.

A cold front is forecast to move through the area on Friday No rain is expected, but hazardous cold temperatures and wind chills are in the forecast for Saturday and Sunday night, the weather service said in a Thursday morning advisory The morning lows for Lafayette are: n Friday: 38 degrees n Saturday: 25 degrees n Sunday: 20 degrees n Monday: 29 degrees. The daily highs for Lafayette are: n Friday: 51 degrees

n Saturday: 36 degrees n Sunday: 45 degrees n Monday: 57 degrees.

Most of Acadiana is under a cold weather advisory and the weather service urges people to limit the amount of time they spend in the cold, dress in warm layers and cover all exposed skin if they do go outside. Lafayette is expected to experience below-freezing temperatures for about eight hours between Friday night and Saturday morning. That

Man given three years of suspension

BY CLAIRE TAYLOR Staff writer

Lafayette attorney George Knox has been suspended for three years by the Louisiana Supreme Court for violating several rules of professional conduct, including accepting a $5,000 advance from a client and not representing her properly

The court on Wednesday adopted the recommendation of the Office of Disciplinary Action to suspend Knox for three years starting with his interim suspension date of Dec. 21, 2023. His suspension, it appears, would be over in December

Associate Justice Jay McCallum dissented with the six other justices, saying he would reject the

STAFF

PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK

FILE PHOTO By ROBIN MAy

ä See UNITY, page 4B

ä See COLD, page 4B

Offshore leasesaleopens door to energy dominance

Dec. 10 marked apivotal moment for American energy: the first federal Gulf of America lease sale in nearly two years, generating $300 million in winning bids, and, hopefully, the start of anew era of American energy dominance.

Mandated by the One Big Beautiful Bill, this sale was the firstof30lease sales theUnited States willhold in the Gulf of America over the next 15 years, with additional sales in offshore Alaska. After an unprecedentedleasing gapthat injecteduncertainty into long-term investment decisions, the door to America’soffshore energy future has finallyreopened.

This is more than aroutine bureaucratic process; it is anational strategic action.

Offshore energy is one of America’smost powerful tools for securing reliable, long-term production, reducing dependence on foreign suppliersand strengthening our industrial and defense base

President DonaldTrump’sday

one executive orders prioritized exactly this outcome: restoring predictable access to U.S. offshore resources and ensuring the United States, not geopolitical rivals, sets thepace for global energy development and security.

Forthe past two years, offshore energy companies have faced aleasing drought unlike anything in modern history

Traditionally,the United States holdstwo offshore lease sales per year

Going 24 monthswithout a single lease sale has forced companies to reconsider future investments, delayed exploration timelines and diverted capital to globalregions whereinvestment is actually embraced.

Offshore projects require billions of dollars upfront and years, sometimes more than adecade, of planning, engineeringand execution. Predictable leasing is the starting point that makes American developmentpossible.

The return of regular leasing brings enormous opportunity for

Nonsensicalbid for Greenlandlinks Louisiana, Denmark

Louisiana and the Kingdom of Denmark, where Iamacitizen, have alot in common. We sharealove for rémoulade, though Louisiana’s version is spicier,and ageneral love for food, football (different types), freedom and fairness.

In 2026, the U.S. will celebrate its 250th year as an independent nation, and Denmark will celebrate its 1,075th birthday.Both your President Washington and our King Gorm the Old would have been proud to see how our nations have worked together over the years.

Louisiana. Economic analysis shows that consistent offshore activitycould support 111,000 Louisiana jobsand generate$9.4 billion in annual state GDP by 2040. That’sengineers, shipbuilders, welders, offshore workers, vessel operators, small business owners and thousands of men and women whose livelihoods depend on avibrant offshore supply chain.

The benefits are not just economic; they’re entwined in the well-being of states like Louisiana.

The OneBig Beautiful Bill increases the 2006 Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA) revenue sharing cap from $500 million to $650 million annually from 2025 through 2034, directing billions moretoward Louisiana’s coastal restoration, hurricane protection, conservation programsand community projects over the coming years. These investments help ensure thestate remainsresilient and competitive for decades to come.

The way this process works is that companies bid competitively for lease blocks, pay substantial rentsand royalties and commit vast resources to evaluating and developing them responsibly.In

nese investors have already bought in American Treasury securities. Ultimately,itisthe American taxpayers who are expected to paythe investors back —with interest.

2024, activities related to offshore energy development generated $7 billion in direct government revenue.

Abroad inventory of available leases improves the odds of commercially viable discoveries that support long-term production. Onedeepwater project can produce stable, reliable energy for 20-30 years or morewith remarkably small surface impacts.

Additionally,the Gulf of America produces someofthe cleanest barrels in the world. U.S. Gulf production has acarbon intensity 46% lower than the global average.

Every barrel produced here displaces higher-emission barrels from countries with weaker environmental protections and fewer labor safeguards. Offshore U.S. energy doesn’t just power our economy,itstrengthens global climate performance and keeps America’sallies supplied with dependable, responsibly produced fuels.

At atime when global political threatsare rising, it has become so much clearer that energy security is national security.This momentcould not be moreconsequential.

Regular lease sales send aclear signal: America is the global leader,not afollower,inthe global competition forenergy investment. Nations with predictable access and clear permitting frameworks earn the confidence of investors. Nations without them watch capital and influence moveoverseas.

With the reinstatement of regular offshore leasing, the United States is reclaiming its role as the world’smost attractive destination foroffshore investment, innovation, and energy development.

President Trumpmade adeliberate and consequential decision. He chose American resources, American workers and American leadership over foreign dependence.

With this lease sale, and the 29 that are following, the Gulf of America is once again at the forefront of America’senergy future.

Eric Zimmermann is the chief operating officer of LLOG Exploration and vice chairof National OceanIndustries Association. Erik Militoisthe president of theNational Ocean Industries Association

DOJlooks away as Louisianastill incarcerates prisonerspastrelease date

Brian Humphrey was kept behind bars in a rural Louisianajail for 27 days pasthis courtordered release date. Ellis Ray Hicks was incarcerated for 60 days beyond his Louisianaprison sentence.

So,what the United States can get access to for free (or on mutually beneficial terms) from one of your closest allies in Europe, it instead wants to buy for afortune financed by one of your clear adversaries. Is that the art of agreat deal?

During World WarII, more soldiers from Louisiana (around 5,000) lost their lives to secure ourfreedom than Danish soldiers andsailors (around 4,000). Iam, as well as many others, very grateful for that sacrifice on European soil.

The strong American commitment to NATO, where Denmark wasone of the founding partners in 1949, has secured peaceand stability(with theBalkan Warof1992-1995 and the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014 as recent exceptions) in Europe. America’srecent support for Ukraine is admirable and second-tonone. Did Europe contribute itsfair share over the years?Asembarrassing as it is to admit, we did not. Luckily,this is changing.Our nation has committed 5% of its GDP toits defense. Additionally,inclose partnership with U.S. leaders, Denmark has always granted the U.S.the right to operate in Greenland. When we and other European countries send additional troops to Greenland,we arebeing punished by the U.S. with the threat of an extra tariff of 10%.

The governor of Louisianahas recently been appointed as an “envoy with the mission (using “culinary diplomacy”) to “buy Greenland.”A sales price of $700 billion has been mentioned. This will have tobe financedthrough the sale of bonds. The amount is close to what Chi-

If we donot agree to what your “envoy” offers, President Donald Trumphad warned us that you might invade our Kingdom,though he hasrecentlybacked down from these threats. Our old Kingdomhas been invaded before.The last envoy we had as part of an occupation force was a jurist turned politician.His formal title was Plenipotentiary (or in German: Reichsbevollmaechtigter). His name was Werner Best, and he was adevoutNazi. Iamsorry to say, but this is what we thinkofwhen we hear theconcept of an envoy on Danish soil.

What American presidentsdo in the U.S.isnone of my business. However,with respect to peace and prosperity in Denmark and Europe, my opinion is that Dwight D. Eisenhower andRonald Reagan did the right things for the right reasons. Barack Obama did thewrong things for the right reasons. President DonaldTrump appears to do thewrong things for no reason. It simply doesnot make any sense. Speaking ofculinary diplomacy: Some years ago, aDanish bartender, educated in Las Vegas, decided to innovate on your classic Sazerac. Therefore, Ihope Ican still welcome our Louisianan friends over a“Sassy Sazerac”(as shenamed her cocktail). Or,ifeverything goes south, a “Greenland Libre.”

Søren Jensen is abusiness creator based in greater Copenhagen, Denmark.

AndRobert Parker was forced to spend 337 days behind bars even after aLouisiana judge ordered him released —nearly ayear of freedom stolen by thestate. These cases are not isolated incidents. They reveal acriminal justice system that routinely ignores thelaw Louisianahas one of the world’shighest incarceration rates.Weare former federal attorneys and our investigation while at the U.S. Department of Justice found that since at least 2012, more than 25% of people in state custody have been held past their release dates.

Despite over adecade of warnings, theLouisiana DepartmentofCorrections has failed to stop what the Constitution clearly forbids —the government depriving people of their liberty without legal authority Every year,thousands of Louisianansremain behind bars for weeks, monthsoreven years beyond their court-ordered release.

The Justice Department opened its investigation intooverdetention in Louisiana during President Donald Trump’sfirst administration, after state officials admitted that thousands of people were being held past their release dates. We were part of ateam of federal lawyers who spent years documenting the problem and, in January 2023, issued apublic report detailing systemic constitutional violations by the state.

Louisianafailed to act. Nearly two years later,inDecember 2024, the Justice Department sued to force reform.But after the new Trump administration took office the following month, officials froze thecase, citing a“transition” at theJustice Department Later,President Donald Trump’sJustice Department claimed Louisiana needed more time to fix aproblem that thestate itself had identified morethan 12 years earlier.Afederal judge has since ruled that the case remains administratively closed, effectively putting justice on hold.

Watchingthe Justice Department voluntarily pause itsown efforts to hold Louisiana accountable for clear constitutional violations— ongoing since at least 2012 —isdeeply troubling. Ending federal oversight now would signal that states can escape accountability even when they acknowledge, through their own data, that constitutional violations persist.Itwould

reward noncompliance and abandon the very people the Constitution is meanttoprotect. Reasonable people may disagree about the scope of manyconstitutional rights, but not this one. The 14th Amendment’sDue Process Clause protects every person from the governmentarbitrarily restricting their liberty,and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously ruled in an overdetention case that it is “clear as day” that the government cannot incarcerate an individual without legal authority In 2018, U.S. Sen. John Kennedy and thenLouisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry condemned the state’scorrections department for maintaining “a layer of incompetence so deep” that it didn’teven know when people should be released. Yetwhen Landry becamegovernor, he reversed course —dismissing the Justice Department lawsuit as “Grinch Joe Biden’s parting Christmas present” and actively supported its dismissal.

The Justice Department’sefforts to stop overdetention, however,were not partisan but stemmed from alengthy investigation pursued across administrations, beginning under President Donald Trumpand continuing under President Biden.

This Trumpadministration prides itself on efficiency and cost-cutting. Yetitcontinuesto ignore these constitutional violations that have already cost Louisiana taxpayers $30 million Much of that money flows to local parishes to house state prisoners, manyofwhich have expanded their jails over the past fifteen years.

Louisiana’sown data underscores the depth of the crisis. As of September 2025, the state wasnowhere close to resolving its overdetention problem.Despite years of scrutiny,people whoshould be immediately released remain behind bars. The numbers tell aclear and troubling story: the problem is ongoing, widespread and unresolved.

The mission of the Department of Justice is to “uphold the rule of law,tokeep our country safe, and to protect civil rights.” That mission demands morethan words. It requires action. While civil rights attorneys are doing vital work to challenge unlawfuldetention, private litigation cannot substitute forsustained federal oversight. Only the Justice Department has the authority and responsibility to ensure meaningful, systemic reform.

Allowing Louisiana to incarcerate thousands past their release dates is cruel. It erodes faith in our legal system.And it sends aclear message that the poor and powerless are not protected by the Constitution.

We must not let this injustice continue.

DavidHowardSinkman and Matthew Underwood are former U.S.Departmentof Justice attorneys

ISSUE OF THE WEEK GREENLAND

President Donald Trump’s fixation on acquiring Greenland has baffled many in the internationalcommunity Thesemiautonomous territoryhas been controlled by Denmark for hundreds of years.yetTrump arguesthe U.S. needs to ownitfor our national security.Attimes, the president’swords have been seen as athreat to theNATO alliance, of which Denmarkisa member,asEuropean countries have vowed to come to Denmark’said should theU.S.moveto take Greenlandmilitarily.While the president seems to have ruled out that step, what’s behind Trump’s stance on this issue? Is thepresident usingbluster as astrategytogain greater leverageinthe Arctic? Here are twoperspectives.

President’soutrageous threatsget practicalresults

Think about it. Heads of government do not normally reveal the texts of private communications from other headsofstate Yetthat is what Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store of Norway did on the first weekendofthe World EconomicForum in Davos, where the international press would have no difficulty finding appalled foreign leadersto comment.

mands have alienated him from sympathy and empowered theforces against him. Other leaders have figured out that he requires gushers of praise to permeateevery dialogue, and they’re probably ready with encomiums for his avowals in his Davos speech that he won’tuse violence to obtain Greenland.

Does Trumpneeda portrait of JamesK.Polk?

Michael Barone

Youcould think of this as ahostile act of astatesman appalled that the American head of government does not know that the governmentofNorway does not decide who getsthe NobelPeace Prize. It is probably better to think of it as an intervention, by asympathetic observer who has noticed that Donald Trump backs downfrom untenable positions in response to ructions in political and financial markets.

Which is what Trump hasdone between the publication of hisletter and his speech at Davos. He seemed to be threatening war with Denmark, and Europeancommentators, not without reason, lamentedthathe was risking breakingupthe NATOalliance out of pique of not being awarded aprize by acommittee that was never going to honor anon-leftist American president.

Proof of which was the granting of that prize to Barack Obama in 2009 for what even Obama himself admitted was forno tangible accomplishment. Actually,Trump has somevalid points on Greenland. It sits astridemissile, drone and air transportroutes between North America and western Russia andeastern Europe. The United States would have even more flexibility thanitdoes under current agreements withDenmark if it were to become U.S. territory.That’sone reason the U.S. holds on to Guaminthe west Pacific and has spent billionsupgrading military facilities there.

All that said, Trump’susual negotiating technique of starting off withextravagant demands was, in the careful wordsofsocial scientist Charles Murray,“next-level crazy.” Denmark has been an activeally of the United StatesinAfghanistan andIraq, has increased its rate of defense spending above levels Trump demanded,and has adoptedimmigrationpoliciesinline with Trump’sadvocacy With Denmark as with Canada, as with fellow Republicans in Georgia and other states, Trump’sobnoxious maximalist de-

And it has to be said that Trump’s bluntness and braggadocio have hadsome of its intended effect. The American Enterprise Institution’s YuvalLevin,inaninterview withThe New York Times’Ezra Klein, makes the point that manyofTrump’slurching policy changes, not codified into law,can easily be wipedaway by thenext Democratic administration, perhaps even by aDemocratic House of Representatives next year

Butdespite his own preference for procedural regularity in making institutional change, Levin admits that “they’ve driven alot of change that will be durable.” Initial pollingreaction to Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, has been negative. But there’snodoubt that Trumphas provedthat the border can be controlled undercurrent legislation —which would increase the political cost of any subsequent administration adopting the open border policy of Joe Biden’s We learn from experience, and just as theformer real estate developer sometimesseems to accept discipline from financialmarkets,sothe former reality TV show host sometimes seems to accept disciplinefrom theratings. On Greenland, he has responded to thecues of the markets andthe ratings and backed off from threats of force, while retaining thepossibility of increasing the already significant U.S.presence there. Meanwhile, the NATO alliance remains in place,withits increased number of European members spending increasing percentages of their economies on defense. Three more years of this Trumpadministration will strain and irritate foreign leaders andAmerican politicians, with wild threats and childish petulance driving one crisis after another.But it may continue to getthem,often grudgingly,doing things Trump’sway MichaelBarone is on X, @ MichaelBarone.

Donald Trump has apainting of Andrew Jackson in the Oval Office, but as he tries to browbeat Denmarkinto coughing up Greenland, maybeheshould add aportraitofaJackson acolyte —James K. Polk. If cold-eyed American expansionism is the theme, there are fewer better representatives than the 11th president.

He added more than 1million squaremiles to U.S.territory and extended the country all the way to thePacific, making him the most successful president notcelebrated as partofthe American pantheon.

Trump’simpulse to throw his weight around and assume control of sparsely populated, strategically desirable territory recalls Polk.

Athoroughgoing Jacksonianpopulist, he unexpectedly won the Democratic nomination for president in 1844 (much of what Irelate here,bythe way,isdrawn from my book, “The Casefor Nationalism”).Heran on aplatformurging what Democrats called the “re-annexation” of Texas and the “re-occupation” of Oregon. Texas was aflash point. Anglos settled there when it was aprovince of Mexico, rebelled against the dictatorship of Santa Anna, and won independence.

Texans wanted to be partofthe U.S., but aMexican threat to fight over annexation helped stay our hand.

When we eventually moved, Mexico was furious. It also insisted that its border with Texas was at the Nueces River,two hundred miles north of theRio Grande.

When Polk sent troopsintothe area between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande, Mexican cavalry ambusheda party of U.S.dragoons.

We ended up occupying MexicoCity and forcing adeal. Mexico conceded to theUnited States aborderatthe Rio Grande, running all the way to the Pacific giving us California inclusive of San Diego, in exchange for the assumption of Mexico’sdebts and the price of $15 million.

There’snodoubt that Polk hadbeen spoiling for afight. The view of the war as simple U.S. plunder is much too simplistic, though.

We were within our rights to deal with an independent Texas, whichhad achieved independence via ajust revolu-

tion, andMexico— in the grips of afoolish warfever —firedthe first shots. In his book on the war,“ACountry of Vast Designs,” Robert W. Merry describesthe underlying dynamic. Mexico, he notes, “was adysfunctional, unstable, weak nation whose population was insufficient to controlall the lands within its domain.” The United States, on the otherhand, “wasavibrant, expanding, exuberant experiment in democracywhose burgeoning population thrilled to the notion thatitwas engaging in something big and historically momentous.” This created adrive “toward expansion into largely unpopulated lands thatseemed to beckon with irresistible enticement.”

Today, it is Trump personally,rather thanthe nationatlarge, tempted by historic acquisitions of territory.He, too, could be aThomasJefferson, or aWilliam Seward —ora Polk, although hopefully without the war

But there’s adifference between a young 19th-century country surging into looselygoverned territory around its perimeter—orbuying territory that European nations areeager to sell —and amature 21st-century world power invested in stable borders and important alliance systems.

Mexicocirca1846 wasn’tatreatyally of the United States, and there were enormous benefits to actually acquiring the Southwest, whereas we can presumably getthe military bases and mineral extractionwewantout of frozen Greenland without formal ownership.

If Trump is going to look to Polk, amore aptantecedentishis handling of the dispute with the Brits over the Oregon territory

Aftermaking maximalist demands, Polk agreed to an equitable compromise at the 49thparallel.

Polk’sexample is worth marking in anotherrespect.Hereally did play3D chess.

There’s no wayhe’d let ego or emotion getinthe wayofpursuing the national interest, whichinthis case includes notneedlessly alienating long-time allieswhenothermeans are available to achieve ourstrategic ends.

Rich Lowry is on X, @RichLowry.

Rich Lowry

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOByEVANVUCCI

President Donald Trump,right, meetswithNATOSecretaryGeneral Mark Rutte on the sidelines of theannual meeting of the WorldEconomic ForuminDavos, Switzerland, on Jan. 21

Middle school counselorfound dead

Manhad arrest warrant, had been placed on leave

BY CHARLESLUSSIER Staff writer

Aguidance counselor at Westdale Middle School who was placedonleave earlier this month was found dead Wednesday at the vacant campus of Glen Oaks Middle School after “a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” according to the coroner The suicide came the day Baton Rouge police issuedanarrestwarrant for Quinton Dixon, 44,onfour counts of indecent behavior with juveniles, afelony Dixon was placed on leave from his job on Jan. 15 after theEastBaton Rouge Par-

ishschool system received aseries of suggestivemessages Dixon allegedly sent to a14-year-oldgirl who had previously been astudent at Westdale Middle. Baton Rouge police confirmed that asuicide occurred at Glen Oaks, a mostly demolished 19-acre campus at 5200 Monarch Ave., and that it occurred outdoors. The East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner’s OfficeconfirmedThursday that theperson foundthere was Dixon and that it was a suicide, but released no additional details.

respect for the privacy of students andthe integrity of ongoing matters, we are unable to share additionaldetails about the employee.”

School officials said Dixonwas still officially on leavewhenhedied Wednesday.Dixon hadbeen aschool district employee since August 2022.

Theparish school system also released astatement.

“Weextend our condolences to the school community, family and loved ones as they processthis information during thisdifficult time,” it said. “Out of

Dixon’semployment and legal troubles beganaftersomeone anonymously posted on social media several messages that Dixon allegedly sent to an unnamed 14-year-old girl. Thatsame individualalso sharedthose messageswith the school system, which responded by placing Dixon on leave, andwith the police, which launchedaninvestigation Wednesday’sarrest warrant accused Dixonofsend-

ing the former Westdale Middle studentsa series of Instagram messages between November andearly January,messages “consistentwithgrooming behaviorinpursuit of an intimate relationship with the minor victim.” In the warrant,police saidtheymade multiple unsuccessful attemptsto get in touch with Dixon on his cellphone In the messages, Dixon asks the girl if shehas a boyfriend, tells the girl how attractive she is and hints that the two should develop aromanticrelationship.

Thewarrant stated that thegirltoldauthorities the messages began after Dixon saw her walking home from school andstopped hisvehicletotalktoher,requesting hercontact information

Email CharlesLussier at clussier@theadvocate. com.

Studylinks wildfire smoketoautismincrease

Airpollution posesriskto pregnancies

BY EMILYWOODRUFF Staff writer

Women breathing wildfire smoke late in pregnancy had ahigher risk of having achild later diagnosed with autism, evenwhen the smoke exposure lasted only afew days, according to a new study by Tulane University researchers

The study,published in EnvironmentalScience & Technology last week, followed more than204,000 mother-child pairs in Southern California from 2006 to 2014, using medical records and estimated fine particulate matter at the mothers’ home addresses.

Women who were exposedtowildfire smoke for more than 10 days in the third trimester —weeks 28 to 40 —had about a23% higher risk of having achild later diagnosed with autism compared with women who had no smoke exposure during that period. But even shorter exposures mattered.

“Even aone-day or twoday exposure is still 10%,” said Mostafijur Rahman, an assistant professor of environmental health sciences at Tulane University’sCelia Scott Weatherhead School

Continued from page1B

Iguess just seeing everythinggoing on in the world today,Ithought, we can do better.Wecan do betteras human beings,” said Trahan, explaining the inspiration behind the video, which was posted Sunday and features Trahan at home in his kitchen. It openswith amemory fromschool daysatOssun Elementary,where he was taught that Christopher Columbus discovered America “As alittle kid, Iremember thinking,‘Howcould they say he discovered this land, when theyalready had people living here for thousands of years?’”posed the artist. The video, which garnered 187 shares and 36,000 views, went on to discuss current debates around use of force by government agencies, stemmingfrom U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol actions in cities like Los Angeles and Minneapolis Thousands have taken to the streets of Minneapolis in recent weeks to protest immigration raids in the city,and on Jan. 7and Jan. 24, Minneapolisresidents Renée Good and Alex Pretti, respectively, were shot and killed by federal agents after joining the protests.

In the six-minute video, Trahan linksthe violencein Minneapolistohistoric violence against Black people by the U.S. government, say-

of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and aco-author of the study.“Tenpercentisalso abig number.” In termsofhardnumbers,the risk is still small for individualpregnancies Autism affects roughly 1 in 36 children overallnationally.An10% increase wouldtranslatetoabout 1 in 32 children at thepopulation level, while a23% increase would correspond to roughly1in29 children.

Airpollution andbabies Wildfiresproduce tiny, inhalableparticles called PM2.5 thatare about 30 timessmaller than thediameter of asingle strand of hair.Theyare atoxic concoction made up of particles from burned vegetation,soot from incomplete combustion,chemical salts formed in smoke, trace metals released asmaterials burn and additional particles that form in the air as gasesfromfire react with other pollutants.

Louisiana does not typically havethe sameamount of smoke exposureas Southern California. But thestate does havewildfires andother sourcesof airpollution. In 2023, smoke frompeat fires —smoldering layers of marsh —blanketed the NewOrleansarea forweeks andwildfiresin western Louisiana burned 60,000 acres. In 2025, afire at Smitty’s Supply,anindus-

ing, “Thisfascism is only making waves rightnow becauseit’sWhite people getting killedbythe government in the streets, and the government getting away with it scot-free. That’sbeen going onfor centuries for Black people in this country It ain’tnothing new.”

“The main problem in this country is not immigrants. It’sWhite supremacy.That mindset,” said Trahan, ending the recording on asombernote.

Outspokennessisnothing newfor this artist,who also shared his songs “GuiltyTill Proven Innocent”and “Government’sBeen Dirty Since Day One” on social media this week.Indiscussingthe response tothe video, the artist said that hisCajun background is amajor influence behind hisviews, and that his French-speaking grandfather gave him insight into the modern immigrant experience. “The Cajun peoplenever originated here,” he said. “Wewere kicked out of Canada, andweended up over here. My grandfatherwas born in 1908, and untilthe dayhedied in 2000, hecould onlysay veryfew wordsin English.Just spoke French “So Ihave asoft spot in my heart for people that might not knowthe language, but work very hard to provide for their families. In no way do Isupport dangerous people,murderers, rapists beinginthe streets. Idon’tbelieve anybody in their right minddoes. If somebody is

trial facility in Roseland, sent smoke and black soot raining down intonearby neighborhoods. And the heavilyindustrializedcorridor known as “Cancer Alley”between Baton Rouge and New Orleans has long faced persistent pollution from petrochemical plants, refineries and manufacturing facilities.

“Wedoknowthatair pollution —whatever form it is —isnot good,”said study author David Luglio. Theresearch team has previously found that air pollution in general is associated with an increase in autism.

“Air pollution itself is bad, whether it is coming from wildfire,petrochemical industry or traffic,” said Rahman Whythe 3rdtrimester?

While most major organs are formed earlierinpregnancy,the third trimester is aperiod when the brain andlungs aredeveloping rapidly and are vulnerable to even modest disruptions in oxygen delivery

“Air pollutioncan increase inflammation and oxidative stress in the mother, potentially affectingplacental functionand blood flow,”said Dr.Stefania Papatheodorou, an OBGYN andenvironmental epidemiologist at Rutgers University

Papatheodorou said the

committing violent crimes, by all means, lock them up. Butthat’s not limited tocitizens. That’salso notlimited to illegalimmigrants. Iput that on the backs of the government also —government assets, government entities committingmurderand violenceagainst us in the streets.

Trahan saidhis goal in speaking out is to foster peace and understanding over division, stating that while he and others hold deeply held views,it’smore importantthan ever to express them withoutresorting to violence. He said, “You have aright to your opinion. Ihave my right to my opinion. We should be able to discuss it and not go to war witheach other over it. This controlling mentality,like, ‘I’m going to put fear intoyou and you’re gonna do what Itell you to do’ —people are waking up to that. It’stime for a change.”

ATTORNEY

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suspension as too lenient.

In May2019, court records show Cassandra Charles paid Knox $5,000 to represent her in achild support alimony case. He did little to help, according to records. Charles, in July 2024, filed acomplaintwiththe state OfficeofDisciplinary Counsel. Knox did not respond to the office’sattemptstoreach him aboutthe investigation

The officefiledformal

charges in May accusing Knoxofviolating sixrules: n Failuretoprovide proper representation to aclient n Failure to register annually andprovide timely notice of change of address n Failure to act with reasonable diligence and promptness in representing aclient n Failure to cooperate with theoffice’sinvestigation; n Failure to communicate withaclient n Failure to refund an unearned fee. Knox didnot offerany defense or disputethe allegations, according to records.

findings arerelevantfor regions like Louisiana, even if there is notthe same amount of wildfire smoke.

“Although thesources and composition differ, many of the harmful componentsoverlap,” shesaid.

“Both wildfire smoke and industrial pollutioncontain fine particulate matter and other toxic gasesthat can be inhaled and enter the bloodstream.”

At the same time, she tries to reassure patients that most pregnancies result in healthy babies, even in areas with air pollution. Pregnant people should payattention to air-quality alerts and limit outdoor activity on poor-quality days, using airconditioning and keeping windows closed.A well-fitted N95 mask is also effective at filtering out PM 2.5.

COLD

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time increases to 15 hours between Saturday afternoon andSundaymorning. It is expected to experience six hours below freezing between Sunday evening and Monday morning.

The weather service said temperatures areexpected to “warm toward climatological norms” early next week.Chances of rain will also increase at that time.

Normal low temperatures forthis time of year are about 45 degrees. The record lowfor Jan. 31 in Lafayette was 22 degrees

in 1926. The record low for Feb. 1inLafayette was 19 degrees in 1951. This round of coldweather follows Winter Storm Fern, whichcaused little damage in Lafayette but brought freezing rain, sleet and snow to north Louisiana. In that area, thousands were without power and eight people died in the state because of the winter storm, according to theLouisiana Department of Health.

STAFFPHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK Gabriel Gonzalez, right, and Humberto Espinoza, with Paradise Plantscapes, coverplants at ahome on West BayouParkway ahead of freezing temperaturesinLafayette on Jan. 23.

Dixon

LSU gymnastics heads to Missouri looking for a road win

BY SCOTT RABALAIS Staff writer

LSU has had little trouble in recent years doing big gymnastics on the big stages. Performing in front of packed home crowds at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, performing in big meets like the NCAA and SEC championships, the No. 2-ranked Tigers have excelled Case in point was its first-place tying performance in the Sprouts Collegiate Quad to open the season in Utah against three other preseason top-five teams. Another was LSU’s 198.050-195.775 shellacking of Kentucky in this past Friday’s home opener at the PMAC, the Tigers’ best score ever in a home regularseason opener. Shining on the road against some Southeastern Conference opponents in regular-season dual meets? That hasn’t always been quite the same. The Tigers (3-1-1, 1-1

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

ä Senior

But this time, the opportunity came with a promotion Thomas jumped at the chance to be the head coach of one of the two teams participating in the college prospect all-star event

“(Last year was) the first time

coordinator) are contributing in key roles on Thomas’ staff.

SEC) stumbled in their SEC road opener two weeks ago at Georgia, forced to count two scores of 9.65 or lower in a 197.200-196.850 loss to the Bulldogs.

Friday’s meet at No. 7 Missouri (6:45 p.m., SEC Network) presents a similar challenge. While LSU has traditionally dominated Mizzou, especially in Baton Rouge, it has lost its last two trips to Columbia, Missouri, with good but hardly great efforts: 197.325-197.225 in 2024 and 197.350-197.200 in 2022.

LSU coach Jay Clark said the task in front of his team Friday is to find the internal motivation when there isn’t a title on the line or when a full house has his Tigers’ back.

“You look at the regionals or you look at SECs, these competitions when there is a lot on the line,” he said. “It’s easy to find external motivation other than 13,000 screaming Tiger fans.

ä See MINDSET, page 3C

Recurring shooting problem plagues

LSU in loss

entered the game second-to-last in the SEC in percentage (29.8).

BY ROD WALKER Staff writer

LSU gymnast Madison Ulrich flips between the bars during her routine on the uneven bars at a meet against Kentucky last Friday at the PMAC. STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

Sabalenka to rematch Rybakina

The Australian Open will have a repeat of 2023 matchup for women’s singles final

BY JOHN PYE AP sportswriter

MELBOURNE, Australia Not even a point penalty for hindrance slowed Aryna Sabalenka’s run to a fourth consecutive Australian Open final.

The top-ranked Sabalenka overpowered Elina Svitolina 6-2, 6-3 Thursday night to move within one victory of a third Australian Open title in four years.

A rematch of the 2023 final against Elena Rybakina was set up when the No. 5 seed ousted No. 6 Jessica Pegula 6-3, 7-6 (7) in the second semifinal.

Her semifinal was mostly one way until Rybakina had match point. The 2022 Wimbledon champion missed three match points on Pegula’s serve and then was broken twice while serving for the match.

Pegula rallied and had two set points in the tiebreaker but wasn’t able to convert, and Rybakina finally clinched it 29 minutes after her first match point.

“Really, really stressful,” Rybakina said. She admitted to flashbacks from the 2024 Open when she lost the longest women’s tiebreaker ever at a Grand Slam to Anna Blinkova 22-20 in a three-set defeat.

“I’m proud no matter the situation. It got very tight, I stayed there,” she said of the win over Pegula. “I was fighting for each point.” For Pegula, it became a matter of swing or miss out.

“Sometimes when you’re on the brink of losing everything you get a little clarity because you’re kind of just like, ‘Screw it, I’m just going to try and stay in this,’ ” she said. “I played a couple of really good points to save the match points, and, you know, she missed a couple short balls a couple free points to take some pressure off.” All four players reached the semifinals without dropping a set — in Australia for the first time in 56 years — and Sabalenka and

Svitolina were each on 10-match winning streaks to start the season after titles in warmup events.

Sabalenka kept both of her streaks alive. As has become customary for Ukrainians against players from Russia and Belarus, there was no handshakes at the net. There was also no group photo before the match.

Sabalenka is the third woman in the Open era to reach four consecutive singles finals at the Australian Open after Evonne Goolagong Cawley and Martina Hingis.

“It’s an incredible achievement but the job’s not done yet,” an emotional Sabalenka said in her on-court TV interview “I’ve been watching her game, (Svitolina) was playing incredible. I felt like I had to step in and put as much pressure as I could back on her. I’m glad the level was there. I think I played great tennis.”

The hindrance call

The only hiccup was the hindrance to start the fourth game. Hindrance is called for a distraction that prevents a player from making a shot, and can include an opponent’s loud noise.

Umpire Louise Azemar Engzell deemed Sabalenka made a pro-

longed grunt after she shanked a forehand. The shot seemed to be going long but landed inside the baseline, giving Svitolina the chance to play on. That’s when the umpire intervened.

Sabalenka asked for a video review but, after going to the tape, Azemar Engzell confirmed her decision that the grunt was more elongated than usual.

“That’s actually never happened to me especially with my grunting,” Sabalenka said. “Then she called it, and I was, like, ‘What? What is wrong with you?’”

Sabalenka said it worked as motivation — she broke serve in that game.

“It actually helped me I was more aggressive. I was not happy with the call, and it really helped me to get that game,” Sabalenka said. She added with a laugh, “So if she (Azemar Engzell) ever wants to do it again — like, I want to make sure that she’s not afraid of it — go ahead, call it. It’s going to help me.”

Rematch

Rybakina is back into a major final for the first time since ‘23, and says she learned a lot from that match. She’s also coming off a win over Sabalenka in the de-

ciding match of the WTA Finals last November when she picked up a record $5.2 million in prize money

“I could take only positive from that week,” she said. “This is what I’m trying to do remembering some good stuff from this WTA Final.”

Svitolina’s exit

After reaching her first semifinal in Australia and winning a title in a warmup tournament in New Zealand, Svitolina will return to the top 10 for the first time since she took a maternity break in 2022.

The Auckland title was her first foray back on tour after an early end to the 2025 season for a mental health break. She said the rest and time out prolonged her career

“Definitely very very happy with the two weeks here and in New Zealand, as well, winning,” she said. “Gutted to not make it through tonight but it’s very difficult when you’re playing the world No. 1, who is really on fire.”

“It was really complicated for me today,” she added, “but yeah, I just want to take positives from the past weeks and just carry them through for the season.”

Dispute over stripped medal goes to court

BY GRAHAM DUNBAR and WILL GRAVES

GENEVA American gymnast

Jordan Chiles may reclaim the bronze medal on floor exercise from the 2024 Paris Olympics that was stripped from her following an appeal by Romania after all. Switzerland’s supreme court said on Thursday its judges sent the “highly exceptional circumstances” of the bronze medal awarded in the women’s floor exercise back to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to examine new evidence. The outcome of an event that created a celebrated Olympic photo featuring Chiles, floor exercise silver medalist Simone Biles and gold medalist Rebeca Andrade of Brazil — all women of color — rests on just a handful of seconds: Can the U.S. team prove it made a timely appeal in the Olympic arena on behalf of Chiles?

The federal judges’ ruling — highly unusual in cases of this nature — suggested Chiles could regain the bronze medal she originally got in Paris after challenging her judged score.

Chiles’ third-place finish was overturned within days on appeal by the Romanian team to the CAS’ Olympic court in Paris. The medal was awarded in Bucharest the

keeping her medal and putting the controversy behind her

“We are delighted that the Swiss Federal Supreme Court has righted a wrong and given Jordan the chance she deserves to reclaim her bronze medal,” Maurice M. Suh, part of the legal team representing Chiles, said in a statement.

“As the Court recognized, there is ‘conclusive’ video evidence that Jordan was the rightful winner of the bronze medal.”

Suh added that Chiles will “fight vigorously” and is grateful to have a “full and fair opportunity to defend her bronze medal.”

USA Gymnastics praised the court for recognizing “the flaws in the initial process and that Jordan’s case can now be heard inclusive of all relevant evidence.”

NBA reschedules four games due to winter storm

NEW YORK The NBA has announced new dates for four games as a result of the winter storm’s impact on the Memphis and Dallas areas.

Poor weather last weekend forced the postponement of two scheduled Sunday games: Dallas at Milwaukee and Detroit at Memphis. The Nuggets-Grizzlies game has been rescheduled for March 18, while the Mavericks-Bucks game now will take place March 31. The dates have been changed for two other upcoming games to accommodate the weather-related schedule shifts. Memphis will host Dallas on March 12 rather than April 1. A Grizzlies home game with the New York Knicks will be April 1 instead of March 18.

Falcons hold second GM interview with Cunningham ATLANTA The Atlanta Falcons completed a second interview with Ian Cunningham for their general manager position on Thursday Cunningham is the first candidate to interview twice for the job. He previously interviewed for the president of football position a role that went to former Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan. Atlanta is seeking a GM to work under Ryan and alongside new coach Kevin Stefanski. Cunningham has served as the Chicago Bears’ assistant general manager for the past four years. He spent five seasons in various scouting and player personnel roles with the Philadelphia Eagles before landing in Chicago. His first NFL front-office role was in Baltimore.

Hataoka of Japan leads Tournament of Champions

ORLANDO, Fla. — Nasa Hataoka of Japan shot 6-under 66 and had a one-shot lead over LPGA player of the year Jeeno Thitikul, Chanettee Wannasaen, Lottie Woad and Linn Grant following the first round of the season-opening Tournament of Champions.

Hataoka played the back nine at chilly Lake Nona Golf & Country in 4 under to pick up where she left off at the end of last season. She won the Japan Classic in a playoff with Yuna Araki in November for her first LPGA victory in two years. Thitikul is coming off her best season and one of the best in LGPA history

Defending champion A Lim Kim was in a group at 3 under that included Lydia Ko and Ingrid Lindblad.

Mets sign reliever Kimbrel to minor league deal

NEW YORK The New York Mets signed reliever Craig Kimbrel to a minor league contract Thursday with an invitation to big league spring training, giving the ninetime All-Star an opportunity to pitch for his 10th different team should he make the club.

The 37-year-old Kimbrel was 0-1 with a 2.25 ERA while pitching in 14 games for the Braves and Astros last season. He also spent time in the Rangers organization, appearing in 24 games for their Triple-A affiliate before being released without a call-up.

Kimbrel is 56-48 over 16 seasons, including stints with the Padres, Red Sox, White Sox, Cubs, Dodgers, Phillies and Orioles. The former NL Rookie of the Year ranks fourth among relievers.

Reed extends European Tour to include Qatar

next week to Ana Maria Barbosu.

The federal court wants CAS to examine a recording that could show the original U.S. challenge of the judged score was within a one-minute deadline on the field of play

“In the highly exceptional circumstances of the case in question,” the Swiss Federal Tribunal said in a statement, “it considers that there is a likelihood for the audio-visual recording of the final on Aug. 5 2024 to lead to a modification of the contested award in

favor of the applicant (Chiles).”

The CAS said in a statement Thursday it “can now ensure a thorough judicial review of the new evidence that has since been made available.”

The court based in Lausanne, across the Olympics’ home city from the supreme court gave no timetable for the review It likely will take at least one year to prepare and process before a verdict is ready Still, the federal court’s decision has given Chiles renewed hope of

Chiles, now 24, has pressed forward with her life after dealing with significant online backlash — some of it racially tinged — in the immediate aftermath.

She returned to compete collegiately at UCLA while also leaning into her burgeoning celebrity, participating on the reality competition “Dancing With the Stars,” posing for the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, and is currently featured in a commercial for a female athleisure apparel line that also includes tennis icon Serena Williams and track star Sha’Carri Richardson.

AL MAZROWIAH, Bahrain Patrick Reed decided to extend his Middle East stay and then salvaged a 1-under 71 in the Bahrain Championship, where Alejandro Del Rey and Freddy Schott shared the lead at 65 when the first round was halted by darkness on Thursday.

Reed, who won the Dubai Desert Classic and then

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By DITA ALANGKARA

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus celebrates after defeating Elina Svitolina of Ukraine in their semifinal match at the Australian Open on Thursday in Melbourne, Australia.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By ABBIE PARR

Silver medalist Simone Biles, of the United States, left, and bronze medalist Jordan Chiles, of the United States bow to gold medalist

Rebeca Andrade, of Brazil, during the medal ceremony for the women’s artistic gymnastics individual floor finals at Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics on Aug. 5, 2024, in Paris.

MINDSET

“We’ve got to get to where we’re not dependent on anything external. There are times whenwe’ve been able to do that and,historically, timeswhenwehaven’t. That’sonustocreate that mindset. Our leadership within has to be able to control that.”

Perhaps achange of venue will help LSU. This year’smeet will mark LSU’sfirst timecompeting in MizzouArena,where the Missouri gymnastics program moved most of its home meetsin 2025. The 15,061-seat facility replaces the older HearnesCenter as the home of the Missouri gymnastics program, aplace where LSU lost its previous twovisits.

“We’ll be in theirbasketballarena this time,” Clark said, “which will be adifferent environment that we’ve never been in.” It might be overstating things to say LSU’sstart to the season has been the Kailin Chio show, but not by much.

The superstar sophomore is No. 1inthe nation on balance beam after the first perfect 10 on that eventthisseasonagainst Kentucky (9.967average). She’salso No. 3onvault (9.925) and fourthin the all-around (39.467), with seven individual titles in three meets.

Four other LSU gymnastsrank in the top 10 nationally: Konnor McClain (fourth, uneven bars, 9.925), Courtney Blackson (seventh, uneven bars, 9.917), KaliyaLincoln(ninth,floor, 9.908) and Amari Drayton (10th, beam, 9.925). Missouri (4-2,0-2)isled by Hannah Horton (eighth nationally on vault, 9.906) and Addison Lawrence (ninth on beam, 9.931) Clark shookuphis lineup abit from the Georgia meettothe Kentucky meet, with four Tigers competing in events forthe first time. He spokeoftryingtobalance his gymnasts between rest from the week-to-week grindfor all-arounders like Chio and Madison Ulrich, who only performed oneevent against UK,but also the

LSU

Continued from page1C

LSU’s3-point issue was once again exacerbated as its attempts mostly clanked off the rim, finishing 4of20, as Mississippi State was10of21.

“It’sbeen multiple halves,” McMahon said. “Bottom line, math doesn’twork for us. We’re not an elite 3-point shootingteam. So I think againstMissouri, we made 10, but they playeda zone, sowe gotalot of high-volume,a lotof open looks. But when we’re only making four and opponents are making 10, that you’re minus 18 (points)from behind the arc.

“I don’tknow that we’re ever going to be in the positives there from the 3-point line. But we’ve got to be alot closer to anet zero.”

McMahonenteredthe season feeling confident about the team’s 3-point shooting talent asitwelcomed multiple transfers witha track record for marksmanship

Those shooters were fifth-year senior Memphis transfer PJ Carter, 22-year-oldfreshman, former pro in Israel, Ron Zipper andsenior Portland transfer Max Mackinnon.

Since LSU has shortened its core rotation to eight players, the only one of the groupplaying is Mackinnon, who is shooting 41.2% from the 3-point line. Besides forward Pablo Tamba, who has made half of his 12 3-pointattempts, no other rotation player is shooting 30% on the season Thecoldperimeter shooting, especially on openlooks, persisted against Mississippi State.

SAINTS

Continued from page1C

The hope —and perhaps belief —isthat getting the chance toactually coach the prospectsinthis year’sSenior Bowl will serve as an advantage come April when the Saints are tasked with following up last year’ssuccessful draftclass with another transformative haul.

“Themore knowledge we get, that knowledgeispower,” said Jeff Ireland, theSaints’ assistant general manager and collegescouting director.“The more knowledge we have, the more comfortable we are in our convictionthat we have as astaff collaboratively to take the player.” Ireland said nothing significantly changed aboutthe team’s process that ended with last year’shaul. But the reality is the Saints had arguably their best draft since 2017, coming away with potential cornerstones at

5p.m. (SECNetwork) All times Central

needtoput out awinning lineup against aquality Missouri team.

“Wecan’tgotoMissouri and gettoo cuteand expect to win,” Clarksaid.“We’ve gottoput a good lineup out there. But at the same time, that doesn’tmean it’s thesamelineupasFriday night. There could be multiplechanges.”

LSU is back home next Friday for anon-conference meet against PennState.

SECChampionshiptickets

Tickets are now on salefor the 2026 SEC Championships, Saturday,March 21 at theBOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Tickets are $30-45 plus service fees, good for bothafternoon and evening sessionsofthe meet. Student tickets are $17. Tickets are availableatSECSports.com or through theBOK Centerbox office.

Seeds 5-9 will compete in Session Iat 2p.m., followed by Seeds 1-4 in Session II at 7p.m.

LSU has won the past twoSEC Championships, in 2024 at the Smoothie King Center and in 2025 in Birmingham,Alabama.

Email Scott Rabalais at srabalais@theadvocate.com

LSU-SOUTHCAROLINA UPDATESSTART TIME

LSU’sroad game against South Carolina on Saturday has been moved to noon, the men’sbasketball program announced Thursday The tip-off time was changed because the Columbia, South Carolina, area is expecting multiple inches of snow throughout the day, the release stated. Thegame will air on SEC Network+ LSU(13-8,1-7 SEC)was originally set to playSouth Carolina (11-10, 2-6) at 5p.m. at Colonial Life Arena ToyloyBrownIII

“The 3-point line continues to be anissuefor us,” McMahon said. “We’re struggling froman efficiency standpoint to make 3s, and we’re givingupway too many on the other end. So, avery disappointing performance, and greatcredit to Mississippi State. Ithought they played exceptionally well tonight.”

LSU’smisses from deep spread to ghastly numbers overall, especially at the free-throw line.Inthe first half, the team was 2of8and finished the contest 12 of 23, which was aseason-low percentage and tiedaseason-low formakes.

“I thought our mental spirit coming in off the loss Saturday in Fayetteville (against Arkansas),the two days of prep going into the game,” McMahon said when asked if themisses were mental or linked to frustration

“I thoughtitwas what we needed to be, but clearly,theywerethe aggressor and had the urgency that winning requires.”

Pels leaningintosize

BY RODWALKER Staff writer

New Orleans Pelicans interim

head coach James Borrego useda brandnew starting lineup on the team’srecentthree-game road trip. The lineup of Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy,Herb Jones, Saddiq Bey and Derik Queen went 2-1, beating the MemphisGrizzlies andSan AntonioSpurs beforelosing Tuesdaytothe Oklahoma City Thunder

The new lineup pushed rookie guard Jeremiah Fears to thebench and has limited Jordan Poole‘s playing time. Poole —acquired in the offseasoninthe CJ McCollum deal didn’tplay against theSpurs or Thunder

It was thefirst time Poole hadn’t playedwhenhealthy this season.

PELICANS

Continuedfrom page1C

room by Pelicans’ security officer ShermanMushatt andJordan Dumars, son of executive vice-president of basketballoperationsJoe Dumars.

“It was atough situation,” Fears said Thursdayafter practice. “I feel likeitcould have been avoided alittle bit. Obviously,itwas afoul there lateinthe game. Ithink if it was called afoul late in the game, it would have avoided all that.”

Pelicans’ interim coach James Borrego and OKCcoach Mark Daigneaultboth agreed with that assessment. Daigneault said after the game that afoulshould have been calledonDort.

“I think that’sa foul on Dort,” Daigneault said. “If it was, they should put awhistle on thatplay regardless of the score andthe time. Because if they do that, everybody stopsplaying and you legislate the situation as younormally would. Butbecause they didn’tput awhistleonit, it’s the end of the game and they can do nothing about it and you end up with that situation.”

Borregoechoed similar sentiments after Thursday’spractice

He missed 18 games due to injury in November and December

The sit-outs for the team’ssecond-highest paid player ($31.8 million 2025-26 salary) behind Zion Williamson ($39.4 million)come amid reports the Pelicans look to be activeinthis year’sNBA trade deadline on Feb. 5. Borrego wasasked about the decisionnot to playPooleafter Thursday’spractice.

“Just the lineup,”Borrego said. “I felt like this group gives us a chance out there to getafter it defensively.Ithink we are just going to lean into alittle bit of size right now and physicality and defense.” Poolehas played in 28 games this season for the Pelicans(1237). He’saveraging 14.5 points and 3.1 assists. The guard, now in hisseventh NBA season,isonly shooting 37% from the field and

34%from3-pointrangefor New Orleans.

“Obviously,Poolewill stay ready and he’ll be ready to go,” Borregosaid. “(He was) back at it today in practice and so we expect him to stayready.You never knowwhenyournumberisgoing to getcalled. Everybody whohas steppedinfor us this year has made an impact. Iexpect him to do the same.”

Guard Jordan Hawkins also didn’tplayinthe past twogames. Borrego said the reason was the same. The Pelicans host the Memphis Grizzlies at 6:30 p.m. Friday at the Smoothie King Center. It’sthe team’s final homegame before the NBAtrade deadline.

Email RodWalkerat rwalker@theadvocate.com.

“Looking back, it could have been handled muchbetterfrom the officials’ standpoint,” Borrego said. “They are human beings, too. It could have been handled better and I’m sure the NBA hasmadethat clear,and they are handling it internally.Theyhave made theirdecisionand we move forward.”

There were no suspensions issued, so Fears will be available for Friday’s homegame against theMemphis Grizzlies.

“I’ve had time to kinda think about it and relax and calm down,” Fears said. “It’sgoing good. Italked to my coaches and teammates as well and they told me don’tworry about it and just move on andget readyfor this next game.”

Email RodWalker at rwalker@ theadvocate.com.

American Team wide receiver Aaron Anderson runs throughdrills

quarterback(Tyler Shough) and left tackle (Kelvin Banks Jr.) and at least two defensivestarters (Quincy Riley,Jonas Sanker) ESPN ranked the Saintsashavingthe league’s mostimpactful draft class in 2025. But if there was one significant difference, it was theSaints’ new coaching staff. Ireland praised thegroup —led by first-year coach KellenMoore —ashaving a“great vision” on whattype of player would fit theirroster.That vision also changed because of thenew scheme inplace. Ireland, for instance, noted edge rushers in defensive coordinator Brandon Staley’sdefense don’tneed to be nearly as big and powerful as what former coach DennisAllen preferred. “Theclearer the vision of what they can give to us, the better we can go out and findit,” Ireland said. “Theywereveryclear in what they wanted.” The Senior Bowl mayhelp further developthat vision. While the Saints’ coaches have preconceived preferences for what they want in

Tigers

aplayer,thisweek allows those participating to get an up-close look at prospects. Rather than spending 20 minutes with aplayer in aformal interview,members of theSaints staffhave this week to see how they react in various settings, Thomas said. And the Saints will trust their coaches. Ireland said he andhis scouts are focusedlargely on the National team, since they will referback to the insights Thomas and Co. gleaned from coaching the American squad.

“It is agood advantage for us, because we getalot of good information on the players that are

here,” said Saints generalmanager MickeyLoomis, whonoted New Orleans has nine assistants participating between theSenior Bowl and the recently concluded East-West Shrine Bowl.

If they hit as well as theydid last year on another draft, Ireland knowsthe difference it could make.OnWednesday,the executive wasasked aboutthe leap the New England Patriots made from going4-13 in 2024 to 13-4 in 2025 withaSuper Bowlappearance on tap. Like New Orleans will have next year,the Patriots had apromising quarterback (Drake Maye) enteringYear2.And that offseason, the Patriots found the right pieces to support him Does Ireland see aparallel between the situations?

“Man, Ihopeso,” Ireland said. “That’d be great. That’d be fantastic. I’dbelying if Iwasn’tthinking it already.”

Email Matthew Parasatmatt. paras@theadvocate.com

AP PHOTO By BUTCH DILL

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOByGERALD LEONG

Pelicans guard Jeremiah Fears drives the ballagainst Oklahoma City Thunder guard Isaiah Joeduring the first half of agame on Tuesdayin Oklahoma City

Pelicans guard Jordan Poole tries to dribble past Newyork Knicks forward Guerschon yabusele during the second half of agameonDec. 29 at the Smoothie KingCenter

Woodlawn surges past LRCA in fourth period

BY MIKE COPPAGE

Contributing writer

Free-throw shooting has been an Achilles’ heel for the WoodlawnBaton Rouge boys basketball team.

It turned out to be a strength on Wednesday at Lafayette Renaissance, however, as the Panthers knocked down 14 free throws in the second half nine in the fourth quarter — and overcame a fivepoint deficit to win 55-52.

“As promised, it was going to be a dogfight,” said Woodlawn coach Stefson Arnold, whose team outscored the Tigers 15-7 in the fourth period. “I think the difference was we were able to neutralize their shooters in the second half.”

LRCA (15-5, No. 5 in Division III select power ratings) made five 3-pointers in the first half and two in the third quarter but was held to seven points on three field goals and a free throw in the fourth while the Panthers scored 15 points.

“Fifty-two points is one of our lowest-scoring games of the year,” LRCA coach Brad Boyd said. “We’re not making free throws. We’re not executing at the end of the game and giving up a few offensive rebounds.

“Credit to coach Stefson and Woodlawn. It’s a big road win for

them. They were excited. You could hear them hooting and hollering in the locker room. Kudos to them for that.”

Matthew Gordon scored 16 points to lead the Tigers, who were

ahead at the end of each of the first three quarters. Evan Ledoux came off the bench to add 14, and Bubba Etienne scored eight of his 11 points in the third quarter

“We talked about senior leader-

ship and playing a complete game in the locker room,” Boyd said. “We watched the ball a lot tonight No more excuses when you’re getting coached up. During that intense part of the game, be able to accept

the coaching.” Woodlawn (14-10), which moved up to No. 15 in the Division I power ratings, got 15 points from Leo Clark, who was 4 for 4 from the free-throw line in the third quarter

“Leo normally gets us off to a good start,” Arnold said. “We try to get him as many touches as we can and also use him as a decoy.”

Senior Kingston Jarrell added 15 points for the Panthers despite leaving the game for a spell in the first half after he ripped a fingernail completely off. Eleven of Jarrell’s points were in the second half. Kaleb Brandon scored 10 points and sank five free throws in the fourth quarter

“It was hard for Kingston to perform like he’s able to, but he came through at the end,” Arnold said of the 6-foot-5 transfer from Liberty Magnet, who had a recent career high 34-point game.

“This was a big win, a muchneeded win. I told our kids in the locker room that this was the game of the year for us. We’ve been on an up-and-down trend, but this time we came out on top. We’ll be ready for Madison Prep on Friday.”

LRCA will host Lafayette Christian (7-10) on Friday in the District 6-2A opener It will be the only meeting between the rivals.

“It will be a packed gym,” Boyd said. “It will come down to who can withstand the runs. You never know how kids will react. Hopefully they’ll react the right way, and we can get that win to

(51) Matthew Gordor 16, Cayman Washington 5, Gabriel Duhon 2, Evan Ledouf 14, Xzavier Bajer 4, Jon Kavon Etienne 11. Woodlawn 9 15 14 15 — 55 LRCA 14 15 16 6 51 3-pointers — WOOD: Clark 1, Turner 1, Brandon 1, Brown 1; LRCA: Gordon 3, Washington 1, Etienne 2. Total Fouls — WOOD 13, LRCA 13. Friday’s games Acadiana at New Iberia, Barbe at Carencro, Southside at Lafayette, Breaux Bridge at Opelousas, Cecilia at Livonia, Comeaux at North Vermilion, Teurlings at David Thibodaux, Washington-Marion at Eunice Northside at St. Thomas More, Rayne at Westgate, Abbeville at Kaplan, St. Martinville at Acadiana Renaissance, Mamou at Church Point, Crowley at Ville Platte,

Iota at Pine Prairie, Catholic-NI at West St. Mary, Houma Christian at Delcambre, Lafayette Christian, Lafayette Renaissance, Franklin at Loreauville, Welsh at Midland, Lake Arthur at Notre Dame, Ascension Episcopal at Westminster-Lafayette, Gueydan at Vermilion Catholic, VB Glencoe at Highland Baptist, Jeanerette at Central Catholic, JS Clark at Westminster, North Central at Opelousas Catholic, St. Edmund at Sacred Heart, Hathaway at Episcopal of Acadiana, Northside Christian at Hanson. Girls basketball

Wednesday’s scores Beau Chene 22, Breaux Bridge 13 Washington-Marion 47, Kaplan 36 Zachary 66, Midland 53 Westminster 45, Opelousas Catholic 31 Friday’s games Acadiana at New Iberia, Barbe at Carencro, Southside at Lafayette, Breaux Bridge at Opelousas, Cecilia at Livonia, Comeaux

at North Vermilion, Teurlings at David Thibodaux, Washington-Marion at Eunice, Northside at St. Thomas More, Rayne at Westgate, Abbeville at Kaplan, St. Martinville at Acadiana Renaissance, Mamou at Church Point, Crowley at Ville Platte, Iota at Pine Prairie, Catholic-NI at West St. Mary, Houma Christian at Delcambre, Lafayette Christian at Lafayette Renaissance, Welsh at Midland, Ascension Episcopal at Westminster-LAF Gueydan at Vermilion Catholic, Jeanerette at Central Catholic, JS Clark at Westminster, North Central at Opelousas Catholic, St. Edmund at Sacred Heart, Northside Christian at Hanson. Boys soccer

Wednesday’s scores New Iberia 3, Catholic-NI 1 Vermilion Catholic 3, Westgate 0 North Vermilion 2, Erath 0 Dunham 3, Opelousas 1 Baton Rouge 3, Teurlings 2

SCOREBOARD

3-5 4-10 10, Mackinnon 6-11 2-2 15, Thomas 6-13 0-1 14, Reece 0-3 1-2 1, King 5-9 3-4 14, Miller 2-5 0-2 4, Mosley 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-58 12-23 66. Halftime—Mississippi State 44-21. 3-Point Goals—Mississippi State 10-21 (Epps 3-4, Grace 2-2, McGhee 2-3, Achor 1-2, Jones 1-2, Hubbard 1-6, Macura 0-2), LSU 4-20 (Thomas 2-4, King 1-4, Mackinnon 1-5, Reece 0-1, Tamba 0-2, Sutton 0-4). Fouled Out—Miller. Rebounds—Mississippi State 39 (Macura 10), LSU 18 (Tamba 5). Assists—Mississippi State 14 (McGhee, Epps 4), LSU 7 (Thomas 4). Total Fouls—Mississippi State 17, LSU 15. A—7,501 (13,215). State women’s schedule Wednesday’s games Old Dominion 85, UL-Monroe 62 Thursday’s games James Madison 96, UL 45 Lamar at Southeastern, n Grambling at Alcorn, n Southern at Jackson State, n McNeese at Stephen F. Austin, n Kennesaw State at Louisiana Tech, n UNO at East Texas A&M, n Nicholls at Northwestern, n Friday’s games None scheduled. Saturday’s games UL at Marshall, noon UL-Monroe at Appalachian State, noon Southern at Alcorn, 1 p.m. Grambling at Jackson State, 1 p.m.

Southeastern at Stephen F. Austin, 2 p.m. Jacksonville State at Louisiana Tech, 2 p.m. Temple at Tulane, 2 p.m. Northwestern State at UNO, 2 p.m. Nicholls at East Texas A&M, 2:30 p.m.

McNeese at Lamar, 3 p.m.

games

at LSU, 11 a.m.

(7)

def. Luke Johnson, Britain, and Jan Zielinski, Poland, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. Christian Harrison, United States, and Neal Skupski (6), Britain, def.

Doubles

Aleksandra Krunic, Serbia, and Anna Danilina (7), Kazakhstan,

(2), 3-6, 6-4. Zhang Shuai, China, and Elise Mertens (4), Belgium, def. Vera Zvonareva, Russia, and Ena Shibahara, Japan, 6-3, 6-2. Pro basketball

Conference

Friday’s games Episcopal of Acadiana at Washington-Marion, Acadiana Renaissance at WestminsterLafayette, Beau Chene at Teurlings, Sam Houston at David Thibodaux, North Vermilion at Morgan City Girls soccer

Wednesday’s scores Lafayette 6, Ascension Episcopal 0 David Thibodaux 2, Episcopal of Acadiana 0 Westminster 4, Opelousas Catholic 0 Vermilion Catholic 13, Westgate 0 East Ascension 2, Cecilia 0 Acadiana 8, Walker 0 Friday’s games Catholic-NI at Cecilia, Kaplan at Opelousas Catholic, David Thibodaux at Lafayette, St. Martinville at Livonia, Beau Chene at Teurlings, North Vermilion at Morgan City, St. Thomas More at St. Joseph’s.

PHOTO By BRAD BOWIE Lafayette Renaissance’s Matthew Gordon moves past the Woodlawn’s Leo Clark during Wednesday’s game in Lafayette.

as journalism student Micah, works on his investigativereportinSwine Palace’sproduction of ‘The Totality of All Things.’

Facts of life

Heinousvandalism promptsa search forthe truth in ‘The

Totality of AllThings’

BY ROBIN MILLER Staff writer

The setting is asmall town in America’sheartland, where everyone knows everyone.

That poses aproblemwhen the nation’spolitical divide enters the fray at the high school in Swine Palace’sproduction of Erik Gernand’sdrama, “The Totality of All Things,” where teachersand studentsalike have been best friends since childhood.

Beliefs may differ,but that doesn’tmatter among friends, whostand by each other no matter what. That is, until aswastika appears on aclassroom wall in protest of ateacher’sdecision to hang adisplay in celebration of Pride Month.

An investigation ensues, prompting staff and studentsto question what they believe to be right and wrong, even pushing them to question their lifelong friendships.

Thirdtoproduce play

Swine Palace will become the third theater company to raise the curtain on this production when it opens the show on FridayinLSU’sShaver Theatre.

The play’sbeen producedin Los Angelesand Chicago. Director Keith Arthur Bolden said the playwright will attendopening night. Bolden is aprofessor of theater at Spelman College inAtlanta, where he alsoacts and directs. “I traverse mostly in Black theater,and unfortunately,

ä See 'TOTALITY', page 6C

ERIK GERNAND’S ‘THE TOTALITY OF ALL THINGS’

ASwine Palace production

Friday-Sundayand WednesdaySaturday, Feb.4-7.All performances begin at 7:30 p.m. with the exception of the 2:30 p.m. matinee on Sunday. l ShaverTheatre, LSU Music and Dramatic Arts Building, Dalrymple Drive l $34. l lsu. edu/cmda/events/index.php.

Artonthe rise

See the Louisiana Ar t& ScienceMuseum’s newexhibit by ar tist Mike Wear y, “The Rise of the House of Wear y,”duringFree First Sundaythis weekend. The showispar tofthe museum’scelebrationofBlack History Month, also knownasAfrican American Histor yMonth, and is on view throughApril 12. lasm.org

LIVING

Striking many chords

HarryConnick,CowboyMouth

ABY KEITHSPERA Staff writer

decade ago, amarine geologistinasmallItalian town had adream: He wanted the Foo Fightersto perform in his hometown.

As oneofthe world’s mostpopular rock bands, the Foo Fighters typically skipped towns the size of Cesena, what Fabio Zaffagnini described recentlyas a“very tiny place in themiddleof

nowhere. Theywould have never come to such asmall place unless we did something special.”

So Zaffagnini came up with something special: He’d gather 1,000 musicians to performthe Foo Fighters’ “Learn to Fly” and hope avideo of the performance caught the band’sattention.

He spent ayear organizing the stunt. But sure enough, the videowentviral, Foo Fighters leader Dave Grohl saw it, and he brought the band toCesena.

Zaffagnini realized he was onto somethingwiththisconcept of 1,000amateur musiciansperforming as theworld’s“biggest” rock band.Hedubbedthe project Rockin’1000.

Over the past decade, Rockin’1000 hasbrought its mass of musicians to stadiumsinFrance, Germany,Spain, Brazil and South Korea, always generating widely viewed social media content.

ä See ROCKIN'1000, page 6C

The Rockin’1000 collectivestages classic rockconcerts performed by athousand musicians at stadiums around the world. The2026Rockin’1000 is slated for the Caesars Superdome in NewOrleans on Saturday. It will be the first Rockin’1000 concertinthe United States.

BYJUDYBERGERON Staff writer

Twowords to remember if you’regoing to aCarnival

PROVIDED PHOTOByROCKIN’1000

STAFF PHOTO By ROBIN MILLER

Kyrin Hardnett,

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.

COWBOY KEN: Prejean’s, Broussard, 6 p.m.

FRIDAY NIGHT JAM: La Maison de Begnaud, Scott, 6 p.m.

GRAY WALKER BAND: Adopted Dog Brewing, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

JANSON MATTE: Naq’s-nDuson, Duson, 6 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Jim Deggy’s Brick Oven Pizza & Brewery, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

MANGATA, BABY IN THE 90S, & GENUINE MUSTARD: The Loose Caboose, Lafayette, 7 p.m.

FROM MISERY TO MALICE, PALE DEVIL SUN, ALONE IN THE MORGUE, & SEVERED IN SLEEP: Feed N Seed, Lafayette, 7 p.m.

MATT GARY TRIO: Whiskey and Vine, Lafayette, 7 p.m

KAWAII AF! EMO NIGHT: Gloria’s Bar & Grill, Lafayette, 8 p.m.

RORY SUIRE: Silver Slipper, Arnaudville, 7 p.m.

THE CAST: SHUCKS!, Abbeville, 6:30 p.m.

CHALAN THIBODEAUX: The Barrel of Broussard, Broussard, 8 p.m.

SWAMPLAND REVIVAL: Rock

PROVIDED PHOTO

Texas blues guitarists Ian Moore, Johnny Moeller and Jesse Dayton collide on the same stage for ‘Texas Headhunters: Grit, Groove & The Lone Star Truth’ at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Acadiana Center for the Arts, Lafayette.

‘n’ Bowl de Lafayette, Lafayette, 9 p.m.

ROCKIN’1000

Continued from page 5C

On Saturday, Rockin’1000

finally makes its American debut at the Caesars Superdome. Arranged in sections by instruments, the drummers, guitarists, bassists, keyboardists, singers and, for the first time, horn players a nod to New Orleans’ musical legacy — will raise a mighty racket on a roster of rock songs.

The amateurs will be augmented by a few pros New Orleans native Harry Connick Jr will conduct a “New Orleans welcome” featuring Dumpstaphunk, the Rumble, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux and other local acts. And veteran New Orleans rock band Cowboy Mouth will kick off the preshow Tickets start at $25.

‘Wall of sound’

Overall, “most of the musicians that are part of Rockin’1000 are just like me they’re strummers,” Zaffagnini said. “They’re not professional guitar players. But when they come together, they can play in stadiums just like rock stars. Individually, they would never get to fill up an entire stadium. But when they’re together along with 999 other people, it is actually possible.”

As they crank out classic and contemporary rock songs, “the wall of sound created by 200 drums, 300 guitars, 200 bass players, is mind-blowing. It’s very hard to translate it into words. You have to live in it in person to know how it feels.”

Nobody gets to solo. Instead, the musicians must work together as small parts of a much bigger whole.

“We ask our musicians to put their ego (aside) and join the ensemble,” Zaffagnini said. “This creates a very special environment where everybody is working on the same goal — filling up stadiums, giving a great show

“There is no distance between our musicians and the audience. We are all part of the show, basically The audience sings along with the band.”

American debut

Why did it take a decade for Rockin’1000 to get to the United States?

“We had to find the right partners,” Zaffagnini said “It’s a very complicated show to organize. You have to understand the value.”

PARADES

Continued from page 5C

this Livingston Parish parade, known for its elaborate floats, many marching bands and dance groups, and family atmosphere. For more info, email kreweofdsparadecaptain@ gmail.com.

SATURDAY GERARD DELAFOSE & THE ZYDECO GATORS: Buck & Johnny’s, Breaux Bridge, 8 a.m. CAJUN JAM LED BY RICK AND TOMMY MICHOT: Moncus Park, Lafayette, 9 a.m.

SATURDAY MORNING JAM SESSIONS: The Savoy Music Center, Eunice, 9 a.m.

CAJUN JAM: Tante Marie,

THE LAGNIAPPE BAND: El Paso Mexican Grill, Youngsville, 6 p.m.

TROUBADOUR: SHUCKS!, Abbeville, 6:30 p.m.

DINGER, 2/4 FLINCHIN, AND DRIVE DOCTOR DRIVE: The Loose Caboose, Lafayette, 7 p.m.

ORY VEILLON: Silver Slipper, Arnaudville, 7 p.m.

MARCO AND THE MOONLIGHTS: Whiskey and Vine, Lafayette, 7 p.m.

BEAUSOLEIL AVEC MICHAEL

DOUCET: Hideaway on Lee, Lafayette, 8 p.m.

COUNTRY ROUNDUP BAND: La Poussiere Cajun Dancehall, Breaux Bridge, 8 p.m.

JACE RICHARD: The Barrel of Broussard, Broussard, 8 p.m.

SEAN TRCALEK: Tap Room, Youngsville, 8 p.m.

THE CARTOONS: Toby’s Lounge, Opelousas, 8:30 p.m.

THAT ’90S SHOW: Rock ‘n’ Bowl de Lafayette, Lafayette, 9 p.m.

Breaux Bridge, 11 a.m.

CAJUN FRENCH MUSIC JAM: Vermilionville, Lafayette, 1 p.m.

CHRIS HIMEL: Prejean’s, Broussard, 6 p.m.

JACK WOODSON: Charley G’s Seafood Grill, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

DAVID HENRY: Naq’s-n-Duson, Duson, 6 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Jim Deggy’s Brick Oven Pizza & Brewery, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

He found the right partner in New Orleans & Co., the official marketing firm for the city’s tourism industry NO&C is the promoter of the Rockin’1000 concert at the Superdome.

Sam Joffray, NO&C’s event development & production executive, zeroed in on Rockin’1000 being a good fit for New Orleans.

“It really was right place, right time,” said New Orleans & Company President and CEO Walt Leger “They were looking for the right partner We were looking for the right event.

“And when we really started digging in on it, it was, ‘Of course this has to be in New Orleans’ — a thousand musicians coming together from all over the world in one of the greatest cities anywhere relative to music.”

The international element, Leger said, aligns with New Orleans recently being designated a UNESCO “city of music,” joining Kansas City as the only other such city in the United States.

Musicians from approximately 25 counties will take part in the Jan. 31 show at the Dome. Some have traveled to multiple Rockin’1000 shows.

“Once you do it, you want to do it again and again and again,” Zaffagnini said He is well aware of New Orleans’ musical legacy On a previous visit to the city, he realized “you can actually breathe music here. Music is more than music here. You feel it, you breathe it, you touch it. For us, it was our pick No. 1 to start our journey in the United States.”

That said, don’t expect Rockin’1000 to attempt any Louis Armstrong songs.

“Or course we cannot play jazz music with 1,000 people,” Zaffagnini said. “But as you get deep into music, you feel the influence of jazz and New Orleans in so many

Krewe of Chemin Neuf

6 p.m. Saturday, from New Roads Street, ending on Parent Street, New Roads

It’s the small Pointe Coupee Parish town’s newest Mardi Gras tradition. Expect lighted floats, local performances and a festive atmosphere at this familyfriendly parade. But don’t wait until dark to

different songs.”

Headphones help

Initially, Rockin’1000 setlists were assembled via democratic process. “But it would take months just to pick a song,” Zaffagnini said. Now he generally assembles the setlist. Having a horn section in New Orleans opens up the setlist to include Bruce Springsteen, Mark Ronson, Otis Redding and other artists Rockin’1000 doesn’t usually cover

But the show will also likely encompass such Rockin’1000 standards as Metallica’s “Enter Sandman,” Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and, of course, the Foo Fighters’ “Learn To Fly.”

After weeks of rehearsing at home, the selected musicians will spend two days rehearsing at the Superdome. They’ll all wear headphones containing a “click track” to help them stay in time. They also hear vocal commands in their headphones “so they do not get lost in the song,” Zaffagnini said. “You really have to focus on listening in your headphones. Otherwise it’s impossible to play.”

Having 1,000 musicians spread across a football field presents certain acoustic challenges. Rockin’1000 audio engineers have figured out how to make it all sound cohesive.

“It sounds like a miracle when you hear it,” Zaffagnini said. “We create natural reverb.”

The musicians “are going to leave with a deep connection to each other,” Leger said “It’s the kind of thing where, years from now, people will say, ‘I was there when that happened.’”

Email Keith Spera at kspera@theadvocate.com.

get to New Roads on parade day The Chemin Neuf Mardi Gras Festival, celebrating culture and community, runs all day, with family activities, the Sweet Pecan Challenge, live music from local bands and food vendors.

The krewe supports the Pointe Coupee and West Feliciana Health Services Foundation. For more, visit kreweofcheminneuf.com.

Brewing, Arnaudville, 2 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Charley G’s Seafood Grill, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

MONDAY PATRICIO LATINO SOLO: Cafe Habana City, Lafayette, 11 a.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Charley G’s Seafood Grill, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

BLUEGRASS JAM: Cité des Arts, Lafayette, 6:30 p.m.

TUESDAY

KIDS’ CAJUN JAM NIGHT: Buck & Johnny’s, Breaux Bridge, 6 p.m.

LE SALON: Hilliard Art Museum, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Charley G’s Seafood Grill, 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.

SUNDAY

GLENN ZERINGUE: Whiskey & Vine, Lafayette, 11 a.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Tante Marie, Breaux Bridge, 11 a.m.

LES FRERES MICHOT: Prejean’s, Carencro, 11:30 a.m.

JAMBALAYA ACOUSTIC MUSIC

JAM: Tom’s Fiddle & Bow, Arnaudville, 12:30 p.m.

CAJUN JAM: Bayou Teche

By The Associated Press

Today is Friday, Jan. 30, the 30th day of 2026. There are 335 days left in the year Today in history:

On Jan. 30, 1948, Indian political and spiritual leader Mohandas K. Gandhi, 78, was shot and killed in New Delhi by Nathuram Godse, a Hindu extremist.

Also on this date:

In 1649, England’s King Charles I was executed for high treason.

In 1835, in the firstknown attempt to assassinate a U.S. president, an unemployed house painter tried to kill President Andrew Jackson, but both of the attacker’s pistols misfired and he was tackled as Jackson was safely hustled away

‘TOTALITY’

Continued from page 5C

Black theater is mostly traversing in trauma,” Bolden said. “So, I’ve been dealing with trauma since 1991 when I became an actor in school.”

But “Totality” doesn’t exclusively deal with Black issues or characters.

“The thing that I’m enjoying about this play is that it still speaks to my artivism — the political, racial minds and tension in the country,” Bolden continued. “So, it’s very important for me to create a safe space in the room for people to be able to communicate and physically be comfortable.” Not always pretty

Though the Gernand’s story takes place in a typical school setting, where even teachers take time to cheer on the football team, it isn’t pretty The tale revolves around the school’s journalism teacher, Judith, played by Nicole Lovince, who hangs an LGBTQ+ display in her classroom.

The display not only celebrates Gay Pride Month but also the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to legalize same-sex marriage.

Meanwhile, Judith is known for producing award-winning student newspapers and is uncompromising when it comes to truth and moral clarity

“Judith is the truth seeker, the lighthouse,” said Lovince, a master of fine arts student from New Orleans. “She heads up the journalism department, and she pushes the students to really find truth. And so Judith is after the truth of what the situation is, no matter what it may cost any individual — including herself — involved.”

In the end, truth is Judith’s priority even if it costs friendships.

LIVE MUSIC: Tap Room, Youngsville, 6:30 p.m.

TEXAS HEADHUNTERS — GRIT, GROOVE & THE LONE STAR TRUTH: Acadiana Center for the Arts, Lafayette, 7:30 p.m.

CAJUN JAM: Blue Moon Saloon, Lafayette, 8 p.m.

THURSDAY

LIVE MUSIC: Charley G’s Seafood Grill, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Naq’s-n-Duson, Duson, 6 p.m.

LADIES NIGHT WITH DJ DONOVAN IN THE MIX: Cowboys Nightclub, Scott, 6 p.m.

DUSTIN SONNIER: SHUCKS!, Abbeville, 6:30 p.m.

GREENLIGHT SESSIONS OPEN MIC: The Jefferson Street Greenroom, Lafayette, 7 p.m.

SONGWRITERS’ NIGHT: Blue Moon Saloon, Lafayette, 8 p.m.

TEMPLE OF LOVE, GRAVE PROMISE, AND TARGET AUDIENCE: Freetown Boom Boom Room, Lafayette, 8 p.m.

KARAOKE PARTY — PANDA

ENTERTAINMENT: Black Bull, Youngsville, 8 p.m.

WEDNESDAY

DULCIMER JAM: St. Landry Visitor Center, Opelousas, 10 a.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Park Bistro, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

LIVE MUSIC: Charley G’s Seafood Grill, Lafayette, 6 p.m.

WANTED WEDNESDAY KA-

RAOKE NIGHT: The Barrel of Broussard, Broussard, 6 p.m.

TODAY IN HISTORY

In 1933, Adolf Hitler was named chancellor of Germany

In 1945, during World War II, a Soviet submarine torpedoed the German ship MV Wilhelm Gustloff in the Baltic Sea, killing over 9,000 people, most of them war refugees; roughly 1,000 people survived.

In 1968, the Tet Offensive began during the Vietnam War as Communist forces launched surprise attacks against South Vietnamese towns and cities.

In 1969, The Beatles staged an unannounced concert atop Apple headquarters in London that would be their last public performance.

In 1972, 13 Catholic civil rights marchers were shot and killed by British soldiers in Northern Ireland

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

on what became known as “Bloody Sunday.” In 2020, health officials reported the first known case in which the new coronavirus was spread from one person to another in the United States. Today’s birthdays: Actor Vanessa Redgrave is 89. Musician Phil Collins is 75. Actor Charles S. Dutton (“Roc”) is 75. Golf Hall of Famer Curtis Strange is 71. Actor Ann Dowd (“The Handmaid’s Tale”) is 70. Comedian Brett Butler (“Grace Under Fire”) is 68. Singer Jody Watley is 67. U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, is 54. Actor Christian Bale is 52. Actor Olivia Colman is 52. Actor Wilmer Valderrama (“That ’70s Show”) is 46. Rapper-musician Kid Cudi is 42. Pop singer Tyla is 24.

“Truth is ultimately the most important thing,” Lovince said “But then also there’s a dilemma around well, whose truth are we following? And does truth become division? And so, I think we see Judith struggling with that line and where do we, as humans, choose the moral ground versus like what we believe? And is the truth ultimately the right thing if it’s hurting everyone around you? And I think most people can relate to that.”

Judith asks the principal, played by Michael Hyatt, to take action on the vandalism, but he opts for a coverup. So, she assigns an investigative story to Micah, a student who has come out as gay, and is played by Kyrin Hardnett.

“So, we follow this student as he investigates throughout the play,” Lovince said.

A different truth

Meanwhile, Judith’s fellow teacher and best friend Deeann, played by Zoe Godfrey-Grinage, is conflicted.

“I would say Deeann is a little bit the opposite of Judith,” said Godfrey-Grinage, a master of fine arts student from San Francisco. “She’s just an old-fash-

ioned Indiana woman with Christian values, and she loves what she does, but I feel like for her she doesn’t really get into politics or the nitty-gritty of things. But when this happens, it’s like you cannot not say anything. So she has to navigate her political standpoint and her political views, which are not the same as Judith’s.” Yet the two teachers are best friends.

“So I’m just navigating her truth throughout the whole play,” Godfrey-Grinage said. “It’s like, ‘What does she believe in?’ because her truth might not look like everybody else’s.” Now, truth isn’t always pretty, which is why Swine Palace is issuing a warning that the story not only includes visuals of hate speech but also brief mentions of suicide, references to death of a child and an offstage act of extremist violence.

But does Judith find justice at the end? No spoilers here the answer can be found only in her classroom at the Shaver Theatre.

Email Robin Miller at romiller@theadvocate. com.

PROVIDED PHOTO By ROCKIN’1000

The 2026 Rockin’1000 in the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans will be the first Rockin’1000 concert in the United States.

STAFF

PHOTO By ROBIN MILLER Judith, played by Nicole Lovince, right, reports an incident of hate speech vandalism in her classroom to Principal Benson, played by Michael Hyatt, in Swine Palace’s ‘The Totality of All Things.

AQuARIuS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Clear apath andlead theway.Change will motivate youtoengage in what brings you the most joy. Stop letting others choose for youwhenyou have the powertodecide for yourself

PIScES (Feb. 20-March 20) Stop vacillating andstart putting your thoughts and ideas to work for you.Peace of mind comes from getting things done, and happiness from feeling good aboutwhat youdo.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) It's what you accomplish thatcounts. Be creative whenlending ahelping hand, and use your skills and experience to sidestep anyonewho tries to take advantage of you.

TAuRuS (April20-May20) Take agreater interest in establishing facts and researching the possibilities. Refuse to letsomeonelead you in adirection that exceeds your budget. Protect your reputation and meaningful relationships.

GEMInI (May 21-June20) Use your powers of persuasion to gain acceptance. Call in favors and keep the momentum flowing. Don't be shy; if you want to get to know someonebetter, use your charm andchatthemup.

cAncER (June21-July 22) Take care of responsibilities first andthen enjoy your downtime. Make plans to participate in an eventthat sparks your interest or promises to help youhone or update your skills.

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Don't hide behind a blank smile when youhave something

on your mind that needs to be said or done. Choose your words wisely,and you'llget your pointacross without offending anyone

VIRGo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Examine your position, purposeand prospects, and consider whatyou want to do next. Trips, talksand negotiations aboutwhat you wish to pursuepersonally or professionally are encouraged.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-oct. 23) Share information carefully. If you are too blunt, you'll send thewrong message. There is kindness in honesty that you cannot duplicatebysparing someone's feelings.

ScoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Set abudget andconsider your options. Surrounding yourself with people who bring outthe best in you will point you in apositive direction andencourage you to distance yourself fromelementsthat dragyou down.

SAGITTARIuS (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Choose the mostobscure path, andyou'lldiscover something or someone you find entertaining. Make domestic choices that encourageyou to livelife your way.

cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Gettogether withsomeonewho makes youthink and encourages you to be yourself. What you gain by surrounding yourself withthose who have muchtoofferwill make you feel invincible.

The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact. ©2026 by NEA, Inc.,dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

Cipher cryptogramsare createdfrom quotations by famous people, past and present. Each letter in the cipherstands for another.

EQuALS V

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM SherMAn’S

bIG

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 gridwith several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1to9inthe 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 fromMonday to Sunday.

Yesterday’sPuzzleAnswer

THe wiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

CurTiS

By PHILLIP ALDER

One of the arts of defense is painting the wrong picture of adeal for declarer. He thinksthe cards lie one way when they actually lie differently. The 2013 International Bridge Press Association Gidwani Family Trust Defense of the Year award waswon by Fredrik Nystrom from Sweden. The journalist prize went to Micke Melander from Sweden.

The deal occurred during the2012 World Mind Sports Games (formerly WorldTeamOlympiad)final in Lille, France. (These wereheld too late to be consideredfor that year’sawards.) A natural auction led to South’splaying in fourhearts. West led histhird-highest club.

The contract did not looktoo testing. South, expecting to lose at most two hearts and one diamond, won with dummy’s club ace (Eastdropped the queen, promising the jack as well) and played a trump to his king. West took his ace and returned alow club. Declarer ruffed away East’s jack and continued with the heart jack. What did Nystrom (East) do after winning with his queen?

South, Cezary Balicki from Poland, the world’s 14th-ranked player,needed to get to his hand to draw East’s last trump. We can see that he could have done that in diamonds.However,Eastcashed his

diamond ace,then led his spade nine. To declarer, it looked as though East had begun with asingleton diamond ace. South, thinking that he had to enter his hand by ruffing the third round of spades, won with dummy’s spade queen and tried to cash thespadeace. East’s ruff was aconsiderable shock. ©2026 by NEA, Inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

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

Previous answers:

word game

InsTRucTIons: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four lettersbythe 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 EXERTIon: ek-SER-shun: Alaborious effort.

Average mark 32 words

Timelimit 45 minutes

Can you find 41 or more wordsinEXERTION?

yEsTERDAy’s WoRD —MARGIns

magi main margin agism amir arming arms ragi rain rang rani ring gain gamin gnar grain gram grim grin sang sari sarin sigma sign sing snag

loCKhorNs

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles hidato mallard

be present. No otherin‐formationortabulations will be availableuntil awards aremadeafter allbidsare fullychecked as to specificationsand accuracy Bids shallbeaccepted from Contractorswho arelicensedunder LA R.S. 37:2150-2192 forthe classification of Mechan‐ical Work.Bidderisre‐quired to comply with provisions andrequire‐mentsofLAR.S 38:2212(B)(5). No bidmay be withdrawnfor ape‐riod of forty-five (45) days after receiptof bids,exceptunder the provisions of LA.R.S 38:2214. BIDDER MUST SHOW SUF‐FICIENTREFERENCE TO IDENTIFY BIDS WITH OPENINGDATEONFACE OF SEALED ENVELOPE in‐cludingLAContractor’s licensenumber. Each Bidshall be accom‐panied by abid bond certified checkor cashier’scheck as pre‐scribedbyLARS 38:2218.A. Successful biddersshall be required to furnish a PerformanceandPay‐ment Bond writtenby a companylicensedtodo business in Louisianain an amount equalto100% of thecontractamount Copies:CompleteBid‐ding Documentsfor this projectare availablein electronic form.They maybeobtainedwithout charge andwithout de‐positfromwww.aeplans com. Printedcopiesare notavailable from the Architectbut arrange‐mentscan be made to obtain them through most reprographic firms and/or plan rooms. When thedesignerofrecordis‐sues biddocuments in electronic form,prime biddersshall be given theoption of receiving thedocuments in paper form in accordance with LARS 38:2212 A(i) (e). Re‐production cost on the firstpaper plan setac‐quired by bona fide primebidders will be fullyrefunded by thede‐sign professional upon return of thedocuments no laterthanten days after receiptofthe bids Allother plan holdersare responsiblefor theirown reproduction costs. Questionsabout this pro‐cedure shallbedirected to theArchitect at: StantecArchitectureInc 1200 BrickyardLane –Suite400 BatonRouge,Louisiana 70802 Telephone: (225) 921-6141 ANon-Mandatory Pre-Bid Conference will be held at thehospitalat3:00pm on Tuesday, February 10, 2026. Themeetingwill take placeonthe first floor in theclassroom lo‐catedoff theAdministra‐tion corridor at 4600 Am‐bassador CafferyPark‐way, Lafayette,LA70508. Thepurpose of theprebidconferenceistofa‐miliarizeBidders with therequirementsofthe projectand the intent of theContractDocuments

andtoreceive comments andinformation from in‐terested Bidders. Anyre‐visionsofthe Bidding Documentsmadeasa re‐sult of thepre-bid con‐ferenceshall notbevalid unless included in an ad‐dendum issued in accor‐dancewithArticle 3of theInstructionstoBid‐ders Full informationmay be obtained upon request from theabove address.

OurLadyofLourdes Women’s& Children’s Hospital reserves the righttorejectany andall bids forjustcause in ac‐cordance with La.R.S 38:2214, theprovisions andrequirementsofthis Section; andthose stated in thebidding documentsshall notbe waived by anyentity.

OurLadyofLourdes Women’s& Children’s Hospital

PUBLISHEDDATES: January23, 2026 January30, 2026 February 6, 2026 174742-JAN23-30FEB6-3T $1,471

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notbe considered forany cause whatsoever.Bidders or theirauthorizedrepre‐sentatives areinvited to be present. No otherin‐formationortabulations will be availableuntil awards aremadeafter allbidsare fullychecked as to specificationsand accuracy Bids shallbeaccepted from Contractorswho arelicensedunder LA R.S. 37:2150-2192 forthe classification of Building Construction.Bidderis required to comply with provisions andrequire‐mentsofLAR.S 38:2212(B)(5). No bidmay be withdrawnfor ape‐riod of forty-five (45) daysafter receiptof bids,exceptunder the provisions of LA.R.S 38:2214. BIDDER MUST SHOW SUF‐FICIENTREFERENCE TO IDENTIFY BIDS WITH

OPENINGDATEONFACE OF SEALED ENVELOPE in‐cludingLAContractor’s licensenumber. Each Bidshall be accom‐panied by abid bond certified checkor cashier’scheck as pre‐scribedbyLARS 38:2218.A. Successful biddersshall be required to furnish a Performance andPay‐ment Bond writtenby a companylicensedtodo business in Louisianain an amount equalto100% of thecontractamount Copies:CompleteBid‐ding Documentsfor this projectare availablein electronic form.They maybeobtained without charge andwithout de‐positfromwww.aeplans com. Printedcopiesare notavailable from the Architectbut arrange‐mentscan be made to obtain them through most reprographic firms and/or plan rooms. When thedesignerofrecordis‐sues biddocuments in electronic form,prime biddersshall be given theoptionofreceiving thedocuments in paper form in accordance with LARS 38:2212 A(i) (e). Re‐production cost on the firstpaper plan setac‐quired by bona fide primebidders will be fullyrefunded by thede‐sign professional upon return ofthe documents no laterthanten days after receiptofthe bids Allother plan holdersare responsiblefor theirown reproduction costs. Questionsabout this pro‐cedure shallbedirected to theArchitect at: StantecArchitectureInc 1200 BrickyardLane –Suite400 BatonRouge,Louisiana 70802 Telephone: (225) 921-6141 ANon-Mandatory Pre-Bid Conference will be held at thehospitalat1:00pm on Tuesday, February 10, 2026. Themeetingwill take placeonthe first floor in theclassroom lo‐catedoff theAdministra‐tion corridor at 4600 Am‐bassador CafferyPark‐way, Lafayette,LA70508. Thepurpose of theprebidconferenceistofa‐miliarizeBidders with therequirementsofthe projectand the intent of theContractDocuments andtoreceive comments andinformation from in‐terested Bidders. Anyre‐visionsofthe Bidding Documentsmadeasa re‐sult of thepre-bid con‐ferenceshall notbevalid unless included in an ad‐dendum issued in accor‐dancewithArticle 3of theInstructionstoBid‐ders Full informationmay be obtained upon request from theabove address. OurLadyofLourdes Women’s& Children’s Hospital reserves the righttorejectany andall bids forjustcause in ac‐cordance with LA R.S. 38:2214, theprovisions andrequirementsofthis Section; andthose stated in thebidding documentsshall notbe

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NOTICE TO PUBLIC NOTICE OF PROPOSED SURPLUS ORDINANCE

NOTICE IS HEREBYGIVEN,thatParish Ordinance No. PO008-2026 hasbeen introduced andisproposed for adoption by the Lafayette Parish Council on February 10, 2026, whereby the Lafayette City-Parish ConsolidatedGovernment would sell at public auction andpublic internet auction surplus vehicles, equipment andother miscellaneousmovable property whichare no longerneeded for public purposes, the following described property,towit: