TrumponSundaysaidthe U.S Navy would swiftly begin ablockade of shipsentering or leavingthe Strait of Hormuz, after U.S.-Iran ceasefire talks in Pakistanended without an agreement.
U.S. Central Command announced that it will blockade all Iranian ports beginning Monday at
9a.m. CENTCOM saidthe blockade will be “enforced impartially against vessels of all nations.” It saidit wouldstill allowships traveling between non-Iranian ports to transit theStrait of Hormuz.
Trump wantstoweaken Iran’skey leverage in the war after demanding that it reopen the strait to all global traffic on the waterway that was responsible for20% of global oilshipping before fighting began. Traffic in the straithas been
limited even in the days sincethe ceasefire.Marine trackers say over 40 commercial ships have crossed sincethe start of the ceasefire AU.S. blockade could further rattle globalenergymarkets.
Oilprices rose in early market trading on Sundayafter theblockade announcement. The price of U.S. crude rose 8% to $104.24 abarrel, andBrent crude oil, theinternationalstandard, rose 7% to $102.29. Brent crude costroughly $70 per barrelbefore the warinlateFebruary
ä See BLOCKADE, page 4A
Vice PresidentJDVance, left,talks to Asim Munir, right, Pakistan’schief of Defense Forces and chief of army staff, and Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, center,Sunday before boardingAir Force Twoafter attendingtalks on Iran in Islamabad,Pakistan. ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOBy JACQUELyN MARTIN
Bonnet CarreSpillway openings scrutinized
CoastalMississippi communitiespushfor changesamidnew analysis of operations
BY MIKE SMITH Staff writer
It has protected the New OrleansareafromMississippi River flooding for nearly acentury,but changing conditions, environmental damage and new scientific analysisare raising athorny question: Is there abetter way to operate the Bonnet Carre Spillway? Mississippi Gulf Coast communities hit hard by the influx of fresh water and pollutionfromrecent spillwayopenings believe there is, andthey presented new scientific evidence to make their case last week.
But while there may be widespread agreement
on the problem, addressing it is no simple matter.
Suggestions for howtoalter the lower river’sflood controlsystemshave drawn strong opposition in parts of Louisiana, andmuchofwhatisbeing envisioned would likely requireCongresstochange laws. Mississippi officialssay thetime hasarrivedto do so. More frequent spillway openings in recent years, including arecord-setting deluge of water in 2019, have killed off oyster reefs,fueled harmfulalgae blooms,badly hurt tourismand takena toll on local revenue along the Mississippi coast. Thetwo studies released lastweek propose specific limits on how much river water should be allowedthrough Bonnet Carre to protect vulnerable oyster reefs in theMississippi Sound. Future installments of thosestudies will delvefurther into spillway-related issues.
The Army Corps of Engineers, which operates the spillway,isalso engaged in alargerstudy on thefuture of the lower river that includes ways of alleviating someofthose concerns.
Thereisincreasing pressure to act. Mississippi communitieshavesuedthe Corps over damage
ä See SPILLWAY, page 4A
The U.S. Army Corpsof Engineers tests opening the Bonnet CarreSpillway in Norco.
STAFF FILEPHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD
DocumentaryputsNatchez
Residentsquestion whetherattention on city’s past will help or hurt tourism
BY JENNA ROSS Staff writer
NATCHEZ, Miss. The tour began as many do in this historic river city: with shined silver,agrand chandelier and abit about the antebellum house’s original owners. But the current owner,Tammy Pack, skipped the hoop skirt
Many of the historic homeowners who partake in Natchez’sannual Spring Pilgrimage dontraditional
hoop skirts, still, despite criticism that they romanticizea time stained by slavery.Standing beforethree dozenpeople—mostly women, mostly baby boomers —inher dining room, Pack explained why she instead picked aslim, silky number Construction on Pack’shome, long christenedHolly Hedges,began in the 1790s.
“‘Whynot consider dressing to the oldest period of ourhome?’”Pack said, quotinga fellow homeowner.
“‘Your house is more ‘Bridgerton’ style, really.’
“All Iheard was Iget anew dress without ahoop skirt,” Pack saidwith agrin. “OK, you sold me on it!” The ladies chuckled.
ä See NATCHEZ, page 6A
Bill would make sleeping on street acrime
BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer
Over thepastseveral years, Lashauna Williams says,she has struggled to afford permanent housing while trying to get treated for post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. Williams, who said she grew up in foster care, described bouncing between shipping containers, rented apartments and friends’ houses. She spent several months at aNew Orleans shelter where, she said, she was often treated harshly Sometimes, she would leave the shelterearly in themorning to catch afew extra hours of sleep in the park, abrief escape before she began her day,she said. Now,a proposalinthe Louisiana Legislature would makecamping in unauthorizedpublic spaces acrime.Supporters of the idea, whichwould also allow local jurisdictions to establish “homelessness courts,” say it will give law enforcement atool to steer homeless people toward services and help draw downfunds from President Donald Trump’sadministration.
House Bill 211, sponsored by state Rep. DebbieVillio, R-Kenner, is part of Gov.JeffLandry’slegislative agenda.The bill lays outa mechanism for homeless people to avoid prison timebypleading guilty,going on probation for at least ayear,and completing a treatment program. Someone who successfully completes the program could have their conviction tossed.
HB211 “prioritizes and balances accountability,compassion,fiscal responsibility and the long-term well-being of individuals,families and neighborhoods,” Villio told the House Judiciary Committee at theCapitol on Thursday.“This legislation calls foracoordinated strategy that integrates criminal justice, housing, health care and homelessness response systems into acontinuum of care.”
But to Williams, HB211 would create a“cycle of shame.”
STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER
Tammy Pack gives atour of her home, called Holly Hedges, in Natchez, Miss. Each spring,Natchez gussiesitself up as homeowners, manyincostume, open their mansions to tourists
Lindsey Buckingham’s alleged stalker arrested
A 55-year-old woman wanted in California on charges of stalking and assaulting Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Lindsey Buckingham in Santa Monica was arrested Saturday, roughly 2,000 miles away in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Michelle Dick was arrested about 7 p.m. at a hotel in the 3000 block of Goshen Road, about 120 miles northeast of Indianapolis, according to Fort Wayne police.
Dick, who had a history of stalking Buckingham, had a warrant out of California after being accused of dousing the former Fleetwood Mac guitarist and vocalist, 76, with an unknown substance as he entered a building in Santa Monica for an appointment earlier this month, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Buckingham was not injured
Dick was known to the musician and his family from previous incidents, and in December 2024, after years of alleged harassment, Buckingham was granted a restraining order against her that mandated that she stay at least 100 yards away from him, his wife and his son.
1 killed and 6 injured in shooting at a Chick-fil-A
UNION, N.J Police say one person was shot and killed and six others were injured in a mass shooting at a Chick-fil-A in Union, New Jersey
Investigators do not believe the attack at about 9 p.m Saturday was random, according to a press release issued Sunday from the Union County Prosecutor’s Office.
No arrests have been made, but the office said “there is no immediate ongoing threat to the general public.”
The injuries are not believed to be life-threatening, the release said.
A ride-share driver told WABC that he heard more than seven shots from close range as he approached the restaurant.
N.C. woman says man set her on fire at home
ROSEBORO, N.C. — North Carolina authorities were seeking a possible arson suspect Sunday after a woman with serious burns told authorities a man had doused her with gasoline at her home and set her on fire.
Firefighters and deputies were called to a structure fire Saturday night in the town of Roseboro and found a woman with burns over about two-thirds of her body, the Sampson County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. The woman said a man had forced his way into her home, and that he left the scene on a bicycle, according to the sheriff’s statement. The woman was taken to a trauma center for treatment. Her condition wasn’t immediately disclosed.
After consulting with the local prosecutor’s office, the sheriff’s office said, documents were obtained accusing a named suspect of first-degree arson, first-degree burglary and other charges. The person was still at large Sunday afternoon, the sheriff’s office said.
Roseboro is a small community about 65 miles south of the state capital of Raleigh.
DHS says ICE agent ‘nearly crushed’ in stop
BOSTON An ICE agent was injured after being pinned by a person’s vehicle last week in Quincy, Massachusetts, according to a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson The incident occurred during a “targeted arrest” of someone living in the country illegally, DHS said in a statement.
After stopping the suspect, ICE officers exited their vehicle to make the arrest, but according to the statement, the person, “in an attempt to evade arrest, weaponized his vehicle and nearly crushed a special agent.”
The agent was able to move out of the pathway of the vehicle, the spokesperson said, but the person still struck the door of the ICE vehicle, briefly pinning the officer
The person fled and remains at large, the statement said. DHS did not identify the person
Orbán concedes defeat in Hungarian election
BY JUSTIN SPIKE and SAM McNEIL Associated Press
BUDAPEST, Hungary — Hungarian vot-
ers on Sunday ousted long-serving
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán after 16 years in power, rejecting the authoritarian policies and global farright movement that he embodied in favor of a pro-European challenger in a bombshell election result with global repercussions.
Election victor Péter Magyar, a former Orbán loyalist who campaigned against corruption and on everyday issues like health care and public transport, has pledged to rebuild Hungary’s relationships with the European Union and NATO — ties that frayed under Orbán. European leaders quickly congratulated Magyar
It’s not yet clear whether Magyar’s Tisza party will have the two-thirds majority in parliament, which would give it the numbers needed for major changes in legislation. With 77% of the vote counted, it had more than 53% support to 38% for Orbán’s governing Fidesz party.
It’s a stunning blow for Orbán, a close ally of both U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Orbán conceded defeat after what he called a “painful” election result.
“I congratulated the victorious
party,” Orban told followers. “We are going to serve the Hungarian nation and our homeland from opposition,” he said.
“Thank you, Hungary!” Magyar posted on X, as thousands of his supporters thronged the banks of the Danube in Budapest, chanting “We got it! We did it!”
Orbán, the EU’s longest-serving leader and one of its biggest antagonists, who has traveled a long road from his early days as a liberal, antiSoviet firebrand to the Russia-friendly nationalist admired today by the global far-right.
“I’m asking our supporters and all Hungarians: Let’s stay peaceful, cheerful, and if the results confirm our expectations, let’s throw a big, Hungarian carnival,” Magyar said.
The EU will be waiting to see what Magyar does about Ukraine. Orbán repeatedly frustrated EU efforts to support Ukraine in its war against Russia’s full-scale invasion, while cultivating close ties to Putin and refusing to end Hungary’s dependence on Russian energy imports
Recent revelations have shown a top member of Orbán’s government frequently shared the contents of EU discussions with Moscow, raising accusations that Hungary was acting on Russia’s behalf within the bloc.
Orbán occupied an outsized role in
far-right populist politics worldwide.
Members of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement are among those who see Orbán’s government and his Fidesz political party as shining examples of conservative, anti-globalist politics in action, while he is reviled by advocates of liberal democracy and the rule of law Casting his ballot in Budapest, Marcell Mehringer, 21, said he was voting “primarily so that Hungary will finally be a so-called European country, and so that young people, and really everyone, will do their fundamental civic duty to unite this nation a bit and to break down these boundaries borne of hatred.”
During his 16 years as prime minister, Orbán launched harsh crackdowns on minority rights and media freedoms, subverted many of Hungary’s institutions and been accused of siphoning large sums of money into the coffers of his allied business elite, an allegation he denies. He also heavily strained Hungary’s relationship with the EU. Although Hungary is one of the smaller EU countries, with a population of 9.5 million, Orbán has repeatedly used his veto to block decisions that require unanimity Most recently he blocked a $104 billion EU loan to Ukraine, prompting his partners to accuse him of hijacking the critical aid.
Russia, Ukraine accuse each other of violating ceasefire
BY DEREK GATOPOULOS and VASILISA STEPANENKO Associated Press
KYIV, Ukraine Russia and Ukraine accused each other of violating a Kremlin-declared Easter ceasefire Sunday as Orthodox Christians gathered to celebrate the holiday despite Moscow’s 4-year-long war against its neighbor Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday declared a 32-hour ceasefire over the Easter weekend, ordering Russian forces to halt hostilities from 4 p.m. on Saturday until the end of Sunday Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy promised to abide by the ceasefire, but warned there would be a swift military response to any violations.
The General Staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said in a statement Sunday that it had recorded 2,299 ceasefire violations by 7 a.m., including assaults, shelling and small drone launches. It said that the use of long-range drones, missiles or guided bombs had not been reported.
A Ukrainian military officer told The Associated Press on Saturday that Russian forces had continued to attack their positions. Russia’s Defense Ministry also said Sunday it had
recorded 1,971 ceasefire violations by Ukrainian forces, including drone strikes. The head of Russia’s Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said Sunday that rescuers uncovered the bodies of two civilians who were killed in a Ukrainian attack on Saturday afternoon.
Outside Kyiv, thousands gathered at an open-air national heritage park to celebrate Easter despite skepticism that a truce would hold.
Worshippers clustered outside wooden churches to take part in the annual blessing of baskets for the holiday table Families carried dyed eggs and paska cakes baked the night before, while many women wore colorful scarves. Some waited
for the blessing as others picnicked on the grass.
Irena Bulhakova expressed her doubts over prospects for peace, especially as previous attempts to secure ceasefires have had little or no impact.
“Every time a ceasefire is announced for a holiday, the shelling continues regardless,” she said.
But she still reflected on the holiday’s meaning: “Good triumphs over darkness, and we hope for that very much.” Father Roman, a Ukrainian army chaplain who led the blessing ceremonies described Easter as a moment of faith shared by Ukrainians in their identity and future.
“We are defending our borders. We are defending our identity,” he said.
Stampede in Haiti kills at least 25
By The Associated Press
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti A stampede at a mountaintop fortress popular with tourists in northern Haiti has killed at least 25 people and injured dozens of others, authorities said, revising an earlier, higher number of fatalities.
Municipal authorities in the city of Cap-Haïtien said in a statement that Saturday’s stampede in Milot “resulted in numerous cases of asphyxiation, trampling and loss of consciousness.” Authorities said dozens of people who attended traditional festivities at the historical site were taken to hospitals while many others were reported missing.
“According to preliminary information a situation of severe overcrowding, linked in particular to deficiencies in crowd management measures, triggered a stampede,” local authorities said in the statement.
The Haitian National Police in a separate statement said it had opened an investigation to determine the exact cause of incident. The investigation led authorities to update the death toll to 25 fatalities. Autopsies were underway on Sunday Police said 30 people remained hospitalized. The agency also asked the population to continue to cooperate with authorities and avoid spreading rumors. Haiti’s government offered its condolences to the families of the victims of the incident at the Citadelle Laferrière.
Some of the victims’ bodies remained at the site on Sunday A young man said his sister had traveled there after studying diligently to get the grades necessary to be part of a school field trip for the best students. He sobbed after carrying her body, which had been covered with a white tarp.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By DENES ERDOS
A man waves a Hungarian flag as he celebrates in the streets after the announcement of partial results of the Hungarian parliamentary election Sunday in Budapest, Hungary.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By EFREM LUKATSKy
bless believers and their Easter baskets Sunday to mark Orthodox Easter in Pyrohiv, near Kyiv, Ukraine.
NASA already has next Artemis flight in works
BY MARCIA DUNN AP aerospace writer
HOUSTON Never-before-
glimpsed views of the moon’s far side. Check Total solar eclipse gracing the lunar scene. Check. New distance record for humanity Check.
With NASA’s lunar comeback a galactic-sized smash thanks to Artemis II, the world is wondering: What’s next? And how do you top that?
“To people all around the world who look up and dream about what is possible, the long wait is over,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said as he introduced Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canada’s Jeremy Hansen at Saturday’s jubilant homecoming celebration.
Now that the first lunar travelers in more than a half-century are safely back in Houston with their families, NASA has Artemis III in its sights.
“The next mission’s right around the corner,” entry flight director Rick Henfling observed following the crew’s Pacific splashdown on Friday
In a mission recently added to the docket for next year, Artemis III’s yet-tobe-named astronauts will
practice docking their Orion capsule with a lunar lander or two in orbit around Earth. Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin are racing to have their company’s lander ready first Musk’s Starship and Bezos’ Blue Moon are vying for the all-important Artemis IV moon landing in 2028. Two astronauts will aim for the south polar region, the preferred location for Isaacman’s envisioned $20 billion
to $30 billion moon base. Vast amounts of ice are almost certainly hidden in permanently shadowed craters there — ice that could provide water and rocket fuel.
The docking mechanism for Artemis III’s close-tohome trial run is already at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center The latest model Starship is close to launching on a test flight from South Texas, and a scaleddown version of Blue Moon
will attempt a lunar landing later this year NASA promises to announce the Artemis III crew “soon.” Like 1969’s Apollo 9, Artemis III aims to reduce risk for the moon landings that follow Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty Schweickart loved flying the lunar module in lowEarth orbit — “a test pilot’s dream.” But there’s no question, he noted, that “the real astronauts” at least in the
public’s mind were the ones who walked on the moon.
Wiseman and his crew put their passion and feelings on full display as they flew around the moon and back, choking up over lost loved ones as well as those left behind on Earth.
During the their nearly 10day journey, they tearfully requested that a fresh, bright lunar crater be named after Wiseman’s late wife, Carroll, who died of cancer in 2020. They also openly shared their love for one another and Planet Earth, an exquisite yet delicate oasis in the black void that they said needs better care.
Artemis II included the first woman, the first person of color and the first non-U.S. citizen to fly to the moon.
“Wonderful communicators almost poets,” Isaacman said from the recovery ship while awaiting their return.
Apollo’s manly, all-business moon crews of the 1960s and 1970s certainly did not do group hugs.
For those old enough to remember Apollo, Artemis — Apollo’s twin sister in Greek mythology — couldn’t come fast enough.
Author Andy Chaikin said he felt like Rip Van Winkle awakening from a nearly 54-year nap. His 1994 biography “A Man on the Moon”
led to the HBO miniseries
“From the Earth to the Moon.”
“It’s amazing how far we’ve come and how different this experience is from back then,” Chaikin said from Johnson Space Center late last week. The hardest part, according to NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya, is becoming so close to the crews and their families and then blasting them to the moon. He anxiously monitored Friday’s reentry alongside the astronauts’ spouses and children.
“You know what’s at stake,” Kshatriya confided afterward “It’s going to take risk to explore, but you have to make sure you find the right line between being paralyzed by it and being able to manage it.”
Calling it “mission complete” only after being reunited with his two daughters, Wiseman issued a rallying cry to the rows of blue-flight-suited astronauts at Saturday’s celebration.
“It is time to go and be ready,” he said, pointing at them, “because it takes courage. It takes determination, and you all are freaking going and we are going to be standing there supporting you every single step of the way in every possible way possible.”
Swalwell suspends campaign for California governor
BY BEN FINLEY Associated Press
WASHINGTON Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell suspended his campaign for California governor on Sunday following sexual assault allegations that he has denied
“I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made — but that’s my fight, not a campaign’s,” Swalwell said in a social media post. His announcement came as Democrats quickly abandoned him after the allegations were published Friday in the San Francisco Chronicle and later CNN that he had sexually assaulted a woman twice, including when she worked for him.
A growing number of Democrats urged the congressman both to quit the race and resign his seat in Congress. His statement made no mention of resigning from Congress. The allegations came
as Swalwell became a leading contender in the race for California governor to replace outgoing Democratic Gov Gavin Newsom.
Though Swalwell has denied the allegations, he has seemingly referenced infidelity in multiple statements.
Huffman, Ro Khanna and Sam Liccardo said Swalwell should resign, as did Reps. Teresa Leger Fernández of New Mexico and Pramila Jayapal of Washington state.
session Tuesday, the question of whether to expel Swalwell could come to a head quickly Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., said Saturday that she would be filing a motion to start the process.
both cases the woman said she was too intoxicated to consent to sex.
“To my family, staff, friends, and supporters, I am deeply sorry for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past,” he wrote. That followed a video post on Friday where he apologized to his wife.
Over the weekend, with Swalwell’s gubernatorial campaign already teetering, Democrats in Congress began to call for his resignation from the House. Some even said they would support the rare step of expelling him should he refuse to step aside.
Fellow California Reps. Jared
“This is not a partisan issue,” Jayapal said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “This cuts across party lines. And it is depravity of the way that women have been treated.”
Swalwell’s gubernatorial campaign did not immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press seeking comment It all added to the mounting political pressure on Swalwell, who has already seen his most prominent supporters, including Sen. Adam Schiff and powerful labor unions, pull their endorsements and call for his exit from the race. Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., who helped run Swalwell’s campaign, said he was immediately ending his role. With the House returning to
At least 100 dead in Nigeria after air force
BY DYEPKAZAH SHIBAYAN and HARUNA UMAR Associated Press
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria A Nigerian Air Force strike targeting jihadi rebels hit a local market in northeastern Nigeria, killing over 100 civilians including children and injuring many others, a rights group and local media reported on Sunday Officials confirmed a misfire without providing details.
Amnesty International cited survivors as saying that at least 100 people were killed in the airstrike on Saturday on a village in Yobe state, near the border with Borno state, which is the epicenter of the
jihadi insurgency that has ravaged the region for over a decade.
“We have their pictures and they include children,” Isa Sanusi, Amnesty International’s Nigeria director told The Associated Press, referring to the casualties.
“We are in touch with people that are there, we spoke with the hospital,” he said.
“We spoke with the person in charge of casualties, and we spoke with the victims.”
A worker at the Geidam General hospital, in Yobe, said at least 23 people injured in the incident were receiving treatment. The worker spoke anonymously as he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Such misfires are common in
Nigeria, where the military often conducts air raids to battle armed groups who control vast forest enclaves. At least 500 civilians have died since 2017 in such misfires, according to an AP tally of reported deaths. Security analysts point to loopholes in intelligence gathering as well as insufficient coordination between ground troops, air assets and stakeholders.
The large, remote market located near the Borno-Yobe border is known to be often used by Boko Haram jihadis to buy food supplies.
Abdulmumin Bulama, a member of a civilian security group working with the Nigerian military in the northeast, said there was in-
Expulsion votes in the House are rare and require a two-thirds majority, but there is recent precedent for taking the step. Republican George Santos of New York in 2023 became just the sixth member in House history to be ousted by colleagues for his conduct.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday about allegations that Swalwell sexually assaulted a woman in 2019 and 2024. The woman said she did not go to police at the time of the assaults because she was afraid she would not be believed.
The woman worked for Swalwell when the first alleged assault occurred in 2019, while the 2024 assault allegedly occurred at a charity gala, the Chronicle reported. In
telligence that Boko Haram terrorists had gathered very close to the market and were planning an attack on nearby communities.
“The intel was shared and the air force jet acted based on the credible information,” Bulama said.
The Yobe State Government confirmed in a statement that a Nigerian military strike was targeting a stronghold of the Boko Haram jihadi group in the area and that “some people who went to the Jilli weekly market were affected.”
The Yobe State Emergency ManagementAgencyacknowledgedthat an incident had occurred resulting in “casualties affecting some marketers” and said it had dispatched
The paper didn’t name the woman, and The Associated Press has not been able to independently verify her account and identity Her lawyer declined to comment.
The alleged 2024 incident occurred in New York, and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said Saturday that it was investigating. That office urged anyone with knowledge to contact its special victims division.
After the allegations surfaced, Swalwell said Friday in a video on social media that he would spend the weekend with family and friends and share an update “very soon.” He is not running for reelection for his House seat.
“These allegations of sexual assault are flat false. They’re absolutely false They did not happen, they have never happened, and I will fight them with everything that I have,” the congressman said.
response teams to the area.
Nigeria’s military issued a statement saying it conducted a successful strike on a “terrorist enclave and logistics hub” belonging to jihadis in the area, killing scores of them as they rode on motorcycles. It did not provide any detail about a possible misfire, but noted that motorcycles remain prohibited in conflict hot spots and “any such movements in restricted areas are therefore treated with the utmost seriousness.”
Amnesty International has called for an independent investigation, adding that the military is “fond of” labeling civilian casualties as bandits.
Swalwell
PHOTO PROVIDED By NASA
The Artemis II crew captured this view
Earthset
April 6 as they flew around the moon
SPILLWAY
Continued from page1A
done by spillwayopenings, though so far unsuccessfully, and that state’scongressional delegation has prodded the agency to look for alternatives.
The Mississippi Sound Coalition of coastal communities and others affected has also pushed for federal legislation to address their concerns. They say solutions are available that do not putNew Orleansinharm’sway
“We’re stilldying aslow death —death by 1,000 cuts —and we’ve got to turn that around witha massive change in the management of thelower MississippiRiver,” said Gerald Blessey, aformer mayorofBiloxi who helps lead the coalition.
‘Alwaysbeenabalance’
Bonnet Carre,locatedupriver of New Orleans in St. CharlesParish, hasbecome such an integral toolofflood control that it can almost be taken for granted. It is part of asprawling protection system built after the epochal 1927 Mississippi River flood.
To keep the lower Mississippi’sflow below 1.25 million cubic feet per second, or more than 550 million gallons every minute, cranes open some or all of the spillway’s 350 bays, sending river water tumbling through aspillway that empties into Lake Pontchartrain. The river water then eventually finds its way through the Rigolets and into the Mississippi Sound It hasworkedasdesigned, relieving pressure on the river to avoidlevee breaks or overtopping that would devastate theNew Orleans area. But the numberofopenings needed has drastically increased in recent years, along with the fallout that has come withthem.
Eight spillway openings were required between the 1930sand the end of the century,but seven have been needed since, including two in 2019. Five occurred between 2016 and 2020. It is unclear whether the recent trend will continue over thelong term, but there are projections of more extreme weather on the waydue to climate change. Studies show that could leadtothe pendulum swinging more forcefully between higher and lower flows due to both increased rainfall and more drought. There are potential ways to lessen theamount of water through Bonnet Carre and distribute it elsewhere, but they will likelyrequire more study,discussions with impacted communities and, eventually,changes in federal law
Mark Davis, of theTulane Institute on Water Resources, Lawand Policy,saiditwas overdue for managementof the lower river to be reconsidered, and that the recommendations from Mississippi communities seem “credibly developed.”
But he noted the complications in addressing them, the need to remember Bonnet Carre’sflood control importance and the limitationson the Atchafalaya River,which has been suggested as an alternative route to channel
Bonnet Carre Spillway openings
The spillwaywas opened eight timesbetween the 1930s and the end of the century. But sevenopenings have been requiredsince 2000, including twoin2019. Another opening seemed likely in 2025, butriver levels remained justbelow the trigger
Year of openings and number of days opened:
Longestspanof no openings: 22 years
TheBonnet Carre Spillwayhas protected the NewOrleans area from Mississippi River flooding for nearly acentury.
some of the water
“It’s always been abalance betweenwhatyou putdown theMississippi,whatyou put into LakePontchartrain, and what you put down the Atchafalaya, and all of those things change,” he said.
“There’sonly so much water you can put down the Atchafalayawithout changing the Atchafalayaand its ability to handlefuture floods.”
‘Weactuallyget win-wins
The University of Southern Mississippi scientists behind the studiesreleasedlastweek presentedtheir findings to the Harrison County Boardof Supervisors in Gulfport. The Northern Gulf Institute oversaw the work on behalf of the Mississippi Sound Coalition.
Theresearch used complex modeling to identify tipping points for when oyster reefs are put at risk in the Mississippi Sound. The2019spillway openings, for example, essentiallykilled offall oysters in theSound.
Thesuggestionsboildown to what volume of water shouldbeallowed through thespillwayand forhow long, while takingintoconsideration other rivers in the area, including thePearland Pascagoula. The studieslook at how much fresh water the oysters are typically able to toleratetoreachthe conclusions.
To allow the findings to be understandabletononscientists, ittranslated water amountsintopercentages of thetotal volumeofLake Pontchartrain
The research concluded that, generally,the total volumeofwaterallowedthrough the spillway should be limitedtoaround 80%ofLake Pontchartrainincases where the opening lasts lessthan three weeks. If theopening is longerthanthree weeks, further considerationsshould be made on amounts.
As acomparison, the two openings in 2019 funneled through an amount of river
water nearlysix times the volumeofLake Pontchartrain —566% across 123 days.
Thestudies also go further to recommend the maximum amount of water that should be allowedthrough perday to allow the Sound to cope with theinflux.
“Iftheyoperatethe Bonnet Carre Spillway and potentially other spillways to minimize impactsbyjust operatingitfor three weeks at atime,weactually get win-wins,” saidPaulMickle, co-director of theNorthern Gulf Institute.
“Weprotect New Orleans, we protect our oysters, the marine resources for Mississippi andAlabama are protected for ourgenerationsto come.”
‘Natureforcing ourhand’
Howtoachieve thoselimits is wherethe problembecomes complicated. The Mississippi drains morethan 40% of the contiguous United States, andthe water must go somewhere. Any change in onelocation has ripple effects.
One potential change beinglooked at by the Corps is whethertoallow greater flexibilityinthe amount of Mississippi River water sent down the Atchafalaya through the Old River Control Structures near Angola, theagency said in astatement.
Those structureskeep the Mississippi from changing course to the Atchafalaya, whichwould happen naturally if allowed. The amount of water that can be allowed through to theAtchafalayais set in federal law: 30% of the combined flow of the Mississippi and Red Rivers.
Greaterflexibility could allow more water through when theMississippi is high, less when it is low.The Corps says that “in turn has the potential to impact theduration andfrequency of Bonnet Carre Spillway operations.”
Apart from that, Missis-
sippi Gulf Coast officials advocate for using the Morganza Floodway more. Bonnet Carre’ssibling, the Morganza funnels Mississippi water to the Atchafalaya Basin andeventually the MorganCity area. It has only been opened twice since itscompletion in 1954, most recentlyin2011.
The problem with bothof those suggestions is multilayered.
The first hastodowith objections from residents and businesses. The Port of Morgan Citysays the increased sediment that would come with more water would clog up itsfacilities and prevent deepwater access, putting billions of dollars in business at risk.
Officials in MorganCity itself have also expressed concerns over the potentialfor flooding, while communities in theMorganza Floodway’spath may have to evacuatemoreoften if itsuse increases.
The other complication is alegal one. The triggers for when BonnetCarre and theMorganza are opened are defined in federal law, just like the OldRiver parameters.
While the maze of considerations can seem endless, change may eventually be forced upon the nation as the climateevolves, Davis said.
“We’re alwaysone event away from nature forcing our hand. ButIcan tell you this:Whenthatmoment comes,it’sbetter to have thought through your options than to start thinking in themoment,” he said.
“If there’s one lesson that Mississippi is showing thatthey’ve learned, it is don’twaitfor thecrisis, and don’teven wait for the next opportunity.Prepare for it.”
Email MikeSmith at msmith@theadvocate. com.
BLOCKADE
Continued from page1A
‘Ifyou fight, we will fight’ Iran’sRevolutionary Guard later saidthe straitremained under Iran’s“full control” and was open for nonmilitary vessels,but military ones would get a“forceful response,” two semi-official Iranian news agencies reported During the 21-hour talks, the U.S. military said two destroyers had transited the strait ahead of mine-clearing work, afirst sincethe warbegan. Iran denied it
Trump’splantouse the Navy to block the strait is unrealistic andhewill have to concede on someissues with Iran,saidAndreasKrieg,asenior lecturer in security studiesatKings College London.
“There isn’tany tool in the toolbox in terms of the military lever that he could use to get his way,” Krieg said.
Trumpsaid Tehran’snuclear ambitions wereatthe core of the talks’ failure.Incomments to Fox News, he again threatened to strike civilian infrastructure.
Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, who led Iran’sside, addressed Trump in anew statement on his return to Iran: “If you fight,wewill fight.”
Afterceasefire expires
The face-to-face talks that endedearlySunday were the highest-level negotiations between the longtime rivals since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Neitherindicated whatwill happen after the ceasefire expires on April22.
“Weneed to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek anuclear weapon,” said Vice President JD Vance, leadingthe U.S. side Iranian negotiators could not agree to all U.S. “red lines,”saida U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were notauthorized to describe positions on therecord. These included Iran never obtaining anuclear weapon, ending uranium enrichment, dismantling major enrichment facilities andallowingretrievalof itshighly enriched uranium, along with opening the Strait of Hormuz andendingfunding forHamas,Hezbollahand Houthirebels.
Iranianofficialssaidtalks fell apart over twoorthree key issues, blaming what they called U.S. overreach. Qalibaf, who notedprogress in negotiations,saiditwas time for theUnited States “to decide whether it can gain ourtrust or not.”
Pakistani Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar said his country will try to facilitate anew dialogue in the coming days. Iran saiditwas open to continuing dialogue, state-run IRNA news agency reported
The European Union urged furtherdiplomatic efforts
The foreign ministerof Oman, locatedonthe Strait of Hormuz’ssouthern coast, called for parties to “make painful concessions.”The KremlinsaidRussian President Vladimir Putin “emphasized his readiness” to help bring abouta diplomatic settlement in acall with Iran’s president
Keystickingpoint
Iran’snuclear program was at thecenter of tensions long before the U.S. and Israel launched thewar on Feb 28. The fighting has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, 2,055 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than adozen in Gulf Arab states, anddamaged infrastructure in half adozen countries. Tehran has long denied seeking nuclear weapons but insists on its right to aciviliannuclear program. The landmark 2015 nuclear deal, which Trumplater pulled the U.S. out of, tookwell over ayear of negotiations. Experts say Iran’sstockpile of enricheduranium, though not weapons-grade, is only a short technical step away An Iraniandiplomatic official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of closed-door talks,deniedthatnegotiations hadfailedover Iran’snuclear ambitions
Inside Iran, there was new exhaustion andangerafter months of unrest that began withnationwide protests against economic issues and then political ones, followed by weeksofsheltering from U.S. and Israeli bombardment
“Wehavenever sought war But if theytry to winwhat they failedtowin on thebattlefield through talks, that’s absolutely unacceptable,” Mohammad Bagher Karami saidinTehran Elsewhere in the region, airstrikescalmed over the past dayexcept in Lebanon. Israelpresses ahead Iran’s10-point proposal for the talks called for ahalt to Israelistrikes on the IranianbackedHezbollahinLebanon Israel has said the ceasefire did not apply there, but Iran andPakistan saiditdid Israeli PrimeMinister Benjamin Netanyahu visited parts of southern Lebanon underIsraelicontrol on Sunday,for the first time since the current fighting.Attacks on southern Lebanon have intensified alongside the ground invasionrenewed after Hezbollahlaunchedrockets toward Israel in thewar’s opening days.
Negotiations between Israel and Lebanon are expected to begin Tuesday in Washington after Israel’s surprise announcement authorizing talks despite theirlack of official relations. Israel wants Lebanon to assume responsibility for disarming Hezbollah, but themilitantgrouphas survived efforts to curb its strengthfor decades. The daythe Iran ceasefiredeal wasannounced, Israel poundedBeirut with airstrikes,killingmorethan 300 people,according to the Health Ministry Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported six people were killed Sunday in Maaroubvillage near the coastal city of Tyre. Associated Press writers E. Eduardo Castillo in Beijing;Collin Binkleyand Ben FinleyinWashington; Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut; Brian Melley in London; GhayaBen MBarekinTunis; Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake Cityand Mae Anderson in NewYork contributed to this report.
Staffgraphic by DANSWENSON
STAFF
FILEPHOTO By DAVIDGRUNFELD
LocalDoctors At LeBlancSpine Center
HelpPatientsEliminate Back Pain, Help Patients EliminateBack Sciatica,and HerniatedDiscs Herniate
Nothing’sworse than feelinggreat mentally,but physically feelingheldback from life becauseyou hurt andthe pain just won’tgoaway. We understandwhatitfeels like tolive in pain, becausewesee it everyday.Weare Dr.ScottLeBlanc andDr. Dana LeBlancofLeBlanc SpineCenter. We’vehelped hundreds of patients with disc herniations andsciatica leave ouroffice pain free
When cushions in your back joints,calleddiscs,get injured or wear out, they begintodegenerate andcause pain.Bulging andherniateddiscs beginto form,pressingonthe nerveroots.The most common invasive treatmentfor disc herniations is surgery Even with health insurance thepatient is left with their ownportion of thebill,inexcessof$10,000 -$15,000,and sometimesmore.In addition,the recovery time andmissed work canbeanywherefrom3to6months, nottomention the obvioussevererisksassociatedwithall surgeries
Before YougoUnder theknife
AndOpt ForSpinalSurgery
Youshouldseriously consider alessinvasiveapproach called spinal decompression. Non-surgicalspinaldecompression is a newtechnology that hasbeenproventohelpdischerniations It createsavacuumeffectonthe disc,which pullsthe disc back into itsnormalposition andbringsinafresh bloodsupply to promote healing.
ProofThisTreatment Works
Whilenon-surgicalspinaldecompression is arathernew
Dr.Scott
LeBlanc,
D.C. Dr.DanaLeBlanc,D.C.
treatment, there’splentyofresearch to back up itsclaims.
Here’s just ahandful of scientificstudies
“We thus submit that decompressiontherapy shouldbe considered first, before thepatient undergoesa surgical procedurewhich permanentlyaltersthe anatomyand function of theaffectedlumbar spinesegment.”
-Journal Of NeuroscienceResearch
“86% of the219 patients whocompleted thetherapy reported immediate resolution of symptoms.”
-Orthopedic Technology Review
“vertebral axial(spinal)decompression wassuccessful in 71%ofthe 778cases”
“decompressiontherapy reported a76.5% with complete remissionand 19.6%withpartial remissionofpainand disability:
-Rio Grande Hospital,DepartmentofNeurosurgery
Anotherstudy presented at theAmericanAcademy of Pain Managementin2007showed.
“Patientsreporteda mean 88.9%improvement in back pain andbetterfunction. No patientrequiredany invasive therapies(e.g. epidural injections,surgery).
As youcan see, spinal decompressionhas ahighsuccess
I first came to LeBlancSpine Center with numbness in my arms andlegs. Iwas also experiencing lowerbackpain andneckpain. I hadbeensuffering with this forover 10 years. Ihad previouslytried one epidural injectioninmylower back andphysicaltherapy,anIwas still suffering with thesesymptoms. Since beginningSpinal Decompression treatments, Ihavehad consistent improvementinmybackcondition, andIamnow 70%improved! I am liftingwithoutpain,sleeping better,and Inow have theability to walk withouttiring! Iwould highly recommend Dr.LeBlancand LeBlanc SpineCenter!
L. J. Dupuy (College Baseball Coach) Hometown -Addis,LA
Iwas suffering with lowerbackpain for years, anditwas gettingworse andworse It wassopainful that Icould notfunction. I couldnot getout thebed withoutfalling to the floor. Ihad triedorthopedic doctors, medication,scans,physicaltherapy-all to no avail IcametoLeBlancSpine Center, andI started Spinal Decompression treatments inAugust…andInow feel 100% improved! I am nowsleeping better,drivingwithout pain,walking further–all of theseactivities I cannow do,and IhaveenergythatIonly hadwhenI wasyoung. Iamtreated wonderfully by thestaff at LeBlanc SpineCenter. They aresopolite and caring.Dr. Scottand Dr.Danaare unbelievablyhelpful.The treatmentisnot painful,and Ienjoy themusic whileIam theretoo! If askedtorecommend LeBlancSpine Center, Iwould saythatIamconvinced that youwillimprove abig amount,ifnot 100% Decompression therapyisthe waytogo!
Ronnie Hebert (Civil Engineer) Hometown -Plaquemine, LA
IcametoDr. LeBlancbecause Ihad been suffering with severe sciatica. The pain in my lowbackand legs wasso severe that Ibegan stayinghomerather than attendingsportingorsocialevents. Ibegan Spinal Decompression treatments andsince then,Iam70% improved!Iamfeeling well enoughand energeticafter workingall daytocook, do household chores,attend functions, etc. Ihavemoremobilityand Iamnot exhaustedfromthe pain!The staff and Doctors here arewonderful.Everyoneis so kind andfriendly andwilldowhatever is needed to decreasethe pain.What Ilikemostabout my care at LeBlanc SpineCenterisTHE RESULTS! Ihighly recommend LeBlancSpine Center dueto thenon-invasive treatmentand results! As amatteroffact, Ihaverecommended Dr.LeBlanc to people already. SabrinaRuggiero Customer ServiceRepresenative/ InsuranceAgent Hometown- Plaquemine,LA
rate.Whatthismeans foryou is that in just amatterofweeks, youcould be back on thegolfcourse, enjoying your love life, or travelingagain
Could This Be Your Sciatica AndBackPainSolution
It’stimefor youto find outifspinaldecompression will be your sciaticpainsolution.
For7daysonly, we arerunningaspecialoffer whereyou will find outifyou area candidate forspinal decompression. This offerisnormallypricedat$250.
What doesthisoffer include? Everything. Here’s what you’ll get.
•Anin-depth consultation about your health andwell-being wherewewilllisten. really listen. to thedetails of your case
•A complete neuromuscularexamination
•A full setofspecialized x-rays (ifclinicallynecessary)to determineifaspinal problemiscontributingtoyourpainor symptoms
•A thorough analysis of your exam andx-ray findings so we canstart mappingout your plan to be pain free
•You’llget to seeeverything firsthand. We’llanswerall of your questions aboutspinaldecompression andwill let youknowifthisamazingtreatment will be your back pain solution,likeithas been forsomanyother patients
WehavetwoofficeslocatedinBatonRougeandKenner,LA. Call 225-763-9894,and ouramazingstaff will getyou scheduled. No charge at alland youdon’t needtobuy anything- butyou will find outifyou qualifyfor this revolutionarynew therapy.
Each spring, Natchez gussies itself up as homeowners, many in costume, open their mansions to tourists hungry forthe history and, critics say,the myth— of the Old South.
This year,the old rite hasa new backdrop. Adocumentary titled “Natchez” interrogates the stories someof those tours tell with their costumes, their Blackfigurines and their talk of “servants,” rather than enslaved people.
“Natchez” tags along as TracyCollins, aBlack tour guide and Baptist pastor known as “Rev,” tells tourists what others don’t, leadingthem to the siteofwhat was once the second-largest slave marketinthe country
The film will soon get a wider audience: After receiving strong reviews at festivals and during its limited theatrical release, “Natchez” is now available on streaming platforms. Next month, it will air on PBS
Residents of Natchez, population 14,000, have been grappling with the documentary,shot mostly in 2023, and its revelations —including, at the film’sclimax, aWhite homeowner’sracistrant.
Some residents believe the film, which artfully stitches its narrative outofacollage of scenes and interviews, captured their community in all its complexity.“It’swhat the world needs to know and see about Natchez,” said Deborah Cosey,who purchased Concord Quarters, aformer slave quarters,restoring it and turning it into abed-and-breakfast. “It’s us.
It’sNatchez.”
Some who have seen the film say it ignores decades of efforts to tell the city’s complex history,ticking off the evidence: Signs noting historical sites of African American and civil rights history.Guides promoting those sites during tours. Amonument, still in the works, that will bearthe names of more than 8,000 Black men who served with theU.S.ColoredTroopsat Fort McPherson. They argue that “Natchez” focused on recent transplants who don’trepresent the city.“The dominant characters wereNOT native Natchezians,” native NatchezianMildred Lehm-
DirectorSuzannah Herbert’s‘Natchez’ is available on-demand and premieres May11onPBS’ ‘Independent Lens.’Residents of Natchez, population 14,000, have been grapplingwith the documentary, shot mostly in 2023 and taggingalong with tours exploringthe Mississippi city’sOld South history, and its revelations —including,atthe film’s climax, aWhite homeowner’sracist rant.
ann Amerwroteinaletter to the board of theTribeca Film Festival, wherethe documentary premiered last summer.“Ibelieve they were chosen to ‘get arise’ out of theaudience.” Some don’twant to talk about the documentary at all, declining interviews, ducking callsand, in one case, slamming adoor.A few have refused to see it. But most folks in town are watching to see how “Natchez”the film affects Natchez the city —especially its tourism, especially during Spring Pilgrimage, a
century-old tradition widely credited with rescuing the city from destitution.
Will tourists still come?
‘Buriedwithmyhoops on’
If aspring extravaganza helmedbyonce-dueling gardenclubs sounds silly, some Natchezians would agreewithyou. They are well acquainted with how it all looks and not immune to self-satire and critiques.
During pilgrimage season, which runs through midApril, local actorsare once again staging “Southern Exposure,” afarce from 1950
aboutafading damenamed Penelope who opens up her once-grand mansion,Mayweather Hall,towide-eyed, sticky-fingered visitors, who maybeunderthe impression they’re on aregular guided tour.
Not so, Penelope declares withswelled pride, to great laughterfrom the sold-out audience at this year’sopeningnight performance: This, she says, is “a PILGRIMAGE!”
Later,onthe brink of foreclosure, Penelope takes in arenter who is actually a writer from up North, eager
to exploit herand thecliches of an old Southern town.
Natchez is used to reporters, filmmakers and authors dropping by,spending time, gathering material.Stories have been written,books published. Years ago, even Borat dropped by The popularmockumentary character,aninept Kazakhstan TV journalist created and portrayed by Sacha Baron Cohen, arrived for dinner at Lansdowne, still owned by descendants of the people who had the home built in 1853. “He wanted to have dinnerwithanoldfashioned Southern family,” saidMarsha Colson, past president of the Pilgrimage Garden Club. “It was clear what they thought they were going to get.”
Mint juleps were served, but Colson’sfamily didn’t take the bait —perhaps because they surprised Baron Cohen, she said, by being “open-minded, liberalDemocrats.” Theydidn’tmake it into the Borat movie.
ButColsonisfeatured in “Natchez,” which she’sseen twotimes.“Iwillprobably alwaysbeuncomfortable withit,” she said. Aftera screening in Natchez, folks asked director Suzannah Herbertwhether thefilm would be bad fortourism.
“She thought it would help us moveforward on racial issues, …” Colsonsaid. “Well, we’ve been working
hard on that formany,many years.” Colson, who is in her 70s, knows that for some, the skirts are aloaded symbol. But when she tells the story of herhouse,listedon the National Register of Historic Places, she’salso telling the story of her family “WhenI wear that dress,I’m representing my great-aunt or my great-great-grandmother.”
The garden club gave up the Confederate uniforms. They retired the pageant. Butthey’re holding on to the hoop skirts, Colson said. “I’ll be buried with my hoops on.”
‘It’sgoing to bringthemin’ Alittle after 9a.m., outside arestored train depot perched on the bluff, Collins pulled up in awhite van, lettering on its side:“Seethe REAL Mississippi.” Aman wearing ablack cowboy hat climbed inside. Collins asked where he’s from.
“New York,” said Jeremy Dyckman,40, settling into the first row.“I’mtrying to run amarathon in every state. There’sone in Jackson tomorrow,soI’m in townfor that.
“And Isaw the movie that you did.” Collins grinned, eyeing thecowboy hat. “Welcome to Natchez, man.”
Thenheintroduced himself, following asimilar script Dyckman had heard in the theater.“I’m Tracy I’malocal pastor—I’ve been at the samechurch for about20years —and aformer county supervisor.I got elected and realized Ididn’t knowanything aboutwhat Irepresented. So Istarted this little pilgrimage to learn the history “And guys, Ithought it wasgoing to be acouple of weeks anda couple of books. That was in 2015.”
Though thefilm follows the paths of several people,
She and other advocates opposed to the billcame out in force to testify at the committee hearing,saying the bill would “criminalize” homelessness —and could makeitmore difficult for homelesspeople to get jobs and housing by giving them arrest records. Opponents also argued HB211would place more pressure on already overcrowded jails.
“Becomingunhoused due to falling on hard times, facingfinancialinsecurity or being housing insecure because you’ve been discriminated against is not acrime,” said Monique Blossom, policy directorofthe Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center
“We’re extremely concerned that this bill will push people experiencing homelessness who have nowhere to go into acycle of incarceration and repeated homelessness.”
HB211 cleared the Judiciary Committee in a12-4 vote. It needs to pass theHouse before advancing to the Senate. Asimilar measure failed to pass the Legislature last year What HB211does HB211 would make “unauthorized camping on public property” acrime,punishable by up to six months in prison for afirst offense and at least one year in prison for asubsequent offense, along with fines of up to $1,000 Thelegislation defines unauthorized camping as “the intentional use of any tent, shelter,orbedding constructedorarranged for the purpose of or in such away to permit overnight use on public property that is nota designated camp ground.”
Officials could use the of-
Gov. Jeff Landry, left,and state Rep. Debbie Villio, right, R-Kenner,are backing aproposal that would make sleeping on the street acrimeand allowjurisdictions to establish specialty ‘homelessnesscourts.
fense as grounds to admit defendants to “homelessness courts,”though homeless peopleaccused of other crimes would also be eligible. Some critics of the proposal noted state statute already allows judges to establish specialty drug courts and mental health courts, whichoffer similar services. Louisiana has 31 adult drug courts and three mental health courts, according to the Law Library of Louisiana.
In an interview,James Lee, policy directorfor the governor, said thehomelessness courts would be more flexible, and could connect individuals with services even when they don’t have mentalhealthorsubstance use issues.
“It’sreally something to allow every individual situation to betreated differently,”hesaid.
Passing HB211 also would help Louisiana draw down federalfunding, Leesaid
In July, Trump issued an executiveorder directing the attorneygeneral to “prioritize available fundingtosupport theexpansion of drug courts and mental
health courts.” It also directs the government to attempt to favorstates that enforce prohibitions on public campingand loiteringwhen giving grants.
But Angela Owczarek, clientservices director for the Orleans Parish Public Defender’sOffice, saidthatby threatening them with jail time, HB211 would coerce people intoreceiving medical treatments they may not want, simply for sleeping outside
The bill is “rife” withways to fail people outoftreatment programs, she said, noting that probation could be revoked forthosewho do not “constructively engage” withtheir programs.
“Wedon’tidentify every personinLouisiana with substanceuse and mental health conditions and force them to participate in ambiguously defined treatmentprocesses,” Owczarek said. “Itisn’t appropriate, or fair,oratrue carriage of justice to force acceptance of that treatment ontounhoused people.”
In the United States in 2024, about2in10homeless adults had serious mental
health disorders, while about 18% hadsubstanceuse disorders, according to theKaiser Family Foundation, ahealth policyresearch institute. There was some overlap between those two populations.
Otherbills
HB211 isone of two bills rankling people who workto addresshomelessness.
House Bill 616, by state Rep. Alonzo Knox, D-New Orleans,would penalize homeless service providers if theyfail to hand over informationrequested by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’sOffice. The proposal aims to make sure the state can properly assess whether providers receiving public
fundsare doingtheir jobs, Knox told legislators during an April 8meeting of the House Health and Welfare Committee. Opponentsargue that providers are already thoroughly audited at thelocal and federal level, and that additionalauditswould take up valuable staff time.They also warn the law could risk exposing sensitive health informationabout their clients Amanda Stapleton,deputy executive director at UNITY of Greater New Orleans, said the federal Department of Housing and UrbanDevelopment requires providers to redact personal identifying informationwhenthey submit data foraudits. UNI-
TY leadsa group of organizations that provide housing and other services to homeless people.
Another proposal from Knox, House Bill 457, appearslesscontroversial. It would direct the Louisiana Department of Health and thestatefire marshal to set and enforce minimum standards of living at group homes, halfwayhouses, emergency sheltersand community facilities. Some worry the regulations could make it tooexpensive to offer housing to those in need. Both bills cleared the House Committee on Health and Welfare on Wednesday Theynow require avote from the full chamber
STAFF FILEPHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS
PROVIDED PHOTOByOSCILLOSCOPE
STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER Tracy ‘Rev’ Collins, of Revs CountryTours in Natchez,Miss., stops his vanalong the Mississippi River.
ä See NATCHEZ, page 7A
Continued from page 6A
a few of them intersecting, Collins is its star, its heart, its conscience. Herbert, the filmmaker, met him the same way many tourists do: He “recruited me into his van,” she said in an interview The Memphis native had been spending time in Natchez without a camera, attending parties, dinners and tours. “I was blown away by the tour and the history he was giving. In the end, Herbert and her team structured the film the same way Collins structures his tours, she continued, to “bring people into the fantasy and then slowly peel back the layers.”
The owners of Natchez’s historic homes “are doing what they’ve been doing for three, four generations,” said the film’s producer Darcy McKinnon, of New Orleans “What they were taught to do and taught to say They’re very protective of that, right?”
But by protecting a narrative that’s “not rooted in the facts of history,” she continued, those homeowners are shutting people out. Cities that have embraced authentic and expansive versions of history, such as Birmingham and Montgomery, Alabama, have thrived, McKinnon said. “Talking about hard history does not drive people away and in fact, the younger generations, it’s going to bring them in.”
On its website, the film offers up its own visitors’ guide to Natchez, highlighting Melrose, preserved by the National Park Service, and the Museum of African American History and Culture, Rev’s tours and Cosey’s B&B But it leaves off several antebellum mansions shown in the film. It leaves off Choctaw Hall.
‘Threats on our lives’
Until the rant, “Natchez” offers a nuanced portrait of Choctaw Hall’s owner David Garner Garner, who is White, charms tourists, champions LGBTQ causes and takes medication for Parkinson’s disease, which is robbing him of his voice. In 2014,
Garner and his husband Lee Glover bought the home, built circa 1836, and furnished it with seven generations’ worth of antiques, according to a story in the Natchez Democrat newspaper Near the film’s end, though, Garner lets loose with several comments against Black people, repeating a slur. The film then shows him making racist jokes with visitors, some of whom laugh along.
By phone, Glover said he couldn’t say too much about Garner’s remarks, because of “possible legal things that we’re doing.”
He said Garner takes a medication that can make him “unfiltered.”
“We’ve gotten threats on our lives,” Glover said. “We’ve gotten threats about
burning our house.”
Choctaw Hall is still part of the Natchez Garden Club’s spring tours More than three years ago, after complaints and “well before the documentary,” the Pilgrimage Garden Club, which owns a tour agency stopped representing Choctaw, Colson said.
Garner and Glover put their mansion on the market for $1.9 million in September, and it remains for sale.
The film had “nothing to do with the decision,” they told the local newspaper
‘This is the South’ For decades, two garden
clubs helmed the tours.
But now, with an Instagram campaign and Facebook ads, a third organization called Living History Natchez has entered the chat.
“We are not a legacy garden club,” its website makes clear promising “stories long left out.” Pack, who dressed for “Bridgerton,” rather than “Gone with the Wind,” is part of that group.
“The garden clubs, they saved this town,” Pack said, and they continue to do important work “Whoever tasked them with needing to somehow also be digital marketers — that’s asking a lot.”
Pack and her husband are the 15th owners of Holly Hedges, so they’ve had to research the home’s history, with help from the Historic Natchez Foundation compiling a Google document that’s now 70 pages long. Pack had some names of enslaved people who lived there but no photos. So she had those names carved in wood, displaying them on an upstairs wall.
Enslaved people, she repeated, not slaves.
“You know where I learned that little piece of dignity?” she said. “In Natchez, Mississippi.”
On a whim, she and her husband flew to New York to see the film’s premiere at Tribeca, where it went on to win best documentary “I’m not going to lie: I was white knuckling it, …” she said “Not about anything we said but because we’re all worried: How is this sweet town going to look?”
But she found it to be a beautifully filmed ode to an imperfect city and a chance to have a deeper conversation.
Collins, meanwhile, doesn’t expect the documentary to change this town.
But the 61-year-old hopes it will boost business. His old van, dubbed “Precious,” has 260,000 miles on its en-
gine and little cushion left in its seats. Most of the people who fill those seats are baby boomers, in town for mansion tours, and there are fewer of them these days, he said.
Lately though, he’s been adjusting his spiel for the younger adults who are finding him. God gifted him with a “spirit of discernment,” so he reads people’s clothing and body language. The questions behind the questions they ask.
After the cemetery and before the bluffs, Collins paused at a cluster of shotgun houses, where maids and cooks and butlers once lived. But he didn’t have the group exit the van until the tour’s end, at Forks of the Road a patch of land between bustling roads.
From the 1830s to the 1860s, this land was the country’s second-largest slave market, a key piece of the domestic slave trade that made millionaires out of many Natchez residents. Once forgotten, it’s now a National Park Service site Collins’ shadow loomed over a small square of shackles and chains as he told the story of the 1.5 million enslaved people who walked some 800 miles to this site. “That iron,” he said, “is seasoned with flesh and blood.
Dyckman, the visiting marathon runner from New York, tugged on the brim of his cowboy hat. He had been moved by “Natchez,” the movie, buying a book the theater had recommended: “How the Word is Passed” by New Orleans native Clint Smith. Later, when he realized the marathon would bring him within a day’s drive of Natchez, he decided to sign up for Rev’s tour He didn’t stay long in Natchez and didn’t tour any antebellum houses. But before driving back to Jackson, he returned to Forks of the Road. He read the exhibits. He stared at those shackles. He considered the marathon he was about to run “just for fun.” And the next day, as he ran those 26.2 miles, he thought about freedom. Email Jenna Ross at jenna.ross@theadvocate. com.
Tracy ‘Rev’ Collins describes the remnants of the Forks of the Road Slave Market, part of the Natchez National Historical Park, during a tour in Natchez, Miss.
STAFF PHOTOS By SOPHIA GERMER
Signs throughout Natchez, Miss., advertise Spring Pilgrimage, a century-old tradition widely credited with rescuing the city
Hedges, in Natchez Miss.
Deborah Cosey stands outside her home called
Audibelis NOW Offering...
• That’s Right...No Co-Pay!NoExamFee! No AdjustmentFee! If youhavethiscard, youmay qualifyfor free hearing aids! Call today to verifyyour benefits
Report details N.O. jail issues
Sweeping state audit identifies catalog of missteps
BY SOPHIE KASAKOVE Staff writer
Before 10 inmates escaped from New Orleans’ jail last year, deputies had completed fewer than a third of required security checks — one in a catalog of missteps that hampered security and operations, according to a sweeping state audit of the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Teachers asking for higher pay
BY ELYSE CARMOSINO Staff writer
Even as Jefferson Parish teachers push hard for higher wages, they’re unlikely to receive raises this year, district officials say However educators could still see a modest pay bump thanks to a state change.
Teachers say their current salaries aren’t enough to keep up with the cost of living, adding that they’ve earned better compensation by helping drive the district’s recent academic improvements.
“If what we do is so important, the least you could do is a 5 or 10% raise,” said Kimberly Rutherford, a teacher at Emmett Gilbert Elementary “Show that you appreciate what we do.”
But School Board members argue there isn’t enough money for recurring raises as the school system grapples with declining enrollment and rising costs. Last month, the board voted down a plan to raise teacher and support staff pay up to 10%, with board member Clay Moise saying such a raise “is not possible” considering Jefferson’s other expenses.
“Managing a school system of our size is not simply a matter of providing our teachers with a competitive compensation package,” he said at an April 1 meeting.
As the school year draws to a close, teachers could still see their pay increase in the form of a statewide constitutional amendment that will go before voters next month. If it passes, it will give Louisiana teachers and support staff $2,000 and $1,000 raises, respectively
While the amendment would provide some financial relief, advocates say it wouldn’t change the imbalance between Jefferson Parish and other districts that already pay their teachers more.
“Surrounding parishes are beating us by thousands,” Jefferson Federation of Teachers President Sandra Hauer said Jefferson Parish students have improved considerably in recent years.
In 2024, the district earned its first B rating from the state in a decade, and its number of F-rated schools fell from 10 in 2018 to zero last year District officials have attributed the gains to teachers’ hard work.
“There are so many great things going on in our district,” Hauer said. “The only thing lacking right now is pay.”
The last time teachers received a substantial raise was in 2019,
The report, released Wednesday by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s Office at local and state officials’ request, also found that sheriff’s deputies routinely reported working off-duty details at the same time as their standard shifts potentially violating state laws against payroll fraud.
The audit highlights the momen-
tous task ahead of Sheriff-elect Michelle Woodfork as she prepares to lead the jail in May She has promised to address the security breakdowns, staffing issues and financial problems that have plagued Sheriff Susan Hutson.
The audit also comes as an 89bed, $92 million mental health wing at the jail is nearing completion, though the department has no clear plan for how to staff it.
Woodfork declined to comment on the audit or her plan for the issues it highlights. A spokesperson said she was traveling.
Hutson’s office, in a 32-page written response to the report, said limited staffing hobbled the Sheriff’s Office’s ability to follow its own rules. The office has launched its own investigation into deputies
logging impossible hours.
“While we appreciate the work of their team and concur with some of the findings in the report, there are also several points we strongly dispute,” added Hutson in a statement Friday “We encourage the public to review those responses and draw their own conclusions.”
Then-state Rep. Jason Hughes and then-City Council member at-large Helena Moreno requested the report not long after the
Water you waiting for
ABOVE: Powerboats race across Lake Pontchartrain as sailboats move in the background, as seen from the West End boat launch during the second annual New Orleans Powerboat Grand Prix on Sunday. The event marked the second stop of the International Hot Rod Association Offshore Series National Championship. LEFT: People watch from the Bonnabel Boat Launch.
ä See more on 2B
Colorado college a leader in hurricane science
Above-sea-level school a trusted source for La. residents
BY KASEY BUBNASH Staff writer
Located in a landlocked town about 5,000 feet above sea level and an hour’s drive from the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, Colorado State University is often subject to freezing temperatures and snowy winters.
But it’s certainly never taken a direct hit from a hurricane. Yet ahead of each Atlantic hurricane season for the past 40 years, researchers at CSU have issued painstakingly detailed forecasts for the coming months, predicting everything from the number and intensity of hurricanes that will form to where exactly they might hit land.
The university issued its first and really the first ever seasonal forecast in 1984. Since then, its comprehensive seasonal predictions have garnered global recognition, becoming synonymous with those issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other climate agencies around the world. It’s a trusted source that Louisianans look to each spring while mentally preparing for the upcoming season. “It is a bit of a head scratcher if you’re just sort of the average layperson and you’re reading these headlines about, ‘Colorado State? Hurricanes?’” said Paul Miller, an associate professor of coastal sciences at LSU. “Shouldn’t they do mountains or blizzards or something?”
But Miller said the renown is well-deserved. Boasting a toprated, 61-year-old atmospheric science department with research areas ranging from cloud microphysics to machine learn-
said
STAFF PHOTOS By BRETT DUKE
JEFFERSON PARISH
PHOTO PROVIDED By COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITy Researchers work in Colorado State University’s hurricane lab ä See JAIL, page 2B
LEFT: A powerboat driver gives a thumbs-up to the crowd in Metairie during the second annual New Orleans Powerboat Grand Prix on Lake Pontchartrain on Sunday The event marked the second stop of the International Hot Rod Association Offshore Series National Championship. It featured high-speed powerboat and jet ski races on the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain.
BELOW: Powerboats run side by side during a pace lap.
STAFF PHOTOS By BRETT DUKE
UNSINKABLE MOOD
JAIL
Continued from page 1B
jailbreak, which triggered a multistate, five-month search All 10 inmates have since been recaptured
The state Attorney General’s Office also launched its own investigation after the jailbreak, which is still ongoing. Attorney General Liz Murrill said Friday that the issues Auditor Mike Waguespack’s team flagged were “of obvious concern.”
The state auditor found that security at the 1,438-bed facility was compromised due to infrequent jail inspections and compliance checks in the lead-up to the jail break.
According to the Sheriff’s Office policy guards are supposed to conduct cell-by-cell checks at least every 30 minutes to ensure that each inmate is “physically present and safe.” But the auditor’s review of security inspection forms found that just 2,700 out of more than 9,000 security checks were documented as being performed.
Separate required inspections of security and other equipment were not completed for the section of the jail where the escape occurred on either the day before or the morning of the escape.
The Sheriff’s Office said that it “acknowledges the importance of security checks and inspections” but noted that staffing vacancies — now at 47%— have forced the jail to regularly leave posts vacant, limiting checks.
Auditors also said the office’s reserve funds should have been tapped to “perform necessary
jail security maintenance.” The Sheriff’s Office ended 2024 with a $14 million fund balance, primarily bolstered by upticks in federal grants, property taxes, and leases.
Hutson said in June that the reserve funds, which at that time were estimated at $8 million, were already tied up. Hutson has repeatedly sought additional funding from the City Council to address security and maintenance issues.
Double-dipping?
Sheriff’s deputies routinely reported working standard shifts while also clocking in on off-duty details, according to the audit, potentially in violation of state laws aimed to combat payroll fraud.
Between January 2022 and May 2025, auditors found that 179 deputies roughly a quarter of the Sheriff’s Office’s 685-person staff as of December — reported working overlapping shifts more than 1,300 times.
“Weak detail controls could contribute to staffing-related issues at the jail since the deputies who are supposed to be at the jail may not always be there when scheduled,” the report stated.
Auditors also identified more than 10,500 instances where employees’ combined time between the Sheriff’s Office and detail shifts exceeded the office’s limit of 16 hours of work in a 24-hour period.
Working such long hours could lead to “declined performance at OPSO and possible safety issues,” auditors wrote.
The Sheriff’s Office has launched an internal investigation into “allegations of ‘double-dipping’” as
a result of the audit, officials said, and the office has begun implementing an electronic detail management software.
The audit also found that the Sheriff’s Office payroll costs increased by more than half, from $30.1 million in 2022 to $46.7 million in 2025, in part due to increased overtime costs.
The number of Sheriff’s Office employees only increased by 8.6%. during that time, while the inmate population increased by 46.6%.
The audit also found that the Sheriff’s Office lost 650 employees either voluntarily or involuntarily during those years. The Sheriff’s Office has the lowest starting pay rate of any sheriff’s office in southeastern Louisiana parishes, according to the report.
Spending questions
Auditors also raised red flags about the Sheriff’s Office’s management of its funding and contracts.
The office’s expenditures increased by nearly 40% between 2022 to 2024, from around $59 million to around $82 million largely due to increased spending on contracts and supplies.
The spending came even as the Sheriff’s Office “did not have any written purchasing policies prior to June 2025, including standard operating procedures to ensure purchases were made in compliance with public bid law,” the audit found. A new purchasing policy officials said was implemented in June still had not been approved by the sheriff as of December
The Sheriff’s Office also does not have a contract management system or an employee responsible for
managing contracts, said auditors, who identified contracts without required supporting documentation and large payments with no corresponding contract.
The office also racked up late fees on vendor invoices and credit cards, totaling more than $19,000 paid in fees and interest between June 2022 and November 2025. The report stated the Sheriff’s Office’s 38-year-old primary accounting and financial system prevents it from generating basic financial reports and operating efficiently
The office’s procurement practices may have violated state public bid law last year when the Sheriff’s Office obtained multiple quotes to replace cell door locks from one company, instead of seeking quotes from other vendors.
Sheriff’s Office leaders said that the office “acknowledges the importance of maintaining formalized policies and procedures governing procurement, contracting, and financial operations” but defended its bidding process for the locks under emergency procurement rules.
Auditors also said some jail expenses could be cut to prioritize other needs at the jail, including more than $3 million spent on vehicle leases, repairs, and expenses between January 2022 and January 2026.
In that number is more than $1.3 million spent on 30 Dodge Durangos in November. As of March, only five of those vehicles had been assigned to staff because the office didn’t have money to prepare the other vehicles for officer use, according to the report.
TEACHERS
Continued from page 1B
when Jefferson Parish voters approved a property tax increase that boosted beginning salaries by $5,000.
In 2024, residents shot down another millage hike that would have raised certified teacher salaries by $8,300. The school system instead funded a $2,500 pay boost that same year, bringing starting salaries for certified teachers to $53,000.
But educators say their compensation isn’t competitive with nearby districts like St Charles, where salaries start at $63,000, or Plaquemines, where they start at $60,000. As a result, some say they’ve been forced to take on second jobs to make ends meet.
“Gas was almost $4 a gallon last week, and I work 35 minutes away from my school,” said Rutherford, the teacher at Emmett Gilbert Elementary, who teaches summer school to help cover her expenses. “It’s rough out here with inflation.”
Funded raises unlikely
District leaders say raises are unlikely this year under current budget constraints, arguing that Jefferson isn’t comparable to smaller, wealthier districts with less diverse student populations and more tax revenue.
Board members pointed to the district’s aging facilities, its high population of English language learners who require extra support and the cost of transporting thousands of students to school as competing priorities for the district’s limited funds.
Sarah Caruso, the district’s chief financial officer, said during the April board meeting that Jefferson Parish must prioritize maintaining its good financial standing. Substantially raising teacher salaries without a designated funding stream would put the school system’s good bond rating in jeopardy, she explained.
“There’s only so much we can do with the budget that we have,” said Superintendent James Gray, adding that additional expenditures would require “significant cuts.”
Could it still happen?
A statewide salary increase is still possible.
But while pay hikes from the upcoming constitutional amendment vote on May 16 would help ease teachers’ financial burdens, a statewide raise wouldn’t address Jefferson’s pay disparities.
At the local level, a substantial teacher pay raise would probably require another millage like the one passed in 2019, board members said. The board is unlikely to push for that this year with elections looming in November, said former board member Larry Dale, calling it “political suicide” for board members up for reelection to seek tax increases during an election year
Dale said there is a silver lining. The best time to pass a millage is during the “honeymoon phase,” after an election, he said, making a millage proposal — and locally funded teacher raises — more likely next year
“Everyone wants teacher raises,” Dale said. “But the devil is in the details.”
Continued from page 1B
“If we can hang with Colorado State, we’re feeling pretty good about it,” he said.
A pioneer of forecasting
Gray wasn’t the first person to analyze the many large-scale environmental factors that fuel tropical cyclones, and he wasn’t the first to attempt to predict how much tropical activity a season would bring.
“But he was really the first person to take it, run with it and then turn it into a publicly disseminated forecast,” Miller said. CSU issued its first forecast, authored by Gray, 14 years before NOAA’s first came out in 1998. Seasonal predictions are par for the course now but CSU hurricane researcher
Phil Klotzbach said that before Gray came along, hurricanes were lumped in with other weather events — and you can’t forecast most weather six months ah ea d of time. This, of course, was long before computer models and satellite imaging changed the game forever. Meteorology in general is still a relatively new field. Klotzbach said weather forecasting gained prominence during World War II, when the predictions were used to help forces on both sides better plan for attacks. D-Day in particular, when forecasters with the Allied forces predicted a break in bad weather that allowed for the surprise invasion of France, is often
cited as a pivotal moment in meteorological history
activity
While there’s still disagreement among experts about how large a role the forecast played in that critical battle, Klotzbach said it got people’s attention, sparking interest among younger generations, including people like Gray
Shortly after graduating from college in 1952, Gray served as a weather forecast officer in the Air Force and later joined renowned hurricane researcher Herbert Riehl at the newly formed Department of Atmospheric Science at CSU in 1961.
It was another two decades before Gray would issue his first seasonal hurricane forecast, by which time Gray had made a name for himself in the field. By then, Klotzbach said he didn’t care much what his peers thought about attempts to forecast tropical
“He already had a fair amount of street cred by that point,” Klotzbach said.
“He didn’t really have fear.”
Gray’s fingerprints all over the hurricane world stretch well beyond the seasonal forecasts. He’s credited with identifying the connection between El Niño and lower hurricane activity in the Atlantic, and he advised 70 master’s and Ph.D. students over his long academic career, many of whom, including Klotzbach, went on to become titans in tropical meteorology research.
But, Klotzbach said, Gray and CSU are best known for the seasonal forecast — “for better or worse.”
No storm surge here
CSU researchers study storms in both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, and Klotzbach said Gray used to joke that Colorado was
splitting the difference.
Plus, as Gray used to say, “the storm surge can’t get you at 5,000 feet.”
But in reality, satellites and other tools have made it possible to study storms without going out into the field, according to Eric Maloney, a CSU professor and head of the Department of Atmospheric Science
“A lot of the study of tropical meteorology occurs with tools where you don’t necessarily need to be in the tropics,” Maloney said, though he added that researchers like to get out in the field whenever possible Maloney himself has been out on research trips in the Maldives and Costa Rica. But to Maloney, it’s not that strange that a school in a landlocked state is among the leading hurricane researchers. When it comes to the weather and climate, it’s ultimately all connected. Hurricanes might not di-
rectly impact Colorado, but landlocked states feel the effects of the tropics on a larger scale. That’s partly why CSU’s roughly 200 atmospheric science faculty and students study such a broad range of issues.
“It forges a lot of interesting collaborations at the intersection of weather and climate and air quality,” he said.
Hogs for the Cause BBQ teams break fundraising record
BY IAN McNULTY Staff writer
The weather was brilliant for Hogs for the Cause this year the barbecue was delicious and another record for charitable fundraising was shattered.
Back in 2009, two friends decided to host a pig roast to raise money to help a family in need and were able to give $7,500. This year, the organization that grew from this benevolent impulse brought in $6.65 million.
This weekend saw the 18th annual Hogs for the Cause barbecue cook-off and festival, which drew thousands of attendees and smashed its own fundraising record from the year before by $1.4 million.
For two days, Hogs for the Cause turned the grounds around the University of New Orleans Lakefront Arena into a festive landscape of barbecue, music and good times It was also a showcase of determined generosity and service to others.
The organization supports families dealing with pediatric cancer, and since Becker Hall and Rene Louapre started it with that first pig roast, it has become the most important funder for this work nationally
The teams taking part fuel the giant charity cookoff with the food they serve through the weekend and the money they raise throughout the year. Once again this year, the fundraising champion was team Fleur de Que, which brought in more than $825,000
Carnivore Carnival, a team led by the Shed barbecue restaurant of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, won the top barbecue award There were many other awards and levels of fundraising achievement. Here is how it all shook out for 2026.
Awards
Teams that raises over $300,000: n Fundraising runner-up, March of the Pigs, raised over $375,000
n Fundraising third place, Swine Krewe raised over
Teams that raised over $225,000
n Bark & Bite BBQ
n The Boars Nest
n Hoggystyle n Hogwatch
Teams that raised over $200,000
n 2nd Hand Smokers
Teams that raised over $150,000 n Morten Andersen’s Mul-
n River Pork Pilots
n WooTay BBQ
Teams that raised over $125,000
n Deswine Intervention
n Deuce Pigalow Pork Gigolo
n Glazed & Confused
n Mr Pigglesworth
Teams that raised over $100,000 n Captain Porkenheimer
n Mr Pig Stuff
n Piggy Stardust
n Porkbelly Cartel
Teams that raised over $90,000
n Irish Brew BBQ
n Mazant National
n Sir Pork-A-Lot
Teams that raised over $80,000
n Chew Forks Farms
n Hog Addiction n House of Hogs
n Porkchopitoulas
n Porktoberfest
n Smokeshow Cooksquad
n The Hogfather
Teams that raised over $60,000
n Gootee Que
n Lard and in Charge
n Mississippi Bacon Association
n Que Dat
n Sport Porkin’
n The Last Mr Pigg
n The Pig Easy
Teams that raised over $50,000
n Aporkalypse Now
n Carnivore Carnival
n Crescent City Couyons
n Dirty D and the ThunderPigs
n Famous on Instaham
n Hog Dat Nation
n Pig Latin
n PigLit
n Second Line Swine
n Sweet Swine O’ Mine
n That’ll Do Crew
n Three Pig Mafia
In addition to award winners, Hogs for the Cause each year inducts people into its Hog of Fame, recognizing continued dedication and service to the organization. This year’s Hog of Fame inductees are:
n Clint Thibodeaux, Smokeshow Cook Squad
n Tara Clement, Hog Dat Nation
n Kinner Smithers, Hogs for the Cause support staff
n Andrew Broome, Hogs for the Cause support staff
n Kyle Gordon, Chew Forks Farms
n Chelsea Cusimano, The Boar’s Nest
n Brandon Pearce, Bark & Bite BBQ.
Email Ian McNulty at imcnulty@theadvocate. com.
Appeals court sides with Angola in class action
Ruling finds prisoner health care meets standards
BY QUINN COFFMAN Staff writer
A federal appeals court has found that prisoner health care at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola met standards set by the Eighth Amendment, overturning a lower court’s 2023 order that would have required the prison to make certain improvements.
The Department of Public Safety and Corrections had already made many of the improvements sought by prisoners and their advocates during the nearly 11 years since the class-action suit was brought against the state, Judge Edith Hollan Jones, of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, stated in the majority opinion handed down on March 30.
Jones criticized the lower court’s original ruling, which she said did not consider medical care improvements made at Angola before the court issuing its “remedial order” or directions for the DOC to follow to ensure necessary improvements were made.
“The overall result of the district court’s orders, or failure to consider ongoing changes is a mishmash of mandates, some of
which are already rendered obsolete by events,” Jones wrote. She pointed to an electronic medical records management system as one example of improvements made after the district court trial and before the court issued its remedial order months later
A standard of “deliberate indifference” from a prison official is needed in order to constitute an Eighth Amendment violation.
Jones argued in the majority that the indifference must be judged by prison officials’ current attitudes and conduct, not those from 2015.
“The Department of Corrections has always met constitutional standards for health care at Angola and has continually made improvements to both administrative systems and direct care,”
Attorney General Liz Murrill said in reaction to the appeals court ruling. “The Fifth Circuit opinion recognizes and vindicates our repeated efforts to ensure we meet and exceed constitutional standards, which the district court judge simply refused, improperly, to acknowledge. We are grateful that after 12 years we are finally getting the legal recognition that DOC deserved all along.”
Until it’s too late
The case, Parker v Hooper, originally was brought in 2015 by
the Promise of Justice Initiative alongside Disability Rights of Louisiana after the organizations investigated claims of improper medical care at Angola for over a year
The organizations got a class certified of prisoners who had suffered negative health outcomes they blamed partially on contracted medical staff at Angola not taking their concerns seriously
Attorneys for the prisoners argued that many weren’t allowed to see a specialist doctor until their conditions had already deteriorated to the point of being terminal illnesses — including multiple cancer diagnoses that weren’t made until the cancer had already entered a late stage
In one example, a 50-year-old inmate died from a large liver abscess that had been compressing his spinal cord, according to district court records. Before his death, the inmate made seven unanswered requests for medical attention due to back pain. He later became bedridden and incontinent and was found lying on the floor When a doctor did see him, the inmate died within hours.
The district court’s 2023 ruling found the DOC violated the Eighth Amendment as well as the Americans with Disabilities Act. In total, 17 prisoners made up
the original plaintiffs when the class was certified. Samantha Pourciau, senior staff attorney for the Promise of Justice Initiative, said that only three of those prisoners are still at Angola. The rest have either died or been moved to other facilities.
Kentrell Parker, the case’s namesake, still survives, Pourciau said. He was a quadriplegic prisoner at Angola who was granted medical parole to a nursing home after seeking it from the DOC for many years.
“Every day at Angola, our clients are exposed to extreme and preventable health consequences due to the state’s persistent neglect and indifference,” Pourciau said. “As the dissent recognized, this decision undermines the horrifying record of ‘preventable deaths and significantly more unfathomable pain and suffering.’
For example, a 28-year-old man in solitary confinement called for help but was not given treatment until eight hours later when he was found dying on the floor facts the state itself never disputed. We will continue fighting to prevent further atrocities for people who deserve their humanity to be acknowledged.”
Another future trial?
The district court split its original ruling into two parts, with a separate trial for each First, the
judges found the DOC was liable and improvements were needed. Then they ruled on what those improvements would need to be and how they would be made, producing the “remedial order” for Angola to follow
The 5th Circuit’s ruling only took issue with the remedial order and how it was carried out, with much of the majority opinion focusing on how the order didn’t follow guidelines set in the 1996 Prison Litigation Reform Act.
One complaint involved the fact the lower court had ordered Angola to allow three experts — being paid by the state to tour the facility and request records to ensure improvements were made The Prison Litigation Reform Act requires only one expert, who cannot be paid by the state.
“Any court-appointed master will be striking at straw men, needlessly interfering with prison authorities’ duties and running up bills for no constitutional remedial purpose,” Jones said in her majority opinion.
The lower court’s ruling on Angola’s liability wasn’t overturned by the 5th Circuit, however leaving the door open for the class action to return to the district court and for prison advocates to argue that changes at Angola have not fully remedied the issues at hand.
STAFF PHOTO By IAN McNULTy
Teams compete for barbecue and fundraising totals at the Hogs for the Cause barbecue fest and charitable cook-off this past weekend in New Orleans
PHOTO PROVIDED By JOSH BRASTED
Members of the cook-off team Carnivore Carnival celebrate winning the Manning Family Children’s Grand Champion award for their barbecue.
Celebrating Meta data center ignores its implications
The AI data center beingbuilt in Richland Parish is projected to require the equivalent of more than half of all the powerEntergy currently generates for the state of Louisiana,along with huge water needs. The state is goingto give Meta tax breaks that could be worth billions of dollars. We are trusting that Meta will do good things with its 2,000acres of computers and employees using them. Meta was already foundliable for the way in which itsplatforms endangeredchildren No doubt AI can be used for good things, such as makingimprovementsinmedicine,but the potential for dangerous outcomes is real. On Facebook or YouTube, you can already see manydisturbing things generated withAI. Not just impossible interactions between animals, but fake yet very realistic videos of members of Congress accusing officials of crimes, with documentation,during government hearings. Is blurring the line between what is fake and what is real a good thing? What happensafter AI enables an improvementin the fakes until ajury cannot tell whether the video of amurder is real or fake? Is it possible that eventuallyAIwill enablewidespreadidentitytheft andeventhe looting of people’spersonal accounts? After all the money Meta hasmade, have they shown any indication that they have enough? Should we be trusting them after they failed to enact guardrails to protect children?
BRUCE BAIRD NewOrleans
Processing our crawfish in Mexico alabeling issue
While Iappreciate and agree with the Legislature’spushto make sure imported seafood is labeled as such, I’m wondering how we’ll treat our crawfish that are sent to Mexicofor processing Will these be labeled “foreign?” Will there be tariffs placed on them when the whole crustacean reappears at our border as frozen tails?
Anyone figured this outyet?
MARYANN STERNBERG Baton Rouge
Demonstrators rally outsidethe U.S. Supreme Courtasjustices hear oral
President Donald Trumpcan denycitizenship to children borntoparents
Statesillegally or temporarily, on Capitol Hill, in Washington on April1
High courtcan unwind legal thicketinbirthrightcitizenship
On the issue of birthright citizenship, which was heard by theSupremeCourt: Hopefully they will identify and resolve the conflict that exists between immigration law and the14th Amendment,which grants citizenship at birth, as it applies to families. As thelaw currently stands, parents who enter the country illegally are subject to deportation,while their newborn, because of the parents’ illegal entry,isa citizen and cannot legally be deported.This places thegovernment in the unenviable position of legally separating the parentsfrom their child or risk breakingits own law by deporting the child as well.
I’m noattorney,but hypothetically,it seems that under current law,the parents could self-deport and leave behind their
child, who as acitizen would becomeaward of the federal government. Under current law, theparents are legally bound to leave and the child is legally eligible to stay.I know that is an extreme example, because not manyparents would choose to leave their child behind; it illustrates the conflict that currently exists between birthright citizenship and immigration law
Perhaps,because citizenship has certain benefits, it might be argued that granting birthright citizenship tothe child of undocumented parentsiscontrary to lawsthat prevent benefiting from an illegal act. I’m confident that the Supreme Court will figure it out. That’swhy they get the big bucks.
My husband Russell served as chief of police for the town of Dubach for more thana decade. He then took aposition at Louisiana Tech University,where he was covered by astate retirement system. He came back to Dubach in2024 as apatrol officer at $14 an hourbecause he loved his community. Twelvedays later,while conducting atraffic stop, hewas struck by an 18-wheeler and killed. Russell knew what it meanttolose aparent in the line of duty.His father was apolice officer killed in the line of duty before him
In the days, weeks and months following hisdeath, my focus was not on policies, retirementsystems or legal obligations.My focuswas on my children, remembering my husband and simply trying to survive an unimaginable loss. That is still my focustoday The Municipal Police Employees’ Retirement Systemreached out to me more than
cation purposes, but that information is not published. Letters are not to exceed 300 words. Letters to the Editor,The Advocate, P.O. Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588,or email letters@theadvocate.com. TO SEND US ALETTER, SCAN HERE
Agrieving mother’s pleafor gun safety
Guns are everywhere. The Second Amendment protects our right to bear arms. And while I certainly support that, Icannot support reckless gun owners. My son Noahwas 13 when he passed. He had the curliest blond hair and alaugh that came from deep down. Everyone whoknew him loved him
Noah’sdad and Iraised him to respect the dangers of weapons. He began hunting when he was 3. Like mostchildren, he wastaught to never point agun at another person. He also was never able to access agun unsupervised. Ithought all parents were as diligent about gun safety as we were. Ibelieved all parents would lock weapons up. It’s simple to do, so whywouldn’tparents make certain that their families were safe?
ayear later.The town that employed my husband never enrolled him,asthe law required. The sametown he had served as chief. He was not protected. Iwas not protected.MPERS is now doing what the law requires them to do —ensuring that the benefits owed to my family are provided.
New OrleansMayor Helena Moreno calls what MPERS is doing bullying. From where Istand, this is not bullying —itisaccountability.Itisthe law being upheldafter it was not followed.
Every officer who puts on abadge deserves to know that if the worst happens, his family will receive the monthly lifetime benefits the law promises —and will not have to wait more than ayear to learn that his employer never enrolled him in the first place. That is not bullying. That is the law
JENNIFER CROXTON Dubach
Artemis’ wonderscan’t distract us from ugly reality
Fifty-six yearsago, Iwas achild looking up into the afternoon sky as Apollo 11 landed on themoon,hoping for avisible sign. It seemed anything was possible. That night, I watched blurry moonwalkers plant aflag on the surface of themoon they came to for all mankind. Last week, Iwas flipping back and forth between two webpages. Onewas showing me thefar sideofthe moon, never before seen by thehuman eye. The other was showing me threats from thepresident of the United Statestowipe outa civilization and sendthe peopleofIran back to theStoneAge. The sentiment was accentuated with curse words. My childhood optimismhas been replaced by aconflicting reality Icannot resolve.
JANE GOODMAN
Baton Rouge
On Dec.30, 2011, Noahwas accidentally shot and killed by his friend. There wereseveral guns in this child’sbedroom, unlocked. In asplit-second bad decision, Noahbecame astatistic. From my heart, Icannot blamethe foolish decision of achild. My son’s death is because of the shooter’s parents. It wastheir responsibility to keep him safeintheir care. If they had kept their guns out of reach, Imight not wake up every day to the horrible reality that Noahisgone. Nothing has changed since Noah’sdeath. Since 2015, more than 68 people in Louisiana have been shot and killed by children. Just recently,an8-year-old in Baton Rouge accidentally killed her 10-year-old sister.But our state has an opportunity to protect children. House Bill 586 by state Rep. Vincent Cox makes it illegal to allow achild to access agun. Please, let’smake our state safer Please tell Noah’sstory to all who will listen. And please, lock up your guns.
ASHLYN CARRAWAY Plaquemine
In hiring coaches Will Wade andLane Kiffin, LSUbetrays totallackofintegrity
The LSU football and basketball situation is adisgrace. Idon’tblame Lane KiffinorWill Wade. Iblame the so-called leadership at LSU. Anything to win. Hire afootball coach whowalked out on his team at the start of ahistoric playoff run. Then, hire abasketball coach whopractically destroyed the same program that you just hired him to lead. Obviously,the LSU board, president and athletic director have no moral compass and no guiding principles. Just win, no matter what you have to do or whoyou have to hire. Ihope they are investing as much money in the academic programs at LSU. Idoubt the board, president and AD care about the engineering department as much as football and basketball. The so-called leaders at LSU should take alook in the mirror and ask themselves if this is what they want. If it is, LSU has deeper problemsthan we realize.
PAUL HASNEY Metairie
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MARIAM ZUHAIB
arguments on whether
whoare in the United
PROVIDED PHOTO
The Artemis II crewcaptured thisimageofthe Orientale basin, around crater with ablack patch in the center,onthe Moon during a lunar flyby.
Rescuedrecipes area link to life before Holocaust
Alon Shaya GUEST COLUMNIST
During my lifetime, whether at home or in my restaurants, I’vecome to believe the most powerful stories that end up staying with you aren’tdelivered by spokenword; they’reexperienced around adining room table. With afork and knife in hand, you preparetofeel something intimate. Your entire body becomes thesetting Aromas drift through the air in shifting currents. Sounds, from afar to between your teeth, fill your ears and demand an emotional response. Textures from crispytosoft, and temperatures from frozen to steaming,create lasting pathwaysto memory that nopointof view can everreach as deeply If you want to teach alesson,ortell a story that you hope lasts, share ameal with someone. The body becomes a sponge, absorbing the lessons of the past while the future waitsjustahead, ready for your mind to enter Over the past several years, I’ve begun ajourney that has become some of the most meaningful work of my life. I’ve been cookingrecipes from afamily cookbook rescued from Steven Fenves’ home in 1944, as his family was being sent to Auschwitz. We’ve raised close to $1 million for the UnitedStates HolocaustMemorial Museum by hosting intimate dinners acrossthe country to tell astory —one of heroism,horrorand food. Theheroine wasMaris, theFenves family’scook, who had the bravery and foresight to save Steven’s mother’shandwritten recipe collection from the kitchenastheir neighbors looted their home. The horror was life under the Nazis, from beginning to end. And the food was memory.Memory of afamilygathered at thetable, sharing ameal in away so many of us take for granted. At these dinners, which we call Rescued Recipes, Iwatch people gather; children,teenagers, young andold, filling their plateswhile reconnecting with something in their own lives.As they engage with the gastronomic history of aHolocaust survivor’sstory,I see more than astory being told. Isee feeling take shape and memory born. That perspective carries even greater weight as our communityobserves Holocaust Remembrance Day,orYom HaShoah.
Urchin salad,with peppers, tomatoes and cucumber,isone of the pre-war family recipes brought back to life by aproject from chef Alon Shaya and Holocaust survivor Steven Fenzes.
We are losing first-person accounts every day.Stevenpassed just last December,and we now carry theresponsibility of ensuring our children never forget.Six million Jews were murdered. Millions more were persecuted. Millions of non-Jews were killed for opposing the fascist regime These facts are essential, buthow will we continue to teach them? What does it mean to teach Holocaust history through food? Acrust of breadshared in secret. Agrandmother’sreciperemembered but never written down.A holiday meal reimagined from scraps. That may be where our minds go first when asked. Thoughall true, they are just part of astory andnot reflective of the whole. Anormal Tuesday night dinner in 1938, asimple breakfast before seeing the children off to school in 1940. A family,talkingabout their day,inthe flickering shadows of Shabbat candles in thedining room.
June Hersh and Iset out to capture these stories for an upcoming cookbook. After years of research and conversations withHolocaust survivors and World WarIIheroes, we found the mostpowerful moments in people’s memories were not only about the worst parts of thewar,but about daily life before it.
Perhaps asimple bowl of oatmeal drizzled withFrench honey,handrolled Polishdumplings or asucculent chocolate cake from anearly century-old recipe still carries lessons we can use today.Lessons of family values and our innate ability to inspire change in the world through good deeds. Toooften, we get caught up in theprecision of cooking, or the absence of it, and lose sight of the essence of the meal, the storyline. How we not only nourish our bodies, but how we sustain our spirit
Andthat mattersnow more than ever Hatred and division have not only endured since thelast world war; they’ve accelerated at the speed of the internet and caused harm in every facet of life. Even food has not escaped. The simple act of gathering to eat and drink to celebrate culture, practice religion or just have lunch can be weaponized. We may experience this anger moreoften in thecomments section than on street corners, but it happens there too and inflicts pain on all. Every time we set thetable, we are given achoice. Food can heal. It can teach.Itcan connect. Let’sremember that this year on YomHaShoah.
AlonShayaischef and co-founder of Pomegranate Hospitality, which includes Saba, Safta’s Table and Miss River
ArtemisII, socialismhavethisincommon
Coffin nails andthe habit that defies burial
In the 1950s, whenhalf of American adults smoked, many freshmen unpacking at college were greeted by upperclassmen paid by tobacco companies to distribute free cigarettes. In 1964, the U.S. surgeon general said smoking causes lung cancer.Most people, however,had long intuited that inhaling smoke from aburning plant is unhealthy.In a1906 O. Henry short story,acharacter asks, “Say,sport, have you gota coffin nail on you?”
To enhance the credibility of the 1964report, five of the 10 members chosen for the committeethat wrote it were smokers. In her “The Cigarette:A Political History” (2019), Sarah Milov wrote that the committee“convened in aroom at the National Library of Medicine. The air was thick with smoke and the table covered in papers and ashtrays.”
Until the mid-20th century,smoking seemed sophisticated and glamorous. When it became perceived as dumb and déclassé, life became more regressive: The broadly educated, information-acquiring middle class heeded public health warnings, others not so much. Now, because learning, like everything else, is perishable, smoking is making a mild comeback.
During the pandemic, whenhealth fearsleft isolated people with time on their hands, some picked up cigarettes. The COVID-era smoking surge abated, but now some celebritiesare lighting up. (Perhaps celebrity really does subtract from intelligence.) And more smoking is appearing in movies. (Perhaps the surgeon general should label Hollywood carcinogenic.) This is an era in which, depressingly,“influencer” is an actual job/career category
The writer and professor Katie Roiphe surmises (in The Wall Street Journal) that “in this era of wellness obsession, of kale salads and Pilates, people who are recklessly hedonistic, who choose pleasure over health, still have acertain kind of glamour.” There now are so few norms to transgress, for some aspiring renegades smoking must suffice
Another Roiphe speculation: For young people, “the terribleness of everything” —schoolshooters, climate change, the price of eggs, everything —suggests: Why not “a little stylish self-destruction?” Perhaps teaching middle-schoolers thattheyare destined to die on aboiling planet is agateway to smoking.
The health care sector is 18% of the U.S. economy and rising, partly because of known risky behavior, such as eating grilled cheese sandwiches, and smoking. At aSt. Louis hospital in 1919, adoctor summoned some medical students to an autopsy,saying the deceased’sdisease was so rare they might not see it again in their lifetimes. It was lung cancer. One of the students later wrote that he did notsee another case until 1936. Then he saw nine in the next six months.
Technological progress, war and the emancipation of womenchanged things. Manufacturing coffin nails wasa cottage industry until acigarettemaking machine was inventedin1881, making smoking muchcheaper.Cigarettes, freeora nickel apack, were aperk of soldiering during two world wars and Korea. Womenaswell as meninErnest Hemingway’s1926 novel “The Sun Also Rises” smoke constantly
Cal Thomas
Watching the enthusiasm, especially among people younger than me, over the Artemis II mission around the moon, recalled that the last men to land on the lunar surface did so in December 1972. Twogenerationshave beenbornsince then and for them the excitement of apowerful rocket and the danger involved in such amission is something new This is about to come true with socialism as it is being imposed in New York City by Major Zohran Mamdani,its longtime American “prophet,” Sen. Bernie Sanders,D-Vt., and others in and outofCongress. Many younger people who voted for Mamdani have no idea what socialism looks and feels like. They weren’taround for the Cold War. They neverhad to liveunder socialism. It sounds so “fair,” thedistribution of wealth to others whohave not earned it; wealth that wascreated by capitalism, which in their schools and among their Instagram-using friends they have come to hate, but don’tknow why.Yet, fornow,theystill benefit from capitalism. Most have never served in our allvolunteer military and in too many instances have been pampered by parents who allow them to liveathome when their degrees in African American or women’s studiesdon’tqualify them for real jobs in an increasingly technologicaleconomy
Younger people (and older ones for different reasons) are thrilled by the Artemis II adventure. They seem unaware of what that earlier space program did to bring Americans together in ways we haven’tseen since theterrorist attack on Sept.11, 2001. Again, another generation has been born since that awful day
As ayoung reporter in Houston,Icovered thespace programinthe late ’60s and early ’70s. It was the product of President John F. Kennedy’s vision to send men to the moon by the end of the 1960s. Those astronauts really were “The Right Stuff,” as TomWolfe labeled them in a book that became ahit movie. Spendingtime in Mission Control, sitting in a simulator, meeting some of theastronauts, including Alan Shepard, John Glenn, DekeSlayton and Jack Lousma, andwatching some of them fly to the moon was thrilling. Though the Vietnam Warraged and demonstrators took to thestreets to protest, theU.S. space program was aunifying force. When Apollo 13 got in trouble (“Houston, we’ve had aproblem”said
Jim Lovell), the three TV networks that had become blasé after previous moon landings at first didn’tcover it. Not until an oxygen tank exploded in theservice module, disabling itselectrical and life-support system. Suddenly,the world was again watching thedramaasitdid when Apollo 11 first landed men on themoon. Even Congress issued astatementcalling for prayer for thesafe return of the astronauts. That might not happen today We’reagain hearing arguments against spending so much money on space missions when the economy is struggling, but we address both. We have before.
It is said that capitalism raises all boats. Socialism sinks them or at least preventsthem from sailing much at all. People —especially younger people —who have never lived under socialism should study it and listen to or read about people who have. As for therenewed space program, exploration is in our blood, and with even newer technologies soon to come, we will be able to go even further than anyone has before. Younger people: put down your phones and learn more aboutspace andsocialism.
Email CalThomas at tcaeditors@ tribpub.com
Today,smokers are usually among society’spariahs, shivering in winter as they puff outside their workplaces. Even though the FatherofOur Country wasaVirginia tobacco farmer,today there are more American ex-smokers than smokers. But cigarette manufacturers still prosper because of what the Economist calls “the counterintuitive economicsof smoking.”
Cigarette companies remain economically healthy because of those smokers who,despite dire probabilities, have not quit and are “price-inelastic” consumers. They are nicotine addicts undeterredby rapid price increases that offset tobacco companies’ volume declines.
Cigarettes are among the world’smost heavily taxed consumer products. Some U.S. state governments are addicted to cigarette tax revenuesand impervious to evidence that at high rates, revenue declines. New York’stax is $5.35 apack. Georgia? Thirty-seven cents. Guess whatstate is alarge source of cigarettes smuggled to New York.
Calculating the net costs of smoking, America’s largest preventable cause of death, is complicated. The costs are in health care, lost productivity from illness and shortened lives, and fire damages. But mortality from smoking reduces spending on smokers’ Social Security,pensions and nursing-home care. Smoking has generated interesting product liability litigation because cigarettesare by now almost universally known to be harmful whenused as intended
“Only” 1in4cancer deaths is from smoking-related causes, but who would board aplane with a25% chance of crashing? And whoeversaid that kissing asmoker is like licking an ashtray might have done more than the surgeon general to discourage smoking.
George Will
PROVIDED PHOTO By RUSH JAGOE
Chef Alon Shaya discusses the work he pursued withHolocaust survivor Steven Fenvestorevivepre-warfamily recipes, the centerpiece of a2023 benefitfor the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum held at the home of Cathyand Morris Bartin NewOrleans.
RoryMcIlroy, celebrates after winning the Masterstournament at the AugustaNational Golf Club on Sunday in Augusta, Ga.McIlroywon hissecond consecutiveMasters title.
MASTERFUL COMEBACK
AUGUSTA, Ga. Rory McIlroy didn’thavehis A-game in the final two rounds of the Masters tournament. It might not have even been his B-minus game. After building aMasters record sixstroke lead after36holes, theNorthern Irishman hithis ball all overeastern Georgia. Left. Right. Water. Woods. He made adouble bogey on the 11th hole Saturday and another one on the fourth hole Sunday. But here he was, at theend of another Masters Sunday,sliding intohis green
jacket for the second straight year,the World No. 2holding off hardcharging World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler by one stroke.
That’swhat great golfers do. Winwhen they aren’tattheir best.And after joining another exclusive golfing club, that’s what McIlroy is: truly one of the greats this ancient game has ever seen. Ayear ago, McIlroy became just the sixth man ever and first European to win
See RABALAIS, page 3C
BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer
Chris Olave rebounded nicely from an injury-plagued2024 season, and Devaughn Vele emerged late in the season as the ballwinner the New Orleans Saints havebeen seeking foryears —yet receiverisstill very much in the mix with the No. 8pickinthe upcoming NFL draft. New Orleans has usedfree agency to shore up some of its offensive shortcomings around quarterback Tyler Shough,signing some of the best available players at guard (David Edwards) and running back (Travis Etienne).But the Saints have not yet added another pass catcher to themix Olave, Vele and tight end Juwan Johnson represent asolid starting point. But beyond them, there are alot of question marks. Former2024 second-rounder Ja’Lynn Polk was an interesting investment,but he missedall of lastseasonwitha shoulder injury and is almost acompleteunknown. Free agent tight end Noah Fant is now onhis fourth team and has been solid, not great,
throughout his career.The rest of the roster is stacked with playerswho should be fighting for roster spots. Three wide receivers in this class figure to be in the mixfor the SaintsatNo. 8, and several others who could make sense on Day 2if NewOrleans goes in adifferent direction with its top pick.
OptionsatNo. 8
Ohio State WR CarnellTate, 6-foot-2, 192: Forget the mini controversy over Tate’s40-yard dash time (4.53 seconds) at theNFL combine;the Ohio Stateproduct can play If his speed was an issue,that’snews to theBuckeyes.Tate averaged better than15 yards percatch in his career,and he caught five touchdowns of 40 or more yards in his final season, when he averaged 17.2 yards
page 4C
Pelicans’ rookie Fears played in all 82 games
BY RODWALKER Staff writer
ä Late-night finale: Pelicans at T-wolves ended after this edition went to press. For complete coverage visit, nola.com
That number zero that Jeremiah Fears wears on his jersey doesn’tjust represent his zero-fears mentality It could also represent thenumberof games he missed this season. The New Orleans Pelicans’ rookie guard doesn’tcare about the load management issue that is sucha hot topic in the NBA. Fears played in his 82nd gameSunday in the season finale against the Minnesota Timberwolves. He became just the 11th player in franchise history to play in all 82 games of aseason and the first since Jonas Valanciunas in the 2023-24 season. Fears, draftedwith the No. 7overall pick in last year’s draft,alsoplayed in all31 games in his one season in college at Oklahoma. He says thelast time he missed a gamewas his freshman year of high school, when he was dealing with abroken thumb.
“Other than that, Iplayedevery AAU game,every college game, everygame my sophomore and junior year (of high school) and obviously this season,” said Fears.
ä See PELS, page 4C
BY REED DARCEY Staff writer
Flau’jae Johnson’sLSU career came to an abrupt, unceremonious conclusion, and she didn’thave much time to sit with the disappointment of that Sweet 16 loss to Duke. Things move quickly forplayers in her position. The ones whowrap up their senior seasons, then quickly turn their focus to the WNBA draft process. Johnson wasonly aweek intoitwhenshe received akey to the city of Baton Rougeinaceremony outside City Hall. That morning, thedraft was only nine days away,and she wastrying to keep up.
“This whole process is crazy,”Johnson said. “It’s like,you’reright into it.I’m doing alot of workouts, training, trying to get ready for training camp, but I’m excited though.” Johnson is widelyexpected to be afirstround pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft, which will begin
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ASHLEy LANDIS
STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD Pelicans guard Jeremiah Fears reacts after scoring a3-pointer against theOrlando Magic on April 5atthe SmoothieKing Center.Fears playedinall 82 games this season.
Gibbsearns firstCup victory
By The Associated Press
BRISTOL, Tenn Outdueling two
NASCAR Cup Series champions for the first victory of hiscareer, Ty Gibbs made an emphatic and emotionalbreakthrough Sunday at Bristol MotorSpeedway
The win came in the 131st Cup start for the grandson of NASCAR Hall of Fame team owner andformer Super Bowl-winning coach Joe Gibbs.
Ty Gibbs also is the sonof the late CoyGibbs,who also helped run his father’steam before unexpectedly dying in his sleeponNov 6, 2022 —the day after his son won the championship in NASCAR’s second-highest division.
Ty Gibbs, 23, moved to the Cup series thenext year and hadmultiple near-misses (runner-upfinishes at Darlington in 2024 and Chicago last year) before reaching victory lane in his fourth season
“This is one of my best experiences,” Joe Gibbs said. “When I think about Coy,hebrought Ty up the entire time. Iknow he’sprobably watching.”
Ty Gibbs interrupted hisgrandfather’spostraceinterview in the pits with ahug.
“This is the man righthere,” said Ty,whose mother,Heather, also is aco-owner of JGR. “I’ve never seen somebody work so hard in my life, him and my mom. Icome to the shopat6 a.m. or 7p.m., andthere’s nobody there, but they are always there. They work their (butts) off. He’sa great role model. Iwouldn’tbehere unlessitwas for him.”
Gibbs led the final 25 laps at Bristol,inheriting first place under caution on astrategy gamble by staying on track in his No. 54 Toyota while Ryan Blaney pitted from the lead along with Kyle Larson, who led arace-high 284 of 505 laps Blaney and Larson both restarted outside the top five, and Gibbs was cruising toward awin before the yellow flew again on the 498th lap to set up the firstovertime restart at Bristolin11years.
Despite Blaney and Larson having tires that werenearly 100 laps fresher,Gibbs fended off thestar drivers on atwo-lap shootout to the checkered flag.
“Honestly,Ididn’treally know or care if Iwas going to win or not,”Gibbs said.“Ithoughtthe racewas awesome. Ireally appreciate always racing RyanBlaney and Kyle, too. Those guysalways run me really well.” Blaney,the 2023 Cup champion who started fromthe pole position, finished second after leading 190 laps in the No. 12 Ford
“Yeah, great battle for sure,” he said. “I fought alot of different cars. Gave it my best shot on the last restart. Wasclose but just couldn’tget it done.”
Larson, the defendingCup Series championwho won the first two stages, finished third and remained winless in thepast32
races with his No. 5Chevrolet TheToyotas of TylerReddick andChase Briscoe rounded out thetop five.
“Super happy for Ty,” Briscoe said of his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate. It’sbeen along time coming. To do it the way he did it,on old tires, to beat thetwo guys that dominatedall daylong, that was impressive.Just super happy for himand thewholefamily.”
Gibbs became the sixth NAS-
CAR driver to earnhis first Cup victory at Bristol, joining Dale Earnhardt (1979), RustyWallace (1986), ErnieIrvan(1990), Elliott Sadler (2001) and Kurt Busch (2002).
“It’s awesome to be with great people,” the younger Gibbs said.
“Tobe in this position is great.I’d love for my father to have seen this.I know he knew it wasgoing
to happen and expected it as well. Yeah,itwas agreat day for us. This is our family,soit’sjust such agreat deal.”
Hendrick woes
While Larson excelled at the front, two of his Hendrick Motorsports teammates were struggling mightily
William Byron started from the rear because of unapproved adjustments to his No. 24 Chevrolet, which hadsteering problems in practice and qualifying Saturday Byron, whohas ledatevery active track but Bristol, was off thepace fromthe startand finished five laps down.
Returning from missing four races because of vertigo, Alex Bowman started 27thand finished last after being involved in amulticar crash startedbyShane van
in
Gisbergen.
“I wasfine, just afrustrating day,”Bowman said. “Thought we wereOKinpractice andthen obviously qualified bad and then just really struggled with the handling today.Bummer.Hatethat we didn’tget achancetoworkon it and makeitbetter and finish the race,but it’skindofoutsideour control. When you run that bad, stuff can happen,and it happened to us.”
Up next
The NASCAR Cup Serieswill race April19atKansas Speedway,the first of three consecutive tracks 1.5 miles andlonger. Hendrick Motorsports has won three of the past four races at Kansas with Kyle Larson andChase Elliott winning last year at the oval in Kansas City,Kansas.
IowaState’sMomcilovic will declare for NBA draft AMES,Iowa— Milan Momcilovic, Iowa State’sleading scorer and the nation’smost accurate 3-point shooter,will enter the transfer portal and declare for the NBA draft while maintaining his college eligibility,heannounced on social media Sunday Momcilovic averaged 16.9 points per game and shot 48.7% on 3s this past season, making anation-leading136 on 279attempts. He started 101 of his 102 games and averaged 13.2 points and shot 42.8% on 3s in three seasons forthe Cyclones. Momcilovic said he would turn his focus to the draftbut leftopen the possibility of playing at another college. Underclassmen can maintain their eligibility by hiring an NCAA-certifiedagent,receiving an evaluationfromthe NBA undergraduate advisory committee and withdrawing from the draftbyMay 27 at 11:59 p.m.EDT
Orioles’ Eflin aims for 2027 returnafter surgery
BALTIMORE— Zach Eflin is looking forward to 2027, less than aweek after having Tommy John surgery on his 32nd birthday He left his March 31 season debut after striking outseven and allowing onerun in 32/3 innings against Texas. He had elbow reconstruction surgery Wednesday “I’m in alot better spot than Iwas aweek, aweek and ahalf ago,” Eflin said Sunday.“Iknew something happened on the field. Really felt like my heart was ripped out of my chest. Iwas going through so much this offseasontocomebackontimeand I honestlynever felt better in my career before.”
Blue Jays put DH Springer on 10-day injuredlist
TORONTO— The Toronto Blue Jays put designated hitter George Springer on the 10-day injured list Sunday because of afractured left big toe and selected Eloy Jiménez from Triple-A Buffalo. Springer fouled aball off his foot in the third inning of Saturday’s 7-4 loss to Minnesota. He finished the at-bat, but was replaced by Myles Straw in the sixth. Springer went 0for 1with awalk and scored arun Saturday.He’s batting .185 with two homers and six RBIsin14games. Springer wasabig part of Toronto’s run to the 2025 World Series, hitting .309 with 32 homers and 89 RBIs in theregular season. He also hit the decisive homer in Game 7 of the ALCS against Seattle.
Father of wheelchair racingHall dies at 74
BOSTON BobHall, achildhood polio survivor whobecame known as the father of wheelchair racing aftertwice winningthe Boston Marathon and then going on to build racing chairs forthe generations of competitors that followed, has died. He was74.
By The Associated Press
MONACO Jannik Sinner beat defending champion Carlos Alcaraz 7-6 (5), 6-3 on Sunday to win the Monte CarloMastersfor thefirst time and reclaim the No. 1ranking from his biggest tennis rival. “The result is amazing,” Sinner said. “Getting back to No. 1means alot for me.” Four-time Grand Slam champion Sinner metseven-time major winner Alcaraz in their ninth final in what is often called the “Sincaraz” rivalry Sinner trimmed Alcaraz’sheadto-head leadto10-7 in clinching his 27th career title overall and his first Masters title on clay.The 24-year-oldItalianwill return to No. 1inthe ATPrankings on Monday Sinner rallied from 3-1down in the second set amidblustery conditions at the Monte CarloCountry Club and served out the match, clinching it on his first match point when Alcaraz returned a forehand long.
ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By REBECCA BLACKWELL Jannik Sinner of Italy,shown returning aball against Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic in the men’ssingles final at the Miami Open on March 29,defeated Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday at the Monte CarloMasters.
achieving right now,” Alcaraz said. “Congratulationsfor everything.”
Sinner dropped to his knees after Alcaraz’sshot landed out and then joggedovertocelebratewith his box.
TheBoston AthleticAssociation saidonSundaythatHall’sfamily confirmed his death after an illness. In 1975, Hall convinced Boston Marathonorganizers to lethim into the race and was promised a finishers’ certificate like the one the runners got if he completed the26.2-mile distance in under3 hours. (In 1970, Vietnam Warveteran EugeneRoberts,who hadlost both of his legs in the war, needed morethan six hours to finish.) Hall crossed the line in 2:58.
Bridges extends NBA’s longestactivestreak
“It was abit windy,abit breezy Different conditions from what
“I felt abit tired, so Itriedto keep the right mentality,”Sinner said. “Havingthis trophy meansa lot to me.” It was Sinner’sthird titleofthe year after sweeping IndianWells and Miami —also winning those finals in straight sets —tobecome only the fourth mantoreach the final at the first three Masters of theseason. Sinner joined tennis great Novak Djokovic (in 2015) as the only one to win the first three Masters tournaments. Alcaraz’stwo titles this year include the Australian Open, where the22-year-old Spaniard became theyoungest man to win all four tennis majors. He produced astunning comeback to beat Sinner in last year’s French Open final, then lost the WimbledonfinaltoSinnerbefore beatinghim again in the U.S. Open final. Sinner
the tournament has brought,” Sinnersaid. “I am very happy to win abig title on this surface, Ihaven’t done it beforeand it means alot to me.”
Alcaraz had won his last 17 matches on clay but struggled Sunday with45unforced errors. However,hepraised Sinner “It is impressive what you are
NEW YORK MikalBridgeshad anothershort night to extend the NBA’s longest active streak of consecutive games played, logging 23 seconds in the New York Knicks’ gameagainstCharlotte on Sunday That made it 638 consecutive games forBridges, whohas never missedone in his pro career.He recently moved past Andre Miller forthe eighth-longest streak in NBAhistory Bridgeswas the only Knicks starter to play with the team locked into the No. 3seed in the Eastern Conference. Coach Mike Brown said he would only allow the guard to play long enough to extend the streak, and reserve Jordan Clarkson was already walking to the scorer’stable to replace him even before theopeningjump ball. Five NBAplayers had streaks of more than 700games, ledbyA.C Green’s1,192.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOByWADE PAyNE
Ty Gibbs celebrates after winning aNASCARCup Series race on Sunday in Bristol, Tenn.
MASTERS
TWICEASNICE
McIlroygoes back-to-back at theMasters
BY DOUG FERGUSON AP golf writer
AUGUSTA, Ga Rory McIlroy
joined more elite company Sunday at the Masters when he pulled away with apair of birdiesaround Amen Corner and, as usual, saved alittle drama for the end before takinghis place in AugustaNational history as only the fourth back-to-back champion.
In afinal round where three players had atwo-shot lead,McIlroy seized control for good with a bold shot over Rae’s Creek to 7feet for birdie on the par-312th. Then he blistered a350-yarddrive on thepar-5 13th that setupanother birdie to move three shots ahead.
There were afew dicey moments, includinga shot overthe par-3 16th green that requiredhim to use the slope to get in close for par,having to get up-and-down for par on the 17th and awild drive on the18th that woundupcloserto the 10th fairway.
He tapped in for bogey and a 1-under 71 for aone-shot victory over Scottie Scheffler
Ayear ago, his playoff victory over Justin Rose made McIlroy only the sixth player with the career Grand Slam. With another green jacket, McIlroy joined Tiger Woods, Nick Faldo andJack Nicklaus as the only repeat winners of the Masters.
“I just can’tbelieve Iwaited17 years to getone greenjacket, and Iget two in arow,” McIlroy said.
“I think all of my perseveranceat this golf tournament over the years has really started to pay off. It was atough weekend. Idid the bulk of my work on Thursday and Friday “But just so, so happy tohang in there and get the job done.
McIlroy stood tall when he
BY SCOTT RABALAIS Staff writer
AUGUSTA,Ga.—Collin Morikawa wasn’t sure he would be able to play in the Masters tournament at all this week,much less play well.
Morikawa suffered backspasms last month at The Players that forced him to withdraw from that tournament and continued to plague him coming into this one. But Morikawa pieced his way throughthe week and after an opening 74, shooting 69-68-68 over thefinal threerounds to finish at 9-under par 279. Morikawa tied for seventh placewith former LSUAll-American Sam Burns
“This blew by any expectations Ihad for the week,” the two-time major winner said. “Honestly,for me, Iwas just trying to survive each day,wake up, do theprep I needed to do, and go and teeoff.
“I didn’tknow how uncomfortable it was goingtobe, but we managed to get through all 18 (holes Sunday) and all 72. I’m
RABALAIS
Continued from page1C
the career grand slam —the Masters, U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championship —joining Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, GaryPlayer, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. This year,he becomes just the fourth back-toback winner in Masters history, joining Nicklaus, Woods andNick Faldo.
Cervantes wrote in Don Quixote, “Tell me your company,and Iwill tell you what you are.” The company McIlroy keeps onthose two lists tells you agreat deal about his talent as aplayer, even if that talent looked alittle wobbly at times over the past two days withall thosewayward shots.
“Tothe volunteers,” McIlroy said during his green jacket ceremony speech, “I made you work overtime this week to clear alot of patrons out of the way,because Ihit it in alot of
tappedinthe final putt to finish at 12-under 276. There wasnorelief like last year of going 17 years trying to winthe Masters. This was pure joy. Andfor thefirst time since 2002 when Woods went backto-back,itwas up to theAugusta Nationalchairman, Fred Ridley, to help him into the green jacket.
“Itstill fits, which is nice,” McIlroy saidatthe trophy presentation
President Donald TrumpcongratulatedMcIlroy on social mediaasheflew back to Washington from Florida.
“With each year,Rory is becoming more and more aLEGEND!”
Trump wrote.McIlroy’snexttournament is likely to be the Cadillac Championship in twoweeks at TrumpDoral outside Miami.
It was more heartache for Rose, andfrustration for the others who had achance.
Rose had atwo-shot lead that
MASTERSNOTEBOOK
going to remember this onefor many reasons.”
Burnsreturns
Though he wouldhave preferred alifetimeinvitation that comes with the green jacket, Burns has at least already stamped his return to the2027 Masters with that tie for seventh
The tournament invites the top 12 finishers and ties from this year who are not otherwise qualified.
This wasBurns’fifth Masters appearance.
Garcia’s outburst earnswarning
Sergio Garcia has had better Sundays atthe Masters.
The2017greenjacket winner earned arare code of conduct warning from Mastersofficials after an angry outburst on the second tee.
Garciapushed his drive right into the fairway bunker,then took
pine straw.”
This victorywas peak McIlroy
On the demanding par-3fourth hole, he hititleft of left, even missing the greensidebunker, leading to adouble bogey.Heairmailed the greenonthe next par3, thesixth,leading to abogey that dropped himto9-under par andtwo strokes behind playing partner Cam Young. Still, McIlroy had the confidence of amajor champion. The experience of aman who has gotten himself intotight spots before and foundways to wriggle out.
“I looked at the scoreboard after Imade bogey on 6. Isaid, ‘OK,if Iget to 14 under I’ve got apretty good chance to win,’ ”McIlroy said.
Here he was, going south, having droppedtwo strokes to par and having gone from six ahead to start Saturday’sthird round to two behind, and he was thinking about getting all the way to 14 under?
McIlroydidn’tget to 14 under butdidn’thaveto. He went to
hind as he approached the turn. But he ran off11straight pars that wasn’tgoing to cut it during a final round with accessible pins to create excitement.
Schefflerhad to settle forhis third runner-up finishinthe majorstogoalong with four titles. His 65-68 weekend made him the first player since1942 to go bogeyfree on theweekend at Augusta.
“I put up agood fight in order to give myself achance,” Scheffler said.
Rose, at age 45 trying to become the second-oldest Masters championbehindJack Nicklaus (46) in 1986, madeitfeel as though this was going to be his time. He made amost improbable birdie with a shot out of the trees to afooton theseventh. That was the start of three straight birdies to close out the front nine and give him the lead.
evaporated around Amen Corner withtwobogeysandathree-puttpar. He couldn’tmakeupenough ground therest of the way and had to settle for athird close call at the Masters.
Cameron Young lost his twoshot lead much earlier with along three-putt bogeyonthe par-3sixth and taking bogey on the next hole when he hitwedge from thefairway into abunker. One shot behind goingtothe back nine,Young closed with nine straight pars.
“There is no negativetotake away other than obviously I would’ve loveda differentresult,” Young said. “I pretty muchhad a birdie chance on everyholeand didn’t make any.That’show it goes sometimes.”
As for Scheffler,the world’sNo. 1player was in position to shatter the Masters record with thelargest 36-hole comeback in history. He was 12 behind going into the weekend. He was twoshots be-
But his approach to the 11th was welltothe right and he failed to save par.His tee shot on the 12th was long, and his delicate chip didn’treachthe green, leading to another bogey.And then his 30-foot eagle putt on the par-5 13th ran 8feet by the hole and he missed thebirdie putt.
“Chancethatgot away,” Rose said. “I was by no meansfree and clear and was nowhere kind of closetohaving the jobdone, but Iwas right in position. Iwas really in control.And thementality was to run through the finish line, not just tryand get it done.
“I was playing great, but just momentumshifted formearound theAmen Corner.”
That’swhere McIlroy thrived. No shot at Augustaismoreterrifying thatthe par-3 12th withthe deceptive, swirling wind. McIlroy said he thought back to apractice round at hisfirst Mastersin2009 when TomWatson told him to wait forthe rightwind and hit.
Histhree-quarter 9-iron aimed at the middlebunkerdrifted more to the right that he imagined, but it turned out perfect, 7feetaway, closer than anyone all day
two chunks of turf outofthe tee box. He thentooka swipeatanice chest next to the teebox, breaking his driver.Garcia received the warning on the fourth hole.
The green jacket holder said his frustrations had been building through theyear,but alsodidn’t sound too contrite about his tantrum
“Obviously not super proud of it,” Garcia said, “but sometimes it happens.
Garcia shot a3-over 75 to finish at 8over in 52nd place.
Drive, Chip andPutt
Registration is now open for the 2026-27 Drive, Chip andPutt youthcompetition, with three local qualifying sites in Louisiana.
Qualifying will be held June 10 at the David Toms 265 Academy in Shreveport, June 16 at The Island Golf and Country Club in Plaquemine, and Aug. 3atTPC Louisiana in Avondale. Thereis also aqualifier July 9atDiamondhead Country Club in Mississippi.
18 with atwo-stroke lead over Scheffler,the anti-Rory of this golfing drama, the first man since World WarIItoplay the weekend here without abogey.Scheffler shot 65-68, roaring from 12 strokes back of McIlroy at the Masters’ midway point to the point of still having achance to scoop up athird green jacket. McIlroy looked like he’dgive him thatchance, driving so far right on 18, he was almost in the 10thfairway.But, with typical Irish aplomb, he hooked an iron over the trees, intoabunker and got down in threetofinish at 12 under “I was so happy to hang in there and get thejob done,”McIlroy said. What job is next for him? He now has six majors, tied for 12th mostall-time with Faldo, Phil Mickelson and Lee Trevino. He’s about to turn 37, but with two Masters, two PGAs and aU.S. and Britishopen each, you have to say achance at adouble career grand slam —something only
Boysand girls ages 7-15 are eligible to participate. Winners advance from local to subregional and regional qualifiers —atotal of 40 boys and 40 girls in four age groups —tothe DCP national finals on April 4, 2027, at Augusta National.
“I don’tmakeiteasy. Iused to make it easy back in my early20s when Iwas winning thesethings by eight shots. It’shard to win golf tournaments. Especially around here.”
Rory McIlroy
Future Masters
The Masters is traditionally played thefirst full week of April. Here arethe dates for the next three tournaments: •April 8-11, 2027 •April 6-9, 2028 •April 5-8, 2029
Nicklaus and Woods have done with three each —isdoable. Meanwhile, former LSU AllAmerican Sam Burns leaves here still seeking his first major title. Burns started the day one stroke back of McIlroy and Young, then grabbed ashare of the lead with a20-foot birdie putt on the first hole after driving in its cavernous fairway bunker
Butthe pushed tee shot on the first was aharbinger of Burns’ struggles mostofthe day.His drive on the second went even farther right, resulting in an unplayable lie that led to adouble bogey 7onatypically gettable hole. Burns rallied late with a 62-foot bomb of abirdie putt on the16th hole and finished in atie for seventh at 9under.Not the finish he wanted,but it matches his best showing in amajor and was by far his best showing in theMasters.
Maybe Burns will one day get there. McIlroy is already there, keeping companywith other golfing greats.
No.17: Nandina Par4,450 yards
Round 4average: 4.426
Rank: 1
Eagles: 0
Birdies: 0
Pars: 34
Bogeys: 17
Double bogeys or worse: 3
Howitplayed: When an ice stormin 2014 claimedthe famous Eisenhower treeonthe left side of the 17th fairway, there were worriesabout how toughthe hole would playwithout it. No need. No.17has actually played more difficult since.Sunday, it was Augusta National’shardest hole,the only one not to surrendera birdie during the final round.
ASSCOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By AP
RoryMcIlroyholds the trophy after winning the Masters tournament on SundayinAugusta,Ga.
All-Star Williams joins the Valkyries on multiyear deal
BY DOUG FEINBERG AP basketball writer
All-Star Gabby Williams signed a multiyear deal with Golden State, the Valkyries announced Sunday, while Alyssa Thomas is headed back to Phoenix.
Williams averaged a career-high 11.6 points and 4.2 assists and led the WNBA in steals with 2.3 per game for Seattle last season. That effort earned the 29-year-old an All-Star appearance for the first time in her career She also was a member of the league’s All-Defensive First Team.
“For a player of Gabby’s caliber to choose us in just our second year means everything,” Valkyries general manager Ohemaa Nyanin said in a statement. “She is worldclass. One of the best defenders in the world, a WNBA All-Star, and someone who makes everyone around her better.”
The Valkyries had a stellar season in their first year, making the playoffs — the first time an expansion team had done that Williams was drafted fourth by Chicago in 2018 and traded to Los Angeles in 2021. She didn’t play any games for the Sparks before being traded to Seattle in 2022. Thomas was a finalist for MVP last season and All-WNBA and AllDefensive first team. She helped the Mercury reach the WNBA Finals.
“Alyssa is a generational player, natural leader and one of the fiercest competitors our sport has seen, and we’re excited to have her back in Phoenix,” Mercury general manager Nick U’Ren said. “Her ability to control the game on both ends and elevate her teammates helped fuel our run to the Finals last season.”
Phoenix also re-signed All-Star wings Kahleah Copper and DeWanna Bonner The pair was instrumental in getting the Mercury to the WNBA Finals along with Thomas. The team also re-signed veteran guard Sami Whitcomb.
Other moves on Sunday included Sophie Cunningham and Damiris Dantas re-signing with the Indiana Fever Cunningham averaged 8.6 points and 3.5 rebounds in 30 games before suffering a seasonending MCL tear in her right knee in August. Dantas originally signed with the Fever ahead of the 2024 season and has since played in 58 games for Indiana, averaging 4.6 points and 2.3 rebounds per game, and was a part of the 2025 Commis-
sioner’s Cup championship team.
The pair join Kelsey Mitchell and Lexie Hull, who announced on Saturday they were returning to the team. Indiana also added Monique Billings in the first day of free agency
The Toronto Tempo added forward Isabelle Harrison, whom Sandy Brondello coached in New York before making the move to Canada.
Minnesota Lynx
The Lynx re-signed five-time All-Star Kayla McBride to a twoyear deal at a lower max salary, her agent, Ticha Penicheiro, told The Associated Press. Courtney Williams, a two-time All-Star, also is coming back to the Lynx. Minnesota also added two-time AllStar Natasha Howard, who played with Indiana last season. Howard helped Minnesota win a title in 2017.
Chicago Sky
The Sky added guard DiJonai Carrington to their roster as well as officially re-signing Courtney Vandersloot. The Sky acquired Rickea Jackson for Ariel Atkins in a trade with Los Angeles.
Connecticut Sun
The Sun added guard Kennedy Burke and re-signed forward Olivia Nelson-Ododa to a two-year deal. Burke appeared in 36 games for the Liberty making nine starts
and averaging 8.1 points and 2.4 rebounds.
Seattle Storm
The Storm re-signed forward Ezi Magbegor, who had 96 blocks last season to go along with 8.0 points and 6.2 rebounds. She shot 49.3% from the field Seattle also resigned wing Katie Lou Samuelson, who missed all of last season after tearing her ACL in training camp. The Storm also added free agent Stefanie Dolson, signing the veteran center as well as guard Jade Melbourne.
Las Vegas Aces
The Aces re-signed three members of their core group, with Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young and Cheyenne Parker-Tyus all agreeing to deals with the defending champions.
Washington Mystics
The Mystics added forward Michaela Onyenwere to a multiyear deal. She averaged 6.9 points and 2.4 rebounds in her career, last playing with Chicago. Onyenwere was an assistant coach at her alma mater UCLA this past winter and helped the Bruins win their first national championship.
Portland Fire
The expansion Fire added center Megan Gustafson, who was with Las Vegas last season when the Aces won the WNBA championship.
LSU lands transfer PG Williams
Former Iowa State guard commits to Tigers following a visit Saturday
BY REED DARCEY Staff writer
The LSU women’s basketball team secured a commitment Sunday from former Iowa State guard Jada Williams. Williams, a 5-foot-6 rising senior, is one of the top players in the transfer portal. She scored 15.3 points and assisted 7.7 shots per game this past season, finishing the year as one of only nine Division I players who both scored at least 15 points and set up at least five shots, on average, each night. Only two guards assisted more shots per game than Williams did
SAINTS
Continued from page 1C
per reception Among the top three receivers in this class, he probably has the best combination of size and big-play ability Tate’s highlight reel is littered with him getting big separation from college defensive backs, but he also showed he could do the dirty work, hauling in 12 of his 14 contested catch opportunities and going through the 2025 season without dropping a single pass. If there’s any downside to drafting Tate with their top pick, it is that his game is fairly similar to Olave’s. He’s a downfield threat who doesn’t bring much juice after the catch. But New Orleans would probably be happy with two Chris Olaves on the field. USC WR Makai Lemon, 5-11. 192: For someone who draws a lot of comparisons to Detroit Lions All-Pro
in 2025-26, so she’s a natural fit for the role at LSU left behind by Jada Richard the point guard from Opelousas who decided to enter the transfer portal last Thursday after a breakout sophomore year
Like Richard, Williams finished this past season with a 2:1 assistto-turnover ratio. But Williams converted both her field-goal attempts (42%) and her 3-pointers (30%) at lower percentages than Richard did. Williams, though, has more experience. She was a top-25 recruit in the Class of 2023, according to ESPN, and she’s started 90 career games 58 at Arizona and 32 at Iowa State. With Williams on board, LSU now has as many as six perimeter players on its 2026-27 roster MiLaysia Fulwiley and Mikaylah Williams can return next season.
Amon-Ra St. Brown, the 2025 Biletnikoff Award winner is still a somewhat polarizing pro prospect. Unlike the other top receivers in this class, Lemon primarily profiles as a slot receiver in the NFL — which is where he played the overwhelming majority of his snaps with the Trojans last year The team that drafts him will need a strong vision for how he fits within their offensive system. But for the Saints, his particular skill set might just be the missing ingredient in their aerial attack: Lemon is one of the best play-making receivers in this class with the ball in his hands. The USC product racked up more than 600 yards after the catch last season, moving more like a running back than a receiver after the catch. He is a strong runner for his size and has a knack for eluding or breaking through tackles. That would be a welcome addition for a Saints team that struggled to generate YAC last year, ranking 22nd.
Continued from page 1C
LSU has produced top-10 picks in each of the past two years. Both Angel Reese and Aneesah Morrow were chosen seventh overall in their respective drafts. If Johnson is taken with one of the first 15 choices on Monday, then the Tigers can say they’ve turned out first-round picks in three consecutive WNBA drafts for the first time in the program’s history Johnson was eligible to declare for last year’s draft, but because she decided instead to return for her senior season at LSU, she’ll now be part of the first rookie class that plays under the league’s new collective bargaining agreement (CBA), which was ratified on March 24. Under the old CBA, rookies earned modest five-figure salaries. Now, Johnson — and any other player chosen in the draft will each pocket at least $270,000 annually
The LSU star said on March 19 that she was “very excited” that the league and its players hammered out the terms of a “transformational deal” only a few weeks before she begins her professional career Because they did, she now has significantly more earning potential.
“I’ve been watching it all day on ESPN,” Johnson said. “It’s so dope. Salaries going from 60K to 300K is a crazy leap. I’m ready to hear about the things they have on housing and traveling and all of that, but this is generational.”
Whichever team chooses John-
son will land a long, athletic threelevel scorer who has shown she can defend multiple perimeter positions. Her senior year was an uneven one, but she still drained a career-high 39% of her 3-pointers and turned the ball over a careerlow 1.7 times per game.
Johnson is at her best in transition, but because she’s an efficient outside shooter and a disruptive perimeter defender, she can fit on just about any team in the WNBA.
The league may pick apart some of Johnson’s inconsistencies. This past season, for example, she scored 20 or more points about as many times (seven) as she finished with fewer than 10 (eight). But Johnson spent three years as one of the top scoring threats on one of the best programs in the country, and she consistently elevated her play in some of the biggest games of her career Johnson scored 15.4 points per game on 47% shooting in the regular-season matchups she played across the past three years of her career But in those seasons’ NCAA Tournament contests, she scored 18.6 ppg on 54% shooting. Only five players have ever scored more points in an LSU uniform than Johnson did. Two of them were first-round WNBA draft choices Seimone Augustus (2006) and Sylvia Fowles (2008) LSU has produced nine of those players since the league was founded in 1997.
Johnson should become the 10th on Monday, not even three weeks after Duke ended her hopes of leading LSU back to the Final Four
“I don’t have any expectations,” Johnson said. “I’m just like, wherever I go, I’m gonna kill.”
PELICANS
Continued from page 1C
Fears reclassified and didn’t play his senior year of high school and instead enrolled in college. He said playing all 82 games was a goal this season.
“Being able to play all 82 games is big time,” Fears said. “Not everybody gets the opportunity to play all 82 games. I was fortunate enough to get the opportunity I feel like I’ve made the most of the minutes I get when I go out there.”
So, too, can ZaKiyah Johnson, and the Tigers are exploring the possibility that they can move her from the post to the perimeter Their lone 2026 freshman signee is Lola Lampley a 6-foot-2 wing from Indiana.
On Saturday, LSU signed Florida guard Laila Reynolds, a 6-foot-1 senior
Mulkey and her staff still have a few moves to make this offseason, particularly in the frontcourt. The transfer portal is open until April 20, and LSU can recruit players who entered it both before and after it closes.
So far, they’ve lost four players to the transfer market: Richard freshman Divine Bourrage, freshman Bella Hines and senior Kailyn Gilbert. Bourrage is signed with Illinois, and Hines is committed to TCU.
Williams arrived in Baton Rouge for a visit on Saturday night.
Arizona State WR Jordyn Tyson, 6-2, 203: If this were just about Tyson, the player, the conversation would be quite simple He’s a big and twitchy athlete, which makes him a nightmare against man coverage (4.63 yards per route run against man last year, according to The Ringer)
But this is not just about the player, but also his injury history
He started his college career at Colorado but had his freshman season cut short by a torn ACL, MCL and PCL; he then missed the Sun Devils’ 2024 playoff run with a broken collarbone and sat out four games last season because of multiple hamstring injuries.
Tyson only participated in the bench press at the combine, in part because of his hamstring injury
He might end up being the best receiver in the class, but the team that draftshimisgoingtohavetobecomfortable with the medical history
The intriguing risk
Louisville WR Chris Bell, 6-2, 222: While
The other players in franchise history to play in all 82 games are: Jamal Mashburn, Jamaal Magloire (twice), P.J. Brown, Jannero Pargo, Rasual Butler, Emeka Okafor Robin Lopez, E’Twaun Moore, Darius Miller and Valanciunas.
Fears is the only one to accomplish the feat as a rookie.
Fellow rookie Derik Queen played in 81 games. The two of them rank first and second in franchise history in games played by rookies.
“It’s a great start to their career,” said Pelicans interim head coach James Borrego. “The No. 1 thing in this league is your health and your availability To have that type of resume at the start is extremely important. It lays a foundation for their career and for our franchise as well. Those are important moments for our
we’re on the topic of interesting players with a concerning injury history, here is Shough’s former favorite target at Louisville. Bell was in the midst of an outstanding senior season at Louisville before he tore his ACL in late November against SMU. While he has said he will be ready for the start of training camp, it is definitely possible he is not ready to contribute in a real way until the 2027 season.
That said, Bell is a big, physical receiver who can slot in as an X receiver and also win underneath.
His breakout college season came with Shough at quarterback, when he hauled in 43 receptions for 737 yards (a career-best 17.1 per catch) with four scores. Last season, Bell caught 72 passes for 917 yards and six touchdowns before his injury Day 3 tight ends?
Notre Dame TE Eli Raridon, 6-6, 245: Another player with some concerning injury history (Raridon has torn
for a
to resume in a secondround NCAA Tournament game against Texas Tech on March 22 at the
group and for our franchise. Extremely proud of them fighting through injuries and knick knacks.”
Fears was averaging 14 points, 3.4 assists and 3.6 rebounds heading into Sunday’s final game. He scored a season high 40 points Tuesday in a win over the Utah Jazz, setting a franchise rookie record. The old record was 38 points by Marcus Thornton in 2010. Fears averaged 28.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists in the five games before Sunday The key to being so durable?
“Recovery is huge,” Fears said. “That helps in being able to play all 82 games. Focus on your recovery and just continue to stay focused. I’m dedicated to the recovery and the work on and off the court. The hot and the cold tub have been huge for me. I just rely on those things to help me get my body for each and every day.”
Fears is one of 18 players in the NBA to play in all 82 games this season. He and former Tulane and Duke guard Sion James of the Charlotte Hornets are the only two rookies to accomplish the feat. Fears is the third leading scorer among the 18 players to play in every game, trailing only Orlando Magic guard Desmond Bane (20.2 points per game) and New York Knicks’ guard/forward Mikal Bridges (14.6).
Email Rod Walker at rwalker@ theadvocate.com.
his ACL twice), he could be an intriguing Day 3 option to develop behind Johnson and Fant. He has potential as a fieldstretching Y tight end (he ran a 4.62-second 40-yard dash) who also adds something as a blocker Raridon didn’t flash his pass-catching ability until his senior season, when he caught 32 passes for 482 yards with a long of 65. Houston TE Tanner Koziol, 6-7, 247: While Koziol may be something of a one-dimensional player at this stage in his development, it’s hard to argue with his body of work as a pass catcher He hauled in a whopping 94 passes in his junior season at Ball State before transferring to Houston, where he became a semifinalist for the Mackey Award after catching 74 passes for 727 yards and six touchdowns — including a 9-76-1 line against LSU in the Texas Bowl. Email Luke Johnson at ljohnson@theadvocate.com.
LSU guard Flau’jae Johnson waits
play
PMAC.
STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By LINDSEy WASSON
Seattle Storm forward Gabby Williams in action against the New york Liberty during a game on June 22 in Seattle.
Ole Miss baseball completes sweep of LSU in Oxford
BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer
OXFORD, Miss. — Jay Johnson knew his offense had to be ready.
Sundays were about putting runs on the board; three of the Tigers’ four series finales in Southeastern Conference play proved that to be true. LSU scored 16 runs last Sunday, 17 runs the prior Sunday and 16 runs in the final game of its opening series in conference play at Vanderbilt.
All of those big days at the plate led to wins. And with junior righthander Cooper Moore still on the mend, the Tigers needed another explosive afternoon from their bats to win without a true starter on the bump.
“We’re going to have to score to give ourselves a chance,” Johnson said after Saturday’s loss to Ole Miss. “We knew coming into the series that’d be a challenge against this pitching staff.”
LSU’s bats eventually came to life on Sunday, but it wasn’t enough to survive a slow start on the mound and a late surge from Ole Miss’s offense. The Rebels took down the Tigers 8-7, marking the first time LSU has been swept this season “It seems like we were one play away, one swing away from keeping it a little bit closer or breaking it open,” senior Brayden Simpson said.
“… It seems like quite a few (games) haven’t gone our way recently.”
LSU (22-15, 6-9 SEC) scored seven runs in the seventh inning to tie the game 7-7, but Ole Miss shortstop Bryaden Randle hit a single in the botto of the seventh inning that drove home the go-ahead run, providing enough wiggle room for left-hander Walker Hooks to close out the game in the ninth
“Credit their bullpen again,” Johnson said. “They went six up, six down.”
At first, the Tigers couldn’t recapture their Sunday magic and were struggling at the plate for a third consecutive game. They were hitless through six innings and had just one baserunner before the fifth.
Ole Miss right-handed starter Taylor Rabe tossed six scoreless innings before he gave up back-toback solo home runs to sophomores Derek Curiel and Cade Arrambide in the seventh. Rabe’s outing was the first time he threw more than five innings this year
“I don’t want to sound like a broken record,” Johnson said. “But (Rabe) threw the ball where pitchers are supposed to throw the ball and did a nice job of that. He only had 16 innings last year and really improved this year
“I thought (Cade) Townsend (Saturday’s starter for Ole Miss), one of the best pitchers in the league, I actually thought he missed over the plate a little more than Rabe did today.”
Curiel and Arrambide’s blasts woke up LSU’s offense, as the Tigers went on to score five more runs in the seventh inning to tie the game. Junior Jake Brown delivered a third consecutive homer before Simpson had the biggest hit of his LSU career with a two-out, two-run single that cut the Ole Miss (26-11, 8-7) lead to two Curiel then followed up his homer with a run-scoring single that shrank LSU’s deficit to one. After his big hit, pinch-hitter and redshirt junior Eddie Yamin scored on a wild pitch to tie the game.
“That’s what we can do as a team,” Johnson said, “is we can come back on Sunday against somebody’s bullpen.”
LSU’s slow start at the plate was
JOHNSON GIVES INJURY UPDATE ON DARDAR, STANFIELD
LSU fifth-year second baseman
Seth Dardar was unavailable to play on Sunday, according to coach Jay Johnson, after the lower leg injury he suffered last Tuesday got worse as the weekend commenced
His ailment got to the point where he was replaced by senior infielder Brayden Simpson at second base on Sunday against Ole Miss. It was obviously affecting his play the last two days,” Johnson said.“So you know, you get somebody closer to healthy in there.
Johnson also said that senior left fielder Chris Stanfield may have bruised his rib colliding with the left-center field wall on Sunday, an ailment that took him out of the game in the seventh inning Junior infielder Trent Caraway also suffered a cut on a finger on his throwing hand, which forced him out for the entire series.
“I think he’s OK,” Johnson said of Stanfield “I don’t think there’s anything structurally wrong He was having a hard time breathing.”
Koki Riley
exacerbated by its pitching staff placing it in a nearly insurmountable hole.
LSU right-hander fifth-year senior Grant Fontenot mustered just one out as the Tigers’ starter, allowing two earned runs and three hits before getting pulled for redshirt junior right-hander
Gavin Guidry Guidry escaped the first inning, but he gave up a solo home run in the second and two homers in the fourth before exiting the game.
By the time the fourth inning ended, LSU trailed 7-0, and Ole Miss had seven hits.
“We got dominated for six innings,” Johnson said. “You can’t lose sight of that.”
LSU returns to Alex Box Stadium for a five-game homestand beginning on Tuesday against Northwestern State. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m., and the game will be available to stream on SEC Network+.
PHOTO By MICHAEL BACIGALUPI
LSU softball hits ball hard in loss to Arizona but wins series
BY JIM KLEINPETER Contributing writer
LSU softball swung its bats hard in search of a three-game sweep of No. 13 Arizona, but hard-hit balls worked against the Tigers this time.
The No. 21 Tigers hit into three double plays and watched an early lead evaporate in a 4-2 loss at Tiger Park on Sunday LSU (28-14) outhit the visitors 8-4 but left seven on base in addition to the three wiped out in twin killings. That undermined a strong pitching effort by Paytn Monticelli (3-3), who had a strong outing in the circle.
“It feels like we always end up on the wrong side of that, I’m not sure why,” LSU coach Beth Torina said “We work on it and talk about it.
“The offense continues to grow Overall, it’s a great weekend. Of course we’d like to have this one back. Winning the series is not enough. We need to keep playing and try to win every game. On the other hand, it’s a really great team having a great year, so getting two wins is a big deal.”
Monticelli retired 10 of the first 11 batters before Sydney Stewart launched her 15th homer over the left-field fence beyond both re-
taining walls.
Arizona, held to a pair of unearned runs in each of the first two games, used its speed to tie and go ahead with three in the sixth inning. Regan Sharkey hit a leadoff single, and one out later, Stewart walked. Jayden Heavener replaced Monticelli and threw out Tele Jennings on a grounder back to the mound. But Sharkey turned third and kept coming, beating the throw from Tori Edwards in a close play at the plate. Heavener walked third baseman Jenna Sniffen before Emma Kavanaugh hit a two-run double to left for the margin of victory She hit a sinking line drive that bounced just in front of left fielder Maddox McKee, who had just entered the game for Char Lorenz, who moved to catcher when Maci Bergeron was injured on the play at the plate. One of the double plays shortcircuited what could have been a big third inning when LSU took a 2-0 lead. Singles by Ally Hutchins and Jalia Lassiter and a walk to Sierra Daniel loaded the bases with one out. Kylee Edwards singled home a run and Alix Franklin was hit by a pitch to score another off of starter Jenae Berry Arizona ace Jalen Adams entered the game and got Tori Ed-
wards to hit a one-hop smash to Sniffen, who stepped on the bag and threw to first to end the inning. Sniffen started all three double plays.
In the previous inning, the Tigers had runners on first and second when Lorenz hit a liner to Sniffen, who threw to second to get Tori Edwards. LSU let another two-hit inning go to waste when Sierra Daniel lined out to Sniffen, who threw Lassiter out at first. Kylee Edwards followed with her second hit but Franklin grounded out to shortstop.
“We’re definitely hitting the ball hard,” said Lassiter, who raised her batting average to .323 with three hits “They made nice plays they were playing us deep. We had trouble reading the ball right there, freezing on the line drives. That’s how softball goes sometimes.”
“Arizona is a great team and has been for years. Coming out with the series (win) was awesome. Today’s game taught us a lot.”
LSU returns to action Tuesday at UL in a 6 p.m game and hosts Ole Miss in an SEC series next weekend.
“We’re in a good spot with a big week in front of us,” Torina said. “A huge test on Tuesday to play ULL, it’s always a big deal.”
Tulane sharp in series-clinching victory against East Carolina
Tulane exhibited every facet of a contender while beating East Carolina 6-3 on Sunday at Turchin Stadium and clinching yet another series against the perennial American Conference favorite.
The Green Wave (19-8, 6-6), which has won six of its last seven at home against the Pirates (22-14-1, 7-5), is tied for sixth but is only two games out of first in a bunched-up league where the regular-season pecking order will be exponentially more important this season.
The top two seeds in the new American tournament format will get byes in the double-elimination bracket. The fifth through eighth seeds will face singleelimination play-in games, with the two winners playing the third and fourth seeds on the opening day of double-elimination.
The upshot: Tulane needs to perform as well as it did against East Carolina for a realistic chance to win the tournament for the third time in four seasons.
“If you just look at the standings from top to bottom, today was an enormous game for us,” coach Jay Uhlman said. “It was a swing game in a big way. Because of the format of the tournament, you are literally fighting for your life every day.”
Sunday’s finale started ignominiously when East Carolina’s Grady Lenahan homered off the scoreboard against J.D. Rodriguez with two outs in the first in-
ning and Jack Herring followed with a shot that appeared headed out of the park, too. Only this time, left fielder Tye Wood leaped, stuck his glove over the wall and saved a home run.
“That’s my first ever,” he said.
“I just used that to fuel the rest of my game.” Wood led off the bottom of the first with a single, stole second, went to third when the throw sailed into center and scored on Jason Wachs’ double-play grounder Woods also had an RBI double in the seventh as the Wave added a pair of insurance runs, getting double-digits hits (10) for the second time in two days and only the ninth time this season.
With Tulane trailing 3-1 in the fourth, Kaikea Harrison, Tanner Chun and Hugh Pinkney strung together two-out, run-scoring singles to give the Wave the lead for good.
Rodriguez (5-0) lasted into the sixth, allowing another solo homer in the second but only two more hits and one other run on a wild pitch. He threw a 1-2-3 inning in the fifth right after the Wave went in front.
“I understood the things I had to do to be mentally sharp and not allow myself to get flustered,” he said. “I did a very good job of that.” Reliever Blaise Wilcenski retired the first seven batters he faced before an infield single. Jack Brafa replaced him after a two-out walk in the ninth, coaxing a fly ball to center field for his first save.
A couple of close plays at the plate helped the Wave, too. Third baseman James Agabedis tagged Lenahan in a rundown in the
fourth after he broke from third on a ground ball to first baseman
Trent Liolios. Lenahan, a top candidate for league freshman of the year, injured his shoulder on his slide and returned to the dugout in a sling after receiving off-field treatment.
His replacement, Jeff Sabater, tried to score the tying run on a grounder to shortstop Kaikea Harrison in the sixth, but catcher Hugh Pinkney tagged him in time after fielding a throw on the short hop.
“He was able to get his glove there and did a great job of keeping it low instead of making it go high and let the guy slide under him,” Uhlman said “That was a really huge play.”
Tulane, which scuffled while being swept at UAB two weekends ago, has been much sharper in consecutive series wins against Wichita State and East Carolina
The Wave held the formerly hot-hitting Pirates, who won the regular-season title every year it was contested from 2019 to 2024 and the tournament championship last season, to 2 and 3 runs on Friday and Sunday
“We really enjoy competing against them,” Uhlman said.
“They are well coached and they play tough. I feel like we are the same, but we don’t always represent ourselves that way, which for me has been the frustrating part.” Wood believes that toughness is here to stay
“It was a rough little start for us, but at this point in the season, the bats are starting to get hot,” he said. “The pitchers have always been dealing, and we’re going out there and out-competing every team we play.”
PHOTO By PATRICK DENNIS
LSU outfielder Derek Curiel celebrates his RBI single scoring Steven Milam in a game against Bethune Cookman on Tuesday at Alex Box Stadium. Curiel had 2 hits including a home run in Sunday’s loss to Ole Miss.
LSU shortstop Kylee Edwards hits against Arizona on Sunday at Tiger Park Edwards had an RBI in the third inning of the 4-2 loss.
is alocal legend
this ironinhis Bourbon Street blacksmith shop as acover for his
GROWTH INDUSTRY Strike a chord
Is it true that
Jean Lafitteforgedthe CornstalkFence design in NewOrleans?
BY RACHELMIPRO
Contributing writer
The Cornstalk Hotel in the French Quarter is known for its whimsical cast-iron fencebursting with yellowears of corn,pumpkins and vines
In the almost 200 years of its existence, many legends have sprung up regardingthe fence’sorigins. One reader’squestion: “Is it truethatJean Lafitte forged theCornstalk Fence?” Whileapirate-blacksmith makes for abetter story,the fence owes its existence to aPhiladelphiaironcompany anda citywide craze for cast-iron work.
The property, at 915 Royal St., was first notable as theresidence of Francois Xavier Martin, the state’sfirst attorney general. He lived in the house from 1816-26. Theproperty’ssecondowner,Dr. Joseph Secondo Biamenti, bought the brick townhouse in 1834. Biamenti had the fence built in 1856 At the time, cast-iron technology was at its peak in the city. Ann Masson andLydia Schmalz’s “Cast Iron andthe CrescentCity”
THETIMES-PICAyUNEFILE PHOTO
This pre-Civil Warhomeinthe Garden District is famous forthe Cornstalk Fence which surrounds it. The fence wasuprooted from a home in the Vieux Carreand moved to this home. At the height of New Orleans prosperity,expressionin wrought and cast iron became a waytodenote status.
chronicled theuse of the technology,attributingthe first presence of it to the Leeds Iron Foundry in 1825.
Beforethe advent of cast iron, wrought iron was the predominant metal form. While durable, wrought iron was expensive and much morelaborious, apainstaking and time-intensive craft for blacksmiths who hammered out thematerial to produce wrought iron designs.
The new technique added carbon to melted iron, which weakened the material enough that it could be poured into molds and mass-produced. While more brittle, this product was much faster to makeand could incorporate moreelaborate designs. Much of New Orleans’ decorative ironwork, such as balconies, fences and galleries, owes its existence to this new form of ironwork.
Wealthy heiress Baroness de Pontalbawas one of the most prominent adopters of the new style, popularizing iron-lace galleries and incorporating the look into her Pontalba Buildings, which still line Jackson Square today “Residentswere especially receptive tothe new material and used it to replace earlier wrought-iron decoration,”Masson
By the American Kennel Club (TNS)
Carsickness isn’tjust aphenomenon that humans experience. In fact, carsickness in dogs is acommon condition. The American Kennel Club provides tips on howto predict, relieve and control your dog’s carsickness. Just like humans, motion sickness in dogs is relatedtothe sense of balance duetothe structures of the inner ear.Sometimes they neveroutgrow thenauseaand vomiting
alittlefresh airwill equalize internaland external air pressure, which can help reducenausea. Keepingthe carcooland wellventilated
Volunteers turn afan’s recordings of 10,000 concerts into an online treasure trove
BY CHRISTOPHERWEBER Associated Press
On July 8, 1989, ayoung music fannamed AadamJacobs, witha compact Sony cassette recorder in his pocket, went to see an up-and-coming rock band from Washington for their debut show in Chicago. After ablast of guitar feedback,22-year-old Kurt Cobain politelyannounced to the crowd at thesmall club called Dreamerz: “Hello,we’re Nirvana. We’re from Seattle.” With that, the band, then aquartet, launchedintothe riff-heavy first song, “School.”
Jacobssurreptitiously recorded the performance, documenting the fledgling band in raw,fiery form more than two years before Nirvana’sglobal breakthrough with the album “Nevermind.”
Jacobs wentontorecord more than10,000 concerts, with increasingly sophisticated equipment, over four decades in Chicago and other cities. Now a group of devoted volunteers in the U.S. and Europe is methodically cataloging, digitizing and uploading them one by one.
The growing AadamJacobs Collection is an internet treasure trove for music lovers, especially for fansofindie and punkrock during the 1980s through the early 2000s, when the scene blossomed and became mainstream. The collection features early-intheir-careerperformances from alternative and experimental artists like R.E.M.,The Cure, The Pixies, The Replacements, Depeche Mode, Stereolab, Sonic Youth and Björk.
hishome
on March19.
There’s also asmattering of hip-hop, including a1988 concert by rap pioneers Boogie Down Productions. Devotees of Phish were thrilledtodiscoverthat apreviously uncirculated 1990 show by the jam band is included. And there are hundreds of sets by smallerartists who are unlikely to be knowntoeven fans withthe mostobscure tastes. Allofitisslowly becoming available forstreaming and freedownload at the nonprofit online repository InternetArchive, including that nascent Nirvanashowrecording, with the audio from Jacobs’ cassette recorder cleaned up. Firstrecording wasin1984 By the time Jacobssneaked histape recorder intothatNirvana gig, he had been recording concerts for five years already As ateen discovering music Jacobsbegan tapingsongs off the radio. “And Ieventually met afellow whosaid, ‘You can just take atape recorder into ashow with you, just sneak it in, recordthe show.’ And Ithought, ‘Wow, that’scool.’ So Igot started,” Jacobs, now 59, recalled.
STAFF FILEPHOTO By SOPHIAGERMER
The Cornstalk Hotel in the French Quarter is well-known for its leafy cast-iron fence. There
thatthe notorious pirate Jean Lafitte forged
smuggling operations. Most of it actually was imported
AP PHOTO By NAM y. HUH
Brian Emerick playsarecorded tape at
in Des Plaines, Ill.,
Carrythe essentials in avacationfirst-aidkit
Dear Doctors: My son’sfamily is taking their first road tripvacation this summer.Iwant to pack up afirst first-aid kit forthem and could use your advice. It’s him and his wife and two boys, 12 and 14. They will be doingtourist stuff, plus stops for hiking and swimming. What are the musthaves?
Dear reader: It takes alot of planning to get ready for aroad trip vacation—especially when traveling withkids! We’resure your first-aid kit gift will be wellreceived. The ideal first-aid kit for this type of trip can handle a wide range of day-to-day medical situations. It’salso importantthat it doesn’ttake up valuable space. First, the family should bring anyprescription medications theytake. They should carry
Dr.Elizabeth Ko Dr.Eve Glazier ASK THE DOCTORS
these in their original containers. Prescription containersinclude important information such as dosage, physician andpharmacy information.These should be packed together in asturdy,waterproof bagorcase. TheRed Cross recommendsmaking copies of all prescriptions so if you run out, or they getlost or damaged,refills are easier Amedical alert bracelet for
anyone with achronic condition, such as diabetes or asthma, is also asmartprecaution. Backup pairs of prescription glasses or contacts can come in handy.Ifsomeone has asevere allergy,itisrecommended to travel with at least two epinephrine auto-injectors. We can expect afamily to deal with scrapes, cuts, sprains, fever, headaches or tummy troubles in any given week. When it’ssummer,add in sunburn, bug bites and, in some locations, poison oak or poison ivy.For pain and headache, you’ll want over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medications in the age-appropriate dosages Keep these in their original packages as well. Scrapes and cutscall for gauze pads, an assortment of adhesive bandages, saline packetstoclean
CONCERTS
Continued from page1D
He doesn’tremember offhand what that first concert was in 1984, but he tapedit with atiny Dictaphone-type device that he borrowed from his grandmother.A short time later,hebought the Sony Walkman-style tape recorder.When that broke, he briefly used his home console cassette machine stuffed in abackpack that agenerous soundman let him plug in.
“I was using, at times, pretty lackluster equipment, simply becauseIhad no money to buy anything better,” he said. Later,hemoved on to digital audio tape, or DAT, and, as technology progressed, to solid-statedigital recorders.
Jacobs doesn’tconsider himself obsessive or,as many call him, an archivist He says he’sjust amusic fan. He figured if he was going to attend afew concertsaweekanyway, why not document them? In the early years, he contended with contentiousclub owners who tried to prevent him from taping. But they eventually relented as he became afixture in the musicscene, and many began letting the “taper guy” in for free.
Author Bob Mehr,who wrote about Jacobs in 2004 for the Chicago Reader,calls him one of the city’scultural institutions.
“He’sacharacter.Ithink you have to be, to do what he does,” Mehr said. “But I think he proved over time that his intentions were really pure.”
After filmmaker Katlin Schneider made adocumentary about Jacobs in 2023, a volunteer with the Internet Archive reached out to sug-
CURIOUS
Continued from page1D
gest hiscollection be preserved.“Before all the tapes started not working because of time, just disintegrating, I finally said yes,” he said Boxesstuffed with tapes
Once amonth,Brian Emerick makes thetrip from theChicago suburbsto Jacobs’ house in the city to pickup10or20boxes each stuffed with 50 or 100 tapes. Emerick’sjob is to transfer —inreal time— the analog recordings to digitalfiles that can besenttoother volunteers who mix and master the shows for upload to thearchive. Emerick has a room devoted to his setup of outdated cassetteand DAT decks.
“So many of the machines Ifindare broken. They’re trashed. And so Ilearned how to fix those, get them running again,” saidEmerick. “Currently,I have 10 workingcassette decks, and Irun those all simultaneously.”
Emerickestimates he’s digitized at least 5,500 tapes since late 2024 andthat it will take anotherfew years to complete theproject. Thedigital filesare claimed by adozen or so volunteerengineers in the U.S, U.K. and Germany who provide the metadata and clean up the audio.Among them is Neil deMause in Brooklyn, who said he’sconstantly impressed by theaudiofidelity of the originaltapes, especially considering Jacobs was using “weird RadioShack mics” and other primitiveequipment.
“Especially after the first couple years, he’sgot it so dialed in thatsomeofthese recordings, on, like, crappy little cassette tapes from the early ’90s, sound incredible,” deMause said. Emerickpointed toa 1984 James Brown concert as a
gem he discovered in the stacks.
Often, the hardest jobis figuring outsongtitles. Occasionally,Jacobs kept helpful notes, but thevolunteers frequentlyspenddaysconsulting each other,searching and even reaching out to artists to makesure thesetlists are accurately documented.
Jacobs saidthe majority of the artists he recordedare pleased to have their work preserved. As for copyright concerns, he’shappy to removerecordings if requested,but addedthatonlyone or twomusicians so far have asked that their material be taken down.
“I think thatthe general consensus is,it’seasier to say I’m sorry than to ask for permission,” he said. The Internet Archive declined to comment for this story David Nimmer,a longtime copyright attorney who also teaches at the University of California, LosAngeles, said that under anti-bootlegging laws, the artists technically own the original compositions and live recordings. But sinceneither Jacobs nor thearchive is profiting from theendeavor,lawsuits seem unlikely
The Replacements, afoundational punk-alternative band, were so happy with Jacobs’ tapeofa 1986 show that they mixed some of it in with asoundboard recording. They released it in 2023 as alivealbum as part of a box set produced by Mehr Jacobs stopped recording afew yearsago as worsening health problems sapped his desiretogoout and see concerts. Buthestill enjoys experiencing live musiche finds online, much of it recorded by anew generation of fans.
“Since everybody’sgot a cellphone, anybodycan record aconcert,” he said.
theCornstalk Fence Mansion in theGarden District. Production of cast-iron designs died down withthe advent of the Civil War, when iron was needed for wartime efforts, but the metal remainsa signature feature for thecity
wounds andantibiotic ointment. Include elastic wraps formuscle sprains or strains. Antihistamines can help ease allergy symptoms and the itching of ahealing sunburn. Car sickness can ruin the day, so age-appropriate nausea meds are agood idea. The samegoes for antacids and antidiarrhea meds—a week or two of eating out can have unexpected consequences. If you know the family’s preferences in sunscreen, include agenerous supply.Ifthey will travel in buggyareas, bug repellent to fend off bites, calamine lotion for rash and low-dose topical corticosteroids forlocalized itch will be helpful. Round outthe kit with afew equipment staples like adigital thermometer and asmallpair of
round-tipped scissors. Tweezers, instant cold packs and disposable gloves would also be good. Asmallfirst-aid booklet might also be useful. For peace of mind, print alist of urgent care centers along the vacation route that take the family’sinsurance.
Remind the parents that the first-aid kit, and particularly the medications, must be protected from extreme heat and cold. You’re giving athoughtful and useful giftthat —fingers crossed —will barely be opened.
Send yourquestions to askthedoctors@mednet.ucla. edu, or write: Ask theDoctors, c/oUCLA HealthSciences Media Relations, 10880 Wilshire Blvd.,Suite 1450, Los Angeles, CA, 90024.
Trying outfruitsatthe store
Dear Heloise: Jim R., in Houston, wrote about people who are eating produce that they haven’tpurchased. Butthere is another view on this issue. Purchasing grapes, for example, without tastingthem,often leads to sour grapes —literally It is aconundrum: If Itest agrape, Iameating pesticides; if Idon’ttest agrape, then Iamlikely buying bad grapes, which will go to waste. Often,when Ipurchase grapes or cherries without tasting them, Iend up withbad fruit! —Bruce J.P.,inFortWayne, Indiana Bruce, yes, if you taste a grape without washing it, you are eating pesticides and more. Younever know who else has touched the grapes, and more than likely,whoever they were, they probably didn’twash their hands. Youalso don’t know how manyinsects
By The Associated Press
walked over your grape, possibly stopping to deposit whatever germsthey carry on their feet, or how manyflies landed on your grape. Take your fruit homeand place it in abowl of cold water with ahalf cup of baking soda. Swish it around forafew minutes (after you’ve washed your hands), then rinse well.
Stay safeand healthy!
Heloise
Stainlesssteel smears
Dear Heloise: Ivolunteer at ahospital giftshop where the checkout table is stainless steel. The cleaning agents that are available there just smear the finish so that there is amark of apoor cleaning job. Any suggestions? —Charlotte M., via email Charlotte, there are commercial products to wipe downastainless steel counter and disinfect it.
TODAYINHISTORY
Today is Monday, April 13, the 103rd day of 2026. There are 262 days left in the year
Todayinhistory: On April 13, 1997, Tiger Woods, at age 21, became theyoungest golfer to win theMasters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia, finishing arecord 12 strokes ahead of TomKite.
Also on this date:
In 1743, Thomas Jefferson, thethird president of theUnited States, was born in Shadwell in the Virginia Colony
In 1861, Fort Sumter in SouthCarolina fell to Confederate forces in thefirst battle of theCivil War.
In 1873, members of the pro-White, paramilitary WhiteLeague attacked Black statemilitia members defending acourthouse in Colfax, Louisiana; three Whitemen and as manyas150 Black men were killed in what is known as the Colfax Massacre, one of the worst acts of Reconstruction-era violence.
In 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated theJefferson Memorial in Washington on the 200th anniversary of Jefferson’s birth.
In 1964, Sidney Poitier becamethe first Black performer to win an Academy Award for BestActor for his performance in “Lilies of the Field.” In 1999, right to die
DOG
Continuedfrom page1D and Schmalz wrote. “Ornamental cast iron was most popular during the 1850s, a period of growthand prosperity in New Orleans.” For Robert Wood of the Philadelphia-based Robert Wood, Iron Rail Foundry and Manufacturing company,business was booming by 1853, according to the Metal Museum’sresearch on cornstalk fencepatterns. He later partnered with Elliston Perot, merging into theWood &Perot Ornamental Ironworks. To keepup with New Orleans demand for material, thecompany established aNew Orleans branch, Wood,Miltenberger &Co. in the1850s. According to theMetal Museum’s account, Biamenti commissioned thecastiron fence for hiswife, who was from Iowa and missed the fields. The designwas later featured in aWood &Perot catalog,leading to several reproductions aroundtown.While the fence on Royal Street is the mostfamous, another cornstalk fence can be found at
Do you have aquestion about something in Louisiana that’s got you curious? Email your questionto curiouslouisiana@ theadvocate.com. Include your name, phone number and thecitywhere you live.
advocate Dr.Jack Kevorkian was sentenced in Pontiac, Michigan, to 10 to 25 years in prison for second-degree murder for administering alethal injection to apatient with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’sdisease. (Kevorkian ultimately served eight years before being paroled.)
In 2005, adefiant Eric Rudolph pleaded guilty to carrying out the deadly bombing at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and three other attacks in back-toback court appearances in Alabamaand Georgia. (He received multiple life sentences without the possibility of parole.)
In 2009, at his second trial, music producer Phil Spector wasfound guilty by aLos Angeles jury of second-degree murder in the shooting of actor Lana Clarkson. (Later sentenced to 19 years to life, Spector died in prison in January 2021.)
In 2011, afederal jury in San Francisco convicted baseball slugger Barry Bonds of asingle charge of obstruction of justice but failed to reach averdict on three counts at the heart of allegations that he knowingly used steroids and human growth hormone and lied to agrand jury about it. (Bonds’ obstruction conviction was overturned in 2015.)
In 2016, the Golden State Warriors becamethe NBA’sfirst 73-win team by
Perhaps keeping such an item under the counter will work well. Youcould quickly wipe it clean if it gets smeared. —Heloise Sittingorstanding?
Dear Heloise: There’sbeen much discussion about men and how so many seem to miss the toilet when they urinate. Why can’taman just sit down? What is wrong with sitting downasopposed to standing up? There would be less of amess, but since so manymen don’tdothe cleaning, Iguess they don’t care about the women who have to disinfect the areas they spray —Kelsey M., in Maricopa,Arizona Kelsey,this is an interesting question. Why can’t men just sit downrather than standing up? Anyone want to tackle this question? Let us know at Heloise@Heloise.com —Heloise Send ahinttoheloise@ heloise.com.
beating the Memphis Grizzlies 125-104, breaking the 72-win record set by the Chicago Bulls in 1996. In 2017, Pentagon officials said U.S. forces struck atunnel complex of the Islamic State group in eastern Afghanistan with the GBU-43/B MOAB “mother of all bombs,” the largest non-nuclear weapon ever used in combat by the military In 2023, FBI agents arrested Massachusetts Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira in acase involving the mostconsequential national security leak in years. (Teixeira admitted that he shared highly classified military documents about the war in Ukraine on the social media platform Discord and was sentenced in federal court in 2024 to 15 years in prison; he also received adishonorable discharge at acourt-martial in 2025.)
Today’sbirthdays: Singer Al Green is 80. Actor Ron Perlman is 76. Singer Peabo Bryson is 75. Bandleader-drummer Max Weinberg is 75. Chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov is 63. Golf Hall of Famer Davis Love III is 62. Actorcomedian Caroline Rhea
to
at
and keep your cool. Medication foryourdog Thereare alsophysicalremediessuch as medications andnatural herbs and plants that may help to calmyourdog and settle their stomach, suchaslavender, ginger, and valerian. Be sure to consult your vet before giving your dog any medications or herbal remedies. For more information on responsible dog ownership, visit the AKCatwww.akc.org.
ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTO By NAM y. HUH
Aadam Jacobs plays aLP(long play) record at his homeinChicagoonMarch 19.
Hints from Heloise
ARIES (March 21-April 19) Put some passion into whatever you choosetodo. Homeimprovement projects that lower your overhead or make your life more convenient or comfortable are favored.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Emotional choices regarding how to help others or acause thatconcerns youwillbedifficult. Don't jump to conclusions or make decisions for the wrong reasons
GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Putyour energy where it helps most and makesyou feel good about yourself and what you accomplish. You areoverdue for a change,but before you begin, check the cost and time it willtake to achieve your goal.
CANCER (June 21-July22) Back away from people eager to takeadvantage of you or tempt you to overspend, overdo or overindulge. You owe it to yourself to concentrate on personal growth and self-improvement projects.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Takecontrol;if you let othersmake decisions for you or handle your affairs, your expectations will not be met. Do your research, put in the legwork and finish what you start
VIRGO(Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Visit places that inspireyou or attend lectures or events that fire you up and getyou heading in adirection that motivatesyou to do your best. Trust your instincts and follow through.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct.23) Stickclose to home and to those who make youfeel
comfortable.Focusonrelationships that offer equality and dedication, not on people whotake advantage of you.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov.22) You have plenty to look forward to if you stickto simple plans and life's little pleasures. Focus on love,relationships andhow and whereyou choosetolive.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Putyour emotions aside and focus on decluttering your life.Address health concerns, implement afitness routine and start striving for personal growthand a healthy glow.
CAPRICORN (Dec.22-Jan. 19) Finish what you start. Taking on toomany projects will lead to uncertaintyand mistakes. Pay more attention to your domestic concerns and how you present yourself to the world.
AQUARIUS(Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Think matters through beforeinitiating your plans. An opportunity will arise at appointments, interviews or personal discussions with someone who can help you improve your domestic situation. PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Payattention to howyou look andact, andopportunitieswill follow. Charm,enthusiasm and innovation willput you in aleadership position. Achange to your environment willworkinyour favor
CelebrityCipher cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people,past and present. Each letter in the cipher stands foranother.
TODAy'SCLUE: UEQUALS E
CeLebrItY CIpher
Sudoku
InstructIons: sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers The object is to place thenumbers1to9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box containsthe same number only once. The difficulty level of thesudoku increases from monday to sunday.
Saturday’s Puzzle Answer
THewiZard oF id
BLondie
BaBY BLueS
Hi and LoiS
CurTiS
Bridge
BY PHILLIP ALDER
Don Marquis, awriter and humorist whodiedin1937, said, “A pessimist is a person who has had to listen to too many optimists.”
At the bridge table, apessimist will sometimes come out ahead of an optimist.
In today’s deal,Southisinfourspades. West cashes histhree topclubs, then shifts to, say, aheart to South’sace. How would the approachesvarybetween an optimist and apessimist?
The auction was straightforward. Northhadamaximuminhigh-cardterms for asingle raise andheld fourtrumps, buthehadtheworstpossibledistribution andone of his red-suit queensrated to be worthless.
With no losers in the redsuits, declarer just has to draw trumps safely. The optimist, expecting the suit to break 2-2 or 3-1, wouldimmediately play aspade to dummy’s queen and go down one.
The pessimist wonders whattodo about a4-0 split, which will happen 10 percentofthe time. He will realizethat if East has all four spades, the contract has no chance. But if West holds four of them,theycan be pickedupaslongas declarer keepsdummy’s king andqueen hovering over West’s jack and 10. So South cashes his spade ace at trick five
Each Wuzzleisaword riddle which creates adisguised word, phrase, name, place, saying, etc. For example: nOOn gOOD =gOOD aFTErnOOn
Previous answers:
word game
InstRuctIons: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,”suchas“bats” or “dies,”are notallowed. 3. additional words made by adding a“d” or an “s” may notbeused. 4. proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are notallowed.
toDAY’s WoRD KnEEcAP: NEE-kap: To shoot or otherwise disable the knee of someone.
Average mark15words
Timelimit 25 minutes Can you find 20 or more words in KNEECAP?
sAtuRDAY’s WoRD —WEREWoLVEs
thereisnovision, thepeopleperish:but he that keepsthe law,happy is he.” Proverbs29:18
dIrectIons: make a2-to 7-letterword from the letters in each row. add points of each word, using scoring directions at right. Finally 7-letterwords get 50-point bonus. “Blanks” used as any letter havenopoint value. all the words are in the Official sCraBBlE® players Dictionary, 5thEdition.
Puzzle Answer
info@scrabbleplayers.org.Visit
ken ken
InstructIons: 1 -Each row and each columnmust containthe numbers 1thorugh 4(easy) or 1through 6 (challenging) without repeating. 2 -The numbers within theheavily outlined boxes, calledcages, must combine using thegiven operation(in any order) to produce the target numbers in thetop-left corners. 3 -Freebies: Fill in the single-box cages with the number in the top-left corner.
Scrabble GramS
Get fuzzy
jump Start
roSe iS roSe animal crackerS
DuStin Drabble
ilyrealestateservices. com. 183757-apr13-14-15-3t $516.25 The ProjectNumberfor thisrequest forpropos‐als (“RFP”) is RFPLASC2026-02. Acopyofthe RFP maybeobtained fromMaurine Laborde, Staff Attorney,Supreme Court of Louisiana, Gen‐eralCounsel’s Office,400 Royal Street,Suite 1190 (504) 310-2550 mlaborde@lasc.org.A copyofthe RFPhas also been posted on the Supreme Courtwebsite (www.lasc.org) This announcementdoes not commit theCourt to award acontractorto pay anycosts incurred in the preparationofpro‐posals. TheCourt re‐servesthe righttoac‐ceptortorejectinfullor inpartall proposalssub‐mittedand/ortocancel the RFP. Anycontract awarded shallbebased uponthe proposal most advantageoustothe Court.All contractsare subject to theavailability offunds 183716-APR13-20-27-may 4-4t $92.64 PUBLIC NOTICE Timberlane Neighbor‐hood Improvementand Beautification District (TNIBD) will hold a public hearingfor the proposedTNIBD FYE2027 BudgetonApril 23, 2026 at6:30PM
CERTAINLOT
GROUND,together with allthe buildingsand im‐provements thereon, and allthe rights,ways, privi‐leges, servitudes andap‐purtenancesthereunto belongingorinanywise appertaining,situatedin theCityofGretna, Parish of Jefferson, Louisiana, locatedinthatcertain subdivisionknown as OakdaleSubdivision:as perplanofsurveyby G.W.T. Stephens,August 25, 1917, attached before N. Keenan,N.P.for the Parish of Orleans, Janu‐ary6,1933. Themeasure‐mentsofsaidlot,and the boundariesofthe square aremorefully setforth on theaforesaid plan andare more particularly describedasfollows,to —wit: LOTNO. 14 measures 25 feet frontonCookStreet by adepth of 125 feet be‐tween equaland parallel linesand begins at adis‐tanceof125 feet from thecornerofCook Steet andWhitney Avenue Said Lot14issituatedin Square No.30, whichis bounded by WhitneyAv‐enue,Bainbridge, Cook andLeBouef Streets. And accordingtosurvey made by J.J. Krebs& Sons,Surveyors,dated April12, 1957, revisedon February 25, 1948, acopy of which is annexedto actpassedbefore SoledelM.Hebert, Notary Public,dated the4th day of March, 1958, andresurvey made by J.J. Krebs andSons, Surveyors, datedMarch 3, 1970, copy of which is annexed to actpassedbefore SoledelM.Hebert, Notary Public,dated the16th dayofMarch,1970, said LotNo. 14 is situated in thesameDistrictand Square andgas thesame measurements and boundariesasabove set forth, exceptthatBain‐bridge Street is now RomanStreet.Improve‐mentsbearMunicipal No.1409 Cook Street UPON THEFOLLOWING TERMSAND CONDITIONS To-wit: Ninety thousand dollars ($90,000.00) cash Notice is hereby given to allparties whomit mayconcern,including theheirs andcreditors of thedecedentherein, and of this estate,beordered to make anyopposition which they have or may have to such application, at anytime, priortothe issuance of theorder or judgementauthorizing approvingand homolo‐gating such application andthatsuchorder or judgementmay be is‐sued after theexpiration of seven(7) days,from thedateofthe last publi‐cation of such notice,all in accordance with law. BY ORDEROFTHE COURT /s/ Carlos Mendoza Carlos Mendoza Deputy Clerk /s/ WilliamH.Daume WILLIAMH.DAUME 929 4thStreet Gretna,LA70053 (504) 366-1219 Whdaume@aol.com 184095-apr13-1t $72.22
PUBLIC NOTICE CIVILDISTRICTCOURT FORTHE PARISH OF OR‐LEANS STATEOFLOUISIANA NO.2024-11715 DIVISION “B SUCCESSION OF FLORENCE FRAZIER NOTICE BY PUBLICATION OF APPLICATIONFOR AU‐THORITYTOSELLIM‐MOVABLEPROPERTY NOTICE is hereby given that HenryJames Frazier, Sr duly qualified Admin‐istrator of theSucces‐sion of FLORENCE FRA‐ZIER,has made applica‐tion to theCourt forau‐thority to sell Decedent’s full interest in andtothe followingimmovable property at privatesale, to-wit: LegalDescription:SQ122 LOT1130x150 S-W Theimprovementsbear theMunicipalNo. 518 Up‐perlineStreet,New Or‐leans, LA 70115. Anyheirs,legatees, and/or creditorsofthe deceased who oppose thesalemustdoso within seven(7) days of thelastdateofpublica‐tion issued.Afterseven (7)daysfromthe last publicationthe Court mayissueanorder au‐thorizingthe sale of the property forthe price andsum of ThreeHun‐dred Twenty-FiveThou‐sand and00/100 ($325,000.00) allcashto seller, at privatesale.
FORTHE PARISH OF OR‐LEANSSTATE OF LOUISIANANO. 201704624 DIVISION “M-13” SUCCESSION OF MYRTLE BROWNVARNADO NO‐TICE OF APPLICATION NOTICE IS HEREBY given that Sterling Brooks, the duly appointed, acting andqualified Administra‐torofthe Succession of theDecedentMyrtle BrownVarnado,has pur‐suanttothe provisions of Code of CivilProce‐dure Article 3281, peti‐tioned this Honorable Courtfor authorityto sell, at privatesale, the Decedent’s 100% undi‐videdinterestinimmov‐able property locatedat 3306 TrafalgarSt.,New Orleans, LA 70119, more specificallydescribed as DIST 3, SQ 4, GenoaPlaza Lot"Y-2" 50'X110' to Genevive CuevaKarlberg (orher assigns) forthe priceof$147,500.00, payableincash. NOW THEREFORE, in accor‐dancewiththe lawmade andprovidedinsuch cases, notice is hereby giventhatSterling Brooks, Administrator, proposes to sell the aforesaid immovable property,atprivate sale forthe priceand upon theterms aforesaid,and theheirs,legatees and creditorsare required to make opposition,ifany they have or can, to such course within seven(7) days,including Sundays andholidays, from the daywhereon thelast publicationofthisnotice appears. 183119-apr6-13-2t $64.86
DISTRICT COURT, Parish of ORLEANS, Stateof Louisiana, datedApril 9, 2026, it wasordered as follows: WHEREAS,IPF22, LLC, by actexecutedby Norman White, ChiefFi‐nancialOfficerand ExOfficioTax Collectorfor theCityofNew Orleans, forunpaid2020-21 ad val‐orem taxes, whichsale took placeduringthe legalhours forpublic auctions,asmemorial‐ized in theTax Sale Cer‐tificate recorded in the Conveyance Office of Or‐leansParish, bearingNA #2022-47181 andCIN 720754; WHEREAS,IPF22, LLChas appliedtothis HonorableCourt for a Monition or advertise‐ment,inconformitywith LA.REV.STAT. §47:2271, et.seq.; THEREFORE, in thenameofthe Stateof Louisianaand theCivil District Courtfor the Parish of Orleans, allin‐terested personsare citedand admonished to show causewithinsix (6) months from thedateon whichthisMonitionis firstadvertised, why groundsexist fora nul‐lity under theprovisions of Chapter5 of Subtitle III f i l f h
p of Title47of the LouisianaRevised Statutes of 1950. The property affected by this monition is:A CERTAIN LOTOFGROUND, to‐gether with allthe build‐ings andimprovements thereon, andall the rights,ways, privileges, servitudes andappurte‐nances thereuntobe‐longingorinanywise ap‐pertaining,situatedin 'the THIRDDISTRICT of thecityofNew Orleans, in SQUARE NO.1053 bounded by N. Galvez Allen, N. Miro andAn‐nette Streets, designated ifi g as LOT6-A on acertifi‐cate of survey made by Gilbert& Kelly,Survey‐ors, datedApril 11th, 1959, andaccording to which thesaidLot No.6Abeginsata distance of ninety-eight (98’)feet one(1”)inchfromthe corner of Allenand N. Galvez Streetsand
THE NEW ORLEANS PUBLIC BELTRAILROAD COMMISSION FOR THE PORTOFNEW ORLEANS MINUTES OF THE REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING THURSDAY, FEBRUARY26, 2026
AREGULAR MEETING OF THE NEW ORLEANS PUBLIC BELT
RAILROAD COMMISSION FOR THE PORTOFNEW ORLEANS, HELD IN THE FIRST FLOOR AUDITORIUM OF THE PORT OF NEW ORLEANS’ OFFICES, LOCATED AT 1350 PORTOFNEW ORLEANS PLACE, NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, WASCALLED TO ORDER BY
CHAIRMAN MICHAEL A. THOMAS AT 1:32 P.M.
MEMBERS Michael A. Thomas, Chairman
PRESENT:Jeanne E. Ferrer,Vice-Chair
Darryl D. Berger,Secretary-Treasurer
Sharonda R. Williams, Member
Todd P. Murphy,Member
DaleS.Revelle, Member
James J. Carter,Jr.,Member
STAFF:B.Branch, Chief Executive Officer
T. Bryant,General Manager &Chief Strategy Officer
C. Kocur,Vice-President, Engineering
M. Scelson, Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel
L. LaCoste, StaffAttorney
GUESTS:J.Escudier,Port of New Orleans
L. Marino,Port of New Orleans
Chief M. Montroll, HarborPolice Department
Lt. C. Cummings, HarborPolice Department
A. Laurie, PortofNew Orleans
K. App, Port of New Orleans
C. Gilmore, Port of New Orleans
A. Coates, Port of New Orleans
S. Gauthier,Port of New Orleans
C. Labat, PortofNew Orleans
J. Mansour,Port of New Orleans
K. Gilmore, Port of New Orleans
A. Dawson, PortofNew Orleans
T. Black, PortofNew Orleans
C. Donze, PortofNew Orleans
B. Bailey,PortofNew Orleans
M. Austin, PortofNew Orleans
J. Passaro, PortofNew Orleans
K. Curth, PortofNew Orleans
N. Carter,PortofNew Orleans
B. Skaggs, PortofNew Orleans
A. Bierman, PortofNew Orleans
M. Singley,Port of New Orleans
S. Hodges, PortofNew Orleans
A. Thompson, Stop the Grain Train
L. Edwards, Lower 9th Ward Resident
W. Edwards, Lower 9th Ward Resident
C. Antrum, The Hackett Group
M. Moore, MOREO
A. Johnson, Cohn Reznick, LLP
A. Gaines, WSP
M. Valenti, WSP
C. Robles, Volkert
P. Vandercook, Global MaritimeMinistries
J. Toomy,Commissioner Emeritus
I. Roll Call &Determination of Quorum
Following arollcall of Commission members,
confirmed aquorum and called the meeting
II. Pledge of Allegiance
Chairman Thomas asked former Commissioner Joseph
III.
VI. Action Item:
A.
Commission, andinvitedhim to speak to the Board.
THE BOARDOFCOMMISSIONERS OF THE PORTOFNEW ORLEANS MINUTES OF THE REGULAR BOARD MEETING THURSDAY, FEBRUARY26, 2026 AREGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARDOFCOMMISSIONERS OF THE PORTOFNEW ORLEANS, HELD IN THE FIRST FLOOR AUDITORIUM AT ITS OFFICE LOCATED AT 1350 PORTOFNEW ORLEANS PLACE, NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, WASCALLED TO ORDER BY CHAIRMAN MICHAEL A. THOMAS AT 1:40 P.M.
MEMBERS Michael A. Thomas, Chairman
PRESENT:Jeanne E. Ferrer,Vice-Chair
Darryl D. Berger,Secretary-Treasurer
Sharonda R. Williams, Member
Todd P. Murphy,Member
DaleS.Revelle, Member James J. Carter,Jr.,Member
STAFF:B.Branch, President &Chief Executive Officer
J. Escudier,Chief Legal Officer
L. Marino,Chief of Staff& Vice-President External Affairs
Chief M. Montroll, HarborPolice Department
A. Laurie, Chief Financial Officer
K. App, Chief Commercial Officer
C. Gilmore, Chief Engineering Officer
A. Coates, Vice-President, CargoDevelopment
S. Gauthier,Vice-President, Cruise
C. Labat, Director,Procurement
J. Mansour,Director Trade Development
K. Gilmore, Director,Real Estate
A. Dawson, Director,Emergency Management
T. Black, General Counsel
C. Donze, StaffAttorney
B. Bailey,Information Technology Specialist
M. Austin, Information Technology Specialist
J. Passaro, Manager,Engineering
Lt. C. Cummings, HarborPolice Department
K. Curth, Press Secretary
N. Carter,Manager,Central Records
B. Skaggs, Manager,SustainableDevelopment
A. Bierman, Manager,Insurance &FEMAAdministration
M. Singley,Executive StaffOfficer
S. Hodges, BoardSecretariat
GUESTS:T.Bryant, NOPB
C. Kocur,NOPB
M. Scelson, NOPB
A. Thompson, Stop the Grain Train
L. Edwards, Lower 9th Ward Resident
W. Edwards, Lower 9th Ward Resident
C. Antrum, The Hackett Group
M. Moore, MOREO
A. Johnson, Cohn Reznick, LLP
A. Gaines, WSP
M. Valenti, WSP
C. Robles, Volkert
P. Vandercook, Global MaritimeMinistries
J. Toomy,Commissioner Emeritus
I. Roll Call &Determination of Quorum
Following arollcall of Boardmembers, Chairman Thomas confirmed aquorum and called the meeting to order at 1:40 p.m.
II. Public Comment
Chairman Thomas called forpublic comment and Ms.Hodges announced that three (3) individualshad requested to make public comment on matters not listed on the agenda.
Priortoinviting the speakers to
182948-634199-apr4-1t
Mr.Toomy providedanupdate on the development of ajoint marketingstrategy designedtopromote opportunitiesacross the five ports along the Lower Mississippi River.Heexpressed his appreciation to ChairmanThomas, BethBranch,and Boardstaff for their contributions to the project andcontract management. He also notedthe marked improvement in communication andcollaboration among the ports, along with increased support andengagement from local andstate agencies.
ChairmanThomasand otherCommissioners commendedMr. Toomy for his leadershipand his dedication to aproject thatwill generate transformative economic growth.
LindsayEdwards, Amanda Thompson, andWilliamEdwards expressed their opposition to the lease agreementwith Sunrise Foods International, Inc., the establishment of an organic grain terminal at the Alabo Street wharf, the rehabilitation of rail crossings, andthe demolition of the Boardproperty on Bienvenue Avenue
III. Reportbythe President and Chief Executive Officer
Ms. Branch presentedanoverview of the January 2026 volume and productivity statistics, along with asummary of the month’skey highlights.
IV.Approval of the Meeting Minutes for January 2026
ChairmanThomascalledfor amotion to approve the public meeting minutesfor January 2026, as previously circulated. Commissioner Revelle movedtoaccept the minutesand CommissionerWilliams seconded. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
V. Action Items:
A. Acceptance of the Consolidated Financial Statements for January 2026.
Mr.Laurie presentedthe consolidated financialstatements for the month of January,acopy of whichismade apart of these minutes. CommissionerFerrer movedto approve the consolidated financialstatementsand CommissionerWilliams seconded. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
B. ConsiderApproval of aResolution Authorizing the President and Chief Executive Of
