The Advocate 06-13-2026 by The Advocate

SpaceX stocksoars

Successof IPOmakes Musk world’s firsttrillionaire

BY BERNARD CONDON AP business writer

NEW YORK Elon Musk became the world’sﬁrst trillionaire after shares of his rocket company SpaceX soared in Wall Street’s biggest initial public offering of stock Shares in SpaceX jumped more than 19% after opening fortrading at noon Friday,asign that investors are looking past the billionsthe company is losingand instead betting that its massiveinvestments in satellites, orbital data centers and artiﬁcialintelligencewill payoff in

Similar proposal was defeated in November

BY CLAIRE GRUNEWALD Staff writer

the future. SpaceX opened at $150 ashare, then rose to around $168, before ﬁnishingthe dayjust below $161. Thatprice gave the company amarket value of $2.1 trillion,makingitthe sixth largest public U.S. company—larger even than its founder and CEO’s other big business, the electric vehicle maker Tesla. Between hisholdings in SpaceX

andTesla, where he is alsoCEO, Muskisnow worth an estimated $1.1 trillion,according to Forbes. Musk says SpaceX, founded in 2002, is going public now because it needs money tofund itsambitions of putting satellites and data centers in space and eventually establishing a colony of people on Mars.

He marked theopening of tradingonNasdaq by joining aceremonial bell ringing from Starbase, the SouthTexas home of SpaceX. He reiterated hislofty goals“to

See SPACEX, page 4A

An East Baton Rouge Parish Librarytax is back on the ballot this month after voters shot downa city-parish tax rededication initiative in November On the June 27 ballot, voters will be asked whether to approve or reject aproperty tax continuation of 9.5 mills forthe next 10 years, estimated to raise around $59.6 million annually to fund alllibrary operations. The library system’s previous tax millage, which expired at the end of 2025, was set at 9.89 mills.

Amill represents $1 of tax forevery $1,000 of assessed property value.

Theballoting comes after voters last fall rejected Proposition1,whichwould have funded the system through an 11.1 mill annual tax, with

ä See LIBRARY, page 4A

BY JOHN SIMERMAN Staff writer

As Louisiana broiledinAugust 2023, the state ﬁre marshal issued aburn ban, leaving it to local ofﬁcials to grant exceptions if needed.

Chris Lemoine, chief of the volunteer Cottonport Fire Department, in AvoyellesParish, approved one forhimself afew weeks later that he would come to regret.

The “controlled” burn that Lemoine admits lighting on Aug. 20, 2023, didn’tstay that way long, after he and aﬁre captain got to drinking beers downthe street, according to the Louisiana Judiciary Commission.

Theblaze just outsideoftownended up

ä See CHARGES, page 4A

Twobills before Congress wouldchangecollege athletics

Measures wouldrein in sports spending, restricttransfers

BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer

WASHINGTON —The push in Congress to revamp college athletics

—including a“Lane Kifﬁn rule” to keep coaches from switching schools midseason —now involves two bills, with one championed by

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise competing against another out of theSenate. Both would rein in college sports spendingand restrict unlimited use ofthe transfer portal —trends that haveupended century-old traditions of amateur student-athletes playing for their schools on scholarships. President DonaldTrumphas weighed in, urginglawmakers to reach acompromise, which would fall heavily on the Louisiana-dominated RepublicanHouseleader-

ship. “President Trump wants the House and Senatetowork through this to ﬁx the problem,” saidScalise, R-Jefferson. In chargeofthe effort in the House is Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton “Wegot to work it out. It’sso important for collegeathletics,” Johnsonsaid Wednesday while visiting announcersatacongressional charitybaseball game.

ä See ATHLETICS, page 5A

Former LSU and Alabama footballcoach Nick Saban testifies before aSenate committee on June 3.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO

By JOSE LUIS MAGANA

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By FRANK FRANKLIN II

Gwynne Shotwell, center,president and COO of SpaceX, celebrates withcolleagues during a bell-ringing ceremonyfor the IPO of SpaceX at the NasdaqMarketSite in Newyork on Friday Musk

SpaceX’sStarship rocket lifts off during atest flight from Starbase, Texas, on May22.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE

PHOTO By ERIC GAy

Ford recalls more than 250,000 Focus models

Ford is recalling more than 250,000 vehicles that were incorrectly repaired under a previous recall meant to ﬁx a problem that caused the engine to stall while driving.

The recall includes 255,404 Ford Focus automobiles, model years 2012-2018. Ford said the canister purge valve may malfunction, causing the engine to stall unexpectedly while driving, increasing the risk of crash and injury

To ﬁx the problem, dealers will provide a powertrain software update free of charge.

Owner notiﬁcation letters are expected to be mailed July 6. Owners may contact Ford customer service at (866)-436-7332.

Ford’s number for this recall is 26S40. The National Highway Trafﬁc and Safety Administration’s number for this recall is 26V369. The original NHTSA recall number for this issue is 18V735.

Vehicle identification numbers involved in this recall will become searchable on NHTSA. gov on July 6. Indonesian students protest policies

JAKARTA, Indonesia Hundreds of Indonesian students rallied Friday in Indonesia’s capital, demanding lower fuel and food prices and urging President Prabowo Subianto to roll back costly state spending programs as economic pressures mount

The protest was held after the prices of some fuel jumped 32% this week for the ﬁrst time since the United States launched its war against Iran more than three months ago.

About 1,500 protesters attempted to march toward the Hotel Indonesia trafﬁc circle a key Jakarta landmark, after Friday prayers. Anti-riot police blocked many of them from reaching the site, which has long been off-limits for rallies because of its location at the heart of the city’s main business and commercial district. Amid the signs of economic pressure, Indonesia’s rupiah currency has also come under pressure recently, hitting a historic low of 18,000 rupiah to the U.S. dollar earlier this month.

Demonstrators demanded cuts to what they called wasteful state spending, lower prices for fuel and staple goods, and a halt to major government programs such as a free meals program and a plan to revitalize rural areas.

The food program, costing about $15 billion for this year alone, is aimed at alleviating poverty and malnutrition Prabowo recently ﬁred the head of the program amid a massive graft probe.

They also called for an end to what they described as the growing role of the military in civilian affairs, something they view as a threat to the young democracy

U.S. scholar arrested on suspicion of espionage

BANGKOK An American scholar who writes about Myanmar and Chinese foreign policy was arrested by authorities in China on suspicion of spying, China’s foreign ministry said Friday

The scholar Min Zin, was suspected of “engaging in espionage activities that endanger China’s national security,” said China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Lin Jian

It is uncommon for Beijing to arrest a U.S citizen on national security allegations. The case comes just a month after U.S. President Donald Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing as the two countries aim to reset a tumultuous relationship.

A Burmese activist who knows Min Zin said he disappeared June 3 after going to Kunming, in China’s Yunnan province, for a conference. The activist, who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of government retribution and arrest, said Min Zin had visited China multiple times before. Min Zin was a student activist in Myanmar’s 1988 uprising, a student-led movement that the government at the time reacted to with military force. He eventually sought asylum in the U.S. He was not engaged in any direct activism work currently, said the activist.

U.S., Iran agree to wording of deal

Pakistan’s prime minister says peace accord is close

BY MUNIR AHMED, MICHELLE L. PRICE and RUSS BYNUM Associated Press

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s prime minister said Friday the United States and Iran have agreed to wording of an agreement aimed at ending their war in the Middle East and that mediators were working with both sides to ﬁnalize a deal.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the U.S and Iran have reached a “ﬁnal, agreed upon text.” He said Pakistan, which has taken the lead in mediation efforts, was working with the warring countries on next steps.

“Peace has never been this close as it is now,” Sharif said in a post on X

The apparent breakthrough in negotiations comes after Iran exchanged ﬁre with the U.S. and Israel over three days this week,

threatening to return the Middle East to full-scale war Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday an agreement “has never been closer” in a post on X. U.S. President Donald Trump, who has said multiple times in recent weeks the countries are on the cusp of a deal, shared Araghchi’s post on his own social media.

The war launched by the U.S. and Israel on Feb. 28 has rattled the Middle East and virtually shut down oil and natural gas shipments from the Persian Gulf. A fragile ceaseﬁre has been in place since April 7.

Nuclear details will follow

Araghchi told Iranian state TV on Friday that both sides were working toward signing an initial agreement declaring an end to the war “on all fronts, including Lebanon.”

Israel has been ﬁghting the Iranian-allied militia Hezbollah in

Lebanon since early March. Israel is not a party to the negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, and its leaders have said they don’t plan to withdraw from Lebanon.

Araghchi said terms dealing with Iran’s nuclear program would be finalized in the 60 days after the initial agreement is signed. He said the parties could agree to extend that period.

Iran’s nuclear program has been a key point of division. The U.S. and Israel fear it could lead to an atomic weapon — a main reason their leaders cited for going to war Tehran has insisted its nuclear efforts are for peaceful purposes.

A senior U.S. administration ofﬁcial, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House, said Friday that the emerging agreement would begin the process of destroying or removing Tehran’s highly enriched uranium.

out Thursday and embers

Officials: Sprinklers at warehouse didn’t work

First responders slowed by failing water system

By Associated Press

TRACY Calif. — Fireﬁghters responding to a blaze that destroyed a massive medical equipment warehouse in Northern California and sent embers flying for miles were hindered by sprinklers and hydrants that weren’t working, authorities said Friday

The 1 million-square-foot warehouse in Tracy, a city about 55 miles east of San Francisco, supplied medical equipment to area hospitals. It’s owned by Medline, a major medical-surgical products provider of equipment such as latex gloves, masks, surgical instruments and other medical supplies.

Thick black smoke billowed Friday from the site as ﬁreﬁghters continued to put out hot spots.

Authorities said they don’t yet know why the water system failed during the blaze but it appeared to be a problem with the facility’s system, not city supply Local fire codes generally require large warehouses to have hydrants and sprinklers and ensure both are functioning, said Brian O’Connor, a licensed ﬁre protection engineer with the National Fire Protection Association.

“If you have a large facility, it can be difficult for firefighters to stretch a hose from the closest public hydrant to the

building,” he said.

Crews responding to the blaze that broke out around 1 p.m. Thursday encountered flames on the roof and noticed no water coming out of sprinklers in the building, Tracy Deputy Fire Chief Brian Bagley said. A fire official found a pump was pushing little to no water through both the sprinklers and on-site hydrants, he said.

Fireﬁghters were forced to try to connect to city hydrants instead. The building was engulfed by ﬁre within 40 minutes, Bagley said.

“It’s very, very challenging,” Bagley told reporters. “You can imagine it’s a skyscraper laying on its side.”

The facility had been evacuated, and no one was injured. The massive warehouse was one of more than 50 distribution centers across the country for Medline, which according to its online catalog sells bandages, wheelchairs, catheters, hospital beds and many other medical supplies

Bagley said crews on Friday were trying to give drivers access to the property to remove trailers loaded with medical equipment that were not affected by the ﬁre.

Embers from the blaze sparked two grass fires, and set pallets and multiple big rig trailers at a nearby FedEx facility ablaze. Firefighters were able to knock those fires down.

Crews overnight had to contend with new fires in trailers that were loaded with supplies.

Trump: Military strike killed leader of Tren de Aragua gang

BY WILL WEISSERT Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump said Friday that a “swift and lethal kinetic”

U.S. strike has killed Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, whom he called “the infamous leader” of the Tren de Aragua gang. Tren de Aragua has been labeled by the United States as a terrorist organization. Guerrero Flores was charged in a New York federal court with racketeering conspiracy and other crimes, including lending support to terrorists in crimes that stretched more than a decade, authorities announced in December Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted on X that the strike occurred earlier in the week on a Tren de Aragua compound in Venezuela.

U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said at the time that the gang is responsible for

countless acts of violence, extortion and drug trafﬁcking in North America, South America and Europe. Trump nominated Clayton on Thursday to be director of national intelligence.

In a post on his social media site, Trump wrote, “Tren de Aragua terrorists no longer have safe haven in Venezuela or anywhere else and, under my leadership, we will ﬁnd these vicious murderers and drug lords anytime, anyplace, and send them to the depths of hell where they belong.” Trump’s post referred to Guerrero Flores by his alias, “Niño Guerrero.” Hegseth said, “The operation underscores the shared U.S. and Venezuelan commitment to take the ﬁght to narcoterrorists and deny them any safe haven in our hemisphere.” Venezuela’s ministry of communications did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the operation.

The ofﬁcial said the 60-day period after both sides sign the deal would be used to work out technical details for removing Iran’s enriched uranium. The ofﬁcial did not detail who the U.S. envisions taking charge of removing the uranium, which is believed to entombed under three nuclear sites that were battered by U.S. strikes last year Also critical is Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane for oil and natural gas. Disruption of transit through the strait has crimped global energy supplies, driven up fuel prices and made food and other basics more expensive well beyond the region.

The U.S. ofﬁcial said the emerging agreement includes provisions for reopening the strait.

Araghchi said Iran wants a deal that allows Tehran to charge ships “for services rendered” when they transit the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has imposed a toll system during the war, which the U.S. and other nations say violates international law

Lawmakers pledge to help speed up disaster recovery

BY DÁNICA COTO Associated Press

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico

in Puerto Rico

A group of U.S. Democratic lawmakers promised Puerto Ricans on Friday that they would try to speed up the island’s sluggish recovery from destructive hurricanes and earthquakes, a process that relies heavily on federal funds.

Mississippi Rep Bennie G. Thompson, ranking member of the House Committee of Homeland Security, said he and other legislators met with Puerto Rico mayors as part of a two-day trip to the U.S. territory and heard their concerns including delays in reimbursements and project approvals.

“We’ll move some of those concerns into corrective actions,” he said at a news conference. “The system should work better.”

Pablo José Hernández, Puerto Rico’s representative in Congress, said the island’s mayors flagged

their concerns after former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem implemented a policy that DHS expenditures over $100,000 be personally approved by that ofﬁce. The policy further delayed recovery efforts in Puerto Rico from hurricanes Maria and Fiona, and a series of strong quakes that struck in late 2019 and early 2020. In April, new Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin rescinded the rule, but challenges remain. Thompson noted that about a third of the workforce of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency “has been done away with.” He added: “Not a lot of people to answer the phones or look at the paperwork because they’re not there.”

Thompson said Mullin has promised that he’ll bring back employees, but it’s unclear when that might happen.

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SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE PHOTO By STEPHEN LAM

Smoke is seen from the massive fire at the Medline medical supply warehouse in Tracy, Calif., on Friday. The blaze broke

sparked grass fires.

PHOTO By MATIAS HONKAMAA

NATO weighs options for defense of Europe

U.S. announcement of withdrawal of troops spurs plans

BY LORNE COOK Associated Press

BRUSSELS NATO’s top military ofﬁcer is weighing alternative plans to defend Europe should it come under attack from Russia, after the United States announced that it is cutting the number of aircraft and warships that it would provide in a security crisis.

The so-called NATO Force Model is Plan A for making forces from the 32 member nations available in times of peace, crisis or war It sets out the military assets that commanders can call on in phases over the ﬁrst six months of any conﬂict.

But last month, the Pentagon warned its NATO allies that it would be scaling down its commitment to focus on potential threats elsewhere, notably from China in the Indo-Paciﬁc region.

The reduction in available American military assets include an aircraft carrier strike group as well as a number of submarines, ﬁghter jets, maritime patrol aircraft, air refueling planes and drones according to a NATO ofﬁcial who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke Friday on the condition of anonymity However U.S. space capabilities that help

Officials:

with targeting would still be available.

European countries and Canada had waited impatiently for over a year for the Trump administration to detail its plans after it warned that Europe is no longer a top U.S. security priority They knew cuts were coming, but not how big, fast or what kind

U.S. Gen. Alex Grynkewich, NATO’s supreme allied commander, said that “the United States is still committed to providing limited but critical capabilities to the alliance.”

“We need to focus on things that we can acquire quickly, that we can ﬁeld quickly and that we can scale rapidly and sustain over time, and that goes for long-range ﬁres” as well as drones, Grynkewich said at the ILA Berlin Air Show on Thursday.

“Those sorts of things can help us mitigate the nearterm risk should we find ourselves needing to deter and defend,” he added U.S. calls on others

After allies met on June 2-3 to assess gaps left by the U.S. move, Grynkewich said that European allies and Canada should ﬁll them by supplying manned and unmanned aircraft, and with naval vessels. It should happen “now and in the near term,” he said.

The NATO ofﬁcial said details are still being worked out on exactly when the U.S. assets are being reduced and when other NATO coun-

tries will step in to ﬁll gaps.

German news outlet Die Welt earlier reported some details of the cuts.

Many of the military resources are in short supply in Europe, and it’s unclear where they might be found in a hurry Still Washington wants to know how its allies intend to backﬁll these assets by the time President Donald Trump and his NATO counterparts meet for a summit in Turkey on July 7-8.

Cutbacks in Kosovo

On Friday, NATO military headquarters announced that it will cut back its security force in Kosovo by withdrawing some troops and equipment. KFOR began deploying in 1999 to keep the peace between Kosovo and Serbia.

Once composed of 50,000 personnel, KFOR has been routinely scaled back over the years as tensions eased, although 1,000 additional troops were deployed there in 2023, after fresh violence erupted.

“The current conditions provide an opportunity to optimize KFOR’s size and posture further,” Grynkewich said. His team declined to say what forces might leave and whether any Americans would go.

“It’s not about numbers, it’s about optimization, and about ensuring the safety and security of all people living in Kosovo, and more broadly the region,” his spokesman said.

Suspect in shooting

had ﬁred at an officer earlier

Man was already sought by police

BY JEFFREY COLLINS and JOHN SEEWER Associated Press

A man who opened fire in the West Texas city of Midland in an attack Friday morning that left one person dead and 10 injured had shot at a police ofﬁcer just days earlier during a chase, authorities said.

The suspect, 45-year-old Victor Mata Villarreal, already was being sought by authorities when he began firing at police and bystanders in Midland on Friday before barricading himself in an abandoned veterinary clinic, where he was eventually found dead, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. Police have provided limited details about how the shooting unfolded. Police arrived in the area after receiving reports of an active shooter, and Mata Villarreal started firing at officers, said Midland Police Chief Greg Snow Several officers were pinned down behind their patrol cars and had to be rescued by an armored vehicle, Snow said, but no officers were shot. Police then got everyone out of the area. “We moved to deny more targets for this active shooter,” Snow said

A few hours after the shooting began, authorities used robot and drone footage from inside the building to conﬁrm the shooter was dead, Midland Mayor Lori

Blong. Police did not say how he died.

Mata Villarreal, of nearby Odessa, was wanted for attempted capital murder of a peace ofﬁcer after ﬁring multiple times at a Midland police officer on Wednesday, the state’s public safety agency said.

The officer, who wasn’t injured, fired back after initially trying to pull over Mata Villarreal, who drove away investigators said. His vehicle was found empty a short distance away, they said. Police have not said why the ofﬁcer tried to stop Mata Villarreal.

Friday’s standoff happened about a half-mile from where the shots were fired at the police officer

Wednesday

Police have not said why Mata Villarreal began shooting on Friday or provided any details about the victims, including who they were, how they were shot or the conditions of those still hospitalized.

Midland Memorial Hospital said four people who were brought there underwent surgery and that five had been treated and released.

Calls to numbers listed for some relatives of Mata Villarreal in Texas went unanswered Friday or appeared to be lines that had been disconnected.

Mata Villarreal had several previous encounters with law enforcement, including some arrests, records show He was convicted on a 2009 charge of unlawfully carrying a firearm in San Angelo, according to Texas

Judge extends block on ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’

Hold on creation of $1.8B

settlement purse is indefinite

BY MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A federal judge agreed on Friday to extend indefinitely a court-ordered block on the Trump administration’s creation and operation of a $1.8 billion settlement fund for compensating people who claim to be victims of a weaponized government.

Earlier this month, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told Congress that the government is scrapping its plans for the fund in the face of a ﬁerce bipartisan backlash, and government attorneys have argued that lawsuits challenging the fund are now moot. But plaintiffs’ attorneys aren’t satisfied by Blanche’s assurances that the fund won’t move forward.

Neither was U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema, who ruled that the “AntiWeaponization Fund” will remain blocked until further notice from the court.

“The (government’s) mootness argument, in my view, doesn’t go anywhere,” the judge said.

President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has not publicly and unequivocally endorsed the fund’s cancellation. He has continued to express support for it in remarks to reporters.

Brinkema gave the parties a week to negotiate an agreement for Trump administration officials, including Blanche, to submit a sworn declaration that the administration won’t revive the fund.

Brinkema previously

agreed to temporarily block the administration from proceeding with the fund for at least two weeks.

Her May 29 order was due to expire on Friday Trump’s Republican administration created the fund to resolve his lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns.

Plaintiffs who sued to block fund payouts argue that the government can’t legally divert taxpayer money into what they argue is a slush fund for compensating Trump’s allies.

In a separate case on Wednesday, a different judge in Washington, D.C., rejected a government watchdog’s parallel request for a court order temporarily blocking the Trump administration from forging ahead with the fund. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon said he accepts Blanche’s representation that the fund is now moot.

Leon had asked Justice Department attorney Andrew Block why Blanche doesn’t formally rescind his May 18 order establishing the fund. Block said he didn’t know He still didn’t have an answer to that question when Brinkema posed it two days later.

“It’s a huge gap in the record that we don’t have an answer to that question,” said Brinkema, who was nominated to the bench by President Bill Clinton, a Democrat.

Block said he couldn’t provide her with a “concrete answer” because he doesn’t have direct access to Blanche

“All I would be doing is speculating,” he told the judge.

In the Virginia case, attorneys from the legal advocacy group Democracy Forward asked for an or-

der to temporarily suspend the fund’s implementation and stop the Trump administration from disbursing any payouts from it.

The plaintiffs include a ﬁred prosecutor and a college professor acquitted of assaulting federal agents at a protest. Also named as plaintiffs are the government watchdog Common Cause; the city of New Haven, Connecticut; and the National Abortion Federation, an association of abortion providers. Even before the Trump administration said it was dropping the fund, the Justice Department did not form the ﬁve-member commission that would decide on payout criteria, so no money was paid out nor claims accepted.

Many of the Republican president’s allies are opposed to compensating rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan 6, 2021, after he lost the 2020 presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden. In May, however, Blanche wouldn’t rule out the possibility that Capitol rioters who engaged in violence could be eligible to apply for payments from the fund.

Trump issued mass pardons to Capitol rioters on his first day back in the White House last year More than 1,500 people were charged in the Jan. 6 attack before Trump erased every case with his sweeping act of clemency. Democracy Forward attorney Pooja Boisture said reviving the fund would irreparably harm the lawsuit’s plaintiffs. A court order to block it wouldn’t harm the government if the administration is truly abandoning it, as Blanche testiﬁed, Boisture told the judge, who agreed with that argument.

criminal history records.

He was charged in 2003 and 2004 for unlawfully carrying a weapon and unlawful possession of a prohibited weapon, but both cases appear to have been dismissed as part of a plea. He also pleaded no contest to a domestic violence charge in 2008 that was later dismissed.

As police responded to Friday’s shooting, dozens of squad cars and law enforcement vehicles descended along what’s normally a busy roadway lined with hotels and auto businesses a few miles west of Midland’s downtown.

Andrea Mendias said she heard what sounded like a small explosion at the closed veterinary clinic next to the auto body shop where she works and saw a number of heavily armed police ofﬁcers rush into the parking lot. Some appeared to go inside the building.

Mendias said she earlier heard what sounded like at least 40 gunshots.

Video from Mendias showed ofﬁcers pouring out of the back of an armored police vehicle and police deploying robots into the area.

The city with about 140,000 residents sits in the heart of the state’s oil and gas region and was near the site of a deadly shooting rampage in 2019.

In that shooting, a gunman who had been ﬁred from his oil services job killed seven people and wounded two dozen others while ﬁring at random as he drove around the Odessa and Midland areas. The two cities are more than 300 miles west of Dallas.

LEHTIKUVA

F/A-18 Hornet multi-role fighters of the Finnish Air Force take off from a road strip during NATO’s Ramstein Flag 26 exercise in Tervo, Finland, on Wednesday.

make life multiplanetary.”

“Not just a few astronauts, I mean literally you,” Musk said. “Whoever you are watching this, SpaceX wants to be able to take you to the moon, take you to Mars and ultimately beyond.”

Known for his technological breakthroughs, as well as wild claims and missed deadlines, Musk was able to whip up enthusiasm for the IPO. The typical company going public has seen a 7% jump in its ﬁrst day of trading, from 1980 through 2025, according to Jay Ritter, a professor at the University of Florida’s Warrington College of Business.

Institutional and retail investors alike jumped at the opportunity to buy a piece of the company at $135 per share before trading began. The $75 billion in proceeds SpaceX raised easily topped the previous record IPO from oil giant Saudi Aramco in 2019.

In addition to establishing a onemillion person Martian colony, the company has promised to save humanity by establishing other outposts in space, launch data centers the size of football ﬁelds into orbit and outdo rivals Anthropic and OpenAI in the race to make money from artiﬁcial intelligence.

To reach its goals, SpaceX needs billions more than it currently takes in from its rocket and satellite business. Between the start of 2025 and March 31, 2026, the company, formally known as Space Exploration Technologies Corp., lost $8.7 billion.

Pros and cons for investors

Betting on SpaceX is in many

CHARGES

Continued from page 1A

“catching an abandoned wooden structure, brush and trees, and electrical poles and lines on ﬁre,” the commission alleges in misconduct allegations against Lemoine that were made public this week.

Lemoine, who serves as a justice of the peace along with his role as fire chief, downplayed the damage even as calls and text messages rolled in to emergency dispatchers. He told them he was at the scene and only an empty lot was affected.

A pair of Cottonport police officers arrived to find a structure ablaze, “and no one was around watching it.” They sent photos to the town’s police chief at the time, Jennifer Lofton, who “recognized the old slaughterhouse engulfed in flames” and soon arrived.

“You’re not going to make this a big deal, are you?” Lemoine asked her, according to the commission.

“Yes, it is a big deal that we’re in the middle of a serious burn ban and this could do a lot of damage,” she responded.

According to the commis-

LIBRARY

Continued from page 1A

2.8 of those mills going to the parish’s general fund as a part of Mayor-President Sid Edwards’ “Thrive” plan to rededicate taxes to ﬁx a hole in the general fund

The current tax vote has garnered strong support from librarygoers, but it also has faced opposition that has signiﬁcant funding.

Assistant Library Director Mary Stein said the tax continuation is lower than the previous millage that voters approved in 2015, 2005 and 1995. Anna Fogle, a resident working with the EBR Library PAC, said the political action committee is making sure to clarify that this tax is a continuation and not the same measure on the November ballot

“We have to make sure people are aware of this election,” she said. “A strong library system is so important for our community.”

Jambalaya PAC, a political action committee registered in Ascension Parish, has paid for local texts, mailers and videos encouraging residents to vote down the renewal.

The PAC had two major

ways a bet on Musk himself. In an unusual arrangement that has drawn criticism from shareholder watchdogs, he holds 82% interest in a special B class of shares, giving him sweeping power to control the company even though his ownership stake is about half that.

“There’s a lot of hype, but I see the faith that investors have in Musk,” said Yordys Coro, an IT support contractor in Miami as he watched his $14,000 investment in SpaceX shoot up to $17,000 in just a few hours. “I’m going to hold on.”

Wall Street bankers that helped take SpaceX public are also enthusiastic about the company — and the big fees they will earn — but

sion, Lemoine “admitted ‘it got a little bit out of hand after that’ and you put your ﬁnger in her face and might have slipped and touched her.”

The police chief said Lemoine shoved four ﬁngers into her chest, bruising her left pectoral muscle, and yelled as he walked away that she was out of her jurisdiction, “and to mind her own business,” the commission alleges.

Lofton told a dispatcher that Lemoine had “put your hands on her several times and admitted to being intoxicated,” the commission claims.

Lemoine is accused of failing to uphold “high standards as both a judicial ofﬁcer and as a ﬁre chief, and failing to comply with the law by foolishly and negligently performing a controlled burn” during a ban.

The commission can recommend discipline of judges and justices of the peace to the Louisiana Supreme Court.

Lemoine lost his composure and temper, committed a battery upon the police chief and resisted arrest during “this embarrassing and frightening incident,” the commission alleges.

He balked at being hand-

contributors as of early June: $40,000 from Lane Grigsby, Baton Rouge business owner and Republican political donor; and $50,000 from his son Todd, CEO of the Grigsby-founded Cajun Industries.

Lane Grigsby said he wants the renewal defeated to see some money go back to taxpayers. He believes the library could reduce its annual budget due to its reserve funds and lower its millage.

“No one’s against the libraries,” Grigsby said. “I think we got to make some drastic, meaningful changes in how we spend people’s money.”

The library’s reserve fund balance is at least $113 million as of this year because the system operates on a pay-as-you-go model for capital projects like building new branches and updating existing locations. Stein said the library saves money for the upcoming projects instead of borrowing to pay for work.

If the library tax were to fail, the library system would receive no new revenue for 2026. The system could attempt a new tax in 2027, but it would not begin receiving funding until 2028, according to Stein Without the renewal, ser-

not everyone thinks the stock price is justiﬁed.

Analysts at research ﬁrm Morningstar, which doesn’t earn any investment banking fees, wrote that the IPO is “signiﬁcantly overvalued.” Citing SpaceX’s unproven technology and massive capital needs, they estimated the company is only worth $780 billion less than half its IPO value.

SpaceX itself has hinted at the challenges, conceding in regulatory documents that some of its business plans rest on “unproven technologies.” It also indicated that another part of the company, its artiﬁcial intelligence business called xAI, has no clear path to proﬁtability and is burning cash to

cuffed, and as an ofﬁcer read him his rights, Lemoine “disparaged Chief Lofton, referring to her as a ‘bitch and a hoe,’” the document states.

A hearing over the allegations is scheduled for September “Your conduct also put your neighbors on both sides of your property and the tenants across the street who live in a large apartment complex in imminent danger or fear thereof,” the commission alleges.

District Attorney Charles Riddle engineered a resolution of the criminal case against Lemoine. Indicted on counts of battery of a police ofﬁcer and resisting an ofﬁcer, Lemoine entered a pretrial diversion program and later had the case expunged from his record the commission said.

Lemoine admitted last week in a response to the charges that he drank “about six beers” within a threehour period leading up to the altercation with the police chief.

“I was burning a pile of brush on my property, the structure that caught fire was abandoned for years and it did belong to me,” he wrote.

“I did make the determination that it was safe but when I left for a minute, when I re-

vices and programs would be reduced, and some budgets, like for e-books, could be cut.

“We are getting very positive feedback about the millage. I am very conﬁdent it is going to pass on June 27,” Stein said Tuesday A defeat of the millage, though, could clear a path for a proposed St. George municipal library system.

In the past few weeks, the idea of a new St. George library system has gotten legs after City Council member Drew Murrell proposed an ordinance for a new system that he said would lower taxes for residents and give the city more local control.

“We want St. George citizens to control St. George tax dollars, and we want it to go to St. George services,” Murrell said at Tuesday’s City Council meeting when he presented his ordinance.

The proposed municipal library, however, would go forward only if the upcoming parish millage renewal fails, the council member said. The council Tuesday ultimately deferred taking action on the plan for 30 days, which would land right after the June 27 election.

Early voting is from 8:30 a.m to 6 p.m Friday to June 20, excluding Saturday and June 19.

by creating two companies, Zip2 and PayPal, that netted him about $200 million at sale He used that money to start SpaceX and invest in Tesla, and defied the odds by creating a space company that ﬁgured out how to reuse rockets and a car company that made electric vehicles cool.

Musk has realized vast sums of wealth for himself, much of it in stock he has yet to cash in or grants for shares he’ll only receive if Tesla or SpaceX hit ambitious performance targets.

His recent pay package from Tesla was so large it even drew criticism from the Vatican. At Tesla, he’s worried shareholders by fighting with regulators or dividing his attention between multiple companies and last year by taking a role in the Trump administration.

But a rising stock price has cured all ills: Since it went public in 2010, Tesla has returned 20,000% for shareholders, or more than $1.2

catch up with rivals.

On a livestreamed conference Thursday with the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, one of the investment banks making big money off the IPO, Musk offered few details.

He entertained the crowd with talk of “moon hotels,” a future Martian colony and a network of Earth-orbiting data centers powered by the sun. But when asked about plans for his ﬂagship chatbot offering Grok, he pivoted to talking about his satellites.

How Elon made his fortune

Still, Musk has pulled off the seemingly impossible before.

The now-trillionaire — on paper at least — made his initial fortune

turned it did get a little out of hand and called it in.”

Lemoine says he was less than 100 yards away from the burn. His department sent a ﬁre truck He disputed that he could have caused the injury Lofton alleged.

“I did clench my ﬁst, but by no means try to do anything but put my ﬁnger in her face while we were talking and yelling at her,” he wrote.

“Maybe when I put my ﬁngers by her chest she took it as me pushing her but I did

not by no means want it to go that far I did admit to her that I had a little to drink.”

Lemoine went on to write that Lofton “was outside the city limits of Cottonport and was not asked by the Avoyelles Parish Sheriff’s Ofﬁce to assist them, who has jurisdiction where this occurred.”

He added: “I do not recall calling her a bitch hoe.”

Lemoine admitted, however, that he violated the judicial code of ethics and said

he’d never before been in trouble with a state agency

“I know what I did was wrong and did not act in a professional manner I would ask for any and all help in this matter,” he wrote. Less than a week after his arrest, the state ﬁre marshal rescinded the burn ban, replacing it with a new one. The agency said the purpose of the change was “to remove the ability for exceptions to be granted by local authorities.”

Paramedic among women detained in Afghanistan

Doctors

BY ELENA BECATOROS Associated Press

A Doctors Without Borders paramedic was among women arrested during a recent crackdown for alleged dress code violations in Afghanistan, the medical aid organization said Friday

The paramedic was arrested for not wearing a face covering while on her way to work at a hospital in the western city of Herat, and was detained for two days, according to Sarah Champion, the aid group’s program manager for Afghanistan

The organization also known by its French acronym MSF, said in a statement Thursday it was “outraged by the arrest and detention of one of its employees as part of the enforcement of dress code requirements in the city.”

“This incident is not isolated. Women in Afghanistan already face very se-

ATHLETICS

Continued from page 1A

At issue are college payments to student-athletes which often range in hundreds of thousands of dollars — and the advent of lucrative “name, image and likeness” deals between players and sponsors. Critics of the new system say those developments, coupled with the ability for athletes and coaches to switch schools as often as they want, have undermined college sports.

Former football coach

Nick Saban who won a college championship for LSU before going on to be its longtime nemesis at Alabama — was a star witness at a Senate hearing on the issue earlier this month.

He warned that the changes have created a spending frenzy that favors wealthier schools ﬁelding football and basketball teams at the expense of smaller colleges with tighter budgets and sports programs that generate little revenue but ﬁll the ranks of America’s Olympians.

“Congress does need to ﬁx the mess,” Saban said.

The effort is down two competing bills.

The House has the SCORE Act ofﬁcially the Student Compensation and Opportunity through Rights and Endorsements Act, proposed by Scalise. SCORE is supported by the Southeastern Conference and the Big Ten Athletic Conference, though it hasn’t found backing from enough House representatives to pass.

Opposed by the SEC and Big Ten but supported by other athletic conferences, the Senate is rallying around the Protect College Sports Act, or PCSA, sponsored by

vere restrictions on movement and access to public life, which have direct consequences on the access to care and delivery of healthcare services across the country,” it said. The United Nations has said at least 30 women were arrested in Herat on Saturday and Sunday over alleged infringements of Afghanistan’s draconian dress code for women.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Sen. Maria Cantwell, DWash. That bill includes a rule that would forbid football and basketball coaches from switching programs during the season, as Kifﬁn did to become LSU’s new football coach.

Trump last week praised Scalise’s measure but endorsed the Cruz-Cantwell instrument.

He demanded the Senate and House reach an agreement and pass a bill he can sign into law before the year ends. A new Congress will be elected in November and take office in January At that point work on all legislation will have to begin again.

The president has said he wants consistent guidelines on who is eligible to be a student-athlete and limits on how long they can compete at the college level. He also wants to restrict athletes to one transfer to another university

Cruz contends court rulings forced changes that are unsustainable.

“I get why coaches are frustrated They have to reset their roster every single year,” Cruz said. “Everything that has happened here in the last ﬁve years in terms of not just players being allowed to be paid, but players being allowed to transfer freely, has been the result of an unfavorable court decision against the NCAA.”

Though approaching the issues differently, both bills would relax antitrust laws to allow a single governing body like the NCAA, acting as a monopoly to set rules for recruiting and handling college athletes that could be enforced nationally That would shield universities from being sued in state courts on challenges to NCAA rules — lawsuits that have created a state-by-state

The arrests and detentions sparked a rare protest in the city on Monday which was violently dispersed by Taliban police.

The U.N. mission in Afghanistan has said that at least one person was killed by gunﬁre and several others suffered injuries, including from beatings in the police response to the protest.

mishmash of standards.

Both measures would allow players to take NIL money but change how it is distributed as well as limit the number of times an athlete could transfer Both bills provide healthcare coverage and scholarship protections for the studentathletes A key difference between the two revolves around classifying student-athletes as university employees, which would give them the right to unionize and bargain collectively as well as provide legal protections under federal labor laws.

Scalise said keeping student-athletes off university payrolls was important for the universities and college athletic conferences.

“One thing that a lot of schools and student-athletes told us is they don’t want to be forced into being employees of the school and then ultimately being unionized. And that’s one of the big differences between the House and Senate bill that’s got to get fixed,” Scalise said on “The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show,” a syndicated conservative talk radio program

But Cruz notes the provision is one of the key objections to the SCORE bill out of the House. The Senate bill remains neutral on the question.

Scalise says the SEC and Big Ten, as the largest and richest college athletic conferences, need to be on board with the legislation. He was ready last month to put the SCORE bill to a vote by full the House.

Then the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the Callais v. Louisiana voting rights case. That decision allowed a number of Republican-run states — mostly in the SEC — to rush to redraw district maps in a way that creates

Draconian restrictions

Protests are very rare in Afghanistan, which has been run by the Taliban since 2021 in the wake of the chaotic withdrawal of U.S.-led forces. The government has since imposed rules governed by a strict interpretation of Islamic law, or Shariah. Dissent is not tolerated, and protests against government deci-

more Republican seats in the House by reconﬁguring the districts whose voters had favored Black Democrats.

As part of their response to those moves the Congressional Black Caucus withdrew its support of SCORE, requiring Scalise to postpone a ﬂoor vote.

The Black Caucus joined the NAACP’s call for Black athletes to avoid schools in states whose top officials have not spoken publicly against gerrymandering congressional districts.

“We cannot celebrate Black athletes on Saturday and stay silent on Monday when their voting rights are being stripped away,” said U.S. Rep. Cleo Fields,

sions are banned.

The regulations include draconian restrictions on women and girls, such as bans on education beyond primary school and on many jobs. Women are required to be accompanied by a male guardian when outside the home, and strict rules govern what women can wear Healthcare is one of the few sectors where women are still allowed to work.

The rules stipulate that women can only go out in public when wearing full hijab which includes a headscarf and long robe covering the entire body — as well as a face covering that leaves only the eyes visible

The regulations are policed by the feared Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice.

Staffer, husband detained

The MSF staffer was being driven to work in a hospital in Herat by her husband when the couple was stopped at a checkpoint set up by the vice and virtue ministry, Champion said Friday

The woman was told that not wearing a face covering

the Baton Rouge Democrat whose seat was at the center of the Callais decision.

“For generations Black athletes have helped build college athletics into one of the most powerful and profitable industries in America,” he said. “Yet at the very same moment the same communities many of these athletes call home face coordinated attacks on their democratic representation, too many leaders have chosen silence. Institutions that significantly profit from Black talent have a responsibility to stand with Black communities when their fundamental rights are under attack.” Notre Dame Athletic Di-

was a violation of the dress code for women. However, she was wearing her work uniform, which has been approved for female hospital staff by Afghanistan’s Health Ministry, Champion told The Associated Press. After explaining she was working at the hospital, the staffer left the checkpoint. But she and her husband were arrested when they arrived at the hospital, and were both detained for two days, Champion said.

Sign a commitment

Before being released, both husband and wife had to sign a written commitment that the woman would wear a niqab a garment that covers the entire body, including the head and face, leaving only the eyes visible.

The document stipulates that if she does not do so, she could be jailed for a month, Champion said.

The woman’s father brother and brother-in-law were also required to sign the document, to guarantee the woman’s husband will ensure his wife conforms to the dress regulations.

rector Pete Bevacqua has argued another reason to quickly act on legislation, saying having thousands of male and female players “bounce around to three, four schools” will hurt many of them in the long run.

“You’re going to have a generation of student-athletes, thousands of cases that are finishing their college journey without a college degree with money that is ﬂeeting,” he said. “So that by the time they’re 25, they’ve torn through that money and its kind of a ‘good luck with the rest of your life.’”

Email Mark Ballard at mballard@theadvocate. com.

The heat is definitely on for the weekend. Expect amostlysunny to partly cloudy, hot and humid dayall acrossthe Baton Rouge area. Temperatures thisafternoon willberight about where they should be, in the low90s.Withthe high humidity we’reexpecting temperatureswillfeel somewhere between 100 and 106. Like yesterday, rainchances willberight around 20%,soafew showers or storms are possible.The UV Index willremainatthe extreme level today,sowear your sunscreen.

Free-trade talksat stake

BY ROBGILLIES Associated Press

PARIS Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has arrived in Europe for the upcoming G7 summit, where he is expectedtomake a more muted criticism of U.S. President Donald Trump at a crucial time fortalks to potentially renew afree-trade agreement between the two countries and Mexico.

Carney’sspeech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, became asymbol of middle-power resistance in January,when

he declared the global rulesbased order over and condemned coercion by great powers on smaller countries. But this summit comes as tensions have been ramping up between Trump and Canada. Carney metFridaywith French President EmmanuelMacron in Paris, afew days before the summit in Evian-les-Bains, France. He didn’tmention the U.S. directlybut referenced artiﬁcial intelligence and said both Canada and France “are determinedtoact in this way to strengthen our strategic autonomy in aworld dominated by hegemonic powers andhyperscalers.”

Macron said the two countries “share thesame view of theworld.”

The Group of Seven summitofindustrializeddemocracies that begins Monday in France comes ahead of the scheduledJuly1review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA. It is a crucial moment in trade talks for the latest iteration of the NorthAmericanfree-trade pact that has intertwinedthe economies of the three countriessince the early 1990s Trump said this week that he maynot renew the deal.

Preserving the accord is critical for Canada, where 70% of exportsgotothe U.S. Canadian historian Robert Bothwell said Trump is more of aproblem for Carney“than anybody else because we are more exposed to theUnited States.”

Treasury expandsbankdata-sharing rulestiedtoimmigration crackdown

BY KEN SWEET Associated Press

NEW YORK The Treasury Department moved Fridayto enlist the nation’sbanks more deeply in President Donald Trump’simmigrationcrackdown, including issuing fresh guidance that lets banks rapidly share information about suspected customersand an advisory steeringthem to flag signs that one of their customers may lack legal immigration status These changesare part of the administration’spush to remove undocumentedworkers from the nation’sbanking system without explicitly mandating that banks do so In order to get banks to participate, the administration has framed these actions as acrackdown on fraud and crime, not explicitly about immigration.

“The information in your purviewcan help stop a

cartel financier,disrupt a money laundering network, uncover labor exploitation, or protect taxpayers from fraud,” TreasurySecretary Scott Bessent said in preparedremarks at abanking conference in Houston Bessent’sremarks and the Treasury Department’snew guidelinescome from an executive order signed in MaybyTrump that requires bankstotakea closer look at thecitizenship oftheir customersaswellasdirects bank regulators and government departmentstolook for signsthatpeoplewithout legal statusare opening accountsorobtaining loans or creditcards. But that executive order didnot include an explicit mandate that banks collect citizenship information, which the industry for months lobbied against. Bankshavelongbeen able to share informationabout their customers withother

banks underthe Patriot Act program when they suspect money laundering or fraud, part of the post-9/11 effort to combat terrorismand other crimes.

Friday’s actionswidened that system on two fronts. Banks can now share such information with oneanother in real time and more freely,the Treasury Department said. Secondly,the Trump Administration is giving banks awider variety of reasons to shareinformation,which now include ﬂags historically tied to immigration status. Oneexample is acustomer having an individualtaxpayer identiﬁcation number (ITIN),which aredisproportionally used by undocumented immigrantswhen applying for work.

Bessenttold bankers that the new guidance is simply part of what thebanking systemneeds to do as part of their routine operations.

Mother sentenced in 2-year-old’s death

Child was put in suitcase and buried in Mississippi

BY QUINN COFFMAN Staff writer

The mother of a murdered

2-year-old girl, whose body was found inside a suitcase buried in a shallow grave in Mississippi, was sentenced to 14 years in prison Thursday for her role in the

child’s death Lanaya Brittany Cardwell, 28, was convicted in February of second-degree cruelty to juveniles. Phillip Kegan Gardner, her then live-in fiancé, was convicted in October of second-degree murder and obstruction of justice in the death of Nevaeh Liyla Allen.

While not convicted of murder, Cardwell was found guilty of physically abusing the 2-year-old in September 2021, causing internal bleeding. Gardner was alone in the apartment with Nevaeh and two of her siblings for hours after the alleged beating, then found the toddler

unconscious, pale in the face and without a pulse. Instead of calling 911 or seeking medical attention when she remained unresponsive, Gardner put Nevaeh’s body into a suitcase, stuffed it in his car and raced to a remote patch of woods across the Mississippi state line in Hancock County, northeast of New Orleans.

The FBI oversaw the search, and hundreds of ofﬁcers from several law enforcement agencies scoured southeastern Louisiana and southern Mississippi for two days before ﬁnding the toddler’s body Gardner eventually confessed to his role in the child’s disappearance and burial. District Judge Fred Crifasi sentenced him to a mandatory life sentence in October

Mike the Tiger yawns while sitting on a rock in his enclosure on the campus of LSU on Thursday. Mike VII began his reign as mascot on Aug. 21, 2017. The tiger’s habitat and animal care plan are licensed by the United States Department of Agriculture.

Mixed-use development being built near Woman’s Hospital

Apartments, commercial space will be available

BY IANNE SALVOSA Staff writer

City Park meeting draws tense crowd

Over 150 people weigh in on potential designs

BY CLAIRE GRUNEWALD Staff writer

A mixed-use development adjoining Woman’s Hospital is adding apartments. The Heights at Materra will bring 295 apartment units to the Materra neighborhood. The development off Airline Highway neighbors Woman’s Hospital and will ultimately have both residential and commercial spaces. The apartment complex will have one- to three-bedroom units and community amenities including a pool, clubhouse and 24-hour gym. Construction started last year and is expected to be ﬁnished in September and open for leasing by December The development totals almost 100 acres, including 57 acres for single-family homes, 15 acres for commercial space, 8 acres for the apartments and 7 acres for BASIS Charter School, according to the development’s master plan. Materra, meaning motherland in Latin, is being developed by land use attorney Charles Landry and Engquist Development with construction company Stoa Group. Engquist also developed Rouzan, a mixed-use community in the Southdowns area with single-family homes, apartment units and a commercial development anchored by Sprouts Farmers Market, and Americana in Zachary, which has residential spaces and dining Woman’s Hospital envisioned Materra to be a walkable neighborhood and a “model for how a

Is there a building under construction or renovation in your neighborhood and you want to know what it is? Send an email with a picture or the location to ianne.salvosa@theadvocate.com

A community meeting to address the future of one of Baton Rouge’s most notable parks sparked tense reactions, with a pair of people being escorted by police out of the gathering Thursday night. More than 150 people packed into the McKinley High Alumni Center to hear about two potential designs for the future of City-Brooks Park. The proposals are a part of a master plan aimed to transform the grounds “into a world-class, central park experience,” according to BREC, the parish’s parks agency

BY ANNAKATE FREELAND Staff writer

ä See MEETING, page 2B

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

STAFF PHOTO By IANNE SALVOSA The Heights at Materra at 7600 McCall Drive

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON People attend a meeting on the proposed updates to BREC’s CityBrooks Park at the McKinley High Alumni Center on Thursday

Street takeover crackdown nets

BY MISSY WILKINSON Staff writer

New Orleans police on Tuesday

touted “Operation Speed Bump,” a multiagency crackdown on an illegal street takeover promoted on social media and described by ofﬁcials as an unsanctioned counterpart to the fully permitted Gumball 3000 rally that rolled through Bourbon Street last Saturday night.

Though NOPD Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick declined to identify the group behind the event or the intersections targeted by police, a Times-Picayune analysis of police reports, court records and calls-for-service data found that more than 100 additional ofﬁcers were concentrated at intersections in Plum Orchard, St. Roch and the Florida Development.

“We had anticipated certain intersections where they might go, and sure enough, about 10 o’clock here they came,” Kirkpatrick said.

Those arrested or cited included alleged stunt drivers, a suspected takeover promoter, an alleged car thief, a Texas fugitive and a party bus operator

Two men were booked late Saturday near the intersection of Florida Avenue and France Road. Nicholas Freemont, 24, was allegedly doing doughnuts in his Dodge Charger when NOPD tried to conduct a traffic stop. He fled to the 7th Ward, where NOPD officers met up with

MEETING

Continued from page 1B

A ﬂash point of the plan is determining the future of City Park Golf Course. On Thursday night, the vocal majority of people strongly advocated for leaving the park as is, especially the golf course Other residents want to see the layout signiﬁcantly changed, with more wideranging features added to the park.

Sasaki Associates the ﬁrm hired to create the master plan for the park, proposed two designs that keep the nine-hole golf course as a key part of the park. But both plans carve a few hundred yards from the course and propose new services for the park, such as expanding pedestrian space and adding new features.

Joshua Brooks, a landscape architect and planner with Sasaki Associates, presented the two concepts to the crowd, and emotions quickly ﬂared.

“You may not like everything that I say, you may not like everything your neighbor has to say, but that’s

SENTENCED

Continued from page 1B

Kim Holmes, the grandmother of Nevaeh, said Cardwell should have received the same life sentence that Gardner got for failing to keep the 2-year-old safe. Holmes’ son, Marcus Allen, is Nevaeh’s father “They both were responsible for the care of Nevaeh Allen, a child that deserved to be here right now That can’t be here because of two parents that were selfish, that took away her right, took away my rights, took away my grandchildren’s right to live as children and have a normal life,” she said outside court Thursday “There’s no normal life for us now, because we have to live thinking

HYUNDAI

Continued from page 1B

him and informed him he was being charged with reckless operation and ﬂeeing from ofﬁcers, according to the gist.

Freemont told NOPD he didn’t know it was illegal to do doughnuts on a public roadway, and that “he ran from ofﬁcers because he was scared,” a gist states.

Another pursuit arrest stemmed from officers responding to traffic congestion caused by the takeover at that intersection. Enrique Guzman Cesario, 20, led state troopers on a chase that ended on Almonaster Boulevard, where troopers disabled his Infiniti G37 by forcing it into a curb. After a brief foot pursuit, Cesario was booked into the Orleans Justice Center on charges of flight from an officer, resisting an officer, reckless operation of a vehicle and driving without a license.

In the 2400 block of Elysian Fields Avenue, a 22-year-old woman was cited for violating the city’s Vehicular Stunt Activities Ordinance, which in 2022 expanded the city’s ban on illegal street racing to criminalize participants, spectators and organizers who could potentially fall under aiding-andabetting provisions. That year takeovers surged in downtown New Orleans amid a spike in violent crime, with some participants storming police vehicles in St. Roch.

“We arrested one of the social media promoters, and we took her

car,” Kirkpatrick said Tuesday, without naming the promoter “It is illegal to even promote this activity on social media.”

Also arrested at that intersection was Virgil Witherspoon, 22, who was wanted out of Texas on charges including felony assault, resisting an ofﬁcer, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, a drug law violation and evading with a vehicle.

On Chef Menteur Highway near Dale Street, state troopers followed 23-year-old Phil Deeds Jr., 23, to the Read Boulevard West area before they pulled him over for speeding and running red lights. After they found a concealed VIN and fake plates on his Chevrolet Camaro, which had been reported stolen, he was booked into jail on possession of a stolen vehicle and aggravated obstruction of a highway

Between Louisiana State Police and NOPD, eight people were arrested and dozens more were cited for trafﬁc and parking violations.

One of those citations went to a party bus operator accused of possessing alcoholic beverages in a motor vehicle and issued 23 seat belt violations — one for each passenger aboard.

Fox Theriault, who is active in the local motorcycle scene and has attended drag races, said stunt drivers were displaced to larger urban intersections after the city installed concrete barriers across Almonaster Avenue roughly a year ago.

the point of processes like this, for us to get as broad feedback as possible,” Brooks told the crowd.

A Baton Rouge police ofﬁcer conﬁrmed two people were escorted

about Nevaeh and what could have been.” Holmes said she wanted the record to show that her son was a good father For her charge, Cardwell faced a maximum of 20 years in prison. East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore said Cardwell had been offered a plea deal earlier, but rejected it, forcing the toddler’s family to suffer a second trial over Nevaeh’s murder

Bored in jail

The severity of Cardwell’s sentence rested on multiple factors, including whether or not Crifasi believed she expressed adequate remorse for her role in her toddler’s death.

In the sentencing hearing, prosecutors presented a minute-long recording

from the meeting after they got into an argument with others over the park. As the discussion that drew yelling and applause died down, Jane

of Cardwell on a jail videocall with a friend or family member, ﬂippantly discussing her future hearings and possible release.

In it, Cardwell can be heard saying she is bored of jail and discussed a celebration for her eventual return, asking to have a bottle of wine waiting for her As the call concludes, she can be seen singing and dancing along with the other woman on the call.

The state rested its case after playing the short video.

Cardwell will receive credit for time served, meaning she will be released in approximately 10 years.

“I think the judge was extremely thorough and fair; 14 years was appropriate,” Moore said, adding that Cardwell never showed any

will share her journey tracing the rose’s origins.

Peggy Martin to discuss namesake rose’s origins

Event to be held at the Baton Rouge Main Library

Staff report

The Baton Rouge Botanic Garden Foundation will host a free garden discoveries event entitled “Survival of the Peggy Martin Rose” at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Main Library at Goodwood.

Peggy Martin, the namesake of the rose, will share her journey tracing the rose’s origins and her passion for preserving heritage roses. Weather permitting, the program will conclude with a guided tour of the nearby Baton Rouge Botanic Gardens Rose Garden. Martin spent decades nurturing a garden full of antique roses in Plaquemines Parish. But when

Nell Luster yelled from the crowd to ask Brooks if any decision-makers were present to talk to about the plan.

Nell Luster, who lives outside of the park, said she felt that decisionmakers were not having enough conversations with community members throughout the process.

“I would love to be respected,” she said.

‘Shame on them’

Poster boards showing concepts for the park were displayed at the meeting, and attendees were given stickers to mark the ideas that they liked.

Jason Landrem, who grew up playing at City Park Golf Course, put his entire sheet of stickers over a design showing the existing golf course, and hundreds of other stickers joined his.

“This says a lot,” Landrem said while pointing at the stickers.

“There’s a lot of passion driving people around here.”

Landrem complimented the golf course and said he thinks Sasaki and BREC need to make sure they are making decisions based on

remorse. “This is the sentence that she’s earned, and she deserved, and this is one that affected that family, as you can tell, but also affected the entire community for years. And I remember some vividly on the weekend when the baby was missing, and we were desperately trying to ﬁnd the child, hopefully alive. Unfortunately, found her dead in Mississippi in a suitcase, and then it led to this spot.”

Cardwell was convicted of punching the 2-year-old in

by 500 tons per year

The revisions follow months of pressure from environmental organizations and community groups, urging Hyundai to consider the facility’s potential impact on environmental quality and public health. In March, a coalition including United Steelworkers District 13, NAACP Louisiana State Conference and environmental group the Sierra Club sent a letter to Hyundai

President José Muñoz seeking the creation of a community beneﬁt agreement. At the end of May, representatives with the coalition went to Hyundai offices in Gonzales with a list of demands and additional comments on what they wanted the company to do

“These changes signal that Hyundai is hearing our calls for them to do better and that opportunities remain to push the company to step up,” Sierra Club senior attorney Andrea Issod said in a statement. “While switching to electric heaters is a step in the right direction, and we applaud the significant reduction in smog-forming and particulate emissions, the company’s air permit ap-

plication still raises red ﬂags that must be ﬁxed before this project can proceed.

“Hyundai must adopt cleaner technologies to protect local communities and plant workers from harmful pollution.”

The company could not be reached for comment.

LOTTERY THURSDAY, JUNE 11, 2026

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the levees broke from Hurricane Katrina in 2005, her land sat under 20 feet of salt water Everything was lost.

When the water receded, it looked like nothing was left. That’s when Martin saw a single climbing rose with fresh green shoots. That rose was the only thing still growing in the garden. At the Garden Discoveries event, Martin will share about her quest beginning in 1989 to identify the origin of the now-popular Peggy Martin rose. She will discuss the interest in this rose that has been going on for 21 years, ever since she lost everything during Hurricane Katrina. Martin has held leadership positions in rose societies such as the Heritage Rose Foundation, American Rose Society, New Orleans Old Garden Rose Society and various others.

community input.

“If BREC ignores this, shame on them,” he said.

The parks agency hired Sasaki to create the master plan, but ultimately, any final decisions go before the BREC Commission. Sasaki’s planner and a few BREC employees spoke to attendees oneon-one after the presentation.

BREC interim Superintendent Janet Simmons said she has heard varying feedback, with some seeking no change and others wanting progress.

“We’ve had a lot of really positive feedback. We’ve had a lot of negative feedback,” Simmons said. “I’m neutral on this. I don’t have an opinion. I’m trying to hear what people have to say about what they want.”

Simmons said she did not know if additional public surveys or forums will be done. Another community open house meeting is supposed to be held in October, according to Sasaki’s presentation.

“People are very passionate about what they want to see, which is great. I love that. You want to have passion,” she said.

the stomach the morning of the girl’s disappearance, out of anger that the girl had supposedly ripped a contact lens of hers. Cardwell then left for work.

“She is guilty of seconddegree cruelty even if you believe she went to work having no idea how severely she had harmed Nevaeh that morning,” Assistant District Attorney Laura Tracy told jurors during her closing arguments in the February trial.

Gardner was the first

to implicate Cardwell by mentioning the punch to authorities, and his attorneys sought to place the girl’s death on Cardwell’s shoulders during his trial.

The forensic pathologist who conducted Nevaeh’s autopsy testiﬁed that the injuries caused internal bleeding, ripping the girl’s small intestine. However, the cause of death was attributed to 12 distinct head wounds Nevaeh suffered shortly before her death, not the body blow

Peggy Martin, the namesake of the rose,

PHOTO PROVIDED By THE NEW ORLEANS BOTANICAL GARDEN

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

Community members gather around one of the proposal maps for renovations to BREC’s City-Brooks Park sites during a public forum at the McKinley Alumni Center on Thursday.

Campbell, Pressley Greenoaks FuneralHomeat11a.m

Johnson, Yvonne FriendshipChapelBaptistChurch

James EpiscopalChurch, St.Joseph Hospice, Home Care of Louisiana,and Dr. Benjamin Levron. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials may be made to Baton Rouge Green or acharity of your choice

Olinde, Cheryl Arrington

Polozola,Samuel St.VincentdePaulCatholic Church

5819 Pleasant Ridge Road in Arlington

TX,at11a.m

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noon.

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Holy Rosary Catholic Church at 11

Obituaries

Maranto Dugas, Angie Boeta

It is with heavy hearts and profound gratitude for alife well lived that we announce the peaceful passing of Angie Boeta Maranto Dugas on June 11, 2026. Visitation willbeheld from 9:00-10:00 a.m. on Monday, June,152026, at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church, Mass of Christian Burial will follow at 10:00 a.m. Burial will immediately follow at Green Oaks Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, memorials in honor of Angie Boeta Maranto Dugas may be made to Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church.

McCarthy, Susanna Atkins

Susanna Atkins McCarthy passed away peacefully, surroundedby loved ones, on June 8th, 2026, in Baton Rouge Louisiana.Born on June 20th, 1961, in Shreveport, Louisiana, her generosity of spirit, love of the culinary arts, photography, travel, and genuine Southern hospitality was felt by many throughout the state and beyond.

Susanna began her education at Southfield School in Shreveport and earned a degree from the University of Texas at Austin, where she was an activemember of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority.

Susanna's educational journey, natural curiosity and love of travel took her throughout Europe and the Americas in pursuit of her passion for the culinary arts. As an enthusiastic student of fine art, her career included positions at theNational Gallery in Washington, D.C., and Sotheby's in New York City Susanna settled in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with her husband, Terry McCarthy. They welcomed their son, Will, on December 5th, 2001.

As adevoted mother, Susanna donated her time, experience, and supportto numerous Baton Rouge organizations, including Episcopal High School,the Junior League of Baton Rouge, the Baton Rouge Food Bank,Louisiana Public Broadcasting, the Rural Life Museum, and Baton Rouge Green. Susanna had adeep love of nature, nature's creatures, all things beautiful, and she never met astranger.

Preceded in death by her parents, William James Atkins andRuthKnighton Atkins, Susanna is survived by her son, William John McCarthy, of Washington, D.C.; brothers, William James Atkins Jr. of Shreveport, Louisiana;and John Edward Atkins (Lindsay) of Shreveport, Louisiana; sister, Alison Atkins Crowther of Miami, Florida; niece, Juliette Louise Elliott (Colin); along with many loving cousins and agreat-niece, Lila, and great-nephew, Luke. She also leaves behind her formerhusband, Terrance Robert McCarthy, fatherof her son.

Amemorial visitation will be held at Rabenhorst Funeral Home, 825 Government Street, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 70802,onSunday, June 14th, 2026, from 5 p.m. to 7p.m. Amemorial service willbeheld at 10 a.m. on Monday, June 15th, 2026, at St. James Episcopal Church, 205 North Fourth Street, Baton Rouge, Louisiana,70801 Susanna's family would

and gratitude to Mother Lynn HooksofSt.

CherylAnn Arrington Olinde, 73, passed awayin Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Saturday, June 6, 2026.She is survivedbyher devoted husbandof46years, JosephBeauregard"Beau" OlivierOlinde,Jr.,two daughters: Emily Olinde Boudreaux and husband Brad, Adrienne Olinde Ledetand husband Glenn; five grandchildren:Oliver Beauregard Boudreaux,Everett JamesBoudreaux, Genevieve Ann Boudreaux, Evan Paul Ledet, andAdeline Marie Ledet. Cheryl was also survived by her sister ConnieArrington Vliet and husband Ellis. She was preceded in death by her parentsCharlesAlbert Arrington and Laura Ann Langvad Arrington. Cheryl was born in Waukegan, IllinoisonDecember3,1952.She moved to Baton Rouge as achild, graduated from Robert E. Lee High School,and then from Louisiana TechUniversity with aB.A.inElementary Education.She taughtkindergarten in Houston, Texas,moved back to Baton Rouge and married Beau. They built a life centered on faith, family,and servicetoothers. Athoughtful wife, caring mother, and cherished grandmother, she was also apassionate community advocate. She served as President of the Mental HealthAssociation of Baton Rouge, and as aboard memberofthe Greater Baton Rouge Area Food Bank, the Capital Area YMCA and the Baton Rouge Zoo Foundation.She was an active memberofthe Junior League of Baton Rouge, Symphony League,and otherservice organizations. Cheryl also gave her time and talents as avolunteer fundraiserfor the Pennington Biomedical ResearchFoundation, Mary Byrd Perkins CancerCenter,Cancer Services of Baton Rouge, and the Baton Rouge Gallery With akeenappreciation forbeautyinnature and allformsofart, Cheryl embraced theworldwith curiosity and wonder. An avid traveler,among her favorite adventures were a trip to Africa with her belovedhusband and a memorable familyvacation to Canada with her husband, daughters, and their families. Shewas a talentedgardener,who loved learning about and caringfor plants. Cheryl had boundless optimism and infectious joy. She was braveand strong, always facing challenges with asmile and hope.Above all, she was a faithful friend. Everyone who knew her,and even those who met her only briefly, felt seen, accepted, loved, and heard in her presence Cheryl'sfaithwas the foundation of everything shedid.She lovedher churchfamily at First United Methodist Church, and found great joyinChristian fellowship and in encouraging othersintheirwalk of faith. Herfaith remained unwavering throughout her life.Wetakecomfort in knowing that she is now rejoicing in the presence of the Lord. "This is the day thatthe Lord has made;let usrejoiceand be gladinit."

Psalm118:24

Her spirit willliveonforever when people choose a smileover afrown, choose to listen without judgment and choose to praywithout ceasing.

AMemorial Visitation willbeheldatRabenhorst Funeral Home &Crematory, 825 Government Street, Baton Rouge,Louisiana 70802, on June 18, 2026, from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm.

AMemorial Visitation willalso be held at First United Methodist Church, 930 North Blvd, Baton Rouge, LA 70802, on June 19, 2026, from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm,followedbya Memorial Service at 2:00 pm. In lieu of flowers,please considerdonations to First United Methodist Church, theGreater BatonRouge Area FoodBank, the Emerge Center, or acharity of your choice.

Patterson,Suzanne Bourgeois 'Suzy'

Suzanne Bourgeois Patterson, known affectionatelyas"Suzy,"ofGonzales, Louisiana, passed away June 5, 2026, at the ageof84. Born on February 13, 1942, to Harold A. and Elma G. Bourgeois, she livedher entirelifeinGonzales, thecommunity she lovedand served for decades.

Suzywas awoman of deep Catholic faith, boundless warmth, and unwavering dedication to her community. Agraduateof Dutchtown High School who laterattended the Southwest Louisiana Institute (now theUniversityof Louisiana at Lafayette), she spent much of herlife as asuccessfulbusiness ownerand public servant. Alongside her husband, she ownedand operated several thriving businesses in Gonzales. Their first venture, Jay'sQuick Snak, openedinthe early1960s and became afavorite gathering place formany years of East Ascension HighSchool athletes and students. They later openedSuzanne's Fashions, abeloved local boutiquethat she operated for more than 30 years. Known for her impeccable style, keen business sense, and genuine care for others, Suzyhelpedcountless women throughout Ascension Parish look and feel their best.In2011, she retiredafter 16 years of service as Secretary to theAscension Parish Council.Her abilitytoworkeffectively with people fromall backgroundsearnedthe respect and admiration of councilmembers and parish leaders alike.She served through theadministrations of four different Parish Presidents, atestament to her professionalism, character, and the lasting relationshipsshe builtthroughout her career. She was an active community member who gave generouslyofher time as afundraiserand volunteer,and her family was always at thecenter of everything she did. Amongthe organizations she supported were the CancerLeukemiaFundraiser, East AscensionHigh School Booster Club, Tiger Athletic Foundation, and St. TheresaSchool & Church, alongwithmany others that shaped the Gonzales community she loved. Adevoted parishioner of St. TheresaofAvila Catholic Church, Suzy's passions were rootedin faith, family,and LSU sports,particularlyLSU baseball.Few things brought hermorejoy than settling in to watch her son Gregg play forlegendary coach SkipBertmanatLSU Apassionate LSUwomen's basketball fan, she cheeredalongside her cherished group of fellow

devotees, theDaisies, for many seasons. She was preceded in death by her belovedhusband of 34 years, JosephA "Jay" Patterson, who passed away in September 1996. Suzyissurvived by her threedaughters, DeEtte DeArmond (Johnny), Simone Henry (Bill), and Heidi Earles;her son, GreggJ.Patterson(Paige); her sister, MadelineDecoteau;her brother, Harold A. Bourgeois(Joyce); nine grandchildren, Alexandra Cudney (Trey), John DeArmond III(Jadah), Savannah Templet(Ryan), Sydney Henry, Madeline Earles,Jay Earles,Campbell Earles, JosephPatterson, and Lauren Patterson; and four greatgrandchildren, AubreyDeArmond, Emery DeArmond,JackCudney, and CooperCudney. The family extends heartfelt gratitudetothe caregivers at St.James Place and Baton Rouge Hospice for theircompassionate and devoted care, and aspecial thank youto her daughter-in-law,Paige Patterson, whose steadfast guidance and advocacy in her medical care was agift beyond measure Visitation willbeheldat St.TheresaofAvila CatholicChurch on Monday, June 15, 2026 from 9:30 a.m. until Mass of Christian Burialat12:30 p.m. Interment at Hope HavenMausoleumimmediately thereafter In lieu of flowers,donations may be madein memory of Suzanne Pattersontothe St.John Primary/St. TheresaMiddle School Capital Campaign For donationinquiries, please contact Duke Soulier at dukesoulier@sjpsta.org.

Rouge,Louisiana on June 7, 2026. She was an 89-year old native of St.Francisville,Louisiana. Visitation at ShilohMissionary Baptist Church on Saturday, June 13, 2026 at 10:00 am untilCelebrationofLife Service at noon conducted by Pastor Fred Smith; entombment at Southern Memorial Mausoleum. Survivors include herchildren, Frank Robertson and Carla Hart(Lorraine Alexander); brother, Joseph White; seven grandchildren, includinga devotedgranddaughter, Lakeshia Lowe(Reginald); 11 greatgrandchildren; twogreatgreat-grandchildren;uncle, John C. Miller, Sr(Shirley); aunt, Josie Williams(James); bonus children, Dr.Ken(Cassie), Paula andGregory(Jennifer) Price,and Leigh Shafer(Duane);13bonus grandchildren; andseven andone half bonusgreatgrandchildren; otherrelatives andfriends. Arrangements entrusted to Miller &Daughter Mortuary

Tibbitts,Teresa Teresa Tibbitts, "Lil Daisy",enteredintoeternalrest at The Crossing on June 12, 2026. AMemorial will be held at Lighthouse Church on Saturday, June 27, 2026 at 11:00 am conductedbyBrother Joey Hoyt. Survivors includeher children, Jessica Vines, Pookie, andTristan Gilliand; threegrandchildren;sisters, Sherry Westbrookand Melissa Alexander; sister-in-law, Lisa Alexander(Matthew); other relativesand friends.Ar-

rangements entrusted to Miller &Daughter Mortuary.

Walton,Donald Ray 'Wildchild'

Donald Ray Walton,Sr., 79, of Magnolia, Arkansas, passedawayMay 31, 2026. Born June 4, 1946, in Baton Rouge,Louisiana, he wasa U.S. Navy veteran, agraduate of Southern University, and alongtime employee of Ethyl and Albemarle Corporations. Adevoted familyman andfaithful member of UnityChurch he cherishedhis family deeply. He is survived by hischildrenDonald Jr Tasha, andJeremy (Cheryl); 4siblings; 12 grandchildren; 8greatgrandchildren; andmany relativesand friends.He wasprecededindeathby hiswife,Deloris; hisparents; andhis sister,JohnnieBrown

Many Americans are fortunate to have dental coveragefor their

working life,through employer-provided

benefits end with retirement,payingdental bills out-of-pocket can come as a shock,leading peopletoput offoreven go without care.

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

Whenyou’recomparing plans ...

 Look forcoveragethat helps pay formajor services. Some plans maylimit thenumber of procedures —orpay forpreventive care only.

 Look forcoveragewithnodeductibles. Some plans mayrequire you to pay hundredsout of pocket before benefits are paid.  Shop forcoveragewithnoannual maximumoncash benefits.Some plans have annual maximums of $1,000.

Medicare doesn’tpay for dental care.1

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

Early detectioncan prevent small problemsfrom becomingexpensive ones

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

Previous dental work canwearout

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

Treatment is expensive especially theservicespeople over 50 often need

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

Robertson, Martha

Entered into eternal rest at her residence in Baton

BRIEFS

FROM STAFFAND WIRE REPORTS

U.S. stocks rise after oil prices ease again

NEW YORK U.S. stocks rose Friday after oil prices fell again, and SpaceX soared in its highly anticipated debut on Wall Street.

Stocks got alift from a3.4% drop for the price of Brent crude oil to $87.33 perbarrel, deepening its loss for the week Oil prices havecome down sincePresident Donald Trump on Thursday called off his threat to launch strikes on Iran and said apotential deal with Iran may be imminent.

Adeal to end the war could reopen theStrait of Hormuz and allowoil tankerstoonceagain deliver crude from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide.

Itsnearclosure sincethe war began has sent the price of Brent up fromroughly $70 per barrel and caused awave of painful inﬂation for the world

Adobe dropped 6.8% despite reporting stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

Itsstockhas lost nearly 42% so far this year,and it announced its chief ﬁnancial ofﬁcer is leaving the company on Monday. Adobe is already looking for aCEO to replace Shantanu Narayen, who announced in March that he is stepping aside after18yearsasAdobe’s leader Iran war straining African airlines

NAIROBI,Kenya— The war in Iran is driving up jet fuel prices and worsening supply strains for African airlines,forcing carriers to review routes andraising fresh concerns about thestability of the continent’saviation network.

The African Airlines Association(AFRAA) says the crisis hasexposed its heavy dependenceonimportedreﬁnedjet fuel, leaving airlines vulnerable to global shocks African carriers were alreadypaying about 17% more for jet fuel than the global averagebefore the Iran war,according to AFRAA. Thenew price pressures areadding to alreadythin margins across the sector

“The impact is dire and amajor shock for our members,” AFRAA Secretary-General Abderahmane Berthe told The Associated Press. “Fuel represents between 30% and 40% of airlines’ operating costs.Any increase directly affectstheir balance sheets.”

Japan’sH3rocket debuts low-cost variant

TOKYO— Japan’sH3rocket returned to ﬂight Friday with the debut of anew low-cost variant, abadly needed successfor the country’snew ﬂagshiprocket thathas struggled with mission failures whilefacing an increasingly competitive space industry

The H3 rocket took off from the Tanegashima Space Center on asouthwestern Japanese island Friday morningand its second stagesuccessfully reached atargeted orbit, the Japan AerospaceExploration Agency saidduring itslivestreaming.

Six small satellites developed by universities and other organizations carried by the vehicle also were believed to be successfullyseparated,JAXA said. Friday’s mission marked the debut for the H3’snew “30 configuration” equippedwith triple liquid-fuel LE-9 engines and no rocket boosters,which is intended to be alow-cost versionmakingthe series more competitive. Thevariantisone of threedesigned to accommodate awide rangeofcustomer needs.

The sixth successful launch comes aftertwo failures for the new model that replaced the mainstay H-2A, which had anear-perfectsuccess record. The H3 rocket is designedto be more cost effective in the global space market dominated by Elon Musk’sSpaceX. Japan sees astable, commercially competitive transport capability as key to its space program and national security

LayoffsexpectedduringXboxreset

CEOlooks to reversedecline

BY ALEX HALVERSON The Seattle Times (TNS)

Microsoft’sXboxdivision is reportedly planning layoffs as new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma plans a “reset”for the beleaguered gamingbusiness.

Bloomberg,citing anonymous sources, first reported Wednesday that Xbox was planning “major job cuts” within the division in early Julyafter Microsoft’s fiscal year ends on June 30.The sameday, Sharma and Xbox Chief Content Officer Matt Bootysaidinamemo to employeesthatafter theirfirst 100 daysonthe job reviving Xbox, the next 100dayswould be de-

voted to amajor overhaul —ora reset,toborrow gaming parlance.

After touting therecent successes of Xbox —Microsoft has been hard at worktoreverse the decline in subscribers to its Game Passservice —Sharmaand Booty laid outthe realitiesthe gaming business needs to navigate.

Microsoft has poured billions of dollars intoits gaming division over the past ﬁve years, even excluding the $69 billion purchase of ActivisionBlizzard. The memo said investments in Xbox have surpassed$20 billion since 2021. At thesame time, thedivision’s annual revenue has declinedby nearly $500 million.

“Going forward, this cannot continue,”the memo said.

Amid theartiﬁcialintelligence boom, which hashelped boost Mi-

crosoft’scloud computing sales, Xbox is facing ahardware component crisis. The cost of storage components forgaming hardware hasquadrupledsincelastfalland Microsoft expects another signiﬁcant increase heading into 2026 holiday shopping season. As AI demand increases, companies have been spendingmoreon specialized hardware. That coupledwith AI’sextraordinary need for memory is leading to higher costs.

For consumers that means demandisoutpacing supplyfor Xbox consoles. Because of this, Xbox needsa new business model forits next-generationconsole code-named Helix, according to the memo

“Our currentplatform infrastructure is not built forthe battle

ahead We’vebecome too reliant on vendors to operate our systems and must becomemore self-reliant as an engineering culture to build forthe future,” the memo said.

The memo fromSharma and Bootydid notoutline jobcuts or other cost-cutting measures. But it didpaint aneed foraradical change in Microsoft’sgaming division, as the new leadership believes they have been “impacted more greatlythanmanyofour peers due to thechoices we made over the last half decade,” when it comes to the hardware-component crisis.

While Microsofthas not had companywide layoffs this year the companylet go of 15,000 employees last year —somedivisions within thetech giant have recently madesizable cuts.

Cuba’s presidentannounces packageof economic reformstoattract investment

Countryisstruggling with fuel shortages

BY ANDREA RODRÍGUEZ Associated Press

HAVANA Cuban PresidentMiguel Díaz-Canel on Fridayannounced apackage of economic reforms aimed at attracting investment, expanding participation by Cubans living abroad in the economy anddecentralizingpartsofthe country’sadministration.

The president didnot providedetails about themeasuresoratimetable fortheir implementation but said during remarks to state mediathatitisnow “time to change”and that thecountry“simply cannotcontinue on its current course.”

“Every opportunity in the midst of acrisis must be seized as amomentfor takeoff, as a moment for growth,” Díaz-Canel said, according toa statementfrom the presidencythat wasrepublished by state-run media. “Wehave established agroup of priorities to confront thissituation,” he added without offering speciﬁcs.

The announcement comes as Cubans have struggled withfuel shortagesasa result of the U.S. oil blockade and food insecurity.InJanuary, theUnited States tightened restrictions on Cuba’soil supplies in an efforttopressure the island’sgovernment to change itspolitical andeconomic model, exacerbating challenges that have persistedfor about ﬁve years.

TheU.S. State Department did not immediately respond to arequest for comment.

Díaz-Canel said ofﬁcials are evaluating measuresrelated to foreigntrade,exports,supply chains and logistics.Without elaborating, he suggested the government could eliminate mandatory state intermediaries in import and export operationsand granttariff beneﬁts to those who bring raw materials into the country for production

“The numbers don’tadd up, and the government wantstomake this look like amatterof will rather than amath problem,” Cubaneconomist Pedro Monreal wrote on X, in response to Díaz-Canel’s proposals

The Spain-based former UNESCO ofﬁcial went on to criticize the collapse of acentralizedplanning model, for which he said “there are two respectable alternatives: assume the political price of failure, or self-critically rectify and drastically transform the model.”

For decades, Cuba maintained acentralized, vertical systemunder strict state control. Thisstructure began to shift gradually over thelast decadewhenthe government introduced permits forindependent workers. More recently, the state authorized the operation of the country’sﬁrst small- and medium-sized privateenterprises.

EarlierFriday,a ship carrying nearly 100 tons of food and essential goods arrived from Colombia as part of the humanitarian aid that several countrieshavesent to Cuba in recent months as aU.S.energy embargo persists.

The ship, which departedCartagena in early June,crossed the Havana Bay channel early in the morning ﬂyingthe Colombian ﬂagand escorted by asmall Cubanauxiliaryvessel,

TheAssociated Press conﬁrmed.

TheColombian Presidential Agency forInternational Cooperation said that, on orders of President Gustavo Petro, the shipment included nonperishable food,medicine,hospital supplies,electrical materials, solarpanels and other items.

The ship also carried seven tons of goods collected by solidarity groups.

Last weekend, another ship carrying 1,700 tons of essential goods from Mexico and Belize arrived in Havana.

In late January,U.S. President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to Cuba. The movehas deepened apreexisting crisis causedbyU.S sanctions. Washington is pressing the Cuban government to release political prisoners and move toward political andeconomic liberalization in return fora lifting of sanctions.

Cuba produces only 40% of its oil, leaving the island semiparalyzed and subjected to severe power outages.

AI cuttinghours of office work,creatingnew busywork

BY NILESH CHRISTOPHER Los Angeles Times (TNS)

As the use of artificial intelligence spreads across companies worldwide, it is relieving workers of tedious oldchores but creating newones.

Anew survey of individuals using AI found it made them more productive, saving each roughly 11 hoursper week.But at the same time,the workersonaverage have to spend morethansix hours“botsitting,” checking the AI output, ﬁxing mistakes and rerunning the prompt.

“Most people don’trealize the amount of time thatthey’re spending working on the tools to get the time savings that they’reprofessing,” said Paul Leonardi, Duca Family professor of technology management at UC SantaBarbara Leonardi is one of theco-authors of thenew studypublished by the Work AI Institute,whose contributors include academics from Stanford University and UC Berkeley Theinstitute is sponsored by AI company Glean. Leonardisaidits research output maps broad trends

in understanding AI’simpact on work.

The research surveyed 6,000 digital workers across the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia between December and January.

Thereportfound that we arein aphase of signiﬁcant personal productivity gains, but few companies are translatingthese gainsinto revenue and business growth.

While 75% of individuals reported aboost in productivity,only 13% of theorganizations say they have seen signiﬁcant business gains as aresult of AI adoption,the survey found.

Thesurveyanalyzedanonymized,aggregated workplace data from companies using the Glean Work AI platform, aprivate search tool used to manage their internal information. Overthe past six months,Silicon Valley companies have been urging their employees to max out their AI use.But thebeneﬁts of merely maximizing AI usage have been unclear, withinstances such as Uber burning through theirentire2026 AI budget in four months,without

shipping ausable feature.

Thereasonthe boostinproductivity sometimes leads to waste, Leonardi said, is the time people spendcorrecting the bot’swork and gathering the right ﬁles, documentation, and tacitknowledge required for it to produce highquality output.

“It’spretty striking the amount of time and effort people are spending,” Leonardi said. Most employees nowspendover sixhours aweek of theirworkday babysitting their work chatbots, the survey said.

There is a“thick, mostly invisible layer of human laborholding the whole thing together,” the report said.

Thesurveyfound that for every hour aworkerspends getting useful output from AI,they spend roughly another hour making it usable.

Of thetotal time workers spend interacting with AI each week, 37% goes to botsitting, 36% to actually using the tool to produce work.

Partofthe reason so muchtime disappears intobotsitting is how often the tools fall short: Workers

report that morethan athird of AI sessionsfailoutright,requiring afullrestart or substantial rework.

Paradoxically,asmore workers hand over biggerparts of theirjobs to AI,theyare ofﬂoading personal judgment and responsibilities to the bots. The survey found 41% of workers say they sometimes deliver AI-generated workthey couldn’t explain if asked.

The report highlightedanexample of ajuniorsoftware engineer, Robin, who pasted thousands of linesofAI-generated code before going to bed. But something in there was broken,whicha senior engineer already behind on adeadlinehad to untangle,while Robin struggled to explain.

“I think what’shappening witha lot of these Gen AI tools right now is we’re essentially expecting individual contributors to act as managers,” Leonardi said. “They’re just managing theseAItools,AIagents, andwe’reexpecting thatthey’ll be able to produce waymore, but we’re not taking into account all of theworkthatactually goes into managing.”

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOByRAMON ESPINOSA

A fisherman prepares his fishing rod in frontofthe ColombianNavyshipARC Caribe,docked at apier in Havana, Cuba,after arriving with humanitarian aidonFriday

OPINION

CanDemocrats recapture U.S.

Housein November?

Most election watchers expect Democrats to wrest controlofthe U.S. House from RepublicansinNovember. Some already take this outcome forgranted. They point to economic discontent, theIran war and Donald Trump’sweak poll numbers as evidence thata Democratic takeover islikely They may be right.But whileDemocrats haveearly momentum,the battle for the House is still to be won.

Adistrict-by-district examination of all 435 House races shows that theDemocraticgainsmany expecthave yetto jell. Redistricting in some places further complicates the picture. This means the outcomewill likely depend on howindividualcampaigns in swing districts unfold and which party’sturnout efforts prove most effective. Ausefulway to assess theelection is through House ratings compiled by election handicappers. Averaging theratings produced byThe Cook Political Report with Amy Walter and Larry Sabato’sCrystalBall shows Republicans with aclear lead in 204districts and Democrats withaclear lead in 193. That leaves 38 competitive seats in play Democrats have more groundtocover,but they have plenty of ways to do it. Still, they’ve yet to do it. America’sFounders envisioned the House of Representatives as “the people’s house,” with shorttwo-year terms designed to keep lawmakers closely tied to public sentiment. As such, midterm elections often become a referendum on the sitting president. Since John F. Kennedy entered the White House, the president’sparty has lost an averageof28Houseseats in midtermelections.The worst drubbing came during Barack Obama’s first midterm, when Democrats lost63 seats.The next-largest defeat was the54seats Democrats lost during Bill Clinton’sfirst term. Republicans have also suffered majorsetbacks, losing 48 seatsinthe aftermath of Richard Nixon’s resignationand 41 seats during Trump’sfirstterm.

As House campaigns intensify,nationalpolitical currentswillincreasinglyshape thebattlefield. There is widespread discontent with Trump’sperformance as president. To wit: The average of recent national polls puts his job approval rating at 40%, with 58% disapproving. According to the latest Economist/YouGovpoll, just 23% of independents —voters whooftendecideclose elections —approve of Trump’sperformance Trump’shandling of the situation in Iranhas alsobecome apolitical liability.Only33% of voters approve of hisapproach, while 61% disapprove But the rising costofliving is the Republicans’ worst domestic headache.Trump rode voterfrustrationover inflation to victoryin2024, but theissuehas sinceturned against him. According to the Economist/YouGovsurvey, only 28% approve of Trump’shandlingofinflation, while astriking 67% disapprove.

These numbershelp explain whysomany analysts anticipatesigniﬁcantRepublican lossesthisyear. But there’sanother side to thestorythatmay be overlooked: Voters are almost equally dissatisﬁed with both parties. The poll found that 57% of votersviewthe Democratic Partyunfavorably,while 56% viewthe Republican Party unfavorably.It’sobvioustoeverybody, except maybe the Democratic leadership in Washington, thattheir partyis stillcarrying heavy baggageassociatedwith unpopular progressive policies.This gives Republicans something to run against —or, more accurately,something to keep runningagainst.

WhetherRepublicans can capitalize on this opportunity depends largely on Trumphimself. Whathesays anddoeswill shape his party’sfortunesfar morethan anything Republican congressional candidatessay or do. This uncertainty keeps GOP strategists awake at night. For Republicans, Trump remains adouble-edged sword. He commands aloyal following that can boost GOP voter turnout, especially in Republican-leaning districts. Yetthe intensity of anti-Trump feelings in swing districts has become so ferocious that it could morethan offsetthe advantage.

Trump’sinsistence on personal loyalty presentsanother challenge. It limits theabilityofRepublican candidatestopivot away from theWhite House on controversial issues. Of course, Democratshave asimilarproblem keeping their left-leaning base happywhentheytry to move to the centeronkey issues.

The race for control of theHouse is on,and thestakes couldn’tbehigher.The outcome will form the ﬁnal two yearsofDonald Trump’spresidency —and whathappens thereafter.

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

Iamwriting about the use of taxpayer funds to further our president’s so-called agenda. Important thingslike building aballroom with all the bells and whistles, renovatingthe Trump/Kennedy Center by closing it for two years, building a250-foot-high arch, sending 17 mega-wealthybusinessmen and Elon Musk’s6-year-old son (very appropriate) as part of his delegation to China and paying dearly for the ongoing undeclared war with Iran. Meanwhile, theagenda ignores our economy,our aging infrastructure or citizens who are homeless, without food or medical care. Ourtaxpayer dollars go to enrich Trump’sfamily,his staff or wealthy business pals one way or another The average American goes unnoticed. The problemsweendure daily mean nothing to our president —just his rantsonTruthSocial and his naps during important meetings.

What started this rant of mine?

Recently,Sen. John Kennedy (our senator)proposed abill to fund

It has been truly uplifting to see so manypositive events highlighted in the news media, showcasing thewonderful and meaningful things that children aredoing in our communities.

Watching theirsmiling faces, theirexcitement,and the joy they experience while participating in these activities brings happiness to allwho witness these moments. Thesestories remind us of the importance of celebrating our children and recognizing thepositive impact they have on the world around them. Throughout theyear,the media highlightsvariousspecial occasions such as Groundhog Day, AprilFool’sDay,Friday the13th and many other events that capture public attention. With so many

with taxpayer dollars Trump’s mega-ballroom project. After he demolished the East Wing of the WhiteHouse, Trumpstated that the ballroom would be paid by private contributions and himself During the press gala attended by Trump, his cabinet and staff membersand alltheir wives plus manySecret Service personnel, an attempted attack took place. Trump used this to say we need abigger and safer ballroom to be paid forby us taxpayers. We Americans need ahuge ballroom like we need less money to spend on necessities, higher inﬂation,AItakingover jobs or anythingitdesires, moreguns forthe entire population, higher wages for coaches and players but less for professors or teachers —I could rant forever in this vein, but I’ll stop now

What is our governing body becoming? Grandiose or grand (stately,digniﬁed)?

LYNEDWARDS Jackson

observances being recognized, it is equally important that we take time to celebrate and honor our children on Children’sDay on June 14. They are our future leaders, innovators, educators andcommunitybuilders, and theydeserve to be acknowledgedfor their achievements, talents andcontributions.

Happy Children’sDay to allchildren everywhere,and my beloved dignified students. Mayyou continue to grow in wisdom, kindness and excellence. May your dreams flourish, your talents shine brightly and your futures be filled with endless opportunities. Most importantly, may God continue to bless, protect,guide andfavor each of you today andalways.

EARNESTINE D. GORDON Clinton

Checks and balances falling by thewayside as leadersgiveway

Afew years ago Iwas called and duly selected forjury duty Before the start of the trial, the judge gave us agood refresher civics lesson on how our governmentwas formed as three distinct branches, with the idea of checks and balances to ensure it worked. Along comes the coup attempt of Jan. 6, 2021. Kudos to the Capitol police forshowing restraint. Then on July 1, 2024, the SupremeCourt gave the president a “get out of jail free” card. On Jan. 20, 2025, Congress quit doing its job.

The president has since gone after the Constitution, higher education, the press, law ﬁrms, you nameit. My offspring will have to pay forthe debt fostered by this administration. Ilove my country but I’mnot liking where it’sgoing. KIMALLAIN River Ridge

If race shouldn’t impact voting maps, whydonew districts skew White?

Iama White Christian suburban woman and aformer Republican for35years whoisextremely displeased and disgusted with the majority of our elected Republican legislators regarding redrawing Louisiana’svoting map.Ifrace should not be considered in voting maps, whyare the new districts skewed to the White race?

It appears Jim Crow is once again the law of the land in Louisiana. White supremacy must not be allowed to silence the voices of the one-third of Louisiana residents whoare Black. Their voices are as important as mine. Voting districts must not be unfairly changed.

KATHY HIGGINS Metairie

Ron Faucheux

Ex-Hornets coachScott proudof son’srole with Pels

BY RODWALKER Staff writer

Byron Scott held his cellphone while wearing asmile as big as the ones he wore after winning those three NBA titles in the 1980s with the Los Angeles Lakers.

On the other end of the phonewas his son Thomas Scott, delivering some good news. Theyounger Scottwas goingtobenamed general manager of the Laketown Squadron, the G-League team for the New Orleans Pelicans. The rest of the conversation went alittle like this.

Dad: “Get the hell outta here!”

Son: “I don’tknowwhat to do with myself.”

Dad: “You’regoing to do whatI’m goingto do. I’m going to go outside,grab me astogie and adrink, and I’m goingtocelebrate you.” This was something to celebrate for the Scott family.Afull-circle moment if there ever was one.

Byron Scott took overashead coach of the then-New Orleans Hornets in the 200405 season.Inhis fourth season,heled the team to 56 wins. That remains the most wins in franchise history.Hewas named the NBA Coach of the Year that season,the only personinfranchise history to winthathonor Scott also navigated the team when it relocated to Oklahoma City after HurricaneKatrina pummeled New Orleans. He spent ﬁve full seasons leading the franchise before being ﬁred nine games into his sixthseason.

Thomas Scott actually arrived in New Orleans ayear before hisdad. He attended Xavier University for ayear before transferring. He later returned, this time working for the Hornets as an assistant video

ä See PELICANS, page 5C

AP PHOTO By ROSS D. FRANKLIN

Knicks forward Og Anunoby

between San Antonio Spursforward Victor Wembanyama and guard De’Aaron Fox during Game 4ofthe NBAFinals on WednesdayinNew york.

Knicks getting better of close callsvs. Spurs

BY TIM REYNOLDS AP basketball writer

ä Knicks at Spurs 7:30 P.M. SATURDAy,ABC

SAN ANTONIO The final momentsineach of thefirstfour games between the NewYork Knicks and San Antonio Spurs in these NBA Finals had much in common, includingthat the outcomewas still undecided with aminute left every time. Game 1, theKnicksled by four with 58 seconds to go. Game 2, theKnicks won by one when VictorWembanyama’sgame-winning shot attemptmissed. In Game 3, the Spurs won by four.InGame 4, the Knicks won by one again after OG Anunoby got amiracletip-in There hasn’tbeen afinals likethis, with amargin of four points or less inthe final minute of each of the firstfour games, since 1973.New York won that series. TheKnicks haven’tbeen champions since. That could change Saturday.New York leading the series 3-1 —can close out the Spurs in San Antonio when the finals resume with Game 5. “You have to be present,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said Friday. “You can’tthink

ä See KNICKS, page 5C

Milam’sdecisiontoreturnfor senior year ahugewin forLSU

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

Jay Johnson couldn’tsee it happening.

StevenMilam’s return to LSU forhis senior year felt implausible. Surely,noMLB club would pass up the chance to take ashortstop who posted a.939 on-base plus slugging percentage and committed only four errors all season.

“Somebody’sgoing to give him $2 million,”Johnson said. But the only moneyMilam will be taking next year is name, imageand likeness dollars. Milam announced Friday he is returning to LSUfor the 2027 season.

“When Ithought about the next chapter,one thing became clear: Iwant another shot,” Milam said in avideo message released by LSU on Friday.“Another shot at leaving my mark, to go out myway and hold thattrophy in Omaha.”

With thedecision, LSU gets back asecond-team AllSEC selection who posted his best season against South-

eastern Conference competition in 2026. Milam hit.308 with a.949 OPS in conference play,blasting seven home runs anddrawing morewalks than strikeouts.

Including his superb defense, Milam heads into next season as oneofthe top shortstops in the country

“He’sagreat player,I love him,”Johnson said. “One of those guys you can’tpicture not having him.And we’ve been fortunate to have afew of those guys here.”

Milam’sreturn comes at an interesting point in the offseason, as the Tigers already have added two middle inﬁelders outofthe transfer portal in Florida second baseman Cade Kurland and Texas State shortstop Dawson Park.

Kurland helped guide Florida to the College World Series final in 2023, hitting 17 homers as afreshman before injuries limited him the last two years. Despite being draft-eligible, he is taking his nameout of the draft and will play at LSU next season as afifth-year senior,a source confirmed to The Advocate.

ä See MILAM, page 3C

There were some new faces at the New Orleans Saints’ organized team activities andsome old faces that were not present.

sonashead coach,likes what he’sseen so far.Whenaskedwhat he’slearnedabout the team, he hadthis to say:

As theSaints wrapped up OTAs on Thursday,the three weeks of practice madeone thing clear: Things are changing on Airline Drive. No Demario Davis, now with the New York Jets. No Taysom Hill, who very well may hang up his cleats.

No Cam Jordan, whose future with the team is unclear

Andabrief glimpse of Alvin Kamara, whose future with the team seemsjust as uncertain as Jordan’s.

There are also new additions such as running back Travis Etienne, guard David Edwards and rookie receiver Jordyn Tyson.

The media had access to three of the practices during thethree-weeksession of OTAs.Itgave us our ﬁrst glance at the 2026 Saints. Kellen Moore, entering his second sea-

“We’re competitive and connected,” Moore said Wednesday.“Ithink those are the two things we’ve spent alot of timeon. These guys have put aton of work in, and we’ve seen the attendance we’ve hadeach and every day.The investment these guys have put into it has been awesome.”

That’swhat he has learned. Here are ﬁve things we have learned.

Shough’s team

Yes, we knewthe starting quarterback position already belonged to Tyler Shough and there was no battle to win the job. But what we didn’tknow was just how much Shough has grabbed the leadership role. His teammates have embraced him Linebacker Kaden Elliss, whoreturned to the Saints this offseason after spending the past three seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, noticed it right away

“It’sjust small little things you see throughout the day,” Elliss said. “The way

STAFF PHOTO By BRETTDUKE Saints quarterback Tyler Shough looks to make apass during organized team activities on WednesdayinMetairie.

Newyork

shoots

Rod Walker

LSU shortstop Steven Milam makes athrowto first during agame against Sacramento State on March7atAlex Box Stadium.Milam announced Fridayhewill returntoLSU for his senior year STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

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UFC’sjourney beganwithTrump

MMAorganization’s leader is longtime ally of president

BY DANGELSTON Associated Press

WASHINGTON The beginning of Dana White and the UFC’sroad to the White House can be traced back 25 years to when afringe mixed martial arts promotion— at the time still unable to shake the “human cockfighting” labelapplied to the sport years earlier by a U.S. senator —ran amodestevent called “Battle on the Boardwalk.”

Making his ﬁrst appearance as UFC president, White was asked about his goals for the fledging promotion. Sportingclosecroppedhair, thinner,dressed in asuit andusing restraint in his words, White still offered asneak peek of his bombastic plans.

“Wewant to make this the Super Bowl of mixed martial arts,” White said. The site of this seemingly absurd proclamation: Trump Taj Mahal.

Aquarter-century later,UFC is back at President DonaldTrump’s home this weekend,though both the promotion and the businessman have long since leveled upin status.

Unimaginable thatnightinFebruary 2001 in Atlantic City,UFC is staging seven ﬁghts under the Freedom 250 banner Sunday night on the South Lawn of the White House to celebrate Trump’s80th birthday and the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence’s signing

“It’sreally quite shocking and really puts the UFC in the spotlight,” said Lavie Margolin, author of the book “Ultimate Fighters” thatchronicled the White-Trump relationship. “The potential negatives of it are, it could be too much. Some people do interpret that it’s too much of the MAGA movement.Can Idigest this? Thus far, it doesn’tseem to have turned off those who are UFC fans.”

It’s the pinnacle of therelationship between White and Trump that has yieldedpersonal, political

BY DANGELSTON Associated Press

WASHINGTON Derrick Lewisrang up his latest knockout inside the UFC cage and asked if his biggest fan was in the Tennessee crowd. Please hold.

President Donald Trump was not in attendance, but he was on the line with friend and UFC CEO Dana White. Whitepassed his phone, and Lewis andTrump shared aquick conversation.

The topic?

“It’sclassified,” Lewissaid with alaugh. It sure helped afighter suchas Lewis, aNew Orleans native, to have aboss with adirectline to the president and even more so to have the president in his corner Lewis, who holds the UFC record for most knockouts with 16, was aglaring omission when UFC announced its Freedom 250 card set for Sunday at the White House. Trump, anoted fight fan,attended the UFC show in MiamiinApril and asked White why Lewis wasn’t fighting at the White House. After heavyweight Josh Hokit won his fight that night, White knew he had his opponent for Lewis.

and ﬁnancial dividends for both parties. White earned the mainstream visibility for himselfand the sport he cravedashestumped for Trump at GOP conventions, whilethe emboldenedright-wing “manosphere”that soaks up UFC fightsthrew its support behind Trumpinthe elections.

Against the backdrop of a 3-month-old war with Iran that’s been broadly unpopular with Americansand hasrattled global oil markets, theWhite House longknown as thepeople’shouse and asymbolofAmerican democracy —opened its backyard to host amade-for-television smackdown that has UFC as atentpole eventon the globalsports calendar

“It’s huge for the brand,” the 56-year-oldWhitesaid. “People are talking aboutthis thing all over theworld.”

Embracingcrossover

Trump and White are aligned culturally,asmuchastheymay be politically,and their rise can be linked in parttoreality TV Trump’sbrashnesswas on display as arealityTVboss on “The Apprentice,” ashow that propelled him to national prominencefollowinga stringofbankruptcies

and bad business deals in the 1990s. White gota lifeline from Spike TV in theearly 2000s with “The Ultimate Fighter,” which has become aUFC staple and is widely regarded as one essential in the survival andeventualexpansion of the company

The early iteration of unregulated mixed martial arts was decried by thelateSen.John McCainas “human cockﬁghting,”and it took until 2016 for New York to become the ﬁnal statetolegalize it. UFC —thenfeaturing bankablestars such as Ronda Rousey and Conor McGregor —became less of an eyeroll and moresocially tolerable.

Trumphas attended four UFC cards as asitting president,walking to the cage amid rock music andpatriotic chants from fans much like theﬁghters themselves

Whitealsointroduced Trump at twoRepublican National Conventionsand attended the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in April.

Apolitical statement?

White hasargued Freedom 250 is not about politics, though theopticssurrounding the event,such as his sports diplomacy meeting with U.S. Secretary of StateMarco Ru-

bio, suggest otherwise.

“I thinkfor the most part he’s actually sharing his love of Trump,” Margolin said. “I think Trumpwants it because he wants the people to likehim and he loves theUFC. It is political that it’s highlightingTrumponthe world stage and his administration. Without going too farover acliff, when you havecage ﬁghting, it’s demonstrating strength, exerting your will overanother,the power over someone else.”

The fight corners are always red and blue —for any newcomers watching Sunday on Paramount+, which is controlledbythe Ellison family,also allies of Trump. White andhis fleet of like-minded fighters howl that fight night hasnothing to do with apolitical agenda, saying thecompanyisrunning a show at the White House because it wasasked to andwould in any circumstance, no matter the political party of the president.

“Let’s take my American patriotism out of it, let’stake my love for the country out of it,” said Michael Chandler,a40-year-old Missouri native fighting on the card. “This is the biggest fight in mixed martialarts. The biggest fight event in UFC history.”

Georgiacatcher named national player of year

OMAHA, Neb.— Georgia catcher Daniel Jackson has been selected as the winnerofthe Dick Howser Trophy as the player of the year in college baseball, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association announced Friday Jackson is the second Georgia playerinthreeyearstowin the honor,joining Charlie Condon in 2024, and the ﬁfth in six years from the Southeastern Conference.

The consensus SEC player of the year led or was in the top ﬁve in almost everystatistical categoryfor offense. He’s tiedfor third in the nation in home runs (31), fourth in slugging percentage (.837)and 15th in batting average (.396). He is the ﬁfth player in Division Ihistory withatleast 25 homersand 25 steals in aseason.

Sore knee takes Dodgers star Ohtani out of lineup

CHICAGO Los Angeles Dodgers starShoheiOhtani is daytoday with leftknee inﬂammation. Ohtaniwas outofthe starting lineup for Friday’sseries opener at the Chicago White Sox. But manager Dave Roberts saidOhtani could playthis weekendand remains in line to makehis next scheduledstart on themound on Wednesday Ohtani waslifted forapinch hitter in the seventh inning of Thursday night’s8-6 winatPittsburgh. Ohtani, 31, is batting .305 with 13 homers and40RBIsin67games for the NL West leaders. On the mound, thereigning NL MVPis 6-2 with a1.06 ERA in 11 starts. Ohtanihad surgery on his left kneeinSeptember2019. Roberts saidthe swelling is in the back of the knee.

Mets SS Lindor couldbe backbyend of month

NEWYORK— FranciscoLindorhas started playing simulated games, andNew York Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns is hopeful theshortstop can return to the team by the end of June. “Our expectation’she’sgoing to play games for us this month,” Stearns said Friday Manager Carlos Mendoza said Lindor,who suffered astrained leftcalf against the Minnesota Twins on April 22, played atwoinning simulated gameFriday Lindor took at-bats against a pitcher fromSingle-A Brooklyn, though he didn’trun after making contact. He also fielded ground balls.

Lindor has missedthe past 44 games, during which the Mets have gone 22-22.

PhilliesOFGarcía on IL with right shoulder tear

MILWAUKEE Adolis García clutched his rightshoulder,and the Phillies’ plan in right ﬁeld took an unexpected turn.

García went on the 60-day injured list Friday with atorn latissimus dorsi musclenear hisright shoulder, accordingtothe Phillies. Righty-hitting outfielder Derek Hill, acquired Thursday in atrade with the White Sox, will take García’sspot on the roster

“About an hour before that, the president said to me, ‘Why is Der-

rick Lewis not on theWhite House card?’ Isaid, ‘I’llbeback in five minutes,’ ”White said. “I called Derrick Lewis and said thepresident wantstoknow why you’re not on theWhite House card.” White askedLewis if he wanted to fight.It was an immediate yes. Score another WhiteHouse win for Trump. “He likes DerrickLewis, he likes hispersonality,helikes the way he fights,” White said. The 41-year-old Lewis, billed as

“TheBlack Beast,” said he doesn’t want to let down Trumpbylosing to Hokit “It was pretty cool,” Lewis said. “The signiﬁcance of it is like,life is like amovie. If you hear my story,knoweverything thatI’vebeen through. Coming from thebottom of everything you could really think of, going all theway to the top.It’scrazy.Somebody needs to write abook about my life.” Lewisliveda troubled childhood growing up theson of asingle

mother in Louisiana before his family later moved to Texas. Lewis was charged shortly after high school graduation withaggravated assault and was placed on probation. He later violated the probation and served 31/2 years in prison. He picked up boxing and mixed martial arts after his releaseand wonhis ﬁrstpro ﬁght in 2010. Lewis fought twice forthe UFC heavyweight championship and lost bothtimes. He is one of UFC’smore engaging personalities andhas made ahabit of turning his post-fight celebrations into highlight-reel performancesmorememorable than another KO. He has mooned the crowd, launched his cup into thestandsand famously stripsoff his shorts —once even fanning a fallen opponent with them in an attempt at revival.

He might even do it again on the SouthLawn.

“Pleaselet me take my pants off,” Lewis said.

Lewis had yet to meet Trumpas of ﬁght week but still can’t believe he shared aphone call with him

“The crowd was so loud after my ﬁght in Tennessee, Icouldn’t really hear what he was saying,” Lewis said.“He did sound like the ‘South Park’ character.” NewOrleans-bornﬁghterLewis

The Phillies also called up outfield prospect Gabriel Rincones from Triple-A Lehigh Valley García, asuperb defender in right ﬁeld, was injuredinWednesday’s game when he uncorked atypically strong throw to home plate. He grabbed his arm, motioned for the trainers and left the game.

Okla. AG calls on Big12 to sanction TexasTech

OKLAHOMA CITY OklahomaAttorney General Gentner Drummond publicly calledonthe Big12to sanction Texas Tech after quarterback Brendan Sorsbywon acourt orderrestoringhis eligibility,setting aside his ban by the NCAA for gambling on pro andcollege sports.

“IfTexas Tech will not do the right thing, the Big 12 should,” Drummond wrote Friday in aletter to the conference.

Texas AG Ken Paxton warned the Big 12 on Thursday of potential legal action from Texas Tech Big12commissioner Brett Yormarksaid the notice came shortly before the start of the league’sexecutive board meeting to discuss Sorsby’ssituation.

Drummond said claims that sanctionsagainst TexasTech would violateantitrust laws are meritless.

White

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ALEX BRANDON

The arenafor the UFC Freedom 250 fights has been constructed on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington. The card is set for Sunday evening

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By STEVE MARCUS

Derrick Lewis, right, kicks Waldo Cortes Acosta in aheavyweight bout duringthe UFC 324 mixed martial arts event on Jan. 24 in Las Vegas.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By BEN MCKEOWN

VegasGolden Knights playerCole Smith, left,and Jackson Blakeofthe Carolina Hurricanes scuffleasan officialtries to separate them duringthe second period of Game 5ofthe StanleyCup Finalseries on Thursday in Raleigh, N.C. The Hurricanes won4-2.

Tortorella stillconﬁdent

as Vegasfaces elimination

BY AARON BEARD AP sportswriter

RALEIGH, N.C. John Tortorella never has worried about how his Vegas Golden Knights handle tough situations in pushingtothe Stanley Cup Final

That won’tchange now,withthe Golden Knights facing their ﬁrst elimination game and dealingwith an injury to center WilliamKarlsson.

The Golden Knightslost 4-2 to the Carolina Hurricanes in Thursday’sGame 5, moving the Hurricanes withinavictory of claiming the Stanley Cup. The series shifts to Las Vegas for Game 6onSunday,with the Golden Knightsaiming to forcea Game 7back here Wednesday “They’ve been through it all,” Tortorella said in aZoomnews conference Friday morning. “They know what’s at stakehere. We need to win one game. They’ll be ready to play.” Vegas —featuring numerous holdovers from the team that raised the Cup in 2023 —had gained momentum since the abrupt ﬁring of coachBruce Cassidy in late MarchtohireTortorella.

The Golden Knightswon seven of eight to close the regular season. They faced 2-2 playoff series in Round 1against Utah and Round 2against Anaheim,and won Games 5and 6toclose out each. They swept the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche.

MILAM

Continued from page1C

Park, meanwhile,excelled in his ﬁrst year as astarting shortstop this past spring. He had a.962 OPS and showcased astrong arm and excellent range.

“He’sanexplosive athlete,” Johnson said in an interview with WBRZ-TV.“Like we were just talking about, he can contribute on both sides of the ball.Hehit 13 home runs (and) has powertoall ﬁelds.”

How Milam, Park and Kurland fit together next season has yet to be determined. None of them has ever played third base ina collegiate game, and sticking any of them in the outfield would be wasting their skills on the infield. Milam,given his stature in the program anddecisiontopass up pro baseball, will almostcertainly be the shortstop. Kurland, leaving alongtime SEC rival and passing up MLB for LSU, likely meansthatsecondbasewillbe histolose.

That leaves Park as the likely third baseman. Although hehasn’t played the position before, his success at shortstop and strong arm give him the tools to thrive at the hotcorner LSU has done this before, moving Michael Braswell off of shortstop and moving him to third base in 2025. That tactic helped deliver anational championship

For the lineup, Milam’sreturn provides another top-of-the-order option for Johnson alongside Omar Serna, Cade Arrambide andMason Braun. They were four of LSU’s top ﬁvehitters by the end of last season.

Johnson has since added Kurland, Park and Notre Dame outfielder Bino Watters to that mix out of the transfer portal. Watters, who mostly played left field, hit

Jamesleads in prodebut at PGACanadianOpen

TheAssociated Press

CALEDON, Ontario Ben James holed a25-foot eagle putt to start his round andnever letupuntil he had a7-under 63 on Friday for aone-shot lead in his professional debut at the RBC Canadian Open.

James wasanAll-American all four years at Virginia and led the PGATour Universityranking to earn acard through the2027 season

“It all kind of came together today.Itwas just oneofthose days,”James said. “The putter was good, hitting fairways, had good numbers, and was able to capitalize on apretty tricky scoring day.”

James was at 10-under 130, one shot over agroup of ﬁve players that includedformer LSU golfer SamBurns, who played in the ﬁnalgroup at the Memoriallast week and tied forfourth.

Brooks Koepka had a68and was two shots behind, along with Tommy Fleetwood.

twodays, but just trying to get better.”

Burns had a67and was at 131 alongwithJackson Suber(65), Haotong Li (64), Keith Mitchell (64) and Jesper Svensson (65). Fleetwood,who lost in aplayoff at the Canadian Open three years ago whenNick Taylor holed that memorable72-foot eagle putt, had a65and joined Koepka in the group twoback that included defending champion Ryan Fox (66). Koepka wasslowed at the start of his round when he lost his tee shot on the 13th and had to scramble for double bogey,and thenbogeyed the par-3 14th. He also had fourbirdies and an eagle on the back nine —hestarted on No. 10 —the latter coming off a 379-yard drive on the par-5 18th. He was thinking more of the drive that wentsideways.

ä Hurricanes at Knights. 7P.M. SUNDAy,ABC

And they helda 2-1 lead on Carolina aftera double-overtime victory in Game3

But the Hurricanesgradually have begun to turn theseries. Since trailing 4-0 entering the thirdperiodofGame3,the Hurricanes havedoubledupthe Golden Knights (13-6) while ﬁnding asparkwith BrandonBussi taking overinnet.InGame 5, the Hurricanes got two more powerplaygoalsfrom aunit that had sputtered through the Eastern Conference playoffs while also reversing Vegas’ second-period dominance.

Vegas had compounding mistakes likegetting akill only for Brayden McNabb to immediately go to thebox for cross-checking Jackson Blake in thesecondperiod. Or there wasMark Stone’s high stick on Jalen Chatﬁeld in the third, leaving Chatﬁeldbleeding from acut above hisright eyefor adouble-minor penalty

Andrei SvechnikovofCarolina scored after both, coming amid a postseasonofquestions as to when he and fellow top-liner Sebastian Ahowould get rolling.

“Anytimeyou give the other team’sbest players the opportunity to be onthe ice on the power playand feel good aboutthemselves …you stack that up andit deﬁnitely can be challenging and

tire guys out,” center Nic Dowd said afterward.

Svechnikov’sscores pushed the Hurricanes to 6of16(37.5%) on thepower play this series, coming after theywereat12.5% (7 of 56) in a12-1 push through theEastern Conference playoffs.

“One of the areas that we’ve lost alittle bit is special teams, acouple of power-play goals last night,” Tortorella said Friday.“LikeIsaid after the game, Ithoughtattimes we were killing, we had some good times as far as moving, being aggressive withour penalty kill, and are doing the job. Other times, not so good.”

Then there’s Karlsson, who missed nearly six monthswith a lower-bodyinjury beforereturning for his playoff debut to start theAnaheim series. He had three goals and six assists through 14 playoff games to elevatethe GoldenKnights, including goals in Games 1and 4against Carolina.

But Karlsson appeared to injure his left arm or shoulder after getting knocked into the boards by Hurricanes defenseman Sean Walker midway through the second. He got medical attention on the bench brieﬂy,skated off and never returned. Tortorella said Thursdaythat Karlsson was “not going to be with us, probably” andVegasneeded a collective effort to replace him. He offered no additionaldetails Friday morning.

TexasA&M on April 18 at Alex Box Stadium Milam announced Fridayhewill returntoLSU for his senior year

.362 with a1.057 OPS as asophomore and wasthe top hitter available in thetransfer portal, according to Baseball America.

LSU still has needs to fillincenterfieldand rightfield, butMilam’s return helps settle an LSU lineup that needed to replace Derek Curiel, Jake Brown and Chris Stanfield. Johnson still has alot of work to do before his 2027 roster fully takes shape. The Tigers have two outfield positionstofill and need to reload their pitching staffafter a tumultuous end to lastseason.

Some of those questions will be answered in the portal, but the roster won’tbesettled until after theMLB draft on July 11-12. The Tigers have numerous draft-eligi-

ble players and adeep high school recruiting class that has13playersinMLB.com’s top-200 prospect rankings.

Butgiven how manyholes LSU needed to ﬁllheading into the summer —after theprogram’sworst season since at least2007 —Johnson already has deliveredonmultiple fronts, even with amonthtogo before the start of the draft.

Butnooffseason move has been more signiﬁcantthanMilam’s decision to return to Baton Rouge.

Email Koki Rileyatkoki.riley@ theadvocate.com. For more LSU sports updates, sign up for our newsletter at theadvocate.com/ lsunewsletter

Jamesplayed bogey-freeon theOsprey Valleycourse at TPC Torontoand goes into the weekendhaving not made abogey in his last 33 holes. This is his 10th PGA Tour event, including two U.S. Opens, but ﬁrst one as apro.

“I wasn’t really thinking about resultsatall this week. Just worriedabout getting comfortable, making new friends and having fun, and just seeing where everything kind of falls,”James said.

“Obviously,Ihave some stuff to work on,just trying to see where everything goes. Because this is just thebaseline, it’s my ﬁrst professional debut. Had agreat

“I wouldliketohavethat tee ball back on 13,” Koepka said. “I just stood there for10minutes andtried to hit alow fade and then it turned into ahighdraw Whenyou standthere andstart thinking too long, that was kind of the issue. Iwould love to have that one back. But other than that, played solid, it wasﬁne. The ball striking hasn’tbeen phenomenal, but it’sgood.” Eric Cole, whowas part of the six-waytie forthe lead after 18 holes, started with atriple bogey andhis daynever gotmuchbetter.Heshot 76 to miss the cut, meaning he will have no chance to playinthe U.S. Opennext week. Cole came into the week at No. 63 in the world, andthe top 60 earn an exemption to Shinnecock Hills.

West Virginia beatsTroy in battle of CWSnewbies

BY ERIC OLSON AP sportswriter

OMAHA, Neb Tyrus Hall hit the tiebreakingsingleinthe eighth inning, IanKorn held Troy to one run in his longest reliefappearance of the season, and West Virginia beat the Trojans 7-5 on Friday in ameeting of teamsmaking their first appearances in the College World Series. Hall hit atwo-run double in the second inning andcame up in the eighth with two runners on against Zach Crotchfelt. With the infield pulled in, Hallchoppedthe ball over first base for atwo-run lead.

Korn, the Division II pitcher of theyear at Seton Hill last year, steadied the Mountaineers after Troy knocked out Chansen Cole in the third inning. Korn (6-1) went six innings and allowed two hits, including Sun Belt Conference player of theyear Jimmy Janicki’stying home run in the seventh.

Little-used reliever Ben McDougal cameonwith arunner on base andtwo outs in the ninth and got Janicki to foul out forhis ﬁrst save. Shortly after that, the Mountaineers stood side-by-side alongthe third-base line to face their celebrating fans and sing “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”

“Ourstate is astate that’sreally rooted in unity androoting foreach otherand believingthat anything is possible,” West Virginia coach SteveSabins said.

“It’sa small rural state that thinks that things haven’talways gone their way.You’ve got to ﬁght extra hard and work extra hard,and you’ve got to show up longer and harder in order to accomplish great things. That’s kind of thementalitythat our team has taken.”

Korn,who pitched alow-stress inning against CalPoly in the super regionals after getting rocked by Kentucky in regionals, was called on after Sean Dar-

nell’stwo-out, two-run doubled tied it 4-4 in the third. Of Korn’s 79 pitches, 51 were strikes.

Before Hall’swinning hit, Crotchfelt (7-3) hadn’tgiven up a runin111/3 innings over ﬁve appearances.

West Virginia (46-15),which has won 18 of its past 21 games, will playSundayagainst North Carolina. Troy (38-31) will Ole Miss in an elimination on Sunday The CWSopenerstartedwith some excitement whenWest Virginia leadoff manArmani Guzman stole home to open the scoring. He took abig lead off third base against left-hander Benjamin Stubbs and camehard down the line.

Thepitch washigh,and the headfirst-sliding Guzman was able to gethis left hand onto the plate just ahead of Janicki’s tag. Umpire Jason Bradley was knocked offbalance, gathered himself andcalledGuzmansafe. It was the ﬁrst straight steal of home in theCWS since2000, and Guzman’sschool-record 39th steal of the season.

“I don’tthink I’ve ever done it in agame like that,” Guzman said, “but Idoita lotinpractice. But when Ihit theumpire, Ikindof gotthe wind knockedout of me It kind of hurt. Theadrenaline was there, so Ididn’treally feel it until Igot back into the dugout.”

NORTH CAROLINA 6, OLE MISS 2: Colin Hynek’sthree-runhomer broke open aclose game in the eighth inning andsentNorth Carolina past Ole Miss. TheTar Heelshad just three hits through seven innings and led 3-2 when Hynek ripped Walker Hook’sﬁrst pitch to him out to leftwith twoouts.

North Carolina (51-12-1) will faceWest Virginia on Sunday with control of Bracket 1atstake. Ole Miss (41-22) will try to stave off eliminationagainstTroyon Sunday.Caden Glauber (11-0) got the winwith shutout relief pitching.

FILEPHOTO By PATRICK DENNIS LSU shortstop StevenMilam watches his hit leave the park for asolo home runinagameagainst

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOByNICK IWANySHyN

Tommy Fleetwood of England looksdownatthe ninth holeduring the second round of the RBC Canadian Open on Friday in Caledon, Ont. Fleetwood is twoshots off of the lead.

TODAY’S GAMES

WORLDCUP 2026

Brazil seeksreturntowinning ways

BY RONALD BLUM Associated Press

EAST RUTHERFORD,N.J.— Alisson

Becker feels for Carlo Ancelotti, the Italian expected to bring Brazil arecord sixthWorldCup title

“His position perhaps has more pressure than being thepresident of the country,” the Seleção’stop goalkeepersaid.

Brazil is unbeaten in 20 World Cup openers since 1934,winning 17 going into Saturday night’s match against Africanchampion Morocco.

Having conqueredthe globe with Pelé, samba soccer and canary yellow jerseys, Brazil was once the nation others emulated.

No more. Brazil hasn’twon the titlesince 2002 and hasmoved past the quarterﬁnals just once since, a humiliating 7-1 defeat to Germany in the 2014 semis on home soil in Belo Horizonte.

“We’rehere to try to change history,try to put Brazil backto where it never should haveleft, which is at the top,” striker Vinícius Júnior said Friday throughan interpreter.“We are at the same level as the other major teams.” Morocco becamethe ﬁrst African nation to reach the World Cup semis, losing 2-0 to Francefour years ago. The Atlas Lions won theircontinent’s title controversially in January—theylost1-0 to Senegal but were awarded a

ASSOCIATED

Greatexpectations

world and Morocco seventh.

3-0 forfeit victory because the LionsofTeranga left the ﬁeld for 15 minutes during stoppage timein protest of apenalty kick awarded to their opponent Brazil is ranked sixthinthe

“In modern football, there is no —how we say?— small-time team,” Ancelotti said through an interpreter. “Theyare deﬁnitely up to thetask.

U.S. openshomeWorld Cup with victoryoverParaguay

Balogunscorestwo goalsin dynamic opening win forAmericans

BY GREG BEACHAM Associated Press

INGLEWOOD,Calif. FolarinBalogun

scored twice in the Americans’ historic three-goal first half, and the U.S. opened its first home World Cup in 32 years with its biggest win in the tournament, adynamic 4-1 victory overParaguay on Friday night. Christian Pulisic had an assist in astellar first-half playmaking performance for the Americans,

whoenthralled their Southern California fanswith an aggressive attack while streaking to a 3-0 halftime lead —the team’s largestinany WorldCup game

Gio Reynaripped another goal in the dying moments of second-half injurytime, giving the Americansfourgoals in aWorld Cup match for theﬁrst time.

TheU.S. scored only three goals combined in its four matchesat the Qatar World Cup four years ago,and it hadnever scored more than three in aWorld Cupmatch Butthe Americanswerea team transformed while playingin new coachMauricio Pochettino’s more creative system in frontof apassionate, star-studded Los Angeles crowd of 70,492

Maurício scored in the second half for Paraguay,but La Albir-

Paraguay vs.Australia, 9p.m.

GROUP E

GPWDLGFGAPts Germany0 00 00 00 Curacao 00 00 00 0 Ivory Coast 00 00 00 0 Ecuador 00 00 00 0

Sunday Germanyvs. Curacao, noon Ivory Coast vs.Ecuador, 6p.m.

June20 Germanyvs. Ivory Coast, 3p.m. Ecuador vs.Curacao, 7p.m.

June25 Ecuador vs.Germany, 3p.m. Curacao vs.Ivory Coast, 3p.m.

GROUP F

GPWDLGFGAPts

00 00 00 0 Japan 00 00 00 0

00 00 00 0 Tunisia 00 00 00 0

Sunday Netherlands vs.Japan, 3p.m. Sweden vs.Tunisia,9p.m.

June20

Netherlands vs.Sweden, noon

June21

Tunisia vs.Japan, 11 p.m.

June25 Tunisia vs.Netherlands, 6p.m. Japan vs.Sweden, 6p.m. GROUP G

New Zealand 00 00 00 0

Monday Belgium vs.Egypt, 2p.m.

Iran vs.New Zealand,8p.m.

June21

Belgium vs.Iran, 2p.m.

New Zealand vs.Egypt, 8p.m.

June26

New Zealand vs.Belgium, 10 p.m.

7:30 p.m.

June24 Scotland vs.Brazil, 5p.m. Morocco vs.Haiti,5p.m. GROUP D

GPWDLGFGAPts UnitedStates1 10 04 13

Australia 00 00 00 0 Turkey 00 00 00 0 Paraguay1 00 11 40 Fr

Egypt vs.Iran, 10 p.m.

GROUPH

GPWDLGFGAPts

Spain 00 00 00 0

Cape Verde0 00 00 00 Saudi Arabia0 00 00 00

Uruguay0 00 00 00

Monday Spain vs.Cape Verde, 11 a.m.

Saudi Arabia vs.Uruguay, 5p.m.

June21

Spain vs.Saudi Arabia, 11 a.m.

Uruguayvs. Cape Verde, 5p.m.

June26

Uruguayvs. Spain, 7p.m.

CapeVerde vs.Saudi Arabia, 7p.m.

GROUP I

vs.United States,9p.m.

to win,” Ancelotti said, switching to English. “Wehave agood feeling.” Ancelotti, the first non-Brazilian to coach theteamataWorld Cup, took over in May2025fromDorivalJúnior. He haswon arecord five Champions League titles leading AC Milan and Real Madrid, and he is the only coachtowin championships in all five major European leagues.

“I respect him very much. I’ve read allhis books,”Hakimi said playfully.“Maybe I’ll have an advantage over him. Iknow allhis secrets.”

Hotweather in NewYorkarea

Atemperature of 88 degrees

Fahrenheit is forecast for kickoff at MetLifeStadium, site of theﬁnal on July 19.

“Weare usedtothe heat. We’re Africans,” Hakimisaid.

Friendsoff the field

PRADO

Brazilian fans don’tanticipate a title. Some expect one, andothers demand it.

“Wehaveapossibility to compete

Hakimi and BrazilcaptainMarquinhos are Paris Saint-Germain teammates, andonMay 30 they helped their club win asecond straight Champions League title. Hakimisaid he took twodays off before starting World Cup preparations.

“Whenweplay together at PSG, we have agood laugh andwesaid on the (World Cup) pitch we’re not teammates,” Hakimi said. “Wewill talk, of course, but we each want to winand may the best win.”

roja fell too far behind early in their first World Cupmatch in 16 years. After the U.S. went ahead on an early own-goal created by Pulisic’s playmaking,Balogun scored in the 31st minute and again in the fifth minute of first-half injury time.

The New York-born, Londonraisedstriker made his World Cupdebut withthe ﬁrst multigoal performance from aU.S.player in the tournament since 1930. Balogun chose to represent the U.S threeyearsago instead of stayinginthe English system, where he likely would have struggledto make the Three Lions’roster— andthe 24-year-old Monacoprofessional has swiftly provided the top-level striker play historically lacking on U.S.rosters.

GPWDLGFGAPts France 00 00 00

Senegal 00 00 00

Iraq 00 00 00

Norway 00 00 00

Tuesday France vs.Senegal, 2p.m. Iraq vs.Norway,5p.m. June22 France vs.Iraq, 4p.m. Norway vs.Senegal, 7p.m. June26 Norway vs.France, 2p.m. Senegal vs.Iraq, 2p.m.

GROUP J GPWDLGFGAP

Argentina 00 00 00

Algeria 00 00 00

Austria 00 00

Tuesday Argentina vs.Algeria, 8p.m. Wednesday Austria vs.Jordan, 11 p.m. June22 Argentina vs.Austria,noon Jordan vs.Algeria, 10 p.m. June27 Jordan vs.Argentina, 9p.m. Algeria vs.Austria,9p.m.

Wednesday Portugal vs.Congo DR,noon Uzbekistan vs.Colombia, 9p.m.

June23 Portugal vs.Uzbekistan, noon

Colombiavs. Congo DR,9p.m.

June27 Colombiavs. Portugal,6:30 p.m. Congo DR vs.Uzbekistan, 6:30 p.m. GROUP L

vs.Panama, 6p.m.

June23

England vs.Ghana, 2p.m.

Panama vs.Croatia, 6p.m.

June27

Panama vs.England, 4p.m.

Croatia vs.Ghana, 4p.m.

ROUND OF 32

June 28-July

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOByANDRE PENNER

United States forward Folarin Balogun, right, celebrates with Weston McKennie after Balogun’s first goal against ParaguayonFriday in Inglewood, Calif. Balogun scored twiceinthe first half.

BY JOHN WAWROW AP sportswriter

TORONTO— Canada earned its ﬁrst WorldCup point in seven matches on soccer’sbiggest stage, and coach Jesse Marsch noted the sea of red-clad, maple leaf-waving fans who continuously belted out chants of “GoCa-na-da!” helped get it

Aslow start and an early deﬁcit turned into arousing celebration once late substitute Cyle Larin scored in the 78th minute for a1-1 draw against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Friday in Canada’stournamentdebut on homesoil. Playing in the shadowofToronto’siconic CN Tower,and with hockey star ConnorMcDavid and actors Ryan Reynolds and Mike Myers in thestands,Larin converted Promise David’spass a meretwo minutes after entering thegame.

“The crowd, Ithink, willed us into thegameas(the players) could feel that energyinthe secondhalf tilting more and more,” said Marsch, whotook particular delight uponlearning Myers, whoportrayed international man of mystery Austin Powers in the movies,was amongthose on hand

“Oh, sweet,” Marsch said. It was an even better feeling for

Larin, who normally starts but hadtobide his time watching on the bench until late in the second half

“Itwas an amazing feeling, just to score agoal on home soil, where I’m from, and just to celebrate with the fans, amazing atmosphere,” said Larin, whoplays forsecond-division Englishclub Southampton and is from Toronto’ssuburb of Brampton.

The goal was only the second in World Cupplay scored by Canada after the team lost all three of its games at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico and again four years ago at Qatar Injury ﬁll-in Jovo Lukic headed in acorner kick in the 21st minute for Bosnia-Herzegovina, which is making its second World Cup appearance. The team previously played at the 2014 tournament in Brazil but failedtoadvanceout of group play Starting in place of Edin Dzeko (shoulder) and Haris Tabakovic (undisclosed), Lukic was in an ideal position to cap aset piece with captain Sead Kolasinac ﬂicking along aheader off Ivan Basic’s corner kick.

The goal was Lukic’sﬁrst

Telemundo, Peacock | AUSTRALIA VS.TURKEY, 11 p.m.FS1, Telemundo, Peacock

Wembanyama, Spurs still believers despite collapse

BY TIM REYNOLDS AP basketball writer

SAN ANTONIO Victor Wembanya-

ma, the tallest man in these NBA Finals, is about to face the tallest order of his basketball career And he’s ﬁne with that Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs — who just became the ﬁrst team in NBA Finals history to lead a game by 29 points and lose — need to win the next three games, or they’ll watch the New York Knicks celebrate an NBA title at their expense. And when the Spurs gathered for practice Friday, Wembanyama insisted the belief within the Spurs camp is still there

“Everybody thinks, everybody knows, we’re going to do it,” Wembanyama said.

If he was nervous, he hid it well. The 7-foot-4 French star has helped the Spurs stave off elimination twice already in these playoffs, after San Antonio won Games 6 and 7 of the Western Conference ﬁnals against Oklahoma City and ended the Thunder’s reign as NBA champions.

Now, the Spurs have to do it again on Saturday in Game 5 against the Knicks. And if they win Saturday, they’ll have to do it again in Game 6 on Tuesday And if they win Tuesday, a Game 7 awaits next Friday “I feel like we need to isolate that one game and take it one game at a time,” Wembanyama said “I think it would be a mistake to waste our energy on multiple games. It’s one game at a time.”

KNICKS

Continued from page 1C

about the outcome. It’s about the process, the next play, the next play, the next play.”

The series could be tied right now, after San Antonio wasted a 29-point lead in Game 4 in what became the biggest collapse in NBA Finals history

The Spurs led 81-52 in the third quarter on Wednesday night and got outscored 55-25 the rest of the way, missing 29 of their ﬁnal 35 shots and losing on Anunoby’s tip-in with 1.2 seconds remaining.

Taylor Swift was among the many who celebrated long after the ﬁnal horn, and now the Spurs have to find a way to somehow regroup from absolute agony

“There’s conviction in strength and confidence,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “That’s what it is. There’s no trick. There’s no avoiding what’s happened. There’s no avoiding all

WALKER

Continued from page 1C

a team naturally follows behind the quarterback and aren’t doing it reluctantly It’s natural. I wasn’t sure if it would be like that because he was just a rookie last year But it’s noticeable.”

Also noticeable is his command of the offense. Shough, who ﬁnished second in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting last season, looks like he’s ready to make a leap in Year 2.

Proceeding with caution

We didn’t see much from Tyson, whom the Saints selected with the No. 8 overall pick, or defensive tackle Christen Miller, drafted in the second round. Tyson and Miller are both dealing with hamstring issues, so the Saints are being cautious.

Tyson’s injury may worry you because of his injury history throughout college. But it’s still June, so there is really no reason for concern. If these issues are still lingering when training camp begins in late July, then look for the panic button. The Saints being careful with players and making sure they are ready when the season starts should be priority No. 1, and they are doing just that.

Most starters set

When OTAs began, there was really only one burning question as far as positions: Who was going to replace Alontae Taylor? Taylor signed with the Tennessee Titans in free agency

The Saints didn’t replace Taylor in the draft. It took just one day of OTAs to see that Jonas Sanker would be ﬁlling that role. Sanker, who played safety as a rookie last year, has the speed and IQ to

The Spurs led Game 1 by 14 points and lost by 10. They led Game 2 by 12 points and lost by one. They won Game 3 by four, then had the 29-point lead in Game 4 and lost by one. Clearly, they know how to get into position to beat the Knicks. They just haven’t ﬁnished it off in three of the four games.

Now they will try to be just the second team in NBA Finals his-

four games have been winnable games. There’s no avoiding we’re down 3-1. There’s not avoiding ways that we could be better There’s nobody that’s going to be harder on ourselves and accountable to ourselves than the people in the locker room and each other.”

Entering Game 4, teams with leads of 29 or more points in a game were: n 249-0 this season.

n 288-2 over the last 30 postseasons.

n 4,088-13 over the last 30 seasons, counting regular season and playoff games.

That means the Spurs, who have had double-digit leads in all four games, had about a 99.7% chance of winning Game 4, tying the series and coming home with all the momentum. They’re on the brink of elimination instead.

“We still have that belief that we have a chance to win,” said Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox, who has heard tons of criticism since Wednesday for his decision to try a

succeed in what defensive coordinator Brandon Staley calls the “star” position.

Meanwhile, Justin Reid and Julian Blackmon will man the safety positions, just like they did last year before Blackmon suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in the opener

Receiver depth promising

There is good news and bad news here.

First, the bad news. We didn’t get to see much of Tyson or Chris Olave, the top two receivers. Olave was limited the last two weeks because of the blood clots he dealt with at the end of last season.

The good news is their absences gave some other receivers a chance to shine. Ja’Lynn Polk and Trey Palmer are among the receivers who have looked sharp. There have been times in recent years where there has been a big dropoff at receiver behind the top one or two guys. The early returns say that may not be the case this time around

Jordan, Kamara’s status

After three weeks, we are just as unsure if two of the team’s most beloved players will be in a Saints uniform this season.

Kamara made an impromptu, one-day appearance during the second week of OTAs. It was his ﬁrst time showing up for the voluntary practices since early in his career, so it caught everyone off guard. It was a calculated move by Kamara, his way of getting his message out that he wants to be with the team Will he be? Or will the Saints cut their all-time leading rusher?

Jordan isn’t on the roster as of now But the Saints have put their offer on the table, and now it’s just matter of whether he’s willing to accept it With the three-day mandatory mini-camp

LSU sprinter Reid breaks collegiate 200-meter record

Men’s team finishes fourth in nation

BY TOYLOY BROWN III Staff writer

“I told you, I got you.”

Those were the ﬁrst words Jaiden Reid of LSU exchanged with his sprint coach, Bennie Brazell, after he did the unthinkable.

Reid obliterated the collegiate record for the 200 meters in the ﬁnal of the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon, on Friday

The 21-year-old from the Cayman Islands earned gold after finishing with a time of 19.63 seconds. The previous record was held by Walter Dix, who ran a 19.69 in 2007 for Florida State.

Reid’s time is also the world No. 1 mark for 2026.

4x100 relay team, which enjoyed a silver medal after ﬁnishing with a season-best 38.06 in the ﬁnal. The rest of the relay team was comprised of Jeremiah Walker, Shakeem McKay and Joshua Caleb. Reid’s contributions were the biggest highlights for the LSU men’s team.

tory to successfully rally from a 3-1 series deﬁcit; Cleveland did it against Golden State in 2016. The other 37 teams that have tried to do so all failed.

“It definitely matters,” Spurs guard Stephon Castle said. “I feel like we’ve made history all year and we’ve proven that with our backs against the wall that we can step up. So, I don’t really expect this to be any different.”

layup instead of running down the clock when he had the ball and San Antonio leading by one in the ﬁnal 15 seconds. “But we’re taking this one game at a time. We’re not looking at it as we need to win three games. We need to win tomorrow and then we give ourselves a chance to play another game.”

It will not be easy. When the Knicks have had a closeout opportunity this season, they’ve left no doubt.

New York is 3-0 in closeout games in these playoffs, winning them by the almost comical average of 39.3 points per game The Knicks led by 61 points before winning 140-89 to close out Atlanta in Round 1, led by 44 points before winning 144-114 to close out Philadelphia in Round 2, then led by 45 points before winning 130-93 to close out Cleveland in the Eastern Conference ﬁnals.

All that happened on the road, too. And thousands of Knicks fans are expected in San Antonio on Saturday night, all ready to see New York end that long title drought.

starting Tuesday, the status of Jordan and Kamara will continue to be the biggest two headlines surrounding the team.

Everything else seems to be in place, according to both the players who were here last season and the new ones.

“This team has an extremely high level of belief,” Elliss said.

“Obviously when you go to a team that hasn’t been to the playoffs in a few years that has had some struggles, you don’t know You sign the deal in the offseason and you take a lot of people’s word for it. But to get here and just get blown away by what the culture is has been is really special to me.”

Right tackle Taliese Fuaga, entering his third season, brags about the same competitiveness and closeness that Moore talked about.

“You just feel something in the air with the chemistry,” Fuaga said. “Ain’t no egos right now We are all close. Everybody is close and just wants to win. Everybody wants to compete. You’re at practice and it’s intense. In practice, you may want to run through someone’s face, but when we get off the ﬁeld we are all cool.” Moore has used team-bonding activities to bring the players closer They’ve done everything over the past three weeks from helping refurbish the Trinity Community Center in the Hollygrove neighborhood to a bowﬁshing outing.

“The biggest thing is that we are building off last year,” tight end Juwan Johnson said. “This team is more together and united. It’s not just the events we are doing, but just the way we are spending time together I think it’ll show up on Sundays.”

Will Kamara and Jordan be there on Sundays, too?

That’s the biggest questions remaining after the completion of OTAs.

When Reid was asked on the ESPN broadcast the secret to his stunning speed on Friday, he credited the coach who embraced him with a hug after the race.

“Just listen to my coach, you know,” he said. “Staying down, driving long and being conﬁdent in myself.”

Reid wasn’t done on the ﬁnal day of the men’s competition at Hayward Field Earlier in the 100, Reid took home silver with a seasonbest, wind-assisted time of 9.82.

Reid was also part of LSU’s

In the 110 hurdles senior Matthew Sophia ended his collegiate career with an eighth-place finish in 13.50. In the 400, sophomore Amal Glasgow finished eighth in 45.14. In the discus, sophomore Chad Hendricks had a throw of 181 feet and 9 inches to finish 24th. In the 4x400 relay, LSU took silver in the final with a seasonbest 2:57.96. The runners were Glasgow, Shakeem McKay, Grant Buckmiller and Malachi Austin. The LSU men finished fourth at the championships with 42 points, an improvement from last year’s 28th-place finish with 11.33 points. Arkansas won the team title with 56 points, followed by Georgia with 49 and Tennessee with 42. On Thursday, the women’s 400, 10,000 and javelin events didn’t conclude by press time In the 400, freshman Skyler Franklin didn’t advance in the 400 after finishing 15th in 51.62. Freshman Abigael Chemnagei had a personal best 32:36.65 to finish 14th in the 10,000 final. Junior Alexis Guillory finished 10th in the javelin final with a throw of 173 feet.

PELICANS

Continued from page 1C

coordinator

His father could have given him an assistant coach job right away but he didn’t.

“I knew how he would be judged if he was an assistant right away,” Byron said. “I told him you have to work from the bottom up.”

So that’s what Thomas did. His job duties included everything from preparing scouting tape with the coaches to helping with halftime edits to assisting visiting teams with video.

“I did a lot of running around,” Thomas said.

Now he’s back in the New Orleans area for what he calls his “third lap.” This time he’s in charge of the Squadron, which is making the transition to Kenner after playing the previous five seasons in Birmingham, Alabama.

He’s taken on this type of project before. He was the director of basketball operations for the BIG3, the 3-on-3 pro league started by rapper/entrepreneur Ice Cube, when it began. He also worked with the G League Ignite in its ﬁrst season.

“So this is my third time being a part of something starting up,” Thomas said “I like to build. And with Laketown, I’d like to build something special with that by being an asset to the Pelicans organization. Getting these guys a chance to play for the Pelicans through our program. Getting the fans a chance to see these guys in their development to get to the next level.”

If that wasn’t enough to sell Thomas on the job, it helps that his wife is from New Orleans. He brings a wealth of experience in everything from basketball operations to player development to coaching and talent evaluation. In addition to his time with the BIG3 and the G League Ignite, he’s also had G League stops with the Erie BayHawks, Cleveland Charge, South Bay Lakers and Mexico City Capitanes.

In the G League, the staff isn’t the sizeofanNBAteam Sooftentimes, it’s all hands on deck for everything That is why Thomas knows this new gig is suited for him. “These jobs as general manager are almost impossible to get,”

he said. “Also being a minority, you can’t say no to these type of things because they never come around. I just felt like this was very special. It felt like a lot of the things I’ve done in my past led me to this chance. I felt like I ﬁt.”

Now he gets to tag team with Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations Joe Dumars to ﬁnd the right pieces to ﬁt. The two of them are on the same page as far as what they want.

“There is a characteristic he’s looking for as far as the pedigree of players he’s looking for,” Thomas said.

“And I’m going to help him ﬁnd it. He wants a tough, physical identity So we are going to bring dogs in here.”

While player development is the main goal, Thomas knows that getting fans to the Pontchartrain Center is also important.

“The environment is going to be rocking and there isn’t going to be a bad seat in the house,” he said. “We are going to rely on the fans to give us the energy we need to win games.”

It’ll take plenty of work, but Thomas Scott is willing to put that work in. He has seen hard work all of his life watching his dad. It’s one of the things his father passed down to him.

“I’ve always observed my dad being very disciplined and always moving as a professional,” he said. “Very punctual. Very consistent on a day-to-day basis. Somebody that knew how to lock in and stay very focused. He has a lot of personality off the court. But when it came down to working, his work ethic is unmatched.” Byron Scott, who also had head coaching stints with the New Jersey Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers, last coached in 2016. Now he gets to be a proud father as his son begins as a general manager in the place he once called home.

“Life has a way of doing that to you and taking you full circle,” Byron Scott said. “My son’s time in New Orleans is when he really started getting the bug about getting involved in basketball. One thing about him is he’s worked for years to get in position to do something like this. I’m so proud and happy for him.”

Email Rod Walker at rwalker@theadvocate.com.

LSU sprinter Jaiden Reid races in the 200 meters at the LSU Alumni Gold meet on April 25 at Bernie Moore Stadium. Reid broke the 200-meter collegiate record on Friday in Oregon.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

AP PHOTO By FRANK FRANKLIN II

San Antonio Spurs coach Mitch Johnson talks with forward Victor Wembanyama during the second half of Game 4 of the NBA Finals against the New york Knicks on Wednesday in New york.

No matter our denomination or political afﬁliation, the Rev Cedric Murphy said all believers can agree that spiritual renewal is desperately needed.

“There are so many reasons that need arevival,” Murphy preached in arecent message titled “Revive Us Again” ahead of athree-night revival at Providence No. 1Baptist Church in Ethel. “Look at the condition of the world. Look at the condition of our nation Look at the condition of the church —not just our church but the universal —and how there’saneed.”

Murphy,the church’spastor and amember of the Baker City Council, pointed to avariety of societal challenges, including racial division, church decline and crime, particularly among the young people. But instead of focusing on those topics, he challenged listeners to seek personal renewal.

“Weneeda revival, and it starts with us,” Murphy said in his message from Psalm 85:4-10. “We needGod to show up and show out. We need God to reviveus again.”

The message focused on the Israelites’ return from captivity to arebuiltJerusalem.Thoughthey werehome, something was stillmissing, Murphysaid.

“Their conditions were not the same before they were exiled,” he said. “God’sfavor was on in the same fashion. They were back, but they were not revived.”

Murphy identiﬁed three factors that were necessary for the Israelites’ revival First, the people recognized their need for revival. Psalms 85:4 states, “Restore us again, God our Savior,and put away your displeasure toward us.” Revival means “being back in the center of God’swordand functioning in his purpose,” Murphy said.

“If we go into revival, but we’re not back mentally,spiritually and emotionally,revival won’tdoany good,” he said. Second, the people wanted to hear from God and receive his peace. Psalms 85:8says, “I will listen to what God the Lord says; he promises peace to his people, his faithful servants —but let them not turn to folly.”

“Wewant to hear from social media prophets,” Murphysaid. “They wanted to hear from God. And not just any word they wanted peace.”

God’speace does not mean the absence of trouble, he cautioned.

“The peace of God is aharmonious relationship with God from within. If Ihave God’s peace,itdoesn’tmatter what’s going on,” Murphy said.

Third, Murphy said the people wanted to experienceGod’s glory,referencing Verse 10: “Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other.”

“Where God’sglory dwells, darkness cannot stand,” he said. “We’ve got to be willing to want to hear from God, and we have to seek his glory again.If we do those things, Ipromise you God will send arevival that we need.” Contact Terry Robinson at terryrobinson622@gmail.com

ADREAM COME TRUE

BY MADDIE SCOTT Staff writer

New York Cityisthe city that never sleeps. This year,itbecame the city whereBaton Rouge native Amelia Alemán craftsone-ofa-kind pastries at Le Café Louis Vuitton on the fourth ﬂoor of the ﬂagship Louis Vuitton store.

The cafe offersa menuwith French ﬂair that includesdishes like monogram ravioli, whole lobster and trufﬂe eggs, but Alemán, 29, focuses on thedessertportion of the menu —perfecting the signature Louis Vuitton monogram pattern on cakes, cookies and sundaes

Despite her current position in the big city, Alemán saysLouisiana’scapitalcity was herlaunch pad. At LSU, sheearned adegree from theLSU School of Interior Design, whichfostered her passion for art. “Art has always been partofmy lifebut honing it down in design school —learning the elements

of design, color theory,drafting, sketching,all those skills —Ihave them now,and they go hand in hand with pastries,” she said.

From BatonRouge to France Alemán was born in El Salvador, whereher love for creating was ignited by baking sweet breads in a brick oven withher grandmother She movedtoBatonRouge at 14, later graduating from Broadmoor Senior High School.

In 2021, shegraduated from LSU and was awardedthe universitymedal, an achievement given to graduatingstudents with a4.0 GPAorhigher.The interior design degree became thebuilding blocks of her culinary career.Thoughunconventional, shesaysshe’d take that routeall over again if given thechoice.

During the pandemic, Alemán experimented herway through Julia Child cookbooks. She’d clock out at her nine to ﬁve at an

PROVIDED PHOTOS

ABOVE: After starting her culinary career in Baton Rouge, pastrychef Amelia Alemánbaked ataste of home (kingcake) in her tiny New york City apartment on Jan. 27.

TOP: Alemán, aBaton Rouge native,saidshe wanted ‘a taste of the Michelin life’after finishing pastryschool in France. Pictured here on May14are someofher creations while working at Jônt in Washington, D.C.

Dear Harriette: My dear friend has had abit of aspiritual awakening over the past year or so. Ilove seeing them committed to their faith,but what comes with their newfound spirituality is preaching their gospel. I have been religious all my life, committed to my own religion. So now when my friend talks to me about his faith, it feels more like he’strying to convince me or change my mind about things. Ithought Iwas being overly defensive at ﬁrst, but lately,he’sbeen doing and saying things that makeme think Imay be right abouthim trying to convert me. Recently,he

PASTRY

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architecture firm, grab ingredients from the grocery store and stay up all night baking. Co-workers loved it when she brought sweets to the ofﬁce, but she found herself at acrossroads.

“I loved design and worked so hard to get to that point in my career,” Alemán said.

“But Ialso had this hobby that Iwas falling so deeply in love with.”

In what she feared would be astep backward, she submitted her resignation later to pursue baking fulltime andbecame thekitchen manager at Rêve Coffee Lab. For the next three years, she saved up for pastry school.

“Rêveis the beginning of my story,really,” she said. “In away,it’ssymbolic because rêve means dream.”

Between managingthe kitchen at the coffee shop, Alemán sold pastry boxes at Everbowl,baked botanical cakes and babysat. Baking full-time meant she was in her own little world.In

Botanicalcakes, pictured here on May20, 2023,are one of the ways Alemán pursued her love of bakingin Baton Rouge.

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started sending me videos about hisreligion andother videos that undercut what my own religion teaches, and that’s inappropriate. At ﬁrst, Ijust ignored them, but then Itold him that Idonot plan to watch what he’ssending. Still, he continues to send videos and invites me to “be openminded.” How do Imake it clear to him that Idonot appreciate what he’sdoing? —Preach the Gospel Dear Preach the Gospel: Sit your friend down and tell himyou are happythat he has found his way to faith. Clearly he is excited right now, and you understand that this is why he is

pushing you so hard. Then strongly say to him that you have your own path that you are passionate about, and you need him to respect your decisions. Askhim to stop sending you videos and other material from his faith and generally stop trying to proselytize you. If he refuses, block him on thevarious platforms where he is sending you information.

Dear Harriette: Afriend recently invited me to her baby shower and I’m conﬂicted. This will be her fourth child withher fourth husband. Iknew she had divorced her third husband and was dating again, but Ididn’trealizeshe had remarried. Whenshe was planning her third wedding, she asked

me to be her maid of honor,and Ideclined. Itold her then that I felt she wasmoving too quickly and not taking marriage seriously, especially with children involved. She didn’tagree with me, and now Isee asimilar pattern repeating. While Ibelieve ababy is ablessing and deserves to be celebrated, I’m struggling with whethermypresence wouldfeel like I’m endorsing choices I’m genuinely concerned about.Should Iattend to support her as afriend and celebrate the child or sit this one out to stay true to my values? —IDo, IDo, IDo Dear IDo, IDo, IDo: Youhave to decide where you draw the line. Do you want to remain in this woman’slife? Youdonot agree with

2024, shewas acceptedinto thepastry program at École Ducasse in France, and her world got alot bigger

‘The perfectplace’

Part of École Ducasse, École Nationale Supérieure de Pâtisserie is the largest school in the world dedicated to pastry artstraining with 12 pastrylaboratories, specialized classroomsand student housing.

Moving to France wasa leap of faith, Alemán said. Yssingeaux, where the schoolislocated, is atownin the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region where barely anyone speaks English except peopleatthe school

“It’sthe kind of town that you cry when you get there, and you cry when you leave,” she said. “It grows on

kiddoscan skibidi allthey want, but the state in second place is Ohio, with ﬁve postcards. Mississippi sits in third with three. Also on the leaderboard so far: California, Delaware, Kentucky,Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey,New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota,Tennessee, Texas, Utah and West Virginia. Beyond the United States, postcards have arrived from Peru, Tahiti and Turkey.Peru alone accounts for three. Some postcardsare storebought. Plenty arenot includingone in homage to Scrim, thefamous NewOrleans runaway dog Five yearsin, I’ve learned that the harder postcards become to ﬁnd, themore inventive readers get. As demonstrated in previous years, postcards do nothave to be worksofart. Cut-upcereal boxes work. Andthen again, so does watercolor paper.Sodoes the back of just about anything sturdy enough to survive the U.S.Postal Service. The math says 31 states remain —thoughwecontinue to welcomepostcards from states alreadyinthe

you. Butatthe sametime, it was the perfect place to focus on my craft.”

She attended classes almostevery day from 6a.m. to 5p.m., and the ﬁrst week consisted of learning the ins andouts of pies,which, luckily,she already learned at Rêve Coffee Lab.She learned how to create show pieces, traditional French weddingcakes and the basics of chocolate work.

She ﬁnishedpastryschool in February 2025, interned at abakery in Bordeaux, and before she knew it,she was back in the States in Washington, D.C.

“I moved to D.C. because Iwanted ataste of the Michelin life,” Alemán said.

With no job lined up, she took to D.C.and handed out herrésumé “like hotcakes,”

mix. However,ifsummer travels take readersthrough Montana,Maine,Hawaii or anywhereinbetween, apostcard would be most welcome.

The samegoes for points abroad —Peru hasset an earlypace.The rest of the world has some catching up to do.

Theproject runs through Labor Day.Postcards can be mailed to: JanRisher,The Advocate, 10705 RiegerRoad, Baton Rouge, LA 70809.

Louisiana kindergartners setthe bar.The rest of the country is gaining on them. Email Jan Risher at jan. risher@theadvocate.com.

going to hotels and restaurants. She caught theeye of Jônt,atwo-Michelin-starred tastingcounter with anod to Japanese cuisine, and she worked there for nine months.

“I learned so much,” she said. “Working in arestaurant is completely differentthanworking in abakery. Training in that bakery in Bordeaux prepared me so well forthatMichelin restaurant.I was able to

jump in.”

her choices. That may be true for other friends whodothings that don’tsit right with you. Can you give her space to be herself and still be in her orbit? If that doesn’t sit wellwith you, now may be the timetowalk away from that friendship. This may start with declining the invitation. If you do pivot away from her,that doesn’t mean you have ill will toward her.Itmay simply signal that you don’twant to get caught up in her drama. That’sOK.

Send questions to askharriette@ harriettecole.com or c/o AndrewsMcMeel Syndication 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

At theLouis VuittonCafé

Alemán left D.C. in April of this year to pursue her dream of working at Louis Vuitton. One successful interview trial later,she was offered aspot, scrambled to ﬁnd an apartment and began work on April 10.

“I had always wanted to work at Louis Vuitton,” she said.“Ever sinceI was in school.”

The menuatLeCafé Louis Vuitton is centered on “luxurysnacking,”according to thewebsite.Seasonal,locally sourced ingredients are highlights on the menu. Currentlyonthe menu is the rhubarb vacherin, which includes yogurt meringue, poached rhubarb compote, Fontainebleau cream, sorbet and rosé.

The “Chocolate Monogram,” abiscuit with chocolate ganache, is apopular pastry on the cafemenu, Alemán said.

On her days off, Alemán says she tries to get lost. She has tried several NewYorkstyle pizzas, now loaded with enough intel to gauge which spots aretourist traps and which aren’t.Her favorite bagels are from the appropriately named Bagel Shop, located in the Upper East side of Manhattan. She lives in the traditional tiny NewYorkCity apartment. Though her kitchen is small, the ﬂavors are big. She’scooked and baked sev-

eral dishes from home, like gumbo,dinnerrolls andking cake.

“I’m afirm believerthat Cajunfood is thebest food in the world,” Alemán said.

“I don’tcare what anyone in the Michelin world says.” What Louisianameans

The last time she flew from home, Alemán packed her carry on with Tony Chachere’sspice blend and crab boil.

“I was that woman at the airport holding up the line withall of my Tony’s,” she said. “The TSA agentwas like,‘Ma’am, next time, just put it in your checked bag.’ And then he got to the crab boil, and he was like, ‘Oh, Isee you’ve got the good stuff.’”

The Tony’smade it through, andshe gave some to her co-workers in New York.

Alemán says growing up in Louisiana shaped her worldview, andbeing away grew her appreciation. No matter howfar away herkitchen is, the magnolia state is still home, and she hopes to give back to it one day

Through her career journey thus far, her mother has been her biggest cheerleader,and her father seems to always call right when she needs it most.

“Those three things have been aconstant in my life: art, my family and my faith,” she said. “Just one leap of faith after the other.”

PROVIDED PHOTOS

AmeliaAlemán, on the far right, poses with her classmates at École Ducasse, aculinary school in yssingeaux, France, on Jan. 30, 2025.

No winnersfrom hotel-guest standoff

Dear Miss Manners: My sister’shardwood floorswere being refinished, so Isaidit was fine for her to sleep on my sofa bed in my one-bedroom apartment for four nights. Knowing that she is VERYSENSITIVE to noise, Ireminded her to bring her earplugs. Around 10:15 p.m., she told me that she heard my TV (I already had the volume much lower than usual) and that she was trying to go to sleep. She said Ishould eithershut my bedroom door,which was open about afoot, or turn off my TV

RELIGION BRIEFS FROM STAFFREPORTS

Unity Church marks Pride Month

Judith Martin MISS MANNERS

Itold her Iwas planning to go to sleep by 11 p.m. I asked her if she was wearing her earplugs and she said no, because she doesn’t like to sleep with them. She then said that she has to go to work in the morning and she could not fall asleep with the sound of my TV

Ideclined to shut my bedroom door because my cat goes in and out throughout thenight. She needs access to her litterbox and water bowl, which are not in my bedroom. We got into an argument

andItold her she could go to ahotel. Shejust stared at me.Atthispoint, we both just went to bed and she wound up gettingthe silence she wanted. Ibelievethat she could haveput in her earplugsinsteadof giving me twochoices in my own home. I saved her about $600 in hotelcosts.The next three nights were not as bad because we wound up going to bedaround the same time. As my guest, was she wrong?Orwas I, as the host?

Gentle reader: Wouldithave beentoo obvious asolution for you to plugyour own ears with headphones to watch television?Orperhaps your setdoes nothave the technology. MissManners thinks thereare equal amounts of sympathy and blame to go around. Earplugs are indeed uncomfortable to wear to sleep, and your version of “low volume” may not be that of yoursister’s. Alternatively,yes, you were doing herafavor andyou should be allowed to stick to your bedtime routine. Being agood host does

require accommodating your guests’ needs —upto apoint. Since thesolution in this case was silently fuming or going to bed at thesame time, it sounds as if you needed athird option.Perhaps your sister can buy you one of those headphone-equipped TVs as thanks.

Dear Miss Manners: My husband always leaves the meat on his platefor the end. Ihate that. Is that bad etiquette? It reminds me of my parents’ day,when meat was scarce in people’shomes and they held it to theend to enjoy it more.

Gentlereader: There is no etiquette rule about the order of eating things on your plate—and yet Miss Manners would think the enjoymentwould lessen by its gettingcold —or, in times of real scarcity,stolen by one’sdinner companion.

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

Repellingsquirrels from birdseed

Dear Heloise: My husband enjoys feeding birds. We also have alot of squirrels. The squirrels used to climb up the pole and eat the birdseed. So,heput aSlinky on the pole, and the squirrels won’tclimb up the pole anymore. Problem solved! Margaret,in Griffith,Indiana Bathroom hints

TheUnitarian Churchof Baton Rouge is celebrating Pride Month throughout June with events for LGBTQ+ individuals, families, friends and allies.

Queer Café, happening at 10:15 a.m. each Sunday in June, will offer time for open conversations about LGBTQ+ identities, experiencesand issues.The discussions are open to all.

The church also will host informational tables at Ascension PrideinGonzales on Saturday,June 20, and Baton Rouge Pride on Saturday, June 27.Visitorsto the church’sboothscan learnmore about itsprogramsand community Sunday worship services at 9a.m. and11:30 a.m. throughout the month will include Pride-themed topics, culminating in the church’sannualPride Service on Sunday,June 28. The 9a.m. service is also livestreamed on YouTube at youtube.com/@UnitarianBR. Also on June 28, the church’sTransUU group will meet at 1p.m. The group provides discussion

andsupport forthose with loved ones who are transgender, nonbinary or gender nonconforming. For moreinformation, visit www.unitarianbr.org.

Father’sDay program at St. James Baptist St. James Baptist Church, 1105 N. 44th St., Baton Rouge, invites the community to aspecial Father’s Dayprogram sponsored by the Youth Ministry at 8a.m Sunday,June 21. Thethemefor the event is “Celebrating aLegacy of Faith Among Fathers.” Afreebreakfast will be served following the worship experience. For moreinformation, call (225) 924-1550.

Berean cancelsthis weekend’sservice

Berean Seventh-day Adventist Church, 5100 Osborne Ave., Baton Rouge, won’tholdits in-person worship serviceonSaturday as members attend the Southwest RegionConference’sannualcamp meeting in Athens, Texas. The ﬁve-state gathering, running through Satur-

TODAYINHISTORY

By The Associated Press

Today is Saturday, June 13, the 164th day of 2026. There are 201 days left in the year

day,will feature worship services, music and fellowship for all ages. Internationalrecording artist JohnP.Kee andthe New Life Community Choir will be amongthe musical guests. Allcampmeeting services are free and open to the public and maybe viewed through the Southwest Region Conference’s livestream archives, Facebook page and YouTube channel.

Trinitytohost Alzheimer’sprogram

Trinity AME Church, 1420 S. DarlaAve., Gonzales, will host “The Impact of Alzheimer’sand Dementia in Our Community” from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.Saturday

Presented by the Alzheimer’sAssociation, the program will provide information on the impact of Alzheimer’sdisease, local resources, the Walk to End Alzheimer’s, andways to join the ﬁght against Alzheimer’sand other forms of dementia. For moreinformation, contact Mary Alice Cash at macash@alz.org.

Solicitor General Thurgood Marshall to become the ﬁrst non-White justice on the U.S. SupremeCourt.

In 1983, the U.S. space probe Pioneer 10, launched in 1972, becamethe ﬁrst spacecrafttoleave the solar system as it crossed the orbit of Neptune.

Dear Heloise: When I know that I’m going to have company,I put anew roll of toilet paper on the holder.Iput paper towels in the guest bathrooms, and Icrumple up a towel and put it in thetrash basket to encourage their use. An old rule: When not in use, put down the lidonthe commode. This is what the lid is for —M.T.B in Alabama Time to bagit

be returned to alocation that recycles them (usually agrocerystore). Ourchildren’schildren will thank us forit! —Paul D.,via email Paul, this is agreat reminder.Recycling items such as grocery bags helps reducewaste and keeps it out of our oceans, rivers and landﬁlls. —Heloise Rub-a-dub-dub

Dear Heloise: Imake alot of my own spice rubs —arib rub, brisketrub, rotisserie chicken rub, and others. Isave old spice jars and label them with the speciﬁc rub, as well as the ingredients with measurements on the front! When Irun out, therecipe’sat my ﬁngertips! —Tammy B.,inHamilton,Illinois Grammar soundoff

subjectsand try it again. “My wife’scar” and “my car,” so it’s“my wife’sand my car.” So simple.

I’ve heard people say, “But this sounds wrong.” Does “I’s” sounds right? This is one of these language errors that even if it was used amillion times, it would never evolve into an accepted replacement. Thanks for letting me sound off! —Larry C., via email Send ahinttoheloise@ heloise.com.

Todayinhistory: On June 13, 1971, The New York Times began publishing excerptsofthe Pentagon Papers, atop secret study of America’sinvolvement in Vietnam since 1945 thathad been leaked to the paper by military analystDaniel Ellsberg.

Also on this date: In 1966, theSupreme Court ruled in Miranda v. Arizona that criminal suspectshad to be informed of their constitutional rights to remain silent and toconsult an attorney In 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson nominated

Dear Heloise: Regarding the ideas for reusing grocery bags that end up in alandﬁll, please don’tdoany of these. I’d line small waste cans with them, dump out the trash, and keep the bag in the can for repeated use. Don’tuse plastic bags to discard garbage.All grocery bags should ultimately

Dear Heloise: The letter from Mel aboutgrammar struck achord. Oneofmy petpeeves iswhen people say things like “my wife and I’scar.” There’sno such word in the English language as “I’s.” Theﬁrst person singular possessive is “my” every time. Would you say“I’scar”? When in doubt,just separate the two

In 2013, the White House said it had conclusive evidence that Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government had used chemical weapons against opposition forces seeking to overthrow him

In 2017, Otto Warmbier,a 22-year-old American college student, was released by North Korea in acoma and medically evacuated to the U.S. after 17 months in captivity,dying days later on June 19. The University

of Virginia student had been accused of trying to steal apropaganda banner while visiting North Korea with atour group and was convicted of subversion. Today’sbirthdays: Actor Malcolm McDowell is 83. Actor Stellan Skarsgård is 75. Actor Richard Thomas is 75. Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Weaver is 75. Actor-comedian TimAllen is 72. Actor Ally Sheedy is 64. Musician Rivers Cuomo(Weezer) is 56. Actor-comedian SteveOis52. Actor Ethan Embry is 48. Actor Chris Evans is 45. Actor KatDennings

Hints from Heloise

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Your surroundings will have an impact on who you encounter and how youreact to new possibilities. Observation will helpyou decide how to handle others.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Youmay want matters to moveswiftly, but time is on your side,and theunexpected is likely to arise,changing your perspective and the decision youmake. Money and emotions can lead to overspending.

LEO(July 23-Aug. 22) Let your creative ideas blossom. An opportunity to share your thoughts with someone who sparks your imagination will pushyou to pursue whatexcitesyoumost.Partnershipslook promising.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Allot more time andeffort forsolitarypursuits that encourage personal growth through meditation,healthyeatinghabitsorexercisesthat are sure to enhance fitness and help you look your best LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) An inquisitiveattitude will attract interest.Bedeliberate, boldandflirtatious,andthefeedbackwill exceed your expectations. Be sincere, and offer what's fairand doable.

SCORPIO(Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Size up situationsand what's expected of you to avoid makingamistake.Shareonlywhat'snecessary, and keep your personal information to yourself. Asuggestion someone makes may sound inviting.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Theuniverse hearsyoucalling.Takethesignalsyou're receivingand follow through with your plans. Home, relationships andbudget-

ingfor somethingyou want to pursue will help you achieve your personal and financial goals.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Take the time to ponder over whatyou want to do. The feedback youreceivewill be misleading. Be resourceful. Verify information beforepassing it along or agreeing to something that lacks validity.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Make home improvements, hostanevent or socialize. Achange of heart will put greater emphasis on life, love anddoingwhat makesyou feel aliveand ready forsomething new and exciting.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Don't change a thing until you've taken asecond look at your options. Youaren't likely to have allthe information you require to make asound decision. Put more thought into howyou want to present andmarket your skills.

ARIES (March 21-April19) Put more effort into bringing aboutchange,especially where work, helping othersand your earning potential comeintoplay.Sending outyourresume or answering ads will offer insight intowhat's possible.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Payattention to how you look and feel. Make your surroundings more inviting or convenient The more time you spend at home, the less money you'll spend. Keep moving.

By Andrews McMeel Syndication

Celebrity Ciphercryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, past and present.Eachletter in thecipher stands for another.

CEQUALS S

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1to9inthe empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty levelofthe Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

BY PHILLIP ALDER Bridge

Ellen Key,aSwedish author whodied in 1926, said,“The educator must above all understand howtowait; to reckon all effects in the light of thefuture, not of thepresent.” Iteach alot of classes, especially during the early partofthe year. Isee some mistakes made time and time again. This deal highlights oneofthe mostcommon. After Eastopens one heart as dealer, South makes atakeout double,and West passes, what shouldNorth do?

Assuming the advancer (the doubler’s partner)does not have ahand suitable forno-trump, an inexperienced player answers atakeout double by bidding the suitthat he prefers at aminimum level regardlessofhigh-card count. He expectspartner to be psychic in divining how many points he holds. By an unpassedhand, anew suit shows about 0-8 points.Asingle jumpina suit promises 9-11 points. And withahand as strong as North’s,one should start with a cue-bid of the opener’s suit. This is artificial, just indicating 12 points or more. (A passed hand should lowerthose ranges by two points.)

Afterthiscue-bid,the hunt is on fora fit.Here, Southrebids two spades, North raises to threespades,and Southgoes on to four spades

Westleads the heart three. East takes twotricks with hisking and ace, then

wuzzles

shiftstothe clubjack. Howshould South play the trumps? There are only13high-card points missing. Ergo,Eastmusthavethe spade king. Declarer shouldplay aspade to dummy’s ace andcontinue with alow spade. Whenthe king luckily appears, the contract is home.

By Andrews McMeel Syndication

Each Wuzzleisaword riddle which creates adisguised word, phrase, name, place, saying, etc. For example: NOON GOOD =GOOD AFTERNOON

Previous answers:

word game

InsTRucTIons: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four lettersbythe addition of “s,”

ToDAY’s

Timelimit

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer today’s thought

loCKhorNs

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles

hidato

knowingthe whereabouts of CarolynR.Hendrick, MichaelJ Henrick, and/or Woodlawn DevelopmentIncorporated, please contactCreighton B. Abadie Attorney,at(225) 924-5150. 190836-June 13-15, 3t $109

ANYONE knowingthe whereabouts of DERK WYATT, originally from Cecelia,Louisiana andlastknown to reside in East BatonRouge Parish please contactAttorney Jennifer Mayberyat1055 Laurel Street BatonRouge,Louisiana 70802, (225)366-6565. 191006-6/13-14-15-3t $133.00

Anyone knowingthe whereabouts of Joseph DavidDay,pleasecontact CreightonB.Abadie, Attorney,at (225) 924-5150. 190833-6/13-14-15-3t $85.00

Anyone knowingthe whereabouts of TheUnopenedSuccession of and/or theheirs of FayH.Williams Carter akaFay H. Williams aka Carter F. Williams,pleasecontact CreightonB.Abadie, Attorney,at (225) 924-5150. 190834-June 13-15, 3t $121

Anyone knowingthe whereabouts of TheUnopenedSuccession of and/or theheirs of CharlesBell, please contactCreighton B. Abadie Attorney,at(225) 924-5150. 190835-6/13-14-15-3t $97.00

Please contactPortAllen City Hall HumanResources if youhaveany questions. TheCityofPortAllenisan EqualOpportunity Employer

calendar day period fallsona Satur‐day, Sunday,ora legal holiday, it shallbeunder‐stood that thelastday of said thirty (30) calendar dayperiodwillthenbe considered to be thefol‐lowing Monday or the dayfollowing thelegal holiday. Acopyofthisapplication is availablefor inspec‐tion in theDepartmentof Conservation andEnergy in BatonRouge and Lafayette Louisiana. Allparties having inter‐esttherein shalltakeno‐tice thereof. BY ORDEROF: DUSTINH.DAVIDSON, SECRETARY DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION PaperApplicant District ManagerWascomFile 190921June 13, 1t $61.92 p LouisianaRevised Statutes of 1950 and StatewideOrder No.29-L3, thefollowing notice is given: Please be advisedthat High BarOperating Com‐pany,LLC hasmadeap‐plicationtoterminate theunit(s) createdfor thePool knownas 9100’ Sand,Reservoir B, Sand Unit A by Ofﬁce of Per‐mittingand Compliance OrderNo. 481-H-1, effec‐tive April1,1981, East Cheniere Perdue Field, CameronParish, Louisiana. Theapplicant represents as true and correctthata period of oneyearand ninety days haselapsed without: (a)productionfromsaid pool;and (b)the existenceof a well proven

PROGRAM ReadingSummer

Summer Reading

Now through Saturday,August15 Main Library at Goodwood

Bring your curiosity and letyourimagination grow thissummer! Join the fun withEast Baton RougeParish Library’s 2026 Summer Reading Challenge,Plant aSeed,Read! Running throughSaturday,August 15,enjoy afull season of FREE programs, workshops, storytimes, concerts, and performancesfor all ages across the Librarysystem. Watchyour love of reading bloom and discover something newalongthe way! Learn moreabout our summer events at ebrpl.com/ summerreading

Track your reading and earn rewards! It’s easy! First, sign up at your local Library location or onlineat ebrpl.beanstack.org.Then, read booksand log them into your Beanstack account to earn virtual badges and completion rewards, as wellasentries for weekly prize drawings! Thereare readingchallenges andincentives for kids,teens,and even adults! We’ll see you at the Library this summer for exciting events and reading rewards!

TheLibrarywill once again host our popular Movies on the Plaza series this June at the Main Library at Goodwood. Families are invited to enjoy free outdoor movienights featuring family-friendlyﬁlms on the big screen in the plaza.

Guests areencouraged to bring blankets, lawn chairs, andsnacksfor acomfortable evening under the stars.Set-up and pre-movieactivities beginaround 5p.m., withmovies starting at 6:30 p.m. Popcorn and food trucksoften makeanappearance, andthe evening wraps up with our signatureafter-movie danceparty! Admission is free and open to the public.

GOAT Friday,June 12

Linder Challenge II: Linder 2041

Now through Saturday,August15

Main Library at Goodwood

TheSpongeBob Movie:Search for SquarePants Friday, June 26

TheLinder Challenge is back for Summer 2026—now reimagined as Linder ChallengeII: Linder 2041! Inspired by the Linder Family’s spontaneous 2024 journey to visit every library location in asingle day,this challenge invites participants to start at any branch and visit allothers either in one day or throughout the summer, from June 1through August 15. Pick up amap at your first stop,collectstamps at each location, and once your map is complete,present it at your finallibrarytoearnyour Certificate of Achievement and —new thisyear—your official Proof of Lindering (PoL)!

Learnmoreabout our summer events. Scan this QR Code:

Videogame Design –June 12

Petrochemical Operations –June 26

Roboticsand Drones –July 3

Teens andyoung adults areinvited to Cool Careers,a funand engaging series aboutvariousin-demand careers from experts in theirrespective ﬁelds, brought to you by EBRPL’s Career Center. Join us at 10 a.m. on severalFridays thisJuneand July at the Main Library at Goodwood to hearpresentersshare their knowledge and experiencesand give an overview of their career ﬁelds, followed by ahands-on activity

Formoreinformation,call 231-3733

Toregister,visit ebrpl.co/events

MeetChefCelesteGill

Discoveries Garden

Garden Discoveries

Saturday,June 13

Main Library at Goodwood

The Baton Rouge BotanicGardenFoundation will host a free Garden Discoveries program, Survival of the Peggy Martin Rose,onSaturday, June 13 at 10 a.m. at the Main Library at Goodwood. Peggy Martin will sharethe inspiring story behindthe now-famousPeggy Martin Rose, which became asymbol of resilience after surviving the devastation of HurricaneKatrina.Duringthe program, she will discuss her decades-longjourney to trace therose’s origins and her continued workcultivating heritage roses at her home in Ascension Parish.

Alongtime leader in organizationsincluding the HeritageRose Foundation and the American Rose Society,Ms. Martin is making aspecial appearance in Baton Rougetoshare her story and passionfor roses.

Weather permitting, the programwill conclude with aguided tourofthe Baton Rouge Botanic Gardens adjacent to the library,including the Rose Garden.Admission is free and open to the public.

East Baton Rouge Parish is excited to introduce

Readers Connect –the platform thatallows you to talk about any book, anytime, from anywhere. Readers Connect is avirtualcommunitydedicated to talking about all books. Think of it asanafter-hours extension of the library: aspace wheremembers can sharebook recommendations, chataboutupcoming library events and literary news, join live interactive author Q&A events, andconnect with fellow readers, evenafter the library doorsclose.

Whatever genreyou love, you’llconnect with other passionate readerswho want to discuss. This nopressure, no-commitmentvirtualcommunity offers awelcoming place to talk aboutbookswithout deadlines or meetings—just readers connecting with readers. Explorethe platform at pbc.guru/ebrpl to see whateveryoneistalking about,and for moreinformation,email programs@ebrpl.com or call 225-231-3702

AMERICA

MeetChef CelesteGill Wednesday,June 17 6p.m. MainLibrary at Goodwood

ADetroit native who has called Baton Rouge home for manyyears, Chef Celeste has built areputation for promoting farm-totablecookingand celebratingLouisiana’s rich culinary traditions. Her expertise and passion have earned her honors, including Chef of theYearfromthe American Culinary Federation. As part of the Special Collections LectureSeries, she will discuss her newly published book, Chef Celeste’sLouisiana Kitchen: Simplifying Cajun &Creole Cuisine,which offersmorethan recipes— it shares her personaljourney andculinary heritage. Join us foraninspiring evening of food, culture, andconversation as we celebratehistorythrough cuisine.

America 250 at

TheLibrary

Jointhe East Baton Rouge Parish Library this summer as we commemorateAmerica’s250th anniversary withspecial displays, hands on activities, andpatriotic crafts for all ages! Stop by any librarylocation to view displays featuring copies of theDeclaration of Independence andthe Louisiana Purchase.

AT THE LIBRARY

Independence Day Buttons

Get creative withapatriotic craftatthe FairwoodBranch on Saturday,June20at1p.m. Participants canmakecustom buttons —also called pins or badges—using the Library’s 3-inch button maker andchoose from 18 IndependenceDaythemed designs. No experience is necessary,and everyone will leave withwearable creations perfect for Fourth of July festivities or gifts for family and friends.

Red,White, and Watercolors

Create afestive keepsakeatthe South Branch on Tuesday, June 30 at 4p.m. Patrons areinvited to paint patriotic bookmarks using watercolors andtakehome their unique creations

PatrioticWreath

Makeyour ownpatriotic wreath at the CentralBranchonWednesday, June 24 at 3 p.m. Participantswillcreateafestive wreath to takehome andenjoy.Registration is required.Visit ebrpl.co/ 250wreath to register

Writingthe NextChapter:

What

TheLibrary’s newmillage proposition is on the June 27,2026ballot as astandalone, 10-year, dedicated tax thatis 14.4%LOWER than the previous thirty years.

TheEast BatonRouge Parish Libraryhas prepared anew,stand-alone,dedicated 10-year millage continuationproposal designed to securestable funding for operations,programs,technology,and restorethe Pay-As-You-Go Capital Improvements Plan.This plan responds directly to communityfeedback and helps ensurethe Librarycan continue to serve residents withexcellencefor years to come

•LOWERTaxRateof9.5 mills is proposed, including allowing fortwo rollbacksover10 years

•CONTINUATION of the previous Millage thatexpired in 2025 •DEDICATED Tax with ALL funds remaining with the Library

•10-YEARTax secures stable funding to operateand planfor the future, including the full implementation of the2025 updatedPay-As-You-Go Capital Improvements Plan

•Proposed millage rate is lower because of fresh data and supportedbyfacts

What happens if it fails?

TheLibrary’sentirefunding comes from this millage.

TheLibrary’sfunding comesalmost entirely from this taxmillage.Ifthe taxfailsonJune27, theLibrarywill receiveZERO newrevenues from the 2026 tax year and willbegin to operate off of savings.The Librarycould attempta new tax in 2027, butany newfunding wouldnot be received until2028. Until new funding is secured, theLibrarywould havetomakeseriouscuts to:

• Libbye-Book and database budgets

•Book and AV budgets

•Services andpublicprograms

•Hoursofoperation

•Maintenanceand facilities updates would be delayedordeferred

ThePay-As-You-Go Capital Improvements Planwould be decimated.

This would include canceling theplanned renovationstothe Zachary, Central, Delmont Gardens,Bluebonnet,and Carver branches