The Advocate 05-28-2026 by The Advocate

CELEBRATING HISTORY AND CULTURE

Wednesday.

New Orleans welcomes historic marine vessels for America’s 250th birthday

BY VIOLET BUCARO Staff writer

Nearly 3,000 sailors and a ﬂeet of historic and modern vessels will descend on New Orleans beginning Thursday to celebrate America’s 250th birthday, including 18th-centurystyle tall ships that once served in trade and wartime missions around the world.

The global gathering of tall and military ships, known as Sail 250, will make its first American stop in the Crescent City through Monday. The ships will continue on a multicity tour that will ﬁnish in Boston in late July

The vessels, often associated with pirates, naval battles and maritime exploration, will be open for free public tours once they dock along the Mississippi River near downtown New Orleans. Thousands of visitors are expected to show up to see their multiple

Orleans on Wednesday.

masts and billowing stacks of sails As she welcomed the ships’ arrival, New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno said Wednesday the city’s more than 300-year-old maritime industry remains central to its identity because of its longstanding role as an international

Moreno

port “Our riverfront has long been the gateway connecting New Orleans to the nation and also to the world,” Moreno said. “We value and honor that connection because it is one of the main reasons New Orleans developed the rich and diverse

Rural town’s internet plans derailed again

Federal, state funding stalled

BY JENNA ROSS Staff writer

EAST CARROLL PARISH “Celebrate,” the original poster said, “the arrival of ﬁber internet!” Folks were trekking to Lake Providence in the northeast corner of Louisiana from Washington, D.C., to cheer the expected expansion of high-speed internet across the small city The head of the state’s broadband ofﬁce was

set to attend. The internet company, Conexon, had installed ﬁber optic cables in the ground, right up to the library, where the event was to be held. But by the time of the event, in early May, the celebration and the exclamation point had disappeared from the poster A few of the speakers had, too. Instead, leaders were again answering the same question:

Where’s the ﬁber internet?

“We’re furious,” said Nathanael Wills, an organizer with Delta

ä See INTERNET, page 3A

culture that makes our city so incredibly special today.”

Walt Leger III, president and CEO of tourism marketing organization New Orleans and Co., added that the five Louisiana ports stretching from New Orleans to Baton Rouge form what he considers one of the world’s most signiﬁcant port systems. The ports played a key role in the Louisiana Purchase and continue to shape Louisiana and the nation’s economy he said.

“I think it’s a really great symbol of preserving and protecting the past and celebrating the history and the culture, but also leaning into the innovation and the modern development of new technologies,” Leger said of the vessels.

While a few ships are replicas, several are authentic vessels dating back to the 19th and 20th centuries.

‘Still

not feeling safe’

Mall of Louisiana traffic down after fatal shooting, workers say

BY IANNE SALVOSA Staff writer

Mothers pushed strollers through the Blue Zoo Aquarium at the Mall of Louisiana early on the afternoon of April 23, cruising their children through the dark rooms, illuminated by the lights of tanks ﬁlled with aquatic creatures.

Around 1:23 p.m., two groups opened ﬁre following an altercation in the mall food court upstairs, killing one teen from Lafayette and injuring five, sparking a chaotic scene as shoppers ﬂed to safety Blue Zoo Aquarium manager Garrett Callender recalls his staff ushering all guests out of the aquarium within a minute.

Ever since the tragedy, the aquarium has not been the same, he said, with revenue this quarter down more than half from the previous one. “Many people are still not feeling safe,” Callender said. The mall — more than a million square feet of space for retail, food and services galore — is usually humming with the shuffle of shoppers. But attendance since the shooting has been sparse: 17 mall employees contacted said traffic has fallen, by double digits for some stores, as the community continues to reel from the tragedy A dozen other mall employees either declined to comment or deferred comment to their corporate office in fear of retribution from their employer or company policy restricting employee communication with the press. Mass shootings at retail centers tend to decrease revenues, customer shopping time and traffic at stores within a 1.25-mile

Edwards hopes AI

Pilot program to tackle after-hours nonemergencies

BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER Staff writer

After years of complaints from residents frustrated by slow responses to 311 requests, East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Sid Edwards’ ofﬁce hopes some new tech will make things move faster

On Wednesday, the Metro Council approved a contract to start a pilot program that will use artificial intelligence to help tackle complaints of potholes, blight, broken streetlights and other nonemergency situations identified by East Baton Rouge residents. The program, given the name “Grace,” will start by answering after-hours calls, and Edwards’ team says it will eventually lighten the load on call center workers, shorten the time it takes to address issues and make the city-parish’s 311 system more cost-efficient. After coming into office, Edwards and his team quickly saw that many complaints were being duplicated in the system, and residents

PHOTO PROVIDED By EREMy HERNANDEZ/DELTA INTERFAITH

After Conexon built fiber internet lines in rural East Carroll Parish, Cassandra Toston, left, returned to the area, knowing she’d be able to work from home.

Puerto Rico announces erosion emergency

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico Puerto Rico’s governor announced a state of emergency Wednesday to ﬁght a surge in coastal erosion along the U.S. territory’s north coast.

Gov Jenniffer González said the executive order would allow her administration to accelerate projects to protect natural resources and vulnerable coastal communities. The government said in a statement that rising sea levels, storm surges and other factors have intensified coastal erosion in Puerto Rico.

González pledged to help northern towns including Loiza, where people have been evacuated and chunks of asphalt from coastal roads have tumbled into the ocean following heavy swells.

The order was signed just days before the start of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov 30.

The cost of the projects has not yet been determined.

SpaceX’s rockets grounded after test

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX Starship launches are on hold pending an investigation into last week’s test ﬂight.

The Federal Aviation Administration announced Wednesday that the hourlong spaceflight resulted in a mishap based on the performance of the mega rocket’s ﬁrst-stage booster Minutes after Starship blasted off from Texas on Friday, the booster separated as normal but engines conked out as it made its way back to Earth. Instead of a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, the booster came in hard. There were no reports of injury or property damage, according to the FAA, which will oversee the company’s investigation.

The spacecraft continued around the world, releasing 20 mock satellites before ending the mission as planned with a ﬁery splashdown in the Indian Ocean.

The 407-foot rocket is SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s biggest and most powerful Starship yet, designed to carry crews to Mars NASA is looking for it to land astronauts on the moon as soon as 2028 and help build a lunar base.

Teen charged with killing stepsister remains free

MIAMI A federal judge on Wednesday allowed a teenager charged with sexually assaulting and killing his 18-year-old stepsister, Anna Kepner, on a Carnival Cruise ship to remain free for now as the judge considers arguments following a hearing in Miami.

Timothy Hudson was initially arrested and charged as a juvenile, and U.S. Magistrate Judge Edwin Torres ruled in February that the 16-year-old could live with an uncle and be electronically monitored. But after the case was transferred to adult court, prosecutors wanted Hudson in custody Minors are rarely prosecuted in federal court, and this case landed there because Kepner apparently died in international waters, outside any state’s jurisdiction. The judge ended Wednesday morning’s hearing without making a final decision, saying he wanted to speak with the U.S. Marshals Service about the logistics of detaining Hudson in central Florida, closer to his family rather than South Florida, where the trial is taking place. It’s unknown when Torres will announce his decision. In the meantime, Hudson walked out of the courthouse after the hearing, rather than being immediately taken into custody Hudson has pleaded not guilty to charges of ﬁrst-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse. His federal public defenders have declined to comment on the charges Kepner had been traveling on the Carnival Horizon ship in November with her family, including Hudson. Before the ship was scheduled to return to Florida, her body was found concealed under a bed in a room she was sharing with Hudson and another teen, a criminal complaint said.

Trump sets Ebola response policy

Americans exposed while abroad to be sent to Kenya

BY ALI SWENSON and MIKE STOBBE Associated Press

NEW YORK President Donald Trump’s administration is planning to send Americans who are exposed to Ebola while abroad to a new facility in Kenya instead of ﬂying them to the United States, an administration ofﬁcial said Wednesday

The quarantine and treatment center being set up by the Departments of Defense, State and Health and Human Services will be designed for Ebola patients who need to get out of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and receive care quickly, said the ofﬁcial, who insisted on anonymity to share the Republican administration’s plans.

The person said the plan would help patients avoid an hourslong medical evacuation to the U.S.

It was unclear where in Kenya the new facility will be built or whether the Kenyan government has signed off on the plan.

The ofﬁcial said the facility will be able to care for the full spectrum of Ebola, a rare but severe disease that is often fatal in people. But the ofﬁcial said people may be transported elsewhere for more advanced care as appropriate.

Kenya’s health minister conﬁrmed ofﬁcials there were talking with the U.S. about “preparedness and response mechanisms for Ebola” but didn’t address whether the country would establish a treatment facility for Americans.

“Any arrangements regarding international health cooperation will be guided by Kenya’s national laws, public health regulations, biosafety and biosecurity standards, and the government’s responsibility to safeguard the health and welfare of Kenyans,” Health Minister Aden Duale said in a statement.

For decades, medical experts have suggested moving patients suffering from Ebola and similar

illnesses as little as possible in case their condition worsens, said Dr. Ali Khan, the public health college dean at the University of Nebraska Medical Center But, he added, the quality of care must be equivalent to what someone would receive in American facilities.

“You’ve got to make sure the patient gets the best quality care, and you need to ensure excellent infection control,” said Khan, who earlier in his career led international responses to Ebola and other outbreaks for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr Craig Spencer, a public health professor and emergency medicine doctor at Brown University who survived Ebola in 2014, said he doesn’t expect the facility in Kenya to provide the same quality of care that dedicated facilities in the United States do. He said refusing to consider bringing American Ebola patients home for treatment is “a moral abdication of

Uganda closes border with Congo as precaution

Suspected cases of rare strain of Ebola surging

BY RODNEY MUHUMUZA Associated Press

KAMPALA, Uganda Uganda on Wednesday ordered the closure of its border with Congo, where suspected cases of a rare type of Ebola are surging, and as cases have been conﬁrmed at home after Ugandan health workers were exposed to the disease from Congolese patients.

The measure, which goes against the guidance by the World Health Organization, underscores growing fears of contagion in East Africa from Bundibugyo, a rare type of the Ebola virus that is behind this outbreak and that has no approved medicines or vaccines.

Like Congo, Uganda has faced Ebola outbreaks in the past. A local Ugandan task force made the decision on the border closure. The Ugandan health workers were exposed to the virus by Congolese patients who had crossed the border before the outbreak was declared in eastern Congo on May 15.

Border crossings will be authorized only in emergency cases, including for the outbreak response, cargo or security reasons, Dr. Diana Atwine of the Ugandan Ministry of Health told journalists. Anyone entering from Congo under emergency circumstances will be taken into mandatory isolation for 21 days.

Tracing and isolating Ebola contacts is seen as key to stopping the spread of the disease, which usually manifests as hemorrhagic fever The virus is spread through close contact with sick or deceased patients’ bodily ﬂuids. Experts say healthcare workers and family members caring for patients face the highest risk.

The number of suspected cases in eastern Congo is nearing 1,000, with at least 220 suspected deaths. Congo’s health ministry on Tuesday said 101 cases have been conﬁrmed, and they are looking into over 3,000 possible contacts.

On Wednesday, Congolese authorities said that the ﬁrst person who recovered from the Bundibugyo virus has been released home from a treatment center in Rwampara, one of the towns in eastern Congo at the heart of the outbreak.

WHO has discouraged border closures with Congo while acknowledging that neighboring countries are at high risk of contagion. The U.N. health agency has declared this outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.

Closures “push the movement of people and goods to informal border crossings that are not monitored, thus increasing the chances of the spread of disease,” the agency said.

The Uganda-Congo border is several hundred miles long and crossed by numerous footpaths beyond formal border posts. Many people come and go in the course of a day to visit families or to trade.

Divers ﬁnd 5 villagers alive in cave

Two are still missing in Laos

BY JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI Associated Press

BANGKOK Five villagers who became trapped in a ﬂooded cave in central Laos more than a week ago have been found alive by divers who discovered them sitting on a rock in the darkness, rescuers said Wednesday but two others are still missing.

The seven villagers entered the cave in Xaisomboun province on May 19, but heavy rain triggered ﬂash ﬂooding that blocked

the exit, according to Lao and Thai rescue teams involved in the operation.

Thai rescuer Chakkit Taengtang posted video of himself in the cave saying divers were delivering food and water to the ﬁve and planning to extract them as soon as possible. All of the villagers are men, according to a Facebook post by the Lao group Rescue Volunteer for People. “I’m still shaking. Our team made it happen,” Bounkham Luanglath, a member of the Lao rescue team, said in a voice message to The Associated Press He said the search for the missing would con-

tinue.

A video posted by the rescue group appeared to show the moment divers emerged from the water and discovered the trapped men. In the footage, the men are wearing headlamps and sitting on a rock surrounded by ﬂoodwater

Other videos showed rescuers inside and outside the cave cheering, jumping and hugging each other in joy after the discovery

Another villager who went into the cave with the seven was able to escape when the ﬂooding began, and he raised the alarm about the trapped men.

what this country owes its own.”

Officials have been expanding the number of U.S. airports where CDC staffers are screening and monitoring incoming passengers from outbreak countries Enhanced screenings began last week at Washington Dulles International Airport and Hartsﬁeld-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. CDC staff began screenings at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston this week, and are being dispatched to start screenings Friday at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.

The CDC’s acting director, Jay Bhattacharya, sent an email Monday to CDC employees asking for volunteers from across the agency to work the screening stations. CDC veterans say it’s not unusual to see a call for volunteers for stafﬁng major epidemic responses.

The government also has temporarily banned the entry of people without U.S. passports, as well as U.S. green-card holders, who have visited Congo, Uganda or South Sudan in the last 21 days.

Congress members visit N.J. immigration detention center

Advocates say immigrants are on a hunger strike

BY TED SHAFFREY and PHILIP MARCELO

The Associated Press

NEWARK, N.J Democratic members of Congress visited a federal immigration detention center in New Jersey on Wednesday, where protesters have been demonstrating in recent days and asserting that detainees are on a hunger strike.

U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat, a Manhattan Democrat, said after touring Delaney Hall in Newark that detainees were refusing to eat over what he described as “inhumane” conditions.

“We will shut this center down. We will shut it down,” he vowed after the roughly hourlong visit.

U.S. Reps. Jerry Nadler and Dan Goldman, also Manhattan Democrats,

later spoke with protesters and family members of detainees demonstrating outside the facility’s security gate.

“We want to make sure the conditions here are going to be dealt with,” said Goldman, shortly before the two lawmakers entered the facility

More than 50 people held signs saying “Stop Family Separation” and chanted “Free Them All” and other slogans.

Some shouted directly at the armed and helmetwearing Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers standing outside, calling them “cowards” and “idiots.”

The protests began Friday and have been tense at times.

On Monday U.S. Sen. Andy Kim, a New Jersey Democrat, said he was pepper-sprayed as he and New Jersey Gov Mikie Sherrill led a delegation of Democratic officials who tried to visit detainees but were denied entry

Obituaries:

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ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MOSES SAWASAWA

A Muslim man washes his hands as a precaution against Ebola before attending the Eid al-Adha prayers at Sayo Muhamed School in Bunia, Congo, on Wednesday.

Louisianaredistricting effort in home stretch

GOPleaders

‘close’onadealas protests continue

BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer

Republican leaders in the Louisiana House and Senate say they are nearing aﬁnal deal on anew congressional map as the lower chamber is set to take avoteThursday that would bringthe proposal near thelegislative ﬁnish line.

Senate President Cameron Henry said the two chambers are “very close” to an agreement after several key GOP players in the redistricting effort met early Wednesday afternoon to discuss the plan. He andothers said the map will likely look similar to an initialversion approved by the Senate two weeks ago.

Lawmakers who have been working on the map have reached “a compromise that, Ithink, will make everybody as comfortable as they’re gonna be and follows all the rules and regulations of redistricting,” Henry said.

But even as Republicans appeared close to adeal, Democrats continued

INTERNET

to protest the new congressional map, which will eliminate one of two majority-Black voting districts that favor Democratic candidates andadd adistrict that favors Republicans.

Arecent U.S. Supreme Court decision weakening the federal Voting Rights Actthat led to redistricting in Louisiana represents “the most signiﬁcant attempt” to reduce Black and Democratic congressional representation in the South in ageneration, Rep. Kyle Green, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, said at a Wednesday news conference alongside Democratic leaders from other Southern states.

Republicansget on same page

Sen. Jay Morris, the sponsor of the maplegislation, andstate Rep. Beau Beaullieu, chair ofthe House committee that handles redistricting, agreed that adeal was imminent

“We’re prettyclose to an agreement,” Beaullieu said. “Conceptually,we’ve gotten to aplace where we think we can get it outofboth bodies.”

Beaullieu, Morris and Henry all expressed optimism about the prospect of adeal, but they also cautioned that any plans remained tentative.

“It’snot over till it’sover, and things are always subjectto change,”Morris said.

Senate Republicans wereset to meet Wednesday evening to review the proposedmap,aswere House Republicans on Thursday morning. Last week, aHouse committeealtered the initialversion of themap approved by the Senate. Districts in southeast Louisiana andanchored in New Orleans remained intact. But the committeemade signiﬁcant changes to district lines in the BatonRouge and Acadiana regions, as well as Calcasieu Parishand some parishes in north Louisiana.

Some of those changes irkedsenators.

“Wehavetotalk to members and make sure that we have the votes,” Beaullieu said of the latest agreement. “We’re not gonna makeeverybody happy.It’simpossible to make everybody happy.”

Henry,Morrisand Beaullieuwere allatthe Wednesday afternoon meeting about the proposed map So were Sen.Caleb Kleinpeter,chair of theSenate redistricting committee, House Speaker Phillip DeVillier andRep.Dixon McMakin,R-Baton Rouge, who sponsored the House amendments.

The House is set to take up the re-

districting bill on Thursday andput it to avote. Should it pass, the Senate will need to sign off on it

Henrysaid he’shopeful the Senate will be able to agree to the plan without the need forfurther negotiations in aclosed-door “conference committee.” If that’sthe case, theSenate’ssign-off could happen as early as Thursdayafternoon or Friday, he said.

Thelegislation, Senate Bill 121, wouldthengotoGov.JeffLandry for his signature. The legislative session is scheduled to end Monday Democratsprotest

Meanwhile, Louisiana Democrats continued to protest theGOP map, holding anews conference Wednesday at the State Capitol alongside prominent Democrats from other Southern states.

Rep.Gene Wu,chair of the Texas HouseDemocratic Caucus, said Louisiana’sRepublican redistricting effort reﬂects broader concerns with theGOP agenda, like affordability, underfunding of schoolsand ahealthcare system that’sbroken

“If you’re thinking that this is just about Democrats, or you’re thinking this is just about the Black community, you’re wrong,” Wu said. “Redis-

tricting, gerrymandering —this is howthey steal the American dream from you. This is how they steal your democracy.”

Wu called on voters to get involved in thepolitical process.

“Gotellyour state legislators, ‘We want ourdemocracy back. We want this country back from the king. We want it back from the orange king,’” he said, apparently referencing President Donald Trump Georgia Democratic Minority Leader Carolyn Hugleyalso spoke, along with Mississippi state Rep. Zakiya Summers.

“The vote is still our most powerful weapon,” saidHugley. “It’syour protest.It’syourright.It’syour weapon.It’syour power.”

State Rep. Edmond Jordan, a Baton Rouge Democrat and chair of the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus, said Democrats are ready to bring alawsuit over any map passed by the Louisiana Legislature.

“Our motto has always been over the last fewyears, whatwecan’t win through legislation, we’ll win through litigation,” Jordan said. “Andsoweare prepared to do that. We’regoing to continue to ﬁght for theAfrican Americansofnot only of this state but throughout the whole country.”

needs to completeits work

speeds.

Interfaith, acoalition of congregations across the area.

“We’re fed up.”

For five years, Delta Interfaith has been pushing to better connect this city, population 3,500, despite obstacle after obstacle. Among them: Acable company’s last-minute attempt to block agrant to build ﬁber in 2022. The Trump administration’s rewrite of the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program, known as BEAD, in 2025.The awarding of those dollars last year to satellite, rather than ﬁber But this spring, the community had been optimistic.

Though Conexon’saward for federal funding was rescinded, the Kansas Citybased company was planning to extend ﬁber across the city on itsown dime. With the help of astategrant known as GUMBO, it had already built fiber to homes outside of town. Ahead of the May event, Conexon’sco-CEO Jonathan Chambers outlined his frustrations with the Louisiana’s Ofﬁce of Broadband Development and Connectivity But, he said, he had faith that the people of East Carroll “want for themselves and their children andtheir grandchildren something better than has been given to them,”hesaid. “I am building this on faith.”

Aweek beforehand, though,Chambers and the head of the broadband office, Veneeth Iyengar, disappeared from theevent’s agenda.

Chambers says the state owes his company millions. Iyengar says the company

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Continued from page1A often weren’thaving their 311 calls returned.

“The idea is that Grace will be so good that when youcall it, it’sgoing answer the ﬁrst ring every time, andwhen Grace calls you back …the product is good enough to where they’llbehappy,” said Mason Batts, executive director of the Mayor-President’sOfﬁce. “We’re trying to improve the overall customer experience.”

Following the first phase of solely after-hours service, Grace will then start taking calls during the day.Ifresidents would rather speak to aperson, the program will transfer them to one, Batts said. In the last phase of the pilot, the program will allow 311 call centerworkersshift theirfocus from constantly answering calls to making sure complaints arequickly assigned and addressed, Batts said. He also said the program is designed to improveover

“Conexon hassome additionalhomework,” Iyengar said. The state has reimbursed Conexon for 30% of its GUMBO project, he said, and has successfully audited 70% of the work. Theprocess of reimbursement requires technical andcompliance checks, he continued.

“Thelast thing we want to do is afund aprogram that does not comply withfederal state and local rules.”

Program‘hasfailedus here’

The dispute illustrates thecomplexities of mapping, funding and building high-speed fiber systems in the country’s most rural reaches.Now,LakeProvidence residents are looking at whether theymight build, ownorrun anetwork on their own

“The BEADprogram has failed us here,” Wills said.

After aprayer,Wills began theMay meeting with “a major reality check.”

The$6.2million in Broadband Equity,Access and Deployment funding awarded to Conexonwasgone. Instead, funds went to SpaceX, whichoperates Starlink, asatellite-based service already available in Lake Providence.

Fiber cables, installed underground,consistently meetthe FederalCommunications Commission’s broadbandrequirements of 100 megabits per secondfor downloads and 20 Mbps for uploads. Last year,anational speed analysisfound that just 17.4%ofStarlinkusers gotspeeds consistentwith those minimums Butrecently,satellitehas improved: AMay study by Ookla shows that in the second halfoflastyear,44.7% of Starlink users got those

time.

“Every day,Grace getsbetter,” Batts said.“She learns based on all the call data she will get,and she’ll get better withthe more interactions with people she has …itwill become to where you have no ideayou’re talking to an AI.”

Councilmember Carolyn Coleman sawabriefdemo on Graceearlier this week and said she is excited to see it fully deployed. “I thinkGrace is gonna graceuswith some more efﬁciency,”Coleman said.“311 has been one of the most cumbersomethingswithin the city-parish sinceI’ve beenoncouncil.”

The Grace pilot will cost $140,000 to runstarting Monday through July 2027. Care Plus Ventures, which created the system,willbe paid those funds to implementit. Batts says thedatacollectedwill not only help the city-parish to address issues more quickly,but also eventually anticipate them before they happen.

“The AI on the back end will be able to tell us over the past six months we’ve

“Weset out along time ago to build fiber,”Wills said, which is less expensive and more reliable. “Wehavenot wavered.” So leaders were hopeful when Conexon said it would complete the network, crisscrossing through town, and disappointed when ofﬁcials outlined their dispute.

“As it stands today, we are awaiting reimbursementfrom ConnectLAfor twoprojects—our original build in EastCarroll Parish, completed in 2024, and a recently completed build in WebsterParish,” aConexon spokesperson said by email. “Once we receive payment for those, construction will begin.”

Chambers compared working withConnectLA to Charlie Brown attempting to kickLucy’sfootball. But Iyengar disputed that characterization, sayingthathis ofﬁce has been consistently applying a“sequence of steps tomake sure thework is complete, compliant and fully paid out.”

Thecompanyreceived extensive funding from an earlier federal program for homes in the area. “Weneed to make sure we’renot awarding funds to alocation that has already received federal funds,”Iyengar said.

In themeantime, “we’re the community that gets caught in the middle,” Wills said.

At the meeting, attendees discussedanother option: community control.

“Now I’m not going to kid you: It’s not cheap,”said Gigi Sohn,executive director of the American Association of Public Broadband. “But I just scribbled down alistof adozen communities across the country thathave de-

had‘X’ number of pothole calls on this street …and the road is deteriorating faster,” he said. “We’llbeabletosee ahead of time that we need to getthatroad in line of an overlay before we actually see any major cracking or anything like that.”

Edwards’ office hopes to deploy Grace in other cityparish departments in the future too, Battssaid, especially in the ﬁnance department.

“Wereally hope at some point,Grace will be citywide,” Batts said. “We’regoing to save the people alot of money with this.”

cided —including Lafayette in Louisiana —totake their futureinto theirown hands.”

Six years ago, Scott Woods, thenadivision chief at the NationalTelecommunications and Information Administration, worked with Delta Interfaith in its early days of ﬁghting for broadband.

“This is personaltome,” he told the crowd of more than 40 residents. Delta Interfaith hasbeen pushing for broadbandin“the right way,”saidWoods,now president of public-private partnerships for Ready.net

“What’sbestfor thecommunity as awhole? Not just what’s best for this side of therailroad tracks versus that side of thelake, but what’sbest for everyonetogether to move the commu-

nity forward?”

Cassandra Toston grew up in Lake Providence, graduating from high school there. She would have stayed,too, but she couldn’tﬁnd enough work to support herself and herson.At29, she left for Texas.

One day,decades later her mother,Earnest Jean Overton Toston-Luster,a longtimecafeteria manager for the school system, called and asked how to makespaghetti.

“That wasthe mostfrightfulphone callI have ever had in my life,” Toston said.

Soon after,doctors diagnosed her mother with dementia. Toston’sjob with a sanitation company allows her to work remotely,anywhere in the continental U.S. Shewantedtoreturnhome

to Lake Providence, but the internet was too spotty and too expensive. So instead,she moved her mother to Texas with her After afew years together there, shediedinJanuary 2025. “I feel like Ilet her down,” Toston said. Then, at last, Conexon ran ﬁberlinestoher childhood home in rural East Carroll. So, after 39 years away,Tostonmoved back in December.“That’sincome that’s going into thecommunity,” she said. In Texas, she paid $100 to $150 amonth forsolid internet. Now,she’s paying “$67 and somechange.” “I’m loving it,” she said. While working from the home where she grewup, Tostonoftenglances at her ﬁreplace. Aportrait of her mother smiles back at her

Major fortified roof grant expansion in Louisiana begins

Landry signs bill for more funding

BY SAM KARLIN Staff writer

Louisiana will dole out a record

3,000 grants to help homeowners put fortiﬁed roofs on their homes in the coming weeks, after elected officials agreed on a bill that injects $50 million into the program.

Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple said Wednesday his ofﬁce will open up a lottery for the next batch of grants from Monday to June 19. Until now, the program has seen far more demand than supply, with only about 20% of people who sign up for the lotteries winning grants. Homeowners have

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been desperate for relief from staggering property insurance costs in recent years, and fortiﬁed roofs have proven to save homeowners money on their premiums.

insurance costs.”

But lawmakers, Temple and Gov Jeff Landry agreed on House Bill 1187 by Rep. Paul Sawyer, R-Baton Rouge, which will allow the Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. to send excess funds from Hurricane Katrinaera emergency bonds to the fortiﬁed roof program. The move is expected to net $50 million for the program, on top of $30 million in annual dedicated funding. Landry signed the bill at a news conference Wednesday at the State Capitol.

“People want to protect their homes,” he said “Louisianans are hungry for solutions that will actually work and drive down their

The new lottery round in midJune represents the ﬁrst 3,000 of 8,000 grants the state will be able to fund this year The Insurance Department is also expanding the eligibility criteria to include more parishes, not just those closest to the coast. Parishes newly eligible to participate include Lafayette, Acadia and Jefferson Davis. Homeowners who had previously been excluded are also now eligible in Ascension, Calcasieu, Iberia, Livingston, St. Martin, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa and Vermilion parishes.

Fortiﬁed roofs have emerged as a bipartisan solution to the state’s homeowners’ insurance crisis, which has driven premiums to unsustainable levels for thousands of Louisianans. Around the nation, climate change and inﬂation have

caused a spike in insurance rates, particularly in places where wildﬁres, hurricanes and other types of severe weather are worsening.

“Risk is why we pay so much money,” Sawyer said at the news conference. “This bill represents managing risk and promoting resiliency.”

The 2020 and 2021 hurricane seasons ratcheted up crisis here, as a dozen insurers went belly up and tens of thousands of Louisianans were forced onto the rolls of Citizens, the insurer of last resort.

Elected leaders have searched for ways to get more money into the fortiﬁed roof grant program. Louisianans have proved eager to fortify their homes: Nearly 5,000 have put new roofs on through the grant program, which gives homeowners $10,000 each. In total, 13,000 people have put fortiﬁed roofs on their homes in Loui-

siana, meaning most people are doing it on their own dime.

Landry earlier this year asked the Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Corp. to use some of its money to fund the program, but the idea didn’t go anywhere. Instead, Temple and legislative leaders landed on Sawyer’s bill.

The legislation targets money that Citizens raised by assessing policyholders a fee, part of a 20year effort to raise money to pay off emergency bonds needed to pay claims after hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Having raised enough money to pay off the bonds, Citizens ﬁnally canceled the surcharge last year

But it took months for insurers to stop collecting the money, leaving Citizens with $64 million in excess funds. Citizens is expected to send $50 million of that to the fortiﬁed program.

radius from the incident, according to a 2025 study on the retail impact of such shootings. The ripple effects from April’s shooting extend beyond retail: In response, the state Legislature passed a bill this session to expand the definition of ﬁrst-degree murder, potentially making more people eligible for the death penalty

The mall, considered to be a superregional shopping center due to its size, has fared relatively well compared to other shopping centers since it opened in the 1990s It has survived the fall of brick-and-mortar retail across the country in the past decade thanks to trendy spots like Zara and experiential tenants like Dick’s House of Sports, though some local real estate experts heed caution concerning the mall’s future due to vacancies surrounding its campus.

Lately, customers who do return seem jumpy, said Charita Antoine, manager of clothing store New Square Business has suffered in the past month since many people are afraid to go to the mall, she said.

“Most of them who come in are rushing,” Antoine said.

The shooting

The April 23 shooting took the life of 17-year-old Martha Odom, a student at Ascension Episcopal School in Lafayette, who was remembered as “a light to everyone around her.” Donnie Guillory, 43, was shot three times during the shooting. He is recovering and returning to his activities, including Special Olympics events and shopping at GameStop at the mall

The investigation of the shooting is ongoing. Last week, Baton Rouge police announced that they have identiﬁed an individual who appeared in a surveillance video during the time of the shooting and is wanted for questioning.

Police arrested 17-yearold Markel Lee the day after the shooting when Lee turned himself in. He faces charges including illegal use of a weapon, attempted ﬁrstdegree murder and ﬁrst-degree murder

Security updates

More security guards and police officers began patrolling the mall following the shooting, according to spokespeople at the Baton Rouge Police Department and GGP, the retail arm of Chicago-based Brookfield Corp., which owns the mall. They declined to specify the exact number of guards and ofﬁcers and declined to share other security updates to prevent compromising the efﬁcacy of their work

The mall’s curfew policy, which requires customers younger than 18 to have a chaperone 21 or older after 4 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, is still in effect after its enactment in June 2024 as a proactive measure.

Some staff members, including Callender, said they feel like security has gone back to the pre-shooting level after a large uptick in

presence immediately after the tragedy Others aren’t convinced that the mall is completely safe despite the security update due to the random nature of the April 23 shooting

“It might happen again, you never know,” said Jamie Johnson, a sales associate for Essence Fragrances.

Sarah Forest, manager of Sake Japan and Sake Sushi N Ramen, said she joined the staff about two weeks after the shooting. After seeing crime all around the state, she doesn’t think the mall should be seen as a dangerous place.

“The streets of Baton Rouge aren’t safer than the Mall of Louisiana,” she said.

Mall traffic

While traffic has slowed at the mall, it hasn’t ceased. Shoppers have milled around the mall’s grounds since the Saturday after the shooting.

The mall does not release trafﬁc data, per Brookﬁeld Corp. policy

Michael McKee, a 24-yearold LSU student, returned to the mall on May 21 for the ﬁrst time since the shooting to get his phone ﬁxed at the Apple store. The violence wasn’t what deterred him from coming back — he doesn’t have much reason to be at the mall since he feels its popularity has dwindled, he said.

While waiting for his phone repair, McKee ate lunch at the food court, which he said made him feel a little uneasy due to it being the site of the shooting.

While he is comfortable returning to the mall, he said the violence adds to the “unrest” that already existed in Baton Rouge. “It doesn’t help that our city isn’t the safest place,” McKee said.

Some stores have seen an uptick in sales tied to holidays and other annual celebrations.

An employee at Lush, who declined to share their name due to fear of retribution from their employer, said trafﬁc at the bath products store started to pick up around Mother’s Day Chelsey Cook, a shoe stylist at Steve Madden, said graduation and prom season have attracted shoppers back to the store as they look for shoes to match their outﬁts. The shooting

has been “heartbreaking” for the mall, she said, but she hopes that a few more months of calm at the shopping center will assure shoppers it is safe to come back.

William Bourgeois, an employee at Charleys Cheesesteaks, said he has started to see trafﬁc pick back up after an initial setback.

“Should be better with the kids being out of school,” Bourgeois said.

Tenant protocol

Large retailers typically have their own safety protocols for employees during active shooter situations, and some managers said they recall mall management holding a brieﬁng on active shooter protocol the week of the shooting.

For most stores in the main interior of the mall, employees pull down the gate at the front of the store, hide in a safe space and exit the store if possible. The open-air portion of the mall outside its front entrance has a similar protocol to lock its doors, hide and exit if it is safe.

Jeans retailer True Religion was one of the few stores that successfully pulled down their gates on April 23, manager Ronald Norwood said, since the store’s gate is manually operated, while others are automated.

Kiosks spread throughout the mall, selling items like phone cases and fragrances, are in the open, so the employee protocol is to run to safety, said Shahab Uddin, who runs the Jewelry World kiosk just outside the food court.

Leaving his inventory behind made him a bit nervous, but safety must come ﬁrst, he said.

Stanton Hargrave, a manager at Zara, said the shooting activated his fight-orﬂight instinct as he ushered guests to the back of the store to wait until it was safe to evacuate.

Kelsey Caldwell, another manager at Zara, said the responsibility of mall employees to protect their shoppers by leading them to a safe space feels natural.

“We’re all human beings by the end of the day,” Caldwell said. “If I need to do something, I will do it.” Employee impact

While Mall of Louisiana

customers can opt to satiate their shopping needs online or at other shopping centers, the level of fear remains for some staff mem-

Diners sit Friday at the Mall of Louisiana food court. Mall employees say traffic is down following the April 23 shooting as some customers are afraid to return, but some stores have seen upticks tied to holidays and graduation season.

STAFF PHOTO By IANNE SALVOSA

bers who have to be there regularly

Many mall employees frequent the food court on their breaks, but some have

not returned to the site since the shooting, Norwood said.

“There’s clear apprehension among employees,” he said.

Yan Sun, a manager at Dos Bros, said experiencing the shooting has put her on edge.

“Loud noises can be frightening,” she said through Google Translate Mall management and corporate offices of some retailers brought in counselors following the shooting, which many staffers said was helpful for processing the traumatic event

Uchenna Okoroma, manager of Journeys Kidz, said she appreciates mall management’s efforts to remember the life taken on April 23 and ensuring employees had mental health professionals to speak with. She has worked at the mall for ﬁve years and has formed bonds with other employees in and out of her store, a community she said is helping them get through the emotional impact.

“There’s still something to smile about,” she said.

Ex-CIA official chargedwithstealinggoldbars

BY PHILIP MARCELO Associated Press

Aformer senior CIA official with top secret-level clearanceisaccused of stealing hundreds of gold bars worth more than $40 million from the federal government and stashing them in his home. David Rush was arrested and charged with criminal theft of public money last week, according to federal court filings in Virginia, wherehelives. From NovembertoMarch, Rush requested and receiveda“signifi-

VESSELS

Continued from page1A

NewOrleans itself was founded nearly 60 years before the United States, and its port system emerged shortlyafterward, helping establish the cityasamajor center for trade and commerce.

Leger said the event also highlights the military,international commerce andthe importance of the Mississippi River,which connects 31 states and two Canadian provinces.

Lt. Gen. Len Anderson, a commander with the U.S. Marines, said the event could also sparkaninterest in sailing for younger people, and it underscores New Orleans’ status as astrategic location for the country’s armed forces.

It “lets people remember what that timewas like, and then perhaps, for some of the younger generation in New Orleans, you see an opportunity and join the Navy,” he said.

The Department of Homeland Security has granted the Sail 250 event aSpecial Event Assessment Rating of 3, which means federal agencies will offer some help to local and stateagencies’ security efforts.

Security measures this week include explosive detection teams, bomb-snifﬁng caninesweeps, drone sensors, air support and Coast Guard boats, Coast Guard Capt. Greg Callagan said Tuesday

The ships are expected to line the riverfront from the Bywater’sPoland Avenue Wharf to the Crescent CityConnection bridge by Thursdayafternoon. New Orleans is the first of five ports scheduledtohost the tall ships, followed by Norfolk, Virginia; Baltimore; New York; and Boston.

Schedule of events

Thursday:Ships arrive from 8a.m. to 1p.m.

Saturday: Fireworks at 9p.m.

Sunday: Family Fun Sports Dayfrom 9a.m. to 5p.m.; Seafood Cook-Off from 1p.m. to 3p.m. at The Delacroix

cant quantity of foreign currency andtens of millions of dollars in gold bars for work-related expenses,” according to an afﬁdavit from an FBI agent investigating thecase.

The affidavit says its unclear what Rush intendedtouse the funds for,but that aportionofit was found in astorage space near hisofﬁce.

Federal officials searched his home on May18and seizedmore than 300 goldbarswith an estimated valueofmore than $40 million, according to the affidavit. They

alsoseized roughly $2 million in U.S. currency and some 35 luxury watches,many of them Rolexes. Rushwas arrested thenextday, theFBI said.

The FBI afﬁdavit concludes that there’sprobable cause to believe that Rush “knowingly embezzled, stole, purloined, or knowingly converted athing of value of the United States” for his personal use.

The FBI saiditwas working with the CIA andDepartmentofJustice in its investigation. Rush’slawyer declinedtocommentWednesday

It’snot clear what role Rush had at theCIA or whenheleftthe agency.He’sdescribed in court ﬁlings simply as a“former senior executive service-level employee at a United States government agency.” Spokespersons forthe FBI declined to commentfurther,and theCIA didn’trespond to an email. The FBI affidavit also notes that Rush appears to have lied foryearsabout his education and military background. The bureau’s investigationfound he hadfalsely claimed to be aNavy pilotand thathe’d graduated from Clemson

University in South Carolina and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York. Instead, they found he had enlisted in the Navy in 1997 and then served in the U.S. Navy Reserves from 2004 until 2015, when he was honorably discharged as alieutenant. The afﬁdavit states he does not appear to have underwent any evaluationsasa pilotduring that time, and he did not attend either college. Rush is being held in custody pending ahearing Friday in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia.

Monday: Blessing of the Shipsat 8a.m. at theMoon Walk/Goldring Woldenberg Riverfront Park Tall shipsand vessels visiting NewOrleans

USS Kearsarge (LHD-3) USS Farragut (DDG-99) USCGCMohawk (WMEC-913)

HMS Trent HNLMS Friesland Esmeralda BAP Unión ARC Gloria ROU Capitán Miranda ARA Libertad HSwMS Gladan USCGC Eagle (WIX-327).

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

The ARA Libertad, asailing vessel from Argentina, docks on the downtown riverfront for Sail 250inNew Orleans on Wednesday

Leger

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

Robot with 20 legs can see in any direction

DURHAM, N.C. — A robot being developed at Duke University is almost ready to face the world, in any direction.

Instead of trying to copy symmetrical shapes from nature by building robots that look like people, dogs or insects, engineering professor Boyuan Chen and his team focused on uniformity in action, or what he calls “dynamic symmetry.”

The result was Argus The roly-poly robot named after a mythological many-eyed giant has depth-sensing cameras attached to 20 telescoping legs that radiate from a central core. With no front, back, top or bottom, it can see and move in any direction instantly.

“Instead of measuring how your legs are arranged around a different part of your body, we’re measuring how fast you can move in any direction,” Chen said. “Who said, you know, if you have a robot to help us in a most effective way, it has to look like us?”

In experiments, Argus has navigated sandy beaches and forest undergrowth, rolling over obstacles and stabilizing itself after being pushed It can climb between parallel brick walls by alternating bracing and thrusting motions with its legs. If one or more motor dies or a leg breaks, it continues to function.

“Watching Argus move is unlike watching any other robot we’ve worked with,” said Jiaxun Liu, a graduate student and co-author of a study about Argus published online Wednesday in the journal Science Robotics. “The ﬁrst time we saw it navigate among trees and rough terrain, even under heavy collisions, we knew this was something different.”

Meta lays off nearly 1,400 in Seattle area

Meta’s sweeping layoffs announced last month hit 1,395 employees in King County, per a recent state ﬁling last week

While Meta is headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company maintains a significant presence in the Seattle area. Meta’s Puget Sound hub grew rapidly during the pandemic — reaching a local head count of 8,800 employees at some point — as the company focused its virtual reality efforts in the area. The layoffs affect 259 employees across two Seattle offices, 699 workers at a Bellevue office and 206 at a Redmond office, plus 231 remote workers statewide. Engineering and product manager roles were hit the hardest.

The tech giant let go of the employees on May 20, though their official separation date will be July 22, according to a worker adjustment and retraining notiﬁcation sent to the Washington State Employment Security Department on Friday. Their severance packages include 16 weeks of base pay, plus two additional weeks for every year of continuous service. Canada, Germany reach LNG deal

TORONTO Canada has reached a deal to export liqueﬁed natural gas to Germany from a planned Paciﬁc Coast terminal, an official familiar with the matter said Tuesday

The official confirmed Canada will sign the agreement with Germany’s SEFE group, which stands for Securing Energy for Europe, from the proposed KSI Lisims export facility on the coast of British Columbia. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak ahead of Wednesday’s announcement

The ofﬁcial said up to 1,1 million tons 1.1 million of liqueﬁed natural gas per year will be exported. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has set a goal to double non-U.S trade in a decade Oil- and gas-rich Canada exports almost all of energy oil and gas to the U.S. currently

U.S. stocks on the rise to more records

BY STAN CHOE AP business writer

NEW YORK — U.S. stocks inched to more records Wednesday after oil prices fell and eased the pressure on households and businesses worldwide.

The S&P 500 edged up by less than 0.1% and added to its all-time high set the day before.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 182 points, or 0.4%, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.1% as both indexes also set records.

Stocks of companies with big fuel bills helped lead the way on hopes that lower oil prices will remove a big drag on their proﬁts. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings

climbed 6.1%, and United Airlines rallied 6.3%. Delta Air Lines rose 3% and set an all-time high.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil fell 4.6% to $92.25 after the ceaseﬁre between the United States and Iran appeared to hold despite the U.S. military launching what it called “self-defense” strikes in southern Iran. A barrel of benchmark U.S crude fell even more, 5.5%, to settle at $88.68 and is back to where it was in midApril on hopes that the United States and Iran can reach an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and allow oil tankers to exit the Persian Gulf for deliveries again.

Stocks have been able to run to records despite the painful inﬂa-

tion and uncertainty caused by high oil prices largely because companies have reported surprisingly strong profits for the start of 2026, and the forecast is for them to continue Bath & Body Works rallied 9.7%, and Abercrombie & Fitch climbed 8.9% after both reported bigger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. That’s even as U.S. consumers continue to say they’re feeling discouraged about the economy and inflation.

Lululemon Athletica rose 2.9% after reaching a deal with its founder, Chip Wilson, where it will add a former chief marketing ofﬁcer of ESPN and a former co-CEO of On to its board of directors.

On the losing side of Wall Street was Dick’s Sporting Goods, which dropped 6% despite delivering a proﬁt for the latest quarter that edged past expectations.

Analysts pointed to how much proﬁt it wrung out of each $1 in revenue, which some called a bit weak.

Oil-and-gas stocks also sank, hurt by the dropping prices for crude. Exxon Mobil fell 1.3%, and Chevron slipped 1.3% Halliburton dropped 3.6% to bring its gain for the year so far back toward 40%. All told, the S&P 500 rose 1.24 to 7,520.36. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 182.60 points to 50,644.28, and the Nasdaq composite gained 18.55 to 26,674.73.

GAINING INDEPENDENCE

Independent bookstores are multiplying, but many people still think they’re dying

BY HILLEL ITALIE AP national writer

NEW YORK Allison Hill, CEO of the American Booksellers Association, is used to strangers expressing sympathy when they learn what she does for a living.

“It’s all so funny,” she says “When I tell them I run the trade association for independent stores, they’ll say, ‘It’s just so sad that they’re disappearing.’ I don’t think they’re really keeping track, or they just know about a store that closed or heard about one closing.”

The decline of physical bookstores remains so embedded in popular culture that the man dating Anne Hathaway’s character in “ The Devil Wears Prada 2 ” laments that bookstores are “getting downsized and consolidated.” But the decline actually ended years ago, and the latest numbers from the American Booksellers Association show independent stores expanding at a pace not seen this century

Membership in the ABA grew by more than 500 over the past year, to a total of 3,417 (at 3,783 locations), nearly triple what it was a decade ago and the highest level since the late 1990s. The surge included stores of various kinds — general interest shops like Hey Books! in San Diego; mobile stores like the Wandering Quills Bookshop in Westerville, Ohio; pop-up stores like Banyan Books in St Petersburg Florida.

Many of the new members reﬂect the current boom in romance, fantasy and their hybrid, romantasy, whether the Spicy Librarian in Denver or the Flutter Romance Bookstore in Austin, Texas: “Where butterﬂies begin. And every story ends in happilyever-after,” according to its website.

Both a business and a calling

Independent bookselling, rarely a way to get rich, is a meeting ground for idealists — for young people with a sense of mission, retirees embarking on a new life or middleaged people no longer satisﬁed with their careers “I think people want to realign their lives with their values,” Hill says.

In Wentzville, Missouri, 55-year-old Kelley Hartnett is a marketing consultant and copywriter who had always wanted to run a bookstore.

Her husband’s concerns included competing against Amazon, but Hartnett went ahead and opened Double Dog Bookshop in 2025 as a mobile store She rode about the area in a converted cargo trailer, joined by two Australian Cattle Dog mutts, and has since opened a storefront downtown.

“For me, Double Dog is about maybe 50% books and 50% community,” says Hartnett,

Trump’s

BY GONZALO SOTO Bloomberg News (TNS)

who hopes to ﬁnd a larger space that would make it easier for customers to gather and “just be.”

“People are craving connection, especially in-person connection,” she said. “People are over the internet and virtual meetings and algorithms. They’re not the same as having a human to human connection. It feels really healing.”

Hill can joke about the mistaken elegies for bookselling, while expressing concern that the state of independent stores is healthy but “precarious.” Costs are high, and schools and libraries face budget cuts that limit their purchases from local stores.

Is there room for indies and giants?

Independent owners also ﬁnd themselves worrying about a onetime competitor which itself had seemed endangered, Barnes & Noble.

The superstore chain was the dominant seller in the 1980s and 1990s, and was widely seen as the leading cause for hundreds — maybe thousands of independent stores shutting down. But by the 2010s, Barnes & Noble had been surpassed by Amazon. It began shutting down stores instead of open-

ing new ones and struggled for years to ﬁnd a new owner before the hedge fund Elliott Management Corp. bought it in 2019.

Under the leadership of CEO James Daunt, Barnes & Noble is expanding again, adding more than 100 stores over the past two years. In Chicago, the owner of the decade-old Volume Books has blamed a new Barnes & Noble for putting her out of business, while Hill added that “even a small decrease in sales can make or break a bookstore’s year in an industry with paper-thin margins.”

Daunt denies any intent to take business from independent sellers, saying it’s not in his “DNA.”

“I’m an independent seller myself,” he says, noting that he founded Daunt Books in London. Daunt says he has customers who shop at his store and the British chain Waterstones (where he’s also managing director) “I never thought of the market as ﬁnite.”

The owners of The Book Loft Oak Park, another Chicago-area store that opened last summer acknowledge some nerves about a nearby Barnes & Noble coming soon. But Heather Nelson and Sophie Schauer Eldred hope the stores ultimately compliment each other

“We’re hoping people whose curiosity is piqued by the new Barnes & Noble will walk down the street,” Schauer Eldred said, “and pop into our bookstore.”

tariffs are pushing Mexico back toward low-value exports

U.S. tariffs pushed by President Donald Trump and supply-chain disruptions are eroding Mexico’s gains as a manufacturing hub, raising the risk that the country slips back into exporting lowervalue goods that create few jobs or investment opportunities. On the surface, Mexico’s exports are still breaking records, giving President Claudia Sheinbaum a headline number to tout as proof of economic resilience. Shipments surged nearly 33% from a year earlier in April to $72 billion, according to official data released Monday Imports climbed 24% to a record as well, but with a telling detail: intermediate goods used

in manufacturing and assembly made up nearly 80% of total imports in the ﬁrst four months of the year

“Mexico’s export proﬁle has deteriorated signiﬁcantly since last year,” said Gabriela Siller, director of economic analysis at Banco Base. “Mexican exports have become extremely reliant on inputs from Asia that are just assembled in Mexico.”

The data suggest Mexico’s trade proﬁle is shifting away from more lucrative industries built around highly integrated supply chains, such as its vast auto sector, and back toward lower-value goods that require simpler assembly, or none at all.

That marks a setback for Sheinbaum’s plan to move Mexico be-

yond its maquiladora model and toward higher-value exports to the U.S. The goal, outlined in her “Plan Mexico” economic blueprint, now faces even steeper challenges as a high-stakes review of the USMCA trade pact approaches.

“Mexican factories are essentially triangulating products. They receive high-value inputs and package them for shipment to the U.S.,” Siller said. “If the US strategy was to transform Mexico into a new, closer China, it’s succeeding.”

In fact, Mexico’s exports of light vehicles have stagnated as US tariffs and other barriers to trade with its northern neighbor — by far its top main export market — have increased. At the same time, exports of computer equipment spiked by

144% last year, doubling their share of the country’s total exports to almost 13%, largely due to lower trade barriers for those products in the U.S. plus strong demand from the AI-driven data center boom. But such triple-digit growth can mask where the Mexican economy would beneﬁt more. While Mexico’s automotive industry employs 800,000 people, computer equipment assembly employs only 60,000, mainly in the northern part of the country where production is concentrated. Mining is another sector that underscores the trend of growth without adding value Metals exports rose 71% in April and by an even higher level during the ﬁrst four months of this year

Hartnett

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By RACHyEL P MAGAÑA

Co-owners Anika Omark, left, and Matthew Hein appear behind the counter at their bookstore, Hey Books!, in San Diego.

Kyiv has requested Patriot missiles

By The Associated Press

Ukrainian President Volody-

myr Zelenskyy has written to

U.S. President Donald Trump and Congress asking for more American-made air defense ammunition to counter intensifying Russian ballistic missile attacks, Kyiv said Wednesday Meanwhile, Russian lawmakers have backed a draft bill to have bank employees join the ﬁght against Ukraine’s long-range drones that strike deep inside Russia — with trained bank staff shooting down the unmanned aircraft.

The steps came after a recent escalation in aerial attacks by both sides in the more than four-year war that followed Russia’s all-out invasion of its neighbor Neither side has been able to make much progress on the 780-mile front line.

Also on Wednesday, Anne Keast-Butler, head of U.K.’s intelligence agency GCHQ, asserted that Russian President Vladimir “Putin is going backwards on the battleﬁeld.” New data shows that “almost half a million Russian soldiers have now been killed since the conﬂict began,” she added.

Ukraine has pounded Russian targets, especially oil facilities and manufacturing plants, with its domestically produced drones. At the same time, the Russian military has intensiﬁed its aerial attacks, ﬁring almost 90 missiles as well as hundreds of drones at Kyiv last weekend in an effort to overwhelm air defenses.

More Patriot defense systems

The Ukrainian leader urged Trump and Congress in a letter, which was obtained by The Associated Press, to supply more Patriot PAC-3 missiles and other air defense systems, warning that deliveries to Ukraine are falling dangerously short as the Iran war diverts U.S. stocks.

Ukraine has raised its drone interception rate to more than 90%, the letter says, and Ukrainian specialists have helped countries

in the Middle East — speciﬁcally

the Gulf Arab region — strengthen air defenses They have also helped at American military bases in the Mideast, the letter says.

But Ukraine cannot yet produce its own anti-missile defense systems, Zelenskyy said, and for that relies “almost exclusively on the United States.”

“For us for a nation ﬁghting for its survival — there is hardly anything more painful to see than Patriot batteries with no missiles loaded,” Zelenskyy wrote.

Deliveries, he says, are “no longer keeping up with the reality of the threat we face.”

Washington did not immediately comment on the letter

The U.S. weapons that European nations and Canada buy to donate to Ukraine are a vital component of the country’s air defenses, but only a few NATO allies are investing signiﬁcant sums in the arrangement, alliance ofﬁcials say Bank employees to join fight

In Russia, an ambitious plan approved by the country’s lower house of parliament on Tuesday envisages banks installing electronic jamming systems on their premises while selected employees would be trained to shoot down incoming drones.

And with banks in almost every town, their incorporation into Russia’s air defenses could help expand its cover

The bill, which state news agency Interfax said was first presented last August and later expanded in scope, must still be approved by the upper house Federation Council and signed by Putin before coming into force.

Russia is ﬁnding it hard to protect its large land mass from a growing number of attacks by increasingly sophisticated Ukrainian long-range drones

Smaller drones are also holding back Russian troops along the front line, Western analysts and ofﬁcials say

As the intensity and depth of Ukrainian drone attacks have increased, Russian authorities have encouraged businesses to contribute to protective measures against aerial strikes.

U.S. will need years to replenish stockpiles of advanced weapons

Analysis finds depletion possibly opens window

of vulnerability

BY BEN FINLEY Associated Press

WASHINGTON U.S. military contractors need at least three years to replenish stockpiles of three key weapons systems used heavily in the Iran war, according to an analysis released Wednesday adding to concerns that American forces would have limited firepower in any future conﬂict with China.

The weapons systems are Tomahawk cruise missiles, which are used to strike targets deep inside enemy territory, and Patriot and THAAD interceptors that defend against incoming missiles and drones.

“The United States has enough munitions for any plausible scenario in the Iran war, but the depleted inventories have created a window of vulnerability for a potential Western Paciﬁc conﬂict,” the Center for Strategic and International Studies said in its new report, provided to The Associated Press. “The time needed to rebuild those inventories has thus become a major concern.”

China has a stated goal of ensuring its military is capable of taking Taiwan by force if necessary by 2027 which experts see as more aspirational than a hard deadline. But Chinese President Xi Jinping warned this month that if Washington mishandles its relations with the self-governing island, the U.S and China could end up clashing or even in open conﬂict.

Production takes time

The analysis by the Washington think tank factors in the Republican Trump administration’s historic $1.5 trillion defense budget proposal for 2027, which signiﬁcantly accelerates spending on high-end munitions that began under the Democratic Biden administration. While there’s bipartisan agreement in Congress to boost inventories, “the problem today isn’t money; it’s time,” the report said.

“It takes time to expand production capacity and to build these complex systems,” the report said, adding that the window of vulnerability will last “for several years until inventories return to their previous levels and another several years before they get to the levels that war planners desire.”

Although munitions inventories are classiﬁed, CSIS said sufﬁcient public information exists in Pentagon budget materials to estimate production timelines.

President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have insisted the U.S. is capable of fighting any war They have pushed defense contractors to speed up munitions production, with Hegseth telling lawmakers last month that military spending under Trump will help manufacturers double or even triple their capacities.

During Trump’s Cabinet meeting Wednesday, Hegseth lauded the president’s efforts to expand the nation’s defense manufacturing sector, with private contractors investing in new plants and production lines “so that we’re getting weapons faster than ever.”

Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement that the military “has everything it needs to execute at the time and place of

the President’s choosing.”

“We have executed multiple successful operations across combatant commands while ensuring the U.S. military possesses a deep arsenal of capabilities to protect our people and our interests,” Parnell said How long it will take to rebuild

The U.S. ﬁred 1,000-plus Tomahawk missiles at Iran, and it could take until late 2030 to fully replenish the prewar inventory, CSIS estimates show Fewer than 200 Tomahawks are made a year because of small orders in the past, the report says. However, manufacturer Raytheon has a goal of ramping up capacity to more than 1,000 per year RTX, Raytheon’s parent company, declined to comment on the CSIS ﬁndings because it had not yet seen the report But RTX pointed to investments of several billion dollars to boost production, including expanding facilities in Alabama and Arizona.

For in-demand air defense systems, replacing as many as 290 THAAD, or Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, interceptors that shot down incoming Iranian drones and missiles could take until the end of 2029, CSIS estimates. Replenishing more than 1,000 Patriot interceptors should wrap up in mid-2029.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ALEX BRANDON Acting Under Secretary of Defense and Comptroller Jules Hurst III, from left, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine arrive to testify at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee on defense hearing on the budget request for the Department of Defense on May 12 in Washington.

Organizationsargue protectionshavebeen removed

BY MICHAELCASEY

Associated Press

Fair housing organizations ﬁled alawsuit Wednesdayoverafederal rule changethattheysay would reverse decades oflending protections and open the door to discrimination against Black people, Latinos and other minorities.

The federal lawsuit, filedin Washington, D.C., takes aim at achange made earlier this year by the ConsumerFinancial Protection Bureau to the Equal Credit OpportunityAct, which bars lenders from discriminating against creditapplicants. Among the changes being challenged is that lenders willnolonger have to consider “disparateimpact”— policies that appear neutral but tend to cause disproportionate harm to certaingroups.

Plaintiffs also argue the rule would make it easier forlenders to market loans to predominantly white neighborhoods, forcing minority communities torely on risky,high-costlenders thatoffer predatory loans with exorbitant interest rates.

“Thisisthe deliberate dismantling of 50 years of legal jurisprudence, regulatory guidance, and bipartisan consensus that lendingdiscriminationhas no place in America,” Lisa Rice, the CEO andpresident of the National Fair Housing Alliance, one of the plaintiffs that ﬁled the lawsuit, said in astatement.

“This reversal by the CFPBisa continuation of this Administration’sefforts to gut fair housing and lending protections,”she said. “Eviscerating these guardrails will ultimatelyresult in less credit access for many people, make our markets less sound, and cause our economy to beless productive.”

Paulina Gonzalez-Brito, the CEO of another plaintiff, Rise Economy,aCalifornia nonproﬁt that advocates for economic jus-

tice, accused the CFPB of ignoring “public comments, common sense,and decadesofprecedent in its misguided attempt to turn anti-discrimination lawonits head.”

“The CFPB was created to protect consumers and smallbusinesses from ﬁnancial abuse and discrimination, andthis final Reg Brule would doreal harm, setting us back in our collective efforts to ensure that all families and small businesses have afair chance to achievethe American Dream,” Gonzalez-Brito said.

TheCFPB didnot respond to a request for comment.

Plaintiffsargue that the rule change is part of abroader campaign by the Trump administration to dismantle regulationsrelated to fair housing and lending protections.

Theadministration, the National FairHousingAlliance said, has proposedeliminatingthe budget forthe Fair HousingInitiatives Program, which funds nonprofits to ensure access to housing for seniors, disabled veterans, familieswith children and other groups. It also has cut stafﬁng in half atthe Department of Housingand UrbanDevelopment’s Ofﬁce of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity

Severalhigh-profilesettlements in recent years indicate housing discriminationremains asigniﬁcant problem.

In 2023, the Justice Department accused LosAngeles-based City NationalBankofdiscriminationbyrefusing to underwrite mortgagesinpredominately Blackand Latinocommunities requiring the bank to paymore than $31 million in the largest redliningsettlement in department history.In2016. the Justice Departmentand the CFPBﬁned Mississippi-based BancorpSouth $10.6 million,alleging the bank deliberately discriminated against minoritiesinits lending practices.

Plaintiffs are asking court to vacatethe rule,which they contendisarbitrary and capricious, in excess of statutoryauthority, and issued outside theprocedures required by Congress.

Trumphad said countrywas ‘negotiating on fumes’

BY AAMER MADHANI and KONSTANTIN TOROPIN Associated Press

WASHINGTON U.S. forces carried outnew defensivestrikes on Iran on Wednesday after President Donald Trump asserted that Iran is “negotiating on fumes”and insistedthat November’smidterm elections in the United States won’t make him rush intoadeal to end the nearlythree-month-old conﬂict.

CO IN T MI EAST NFLICT HE DDLE AS

U.S. Central Command forces shotdown four Iranianone-way attack dronesthat posed athreat around the Strait of Hormuz, according to U.S. ofﬁcials whowere notauthorizedto comment publicly and spoke on thecondition of anonymity

The U.S. military also struck an Iranian ground control station in Bandar Abbasthat wasabout to launch aﬁfth drone, theofﬁcials said.

Details about the strikes emerged after Trump, at aCabinet meeting earlier Wednesday,expressed conﬁdence thathis administration was making headway on settling the war,even though the talks still remain very much in ﬂux.

The president is looking for asettlementthatwill reopen the Strait of Hormuz andprovide him with a credible argumentthat Iran’snuclear capability hasbeen diminished enough to declare victory,winding down aconflict that’sbeen politically unpopular for Republicans.

But as things stand, Trump also risksfinding that closure to his war of choice comes with an unsatisfactory ending.

The emerging deal puts off many critical issuestoberesolved later andhas alreadyexposedthe Republican president to ﬁerce criticism— even from some of his own supporters —thatIran’shardline leaders will emerge from the con-

flict battered but emboldened. It all comes to ahead just as the midterm elections to determine control of Congress comeinto focus and as Republicans worry that rising costs and fuel prices are darkeningthe American electorate’smood.

But Trump on Wednesday dismissed theideathatthe upcoming elections would shape his Iran strategy.

“Theythought they weregonna outwaitme. Youknow, ‘We’ll outwait him. He’sgot the midterms,’” Trumpsaid. “I don’tcare about the midterms.”

Trumpacknowledged there’s still worktodo, but he spoke with ameasure of certainty thatthe two sides would get there.

“They want very muchtomake adeal,” Trump said. “So far, they haven’tgottenthere.We’re not satisﬁed with it, but we will be —either that or we’ll have to just ﬁnish thejob.”

The new strikes came after U.S. forces carried out what the Pentagon called “defensive” strikes on missile launch sitesand minelaying boats in southern Iran on Monday. TheU.S. has said it has acted withrestraint with both of this week’smilitary actions in light of the fragile, weekslong ceasefire that continues to hold.

While Trump insists adeal is within reach, there appears to be daylight between the U.S. and Iran on severalkey issues. Thepresident is also facingscrutiny from Repub-

lican allies, including Sens. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, Lindsey GrahamofSouth Carolinaand TedCruz of Texas, who have said the terms seem too favorable to Tehran They’re balking at aspects of the deal that have emerged publicly that they say too closely resemble thenuclear agreementreached with Iran by Democratic President Barack Obama, which Trump scrapped during his first term Under the potential deal, Tehran would agree to give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium akey Trumpdemand— in return forsanctions relief.That’saccordingtotwo regional officials and oneseniorTrump administration official, all of whomspoke on the conditionofanonymitytodiscuss the sensitive negotiations. One regional official, with direct knowledgeofthe negotiations, said how Iran would give up the uranium would be subject to further talks during a60-dayperiod Some would likely be diluted, while the rest would be transferredtoa third country,the official said. But Trump said Wednesdaythat he “wouldn’tbecomfortable” with either RussiaorChinatakingIran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium.The twocountries have the closest relations with Tehran, and nuclear analysts have said they could be apotential acceptable third party to the Iranian Republic to take possession of theenriched uranium as part of apotential deal

Judge backs WBR in public records fight

BY AIDAN MCCAHILL Staff writer

A judge sided with the West Baton Rouge Parish government in its lawsuit against a local journalist, ruling ofﬁcials acted in good faith in a monthslong public records dispute and order-

ing the reporter to pay outstanding fees before filing new requests. The May 13 judgment signed by 18th Judicial District Court Judge Melvin C. Zeno also requires John Summers, editor of the West Baton Rouge Independent, to pay the parish’s attorney fees.

Parish ofﬁcials said they sued Summers in March after he threatened litigation.

The suit asked the court to declare their records procedures and fee schedule reasonable, and also sought reimbursement of legal costs and an order limiting Summers’ future requests. Attorneys for the parish later dropped the request to have Summers’ future requests limited, but the judgment from the April 29 trial granted all of the parish’s original requests.

Summers, whose outlet covers local government, has argued the suit was intended to stiﬂe his reporting on the West Baton Rouge Fire Department. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, a national pro bono legal group representing Summers, also argued the parish violated Louisiana’s public records law by not specifying the cost of records Summers

requested, then demanding payment for them even though the journalist never received them, and ultimately withholding further records over the outstanding balance.

“Under the Petitioners’ theory, the result of simply submitting a request could be a debt to the government of any amount, regardless of whether the requester receives the records,” the

attorneys wrote in a legal brief. By finding that the parish acted in good faith and that its fees are reasonable, however, the ruling allows the government to require payment for certain records even if they were prepared but not delivered. It would also require Summers to pay for expenses associated with

BR police investigating double shooting

BY OLIVIA TEES Staff writer

A man and a woman were killed in a shooting Wednesday morning at the Afton Oaks apartment complex on Newcastle Avenue in what Baton Rouge police say may have been a domestic incident Police Chief TJ Morse said police were called to the scene around 10:30 a.m. to find both people dead from gunshots. Police believe the man fired the shots, Morse said Morse said police interviewed witnesses at the scene, and that it appears that no one else was in the apartment at the time of the shooting. Emergency Medical Services initially said two people were found dead at the scene and the Coroner’s Office had been contacted.

The couple’s identities had not been released Wednesday evening. The investigation is ongoing.

Legislature OKs stricter voter ID law

Opponents call it another hurdle to casting a ballot

BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer

Louisiana is poised to tighten its laws requiring photo ID to vote after the Legislature passed Senate Bill 319 on Tuesday

Currently, if voters show up to the polls without a picture ID, they can sign an affidavit confirming their identity and listing their date of birth and mother’s maiden name. Under SB319, voters will no longer have that option. Instead, to cast a ballot without a photo ID or other identifying documents, they’ll have to go to the office of the registrar of voters in that parish and cast a conditional ballot. Then, they’ll have two days to present the required photo identification for the ballot to be counted.

The bill would also limit what documents count as photo ID. Examples include a Louisiana driver’s license or ID, passport or other citizenship document that has a photo and signature and a military or tribal ID. Currently, to conﬁrm someone’s identity, poll workers can accept a “generally recognized picture identification card that contains the name and signature of the applicant.”

If a voter doesn’t have photo ID, they’ll have the option to present a combination of two other identifying documents. At least one would have to be a “primary” document such as a birth certiﬁcate, Social Security card or certiﬁcate of citizenship. The second document could be an item like a voter registration notice, recent utility bill, bank statement or pay stub.

Sen. Thomas Pressly, R-Shreveport, who sponsored SB319, has said the new procedure ensures that all polling places follow the same rules and all voters are treated the same. But critics of the legislation say it will disenfranchise voters.

“We’re trying to fix something that isn’t broken,” state Rep. C. Denise Marcelle, D-Baton Rouge, said during debate on the bill before the Louisiana House approved it. “I don’t see this as voter integrity I see this as voter suppression.” Gov. Jeff Landry must sign the bill for it to become law

Judge can’t ‘micromanage’ Angola’s Farm Line, ruling says

Decision highlights changes made as case litigated

BY QUINN COFFMAN Staff writer

that the Loui-

Penitentiary at Angola’s so-called Farm Line program regularly puts inmates in danger of heatrelated injuries. However, Jackson said a higher court’s ruling prevents his court from issu-

ing any permanent changes to how Angola operates the work assignment in which inmates toil in the prison’s agricultural ﬁelds. Jackson’s ruling does highlight, however, that many changes to the Farm Line that inmate advocates sought had been carried out by the Angola administration as the case was litigated including the construction of multiple “shade pavilions.” The inmates’ attorneys originally sought an end to the Farm Line on Eighth Amendment grounds that the ﬁeld work assignment is a cruel and unusual punishment. During the length of the case, inmates’ attorneys nar-

rowed what they were asking for, ultimately requesting an end to inmates being assigned to the Farm Line as punishment, no Farm Line work on any day where the temperature reaches 103 degrees, that Angola no longer charge inmates with medical copays for heat-related illnesses suffered while on the Farm Line, and other items.

Jackson’s ruling said these requests were well-founded, but “the Court is constrained by the Circuit’s opinion in Parker however indicating that it would be inappropriate for the Court to ‘micromanage the prison’s facilities, personnel, procedures,

PROVIDED PHOTO

Inmates work on the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola’s Farm Line. A lawsuit sought an end to the field work assignment

STAFF PHOTOS By JAVIER GALLEGOS

Police Chief TJ Morse, center, speaks to

cer at the Afton Oaks apartment complex on Newcastle Avenue in Baton Rouge after a shooting that left two dead Wednesday.

Police Chief TJ Morse gives the media an update from the crime scene.

Hip-hop, EDM artists to perform during X Games

League championship will be at Superdome

BY JONAH MEADOWS Staff writer

The inaugural X Games League Championship planned for the Caesars Superdome from July 2426 will include two nights of concerts at the Smoothie King Center, with hip-hop headliners Metro Boomin and J.I.D. on the ﬁrst night and electronic music DJs Subtronics and Bunt on the second.

X Games CEO Jeremy Bloom said the combination of concerts and action sports competition will bring together music, culture and athletics.

Bloom

“New Orleans is one of the great event cities in the world, and this lineup reflects the scale and energy of what we’re building,” Bloom said in a statement announcing the headliners. Friday’s bill at the Smoothie King Center features a pair of Atlanta-based rappers. Metro Boomin, born Leland Wayne, has been one of the most

The nighttime concerts, announced earlier this week, are set to follow the first two days of a three-day championship weekend that will transform the ﬂoor of the Superdome into a skate park, BMX course and motorcycle track, with more than 100 athletes taking part in 18 events and a $500,000 prize purse going to the winning team.

inﬂuential hip-hop producers of the past decade, crafting chart-topping hits with Migos, The Weeknd and Future. He will be joined by J.I.D., born Destin Rose, who is signed to J. Cole’s Dreamville Records label and picked up two Grammy nominations this year

Saturday’s lineup shifts from rap to electronic dance music.

Philadelphia-based producer and DJ Jesse Kardon, who performs dubstep music Subtronics and is himself an avid skateboarder has headlined major EDM festivals. He has been booked alongside Bunt, the project of German producer Levi Wijk, who layers samples of acoustic instruments over dance beats.

The New Orleans championship weekend will conclude the ﬁrst season of the restructured X

PROVIDED PHOTO

Angola’s new shade pavilions are outfitted with four oscillating fans, benches and spigots. Inmates working the Farm Line are allowed 15-minute breaks in the pavilion for each hour worked with iced water provided.

ANGOLA

Continued from page 1B

and standards of care.’”

On March 30, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals preempted the lower court by ruling in Parker v. Hooper that “ongoing improvements and innovations” at Angola likely keep it from violating the Eighth Amendment.

To violate the Eighth Amendment, a prison administrator must be found to be “deliberately indifferent” when inmates are faced with potential danger

The 5th Circuit ruled that even when prison improvements are insufﬁcient to fully protect inmates, the fact that improvements are being made at all shows “concern and sincerity” on the part of prison ofﬁcials, and thus protects them from the “deliberate indifference” standard needed for cruel and unusual punishment.

“This litigation, however has not been all for naught,” Jackson’s Monday ruling states.

“The Court emphasizes that in several meaningful respects, due to the committed efforts of Plaintiffs’ Counsel and the class representatives, this litigation has obtained the relief Plaintiffs seek — more signiﬁcant protections for incarcerated person laboring on the Farm Line.”

Darrel Vannoy, warden at Angola, conﬁrmed that many changes sought by inmates’ attorneys had been delivered during the case, including:

RECORDS

Continued from page 1B

the parish government employees’ gathering of records including overtime pay and photocopying costs.

“I believe it has a chilling effect on reporting in regards to the ﬁre department and parish government,” Summers said. “It affects every journalist in Louisiana if it stands.”

In a statement, a spokesperson for the parish government said the ruling reinforced the authority of local governments to implement reasonable fee schedules and balance responsible use of public resources and taxpayer funds. The statement added that the parish remains committed to transparency and accountability and will continue to ensure citizens have access to public records in accordance with state law

“This ruling confirms that the Parish acted properly reasonably and within the law throughout this

n Construction of shade pavilions, outﬁtted with oscillating fans, ice water coolers, spigots, benches and a roof to provide shade,

n A 15-minute break for every 45 minutes working on the line,

n Access to water at any time during Farm Line work,

n An expansion to the list of medications that keep an inmate from being assigned Farm Line work,

n An end to the “heat season,” meaning heat precautions continue year-round, and

n Access to sunscreen, work gloves, drinking cups and hats.

“The safety of incarcerated individuals remains a top priority in all institutional operations, including outdoor work assignments,” Falon Brown, a spokesperson for the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections said Wednesday “The Department’s heat pathology policies in place include substantial risk-mitigation measures designed to protect inmates working outdoors, including required rest breaks and access to shade fans, water and other safeguards.”

Brown said the department is pleased with Jackson dismissing the plaintiffs’ claims.

“Agricultural work at LSP serves an important purpose, including harvesting fresh vegetables for inmate consumption while also providing valuable work opportunities. The Department remains committed to balancing meaningful work programs with the health and safety of those in its custody,” Brown said.

Speaking at a news conference Wednesday, leaders with prisoner

process,” Parish President Jason Manola said in the statement. “We remain dedicated to serving the public with integrity while ensuring that public resources are managed responsibly.”

Initial dispute

The conﬂict centered on a series of records requests Summers began ﬁling in July 2025.

He initially sought ﬁnancial records from the West Baton Rouge Fire Department and declined to pay an $83 charge after being told earlier the request could cost up to $1,500. He never received those records, but parish ofﬁcials later waived the fee.

In January Summers requested records tied to a ﬁre in Erwinville, including GPS logs, vehicle location data, reports and stafﬁng information. He paid a $50 fee and received those records.

Then in March, he requested similar records related to a warehouse fire at the Port of Baton Rouge. Chance Stephens, the finance director and custodian of records for West Baton Rouge Parish, re-

Games, the extreme sports competition founded by ESPN in 1995 and sold to private equity firm MSP Sports Capital in 2022.

Instead of annual summer and winter events with athletes competing for medals as individuals, the new MoonPay X Games League is a year-round, team-based format.

Four clubs, representing Los Angeles, New York, Sao Paulo and Tokyo, drafted 40 athletes in March. The season opens in Sacramento, California on June 26 and heads to Chiba, Japan, for the ﬁrst weekend in July before concluding in New Orleans.

This year’s event is expected to draw up to 20,000 visitors per day during the annual summer tourism slump, with ABC and ESPN scheduled to air 13 hours of television coverage.

Jay Cicero, president and CEO of the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation, said city ofﬁcials had made a bid to host the 2018 X Games, the second of four years awarded to Minneapolis, but those plans were put on hold by planned Superdome renovations.

Cicero said he believes the X Games audience, which skews younger and more adventurous, is a natural ﬁt for New Orleans.

“Hopefully it’ll be a multiyear event,” Cicero said. “I think that’s gonna come down to what they do business-wise here, their experience at the Caesars Superdome and the Smoothie King Center for the concerts, and then the service that we provide them.”

Email Jonah Meadows at jonah. meadows@theadvocate.com.

Former Advance head who owned Times-Picayune dies

Donald Newhouse

‘cared about people,’ former publisher says

By The Associated Press

Donald E. Newhouse, who oversaw The Times-Picayune for more than half a century while serving as president of Advance Publications, one of the largest family-controlled publishing companies in the nation, died Tuesday He was 96 and died at his home in New Jersey, his family said.

when the newspaper and the city were nearly destroyed,” Phelps said. “He supported us during that terrible time.”

The Times-Picayune and many other Advance newspapers were able to thrive and remain profitable because they dominated their market, but Newhouse said he was very much aware of what he called the “dramatically changing media landscape” and how people get their news.

advocacy groups The Promise of Justice Initiative and Voice of the Experienced said that without permanent injunctions from the Middle District, the corrections department is free to roll back these improvements at any time.

Samantha Kennedy, executive director of the Promise of Justice initiative, said the ruling was like a “victory without a remedy,” while Angola “was delivered a loss, but no consequences.”

“Tuesday afternoon, we learned that the court agrees with people in prison that the dangers caused by working outdoors in extreme heat, on the Farm Line, is indeed unconstitutional,” Kennedy said. “However, because of a recent 5th Circuit ruling, the court believes that its hands are tied and it does not have the authority to stop Angola from violating the rights of people forced to work on the Farm Line.”

Advocates also said they were disappointed that the ruling didn’t touch on the emotional and psychological aspects of the Farm Line, which they believe are caused by how the Farm Line simulates chattel slavery

“Black people, our experiences, our history and our ability to seek self-determination are under attack in Louisiana,” Kennedy said. “We very much see our ﬁght for the right to not be forced to reenact slavery just because we are as a critical frontier in the rights of people, Black people in particular.”

Email Quinn Coffman at quinn. coffman@theadvocate.com.

sponded that some materials were ready but said vehicle location and stafﬁng data would cost $121.50. Summers objected, arguing the records were already digital and should not incur additional costs after being printed and rescanned. He asked to inspect the records in person instead. Parish attorneys say Summers then threatened legal action if the request was not fulﬁlled by March 20.

Stephens subsequently invited Summers to schedule a time to inspect the records. But that same day, the parish ﬁled suit. Stephens notified Summers by email and, in the same message, declined to process a separate new request, writing that the parish would not respond to additional requests “until an ofﬁcial court ruling is made on the matter.” During the trial, Zeno declined to bar Summers from submitting new requests. Under his judgment, however, Summers must pay the $121.50 fee associated with the March request before submitting any further public records requests to the parish.

Newhouse spent decades overseeing The Times-Picayune, one of 35 newspapers owned by Advance Publications, the media business started by his late father, Samuel Irving Newhouse Sr., in 1922. His older brother, S.I. Newhouse Jr., who died in 2017, was chair of the company and oversaw Condé Nast magazines.

Newhouse attended Syracuse University but never graduated, heading into the family’s newspaper business instead. The family was known for regularly visiting its newspapers but left the ultimate authority of running them to their local publishers. In New Orleans, where the Newhouses purchased The Times-Picayune in 1962, that meant for most of his ownership, it remained under the leadership of Ashton Phelps Sr., who was named publisher in 1967, and Ashton Phelps Jr., who became publisher in 1979 and oversaw the paper until 2012.

The Times-Picayune suffered from a weak national reputation in the early years of Newhouse ownership. But by 1980, its proﬁle and prospects began to improve.

That year, it combined with its sister publication, The StatesItem. It also began adding a series of suburban bureaus across the metro area. Those bureaus, in Jefferson, St. Tammany St. Charles, St. John the Baptist and St. Bernard parishes, allowed for zoned editions and comprehensive local coverage.

“My late father and I felt the Newhouse ownership was good for the communities the newspaper served,” Ashton Phelps Jr said by phone Wednesday, recalling relationships with S.I., Norman and Don Newhouse that were “were both business and personal.”

“They encouraged editorial quality, but left editorial decisions to local leaders,” he said.

“We collaborated on business decisions.” In 1997, the paper was awarded two Pulitzer Prizes, one for a series on the world’s threatened ﬁsheries and one for the editorial cartooning of Walt Handelsman. Under the Newhouses, The Times-Picayune went on to win two more Pulitzers, for breaking news and public service, for its coverage of Hurricane Katrina.

Phelps recalled Donald Newhouse’s commitment to the paper and its staff in the storm’s aftermath, with frequent phone calls to offer help.

“They cared about people. Such was never clearer than Don’s support in the days immediately after Hurricane Katrina

“The 15th-century revolution was epitomized by the printing of the Gutenberg Bible; ours by Ted Turner’s Cable News Network and by web-based news sites news in real time from anywhere to everywhere,” Newhouse said in 2004 at the rededication of a communications school named after his father at Syracuse University Three years later, he told one of his papers, The Post-Standard of Syracuse, New York, that newspapers can survive “by producing content that is relevant, interesting, accurate and entertaining for newspapers and the internet.”

Yet the papers did ultimately struggle ﬁnancially Advance was known in the industry for a pledge that employees who weren’t in a union would have jobs regardless of economic downturns or technological advances. In 2009, the company announced that the pledge would be withdrawn.

The company also moved away from daily publishing of several papers. In 2012, The Times-Picayune announced it would cease daily publication and would only offer print editions on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays Those changes were accompanied by hundreds of layoffs.

Newhouse stepped back from daily operations in the mid-2000s, though he retained the title of president for several years. His eldest son, Steven, oversaw The Times-Picayune until 2019, when it was sold to Dathel and John Georges and returned to daily publication.

John Georges recalled a chance meeting and brief conversation with Donald Newhouse at a Manhattan restaurant several months before the purchase that he said helped pave the way for the eventual deal.

“It was fortuitous and opened the door for the later conversations we were able to have,” Georges said “I give him a lot of credit for doing the right thing. The deal could not have happened without him.”

“I am very, very appreciative,” he added.

While Newhouse was dedicated to Advance, his true passion was his family His daughter Katherine Mele, said his favorite pastime was taking 3-mile walks with them.

In addition to his children, Newhouse is also survived by his grandchildren. His wife, Susan, died in 2015.

Staff writer Stephanie Riegel contributed to this report.

Newhouse

Duthu, Jackie ResthavenFuneralHome, 11817 JeffersonHighway,at11a.m

Johnson, Edna

AsburyMethodistChurch in White Castle at 11 a.m.

Root,Maxine ResthavenFuneralHome, 11817 Jefferson HighwayinBaton Rouge at 2:30pm Summerville,Michael Greenoaks FuneralHomeatnoon.

Obituaries

AlexanderJr., John

John Alexander Jr. affectionately known as JJ passed awayatOLOL May 17,2026. Visiting at Hall Davis &Son Funeral Home at 10am on 5/30/26 followed by Religious Service at 11am. Conducted by Rev. Errol K. Domingue

Clay Mark Bourg, Jr., native and lifelong resident of Port Allen, went home to be with Jesus on Monday, May 25, 2026, surrounded by the love and prayers of his family. Mark was born on December 27, 1948 to Clay MSrand Juette Bourg. He was aproud VietnamVeteran, adevoted husband,father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and faithful servant of the Lord. He loved his Savior and his family with every fiber of his being,and his life reflected unwavering faith, strength, and compassion. Mark was afierce protector of all those whom he loved. He is survived by his loving wife, Cynthia Johnson-Bourg; his children,April Bourg, Bridgette Bourg Langloisand husband Michael, and Clay "Trés" Bourg and wife Jamie. Visitation willbeat Wilbert Funeral Home in Port Allen on Saturday, May 30th, from 10 a.m. un-

Breidenbach, Madeline Jewell

Madeline died on Thursday, May21, 2026,froman unexpectedand suddenillness. She leavesbehind her husband of 55 years, DavidBreidenbach,their son,Adam Breidenbach (wife,Leslie), and grandson, ElliotBreidenbach. Sheisalsosurvived by her brother, Ronald Jewell (wife, Lena) of New Roads, and by herniece, Marcy Jewell Donham (husband, Stephen) of Mandeville, LA., and several other nieces, nephews and cousins in herextended family

Madeline was bornin NewRoads, Louisiana,on April 1, 1948, and was precededindeath by her parents,Elliott E. Jewell and EloiseMilam Jewell.Madelinewas aproud1966 graduate of Poydras High School in New Roads. She lived primarilyinBaton Rouge until moving to the New Roads area in 2003. Shewas awonderful, caring, and lovingwife, mother, and dear friendto many people throughout her fulland active life. She was talented in many fields, particularly increating art through many styles of painting, flower arranging,and morerecently rughooking. Shealso enjoyed alifetime of travel and sightseeing, havingvisited over 70 countries throughout the world including a3-year residencyinJapan. She was active inseveral local organizations and causes including animal welfare, book clubs, and by participating frequently with dear friends at social events and smallgroup dinners.She attracted many close friends throughout her lifeacross many locations who will fondly recall her and their time together.She especially enjoyed being with her family, and she wasso very proud of them and their accomplishments. Therewillbea Celebration of Lifefor Madelineatthe United Methodist Church in New Roads on Monday, June 1, 2026,from9 to 11 AM. While Madeline adoredflowers, please consider remembering her by making adonation in her memorytoa favorite charity.

Collins, Barbara Riley

Barbara RileyCollins was born August 3, 1932, in NewOrleans, Louisiana, to thelate Westand Hazel Riley. She entered eternal rest on May 18, 2026. Barbara was amember of Mount ZionMethodist Church in NewOrleans and laterJordan United Methodist Church in Baton Rouge. She was thewife of Herbert "Rip"Collins, Sr. withwhom she shared 74 years of marriage.

Barbara was agraduate of BookerT.Washington High School in NewOrleans and Southern University, where she earneda Bachelor of Arts,a Master of Education, and additional graduatehours in Elementary Education. She taught at ProgressElementary and Baker Heights Elementary in East Baton Rouge Parish School Systemand served as asupervisorofstudent teachers forSouthern University and Louisiana StateUniversity.

Barbara was an active member of several organizations, including Delta SigmaThetaSorority, Incorporated (BatonRouge AlumnaeChapter),Top LadiesofDistinction, Jet Setters Social Club,Red Hat Society, Lions Club, 100 Black Women, and the Southern University Alumni Federation(Life Member).In2002, she was honored as theMarch of Dimes "24 KaratLadyof theYear.

She was preceded in death by her parents and siblings, WestRiley, Jr.and James Riley, Sr. She leavestocherish her memory her husband, Herbert "Rip"Collins, Sr.; children, Belita Collins and Herbert Collins, Jr (Eleanor); grandchildren, NicoleGrimes, Keshia Cato (Stephen), Germaine Grimes(Jennifer), Malcolm Franklin, and Herbert Collins, III; great-grandchildren,AveryCato, Eric Collins, Mekhi Collins, Kali Cato, Rian Grimes, Braxton Grimes, and Jace Grimes; siblings, Gloria Riley and John Riley(Dorothy); godson, Ryan Riley; and ahost of relatives and friends. Her legacyoflove,faith, and service will be cherished always.

Elliott, Kay Phillips KayPhillipsElliott died Saturday, May 23, 2026, at her residence in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Born January 18, 1940, she was a nativeofBaton Rouge, Louisiana, and aresident

of Baton Rougefor 86 years. VisitingatSt. James Episcopal Church, at 9:30 a.m. Friday, May 29, 2026 until religious servicesat 11:00 a.m.,conductedby theRev.ChristopherR Duncan. Interment in Roselawn MemorialPark. Survived by ason and daughter-in-law, Neal RisleyElliott,Jr. and Olivia Woodyear Elliott;a daughter, Katherine Phillips Elliott Creech; five grandchildren,thatbrought her greatjoy, Neal Risley Elliott, III, Marshall Fielding Elliott,Caroline Annesley Creech, William Neal Creech, and Emily Katherine Creech; abrother, Fielding Chadwick Phillips; asister and brother-in-law, Pamela PhillipsSulzerand Gerald Michael Sulzer; and asister-in-law, Joanne ElliottMilton; three nephews, EricFielding Sulzer, Conrad Phillips Sulzer, and WilliamHunt Sulzer; threegreatnephews and one great niece. Preceded in death by her husband Neal Risley Elliott;parents, Lewis Fielding Phillips and ShirleyGenius Phillips;paternal grandparents, Robert Bowman Phillips and Frances Hewitt Turner Phillips,maternal grandparents, Albert Sidney Genius and Alice Lebeau Genius, niece, Emily Annette Phillips,sister-in-law, Annette BrumfieldPhillips, and brother-in-law, Clarence WillardElliott, Jr. Pallbearers willbeNeal Risley Elliott,III,Marshall FieldingElliott,William Neal Creech, EricFielding Sulzer, Conrad Phillips Sulzer, and WilliamHunt Sulzer. During her life she was amember of theBatonRouge Chapterofthe NationalSociety Daughters of theAmerican Revolution, theNational Society of theColonial Dames of America, theAncientand Honorable Artillery Company -Louisiana Chapter, theBaton Rouge Assembly theBaton Rouge Country Club, and was amember of St.James Episcopal Church. Aspecial thank youtoher wonderfulcaregivers, LeslieBruner and Anna Hemphill, thecaring staff at Hospice In His Care, and theclergyofSt. James EpiscopalChurch. Rabenhorst Funeral Home, 825 Government Street,in chargeofarrangements.

Espinal, Elena

Elena Espinalpassed away peacefully on May 20, 2026, at the age of 91. Born on March 6, 1935, in Honduras to LinoDiaz and ElenaHernandez,she devotedher life to caring for herfamilyand creating a home filledwith love, warmth,and togetherness. Shefound great joyin cooking and baking,and nothingmade herhappier than gathering lovedones around thetable to share oneofher unforgettable meals. Sheenjoyed embroidery, gardening,shopping,and caringfor her many belovedhouseplants, which made her home feelespecially cozy andwelcoming. Shecherished travelingbackto Honduras to visit herson, extendedfamily, anddear friends, and enjoyed spending time in Massachusettssurroundedby thefamilyshe lovedso deeply. Some of herhappiest momentswerespent sharing "cafecito" and heartfelt conversations with hergranddaughters at La Madeleine.She also enjoyed watching movies and shows,especially Emily in Paris, often clapping excitedlyduring herfavorite moments. Quietafternoons reading classic novels andthe Holy Bible were anothersourceof comfortand peace Cooking wasone of the many waysshe showed herlove. Sheloved preparingmealsalongside her childrenand took pride in seeingthe recipes, traditions, and talents she passed downcontinue through herfamily. Oneof hergreatest joys in life wasspending time with hergreat-grandchildren,a joythatkepther active andcloselypresent in their lives.Her gentle spirit,unwaveringlove, andnurturingheart touched everyonewho knew her. She had araregift formaking every place feel like home,and herfamilyand friends oftendescribed herasthe easiest person to love. She wasthe heartofher family, abeloved matriarch whose presence willbe deeply missed and forever cherished.She is survived by hereight children: Manuel Espinal (Martha Espinal),Carmen Hernandez(DenisHernandez), Alfredo Espinal, Xiomara Reyes (Luis Reyes), Nestor Espinal (Lady Espinal), Roney Espinal (Gisela Espinal),Zulema Santos (Samuel Santos), and Rommel Espinal (Stephanie Es-

pinal).She is also survived by her24grandchildren,34 great-grandchildren, 7 great-great-grandchildren, andher siblings Sandra andOscar. Sheispreceded in death by: herparents, Lino Diaz andElena Hernandez; herhusband of 52 years, Alfredo Espinal; and hersiblings Alicia, Arnulfo, Julio, Jorge,Luis, and Omar Thefamilyextendsits deepestgratitude to her caregivers, Dr.Jeryl Breaux andDr. Burke Brooks, and especially to herprimary caretaker andbeloved granddaughter, Lilibeth Espinal, whoremained by her sidewith love anddevotion.Relatives andfriends are invited to attend the Funeral Service at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, May30, 2026, at ResthavenFuneral Home, 11817 Jefferson Highway, Baton Rouge Louisiana. Avisitation will be held at thefuneral home beginningat9:30 a.m. To ordermemorial trees or send flowers to the familyinmemory of ElenaEspinal, please visit ourflower store.

Mary K. Nettopassed away at herresidence in Prairieville,onMay 23, 2026, at the age of 93. She is survivedbyher daughter, Yvonne Matthews(Terry); son, CharlesHarper (Felicia); grandchildren,Dianna Greeneand Chris Matthews; great-grandchild, Ethen Greene. Sheis preceded in death by her husband, Ardis Nettoand is survived by his family. Sheisalso preceded in death by herparents, Mary andElbert Burnette;and hersister,Betty Maddox Visitation will be on Saturday, May30, 2026, at First Baptist Church,16735 Hwy 16, French Settlement,LA, from9:00 am until the funeralservice at 11:00 am in thechurch. Burial willfollowinthe church cemetery.

Netto, MaryK

Bourg Jr., Clay Mark

In 2026, reliable and fast internetisalmost as important to daily life as electricity and water. It’show we shop, entertain ourselves,work,access healthcare and do so much more Anycommunity withoutitisdoomed to struggle to attract new residents orkeep the ones it has That’s the situation thattiny Lake Providence, population about 3,500 in EastCarrollParish, ﬁnds itself in.

For years, town residents have wanted good internet service. Alocal activist group, Delta Interfaith, had madethe call acentralpart of its platform.And within the lastcoupleofyears, it seemed as if they might have ﬁnally gottentheir wish.

AMissouri-based company calledConexon had agreed to lay ﬁber throughout EastCarroll Parish, including in LakeProvidence,paidfor in part by federal and state grants. As ofjust afew months ago, much of that work hadbeen completed: Fiber had been installedright up to the edgeoftown.

But then it stopped. Multiple reasons, including aTrump administration rewrite ofprogram rules andaﬁght between Conexon andLouisiana’s broadband ofﬁce, were to blame Months later,residents arestill waiting.

“We’re furious,” alocal organizerfromLake Providence told this newspaper’sJennaRoss. “We’refed up.”

So arewe.

Theﬁrstsigns of trouble came after theTrump administration madechanges to thefederal roadband Equity Access and Deployment Program, or BEAD, program. It wascreatedunderthe Biden administration’s bipartisan infrastructure law tospeed the rollout of broadband to ruralareas. But critics argued the program was moving tooslowly

The Trump administration vowed to change that by shifting its focus awayfrominstalling cheaper,more reliableand fasterﬁberinternet and instead allowing satellite internetcompanies, like Elon Musk’sSpaceX, which operates Starlink, to get the grants. But satellite is already available in East Carroll

Compounding the federal change is an ongoing dispute between ConexonCEO Jonathan Chambersand the Louisiana OfficeofBroadbandDevelopment andConnectivity.Chambers contends that the state office owes his company millions of dollars for work already completed.Veneeth Iyengar,the lead state official, says thecompany still must comply with aseries of checks to ensure itsworkfollows federal andstate rules Littleofthatmatters to local residents, and none of it is their fault. As one resident told Ross, “We’re the community thatgets caught in the middle.”

They’re justiﬁed to feel that way.Ofcourse, companiesshould be fairly paid for theworkand investment theypourintoour communities. And we understand the need to ensure that public money is spent transparently and towardthe objective for which it was allocated.

We urge Conexon and state ofﬁcials to resolve this dispute and get the ﬁberinto Lake Providence with alldue haste. Evenmoreimportantly we urge each side to learn from this example so that such delays arenot repeated elsewhere. No othercommunity should end up caught in the middle.

LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR ARE WELCOME. HERE AREOUR

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

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

TO SEND US A LETTER, SCANHERE

My grandmother had aphrase she used when she watched somebody move toofast. Not when theywereeager. Not when they wereexcited. When theywereguilty. She’d narrow her eyes andsay,“Up to no good.”

The Supreme Court handed down its decision in Louisiana v. Callais on aWednesday.ByThursday —before the ruling was even certiﬁed— Gov Jeff Landryhad suspendedLouisiana’s House primaryelections so theLegislature could redraw thecongressional map. As U.S. Rep. Troy Carter pointed out,mail ballots werealready out,early voting was settobegin that Saturday, and soldiers overseas had already cast votes thatwouldn’tcount.

Aday.Landrygave it aday

The storm may be over,but for Louisiana residents, theﬁnancial damage keeps coming every single month

Since theLouisiana Public Service Commission approved hurricane and storm damage recovery fees, my monthly electric bill has spiked noticeably and consistently.What was presented as asmall addition has compounded into asigniﬁcant ﬁnancial burden that disrupts my household budget month after month.Idid not cause thestormdamage. Idid not makethe infrastructure decisions that left our grid vulnerable. YetIamthe one absorbing thecost.

The timingcould not be worse. Louisianaresidents are already battlingrising gas prices, inﬂation and in-

The rapid growthofdatacentersin Louisiana should concern all residents. While these facilities maycreate shortterm economic opportunities,they also consume enormous amounts of water and electricity. Some datacentersuse millions of gallons of water daily to cool servers and rank among the largestindustrial users of electricity. As energy demand risesand datacenters continue to be approved at arapid pace,will Louisiana have adequate resources now and in the futuretomeet the needs of its citizens?

Utilitycompanies receive state tax incentives to support theseprojects, but when, how often and by what means arethe results of public oversight

Youdon’tmove that fast on aprocess you believe in. Youdon’tsuspend an active election unlessyou already know what map you want andyou already know the public won’tlike how you got it. The speed is the tell. If this wereabout fair representation, there would be hearings. There would be public input.There would be the slow, patient,grindingwork of democracy thatdoesn’tmake the cable news. Instead, we got an executive order and athank-you note for moving quickly

My grandmother wouldn’tneed alaw degree to read this one. She’d read it from the porch. She’d read it from the speed alone. Up to no good.

DAVID W. HOOVER NewOrleans

creased living costs across the board. Layeringstormrecovery fees onto already strained household budgets is pushing families like mine dangerously close to the ﬁnancial edge.

Iurge thecommission to take immediateaction: cap the duration of storm recovery fees withaclear end date; introduce income-based exemptions for low-income households; increase transparency around how collected fees are being utilized; and accelerate infrastructure improvements to prevent future storm-related cost transfers onto consumers.

Louisianans have weathered enough. We should not be endlessly billed forit.

LESLIE TAYLOR Baton Rouge

sharedwith the public? Could the increased utilitydemands from these facilities place agreater ﬁnancial burden on Louisiana residents than the beneﬁts these projectspromise?

If demand continues to rise while resources remain limited, will the needs of datacenterstake priority over those of Louisiana citizens and at what cost? Consumers should carefully review their utilitybills. Detailed charges may reveal hidden fees, meter-reading mistakes or billing errors. Understanding energy use patterns can also help households reduce waste and develop moreefﬁcient habits.

LORETTADILAURA

Baton Rouge

Gerrymandering is wrong. It does not matter what political party you belong to, what race you are, what gender you are or any other aspect you consider important. Gerrymandering is atool of segregation and voter nulliﬁcation. Gerrymandering guarantees voter disenfranchisement. Eventually,gerrymandering promotes extremism. Why would any politician listen to anyone but those people whoguarantee his election?

The determination of the boundaries of aU.S. House of Representatives district should be accomplished using geography and math, not the desire forthe attainment or maintaining political power

Step one is the determination of the population center foreach prospective representative district. The population forcongressional districts averaged about 760,000 in 2020.

For example, that meansAlexandria, Baton Rouge, Lake Charles, Monroe, NewOrleans and Shreveport would be the population centers forthe state of Louisiana (sorry Lafayette).

Step twowould be the simultaneous expansion of district boundaries in a360-degree direction from each population center until they meet another district boundary or state line. This will result in somedistricts exceeding and others not meeting the 760,000 population goal. Step three involves the simultaneous expansion and/or contraction of district boundaries until the 760,000 population average is attained foreach district. This would result in amore diverse electorate foreach district.

Using geography and math, representatives would have to listen to and consider the concerns of a broader base of the electorate. The determination of the boundaries of the U.S. House of Representatives districts based on geography and mathwould not eliminate extremism,but it should help in limiting it. Politicians should not be involved in this process. They would only screw it up and disclose their racism and authoritarianism.

WILLIAM BENDER

Baton Rouge

AMERICA250

Theriver that forged anation

Few places tell thestory of America quite like Louisiana —where ourpeople, ourcommerce and our waters have helped to shape anation nowapproaching its250thbirthday. Andnoplace carries thatstory morepowerfullythanthe Mississippi River,ariver system thatconnects 31 U.S. states andtwo Canadian provincesthrough awatershed that drains roughly 41%ofthe continental United States. This means rainfall, commerce, agriculture, energyand industry from nearly half of the nation ultimately ﬂows through this interconnected waternetwork.

From the earliest daysofour republic, America has been deﬁned by itsmaritime might. Our prosperityhas longdependedon the Mississippi River and theports it sustains —from the Port of Baton Rouge to thePort of New Orleans —gatewaysthrough which the agricultural and industrial strength of the American heartlandreaches the world. The vessels travelingthese waters aremorethan shipsofcommerce. They carry thelifebloodofthe nation’seconomy.Grain, energy, steel,chemicals and goods produced across the interiorofNorth America all movethrough this corridor. TheMississippi River is not simply aLouisianastory; it is an American story

United States. New Orleanshas long played adefining role in America’smilitary and maritime history —from thepivotal Battle of New Orleans in 1815, which helped cement the young nation’sconfidence and sovereignty, to theproduction of Higgins boats during World WarII, innovations manufactured in New Orleans that helped Allied forces change the course of history on thebeaches of Normandy and throughout thePacific.

ON THECALENDAR

Thereare several events around Louisiana to celebrate the 250thanniversaryofthe adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Hereisa list of somegoing on now. For afull list, go to america250la.org

This city has always mattered to the American storybecause it has always connected America to theworld.

Explorers and immigrants arrived here seeking opportunity.Entrepreneursbuilt fortunes here. Musicians transformed global culture here. Generations have stood along these riverbanks in awe of a city shaped by themovementofpeople and ideas from every corner of the globe.

Andthat spirit remains alive today

For centuries, it transported music, language, traditions, cuisine andideas that helped shapeone of the world’struly great cultural cities.

Thestory of New Orleans begins with water with the Mississippi River connecting thecenter of acontinent to thewider world. Along theseriverbanks, cultures collided andconverged,producing somethingentirely original andunmistakably American.

Mark Twain famously called theMississippi “the body of the nation,”immortalizing its spirit through the adventures of TomSawyer and Huck Finn. Generations later,the riverremains exactly that: a living symbol of themovement,ambition,resilience anddiversity that deﬁne theUnitedStatesitself. In many ways, New Orleansexists because of this riverfront. It made thecitya gatewayto the world, acenter of trade, acrossroads of cultures andaplace of constantreinvention while remaining deeply rootedinhistory.

For more than 300 years, New Orleans has stood as aglobal port of call. And this week, as Sail 250 arrives along our riverfront, it is ﬁttingthatNew Orleans is among theﬁrst cities in Americachosen to help commemorateour nation’s250thanniversary

To welcome theUnited States Navy,the United States Coast Guard andinternational maritime partners to the banks of the MississippiRiver is a tremendous honor But it is alsoareminder of something larger: Americawould not be thenation it is todaywithout New Orleans, without this riverfront andwithout theMississippi River system thathelped build the commerce,culture andstrategicstrength of the

Sail 250 New Orleanswill feel unlike celebrations anywhere else in thecountry.Itwill look different, sound different and tastedifferent —because only New Orleanscould welcomethe world in this way From Louisianaseafood and live music to unforgettable experiences along our historic riverfront, this week will create lasting memories for families, visitors, crewmembers and military guests alike. With thousands of crewmembers visiting our city, Sail 250 representsmore than acelebration of maritime history

It is another opportunity to showcase the very best of New Orleanstothe world and to demonstratewhat we already know: We are one of the world’sgreat gathering places —resilient, authentic, welcoming and deeply connected to the industries and culture that continue to move America forward. Events of this magnitude happen because of extraordinary community partnerships, political leadership and public support.

As America approaches its 250th birthday,New Orleansstands as areminder of what has always made this country exceptional: our openness to the world, our ability to blend cultures intosomething new,and our enduring belief that commerce, creativity,freedom,and opportunity can ﬂow together just like thewaters of theMississippi River itself.

In aworld that too often feels divided, New Orleans reminds us that culture still connects us. Music still unites us. Food still brings us to the same table. Andjoy still matters.

New Orleansisa city where history still breathes. Where culture still evolves. Andwhere people from every corner of theworld still gather along the banks of the Mississippi River —the great waterway that helped build America and continues to carry its story forward.

Walt Leger is president and CEO of New Orleans & Company

n Sail 250 at the NewOrleans Riverfront offers visitors achance to seethe largest flotilla of tall ships everassembled in the Mississippi and participate in festivitiesdesignedtoentertain and educate audiencesabout the historyofthe U.S. May28to June 1. Go to www.sail250neworleans.com formore details

n The Louisiana State Museum at the Cabildo, 701 ChartresSt.,New Orleans, is featuring the exhibit, “Gálvez and Louisiana in theAmericanRevolution,” which explores the life of Spanish Gov. Bernardo de Gálvez and the diverse people of Louisiana who fought forAmerican independence.Through May15, 2027. louisianastatemuseum.org

n Louisiana’sOld State Capitol, 100 NorthBlvd., Baton Rouge, is featuring the exhibit,“Bought fora Song: Ayoung Nation Expands,”whose only artifact is the French exchangecopyofthe convention between the Republic of France and theUnited States that finalizedthe Louisiana Purchase.Through July 11. louisianaoldstatecapitol.org

n The Historic NewOrleans Collection, 520 Royal St., NewOrleans, is featuring the exhibit,“American Revolution: The Augmented Exhibition,”where visitors can immerse themselvesin3Dinteractive reconstructions of keymoments in Americanhistory. Through Jan. 17. hnoc.org

ABOUTTHE SERIES

Throughout the year,the Opinion pages are featuring columns and conversations from historians, scholars, politicians and others about what this 250thanniversaryofAmerica means.To read previous pieces, go to the Opinion section of our website.

PROVIDED PHOTOFROMSAIL 250

ARALibertad is a340-foot, three-masted, steel-hulled tall ship based in Buenos Aires. Builtin1963, it carries 28,545 square feet of sail and acrewofofficers, sailors and cadets.

Newstudy says damagewill increase in a warming world

BY SETH BORENSTEIN AP science writer

WASHINGTON Awarmer

world will likely make bigger and more damaging hail, anew study said. Because climate change from the burning of fossil fuels should make more highenergy unstable air,which is conducive to hail forming, global storms pelting roofs, cars and the ground with hail bigger than alarge marble will increase between 38% and 47% by the end of the century,depending on how much heat-trapping gas the world spews,a study in Wednesday’sjournal Nature said. And storms that produce smaller hail will shrinkby4%to8%, researchers found. Hail generally doesn’tkill people, but it is expensive. It already costs theU.S about $10 billion ayear and around $80 billion globally, said study co-author John Allen, ameteorologyprofessor at CentralMichigan University Hail does more damage than tornadoes and generally costs “more than acouple hurricanes ayear now,” Allen said in themorning from Guymon, Oklahoma, before he ventured out with scientists who drive into the heart of hail storms to ﬁgure out what makes them tick. “We’ve seen record hailstones in recent years. I ﬁnd this extremely concerning because we’re not really building our environmentto be resilient to hail.Wedon’t include this in our design standards, for example, for built homes in the U.S. or in-

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO

Forensicengineer Tim Marshall measures alarge hailstone during aProject ICECHIP operation June 6, 2025, in Morton, Texas.

deed internationally.”

Allen’scomputer simulations show themix of larger stones willgrow with climate change.Those are the ones that cause more damage, he and outside scientists said.

Bigger stones weighmore andfall throughthe air faster to hit with more power

While small hail can damage crops, large hail of around 2inches “can cause major damage to vehicles, roofs, solar panels, and otherinfrastructure,” said Andreas Prein, aclimate scientist at ETH Zurich, who wasn’tpart of thestudy

One hole on aroof from asingle hailstone can be patched, but many large stones hitting that roof usuallymeans an expensive roof replacement, Allensaid

What happens is there’s more water vapor in a warmer atmosphere—nearly 4% more per degreeFahrenheit —and “that increases theavailable energy to the atmosphere and so we tend to getend up with stronger updrafts,” Allen said.“And that leadstomore thunderstorms with updrafts capableofproducing hail.”

Butwith warmer air, there’sless cold as high up forsmaller hailstones and

Warmer worldcreates bigger,worse hailstones

they tendtomelt more, where bigger ones don’t, Allen said.

Previousstudies have mostly focused on hail in the United States —which has the most hail —and didn’tdo the three-dimensional modeling of hail formation that thenew study has done with lead authorsout of China, Allensaid. Otherstudies have looked at potential increase in frequency instead of size.

Argentina, Europe,Canada and the U.S. Northern Plains will likely seethe biggest increase in larger hail, while parts of thetropics should see areduction becauseofsmaller stones melting, Allen said.

“Hail is not just aU.S. problem,” Allen said. “Yes, we do seelargelosseshere, but the globalhaillosses seem to be something that is really spiraling in recent years.”

Study authors looked at hail biggerand smallerthan 1.2 inches in diameter,which is somewhere between a marbleand golf ball, and aboutthe size of aU.S.50cent coin. The team looked at threescenarios based on carbon emissions from the burningofcoal, oil andgas.Ina slightly optimistic scenario of not so much carbon pollution, larger hail increases by 38%. In amorepessimistic scenario, wheretemperaturesrisenearly 2degrees Fahrenheit even warmer thanthe other scenario, larger hail jumps by 47%.

“This is ameaningful climate signal,”saidWalker Ashley,aNorthern Illinois meteorology professor who wasn’tpartofthe study “But disasterlossesare not driven by theperil alone.”

As more people, more houses, moresolar farms andmore infrastructure move into areas prone to hail, therisk and damage increases, Ashley said.

U.S. senators propose bill with ‘Kiffin Rule’init

MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. It’s being called the Lane KifﬁnRule.

‘VERY COMFORTABLE’

BY SCOTT RABALAIS Staff writer

MIRAMAR BEACH,Fla. Recently releasedNCAA eligibility guidelines aimed at restrictingthe inﬂux of international and previously professional basketball players could have amajor effect on returning LSUmen’s basketball coach Will Wade’s 2026-27 roster

If Wade is overlyconcerned about it,heisn’tletting it show “Wefeel very comfortable in ourposition,” Wade said with asmile Wednesday as he prepared to head home from the Southeastern Conference spring meeting here at the Sandestin Hilton. Wade, who returned toLSU in Marchafteraprevious stint from 2017-22, gave littleelaboration, though he did add: “We’ve got ajob to do.A big task aheadofus. We’ve gottoget it done ” Potentiallyinquestionisthe eligibility of ﬁve of LSU’s

BY RASHAD MILLIGAN

writer

and he brings decades of experience as both acoach and athletics administrator

nine newcomers. They include: BriceDessert: A6-foot-11, 23-year-old center from France, Dessert plays for Anadolu Efes in the Turkish League. Saliou Niang: A6-6, 22-year-old wing player from Senegal, Nianghas played in theEuroLeague. He wasalso the 58th overall pick of the 2025 NBA Draft by theCleveland Cavaliers.

Michael Ruzic: A7-0, 19-year-old forward/center from Croatia, Ruzic played for Jovenhut in Badalona, Spain. Marcio Santos: A6-9, 23-year-old center/forward from Brazil, Santos plays forMaccabiTel Aviv in Israel and in the EuroLeague. Also in question is LSU commitment RJ Luis. The 2025 Big East Player of the Year at St.John’ssigned with LSU after having previously signed atwo-way contract with theNBA’s Utah Jazz. He later played three exhibition games for the Boston Celtics.

See WADE, page 3C

It’s just one segment of asweeping and potentially landmark bipartisan piece of legislation called the Protect College Sports Act, put forward Wednesday by Republican Sen. TedCruz of Texas and Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington, intended to regulate college athletics. But in Louisiana, one part of the ponderous 111-page bill will get the mostattention.

The part that pertains to Kiffin, whoyou may have heard leftOle Miss to become the LSU football coach on the eve of the Rebels’ appearance in the College Football Playoff, would prohibit coaches from leaving their schools foranother coaching position before the season ends, or for schools to makesuch ahire. The act is obviously along wayfrom becoming law,especially with all of Congress and one-third of the U.S. Senate facing impactful midterm elections in November But it begs an interesting question: If the act had been law this past season, would Kiffinhave been able to coach Ole Miss in the CFP before taking —oreven entering into negotiations —the LSU job? There’salot to absorb about the proposed act and how much it does to cure someofcollege sports’ ills —believe it or not, someofwhich Kiffinhas nothing to do with —currently imperiling college athletics. But if it does get passed, the

ä See RABALAIS, page 3C

Torina says LSUsoftballtrendingup

BY JIM KLEINPETER Contributing writer

LSU’sdefeat in theTuscaloosa Super Regional was amicrocosm of its season.

After being shackled offensively in the first game, the Tigers rebounded witha much better effort butstillcould notovercomethe No. 1national seed Alabama that scored 7-0 and 4-1 wins last weekend. TheTigers started the season slowly but came on strong at the end. They dominated this season’sregional at Tiger Park where they’d lost twice to No. 4seed Southeastern Louisiana the year before.

Coach Beth Torina believes her program is trending up.

“I’m incredibly proud of this team,” Torina said. “I’m glad Igot this weekwith them Iwould like to have had another week. They showed aton of growth throughout the season, and I’m excited about what’sinfront of them. “I still think last year’steam was kind of flukey; we played badfor oneday.This team grew aton, they finished strong. We’d like to continue to playon, but we’vegot to keepgrowing andcontinuetofind waysto do that.” Torina

Scott Rabalais

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

softball coach Beth Torina talks with first baseman Tori Edwards in the third inning of aregional championship game against Virginia Tech on May17atTiger Park. LSU beat Virginia Tech 8-0toadvance to the super regionals.

STAFFFILE PHOTOByMICHAEL JOHNSON LSUfootballcoachLane Kiffinpumpshis fist to acrowd on Nov. 30 as he leavesthe MMR hangar at Baton RougeMetro Airport.

On TV

COLLEGE SOFTBALL(WCWS)

11 a.m.Mississippi State vs.Texas Tech ESPN

1:30 p.m. Tennessee vs.Texas ESPN

6p.m. UCLA vs.Alabama ESPN2

8:30 p.m. Arkansas vs. Nebraska ESPN2 GOLF

6a.m.DPWorld Tour:Austrian Open Golf

COLLEGEBASEBALL

3p.m. PGATour:Schwab ChallengeGolf

11 p.m.LIV: Busan, South Korea FS1 MEN’S HOCKEY (IIHF)

9a.m. Canada vs. U.S. NHLN

1p.m. Swizerland vs. Sweden NHLN MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

Noon L.A.Angels at DetroitMLB

3p.m. Atlanta at Boston MLB

6p.m. Toronto at Baltimore MLB

Things to know as NCAAtourney gets startedFriday

BY ERIC OLSON AP sportswriter

The NCAA baseballtournamentopens Friday with play in 16 double-eliminationregionals.

Regional winners advance to best-of-three super regionals next week, and the final eight go to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, beginningJune12.

Who’shot

Alabama State (34-21) and The Citadel (35-24) each have won eight straight games entering regionals SWAC Tournament championAlabama State, which opens at Alabama as aNo. 4seed, turned nine double plays and averaged better than eight runs per game in the conference tournament. Miguel Oropeza drove in 13 runs over the past four games. The Citadel (35-24), which plays Oklahoma as aNo. 3 seed in Atlanta, knocked off regular-seasonchampion Mercertwice on its way to the Southern Conference title.The Bulldogs have won 17 of their past 20.

Who’snot

Boston College (36-21) has lost four in arow entering itsgame against Liberty as theNo. 2seedinAthens, Georgia. The Eagles have been outscored46-5 over those games —38-3 in three games against Georgia Tech and 8-2 by Miami in the ACC Tournament. Kentucky (31-21) has dropped three in arow and 11 of its past 16.

Still waiting

East Carolina (36-22-1), which received the American’sautomatic bid by winning theconferencetournament, hasnever reached the College World Series in 35 previous NCAA Tournamentappearances, the longest streakofits kind.The Pirates are in an eighth straight regional and 10th in 11 years.

Florida State (38-17) has never won anational championship in 61 previous appearances.The Seminoles are aregional host for a record38thtimeand open against St. John’s(33-24).

Welcometothe party

Tarleton State (37-19) is the only ﬁrst-time participant, winning the Western Athletic ConferenceTournamenttoearn theNo. 3 seed in Austin, Texas. The Texans also won the WAC in 2024 but weren’teligible for NCAA championships because they were transitioning fromDivision II

Tarleton State, which opens against UC Santa Barbara (38-18), owns three wins over teams from power conferences.The Texans will be playing on the same field where they beat regionalhostTexasinMarch.

Toughest regional

The Lincoln Regional, hosted by Nebraska, appears tobethe toughest of the 16. Nebraska (42-15), the No. 13 national seed,won 40 regular-seasongames forthe ﬁrsttime since 2003 and will play in aregional at home for the ﬁrst time since 2008. The Huskers played ameaty nonconference schedule and posted wins over national seeds Auburn, FloridaState and Oregon.

Ole Miss (36-21), the No. 2regional seed, played the fourth-toughest schedule in the country and was inthe running to be ahost until two weeks ago. TheRebels lost 10oftheir past17and tied for ninth in the SEC. The Rebels open against No. 3regional seed Arizona State (37-19). The Sun Devilstied for third in the Big 12 and bring apowerful offense featuring conference player of the year Landon Hairsto(28 homers). South Dakota State (2431), the bottom seed, opens againstNebraska.The Jackrabbits lost 5-4inLincoln in March.

No guarantees Regional hostshaveadvanced to super regionals 66.3% of the time(276 of 416) since the tournament went to its current format in 1999. Last year,nine hosts won regionals The fewest hosts to advance wereseven in 2007 and 2014 and eight in 2018.

Feelingadraft

Fourteen of the first 25 playersinthe mockdraft by MLB.com analystJonathan Mayoare in thetournament, includingthree of thetop ﬁve.

Heading the group are UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky (1), UC Santa Barbara RHP JacksonFlora (3), Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey (5), Georgia Tech outfielder Drew Burress (7), Texas A&M second baseman Chris Hacopian (8) and Arkansas catcher Ryder Helfrick (10).

Next areAlabamashortstop Justin Lebron(11), Florida RHP Liam Peterson (12), Virginia outﬁelder

A.J. Gracia(14),Kentucky shortstopTyler Bell (17), Coastal Carolina RHPCameron Flukey (18), Tennessee RHPTegan Kuhns (23),Arkansas LHP Hunter Dietz (24) and Virginiashortstop Eric Becker (25).

BashingBulldogs

Georgia leads the nation in home runs forthe secondstraightyear and is on pace to set its single-season record. The Bulldogs enter with149 in 58 games, two shyofthe 151 in 60 games in 2024. TheBulldogs are in their fourth straight season with at least100 homers SECplayerofthe year Daniel Jackson leads the Bulldogswith 27 and is among six players with double-digit homers. Whoisthisguy?

Thebestplayeryou’ve probably never heard of is Cincinnatiﬁrst baseman QuintonCoats. The6-foot3, 225-pound sophomore is tied for fourth nationally with 28 homers,isﬁfth with 78 RBIsand thirdinthe Big 12 with a.764 slugging percentage. He has four multihomer games and went hitless in just six of 57 games

Geographylesson California, Florida and Texas all have ﬁve teams in regionals, most among the 30 states represented in thetournament. Alabama, North Carolinaand Virginia all have four schools in regionals. Massachusetts,not knownasa bastion of college baseball, has three teamsin thetournament in Boston College, Holy Cross and Northeastern.

NBA PLAYOFFS

7:30 p.m.Oklahoma City at SanAntonio NBC MEN’S SOCCER

1:30 p.m.Ireland vs.Qatar FS2 TENNIS

1p.m.French Open TNT/TruTV WNBA

7p.m.Las VegasatDallas PRIME

9p.m.Indiana at GoldenState PRIME

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOByVASHAHUNT

Alabama starting pitcher JocelynBriski throws against Belmont during an NCAA regional game on May16inTuscaloosa, Ala.

Fullyloaded

No.1 seed Alabama, reigning champion Texaslead deep,talented fieldatWomen’s CollegeWorld Series

BY TIMWILLERT Associated Press

OKLAHOMACITY

Topoverallseed Alabama, reigning national champTexas, and Big TenConference champion Nebraska headline abalanced ﬁeldatthe Women’sCollege World Series. Alabama, with starpitcher Jocelyn Briski (22-3, 1.30 ERA), is capable of knocking offthe second-seeded Longhorns and six others, including newcomers ﬁfth-seeded Arkansasand unseeded Mississippi State.

The Crimson Tide (54-7) will open on Thursday against No. 8seed UCLA, whichboasts NCAA single-season home runleader MeganGrant andthe top scoring team in the nation.

No. 4seed Nebraska, which is ranked ﬁrst in the latest ESPN.com/USA Softball poll, is making itsﬁrst series appearance since 2013. TheCornhuskers (51-6) have won26straight gamesand areled by USASoftball Collegiate Player of the Year Jordy Frahm.

Frahm led Oklahoma to anational title in 2023 as Jordy Bahl before transferring, then later getting married and changing hername. Herprevious team —eight-time nationalchampion Oklahoma —won’tbemaking the 26-mile drive to Oklahoma City’sDevon Park for the ﬁrst timesince2015.

The third-seeded Sooners, who won four of the past ﬁve nationaltitles, were eliminated by Southeastern Conference upstart Mississippi State in threegames at the Norman Super Regional.The Bulldogs (43-19) are coached by former Sooners All-American Samantha Ricketts, who played forcoach Patty Gasso at Oklahoma.

“This week right now has beenabout enjoying themoment afterobviously a historicsuper regional forusand also just being where our feet are,”Ricketts said. “Wewant our players to enjoy everystepofthis, being present,but then really using today to lock back in and knowing that we’re not done yet.”

Mississippi State will open with 2025 runner-up Texas Tech and ace NiJaree Canady.The Red Raiders (57-7), seeded No. 11 overall, took downsixth-seeded Floridaatthe Gainesville Super Regional and are looking to get back to the championship series. Canady,who wore down against Texas last year,now has help from pitcher KaitlynTerry,a transfer from UCLA.

Arkansas, the teamwith thetop regular-season RPI,makes itsDevon Field debut. The Razorbacks haven’treached the World Series, despite playing in super regionals in 2018, 2021, 2022and 2025. Coach Courtney Deifel’steam racked up 26 run-rule victoriesthis season, including ﬁve straight. The Razorbacks went undefeated in regional and super regional competition.

Texas opens defense of its title Thursday against No. 7seed Tennessee and hard-throwingKarlyn Pickens, the No.1 overall pickinthe AUSLdraft.

The Volunteers(47-10) are making their 10th appearance in Oklahoma City and Pickens (15-7, 1.53 ERA and six saves) is among thereasons why,with 180 strikeouts in 1321/3 innings. But the Lady Vols can throw more than just Pickens at opponents. Sage Mardjetko (0.99 ERA) and Erin Numar(1.09 ERA) rank second and fourth, respectively

“They deﬁnitely have three pitchers that have shown they can beat anybody at any time, especially going through the SEC Tournament,”Texascoach Mike White said. “They’re dangerous. They’re well coached.”

IN BRIEF FROM STAFFAND WIRE REPORTS

Saints sign LB Sirmon, sonoflinebackerscoach

The Saints signedlinebacker Jackson Sirmon—the sonof Saints linebackers coach Peter Sirmon.

Jackson Sirmon, 26, signedafter atwo-year stint with the New York Jets.The 6-foot-2, 240-pounder mostly spent time on thepractice squad, appearing in one game last season. Peter Sirmon joined the Saints last season when Kellen Moorehired him. He coached Jackson at Cal, where Peter served as thedefensive coordinator while Jackson wasa ﬁrst-team all-Pac-12 choice in 2022. Jackson Sirmon went undrafted in 2024. He played 18 specialteams snaps and recorded atackle in hiscareerdebut againstthe Carolina Panthers.

To make room for Sirmon, the Saints waived cornerback Jeremiah McClendon.

Major league players ask for expandedfreeagency

NEW YORK Baseball players ﬁred the opening salvo Wednesday in whatisexpected to be long and contentiouslabor negotiations, asking forexpanded free agency andsalary arbitration rights along with almost doubling the major league minimum and increasing the money high-revenue teams share with the less-wealthy clubs.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOByNICK SMITH

UCLA senior Megan Grant leads the nation withanNCAA-record 40 home runs this season.

THURSDAY’S GAMES

Aday before Major League Baseball is expected to make a salary cap proposal, the union outlined its initial economic proposals during abargaining session at the players’ association ofﬁce in Manhattan.Itincludedwhat it called a“competitive integrity tax”that would penalize teams dropping below apayroll ﬂoor and called for the luxury tax threshold to rise to $300 million next year

Game1: TexasTech vs Mississippi State, 11 a.m.,ESPN Game2: Texasvs. Tennessee,1:30 p.m., ESPN Game3: Alabama vs.UCLA, 6p.m., ESPN2 Game4: Nebraska vs.Arkansas, 8:30 p.m.,ESPN2

The Longhorns counter with Teagan Kavan,the Most Outstanding Playerof last year’sWomen’sCollegeWorld Series. Kavan hasa25-5 record with a2.47 ERAand beat Alabamainthe SECtitle game. Katie Stewart leadsthe team with a.436average and 27 home runs.

Briski has 198 strikeouts in 1562/3 innings. She combined with teammateVic Moten to limit LSU to onerun andseven hits in twogames at theTuscaloosa Super Regional.

“I just think really themain goal here is to just go out and win one game at a time and win each game,” Briski said.

“I’mjustexcited to take theﬁeld. It all starts (Thursday), and we’re just focusing on that game.”

The Tide staff will be tested right away UCLA (52-8) features Grant, aUSA SoftballCollegiate Playerofthe Year ﬁnalist whohas 40 home runs, and Jordan Woolery,the 2026 BigTen Player of the Year who is on pacetobecomethe ﬁrst player in NCAA history to hit.500 with 30 or more homers and 100 or more RBIs in the same season.

“I think alot of the times me andJordan are talked about as aduo, but I’m happy to say that Ican ﬁnally talk about her individually becausewhatshe’sdone this year is simply incredible,” Grant said. “I mean, honestly,she’s justgoing out there and she’sbeing herself, and she’sbeing everything that we always knew that she could be.”

Alabamacoach welcomes support

Alabama coach TimMurphy invited fans of the Sooners to switch their allegiances for the next 10 days or so.

“First, to all the Oklahoma fans that are looking for ateam to cheer for,it’s right here,” Murphy told reportersduringmedia day interviews. “Wehavethe same color palette.AMA at the bottom. Youcan almost think it saysOklahoma, pretend it does. I’ll take those 10,000 fans cheering forus.”

WCWS hasabig talent pool

Texas Tech coach Gerry Glasco called the overalltalent level “unbelievable.”

“There’sliterally— Ithink anyone in the ﬁeld can win it,and Ijustdon’tsee anybody that’sgoing to be aclear-cutfavorite,” he said. “I think it’s going to be a warfromstart to ﬁnish. There’s just so many teamsthatare really good here.”

PackersRBJacobsreleased fromjail after Tuesday arrest GREEN BAY, Wis. Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs was released from aWisconsinjailon Wednesday while authorities further investigate allegations of domestic abuse. Jacobswas arrested Tuesday in Brown County on allegations of strangulation and suffocation and other offenses over the weekend. His lawyers said he denies wrongdoing. District Attorney David Lasee said it’stoo soon to make aformal charging decision.

Hobart/Lawrence Police Chief Michael Renkas said police respondedtoacomplaint aboutJacobs around 8:30 a.m. Saturday Jacobsisthe Packers’ topreturning rusher after running for 929 yards and13touchdowns in 2025.

Former NL MVP McCutchen designated forassignment

ARLINGTON,Texas Former NL MVP outfielder Andrew McCutchen was designated for assignment by the Texas RangersonWednesday,after he hit .192 in his 37 games. The 39-year-old McCutchen had joined the Rangers on aminorleague contract midwaythrough spring training andmadetheir opening-day roster for his 18th MLB season. He started only 15 games, nine as the designated hitter and six in the outfield. Texas signed infielder Nicky Lopez to amajor league contract. The31-year-oldLopez has played in 693big-league games over parts of eight seasons with five teams. Theleft-handed hitter wasdesignated forassignment by theChicago Cubs on Saturday McCutchen hadtwo doubles, one homer and five RBIswith Texas.

Busch death certificate reveals health struggles

NASCAR driver Kyle Busch had been suffering from pneumonia for “days to weeks,” triggering a “chain of events,” including sepsis, thatresultedinhis untimely death, according to areport.

Busch’ssepsis progressed rapidly,within 24 hours turning into disseminated intravascular coagulation, which is the formation of small blood clots that ultimately block blood flow to the organs, per the death certificate, obtained by US Weekly From there, Busch suffered hemorrhagic shock due to lack of blood flow

Busch died on May21, aday afterhefellunresponsive in aracing simulator while preppingfor the Coca-Cola 600 in NorthCarolina.

WADE

Continued from page 1C

A 6-7 wing player, Luis also signed with Boston’s G-League afﬁliate the Maine Celtics but never played for that team and was waived because of an injury Luis may need to ﬁle a lawsuit to gain eligibility to play for the Tigers.

“We’ll let that play out,” he said. Under the NCAA’s new eligibility rules issued earlier this month, players who have “entered an agreement with, competed on or received compensation from a team that par-

UNO

Continued from page 1C

We are pleased to welcome him back to LSU New Orleans at such a pivotal time for the university.” Giorlando has been an assistant basketball coach at both UNO and LSU. He was a dentist for eight years before becoming a graduate assistant at UNO in 1991-92. During his last two years as a full-time dentist, Giorlando was also a junior varsity basketball assistant coach at St. Martin’s He then became the boys basketball coach at St. Martin’s, Archbishop Shaw and Archbishop Hannan high schools from 1992-97 before returning to UNO as an assistant from 1997-2001. In 2001, he joined the LSU men’s basketball staff, where he scouted opponents and oversaw LSU head coach John Brady’s summer basketball camps.

ticipates in a league with minimum compensation that exceeds actual and necessary expenses” would not have their college eligibility reinstated. According to Sports Illustrated, which obtained a document outlining the new NCAA rules, the document speciﬁcally mentions the NFL, NBA, MLB, WNBA and Premier League, though other top international basketball leagues also could become part of the same ruling. Including Luis, LSU has nine prospective players on its 202627 roster Wade didn’t rule out the possibility of adding more. “We may get another couple,” he said.

From 2004-14, Giorlando served as athletic director and head coach of men’s basketball at Loyola University New Orleans. Most recently, he was the dental director for MCNA Dental LA for the Louisiana State Dental Medicaid Program.

“Returning to UNO — soon to be LSU New Orleans is incredibly meaningful to me because this university helped shape both my professional and personal journey,” Giorlando said in the news release. “Privateers athletics has a proud tradition and a passionate community behind it. I look forward to supporting our student-athletes, working alongside our coaches and reconnecting with alumni and supporters as we continue building pride in LSU New Orleans athletics.”

Email Rashad Milligan at rashad.milligan@theadvocate. com.

LSU

Continued from page 1C

into focus until school opens in the fall.

While Torina is in line to welcome back six of nine daily starters and two of her top three pitchers, the comings and goings of the transfer portal — which is open for business June 8 will have something to say about the roster composition.

Last year, Torina signed five key players from the portal but also in the fold is a recruiting class that has been ranked in the top three in the nation at different times. The shift to the offense coached by assistant Bryce Neal, who just completed his second season in Baton Rouge, has begun to take hold.

“It’s the first recruiting class (Bryce) had his hands in,” Torina said. “Getting athletes that fit his style is important. We are excited about the class. They were ranked No. 1 at the time we signed them. The group of freshmen we have coming in will be immediate differencemakers.”

Bipartisan bill aims to fix college sports’ ‘chaos’

prohibited.

a center ﬁelder who could step in with the loss of senior leadoff hitter Jalia Lassiter; and Vazquez is a left-handed hitter who could step in for senior Maci Bergeron.

The freshmen will be hardpressed to unseat multiple possible returners, including shortstop Kylee Edwards, who had 10 homers, 40 RBIs and a 341 batting average. Tori Edwards is also expected back after hitting a team-best 12 homers with 45 RBIs.

The Tigers survived the loss of pitching ace Sydney Berzon to the transfer portal last offseason by bringing in veterans Cece Cellura and Paytn Monticelli, the latter of which won’t be back. But Cellura teaming with Jayden Heavener would give LSU a seasoned twosome in the circle.

“We’re on the right track. It’s a new age of college athletics. We’re learning and growing, trying to put the program in the best possible position to win We’ve made a lot of changes and keep making changes that allow us to do that.”

BETH TORINA, LSU coach

The class includes catcher Samantha Alekman (El Dorado Hills, California), infielder Giselle De Casas (Hayward, California), pitcher Addie Rackley (Buford, Georgia), outﬁelder Adelynn Siegel (Shiner, Texas), pitcher Ayla Tuua (Murieta, California), catcher Karmen Vazquez (Hanford, California) and outﬁelder Sydnee Williams (Phoenix, Arizona). Tuua, the California Gatorade Player of the Year and Rackley are two-way players; Williams is

Torina is aware that some of the 2026 team will opt for the portal, but she likes the direction the program is trending The schedule next season looks to be among the toughest ever with seven of the eight SEC opponents reaching this year’s super regionals and four of those playing in the Women’s College World Series this week.

The SEC schedule for LSU will feature Kentucky Tennessee, Florida, Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Alabama and Georgia.

“We’re on the right track,” Torina said. “It’s a new age of college athletics We’re learning and growing, trying to put the program in the best possible position to win We’ve made a lot of changes and keep making changes that allow us to do that.

“We won’t return everyone, but nobody does that anymore. Oklahoma, UCLA, whoever you are, nobody lives in that world.”

BY EDDIE PELLS AP national writer

WASHINGTON Two key senators involved in a long-simmering debate over fixing college sports will introduce a bipartisan bill designed to break a congressional logjam that would regulate payments to players, limit them to one “free” transfer over their careers and create a “Lane Kifﬁn Rule” to restrict coach movement during the season.

Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., briefed The Associated Press on details of the bill they crafted in hopes it can get the 60 votes needed to clear the Senate.

“This is a stability bill, not just an NIL bill,” Cruz said, referencing the name, image and likeness payments that have led to football rosters with $30 million payrolls and reshaped the industry Cantwell said she and Cruz teamed up on the legislation “because he and I really do believe the college sports system is in a bit of chaos.”

Meredith Page, the chairwoman of the NCAA Division I Student Athlete Advocacy Committee and a former volleyball player at Radford, called the bill “a phenomenal step.”

“I think this has lots of great protections and gives the ability

RABALAIS

Continued from page 1C

Lane Kifﬁn Rule is on its way to becoming imprinted in the sports lexicon.

In case you’re wondering, Kifﬁn was leaving here to ﬂy back to Baton Rouge along with men’s basketball coach Will Wade and women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey right about the time news of the bill was breaking.

There’s obviously a lot more in the bill than what pertains to jobhopping coaches. There are provisions to prevent the creation of a so-called “super league” of an elite group of power schools, limit fees for agents to 5% of player deals, permit the pooling of media rights, and allow the NCAA and College Sports Commission to enforce strict standards to prohibit third-party NIL deals. It also leaves open the possibility of collective bargaining for athletes, a highly controversial outcome that would allow athletes to be considered university employees.

“This bipartisan bill is designed to save the part of college sports that fans actually care about,” Cruz recently told Yahoo Sports. Something tells me a lot of folks will focus on the part that they think will save college sports from Kifﬁn

In other news from the SEC spring meeting: Football scheduling: The Southeastern Conference revealed more kickoff times and TV assignments Wednesday for early season games. The only new LSU-related information was on the Tigers’ Sept. 12 home game against Louisiana Tech. Kickoff will be at 6:30 p.m., with the game being shown on a streaming basis on SECNetwork+.

for us to stabilize the ﬁeld that is so, so unstable right now,” Page said.

NCAA president Charlie Baker said the association was reviewing the bill and looked forward to “further productive dialogue with members of Congress.”

The bill would limit players to one unrestricted transfer over the course of their college careers — a widely supported idea across the country and would adopt something close to the ﬁve-year eligibility period that the NCAA appears ready to enact next month.

The bill also tries to regulate coaching movement. Kiffin’s sudden move to LSU from rival Ole Miss while the Rebels were preparing for the College Football Playoff last season put a fine point on an issue that has only gotten worse in an era where teams spend millions to fill out rapidly shifting football rosters: Schools have less patience (and more money) to devote to hiring coaches for a quick fix. Under terms of the bill, midseason coaching changes would be

That means LSU’s first three games of the Kiffin era will all start at 6:30 p.m. As previously announced, the Sept. 5 opener in Tiger Stadium against Clemson will be on ABC, as will its Sept. 19 game at Ole Miss. According to the SEC, kickoff windows for remaining SECcontrolled games — which will include all nine remaining games on LSU’s schedule will be announced June 10. Following a scheduling format that debuted in 2024, the windows are as follows: early (11 a.m.-noon), afternoon (2:30-3:30 p.m.), night (5-7 p.m.) or flex (afternoon or night).

CFP expansion: SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said Monday before the SEC meetings began that there would be no vote here on whether to support expansion of the College Football Playoff from 12 to 16, 24 or even 28 teams. After a couple of days of discus-

“It’s not fair or right to poach a coach in the middle of the season while the team is still competing,” Cruz said. “There’s a reason the NFL has a rule that you can’t do that. Obviously, NFL teams hire coaches away from each other but they don’t do so in the middle of the season.”

The bill also would rework the Sports Broadcasting Act to allow conferences to pool their TV rights — a move proponents have said could add billions of dollars to the ecosystem in a conclusion the Southeastern and Big Ten Conferences believe is inaccurate.

The senators said leagues wouldn’t be required to join the media pooling but those that do would have to use a percentage of any increase from that to support women’s and Olympic sports. That alone could be a dealbreaker for the SEC, which has reportedly been discussing topics including breaking away from the NCAA and allowing collective bargaining for athletes at its league meetings in Florida this week.

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, along with Jim Phillips of the Atlantic Coast Conference and Brett Yormark of the Big 12, all said they were reviewing the bill, with Sankey saying “bipartisan engagement in Washington on these issues is critical.”

sions, LSU athletic director Verge Ausberry said that remains the case.

“I’m still looking at all the pieces of the puzzle,” Ausberry said. “Figuring out what’s the best for LSU, ﬁrst of all, and then the conference. We want to make sure we get it right.”

The Big Ten, Big 12, ACC and Notre Dame are all uniﬁed in their support for a 24-game playoff.

Sankey said Wednesday that the SEC continues to support an expansion to only 16 games, at least for now

“We have not talked about our decision point,” Sankey said.

“This is likely a fall decision. As we work to gather information to see if there is interest in an expanded playoff from media markets, we’ll try to plot out the calendar All of those need time for research and planning. There’s no need to rush to do this by, to pick a date, (SEC) media days.”

It’s expected that the college football conferences, led by the SEC and Big Ten, have to let ESPN know about their plans for the 2027-28 playoff by December Anti-gambling education: In the wake of the NCAA denying reinstatement to Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby over his admission of extensive sports gambling, the SEC on Wednesday unveiled its plan for mandatory sports gambling education for athletes.

The league has produced an educational video, among other initiatives, that must be viewed by all SEC athletes before their start of competition for the 202627 athletic year Among those in attendance at a news conference to announce the SEC program was former LSU offensive lineman Braden Augustus, who earlier this year was elected vice chairman of the SEC Student-Athlete Advisory Council.

FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL BACIGALUPI

LSU coach Beth Torina visits the mound during a game against Arizona on April 10 at Tiger Park.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU coach Lane Kifﬁn walks across the ﬁeld during spring practice on March 26 at the team’s football practice facility

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By JULIA DEMAREE NIKHINSON

Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey speaks during a roundtable discussion on college sports in the East Room of the White House on March 6 in Washington.

Cruz

Cantwell

TwoTigersadvance to NCAA Championships

BY TOYLOYBROWN III

Staff writer

LSU javelin thrower Jack Larriviere and long jumper Jordan Turner on Wednesday eachpunched their tickets to the NCAAOutdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

Both Larriviere and Turner ﬁnished third in their events during Day 1ofthe NCAA Division IOutdoor Track and FieldEast first round in Lexington, Kentucky The Tigers have36athletes(17 men, 19 women)and 49 totalentries competing over the four days of competition at the Universityof

TRACKAND FIELD

Kentucky. The top 12 in each event advance to the NCAA Championships, whichwill be held from June10-13 at theUniversity of Oregon.

LSU also had nine athletes advance to the next round.

Larriviere, aformer Jesuit star, ﬁnished third with athrow of 231 feet, 8inches. Turner finished with aleap of 25-111/2, which wasalsogood enoughtoearn atrip to Eugene. The women start competition on Thursday.

Trackevents

100-METERDASH: Junior Jaiden Reid ﬁnished fourth with atime of 10.04seconds,advancing to the quarterﬁnals.

Junior Joshua Caleb also advanced to thequarterﬁnals, ﬁnishing 18th with atime of 10.20. The top 24 competitors moveontothe next round.

110-METER HURDLES: Senior Matthew Sophia was second, ﬁnishing with apersonal-best timeof13.28 to advance to thequarterﬁnals of theregional.

200 METERS: Reid ﬁnished ﬁrst with aseason’s-best time of 20.15

Winor go home

Spursfacing eliminationagainst reigning champion Thunder

By The Associated Press

SAN ANTONIO Victor Wembanyama was quiet on the ﬂoor in Game 5ofthe Western Conference ﬁnals, and silent afterward.

The San Antonio Spurs surely are hoping to see adifferent version of him on Thursday Game 6ofthe West title series awaits, with the Spurs —facing elimination for the first timein these playoffs —set to host the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder.Oklahoma City leads the series 3-2 and would have homecourt advantage if aGame7is necessary on Saturday “I think we’ll be ﬁne,” Spursforward Julian Champagnie said. “I think we’ll be ready to play next game. Obviously,it’sa win-or-gohome situation, so I’m 100% sure everybody’sgoing to come to play.”

That would include Wembanyama, who washeld to aseries-low 20 points in Tuesday’sGame 5loss at Oklahoma City. He didn’tspeak with reporters after that game, and the NBA issued him awarning on Wednesday for not fulﬁlling media obligations.

The Spurs would likely prefer

ä ThunderatSpurs

7:30P.M.THURSDAy,NBC

Wembanyama does his talking on thefloor Thursday. Getting him more than 15 shot attempts will be apriority,Spurscoach Mitch Johnson said.

“That’sprobably the easiest (adjustment) in terms of just surfacelevel stuff,” Johnson said. “He’ll deﬁnitelyneed to take moreshots.”

Thereare allsorts of technical andhighlynuanced adjustments that get made over the course of aplayoff series, especially abackand-forth playoff series like these West ﬁnals have been.

Game plans can seem quite elaborate. But forthe Thunder, the plan going into apossible closeoutgamelikeGame 6against the Spurs couldn’tbesimpler

“We’ve got to understand what’s going on,” Thunderstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexandersaid.

Here’s what’s goingon: The Spurs will be fighting for their playoff lives, with ahome crowd behind them hoping to see them extend their season for at least one more game.

Aback-and-forth series —San Antonio won Game 1, Oklahoma City won Games 2and 3, the Spurs won Game 4and theThunder prevailedinGame 5— hasnow reached the must-win phasefor San Antonio.

“We’ve been greatwhenwe’re desperateall year,” Spursguard StephonCastlesaid. “I can’twait to see how we respond.”

Closeout games

The Thunder are 2-0 in closeout chances this year,winning Game 4s on theroad in both Round 1 against Phoenixand Round 2 against the LosAngeles Lakers. They were 4-2 in closeout chances last season on the way to the NBA title.

The Spurs won elimination games in each of their past two playoff series before this season, but ultimately wound up losing bothofthose series.

Theodds

Oddsmakers evidently expect a Game 7. They’vemadeSan Antonio a31/2-point favorite for Game 6, which means theserieswouldgo back to Oklahoma City for adeciding game.

SpursneedWembanyamatoup hisoutputafter lowest of series

By The Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY It’sbeen asimple formula for the San Antonio Spurs in these Western Conference finals. WhenVictorWembanyama has been the best player on the floor,they win. When he isn’t, they lose. He wasn’tthe bestplayeronthe floorTuesday night. That was not the only reason the Spurs fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 5ofthe West finals —there were many—but it was certainly among them. Wembanyama, who hashad 41-point and 33-point outingsinwinning efforts during the series, never seemed to get fully rolling, and the Spurs lost 127-114. Now down 3-2 in theseries, they’ll try to extend the matchup —and save their season —in Game 6atSan Antonio on Thursdaynight. Wembanyama scored 20 points, hislowestofthe series,and only a12-for-12 effort from the foul line helped him get there in Game

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTO

San Antonio Spursforward Victor Wembanyama scored 20 points in the Spurs’ 127-114 loss to OklahomaCityonTuesday night.

5. He was 4for 15 from theﬂoor, missing all ﬁve of his 3-point tries, never seeming to getinto any sort of rhythm. “He’sgot to take more than 15 shots, even with the free throws,” Spurscoach Mitch Johnsonsaid in his postgame news conference. “He’sgoing to have to score more than 20 points, for sure. OKC did agood job.We’ve gottodoabetter job.”

to advance to the quarterﬁnals.

Caleb and senior Jeremiah Walker did not advance. Caleb was one spot shy of qualifying, placing 25th in 20.75. Walker did not ﬁnish the race.

400 METERS: Four of the five Tigers competitors advanced to the quarterfinals. Junior Grant Buckmiller finished fifth with apersonal-best time of 45.03. Redshirt freshman Malachi Austin was eighth witha personal-best time of 45.28. Senior Shakeem McKaywas ninthwith atimeof45.36. Sophomore Amal Glasgow advanced afteratime of 45.59 for

14th. Walkerwas disqualifiedfor a lane violation.

400-METERHURDLES: Junior Isaac Lewis advanced to the quarterﬁnals after ﬁnishing 18th with a timeof50.59. Fieldevents

JAVELIN: Sophomore Paul Catalanatto ﬁnished33rd with athrowof 204-9, and senior Jackson Rimes ﬁnishedwith no legal throw

LONG JUMP: Junior Koi Wedderburn was theloneSouthern athlete to competeonthe ﬁrst dayofthe regional.Heﬁnished 42nd in the long jumpwith aleap of 21-9.

NewLiberty coach Bakerrelishesshot to coachinClass

BY JACKSON REYES Staff writer

Devyn Baker always wanted thechance to coach in Class 5A, Louisiana’sbiggest classiﬁcation

His opportunity came when thefootball coaching position opened at Liberty High School, but he wasstill happy with his job at Northeast High. As weeks passed, the Liberty job remained vacant and Liberty alumni reached out to him Eventually,hewas recommended to the school’sprincipal and thetwo spoke about the opening. After their conversation, Baker applied and interviewed for thejob. He wasnamed the Liberty coach on May 1.

“I’mextremely excited, not just for me, but someofthe guys Ibroughtalong,” Baker said. “Everybodywants to have that one chance, that one opportunity to coach in 5A football.” Baker takes over aPatriots program coming off a6-5 season and ﬁrst playoffappearance since 2021.

Baker coached at Northeast for ﬁve seasons. He started his coaching career as an assistant at Zachary and then spent two years as an assistantatWhite Castle. His ﬁrst head coaching role was at False River forone season. He then spent three years as Slaughter Community Charter’s coach.

He spenttimeasadefensive coordinator at Southern Lab and Liberty before the school entered varsity play before taking over at Northeast.

“Weget achance to coach in thebest (Class) 5A district in the state,” he said. “Weget acrack at it with the big boys.”

He looksforward to the opportunitytobuild off Liberty’smomentumofmaking the playoffs last year,while putting his own stamponthe program,which, for Baker,isnothing new Baker took over Slaughter after the school had becomea member of the LHSAA forjust one year.The school didn’thave astadium or aweight room,but he helped get facilities built.

“Every job I’ve had, either I’ve had to build or had to rebuild,” he said.“Ireally just think this is just ablessing and acalling that Ihave in the coaching profession.”

The excitement around his new job also comes fromthe early turnout of athletes. On Tuesday, the team held its ﬁrst workout and 75 players took part. It allstartsondefense

Baker’scoaching philosophy begins with defense.

“We’re going to score some points, but I’maﬁrm believer in if they can’tscore, they can’t win,” Baker said.

He hangs his hat on defense, and he’salready told his players and coaches that meanshe might be tougher on them.

“I just believe in our defense that much,” Baker said. “Ifnobody can score on us, nobody can beat us.”

Baker brings ahands-on approach to the defense during games, but his initial focus in the offseason will be working with the offense.

He brought his defensive coordinator and several defensive assistants from Northeast, so the mainpriority will be getting his offensive coaches and players up to speed.

Baker’s vision

He looks to makethe playoffs in Year 1.

Baker knowsitwill be aprocess, but playing in adistrict that includes Catholic and Zachary,which both madethe state semiﬁnals last year,and Central, which wasastate champion two years ago, will help boost his team’s strength of schedule.

His eyes are also set on the future. With asophomore and freshman class Baker saidis loaded with potential,Libertycan makeits mark in District 4-5A.

“I think by Year 3, we really can shake up alot of things,” he said. “We’re going to lean on those guys, especially this year, to get through the bumps and the bruises that we know we’re going to take this season.” Baker said he knowsplaying his younger players early will help them gain needed experience.

Baker knowsit’saprocess, but he’salready seen his players show awillingness to get better

“Ifthe kids show up,” Baker said, “wehave to show up for them.”

Wembanyama did notspeak with reporters after the game. The ﬁrst halves have toldmuch of the story.InSan Antonio’s two wins in this series, Wembanyama has gone 7for 15 and 6for 11 from the ﬁeld.

In the three losses, his halftime shot numbers —2for 4, 2for 5 and 2for 6, the last of those what he did in the ﬁrst two quarters on Tuesday

Wembanyamaoffered an impassioned speech to teammatesduring atimeout barely two minutes into the third quarter, after the Thunder opened an 18-point lead. And it worked —toapoint. Oklahoma City scored again to get the lead up to 20, but theSpurs closed within eight later in the third. It seemed like there was hope. Butthe Spursdidn’tget anycloser.The deficit was 10 goinginto the fourth,the Spurs scored only two points in thefirst 4:02 of thefinal quarter,and whatever momentum thatseemed like it was building after Wembanyama’stimeout speech appeared to be gone.

With Liberty graduating 30 seniors, Baker sees his new job as another opportunity to rebuild ateam, but this timewith more resources to workwith.

“I walked out from the weight room (and) Ihad agroup of parents introduce themselves as the booster club,” Baker said. “I’ve never had that before. That’s something that’sgoing to be very,very helpful and new for me.”

While the 2026 season is still months away,Baker is ready to coach in the state’sbiggest class. In the early days of his Liberty tenure, he watched ﬁlm of the Patriots’ gameagainst Catholic last season. The camera panned to the crowd, and he knew he wasright where he wasmeant to be at Liberty

“You can just see the excitement,” he said. “It reminds me of an SEC matchup. Just two great teams, twogreat programs, just going at it week in and week out.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JULIO CORTEZ

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shoots against SanAntonio Spurs center LukeKornet during Game 5inthe WesternConference finals on Tuesday in Oklahoma City.

Djokovic survives heat for4-set victory

BY ANDREW DAMPF AP sportswriter

PARIS Novak Djokovic placed ice packs around his neck and on topofhis head duringchangeovers to keepcool amidthe Paris heat waveatthe French Open on Wednesday

The39-year-old Djokovic was pushed by 74th-rankedFrench player Valentin Royer —who is 15 years younger than him —for more than 31/2 hoursbeforehe reached the third roundwith a 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (7), 6-3 victory

For the fourth straight dayof this year’stournament,the temperature rose above 90 degrees.

“When you play athree-and-ahalf hour matchonclay, it’slong and very exhausting,” Djokovic said. “These days have been really,really very challenging fora lotofplayers.”

The 24-time Grand Slam champion wasted achancetoclose the match out earlier when he missed abackhand long in the third-set tiebreaker,then required four more match points in hisfinal service game before aforehand from Royer landed in thenet to conclude along rally.

Before arrivinginParis,Royer hadearned only one tour-level win across 11 tournaments he played this season. Djokovic came to Roland Garros with questions about his form after getting beat in his only clay-court match before the tournament. He lost to Croatian qualiﬁer Dino

Prizmic at the Italian Open after two months out because of aright shoulder injury

ButDjokovic is playing himself backinto form after coming back from aset downtobeat Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, another Frenchman, in aﬁrst-round match that lasted nearly three hours.

Djokovic reached the third round in Paris for a21st straight year. He raisedthe Coupedes Mousquetaires trophy in 2016, 2021 and 2023.

Up next forDjokovicispotentially abigger test against 19-year-old Brazilian Joao Fonseca, whocame back fromtwo sets downfor a3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, 6-2 victory over the 20-yearold Prizmic. Fonseca hasbeen touted as afuture GrandSlam contender

Meanwhile, Jakub Mensik collapsed to the claybecause of cramps and had atough time gettingupafter edging Mariano Navone in aﬁfth-set tiebreaker

That matchlasted 4hours, 41 minutes.

Theninthe next match on Court 6, Hailey Baptistewas forced to retire while facing aset point against Wang Xiyu after landing awkwardlyonher left leg.

Djokovic suggested that French Openorganizers should consider movingmore matches later in the day and night on days with extreme heat

“With GrandSlams it shouldn’t be an issue, because we have so many courts,” Djokovic said. “If

youhavecertain days that you have extreme heat andconditions, then maybethat’ssomething to consider.”

In the night session, second-seeded Alexander Zverev beat Tomas Machac 6-4, 6-2, 6-2.

On thewomen’sside, No. 2seed Elena Rybakina, this year’sAustralian Openwinner,was beaten by UkrainianopponentYuliia Starodubtseva 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (4).

Also advancing were Ukrainians Elina Svitolina and Marta Kostyuk, who are coming off trophies at the Madrid Openand ItalianOpen, respectively

The seventh-seeded Svitolina beat Kaitlin Quevedo 6-0, 6-4to extend her winning streak to eight matches.The 15th-seeded Kostyuk beat Katie Volynets 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-3 to extend her winning streak to 13 matches.

“I’mmostpleased that Ididn’t cramp to death or didn’tpass out during this match,” Kostyuk said after her match,which lasted nearly three hours. “Itwas not easy for everyone.”

Four-timechampion and No.3 seed Iga Swiatek improved her career recordatRoland Garros to 42-3 by eliminating 35th-ranked Sara Bejlek6-2, 6-3.

Swiatek won at Roland Garros in 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024.

She next faces Magda Linette in theﬁrst all-Polishmeeting at RolandGarrosinthe professional era (since 1968). Linette eliminated 2017 champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-2, 2-6, 6-2.

SánchezsetsPhillies’ franchise record forscoreless innings

SAN DIEGO After going the entire month of May without allowing a run, and breaking a115-year-old franchise record along the way, Philadelphia left-hander Cristopher Sánchezemphatically pumped his ﬁsts after getting his ﬁnal out in alandmark game.

Sánchez extended his scoreless innings streak to 442/3 innings on Wednesday to set the Phillies’ franchise record by passing Hall of Famer Grover Cleveland Alexander in a3-0 win Wednesday against the San Diego Padres for athree-game sweep.

Sánchez reached the milestone by getting through the four full innings he needed to passAlexander,who had a41-inning scoreless streak in 1911. He kept going through three more scoreless innings before leaving after throwing100 pitches. He allowed six hits, struck out nine and walked none He left his brilliant outing with a2-0 lead, pumping his ﬁsts after striking out pinch-hitter Ty France to end the seventh.

“I just went out to compete and give the best of myself,”hesaid through an interpreter

He didn’t think he hadhis best stuff, but he dominated aPadres lineup that went 0for 20 with runners in scoring position and stranded 19 in the series while striking out 32 times Interim managerDon Mattingly said theteamacknowledgedthe recordafterward, andSánchez addressed the team.

“I just told them it was somethingspecial forme,”Sánchez said. “FirstI thanked God and then Ithanked all my teammates

ASSOCIATED

PhiladelphiaPhillies starting pitcher Cristopher Sánchez works against a San DiegoPadres batter during the first inningonWednesdayinSan Diego.

and everyone around me for their support. It’sreally special to have theirsupport, in the good times andthrough therough times as well. That’s something Iadmire with this group

“This is agame that it’snot only about me or about what Idoonthe mound, it’sabout our group and I think it’sreally something special and beautifultofeel the support of the team as awhole,” he added.

With Sánchezaninningaway from the record, there was a heart-stopping moment as Manny Machado lifted aﬂyballtoleftthat Edmundo Sosa caughtjust in front of the wall leading off the fourth.

Sánchez struck out XanderBogaerts, RamonLaureano doubled to left and then the lefty got JacksonMerrill to ground outtosecond base to set the record.

The Padres stranded runners in scoring positioninthe ﬁrst and second innings,and GavinSheets

FalconsQBbattle mayrampupsoon

BY CHARLESODUM AP sportswriter

FLOWERYBRANCH, Ga. TuaTagovailoa is using the Atlanta Falcons’organized team activities to handle the bulk of the ﬁrst-team snaps at quarterback while Michael Penix continues his recoveryfrom surgery on his left knee. With Penix’sprogressalready allowing him to participate in individual drills, the competition between left-handed passers for the starting job maycomesooner thanexpected.

“Shoot, I’m impressedbywhat he’sshown out there,” Tagovailoa said Wednesday of his ﬁrsttwo weeksofOTAswithPenix. “Of course, you can just tell that he’s been here working, and working really hard to be able to get back out there, and you can see the level of respect that the guys that have been here last year with him have for him, both offense and defensively.Soit’sbeen good fun to go outthere andcompete with him. Youknow,I’m trying to help him as muchasIcan as well.”

In the ﬁrst week of OTAs last week, the Falcons released avideo of Penix taking asnap under center,dropping back andcompleting apass to Drake London. It was asurprise to many that Penix was available for even limited portions of practice after having surgery in Novembertorepair the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

“What Mike’sable to do right now in termsofindividual and theseven-on-sevens is outstanding and just shows youhow hard he’s working at it,” ﬁrst-year Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski said Wednesday.“Butwhenit’sappropriate, then we’ll move him intoteam drills. He’s not100%, but he’s exactly where he needs to be,and I’m very impressed with how he’s working.”

Even though he hasbeenheld outofteam drills,Penix has looked comfortableinindividual and seven-on-seven work.

“I feelgreat,” Penix said last week.“I’mjust taking it one day at atime.Just trusting the process like we talked about and

just trusting what thetrainers are telling me andgivingmeall theinformation Ineed to go out and be successful and to be healthy at the same time.”

Penix hadtwo ACLsurgeries on his right knee during his college career.His last ACL surgery camein2020 at Indiana. He transferred to Washington in 2021. The Falcons signed Tagovailoa to aone-yearcontract in March after his six seasons with the Miami Dolphins. Tagovailoa, 28, said he is looking for afresh start in Atlanta. His experience as a starter allows the Falcons to be cautious with Penix.

Tagovailoa couldbemorethana

ﬁll-in for Penix. New general manager IanCunningham said Tagovailoa will have an opportunity to compete for the starting job after Penix recovers. StefanskisaidTagovailoahas hada smooth transition in the offseason and is “working very hard.”

“Veteran.Fits in really well with our guys,” Stefanski said of Tagovailoa. “Skill setiswhatyou see fromhis Miamidays to now.Very accurate. But ﬁts in really well.”

Tagovailoasaidhechose Atlanta whenlooking for an opportunity to compete fora starting job. That could provide an opportunityfor Tagovailoatoprove he can return to his 2023 form when he ledthe NFL with 4,624 yards passing, and 2024, when he led the league by completing 72.9% of his passes.

TheDolphins oweTagovailoa $54 millioninguaranteed money in 2026. The one-year deal with the Falcons is for $1.3 million. He signed with Atlanta after the Dolphins announced they were releasing him despite taking on an NFL-record $99 million dead cap hit.

Penix said he is focused on his recovery instead of the upcoming competition with Tagovailoa. “I’ll say I’m running my own race,”Penix said. “I can’t look in another lane. But at the same time, we are working together That’swhat it’sall about, working together andhelping each other ﬁnish the race.”

QB Jacksonnot talking contract status with

Ravens

lifted aﬂyball just in front of the warning track in right to endthe third

“There were acouple of hits that Ithought were gone off thebat, but thankGod they didn’t,” Sánchez said.

Sánchez’sstreak dates to the second inning of the ﬁrst gameof adoubleheaderagainst SanFrancisco on April 30. He setanother franchiserecord by going at least seven scoreless inningsfor the ﬁfthstraight start, becoming thesixth player to do so in MLB history He alsonow has thelongest single-season scorelessinnings streak by aleft-hander in the ExpansionEra after passingformer LosAngeles Dodgers great ClaytonKershaw,who hada 41-inning scoreless streak in 2014.

Orel Hershiser holds the MLB record of 59 scoreless innings set in 1988.

OWINGS MILLS,Md. As another set of contract talks drags on, Lamar Jackson said his heart is in Baltimore. “I love the Ravens. Ilove this organization. I love this city This is the team that drafted me, so (this city has) alot of love for me —I believe andI have alot of love forthe city and thisteam, as well,” Jackson said. “The restructure is done,and I’m cool with that, but Ilove Baltimore. Everybody should know that by now.” Wednesday was the ﬁrst time Jackson has been available to local reporters in awhile,and there was alot to catch up on. Coach John Harbaugh was fired after last season and replaced by former Ravens assistant Jesse Minter.Baltimore also made no secret of the fact thatitwas hoping to reach anew deal with Jackson before the start of free agency, but that cameand went with only arestructurethatfreed up cap space.The two-timeMVP quarterback has just two seasons left on the five-year deal he signed before the 2023 season. There was plenty of drama that offseason, when the Ravens used the franchise tag on Jacksonand he evenrequested atrade before eventually coming back. On Wednesday,hewas upbeat and, as usual, didn’twanttodiscuss the speciﬁcs of recent negotiations.

“I was thinking abouthow Iwas going to respondtothisquestion if Igot it,but I’mgoing to give you the same answerIalways give,” Jackson said. “I just want to keep those conversations private.We restructured thedeal,and that’s what we have right now.” As for the coaching change, Jackson said he reached out to Harbaugh after he took over the New York Giants. He said he was “shocked”byHarbaugh’sﬁring but trusts owner Steve Bisciotti’s judgment.

“I felt likeMr. Steve didwhat was best for the team, and Ihope coach Harbaugh has agreat time in New York, man,” Jackson said. “Hats offtocoachHarbaugh because he did so muchfor the city, forthe team andfor this organization. So, hats off to him in New York. We built alot. We did alot here.” One of Jackson’searly takeaways about Minteristhathe always seemstohave asmile on his face.

“Everything is just new basically,besides (the personnel staff) upstairs,” Jacksonsaid. “But,the coaching staff is just new,and I can say it’sabreath of fresh air because everything is just new.” Minter arrived with adefensive background, having been acoordinator on that side of the ball forthe Los AngelesChargers thepasttwo seasons. So thenew offensive coordinator, Declan Doyle, will be crucial as the Ravens try to unleash Jackson’sconsiderable talent after he struggledthrough an injuryriddled 2025.

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOByMIKE STEWART

Atlanta Falcons quarterbacks Michael Penix, left,and TuaTagovailoa move during afootballpractice on WednesdayinFlowery Branch, Ga.

The Associated Press

PRESS PHOTO

GREGORy BULL

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By THIBAULT CAMUS

NovakDjokovic of Serbia celebratesafter winningagainst Valentin RoyerofFrance during their second-round matchatthe French OpeninParis on Wednesday

TheAssociated Press

Jackson

Chickpea Tabbouleh Saladpacked with protein

BY LINDAGASSENHEIMER Tribune News Service (TNS)

For this simple salad dinner,I combined chickpeas with bulgurwheatfor ahearty yet refreshing taste.

Bulgur is made from wholewheat kernels that have been steamed, dried andthencrushed, giving it atender texture and asubtle nutty ﬂavor.Let the wheat sit alittle longer if it is not soft after 20 minutes.

One key technique for boostingflavor is to crush freshscallions together with the bulgur,allowing the scallion juices to seep intothe grains andinfuse them with asavory aroma. Drained canned chickpeas addprotein, while cheddar cheese brings arich, tangy note. Ahandful of pistachio nuts finishes the dish with adelicate crunch, creating avegetarian mealfull of flavors and textures.

Chickpea TabboulehSalad

Yields 2servings. RecipeisbyLinda Gassenheimer

1/2

1. Place bulgurwheat in bowl with hot water and let sit20minutes. 2. While wheat is soaking, prepare remaining ingredients. Combine lemon juice and garlic in abowl.Stirinolive oil.

3. Drain bulgur andsqueeze outas much moisture as possible with your hands. Add the scallions and squeeze again so that the scallionjuices penetrate the wheat.

4. Add to olive oil mixture. Foldin cheddar cheese,chickpeas and pistachios. Add salt and pepper to taste Sprinkle mint on top.

5. Divide the lettucebetween two dinner plates. Divide the chickpea mixture in half and serve over thelettuce Nutrition info per serving: 530 calories (53 percent from fat), 31.5 gfat (6.7 gsaturated, 13.6 gmonounsaturated), 20 mg cholesterol,21.4 gprotein, 46.9 gcarbohydrates,13.1gﬁber, 311 mg sodium.

May is themonth when every fruit and vegetable sold anywhere is at its peak. It could be that theabundance of your farmers market has you invigorated about enjoying the season’sbounty,or you may simply ﬁnd theproduce in your grocery store to be plumpand alluring right now Whatever you can get your hands on, Isay enjoy it while you can. Oneofmyfavorite cold soups to make this time of year uses fresh peas. It’seven worthit, to me, to shell peas for it. If you cannot ﬁnd fresh peas, or if you are disinclined to shell fresh peas, frozen peas will work. Be sure to buy frozen baby peas,not the big ones, as they aren’tasgood for this soup. And be sure to fully defrost and drain them. Ilike to serve the soup in teacups as an appetizer.Infact, it would go well as astarter for Lemon Caper Shrimp. Besides produce, there is often an abundance of shrimpinthis season. Ithink this recipe is agood alternative to New OrleansBarbecued Shrimp. Don’tget me wrong, Ilove barbecue shrimp, but sometimes Iwant achange. This recipe can be madewith shells on, so no need to peel them, although this is up to preference. If you are having adinner party,

Take advantageofasparagus season

BY NICOLE HVIDSTEN

Versatile asparagus is thevegetable you’ll want to include in everything while it’sinseason It is aperfect side dish,whether you’re grilling meat or baking a quiche. It can be an ingredient in quiche, too, or just add leftover asparagus to scrambled eggs if you’re in arush. It’sa naturalin pasta dishes, with alight cream sauce to hold things together,and can be the star of aspringtime soup. Tryyour hand at pickling, and extend its season even further; pickled asparagusisa natural charcuterie, and amust in ahomegrown bloody mary bar When shopping for asparagus, look for spears withtightly closed tips. To prepare,cookbook author Beth Dooley suggests snapping off and discarding the toughest part of the stalk and storing in the fridge likecut ﬂowers —inaglass of water and tented withaplastic bag. (Or wrapthe ends in adamp paper towel, then bag, and place in therefrigerator’scrisper.)

Whether to choose thick or thin stalks is amatter of personal pref erence, and how you intend to use it. Ican’tresist pencil-thin spears cooked on thegrill. But for these recipes, either will do.

TNS PHOTO

Chickpea Tabbouleh Salad is full of protein and flavor

The Minnesota Star Tribune (TNS)

cakehas cooked strawberries inside and

By The Associated Press

Today is Thursday,May 28, the 148th day of 2026. There are 217 days left in the year

Todayinhistory:

On May 28, 1830, President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act, which forced nearly 50,000Native Americans, primarily in the Southeastern U.S., to move to designated territories west of the Mississippi River Also on this date:

In 1863,the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer InfantryRegiment made up of free Blackmen,left

Boston to ﬁghtfor the Union in the Civil War. In 1892, the Sierra Club was founded in San Francisco by naturalist JohnMuir. In 1918, American troops fought theirfirst majorbattle during World WarIasthey launched an offensive against the German-held French village of Cantigny;the Americans succeeded in capturingthe village. In 1959, theU.S.Armylaunched Able, arhesus monkey,and Baker, asquirrelmonkey,aboardaJupiter missile for asuborbitalﬂight

which both primates survived. In 1972, burglars working on behalf of theNixonWhite House broke intothe Democratic National Committee headquarters in the WatergateHotel in Washington, D.C., installing surveillance devices on telephones and taking photos of DNC documents. The ensuing scandal led to President Richard Nixon’sresignation in 1974. In 1977, 165 people were killed when ﬁre raced through the Beverly Hills SupperClub in Southgate, Kentucky In 1987, to the embarrassment

SAVOR

Continued from page1D

it’snice to take the time to peel the shrimp for your guests. But family can enjoy the informal fun of licking their ﬁngers. And who can resista strawberry cake?This one has cooked strawberries inside and fresh ones on top. That pavé layer of strawberries is always that kind of surprise, as the cake releases from the pan, that makes me smile. Youcan go Spartan and eat it as asnack right after it cools without any embellishments. Or you can put it on acake pedestal and add ﬂavoredmascarpone to the top. Anice thick layer.And then gild the lily by adding fresh sugared strawberries over the top.

Be sure to drain the strawberries, but keep that wonderful juice. Ilike to make asauce by heating a good strawberry preserve with the reserved strawberry juice and abit of Grand Marnier.Place the warm sauce in asmall pitcher on the table for everyone to serve themselves.

Grate orange zest over the top and serve in wedges. Let me know what you think!

FreshPea Soup

Makes 6-8 appetizer

6. With an immersion blender (you can transfer in batches toafood processor, but the immersion blender in moreconvenient) blend theingredientstogether until they are homogenous. Youdecidehow much texture youwant the soupto have.

7. If you are goingto serve the soup cold,put into the refrigerator for 2hours or until chilled.Servewith parsley orchive garnish. If youwant toservethe soup warm, allow thesoup to stand for 1hour so that the ﬂavors canmeld. Reheat over alow heat untilhot Serve with parsley orchive garnish.

LemonCaper Shrimp

Serves 4to6

5tablespoonsunsaltedbutter

1/4 cup chopped capers(if using salt-cured capers, rinse and drain them first)

6cloves minced garlic Grated zest of 2lemons

3pounds unshelled freshshrimp Juice from 2lemons

1lemon, sliced thinlyand seeded 1/2 bottle drywhitewine

1teaspoon hot sauce with more forthe table

1tablespoon freshlyground black pepper

1bunch parsley,chopped 1. In alargeskillet,melt thebutter.Whenitbegins to sizzle, add thecapersand garlic. Stir andreduce the heattomake surethatyou do notburn thegarlic.

2. Addthe lemon zest and the shrimp. Toss to ensure that the butter mixture covers all of theshrimp.Keep tossing to ensure that allof theshrimp cook. Do this for about3minutes 3. Addthe lemon juice, thelemon slices and the wine. Stir and simmer for 3 to 5minutes 4. Addthe hot sauce and toss again. Turn off heat. Add theground pepper. Let sit for 5minutes 5. When ready to serve, heat again, tossing the mixture. Dumpthe shrimp andthe sauce into aplatter. Scatter with parsley. Serve with ageneroussupply of paper napkinsorcloth napkins. (You may wantto consider bibs.) There should be plentyof extra hot sauce on thetable andextra lemon wedges, as well as warm French bread for soppingupthe sauce. Strawberry Cake Makes1 cake.

11/4

2largeeggs cracked into asmall bowl and beaten together with a fork 1/2 cup fruity olive oil

Zest of 1orange

1teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon rosewater

3/4 cup milk

1ormore pints of fresh strawberries, trimmed flat on the broad side For curing:

6tablespoons orangeliqueur

8ounces mascarpone

2tablespoons to 1/4 cup of wholefat plain yogurt Zest of 1lemon

1. Preheat the oven to 350 Fand coat the inside of an 8-inch cake pan with olive oil (if the pan is old, prepare aparchment paper round and oil it)

2. Sift thedry ingredients together into abowl. Add theeggs, olive oil, orange zest,vanilla, rosewater and milk.Stir vigorously until all of the ingredients come together into asmooth batter

3. Sprinkle thebottom of the pan evenly with the sugar.Place thewhole strawberries in concentric circles, with the pointed side up, until theentire surface of the pan is covered.

4. Pour the batter into theprepared pan and cook for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. If more time is needed, check again every 5minutes.

4. Removethe cooked cake from the oven and cool for 10 minutes. Runaknife around the edge of the pan and turn thepan ontoawire rack. Flip the cake over so that it cools with the ﬂat side down.

5. When the cake is completely cool, brush the syrup on the top and sides using half of the syrup. Wrap in plastic ﬁlm and set aside in the refrigerator

6. Unwrap the cake and repeat again withthe remaining syrup right before serving. Place thecake on aserving platter.Bring to room temperature.

6. Mix the mascarpone with the yogurt to thin it to aspreadable, but still thick consistency.Sprinkle theorange zest over the strawberries. Spoon the mascarpone mixture over each slice of cake as you serve it

Liz Williamsisfounder of the Southern Food & Beverage Museum in New Orleans.Listento“Tipof the Tongue,” Liz’spodcast about food, drink and culture, wherever you hear podcasts. EmailLiz at lizwillia@gmail.com.

of Soviet ofﬁcials, Mathias Rust, ateenage West Germanamateur pilot,landed aprivate plane near Moscow’sRed Square without authorization.(Rust was held by the Sovietsuntil he was pardoned and freed thefollowing year.) In 2013, in oneofthe biggest money-laundering schemes in U.S. history, federal prosecutors charged sevenpeople with effectively running an online, underworld bank, saying Liberty Reserve handled $6 billionfor drugdealers,child pornographers, identity thieves and other criminals worldwide. Its

ASPARAGUS

Continuedfrom page 1D

Asparagus, Baconand Parmesan Omelet Pie

Serves 6. Recipe is from “SouthernRoots” by Spring Council (Countryman, 2026).

Forthe filling:

1 1/2 pounds asparagus, trimmed 4thick slicesofbacon, diced 8eggs

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

1/2 cup soft breadcrumbs 1unbaked 9-inch pie shell(recipe follows)

Forthe crust: 1cup all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon. salt 6tablespoons unsalted butter,cold 3tablespoons ice-cold water

1. To makethe ﬁlling: Preheat the oven to 375 F.

2. Slice theasparagus 1-inch thick on the diagonal, leaving thetips whole.

3. Frythe bacon in amedium skillet on medium-high heat untilcrispy,3 to 5minutes, stirring occasionally.Drain on paper towels andset aside.

5. Beat the eggs andmilk together in a large bowl. Add the Parmesan cheese, asparagus, cooked bacon, parsley andbreadcrumbs. Stir to combine. Set aside.

6. To make the crust: In amedium bowl, whisk together the ﬂour and salt. Cutin the butter with apastry cutter until coarse crumbs form.Add the water andmix everything together to form asoftdough.

7. Gather thedough,press it into aball, andthenﬂatten it into adisc. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate foratleast 15 minutes or up to 2days.

8. When ready to prepare,removethe dough from the refrigerator.Lightly ﬂour awork surfaceand roll the dough out into

founder,Arthur Budovsky,was later convicted in the scheme and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Today’sBirthdays: Former New York City Mayor RudolphGiuliani is 82. SingerGladys Knight is 82. Musician Billy Vera is 82. Musician John Fogerty (Creedence Clearwater Revival) is 81. Country singer-songwriter Phil Vassar is 64. Singer-actor Kylie Minogue is 58. Actor JustinKirk is 57. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is 55. TV personalityElisabeth Hasselbeck is 49. Actor Jake Johnson is 48.

a 1/8-inch-thickround andpress into a9-inch pie plate.Place in the refrigeratoruntil ready to use.

9. To assemble: Pour the ﬁlling mixture into the pie shell and bake for25to30minutes, or until it is puffy in the center Creamy Smoked Salmon,Asparagus andPeas

Serves4.From “Spinning Plates” by Anna Stanford(Hamlyn, 2025).

14 ouncespasta of your choice Forthe sauce: Finely gratedzest and juice of 1lemon

11/4 cups creme fraiche

1tablespoon olive oil

2leeks, trimmed, cleaned and chopped 9ouncesasparagus spears, woody ends removed, stems chopped, tips reserved 2 3 cup frozenpeas 51/2 ounces smoked salmon,cut into strips (seeNote) Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Choppedfresh dill, forgarnish

1. Combine thelemon zest andjuice andthe cremefraiche in abowl andset aside

2. Cook the pasta in alarge pan of salted boiling water for8 to10 minutes,oraccording to the package instructions.

3. Meanwhile, heat aseparate pan until hot, then add the olive oil, leeks and asparagusstems.Cookona medium heat for 4minutes before adding the asparagustipsand frozen peas.Season with salt and pepper,and cook for an additional 4 minutes.

4. Add thesmoked salmon, stir,and removefrom heat.

5. Stir through the lemony creme fraiche adding aladleful (about 1/3 cup) of pastawater to loosen.

6. Drain the pasta. Add the pasta to the pan, toss together with thesauce and serve. Garnish with fresh dill.

Note:You can replace thesmokedsalmon with ﬂakedcookedsalmonorhot smoked salmon.

StartYourMove

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

Lemon caper shrimp

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Participate in a learning experience or a day trip that leads to something or someone you find exciting. Approach people who can offer sage advice or a helping hand to get you to a place you want to be.

cAncER (June 21-July 22) Stop worrying, and start exploring the opportunities that are waiting to be discovered. A positive attitude will help you see situations from a different angle.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Reject anger; keeping busy will lead to self-satisfaction. Tie up loose ends, set boundaries and dance to your own beat. Life is too short to waste on no-win situations.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-sept. 22) Less talk, more action, greater stabilization. Your actions should reflect what's right and best for you and those you love. Research, pay attention to detail and execute your plans flawlessly.

LIBRA (sept. 23-Oct. 23) Learn through experience Sign up for something that interests you or that will help you make a better decision. Information is golden when navigating your path forward. Avoid situations that put you at risk.

scORPIO (Oct. 24-nov. 22) Take the initiative to put your plans in motion. Taking physical action will be tough but rewarding. Kindness trumps aggressive behavior. Expand your awareness, knowledge and plans to meet your needs.

sAGIttARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Rearrange your surroundings Realign your space to meet demands and to ensure the flow

is designed to make your life easier. Change will offer the boost you need to trust and believe in your abilities.

cAPRIcORn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Now is not the time to take a break, you're on the right track. Discipline, ingenuity, networking, and using your knowledge expertise and charm will carry you forward with grace and glory.

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Mixed emotions will lead you down a slippery slope. Do your research, fight your own battles and choose to be honest, not angry, when dealing with unsavory situations.

PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) What you do counts. A change someone makes will not favor your interests. Don't feel bad; head in a different direction or try something that sparks your imagination.

ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Follow your instincts, and use discipline to make your dreams come true. Walk away from those asking for too much or trying to tempt you to participate in expensive entertainment.

tAuRus (April 20-May 20) You can jump for joy or let stubbornness set in and cause you grief. You have more going for you than you think, and allowing anyone to cost you peace of mind is on you.

FAMILY CIrCUS

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

tODAy's cLuE: D EQuALs I

CeLebrItY CIpher

For better or For WorSe

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

SherMAn’S LAGoon

bIG nAte

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers1 to 9inthe empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. Thedifficulty level of the Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

Yesterday’s PuzzleAnswer

THe wiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

Bridge

By PHILLIP ALDER

Rupert Murdoch said, “The world is changing veryfast. Bigwill notbeat small anymore. It will be thefast beating the slow.”

Notnecessarily at the bridge table, though. Sometimes, for example,drawing trumps early will lose acontract And, of course, occasionally not drawing trumps soon enough can be fatal Which applies in this deal? South is in four spades, and West leads the heart king.

NoteNorth’sfour-spaderebid.Itpromisesatleastfour-cardsupportanddenies afirst-orsecond-roundcontrol.South is implying that he has (at least) nine winners when he openstwo clubs andrebids two spades. North hopes thathis trumps will provide a10th trick. (Yes, South’s hand is aminimum. Someexperts would rebid two no-trumptolimitthe hand. Butthat wouldnotworkwellhere,becauseNorth would surely pass, and the contract would fail.)

Given that the trumps are3-1, South has fivelosers: onespade, one heart, one diamond and twoclubs.The blacksuit losers are unavoidable, so declarer must ruff his low red-suit cards in the dummy.

Therightplayistowinthefirsttrick,to cash exactly one top trump, then to play offthe threetop diamonds, discarding dummy’s remainingheart. Next, South ruffs theheartseveninthe dummy, returnstohis hand witha trump,and ruffshisdiamondfive—missionaccomplished.

Note that if declarer begins with both of his top trumps, he will be stranded in the dummy after the first ruff. West can get in withhis club ace and draw dummy’slast trump, leaving South with afourth loser. ©2026 by NEA,Inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

Each Wuzzle is awordriddlewhich creates adisguised word, phrase, name, place, saying, etc. For example: NOON GOOD =GOOD AFTERNOON

Previous answers:

word game

InstRuctIOns: 1. Words must be of fourormore letters. 2. Words that acquire fourletters by the addition of “s,”such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed.3 Additional words made by adding a“d” or an “s” may not be used. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit wordsare not allowed tODAy’s WORD OFFEnsIVE: uh-FENT-siv: Rude or insulting.

Average mark 15 words

Timelimit 35 minutes

Can you find 26 or morewords in OFFENSIVE?

yEstERDAy’s WORD —WAyLAyInG

wail wain

away yawing yawl yawn lain lanai lawn layin laying ling lying inlay inly nail gaily gain gala gnaw

today’s thought “O generation of vipers, how can you, being evil, speakgood things? forout of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” Matthew12:34

wuzzles

loCKhorNs

Our wordswill reveal whatisinour hearts. G.E. Dean

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles

hidato

mallard

specttothisresolution required

42:19.1, at

meetingonWednesday April8,2026, and pub‐lished said announce‐ment in theofﬁcial jour‐nalofthe Parish andCity on Tuesday, April14, 2026. Such announce‐ment wasalsotransmit‐tedvia emailtoeach statesenator andrepre‐sentativeinwhose dis‐trictall or aportion of theParishislocated on Thursday,April 10, 2026. This Resolution having been submittedto a vote,the vote thereon wasasfollows: YEAS:LaurieAdams Denise Amoroso, Carolyn Coleman, CleveDunn, Jr RowdyGaudet, Twahna P. Harris,DwightHudson, Darryl Hurst, AnthonyKenney, Bran‐donNoel, Jennifer Racca NAYS:None ABSTAIN: None ABSENT:Aaron Moak Done,approved and adoptedonthis, the13th dayofMay,2026. By: /s/AshleyBeck CouncilAdministrator By: /s/Brandon Noel PresidentPro Tempore STATEOFLOUISIANA PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE I, ASHLEY BECK,certify that Iamthe duly quali‐ﬁed andactingCouncil Administratorofthe Met‐ropolitanCouncil of the Parish of East Baton Rougeand City of Baton Rouge, thegoverning au‐thorityofthe Parish of EastBaton Rouge, State ofLouisiana (the Parish”)

p g g g theadoption of thisreso‐lutionshall be held on Wednesday, May13, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. at the regularmeetingplace of theMetropolitanCouncil ThirdFloor,CityHall, Room 348, 222 St.Louis Street,Baton Rouge, Louisiana; andproviding forother matters in con‐nectiontherewith IN FAITHWHEREOF,wit‐ness my ofﬁcial signa‐ture andthe impressof theofﬁcial seal of said Parish of East Baton Rouge, Stateof Louisiana, on this,the 13th dayofMay,2026. /s/ Ashley Beck Ashley Beck CouncilAdministrator (SEAL) EXHIBITA NOTICE OF SPECIAL ELECTION

y g thepolling places at which to hold thespecial election,and theCom‐missioners-in-Charge andCommissioners,re‐spectively,shall be those personsdesignatedac‐cordingtolaw pursuant to Section1286(A) or Section1286.1, as the case maybe, of Title18 of theLouisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, as amended.

In accordance with La R.S. 18:1285(A)(1)(a)(v), theestimated cost of holdingthe election will be $85,300.00. Aportion of themonies collectedfromthe Tax shallberemittedtocer‐tain Stateand statewide retirement systemsin accordance with thepro‐visionsofSubtitle1 of Title11ofLouisiana Re‐visedStatutesof1950, as amended(La.R.S.11:82).

Ifurther certifythat the aboveand foregoing isa true andcorrect copyofanexcerpt from the minutesofa meeting ofsaidMetropolitan Council held May13, 2026, of aresolutionor‐deringand callingan electiontobeheldinthe ParishofEastBaton Rouge,State of Louisiana,onTuesday November3,2026, to au‐thorize theParishto renew thelevyand col‐lection of a.50 millsad valorem tax(the“Tax”), onall thepropertysub‐jecttotaxationwithin the boundariesofthe ParishofEastBaton Rouge,State of Louisiana,for aperiodof ten (10) years, commenc‐ing with thetax collec‐tionfor theyear2027 and annually thereafter toand includingthe year 2036, to providefundsfor the purposeofpurchas‐ing,maintaining andop‐erating machinery, facili‐tiesand equipmentnec‐essaryinthe eradication, abatement or controlof mosquitoes, other arthropodsofpublic healthimportanceand rodents,and maintaining adequateadministrative and supportstaff in con‐nection therewith; mak‐ing applicationtothe State Bond Commission; providing notice that a publichearing regarding h d i f hi

Pursuant to theprovi‐sionsofa resolution adoptedonMay 13, 2026 by theMetropolitan Councilofthe Parish of East BatonRouge and City of BatonRouge (the “MetropolitanCouncil”), acting as thegoverning authorityofthe Parish of East BatonRouge,State of Louisiana, NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVENthat a specialelectionwillbe held in theParishofEast BatonRouge,State of LouisianaonTUESDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2026, and that at thesaidelection therewillbesubmitted to allregisteredvotersof theParishofEastBaton Rouge, Stateof Louisiana, qualiﬁed and entitled to vote at the said election under the Constitution andlawsof theState of Louisiana andthe Constitution of theUnitedStatesof America, thefollowing proposition, to-wit: PROPOSITION (MILLAGERENEWAL) Shallthe Parish of East BatonRouge,State of Louisiana(the“Parish”) be authorized to renew thelevyand collection of a.50 millsadvalorem tax (the “Tax”) (an estimated $3,135,435 is reasonably expected to be collected from thelevyofthe Tax foranentireyear),for a periodoften (10) years, beginning with thetax collectionfor theyear 2027, andannuallythere‐after to andincluding the year2036, andshall the proceedsofthe Tax (after paying reasonable and necessaryexpenses ofcollectingand admin‐isteringthe Tax) be used entirelyand exclusively toprovide fundstopur‐chase,maintainand op‐erate machinery, facili‐tiesand equipmentnec‐essary andusefulinthe eradication,abatement orcontrol of mosquitoes other arthropods of pub‐lic health importance and rodents, titleto which shallbeinthe public, andmaintaining and providingfor ade‐quate administrative and support staff in connec‐tiontherewith?

Thesaidspecial elec‐tionwillbeheldateach and everypolling place inthe Parish of East Baton Rouge, Stateof Louisiana,which polls willopenatsix (6:00) o’clock a.m.,and closeat eight (8:00) o’clockp.m incompliancewiththe provisionsofSection 541 ofTitle 18 of the Louisiana Revised Statutesof1950, as amended (La.R.S 18:541) Thepolling places at the precinctsinthe ParishofEastBaton Rouge,State of Louisiana areherebydesignatedas h lli l

Thesaidelectionwill be held in accordance with theapplicable pro‐visionsofChapter 5, Chapter6 andChapter 6AofTitle 18 of the LouisianaRevised Statutes of 1950, as amended, andother con‐stitutionaland statutory authoritysupplemental thereto, andthe ofﬁcers appointedtoholdthe said specialelection, as provided in this Notice of SpecialElection, or such substitutesthereforas maybeselectedand designated in accor‐dancewithlaw will make duereturns thereofto theMetropolitanCouncil andNOTICEISHEREBY FURTHERGIVEN that said Metropolitan Councilwill meet at itsregular meet‐ingplace,the Council Chambers,CityHall, ThirdFloor,Room 348 222St. LouisStreet BatonRouge,Louisiana on WEDNESDAY, DECEM‐BER9,2026, at FOUR (4:00) O’CLOCKP.M and will then andthere in open andpublicsession proceed to examineand canvassthe returnsand declarethe result of the specialelection. Allreg‐isteredvotersinthe Parish of East Baton Rouge, StateofLouisiana areentitledtovoteat said election andvoting machines will be used thereat THUS DONE AND SIGNEDatBaton Rouge, Louisiana,onthis, the 13thday of May, 2026. /s/ BrandonNoel PresidentPro Tempore ATTEST: /s/

NOTICE

TheLouisiana Ofﬁce of the StateMuseumisre‐questingproposals for a Public-PrivatePartner‐shipproject to design build,furnish,operate and maintain an in‐door/outdoor café at the New OrleansJazzMu‐seum. Formoreinforma‐tiongotoopportuni‐tiesinlouisiana.com 188286-MAY21-JUN16 $139

188840-may28-1t $99.95

questfor theboard to approve Administrative Contracts. Motioned by Mrs. Free‐man. Second,byDr. Lathon Vote:Yeas7 Nays 0Ab‐sent 2 Considerationofare‐questtoapproveFile:JS –Student Fees,Fines and ChargesPolicy. Motioned by Dr.Free‐man. Second,byDr. Lon‐don. Vote:Yeas7 Nays 0Ab‐sent 2 Mr.Necaise discussed andupdatedthe board andpublicregarding the TaxPlanProposition Mr.Necaise askedthe boardtoapprovea Tax Plan StrategicFunding Plan forCompensation. Motioned by Mrs. Free‐man. Second,byDr. Lon‐don. Vote:Yeas7 Nays 0Ab‐sent 2 Dr.Londonrequested considerationof a processfor aZCSDPolicy Audit. Motioned by Dr.London. Seconded by Mr.Mackie. Vote:Yeas7 Nays 0Ab‐sent 2 BoardMembers had a discussion on travel pro‐ceduresand policy for thoseprocedures. Attorney Alexanderwill bringa fewchoices for theseprocedurestothe next scheduledmeeting in June Dr.Londonrequested to tablepermissionfor fundingtoattendthe SRLC in HotSprings,AR, on July 19-21, 2026, until thefullboard waspre‐sent to discussand vote Motioned by Dr.London. Second,byMr. Dayton Vote:Yeas7 Nays 0Ab‐sent 2 StudentExpulsion Appeal: Closed SessionExpulsion Appeal requestedbyAt‐torney Elseyfor KW Mr.Daytonmoved to go into ExecutiveSession in theAppeal of Hearingof KW Mr.Mackiesecondedthe motion Therewas no public comment VOTE:YEAS7 NAYS 0AB‐SENT 2

Mr.Daytonmoved to comeout of Executive Session andgobackinto the regularBoard Meet‐ing.Dr. London seconded the motion Therewas no public comment VOTE:YEAS7 NAYS 0AB‐SENT 2

LA 70791 Adjournment: Mr.Daytonmoved to ad‐journ. Mr.Mackiesec‐ondedthe motion Themeetingwas ad‐journedat8:53PM. Mr.Ben NecaiseSuperintendent Dr.Taylor-Jarrell–BoardVicePresident 189129

from May5 2026, Committee of the Wholewereapproved. Motioned by Dr.London. Second, by Dr.Lathon. Vote:Yeas7 Nays 0Ab‐sent2 ConsentAgendaItems: 5A and5BConsent Agendaitems were moved by Dr.Londonto the Stand-AloneAgenda. Motioned by Dr.London. Second, by Dr.Lathon. Vote:Yeas7 Nays 0Ab‐sent2 StandAlone Items: Mrs. Williams askedfor considerationofare‐

Dr.Londonmoved to modifythe expulsionfor KWtoone year,return‐ing March2027. Mrs. Freeman made asubse‐quent motion to uphold the original decision.No one attempteda second motionfailed. Dr.London rescinded heroriginal motionand made amo‐tiontomodifythe expul‐siontoone semester withKWreturning in Jan‐uary2027. Mr.Mackie secondedthe motion Therewas no public comment ROLL CALL VOTE: Mr.Gaines- Absent,Dr. Taylor– Jarell Yea, Dr Lathon– Abstained, Mr Talbot– Absent, Mr.Mackie– Yea, Mrs. Freeman –Nay,Mr. Hughes– Yea, Mr.Dayton - Yea, Dr.London- Yea. YEAS 5NAYS1 ABSENT 2 ABSTAINED1 Organizational Items–Next BoardMeeting, Committee of theWhole willbeheldonJune 2, 2026, at 6:30 PM,3755 Church Street,Zachary

PublicNotice TheMayor andCity Council of theCityof Central,LAwillhold a publicmeetingand pub‐lic hearingonTuesday June 9, 2026 at 6:00 pm at Central City Hall,11530 SullivanRoad, Central, LA 70818 to discussthe fol‐lowingitems: a) An ordinance amending the2025-2026 budget Anordinance amending theGeneral Fund Budget d h di d d

LOUISIANA By virtue of aWritof Seizure andSale, di‐rectedbythe Honorable The Eighteenth Judicial DistrictCourt,for the ParishofWestBaton Rouge,inthe aboveenti‐tled andnumbered