The Times-Picayune 03-23-2026

Bill sparks debate over jailed youths

Proposal seeksto increase incarceration time before trials

BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer

Abill in the Louisiana Legislature would dramatically increase the time officialscan keep juvenilesinjailbefore their trials.

Theproposed changes wouldoverhaul juvenile court procedures by extending the length of time prosecutors have to try juvenile cases, pausing those timelines whendefense attorneys file pretrialmotions and allowing prosecutors to receiveextensions after cases pass their adjudication deadlines.

Currently,the Louisiana Children’s Code —aset of rules that governs juvenile court proceedings —isdesigned to move juveniles through thecourt system much more quickly than adults, who can sit in jail for years before they are tried State Rep. Vincent Cox, R-Gretna, filed House Bill 140 at the behest of the Jefferson ParishDistrictAttorney’sOffice, and prosecutors across the state have thrown their supportbehind it Proponents arguethe court system’s current deadlines do not grantenough time to gather evidence, and that youth alreadyhaveample opportunitiesfor release at thebeginning of their cases. Supporters also contendthe change would benefit public safety and protect against defense attorneyswho say

ä See BILL, page 5A

BY MARTHA SANCHEZ Staff writer

BY RICH COLLINS Staffwriter

Theheadaches that have recently affected travelers at Louis Armstrong NewOrleansInternational Airport worsened Sunday, as securitylines snaked through the terminal, creating hourslong delaysand causing somepassengers to miss their flights.

It looked abit like an emergencyevacuation as passengers exited the elevator on the first floor of the airport’s short-term parking garage, where thousands of people were queued up in an elaborate line that circled through the parking area several times.Airport stafferswaved flags to markthe path.

“Welcome to thechaos,” one worker saidtonewcomers joiningthe crowd.

Garrett Harper and his family of six were among those in line.They had just returned from aNorwegian Cruise

Line trip andwere making their way back to Kansas City.Likemost people in the garage, the family was in remarkablygood spiritsdespite thelong odds of making their flight

“Weknew things weren’t right when we could barely get to the baggage check-in,

because all the lines everywhereare just flooding the wholeairport,” Harper said.

“You can hardlymove anywhere in this wholebuilding, so you’re just cutting through lines, and nobody knows what’s going on.We’ve got two hours until our flight, and Idon’t knowifwe’regonna

BY SOPHIEKASAKOVE Staff writer

makeit.”

Nearby,Larry Albert and Treasure Fryerweretrying to get back to Atlanta after spending theweekend in Biloxi, Mississippi, for abowling tournament and to celebrate Fryer’sbirthday

They already canceled their 11:45 a.m. flight and were searching for alternatives later in the day as they joined the epic processioninthe garage, which fortunately was cool and breezy Much fartherahead in line, Bruce and Carolyn Stafford, who came to NewOrleans fromTampa,Florida, for their son’swedding last week at Hotel Peter and Paul, were chatting with anew friend theymadeduring their surprise ordeal. They arrived at theairport at 8a.m., thenhad to wait to checktheir bags before queuing up.

SOPHIA GERMER

At least 64 killedin strike on Sudan hospital

CAIRO— At least 64 people were killed, including at least 13 children, in astrike on ahospital in Sudan’swestern Darfurregion last week, the World Health Organization said Saturday

The strike on the Al Daein Teaching HospitalinEast DarfuronFriday also injured at least 89 people and renderedthe hospital nonfunctional, Tedros Ghebreyesus, the head of the WHO, said on X.

Sudan slid into chaos in April 2023 when apower struggle between the military andthe rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces exploded into war throughout the country

TheRSF has blamed themilitary for the strike on the hospital.

The army has denied the attack, but two military officials said the strike was targeting anearby police station. They spoke on the conditionofanonymity as they werenot allowed to discuss the matter openly

Thedevastatingwar haskilled more than 40,000 people, according to U.N. figures, but aid groups say that is an undercount and the true number could be many times higher

The WHO has said that over 2,000 people have been killed in attacks on medical facilities since the start of the war

“Enough blood has been spilled. Enough sufferinghas been inflicted. Thetimehas come to de-escalatethe conflict in Sudan,” said Ghebreyesus.

Deadly avalanche kills 2skiers in Italy

An avalanche in high alpine terrain in Italy‘s South Tyrolon Saturday killed two skiers, according to the country’s mountain rescue service.

The avalanche happened at an altitude of around 7,874 feet on the slopes of the 8,757-foot Hohe Ferse (also known as Monte Tallone Grande) nearthe town of Ratschings, close to the border with Austria.

The CNSAS rescue service’s Bolzano emergency center reported that 25 skiers were caught in the avalanche. Besides the two dead, three were seriouslyinjuredand two lightly injured, it said.

The avalanche took place at 11:40 a.m. Arescue operation involved six helicopters and around 80 rescuers from CNSAS, the Alpine Association, police and firefighters, Italian news agency ANSA reported.

This season has seen an unusually high number of death from avalanches.European Avalanche WarningServices reports in its website avalanches. org that fatalities average 100 perseason. As of March 16, reported deaths this season starting Oct. 1were at 127, including 33 in Italy,31inFrance and 29 in Austria.

In early February,just as Italy was hosting the Winter Olympics, arecord 13 skiers haddied on the slopes during one week, including 10 in avalanches. Experts attributedthe deaths to an exceptionally unstable snowpack and the rush of skiing enthusiasts to off-piste slopes after recent heavy snowstorms.

Japanese national held in Iran released

TOKYO— Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Sunday that one of two Japanese nationals detained in Iran hasbeen released and is headed home.

Motegi, speaking on aFuji Television talk show,saidthe person had beendetained since last year and was released on Wednesday.Hesaid the person took aflight from Azerbaijan which was scheduled to arrive in Japan on Sunday Kyodo News agency and other Japanese mediasaid the former detainee later returned to Japan.

Motegi said another Japanese national who was arrested earlier this year is still in custody

Motegi said the releasecame after his repeated demands to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and that he is “working to win an early release” of the otherdetainee while communicating with his family and other concerned parties.

Iran responds to Trump’sultimatum

BY ALON BERNSTEIN, SAM METZ and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press

ARAD,Israel TheUnited States and Iran threatened to target critical infrastructure Sunday as the war in the Middle East, now in its fourth week, puts lives and livelihoods at risk throughout the region.

Iran said the Strait of Hormuz, crucial to oil and other exports, wouldbe“completelyclosed” immediately if the U.S. follows up on President Donald Trump’sthreat to attack its power plants. Trump late Saturday seta 48-hour deadline to open the strait.

Israel deniedresponsibility for hitting Natanz on Saturday.The Pentagon declined to comment on the strike.

TheInternational Atomic Energy Agency has saidthe bulkofIran’s estimated 972 pounds of enriched uranium —the issue at the heart of tensions —iselsewhere, beneath the rubble at its Isfahan facility Fighting intensifies in Lebanon

An Israeli civilianwas killedin his car in the northern town of MisgavAminwhatIsrael’s military originally said appeared to be a rocket attack. It later was looking into the possibility that the death was caused by Israeli soldiers’ fire. Israeli authorities identified him as 61-year-old farmer Ofer “Poshko”Moskovitz. Twodaysago,he told aradio stationthatlivingnear the Lebanese border waslike “Russian roulette.”

Israelileaders visited one of two southern communities near asecretivenuclearresearchsite struck by Iranian missiles late Saturday,with scores of people wounded. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was a“miracle” no one was killed.

Netanyahu claimed Israel and theU.S.werewellontheir wayto achievingtheir wargoals.The aims have rangedfrom weakening Iran’s nuclear program, missile program and support for armed proxiesto enablingthe Iranian people to overthrowthe theocracy

There has been no sign of an uprising, norofanend to thefighting that has shaken theglobaleconomy, sent oil prices surging and endangered some of the world’sbusiest aircorridors. The war, which the U.S. and Israel launched Feb.28, haskilledover2,000 people.

TheIranian-backed Hezbollah claimed responsibility for an airstrikethatkilled aman in northern Israel, while Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called Israel’snew targeting of bridges in thesouth“a prelude to aground invasion.”

“More weeks of fighting against

Iran and Hezbollah are expected forus,” saidIsraelimilitaryspokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin. Power, waterplantsthreatened

Iran has effectively closedthe Strait of Hormuz that connects thePersian Gulf to therest of the world, while claiming safe passage for vessels from countries other thanits enemies.Roughly one-fifth of global oil supply passesthrough it,but attacks on ships have stopped nearly all tanker traffic.

Trumpsaid if Iran didn’topen the strait, the U.S. would destroy its “various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONEFIRST!”

The U.S. has argued that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard controls much of the country’s infrastructure and usesittopower thewar effort. Under international law, power plants that benefit civilians can be targeted only if themilitary advantage outweighs the suffering it causes them, legal scholars say Iranian parliamentspeaker Mohammad BagherQalibaf responded on Xthat if Iran’spower plants and infrastructure are targeted,then vital infrastructure across the region —including energy and desalination facilitiescritical fordrink-

Family asks forclues in disappearance of NancyGuthrie

By The Associated Press

TUCSON, Ariz. Savannah Guthrie is renewing pleas to neighbors,friendsand residentsofTucson, Arizona, to jogtheir memoriesinthe hopesofsparking new leads in the disappearance of her mother

Nancy

The “Today Show”cohost posted anew family statementonher Instagram account Sunday morning, hours after the show’sInstagram account shared it.

After expressinggratitude to the community, thefamily said in its statement that it believes someone in Tucson or in southern Arizona may “hold the key to findingthe resolution in this case ”

“Someone knows something. It’s possible amember of this community has informationthattheydo notevenrealize is significant.”

The family urgedpeople to go back overtheir memories between Jan. 31 —whenNancyGuthrie was last seen —and Feb. 1aswell as theeveningof Jan.11.

“Please consult camera footage, journal notes,

text messages, observations, or conversations that in retrospect may hold significance,” the statement said “No detail is toosmall.”

They also acknowledged in the statement that theirfamily’smatriarch may no longerbe alive.

“Wecannot grieve; we can only ache and wonder.”

Nancy Guthrie was reported missing on Feb.

1. Authorities believe the 84-year-old was kidnapped, abducted or otherwise taken against her will. The FBI released surveillance videos of a masked man who was outside Guthrie’sfront door on the night she vanished.

TheGuthriefamily hasoffered a$1million reward for information leading to therecoveryof their mother Savannah Guthrie visited the NBC “TodayShow” studio in NewYorkCity for the first timesince her mother’sdisappearance on March 5. The show said she plans to return to the air at some point but “remainsfocused right now supporting her family andworking to help bring Nancy home.”

ing water in Gulf nations—would be considered legitimate targets and “irreversibly destroyed.”

Qalibaf later added that “entities thatfinance the US military budget arelegitimate targets.”

Attacks on power plants would be “inherently indiscriminate and clearly disproportionate”and a war crime, Iran’sU.N. ambassador wrote to theSecurityCouncil, according to the state-run IRNA news agency

Strikesbring nuclearconcerns

Iran said its strikes in the Negev Desertlate Saturdaywere in retaliation for thelatest attack on Iran’s main nuclear enrichment site in Natanz, according to state-run media.

Tehran praised itsattack as a show of strength,evenasIsrael’s military asserts that Iranian missile launches have decreased since thewar began.

Southern Israel’smain hospital received at least 175 wounded from Arad and Dimona, deputy director RoyKessous told The Associated Press.

Israel is widely believedtopossess nuclear weapons, though it doesn’t confirm or deny their existence.

Hezbollahlaunchedstrikeson

Israel soon after the war began, calling it retaliation for the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader AyatollahAli Khamenei. Israel thentargetedHezbollahwith airstrikes and expanded its ground presence in southern Lebanon.

Israel on Sundayexpandedits target list to include bridges over the Litani River that Defense Minister Israel Katz said Hezbollah is using to move fighters andweapons to the south. Israel later struck the Qasmiyeh bridge near Tyre, givinganhour’swarning. Destroying bridgesfurtherisolatesresidents from the rest of Lebanon.

Katz also orderedthe military to accelerate destruction of Lebanese homes near the border Lebanese authorities say Israel’s strikes have killed more than 1,000 people anddisplaced more than1 million. Meanwhile, Hezbollahhas fired hundreds of rockets intoIsrael.

Iran’sdeathtollinthe war has surpassed 1,500, its health ministry has said. In Israel, 15 people have been killed by Iranian strikes. More than adozen civilians in the occupied West Bank and Gulf Arab states have been killed in strikes.

California sheriffrunning for governor seizes 2025 ballots

By The Associated Press

RIVERSIDE, Calif. ACalifornia sheriff running for governor has seized more than half amillion ballots castina November special election from countyelection officials, saying he’s investigating aballot count discrepancy

County elections officials have disputed the claims by Riverside CountySheriff Chad Bianco, aRepublican. California Attorney General RobBonta, a Democrat, called Bianco’s move unprecedented and says it is designedtosow distrust in elections

Biancoheld anews conference Friday saying his office hadlaunchedthe investigation after receiving acomplaint from alocal citizens group about the ballot count from aNovember 2025 special electiononredistricting.

In the special election, votersapproved ameasuretoredraw congressionaldistrict lines to favor Democrats in the upcoming midtermelection. Themeasure passed in the countybyamargin of morethan 80,000 votes.

Biancoseized ballots in Riverside County, the inland California county of 2.5 million people where he hastwice been elected sheriff. He called the effort “a fact-finding mission.”

“Thisinvestigation is simple: Physically count theballots andcompare thatresult withthe total votes reported,”hesaid Friday

Bianco is one of two prominent Republicans running forgovernor in acrowded June primary that includesmorethan half adozenDemocrats. California runs atop-two primarysystemthatputs all candidates on the same ballot, regardless of party,

and sends the two candidates who getthe most voters onto the Novembergeneral election.

Leading California Democratsare worried thattheir partyhas so many candi-

dates, they risk splitting the vote and sending Bianco and Steve Hilton, another top Republican, onto the general election. That would be astunning outcome in the heavily Democratic state.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MOHAMMAD ZAATARI

Smoke and flames rise Sunday after an Israeli airstrike hit the Qasmiyeh Bridgenear the coastal city of Tyre, Lebanon.

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTO By REBECCA NOBLE yellow flowers and notes were left at the Tucson, Ariz home of NancyGuthrie, the missingmother of ‘Today’ showhost Savannah Guthrie.

“Weshould have been able to get in line as soon as we got here,” Carolyn Stafford said while her husband tracked their flight’sstatus on his smartphone.

Carolyn Staffordexpressed concern for older passengers having to stand for so long.

“Tobehonest, I’m surprised somebody hasn’tfallen out,” she said.

‘High callouts everyday’

Thedelays at MSYare being caused by Transportation Security Administration workerscalling in sick because they haven’tbeen paid fully since the Feb. 14 start of apartial government shutdown amid astalemate betweenRepublicans and Democrats over funding for the Department of Homeland Security

“The TSA has been seeing high callouts every day for the last two or three weeks,” said airport spokesperson Erin Burns. “Wefeel the impacts more on busier travel days.” Burns said Sundays and Mondays are busier days for departing passengers, which means longer lines while there’s ashortage of TSA staff. Sunday departures can hit 24,000 compared with 15,000 on aSaturday,she said.

The airport, which is advising travelers to arrive three hours early,has implemented its overflow queuing system to help keep long lines orderly.Instead of moving from the third-floor check-in area down to the second-floor security area, now passengers go down to the first floor to line up.

Airport staff and Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies are helping oversee the process.

“We’re all trying to do what we can to help,” Burns said.

“Wecan’tscreen passengers, but we’re doing our part to keep things organized.”

TSAPreCheck, whichoffers shorter lines for precleared travelers, was not available Sunday.Clear,a similar service, was operating but not enrolling new customers, and its lines were muchlongerthannormal.

Twotravelers,Connor Gorham and SarahMarchman, found aworkaround: They signed up for Clear from their phones while in line and shaved off at leastan hour from their wait. They’d already missed their flight, but they planned to book a later one.

Earlier this month, when

snakethrough the

Travelers arearrivinghours earlier to make their waythroughsecurity at the NewOrleans airportasa Transportation and Security Administration staff shortagesnarls lines.

theapparent TSA sickout began, airport officials encouraged travelers to arrive three hours before their flight. Now,that adviceno longerseems to guarantee enough time to get through security screenings and to a departuregate.

Among the many social mediaposts that showed lines filling thefirst floorofthe airport’s short-term parking garage Sunday, onewas titled “Abandon hope all ye who enter here.”

Another social media user said hisflight took offwith many empty seats as airlines try to keep on schedule. Meanwhile, about ahalfdozen people who had made it through security Sundaysaid it took around three hours to

completethe process. Burns said the airport expected the congestion to last through most of theday and lighten up about6 p.m. Maureen Peart, visiting from Kent, England, was frustrated.

“I think we need lesspoliticiansand more TSAemployees,” shesaid.“Ican’t even blame them, because they’re not gettingpaid. This is an embarrassmenttoAmerica. Ithink thegovernment needs to have areal look at this and look after its people.”

Politicalstandoff

The current partial shutdown is the second to impact the TSA sincethe country’s longestinhistory ended on Nov.12.

It began after Senate Democrats demanded new restraintsofimmigration enforcement tacticsfollowing the January killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis by federal immigration officials. The lawmakers want immigration agents to wear body cameras and remove their masks, and they are seeking to mandate judicial warrants for arrestsonprivate property

New Orleans, said on Xthat theGOP’srefusal to hold Homeland Security accountable for killing U.S. citizens has resulted in theprolonged government shutdown.

“Our TSA workers at MSY deserve to be paid, andRepublicans need to stop trying to rewrite thetruth andwork with Democrats to endthis shutdown to make it happen,” Carter wrote.

House Majority Leader SteveScalise, R-Jefferson, made the opposing argument.

“This is what happens when Democratscater to their radical base instead of working for the American people,” he wrote. “Enough with the political games. ENDthe shutdown andreopen DHS!” The shutdown hasled to delays at airports nationwide,but notinequal measure. Several travelers arriving at MSY on Sunday said they had no noticeable delays at theirdeparture airports.

Since the political fight began, Democrats and Republicans have blamed each other as they try to use travel misery as leverage Earlierthismonth, Congressman Troy Carter, D-

At 2p.m.Sunday, aCNN wait time tracker at 16 airportsshoweda maximum wait time of 160 minutes at Hartsfield-Jackson InternationalAirport in Atlanta, 90 minutes at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in

Houston and49minutes at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City On Saturday,President Donald Trump said on Truth Social that Immigration andCustoms Enforcement agents will head to U.S. airports Monday.Onthe Sunday talk shows, different administration officials offered varyingdescriptions of what the agents would do once there. Regardless, their deployment might be pointless, according to James Carville, aNew Orleansbased political consultant. “Those are different enforcemententitieswithdifferent training,” Carville said during aphone interview Sunday.“Having ICE helpwithpassenger screening is like having adermatologist fill acavity.” Also Sunday,Gov.Jeff Landry said on Xhe’d be willing to sendthe National Guard to airports to ease securitylines“causedbythe Democrat shutdown.”

There’snoindication the impasse on Capitol Hill will break by Friday,the next payday forTSA workers, andbefore ascheduledrecess for Congress. Homeland Security officials said more than 300 agents have left the TSA since the partial shutdown began.

“Wehave been discovered,” said Carolyn Ketchel, who represents the area on the Board of County Commissioners. The flights are transforming the Florida Panhandle city from aregional retreat for vacationers from metros like New Orleans and Atlanta to agetaway popular with travelers from across the nation. It is also asignof how much tourism is expanding across the Gulf Coast as the region’spopulationkeeps rising.

“This opens up the door to alot of new people,” Fort Walton BeachMayor Nic Allegretto said this month, afew days after the airline JetBluelaunchedits first nonstop flights to the region from Boston andNew York City.Southwest Airlinesis starting seasonal nonstop service from Pittsburgh in June. New Allegiant routes from Denver and Columbia, Missouri, will also start this spring and summer

“We’re ready for it,” he said. Locals say the newcomers are shiftingFort Walton’s fortunes. The city is stillless crowded and developed than Destin, just afew minutes’ drive away.But it is growing fast. Hotels and restaurants have so many new job openings that some businesses are turning to visa programs that allow employees from around the world to clean rooms or wait tables for the summer

Newnonstop flightstoDestin and FortWalton Beach areexpected to bringmoretourists to the popularbeach vacation spots on theFloridaPanhandle.

Andasadvertisements go national,some Fort Walton Beach attractionsare already serving customers from the Midwest who are notusedtothe water.

“They are wondering if they’re going to get seasick,” saidAmy Payne,who owns Sandy Bottom Boat Tours in FortWaltonBeachand is increasingly meeting first-time visitors who are leery of marinelife.

“Peopleare like, ‘Are there going to be sharks down here?’”she said

Flightsfueltourism

The touristsare bringing more taxdollars andthrilling local leaders. Tourismjobs are energizing the economy andleadingtolow unemployment. The boost is funding city amenities,including parks. And visitors arriving by plane could bring in even more money becausethey cannot bringcoolers packed withfood, and theyoften visit local stores to buy beach toys.

“Itopens it up to atotally newdemographic of visitors,”said TedCorcoran, president of the Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce. “It’snot just peaking in thesummer,” he added. “Now youhavefolks flying down here in March.”

The shiftisalsofueling debate and creating some challenges. Some leaders disagree on whether the visitorseason should last year-round. Local housing is hard to find, so businesses aretrying to lure employees

who can drivetoworkfrom Alabama. The citywants to improve road infrastructure to ease trafficand is working with thestate on a$171 million bridge replacement.

“Visitors will hopefully pardon our dust,” themayor said.

Theshift is intentional County and airport leaders have pushed for morecarriers overthe last decade, and Allegiant made theDestin-

Fort Walton Beach Airport a hub in 2018. For years, Destin has boasted higher name recognitionthanFortWalton Beach, amilitary town of about21,000.

“That’sgoing to all change as the growth comes this way,” Ketchel, the county commissioner, said. Locals say they arenoticing thedifference. Regional tourists arestill visiting,but charterboatcaptainsare also

reassuring wary inland tourists that lifejackets are on board.Other visitors are often delighted to see dolphins forthe first time

“If Icould take it off the mapasatourist destination andhaveitjust be thequiet littleplace it was, I’dprefer that,” saidMichael Percy, whoteaches kiteboarding and electric-powered surfing at his Fort Walton Beach business, XLKites.

STAFF PHOTOSByENAN CHEDIAK

AirportinKenner on Sunday

Carter

Scalise

BY JULIE CARR SMYTH and JOEY CAPPELLETTI Associated Press

FAIRFIELD, Ohio Although Presi-

dent Donald Trump is the top Democratic nemesis, some of the party’s most ambitious leaders are increasingly looking past him and at Vice President JD Vance.

In the latest example, Kentucky

Gov Andy Beshear traveled to Vance’s home county in Ohio, where on Saturday night he said the vice president had abandoned the communities that he wrote about in the memoir that made him famous Beshear said “Hillbilly Elegy,” which detailed Vance’s hardscrabble upbringing, had “trafficked in tired stereotypes.”

“His book ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ was really hillbilly hate,” the governor said at a Democratic fundraiser in Butler County. “It is poverty tourism, because he ain’t from Appalachia.”

The broadside was not only a sign of Beshear’s own potential presidential aspirations, but a reflection of Vance’s status as the Republican heir apparent to the coalition that twice elected Trump to the White House.

“With every day that passes, we get closer to a day when Donald Trump is no longer president. And we need to prepare for that day,” said Lis Smith, a Democratic strategist. “Right now, JD Vance is a clear front-runner for the 2028 nomination. And so we should begin defining him — not in 2027, not in 2028 — but today.”

Vance spokesperson Taylor Van Kirk brushed off Beshear’s criticism as coming from a flawed messenger

“Every time Andy Beshear attacks the vice president to try to get himself publicity, he ends up humiliating himself in the process, but maybe that’s something he’s into?” she said.

An early foil

U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna of California was among the first Democrats to begin focusing on Vance last year

Khanna stopped at the City Club of Cleveland and Yale University, where he and Vance studied law, and gave speeches that attempted to cast Vance as more extreme than Trump.

Pennsylvania Gov Josh Shapiro, another potential presidential contender in 2028, singled out Vance in November while making the argument that the Trump administration

did not care about working people.

“At least with Donald Trump, he’s transparent about that,” Shapiro said. “JD Vance is a total phony.”

Some Democrats have coalesced around California Gov Gavin Newsom as a strong candidate because of his aggressive strategy in going after Republicans.

He coined the nickname “JD ‘Just Dance’ Vance” on social media, and he has mocked the vice president’s appearance, saying Vance “grew a beard and lost his spine.”

Smith, the strategist who led Pete Buttigieg’s 2020 presidential campaign and still works with the former Biden administration transportation secretary said every line of criticism of Vance is an audition.

“There’s definitely value in taking on Vance to show Democrats, hey,

this could be me on the debate stage against him,” said Smith.

Vance invokes his roots

The vice president was born and raised in Butler County’s Middletown, and he rose to prominence with the publication of ”Hillbilly Elegy” in 2016. The book earned Vance a reputation as someone who could help explain Trump’s appeal in middle America, especially among the working class, rural white voters who helped Trump win the presidency Vance carried that reputation to the U.S. Senate, winning election in 2022, and later to the vice presidency That same background is likely to be central to any future presidential run — and it is precisely what Democrats are now working to undercut.

At Saturday’s Democratic fundraiser, the mere mention of Vance’s name drew a chorus of boos from the audience.

“I don’t think he’s got the magic that everybody looks at with Trump,” said Theresa Vacheresse, a retired physician and business owner who attended the event.

I think when Trump is gone, the Democrats might have a chance. My god, I hope so.”

The focus on Vance is not unusual for a vice president widely seen as a potential future nominee, particularly one as young as 41. Republicans went after Kamala Harris early in her tenure under President Joe Biden to undermine her political future.

Jamal Simmons, Harris’ communications director in 2022 and 2023, said vice presidents can be vulnerable.

“The party is built to defend the

president more than it is the vice president,” he said. “The vice president’s kind of out there on their own, to defend themself, and find friends where they can.”

Republicans, including Vance, frequently tied Harris to some of the Democratic administration’s most politically difficult issues, such as immigration and border security

“Being vice president is a very mixed blessing,” said David Axelrod, who was a top adviser to Democratic President Barack Obama.

“You often don’t have the assets of the president, but you inherit all of the president’s record. The good, the bad, and the ugly.”

Beshear sees success

Beshear is the rare Democrat to lead a red state, and he is positioning himself as someone who can reach voters who have tuned out his party

He said Democrats can “actually go and win back those voters that JD Vance is so condescending to” if they stay focused on Americans’ basic needs such as affordable health care and public safety

“We’ve gotta start talking to people and not at them,” he said.

“That’s how I won counties in eastern Kentucky that normally vote for Republicans by large margins including Breathitt County

That’s the county JD Vance pretends to be from. Donald Trump won it by 59 points. I won it by 22 points the year earlier.”

The audience appeared delighted with Beshear’s message.

“I think he’s first-rate,” said Mark Kaplan, who lives in Butler County “What he’s got is compassion, empathy, charisma and intellect, but he’s also down-to-earth.”

Cuba begins to restore power after nationwide grid collapse

BY ANDREA RODRÍGUEZ Associated Press

HAVANA Cuba began restoring its energy system on Sunday, a day after a nationwide collapse of the entire grid left millions of people in the dark for the third time this month.

Some 72,000 customers in the capital, among them five hospitals, had electricity again early Sunday, according to a report from the state-run Electric Union and the Ministry of Energy and Mines, but it’s only a fraction of Havana’s total population of approximately 2 million.

In Havana and provinces such as western Matanzas and eastern Holguin, local power microsystems were set up to supply the most vital centers Residents in some areas of the capital told The Associated Press that power returned during the early morning hours.

Cuba is currently facing an unprecedented energy crisis. Its aging grid has drastically eroded in recent years, but the government has also blamed the outages on a U.S energy blockade, after President Donald Trump in January warned of tariffs on any country

that sells or provides oil to Cuba His administration is demanding that Cuba release political prisoners and move toward political and economic liberalization in return for a lifting of sanctions. Trump also has raised the possibility of a “friendly takeover of Cuba.”

Another reason Cuba has been struggling with dwindling oil is the removal by the U.S. of Venezuela’s former President Nicolás Maduro, which halted critical petroleum shipments from the nation that had been a steadfast ally to Havana.

President Miguel Díaz-

Israeli settlers smash cars and set fires in the West Bank

BY SAM METZ Associated Press

RAMALLAH,West Bank Israeli settlers rampaged through multiple Palestinian villages overnight Saturday and into Sunday, smashing cars, setting fires and wounding several men in the latest flare-up of violence in the occupied West Bank.

The official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported attacks in at least six communities on Sunday The Palestinian Red Crescent

Society said at least three Palestinians in the village of Jalud suffered head wounds from beatings and were hospitalized after confronting settlers, who were also reported injured.

The rampage came a day after an 18-year-old Israeli settler was killed in a collision with a Palestinian vehicle in an area near two of the villages attacked Police said they are investigating the settlers’ claims that the collision was deliberate.

The violence came as

Israel’s government also presses ahead with new settlements in the occupied West Bank. Attacks by settlers have intensified alongside a broader surge in violence since the Iran war started.

Israel’s military said it responded to Israeli civilians carrying out “arson against structures and property, as well as engaging in disturbances in the area,” but did not report any arrests or indicate whether investigations were opened.

Canel has said the island has not received oil from foreign suppliers for three months. Cuba produces barely 40% of the fuel it needs to power its economy Daily blackouts have a significant impact on the population, whose lives are disrupted by reduced

work hours, lack of electricity for cooking and damage to household appliances among many other consequences.

“With the blackout and low voltage, my refrigerator broke that was today

The day before yesterday, the voltage also dropped around 10 at night,” Suleydi Crespo, a 33-year-old woman with two small children, told AP on Saturday “If there’s no electricity tomorrow, we won’t be able to get water.” Residents also expressed exhaustion from the constant outages, whether nationwide or partial.

across the state, as roughly half amillionLouisianans have lost coverage through Medicaid since 2023. More are continuing to fall off the rolls each month,asthe Louisiana Department of Health has ramped up eligibility checks ahead of federal requirementsthat will take effect across the country next year Treatment providersand advocates say the changes havebarred low-income people from receiving needed health care and are threatening the bottom line of health centers that rely on Medicaid payments.

“It is having real-time effects and is areason why people are not abletoaccess the health care they need,” said Raegan Carter,director of health policy at the Louisiana Primary Care Association, which represents Odyssey House and dozens of other community health centers across the state. “If our uninsured numbers increase, if we begin to serve even more uninsured patients… we may endup closing health centers.” Louisiana HealthSecretary BruceGreenstein, who took over the departmentin April, has said the department’spriority is to improve efficiency and “fight fraud, waste, and abuse” in the state’sMedicaid program.

In astatement, Health Department spokesperson AmyWhitehead said“a combination of proper eligibility redeterminations and arobust economy has ledto appropriate Medicaiddisenrollment.”

Confirmingeligibility

Like in states across the country,Medicaid enrollment in Louisiana expanded in recent years as pandemicera protections kept people from being kicked off the program— from 1.6 million people in February 2020 to just over 2million in March 2023, according to state Health Department data Those protections included automatic renewals of Medicaid coverage, regardless of income or otherchanges.

But people in Louisiana and across the U.S. rapidly

BILL

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they will agree to time extensions but change course at thelastminute to force case dismissals.

“Requiring awritten motion (to release achild) avoids prosecutors being ambushed with unexpected opposition when theyare seeking to extend the timeline in ajuvenile case,” Executive DirectorZach Daniels said in astatement, referring to another provision of the bill. “This does not guarantee achild will remain in custody,orthat aprosecutor’srequest to continue the hearing will be granted.”

Butthe bill is facing significant blowbackfrom criminaljustice advocates, defense attorneys and some youth detention center administrators. They warnthe bill would let prosecutors indefinitely postpone cases, leadtoovercrowding in juveniledetentionfacilities, delay children’saccess to rehabilitative services and make them more likelyto reoffend.

Jack Harrison, alaw professor at LSU who specializes in the Louisiana Children’sCode, called the bill “an utter disaster.”

“It would dismantle much of what makes the juvenile system appropriateand effective. It would cause detention costs across the state to skyrocket,” he said. “If the DA thinks,‘OK, what thiskid needs is ayear in custody,’ they candothat without (the youth)having to be found guilty of anything.”

In aWednesday meeting, the AdministrationofCriminal Justice Committee gave the bill avote of approval on an 8-3 vote, with opposition coming from some Democrats, and sent it to the full

lost coverage when states resumed eligibility checks at Congress’ direction —a process known as “unwinding.” In Louisiana, enrollment has since dropped to below pre-COVID numbers, falling below 1.5 millionin February for the first time since 2016, accordingto state data.

Astate law that took effect last year requires the state to verify eligibilityinformationusingexisting government data and by confirmingdirectly with Medicaid recipients.

Medicaidrecipientsmust be Louisiana residents, and state health officials began last year to check residency through theOffice of Motor Vehicles, Whitehead said. The statehas also begun to do more frequent eligibility checksfor people who have not used Medicaid services for at least 21/2 years. The state discovered more than 39,000people on the Medicaid rolls who wereno longer eligible or who are dead, shesaid At aHouseAppropriations Committee meetingreview-

House for consideration Cox, its sponsor,promised to work on amendments to address concernsthat children will languish in detention if the bill passes.

He hopes that “ultimately we’re goingtoget their concerns addressed and have a bill that everybodycan be for,”hesaid in an interview

What HB140does

In Louisiana, teens accused of more serious crimes can be charged as adults. In those cases, they are subject to longer detention times.

But when youthare placed in thejuvenile system, they are supposed to be convicted or released no more than 60 days after their appearance hearings. Nonviolent crimes have a30-day deadline.

Prosecutors can delay proceedingsfor just cause, in which case achild could remain in custody or be releaseduntil adjudication, depending on the judicial districtand judge.According to defenseattorneys, judges regularly grant extensions.

HB140 would double the adjudication timelinefor violent crimes from 60 to 120 days, anditwould triple the timeline fornonviolent crimes from 30 to 90 days. And,oncethe allotted time runsout,youth couldbereleased only with two written defense motions and after a hearing in which the prosecutor could arguethere was agood reason for thedelay

HB140 does notprovide deadlines for when those hearings would need to occur. Currently, ajudge may order adefendant released uponanoralmotion from thedefense.

HB140 would also write time suspensions into the Children’sCode, meaning the clock on pre-adjudication timelines wouldstop under some circumstances, such as when the defense files routinepretrial motions.

ingthe Health Department’s budgetlast week,Rep Stephanie Berault, R-Slidell, applauded the state’swork.

“I even saw that we are down nowtothe lowest we’ve been since 2016,” said Berault.

“Itseems to me at least from what I’ve heard thatno one who is eligible has lost their benefits to this point, which Ithink is great,”Berault said, as Greenstein nodded in agreement.

Experts estimatethat as many as 100,000 more people in thestate could lose Medicaid coveragewhen federal work requirements for theprogrambegin next year,though state officials have put that figure much lower Thoseruleswill require Medicaid recipients to be working on engaging in other activities like community service or school.

Snagsinthe process

But some health care providers saythe state’s practices are flawed. Dr.Alecia Cyprian, CEO of Southeast Community HealthSystems,

That suspension would last until ajudge ruled on the motion, at which point the prosecution could delay thetrial by another 90 days. They would be entitled to that extension, according to Harrison, who saidjudges would not have thediscretion to set shorter timelines. Juveniles in Louisianaare tried by judges, not juries, andbecause of thesystem’s tight timelines, judges often rule on motions the same day of trial.

Under HB140, asuspension would alsooccur if ajuvenile triedtoevade the authorities, could notbetried duetoinsanityorfailedto appear in court.For those circumstances, theclock would reset once interruption ended.

Bill sparks debate

HB140 would make the juvenile courtsystemmore closely resemble theadult system,anideapanned by defense advocates,who saidyouth need swiftconsequences andprompt access to rehabilitative services

“We’re inviting the same level of stagnation and inertiathat we come in hereand complain aboutinthe criminal system every session into juvenile court,” Meghan Garvey,a legislative advocate for theLouisiana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, toldthe AdministrationofCriminalJustice Committee.

Robin Capps, apublic defender in East Baton Rouge Parish, saidthe bill would cause kids to spend “exorbitant” amountsoftimein custody and create heavier workloads for already overburdenedcourtsand public defenders.

Meanwhile, prosecutors arguedthatother safeguards would keep juvenilesfrom languishing in detention, and that the bill would “modernize” adjudication timelines.

Douglas Rushton, who

which operates health cen-

ters across four southeast Louisiana parishes, said the state hasattimes stripped people of coverageafter attempts to reach them have failed. Often,the statehas outdated patient contact information

“Sometimes their phone numbers, their physical addresseschange Not keeping that information updated is impacting the abilityof people to maintain coverage,” said Cyprian, who noted theuninsuredrate among patients at the21health centers she oversees increased from 5% in 2022 to 11% in 2025.

Ina Simmons, 83, is one of those people. TheWest Bank residentsaidshe and her88-year-old brother both found themselves without healthinsurance in February after they missed or didn’tunderstand state letters that asked them to submit information as part of eligibility checks. Simmons’ daughter Nanette McCainrushedtorenew their plans, and the family is hopeful that Medicaid

heads up thejuvenile divisionfor the JeffersonParish District Attorney’sOffice, told legislators that sincethe timelines wereset, technological advancements have givenprosecutors much more evidence to review Prosecutors need more time to processmaterials such as body-worn cameras and DNA results, he said.

Rushton arguedthatvery few juveniles are held pretrial —Jefferson Parish has 17 such juveniles in their facility, he said. At thebeginning of the judicial process, bail hearings and screenings thatdetermine whether kids should leave custody provide manyoptions for release, he said.

“Those are thethings that keep kids fromlanguishing

will retroactively reimburse them forbills they incurred during the in-between time But the experiencewas frustrating.

“I think it’s hideous that you would take older people. .I am 83 yearsold,and they’re makingmesuffer,” said Simmons. “Weworked all our lives and now we’re on retirement, and this is what you’re doing to us?”

Whitehead did not respond to aquestion about Simmons’ claim

Impact on health providers

At the sametime, dwindlingMedicaidincomehas hurtthe budgets of some Louisiana health care providers.

Kevin Gardere, CEO at Bridge House, aresidential addiction treatment facility, said the facility’spercentage of patients on Medicaid dropped from 82% in 2021 to 61% in 2025.

The organization now relies moreonother sources of incometokeep up services, like revenues from its used car lotand thrift store.It’s also had to cut into savings.

in detention, not these timelines,” Rushton said.

Detentionofficialsweigh in

In astatement, the DistrictAttorney’sOffice said HB140 is “not intended to increase juvenile detention.”

But detention officials raised concerns that it would.

Though he did nottake an officialpositiononthe bill, Anthony Celestine,who directs Calcasieu Parish’sjuvenile detention center,told legislators it would increase the numberofyouth held pretrial, and that his facility might nothavethe capacity to handle them.Healso saidextended pretrial detention can harm children andhindertheir chances at

“Wenever had to dip into savings until the end of 2023,” said Gardere. “We’ve been operating at adeficit.”

Dr.Rochelle Head-Dunham, executivedirectorof theMetropolitan Human Services District, amental health and addiction treatment organization, said the organization saw an 11% decreaseinclients with Medicaidfrom 2024 to 2025 and then another 20% decrease over the past year

“Wemakeithappenregardless,” said Head-Dunham, whose organization receives mostofits funding from the state’sgeneral fund and from federal grants. “Wedon’thave the luxury of choice here. They still have to be seen by us.”

Odyssey House, too, has worked hard in recent years to treatpatients, regardless of their abilitytopay.From fiscal year 2024 to 2025, the organization spent$2.4 million at its New Orleans facilities to cover care that wasn’t covered by insurance, said its CEO, Ed Carlson. While the organization has typically received reimbursementfor services by helping patients enroll in Medicaid once they are in treatment, Carlson said the denial rate has skyrocketed in recent months.Just around afifth of participants who’ve appliedhavebeen approved since July 1. He said the denial letters don’t include areason.

“I’mdealing withpeople who only have the shirt on their back —Idon’t understand how they wouldn’t qualify,” said Carlson. Butthis year,the organization’sboard voted to limit spending on care foruninsured people. With fewer patients being treated, Odyssey House has reduced staffing statewide by around 90 people —roughly afifth of its workforce— over the past several months, Carlson said. The consequencesofcutting back on treatment can be deadly,Carlson said. “People aren’t getting access to care, so they’re on the streets,” said Carlson. “Theyjust keep using and they either get arrested, or they’re doing illegal activity, or they’re dying.”

Staff writer Emily Woodruff contributed to this report.

rehabilitation.

“Wedon’twant to get to the point where we’re adultifying the juvenile system,” Celestine said. “The longera kid is takenout of school andout of the home, it does disrupt their day-todayoperations.”

JosephDominick, who headsupthe juvenile detention center in the Florida Parishes, said in an interview that most pretrial facilities are not designed to hold kids for long periodsoftime, andsotheydo notofferthe rehabilitative services that the state or a community could provide.

“Perhaps therecan be somehappy medium,” Dominicksaid. “Pushing (adjudication) out 120days might be alittle bit much.”

STAFFPHOTO

NOLA.COM | Monday, March 23, 2026 1Bn

Archdiocese sells apartments

New owner says low-income Christoper Homes tenants will be able to stay

commitment to the ‘mission’ is outstanding.”

BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL Staff writer

The Archdiocese of New Orleans

has finalized the sale of Christopher Homes, its portfolio of apartments for low-income seniors, to New York-based Tredway, one of the largest affordable housing developers in the country

“I am happy to say we are not only buying these and preserving them as affordable, but we are going to ensure they remain affordable and high quality for people who live there,” Blodgett said by

The $152 million deal which closed Friday, ensures that some 1,600 elderly and disabled residents of the 14 complexes will be able to stay in the homes, which Tredway CEO Will Blodgett said will get long overdue renovations totaling as much as $50 million.

Multiple factors resulted in death of heron

Slidell bird was emaciated, had infection, lab says

BY WILLIE SWETT Staff writer

Lab results reviewed by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries shed new light on what might have caused the death in January of a Slidell bird that captured the attention of birders around southeast Louisiana, earning the nickname the “Goth Heron.”

Photos of the bird’s striking black feathers drew observers to Davis Landing in Slidell and sparked widespread debate online about whether the bird was a rare melanistic great blue heron or if its feathers were stained. Experienced birders at the Orleans Audubon Society at one point said it might be a great egret.

Wildlife and Fisheries identified the bird as a juvenile female great blue heron. Then, after the bird died, there was further debate about what caused it

In an initial examination, Jonathan Roberts, the LDWF state wildlife veterinarian, found that the bird was stained due to exposure to an oily substance. The bird was not melanistic, meaning its black feathers were not the result of a genetic mutation.

Roberts sent the bird’s carcass to the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study diagnostic laboratory in Georgia for a necropsy — an autopsy performed on an animal.

The necropsy showed multiple factors contributed to the heron’s death, Roberts said in a statement. The heron was suffering from extreme emaciation, a severe gastrointestinal parasite infection and exposure to the chemical compounds contained in the oily substance that coated it, he said.

“Initially, I thought, ‘Did this thing get hit by a car?’” recalled Greg Capranica, an avid birder who found the heron dead in a ditch on Jan. 5.

“It’s validating to hear that something environmental did have to play in this bird’s death,” Capranica said, adding that he hopes the attention the bird generated will lead to more attention to any possible environmental pollution in the area.

The chemical compounds found in the oily substance are usually created by the burning of petroleum products, Roberts also said, and chronic exposure to them typically causes immune suppression, red blood cell damage and infertility Roberts said it was unknown

phone Sunday The deal was a linchpin of the bankruptcy settlement the archdiocese reached late last year with hundreds of survivors of clergy sex abuse. Under the terms of the agreement, the archdiocese guaranteed that proceeds from the sale — after it pays off a federal loan — will go into a $300 million trust to be distributed among survivors. Archbishop James Checchio was

traveling to Rome on Sunday and unavailable for comment, an archdiocese spokesperson said. But in court documents last September disclosing the purchase agreement with Tredway attorneys for the archdiocese referred to the buyer as “a responsible and experienced owner that shares in our mission to provide high-quality affordable housing and has an established track record Their

Tredway was founded in 2021 by Blodgett, an entrepreneur with decades of experience developing and owning quality, affordable and workforce housing. The firm owns more than 3,500 units in dozens of complexes across nine states. Its holdings include a newly renovated 1,000-unit complex in

Hobby Lobby

Mentally disabled man kicked out of Harahan store

BY MATT BRUCE Staff writer

A federal jury found that a Harahan Hobby Lobby discriminated against a Jefferson Parish man with a mental handicap when he was thrown out of the store and then pepper-sprayed three years ago. Charles “Chip” George was awarded damages after his attorneys argued that the actions

Flying food

ABOVE: A rider in the Louisiana Irish-Italian Parade on Sunday throws cabbages to revelers along Veterans Boulevard in Metairie.

LEFT: Shannon Pham, center, catches a potato in a giant pot.

discriminated against customer, jury finds

of the store manager violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by treating him less favorably than others because of his disability But the jury of six women and two men rejected a separate claim that the store failed to provide reasonable accommodations for George, and reduced the damages from about $450,000 to $10,000. In the civil case filed on behalf of George by his family, attorneys claimed that George shopped at the Harahan store along Citrus Boulevard for over 10 years without incident. George liked to buy paintings of comic book superheroes like Batman, Superman and

wanted. He visited the store multiple times a week.

On the morning of Nov 27, 2023 — the Monday after Thanksgiving the store was in “chaos” with customers waiting in long lines, several witnesses testified.

When a new store manager, Heather Ford, spotted George asking one of her customer service managers to add up the

amount for his order, she told him the store was too busy and he’d have to come back later George began shouting obscenities and Ford told him to leave. She then called 911 and reported George for loitering, being belligerent and refusing to leave the store. She asked for officers to “come talk to him” and said she wanted him banned from the store. George’s attorneys said she didn’t inform the deputy that he was mentally disabled. When a deputy arrived, George tried to punch the officer and was taken into custody for resisting

STAFF PHOTOS By ENAN CHEDIAK

Lafayette municipal golf course turns 100

Community celebrates history

BY JOANNA BROWN Staff writer

For drivers passing by on Louisiana Avenue, the Lafayette municipal golf course is a sea of green in the urban heart of the city dotted with live oaks, water hazards and golf carts visible through a three-story high netting that lines the roadway For nongolfers, the course provides a pleasant backdrop to their daily commute. For residents of north Lafayette, it’s a 100-year-old anchor of the community, a place where generations have grown up working part-time jobs and swimming at the nearby Domingue Recreation Center And for people like District 5 Lafayette council member Kenneth Boudreaux and Herb Schilling, of Schilling Distributing Co., the course is a core part of their personal histories — a place that has shaped careers and friendships over decades.

“This is the first place I ever hit a golf ball,” said Schilling, sharing memories at the Jay & Lionel Hebert Municipal Golf Course’s centennial kickoff celebration on Friday in the clubhouse.

“I ended up playing golf for USL,” he said referring to the University of Southwestern Louisiana, now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. “Went to the city championship. I ended up living a life because of golf that I never could have imagined. I look forward to the course continuing to grow, and making it the very best that it can be.”

The Lafayette municipal golf course was founded in 1926 at the old Lafayette fairgrounds, and just seven years later, a 10-yearold named Jay Hebert would begin caddying at the course, according to speaker Matthew Marsiglia, who reported on the golf course’s history at the centennial kickoff event.

“He earned $1 that day and decided it was a good deal because it was more than he was making as a bat boy So he continued to cad-

HERON

Continued from page 1B

die until 1936, when his 8-year-old brother, Lionel, joined his brother to caddie at Muni,” said Marsiglia. Jay and Lionel Hebert grew up to become renowned golfers, and the only brothers to both win a PGA championship Nov. 15, 1960, was officially designated as Jay and Lionel Hebert Day in Lafayette, and in 2001, the course was renamed for the brothers in recognition of their legacy Lionel Hebert’s granddaughter Danielle Doucet represented the Hebert family at the centennial kickoff.

“I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart, and on behalf of my family, for keeping this place alive and keeping his legacy alive, and allowing stories to continue to be told around the table, over some drinks and smiles,” she said.

where the bird might have been exposed to burning petroleum products. The home range of great blue herons is not usually greater than 10 miles from their nesting sites, he said. The oily substance coated and matted the bird’s feathers, causing it to lose the ability to repel water regulate body temperature and sustain flight, Roberts said. He said there was also cold weather around the time the bird was sighted, Roberts said, which may have caused the bird to have some level of hypothermia because of the oily feathers. The repeated bouts of hypothermia, the reduced flight and the reduced ability to hunt all likely contributed to the bird’s emaciation, Roberts said, as did its gastrointestinal infection.

If a resident sees an oiled animal, they can contact the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries by calling LDWF’s Oil Spill Hotline at (337) 735-8677 and contact the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality by calling (225) 219-3640 or the toll-free number (888) 763-5424.

Email Willie Swett at willie.swett@ theadvocate.com.

HOBBY

Continued from page 1B

arrest with violence. According to court records, the officer deployed pepper spray in George’s face and mouth. The burst also hit his sister Kimberly and her boyfriend. Both had intervened to try to restrain George, who ended up spending 25 hours in jail before family members managed to bail him out.

Prosecutors did not pursue the criminal charges, deeming George incompetent to stand trial, court records show

“We feel vindicated,” lead plaintiff attorney Christopher Edmunds said following the verdict. “It’s very stressful going to trial. Hobby Lobby had very competent legal counsel. But the jury heard all the evidence and at the end of the day, the jury has spoken loud and clear that Hobby Lobby violated the Americans with Disabilities Act.” Hobby Lobby’s attorneys sought

Lafayette Parish Mayor-President Monique Boulet and Boudreaux both stated their goal to continue supporting the municipal course through city investments in the area and highlighting the course as a unique asset for the community

“My kids have played here. My husband has played here. It’s a part of the community that’s really special,” said Boulet. “Since 1926, it’s been a gathering place, sitting among some of our community’s greatest assets like the newly renovated Fire Station No. 2. “It’s across the street from the future home of the new library, which I’m very excited about. The O.J. Mouton pool is also not very far away, and it’s one of only two Olympic-sized pools in the whole state — and we’re

about to bring it back to life, too.”

Boudreaux agreed with the mayor-president’s rosy outlook for the course and surrounding neighborhood, calling District 5 “God’s country.”

“When I have colleagues come in from all over the country, they are in disbelief that we have a fullfledged, 18-hole golf course in the center of Lafayette, in this community, in this neighborhood. I can tell you it has a huge impact,” he said. “Know that the Jay & Lionel Hebert Municipal Golf Course is here to stay We’re going to continue to provide the necessary funding so it can grow, so it can remain modern, so it can continue to keep up.”

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

to prove that providing the accommodations George demanded would’ve caused the business to fundamentally reshape its operations — an exception to the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Hal Ungar, the attorney for Hobby Lobby, said the plaintiff’s legal team showed no evidence of discrimination and argued Ford would’ve taken the same measures to remove anyone who was causing a similar scene inside the store.

“This case is about if it’s OK and reasonable to say ‘no’ if someone is being belligerent,” Ungar told the jurors “Their strategy was to call Ms. Ford a monster Over and over And it was just to distract you with parlor tricks to hide the lack of evidence.” Following the verdict, Edmunds said he plans to ask presiding U.S. District Judge Barry Ashe to issue an injunctive order requiring Hobby Lobby to train employees at its thousands of stores on the Americans with Disabilities Act.

He’ll also ask that the permanent ban be lifted so George can return

Continued from page 1B

more than 600 units in North Carolina.

Blodgett, whose wife owns a stake in the New York Giants, has been recognized for his philanthropy and support of civic and charitable causes in New York and elsewhere around the country He grew up in a low-income Chicago neighborhood and said his life’s passion has been to address a need he knows about from firsthand experience.

“I had three friends in public housing in Chicago,” he said. “Affordability all across America is really hard right now and one-third of renters in New Orleans are rent-burdened, so the need is real.”

Blodgett said Tredway will immediately begin upgrading the buildings in its new portfolio, making improvements to resiliency, energy efficiency and life safety features like lighting and handrails.

Once those investments are complete, the firm will begin assessing needs within individual complexes and making in-unit repairs.

The company also plans to enhance services, where needed, adding residence services coordinators in complexes that do not have one, picking up the tab for cable and utilities and providing free meals.

Providence Community Housing, which has managed the complexes for the archdiocese since November 2024, will continue to run them for Tredway, Blodgett said.

“They have done a great job and we see them as our partner,” he said. “We are going to enhance what they are able to do.”

The complexes operate under a program from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development known as “Project-based” Section 8, which caps a tenant’s rent at 30% of their income. Blodgett said rents will not go up, even though the quality of life will improve for tenants.

Money in the bank

Christopher Homes was founded by the late Archbishop Philip Hannan in 1966 and eventually grew to include 21 apartment complexes for lowincome seniors in and around New Orleans. In the early 2010s, the church sold six of the complexes to Providence Community Housing, a local nonprofit that develops affordable housing.

The properties include suburban complexes like Wynnhoven I and II on the West Bank the Apartments at Mater Dolorosa Uptown and the 10-story Christopher Inn, which towers over Frenchmen Street in the historic Faubourg Marigny

The properties are encumbered by $70 million in HUD debt, which the archdiocese must pay off before depositing the bulk of the sale proceeds into the settlement, which is also is funded by the archdiocese, its affiliated parishes and charitable organizations, and contributions from church insurers.

Since finalizing the bankruptcy settlement in December, nearly half the settlement funds have been deposited into the trust, with more money still on the way, court documents show

Payments have not yet gone out to survivors, however, because a claims administrator a lawyer appointed by the court with the consent of abuse survivors — is evaluating the claims and ascribing points to each, which will determine how much money the survivor is entitled to receive.

It is unclear how long that process will take, but attorneys involved in the case have said survivors should receive payments later this year

Email Stephanie Riegel at stephanie.riegel@ theadvocate.com.

STAFF PHOTO By JOANNA BROWN

Lafayette City Council member Kenneth Boudreaux, left, along with Lafayette Parish Mayor-President Monique Boulet and family members of Jay and Lionel Hebert kick off centennial celebrations Friday at the Jay & Lionel Hebert Municipal Golf Course in Lafayette.

PROVIDED PHOTO

Kimberly George consoles her brother Charles ‘Chip’ George, front, after the two were pepper-sprayed by a Jefferson Parish deputy outside the Harahan Hobby Lobby on Nov. 27, 2023.

PROVIDED PHOTO By ERIC McVICKER

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries says a bird with black feathers in Slidell that became the subject of debate and fascination online before dying in January was a juvenile female great blue heron stained with an oily residue. The agency says the bird died from multiple factors, including emaciation, a gastrointestinal parasite infection and exposure to some type of oily substance.

Deaths

AdamsJr.,Thomas

Blackwell, William

DeLargeJr.,Alton

Dent,Mary

Francioni,Ione

McCarty, Ernest

EJefferson

Garden of Memories

Blackwell, William NewOrleans

Charbonnet

DeLargeJr.,Alton

Lake Lawn Metairie

AdamsJr.,Thomas

St Bernard

CharbonnetLabat

Francioni,Ione

Obituaries

passed away peacefully at his home on March 14, 2026, at the age of 82, surrounded by his family. Tom was born on November 30, 1943, in Tampa, Florida. He later moved with his familyto Metairie, Louisiana, where he attended East Jefferson High School. He was a proud graduate of Tulane University, where he earned his undergraduate degree in Chemistry while pitching for the university's baseballteam, an experience he recalledwith great pride. He continued his education at Loyola University School of Dentistry and completed his residency at Charity Hospital in New Orleans. Tom went on to serve in the United States Army as asurgeon at Eisenhower Medical Center, located near Augusta National Golf Club, acourse he often spoke of fondly and hoped to play one day. Following his military service, Tom built adistinguished career as an oral and maxillofacial surgeonatEast Jefferson General Hospital. He was widely respected for his precision, professionalism, and compassionate care for his patients. Known as "the singing oral surgeon,"he often sang Elvissongsto put his patients at ease Outside of his professional life, Tom was aman of many talents and interests. He approached each hobby with dedication and adesire to master it. His hobbies included archery, duck carving, woodworking, and classical guitar. He was also an avid golfer who found great joy on the course. Aman of deep faith, Thomasattended dailyMass and faithfully participated in the

Manresa Men's Retreat for more than 20 years. He livedhis life with passion, intention, and conviction. Tomwas precededin death by his parents, Thomas O. Adams Sr. and Marthany Scott Adams; his daughter,Christine Adams;and his sister, Marilyn Adams Fox.Heis survived by hisdevoted wife, Alycia Amadeo Adams; his children, Robin Adams and Todd Adams (Julie); the mother of his children, DeardraAdams; his grandchildren, Sabelle Adams and Noah Adams; as well as his stepchildren, Amelie Reeves (Brian) and GarrettWax (Shelby);and his step-grandchildren, CallenWarren,Cohen Wax, Paul Reeves, and Ainsley Reeves. Family and friends are invited to attend avisitation on Tuesday, March 24, 2026,from9:00 a.m. to 11:00a.m., followed by a Mass at 11:00 a.m.atSt. Francis Xavier Church,444 Metairie Road, Metairie Louisiana 70005. Interment willfollow at Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home and Cemeteries. Donationscan be made to the Alzheimer's Foundationor the Fore Kids Foundation.

Blackwell, William Harold 'Billy'

WilliamHarold“Billy” Blackwell,83, passedaway onMarch 16, 2026. He was bornSeptember 18, 1942 atHotel Dieu Hospital in New Orleans, LA to William “Pete”and Louise Keller Blackwell.Billy graduated fromJohnMcDonogh High School in 1960 then at‐tended DelgadoCollege where he earned an asso‐ciate’s degree as aDiesel Mechanic. He beganhis ca‐reer at KellerConstruction, thenworked forR.J L’Hoste,Dixon andCun‐ningham andBrown Cun‐ningham andGannuch which eventually became known as TheArdurra Group where he worked until thelastday of hislife. Billy wasprecededin death by hisparents,Pete and Louise,his sister Ann, and hisgranddaughter Nicole. He is survived by his wife,Melva Laurent, his childrenWilliam “Stoney” and ElisaBlackwell (Gavin and Aiden),Robert“Lee” and Juli Blackwell(Collin), Jamie BlackwellGarciaand Jose(BraidenElizabeth and Andrew Karasoulis), Gwendolyn andThomas Farrell (Jordanand Jared), L JCazauxand KimNott (Dillon andZoe), Keithand Kelly Cazaux (Blakeand Leigh Annand Ronnie),and his littlestangels, Ani Louise, Tate,Olivia, Ari‐anna,Aubree, Ace, Gia, Parker, Zayden andAlexa One of thebiggest enjoy‐ments in hislifewas shar‐ing dinner with familyand friends.Billy frequented Mr. Ed’s on Live Oakwhere hethoroughlyenjoyed drinkingVanilla Crownon the rocks, lovingly pre‐pared forhim by Melissa Athome, it wasBlackberry Wine that he hadashis night cap. Billywas an avid reader, ahistory buff, and a knowledgeableand highlyrespected drainage pump expert.Manycol‐

leaguesinhis industry fre‐quently sought hisadvice, guidance, andexpertise about drainage pump sys‐tems. He oftentraveled withhis children and grandchildren to visitother familymembers,historical sites around thecountry and thebeach.Visitation willbeWednesday,March 25, 2026, from 10:00 am –12:00 noon at theGardenof MemoriesFuneralHome, 4900 AirlineDrive Metairie, LA70001. Therewillbea massofChristian burial at 12:00 noon with interment tofollow. Although Billy supported many charitable organizations,St. Jude Children’sResearchHospi‐tal wasverydeartohis heart.Inlieuof flowers, pleaseconsiderdonating inhis name to St.Jude Children’sResearchHospi‐tal at stjude.org.The family wishestoexpress their thanksand heartfeltgrati‐tudetoZackand Vic, two guardianangelsthatwere byhis side last Monday

DeLargeJr.,Alton Anthony

AltonAnthony DeLarge, Jr.,age 77, aformerDirec‐tor of theSewerageand Water Board’sEconomi‐cally DisadvantagedBusi‐nessProgram andYouth AthleticCoach,passed peacefullyfromthislife surrounded by hisloving familyonSaturday, March 14, 2026. Mr.DeLarge was bornonDecember23, 1948 tothe late Alton, Sr.and LolitaCourseaultDeLarge Heissurvivedbyhis loving wifeof44years,DesiDo‐bardDeLarge;three chil‐dren, Alton, III (Alyssa), Dane(Quinysha)and Blake Walters (Brenton);beloved grandchildren,Cayden, Aubrey, Autumn,Parker, Eva andSpencer;siblings, Wayne (Marie*) andKim (Bettye); father and mother-in-law,Frederick Sr. andHazel St.Charles Dobard*;brothersand sis‐ters-in-law Frederick, Jr (Henrietta), Michael (Susan),Kevin (Wynette), Leanne Alvarez(Michael) Linda Frederick(Rivers III) and Patrick(Nevonda) Alsosurvivedbya host of nieces, nephews, great nieces, greatnephews cousins,other relatives and friends. Altonwas a graduateofSt. Augustine HighSchool,Dillard Univer‐sityand received hisMas‐tersinPublicAdministra‐tionfromThe University of New Orleans. He wasa proud member of PhiBeta Sigma Fraternity,Inc.and The BunchClub. AMassof Christian burial honoring the life andlegacyofthe lateAlton AnthonyDe‐Large,Jr.,willbeheldatSt. Raymond/St. Leothe Great Catholic Church,2916 Paris Ave NewOrleans,LAon Tuesday,March 24, 2026 at 11am. IntermentMount OlivetCemetery, 2050 Caton St NewOrleans,LA. Visitation10aminthe church.All who knew and loved Altonare invitedto attend. In lieu of flowers, the familyrequestsdona‐tions to St.Augustine High School at staugnola.org. Be suretoinclude Alton’s nameinthe “Special In‐structions” box. Please signonlineguestbook at www.charbonnetfuneralho me.com.CharbonnetLabat

Glapion, Directors (504)581-4411

Dent,Mary Louise

Mary Louise Davis Dent, born April 16, 1942, in Natchez Mississippiand was also alifelongresident of NewOrleans, peacefully departed this life on March 16, 2026, at theage of 83. The daughter of thelate Purnetta Davis and thelate JohnnieDavis She was also preceded in death by her siblings, Willie Davis,Joanette Davis, son Rany Dent and grandsonTroy Dent. She leaves behind her children: AntonioDent, Hamlin Dent IIIand Kelli Dent She also leavesbehinda host of grandchildren: great-and greatgreat grandchildren. Relatives, family and friends are invitedtoattend the Memorial at Professional Funeral Services March 24, 2026 at 12:00 pm. Repast following at 1516 Virginia Marie St.

Ione "Dolly"Francioni passedawaypeacefully on Sunday, March15, 2026 at the ageof95, to join her beloved brothers andsis‐tersasthe baby sibling. Beloved daughter of the lateLawrenceand Irene SerpasFrancioni.She

nieces,nephews,cousins and dear friends. Loving sisterofthe late Geraldine Broders (Gus), Lawrence Francioni Jr.(Margie), Inez (Phoebe)Francioni,Irene Price (William), Lily Dau‐terive(Dr.Ralph), Anna Mae Halverson(Eric), RobertFrancioni,Lloyd Francioni (Iris),and Benite Francioni.BorninThibo‐daux, Ione "Dolly"later be‐camea resident of St Bernard Parish before find‐ing her finalhomein Slidell, LA.Dolly always calledSt. Bernardher home. Herlifewas marked bydedicationtoher family, her community andher ca‐reer with thefederal gov‐ernment where sheworked until retirement.Dolly was a dedicatedparishioner at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Slidell. WhileinSt. Bernard, she workedtirelesslyinthe plant booth at theSt. Louis deMarillacFair, contribut‐ing to thecommunity.Dolly loved herfamilyand allher petsdearly. Sheadoredher cats, especially Mogan David andher dogs, Michelle,Gingerand Sandy,justtonamea few. She enjoyedorderingand receiving mail orderitems nomatterwhatitwas!On any Friday nightatthe familyhome, youcould find Dolly, herbrothersand sisters andwhoever else showedup, eating,drink‐ing andplaying afriendly gameofcards.She loved and enjoyedwatchingand attendingsportingevents, especially thoseher nieces and nephewsplayed. She was adie-hardfan of the TulaneGreen Wave.Asthe lastsibling of awonderful family, herpassing is the culmination of alifetimeof great loving memories which will be dearly missedbyall familyand friends.Inlovingmemory ofDolly,may sherestin peace.Special thanks to the most loving andcaring staff at Summerhouse Park Provenceand Foundations Hospice in Slidell. Our heartfelt appreciation and lovetoEllen Dupriest,who was like adaughterto Dolly andGeraldine,for her manyyears of loving care and friendship.A Mass of Christian burial honoring the life andlegacyofthe lateIone"Dolly" Francioni willbeheldatSt. Bernard Catholic Church,2805 St Bernard Hwy, St.Bernard LA70085 on Wednesday, March 25, 2026 at 11 am.In‐terment St.Bernard Catholic Church Cemetery Visitation9 am in the church.Pleasesignthe on‐line guestbook at www.cha

McCarty, Ernest 'Sutton'

Ernest "Sutton" McCarty,passed December21, 2025. Ernest was theson of thelate Alice Charleston &Ernest Sutton. Ernest leaves to cherish hismemory, sister VeraWeatherspoonand familyalong with other niecesand nephews. Ernestwas laid to rest at Southeast Louisiana VeteransCemetery, 34888 GranthamCollege Drive, Slidell, Louisiana.

Adams Jr. DDS,

Thomas O.

Thomas O. Adams Jr., DDS,

Francioni, Ione 'Dolly'

Look to founders to understand whyTen Commandments areimportant

OurFounding Fathersplaced much emphasis on religion and morality when structuring the laws of our nation, and the Bible was their primary educational tool. From theOld Testament comes the TenCommandments.

Our first president, GeorgeWashington, warned us in 1796 that “religion and moralityare indispensable supports for political prosperity,”cautioning against “assuming thatmorality canbe maintained withoutreligion.”

The Bill of Rights amended the Constitution in 1791, and the First Amendment confirmed religious freedom. Our second president, John Adams, said our Constitution “was made only for amoral and religious people as it is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

In 2022, the Supreme Court set anew precedent when it ruled in theKennedy case,sayingthe new standardisthat alaw must be consistent with the country’s “original meaning and history” in order to comply with theFirst Amendment and going forward the court will be abandoning the Lemon Test —which bringsus back to George Washington and John Adams. Why were they so adamant about religion and morality?

Our Founding Fathers were educated, and theirstudy of history included the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century A.D., which resulted from the slow collapse of family structures andsociety.Historians noted that early Romans valued marriage, fidelity and honorand looked down on self-indulgence.However, late Rome had an epidemic of divorces, sexual freedom and frequentremarriages such that theybecame aformoflegal adultery-prostitution, resulting in low birth rates with thepractice of infanticide and abortion Translation, they lost all morality which resulted in population and societal collapse —with asmaller taxbase, declining economic productivity,declining military,erodingfamilies —which made them susceptible to eventual invasions. So, are the TenCommandments and moralityimportant?

STEVE GARDES Lafayette

Talkingabout whypeople leaveLa. won’t fixanything

This is aresponse to aletter written by JulienneLouis-Anderson about people leavingLouisiana. First off, what people do after they turn 18 is their business. I’minnoposition to tell someone where to live, work or enjoy their lives. If you find abetter opportunity elsewhere, morepower to you. Some of us, however,like where we are and are not interested in moving to an area withtwohour trafficjams and high rent prices.

Second, if you want people tostay here, stop voting forpoliticians who think thatlife is only about guns and abortions. We had a governor in the mid-’90s who sat in Baton Rouge and let two car plants and adefense manufacturing factorypass us by.You can’t make peoplestay where there are no jobs to stay for.This statehad an oil bust in the

1980s and after that happened, we missed so manychances to bring good jobs here. We’re apoor state that has areputation forbeing corrupt, and that has hurt our image as a whole.

Andlastly,stop complaining about an issue if you’re not going to help solve it. Talking about people leaving thestate every year and writing about us being abad No. 1on a“list” isn’tgoing to help solvethe issue. Either step up and help fix what’swrong or leave it alone. Talking and complaining will not magically solve Louisiana’spopulation issues. Andbesides, there are other things we need to be proud of as astate,regardless of how manypeople live or leave here.

KRYSTAL WILSON Shreveport

Drug warinLatin Americamisguided

Thearticle, “Trumpencourages military actiontofight cartels,” on March 8does not provide enoughinsight into aseverely misguided and dystopic U.S. policy towardits neighbors in Latin America. It is time to recognize that drug addiction in the U.S.isa public healthproblem as well as apersonal health problem for its victims, andothers —family members and those affected bydrug-related crimes in the U.S. That meansprioritizing the study of the biological andsocio-economic causes, searching for new treatment strategies and providing adequate care for addicts.

In other words, we must reduce thedemand forillegal drugs in the U.S., andnot engageinthe fantasy that destroying the cartels is thesolution —something thatthe article seems to say. As to “combat(ing) violent cartels,” the president and Congress should focus on keeping U.S.-madeweaponsfrom reaching thecartels, rather than vague notions of taking military action, which can lead to worse

consequences.

The U.S. Supreme Court refused to allow asuit by Mexico to go forward against U.S. gun manufacturers whose products reach cartels in Mexico tothe tune of nearly 600,000 guns, amounting to sales of $170 million everyyear.And that’sjust Mexico. Thecourt based its ruling on a2005 statute that was neither written nor enacted to deal with the large-scale transfer of weapons to cartels.

It is not clear what theoutcome of atrial would have been, but it would have drawn attention to the magnitude of the problem and the need for Congress to take effective action.

It is sheer folly to offload our domestic public healthproblem of drug addiction by allowing the transfer of untoldquantities of U.S.-made weapons to cartels, and then ramping up militaryaction against those to whom we are supplying weapons.

BRUCEWILDER NewOrleans

hold aposition in our democracy, unlikeany other business

Iread with interest Duke Truby’s viewpoint about anewspaper print medium being a“business” in the strictest sense. As such, that business should cater to its customers and clients. However,asthe newsmedia in its mostnoble form is the “Fourth Estate,” protected by the U.S. Constitution.

It engenders something far moresignificant. Informational, educational, entertaining, and yes, even intellectually challenging or stimulating. Much like my favorite comedian, George Carlin, whosaid outrageous things, he always hit a nerve.

Truby does not state objectively what “liberal” meanstohim.Inmy case, it would be freedom of choice in women’s health, well-funded public education, corporate tax rates in the Reagan era of 34%, worker protections, afully funded Social Security trust fund and abalanced budget. (and banning pharmaads on TV.)

Roger Ailes, whowas the media consultant to Nixon’s1968 presidential campaign, went on to found Fox News

He envisioned aTVstation news that affirmed the beliefsofthe viewers, or confirmation bias. As Katie Couric recently quipped, it’s an “affirmation station” rather than an information outlet. Iprefer to deem it an echo chamber and comfort zone.

MATTHEW MCCANN Marrero

La.elections maybe secure,but SAVE Act wouldapply to all

Youhave printed letters of opposition to the SAVE America Act. The writers have cited the security of Louisiana elections to support their opposition. Here’swhat Idon’t understand: Do these folks not realize that other states have sway over national elections, yet their elections are not as secure as Louisiana’selections?

OUR GUIDELINES: Letters are published identifying name and the writer’scity of residence.The Advocate |The Times-Picayune require astreet address and phone number for verification purposes, but that information is not published. Letters are not to exceed 300 words. Letters to the Editor,The Advocate, P.O. Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588, or email letters@theadvocate.com. TO SEND US ALETTER SCAN HERE

Lawyer adscan influencejuryawards

With all duerespect to my colleague Fred Herman, he misses the point. Billboards, radio spots and TV ads for plaintiffs’ lawyers all tout“big paydays” of the millions that lawyers haveobtained for their clients. These ads have desensitized jurors to the valueofadollar,driving nuclear verdicts, such that it’snothing for jurors to make

disproportionateawards. I’ve seen this personally as adefense attorney.That said, as someonewho does plaintiff worktoo, Ihave no problem withjust compensation, just not because aTVlawyer says what that award should be.

JACK TRUITT Covington

Letlow wouldhaveearnedrespect by opposing Landry’s judicial district plan

In the article. “Jeff Landry wants to changeAngola’sdistrict,” on March 1, U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow is quoted as standing with Landry and President Donald Trumpinsupporting “conservative judges.”I would have preferredacandidate for U.S. Senatesaying

she supportsimpartial judges. Otherwise, what’sthe point of aseparate judicial branch of government? Toadies to narrow-minded politicians do not makeideal judges.

MARYANN STERNBERG Baton Rouge

For example, California’smotor voter law requires automatic voter registration unless one opts out. Citizenship is not verified. Over 1 million immigrants here illegally have driver’slicenses in California. We have no idea how manyhave been registered to vote, nor if they have voted. Why shouldn’tother states be required to have the same election security as Louisiana?

MICHAEL GALLAGHER Prairieville

Will someone please give our president the Nobel Peace Prize, so that maybe he might stop bombing countries and abducting foreign leaders and becomethe president of peace, as he claims?

JULES LEGER Lafayette

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO

Atruck passes awelcome sign along Interstate 10 in Orange, Texas,near the Louisiana border

COMMENTARY

AMERICA250

Adepiction of asiegeduring BernardodeGálvez’s Pensacola campaignin“American Revolution: The Augmented Exhibition,”ondisplaynow at The Historic NewOrleans Collection.

Aplace that embodies whatAmerica is about

French Quarterplayedkey role in ournation’shistory —fromthe beginning

By DanielHammer

What are themost historic places in the United States places that bring all Americans together,despite ourdifferences, real andperceived,toexperience something we bear in common? In other words, are there places best suited to reminding us thatweare Americans? Places that allow us to celebratebothour commonalities and differences as we reflect on250 years of nationhood?

ABOUTTHE IMAGE

Yes. Places like this do exist, and in fact, there is one right here in Louisiana. It is perhaps thegreatest oneofall: New Orleans’ French Quarter. Don’t let the name fool you. The French Quarter embodies thehistory and culture of this nation.Its story begins before ourcountry’sfounding, butinforms what America is today. Earlysupport

Cabildo, were part of alarger strategy to support theAmerican Revolution by using the Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi River to funnel money and supplies to theContinental Army.The Irish-born merchantOliver Pollock acted as an American agent in New Orleans. From his French Quarter residence, in what today is the 500 block of Chartres Street, he served as one of the most important financiers of the war effort. Somehistorians credit him with the earliest use of the dollar symbol, claiming the “PF” notation he madethroughout hisledges, meaning “pesos fuertes,” or strong pesos, evolved to become theU.S dollar sign.

Expandinghorizons

Centuries ago, Indigenous people from across theMississippiValley met each other andtraded goods from as far away as Mexico and Canada in aplace theycalled Bulbancha, Choctaw for “place of many tongues.” Todaythatsiteis part of what we now call the French Quarter.In1718, the Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, sieur de Bienville, established anew cityfor France’svast Louisianacolonyat this same strategic location.Thanks to his Indigenous allies, he knew the site allowed access to boththe Mississippi andthe Gulf ofMexico via Bayou St. Johnand Lake Pontchartrain.

In 1776,when Great Britain’s13 American colonies declared independence,planning got underway in NewOrleans that proved critical to the success of the American Revolution. Great Britain was Spain’s greatest enemy,and justacross Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans was British West Florida, extending from Natchez and Baton Rouge east to Pensacola. From his seat in the Cabildo on what wasthen known as the Plaza deArmas, Louisiana’sSpanish colonial governor, Bernardo de Gálvez, began plotting to attackthe British. In aseries of successfulmilitary campaigns between 1779 and1781, Gálvez was able to force theBritish from the Mississippi River and the Gulf Coast. These moves by theSpanish against the British,plottedinthe

In 1803, officials gathered once again in the Cabildo and Jackson Square to complete the Louisiana Purchase, raising theAmerican flag over this territory for the first time. Amoment of supreme national and geopolitical significance, the Louisiana Purchasenot only exponentially expanded the U.S. land mass, it positioned thenew nation to seize dominion over partsofthe Western Hemisphere that warring European powers had wrestled over for centuries.

In many ways, it propelled America towardbecoming what it is today.Also, from this momenton, what happened in New Orleansdid not just influence America, it was, itself, American history In 1862, New Orleans, thelargest city in the rebellious Confederacy, surrendered to the United States’ Union army without afight Thanks to this,the French Quarter today looks much thesame as it did then. The history of one buildinginparticular stands out In 1862, at 527 Conti St., Dr.Louis Charles Roudanez and Paul Trévigne publishedL’Union, the first Black-owned newspaper in the South, and,in1865, they established the New OrleansTribune,the first Black-owned daily newspaper in the United States.

In the pages of these newspapers, in both French andEnglish, New Orleanians of color demanded liberty and equality.Inmany ways, the origins of the civil rights movement can be traced through this very building, which still stands on Conti Street.

As thenation rebuilt itself following the Civil War, New Orleans becameacultural nexus of extraordinary influence. Through the19th and 20th centuries, immigrantsfrom all over theworld brought their cultures their languages, religions, foodways and music —tothe city. Newculture is born In the19th century,they came from Haitiand Cuba; from Germany,Ireland and France; from China and the Philippines. In the20th century,they camefromSicily,from Eastern Europe, from Vietnam, from Honduras. They joined an already diverse population, shaped by Indigenous peoples and earlier immigrants from France, Spain, Africa, Canada and the Caribbean. Outofthis diverse milieu,new foodways, musical styles and customs developed. The food Americans eat, the music we dance to, the way we say things would all be very different without New Orleans. And you don’thave to take my word for it, just takealook at an Applebee’s menu thenext time you’re on aroad trip and ask yourself if they’d have all that blackened stuff if 416 ChartresStreet had never been K-Paul’s restaurant

Living history

Just as theMississippi River valleyisthe nation’stopographic watershed, theFrench Quarter is the nation’scultural watershed. Strollingthe French Quarter riverfront, walking its historic streets and admiring its beautiful old buildings, you can get something of afeel for it today

To truly see it though, step into theFrench Quarter’sunparalleled history museums. Here, our nation’s history is revealed withthoughtful intention and in new and engaging ways. As we commemorate 250 years since thesigning of the Declaration of Independence, we invite themillions of Americans who will visit New Orleansthis yearto visit our French Quarter museums to learn our nation’shistory.We, likewise, invite every Louisianan to come to French Quarter museums to reflect on our consequential role in American history and imagine our shared future.

Daniel Hammer is president and CEO of theHistoric New Orleans Collection.

The imageabove features ascene from “American Revolution,”which made its United Statesdebutatthe Historic New Orleans Collection on March 20.Thisfree, interactiveexperience utilizes360-degree augmentedreality to immerse visitors in 20 defining moments of the nation’s founding,from the sparks of theBoston TeaParty to the victoryatyorktown

Developedbyleading historians and scholars, this exhibition celebrates the figures whoshapedthe United States and sharesthe Revolution in afreshway that speaks to the hearts and minds of the American people today.The exhibition will serveasafocal point of theLouisiana America 250 commemorations and coincideswith HNOC’s 60th anniversary.

ABOUTTHE HNOC

Over the last six decades, HNOC has become avital communityinstitution, preserving the world’slargest collection of materials relatedtoNew Orleans and the Gulf South. Locatedinthe heartof the French Quarter, its campus spans 14 historic buildings which serveasacatalyst fordialogue and historical understanding “American Revolution” is producedand designed by Histovery with promotional supportfrom NewOrleans &Company and Louisiana America 250.The exhibition offersa fresh, technologically driven way to explore the American story. Plan your visit at hnoc.org

For more information on events near you commemorating America’s250th birthday, visit america250la.org

PROVIDED By HISTOVERy

Daniel Hammer GUEST COLUMNIST

with meteorologist DamonSingleton

SPORTS

Tigers toughout to advance in NCAA tourney

SWEETEMOTION

LSU was pouring in thepoints and Texas Tech was frantically,futilely trying to bail outthe boat

The tipping point came with 5:44 left in the third quarter, just after Flau’jae Johnson hit astreaking ZaKiyah Johnsonwith a50foot pass —the kind of throw LSU fans hope new quarterbackSam Leavitt will be able to make this fall —for a fast-break layup that put the Tigers ahead 60-28. Tech coach Krista Gerlich called atimeout andtold her team straight:

“If you don’twant them to hang ahundred on you,” Gerlich said, “you’ve got to quit shooting it so quickly.”

Toolate. Even thoughLSU coach Kim Mulkey beganpulling herstarters with 7:44 left —startingwith Flau’jae, asenior,toathunderous andtearful standing ovation —the LSU scoring dreadnought never really dropped anchor.The Tigers indeed hung ahundred on Texas Tech, winning 101-47 Sunday in their NCAA tournament second-round no contest to advance to the18thSweet 16 in program history

BYGUERRYSMITH

Needing aseries win in the worst way, Tulane played some of its best baseball of the season in its weekend finale against Memphis. Trent Liolios’ walk-off RBI double capped asix-run eighth inning and theGreen Wave scored 10 times in the final three frames to run-rule Memphis12-2onSundayatTurchin Stadium. After droppingFriday’sopener, Tulane (13-12, 2-1 American Conference) rebounded in impressive fashion to win the final two games againstthe struggling Tigers (6-16, 1-2).

“The last two days we wereconsistent,” coach Jay Uhlman said. “We ranthe bases, we played defense, we pitched, wesituationally hit, we got big hits, we did alot of really good things.”

Tied at 2after asuccessfulsqueeze play by Memphis in the sixth inning, Tulane did everything right from there. Jude Abbadessa (2-1) coaxed aweak grounder with the go-ahead run at second base for thethird

PHOTO

LSU guard Flau’jae Johnson celebrates withguard ZaKiyah Johnson during asecond-round NCAATournament game against Texas Tech on Sunday at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center

Tigers shineinLSU star Johnson’sswansongatthe PMAC

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

Afew moments after she assisteda3-pointer,Flau’jae Johnson looked up into thePete Maravich Assembly Center crowd. She wanted to take amoment or twotosoak it all in.

This was Johnson’slast game in that building. Herlast chance to toss passes across its floor to Mikaylah Williams. She was running out of opportunities to provide dishes like the one sheflipped over herhead and out to theleft wing, where Williams paused for abeat and rattled in a3

That bucket gave the LSU women’sbasketball team a 40-point lead on Sunday late in thethird quarter of its 10147 second-round NCAA Tournament winover Texas Tech. Johnson and Williams scored 24 points apiece, teaming up

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

to lead the No.2-seeded Tigers back past the No.7-seeded Lady Raiders into the Sweet 16.

LSU has now set the NCAA DivisionIrecord for most 100-point games in asingle season (16). The 54-point winis tied forthe most lopsidedsecond-round NCAA Tournament victory since 1983.

The commanding nature of the win allowedcoach Kim Mulkey to sub Johnson out of the game with more than seven minutes left in the fourth quarter.The star senior broke down in tears when she realizedshe was checking out, and then she walked off the floor to astanding ovation. “Itwas the mostbeautiful thing that I’ve been apart of,” Johnson said.

This weekend was another rough one for LSUbaseball, which droppedtwo of three games in itsseries with Oklahomaand fell to 2-4 in Southeastern Conference play The Tigers, in their first home series in their SEC schedule, won 7-1 on Thursday but dropped Friday’sgame 4-2 andlost a late leadinanother defeatonSaturday, losing 4-3. Here are five takeawaysfrom another rocky weekend for LSU. PotentialCooperMoore replacements LSU suffered asetback it likely couldn’t affordonFridaywhen juniorright-hander CooperMoore exited hisstart earlyon Fridaydue to soreness in his triceps.LSU coach Jay JohnsonrevealedonSaturday that the best-case scenario forthe Kansas transfer is that he’ll be out for three weeks. Moore had been solid forthe Tigers this season, posting a3.38ERA in six starts. His loss likely meansthat sophomore

right-hander William Schmidt moves into his Saturdaystarting spot, andthatLSU will have to find anew Sunday starter Acouple of names cometomind for Moore’sreplacement, but the first is likely seniorright-handerZac Cowan. Cowan struggled during nonconference play,but he’sturned things around as of late, giving up just one hit in his last 42/3 innings against Vanderbilt andOklahoma. He also hasplenty of starting experience, starting 17 games at Wofford in 2024 and starting in LSU’swin over Arkansas in Omaha that sent the Tigers to the College World Series final. But after Saturday’sloss, Cowan may have somecompetition.Seniorright-hander Gavin Guidry threw 70 pitches in relief on Saturday,showing that he can go deep into agame. In comparison with Guidry, Cowan hasn’tthrown more than 44 pitches in an outing this year

Guidry,who lasted31/3 innings against the Sooners, appeared to lose steam once he beganhis fourth inning in relief.He

LSU,

Scott Rabalais

STAFF

By MICHAEL JOHNSON

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU guardMikaylah Williams races overtocelebratewith teammate Bella Hines at the end of thethird quarter against TexasTech on Sundayat the Pete Maravich Assembly Center ä See TULANE, page 5C

ä See RABALAIS, page 3C

See SWEET 16, page 3C

PROVIDED PHOTO By TULANE ATHLETICS

Tulane right-hander J.D. Rodriguez winds up for apitch during agameagainst Memphis on Sunday at Turchin Stadium Tulane won12-2.

LSU posts ‘best defensive effort’ of year

BY TOYLOY BROWN III Staff writer

The finger wag. It was a gesture performed by LSU women’s basketball forward Grace Knox after rotating from the left block and delivering an emphatic rejection 33 seconds into the fourth quarter of a dominating win.

The celebration was Knox’s way of saying “not in here” and was paired with a death stare toward the closest baseline camera. The moment encapsulated the defensive tenacity of No. 2-seeded LSU in its 101-47 victory over No. 7 Texas Tech in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center

“I feel like this was our best defensive effort of the year, honestly, as a whole team,” Flau’jae Johnson said. “We do defensive player of the game, but I think it’s a team defense award today because everybody was everywhere. We were helping each other I just thought it was amazing.”

Texas Tech finished with season lows in total points, field goal percentage (25%) and field goals made (16). While LSU set the NCAA Division I record for most 100-point games in a single season (16), the first word uttered by ZaKiyah Johnson in the locker room was defense.

“It was literally our defense,” said the freshman, who finished with a team-high three steals in 16 minutes. “That’s what brought everything around us offensively We got steals, we got deflections, we were on the floor we got every loose ball and we were just so active. I’m so proud of the way we really were intentional with our defense today.”

The root of LSU’s activity was a mindset that is frequently discussed inside the program walls: relentlessness. The approach maximizes the athletic gifts and instills a ferocity that makes every moment that the opposing offense tries to score feel unbear-

able. This level of intensity starts in the summer workouts when defensive conditioning is the only focus.

“We really talk about it every day,” said Knox, who had a steal and a block. “Just what it takes to be relentless. But just coming together as a team and knowing that if we want to be elite, if we want to be the best, if we want to get a ring, we’re going to have to be relentless in all areas. Relentless every possession, every defensive possession, on the offensive end, relentless on the boards.”

If you ask Knox what moment was her favorite on defense, she won’t say the block paired with the finger wag. Her mind goes to a play where she sacrificed her body With 1:32 left in the third

quarter, Texas Tech’s Denae Fritz retrieved the long rebound after her missed 3-pointer The 5-11 guard drove for a rare layup attempt and plowed through Knox who was prepared to take a charge. “I really wanted it to go through,” Knox said of her charge. “I’m glad that it worked. And we had great energy, and I feel like it just kept going on after that Bella (Hines) had her and-one right after that. It was a great couple possessions.”

The early offense that LSU enjoyed came once it shut down the paint. Texas Tech scored zero paint points in the first half — finishing with 12 overall and went 5 of 14 on layups. LSU’s suffocating interior defense forced its

opponent to settle for long-range shots because it couldn’t get any dribble penetration.

Johnson also credited the perimeter pressure for helping the inside defense.

“Definitely pressure on the ball,” the freshman said. “Doing your work early in the paint is definitely important, but on the perimeter as well, they help a lot, making sure they can’t see inside. Kate (Koval), she did really good today (especially with deflections).”

LSU’s 6-5 center was an intimidating presence in the paint as she used her size and physicality to fend off any post shots from Texas Tech. Koval had 10 rebounds, two blocks and two steals with 10 points. Multiple teammates in the locker room said Koval’s improvement in physicality has helped her throughout the season.

The Notre Dame transfer also credited assistant coach Bob Starkey for the growth she has made on defense. The two have watched plenty of game film and analyzed details she needed to improve upon.

“A lot of times it’s defensive positioning and knowing their next move, trying to predict their next move,” Koval said. “So understanding where to be. That has helped me a lot.”

Maintaining the crispness on defense is a necessity if the team wants to achieve its championship aspirations. In the meantime, LSU enjoyed giving its fans a show one last time at home and getting equal applause for defensive stops just as much as scoring.

“I think they just know what it takes,” Knox said of fans cheering on defense. “To be able to get those stops, I know that means a lot to them, too. Because it’s proving to them that we can go a long way I think they’re just, they’re the best fan base in the country, in my opinion. I just know they’re going to support us through anything, especially when we get stops because it usually means we’re going to score.”

Thomas, Fournier lift No. 3 Duke over Baylor

By The Associated Press

DURHAM, N.C. — Delaney Thomas

had 17 points and Toby Fournier scored 13 of her 15 points in the first half, helping No. 3 Duke beat No. 6 Baylor 69-46 in the second round of the women’s NCAA Tournament on Sunday Arianna Roberson had 10 points and 10 rebounds off the bench and Ashlon Jackson added 12 points for Duke (26-8), which never trailed. The Blue Devils advanced to the Sweet 16 for the third straight season and 20th time overall. They will play No. 2 LSU, a 101-47 winner over No. 7 Texas Tech, in the Sacramento 2 Regional Baylor (25-9) was held to its worst offensive output of the season. The Bears managed just eight points in each of the first two quarters and finished 0-of-14 from beyond the arc, failing to make a 3-pointer for the first time this year They shot 30.2% overall. Taliah Scott, who scored 24 points in a season-opening 58-52 win over Duke in Paris, led Baylor with 13 points on 3-of-17 shooting Duke jumped ahead 9-0 as Baylor missed its first six shots and didn’t score for 5:56. Nine of the Bears’ 23 turnovers came in the first quarter

NO 1 TEXAS 100, NO 8 OREGON 58: In Austin, Texas, Madison Booker scored a career-high 40 points in a dazzling display of shot-making and No. 1 Texas rolled past No. 8 Oregon, sending the Longhorns back to the Sweet 16 for the third consecutive year The Longhorns’ three-time AllAmerican was dominant from the opening tip as she created shots from all over the floor She scored 19 in the first half, and her 3-point play early in the third quarter, when she muscled through and over three defenders for a layup, sparked a 19-4 run that turned the

Duke’s Toby Fornier reacts after hitting a 3-pointer against Baylor in a second-round NCAA Tournament game Sunday in

game into a rout. Booker’s previous high was 31, set just a few weeks ago against Ole Miss in the Southeastern Conference tournament. Texas (33-3) ran its home win streak to 44. A No. 1 seed for the third year in a row, the Longhorns now head to Fort Worth in a bid to return to the Final Four for the second consecutive season They will play the winner of Monday’s matchup between No. 4 West Virginia (28-6) and No. 5 Kentucky (24-10). Katie Fiso scored 16 points to lead Oregon (23-13), which last made the Sweet 16 in 2021. The Ducks simply had no answer for the big, strong and versatile Booker and her shot-making and ball-handling against any defender, or two, they threw at her NO 4 MINNESOTA 65,NO.5 OLE MISS 63:

In Minneapolis, Amaya Battle hit a tiebreaking jump shot with 0.7 seconds left, lifting Minnesota to the Sweet 16 for the first time in 21 years. Battle, who finished with 14

points, 11 rebounds and five assists, took the inbound pass near the paint and dribbled out along the baseline for more space before swishing the winner and landing on her back.

The No. 4 seed Gophers (24-8) swarmed their senior point guard in a frenzied celebration before regrouping for the final possession. Tianna Thompson’s 3-point try for the No. 5 seed Rebels (2412) from the top of the key on the other end hit the front of the rim and fell short.

Mara Braun scored 17 points for the Gophers, including the tying 3-pointer with 1:17 remaining before helping force a shot-clock violation by the Rebels on the ensuing possession Sophie Hart, who added 10 points, gave the Gophers their first lead since early in the third quarter with a determined drop-step to the basket for a short bank shot with 18 seconds left.

Latasha Lattimore answered with the tying layup with 3 seconds left before Battle sent the Gophers to Sacramento, California, to face

Phillies agree to 6-year contract with Sánchez

PHILADELPHIA The Philadelphia Phillies have agreed to a new sixyear contract with opening day starter Cristopher Sánchez. The deal announced Sunday for last season’s NL Cy Young Award runner-up begins in 2027 and will run through 2032 with a club option for 2033. Terms were not immediately available.

Sánchez had been pitching under a $22.5 million, four-year contract that was through 2028.

He went 13-5 with a 2.50 ERA in 32 starts last season and struck out a career-high 212 batters. He’s 3021 overall in four full big league seasons. Originally signed by the Tampa Bay Rays as an amateur free agent in 2013, Sánchez was acquired in a trade by the Phillies on Nov 20, 2019, for infielder Curtis Mead.

Champagnie, Mitchell suspended for fighting NEW YORK Washington forward Justin Champagnie and Oklahoma City guard Ajay Mitchell each received a one-game suspension for fighting and escalating an on-court altercation that spilled into the seating area during a game, the league announced Sunday Both were suspended without pay Thunder forward Jaylin Williams was fined $50,000, while Oklahoma City guard Cason Wallace and Wizards forward Anthony Gill each received $35,000 fines for their roles in the altercation in the first half of the Thunder’s 132-111 victory on Saturday night. Following a basket by Gill, Williams and Champagnie began shoving each other Gill and Mitchell became involved, and the quarrel quickly escalated.

Arozarena apologizes to Raleigh over WBC snub

the winner of the game on Monday between No. 1 seed UCLA and No. 8 seed Oklahoma State.

NO 4 NORTH CAROLINA 74, NO. 5 MARYLAND 66: In Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Elina Aarnisalo had 21 points, Lanie Grant scored 20 and North Carolina used a strong fourth quarter to beat Maryland and reach the Sweet 16 for the second year in a row Nyla Harris had 14 points and eight rebounds, and Indya Nivar added 11 points to help the fourthseeded Tar Heels (28-7) advance in the Fort Worth 1 Regional later in the week. They will play the winner of No. 1 UConn vs. No. 9 Syracuse. Oluchi Okananwa, who helped eliminate North Carolina last March in the Sweet 16 when she played for Duke, scored 21 points for No. 5 seed Maryland (24-9). Addi Mack had 13 points and Mir McLean had 12 points and 14 rebounds. The Terrapins couldn’t overcome 3-for-23 shooting on 3-pointers.

NO 2 MICHIGAN 92, NO. 7 NC STATE 63: In Ann Arbor, Michigan, Olivia Olson had all 27 of her points in the second half and Syla Swords bounced back from a slow start to score 26 and help Michigan rout short-handed N.C. State. The Wolverines (27-6) will play the winner of third-seeded Louisville vs. sixth-seeded Alabama in the Fort Worth Regional semifinals. The seventh-seeded Wolfpack (21-11) was without All-ACC guard Zoe Brooks, who had a protective boot on her right foot after being injured in Friday night’s win against 10th-seeded Tennessee. That hurt against Michigan’s swarming and trapping defense that forced 22 turnovers, including 10 in the third quarter that helped the Wolverines take a 16-point lead into the fourth after a closely contested first half.

Randy Arozarena has apologized to Seattle Mariners teammate Cal Raleigh after Arozarena cursed out the catcher for not returning a handshake at the World Baseball Classic. The incident took place March 9 when Arozarena reached down to greet Raleigh in his catcher’s squat at home plate, and Raleigh declined to offer his hand back in a game in which the U.S. beat Mexico 5-3. Arozarena, speaking to Mexican journalist Luis Gilbert in Spanish, said Raleigh “has to thank God that he has nice parents, well educated,” and added he recently hugged them during a friendly greeting at the team hotel. He then used profane Cuban and Mexican slang to insult Raleigh before pivoting to English and saying Raleigh could shove his “good to see you” in his rear Arozarena was born in Cuba but defected to Mexico to pursue an MLB career

Kim keeps Korda at bay for Founders Cup victory

MENLO PARK, Calif. — Hyo Joo Kim held off Nelly Korda on Sunday at Sharon Heights to complete a wire-to-wire victory in the Fortinet Founders Cup. Her opening five-stroke advantage gone after 10 holes, Kim regained the lead on the next hole and ended up with a one-shot margin after a closing bogey Kim shot a 1-over 73 for a 16-under 272 total. The 30-year-old South Korean player also won the 2015 event in Phoenix. She has eight LPGA Tour titles to go along with 14 KLPGA Tour victories. Korda shot 69.

DeChambeau wins again by beating Rahm in playoff MIDRAND, South Africa Bryson DeChambeau won for the second straight week by saving par on the final hole for a 6-under 65 and blistering a 3-wood from a wet lie in the rough on the par-5 18th in a playoff to set up birdie and defeat Jon Rahm at LIV Golf South Africa on Sunday DeChambeau’s final start before the Masters brought out some of his best work in winning his fifth overall LIV title. He won last week in Singapore. The large gallery began singing the national anthem as DeChambeau was just off the 18th green, needing to get up-and-down to force a playoff with Rahm (63), and to give his Crushers the team title over the South African-based Southern Guard. He did that to finish at

WOMEN’S NCAA TOURNAMENT ROUNDUP

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By BEN MCKEOWN

Durham, N.C.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU forward Grace Knox, left, blocks the shot by Texas Tech’s Sarengbe Sanogo in their second-round NCAA Tournament game on Sunday at the PMAC.

NCAA WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT

March Madness shuts out mid-majors

No programs from mid-major conferences reach second round of tourney for first time

BY DOUG FEINBERG

AP basketball writer

March Madness wasn’t for midmajors this year

For the first time since the women’s NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1994, no programs from mid-major conferences advanced to the second round, leaving 32 teams representing the Power Four conferences and the Big East. In the men’s tournament, five mid-major teams made the second round.

“NIL at work,” ESPN analyst Rebecca Lobo told The Associated Press. “There have got to be some players who helped mid-majors last year and excelled that are now on Power Four rosters because they could make more (money) by jumping ship. Typically, you wouldn’t do that if it meant less playing time. That’s a big part of that.”

There were 23 teams in the first round from smaller conferences, and they went 0-23. Colorado State, a 12 seed, got the closest, losing 65-62 to Michigan State The rest lost by double digits, including Southern, which fell by 69 points to South Carolina

“I’m all about getting a midmajor in. I think it’s good for the game, but we got to get some of them to win some of those games, too,” said Illinois coach Shauna Green, who previously coached Dayton.

Green was an assistant with the Flyers in 2015, when they became the last mid-major to reach the Elite Eight.

“I don’t know if that will ever happen again,” she said.

SWEET 16

Continued from page 1C

LSU rode a different record-setting offensive performance into its matchup with the Lady Raiders (27-8). The Tigers (30-5) scored more points on Friday in the Baton Rouge regional (116) than Texas Tech and Villanova combined (109). The Lady Raiders cut their teeth on the defensive end of the floor, as they showed in their tough, physical first-round game. On Sunday though, they couldn’t corral LSU’s transition offense.

The Tigers ignited that attack in the first half, when they forced Texas Tech into 18 missed shots and 12 turnovers. Most of the shots the Lady Raiders did make at least in the first two quarters — came at the end of the shot clock and outside the lane. They didn’t score their first paint points until their first possession of the second half.

LSU created much better looks for itself, thanks to Johnson and Williams. They combined to shoot 18 of 28fromthefield(64%),whiletherest of the Tigers solidified the defense. SophomorecenterKateKovaltallied 10points,10rebounds,twostealsand two blocks. Freshman forward ZaKiyah Johnson added eight points and three steals. Senior forward Amiya Joyner tallied 11 points and 11 boards.

Texas Tech shot only 25% from the field, committed 19 turnovers and finished with just 12 paint points. Its leading scorer, senior guard Bailey Maupin, wound up with 19 points but none of her teammates scrounged together more than eight.

“There was a time in the third quarter,” Texas Tech coach Krista Gerlich said, “that we called a timeout and said if you don’t want them to hang a hundred on you, you’ve got to quit shooting it so quickly We have to limit their possessions to keep them from scoring the ball because they can score it so well.”

LSU opened the game on a 10-0 run, but Texas Tech cut that deficit in half by the time the first quarter wrapped up. Maupin willed the Lady Raiders back in, first by earning trips to the free-throw line and then by draining contested 3s. The Tigers, though, made sure that threat was short-lived.

They forced Texas Tech into six turnovers in just the first five minutes of the second quarter, then turned those giveaways into points at the other end. LSU scored the first 10 points of the second quarter, too, propelling itself to an

Southern guard Zaria Hurston drives between South Carolina forward Joyce Edwards and guard Tessa Johnson during the second half of a first-round NCAA Tournament game on Saturday in Columbia, S.C.

Deb Antonelli hadn’t worked as a broadcaster for women’s firstor second-round games over the last decade, instead calling the men’s tournament. She wasn’t surprised by the lack of mid-major success this year when she returned to the women’s side.

It was the first time since 2023 that two games went to overtime in the same day of the tournament. It’s been 26 years since there were three OT games in the first round.

Ninth-seeded Syracuse topped Iowa State for the third and final win by a lower seed. Teams seeded 14 and 15 are still looking for their first wins in the history of the tournament, falling to 0-128 each.

While there hasn’t been much parity so far, LSU coach Kim Mulkey thinks there are more teams that could win the championship this year

“Back when I played, there were only about three teams that could win a natty every year only about three teams,” the former Louisiana Tech guard said. “Now I think that potentially you could have more than that that can win a natty I think LSU’s a classic example of that, three years ago. We were a 3 seed. We weren’t supposed to win it and we did.”

Fans show up

Fans came to watch the First Four games on Wednesday and Thursday with a 12.2% increase from last season. It’s the secondhighest total since the NCAA expanded the field to 68 teams in 2022. Attendance for the first round was also up from last season, increasing by 11.1% with an average of 7,798 fans at games. Iowa had the fifth-highest singlesession attendance in history, and West Virginia had the seventhbest.

Antonelli said that with teams now getting financial incentives for winning games in the tournament as the men do, the trend could continue.

“It’s even more impressive that those schools that are investing are getting some small return,” she said. “It doesn’t equal what

“We know the landscape has changed. There is real investment at the highest level for women’s sports,” she said. “The rich are getting richer.”

their investment is, but it’s something.”

With no mid-majors advancing, there were also fewer lower-seeded teams winning. No. 10 seed Virginia and No. 9 seed Southern California needed overtime to advance Saturday The Cavaliers were the first lower seed to win after the better seeds went 16-0 on Friday

RABALAIS

Continued from page 1C

“It was the most beautiful thing I’ve been a part of,” said Johnson, who set LSU’s scorching scoring pace with 24 points in 24 minutes of court time.

“Something I’m going to remember forever.”

Will this end up being a team LSU fans remember forever, like the 2023 team that Angel Reese and Flau’jae Johnson helped lead to the program’s first NCAA championship?

Despite all the fireworks, it’s still hard to tell. No offense to Texas Tech or Jacksonville, which LSU obliterated 116-58 Friday with its most points ever in an NCAA Tournament game, but these were two mighty outclassed opponents. Gerlich, who is trying to get Texas Tech back to the level it was when she played on the Red Raiders’ 1993 NCAA title team, candidly admitted that.

but unfortunately, a lot of people can’t afford to go.”

Before Sunday, Texas Tech hadn’t allowed more than 84 points all season.

LSU has now held two powerconference teams to fewer than 50 points this year: Auburn and Texas Tech.

The Tigers have advanced to the Sweet 16 in each of the past four seasons their second-longest streak in program history Mulkey has led her teams to at least that round of the bracket in 19 of her 24 NCAA Tournament appearances.

Under Mulkey, the Tigers are 3-0 in the Sweet 16. Last year, they beat No 2 seed North Carolina State in Spokane, Washington, to set themselves up for a clash with No. 1 seed UCLA in the Elite Eight.

LSU could find itself in a matchup with the Bruins again, this time in Sacramento, California.

But first, it will have to win in the Sweet 16 against No. 3 seed Duke. Those two teams met in Durham, North Carolina, back in December, and the Tigers won 93-77.

Johnson scored a game-high 18 points that night.

The star senior was even better on Sunday, when she moved LSU one step closer to the Final Four in her PMAC swan song.

18-point halftime lead that it just kept extending throughout the second half.

“It was a great day,” Mulkey

said. “It was a great day in the PMAC You just wish you could bottle it up and take everybody in this arena with you to Sacramento,

“Something I’m going to remember forever,” Johnson said. “Just so thankful for the fans. Thankful to coach Mulkey The whole program. It’s just been unimaginable.” Email Reed Darcey at reed. darcey@theadvocate.com.

“There’s a big gap between 1 through 8 and 8 through 64,” she said.

“You saw it today, right? We’re a 7 seed. There’s more parity coming, but there’s still the upper echelon of NCAA Division I women’s basketball and there’s the rest of us.”

LSU (29-5), the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Sacramento 2 regional, is part of that upper echelon. In fact, the Tigers are doing things that put them in their own echelon. Their back-to-back 100-point games this weekend in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center (that’s 217 points total) gave LSU the solo NCAA Division I record for most 100-point games with 16. That eclipsed the 15 “hang a hundred” games by the 1986-87 Long Beach State team, which it must be said, did that without the benefit of a 3-point line.

LSU’s 54-point margin of victory Sunday is tied for the thirdbiggest in an NCAA secondround women’s game, or for a different perspective, tied for the largest margin in a secondround game since 1983. The Tigers, who outscored the Lady Raiders 33-7 in the third quarter, already have four 30-point quarters in this tournament after posting three against Jacksonville. That’s the most 30-point frames in the NCAA Tournament since the women went to quarters 10 years ago.

But it wasn’t just scoring. LSU’s defense also put the clamps on a Texas Tech squad that had to grind out a 57-52 win

Conference breakdown

The Big Ten had 11 teams reach the second round, followed by eight from the Southeastern Conference and seven from the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Big 12 had five and the Big East one — No. 1 overall seed and defending champion UConn.

Friday over Villanova to get here. Still, the Tigers outscored the Lady Raiders 26-0 in the paint in the first half and 24-0 on fast-break points for the game.

“That’s just a testament to everybody buying in and locking in and knowing what we need to do to get far in this tournament run,” said Mikaylah Williams, who also knocked down 24 points. “When we lose those games, we slack off defensively We have mishaps, but I think locking in and buying in on the defensive end is what really, really got us here.”

So the Tigers are in the Sweet 16 for the fourth straight year under Mulkey, set to take on Duke in Friday’s regional semifinals out in Sacramento, California. Duke (26-8), which LSU beat 93-77 on Dec. 4 on the Blue Devils’ home court, took out Baylor 69-46 Sunday That has to be a relief to Mulkey, who now won’t have to deal with the distraction of facing the program she left for LSU in 2021 after leading the Lady Bears to three NCAA championships.

Beating Duke won’t be a breeze

“They’re better, I’m sure, and I think we’re better,” Mulkey said — but everyone anticipates an LSU-UCLA rematch in the Elite Eight. The Bruins, who must beat Oklahoma State on Monday to advance, should have been the No. 1 overall seed over UConn. They’re that good and that scary But, based on the games here, so is LSU. The Tigers appear to be playing their best ball at the best time to do it, pouring in the points and clamping down on defense in equal measure. Can you say “Tough out?” That’s what LSU has become.

Tigers guard Flau’jae Johnson hugs head coach Kim Mulkey while being subbed from a game against Texas Tech for the final time of her LSU career on Sunday at the PMAC.

STAFF PHOTOS By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU guard Flau’jae Johnson gets ready to place the school tag on a bracket after defeating Texas Tech in a second-round NCAA Tournament game on Sunday at the PMAC.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON LSU guard MiLaysia Fulwiley elevates to the rim for a layup against Texas Tech on Sunday at the PMAC.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By NELL REDMOND

Iowa State shuts down Kentucky 82-63

By The Associated Press

ST LOUIS Tamin Lipsey knew he had to step up for Iowa State with All-America forward Joshua Jefferson sitting on the bench, his sprained left ankle still encased in a boot, as the Cyclones played Kentucky on Sunday for a spot in the Sweet 16.

Lipsey, who grew up in the shadows of the Iowa State campus in Ames, answered with the finest game of his four-year career

The senior guard poured in a career-high 26 points, tied a career high with 10 assists, and led a suffocating defense that shut down the Wildcats in the second half, allowing the second-seeded Cyclones to pull away for an 8263 victory in the NCAA Tournament.

“All the guys knew we had to step up in different ways,” Lipsey said, “however that presented to us.” Lipsey didn’t do it alone, of course — he needed someone scoring to pile up all those assists. Milan Momcilovic scored 20 points and Nate Heise getting the start in Jefferson’s place, added 12 to help the Cyclones (29-7) advance to a Midwest Region semifinal against No. 6 seed Tennessee on Friday night in Chicago The Vols defeated third-seeded Virginia 79-72 on Sunday.

It will be the eighth Sweet 16 trip for the Cyclones and the third under T.J. Otzelberger, though the question now is whether they will be whole for it. Jefferson, their second-leading scorer and top rebounder, is scheduled to have an

MRI exam on Monday No. 5 ST. JOHN’S 67, No. 4 KANSAS 65:

In San Diego, Dylan Darling hit a driving layup as time expired for his only bucket of the game, and St John’s advanced to its first Sweet 16 since 1999 with a victory over Kansas in the NCAA Tournament Darling, the Johnnies’ tenacious point guard, coolly won it after Kansas (24-11) erased a 58-45 deficit with 7 1/2 minutes to play, making a furious 20-7 run capped by Darryn Peterson’s two free throws to tie it with 13.1 seconds left.

The Jayhawks had four fouls to give, and they used all four to wind the clock down to 3.9 seconds. That was plenty of time for Darling, the Idaho State transfer who had missed his four previous shots.

NO.1 IOWA 73, FLORIDA 72: In Tampa, Florida, Alvaro Folgueiras nailed a 3-pointer with 4.5 seconds remaining and Iowa eliminated defending national champion Florida, sending the top-seeded Gators home with a 73-72 victory on Sunday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Under first-year coach Ben McCollum, Iowa reached the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2015, while Florida (27-8) became the first No. 1 seed to be knocked out of this year’s March Madness.

The ninth-seeded Hawkeyes (23-12) wasted a 12-point lead in the second half but rallied in the final minutes. They will face No. 4 seed Nebraska in the South Region semifinals Thursday night in Houston.

After Thomas Haugh missed a 3-pointer, Stirtz missed a running layup and Isaiah Brown grabbed the rebound with 8.9 seconds left. Brown made his second free throw NO 6 TENNESSEE 79,NO 3 VIRGINIA

72: In Philadelphia, Ja’Kobi Gillespie scored 21 points, Nate Ament and Bishop Boswell

Purdue coach Painter wins 500th game at alma mater

BY DAVE SKRETTA AP basketball writer

ST LOUIS Matt Painter was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and he grew up in Muncie in the days when Bob Knight had the Hoosiers humming like a college basketball juggernaut. So, it makes sense that Painter would have rooted for the crimson-and-cream as a youngster

“I know that’s sacrilegious now,” Painter said with a smile.

Well, Purdue fans have long forgiven him.

After spending four years playing point guard for Boilermakers legend Gene Keady, and eventually succeeding him as the head coach, Painter has turned Purdue into a juggernaut of its own. He has the black-and-gold headed back to the Sweet 16 after a 7969 win over Miami in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday that also gave Painter his 500th win at the school.

“These guys — I know coaches talk about it but they’ve put in so much in all areas to be the best they can be,” Painter said afterward. “That’s how you end up getting a lot of victories, because you have really good players that are committed.”

The Boilermakers will play No. 11 seed Texas on Thursday night in the West Region semifinals in San Jose, California

“It’s awesome,” said Purdue guard Braden Smith, who has been part of 116 of Painter’s wins. “Coach Painter is the reason we’re here, because of who he is and how he conducts himself. Five-hundred wins is a huge accomplishment.” Painter improved to 525-328 for his career, which includes a single season at Southern Illinois in which the Salukis when 25-5 and he was voted the Missouri Valley coach of the year

The Boilermakers quickly tapped him to be Keady’s successor, and after a transitional year spent as the associate head coach, Painter took over for good for the 2005-06 season.

The success wasn’t sudden Purdue won just nine games his first year — but it did come quickly and consistently

The Boilermakers made their first NCAA Tournament under Painter the following season, the first of six straight in which they won at least one game. Their current tournament streak is 11 in a row, which includes seven trips through the opening weekend, an Elite Eight appearance in 2019 and the Boilermakers’ first title game appearance since 1969 just two

years ago. They still have never won a national championship But behind Smith, now the NCAA’s career assists king, and veterans like Fletcher Loyer and Trey KaufmanRenn, they have a good shot at cutting down the nets in a couple of weeks.

The Final Four, by the way, will be played in Indianapolis. It all started for Painter in the early 1970s, with games shown on TV in the family home in northern Indiana.

“The first thing that I remember is Indiana winning the national championship when I was 6 years old,” Painter said of Knight’s 1976 team, the last unbeaten to win the title. “So then, like, you just kind of followed it ever since.” Painter grew up on the Ball State campus, though, and he’d go to games there as a kid. He also remembers watching Jim Valvano run around the court after N.C. State beat Houston for the 1983 title, and he loved Georgetown in the days of Patrick Ewing.

“But I grew up watching the Big Ten,” Painter said, “and seeing, before cable hit like, you’d have the three channels, then you would have that fourth one that was kind of fuzzy That was the Big Ten channel, Channel 4. And so we would always watch the games.

“When I had a chance to play in the Big Ten,” he continued in a moment of reflection, “like, that was very, very surreal for me because I wasn’t somebody — I grew a lot in high school. I wasn’t that great of a player when I was younger.”

He’s become a heck of a coach.

Five times Painter has been voted the Big Ten’s best. He’s guided the Boilermakers to five regularseason conference championships, and a win over Michigan a No. 1 seed in this NCAA Tournament — last weekend gave him three Big Ten tourney titles, too. Painter needs just 12 more wins to match Keady for the most in school history He might be able to pick up a few of those before this trip through March Madness is over

made critical free throws down the stretch and sixth-seeded Tennessee advanced to its fourth straight Sweet 16. The Vols (24-11) will face No. 2 seed Iowa State in a Midwest Region semifinal in Chicago on Friday night.

A year after he helped Maryland reach the Sweet 16, Gil-

lespie led the way for the Vols Tennessee has been a consistent first-weekend winner under coach Rick Barnes, who has yet to lead the school to the Final Four Gillespie had 50 points in two games in Philly — he scored 29 against Miami (Ohio) in the first round.

Frager’s layup pushes Huskers past Vandy to reach Sweet 16

BY CLIFF BRUNT AP sportswriter

OKLAHOMA CITY Tyler Tanner nearly sent Nebraska’s boisterous fans home in stunned silence. Braden Frager made a driving layup with 2.2 seconds left to put Nebraska in front, and Tanner’s heave from beyond half court rimmed out at the buzzer as the Cornhuskers outlasted Vanderbilt 74-72 on Saturday night in a scintillating second-round NCAA Tournament game and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time.

March Madness, indeed.

“I just froze for two seconds,” Frager said. “I thought it went in. I didn’t know how to react. I was, just — everybody started celebrating. I was like, he actually missed it.”

The relieved Cornhuskers celebrated in style, climbing into the stands to join a sea of scarlet-andcream-clad fans. Some were still chanting “Go Big Red!” inside Paycom Center 30 minutes after Nebraska’s victory

“That’s one of the best environments or toughest environments that I’ve ever coached in,” Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington said. “The fans were incredible for them. Supportive and loud.”

Frager scored off a pass from Pryce Sandfort, the team’s scoring leader Each finished with 15 points for the fourth-seeded Cornhuskers (28-6), who had never won in March Madness until beating Troy two days ago.

Nebraska advances to the South Region semifinals in Houston, where it will face either top-seeded Florida or ninth-seeded Iowa on Thursday

“I think they’re all driving down to Houston in the morning,” Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg said of the Husker faithful. “We expect another big turnout again next weekend.”

Tanner scored 27 points and Tyler Nickel added 16 for No. 5 seed Vanderbilt (25-9), which was trying to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2007.

“The hardest thing when you’re in a tournament like this is there’s a side of it with hurt and dejection, and you put everything into it,” Byington said. “We were a play away, an inch away, from being in the Sweet 16.” Rienk Mast added 13 points for the Huskers. Sam Hoiberg, the coach’s son, finished with eight points, none bigger than his putback with 1:20 to go that tied the game at 70-all. The teams traded

the lead four times over the final 2:08.

Cornhuskers fans took over the arena, just like they did in the first round. “Husker Power!” chants broke out during the second half of Houston’s win over Texas A&M, about an hour before the Nebraska game tipped off. Duke Miles, the Commodores’ No. 2 scorer, had his left thumb taped and was held to nine points. His quiet night put the scoring burden on Tanner whose layup with 58 seconds left gave Vanderbilt its final lead at 72-70.

The Cornhuskers broke out to an 8-0 lead. Mast, Nebraska’s 6-foot-10, 250-pound center, made two 3-pointers in the first five minutes. Sandfort did not score until just over five minutes remained in the first half, but his turnaround jumper put the Cornhuskers up 27-19. Nebraska led 39-32 at halftime, despite Tanner’s 15 points. Vanderbilt chipped away in the second half. Tanner made a layup and was fouled with 9:05 remaining. He missed the free throw, preventing the Commodores from taking their first lead. Moments later, AK Okereke’s 3-pointer finally put Vanderbilt ahead, 58-55.

Vandy pulled in front 67-62, its largest lead of the game, on a 3 by Nickel with 5:34 left. Sandfort responded with a jumper and the margin was no bigger than three points the rest of the way

“We withstood their run,” Fred Hoiberg said. “They went on a big run. We knew they would at some point in the game. As we talked going in this tournament, if you want to advance, it’s all about how you handle adversity, and our guys did a masterful job of hanging in there.”

Huskers on the rise

Hoiberg, the Big Ten coach of the year, has overseen steady improvement over his seven years at Nebraska. He took the Huskers to the NCAA Tournament two years ago, and this season Nebraska got national attention for a 20-0 start that vaulted it to No. 5 in the AP poll.

Alberts watches his alma mater

Former Nebraska athletic director Trev Alberts, who now holds that title at Texas A&M, stuck around to watch his alma mater after the Aggies lost to Houston. Alberts won the Butkus Award in 1993 as a linebacker for the Huskers.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ALI OVERSTREET

Purdue head coach Matt Painter is seen on the sidelines during the first half in the second round of the NCAA tournament against Miami on Sunday in St Louis.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JEFF ROBERSON

Iowa State’s Tamin Lipsey drives past Kentucky’s Denzel Aberdeen during the second half in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday in St. Louis.

TULANE

out, and the Wave took the lead for good withthree runs in the bottom half off reliever Davis Oswalt (1-1).

TyeWood led off with awalkand scored on aheads-up play when right fielder Cade Hitson bobbled Nate Johnson’sdouble, coming all the way around from first.After another walk, TrentLiolios sacrificed the runners to second and third before asacrifice flyand Hugh Pinkney’sRBI single Johnson’shit was his first of three in consecutive innings, raising hisbatting average to .340. It could have been even higherifhis first two plate appearances —both line drives —had notbeencaught

“I’ve been taking good at-bats the past two games,” he said.“I just stayed confident and went up there and smashed.”

When Memphis broughtthe tying runtothe plate in the seventh with two outs, Beau Sampson entered and struck out the Tigers’ leading home-run hitter,Michael Gupton, on three straight pitches.

“All three fastballs,” Uhlman said. “See ya. He’sbeen great. He’sbeen awesome.” Sampson struck outall three batters he faced in the eighth, too. Since being removed from thestarting rotation,he hasnot allowed abase-runner in fourrelief appearances.

“I’m just executing pitches where they are supposedtobe,” he said. “Located fastballs low and away, and then had afastball called up and in and Igot it there.”

The Wave added an insurance run in the seventh on afirstand-third double steal that went exactly as planned. Wood intentionally got caught in arundown,

LSU

Continued from page1C

also has less experience as a starter and still allowed two earned runs withfourwalks on Saturday.Given those factors, Cowan appears to be the more likely candidate to start among the two, but Johnson’strust in Guidry and the length he’sprovided in relief can’tbeignored.

GettingSerna in thelineup Johnson made it clear this weekend that freshmanOmar Serna isn’tcoming outofthe lineup anytimesoon, and probably won’tsit again this season.

That’sbecause Serna was the only Tiger who accumulated at least four hits over the weekend. That included ahome run on Saturday andadouble on Thursday His recent hot streak, which began last weekend against Vanderbilt, has raisedhis average to .280 and his slugging percentage to .520.

The only question that remains for Serna is where he will play Serna started in three spots this weekend: catcher,firstbase and designated hitter.He’sconsistently caught Moore in weekend series and has spent some time at DH before this recent hotstreak, buthis startatfirst base on Saturday was the first time he’d started at the position. He didn’tmake any mistakes there, even grabbing atricky bouncing ball that took an abnormally high hop in the second inning.

“You have to be creative alittle bit to do that,” Johnson said, referring to how he got Serna into the lineup on Saturday “Andthatwas our way today with the left-handed starter.” Even if the startatfirst base felt somewhat experimental, don’tbesurprised if Serna spends more time at the position moving forward. First baseman Zach Yorke has struggled defensively and at the plate. He struck out four times in four atbats on Friday and committed an uglyerror on Thursday before he spent Saturday’s game on the bench. If Johnson isn’tascomfortable starting Yorke, perhaps that means he can turn to Serna at first and play whichever hitter he feels is the best matchup against the starting pitcher that day at DH.

Offensetooka step back

LSU’sattackappeared to take a step forward last weekend when it scored31runs in three games against Vanderbilt on the road. But this week wasa completely different story for the bats. The Tigers scored just12runs against Oklahoma. They were held to just 11 hits over their last two games.

Circumstances played apart in LSU’soffensive explosionin

allowing Jason Wachs, who had tripled, to break from third and score easily

Thefloodgates openedinthe eighth with fourhits, ahit batter and athrowing error leading to the walk-off win.

This one escalated in ahurry

After getting only two hitsoff Memphis starterSeth Impson through five innings, the Wave hadeight off three relievers the rest of the waywhile scoring its most runsina home conference gamesince getting 14 against SouthFlorida two years ago.

Wachs extended his on-base streak to 51 dating to lastyear He has hit safely in 39 of his past 44 games.

Johnson, who batted .188 as a freshman amidhigh expectations, enjoyed hissecondthreehit game of the season while emerging as areliable starter at second base.

“This helps alot,” he said. “Winning aconference series is big and gives usconfidence.”

J.D. Rodriguez, starting for the thirdtimeineightdays, allowed sixbase-runnersin31/3 inningsbut only onerun, keeping the score close beforeMatthiasHaas and TrentLiolioshad back-to-back two-out RBI singlesinthe fourth that gave the Wave a2-1 lead

Tulane playederror-free for thesecond consecutive day, somethingithad not done since athree-gamestretch in February.

Uhlman focusedonthe allaroundperformance.

“Weproved to ourselves finally that we don’t have to hit to win, so that takes thepressureoff of guys to have to feel like they’ve gottoget athree-run homer every time,” he said. “It showed us the roadmap for success. Now I need to see that consistency this Wednesday (against Grambling) andnextweekend (atUAB).”

Nashville.Aturffield, multiple pitching injuries for Vanderbilt —including weekend starter AustinNye and ahandful of top relief pitchers —and asmaller park withwinds blistering out to centerfieldresulted in an extremely positive environment for the Tigers’ offense to thrive. Buteven when factoring in the more pitcher-friendlyelements at Alex Box Stadiumand Oklahoma’sbetter staff, LSU still should’ve gotten more from its attack.And most importantly, LSU needed more production from its stars.

Sophomore Derek Curiel and juniors Steven Milam and Jake Brown combined to go 4for 29 against Oklahoma. Senior Chris Stanfield was alittle better since he homeredonSaturday,but even he went just 3-for-11. The foursome went 7for 40 after going 14 for 47 with plenty of extrabase hits the week before.

For LSU’soffense to get where it needs to be, Milam, Brown, Curiel and Stanfield have to be at their best at the plate. Relying on the likes of Serna and sophomore John Pearson, who homered on Thursday,will only take this attack so far.The stars will need to play like stars.

Pitching took astepforward

If the winds and theparkat Vanderbilt helped LSU’s offense, those same conditions created the opposite effect forthe Tigers’ pitchingstaff. But the drastically differentresults for LSU on the mound against Oklahoma have more to do with its improvement and not the fairer conditions.

In the starting rotation, sophomore right-hander Casan Evans threw alot more strikes and had spectacular command of his offspeed pitches. Moore wasn’tallowing as much hard contact and kept theballlowerinthe strike zone more consistently.Schmidt also did abetter job of limiting hard contact,even if he was inefficientfor asecond consecutive outing.

The bullpenwas also much better this weekend than last. Cowan recorded four outswithout aproblem on Thursday.Fifthyear senior right-handerGrant Fontenot and junior left-hander Santiago Garcia combined to allowjustone earned run in four innings on Friday.OnSaturday, Guidry and redshirt sophomore right-hander DevenSheerin werea double playaway from allowing one earnedrun in four innings

LSU gave up runs late on Fridayand Saturday, butit’shardto pin that on the reliefgroup, given howlittle help they received from the offense and theerror from freshman Jack Ruckert at second base on Saturday,which cost LSU two runs in theeighth inning.

The Tigers always had the talent to be adangerous team on the mound. This weekend was a bigstep toward fully realizing it

LSUsoftballrallies past SouthCarolina, wins series

Staff report

COLUMBIA, S.C. Tori Edwards’ lone hit of theseries against No. 21 South Carolina was aclutch one. Edwards hit atwo-out, two-RBI double in thesixth inning that lifted No. 22 LSU to a2-1 win over the Gamecocks on Sunday Trailing 1-0 in the sixth with runners on first and third withtwo outs,Edwards blasteda1-0 pitch to right center field, scoring Destiny Harris and Sierra Daniel.

Tigers starter Jayden Heavener (7-6)workeda1-2-3 inninginthe sixth, and adiving catch by Daniel

at second base and astrikeout by Heavener in theseventhsecured thevictory LSU(21-10 overall, 3-6 SEC) earned its first SECseries win while South Carolina (21-12, 1-5) dropped its second. Heavener threw her11th completegame of the season, finishing withfive strikeouts and giving up onerun on two hits.

South Carolina’sJori Heard (43) took the loss after pitching 5 2/3 innings, striking outfive,walking oneand allowingtwo runs on Edwards’ hit. Afterfourscoreless innings,

SouthCarolina brokethrough in thefifthwitha leadoff home run by JamieMackay, butLSU answered in the top of the sixth. Harrisreachedonanerror,advanced to secondbaseonAvery Hodge’s sacrifice bunt and wenttothird on Jalia Lassiter’sflyout to right field. Daniel drew awalk to put runners on the corners, and Edwards gave LSUits first hit of the game with the two-run double. Next, LSU will face Louisiana Tech at Tiger Park on Tuesday before hosting athree-gameseries vs. No.6Oklahoma on March 2729.

Chio wins SECall-around, vault titles;LSU finishesthird overall

BY SCOTT RABALAIS

Staffwriter

Kailin Chio was again stellar.Kaliya Lincolnwas gutsy.But overall, the LSU gymnastics team didn’t have quite enough to win its third straight Southeastern Conference championship on Saturday night in Tulsa, Oklahoma. No. 2-seeded LSU had thelead halfway through themeet but slid to thirdwith afinal score of 197.950. No. 3Florida won with a198.175, just edging outSEC regular-season championand topseeded Oklahoma (198.150). No. 4 Alabama finisheda distantfourth at 197.475, just ahead of Georgia (197.450), which competed in Saturday’sfirst sessionatthe BOK Center

“Wewereverygood,” LSU coach Jay Clarksaid, “but we were not great.Wedid alot of things well and continued to fight. But with the topfour teams (in thecountry) on the floor,you’ve got to be dialed in.”

Chio wonthe SECall-aroundtitle with a39.775, finishing ahead of Florida’sKaylaDiCello(39.725).Chioalso wonthe vault title with a9.975. Lincoln,afellow sophomore, finished in afour-way tie for the SEC floor titlewith OU’sKeira Wells andMackenzie Estep and Alabama’sGabby Gladieaux at 9.95. Florida’sSelena Harris-Miranda won bars and OU’s Faith Torrez won beam, both with perfect 10s. These were the first two SEC titles for Chio, who now has 56 career individual wins and 31 this season.

“She continues to do amazing things,” Clark said. “She’s the model of consistency we all need to ascribe to be.She’s got it dialed in.There’s not much more you can say.She gets it done week in and week out.”

As theNo. 2overall seed,LSU opened themeet on unevenbars

The Tigers got apair of solid 9.90s from LexiZeiss andMadisonUlrich andthenacareer-high-tying 9.95 from Chio to give her thelead at that point of the meet. LSU was hoping to erase a9.85 from2024SEC bars champion Ashley Cowan. Butthe Tigers had to count it because bars anchor Konnor McClain short-armedher

leader on beam,a9.95 as well. That allowed LSU to cover a9.80 from Zeiss and score a49.500, putting the Tigers at 98.975 aheadof Florida (98.950) and OU (98.925) as Alabama(98.600) faded to fourth. LSU wenttofloor in the third rotation andhad itsbest team score of themeet,a 49.525. Lincolndelivered her 9.95 for the Tigers in the anchor spot, just after a9.90 from Chio and a9.925 from Amari Drayton. However,LSU lost the lead to Oklahoma on Torrez’s10.0 score on beam,giving the Sooners a148.550-148.500 edge over the Tigers going to the final rotation.

Despite Chio’s9.975 to anchor vault,LSU posted just a49.450 on vault in thefinalrotation,withonly oneothergymnast, Victoria Roberts, getting a9.90. Florida surged to the team win with a49.800 on beam,the event score of the meet while OU settled forsecondafter astrong 49.600 on floor

Lincolnperformeddespite waking up withpaininher elbowthat theSEC Networksaidwas caused by her ulnar nerve. She had a9.90 on beam and a9.85 on vault in addition to her winning 9.95 on floor

“She was awarrior,” Clark said. “Welimited her in warmups. She didn’tdoanything with her arm on floor.But shewas confident from (practice Friday).

“Structurally,wefeel the elbow is stable or we wouldn’thave let her go. But she’sgot somediscomfort in it, forsure.”

The Tigers return hometoawait theNCAAselectionshow, which will be televised at 11 a.m.Monday on ESPNU. LSU is assured of being the No. 1seed in the regional it will host April1-4 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center

pass on the high barand took astep back on the landing, getting only a9.75 that the Tigers discarded. Afterone rotation, LSU wasin second place witha 49.475 behind Florida(49.525, beam).

The Tigers movedtobalance beam forthe second rotation andnosed intothe lead thanks to strong back half of the lineup performances fromLincoln, McClain and Chio. Lincoln got a9.90, McClain a9.95 andChio, the NCAA

The top twoteams from each of four regionals will advance to the NCAA Championships, April 16 and 18 in Fort Worth, Texas.

“We’ll get alittle rest, then get back at it,” Clark said. “The main thing Iwant to continue to drive home is that this team is capable of winning everything. Ourfans shouldn’tdoubt thatand should get theirbutts in ourarena(for the regional) to support this team.It’s going to be ameat grinder.”

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU first

basemanTori Edwards, shown driving the ball for an RBI hitagainst Texas A&M on March 14 at Tiger Park, had the game-winning hit against South Carolina on Sunday

LIVING

“The waywe’ve pivoted andnavigated is just ensuring our shows are tightand clean.Itmightbea little over 30 minutes, but audiences are engaged. When you see characters, even when they’re heightened or over-the-top, peoplestill connectwith them.”

PAyDEN ADAMS,Knott’sBerry Farm vice president of entertainment

Curtaincall

BY TODD MARTENS Los Angeles Times (TNS)

LOS ANGELES— TheBird Cage Theatre has stood inside Knott’sBerry Farm for 72 years —albeitnot always soundly. Long framed by atin roof and atent,the theater had a reputation for discomfort, as it was asource of punishingheat andthe occasional mouse sighting.

“It was hot, it stunk and it was dirty,” says Payden Adams, the park’sVPof entertainment.

Still, though it has long felt like an endangered species, the Bird Cage Theatre is one of Southern California’smost historicrevival houses, aplace for vaudevillestyle, fourth-wall-breaking shows that deviate from the expected theme park fare.Toquote the theater’smost recentproduction,its entertainment can be “flirtatious and alittle bitsaucy.”

And now,againstall odds, the Bird Cage is gettingasecond life. Knott’s Berry Farm recently completed arenovation designed to keep it thriving for another 72 years. Gone is the tarpaulin roof:

TheBirdCage is now afully enclosed, soundstage-like structure. And blessedly,ithas modern air conditioning. Thetheater reopenedthis past weekendwith“TheGreat Bank Robbery,”a30-minute-plus show in which audiences are encouraged to boo,hissand swoon over thecharacters, aBird Cage tradition since 1954. Charactersare caricatures, be it avillain that feels plucked froma cartoon western, complete with apurringraccoon fora sidekick,toa greedy wannabepolitician of abankmanager.Though setinGhost Town with period

garb, there are modern flourishes, such as tongue-in-cheek nods to the theme park’sattractions anda damsel in distress who ultimately proves to be anything but Though it once operated as adaily theater, theBirdCageistoday most active during holidays and seasonal events, such as the park’s annual Boysenberry Festival, whichalso beganthis weekend. Popular summer show “Miss Cameo Kate’sWestern Burle-Q-Revue” is a20-minute cabaret-style performance, complete with atorch song and aslightly risqué cancan finale. When it’s running, theBird Cage is amust-see attraction.Livetheater in theme parks can feel like amoving target, as conventional wisdom oftenarguesthattoday’s smartphone-addled guests areafterthrills and more attention-grabbing, interactive experiences. But when it works,such as during the over-the-top sillinessof“TheGreat Bank Robbery,” or at Universal Studios’ “Waterworld”-themed stunt show,itcan offer guests

ON THE GO

After7 marathons in 7dayson7 continents,Florida runner places first amongwomen

BY PATRICK CONNOLLY Orlando Sentinel (TNS)

ORLANDO,Fla. Imagine running onemarathon, an impressive feat by anyone’sstandards. Now trytoenvisionrunning seven marathons in as manyconsecutive days, all on different continents.

That’sexactly what Orlando resident Beth Reed did, and she made quickworkofittoo. With an overall average time of 3hours, 39 minutesand 28 seconds, Reed placed first among 16 womencompeting in the World Marathon Challenge, whichcelebrated its ninth edition this year with morethan 50 total entrants. Theraces began at Ultima Basecamp,Antarctica, before continuing to Cape Town,South Africa, then Perth, Australia. The challenge then headed to the Middle East for arace in Dubai, then Madrid, Spain, then Fortaleza, Brazil,finally wrapping up in Miami.

As someone who hasrun 31 marathons, including allsix of the originalworld marathon majors, Reed, 42, was no stranger to goingthe distance Still, there’sabig difference between running one marathon in aweek versus seven.

“I was doing 90-100 milesa week,” she said of her training regimen. “In typical marathon training, you’ll do alongrun every weekend. For this one, Iwas doing back to back long runs mostweeks.” Reed raninjuniorhigh, then fell in love with the sport again while living in New York City, where her run club convinced hertorun theNew York Marathon in 2010. More than adecade later,she signed up forthe World Marathon Challenge as a 40th birthdaypresent to herself.

“It’saonceina lifetime thing,”Reed said. “I hadsome idea of whatwas going to happenbut Ireally didn’t, actually, as it turns out.”

It’squite the contrast going

Marc Jacobs letSofiaCoppola filmand didn’t hate himselfafter

BY LINDSEY BAHR

AP film writer

VENICE, Italy

NeitherSofia Coppola nor Marc Jacobs were convinceda documentary was agood idea. Jacobs wasn’tsure he wanted to be the subject of one and Coppola wasn’tsure she wanted the pressure of being the person behind thecamera. Thiswas her friend of over 30 years, after all. What if thefilm wasn’tgood?

Yetthe idea,which theycredit to producers R.J. andJaneCha Cutler,started to takehold. Coppolahas alwaysbeen interested in fashion and the creative process. Jacobs knew that if anyone couldmake himfeel less self-conscious, it would be her And they decided to jump into the unknown. At leastitwould be together

“There was no off-limits,” Jacobssaid in an interview,alongside Coppola, with TheAssoci-

ated Press before the Venice Film FestivalinSeptember.“It was just likecome as you are and youget what youget and that’sthe way it’s going tobe.”

“Marc, by Sofia,”which opens in theaters Friday,isanevocative,and very Coppola, collage of Jacobs’ influences,his biography and his team at work putting together aready-to-wear collection.

Marc Jacobs, left,and SofiaCoppolaposefor aportraitphotograph for the film ‘Marc,by Sofia’ during the 82nd edition of the Venice Film FestivalinVenice, Italy, on Sept. 2.

KNOTT’S BERRy FARM/TNSPHOTOS

Opened in 1954, the BirdCageTheatrehas specialized in vaudeville-style melodramas.

Awagon at Knott’sBerry Farm in 1970.

Carbsare thekey to lowering bloodsugar

Dear Doctors: Iama66-year-old woman, andmyblood test from aphysical exam shows that my blood sugar is getting higher.Iam not in prediabetesyet, butI really don’twant to get there. Other than cutting out sweets, how do you eat to improve your blood sugar numbers?

Dear reader: Getting ajumpon even minor changes to measurements like blood glucoselevels is asmart move.Abenefit of getting regular metabolic measurements, such as at annual physicals, is they give you ahistory of baseline readings. As in your case, they offer an overview of the trajectory of your health. This often gives you enough time to make anypositive changes thatmay be needed.

Dr.Elizabeth Ko Dr.Eve Glazier ASK THE DOCTORS

When it comes to healthy blood glucose levels,the goal is twofold. One part is to stay within a specificrange. In theU.S., blood sugar is measured in milligrams perdeciliter,ormg/dL.For those withoutdiabetes, the target range is afastinglevel below 99 mg/dL, andamaximumlevel below 140 mg/dL two hours after eating.The second part of the goal is to avoid

large or sharp swings in blood sugar.Research now suggests that these types of swings can play arole in developing Type 2 diabetes. When thinking about sugar in the diet, it is easy to focus on sweets. Butgaining control of blood sugar levels requires a morenuanced understanding. It’s not just counting the actual sugar that you consume, but thetotal carbohydrate load. Yes, that does mean simple carbs like candy, soda, processed snack foods and desserts. Butitalso includes hidden added sugars in ordinary productssuch as ketchup, soups, pastasauces, salad dressings, fruit juices,flavored nut milks and frozen dinners. The total carbohydrate load also includes

KNOTT’S BERRy FARM/TNSPHOTO

The Bird CageTheatre nowhas aproperly enclosed roofand air conditioning

BIRD CAGE

Continued from page1D

some of the most memorable, personal moments at the parks.

“You’re not wrong,especially when it comes to attention spans. We experience that,” says Adams, who oversaw the theater’s restoration. “The way we’ve pivoted and navigatedis just ensuring our showsare tight and clean. It mightbe alittle over 30 minutes, but audiences are engaged. In melodramas, we ask the audience to participate, andwe can train them how to participate beforehand. When you see characters, even when they’re heightened or overthe-top, people still connect with them.”

The Bird Cage Theatre first opened in the summer of 1954, itsfacadeanearreplica of the original Bird Cage in Tombstone, Arizona That the family-focused Knott’swould nodtothe Arizona locale is an oddity in and of itself, as the actual theater had abawdy reputation. Stories today speak of aplace that initially opened with grand ambitions but

Continued from page1D

“I’ve never done anything like this wherethere isn’ta plan or ascript,” Coppola said. “What Iwas tryingto do is show his creative process around this one collection and then interweave inspiration and references and artists who collaborated with him to have this full portrait.”

Creating ‘Marc, by Sofia’

It wasa very lo-fi production, they said. Sometimes it would just be Coppola coming into the officewith her own handheld camera Sometimes her brother Roman Coppola would come to help. Coppola had never done afeature length documentary before and found the process exciting, though she said it’snot signaling a new phase or director for her as afilmmaker

She also got to see some of the behind the scenes things she’srarely privy to, including being backstage at arunway show

“I had total freedom, which was great. Iwas just filming what interested me,” she said. “It was really the sameas like taking snapshots, which wasn’tunfamiliar to me.”

The twomet in theearly 1990s in NewYork, when Coppolaasked her mother if she could go see the Perry Ellis show that Jacobs was

eventually succumbed to gamblingand prostitution. At Knott’s, thetheater was built around existingstructures, although park founder WalterKnott,according to the book “Knott’sPreserved” by ChrstopherMerritt andJ.Eric Lynxwiler, oftentalkedabout completing it as afull tribute to the Arizona space. Thatnever really happened. Andyet over theyears the Bird Cage wonover audiences thankstoprogramming from vaudeville veterans. Earlyon, students from nearby colleges would appear at the space, including Steve Martin,whose signed photograph graces acelebrity wall in the Bird Cage’s introductory hall. Donna Mills and singer Rick Nelson havegraced theBird Cage’shorseshoeshaped stage, as have Dean Jones and Skip Young. It was, to say the least, a quirky placetoperform. “Knott’sPreserved”tellsofa show in whichamouseonce sat at the base of the stage, andquotes Martin as reminiscing over performances affected by the weather “When it rained,noone could hear eachother because the rainwas beating so hardon that tarp,” Martin said.

working on. They quickly hit it off,bonding over shared loves of art, music, fashion and movies, and have collaborated manytimes, on handbags,dresses, commercials and more. Jacobs has visited her film sets and even providedclothes for some of hercharacters,including some of the coats Scarlett Johansson wore in“Lost in Translation ”

While Coppola wanted to acknowledge their friendship, even makingalittle cameo in her film, shealso didn’twant it to be about heroreven them, necessarily.The focus wouldremain on Jacobs.

“I didn’twantittobetoo much about me,” Coppola said. “But Iwanted it to feel that it’spersonal and made by me andthat I’m part of it andinthatway it’s notjust agenericinterview or portrait.”

Marc Jacobs’influences

In additiontothe behind the scenes of designing the Spring 2024 ready-to-wear collection, “Marc by Sofia” is full of film and artreferences, with clipsfrom “Hello, Dolly!” “All that Jazz,” “Sweet Charity” and many more of Jacobs’ most beloved films.Hewas particularly blown away thatshe was able to get the rights to use theclips.

“It made me feel very special. And Icouldn’timagine allthose things coming through for just anyone,” Ja-

Noneofthatshould be a problemanymore, although returning guestswilllikely feel they’re in afamiliar space. Thoughthe Bird Cage has been outfitted with modern lighting capable of new theme park tricks and projections, the rigishidden among curtains designed to re-create the look of the original tent. Lights, in bird cage enclosures, still hang abovethe audienceseating area,which hasroom for about 250 guests. And alongthe way afew discoveries were made. Adams says that when they began strippingawaywooden walls added sometime in the 1970s, theyfound the Bird Cage’soriginalwallpaper ascarlet-red strip that surrounds the spacewith flower-adorned bird cages. Not all of it could be salvaged, so Knott’smeticulouslyrecreated thelook.With the new-old wallpaper intact, Adams estimates that guests can count about11,055 bird cages throughout the theater The original pieces will be preservedinthe park and gifted to important Bird Cage players. Adams jokes, “Ifyou have amailing addressfor Mr.SteveMartin, Ihave agift to send him.”

cobs said. “I felt like it was OK because it was for Sofia. That maynot be thetruth but that’sthe way Ilike to thinkofit.”

It also includes some biography,big career moments, and some rare glimpses of Jacobs’ grandmother,an influential figure in his life who he lived with as ateen in New York and who instilled in himthe importance of caring for beautiful clothes.

Afterthe runway show,Coppola andher brother visit Jacobs at his home where, in his silk pajamas, he discusses his comedown.Helikesto borrow aphrasecoinedby his friend, filmmaker Lana Wachowski, to describe the feeling: Post-art-um.

“I just sort of just felt like it could have been any conversation,” Jacobs said. “Nothing felt like director and subject. It just felt completely easy.”

Still, Jacobswas nervous thefirst time she screened it for him. He worried about what he was going to look like, and sound like, and what it was going to be.

“In very typical me fashion, when it was over Isaid I don’thate myself after seeing it,” Jacobs laughed. “I just thought it all felt natural. Iwasn’tpretending. Therewas just nothingsynthetic or false or anything. So whether people like it or not, IknowthatI just felt good about mebeing me and Sofia, you know,sort of seeing that her way.”

complex carbs. Whole fruit, fresh vegetables, whole grains, beans, legumes, unsweetened dairy productsand nuts all have complex carbs. Thanks to the magic of fiber,complex carbs are apowerful tool. Limitingsimple sugars often focuses on the foods you need to avoid. It can be easier,more interesting and even funtoset apositive goal. Think about increasing your daily intake of fiber,which you can get through complex carbs. Fiber slowsdigestion,keeps you feeling full and helps preventblood sugar spikes. For women over 50, national guidelines recommendatleast 21 grams of fiber per day.For men over 50, the daily target is 30 grams.

When you focus on fiber-rich foods and also meet the protein goals and calorie range appropriate foryour body,your overall carbohydrate intake often moderates naturally.Focus on complex carbs forsteadier blood sugar For people whodon’thave diabetes, blood sugar levels often respond quickly to thoughtful dietary changes. And it doesn’tjust give you good results in your next checkup. It supports long-term metabolic health.

Sendyour questions to askthedoctors@mednet.ucla edu, or write: Ask theDoctors c/oUCLA HealthSciences Media Relations, 10880 Wilshire Blvd.,Suite1450, Los Angeles, CA, 90024.

Understandingprotein overload

Dear Heloise: Forty years ago, when Iwas doing Weight Watchers, Ihad terrible dandruff until anew hairdresser told me, “It is caused by eating too much protein.” So, I cut back, and lo and behold, Ihaven’t had any moredandruff since then P.M., in St. Louis P.M., dandruff isn’tdirectly caused by protein. It comes primarily from afungus (Malassezia) that feeds on sebum.A diet withprotein helps the scalp maintain a healthy balance. On theother hand, adiet that is heavy in refined sugars, dairy and processed foods seems to worsenthe problem.

desert, it’simpossible to be dust-free formore than a day or so. Idolike to iron, though! I’mretired, so I don’thave work clothes to iron anymore. But ironing napkins and pillowcases is so relaxing to me. —Paula M., in Tucson,Arizona Paula, whenit comes to ironing, I’m with you. Ironing relaxes me,and it’ssonice to see a finished product. —Heloise Vent-hoodtrick

The term“protein overload” (hair,not diet) applies to using far too many protein-heavy hair products. Inflammation and yeast growthare sometimes caused by sugary foods, carbohydrates and alcohol —all of which can lead to dandruff. —Heloise Favoritechores

Dear Heloise: Iabsolutely hatedusting! Livinginthe

By The Associated Press

Today is Monday, March 23, the82nd day of 2026. There are 283 days left in the year

Todayinhistory: On March 23, 1998, “Titanic” tied an Academy Awards record by winning 11 Oscars, including best picture, best director for James Cameron and best original song for “My Heart Will Go On.”

Also on this date:

In 1775, Patrick Henry delivered an address to the Virginia Provincial Convention in which it is said he declared, “Give me liberty,orgive me death!”

In 1806, explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark began their return to St.Louis, Missouri, after completing the first U.S. overland expedition to thePacific coast. The explorers had begun their journey from St. Louis

RUNNER

Continuedfrom page1D

from frigid, blustery Antarctica to Australia, where thetemperature soared into triple digits. “Wewent through some extreme temperatures,” Reed said. “(Perth) was my favorite because you’re running along on abike path alongthe water.You hadthe sunsets and the moonrise with the city just absolutely beautiful and stunning in thebackground.”

Each marathon had an 8-hour time limit, and Reed was done in under four hours in all but one race, Antarctica. That gave her alittleextratime to pack and dineout in eachplace, but witha new continent to visit everyday,therewasn’t much time to spare.

“You can only seeso much of aculture through

Dear Heloise: Iread your column daily and have seen manyhints on how to chop onions tear-free. Ihave never seen the one that Iconstantly use, so Ithought Iwould send it along: Iplace achopping block on my stovetop under the vent hood and turn it on high. Chop away without tears! —Elisa, in California Larger duvetneeded

Dear Heloise: We love sleeping with aduvet and acover on our split king adjustable bed. However, king duvets do not seem to go beyond the top of the

TODAYINHISTORY

in May 1804 and trekked thousands of miles to and from the coast.

In 1919, Benito Mussolini foundedhis Fascist political movement in Milan, Italy.

In 1933, the German Reichstag adopted the Enabling Act, which effectively granted Adolf Hitler dictatorial powers.

In 1942, the first Japanese Americans incarcerated by the U.S. Armyduring World WarIIarrived at the internment camp at Manzanar,California.

In 1965, America’sfirst two-person space mission took place as Gemini 3 blasted off with astronauts Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom and John W. Young aboard foranearly 5-hour flight orbiting Earth.

In 1993, scientists announced they’d identified the gene that causes Huntington’sdisease.

In 2010, President Barack Obama signed the Afford-

one dining experience, but Iwas able to get out a little bit,” she said, highlighting the experience of eatingManchego cheesein Spain.

Eventhough the experience of running back-toback marathons is exhausting, sometimes sleep was hard to comebyonthisepic journey

“You’remeeting allthese new people and you’re excited. When you’re done running and you get on the plane,you almostwantto just chat all night or hang out. Youhave to remember the plane is where you sleep,” Reed said. “There’s people who Imet who I’ll probably be in touch with for the rest of my life. Some of us have already talked about, ‘When’sour next marathon?’ ” The runner’sfastest and final marathonofthischallenge was run close to home in Miami. Finishing with a

bed, and if one of us turns and takes the duvet with them,the other is not covered. Ineed awider duvet. Any advice will be helpful! —Jan H., via email Jan, this is afairly common problem.You might want to try aCalifornia king duvet or look online foranextra-wide comforter and duvet. —Heloise Clothnapkinhint

Dear Heloise: Along with Cathie D.,I,too, use cloth napkins forcompany and on adaily basis for my husband and me. Iuse fingertip towels in various colors (nothing too light) and have never seen stains on them. They get washed like bath towels do and never need to be ironed. Karen, in Hastings, Michigan Staple removeruse

Dear Heloise: Iuse astaple remover (the kind that is similar to ascrewdriver but wider) to pry open the lids of refrigerator storage containers. —Margaret, in La Mirada, California Send ahinttoheloise@ heloise.com.

able Care Act, a$938 billion health care overhaul aimed at making health insurance more accessible and affordable in the U.S. In 2021, acargo ship the size of askyscraper ran aground and became wedged in the Suez Canal; hundreds of ships would be prevented from passing through the canal until the vessel was freed six days later Today’sbirthdays: Singer Chaka Khanis73. Basketball Hall of Famecoach Geno Auriemma is 72. Fashion designer Kenneth Cole is 72. Actor Amanda Plummer is 69. Actor Hope Davis is 62. Musician Damon Albarn is 58. Basketball Hall of Famer Jason Kidd is 53. Actor Randall Park is 52. Actor Michelle Monaghan is 50. Actor Keri Russell is 50. Country singer Brett Young is 45. Actor Vanessa Morgan is 34. Actor Victoria Pedretti is

time of 3hours, 20 minutes and 55 seconds, Reed crossedthe Florida finish line around 2:30 a.m. on the lastday with herhusband andmother-in-lawthere to celebrate with her

“They sprayed me with Champagneand brought flowers, then we got cheeseburgers at like 5a.m. It was one of the best nights in recent memory,”she said. “It was anicelittle bonus to win.” On heradventurous journey,Reed brought home life lessons in additiontoher medals.

“This is one example of remembering to live and not just exist. It sounds so simple but it’ssomething that’shard to do,” she said.

“I think that’sanimportantreminder. Youdon’t always know whenyou’ll be injured or sick.When you’re healthyand youcan do things, you should definitely capitalize on that.”

FILM

Hints from Heloise

ARIES(March 21-April 19) Discipline, along with pioneering ideas, will lead to somethingtangible. Trust and believe in what you can achieve, and bring aboutpositivechange.

tAuRuS (April 20-May 20) Get everything in place before you invite others to weigh in on your progress. You'll accomplishfar more on your own than youwill while facing criticism

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Take pride in what youdo, andfinish what you start. Less talk and moreaction will help pave the way forward and help you distance yourself from emotional confrontations.

CAnCER (June21-July 22) Stop short of lettingothers take advantage of your kindness, connections and skills. Offer only what's feasible and what will help youget closer to your personal and professional goals

LEo(July 23-Aug. 22) Look, leap into action and put your energy into making adifference. Refuse to let the changes others make daunt you.Knowyourdestination and complete your mission.

VIRGo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Awindow of opportunity will open through communication and honoring your promises. Be the onetolead the way if you want to achieve what youset out to do.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-oct. 23) Follow the pack andembrace the chance to build strong relationshipswith thepeople whoare most influential in your life. Letyour

actions be your calling card and make your motives clear, and you will make headway.

SCoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Breathe, relax and obliterate any notion that using force will surpass usingintelligence. Your emotions will be difficult to control when contracts, shared expenses or joint ventures comeinto play.

SAGIttARIuS (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Stick close to home. Avoid initiating asituation that could lead to harsh words. Puttering around the house, you'll find away to lower your overhead and better utilize your space.

CAPRICoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Slow down, think andplanyournextmove. Trust your instincts, not what others lead you to believe. Don'tlimit what you can do or pay too muchfor what you want

AQuARIuS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) You aresitting in abetter position than you realize. With alittleingenuity and discipline, you'll come outahead of the game, with cash in hand and asense of accomplishment.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Be nice, kind and agood listener, and you'll ward off an emotional setback. An open mind and heart will help you maintain good relations and positive results.

The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientificfact. ©2026 by nEa, inc., dist.Byandrews mcmeel syndication

Sudoku

InstructIons: sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers The object is to place thenumbers1to9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box containsthe same number only once. The difficulty level of thesudoku increases from monday to sunday.

Saturday’s Puzzle Answer

THewiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

CurTiS

Bridge

By PHILLIP ALDER

Emile-Auguste Chartier, aFrench philosopher and journalist who died in 1951, said, “Weprovewhat we want to prove, and the real difficulty is to knowwhatwe want to prove.”

At the bridge table,wewant to prove whether or not acontract is makable.

This is usually easier when we can see all 52 cards, or have been warned there is a trap somewhere. When we are just playing at the table, it can be easy to make a mistake almost on autopilot.

In today’s deal, South is in three notrump. Westleads his fourth-highest heart. East wins with his king and returns the heartnine. Whoshouldprevail, declarer or the defenders?

After aone-no-trumpopening, some pairs use ajump-response of three of a major to show game values with asingleton (or void) in that suit, three cards in theother major and 5-4 (or 5-5) in the minors. Partner can usually judge the right contract. However, without that agreement, North should just jump to three no-trump.

Declarer hasseven top tricks:two spades, four diamonds and one club. He canget at least oneheart trickand three more club winners. How might he go down?

Onlyiftheclubfinesseislosingandthe defenderstake four hearts and one club.

Thekey play is almost counterintuitive.

wuzzles

Then, when East gets in with his club king, athird heart through declarer defeats thecontract

At trick two, South must play his second low heart, which cuts the communication betweenthe defenders. If instead he covers withthe queen or jack, West can play low.

Watch out forthis difficult duck. ©2026 by nEa, inc dist. By andrewsmcmeel syndication

EachWuzzle is aword riddle which creates adisguised word, phrase, name,place, saying, etc. For example: nOOn gOOD =gOOD aFTErnOOn

Previous answers:

word

InStRuCtIonS: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed. 3. additional

toDAy’S WoRD DuStER: DUH-ster: Adress-length housecoat

Average mark 14 words Time limit 20 minutes

Can you find 18 or more words in DUSTER?

SAtuRDAy’S WoRD —FREIGHtER

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield B.C. PiCKles

ScrabbleGramS

dIrectIons: make a2-to 7-letter word from the lettersineach row. add points of each word, using scoring directions at right. Finally, 7-letter words get 50-point bonus “Blanks”used as any letter have no point value. all the wordsare in the Official sCraBBlE® players Dictionary, 5th Edition.

ken ken

InstructIons: 1 -Each row and each column must contain the numbers1thorugh 4(easy) or 1through 6 (challenging) without repeating. 2 -The numberswithin theheavily outlined boxes, called cages, must combine using thegiven operation (in any order)to produce the target numbers in thetop-left corners. 3 -Freebies: Fill in the single-box cages with the number in the top-left corner

Saturday’s Puzzle Answer

WiShinG Well

HErE is aplEasanT liTTlEgamEthat

numericalpuzzle designed to

the number of lettersis6ormore,

left

Get fuzzy

roSe