The Acadiana Advocate 06-09-2026

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Iberia firm lands $10M investment Funds support expansion that will add 249 jobs

BY ADAM DAIGLE

selection along with a 178.95-acre site at the airport as certified for economic development under the A site at the Acadiana Regional state’s certified sites program in Airport will receive a $10 million partnership with the office of Louiinvestment to support the expan- siana Economic Development.

The $10 million investment will sion of an aerospace company.

One Acadiana announced the target improvements to support

Acadiana business editor

the expansion of Aviation Exteriors, which does painting, maintenance and repairs for airplanes.

“The East Side Development Project (at the airport) is a huge step in developing an economic and workforce development driver for the Acadiana region,”

airport director Moe Songy said.

“Hopefully, this project will lead to continuous growth for Aviation Exteriors, the Acadiana Regional Airport and the Acadiana region as a whole.”

Aviation Exterior, as part of its expansion, will build a three-bay, B767-size maintenance hangar, expand its administrative offices and warehouse capacity and enhance

WALK THIS WAY

its operations to handle increased customer demand.

The company’s $74 million expansion was first announced two years ago when it landed a $2 million federal grant. Construction is expected to be complete late next year, and the moves will add 249 jobs.

ä See IBERIA, page 4A

Lafayette names parks director

Former UL basketball standout Starks to lead department

BY STEPHEN MARCANTEL Staff writer

STAFF PHOTOS By LESLIE WESTBROOK

ABOVE: Lafayette Parish Mayor-President Monique Boulet is joined by other city officials, construction representatives and stakeholders as she cuts a ribbon during a ceremony celebrating a $912,000 sidewalk improvement project Monday at the intersection of South Washington Street and West Vermilion Street in downtown Lafayette. The project included upgrades at six key downtown intersections, improving pedestrian accessibility, safety, drainage and connectivity throughout the area and bringing the infrastructure up to current Americans with Disabilities Act standards.

BELOW: Attendees gather on one of six recently improved sidewalk areas during Monday’s ceremony.

Lafayette Parish Mayor-President Monique Boulet has named a new Parks, Arts, Recreation and Culture director.

Byron Starks has been chosen after former director Tim Sensley left his position abruptly back in September. Brian McGrath assumed the role of interim since then.

Starks starts his position in July.

Starks brings Starks more than 30 years of experience developing people, programs and communities as a respected educator, mentor, coach and nonprofit leader, Boulet’s office said in an email.

Starks’ commitment “makes him an outstanding choice to lead PARC,” Boulet said.

Starks is the founder and executive director of Champion International Inc., a youth outreach program focused on character enrichment and life skills development, according to its website.

The program has reached thousands of young people through leadership development programs, athletic camps and mentorships, Boulet’s office said.

A Louisiana native, Starks is a former University of Louisiana at Lafayette basketball player and inductee into the university’s Athletic Hall of Fame. He has also led and strengthened athletic programs at Lafayette Christian Academy, LSU Eunice

ä See PARKS, page 4A

Israel and Iran appear to pause attacks after trading fire Strikes came for the first time since April ceasefire

hours after they traded fire for the first time since the U.S. agreed to a ceasefire with Tehran two months ago. Both countries warned that they were ready to launch retaliatory attacks if provoked.

The renewed hostilities raised

BY JON GAMBRELL concerns that the Middle East and MELANIE LIDMAN could plunge back into a full-scale Associated Press war.

Since the U.S. and Israel began DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Israel and Iran appeared to back away striking Iran on Feb. 28, the war from further strikes Monday, has shaken the global economy,

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driven up energy prices around the world and made many basics, including food, more expensive.

Officials have been unable to turn the April ceasefire into a deal to permanently end the conflict.

The new attacks prompted U.S. President Donald Trump to call for an immediate stop to fighting between Israel and Iran.

Soon after, the Iranian military’s

A man looks at the wreckage of an Iranian missile that landed near the West Bank city of Jericho on Monday.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MAHMOUD ILLEAN

ä See PAUSE, page 4A

Business ...................10C Commentary ................3B Nation-World ................2A Classified .....................4B Deaths .........................4B Opinion ........................2B Comics-Puzzles .....7C-9C Living............................5C Sports ..........................1C

101ST yEAR, NO. 344

2A ● Tuesday, June 9, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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OpenAI files SEC paperwork for company’s IPO

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

Kennedy Center drops ‘Trump’ branding

NEW YORK — John Mellencamp, Jay Leno and Whitney Cummings will be among the guest speakers when Bill Maher receives the Mark Twain Award for American Humor during a June 28 ceremony at the Kennedy Center.

The center disclosed the list Monday in an email sent to members, who were offered packages ranging from $99 for a seat reservation to $1,500 and more for seating and admission to pre- and post-show receptions.

The announcement also marks a notable change in how the center is identifying itself: The news came from the Kennedy Center, not the “Trump Kennedy Center,” a switch that also appears on the center’s homepage.

Last month, a federal judge ruled that President Donald Trump’s hand-picked board of trustees had acted illegally when they voted to add Trump’s name to the venue, which Congress in 1964 named for the recently assassinated President John F. Kennedy.

“The Kennedy Center’s organic statute makes crystal clear that the Center is to be named for President Kennedy, and it cannot bear any other formal name or public memorial based on the Board’s unilateral say-so.

Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it,” wrote U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper.

Although a Kennedy spokesperson suggested the venue might appeal the decision, the center received an email last week from its general counsel that laid out steps for cooperation, including the removal of Trump’s name.

Report says Hulk Hogan died of natural causes

MIAMI — Professional wrestling legend Hulk Hogan died of natural causes last year, according a report by Florida police that formally closes the investigation into his death.

The Clearwater Police Department released a 72-page report on Friday summarizing an exhaustive review of statements, medical records, surveillance footage and a visual inspection of the body. Hogan, whose real name was Terry Bollea, died July 24 at age 71.

“There has been no evidence to indicate the death of Terry Bollea was anything other than natural,” the report said. “Through the course of the investigation, there has been no evidence to indicate any criminal wrongdoing related to his death. This case will be closed, and will be considered solved, noncriminal.”

According to the report, Hogan’s wife, as well as a home health aide and an occupational therapist, were all with Hogan at his home when he stopped breathing. His wife, Sky Daily Hogan, called 911, and then the trio performed CPR on Hulk Hogan until firefighters and paramedics arrived.

Pentagon labels firms as aiding Chinese military

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has added several prominent Chinese businesses, including the tech giant Alibaba, electric carmaker BYD and search engine Baidu, to its list of Chinese military companies, preventing them from getting U.S. defense contracts.

The list, updated and published Monday by the Pentagon, now sanctions well-known, non-stateowned Chinese companies that are not traditionally considered to be in the defense or security sector. It reflects growing wariness of Beijing’s strategy of tapping the strength of nonstate businesses for military purposes.

Created in 2021 by a congressional mandate, the list seeks to identify Chinese companies that the Pentagon considers to have links to the Chinese military — not only those directly controlled by the Chinese military and security forces but also those contributing to the country’s defense industrial base.

When updating the list last year, the Pentagon said the Chinese military sought to acquire advanced technologies and expertise developed by Chinese companies, universities and research programs that “appear to be civilian entities.”

BY MATT O’BRIEN AP technology writer

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO

Residents pass a collapsed building on Monday after an earthquake in General Santos, Philippines.

Quake in Philippines leaves at least 35 dead

break into chaos.

7.8 magnitude “Their excitement on the first day of school to trauma,” school principal earthquake collapses Rosavelturned Cachuela told the AP. of the young students screamed buildings, sparks tsunami inSome panic and wept but most remained

BY JIM GOMEZ and JOEAL CALUPITAN Associated Press

DAVAO, Philippines — An offshore earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 hit the southern Philippines on Monday, killing at least 35 people, injuring more than 200 others mostly in ruined buildings and sending a 3-foot tsunami into nearby coasts.

Several mostly low-rise buildings collapsed or sustained heavy damages in the hard-hit city of General Santos. Tsunami damage was reported in at least one southern coastal village. Smaller waves were measured in Indonesia and Palau and as far away as southern Japan.

The quake also triggered a landslide in Glan, a municipality in the province of Sarangani, that killed 13 villagers, Rene Punzalan, a provincial disaster-mitigation official, told the DZBB radio network. Four other villagers died in Sarangani, he said.

The major earthquake was the strongest to hit the Philippines this year, Teresito Bacolcol, the director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, said. He warned people to seek advice before returning to damaged buildings and houses, which could collapse due to aftershocks.

The United States, a treaty ally of the Philippines, said it was coordinating with Manila and was ready to support Philippine response efforts. France, Japan and New Zealand also expressed support.

“Our pickup truck suddenly jerked and I thought we had a flat tire,” Rod Sosmeña, a regional director of the Office of Civil Defense, told The Associated Press from General Santos, where he was traveling when the quake struck at 7:37 a.m.

“The shaking was very strong and people dashed out of houses into the streets,” Sosmeña said.

Epicenter in sea off Mindanao More than 100 students in uniforms and a dozen teachers had gathered for a flagraising ceremony in a coconut tree-ringed grade school compound in the rural town of Malita in Davao Occidental province when the ground shook, turning the first day of school after a two-month summer

seated and still, preventing any injuries, Cachuela said, adding that a motorcycle was damaged when a shed crumbled to the ground.

At least four people remained missing in General Santos, a port city of more than 700,000 people and a regional hub for the tuna export industry. Search and rescue teams worked to find people who may have been trapped in a supermarket, a warehouse, a grade school, and other small buildings that either collapsed or were severely damaged, officials said.

The international airport in General Santos was temporarily shut due to the earthquake and 17 domestic flights were canceled, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines said.

The quake was centered at sea off Mindanao, the second most populous island in the Philippine archipelago. According to Bacolcol, the quake occurred at a depth of 20 miles, about 20 miles southwest of Maasim town in Sarangani province.

Assessing damage and casualties President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the cancellation of classes and directed disaster-response agencies to immediately get to work in quake-hit provinces, saying “the national government is moving and we will not leave Mindanao behind.”

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the threat of a tsunami largely passed about five hours after the quake. Philippine officials also lifted a tsunami warning by midafternoon. Six shanties on stilts were damaged in a coastal village in Zamboanga del Sur province due to the quake and taller waves, officials said.

Aside from the landslide in Sarangani, most of the other deaths were caused by collapsing buildings and falling debris, including in a damaged mosque, in the southern provinces of South Cotabato and Davao Occidental, and on Balut Island, according to Sosmeña and another disastermitigation official, Ednar Dayanghirang.

The DZRH radio network in Manila reported that a four-story commercial building where its provincial station was located partly collapsed and staffers dashed to the ground floor without injuries.

Judge strikes down Trump’s $100K fee on new H-1B visas

BY MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press

BOSTON — A federal judge on Monday struck down the Trump administration’s $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas, contradicting an earlier federal court ruling upholding the fee hike.

The administration announced the much-higher fee as a way of preventing foreign workers from taking American jobs.

But U.S. District Court Judge Leo Sorokin in Boston sided with 20 states and struck down the visa policy, concluding that the executive branch exceeded its authority and violated the Administrative Procedure Act, which governs how federal agencies develop and issue regulations.

“The Court finds that the Policy imposes a tax on H-1B petitions without the requisite delegation by Congress,” Sorokin wrote.

H-1B visas are meant for high-skilled jobs are difficult to find American workers to fill. Deep-pocketed technology companies are the biggest users, with nearly three-quarters of approvals going to workers from India. The states ar-

ChatGPT maker OpenAI filed preliminary paperwork that would open the door to it becoming a publicly traded company, making itself the third in a powerhouse trio of artificial intelligence companies racing to Wall Street debuts.

The San Francisco-based company said Monday it has filed confidential paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

“We expect it to leak so we’re just announcing it,” the company said in a written statement. “We have not decided on timing yet; it may be a while because there are things we want to do that are likely easier as a private company. But it’s a complicated set of tradeoffs and this gives us the option to go public sooner if that ends up being best.”

OpenAI’s move follows its rival Anthropic’s June 1 disclosure that it is also moving toward an initial public offering of shares.

Both are now following Elon Musk’s space company SpaceX, which has started an IPO roadshow pitching itself as an AI-focused space company.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman first publicly floated the possibility of an IPO last fall, describing it as the “most likely path” for the company given its size and

the need for vast amounts of capital to advance its technology.

OpenAI began in 2015 as a nonprofit dedicated to developing AI for the common good and is now a company valued at $852 billion.

Paving the way for going public was OpenAI’s decision last year to reorganize its business structure and convert itself into a public benefit corporation even as it remains technically under the control of a nonprofit.

In an April interview, OpenAI’s chief financial officer Sarah Friar declined to give a timeline for a potential IPO but said the company was already “acting with the good hygiene of a public company,” such as by measuring its revenue in the way a publicly traded firm would have to report earnings to the SEC. “I want us to be ready,” she told The Associated Press. “I think it’s good to be able to tap the public markets. They’re much bigger than the private markets if you believe compute is a competitive advantage.”

She said OpenAI’s current valuation would make it one of the 15 biggest companies in the S&P 500.

She also said there is a “credentializing moment of being a public company.”

“At that point, people are checking your balance sheet, the SEC is governing you and so on,” she said.

gued that using the H-1B program to fill vacancies for much-needed doctors and teachers was already difficult before the higher fee.

Most H-1B visa applications cost several thousand dollars before the announced increase set off a wave of panic among confused employers, students and workers in the United States and abroad and led to several lawsuits, including in Boston.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce also sued, in federal court in Washington, D.C., and has appealed a denial of a summary judgment against the fee hike. That left the higher fee in effect, at least until September 2026, when it is scheduled to expire. Monday’s ruling is also a summary judgment, to the opposite effect. Still another lawsuit was filed in federal court in San Francisco, by religious groups and labor organizations, setting up the possibility of divided rulings in three appellate court circuits.

The states argued that the policy impedes their ability to hire primary and secondary school educators and to staff public colleges and universities, will stymie academic research and will lead to a decline in medical workers.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By GODOFREDO A. VÁSQUEZ

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman arrives April 30 at the U.S. District Court in Oakland, Calif. The artificial intelligence company says it filed preliminary paperwork that would open the door to it becoming a publicly traded firm.

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Pope meets with 6 clergy abuse survivors in Spain

BY SUMAN NAISHADHAM and NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press

MADRID — Pope Leo XIV met Monday with six survivors of clergy sexual abuse in Madrid and vowed to consider their suggestions for how the Catholic Church can improve its response to the crisis, the Vatican said.

The meeting, which followed in the tradition of popes meeting with abuse survivors during their foreign trips, lasted about an hour and took place at the Vatican embassy in Madrid, the Vatican said in a statement.

Spain’s Catholic hierarchy has only recently begun reckoning with its legacy of abuse and cover-up after long dismissing the severity of the scandal that came to light thanks to reporting by the newspaper El País.

In 2023, the Spanish government’s ombudsman delivered a damning 800-page report estimating there were hundreds of thousands of possible victims in Spain over decades — based on a survey of 8,000 people. The report also examined 487 known cases.

Spain’s bishops rejected

the estimate, saying its own investigation had uncovered 728 sexual abusers within the church since 1945.

During Monday’s meeting, the survivors told the pope their stories and recommendations for how the church should better respond, the Vatican said. Victims in Spain and elsewhere have long complained that the church’s response to the scandal was often retraumatizing, with victims often accused of only seeking money or to harm the church.

“The pope listened with affection and attention, assured them of his closeness — and that of the entire church community — and pledged his commitment to ensuring that the suggestions received serve as a foundation for further efforts, so that the church may truly be a safe and spiritually healthy place where wounds find comfort and healing,” said a statement from Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni.

The encounter marked the first known time Leo had met with victims while on a foreign visit, but it by no means was his first time hearing firsthand from survivors.

As a bishop in Chiclayo, Peru, the former Robert Pre-

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ANDREA COMAS

Pope Leo XIV leaves after meeting with Spain’s bishops on Monday at the Spanish Episcopal Conference in Madrid. vost was in charge of listening to victims as the point of reference for the Peruvian bishops conference. In that capacity, he became intimately aware of the abusive practices in the powerful Peruvian group, Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, which Pope Francis formally suppressed last year.

As pope, Leo has insisted

on the need to listen to victims but he has also demanded that the rights of accused priests be upheld.

In his recent encyclical, he said the journey for justice for victims included “just reparation” and he included not only victims of sexual abuse but also spiritual, economic, institutional and power-based abuse, as well

as abuses of conscience.

Ahead of the expected meeting with Leo, several groups representing survivors that were not included said they were left in the dark about the encounter, and held a small protest outside the Vatican’s embassy in Madrid.

“Our associations are pleased that a group of vic-

tims from the reparation plan can be heard by the pope, but they do not represent all the victims, and deep down they are being used by the church, by the bishops conference, to clean up the image of a Spanish church that has never been able to live up to its victims,” said Juan Cuatrecasas, a spokesperson for the Robbed Childhood association.

Before the meeting, Leo told Spanish bishops that they must offer reparations to survivors and that the entire church community should have an “ever more determined commitment to prevention and a culture of care.”

“Faced with this scourge, the ecclesial community is called to respond with listening, truth, justice, reparation,” Leo said. “Every wounded person must be able to find sincere listening, welcome, protection and real paths to healing.”

Amid public outrage over the abuse crisis, Spain launched a reparations system earlier this year for clerical abuse cases too old to be prosecuted that requires the participation of the Catholic Church and the Spanish government.

Trump nominates Blanche for attorney general GOP lawmakers President’s warn surveillance former lawyer face tough program may lapse may confirmation

BY JOEY CAPPELLETTI, MARY CLARE JALONICK and ERIC TUCKER Associated Press

BY MICHAEL MACAGNONE and RYAN TARINELLI CQ-Roll Call (TNS)

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday sent to the Senate the nomination of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to fill the role permanently, teeing up what could be a bruising confirmation process for a Trump ally who has drawn bipartisan criticism for recent Justice Department moves.

The president’s former defense attorney has pursued an aggressive agenda during his short tenure as the acting head of the department, including indictments against perceived political enemies of the president such as the Southern Poverty Law Center and former FBI Director James Comey.

Blanche has been tied to an array of rolling controversies at the Justice Department, including the handling of the release of Epstein files and nowscrapped plans to set up a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund that critics say could be funneled to rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

The idea for the fund was outlined as part of a settlement in the unprecedented $10 billion lawsuit that Trump brought against the IRS earlier this year, a scenario in which Trump sued the same federal government he oversees.

Democrats have also laced into Blanche for signing a memo, similarly tied to the settlement of the Trump lawsuit against the IRS, that outlined a sweeping pledge in which the IRS is “forever barred” from “examinations”

publicans raised the concern that it would be used to compensate defendants who attacked police officers during the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, and who Trump later pardoned.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles E. Grassley, in a statement released after the White House sent the nomination, called Blanche “wellqualified” and said he appreciates his “commitment to transparency and support for law enforcement.”

“The Senate Judiciary Committee’s work to process Blanche’s nomination is underway,” Grassley said.

Sen. Richard J. Durbin, the top Democrat on the panel, said after Monday’s nomination that Trump “has been engaged in the most corrupt enterprise in the history of the Presidency.”

“Todd Blanche apparently has not noticed,” Durbin said.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., a member of the Judiciary Committee that holds confirmation hearings for Justice Department nominees, told reporters Wednesday he has “a lot of respect” for Blanche and acknowledged that he will face criticism in the process for previously serving as Trump’s personal attorney.

r y ou da tY o ar T St ove M

WASHINGTON — Republicans are warning the White House that a critical surveillance authority is likely to lapse this week amid bipartisan backlash over President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the nation’s intelligence community.

Sen. Tom Cotton, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, sounded the alarm over the weekend after a failed procedural vote to extend the program.

The senators in a letter urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to prepare “for a potential significant gap in foreign intelligence collection” if the authority expires.

Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, set to lapse June 12, allows agencies including the CIA, National Security Agency and FBI to collect communications from foreign targets overseas without a warrant.

“We have a deadline ahead of us. We need Democrat votes,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Monday.

Efforts to secure a longterm extension of the program already faced hurdles because of bipartisan concerns that the program can incidentally collect Americans’ communications. Privacy advocates and some lawmakers have been pushing to create a new warrant requirement before those communications can be searched.

Senate leaders from both parties appeared to be nearing agreement on a longterm extension. But the ef-

fort collapsed after Trump selected federal housing finance regulator Bill Pulte to serve as acting director of national intelligence.

“Why the president would throw this live hand grenade of Bill Pulte in 10 days before this is due to expire, I’m not sure,” Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on ABC’s “This Week.”

Early Friday morning, after senators spent the night debating separate immigration legislation, seven Republicans joined nearly all Democrats in blocking a long-term extension of the surveillance authority.

Democrats and several Republicans registered their opposition to Trump’s selection of Pulte, arguing the federal housing finance regulator lacks the experience needed to oversee the nation’s 18 intelligence agencies.

“The naming of Pulte to that position, although the timing arguably wasn’t the best, I still don’t think it ought to derail something that’s this important,” Thune said Friday.

Thune has expressed concern over Pulte’s pick, saying the nation’s top intelligence post should not be “weaponized” and that the job should be filled by “professionals.”

Cotton, who rarely strays from supporting Trump and is a leading advocate for the surveillance authority, declined to endorse Pulte, saying only that he had “no observations on the matter.”

“He’s not qualified for the long-term position,” Republican Sen. James Lankford, another member of the Intelligence Committee, told “Fox News Sunday.” “That’s been clear on this. He has no national security background.”

against Trump, certain members of his family, the Trump Organization or “related or affiliated individuals.”

The nomination is also sure to test Trump’s influence among Senate Republicans, some of whom Blanche expressed deep concern with the “antiweaponization” fund, specifically over its scope and who would be eligible to receive funding under the structure.

Democrats and some Re-

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Paxton’s impeachment attorney endorses his opponent in U.S. Senate race in Texas

BY JESSE BEDAYN Associated Press

AUSTIN, Texas — A lawyer who represented Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for nearly a decade over accusations of corruption and securities fraud is supporting Democrat James Talarico — and not his former client — in one of the biggest U.S. Senate races.

Talarico on Monday drew attention to his campaign winning the endorsement of Houston attorney Dan Cogdell, who was part of Paxton’s defense team during the Re-

publican’s historic impeachment trial in 2023 that ended in acquittal.

The legal troubles that shadowed Paxton in public office in Texas are a central attack line of Talarico’s campaign, though in his endorsement, Cogdell didn’t cite concerns about his client’s past.

Cogdell said he didn’t dislike Paxton as a person and felt that Texas lawmakers were right to eventually acquit the attorney general.

But as a politician, Cogdell said, Paxton is too focused on appeasing President Donald Trump.

“I worked my ass off for the man for nine years,” Cogdell said in an interview with The Associated Press. “But that’s a different inquiry.

My obligation to Ken ended at the courthouse steps and my obligation as a citizen is to do what I think is the right thing.”

Cogdell said Texas needs a lot of work, pointing to education and healthcare, “and to simply bootlick or rubberstamp Trump, that’s not what we need in D.C. right now.”

He also recently spoke to Talarico at length on Cogdell’s podcast.

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Ukrainian strikes hit oil sites in Russia

By The Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian forces struck oil facilities in Russia and occupied Ukraine, Ukrainian and Russian officials said Monday, as part of their campaign to make Moscow pay an economic cost for the war.

Separately, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has confirmed that Roman Abramovich acted as a go-between for messages between Kyiv and Moscow.

Zelenskyy told Sky News that the former owner of Premier League team Chelsea traveled to Kyiv with a message from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Zelenskyy said Abramovich brought the message that the Russians “want to understand what we are ready to do,” and had offered to take a reply to Putin.

Meanwhile, the European Union’s foreign policy chief said a new proposed round of sanctions against Russia includes 80 listings targeting Russia’s “military industrial complex, human rights violators and propagandists.”

Kaja Kallas told a news conference after a meeting of EU defense ministers Monday that Western sanctions have already cost Moscow an estimated $1.2 to $1.5 trillion.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces shot down 310 Ukrainian drones overnight into Monday, including over the Moscow region, western and southwestern Russia, Russian-occupied Crimea and the Black and Azov seas.

Russia targeted Ukraine with 155 drones, of which Ukrainian air

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Continued from page 1A

PHOTO PROVIDED By UKRAINIAN EMERGENCy SERVICE

A rescue worker puts out a fire Monday at a storage facility after a Russian strike in Kharkiv, Ukraine. defenses shot down or suppressed 124, according to its air force.

Ukraine’s General Staff said Ukrainian forces had struck Russia’s Krasnodar Krai region overnight, hitting the Grushovaya oil transshipment base near Novorossiysk. The complex is one of the largest transshipment hubs in southern Russia for oil and petroleum products.

Russian regional authorities confirmed a Ukrainian drone sparked a fire at the facility, adding that there were no casualties. While they did not comment on the extent of damage, they said 130 rescue workers were involved in put-

ting out the blaze.

Asked whether the Kremlin is worried about the fuel crisis in Crimea, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Energy Ministry and other agencies are working on a set of measures to respond to the situation.

“There are indeed certain problems at the moment,” Peskov said.

“Measures are being taken.”

The Krasny Yar “linear production and dispatching station” in the Volgograd region was also hit, the General Staff said. A fire broke out at the site, according to the statement. Russian Gov. Andrei Bocharov didn’t specify what the facility

produces, but said there were no injuries.

Ukraine also carried out strikes overnight in the Semykolodezkaya oil base in the Russianoccupied Crimean Peninsula on Sunday night, sparking a fire at the facility.

The base is used to store fuel reserves supplying the Russian military, according to the statement posted on Telegram.

Ukrainian forces also struck an oil depot near Feodosia in Crimea, the General Staff said.

they had imposed as safety precautions. The Israeli military said most schools in Israel that closed Monday would reopen. Iran’s official Mizan news agency reported that the Islamic Republic had lifted airspace restrictions affecting civilian flights.

During the truce, Iran has maintained its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz — a crucial passage for the world’s oil and natural gas whose closure was the primary reason global fuel prices skyrocketed. Israel has continued to strike Hezbollah, Iran’s ally in Lebanon, and pushed deeper into that country.

The U.S. military continues to impose a blockade on Iranian ports. U.S. Central Command said its forces on Monday fired on and disabled a Palau-flagged oil tanker, the M/T Marivex, in the Gulf of Oman after the ship attempted to breach the blockade.

Officials in India said the tanker’s crew of 24 Indian sailors were all reported safe after a fire broke out on the vessel. It was the seventh commercial vessel the U.S. military has disabled to enforce its blockade, which began in mid-April.

Two regional officials said Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan and Qatar had all urged the Trump administration to pressure Israel to halt strikes on Iran and Beirut.

Those countries also pushed for Iran to stop attacking Israel, the officials said. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters.

Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations said Monday that Iran and the U.S. are still working to negotiate a peace deal. After speaking at a U.N. Security Council meeting, Amir Saeid Iravani told The Associated Press he was hopeful that “very soon” the two sides would reach “a conclusion.”

launchers.

Israel said its strikes were in response to an Iranian missile attack. Tehran warned Sunday that it would retaliate after Israel struck Beirut’s southern suburbs without warning. When Israel struck back, Iran fired again.

Explosions could be heard in central Israel as air defenses sought to intercept incoming Iranian fire.

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said it had targeted two military bases in Israel.

Iran blamed the United States for the escalation.

“No one believes that the Israeli regime would take any action without coordination with the United States,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told journalists in Tehran.

joint command issued a statement that said it was halting offensive strikes. The statement said further “aggression and hostile acts” by Israel and its supporters, including in southern Lebanon, would be met with “much more severe and crushing measures than before.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking in a videotaped statement, implied that the current round of fighting was over.

But he also warned that if Iran “makes the mistake and returns to attacking us, we will respond with force.”

Netanyahu said Israel is continuing to operate in Lebanon against the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah, and that Israel “has full right to self-defense, and we will exercise it to the full extent necessary.”

Meanwhile, the Lebanese Health Ministry said an Israeli airstrike on the village of Zefta killed seven people Monday, including a Syrian child. Eight people were wounded.

Another strike on the coastal city of Tyre killed five and wounded Race to save the ceasefire eight, some of them members of Pakistani Prime Minister Shethe Lebanese Red Cross, the min- hbaz Sharif expressed concern Monday over the surge in violence. istry said.

In a post on X, Sharif urged all parBoth countries lift restrictions ties to “exercise restraint and give Both countries lifted restrictions peace a little more chance.”

IBERIA

Continued from page 1A

Iran launched waves of attacks on Israel on Monday, and Israel launched strikes on central and western Iran.

Iranian state media reported at least 15 people were wounded after explosions sounded in Tehran and other cities. There were no immediate reports of fatalities.

The semiofficial Fars and Mehr news agencies said Israeli strikes hit a petrochemical factory in the city of Mahshahr. They did not elaborate on any damage. The Israeli military confirmed the strike on the plant, saying it targeted sites that produce materials for ballistic missiles. Israel said it also targeted truck-based missile

Zelenskyy said his message was

Trump, Netanyahu tension grows Trump and Netanyahu launched the war in a closely coordinated attack, with Israeli officials proudly boasting of unprecedented “shoulder to shoulder” cooperation.

The conflict reached 100 days on Monday, and the two leaders have moved in opposite directions, with tensions sometimes spilling out into the open.

Netanyahu appears to have openly defied Trump with the strike Sunday in Beirut and subsequent attacks in Iran. Trump has voiced his displeasure with Israel, including belittling Netanyahu by declaring to the Financial Times

One Acadiana’s site development program is designed to increase the region’s portfolio of marketable, development-ready sites by certifying land within the nine-parish region through partnerships with local economic development partners, LED and landowners.

Since its inception, One Acadiana has certified 31 sites, representing nearly 3,000 acres of developmentready land across Acadiana.

“FastSites is about making disciplined investments that create long-term returns for Louisiana and our people,” LED Secretary Susan B. Bourgeois said. “As development moves forward, those dollars return to the state and can be reinvested into the next generation of sites and infrastructure projects, creating a sustainable model that continues positioning Louisiana to win.”

The site was selected as one of 19 sites statewide to receive funding.

One Acadiana worked with airport and local partners to support the application, helping demonstrate the site’s growth potential, return on investment, economic impact and readiness for additional development.

“This expansion represents more than just physical growth,” Aviation Exterior owner and CEO Jerry Hernandez said. “It’s a commitment to our people and our community. From day one, our mission has been to create opportunities, invest in local talent and build something that delivers lasting economic value. This new hangar allows us to do even more of that.”

The other site is located just off U.S. 90 and is 8 miles from the Port Email Adam Daigle at adaigle@ of Iberia. theadvocate.com.

PARKS

Explosions in Tehran, Israel

Zelenskyy sent message to Putin

“I am honored by the opportunity to serve Lafayette in this role,” Continued from page 1A Starks said. “PARC plays a vital role in bringing people together, promoting wellness and enhancand Baton Rouge Community ing quality of life. I look forward to College, where he successfully working with our dedicated staff, expanded community partner- community partners and residents ships, secured sponsorships, to build upon the strong foundation enhanced facilities and elevated already in place and create even more opportunities for families program performance.

that he would meet Putin “any time” in any location other than Russia or Belarus, and either bilaterally or with U.S. President Donald Trump and European leaders.

But he said Ukraine would not surrender the Donbas region, currently part-occupied by Russia.

“It was the key message. I said we will not leave and we will not go out from our territory,” Zelenskyy told Sky News.

Putin said last week that a Russian businessman, who he didn’t identify, traveled to Kyiv last month and met with Zelenskyy to hear his offer of a personal meeting. The Russian leader rejected the idea of a meeting, saying he saw no point in it.

Two people were killed and at least 18 injured, including four children aged 5, 10, 13 and 12, by a Russian drone attack in the central Zaporizhzhia region that damaged residential buildings and vehicles and destroyed market kiosks, said the regional military administration head, Ivan Fedorov.

In Nikopol. a Russian attack killed a 49-year-old woman and injured four other people, according to the State Emergency Service.

The service also reported that four people were injured in the Dnipropetrovsk region when strikes hit residential buildings. In Odesa, three people were wounded after a Russian drone struck a public transport stop.

Russian drone strikes overnight also injured civilians and damaged buildings and businesses in the Kharkiv, Odesa and Chernihiv regions, regional authorities said.

that “I call all the shots.”

Their differences appear to be rooted in each leader’s domestic considerations. Netanyahu faces elections this fall and is under public pressure to strike back against ongoing Hezbollah attacks on northern Israel. He also is wary of appearing too subservient to Trump.

The U.S. president also faces elections — for Congress in November — and is eager to end a war that has jolted the global economy and raised prices for consumers.

Houthis claim attack on Israel Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed an attack on Israel on Monday and said Israelaffiliated vessels would again be a target in the Red Sea, putting the waterway in danger along with the Gulf of Aden and the narrow Bab el-Mandeb Strait connecting them.

The statement from Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree was broadcast on the Houthis’ al-Masirah satellite news channel.

The Houthis made a similar threat during the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip and launched attacks that killed at least nine mariners and sank four ships.

They often targeted vessels with tangential or no ties to Israel.

The assaults upended shipping in the Red Sea, through which about $1 trillion of goods passed each year before the war.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK

Aviation Exteriors employees work inside an aircraft in one of the company’s hangars at Acadiana Regional Airport in New Iberia in 2024.

and future generations.”

The department’s former director, Tim Sensley, abruptly resigned in September. He had been appointed to the position in February 2024.

Before that, the department was led by Walter Guillory, a former Lafayette and Opelousas Housing Authority director who spent time in federal prison for bid-rigging

and wire fraud.

Guillory was hired in July 2019 as athletic programs supervisor

by Lafayette Consolidated Government’s parks and recreation department during the administration of former Mayor-President Joel Robideaux. At the time, officials, including then-Director Gerald Boudreaux, said Guillory would not handle money in his po-

sition. He resigned in May 2024.

In his letter of resignation, Guillory wrote, “Although this has been a difficult decision, I personally and professionally feel that my resignation serves in the ‘best interest’ of myself and my family, as it will allow me to pursue other business ventures and interests that I have longtime wanted to pursue.”

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Tuesday, June 9, 2026 ● 5A

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6A ● Tuesday, June 9, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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TODAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

A t-storm around in the p.m.

Humid; a stray p.m. t-storm

A t-storm around in the p.m.

A t-storm around in the p.m.

Some rain and a thunderstorm

Humid; a stray morning shower

HIGH

LOW

HIGH

88° 74°

LOW

HIGH

88° 73°

LOW

90° 75°

Beaumont 89/77 Port Arthur 88/78

Baton Rouge 90/74

Lake Charles 89/76

New Orleans 90/76 Houma 88/75

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

0s

Hattiesburg 92/70

Alexandria 92/75

Lafayette 88/74

10s

20s

30s

40s

50s

LOW

HIGH

LOW

91° 75°

YESTERDAY

TODAY

READING 42 MAIN POLLUTANT Particulates

MAIN POLLUTANT Particulates

Lafayette through 5 p.m. Monday

Jackson 93/74 Many 93/74

HIGH

90° 77°

TEMPERATURE

Longview 92/74

-0s

LOW

Monroe 93/76

Shreveport 95/76

-10s

HIGH

89° 76°

The weather today will be very much like yesterday only a little warmer. Expect a partly cloudy, hot and humid day with a light breeze. Temperatures this afternoon will be about average, rising into the upper 80s to low 90s. Winds will be out of the southeast at 10 mph, bringing moisture from the Gulf. Humidity will remain high, and heat index temperatures will likely range from 95 to 102 degrees. Also, the UV Index is at the “extreme” level today, so apply the sunscreen before working outside.

60s

70s

80s

90s 100s 110s

High/low Normal high/low Last year’s high/low Record high Record low

Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today NEW

JUN 14

City

Austin Boston Dallas Fairbanks Honolulu Las Vegas Louisville Miami Nashville

Shown are areas of precipitation and high temperatures for the day.

87°/77° 90°/72° 92°/77° 99° in 1911 57° in 1930

TODAY’S TIDES Lake Pontchartrain (Tchefuncte River) Shell Beach South Point, Marsh Island Cypremort Point Grand Isle (Barataria Pass) Mississippi River (Southwest Pass) Wine Island

24-hour total Month to date Normal month to date year to date Normal year to date

HIGH

6:18p 12:16p 12:00a 2:32a 7:31a 7:17a 8:39a

FT.

JUN 21

Hi

92 85 92 61 87 99 85 90 88

TODAY Lo

75 63 77 37 74 76 76 79 73

FULL

LAST

JUN 29

W

t s pc s r s t t t

JUL 7

Hi

92 82 92 67 86 105 93 88 92

WED. Lo

76 66 76 43 72 81 77 77 73

LOW

0.00” 3.24” 1.79” 29.78” 25.85”

FT.

HIGH

0.4 10:42a 0.2 1.1 3:48a 0.5 1.2 2:37a 0.9 1.2 7:13a 1.0 0.8 5:19p 0.3 0.9 4:04p 0.4 0.9 6:21p 0.4

6:06 a.m.

8:09 p.m.

1:47 a.m.

2:24 p.m.

FIRST

GOOD

PRECIPITATION

W

t pc pc pc sh s c t c

FT.

SOURCE: LOUISIANA DEQ AND AIRNOW.GOV

LOW

FT.

--- ----- ----- --- 10:07p 0.4 11:18a 1.5 4:51p 0.4 12:58p 1.4 8:45p 0.6 --- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ---

The solunar period schedule allows planning days so you will be fishing in good territory or hunting in good cover during those times. Major periods begin at the times shown and last for 1.5 to 2 hours. The minor periods are shorter.

MAJOR MINOR MAJOR MINOR

Today 6:59a 12:47a 7:21p Wednesday 7:41a 1:29a 8:05p Thursday 8:25a 2:12a 8:52p Friday 9:14a 2:59a 9:43p Saturday 10:08a 3:53a 10:40p Sunday 11:09a 4:53a 11:43p Monday 12:49p 5:59a ----

City

New Orleans Orlando Philadelphia Phoenix Pittsburgh Raleigh St. Louis San Diego Tampa

Hi

TODAY

90 90 85 105 81 88 92 72 92

Lo

76 74 65 79 70 73 76 63 77

W

c t s s t pc t pc c

GOOD

Hi

91 91 84 107 81 91 95 72 92

1:10p 1:53p 2:39p 3:29p 4:24p 5:26p 6:32p

WED. Lo

76 73 72 81 74 74 77 64 77

W

MISSISSIPPI Memphis Vidalia-Natchez Red River Landing Baton Rouge Donaldsonville Reserve New Orleans OHIO Cairo COMITE Near Olive AMITE Near Darlington Denham Springs Port Vincent TICKFAW Montpelier Holden ATCHAFALAYA Simmesport Melville Krotz Springs Butte La Rose Bayou Sorrel Morgan City

t t t s t t s s t

Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice.

FLOOD STAGE

34 48 48 35 27 22 17

MON. 24-HOUR STAGE CHANGE

13.60 39.40 41.40 25.10 16.40 12.17 8.00

-2.99 -0.04 +0.07 -0.01 -0.02 -0.05 +0.04

40

22.88

-3.26

19

0.09

+0.87

18 29 8

2.54 16.16 3.32

+2.75 +4.37 -0.38

13 15

2.69 1.78

-0.20 -0.03

47 34 29 20 12 6

21.81 16.37 14.01 11.11 6.40 3.92

-0.03 -0.14 -0.05 -0.01 none -0.17

data as of 7 a.m. Monday

Forecasts and graphics, except for Damon’s Outlook, provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2026

American Revolution scholar Gordon S. Wood dies

BY HILLEL ITALIE

AP national writer

NEW YORK — Gordon S. Wood, the eminent and prolific scholar who forged a highly influential and sharply debated narrative of the country’s early years of independence through such prizewinning works as “The Creation of the American Republic” and “The Radicalism of the American Revolution,” has died. He was 92.

Wood, a professor emeritus at Brown University, died Sunday after being struck by a car in a supermarket parking lot in East Providence, Rhode Island, according to police.

Author of dozens of books and essays, Wood never gained the mass audience of historians like David McCullough and Doris Kearns Goodwin, but his findings became standard references for discussions about the

formation of the U.S. and the legacy of the revolution.

Many peers regarded the white-haired, mild-looking Wood as the embodiment of the learned, traditional historian, guided by facts rather than ideology.

In 2011, President Barack Obama presented him a National Humanities Medal “for scholarship that provides insight into the founding of the nation and the drafting of the U.S. Constitution.”

In recent years, younger academics increasingly alleged that Wood was too wellestablished, the epitome of the old-school historian who minimized the lives of slaves, women and Indigenous people. John L. Brooke, a history professor at Ohio State University, would fault him for “a distinct avoidance of interpretative paradox and complexity,” even as he cited Wood’s “scale and scholarly enterprise.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By PABLO MARTINEZ MONSIVAIS

President Barack Obama presents a National Humanities Medal to author, historian and Brown University professor emeritus Gordon Wood during a ceremony on May 2, 2011, in the East Room of the White House in Washington. Wood died Sunday after being struck by a car, according to police.

His success was immediate and lasting. His first book, “The Creation of the American Republic,” won the Bancroft Prize in 1970 and lived on with generations of students who embraced and

contended with Wood’s findings that the Constitution was unintentionally subversive, a document devised by elites that led to “the destruction of the very social world they had sought to maintain.”

His “The Radicalism of the American Revolution” won the Pulitzer in 1993 and the epic “Empire of Liberty” was a finalist in 2009.

Wood did welcome scholarly breakthroughs, notably Annette Gordon-Reed’s “persuasive contextual case” that the enslaved Sally Hemings bore some of Thomas Jefferson’s children. In “Empire of Liberty,” which covered the years 1789 to 1815, he included lengthy passages on slavery and called it a cancer “eating away at the message of liberty and equality.”

At other times, Wood angrily resisted new approaches. He was a prominent critic of The New York Times’ Pulitzer Prize winning 1619 Project and its contention — later amended — that maintaining slavery was a key motivation for the American Revolution. He alleged that the project encouraged a sense “victimhood” and

feeling “aggrieved,” even as he acknowledged he hadn’t read most of it. He would counter that the founders, even such plantation owners as Jefferson and James Madison, believed — mistakenly — that slavery would die a natural death and the revolution itself energized the American abolitionist movement.

“We all want justice, but not at the expense of truth,” he wrote in 2019, adding, in a widely disputed statement, “I don’t know of any colonist who said that they wanted independence in order to preserve their slaves.”

Wood was born into history: His hometown, Concord, Massachusetts, had been the residence of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau and Louisa May Alcott, among others. But his passion for the subject he later mastered did not arise until college.

La. ICE facility reports its second ICC chief prosecutor suspended detainee death in less than 2 months over sexual misconduct allegations

BY RYAN J. FOLEY Associated Press

A second detainee has died in less than two months at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Louisiana where a recent inspection report found insanitary conditions, problems with medical care and the use of excessive force.

Mamuka Artmeladze, a 43-year-old from the country of Georgia, was found unresponsive June 4 at Winn Correctional Center in Winnfield, ICE announced in a news release Sunday. ICE said staff began lifesaving measures before he was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where a doctor pronounced him dead less than an hour later.

Additional circumstances

surrounding the death were not available, and ICE said the cause of death is pending an autopsy. Artmeladze had been detained at the facility, managed by the Winn Parish Sheriff’s Office and ICE contractor LaSalle Corrections, for nearly four months.

The facility holds more than 1,500 male detainees, and like the majority of them, Artmeladze did not have a criminal record. Artmeladze entered the country illegally on an unknown date and the Border Patrol allowed him to temporarily remain in the country under ICE supervision after encountering him in September 2022, ICE said. He was arrested in Alabama in February after ICE determined he no longer had lawful status to remain in the U.S.

He is the 19th detainee who has died in ICE custody since Jan. 1 and the second at Winn since April 11. A coroner’s report obtained by The Associated Press shows 49-year-old Alejandro Cabrera Clemente was found unresponsive during a security check that day, staff tried to resuscitate him, and he died after he was taken to the same hospital as Artmeladze.

The coroner ruled that Cabrera, a native of Mexico who had recently lived in Tennessee, died from natural causes due to cardiovascular disease. Cabrera woke up coughing and wheezing about 21/2 hours before he was found unresponsive, but said he was OK and went back to sleep, the report said.

BY MOLLY QUELL Associated Press

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The embattled chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court was suspended from his duties late Monday, after the court’s oversight body referred Karim Khan for disciplinary proceedings.

In a scandal that has dragged on for more than two years, Khan is facing allegations of sexual misconduct with a female aide. He has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing.

A final decision on the fate of the British barrister is now up to the Assembly of States Parties, the body that oversees the ICC, which will hold a special session to decide if Khan can remain in

his job at the global court.

The Bureau of the Assembly of States parties — the executive committee of the court’s oversight body — said in a statement on Monday that it based its assessment “on the report of an investigation undertaken by the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services the underlying evidence, the advice of an ad hoc Panel of judicial experts, and written submissions.”

The U.N. investigation found evidence that Khan had “nonconsensual sexual contact with (the aide) in his office, at his private residence, and whilst on mission,” according to a copy of its report seen by The Associated Press. However, a three-judge panel selected by the executive committee

for a legal assessment of the findings found that the investigation was not conclusive enough.

Khan had already temporarily stepped down in May 2025 pending the outcome of the investigation. The process is unprecedented for the ICC, and the Assembly of States Parties has had to repeatedly create new rules to accommodate the situation.

The allegations against Khan were first reported to the court’s independent watchdog more than two years ago. An AP investigation revealed that Khan was alleged to have seen the woman working in another ICC department and moved her into his office. She later became a regular presence on official trips, according to whistleblower documents.

METRO

T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M

Jan Risher LOUISIANA AT LARGE

Put your phone away, sit down, visit Bob Borel handed me a stack of napkins and pointed to a metal napkin holder that once belonged to his mom.

“My mom folded each one like a taco,” he said. “Just folded them once. I remember her doing it so clearly.”

So he and I sat at a table that looked a lot like the one in his grandmother’s kitchen and folded napkins.

It looked a lot like my grandmother’s table, too.

That’s how my Thursday afternoon went in Lafayette last week — folding napkins, hanging pictures — and learning about Borel’s inspiration.

With help from friends, particularly Erin Broussard and Philip Frey, he’s doing his best to recreate his grandmother’s Catahoula kitchen and living room.

Borel is a Lafayette artist and living history interpreter at Vermilionville who, for the past several months, has been building an installation at Basin Arts called “Mom Mom’s: The Sacred Ordinary” — in homage to the St. Martin Parish home of his grandmother, Yola Courville.

She passed away in 2013, but Borel has been reconstructing the heart of her home in as much detail as he can manage, gathering pieces from friends, estate sales, thrift stores, Goodwill and eBay. “For anybody who doesn’t know much about installations,” he told me, “just think of it as one giant piece of art that you can walk through.”

The room already felt real: mock-wood paneling, a crocheted afghan on the sofa, ashtrays loaded with ash (from incense), a console television, a black rotary phone and a faded Holly Hobbie wall hanging.

Borel and I hung his grandmother’s framed “Last Supper” above the television. He told me that when he was a kid and learned that Leonardo da Vinci painted the “Last Supper,” he asked, “The one at Mom Mom’s house?”

Borel has mixed family photographs with estate-sale finds, including a mass-produced portrait of a woman who came with the frame. It’s staying that way.

He’s created his own hidey hole in the installation, a tuckedaway spot to represent where he sometimes spent time growing up — his personal rebellion against Cajun culture, documented for the record. It’s just a chair in a corner, with a Rolling Stone magazine (with Pee-Wee Herman on the cover), a Black Flag cassette and a Walkman.

“At one point, the last thing I wanted to be was Cajun,” he said.

“And then once I was away from it, I thought, ‘What do you mean other people aren’t like this?’”

The installation sits inside Basin Arts’ Project Space Residency program, now in its fifth year.

Clare Cook, Basin Arts’ founder and creative director, said the residency gives artists space and support to spend several months pursuing a large idea.

“Every single time,” Cook said, “the gallery does something it’s never done before. But this is a first. We’ve never had a kitchen.”

While Borel and I worked, Carey Hamburg arrived with a cabinet destined to become the kitchen sink base.

When the sink didn’t fit quite right, nobody seemed worried.

They made plans to fix it. The whole afternoon operated on that same frequency: unhurried, improvisational, held together by something other than an exact

ä See RISHER, page 4B

|

T u e s d ay, J u n e 9, 2026

1Bn

Lafayette pitmaster dies

Chef known for tacos, community

BY JOANNA BROWN Staff writer

Jon Jenkins has long been a beloved presence at Taco Sisters, where the chef and business owner’s commitment to Lafayette has shone for the past 10 years.

Jenkins died Friday after a health battle, leaving a family and restaurant community in deep mourning. He was part of the

ownership group that purchased the restaurant from founders Katy and Molly Richard around 2016, continuing Taco Sisters as a community-focused experience with fresh ingredients, flavorful smoked meats and a friendly atmosphere.

On Friday, Taco Sisters shared that Jenkins was “more than a business partner — he was a friend, a mentor, and a cherished

part of the Taco Sisters family.”

“He was the kind of person who made everyone around him feel like family, and that spirit Jenkins lives in everything Taco Sisters is today,” it said on Facebook.

The restaurant also confirmed that it will continue operating this week, after closing for a couple of days following Jenkins’ death.

It said, “We will be open Monday, serving the freshest food in town just as Jon would have wanted.

Together, we carry his spirit forward in everything we do.”

In addition to working the pit and serving as general manager at Taco Sisters with his wife, coowner and creative director Lynn, and other partners, Jenkins was known for supporting causes in Lafayette like the Lafayette Community Fridge.

ä See PITMASTER, page 4B

STAFF PHOTOS By BRAD KEMP

Quick learners

ABOVE: Musician Jason Harrington, left, of Cajun band Poisson Rouge, helps Lucille Babeaux, 4, play the fiddle during Music Mosaic at the Children’s Museum of Acadiana on Saturday.

LEFT: Youngsters Zelga Chriceol, 8, left, and Evelyn Fontana, 7, strum rub boards while playing along with musicians.

Man with fugitive warrants turns himself in A Lafayette man previously arrested in the disappearance of Skye Angers is back in custody CRIME after turning himBLOTTER self in, according to jail records.

Advocate Joseph Bryant, staff 32, was booked reports into the Lafayette Parish jail about 4 p.m. Thursday on fugitive warrants and is being held without bail, according to the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Angers, who was reported missing in January 2021 while pregnant, has never been found.

District Attorney Frederick Welter said the investigation into Angers’ disappearance began after Lafayette police submitted their case file in 2021.

“The investigation led to Joseph Bryant,” Welter said, adding that evidence gathered by investigators indicated Angers had been in Bryant’s apartment before her disappearance.

Court records show Bryant ultimately pleaded guilty in May 2023

to unlawful disposal of human remains in the case. Welter said Bryant was sentenced in January 2024 to three years at hard labor and was released on a $25,000 appeal bond while the sentence was pending appeal.

“He did not appear for his scheduled court dates in April and May of 2024, and a fugitive warrant was issued,” Welter said.

Bryant was taken into custody Thursday after turning himself in on those warrants and is now being held at the Lafayette Parish jail.

The investigation into Angers’ disappearance remains ongoing.

1 dead after altercation leads to shooting The New Iberia Police Department is investigating a shooting that left a 39-year-old man dead.

About 9 p.m. Saturday, New Iberia police responded to a shooting on Daigre Street near the intersection of Tut Street. Upon arrival, officers

ä See BLOTTER, page 4B

2B ● Tuesday, June 9, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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OPINION T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M/opinions

OUR VIEWS

Plans for LNG terminal give La. vital stake in industry As Louisiana cements its position as a hub for liquefied natural gas, a key project got some good news last week after months of delay, largely due to political obstacles.

The nation’s first floating liquefied natural gas export terminal has secured the $5 billion in financing it needs to move forward, according to officials from Houston-based Delfin Midstream, the company that is building it off the coast of Cameron Parish. It would be the largest such facility in the world and exemplifies just how much the state’s pipeline infrastructure and expertise matter in this growing industry.

The project has been in the works for more than a decade, and it had been on the brink of success until the Biden administration in 2024 yanked the company’s export authorization and required it to apply for a new port license under pressure from activists seeking to stop new LNG projects. The ensuing moratorium on export permits only served to scare away investment in an industry that is becoming key to world energy supply.

We see now, with the war in Iran, that U.S. natural gas supplies are more in demand than ever, and that the security of the nation could one day depend on projects like these. But even before then, we argued that changing the rules on companies in the middle of massively expensive multi-year projects is fundamentally unfair.

One of the first things the Trump administration did upon taking office was lift the moratorium so projects like this one could move forward under rules previously established. However one feels about LNG, we feel companies have a right to expect a regulatory environment that doesn’t shift with each new political wind.

We have said that combating the effects of climate change is a worthy goal, and we urge the regulators to study and continue to monitor the impact these facilities will have on the environment. We know that some environmentalists are also concerned about the habitat of the endangered Rice’s whale, a species identified after this project got initial approval. However, we hope these issues can be addressed without stifling an entire industry.

There’s no question that Louisiana is at the center of an LNG boom that is likely to last well into the future. The Delfin project would be the fourth export terminal in our state and could ultimately produce up to 13.2 million tons annually. Louisiana LNG has already been crucial in helping to shore up supplies to Europe after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, when the Kremlin cut gas supplies to the continent in response to Western sanctions.

We are eager to see what the Delfin project will mean for jobs and investment along our coast. Louisiana has always occupied a unique place in the global energy supply chain, and we are amazed by the continued innovation and exploration that ensure our best days are ahead of us.

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YOUR VIEWS

Republicans justified in fighting gerrymandering games

Honor Caleb Wilson with tough enforcement of hazing laws The intention behind the Caleb Wilson Act is understandable, but requiring a one-credit-hour anti-hazing course is ultimately a weak response to a deeply rooted cultural problem.

Hazing does not continue because students are uninformed. Most participants already know the behavior is dangerous, humiliating and often illegal. Hazing continues because some organizations normalize secrecy, peer pressure, loyalty tests, silence and tradition over accountability.

This bill risks becoming another “check-the-box” requirement rather than meaningful prevention. Students will likely complete the course the same way many complete alcohol awareness or ethics modules — quickly and without lasting behavioral change.

The real issue is enforcement, culture and consequences.

If Louisiana truly wants to curb hazing, lawmakers and universities should focus on: n Strong criminal accountability n Organizational suspensions or permanent bans n Protection for whistleblowers n Financial liability for organizations

involved n Transparency in investigations and disciplinary actions n Parental notification policies, and n Mental health support for students under pressure.

A course alone cannot dismantle generations of toxic initiation culture tied to status, belonging, fear and organizational loyalty.

Another weakness is timing. The bill requires training after membership begins, when students may already be emotionally invested and vulnerable to pressure.

Most hazing deaths do not happen because students lacked information.

They happen because people believed they would not get caught, believed “this is how it has always been done” or valued organizational loyalty over human safety.

Real prevention requires courage from universities, alumni, legislators and national organizations to confront the culture that protects hazing — not simply require coursework.

Caleb Wilson deserved more than symbolic legislation.

I’m a minority voter and conservative Republican who believes that, in light of the gerrymandering games the Democrats are playing in California and Virginia, the Louisiana Legislature is right to redraw our congressional maps to create as many safe Republican seats as possible.

I completely agree with Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s reasoning that racist intent needs to be proven under the Voting Rights Act, and Louisiana Democrats shouldn’t be immune from political targeting simply because they happen to be majority Black.

I’m tired of Democrats stirring up racial division for their own political gain when we should all be seeing ourselves simply as Americans first instead of being fixated on identity politics.

The fact that Bobby Jindal was our governor is proof that Louisiana voters are not “too racist” to vote for a minority candidate. Republican voters elsewhere in the South elected Tim Scott and Byron Donalds. If I end up in the new 6th District, I’ll most likely vote for Larry Davis, a conservative Christian Republican who happens to be Black. A candidate’s skin color is not something I take into account.

What matters is that they share my beliefs and values.

It’s critical that we stop the Democrats from imposing their far-left agenda on us. It is about lowering taxes, securing our borders, respecting our Second Amendment rights, allowing law enforcement to do their jobs without their hands tied behind their backs and the government not telling me what kind of vehicle I can drive or what kind of stove, dishwasher or AC system I can have in my house.

It’s about preserving our pro-life laws in Louisiana and protecting our economy from the EPA and government overregulation. It’s about preserving the American Dream that I’m blessed to be living, right here in the heart of Trump country.

CHAUNA BANKS Baton Rouge

Once, GOP championed free speech Free speech is no longer free; it is considered treasonous.

President Donald Trump recently said that The New York Times and CNN’s reporting on the war was “treasonous.” They merely reported the facts that Iran still controls the Strait of Hormuz and has access to a significant number of missile sites and drones. This is according to U.S. intelligence.

Republicans historically branded themselves as primary defenders of free speech, so long as that free speech does not offend them. Now, Republicans are among the leading attackers of free speech, whether attempting to revoke broadcast licenses, prosecute someone for posting an image of seashells arranged to form “8647” or pressuring employers to fire critics of conservatives, including comedians.

Republicans have used government power to punish corporations for their political views, rewarding corporations that aligned with Republicans’ political views. They forced privatesector employees and academics to be fired over social media comments,

prevented law firms from doing government work due to those firms representing political opponents and threatened to impeach judges who rule against the administration’s actions.

It is no longer a country of free speech; it is a country in which free speech is increasingly treated as treasonous.

Brian Kilmeade said on Fox that homeless people who refuse mentalhealth treatment should simply be killed. Callous? Yes. Despicable? Certainly. Morally bankrupt? Absolutely.

But he still has every right to say it without losing his job.

Charlie Kirk said, “There’s ugly speech. There’s gross speech. There’s evil speech. And all of it’s protected by the First Amendment.”

We would be better off defending protected speech, regardless of how treasonous or offensive or outrageous it is. The president of the United States should be the foremost defender of free speech, but sadly, he is the foremost attacker of free speech.

ERIC TONG Port Vincent

RIKKI THARPE Baton Rouge

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COMMENTARY As Ukraine’s fortunes improve, it’s ‘zugzwang’ time for Putin Fifteen months ago, in an Oval Office tantrum that will live in infamy, President Donald Trump ordered Ukraine to surrender. He told President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, “You don’t have the cards.” He saw an incurable mismatch with Russia.

Was Ukraine a tulip confronting a bulldozer?

Some tulip. Overrated bulldozer.

Russia’s subsequent stumble was dramatized by precautions Ukraine George forced Vladimir Putin to Will take regarding Russia’s annual Victory Day. Usually the May 9 parade of military formations and hardware lasts much longer than this year’s 45 minutes. There were fewer men and machines because Moscow now lives with the threat of Ukrainian drones. Staging areas for the parade would have been inviting targets. In a splendid taunt, Zelensky announced that Ukraine would “permit” the parade by not targeting Red Square that day.

Putin’s limp recent assessment of the war was, “I believe the matter is coming to a close.” “The matter,” his “special military operation” to extinguish Ukrainian nationhood, began 51 months ago. He assumed it would require at most a few weeks.

So far this year, Russia has captured about 0.04% of Ukraine, and in April, Putin’s forces experienced a net loss of territory. By May, the Economist estimates, the human cost of more than 4 years of aggression has been about 3% of Russia’s prewar population of fighting-age men killed or wounded.

The Wall Street Journal recently interviewed a Russian in a Ukrainian prisoner of war camp. He is a former heroin addict jailed for drug-related crimes, released to be cannon (actually, drone) fodder. He was sent into battle even though as a result of previous combat he is missing part of his right

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO

Russian President Vladimir Putin

arm and has two titanium plates in his skull. The Journal reported that “he and many in the Russian army think the war is a deliberate campaign to purge society of those on its lowest rungs, culling the downtrodden, the homeless, and the prison population.”

Many such soldiers are given minimal training because little is needed to prepare them for their (often brief) lives at the front. Small “infiltration groups” creep under artillery and drone attacks to, say, a building or a grove of trees they hope to hold until reinforcements reach them through Ukrainian attacks that saturate a “kill zone” 20 miles deep, an area so dangerous that sometimes Russians allow no more than two trucks to travel together.

Drones have made this 2026 war reminiscent of 1916, with a crucial difference concerning massed infantry. In 1916, the 41/2-month Battle of the Somme cost the British Empire 57,470 casualties on the first day. World War I ground on, indecisively; bloody stasis prevailed for two more years.

Today, micro-movements of Russian soldiers in Ukraine do not threaten to bring about a breakout from the stasis.

Russia can lose hundreds of its scarcest resource — fighting-age men — in weeks spent seizing patches of land the size of the National Mall.

Fear of assassination-by-drone has Putin reportedly spending much time in underground bunkers, sharply curtailing his former tempo of public appearances and avoiding his known residences.

In early May, a Ukrainian drone struck a high-rise building more than 3 miles from the Kremlin. Seventy percent of Russia’s population is within the 1,200-mile range of Ukraine’s drones.

In March, for the first time, Ukraine’s cross-border drone attacks were more numerous than Russia’s.

America’s April 1942 “Doolittle Raid” on Japan did negligible physical damage but shattered that nation’s sense of invulnerability, forcing resources to be diverted to defense. Ukrainian drones can do this daily.

Putin’s war has provoked the enlargement and strengthening of NATO, has accelerated the transformation of “Europe” from a merely geographic expression to a political fact, and has refuted his claim to Russia’s greatness.

The stresses on Russia’s economy and society — especially the ever-larger cohort of war-damaged men — have Putin’s sagging nation in what Alexandra Prokopenko (of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, writing in the Economist) calls “negative equilibrium”: “holding itself together while steadily destroying its own future capacity.”

A former senior Russian government official, writing anonymously for the Economist, says the war Russia started has reached a situation known in chess as “zugzwang,” when every move worsens the position. By the end of this year, two current unknowns might be known: how Putin might lash out in response to the pain of Ukraine’s military revival. And how Trump might lash out in response to the painful (to him) fact that, refuting his clairvoyance, Ukraine holds good and improving cards.

Email George Will at georgewill@ washpost.com.

Dems ruminate when they should be making hay It seemed to take forever, but the the president’s abuses of office.

Democratic National Committee finally This, as we approach the midterms, released its autopsy of its ill-fated 2024 provides a wealth of material for Demopresidential campaign. crats to highlight, especially as Trump’s It’s bitter medicine, my Dem friends, approval ratings sink on traditional but, as Momma used to say, take a Republican strong suits such as the spoonful, it’ll do you good. economy and foreign policy.

As midterm elections loom, and as “I don’t think about Americans’ finanthe party girds its loins for what will be cial situation,” the president told reporta millennial battle to retake the ers when commenting on his White House, Democrats would shockingly expensive own-goal do well to recall the great humorwar with Iran. “Not even a little bit.” ist Will Rogers’ assessment of Meanwhile, he is spending their 1924 convention, which is lavishly on a White House ballwidely remembered as the longest and “wildest” in the nation’s room/bunker and proposing a Clarence triumphal arch while ordinary history.

Page Although the Democrats that families struggle to afford health year initially saw opportunity insurance and pay their bills. in the division and corruption plaguing He’s making himself, his children and incumbent President Calvin Coolidge’s his cronies rich.

Republican Party, they soon realized With Republican lawmakers stuck on that their own coalition was even more Trump’s plantation, afraid to show their divided. faces to voters in their districts, this After 16 days and 103 ballots for the seems like an ideal time for Democrats presidential nomination, the delegates to make hay. in New York City’s Madison Square Yet, the thing about the Democrats is Garden settled on John W. Davis, a conthat first they have to have an embarservative lawyer and congressman from rassing public fight among themselves.

West Virginia — a supposed “comproWhich brings us to the “autopsy,” or mise candidate,” although he reportedly after-action report of the party’s shamsatisfied almost no one. bolic loss in the 2024 presidential elecAfter the chaotic convention, the tion. After months of hand-wringing, Democrats lost badly to Coolidge in the Democratic National Committee Chair 1924 presidential election under the Re- Ken Martin released the document, bizarrely in an incomplete draft form, publicans’ slogan “Coolidge or chaos.” marked up with comments in red type “Democrats never agree on anything, such as “Claim contradicts public rethat’s why they’re Democrats,” Rogers observed. “If they agreed with each porting” and “No sourcing provided.” other, they’d be Republicans.”

The mark-up comments read less like That sounds familiar in these times, as editorial interventions and more like most congressional Republicans caredismissals of a hostile brief. Martin said the report had been withheld because fully march in lock-step with President Donald Trump, even after his — and I do it was shoddily done. Having read an earlier version, I agree up to a point, mean “his” — Justice Department and although many of the cited problems aphis IRS concocted and later abandoned a taxpayer-financed $1.776 billion slush pear painfully obvious. fund.

Among them, party leaders underThis patent corruption does rankle estimated the perils of President Joe some Republicans. Yet given Trump’s Biden’s decision to run for a second recent displays of autocratic power term at age 81, despite widespread conwithin the party, by sponsoring the pricerns about his frailty.

His sudden departure after a faltermary defeats of GOP stalwarts such as Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and ing debate performance led to his quick Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, few congres- replacement by Vice President Kamala Harris, whom the Biden White House sional Republicans will utter anything did not “position or prepare” in a way resembling a discouraging word about

that would enable her to lead a winning campaign, according to the report.

Among other problems, her campaign, according to the autopsy, did not foresee or prepare for such dirty pool as the attacks that came against her previous support for taxpayer-funded genderaffirming surgeries for prison inmates. (”Kamala is for they/them, President Trump is for you.”)

Yes, as an old Chicago motto goes, “Politics ain’t beanbag.”

Rather than delve into the autopsy’s controversy, I’ll simply relate a few salient quotations: “Going negative works (especially if voters know you).”

“The male voter problem was solvable.” Male voters — especially those of color — respond to direct engagement, and that wasn’t achieved in 2024.

“Harris wrote off rural America, assuming urban/suburban margins would compensate.” They didn’t.

“Harris struggled with definition beyond ‘not Trump.’ “ “Irregular voters weren’t feeling it.”

These are swing voters, and in too many states they went for Trump.

“The enthusiasm gap was predictable.”

Rather than wallow in factional recriminations about past failures, Democrats should accentuate the positive.

Through his many misdeeds, Trump has set the table for Democrats to present a new vision for government, one that could usher them to a historical mandate.

There’s a widespread fear that the next two elections will decide whether, to paraphrase Lincoln, government of, by and for the people will perish from the earth. But merely declaiming this to voters won’t automatically produce the desired result.

Voters need to see the party’s vision and recognize it as a direction they wish to go.

Democrats have formulated such a vision before and sold it, even spectacularly, to the electorate. Now, with everything on the line, they have to get real, get unified and get to work.

Email Clarence Page at clarence47page@gmail.com.

Sonny Rollins knew not to die young How is it that the “Saxophone Colossus” Sonny Rollins lived to 95? Aren’t jazz musicians supposed to die at tragically early ages? Actually, that’s a myth that Rollins and others proved flawed.

It’s true that Bix Beiderbecke, king of the cornet, was gone at 28, Charlie Parker at 34, Dinah Washington at 39, John Coltrane at 40. Billie Holiday made it to 44 — not young, but an age that should have been before her time.

Some musicians, classical and rock, as well as jazz, Froma Harrop reach especially advanced ages. The music stimulates their mind, connects them with others and lowers stress. Importantly, performing is also a physical workout.

Watch the virtuosi sweat.

Tony Bennett passed at 96, having sung only 23 months earlier (with Lady Gaga).

Though the performances were billed as “One Last Time,” Bennett seemed in fine form.

The early deaths were usually tied to addictions. Biedernecke was an alcoholic.

Washington was cut down by abuse of prescription drugs. Parker, Coltrane and Holiday suffered multiple addictions.

How did Walter Theodore Rollins escape?

Born in Harlem, Rollins took some wrong turns. At 21, he helped rob a tobacco store and did time in jail. And he got hooked on heroin. But at around age 24, Rollins put himself into the U.S. Public Health Service Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky, and broke the habit.

Also called the Lexington Narcotic Farm, the facility was both a prison and hospital for addicts. Numerous musicians and artists passed through. Relapses were common, but Rollins was not among them.

From then on, Rollins committed himself to staying sober and healthy, spiritually and physically. He got into yoga and meditation, which he practiced religiously. Many a recovering alcoholic know their power.

It is a falsehood, as Rollins demonstrated, that getting high feeds creativity. A year after leaving “Lexington,” as musicians called the hospital, Rollins recorded his seminal album, “Saxophone Colossus.”

From there, he built his legacy as an improvisational genius.

Rollins was not alone among other jazz greats who lived well into their 90s. They include Eubie Blake (96), Marian McPartland and Benny Carter (95), Lionel Hampton and Bucky Pizzarelli (94).

The list of rock musicians perishing in their 20s and 30s from drug abuse is voluminous: Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Brian Jones, Jim Morrison and Amy Winehouse all died at 27. Sid Vicious didn’t make it past 21. But Mick Jagger still performs at 82.

Let’s not overstate the extent to which mind-altering substances spur creativity by relaxing the brain and freeing up associations. Researchers find that novel thoughts do not necessarily lead to good art.

I recall attending a memorial service for Horace Silver, the master of hard bop, who had died at the respectably ripe age of 85.

The son of a Cape Verdean immigrant, Silver started life with scoliosis among other physical burdens. But he used those challenges to pursue a life dedicated to family, spirit and healthy eating. He had cut down touring to spend more time with his wife and son. It’s all there in his autobiography, “Let’s Get to the Nitty Gritty.”

When the service ended, young jazz musicians filled the church with Silver’s gospel-flavored, Brazilian-inspired sounds.

(Steely Dan borrowed heavily from Silver for their opening of “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number.”)

Like Rollins, Silver lacked nothing in creativity and didn’t regard self-destruction as the price for producing original sounds.

Starting in 1959, Rollins “disappeared” for a while to work on his art. He would practice for hours on New York’s Williamsburg Bridge.

He emerged three years later with an album called “The Bridge.” And as a bonus, he had 64 years left to make more music.

Rollins knew that great artists didn’t have to die young.

Froma Harrop on X, @FromaHarrop. She can be reached at fharrop@gmail.com.

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writer’s city of residence. The Advocate | The Times-Picayune require a street address and phone number for verification purposes, but that information is not published. Letters are not to exceed 300 words. Letters to the Editor, The Advocate, P.O. Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588, or email letters@theadvocate.com.

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Meta to launch AI infrastructure worker training in BR Company’s footprint widens following Richland Parish data center

BY IANNE SALVOSA Staff writer

Baton Rouge will host Meta’s first class of an artificial intelligence infrastructure training program, marking another sizable investment from the tech giant in Louisiana.

The company, which is investing billions in AI data centers across the country, including a massive project in Richland Parish, will launch America’s Workforce Academy in four U.S. cities to prepare workers for AI infrastructure and data center construction jobs. Meta is fully funding the program and will provide lodging and a daily stipend for participants, who will receive a guaranteed job offer with a Meta contractor after completing the four- to five-week training program.

“The AI revolution is bringing change but also historic opportunities,” Dina Powell McCormick, president and vice chair of Meta, said in a release. “Skilled workers electrified rural America one pole at a time. They manned the factories that built the arsenal that won World War II. Now a new generation will pour the foundations and lay the fiber that secures American strength in this new age.”

Other training locations include Houston, Indianapolis and Columbus, Ohio. The academy is in partnership with the National Urban League, commercial real estate firm CBRE, Associated Builders and Contractors, Richland Parish Chamber of Commerce and local organizations in

other training location cities.

The academy is intended to address the shortage of AI infrastructure construction workers, who come from various skilled trades. Demand for robotics technicians, HVAC engineers and trades workers rose by double digits from 2022 to 2026, according to an analysis of more than 150 million job postings in that time period by consulting firm Randstad.

The company is already investing more than $30 billion in the construction of AI data centers in Louisiana, Indiana, Texas and Oklahoma and the academy will bring an additional $115 million in investment across its four locations. The Richland Parish data center is expected to create 5,000 construction jobs and 500 operational jobs.

The selection of Baton Rouge as the site of the academy’s first class is a sign of the lasting benefits of an investment from a company with a global reach like Meta, said Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Susan Bourgeois said. The city’s strong industrial contracting base helps too, she added.

Though the training is prompted by the recent, large data center investments, the academy will have resounding impacts beyond the tech industry in Louisiana, she said.

“At the end of the day, energy is the fundamental commodity that’s driving anything right now,” Bourgeois said.

Many industries have struggled with workforce development due to out-migration and filling open roles, prompting the state to pass bills to restructure workforce training programs and roll out initiatives to ease recruitment.

“Now we have a whole system that is building itself, its infrastructure and more importantly, its funding mechanism around

STAFF FILE PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

A worker puts up a sign on the fence that surrounds the Meta data center construction site in Holly Ridge on March 10. Baton Rouge will host Meta’s first class of an artificial intelligence infrastructure training program. training for the jobs that both exist today and we know are coming,” she said.

Meta isn’t the only giant funding skilled trades training. Investment firm BlackRock announced the launch of a $100 million Future Builders Initiative earlier this year that will connect workers with training opportunities, aiming to help 50,000 workers over the next five years. Microsoft partnered with North America’s Building Trades Unions to provide AI literacy courses to skilled trades workers to ensure those building AI infrastructure reap the technology’s benefits.

Community colleges in the state have already stepped up to the plate to provide training for those looking to tap into the data center boom. Louisiana Delta Community College launched a four-week data center technician program earlier this year, thanks to a $250,000 rapid response fund from the Louisiana Community and Technical College System.

State workforce commission Louisiana Works projects the construction industry to employ more than 140,000 by 2032.

There’s currently about 300 jobs posted for data center-related work, for roles like estimator, project manager and thermal

technician, according to a Louisiana Works dashboard.

“The AI infrastructure we’re building today requires an incredible workforce to make it a reality,” Rachel Peterson, Meta’s vice president of data centers, said in the release. “America’s Workforce Academy is our commitment to building that workforce with the same ambition and long-term thinking we bring to the technology itself. America needs hundreds of thousands of skilled tradespeople — electricians, mechanics, fiber technicians and more — and this program creates clear, accessible pathways into those careers.”

ST. CHARLES PARISH

Alligator attacks fleeing driver

BY MICHELLE HUNTER Staff writer

STAFF PHOTO By JAN RISHER

Erin Broussard assists Lafayette artist Bob Borel, who is recreating his grandmother’s Catahoula kitchen and living room in an art installation at Basin Arts. The show will open Saturday.

RISHER

Continued from page 1B plan.

Borel talked about the Cajun tradition he’s trying to honor — les veillées, getting together at someone’s house and just talking, like the Sunday afternoons at his grandmother’s in Catahoula with most of the family present, hours of conversation, coffee passed around on a tray.

“That kind of community,” he said, “always feels Cajun to me.”

He wants visitors to feel it, too.

When the installation opens Saturday night dur-

PITMASTER

Continued from page 1B “The restaurant industry can be demanding, but Jon somehow always found room for generosity. Whether it was through donations, sponsorships, encouragement, or simply being present, he helped strengthen the fabric of Acadiana in ways that many people may never fully realize,” Heidi McDonald wrote Friday on Facebook.

ing Lafayette’s Second Saturday Art Walk, Borel will have a table near the entrance with small paper bags. He’ll ask people to slip their phones in the bags and tuck them away — not to confiscate them, but just to create a reminder of life without their presence.

Then he wants people to come sit in the living room.

Stay a while.

Talk.

Borel hopes visitors will think about what parts of their own lives are worth preserving.

“In 100 years,” he said, “what would the Vermilionville version of this look like?”

The napkins went into the holder, folded into triangles

the way his mother always did them. The holder found the center of the Formica table.

We hung pictures where they felt right, not at any prescribed gallery height.

His grandmother’s quilts — she made one for each of her 12 children’s families — will fill the room before Saturday.

His family is planning to gather at Mom Mom’s next month to play bourré, nieces and nephews included.

“Mom Mom’s: The Sacred Ordinary” opens to the public on Saturday, during Lafayette’s Second Saturday Art Walk at Basin Arts, 311 Beaumont Drive, Lafayette. Borel’s installation runs through mid-July.

A motorist believed to be driving while under the influence was attacked by an alligator after he leapt into the swamp below Interstate 310 in St. Charles Parish to avoid arrest, according to the Louisiana State Police.

Victor Rivas, 40, of Montz, was eventually taken into custody after suffering injuries to both arms, according to authorities.

State Police were notified Sunday about a Toyota Supra that was driving recklessly on Interstate 10 near Bonnabel Boulevard in Metairie, authorities said. The car hit a concrete barrier, causing a tire blowout.

Troopers began searching the area for the vehicle and later spotted the car driving south on I-310, State Police said. They con-

for treatment before being booked in St. Charles Parish on counts of DWI and resisting an officer.

Rivas is also wanted on a warrant out of Jefferson Parish for hit-and-run driving and careless operation of a vehicle, State Police said.

Rivas was being held Monday at the Nelson Coleman Correctional Center in Killona with bail set at $17,500.

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Fountain Memorial Funeral Home, 1010 Pandora Street in Lafayette, at 11 a.m.

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Pets “His passing leaves a hole that will be felt by family, friends, employees, customers, and the countless people whose lives he touched through his kindness and service. The outpouring of love we’re seeing today is a reflection of the life he lived — a life spent investing in others.”

Jenkins was also known for smoking hundreds of turkeys every year for Community Thanksgiving, hosted by John Williams, of Love of People.

“This past year, Jon

smoked more than 375 turkeys so that we could feed more than 5,000 people,” Williams wrote on Facebook on Friday, in memory of Jenkins’ legacy. “Jon and I met through turkey grease, bones, and vacuum sealed bags. What came out of it was a beautiful friendship.”

A GoFundMe page has been started to support Jenkins’ family in the wake of his unexpected passing.

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

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ducted a traffic stop and identified Rivas as the Supra’s driver.

The troopers speaking to Rivas observed signs of impairment, according to officials. Rivas then took off running on the elevated interstate before hopping over the side of the highway and plummeting to the swamp below.

Deputies from the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office joined the search for Rivas. They found him later walking on Airline Highway, according to State Police.

Rivas waded back into the nearby swamp, where he was attacked by an alligator, State Police said.

Although injured, Rivas continued to flee from authorities.

State Police and the Sheriff’s Office finally found him using a drone.

He was taken to a hospital

the area and detained two people.

Continued from page 1B Detectives responded to process the crime scene, collect evidence and conencountered an active situ- duct witness interviews. ation, with shots still being They said an altercation involving a group of people fired.

Officers quickly secured escalated, leading to the

man’s death.

All individuals involved have been identified, officials said.

The investigation remains ongoing as detectives work to determine the full circumstances surrounding the incident.

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Lafayette Police Department “Article of Forfeiture” On March 19, 2026 the Lafayette Police Depart‐ ment seized $2,847.00 in US Currency from Mar‐ quail Laquan-Lee James.

Said Currency was seized as evidence during an active criminal investiga‐ within the tion city/parish of Lafayette, Louisiana.

Each person named above and the properties described are notified the State of that Louisiana intends to for‐ feit the property de‐ scribed according to LA: R.S. 40:2601 et seq.

If you are owner or inter‐ est holder in the prop‐ erty described you must file a claim or request for the exemption within 30 days of the date of this publication by sending a copy to the Lafayette Po‐ lice Department (Attn: Lafayette Tactical Nar‐ cotics Team), 900 E Uni‐ versity Ave. Lafayette, Louisiana 70503 and the Office if the 15th Judicial District attorney, PO Box 3306 Lafayette, Louisiana 70502 by certified mail, return receipt requested.

Law allows no extension time.

The claim or request for exemption shall be in af‐ form, signed fidavit under oath, and sworn to before one who has au‐ to administer thority oaths, under penalty of Perjury or False Swear‐ ing, and shall set forth all of the following: 1- your name and ad‐ dress where you will ac‐ cept mail, and 2- the na‐ ture and he extent of your interest in the prop‐ erty, the date you ac‐ quired the property, from whom and the circum‐ stances of your acquisi‐ tion in the property, and 3- the specific provision if the law relied upon in the asserting that the property is not subject to forfeiture, together with all essential facts sup‐ porting your claim or ex‐ emption and the specific relief sought.

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Lindenwood transfer gives Cajuns a better handle

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

As the UL men’s basketball program begins its second season under coach Quannas White with the start of summer workouts this week, one thing seems certain: The coaching staff has a lot more potential floor leaders on the roster.

When Oklahoma State transfer Jamyron Keller suffered a seasonending injury just two games into the regular season last year, the rest of the non-conference season was an exercise in finding more ballhandlers.

De’Vion Lavergne emerged as one and joins Keller in that group for 2026-27.

There’s also a newcomer to help in that area in Lindenwood transfer Mekhi Cooper.

The 6-foot, 185-pound guard originally began his college career at Miami of Ohio. Cooper started 63 of 65 games over two seasons at Miami, averaging 5.8 points, 2.7 assists and 2.5 rebounds in his second year there.

“I spoke to coach (Travis) Steele there and he loves Mekhi,” White said. “He didn’t want to lose him.”

But the Bolingbrook, Illinois, native experienced a little bit of “culture shock” in rural Ohio and transferred to a new Division I program in Lindenwood, which is near St. Louis.

“I feel like we had a good year,” Cooper said. “We got the most wins in the Division I era (at Lindenwood).

It was a great group of guys who worked well together. I felt like we could have gone a little bit farther. It ended like it did, but I felt like it was definitely a great season for me and

ä See UL, page 4C

PROVIDED PHOTO

Lindenwood transfer Mekhi Cooper brings three seasons of Division I point guard experience to UL’s backcourt.

PROVIDED PHOTO

Top-seeded Loyola celebrates after defeating No. 2 Talladega (Ala.) 71-56 in the NAIA championship game on March 22, 2022, at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo. The Wolf Pack is leaving the NAIA to join NCAA Division II starting in the fall of 2027.

CHANGING PACKS

Loyola of N.O. becoming state’s only Division II school a ‘no-brainer’ Tuesday is a landmark day for Loyola University of New Orleans.

It’s graduation day for the Wolf Pack athletic program.

Loyola is leaving the NAIA to join the NCAA Division II ranks, where it will compete as a member of the Gulf South Conference starting in the fall of 2027.

Loyola officials formally will announce the move at an on-campus news conference at 2 p.m. Tuesday.

Jeff “This is a transformative moment for Loyola Duncan University New Orleans and for Wolf Pack athletics,” Loyola president Xavier Cole said during an interview Friday in his Marquette Hall office. “This move reflects our institutional growth and the direction we are heading as a university.”

While the news might not lead SportsCenter, it’s significant for Loyola, which has competed at the NAIA level since 1991.

In becoming the only NCAA Division II school in the state of Louisiana, Loyola will return to its athletic roots. The Wolf Pack last competed at the NCAA level more than a halfcentury ago. Loyola was an independent NCAA member for 51 years before the school dropped athletics in 1972 because of financial reasons.

The decision ends nearly a year of studying and planning since Gulf South officials first approached Loyola athletic director Brett Simpson about the move in August.

The seven-member expansion committee unanimously endorsed Loyola as the league’s 13th member after meeting with school officials and conducting a site visit to evaluate the school’s athletic facilities in April. The Gulf South Conference presidents council approved Loyola’s membership in late May.

COURTESy OF LOyOLA UNIVERSITy

Loyola competed at the NCAA level as an independent from 1921 to 1972. Loyola has competed at the NAIA level since reinstating sports in 1991 and will soon move up to Division II. “(The GSC expansion committee) left here saying this is a no-brainer,” Simpson said.

Loyola will compete in the NAIA for a final season in 202627 and begin the NCAA membership process by formally applying for membership in October. Pending successful completion of the NCAA’s two-year provisional member-

Ruling allowing QB Sorsby to play calls for radical response One thing was made abundantly clear Tuesday by Judge Ken Curry’s completely myopic decision Monday to grant a temporary injunction allowing Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby to play this season: Rules no longer apply.

The one true red line in sports — you can’t bet on sports, much less on your own team — was obliterated

by Curry, Texas Tech and Sorsby’s too-cleverby-half legal team. The fact that Sorsby placed Scott thousands of bets totalRabalais ing about $90,000 over four years on college and pro sports — including 40 bets on Indiana football when he was on the team there as a freshman (never mind that he was underage at the time) — means nothing.

He has a problem, the judge reckoned. A gambling problem. And he will apparently pay a “price” for it, according to Curry’s ruling, forced to sit out Texas Tech’s first two games against Abilene Christian and Oregon State.

No offense to those two programs,

but I could probably quarterback Texas Tech to a 2-0 record against them.

This is an absurd decision. This is a travesty. This is the most disgusted I have been over a legal decision in 34 years of covering college sports, and believe me, there has been plenty to be disgusted over.

Curry’s decision to make Sorsby eligible may focus on a talented but troubled young man on a personal level, and indeed Sorsby deserves compassion. To a degree.

But there must also be consequences. Driving under the influence of alcohol suggests a drinking problem, but it doesn’t absolve one from breaking the law. Among his rampant sports betting, Sorsby placed bets through family and friends — clear evidence he knew what he was doing was wrong.

So, here we are. If a judge won’t make a sensible ruling, if Texas Tech won’t police itself, then it’s time for the rest of college athletics to do so.

The old saying “desperate times call for desperate measures” clearly applies. College sports is being shaken to its very core of credibility by this decision.

ä See LOYOLA, page 4C

Squeaky bum time?

Learn soccer’s colorful language

BY STEVE DOUGLAS AP sportswriter

AP FILE PHOTO By TANNER PEARSON

Quarterback Brendan Sorsby was granted a temporary injunction against the NCAA. It could clear the way for him to play for Texas Tech this fall, even after being declared ineligible.

College sports must act. Radically.

Big 12 schools should refuse to play Texas Tech in football this season.

Schools across college sports should refuse to play Texas Tech in anything

ä See RABALAIS, page 4C

In squeaky bum time, the false 9 pulled off a nutmeg and scored a worldie in the top bin.

Make any sense?

Soccer fans from across the globe are heading to North America for the World Cup — and bringing with them their own vocabulary to describe the beautiful game.

Here’s a look at some of the phrases the locals might be hearing from traveling supporters inside and outside stadiums, and where they might have originated.

Squeaky bum time Let’s paint a picture: It’s the World Cup final, and Argentina and Brazil are locked at 1-1 with five minutes remaining. We are officially in “squeaky bum time.” Coined by former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, the phrase describes the late stages of a match — or even a season or tournament — when players and fans get tense and nervous. It even got recognized by the Oxford English Dictionary, which defined the saying as “a reference to the

ä See SOCCER, page 4C

2C ● Tuesday, June 9, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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NHL Carolina at Vegas MEN’S SOCCER 11:50 a.m. Hungary vs. Kazakhstan 8 p.m.

Argentina vs. Iceland WOMEN’S SOCCER 5:50 p.m. Paraguay vs. Colombia 7 p.m.

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7:30 p.m. Brazil vs. U.S.T SOFTBALL 4 p.m.

Cascade at Blaze 6 p.m.

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Hawks reward coach Snyder with contract extension

The Atlanta Hawks extended coach Quin Snyder’s contract on Monday.

Details of the multi-year extension were not disclosed in the team’s announcement.

Snyder led the Hawks to a 46-36 regular-season record and the franchise’s first outright playoff berth since the 2020-21 season.

Snyder surpassed 500 career wins in March amid an impressive posttrade deadline surge, becoming the 41st coach in NBA history to reach the milestone. Atlanta’s 46 wins were the most since the 2015-16 season.

It’s Snyder’s second contract extension with the Hawks since joining the franchise during the 2022-23 season. The move comes shortly after the Hawks promoted Onsi Saleh to president of basketball operations.

Mariners place Crawford on IL with hand contusion

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ISAAC RITCHEy

Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal winds up to throw for the West Michigan Whitecaps against the Dayton Dragons in Comstock Park, Mich., on Sunday.

Judge out, but Skubal on way back

BY NOAH TRISTER AP baseball writer

The reigning MVP and Cy Young Award winners in the American League are both on the injured list.

One is on his way back, the other went on the IL just in the last few days.

Aaron Judge has a stress fracture in a rib that will keep the slugging outfielder out of the lineup for the New York Yankees for a while. The Detroit Tigers have been without ace Tarik Skubal for over a month, but he threw five innings in a rehab appearance for Class A West Michigan on Sunday.

Even though Skubal might be back soon, you’d rather be the Yankees than the Tigers right now. New York has taken advantage of a Tampa Bay slump and now trails the Rays by percentage points atop the AL

East. Detroit, meanwhile, is 12 games under .500. The amount of mediocrity in the AL means the Tigers are by no means out of postseason contention, but they are tied for last in the AL Central even after winning five of their last six.

The last time Skubal pitched was April 29. Since then, Detroit is 12-23.

Judge has played at least 148 games in four of his last five seasons. The one time he didn’t — 2023 — the Yankees missed the playoffs. They’ve lost three of their last five without him this month.

While Yankees and Tigers fans anxiously await the chance to watch Judge and Skubal again, here are a few other significant injuries that could affect postseason races: Cal Raleigh, Mariners. After his 60-homer season last year, Raleigh is batting just .161 with

seven home runs in 2026, and he’s been out since May 13 because of a right oblique strain.

Raleigh has been doing pregame work but will likely need a rehab assignment before returning. Seattle still leads a weak AL West without him.

Elly De La Cruz, Reds. The star shortstop went on the IL last Monday with a right hamstring strain. The timeline to return was 2-4 weeks. Cincinnati is in last place in the NL Central but just 2½ games out of a wild card.

Francisco Lindor, Mets. New York’s shortstop is out with a left calf strain and hasn’t played since April 22. The Mets have been better of late but are still five games out of a wild card.

gle Monday night in a 10-9 win over Tampa Bay.

Comeback of the week

Houston scored six runs in the bottom of the eighth to beat Pittsburgh 11-9 on Wednesday night. The Astros trailed 8-3 in the seventh.

Isaac Paredes hit a two-run homer for Houston in the seventh, but with the score 9-5 in the eighth, Pittsburgh’s win probability was up to 98.1% — according to Baseball Savant — after the first two Houston batters struck out.

Then the decisive rally began: Nick Allen and Christian Vázquez hit back-to-back doubles. After Jeremy Peña walked, Yordan Alvarez and Christian Walker hit consecutive RBI singles. The tying run Performance of the week then came home on a wild pitch Detroit’s Dillon Dingler hit before Cam Smith hit a two-run two homers, a double and a sin- triple to put Houston ahead.

BALTIMORE — The Seattle Mariners placed shortstop J.P. Crawford on the 10-day injured list with a right hand contusion and recalled infielder Ryan Bliss from Triple-A Tacoma before Monday night’s series opener against the Baltimore Orioles.

Detroit starter Framber Valdez hit Crawford in the third inning of Friday’s game, and the 31-year-old missed the final two games of the series against the Tigers. The IL move is retroactive to Saturday.

Crawford is hitting .228 with 23 RBIs in 55 games, and his 10 home runs are already the third most in his career.

Seattle manager Dan Wilson said it was hard to know how long Crawford would need on the injured list.

Crawford will remain with the Mariners and receive treatment.

Orioles place Bassitt on IL, recall Gibson to start

BALTIMORE — The Baltimore Orioles placed right-hander Chris Bassitt on the 15-day injured list retroactive to Friday with low back discomfort and recalled Trey Gibson from Triple-A Norfolk to take Bassitt’s place in the rotation Monday night against the Seattle Mariners.

Bassitt, who is 4-4 with a 5.27 ERA in his first season with Baltimore, gave up three runs in three innings in his last start Wednesday at Boston. Orioles manager Craig Albernaz told reporters afterward that Bassitt had lower back tightness.

The 37-year-old signed a oneyear, $18.5 million deal with Baltimore in February and shares the team lead in victories.

Hocevar accused of ‘creating a lot of enemies’ Federer to return to U.S.

BY NATE RYAN

brings. He’s got a hat to wear, and he wears it well. He doesn’t seem interested in changing, and I don’t want him to change.”

Associated Press

Carson Hocevar sat on the Michigan International Speedway pit wall with a blank look and calmly waited as Bubba Wallace laid into him with an animated lecture.

As Wallace did nearly all the talking, Hocevar nodded and offered a few smiles. The one-sided conversation ended with Hocevar patting Wallace on the shoulder — defusing the tension while offering little remorse.

The third-year Cup Series driver, whose aggression has earned him the nickname of “The Hurricane” in rubbing the NASCAR establishment the wrong way, left a trail of wreckage in his wake Sunday at Michigan.

With a fifth place in the No. 77 Chevrolet, the Portage, Michigan, native earned his best career Cup finish at his home-state track. He also triggered a nine-car crash on a midrace restart by bumping John Hunter Nemechek as the cars ahead of him were slowing down.

“I was like, ‘Man, I didn’t mean to do that,’ ” Hocevar said. “I obviously feel bad that I wrecked them and everything, but my intention wasn’t to wreck anybody, really. So next time I’ll know what to do a little differently.”

Many of his peers believe the Spire Motorsports driver should be doing everything differently.

“Well, you can count on Hocevar to always do dumb (stuff),” Nemechek radioed his team. Josh Berry jokingly referred to Hocevar as “The Intimidator,” the moniker of seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt.

“I hope at some point (Hocevar) figures it out, but I know I’m not going to show anything to him for

Hamlin ponders future

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By PAUL SANCyA

Carson Hocevar drives during a NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich., on Sunday. a long time,” said Austin Dillon, who finished 36th after his No. 3 Chevy was trashed in the wreck.

In their pit-wall discussion, Wallace told Hocevar he was jealous of his speed.

“He’s one of the fastest in the field, and that’s his natural ability,” Wallace said. “I’ve got to give respect to it. But at the same time, Kevin Harvick told me four or five years ago, ‘Stop hitting (stuff), and your finishes will show.’ And that’s what I simply tried to tell (Hocevar), man. He’s going for every move, every second. Not worth it.

“He’s creating a lot of enemies. I just told him, ’You’re fast. A lot of us are jealous of what you’re able to do. But we’re beating you because we can put a race together better than you.”

The 23-year-old upstart did show some acquiescence toward the end of the race when he waved by the faster cars of Wallace, Erik Jones and Kyle Larson.

But there’s an incentive to stick to his hard-charging ways.

It’s a NASCAR rite of passage for the old guard to scold young stars who threaten their results, and it’s been effective in blunting their progress. Three years ago, Ross Chastain dramatically tailed off after being targeted for scorn from several veterans who tangled with him.

If he shows restraint, Hocevar might lose his grip on a top-16 spot in the Chase (he is ranked seventh with 11 races left in the regular season). Yet his recalcitrance also runs the risk of costly retribution.

Amazon Prime analyst Dale Earnhardt Jr. believes Hocevar should stay the course for his own good — and for NASCAR, which thrives on colorful personalities and rivalries.

“I don’t want him to really change what he’s doing,” Earnhardt said of Hocevar on the postrace show. “As a fan and as a broadcaster, what he did today made this race unique. If he cleans it up, I’m not sure I’m going to like what I’m going to see.

I kind of like the drama that he

With his second consecutive victory and third this season, Denny Hamlin now trails Tyler Reddick by only 51 points, chopping 78 points off the margin in the past three seasons. Team owner Joe Gibbs is still hoping Hamlin will reconsider his decision to retire from full-time driving after the 2027 season.

Hamlin left the door slightly open (“I told (Gibbs) just check with me in six months”) but said he wants to go out on top before his skills diminish.

“I feel as though there’s three things that happen,” Hamlin said.

“You lose your eyesight. You lose your reaction. And your body hurts. The body hurts are there during the week. I’m not recovering as quick. But the other two things are still sharp. So I want to go out like this.”

In-Season Challenge Sunday at Pocono Raceway will set the field for the second year of the In-Season Challenge. The top 32 drivers in the points standings will complete for $1 million in a bracket-style tournament contested over five races (Sonoma Raceway, Chicagoland Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway, North Wilkesboro Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway).

Connor Zilisch is unlikely to be eligible. The Trackhouse Racing rookie is ranked 34th in the standings (two spots behind Alex Bowman, who missed four races) after becoming the sixth driver in NASCAR history with three consecutive last-place finishes.

Open for exhibition event

NEW YORK — Roger Federer will play in an exhibition at the U.S. Open this year, returning to the Grand Slam tournament that he is the only player to win five consecutive times.

Days before being enshrined in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, Federer will play in New York on Aug. 25. The event, titled “Roger Federer: An Icon Returns to New York,” also will include Andy Roddick, John McEnroe and Andre Agassi. It was announced Monday by the U.S. Tennis Association.

Roddick won the 2003 U.S. Open, the year before Federer started dominating the event. He won every one from 2004-08 as part of his 20 Grand Slam singles titles.

Federer last played the U.S. Open in 2019.

Falcons quarterback Penix progressing in ACL rehab

Atlanta Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski says quarterback Michael Penix Jr. is hitting every milestone in his post-ACL surgery rehab.

Penix Jr. missed organized team activities with a scheduled rest day on Monday.

Stefanski didn’t have an exact timetable for Penix’s return, but he said the No. 8 pick in the 2024 draft out of Washington is getting closer to participation in 11-on-11 drills.

“He’s hitting every milestone that he’s supposed to hit,” Stefanski said.

In two seasons with the Falcons, Penix made 12 starts and threw for 2,757 yards, 12 touchdowns and six interceptions. He led the Falcons to a 3-6 record in 2025 before sustaining a season-ending ACL tear in November.

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Tuesday, June 9, 2026 ● 3C

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Fan fests extend World Cup experience

BY ANNE M. PETERSON AP soccer writer

If those expensive tickets to World Cup matches are out of reach, there are still options to commune with fellow fans while watching the games.

From a floating pitch to Motley Crue, the World Cup fan festivals have something for everyone in addition to the soccer.

As is the custom for the World Cup, the 16 cities across Canada, Mexico and the United States that are hosting games will all have fan fests, or fan zones. The Associated Press counted 78 fan fests sanctioned by the FIFA host city organizing committees.

But there are many more. About 20 Major League Soccer teams are hosting events tied to the World Cup, with other teams partnering with the host city fan fests.

These are designated areas, often in parks and public squares, where fans can watch the games, enjoy food and beverages, take in some entertainment and buy official merch. It’s also a chance for cities to showcase local culture.

But this World Cup is unlike any of the previous versions. There are 48 teams, which means there are more games spread out over a longer timeline. Cities are already stretched thin by economic stress-

charge $10 for entry to the official fan fest scheduled for Fort York and the Bentway. But there was outcry.

Now 16,000 tickets a day will be free, but nearly 4,000 premium tickets will also be sold. Organizers said the charge was necessary to prevent overcrowding and make sure the events didn’t go over budget.

“Toronto residents already paid $180 million to host the games, and tickets to the stadium are cost prohibitive for most people,” Josh Matlow, a Toronto city councilor, said on social media. “At the very least, an ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By EDUARDO MUNOZ ALVAREZ event that was promised to residents, no matter their means, so that everyFans celebrate during the announcement of the United States men’s one can be part of the World Cup, will national soccer team roster on May 26 in New york, ahead of the FIFA be free and accessible to all.”

World Cup soccer tournament.

Big city sprawl fests

ors like inflation and gas prices.

While cities got some federal dollars for the World Cup, those funds have not covered all the costs. As a result, some of the festivals are cutting back days of operation, and others are charging for tickets, guaranteed admission, seats or elevated experiences — like cabanas in the Houston heat.

Mamdani, Hochul join in In an effort to make sure the people of New York “don’t feel overlooked,” Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced free fan fests in each of the

city’s five boroughs. There is also a fan fest planned for Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey.

MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, which will be dubbed New York New Jersey Stadium during the World Cup, will host eight matches, including the final.

“Every fan should be able to watch the greatest tournament on earth without dipping into their savings,” Mamdani said.

The larger cities presented a challenge for the hosts, so rather than one fan fest, there are many.

In Los Angeles, a large fan festival will open the World Cup at the L.A. Coliseum from June 1114, with tickets available at $10 apiece. Then there will be 10 other free fan fests scattered throughout the region, from Burbank to Venice Beach, on varied dates throughout the tournament.

The San Francisco Bay Area optEschewing fees in Toronto ed for a more grass-roots approach, Concerns over costs to cities where it partnered with different caused Toronto to float a plan to groups, including the Golden State

Warriors, for watch parties. The biggest celebration will be in San Pedro Market Square in downtown San Jose, a partnership between the San Jose Earthquakes and the Bay Area Host Committee.

In Mexico City, there’s an official fan fest in the Zocalo, the renowned public square in the heart of the city, but Mayor Clara Brugada announced plans for 18 other free community events where locals can watch the matches.

MLS capitalizes The last time the United State hosted the World Cup in 1994 it led to the launch of Major League of Soccer. Now the league’s teams are hoping for a World Cup bump, holding their own “Soccer Celebration” fests to draw new fans.

MLS has a record 44 players on various national teams in the tournament.

“Historically, after every men’s World Cup that the U.S. men’s national team has participated in, we’ve seen about a 10% to 20% growth in interest in MLS,” said Camilo Durana, the league’s chief business officer. “The idea that this World Cup, in its expanded form, played on home soil with MLS playing such an important role from a hosting perspective, we think it can have an even greater impact, and that’s the opportunity for us.”

LSU football adds two players for Class of 2027

BY KOKI RILEY

nounced on social media Monday.

Later Monday, four-star wide receiver Cade Cooper committed to its 2027 LSU football landed commit- class, he announced on social media. ments from two Class of 2027 prosCooper is the No. 37 wide receivpects on Monday, er in the nation and a top-300 playThe first was from three-star er in the country, according to the cornerback Markez Davis, he an- 247Sports composite. He attends Staff writer

Malvern Prep in Pennsylvania and is the No. 10 player in the state.

He also has garnered interest from multiple major programs, including Auburn, Penn State, Notre Dame and Ole Miss.

Cooper is the eighth player to commit to LSU’s 2027 class.

Davis is the No. 745 player in the nation and a top-25 recruit in Louisiana, per the 247Sports Composite. He attends Northwest High in Opelousas.

He’d also garnered scholarship offers from Texas Tech, Iowa State, Houston and Mississippi

State.

Davis is the first cornerback and the second defensive player in the class.

LSU signed three cornerbacks in its 2026 class, including four-star recruits Havon Finney and Dez Ellis, and three-star prospect Emari Peterson.

SCOREBOARD Holes-in-one

Phoenix Seattle

Howard Jones

Sunday’s Games

4 3

8 9

Course: Baton Rouge Country Club Hole: No. 14 Yardage: 188 yards Club: 6 Iron Witnesses: Jimmy Nunnally, Michael Songy

Toronto 85, Chicago 68 Los Angeles 89, Portland 72

Course: The University Club Hole: No. 8 Yardage: 123 yards Club: Pitching Wedge Witnesses: Bobby Bernard, Bill Kelso, Mitch Wall, Paul Leinweber

Tuesday’s Games

Donnie David

Odds

American League FAVORITE LINE Seattle -123 Boston -109 Minnesota -120 N.Y Yankees -133 Texas -124 Houston -121 National League FAVORITE LINE at MIAMI -125 LA Dodgers -109 at N.Y METS -130 Chicago Cubs -152 Cincinnati -114 Washington -117 Interleague FAVORITE LINE at TORONTO OFF Atlanta -155 Milwaukee -115

NHL

LINE -114

UNDERDOG at BALTIMORE at TAMPA BAY at DETROIT at CLEVELAND at KANSAS CITY at LA ANGELS

LINE +103 -108 +101 +112 +104 +101

Indiana at Washington,n New York at Connecticut, n Seattle at Las Vegas, n

UNDERDOG Arizona at PITTSBURGH St. Louis at COLORADO at SAN DIEGO at SAN FRAN

LINE +105 -108 +109 +127 -105 -101

Major League Baseball

UNDERDOG LINE Philadelphia OFF at CHI WHITE SOX +130 at ATHLETICS -103

UNDERDOG at VEGAS

LINE -106

Hockey

Tampa Bay New York Toronto Baltimore Boston

W 37 38 32 31 27

L 25 26 34 35 36

Pct .597 .594 .485 .470 .429

GB — — 7 8 10½

Cleveland Chicago Minnesota Detroit Kansas City

W 37 34 30 27 27

L 30 31 37 39 39

Pct .552 .523 .448 .409 .409

GB — 2 7 9½ 9½

Seattle Texas Athletics Houston Los Angeles

W 34 32 31 30 25

L 32 33 34 37 41

Pct .515 .492 .477 .448 .379

GB — 1½ 2½ 4½ 9

West Division

Sunday’s Games

Miami 4, Tampa Bay 1 N.Y. Yankees 6, Boston 1 Toronto 6, Baltimore 4 Detroit 5, Seattle 4 Athletics 5, Houston 0 Philadelphia 9, Chicago White Sox 5 Kansas City 6, Minnesota 5 Texas 10, Cleveland 0 L.A. Angels 13, L.A. Dodgers 5

Monday’s Games

NHL Playoff Glance FINALS

(Best-of-7; x-if necessary)

Vegas 2, Carolina 1

Tuesday, June 2: Vegas 5, Carolina 4 Thursday, June 4: Carolina 4, Vegas 3, OT Saturday, June 6: Vegas 5, Carolina 4, 2OT Tuesday, June 9: Carolina at Vegas, 7 p.m.

Thursday, June 11: Vegas at Carolina, 7 p.m. x-Sunday, June 14: Carolina at Vegas, TBA x-Wednesday, June 17: Vegas at Carolina, TBA

Pro basketball NBA Playoff Glance FINALS

(Best-of-7; x-if necessary)

New York 2, San Antonio 0

Wednesday, June 3: New York 105, San Antonio 95 Friday, June 5: New York 105, San Antonio 104 Monday, June 8: San Antonio at New York, n Wednesday, June 10: San Antonio at New York, 7:30 p.m. x-Saturday, June 13: New York at San Antonio, TBA x-Tuesday, June 16: San Antonio at New York, TBA x-Friday, June 19: New York at San Antonio, TBA

WNBA Glance EASTERN CONFERENCE

Atlanta New York Toronto Indiana Washington Chicago Connecticut

W 7 7 6 5 4 4 2

L 3 4 5 5 5 7 10

Pct .700 .636 .545 .500 .444 .364 .167

GB — ½ 1½ 2 2½ 3½ 6

Minnesota Dallas Las Vegas Golden State Portland Los Angeles

W 9 7 7 6 6 5

L 2 3 3 5 7 6

Pct .818 .700 .700 .545 .462 .455

GB — 1½ 1½ 3 4 4

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Seattle at Baltimore, n Boston at Tampa Bay, n N.Y. Yankees at Cleveland, n Philadelphia at Toronto, n Houston at L.A. Angels, n Milwaukee at Athletics, n

Tuesday’s Games

Seattle (Gilbert 4-4) at Baltimore (Rogers 3-6), 5:35 p.m.

Boston (Tolle 3-2) at Tampa Bay (Martinez 5-2), 5:40 p.m.

Minnesota (Bradley 5-2) at Detroit (Melton 2-0), 5:40 p.m.

N.Y. Yankees (Cole 1-1) at Cleveland (Cecconi 3-5), 5:40 p.m.

Philadelphia (Wheeler 5-1) at Toronto (TBD), 6:07 p.m.

Atlanta (Holmes 4-2) at Chicago White Sox (Fedde 1-5), 6:40 p.m.

Texas (Eovaldi 5-6) at Kansas City (Kolek 3-1), 6:40 p.m.

Houston (Teng 3-4) at L.A. Angels (Ureña 3-4), 8:38 p.m.

Milwaukee (Gasser 0-2) at Athletics (Ginn 3-3), 9:05 p.m.

National League East Division

Atlanta Philadelphia Washington Miami New York

W 45 35 33 31 29

L 21 30 33 35 36

Pct .682 .538 .500 .470 .446

GB — 9½ 12 14 15½

Milwaukee St. Louis Chicago Pittsburgh Cincinnati

W 40 35 34 34 31

L 23 28 32 32 33

Pct .635 .556 .515 .515 .484

GB — 5 7½ 7½ 9½

Pct .636 .523 .516 .409 .364

GB — 7½ 8 15 18

Central Division

West Division Los Angeles Arizona San Diego San Francisco Colorado

W 42 34 33 27 24

Sunday’s Games

L 24 31 31 39 42

Monday’s Games

Tuesday’s Games

Atlanta at Chicago, 6 p.m.

Dallas at Minnesota, 7 p.m.

Phoenix at Golden State, 9 p.m.

Central Division

L.A. Angels 13, L.A. Dodgers 5 San Francisco 2, Chicago Cubs 1, 10 innings Philadelphia at Toronto, n.

Cincinnati at San Diego, n Washington at San Francisco, n Milwaukee at Athletics, n

Monday’s Games

East Division

Tuesday

Tuesday

5½ 6½

American League

Sports Betting Line MLB

FAVORITE Carolina

.333 .250

Atlanta 3, Pittsburgh 2 Miami 4, Tampa Bay 1 St. Louis 5, Cincinnati 3 Philadelphia 9, Chicago White Sox 5 Arizona 5, Washington 1 Milwaukee 12, Colorado 4 N.Y. Mets 7, San Diego 3

Arizona (Gallen 3-5) at Miami (Meyer 6-0), 5:40 p.m.

L.A. Dodgers (Lauer 2-5) at Pittsburgh (Skenes 6-5), 5:40 p.m.

Philadelphia (Wheeler 5-1) at Toronto (TBD), 6:07 p.m.

St. Louis (May 3-6) at N.Y. Mets (Peralta 4-4), 6:10 p.m.

Atlanta (Holmes 4-2) at Chicago White Sox (Fedde 1-5), 6:40 p.m.

Chicago Cubs (Rea 5-3) at Colorado (Sugano 5-4), 7:40 p.m.

Cincinnati (Burns 7-1) at San Diego (Giolito 2-1), 8:40 p.m.

Washington (Alvarez 1-0) at San Francisco (Houser 2-5), 8:45 p.m.

Milwaukee (Gasser 0-2) at Athletics (Ginn 3-3), 9:05 p.m.

Golf U.S. Women’s Open Sunday

At Riviera Country Club Pacific Palisades, Calif.

Purse: $12 million Yardage: 6,699; Par: 71 Final Round Nelly Korda $2,500,000 73-67-67-69—276 -8 Charley Hull $1,089,774 73-72-65-67—277 -7 Gaby Lopez $1,089,774 68-71-70-68—277 -7 In Gee Chun $581,535 71-68-69-70—278 -6 Sei Young Kim $484,363 67-72-68-72—279 -5 Nasa Hataoka $429,478 69-72-68-72—281 -3 Kiara Romero $0 73-70-70-68—281 -3 P. Anannrukrn $319,831 73-70-72-67—282 -2 Allisen Corpuz $319,831 71-70-70-71—282 -2 J. Kupcho $319,831 66-73-69-74—282 -2 Maria Marin $0 70-73-68-71—282 -2 Maja Stark $319,831 71-72-68-71—282 -2 Ruoning Yin $319,831 69-69-71-73—282 -2 L. Coughlin $226,360 72-68-75-68—283 -1 Shiho Kuwaki $226,360 70-73-70-70—283 -1 Alison Lee $226,360 70-68-72-73—283 -1 Aphrodite Deng $0 70-73-68-73—284 E H. Shibuno $194,219 68-71-74-71—284 E Jin Hee Im $171,766 74-72-69-70—285 +1 MinJi Kang $171,766 68-75-68-74—285 +1 A Lim Kim $171,766 71-74-71-69—285 +1 Karis Davidson $133,545 69-73-71-73—286 +2 B. Henderson $133,545 73-69-74-70—286 +2 Grace Kim $133,545 72-72-73-69—286 +2 Shuri Sakuma $133,545 71-72-72-71—286 +2 Asterisk Talley $0 71-75-66-74—286 +2 P. Tavatanakit $133,545 69-72-74-71—286 +2 Hannah Green $94,989 70-73-75-69—287 +3 Sora Kamiya $94,989 72-68-73-74—287 +3 Minjee Lee $94,989 69-76-71-71—287 +3 Xiyu Lin $94,989 73-69-75-70—287 +3 Jeeno Thitikul $94,989 73-69-72-73—287 +3 Yuri Yoshida $94,989 70-74-75-68—287 +3 Ana Belac $72,922 70-73-70-75—288 +4 Lucy Li $72,922 71-73-74-70—288 +4 Farah O’Keefe $72,922 74-71-70-73—288 +4 Jiyai Shin $72,922 69-72-75-72—288 +4 Miyu Yamashita $72,922 72-71-69-76—288 +4 Hyunjo Yoo $72,922 68-71-71-78—288 +4 C. Alexander $57,729 70-70-75-74—289 +5 Ayaka Furue $57,729 70-74-72-73—289 +5 Melanie Green $57,729 72-71-73-73—289 +5 Somi Lee $57,729 71-71-76-71—289 +5 Amy Yang $57,729 73-71-71-74—289 +5 Akie Iwai $46,403 72-71-74-73—290 +6 Da Yeon Lee $46,403 71-74-70-75—290 +6 Rio Takeda $46,403 76-70-71-73—290 +6 Rose Zhang $46,403 70-75-73-72—290 +6 Hye Jin Choi $35,501 70-73-76-72—291 +7 Esther Henseleit $35,501 73-71-73-74—291 +7 B. Pagdanganan $35,501 70-74-75-72—291 +7 Kaleiya Romero $35,501 71-74-73-73—291 +7 Lottie Woad $35,501 73-73-74-71—291 +7 Minsol Kim $28,016 73-73-73-73—292 +8 N. Madsen $28,016 73-73-71-75—292 +8 Yealimi Noh $28,016 72-74-74-72—292 +8 Anna Nordqvist $28,016 74-71-73-74—292 +8 Chia Yen Wu $28,016 72-74-72-74—292 +8 Mao Saigo $26,444 76-70-74-73—293 +9 A. Jtnugrn $25,696 73-71-75-75—294 +10 Sakura Koiwai $25,696 74-72-73-75—294 +10 Ingrid Lindblad $25,696 73-73-75-73—294 +10 J. Lpz Ramirez $25,696 72-71-76-75—294 +10 Liqi Zeng $25,696 73-73-76-72—294 +10 Gurleen Kaur $24,947 72-73-79-71—295 +11 Celine Boutier $24,698 74-72-74-76—296 +12 N. Guseva $24,448 72-73-79-73—297 +13 Yue Zhang $24,199 70-76-74-78—298 +14

PGA Tour Statistics Through June 7

FedExCup Season Points 1, Scottie Scheffler, 2,811. 2, Cameron Young, 2,556. 3, Matt Fitzpatrick, 2,517. 4, Si Woo Kim, 1,844. 5, Collin Morikawa, 1,737. 6, Ludvig Aberg, 1,698. 7, Rory McIlroy, 1,603. 8, Chris Gotterup, 1,589. 9, Jacob Bridgeman, 1,537. 10, Tommy Fleetwood, 1,428.

Scoring Average 1, Scottie Scheffler, 69.168. 2, Rory McIlroy, 69.546. 3, Jake Knapp, 69.571. 4, Cameron Young, 69.979. 5, Collin Morikawa, 70.034. 6, Si Woo Kim, 70.063. 7, Ludvig Aberg, 70.092.

8, Matt Fitzpatrick, 70.101. 9, Brooks Koepka, 70.123. 10, Xander Schauffele, 70.142.

Driving Distance 1, Aldrich Potgieter, 328.4. 2, Rory McIlroy, 326.8. 3, Michael Brennan, 324.6. 4, Gary Woodland, 322.8. 5, Chris Gotterup, 322.6. 6, Nicolai Hojgaard, 321.7. 7, Rasmus Hojgaard, 321.4. 8, Marco Penge, 320.8. 9, Jake Knapp, 319.8. 10, Min Woo Lee, 319.7.

Driving Accuracy Percentage 1, Russell Henley, 71.89%. 2, Aaron Rai, 69.92%. 3, Si Woo Kim, 69.75%. 4, Lucas Glover, 69.56%. 5, Andrew Putnam, 69.28%. 6, Tommy Fleetwood, 67.86%. 7, Kensei Hirata, 67.58%. 8, Corey Conners, 67.39%. 9, Matt Fitzpatrick, 67.37%. 10, Joel Dahmen, 67.00%.

Greens in Regulation Percentage 1, 10 tied with .00%.

Total Driving 1, Scottie Scheffler, 55. 2, Michael Brennan, 56. 3, Ludvig Aberg, 62. 4, Jordan Smith, 63.

5, Sudarshan Yellamaraju, 66. 6, Matt Fitzpatrick, 67. 7, Kurt Kitayama, 68. 8, Cameron Young, 71. 9, 2 tied with 82.

SG-Putting 1, Vince Whaley, .880. 2, Jake Knapp, .744. 3, Jacob Bridgeman, .722. 4, Sam Burns, .713.

5, Beau Hossler, .700. 6, Matt Kuchar, .653. 7, Harris English, .647. 8, Akshay Bhatia, .639. 9, A.J. Ewart, .608. 10, Eric Cole, .595.

Birdie Average 1, Scottie Scheffler, 4.83. 2 (tie), Ludvig Aberg and Si Woo Kim, 4.58. 4, Wyndham Clark, 4.52. 5, Collin Morikawa, 4.5. 6, Rory McIlroy, 4.47. 7, Jacob Bridgeman, 4.43. 8, Harris English, 4.39. 9, Akshay Bhatia, 4.38.

10, Eric Cole, 4.35.

Eagles (Holes per) 1, Jake Knapp, 43.7. 2, Nicolai Hojgaard, 72.

3, Sahith Theegala, 74.4. 4, Max Greyserman, 79.2. 5 (tie), Sungjae Im and Shane Lowry, 80.

7, Tommy Fleetwood, 84. 8, Keegan Bradley, 86.4. 9, Chris Kirk, 87.8. 10, Kristoffer Reitan, 92.

Sand Save Percentage 1, 10 tied with .00%.

All-Around Ranking 1, Scottie Scheffler, 154. 2, Ludvig Aberg, 259.

3, Collin Morikawa, 261. 4, Wyndham Clark, 275. 5, Min Woo Lee, 303. 6 (tie), Chris Gotterup and Jake Knapp, 309. 8, Si Woo Kim, 311.

9, Ryan Gerard, 333. 10, Sam Burns, 339.

LPGA Tour Statistics Through June 7

Scoring 1, Nelly Korda, 68.26. 2, Hyo Joo Kim, 69.41.

3, Haeran Ryu, 69.81. 4, Hannah Green, 70.

5, Amanda Doherty, 70.08. 6, Jeeno Thitikul, 70.22. 7, Ruoning Yin, 70.32. 8, Lydia Ko, 70.46.

9, Ina Yoon, 70.47. 10, Miyu Yamashita, 70.49.

Driving Distance 1, Julia Lopez Ramirez, 290.63. 2, Riley Smyth, 289.17. 3, Polly Mack, 283.14. 4, Auston Kim, 282.21. 5, Helen Briam, 279.75. 6, Laney Frye, 279. 7, Ina Yoon, 278.63. 8, Amanda Doherty, 278.58. 9, Suvichaya Vinijchaitham, 278.46.

10, Nelly Korda, 278.03.

Greens in Regulation 1, Haeran Ryu, .80%. 2, Helen Briem, .76%.

3 (tie), Isabella Fierro, Hannah Green, Nelly Korda, Jeeno Thitikul and Lottie Woad, .74%.

8 (tie), Narin An and Dongeun Lee, .73%. 10, 2 tied with .72%.

Putts per GIR 1, Stephanie Meadow, 1.68. 2, Hyo Joo Kim, 1.69. 3, Minjee Lee, 1.71. 4, Minami Katsu, 1.72. 5 (tie), Mi Hyang Lee and Angel Yin, 1.73. 7 (tie), Ariya Jutanugarn, Nelly Korda and Gaby Lopez, 1.74. 10, 3 tied with 1.75.

Birdies 1, Aki Iwai, 178. 2 (tie), Hye-Jin Choi, Haeran Ryu and Lottie Woad, 159. 5, Jennifer Kupcho, 157. 6 (tie), Jin Hee Im and Ina Yoon, 153. 8, Ruoning Yin, 152. 9, Miyu Yamashita, 151. 10, 2 tied with 147.

Eagles 1, Nelly Korda, 9. 2, Hye-Jin Choi, 8. 3 (tie), Ariya Jutanugarn and Ryann O’Toole, 7. 5, 8 tied with 6.

Sand Save Percentage 1, Minjee Lee, .67%. 2 (tie), Nelly Korda and Jing Yan, .64%. 4, Lucy Li, .63%. 5 (tie), Youmin Hwang and Patty Tavatanakit, .62%.

7, Minami Katsu, .61%. 8, Jessica Poravsnik, .60%. 9, 2 tied with .59%.

Rounds Under Par

1, Nelly Korda, .87%. 2, Haeran Ryu, .70%. 3, Hye-Jin Choi, .60%. 4, Ruoning Yin, .61%. 5, Aki Iwai, .54%. 6, Rio Takeda, .62%. 7, Lottie Woad, .59%. 8, Gaby Lopez, .64%. 9, Ina Yoon, .61%. 10, Jeeno Thitikul, .59%. 11, Jin Hee Im, .51%. 12, Cassie Porter, .59%. 13, Miyu Yamashita, .54%. 14, Chizzy Iwai, .52%.

College baseball At Charles Schwab Field Omaha, Neb. Double Elimination x-if necessary Friday, June 12

Game 1 — West Virginia vs. Troy, 1 p.m.

Game 2 — North Carolina vs. Mississippi, 6 p.m.

Saturday, June 13

Game 3 — Alabama vs. Oklahoma, 2 p.m.

Game 4 — Georgia vs. Texas, 7 p.m.

Sunday, June 14

Game 5 — Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2, 1 p.m.

Game 6 — Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2, 6 p.m.

Monday, June 15

Game 7 — Loser of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4, 1 p.m.

Game 8 — Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4, 6 p.m.

Tuesday, June 16

Game 9 — Winner of Game 5 vs. Loser of Game 6, 1 p.m.

Game 10 — Winner of Game 7 vs. Loser of Game 8, 7 p.m.

Wednesday, June 17

Game 11 — Winner of Game 6 vs. Winner of Game 9, 1 p.m.

Game 12 — Winner of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 10, 6 p.m.

Thursday, June 18

x-Game 13 — Teams/Times TBD x-Game 14 — Teams/Times TBD

Championship Series (Best of 3) Saturday, June 20

Game 1 — Teams TBD, 7 p.m.

Sunday, June 21

Game 2 — Teams TBD, 1:30 p.m.

Monday, June 22

x-Game 3 — Teams TBD, 6 p.m.

Tennis WTA Queen’s Club Championships Results Monday

At The Queen’s Club London, Great Britain Purse: $1,915,000 Surface: Grass Results Monday from Queen’s Club Championships at The Queen’s Club (seedings in parentheses):

Women’s Singles

Round of 32 Jaqueline Cristian, Romania, def. Zheng Qinwen, China, 6-4, 7-6 (4).

Karolina Pliskova, Czechia, def. McCartney Kessler, United States, 6-7 (1), 6-3, 6-4.

Harriet Dart, Britain, def. Liudmila Samsonova, Russia, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3.

Transactions Major League Baseball

American League BALTIMORE ORIOLES — Placed RHP Chris Bassitt on the 15-day IL, retroactive to June 5. Recalled RHP Trey Gibson from Norfolk (IL).

BOSTON RED SOX — Optioned LHP Joe La Sorsa to Worcester (IL). Recalled OF Nate Eaton from Worcester.

MINNESOTA TWINS — Agreed to terms with RHP Failin Placencio on a minor league contract.

SEATTLE MARINERS — Placed SS J.P. Crawford on the 10-day IL, retroactive to June 6.

Recalled 2B Ryan Bliss from Tacoma (PCL).

TAMPA BAY RAYS — Transferred RHP Jonathan Heasley from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL. Optioned 3B Oliver Dunn to Durham (IL). Selected the contract of RF Austin Slater from Durham.

TORONTO BLUE JAYS — Reinstated RHP Tommy Nance from the 15-day IL. Designated RHP Yariel Rodríguez for assignment.

National League CHICAGO CUBS — Claimed RHP Eduarniel Núñez off waivers from Baltimore.

4C ● Tuesday, June 9, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

LOYOLA

Continued from page 1C ship period, the school is expected to become a full NCAA Division II member in 2029-30.

The Gulf South Conference includes member institutions across Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee, including Christian Brothers, Delta State, Valdosta State and Spring Hill College, a fellow Jesuit school in Mobile, Alabama. Spring Hill should become a natural rival for the Wolf Pack after announcing its plan to leave the Southern Intercollegiate Athletics Conference and join the GSC in March.

“This has been years in the making and represents a defining moment in Loyola athletics history,” Simpson said.

Simpson said the move will be “cost neutral” for Loyola. The GSC footprint is almost identical to the school’s current home in the Southern States Athletic Conference, so travel expenses should be similar.

In fact, Loyola might realize some savings because it will play fewer regular-season games and the NCAA, unlike the NAIA, reimburses travel expenses for postseason competition.

“I started the year last August talking about this being the year of good news (at Loyola),” Cole said. “This is good news

RABALAIS

Continued from page 1C until Sorsby is removed from the team.

There are already rumblings in this direction.

According to our former Advocate colleague Ross Dellenger, now a national college sports reporter for Yahoo Sports, Big 12 athletic directors have had serious talks about not playing Texas Tech. Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark has scheduled meetings with conference ADs and the league’s executive board this week. Conduct detrimental to the league is a real thing, and hopefully the other Big 12 schools see this applies to Texas Tech.

“This is greater than the Big 12,” Kansas State AD Gene Taylor told Dellenger.

Meanwhile, Georgia AD

SOCCER

Continued from page 1C

sound of someone shifting restlessly on plastic seating during tense closing stages of a contest.”

Parking the bus This is nothing to do with a journey to the stadium.

Instead, you’re likely to hear this when a big underdog comes up against a top team at the World Cup. If an inferior team — or maybe one which has had a player sent off — shows no attacking intent and plays ultradefensively to stop its opponent scoring, it is said to be “parking the bus” in front of its goal. The phrase came into soccer’s wider vernacular after Jose Mourinho, the Portuguese coaching great, complained while managing Chelsea in 2004 that Premier League rival Tottenham “might as well have put the team bus in front of their goal.”

False 9 There’s nothing wrong about a false 9. When a player starts a match as the nominal striker — i.e. as a classic No. 9 — but constantly moves into deeper positions on the field to be harder to mark and create confusion among opposition defenders, they are said to be playing as a “false 9.”

In modern-day soccer, the role was mastered by Lionel Messi at Barcelona when Pep Guardiola was its coach and by Cesc Fabregas in Spain’s title-winning team in the European Championship

lll

Marquette Hall. The redeveloped Danna Student Center, which includes a new Chick-fil-A. In the wake of a $1 million gift to the athletic program last fall, plans are also underway to renovate the University Sports Complex, which serves as the home to the basketball and volleyball teams. The men’s basketball team, of course, won the NAIA championship in 2022.

Loyola’s athletic portfolio has grown significantly in the past decade, with the addition of men’s and women’s swimming, competitive cheer and dance, beach volleyball and Esports. The addition of men’s and women’s rugby next fall will increase the number of athletic teams to 22, with more sports under consideration.

The move to the NCAA Division II, Cole said, is another sign of the school’s commitment to expand its athletic program and help grow enrollment, calling it “a very natural and smart move PROVIDED PHOTO for the university.”

“This is about all boats Loyola women’s basketball coach Kellie Kennedy cuts down the nets after the Wolf Pack’s win in the second round of the rising at the institution,” Cole said. “There are NAIA Tournament on March 16, 2024. statistics out there about what athletics, if done correctly, can do for a univer122-year-old university. across a lot of levels for sity. We believe in those If you’ve walked across us.” things. But mainly it just Cole said he has received the leafy Uptown campus amplifies more of what we recently, you’ve noticed a flurry of texts, phone are and where we’re gosome of these efforts. calls and emails from ing.”

Uptown Hall, the new alumni and donors since It’s hard to argue seven-story residence hall news of the move broke at the corner of Freret and with Cole’s assessment. last week. He sees this as Loyola’s move to NCAA the latest effort in a series Calhoun. Freshly renoDivision II indeed seems vated Buddig and Biever of steps to enhance the like a no-brainer. halls. Freshly landscaped student experience at the

Josh Brooks said there should be “serious conversations” about not playing Texas Tech in any sports.

Also late Monday the NCAA, as expected, filed an appeal on the Sorsby injunction and asked for an accelerated decision.

You’re probably saying all this has about as much chance of keeping Sorsby off the field as me winning a Masters green jacket, and there’s a great chance you’d be right.

But again, this goes to the core of college athletics.

Sports gambling leads to point shaving and outright throwing of games. If that happens, if fans can’t believe they’re seeing a legitimate performance on the field or court, college sports is toast.

A silver lining to this sordid Sorsby mess — albeit a thin one — may be that this case could galvanize sup-

port among NCAA schools and congress for federal oversight.

“If there’s one thing that could unify a divided Congress to pass a law that gives the NCAA more authority to govern itself,” Tulane sports law professor Gabe Feldman posted on social media Monday, “it might be a court prohibiting the NCAA from banning athletes who bet on their own games.”

There are a lot of folks poking holes in the just proposed Protect College Sports Act, including the Southeastern Conference and the Big Ten. But this just might be the impetus for compromise and real reform.

Fear, which gripped college sports across the land Monday after the Sorsby decision was revealed, will do that.

“There is no better ex-

in 2012. Harry Kane might 1976, when Czech player play in a similar position for Antonín Panenka converted England at the World Cup. the title-clinching penalty in that manner in a shootout Worldie in the European ChampionTypically reserved for ship final against West Gerlong-range shots that fly into many. He ran up to the ball the top corner of the net, a at normal speed and chose to “worldie” — a word coming float it softly up and down from British slang — de- into the net, predicting corscribes a goal that belongs in rectly the goalkeeper would dive one way. It’s risky and the “world class” category. can make the penalty-taker Nutmeg look stupid if it goes wrong.

It’s one of the simplest tricks in soccer — and a Clean sheet humiliation for those on the A goalkeeper at the World receiving end. A “nutmeg” Cup will sleep well if he is the act of kicking the ball keeps a clean sheet. Termed between your opponent’s a shutout in the United legs to either run round and States, it simply means when gather it yourself or to pass a team doesn’t concede a to a teammate. It has deriva- goal. The use of “clean tives around the world, from sheet” dates back to when “petit pont” (“little bridge”) reporters only used paper in French to “caño” in Span- notebooks to record differish and “tunnel” in Scandi- ent incidents — like goals — navia. in games. If no goals were scored by a team, a sheet of Sitter paper would be clean.

If you see a striker bent over with his head in his Top bin hands in the World Cup, he’s The top corners of a goal probably missed a sitter. It’s are ideal targets, so obviousa very easy chance, usually ly they have a special name. from right in front of goal, Creeping into the soccer lexithat a player contrives to con this century — and also mess up. It might have come into the Oxford English Dicfrom cricket, which uses tionary — is the usage of “top “sitter” to describe a catch bin,” possibly a nod to the use that is seemingly impossible in practice sessions of tarto drop — so easy, in fact, gets in each of the top coryou could be sitting down to ners of a goal that resemble take it. a bin (the British term for a trash can). Another is “postPanenka age stamp,” which you’d apYou know when a player ply to the top corner of an enchips a penalty kick slowly velope. Many languages have and cheekily straight into their own derivative and one the middle of the goal or, in conjuring a great image herthe worst-case scenario, into alds from Brazil, where they the hands of a grateful goal- say a top corner is “onde a keeper? Well, it has a name. coruja dorme”(“where the The “Panenka” was born in owl sleeps.”)

ample of why targeted intervention from Congress is necessary,” NCAA President Charlie Baker posted.

“When you have schools and deep-pocketed supporters willing to look the other way on the glaring integrity threat of betting on your own team — and judges whose rulings effectively strip away our ability to stop them — only Congress can equip the NCAA to apply this com-

UL

Continued from page 1C

ing process with the Cajuns was very smooth.

“My agent had a connection with one of the coaches, so I was able to get to know them early in the process,” Cooper said.

“We were able to have good conversations. Nothing we talked about felt forced.

Everything just felt genuine. They gave me a good look about everything around the program.”

His mission is clear.

“Be that point guard and be able to direct the younger guys in the right direction. Be a true point guard to take us to the promised land where we need to be,” Cooper said. “Sometimes that’s going to be being a true point guard and other times, it’s going to be scoring.

“So at the end of the day, I think I’m going to be doing a little bit of everything.”

Cooper said much of his offense has revolved around making good decisions with the ball. He did shoot 35.9% from 3-point land at Miami before that number dipped to 31.9% last season.

Cooper’s focus is on polishing his skill set.

“Really everything, my overall game, making it more consistent,” Cooper said. “Being able to shoot more consistently and being able to average more assists and just more consistent overall with my day-to-day work.”

those around me.”

Cooper elevated his point guard skills during the 1815, 11-9 season in the Ohio Valley Conference for Lindenwood.

“I just felt like I had to improve my voice while I was there on the leadership side,” Cooper said. “Getting older and being one of the most experienced guys there, so I was able to grow my voice as a leader and a point guard there.

“I definitely feel like I can be a floor leader at a high level now.”

He averaged 6.4 points and 3.1 assists a game while shooting 31.9% from 3-point land, 32.2% from the field and 76.9% at the line in 29.8 minutes per game.

“We definitely have more guys who can be floor leaders for us,” White said.

“That’s something Mekhi can really help us with. He brings a lot of experience in that area.”

Despite the positive experience at Lindenwood, Cooper saw a program headed for a transition season, so he looked elsewhere.

“There were a lot of guys who were leaving, so we were looking at a new team either way with a lot of our core players leaving the program,” he said. “I still had the option to return, but I decided to look into other opportunities.”

Email Kevin Foote at Cooper said the recruit- kfoote@theadvocate.com.

mon sense rule to everyone fairly and consistently. The Protect College Sports Act would empower the NCAA to enforce rules including the gambling restrictions — it’s needed now more than ever.”

Then again the Sorsby decision could also give cover to SEC and Big Ten schools to break away from the rest of the NCAA and create their own rules. Georgia President Jere Morehead

and Nebraska AD Troy Dannen, formerly at Tulane, both expressed those sentiments Monday, per Yahoo.

This feels like something much bigger than a question of whether Sorsby will throw touchdown passes for the Red Raiders this fall.

This feels like an inflection point for college athletics in terms of rules and governance.

For better or worse, new rules will apply.

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LIVING

T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M

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T u e s d ay, J u n e 9, 2026

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Don’t be a sucker Fooled by those growth shoots near tree bottoms? They should be cut to protect its shape

You may have seen small sprouts emerging from the base of a tree and thought little of them. But these shoots of new growth, known as suckers, actually are undesirable and should be removed whenever they appear.

Suckers GARDEN divert energy NEWS that could otherwise go toward the rest of the tree.

Beyond that, they don’t do the tree any aesthetic favors. They create an unkempt appearance and, if left long enough to grow to larger sizes, they can alter the overall form of a tree.

This problem is most common with crape myrtles and other ornamental species — but suckers can develop on any tree, big or small. They are a tree’s way of handling stress.

“Oftentimes, this is the result of some kind of mechanical wounding that can happen to the base of the trunk,” said Damon Abdi, assistant professor of landscape horticulture at the LSU AgCenter Hammond Research Station.

Al Copeland Jr. mans the grill to finish off St. Louis-style barbecue ribs.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By JEFF STROUT

As Father’s Day approaches, find the perfect occasion to celebrate

BY MADDIE SCOTT Staff writer

LSU AGCENTER PHOTO

By OLIVIA McCLURE

When trimming suckers, make your cuts flush with the tree trunk.

Lawnmowers and string trimmers are two of the main culprits responsible for tree injury and suckers, Abdi said. Get too close while you’re trying to cut grass or weeds around the tree, and you’ll knock off some bark.

As the tree tries to heal itself, its roots will send out shoots and leaves in search of sunlight and energy.

Other factors, such as soil compaction and environmental stressors, can sometimes cause suckers, too.

Abdi said it’s important to stay on top of suckers so they don’t get out of hand.

“As these emerge, it’s always a good practice to cut them out,” Abdi said. “You can cut them out any time of year, and chances are you’re going to have to make repeat cuts to keep them under control.”

June 21 is the big day for dads.

In Baton Rouge, several businesses are serving food or drink specials for Father’s Day, others with more unique approaches. Go the experience route and join a pickleball tournament with dad or sign him up for a barbecue class. For something food-focused, you can’t go wrong with a steak dinner at Jubans or brunch at The Colonel’s Club.

Check out our list of 10 local specials and events.

Salt Pepper Oak On Father’s Day morning, Salt Pepper Oak owner Vincent Hunt will lead a hands-on barbeque class from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. where dads can learn how to trim, season and smoke their own slab of ribs. The class costs $199 and also includes a two-meat, two-side plate lunch, a T-shirt and more.

Reservations must be made online.

Court to Table

PHOTO By COLLIN RICHIE

Ribs, baked beans, potato salad and rolls are served up at Bally’s Baton Rouge Casino. itors must play every game with a can in their hand, whether that’s a cold beer, soda, sparkling water or hard seltzer.

Each team must register online beforehand, and it costs $50 per team.

features ribs, baked beans, potato salad and grilled asparagus from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. at 103 France St. Reservations can be booked on their website.

The Queen

For $22, the Father’s Day special at 1717 Kitchen inside The Queen This pickleball and restaurant Bally’s Baton Rouge experience is hosting a Father’s Dads can dig into a $30 barbecue features a 12-ounce Angus rib-eye, Day can-in-hand tournament from plate at the dining depot inside ä See FATHER'S DAY, page 6C 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. The catch? Compet- Bally’s for Father’s Day. Each plate

ä See SUCKERS, page 6C

Point of view

Three area homes to feature in garden tour Staff report The Baton Rouge Food Bank and Baton Rouge Garden Club are sponsoring a pond and garden tour 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 13, featuring three gardens in the city.

Charbel and Ruth Harb are hosting the 19th annual event, which starts at 841 Pastureview Drive, Baton Rouge, fol-

lowed by a tour that will run at your own pace. Participants will see tropical plants, a koi pond, water features, sculpture, art, arbors and more.

Kim and Paula Biggs and Robert Wu’s homes will also be featured.

The event is free to attend.

The food bank will be on site to accept donations and canned food items.

PROVIDED PHOTO FROM THE LSU MUSEUM OF ART

Amalia Amaki’s 2006 ‘Blue Lady,’ on loan, is part of ‘ReVision: Women in Photography’ at the LSU Museum of Art.

to be all about Anne Noggle.

LSU Museum of Art going The museum has a collection of 40 works by this prolific photogracelebrates innovative pher, all of which had never been exhibited. women photographers But when delving into the mu-

BY ROBIN MILLER Staff writer

At first, the LSU Museum of Art’s summer photography show, “ReVision: Women in Photography,” was

seum’s photography collection as a whole, curator Michelle Schulte discovered a treasure trove of works by even more female photographers.

ä See EXHIBIT, page 6C

6C ● Tuesday, June 9, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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H

Just enlarge the print!

STAFF FILE PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

High tables line pickleball courts at Court to Table in Baton Rouge.

FATHER’S DAY Continued from page 5C

balsamic roasted Brussels sprouts and loaded mashed potatoes. Plus, every entree comes with a complimentary draft beer or house wine.

Grab a plate from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and reservations can be booked through their website.

Jubans On June 21, dads can enjoy a special meat feature at Jubans: Braised veal osso buco over creamy, smoked jalapeño polenta and gremolata hollandaise.

Leading up to Father’s Day, the restaurant will host a Sazerac dinner at 6:30 p.m.

June 17 designed by the executive chef and a curated selection of whiskey, including 1792, Blanton’s, Eagle Rare and E.H. Taylor. Reservations can be booked online.

But maybe when my genDear Heloise: I, too, have trouble with the very tiny eration is gone, the printed print on labels. I found a newspaper will be, too. trick that is a lifesaver for (Hopefully not for another this problem. I simfew decades!) Beply use my phone to ing on a computer take a picture of the all day long is just label, and I can then not for me. — Claudia enlarge it as big as R., in Laguna Beach, I want. This is very California helpful in stores to Claudia, my dad Hints from always said that read and compare Heloise you knew you were labels while shopgrowing old when ping. — Debbie, in East the newspaper came, and Amherst, New York you opened the paper to Debbie, I use a magnifyfind the obituaries before ing glass to read labels you read the sports pages. with small print, and it’s worked out for me. In fact, — Heloise I have magnifying glasses Don’t light up all over my house and office. — Heloise Dear Heloise: I work as a surgical nurse, and today A fading part of life the doctor removed a canDear Heloise: I loved your cerous lung from a person response about reading who was due to smoking the news from actual two and three packs a day. newspaper! Amen! A hard The patient was only 32 print newspaper is for me. years old and had been I hope that the hard print smoking since he was copy is never discontinued. 13. If there’s one thing I

rant will offer $35 bourbon and monkey bread.

Reservations can be made flights and half-off select wines. online.

On the food side, folks can Zea Rotisserie & Bar grab the prime steak speAll Father’s Day, Zea Ro- cial for brunch or dinner. tisserie & Bar will have spe- There’s also the chanterelle cial pricing on select bever- special, which is French esages: $10 frozen strawberry cargot and locally foraged bourbon smash, $9 infused chanterelles in an herb garold fashioned cocktail and lic butter and cream sauce. $6 mocktails. Plus, from Plus, get a sneak peak of the 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., customers new summer menu at dincan enjoy $1 off all beers, nertime, featuring sweetColonel’s Club $8 frozen peach bellinis and breads, beef tartare and east coast oysters.

From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Tito’s Bloody Marys. this Mid-City restaurant will The Crowne Plaza have a Father’s Day brunch Mestizo and special menu curated by All Father’s Day weekA barbeque party is cookchef Chris Motto with soups, end (June 19-21), Mestizo ing up at the Crowne Plaza salads, entrees and desserts. will feature tequila flights, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., servGuests can look forward along with three exclusive ing slow-smoked rib-eyes, to hors d’oeuvres like skillet bottles that owner Jim Ur- Rockefeller oysters, charcornbread, French toast and diales handpicked on his broiled oysters and cigars. pimento deviled eggs. For travels. The bottle trio will There’ll also be a bar with entrees, there’ll be smoked be offered as a take home spirit-forward cocktails, salmon benedict, steak and purchase so dads can enjoy aged rum, tequila and boureggs, short rib grit bowl and it the house. bon. For entertainment, more. For something sweet, dads can partake in poker, the menu will have three des- Cocha card games and dominoes.

To reserve a spot, call serts: lemon blueberry bread For those who like bourpudding, bruleed cheesecake bon, this downtown restau- (225) 925-2244.

EXHIBIT

Send a hint to heloise@ heloise.com.

TODAY IN HISTORY

PROVIDED PHOTO

Mestizo in Baton Rouge will have tequila flights on Father’s Day weekend from June 19 to June 21.

could say to young people today, it would be, “Don’t smoke, and don’t vape.”

You get one set of lungs.

Lose a lung, and your life will change in ways you’ve never thought of before.

Damage both of your lungs, and you just might miss out on your children’s graduations and weddings — or seeing grandchildren come into this world. You could be confined to a chair at home, be unable to work, or be unable to walk beyond the mailbox because you don’t have the lung power. Life gets very boring when this happens. So, quit smoking, or better yet, don’t start!

Enjoy a full, rich life of new experiences, friends, travel and moments that are too beautiful to describe. — Sherry, in Seattle

By The Associated Press Today is Tuesday, June 9, the 160th day of 2026. There are 205 days left in the year.

Today in history: On June 9, 1973, Secretariat won the Belmont Stakes by 31 lengths, winning horse racing’s Triple Crown and setting a still-standing record by running the 1½-mile dirt course in 2 minutes, 24 seconds.

Also on this date: In 1732, James Oglethorpe received a charter from Britain’s King George II to establish the colony of Georgia.

In 1954, during the Senate Army-McCarthy hearings, Army special counsel Joseph N. Welch berated Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy, a Republican from Wisconsin, asking: “Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?”

In 1972, heavy rains triggered record flooding in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The resulting disaster left at least 238

people dead and more than 1,300 homes destroyed.

In 1978, leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints struck down a policy of excluding Black men from the Mormon priesthood that had been in place for more than 125 years.

In 1986, the Rogers Commission released its report on the space shuttle Challenger disaster, criticizing NASA and rocket builder Morton Thiokol for management problems leading to the explosion that claimed the lives of seven astronauts.

In 2013, Edward Snowden, a former CIA employee and National Security Agency contractor, revealed in a video interview from Hong Kong published by The Guardian that he was the source of a leaked trove of sensitive intelligence material.

Snowden was charged with espionage and fled to residency in Russia.

In 2013, Rafael Nadal became the first man to win eight titles at the same Grand Slam tennis tournament after beating fellow

Spaniard David Ferrer in the French Open final.

(Nadal would finish his career with 14 French Open titles.)

In 2020, a funeral service and burial were held in Houston, Texas, for George Floyd, the Black man whose death spurred widespread protests over police brutality and racial prejudice. The service came little more than two weeks after Floyd was pinned down for more than eight minutes under the knee of a White Minneapolis police officer during an arrest.

Today’s birthdays: Sportscaster Dick Vitale is 87.

Film composer James Newton Howard is 75.

Author Patricia Cornwell is 70. Actor Michael J. Fox is 65. Writer-filmmaker Aaron Sorkin is 65. Actor Johnny Depp is 63. Actor Gloria Reuben is 62. Actor Michaela Conlin is 48. Actor Natalie Portman is 45.

Musician Anoushka Shankar is 45. Olympic gymnastics gold medalist Laurie Hernandez is 26. Dancer and choreographer Kaeli Ware is 26.

Continued from page 5C

SUCKERS

“The photography collection is one of the museum’s strong points,” Schulte said.

“And we have so many photos by women photographers. We knew we wanted to put together an exhibit to celebrate them.”

Continued from page 5C Sharp hand pruners will do the trick in most cases; you may need loppers for thicker suckers. Don’t leave behind any stubs.

“You want to remove them right to the edge of the trunk,” Abdi said.

As a preventative measure, he recommends spreading a layer of mulch around the tree.

“That way, you’re not having as much grass or weeds encroach on it,” he said. “It’s also going to help delineate areas of the landscape.”

Show opens June 11 The exhibit opens with a reception from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. June 11 and runs through Aug. 30. The reception will also celebrate the “Southern Arts Southern Prize & State Fellowships for Visual Arts” exhibit, which opened June 4.

“The show features 43 different images by different women photographers,” Schulte said. “We also wanted to make this show more diverse, so we partnered with the Paul R. Jones Collection of African American Art at the University of Alabama.”

“ReVision” explores such themes as social justice, feminism, feminine aesthetics, aging and relationships.

The latter two themes are prevalent in Noggle’s photographs.

Though it’s not accurate to say that Noggle is the star of this show, she was its inspiration. She not only was a photographer but an aviator that flew missions as a WASP pilot during World War II and the Korean War. “She photographed female Russian fighter pilots,” Schulte said. “But in her later career, she started focusing on her relationships and the aging female form.

Those are really her better works.”

The museum expands on Noggle’s works by including quotes from the photographer.

“I like aging faces, not because of againg itself, but rather the look of the face,

LSU AGCENTER PHOTO By OLIVIA McCLURE

Damon Abdi, assistant professor of landscape horticulture with the LSU AgCenter Hammond Research Station, demonstrates how to remove suckers from a swamp maple.

YEARS

PROVIDED PHOTO FROM LSU MUSEUM OF ART

Anne Noggle’s 1986 ‘Stellar by Starlight #2,’ is featured in ‘ReVision: Women in Photography’ at the LSU Museum of Art.

the revelation of life and to the museum in the last 10 the conflict between what years.”

Besides Noggle’s work, was and what they are now,” other highlights include Noggle writes.

Suda House’s 1980 “Aqueous Featured photographers Myths” series using a large Other featured photog- format instant camera phoraphers are Sheila Turner, tographing her narratives of Carrie Mae Weems, Celestia women in tanks of water.

Morgan, Clarissa Thompson Also highlighted is Amalia Sligh, Sheila Pree Bright, Amaki, “Blue Lady,” created Amalia Amaki, Suda House, through cyanotype printing.

Marina Mullaney, Kristine “Her photos are heavily Thompson, Kenda North, manipulated using different Akasha Rabut and Melanie processes,” she said. “She Walker. really pushes the boundar“Along with the photos ies.”

by Noggle, all of the phoFor more information, visit tos in the show from the lsumoa.org. museum’s collection have never been shown before,” Email Robin Miller at Schulte said. “Many of the romiller@theadvocate. photos have been donated com.

TONIGHT•9PM

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The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Tuesday, June 9, 2026 ● 7C

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FrAnK And erneSt

bIG nAte

zItS

zodIAC GEMInI (May 21-June 20) A change will lead to a lesson. What you learn may require some fine-tuning, but where there's a will, there's a way to tailor whatever attracts you to fit your needs. Be precise. cAncER (June 21-July 22) Pamper yourself.

Peace and quiet will give you a chance to rethink how you live and what you can do to make your life more efficient.

Incorporate a routine that encourages good health.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Listen, gather information and get the lowdown regarding proper protocol. Dealing with authority figures, institutions and government agencies will be problematic if you haven't done your research.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Be reluctant to follow the crowd. It's best to rely on your intelligence, experience and intuition, especially when dealing with financial, medical or legal matters. Keep your money and possessions in a safe place.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Bounce your ideas, projections and offers by an expert before you make a commitment.

Someone you deal with will alter facts or figures, backing you into a vulnerable position.

ScORPIO (Oct. 24-nov. 22) An open conversation will clear up any mixed messages you've been receiving. Be bold and direct, and offer sound advice and solutions. Skirting around issues will not solve problems.

SAGIttARIuS (nov. 23-Dec. 21) More time spent at home or with someone who brightens your day will be uplifting.

Home improvements will require a tight budget that allows for mistakes or hidden costs. Don't take a financial or health risk. cAPRIcORn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Wait, watch and keep your secrets, intentions and thoughts to yourself. Someone will take advantage of you if you reveal or put yourself in a vulnerable position.

AQuARIuS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Pushing yourself physically to meet deadlines or set yourself up to excel will put your mind at rest once you have everything in place.

When dealing with financial matters or contracts, choose your words wisely.

PIScES (Feb. 20-March 20) Get moving.

Exercising and discovering what life has to offer will help you discover your niche and help you redesign your resume or marketing strategy to help you achieve your goal.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) Be inventive and devise a plan to manage your time and money while balancing your work/play ratio. Building a lifestyle that brings you joy instead of grief will encourage discipline. tAuRuS (April 20-May 20) Put an end to an ongoing feud. Keep the peace by holding your thoughts instead of criticizing others. Thinking ahead will help you see the path to better days. Consider letting go of the past.

The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact. © 2026 by NEA, Inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

For better or For WorSe WonderWord

peAnUtS

SALLY Forth

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

tODAy'S cLuE: X EQuALS u

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

SherMAn’S LAGoon FAMILY CIrCUS

dooneSbUrY

8C ● Tuesday, June 9, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

CurTiS

Hi and LoiS

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Sudoku InstructIons: Sudoku is a number-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 grid with several given numbers.

The object is to place the numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

BaBY BLueS

BLondie

THe wiZard oF id

nea CroSSwordS

La TimeS CroSSword

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Tuesday, June 9, 2026 ● 9C

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B.C.

Bridge

By PHILLIP ALDER Brigham Young said, “Silence may be golden, but can you think of a better way to entertain someone than to listen to him?”

Sometimes at the bridge table, silence is golden. If your side is going to be outbid, you often do best to pass throughout, because every call gives information to the opposing declarer. But, of course, sometimes you will not know that you are going to be outbid. And aggressive competition might push your opponents into the wrong contract.

In this deal, West had a perfectly normal opening bid, but it helped South with the play in four hearts. West began with three rounds of clubs. What did declarer do after he had ruffed East’s queen?

South’s takeout double, followed by the one-heart rebid, promised a good 17 to 19 high-card points. North took a shot at game, knowing that his partner would be able to place the cards accurately.

Someone who paid no attention to the auction would cross to dummy with a trump and run the diamond queen. But West would win and return anything but a club. Eventually declarer would lose a spade trick to go down one.

West is almost certain to have the diamond king for his opening bid. So

garfield

Pearls Before swiNe

hagar the horriBle

declarer, who needs hearts 3-2, draws a couple of rounds of trumps. Then he should cash the diamond ace and play another diamond.

If West ducks, South can afford a spade loser. And if West wins the trick, declarer takes two spades, five hearts and three diamonds. © 2026 by NEA, Inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

wuzzles Each Wuzzle is a word riddle which creates a disguised word, phrase, name, place, saying, etc. For example: NOON GOOD = GOOD AFTERNOON

PiCKles

Previous answers:

mallard fillmore

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

Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.

tODAy’S WORD — BOGGLED: BOG-uld: Frightened, amazed or overwhelmed with

Bizarro

marmaduKe

wonder.

Average mark 16 words Time limit 20 minutes Can you find 20 or more words in BOGGLED? yEStERDAy’S WORD — SLIVERS silver

isle

rile

sire

veil

rise

slier

vier

rive

sliver

vile

less

viler

live

vise

liver

evil

loCKhorNs hidato Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

today’s thought “Show me your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.”

Psalms 25:4

This kind of praying pleases God and will bless us. G.E. Dean

10C ● Tuesday, June 9, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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BUSINESS T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M/news/business

DOW 50,786.01 -80.77 -0.16%

NASDAQ 25,929.66 220.23 0.86%

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

Wall Street holds as AI stocks recover

NEW YORK — Wall Street held steadier Monday and recovered some of its sell-off from last week, as stocks swept up in the artificial-intelligence boom bounced back. Oil prices, meanwhile, rose following fighting between Israel and Iran, but they pared their biggest gains.

The S&P 500 added 0.3%, coming off a drop of 2.6% from Friday that was its worst since October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 80 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.9%.

Some of the best performers were companies that sell computer chips, memory and other products fueling the AI boom.

They had plunged Friday amid worries that their prices had shot too high due to AI euphoria. Such worries dragged South Korea’s Kospi index down 8.3% early Monday, pummeling tech stocks there like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

But prices recovered as trading moved westward through Europe to New York. Micron Technology rose 9.9% after sliding 13.3% Friday for the largest loss in the S&P 500. That resumed a run where its stock has more than tripled so far in 2026.

New screwworm cases are discovered Three more cases of the New World screwworm have been confirmed, including one outside the main cluster in Texas, demonstrating the difficulty of stopping a resurgent pest that could devastate the nation’s cattle industry, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Monday.

So far, there are five confirmed cases: three calves and a goat in Texas and a dog from neighboring Lea County, New Mexico. The dog, which the USDA initially reported as a Texas case, lives in New Mexico and was reclassified as the first in that state. The animal’s travel history is being investigated.

The first two screwworm cases were discovered last week in calves a few miles apart in south Texas. A case was announced Monday in a calf in La Salle County, southwest of San Antonio, and in a goat in Gillespie County, west of Austin.

Scientists expect new cases could pop up in the coming days and weeks, but it doesn’t mean screwworm is spreading rapidly, said Edward Burgess, a University of Florida entomologist who studies the fly.

“When that first case is seen, everyone is being vigilant and their eyes are on it more intensely,” Burgess said. “And when you are looking for something, you are more likely to see it.”

Calif. falls behind Texas in Fortune 500 ranking Texas has dethroned California as the state with the most Fortune 500 companies.

The Fortune 500 list ranks the largest U.S. companies by revenue. This year, 57 of the top companies are headquartered in Texas, compared with California’s 56. It’s a reversal from two years ago when the Golden State had the pole position.

“Texas is the undisputed headquarters of headquarters,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a news release responding to the ranking, which was announced Wednesday. “The world’s leading businesses invest with confidence in Texas because of our welcoming business climate, predictable regulatory environment, and skilled and growing workforce. People and businesses are choosing Texas because Texas works.”

California’s corporate haters say they try to avoid the state’s high costs, income taxes and strict regulations, but the Western state is still a top money maker.

“California dominates on nearly every other measure: its Fortune 500 companies are the most profitable ($647 billion), most valuable ($20 trillion), and employ more people than any other state (2.8 million workers),” Fortune said in a news release.

S&P 500 7,405.73 21.99 0.30%

EURO 1.1534 0.0015 0.13%

CRUDE OIL 91.30 0.76 0.84%

GOLD 4,335.90 -1.20 -0.03%

6-MO T-BILLS 3.8 0.0 0.0%

30-YR T-BONDS 5.04 0.04 0.72%

U.S. carriers spent $6.5B on fuel

East earlier this year after the consumption in April totaled 1.573 fares are rising, airlines are still Global profit forecast dle U.S. and Israel launched strikes on billion gallons, down slightly from absorbing part of the hike in their much of the shipping traffic 1.575 billion gallons a year earlier. bottom lines.” is cut nearly in half Iran, The latest figures came as the through the Strait of Hormuz — a The group said jet fuel prices are

BY RIO YAMAT

AP airlines and travel writer U.S. airlines spent more than $6 billion on jet fuel in April, up 78% from a year earlier despite using slightly less fuel, government data released Monday showed. Meanwhile, the airline industry’s top global trade group warned that soaring energy costs could nearly halve profits in 2026.

Since conflict erupted in the Mid-

critical oil transit route bordering Iran — has remained effectively halted, pushing up the price of oil and jet fuel.

In an effort to contain costs, airlines around the world have raised airfares and fees, cut perks, canceled flights or trimmed schedules.

U.S. carriers spent nearly $6.5 billion on fuel in April, compared with about $3.6 billion a year earlier, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Fuel

International Air Transport Association released a report on Sunday saying it now expects airlines worldwide to earn a combined $23 billion in net profit in 2026, far below its previous forecast of $41 billion and down from $45 billion in 2025.

“Airlines are bearing the brunt of the fuel price shock,” said Willie Walsh, director general of IATA, which represents most of the world’s carriers. “While air-

expected to average $152 a barrel in 2026, nearly 70% higher than in 2025, pushing the global airline fuel bill to about $350 billion from $252 billion a year earlier. IATA said that fuel is forecast to account for more than 31% of airline operating expenses in 2026, up from about 25% last year.

In the U.S., the cost of a gallon of jet fuel in April was $4.11, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics said. Last April, it cost $2.31.

UNFILLED TANKS, FEWER FRILLS Retailers say U.S. consumers are rethinking spending

BY ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP retail writer

NEW YORK — U.S. consumers haven’t stopped spending money since the Iran war drove up fuel prices, but many shoppers are reassessing what they buy and where, according to company executives and retail analysts.

The behavior changes observed so far are subtle, such as altered routines for buying gasoline and fewer visits to clothing and furniture stores. They also are uneven across the population. During recent earnings calls with analysts, executives from American mainstays like Walmart, McDonald’s and Dollar General cited overall shopper resilience as well as noticeable cutbacks by lower-income customers.

But the new signs of strain cited by major retailers as generous income tax refunds helped shore up their sales make some economists and analysts think they will see a wider retrenchment when the refunds are gone and consumers face the cumulative impact of more expensive gas and higher prices for food, clothing, insurance and other goods and services.

Trevor Chapman, a communications executive in West Hills, California, said that instead of going to a local independent gas station, he and his wife now plan their fuel stops around Costco stores with filling stations. The couple also is doing more online food shopping to avoid impulse buys, he said.

“Gas is a kind of catalyst,” Chapman said.

“It trickles down into the entire budget.

We’re trying to keep everything as normal as possible. But it’s starting to feel like it’s adding up more and more.”

Well before the U.S. and Israel launched the war, many consumers already were being more choosy with their discretionary purchases, fatigued by several years of stubborn inflation and tariffs on imported goods imposed last year.

The U.S. Commerce Department reported last week that higher prices, not more purchases, accounted for most of the growth in Americans’ spending in April, when a key inflation gauge reached the highest level since October 2023.

Topping up instead of filling up

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTOS

For the first time since 2022, Walmart customers and Sam’s Club members are buying an average of less than 10 gallons per trip, according to Walmart Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey.

Consumers also are making concessions when they shop for groceries, according to Stew Leonard, president of an eight-store supermarket chain. have normally been a gap between getting the tank to empty because of the concern about what might the gas price be tomorrow,” Chief Financial Officer Gary Millerchip said in late May. Meanwhile, the gas price surge has hurt convenience stores, where 80% of all fuel is sold in the U.S., according to Jeff Lenard, a vice president at the National Association of Convenience Stores.

A sales analysis by the trade group found that the number of pump transactions at the properties of 130 convenience store companies fell by nearly 10% across March and April compared to the same two months last year. The number of sales inside the companies’ stores dropped by 10.4%, according to the analysis.

“When you lose gallons to the big box, you also lose in-store sales,” Lenard said.

Members-only warehouse stores like Costco, Walmart’s Sam’s Club and BJ’s Wholesale Club have seen more traffic at their fuel pumps since the war began in late February, according to the companies. Fuel typically costs less at the wholesale clubs.

But many drivers are not filling their tanks up, Walmart Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey told analysts late last month.

For the first time since 2022, Walmart customers and Sam’s Club members are buying an average of less than 10 gallons per trip, he said.

“That’s an indication of stress,” Rainey Changing eating habits said.

Costco members also are making changes.

Higher gas prices did not stop many They are visiting store gas stations more fre- Americans from dining out in the first two quently to “top up in between what would months of the war with Iran. Tax refunds

helped, the National Restaurant Association said. Customer traffic at U.S. restaurants in April was unchanged from the same month last year, although a 2.6% increase in restaurant spending resulted largely from higher menu prices, according to market research firm Circana.

But cracks are starting to form as budgetconscious U.S. residents shoulder the combined weight of paying more for gas and other consumer goods on top of increasing costs in other areas from inflation past and present.

The price of gas won’t help bring customers with household incomes of $45,000 or less back to U.S. fast-food restaurants, McDonald’s Chairman and CEO Chris Kempczinski said last month. People in that income group began scaling back their fast-food purchases after the period of inflation that accompanied the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the trend picked up speed last year.

U.S.-based restaurant consulting firm Revenue Management Solutions analyzed 14.6 billion restaurant transactions from the last four years and found that as gasoline gets more expensive, restaurant visits gradually decline, according to Chief Research Officer Sebastián Fernandez. The analysis indicated the impact doubles when gas hits the $4 mark, which it did as a nationwide average on March 31.

Consumers also are making concessions when they shop for groceries, according to Stew Leonard, president of an eight-store supermarket chain his father founded, Stew Leonard’s. He’s noticed customers buying meat in bulk to freeze and being less tempted to buy the products showcased during live food demonstrations or offered for sampling.

“It’s telling me that people are sticking more to their shopping list,” Leonard said.

Apple unveils upgraded Siri with new AI features

BY BARBARA ORTUTAY AP technology writer

CUPERTINO,Calif.— Apple on Monday unveiled new artificial intelligence advances including upgrades to its Siri assistant, emphasizing a focus on privacy and day-to-day use as the iPhone maker tries to catch up to rivals when it comes to AI. Siri AI, which was introduced at the start of Apple’s Cook annual World Wide Developers Conference, has been highly anticipated by users and developers. While Siri was launched in 2011, it fell be-

hind other voice assistants and was derided even by Apple fans.

It is the last WWDC featuring CEO Tim Cook before he turns his post over to John Ternus in September. Cook received an extended standing ovation and told the audience he is “deeply grateful to have been on this journey with you” and said, “the energy around Apple platforms has never been stronger.”

The conference, which drew developers from some 65 countries to Apple’s Silicon Valley headquarters, focuses on software, in contrast to the fall unveiling of the latest iPhones.

Apple has sought to distinguish itself from its peers by stressing a privacy-centered approach and

integrating AI across its devices and apps. There was no mention of AI superintelligence or companion chatbots. Rather, Apple sought to demonstrate how its AI tools can make life easier.

Apple software chief Craig Federighi took some swipes at AI companies — without naming them — that seem to be “pursuing AI for the sake of AI” without clear regard for the people it is supposed to serve. At Apple, he said, “we believe that truly helpful AI should be centered around you and your needs,” which means integrating AI into the products people use every day, with a focus on privacy.

The conference unveiled updates to Apple Intelligence, which was first announced in 2024. It now uses

Google’s Gemini AI model to help power its features and processes users’ requests and interactions on their own device and privately on the cloud, making them inaccessible to anyone else.

At the center of it is the new Siri, which Apple said is now a “much more capable assistant” that can help users find what they need and get things done across various Apple devices. For instance, it can create a menu and gather recipes from the web or from your own text messages for a World Cup viewing party and invite friends from a group chat. Siri mode on your camera, meanwhile, can tell you what you are looking at and give you relevant information, such as the nutritional details of a plate of food.