BY ERIC TUCKER, ALANNA DURKINRICHER and MICHAEL BALSAMO Associated Press
WASHINGTON The man accused of opening fire at the White House Correspondents’Association dinner railed against Trump administration policies and referred to himself as a“FriendlyFederal Assassin” in writings sent to family members minutes before an attack that authorities increasingly believe was politically motivated, according to amessage reviewed by The Associated Press.
Thewritings, sent shortly before shots werefired Saturday night at theWashington Hilton, made repeated references to President DonaldTrump without naming him directly and alluded to grievances over arange ofadministrationactions,including U.S. strikes on boats accused of smugglingdrugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
Investigators are treatingthe writings, along with atrailofsocial media posts and interviews with family members,assome of theclearest evidence yet of thesuspect’s mindset and possible motives.
Authorities uncovered what
ä Accused gunman is tutor, computer engineer. PAGE 6A
ä DOJcites shooting to press group to drop ballroom suit. PAGE 9A
onelaw enforcementofficialdescribed as numerous anti-Trump social media posts linked to thesuspect, Cole Tomas Allen, a31-yearoldCalifornia manaccusedoftrying to breach asecuritycheckpoint at the dinner while armed with multiple guns and knives.
ä see SUSPECT, page 6A
‘Thisprogram gave me hope’
BYIANNE SALVOSA staff writer
FBI agents work sunday at an address in Torrance, Calif., connected to Cole Tomas Allen, who was identified as the shooting suspectatthe White House Correspondents’ Dinner on saturday
AssoCIATEDPREss PHoTo By DAMIAN DoVARGANEs
ElaynHunt
Warden cracks down as at least8 staffers arrested
BY AIDAN MCCAHILL staff writer
Acellphone had just been seized from an inmatenamed Akeem Joseph and placed on the desk of aLouisiana State Policeinvestigator at Elayn Hunt Correctional Center.Then it rang. Thenumber traced back to Trenda Parker, acorrectionalofficer at the same prison. She was arresteda daylater,onMarch 25, and admitted to communicating withJosephfor weeks.
Amonth before, aphone pulled frominmate Dishawn Branchrevealed he’d beenchatting over social media withanElayn Hunt nurse, CaneciaBurrell, and Sgt. Christiana Hardin, both of whom were subsequently arrested. In earlyMarch,a correctionsofficernamed Francis Smith wasarrested after investigators found shehad been having sexwithan inmate and had children with him
Adozen students crowded around the ExxonMobil table at the BatonRougeCommunity College North Acadian campus. Ask questions, don’tprocrastinate and safety first, electrician Brittany Robinson toldstudents, who were attending an open house for BRCC’sNorth Baton Rouge Industrial Training Initiative. Less than adecade ago, she was on theother side of the table. Robinson, 32, is agraduate of NBRITI, afree craft training program at BRCC geared toward north Baton Rouge. She never thought she’d be an
electrician,previously studyingcriminal justice at BRCC. Butafter she struggled to find a babysitter for her son while she was in classes, she hadtodrop out.
“I thought it was the end of the world,” she said. But it wasn’t. While studying the electricaltrade at the community college, she held an apprenticeship with ISCConstructors and soon got ajob with ExxonMobil following graduation. She’snow abletoprovide for her son and follow in the footstepsofher father, whowas also an electrician
“This program gave me hope,”
Attendees crowd around the ExxonMobil booth during Baton RougeCommunity College’sopenhouse for itsNorth Baton RougeIndustrial TrainingInitiativeonTuesday. ä see PROGRAM, page 6A
Kenneth Bergeron, Baton RougeCommunity College electrical instructor,gives prospectivestudents a tour of the electrical workshop and talks about what to expect from the program during BRCC’sopen house on Tuesday
U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidysayshe’sdelivered
senatortouts infrastructure projects,workand health care
BY TYLER BRIDGES staff writer
Editor’snote: This story is the firstinaseries of profiles of major candidatesinthe U.S. Senate race,tobepublished over thecoming days
U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy stood before 75 people at St. Anthony’s Gardens, aretirement community for seniors in Covington earlier thismonth, and spoke earnestly for 10 minutes about why he deserves another six years in Washington. He then opened it up forquestions that the residents had submitted.
Cassidy peered at anote card and laughed.
“Let’s start off with an easyone,” he said with a tonethat indicated it wasn’tactually an easy one.
“Do Iregret my support for RFKJr.?”
Cassidy laughed again, alittleharder as he read asecond question. “DoIregret my voting against President Trump on impeachment?
Over thenext three minutes and40seconds,
Cassidy didn’tdirectly answer either question Instead, he told thecrowd that he works “re-
The incidents all took place shortly after Warden Keithe Turnerresignedjust eight months into the job. At the time, the prison had been facing increased scrutiny over astring of inmate deaths.
Turnerhasn’tspokenpublicly abouthis departure, but Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections Secretary Gary WestcottofferedanexplanationataFebruary newsconference.
“In the end, Warden Turner felt that his family and his legacy wasbeing targeted and tarnished unjustly by circumstances that he did not cause,” Westcott said.
Westcott and other officials maintain Elayn Hunt’sdeathratehas been played up by the media, has been played up by the media, noting the facility has long housed adisproportionate population of oldand sick inmates; about 160 of them —slightly morethan 8% of the population —are over the age of 70.
Yetafter overall deaths at the facility hit a five-year lowof22in2021, theynearly doubled to 53 by 2024, before falling slightly to
ally well” with President Donald Trump and that Trump hassigneddozensofhis measuresintolaw
Cassidy highlighted several of them, including onethat he said“gives states and localities extramoney to help those with addiction or serious mental healthissues.”
Cassidy described his decision-making process as asenator,saying it wassimilartohis method as adoctor.Hecollectsasmuch information as possible,thenmakes adecision, moves forward and doesn’tlook back
“Most times it works,” Cassidy said. “Occasionally it doesn’t.”
The twobiggest questions confronting Cassidy as he seekshis third termare whether
ä see CASSIDY, page 4A
sTAFF PHoTos By JAVIER GALLEGos
U.S. Sen.Bill Cassidy
BRIEFS FROM WIRE REPORTS
Chicago officerkilled in hospital shooting ID’d CHICAGO— AChicago officer whowas fatally shot by aman receiving treatment at ahospital while in police custodyhas been identified as 38-year-old John Bartholomew,authorities said Bartholomew, a10-year veteran of the force, was pronounced dead just before 1p.m. Saturday after being shot at Endeavor Health Swedish Hospital, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’sOffice.
Asecondofficer waswounded in the Saturday morning shooting and remained in critical conditionSunday, policesaid.
His name and the name of the suspect in the shooting have not yet been released by police.
Chicago police Superintendent Larry Snelling told reporters Saturday that the woundedofficer,57years old with 21 years of service, was “fighting for his life.”
Theofficers had transported the suspect, who had been arrested for suspicion of robbery, to the hospital for observation. The suspect fled from the hospitalafter the shooting and was later taken into custody,where aweapon was recovered, the police department said.Policehave not said how he wasable to get agun.
Asurveillance photoobtained by the Sun-Times appeared to show him running naked, with electrodes on his chest.
The hospital said in aFacebook posting Saturday that an individual in custody of law enforcement was brought to the emergency department for treatment andwas “wanded upon arrival,” following protocol. He was escorted by law enforcement at all times, the hospital said It said that the man later fired shots at thelaw enforcement officersand exited thehospital building.
Death toll in Colombia bus bombing rises to 20 BOGOTA,Colombia The number of people killed in abombing in a volatile region in southwest Colombia rose to 20, officials said Sunday
The attack happened Saturday when an explosive device was detonated on abus traveling along the Pan-American Highway in the municipality of Cajibio. So far,15women and five men are among the victims, according to Octavio Guzmán, governor of the region of Cauca He wroteonXthat theattack injured36others,three of whom are in intensive care. Guzmán noted that five of the injured are minors who areexpected to recover. Colombia’sInstitute of Legal Medicine said that specialists including dentists, anthropologistsand forensic doctorsare identifying the victims.
Mass.woman accused of killing her children
AMassachusetts woman who had been seeking custody of her two young children in adivorce is accused of killing them in their home, accordingtoauthorities and court records.
Massachusetts State Police issued an arrestwarrant Saturday charging Janette MacAusland,49, of Wellesley,with two counts of murder in the deaths of her children, 7-year-old Kai and 6-year-oldElla. MacAusland is being held in Vermont, where she is expected to appear Monday in Bennington County Superior Court on afugitive from justice charge as authorities seektohaveher returned to Massachusetts.
The investigation began Friday night when Wellesley Police received acall from a Vermont policedepartment requesting awell-being check on family members at ahome in Wellesley.Police found the children dead.
Probate court records show Samuel MacAusland filed for divorce in October after nine years of marriage and sought custody of the children and the home. Janette MacAusland later filed acounter claimalso seeking custody and the home. On April 16, they filed ajoint motion agreeing to have aneutralthird party investigate and make recommendationsabout custody,and aguardian was appointed on April 21.
Iranianenvoy brieflyreturns to Pakistan
ButTrump says thesides can talk by phone
BY MUNIR AHMED, SAMY MAGDY and MELANIE LIDMAN Associated Press
ISLAMABAD Iran’s foreign minister briefly visited Islamabad again on Sunday as Pakistan’s politicaland military leadership scrambled to reignite ceasefire negotiations between Tehranand Washington, butPresident DonaldTrump said they could talk byphone instead.
Abbas Araghchi had left Pakistan’scapital late the previous day, creating confusion around an expected second round oftalks there, but he returned before continuing on to Moscow on Sunday,Iranian state media said.Hehad been in Oman, which previously mediated talks and is on the other side of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
The White Houselast weeksaiditwould dispatch envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Islamabad to follow up on historic face-toface talksearlier this month. But shortly after Araghchi’s departure Saturday, Trump said he hadcalledoff the mission because of alack of progresswith Iran.
Indirect talks between the twosides were ongoing, two Pakistaniofficials said, speaking on conditionofanonymitybecausethey were not authorized to speak to the media.
Trump last week indefinitely extended the ceasefire that U.S.and Iran agreed to on April 7that has largely halted the fighting thatbegan with jointU.S.-Israeli strikesonFeb.
28. But apermanentsettlement remains elusive in the war that has killed thousands of people and shaken the global economy
Iran wantstopersuade Oman to support amechanism to collect tolls from vessels passing through the strait, through which afifth of theworld’soil flows in peacetime, accordingtoa regionalofficial who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorizedtodiscuss thematter Oman’sresponse wasn’t immediately clear
The official, who is involved in mediation efforts, also saidIran insists on ending the U.S. blockade before anew round of talks andthat Pakistan-led mediators are trying to bridge significant gaps between the countries.
“If they want, we can talk but we’re not sending people,” Trump told Fox News on Sunday.Hesaidearlier on social media: “All they have to do is call!!!”
Astandoff remains at the Strait of Hormuz, avital global waterway,asIranrestrictsmovementthrough it andthe U.S. enforcesa blockade of Iranian ports.
Araghchi also spoke by phone with counterparts in Qatar and SaudiArabiaon Sunday
Even before Saturday’s
developments, Iran’sforeign ministry said any talks would be indirect and Pakistani officialswould act as go-betweens, reflecting Tehran’swariness after rounds of indirect talks last year and earlier this year ended with Iranbeing attacked by the U.S. and Israel. The economicfallout is growing two months into thewar as global shipments of oil, liquefied natural gas, fertilizerand other suppliesare disruptedbythe near-closure of the strategic strait. Both sides have continued to make military threats. Iran’sjoint military command on Saturday warned that “if the U.S. continues itsaggressive military actions, including naval blockades, banditry,and piracy” it will face a“strong response.”
Trump last week ordered the military to “shoot and kill” smallboats that could be placing mines in thewaterway Trump told journalists on Saturday,before asecurity incident at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, that within 10 minutesof him canceling Witkoff and Kushner’strip to Islamabad,Iransenta“much better” proposal. He did not elaborate but stressed that one of his conditions is that Iran “will not have anuclear weapon.” Thestatusof Iran’senriched uranium has long been at the center of tensions. Tehran has 972 pounds of uranium enriched to 60% purity,a short, technical step from weapons-gradelevels, according to the U.N. nuclear watchdogagency Syed Mohammad Ali, an independent political analystinPakistan,saidthe delayinthe talks must not be seen as asetback and that indirect talks were progressing. He said tensions between Washington and Tehran cannot be eased overnight andthe negotiation process requires patience.
“But thegood thing is that the ceasefire is holding, and both sideshavea desire to endthe conflictina way that does notbackfire at home,” Ali said. Since the war began, at least 3,375 people have been killedinIran andatleast 2,509 people in Lebanon, where the Israel-Hezbollah fighting resumedtwo days after the Iran war started.
Tornadoesinnorth Texasleave at least2dead
By The Associated Press
RUNAWAYBAY,Texas A tornado-producing thunderstorm left at least two people deadinnorthern Texasand displaced at least 20 families, with many homes sustaining majordamage, authorities said Sunday At least one person was killed andnumerous homeswere damaged Saturdaynight in the town of Runaway Bay, said Wise County Judge J.D. Clark, who servesasthe county’s chief executive. Emergencyresponders worked to clear debristoreach damaged homes and provide medical care where needed, Clark said.
“Access has been difficultdue to blocked roadways and downed utilities, but crews havecontinued
pushing forward to reach those in need,”Clark said.
Thestorm also hit Springtown, where Parker County Assistant Fire Chief David Pruitt said in an email that asecond persondied south of thecity
limits. There was “significant damage” in the area, Pruittsaid.
“One of the most significantongoing challenges is the widespread power outageaffecting many residents,” he wrote.
DAKAR, Senegal— Malian Minister of Defense Gen. Sadio Camarawas killed in an attack as jihadi and rebel forces seized towns andmilitary basesacross the country,according to amilitary officer and two other sources on Sunday Therewas no immediate comment from the Malian government.
“Unfortunately,the Ministry of Defense, Gen. Sadio Camara, has been killed during theattack which targeted his house yesterday,” saida military officialwho spokeoncondition of anonymity because he did nothave permission to speak to the media.
Twoother people, acivil society leader andasecurity member,confirmed the information.
Separatist fighters on SaturdayjoinedIslamic militantsinlaunchingone of the biggest coordinated attacks on the Malian army
in the capital and several other cities that left at least 16 wounded.
The separatistshave been fighting for years to create an independent state in northern Mali, while al-Qaida and Islamic State groupaligned militants have been fighting the government for over adecade.
Malian troops andRussian mercenaries withdrew from thenorthern city of Kidalafterthe attacks, the rebels said Sunday
Aspokesperson for the Tuareg-led Azawad Liberation Front, or FLA, aseparatist group, said the RussianAfrica Corps troops andthe Malian military withdrew from thecity after an agreement was reached for theirpeaceful exit
“Kidal is declared free,” said FLA spokesperson Mohamed El Maouloud Ramadan.
The Malian army did not respond to requests for comment but in an earlier
statementsaidtheywere “tracking down terrorist armed groups in Kidal.”
Theseparatists have beenfighting for years to create an independent stateinnorthern Mali Kidalhad longservedas astronghold of therebellionbeforebeing taken by Malian government forces and Russianmercenaries in 2023. Itscapture marked asignificant symbolic victory for the junta andits Russianallies.
It was the first timethe separatists worked alongside the al-Qaida-linked militantgroup JNIM, which also claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attacksonBamako’sinternational airport and four other cities, including Kidal, in central and northernMali.
“Thisoperation is being carriedout in partnership with theJNIM,whichis also committed to defendingthe people againstthe military regimeinBamako,” Ramadan said.
National Weather Service teams confirmed that an EF2 tornado with peak winds of 135 mph touched down in the RunawayBay area. An EF1 tornado with peak winds of 105 mph was confirmedin theSpringtownarea, the weather service said.
The slow-moving supercell traveled through the area around 10 p.m. Saturday,said meteorologist Patricia Sanchezwiththe Fort Worth weather service office.
Customer
It moved southeast from around Wichita Falls, near the Oklahoma border,passing just west of Fort Worth. Runaway Bay is about 45 miles northwest of Fort WorthonLakeBridgeport. Springtown is about 30 miles northwest of Fort Worth. Weather service radar picked up a“potentially large and extremely dangerous” tornado nearAzle at 10:14 p.m.Saturday.That’s aboutanother10milessoutheast of Springtown.
or 225-388-0200 News Tips /Stories: NEWSTIPS@THEADVOCATE.COM
Obituaries: 225-388-0289 • Mon-Fri9-5;Sat 10-5;Closed Sun
Awoman holdsanIranian flag during apro-government rally on saturday in downtown Tehran, Iran.
DALLAs MoRNINGNEWsPHoTo By ELÍAs VALVERDEII
Ametal building is twisted around atree on sunday after atornadostruck springtown,Texas.
conservatives will side with Trump and reject the senator for voting to convict the president on impeachment charges in 2021 and, to a lesser extent, whether his vote to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr as health secretary in 2025 will keep anti-Trump voters from turning to him as the least objectionable Republican candidate.
But as he demonstrated by skirting the questions at St Anthony’s, Cassidy has been attempting to thread the needle between the two political camps, emphasizing his pro-Trump credentials while throwing out enough chum to moderate voters to secure their vote, too Cassidy, 68, is facing a tough challenge from U.S Rep. Julia Letlow — who Trump endorsed — and state Treasurer John Fleming in the May 16 Republican primary
A week of early voting begins on May 2 The top two finishers will advance to a Republican runoff on June 27.
Also running in the Republican primary is Mark Spencer The three candidates in the Democratic primary are Nick Albares, Jamie Davis and Gary Crockett.
A doctor’s mindset
As he campaigns for reelection, Cassidy doesn’t always seem at ease in personal interactions with the public, displaying an awkward laugh at times. But he shows a great willingness to digest copious amounts of information and spell out what he knows.
“Skip the details, boss,” his staff tells him.
In other words, Cassidy can come across as the smartest kid in the class.
But in an interview he said he was actually “a miserable” student at Tara High School in Baton Rouge, with mostly Bs and Cs No one realized it at the time, he said, but he suffered from attention
deficit disorder
Cassidy recalled that his parents feared he had cancer then He was shuttled among doctors, who eventually determined he was cancerfree. Cassidy was so impressed with their compassion while examining him that he decided to become a doctor.
While at LSU, he studied late into the evening and on weekends, and he began drinking 10 cups of coffee a day, which allowed him to keep his focus.
Cassidy became a liver specialist at Earl K. Long Hospital. He witnessed firsthand the shortcomings of government after Hurricane Katrina smashed New Orleans in 2005, and he helped commandeer an abandoned Kmart to provide medical care for evacuees in Baton Rouge. In 2006, he won an open state Senate seat. In 2008, he won a seat in the U.S. House.
Cassidy earned a reputation as a policy wonk. No one would ever confuse him with former Gov Edwin Edwards or any of the other colorful politicians elected in Louisiana over the years
“Is this guy too boring for Louisiana?” asked Politico in 2014, when he challenged then-U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, a Democrat.
He was not, it turned out, as Cassidy rode the conservative wave that was turning Louisiana into a red state.
As he campaigns for reelection this year, he uses his medical background for a reliable laugh line.
“The kind of question I get is, ‘Why would a gastroenterologist go into politics?’” he told the se-
niors in Covington. “For 20 years, I went to work every morning, the first thing we did were colonoscopies” — and here he paused for dramatic effect — “and I just got tired of the view.”
The crowd laughed.
“The punch line is you go into politics, sometimes the view seems the same,” he said.
An influential role in the Senate
With his medical training, Cassidy has developed an expertise in health care policy and now chairs the powerful Senate health committee.
As he campaigns, Cassidy proudly notes that he helped write the No Surprises Act, which took effect in 2022 and makes it much harder for out-of-network doctors and hospitals to send an extra bill to people treated during an emergency
“It prevents, I’m told, a million surprise medical bills a month,” he said in a recent interview
For years, he served as a leading Republican voice calling for the repeal of Obamacare. He now says it’s too entrenched to eliminate and is working on an alternative.
“I joke: I go to bed, I kiss my wife. I tell her I love her, and then I start thinking about health care, how can we make health care more affordable,” he recently told a crowd “It’s what I think about a lot. It’s so important for afford-
ability.”
But more than anything else, Cassidy touts the dollars he sends home to Louisiana thanks to his position as the state’s senior senator
The biggest bucket of money comes from the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. It has delivered $13.5 billion to reduce traffic congestion, keep homes safe from flooding and provide cleaner water, Cassidy repeats over and over again.
“I was the only Republican who voted for that from the Republican delegation. I’m not sure why the objection,” Cassidy told the St. Tammany Chamber of Commerce earlier this month.
The crowd would have understood the objection if Cassidy had noted that he was one of only 19 Republican senators who joined with Democrats to support President Joe Biden’s initiative.
Cassidy ticked off some of the projects: $25 million for widening Interstate 12 in the parish, $1.3 billion for high-speed and affordable internet service in rural areas, $600 million for the Morganza to the Gulf levee system and more.
While he doesn’t want conservatives to associate him with Biden, Cassidy doesn’t hide his willingness to work with Democrats and his distaste for showboat partisan acts that gum up the works in Washington.
“Everyone assumes that if you’re in political office, you can get everything you want,” he said at St. Anthony’s. “When anybody says, ‘Just make it happen,’ I ask: ‘Are you married?’ I think my wife gets 90% of what she wants. She thinks she gets only 80% The point being is that there is always a give and take in a relationship. And in our country, there is a give and take between 300 and something million people. Each representative represents them. Inevitably, you have to give a little bit to get a little bit.”
Skepticism from Trump supporters
That view doesn’t sit well with far-right conservatives who have viewed Cassidy suspiciously and want an all-out offensive against Democrats.
Cassidy placated the far-right during his first term when he voted with Trump 90% of the time and received Trump’s endorsement when he ran for reelection in 2020. Then came the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol by Trump’s supporters.
Cassidy voted that day to accept President-elect Biden’s electors. Then, a month later, he voted to convict Trump of inciting the riot on Jan. 6.
Asked why Cassidy replied, “He was guilty.”
The Louisiana Republican Party immediately censured him.
Trump began calling him “wacky Bill.”
Cassidy’s popularity in Louisiana cratered.
Since Trump took office in January 2025, apparently trying to get back into the president’s good graces, Cassidy has rarely stepped out of line.
The best example of this came after Trump nominated Kennedy to be health secretary Kennedy’s skepticism of vaccines put him at odds with Cassidy
The senator swallowed that concern.
“Let me point out: I’m the reason that Robert F. Kennedy is now the secretary of HHS,” Cassidy told reporters earlier this month. “He would not have gotten there otherwise.”
Cassidy did not express regret over the vote, saying that he supports Kennedy’s fight against ultra-processed food. He believes that Kennedy is growing more supportive of vaccines after the recent outbreak of measles. In the latter half of 2025, the biggest question in Louisiana politics was whether Trump would punish Cassidy by endorsing an opponent.
The senator repeatedly tried to show that he was aligned with Trump, even sending out news releases every time he got face time with the president.
But on Jan. 17, Trump announced that he was endorsing Letlow She jumped into the race three days later
Since then, Cassidy has faced questions about why Trump didn’t endorse him.
Cassidy wouldn’t admit to the obvious explanation at St. Anthony’s and instead pointed to Trump’s mercurial personality
“If anyone can tell me what President Trump will do next, you shouldn’t be here. You should be at the racetrack,” Cassidy said. In recent days, Cassidy has said Trump probably didn’t know that Letlow had called for greater diversity, equity and inclusion programs when she applied to be president of the University of Louisiana at Monroe in 2020. (She says she now realizes that the left co-opted the programs and has consistently voted against them in the House.)
Cassidy is campaigning hard to win On a recent day, he said he had been so busy that morning that his breakfast consisted of two Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.
Many political pros say the senator’s best efforts will come to naught, that he has little chance of overcoming Trump’s opposition to win reelection.
Cassidy, however, shows no signs of facing imminent defeat.
“If the election is on who has delivered for Louisiana both now and in the future, who has worked closely with President Trump and other presidents to deliver for our state and our nation,” he said recently, “I’m comfortable that I will win.”
sTAFF PHoTo By CHRIs GRANGER
U.s. sen. Bill Cassidy talks during the announcement for the new JEDCo regional food and beverage incubator facility in Westwego on April 8
sTAFF PHoTo By JAVIER GALLEGos
U.s. sen. Bill Cassidy rides in The Wearin’ of the Green Parade on March 14.
Tillis ready to move on confirming Fed chair pick
GoP
senator drops opposition after DoJ ends probe of Powell
By The Associated Press
WASHINGTON The Republican senator who had effectively blocked confirmation of President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Federal Reserve said Sunday he was dropping his opposition after the Department of Justice ended its investigation of the current central bank chair
The announcement by Sen. Thom Tillis, of North Carolina, removes a big hurdle to Trump’s effort to install Kevin Warsh, a former highranking Fed official, in the job in place of Jerome Powell, long under White House pressure to lower interest rates. Tillis’ opposition was enough to stall the nomination in the GOP-controlled Senate Banking Committee as Powell neared the scheduled end of his term on May 15. “I am prepared to move on with the confirmation of Mr Warsh. I think he’s going to be a great Fed chair,” Tillis told NBC’s “Meet the Press,” two days after the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia said her office’s investigation of the Fed’s multibillion-dollar building renovations was over Pow-
ell’s brief congressional testimony last summer about that work was also under review
The Fed’s internal watchdog is scrutinizing a project, now at $2.5 billion after earlier estimates had put it at $1.9 billion, that the Republican president has criticized for cost overruns Powell had asked in July for the inspector general’s review “I believe that there will not be any wrongdoing. Maybe we find a little stupid here in terms of somebody responsible for the project making a decision they shouldn’t?
Maybe. But it doesn’t rise to a criminal prosecution. That was my problem to begin with because I feel like there were prosecutors in D.C. that thought this was going to be a lever to have Mr Powell leave early,” he said.
Tillis, who infuriated Trump in June for opposing his big tax and spending cuts bill over Medicaid reductions and then announced he would not seek reelection in 2026, added that he had received assurances from the Justice Department that “the case is completely and fully settled and that the only way an investigation would be opened would be a criminal referral from one of the most respect inspector generals.”
The committee on Saturday said it planned to vote Wednesday on Warsh’s nomination. The ranking Democrat, Massachusetts
Georgia wildfire tops 31 square miles
By The Associated Press
NAHUNTA, Ga. — One of two large wildfires in southeastern Georgia continues to grow and now exceeds 31 square miles, officials reported Sunday
The Highway 82 Fire has been burning since April 20 and as of Saturday had destroyed at least 87 homes On Sunday morning officials said it was only 7% contained. Highway 82 in Brantley County is about 35 miles north of the state line with Florida.
“The fire basically doubled last night in size,” Brantley County Manager Joey Cason said Sunday in a Facebook post. “It is a dynamic fire event that will be impacted by the wind.” Wind gusts of about 15 mph were expected Sunday Cason also said evacuation notices could be issued Sunday and that residents should heed them.
“We had folks that did not evacuate and they almost got caught by that fire,” he added. “It’s going to be another potential bad fire day as the winds pick up later in the day.”
A second fire about 70 miles to the southwest in Clinch and Echols counties, near the Florida state line, had burned more than 46 square miles, destroyed at least 35 homes and only was about 10% contained as of Saturday That blaze was started by sparks from a welding operation.
The Highway 82 Fire was started by a foil balloon hitting live power lines. That created an electrical arc that ignited combustible material on the ground.
More crews were ex-
AssoCIATED PREss PHoTo By JosE LUIs MAGANA sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., speaks Tuesday during the confirmation hearing of Kevin Warsh, nominee for Federal Reserve chair, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Tillis said sunday he was dropping his opposition to Warsh’s confirmation after the Department of Justice ended its investigation of the current central bank chair
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, responded with a statement that “no Republican claiming to care about Fed independence should support moving forward the nomination of Kevin Warsh, who proved in his nomination hearing to be nothing more than President Trump’s sock puppet.”
Also Wednesday, Fed policymakers will meet and are expected to keep their key interest rate unchanged for the third straight meeting, shrugging off Trump’s demands for a cut. At a news conference, Powell could
indicate whether he will remain on the Fed’s board of governors after his term as chair ends, an unusual but not completely unprecedented step that would deny Trump the opportunity to fill another seat on the sevenmember board Powell’s term as a governor lasts until January 2028.
At a hearing last week, Warsh told senators he never promised the White House that he would cut interest rates and pledged to be “an independent actor” if confirmed as chair Hours before
that, Trump had been asked in a CNBC interview whether he would be disappointed if Warsh did not immediately cut rates. “I would,” the president said. Without the constraints of a political campaign, Tillis has spoken out forcefully about Powell, decrying the inquiry by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, a longtime Trump ally, as a “vindictive prosecution” and suggested it threatened the Fed’s longtime independence from day-to-day politics. Tillis told NBC that he had gotten assurances from
the Justice Department that he needed “to feel like they were not using DOJ as a weapon to threaten the independence of the Fed. So this will allow Mr Warsh to move on with his confirmation.”
On Saturday, Trump was asked by reporters whether there was now smooth sailing for Warsh with the end of the Justice Department’s investigation. “I imagine it’s smooth,” Trump said, adding that his nominee “is going to be fantastic.” The president said he still wanted to find out “how can a building of that size cost whatever it’s going to be.”
Trump visited the Fed building in July and, in front of television cameras, said the renovations would run $3.1 billion. Powell, standing next to him, said after looking at a paper presented to him by Trump, that the president’s latest price tag was incorrect.
The investigation was among several undertaken by the Justice Department into Trump’s perceived adversaries. For months it had failed to gain traction as prosecutors struggled to articulate a basis to suspect criminal conduct. Other efforts by the department to prosecute Trump’s adversaries, including New York state Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, and former FBI Director James Comey, have also been unsuccessful.
Ukrainian city gathers for Chernobyl vigil
Remembrance comes despite war with Russia
BY HANNA ARHIROVA
Associated Press
SLAVUTYCH, Ukraine People streamed into the central square of Slavutych in the early hours of Sunday, placing candles on a large radiation hazard symbol laid out on the ground as a midnight commemoration began for those killed in the Chernobyl disaster 40 years ago and the thousands who risked deadly radiation exposure to contain its aftermath. Residents show up for the vigil each year despite wartime curfews and official warnings against large gatherings during Russia’s war on Ukraine.
rial stands near a row of posters honoring local residents killed in the war Liudmyla Liubyva, 71, came to the ceremony with a friend. She used to attend with her husband, who worked at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant but later developed a disability linked to radiation exposure, and lost the ability to walk, she said.
Liubyva said it was important to honor those who sacrificed their health in the aftermath of the disaster but Russia’s war has revived fears that the danger was never fully left behind.
pected to arrive Sunday and Monday to help battle it, Cason said
“There’s a ton of assets that are being poured into this fire to, hopefully, get it under control or get it out,” he said. “This whole situation is heartbreaking.”
Updated figures on homes damaged or destroyed by the blaze were not immediately available Sunday afternoon, said Susie Heisey, spokeswoman with the Southern Area Incident Management Team.
“Our firefighters worked so hard and had so much success in protecting structures and private homes but there also were losses,” Heisey said Due to the ongoing fire, investigators can’t be sent in yet to assess damages, she added.
Firefighters have been battling more than 150 other wildfires in Georgia and Florida that have sent smoky haze into places far from the flames, triggering air quality warnings for some cities.
An unusually large number of wildfires are burning this spring across the Southeast. Scientists say the threat of fire has been amplified by a combination of extreme drought, gusty winds, climate change and dead trees still littering some forests after being toppled by Hurricane Helene in 2024.
In northern Florida, Nassau County Sheriff’s Office volunteer firefighter James “Kevin” Crews died Thursday evening after he suffered an unspecified medical emergency while suppressing a brush fire. No fire deaths or injuries have been reported in Georgia.
The April 26, 1986, disaster shone a spotlight on lax safety standards and government secrecy in what was then the Soviet Union. The explosion was not reported by Soviet authorities for two days, only after winds had carried the fallout across Europe and Swedish experts had gone public with their concerns.
About 600,000 people, often referred to as Chernobyl’s “liquidators,” were sent in to fight the fire at the nuclear plant and clean up the worst
the 1986
of its contamination. Thirty workers died within months from either the explosion or acute radiation sickness. The accident exposed millions in the region to dangerous levels of radiation and forced a wide-scale, permanent evacuation of hundreds of towns and villages in Ukraine and Belarus.
The city of Slavutych, about 32 miles from the former plant, dates to this period. While most evacuees were resettled across nearby districts in Kyiv region, in late 1986 Soviet authorities began building what would become the city to house workers from the Chernobyl
Nuclear Power Plant and their families. The first residents moved in around 1988.
Since then, the city has endured a brief Russian occupation during Moscow’s failed push to seize the Ukrainian capital in early days of the war, as well as harsh winters — especially the last one, when blackouts forced some residents to cook meals over open fires in the streets.
People of all ages gathered in the square, some arriving as families carrying spring tulips and daffodils. They lined up in a broad plaza framed by Soviet-era apartment blocks, where a memo-
“When the drone struck the arch it felt like the world could return to 1986,” she said, referring to a Russian drone strike in 2025 that damaged the New Safe Confinement structure, the massive dome built to contain radiation from the destroyed reactor “We all young and old alike — must protect our land, because it is so vulnerable.” Soft music played in the background as poetry about the disaster drifted over loudspeakers. “Years pass, generations change, but the pain of Chernobyl does not fade,” a woman’s voice recited. As the words echoed across the square, people dressed in white protective suits and face masks, symbolizing the liquidators, stood in silence holding candles.
Palestinian officials call local elections a success
Votes took place in a Gaza community and the West Bank
By The Associated Press
JERUSALEM Palestinian authorities said Sunday that local elections in a single Gaza community and the Israelioccupied West Bank were a success and called them a step toward a long-delayed presidential election in the territories and eventual statehood.
The Palestinian Authority, which administers semiautonomous areas of the West Bank but is left out of the U.S.-drafted ceasefire plan for Gaza, has described Saturday’s local election in central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah as a largely symbolic pilot while the authority seeks to politically link the territories. It was the first election in part of Hamas-run Gaza in more than two decades.
Deir al-Balah, like much of the territory, is devastated by two years of war but was spared an Israeli ground invasion Turnout there was 23%, but officials cited challenges including large-scale displacement and outdated civil registry records. Hamas, which controls the half of Gaza that Israel withdrew from last year under the current ceasefire, did not field candidates and did not try to block the vote. Turnout in the West Bank elections was 56% or over a half-million people, not
dramatically different from elections there in recent years.
Many races were not contested, and candidates were required to accept the program of the Palestine Liberation Organization, which leads the Palestinian Authority The program calls for the recognition of Israel and renouncing armed struggle, effectively sidelining Hamas and other factions.
Election results, then, were dominated by independents and Fatah, the faction that leads the authority and
claimed victory
“Everyone is aware of the political, security and economic conditions, the fragmentation of Palestinian territory, the war on Gaza, and the regional conflict in Iran,” Rami Hamdallah, chair of the Ramallah-based Central Election Commission and a former prime minister, told journalists.
“Simply holding the elections in Deir al-Balah is a significant achievement, and we hope to hold elections in other bodies across the Gaza Strip in the near future,” he said.
The elections in both territories were for the makeup of local councils tasked with overseeing water roads and electricity
The elections were the first to take place since reforms were enacted in response to international pressure. Elections now allow voting for individuals rather than slates. With faith in political parties low, they were less important than families and clans in campaigning.
PHoTo PRoVIDED By THE oFFICE oF GEoRGIA GoV. BRIAN KEMP smoke rises Friday from a wildfire in Brantley County, Ga
AssoCIATED PREss PHoTo By DAN BAsHAKoV
A man dressed in a white protective suit holds a candle saturday in slavutych, Ukraine, during a memorial service dedicated to firefighters and workers who died after
Chernobyl nuclear disaster ahead of its 40th anniversary.
AssoCIATED PREss PHoTo By MAHMoUD ILLEAN
A Palestinian man votes saturday in local elections in AlUbaidiya, West Bank.
Accused gunman is tutor, computer engineer
BY AMY TAXIN, MICHAEL BIESECKER and ERIC TUCKER Associated Press
TORRANCE, Calif. — The California man arrested in the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner is a highly educated tutor and amateur video game developer opposed to the policies of President Donald Trump.
Authorities say Cole Tomas Allen, of Torrance, California, was taken into custody at the dinner Saturday night in Washington that was attended by Trump and top members of his administration. A social media profile for a man with the same name and a photo that appears to match that of the suspect show he worked part-time for the last six years at a company that offers admissions counseling and test preparation services to aspiring college students.
In a message sent to family members minutes before the attack, the 31-year-old the described himself as “Friendly Federal Assassin” and railed against recent actions taken by the U.S. government under Trump, though he did not name the Republican president directly, according to a copy obtained by The Associated Press.
The writings ran more than a thousand words and read as a rambling, deeply personal message, opening almost jarringly with a casual “hello everybody!” before shifting into apologies to family members, co-workers, fellow travelers and even strangers he feared could be caught in the violence.
The note moved between confession, grievance and farewell, with Allen thanking people in his life
FBI
was identified as the shooting suspect at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner the night before.
even as he sought to explain the attack Elsewhere, the document veered between political anger, religious justifications and rebuttals to imagined critics, at times reading as if he were arguing with detractors in real time.
Authorities said Allen will face charges including using a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer, as well as other potential counts. A search of state and federal court databases showed no indication Allen had ever previously been charged with a crime.
He signed the document using a moniker that matches social
media accounts that have since been taken offline. A defunct account using the same name on the platform Bluesky reposted others who offered commentary critical of Trump as well as members of the media who attend the annual black-tie dinner
The AP limits the use of attackers’ writings and social media posts to avoid amplifying their views or encouraging copycat actions. The AP chooses to summarize their words and focus mainly on the victims and investigations.
Allen was arrested Saturday night trying to rush past a security checkpoint with two firearms and knives. Law enforcement offi-
cials told the AP that Allen legally bought a .38-caliber semiautomatic pistol in October 2023 and a 12-gauge shotgun last year
Voter registration records from California lists Allen’s home address as his parent’s house on a tree-lined street in one of the most historic neighborhoods in Torrance, a city within the Los Angeles metro area. Public records show he is the oldest of four adult siblings, with two younger sisters and a brother
Two cars were parked in the driveway Sunday morning. A blue scooter that a neighbor said Allen rode was on the front lawn. No one answered the door when an Associated Press reporter knocked. By the afternoon, several people who appeared to be law enforcement agents were canvassing the neighborhood, with one wearing an FBI sweatshirt.
A yard sign displayed at the family home supported a local candidate for judge who was endorsed by the Los Angeles County Democratic Party Federal campaign finance records show Cole Allen contributed $25 to a Democratic Party political action committee in support of Kamala Harris for president in 2024 and listed his employer as C2 Education.
A 2024 post on the C2’s Facebook page listed Allen as the company’s teacher of the month. The company did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Saturday night and an office in Torrance was closed on Sunday Allen’s profile photo on LinkedIn shows him wearing a cap and gown when graduating with a master’s degree in computer science from California State University, Dominguez Hills The photo ap-
pears to have been taken on May 2025 Bin Tang, a computer science professor at the school, told the AP that Allen took a few of his classes.
“He was a very good student indeed, always sitting in the first row of my class, paying attention, and frequently emailing me with coursework questions. Soft-spoken, very polite, a good fellow I am very shocked to see the news,” Tang wrote in an email.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in 2017 in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, according to his profile on the social networking site LinkedIn. The small university is academically prestigious with a very low acceptance rate. He also listed his involvement there in a campus group that battled with Nerf guns and a Christian student fellowship.
The suspect’s father, Thomas Allen, is listed as an elder at Grace United Reformed Church Torrance. The webpage for the congregation describes it as a “Biblebelieving church” following the “infallible Word of God.” Security guards posted at the sanctuary during worship services on Sunday escorted parishioners to the door and kept reporters at bay Allen also posted that he had developed a video game for the Steam platform based on molecular chemistry A post under Allen’s name said he was working to develop a new “top-down shooter” combat game set in outer space. Biesecker and Tucker reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Michael Balsamo, Michael Kunzelman, Brian Slodysko and Byron Tau in Washington contributed to this report.
Early warning
Allen’s brother contacted police in New London, Connecticut, after receiving the writings, according to the law enforcement official, who was not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity
The New London Police Department said in a statement it was contacted at 10:49 p.m., about two hours after the shooting, by an individual who wanted to share information related to it. The police department said it then immediately notified federal law enforcement.
Allen’s sister, who lives in Maryland, told investigators her brother had legally purchased several weapons from a California gun store and kept them at their parents’ home in Torrance without their knowledge, according to the official She described her brother as prone to making radical statements, the official said.
The writings examined by AP ran more than 1,000 words and read as a rambling, deeply personal message, opening almost jarringly with a casual “hello everybody!” before shifting into apologies to family members and co-workers, and even
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Robinson said. Robinson is one of 650 graduates of the program, which is gearing into its 13th year Students can study the electrical, instrumentation, millwright, pipe fitting, process technology and welding trades, which are in high demand from employers. Withmultibillion-dollarprojects around the state, from data centers to steel mills, companies are seeking droves of trades workers, with industrial trade worker demand expected to peak at 120,000 next year, according to data from the Greater Baton Rouge Industry Alliance. The state has faced a shortage of workers across other industries including health care, prompting leaders to launch initiatives to help Louisiana businesses connect with potential employees.
BRCC has 40 industry partners which span from technology to government to food that connect graduates with job
the Press.” A profile suspect emerges
Social media posts that appear to match the suspect show he is a highly educated tutor and amateur video game developer
A May 2025 profile photo of Allen appears to match the appearance of the man in a photo of the alleged attacker being taken into custody that was posted Saturday night by Trump. The photo, posted to the social networking site LinkedIn, shows him in a cap and gown after graduating with a master’s degree in computer science from California State University, Dominguez Hills.
Chaotic scene unfolded
The shooting at the security barricades happened minutes after the event got underway
The Secret Service and other authorities swarmed the room as guests ducked under tables by the hundreds. Gasps echoed through the ballroom as guests realized something was happening. Hundreds of journalists immediately got on phones to call in information.
strangers he feared could be caught in the violence. The note moved between confession, grievance and farewell, with Allen thanking people in his life even as he sought to explain the attack. Elsewhere, he veered between political anger, religious justifications and rebuttals to imagined critics. He also made a taunting critique of security at the Washington Hilton, mocking what he described as lax precautions and expressing surprise he was able to enter the hotel armed without detection.
opportunities or serve on the program’s advisory panel to keep curriculum in line with industry demands.
BRCC Dean of Technical and Adult Education Heather Guidry said NBRITI has grown an interest in all of BRCC’s offerings over time as students realize they don’t have to follow a typical fouryear college path The career options are vast, too; most students imagine a career in process technology will lead them to a chemical plant, but they can work at companies like Community Coffee, one of the program’s partners, which also needs process technicians.
The school’s investment in students outside of the classroom has strengthened retention, she said, and she’s noticed that more and more students have completed the program in each cohort The college provides support for students who need to obtain their driver’s license or a Transportation Worker Identification Credential, needed for background checks for some employers.
AP limits the use of attackers’ writings and social media posts to avoid amplifying their views or encouraging copycat actions. The AP chooses to summarize their words and focus mainly on the victims and investigations.
Allen legally bought a .38-caliber semiautomatic pistol in October 2023 and a 12-gauge shotgun two years later according to the law enforcement official and another one who also spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.
Officials were targets
Allen is believed to have traveled by train from California to Chicago and then onto Washington, where
Each cohort takes 140 to 150 students, 25 to 30 for each of the six trades offered. While the program must turn away some applicants to maintain its free cost, Guidry said the program turns attention to the rest of BRCC’s academic offerings.
“This program allows us to open the door not only to NBRITI, but to BRCC,” she said. All crafts are in high demand at the moment, Tara Bazille, socioeconomic adviser for ExxonMobil said. Employers are also seeking “quality workers,” she said, and the program helps create those through training outside the trades in professional development, financial literacy, mock job interviews and resume writing. Her role at ExxonMobil focuses on connecting potential workers to employment through outreach and education, and she sees untapped potential in north Baton Rouge “We have talent here,” she said. “We want to remove that barrier.”
he checked himself in as a guest days earlier at the hotel days earlier where the gala dinner was held with its typically tight security, said acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. He is believed to have acted alone and is set to face criminal charges on Monday Allen attempted to charge toward the cavernous ballroom at the Washington Hilton but was tackled to the ground in a violent scene that resulted in shots being fired, Trump being hurried off the stage unharmed and guests ducking for cover beneath their tables.
“It does appear that he did in fact set out to target folks who work in the administration, likely including the president,” Blanche told NBC’s “Meet
Allen earned a bachelor’s degree in 2017 in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. He listed his involvement there in a Christian student fellowship and a campus group that battled with Nerf guns.
A local ABC station in Los Angeles included an interview with Allen during his senior year of college as part of a story about new technologies to help people as they age. He had developed a prototype for a new type of emergency brake for wheelchairs.
Allen contributed $25 to a Democratic Party political action committee in support of Kamala Harris for president in 2024, according to federal campaign finance records.
“Out of the way, sir!” someone yelled. Others yelled to duck. From one corner a “God Bless America” chant began as the president was escorted offstage. Outside the hotel, members of the National Guard and other authorities flooded the area as helicopters circled overhead.
After an initial attempt to resume the event, it was scrapped for the night and will be rescheduled.
Trump was unusually conciliatory after what he saw as a third attempt on his life in less than two years. He suggested that his personal politics had made him a repeated target, but he also called for unity and bipartisan healing in an increasingly violent world.
“It’s always shocking when something like this happens. Happened to me, a little bit. And that never changes,” Trump told reporters in a hastily organized news conference at the White House late Saturday
AssoCIATED PREss PHoTo By DAMIAN DoVARGANEs
agents work sunday near an address in Torrance, Calif., connected to Cole Tomas Allen, who
AssoCIATED PREss PHoTo By ToM BRENNER
President Donald Trump answers reporters’ questions in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House after a shooting at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in Washington on saturday.
47 last year The only other prison in the state that’s had more deaths since 2019 is the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, which has more than twice the number of inmates.
Of the 17 deaths at Elayn Hunt so far this year, at least two have been drug overdoses.
Since Warden Travis Day took over in January, it’s hard to ignore the crackdown underway At least eight staff members and 20 civilians — including visitors, contractors and vendors — have been arrested for contraband-related offenses or felony malfeasance in office at the prison.
“They are making a conscious effort to make sure they keep all contraband off the facility,” said Iberville Parish Sheriff Brett Stassi
Before Day, a former warden at B.B. Rayburn Correctional Center, stepped in, the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections had already requested the State Police open an investigation into the facility Neither agency will discuss its scope or status.
The arrests
Of the eight Elayn Hunt correctional officers whose arrests have been announced by the Iberville Parish Sheriff’s Office this year all have been women.
In January, Cadet Calnisha Ruth and Master Sgt. Kha’ya Dumas accused of introducing contraband into the prison. Both were found to have small amounts of marijuana in their cars after being searched when entering the prison, according to affidavits provided by the Iberville Parish Sheriff’s Office Ruth also had several box cutters and a kitchen knife in her car, and told sheriff’s deputies she had forgotten the items were with her, authorities said.
The most common type of contraband found at Elayn Hunt and most other prisons is drugs or cellphones. Confiscating the latter led to the arrests of Parker, Burrell and Hardin. Two other unnamed employees were placed on investigative leave following Hardin and Burrell’s arrests.
Two other correctional officers, Paula Leblanc and D’Shyra Hawkins, were arrested on counts of malfeasance in office in March and February, though officials have
not given any details on the reason why Details about Smith, the guard accused of having sex with an inmate, have also been sparse Challenges
Keeping contraband out of Elayn
Hunt has never been simple, but a high number of vacancies and a shifting workforce now make it even more difficult.
“Hunt has been plagued by a large number of vacancies, which probably contributed to it not being done as thoroughly as it’s done today,” said Seth Smith, Louisiana’s chief of operations for the Department of Corrections, who also served as warden of Elayn Hunt in 2014
Smith said the job of a correctional officer once drew 25 applicants for every five openings. Today, more than 100 positions sit empty Those that remain are increasingly women, which Smith said presents some security challenges, like conducting strip searches.
“We have some great female officers, but at the same time, when you’re at an all-male facility, there’s certain things a female can’t do,” he said.
Currently, 256 correctional officers oversee more than 1,900 male inmates at Elayn Hunt, and 77% of them are women.
Recently, Elayn Hunt has bumped starting pay by $2 to $19.42 an hour, which has helped it fill roughly 100 vacancies in the past year To cover more of the remaining gaps, the department has authorized overtime for guards from Dixon, Rayburn, Raymond Laborde and Angola.
“He’s doing a great job,” Smith said of the new warden. “But he’s also functioning with more staff.”
As warden, Day said he’s upgrad-
ed the facility’s camera and lighting systems increased random vehicle searches and expanded the use of X-ray and canine units at entry points. Nearly 4,000 vehicles have been searched this year and about 150 visitors have been turned away after informing staff they had contraband or a weapon, a DOC spokesperson said.
“We’ll continue to provide the safest environment for our employees and inmates to live and work,” said Day.
The deaths
Of the 47 deaths recorded at Elayn Hunt in 2025, 18 were classified as “unexpected” — a word Smith, the chief of operations, said has created more confusion than clarity
“I think people took that the wrong way,” Smith said. “We can have somebody that’s 80 years old living in the dorm with known health issues who drops dead, and it’s still unexpected.”
Under prison protocol, “unexpected” simply means a cause of death hasn’t yet been determined and an autopsy has been ordered, he said. It doesn’t imply foul play. But after the term began generating headlines, Smith said Elayn Hunt changed it to “undetermined.”
The majority of deaths between 2019 and 2024 at Elayn Hunt were attributable to cancer or heart disease. The prison employs two fulltime physicians, five nurse practitioners and 65 nurses to oversee roughly 64 inmates in an inpatient hospital, 160 in a nursing home and 90 in an inpatient psychiatric unit. Smith added the facility contracts with a handful of more specialist doctors and regularly sends in-
mates to hospitals in Baton Rouge and New Orleans for care.
Of those 18 “undetermined” deaths in 2025 — 16 fewer than the year before — 11 were ultimately ruled natural causes, one was a suicide and two were overdoses linked to synthetic marijuana.
Four cases are still awaiting autopsy results.
District Attorney Tony Clayton said he isn’t alarmed about the deaths.
“I’m not overly concerned,” Clayton said. “I’m concerned about people dying. But you got folks dying of old age, some dying of natural causes. Every now and then, you’re gonna have someone getting a hold of drugs.”
One inmate, Antonio Dukes, died on Dec. 24 from a suspected fentanyl overdose, according to lawyers representing his family. However, autopsy results obtained from the Iberville Parish Coroner’s Office, a death listed on the same date at the prison lists the cause as “sudden cardiac arrest.” The Coroner’s Office did not release the name of the inmate, citing privacy concerns. Dukes’ family’s lawyers are filing a federal civil rights and wrongful death lawsuit against the prison, alleging deliberate indifference, institutional corruption and systemic failures that contributed Dukes’ preventable death.
So far this year, Smith said seven deaths are being treated as undetermined. At least two have already been confirmed as overdoses — one tied to methamphetamine, another to a combination of fentanyl, methamphetamine and synthetic marijuana — already matching last year’s total, autopsy results show
Are drugs a factor?
Smith and Day said drugs have always been present in prisons, and always will be, especially in Elayn Hunt, where about 70% of the inmates have a documented substance abuse disorder Officials said the best they can do is make drugs costlier to obtain.
“What we’re doing is definitely running up the cost,” Smith said. But even that has become harder as the items being smuggled change.
Synthetic marijuana, sometimes called “Spice” or “K2,” can be dissolved into liquid and sprayed onto paper or cash. Opioid derivatives like fentanyl move the same way Drug-sniffing canines, trained to detect natural marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine, struggle to smell it.
“You literally can go online and get recipes on how to make this stuff,” Smith said. “For a piece of paper one little corner is all it takes.”
Smith and Day said some inmates will smoke or inhale household products like floor wax or insecticide to get high. Elayn Hunt photocopies all inmate mail and is exploring ways to eliminate more paper, though the Department of Corrections acknowledged there is no formal plan in place yet. The prison also offers Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous and other peer-led support groups, but Smith is candid about their limits.
“Is it enough? I can’t tell you if it’s enough or not. The programs are there if someone wants help,” he said. “I can take a horse to water all day long. I can’t make him drink.”
METRONEWS
Jazz Fest closes out firstweekend
Highlights include Byrne’sblueperiod, Ball’s tribute, Batiste’sswamp
BY KEITH SPERA staff writer
On asteamy Sunday afternoon at the 2026 New Orleans Jazz &Heritage Festival, Jason Elliott stoodin theGospel Tent sporting acustom T-shirt illustrating one of theday’s dilemmas: “I wish David Byrne and Ron Carter weren’tplaying at the same time.” His shirt might also have read, “I wish David Byrne and Jon Batiste Presents Swampweren’tplaying at the same time.” Both promised to be different and special.From what Isaw,both were. Jazz Fest had to once again dodge ameteorological bullet. Sunday morning storms delayed the opening of the Fair Grounds gates. But once they opened, sunshine reigned forthe restofthe day,evaporating some of themud. Gospelelevation
In the Gospel Tent, Tyrrone Foster &the Arc Singers generated their own sort of spiritual sunshine. Between the singers, band and special guest Rosalie “Lady Tambourine” Ashton-Washington, some 40-odd souls wereonstage Delisha Adams, a30-year veteran of the Arc Singers,stepped up front to wail atour de force “Jesus Can Work It Out.” Behind her, the three dozenvoices of the choir were like pistons in apercolating engine, all in time and in tune and in touch with the spirit, elevating the tent and everyone in it. The four-piece band was relentless, keeping the tempo and energyup. Adams threw herselfintothe song, shaking her head and dancing as she tested the limits of her voice. She had preemptively removed her eyeglasses. “They probably wouldhave ended up landing on somebody else’sface,”she noted afterward. “It’sagood feeling to share the Gospel in song.”
At the Blues Tent, singer,guitarist, songwriter,author and actor Chris Thomas King defied the day’s heat in atop hat and heavyjacket. He alternated acoustic blueswith fully amplified electricexcursions with his band. One droning song was meant to evoke the history of Congo Square in what is now Armstrong Park, the placewhere enslaved Africans could perform their music on Sunday.King concluded with asculpted take on Jimi Hendrix’s“Voodoo Child (Slight Return).” At the Gentilly Stage, Suzannah Elizabeth Powell bid farewell to her “rap cabaret” alterego, Boyfriend. Over theyears,Boyfriend and her collective of female artists have presided over someofthe most visually adventurous performance art sets atthe festival. After Sunday,she intends to set the character aside, presumably to focus on other projects. Boyfriend signed off with afinal “Beauty is Pain,” with Powell atop
Thecrowd reacts to Irma Thomas’ performance on the Festival stageduring the Neworleans Jazz &HeritageFestival at the
orleans on sunday.
aplatform surrounded by acoterie of collaborators. “Thank you for going on thisjourneywithmeall these years,” she said.“That’sit. I love you.”
AMarciaBallsurprise
Thepiano playerand singer Marcia Ball is based in Texas but takes many ofher musical cues from New Orleansand south Louisiana. She has along history with New Orleans musiciansand festivals. In October,she announced her retirement following an ALS diagnosis. On Sunday in the BluesTent, herbandand abevy of collaborators gathered to sing her songs. With Ball watching fromside stage, zydeco-soul singer and accordionistTerranceSimien teamed up with Shelley King for “Louisiana 1927.” New Orleanspianist Jon Cleary whippedup“Got My Red BeansCookin’.”
In another Sunday schedule conflict, Irma Thomas was onstage at the Festival Stage at the same time as the Ball tribute. Otherwise, Thomas might have joined Tracy Nelson for “Sing It,” thetitle track of thealbumthey andBall recorded together At onepoint, Ball, who can no longer speak, stood up at the side of the stage and danced.AsNelson introduced “Where Do YouGo When YouCan’t Go Home,” she glanced toher left andwas startled by whatshe saw: Ball hadtaken a seat at the keyboard. “On my goodness —Marcia Ball, y’all!”
The crowd filling theBlues Tent roared. Ball locked in and played through the entiresong. When shefinished, herhusband, Gordon Fowler,helped her up. With the assistance of acane, she made her way back to herseat,having provided
ahighlight of her own tribute. Byrne, Batiste, Stewart Byrne, back at the fest forthe first time since2018, gotanearly start. He joinedSt. Vincent, who preceded him on theGentilly Stage,for Talking Heads’ “Wild Wild Life.” He returned for hisown show with abanddressedall in blue. Just like last time,theywere all mobile —eventhe womanwith an electric cello’sneck on astrap After achill opening, the full band joined in forhis recentsingle “Everybody Laughs.”
He toldastory about agirl he knew in high school who liked to lie in afield by afactory and take LSD. He declined herinvitation but later wroteasong about her: Talking Heads’ “And She Was.” As he andhis musicians played it, they moved in choreographed
linesand circleslikeamarching band on, well, acid. With misgivings, Ileft Byrne to seeexactly what “Jon Batiste presentsSwamp” was. It was different.
Batiste transformedthe Blues Tent stage into a1930s swamp camp —cattails andother foliage, arocking chair,anouthouse, women stirring pots andchecking an oven, kids dancing.
This was as muchtheatrical concept as concert. Hismusicians and acast of extras were allincostume. With his white hair,white beard,overalls and hunched, lurching walk, Batiste wascompletely in character as an old man. Musically,theymeanderedall over.His “BigMoney”was differentthan it wasonthe main stage Friday.Zydeco singer Sean Ardoin joined in for “Eh La Bas”
Scalisedraws primaryopponentinbid
Retiredaviator says leader not conservative enough
BY MARK BALLARD staff writer
In the first leg of his 10th run to represent suburban NewOrleans in the U.S. House of Representatives, MajorityLeader Steve Scalise faces aretirednaval aviator who also patrolled theborder looking for immigrants trying to illegally enter the country
Early voting for the May 16 closed party primary beginsSaturday and runs through May 9. Scalise, R-Jefferson, wasfirst elected in May 2008 to fill outthe remainingeight monthsofBobby Jindal’sterm after Jindal was elected governor.Since then, he hasbeen easily reelected every twoyears.
Scalise has been amember of GOP leadership since 2013, first as chair of the conservativeRepublican Study Committee, then as the vote-countingGOP whip
with OldMan Batiste on melodica. Batisteeased intoachill, mostly piano “LonelyAvenue” thatnonetheless accommodated aBrandon“Taz” Niederauer guitarsolo.
TheBlues Tent was packed to overflowing at the start of Batiste’s show.But thecrowd thinnedout as folksgrew restless. When Batiste ambled offstage as an avant-jazz saxophone solo took flight, Idipped over to Rod Stewartatthe main stage.
Stewart —like Byrne, he last visited the Fair Grounds in 2018— brought his Las Vegas show.His musiciansworked atop awhite, tiered riser in front of avideo screen. They paired “People Get Ready” with “Have ITold YouLately That I Love You.”
Threeblondebacking vocalists in short, shiny dresses sang “Proud Mary” while Stewart changed. He returned with “Some Guys Have All the Luck” and kicked soccer balls into the audience for “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy.” At which point Ireturned to Batiste’sSwamp —and Iwas glad I did.
He’d transformed intoa pompadoured 1950s piano man in a swampjuke joint. The audience wasnow on its collective feet as he bangedout ChuckBerry’s“No Particular Place to Go.” He teased abit of “Big Chief” thenromped through “Ain’tThata Shame.” He wrapped up witha truncated “I Need You.”
It was atotally different kind of Batisteshow,and furtherproof that Batiste is atotally different kind of artist.
Email KeithSpera at kspera@ theadvocate.com.
from 2019 to 2023, whenhewas elected majorityleader.Assecond-in-charge, Scalise sets the schedulesfor House legislative hearingsand votes Scalise came afew votes shy of winning the House’stop job after SpeakerKevin McCarthy R-Calif., was ousted in October 2023. When it became apparent he would not receive the218 Republicansneeded, Scalise withdrew and helped elect his Louisiana delegation colleague, Rep.Mike Johnson,aBenton Republican. Scalise and Johnson were largely responsible last year forpassingthe tax-cuttingOne BigBeautifulBill Act that includedmuch of President DonaldTrump’sdomesticagenda. His opponent, Randy Arrington, of Ponchatoula, spent 21 yearsin theU.S. Navy,then 22 years as an interdiction pilot patrolling theU.S.borderwithMexico for theU.S.DepartmentofHome-
landSecurity. In retirement, he received adoctorateinpolitical science from theUniversity of NewOrleans. ACalifornia native,Arrington is running on the beliefthat the Founding Fathers made amistake by not imposing term limits, which he would do if elected. Arringtonalso claims Scalise is not conservative enoughand “consistently caves to the Democratic Party and their communist compatriots.”
Though it includes some uptown New Orleansprecincts,the 10-parishdistrict is predominantly suburban, with two-thirds of its522,479 registered voters livinginJefferson andSt. Bernard parishes. The1st Louisiana CongressionalDistrict includes all of St. Tammanyand Plaquemines
parishes and stretches from Sorrento near Baton Rouge south through much of Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes on the coast.
Seventy-eight percent of the district’svoters are White. First District voters have delivered overwhelming majorities to Republicanpresidential candidates since at least 1988. The lastDemocraticcongressmanelected was Richard A. Tonry, of Arabi, who resignedin1977 after being convictedofvote buying.
Arrington challenged Scalise in 2024 andpolled 15,856 votes, coming in third out of five candidates. Scalise won that lastelection —inwhich all candidates competedinthe primaryregardlessofparty —with238,842 votes or 67% of the357,720 ballotscast In his 10th election for the seat, Scalisehas never polled lessthan two-thirds —often more —winning outright in theprimary each time
This year,however,the supermajority Republican state Legislature changed election laws to require aclosed May 16 primary,inwhich only those
voting in either Republican or Democratic elections can choose their party’scandidate. The winners will meet in aNov.3 general election to determine the winner Should Scalisedefeat Arrington,hewould face Lauren Jewett, aspecial-education teacher from Metairie, in thegeneral election. Jewett is running unopposed in theDemocratic primary Email Mark Ballardat mballard@theadvocate.com.
Scalise
Arrington
sTAFF PHoTo By soPHIA GERMER David Byrneperforms on the Gentilly stage.
sTAFF PHoTo By ENAN CHEDIAK
Fair GroundsinNew
DOJcites shooting to pressgroup to drop ballroom suit
BY MEG KINNARD Associated Press
WASHINGTON President Donald Trump’sJustice Department is using the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner onSaturday to try to pressure preservationists to drop their lawsuitover his planned $400 million ballroom on the siteofthe former East Wing of the White House.
“It’stimetobuild theballroom,”
acting Attorney General Todd Blanchesaid plainly Sunday on X, posting aletter in which Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate gave the National Trust for Historic Preservation, whichhas sued to blockconstruction, until 9a.m Monday to dismiss its lawsuit
If it doesn’tdoso, Shumatewrote, thegovernment would ask acourt to do so “in light of last night’sextraordinary events,” calling the Washington Hilton —the site of Saturday’sgala —“demonstrably unsafe” for events with the president “because its sizepresents extraordinary security challenges for the Secret Service.”
The White House ballroom, Shumate wrote, “will ensurethe safety and security of thePresident fordecades to come and prevent future assassination attemptsonthe President at the Washington Hilton.”
Asked about the letter,Elliot Carter,spokespersonfor theNa-
tional Trust forHistoric Preservation, saidSunday the group would review it with legal counsel.
Thepreservationgroup sued in December,aweek after the White House finished demolishing the East Wing to make way for aballroom that Trumpsaid would fit 999 people.Trumpsays theproject is funded by private donations, althoughpublic moneyispaying for the bunkerconstruction and security upgrades.
Acrowd of 2,300 attended Saturday night’s event at the Hilton, home to one of the few rooms in Washington large enough for the event. It packs in attendees at round tables whose chairs are back to back, androom to move around is tight. Thedinnerisnot aWhite House event —itisrun by the WhiteHouse Correspondents’ Association,a nonprofit organization of journalists from mediaoutlets that cover the president.
For months, Trump has mentioned the ballroomprojectatnearlyevery chance, often talking about the lawsuitor his desire to construct the space during events on anumber of other topics. As he addressed tuxedo- and ballgown-clad reporters whoscurriedfromthe Washington Hilton to theWhiteHouse for aSaturday night news conference, Trump called for toughersecurity measuresand pointed to theincident as areasonhis ballroom is needed.
In thewake of the shooting, Trump, Blancheand anumber of supporters of the administration have taken theopportunitytopush for the project across social media platforms and news programs. Republican Ohio Rep.Jim Jordan said he agreed withTrump“100%” on themassive White House construction project, whichJordan said on Fox NewsChannel“obviously would be much safer location for these type of events.”
Sunday morningonX,Sen. Lindsey Graham of SouthCarolina said he agreed withTrumpthat the White House ballroom “isa national securitynecessity” that would give the Secret Service “immense control over thesecurity environment of future events with avery hardened facility.”
Evensome Democratsagreed.
Pennsylvania Sen. JohnFetterman, who attended Saturday’sdinner,said on Xthat theproposed White House space should be used “forevents exactly like these.” On
CNN later Sunday,Fetterman said attendees and Americans overall were in a“vulnerable” position during Saturday’s event,inpart because many in the presidential line of succession werepresent and could havebeen harmed.
Fetterman responded, “I certainly hope so” when asked if the incident would spark moresupport for theWhite House project.
In the century-plus since its grounds were largely closed to the public, dozens of events are evidence thateventhe White House complex is not impervious to intrusion.
There have been anumber of documentedincidents in which people have scaled security barriersaround the White House. One of them, adisturbed Armyveteran carrying aknife,jumped the fence in 2014 and raced into the White House, making his way into the East Room before heading back down a hallway on the State Floor deep within the mansion.
Netanyahufaces unhappypublicaselections loom
BY JULIA FRANKEL Associated Press
Iran’sgovernment is stillinpower Hezbollah and Hamas haven’t been defeated. President Donald Trump’s interests may be diverging from Israel’s.
Wars with Iran and itsproxies haven’tgone according to plan for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, andthatcould mean trouble forIsrael’slongest-serving prime minister in elections scheduled for later this year.Many Israelisare dissatisfied with the Netanyahu government’swartime leadership, according to arecent poll.
At the start of the U.S.-Israeli campaign againstIran in late February Netanyahu said the goal was to degradethe IslamicRepublic’smilitary,eradicate its nuclear and ballistic missile programs andcreate the conditions for its overthrow.While Iran’smilitary hasbeenbadly damaged, it is still athreat to neighbors and ships in the Strait of Hormuz —and Netanyahu’sother goalsremained unfulfilled when aceasefire was announced earlier this month.
Israel’s latest warwithHezbollah in Lebanon has also been cut short. Netanyahu said he agreed to atruce at the request of Trump but that Israel was “not finished yet” with the Iran-backed militant group;Israeli forces are still occupyinga 6-miledeep swath of southern Lebanon.
The recent poll showing Israelis’ dissatisfaction comes on top of the unresolved war in Gaza —another instance in which Trump pressured Netanyahu to wind down military operations. More than two years after Hamas’ October 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war,the Iran-backed militant group is weakened but still standing.
“After 925 daysoffighting since Oct. 7, Israel hasfailedtoachieve decisive victory on any front,” wrote Yoav Limor,aprominent military affairs commentator.“At the end of yet another war,itisperceived as acountry whose decisions arenot made in Jerusalem, butinWashington.” For his part, Netanyahu has cast the war with Iran as asuccess, a preemptive strike against an “existential” threat. “Wecrushedthe Ira-
Israel’sPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attendsa ceremony commemorating Israel’sRemembrance Dayfor fallen soldiers, or yom HaZikaron, onTuesdayatthe MilitaryCemeteryonMount Herzlin Jerusalem.
nian regime’sdestruction machine in advance,” he recently said. Trustin Netanyahu’sgovernment nose-dived after the deadly2023 Hamas attack. He spent the next two years waging afierce retaliatory campaign against Hamas and itsalliesand secured therelease of dozens of hostages from Gaza as part of aceasefire deal.
Israelhas also enjoyed anumber of military successesagainst Iran and its Lebanese proxy,the Hezbollahmilitant group. Butthesegains do notappear to have benefited Netanyahu personally.While thelatest wars against Iran andHezbollah werewidely supported, theinconclusive outcomes have left many Israelis feelingfatigued and disappointed.
“People were disappointed because it hadn’tachieved the goals,” said Dahlia Scheindlin, apolitical analystinTel Aviv Apoll bythe Israel Democracy Institute, acentrist think tank in Jerusalem, duringthe first week of the waragainst Iran found asolid majority of respondents, 64%, trusted Netanyahu to direct the campaign. But asecond poll in the days after the April 8ceasefire found that Israelis rated the management of the war by the government —not just Netanyahu —more negatively than
positively
The poll, which was conducted before the U.S. brokered and extended the ceasefireinLebanon, alsofound that amajority of Israelis thought the fighting in Lebanon against Hezbollah should continue.
Since the ceasefires with Iran and Hezbollah, Israelishavebegun to question whether therelationship between Netanyahu and Trump— andIsrael andthe United States —is as strong as it was beforethe wars began.
ThoughTrump’s interests have at timesdiverged from those of Netanyahu, the U.S. president hascontinued to publicly laud Israel. He wrote on TruthSocial recently that “whether people likeIsrael or not, they have proventobea GREATAlly of the United States of America.”
He said Thursday that he’d host Netanyahu andLebanese President Joseph Aoun at the White House in the “near future” for talks on the truce, describing it as an honor Israelis have their doubts.
In theIsrael Democracy Institute’spoll, most Israelis saidthere was a“fairly” or “very” low likelihood that theagreementreached between the U.S. and Iran would take Israel’s security into accounttoan appropriate degree.
Asked about theleaders’ relation-
ship,Netanyahu’s officedeclined to comment. But an Israeli official who spoke on condition of anonymityto describe private conversations said Trump andNetanyahu still speak everyday Late last year,Netanyahu announced he would award the Israel Prize, oneofthe country’shighest honors, to Trump, making him the first foreign leader to receive it. Israel invited Trump to formally accept the award in Jerusalem on April22, as part of thecountry’s 78th celebration of its independence.
The day came and went without a Trump visit.
Theceasefire with Lebanon has stoked deep disappointment in Israelitowns near theborderthat have endured amonth and ahalf of missile fire from Hezbollah.
“I live 100metersfromthe border,” said AsafOakil, aresident of Kiryat Shmona. “The ceasefire? It’s amistake.”
Shops are still closed and protests have broken out in recent days, with muchofthe anger directed at Netanyahu.
“I really hope that the residents of thenorth will learn from this andvotefor someone who can help us here,not someonewho brings us down and buries us,” saidShosh Tsaoula, another resident of Kiryat Shmona
Netanyahu’sgovernment is in the final months of its four-year term andisrequired to hold electionsby the end of October
Twooppositionpoliticians —Naftali Bennettand Yair Lapid —announced Sunday that they would join forces in the next election. Another popular opposition figure, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, is also expected to team up with the two men.
Nadav Eyal, acommentator with the Israeli Yediot Ahronoth daily newspaper,said that Netanyahu is in “big trouble” if he cannot convince Israelis thatthe wars with Iran, Hezbollahand Hamas have led to lasting security gains.
“With unstable ceasefires that can lapseatany given point, voters will be not happy about it.” AP reporters Ibrahim Hazboun and Sam Metz in Jerusalem contributed reporting.
Syria’sfirst public trialofAssad-era officialsbegins
BYGHAITH ALSAYED Associated Press
DAMASCUS,Syria The first public trial in Syria of officialslinked to theruleofformerPresident Bashar Assad opened Sunday in Damascus.
Atef Najib, aformer Syrian army brigadier general who was head of the Political Security Branch in southern Syria’sDaraa province under Assad and who is also acousin of the former president,appeared in the courtroom to facecharges
relatedto “crimes againstthe Syrianpeople,” state-run news agency SANA reported. Najib was in that position in 2011, when teenagers who scrawled antigovernment graffitionaschool wall in Daraa were arrested and tortured.The casebecame acatalyst for mass protests against the repressivepolicies of Assad’ssecurity forces. Theprotests were met by abrutal government crackdown and spiraled intoa14-year civil warthat
endedwith Assad’sousterinDecember 2024 in alightning rebel offensive. Assad fled toRussia, while mostmembersofhis inner circle also escaped Syria.
Assadand his brother, Maher, formercommanderofthe Syrian military’s4th Armored Division which Syrianoppositionactivists have accused of killings, torture, extortion and drug trafficking, in additiontorunning itsown detentioncenters—were charged in absentia, alongwitha numberof
other former high-ranking security officials. Najib was the only one of the defendants who was arrested and present in person in court Sunday for apreparatory session in the trial, which will continue next month. Crowds gathered outside the courthouse to celebrate. Baraa Abdulrahman, aspokesperson for the Syrian Ministry of Justice, said the trial “is of great importance forthe independence of thejudiciary,for transparency and accountability.”
AssoCIATED PREss PHoTo
By ILIA yEFIMoVICH
AssoCIATED PREss PHoTo By JULIA DEMAREE NIKHINsoN
Construction continues April 20 on the newWhite House ballroom.
Birthright citizenship goes against common sense
Thomas Paine wrote his pamphlet, “Common Sense,” in 1776 to advocate for American independence.Fast forwardto today,and we need to apply common sense to the birthright citizenship quandary our nationisincurrently In the book ‘The Invisible Coup” by Peter Schweizer,hesays there are at least 1,000 companies in the “birth tourism” business. That’swhen pregnant women come to the U.S. to give birth to their babies so the babies will automaticallybecome U.S.citizens. The U.S. government does not keep track of the number of tourism babies, but it is estimated China has sent 100,000 women ayear over the last 13 years to have their babies in the U.S. The women take their babies back to China to raise them. The Communist Chinese strategy is for those children to return when they are 18-20 years old and have them vote in our elections, compete for our jobs and even enter our government. That is overone million potential votes controlled by Communist China. The 2020 election was decided by only 123,473 popular votes acrossthe swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
Common sense tellsusthat birthright citizenship mustbe stopped. Our 14th Amendment never intended to address immigration, but it is being misused to allow foreign nationalsto invade our country.Schweizer’s book points out that Mexico is also doing this, and Ithink the Islamists are doing it too.
Common sense also tells us that only U.S. citizens can register to vote. The SAVE Act would addressthis quandary. Whena baby is born in the U.S., the mother and/or the father must prove their citizenship before the baby automaticallyearns U.S. citizenship. Laws must be changed. Allowing this to continue is national suicide.
DAVE DRANE Lacombe
Don’tforget Blanco’srole in GoMEsA
Your editorial on using GOMESA funds wisely andwell left off an important catalyst to Louisiana securing these funds back in 2006. If it wasn’tfor the courageous efforts of former Gov.Kathleen Blanco (2004-2008), who suspended aMinerals Management Service Gulf of Mexico lease sale in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Idoubt the GOMESA legislation would have ever passed. The lawsuit brought by Blanco against MMS gave then U.S.Sen Mary Landrieu the power she needed to pass this overdue legislation. Thank you to Gov.Blanco and Sen. Landrieu. Their efforts built the GOMESA funds thatcontinue to deliver for Louisiana.
DAVID BOULET
Lafayette
YOUR VIEWS
SuccessfulHondo Rodeo thanks to stateofLouisiana
After theinaugural Hondo Rodeo Fest, Iwant to takea moment, on behalf of the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation’s board of directors, to reflect on what the weekendmeant for Louisiana and New Orleans. TheHondoRodeo delivered exactly what the governor knew it would: aSuper Bowl caliber showcaseofrodeo competition paired with world-class entertainment; all set in afamily-friendly environment inside the iconic Caesars Superdome. Although New Orleansand the state of Louisiana are renowned for events like Super Bowl (11), men’s(6) and women’s(3) Final Fours, and NBA All-Star Games (3), the weekend reinforced that our ability to welcome new and diverse events is just as strong as our traditions. Events likeHondo do not happen without deep collaboration. We’regratefulfor the leadership of Gov.Jeff Landry,Shane Guidry,the Louisiana Legislature led by Senate PresidentCameron Henry and Speaker of theHouse Phillip DeVillier,plus Louisiana
Economic Development Secretary Susan Bourgeois and their staff. We also extend appreciation to Mayor Helena Moreno, the City Council, LSED and Legends Global, and Walt Leger III of New Orleans &Company for their continued partnership. The biggest thank you goes to Hondo Rodeo CEO James Trawick and his team for theirvision to blend Western culture with Louisiana style. What stood out mostwas how quickly our entire state embraced the rodeo. Whether it’s football, UFC, gymnasticsornow rodeo, our residents showup, engageand elevate theexperience for event owners, athletes and visitors alike.
The Hondo Rodeo Fest represented the effort of many more people than listed and ashared belief that we can continue to grow as aleading destination for sports and entertainment. The impact of our joint efforts will extend well beyond that weekend. We can’t wait to see what Hondo Rodeo 2027 brings. PHILIP SHERMAN board chair, Greater Neworleans sports Foundation
scienceasapublicdutyand what Louisianagetsright
Louisianians deserve thebest science their state can produce, research that reaches into their communities, reflects their lives and givesback longer lives, better healthand real hope. Louisiana’sClinical and Translational Science Center,LACaTS, was built on exactly that conviction. LA CaTS haschosen collaboration over competition,and that choice is changing lives. Anchored by Pennington Biomedical Research Center and uniting Tulane University,LSU HealthNew Orleans, Ochsner Health, Children’sHospital New Orleans, LSUHealth Shreveport, Xavier University of Louisiana, University Medical Center New Orleans, Louisiana State University A&M and the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System, LA CaTS is the first alliance in Louisiana’shistory to bring every majoracademic medical institution together aroundasingle mission: turning scientific discovery into better healthfor every person in this state. The initiative began with adeliberate act of state investment: Louisiana provided the seed fundingthat earned theconfidence of
LINES: Letters are publishedidentifying
theNational Institutes of Health, securing one of the largest NIH grants in the state’s history,sustained federal support that has powered thenetwork ever since. Louisiana did not wait for Washington to address its healthchallenges. It put its own resources on the table first, and Washington followed. Patients in rural parishes who once had no access to clinical trials are nowenrolled in studies designed around their lives. Families across the state are benefitingfrom breakthroughs in metabolic disease, cardiovascular care, and cancer treatment generated right here in Louisiana. More than 300 investigators share tools andexpertise that no single institution could sustainalone. Louisianabuilt something to be proud of. LA CaTS is proof that when this state invests in its own future, and when its institutions choose to act together,the resultisserious, consequential science that extends lives and expands possibility for every Louisianian.
JOHN P. KIRWAN executivedirector,Louisiana’sClinical and Translational scienceCenter
P.o. Box588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588, or emailletters@theadvocate.com.
The very first sentence of Cal Thomas’ April 7article in the newspaper wasfalse. He stated “Pope Leo IV used part of his Palm Sunday message to castigate the United States forattempting to stop Iran from becoming anuclear power and threatening the world with mass destruction.”
The truth is that Pope Leo used part of his Palm Sunday message to call out foranend to war and to promote dialogue to solve the issue of war.Hewas speaking not only to the U.S. but to all governments when he said that Jesus does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war Pope Leo and manyothers have spoken out against Donald Trump threatening to obliterate Iran. Thank Godcalmer heads have prevailed so far. May those same people lead to an end to war in Iran, Ukraine, Sudan, Gazaand elsewhere. May leaders of nations seek dialogue rather than wartosolve crises.
LOUIS ARCENEAUX Neworleans
AssoCIATEDPREss PHoTo Pope Leo XIV speakstojournalists aboard his flightbound for Algiers’ Houari Boumédiène International AirportonApril13.
orphan well crisis exacerbatedbyneglect by oversightagency
The massive orphan well crisis is the culmination of what oil companies have done to Louisiana for decades, raking in billions in profits, then abandoning their cleanup responsibilities to the state.
This is afeature, not abug, of a system that never truly holds oil companies accountable. It’s absurd forthe Louisiana Department of Conservation and Energy to blame the orphan well increase on amodest bonding requirement, which protects the state if acompany skips out on well-plugging. In reality,the fault lies with the department’stolerance of oil companies that would rather delay well-plugging foryears than cut into their bottom line.
The department should be requiring companies to plug wells and makesure everything is fully bonded. Instead, it has allowed these companies to dodge cleanup costs and continue kicking the can downthe road. The result is a$730 million messthat the state can’t possibly keep up with. This means moremystery oil sheens, more oil-coated birds, and moregroundwater pollution from thousands of neglected wells.
Until the department makes these companies plug their wells, they will continue looting Louisiana, leaving their toxic messes behind to devastate the environment.
RACHEL MATTHEWS senior attorney, oceans Program, Center for Biological Diversity
PHoTo By sTEPHEN LEW
The Hondo Rodeo Fest 2026 at the Caesars superdome kicked off on April 10.
Onething couldsinkLindsey Graham
Kathleen Parker
COLUMBIA, S.C. Almost since becoming aU.S. senator more than two decades ago, Lindsey Graham has suffered predictions of his imminent politicaldemise. The timing usually coincides witheach reelection bid, which, thus far,hasn’t led to defeat. This year, as the Republican seeks his fifth term to represent South Carolina, the chorus of naysayers has been louder than usual, and dire prognostications have seemed more convincing Graham had some opposition in the Republican primary,slated for June 9, that appearedpromising to those who would prefer anew face.One was former lieutenant governor AndréBauer, who withdrew lastAugust.The other, Paul Dans, an architect of the Heritage Foundation’sProject 2025whomTucker Carlson endorsed, also pulled outrecently.The remaining GOP candidates —inaddition to ones in the Democratic primary —probably don’t justify the time it would take to learn their names. Keep in mind that nobody goes broke here betting on an incumbent,nomatterwho they are or how bad they may be. Twowords are instructive: Strom Thurmond. Voters in one of America’sreddest states didn’tvote Thurmondout of office —ever.The Dixiecrat turned Republican retired in January 2003 at 100, having served 48 years in the U.S. Senatefor South Carolina. Whereupon a relatively young Lindsey Graham, now 70, grabbed the baton and hasn’tlet go. Even seemingly promisingcandidates have failedtounseat the once-funny senator.Jaime Harrison,recently chair of the DemocraticNational Committee, raised an astounding $130 million in 2020 to defeat Graham but lostby double digits.
There is, nevertheless,some basis for the early declaration of Graham’spossible exit. PresidentDonald Trump’sendorsement isn’t what it once was,thanksto, oh, so manythings.For one, there’sthe Iran war,which, given Graham’scampaign to getTrumponboard, may as wellbecalled Graham’s War. Then there are risinggas prices and Trump’signorant andignominious posting of an AI-generated image showing him ministering tothe sick, as if he were Jesus Christ.Once the fire and brimstone startedrocketing through the religious right, Trump backpedaled, saying he thought theimagedepictedhim as aRed Cross doctor.Sure. That makes perfect sense And then there’spolling.Some “recent” polling cited in news stories as evidence of Graham’sflagging popularity is not that recent. One Winthrop University poll showing Graham’s approval rating among registered
votersat 38% was conducted in November.Trump wasn’treceiving rave reviews, either.Amongregistered votersinSouth Carolina, 51% of those expressinganopinion disapproved of Trump’shandling of his presidency But registered Republican voters told adifferent story.Amonghis base, 9 outof10Republicans approved of the job Trumpisdoing. And7out of 10 approved of Graham’sperformance. More recent polling has found Graham comfortably leading against theremainingprimarycandidates. In light of other factors unique to SouthCarolina, the night is young. In the summertime, when thestate’spopulation basically vacates to the beaches or mountains, alot can change with or withoutawar depressing spirits. Except for massive traffic problems thanks to the great migration of people to thePalmetto State from everywhere, the living is easy.During the slow months, politics is far from the minds of the state’sbarefoot and hiking cohorts; tempers cool in the absence of compulsivenews consumption. The statusquo often benefitsfrom “vacation brain,” the lingering sense that fixing whatisn’tbroken is time better spentinmore trivial pursuits.Fishing, for instance.
The nation’s mostvexing, Iran-centric problems could be resolved soon, though onlyafool would risk aprediction.Ifnegotiations fail and Trump’s biggamble spirals out of control, Graham will surely become collateral damage. Making the rounds on news
shows, Graham was glibly eloquent in his defense of the war,saying to Fox News’sBretBaier,“There is nobody in theregime that is normal.” While few would disagree with this assessment, least of all the Iranian people, about 54% of Americansdisapprove of the U.S. military action, according to aRealClearPolitics poll average. Graham might suggest that such Americans aren’tfully cognizant of thedangers Iran presents to global stabilityand national security. To Baier, Graham argued that Iran was two to three weeks away from having enough uranium to create eight to 10 nuclear bombs when the decision was made to attack. While appearing on Fox News host Sean Hannity’sprogram,Graham spoke directly to Saudi Arabia and proposed a“mutual defense agreement” against Iran.
“Under theagreement Ihave been pushing …ifyou are attacked by Iran, we would go to war for you,” Graham said withcuriously presidential authority An ardent supporter and wingman to thepresident,Graham won’tbeableto distance himself from theIran debacle should negotiations go south. With so much in flux, there’snotelling where thewar goes and, therefore, no telling what’sinGraham’s future. If all fails, it will have been Graham’sgood fortune that he was able to hone his golf strokes as Trump’sfavorite caddy Email Kathleen Parker at kathleenparker@washpost.com.
Making sure released inmateshave stateIDs is asteptowardrehabilitation
For most law-abiding citizens, identification is so routine we barely think about it. But without an ID, everyday tasks become major obstacles. You cannot easily apply for ajob, secure housing, open abank account or handle basic paperwork without the ability to verify your identity For someone leaving incarceration and trying to reenter society the right way, that missing document can become the first of several barriers they will encounter on their road to stabilization. People who are motivated to work, reunite with family and comply with supervision can find themselves stuck before they even begin simply because they cannot completebasic steps that require identification. Louisiana is right to demand accountability from people who break the law —but if we are serious about public safety,wealso must be serious about what happens whensomeone leavescustody andreturns to our communities. That is where common sense ought to prevail. Reentry is not an abstract policy concept; it is apractical process that begins themoment someone walks out of afacilityand attempts to rebuildtheir life. If the state expects someone to
Trump’s frustration andIran’s delaying tactics
If anyone knowsthat President Donald Trump, forall his bluster,can mean what he says, it is the Iranians. Trumpisthe president whotook out the powerful Qasem Soleimani, commander of Iran’sQuds Force, in January 2020. Trumpisalso the president who bombed Iran’snuclear sites in June 2025. And the president whoattacked Iran in February 2026. So Iranians know that, forall his talk, Trumpcan also pull the trigger On the other hand, Iranians read Truth Social, the media site where the president posts statements about the war against Iran. Iranian officials follow the newsand Trump’sfrequent miniinterviewswith journalists about the war.And the impression anyone would get from reading Trump’sthoughts is of apresident eager to put the war behind him.Trumpseems so eager,in fact, that he can appear desperate to get it over with.
The speed with which Trumprecently embraced what he portrayed as abreakthrough in talks with Iran, only to have the whole thing fall apart in short order,suggested apresident who badly wants to declare the warover —now Trumpwas fully aware that the Iranians cannot be trusted, and that there was no set-in-stone deal in place, yet he heralded the seeming good newsinaway that madehim look overeager when things collapsed.
In addition, Trumphas promised from the very momentthe war began on Feb. 28 that it would be avery short conflict. “This warwill be over very soon,” he has said on anumber of occasions. “We’re wayahead of schedule It won’t be much longer,” he has said on others. At one point, Trumpsaid of the war’sduration, “Weprojected four to five weeks but we’re substantially ahead of schedule.”
The war,now past its eighth week, is still going on. No, that is nowhere near aforever war, as Trumpsupporters would call it. But there is no doubt Trumpisunhappy that it is continuing past the timethat he predicted it would go. Now,Trumpispushing back against the idea that the war,and its effects on the U.S. economy,could go on foralong time. When Energy Secretary Chris Wright said that the price of gas has “likely peaked” but predicted it might remain high —above $4 agallon —until next year,Trumpquickly said that Wright was “totally wrong.” Prices will go down“as soon as this ends,” Trumpsaid.
Dwight Hudson
work, follow the law and supporta family,the state should not sendthat person out the door without the documentsneeded to take those first lawful steps. Astate ID is not areward. It is notahandout. It is abasic tool forpersonal responsibility,and without it, the state is unintentionally undermining thevery expectations it places on people who are trying to make alawful transition back intosociety
This issueisespecially important in Louisiana becausemany state inmates are housed in local jails. When those individuals reenter society from aparish reentry facility,rather than astate prison,theyshould not fall through the cracks. If someone is in state custody,it should not matter whether they are physically housed in Angola, Hunt or a local jailbed in aparish facility.They still need the same chance to return home with the basic identification required to function in thereal world. A consistent process across all facilities ensures fairness and reduces confusion for both returning citizens and the agencies working with them. House Bill 167 is apractical step in the right direction, as it recognizes thatsuccessful reentry often depends on the most basic things. Public de-
batearound criminal justice usually focuses on big ideas like crime rates, sentencing and prison capacity Butinsociety,reentry often succeeds or fails on the small, but concrete details: abirth certificate, a Social Securitycard, work records, transportation and,yes, avalid ID. Theseare thebuilding blocks that help people secure work in atimely manner,comply with supervision and avoid returning to oldpatterns. Removing those barriers does not make us lenient.Itmakes us thoughtful and serious about reducing repeat offenses and helping people become productive citizens instead of perpetual burdens on taxpayers. Louisiana does not have to choose between opportunityand accountability The truth is that smart reentry policy serves both to increase public safety.Ensuring that state inmates leaving local jails have accesstoa state ID is not aradical solution. It is amodest, commonsense step that can help more people find meaningful employment, supportthemselves and break the cycle of crime.
Dwight Hudson is the Louisiana state director forRight on Crime and amember of the EastBaton Rouge Parish Metro Council
Iran hears all this, of course. On Fox News’ Trey Yingst, reporting from Israel, quoted a “senior regional intelligence source” whosuggested that Iran hopes to wait Trumpout. “Iran sees this as agame of endurance,” Yingst reported, characterizing what the source said. Of course, what Iranian leaders —whoever they are —believe and what is fact could well be twodifferent things. “That is not the reality,” Yingst continued. “The president and his counterparts in Israel have the ability to continue this operation formonths if they need to, to pressure the Iranian regimetoopen the Strait of Hormuz and to give up their enriched uranium.”
That is, of course, true. The United States, fighting with asingle ally,Israel, has done tremendous damage to Iran so far, and could inflict farmore if the wargoes on. The rational next step, it would seem to any American, would be forIran to give up and come to an agreement with the U.S. But whosays this war has to end with what Americans would consider arational decision? Iran gets asay in that. Meanwhile, the president vents frustration almostdaily.“I’mwinning awar,BYALOT,” he posted on Truth Social this week. “Things are going well, our military has been amazing, and if you read the Fake News,like the Failing New York Times,the absolutely horrendous and disgusting Wall Street Journal, or the now almost defunct, fortunately,Washington Post, you would actually think we are losing the war.” Trumpisright that someofthe coverage has been wildly out of balance and could give an uninformed reader the sense that the U.S. is losing. Still, his problem is farbigger than negative newscoverage. The president who took out Soleimani, whohit the nuclear facilities and wholaunched adevastating attack on Iran is ready for things to end right now Unfortunately,his frequently expressed sense of frustration appears to have inspired Iran to drag things out foraslong as possible. Byron York is on X, @Bryon York
Byron York
AP FILEPHoTo
U.s. sen. LindseyGraham, R-s.C., walks to the chamber for votes after meeting behind closed doors with fellowRepublicans last month.
FITZMAGIC
Fitzpatrickbrothersmakehistory with dramatic, ‘life-changing’win at Zurich ClassicofNew orleans
BY JEFF DUNCAN staff writer
When the tap-in dropped and the realityset in, Alex Fitzpatrick benttohis knees andcovered his face in disbelief.Acrossthe green, his older, morefamous and accomplished brother,Matt, raisedhis arms in celebration
The Fitzpatrick brothers, the pride of Sheffield, England, were Zurich Classic champions.
In one of the most memorable finishes in Zurich history,the brothers birdied the finalholetowin the$9.5 million tournament and etch their names in history as only the second brother tandem to wina PGA Tour event
Their 31-under-par scoreof257 set aZurichClassic record for 72 holes and gave them adramatic one-stroke victory over theteamsofAlex Smalley and Hayden Springer and Kristoffer Reitan andKris Ventura.
“I’m absolutely speechless,” said MattFitzpatrick, moments after the emotional win. “It wasa truly unbelievable day —special.”
DE Jordan reacts to saints adding twopassrushers
BY MATTHEW PARAS staff writer
Cam Jordan may not currently be a member of the NewOrleansSaints, but the free agent defensive end still holds an everlasting bond with the city and his (potentially former) teammates.
That’swhy Jordan had noqualms about hosting his charitable foundation’s second annual pickleball tournament Sundayat The Exchange in the Lower GardenDistrict. Or why Saints long snapper Zach Wood and defensive tackle Bryan Bresee showed up to participate
“I’ve always said Ilove thecityofNew Orleans,and if youtakethatas(only) words,thenyou just don’tknowwho I am,” Jordan said. But these days, people —and even Jordan—don’tknow if he’ll be back with the Saints for a16th season.
Jordan’sevent coincidentally fell onaday when the Saints added their second pass rusher of the weekend. The Saints agreed to terms Sunday with former New England
Therehave been alot of specialmoments in the decades-long history of the local PGATour event,but few more so than the extended bear hug Mattand Alex shared on the 18th green as the galleryraucously celebrated the victory
For Matt, it was histhird win in the last four weeks, certifying him as the hottest and arguably bestplayer in theworld.
For Alex, thevictory meant morethanjust a$1.372million payday. It also meant officialmembership in the PGA Tour —asponsor’sexemption through the 2028 season. Their win was thefirst by abrother tandem on the PGA Tour in morethan four decades. Danny and David Edwardsteamed to winthe Walt DisneyWorldTeamChampionship in 1980.
“I’m still shaking,” said Alex, 27, who is 4years younger than Matt. “It’sprettysurreal. It’s aprettylife-changing thing for me.”
ä see ZURICH, page 4B
Nussmeier ‘grateful’ afterlong wait for draftpick
BY REED DARCEY staff writer
The NFL draft was winding down. Only afew picks were left. But then Garrett Nussmeier got the call, which meant that he could wear the hat. So he stood up and snapped it on. When Nussmeier sat back down, he let it all out. The frustration. The confusion. The relief.Ithad all started to accumulate about eight months earlier —long before the former LSU quarterback began slipping in the draft and long before the Kansas City Chiefs ended his slide by scooping him up with a seventh-round pick.
“It was an unbelievable feeling,” Nussmeier said in avideo call with reporters. “I feltlikeI wassitting there waitingforever.” He really was. Most experts expected Nussmeier to hear his namecalled in either the second or third round of the 2026 NFL Draft, but he instead wound up waiting all the wayuntil the 249thselection —one of the last picks of the seventh round. Nine quarterbacks were taken ahead of Nussmeier.Five of them cameoff the board on Saturday,the day of the draft, in which
ä see NUSSMEIER,
“I don’tknow.There’snobody (the Saints acquired)who produced the wayIdid last year, so. My talent speaks for itself. And if things work out,phenomenal.”
CAM JoRDAN, saintsdefensiveend
Patriots linebacker Anfernee Jennings aday after acquiring2023 first-rounder Tyree Wilson from the LasVegas Raiders. So what do those moves mean for Jordan? “I don’tknow,” he said. “There’s nobody (the Saints acquired) whoproduced the way Idid last year,so. My talent speaks for itself. And if things work out,phenomenal. I’ve always said Iunderstand the business sidetoit, so I’ve never worried about it.” Jordan is right, in asense. The 36-yearoldiscomingoff a101/2 sackseason, atotal that almost matches Wilson’sthree-year career output (12sacks) and exceeds Jennings’ five-year volume (71/2). Wilson hadfour sacksin2025, while Jennings recorded two.
BY KOKI RILEY staff writer
STARKVILLE,Miss. LSU had every reason to throw in the towel.
Forthe past twonights— andreallythe past three weeks —nothing had gone right for the Tigers. Multiple injuries to key players, two gut-punching lossestoMississippi State and aseason that had already gone off therails were more than enough reasonsfor LSU to start planning June vacations. And yet, the Tigers still kept theirbeach chairs in the garage on SundayatDudy Noble Field. Although they lost theirninth consecutive game in Southeastern Conference play,LSU fought hard in its 13-8 defeat to MississippiState, earning twothree-run leadsand getting apairofpromisingperformances from two freshman bats. But even with those bright spots, the loss continued an unprecedented slide for LSU. The Tigers, after Sunday’sdefeat, had been swept forathird consecutive series forthe first time since 1966. It was the first time the program hadeverbeenswept in three straight three-gameseries.
“It’snot like we’re trying to do the things
ä see LSU, page 5B
sTAFF PHoTo By BRETTDUKE
Alex Fitzpatrick, left,and Matt Fitzpatrickcelebrate winning the PGAZurich Classic tournament on sundayatTPC Louisiana in Avondale.
sTAFF
GRUNFELD
superdome.
ROUNDUP
Raptors topple Cavs, tie series
spurs take 3-1 lead against Blazers
By The Associated Press
TORONTO Scottie Barnes hit the go-ahead free throws in the final minute and finished with 23 points, Brandon Ingram also scored 23 and the Toronto Raptors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 93-89 on Sunday, tying the Eastern Conference first-round playoff series at two games apiece.
The best-of-seven series shifts to Cleveland for Game 5 on Wednesday
“Now it’s a best-of-three,” Cavaliers guard James Harden said.
RJ Barrett scored 18 points and Collin Murray-Boyles had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Raptors, who won despite shooting 4 for 30 from 3-point range.
“We’re just trying to go out there and win, take it one possession at a time,” Barnes said. “That’s all we’re focusing on.”
Barnes had nine rebounds and six assists as Toronto won backto-back postseason games for the first time since a first-round loss to Philadelphia in 2022.
“We just never, never flinched,” Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said. “We continued guarding and guarding.”
Donovan Mitchell scored 12 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter and Harden added 19, but the Cavaliers couldn’t overcome an 18-turnover performance.
“There’s no doubt they’ve had the physicality advantage, the energy advantage these last two games,” Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said of Toronto. “Usually happens with the home team, gets that bump. We’ve got to turn it back around. That’s how the playoffs go.”
Mitchell missed two shots in the final 25 seconds, including a 3-pointer that would have tied the game. He finished 6 for 24 overall and made 4 of 12 shots from deep.
Toronto Raptors forward scottie Barnes, left, reacts after making a basket as Cleveland Cavaliers guard
James Harden looks on during Game 4 of a first-round playoff series on sunday
“I got some open looks tonight and they just didn’t fall,” Mitchell said
Sam Merrill scored 14 points and Jarrett Allen had 15 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who were outscored 10-2 in the final 1:54 of the fourth.
“We had an opportunity tonight to win the game,” Harden said.
“We’re definitely confident about where we are.”
SPURS 114, TRAIL BLAZERS 93: In Portland, Oregon, Victor Wembanyama had 27 points, 11 rebounds and seven blocks in his return from a concussion and the San Antonio Spurs took a 3-1 lead in their first-round series against the Portland Trail Blazers.
De’Aaron Fox added 28 points for the Spurs who will return home for Game 5 on Tuesday
The Spurs announced about an
hour before the game that Wembanyama, the 7-foot-4 Defensive Player of the Year, would play after clearing the league’s concussion protocol.
The Spurs trailed the Blazers by 17 points at the half, but the game was knotted at 74 going into the fourth. Fox and Keldon Johnson hit back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Spurs up 90-77 with 7:14 left. Johnson’s dunk with 4:31 remaining made it 101-81 for San Antonio and all but sealed the win. Deni Avdija led the Trail Blazers with 26 points.
CELTICS 128, 76ERS 96: In Philadelphia, Payton Pritchard hit six of Boston’s 24 3-pointers and scored 32 points and Jayson Tatum had 30 points and 11 assists to help the Boston Celtics spoil Joel Embiid’s return from an appendectomy and beat the Philadelphia 76ers
128-96 on Sunday night for a 3-1 lead in their first-round playoff series. Game 5 is Tuesday night in Boston. Jaylen Brown scored 20 points for the Celtics, who thumped the Sixers by 20-plus points for the second time in the series. Embiid scored 26 points in 34 minutes just 17 days after having an appendectomy Embiid wasted little time scoring in his first game since April 6. The two-time NBA scoring champion sank two free throws for the Sixers’ first points of the game, added a monster twohanded jam and scored the team’s first eight points. Embiid withered after the fast start and missed seven straight shots before he converted a threepoint play in the third quarter That cut the Sixers’ deficit to 23 points.
Nuggets face elimination game vs. Wolves
Monday NBA games include possible Thunder sweep
BY ARNIE STAPLETON Associated Press
DENVER The Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets have developed an intense rivalry, meeting in the NBA playoffs three times in the past four years. The Nuggets bounced the Wolves 4-1 in 2023 on their way to the franchise’s first NBA championship but Minnesota won the rematch a year later, capped by a 20-point second-half comeback in Game 7 in Denver
This year, the Nuggets rolled into the playoffs on a 12-game winning streak and handled the Timberwolves in the opener of their Western Conference playoff series only to blow a 19-point lead in Game 2 before getting throttled twice in Minneapolis Even with their starting backcourt of Donte DiVincenzo (Achilles) and Anthony Edwards (knee) getting hurt Saturday night, the Wolves raced past the Nuggets 112-96 behind Ayo Dosunmu’s career-best 43 points, the most by a reserve in a playoff game in half a century Game 5 is in Denver and another flop could send the Nuggets into a stunning early exit and an offseason of change after an injury-marred first full season under coach David Adelman, who has had no answers for the Nuggets’ sudden struggles
The Minnesota-Denver game is the nightcap of a three-game slate Monday, one that also could see the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder get its third consecutive first-round sweep. The Thunder leads Phoenix 3-0 with
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, left, works toward the basket as Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert, right, defends during the first half of Game 4 of a first-round playoff series on saturday in Minneapolis. The Wolves lead the series 3-1
Game 4 on the Suns’ home floor
Thunder guard Shai GilgeousAlexander, the reigning MVP was a maestro in Game 3, scoring 42 points on 15-for-18 shooting.
“He doesn’t need a ton of direction from me,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said of GilgeousAlexander. “But I thought he was obviously outstanding. The efficiency was ridiculous For him to score like that, on 15 of 18, is a really impressive game.”
And leading off the night is Game 4 in Orlando, where the eighth-seeded Magic will aim to take a 3-1 lead over the top-seeded Detroit Pistons in their Eastern Conference quarterfinal matchup.
“Being up 2-1 at home is a good thing, but again, you got to come out and do it again,” Magic coach
Jamahl Mosley said after Saturday’s Game 3 win. “And that’s why I’ll keep saying it’s the one game. We’ve got to learn from this game and what we could do
better.”
The only fight the Nuggets have put up since their series-opening win came when Nikola Jokic took offense to Jaden McDaniels scoring an uncontested layup with 2.1 seconds left after the Nuggets had conceded their double-digit defeat Saturday night.
Jokic ran from one end of the court to the other to shove McDaniels, who labeled all of the Nuggets bad defenders after Game 2. Players from both teams converged around them to broaden the scuffle. Timberwolves forward Julius Randle, who was livid with Jokic, was ejected along with Denver’s center
“He scored when we’d stopped playing,” Jokic explained. “You guys saw what happened.”
On Sunday, Jokic was fined $50,000 and Minnesota’s Julius Randle was fined $35,000 for their roles in the altercation, the NBA announced Sunday
Hocevar takes Talladega for first NASCAR Cup win
TALLADEGA, Ala. — Carson Hocevar earned the first victory of his NASCAR Cup Series career outdueling Chris Buescher with a last-lap pass at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday Hocevar, who drives the No. 77 Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports, joined Ty Gibbs as the second firsttime winner this season. Hocevar who has made headlines for angering veterans with aggressive moves, won in his 91st start in NASCAR’s premier series. The 23-year-old from Portage, Michigan, used a drafting push from Alex Bowman’s No. 48 Chevrolet to edge past Buescher’s No. 17 Ford by 0.114 seconds. Bowman finished third (his best finish since missing four races with vertigo), followed by Chase Elliott and Zane Smith.
Goosen wins Mitsubishi Electric at TPC Sugarloaf
DULUTH, Ga. — Retief Goosen won the PGA Tour Champions’ Mitsubishi Electric Classic on Sunday at TPC Sugarloaf, 24 years after he took the PGA Tour’s BellSouth Classic on the course.
Goosen closed with a 14-point round under the modified Stableford scoring system to beat Stephen Ames by two points. The South African won for the fifth time in 150 starts on the senior tour Goosen birdied the par-5 18th to finish with 39 points. He also won the PGA Tour’s 2005 International under the scoring system used for the first time in the senior event. Players received eight points for an albatross, five for eagle and two for birdie. They lost a point for bogey and three for double bogey or worse.
Gauff overcomes illness on court to beat Cirstea MADRID Coco Gauff advanced to the fourth round of the Madrid Open despite falling ill and vomiting on the court.
Gauff, a finalist in Madrid last year, rallied to beat Sorana Cirstea 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 on Sunday The American threw up on court in the middle of the second set. On Saturday, fourth-ranked Iga Swiatek withdrew due to an unspecified illness while playing her round-of-32 match against American Ann Li.
Gauff recovered from a break down three times before winning the set 7-5.
The third-ranked Gauff said she doesn’t know how she “got through that,” and said she almost threw up in the middle of a point.
Both will be eligible to play when the series resumes Monday with Game 5 in Denver
Timberwolves at Nuggets
When/where to watch: 9:30 p.m. Monday (NBC, Peacock)
Series: Wolves lead 3-1
What to know: DiVincenzo’s season is over with an Achilles tendon injury and Edwards is facing a long recovery from a bone bruise and hyperextended knee. The Nuggets were the highest-scoring team in the NBA this season and were held under 100 points just twice, back in January But they managed just 96 points in both of their losses in Minneapolis.
Pistons at Magic
When/where to watch: 7 p.m. Monday (NBC, Peacock)
Series: Magic leads 2-1
What to know: Behind 25 points each from Paolo Banchero and Desmond Bane, the Magic beat the Pistons on Saturday It’s the 13th time since 1984, when the NBA went to the 16-team format, that a No. 8 seed has taken a 2-1 lead in a first-round series over a No 1 seed Of the previous 12, five finished off the upset: Miami in 2023, Philadelphia in 2012, Memphis in 2011, Golden State in 2007 and New York in 1999.
Thunder at Suns
When/where to watch: 8:30 p.m. (NBCSN, Peacock)
Series: Thunder leads 3-0
What to know: Devin Booker should be ready to play in Game 4 when the Suns try to avoid a four-game sweep after leaving Game 3 briefly because of a left ankle injury he sustained after tripping over Lu Dort’s foot. The five-time AllStar returned a few minutes later and said he was fine. Booker said he thought Dort stuck out his foot a little on the play but didn’t know if it was on purpose.
Wiesberger rallies to win China Open on Euro tour
SHANGHAI Bernd Wiesberger of Austria played bogey-free Sunday and closed with a 4-under 67 to overcome Adrian Otaegui of Spain and win the China Open, his first victory since returning two years ago from Saudi-backed LIV Golf. Wiesberger, who qualified for the 2021 Ryder Cup, avoided the mistakes that cost Otaegui. The Spaniard had a three-shot lead on the back nine only to drop shots on both par 3s at Shanghai Enhance Anting Golf Club.
Otaegui came to the par-5 18th needing birdie to force a playoff and hit his tee shot into a bush to the right. He wound up with a double bogey for a 71 to finish three shots behind.
Wiesberger finished on 19-under 265 for his ninth career European title.
Former Washington LB Coleman dies at age 68
PINE BLUFF Ark. Monte Coleman, the hard-nosed linebacker who won three Super Bowls with Washington and later coached ArkansasPine Bluff to a conference championship, has died. He was 68. UAPB and the Commanders announced his death Sunday No cause of death was disclosed.
Born Nov 4, 1957, in Pine Bluff, Coleman was a walk-on at Central Arkansas before being drafted in the 11th round by Washington in 1979. He would go on to play all 16 of his NFL seasons with the team, appearing in 215 regular-season games second in franchise history behind Hall of Fame cornerback Darrell Green.
Coleman is a member of the team’s Ring of Honor and ranks second in franchise
tackles.
AssoCIATED PREss PHoTo By ABBIE PARR
AssoCIATED PREss PHoTo By NATHAN DENETTE
in Toronto.
Patriots linebacker Anfernee Jennings celebrates during a game against the
Foxborough, Mass
Saints reach deal with veteran LB Jennings
BY LUKE JOHNSON staff writer
One of the prevailing theories going into the 2026 NFL Draft was that the New Orleans Saints would look to address their pass rush with one of their premier picks. The Saints didn’t end up selecting a pass rusher, but they’ve now added their second veteran edge defender since the start of the draft.
After trading for former top-10
pick Tyree Wilson Saturday, the Saints agreed to terms with former New England Patriots edge rusher Anfernee Jennings on Sunday, according to a league source.
The Patriots selected Jennings in the third round out of Alabama in 2020. He had spent his entire career in New England to this point, recording 7.5 sacks in 75 games.
The 6-foot-2, 255-pound Jennings is a 3-4 outside linebacker who played the majority of his snaps in New England in a pass rush role.
In his last two seasons with the Patriots, he generated a pressure rate of 9.6 and 9.7 % — a slight tick above Cameron Jordan’s pressure rate last season. The Saints have added Wilson and Jennings to a group that includes returning starters Carl Granderson and Chase Young. It is not yet clear whether either of the additions will impact whether the Saints will bring Jordan who remains unsigned — back for a 16th season with the franchise.
LSU makes big strides as spring practice concludes
Five things learned from Tigers’ spring scrimmages
BY REED DARCEY staff writer
It looks like the transformation LSU football has undergone in the last five months is still on schedule. Spring practice wasn’t perfect Coach Lane Kiffin’s overhauled offense had to battle through some growing pains, but once it did, it was clear that quarterbacks Husan Longstreet, Landen Clark and the rest of the unit had made significant strides in a relatively short period of time. There are still lingering questions. Starting quarterback Sam Leavitt hardly practiced, and the Tigers still need to solidify at least two starting spots on their offensive line.
But those matters won’t sort themselves out until preseason camp begins in August.
For now, though, let’s take a look at what we learned from LSU’s spring practices, which wrapped up on Saturday
Leavitt must learn quickly
Leavitt didn’t do much this spring. The Arizona State transfer was limited in the first six practices, then was fully sidelined for the last nine after undergoing a scheduled procedure to remove the pins in his surgically repaired foot Now Leavitt won’t take live reps until preseason camp begins in August. Kiffin knew that’d be the case when LSU signed him from the transfer portal in January, so he didn’t sound particularly concerned when he confirmed on April 7 that his starting quarterback would miss more than half of spring practice.
“I just feel nowadays,” Kiffin said, “it’s a little easier to play quarterback than it used to be years ago, as far as how long you’ve been there. You look around the country, people transfer and go play at new places.”
Leavitt, an Arizona State transfer, has already switched schools twice, so he knows how to learn a new offense and develop timing with new receivers This time, though, he’ll have to cram most of that work into preseason camp. It can be done, though, especially if Leavitt learns as quickly as the Tigers’ other two quarterbacks did this spring.
There’s opportunity at RB
One player took most of LSU’s
first-team running back reps this spring, and it wasn’t Harlem Berry or Caden Durham
It was Dillin Jones, the transfer tailback, who looks like he’s made a quick ascent up the Tigers’ depth chart. The former Wisconsin ballcarrier was a four-star recruit who redshirted his freshman year and played seven games in 2025 before he suffered a season-ending toe injury
Now Jones has a shot to earn a large role in the LSU offense, even though the Tigers brought back their top two rushers.
“For a guy that wasn’t a headliner,” Kiffin said, “he’s played like it, and that’s really critical.”
Whether Jones is still the top back in preseason camp or not, expect LSU to rotate its ballcarriers next season as Kiffin tries to revitalize the program’s ground game. The Tigers fielded the SEC’s least productive rushing offense in both 2024 and 2025, so things need to change.
LSU’s thin on cornerbacks
The transfer portal won’t reopen this spring, but if it did, then Kiffin and his staff would probably recruit a cornerback or two.
DJ Pickett and PJ Woodland are the two clear starters.
LSU’s depth at that spot, though, is a bit murkier
It was both before and after sophomore Aidan Anding suffered a torn Achilles during a spring scrimmage. Since he went down on April 11, LSU’s second-team cornerbacks have been redshirt junior Ja’Keem Jackson and redshirt sophomore Michael Turner — a pair of returners who combined to play only 111 defensive snaps last season, according to Pro Football Focus.
The rest of the group features three freshmen, a Southern transfer and a redshirt junior who’s yet to log a single snap on defense in his career
LSU trusts Pickett and Woodland, but injuries happen, and Kiffin can’t use the portal to overcome the one that sidelined one of the Tigers’ top backup corners.
“You can’t put him on IR and pick someone up off waivers like in the NFL,” Kiffin said, “so that’s a concern, but one we just gotta deal with.” OL battles have frontrunners LSU was expected to hold as many as three position battles on the offensive line this year but you wouldn’t know it if you had watched any spring practices.
The Tigers hardly ever changed their first-team unit in those sessions.
The grouping — from the left
How Broncos made Red Murdock this year’s Mr. Irrelevant
BY ARNIE STAPLETON AP pro football writer
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — University of Buffalo linebacker Red Murdock was starting to wonder if he’d get drafted at all when the Denver Broncos made him “Mr Irrelevant” as the 257th and final pick of the NFL draft on Saturday
“The thoughts crept in, but I was tryingtokeepmymindoffofthings that I can’t control,” Murdock said in a conference call with reporters at team headquarters in suburban Denver “And when I got that call, I was extremely grateful.”
So was Utah tight end Dallen Bentley, who was selected one spot ahead of Murdock as the Broncos had the two final draft picks, something no other team had ever held since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.
“I’m just grateful to be part
SAINTS
Continued from page 1B
But it is fair to wonder if the Saints’ new acquisitions could make it more difficult for Jordan to reach his goals, and thus diminish his chances of coming back. Repeatedly, the eight-time Pro Bowler has said he wants an opportunity that will allow him enough playing time to chase 1012 sacks and climb up the NFL’s all-time leaderboard.
Would either Wilson or Jennings take snaps over Jordan?
of Broncos Country, man,” Bentley said. “I’m just excited. It doesn’t matter when or where you get drafted or (if you go) undrafted, you’ve just got to make the most of every opportunity you get.”
The only other “Mr Irrelevant” in Broncos history was Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly in 2017.
Broncos coach Sean Payton and general manager George Paton contemplated making Bentley “Mr Irrelevant” before deciding to give that honor to Murdock, who set an FBS record by forcing 17 fumbles at Buffalo.
“Man, he’s a tackling machine, really instinctive, really good against the run,” Paton said. “Just a nose for the ball, relentless, we think he can be a good special teamer So, we like him.”
playing future to resume soon.
He said he’d like to be with a team by the start of the on-field portion of OTAs rather than waiting for training camp, noting he likes to be “all in” and “go strive for things.”
Asked if it helped that the Saints did not draft an edge rusher, particularly with a high pick, Jordan said “sure,” but did not seem to indicate that was a swaying factor He said he and his camp would “act accordingly” to what happened in the draft.
“The landscape is clearing up,” Jordan said.
side to the right — was Jordan Seaton, Bo Bordelon, Braelin Moore, Aliou Bah and Weston Davis.
The only sign that any of those positions are up for grabs is that Ole Miss transfer Devin Harper opened spring as LSU’s first-team left guard. Bordelon — a fifth-year senior who was a reserve tackle last year — took over that role after only a handful of practices, though, and never gave it up. His emergence was one of the spring’s most surprising developments.
“We don’t just make a depth chart and you stay there,” Kiffin said on April 14. “I think a lot of people do that. If you get outplayed, we move the depth chart daily And (Bordelon’s) been doing a great job and deserved the right to go in there and start.”
Will Bordelon hold onto the job through preseason camp? We’ll see. Only Seaton, Moore and potentially Bah figure to have their roles locked up as of now Bordelon and Davis may have to do a little more battling, even though spring practices showed that they’re the clear frontrunners to land those starting gigs.
No clear No. 1 target — yet
Several LSU receivers enjoyed productive springs, but it’s not yet clear which ones will play the most snaps next season — or if any of them will emerge as Leavitt’s clear No. 1 target.
A couple of candidates were limited. Tight end Trey’Dez Green was one of the few players who spent the spring in a gold light-contact jersey, and he participated in team drills only occasionally By the end of the practices, Florida transfer wide receiver Eugene Wilson joined him in that small group.
LSU was also without Tre Brown, an Old Dominion transfer who’s battling an apparent foot injury
In their absence, Ole Miss transfer Winston Watkins, Hawaii transfer Jackson Harris, Kansas State transfer Jayce Brown and returner Phillip Wright showed that they could each have a role in the offense.
In one Tiger Stadium scrimmage, Watkins snagged 10 passes, and Harris caught three touchdowns.
Then, two practices later, Wright caught a pass on an intermediate in-breaking route and raced through the defense for a long touchdown catch.
The point is that it looks like LSU has a deep, versatile set of pass catchers, even though none of them have emerged as the offense’s go-to target so far
New Orleans also has Chase Young and Carl Granderson, who are expected to receive the majority of reps. A day before signing Jennings, Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said he didn’t see the Wilson trade as related to Jordan He said the Saints wanted to acquire Wilson because they liked him coming out of the draft and they believe he could be a better fit in Brandon Staley’s defense.
“Oftentimes, there’s high expectations for these guys that come drafted early, right?” Loomis said of Wilson, the seventh overall pick in 2023. “And if they don’t necessarily meet that expectation, but they’re still good players. They can have a second chance and have a really good career and maybe reach a higher level of success.
“So hopefully that’s what happens here.” Jordan said he had been waiting for the draft to provide clarity That, in some ways, has now happened. But Jordan said he expects to speak with his agent and for conversations about his
NUSSMEIER
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his mildly surprising slide turned into something more puzzling.
Nussmeier had a rough year in 2025, but he was once considered a potential first-round pick, and he even had a relatively minor injury he could use to explain away some of his struggles.
On Monday, the NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported that Nussmeier had discovered at the league’s scouting combine in February that he had a cyst on his spine — one that was pressing on a nerve and causing discomfort in his abdominal area. He could’ve addressed the issue with a routine surgery, Pelissero said, and he would’ve been sidelined for only about two or three weeks.
Nussmeier first started feeling the pain at the start of LSU’s preseason camp in August. It then resurfaced throughout the Tigers’ disappointing 7-6 season, and eventually forced him to sit out the last four games of the year Neither Nussmeier nor coach Brian Kelly ever offered a definitive diagnosis of the injury, which added some uncertainty to his draft stock. But Nussmeier showed during the pre-draft process that he was healthy He won MVP of the Senior Bowl in February, and at LSU’s pro day in March, he completed 69 of 72 passes, showing off the arm talent that most experts thought would lead an NFL
But Jordan still appears to be adjusting to his situation, particularly the way he now has to talk about the Saints.
“You know we just made a move,” Jordan said before correcting himself. “They just made a move (for Jennings). I said ‘we.’ I keep saying ‘we,’ and I’m having to force myself to say black and gold, black and gold, even though it’s always going to be a ‘we.’ “So yeah, I think that again, they made plenty of great moves and honestly, I hope things do align. And if not, I’ll know what the landscape looks like for me in the next week.”
In the meantime, Jordan was more than happy to focus on his charity event. For nearly two hours, he played pickleball on various courts against those who attended the afternoon tournament. His team, partnered with Wood, finished third. And at the end of the event, he introduced and gifted the four recipients of his foundation’s college scholarship
“What Cam has done in the community for so long, you’d expect nothing less from him,” said Bresee.
team to select him on Day 2.
So, why the long wait?
It sounds like Nussmeier was just as puzzled as you were.
“Obviously, it was difficult for me sitting there,” Nussmeier said, “and not understanding why, I guess you could say Obviously I have belief in myself and where I believe that I should have been valued. But at the end of the day, I’m just grateful for this opportunity.” Nussmeier said he had “pretty minimal” contact with the Chiefs in the lead-up to the draft. He also said that he wasn’t focused on “when” he got picked but “where.” He wanted to land in the right situation, and Kansas City — because it employs both coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes — is a place where he can “learn and develop.” Mahomes is still recovering from the ACL tear he suffered in December and if he has to miss the start of the 2026 season, the Chiefs are expected to start free-agent signee Justin Fields at quarterback in his absence. In that scenario, of course, they’d need a backup, which means that Nussmeier has a shot at cracking the initial 53-man roster
The Chiefs had two quarterbacks behindFields formerSaints’passerJakeHaenerandformerseventhround pick Chris Oladokun. Then they decided to take a flier on Nussmeier, ending his surprisingly steep draft slide and giving him a chance to offer some perspective on a tough weekend.
“I’m just grateful that I have this opportunity,” he said.
AssoCIATED PREss FILE PHoTo By RoBERT F BUKATy
Miami Dolphins on Jan. 4 in
Jennings and the saints agreed to terms on sunday.
Fitzpatricks’win bigfor them,ZurichClassic
Family counts for so muchin South Louisiana. In South Yorkshire in England, as well.
That’swhere brothers Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick are from. TwoYorkshire lads who used to stand on the practice green at HallamshireGolf Club near their hometown of Sheffield and tell each other,“This is to win aPGA Tour event. This is to win amajor.”
When the time finally camefor Alex Fitzpatrick to make suchaputt Sunday, after Matt blasted his 35-yard bunker shot on the 18th hole at TPCLouisiana to 14 inches left of the cup, he couldn’tfeel hishands. Couldn’tfeel his legs. But after bigbrother Matt put areassuring arm around him, Alex knocked in the birdie putt that allowed them to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans by one nerve-jangling stroke over Alex Smalley/Hayden Springer and Kristoffer Reitan/ Kris Ventura.
“I never thought it would happen,” Alex Fitzpatrick said It did, amoment that capped off the most emotionally satisfying Zurich Classic ever.
When Phil Mickelson tearfully wonthe 2010 Masters after his wife andmother battled cancer, CBS announcerJim Nantz intoned thatitwas “A win for the family.” Nantz, who spent part of his childhoodinMetairie, wasn’t here forthis weekend’sCBS telecast. Butawin for the Fitzpatrick family—their parents were here to see it in person —isindeed what it was.
“Towin ateam event on the PGA Tour with my brother,Idon’t think it gets better than that. For me personally,it’sjust underwinning amajor,” said Matt Fitzpatrick, who won the 2022 U.S. Open.
The victory made Alex an exempt member of thePGA Tour through the 2028 season. For Matt, histhird win in his past five starts, moved him to No. 1onthe PGA Tour’sFedEx Cup points list ahead of Scottie Scheffler,who Fitzpat-
rick beatinaplayoff aweek earlier to win the RBC Heritage. It was amuchdifferent atmosphere in Avondale for the Fitzpatrickkrewe than it was for Matt on Hilton Head Island. There, he enduredchants of“USA! USA!” as he wrestled the trophy away from the popular and personable Scheffler
Here, theFitzpatricks were the fan favorites as well as the pre-tournament betting favorites (more than acoincidence?). You gotasense the partying patrons knew what winning would mean forthe brothers. And what it would mean for the Zurich Classic itself.
The Zurich may be in agreat city at agreat time (the first weekendofJazz Fest)and the PGA Tour’s only team event. But it is
also agarden-variety PGA Tour stop. Presently,the Zurich is sandwiched on theschedulebetween the Masters two weeks ago, three so-called “Signature events”— with $20 millionpursescompared to the Zurich’s$9.5 million —and then the next major in line, the PGA Championship.
Many of thetour’sbiggest stars saw this as aweek for amuchneeded break.Thatincluded Scheffler andtwo-time Masters champ Rory McIlroy,who won here in 2024 with Shane Lowry (he teamed with five-time major winnerBrooks Koepka,but they missed the cut). Thenthere’s the uncertainty of wheretournaments like the Zurich will fit into the PGA Tour’sschedulingplans starting with the2028 season, when thetourcould institute two
HOUSTON Nelly Kordaisback to No. 1inthe world and looksevery bit the part.
Korda was so untouchable at The Chevron Championship that no one got closer than four shots of her the entire weekend. She played her last 29 holes at Memorial Park in even par and still won by five, the largestmargin at this major in 18 years. And it was one of the toughest times she ever had.
“It’snot easy going in with that big of alead,” said Korda, “I think that was the challenging point with like, where do Istill play like Nelly and wheredoIplay alittle defensive?”
That’s whywhere wasmuchrelief as joy when she holed a7-foot par putt to close with a2-under 70 to capture her third major championship and return to No. 1inthe women’s world rankingfor the first time since August.
She celebrated in the best manner possible —acannon ball into the 41/2-foot pool built to the right of the 18th green to keep with the tradition at this major thatdates to 1988 whenthe winner jumped into Poppie’sPond at MissionHills in the California desert.
“Feet first,” she said with asmile, dressed in the winner’swhite robe.
“I knew it was 4feet, so Iwas expecting to hit the ground very fast.” No one else expected anything else.
Staked to afive-shot lead at the start, Korda was efficient as ever with two early birdies, and two more on the back nine that put the finaltouches on this masterpiece.
Playing it safe left her acouple of par putts in the 6-foot range, the ones that had given her fits in the third round. She made oneonthe 11th. She left the next one short, and her leadwas down to four shots.
Time for Nelly golf. Her caddie told her she should play well shortofthe pin on the heavilycontoured green at the 13th. Korda had other ideas.
“I actually just sent it at the pin and Ihad atap-inbirdie,”she said Korda followedbyhammeringa 3-wood to just short of the green for asimple up-and-down forbird-
ie. And then it was back to playing it safe —soconservative that instead of hittinga mid-iron ontothe par-516th over water,she opted to lay up with agap wedge and then hit lob wedge to 25 feet for atwoputtpar
The victory was her 17th on the LPGAand 21st worldwide. Not since Meg Mallon in 2000 had an American reached threemajors in hercareer, and the 27-year-old Korda is just getting started. She doesn’t care for comparisons with her 2024 seasonwhen shewon seven times, including that recordtying streak of five in arow that was capped off at TheChevron.
Butit’sthe start to aseasonthat will get everyone’sattention.She has played in the finalgroupinall five of her tournaments, winning twice and being runner-up theother three times. Andthen she won a majorbyleadingthe final 57 holes of thetournament. Korda joined Juli Inkster (1989) andAmy Alcott (1991), both at Nabisco Dinah Shore, as theonly players inthe last 50 yearstowin LPGAmajorswhen leading by multiple shots after each round. About theonly drama in the final hour —all weekend, really —was
whether Korda could break Dottie Pepper’s72-hole scoring record that has stood since 1999. Korda was playing it safe with abig lead, hitting to the fat of the green and settlingfor pars, along with another three-putt bogey She finished at 18-under 270, one short of Pepper’srecord at Mission Hills. Korda madea25-foot birdie putt on the 12th hole Friday,and didn’t makeanother puttover 10 feet the rest of theweek.Thatincludeda trio of 4-foot misses that kept it from beinga blowout, anditstayed in her heard.
Butthat was part of Korda’snew outlook. Don’tworry aboutmistakes, knowing she could make up for them, and she did.
‘What Iwas telling myself was Ireally want to hoist this trophy becauseI want to show thekids at home thatit’sOKtomiss short putts andstill wina major championship,” shesaidwithalaugh.
“You’re going to make mistakes. Youhave to mentally still be in it 100%, andthat’s really what I wanted show
“I wanted to show it to myself and Iwanted
it
tiers of events. Organizers touted the “watch the future stars comeout” angle of this year’stournament, but in reality,what was best for the Zurich was for an established star to share the top prize. That’swhat it gotinMatt Fitzpatrick, ranked No. 3inthe world.
“He is the best player in the world,”Alex said. “That’smy opinion.”
The Fitzpatricks started the day with asizable four-stroke lead, but on theback nine it looked like they would be fried like aSheffield fishcake (I don’tknow,it’s something they eat there). Matt’s wayward drive on the par-4 12th hole ledtoadouble-bogey,and they followed that with abogey on thepar-3 14th, their lead over Smalley/Springer and Reitan/Ven-
ZURICH
Continued from page1B
TheFitzpatricks made the finish more dramatic than they,or anyone associated withthe Zurich, wanted by squandering a four-stroke lead on the back nine with some uncharacteristically errant play
After going two-and-a-half days without abogey,the brothers suddenly lost their command off the tee and double-bogeyed the492-yard, par-4 No. 12 and bogeyedthe 216-yard par-3No. 14 to fall into atie with Smalley and Springer at 30-under Seemingly unnerved by the turn of events, they scrambled to save par on Nos. 15, 16 and 17 to set the stagefor the dramatic finish on the585-yard, par-5No. 18.After Alex put his approach shotinto thebunkerinfront of the green, Matt savedhis best shot for last, sticking abunker shot from 35 yards away to within 14 inches of the hole to set up Alex’stap-in.
“It’s as good abunkershotas I’veever hit,” Matt said. “And to set up Alex with the moststressfree tap-in of all-time wasreally, really nice.”
The11-inch putt wasanything but “stress-free” forAlex.
“I thought Iwas going to miss theputt, stood over it, even though it was so short,” Alex said. “I couldn’tfeel my hands, couldn’tfeel my legs, couldn’t feel anything. It’samazing to be with (Matt), my mom anddad.I can’tbelieve we’ve done it.”
The Fitzpatricks entered the day with acommanding four-shot lead and were greeted by steamy playing conditions fortheir af-
But Sheffield is atough place filled with tough people, acity that helped forge the industrial revolution. Stainless steel, which golf clubs are made of, was invented there, acentury before Alex caddied for Matt when he won the 2013 U.S. Amateur at The Country Club outside Boston, Massachusetts. It’sthe same place Matt would win the 2022 U.S. Open. The brothers made clutch up and downs for par saves on 13 and 15, setting up their winning shots on the par-5 18th.
“I’d say it’sasgood abunker shot as I’ve ever hit,” Matt said, “but that maybelying. But to hit it the way Idid and to finish where it did, to make it the most stressfree tap-in of all time(for Alex) for such abig occasion was really, really nice.”
By the way,Matt’swife, Katherine, is expecting their first child this fall. By the time Matt and Alex return to defend their title next April, the family will have grown.
ternoon tee time as summer-like temperatures cookedthe course and turned the soggy tract into a sauna. In anticipationofwitnessing history,a large gallery followed their foursomethroughout the round. If the brothers felt any addedpressure from the large turnout, it didn’tshowearly.They playedloose and aggressively for the first 11 holesbefore seeing their games inexplicably go awry after Matt’swayward tee shotlanded behind atreetothe right of thefairwayonNo. 12, kick-starting their tailspin. “Wewere really comfortable withwhatweweredoing, then literally,terrible tee shot on 12, terrible secondshot on 13, terrible tee shot on 14,” Matt said. “I kind of felt like, what the hell is going on here? Ifelt like Ilost my swing, and I’m, like, all right, Iamfeeling it now. Idon’t want to throw thisaway.We’ve done such great work to be in this position. Ijust felt that we needed to just give ourselves achance.”
The victory was the fifth in Matt Fitzpatrick’scareer andthe secondinasmanyweeks after winningthe RBC Heritage last week in Hilton Head,South Carolina Since placing second at the Players Championship in Ponte Vedra, Florida, in mid-March, he hasrecorded three wins and arunner-up finish, while earning more than $9.6 million. His career earnings now top $40 million.
“There isn’treally words to describe it,” Matt said. “Towin a team event on the PGA Tour with my brother,Idon’tknow if it does get better than that. …Toget it over thelinethe waywedid and to hang in there on the back nine is incredible.”
to me.”
sTAFFPHoTo By BRETT DUKE Alex Fitzpatrick and Matt Fitzpatrick makeavideo together with the trophyastheycelebrate winning the Zurich Classic tournament on sunday at TPC Louisiana in Avondale.
to show
everyone looking up
AssoCIATED PREss PHoTo By DAVIDJ.PHILLIP
Nelly Korda holdsthe trophyafter winning the Chevron Championship LPGA golf tournament sunday in Houston.
sTAFF PHoTo By BRETT DUKE
MattFitzpatrick, left,and Alex Fitzpatrick maketheir wayalong the third fairwayduring the final round of the Zurich Classic at TPC Louisiana in Avondale on sunday.
Scott Rabalais
Red-hotJagswin 10th straight game
BY TOYLOYBROWN III staff writer
The title of the hottest baseball team in the Southwestern Athletic Conference belongs to Southern It entered the final game of its three-game series against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on anine-game win streak.Southern was determined to sweep its opponent to keep the streak alive, and it did just that.
The Jaguars took downUAPB 1615,overcoming aseven-rundeficit on Sunday at Lee-Hines Stadium They won their 10th straight game aftertrailing 15-8 in the middleof the seventh inning.
“Everybody’s happy right now,” Southern coach ChrisCrenshaw said, smiling after the win. “I’m thrilled, they’re thrilled. It’s10ina row,Igot an ice bath. It is what it is.”
In the bottomof theseventh, Jacoby Radcliffedelivered amomentous three-run RBI triple.This wasthe senior outfielder’s third triple of the year, cuttingthe deficit to 15-13. Southern (21-20, 14-7) recaptured a16-15 lead after atwo-run homer by junior outfielder Ryan Hunter
“I gotintoa3-2 count, they brought in anew pitcher,” Hunter said. “He threw me two pitches down in the zone, fought it off. I’m just trying to stay in the middle of the field. He threw it down and in, and it was more of areaction kind of thing. …Put agood swingonit.”
Crenshaw was asked about the difference in his team since starting 5-7 in SWAC play
“Starting to get healthy, starting to get guys that Ithoughtwere gonna be our main guys in the lineup on adaily basis,” the sixth-year coach said. “They just believe in what we’ve been talking aboutand we finally caught some breaks.”
Both teams found their offense early.After UPAB scored apair of runs in the top of the first inning, Southernimmediatelyresponded by loading the bases with the top of its batting order Hunter,the Jaguars’leadoffhitter,hit the ball off the right-field wall for adouble.The junior’shit was followed by senior Kameron Byrd’ssingle and awalk forsenior catcher Xavier Bradley.With the bases loaded, Jaylon Lucky smackeda line drive toward third base for atwo-RBI single.
Redshirt freshman Omari Johnson drove in another run after UAPB (19-26,12-19)failed to convert adouble play In the second frame, Southern’ssenior righty pitcher Quincy Thornton retired the side in order, striking out two. The success from Thornton wasn’treplicatedinthe third inning.
UAPB knotted the game at 4-4 quickly. KonnerGiddley then ham-
LSU
Continued from page1B
we’re doing,” freshman Omar Serna said. “Everyone’skeepinga positive mindset, even when we’re down, we’re still in there.” Alack of effort had nothing to do withthe Tigers’struggles against the Bulldogs. Instead, it was their lack of pitching depth, an issue heading into the weekend that got much worse after sophomore right-hander Casan Evans was scratched fromhis startless than an hour before Friday’sgame. That, combined with an 11-inning contest on Friday,drained the Tigers’ already thin staff by thetime Sunday’scontest rolled around.
“We’re not in an advantageous situation, given that Casan couldn’t go,” LSU coach Jay Johnson said. “Itwas going to be achallengeanyway.Ithinkifhecan pitch, which he would only do if he’s healthy, I think it’sadifferent series.”
Athree-run homer surrendered by freshman right-handed starter Marcos Paz was all LSU (24-21, 6-15 SEC) surrendered through the first four innings, but then the floodgates opened in thefifth. The Tigers gave up 10 runs over the next four innings, turning a5-3 lead after four innings into afiverun deficit by the end of the eighth. Johnson turned to seven different pitchers from innings five through eight. They combined to allow eight earned runs, walk fourbatters and hit another.The biggest inning came in the sixth, when MississippiState (34-10, 13-8) scored four runs to take the
LSUsoftballwins Game 3ofseriesat MississippiState
staff report
sTAFF PHoTo By MICHAEL JoHNsoN
southernright fielder Ryan Hunter, left, slides pastArkansas-Pine Bluff
shortstop Aaron Grant to reach second base in the first inning on sundayatLee-Hinesstadium.
mered atwo-rundouble. Southern changed pitchers after Thornton was taken out of thegame after driving in arun with ahit batter.Freshman Caden Brown replacedhim with Southern trailing 6-4. Thornton allowed four hits, six earned runs, three walks and threw 61 pitches in 21/3 innings. Brown helped Southern escape the inning without giving up anotherrun, and the Jaguars tacked on arun of their own. In the fourth frame, the Golden Lionsscored another four runs. UAPB’sZyon Hamilton doubled to right field for apair of scores thatgave his team a10-5 lead.
Afterjunior pitcher RylandMorin threwaball that hitByrd, UAPB’s coach LoganStout replaced thelefty with junior Jordan Medellin. The new righty pitcher struggled early.Hethrew awild pitch thatadvanced Byrd to second, and allowed two RBI doubles to right field for Bradleyand Lucky. Southernentered the fifth inning down 10-7.
Crenshawbrought in his third pitcher,freshman right-hander JaydenLawrence. He retired the first batter he facedand then gave up the game’sfirst homerun. The homerfrom junior Zach Wieder snuck over the right-field wall. Lawrencerecovered,preventing another runand closing the inning with astrikeoutswinging.
With Southern down 11-8 entering the top of the sixthinning, Crenshaw usedhis fourth pitcher freshman Rupert Blackwood. The righty made acostlyerror aftera bunt with two players on base. He scoopedthe ball up andthrew it inaccurately to hisfirst baseman. Theballwasn’tcaught, allowing a runner to reach home plate.
Crenshaw replaced Blackwood withredshirt freshman Stephen Tolbert afterthe mistake.The righty entered with runners on first andthird andSouthern with no outs. Southern gave up one morerun and didn’tscore itself.
In theseventh inning, Southern’s sixthpitcher was freshman Genesis Prosper.The Jaguars gave up a pair of runs aftera walk with bases loaded and asacrifice fly
On offense, Byrd ripped an RBI single downleft centertostart. A hit batter drove in asecond run for the Jaguars, who had no outs.
UAPB swapped outits pitcher after the score, putting in junior Jack Hasten. The pitching change was ineffective as Radcliffe hammered the ball off the right field wall for athree-RBI triple. This was followed by freshmanthird baseman Kenyon Hughes,who grounded out tofirst baseand drove in another run. Southern entered the eighth inning down 15-14. The surge continuedwhen Southern used itsseventhpitcher of theafternoon,Kenneth Jackson. The right-handedjuniorstruck out two and forced aflyout against the fourth batter he faced.
Then came thego-ahead homer from Hunter.Southern sealed the victory with seniorrighty Caleb Ellis on themound in the ninth. The game ended after Hughes scooped up agroundball and stepped on thirdbase to for thelast out.
Crenshaw’smessage to his Southern team,which playsUL next at 6p.m. TuesdayatM.L. “Tigue”Moore FieldatRusso Park, is simple.
“Keep going, keep plugging away,” he said.
LsU catcher omarserna bats in agameagainst TexasA&M on April 19 at Alex Box stadium. serna doubled and hit atwo-run
in the sixth inning of sunday’sgameagainst Mississippi state.
lead on an error,two singlesand two doubles.
“You get in trouble when you have to askguystodomorethan maybe they should,” Johnson said.
“And we had to do thatthis weekend,and it didn’thelp.”
Serna and fellow freshman Mason Braunwere key in LSU jumping out to two three-run leads on theBulldogs. Braun hada runscoring triple and scored twice.
Serna doubled andsmacked atworunhomer in thesixth inning.
“You could argue that they’reour twobest hitters on the team right now,”Johnson said. “… Andthat is apositive.” Braunand Serna combined to go 6for 10.Along withjunior Steven Milam’stwo-runhomerand sopho-
moreCade Arrambide’sthree-run blast, LSU hadenough offense to compete on Sundaydespite its struggling pitching staff.
“I thought it was outstanding,” Johnsonsaidabout the effort of the offense over theweekend.
“They have agood bullpen. That’s astrength of theirteam. And that was theclear separation(between) thetwo teams: thebullpen.”
LSU faces Southeastern Louisiana on Tuesday before itsnext weekend series in SEC play against South Carolina. First pitch from Alex Box Stadium is set for 6:30 p.m., andthe game will be available to stream on SEC Network+.
Email Koki Rileyat koki.riley@theadvocate.com.
STARKVILLE,Miss. Tori Edwards’ 100thcareer hit and 12th home runofthe season in thesixth inning proved to be the game-winning blow as No.20LSU avoided the sweep andended theweekend with a5-3 victory over No. 17 Mississippi State on Sunday at Nusz Park. With the win, LSU (33-16, 10-11 SEC) will enterthe final week of theregular season ninth in the SEC standings. Mississippi State (36-15, 8-13 SEC) is behind the Tigers at No. 10. Seeds 5-9 will get afirst-round bye in the SEC Tournament that will be held in Lexington, Kentucky,from May 5-9.
PaytnMonticelli, the reigning SEC Pitcher of the Week, pitched seven innings in relief to grab her fourth consecutive win. Monticelli (7-3)had astretchof sitting down eight consecutive batters, highlightingback-toback 1-2-3 innings in the third andfourth innings. The senior
allowed one run on two hits, walked one batter and struck out twointhe game. Kylee Edwards led the offense with another two-hit game (2 for3)and had twoRBIs on her 10th homerun of the season. She also scored two runs to lead the team. Tori Edwards hit atwo-run homer as well, marking thefifthgame this season where KyleeEdwards and Tori Edwards have homered in the same game. MSU’sPeja Goold was charged with the loss after allowing three hits, two runs, awalkand striking out two in 22/3 innings. In the fifth inning, LSU turned its third double play of the game, tying aprogram single-gamerecord. The Bulldogs had loaded the bases with no outs but plated just onerun to tiethe game before the Tigers turned two. Up next, LSU will conclude the regularseasonwithfourhome games, beginning with acontest against McNeese at 6p.m.Tuesday
TheAssociated Press
HOUSTON Spencer Arrighetti allowed onerun over seven innings, and Christian Walker homered anddrove home aseasonhigh four runs, and the Houston Astros beat NewYork 7-4 on Sunday to snap the Yankees’ eightgamewinning streak. Arrighetti (3-0) struck out eight while allowing three hits and one walk. He is the first Astros starter to pitch seven innings since Lance McCullers Jr.onMarch 30. Aaron Judge, celebrating his 34th birthday, suppliedthe only blemishonArrighetti’s line when he hit asolohomer in the sixth. Judge’sthree birthday homers tied Yogi Berra andGraig Nettles for second-most among Yankees, trailing only Lou Gehrig’sfour Walker gave the Astros a
2-0 lead when he sent a3-2 changeup from Luis Gil 432 feet over the wallinleft-centerfieldfor hisseventh homer of theseason and secondinas many days Isaac Paredes addeda two-run homer in the third inning, and after Paredes singled home Carlos Correa in thefifth, Walkerhit a two-run double to give Houston a 7-0 lead.
Walker was 3for 4, while Paredes and Yordan Alvarez had two hits apiece. Gil(1-2) pitched into the fifth and was charged with six runs on five hits forthe Yankees. Paul Goldschmidt and Jazz Chisholm Jr.had twohitsfor New York. After the game, the Yankees optionedGil to Triple-A Scranton/ Wilkes-Barre.
PHoTo By MICHAEL BACIGALUPI
homer
PHoTo By PATRICK DENNIs
LsU firstbaseman Tori Edwards, shown against ole Miss on April 19, hit ahome runinthe Tigers’ win on sunday at Mississippistate.
PULLINGTHE THREADS
Longfellow’s ‘Evangeline’ is differentfromsouth Louisiana’s. When wasthe storyrevised?
BY ROBIN MILLER staff writer
If Huey P. Long had takentime to read Henry WadsworthLongfellow’s1847 poem before hitting the campaigntrail, would hehave scrapped his1928 “Evangeline” speech? Maybe he did read it, but it didn’tmatter. Why? Because thetrueversion of Longfellow’s“Evangeline, ATale of Acadie” didn’t exactly match the narrativeLongwas tryingto convey “Here beneath this oak, Evangeline waited for her lover,who never came,” the 34-year-old Long recitedinhis legendary stump speech for the governor’soffice.
“It is aspotmadeimmortalby Longfellow’spoem, but Evangeline is not the only onewho has waited here in disappointment… Evangelinewept bitter tearsin her disappointment, but they lasted only througha single lifetime.
LPBgoes shrimping andto Franklin Parish
BY JUDYBERGERON staff writer
Louisiana Public Broadcast-
ing’snext “Louisiana Spotlight” special will dive into the challengesfacing theshrimping industry and what its future might look like.
“Empty Boats, Foreign Shrimp” will airat7p.m.Wednesday on LPB’sstatewide network andonWLAE in NewOrleans.
“The viability of shrimping is reaching acritical point. An influx of importedshrimp has steadily driven down the value of the local catch, leaving shrimpersstrugglingtostay afloat,” an LPB news release states. “Inanindustry once passed down through generations, even finding deckhands has becomedifficult.”
The programwill also look at declining shrimpingprofits, an aging fleet, andthe innovations being tested to remain competitive, including the use of DNA technology to verify product origin.
Helpingexplore theseissues will be:
PRoVIDED PHoTo FRoM
THELoUIsIANA sTATEMUsEUM
Alexander Alaux’s1929 painting ‘Evangeline,’adheres to the Louisiana legend by showing Evangeline and Gabriel standing beneath aliveoak along the banks of BayouTeche. HenryWadsworth Longfellow’sepic poem doesn’t match up withthe legend.
Your tearsinthis country,around this oak, have lasted for generations. Give me thechance at last
to dry thetears of those who still weep her.”
Spoileralert
Spoiler alert:InLongfellow’s poem,Evangeline didn’tspend her life crying beneathalive oak tree waiting for her long-lost fiancé to show up in aboat along theBayou Teche. She actually hit theroad to search for him.
This piqued Phyllis Hall’scuriosityabout thetwo versions of this story.
“I read Huey Long’sspeech, and it mademethink about the poem,” the Catahoula community reader said. “So, Iread the poem, and it’s totally different from thestory told in St.Martinville. So, where does this revised version of the story comefrom?”
Hall clarifies that she knows thestoryisfiction, but, she adds, achunk of southwest Louisiana’s tourism revolves around “Evangeline.”Laci Laperouse, director of the St. Martin Parish Tourism
ä see CURIOUS, page 2C
READYFOR LIFTOFF
n Thomas Hymel, executive director,LSU AgCenterIberia Research Station n Jeffrey Plumlee, fisheries specialist, Louisiana Sea Grant n PaulMladenka,co-owner Couyons BBQ n Kim Chauvin, owner,Kim Chauvin’sSeafood Company Christina Jensen, co-anchor of LPB’sweeklynewsmagazine “Louisiana: The State We’re In,” hosts. Streaming will be available the night of the broadcast premiere. Check out past episodes in this series at lpb.org/louisianaspotlight.
FILE PHoTo By
shrimp boats are dockedin Buras in December 2024. A newLPB specialexamines the challengesnow facingLouisiana shrimp fishermen.
LaNasajoins Hulu series
Louisiana native Katherine LaNasa, who currently stars in the HBO Max megahit “The Pitt,”isjoining the cast of Hulu’supcoming limitedseries, “Count My Lies.” The Baton Rouge-raised LaNasawill portray Tracy,mother to Shailene Woodley’scharacter of Sloane, in one episode of the mystery-drama-thriller The project is based on Sophie Stava’sdebut novel of the same name, anda “Good Morning America” Book Club pick. Already cast in the series areLindsayLohan,Kit Harington, Nicole Villamil and Lou Diamond Phillips. No premiere date has been released. LaNasa, 59, received a2025 Emmy forher roleascharge nurse Dana Evans on “The Pitt.” Season 2’sfinal episode premiered April 16, and Season 3isset to premiere in 2027. The intense, fast-paced medical dramafollows the work and daily lives of the professionals employed in the emergency room of aPittsburgh hospital NoahWyle also stars. LaNasa previously was featured in the series “Truth Be ä see NOTES, page 2C
PRoVIDED PHoTo
The beautiful Evangeline oak in st.Martinville is immortalized in the epic poem ‘Evangeline’ by HenryWadsworth Longfellow, but the poet’s storydoesn’tmatch up withLouisiana’slegend about his heroine.
sTAFF
CHRIs GRANGER
ResearchingGLP-1 drugs, Parkinson’sprogression
Dear Doctors: Afew years ago, you mentioned astudy on the idea that GLP-1 drugs might havea protective effect for people with early-stage Parkinson’sdisease. I assume that the study is finished now.Isitpossible to summarize the outcomes of that trial?
Dear reader: Theterm GLP-1 is short for glucagon-like peptide-1 This type of hormone is released after eating. The hormoneisproduced by the intestines to tell the pancreas to make more insulin This helps control blood sugar, slows the movement of food through the digestive tract and acts on appetite pathwaysinthe brain. This all helps people feel fullsotheyeat lessand often lose weight.
GLP-1 drugs have beenused since 2005 to manage Type 2dia-
CURIOUS
Continued from page1C
Commission, evenpoints out that tourists from throughout the world continuously make apoint to visit St. Martinville’sEvangeline Oak.
Longfellow’s story
Longfellow’stale of Evangeline Bellefontaine and her betrothed, Gabriel Lajeunesse, begins with the 1755 British expulsion of some 10,000 French-speaking Acadians from Nova Scotia,New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.
The British ruled these Canadian territories, where the French and Indian War was raging, and they required an unqualified oath of allegiancetothe British Crown from its citizens
The Acadians refused, maintaining what they perceived to be French neutrality. So, the British shipped them to the American colonies.
Some refugees ended up in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Georgia, with the bulk migrating to what is now southwest Louisiana.
Longfellow’stale takes place on the backdrop of this history,where Evangeline is separated from Gabriel on their wedding day, when British soldiersbreak up the ceremony and corral everyone for the north-tosouth trek from Nova Scotia to Louisiana.
Evangeline immediately loses track of Gabriel and doesn’tsee him again until years later while working as anurse in the religious order Sisters of Mercy in Philadelphia. Gabriel dies in her arms, and she dies shortly thereafter
Alegendbegins
This is where Longfellow’sstory ends and Louisiana legend begins.
“Legend is agood word for it,” St. Martinville writer Jude Theriot said. “The original poem spawned alot of retellings. That’sthe way legends work —they get passed on and retold, and then things are added and things are subtracted along the way.It’slike agame of telephone that becomes something different at the end.”
Theriot has researched and written historical articles for the St. Martin Par-
NOTES
Continued from page1C
Told,”“Katy Keene,” “Imposters” and“Satisfaction,” and feature films “The Campaign,” “Jayne Mansfield’s Car,” “Valentine’sDay” and “Schizopolis,” among others. Look forWilsononNetflix
Louisiana country music sweetheart Lainey Wilson is the subject of anew music documentary,“Lainey Wilson: Keepin’ Country Cool.”
The 1-hour,23-minute film is currently available on Netflix.The film follows Baskin native Wilson “as she redefines what it means to be amodern country star, exploring her personal journey and struggles while captivating fans on stage across the country,” according to movie database IMDb.
Dr.Elizabeth Ko
Dr.Eve Glazier
AsK THE DoCToRs
betes. But their off-label usefor weight loss pushed them into the headlines. By the time theFood and Drug Administration approved GLP-1s to combat obesity in 2021, theiruse had grown exponentially.The drugs’ popularitygave researchers alarge pool of medical data. This included hintsofunexpected healthbenefitsassociated with GLP-1 use. Thebenefits wereinareas as
ish Tourism Commission’s blogatcajuncountry.org.
He started examining the Evangeline legendin2018 when the St. Martinville City Council and Garden Clubinitiateda “SaveOur Tree” project.
Theproject included theinstallment of an iron fence surroundingthe tree where, it’ssaid,Evangeline mournedalongthe Bayou Teche.
“Longfellow’spoem briefly mentions the ‘town of St. Martin,’ on the banks ofthe Teche,” Theriot said.“So, there is apassingreference to it, but theoak,itself, is notmentioned. Thereistalk of oaksinthe poem, but again,nothingspecific.”
Localauthors’tales
So came theretellings, beginning with Edgard author SidoniedelaHoussaye’s 1880 novel, “Pouponneand Balthazar,” which —yes —follows two Acadian lovers during the British exile. Thestory is set in St Martinville, and it’s said to have beenbased on “Evangeline.”
On aside note, this author’slovers are reunited. Still, the oak didn’tcome into playuntil the 1907 publishing of St. Martinville JudgeFelix Voorhies’ book, “Acadian Reminiscences: The True Story of Evangeline,”tellingthe story of EmmelineLabicheand LouisArceneaux, whoalso were separated duringthe exile.
Voorhies claimed the characters were real-life people, andthough they reunite beneaththe Evangeline Oak,their ending isn’t happy.Why? While Emmeline faithfully waited,Louis metand marriedanother “Voorhies told this story as thoughitwere ahistorical account,” Theriot said. “But it was actually ablend of history and legend,and Ithink he even gave aspe-
Wilson,33, with hitsincluding “Heart Like a Truck,” “Watermelon Moonshine” and“4x4xU,” has nine CMAawards including Entertainer of the Year in 2023 and 2025, aGrammy and16ACM awards.She recently made her feature film debut in “Reminders of Him,” based on abook by Colleen Hoover
LPBtoFranklin Parish LouisianaPublic Broadcasting focuses on the stories, landscapes and traditions of FranklinParish on itscontinuingtravel series “LA64” at 8p.m.Monday Louisiana native andtravel journalist Karen LeBlanc hosts“LA64,”aseriesset to explore all64 parishesinthe state through food, culture, history and everyday life.
“Each episode highlights the people,places and traditions that make Louisi-
diverse as cardiac health, kidney function, sleep apnea, blood lipid levels and liver disease. The study you areasking about found apossible link between GLP-1s and benefits in early-stage Parkinson’sdisease.
The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. It looked at disease progression in 156 adults who were in the earlier stages of Parkinson’sdisease. This is aprogressive neurological disorder.Inthis disorder, changes to certain tissues in the brain interferewith movement. Symptomsinclude muscle rigidity,slowed movement, impaired balance, changes tospeech and tremor.Half of the study participantsreceived aGLP-1 drug. The other half received aplacebo. Everyone kept takingtheir usual
cific reference like, ‘My grandmother told me the story that she heard from ’So, he used theguise of history in another retelling of the legend, and then he tied not only Evangeline specifically toSt. Martinville but specifically to a particular oak tree, which was near thechurch on the bank of the bayou.”
The‘tomb of Evangeline’
The oak named for Evangeline stands on the banks of the Bayou Teche only steps away from St.Martin de Tours Catholic Church, where stands astatueof ayoung woman in 18thcentury garb.
“So, Evangeline was assumed to be an actual woman,” Theriot said. “And it only further confused thingswhen akind of a tomb was created with the statue of Evangeline next to thechurch. No one is buried there.”
The statue actually was commissioned and donated to thechurch by Hollywood actress Dolores del Rio, who played thetitle character in the 1926 silent film, “Evangeline.” Aplaque on themonument states as much Meanwhile, aLouisiana statehistorical marker next to theEvangeline Oak perpetuates the myth that thetree is thesiteofthe reunion between “Emmeline Labicheand Louis Arceneaux, thecounterparts of Evangeline and Gabriel.”
These days, theEvangeline Oak has company Laperouse explains that a second tree, formerly referred to as the “Daughter Oak,” has been officially named the Belle Marie Oak, daughter of the Evangeline Oak
Butitwas from beneath theEvangeline Oak that Longdelivered his political narrative based on legend.
“Sometimes fantasy is more powerful thanreality, especially in politics,”Theriot said. “So what Huey Long perceptively sensed, Ithink, is the energy of thatspirit thathewanted to harness.”
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.
ana unlike anywhere else,” states an LPB news release.
“Franklin Parish reflectsthe working landscapes of Louisiana’s Delta, whereagriculture,music and community traditionsremain central to daily life.
Amongthe stopswill be Winnsboro, Wisner,Gilbert, Baskin, Crowville and Fort Necessity, wherefarmers and culture keepers carry forward generations of heritage.
“From pecan orchards to catfishprocessing plants, these stops reveal arural Louisianawhere small-town pride still runs deep,” the release also said.
Past episodes of “LA64” are available for streaming at lpb.org/la64 and on LPB’s YouTube channel.
Email Judy Bergeron at jbergeron@theadvocate. com.
Parkinson’smedications. After ayear,the symptomsofparticipantsinthe GLP-1 group seemed to not progress as rapidly as in theplacebo group. This suggested aneuroprotective effect. At this time, follow-up results of that study have not yet been reported. Also, findings from related studies have been mixed. A two-year clinical trial looked at a different GLP-1 drug. This study didn’tfind astatistically significant difference in progression between thegroups. Although this study was similar in size to the research you are asking about, it was twice the length. The duration and the use of adifferent GLP-1 drug, which may reach different brain targets, may have led to that different outcome. It could also involve something known as a“false signal.” This refers to adata pattern in research. It’s when results suggest an if-then relationship, but it does not carry through in repeated experiments. The results of the mostrecent study are disappointing. But the researchers have proposed more studies to explore similar drugs that may reach other targets in the brain. The potential forGLP-1 drugs to ease Parkinson’sprogression remains uncertain. The good newsisresearch into this approach continues.
Sendyour questions to askthedoctors@mednet.ucla edu, or write: Ask theDoctors, c/oUCLA HealthSciences Media Relations, 10880 Wilshire Blvd.,Suite1450, Los Angeles, CA, 90024.
Mobile grab baraidssteadiness
Dear Heloise: Iam82. When we travel, Ipack asuctioncup grab bar.In hotels or other places, Istick it to theshower wall and have something sturdy to hold and steady myself with. These thingswork well. My wife likes it, too. The hardest part is gettingitunstuck before we leave, but I usually slip acredit card under thebar to loosen the suction. —Steve, in Dayton, Ohio Astreaksolution
an additional rinse. This has worked forme! —Sherry, in Lubbock,Texas Grocerybag use
Dear Heloise: Iuse pods in my laundry and also had white marks on clothes. I tried different thingsbut finally cameupwith asolution:Iput my dark clothes on the bottom when loading the washer,then Iadd
DearHeloise: Iuse plastic grocery bags for my small trash can. Ijust tie them up when they are full and toss them out. Idon’tlike to spend money on smaller bags. —TeresaC., via email Teresa, Iuse grocery bags for alot of items that Iwant toss out, such as peelings, dead plants, small boxes that can’tberecycled, and more. —Heloise
Slideontight socks
Dear Heloise: Someone somewhere must need help putting on the cursed long, white, tight, surgical socks post-op. Idiscovered an
TODAYINHISTORY
disaster in U.S. history
By The Associated Press
Today is Monday, April 27, the 117th day of 2026. There are 248 days left in the year
Todayinhistory:
On April 27, 2011, during the four-day Super Outbreak, 112 tornadoes touched down across thesoutheastern United States, killing 319 people in thedeadliest day of tornadoes in theU.S. since 1925.
Also on this date:
In 1813, theBattle of York took place in Upper Canada (modern-day Ontario) during the Warof1812 as U.S. forces defeated theBritish garrison in present-day Toronto;U.S. Brig. Gen. Zebulon Pike and 37 other American soldiers were killed near the end of the battle when retreating British forces exploded the ammunition magazine of FortYorkasthe Americans approached.
In 1865, thesteamer Sultana, carrying freed Union prisoners of war,exploded on the Mississippi River near Memphis, Tennessee; as many as 1,800 were killed in the worst maritime
In 1994, former President Richard M. Nixon was interred following afuneral service attended by all five of his successors, at the Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda, California.
In 2010, former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega arrived in France after being extradited from the United States; he waslater convicted in a French court of laundering drug money and received a seven-year sentence.
In 2012, the space shuttle Enterprise, mounted atop ajumbo jet, sailed over the NewYork City skyline on its final flight before going on display as part of the USSIntrepid Museum
In 2015, rioters plunged part of Baltimore into chaos, torching apharmacy, setting police cars ablaze and throwing bricks at officers hours after thousands attended afuneral service forFreddie Gray,aBlack man whodied from asevere spinal injury he’d suffered in police custody
In 2018, North Korean leader KimJong Un made
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Sendahinttoheloise@
history by crossing over to South Korea to meet with President Moon Jae-in; it wasthe first timeamember of the Kimdynasty had set foot on southern soil since the end of the Korean Warin1953.
In 2019, agunman opened fire inside asynagogue near San Diego as worshippers celebrated the last day of Passover, killing awoman and wounding arabbi and two others. (John Earnest, a White supremacist, was sentenced to both federal and state lifeprison terms forthe shootings.)
Today’sbirthdays: Singer Kate Pierson (The B-52’s) is 78. Republican Sen. Jim Justice of West Virginia is 75. Basketball Hall of Famer George Gervin is 74. Singer Sheena Easton is 67. Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey is 57. Actor Sally Hawkins is 50. Musician Patrick Stump (Fall Out Boy) is 42. Actor William Moseley is 39. Singer Lizzo is 38. Tennis player Nick Kyrgios is 31. Actor Froy Gutierrezis28. University of Texas quarterback Arch Manning is 22.
sTAFF FILE PHoTo
By LEsLIE WEsTBRooK
Abust of poet Henry WadsworthLongfellowis displayed in Evangeline oak Park in st.Martinville
Hints from Heloise
YE ARS
tAuRus (April 20-May 20) Reach out to associates who can help connect you to the right people. You will advance if you put your heart and soul into your professional dreams. Refuse to buy into costly unnecessary living expenses.
GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Proceed with caution, rely on your intelligence and skills, stick to the truth and honor your promises. A change of heart will help you clean up your personal and emotional clutter.
cAncER (June 21-July 22) Consider how you feel, and if the answer is "relieved," you know you are headed in the right direction A lifestyle adjustment will encourage positive change.
LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Curiosity will take you on a journey you don't want to miss. Engage in pastimes that rejuvenate you and give you hope for a brighter future. Stick to the script.
VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) Consistency is your ticket forward. Focus on learning, getting things right the first time and paying attention to detail. The results will invite new friendships and vitality.
LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Be careful what you wish for. Too much of anything will backfire Focus on sticking to a budget, curbing excess and going through the proper channels to ensure your success.
scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Look for opportunities; choose the right group and place. It's OK to try, fine-tune and
redesign your goals to suit your needs. Stay healthy; make fitness part of your daily routine.
sAGIttARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Focus on looking and acting your best, and your appeal will amplify the results you get when dealing with partners or associates you want to impress. Put your energy where it counts and your enthusiasm to the test.
cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Take note of what's happening around you. It's time to enrich your life by following your hopes and wishes. Stop peoplepleasing and start taking better care of yourself.
AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Make your surroundings comfortable and convenient, and put a budget in place. A new job, activity or pastime will encourage you to use your skills creatively.
PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Choose an outlet, take time to think and put things in perspective. Question your motives and what others want before you commit to a move, personal change or expenditure.
ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Discipline and innovation meet in the middle, offering unexpected opportunities. Gauge what you can handle, and work the numbers until they gel with your dreams.
Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, past and present. Each letter in the cipher stands for another.
toDAy's cLuE: Q EQuALs c
FAMILY CIrCUS
CeLebrItY CIpher
For better or For WorSe
beetLe bAILeY
GooSe And GrIMM
Sudoku
InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placingpuzzle basedona9x9 grid with several givennumbers. Theobject is to place thenumbers 1to9inthe emptysquaressothat each row, each column andeach3x3 boxcontainsthe same number only once. Thedifficultylevelofthe Sudoku increasesfromMonday to Sunday
Saturday’s Puzzle Answer
nea CroSSwordS
TimeS CroSSword
THe wiZard oF id
BLondie
BaBY BLueS
Hi and LoiS
CurTiS
By PHILLIP ALDER Bridge
Holly Lisle,afantasy and science fiction novelist, said, “If youdon’t accept responsibilityforyourownactions,then youare forever chained to aposition of defense.” At the bridge table, when you are on defense, you must acceptresponsibilityfor your actions, and youmustmake those actions —plays —readable by partner
This week we will look at avariety of defensivedeals,thetypesthatyouought tohave in your repertoire
In this deal, how should the defenders card to defeat four hearts after West leads the club ace? Jump raises in competition ought to be treatedaspre-emptive.So,here,North’s three-heart response shows four-card heart support and arelatively weak hand, below game-invitationalstrength. (Withfourtrumpsandgame-invitational valuesormore, North would respond twono-trump. This ought to be known as Truscott, after Alan whodevised it But in the UnitedStates it is often called Jordan, afterBobby who popularized it. Note that there is no need for astrong two-no-trump response, becauseNorth wouldredouble with 10 points or more and fewerthan four hearts.)
When you cannot win atrickand want to tell partnerabout touching honors, play the top of thosetouchers. At trick one, Eastmustfollow suit with his club queen.
Each Wuzzle is aword riddle which creates adisguised word, phrase, name, place, saying, etc. For example: NOON GOOD =GOOD AFTERNOON
Previous answers:
word game
InstRuctIons: 1. Wordsmust be of four or more letters.2.Words that acquire four lettersbythe addition of “s,” suchas“bats”or“dies,” are not allowed. 3. Additional
by adding a“d” or an “s”may not be used. 4. Proper
or vulgarorsexuallyexplicit words are not allowed.
toDAy’s WoRD HIDEous: HID-ee-us:Offensivetothe senses
Averagemark
marmaduKe
Bizarro
hagar the horriBle
Pearls Before swiNe
garfield
B.C.
PiCKles
hidato
PUBLIC NOTICE
NOTICE theLouisiana De‐partmentofConserva‐tionand Energy,Office of Permittingand Compli‐ance(OPC) hasreceived the followingapplica‐tion(s) fora CoastalUse Permit(CUP) in accor‐dance with La.R.S 49:214.21 et seq.,and the rules of theCoastal Man‐agement Program. Appli‐cations forcoastal use permits maybein‐spected at 617 North3rd Street,Room 1078, Baton Rouge,LAoronthe OPC webpage at: https:// denr.louisiana.gov/page/ public-notices Copies are available, costs apply. Writtencomments are solicitedfromthe publicand must be re‐ceivedwithin25daysof the date of this notice Commentsmustbeup‐loadeddirectlytoour electronicrecord through theOPC web‐pageormailed to:OPC Administrator,Kyle Balkum, P.O. Box44487 Baton Rouge, LA 708044487. Allcommentsmust contain theappropriate CUP numberand the commenter's full name and contactinformation Below arethe referenced applica‐tion(s): *CUP Number:P20260081 Name: NorthLafourche Levee District c/oAll South Consulting Engi‐neers652 Papworth Ave. Metairie, LA 70006 Attn: Emily Newell Location: LafourcheParish, LA;Lat 29-39-44.4N,Long. 90-2926W;Section 7T16S R19E;North Lafourche Levee District ROW; Gheens, LA 70355 De‐scription:Thisproject raisesReach 4a of the GheensLevee system (approximately2 miles) 1.5'toEl. +9.0.Toavoid anexistingcanal,this project will
proposed projectwill alsoinvolve thecon‐struction of an elevated 8'x 140' timber deck walkway.Subsurface timberpilings will be dri‐ven to refusal. No exca‐vationor fill is required Access to thesitewillbe via theTangipahoaRiver Timbermatting will be utilizedwithinthe tem‐poraryworkareafor ingress andegressof tracked machinerytoavoid banklinedisturbance vegetativestrain, and sedimentdisplacement. NOTICEthe LouisianaDe‐partmentofConserva‐tionand Energy,Office of Permittingand Compli‐ance(OPC) hasreceived a requesttoextendfor the referenced applica‐tion(s) fora CoastalUse Permit(CUP) in accor‐dance with La.R.S 49:214.21 et seq.,and the rules of theCoastal Man‐agement Program. Appli‐cations forcoastal use permits maybein‐spected at 617 North3rd Street,Room 1078, Baton Rouge,LAoronthe OPC webpage at:https:// denr.louisiana.gov/page/ public-notices. Copies are available, costs apply. Writtencomments are solicitedfromthe publicand must be re‐ceivedwithin10daysof the date of this notice Commentsmustbeup‐loadeddirectlytoour electronicrecord through theOPC web‐pageormailedto: OPC Administrator,Kyle Balkum, P.OBox 44487 Baton Rouge, LA 708044487. Allcommentsmust contain theappropriate CUP numberand the commenter's full name and contactinformation Below arethe referenced applica‐tion(s):**********CUP NUMBER:P20230387 (Ex‐tended) Name:Talos En‐ergy, LLC, c/oTim Morton & Associates,Inc.500 S. MorganAvenue Brous‐sard, La 70518 Attn: Donna HollierLocation: Vermilion Parish,LA; Lat. 29-49-29N,Long91-5914W;Section 17, 18 T14S R5E;Description:Pro‐posed propwashingof canal andslip foraccess and installation of pile clusters. Removalofplat‐forms,walkway and pipeline(469 lf total) for the P&AofThibodeaux No. 1Well. Bored pipelines to be aban‐doned in place(2277 ft.) Proposedconstructionof a damatthe frontofthe slip(70ftx 372ft).Spoil removal on both sidesof the slip to approved ele‐vation. 185602 April27, 1t $54.93
NOTICE ST.GEORGECITY COUNCILREGULAR MEETINGAGENDA April28, 2026 at 5:00 p.m.
at 5:00pm •CityCouncil Meeting –Tuesday,May 26, 2026 at 5:00pm j Parish C20260074 (P20260334) St Mary LeveeDistrict Bayou TecheStormwater Control ProjectonBayou Teche NWR, St.Mary Parish C20260072 (P20260337) CPRA Living Shoreline Demonstration Project (PO-148) -Maintenance Project -StBernard Site St. BernardParish C20260073 (P202603338) CPRA Living Shoreline Demonstration Project (PO-148) -Maintenance Project -Jefferson Parish Site, JeffersonParish SpecialPublicNoticeSection307 (c)(3)(B) of the CoastalZoneMan‐agement Actof1972, as amended (CZMA),re‐quiresthatoil andgas exploration anddevelop‐ment in federalwatersof
St.GeorgeFireDept 14100 AirlineHighway St.George, LA 70817 https://stgeorgela.gov BroadcastLiveat https:// www.youtube.com/ @St.GeorgeLouisiana I. PreliminaryBusiness (1)CalltoOrder (2)PledgeofAllegiance (3)Invocation (4)RollCall (5)ApprovalofMinutes ofthe April14, 2026 Council Meeting (6)Monthly FinancialRe‐port (7)PresentationfromDe‐partmentofPublicWorks (8)Proclamationdeclar‐ing May15, 2026 as Prader-WilliSyndrome (PWS) AwarenessDay II. Itemsfor Public Hearingand Action (1)Ordinance to Pledge the 2% Salesand UseTax Collected within theHar‐vestonEconomicDevel‐opmentDistricttothe Harveston Economic De‐velopment District andto provide forrelated mat‐ters. (Edmonds) (2)Ordinance to Estab‐lishProcedurestoRe‐namea Street,toEstab‐lishFees andtoProvide for RelatedMatters (Cook) (3)ZoningCommission Case: PUD-17-06-C-REV5 –Changes to ConceptPlan for ThePreserveatHar‐veston: This combined propertyislocated on TractsV-1 thru V-4, W-1, X-1,Y-1-A,Y-1-B,Z,A-1 SS-4-A, SS-5-A of Long‐wood andBurtville Plan‐tationProperty, andthe PreserveatHarveston subdivision,located in Sec.44, 50, 51 and53, T8S, R1E,GLD,EBR.The appli‐cantrequestschanges to the approved concept planwithinthe PUD-1706PreserveatHarveston ZoningDistrict, including revisions to open space layouts,permitted land use,externalaccesslo‐cations,and otherre‐lated matters.(Appli‐cant: Joseph Yarbrough, CSRS, LLC, on behalf of SLP,LLC)(Deferred from: 3/2/2026) Zoning Commissionvote: Motiontorecommend approvalwithconditions byTravisThornton; sec‐onded by BillyAguillard YEAS– Travis Thornton Billy Aguillard.NAYS –LaurieMarien. ABSENT: Jason McAllister,Bobby McKey.Motionpassed and PUD-17-06-C-REV5 was recommendedfor approvalwithconditions: Updated TrafficImpact Studies,Updated DrainageImpactStudies and Subsequent Concept PlanCoordination. (4) Zoning Commission Case: CU-26-0003 –Condi‐tionalUse Permit at 15354 TerrellRd: This 1.25-acre property is lo‐cated on LotX of the AlexTerrell Tract, in Sec. 52, T7S, R2E, GLD, EBR, LA Theapplicant requests a di i l i Legal
theOuter Continental Shelf (OCS)beconducted ina manner consistent withLouisiana’s State and LocalCoastal Re‐sources Management Act of1978, as amended(La R.S.49: 214.21-214.41) and theregulations of the LouisianaCoastal Re‐sources Program (LCRP). TheCZMArequirespub‐lic opportunityfor com‐mentonprojectsunder review. Commentersmay reviewinformation made available by theBureau ofOcean Energy Man‐agement (BOEM) andBu‐reauofSafetyand Envi‐ronmental Enforcement (BSEE) on specificOCS Plans at https://www.data.bsee. gov/Plans/Plans/Default. aspx andfor pipelineapplica‐tions at https://www.data.bsee. gov/Pipeline/PipelinePer mits/Default.aspx h i i p TheLouisianaDepart‐mentofConservation and Energy (OPC)re‐views Exploration Plans and DevelopmentOpera‐tionand Coordination Documents submittedto the BOEM,and Pipeline RightsofWay submitted tothe BSEE, forprojects inOCS waters offshore of Louisiana.Commentson these plansare solicited fromany interested party.Plans maybein‐spected during business hours at 617 N. 3rdSt. Baton Rouge, LA.Send commentsto, Office
