The Advocate 06-23-2026 by The Advocate

Audit: Regulator benefited off state contracts

Ex-official accused of helping associates secure deals to manage orphan wells

BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER Staff writer

A former state regulator helped longtime associates obtain a lucrative state orphan well contract through a series of “shell” corporations that allowed them to “run it how we see ﬁt, no questions asked”

and avoid scrutiny if the “Commissioner or anyone goes looking,” according to emails obtained in an investigative audit.

Johnny Adams, the former assistant commissioner in the Ofﬁce of Conservation, later received a $780,000, below-market loan from those corporations to buy a Baton

Rouge home, auditors said. And two of his children got jobs from the associates in a possible violation of state law, according to the report.

The Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s Office has been investigating the Louisiana Oilﬁeld Restoration Association and its associated companies since at least October 2024. The contract was part

of the state’s effort to address “orphan wells,” which are abandoned oil wells that are potentially dangerous without costly procedures to cap them.

The company shut down last year amid scrutiny over alleged “selfdealing” and excessive management fees.

On Monday the auditor released a 72-page report that includes emails between Adams and four people involved with LORA.

Reached Monday afternoon, At-

Teachers union opposes Landry cuts for stipends

Kindergarteners watch the teacher write on a video board during a grammar lesson. Nearly two-thirds of

who responded to a survey by the Louisiana Federation of Teachers oppose an executive order by Gov. Jeff Landry

pay for $2,000 stipends for teachers and $1,000 for eligible support staff by cutting state education funding by $168 million.

Districts warn that reduced budget would force elimination of programs, staff

BY PATRICK WALL Staff writer

Louisiana educators overwhelmingly want to receive pay stipends, but they oppose Gov Jeff Landry’s plan to bankroll the pay boost by cutting public school funding according to the results of a statewide teachers union survey released Monday

torney General Liz Murrill — whose ofﬁce previously opened a civil case against LORA — said in a statement that “we will be further reviewing the case for criminal charges that may be appropriate as well.” In response to the auditor’s ﬁndings, Adams’ attorney, Steve Moore, said the report contained “misstated facts” that he believes are “unfounded, misleading or completely inaccurate conclusions.”

See AUDIT, page 5A

Congress charges to stabilize Social Security

Johnson, Cassidy leading efforts amid looming shortfall

BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer

WASHINGTON Nearly 1 million Louisiana seniors — about 17.4% of the state’s population — will see their monthly Social Security check drop signiﬁcantly unless Congress can make changes enough to keep the trust fund from going insolvent in six years.

That doesn’t mean an end to Social Security, as many have fretted. But it does mean a steep decrease in beneﬁts.

Nearly 70% of survey respondents said they support giving teachers and certain school support staff one-time stipends again this year, acco rd in g to the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, the state’s largest teachers union. If the state fails to fund the stipends, educators who have received the bonuses the past three years instead of raises could potentially face a pay cut.

But nearly two-thirds of respondents also oppose an executive order by Landry that seeks to pay for the $2,000 stipends for teachers and $1,000 for eligible support staff by cutting state education funding by $168 million. School system leaders have warned that the cut could force schools to eliminate some programs or staff positions, though Landry has argued that school systems have enough extra money to weather the reduction.

“This is not a simple yes or no from educators,” union President Larry Carter Jr said in a statement. “They are saying: Protect our pay, but do not cut school funding to do it.”

On Friday, a Baton Rouge judge temporarily blocked Landry’s order after several

education advocates sued, arguing that the governor exceeded his legal authority by effectively reallocating education funding, which is controlled by the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Legislature. Lawmakers have until Tuesday to vote remotely on the funding cut, which needs the approval of two-thirds of the Legislature to take effect. However, the judge’s temporary restraining order has put the voting process in limbo. The survey results come after statewide associations representing superintendents, school boards and principals have all come out against Landry’s June 2 executive

ä See STIPENDS, page 7A

Economist, former Federal Reserve chair dies at 100

BY PAUL WISEMAN and CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP economics writers

WASHINGTON Alan Greenspan, the jazz-playing U.S. Federal Reserve chair who was celebrated for engineering a decade of prosperity but later shared the blame for a devastating ﬁnancial crisis, died Monday He was 100. Greenspan died from complications of Parkinson’s disease, said his wife of 29 years, NBC News correspondent Andrea Mitchell.

“To me he was my husband, who shaped my life from our very ﬁrst date in 1984,” Mitchell wrote. “He had ‘irrational exuberance’ for baseball, the Washington Commanders, tennis, golf, and music, especially jazz. He will be remembered for his brilliance and his kindness. Being his life partner was the joy of my life.” The Fed said Greenspan helped to cement trust in the Fed during a time of economic uncertainty

“Under his leadership, the Federal Reserve achieved a sustained era of price stability that supported economic growth and helped anchor the public’s confidence in the institution,” the central bank said in a statement Monday

ä See GREENSPAN, page 7A

A typical Louisiana beneficiary would lose $460 from their $1,726 monthly Social Security check, according to a Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget analysis of the dreary ﬁnancial forecast released last week by the Social Security Trustees for the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance trust.

The trustees’ report appears to have energized a Congress that has been dragging its feet for years since this problem ﬁrst emerged. While a number of senators and representatives from both parties have been writing letters demanding action, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, and Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, are at the tip of the spear in trying to find ways to address the trust fund’s shortfall.

ä See SHORTFALL, page 5A

ASSOCIATED

Former Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan testifies April 7, 2010, on Capitol Hill in Washington before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission hearing examining the causes of the collapse of major financial institutions caused by subprime lending

STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

Adams

Landry

Federal judge blocks effort to subpoena Walz

A federal judge has blocked an attempt by the Trump administration to subpoena Minnesota Gov Tim Walz and other state ofﬁcials, accusing the Justice Department of using its investigatory powers to retaliate against state ofﬁcials for not cooperating with federal efforts to crack down on illegal immigration.

In a ruling unsealed Monday, U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz found the “dominant purpose” of the subpoenas was to “coerce Minnesota officials into assisting the federal government with enforcing civil immigration law and to harass and retaliate against them for failing to do so.”

Tensions between the Trump administration and Minnesota’s Democratic leaders escalated in January as federal immigration ofﬁcers clashed with protesters in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, especially after officers’ fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

President Donald Trump even threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act to quell protests and accused Walz, who was Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ running mate in 2024, and others of encouraging protesters to disrupt Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity

The subpoenas seeking records were served in January as part of an investigation into whether Walz and other officials obstructed or impeded law enforcement actions. They were sent to the ofﬁces of Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her and ofﬁcials in Ramsey and Hennepin counties.

Senate passes bipartisan housing bill

WASHINGTON The Senate passed a bipartisan housing bill on Monday that aims to reduce federal regulations and expand local control, one of the most sweeping efforts in recent decades to increase supply and bring down prices

The bill, which passed 85-5 and now heads to the House, has been the focus of intense negotiations in recent weeks as lawmakers in both parties try to address housing costs in an election year The ﬁnal version of the legislation bans corporate investors from buying single-family homes but doesn’t include a Senate provision that would have required investors to sell newly constructed homes within seven years. The measure was the result of years of work to “lower costs, expand housing supply, cut red tape, protect taxpayers, and help more Americans achieve the dream of homeownership,” said Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott, R-S.C., who worked with Democrats to get the bill passed. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the banking panel, said it is the most signiﬁcant housing bill to pass Congress since 1990, when the average home in America was sold for $150,000 Now it costs more than $500,000, she said.

High court reinstates conviction in Patz case

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday reinstated a murder conviction in the 1979 disappearance of 6-year-old Etan Patz.

The justices, by a 6-3 vote granted an appeal from New York prosecutors who had urged them to undo a federal appeals court decision that overturned the verdict. The three liberal justices dissented. Prosecutors had been preparing to try the man, Pedro Hernandez, for a third time. His ﬁrst trial ended in a mistrial.

The unanimous panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed Hernandez’s murder and kidnapping conviction in the second trial because of how the judge had answered a question from jurors Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg had called the basis for overturning the conviction “a slender reed” that essentially ignored a ﬁve-month-long trial with 66 witnesses.

HOWARD

Vance: Iran talks set foundation for deal

VP, officials claim progress toward peace agreement

BY AAMER MADHANI, JAMEY KEATEN, SEUNG MIN KIM and JOSH BOAK Associated Press

OBBÜERGEN,Switzerland Vice President JD Vance on Monday said his lengthy talks with senior Iranian officials in Switzerland created a “good foundation for a successful final deal” as they seek a permanent end to the war that the U.S. and Israel began in late February Vance and U.S officials claimed progress on multiple fronts, including the establishment of “mechanisms” to ensure the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for global energy shipments, stays open and to address fighting between Israel and Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon, where a ceasefire appeared to be holding.

The interim deal to end the ﬁghting in Iran, signed last week by the leaders of the U.S. and Iran, sets a 60-day period for negotiations on key issues, including the future of Tehran’s nuclear program amid concerns that Iran wants to use it for military purposes, a claim the country denies.

The vice president departed Switzerland as technical teams were still negotiating, and U.S. President Donald Trump talked up the efforts to keep the strait open to create “an oil gusher” as he stressed that the key to resolving the war was “respect” from Iran.

“As long as they respect us, I don’t want to use the word fear because that’s an inappropriate word, but as long as they respect us, we’re not going to have any trouble,” Trump said from the Oval Ofﬁce.

Iran effectively closed the strait after the U.S. and Israel attacked on Feb. 28, causing fuel prices to skyrocket far beyond the region. The interim agreement to end the war was supposed to reopen the channel. Dozens of ships passed through it over the weekend, even though the main route is still mined and closed.

The lead negotiator of the Iranian delegation, Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, insisted on Monday that the Strait of Hormuz will be managed by Iran, but following international laws.

“Hopefully we can activate the strait

again, in terms of passage, and bring prosperity back to regional and global economy,” Qalibaf told Iranian state media on the plane on his way back from Switzerland.

Qalibaf and the Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, arrived on Monday night in Oman where they met with the country’s Foreign Minister Badr al Busaidi to discuss the peace efforts and ensure safe navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

The U.S. Treasury issued a 60-day license on Monday waiving sanctions on Iranian oil as part of the interim agreement. Notably the license allows Iranian oil to be imported into the U.S., which has not imported signiﬁcant amounts of Iranian oil since the 1990s.

Tanker traffic continued to pick up through the Strait of Hormuz. According to data and analytics ﬁrm Kpler, there were 71 conﬁrmed transits over the weekend, with a peak of 35 crossings on Saturday Before the war, 100 to 130 vessels passed through the strait each day

Ships have been avoiding the central route to steer clear of mines, choosing instead to use the smaller northern route, which goes through Iranian waters, and the southern route, which goes through Omani waters. In the markets, Brent crude oil fell 3.2% to $77.52 per barrel, closer to its roughly $70 price from before the war Benchmark U.S crude oil fell 2.6% to $73.86 per barrel.

Trump did not attend what was dubbed the “Lake Lucerne Summit,” but his presence certainly loomed large The talks were jolted by statements from Trump, who, from thousands of miles away, ﬁred off comments that offended the Iranians. But the mediation effort in Switzerland started Sunday and stretched into early Monday “We haven’t built the house, but we’ve laid a successful foundation to get to a good place for the American people,” Vance told reporters.

The vice president suggested that the U.S. could agree to unfreeze Iranian assets for purchases of U.S. soy, corn and wheat. He said Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and one of the lead U.S. negotiators, came up with the idea with ofﬁcials from Qatar Vance said Qatar would have approval over the process, and Iranian money that would be accessible as sanctions were lifted would buy American products “for the beneﬁt of the Iranian people.”

Judge blocks use of federal database to check citizenship

Court says use could wrongly purge voters

BY ALI SWENSON and FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press

WASHINGTON A federal judge on Monday ruled that a recently revamped version of a federal tool central to the Trump administration’s election integrity strategy is unlawful and can no longer be used.

U.S. District Court Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan sided with advocacy groups that argued the recent upgrades to the program, called Systematic Alien Veriﬁcation for Entitlements, or SAVE, aggregated Americans’ sensitive personal data in a way that could result in voters being wrongly purged from voter rolls.

“All in all, the federal government has knowingly trampled on the privacy rights of American citizens in a manner that threatens the sacred right to vote,” Sooknanan said in an order explaining the decision. “This Court cannot stand idly by while that happens.” She said Congress had expressly prohibited the government from centralizing Americans’ personal identifying information and that the federal agencies that created the SAVE program “knew that the database violates those statutory protections.”

The decision is a major legal setback for President Donald Trump in his efforts to use federal agencies to encourage a nationwide crackdown on noncitizens illegally on state voter rolls. The modified SAVE system, which critics had referred to as an unlawful centralized federal database of voter information, had been a key pillar of the second election executive order the Republican president signed earlier this year The ruling leaves its future uncertain.

“It’s amazing how hard the Left will ﬁght to stop us from solving problems they insist do not exist,” James Percival, general counsel at the Department of Homeland Security, said of the ruling in a social media post.

The department referred to his post as its comment on the ruling. The Department of Justice did not immediately return a request for comment.

The SAVE program was created under an immigration law mandating that DHS help federal, state and local agencies prevent government beneﬁts from going to noncitizens. At least 25 states used it to check their voter rolls since April 2025, after the Trump administration signiﬁcantly expanded its search abilities. Since then, at least 67 million registrations have been scanned through the program, but critics worry it could end up purging valid voters from the rolls

Starmer says he’ll resign as U.K. prime minister

BY JILL LAWLESS Associated Press

LONDON British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Monday he will resign, forced out by his own party after missteps and mistakes soured voters’ goodwill following a landslide election victory two years ago on a promise of steady leadership and economic growth.

Starmer says he will remain caretaker prime minister until his Labour Party chooses a new leader — with expectations growing that it will be former Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham.

Burnham confirmed on social media that “I will put myself forward as part of this process.” Former Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who was considered his main rival for the top job, said he will back Burnham. It was Burnham’s victory in a special parliamentary election last week that triggered Starmer’s decision to resign, as Labour lawmakers ﬂocked to the charismatic former mayor in the hope he can revive the party’s fortunes. After nearly a decade as mayor of the northwestern city, Burnham returned Monday to Parliament, where he took the oath of ofﬁce in the House of Commons. Only members of Parliament are eligible for the party leadership

Streeting’s statement makes it more likely that Burnham will be selected without a leadership contest.

Burnham was cheered loudly by lawmakers and heckled by one, who shouted “He’s not the Messiah!” as he was sworn in, before posing for selﬁes and a group photo with dozens of Labour MPs in another part of Parliament. Britain’s next election does not have to be held until 2029 Asked if he would call an early vote if he becomes prime minister Burnham said: “You’re jumping several hurdles ahead there.” Starmer is the sixth prime

minister in a decade to stand outside No. 10 Downing St., and announce a departure His statement came the day before Britain marks the 10th anniversary of its vote to leave the European Union, a decision that still roils the country’s economy and politics.

After weeks of insisting he would fight to keep his job, Starmer conceded to growing pressure to hand over to a new leader who can try and revive the government’s flagging fortunes. He led Labour to a landslide election victory in July 2024, but since then his popularity and that of the party have plummeted. Starmer made the announcement outside his official residence, where he delivered his first speech as prime minister two years ago. His voice choked with emotion near the end of the brief statement, which was watched by his staff, Cabinet ministers and scores of journalists.

“The question my party is asking now is whether I am best placed to lead us into the next general election,” Starmer said. “I have heard the answer of my parliamentary party to that question, and I accept that answer with good grace.” He said he spoke to King Charles III, Britain’s constitutional monarch, to inform him of the decision.

Starmer said nominations for a leadership contest will open July 9, and the new leader will be in place by the time Parliament returns from its summer break on Sept. 1.

REUTERS PHOTO By NATHAN

Vice President JD Vance speaks to members of the media Monday after the U.S and Iran held talks at the Bürgenstock Resort in Obbüergen, near Lucerne, Switzerland

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer announces his resignation to the media on Monday outside 10 Downing St. in London.

Clive Davis, music industry starmaker, dies at

BY NEKESA MUMBI MOODY and MARIA SHERMAN AP music writers

NEW YORK Clive Davis, a music industry mogul who launched or resurrected the careers of Janis Joplin, Whitney Houston, Carlos Santana and Alicia Keys, has died He was 94. Davis died in his Manhattan apartment, weeks after being hospitalized for an upper respiratory issue, his publicist Aliza Rabinoff said.

Many artists mourned his passing on Monday Carlos Santana called him “a visionary.” Patti Smith thanked him for a half-century of “love and support.” Davis’ family said in a statement that he “shaped the soundtrack of countless lives. He discovered, mentored, and championed the greatest artists in modern music history.”

Davis’ inﬂuence grew since the 1960s to span genres and labels as he directed the careers of everyone from Barry Manilow to “American Idol” winners Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson. His groundbreaking support for Black artists earned him the NAACP’s Vanguard Award.

ing achievement and a devastating tragedy Davis signed her to his Arista record label when she was just a teen and turned her into America’s reigning pop princess.

Houston racked up multiple No. 1 hits before drug abuse hobbled her career She died in a Beverly Hills hotel room in 2012, hours before Davis’ annual gala downstairs. He had been convinced she was turning her life around.

“Maybe I should have been more skeptical,” Davis wrote in his 2013 memoir, “The Soundtrack of My Life,” “but I’ve always been optimistic, and I felt hopeful. It felt like old times.”

dy” Combs, whose Bad Boy Records under Davis scored huge hits, most notably with Notorious B.I.G., long before Diddy landed in prison.

An exec who built careers

Davis also kept veterans relevant. Aretha Franklin ﬂourished in her later years at Arista as did Luther Vandross at another Davis label, J Records.

His exclusive pre-Grammys gala has been an institution since he ﬁrst threw the party in 1976

“Clive’s talent has always been seeing and hearing what other people don’t,” former President Barack Obama said in a video message played at this year’s gala.

A Brooklyn background

Clive Jay Davis was born on April 4, 1932 in Brooklyn, New York, the son of a traveling salesman, and attended

New York University and then Harvard Law School

He became an in-house lawyer at a time when Columbia Records was resisting rock ’n’ roll. Seven years later, he was company president and seeking to capitalize on the counterculture spirit he witnessed at the 1967 Monterey International Pop Festival. His success stories were a staggering who’s who of America’s most iconic and enduring musical acts with Houston both a crown-

Davis proudly noted the other talents he signed, including Joplin, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Diamond, Billy Joel, Blood Sweat & Tears and other “all-timers,” as he so often put it.

“I signed Patti Smith, the great Renaissance woman I signed Lou Reed I signed the Grateful Dead,” he proudly touted in an interview with The Associated Press in 1999.

He also signed the up-andcoming producer Sean “Did-

It was Davis who conceived of the 1999 album “Supernatural,” pairing guitar god Santana with some of the day’s hottest talents to win eight Grammys. And he persuaded middle-aged rocker Rod Stewart to try standards from “The Great American Songbook.” That album, released in 2003, sold millions and was so successful it spawned four titles in all.

His collaborators didn’t always agree — Davis won a bitter ﬁght with producer David Foster over Houston’s all-time hit, a cover of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” — and the song was published with its iconic a cappella intro.

And Manilow strongly objected to recording “I Write the Songs” — a song he didn’t

write but it too became a signature hit. “He’s just brilliant at picking ideas he thinks the public will connect,” raved Manilow But not an infallible figure Columbia fired Davis in 1973, accusing him of mismanaging funds. Davis pleaded guilty to tax evasion and had to pay a $10,000 ﬁne, but said Columbia funded Arista to resolve the dispute. That label became another huge success, with country superstars Brooks & Dunn, sassy R&B group TLC, Babyface, Houston, Franklin and others. Arista also signed Milli Vanilli, the male pop duo that was stripped of its best new artist Grammy after revealing they were lip-syncing their songs. In 1999, Arista’s parent company BMG Entertainment, a division of German media conglomerate Bertelsmann, wanted him to retire. He was ousted despite support from his superstar roster But BMG then helped Davis launch J Records. Davis later ran BMG’s U.S. division, guiding “American Idol” winners to platinum albums.

Australian woman charged with voter fraud tells her story

Longtime La. resident says she didn’t know she broke law

BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer

An Australian native and longtime Louisiana resident who was indicted in connection with noncitizen voting said she didn’t know she was breaking the law and thought state ofﬁcials would have stopped her if it was illegal. When Denise Migliore registered to vote online, she was asked whether she was a U.S. citizen, she said, and she clicked “yes.”

“I have been here almost three decades, I had a pending application for citizenship, and I just considered myself a citizen,” said Migliore, who lives in Franklinton. “I just didn’t realize that it was such a big deal.”

Now she faces felony charges of making false statements to register to vote and fraudulent voting in 2022 and 2024, according to an indictment filed this month in U.S. District Court in New Orleans. She could face up to ﬁve years in prison and a $250,000 ﬁne, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

President Donald Trump’s administration and Louisiana officials have ramped up efforts to catch noncitizen voting. They argue it undermines the democratic process. Migliore said she simply didn’t know the rules. She said she received solicitations from the state encouraging her to register and no-

body stopped her when she tried to sign up or when she cast her ballot.

“I feel like I’m being used as a guinea pig to show how flawed the electoral system is, and I’m being unfairly targeted,” she said Migliore’s is the first criminal prosecution resulting from a protocol Louisiana election officials began last year in which they check the citizenship status of all registered voters in the federal SAVE database administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security

“Using the data from SAVE, we identiﬁed 403 noncitizens registered to vote in Louisiana, with 83 of those individuals voting in at least one election,” Secretary of State’s Ofﬁce spokesperson Trey Williams said Williams declined to say if any other noncitizens are being investigated for fraudulent voting or have been referred for prosecution Louisiana has roughly 3 million registered voters. What happened?

Migliore said she thought legal permanent residents could vote, and she didn’t know it was illegal for noncitizens to vote.

She said she doesn’t remember voting in the 2022 election, but she does remember 2024 when she voted at the St. Tammany Parish government building on Koop Drive.

Elections workers “were very polite to me, very welcoming,” she said, and helped make sure she was able to cast a ballot. She said they scanned her ID card, but they didn’t ask her whether she was a citizen.

“Shouldn’t they have said to me, ‘Ms. Denise, you can’t

be here?’” she said.

St. Tammany Parish Registrar of Voters Dwayne Wall referred questions to the Secretary of State’s Ofﬁce.

The Secretary of State’s Office did not respond to questions about Migliore’s claims.

Migliore also said she has received multiple solicitations over the past decade about registering to vote and volunteering as a poll worker

She showed one example of a communication from the Louisiana Department of Health addressed to her in April 2025, when she updated her address for the Medicaid program, which is administered by the Health Department

“When you report a change of address, we must let you know about your right to apply to register to vote,” the letter states. “Please ﬁnd the enclosed voter registration forms. If you want to apply to register to vote, complete the Voter Registration Application and mail the original form to the Registrar of Voters in your parish.”

The letter asks the recipient to check a box indicating either “I want to register to vote,” or “I do not want to register to vote,” and it has a Louisiana voter registration application.

Under the National Voter Registration Act, a federal law that passed in the 1990s, state agencies that provide individuals with public assistance like Medicaid, SNAP or vehicle registration services, have to offer voter registration applications.

Gov Jeff Landry in 2024 signed an executive order requiring these agencies to notify potential registrants

that it is illegal for noncitizens to vote. Migliore said the April letter she received did not include any kind of notice to that effect.

Migliore said Louisiana should stop sending letters about voter registration and volunteering for elections to people who can’t vote, and polling places should have better citizenship checks when people go to cast a ballot.

In response to questions about the notices Migliore said she received, Williams said the Secretary of State’s Office does not send communications to voters on an individual basis.

“We are unable to address generalized claims or allegations without speciﬁc details,” he said.

The case

In August, Migliore received a letter from the Washington Parish Registrar of Voters in Franklinton notifying her that she was no longer qualiﬁed to vote due to not being a U.S. citizen. She said the FBI called her, and then two FBI agents visited her home around April to interview her for an investigation into the alleged fraudulent voter registration, and then they called her on the phone again in

May to ask more questions. She learned about the federal criminal charges from news reports, she said. A July 1 arraignment is scheduled at the federal courthouse in New Orleans, and she said she learned about the hearing after speaking with someone at the Australian consulate. The Australian consulate did not respond to a request for comment.

Migliore said federal authorities called her Monday to ask about serving her with court documents, and she has not yet retained an attorney because of ﬁnancial constraints.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By JOHN SALANGSANG

Barry Manilow, from left, Carly Simon and Clive Davis arrive on Feb 14, 2016, at the Clive Davis Pre-Grammy Gala in Beverly Hills, Calif. Davis, a music industry mogul, has died at age 94.

Trump-endorsed populist is poised to become Colombia’s

BY REGINA GARCIA CANO and ASTRID SUÁREZ Associated Press

next president

BOGOTA, Colombia Eccentric, ostentatious and artistic, Abelardo de la Espriella is also a political neophyte who is poised to become Colombia’s next president after leaning into everything that makes him different from the conventional politician to win people’s support. The businessman and lawyer, whose ventures include a clothing line, wine and rum brands, and a restaurant, earned U.S. President Donald Trump’s endorsement despite never having run for ofﬁce and on Monday led the presidential runoff race by 1 percentage point, or nearly 251,000 votes, with all but a fraction of the votes counted. De la Espriella’s victory, which electoral authorities are expected to declare this week, will add Colombia to a growing list of countries that have turned to political outsiders in search for solutions to complex social, security and economic challenges.

The self-proclaimed representative of “the neverbefore-seen” promised voters fearful of renewed internal conﬂict to combat violent crime with an iron ﬁst, pledging a strategy that includes ending outgoing President Gustavo Petro’s attempts to establish dialogue with multiple armed groups — an effort that has largely failed and build-

SHORTFALL

Continued from page 1A

How it works Social Security became law in 1935 and created a system in which today’s retirees and disabled people receive benefits paid for with payroll taxes collected from today’s workers.

A trust fund was established in 1983 as a sort of rainy-day fund that put aside whatever money was left over after the month’s beneﬁts were paid for use in the future, should payroll tax revenues not be enough to cover the month’s beneﬁt payments.

Social Security administrators are forbidden by law from using general tax money to pay beneﬁts and thus must rely on the trust fund to cover expenses whenever the FICA payroll taxes aren’t enough to do so But, for the past 17 years, administrators have dipped into the trust fund almost every month. And the amount needed to cover the gap between monthly revenues and payments continues to go up.

Trustees estimated that, at the present rate, the trust fund will go broke in 2032, requiring administrators to lower monthly payments by 22%.

For Louisiana, the expected reduction of beneﬁts works out to a $4.2 billion loss to the state’s economy according to calculations by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget in its analysis released June 4. And that’s just Louisiana.

Nearly 70 million American retirees and disabled people face similar decreases in beneﬁts, which should also worry local retailers and service providers when the Social Security beneﬁciaries cut back their consumer spending.

‘Waste, fraud and abuse

Several different ideas are on the table and that could become problematic in a divided Congress that rarely agrees on anything.

Johnson painted Social Security as one of the “entitlement programs,” like Medicare and Medicaid, that mandates spending and accounts for about 74% of the federal government’s spending.

“They have to be adjusted and fixed,” Johnson said June 8 on Moon Griffon’s

AUDIT

ing mega-prisons, emulating those of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele Progressive candidate Iván Cepeda, Petro’s protégé, is challenging the results.

“I don’t like either of them, but I’m terrified of continuity,” retiree María del Rosario Villaveces, 66, said after voting Sunday in the capital, Bogota Villaveces, 66, added she is concerned that de la Espriella “has no idea about politics,” but she said that his running mate, former ﬁnance minister José Manuel Restrepo, gives her “a little peace of mind” because “he does know (politics) and is well organized.”

More than 26 million people voted in the runoff Of those, over 426,000 people chose a third, no-name option on the ballot that allows voters to express dislike of both candidates. About 29,000 people cast blank ballots.

Will Freeman, a fellow for Latin American Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, said most voters do not perceive lack of political experience as a risk even though plenty of outsiders have failed to get much done

“They wanted a candidate who would decisively break with Petro and the left,” he said. “Part of the country was voting as much against Petro and the left as for de la Espriella, associating the left with erosion of security, economic stagnation, etc., whether or not that’s fair.”

syndicated radio program.

He later wrote on social media — after being pilloried by Democrats — “We have a plan to do that next year, and it’s critical, because we’re at $40 trillion plus in debt. At some point you get into a hole so deep you can’t climb out of it, so desperate times call for desperate measures.”

Johnson hasn’t released any details, leaving Democrats to assert that Republicans want to raise the retirement age and establish a “means test” that would make Social Security accessible to fewer people.

Democrats point to Project 2025, the blueprint organized by the conservative Heritage Foundation, that repeated those ideas Republicans have rallied behind in the past.

Johnson responded that he wasn’t talking about cutting benefits for retirees and accused Democrats and the media of “fearmongering.” He said his focus was going after waste, fraud and abuse.

Some Republicans praised Johnson, but others advised caution. Perhaps they recalled the electoral clobbering the GOP received in 2004 when President George W. Bush attempted sweeping changes to the popular program without securing Democratic buyin.

401(k)-like model

For the past eight years, Cassidy has been selling his solution at trade association conferences and in opeds printed for newspapers around the country

His proposal, like others being forwarded, is complex with multiple facets.

The crux of Cassidy’s idea, which has the support of some Democrats, would change the trust fund into something like a 401(k) retirement account. Money would be invested, rather than just banked, in the stock and bond markets, with the proceeds shoring Social Security’s ﬁnances.

“My plan is ready to go,” Cassidy said last week. “By the way, my plan does not cut beneﬁts or raise taxes on the senior citizen. And importantly, my plan can pass Congress.”

Cassidy, who lost reelection in May, hopes to get something done before the end of the year when he steps down. All the various legislative efforts must be-

may have violated state law,” investigators said.

LORA’s attorney, J. Eric Lockridge, said Monday that the report lacks important context, including that the company has complied with repayment since the state terminated the program

In a statement Monday, the Department of Conservation and Energy formerly the Department of Energy and Natural Resources — said it has already taken steps to reorganize under new leadership to prevent problematic third-party contracts like the one with LORA.

The auditor “has been working for more than two years to fully understand what went wrong within LORA and what went wrong within the agency prior to this administration,” said Dustin Davidson, the department secretary “The lack of accountability and oversight that the LLA reported was frankly shocking.”

‘Probably best kept private’

In 2019, while Adams was an attorney supervisor for the Office of Conservation, the agency entered into an agreement with LORA to provide ﬁnancial security to oil well operators. The companies would give LORA money, and LORA would take responsibility for “plugging” wells that were orphaned.

Between 2021 and 2023, after LORA had began to receive money for the program, it loaned nearly $2.4 million to two afﬁliated companies that then loaned more than $1 million to Adams and two of his family members, ofﬁcials say

“Because Mr Adams and his daughter received a personal beneﬁt from the belowmarket-rate loans, Mr Adams

gin again when the newly elected Congress convenes in January

A Senate subcommittee on Social Security is scheduling a hearing this week to review potential solutions. The longer Congress waits to address the problem, he says, the more that ﬁx will cost.

“It’s only going to cost more and be more difﬁcult to solve the longer we wait,” he said.

The trustees estimated that the 12.4% payroll tax will climb to 16.65% if changes were made this year, but would climb to 17.3% if Congress waits until 2034.

Raising the tax cap

Cassidy’s Democratic counterpart is Rep. John Larson, a former Connecticut insurance broker who is pushing a different proposal, again with lots of moving parts and bipartisan support.

Larson basically would raise revenues by collecting payroll taxes from workers making more than $184,500 per year, the point at which administrators stop withdrawing FICA payroll taxes from an individual’s check.

Social Security was designed to pay retirees and disabled people a set amount each month, as opposed to returning what an individual put into the system over the years. Employers stop withdrawing Federal Insurance Contributions Act payroll taxes, called FICA, after an individual’s contributions reach a speciﬁed amount.

The cap now is set at $184,500 earnings annually, which the Census Bureau says accounts for about 22% of the nation’s households.

The Larson plan would get rid of the cap and require those higher-paid employees to continue paying FICA throughout the entire year

Another bill, also bipartisan, was ﬁled in the House last week that would create a 13-member committee to study alternatives and ﬁnd “common-sense solutions.”

Social Security administrators’ estimates in the past were thrown off by the slow recovery from the Great Recession nearly 20 years ago, which led employers to not increase their employees’ wages as fast as before and caused more people to retire earlier than had been the case.

The report says Adams — who is married to East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council member Laurie Adams — not only assisted LORA owners Van Mayhall III, Chad Lott and Jacob Dickinson in obtaining the state contract but also took part in structuring the company and its related entities.

Mayhall said in a statement Monday afternoon that LORA operated in “full compliance” with applicable laws and plugged more than 120 orphan wells for the state — all with private funds.

According to the report, during the selection period, Adams sent emails from his personal account to the trio with Ofﬁce of Conservation documents attached, telling his associates the materials “would probably be best kept private.” He also sent the trio questions in advance of their interviews for the project.

Investigators say Adams’ emails suggest he had a personal relationship with LORA’s owners since at least 2012.

Adams’ attorney said the report lacks evidence showing that there was any relationship, outside of a single email. Moore also said it was inaccurate for the auditor to imply that Adams inﬂuenced the selection of LORA to run the program.

Mayhall also said the report lacked key context, “including the contractual language that shows LORA acted at the request of the state.”

He added that the company has cooperated with the auditor’s investigation, even though it didn’t have to.

“LORA voluntarily cooperated with the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s investigation as a gesture of good faith and transparency even though, as

Added to those factors, the trustees also point to President Donald Trump’s economic policies as exacerbating to downward trend in the trust fund’s ﬁnances.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law on

a private company that never received or utilized any state or public funds, it was under no obligation to do so,” Mayhall said.

‘Might look suspicious’

In one email sent before LORA got the contract, Mayhall wrote that “Johnny (Adams) and I have changed the organization’s structure” to include three separate entities, according to the report. “It looks like this will be the best structure for tax purposes, liability reasons, etc.,” Mayhall wrote. “(LORA) will initially be owned by me, because I want that to be reﬂected in the Articles and Secretary of State if the Commissioner or anyone goes looking.”

That email lays out the relationship between LORA — which Mayhall said “will basically just be a shell with the reserves and the liability” — and a separate LLC and a nonprofit that later loaned Adams money to buy a house.

“One of the best parts of this arrangement, aside from isolating us from liability of (LORA), is that when the DNR wants to look at our books, we can show them the books of (LORA),” Mayhall wrote.

In an email sent a month later, Mayhall notes that he did not want to list others’ names on LORA’s website yet in order to avoid suspicion, as they were the three ﬁnalists to run the program at the time — though it appears the plan was for them to later run it together

“A little ways down the line, we can easily say that I reached out to Johnny (Adams) and asked for some names of people to help me, and he gave me y’all’s names,” Mayhall said. “But right away like this, it might look suspicious And that’s the

July 4 last year, lowered taxes for many workers and seniors, impacting the amounts collected for the trust fund.

In addition, immigrants — even those without proper documentation — contrib-

last thing we need right now.” In August last year, a few months after the state terminated its agreement with LORA, Murrill filed a civil suit against the company, accusing Adams, Mayhall and others of “self-dealing.”

That lawsuit is still ongoing. Moore says Adams paid back his loan from LORA-related entities in full. He said nothing improper occurred, noting that none of the funds discussed “ever contained a single penny” of taxpayer dollars.

“At no time has John Adams ever possessed or exercised any authority, supervision or control over any aspect of the LORA program,” Moore said. Excessive fees?

By creating separate shell companies, LORA’s owners were able to effectively pay themselves salaries and loan themselves money, investigators said.

For example, while LORA took in the money from companies and assumed the liability for the wells, it paid a company owned by the same people, Arkus Management Services, to actually operate the orphan well program. The amount of administrative fees Arkus charged LORA rose steeply during the course of the contract, auditors noted

As part of its initial agreement with the state, the association was allowed to use no more than 20% of what it collected on management fees. But, three years into the agreement, LORA increased those fees paid to Arkus to 36%, which investigators say resulted in a $1.85 million in salary paid to LORA/Arkus’ owners.

Email Patrick Sloan-Turner at patrick.sloan-turner@ theadvocate.com.

uted to the fund. Trump’s deportation efforts also are helping deplete the trust fund.

Email Mark Ballard at mballard@theadvocate. com.

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

Oil prices ease as Big Tech stocks fall

NEW YORK U.S. stocks drifted through amixed day of trading on Monday after oilprices eased and falling BigTech stocks weighed on Wall Street.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.4%, coming off its 11th winning week in the last 12, and pulled 1.8%below itsall-timehigh set early this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Averageadded 148points, or 0.3%, andthe Nasdaq composite slumped 1.3%.

In the oil market, pricesfell following talks over the weekend betweenthe United States and Iranontheir war.U.S. Vice President JD Vance said they created a“good foundation for asuccessful ﬁnal deal.”

An end to the war couldclear the Strait of Hormuz foroil tankers andallow for the undisputedresumption of deliveries from the Persian Gulf. Iran’s military hadsaid Saturday that it closed the Strait of Hormuz again, though U.S. Central Command has disputed that.

The price for abarrel of Brent crude oil fell 3.2% to $77.52, closer to its roughly $70price from before the war.Benchmark U.S. crude oil fell 2.6% to $73.86 perbarrel.

The lower oil prices, though, did not pull down Treasury yields in the bond market. Yields have been climbing because of speculation the Federal Reserve mayhike interest rates this year to keep alid on inflation,which has been accelerating because of expensive oil caused by the Iran war.Economists expect areport on Thursday to show ameasure of inflation forU.S. consumers sped up to 4.1% in May from 3.8% in April. High yields in bond markets worldwide caused by worries about inflation are threatening to slow economies, and they have alreadysentrates higher for mortgagesand other kinds of loans.

Mexico seeks to restart oil shipments to Cuba

MEXICO CITY Mexican PresidentClaudia Sheinbaum said Monday that her country seeks to restart oil shipments to Cuba soon, amove that couldprovidemuch-needed relief as the island’scrises deepen given a lack of petroleum.

Sheinbaum said her administration would seek to send the oil viacommercialand privately owned ﬁrms instead of stateowned companies as it has done in the past.

Mexicobecame akey fuel supplier to Cuba afterthe U.S. attacked Venezuela in early January and halted critical oil shipments. Butthose shipments, which had already been reduced, werecompletely suspended after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on any countrythat provides or sells oil to the island Google invests $75M in A24 movie studio Google on Monday announced it hasinvestedinmovie studio A24,asthe two companies collaborate on newtools for artists that useartiﬁcial intelligence technology

The Mountain View-based techgiantinvestedaround $75 million into A24, the studio behind popular movies including horror ﬁlm “Backrooms” and drama “Everything EverywhereAll At Once,”according to aperson familiar with the partnership who declined tobe named. The collaborationis not adata training agreement, the source added.

The deal wasﬁrst reported by the Wall Street Journal

“By anchoring Google DeepMind’sinnovations directly within the creative process, A24 and its ﬁlmmakers canhelp shape new technology in serviceoftheir vision and expand their storytelling possibilities,” EliCollins, avicepresident of product withGoogle DeepMind, said in ablog post Monday

“This hands-on collaboration provides Google DeepMind with invaluable feedback and guidance from leading artists.”

ChinahitsbackatU.S.sanctions

By The Associated Press

BEIJING China on Mondayannouncedsanctions on 10 American military-related companiesinresponsetoarecent U.S.movethat bars some leading Chinesetech companies from defense contracts.

TheCommerce Ministry said that Chinese companies would be blockedfromexporting “dual-use” itemstothe 10 companies, which include military drone makersand some involved in rareearth mining. Dual userefers to goodsthat can havemilitaryaswell as non-

militaryapplications.

The ministry said the export ban was both to safeguard China’s national security and in response to what it called the U.S. government’s“wrongful expansion of its so-calledList of Chinese Military Companies.”

George Chen, partner for Greater China at the advisory ﬁrm The Asia Group,saidthe ban wasanunsurprising and proportionate response to the U.S. restrictions.

“Most of themare U.S. defense industry players or they have close connections withthe U.S. govern-

ment forcontracts andother reasons,” he said.“Those companies are not going to do business in China, so theimpact will be quite symbolic.”

Separately, the Finance Ministry said that government entities would be prohibited from buying products from 46 American companiesincluding multiple units of Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and GeneralDynamics.A briefstatement did not give any reason for the prohibition.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Defense Department added several

tech companiesincluding Alibaba andBaidu to its list of ﬁrms thatit says have links to the Chinese military.Baidu said the suggestion that it is amilitary company is “totally baseless.”

The designationprevents them from getting U.S. military contracts.

The Commerce Ministry said at the time that the American sanctions run countertothe consensus that Chinese leader Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump reached during Trump’svisit to China in May

High oilpricesdrive asurge in Chineseelectricvehicle sales

Butamountofcharging networks arelagging behind

BY CHAN HO-HIM, ALLANOLINGO and ANTON L. DELGADO Associated Press

HONG KONG

The war in Iran has helped reshape the global electric vehicle market, givingChinese automakers an opening across thedevelopingworldassoaring fuel prices push drivers towards electric vehicles, even as charging infrastructure lags behind a wave of imports.

The blockade of theStrait of Hormuzdisruptedshipping of about afifth of the world’s crude oiland liquifiednatural gas, first hitting Asia —the main destination for the fuels —followed by Africa.

Thisshock accelerateda trend that was already spreadingacross thedeveloping world. In April, global exports of Chinese EVs hit arecord $9.4 billion, according to an analysis bythink tank Ember of Chinese customs data. Shipments surgedtocountries such as Australia, Brazil and regions like Southeast Asia and East Africa.

China exported about 435,000 passenger EVs andplug-in hybrids in May,morethan doublefrom ayear earlier,according to the Chinese Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

As fuelcosts rise,moredriversare switching to EVs to save money,while governmentsfrom Laos to Ethiopia are embracing electriﬁcation to curb oilimports and reduce costs of fuel subsidies.

But faster EV adoption is outpacing the expansion of charging networks. Governments and state-owned utilities in Africa are taking aleadingrole in buildingthem— a modelanalysts saycould help otheremergingmarkets, likeAsia,speed theshift away from fossil fuels.

When anation lacks sufficient charging infrastructure and EV fleet size, it is a“classic chicken-and-egg problem” regardingwhat comes first, said Paul Gong, head of UBS bank’sChina automotiveindustry research.

“At that stage, government support for infrastructure couldhelp accelerate adoption,” hesaid Across the developing world, driversare looking beyond the gas pump.

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOByANTON L. DELGADO Adriver plugs in her Chinese-made MG electricvehicle to chargeataparking lot in Bangkok, Thailand.

In Southeast Asia, imports of Chinese EVs have surged in Thailand,Laosand thePhilippines. In May, Laos bannedthe importof fuel-powered vehicles for therest of 2026 to cutoil import costs andencourage the EV shift Africaimportedaround 44,000 Chinese EVs in 2025, a130% jump from the year before, according to ChineseCommerce Ministry data.

Across Asia and Africa, transport is one of thelargest household expenses.

Limited public transit, long commutes and areliance on private vehicles make families vulnerabletovolatilefuelprices. In South Africa,transportation accounts fornearly aﬁfth of household spending, according to a2024 study by Stellenbosch University in SouthAfrica’sWestern Cape province.

So,asfuelpricessurge,global interest in EVs has been growing, said Mark Wakeﬁeld, with the consultancy AlixPartners.

One in four new cars sold worldwide last year were electric, according to the International Energy Agency Global electriccar sales are expected to grow further in 2026 andreach 23 million,

making up nearly 30%ofall carssoldworldwide,according to the IEA’s latest EV outlook.

“In thenextﬁve years, we will accelerate (our)overseasexpansion,” said JerryGan, CEO of Geely Auto,one of China’s biggest automakers, at acompanyevent in March as the auto group makes inroad into regions like Southeast Asia including selling EVs. Chinese automakers supplied around 60% of electric carssold globally,the IEA said. Theyhavealso been targeting Europe, Africa and Latin America.

In Vietnam, automaker VinFastalsologged strongersales.DemandfromSoutheastAsia helped drive a42% year-on-year increase in thecompany’sJanuary-Marchquarterly revenue.

On most mornings, NguyenThien Bao threads his VinFast electric motorbike throughthe jammed trafficofVietnam’s capital Hanoi —ferrying passengers and deliveries.The EV bike hassharply cuthis expenses as fuel prices rise.

“Before,somuchofmyincome went into fuel,” he said. “Now,Ican actually save some money.”

Wine brands shakingthingsuptoattract youngerdrinkers

Companiestry tie-ins with popculture

BY J.M. HIRSCH Associated Press

BOSTON Which wine pairs well with Shark Week? Does apinot noir have enough acidityto cut throughthe grime of aTough Mudder race?

Is abig,brassy cabernet bold enough of aquaff for anight of naming dead rodentsafter an ex? And is awine named SEX too provocative or notprovocative enough?

Absurd as they may sound, theseare the questions haunting wine marketers grappling with slumping sales and increasingly elusive drinkers. How consumers— especially younger drinkers—answer themwill determine whether an industrylongdeﬁnedbyfuddyduddy pretense canﬁnd itsfooting in 2026 and beyond.

“That self-important way that wine can refer to itself —we’re really trying to tip thatonits head,” said Helen Kurtz, chief of marketing for TheWine Group, whichhopes that offerings suchasits easy-drinking CupcakeVineyards wines can attract ageneration that came of age on Frappuccinos and gas station BuzzBallz.

“It’sabout being less seriousabout ourselves, because that’swhat this consumer is demanding,” she said. By which shemeans partnering the company’sMD20/20 (yes, it’sa wine) with World WrestlingEntertainmentmatches (“Mad Dog Entersthe Ring”), and launching the aptly

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By J.M. HIRSCH Wine, from the labels to the languageused to describe it, historically has leaned priceyand pretentious.

named Fuel by Franzia line of boxed wine beverages for NASCAR (“Full Throttle Flavor”).

It’safresh lesson on theimportance of ﬁnding your customer rather than hoping they ﬁnd you. Because almost across the board, alcohol consumption is down, atrend that accelerated post-pandemic. Ahost of factors is at play including aging Boomersseeking healthier lifestyles,Gen Z’sgravitation to low- and noalcohol beverages, andwidening availabilityof alternatives such as marijuana. Each segment of the alcohol industry —valuedataround $560 billion in the U.S. —isre-

sponding differently.Hard liquor,for example, hasfound araregrowth categoryinready-todrink cannedcocktails. Butthe wine industry faces its ownconstellation of challenges, many of its own making.

For anyone new to wine —particularly muchcoveted 20-somethings —ﬁnding one’sway can be daunting, something of aChâteau du Stuffy effect.

“You’ve got abunch of things, what you might call friction points, with wine, that are particularly salient to younger consumers,” including costand drinkability,said Christian Miller, director of research forthe Wine Market Council.

Wine, from the labels to the language used to describe it, historically has leaned pricey and pretentious.

Wine trends also have favored boozy and bracing styles, ahard sell forfolks used to sipping hard seltzers at the club.

Fewerthan athird of Gen-Z households own a corkscrew,according to atrends report by the British household products company Lakeland. Acadre of wineries hasbegun pushing the bounds of wine culture by ditching thefussy façade in favorofasassy vibe and accessible language. Price matters, too (the sweet spot seemstobethe $8 to $20a bottle range),but not nearly so much as the message. It’sabout using contemporary communication to pitch “something that’sbeen made for centuries,”saidCharlesSmith, founderof House of Smith, the company behind younger, shopper-friendly brands such as Kung Fu Girl Riesling and SEX Rosé.

Continued from page 1A

order Now that the largest teachers union also is opposing the plan, that could put pressure on some lawmakers to abstain or vote against it.

“Legislators should listen carefully to what educators are saying,” Carter said. “They do not deserve a pay cut. But cutting school funding is not the answer.”

GREENSPAN

Continued from page 1A

‘Maestro’ — then crisis hit

In 181/2 years at the Fed, Greenspan presided over a breathtaking surge in stock prices and a 10-year economic boom that started in March 1991. He was celebrated as “Maestro” and “Oracle” — an economic virtuoso whose every utterance was dissected for clues on where interest rates and the economy were headed The intense scrutiny of Greenspan’s intentions gave birth to new Fed folklore: the “Briefcase Indicator.” A stuffed briefcase carried into Fed meetings implied changes might be afoot because Greenspan carried with him charts and research to make his point But his reputation began to suffer almost as soon as he left the Fed in 2006. American housing prices tumbled rapidly, causing huge losses for banks that had repackaged mortgage loans into a dizzying array of complex securities. The growing financial crisis pushed the U.S. economy into the Great Recession of 2007-2009 — the deepest downturn since the 1930s. Critics blamed the devastation on Greenspan’s easy money policies and his support for deregulated ﬁnancial markets. Greenspan himself later acknowledged “I made a mistake” in assuming that banks could essentially regulate themselves.

Authority on U.S. economy

For almost two decades, it seemed that Greenspan could do no wrong. Not only in the United States but across the world, he was regarded with a mixture of reverence and awe. Many openly dreaded the day when he would leave the Fed. Investors hung on his sometimes inscrutable observations. In the most well-known such remark, Greenspan sent financial markets reeling on Dec. 5, 1996, when he suggested with just two words — “irrational exuberance” that stock prices were too high Mindful of his power to move markets, Greenspan typically resorted to obfuscation. At times, he even joked about his habit of doing so. “I know you believe you understand what you think I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant,” Greenspan once told a befuddled congressional committee.

Greenspan was one of the few Fed chairs that Kevin Warsh, chosen by Trump to lead the Fed, praised at his swearing-in last month. Warsh has said one of his goals is to dial back the Fed’s communications, particularly the guidance it gives ﬁnancial markets, an approach closer to Greenspan’s than to Warsh’s immediate predecessors as chair Yet for all his circumspect comments, Greenspan did make the Fed more transparent. He was the first chair to issue a statement explaining the Fed’s interest-rate decisions. Before Greenspan, investors had to divine the Fed’s intentions from market changes. Greenspan also began to release minutes and even full transcripts of meetings, though those changes were in response to pressure from Congress.

A protégé is born Born in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, the young Greenspan was a math whiz who was trotted out by his mother to show off for visitors.

“I was a prop at parties,” he

‘Bottom of the list’

There is wide agreement that Louisiana’s public school teachers are underpaid The state ranks 49th for average teacher pay, which was $56,785 last school year, according to a recent analysis by the National Education Association, a national teachers union. Landry has sought to boost educators’ pay without raising taxes But state voters last month rejected the initial plan he championed, which called for liquidating three

education trust funds to finance permanent teacher raises. Landry responded by ordering a roughly 5% cut in state education funding to pay for another round of stipends. Jenny Guidry, a special-education teacher in Acadia Parish, said she and her colleagues desperately need a raise. She earned about $53,000 last school year — not much more than when she started teaching over 20 years ago, she said, and certainly not enough to keep up with the soaring cost of

living.

“I’m not sure how to make ends meet anymore,” she said. Yet as much as she cannot afford to see her paycheck shrink, she questioned why the state must slash school budgets to give teachers the modest stipends this year

“They can ﬁnd money for everything else without blinking,” she said. “But when it comes to teachers, we’re always at the bottom of the list.”

Rep. Charles Owen, R-Rosepine, said that after voters in May re-

jected the ballot measure to pay for permanent teacher raises, there wasn’t time to find money for the stipends in the state budget before the legislative session ended June 1.

While it was a “tough vote,” Owen said he cast his ballot in favor of Landry’s plan to pay for the stipends by reducing education funding.

“This is what we could do,” he said, adding that educators earned the extra pay “I voted with the teachers.”

said in a 2007 interview with PBS NewsHour A Julliard School dropout, he worked as a professional musician in his teens, playing clarinet and saxophone alongside the future jazz great Stan Getz. It was a humbling experience that persuaded the young Greenspan to seek another line of work He pursued undergraduate and graduate study in economics at New York University, eventually earning a doctorate there. For most of three decades, he ran an economic consulting firm.

During the 1950s, he became a disciple of the libertarian philosopher Ayn Rand, who stuck him with the nickname the “Undertaker” for his dark clothes and quiet bearing. When Greenspan was sworn in as President Gerald Ford’s chief economic adviser in 1974, Rand stood beside him.

An early trial

President Ronald Reagan tapped Greenspan to run the Fed in 1987. He was tested almost immediately On Oct. 19, 1987, which came to be known as “Black Monday,” the stock market suffered the worst one-day percentage loss in American history just two months into his term The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 22.6% for reasons that remain opaque to this day Greenspan was credited for helping restore stability He assured Wall Street that the Fed would supply as much money to the ﬁnancial system as was needed to restore calm. Stocks recovered, and the American economy emerged unscathed by the market crash.

During his tenure at the Fed Greenspan drew praise for presiding over what was at the time the longest economic expansion in American history (It was later surpassed by a 128-month expansion that ran from June 2009 through February 2020.) During Greenspan’s tenure at the Fed, the nation’s unemployment rate briefly dropped below 4% for the ﬁrst time since 1970. And inflation, which had bedeviled the United States and much of the global economy during the 1970s, was remarkably dormant during Greenspan’s chairmanship, something many economists thought impossible for so long a period

During the long boom, Greenspan argued that improvements in technology had made the economy so efficient that it could run faster and at lower rates of unemployment, without unleashing inﬂation As a consequence, the theory went, the Fed could keep interest rates low even when the

economy was roaring.

The economy soared in the late 1990s, expanding by 4% or more for four straight years, and Greenspan was credited with holding off on rate hikes and allowing the boom to run.

Warsh has said that AI could reproduce the 1990s experience of high growth with low inflation, though economists are skeptical it will play out the same way Passion for numbers, life

As Fed chair, Greenspan relished poring over obscure economic data, from monthly boxcar loadings to steel production, all in a bid to assess where the economy was going. He would often phone economists at other government agencies to discuss details. He would rise early each morning for a two-hour soak in his bathtub, time that he used to review statistics and Fed staff memos.

Improbably, Greenspan also made the gossip pages as an unlikely ladies’ man. He dated the television journalist Barbara Walters and later married Mitchell after a 12-year courtship. They had no children. Greenspan dated Walters while working as an adviser to President Gerald Ford. According to a biography of Greenspan, “The Man Who Knew” by Sebastian Mallaby, when Ford read a newspaper item about the pair, he cut it out and sent it to his chief of staff, Dick Cheney, with a note that said, “I don’t believe it.”

Faith is challenged

All along, Greenspan held fast to the belief that ﬁnancial markets could largely regulate themselves. With officials from President Bill Clinton’s White House, he helped block efforts by Brooksley Born, the nation’s top commodities regulator, to bring federal oversight in the late 1990s to the shadowy market in over-the-counter derivatives. The derivatives allowed speculators to make bets on everything from the price of oil to high-risk mortgages. Eventually, history would vindicate Born, not the Maestro.

The low interest rates Greenspan had engineered helped swell housing prices into a dangerous bubble. And the financial deregulation he supported allowed banks and other financial firms to pile up huge risks, often hidden from government supervision. Bad derivatives bets helped sink insurance giant American International Group, which required a $180 billion taxpayer bailout. Vaunted investment firms Bear Stearns

and Lehman Brothers failed and U.S. financial markets nearly collapsed.

The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, which was assigned to investigate the debacle by Congress, concluded:

“More than 30 years of deregulation and reliance on self-regulation by ﬁnancial institutions, championed by former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan and others had stripped away key safeguards, which

could have helped avoid catastrophe.”

Life after the Fed In the years after stepping down as Fed chairman in 2006 just shy of his 80th birthday Greenspan kept busy doing what he loved to do most — following the economic data. He ran his own consulting ﬁrm, Greenspan Associates, through which he dispensed advice to Wall Street clients and collected handsome speaking fees.

He kept up a busy schedule well into his 90s, writing his memoir and two other books on the economy, as well as opining on the latest economic developments on television news shows. He also signed onto opinion articles and statements defending the Federal Reserve’s political independence from President Donald Trump’s ongoing attacks. In January 2026 he signed a statement criticizing the Trump administration’s investigation of Fed Chair Jerome Powell. The statement, which was also signed by two other former Fed chairs and five former Treasury secretaries, called the investigation “an unprecedented attempt to use prosecutorial attacks to undermine” the Fed’s independence and warned it would have “highly negative consequences for inﬂation.”

In his 2013 book “The Map and the Territory,” Greenspan defended himself against critics who assigned him significant blame for the 2008 ﬁnancial meltdown He argued that traditional economic forecasting was no match for the irrational risk-taking that can feed catastrophic price bubbles.

“Bubbles go up very slowly as euphoria builds,” Greenspan said in a 2013 interview with The Associated Press. “Then fear hits, and it comes down very sharply When I started to look at that, I was sort of intellectually shocked.” AP economics writer Martin Crutsinger contributed to this report.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By BARRy THUMMA

President Ronald Reagan, right, congratulates Alan Greenspan after he was sworn in as chair of the Federal Reserve Board at the White House on Aug. 11, 1987.

Recovery begins

More than 100 Moreauville homes reported flooded after Avoyelles rainfall

BY JA’KORI MADISON Staff writer

At 91 years old, former Moreauville Fire Chief Robert Lemoine was one of dozens of volunteers ranging from children to adults at the Moreauville Volunteer Fire Department, distributing cleaning supplies and recovery kits to neighbors after Tropical Storm Arthur flooded areas of Avoyelles Parish.

Lemoine, who’s been involved with the department for 65 years, said the response reﬂected the close-knit nature of his small community that lies just south of La. 1 as residents are helping each other recover

After Tropical Storm Arthur moved through Louisiana, the National Weather Service reported major flooding across Avoyelles Parish, with more than 195 homes affected That number includes Moreauville, where more than 100 homes were reported ﬂooded Twenty to 30 inches of rain fell in Avoyelles last Thursday from about 4 a.m. to 4 p.m., mainly in the nearby town of Cottonport and the village of Plaucheville, both in the southern part

of the parish, according to Jonathan Brazzell with the National Weather Service in Lake Charles.

A rain gauge located between the two communities recorded 29.06 inches, he said.

In Moreauville, the ﬂooding was like nothing anyone had ever experienced.

Sandra Lemoine, an 18-year resident of the area, said the water arrived faster than she expected.

Although her home remained undamaged, she said she watched water rise and worried for her neighbor, an elderly woman living alone and has physical limitations and cannot clean out her ﬂooded home herself.

Lemoine said she delivered supplies to her and is now trying to connect her with volunteer groups to help her.

“It was not predicted to be that amount at all,” she said “It looks like the tropical storm hung up and just spun over Avoyelles Parish and dumped everything right here. It was scary because you’re watching it rise so quick.”

Jan Blankford, who has lived in the area for six years and lives not far from Lemoine, said a local church she attends in nearby Simmesport was destroyed.

“The whole church is going to have to come down,” Blankford said. “It’s a complete loss. It’s been there over 50 years.”

Blankford said the flooding overwhelmed drainage systems, creating what she described as a “soup bowl effect” in some low-lying areas, where

Merrill Lynch to move into Towne Center

Office will set up in the second half of 2027

BY IANNE SALVOSA

Staff writer

Merrill Lynch is moving into Towne Center Merrill Lynch, a Bank of America

Cadence Bank, Louisiana National Bank and Chase, and wealth management firms that include Raymond James, Wells Fargo and UBS Houma-based Synergy Bank recently announced plans to build a flagship Baton Rouge branch right by Towne Center, set to open at the end of 2027. Bank of America appointed a market president for New Orleans and Baton Rouge in 2023 with a goal of opening five banks in New Orleans and 10 in the region over time.

Search carries on for missing BR teen

Police believe boy, 15, killed in confrontation

BY AVERY WHITE and QUINN COFFMAN Staff writers

The search for the body of a missing Baton Rouge teen continues weeks after his disappearance, as volunteer groups scour thousands of acres for answers.

The United Cajun Navy, a volunteer search and rescue group, and a canine tracking outﬁt from Texas have searched roughly 3,000 acres over the past week, including more than 90 dumpsters and trash cans, in search of Ja’Derrius Minnieweather’s body

levees and elevated roads trapped rising water.

Despite the devastation, residents, government ofﬁcials and responders came together to help in the recovery

Gov Jeff Landry and his wife, Sharon, visited the ﬁre station Monday to help distribute cleaning supplies and announce temporary housing and debris removal plans for affected communities as part of the state’s recovery effort.

Landry said the state is focused on immediate recovery needs, including

ä See RECOVERY, page 2B

Sorrento’s Cara’s House closes temporarily

One

of shelter’s dogs may have been exposed to disease

BY ANNAKATE FREELAND Staff writer

Cara’s House Animal Shelter in Sorrento will be closed to the public for two weeks after a dog transferred to the facility may have been exposed to canine distemper The shelter announced Friday that it had retrieved one of its previously adopted dogs from another facility and learned the other facility had conﬁrmed cases of canine distemper among its dog population.

Canine distemper is an incurable and often fatal viral disease that affects dogs, primarily attacking the respiratory, gastrointestinal and nervous systems.

After consulting with veterinarians, the shelter decided to temporarily close because of potential exposure During the closure, the shelter’s gates will remain locked, and the facility will be open only to employees, with a tentative reopen date of July 6.

On Monday, the shelter shared an update on Facebook that it is monitoring its dog population and is in daily consultation with its veterinarians.

The shelter could not be reached for comment.

Cara’s House is a nonprofit shelter for Ascension Parish that opened in 2015.

The ongoing search began June 6, after police say 15-yearold Minnieweather was beaten to death by 51-year-old Maurice Parms outside a north Baton Rouge home. The volunteer groups have been searching Baton Rouge-area parks, landﬁlls and suspected dumpsites, originally under the assumption Minnieweather was alive. Now, they continue their search using human remains detection dogs as local police believe the teen is dead.

United Cajun Navy Incident Commander Jason Gill works with Team Texas K-9s, using ﬁve of their certiﬁed canines trained in scent tracking and detecting human remains to search on land and in water

“We’ve got five certified canines, overly qualiﬁed canines, probably some of the best in the country,” Gill said. “I mean, the dogs will do everything but ﬁght and sniff out drugs, so they’re anything to do with the person.”

The canines, when facing into the wind, can smell something up to 10 miles away While the team is searching much smaller areas on foot, the scent range makes for faster search times.

“As far as what the dogs do, and how they can smell everything,” handler Crystal Fields said. “When you’re making breakfast, you got sausage cooking, bacon cooking, your eggs. (The canine) smells the egg, she smells the bacon, she smells every ingredient in that sausage, the grease, anything, salt, pepper she smells all of it.”

When searches began two weeks ago, hundreds of community members joined group searches, canvassing several areas in search of Minnieweather Only Gill and Fields’ teams have continued looking along with local law enforcement.

“We’re more proﬁcient and efﬁcient; we can knock s*** out fast,” Gill said. “I’m always concerned with if (volunteers) do stumble upon him, that’s a life changer.”

The groups will continue their search until they have to move on to another search and rescue later in the week, but until then they will continue searching areas of interest given through tips by the community

Police said they believe Parms beat Minneweather to death following a dispute over how Parms was treating a 16-year-old girl. The girl was a longtime friend of Minneweather’s, whom police say Parms had recently begun grooming. Before his arrest on a

STAFF PHOTOS By LESLIE WESTBROOK

Relief workers unload supplies from National Guard trucks Monday at the fire station in Moreauville, which is a drop-off and pickup location for flood relief supplies.

Relief workers unload cleaning supplies.

Commercial and residential building permits issued by East Baton Rouge Parish government for the week of June 15-18.

BUSINESS

291 S. FLANNERY ROAD: occupancy to store catering items; applicant and owner, Jeremy Patt.

11315 FLORIDA BLVD.: turn an existing ready-to-operate business into clothes, shoes, beauty supply shop; applicant, Elvin Do; owner, Lorena Sander.

2020 HIGHLAND ROAD: motel; applicant, Kesi Basil.

1500 N. AIRWAY DRIVE: use for pre-K through eighth grade charter school; applicant, Mark Jacquez.

11924 COURSEY BLVD.: salon and barbershop; applicant, Jermaine Sterling. 3384 GOVERNMENT ST.: tenant ﬁll-out for a 1,845-squarefoot Wingstop restaurant, $350,000; applicant, Jeffrey DiLucca; contractor, Legacy Construction and Development.

1260 EDDIE ROBINSON SR. DRIVE: restoration of a 2,287-square-foot abandoned masonry structure for use as an ofﬁce/warehouse, $160,000; applicant, Samantha Montoya; contractor, Highland Construction Services

400 CONVENTION ST.: renovations to Phelps law ofﬁces on 11th and 12th ﬂoor totaling 5,910 square feet, $615,000;

EAST BATON ROUGE BUILDING

applicant, Andi Chatelain. 10781 COURSEY BLVD.: Southeast Engineers and Land Surveyors adding a 55,321-square-foot concrete parking lot addition and stormwater retention improvements, $970,000; applicant, John Watson; owner, Mimi Wilfong; contractor, Kendale Design/Build General Contractors.

7472 HIGHLAND ROAD: mental health counseling ofﬁce; applicant, Baton Rouge General Medical Center

7942 PICARDY AVE.: renting out suite for an ofﬁce space for managing hotels; applicant Ash Patel. 1718 BOULEVARD DE PROVINCE: apartment complex ofﬁce and security lights;

$10,000; applicant and owner, Anthony Neeson; contractor, Baltic Avenue Properties.

802 MAYFLOWER ST.: Harvest Commons School, a public charter elementary school; applicant, Sarah Schnauder. 3112 VALLEY CREEK DRIVE: remodel of 1,395-squarefoot administrative ofﬁces for Louisiana Association of the Deaf, $72,500; applicant, Jay Isch; contractor, Terraz Consultants.

7434 PERKINS ROAD: administrative hub for business and operations center for monitoring security operations; applicant, Seth Gauthier; owner, Charles Robinson.

3384 GOVERNMENT ST.: pylon sign, $26,561; applicant,

Amanda Kishbaugh, owner, Clark Heebee; contractor, Pro Signs & Graphics.

4639 TIGERLAND AVE.: apartment complex ofﬁce; applicant, Rachael Gordon.

864 FLONACHER ROAD, ZACHARY: commercial monument sign, $8,000; applicant, Steven Lumpkin.

10360 N. MALL DRIVE: wall sign, $12,700; applicant, DeeDee Ockman; owner, Gerald Morgan; contractor, TTA Services.

2652 N. 38TH ST.: existing laundromat used for selflaundry washing and drying; applicant and owner, Richard Davis.

5347 CHOCTAW DRIVE: remodel 1,925 square feet, $30,000; applicant, Ron-

nie Howard, owner, Shelia Brooks; contractor, Ronnie Howard Construction. NEW HOMES 18132 MARTHA DRIVE, ZACHARY: $189,000, 2,030 square feet; applicant, Sebastian Brazelton; contractor, Elbert & Brazelton Construction. 6134 D’UNE

Family ﬁlls farm field with sunflowers for St. Jude

BY JA’KORI MADISON Staff writer

The Romaine family has transformed their family farm ﬁeld in Kaplan into a seasonal destination where visitors can cut their own sunﬂowers while supporting a good cause.

What started with Catherine Romaine’s senior photos and her father’s passion for farming has grown into a beloved community tradition beneﬁting children and families at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Sunﬂowers for St. Jude, located in Kaplan and organized by the Romaine family invites visitors to cut their own sunflowers for a suggested donation of $1 per stem or more if they choose with 100% of donations going directly to St. Jude According to the family, donations help support the hospital’s mission of ensuring families never receive bills for treatment, travel, lodging or food while their child receives care.

“This is a way to provide help, even if people will never visit the hospital or meet a patient,” Catherine Romaine said. “Everyone still gets to make a difference and have something to show for it.”

Although the fundraiser has existed for nine years, it is currently in its fifth year operating under a pick-your-own model, allowing visitors to make donations directly to St. Jude while enjoying the ﬁeld.

“Prior to the handpicking, we took orders and cut them ourselves,” said Ashlyn Romaine, Catherine Romaine’s mother “We made Mason jar bouquets, delivered them and even sold them at farmers markets.”

The idea first took root in 2018 after Catherine Romaine wanted senior portraits taken in a sunflower field. At the time, Catherine Romaine had become a St. Jude Hero, a fundraising program that encourages participants to raise money for the hospital.

Rather than asking family and friends for donations, Catherine Romaine combined her passion for giving back with her father’s passion for farming and turned the idea into a fundraiser selling sunﬂowers grown on the family’s farm.

Over the years, the effort has grown well beyond what the family originally imagined

“We have raised over $50,000 over the last nine years,” Catherine Romaine

said. “It’s really cool to see how far the reach has grown.”

Some visitors now make annual trips to the field, turning the fundraiser into a summer tradition Families visit to take photos, relax at picnic areas, enjoy the swing, eat lunch or watch the sunset.

“We’ve had people get engaged, take birthday photos and create a lot of special moments,” Ashlyn Romaine said “Seeing those moments has really moved me.”

The sunflower fields remain on the same family property where the first crop was planted nine years ago Bloom times vary each year, with no set season, as planting and growing conditions depend largely on weather The Romaines say they hope to establish a second ﬁeld later this summer to create more opportunities for visitor’s next season.

The field is open daily and accessible 24 hours a day The sunﬂower ﬁeld is located on Romaine Road in Kaplan.

Visitors who wish to cut stems are encouraged to bring a bucket, clippers, water to keep blooms fresh for the trip home and bug spray.

Gov. Jeff Landry speaks to media, relief workers and members of the

pickup location for flood relief supplies, in Moreauville.

RECOVERY

Continued from page 1B

helping residents clean out ﬂood-damaged homes and document losses that could qualify the parish for federal assistance Residents should report any damage through the state’s assessment website, damage la.gov

“We don’t get the federal help until we know how many people are impacted,” Landry said. “But that’s not going to stop the state’s response.” The Moreauville fire station has been designated as a distribution hub for cleaning supplies, fans, dehumidifiers and ice, with additional support being sent to nearby hard-hit communities, in-

cluding Bordelonville and Plaucheville.

Landry also announced plans to deploy 50 trailers to the Paragon Casino campground in Marksville for those who may not be able to return home while the state continues working to secure hotel rooms.

Sandra Lemoine said neighbors have also stepped in to help one another by delivering supplies and checking on elderly residents living alone.

“We really came together again,” she said. “It’s awesome to see.”

Landry credited volunteer groups, faith-based organizations and first responders for helping stabilize recovery efforts, including the National Guard, wildlife and ﬁsher-

ies agents, Acadian Ambulance and volunteer ﬁre departments. He said no deaths or major injuries have been reported.

Landry said the next phase of the state’s re-

sponse will focus on transitional sheltering and debris removal as residents begin cleaning out their homes.

Staff writer Ellyn Couvillion contributed to this report.

SEARCH

Continued from page 1B

ﬁrst-degree murder count in Minneweather’s disappearance, Parms was arrested on counts of indecent behavior with a juvenile and computer-aided solicitation of a minor He was confronted by Baton Rouge police at his home Saturday morning.

Police say that, following the confrontation between the teenage boy and Parms, they believe Parms stashed Minnieweather’s body and threw away evidence. Police say he came back to retrieve the evidence and possibly the victim’s body and transported them elsewhere in his truck.

Minnieweather was last seen around 2 a.m. June 5 on Bradley Street in the Foster and Winbourne area, police said. In their investigation, detectives learned that Minnieweather went to see the 16-year-old longtime female friend on June 4, riding a small children’s bike to her residence on Bradley Street.

Police said Parms admitted he had been at the residence on Bradley Street on June 4. Parms told police he met Minnieweather only briefly and left soon after the encounter However, police said security footage contradicted Parms’ account and showed Parms riding from the scene on a bicycle that is similar to one used by Minnieweather

Video footage

Security footage obtained by police showed Parms left his residence early on the morning of June 5 in his white truck and returned within an hour, the arrest warrant states.

Detectives obtained a search warrant for Parms’ cellphone, which showed

the phone was left at his home during the time frame when he was on camera leaving in the truck. It also shows that Parms was at home when he is seen on foot and riding a small kid’s bike, the arrest warrant states.

Detectives obtained video of a tall Black man dragging a garbage can to a spot in the 3200 block of Conrad Street. They also found a video from a minute later of a man matching Parms’ body type riding a small kid’s bike away from Conrad toward Charles Street. A tall male was also seen getting off the bike and throwing it into some bushes. He is then seen taking off a black mask, gloves and a T-shirt, which he throws into several garbage cans. Additional video showed Parms in his truck as he returned to the garbage cans to retrieve the shirt, gloves and mask, police said. He then returns to his residence and is seen wiping down areas of his truck with a rag.

After witnesses described observing a tall man beating a smaller person while a kid’s bike was in the middle of the roadway, detectives were able to locate blood that had soaked into the ground. Detectives obtained a search warrant for Parms’ truck, which tested positive for the presence of blood, police said.

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

STAFF PHOTOS By LESLIE WESTBROOK

public Monday at the fire station, a drop-off and

Louisiana first lady Sharon Landry helps unload fans and other relief supplies from a National Guard truck.

PROVIDED PHOTO

Catherine Romaine, from left, Durel Romaine and Ashlyn Romaine transformed their family farm field in Kaplan into a seasonal destination where visitors can cut their own sunflowers while supporting St. Jude.

Verna

FirstBaptist Church of Gonzales at 11am Sanford, Dora

Batson Jr., Emmett 'Ed'

Emmett "Ed" Batson, Jr 66, died unexpectedly at home on June 19, 2026. He was born on Christmas Day, 1959, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Amember of the Catholic High School class of 1977, Ed will be remembered by all for his sweet nature, generous spirit, and steadfast friendship.

He was preceded in death by his father, Emmett Batson, Sr., and his stepfather, Robert "Bob" McIlhenny

He is survived by his mother, Anne Batson McIlhenny; his brother, Andy Batson; his sister, LeaAnne Batson; his half-sister, Terry Buch; nieces, Hannah Hyman, Emily Hyman, Kristen Buch, Megan Buch, Jenny Buch and Lauren Elizabeth Pace; great niece Margo Rose Howard; nephews, Mac Batson, Michael Hyman, and Liam Batson; and extended family members in north Louisiana. Visitation will be held Wednesday, June 24, from 9to11a.m. with service to follow at Rabenhorst Funeral Home, 825 Government Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70802.

Bradford,Donald Eugene 'Don'

Donald "Don"Eugene Bradford,a loving hus‐band,fatherand longtime BatonRouge attorney passedonJune 14, 2026.He wasbornDecember4,1941 in Alexandria,Louisiana Knownfor hisinfectious smile,Don is survived by hisdevoted wife Jane (Pierce),his children Mark Bradford (Stephanie), LeighAckerman(Gerard), AmyKubricht(Trey), Beth Carroll(Clayton) and stepchildren Jennifer Hat‐ter(Chipper) andTreyD'Ar‐mond (Kelly)aswellas belovedniece Nancy Romero (Jerry). He wasan adoring"PawPaw"toHal‐lieand Matthew Bradford Avaand Edward Ackerman,

Addisonand Campbell Car‐roll,Faith Kubricht,Hunter andBen D'Armond,aswell as Ally andGrayHatter. He is preceded in deathbyhis parentsOttieLouise(Van‐dervort) andJosephCor‐bitt Bradford as well as his brotherJCBradford. A proudgraduateof LouisianaState University, both forundergrad andlaw school,Don waspresident of SigmaChi fraternity. As abeliever, he wasonthe FirstNew Testament Church boardofdirectors for33years.Later in life, he wasanelder at Chapel at theCreek in BluffCreek, Louisiana. "One thingI have desiredofthe LORD, that will Iseek after, that I maydwell in thehouse of theLORDall thedaysofmy life,tobeholdthe beauty of theLORD, andtoenquire in histemple." Psalm27:4

Cook,Amy Larue

Amy Larue Cook passed peacefully on Saturday, May30th, 2026 at Sabine Retirement Nursing Home in Many,La. while in the care of Hospice Of Natchitoches. She spent several years creatingbeautiful designer bouquets at Lance HayesFlorist in BR. Shewas not only atalented designer, but an excellent cook, and an avid reader. We havefond memoriesofour Sunday dinners, she and mom wouldprepare forus. She willalwaysberemembered with love and affection.Preceded in death by her parents, PaulCook, Jr.; Amy BeardCook; and brother,MarkAndrew Cook

We've honoredher requestfor aprivate memorial service. Blake &Cindy Rodney and PaulaCookBriggs wouldliketogive aspecial thankyou to the staffat SabineRetirement Nursing Home,Hospice Of Natchitoches, and Sherry Sepulvado, with Kilpatrick's Rose-Neat FuneralHome in Many, La. fortheir wonderful care.

AustinSigmund Fabre, age18, passed away on June20, 2026. Bornon November 29, 2007,inGulfport, Mississippi, Austin liveda life marked by creativity, talent, determination,and adeeplove for music, family, andfriends Austinearned hishigh school diploma from K12 Private Academy, along with YouScience Desktop Publishing and Digital Media II Certifications and was also agraduate of the Louisiana National Guard's Youth Challenge Program. He continuedhis studies through Baker Collegeand Baton Rouge Community College, and was enrolled to attend Full Sail University to pursue aBachelor of SciencedegreeinRecording Arts this fall.Music was his passion and he loved writingsongs, playing guitar,singing, recording,and producing music. Austinwas amember of TrinityLutheranChurch, theK12 PrivateAcademy MusicCluband The Honor Society.Throughouthis life, he pursued awide range of other interests as well including Scouting, swimming, gymnastics parkour, skateboarding, and video gaming. His adventurous spirit, creativity,

and enthusiasm forlifeleft alasting impressiononeveryonewho knew him. Austin is survivedbyhis grandmother,Edeltraude KlaraPuls, loving parents, Michael Fabre Sr.and Cornelia "Connie" Fabre; his brothers, MichaelLeonard Fabre, Jr.and Travis StanleyFabre; and numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, and extended family members, including Lisa Fabre Beck, Christine Beach, Fred and Amy Puls, Carsten and KristiPuls, Mathew Bennet,Fabie Derbigny, Olivia Derbigny, Rick Beach, Rachel Evers,AudreyWebster and her husband David andtheir daughter Athena,Ellie Puls, Cadence Puls, and MelodyPuls. He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Horace and MarionFabre and Friedrich Puls; and his uncles, Clinton Clark Fabre, Keith Arnold Fabre, Richard Beach and Bob Beck. The family extends specialthanks to Shayne Marcanteland the Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency (LOPA) for their compassion, support and care. Visitationwillbe held on Saturday, June 27, 2026, at Trinity Lutheran Church from 9:30 a.m. until 10:30 a.m.,followedbya funeral service from10:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m.,officiated by Pastor BillCrowe. Interment will follow at Resthaven Cemetery. In lieu of flowers,memorial donations may be madeto Livesinthe Balance or the Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency (LOPA).

GeraldNicholas Graham (Jay), age76, passed away peacefully on June 19, 2026. BornonJanuary 17, 1950, in Marksville, Louisiana, Jay liveda life defined by hard work, devotion to his family,and adeepappreciation for theoutdoors. Jayspent his careerasa boilermaker at Ohmstede, aprofessionthatreflected hisstrongworkethic and dedication.When he was not working,hefound his greatest enjoyment in hunting,fishing,and spending time outdoors. Whether in thewoods, on thewater, or gathered with family and friends, Jaywas happiest surrounded by thepeopleand placesheloved. He issurvivedbyhis belovedwife of 55 years, Patsy Bordelon Graham; his children, KristiOhmer and husband Jimmy, Greg Graham and wife Leigh Ann, and Michelle Borel and husband Chuck; his sisters, Barbara Graham, Linda Guidry and husband Patrick, SheliaGraham, and PattySistrunk and husband Russell;his grandchildren, AllisonMartin and husband Matt, Madison Holifieldand husband Garrett, BrittinWicker and husband Ryan, Logan Graham Leake and husband Coleman, Blake Graham, Alyssa Mahaffey and husband Jacob, and Megan Lavigne;and his great-grandchildren, BraydenMartin, TinleyHolifield, Tristan Holifield, RiggsHolifield, Tripp Ho-

lifield, Avery Wicker, Matthew Wicker, Westin Leake, Bryar Mahaffey, and BarrettMahaffey. He was preceded in death by his parents, U.L. and Rita Dauzat Graham; his brothers, David Graham and KennethGraham; his granddaughters, Aimee Marie Braud and Gracie Ann Lavigne;and his great -grandson, Wren Holifield Jaywillberemembered forhis quietstrength,his love of family,his willingness to lend ahelping hand,and themany memoriesmadewhileenjoying theoutdoors he cherished so much. His legacylives on through thefamily he loveddearlyand the countless liveshetouched throughout his years. Visitation willbeheldat Ourso Funeral Home in Gonzales, LA,onWednesday, June 24thfrom 10am1pm. Service willbegin at 1pm, after service he will be laidtorest at Hope HavenGarden of Memory in Gonzales, LA.Pallbearers will be Blake Graham, Jimmy Ohmer, Chuck Borel, Ryan Wicker, JacobMahaffey,and GarrettHolifield Honorary pallbearers will be Greg Graham (son) and Brayden Martin (greatgrandson).

The family wouldliketo express their deepest gratitudetoHospice of Baton Rouge (Denise Domingue, KatharynDispenza,Candace Caldwell, and Brittany Brown), Notre Dame Hospice (Tracie and Zhanna), and aspecial thanks to OldJeffersonCommunity CareCenter fortheir continued compassionand support.

Corazon "Cora" Naungayan Perkins, born on February 14, 1955, in Kiamba,Philippines, ended her courageous battle against pancreaticcancer on Wednesday, June 17, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. in thecomfort of herhome, surrounded by her loving family Preceding her in death were her oldest sister, Brenda; her father, Jose; her mother, Tomasa; her stepson, Jeffrey Perkins; and her youngestsister, Josefina Luce Cora is survived by her husband of 34 years, Michael Perkins; their children, Joshua (Ashley Hood Perkins) and Jessica (Michael Salzman); her stepdaughter, Julie Cantrell (RobertBradford); her grandson, Otto;her twostep-grandchildren, Emily and Adam; her oldest sister, Analita; her brothers Antonio, Melchor, Jesse, and Rodolfo;aswell as many beloved cousins, nieces, and nephews around theworld Cora was working as a midwifefor ARAMCO in Saudi Arabia during the GulfWar when she met her husband, who was living thereasanemployeeof Shell Chemical.They returnedtoLouisiana,where she became part of ahappy, blended family and openedher home to countless friends and relatives throughthe years.

Shewas full of life, always happy, energetic, generous, and kind. Admired as agiftedgardener, atalentedcook, anda welcoming hostess, herdeliciousmealsfed manya soul through the years, and she enjoyedgathering people from all walks of life aroundher table Cora wasalso afabulousdancer, andshe especiallyenjoyedmusic from theband ABBA. Shefound great pleasure in decoratingher home, and she was known for herimpeccable sense of style. Buther greatest joywas being a devoted wife,mother, grandmother,sister,and aunt. Allwho knew her, loved her, andshe leaves arich legacyoffaith, family, and friendship in herwake. She lived everymoment full of gratitude andgrace, reminding us all to dance as if it's ourlast chance,to savor everysecond, andto love all people alongour path.

Relativesand friends are invited to attendthe Funeral Service at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, June 25, 2026, at ResthavenFuneral Home, 11817 Jefferson HighwayinBaton Rouge.A Visitation will be held at thefuneral home on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, from 5:00 p.m. until8:00 p.m. andonThursday beginningat9:30 a.m. Intermentwill follow at ResthavenGardens of Memory.

In lieu of flowers, donationscan be made to one of thecharitiesCorasupported:St. Jude Children's ResearchHospital; Shriners Hospitals forChildren;orTunneltoTowers Foundation

Familyand friends may sign theonline guestbook or leave apersonal note to thefamilyatwww.resthav enbatonrouge.com

Sanford, Dora J. Dora J. Sanford

Enteredintoeternal rest at Baton Rouge General Medical Center-Bluebonnet on June 16, 2026. She wasa 68-year old resident of St George,Louisiana. Viewing at Healing Place Church on Tuesday, June 23, 2026 at 9:30 am until Celebration of Life Service at 10:30 am; interment at Mt. Moriah Baptist Church Cemetery Survivors include herchildren,Jerome, Carlos(Teanda), Mark andCharlotte Sanford; 13 grandchildren; twogreat-grandchildren; eightsiblings. Arrangements entrusted to Miller &Daughter Mortuary.

Simpson, Carlon Frank

Carlon"Frank" Simpson, 76, aresident of Baker,LA, died on Thursday, June 18, 2026. Shewas anative of PerryCounty, MS.There will be avisitation at Charlet Funeral Home, Inc. in ZacharyonWednesday, June 24, 2026 from 5:00 pm until8:00 pm and then on Thursday, June 25, 2026 at St.Isidorethe Farmer Catholic Church of Baker from 9:00 am untilfuneral at 10:00 am. Burial will be at Hillcrest Memorial Gar-

dens in Baker. Sheissurvived by herhusbandof57 years, Donnie Simpson; onedaughter, Tallie Langston (Jeffery) of Zachary;two sisters, Judy Hill (Burt)ofPascagoula, MS;Jenny Woodcock (Roy) of Hurley,MS; onebrother MarkPitts of Brandon, MS; twograndchildren: Dylan Simpson (Courtney); Wade Langston (Kaylee); two great-grandchildren:Natalie andWaylon; andtwo god-children: WayneStiles andWesleyOrr.She was preceded in death by her parents, Hermanand Cleeoice Pitts; brothers MarionC."Brother" Pitts andMarion E. "Pete" Pitts. Pallbearers will be Travis Simpson,Will Whittington III,StevenOrr,J.P. Lawton, JustinWhittington,and Ty Simpson.She wasanactive parishionerofSt. Isidore Catholic Church,including EucharisticMinister, CCD Secretary, funeral choir coordinator, andtraditionalchoir coordinator. Sheservedonthe Baker CityCouncil foreight years andwas recognized as a TrailblazingWoman.Frank enjoyed bowling and served as sergeant-atarms for over 25 years, with theUSBC, including theYouth Bowling Scholarship Committee.She loved all flowers andshe hada knackfor making things grow. Herfamilywas her greatest joy. Shewas adevotedwife,mother, grandmother,and great-grandmother, known to so many as simply "Gigi." Special thanks andgratitude to Drs. David West,Mark Hodges, William Kubricht, Richard Moll,and thenurses andstaff of Clarity (Donya)and Cardinal Hospice (Ken and Tasha).

With muchsadness and griefweannounce the death of ChristopherEvan SoileauonJune6,2026, in an electricdirtbikeaccident.Christopherwas born in Louisiana, receiveda mechanical engineering degree from Cal Poly Maritime Academy. He cared deeply forhis familyand friends, lovedlife, wasvery creative,and broughta joyful presence to all.Survived by hisfather,Robert SoileauJr. (Kristin),mother,AngieJohnston Earl (Baron), sisters, Katie Soileau, Kimberly Soileau Yarlington (Stephen), IsabellaSoileau, three nephews, Brayden,Nathan andCooper.Grandparents, Bob Soileau, John and RachelJohnston. Preceded in death by his grandmother,Katherine Buriege Soileau. Acelebration of Life ceremonywill be held on June 26, 2026 in Sacramento, California.

Graham, Gerald 'Jay'

Soileau, Christopher Evan

Perkins,Corazon N. 'Cora'

Fabre, Austin S.

It’sthe summer,and while many Louisianans head to the beach or to cooler climes, we know that plenty of others are enjoying time with familycloser to home. It’swiththat in mind that our thoughts turn to the local restaurants, shops and attractions that so often suffer when there are fewer people around to patronize them.

Small businesses account for 99.5% of all businesses in our state and employed 889,000 workers in 2025, or about 53% of the state’s entire private sector workforce, according to Louisiana Economic Development.These businesses are the backbone of our economy,and they deserve our support Our state thrives on tourism, but that’s mostly during the high seasons of Mardi Gras and festivals. With some notableexceptions including the always exciting Essence Festival of Culture which arrivesinNew Orleans on July 3—during our typically sweltering summer months, the number of touristsdrops and so does the number of potential customers to these businesses.

That’swhy we encourage residentstoshop localthis summer.Whether it’s taking the family to alocally owned restaurant or visiting local sites where you can experience true Louisiana culture, it’simportant to support the small businesses that are staples in our communities year-round.

Make no mistake, this year has been especially tough on these businesses. High tariffs and fuel prices have eaten intotheir bottom lines. And in some places, other unforeseen issues have emerged. Several French Quarter businesses, for example,have been grappling with ongoing construction thathas led to aloss of foot trafﬁc. Somewere forced toclose. We were glad to see agrant program planned to those businesses that remain.

But ultimately,the success or failure of any local business depends on us. We know it’s easy nowadays to clickonAmazon and have whatever you need delivered toyour door.Still, where we spend our dollars matters. And if we want to continue to have the community-based businesses that do so much for Louisiana, we have to choose wisely

So insteadofgoing to afast-food chain, try the mom-and-pop restaurant down the street Instead of ordering books online, visit your local bookstore. And if you’re looking foraway to entertain the kids this summer,look around for sites around the state that you perhaps havenever visited. As we are getting close to the America 250 anniversary,several Louisiana cities are offering unique local entertainment to mark the occasion.

Small businesses support our communities every day; it’stime that we show them how much we appreciate that.

Supporters of City Park golf course aren’t NIMBYs

This is in responsetothe recently published letter by Antonia Androski concerning theelimination of City Park golf course. First, Iamnot a “NIMBY” with property bordering on the course. Idoplay the course often and have done so for decades. Androski makes several errors in her letter advocating the elimination of our course. She claimsthat “the majority of the park” is for golfers. Iassure her that thetotal nongolf area of City-Brooks Parkisfar larger than the course. She further asserts that the continuation of the course is being pushed by “a vocal minority.” Ihave seen no survey resultsindicating that the majority of responders favor theremoval of the course. She also declares that opposition to the course’sremoval is led by “wealthy homeowners” who “do not want the park to change.”

If she ever visited the course, she would see that this course is used by

players of all ages, races andeconomic groups. Indeed, theclosing of LSU’s course makes City Park and Webb Parkthe only remaining affordable courses in the city limits. The wealthy largely limit themselves to the CountryClub of Louisiana and Baton Rouge Country Club courses.

Aplace for all to “playsafely,” she says? An active railroad track traverses the course and presents signiﬁcant hazards to families whowould advocate for apicnic area near there. Lastly,everyone is in favor of expansion and improvementofCity-Brooks Parkwith rational amenities that would help keep our young people here. Imyself have lost my twodaughtersand their families to other places. Butdon’tdumpthe baby with the bathwater by eliminating avital and historical treasure under the false claim of progress.

VICTORFORNIAS Baton Rouge

LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR ARE

WELCOME. HERE AREOUR

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

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

TO SEND US A LETTER, SCANHERE

Ihave noticed that in all the controversy about the City Park golf course, those opposed to keeping it intact seem to be ignoring an important fact. Reading their letters, you would think that thegolf course is all there is in that location. They plead for moregreen space. In truth, thegolf course is only a part of City-Brooks Park. Across Dalrymple from thecourse, there is a dog park and alarge picnic area with play equipment and itsown parking lot. There is additional green space on theother side of the railroad crossing that is totally unused. There is an art gallery withapavilion outside. The

Ihave been avolunteer advocate for decades for different causes. This year,Iamhelping to ensure that the tax for our library continues. It has been such ajoy to support this effort. The library’spatrons are topnotch, knowledgeable and passionate. They know and understand that this millageisa continuation at alower rate, dedicated and necessary.The few Icome across who do not support it

pavilion has asplash pad and anearby labyrinth. There are tennis courts with atennis center,and the beginning of thegreenway that leads next to the lakes, all the way to LSU. Obviously, this park offers alot to bring together neighbors of all ages without involving thegolf course at all.

Aﬁnal note: The green spaces at City-Brooks are all free and open to thepublic. Pleaseremember that anyone playing golf pays agreen fee. No, I’m sure it’snot enough to totally maintain thecourse completely,but it does supplementits use.

NANCY JURASINKI Baton Rouge

are anti-tax in general and don’tseem to understand the value of acommunitysharing costsfor things that uplift us and ultimately saveusmoney Iinviteeveryone to learn the facts about this millage. We look forward to “writing the next chapter” for our award-winning libraries.

ANNA FOGLE Baton Rouge

BrianHennessy’sletter about the demise of Spirit Airlines reads less like afact-basedopinion piece than apolitically chargedcondemnation of Donald Trump. Rather than presenting balanced analysis supported by evidence, the letter adopts an authoritative tone that frames opinion as settledfact while dismissing the broader economicand industry realitiessurrounding Spirit Airlines’ struggles. First, the claimthat Spirit’s strugglesstemmedprimarily from political decisions —whether attributedtoDonaldTrump or any administration—isanoversimplification. Spirit wasprofitable as recently as 2019, showing thatits model worked undernormal conditions. What followedwas COVID-19, which devastatedglobalair travel, collapsed demand andforced airlines, including Spirit, to take on significant debt just to survive Second, Spirit’schallenges went well beyond fuel prices. Its ultralow-costmodel depends on volume andfees,leaving it vulnerable when travelpatterns shift. After the pandemic,largerairlinesadaptedby offering basic economyfares that directly competed with, andoften undercut, Spirit’sprices, eroding its coreadvantage.

Finally,blaming geopolitical events for rising jet fuel costs ignoresthe complexity of global oil markets, which are driven by supply chains, production decisions and post-pandemic demand. Reducing this to asingle political cause is not serious analysis. Spirit’sdecline is best understood notasa partisanstory,but as abusiness one: intense competition, structuralweaknesses and exposure to globalshocks. Turning it into apolitical talking point obscures more thanitexplains.

GEORGE LASTRAPES Gretna

TheDemocrats’ patriotism gap

Democratstake great offense at being accused of being unpatriotic, but thedata doesn’tlie.

Anew NBC News poll captured thepartisan gap over pridein America. Overall, 56% of Americans are extremelyorvery proud of the country,but only 29% of Democrats, compared to 90%ofRepublicans.

rational patriotism is loyaltytothe nation all the time, loyalty to thegovernmentwhenitdeserves it.”

That’sayawning gap, and about amatter that really shouldn’tbecontroversial. We aren’ttalking about abortion,or Donald Trump’sWhite House ballroom, butanelemental thing —pride in country —that in most timesand places has been taken for granted. Once upon atime, that wasthe case here. AGallup poll foundinJanuary 2001 that nearly 90% of Americans were extremely or very proud of the country In 2017, according to Gallup, 75% of the public said that they are extremely or very proudofAmerica, alow at the time, and it’sbeen down since. The decline has been driven largely by Democrats.

Their disdain for President Trump clearly is responsible for some of the drop, but not all of it. Democratswere less proud of the country than Republicans when BarackObama andJoe Biden were president.

Obviously,pride in country shouldn’t depend on who is president; thecountry is so much more than itspolitics. Mark Twain said, aptly,that“theonly

Even if you have contempt for the party in power,there’sthe country’s founding, its constitutional system, its stupendous wealth, its great heroes, itsvictories in two world wars, its natural beauty and its endlessly interesting,fair-minded and inventive people to feel proud of.

Many Democrats areunmovedbythese things or considerthem sources of embarrassment.

The founding? Tainted by racism. The constitutional system? An antiquated obstacle to progress.The economy? Rigged by and for billionaires. Ourheroes? Feet of clay or worse.

Akey word here is “systemic,” as in systemic racism,” which suggests that racism is not aproduct of historical circumstance, but endemic to the American project itself.

Whyfeel pride in acountry that is notyet redeemed,indeed may be unredeemable?

The left —especially in academia —has longadvanced the view that America’srole in the world is predatoryand imperialistic, and over time thisradical critique of U.S. foreign policy hasgained moretraction within the Democratic mainstream.

Then there’sthe attitude toward small-scale expressions of patriotism

—American ﬂag imagery,lapel pins, ﬂyovers, Lee Greenwood songs and the

like —which progressives tendtoconsider crude or jingoistic.

The Democratic Senate candidate in Texas, James Talarico, once called the American ﬂag “a complicated symbol.” If thenational banner doesn’telicit an instinctive feeling of devotion, one’s attachment to the country is likely attenuated as well.

Many progressives would counter that America is aset of ideals and we should feel fealty to it only to the extent we realize those ideals. Butthe country and its people are also aconcrete reality,and you either like them or not, feel connected to them or not, and —this is close tothe crux of the matter —feel grateful for them or not.

Nearly everyone who isn’tparticularly proud of America is still incredibly indebted to it, beneﬁting from its liberty and prosperity.

It’sa profound act of ingratitude not to return thedebt with asense of reverence and obligation. It’snot enough to say,ineffect, you’ll feel proud of thecountry at some future point when it has met certain social and political benchmarks. This amountstoaversion of St.Augustine’sfamous prayer, “Lord, make mepatriotic, but not yet.” In short, patriotism shouldn’tbea partisan issue, rather afoundational commitment of both parties and all factions. These days, though, we can’t even agree to feel proud of the nation we share and owe so much Rich Lowry is on X, @RichLowry

Speculation about aNovember “blue wave” wafting Democrats into power ignores the Law of Political Hydrology: There are no waves on frozen seas. The sheet of ice suffocating politics represents abalance of negative partisanship: Millions of voters have mild, ﬂickering affection for their party,but detest the other one.

What does it mean to be an American in 2026? Twodistinctly and signiﬁcantly different visions showed themselves in recent days.

On the South Side of Chicago, there was the long-awaited opening of the Obama Presidential Center.Inthe presence of three past presidents and an assembly of dignitariesand music stars, former President Barack Obama saluted “American values we can all share,” and he expressed his faiththat Americans “are looking for fairness and common sense and mutual respect, that deep in our gut we want to ﬁnd away to turn towards each other again, not further away.” Afew days earlier,onthe White House lawn in Washington, avery different celebration took place. Itscenterpiecewas aless permanent yet still pretty expensive structure, a600-ton steel and star-spangled “Claw,” which to Gal Beckerman of The Atlantic “lookedlike it was about to pick up the White House like astuffed animal in an arcade game.”

This was the setting of UFC Freedom 250, an evening of mixed martial arts matches stagedtocelebratePresident Donald Trump’s80th birthday and, apparently,our nation’ssemiquincentennial.

Among other crowd-pleasers, it included an Air Force ﬂyover,aMarine Corps band with singers, military honor guards and “Octagon Girls” in sequinedred-white-and-blue costumes to parade around the big cage between roundsfor aspectacle that,perhaps intentionally,reminded many of ancient Roman gladiator matches. Trump Fight Club, as some wags called it, drew 17 million viewers on Paramount+, in addition toafew thousand lucky spectators on WhiteHouse grounds.

Machismowas the theme of the evening, and it inspired at least one brawl to break out at the watchpartyheld at the Ellipse nearby

To say it was tacky would be to give quiet satisfaction to all involved in the planning and production of the event That was certainly the intent

To bring cage ﬁghting into the inner sanctum of American political power was the ultimate hat tip from Trump to his base.

Yetintypical MAGA fashion, they took it too far. After Josh Hokit defeated Derrick Lewis in aheavyweight bout, he failed to show some class when he needed it most.While

speaking to UFC analystand podcast star Joe Rogan, he decided to be cute by taking averbal shot at former ﬁrst lady Michelle Obama. While the crowd’srowdiest members cheered and others grimaced, even Trump appeared toregister how wrong this was, as TMZ’scamera captured him quickly removing from around his neck the necklace that Hokit had given to him earlier

Wasthis arare display of shame on Trump’spart,evidence of ashred of human decency? Don’tbet on it.

Earlierinthe month, after all, he posted to Truth Social an AI-generated image of adecrepit Obama Center as an overflowing garbage can, sitting amid abombed-out hellscape that was supposed to be theSouth Side. It’shardly the first time Trump has gone viral with adepiction of Chicago created by or for people who have never been to Chicago. There’s atendency to acceptthat Red vs. Blue America is anatural consequence of an intractable difference in culture. AndTrump has willingly exploited that. Unfortunately,too many of us accept the idea. Alot of people are upset by the notionofbringing cage fightsto the WhiteHouse, shuddering at the bad taste of it all. This is amistake. President TheodoreRoosevelt engaged in regular sparring on the premises, which left him withadetached retina in his left eye —which he kept secret for more than adecade. Manliness is atouchy subject these days, but there was atime when hon-

orable combat was respected above themere running of one’smouth. ErnestHemingway famously declared, “Mywriting is nothing, my boxing is everything.”

To him, thering was aprofound philosophical stageonwhich thevirtues of discipline, resilience, and raw honesty were tested,reﬂecting much thesame demands he placed on his writing. Trump, afan of rough-ridin’ TR,no doubt covetsthe imputed manliness of enjoying agood ﬁght, although you’ll never catch him in thering. Still, Isay let him indulge in his UFC fandom if it distracts him enough to go quietly after histerm is up.

Let’sleave him and his manosphere fanatics to theirlame trolling and hijinks,while remembering that plenty of ordinary Americans seek more than entertainment.

For his entire life, Trump has been driven by grandiosity, solipsism, impulsiveness, lack of empathy,obsession with power and dominance and a bottomless need for praiseand adulation,and an obsession with avenging thelittlest perceived slights. He’sdone alot of damage to the American body politic, and to American interests at home and abroad, but he has not snuffed out Americans’ conviction that, together,wecan form amore perfect union. As America approaches its 250th birthday,that’s worth celebrating.

Email Clarence Page at clarence47page@gmail.com

In the 25 presidential elections since 1928, eight were won by 10 points or more. But the last such landslide (Ronald Reagan’s1984 defeat of Walter Mondale) was 11 elections ago. Since Republicans ended 28 years of Democratic control of the Senate in 1980, Republicans have controlled it 12 times, Democrats 11 times (once because aRepublican senator defected). Forty-eight of today’s53Republican senators represent states Donald Trump carried by at least 11 points in 2024. Florida was, until recently,the most important swing state (Barack Obama carried it twice). But in 2024, Trump won Florida more decisively (by 13.1 points) than Kamala Harris won New York (12.5 points). Ohio was aswing state when George W. Bush narrowly carried it twice, with 50% in 2000 and 50.8% in 2004, and Obama carried it with just 51.5% in 2008 and 50.7 in 2012. Trump carried it three times, by about 8points in 2016 and 2020, and 11.2 points in 2024. In 1988, 34% of congressional districts voted for apresidential candidate from one party and arepresentative from the other.In2020 and 2024 just 3.7% did. The last four times apresident’sparty entered midterm elections controlling both congressional chambers (1994, 2006, 2010, 2018) voters ended this trifecta, twice with Democratic presidents, twice with Republicans. About 70% of House Republicans were ﬁrst elected after Trump took ofﬁce in 2017. They have known nothing but enforced subservience; they fear nothing other than aprimary challenge instigated by acranky Trump. Most red-state Republican senators also fear only that. Election analyst Charlie Cook says: Since 2000, 115 elected red-state Republicans have been reelected, just six were not; 74 have been reelected since the last one to lose, in 2008. Technologically sophisticated and ethically uninhibited gerrymandering has left few competitive congressional districts. Four huge waves washed over Congress relatively recently: In 1994 and 2010, Democrats lost 54 and 63 seats, respectively; in 2006 and 2018, Republicans lost 30 and 40, respectively.This year,Republican losses might not comeclose to the post-1945 average of 26 seats lost by the president’sparty

Youthink things cannot get worse? Remember the Law of American Political Geology: There is no such thing as rock bottom. Michael Barone, the mind behind the Almanac of American Politics, reports (in the Washington Examiner) that an Illinois Democrat, dissatisﬁed with his party having only 14 of the state’s 17 congressional seats, wants to “get over the mental hurdle of contiguity” in redistricting. Surplus Democrats in Chicago districts could be declared parts of downstate districts —hundreds of milesfrom being contiguous —where Republicans are intolerably competitive.

The political freeze will thaw when party competition again occurs between the 40-yard lines, around the center of the ﬁeld. Republicans will not think ice-breaking thoughts until Trump’s spell is broken and Republican thinking is again permitted. Democrats, however,can think about what Ezra Klein of the New York Timeshas noted about their party between 2012 and 2024:

“Democrats became more uncompromising on immigration and lost support among Hispanic voters. They moved left on guns and student loans and climate, and lost ground with young voters. They moved left on race and lost ground with Black voters. They moved left on education and lost ground with Asian American voters. They moved left on economics and lost ground with working-class voters.”

In 2024, Trump improved his 2020 share of the vote in 90% of all counties. In three consecutive elections, the GOP has increased its presidential vote share in 1,433 counties (almost half the nation’scounties). The Democratic Party has increased its share in 57. What death wish has Democrats including Kamala Harris in their 2028 presidential conversations?

Harris’ persistence beyond the call of plausibility is symptomatic. Until the freeze thaws, we are in “Groundhog Day,” in the bar where the character played by Bill Murray has this exchange with anew acquaintance: Murray character: “What would you do if you were stuck in one place and every day was exactly the same, and nothing that you did mattered?”

Acquaintance: “That about sums it up for me.”

EmailGeorge Will at georgewill@washpost. com.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ALEX BRANDON

President Donald Trumpand first ladyMelania Trump stand in the ring at UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House last week.

Rich Lowry

Clarence Page

George Will

LOUISIANASPORTSHALLOFFAME

McClurewas ‘the guy’ on O-line

Editor’snote: This is one among 12 proﬁlesofinductees for the Louisiana Sports HallofFame Class of 2026. Festivities will take place from Thursday-Saturday in Natchitoches.

BY ROBIN FAMBROUGH

Contributing writer

Todd McClure vividly remembers the day he got put in his place by one of his high school coaches.

“I thought,‘Why is he doing this,’ ”McClure said. “I wasn’tjust mad …Iwas reallyangry.Iwas atight endand adefensive lineman.

“Those guys get their names called out on the loudspeaker.The only time you hearanoffensive lineman’sname is when they commit apenalty.” Central High offensive line

coach RandyBlanchard did it anyway.Blanchard hadMcClure play center for the ﬁrst time, presumably for oneday

Thesophomore did what he was told.And it changedeverything, clearing apathfor McClure to become an All-America football player at LSU (1995-98), a14-year mainstay in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons and now amember of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame

All-Pro honors somehow eluded McClure, afact one of his former head coaches with the Falcons, MikeSmith, calls amisnomer

“In my opinion, Todd was an AllPro… without question,” Smith said. “People believe wide receivers andrunningbacksare the mostimportant playersaround aquarterback. But really,it’sthe

center and not just becauseof snap exchanges. Theblocking callsand prettymucheverything goes through thecenter.Todd was amaster of that and also the best teammate Ievercoached.Asa blocker,hewas atechnicianwho knew all the angles and leverage.”

The 2026 LSHOFinduction is hardly McClure’sﬁrsthonor.He was inductedinto theFalcons Ring of Honor in 2022. At LSU, he was atwo-time All-SEC selection and earned ﬁrst-team All-America honorsfrom theAmerican Football Coaches Association in 1998. Awardsare merely window dressing for McClure, whobuilt a career on an old-school,multisport upbringing. McClure was aleader and a“glue guy” for each team he

ä See MCCLURE, page 3C

BY STEPHENHAWKINS AP sportswriter

ARLINGTON, Texas Scoringgoals and breaking records are what Lionel Messi does, and he is already doing that again in his sixth World Cup.

The Argentina captain now has the World Cup scoring record all tohimself after another standoutperformance, one that began with frustrationafter missing apenalty kick and ended in pure elation with another victory Messi, who many consider thegreatest player of all time, scored bothgoals in his team’s2-0 victory over Austria on Monday.That gave him18, sixdays after his ﬁrst-everhat trick in the tournament had matched Germanystriker MiroslavKlose’s previous record of 16 World Cup goals.

“Beyond anything, I’m so happy for the win,” Messi said. “Itwas huge, tough and difﬁcult. It wouldallow us to be relaxed to what’sahead. All matches in this WorldCup areveryeven, very intense. I’m enjoying this momentand cravingtoenjoy with my teammates.”

Theﬁrstgoalagainst Austria came in the 38th minute and two days before his 39th birthday.Itwas thesixth consecutive World Cup game in whichMessi has scored —joining France striker Just Fontaine and Brazil great Jairzinho as only players to do so.

That was about ahalf-hour after he missed apenalty kick with achance to match the record.

“There were momentswhen Iwas really angry aboutmissing the penalty,but Iwas able to make up for it,” said Messi, who has won arecordeight Ballond’Or awards as the best player in Europe. Argentina advanced to the knockout

round by winning itsfirst two group games. Messi also scored all of his team’sgoals in a3-0 win over Algeria in Kansas City Messi added his18thWorld Cup goal in the waningseconds of stoppage time when he shot one through several defenders after the first attempt was turned away by goalkeeper Alexander Schlager

“I knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” Messi said in translated remarks. “The way things aregoing in the World Cup, the wayit’sbeingplayed, it’s averyeven game. No one is giving away anything.” Thegoal record became Messi’salone

There won’t be an overﬂow of New Orleans Pelicans fans ﬂooding Fulton Square in downtown NewOrleans on Tuesday night like they did on NBAdraftnight seven years ago. The only people you’ll likely see in the area are just afew tourists strolling through to make their way to Manning’s Sports Bar and Grill or to the slot machines at Caesars casino.

Yeah, draftnight 2026 will be alot different than the one in 2019 when the Pelicans selected Zion Williamson with the No. 1overall pick. The Pelicans don’teven have aﬁrst-round pick in the draftthat will begin with the ﬁrst round on Tuesday and conclude with the second round Wednesday

BY BRIAN MAHONEY AP basketball writer

NEW YORK Foranyone seeking clues in the ﬁnal hours before the NBAdraft, AJ Dybantsa’sFather’sDay message to his dadapparently wasn’tone.

NBA draft

In the first of two pictures that went along withthe posting on X, Anicet Dybantsa (“Ace”) is holding youngAJinfront of theWhite House. The White House, of course, is in Washington, D.C., the home of the team that has the No. 1pick on Tuesday night. ButDybantsa wasn’t revealing anything aboutthe Wizards’ intentions. He wasjust trying to avoidrevealing too muchofhimself. “Actually,itwas just arandom photo that Ifound,” Dybantsa said Monday. “I was goingtodoone andI was ababy, but Iwas naked, so Ididn’twant to do that one. So the next one to the right just happened to be in front of the White House.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO ByJULIO CORTEZ

LionelMessi, front, of

with Leandro Paredes after

Rod Walker

Dybantsa

STAFF FILE PHOTOByTIM MUELLER

LSU center Todd McClure lifts up running backRondell Mealey in celebration after Mealeyscored atouchdown against Georgia on Oct. 3, 1998, in TigerStadium.

Michigan coach May heads to Mavs

Boynton promoted to interim coach

BY SCHUYLER DIXON AP sportswriter

DALLAS The Dallas Mavericks and Dusty May of national champion Michigan are finalizing a deal for the coach to make the jump from college to the NBA, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Monday

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal wasn’t completed. May and the Wolverines won their first NCAA championship since 1989 with a 69-63 victory over UConn in April to wrap up a 34-3 season. They opened the NCAA Tournament by becoming the first team ever to score at least 90 points in five consecutive games. That came three years after May led Florida Atlantic to its only Final Four appearance. The Owls returned to the NCAA Tournament in 2024 before May was hired by Michigan.

The 49-year-old May replaces Jason Kidd who was let go two weeks after Masai Ujiri was hired as president of basketball operations and alternate governor of the Mavericks.

He comes to the NBA with a chance to mold 2025 No. 1 overall draft pick and reigning Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg. Veteran star Kyrie Irving is also on the roster for now after missing the entire 2025-26 season following an ACL tear in March of last year May’s ﬁrst job as a college assistant was at Murray State in 2005-06. He then served on staffs at UAB, Louisiana Tech and Florida before getting his ﬁrst head coaching job at Florida Atlantic.

The Owls went 35-4 during their dream season in 2022-23, which ended with a 72-71 loss to San Diego State in the national semiﬁnals when Lamont Butler hit a buzzer-beating shot for the Aztecs.

“I was a fan of Dusty’s when he was at FAU,” said Yaxel Lendeborg, who played for May at Michigan and is expected to be a lottery pick in the ﬁrst round of the NBA draft on Tuesday night.

“And now, after playing for him,

I’m a bigger fan. I have so much respect for Dusty May, I can’t even tell you.”

Lendeborg said at last month’s draft combine that he believed May ran Michigan’s program like an NBA program in many ways.

“A lot of schemes, a lot of switching and stuff. And his offense was very much a pro-style offense,” Lendeborg said. “We played fast-paced, physical, all of that. I’ve gained so much knowledge from him as far as those actions and just those little communication keys.”

May’s rise in coaching has been meteoric, particularly after the last four seasons.

He took over at Florida Atlantic in 2018 and had four consecutive seasons of ﬁnishing just over .500 before striking gold in the 2022-23 season, going 35-4 and taking the Owls on that improbable Final Four run.

May went 25-9 at FAU the following season, then went to Michigan and brought the Wolverines back to prominence.

He was 64-13 in his two seasons after replacing Juwan Howard with Michigan coming off an 8-24 season, the school’s lowest win total since going 7-20 in 1981-82.

Michigan went 27-10 in May’s debut, won the Big Ten Conference Tournament and made it to the NCAA Sweet 16.

May’s record in his last four college seasons was 124-26, an .827 winning percentage that was third best in all of major college men’s basketball over that span behind Houston’s Kelvin Sampson (.861) and Duke’s Jon Scheyer (.832).

The Indiana native was a student manager for the Hoosiers and coach Bob Knight while he was in school there from 19962000. He gained experience in scouting, video operations and player development while with the Hall of Fame coach, who died in 2023. After graduating from Indiana, May spent two seasons as an administrative assistant and video coordinator at Southern California He returned to the Hoosiers in similar roles from 2002-05.

Who is Mike Boynton?

Michigan chose to give Mike Boynton, a two-year assistant under May and a former Oklahoma State coach, another chance to lead a program.

The school is hoping continuity will help convince players on the

roster to stay out of the transfer portal.

Boynton recruited Cade Cunningham to play for the Cowboys in 2020 even though they were facing NCAA penalties from rule violations under a former assistant coach.

“There’s not a lot of coaches that would say, ‘Do what you want to do, I’m going to help you if you want to leave,’” Cunningham said at the time. He went on to be drafted No. 1 by the Detroit Pistons in 2021.

Two years ago, Boynton was ﬁred with a 119-109 record over seven seasons.

May said during the NCAA Tournament that his top assistant should get another shot.

“He’s an elite basketball coach,” May said in April. “He did a really good job at Oklahoma State, especially considering the circumstances.”

The 44-year-old Boynton, who is from New York, previously was an assistant with the Cowboys and Stephen F. Austin under current Illinois coach Brad Underwood.

Clark proves perfection isn’t needed for victory

BY EDDIE PELLS AP national writer

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y Long before he smashed the locker, won a single trophy or had any inkling he’d play in a U.S. Open one day, golf for Wyndham Clark was a test of patience, will and temperament.

So, perhaps it’s only right that for Clark to sew up his latest, sweetest triumph, he had to rescue himself from a potentially history making collapse — and do it in front of a New York crowd that, for the most part came out to Long Island to watch him fail.

Clark’s second U.S Open victory will be remembered as the one where he handled Shinnecock Hills and somehow salvaged a ﬁnalround Sunday that saw a six-shot lead at the start dwindle to a single, precious stroke by the end. It will also be remembered for the cheers when he missed shots, and for a winning, tap-in putt on the 18th green that was greeted with an awkward dribble of applause a strange reaction, especially given the hills Clark has had to climb to become a champion,.

“We’ve dealt with his anger issues since he was that high,” said Clark’s father, Randall, explaining the journey as he held his hand about hip high. “It’s because golf is not a game of perfection. And he wants to be perfect.” Clark, 32, was open about his struggles at his last U.S. Open victory in 2023, explaining his mother’s death 10 years earlier had left a scar and that the rage came out most viscerally in the aftermath of missed golf shots.

His felt like a simple tale about overcoming obstacles and personal

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By SETH WENIG

Wyndham Clark holds the trophy after winning the U.S Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.y. on Sunday.

growth. But that journey is never truly ﬁnished.

His demons came back into full view a year ago when he smashed a locker at Oakmont after missing the cut at the U.S. Open. He has since apologized and the suits at Oakmont, appalled at first, have moved on, as well.

The fans in New York clearly haven’t. It made for an awkward stroll across the course Sunday, where Clark was paired with topranked Scottie Schefﬂer Schefﬂer, trying to complete the career Grand Slam, likely would’ve been a fan favorite against anyone No problem there, he said, but even he found himself cringing at the cheers ringing out when Clark missed shots, which happened a lot on a front nine in which he shot 38 and saw his lead shrink to one. Clark’s winning moment came

on No. 16. Nursing the one-shot lead, he teed off into the deep fescue a horrendous lie, according to caddie-turned-TV analyst Jim “Bones” Mackay Clark made it look better than that, lashing into the fairway, then hitting an 8-iron that straightened out along the back of the green He nailed the 30-foot birdie putt his longest make of the day to give himself a two-shot lead over Sam Burns with two holes to play About a half-hour later, Clark two-putted from 50 feet on 18 to become a two-time winner instead of the player to blow the biggest 54hole lead in U.S. Open history The two-putt was reminiscent of the way he wrapped up his win three years ago at Los Angeles Country Club

So much has changed since then.

“It’s been part of every question in every interview for the last 12

LSU softball shortstop Edwards decides to stay

LSU softball shortstop Kylee Edwards has withdrawn her name from the NCAA transfer portal three days after entering it, she announced on social media Sunday Edwards, a senior who transferred from Mississippi State last offseason, ranked second on the team with a .341 batting average, 10 home runs and 40 RBIs.

“After exploring my options, it’s clear there is nowhere I’d rather be than here at LSU with my teammates and coaches,” she wrote in the post. “The Purple and Gold will always be home for me. The fans, the place, the people - some things you can never let go of.”

Eight other LSU players have entered the portal from the 2026 squad that reached the super Regionals, where it lost to Alabama.

Reds shortstop De La Cruz expected to return from IL CINCINNATI Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz is expected to be reinstated from the injured list Tuesday after missing 19 games with a strained right hamstring, manager Terry Francona said Monday De La Cruz took batting practice prior to Monday night’s series opener against the ﬁrst-place Brewers.

He made three rehab starts for Triple-A Louisville going 2 for 8 with a home run and two RBIs. After homering in his ﬁrst rehab start on Friday, De La Cruz texted Francona, “Be there tomorrow” but the Reds didn’t want to rush things.

De La Cruz left the May 31 game against the Atlanta Braves with right hamstring tightness after he had a base hit in the ﬁfth inning.

Young agrees to 4-year extension with Wizards

Trae Young has agreed to a fouryear extension with the Washington Wizards, one that would be worth about $212 million if he picks up the ﬁnal year of the deal. The fourth year of the agreement is at Young’s option, said the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the Wizards had not revealed the terms. Young will make around $49 million this coming season.

The deal is part of what could be a big week for the Wizards, who hold the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft that starts Tuesday night.

Young is averaging 25.1 points and 9.8 assists per game for his career The only other player to average at least 25 points and nine assists for the entirety of an NBA career is Oscar Robertson.

Pulisic returns to training with U.S. team after injury

months,” his dad said of the constant rehashing of the locker incident, all of which Clark has handled with patience. “I do think it’s gone on too long.” In response to Oakmont, Clark has paid for the repairs to the locker He has given money to charity and participated in anger-management courses. He did not feel much love on Long Island.

“A little disappointing,” said Randall Clark, who took a red-eye ﬂight from Denver to be there for the win. “At the same time, he’s a warrior He ‘bowed up and said ‘I’m going to ﬁgure this out and still get through.’ It’s too bad. We’ve seen this before in the New York area with the Ryder Cup.”

But this was no Ryder Cup, the likes of which was marred by unruly behavior from the New York fans last year at Bethpage.

Clark conceded he heard it all and concluded, “man, they definitely don’t want me to win.”

All he could do, though, was turn to his caddie and laugh, especially when they heard from one of those rare fans who were actually pulling for him.

Now, the question is will this show of grit in the face of adversity give Clark a fresh start? Or will it always be about the locker and some meltdown lurking around every corner?

“I sure hope it closes the door on it,” he said “I ﬁgured in my mind that this would maybe be the last time just because it’s one year removed. I’ll probably always get (those questions). But I hope I don’t become the heel of the PGA.

“I guess if I am, any press is good press, right?”

IRVINE, Calif Christian Pulisic returned to training with his U.S. teammates on Monday after missing their most recent match of the World Cup with a calf injury Pulisic participated in warmups and ball drills during the 15 minutes of practice open to the media in Orange County The team gave no formal update on the status of the AC Milan midﬁelder, who has been limited to one dynamic half of play in the unbeaten Americans’ home World Cup.

Pulisic didn’t play in the Americans’ 2-0 victory over Australia in Seattle last Friday He played the ﬁrst half of their tournamentopening victory over Paraguay catalyzing two of the U.S. team’s three goals in the ﬁrst half of a historic 4-1 win.

Vondrousova gets 4-year ban for refusing drug test

Former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova was suspended for four years on Monday for refusing an anti-doping test, the latest high-proﬁle player sanctioned.

The Czech cited “mental stress” and fear when the testing agent “rang my door late at night without properly identifying themselves.” The International Tennis Integrity Agency made the announcement, saying Vondrousova refused a test in December and the maximum four-year ban for a routine first offense was reached by an independent tribunal following a hearing this month.

Vondrousova

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By LON HORWEDEL

Michigan head coach Dusty May talks with the media after a win over Michigan State in Ann Arbor, Mich., on March 8. May is leaving the Wolverines for the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA.

Boynton

Jordangetsmoreupfront moneyindeal

BY MATTHEW PARAS and RASHAD MILLIGAN Staff writers

The details for Cam Jordan‘s new contract are in.

After aresurgent 2025 season that saw him record double-digit sacks for the first time in four years, Jordan signed aone-year, $7.5 million contract with theNew Orleans Saints last week —anupfront increase overthe paycut he took last year

Notebook

Jordan’snew deal contains a one-year,$1.35 million base salary and aprorated signingbonus worth $6.15 million. The deal contains four years to spread out Jordan’s caphit, which is $2.58million in 2026. The contract voids the following year and is set to leave $4.9million in dead money.

Jordan’scontract, likehis last one, includes incentives that could make it worth up to $11 million.

Jordan is coming off arestructuredcontract thatwas initially worth $6.05 million for one year

Butbased on incentives, Jordan earned an additional $2 million after he led the Saints with 101/2 sacks With his new deal, Jordanearned

more money before the season begins and has the chance to surpass thetotal he earned last year

The Saints and Jordan did not reach adeal until June 16, two months after his previous contract expired. Jordan said there were a“couple of bumps that got cleared up recently” to help facilitate adeal.

“Inany negotiation, there’salways goingtobethings that you want and can get through,” Jordan said. “When it comes down to it, it’slifestyle. It’sthe idea that I (can) play for the same team my entirecareer. There’snoamount of money inthe league thatsays, ‘Hey,justturnyour back on everything that you built,’ ” Jordan has said he intends for his 16thseason with the Saints to be the last of hiscareer Top100

If Jordan’s new contract is asign of respect, thepass rusher is also receiving it from his peers

The36-year-old wasnamed to theNFL’s Top100 players list Monday at No. 100.

In atwo-minute videoreleased by the NFL, ArizonaCardinals

tight end Trey McBride,New York

Giants pass rusher KayvonThibodeaux andformer Baltimore Ravens

linebacker Kyle VanNoy explained why they hold Jordan in such high regard.

“Cam Jordan —that dude just ﬁnds away,” VanNoy said. “He’s evolvedhis game andhe’sreally, reallygood at what he does.”

BroncosQBNix doesn’tcarewhat youthink,and it makeshim great

The DenverPost (TNS)

DENVER From ﬁrst in the AFC to third in the AFC West, the lack of respect for the Denver Broncos remains enormous.

Take apeek at any sportsbook, and the Broncos’ over-under for victories ﬂoats around 9.5 games, which would leave them trailing the Los Angeles Chargers (understandable) andKansas City Chiefs (unbelievable).

The lack of conﬁdence in the Broncos to repeat their success traces back to Bo Nix.

He is compromised after multiple ankle surgeries

He is aslowstarter in games —six touchdowns,six interceptions in the ﬁrst quarter

He is aslow starter in seasons —4-4 record in September, compared to 20-6 in every other month.

He is not elite against zone defenses —ranking 33rd among 45 quarterback qualifiers in successrate, per Sumersports. com.

The Broncos are about to fall from grace from athud,ifyou believe wise guys and critics, and Nix does not give a(bleep)

Among the reasons that he can lead the Broncos to aSuper Bowl, place his mentality at the top of the list.

“He does not care what people think. That is asuperpower in this league.And he has it,” veteran right tackle Mike McGlinchey said. “It gives him the ability to go out there and play free, play loose. He cherishes it. On top of the maturity and knowledge he has gained over the last two years, he is made of the right stuff. That’swhy I believe he’sthe guy.”

The Broncos are five weeks from beginning one of themost scrutinized training camps in franchise history,and they appear ready because their quarterback will be.

Nix understands injuries are inevitable, but he has twice recovered from ankle surgeries in high school and college and played better.Heisconﬁdent he will do so again.

There is no limp, no changein his throwing mechanics, noreason to think he will be anything but 100%when Denver travels

to Kansas City for theseason opener.When Iasked himifhe hadconcernsabouthis mobility,hesaid he was concerned he might runtoo much Nix is not shying from goals associated withfranchise quarterbacks —win aSuper Bowl, win MVP.Ifhe did notthink that way,why bother paying him$60 million ayearafter this season?

It is not aslam dunkthatthe Broncos repeat as AFCWestchamps.And it is even less likely that theysecure the No.1 seed with an opening schedule that features asixpack nastier than Milwaukee’s Best.

But viewing Nix as areason for regression? That is laughable.

He ﬁnished last season with 30 total touchdowns —rushing and passing —ranking ninth, ahead of Justin Herbert (28)and Patrick Mahomes (27).

He ranked seventh in 2024 with 34,including areceiving score,placing himabove Jalen Hurts (32) and JaydenDaniels (31).

And no quarterback was better in the clutch thanNix last year

He did this without adynamic weapon. In his third year,we can ﬁnallyget abetter gripon his ceiling with the additionof Jaylen Waddle. No longer will third-down calls be: “Hey,Courtland, get open.”Waddlewill pair with Sutton, forcing teams to make tough decisions in mancoverage—where Nix excels.

Conclusions should never be drawn in June without pads on. Butitisobvious why the Broncos added Waddle.

He stops, starts and changes directions seamlessly in trafﬁc. ImagineFrogger as areceiver “There’sanelementofexplosiveness that Ithinkasanoffensewe’velacked for acouple years,”Nix admitted.

While Waddle will make Nix better,the onus is on Davis Webb to help him reach his potential.

Webb will call plays through the lens of aformer NFL quarterback.Hewill simplify the

verbiagetogive Nix more time at theline of scrimmage. As in years past, the Broncos will use avariety of tempos. Webb, however,provides an opportunity to throttleupand downonthe samepossession It is hard to imagine Webb not getting Nix into arhythm more quicklyinfirst drives, first quarters andﬁrst halves.

The Broncos know theyare not going to win 11 one-score gamesagain, afeat that tied an NFL record.They were 1-6in 2024. So thatmeans we should expect them to go6-6 in 2026. Nixcan help themavoid this scenario by playing fewer close games.Starting on Oct. 25 at Arizona, theBroncos should be favored in eight straight.

This is where Nix can ﬂexhis muscles, notlose his ﬁngernails over worst-case scenarios —ankle issues,failing to clickwith Waddle andWebbexperiencing growingpains. If Nixregresses, it will be on him. But serious question: When has he ever given us a reason nottotrust him?

He hasclumsy moments the Broncos had the thirdmost punts last season.Yet, he boasts 10 career game-winningdrives. Wait, whatwas the score in the fourth quarter against Buffalo? Make it 11.

He relishes competition

“A coach told me along time agothatyou have to be alittle screwed up to be good at this andweall areinsome shape andform. Youlook at Bo in the huddle, you see thatfire in his eyes andyou knowthis guy has gotsomethingspecial to him, McGlinchey said.“Youcould feel it the first time he stepped on thefield as arookie. Andall it has done is grow.It’snot even the comebacks that we all know about.Itisjust the way he has developedand trusts everyone around him.”

Forthe third straight season, the Broncos will beoverlooked Critics see imposters.

If theexpectationsofchasing achampionship were too much, if thepressurewas toosuffocating, Iwouldbethe ﬁrst to call them out. But doubt is not aproblem With Sean Payton, it is amotivation. Nix is not aquestion, his ankle be damned. He is the solution.

AddedThibodeaux: “He don’t carewhat theclock say, what the time say.He’sgoing to keep going. Whether it’s his last snap, or his ﬁrst snap, he’s going to go, he’s going to do it theright way.” Since 2011, the year the list

MCCLURE

Continuedfrom page1C

played for That “glue guy” moniker offered multiple meanings for critics of undersized linemen. At 6-foot-2, 290 pounds, he didnot ﬁt theprototype of an NFL lineman. But McClure stuck to his craft relentlessly as he ﬁne-tuned skills to adapt and excel.

How good washe? Consider this —McClure was called for just 22 penalties in 198 regular-season games during his NFL career That’s an average of 1.7 penalties peryear.McClure didn’thavea single penalty called on him in the 2011 season. And it started at practice withan order from Blanchard, best known as theCentral baseball coach whowon four straight Class4A state titles with McClure as his all-state catcher

“There wasn’tawhole lotelse Todd could do at tight endthat day,”Blanchard said. “So, Itold him to move over to center.He did notlike it one bit and Iknew it. But Isaid, ‘You never know when you might have to play there.’ Of course, he did. What a career

“Now Iwilltellyou this,if Todd would havegone with baseball instead,I think he could have made it to the major leaguesasacatcher.Ireally do. He was that good.”

However,then-LSU football coach Gerry DiNardo was enamored with McClure after watching him play basketball forCentral. After that,hestillplayed tight end, but also took enough snaps at center so the ﬁlmcould be dubbed to VHS tapes that were sent to college football coaches.

“DiNardo loved him and told him to keep playing basketball because it would help his footwork so much,” former Central basketball coach Gary Duhe said.

“Todd was just an all-around athlete. Igive his dad alot of credit because he had him play point guard in Biddy Basketball even though he was abigger kid.”

Being calledagreat teammate or aleader is often dismissed as an antiquated atta-boy cliché by many people in today’ssociety McClure provides an example of whythat should not happen, a point hisformer LSU teammates eagerly explain.

“Weplayed againsteach other in middle school, and Ialways followed his career,” former LSU linebacker Markeith Spears said.

“Todd was one of the first guys to commit to LSU earlyinour se-

started, 2025 wasthe first time zero Saintswerefeatured. Jordan being No.100 avoids a2026 repeat. Datesset

Saints coach Kellen Moore wanted his team to have joint practices against three teams this summer, andhegot his wish Now,those dates have been ﬁnalized. TheSaintswill host theJacksonville Jaguars at theirteam facility in Metairie on Aug. 13. The team will then head to California to practice against theDallas Cowboys in Oxnard on Aug. 18 and the Los AngelesRamsonAug. 20.

“It’ll be great work,” Moore said during mandatory minicamp.

The Jaguars will visit ahead of theirAug.15 preseason game againstNew Orleans,while the Saints will get twojoint practices in beforetheir Aug. 22 preseason contest against the Rams. Thedates were unveiled Monday as part of aleague release that also ﬁnalized the start of training campfor teams. The Saints’ rookies and veterans will report on July 28, with camptobegin the next day.

Email Matthew Parasat matt.paras@theadvocate.com

nior year.And Iﬁgured if it was good enough for him, it was good enough forme.

“But Idid not know Todd as a person until we got to LSU. Iwas so nervous before my ﬁrst start our freshman year.Todd calmed me down. He walked me through it, telling me,‘Youknow what to do …justplayhard like youalways do.’ That’scompassion and leadership.”

McClure was drafted in the seventh round of the 1999 NFL Draft by the Falcons. He tore his ACL during atraining camp, a tough break that hadendedmany careers. But not McClure’s.

“I remember atrainer telling me it was atorn ACL and then he left me in this area by myself, McClure said. “I wasn’tsure what would happen next …was it (football) over for me?”

McClure learned therewere two options. If the team offered an injury settlement, he would be released. If the Falcons placed him on injured reserve, McClure would get his chance.

“PrettysoonI found outI made an impression on people,” McClure said. “Theyhad talked about me and what Ihad done in meetings for the offense and defense. So, they put me on IR. Igot to workrehabbing, watching ﬁlm …everything Icould do.” McClure honed his skills for reading sideline signals andthe body language of defenders, lookingfor a“tell” that would give away game plans or tendencies.

The following season, McClure became afixture for the Falcons, starting 159 of 160 games through the bulk of his career Michael Vick and Matt Ryan were amongMcClure’s Atlanta quarterbacks. He blocked for LSHOF running back and former Catholic High-BatonRouge star Warrick Dunn.

“Todd and Iwere teammates for eight years,” former Falcons lineman Tyson Clabo said. “I still considerhim to be my brother, even though we haven’tplayed together in quite awhile. That’s how special the bond is.” Clabo laughedasheexplained that the Falcons drafted other centers over the years, ﬁguring they could replace McClure. Somepotential replacements werecut. Others got moved to new positions.

“Management talkedabout wanting to be bigger and faster on the offensive line over the years when Iwas the coach,” Smithsaid. “Itwas adifferent storyinour building. We knew Todd was always the guy …our guy.”

STAFFPHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

CamJordan signs acontract for his 16th season with the NewOrleans Saints in Metairie on June 16. Jordan will make more upfront moneythan he did in 2025.

TROY RENCK

GAMES

WORLDCUP 2026

Underdog Cape Verdekeeps rolling

BY TIM REYNOLDS Associated Press

MIAMI GARDENS,Fla. Here’s something very few could have reasonably expected coming into this World Cup: Cape Verdecontrols its own destiny withone match left in group play

That’sright. With awin on Friday against Saudi Arabia, thetiny nation of about 500,000 people and about 15 million new Instagram followers will be headed to the round of 32. Even adrawmight be —should be —enoughtoearna spot in the knockout round.

The Blue Sharks were long shots entering the WorldCup; some books had them at no better than 12% to advance from the group stage. They’re currently favored to move on.

“It’sinour hands,” defender Roberto Lopes said. “Wehave to go and take it.”

Apair of draws —ﬁrstagainst Spaintobegin group play, then rallying for a2-2 result against Uruguay on Sunday —has Cape Verde still searching for its ﬁrst win in its initial World Cup appearance. Still, the teamisinan ideal position.

Spain leads Group Hwith four points. Uruguay and Cape Verde are next with two points each, while Saudi Arabia is last with one point. The top twoteams from each group advance to the round of 32 along with the top eight third-placeteams in the12 groups.

Awin over Saudi Arabia by Cape Verde would give it five points; it would then be mathematicallycertaintobe no worse than second in the group. Adraw would give the team three points; that, combined with aSpain win over Uruguay,would alsoassure a second-place ﬁnish in group play

“One game at atime,” Cape Verde backup goalkeeper CJ dos Santos said. “This is just another challenge for us.”

There is areal chance thatif Cape Verde beats Saudi Arabia, its rewardwould be around of 32

game against Lionel Messi and reigning World Cup champion Argentina. And the interest in that game would be overwhelming, if it happened. On one side, there would be Messi, the biggest drawinthe sport andpossiblythe biggest draw right now in any sport. On the other,therewould be ateam thatthe world seems to have adopted —the improbable story,repletewith a40-year-old goalkeeper whose mother needed help just to obtain avisa andﬂytothe U.S to watch her son play on soccer’s grandest stage

More than half of the team was born somewhere other than Cape Verde; KevinPina, whoscored against Uruguay,spentpart of his youth living in Massachusetts, which has the largestconcentration of theCape Verdean diaspora in the U.S

That stems from howinthe 1800s, CapeVerdeans found work

Mbappé scores twice to lead France past Iraq

By The Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA Kylian Mbappé scored twice to move into atie for secondincareer World Cup goals with 16,and France played through the tournament’sﬁrst rain delay to beat Iraq 3-0onMonday andadvance to the knockout stage. Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé alsoscored for Les Bleus, giving fans who stuck out arainy night in Philadelphia areason to cutloose.

Mbappé scored in the 14th and 54th minutes to cap amomentous andsoggy 100th international appearance for one of the bestplayers in the world.

Mbappe’sﬁrst goal gaveFrance a1-0 lead at halftime, when heavy rain and an incoming thunderstorm prompted adelayofjust over two hoursand forced the grounds crew to squeegee water off the swampy Kentucky bluegrass at Lincoln Financial Field. Weather aside, this game —as so many do for France —belonged

to Mbappé as he tries to keep pace on the career goals list with new record holder Lionel Messi. Playing in histhird WorldCup, the 27-year-old Mbappé matched Miroslav Klose of Germany on the goalslist and moved one ahead of Brazil great Ronaldo.

Mbappé scored his thirdgoal of the tournamentwith aleft-footed strike —his supposed weaker foot —from the edge of thebox that got past Iraq goalkeeper Ahmed Basil, whogot his ﬁrst start in the tournamentafter captain Jalal Hassan allowed allfour goals in Iraq’s 4-1 loss to Norway

For his second goal, Mbappé took advantage of apoor pass to thegoalkeeper by Iraqdefender Zaid Tahseen. Dembelecontrolled the loose ball and passedtoMbappé, who tapped it in with his right foot.

NORWAY3,SENEGAL 2: In East Rutherford,New Jersey,Erling Haalandscored twice to raise his World Cup goals total to four,and Norway advanced to the round of

Ronaldoaimstoget

BY JOHN MARSHALL

Associated Press

Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland have taken theirexpected starringroles so far in the World Cup. Cristiano Ronaldo is getting some unexpected criticism.

Portugal’s41-year-oldstar arrived in North America hoping to make history by scoringin his sixth straight World Cup. He ended up frustrated after aforgettable opening performance in Portugal’ssurprising 1-1 draw against Congo, missingon acouple of good scoring chances in the second half.

on American whaling vesselsin

theAtlantic and eventually settled in port cities in states like Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

“Wecomefrom acountryof immigrants,”Cape Verde coach Bubista said. “Wewantevery child and everyyoung person to feel proud to representtheir country We wantour success to makethem want to represent Cape Verde.”

At LuandaRestaurantinBrockton, Massachusetts,Cape Verde’s ﬁrst World Cup matchbecamean afternoonofnervous cheering as customers gathered around televisions; some fans even brought laptops so theycould work remotely from the restaurant without missing the game against Spain.

Every save by 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha —whosestardom hasrisen immeasurablyduring this tournament—drew louder reactionsinside the restaurant. OwnerAmélia Goncalves said she triedtoworkwhile screaming,

laughing and nearly crying, noting that Vozinha’sstory resonates with the Cape Verdean community

“If you work hard, it’spossible,” Goncalves said.

The team hasworked hard.The round of 32 is possible now. Atiny country with big hopesispoised for itsbiggest sports moment.

“Nownobody can ask, ‘Where is Cape Verde?’ ”said 22-year-old Micaelle Nunes, one of the soccer revelers in Brockton. “The whole world will know.”

The players are aware of the celebrations. They know that, in some ways, they have become a sentimental favorite all over the globe. Their story is easy to appreciate andthe way they play hasdrawn applause even from fans in opposing jerseys.

A12% chance is on the brink of coming through.

“Wehad abig journey here,” Lopes said. “Now that we’re here, we can’tchange.”

ROUNDUP

32 with awin over Senegal.

Marcus Pedersonhad put theVikings ahead in the 43rdminuteafter replacing an injured teammate, andHaalandkeptuphis incredible goalsstreak in the 48th and 58th minutes to build a3-1 lead.

Firstheran onto Martin Ødegaard’s pass andput aleft-footed shot past the outstretched left

hand of goalkeeper Édouard Mendy,capping an end-to-end counterattack fora2-0 lead.

On his second goal, Haaland tunneledthroughthe defenseand 8 yards out raised his weaker right foot to volley in PatrickBerg’s pass. Haaland raised ahand to an ear to inspire thethousands of red clad Norwaysupporters behind the northgoal whoperformed theViking Row —chanting “Ro!” while mimicking oarsmen.

on trackafter disappointingstart

TUESDAYLOOKAHEAD

Ronaldo and Portugalget a chance to getback on track against Uzbekistan on Tuesday in Houston. One of the pre-tournament favorites to win the World Cup, Portugal coulduse awin to keep pace in Group Kfollowing Colombia’s openingwin and Congo’stie in its ﬁrst World Cup in 52 years. Kane’s record pursuit HarryKanescored twogoals in England’sopening 4-2 win over Croatia, giving him10inWorld Cupplay to match Gary Lineker’s Englishrecord. It also pushed

Kane into aseven-way tie for seventh in tournament history Kane gets achancetoadd to that total when England faces surprising Ghana in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on Tuesday Should he score, Kane would moveintoatie for sixth with Germany’sJürgenKlinsmann and Hungary’sSándorKocsis. Awin would send England to theknockout stagefor the third straight World Cup. Ghana is looking for its first trip to theknockout stage since reaching the quarterfinals in 2010. England is unbeaten against African teams at the WorldCup, with five wins and three draws.

Eliminationgame?

Panama and Croatia will play a game in Toronto that neither can affordtolose. The countriesare at thebottom of Group Lbehind England and Ghana. Awin keeps alive the hopes of reaching the knockoutstage, while alossall but ends those hopes.

Panama wasinline for its ﬁrst World Cup point against Ghana before Brandon Thomas-Asante’s late goal broke ascoreless tie. Croatia ﬁnished third in Qatar in 2022 and wasrunner-up to France four years earlier in Russia, but is in trouble after losing 4-2 to England in this year’sopener

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By REBECCA BLACKWELL Cape Verdefans cheer after aWorld Cup matchagainst UruguayonSunday in Miami Gardens,Fla

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOByPETR DAVID JOSEK

Kylian Mbappecelebrates after scoring France’s first goal during a match against Iraq on MondayinPhiladelphia.

Ohtani a favorite for MVP, but not Cy Young

BY NOAH TRISTER

AP baseball writer

Shohei Ohtani has won four MVPs, and now he’s making an impressive bid for an honor that has thus far eluded the two-way star: the Cy Young Award. Problem is, the competition in the National League might be a little too stiff this year. Ohtani is 7-2 with a 1.47 ERA so far this season. With the Los Angeles Dodgers nearly halfway through their schedule, he’s made 12 starts and thrown 732⁄3 innings. His career highs in those categories are 28 and 166, back in 2022. That year he went 15-9 with a 2.33 ERA for the Los Angeles Angels and ﬁnished fourth in the American League Cy Young race. Ohtani’s hitting has always been more reliable than his pitching on a year-in, year-out basis He didn’t pitch at all in 2019 or 2024, and his teams have been careful with his workload. Even now, he’s a few innings shy of qualifying for the ERA title, but with a mark that far below 2.00, he’s clearly one of the game’s top starters. Still, he remains a long shot for the Cy Young according to oddsmakers. Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski (8-3, 1.45 in 15 starts) is the favorite, and Philadelphia’s Cristopher Sánchez (9-3, 1.80) isn’t far removed from throwing 50 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings.

Argentina’s Lionel

celebrates scoring his side’s second goal against Austria in Arlington, Texas, on Monday.

MESSI

Continued from page 1C

Dallas Cowboys.

“Someone who is 39 years old and can score two goals, and ﬁve goals overall at the beginning of the World Cup, well, that makes a difference,” Austria coach Ralf Rangnick said through an interpreter “We knew that he is on a level of his own, and Lionel Messi showed us today that he’s one of the best, and he is the best.”

There had been a gasp from those same fans when Messi missed the penalty kick in the ninth minute. His left-footed attempt went just wide of the right post. He is now 4 of 7 on penalty kicks in regulation play at the World Cup with misses in three consecutive tournaments.

Klose played in 24 World Cup matches for Germany, which wrapped up his fourth tournament by winning the 2014 final 1-0 in extra time over Messi and Argentina.

In an interview published on June 12, Klose said he expected Messi to break the scoring record.

“With the larger field of competing teams there are more games and so more chances to score goals. And I assume Argentina and France will go far,” Klose told German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung. “That’s perfectly OK, the record will be broken eventually anyhow and Messi is welcome to be the one who does it I’m a big fan of Messi, always have been. Messi is a genius.”

Messi’s hat trick in the previous game, in his 200th international appearance, came 20 years to the date of his World Cup debut in Germany, when he also scored. Monday was his FIFA-record 28th match in the tournament

The penalty kick came after Lautaro Martinez was running free in the box and was tackled from behind by Xaver Schlager and Stefan Posch, the defender playing with a broken jaw

Play continued for more than a minute with Martinez still on the ground near the goal When the game was stopped for him, officials reviewed the play and called the penalty

Ohtani is a runaway favorite to win another MVP, of course. He isn’t on pace for the eye-popping home run and stolen base stats he’s produced in the past, but he leads the National League in on-base percentage, and when you factor in his pitching value it’s hard to make a case for anyone else.

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But don’t worry local basketball fans. There are plenty of reasons to tune in Here are ﬁve reasons for local fans to watch the draft.

Another draft surprise?

Joe Dumars, the Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations, said two days after the season ended that the Pelicans could possibly trade back into the ﬁrst round of the draft. If the Pelicans do that, it means they have identiﬁed a player in this strong draft class that they really covet.

The best guess is that it would be a big man, the one position that is the team’s biggest need.

Michigan center Aday Mara would be ideal, but he is expected to be a lottery pick The Pelicans will have to give up a lot to move that high in the draft. One thing we know is that Dumars puts full trust in right-hand man Troy Weaver the Pelicans senior vice president of basketball operations.

“Troy’s ability to identify talent in this league is elite,” Dumars said last June.

If there is player that Weaver wants, the Pelicans could do whatever it takes to go get him.

Moving on

If the Pelicans end up in the ﬁrst round, it means they are willing to move on from one (or more) of their key pieces. That’s what it’s going to take. While it wouldn’t be a sign of a full rebuild, it would be a continuation of a youth movement that started with last year’s

NBA

Continued from page 1C

There’s a strong possibility Dybantsa is headed back to Washington. The 6-foot-9 forward from Boston led the nation with 25.5 points per game in his lone season at BYU and has drawn comparisons with his size and skills to Kevin Durant, who is Dybantsa’s favorite player

The Wizards also could consider other players from a strong group of one-and-done stars, including Darryn Peterson of Kansas, college player of the year Cameron Boozer of Duke or forward Caleb Wilson from North Carolina. Behind them are a number of talented scoring guards.

“I think this draft, top to bottom, is elite. I think you look at guys even outside of the top group, guys in the 16-to-20 range, those are all great players,” Boozer said.

“I think our draft is really strong, stronger than a lot of classes that came before us. I guess we’ll see how strong we really are in a couple of years from now, but I am super excited, for sure.”

The Utah Jazz has the No. 2 pick, followed by the Memphis Grizzlies and Chicago Bulls. Assuming the four forwards are all gone by then, the Los Angeles Clippers at No. 5 would have the ﬁrst choice among the likes of Keaton Wagler of Illinois, Darius Acuff of Arkan-

Performance of the week

The ﬁrst two cycles of the 2026 season took place this past week Pete Crow-Armstrong completed the single-double-triple-homer set for the Chicago Cubs on Monday in a win over Colorado. Then Bryce Harper of the Philadelphia

Phillies pulled it off Saturday during a rout of the New York Mets.

Crow-Armstrong did get picked off ﬁrst immediately after the single that gave him the cycle so give the slight edge to Harper here.

Honorable mention: Kyle Schwarber of the Phillies hit three home runs in the same game Harp-

two ﬁrst-round draft picks: Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen.

Before last week, Dumars was getting several inquiries about Trey Murphy and Herb Jones, two staples on the team. But according to sources, what other teams were offering wasn’t enticing the Pels. Perhaps those conversations have picked up over the past few days.

Moving on from a fan favorite such as Murphy or a defensive stopper such as Jones would get a heavy share of criticism, especially in exchange for an unproven draft pick. It would, however, also say the franchise isn’t just running the same team back from a season ago. It’s a risky move, but one to keep an eye on.

NBA All-Rookie Team trend

While Dumars took a lot of heat

last year for giving up the 2026

ﬁrst-round pick to draft Queen, the overall draft was a success. Fears and Queen both were named to the second team of the All-Rookie Team, showing some promise for the future. The Pelicans also drafted Micah Peavy in the second round and he was a contributor, playing in 61 games with four starts. The year before that, center Yves Missi made the All-Rookie Team. Continuing a run of identifying quality talent is how you build winning teams.

Second-round gem

It’s hard to get excited about the 58th overall selection, which is the only pick the Pelicans have in the draft. A late second-round pick may not last past the Summer League roster The Pels have hit on second-

sas, Kingston Flemings of Houston or Mikel Brown of Louisville. Dybantsa, with his strong resume against top competition, is obviously hard to pass up. But the Wizards also have to weigh Peterson’s potential against what he was able to deliver at Kansas.

A McDonald’s All-American in high school, he averaged 20.2 points last season as one of the top recruits ever landed by the Jayhawks. But there are plenty of questions when it comes to his

er hit for the cycle. The only other time two teammates pulled that off was June 3, 1932, when Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees hit four home runs and Tony Lazzeri hit for the cycle. The Yankees beat the Philadelphia Athletics 20-13 that day

Comeback of the week

The Athletics overcame a sevenrun, sixth-inning deﬁcit to beat the Los Angeles Angels 12-11 in 10 innings on Friday night. It was a wild evening, with the A’s taking a 4-0 lead before allowing 11 consecutive runs The Angels had a win probability of 99% by the bottom of the seventh according to Baseball Savant.

The comeback began an inning earlier when Zack Gelof singled home a run to make it 11-5. With two outs in the seventh, Tyler Soderstrom walked and Jacob Wilson followed with a homer to cut the deﬁcit to four A two-run homer in the eighth by Max Muncy made it 11-9.

The A’s were down to their last out when Jonah Heim hit a tying two-run homer in the ninth. After Muncy, the third baseman, threw a runner out at the plate in the top of the 10th, the Athletics won when Nick Kurtz drew a bases-loaded walk in the bottom half.

The A’s (38-40) are 11⁄2 games out of ﬁrst place in the AL West despite what is now the worst run differential in the AL at minus-54.

round draft picks before. In addition to Peavy in 2025, they got Jones early in the second round in 2021. They drafted Karlo Matkovic with the 52nd overall pick a year later The Pels have also found some undrafted free agent gems such as Jose Alvarado and Naji Marshall. So it’s possible to ﬁnd some talent late in the draft.

The Pels hosted the following players for workouts last week, according to a report by The Athletic: Maliq Brown (Duke), Malik Dia (Ole Miss), Xavian Lee (Florida), JJ Starling (Syracuse) and Peter Suder (Miami (Ohio)).

A local player, former Carver standout Solomon Washington (Maryland), also had a workout with the team.

Other local players

Two players who played their high school ball in the greater New Orleans are expected to hear their names called.

Chris Cenac, a 6-foot-11 forward, played two seasons at Newman in Uptown New Orleans. The LaPlace native ﬁnished his career at Link Academy in Missouri before playing one season at the University of Houston. He led Houston with 7.9 rebounds per game and helped the Cougars reach the Sweet 16.

Two years ago, Allen Graves was finishing up his high school career at Ponchatoula High School on his way to being named Louisiana’s Mr Basketball. After redshirting his first season at Santa Clara, he averaged 11.8 points per game and was named both Freshman of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year in the West Coast Conference. Both Cenac and Graves are expected to go in the first round.

not knowing where he’s headed af-

ter draft night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

“Oh, it’s been my life for a while now,” Peterson said “I went to three different high schools. I’ve been on the move my entire life, so no problem at all. That’s part of the process and I’m embracing it.”

The host Nets have the No. 6 pick, hoping to generate some buzz in a city where they’ve never felt less significant after the Knicks won their ﬁrst NBA championship since 1973.

Dybantsa was at Game 4 at Madison Square Garden — the other photo with his father was taken at the NBA Finals — when the Knicks made the biggest ﬁnals comeback on record by erasing a 29-point deﬁcit.

“Craziest game I’ve ever watched in real life,” he said. “Like, it was so loud in there.”

availability Peterson dealt with full-body cramping issues before the season that led to a brief hospitalization, and other injuries and illnesses kept him from playing in 11 games while limiting him in several others. The 6-5 guard said teams haven’t shown any concerns about his health.

“Not at all,” he said. “Every team’s got my medicals and I’m cleared, so there’s no issues.” He doesn’t seem stressed about

Now Dybantsa is looking forward to being the player creating the cheers. The Wizards’ title drought is almost as long as the Knicks’ was, having last won in 1978 when they were still known as the Bullets. If they tab Dybantsa as the player who can turn them around, he’s ready for the expectations.

“Obviously it’s going to be a little bit more pressure probably, target on my back,” Dybantsa said. “I mean, I’ve been No. 1 my whole life and people gunning after me, so it’d be a bigger motivation for me going into the league.”

AP PHOTO By TONy GUTIERREZ

Messi

STAFF FILE PHOTO By BRETT DUKE Pelicans guard Jeremiah Fears, left, slaps hands with center Derik Queen after Fears made a 3-pointer against the Utah Jazz at the Smoothie King Center on April 7.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By TONy GUTIERREZ

ByU forward AJ Dybantsa celebrates his 3-pointer in the second half of a game against Baylor on Feb 10 in Waco, Texas.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO KyUSUNG GONG

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani delivers during a game against the Tampa Bay Rays in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

Time sink

Stay on topof difficult-to-control torpedograss.

Herbicides arethe go-to, says scientist

When the subject of torpedograsscomes up, some folks can’tresist responding with a little humor.The best way to get rid of this reviled weed, they advise, is to stick a“for sale” sign in your yard. That may be taking thingsa bit far.But there is agrain of truth in this joke.

“It’sone of the most problematicand difﬁcult grass weeds to control in Louisiana,” said Colton Blankenship, ahorticulture weed scientist at the LSU AgCenter Hammond Research Station.

It’snearly impossible to eradicate torpedograssonce it hasestablished in yourlawn or garden —but there are things you can do to keep the fast-growing weed from taking over,Blankenship said. For starters, you need to know how to identify torpedograsssoyou can take action as soon as you spot it.

Torpedograss (Panicum repens)isa perennial, warmseason weed that thrives in wet conditions, even tolerating standing water.Ithas adistinctive, blue-gray color that stands out in the landscape. Its stems and leaves are stiff, and you’ll sometimes see hairs along leaf sheaths.

By OLIVIA McCLURE

Torpedograss is notoriously difficult to control.Itcan be identified by its uniqueblue-gray color and aggressivegrowth habit.

More often, however,the plant’sgrowthhabit is what gives it away

“It’svery likely to be taking over an area,” Blankenship said. “You’re very unlikely to ﬁnd just asmall amount of torpedograss.” The weed has sharplypointed rhizomes that resemble torpedoes —hence its name.

“This is what helps it spread underground and becomesuch aproblem in the landscapesetting,” Blankenship said. “It can go for very great distances, just tunneling through everything that might stand in its way.Ifyou cut these rhizomes up, they’regoing to regenerate into brand-new plants.”

It’simportant to avoiddoing anything that might break up and spread those rhizomes.

Tilling your garden space, for example, would be abad idea if torpedograss is present. Moving soil from torpedograssinfested areas also wouldbe ill-advised. Because it anchors into the soil using rhizomes, torpedograss is hard to hand-pull. To keep populations in check, herbicides are the way to go, Blankenship said. Just make sure you have realistic expectations.

“A lot of the herbicides we have available,especiallyin landscape beds, may

FRIDGE BENEFITS

BY MADDIE SCOTT Staff writer

After thecommunity fridge on Government Street wascompletely redone in June, anew campaign callsoneveryone in BatonRouge to beat thesummer’s food scarcity Located at 2303 Government St., the community fridge wasknocked down and replaced with two new fridges, apantry,roof and walls. The fridge is located next to and operated by TheRed Shoes, alocal nonproﬁt and center for spiritual growth.Local ﬁgures and organizations joined forces to makethe upgrade happen. It was completed right in time for Fill theFridge of July,acampaign ledbyThe RedShoes thatcalls on Baton Rouge businesses, organizations and individuals to schedule aday in July and stock thefridge withfood. The goal is to have 31

BY MADDIE SCOTT Staff writer

days pledged, said associate director of The Red Shoes Dorcas Brandon. All slots have been scheduled. “School is out, and many kids in Louisianasuffer from food insecurity,”Brandon said. “Since they’re not in school, where’sthat meal coming from? Well, what we can do is makesure that there’s something in that fridge every day in themonth of July.”

Building thefridge Before,the community fridge wasfacing west, toward the sun, and the metal roofalsomeant that the appliance and pantry weren’t optimally cold. Brandonknew it needed an upgrade, and she leaned on her immediatenetwork by making phone calls. That eventually led her to Jhonn Jackson, acontent creator in the Baton Rouge area known online as UncleJhonn with 2.5million

followers on Instagram and nearly 2million on TikTok. His videos

PROVIDED PHOTOS

Volunteers stock the pair of newfridges at The Red Shoes on June 4.

Jhonn Jackson, left,worksonthe newcommunity fridge at The Red Shoes next to First Tuesdayfounder StuartGilly on June 2.

Privatepropertybadly needsa fence

Dear Miss Manners: TheFourth of July is quickly approaching.Everyyear,due to my home being in closeproximity to the city’sﬁreworks display,I am bombarded with uninvited visitors. Idoinvite some friends over,but I spend the evening chasing trespassers off my property How do Ipolitely tell people in advance that I do not want smoking or alcoholic beverages on my property? The smoking is just because Idon’tlike the habit.The alcohol is because my teen invites friends over,and Ialsodonot wantthe responsibility forpeople overdoingit. In the past, people

have just shown up with whole coolers of beer without asking.

Judith Martin MISS MANNERS

Gentle reader: Do you have a fence? Apparently you needone,with aspeciﬁc entrance. And at that entrance, you seem to need a bouncer This need not be aburly bully who sizes up wardrobes and coiffures to decidewho would best decorate your party. Miss Mannerssuggeststhat you ask for teenage volunteers to rotate manning thegate and saying politely,“I’m sorry; this is aprivate party,” “Please leave your liquor in your car”and “This is ano-smokingarea.” Thismay require some rehears-

als, but surely thebragging rights of having been bouncerswill compensate them for doing this duty.

Dear Miss Manners: There are so manyetiquette rules stiﬂing the truth. You’re not allowed tosay that you had aterrible time at a party, that someone is ugly,that you hated agift, etc.

Don’tyou believe in free speech?

Gentlereader: Of course Miss Manners, an American and ajournalist, believes in free speech. She also believes in having the good sense to realize that you don’talways need to exercise it. Andthat is because she also believes in maintaining the peace.

Dear Miss Manners: Ioften social-

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focus on DIY construction, landscaping, home improvement projectsand oftentimes, helping the community Jackson built the community fridge with hiscrew over the course of four days He partnered with Lowe’s, which is what provided the fridges and building materials, and efforts were also joined by First Tuesday, a localnonproﬁt that teamsup with businesses to accomplish acommunityinitiative eachmonth

Jackson posted avideo about the project on his social media, which currently has over24,000 likes on Instagram.Inthe video, he said the experience had an impact on him, specifically seeing people come by with their childrengrabbing sandwiches out of the fridge. “The people here appear to be working-class people, and some of them appear to be homeless, but amajority of them had kids with them,” he said in the video. “The world has abused all of us so much that sometimes we think when people don’t have nothing to eat, they just ain’tworking hard enough. But y’all, it’salways adeeper reason why,and to be honest, thatain’tnone of our business, because Ibelieve if somebody is hungry, and

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CourseyBoulevard in 2015 Seventeen years into operating Willie’sRestaurant, the Historic Highland Road Grill is Chapman’snewest project.

we got it, we might as well feed them.”

His crew stocked it with goods like macaroni and cheese cups, canned vegetables, rice, ramen and toothpaste. Thenew structure hasafresh layer of red paintand some signs, oneof which reads“Give what you can.Take what you need.”

Throughout thefew days of construction,The Red Shoes staff felta boost of energy and anticipation. Brandon found herself peaking out thewindow to see the developments.

“There isthisair of excitement, you know? Seeing neighbors walk by and see the excitement in their eyes,” Brandon said Coming together

Severalbusinesseshave pledged to fill the fridge in July,including Parish Pets,Cheba Hut,Red Stick Reads, Center for Planning Excellence andmore. So haveindividualssuch as Brandon and her friend, Yolanda Brown-Matthews, andthey’re viewing it as an opportunityto hang out for aday while cooking red beans, baked chicken and cornbread

“Right now,people are going through some hard times,”saidHeather Sewell Day,owner of Red Cake Events. “Things are expensive. Gas is expensive. I thinkmorethanever, people needalittle help in the heat of thesummer.” Red Cake Events has par-

ticipated in Fill the Fridge of July every year since the campaign startedin2023. Located at 2897 Government St.(between BR.cade andSimple Joe Cafe), the business coordinates events from galas to anniversaries to festivals, and it pledged to ﬁll thefridge on July 7.

Sewell Day has seenﬁrsthand how much thecommunityrelies on this resource.

“When you put things in this fridge,itisgonewithin the hour,” Sewell Daysaid. “I don’tknowabout other community fridges andoutlets, but this one is very well known, and things are gone immediately.”

Red Cake Events shares an office space with Time Warp, so their staffjoins in too, andSewellDay is friends with theowner of Bayou Sarah Farm, which has pitched in things like eggs and blueberries.

“Now the fridges are multiplying,” she said. “So there’s room to put even moreinthere.”

Sewell Day has enjoyed seeingthiscampaigngrow over the past few years, and she thinks Brandon does a great job at encouraging businesses to join theeffort. Even though all days in July have been pledged, donationsare still encouraged.

“I love having adedicated day for us to really rile up the troops and allour supporters and friends,”Sewell Day said, “and ask themto help outand make the fridge full and fat.”

ize with amarried couple Ihave known for afew years. They are lovely people, but both of them have ahabit I’mnot fond of. Whenever I’malone with one of them, theycomplain incessantly about their spouse. Once, the wife proceeded to inform me of an argument they’d had just before Igot to their home, while the husband was walking in and out of theroom and undoubtedly could hear her Iwas too embarrassed to tell her to stop and just sat looking like adeer caught in headlights, hoping the husband knew Ihad not solicited the information in theﬁrst place. Ithink that what goes on in a marriage should be kept between

the spouses, not aired out to friends and acquaintances. How do Ipolitely say Iwould prefer not to hear the details of their marriage without giving offense?

Gentle reader: “I’m sorry to hear this. Youknow I’msofond of you both. But Ishould warnyou that I have trouble keeping secrets —I ﬁgure that if people tell me something personal, they don’tcare if it gets around.”

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

Dear Heloise: Apparently, there’struthtothe saying “You’re never really too old to learn new things.” Several monthsago, at the tender age of 77, Ilearned that I’d been purchasing the wrong type of toilet paper for decades. Iaccidentally purchased a no-frills, plain ol’ roll of single-ply toilet paper versus the multiply,quilted, supersoft stuff that I’d bought for years. Here’swhat Ifound out: For ourhousehold of two, asingle-ply roll costs less than $1 and lasts for eight full days. The quilted rolls, on the other hand, cost more than $1 and barely last for two days. That’sright —the single ply lastsfour times as long and costs far less than its

By The Associated Press

quilted cousin. Equally important is that there’s absolutely no difference in comfort and efﬁcacy when using the single-ply roll. —Richard Y.,in West Linn, Oregon Richard, according to my research, as single-ply roll of toilet paper can last up to 18 days fora single person —or possibly 4.3 days, assuming that there are ﬁve bathroom visits per day.For ahousehold, a two- or three-ply roll can last for1-2 days. Of course, the major factor is the number of people in the household and how many squares are used. Iuse single-ply because my plumbertoldmeto only use single-ply.He said thathesaw more cloggedpipeswith thicker

TODAYINHISTORY

to limit the power of organized labor

Today is Tuesday, June 23, the 174th day of 2026. There are 191 days left in the year

Todayinhistory:

On June 23, 1972, President Richard Nixon signed into law the Education Amendmentsof1972, including Title IX, which barred discrimination on thebasis of sex for “any education program or activity receiving Federal ﬁnancial assistance.”

Also on this date:

In 1888, abolitionist Frederick Douglass received one vote from theKentucky delegation at the Republican convention in Chicago, making him theﬁrst Black candidate to have his nameplaced in nomination for U.S. president.

In 1931, aviators Wiley Postand Harold Gattytook off from Roosevelt Field in New York on an aroundthe-world ﬂight that lasted eight days and 15 hours.

In 1947, theSenate joined theHouse in overriding President Harry S. Truman’sveto of the Taft-Hartley Act, designed

In 1969, Warren E. Burger was sworn in as chief justice of the United States by his predecessor,Earl Warren.

In 1985, all 329 people on an Air India Boeing 747 werekilled when it crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near Ireland after a bombplanted by Sikh separatists exploded onboard.

In 1992, mob boss John Gotti was sentenced to life after being found guilty of murder,racketeering and other charges. (Gotti would die in prison in 2002.)

In 2013, daredevilNik Wallenda successfully completed a22-minute walk without asafety netorharness on atightropespanning theLittleColoradoRiver GorgeinArizona, near the Grand Canyon. Thequartermile crossing was seen by people worldwide via TV andonlinestreaming

In 2016, Britain voted to leave the European Union after abitterly divisive referendum campaign, toppling PrimeMinister David Cameron, who led the drive to remain in the bloc.

paper. —Heloise A flying garden flag

DearHeloise: Ihope this hint will help other readers. Ilove having different themed garden flags on my fence on adrop-down rod. When the flags aren’tin use, Ican just fold the rod up. Unfortunately,onvery windy days, the flag would sometimes comeoff the rod. Itried using asafety pin and trying other ways of keeping it on the rod, like wrapping the flag around it. But nothing worked until Ifinally tried clipping the flag with asmall regal clip. NowIjust clip it on the middle of the rod, and there’snomore wrappedor lost flag. Love your column! —Gena, in Little Rock,Arkansas Sendahinttoheloise@ heloise.com.

In 2018, 12 young soccer players and their coach became trapped in aﬂooded cave in northern Thailand. All wereplucked to safety, emaciated but weary,after Thai navy SEALS began arescue operation more than twoweeks after the team becametrapped.

In 2022, in amajor expansion of gun rights, the SupremeCourt said Americans have aright to carry ﬁrearmsinpublic forself-defense.

Today’sbirthdays: Author Richard Bach is 90. Computer scientist Vint Cerf is 83. Actor Bryan Brownis 79. SupremeCourt Justice Clarence Thomas is 78. MusicianGlenn Danzigis 71. Actor Frances McDormand is 69. Golf Hall of Famer Colin Montgomerie is 63. Actor Selma Blairis 54. French soccer manager andformer player Zinedine Zidane is 54. Actor Joel Edgerton is 52. Singersongwriter Jason Mraz is 49. RapperMemphisBleek is 48. Actor Melissa Rauch (“The BigBangTheory”) is 46. Figure skater Alexandra Ignatovais22. Model and actor Laneya Grace is 22.

The menu is still in the works, so details are limited.

Onething Chapmanknows forsureisthatthere will

“I think everyone is slightly concerned that the history of that building is going to be changed,”hesaid. “That is just not going to happen. “We’re going tohonor the history of the building, and I’mtrulyexcited to kind of give back life to what people really want.”

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deﬁnitely be crawﬁsh.

Thelarge staff at Willie’s Restaurant means staffing thenew spot should be easy

“We’ve got anice big staff, and I’m excited to provide them moreopportunity,” he said. “These guys have been working their tails off, and now there’sa little bit of fruit to their labor,soeverybody is ready to go.”

tience —tobring atorpedograss infestation down to a manageable level.

Formore information about torpedograss control strategies, visit lsuagcenter.com/torpedograss Blankenship said it takes regular herbicide applications —plustime and pa-

it, but it’sgoing to be challenging to eliminateit, especiallywith just one application,” he said. “In alawn setting, there are some different herbicides available to suppress it, but it depends on your turfgrass species, so you’ve really got to check those labels.”

“There’sreally not avery effective way to completely eliminate torpedograss once it gets to anew location,which is why it’ssoimportant toprevent it from gettingthere in theﬁrst place,” he said.

STAFF PHOTO By By MADDIE SCOTT

The community fridgeatThe Red Shoes was rebuilt from the ground up.

CANCER(June 21-July 22) Questioneverything. Misinformation is likely if you aren'tdiligentaboutthefactsandfigures of any situation that cropsup. Taking a risk that can affect your status quo can put you in avulnerable position.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Put your energy to work for you. Don't waste timeondeadend projects, users andsituationsthat don't concern you or helpyou reach your objective. Pour your heart andsoulinto what's feasible.

VIRGO(Aug.23-Sept. 22) Easy does it; don't try to buy love or favors. Honesty is the best policy. Saywhat'sonyourmind, and pursue your goals without putting your health,wealthorreputationin jeopardy.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Choosetoobserve and estimate yournext move. Think aboutthe possibilities,and follow the dotsuntilyougetaclearpictureofwhat's at stake. Refuse to let someone getaway with empty promises.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) An open discussion will reveal whereyou stand with someone andwhat youcan do to make things better. Put your energy into understanding and changing what is causing disruptions

SAGITTARIUS (Nov.23-Dec. 21) Spend more timeathome or withloved ones.Surrounding yourself withthe right people will help build confidence. Achange to how you earnyour living will boostyour lifestyle.

CAPRICORN (Dec.22-Jan. 19) Completion will help dodge criticism. Oversee your

plans,dowhatyousayandlookforopportunities to match andmirror those you respect andlovemost. Putyourenergy where it counts.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb.19) Don'tsettlefor less. If change is what you want, make it happen. Put together aroutine that is focused on how youlook and feel about yourself. Exercise

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Gather your thoughts. You may not relish change, but if an opportunitycomes up that requires youtoberesourcefuland explore possibilitiesyou haven't consideredinthe past, push forward withenthusiasm.

ARIES(March21-April 19) Use your superpowers anddiligencetowin over those who show skepticism.Aprudent,disciplinedapproachtogettingwhatyouwant will pay offand change how you move forward professionally or financially.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Build your strength carefully. Whether it's physical improvements, mental growth or both youwanttoharness, having aroutine andplaninplace will help youavoid unnecessary setbacks.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Listen, elaborate and consider whatyou can do without. Declutteringyour life mentally and physically will help you put things in perspective and encourage you to clear apaththatleadstoasimplerlifestyle.

Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are created from quotationsbyfamous people, past and present.Each letter in thecipher stands for another.

TODAy'SCLUE: ZEQUALS U

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers The object is to place thenumbers1to9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box containsthe same number only once. The difficulty level of theSudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

BY PHILLIP ALDER Bridge

Duffy Daugherty,who was the head football coach at MichiganState University from 1954 to 1972, said, “Three things can happen when you put aballin the air—and two of themare bad.” In this deal, East hasthree possible plays at trick one —and twoofthem are bad. South is in three no-trump. West leadsthe heart eight and declarer coverswithdummy’s10.Whichheartshould East play?

East made atwo-heart weak jump overcall, promising arespectable sixcardsuitand5-10high-cardpoints.South responded with anegative double, indicating four spades. North cue-bid three heartstoshow game-forcing values and to ask South if he had aheart stopper for no-trump purposes. South starts with eight toptricks: one heart(giventhelead),fourdiamondsand three clubs. If clubs are 3-3, the contract is safe, but if thatsuit is not breaking favorably,declarer will have to score a spade trick. If East wins the first trickwith his heart ace and returns the suit, South will make hiscontract. Suppose instead East plays his heartqueen.South will get home if —admittedly abig if —hedoes not take thetrick.

However, East should recallthat when an opponent hasonly one stopper in the

suit he is trying to establish, give that trick to the opponent as quickly as possible. East should signalenthusiastically with his nine.Declarer wins, tries the clubs, cashes his diamonds, and turns to spades. But West grabs the trick, cashes his club jack and leads his second heart to defeat the contract ©2026 by NEA, Inc.,dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

Each Wuzzle is awordriddle which creates adisguised word, phrase,name, place, saying, etc. For example: NOON GOOD =GOOD AFTERNOON

Previousanswers:

InstRuctIons: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the additionof“s,” suchas“bats”or“dies,” are not allowed. 3. Additional words made by adding a“d” or an “s” may not be used. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.

toDAY’s WoRD HuMIDoRs: HYU-mih-dors: Cases in which theair is maintained at aproper level of moisture

Average mark 14 words

Timelimit 25 minutes

Can you find 22 or more words in HUMIDORS?

YEstERDAY’s WoRD —BoonDocKs

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles hidato

mallard fillmore