The Advocate 03-28-2026 by The Advocate

Population growth slows in BR area

EBR

remains largest

BY CHARLES LUSSIER Staff writer

Livingston and Ascension par-

ishes continue to lead the Baton Rouge region when it comes to population growth, though the pace of expansion has slowed, according to the latest U.S. census population estimates

parish

state

Meanwhile, East Baton Rouge Parish has seen its population grow for two years in a row, outpacing Louisiana as a whole. The parish, however, has yet to fully recover from declines early in the pandemic.

The 10-parish Baton Rouge metro as a whole grew over a ﬁve-year period, but seven of the parishes

did not.

Between the last U.S. census in 2020 and July 1, 2025, the federal agency found Livingston was the fastest-growing parish in Louisiana, expanding its population by 9% That equates to almost 13,000 more residents. Ascension is not far behind, growing its total number of residents by almost 7%, or 8,600 people. That is the third-fastest pace of growth in the state.

Entergy wants power capacity boost for Meta data center

BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL and SAM KARLIN Staff writers

Entergy Louisiana plans to dramatically boost the amount of electricity it can generate and transmit in Richland Parish, where it is already building power plants for Meta’s massive AI data center, the clearest sign yet that the Facebook parent is moving forward on a signiﬁcantly larger project than ﬁrst announced

In a news release Friday, Entergy said it plans to build seven new natural gaspowered plants, upgrade its existing nuclear plants, build 2,500 megawatts of solar farms and install batteries to store solar power The gas plants alone will total 5,200 megawatts, about ﬁve times what the entire city of New Orleans uses on an average day The new power capacity Entergy is seeking to generate in Richland comes on top of two natural gas turbines it is already building for Meta at the site, as well as a third power plant for the project under construction near Baton Rouge All together, those three plants will generate 2,262 megawatts of power

N.O. Banksy mural is up

‘Gray Ghost’ was on the wall of a former firehouse

BY DOUG MacCASH

Staff writer

Now’s your chance to own one of the rare remaining New Orleans murals by the British grafﬁti master Banksy, who is arguably the most famous artist in the world. But it won’t come cheap. Banksy’s stencil painting goes up for auction on Saturday with a starting bid of $725,000, including fees. Banksy’s prints and paintings regularly reach the million-dollar mark at auction, occasionally fetching multimillions. Potential buyers should note that the mural probably won’t ﬁt nicely over the couch It’s 8 feet tall and 5 feet wide, and — since it’s painted on a chunk of brick wall — it weighs almost 3 tons. The sale of the New Orleans mural and other works by Banksy is being conducted online by Hessink’s auction house in Maastricht, Netherlands. The cumbersome painting is currently on display at the Louisiana State Museum at the Presbytère. Though it may not be a convenient artwork to own, it has a fascinating provenance. The globe-trotting artist secretly slipped into the Big Easy in 2008 like an arty James Bond. Banksy was on a mission of mercy, intent on drumming up sympathy for the city’s ongoing, grinding recovery from Hurricane Katrina that had taken place three years before. The undercover Englishman painted

ä See POPULATION, page 5A

“Suburbs have been growing. It was happening before COVID. COVID accelerated that trend,” said Andrew Fitzgerald a senior vice president with the Greater Baton Rouge Economic Partnership, formerly the Baton Rouge Area Chamber Growth rates slipped between 2024 and 2025, to 1.2% in Livingston and 0.8% in Ascension. Over that year, the state population was ﬂat, growing less than a tenth of a percent. The parishes have the ninth- and the 11th-largest populations out of the state’s 64 parishes. East Baton Rouge added an estimated 2,463 residents in 2024 and 2,008 in 2025, according to estimates released this week. The recent growth has allowed East Baton Rouge to remain the largest parish in the state It also is a

Johnson balks at deal to fund TSA

BY MATTHEW ALBRIGHT and MARCO CARTOLANO Staff writers

The U.S. Senate worked overnight to pass a bill Friday that funds the Transportation Safety Administration, but House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, said his chamber would not approve the deal.

Johnson and other House Republicans said the Senate proposal was unacceptable because it did not include funding for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or the Border Patrol.

The plans also come amid questions nationally about how data centers are affecting residents’ electric bills, which are rising along with a host of other everyday costs President Donald Trump had tech companies sign a “ratepayer protection pledge” in early March.

Entergy said in its news release that Meta committed to paying for some of the infrastructure costs up front and sending millions to its charitable program for low-income customers and for energy efﬁciency The company said customers will see $2 billion in savings because of the new deal, details of which weren’t

If approved, it would equal nearly half the power it generates for state ä See POWER, page 4A

for auction

more than a dozen small murals on structures across the city that instantly became icons of the era. Among his sardonic artworks was a forlorn girl huddling beneath a faulty umbrella, a homeless Abraham Lincoln pushing a shopping cart, looting National Guardsmen, and a second line-style brass band attempting to play while wearing gas masks. On a former firehouse on Jackson Avenue, Banksy produced a painting that was meant to demonize Fred “The Gray Ghost” Radtke, a devoted grafﬁti foe, who was in constant conﬂict with the Crescent City’s street artists/aerosol vandals. Banksy depicted Radtke as a shadowy, soulless house painter bent on eradicating an innocent stick

ä See BANKSY, page 5A

“It is the most reckless thing we’ve ever seen, and we’re so frustrated by it,” Johnson said. He later referred to the Senate’s deal as “a joke.” Johnson instead proposed a continuing resolution that would fund the entire Department of Homeland Security, including TSA and immigration agencies, for 30 days while Congress sorts things out. Johnson challenged the Senate to pick up the bill on Monday But the Senate recessed for two weeks after passing its bill Friday, so senators would have to return to

Speaker says House won’t approve Senate measure ä See JOHNSON, page 4A

STAFF FILE PHOTO

A restored mural by the British graffiti superstar Banksy is on display at the Louisiana State Museum at the Presbytère.

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

Work continues on the Meta data center site in Holly Ridge.

Ex-Louisville officers’ charges dismissed

LOUISVILLE, Ky. A federal judge has dismissed charges against two former Louisville police ofﬁcers who were accused of falsifying the warrant used to enter Breonna Taylor’s apartment the night police shot her to death

U.S. District Judge Charles Simpson issued a one-page ruling Friday throwing out charges against Joshua Jaynes and Kyle Meany, two former ofﬁcers involved in crafting the Taylor warrant.

Federal prosecutors asked a judge last week to dismiss charges against the former ofﬁcers “in the interest of justice.”

Prosecutors noted that the court had already removed some felony charges against Jaynes and Meany in previous proceedings.

Former U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced charges against Jaynes and Meany in 2022 in a high-proﬁle news conference in Louisville, where Garland said “Breonna Taylor should still be alive today.” Garland said the ofﬁcers at the scene who shot Taylor, 26, were unaware of the “false and misleading statements” in the warrant.

Taylor’s boyfriend fired one shot at police after they broke down her front door with a battering ram. Police returned ﬁre, striking Taylor multiple times in her hallway Her killing along with the death of George Floyd in Minnesota sparked weeks of racial justice protests in the summer of 2020.

Jaynes was facing charges for conspiracy and falsiﬁcation of records and misdemeanor civil rights violations. Meany was facing a charge for allegedly lying to federal investigators.

Guthrie to return to ‘Today’ show on April 6 Savannah Guthrie will return soon as co-host of NBC’s “Today” show after a nearly twomonth absence sparked by the disappearance of her 84-yearold mother, saying in an interview that “joy will be my protest.”

Hoda Kotb, who is filling in for Guthrie, said Friday after an emotional interview with Guthrie that she’ll be back April 6. Guthrie said while it’s hard to imagine returning to a place of joy and lightness, she wants to try, even as she acknowledged she’s not sure she can do it or if she’ll belong anymore.

“I can’t come back and try to be something that I’m not. But I can’t not come back, because it’s my family,” Guthrie said. “I think it’s part of my purpose right now I want to smile and when I do, it will be real and my joy will be my protest. My joy will be my answer And being there is joyful and when it’s not, I’ll say so.”

Nancy Guthrie was reported missing from her Arizona home on Feb. 1. Authorities believe she was kidnapped, abducted or otherwise taken against her will. The FBI released surveillance videos of a masked man who was outside Guthrie’s front door in Tucson on the night she vanished. Authorities have not released new evidence publicly in weeks.

Secret Service agent accidentally shoots self PHILADELPHIA A Secret Service agent has been hospitalized after accidentally shooting himself at Philadelphia International Airport on Friday morning

The agent was traveling in an unmarked Chevrolet SUV near an access point at the airport, the Philadelphia Police Department said. It was not immediately clear what caused the agent’s ﬁrearm to accidentally discharge.

The agent was on duty at the airport on a protective assignment covering former ﬁrst lady Jill Biden, according to an Associated Press report. Biden, who was not present at the time of the incident, was in Harrisburg for a speaking event this week with Pennsylvania’s ﬁrst lady.

Secret Service spokesperson Nate Herring said the Secret Service’s Ofﬁce of Professional Responsibility would “review the facts and circumstances” of the incident. The agent, he added, was injured while handling a service weapon.

Attack wounds U.S. service members

Iranian missiles strike base in Saudi Arabia

BY JON GAMBRELL and FARNOUSH AMIRI Associated Press

DUBAI,UnitedArab Emirates — An Iranian missile attack Friday wounded at least 10 U.S service members and damaged several planes at a military base in Saudi Arabia, according to two U.S ofﬁcials familiar with the situation.

Two of the troops were seriously wounded, one of the ofﬁcials said. The attack on Prince Sultan Air Base damaged several U.S. refueling aircraft, said the ofﬁcials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters.

The attack, which involved an Iranian missile as well as drones, comes a day after President Donald Trump said Iran has been “obliterated” and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that “never in recorded history has a nation’s military been so quickly and so effectively neutralized.”

This is not the first time that Prince Sultan Air Base has been targeted by Iran. Army Sgt. Benjamin N Pennington, 26, was wounded during a March 1 attack on the base and died days later He is one of the 13 service members who have been killed in the war Satellite imagery that appeared to show the damage to the aircraft in the latest attack had been posted online. The attack was reported earlier by The Wall Street Journal.

U.S. Central Command said earlier Friday that more than 300 service members have been wounded in the monthlong conﬂict.

The Trump administration offered a 15-point plan for a possible ceaseﬁre to Iran, with Pakistan as an intermediary Iran has denied that negotiations are taking place, while its choke-

hold on the Strait of Hormuz has sent fuel prices skyrocketing and roiled the world economy

Despite the discussion of talks, the Pentagon is preparing to send at least 1,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division — a unit trained to parachute into hostile or contested territory to secure key territory and airﬁelds — to the Middle East in the coming days.

The military is also in the process of deploying two Marine units that will add about 5,000 Marines and thousands of sailors to the region.

Trump: Growth will follow war

Trump said in his speech at the FII Priority Summit in Miami that economic growth would surge once the war ends, suggesting that the world would beneﬁt from Iran no longer pursuing nuclear weapons or using terrorist proxies.

“And I think you’re going to see a rocket ship, because we won’t have that dark cloud hanging over our head,” Trump said.

The president played down recent declines in the stock market, saying “It hasn’t been that bad” and that he thought oil prices were going to be higher than they are now

Trump has been pressing Israel and Saudi Arabia, the two biggest powers in the Middle East, for years to normalize ties as part of his Abraham Accords efforts.

“It’s now time,” Trump said at the Miami event, sponsored by a Saudi sovereign wealth fund. “We’ve now taken them out, and they are out bigly. We got to get into the Abraham Accords.”

Significant headwinds remain, including Saudi Arabia’s insistence that there needs to be a credible path to a Palestinian state be-

fore it normalizes commercial and diplomatic ties with Israel. Iran to ‘expedite’ aid in strait

Meanwhile the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva said Tehran has agreed to “facilitate and expedite” humanitarian aid through the Strait of Hormuz, even as it endures strikes on its nuclear facilities.

Ali Bahreini said Tehran accepted a request from the U.N. to let humanitarian aid and agricultural shipments move through the vital waterway, which usually handles a ﬁfth of the world’s oil shipments and nearly a third of the world’s fertilizer trade.

The aid plan would be the ﬁrst breakthrough at the shipping chokepoint after a month of war While markets and governments have largely focused on blocked supplies of oil and natural gas, the restriction of fertilizer ingredients and trade threatens farming and food security around the world.

“This measure reflects Iran’s continued commitment to supporting humanitarian efforts and ensuring that essential aid reaches those in need without delay,” Bahreini said in a post on X. The U.N. earlier announced a task force to address the ripple effects the Iran war has had on aid delivery Israel strikes nuclear facilities

That announcement came just hours after Iranian state media said two nuclear facilities had come under attack. Israel, which had threatened to “escalate and expand” its campaign against Tehran, claimed responsibility, and Iran quickly threatened to retaliate.

“Attack contradicts POTUS extended deadline for diplomacy,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X, referring to Trump. “Iran will exact HEAVY price for Israeli crimes.”

Rubio meets G7 allies skeptical about Iran strategy

BY MATTHEW LEE and SAMUEL PETREQUIN Associated Press

VAUX-DE-CERNAY, France

Top diplomats from the Group of Seven countries showed divisions with the United States over the Iran war but agreed Friday during a meeting in France to call for an immediate halt to attacks against civilians and urge the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to international shipping

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio joined his G7 counterparts a day after President Donald Trump lobbed his latest round of insults at other NATO countries, making it even more difﬁcult for America’s top diplomat to try to sell the U.S strategy for the Iran conflict to close allies. Trump has repeatedly complained that allies have ignored or rejected

requests for help confronting Tehran’s retaliation, including its chokehold on the waterway that has disrupted oil shipments and pushed up energy prices.

Rubio struck a softer tone, saying the U.S. would seek international cooperation on a plan to keep the strait open after hostilities end.

Rubio emerged from discussions with fellow diplomats with a longerterm message about the conclusion of the war, when he said the U.S and allies will face a challenge in keeping the strait open.

He cautioned that Iran may seek to set up a toll on the waterway — where 20% of the world’s oil typically passes — an act that he said could cause signiﬁcant economic damage to many nations around the globe.

“Not only is this illegal, it’s unacceptable. It’s

dangerous to the world,” Rubio told reporters of the possibility that Iran would seek to restrict trafﬁc through the strait. “And it’s important that the world have a plan.”

France: Iran war ‘not ours’

Most of America’s closest allies have greeted the Iran war with deep skepticism, which was on display as the G7 foreign ministers gathered at a historic 12th-century abbey in Vaux-de-Cernay, outside Paris, even as they urged a diplomatic solution. Four weeks into the war that the U.S. and Israel launched, the allies face concerns about instability in the oil markets and uncertainty over potential negotiations to end the crisis.

Several EU countries, now grappling with economic consequences of the war, have said they

Rubio denies Zelenskyy’s claim U.S. asked Ukraine to cede land

BY DAVID KLEPPER and MATTHEW LEE Associated Press

PARIS U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday rejected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s as-

sertion that the Trump administration is demanding Kyiv hand over its eastern Donbas region to Russia to receive American security guarantees in any ceaseﬁre plan

Speaking to reporters following a Group of Seven meeting in France, Rubio disputed Zelenskyy’s recent comments and said the U.S. has made no such stipulation in its talks with Ukraine.

“That’s a lie,” Rubio said. “And I saw him say that And it’s unfortunate he would say that because he knows that’s not true and that’s not what he was told.”

In an interview published this week, Zelenskyy told Reuters the U.S was making its offer of security guarantees for Ukraine contingent on the ceding of the Donbas region, the industrial heartland long coveted by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Moscow’s forces occupy the bulk of the region, but have not seized a strip of land that is among the most heavily fortiﬁed parts of the front line.

Zelenskyy said that with the U.S. fo-

cused on its war against Iran, President

Donald Trump is looking to bring an end to the conﬂict in Ukraine.

“The Americans are prepared to ﬁnalize these guarantees at a high level once Ukraine is ready to withdraw from Donbas,” Zelenskyy told Reuters Rubio denied Zelenskyy’s assertions and said the U.S. had only passed along Russia’s demands. He said security guarantees could only come after the ﬁghting has ended and that the U.S. will keep pushing for a peace deal.

“We’ve told the Ukrainian side what the Russians are insisting on,” he said. “We’re not advocating for it We’ve explained it to them It’s their choice to make. It’s not for us to make for them.”

The Ukrainian presidential ofﬁce declined to comment on the discrepancy Putin wants Kyiv to cede control of the entire Donbas region, which analysts believe would give Moscow a permanent launchpad from which to threaten other parts of Ukraine.

Rubio noted that U.S. talks with the Ukrainians were held last week in Florida but no other meetings are scheduled as of now He also said that while no U.S. weapons have been pulled from sales bound for Ukraine to go to the Middle East instead, it could happen if deemed necessary

were not consulted by the U.S. before it launched its military actions in Iran. French Minister of the Armed Forces Catherine Vautrin said Friday that the war “is not ours,” adding that France’s position is strictly defensive.

“The aim is truly this diplomatic approach, which is the only one that can guarantee a return to peace,” she said on Europe 1 and CNews.

“We have taken the approach of supporting defensive action, but also we’ve taken a different approach on the offensive action that has taken place as part of this conﬂict,” she said. Trump has complained that NATO countries were not stepping up to help against Iran.

“We’re there to protect NATO, to protect them from Russia. But they’re not there to protect us,” Trump added.

British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said Britain also favored a diplomatic path, acknowledging differences with the United States.

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strike in Tehran on Friday.

NYPD stops firebombing plot

Home of a prominent Palestinian activist alleged to be target

BY JAKE OFFENHARTZ and MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press

NEW YORK A man accused of planning to ﬁrebomb the home of a prominent Palestinian activist has been arrested following a weekslong undercover operation led by the New York City Police Department, ofﬁcials said Friday The target of the plot was Nerdeen Kiswani, who frequently leads protests in New York against Israel and the war in Gaza through the organization Within Our Lifetime. Kiswani, 31, said law enforcement officials informed her late Thursday that they had disrupted “a threat on my life that was about to take place.”

Federal authorities said they arrested Alexander Heifler on

Thursday at his home in Hoboken, New Jersey, as he was assembling Molotov cocktails that he planned to throw at Kiswani’s home. For weeks, he had discussed the plot with an undercover NYPD detective who had infiltrated a group chat used by Heiﬂer, according to a police department spokesperson.

An official who was briefed on the investigation said Heifler, 26, identified as a member of the JDL 613 Brotherhood, a New Jerseybased group founded in 2024 that describes its membership as “Jewish warriors” fighting back against rising antisemitism.

A website for the group says they are inspired by the original Jewish Defense League, a group linked to numerous bombings and attempted assassinations of Arab American political activists in the 1970s and 1980s.

Heiﬂer planned to ﬂee to Israel following the attack, according to the official, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the details of an

ongoing investigation.

An email inquiry sent to the JDL 613 was not returned.

Kiswani, who lives in Brooklyn with her infant son and husband, said the plot would not deter her continued activism.

“I feel very blessed that they were able to thwart this, but it’s something that is a constant possibility for people who speak up on behalf of Palestine,” she said.

Heiﬂer was charged in a criminal complaint with separate counts of making and possessing destructive devices, which each carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. A message left with his attorney was not returned. He made an initial appearance in New Jersey federal court on Friday afternoon.

According to a court ﬁling written by an FBI agent, Heiﬂer spoke on a video call in February with a group that included an undercover detective about his interest in training for “self-defense” and wanting space where he could throw Molotov cocktails.

The next day, he met with the undercover detective in person and discussed his plan to use them against Kiswani and ﬂee the country according to the complaint.

Heiﬂer and the undercover detective drove to Kiswani’s residence on March 4 to “conduct surveillance” and discussed making a dozen Molotov cocktails to throw at her home and two cars parked outside, complaint said.

On Thursday the undercover detective and Heifler met at Heifler’s Hoboken residence, where he had assembled components to make the Molotov cocktails, including a large bottle of Everclear a highly flammable alcohol, the complaint said. Law enforcement officers then executed a search warrant at the residence and recovered the eight Molotov cocktails, the complaint said. Kiswani co-founded the group Within Our Lifetime whose calls to “abolish Zionism” and support for “all forms of struggle,” including violence, has drawn fierce criticism.

CPAC shows generational split over Iran

BY THOMAS BEAUMONT Associated Press

GRAPEVINE, Texas A generational divide over the Iran war surfaced Thursday between older attendees and their political heirs at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference, as the group’s leaders pleaded for unity in a challenging midterm election year for Republicans.

Younger conservatives spoke of disappointment and even “betrayal” over President Donald Trump’s launch of strikes against Iran, saying in interviews with The Associated Press that the president’s actions run counter to his many pledges to oppose foreign entanglements. Meanwhile, older conservatives were looking past Trump’s campaign criticism of military action to topple foreign regimes, arguing the war in Iran is a pragmatic act forced by threats to the United States.

The bright dividing line emerged in conversations with a dozen participants on either end of the age spectrum who gathered for the annual meeting of conservatives, being held outside Dallas. That split could reﬂect ﬂagging enthusiasm for Trump among some younger voters, a potentially troubling sign for Republicans heading into midterm elections and for the conservative movement as it looks to build beyond Trump’s tenure. “We did not want to see

ed a new war He was acting in response to a 40-year-old war by Iran,” said 70-year-old retired defense contractor Joe Ropar of McKinney, Texas. “How long were we supposed to wait? I think he did what he had to do when he had to do it.”

“Do nothing? I’m not on board with that,” Ropar said.

Echoing a common theme from older participants, Kelle Phillips said Trump’s decision was a pragmatic reaction to a real threat that overrules the best hopes of campaign rhetoric.

preference, not an ironclad promise. “I think he said he was against it,” he said. “Trump is a wise leader He does what works. And I’m for it.”

Divide in coalition

Cracks in the conservative coalition began appearing early in the war, led by inﬂuential opinion leaders like podcaster Tucker Carlson.

BY ERIC TUCKER Associated Press

WASHINGTON A pro-Iranian

hacking group claimed Friday to have hacked an account of FBI Director Kash Patel and posted online what appear to be years-old photographs of him, along with a work résumé and other personal documents dating back more than a decade.

“Kash Patel, the current head of the FBI, who once saw his name displayed with pride on the agency’s headquarters, will now ﬁnd his name among the list of successfully hacked victims,” said a message posted Friday from the group Handala.

The message was accompanied by a collection of photographs of Patel, including ones of him standing beside an antique sports car and another with a cigar in his mouth. The group also said that it was making available for download emails and other documents from Patel’s account. Many of the records appeared to relate to his personal travels and business from more than 10 years ago.

“The FBI is aware of malicious actors targeting Director Patel’s personal email information, and we have taken all necessary steps to mitigate potential risks associated with this activity,” the FBI said in a statement. “The information in question is historical in nature and involves no government information.”

more wars. We wanted actual America-ﬁrst policies, and Trump was very explicit about that,” said Benjamin Williams, a 25-year-old marketing specialist for Young Americans for Liberty “It does feel like a betrayal, for sure.”

Concern about troops Williams, from Austin, Texas, worries about his friends in the military, especially his Air Force ofﬁcer brother More broadly, he sees the war as an unnecessary disruption to the stability in the Middle East that could have long-term negative effects on the U.S. economy. “Trump’s rhetoric was very important for people of my generation,” Williams said. Auburn University sophomore Sean O’Brien’s support

for Trump has slipped, especially with talk of sending U.S. troops into the Middle East. “I’m not happy,” he said.

Sending troops into Iran, he said, “would be full betrayal.”

In light of the U.S. military preparing to deploy at least 1,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East in the coming days, O’Brien said, “That’s what keeps me up at night.” Trump ‘does what works’

Older CPAC participants were far more forgiving, describing Trump as wisely responsive to what they described as the threat Iran posed. Several, in fact, suggested Trump did not initiate the war, but that Iran had decades ago.

“I don’t believe he start-

Vance holds first meeting of task force

BY MICHELLE L. PRICE

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Vice President JD Vance on Friday held the inaugural meeting of a new anti-fraud task force he’s leading as the Trump administration seeks to show it’s cracking down on potential misuse of social programs. Vance, speaking Friday before the task force held a closed-door meeting, said that the federal government, for decades, had not taken the issue of fraud seriously and that it needed to be tackled with “a wholegovernment approach.”

“You campaign on what you want to do and then the world’s dynamics happen,” said Phillips, a 61-year-old author and religious instructor from Frisco, Texas. “I think the difference is if you have someone in the Iranian regime who wants to destroy America. You can’t reason with them.”

Trump’s goals in Iran, as James Scharre believes, are short-term and not a concern for those adverse to a long slog overseas.

Scharre, 61, also interprets Trump’s early campaign opposition to government overthrow as a

This month, Joe Kent, the director of the Center for Counterterrorism at the Department of Homeland Security, quit his Trump administration post, saying in his departure statement that “I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran” and that “Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation.”

Right-wing podcaster Steve Bannon has worried aloud that a protracted Mideast military engagement would cost Republicans support by pushing some conservatives to sit out the November midterms.

A recent survey from The Associated PressNORC Center for Public Affairs Research indicates 59% of Americans say U.S. military action in Iran has been excessive.

The FBI statement did not identify the hackers believed responsible for the breach, but it noted that the Trump administration is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the identification of members of the Handala hacking group — an entity it said “has frequently targeted U.S. government ofﬁcials.” It was not clear when the hack claimed by Handala might have occurred. News reports from December 2024, before Patel was conﬁrmed as director, said that Patel had been informed by FBI that he had been targeted as part of an Iranian hack. Handala is a pro-Iranian, pro-Palestinian hacking group that earlier this month claimed credit for disrupting systems at Stryker, a Michigan-based medical technology company Handala said the attack was in retaliation for suspected U.S. strikes that killed Iranian schoolchildren.

President Donald Trump, a Republican, has made a crackdown on fraud a central part of his domestic agenda as voters have expressed concern about affordability ahead of November’s midterm elections. That effort comes after allegations of fraud involving day care centers run by Somali residents in Minneapolis prompted a massive immigration crackdown in the Midwestern city, resulting in widespread protests.

Minnesota Gov Tim Walz, a Democrat who faced Vance as a vice presidential candidate in 2024, has called it a “campaign of retribution”

“This is not just the theft of the American people’s money,” Vance said. “It is also the theft of critical services that the American people rely on.”

and said the Trump administration was “weaponizing the entirety of the federal government to punish blue states like Minnesota.”

The Justice Department under the Biden administration brought a massive $300 million pandemic fraud case involving the nonproﬁt Feeding Our Future, accusing dozens of defendants, most of Somali descent, of exploiting a state-run, federally funded program intended to provide food for children.

The investigations into the fraud there expanded, with a lead prosecutor estimating that half or more of the roughly $18 billion in federal funds that supported 14 programs in Minnesota since 2018 may have been stolen.

DALLAS MORNING NEWS PHOTO By SHAFKAT ANOWAR Attendees cheer as White House Border Czar Tom Homan exits the stage during Conservative Political Action Committee at Gaylord Texan Resort and Conference Center on Thursday in Grapevine, Texas.

Airports warn travelers not to arrive too early

BY JOHN SEEWER Associated Press

Maybe Dad was right about getting to the airport early But it turns out there’s still such a thing as TOO early

Travelers panicked by scenes of never-ending lines at U.S. airport security checkpoints and frustrating tales of missed ﬂights over the past few weeks are now showing up way before their departures. Some airports where the wait times have been manageable say those early birds are only adding to the misery — and in some cases causing other passengers to get to their gate too late.

In Ohio, John Glenn Internation-

JOHNSON

Continued from page 1A

Washington to approve the deal. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump signed Friday an executive order to pay TSA workers using money from the mammoth budget bill Congress passed last year to enact much of his domestic agenda.

“TSA ofﬁcers should begin seeing paychecks as early as Monday, March 30,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement Friday Still, given the uncertainty in Washington, ofﬁcials at Louis Arm-

Continued from page 1A

immediately provided.

If approved by the Public Service Commission and built, the new gas and solar plants would enable Entergy to generate and transmit more than 7,700 megawatts of electricity for Meta — the equivalent of more than half of all the power Entergy currently generates for the state of Louisiana.

In its release Friday Entergy Louisiana CEO Phillip May said the deal will help keep electricity rates affordable. The PSC, which regulates Entergy Louisiana, has already approved a deal with Entergy to build new gas-ﬁred power plants, a deal that would see Meta pay for some up-front infrastructure and past hurricane costs. Still, the plans have created some controversy amid widening public concerns over electric bills.

Rachel Peterson, Meta’s vice president of data centers, said the boost in power plants “demonstrates the business-friendly environment in Louisiana that makes projects like this possible and aligns with the principles in the recently signed White House Ratepayer Protection Plans.” Size of Manhattan?

Friday’s announcement was not entirely unexpected For months

Meta has made clear that it saw the footprint of its Richland Parish project growing beyond what was originally announced.

In late 2024, Meta said the project would be a 4 million-squarefoot data center, the size of 70 football ﬁelds, and sit on 2,000 acres of former farmland in the tiny community of Holly Ridge The total price tag was pegged at $10 billion.

Last summer, Mark Zuckerberg disclosed plans to potentially in-

al Airport in Columbus is warning passengers against arriving hours in advance, even creating a chart showing when to show up: “90 minutes before departure is all you need.”

The airport says those premature arrivers — reacting to the funding standoff on Capitol Hill that’s creating crowded security checkpoints — are making things worse by creating bottlenecks during peak times.

“Arriving too early can actually create longer lines right when we open,” the airport said in a social media post Thursday.

“Spacing out arrival times helps keep things moving smoothly for everyone.”

strong New Orleans International Airport warned travelers to arrive early particularly on Sunday and Monday Waits in security lines on those days earlier this week lasted for three to four hours, leading many travelers to miss their ﬂights.

Weeks of gridlock

The Senate had been deadlocked for weeks over a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security as Democrats demanded new restrictions on immigration enforcement agents.

TSA, which is part of the department, has been unable to pay its security agents, and many have called out sick or quit. As frustra-

In some ways, the airport chaos is turning into a full circle moment for “Airport Dad” — a humorous TikTok and social media take on the dad who always makes sure the family is out the door, parked, through security and positioned at the correct gate well before anyone else, with paper boarding passes in hand.

Airline customers aren’t laughing, at least right now They’re facing record wait times in a jumbled environment — the modern American airport — that can serve up assorted stresses and snafus on the best of days.

Amber Campbell said she missed a morning ﬂight this week despite arriving at Baltimore-Washington

tion grew about hourslong waits at security lines, the Senate agreed to a deal that would fund TSA, the Coast Guard and the Federal Emergency Management Agency — but not the immigration agencies.

“We can get at least a lot of the government opened up again, and then we’ll go from there,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. “Obviously, we’ll still have some work ahead of us.”

But Johnson has long voiced concerns about approving a piecemeal budget bill, saying it would be more responsible to fund the entire department. And some hard-line conservatives in his caucus have voiced disdain for par-

As construction continues on the Meta data center site in Holly Ridge, the company has discussed plans to potentially increase the size of the facility

crease the size of the facility, which he dubbed “Hyperion,” and said it would be the company’s largest data center yet, with a footprint the size of Manhattan.

A few weeks later, Trump praised the planned size of the facility, boosting its price tag to $50 billion, though that dollar ﬁgure was never conﬁrmed.

Then, while announcing a new financing arrangement for the project in the fall, Meta ofﬁcially boosted the cost to $27 billion In the October announcement, the company said the larger price tag included “the buildings and longlived power cooling and connectivity infrastructure at the campus.”

“We are proud to be part of the Richland Parish community, and we look forward to continuing to strengthen our partnership for years to come,” Peterson, the Meta executive, said at the time.

The company declined to provide additional information about the expanded size of the project, the costs or the number of construction and permanent jobs it

could create.

Also unclear is what additional incentives Meta may have secured from the state in order to move forward with its expansion. Meta is already receiving a sales tax exemption on a wide range of spending, as well as local property tax breaks. Together, the tax breaks could be worth billions of dollars.

Last fall, Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Susan Bourgeois said if Meta moved ahead with plans for a larger project, it would have to negotiate a separate deal with the state for any additional tax breaks.

LED spokesperson Emma Wagner said Friday the agency is “excited about Meta’s continued commitment and looks forward to sharing more in the coming weeks.” LED negotiated tax incentive deals with Meta and Amazon, which is also building a data center campus near Shreveport.

In a statement included in the release, Gov. Jeff Landry praised Zuckerberg and Entergy for “prioritizing consumer interests.”

International Airport more than three hours ahead of time.

“We noted several people in line with later afternoon ﬂights,” Campbell posted on Facebook.

“There was no organization or consideration for those of us missing flights vs people with later flights. We missed our flight by ten minutes!”

What’s confusing for air passengers is that it’s hard to predict which airports will be plagued next by security lines spilling out of terminals.

The government shutdown straining Transportation Security Administration staffing has ballooned checkpoint wait times beyond two hours at some major

tial funding, saying it undermines Trump’s campaign against illegal immigration.

“This deal is bad for America. It’s bad for Americans,” said Maryland Republican Rep. Andy Harris, chair of the conservative Freedom Caucus.

Will airport lines continue?

Lines at the New Orleans airport were largely clear after Monday

On Friday the average wait time to get through security was 15 to 20 minutes, depending upon the time of day, airport spokesperson Erin Burns said. But as the weekend approached, Burns said travelers should again prepare to arrive early as TSA

“Their policy has set a precedent that should be the norm, not the exception,” he said.

Power projects across Louisiana Documents ﬁled with the Louisiana Public Service Commission and made public Friday after the announcement provide additional details on what Entergy is proposing.

Filings show that four of the new power plants would be built near the Meta data center site in Richland Parish. Three others would be built near Entergy’s Big Cajun power plant in Pointe Coupee Parish near the town of New Roads.

Filings also show that Entergy wants to build a new 150-mile transmission line extending from Richland Parish to St. Landry Parish in the south-central part of the state and a new switching station in St. Landry Parish.

The filings also hint at future investments in Louisiana’s two nuclear power plants, which come on the heels of Gov Jeff Landry’s announcement at a global energy conference Tuesday that Louisiana wants to build more nuclear plants, components and fuel enrichment sites.

According to the ﬁling, Entergy’s 20-year deal includes funding for a refueling cycle upgrade at Waterford 3 nuclear power plant, which is in west St. Charles Parish, and for a study to evaluate adding new generators at the River Bend nuclear plant north of Baton Rouge near St. Francisville.

Entergy is requesting that the project be evaluated under a process called the “Lighting Amendment,” approved by the PSC in December, that allows for certain mega projects to be greenlighted within eight months, provided they meet certain criteria.

Public Service Commissioner Davante Lewis said there are a lot of questions about the Entergy proposal that he wants to have an-

airports. George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston has become the biggest chokepoint for travelers with four-hour security lines.

“An absolute nightmare,” said Arthur Tsebetzis, while standing in a line Friday that snaked through the main terminal and spilled outside Hartsﬁeld-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta. Those are by far the worst-case scenarios. Many airports like the one in Ohio — have been seeing wait times comparable with those in normal times. That’s why airlines say the best advice for passengers right now is to check TSA wait times before their scheduled departures.

callouts have remained consistent and the pattern has been that they are at their highest on Sundays.

“If anyone has travel scheduled Sunday or Monday, get here early and prepare for long lines,” Burns said.

Peak days are Sunday and Monday, and the busiest hours are from 4 a.m. to 7 a.m. and from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., Burns said. Airport ofﬁcials have generally advised travelers to arrive two to three hours before their ﬂight.

So far, the budget standoff has not caused major problems for travelers at the Baton Rouge or Lafayette airports. The Associated Press contributed to this story

swered.

“This is a giant, massive investment and under this expedited process, it will be that much harder to evaluate whether this much power generation is justiﬁed and if the beneﬁts outweigh the risks,” Lewis said.

Pros and cons

Meta’s Hyperion data center is one of about 20 the tech giant is building around the country Local and state officials have welcomed the project and the profound economic impact it is having on a poor rural corner of the state that has suffered from decades of disinvestment. Since breaking ground 15 months ago, northeast Louisiana has seen an influx of new investment. Companies from around the region are serving as subcontractors to Meta and its three main builders. They are also setting up shop and signing long-term leases for warehouse and office space, a boost of activity that local economic development officials hope they can turn into long-term growth.

But the project is also raising red ﬂags from environmental advocates and others, who point to other places around the country where AI data centers have driven up utility rates and pulled massive amounts of water from local supplies.

Other critics have questioned the tax breaks and the company’s complicated financing arrangement, which they argue could enable Meta to walk away from the project after just a few years should market conditions change.

Fenceline communities, meanwhile, have changed dramatically Local and state economic development ofﬁcials say the project is worth it to an area that has been losing population as farming and manufacturing industries have contracted.

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

contrast with Caddo and Orleans parishes, whichhave lost residents every year from 2020 to 2025, according to the federalagency Similarly, JeffersonParish lost residents all but oneof those ﬁve years.

“Comparedtopeers across the state, Baton Rougeis holding itsown,” Fitzgerald said.

Comparatively,Louisianaasawhole declined in population over that fiveyear span by almost 1%, or nearly 40,000 people. Similarly,only 14 parishes added residents overall since the census was administeredin April 2020.

Between the formal census every 10 years, the Census Bureau uses arangeof data, including phone surveys, to estimate annual population changes

Source:U.S.CensusBureau

At the same time, domestic migration is better than it was. Asizable outﬂow of Baton Rouge metro residents to other parts of theUnited States has slowed. In 2024, 2,012 fewer people migrated outofBaton Rouge to other partsofthe country than migrated in. In 2025,that net out-migration shrunk to 773 people

“Less people are leaving (Baton Rouge)relative to the previous threeyears,” saidLauren Bowers, chiefof theCensus Bureau’spopulation estimates branch.

East Baton Rouge’sgrowth was slightly less in 2025 than it wasthe year before, coming in at 0.4%. Louisiana’s overall growth was less, from almost 0.4% to barely anygrowth at allin2025. Nationally,nearly 8in10counties across thenationsaw theirgrowthsloworreverse direction in 2025

Fitzgerald with the Greater Baton Rouge Economic Partnership saidrecent growth in enrollment at LSU and Southern University could be part of what is driving the parish’srecent population growth.

Between 2023 and2024

5,652morepeople migrated to theBaton Rouge metro area from other countries than left for other coun-

Some factors are adding population to Baton Rouge while others are cutting in theother direction Immigrationisone.Itis embodied inacensus measure called “net international migration.”

tries. That dropped to 3,652 people from 2024 to 2025, a decline of almost 62%. Nine outof10ofthe metro areas in Louisianadeclined in that measure. TheNew Orleans metro area saw the biggest drop, with 2,788 fewer residents from other countries in 2025 than the year before.

Census officials attribute thatslowdown to an overall decline nationwide in net internationalmigration.The federal agency expects the decline to continue in 2026 thankstothe TrumpAdministration’s much more restrictive immigration policies.

Among parisheswith larger cities, Lafayette Parishleadsthe pack, posting growthevery year of the ﬁve-year span measured by the Census Bureau. Its population grew by almost 7%, or morethan 16,000 people.

The other parish in the Capital Regionthatissteadily growingisWestBaton Rouge.Ithas addedmore than1,500 residents since 2020, agrowth rate of 5.7%. Itspopulation has increased each oneofthose years. It added213 more residents between 2024 and 2025.

“West Baton Rouge is asuper nice and interesting case of population growth on that side of the river,” Fitzgerald said. Fitzgeraldsaidthe par-

ish has been alocal engine of economic growth, but its population growth is less than it would be because of the “chokepoint” of the Mississippi River Bridge,which regularlyfaces severetrafﬁc delays. Fitzgerald said he is hopefulthat continued economic development further south on thewestside of theMississippi in Donaldsonville and Iberville Parish will lead to residentialgrowth there as well. Iberville Parish lost 2.2% of itspopulation between 2020 and 2025. The parish with the biggest population declines in the region are Assumption and Pointe Coupee parishes. Assumption has an estimated 6.3% fewerresidents in 2025 compared with 2020, adrop of more than1,300 people. Atotal of 300 residents left between 2024 and 2025. Pointe Coupeehas an estimated 6% fewer residents in 2025compared with 2020, or almost 1,300 people. Atotal of 343 residents left between 2024 and 2025.

ﬁgure that cried out in terror

It may surprise some fans of the outlaw artisttolearn that before he began painting, Banksy received permission from the building’scoowner,restaurateur Greg Surrey

Despite their popularity and immense value, Banksy’sNew Orleans mural artworkswere immediately tagged, vandalized, painted over, demolishedwith the buildings that held them, or protectively coveredover. Art thieves successfully stole one painting andattempted to steal another.The Jackson Avenue painting, titled “Gray GhostAttacks Stick Figure,” which was protected by afence and plastic sheeting, survived in place for 17 years, longer than any other New Orleans Banksy In April 2025, Jaohn Orgon, the currentsole owner of the old ﬁrehouse,had the precious stencil cut out of the structure and trucked away.Apainting restorerme-

ticulously returned the stencil to its former glory,and it was forklifted into the Museum on Jackson Square to go on temporary display, just in time for the 20th anniversary of Katrina.

Earlier this month,the art world was jolted by thenews that reporters from theReutersnews agency had ﬁnally ferretedout Banksy’s real identity.But the revelation was abit less dramatic than it ﬁrst

seemed. Back in 2008, aLondon tabloid had declared that Banksy wasa Bristol native named Robin Gunningham.

Reuter’srecent research seems to prove that somewhere along theline, Gunningham changed his name to therather genericDavid Jones. Banksyfans still have scant biographical detailsabout theartist.

Banksysuperfan and scholar

Jesse Zueﬂe, who wrotethe book “NOLA RAIN The NewOrleans Banksy Story,”does not believe the Reuters revelation will affect the value of his works, including the New Orleans painting that will go on the auction block Saturday Banksy “hasbeen ‘exposed’ a dozen times in the last 20-plus years,” Zueﬂe wrotevia text. “We thepeople, enjoy the mystery though.Itadds to the mystique So, Ithink it will have no negative consequences on prices norpopularity.”

“Gray Ghost Attacks Stick Figure” isn’tthe only one of Banksy’s 2008 murals to be cutfromits moorings, restored and put on public display.Two rescued and

resurrected examples can be found in the lobby of the International House Hotel at 221 CampSt.

Another well-preserved painting is located at the Habana Outpost restaurant at 1040 Esplanade Ave. Zueﬂe said he hopes the painting stays put. “It would be great if a New Orleans buyer or collective would purchase this piece. It belongs in the Crescent City.” TheState Museumistakingthe news of theauction in stride.“We knew when we took on the piece that the owner was interested in potentially selling the item at somepoint,” Museumspokesman Jeffrey Anding wrote in an email.

Anding said the museum would, of course, like to have the Banksy on display foraslongaspossible, maximizing the public’schance to see “such apoignant example of his work” in thecontextofother artifactsofthe 2005 stormand ﬂood.

Anding claimed that the “Gray Ghost Attacks Stick Figure” mural is “the only originalBanksy street-art installation knowntobe housed in amuseum anywhere in the country.”

STAFF FILE PHOTO By DOUG MACCASH

The process to remove a2008 painting by the British graffiti superstar Banksy from the wall of a19th-century fire station on JacksonAvenue began in April.

BREC proposes AI camera system

Plans incorporate a 24/7 monitoring center

BY CHRISTOPHER CARTWRIGHT Staff writer

BREC plans to turn the camera network across its parks into a live surveillance system, which will incorporate a round-the-clock monitoring center and artiﬁcial intelligence that can alert when people or objects are on screen. The system, which includes

more than 1,500 cameras across 77 parks in East Baton Rouge Parish, previously has been used after the fact to gather footage for investigations. Under the new program, hired security will monitor the system live via from a 24/7 Security Operations Center and alert police. It is being set up by Contingency Consulting LLC, run by former Baton Rouge police Cpl. David

Burtwell, and Clearly Managed Consulting, run by former BRPD Ofﬁcer Charles Robinson.

During a presentation in January, BREC Information Systems Director Steven Knight said “two or more agents” will monitor the system and use it to respond to crime, including vandalism.

“We’re leveraging AI object detection across all of those loca-

tions,” he said. “Those AI detections will say, ‘This guy’s at this place doing this thing at this time,’ and these people here will get realtime notiﬁcation and they can respond.”

The commission initially approved contracts of $40,000 for both companies in January, and revised them to $80,000 in February

The money paid for the consulting firms to set up the surveillance system. The commission also approved the creation of three new

FOR THE ROAD

Maintenance worker Leonel Morales uses a bull ﬂoat while doing road work at the corner of North Boulevard and Fourth Street on Friday

Judge orders release of transgender immigrant

BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer

A federal judge in Louisiana has ordered the federal government to release a transgender woman who authorities held in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention for a year despite being unable to legally deport her — and who they sent to Mexico against a judge’s order meant to protect her from torture there

The woman, Britania Uriostegui Rios, who spent some of her detention at Winn Correctional Center, made national headlines in November after her wrongful deportation Authorities allowed her back into the United States but continued to keep her in immigration detention while they tried to deport her a third country, according to court records. Immigration ofﬁcials had made no “visible progress” toward

deporting Rios since January and multiple third countries refused to accept her, Judge Jerry Edwards Jr., of Louisiana’s Western District court, said in an order issued Tuesday He found that detaining Uriostegui Rios was no longer justiﬁed because it was not likely that the government would be able to deport her in the “reasonably foreseeable future.”

The case is part of a larger battle that President Donald Trump’s administration is waging in courts across the country, as it tests legal limits on immigration detention and tries to detain immigrants for prolonged periods of time, even when they cannot go back to their home countries.

Detention of immigrants who have been ordered deported is not supposed to be indeﬁnite, but there are no strict rules for when the government must release detainees.

“It’s heartbreaking that people like Britania are losing years of their lives in places that amount to nothing more than for-profit prisons.”

NORA AHMED, legal director of the ACLU of Louisiana

positions for the project — surveillance manager, supervisor and agent with maximum salaries ranging from around $60,000 to just above $86,000.

Both consulting contracts were set to expire at the end of March, but commissioners debated Thursday approving a one-year extension and increasing the total amount of the two contracts to about $178,895. They ultimately

ä See BREC, page 2B

La. Political Hall of Fame

All played a role in ‘Vote for the Crook’ election

BY TYLER BRIDGES Staff writer

As the 1991 governor’s race got underway, then-Gov. Buddy Roemer was favored to win reelection.

Edwards’ order comes shortly after the Trump administration lost similar cases in Louisiana’s

Middle District Court. Federal judges there ordered that certain ICE detainees be released from the “Louisiana Lockup,” an immigration detention facility on the grounds of the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. Gov Jeff Landry and other Republican leaders blasted those decisions, which they described as an affront to public safety The administration is also holding in custody people without criminal histories for prolonged periods of time. Amid Trump’s campaign to detain and deport immigrants in record numbers, courts across the country have been ﬂooded with habeas

petitions, lawsuits that argue detainees are being unlawfully held and should therefore be released.

That was the mechanism through which Uriostegui Rios, who has a criminal history got out of detention. She, like many other detainees, argued for release based on a landmark 2001 U.S. Supreme Court decision known as Zadvydas v. Davis. That case set a precedent for how long authorities may detain immigrants with final removal orders.

The case held that, generally, the government is supposed to deport such immigrants within six months. After that, continued detention may be unlawful if there is no signiﬁcant likelihood of deportation in the “reasonably foreseeable future.”

In other words, reaching the six-month mark gives immigrants stronger grounds to challenge their detention under Zadvydas. The rule does not apply to people with pending immigration cases.

Authorities unable to deport detainee ä See RELEASE, page 2B

Cooler temps expected with drier conditions this weekend

NWS issues warning on outdoor burning

BY ELLYN COUVILLION Staff writer

tional Weather Service against outdoor burning

“This is a dry front with no rain associated with it,” said Kevin Gilmore, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Slidell ofﬁce. The red ﬂag warning will be in effect for the Baton Rouge area from 11 a.m to 7 p.m. Saturday

“Any fire that develops will catch and spread quickly Outdoor burning is not recommend-

ed,” said the weather service, which predicts northeast winds of 15 to 20 mph, with gusts of up to 30 mph. Dry leaves and soil are playing a part in the red flag warning, Gilmore said.

“We’re a little below normal rainfall for this time of year,” he said. Weather-wise, Saturday will be a nice day with sunny skies, a

around 54 degrees, Gilmore said Rain will return to the forecast on Sunday, with a 20% chance of showers after 4 p.m., dropping off later that night, but going up to a 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms on Monday afternoon, according to the weather service.

“As the dry air from the north moves out, moist air from the Gulf will begin to come up again,” Gilmore said.

State Rep. David Duke seemed to be too controversial to defeat Roemer, even though Duke had won 60% of the White vote the year before — by galvanizing White grievances with an anti-establishment message — in losing to incumbent Sen. J. Bennett Johnston. Duke, after all, had been a Ku Klux Klan grand wizard who for years had celebrated Hitler’s birthday. Edwin Edwards, another looming opponent, reﬂected Louisiana’s let-thegood-times-roll ethos as a legendary gambler and womanizer who had been elected governor three times while constantly fending off corruption allegations — but now seemed to be a political has-been. Roemer, after all, had beaten Edwards four years earlier But Edwards and Duke ran first and second in the primary, knocking out Roemer With the nation’s eyes on Louisiana because of Duke’s notorious past, Edwards resurrected the formula that had elected him governor three times before — winning big in New Orleans and Acadiana to offset his losses in conservative areas elsewhere.

Six of the 2026 inductees to the Louisiana Political Hall of Fame played roles in the coalition that Edwards formed to defeat Duke in that epic election. They are (with their 1991 roles): New Orleans Mayor Sidney Barthelemy; state Rep. Sherman Copelin of New Orleans; Ron Nabonne, Barthelemy’s top political adviser; Ben Jeffers, a longtime Edwards ally in Baton Rouge; the late Haywood Hillyer III, a top ofﬁcial in the Louisiana Republican Party in New Orleans; and the late Norma Jane Sabiston, a Democratic political strategist in New Orleans.

Two other 2026 inductees Clancy DuBos and John Hill — provided incisive reporting and analysis on the race.

Saturday’s induction ceremony will take place Saturday night at the InterContinental Hotel in New Orleans.

The Hall of Fame, based in Winnﬁeld, home to Huey and Earl Long, will now number 231 with the latest inductees, said Randy Haynie, a Baton Rouge superlobbyist who chairs the board. The latest group was chosen by a panel that includes John Georges, owner of The Times-Picayune | The Advocate.

As the governor’s race began in earnest, Barthelemy had every reason to back Edwards, a Democrat. Barthelemy was mayor of the state’s biggest city, one with a majority Black population, and he had been an Edwards ally since his election in 1974 as the state’s ﬁrst Black senator since Reconstruction. Besides, with his long list of needs

STAFF PHOTO

JAVIER GALLEGOS

La.House committeepassesbilltomerge N.O. courts

Measurewould eliminate nine judges with consolidation

BY MATT BRUCE Staff writer

Abill that would overhaul New Orleans’ judiciary by consolidating its civil, criminal and juvenile courts —eliminating ninejudges in the process —cleared its ﬁrst hurdle at the State Capitol on Thursday

The House Judiciary Committee passed State Rep. DixonMcMakin’sproposal to merge the three standalone courtsand theirclerks in a10-5 vote. If themeasure becomes law,Louisianawould create anew 41st JudicialDistrictCourt to absorb the three court systems. McMakin, R-Baton Rouge, isone of two Republican lawmakers who have crafted bills this sessiontaking aim at New Orleans’ courts. Republican Sen. Jay Morris,ofWest Monroe, sponsored three bills that would reduce the number of elected judgeships in New Orleans’ district and appellate courts, do away with the Criminal District Court clerk and enact asingle parishwide clerk’sofﬁce.

“Thisisa continuation20years in the making, goingbackto2006,” McMakin told committee members, citing apast effort by legislators to consolidate Orleans Parish

BREC

Continued from page1B

voted to extend the contracts by one month but deferred the larger decision after Commission Treasurer

Carl Stages questioned the rising costs and asked if they were procured following publicbid law.

courts. State lawmakers agreed to merge thecourts after Hurricane Katrina, but that plan’simplementationwas delayed and then scrapped years later.

Members of the HouseJudiciary Committee split largely along party linesafter more than twohours of back and forthand testimonyfrom multiple Orleans Parishjudges Democratic representatives Kyle Green Jr., Edmond Jordan, Vanessa Laﬂeur,Mandie Landry and Candace Newellvoted against the measure.

They were outnumberedby Republican housemembers Emily Chenevert, Kathy Edmonston, Jay GalleJr.,Troy Hebert, Shane Mack, Joseph Orgeron, Charles Owen, Jeff Wiley and Jerome Zeringue.Committee chairman Robby Carterwas the lone Democrat to vote in support of McMakin’sbill

Thursday

Proponents say the proposed changes will streamlinethe courts system in New Orleans, oneofthe slowest in the state when it comes to murder cases.

HB911 aims to cut three judges from theOrleansParishcriminal courthouse, four judgesfromthe civil sections downtown, andit would abolish the Orleans Parish JuvenileCourt.

Twoofthe four juvenile judges wouldnot be absorbedintothe newlyconsolidated district court if the measure passes. To do so,it must next clear aHouseﬂoor vote.

2026 LEGISLATURE

McMakin arguedthatbringing thejuvenile court under thesame umbrella as civiland criminal courts would save Louisiana taxpayerscloseto$7million that the state pays to subsidize Orleans Parishcourts

Critics,however,say the judges in Orleans already dealwith high caseloadsand that cutting their numbers will only make things worse.

Civil District Judge Kern Reese, whose seat is up for elimination under thebill, saidthe cutswill increasethe time it takes for cases to be resolved.

Thecasefor judicial cuts

Somelawmakers said theyhoped to addressbloat in thestate judiciary as awhole. Citing a2023 report from the Legislative Auditor,Rep. JeromeZeringue,R-Houma, said Louisiana hasmorejudgesper capita than all states with similar populations. That study only compared Louisiana’stally of jurists againstﬁve other states.

Morrishas argued that New Orleans in particular has toomany judges and itsdocketsdon’tjustify the heft of the bench. Hisslateof proposed reforms are expected to get theirﬁrst reading Tuesday beforeaSenate judiciarycommittee.

“Whenthe budget wasbeing prepared last year,thiswas envisioned and $400,000 was included?” he asked BREC Finance Director Rhonda William. “You’regoing to pull money from other programsor projects to fund this?” Williams saidfunds for the contractswillcome from savingsobtained by BREC’srecent reduction in its workforce. BREC Chief AdministrativeOfficer and General CounselAneatra Boykin stated that the initial contracts werenot obtained via public bid because the companies werehired as consultants and will remain in thatrole.

‘You will be recorded’

RELEASE

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Edwards, aPresident Joe Biden appointeeand the judgehandling Uriostegui Rios’ case, initially permitted her detention past six months. In aJanuary decision, he described the case as “close,” butsided with thefederalgovernment based on evidenceof ongoing efforts to deport Uriostegui Rios to athird country

ButEdwards warnedthatUriostegui Rios’ detention couldbecome unlawful as time passed —and on Tuesday,hereversed his original decision and saidshe ought to be released. In his order,Edwardssaid the

HALL OF FAME

Continued from page 1B

for his poor city,Barthelemy had worn out his welcome with Roemer, aconservative Democrat-turned Republican from north Louisiana.

“He told someone Igavehim a headacheevery time IwenttoBaton Rouge,” Barthelemy remembered recently But Barthelemy wantedEdwards to move off his call for multiple casinos to rejuvenate New Orleans. Barthelemy believed that asingle glamorous casino for New Orleans offered the best option tocreate badly needed jobs.

After Edwards adopted Barthelemy’sposition, the mayor activated his political organization to support the former governor Overseeing that operation was Nabonne.

He had begun agitating forthe rights of Blackpeople as astudent at St. Augustine High School in New Orleans. As an undergraduate at Loyola Universityin 1968, Nabonne helped form aBlack student union that protested all-White fraternities. That same year,Nabonne helped organizeaprotest against then-Gov.George Wallace, asegregationist running for president.

An attorney and activist in recently formed Black political organizations, notably SOUL and COUP, Nabonneworked to elect Blackcandidateswho were runningfor positions that White ofﬁcials had held for decades.

Nabonne and Barthelemy became especially close. So it was onlynatural for Barthelemy to task Nabonne with mobilizing his political organization to recruit canvassers, make phone calls and pass out literature to help elect Edwards.

“You know what Iget mostpleasure from?” Nabonne said recently

“Getting something done without drama and having other people take

government had failed to show progress toward deporting Uriostegui Rios after sending requests to Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador,Canada,Senegal, Ecuador,Portugal, Seychelles and Liberia.

Several countries rejected the requests, and the rest neverresponded, Edwards wrote, adding that the most recent requests were made in January Edwards also stressedthat 12 months had passed since Uriostegui’sremoval order became ﬁnal. Thelikelihood that continued immigration detention is lawful wanes thelonger detainees stay in custody, he wrote, citing the Zadvydas case. Uriostegui Rios cametothe U.S. in 2003 and became alawful per-

creditfor it.

LauraCannizzaro Rodrigue, formerlya high-ranking OrleansParish prosecutor underher father, former Orleans Parish criminal court judge anddistrict attorney Leon Cannizzaro, advocated for the measuresThursday DeclinesinNew Orleans’ population over the past two decades and morerecent declines in reported crime have ledtosteep reduction in thethree courts’ combinedcaseloads, she said, while the number of judges has remained steady

“It’s simply not fairanymoreto therestofthe state to overfund Orleans in this way,”she said. “There is nothing uniqueabouta murder in New Orleans versus amurder in Baton Rouge …There is nothing unique that should require it to take longer in Orleans.”

‘Politicalpropaganda’

There were plenty of ﬂashpoints as lawmakers consideredthe proposed shake-up. Rep. Mandie Landry,D-New Orleans, conceded that the parish could stand to see a slight reduction in judges.

But Landry said it’snot apressing issue in acitywithanestimated $200 million budget deﬁcit, shortages in housing and crumbling roads and bridges. Landry argued such a drastic overhaultothe courts deservesmore careful analysis. McMakin’sproposed changes will take effect Jan. 1ifitpasses.

Landry asked McMakin why he didn’tget input from judgesor

DuringKnight’soverview of the planned surveillance system in January, he saidthe cameras won’t be equipped with audiorecording, but somewill allow staff at the operations center to talk to people at the park.

manent resident in 2012, an ICE agentsaidina court filing. But shereceived multiple criminal convictions, including a2009 conviction for sexual solicitation and a2023 conviction for assault with adeadly weapon, the ofﬁcial said.

In March 2025, an immigration judge ordered Uriostegui Rios’ deportation but simultaneously blockedher removal to Mexico under theConvention Against Torture, finding that she could face persecution there becauseof hergender identity, according to court records. But the federal government “inadvertently”deported herto Mexico, Department of Justice attorneysacknowledgedinlegal ﬁlings Critics have accused theTrump

Copelin also helped rally Black voters in 1991.

Thebattles in BatonRouge

Like Barthelemy and Nabonne, Copelin hadgraduated from St.Augustineand hadgoneontobecome oneofthe ﬁrst Blackpeopletoholda position of responsibility in New Orleans city government under thenMayor VicSchiro.

After MoonLandrieu succeeded Schiro in 1970, Copelin oversaw the city’sprogram that disbursed federal money throughout New Orleans

In 1984, Copelin was appointed as theﬁrstBlackassessor in Louisiana since Reconstruction and twoyears laterwon aspecial election to the state House representing aportion of the9th Ward. He and Edwards became close allies. Both relished moving the various pieces on the politicalchessboard, courting controversy along the way

Copelin tangled with Duke after Duke was elected in1989 to the state House representing Metairie.

“He didn’tunderstand the rules,”

Copelin recalled.“So I’d drive him crazy.I’d kill his bills.”

In 1991, while running for reelection,Copelinmanaged get-out-thevote effortsamong Black voters in metro New Orleansfor Edwards.

By 1991, Jeffers had spent years working for Edwards in state government.In1979, he mounted the ﬁrst serious statewide campaign by aBlack candidate in morethan 100 years when he ﬁnished third in the secretary of state race.

During the1991 governor’srace, Jeffers served as oneofEdwards

lawmakers in Orleans Parish. McMakin saidhedid but declinedto reveal their names.

“This is just political propaganda,” Landry said. “There arealot of things that could’ve been done andthe fact thatwewere notinvolved just shows me that this was intended to drop abomband make some political media on this issue.” Disparitiesinthe numbers?

Newell, also of NewOrleans, disputed McMakin’sclaim that the $7 million from thestate’sgeneral fund goes directly to Orleans to subsidize the criminal court. The lion’sshare of thecourt’sfunding comes directly fromthe city,other lawmakers noted.

“New Orleans is different because whileour population might be decreasing, ourtourism increases everyday,” Newell said. “And then we havepeople that liveinother parisheswho work in Orleans, or like to comeeat, and drink and visit Orleans from other places. So when something happens in Orleans Parish, they’re depending on our police and ourjudicial system.

“So yes NewOrleans should be treated differently,” she added.

McMakin gave committeemembers gross data from the Louisiana SupremeCourt over the past 10 years, which showed that in recent yearscourtsinEastBaton Rouge andJefferson parisheshavereported the highest civil andcriminal caseloads, respectively

“When we get acall, whether someone’strespassing or someone’sbroken in, they have this realtime response center that’sgoing to be able to dial in and determine whether or notit’sa negligent circumstance, whetherornot someone needstobedispatched, or whether someonejust kind of forgot their keys,” he said. He said the camera models have AI built intotheirsystems, so the organization is notcontracting with an additional software company.According to that company’swebsite, users cancreate alarm triggers for objects including people,vehicles, packages andanimals

administration, whichargues it is detaining immigrants to protect thepublic, of using ICE detention to punish people withcriminal convictions twice, after they have served their time.

Immigration rights advocates whohelpedhandleUriostegui Rios’ case hailedEdwards’ decision as avictory but said Uriostegui Rios’ lengthy stay in custody was evidence of abroken system.

“It’sheartbreaking that people like Britania are losing years of their lives in places that amount to nothing morethan for-profit prisons,” saidNora Ahmed, legal director of theACLUofLouisiana. “Thisruling rejects thegovernment’scruel perversion of immigration law: using detention centers to punish people who have

state campaign coordinators.

The dynamics in the race changed dramatically after the primary, when only scandal-tarred Edwards stood between Duke and the Governor’s Mansion. The campaign to prevent that from happening became national news.

“Wehad to setupanoperation for people from around the country who wanted to beat David Duke,” Jeffers remembered recently Sabiston assisted the stateDemocraticParty campaignthrough her work as state directorfor U.S.Sen John Breaux.

Hillyer, whorepresented Louisiana at the Republican National Committee, preferred Roemer during the primary and detested Duke. At onepoint, he physically blocked Duke from getting to amicrophone to rally his supporters at astate Republican nominating convention.

Three weeks before the runoff election, Hillyer toldTimes-Picayune columnist Iris Kelsothat choosing between Duke and Edwards presented an awful dilemma.

“Wehaveachoicebetween aNazi, someone who has been preaching almost astandard Republican doctrine, but whowould do terrible damage, and Edwin Edwards, who is against everything our partystands for,” Hillyer said. “Butifyou believe Duke is adanger, youhavetobe against him.I think he is adanger.”

Abumpersticker summed it up for many: “Vote for the Crook. It’s Important.”

Tellingthe story

Reportingonthe varioustwists andturnsduring the election for

newspapers in north Louisiana was JohnHill.

AnativeofBastrop, Hill had falleninlovewith reporting, writing and havinganinﬂuence on the political process.

He took his responsibilitiesduring the 1991 election especially seriously,given the stakes.

By 1991, DuBoshad worked as areporter for years, beginning with The Times-Picayune in 1973 while he was an undergraduate at the University of New Orleans. He soon showed aﬂairfor covering politics and went on to do thatfor the newspaper and then NewOrleansTVstations. In 1991, DuBos and hiswife, Margo, purchased Gambit, the NewOrleansalternative weekly Three weeks before the election, DuBos wrote the editorial in which Gambit endorsed Edwards. Other news outlets, in backing theformer governor, wrote that they hadtoﬁguratively hold their noses in making that recommendation.

DuBos, however, forthrightly praisedEdwards, saying he “is a leader.Hegets things done.”

On Nov. 16,1991, spurredbyan enormousturnout of Black voters, Edwards crushed Duke with 61% of thevote. He got state legislators to approve the New Orleanscasino —now owned by Caesars—in 1992. Thatyear,Edwards invitedClancy and Margo DuBos to the Governor’sMansion for lunch to thank them for the strong endorsement. “How do youthink the history bookswill treat me?” he asked

“Wedowant the public to know we are serious about security,” Knight saidtothe commission. “And so, if you come on aBREC property,you will be recorded.”

already served their time, turning civil detention intoa de factolife sentence with no due process.” The Department of Homeland Security,whichoversees ICE, did notcommentonthis story Louisiana houses the secondmost number of ICE detainees in thecountry behind Texas. Most are housed in facilities operated by private prison companies, whose contracts with the federal government are worth billions of dollars nationwide. During Trump’sfirst year in office, the numberofpeople held in ICE detention across thecountry rose from approximately 40,000 to 66,000, according to aJanuary report from theAmerican Immigration Council, anonprofitfocused on immigrationrights.

them at one point.

“Governor, that’s up to you,”replied ClancyDuBos. “You’re going to write your legacy in the next four to eight years.” The only fourterm governorin state history,Edwards served a single term andretired. In 2001, he was convicted of bribery charges andspent81/2 yearsinprison. He died in 2021 at 93.

Hill closely covered Edwards’ trial andretired in 2007. DuBos ended his 52-year journalism career at the end of 2025.

Barthelemy’spolitical career endedin1994 when hissecond term as mayor ended. Nabonne continues to advise candidates behind the scenes.

Jeffers servedasEdwards’ chief of staff during his ﬁnal term —and then as the ﬁrst Black chair of the Louisiana Democratic Party— and is now retired.

Copelin lost his reelection in 1999 but has remained active in politics and business.

Sabiston went on to serve as a keypolitical adviser and strategist to Mary Landrieu during her years as asenator and to Mary’s brother Mitch during his years as lieutenant governor andmayor of New Orleans.Also amentorto countless women, she died in 2020, aged 65.

Hillyer,who remained atrusted voiceinRepublican politics, died in 2010, aged 72.

Barthelemy Copelin DuBos Hill Hillyer

Jeffers

Nabonne Sabiston

Today with oak leaf cluster, Bronze Star Medal, along with many otherawards and decorations. Bobby was promoted to Brigadier General on March 20, 1998. He married Darlyn Curry in 1963, and they hadtwo children, Michael and David. After Darlyn's untimely passing, Bobby married Cynthia McMahon in 1999. He has five grandchildren: Guthrie,Bryce, Emmeline,Camilla,and Catherine. WhenBobby wasn't flying or talking about airplanes, he loved hunting with his brother, sons, uncles, and cousins. He and Cyndy enjoyed living on Lake Worth, watching sunsets, and hearing jets buzz their house from nearby Naval Air Station Fort Worth, formerly Carswell AFB. Burialwas at DFW National Cemetery with aMissing Man Flyover provided by 4F-35's from his old unit the "457 Fighter Squadron" knows as the "SPADS."

Herman 'Glynn'

Street in Hammond,at10 a.m. Tatney Sr., Joseph St.Peter BaptistChurch,58116 Court Street in Plaquemine, at 10 a.m.

Thomas,Seborn Discovery Village StoneOak,21902 Franklin Park in SanAntonio,TX, at 10

at 11am Yeates,Mary Most BlessedSacrament Catholic Church,15615 JeffersonHighway,at

1:30 p.m

Obituaries

Efferson, Brigadier General Bob Lee

Brigadier General Bobby Lee Efferson U.S.Air Force Reserves (Ret.) was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, September 21, 1943. He was the oldest child of Otto and Juanita Efferson, and brother to Carolyn and Blaine. He graduated from Istrouma High School and Louisiana State University in 1967.Bobby then entered the United States Air Force in March 1967 and served 35 years as acommand pilot. Duringhis career, he flew the F-105 Thunderchief, F-4 Phantom, A-10 Warthog, F-16 Viper, and T-38 talon while accumulating over 5, 500 hours of flying time and more than 324 hours of combat time in Southeast Asia, the Persian Gulf, and the Decisive Edge operation in Bosnia. He was Awarded the Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, Distinguished Flying Cross

Herman "Glynn" Murray, beloved father, grandfather, great-grandfather and brother passedaway peacefully at his home on March 26, 2026. He was born on Dec. 15, 1940 in Natchez, MS to Therrell and Phala Murray Sr.He served as adeaconat Brookstown Baptist from Oct. 20, 2002 until the building was closed. He retired from Ingersol Rand/ Dresser Pump. He wasa graduate of Istrouma High School Class of 1960. He is survived by his three children, Deborah Murray, Daryl (Rochelle)Murray, and Dana(Hank) Williams, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Awakewill be held at Seale Funeral Home in Denham Springs, LA on Sunday,March 29 from 6pm to 8pm. Visitation will resumeonMonday, March 30 from 11am to 2pm with afuneral service starting at 2pm.

Robert, Jacques Christopher

JacquesChristopher Robert, age 41, of Tomball, Texas, entered eternal life on Sunday, March 22, 2026. He was adevoted husband to Theresa Escude' Robert and loving father to his four children: EliseCarol, Lucy Michelle,Landry Marie and JacquesMathieu.

Jacquesissurvived by his parents, Don and Mikki Robert of Gonzales;his sisters, Michelle Savoy (Brian) of Gonzales and Amanda Kirby (Ryan) of Shreveport; his in-laws, David and Caroline Escude' and sister -in-law, Christina Escude' Thornton (Robb Reech) all of Baton Rouge, andprecious nieces and nephews, Laura Falcon (Lonnie), Brady Savoy (Allye) and Seth Savoy (Kayla), Aidan, Andrew, Adam, and Audrey

Kirby, William and Hannah Thornton. He was preceded in deathbyhis grandparents, Roland and Vallie Robert,Mike and Loyce Waguespack, and Robert Black. Jacques was aproud graduate of St.Theresa of Avila Catholic School, Catholic High School (Class of 2002) and Louisiana State Universitywhere he earned adegree in Mechanical Engineering and later an MBA. He enjoyed his time at LSU with his brothers at Pi KappaPhi fraternity. Jacques went on to build asuccessful career at Exxon, where he flourished in his role in Global Market Development. His work ethic and skill were evident to all who worked alongside him. Jacques dedicated his life to family and the Catholic Church. Growing up, he served as an altar boy and continued his service as an usher at St. Anne Catholic Church in Tomball, Texas and active member of the local Knights of Columbus.

Jacques' legacy will continue through his loved ones. Known forhis warm personality, he truly never met astranger.Hehad a natural gift formaking people feel welcome and valued.Hewas always willing to lend ahelping hand, share alaugh, and brighten someone's day with his sense of humor. In his free time, Jacques enjoyed woodworking, cooking, coaching youthsports, playing guitar, spending endless hours with his multitudeoffriends, but most of all, time with his wife and children -playing softball, building projects, and fishing. On any given day, he could be found with achain saw or jambalaya paddleinhand

Though his time here was far too short,Jacques' legacy of love, kindness, and laughterwill liveon through his family and the countless lives he touched He will be deeply missed and forever remembered Even in death, Jacques' generosity continues, as his gift of organand tissue donation will touch many lives.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend memorial services at St. Theresa of Avila Catholic Church in Gonzales, LA on Monday, March 30, 2026. Visitation will begin at 9:00 am witha funeral mass at 12:00 pm. Interment will follow at Hope Haven Garden of Memory. Those honoredtoserve as pallbearers are Kyle Robinson, Aubert Waguespack,Brandon Devillier, Brandt Bourque, SethSavoy, Jeff Dusch, Mike Jones, Ralph Delatte, Jr. In lieuofflowers, memorial donations can be made to your local chapter of KnightsofColumbus or St. Anne's Catholic Church in Tomball, Texas. Services and arrangements have been entrusted to Ourso Funeral Home in Gonzales, Louisiana.

ACelebration of Life will also be held at St.Anne's Catholic Church in Tomball, Texas (date TBD).

Pallbearers: Eric Welfl, RussellLaing,Trey Solis, Lawrence Hegar, Kaz Norvasia, AndrewHood, Keith Bryant, and Jordan Rodano.

Walter Lance Smith, Jr., departedthis life on March 14, 2026, at North Oaks Medical Center in Hammond,LA. Born on October 22, 1941 in Baton Rouge,LA, to the late WalterL.Smith, Sr. and Frances Miller Smith, Walter touched thelives of many with his warmth, generosity, and steadfast spirit.In1960, he graduated from Capitol Senior High School. During the Vietnam War, he served from 1966-1967 and re-enlisted from1968-1972. For 19 years, he worked as a first-class linemanfor the Bell SouthTelephone Company. Moreover,heowned and operated Bacon Maker Farms in Albany, LA for

Many

over 50 years. Also, Walterdedicated 28 years of service to the KnightsofColumbus, whereheachieved the highest honor of Fourth Degree. Walter'sdedication as aFourth Degree Sir Knight with theSir Knight Fred Gauthier Assembly 2801 wasa testament of hiscommitmenttohis faith and community. Also, he wasa member of St. Margaret Council 10178 (Albany) andthe John F. KennedyCouncil 2952 (Hammond). Marriedtothe late Mary Brown-Smith,Walter is survived by his cherished children: Rebecca (Phil) Smith,Kailyn Smith, Johnathan Weary, and Lewis (Brittany) Smith, Kenny (Robin) Weary, Malik (April) Smith,Shameeka Walton,and Thomas Rudison. Moreover,Walter's beautifulspirit will live on in thehearts of his grandchildrenand threegreatgrandchildren, aspecial niece, Bea Gyimah,loving relatives, and faithful friends. He waspredeceased by his belovedparents, WalterL.Smith,Sr. and Frances MillerSmith, hisbrother Elroy Smith, and hissister, Missionary Lydia Gyimah. AcelebrationofWal-

a shock,leading peopletoput offoreven go without care.

Simplyput —without dental insurance, there may be an importantgap in your healthcarecoverage

Medicare doesn’tpay for dental care.1

That’s right. As good as Medicare is,itwas never meanttocover everything. That means if youwant protection, youneed to purchase individual insurance.

Early detectioncan prevent small problemsfrom becomingexpensive ones

The best way to preventlarge dental bills is preventive care. TheAmerican Dental Association recommends checkupstwiceayear.

Previous dental work canwearout.

Even if you’ve hadqualitydentalworkinthe past, youshouldn’t take your dentalhealth forgranted. In fact, your odds of havinga dentalproblemonly go up as youage.2

Treatment is expensive especially theservicespeople over 50 often need

Consider these national average costsof treatment. $274for acheckup $299 for afilling $1,471 foracrown.3 Unexpected bills likethiscan be areal burden, especially if you’reonafixed income

Smith Jr., Walter Lance 'Frog'

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FROM WIRE REPORTS

Meatpacking workers’ strike continues

DENVER Thousands of striking workers at one of the nation’s largest meatpacking plants will extend their walkout to a third week as they push for higher wages and better health care.

Industry experts said it’s too early to know if the strike that began March 16 at the Swift Beef Co. plant in Greeley, Colorado, will impact retail beef prices that already had soared to record levels.

Owner JBS USA said Friday that it’s operating the plant at limited capacity and has shifted beef production elsewhere to meet customers needs.

It’s the ﬁrst strike at a U.S. slaughterhouse since workers walked out at a Hormel plant in Minnesota in 1985. That strike lasted more than a year and included violent confrontations between police and protesters.

The Greeley strike began with support from 99% of the plant’s 3,800 workers who belong to the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 union. Thousands have showed up at the picket line over the past two weeks.

Union ofﬁcials say the company’s offer of 2% wage hikes is less than inﬂation.

Washington AG: Kalshi violates gambling laws

SEATTLE Washington Attorney General Nick Brown sued Kalshi on Friday, calling the company’s claims to be a “prediction market” little more than a front for an illegal gambling operation.

The lawsuit, filed in King County Superior Court, accuses Kalshi of violating Washington’s relatively strict antigambling laws and using the company’s own boasts to prove the point. Kalshi has claimed to be the ﬁrst site where you can “bet on the NFL in all 50 states.” It has claimed it has made it possible to “bet on everything.”

“Kalshi really is just a bookie with a fancy name, and a huge amount of venture capital behind them,” Brown said at a news conference Friday in downtown Seattle. “They publicly pat themselves on the back for being sneaky and getting around Washington’s gambling laws, but it’s worse than being sneaky It’s a lie and it’s illegal.” Arizona this month ﬁled criminal charges against the company, accusing it of running an illegal gambling operation

Amazon buys maker of Sprout humanoid robot

NEW YORK Amazon has acquired Fauna Robotics, just under two months after the startup introduced a humanoid robot called Sprout designed to be a friendly addition to social spaces like homes and schools.

The e-commerce giant is already a robotics powerhouse, having boasted of deploying more than 1 million robots across its warehouse operations, but bringing the 3.5-foottall, rectangular-headed Sprout on board adds a robot that’s more about fun interactions than heavy lifting.

Fauna CEO Rob Cochran said on social media he was “incredibly excited to share that Fauna Robotics has officially joined the Amazon family” and said the New York-based ﬁrm will now “operate as Fauna Robotics, an Amazon company.” Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Amazon said the company’s founders and employees will join Amazon in New York and will be looking for “new ways to make our customers’ lives better and easier.”

Fauna’s debut product, launched in January is a software developer platform more than just a robot, sold to academic and corporate research laboratories that are exploring robotics in the home. Early customers included Disney

The $50,000 Sprout

and

Stocks drop fifth week in a row

Losses deepen as war continues

BY STAN CHOE AP business writer

NEW YORK — U.S. stocks deepened their drops Friday as Wall Street

ﬁnished off a ﬁfth straight losing week, its longest such streak in nearly four years.

The S&P 500 fell 1.7% to close its worst week since the war with Iran began. The Dow Jones Industrial

Average lost 793 points, or 1.7%, and fell more than 10% from its record set last month, while the Nasdaq composite sank 2.1%.

The losses were a break from Wall Street’s pattern this week where the U.S. stock market flipflopped from gains to losses each day as hopes rose and fell about a possible end to the war Moments after the U.S. stock market finished trading on Thursday, President Donald Trump offered more potential for optimism He extended a self-imposed dead-

line to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants to April 6 if it doesn’t fully allow oil tankers to exit the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz to the open ocean. But oil prices resumed their climb as trading moved westward Friday from Asia to Europe and back to Wall Street. Despite Trump’s latest announcement, ﬁghting continued in the Middle East. Iran gave no signs of backing down, and Israel threatened to “escalate and expand” its attacks on Iran. The price for a barrel of Brent

crude oil climbed 3.4% to settle at $105.32. That’s up from roughly $70 just before the war began. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 5.5% to settle at $99.64 per barrel. On Wall Street most stocks fell, including three out of every four in the S&P 500. The index, which is the main measure of the U.S. stock market’s health, is 8.7% below its all-time high set in January Big Tech stocks were among the heaviest weights, including drops of 4% for Amazon, 4% for Meta Platforms and 2.2% for Nvidia.

Patience even during war-rattled markets pays off for investors

Financial gurus advise riding out stock swings

BY STAN CHOE Associated Press

NEW YORK When stock markets are as manic as they’ve been recently, it’s natural to want to do something to protect your retirement savings. Historically, though, staying calm has usually been best.

The U.S stock market has a track record of recovering from every steep drop it’s taken Whether it’s a global ﬁnancial crisis, a trade war or a military war the S&P 500 has so far always recouped its losses to push toward more records. Of course, that can take years, but anyone who moved their 401(k) investments out of stocks risked missing out on the recovery and further gains. Will that happen again? No one can say for sure, and some things are different this time around. But many professional investors and strategists are sticking with the advice they usually give: As long as it’s money you don’t need soon, which should never be in stocks in the ﬁrst place, try to be patient and ride out the stock market’s swings, tough as it is.

They gave the same counsel after President Donald Trump unveiled his global tariffs on “Liberation Day” last year, after inﬂation skyrocketed in 2021 and after COVID crashed the global economy in 2020. Stomaching these kinds of shocks is the price of admission to get the bigger returns that stocks can offer over the long term.

The war in Iran is slowing the global ﬂow of oil and causing extreme swings in markets.

The fighting has halted most of the traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway off Iran’s coast where a fifth of the world’s oil sails on a typical day That has sent oil prices as high as $119 per barrel occasionally, up from roughly $70 before the fighting started.

If the war continues until the end of June, strategists at Macquarie say the price of oil could reach $200 per barrel. The record is just above $147, set during the summer of 2008.

If oil prices stay high a long time, the effect would carry far beyond gasoline pumps. It could also push businesses that use any trucks, ships or planes to move their products to raise their own prices. It would also make electricity from gas-ﬁred power plants more expensive.

The swings are adding up

The S&P 500 just fell to a ﬁfth straight losing week its longest such streak in nearly four years. It’s roughly back to where it was in August, and it’s 8.7% below its record set early this year

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq composite, meanwhile, have both already dropped more than 10% from their

own records. That’s a steep-enough fall that professional investors have a name for it: a “correction.”

It’s not just how much the market has dropped that’s unnerving, it’s also how unsteady the moves have been. The U.S. stock market yo-yoed repeatedly through this past week as hopes rose and fell about a possible end to the war

This isn’t unusual

The U.S. stock market doesn’t often behave exactly like this, but it has a regular history of falling to steep losses before rising again.

The S&P 500 has seen a decline of at least 10% every year or two. Often, experts view them as a culling of optimism that could otherwise run overboard and drive stock prices too high.

“I believe getting a correction is not a bad thing,” said Ann Miletti head of equity investments at Allspring Global Investments.

“In some ways, I feel like that is what keeps the market from having a bigger issue.”

“It keeps all of us honest,” she said. Selling your stocks or moving your 401(k) investments away from stocks and into bonds may offer less chance of seeing huge drops. But getting out of the market would also mean having to ﬁgure out the right time to get back in, unless you’re willing to give up any future recovery and gains. And timing the market correctly is always difﬁcult. Some of the best days in the U.S. stock market’s history have been clustered in among downturns.

Some recoveries take longer than others, but experts often recommend not putting money into stocks that you can’t afford to lose for several years, up to 10. Emergency

funds, for things like home repairs or medical bills, should not be invested in stocks.

For those new to investing

Apps on smartphones have made trading easier and cheaper than ever That’s helped draw in a new generation of investors who may not be used to such wild swings in the market.

But the good news is younger investors often have the gift of time. With decades to go until retirement, they can afford to ride the waves and let their stock portfolios hopefully recover before compounding and eventually growing even bigger For them, drops in prices may almost be like stocks going on sale.

For those near retirement

Older investors have less time than younger ones for their investments to bounce back. People who have already retired may want to cut back on spending and withdrawals after sharp market downturns, because bigger withdrawals will remove more potential compounding ability in the future. But even in retirement, some people will need their investments to last 30 years or more.

For those who have to raid their 401(k)

If you have no other choice, you have no other choice. But selling stocks in your 401(k) account and withdrawing cash packs a double whammy One, you may have to pay tax, as well as a possible 10% early-withdrawal penalty Two, a withdrawal means no chance of those investments recovering their losses and growing over time.

A 401(k) loan is possible in some cases, but those come with their own peculiarities and possible penalties.

As fuel prices rise, lawmakers push to suspend the federal gas tax

BY MATTHEW DALY Associated Press

WASHINGTON — As the war in Iran pushes U.S. gas prices toward $4 a gallon nationally, some lawmakers are pushing to suspend the federal gasoline tax in the latest attempt to try to control surging energy costs.

Lawmakers say the action would provide much-needed relief for families and businesses that rely on their cars and trucks to get to work and school and run everyday errands.

Asked about the gas tax at a Cabinet meeting Thursday, President Donald Trump said he has “thought about” suspending it but suggested states should consider suspending their fuel taxes.

“People have talked about” a gas tax suspension, Trump said. “It’s something we have in our pocket

if we think it’s necessary.”

As gas prices have spiked, the Trump administration has released millions of barrels of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve and temporarily lifted sanctions on some Russian and Iranian oil shipments already at sea. The U.S. is negotiating with countries reliant on Middle East crude to join a coalition to police the Strait of Hormuz, where about one-ﬁfth of the world’s traded oil normally ﬂows.

A gas tax holiday is a temporary suspension of the federal gas tax, currently set at 18.4 cents per gallon on gasoline and 24.4 cents per gallon on diesel fuel. That does not include state taxes, which often are higher

The tax provides more than $23 billion per year in revenue for federal highway and public transit programs.

The president cannot suspend the federal tax on his own. Congress would have to approve the move. Both the House and Senate are controlled by Republicans, and bills on the issue are unlikely to advance unless Trump signals his support.

Rising gas prices are putting renewed pressure on household ﬁnances, especially for low- and middle-income Americans who have less flexibility to absorb higher transportation costs. The increases can inﬂuence how much people drive, where they travel and how they spend money on other things.

“Trump’s war of choice with Iran is driving up gas prices across the country — and Americans shouldn’t have to bear the additional economic burden of Trump’s reckless decision making,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Con-

necticut Democrat who co-sponsored the Gas Prices Relief Act with fellow Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona. The bill would suspend the tax through Oct. 1. A similar measure was sponsored in the House by Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas of New Hampshire.

The top advice for drivers looking to save at the pump is to obey the speed limit and drive smoothly, according to Consumer Reports. Driving habits can play a signiﬁcant role in fuel economy, the magazine says. Driving at a steady 55 mph can increase fuel economy by 6 to 8 mpg, the publication said in a report that offered tips to get the most out of

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By SETH WENIG Federico DeMarco, right, and Dilip Patel work on the floor at the New york Stock Exchange in New york on Wednesday.

OPINION

When war and theeconomy collideinan election year

Rarely does asingle issue bring down apoliticianor aparty.More often, disaster comes when two ormore thorny issues intersect and reinforce one another

That’swhat happened to JoeBidenin2024:Inﬂation and immigration, combined with concerns about his age, ended his presidentialcampaign. By contrast, problems with the war in Iraq were not enough to defeat George W. Bush in 2004.

Now Democrats are watchingmidterm elections for signs ofa Republican collapse. Theybelieve growing dissatisfaction with Donald Trump’shandling of two big issues —the economy and the Iran war—could bring down the GOP this November.

They mayberight. Trump was reelected on promises to stop inﬂation and keep the nation out of war.MostAmericansdon’t believe he’s doing either,yet his party continuestoback him It’salways instructive to compare apresident’sjob rating with the popularvotehe receivedinthe last election. In 2024, Trump won nearly50% of thevote.His averageapproval rating, basedonsix polls,iscurrently 40%. That’s a10-pointslide Trump’sdominance of the GOP makes hisproblems the party’sproblems. His allies in stateand district racesworry they will pay the price in Novemberfor growing publicdiscontent. Declining support among independent voters —who often swingcloseelections —issupercharging these jitters.

On war policy,only 39% ofvotersapprove of Trump’s handling of the war.Among independents, it drops to 28%. That’sbased on the latestEconomist/YouGov poll.

The CBS News poll findsthat 68% of Americans believe Trump hasn’tclearly explainedU.S. goals in Iran; amongindependents it’s 76%.That’sa major stumbling block. Public perceptions linking foreignpolicy,centered on theIran war,with the economy,centeredoninflation, is the biggest political threat Trump andRepublicansface this November. According to CBS polling, 85% of Americans saygas prices “in theirarea” havegone up. Moreominously, two-thirds of Americans say they’re “not willing” to pay highergas pricesduring awar that 57% say isgoing very or somewhat badly.Above all,92% want the conflicttoend as quickly as possible

The same survey showsthat61% of Americans rate theeconomy as veryorfairly bad. Among independents, it’s69%. Additionally,only 33%ofU.S. adults approve of Trump’shandling ofinﬂation; among independents, it’sadismal 23%.

Just because most Americans believe thewar is going badly,orthe economyisinthe ditch, doesn’t necessarily mean thoseassessments arecorrect.But public perception is what mattersinelections,and polls show those perceptions are distinctly negative When apresident is unpopular, the opposing party frames midterm electionsasareferendum on him Democrats will trythat this year. Republicans,of course, will trytoturn the contest into areferendum on unpopularDemocraticpoliciesassociated with theparty’s left wing —and that punchstill has force in plenty of redstates and districts.

Let’snot forget, too, that Trump’sbaseremains strong; 88%ofRepublicans approve ofhis job performanceinthe latest CBS poll. That’swhy his popularity while diminished, still leans positive in states he’s consistently wonbywide margins, suchasLouisiana. Butswing states such asGeorgia and NorthCarolina are different stories.Georgia Sen. JonOssoff is widely seen as the most vulnerable Democratic senator running this year,yet he currently leads hisRepublican challengers. In North Carolina,Democrat Roy Cooper is polling ahead of formerRepublican National Committee Chair Mike Whatley for an openSenate seat now held by aRepublican. Seven months between nowand the general election is still time for tables to turn, at least partially.Ifthe Iran warsoon ends on U.S. terms, if gaspricestake a dive and the economy looks better, then the Republican collapsethat Democrats arehoping for maynot materialize When politics are deeply polarizedasthey arenow, and each party buildsits wins on the other side’sflaws, it’s more difficult for either partytoscore big victories. This is why politics, so fickle and maddening, and increasingly noxious, is still worth watching.

Ron Faucheux is anonpartisan political analyst, writer and pollster based in Louisiana

SteveScalise’s actions show wherepoliticsare

David Duke without the baggage?

To those who have paid close attention to the actions, and lack thereof, of Louisiana’sFirst Congressional District representative, Steve Scalise, he carries (and seems to embrace) all of Duke’sbaggage.

On Feb.24, as Donald Trump entered the House chamber to deliver his Stateofthe Union address, Scalise walked directly behind him When walking past Rep.AlGreen of Texas, Scalise reached out and pulled down asign Green was holding. The sign read: “Black People Aren’tApes.”

Video replays show Scalise appearing energized as he followed Trump up theaisle, seemingly assuming the role of informal enforcer,clearing thepath of visible dissent. Butwhen he noticed Green’ssign, his expression shifted —brieﬂy tightening into irritation or disapproval. Seconds later,hetugged thesign downward. That momentdoes not exist in isolation. In the ﬁrst week of last month,Trumpposted on TruthSocial an image depicting former President

Arecent top headline, “Bill would block climatechange suits,”outlining our stateLegislature’spush to protect oil and gas companies by preventing high-profile climatechange lawsuitsfrombeing filed in our state, is juxtaposed withthe column by Ron Faucheux, “Numberstellwhy Louisiana lags other Southernstates,” explaining why we aresignificantly behind mostotherSouthernstates in population growth.

In fact, Louisiana’spopulation isn’t increasing, while that of our neighbors grows exponentially.There is athroughline here linking these two articles. Why would the “best and brightest,” young people with families, want to movetoastate

This is referring to an article published on March 8, “Capitol rioter pardoned by Trump getsa life sentence for molesting 2children.” For one elected or appointed person

Barack Obama andformer ﬁrst lady Michelle Obama as apes —animage widely condemned as racist. Scalise has never denounced thepost. Nor did he publicly demandanapology He was silent. Andthat silence communicates, to many,tacit approval. Against that backdrop, his decision to tear down Green’s sign carries weight. The sign did not contain profanityorapersonal attack; it rejected aracist trope that has long been used to dehumanize Black Americans. Removing it, while remaining silent about imagery echoingthat trope, invites scrutiny about priorities and principles.

Public ofﬁcials are judged not only by what they say,but by what they ignore —and what they choose to suppress. In amoment that called for clarity about racial respect and historical awareness, Scalise’sactions, paired with his prior silence, raise serious questions about where he stands.

MICHAEL LEWIS Slidell

that is both one of the mostclimatedisaster-prone in thenation and one whose Legislature would consider prioritizing theproﬁtability of the fossil fuel industry over accountability for its documented contribution to those very sameclimate disasters?

These “best and brightest” will likely continue to visit forMardi Gras, Jazz Fest, our incredible food andmusic culture, but will not consider Louisianaaplace to put down rootsand raise and educate their families unless we vote forpublic ofﬁcials who take the climate crisis seriously

KATHY MEUNIER NewOrleans

to have the ability to free anyone, much less 1,500 people, with astroke of the pen without any oversight, is not good for our country Pardoning thesecriminals from

Doctors who helped slammers being let offthe hook

Ihave been reading the excellent coverage of this paper regarding the fraudulent activities of some local plaintiffattorneys and their minions in their efforts to defraud insurance companies. Whispered rumors foryears are ﬁnally being brought into the light of justice.

As the wheels of justice turn, I cannot understand whyone very important thread in this webof deception is not being discussed. Who are the doctors whowere obviously knowing participants in the scheme? Doing unnecessary surgery is abreach of ethics and a violation of the Hippocratic Oath. At the very least, they should be brought before the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners and have their licenses revoked.

MARYP.LUPO,M.D NewOrleans

Contemplating our ownmortality may lead to abetterworld

No one can be certain about what happens after death, but it is prudent to consider the range of possibilities.

One of those possibilities is that our conscious existence endures forever.Forever.Eternity.That’s along time, ample time foreach of us to meet and feel the life experiences of every other conscious creature that Godhas created —anexciting yet frightening thought. Perhaps if moreofus contemplated this possibility,the world would be amore peaceful place.

MICHAEL D. FOLSE NewOrleans

Jan.6 was an insult to the justice systemand ahuge waste of taxdollars.

CARL CLEMENT NewOrleans

Ron Faucheux

ANALYSIS

GLASS JAW

Severalassistant coaches followed newLSU coach from McNeesetoNCState

BY TOYLOYBROWN III Staff writer

The satisfaction on the faces of those at the BTRJet Center in Baton Rouge on Thursdaywas aprecursortothe reception

Will Wade is sure to get at his introductory news conference at noon Monday at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center

The former North Carolina State coach ﬂew to Baton Rouge after agreeing to aseven-year deal worth $30 million to reignite a program that hasstruggled sincehis ﬁring for cause in 2022 because of NCAA rules violations. What’smore important than Wade’sreintroduction to LSU are the immediate steps taken to create asuccessful team for next season.

Amongthe highest prioritiesissolidifying anew coaching staff, which could consist of people Wade had at NC State or ablend of those already at LSU along with new faces. Ahead of Wade’s single season at NC State, he took several membersofhis stafffrom his previous stop at McNeese State, where he coached from 2023-25. Of his three NC State assistant coaches, Brandon Chambers and Vernon Hamilton

BY REED DARCEY Staffwriter

SACRAMENTO, Calif. Kim Mulkeyput her hands on her hips. Alook of resignation crossed her face, andthen she turned to the benchand mentionedsomethingabout rebounding.

Her LSU women’sbasketballteam didn’t clean the glass well enough Friday,and that’s one of theprimary reasons why it lost 87-85 toDuke in the Sweet 16. The No. 3-seeded Blue Devils controlled the paint. They grabbed20offensive rebounds—more than any other LSU opponent has corralledthis season. They scored 38 pointsinthe paint.Theyearned23trips to the free-throw line

TheTigers still nearly stole awin. Aftertrailing by 10 with ﬁve minutes togo, they led 85-84 withnine seconds left after apair of Mikaylah Williams’ free throws.

Butthen Duke earned an extrapossession aftera missed shot withtwo seconds left, which allowed guard Ashlon Jackson to settlethings withabuzzer-beating 3-pointer.Her shot rolled around therim for what felt like an eternity,thendropped through the net, ending the Tigers’ season and sending theBlue Devils into the Elite Eight to face UCLA. Friday’sclash was arematch of the game played in Durham, North Carolina, back in December.That night, theTigers fellinto an early14-point hole but climbed

Duke’s superlativerebounding, buzzer-beating shot knockout LSU ä See TOURNAMENT, page 5C

Oklahoma ralliestobeatLSU

BY JIM KLEINPETER Contributing writer

LSU softball wenttoe-to-toe with the nation’s No. 1power hitting team and even out homered it,but in theend there wasonly heartbreak.

Abby Dalton hit asacriﬁceﬂyinthe eighth inning to lift No. 5Oklahomatoa 3-2 victory over theNo. 20 Tigers at Tiger Parkon Friday night.

LSU (22-11, 3-7 SEC) got thetying run on in the bottom of the eighth when Maci Bergeron walked with one outagainst the third Oklahoma pitcherMiali Gauchino (9-0),but Destiny Harris struck out swinging and Avery Hodge

popped out toend the game.

“It’s heartbreaking, but Iknow tomorrow we’re preparedand ready,” said LSU starting pitcher Cece Cellura, whoshut out the nation’sNo. 1offense for six innings, struck out three and didn’twalk abatter

LSU coach Beth Torina felt her team was close andjust needed onemore break to pull it out.

“Weplayed great,” Torina said. “Cece was incredible. That’sthree starts in arow she’s been fantastic. Ihatethat we didn’tget it for her

“It felt like onemoreanything at any point. One moreground ball, onemore hit, onemorepitch andwehavethem. Ithink there’salot of hope in the group. Lost the battle, winthe war. We’ll keep going, we’ve gota good plan

“Itwould have been good to get that one.” The Tigers led1-0 going intothe seventh on Jalia Lassiter’sthird-inning homer,but Kendall Wells gave the Sooners (33-2, 7-0) the lead with atwo-run single to right ﬁeld. LSU came right back to send it into extra innings on atwo-out, run-scoring single by Alix Franklin.

STAFF

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU shortstop Kylee Edwards flips theball to first in the second inning of agame against Oklahoma on FridayatTiger Park

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By SARA NEVIS Duke guard Taina Mair drives to the basket as LSU guard Flau’jae Johnson defendsduring the firsthalf of aSweet 16 NCAA Tournament game Friday in Sacramento, Calif.LSU lost 87-85 on abuzzer-beating shot

Head Coach JayJohnson LSUBaseball

3:30

Former Raiders All-Pro center Robbins dies at 52

Former All-Pro center Barret Robbins, largely known for leaving the Oakland Raiders’ team hotel on the eve of their most recent Super Bowl appearance in 2003, died at 52, the team conﬁrmed Friday Ex-teammate Tim Brown, a Hall of Fame wide receiver, announced Robbins’ death on social media Thursday night. Brown said Marissa Robbins told him her husband died in his sleep overnight. No cause of death was provided by the team.

Robbins, a second-round pick out of TCU in the 1995 NFL Draft, played all nine seasons for the Raiders. He was a ﬁrst-team AllPro selection in 2002, his second to last season.

Toronto chooses to pick sixth in WNBA draft

The Toronto Tempo will have the sixth pick in the WNBA draft on April 13, choosing that option over having the top choice in the expansion draft on April 3.

NCAA WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT ROUNDUP

Hidalgo’s triple-double boosts Irish

By The Associated Press

FORT WORTH, Texas Hannah Hidalgo had 31 points, 11 rebounds, 10 steals and the assist on the goahead bucket in the ﬁnal minute, leading Notre Dame to a 67-64 victory over higher-seeded Vanderbilt in the Sweet 16 on Friday

The junior sparkplug made a leaping grab between two defenders and fed a bounce pass to Cassandre Prosper under the basket for a two-point lead with 22 seconds to go.

The sixth-seeded Fighting Irish (25-10) advanced to the Elite Eight in March Madness for the ﬁrst time since 2019 in a matchup of two of the top three scorers in Division I, Hidalgo and Mikayla Blakes.

Notre Dame will play top-seeded UConn in the Fort Worth Regional 1 ﬁnal Sunday Blakes, the national scoring leader, rallied from a rough shooting start to ﬁnish with 26 points for Vanderbilt, but lost the ball out of bounds on the dribble after Prosper’s go-ahead shot, then missed a 3-pointer as time expired

The No. 2 seed Commodores (29-5) were in the Sweet 16 for the ﬁrst time since 2009.

In a game full of big plays from Hidalgo as she set an NCAA single-season record for steals, the biggest didn’t have anything to do with the categories in her unusual triple-double, the third of her career, although it did lead to her team-leading seventh assist Hidalgo needed four steals to break Chastadie Barrs’ mark of 192 set with Lamar in 2018-19. She got that in the ﬁrst quarter and ended the game one shy of being the ﬁrst with 200 in a season.

NO 1 UCONN 63, NO. 4 NORTH CAROLINA 42: In Fort Worth, Texas,

and

win against Vanderbilt on Friday in Fort Worth, Texas.

Sarah Strong had 21 points and 10 rebounds as reigning national champion and overall No. 1 seed UConn overwhelmed North Carolina, sending the Huskies to the Elite Eight for the 30th time. Strong, a sophomore forward, is a North Carolina native and AP All-American alongside teammate Azzi Fudd. Strong made four consecutive ﬁeld goals in a twominute span right after Blanca Quiñonez put UConn (37-0) ahead to stay with a layup early in the second quarter

Quiñonez scored 16 points and Fudd had 10 for the Huskies, who are seeking their 13th national championship They extended their overall winning streak to 53 games. NO 1 UCLA 80, NO. 4 MINNESOTA 56: In Sacramento, California, Kiki Rice scored 21 points and Lauren Betts added 16 to help No. 1 seed UCLA beat fourth-seeded Minnesota. The Bruins (34-1) advanced to play either LSU or Duke in the Sacramento Regional 2 final on Sunday

NCAA MEN’S TOURNAMENT ROUNDUP

This was a rematch of a Big Ten matchup earlier in the season that UCLA won by 18 points. Minnesota tried to slow the game down in the ﬁrst half, working the clock down on offense and trying to limit touches for Betts. Minnesota trailed 34-29 at the half before UCLA took over, scoring the first eight points of the third quarter to take its ﬁrst double-digit lead on Gabriela Jaquez’s layup.

Minnesota never got within single digits again.

Foster steadies Duke in win over St. John’s

By The Associated Press

WASHINGTON Caleb Foster returned from a broken foot and rescued Duke’s national title hopes, helping the top-seeded Blue Devils rally from a 10-point secondhalf deﬁcit to beat St. John’s 80-75 on Friday night and advance to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.

Playing less than three weeks after surgery on his left foot, Foster scored all of his 11 points in the second half. Isaiah Evans scored 25 points and Cameron Boozer had 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Blue Devils (35-2), who extended the nation’s longest active winning streak to 14, but not before the tenacious Red Storm (30-7) pushed Duke to the wire.

Duke will face either secondseeded UConn or third-seeded Michigan State in Sunday’s East Region ﬁnal.

It was just the second loss for St John’s coach Rick Pitino in 14 visits to the Sweet 16 and just the second loss for this season’s Red Storm in their ﬁnal 23 games.

NO 1 MICHIGAN 90, NO. 4 ALABAMA 77: In Chicago, Yaxel Lendeborg had 23 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists in a dazzling all-around

performance, and Michigan advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time in five years. Trey McKenney and Elliot Cadeau each scored 17 points as top-seeded Michigan set a school record with its 34th win of the season. Roddy Gayle finished with 16 points. Led by McKenney and Gayle,

the Wolverines (34-3) enjoyed a 33-6 advantage in bench points. But the versatile Lendeborg was the star of the show as his team grabbed control in the second half. Labaron Philon scored 35 points for Alabama, which reached the Elite Eight each of the previous two years.

Late Thursday NO 3 ILLINOIS 65, NO. 2 HOUSTON 55:

In Houston, David Mirkovic had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Illinois ﬂexed its defensive muscles to eliminate last year’s national runner-up, beating Houston. Next up is a meeting Saturday with ninth-seeded Iowa It will be the 11th Elite Eight appearance for Illinois (27-8) and its second in three seasons under Brad Underwood.

Cougars star freshman point guard Kingston Flemings, who is expected to be an NBA lottery pick, had 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting and Milos Uzan made just 2 of 11 shots.

NO 1 ARIZONA 109, NO. 4 ARKANSAS 88:

In San Jose, Calif., Arizona ﬁnally got over the Sweet 16 hurdle under coach Tommy Lloyd, getting 23 points from Brayden Burries and a dominant offensive effort in a win over Arkansas.

Fellow freshmen Koa Peat added 21 points and Ivan Kharchenkov had 15 as the top-seeded Wildcats (35-2) won their 12th straight game overall to tie a school record for wins in a season and advance to the Elite Eight for the ﬁrst time since 2015.

The Portland Fire will have the ﬁrst choice in the expansion draft and seventh pick in the WNBA draft.

The Tempo won the right to choose which option it wanted when a silver dollar was flipped on a Zoom call and came up Toronto’s way WNBA teams have until Sunday to inform the league of the five players they’ll be protecting ahead of the expansion draft. That draft will have two rounds, with up to six picks for each team in each round. The teams will alternate picks, with the team that picks second in the first round going first in the next round.

Heyward retiring following 16-year career in majors

CHICAGO Jason Heyward, who launched his 16-year major league career with the Atlanta Braves in 2010 and won a World Series title with the Chicago Cubs in 2016, announced his retirement on Friday Heyward played in 34 games with San Diego in 2025, hitting .176. For his career, Heyward hit .255 with 186 home runs with six teams. He also played for St. Louis, Houston and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The outfielder won five Gold Gloves, including four straight seasons from 2014 through 2017. Heyward, whose nickname is “J Hey,” played his first five seasons with the Braves and set career highs with 27 homers and 82 RBIs for Atlanta in 2012. He was drafted by the Braves in 2007.

Safety Hamlin returns to Buffalo for sixth season

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y Safety Damar Hamlin is returning to Buffalo for a sixth season after signing a one-year contract with the team on Friday

Hamlin was a free agent after his one-year contract expired. And he’s staying in Buffalo where the 28-year-old has served as an inspiration for perseverance following his remarkable comeback after a near-death experience three years ago.

Hamlin has shown no signs of a setback since he went into cardiac arrest and needed to be resuscitated on the ﬁeld during a game at Cincinnati in January 2023. Though he was eased back into action in being limited to playing ﬁve games the following season, Hamlin had a career-high 14 starts in 2024.

Ole Miss QB gets court win as NCAA appeal denied JACKSON, Miss. A three-judge panel of the Mississippi Supreme Court denied the NCAA’s appeal on Friday increasing the chances Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss will play next season. It’s not the ﬁnal decision of the state’s Supreme Court, and the NCAA could ﬁle a motion for another hearing. The NCAA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. This was the latest court victory for Chambliss. A Mississippi judge granted a preliminary injunction Feb. 12 against the NCAA to pave the way for Chambliss to play The NCAA denied Chambliss’ waiver request Jan. 9, and after Chambliss appealed, the organization’s Athletics Eligibility Subcommittee upheld the denial

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By LM OTERO Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo, top,

teammates celebrate the team’s

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By STEPHANIE SCARBROUGH Duke guard Caleb Foster drives past St. John’s guard Dylan Darling during their Sweet 16 game on Friday in Washington.

ParalympianHuckaby reﬂectsonWinterGames

BatonRouge native considerspossible 2030 competition

BY SCOTT RABALAIS Staff writer

Brenna Huckaby said going into this year’sParalympicWinterGames, her third, she wanted to focus on having fun.

Coming out of them, alittle of her focus shifted to thefactthat she leftItaly with onebronze medal from her two para snowboarding events, and not one or two gold.

“Aside from the outcome, everything went exactly to plan,” Huckaby said earlier this week.

“I wanted to have fun. Iwanted the Games to be memorable. I wanted to be the best competitor Icould be. Ideﬁnitelychecked all of those boxes.”

The 30-year-old Baton Rouge native burnished her reputation as one of the U.S. team’smost prominent Winter Paralympians with that bronze medal inbanked slalom in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. It was her ﬁfth Paralympic medal overall to go withthree gold and one other bronze medal from the 2018 and 2022 Winter Paralympics.

Already the ﬁrst Paralympian to appear in Sports Illustrated’s

Liberty football coach resigns

Zacheryled program forone season

BY JACKSON REYES Staff writer

LibertyHighfootball is searching for its next head coach.

Former head coach Jimmy Zacheryspent oneseasonatthe program but resigned to seek otheropportunities, he con-

ﬁrmed via atext messageFriday

Liberty made aFacebook post March 20 stating it is looking for its next head football coach. A job posting also has been made for the opening on the East Baton Rouge Parish School System website.

Zachery took over the Patriots in February 2025.Heguided the team to a6-5 record and the school’sﬁrst playoff appearance since 2021. Liberty’ssix wins matched the Patriots’ total number of wins in the prior three seasons combined.

Liberty fell to BrotherMartin on the road in the opening round of the Division Iselect playoffs 17-16.

BatonRougenativeBrenna Huckabyraces downhill en route to her bronzemedal in para snowboard women’s

bankedslalom at the 2026 Winter Paralympics on March 13 in

swimsuitissue(her debut was in 2018), Huckaby in 2024 won an ESPY award for best athletewith adisability

Leading up to the WinterOlympics and Paralympics, Huckaby and her parents Jeffry and

Kristie were part of aHershey’s commercial campaignfeaturing agroup of U.S. athletes and theirfamilies. It meant alot to Huckaby,who is intent on helping broaden the appeal and acceptance of para sports.

“I’msupergrateful for Paralympians to be representedalways,” shesaid. “It’simportant for us to be seen as athletes and have people know we exist.

“A lot of people confuse Paralympics with disabledorgani-

zations. ‘Para’ meansparallel. We’re at the highest level of competition you can achieve. It’scool that we’re getting more visibility for para sports and garnering more fans.”

For Huckaby,who lives with her husband and two children in Kalispell,Montana, hercompetitive season is now over.She was vacationing in Switzerland this week with her family before heading home.

Huckaby’simmediate future includes getting back in the gym to train for next season and starting work on hermaster’sdegree to be amentalhealth therapist. Whether her long-term plans include competing in the 2030 Winter Paralympicsinthe French Alps dependsoncertain factors, Huckaby said.

Chief among them is getting her owncompetitive category at the next Games specific to her disability.Huckaby,aformer gymnast, lost her right leg to bone cancer at 14.

“I’m LL1, but Icompete in LL2,” Huckabysaid.“Themen have twoevents forleg categories, but women only have one, which means I’mcompeting at a disadvantage. Ihave the past two Games.

“If Icomeback (in 2030) it will be with other women in my category.Ifit’sstill combined, I’m notsure.We’llknownextyear I’m very hopeful.”

Woodsarrested on suspicionofDUI aftercrash

BY CODYJACKSON AND DOUGFERGUSON Associated Press

JUPITER ISLAND, Fla. TigerWoods was arrested Friday on suspicion of drivingunderthe inﬂuence after his Land Rover traveling at “high speed” on aresidential road clipped atruck androlled onto its side

Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek said Woodswas able to crawl outofpassenger side and was not injured.

“He did exemplify signs of an impairment,” Budensiek said, adding that investigators believe he hadtaken “some type of medication or drug.” He said Woods agreed to aBreathalyzer test that showed no signsofalcoholbut refuseda urinetestand wasarrested.

Under Florida law,hewould have to spendeight hours in jail before he couldpost bail.

Budensieksaid thesheriff’s ofﬁce will follow the law regardless of who has been accused of a crime. He said Woodswas being heldinjail butseparate from others.

“He’snot goingtobewith other inmates that could hurt him or try to capitalizeonwhat he did,” he said. “He’ll pay the price, but he’s notgoing to pay theprice by gettingpunished in jail.”

It was the secondtime Woods hasbeen arrested on aDUI charge not as aresult ofthe inﬂuence of alcohol. He said he took abad mix of painkillers when authorities found him in 2017 asleep behind the wheel of his car,the engine still running and itsdriver’sside damaged. Woodspleaded guilty then to reckless driving.

President Donald Trump, whose former daughter-in-law is dating Woods,was asked aboutthe golfer when he landed in Miami on Friday for an investmentsummit.

“I feel so badly.He’sgot some difficulty,” Trumpsaid. “Very closefriendofmine. He’s an amazingperson. Amazing man. But, some difﬁculty.”

Thecrash occurred just before 2p.m. not far from where Woods lives on Jupiter Island.

Budensiek saidWoodsattempted topass apressure cleaner truck while driving on atwo-lane road with a30mph speed limit. He said authorities could not de-

termine how fastWoodswas going.

TheLandRover swerved to avoid acollisionashewas passing the truck but clipped the back endofthe truck’strailer,Budensieksaid.Woods’car then rolled onto its driver’sside.

Thesheriff saidWoods was “cooperative, but he’snot trying to incriminate himself.”Hesaid Woodshas theright to refusethe urine testand that authorities “will neverget deﬁnitive results with what he was impaired on.”

Woods’ manager at Excel Sports did notimmediatelyrespondtoa textmessage seeking comment.

This was thefourth time Woods has been involved in acar crash, most recentlyinFebruary 2021 when his SUV ran off acoastal road in Los Angeles at ahigh rate of speed,leading to multiple leg and ankle injuries.Woods said later doctorsconsidered amputation.

Doctors said Woodsshattered the tibia and ﬁbula bonesofhis lower rightleg in multipleloca-

tions. Those injurieswere stabilized with arod in the tibia. Additional injuries to the bones in the foot and ankle required screws andpins.

On Nov.27, 2009, Woods ran out of his home in Orlando, Florida, anddrove hisCadillacEscalade into aﬁre hydrantand atree in his neighbor’syard about 2:30 a.m., authorities said. That came twodays after the National Enquirer published astory alleging Woods hadbeen seeing aNew York nightclub hostess, and that they recently were together in Melbourne. Woodsalso previously sustained injuriestohis left kneeand his back during his golf career Woods returned from multiple backsurgeriestowin the2019 Masters for his 15th major.His 82 titlesonthe PGA Tour is tied for the career record withSam Snead. SincethatLAcrash, he has played11tournaments withoutbeing closer than16shots to the winner thefourtimeshewas

able to finish 72 holes. Friday’sarrest comes as Woods was trying to decide if he wasfit enough to playthe Masters, which startsApril 9. He also was to be in Augusta, Georgia, on April 5to unveil agolf course project with Masters chairman Fred Ridley Woods also wasdays away from what was described as a“soft deadline” to decide whether to be the U.S. Ryder Cup captain for the 2027 matches in Ireland. Woods, 50, had been working his waybacktogolffrom aseventh back surgery in September His last official tournament was the British Open in 2024. Woods ruptured his Achillestendon in March 2025 and that kept him off thecourseall season even before the back surgery.Hemanaged to play in his indoor TGLgolf league on Tuesday night. He hasremained deeply involved in PGATour affairs as chairofthe Future Competition Committee that is restructuring the model of the tour

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By KIRSTy WIGGLESWORTH

Cortina d’Ampezzo,Italy

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOByJASON OTERI Golfer TigerWoods stands by hisoverturnedvehicle in Jupiter Island, Fla., on Friday.Woods was arrested on suspicion of drivingunder the influence

Jada Richard, LSU Guard

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSUbatsquiet once againvs. Kentucky

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

This was LSU’schance.

The Tigersloaded the bases with nobody out,and they needed abig inning in the worst way while down 4-0 in the third. The heart of the order wascoming up, and this was the time to strike

But as has been the case countless times this season, LSU couldn’tbreak through with a ﬂood of runsinacrucialmoment.

The Tigers settled for just apair of runs on atwo-run single from sophomore Derek Curiel before senior Zach Yorke groundedinto an inning-ending double play

Until the ninth inning, those two runs were all LSU couldmuster against Kentucky on Friday at Alex Box Stadium. The Tigers dropped the series opener 7-4 and, in the process,fell to 9-10in their last 19 contests.

“They’re agreat team,” LSU coach Jay Johnson said, referring to Kentucky. “Theydowhatthey do incredibly well.”

Not only did LSU fail toput together abig inning but it also couldn’tmuster any trafﬁc onthe base paths. The Tigers had just one hit in innings four through eight. They brought four or fewer batters to the plate in every inning except for the third and ninth. They

drewonly one walk Fifth-year senior Seth Dardar had three doubles, but he was the only Tigerwith multiple hits. Dardar’sthird double and agroundout from freshman Ethan Clauss drove in two runs in theninth, but it was too little, too late. Fifth-year senior TannerReavesstruck out to end thegame. Johnson credited most of LSU’s offensive struggles to Kentucky right-handed starter Jaxon Jelkin. He entered Friday with a 2.94 ERA in 332/3 innings.Against LSU,he tossedeight innings whileallowing justﬁve hits and two earned runs.

“He’sa really tough pitcher,” Dardar said. “He was kind of landingall of his pitches for strikes and he hadalot of movement on allofthem.”

Johnson was even more effusive with hispraise.

“He’sone of the top-ﬁve pitchers in the country,” Johnson said. “And I’m not ahat tipper on that side of it, as you know.”

The offense has been arecurring issue for LSUthrough the back halfofnonconference play and during most of its SEC slate.LSU (17-10, 2-5 SEC) entered this weekendatthe bottom half of theSoutheastern Conference in batting averageand sluggingpercentage.

That will have to turn around if theTigers have any hopes of hosting aregional.

“We’re still, unfortunately,workingthrough what’s thebestlineup,” Johnson said.

LSU sophomoreright-hander Casan Evans had anightmarish start. He couldn’tﬁnd thestrike zone, walking sixbatters and hitting twoothers in theﬁrst three innings. Only 17 of his first41 pitches were strikes.

His struggles resultedinKentucky(21-4,5-2)leaping outtoa 4-0 lead through two innings,despite recording just three singles.Evans settled down by thefourth inning, retiring eight of the next nine batters he faced as he lasted until the endofthe sixth.

“I’m sure he was frustrated, but theresponse is great,” Johnson said. “I toldhim after the outing, he wants to be better there, but if he can do that when he’snot at his best,he’ll pitch for along time as a starting pitcher.”

The LSU bullpen couldn’tkeep Evans’ late momentum going. Sophomore left-hander Ethan Plog entered in the seventh inning and gave up threeearned runs on two hits anda walk. Sophomore righthanderMavrick Rizy got LSU out of the inning, but the damage had been done.

LSU and Kentucky squareoff again Saturday.First pitch at Alex BoxStadiumisset for 2p.m., andthe game willbeavailable to stream on SEC Network+.

Crow-Armstrong embraces elevated status with Cubs

BY MATT CARLSON Associated Press

CHICAGO Pete Crow-Armstrong says settling into Chicago and becoming oneofthe faces of the Cubs matter moretohim than the windfall from the six-year,$115 million contract the All-Star center ﬁelder signedwith the team recently.

“The best part is knowing that I’m here, it’swhere Iwanted to be,” Crow-Armstrongsaidata news conference Friday

The Cubs announced the deal after Thursday’s10-4 loss to Washington on opening day

“WhenIleavethe ﬁeld and go back to my place, and knowing this is going to be my routine for thenext six-plus (years) …that’s what I’m mostexcited about.”

The 24-year-old Crow-Armstrong already had agreed to a one-year agreementfor 2026 callingfor $894,000 while playing in themajors. His new deal includes a$5million signing bonus payable by May15and salariesof $10 million each in 2027, ’28 and ’29, $20 millionin2030 and$30 million apiece in 2031 and’32. The pact alsohas performance bonuses.

Crow-Armstrongsaidhis agentstoldhim he mightbe blown away by huge contract numbers that would surface on paper once negotiations with the Cubs started in January 2025.

“They said, ‘Hey,you’re gonna see what it says on the sheet and you’re going to start (spinning)’ and Idid,” Crow-Armstrong said.

Crow-Armstrong wonaGold Glovein2025, his third season with the Cubs,when he batted .247 with 31 home runs and95 RBIs. Despite slumping at the plate after the All-Star break, he became the ﬁrst Cubs player with30ormore homers, stolen bases (35) anddoubles(37) in a seasonand only the second Cub after Sammy Sosa to go deep 30 or more times and swipe 30 or morebases.

AP PHOTO By ERIN HOOLEy

ChicagoCubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong runs to first after bunting forasingleduring the seventh inning of an opening-day game against the Washington NationalsonThursdayinChicago

Jed Hoyer, theCubs president of baseballoperations, stopped short of calling CrowArmstrong the new face of the franchise. YetHoyer said the outﬁelderwillnot only help the NL Central-favorite Cubs win but also strengthen their brand and win over fans.

“He’sa top-10 selling jersey for areason, because of whoheisas aperson and whoheisasaplayer,” Hoyersaid. “The more kids around thecountry,not just in Chicago, wearing Cubs uniforms the better.”

TheCubsadded veteranthird baseman Alex Bregman in the offseason via a$175 million, ﬁveyear contract in free agency after winning 92 games last season andthenfallingtoMilwaukeein the NL divisional round.

Chicago also has signed second basemanNico Hoerner,another of its three 2025 Gold Glove winners, to asix-yearcontract. The team has yet to formally announce the deal, marking another major commitmentfor thefranchise, because it waspending a physical.

Crow-Armstrong, joinedby hisparents on Friday, embraces leading theCubsdeeperintothe postseason —and to increased prominence.

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

Continued from page1C

Gabbie Garcia led off theeighth with the Sooners’10th hit off of Cellura, who was then replaced in the circle by Jayden Heavener Kai Minor drew awalk and the runners moved up on asacriﬁce bunt by Ailana Agbayani. Sydney Barker was hit by apitch before Dalton lifted her game-winner to center ﬁeldtoextend the Sooners’ winning streakto22games.

Oklahoma entered the game leading thenation in home runs with 129, runs scored and batting average.

LSU rallied to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh when pinch hitter Ally Hutchins led off witha walk. Oklahoma replaced starter Audrey Lowry with Alyssa Parker, who got Lassiter to hit into aforce play at second. Pinch hitter Ci’ella Pickett flied out to deep center ﬁeld, butTori Edwards walkedto putthe tyingrun in scoring position.

Oklahoma made another pitching change, bringing in Gauchino to face Franklin, who worked the count to 3-2 before slamming asingle to left ﬁeld. Lassiter easily beat the throw home to send the game into extra innings.

Lassiter had three of LSU’ssix hits. The Tigers might have escaped the seventh inning clean if they could have pulled off arundown play Agbayani led off the seventh with asingle downthe left-field line for Oklahoma and advanced a base on aﬂyball out. After Abby Payton singled Agbayani to third, Kasidi Pickering hit agrounder to shortstop Kaylee Edwards, who threw home to Bergeron.After two more throws in the ensuing rundown, Agbayani retreated to

FridayatTiger

third base safely to load the bases.

Wells then looped the balljust out of the reach of second baseman Sierra Daniel to score two runs. Cellura gottwo fly ballsto left field to keep it2-1. “Wejust didn’texecuteit; it’s something we worked on amillion times,” Torina said of therundown. “I’d have to go back andwatch it on film.”

ﬁeld. That brought up Pickering andher .489 batting average, but Cellura struck her out looking and then got Wells, the nation’shome run leader with25, on apop up to second base. LSU playederrorless defense andturned in some highlight plays. Char Lorenz snagged adrive by Ella Parker at the wall in left and later madealongrunning catch in foul territory on alinedrive by Garcia. Franklin alsomadealong running catch in the right-ﬁeld corner to retire Isabella Emerling. The teamsmeet again Saturday at 11 a.m. at Tiger Park. LSU

Cellura (5-2) allowed ahit in every inning except thefourth. She worked out of amajor jam in the ﬁfthwhenAgbayani opened with asingle and Daltonmoved her to second with aone-out single to left

On the surface, Zac Cowan’s season hasn’tbeen pretty A6.23 ERA and 13 hits allowed in 82/3 innings won’twin the senior LSUright-hander anynational awards. The numbers aren’t a misprint, but they don’tcapture thepromise Cowan has shownin his last twooutings entering Friday’scontest against Kentucky After struggling during nonconference play, Cowanhas allowedjust onehit and no runs in his last 42/3 innings combined against Vanderbilt and Oklahoma. He also hasrecorded six strikeouts and hasn’tsurrenderedawalkduring this recent stretch. Simply put, Cowan is back to pitching like the key arm whohelped LSU win anational championship ayear ago.

“Hislastouting before Friday (at Vanderbilt) went great, but I hadaconversation withhim on Wednesday, and kind of saw what he’d been doing,” LSU coach Jay Johnson said. “And Iwasn’tsurprised at all that he pitched well (against Oklahoma).”

The key to Cowan’ssuccess lately,hesaid, has been an improvement in landing his offspeed pitches for strikes. Cowan’s changeup is his signature pitch, and throwing it where he wants to —while getting ahead in thecount —opens up ahost of possibilities for him later in the at-bat. When he wasn’tdoing that, he struggled. Cowanallowedatleast onerun in three of his ﬁrst four outings, including four earned runs in his ﬁnalappearance before the start of Southeastern Conference playagainst Northeastern.

“It’snot always gonna be sunshine and rainbows,” Cowan said. “But Imean,Ilike to look at it from agoodperspective, andIjust like to stay ready,stay positive (and)support theguys around me.”

Cowanrediscovering his form comes at theright time forLSU. The pitching staffneeds as many quality armsaspossible, especially with junior right-handed starter Cooper Moore likely out forthe next three weeks with triceps soreness. And given his starting experience,Cowan is aprime candidate to take Moore’sspot in the rotation while he is out. Cowan started for LSU in the win that sent the Tigers to the College World Series ﬁnal last summer.Healso started 17 games at Wofford before transferring to LSU. Johnson wascoy about naming areplacement forMoore. But his conﬁdence in Cowan never has wavered, and the recent struggles of sophomoreleft-hander Cooper Williams andredshirt junior right-hander Jaden Noot —both contenders to crack the rotation at the start of the year —place Cowan in an even better spot to be aweekend starter in Moore’sabsence.

“It’salways agood feeling to have that trust from coach Johnson and the people around me,” Cowan said. “It’sdeﬁnitely agood feeling. And Ijust use that to kind of ruboff on thepeople around me.”

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU left fielder Char Lorenz makesa catch at the wall on an Oklahoma ﬂy ball in the third inning on

Park.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON LSUpitcher ZacCowan delivers apitch against Oklahoma in the ninth inning on March19atAlex Box Stadium.

LSU shortstop StevenMilam steps on second to getKentucky second baseman Ethan Hindle to startthe double play in the fifth inning on Friday at Alex Box Stadium

Wade signs $30M contract with incentives

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

LSU men’s basketball signed new coach Will Wade to a sevenyear deal worth $30 million according to a copy of his term sheet obtained by The Advocate.

Wade’s deal will pay him $4 million in the ﬁrst year and will increase by $100,000 until he makes $4.5 million in each of the ﬁnal two years of the deal.

He will be paid 75% of his remaining salary if LSU ﬁres him without cause That includes a “duty to mitigate” clause that would require Wade to seek “other basketball or athletics-related employment” for him to receive his payments from the school if his deal were terminated without cause.

His buyout, if he took another head coaching job on or before April 1, 2027, is $5 million. That number decreases by $1 million

QB Wilson thinks Saints can bring out best in him

BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer

Zach Wilson chuckled when he asked whether he already knew his new New Orleans Saints teammate, Tyler Shough.

“Funny enough, we were actually in the same Elite 11 class in high school,” Wilson said. Wilson, who is about to enter his sixth NFL season, was a three-star recruit in the 2018 class. Shough, who just ﬁnished his rookie campaign, was a four-star recruit in the same class.

“He probably doesn’t remember me even being there, but he was the (four) star, all the offers from everybody,” Wilson said. “And I was just like a three-star quarterback with just a few Mountain West offers and a couple Pac-12 offers back then. And then we both went our separate ways.”

Their separate ways were quite different, but they both led to New Orleans for the 2026 season Shough endured much hardship in his college career, suffering several season-ending injuries as he attended three schools in seven seasons before the Saints selected him 40th overall last year Wilson starred at BYU and left after three seasons when the New York Jets took him second overall in the 2021 draft. But Wilson never met the lofty expectations that came with his draft status. He lost 21 of 33 games as the Jets starter, and now he ﬁnds himself on his fourth NFL franchise, still seeking the best version of himself as a professional quarterback.

That is part of why he decided to call New Orleans home.

Wilson said there were a couple of teams he was looking at during free agency He acknowledged the Saints were in the midst of a rebuild, which comes with some good and bad, but the organization checked a lot of the boxes he was looking for in free agency

“I just picked based off priorities, like ﬁnding (a coach) that had played the position, an offense that I feel comfortable with, that I could go on and play well, a great fan base, great culture, great place to live,” Wilson said. “That stuff was maybe more important to me than some of the other things you look at in the process of free agency.

WADE

Continued from page 1C

were with Wade at McNeese. Both coaches were also with Wade at the end of his ﬁrst stint at LSU. Chambers was the special assistant to the head coach for the 2021-22 season at LSU. Hamilton was the assistant to the head coach during the 2020-21 season and director of player development in 2021-22.

Four people on NC State’s support staff followed Wade from McNeese. Those staff members were Nick Flory as director of operations, Steven Soltysiak as head strength and conditioning coach, Joseph Anderson as director of player development and Brady Jones as video coordinator

The only coach presently at LSU who previously worked with Wade is Tasmin Mitchell. The former Tigers player is currently an assistant coach and director of player personnel. Mitchell joined LSU the same year Wade became the head coach for the 2017-18 season and has remained with the

A big part of that was finding somewhere he could develop. Wilson progressed little during his difﬁcult three years with the Jets, with his passer rating topping out at 77.2. They traded him to the Denver Broncos in 2024, but he did not see the ﬁeld. In Miami last season, he played only 26 snaps.

He saw a staff in New Orleans that coaxed solid play out of two young quarterbacks last year in Shough and Spencer Rattler a staff that includes three former NFL quarterbacks at its highest ranks in head coach Kellen Moore, offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier and quarterbacks coach Scott Tolzien.

“That was kind of part of the thought process,” Wilson said.

“Where can I go that’s gonna help me be the best player I can be?”

Wilson said he learned plenty from his experience in New York.

It was a difficult time, but he believes there was a reason he went through it. He is now better

LSU program ever since.

The sooner Wade can ﬁgure out who will work with him at LSU, the better prepared his staff will be for the most important part of the offseason: rebuilding the roster

When the transfer portal window opens April 7, Wade will have to decide which players stay if any, and what new players join the team, which may include players he had at NC State It was reported by The Athletic that LSU can spend “at least $12 million to $15 million — between revenue-sharing and NIL — on player payroll.”

“LSU represents something bigger it’s about competing at the highest level in the best conference in the country, in front of one of the most passionate fan bases in college basketball,” Wade said in a statement. “The resources, the commitment, and the alignment at LSU makes it a place where we can build something special and sustainable.”

With a more competitive budget than years past and Wade’s track record of getting LSU, NC State and McNeese to the NCAA Tournament, the Tigers should be

each year before hitting zero on April 2, 2032. Fifty percent of his buyout would have to be paid within 30 days of his LSU contract getting terminated, while the remaining 50% would need to be paid within a year

Additionally, Wade will be paid $50,000 if he gets LSU to the NCAA Tournament and $100,000 if LSU reaches the second round. He will receive $300,000 if the Tigers reach the Final Four and $800,000 if they win the national championship.

The term sheet also states Wade will report directly to former McNeese State athletic director Heath Schroyer who agreed to a deal to become the senior deputy director of athletics/executive director of external relations just hours before Wade was announced as the next LSU coach. He was Wade’s athletic director at McNeese State for two seasons.

LSU announced it was hiring Wade on Thursday evening, hours after he announced that he would be leaving NC State after just one season to rejoin LSU. Wade was the LSU coach for five seasons, leading the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament three times before he was ﬁred in 2022.

Wade’s ﬁring was a result of the university receiving a notice of allegations from the NCAA, which, in part, detailed misconduct from Wade LSU later was issued 11 Level I violations from the NCAA, six of which pertained to Wade’s conduct as the men’s basketball coach.

After one season away from the sidelines, Wade led McNeese State to the NCAA Tournament twice before he took the job at NC State last March. NC State was eliminated by Texas in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament last week.

NBA shares concepts to discourage tanking

BY TIM REYNOLDS AP basketball writer

The NBA’s process of finding new ways to deter teams from tanking is currently focused around three separate concepts to change the draft lottery, two people with knowledge of the discussions surrounding the issue told The Associated Press on Friday

The concepts were presented to the league’s board of governors by NBA executives earlier this week, the people said.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Wednesday that he expects a special meeting of owners to take place in May to vote on changes to the lottery, vowing that the league would ﬁx the tanking issue. And one of the people who spoke with the AP on Friday said it’s almost certain that the concepts will change or at least be tweaked in the coming weeks, with a possibility of more ideas being presented to owners as well. The league’s general managers also have been weighing in with ideas for potential changes.

balls are drawn to decide the order of the top four teams in the draft.

The teams with the worst three records all have a 14% chance of winning the No. 1 pick and none of the teams with the worst ﬁve records can ﬁnish lower than eighth. The odds of winning the No. 1 pick decrease gradually for the other 11 teams outside the top three.

CONCEPT 1: The 10 teams that don’t make the playoffs and the eight teams that reach the play-in tournament all would be headed to the lottery The bottom-10 teams would all have 8% odds of winning the lottery, and the odds would decrease from there. This is the scenario where the 18th-worst team a playoff team — could still win the lottery It would have a 1% chance of winning.

equipped to handle the burden of expectations, even if those have changed at this stage of his career He said he has learned how to not only be in the moment but also to be grateful for it.

That means accepting whatever role the Saints have in mind for him, which could include being way down in the pecking order

Shough is firmly entrenched as the starter, and Rattler played well enoughineightstartslastseasonthat Chris Olave said after the season he deserves to get another chance to start somewhere in his career

“Do everything I can to learn and study and do the best I can,” Wilson said. “And if I get an opportunity to play at any point, whether that’s preseason or season or practice — it doesn’t matter — just go out there, do my best and just try and help the team.”

Email Luke Johnson at ljohnson@theadvocate.com.

positioned to have a competitive product in the Southeastern Conference. LSU (15-17, 3-15 SEC) finished last in the conference this season. Three LSU players already intend to enter the transfer portal Junior point guard Dedan Thomas was the ﬁrst player to do so on Wednesday On Thursday, hours after Wade announced his arrival to lead LSU basketball, redshirt junior forward Jalen Reed and 23-year-old freshman guard Ron Zipper reportedly decided to enter the transfer portal. In the case of Reed, who suffered back-to-back season-ending injuries and was the ﬁrst recruit of previous coach Matt McMahon, is reported to be open to returning. There also could be changes in LSU’s recruiting class. The signees who committed to the Tigers under McMahon can reopen their recruitment because of the coaching change. The blueprint for how LSU reloads isn’t clear at the moment. Changing that reality is of the utmost importance for Wade, who has built winning teams before and during the NIL era.

“I will say again, as I’ve said this before, this is not a new issue in this league,” Silver said this week. “You can go back to the ’60s, when coin tosses were used to determine who got the ﬁrst pick, then in the ’80s, when a draft lottery was created. That lottery has been modified four times since then. Does not seem to be operating optimally where we are now.”

The changes won’t be in place for this year’s lottery which will be held in May

CURRENT RULES: The 14 teams that don’t make the NBA playoffs go to the lottery, where a four-number combination of pingpong

TOURNAMENT

Continued from page 1C

out of it quickly, then raced out to a comfortable 93-77 win. Would LSU win just as easily in the Sweet 16? Coach Kim Mulkey cautioned against that thinking in the lead-up to the contest, when she said that Duke is a much better team.

But LSU is, too. The Tigers just didn’t play like it until the second half, when they tightened up their defense and ran cleaner halfcourt sets. LSU created enough open looks to erase a seven-point halftime deﬁcit by the 6:37 mark of the third quarter and propel itself back into the game.

MiLaysia Fulwiley finished with a game-high 28 points for LSU. Flau’jae Johnson and Williams shot well in LSU’s first two games of the NCAA Tournament, but on Friday they each battled through first-half shooting woes to tally a combined 35 points on 12-of-30 shooting. Johnson finished with 13 while Williams notched 22. Senior forward Amiya Joyner added nine points, and freshman forward Grace Knox chipped in seven. Duke shot 42% from the field and 7 of 26 from beyond the arc. Its two leading scorers were guard Taina Mair — a senior who caught fire from 3-point range — and All-American forward Toby Fournier, a sophomore who battled through contact for tough looks around the rim. They each scored 22. LSU fell behind in the first half in large part because it didn’t defend the rim or clean up Duke’s misses. The Blue Devils scored

CONCEPT 2: The WNBA lottery is for the worst teams over a twoseason span, not just the previous season. An idea the NBA is considering would be similar to that. But the NBA also would have a ﬂoor for wins the current idea there being 25 wins per season It would mean that if Team A won 31 games over two seasons, it would have the same odds of winning the No 1 pick as a team that won exactly 50 games over those two seasons. That floor would be in place to give teams no incentive for trying to lose every game.

CONCEPT 3: A third idea being presented is one where the ﬁve worst teams would all have 11% odds of winning the No. 1 pick. There would be some pick protections in that model as well, keeping the worst teams from falling too far in the draft.

26 paint points in just the first two quarters of the game, which is how they entered halftime with 47 points — the most the Tigers have allowed in any first half this season. Johnson and Williams missed 11 of their first 14 shots, but Fulwiley made seven of her first nine. She kept LSU in the game. Then Johnson and Williams started to heat up. Johnson scored 10 points in the third, mostly through crafty finishes around the rim. Williams hit two big shots in the quarter, and one gave the Tigers their first lead since the opening minute of the game. They trailed only 67-65 at the end of the third. Then Duke started attacking the rim again, which allowed it to begin the fourth on an 11-2 run. The Tigers climbed all the way back again but fell in heartbreaking fashion.

LSU had won all three Sweet 16 games it had played under Mulkey until Friday Had the Tigers beaten Duke, the Tigers would’ve faced No. 1 seed UCLA in the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive season. Now, the Blue Devils will try to knock off the Bruins.

Only two rotation players exhausted their eligibility on Friday: Johnson and Joyner. The rest of the Tigers, including Williams and Fulwiley, can return for another year LSU hopes to retain the bulk of its top-ranked 2025 freshman class so it can pair that group with the Tigers’ lone 2026 high school signee: Indiana guard Lola Lampley This year, the transfer

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

New LSU coach Will Wade waves while leaving the BTR Jet Center on Thursday.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By RUSTy JONES Miami Dolphins quarterback Zach Wilson warms up before a game against the Carolina Panthers on Oct. 5 in Charlotte, N.C.

LIVING

TerryRobinson

FAITH MATTERS

Christians should be concernedby Christian nationalism

When the Rev.Allen K. Shin ﬁrst heard the term “Christian nationalism” yearsago, hewas admittedlyconfused.

“It claims to be Christian and sounds like it’sabout patriotism,” he said. “It seems benign, even good.”

The seemingly harmless blend of faithand patriotism led to curiosity and eventually, concern.

Shin

“Many people view the rise of Christian nationalism as an alarming and important issue,” he said. “Christians, especially,I believe, should be concerned about thisideology and itspotential on Christianity.”

The ideology,Shin said, often frames political authority as divinely ordained. He warned that such aframework canlead to the belief that anation and its leadersare chosen by God. Shin, the suffragan of the Episcopal Diocese of New York, recently visited St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church in Baton Rouge for apresentation titled “A Dangerous Liaison: White Supremacy and Christian Nationalism —AChristian Heresy and American Identity.”

Shin explored the historical roots and theological implications of Christian nationalism. He highlighted peopleassociated with the movement, including Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and its connection to Project 2025.

He addressed how the ideology has shaped debates around immigration and efforts to place the TenCommandments in public schools. Shinalso outlinedthe historical origins of the movement that dateback to medieval Europe.

“I don’tclaim to be an expert on this issue, but Ihave been curious about thisideology, its impact on our societyand culture, and more importantly, its impact on Christianity and religion,” he said. Shinn has become quite versed on the issue. In 2021, following the Jan. 6attack on the U.S. Capitol, Shinn was appointed as chairman of the House of Bishops Theology Committee to study Christian nationalism.

The result of that committee’s research is the 2024 book “The Crisis of Christian Nationalism: Report from the House of Bishops Theology Committee,”

ä See MATTERS, page 2D

The newspaper is reintroducing its Cookie Contest at the Baker Fair from 2p.m. to 5p.m.April 12 at the Main Library, 7711 Goodwood Blvd., in Baton Rouge

The first-place winner will receive a$100 gift card; second place, $75 gift card; and third place,$50 gift card.

The winners and their cookies will be featured in The Advocate’s Living section. For details andto enter the contest, go to ebrpl.co/ advocatecookiecontest.

PROVIDED PHOTOS

PerkinsRoad, Southdowns Grille will open on April 14.

THEART OF COMBAT

BY JAMES F. BEATTY III

SContributingwriter

eventh-degree black belt

William Wilson stands atop apadded mat on an elevated platform before asmall crowd of children dressed in white martial arts uniforms. Theypay rapt attention as he explains how to properly throw apunch.

Dr.He-young Kimmtalks to students at Kimm’sInstitute of Self-Defense, whichheestablished in Baton Rouge in 1976. The dojang nowspecializes in teachingHan Mu Do, amartial arthefounded in 1989. Eric Montgomery,

“Think about it.IfIswing wild withjust my arm, there’s not much power,” Wilson says. “But if Ipunch properly,then Ican put my whole body into it, and that’ll make me hit that much harder.” Wilson, 41, has been winning martialarts tournaments since he wasinhighschool. He now runs Kimm’s InstituteofSelf Defense in Baton Rouge, oneofthe most signiﬁcant martial arts schools in the country foundedbyHe-Young Kimm, arenowned Korean martial artist and historian. While operating theschool in Baton Rouge in 1989, Kimm founded anew martial art, Han Mu Do,which combines elementsoftaekwondo,hapkido and judo and has spread across the country with schools as faraway as Europe and Singapore.

On Saturday, Kimm’sInstitute, located at 4816 Jamestown Ave., will hostthe 2026 He-Yong Kimm

When he isn’twearing his martial arts uniform or coveralls from his job at Exxon, Wilson prefers an animeT-shirt or Captain America hoodie. Just looking at him, most peoplewouldn’trealizethathe’sa high-ranking black belt. He’sthin, andhis face smilesalmost by default.

Wilsoncompeted in theveryﬁrst Han Mu Do tournament in the1990s Hisown father, an earlystudent of Han Mu Do and ahigh-ranking black belt, helped organize the early tournaments, alongside Kimm.

The Saturdaytournament is expected to draw competitors from across the world.

“Half of Han Mu Do,and usually more, will showupinone place and compete all day,” said Gerard Fontanelle, oneofthe head instructors

Cup, thelargestannualHan Mu Do tournament, named in honor of thefounder.Since January,Wilson hasbeenhardatwork with others at theinstitutetomake the tournamentasuccess.

Kimm, whoseformal title is “Dojunim”(“Founder”inKorean), is semiretired and now lives in Atlanta. He still makes occasional public appearances at tournaments and seminars, but Wilson is helping to maintainhis legacy in BatonRouge.

Thetournamentisanimportant payofffor diehard Han Mu Do students, Fontanelle said.

“Let’sface it:martial arts hurt. It’snot for everyone,” he added.

“Somepeople just wanttobeactive or ﬁnd an after-school activity.Itcan be hard to balance being marketable with beingfaithful to the tradition we were handed. The tournament showsusthe progress Han Mu Do is making.”

BY MADDIE SCOTT Staff writer

With its grand opening in April, SouthdownsGrille in Baton Rouge hasgarnered attention after winning an award at the Epicurean Society’s annual Crawfête event this month. Its opening followsthe closure of Solera, atapasrestaurantat4205 Perkins Road that opened in 2019 andclosed on Feb. 1. Thesame management team is replacing it withSouthdowns Grille, opening on April 14, the week after Easter according to owner Brian Dykes. On March 22, Southdowns Grille landed ﬁrstplace forbestculinary

right, is in an instructor at Kimm’sInstitute of Self Defense in Baton Rouge.

GRILLE

Continued from page1D

“It’svery exciting to know that Baton Rouge gaveus the support that we need opening,” Dykes said. “I think Ihave agreat culinary team. They do agreat job, and Ithink people are going to really be impressed with the food and the menu.”

Once the restaurant opens, patrons canget ataste of the award-winningcrawﬁsh grilled cheese, because it’s landing aspot on the food happyhourmenu, which will be from 3p.m. to 6p.m.

Tuesday through Friday

The drinks happy hour will be 11 a.m. to 6p.m. Tuesday through Friday

Menu rundown

Led by executive chef Eric Sibley, the menu at Southdowns Grill aims for upscale comfort food, Dykes said,and includes starters, sandwiches, salads, entrees,

MATTERS

Continued from page1D

of which Shinn is aco-editor. The book examines the foundations of the movement, arguing that Christian nationalism is not onlytheologically ﬂawed butsinful.

“This is not adeﬁnitive work on Christian nationalism,” Shin said. “It serves as an introductory guide to get the conversation going and reallyspur some curiosity.”

In his riveting presentation to church and community members at St. Margaret’s, Shin explained acentral themeofChristian nationalism: America was founded as aChristian nation because the earlysettlers and founders were Christians, and the U.S. Constitution is aChristian document because it reﬂects Christian values.

He cited historian Matthew Avery Sutton’sbook, “Chosen Land: How Christianity Remade America andHow America Remade Christianity,” which asserts that American history and American Christianity are so closely intertwined that they can often be read as a single narrative.

“It is true that early European settlers were mostly Christians and Christianity had inﬂuenceonthe early development of American culture and history,”Shin said. “But the separation of church and state was an important foundational principle of thefounders of thenation, who were also not all Christians.”

Some of those founders

sides anddaily specials. There’sappetizers like shrimpscampiwithjumbo shrimp, garlic, herb butter andtoasted chili ﬂakes; stuffed mushrooms with marinated artichokes,breadcrumbs, Parmesan cream andcitrus andherbdressing; andblue crab fritterswith gribiche sauce and chives. On the entreemenu, there’schickenschnitzel with mushroomgravy, cremefraiche, roasted ﬁngerlingpotatoes and herb salad. For somethinghearty there’sthe bakedlasagna with housemade saffron pasta, pork and beef ragu, ricotta andstracciatella cheese and red gravy The wine selection includes 25 winesbythe glass, and the bar serves amenu of 10 specialty cocktails in addition to avarietyofbeers, Dykes said.

Oneofthe signature drinksisa frozen concoction called thePurpleHaze, not to be confused with the Abita draft, but anod to

were deists, skeptics or marginal Christians, many of whom did not attend church,Shinnoted

“Moreover,moral values of humanrights, justice and peace reﬂected in our Constitution are not exclusively Christian valuesbut also basichumanuniversal valuesand principles,”hesaid.

Shinoutlined another key premise of Christian nationalism:the belief that political authority is divinely sanctioned. It views that if theUnited Statesisanation ordained byGod,thenits leaders and institutions are likewise seen as divinely ordained

“There are conservative religious leaders who claim that(President) Trump has been ordained by God to be trustee of the United States. Thus,criticizing him and his policies are not only unpatriotic but thought to be disobedience to God,” Shin said.

This argument is based on Romans13, which historically has been used to justify slavery,apartheid and oppression of civil rights

Paul opens the chapter with:“Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority exceptfrom God, and theauthoritiesthatexist are appointed by God.”

ShinsaidPaul wrotefrom prison Emperor Nero, “who was clearly not ordained by God,” rulingover aRoman Empire that was far from Christian.

“Toinsist that Paul’s persecution of Christians was God’s will andadvising Christianstoobey Nerois an absurd interpretation,”

Southdowns Lounge’ssignature drink. Southdowns Lounge opened in the 1960s and operated in the same building untilits closure in 2008, Dykes said, and it’sthe ultimate inspiration behind thenew restaurant’sname.

“It took me alot of phenagling to get therecipe,” Dykessaid.“It’slikeapurple jungle juice.”

Inside sneakpeek

On Tuesday, theinterior was slowlycoming together in preparation for the midAprilopening. Dykes said cosmetic changes were made, like repainted walls, new lighting ﬁxtures and an updated bar withbacklit shelves. A wall was also knocked out to open the space.

New signage and wallart sat on theﬂoor,soon to be hung. One wall near thebar area will be the “LSU wall,” bearingmemorabilia and posters from Dykes’ personal collection.

The restaurant will seat 130 diners.

Shin said.

It’sa classic example of Christian nationalists taking text out of its historical context, and Paul would be appalled by this

“Paul is teaching nonviolent resistance, which also inspired Martin Luther King,” Shin said. “God is in charge, and Nero will be held accountable by God. In themeantime, keep a low proﬁle and follow the government polices, such as paying taxes, but remain faithful to Christ.”

He added, “It is alarming to see an agenda-oriented literal interpretation of Scripture that can conﬂict on human lives and human minds.”

Christian nationalists also believe that only true Christiansare true Americans.

“Citizenship is moralized,” he said. “The real membersofthe nation of Christians were their version of Christians.”

They hearkened back to the1790 Naturalization Act, which Shin said limited the U.S.citizenship to “free Whitepersons of good moral character.”

“What they did was set Whiteness as alitmus test for U.S. citizenship,” he said. “This seemstobethe driving ideology behind much of thecurrent immigration policy spearheaded by Stephen Miller.…Democracy is asecondary concern. The separation of church and state is not important in their vision.”

ContactTerry Robinson at terryrobinson622@gmail. com.

Dear Heloise: When Ibring my plantsindoors during thecolder months, watering them can sometimes get messy.Using ice cubes to water houseplantscan be effective for orchids. Butmost tropical houseplantsdonot respond well tothis method,and theresultsdepend on the room temperature. While some people put ice cubes on the soil to slowly water their houseplants, others warn that this method can actually cause the plants to decline over time. Butthis method gives theplant time to absorb themoisture without ﬂooding thepot. This slowmelt method alsohelps prevent spills and reduces thechance of overwatering. Just makesure that thecubes rest on the soil —not against the plant’s stemsorleaves, which can be sensitive to thecold.

Sally Vilmont,inNebraska

Printednewspaper joy

to receive aprinted newspaper every day,rain or shine. Instead of watching television news, Ienjoy reading The Times-Picayune, an American newspaper published in New Orleans, as well as The Wall Street Journal with my morning coffee. The Times-Picayune had adaily circulation of over 77,000 in 2019, and something is calming aboutturning thepages andreading the stories in order.I’m often tempted to jump straight to thesports section or the comics, but Iresist and read the paper from frontto back.Inour home, we save thecomics forlast, like dessert at the endofa meal. Even reprinted classic strips would be welcome. They bring asmile and help start the day on a cheerful note before I begin tackling my list of chores and errands. —CarolynWickstrom, in New Orleans

Microchips forhorses

Dear Heloise: Here in New Orleans, Ifeel fortunate

DearHeloise: Irecently read

about using ID tags for horses, but another option many horse owners may want to consider is microchipping. Aveterinarian implants atiny microchip under the horse’sskin, similar to those that are used in dogs and cats. The quick procedure usually causes very little discomfort. Each chip contains a unique ID number that veterinarians, shelters, and animal control ofﬁcials can scan. When scanned, the chip displays anumber that helps ofﬁcials locate the registry that stores the owner’scontact information. The American Animal Hospital Association also provides auniversal lookup tool to help identifythe correct registry Microchipping increases the chances of reuniting owners with lost horses and can help prove ownership if ahorse is stolen. The procedure is relatively inexpensive and only needs to be done once. —Bill Garden, in Garden Grove, California Sendahinttoheloise@ heloise.com.

PROVIDED PHOTO By TIM MUELLER PHOTOGRAPHy

The serrano ham panini is on the menu at SouthdownsGrille.

No politeness from offer

Dear Miss Manners: Irecently lost asigniﬁcant amount of weight —enough that Ihad to go buy all new clothes. I know ayoung lady who doesn’thave any money,and she is about the size I was before. Ithink she could probably use my old clothes, but Ican’tbring myself to ask her Is it rude to basically say,“I’m skinny now and don’tneed these fat clothes, but Ithought you could use them”? I’d love to hear what you have to say about this.

Dear Miss Manners: When we visitmybrother andsisterin-law,hewill take calls on speakerphone, stopping the rest of us from conversing. Ihate it, but don’tknowifthere’s any way to suggest he takethe call in private or offthe speaker

of the bride (his brother) was ranting that we weren’t coming to thewedding and alsoweren’tsending agift

Church holds

Communion service

Gentle reader: What you are suggesting will not only draw attention to this young woman’ssize, but also to her poor ﬁnancial situation. Not agood idea when your intention is to be gracious. Of course you can offer the clothes to her,but onlyinthe unlikely event that she asks. That is what Miss Manners has to say about this.

MARTIAL ARTS

Continued from page1D

Themainevent atatournament like this willbesparring, which Wilson said he has been emphasizing to his students.

Hosting aconference that is expected to draw about 200 competitors has hadsomelogisticalchallenges. Organizerssaidthey weren’table to secure alocal gymnasium, so participants will compete in threesmall rooms at Kimm’s institute for multiple events.

Many participants make Han Mu Do afamily tradition. Jaime Serio, agrandmaster who teaches in Saint Francisville, helped his adultdaughteropenaHan Mu Do school in North Carolina. One early student has recently enrolled his grandson at Kimm’sInstituteof Self Defense.

Fontanelle, amaster instructor,istwice as busy for this tournament. His wife, Savannah, is having their second baby soon. He has been balancing his obligations to his family with his commitment to the school. She has supported hiscareer asa martial artist and has even served as on-site ﬁrst aid for tournaments in the past.

“I’m aregistered nurse, so it makes sense forme,” Savannah Fontanelle said.I don’thave any experience in Han Mu Do personally,but it’simportant to my family, so Idowhat Ican.”

Eric Montgomery,another instructor at the school, had decades of experience in other martialarts before he started Han Mu Do about 10 years ago. He helps to

Gentle reader: Why should this stop you from conversing? It seems to Miss Mannersanexcellent opportunity tokeep talkingloudly.That it will annoy yourbrother into taking thecallelsewhere is just afortunate consequence Dear Miss Manners: Our niece hadaweddingshower recently.Living 1,800 milesaway,wedeclined theinvite, but went to the weddingregistry and purchased agiftcosting$100 andhad it delivered Fast-forwardtotwo weeks beforethe wedding. My husband found out that father

We had planned only acard for the wedding, but my husband acquiesced and sent a$100 gift cardfor their honeymoon. To date, we have yet to receive athank-you of any kind for either gift.Iunderstand that times have changed, and Iwould have gladly accepted acknowledgment of the gifts via email or text (although not my ﬁrst choice)

My daughter says it’s not thebride’sfault that she wasn’ttaught to acknowledge gifts, but Iamcalling BS.Iamgiving them a year,and then Iwill send somethinginwriting to the newlyweds and myBIL. There will be no more gifts, baby or otherwise. Am Iwrong?

Gentlereader: Yes, it would be wrong togive ababy as agift. Also to write acomplaint

Otherwise, you are correct.You need not continue to give presentstopeople who do not acknowledge them. Andyour husband should not have allowed himself to be bullied by his brother intosending a second present.Because a present that is over $100, Miss Manner assures you, is indeed meantfor awedding and not ashower, whose gifts are supposed to be morenominal. Youmay consider your future present omissions acrash course in theconsequences of alack of appreciation, as this course was missing from bride’s upbringing.

Send questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners. com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail com; or through postal mailtoMiss Manners, Universal Uclick,1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

runthe school’s websiteand computers. He also helped to create an ofﬁcial Han Mu Do website.

“Tournamentpreparation is agood teachingtool,” Montgomery said.“There’s alot of emphasisonbasics. Youwant to dothat anyway, but for thetournament, you have to compete against other people.”

Four of Wilson’sﬁve childrenpractice HanMuDo. Twoofhis older childrenare black belts at the school and are in trainingtobecomeinstructors. The elder of them,

Ingrid, hopes to school herself one her father retires.

Ingrid and her younger ter,Robin, shared of ahigh-tension momen atournament one two girls whowere inggot into an actu after oneofthemw qualiﬁed.

“Allofasudden, qualiﬁedgirl starts fighting on the side ring,”Ingrid recalled. took four or ﬁve grown to separatethe two.” Wilson shook his

Berean Seventh-day Adventist Church, worshiping at 5100 Osborne Ave., Baton Rouge,will observe Communion (The Lord’s Supper) during the 11 a.m. service on Saturday,April 4.

The Ordinance of Humility (foot washing) will precede the service. Communionisopen to allwho have been baptizedbyimmersion.

Thechurch’s“Power Hour of Prayer” continuesonWednesdays and has been moved to 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. All are welcome to attend.

Good Friday service on the calendar

St. James Baptist Church, 1105 N. 44th St., will hold a Good Fridayworship experience at 11 a.m. Friday, April 3.

The Lord’sSupper will be served. There will be free gumbo available after the service. The public is invited. Free gospel concertonApril3

The Rev.Mike Vaughn will leada“Southern and Country GospelFest” at 5:30 p.m. Friday, April 3, at Good News Fellowship Church, 13101 La. 442 West, Tickfaw Doors will open at 5:30 p.m., andsinging will start at 6:30 p.m. with Vaughn, followed by Randy and Sherri Miller of Cleveland, Tennessee, at 7:30 p.m This is afree concert, but alove offering will be received. Aconcession stand will serve desserts. For further information, contact Barbara Vaughn at (985) 974-0507 or mvmgoodnews.com.

By The Associated Press

Today is Saturday, March 28, the 87th day of 2026. There are 278 days leftinthe year Todayinhistory: On March 28, 1979, America’sworst commercial nuclear accident occurred with apartial meltdowninside the Unit 2 reactor at the Three Mile Island plant near Middletown, Pennsylvania. Also on this date: In 1898, the U.S. Supreme Court, in United States v. Wong Kim Ark, ruled 6-2 that Wong, who was born in the United States to Chinese immigrants, was an American citizen. It was the ﬁrst Supreme Court decision to rule on the citizenship status of achild born in the United States to noncitizen parents. In 1969, the 34th president of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower, died in Washington, D.C., at age 78.

In 2024, FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder

Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison after being convicted on fraud and conspiracy charges related to the collapse of the exchange. In 2025, Utah became the first state to prohibit flying LGBTQ+ pride flags at schools and governmentbuildings after Gov. Spencer Cox announced he wasallowing aban on unsanctioned flag displays to becomelaw without his signature; the law took effect the following May Today’sbirthdays: Basketball Hall of Famer Rick Barry is 82. Actor Dianne Wiest is 78. Singer-actor Reba McEntire is 71. Olympic gymnastics gold medalist Bart Conner is 68. Rapper Salt (Salt-N-Pepa) is 60. Country musician Rodney Atkins is 57. Actor Vince Vaughn is 56. Sen. Ashley Moody,aRepublican from Florida, is 51. Actor Julia Stiles is 45. Singer-actor Lady Gagais40. StylistTV personality Jonathan VanNess is 39. Rapper Jackson Wang is 32.

Judith Martin MISS MANNERS

PROVIDED PHOTO

Seventh-degree blackbelt William Wilson,

at Kimm’s

ARIES (March 21-April 19) Be bold; engage, socialize and participate in whatever motivates you to help others and enjoy life. Choose the path to stardom, recognition and making a difference in your community.

TAuRuS (April 20-May 20) Take your time and protect your assets. Go through the proper channels and look for ways to lower stress and make your life flow more efficiently.

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Look before you leap. Your tendency to act fast will benefit you only if you already know the lay of the land. Knowledge and instinct are your tickets to stardom.

CAnCER (June 21-July 22) Shine brightly in crowded places and find a platform to promote your agenda. Whether you are trying to expand your interests or make new friends, the outcome will depend on whom you align yourself with.

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) The journey will be worth the ride. Keeping an open mind and reaching out to people with experience will encourage you to claim your piece of a project or movement you want to join.

VIRGo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Expand your interests and explore possibilities that come with learning new skills. Take care of your physical needs before they turn into something more difficult to address.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-oct. 23) Hit the reset button and head in a different direction or share something special with

someone. A partnership that offers equality and adds value to what you want to achieve looks promising.

SCoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Set the stage for success. Channel your energy into what counts, get the lowdown and change what's no longer applicable to your situation. Be a leader and share your thoughts.

SAGITTARIuS (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Protect your home and replace inefficient, costly practices. Do your research, and you'll discover how to bring in extra cash and stretch it to fit your needs.

CAPRICoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Believe in yourself and let your confidence help you attract the support you require to advance your plans. Stick to the truth, question what causes uncertainty and avoid excessive behavior.

AQuARIuS (Jan. 20-Feb 19) Refuse to let anyone talk you into a costly homeimprovement project when you have better uses for your hard-earned cash. Focus on peace of mind and physical and emotional well-being.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) A personal change will create an opportunity that can increase your earning potential. Embrace what's yours to discover with an open mind, joyful heart and a creative spirit.

By Andrews McMeel Syndication

FAMILY CIrCUS

Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, past and present. Each letter in the cipher stands for another.

ToDAy'S CLuE: R EQuALS T

CeLebrItY CIpher

For better or For WorSe peAnUtS

FrAnK And erneSt

SALLY Forth

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

SherMAn’S LAGoon

dooneSbUrY

bIG nAte

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. Theobject is to place the numbers 1to9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. Thedifficulty level of theSudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

nea CroSSwordS La TimeS CroSSword

THewiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS CurTiS

By PHILLIP ALDER

Groucho Marx said, “I never forget a face, but I’ll make an exception in your case.”

In yesterday’s deal, declarer had to establish his side suit before drawing trumps in order to make his contract. That is typically the case, but there are always exceptions to the rules, which is one of the main reasons bridge retains its popularity. In today’s deal, South is in four spades. West leads the club king. How should declarer continue after ruffing the third round of clubs?

When North raised spades, South reevaluated. He had 15 high-card points and three short-suit points, two for the singletonheartandoneforthedoubleton club. That gave a total of 18 points. Also, his excellent diamond suit was a plus value. Hence South’s jump to game.

Southneedstofindtrumps3-2,butthat stillgiveshimthreetoplosers:onespade and two clubs. He must establish and run his diamond suit. Here, though, if he plays on that suit first, he will unluckily fail. After cashing his diamond ace and king, he ruffs a diamond in the dummy. However, East overruffs from only two trumps and declarer loses two spade tricks. South should start with two rounds of trumps.Thenhecasheshistopdiamonds and ruffs a diamond. Finally, he returns to his hand with his carefully conserved heart ace and plays out winning diamonds. West may ruff whenever he pleases, but declarer still has one trump left to ruff another club. Did you notice that dummy’s heart king is a red-card herring? Discarding a diamondfromhandwouldnothelpSouth to get home.

2026 by

InSTRuCTIonS: