The Acadiana Advocate 02-05-2026

Higher utilitybills likely

DeltaUtilities says soaringgas prices to blamefor La.hikes

BY SAM KARLIN Staff writer

The blast of winter weather that brought ice and freezing temperatures to Louisiana will likely cause prolonged spikes in utility bills, aresult of the state’sdominant gas and electric supplier facing soaring prices in recent weeks for natural gas.

The state’slargestgas supplier,Delta Utilities, warned that bills will risein the coming months after prices on the spot market —where the company goes to supplement its existing contracts during times of high usage— soared to all-time highs in late January Meanwhile, consumeradvocates

say Entergy electric bills arelikely to follow suit. Entergyrelies heavily on naturalgas to fuel its power plants, getting nearly two-thirds of itsenergy that way.The company passes on allfuelcosts to customers, making it likely residents will pay for the higher gasprices. Natural gas prices have steadily ticked upward in recent months, but their latest surge cameatthe same time Louisiana customers were using more gas to stay warm while bitter winter weather blastedthrough the region. And the state’s dominant utilities havebeen underthe spotlightfor customer complaintsabout high prices,outages and the controversialsale

last summer of Entergy’sgas business to Delta. Utilities here have long betbig on natural gas as acheap and abundant resource, withasprawling network of pipelinesmaking it easytospin up power plantsaround thestate. Butperiodic price shocksand storms over thepastfew yearshave ignited debates over how the state should best manageits power supply.Cyclical rising costs have prompted some advocates to question whether the state is overreliant on natural gas.

“This is aproblemwe’ve been trying to highlight for bothregulators

ä See BILLS, page 5A

ECAearns Blue Ribbon

Education officials, administratorsand facultyposefor aphoto during an event to recognizeEarly CollegeAcademy as one of eight Blue Ribbon Schools in thestate on WednesdayatSouth Louisiana Community CollegeinLafayette

Educationofficialsvisit to mark performancehonor

BY ASHLEY WHITE Staff writer

Students, teachers, families and com-

munity partners gatheredWednesday morning to celebratethe Early College Academy being named aLouisianaBlue Ribbon School.

ECAisone of eightLouisiana schools that received the designationawarded to schools that demonstrate outstanding academic performance and formaking

significantprogress in closing student achievement gaps.

“It just validates the work that we put in,” said senior and ECA student of the year Dylan Lewis. “Toberecognized on this scale and this level meansalot to not only us as students,but it meansa lotto us that our teachers are being recognized for their great work.”

ECA started in 2008 as apartnership betweenthe LafayetteParishschoolsystem andSouthLouisiana Community College. Studentscan enroll in their freshman yearand by thetime they graduate, have

ä See ECA, page 5A

TheHallof Fame case forlegendary SaintDrewB

When Iasked Luke Kuechly about Drew Brees’ Pro Football HallofFame credentials, he didn’tmince words.

“He’sano-brainer,” said Kuechly,the great Carolina Panthers linebacker,who battled Brees twice annually during his stellar career.“If Drew Brees doesn’t get in on first ballot, we should be asking, ‘What are we doing here?’” Brees, who is one of 15 finalists for the Hall’sClass of 2026, de-

Murrill to suein abortion pill battle

Attorney generalwants to extraditedoctors

BYALYSE PFEIL Staff writer

Louisiana’s attorneygeneral is preparing to sue California Gov Gavin Newsom and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul in federal court in an effort to force those states to extradite doctors who face criminalchargesfor mailing pills to Louisiana forabortions.

It’sthe only wayto“address them protecting peoplewho are openly committed to nullifying andviolating ourcriminallaws in our state,” Attorney General Liz Murrill said in an interview Wednesday Louisiana has sent formal requests to California and NewYork to extradite doctors in two separate criminal cases, both of which involve state felony charges for causing an abortion by meansof abortion-inducing drugs. Newsomand Hochul have each refusedtoturn the doctorsover to Louisiana forcriminal prosecution. Theycite theirstate’sabortion shield laws, whichprotect doctorsand patientsfromprosecution initiated in states that outlaw abortion.

“As achampion of reproductive freedoms, California will not hesitate to assert itslawfulauthority to defend the fundamental rights

serves to be the first Saint to earn hisgold jacket on thefirst ballot As therepresentative for New Orleansonthe ProFootball Hall of Fame selection committee, it’s my dutytomake the presentation

for Brees to the rest of the group. Ididn’tneed 5minutes to make thecase for his Hall of Fame candidacy Brees’ resume speaks foritself. It stands out, even when compared to thegame’slegends. His career was one of the most significant in NFL history

Jeff Duncan ä See BREES, page 5A

When Brees arrived in 2006, theSaints were amoribund franchise. He took ateam that had gone 3-13 the year before and led it to adivision title and itsfirst

NFC Championship Game ap pearance, authoring one of the greatest turnarounds the league has ever seen. And he did it monthsremoved from acareer threateningshoulder injury He finished second in the voting for the league’s Most Valuable Player,Offensive Player of the Year and Comeback Player of theYear awards.

STAFF PHOTOSByLESLIE WESTBROOK

State SuperintendentofEducation Cade Brumley speaks during Wednesday’sevent.

Senator resists plans for detention center in Miss.

Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., is sending a letter to Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem to voice his opposition to plans that would turn a warehouse facility in a town in the northwest part of his state near Memphis into an immigration detention center.

Wicker notes that he supports “the enforcement of immigration law,” but that he is concerned the center would disrupt a site planned for “job creation, private investment, and longterm economic growth.” He also raised concerns that the local resources and infrastructure could not support a facility planned to hold over 8,500 people at a time Wicker’s position is some of the highest-profile pushback to the Trump administration’s plans to dramatically scale up immigration detention capacity.

Local officials have been raising similar concerns across several states.

California congressional map allowed to stand

WASHINGTON The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed California to use a new voterapproved congressional map that is favorable to Democrats in this year’s elections, rejecting a last-ditch plea from state Republicans and the Trump administration.

No justices dissented from the brief order denying the appeal without explanation, which is common on the court’s emergency docket.

The justices had previously allowed Texas’ Republicanfriendly map to be used in 2026, despite a lower-court ruling that it likely discriminates on the basis of race.

Conservative Justice Samuel Alito wrote in December that it appeared both states had adopted new maps for political advantage, which the high court has previously ruled cannot be a basis for a federal lawsuit.

Republicans, joined by the Trump administration, claimed the California map improperly relied on race as well. But a lower court disagreed by a 2-1 vote. The Justice Department and White House did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

Lawsuit tries to block Utah congressional map

SALT LAKE CITY With the deadline to file for reelection a little over a month away, two of Utah’s Republican members of Congress are asking a federal court to block the use of new U.S. House districts that could significantly boost Democrats’ chances of winning a Salt Lake City-area seat in November

A lawsuit filed late Monday by U.S. Reps. Celeste Maloy and Burgess Owens and nearly a dozen local officials contends a state judge violated the U.S. Constitution last year when she rejected congressional districts drawn by the Republican-led state Legislature and instead imposed an alternative map submitted by groups suing the Legislature.

The U.S. Constitution and Utah Constitution both give redistricting powers to the state Legislature, the lawsuit asserts, and “courts have no authority to draw a congressional map.” State Judge Dianna Gibson ruled in August that those districts violated standards approved by voters in 2018 to ensure districts don’t deliberately favor a party a practice known as gerrymandering.

Attempted Trump assassin gets life

Man convicted of trying to shoot him at golf course

BY DAVID FISCHER Associated Press

FORT PIERCE,Fla.— A man convicted of trying to assassinate President Donald Trump on a Florida golf course in 2024 was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison after a federal prosecutor said his crime was unacceptable “in this country or anywhere.”

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon pronounced Ryan Routh’s fate in the same Fort Pierce courtroom that erupted into chaos in September when he tried to stab himself shortly after jurors found him guilty on all counts

“American democracy does not work when individuals take it into their own hands to eliminate candidates. That’s what this individual

tried to do” Assistant U.S. Attorney John Shipley told the judge.

Defense attorney Martin L. Roth argued that “at the moment of truth, he chose not to pull the trigger.”

The judge pushed back, noting Routh’s history of arrests, to which Roth said, “He’s a complex person, I’ll give the court that, but he has a very good core.”

Routh then read from a rambling, 20-page statement.

Cannon broke in, said none of what he was saying was relevant and gave him five more minutes to talk.

“I did everything I could and lived a good life,” Routh said, before the judge cut him off.

“Your plot to kill was deliberate and evil,” she said. “You are not a peaceful man. You are not a good man.”

She then issued his sentence: Life without parole, plus seven

years on a gun charge. His sentences for his other three crimes will run concurrently

Routh’s sentencing was initially scheduled for December But Cannon agreed to move it back after Routh decided to use an attorney during the sentencing phase, instead of representing himself as he did for most of the trial.

Routh was convicted of trying to assassinate a major presidential candidate, using a firearm in furtherance of a crime, assaulting a federal officer, possessing a firearm as a felon and using a gun with a defaced serial number

“Routh remains unrepentant for his crimes, never apologized for the lives he put at risk, and his life demonstrates near-total disregard for law,” prosecutors said in their sentencing memo.

Prosecutors said Routh spent weeks plotting to kill Trump before aiming a rifle through shrubbery as the Republican presidential candidate played golf on Sept. 15, 2024, at his West Palm Beach

Iran and U.S. will hold nuclear talks in Oman

BY JON GAMBRELL Associated Press

DUBAI Nuclear talks between Iran and the United States will take place Friday in Oman, the Iranian foreign minister said, as tensions between the countries remain high following Tehran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests last month.

The announcement by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday came after hours of indications that the anticipated talks were faltering over changes in the format and content of the talks. “I’m grateful to our Omani brothers for making all necessary arrangements,” Araghchi wrote on X.

Earlier Wednesday a regional official said Iran was seeking a “different” type of meeting than that what had been proposed by Turkey, one focused exclusively on the issue of Iran’s nuclear program, with participation limited to Iran and the United States. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

The Trump administration confirmed the U.S will take part in high-level talks with Iran in Oman instead of Turkey as originally planned, according to a White House official.

The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that several Arab and Muslim leaders urged the Trump administration on Wednesday not to walk away from talks even as Iranian officials pressed to narrow the scope of talks and change the venue for the negotiations.

The official added that the White House

remains “very skeptical” that the talks will be successful but have agreed to go along with the change in plans out of respect for allies in the region.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. hoped to discuss a number of concerns beyond the nuclear issue, including discussions on Iran’s ballistic missiles, support for proxy networks across the region and the “treatment of their own people.”

Tensions between the countries spiked after President Donald Trump suggested the U.S. might use force against Iran in response to the crackdown on protesters. Trump also has been pushing Tehran for a deal to constrain its nuclear program.

Iran’s reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday said he had instructed the foreign minister to “pursue fair and equitable negotiations” with the U.S., in the first clear sign from Tehran it wants to try to negotiate. That signaled the move is supported by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all matters of state and previously dismissed any negotiations.

Vice President JD Vance told “The Megyn Kelly Show” that diplomatic talks with Iran are challenging because of Tehran’s political system.

“It’s a very weird country to conduct diplomacy with when you can’t even talk to the person who’s in charge of the country That makes all of this much more complicated, and it makes the whole situation much more absurd,” Vance said, noting that Trump could speak directly by phone with the leaders of Russia, China or North Korea.

Va. governor orders state agencies to end agreements with ICE

BY EMMA ROSE BROWN

The Virginian-Pilot (TNS)

NORFOLK,Va. Gov Abigail Spanberger signed an executive directive requiring all state agencies to cancel their partnerships with ICE.

“Public trust is essential both to keep members of the community safe as well as to keep law enforcement safe. Here in the commonwealth, we want to make sure that we’re making a clear line in the sand about what is expected of our law enforcement officials,” Spanberger said Wednesday

The directive applies to 287(g) agreements contracts with the Department of Homeland Security that allow agents

from state agencies to conduct immigration enforcement. The agents receive 40 hours or less of online training in immigration enforcement and law

“I think that members of the Virginia State Police or members of the Department of Corrections should be working under and at the direction and supervision of the leadership within their agencies,” Spanberger said. “That doesn’t preclude any sort of coordination or task force-related work. That doesn’t preclude any federal agency coming with a judicial warrant and requesting assistance.”

On the day of her inauguration, Spanberger signed an executive order rescinding former Gov Glenn Young-

kin’s order requiring collaboration between state agencies and ICE.

Spanberger also signed an executive order Wednesday that clarifies priorities for state law enforcement agencies, including the importance of preserving public trust and not engaging in fear-based tactics.

“The commitment by Virginia law enforcement to these overarching principles is readily apparent, and this executive order is intended to highlight their work in accordance with these principles and policies, particularly as we have witnessed recent tactics by some federal law enforcement agents that disregard these policies and threaten broader public trust in policing.”

country club.

At trial a Secret Service agent helping protect Trump on the golf course testified that he spotted Routh before Trump came into view Routh aimed his rifle at the agent, who opened fire, causing Routh to drop his weapon and run away without firing a shot.

In the motion requesting an attorney, Routh offered to trade his life in a prisoner swap with people unjustly held in other countries and said an offer still stood for Trump to “take out his frustrations on my face.” Cannon signed off last summer on Routh’s request to represent himself.

The Supreme Court has held that defendants have the right to represent themselves in court proceedings as long as they can show a judge they are competent to waive their right to an attorney Routh’s former federal public defenders served as standby counsel and were present during the trial.

Suspect in shooting of 2 Guard members in D.C. pleads not guilty

BY JESSICA SCHLADEBECK

New york Daily News (TNS)

The gunman accused of shooting two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., killing one and seriously wounding the other, has pleaded not guilty to the nine charges against him including first-degree murder Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who was also shot before he was taken into custody, made his brief court appearance Wednesday in a wheelchair and an orange jumpsuit, CNN reported. In addition to the murder charge, 29-year-old Lakanwal is also facing counts of transportation of a firearm and ammunition in interstate commerce with the intent to commit a felony, three counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, and four counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence or dangerous offense. The Department of Justice had said it will be seeking the death penalty in the case. On Nov 26, Lakanwal

allegedly used a powerful Smith & Wesson 357 Magnum to open fire on law enforcement blocks away from the White House. Both 24-year-old Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe and Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, were shot. The had been deployed as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to crack down on what it has called rampant crime in major cities across the U.S. Both Beckstrom and Wolfe each suffered a gunshot to the back of the head, according to a federal criminal complaint, cited by NBC News. Authorities have said that Lakanwal entered the U.S. in September 2021 through the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome initiative, a program that helped resettle Afghan allies who worked with the U.S. during the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan. Lakanwal worked with the CIA by way of the “Zero Units,” a group of Afghan commandos tasked with missions planned by the agency

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Routh

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By VAHID SALEMI

Carrying pictures of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, people attend a state-organized rally in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, celebrating the birthday of Imam Mahdi, or ‘Hidden Imam,’ a 9th-century saint whom Shiite Muslims believe will return at the end of time as a universal reformer to end tyranny and promote justice.

Dems demand ‘dramatic changes’ for ICE

BY MARY CLARE JALONICK and JOEY CAPPELLETTI Associated Press

WASHINGTON Democrats are threatening to block funding for the Homeland Security Department when it expires in two weeks unless there are “dramatic changes” and “real accountability” for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other law enforcement agencies who are carrying out President Donald Trump’s campaign of federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota and across the country Congress is discussing potential new rules for ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection after officers shot and killed two Minneapolis protesters in January Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries reiterated their party’s demands on Wednesday, with Schumer telling reporters that Congress must “rein in ICE in very serious ways, and end the violence.” Democrats are “drawing a line in the sand” as Republi-

cans need their votes to continue the funding, Jeffries said. The negotiations come amid some bipartisan sentiment that Congress should step in to de-escalate tensions over the enforcement operations that have rocked Minnesota and other states. But finding real agreement in such a short time will be difficult, if not “an impossibility,” as Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Tuesday President Donald Trump last week agreed to a Democratic request that funding for the DHS be separated from a larger spending bill and extended at current levels for two weeks while the two parties discuss possible requirements for the federal agents. House Speaker Mike Johnson R-Benton said this weekend that he was at the White House when Trump spoke with Schumer and that they were “on the path to get agreement.” But it’s unclear if the president or enough congressional Republicans will agree to any of the Democrats’ larger demands that the of-

ocrats who are furious over the Trump administration’s increasingly aggressive immigration enforcement operations would be willing to compromise.

“Republicans need to get serious,” Schumer, a New York Democrat, said, adding that they will propose “tough, strong legislation” in the next day

ficers unmask and identify themselves, obtain judicial warrants in certain cases and work with local authorities, among other asks. Republicans have already pushed back.

And House GOP lawmakers are demanding that some of their own priorities be added to the Homeland Security spending bill, including legislation that would require proof of citizenship before Americans register

to vote. South Carolina Sen Lindsey Graham and other Republican senators are pushing for restrictions on sanctuary cities that they say don’t do enough to crack down on illegal immigration. There’s no clear definition of sanctuary jurisdictions, but the term is generally applied to state and local governments that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

It’s also uncertain if Dem-

Republicans say they are open to officer-worn body cameras, a change that was already in the underlying homeland security spending bill. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem backed that up on Monday when she ordered body-worn cameras to be issued to every DHS officer on the ground in Minneapolis, including those from ICE. She said the policy would expand nationwide as funding becomes available.

“State law enforcement, local folks don’t do it,” said Rep. Bennie Thompson, the top Democrat on the Committee for Homeland Security “I mean, what’s so special about an ICE law enforcement agency that they have to wear a mask?”

But Republicans appear unlikely to agree.

“Unlike your local law enforcement in your hometown, ICE agents are being doxed and targeted. We have evidence of that,” Johnson said on Tuesday He added that if you “unmask them and you put all their identifying information on their uniform, they will obviously be targeted.”

Immigration officers are already required to identify themselves “as soon as it is practical and safe to do so,” according to federal regulations. ICE officials insist those rules are being followed.

The bill already directed $20 million to outfit immigration enforcement agents with body-worn cameras. As videos and photos of aggressive immigration tactics and high-profile shootings circulate nationwide, agents covering their faces with masks has become a flashpoint. Democrats argue that removing the masks would increase accountability Republicans warn it could expose agents to harassment and threats.

Border czar pulling 700 immigration officers out of Minn. immediately

BY STEVE KARNOWSKI Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS The Trump administration is reducing the number of immigration officers in Minnesota but will continue its enforcement operation that has sparked weeks of tensions and deadly confrontations, border czar Tom Homan said Wednesday About 700 federal officers — roughly a quarter of the total deployed to Minnesota — will be withdrawn immediately after state and local officials agreed over the past week to cooperate by turning over arrested immigrants, Homan said. But he did not provide a timeline for when the administration might end the operation that has become a flashpoint in the debate over President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts since the

fatal shootings of U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.

About 2,000 officers will remain in the state after this week’s drawdown, Homan said That’s roughly the same number sent to Minnesota in early January when the surge ramped up, kicking off what the Department of Homeland Security called its “largest immigration enforcement operation ever.”

Since then, masked, heavily armed officers have been met by resistance from residents who are upset with their aggressive tactics.

A widespread pullout, Homan said, will occur only after there’s more cooperation and protesters stop interfering with federal agents carrying out arrests.

Trump told NBC News that he ordered the reduction and added that one lesson coming out of the

turmoil in Minnesota is “maybe we can use a little bit of a softer touch. But you still have to be tough.”

Gov Tim Walz and Minneapolis

Mayor Jacob Frey, both Democrats who have heavily criticized the surge, said pulling back 700 officers was a good first step but that the entire operation should end quickly “We need a faster and larger drawdown of forces, state-led investigations into the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, and an end to this campaign of retribution,” Walz posted on social media.

Vice President JD Vance said the officers being sent home were mainly in Minneapolis to protect those carrying out arrests. “We’re not drawing down the immigration enforcement,” Vance said in an interview on “The Megyn Kelly Show.”

Trump’s border czar took over the Minnesota operation in late January after the second fatal shooting by federal officers and amid growing political backlash and questions about how the operation was being run. Homan said right away that federal officials could reduce the number of agents in Minnesota, but only with the cooperation of state and local officials. He pushed for jails to alert Immigration and Customs Enforcement about inmates who could be deported, saying transferring those inmates to ICE is safer because it means fewer officers have to be out looking for people in the country illegally Homan said during a news conference Wednesday that there has been an “increase in unprecedented collaboration” resulting in the need for fewer public safety offi-

cers in Minnesota and a safer environment, allowing for the withdrawal of the 700 officers. Minnesota officials say its state prisons and nearly all of the county sheriffs already cooperate with immigration authorities.

But the two county jails that serve Minneapolis and St. Paul and take in the most inmates had not previously met ICE’s standard of full cooperation, although they both hand over inmates to federal authorities when an arrest warrant is signed by a judge.

Homan said he thinks the ICE operation in Minnesota has been a success, checking off a list of people wanted for violent crimes who were taken off the streets.

“I think it’s very effective as far as public safety goes,” he said Wednesday “Was it a perfect operation? No.”

ExxonMobil’ssafetycommitmentshown through action andinvestment

Thisstory is brought to you by ExxonMobil

AtExxonMobil,weprioritizethe security and health of our employees,our customersand the public. Our commitmenttosafety isn’t aslogan –it’sacorevaluethatdrivesevery decision we make,fromthe boardroom tothe field.

In Louisiana,wesupport morethan 6,000 direct and contract jobs acrossour BatonRougeComplexand pipeline operations across36parishes.Every one of those team memberscontinually evaluatesour processesand performance to ensurewe’re doing our part to protect ourselves,each other and the membersof the communities we serveand work alongside.

Leading in Personnel Safety Care forour ExxonMobil team is foundational to whatwedoeach and every day. ExxonMobil continuously refines work protocols and developsinternationally-recognized best practices – allinsupport of our mission to be the leading operatorinour industry.

In 2023and 2024, ExxonMobil maintained industry-leading personnel safety performance with aLost Time IncidentRatesfar belowupstream industry andU.S.refiningand chemical industry benchmarks. But best in classdoesn’t mean we’ll stop improving.

$500,000 worth of training and curriculum materials to found the Louisiana Pipeline Emergency Training Program in BatonRougein2025. The program, the first of its kind inLouisiana,isapartnership led by the Louisiana State Fire and Emergency Training Academyand River Parishes CommunityCollege. Participantsinthe training programreceive free education in pipeline terminology, equipment, operations and hazards, followedbyhands-on field exercises.

Across its operating CO2 pipeline system, ExxonMobil is alsoproviding specializedsafetytraining formorethan 300 first respondersfromAscension, Assumption, Beauregard,Calcasieu, East BatonRouge, Franklin, Iberville, Jefferson, Lafayette,Lafourche, Livingston, St.James St.Landry,St. Mary and Vermilion parishes

We’reproud to work alongside FETA and RPCCtomakeworldclassCO2 emergency trainingavailable righthereinLouisiana

Brian Carlin CO2 Operations ManageratExxonMobil

ExxonMobil has long embedded safety into our culture, reinforcedbyleadership,standards,practices and experience. An integrated framework of systems,processes, tools and behaviorsdesigned to eliminate injuriesand fatalitiessupportsthis commitment.

Centraltothis framework is our Personnel SafetyManagementSystem(PSMS), which helps team membersatall levels proactively learn from theirwork, build and validate their safety capacity, driveeffective safety engagement. At ExxonMobil, everyone is encouragedtobesafety leaders nomatterwheretheywork. It all ties back to our corevalue of Care

Protecting our Communities

In additiontoimplementing best-practice safety and design standards,ExxonMobil helpsprotect our communities by equipping and preparing first respondersacrossour pipeline network.

To ensurefirstrespondershavethe tools and training they need, ExxonMobil invested$50,000 and donatedmorethan

“We’re proud to work alongside FETA and RPCC to make world-class CO2 emergency training available righthereinLouisiana,helping to ensureevery firefighter, from urban departments to rural parishes,has accesstothe tools and skills needed to respond safely and effectively,” said BrianCarlin, CO2 Operations Manager at ExxonMobil.

Keeping Pipelines Safe

ExxonMobil Pipeline Company, which operatesthousands of miles of pipelines carrying critical products to consumersand businessesinLouisiana,shares in our mission to support aculturethatensuresaclear and simpleobjective: Nobody Gets Hurt.This goal extends to our neighborsand thosewho live andwork near our pipelines and facilities

Safetyisn’tjust prioritized through our actions,but also in our machinery andinfrastructure. In order to continuously maintain the integrityand reliabilityof our pipelines and facilities,werigorously test andanalyze our infrastructuretodetermine the correct maintenance procedures This ranges from additionaltesting and monitoring to minor repairsorevenpipe replacements

ExxonMobil owns andoperatesapproximately 1,300 miles of CO2 pipeline –the largestCO2 pipeline network in the U.S. Thesetypes of pipelines have operatedinthe United Statesfor morethan50years.Today, approximately 5,200 miles of CO2 pipelines safely transport about 68 million tons of CO2 per year throughout the nation. The federal safety data aboutCO2 pipelines is clear: incidents arerareand declining on aper-mile basis.From2000

to2024, the averageyearly CO2 pipeline incidentrate was lessthan 0.002 incidents per pipeline mile –arate well belowthatofother pipelines,including naturalgas pipelines

In addition, CO2 pipeline releases typically result in relatively minor impacts

As interest growsinCO2 infrastructurefor enhanced oil recovery and storage, ExxonMobil will continue to uphold high standards and pursue continual improvement of safety acrossall of our operations –it’swhatwedo.

IndustryRecognitions DemonstrateExcellence

ExxonMobil is aproud multiple-time recipientofthe American Chemistry Council’sResponsible Care Company of the Year Award, most recently in 2025. This recognition has been given foroutstanding leadership and performance in environmental, health and safety stewardship and dedication to continual improvement.

We have alsoreceived the American Petroleum Institute’sDistinguished Pipeline SafetyAward forthe last three years. From the systems thatguide daily operations to the partnerships thatstrengthen emergency preparednessacross Louisiana,ExxonMobil continues to invest in people, infrastructureand collaborations to reduce risk and protect communities.Industry awards affirm our progress, but the ultimate measureofsuccessremains consistentpositive performance and an unwavering focus on doing the right thing, every day, in every place we operate.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ALEX BRANDON

President Donald Trump smiles Tuesday after signing a spending bill that ends a partial shutdown of the federal government in the Oval Office of the White House. The bill funds the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks.

and consumers for awhile now, since our electricity system in the region is so dependent ongas, it means we are all vulnerable to even small increases in the cost of fossil gas,” said Logan Burke, executive director of theAlliance for Affordable Energy,anonprofit that represents consumers. “Louisiana must diversify to fuel free resources to stabilize our bills.”

Burkenoted that utilitiespass through the cost of gas on atwomonth rolling basis. That means upticksinbills in December were based on the cost of gasinOctober, far before winter temperatures set in. In the coming months, customers will see the dramatic upswing in gas prices —though regulators may spread the cost overseveral months to avoid residents seeing eye-popping bills.

TheJanuary winter storm caused power outages for thousands in north Louisiana as ice

ECA

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the opportunity to earn up to 60 college credits, or the equivalent of an associate degree in general studies.

ECA Principal Bridget Malveaux, who’sbeen leading the school for four years, said she was honored the school received the Blue Ribbondesignation.

“This day shows us all the hard work that our teachers put into the classroom,the hard work that our students come and put in every single day,” she said. “Everyonegives 100% here.”

State Superintendent of Schools

MURRILL

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that define us as astate,” Newsom spokesperson Marissa Saldivar said in astatement Wednesday Hochul’soffice did not return requests for comment. California Dr.Remy Coeytaux was charged in January for mailing abortion pills to awoman in St. Tammany Parish who took them and terminated her pregnancy,

BREES

Continued from page1A

The2006 season wasn’tafluke. It was the beginning of a15-year run of sustained excellence unprecedented in Saints history.The Saints became one of the league’s most prolific, innovative anddominant attacks in NFL history

The numbers alone should end thedebate. During Brees’ tenure, the Saints gained more yardsthan any offense in NFL history over any 15-year span. They led the league in scoring or total offense eight times. He led the NFL in completion percentage six times, in passing yardage seven times andposted an almost unfathomable 12 consecutive 4,000-yard seasons. Brees threw for 400 or more yards in agame 16 times.Noother quarterback has more than 13. He recorded five of the 15 5,000yard passing seasons in league history.Noother quarterback has more than two.

snapped trees and laced electric lines. The lasting cold has contributed to at least nine deaths that the state has confirmed were stormrelated, including some who froze to deathintheir homes

Butunlikethe historic winter storm Uriin2021, utilitieswere not forced into rolling blackouts to manage the imbalance between supplyand demand. That storm froze gas pipelines, wellheads and generating units, causing catastrophic blackoutsinTexas and “load shedding” in Louisiana.

During the2021 storm, regulatory documentsshowedEntergy was forced to buy gas at skyrocketing prices,raising fuel costs by 236% to customers.

It’snot yet clear how much this winter storm’sprice surge will affect customers. Entergy Louisiana spokesperson Brandon Scardigli said the company is still calculating the numbers.

Scardiglisaidsince the 2021 storm, Entergy has made several changes to how it procures gas, including more long-term transportation agreements to make sure

gas is available. The company has also addedmore suppliesfor load pockets where transmission is limited, among other changes

The Public ServiceCommission, which regulates Entergy Louisiana, investigated the blackouts and price hikes related tothe 2021 winterstorm.They recommended that Entergy consider longer-term contracts to help the company avoid being forced to buy gasonshort notice at astronomical prices. Scardigli saidthe company still has not donesobecause they believe such contractscould lock the firm into higher-priced gas. He saidEntergy is also exploringa hedging programthatuses swaps —whichallowbuyers to trade volatile spot prices for a fixed price —tohelp stabilizethe cost of gas.

He said such financialinstruments rather than long-term gas contracts“provide thegreatest benefit to customers by preserving operational flexibilityfor the company’s fleet of generators while stilllocking in pricing to a degree.”

Cade Brumley visited ECA alongside members of the BoardofElementary andSecondary Education and leaders from the Lafayette Parish school system andSchool Board.

“I just wantyou to appreciate and understandhow elite youare as a school community to be honored with this recognition,” Brumleysaid to students and staff. “Thatspeaks to the exemplary schooland education that youguys provide here at ECA.”

The prestigious National Blue Ribbon Schoolsprogram was overseen by theU.S. Department of Education for more than 40 years. The Trump administration abruptly discontinued the program in August and encouraged statestofashiontheir own programs.

Murrill’soffice says. New York Dr.Margaret Carpenter was charged last year for mailingabortionmedication to West BatonRouge Parish,where it was takenbya teenage girl andended herpregnancy, prosecutorssay Legal scholarsexpect theconflict betweenstates over abortion regulation to inevitablyend up in frontofthe U.S. Supreme Court. Louisiana largely criminalizes abortionand has placed tight restrictions on the two medications that are commonlyused together

Then there were the moments of singular brilliance:

n His 40-yard touchdown strike to Devery Hendersontobreak Johnny Unitas’ 52-year-old record for consecutivegames with a touchdown passin2012.

n His seven-touchdown, 511yard passing outburst in a52-49 win over theGiants in 2015.

n The unforgettable 62-yard bomb to Tre’Quan Smithtoset the NFLrecordfor career passing yardsina2018 win over the Redskinson“MondayNight Football.”

n The ThanksgivingDay win over theFalcons, when he threw touchdown passes to fourundrafted free agents(Tommylee Lewis,Austin Carr, Dan Arnold andKeith Kirkwood). Another first in NFL history

n Andofcourse, his historic 29of-30 passing nightina34-7rout of theColts on “Monday Night Football” in 2019. Reducing Brees to statistics, though, shortchanges his legacy He was agenerational leader who lifted the entire organization with hisleadership,preparation and

For years, most Louisianans paid oneutility bill that includedgas andelectric costs combined. That changed last summer when Delta, aportfolio company of the private equity firmBernhardCapital Partners, bought the gas businesses ownedbyEntergyLouisiana and Entergy New Orleans.

At thesame time that customers first started seeing gas and electric bills broken outseparately, gasprices also edged higher and colder weather caused usage to increase. The result? Customer fury over rising natural gasbills that seemedsignificantlymore expensive than what they paid when gas andelectric bills werecombined.

“The major thing I’m seeing is people not being used to seeing an independent gas bill,” said Public ServiceCommissioner Davante Lewis last week.Lewis, aDemocrat representing parts of Baton Rouge and New Orleans, added that heavy spikesinnatural gas prices from the storm caused electricity prices to skyrocket in the market where Louisianabuys gas. Delta spokespersonSaraPorte-

oussaidthe company did not face interruptions to supply during the latest blast of cold weather

While about 80% of its normal monthly usage in cold months is secured through storage and fixedprice contracts, when usage soars during severe cold, Delta must buy gasonthe spot market. In recent weeks, those prices were “substantially higher than normal,” Porteoussaid. At adistributionhub in Louisiana called Henry Hub, prices reached $30.57 per 1million British thermal units last week, compared with $23.61 per MMBtu during Uriin2021.

“Customersshould expect higherbills in thecoming months mainly due to increased usage from extended coldweather and significantly highernaturalgas costs,” Porteous said. “When market prices rise during extreme weather,wemust purchase gas at those elevated rates. Under Louisiana’s regulatory cost recovery mechanisms, these costs are passedthrough to customers and spread over future months to help manage the impact.”

to terminateapregnancy California and New York, in contrast, broadly allowabortionuntil fetal viability. They’ve also passed state-level shield laws designed to prevent anti-abortion states from pursuing legal action against their residents over reproductive health care.

“They don’t agree with the laws of our state, and so they have this whole systemset up to nullify our laws,” Murrill said. “I think that is an affront to the full faith and credit that our state is afforded under

attention to detail.

On thefield, Brees’ accuracy and processing skills bordered on superhuman. Former Saints tackle Jon Stinchcomb called him “the supercomputer”because of the volume of information he could absorb and execute under pressure. Despite standing only 6feet tall, Brees mastered the subtleties of quarterbacking theway Greg Maddux mastered thestrikezone, painting theblack with his passes instead of blowing you away with hisfastball.

The effect was transformative. BeforeBrees arrived, the Saints wonone division title and40% of their games in four decades.

During his tenure, they won 62%, earned seven division titles,made nine playoff runs and captured theonly Super Bowl championship in franchise history En route to theLombardi Trophy,heoutdueled three future Hall of Famers: Kurt Warner, Brett Favre and Peyton Manning. In theSuper Bowl, Brees completed 32 of 39 passes and

the United States Constitution.”

The Constitution’s“full faith and credit clause”requirescourts in one state to respect the laws and judgments of courts from other states, though there are exceptions.

Murrill said mailing abortion pills to Louisiana is like sending someone agun who isn’tallowed to have one under state lawordeadlydrugs like fentanyl that end up killing achild.

“Thisconductisunethical medically unethical —inaddition to being illegal,” she said.

Murrill said thelegal question

orchestrated the go-ahead drive with surgical efficiency,hitting seven different receivers without an incompletion. Someargue that Brees was merely aproduct of the Sean Payton system, anotion his former teammates and coaches scoff at. As former Saints tackle Zach Strief said, the Saints didn’trun “magical plays.” They ran the sameconcepts as other teams.

“Wehad aquarterback that on thelast step of his drop already knew where theball needed to go and when,and could put it in awindow twice the size of afootball,” Strief said. “He wasn’ta ‘system quarterback.’ He was the system.”

Even his peers regarded him with awe. Former NFLhead coach and Saints assistant Mike Nolan said Brees belongs in the samebreath as TomBrady and Manning as one of the greatest pocket passers ever.His former coach, Payton, called his approach “amazing to watch,” a model of preparation and mental toughness that elevated everyone

thatwill be at playinthe federal lawsuits deals with the Constitution’s extradition clause, which requires states to respect extradition requests from other states for fugitives who commit crimes and “flee from justice.”

“We’re dealing with some Supreme Courtprecedentthatwe think is wrong, but that’swhat they’re relying on to say they can both nullify or lawsand then protect people from having to answer fortheir illegal conduct in our state,” she said.

around him

If anything, Brees might be underrated. He finished second in MVP voting four times, each timeovershadowed by someone having ahistoric outlier season: LaDainian Tomlinson in 2006, Manning in 2009, Aaron Rodgers in 2011 and Patrick Mahomes in 2018. He just might be the greatest player never to winthe award. Equally astounding, he missed just one gamebecause of injury in the first 18 seasons of his 20year career

The Hall of Famereserves first-ballot induction for the elite of the elite. Only 23% of all inductees have received that honor.Brees belongs in that number

His numbers are historic. His consistency and durability were unmatched. His leadership reshaped afranchise and revitalized acity.Byany measure, he is one of the greatest to ever play the game.

If Brees is not afirst-ballot Hall of Famer,then what are we even doing here?

BY KATE BRUMBACK and NICHOLAS RICCARDI Associated Press

ATLANTA— Officials in Georgia’s Fulton County said Wednesday they have asked afederal court to order the FBI to return ballotsand other documents from the 2020 election that it seized last week, escalating avoting battle as President Donald Trumpsayshewants to “take over” elections from Democratic-run areas with the November midterms on the horizon.

The FBI had searched awarehouse near Atlanta where those records were stored, amove taken after Trump’spersistent demands for retribution over claims, without evidence,that fraud cost him victory in Georgia.

Trump’selection commentcame in an interview Monday with aconservative podcaster and the Republican president reaffirmed his position in Oval Office remarks the next day,citing fraud allegations that numerous audits, investigations and courts have debunked

Officials in heavilyDemocratic Fulton County referenced those statements in announcingtheir legal action at atime of increasing anxiety over Trump’splansfor the fall elections that will determine control of Congress

“This case is not only about Fulton County,” said the countychairman, Robb Pitts. “This is about elections acrossGeorgia and across the nation.”

In asign of that broader concern, U.S. Sen. Mark Warner,D-Va., said this week that he once doubted Trump would intervene in the midterms butnow “the notional idea

BYSEJAL GOVINDARAO and JACQUES BILLEAUD Associated

TUCSON, Ariz. Nancy Guthrie’s upscale Arizonaneighborhood is quiet and mostly dark at night, lit mainly by carheadlights and homes spaced farapart. Long driveways, front gates and desert plants provide abuffer from the winding streets and curious eyes. Saguaro cacti tower above the roofline of Guthrie’sTucson-area home, and wispy trees partially block the view of the front door Those are the conditionsthatin-

that he will ask hisloyalists to do something inappropriate, beyond theConstitution, scares the heck outofme.”

TheWhite Househas scoffed at such fears, noting that Trumpdid not intervene in the2025off-year elections despite some Democratic predictions he would. But the president’sparty usually loses ground in midterm elections and Trump has already tried to tilt thefall races in his direction.

Democratic state election officialshavereacted to Trump’s statements, theseizure of the Georgia election materials and his aggressive deployment of federal officersintoDemocratic-leaning cities byplanningfor awide range of possiblescenarios this fall. That includes how they would respond

if Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were stationed outside polling places.

They alsohave raised concerns aboutU.S.DepartmentofJustice lawsuits, mostlytargeting Democratic states, seeking detailed voter datathat includesdates of birth and partialSocialSecurity numbers. Secretaries of state have raised concerns that the administration is building adatabase it can usetopotentially disenfranchise votersinfuture elections.

Trumpand his allies have long fixated on Fulton County,Georgia’s most populous, since he narrowly lost the state to Democrat Joe Bidenin2020. In the weeks after that election, TrumpcalledGeorgia’ssecretary of state,Republican BradRaffens-

Legal fightescalates over Ga.votingrecords

perger,urged himtohelp“find” the 11,780 ballots that would enable Trump to be declaredthe Georgia winner of thestate andraisedthe prospect of a“criminal offense” if theofficial failed to comply Raffensperger did not change thevotetally,and Bidenwon Georgia’s16electoral votes. Days later, rioters swarmed theU.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and tried to prevent the officialcertificationofBiden’s victory. WhenTrump returned to thepresidency in January 2025, he pardoned morethan1,000 charged in that siege.

“The president himself and his allies, theyrefuse to acceptthe fact that theylost,”Pitts said. “And even if he hadwon Georgia,hewould still have lost the presidency.”

Pitts defended thecounty’selectionpractices and said Fulton has conducted 17 electionssince 2020 without any issues.

Awarrant cover sheet provided to thecountyincludesa listofitems that the agents were seeking related to the 2020 general election: all ballots, tabulator tapesfrom the scanners that tally thevotes, electronic ballot images created when the ballots were counted and then recounted, and allvoter rolls.

The FBI drove away with hundreds of boxes of ballots and other documents. County officialssay theywere not told why the federal government wanted the documents

The county is also asking the court to unsealthe sworn statement from alaw enforcement agent that waspresented to the judge who approved thesearch warrant.

The Justice Department de-

clined to comment on the county’s motion.

“What they’re doing with the ballots that they have now,wedon’t know,but if they’re counted fairly andhonestly,the results will be the same,” Pitts said.

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday that the president’s“take over” remarks, which included avague reference to “15 places” that should be targeted, were areference to the SAVE Act, legislation that would tighten proof of citizenship requirements. Republicans want to bring it up foravote in Congress. But in his remarks that day, Trump did notcite the proposal. Instead,heclaimed that Democratic-controlled places such as Atlanta, which falls mainly in Fulton County,have “horrible corruption on elections. And the federal governmentshouldnot allowthat.”

The Constitution vests states with the ability to administer elections. Congress can add rules for federal races. One of Trump’s earliest second-term actionswas an executive order that tried to rewrite voting rules nationwide. Judges have largely blocked it because it violates the Constitution.

Trumpcontended that states were “agents of the federal government to countthe votes. If they can’tcount the votes legally and honestly,then somebody else should take over.” Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C.,said Wednesday saidhesupported the SAVE Act butnot Trump’sdesire for afederal takeover.“Nationalizing elections and picking 15 states seems alittle off strategy,” Tillis told reporters.

vestigators arefacedwith as they try to piece together themoments before and immediatelyafter the disappearance of the 84-year-old mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie. Authorities offered no detailed update Wednesday. “Is there somebody out there who’skidnapping elderly people in themiddleofthe night,every night?” PimaCounty Sheriff Chris NanossaidTuesday.“We don’tbelievethat’s thecase. We believe

Nancy was taken from her home against her will.” Nanos’ office saidWednesday thatdetectives still were speaking with anyone who had contact with Nancy Guthrie last weekend but that no suspect or person of interest had been identified. Therewere signs of forced entry at thehome in the upscale Catalina Foothills neighborhood. Guthrie has limited mobility, and officials do not believe she left on her own. Asheriff’s dispatcher

talking to deputies during asearch Sunday indicated that she has high blood pressure, apacemaker and heart issues, according to audio from broadcastify.com. Multiple media organizations reportedreceiving purportedransom notes Tuesdaythattheyhanded over to investigators. The sheriff’s department has said it’staking the notes andother tips seriously but declined to comment further Guthriewas lastseen Saturday around 9:30 p.m.ather home whereshe lived alone, and she was reported missing midday Sunday after she didn’tappear at achurch. Fora thirdday,“Today” opened with Guthrie’sdisappearance, but Savannah Guthrie was not at the anchor’sdesk. NBCSports said Tuesday that she will not be covering the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics “as she focuses on being with her family during this difficult time.”

The “Today” host grew up in Tucson, graduated from the University of Arizona and previously worked as areporter and anchor at Tucsontelevisionstation KVOA The youngest of three siblings, she credits hermom with

N. Guthrie S. Guthrie

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MIKE STEWART

FBIDeputy Director AndrewBailey, right, stands with members of the FBI at the Fulton CountyElectionHub on Wednesday in Union City, Ga

Acadiana population continues growth

Three municipalities among state’s fastest-growing

BY STEPHEN MARCANTEL

Staff writer

Carencro, Youngsville and Maurice could once again rank among Louisiana’s fastest-growing municipalities when new census data is released this summer, according to population estimates.

All three were among the state’s fastest-growing cities in the 2020 census, led by Maurice, which more than doubled its population from 2010 to 2020. Recent estimates suggest Carencro may now be seeing the largest gains, while Youngsville is approaching a population of 20,000. Maurice continues

to grow, though at a slower pace. The local gains come as Louisiana posts a modest population increase after decades of decline, even as the state continues to lag behind much of the South. Census estimates show population losses in major metros such as Baton Rouge and New Orleans, while

growth has shifted toward the Acadiana region.

Louisiana added about 3,300 residents in 2025, marking the second consecutive year of population growth. The increase was driven primarily by births and international immigration.

According to census estimates, Carencro had about a 38.9% increase in population since 2020 as of July 1, jumping from 9,278 to 12,883. The city’s population has increased 71% since 2010. Youngsville, once recognized as the fastest-growing city in the state, has slowed its population growth to about 19.5% as of July 1 to just under 20,000, estimates show From 2010 to 2020, the city’s population nearly doubled, reaching just under 16,000 residents.

FROM THE GROUND UP

Construction continues on the new Our Lady of Wisdom Church and Catholic Student Center on the University of Louisiana at Lafayette campus on Friday. The $35 million project is expected to be complete around the end of 2026 or beginning of 2027.

BY STEPHEN MARCANTEL

Lafayette pickleball venue coming soon

Old health club transformed into entertainment space

BY ADAM DAIGLE and FAITH SCHOLL Acadiana business editor

writer

and contributing

The former Lafayette Health Club is being converted into a combination pickleball and restaurant similar to what will soon open in Youngsville. SMASH Pickleball and Restaurant will open at 2905 Kaliste Saloom Road as its second location and will include a rooftop bar, full-service restaurant and pickleball amenities, the group announced on Facebook.

The concept was the idea of Aaron Dulin, founder of Fat Pat’s Grill and Bar, said Chase Landry, whose company Chase Group Construction, is doing construction on the building.

Plans include 12,500 square feet of space including a 6,500-square-foot rooftop area that will include seating for a bar and restaurant, Landry said. Plans also include an area for retail offices that will surround the fitness industry It will also have 10-14 pickleball courts along with a large playground area for children, he said. Construction is expected to take 12 months.

“My motivation (as) a land developer was just to bring something

Lafayette designer shines at Grammy Awards

Custom gown showcases Louisiana’s vibrant talent

BY JA’KORI MADISON Staff writer

Lafayette fashion designer Nathan Walker, known by his brand Romey Roe, made his Grammy Awards debut this year after designing a custom gown worn on the red carpet by Billboard artist Robin Barnes Casey

The appearance marked the first time the Romey Roe brand was represented on the Grammys red carpet. Walker attended the event alongside Barnes Casey who has been proclaimed the “Songbird of New Orleans” for her career highlighting the city’s music on a global stage. Walker said the collaboration grew out of a shared desire to spotlight Louisiana talent.

“We saw an opportunity for two Louisiana artists to shine together and highlight our region and our art,”

STAFF

PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK

Keep up thepush to investigate Smitty’s disaster

It’sbeen almost six monthssince an explosion at Smitty’sSupply Inc., near Roseland,sent ash andchemicals spewing into the air,forcing the evacuation of about 800 nearbyresidents. At the time, we called for athorough investigationinto the causes of the Aug. 22 explosion at thelubricants plant and for any whocontributedtothe tragedy to be held to account.

In its industrialcorridor along theMississippi River,Louisiana hosts hundredsofcompanies that make and export chemicals essentialto our nation’smanufacturing base. And inthe bargain forthe economicactivitytheybring, residents have aright to expect thatwhen accidents happen, as they invariably will, state andfederal officialswillact swiftlyto determinewhathappened and take preventive steps tomake sure it doesn’thappen again. With the Smitty’sexplosion, thankfully no one was killed orseriously injured.But amongthe hundreds of residents evacuated fromtheir homes,someface extensivedamagetotheir property as amassive fireburnedfor days, leavingthe area covered in oily soot

At the time, we applauded Gov.Jeff Landry and Tangipahoa Parish officials, who were quick to contain the environmental impacts andto test air and watertomake sure theywere safe for residents Last month, we began to learn more about the investigation into Smitty’s.Officials with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency confirmed it had opened acriminal probe into the company last year that includedawarrant forasearchofthe complex in mid-November. While the agencywould not saywhether the criminal investigation is stillongoing, itdid order Smitty’stocorrect several violationsinthe way it handles and stores hazardouswaste that resulted from an inspection more thanamonth before thesearch warrant

The list of violations is alarming.Inspectors visited areas of the complex that were not damaged by fire between Oct.7and 9. Theynoted areas of the floor covered with leaks, containers of hazardous materials that were poorly labeled andinone corner of the grease plant, aspigot stuffed with arag leaking an unknown liquid onto the floor

The EPAgave Smitty’s60daystocorrect these problems, and the owners of thecompany saytheyare cooperating with theEPA investigation.

Meanwhile, the LouisianaDepartmentof Environmental Quality and theEPA have sued Smitty’s, saying it repeatedly failedtofollow pollution-control lawsand maintain plansfor spill prevention. It’sencouraging to see such arobust response to this tragedy,even as stateand federal officialsmovetoweaken environmentalenforcement and cut agency staff. One would hope what happenedatSmitty’s would be awake-up call. Regulations are only wordsonpaper if there’snoone theretoenforce them

LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR ARE WELCOME. HERE AREOUR

GUIDELINES: Letters are published identifying name, occupation and/or title and the writer’scity of residence

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

TO SEND USA LETTER, SCANHERE

‘Democracy is not aspectator sport’

Something fundamental is being tested in our country —not just a policy or an agency,but theidea of who we are. Across the nation, people are speaking out against abuses carried out by theU.S. Immigration and CustomsEnforcement and against aTrumpadministration whose actions many believe are weakening the foundations of American democracy.Silence isn’t patriotism; silence is permission. Communities have watched families tornapart,children detained and immigrantstreated as if their dignity were optional. These aren’tisolated incidents. They are the predictable resultsofasystem encouraged to operate without transparency,accountability or humanity.Many Americanssee this as abetrayal of our core values —values that insist every person deserves due process, fairness and basic respect.

ProtestingICE is not about rejecting law enforcement. It is about insisting that enforcement must never comeatthe cost of our moral compass. It is about demanding that

our government reflect the ideals written into our Constitution. When people march,speak out and refuse to look away,they are practicing one of the oldest American traditions: thebelief that ordinary citizens can correct the course of their nation. Anddemocracy rarely disappears all at once. It erodes slowly —when leaders attack the free press, undermine independent institutions and encourage fear instead of unity Many believe theTrump administration has normalized these tactics, andthey are right to be alarmed.A democracy cannot survive on fear.It survives on participation. That is why protest matters. It is not chaos. It is citizenship. It is how people remind their governmentwho holds thepower. When we protest ICE abuses, we defend immigrant families, therule of law and themoral authority of the United States. Democracy is not aspectator sport.Itrequires all of us to show up.

SCOTT LEBLEU Lafayette

Presidency provides crucible forour country

Almosteveryone Iknow is tired of President Donald Trump’slies, bullying, and most of all, his seemingly getting away with everything. This will not stop until thereckoning comes for him, as it surely will.

Until that happy day,maybe we should look for virtue within the lies. After all, the lies have revealed somehard truths about our country, truths that would have remain obscured otherwise.

First,asurprisingly large number of people actively hate theAmerica mostofuswere taught to love. They don’twant to expend effort or tax dollars to expand opportunity by making America fairer,smarter healthier and more humane. They don’tcare about history and would rather have fascism than ademocracy committed to those ideals.

Second, asmall group of people with lots of money are willing to sacrifice everything elseabout America to keep taxes low and regulations nonexistentsothey can keep even moremoney

Third, thecourts will not save us if Congress remains supine. Fourth, Congress willremain supine as long as Republicans fear their primary voters’ attachment to the“Liar in Chief” more than they love our country Fifth, Democrats have dithered so long their brand is tarnished, perhaps fatally.Ataminimum,they need new leadership that listens better and agrees to contestevery election everywherewithlocal candidates. Despite all this,NoKings Days, thewidespread and growing resistance to ICE’sGestapo tactics and theway people in every red corner of this country instantly offer to help when Itake my wife’swheelchair out of our Jeep, prove that a majority of us actually do wanta decent and caring America. Perhaps we need to persuade more people not to fear equality,sothat the reckoning will be moreofaparty than a war

LEN NICHOLS

NewOrleans

If you’ve ever struggled to find highquality health care providers in our region, it could get even harder That’sbecause the U.S. Department of Education is proposing to limit how much money graduate students aiming to becomephysician assistants (PAs) or nurse practitioners (NPs) can borrow from the federal government to attend school. The proposed rule does this by excluding PAs, NPsand other nonphysicians from graduate programs that it defines as “professional.” The movecould devastate the pipeline for students like me whowant to earn advanced degrees —and worsen the shortage of health care professionals. Federal loans helped me to becomea licensed phlebotomist, earn acertificate in hospital billing and coding and, this spring Iwill finish an associate’sdegree in biology at LSU’sEunice campus. I’ve just accepted ascholarship to complete my bachelor’satFranciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University.After that, Iplan to attend the university’s PA master’sprogram.It’sanexcellent program,but it’sexpensive. Iwill need federal loans beyond the Department of Education’slimits to finish it. Congress should uphold its commitmenttoaddress the U.S. health care workforce shortage by urging the Department of Education to change its proposed rule. I’mgrateful that U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler,R-NY, introduced the Professional Student Degree Act, which would define “professional degree” to include PAsand other nonphysician professions and allow us higher loan limits. Congress needs to do everything it can to enable students like me to get the education we need to provide care in our communities.

KYLA LEE Carencro

President Donald Trumpseems to be very skilled at exposing our weaknesses while diminishing our strengths as a nation.

STEVE SCHMIDT NewOrleans

At first it seemed like something from the satirical website Babylon Bee. The new governor of Virginia, the “moderate” Democrat Abigail Spanberger,has proposedatax hike on services such as dog walkingand grooming.

Taxthe Virginia dog(walker) Minnesota’s campaign for interposition and nullification

Additional proposed taxhikes include levies on guns and ammunition, storage facilities, dry cleaning, home repairs, food delivery services, package deliveries and anew personal property tax on electric leaf blowers (but notgas-powered blowers?) andelectric landscaping equipment.

achievementmight be emulated, at least in part,byhis successor,but Democrats are not used to cutting taxes and many enjoy following the latest kookytrend. What they are used to is raising taxes and increasing spending, which nearly always resultsinoutcomes that are counter-productive.

There is no economic reason forraising taxes in Virginia. When his single term expired last month, Republican Gov.Glenn Youngkin left behindnumerous successes, including alarge budget surplus of $572 million, above the projectedforecast. That made four consecutiveyears of surpluses, resulting in $10billionin surplus revenue. Youngkin achieved this by cutting taxes and creating an economicenvironment attractive to new business while incentivizingtaxpayers He also started amini revolution when he exposedsome of thethings being taught about gender andboysin girls’ bathrooms in Loudoun County public schools.

One would think such arecord of

As if those proposed new taxes aren’tenough, Spanbergerwants to raise thetop marginal tax rate. SomeDemocrats are proposing arate of 10 %onincomeover $1 million. Oneproposal would push the top rate to 13.8 percent. If enacted, that would put Virginia ahead of California andgivethe Commonwealth the dubious distinction of having thehighest state taxrate in the nation. That cold wave Virginians are feeling is notonly caused by thewintry weather.It’sthe breezecreated by people leaving high-tax states like New York andNew Jersey for no-tax states like Florida, Texas andagrowing number of others.

Spanberger sold herself to voters as a“moderate.” The media never challenged heronthat label. Quick,can youdefinethe word moderate? What does that mean when it comes to policies? Do moderates favor lower taxes? Are they opposed to men in women’s sports? What about open borders? Being on the wrongside of these issues

contributed to Democrats’ defeat in last year’selection, although recent special elections won by Democrats seem tohave been moreabout disliking President Trumpthan opposition to his policies, mostofwhich appear to be working.

Here’sthe dictionary.com definition of moderate: “kept or keeping within reasonable or proper limits; not extreme, excessive, or intense.” Given what Spanberger and some members of her majority Democrat legislature are proposing in new taxes, that definition does not fit their political and economic profile.

It’shard to believe that amajority of Virginians would embrace aset of policies that are directly opposite the successful ones of Glenn Youngkin, but given theweak candidacy of his lieutenant governor,Winsome Sears, and amedia that engaged in acover-up of Spanberger’strue beliefs —combined with President Trump’sunpopularity —itwasn’tdifficult to predict the outcome.

If these tax increases are passed, look for some Virginians and businesses that prospered during theYoungkin administration to join the exodus that is now occurring from other states to moreeconomically warmer climes, and they’re taking their dogs with them.

Email Cal Thomas at tcaeditorstribpub.com.

Immigrationbacklashshowing Trumpthe limits of theatrics

Even President Donald Trumpseems less than thrilled with thetenureof GregoryBovino,the Border Patrol commanderwho oversaw thecatastrophicMinneapolis operation that resulted in the deaths of Renée Good and Alex Pretti. “Bovino is very good,” Trumptold Fox News, “but he’sapretty out-there kind of aguy.And in some cases, that’s good. Maybe it wasn’t good here.”

Thomas Jefferson doesn’thave much in common with TimWalz, but in his moreradical moments, the Sage of Monticello might have appreciated the spirit of the Minnesota governor’scampaign to resist federal immigration enforcement.

In 1798, Jefferson authored afirst draftofthe Kentucky Resolutions outlining apurported right of states to nullifyoverreach by the federal government.

Rich Lowry

The Kentucky Resolutions and arelated effort in Virginia —were aresponse to the Alien and Sedition Acts passed by the Federalists and considered repressive and unconstitutional by Jefferson and his partisan compatriots.

Jefferson urged the states to declare “these acts void, and of no force.” They should see that “neither these acts, nor any others of the General Government not plainly and intentionally authorized by the Constitution, shall be exercised within their respective territories.”

The former secretary of state and future president posited that “every state has anatural right to nullifyoftheir own authority all assumptions of power by others within their limits.”

Jefferson’sdraftwas toned downbefore the Kentucky Resolutions wereadopted, while Virginia passed its own version drafted by James Madison. When the federal government undertook a“deliberate, palpable, and dangerous exercise” of unconstitutional powers, it averred, the states are “in duty bound, to interpose, for arresting the progress of the evil.” It wasnever quite spelled out what this interposition actually entailed.

The president has learned —oratleast neatly illustrated —a vital lesson that eludes many Americans: Personnel is policy Bovino, alongtime law enforcement official with apenchant for theatrics, answers to aboss who shares that weakness: Kristi L. Noem, the secretary of homeland security,whose self-dramatizing gestures frequently backfire. This appeals to our reality-star-in-chief for obvious reasons, but at least Trump has some political cunningand akeen sense of what audiences like. Noem, by contrast, believed she could somehow appeal to the American public byreminiscing about shooting her own dog. Instead, it may well haveknockedher offTrump’svice president shortlist.

Putting theater kids in charge of a sensitive law enforcement operation was amistake. That error was compoundedbywho was sent to carry out their orders. As Peter Moskos, aformer police officer and criminologyprofessor at John Jay College, has pointed out, urban cops have more trainingand experience with urban policing than Border Patrol —including dealing with rowdy protesters.

Contrast that with Randy Clarke, who runs the WashingtonMetropolitan Area Transit Authority.WMATA has had problems for decades: underfunding, deferred maintenance, safety disasters, reduced hours andangry riders. Thepandemic tipped atroubled agency into full-blown crisis. In 2022, when Clarke took over,bus ridership was down by one-third from prepandemic levels, Metro ridership by almost two-thirds.

With all of Metro’sstructuralproblems and the work-from-home revolution, Iwondered if WMATAcould recover.Then Clarke made it work. Bus ridership now approximates its2019 average, and Metro ridership,having steadily improved every year,finished 2025 at two-thirds the old level. Backto-office mandates helped, butask any Washingtonian (includingme) and you’ll hear that they’re back on Metro because it suddenlygot good again.As snow and bitter cold shutthe city down

Washington, D.C.

this week, WMATA was one of the few partsofthe government that seemed to function properly

Yetwhen the “Statecraft” podcast interviewed Clarke last year,nothing he saidsounded like rocket science. His superpowers are clear: sensible priorities and relentless execution. Clarke cracked down on fare evasion and prioritized safety and frequency, thethings riderscare about most. “The reality is, the basic stuff is themost important stuff, all the time,” he told host SantiRuiz.

That’ssimilar to what Iheard on my podcast acouple of weeks ago when I interviewed the legendary police commissioner William Bratton, who turned aroundNew York’ssky-high crimerate in the 1990s. His secret sauce? Believing police could meaningfully reduce crime, findingways for them to do it and surroundinghimself with innovativethinkerswho werecommitted to the mission.

Putthat way, these leadership triumphs sound stupidly easy.But in government,they are unconscionably hard. American politics doesn’tselect for able administrators; it selects for charismatic people who look good on television while making grandiose promises of policy transformation. Even when their grand ideas are good, they tend to fall apart in theexecution. That failure happens at all levels. Political appointees arefrequently chosen for coalition management or media visibility —rather than the ability to get things done. The civil service, meanwhile, is simply not built

for excellence. Its hiring system is an archaic, byzantine messthat seems almost designed to filter out extraordinary candidates. The chief benefitsof working for thegovernment —great benefitsand job security—attract risk-averse rule followersmore than superstars and visionaries. Even when superstars with athirst for public service manage to jump through therequired hoops, they find that once inside, they are encased in decades’ worthofprocedural sludge, designed on the assumption that bureaucrats are malevolent idiots who can’tbetrusted tochange aprinter cartridge without a60-page manual governing their every move. Asufficiently creative and motivated person can manage to clear away enough of thesludge to makethings happen, as Bratton and Clarke demonstrate. But of course, many creative and motivated people decide they have better thingstodowith their time than sludge clearance. This problem is at theroot of many of our other political challenges. Americans just don’ttrust their government to workwell, and that distrust breeds all manner of dysfunctions. Unfortunately,our theories about how to fix this problem are often backward. We talk endlessly about what government should do but seldom about who should do it

Yetthe who frequently matters more than all the rest.

MeganMcArdle is on X, @asymmetricinfo.

No one will ever accuse Gov.Walz or Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey of being supple political thinkers on the order of Jefferson or Madison, but they are getting at aversion of the samething in their contention that they should have de facto veto power over the nature and extent of federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota.

The state’slawsuit against the Trumpadministration seeking to stop the enforcement surge relies, in an echo of the 18th-century resolutions, on the 10th Amendment, which reserves powers not granted to the federal government to the states. Alawyer forMinnesota has called the Department of Homeland Security surge an “unlawful and unchecked invasion,” as if the state is aseparate country that can makeits own immigration policy Then, there’sthe direct action against DHS agents in the streets. Encouraged by public officials, it is meanttomake Minnesota such ahostile environment forDHS that it has no choice but to quit the field and accede to the state’s immigration priorities and jettison its own. This is, in effect, aheckler’sveto over federal immigration enforcement.

All of this flies in the face of the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution, which says that federal law takes precedence over conflicting state laws.

Jefferson and Madison had an excuse back when the federal role had not been firmly established, although other states at the time strongly rejected the resolutions. In along series of decisions, stretching from the iconic McCulloch v. Maryland in 1819 through cases occasioned by state resistance to school desegregation in the 1950s through today,the SupremeCourt has vindicated the Supremacy Clause.

This is not to say,obviously,that states don’t have their sovereign powers; it’sjust that immigration policy is not one of them. In the Obama years, the SupremeCourt held that federal power in this area is so “broad” and “undoubted” that even state-level lawsinArizona meant to complement the federal enforcement regime didn’tpass muster

There is somechance, though, that Minnesota is going to get away with it. The political reaction to the tragic deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti has the administration suddenly singing adifferent tune on the Minneapolis operation, and Trumpallies calling on him to stand down. Maybe the president can get adeal worth having with the state, but the situation is alittle like Florida deciding it doesn’tlike federal taxes and wringing concessions from the IRSbased on massive grassroots resistance to tax collection.

More than 200 years after the Kentucky Resolutions, aversion of nullification still lives. Rich Lowry is on X, @RichLowry.

Cal Thomas

ega McArdle M n

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By EVAN VUCCI

President Donald Trumpspeaks during an event in the Oval Office last month in

Walker said. The custom gown was designed to reflectBarnes Casey’smusical identity and Louisiana roots. Walker said the look featured couture techniquesand symbolic elements tiedto the state, including asheer silhouette with asplit leg, intricate beading and aconcealed internal structure. Feathers were incorporated to reference the songbird theme and Louisiana’s state bird, while afloral satin shawl added movement and texture to the design.

“Weused full couture techniques,” Walker said. “The gown was entirely handmade, and the craftsmanship took about 12 to 14 hours to complete for astage and artist of this level.” Walker has previously designedgowns formajor events, including the Emmy Awards, and recently dressed Miss America 2026 for an American Heart Association initiative.

PICKLEBALL

Continued from page1B

positive to theneighborhood and to the area,” Landry said.“To me, it’s like growing my feet forward.It’ssomethingthat’ll bring people together and

POLL

Continued from page 1B

only 19% somewhat or strongly opposing.

“The data shows that the role of utility-scale solar, and especially solar powered by American technology,isclearly supported by this key voter demographic,” Samantha Sloan, executive vice president of Corporate Affairs at First Solar,wrote in response to the poll.“It’stime for us to focusonwhat’s important to our country —a commonsense approach to power generation that deploys all the tools avail-

GROWTH

Continued from page1B

Both are outpacing the city of Lafayette, which increased by 0.7%, from 121,391 to 122,280, estimates show.Since 2010, the city’spopulation rose 1.37%.

Nearby cities have seen bigger gains, with Scott growing by 15.7%, reaching 9,468 residents. Broussard increased by 13.7%, growing its population to 15,312. Lafayette Parish has seen amodestgrowth rate at 5.2%. The parish is estimat-

by

Despitehis growing national presence, Walker said theRomey Roe brand remains rooted in storytellingand personalconnection. “The brand is about celebratingwomenand focusing on the individual,” he

it’sgoing to be anice establishment. Althoughthere areother pickleball sites andthere is anotherfacility and some public courts, it’sunique in its own right becauseitbrings in the full dining experience.”

Landry and Adam Johnson bought the building in July for $1.5million, and

able, includingAmerican solar, to generate every electron possible to drive growth,prosperity,and energy dominance.” Additionally,respondentssaid they generally favoredusing allenergy sourcestoreduce electricity costs. About 68% of people were in favor,while 22% were opposed. Of that, 37% strong agreed and 10% strongly disagreed. Among those polled, 52% said they would be more likely to support acandidate who promoted all forms of energy,including solar,while 14% said they would be less likely to support that candidate. First SolarisanAmeri-

ed to havea quarter-million residents in 2024. Theincreaseisa slightwind-down of the9%growth theparish saw from 2010 to 2020.

Acadiana parishes In Maurice, the citygrew 12.5% from 2020 to 2023, accordingto census data, to 2,382. From 2010 to 2020, the small town saw its population skyrocket 119.7%, growingfrom 964 peopleto 2,118.

Abbeville, Vermilion’s largest municipality, saw a2.7%decrease in population, dropping from 11,199 residentsto10,902. Vermilion Parish saw its population

said. “Getting to know our clientsand creating something specific to their story is essential.”

Walker said the Grammy appearance marks another milestonefor the brand. He plans to show at NewYork Fashion Week in September

constructionhas been ongoing for months withthe owners initially keeping mum about the project.

TheYoungsville location, 2822 Bonin Road, is expected to open in six weeks, according to the post.

The Lafayette Health Club, whichfirst opened in

can solar panelmanufacturer that recentlyopened a$1.1 billion plantnear New Iberia. Construction on the2.4 million-squarefoot facility took two years.

The facility is ahuge win for the region and state, Millard Mulé, policy directorfor Gov.Jeff Landry, saidatthe plant’s opening. First Solarisworking on its sixth plant in South Carolina.

“It’sahuge win for our state’s workers,and it’sa huge winfor Louisiana’s economy.First Solar’sinvestment is bringing hundreds of great, high-quality American manufacturing jobs in the communi-

increase by 1.1%,reaching 57,641 residents.

St.Martinville sawa population decrease of 3.5% while BreauxBridge’spopulation increased by 1.1%

Iberia Parish’spopulation shrank by 3.9%,dropping itspopulationto67,540. New Iberia alsoshrank by 5.9%

St. Landry Parish’spopulation decreased by 2%, with Opelousas dropping 4.2%.

Acadia Parish continues the trend of declining populationinAcadiana,slumping 1.7%, withcities like Rayne and Crowley dropping 3.7% and 4.1%,respectively.In

and continue expanding nationally

“We’re honoredtoshare moments like this and represent Louisiana,” he said.

Email Ja’koriMadison at jakori.madison@ theadvocate.com.

1978, last operated in late 2012 when the ownersfiled for bankruptcy.The business, owned by JohnRobino andone of thefew fullservice gyms in Lafayette at the time, owed $25,000 in taxes and hundreds of thousands of dollarsto creditors, accordingtoreports.

ty,” he said at thetime. First Solar’s investment in Iberia Parishhas already paid dividends, with Acadiana manufacturers like Noble Plastics announcing in September that it would undertake an $8.5 million expansion to supply the New Iberia location.Ohio-basedIce Industries recentlycelebrated the grand opening of its $6 millionmanufacturing facilityinJefferson Davis Parish, which will produce steel backrails for First Solar’sphotovoltaic panels.

Email him at stephen. marcantel@theadvocate. com.

Jefferson Davis,population shrank 2.5%, withJennings declining by 5.5%. Evangeline Parish’s population decreased by 1.8%, with Ville Platte waning by 2.7%.

LOTTERY

TUESDAY,FEB.3,2026

PICK 3: 8-1-1

PICK 4: 7-8-8-8

PICK 5: 2-9-8-7-0

MEGA MILLIONS: 5-11-22-25-69

MEGA BALL: 21 Unofficial notification, keep your tickets.

Auld,Lorene Walker

LoreneWalker Auld, 106. Visitation willbeonFriday, February 6, 2026 at 9:00 am untilthe 11:00 am Funeral Service.Online obituary andguest book may be viewed at www.fountainm emorialfuneralhome.com. FountainMemorialFuneral Home andCemetery,1010 Pandora St.337-981-7098 is in charge of arrangements.

Lieux, MaryAlice

Mary Alice Marionneaux Lieux, born February 7, 1933 in Plaquemine, LA died peacefullyand enteredintothe Kingdom of God on January 27, 2026. Visitation will be on Saturday, February 7atNiland's Funeral Home in New Roadsfrom8:30 to 10:30 am followed by the Mass of theResurrectionat11 am celebrated by Rev. MilesWalsh. Burial to follow at St.Mary Cemetery. Mary Alice wasa graduate of Livonia High School. She received aB.S. in ElementaryEducation from the University of Southwestern Louisiana andM.Ed. in Supervision from LSU. She did post graduate work at Nichols State University and LSU. Mary Alice was a devotededucator whobegan herteaching career at OpelousasElementaryand Livonia Elementary. On November 23, 1957, Mary Alice marriedTheordore Richard (Ted) Lieux. Her teachingcareerwas puton hold after hermarriage as she and herhusbandbegan theirfamily. In 1963, at therequest of theSisters of St.Joseph,she returned to theclassroom. She spent 8yearsasa teacher and15yearsasmiddle school principal at Catholic of Pointe Coupee. Sheretiredin1990 after 4years

Lynne Lieux, RSCJ, Margaret Alice Lieux Pavlovich (Steve), and Theodore Richard Lieux, Jr., MD (LeaAnn). Sheisalso survivedbyher four grandchildrenwho were thedelight of herlife: Caroline LieuxSowell,MD (Erik),TheodoreR."Ted" Lieux, III (AnnaClaire), MollyLieux Furrow, MD (Michael) and Jack Lieux, andher great grandson, John Sowell.She is also survived by herbrother, JamesMarionneaux (Imogene) andnumerous nieces andnephews. She waspreceded in death by herhusband, Theodore R. "Ted" Lieux, herinfant daughters, JaneElizabeth andAnneMarie, herparents, John Esper Marionneauxand Maria Alice GravoisMarionneaux, and hereldest brother, John EsperMarionneaux, Jr Thefamilywould like to express theirdeepestgratitude to physicians, Lara Falcon,MDand Joseph Deumite,MD; hercaregivers, Mary AnnBattley, Louise Joseph,Joyce Dixon,Janice Temple and Iotomeos Butler,and the nursesand staff of St Joseph Hospice.Inlieuof flowersand masses, the familyasks that memorial donationsbemade to St Augustine Catholic Church Building Fund, P.O. Box 548, NewRoads, LA 70760.

PROVIDED PHOTO Nathan Walker,left, known

hisfashion brand name RomeyRoe, designed Billboard artist Robin Barnes Casey’scustom gown for the 68th annual Grammy Awardsceremony.

‘Standard’ procedure

UL softball aims to return to dominant ways in Habetz’s second season

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

The first season under UL softball coach

Alyson Habetz didn’t go as planned

Sure, the roster was in transition, and there was very little seasoning on the pitching staff.

But 29-25 seasons just don’t cut it with this softball program.

Habetz knows that and so does every member of the 2026 Ragin’ Cajuns who open the 2026 season at 3:30 p.m. Friday against Tulsa in the 40th annual Louisiana Classic at Lamson Park

“I think we all knew that wasn’t the standard,” sophomore first baseman Emily Smith said. “Even me coming in there as a freshman and not making postseason, that’s not the standard here.

“I don’t really like to look at it like a disappointment but much rather like motivation for this season.”

Habetz’s first season was filled with lessons learned that she plans on transforming into strengths this season.

“Coming in the first year, you want to gain trust, and I think that takes time,” Habetz said. “It’s not like just a magic potion where you can say ‘Hey trust me.’ I think you have to earn that.

Achieving that goal affected her lead-

ership ability “I think maybe at times I may have been a little lenient in the sense that it was important for me to convey to them that I cared about them as people first,”

she said. “So to come in and just lay down a hammer and they don’t trust me, then I think that kind of works backwards.”

Knox provides LSU women extra bounce

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

Veteran leaders still present after LSU softball retooling

BY JIM KLEINPETER

Contributing writer

LSU softball coach Beth Torina had some significant rebuilding to do with her program in the offseason. The batting order, pitching staff and coaching setup got an overhaul but so did the leadership structure.

Torina had the team elect captains for the first time in several years, and she’s stoked about the trio of leaders who will guide her team into the season that begins Thursday in the Tiger Classic. LSU faces North Carolina State at 6 p.m. at Tiger Park.

First baseman Tori Edwards, catcher Maci Bergeron and center fielder Jalia Lassiter are perfect fits on a scaleddown roster that Torina thinks is smaller but deeper, and far more versatile.

“When your best players are also the best examples of the standards of your program, you’re in really good shape,” Torina said. “We have a unique opportunity to do that this year.”

Bergeron, one of three Louisiana natives on the roster, was especially touched by her selection as captain after a breakout offensive season in 2025 when she batted .364 with nine homers and 49 RBIs.

“It’s a great honor, especially as a Louisiana native at this place,” said Bergeron, a Rayne native who is considered one of the top defensive catchers in the nation. “It pulled a good space in my heart. I got a little emotional when they announced it.

“I’m excited to lead this team the best way I can. I come from a small town. I didn’t know when I was younger that I could reach this part of my life. It was a dream of mine to be a captain for this team and play for this school.”

Edwards turned into an offensive star as a redshirt freshman with team-bests of 18 homers with 73 RBIs. Her .383 batting average was second on the team. She was named a Freshman All-American and is a preseason All-American this season.

“There is a lot that comes with being a leader,” Edwards said. “It’s hard at times. I’m mentally preparing for that as the biggest challenge I’m at a comfortable spot now

“My goal was to not get complacent.

See LSU SOFTBALL, page 3C

BY WILSON ALEXANDER Staff writer

The last time Lane Kiffin made a public appearance, he predicted LSU would sign the best transfer portal class in college football history There was still work to do at the time, but in the days that followed, he and his staff finalized a top-ranked class by signing two more of the most highly coveted players on the market.

Kiffin stood by his claim Wednesday afternoon in his first news conference since he was introduced as the LSU head coach in early December, saying the class could be the “best ever on paper” because of the talent and size. LSU added 43 transfers, and quarterback Sam Leavitt, edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen and offensive tackle Jordan Seaton were all ranked within the top five overall.

“We have a really talented roster,” Kiffin said. “Does that mean we’re gonna win games? Not necessarily Does that mean they’re gonna be a great team? No. We have a lot of work to do now.” Kiffin sounded ready to look forward toward the rest of the offseason now that LSU has put together the roster for his first season. He said multiple times that the coaches and the players have to produce, a theme of his staff meeting Tuesday night and

a team meeting Wednesday morning. Hours later, a basketball hoop that Kiffin had placed in the team room was still there as he spoke.

“Don’t sit around and think you have this salary for this coming year because of what you did before,” Kiffin said. “This salary is for the work you’re supposed to do.” But, as Kiffin said, the coaches needed to start by adding players, and over the past two months, they reconfigured the roster com-

ing out of the Brian Kelly era. LSU had 34 players enter the transfer portal. Kiffin said some decided to leave because of their attachment to the previous staff, and others were encouraged to find a new team. “In those evaluations, you usually come in and make a lot of changes,” Kiffin said. “And especially if the program made a change and fired a staff because

STAFF PHOTO By BRAD KEMP

UL first baseman Emily Smith, left, is greeted by teammates after she hit a three-run homer against Texas State last season. Smith hit 12 home runs during her freshman season in 2025.

STAFF PHOTO By BRAD KEMP

Fan Charley Sazera, 12, left, gets a softball signed by UL pitcher Lexie Delbrey, right, during UL softball fan day on Sunday. UL softball starts the 2026 season on Friday against Tulsa at Lamson Park.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

Kentucky forward Teonni Key, right, tips the pass away from LSU forward Grace Knox on Jan. 1 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center

STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS

2 p.m.

6

6

Seattle Seahawks safety

Nick Emmanwori breaks up a pass intended for Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua during the first half of the NFC championship game on Jan. 25 in Seattle.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

PHOTO By LINDSEy WASSON

Perfect fit for Seahawks

Macdonald’s focus on defense key to Seattle’s record-setting

BY ANDREW DESTIN

AP sportswriter

ä Seahawks vs. Patriots. 5:30 P.M. SUNDAy NBC

Lolich, World Series hero of ’68 Tigers, dies at 85

DETROIT Mickey Lolich, who had three complete-game victories for the Detroit Tigers in the 1968 World Series, the last Major League Baseball pitcher to post the feat, died Wednesday at 85. The Tigers said Lolich’s wife told them that he died after a short stay in hospice care. An exact cause of death was not provided.

Denny McLain was the star of Detroit’s pitching staff in 1968, winning 31 regular-season games. But Lolich was the MVP of the Series, with an ERA of 1.67 and a Game 7 road victory over Bob Gibson and the St. Louis Cardinals. Bill Freehan threw off his catcher’s mask and caught a foul pop-up by Tim McCarver for the final out. Lolich jumped into Freehan’s arms — an iconic image of Detroit’s championship season.

Cardinals hiring Hackett as offensive coordinator

TEMPE, Ariz. — The Arizona Cardinals are hiring veteran coach Nathaniel Hackett as the team’s offensive coordinator, according to a person familiar with the decision.

It’s the first major hire for new Cardinals coach Mike LaFleur, who was introduced on Tuesday at the team’s facility LaFleur — who came to the Cardinals after three seasons as the offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams said that he plans on being the team’s primary play-caller Hackett was recently hired as the Miami Dolphins’ quarterbacks coach, but now makes the move to the desert for the bigger role.

The 46-year-old Hackett was the offensive coordinator under LaFleur’s brother Matt with the Green Bay Packers from 2019 to 2021.

season

group that emerged from the toughest division in the league by getting contributions throughout the roster

rookie safety Nick Emmanwori, who had three passes defensed in the NFC championship game.

SEATTLE Long before the Seattle Seahawks reached their fourth Super Bowl in franchise history, coach Mike Macdonald donned a blue, gas station attendant-style shirt with a team logo on the chest He made the fashion statement after the Seahawks put the finishing touches on their 2025 draft, just as he and president of football operations John Schneider did the year before.

Considering the way Macdonald has coached, and his team has played in a record-setting season, though, there is nothing phony about this workmanlike attire

Macdonald’s shirt is representative of the kind of football team he envisioned building when he was hired by the Seahawks two years ago: a gritty, hard-nosed bunch with a focus on defense.

“It’s a testament to Mike for setting the culture,” said wide receiver Jake Bobo after Seattle’s 31-27 win against the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC championship game

“It’s a fun group, and it’s really fun to do this with this group.”

The Seahawks had one of the best defenses in the NFL in the 2025 season, one in which they set the franchise record for regularseason wins (14). No team allowed fewer points per game (17.2) and Seattle finished in the top seven in the league in sacks and interceptions.

And now, Macdonald is just one win away from becoming the first head coach to win a Super Bowl as the primary defensive playcaller for his team. Plenty of head coaches, such as the Kansas City Chiefs’ Andy Reid, Los Angeles Rams’ Sean McVay and others, have done so while calling plays on offense.

In many ways, Macdonald has been a perfect match for Schneider two years after the former Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator was hired to replace Pete Carroll.

“With Mike, it’s this really clear, thoughtful, intense, intelligent messaging,” Schneider said.

Macdonald and Schneider have worked together to develop a

Yet while the breakout season of quarterback Sam Darnold and the record-setting season of wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba has helped, the Seahawks have reached the championship game thanks in large part to a defense led by key players such as Leonard Williams, Ernest Jones and Devon

Though the secondary has dealt with injuries at times, they suffocated San Francisco’s offense and held off the Los Angeles Rams on their way to the Super Bowl.

“To be able to go against that defense every single day,” Darnold said, “that got us better as an offense.”

Seattle finished third in the league in scoring, and when Darnold cooled off a bit down the stretch, running back Kenneth Walker helped pick up the slack in the late stages of the season.

Still, the one constant over the past five months has been a defense that has thrived under Macdonald.

The Seahawks have limited big plays thanks in part to nickel packages that frequently feature

The defensive line is also one of the most rugged in the league with Williams, Byron Murphy and DeMarcus Lawrence making life difficult for opposing offenses.

Macdonald has gotten a talented roster to buy into his vision.

“We only have one goal in mind, and obviously the job’s not done yet,” safety Coby Bryant said.

“We still have more work to put in. (Macdonald) set the tone from Day 1, and we’re behind him.”

The city of Seattle is also hoping Macdonald can propel the franchise to its second Super Bowl victory

Macdonald and Schneider already shared a meaningful moment together on the turf at Lumen Field after toppling the Rams two weeks ago.

They’re both hoping to repeat it Sunday night at Levi’s Stadium against the Patriots.

“The vision of wanting to get back here, produce a consistent championship-caliber football team for amazing fans, the 12s, and how loud it was,” Schneider said, “I had told him, ‘Dude, when we get this (place) rocking, you’re going to be shook.’ And I think he was.”

THREE AND OUT: SCOTT RABALAIS’ TOP TAKEAWAyS FROM LANE KIFFIN’S NEWS CONFERENCE

’THE POWER OF THE PLACE’

1

Kiffin was asked about signing the top two players in Louisiana — defensive linemen Lamar Brown from University High and Richard Anderson from Edna Karr — in December He characterized his own importance as less important than most might think.“People say Lane Kiffin signed the number one player in the country. LSU signed him.We didn’t even have a defensive line coach at the time.They still signed with LSU That’s the power of the place.

KIFFIN

Continued from page 1C

they didn’t like the direction of the football program, which is what happened.

“I know at first there was a lot of skepticism about so many players going in the portal, but I just looked at it and was like, ‘OK, what’s my answer to you as the fans and the media, too, if we just kept the same players?’ We are good coaches, I think, but we also don’t have magic dust We changed a lot because there needed to be changes.”

2

THE CHASE

Two of the most celebrated success stories from LSU’s No. 1-rated transfer portal class were landing former Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt and ex-Colorado tackle Jordan Seaton. Kiffin hotly pursued both players after their official visits to LSU — he followed Leavitt to Knoxville,Tennessee, and Seaton to Atlanta where Seaton met with Oregon coaches. “I don’t really do well with no,” Kiffin said.“It makes me more competitive when someone says no.” No question about that.

Kiffin did not criticize Kelly, who went 34-14 in three-plus seasons at LSU. As the new head coach, Kiffin said he had to make “really hard decisions” with the roster and the coaching staff. LSU did not retain the entire offensive staff, and it made significant changes in the personnel department by bringing in general manager Billy Glasscock and several others.

It remains unclear how much money they had for this team

When LSU was courting Kiffin, sources said the school was preparing to commit $25 million to $30 million annually for the roster through a combination of NIL and

3 NO NAMES, PLEASE Kiffin was called a lot of names by Ole Miss fans — and administrators and players, I’m sure — after he left Oxford for LSU Judging by Wednesday’s comments, it doesn’t sound like we’re going to hear him use the name “Ole Miss” much.There were, instead, lots of references to the “last place” he coached, which I’m sure will not go over well there. Once again, it’s hard to quantify the anticipation for LSU’s Sept. 19 game at “that place” where Kiffin used to coach.

revenue sharing. Kiffin declined to discuss specifics of the financial resources the team used to put together the roster, something he said set LSU apart when he left Ole Miss.

“I just felt that there was a really good plan here in place and an alignment from the top down about how the resources were here,” Kiffin said, “and then a plan of how that could be structured within those contracts in order to sign the players.”

As much as he expressed optimism about the potential of the team, Kiffin acknowledged “all of these evaluations are just on paper” when asked about the of-

fensive line. Now in the midst of offseason training, LSU is expected to begin spring practice next month That’s when he and the rest of the coaches will see what they really have.

“The final production is the winning on the field,” Kiffin said “Well, we can’t win the game today But what you can win is the roster and the recruiting. This is what’s supposed to happen.

“If you go get a staff and pay them what you do, you expect a lot. It’s no different than these players that are sitting here. We go pay a player a lot, we have a lot of expectations for them. They need to produce.”

Lakers’ Hayes suspended for pushing Wizards mascot Los Angeles Lakers center Jaxson Hayes received a one-game suspension on Wednesday for pushing the Washington Wizards’ mascot before a game last week. Hayes pushed the mascot “GWiz” during pre-game introductions ahead of the Lakers’ 142-111 win on Friday Hayes had 10 points, three rebounds, an assist and a steal off the bench. He will serve the suspension on Thursday when the Lakers host the Philadelphia 76ers, according to a statement from the NBA. Hayes was drafted by Atlanta in the first round of the 2019 draft, but his rights were immediately traded over to New Orleans. He spent his first four seasons with the Pelicans before joining the Lakers in 2023.

Former D-backs star Peralta retires after 11-year career

David Peralta, who hit .278 in an 11-year big league career that included nine seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks, announced his retirement on Wednesday Peralta, 38, did not play in 2025 and posted his decision to retire on social media.

Peralta won a Silver Slugger in 2018, when he hit .293 with 30 homers and 87 RBIs for the Diamondbacks. The outfielder won a Gold Glove the following season.

Peralta, a native of Venezuela, made his major league debut with Arizona in 2014 and hit .312 while leading the majors with 10 triples in 2015.

Peralta hit .267 in 91 games with San Diego in 2024 after hitting .259 for the Dodgers in 2023.

Bobby Knight’s son resigns as coach at NAIA Marian INDIANAPOLIS Pat Knight, the son of the late Bob Knight, has resigned as coach of the Marian Knights men’s basketball team after refusing to comply with an administrator’s demand he fire someone on his staff.

Knight did not name the staff member but told The Indianapolis Star he did not intend to fire the person, so he quit.

Knight was ejected in what turned out to be his final game with Marian — Saturday’s 75-74 loss to another NAIA school from Indiana. With the victory, Goshen snapped a 19-game losing streak to Marian and also ended a 54-game skid in conference play

Marian athletic director Steve Downing hired Knight in 2024, and he went 16-34 at the school located in Indianapolis.

Macdonald

SUPER BOWL LX

UL baseball picked 5th in SunBelt

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

One year after struggling through a27-31 season, the UL baseball team was picked to finish fifth in the Sun Belt Conference.

The Cajuns, who didreceive one first-place vote, finished with126 points, narrowly edged by Marshall for the fourth spot at 129 points.

The Thundering Herd eliminated the Cajuns in the Sun Belt Tournament in May,then Marshall pitching coach Taylor Sandefur joined UL in the offseason.

Coastal Carolina, which finished last season as the national runner-up to LSU, was the clear-cut preseason favorite with 12 first-place votes and 194 total points.

“Coastal has proven that they’re clear cut with what they did ayear ago, what they did in 2016,” UL coach Matt Deggs said.

“You know with that pitchingstaff that they’re going to have one of the best in the country,and they’re going to return that experience. They’re on alevel that the rest of us are striving to get to, for sure.”

Consistent powerhouse Southern Miss is second with 182 points, and Troy got the nod in the third spot

PRESEASON ALL-SUN BELT BASEBALL

1.CoastalCarolina(12)–194

2. SouthernMiss (1) –182

3.Troy –166

4. Marshall– 129

5. UL (1) –126

6.Texas State –114

T7.GeorgiaSouthern –104

T7.Old Dominion– 104

9.Arkansas State– 96

10.App State– 78

11. SouthAlabama –62

12. Georgia State– 49 13. JamesMadison –48 14. ULM– 18

with 166 points.

Troy first baseman Blake Cavill was voted as the preseason Sun Belt Player of the Year,and Cameron Flukey from Coastal Carolina is the preseason Sun Belt Pitcher of theYear Cavill hit .320 with 11 homers and 50 RBIs last season for the Trojans. Flukeyfinished last season7-2 with a3.19 ERA. In 1012/3 innings, the righthander allowed 78 hits, walked 24 andstruck out 118. UL did not have one playerrecognizedonthe preseason All-Sun Belt team.

PRESEASON ALL-SUN BELT TEAM

SP Cameron Flukey,CoastalCarolina, Jr

SP Hayden Johnson, Coastal Carolina, Jr

SP ColbyAllen, SouthernMiss, Sr

RP RyanLynch, Coastal Carolina, Sr. CTucker Stockman, SouthernMiss, Jr

1B BlakeCavill,Troy,Sr.

2B Joseph Zamora,App State,Sr.

SS Patrick Engskov,ArkansasState, Sr

3B Chase Mora,Texas State, Sr OF Ashton Quiller,Arkansas State, So.

OF Dean Mihos, Coastal Carolina, Sr

OF Ben Higdon, SouthernMiss, Sr

DH Kameron Miller,App State, Jr

UT Jimmy Janicki,Troy,So.

Preseason Player of the Year –BlakeCavill,Troy

Preseason Pitchers of theYear –Cameron Flukey,Co.Carolina

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU first baseman Tori Edwards drivesthe ball against Alabama on April 5atTiger Park. Edwards led LSUlast season with 18 home runs and 73 RBIs.

LSU SOFTBALL

Continued from page1C

Iknow there are always things Ican get better at. Keep it simple and not overwhelm myself.That’s been going good so far.”

Torina said even as a freshman, Edwards led by example with her attitude and work habits.

“It was how she carried herself,” Torina said. “She’s very professional. She has everyone’sbest interestin mind. She’ssomebody they want to emulate.”

Lassiter joined the team as atransfer from Ole Miss last year and closed out the season as the team’shottest hitter Torina is eager to see what some added righthanded power and aseven-member pitching staff can produce. She never announces her starting pitcher,but it would be asurprise if it isn’tlefthanderJaydenHeavener, who threw aperfect game in her college debut last

UL SOFTBALL

Continuedfrom page1C

Pitchers Sage Hoover and Lexie Delbrey respect their coach’sprinciples.

“Coach Aly, she’sgoing to love us through anything,” Delbreysaid. “WhenI was injured, Iwas in avery dark place, andIwasn’t avery happy person. She still loved me through that.

“It showed me thatshe’s going to love me through anything —through failure,having abad game,ifI can’tthrowstrikes —she’s goingtoloveme.”

It was alittle different for Hoover,who spent her first injured season at Texas Tech

“I didn’tfeel fully supported by the coaching staff (at TexasTech),” she said. “Then coming here and being injured again, a whole differentperspective of still being included, still feeling important.

“She didn’tput us in the background. She always

KNOX

Continuedfrom page1C

housing that restlessness. The ideafirst came from agym teacher.Knox’s elementary school was running atrack meet forits younger studentsone weekendwhenshe was in the third grade.

Knox should sign up, the teacher said. So she did.

“And she won allnine events,”Jordan said. “First place. Without even ever doing anythingintrack.So Iwas like, ‘Oh shoot.’ ” About adecade later, Knox is still wowing folks with her athleticism. She’s only afreshmanonthe LSU women’sbasketball team, but she’s already carved out asignificant rolefor theNo. 5Tigers (21-2, 7-3SEC),who will need her to keep showcasing her speed, strength andtenacity at 8p.m. Thursday when they go on the road to playNo. 4Texas (ESPN).

Knox,ahigh-profilerecruit from Las Vegas,isstarting to figureout theSEC. She scored only 2.8 pointsper gameon30% shooting in LSU’sfirst four league contests. In the last five, she has scored 12 ppg andconverted 24 of 33 field-goal attempts (73%).

Thathyper-efficient stretch allowed Knox to begin February as one of only 10 Division Iplayerswho takeatleast fiveshotsper game with afield-goal percentagehigherthan65%

Knox’sathleticism sets her apart. She can block shots.She canrun the floor and handle theball. She can dunk. And yes, she can finish through contact, as she didearlyinLSU’s winover Alabama on Sunday. To score the Tigers’ first points, she swiped an offensive rebound and muscled through afoul, banking in asecond-chance bucket that impressed coach KimMulkey.

madesure we were in the front and made sure we were included. She promised me that and shecame through with it. That just really,really benefited me alot that second year of beinghurt.”

Now with that foundation set in trust, Habetz is hopingitshows up on thefield withimproved play

The Cajuns scored only 229runs last seasonwith a .389 slugging percentage. It was theworst hitting season for theprogram since 2018 when UL settled for a.380 slugging percentagewith263 runsinGerry Glasco’sfirst season.

“I guess just in the athletes that we brought in, obviously,you want to bring some more offense into the heart of the lineup,” Habetz said. “Then basedon what we have returning, I think those twothings put together.”

Smith, who hit .362 with 12 homers and 43 RBIs last season, alreadyhas noticed the increased protection in the lineup.

beganworkingwitha Las Vegas-basedtrainer named Mike Josserand.

“Yeah, she’sdifferent,” Josserandsaid. “The one thing aboutGrace is like, if we have girls and guys in the session, Iwould rather put her up against the guys allthroughouthighschool because that’sthe toughness level that shehas.If thegirls will play against the girls, and thenthe guys will play against the guys, but Grace will play against theguys usually because she’s just thatgood.”

In her sessions with Josserand, Knox worked on all of the skills everyhighlevel player triestoperfect. Ballhandling. Shooting. Defending. Theyadded dunking to their drills because Knox had theframe,the explosion and the willingness she needed toclimb above the rim.

First, Knox would just jump without aball—on one leg and two. She’d jump

“I think it’sawesome,” she said. “I’ve seen alot of balls hit very farinour scrimmages —not from me,but alot of my teammates.”

Among those teammates are junior third baseman Brooke Otto, redshirt freshman outfielder Lily Knoxand first baseman/ designated hitter Madyson Manning.

Perhaps the most intriguing addition is true freshman Haley Hart. By trade, the Spanish Fort, Alabama, native is amiddle infield, but she hasbeen moved to theoutfield to addflexibility and pop.

“She’sagamer,” Habetz said of Hart. “She hits it in thegapsand gets RBIs.She doesn’t look like she’sgoing to do much, but she gets the job done. She can play center field.”

Habetz said she’sthe mostconfident in thedefense, especially on the infield.

“I really believe we can play defense against anybody,” Habetz said. “That’s

on one leg 40-50 times, Josserand said, then try to touch therim. Only then would she start progressing to thepoint where she could dunk abasketball. She’d start with atennis ball, then graduate to something bigger such as asoftball before moving on to avolleyball.

“Her jumping wasn’t nearly clean enough, smart enough,”Josserand said.

“But those are thethings that Iworkedontomake it to where she could at least do what you see her do now.” Knox didn’t learnhow to dunk just for fun. Working on the skill added an inch or twotoher vertical leap, whichinturnelevated some of her other skills. Because she could jump higher,it waseasierfor hertofinish layups,grabreboundsand block shots when her advantages in height, length and athleticism shrunk during her transition to college basketball.

been what I’ve preached in the sense that we’ll figure out away to score runs. We need to number one, keep the ball in the ballpark. Other than that, we’re going to play some defense. We turn doubleplays.I think we’re really goodat that. Ithink that’salways going to be astaple.”

This year’ssquad also hastwo new assistants in hitting coach Bill Shipman and pitching coach Kyle Brady

“I think they’ve been fantastic,” Habetz said. “Kyle Brady with the pitchers, he works tirelessly and trying to figure out the mindset of, ‘cause everyathlete’sdifferent. Youknow,you can’t treat them the same.’

“Coach Shipman, he’s just so passionate about hitting, and he loves it. He’s alittle more tough-minded, which is fun to have around because he’scompetitive. Our hitters have really responded well to him as well.”

Email KevinFoote at kfoote@theadvocate.com.

By the time Knox started playing forcoach Stan Delus as ajunioratEtiwanda High School in Rancho Cucamonga, California, she hadharnessed herathleticismtothe point she could anchor astate championship team run by acoach who’saself-described stickler for rebounding and defense. Just like Mulkey “I knew that she had alot of promise,” Delus said. “You could tell by the way she jumped and the way she moved, her athleticism was off the charts at ayoung age.” Knox’s momfiguredthat out pretty quickly.It’swhy she put her in track, then basketball, to findanoutlet for thatyouthful energy she now infuses into LSU games.

“Of course, she was like a head taller than everybody,” Jordansaid, “and she didn’t know any of the rules. She was just out there going crazy with the ball, shooting and running.”

season and is now thestaff ace. Heavener had some controlissueswith 77 walks, 27 hit batters and 15 wild pitches in 1192/3 innings last year but she also struck out 152.

“When people thinkof her, that’s (control) what they think is her kryptonite,” Torinasaid.“She had some of those moments last year,but she alsohad some moments of the best pitching we’ve ever seen in this ballpark. She’s the leader of this staff.” North Carolina State is coached by former LSU assistantLindsay Leftwich,who worked under Torina for 12 seasons and was part of four College World Series teams. She has a55-52 recordintwo seasons. TheWolfpack’stop returning players are senior catcher Hannah Church, who batted.329 with 19 homers and 53 RBIs last season, and sophomore shortstop Kendall Simmer (.316, 13-35).

“I said, ‘That was guylike,’ ”Mulkey said. Guys do that.’ And Iwas like, ‘God blessed that woman,that girl with something.Thatwas crazy.’ Full-speed ahead like that andget an and-one like that?

“She just has that talent. She hasthatbody.

Knox’s father,DarylKnox, was adefensive end who played college football at UNLVand spent twoseasons with thePittsburgh Steelers. He’s still the Rebels’ career sacksleader 40 years after his collegiate career ended.

The explosion Daryl Knox once used to chase quarterbacks now shows up when his daughtertakes thefloor The6-foot-2Knoxisthe only LSUplayerwho can dunk. She’snever thrown onedown in agame, but she has in pregame warm-ups and in the friendly confines of an empty gym this season Herhands are wide enough to palm the ball. Herarms arelong enough to reach abovethe rim. Heroneleggedleap is high enough to give herthe liftshe needs to flush one. Knox first dunked in the backyard when she was12 or 13 yearsold,Jordan said. She started honing the skill ayear or two later,whenshe

Third time’s charm for STM vs. Westgate

BY MIKE COPPAGE Contributing writer

After losing two nondistrict games to the Westgate Tigers, St. Thomas More basketball coach Danny Broussard decided to change defenses in the 4-4A matchup at home on Tuesday

The Cougars, who trailed briefly in the first quarter, took the lead for good on a shot from LG Carbo and held the Tigers to 2-of-15 shooting in the second quarter of a 58-43 win.

“Our zone defense was really good in the other two games, but we had a tough time rebounding,” said Broussard, who went to a sagging man-to-man defense. “I thought it worked to perfection We were able to block out much better That’s big against them. They live off that second and third shot. They’re so good at the rim.”

Leading 15-9 at the end of the first quarter, the Cougars (17-8, 2-0) shot 8 of 12 from the field in the second quarter to lead 34-15 at halftime. Ryan Robertson and Xarian Babineaux combined to go 8 for 8 in the quarter

“He’s had a great two weeks,” Broussard said of Robertson, who scored 29 points, made 11 straight field goals sandwiched around only two misses and drained all six free-throw attempts in the fourth quarter “He’s really coming into his own He’s shooting the ball well.”

Carbo added 12 points off the bench with seven in the first quarter He hasn’t missed a shot in the last two games to complement his usual stellar defense. “LG has been really good,”

Broussard said. “He leads the team in taking charges We’re getting a plus on the offensive side as

well He doesn’t start, but the famous saying is ‘It’s not where you start, it’s where you finish.’ I’m really proud of him. He works really hard.”

Babineaux had nine points for the Cougars.

The win averted what would have been only the second time STM has been swept in a three-game series. Northside pulled off the feat several years ago.

“I’m a little disappointed in how we closed it out, but at the same time, we did some good things, because they can score in a hurry,” Broussard said of the Tigers, who got within 52-43 on a 3-pointer from Antonio Quetel. “It got a little dicey, but we made some big plays down the stretch.”

Quetel scored 15 points off the bench for Westgate (14-4, 1-1). Shadon Lee added 12, but sophomore star Cayden Lancelin had just four points.

“He’s a good player,” Broussard said of Lancelin, who led the Tigers in scoring in the two wins over STM. “He missed a couple of tough ones that went in and out. It was one of those nights.”

When Westgate went on an 8-0 run in the third quarter fueled by Lee and Quetel, Carbo stopped the bleeding with two free throws. Later in the quarter, he stole the ball and added another free throw for a 43-27 lead.

“We were tired of losing to Westgate,” Carbo said. “We were looking for blood.”

Teurlings’ Rozas aiming to make wrestling history

nation’s best.

BY ERIC NARCISSE

Staff writer

Admittedly, Alex Rozas wasn’t familiar with the state’s prestigious wrestling tournaments before he arrived at Teurlings Catholic.

All he knew was that his goal was to be a four-time state champion when his high school career ended.

“You just pretty much know state, right?” Rozas said. “So before high school, it’s like, ‘Yeah, I just want to win four state championships.’ And then you realize there’s the Louisi-

ana Classic and the Ken Cole and you’re like ‘I want to win those four times. I want them all.’ ”

Those were lofty goals by Rozas when you consider no high school wrestler has won the Louisiana Classics, Ken Cole and the LHSAA state championship four consecutive years.

Fixated with the thought, Rozas created a vision board of sorts on the mirror in his bedroom, clearly identifying the desire to be a fourtime champion of the three major wrestling tournaments.

“At the beginning of high school, they say to have your goals of what you want to accomplish and this is definitely one of those major goals that I’ve written down,” said Rozas, who competes at 126 pounds. “I got

it on my mirror in my room. I got all of my goals written down.”

Rozas, who has won the Louisiana Classics and the Ken Cole four times, has the chance to make history with a fourth LHSAA title when he competes in the state wrestling tournament beginning Friday at the Brookshire Grocery Arena in Bossier City

“I feel like it’s pretty cool to (have the chance) to do something that no one has ever done before,” Rozas said. “I feel like I’m just making history and I’m loving it. I am enjoying it as I go.”

Rozas, whose father was a wrestler, began training and learning the sport before he was 4 years old.

He improved by traveling out of state at age 10 to face some of the

“In middle school I felt pretty dominant in Louisiana, so I figured that I could do it in high school,” Rozas said. “I was very confident. So obviously I travel a lot, I travel out of state, wrestle out-of-state tournaments, wrestle some of the best kids in the country, and I think that’s a big part of why I have been so dominant.” Rozas credits his desire to compete — even at an early age — as a big reason for his success.

“A lot of practice,” Rozas said. “I wrestled out of state a lot and I was pretty good for Louisiana. Wrestling out of state, getting those big matches training a lot, getting some of the some of the best training, and just chasing hard matches.

Chasing losses. All of that was big for me.”

This weekend Rozas has a chance to become the most decorated high school wrestler in state history

“It would mean a lot to be able to check off what has been a major goal of mine,” Rozas said. “Obviously it’s the last one. So I just really want to have fun, and make it a good one.”

Despite what is on the line for him, Rozas said “there’s no pressure.”

“Obviously I get a little nervous But if you’re not nervous, then you’re not ready,” Rozas said. “I’m just excited. It’s not as much pressure as it is that I’m excited. I’m ready to have fun. I’m ready to just go out there and make history.”

St. Thomas More 58, Westgate 43

WESTGATE(43) Brock Mitchell 4, Cayden Lancelin 4, Shadon Lee 12, Dakylon Joseph 2, Antonio Quetel 15, Jackilon Robertson 2 Chance Archangel 4. Totals: 12 (2) 11-17.

ST.THOMASMORE(58) LG Carbo 12, Mack Tasman 6, Kyle Gulliot 2, Ryan Robertson 29, Xarian Babineaux 9. Totals: 15 (5) 13-18. Westgate 9 6 16 12 43 STM 15 19 11 13 — 58 3-pointers – WEST: Quetel 2; STM: Carbo 1 Tasman 2, Robertson 1, Babineaux 1. Total Fouls – WEST 21, STM 17. Carencro 45, New Iberia 25

NEWIBERIA(25) Trey Lively 7, Shane Westley 2, Brian Causey 6, Kaden Johnson 2 Tyler Jackson 2, Theace Broussard 6. Totals: 8 7-10.

CARENCRO(45) Dontrell Morrison 5, Hayden Monroe 10, Wilson Landry 7, KB Bernard 15, Jaden Batiste 8. Totals: 13 (43) 7-9

NewIberia 4 6 5 10 — 25

Carencro 13 5 14 13 45 3-pointers – CAR: Bernard 3, Landry 1. Total Fouls – NISH 12, CAR 7. Teurlings 69, Rayne 48

RAYNE(48) Daeon Richard 2, Ashton Breaux 1, Lashawn Ledet 2, Jaylon Alleman 8 Jeremy Senegal 3, Gabriel Joiner 9, Syncere Smith 6, Lionel Francis 8, Tirren Sias 2 Chaiden Gibson 4, Kristian Delco 3. Totals: 16 (3) 13-29. TEURLINGS(69) Brewer Cain 3, Teyerance Alfred 2, Jordan Senegal 17, AJ Price 16, Riley Stout 4, De’Von Warren 27. Totals: 21 (3) 18-30. Rayne 6 5 19 18 48 Teurlings 11 18 20 20 — 69 3-pointers – TEUR: Cain 1, Warren 2; Rayne: Alleman 1, Senegal 1, Francis 1. Total Fouls –TEUR 21, Rayne 18 Westminster-Lafayette 68, Vermilion Catholic 53

VERMILIONCATHOLIC(53) William Simon 6, Connor Boudreaux 2, Ty LeBlanc 6, James Bradley 6, Trevon Hebert 12, Ian Boudreaux 3, Beckett Brantley 3, Dominic Gautreaux 15 WESTMINSTER-LAFAYETTE(68) Zaid Prejean 11, Zeph Prejean 10, G. Coussan 7, J. Rupert 22, B. Andress 18. VermilionCath 6 11 9 27 53 WCAL 22 13 16 17 — 68 3-pointers – WCAL: Zaid Prejean 3, Zeph

Prejean 1, J. Rupert 4; VC: Gautreaux 2, Hebert 2. Total Fouls – WCAL 20, VC 13. David Thibodaux 66, North Vermilion 50 NORTH VERMILION (50) Jayvin Gage 6, Zarian Gage 5, Jose Sotomayor 16, Cooper Trahan 6, Kylon Martin 3, Jaxsen Frederick 2, Mason Dauterive 11. Totals: 7 (9) 9-17. DAVID THIBODAUX (66) Karlton Williams 16, Caleb Brookter 9, Caden Barton 15, Bryston Sledge 14, Jeston Calais 2, Chris Johns 2, Camon Davis 8. Totals: 22 (5) 7-13. N.Vermilion 6 15 9 20 50 DavidThib 13 12 27 14 — 66 3-pointers – NV: Z. Gage 1, J. Gage 1, Sotomayor 2, Dauterive 3, Trahan 2; DT: Barton 2, Sledge 1, Davis 2. Total Fouls – NV 15, DT 14. Thursday’s games Acadiana Renaissance at Menard, Church Point at Helix, Highland Baptist at Vermilion Catholic. Girls Basketball Sulphur 41, Acadiana 36 Carencro 30, New

SCOREBOARD

STAFF PHOTO By BRAD BOWIE

Ryan Robertson of St. Thomas More looks for a rebound during the Cougars’ home win over Westgate on Tuesday.

Warm winter’s chillwith Mexican stew

BY GRETCHEN McKAY

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (TNS)

Husk tomatoes, or tomatillos, are largely grown in their nativesunny Mexico,sothey’re widely available year-round in most major grocery stores and Mexicanmarkets.

Harvested when the fruits are still immature, tomatillos have afresh tangy scentwith hintsof citrus (think limes or green tomatoes) They’re denser in minerals than red tomatoes andalsoagoodsource of fiber and vitamins A, Cand K. Awinter “super food,” tomatillos alsoare high in antioxidants, which help support yourimmune system and boost overall health

Because they pair well withgarlic, onions, cilantro and chiles, tomatillos are turned into green salsas, saucesor jams. The fruit alsoplays astarring role in thegreen version of one ofMexico’s most famous stews,pozole.

This one-pot versionofthe Mexican classic pullstogether in aboutanhour. It’smade by simmering shredded chicken and canned hominy(driedcorn kernels that have been treated withan alkali) in aflavorful brothofgarlic, chilies and tomatillos

Iused jalapeño and poblano chiles, but you could swap in serranosfor extra heat. The stew also can be made with shredded pork, and some also like to throwinsome toasted pumpkin seeds for extra thickness and avelvety texture. Traditional toppings includesliced radish and/or avocado,shredded cabbage and asalty,crumbly cheese like cotija or queso fresco

After peeling off the papery husk, you’ll want to give the tomatillos agood rinseunder cool water to remove the sticky sap. For extra flavor,slice and roast the fruit in a400-F oven until soft and slightly charred (about15minutes) or broil for 10 minutes.

Serve the pozole withwarm tortillas; for aheartier meal, add ascoop of white or Mexican rice.

Veggie wraps go forbold with creamy peanut sauce

utes, with no stove time required, making it ideal for abusy evening. The creamy peanut sauce adds bold flavor while the vegetables provide crunch and color,creatinga light yetfilling meal that’sperfect when dinner needs to move at yourpace.

HELPFUL HINTS:

n Depending on type of peanutbutter, be sure to mix the sauce well toform a smooth sauce.

n Look for bags of shredded cabbage in the produce department n Vegetables can be diced instead of cutting into sticks.

Yields 2heart-shaped (or round) pizzas.

1pound ball of Trader Joe’s(or other brand) refrigerated pizza dough (divided in half)

1tablespoon of all purpose flour (to prevent the dough from sticking)

1tablespoon of olive oil (for drizzling)

1can store-bought pizza sauce (I used Muir Glen Organic Pizza Sauce)

2fresh Romatomatoes (thinly sliced)

10 thin slices of small fresh mozzarella (or substitute burrata cheese)

10 leaves of fresh basil (thinly sliced)

¼cup of freshly grated parmigiano reggiano Optional toppingsfor spice lovers: olive oil infused with calabrian chileoil (a drizzle); apinch of cracked red pepper flakes

Shakespeare’splay “TwelfthNight”isdeeply connected to the festive atmosphere of the Carnival season.

The opening line of this play is “If music be the food of love, play on.”

Shakespeare knew how music and food invoke all of the senses and connect people. This time of year, we gather on neutral grounds to watch parades, listen to music and break bread, in theform of king cake, together.Itiseasy to see that food is love.

ä See PIZZA, page 6C

Easy (Heart-Shaped) Margherita Pizza

1. Preheat the oven to 475 F. Next, place thepizza dough on aclean, lightly floured surface. Divide the dough in half andlet it rest for about 30 minutes. Thedough shouldbeat room temperature so that it is easier to workwith when forming the pizza.

2. While the dough is resting, prepare the toppings. Slice thetomatoes, basil, fresh mozzarella and grate theparmigiano reggiano. It is fun to prepareall the toppings in advance and put them all in serving bowls to do a“makeyour own” pizza night at home.

3. On afloured surface, add the ball of dough and stretch it into acircle. Use your fingers to gently pressout the doughsothe center of thepizzadough is thin and the outer edge is slightly thicker.For aheart-shaped crust,use one finger to pull down the centerofthe circle and press thedough up to

form aheart shape.

4. Gently transfer the formed dough onto a baking sheet. Place the dough in theoven for about 5minutes. Remove it from the oven and place the baking sheet on aheat-proof surface. Let cool for2minutes.

5. Next, spread athin layerofthe pizza sauce on the pre-baked dough. Then, place the sliced tomatoes, mozzarella and basilevenly on theprepared pizza dough. Sprinkle thefreshlygrated parmigianoreggiano. Return the pizza to theovenfor about8 minutes, or until the edges of

Recipe, n Pozole Verde 6C

1.

2.

3.

a blender and add the tomatillos, oregano and cilantro. Puree the ingredients until smooth.

4. Transfer the mixture back into the pot over medium-low heat.

5. Add the hominy and broth or stock, stirring to combine. Generously season the broth with salt and a few grinds of black pepper

mer until just warm, about 5 more minutes. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.

Vegetable Wrap

Yields 2 servings. Recipe is by Linda Gassenheimer

1

easier to work with when forming the pizza.

2. While the dough is resting, prepare the sunny-sideup eggs in a nonstick pan over medium heat Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil to a non-stick pan. Once the oil is hot, add the eggs — one at a time and let the eggs cook through until the white parts are set. This should take about 2-3 minutes. Carefully remove the eggs to a plate and reserve to add to the top of the pizza.

6. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer 7. Simmer the soup, partially covered, for 40 minutes. Add the shredded chicken and continue to sim-

8. Ladle the pozole into bowls and serve topped with your preferred garnishes and warm tortillas.

NOTE: Store leftover pozole in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

FAUL

By The Associated Press

Today is Thursday, Feb. 5, the 36th day of 2026. There are 329 days left in the year

Today in history:

On Feb. 5, 2020, the Senate voted to acquit President Donald Trump in his first impeachment trial. Most senators expressed unease with Trump’s pressure campaign on Ukraine that prompted the impeachment, but just one Republican, Mitt Romney of Utah, broke party ranks and voted to convict In 2021, the Senate acquitted Trump in a second trial for allegedly inciting the violent Jan. 6 siege of the Capitol.

Also on this date:

In 1917, the U.S. Congress passed the Immigration Act of 1917 over President Woodrow Wilson’s veto, an act that severely curtailed Asian immigration and mandated immigrant literacy testing.

In 1918, more than 200 people were killed during World War I when the

Cunard liner SS Tuscania, which was transporting over 2,000 American troops to Europe, was torpedoed by a German U-boat off the coast of Ireland.

In 1971, Apollo 14 astronauts Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell stepped onto the moon’s surface in the first of two lunar excursions.

In 1973, services were held at Arlington National Cemetery for U.S. Army Col. William B. Nolde, the last official American combat casualty in the Vietnam War before a ceasefire took effect.

In 1993, President Bill Clinton signed the Family and Medical Leave Act, granting workers up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for family emergencies.

In 1994, White separatist Byron De La Beckwith was convicted in Jackson, Mississippi, of murdering civil rights leader Medgar Evers in 1963 and was sentenced to life in prison.

In 2017, Tom Brady led one of the greatest come-

3. On a floured surface, place the ball of dough and stretch it into a circle. Use your fingers to gently press out the dough so the center of the pizza dough is thin and the outer edge is slightly thicker Press the dough out to create a thin-crust pizza. You do not have to form a perfect circle — all shapes of pizza taste good. 4. Gently transfer the formed dough onto a baking sheet. Add a small drizzle of olive oil over the top of the pizza crust. Place the dough in the oven for about 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and place the baking sheet on a heat-proof surface. Let cool for 2 minutes.

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I would argue that a hot and savory pizza is one of the most loved foods to share, especially when you make it at home with a heart-shaped crust and top it with favorite flavor combinations. After all, pizza is one of the most popular dishes in the world. And for good reason — it is easy, fast, affordable and undeniably delicious. At its most basic, a slice of pizza combines a crispy bread crust, tangy sauce and savory, stretchy cheese in every bite. The addition of toppings like fresh basil, peppery arugula and salty prosciutto make a pizza into an extraordinary meal that you will want to share with friends this Mardi Gras or on Valentine’s Day with someone special. Last week, I was going to meet two friends for pizza in a restaurant, but then we decided that it would be more fun to make our own pizza at home so we would have some more time to catch up on life.

5. Next, spread a thin layer of olive oil over the pre-baked

I love to cook with friends because they bring new ingredients, tastes and stories to the table. I have found that this is how the best food memories are made. Food is more than nourishment, because eating and cooking with people connects us to smells, tastes and ideas that carry forward while rooting us to a pleasant past. At our pizza party, my friends shared the simplicity of ready-made pizza dough from Trader Joe’s. I learned that there are a few options for this fresh dough: plain dough herb whole wheat and glutenfree One bag of dough makes two pizzas, so it is a very economical choice at $1.50 per bag. We used both the plain and herb versions. It is important to plan on letting the dough sit out at room temperature so that it is easy to work the dough with your fingertips to form a thin circle, or even a heart shape as I did. Taking the stress out of making a homemade dough allows more time to focus on creating pizzas that are topped with favorite ingredients while catching up on

crust. Add the thinly sliced prosciutto evenly around the dough. Add the arugula. Gently add two of the sunny-sideup eggs on top of the arugula. Sprinkle the grated parmigiano reggiano over the top of the pizza. Return the pizza to the oven for about 8 minutes, or until the edges of the crust are golden brown.

6. Remove the pizza from oven. Transfer the pizza to a serving plate or cutting board. If you are an anchovy fan, place one anchovy over each egg. Cut the pizza into slices and enjoy

stories.

Trader Joe’s is just one option for ready-made fresh pizza dough; there are comparable versions at Fresh Market, Rouses and Whole Foods. I suggest adding this easy cooking shortcut to your grocery list so there is more time for fun this Mardi Gras season. With this easy pizza dough hack, the focus of pizza night becomes your favorite toppings. We made a classic pizza Margherita with tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, basil and a drizzle of olive oil. My friends made a pizza with an olive oil crust topped with fresh arugula, prosciutto grated parmigiano reggiano and topped with sunny-side-up eggs. At the table, we decided to add anchovies on top of the eggs for an additional flavor boost. A night with delicious food and good company what’s not to love?

Liz Sullivan Faul is a registered dietitian nutritionist who enjoys cooking and sharing meals with her friends and family

PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE

PHOTO By GRETCHEN McKAy

Pozole Verde

TNS PHOTO By LINDA GASSENHEIMER Vegetable Wrap

PHOTO By LIZ

Pizza with Prosciutto, Arugula and a Sunny-Side-Up Egg

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Take the high road and stick to your plans.Don't feel youhavetokeep up with others. If something doesn't feel right, know enough to take apass. Avoid joint ventures

PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) The coastis clear,and you can turn your ideas into something concrete.Keep to yourself and focus on what you mustdo. If you let others intervene, you'll lose valuable time.

ARIEs(March 21-April 19) Emotional mixups are apparent. Gather the facts, ask questionsand err on the sideofcaution when your heart, health or finances are at risk. Stay calm; choosepeace over chaos.

TAuRus (April 20-May 20) Tidy loose ends and prepare for some downtime to rejuvenate. Apositive mindset will help you separate yourself and your feelings from negativepeople and situations.

GEMINI (May21-June 20) Youare gaining insight into howtobuild the life you desire. Change is apparent, but it's up to you to makeithappen. Be open and willing to engage in activities,events and partnerships

cANcER (June 21-July 22) Home improvementsthatlower your overhead or makeyour life easierorlessstressful arewithin reach.Explore your options andrefuse to letanyonetalk you into somethingyou don't need.

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) You've got this. Get outthere anddoyour thing. Refuse to let anyone daunt or sidetrack you. You

have the goods;now show what you can do. Partnerships, personal growth and gains arewithin reach.

VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept.22) Discipline can lead to positive change and plenty of knowledge and experience. Converse, expressyour views, debate your case and revive your interest in life, love and personal gratitude and satisfaction.

LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Step into the spotlight, and shift your attention to leadership, following your heartand manifesting the life you want. Own the day, master discipline andmanufacture success.

scoRPIo (oct. 24-Nov. 22) Wait and watch. Explore how othershave handled situations similartothose you face, and you'll deviseamaster plan you can execute in atimely and auspicious manner

sAGITTARIus (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Stifle your emotions forthe time being. If you get into asquabble with someone abusive or emotionally manipulative, it will eat into time that could be put to better use.

cAPRIcoRN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Choose to lie low, observe and reevaluateyour next move. Achange may be necessary,but how you get from point Atopoint B matters. Opportunity is close by; recognizeyour strengths and take what's yours.

Thehoroscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact. ©2026 by NEA, Inc., dist. By AndrewsMcMeel Syndication

FAMILY CIrCUS

SALLYForth

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM SherMAn’S LAGoon

bIG

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with 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 from Monday to Sunday.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

THe wiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS CurTiS

By PHILLIP ALDER Bridge

Hereismyfinal deal that was on the International Bridge Press Association short list for the 2012 awards. It features an excellent defense by ShivamShah (East) and Alex Roberts (West) forEnglandagainst Poland at the world youth championships in Taicang, China.

How did the defense go against five diamonds?

Northopened with aPolish Club. It is usually bid with abalanced hand and 12-14 points, but it might be natural with five or more clubs and12-17 points,or it could be any 18-plus pointer.After Shah’s three-heart pre-emptive overcall, South made anegativedouble. His four-diamond continuation wasclearly forcing.

At the other table, the English NorthSouth pair reached five diamonds by North, which was unbeatable.AfterEast ledahigh heart, North could have taken 12 tricks, but decided on safety first. Now back to Roberts’ lead problem. Manya Westwould be thinking it was luckythat theopponents stoppedshort of slam. His hand is dreadful and partner also announced weakness.

Roberts, though, wondered if there might be away to defeat the contract.

Maybe partner had aclub void. So, West’s openinglead wasthe clubthree. AfterShahruffed, the spotlight was on

wuzzles

him.Howcouldhegethispartneronlead forasecond club ruff? There seemed to be only two chances: the diamond ace or theheart queen. Thefirst wouldstill be available in amoment, but not the second. East shifted to the hearttwo. West won with his queen and gave his partner another ruff fordown one. Terrific!

©2026 by NEA, Inc., dist.

By Andrews McMeel Syndication

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

Previous answers:

word game

INsTRucTIoNs: 1. Words mustbeoffourormoreletters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,”

ToDAy’s

Canyou

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles hidato mallard

Drops for tech stocks

weigh on Wall Street

NEW YORK More drops for technology stocks weighed on Wall Street on Wednesday

Advanced Micro Devices

dropped 17.3% even though the chip company reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected

It also gave a forecast for revenue for the start of 2026 that topped analysts’ expectations, but that may not have been enough for investors after its stock had doubled over the last 12 months.

Tech stocks are broadly feeling pressure even when they deliver stronger-than-expected profits. Big Tech stocks are facing criticism that their prices shot too high following their yearslong dominance of the market Companies like software makers, meanwhile, are struggling with questions about whether they’ll lose in the future to competitors powered by artificial-intelligence technology Uber Technologies also dragged on the market after falling 5.1%. The ride-hailing company reported results for the latest quarter that fell short of analysts’ expectations

Some tech stocks nevertheless climbed, including a 13.8% rise for Super Micro Computer. The company, which sells AI servers and other equipment, delivered a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

Eli Lilly rallied 10.3% after topping analysts’ expectations for profit in the latest quarter

It’s been riding big growth created by its Mounjaro and Zepbound products for diabetes and weight loss.

Texas Instruments buys Austin chip maker

Texas Instruments is spending $7.5 billion to buy Austinbased tech firm Silicon Labs to extend its chips enterprise. The pair reached a definitive acquisition agreement announced Wednesday an allcash transaction that would grant Silicon Labs shareholders $231 per share The deal is expected to close in 2027 pending regulatory and shareholder approval.

Silicon Labs is a fabless chip maker, meaning it designs but outsources the manufacturing of semiconductors, with a focus on wireless connectivity This is a complement to Dallas-based Texas Instruments, an integrated device manufacturer that makes embedded processing chips and analog chips (chips that process continuous information like temperature or sound rather than binary data).

Silicon Labs recorded $785 million in revenue in 2025, while Texas Instruments had revenues of $15.6 billion in 2024.

An investor presentation highlighted Silicon Labs’ engineering capacity — 70% of its employee base is dedicated to engineering — and its more than 1,500 patents related to wireless connectivity Additionally, around 85% of Silicon Labs’ customers come from the industrial market, per the presentation.

Italy averts cyberattacks targeting Olympics sites

ROME Italy has foiled a series of cyberattacks targeting some of its foreign ministry offices, including one in Washington, as well as Winter Olympics websites and hotels in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Wednesday Talking to reporters during a trip to the U.S. capital, Tajani said the attempted attacks were “of Russian origin,” but didn’t provide additional details.

“We prevented a series of cyberattacks against foreign ministry sites, starting with Washington, and also involving some Winter Olympics sites, including hotels in Cortina,” Tajani said, just two days from Friday’s opening ceremony at Milan’s San Siro stadium.

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Washington Post slashes staff

One-third of workers laid off in blow to a legendary news brand

BY DAVID BAUDER AP media writer

The Washington Post laid off one-third of its staff Wednesday, eliminating its sports section, several foreign bureaus and its books coverage in a widespread purge that represented a brutal blow to journalism and one of its most legendary brands.

The Post’s executive editor, Matt

Murray called the move painful but necessary to put the outlet on stronger footing and to weather changes in technology and user habits. “We can’t be everything to everyone,” Murray wrote to staff members. He outlined the changes in a companywide online meeting, and staff members then began getting emails with one of two subject lines — telling them their role was or was not eliminated.

Rumors of layoffs had circulated for weeks, ever since word leaked that sports reporters who had expected to travel to Italy for the Winter Olympics would not be going. But when official word came down,

the size and scale of the cuts were shocking.

“It’s just devastating news for anyone who cares about journalism in America and, in fact, the world,” said Margaret Sullivan a Columbia University journalism professor and former media columnist at the Post and The New York Times. Martin Baron, the Post’s first editor under its current owner, billionaire Jeff Bezos, condemned his former boss and called what has happened at the newspaper “a case study in near-instant, self-inflicted brand destruction.” Bezos, who has been silent in recent weeks amid pleas from Post

journalists to step in, had no immediate comment.

The newspaper has been bleeding subscribers in part due to decisions made by Bezos, including pulling back from an endorsement of Kamala Harris, a Democrat, during the 2024 presidential election against Donald Trump, a Republican, and directing a more conservative turn on liberal opinion pages. A private company, the Post does not reveal how many subscribers it has but it is believed to be roughly 2 million. It would also not say how many people it has on staff, making it impossible to estimate how many people were laid off Wednesday

Super Bowl ads feature weight loss drugs, AI and celebrities galore

BY MAE ANDERSON Associated Press

NEW YORK As Super Bowl Sunday ap-

proaches, the battle off the field for advertisers to win over 120 million-plus viewers will be just as heated as the rivalry between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks.

Dozens of advertisers are pulling out all the stops for Super Bowl 60, airing Sunday on NBC.

They’re hoping that audiences tuning in will remember their brand names as they stuff their ads with celebrities, tried-andtrue ad icons like the Budweiser Clydesdales, and nostalgia for well-known movie properties such as “Jurassic Park.”

This year’s trends include health and telehealth companies advertising weight loss drugs and medical tests, tech companies showing off their latest gadgets and apps and advertisers showcasing AI in their ads.

Villanova University marketing professor Charles Taylor said because of the heavy headlines in the news lately — from the immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota to conflicts abroad he expects advertisers to stick to a light and silly tone.

“Because of the Super Bowl’s status as a pop culture event with a fun party atmosphere, the vast majority of brands will avoid any dark or divisive tone and instead allow consumers to escape from thinking about these troubled times,” he said.

Record-breaking prices

In 2025, a record 127.7 million U.S viewers watched the game across television and streaming platforms.

Space sold for an average of $8 million per 30-second unit, but a handful of spots sold for $10 million-plus, a record, said Peter Lazarus, executive vice president, sports & Olympics, advertising and partnerships for NBCUniversal. He said he was calling February, with the Super Bowl, Olympics and the NBA All-Star Game, “legendary February.”

Celebrities galore

Featuring celebrities is a tried-and-true way advertisers can get goodwill from viewers. This year, Fanatics Sportsbook enlists Kendall Jenner to talk about the “Kardashian Kurse,” in which bad things happen to basketball players she dates.

George Clooney appears in a Grubhub add to promote a deal that the delivery app offers to “Eat the Fees” on orders of $50 or more.

Xfinity reunites Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum in a tongue-in-cheek reimagining of “Jurassic Park” that shows an Xfinity tech bringing power back to the island so nothing goes awry And Uber Eats enlists Matthew McConaughey for the second year in a row to convince celebrities — this year it is Bradley Cooper and Parker Posey — that football is

a conspiracy to make people hungry so they order food.

AI takes the stage

For the second year in a row, AI is making waves in Super Bowl ads.

Oakley Meta touts their AI-enabled glasses in two action-packed spots showing Spike Lee, Marshawn Lynch and others using the glasses to film video and answer questions.

Svedka Vodka enlisted Silverside AI, an AI studio, to help create their ad, which features their robot mascot FemBot along with a male counterpart, BroBot. They took that approach because of Svedka’s positioning as the “vodka of the future,” said Sara Saunders, chief marketing officer at Sazerac, which bought the Svedka brand in 2025.

“We reimagined the robot via AI,” Saunders said. “It took us many, many months to rebuild her, to give her functionality, to give her that human spirit that we wanted to show up on behalf of the brand.”

Health and telehealth

Health and telehealth providers are everywhere during Super Bowl 60. Two pharma companies are advertising tests: Novartis touts a blood test to screen for prostate cancer with the tagline “Relax your tight end,” featuring football tight ends relaxing. Boehringer Ingelheim’s ad stars Octavia Spencer and Sofia Vergara, who encourage people to screen for kidney disease.

BY KELVIN CHAN Associated Press

LONDON In France, civil servants will ditch Zoom and Teams for a homegrown video conference system. Soldiers in Austria are using open-source office software to write reports after the military dropped Microsoft Office. Bureaucrats in a German state have also turned to free software for their administrative work.

Around Europe, governments and institutions are seeking to reduce their use of digital services from U.S Big Tech companies and turning to domestic or free alter-

natives. The push for “digital sovereignty” is gaining attention as the Trump administration strikes an increasingly belligerent posture toward the continent, highlighted by recent tensions over Greenland that intensified fears that Silicon Valley giants could be compelled to cut off access. Concerns about data privacy and worries that Europe is not doing enough to keep up with the United States and Chinese tech leadership are also fueling the drive.

The French government referenced some of these concerns when it announced last week that 2.5 million civil servants would

stop using video conference tools from U.S. providers — including Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Webex and GoTo Meeting by 2027 and switch to Visio, a homegrown service.

The objective is “to put an end to the use of non-European solutions, to guarantee the security and confidentiality of public electronic communications by relying on a powerful and sovereign tool,” the announcement said.

“We cannot risk having our scientific exchanges, our sensitive data, and our strategic innovations exposed to non-European actors,” David Amiel, a civil service minis-

ter, said in a news release. Microsoft said it continues to “partner closely with the government in France and respect the importance of security, privacy, and digital trust for public institutions.”

Zoom, Webex and GoTo Meeting did not respond to requests for comment.

French President Emmanuel Macron has been pushing digital sovereignty for years. But there’s now a lot more “political momentum behind this idea now that we need to de-risk from U.S. tech,” Nick Reiners senior geotechnology analyst at the Eurasia Group.

PROVIDED PHOTO

Svedka Vodka’s ad features their robot mascot, FemBot, along with a male counterpart, BroBot.