WASHINGTON Though sympathetic that his religious rights had been violated when his dreadlocks were shaved, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday morningthat aLouisiana inmate can’tsue prison officials for monetary damages.
Damon Landor,ofNew Orleans, to hold financially responsible state prisonofficials whoviolated his rights.
“I am disappointedbut notdefeated,” Landorsaidinastatement. “What happenedtome violated my faith and my dignity. Iwill continuepursuing accountability.What happened to me should not happen to anyone else.”
Chief Justice John Roberts, and Justices NeilGorsuch,Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaughand Amy Coney Barrett —all of whom werenominated by
BY TYLERBRIDGES Staff writer
One of two men whogrew up in rural northeast Louisiana will make historySaturday by becoming the first Black U.S. Senate campaign finalistinLouisiana since Reconstruction. Jamie Davis, afarmer from tiny Tensas Parish, is vying forthe Democratic Party Senate nomination on Saturday against Gary Crockett, abusiness owner in New Orleanswho is originally from Madison Parish. Davis is heavily favored in the runoff. He nearly captured the May 16 primaryoutright, has far moremoney than Crockett, hasafull campaign staff —unlike Crockett —and has endorsements from the Louisiana Democratic Party and NewOrleans Mayor Helena Moreno. Meanwhile,U.S. Rep.Julia Letlow and state TreasurerJohnFleming arecompetingSaturday forthe Republican Senate nomination in aseparate party primary
A6-3 majority agreed that the federal law intended to protect the religiousrights of inmates does not include language that would allow
STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
France records its hottest day ever
PARIS France recorded its hottest day ever Tuesday as an early heat wave gripped Europe, prompting the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre museum to restrict visiting hours and disrupting school and transportation schedules in multiple countries.
Punishing temperatures extended to the United Kingdom and Spain, where weather agencies issued red alerts — like France — about the risks of extreme heat for tens of millions of people.
The record of 85.6 F for France’s national thermal indicator — an average of temperatures measured at 30 weather stations — was only the latest in a series of never-before-registered highs heaped on Europe’s largest country The conditions were likely to persist at least until the weekend.
France’s previous hottest days were recorded during heat waves of August 2003 and July 2019, with an average temperature of 84.9 F.
In a country without widespread air conditioning, schools, public transportation and sporting events have been affected.
In Paris, the Eiffel Tower closed in the afternoon instead of late at night, as it usually does. The Louvre museum said it would close two hours earlier than normal from Wednesday through Saturday
Millions of bees escape after semitrailer crash
Millions of honeybees escaped into a rural Texas neighborhood after a semitrailer carrying about 400 hives tipped over, officials said.
Emergency officials in Orange County, Texas, shut down roads in the area Sunday morning and warned residents to stay in their homes while crews worked to unload the trailer and salvage as many hives as possible. The county is located east of Houston and borders Louisiana. No bee stings or serious injuries were immediately reported. Officials haven’t identified the owner of the hives.
Chris Moore, owner of Moore Honey, along with his son and several employees joined the effort to help the bees, but he estimated that only about a quarter of the 408 hives will survive. It mostly depends on how many queens remain alive after the crash, he said.
It’s common for large beekeeping operations to move hives around the country to provide commercial pollination for agriculture in places like California and to follow blooming seasons throughout the South and the Midwest for honey production.
Other local keepers have put out catch boxes to collect remaining strays, but it will likely take a while for the insects to clear out of the area, Moore said. Niger becomes third country to leave ICC
THE HAGUE, Netherlands Niger has formally left the International Criminal Court, accusing the judicial body in The Hague of selective justice.
The west African country submitted a letter to the United Nations on Monday, triggering the withdrawal process from the court’s foundational treaty, the Rome Statute.
“While the court had raised great hopes among peoples who cherish peace and justice, it has been misused and exploited,” the letter said.
Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso announced last year that they would leave the court.
A coup ousted Niger’s democratically elected government in 2023, since when a military junta has abandoned longtime partners and has formed new alliances instead, including with Russia, where President Vladimir Putin faces an arrest warrant by the ICC over the war in Ukraine. Mali and Burkina Faso have undergone similar transformations. The ICC expressed disappointment at the departure. “We regret any decision to depart from the collective effort to end impunity for the most serious international crimes,” the court said in a statement.
U.S. slaps new sanctions on Cuba
Five companies key to island’s crumbling economy targeted
BY DÁNICA COTO Associated Press
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico
The U.S. hit Cuban state companies on Tuesday with new sanctions that analysts say are expected to spook foreign investors and deepen a severe economic crisis.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the sanctions target five Cuban entities, including three linked to Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A., a business conglomerate run by Cuba’s Revolutionary Armed Forces. Best known as GAESA, it is believed to command nearly 40% of Cuba’s gross domestic product As of early 2024, it held $14.5 billion in liquid reserves.
“The situation in Cuba is devolving as the island’s corrupt, brutal and anti-American Communist re-
gime continues to prioritize its own total control over the freedom, opportunity and basic well-being of the Cuban people,” Rubio wrote on X. Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, accused “regime elites” of using GAESA to “steal the island’s few resources diverting them for repression, anti-American subversion and spying instead of schools, power plants, and basic necessities for the Cuban people.”
Bruno Rodríguez, Cuba’s foreign affairs minister, rejected the sanctions, calling Rubio “dishonest and mendacious.”
“Cuba has proven stronger, more capable, and more effective than he anticipated in the face of the ruthless aggression and collective punishment inflicted upon its people and their living conditions,” he wrote on X. “What this individ-
ual is promoting from the world’s greatest power is a crime.”
Anyone that provides services to the targeted Cuban entities risks being sanctioned and cut off from the U.S. financial system.
“By designating specific entities, they’re making it clear to foreign investors: ‘If your business in Cuba touches any of these folks, you risk being banned,’” said Michael Bustamante, a professor and chair in Cuban and Cuban-American Studies at the University of Miami.
“For most of these companies, it’s a bridge too far,” he said of the impact of the new sanctions.
Almacenes Universales S.A., or AUSA, is among the entities sanctioned. As the government’s main logistics and warehousing company it holds up Cuba’s export and import system. It’s also the main storage
Reflecting Pool saga continues with arrests
Trump claims vandals damaged area
BY MATTHEW DALY Associated Press
WASHINGTON The saga over the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool took a turn as President Donald Trump said Tuesday that six people have been arrested over recent damage. The president’s troubled $14-million-plus rehabilitation project has become a visceral flashpoint over law enforcement, aesthetics and environmental concerns ahead of the country’s 250th anniversary celebrations.
In a social media post, Trump claimed without supporting evidence that there had been a “350-foot gash” in the paint as the administration faces a self-imposed deadline to fix the botched renovation before the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration next week. He has also said, including again on Tuesday, that the federal government would release images to substantiate his claim
Trump pledged to beautify the century-old Reflecting Pool ahead of the anniversary celebrations, draining its water and having the bottom painted a color he dubbed “American flag blue.” But since the site was restored, its water has been plagued with algae bloom and pieces of the new coating appeared to be peeling off the bottom.
Trump, without evidence, has repeatedly blamed the peeling paint on vandalism
“It was purposefully and criminally done, and somebody had to work very hard, probably in the dark of night, to create such a condition,” Trump wrote Tues-
day, adding that another seven people were cited for allegedly damaging the pool.
The U.S. Park Police and the Interior Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the arrests or Trump’s claim of vandalism.
The Associated Press verified that one man was arrested after touching the already-peeling paint. He said he wanted to examine the new coating, touching a still-attached chunk briefly then letting go shortly after a park worker told him to.
National Guard members and Park Police have been patrolling the deck around the pool after Trump insisted over the weekend that vandals were responsible for damage to the liner, without providing evidence.
Trump said Tuesday that the Interior Department will release images of alleged vandalism at the pool. Pressed by reporters after Air Force One landed in Pennsylvania for a visit to a trucking company, Trump said Interior is “going to share” photos and videos of the alleged vandalism, which remains unverified.
Trump also said Tuesday that “some of the water” will be drained from the pool “either immediately before or after the Fourth of July, to do the permanent repair.”
Adding to the controversy swirling around the pool, an environmental group called on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to investigate after a Mallard duckling carcass was photographed floating in the algae-filled pool, and two other ducks were found dead nearby The Center for Biological Diversity said Tuesday that the Wildlife Service must enforce the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which protects migratory birds.
Afghan Taliban, EU hold talks
Delegations meet for discussions on deportations
BY SAM MCNEIL and ABDUL QAHAR AFGHAN Associated Press
BRUSSELS A delegation from the Afghan Taliban met Tuesday with European Union staff in Brussels for closed-door talks that focused on diplomatic services and the “dignified returns” of Afghans to the isolated and war-ravaged nation, a Taliban official said.
Afghans make up one of the largest groups of migrants seeking asylum in the EU, but a growing
number of governments in the 27-nation bloc want to speed up and increase deportations for those whose claims are rejected or who commit crimes in their host countries.
Abdul Qahar Balkhi, a spokesperson for the Taliban Ministry of Foreign Affairs, called the visit “historic,” noting it was the first time a delegation from the Islamic Emirate held talks with the EU and EU nations in Brussels.
Balkhi, who led the delegation of five, said talks focused on “trust-building measures,” the Taliban’s diplomatic presence in the EU and a “dignified return process.”
The meeting was held in an undisclosed location in
the Belgian capital, where both the EU and NATO are headquartered.
The Commission said it co-chairedthemeetingwith Sweden and that representatives from 15 of the EU’s 27 nations participated in discussions focused on easing deportations of criminals and security threats.
Afghan authorities have imposed draconian restrictions on rights, particularly for women and girls, since the Taliban seized power in the country in 2021 in the wake of the chaotic withdrawal of U.S.-led forces.
Rights groups said Tuesday’s meeting undercuts the EU’s human rights obligations and could endanger people in Europe and Afghanistan.
company used by the state, Cuba’s private sector and foreign investor partners, Bustamante said Also sanctioned was Rafin S.A., which Bustamante described as a “very opaque” company that he believes operates as the corporate financial arm within GAESA. He said it’s not a bank but holds capital from the government and GAESA and may be a player in financial deals.
The third GAESA-related entity that was sanctioned is Banco Financiero Internacional S.A., a commercial bank that Bustamante said serves as a key institution for foreign investors. Also sanctioned were Geominera S.A., a state-owned mining company, and Empresa Siderúrgica Jose Martí, which the U.S. described as Cuba’s largest raw steel producer
The final sanction was slapped against Annalie Lilliam Rueda Cardero, daughter-in-law of former President Raúl Castro.
Judge rules against SNAP restrictions for candy, sugary drinks
Court finds government can’t block benefits
BY GEOFF MULVIHILL Associated Press
The federal government can’t block benefits from the nation’s largest food aid program from being used to buy candy soda and other sugary drinks, a judge ruled.
Monday’s ruling scuttles restrictions now in place or planned for the federally funded and state-run Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in 23 states President Donald Trump’s administration has not said whether it will appeal to a higher court.
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who sits in Washington and was nominated to the bench by former President Barack Obama, said in her opinion that the ruling was because the federal government did not follow its own definition of “food.” She said it wasn’t a comment on whether the restrictions are a good idea.
“The federal defendants and the states may have
a genuine desire to improve the health of SNAP households by encouraging healthy choices at the store, and they can take lawful steps to meet those goals,” she wrote “But what they cannot do is violate the law and their own regulations along the way.”
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr have encouraged states to limit what the food aid can be used to buy as part of the “Make America Healthy Again” campaign. They reason that soda and candy fuel obesity, diabetes and chronic disease epidemics and taking them off the menu would encourage healthier food choices.
The Agriculture Department has given 23 states so far permission to implement restrictions. The Agriculture Department has not said whether it intends to appeal the ruling. The case is among scores of challenges to Trump administration policies that hinge on whether the administration has the authority to change policies without congressional approval.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MARK SCHIEFELBEIN
National Guard members and Park Police have been patrolling the deck around the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool after President Trump insisted over the weekend that vandals were responsible for damage to the liner
The winners of each race will face off in the general election on Nov.3,with the Republican candidate expected to win.
No-party voters —who makeupnearly one-third of the state’svoters —can cast ballots in either the Republican or Democratic primaries on Saturday.Those who voted last month must vote for the same partythey chose then.
Davis and Crockett are the lastmen standing for Democrats after better known party officials —notably former Gov. John Bel Edwards and state Sen. Jay Luneau, of Alexandria bypassed making the race.
Little seems to separate Davis and Crockett on the issues.
Like Democrats nationally,they both vigorously oppose President Donald Trump’shandling of the war against Iran. Both have blasted Trump’sOne Big Beautiful Bill, saying it primarily cut taxes for the wealthy,while reducing spending on the working
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According to Spell’sarrest warrant, about 10 a.m. Tuesday,Sherwin’sson yelled “f*** you” to thepastor from the front yard of the home. Spell started running across the street and the man yelled “Whatare you going to do?”
Spell started beating on the man until drivers on the road stopped to seewhat was going on, the warrant said. Spell ran back intothe church where he stayed until deputies arrested him. Deputies madecontact with Spell inside the church, and thepastor said he would nottalkwithout hisattorney. When his attorney arrived, he advised Spell not to make astatement and tolddepu-
poorwho qualifyfor Obamacare.
Bothhave promised a “Louisiana First”approach to the issues while providing thin details on what that wouldmean
During a30-minute talk
Mondaynight to Indivisible NOLA, aprogressivegrassrootsgroup, Davisidentified the “fourpillars” of his campaign as “education, healthcare, affordability and upholdingthe constitution.”
But Davisnever explained what policieshesupported to advance those goals
Crockett,who said he was too busy for an interview, spokein generalities while appearing on the airFriday with Baton Rougetalk radio host JimEngster.
“I’m not asafe candidate,” Crockett said.“I’m nota safe candidatebecauseI’m for thepeople.”
Candidatetension
Abit of bad blood has emerged between Davis andCrockett over Davis’ refusal to debate Crockett during the runoff. Davis told the Indivisible NOLA crowd that hiscampaign’sattorney told himnot to engage with Crockett after his opponent accused Davis campaign
ties to start thebooking process.
Spell was booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison.
The man was takentoa nearby hospital, where he hadfive stitches put in his chin. He did not suffer aconcussionbut has two severe black eyes, Sherwin said. AccordingtoSherwin, his sonwas in thefront yard checking whether the grass wasdry enough to mow.He said his son did nothing to provoke Spell.Sherwinwas not home at the time of the incident.
The entire incident was caughtoncamera.
Spell made national headlinesin2020 when he refusedto stopholdingchurch services at Life Tabernacle, defying then-Gov.John Bel Edwards’ emergency orders
workers of tearing down his signs during theprimary and threatened to sue.
“I have no reason notto debate Gary,” Davissaid, notingthat the two appeared at severalforums together during theprimary
“Well, he’ssitting right here,”aman in the audience called out. Crockett was attending theevent uninvited.
“You’re ducking me,” Crockettexclaimed to Davis.
“I ain’t ducking you,” Davis replied.
“You are,” Crockett insisted.
Beth Davis, Indivisible’s communications director and no relation, jumped in.
“Thisisn’t actuallythe space for apolitical debate, thank you,”she said.
The group announced Tuesday thatithad voted unanimously toendorse Jamie Davis.
‘Our John Fetterman’ Davis didn’tlook like the typical Senatecandidate as he stood beforethe group Monday night.Hewore old blue jeans, an oversized sport coat anda Davis for Senate baseball cap thatwas slightly askew
“It’slike ourJohnFetter-
shutting down group events becauseofthe COVID pandemic. He was charged with six misdemeanors.
The Louisiana Supreme Courtlater threw out those charges,saying Edwards’ restrictions on religious gatherings violated the First Amendment Spell was arrested in 2020 after he allegedly almost hit aprotester with abus. He was later released andthe charges dropped.
“He is aprofessional victim-player,” Sherwin said. “Helikes to hide behind women andchildrentocover up who he really is.
Sherwin said he will be suing Spell after the incident Tuesday.Sherwin said he puthis house on themarket in April and plans to move because of the ongoing fights.
man,” Melissa Flournoy,a veteran Democratic activist and former state legislator, said Tuesday by phone, referringtothe Pennsylvania senatorwho favors cargo shorts and ahoodie. “He’s not atraditional candidate, but there’ssomething appealing about his personality and manner that puts people at ease.”
Davis, 55, toldthe crowd that he began working on the family’sfarm in 1990 when it had only 75 acres. Over the years, he expanded it to 3,200 acres in Tensas, Concordia,Franklin and Catahoula parishes.
Davis said Trump’stariffs have prompted reciprocal tariffsthathaveraised the cost of the cotton, corn and soybeans that he exports.
UnlikeCrockett, Davis has served in elected office, afour-year term on theTensas Parish Police Jury. He was defeatedfor reelection. Nonetheless, Davis said he could expand the Democratic base widely enough to challenge the Republican
candidate this fall.
“Itdon’t hurt to be the farmerfrom Tensas,” he said.
“That gives me the ability to talk to the people that Democrats haven’tbeen able to reach forever.”
Davissaidhefavored a “secure border” butalso calledfor giving undocumented immigrants a“simple” path to citizenship. Through June7,Davis had raised $1.2 million and had $383,000 in cash on hand, according to his latest Federal Election Commission filing.
Crockett hadn’traised anymoney throughJune7 He hadspent $49,000ofthe $350,000 he loaned his campaign.
‘Citizens beingignored’
In an interview in April, Crockett, 61, said he left MadisonParish in his early 20s because he saw no opportunitiesthere. He went to NewOrleans to attend Delgado Community College, enlisted in the Navy andservedthere until 2005.
“I was amedic, for lack of another word,” he said. Crockett continued in the NavalReserves and went into business. He said he owns five companies with 21 full-timeemployees. Crockett said he decided to runfor theSenateafter concluding thatpolitical leaders werenot serving the people.
“I saw citizens being ignored, and the same thing happeningoverand over again,” he said. Crockettsaidheownsfour companies that operate under the umbrella of Branae Holdings. They do work in the fields of aerospace, construction, management consulting andcybersecurity.Afifth companyisMixedBag Entertainment, which he said distributesmusic filmsand TV shows. Crockett identified the main issuesas“affordability,better jobs and better healthcare. We can’t have health without great wealth.”
SCAN TO SEEBENEFITS
17 states sue California over plastics packaging law
BY SARAH RANKIN Associated Press
Va
RICHMOND,
A coalition of 17
states and a trade association representing U.S. wholesalers and distributors have sued California to block the enforcement of a stringent recycling law that aims to reduce plastic packaging waste.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in federal court, argues that California’s recently finalized regulations that will gradually require companies to scale back single-use plastics and ensure all packaging is recycling or compostable should be struck down The plaintiffs called the regulations “onerous mandates” that will cause steep price increases in everyday necessities that will be passed on, at least in
DREADLOCKS
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Republican presidents formed the majority
The high court accepted Louisiana’s position.
Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson, who wrote the dissent, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor — all of whom were nominated by Democratic presidents disagreed with the majority’s findings.
The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act was enacted in 2000 and said prisons could not “impose a substantial burden on the religious exercise of a person residing in or confined to an institution.” RLUIPA doesn’t provide clear notice that state officials could be personally liable for violating religious liberties, the court ruled.
Lower courts had ruled against Landor and others who have made similar claims.
Landor argued that, without the threat of monetary damages, enforcement of the law was meaningless. Religious organizations — 35 in all, including those of Jewish, Muslim and Christian faiths — filed “friend of the court” briefs supporting Landor’s position
“Today’s decision makes clear that federal law, as currently written, leaves state prison inmates
part, to consumers.
“Once again, California is trying to enact a policy that negatively impacts the rest of the country If California goes unchecked, consumers will be forced to pay more for basic necessities,” Nebraska
Attorney General Mike Hilgers, who led the coalition, said in a news release.
The law, called the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act, was enacted in 2022.
“Virtually every product packaged or shipped in plastic containers, as well as a significant number of other types of packaging materials that merely incorporate plastics, fall into the Act’s remarkable sweep,” the lawsuit said.
The National Association of
whose religious freedom is violated without a meaningful way to bring claims and hold the officers responsible,” Casey Denson, Landor’s New Orleans lawyer, said in a statement
Handcuffed and shaved
Four months into his five-month term for drug possession in 2020, Landor was transferred to the Raymond LaBorde Correctional Institution near Cottonport in Avoyelles Parish A devout Rastafarian, Landor had followed the dictates of the religion and, as part of a Nazarite vow, had grown his hair for 20 years without cutting it. He showed the guard a copy of a 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals opinion stating that RLUIPA allows Rastafarians to keep their long hair while in prison.
The two previous facilities had not cut his hair But on orders of the warden, guards handcuffed Landor and shaved his head bald.
The case isn’t about whether Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections officials mistreated Landor. Federal trial and appellate judges and Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill agreed he was.
But the issue is whether state prison employees are liable for monetary damages under RLUIPA.
“Religious liberty is deeply im-
Wholesaler-Distributors, which represents companies that import and distribute goods in California, also joined the lawsuit.
“California is not entitled to pronounce nationwide policies,” Eric Hoplin, the trade association’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “Because the Act extends California’s regulatory reach far beyond its borders and brings within its sweep conduct wholly unconnected to California, the Act violates principles of federalism, the horizontal separation of powers, and due process.”
The lawsuit argues the law violates both the U.S and California constitutions. It asks the court to declare California’s law invalid and unenforceable, and halt its implementation.
portant, and Louisiana has laws on the books protecting it,” Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said in a statement “Ten federal courts of appeals held that the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act does not allow prisoners to sue prison officials in their personal capacities for damages, and now the Supreme Court has agreed. We condemn the conduct as alleged in this case and have taken steps to prevent this problem from recurring, but we are grateful the Court agreed with the State in this matter.”
Some argued the ruling shows the need for different laws that allow for tougher accountability.
“It means that inmates whose religious rights are violated by state prison officials will have no damages remedy, no matter how egregious the wrong,” said Zack Tripp, the Weil, Gotshal & Manges partner who argued the case before the Supreme Court on Nov. 10, 2025.
“There is also a glimmer of hope. The Court’s opinion notes several untapped possibilities that Congress could explore to fix this problem and provide a remedy against this kind of gross abuse. The ball is now in Congress’ court.”
A question of consent
Congress often attaches specific requirements with its financial assistance, such as establishing a 21-year-old drinking age as a
prerequisite for receiving federal money to build and maintain highways.
Writing for the majority, Gorsuch stated Congress can terminate funding to a state for not following the conditions set to receive federal financial assistance.
But the provisions of the law enforcing religious rights for prison inmates don’t extend to individual guards and officials unless those employees agree to be liable
“Put simply, without independent regulatory authority, Congress must rely on consent,” Gorsuch wrote for the majority “It must ask and others must agree to face liability should they violate a funding condition Time and time again, from at least 1845 to the present, our precedents have stressed the centrality of consent in this field.”
Gorsuch went back to the replacement of semicolons with commas in drafting Article 1 of the Constitution to show the Founding Fathers intended to limit how broadly Congress could enforce its policies on individual states.
“While the Clause may allow Congress to raise and spend money in support of the ‘general welfare,’ early authorities concluded, it did not ‘endow Congress with [any] power to regulate conduct,’” Gorsuch wrote. Jackson, writing for the dissent,
found Congress opted to pass a law, RLUIPA — rather than rely on contracts, which requires agreement of all the parties — to ensure state and local prisons respect prisoners’ right to religious exercise. The majority “adopts the peculiar position” that Congress can create the directive but can’t allow legal damages as remedy when local officials violate the conditions.
“In the end, the Court reduces some of Congress’s greatest legislative achievements — federal laws that secure civil rights, environmental stability, healthcare, and more — to nothing more than the wheelings-and-dealings of an especially wealthy private party,” Jackson wrote in the dissent. Landor sought damages through his lawsuit filed in December 2021.
Chief U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick, of Baton Rouge, found in September 2022 that RLUIPA doesn’t allow private parties to seek money damages. She also found the lawsuit moot as Landor had been released.
A 5th Circuit appellate panel upheld Dick in September 2023, also condemned Landor’s treatment but found that past rulings didn’t allow damages against state officials.
Email Mark Ballard at mballard@theadvocate.com.
ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By RICH PEDRONCELLI Plastic bottles of shampoo line a shelf at Compton’s Market in Sacramento, Calif.
nounced Tuesday that Louisiana and Exxon Mobil Corp had reached afinal settlement agreement in lawsuits broughtbyparishesalleging that the oil company had polluted the state’s coastline and contributed to its land loss crisis.
The governor said Tuesday in apost on Xthat the resolution to the litigation was a “huge step forward for Louisiana’sfuture.” Judges have sealed the details of settlements with other oil and gas majors and the details of any deal with Exxon are likely to remain secret. It is not clear to what extentthe deal may benefit Louisiana’ssorelyneededcoastal restoration efforts.
Any deal may also add to speculation that SpaceX, Elon Musk’sspace exploration and artificial intelligence company,may be looking to acquire atract of land in remote wetlands in Vermilion Parish to expand its space launch operations. Removing legal liability from Exxon-owned land there could facilitate adeal.
“Today,we’ve reacheda finalagreement with @ExxonMobil, resolving years of litigationand delivering tangible results for our coast and communities,” Landry said. He thanked Attorney General Liz Murrill and ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods.
“ExxonMobil and Louisiana Gov.Jeff Landry have reached an agreementto meaningfully address remediation opportunities and strengthen even further the communities where our employees live and work,” aspokesperson for Exxon said. “As part of this agree-
ment,the state willdismiss meritless lawsuitsthathave beenpending forover adecadeand only got in the way of important environmental remediation.”
Landry announced last month thatLouisiana had “reached adeal”withExxon, apparently before the inkwas dry.Murrill clarified that the state had adeal“in principle,”and Exxonsaid it was working toward finalizingthe deal BatonRouge attorney JohnCarmouche, whohas represented the parishes as plaintiffs in the more than 40 coastal lawsuits, applauded thecompanies for moving toward asettlement last month.
“Some of theoil companies are realizing that this is atype of casethat needs resolution, notfightinginthe courtroom for 12 years,”he said in late May Carmoucheand Murrill could not immediatelybe reached for commenton
Tuesday
Yearsinthe making
The first of 42 coastal lawsuits in Louisiana was filed in 2013, andthe litigation has been winding its way through the courts since then.The oil companies have repeatedly argued that thecases belong infederal court; theplaintiffs have argued they belong in state court, where they believe juries more familiarwith the local environmental impacts of the oil and gasindustry might be easiertowin over That strategy appeared to panout last year,whena Plaqueminesjury rendered ahistoric $745million verdict in thefirstofthe cases to go to trial againstChevron.
But since then, the U.S. Supreme Court handed the oil and gas companies awin, ruling that Chevron’srelationship with the federal government during World WarII— thecompanywas contracted to produce avia-
tionfuel for the wareffort —meant that the case did in fact belong in federal court. It created anew legal litmus testfor removing theother cases to federal court, which it handed down to alower court to apply That could jeopardizethe $745 million verdict. That case willheadtofederal court,where ajudge could decide to toss it and retry thecase.
Rocketsinthe swamp?
Exxon owns 136,000 acres of land in Vermilion Parish that SpaceX is reportedly interested in purchasing for its rocket operations.
Kimberly Siversen Burke, the director of governmentalaffairs forQuiltySpace, aFlorida firm that advises aerospace companies,previously said that building alaunch site in Vermilion Parishwould be between its existing launch pads in Cape Canaveral, Floridaand Boca Chica, Texas.
Plus, “it has methane infrastructure nearby in Cameron and fabrication access throughthe port of Iberia,” Burke said. During the recent legislative session, lawmakers passed legislation that gives unnamed aerospace companies generous taxincentives andmakes it difficult to sue
them for damages related to their launch activities.
In aquarterly report to its shareholders in early May, Exxon addressed theLouisiana lawsuits directly “LocalgovernmentsinLouisiana have filed unprecedent-
BY MICHAEL CASEY and MARYCLAREJALONICK
Associated Press
WASHINGTON TheHouse gave final approval Tuesday to abroad bipartisan bill aimed at lowering the cost of housing, with lawmakers in both parties eager to show progress on affordability issuesahead of this year’smidtermelections.
The 358-32 vote sends the bill to President Donald Trump, whoisexpected to sign it into law Wednesday at the Capitol. The Senate passed the legislation 85-5 on Monday
The legislation would reducefederal regulations, streamline environmental reviews, speedupthe constructionprocessand curb the influence of corporate landlords by limiting their ability to purchase single-
familyhomes.Itrepresents oneofthe most sweeping effortsindecades to increase thesupply ofhousingand bring downprices, as voter frustration runs high about thecost of living
Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters of California,who helped negotiate the bill, said the median ageofa first-time homebuyer is now 40 and rents have soared some 47%since theCOVID-19 pandemic.
“Our country must do better and today we will,” she said.
Dozens of bills were combined to create thefinal package after months of negotiations,creatinga rare moment ofbipartisanship in acongressional session that hasbeenplagued by bitter standoffs.
HouseFinancialServices
Chairman French Hill,an
Arkansas Republican who worked with Watersand the Senate on the bill, saiditis thefirst time in yearsthat Congress has cometogether to make“measurable, accountable changes”tothe nation’shousing laws.
The bill will “help build more homes tomeet that growing demand and keep theAmericandream within reach,” he said.
The legislation on its way to Trump would expand financing,encourage the developmentof“innovative housing” like modular homes, require new renter protections and enhanceprogramsthataim to end homelessness.
It would also offer funding to localgovernments that build morehousing, including Community Development Block Grant money to places exceeding the median rateofhomebuilding.
The Upper Barataria Marsh Creation project near Lafitte is shown in 2023.
Gov. Jeff Landry announced on Tuesdaythe state has reached an agreement with Exxon MobilCorp. in lawsuits brought by parishes alleging the company polluted the state’s coastline.
STAFFFILE PHOTOBy SOPHIA GERMER
ed legalproceedings against anumber of oil and gas companies,including ExxonMobil, requesting compensation forthe restoration of coastal marsh erosion in the state,” the report stated. “Webelieve the factual and legal theories
set forth in these proceedings are meritless.
“While the outcome of any litigation can be unpredictable, we believe the likelihood is remotethatthe ultimate outcomes of these lawsuits will have amaterial adverse effect on the corporation’soperations, financial condition, or financial statements taken as awhole.”
Staff writer Stephanie Riegel contributed to this report.
Email AlexLubbenat alex.lubben@theadvocate. com and followhim on Twitter @alexlubben. His work is supported with agrant from theWalton Family Foundation, administered by the Baton Rouge Area Foundation Sign up forthe weekly Louisiana Coastal Watch newsletter to get updates about our environment coverage.
Officials plan to offload some warehouses bought for detention
ICE steps back from plan to expand immigrant capacity
BY HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH, RYAN FOLEY and REBECCA SANTANA Associated Press
U.S. Immigration and Cus-
toms Enforcement is retreating from a plan to use warehouses to hold up to 10,000 people on a single site, jettisoning a key piece of former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s $38 billion plan to rapidly expand detention capacity this year
The federal government, which was sued by Michigan and a Detroit suburb, informed a judge Monday that a warehouse purchased in Romulus will be sold. Plans also are unraveling in Social Circle, Georgia, and the El Paso suburb of Socorro, local officials said.
The three cities are among 11 where the federal government spent a combined $1.074 billion on warehouses.
The New York Times first reported last week that federal immigration officials now plan to get rid of seven of the 11 warehouses either giving them to other federal agencies or selling them outright.
DHS didn’t confirm the reports but said in a statement that it is “moving swiftly to utilize EXISTING detention space with our state and county partners.”
Immediate pushback
“Wildly foolhardy” is how Claire Trickler-McNulty, a former ICE official under the Obama, Trump and Biden administrations described the plans to convert the buildings into immigrant detention
One issue was that Noem’s purchases were largely carried out of public view and angered communities that were caught by surprise. Some only learned about ICE’s ambitions after the
agency bought or leased space for detainees.
After Noem was fired, her replacement, Markwayne Mullin, quickly paused the purchase of new warehouses.
Bipartisan objections
Some were opposed on moral grounds to ICE’s presence in their neighborhoods, while others questioned whether the facilities would be a drain on local resources, such as sewer and water systems.
Seven federal lawsuits were filed, and regulatory roadblocks created hassles elsewhere.
Meanwhile, questions about how much DHS paid for some warehouses triggered an internal audit. The agency shelled out double what the New Jersey warehouse was valued at in tax records and nearly five times more than the assessed value of the Social Circle warehouse.
Trickler-McNulty, the former ICE official said ICE does have a few facilities that it owns that it inherited from its predecessor agency, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, but generally ICE has contracted out its detention needs.
“Facilities over 2,000 people just break down. It’s very hard to run a very big facility, to keep it staffed, to keep all of it moving,” she said.
Plans begin to unravel
The New York Times story, which cited internal documents that the newspaper obtained, said the Salt Lake City warehouse is among those that federal immigration officials plans to hand off or sell. Also on the list is the Romulus warehouse, as well as one in New Jersey and two each in Georgia and Pennsylvania.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said it would have been an “abomination” if the 249,000-square-foot Romulus warehouse was transformed into immigrant detention, as was planned when it was purchased for $34.7 million, “The ICE warehouse proposal was every bit as illconceived as it was cruel and unnecessary, and I am relieved that this chapter is coming to a close,” Nessel, a Democrat, said.
Social Circle, Georgia, announced last week in a statement that it has received notification from U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, a Republican, that the
Meanwhile, acting ICE Director David Venturella told officials in the El Paso area during a visit there earlier this month that the agency has changed its plans for three warehouses it purchased in nearby Socorro for $122 million, said Rep. Veronica Escobar, who was present for the visit.
Escobar, a Democrat who represents El Paso, said during a news conference that ICE no longer plans to detain up to 8,500 immigrants in the facilities as originally envisioned, and instead will convert the property into an ICE campus, she said. The site will include an unspecified smaller number of detainees but also ICE offices and training space, she said.
Frustrations persist
However many of the communities remained frustrated, as they struggled to get information about pos-
sible sales. In Pennsylvania, state and local officials said Tuesday that they hadn’t received any new information from DHS about two warehouses bought earlier this year by the department. Both are being held up by the state’s denial of permits over concerns that drinking water and sewer service are inadequate to handle thousands of inhabitants.
U.S. Rep Dan Meuser, whose district includes both warehouses, said he met Friday with DHS personnel, but that the agency hadn’t made a decision whether to use them as detention centers or sell them. In Georgia, the city manager in Oakwood, said Tuesday he is talking to his state congressional delegation, trying to confirm rumors that a warehouse there will be sold.
“I have not heard anything yet,” B.R. White said.
Department of Homeland Security is no longer pursuing an ICE detention facility there.
WASHINGTON The Senate for the first time approved awar powers resolution Tuesday seeking to block U.S. military action against Iran, as lawmakers warily watch President Donald Trump’sefforts to resolve a conflict that the administration launched on its own and now needs Congress to fund It was the 10th time the Senate has tried to stop the war,and the outcome, on a vote of 50-48, was astunning turnaround from past efforts.
While theresolution is largely symbolic, anddoes not carry the full force of law,itreflects the growing concerns froma number of Republican lawmakers in both the House and Senate over both the war and the deal Trump struck with Iran to end it. The House approved the resolution earlier this month.
“Time after time, the vast majority of Senate Republicans sided with Trump and his war instead of the American people,” said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York.
Schumer said Americans have paid the price for “Trump’s historicblunder in Iran.It’ll go downinthe history books as one of the worst foreign policy forays America has ever made.”
Sen. Bill Cassidy,R-Baton Rouge, was one of four Republicans to votefor the measure.
Cassidy said Tuesday that, when the U.S. began bombing Iran on Feb. 28,Trump laid out as objectives endingIran’snuclear capability,keeping the nation from having ballistic missiles, and degrading the theocracy’s conventional warfare capability.The president also predicted hostilities would end in four to five weeks.
“In retrospect, it’sclear the decision to go into Iran in the first place was abad decision,” Cassidy said.
“Objectively,wedid not achievethe original goals of the intervention. By the way, Isupport those original goals.”
Cassidy has voiced criticisms of some of Trump’s policiesand actions since the president backed Rep. Julia Letlow,R-Baton Rouge, over him. Cassidy came in third in the May16closedparty primaryand will have to leaveoffice in January when hissuccessor is sworn in.
Letlow faces State Treasurer John Fleming, R-Minden, in theGOP primary runoff on Saturday.The winner will face aDemocratic candidateinthe November 3general election
Republicans joining Cassidy in voting forthe measure were Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska; Susan Collins, of Maine; andRandPaul, of Kentucky.One Democrat, Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, voted against. On this vote,the absence of two Republicans, includingSen. MitchMcConnell of Kentucky,who wasadmitted to the hospitalrecentlyfor an undisclosed matter,left theGOP withoutafullmajority to haltthe effort. Sen. DaveMcCormick,R-Pa., also missed thevote.
The vote comes as the Pentagon is seeking $80 billion from Congress mostly for the Iran war as it backfills munitions andstockpiles.
Trumptomeetsenators
Trump himselfisheaded to the Capitol on Wednesday to meet with GOPsenators after Vice President JD Vance wasoverseas workingtonegotiatewithIranto endits nuclear ambitions— whichhad beenamong the stated rationales for the war
The president is not pleased with the Republicans whohave been criticalofthe dealhestruck with Iran, according toone GOP senator granted anonymitytodiscuss theprivatedynamics.
Theterms of theIran deal arespelled outina memorandum of understanding that Trump signed last week, starting a60-day clock for thesides to reacha broader agreementoverending
tration’smilitary actions.
Sen. TimKaine,the Democrat from Virginia who has ledhis party’sefforts, said the pause in warfighting, as Trump’steam works to shore up afragile ceasefire, provides the perfect time forCongress to stepback and assess “what should the next chapter be.”
Hegsethseeks $80B
DefenseSecretary Pete Hegseth is on Capitol Hill this week, seeking roughly $80 billion in supplemental funding to shore up defense suppliesinthe aftermath of the Iran war,whichisdrawing scrutiny whenmany Americans arereeling from high gasprices andcosts of living.
The Defense Department’s funding request is part of a broader beef-up of military money the White House wants as part of its budget request this year
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Tuesday,“We should not spend another dime of taxpayer dollars on Operation Epic Failure.”
Iran’snuclear program
But Republicans have particularly objected tothe $300 billionfund to help Iran rebuild, which is far greater than the $1.7 billionthenPresidentBarack Obama refundedthe country under his administration’s2015 Iran deal.
“I believe President Trump is getting very poor advice on Iran,” Sen. TedCruz, RTexas, said last week on his podcast after thedeal was madepublic.
Democratsforcedvotes
Over andagain,Democrats have been forcing votes on the Iran war,almost sincethe U.S. and Israel launched missile strikes on Iran on Feb. 28.
Nearly each week they’re in session, the Senate Democratshave put forward war powers resolutions, but they have failed to amass themajority needed for passage in the narrowlysplit chamber, where Trump’sRepublican Party holds the majority Trump would almost certainly veto any measure that passed.
The House pushed its own version to passage earlier this month, with fourRepublicans joining all Democrats in approving the war powers resolution, over theobjectionsofHouse Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton,and the GOP leadership.
While the House- and Sen-
ate-passedresolution does not go to the president for his signature, passage stands as apowerful, if symbolic, statement from Congress and arebuke of the adminis-
The Pentagon early on had estimated the warcost $11.3 billionduring itsfirst week, and senators said experts put the overall price tag of Operation Epic Fury higher, at some$100 billion.
The Trumpadministration is seeking $1.5 trillion in defense funding this year —a nearly 50% increase including$350billion that it wants in aso-called budgetreconciliationpackage Johnsonand GOPleaders are working to pass that package on their own, over the objections of Democrats, much the way they approved Trump’s big tax cuts bill last year The 2025 tax cuts package also includeda sizable increase forthe military Staff writer Mark Ballard contributed to this story.
Newwarship is placed into service
BY KIM TONG-HYUNG
Associated Press
SEOUL, South Korea North Korea has commissioned a 5,000-ton destroyer that leader Kim Jong Un touts as a symbol of the country’s growing naval and nuclear capabilities, state media reported Wednesday,asPyongyang seeks to expand its ability to project military power at sea.
North Korea’sofficial Korean Central News Agency said Kim told acommissioning ceremony Tuesday at the western port of Nampo that warships such as the Choe Hyon show that the nuclear
armament of his navy is progressingasplanned.
KCNA said the Choe Hyon was formally placedinto service with North Korea’snavy after theceremony andwill be taskedwith defending the country’s westerncoast Sinceunveiling the ship in April2025, Kimhas portrayed the Choe Hyon as a major step toward expanding his military’soperational reachand preemptive strike capabilities. KCNA has said the warship is equipped with arange of systems, including anti-aircraft and anti-ship weaponsaswell as nuclear-capable ballistic and cruise missiles.
SouthKorean officials and experts say the vessel was likely builtwith Russian
assistance amid deepening military ties between the countries, but some analysts have questionedwhether it’s ready for active service.
North Korea hasput the ChoeHyonthroughaseriesof tests in recentmonths ahead of its deployment, including launches of what it described asnuclear-capablecruisemissiles from thevessel.
“It hasclearly becomea thing of thepast when our navy existedasa force for defending the seaoff our land,” Kim said in aspeech at Tuesday’sceremony. “It is rising into afull-fledged service equipped with strategic means as the programof equipping the Navy withnuclear weapons is following its planned course unerringly.”
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE
Sen.Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, heads to aclosed-door Republican policy meeting at the Capitol in Washington on June 16. Cassidyjoined three other Republicans in voting for the warpowers resolution on Tuesday.
U.S., Iran dispute if Tehran has agreed to nuclear inspections
International Atomic Energy Agency has not been granted access
BY MUNIR AHMED, DAVID RISING and JON GAMBRELL Associated Press
ISLAMABAD The U.S. and Iran were in dispute Tuesday over whether Tehran had agreed to allow U.N. inspections of its nuclear sites.
As officials negotiated over how to permanently end the war in Iran, a separate plan emerged to break the shipping bottleneck through the Strait of Hormuz.
The disagreement over nuclear inspections came as Iran’s president met with Pakistani mediators and technical teams from the U.S. and Iran continued talks in Switzerland.
A United Nations agency said Tuesday that a plan was underway to move stranded ships and their thousands of crew members through the strait — a vital passage for global energy supplies that Iran had blocked after the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28.
Earlier in the day, a spokesperson for Iran’s
Foreign Ministry Esmail Baghaei, told reporters in Tehran that U.N. inspectors were not scheduled to examine nuclear sites bombed by the U.S. last year, rejecting comments made a day before by U.S. Vice President JD Vance. President Donald Trump told reporters Tuesday that if Iran had not agreed to inspections, he would cut off talks with Tehran immediately But he added there was no rush for those inspections to begin
The International Atomic Energy Agency has not responded to requests for comment over its possible role. It has been in and out of Iran since Israel’s 12-day war in 2025, but has not been granted access to bombed enrichment sites targeted by the U.S. Iran maintains that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, though it has highly enriched uranium that could be used to build atomic bombs, should it choose to do so, the IAEA has said.
The U.S. and Iran agreed to a deal last week that calls for Tehran to dilute its stockpile of enriched uranium, and waives U.S.-backed sanctions on the country
done gradually to avoid any risk of collision.
A shipping insurance executive cheered the development “That can only be good news for all concerned,” said Marcus Baker, global head of marine, cargo and logistics for Marsh in London.
But the uneasy ceasefire already has been tested by Iran saying it closed the strait again over fighting between Israel and the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah in Lebanon. Violence again broke out in Lebanon Tuesday
day and Sunday Prior to the war, roughly 100 ships a day made the journey
while giving each side 60 days to hammer out broader agreements.
Plan to evacuate seafarers
The plan to evacuate 11,000 crew members stranded on ships is being done in cooperation with Iran, Oman all other coastal states in the region, the United States and the maritime industry, according to the secretarygeneral of the International Maritime Organization, Arsenio Dominguez.
“We have secured the necessary safety guarantees
Federal appeals court sides with Trump, allows speedy deportations
Ruling allows for expedited removals
BY SUDHIN THANAWALA
Associated Press
A federal appeals court on Tuesday allowed the Trump administration to resume carrying out speedy deportations of undocumented migrants throughout the United States, not just near the border
A divided three-judge panel of the U.S Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit threw out a lower court decision that temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s expanded use of expedited removal. The ruling was a big victory for the Republican administration, which views the expansion of socalled expedited removal as a key tool for carrying out its mass deportation policy
Expedited removal — quick deportation without a chance to appear before a judge — has previously been applied to migrants arriving by sea or caught at or near the border shortly after crossing.
In January, Trump expanded its use to undocumented migrants all over the United States. Immigration agents began whisking migrants away from courthouses where they had gone for immigration proceedings and then removing them from the country within days.
“The Trump administration’s push for fast-track
deportations will subject people to an unfair and error-prone system,” Anand Balakrishnan, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, said in a statement Balakrishnan represented plaintiffs in arguments before the appellate panel and said its ruling “undermines the fundamental principle that people receive due process when the government seeks to deport them.”
DC Circuit Judge Justin R. Walker, one of the judges on the panel, said the plaintiffs had not shown the expanded use of expedited removal violated due process rights. Immigrants received notice of removal proceedings and were given a chance to respond, he wrote in his opinion.
Walker and the second judge in the majority, Neomi Rao, were appointed by Trump. The third judge on the panel was appointed by President Barack Obama, a Democrat.
Walker said there was no requirement that the administration inform immigrants that they can avoid expedited removal if they can show they have been in the United States for more than two years.
“The constitutional requirement is notice of the action the government is taking and the grounds for it, plus an opportunity to respond,” he wrote, adding that the plaintiffs’ “contrary reasoning would require immigration officers to provide what amounts to legal ad-
vice.”
Walker and Rao vacated an order by U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb that put the expanded use of expedited removal on hold. Cobb, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, a Democrat, ruled in August that the administration had not developed procedures to ensure migrants were not wrongly deported under the expedited process. The plaintiffs had put forward “substantial evidence” that the expedited removal process, on the contrary, carried a high risk of error when applied more broadly, Cobb said. The ruling cited examples of people who had lived in the U.S. for far longer than two years but were still ordered to be removed in expedited proceedings.
In his opinion, Walker acknowledged evidence of such errors, but said they resulted from “individual officers’ failure to follow the law — not defects in the written directives under review or the procedures they incorporate.”
The Trump administration has argued that its expansion of expedited removal includes protections to prevent arbitrary removal. In a court filing in October, Justice Department attorneys said Cobb’s ruling was an “egregious error” that was depriving the administration of an “essential tool to combat the unprecedented surge of illegal immigration over the past few years” and efficiently deport potentially millions of people.
and have thoroughly verified the conditions for safe navigation to support these operations,” he said in a statement.
The organization said moving the ships will be
The U.S. has said that negotiators have discussed “mechanisms” to ensure that the strait remains open. Ship traffic is increasing but questions remain about who controls the passageway
Data and analytics company Kpler confirmed 39 ships crossed through the strait Monday, after about 92 crossings between Fri-
Two U.S. aircraft carriers were continuing to operate in the Middle East, the U.S. military’s Central Command said. Focus on relief, more At the start of a 60-day window to reach a permanent deal to end the war, Iran and the U.S. agreed to create a “de-confliction cell” to address the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. Iran said the talks in Switzerland led to the creation of negotiation groups focused on sanctions relief, nuclear issues, reconstruction, and monitoring, according to the state-run IRNA news agency The report quoted Kazem Gharibabadi, a deputy foreign minister leading the talks there, as saying the countries also formed a way to discuss ships moving through Hormuz.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ANJUM NAVEED
A man walks past a welcoming billboard featuring Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, center with Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, right, and Shehbaz Sharif along a roadside in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Tuesday.
Cole receives power over job listings
Superintendent to update role descriptions for School Board
BY CHARLES LUSSIER Staff writer
In an innovative move, the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board
is giving Superintendent LaMont
Cole the power to approve or revise all job descriptions for the next two years.
In return, Cole has to update and clean up descriptions for his 6,000 employees — as well as part-tim-
Another building sold
100-year-old downtown property was former bank
BY ANNAKATE FREELAND
Staff writer
A former bank that has stood in downtown Donaldsonville for roughly a century has a new owner and could soon return to use.
GP Legacy Properties LLC, a real estate company, purchased the two-story brick building at 400 Mississippi St. for $390,000, according to property records The roughly 7,500-square-foot building most recently housed a Capital One branch.
Shane Guillot, who represented the buyer in the sale, said the new owners are considering three possible uses for the property, although no final decision has been made.
“It has been a beautiful building here in Donaldsonville for 100 years now,” Guillot said.
The buyer could not be reached for comment.
Guillot said he expects the building to be in use within three to six months after renovations are completed.
“They are going to do some rehab to that building, but they are very fortunate that the building is in good shape,” he said. “They’ve got some renovations they want to do inside the bank, and they want to make sure the parking lot stays clean.”
Guillot said he had three other prospective buyers interested in the property
The sale is the latest investment in downtown Donaldsonville, where several historic properties have changed hands in recent months, as investors and business owners look toward the city’s future growth with the completion of Hyundai’s $5.8 billion steel mill underway
ers and substitutes — in addition to modernizing how these records are made available to the public.
With this experiment, the state’s second-largest traditional school district is breaking new ground.
The authority over job descriptions, albeit a sometimes tedious one, is one that school boards, including East Baton Rouge, have long kept for themselves, even as their influence over the rest of the
personnel process has faded. Indeed, all 69 school boards in Louisiana have until now retained the authority to approve any changes in the duties and requirements of jobs, ranging from the least to the highest paid, according to review by The Advocate of district policies and meeting minutes across Louisiana.
The East Baton Rouge Parish School Board, at its June 11 meet-
ing, unanimously approved the shift in policy It represents a compromise, including more restrictions and homework for Cole than a more expansive, permanent proposed change that board member Mike Gaudet suggested a month earlier Gaudet argued then that approving job descriptions strays into district operations and that the board should focus instead
on setting policy Board member Patrick Martin V, however, countered with concerns about giving the superintendent more power in this area given problems with district job descriptions in years past. Martin also contended that defining a job and its duties is not the same as traditional personnel matters such as hiring and firing school employees. The compromise version expires July 1, 2028. In the two years
HELPING HANDS
Accounting firm to help AG with corruption investigations
Former N.O. sheriff, BR officials focus of probes
BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER Staff writer
The Louisiana Attorney General’s Office has hired a top-flight accounting firm, records show, as it continues to pursue separate investigations into alleged corruption in Baton Rouge government and malfeasance in office by former New Orleans Sheriff Susan Hutson. The $150,000 contract with
London-based Ernst and Young includes few details, but sources familiar with the investigation said the firm could help prosecutors charge more officials or add more counts in the two cases. Obtained via records request, the contract says the firm’s investigators will help probe “funding sources, contractual arrangements, and relationships with public sector entities” for Attorney General Liz Murrill’s office. Sources said the firm’s current investigative work in Baton Rouge is related to public officials who have not yet been implicated in the attorney general’s corruption probe.
The contract went into effect at the end of March, is active through the end of 2026 and states the firm will collect and review “contracts, agreements, financial records, correspondence” for state investigators, as well as develop timelines of transactions and relevant events. Contracted investigators will also conduct forensic analysis of electronic data and probe financial transactions involving “specific counterparties or programs identified by the Department of Justice.” One of the world’s “Big Four” accounting firms, Ernst and Young
ABOVE: Kewanda Joshua, facing the camera, and Ross T. hug upon seeing each other during the Special Tuesday Beau Porto event at Pecan Grove Primary School on Tuesday
LEFT: Caretaker Zemeatress Simon wipes Carson Enlow’s face after feeding her
Conclusions misunderstood, author says
BY DAVID J MITCHELL Staff writer
The lead author of a controversial study that argued the state should begin planning for a multidecade retreat from the coast due to climate-driven sea level rise defended his and his col-
misinterpretation or refusal to deal with the report’s conclusions have led some to miss the paper’s more forward-looking ideas that Louisiana has the opportunity to become an economic leader in a worldwide adjustment to sea level rise. Published in the peer-reviewed journal “Nature Sustainability” in May, the multidisciplinary paper has sparked sharp responses from New Orleans-area business and political leaders who objected to the calls to begin planning for a retreat from the coast. Törnqvist said
STAFF PHOTOS By JAVIER GALLEGOS
St. Landry Parish officials
Some residents advised to leave their homes
BY CLAIRE TAYLOR Staff writer
Some parts of St. Landry Parish are already flooding as water from the flood in Avoyelles Parish travels south.
But the worst of the water, St. Landry Parish President Jessie Bellard said Tuesday, is expected to start arriving in about five to six days.
Tropical Storm Arthur last week dumped as much as 30 inches of rain on some parts of Louisiana including parts of Avoyelles Parish, flooding homes. That water, which is not contained within rivers and canals is traveling south toward St. Landry Parish.
A flood warning is in effect at least until 6 p.m. Wednesday for the parishes of Avoyelles, St. Landry Evangeline and Rapides, according to the National Weather Service.
A 1 p.m. advisory Tuesday from the weather service said the following locations likely will experience flooding: Marksville, Bunkie,
JOB
Continued from page 1B
before that happens, the School Board has given the superintendent a long to-do list:
n New or changed job titles or descriptions are to be reported to the board monthly as part of “Personnel Changes” reports
n By Jan. 15, Cole needs to report on the current state of the district’s job titles and restrictions, identify outdated or unfilled positions, offer a timeline for eliminating old titles, update the rest of the descriptions and settle on where an official record of district job titles and descriptions will be maintained.
n By March 15, Cole is to recommend to the board a permanent job descriptions policy that would “provide the board an appropriate level of insight and oversight regarding job titles and descriptions during the annual budget-cycle process.”
n By July 2027, Cole needs to make job description information public “through automated means rather
FIRM
Continued from page 1B
has offices in numerous countries and offers a wide range of other professional services. The leader of its investigations team is former deputy FBI Director Jeffrey Sallet.
Public corruption probes
Though months have passed since an indictment has come down, the state’s special grand jury in Baton Rouge continues to hear evidence, with several Metro Council members and other current or former city-parish officials recently appearing to testify
The last official to be charged was Courtney Scott, a top aide to former East Baton Rouge Parish MayorPresident Sharon Weston Broome. Scott was indicted Feb. 25. Scott is accused of using her influence and oversight to award government contracts to an associate. Prosecutors say Scott received nearly $200,000 in kickbacks from contractor Veronica Mathis, who was also indicted, that she used to help pay off her mortgage and credit card debt. The investigation has also yielded an indictment of sitting Metro Council member Cleve Dunn Jr Like Scott, Dunn was indicted on counts of conspiracy, bribery, con-
Simmesport, Melville, Moreauville, Cheneyville, Palmetto Morrow Bordelonville, Bayou Current, Port Barre, Cottonport, Mansura, Hessmer, Evergreen, Plaucheville, Dupont, Goudeau, Big Cane and Lebeau.
In a live social media update Tuesday, Bellard said anyone living on Veazey Road and along La 10 in Palmetto already should be out of their homes, as well as anyone in Palmetto north
than manual reporting.”
n The superintendent must maintain all this information on City Suite, a human resources/finance system purchased by the district several years ago but which has still not been fully utilized, or on “another appropriate human resources system.”
Finally, the new policy specifies that Cole can add positions only if they are included in a budget “adopted by the board” and “map to a salary grade” within a board-adopted salary schedule. Cole is barred from creating new positions “requiring funding beyond current budget authorizations” or to create ”any new salary grade or compensation tier without board approval.”
In 2012, Louisiana lawmakers forbade school board members from interfering in personnel matters, assigning to superintendents “primary responsibility” in who gets hired and the work those employees do The Legislature, however, left intact the historic final say that school boards have maintained in approving job descriptions.
The East Baton Rouge Parish School Board and su-
tract fraud, money laundering and more.
State officials say Dunn funneled a transit contract to an associate with the help of then-Capital Area Transit System administrator Pearlina Thomas, who was also indicted. According to a warrant for Dunn’s arrest, the council member was then paid more than 90% of the funds the transit system paid to the contractor Broome was subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury but has not yet done so. In April, a grand jury indicted Hutson — New Orleans’ sheriff from 2022 to 2026 on 30 counts including malfeasance, maintaining false public records and conspiracy charges. The indictment stems from the May 2025 escape of 10 inmates from the Orleans Justice Center. Murrill’s prosecutors say Hutson failed to comply with legal requirements and safeguards regarding the jail, which contributed to the jailbreak It wasn’t until October 2025 that all escapees were found and brought back to the jail.
The former sheriff has denied any wrongdoing. Hutson’s Chief Financial Officer Bianka Brown, was also indicted on 20 felony counts.
Email Patrick SloanTurner at patrick.sloanturner@theadvocate com.
STUDY
Continued from page 1B
has opportunities in coastal restoration, water management, energy efficiency and sustainable housing. It has a chance, he said, “to become the hotbed of the world if we really make choices that move us in the right directions” to offer that knowledge to other regions dealing with rising oceans.
“We want that business, but with the decisions that are made right now, we’re going to be on the sideline,” he told the Baton Rouge Press Club on Monday
He said that he found the intensity of the public and official reaction compared with the response to Gov Jeff Landry’s decision last year to halt planned sediment diversions to restore the coast “disappointing” and “somewhat stunning.”
loss.
“We can still prevent even worse scenarios, but, you know, the time to save New Orleans was in the 1980s and the 1990s, and we didn’t, so ,” he said.
The paper’s authors issued their calls to plan for retreat, in part, because global temperatures are already at or near what they were during the last interglacial period about 125,000 years ago when the climate was also warmer — 1.5 degrees Celsius warmer than pre-industrial levels.
During that time, the researchers found the ancient coastline was near Ponchatoula.
Based on that finding and other estimates, they suggested coastal sea level rise could end up being 10 to 23 feet or more along Louisiana as land-based West Antarctic ice sheets become more unstable and potentially unleash their frozen water into the oceans.
spond to its conclusions.
Törnqvist had sharper comments for Michael Hecht, CEO of GNO, Inc., a regional economic development organization for the city Hecht has rejected calls for relocation but rather says the city must adapt, saying “the authors of the study called ‘place attachment’ a trap. We call it love, and that’s why we’re going to continue to advocate for investment in New Orleans, to stay in New Orleans.”
of the railroad tracks.
If you live in Catahoula from U.S. 190 to Port Barre, Bellard said, you should have evacuated already The diversion canal gauge near La. 71 is showing 18 feet of water Officials are contemplating how much water it will take to overtop the 20- to 22-foot-high highway, Bellard said, and may put material along the road to stop or slow the water from topping the highway
perintendents have clashed before when it came to job descriptions. Former Superintendent Sito Narcisse ruffled feathers when he went on a hiring spree after his 2021 appointment, in some cases giving people jobs with unfamiliar titles without first obtaining board approval for the underlying job descriptions.
East Baton Rouge has thousands of job descriptions on file. Payroll records list more than a thousand currently in use, but there are more that date back years. In the wake of his clash with the board, Narcisse tasked his human resources department with cleaning up old job descriptions. The board subsequently approved several large batches of new and revised job descriptions and, in some cases, eliminated old jobs. The board changed job descriptions en masse again in July 2024 after the Legislature set new rules for paying educators extra for extra duties.
Email Charles Lussier at clussier@theadvocate. com.
“Because in the end, canceling the river diversion was kind of equivalent to delivering the death knell to New Orleans, and the city seemed to almost shrug its shoulders. Who knows?” he said.
Landry’s administration has killed two Mississippi River sediment diversions under development for years amid opposition from coastal parishes that rely on shrimp, oyster and other seafood industries and concerns about the projects’ multibillion-dollar cost.
It has shifted to building human-made landbridges, though coastal advocates say the structures still need plenty of development and, once built, won’t be sustainable for the long term without nourishing sediment from the Mississippi.
Törnqvist said that under even less aggressive projections, New Orleans was likely to be like the city of Venice, Italy, by the end of the century, completely surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico, and likely won’t be sustainable by 2200, based on current rates of sea level rise and expected wetlands
In the worst case, without interventions to cut humanmade emissions that are driving rising temperatures, Törnqvist suggested Baton Rouge and Lafayette could become shoreline communities.
“We are locked in for a major shoreline retreat. You know, it’s going to affect easily more than 1 million people, but an uncertain timeline and the fact it may take quite a while may give us some opportunities,” he said.
‘N.O. deserves better’
The paper argues for planning a managed retreat that isn’t left purely to marketplace effects that have already been happening in Louisiana after major hurricanes and as the cost of insurance and other factors drive people away from the coast.
In responding to questions from reporters, Törnqvist said it appeared to him that New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno’s published editorial suggested she or potentially a staffer didn’t read the paper or didn’t want to re-
Törnqvist said Hecht had made “disgusting” comments about his co-authors following the paper’s publication Törnqvist called off a planned meeting about the paper, he said. He didn’t say which colleague received the comments nor what the comments were He declined to do so later when asked in an interview New Orleans City Hall did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a statement, Hecht pointed out that GNO, Inc. has been leading on resilience since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, including an urban water plan for the city, and expressed disappointment that Törnqvist “has refused to answer any of the questions” he raised in a recently published editorial. Hecht said that piece reflected “the concerns of many other academics and civic leaders, across the political spectrum. Rather than engagement, we get deflection. New Orleans deserves better.”
Women’s hockey is surging
PWHL executivesaysfast-pacedgrowthisvalidated by newinvestors
BY JOHN WAWROW AP hockey writer
Professional Women’sHockey Leagueex-
ecutive Stan Kasten said the goal all along was to begin taking on outsideinvestors once the league doubled in size,reaching 12 teams.
The onlyflaw in the projection was Kasten— andmosteveryoneelse— never anticipating getting there after justthree seasons.
“Wethought we’d get there in Year 10 or 12,” said Kasten, 74, whoseresume includes executive roles with teamsinmajor league baseball, the NBA and NHL. “Andherewe are after two-and-a-half years. It’s extraordinary.”
The PWHL’s fast-paced growth reflects surges in attendance,sales and viewership, particularly after the U.S. won gold at the Milan Cortina Games. And the upward trajectory so far belies concerns thatthe league is taking on too much,too soon
“I want to hear the case for going slower. Ican’timagine it,” Kasten said.
Though the PWHL has yet to turn aprofit, Kasten saidits expansion plan andbusiness model are validated by fan support. Andit’s reflectedinthe confidenceofthe business community,with the Detroit-based Ilitch Cos. and Toronto-based Kilmer SportsVentures coming on board as the firstoutside investors.
Outside observers agree.
“Would you tell amen’sleague to go slow if they saw areal upsideinadeveloping market? Youjust wouldn’t,” said Jane McManus, aNew York University professor at the Tisch Institute for Global Sport and author of the book “The Fast Track: Inside the Surging Business of Women’s Sports.”
“I’ve seen it firsthand,” McManus said, referring to being part of the sell-out crowd attendingaPWHLgameatMadison Square Garden in April. “You’d never tell somebody to put acap on that if it’s happening on themen’sside.”
McManus credited the PWHL for moving quickly in acoast-to-coast expansionas away to stake its claim and guard against the possibility of competing leagues in women’shockey.Another key,she said, was theleague having asingle-entity ownership model in centralizing planning decisions.
The league’sstructure is headed by found-
ers and primary financial backers Mark and Kimbra Walter,who work together withthe PWHL’s advisory board in overseeing operations.
Walter committedhundreds of millions of dollars to launch the six-team league in June 2023 by reaching adeal with the thenProfessional Women’sHockey Players’ Association andbuying outthe assets of the rival Premier Hockey Federation. The PWHPAfeatured the world’s top players, includinga majority of membersofthe U.S. and Canadian national teams. With the North American stars on board, McManus said,the foundation was in place to establish atop league anddraw international talentfrom Europe.
University of Colorado-Denver professor Sarah Fieldssaid the coming yearswill determinewhetherthe PWHL is on theright track. But she is encouraged by what she’s seen.
“Give credit to the Walters because they took abig swing. And it lookslikethey’re going to have great success,” said Fields, whose specialty is the history of women’s professional sportsteams. “If Ihad the kind of money to invest that the Walters do,I’d do thesamething. Ithink this is apretty good
bet.”
MontrealVictoireforwardand PWHL Players Association president Laura Stacey placed her faith in PWHL leadership in determining the pace of expansion.
“If they’vedone this and made it this incredibleinthree years,thenI trust that four more(teams)isexactly what we need,” Stacey said at the league’sawards ceremonies in Detroit last week. “People are thriving and really want to be apart of this sport and this movement. Ithink we’re ready for it.”
With newteams in Detroit, San Jose, Las Vegasand Hamilton, Ontario, the PWHL has ambitious plans for Year 4and beyond. Discussions include hosting an All-Star game, playing an outdoor gameand adding games in Europe.
The league’saverage attendance last season of 9,304 represented a28% jump over 2024-25 and up 71% from itsfirst season. Merchandise salesdoubled last year.And theleague’sviewership on YouTube rose by 77%, with more than athird representing new viewers.
McManus projectsthe PWHLtobeinposition to one day begin selling off its franchises to private ownership with six-figure returns.
American workersare losing buying power
BY AUGUSTASARAIVA
and MAYA PRAKASH
Bloomberg News (TNS)
Whether they work in restaurants, offices or warehouses, Americans have seen their paycheck eaten up by asurge in everyday costs recently
Inflation has outstrippedwage growth in key private-sector industries for twostraight months, according to datacompiled by Bloomberg. The sharp dropinbuying power for employeesinsectors ranging from
healthcare to financeand retail waslargelythe result of asurge in energy prices driven by the Iran war,but the dynamic is likelytostick even as gasoline gets cheaper Gasprices, whichhave dropped since theU.S. andIran agreed toaninterim peace deal, are still almost$1a gallon higher on average than they were before theconflict startedat the end of February, basedon American Automobile Association data. But war-driven inflation in other parts of the economy,like food and transportation, hasyet to fullymaterialize. And with wagegrowth already slowing,thatmeans many
households will likely continue to tapintosavingsand take on debt to supportspending, even after inflation peaks.
“I don’tthink it’sgoing to be agreat year forreal disposable income growth,” saidStephen Stanley,chief U.S. economist at SantanderU.S. CapitalMarkets LLC.“And noteverybody has the luxury of being able to maintain their spending patterns withoutgettingintotrouble.”
The Federal Reserve’spreferred inflation measure probably accelerated in May on a monthly and annual basis.Economistsina Bloombergsurvey anticipate a3.4% increase in the personalconsumption expen-
BRIEFS
FROM WIRE REPORTS
ditures price index excluding energy and food, whichwould mark the fastest year-over-year pacesince October 2023.
Meanwhile, the government report set to be published Thursday will also likely show that consumers continued powering ahead, even after three months of declines in real disposableincome. Credit cardusage hasbeen on the rise despite high interest rates, andthe saving rate is currentlyatanalmost fouryearlow.Higher-than-usual tax refunds, thankstoPresident Donald Trump’ssignature tax legislation, have provideda temporary cushion.
U.S. pressing gason10new largenuclear reactors
Trumpadministrationdoling out$17.5Binloans to build plants powering data centers
BY JENNIFER MCDERMOTT and MATTHEW DALY Associated Press
WASHINGTON— The Trump administration is providing $17.5 billion to speed the developmentof10new large nuclear reactors to meet theskyrocketing power demandfrommassive data centers.
EnergySecretary Chris Wright cited “tremendous interest” among developers of data centers that would buy the power,aswell as utilitiesand energy companies. The nuclear plantscould begin construction by 2030 and become operational in the mid-2030s,Wright and other officials said Tuesday
“This is the start,” Wright said on acall with reporters. “We’re going to movewith the players that are ready to stand up and movequickly.Once that supply chain is up and running, do we think there will be dozens of these built going forward? I’d be very surprised if there werenot.”
Most U.S. nuclear powerplants were built between 1970 and 1990. Only twonew large reactors have been built from scratch in the United States in recent decades.
Thosetwo reactors, at Georgia PowerCo.’s Plant Vogtle, were completed years late and billions of dollars over budget. The 10 new reactors will use the samedesign, Westinghouse’sAP1000.
Wright said the Plant Vogtle project struggled because of bad planning, supply chain problems andthe COVID-19pandemic. But, he said, the reactor design is “robust and sound.”
“By building in volumeand at multiple locations, we think we will create andstand up a large supply chain and build alot of construction expertise,” Wright said. “Weexpect the timing andcostofthese plants to well outperform what wasdone on Vogtle.”
Seven utilities and energy companies signed letters of intent that identified sites, the Energy Department said. The agency plans to pick five, which would host tworeactors at each site. The federal financing would be used to purchase nuclear components with long lead times and are not construction loans.
The department declined to namethe utilities involved or the states they are in, calling it premature until the selections are made. It did not give atimeline for making those selections.
President Donald Trump set agoal of quadrupling domestic production of nuclear power within the next 25 years, and he has signed executive orders to speed development. The administration is working to advance new nuclear technologies, such as smallmodular nuclear reactors.
Dan Sumner,president andchief executive officer of Westinghouse, said industrialized nuclear power needs to be built at fleet scale, in orderfor theUnitedStatestoleadinartificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing and the industries that will define the next century Critics of building more nuclear reactors say they’re too expensive and riskier than other low-carbon energy sources.Several states restrict or ban new nuclear power plant construction.
Big Tech sees sharpdrops on Wall Street
Wall Street gave up more of its recent gains Tuesday after aselloff in big technology stocksspread from Asia backtothe U.S. overworries about potentially higher interest rates by the end of the year
The S&P fell 1.4%. Thebenchmark index is coming off 11 weekly gains out of the last 12, led largely by technology stocks. The Dow Jones IndustrialAverage, which is less influencedbytech stocks, gave up an early gain and closed just 0.1% lower.The Nasdaqcomposite fell 2.2%.
Markets throughout Asia fell.
South Korea’sKospi index, abig winner in the AI boom, sank 10% Stocks in Europe also fell.
The selling largely targeted companies that have seen their values surge amidthe frenzy over artificial intelligence technology. Their pricey stock values givethem more influence over the broader market’s direction. On Tuesday,more stocks gained ground within the S&P 500 than fell, but tech companies overpowered gains elsewhere Micron Technology slumped
13.2% and Nvidia fell 4.1%.Samsung Electronics slumped 12.3% in SouthKorea. SpaceX waveredinearly trading then closed 1% higher.The space explorationand artificial intelligencecompany hadasoaring market debut less than two weeksago.
The company plans to raise money through abondoffering, partly to fund AI development.
The growinglikelihoodofinterest rate hikeslater this year hashelped deflate the massiverun-up in AIrelated stocks in recent days as traders worry that the higherrates could hamper economic growth.
ThoseBig Tech gainshavebeen significant, sendingmajor indexes on record-settingruns throughout 2026. Within theS&P 500, thetech sectoralone is up 25.5% just over the last three months and16.6% for the year.InAsia, South Korea’s Kospi has nearly doubled so far in 2026, even after Tuesday’s plunge Oil prices have eased amidnegotiations betweenthe U.S.and Iran to endthe war.The pricefor a barrel of U.S. crude for August delivery fell 0.9% to settle at $73.21
The Septemberdelivery pricefor a barrel of Brent crude, the interna-
tional standard, fell 0.9% to settleat $76.80. Pricesare still abovelevels of roughly $70 per barrel before the war began. All told, the S&P 500 fell 107.33 points to 7,365.46, while the Nasdaq dropped 579.56 points to 25,587.04. The Dow lost 45.87 points to close at 51,666.84.
Topauto regulator opens special probe NEW YORK The top U.S. auto regulator openedaninvestigation Monday after aTesla using an automated driving feature slammed into aTexas home at high speed and killed a76-year-old woman standing inside The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it’s opening aspecial investigation into the Tesla Model 3crash on Friday near Houston, asignificantprobe because the car was using technology thatElon Musk considers key to the company’sfuture
TheTesla CEO is rollingout robotaxis using automated software in severalU.S.cities thisyearand plans to invite Teslaowners to put their carsinto the fleet using the
same system acrossthe country
Thedrivertoldthe Harris County Sheriff’s Office that he wasusing thetechnology,according to apolicereport on thecrash, but it’s not clear what role, if any,itplayed in the incident.
Tesla did notrespond to arequest for comment but the head of the company’sartificial intelligence efforts suggested on socialmedia later Monday that the self-driving feature was nottoblame
“In this case, thedrivermanually overrode self-driving by pressing theaccelerator allthe way to 100% of theaccel pedalinthis residential area,” Ashok Elluswamy wrote on X, theplatform thatisnow part of Musk’srocket company,SpaceX “They reached aspeed of 73 mph during the crash,and hadthe accelerator pressed even after the crash.”
The police report noted that the driverwas notdrunk andiscooperating. It identifiedthe woman killed as Martha Avila
Supreme CourtOKs suit over Cuban property
WASHINGTON The Supreme Court
on Tuesday ruled that Exxon Mobil can sue Cubanstate-ownedcompanies in American courts over property on the island nation that was seized after FidelCastro took power
The 6-3 decision was the second in as manymonths in favor of U.S. owners of Cuban property that was confiscated by the Communist government more than 65 years ago. The outcome in thetwo cases couldbeanadditionallever for theTrump administration to exert pressure on Cuba, which is already being squeezed by aU.S.oil embargo.
At issue was whether the 1996 law known as Helms-Burton removesthe shield from lawsuits in U.S. courts that typically cover foreign countries and state-owned businesses. The justices reversed alower-court ruling that found that the Cuban state-owned companies areimmune fromlawsuits in U.S. courts.
ExxonMobil is seeking compensation for the confiscation of assets owned by subsidiaries of Standard Oil, Exxon Mobil’spredecessor,including
tions and an
THECANADIAN PRESS FILE PHOTO By JUSTIN TANG
Members of the Montreal Victoire pose for aphoto withthe PWHLWalter Cupafter the team’swin against the Ottawa ChargeinOttawa on May20.
20 pets saved as flooding hit
BY KRISTIN ASKELSON Staff writer
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries enforcementagents rescued 86 people and 20 pets in Avoyelles Parish from floodwaterscausedbyTropical Storm Arthur,according to anewsrelease from the agency As the lead searchand rescue agencyinthe state under the Governor’sOffice of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness emergency supportframework, Wildlife and Fisheries agents along with Louisiana State Police troopers
worked in coordination with local first responders on Thursday and Friday in Avoyelles Parish. Twenty to 30 inches of rainfellinAvoyelles last Thursday from about 4a.m. to 4p.m., mainly in thetown of Cottonportand the village of Plaucheville, bothin the southern part of the parish,according to Jonathan Brazzell, ahydrologist with the weatherservice’soffice in Lake Charles. On Thursday, in the hours afterthe storm,Gov.Jeff Landry declared astate of emergency for Avoyelles, Lafourche, Pointe Coupee, St. Landry,St. Tammany and Terrebonne parishes.
Wildlife and Fisheries agents deployed agents with trucks, vessels and
their twoamphibious track vehicles to go intothe flooded areas and get people and petstosafety
Gov.Jeff Landry and his wife, Sharon, visited the area Monday to help distribute cleaning supplies and announce temporary housing and debris removal plans foraffected communitiesaspartofthe state’s recovery effort. Some parts of St. Landry Parishhave begun flooding as water from the flood in Avoyelles Parishtravels south Aflood warning is in effect at least until6 p.m. Wednesday for theparishes of Avoyelles,St. Landry, Evangeline and Rapides, according to the National Weather Service.
CoastalMississippi communitiesclean up afterArthur
Historic rain and flooding brokerecords
BY MARTHA SANCHEZ Staff writer
The floods that soaked southern Mississippilast weekwashed pieces ofJohn Rogers’ Mississippi Coast neighborhood across his yard:Propane tanks, life jackets, plants from down the street.
Rogers and his neighbors are busy this week clearing sand that washed up their drivewaysand trying to salvagebelongingsleft behind in flooded cars.
“Nobodyexpected this,” said Rogers, who livesin Jourdan River Shoresin Kiln, about 15 minutes north of Bay St. Louis. But “for the most part,people areresilient.They break out the pressure washers and clean stuff up and go back to living.”
Similarstories areunfolding this week allover thiswaterlogged region, where the remnants of Tropical Storm Arthur drenched many communities that were already reeling from more than 30 inches of rain in the past month. On Thursday alone, about 15 inches of rain fell between Picayune, Saucier and Wiggins, Mississippi, swamping roads, overflowing rivers and prompting precautionary evacuations after floodwaters threatened to break amajor dam.
The nearby Biloxi River roseabout 30 feet higher than normal —breaking arecord set during heavy rainfall in 1995,according to theNational Weather Service. From Perkinston to Gulfport, rescuers swept someresidents away from flooded homes by boat. Others stayed indoors, waiting for the rivers to recede. Tyler Stanfield, ameteorologist at the National Weather ServiceinSlidell, said the heavy rain that fell across the saturated landscape “just made ev-
erything much worse.” Minor flooding in May also swamped some low-lying communities nearJourdan River Shoresand nearby Kiln.
“All of these successive rainfall events stacking in succession afew weeks apart, and thentacking on the biggest oneyet,”Stanfield said, “can really cause some pretty extremeoutcomes.”
TheJourdan River crested at 11 feet on Friday about 9feet above normal. It was the third-highest crest ever recorded, second only to Hurricane Katrina and the 1995 flood, accordingtothe weather service.
Thewater,which reached as high as stop signs, receded by Monday.Some areas escaped the worst
damage, but others “were hit really hard,” Rogers said. The Jourdan River Shoresneighborhoodisaccustomed to flooding, and most houses are built on stilts.Still, Rogers said his car flooded,and he expects it will be totaled. Mounds of sand aresitting in the middleofsome streets. Water crossed Miss. 603 for the first time that Rogers can remember sinceKatrina. Thisweek, “itlookedlike we’d been hit by ahurricane,” he said.
Dolly Lee, anotherneighbor,spent Monday trying to track down arentalcar after bothofher vehicles flooded.
She has endured achallengingfew days. On Friday, she packed abag and paddled acanoe with her
boyfriendthrough currents to reach histruck,where the waterwas almost up to herknees. She has since returned homeand has been busy
shoveling thick sand from beneath her property and sorting through ruined belongings —electric screwdrivers,batteries, aleaf blower —that were stored
beneath her house.
“The older you get, it just gets harder,” Lee said. She has been considering moving to higher ground forabout ayear aftertwo decades of living on the bayou.
“Don’tget me wrong, I love it,” she said. “There just comes apoint in time whereyou’retired.” Rogers, whohas lived in the area foralmost three decades, said he occasionally considersmoving somewhere else,too.But he likes lifeonthe river toomuch to leave. He could have escaped last week’s flooding on his nextdoor neighbor’s boat. But he decided to stick it out withhis beloved boxer dog, Jake.
“It is whatitis,” Rogers said Monday as theneighborhood cleanup wenton. “I’m sure some people will sell their propertiesand move out. Other people will move in. And thesun will comeuptomorrow.”
PROVIDED PHOTO
Louisiana DepartmentofWildlife and Fisheries enforcement agents rescued peopleand pets in Avoyelles Parish over the weekend.
PROVIDED PHOTO By JACKSON RANGER OF THESUN HERALD
along Miss. 603 in Kiln, Miss., on May26. Forecasters warned
Obituaries
Batson Jr., Emmett 'Ed'
Emmett "Ed" Batson, Jr., 66, died unexpectedly at home on June 19, 2026.He wasborn 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, JennyBuch 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, June24, from 9to11a.m. with service to follow at Rabenhorst Funeral Home, 825 GovernmentStreet, Baton Rouge, LA 70802.
Martha Louise Knox Farmer GillsDickerson, 87, of Baton Rouge, LA, passed away on June 20, 2026,at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center.
Born June 30, 1938, to Irene C. Mays and King Knox, Martha was afaithful memberofDonaldson Chapel Baptist Church and owner of Martha Louise Cleaning Service. She enjoyed traveling, cooking, gardening, decorating, and spending time with family.
She is survived by her children, Dennis Farmer, Yolanda Gail Watson, and Lorella Gills; special friend, Bobby Parker; 9grandchildren; 18 great-grandchildren;6 great-great-grandchildren; 8siblings; anda host of nieces, nephews, other relatives, and
friends.
Shewas preceded in death by herparents;husbands Otanis Farmer, WilliamGills, and Hebert Dickerson;daughter Erica Gills; granddaughterApril Farmer; and great-granddaughters Elaura Frank and AzraelHampton; and several siblings.
Funeral serviceswillbe held Friday, June 26, 2026, at 11:00a.m. at Donaldson Chapel Baptist Church, Baton Rouge, with interment to follow at Southern MemorialGardens
Duncan, Machell Veronica
Machell VeronicaDuncan was born on September 11, 1962, in NewRoads, Louisiana,tothe late Susie Ann Thomas and Elmo Johnson.She departed this life on June 8, 2026. Visitation at Mount Pilgrim Baptist Church, 9700Scenic Hwy, on Saturday, June27, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. and religious servicesat10:00a.m. Engels, Beverly Boudreaux
Beverly BoudreauxEngels, beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, great-great grandmother, auntand friend, passed awaypeacefully on Sunday,June 21, 2026, at the ageof95. Shewas born on June 15, 1931, in Lutcher,Louisiana,toCamille Joseph Boudreaux and BlancheGriffin Boudreaux.
After fate intervened on adouble date with her sister, Beverly met andthen married the love of herlife, James Henry Engels, Sr Their family was anchored in faith. Theywereloyal servantswhosecommitment to bring otherstothe Lord wasevident in all theydid including regular prayer servicesattheir home and other venues, missionary work in Belize, pastoring achurch in Plaquemine and ministering to many in need. They walked faithfullywith Him until their last days. Her husband's career gave them the opportunity to see the world, and Beverly'ssupportfor hissuccess gave theirchildren uniqueupbringings living abroad in Abadan, Iran for two years and travelling throughoutEurope, experiences othersonlydreamt of. They settled in Central, Louisiana making countless friends and impacting the livesofmore people than she ever could imagine.
Beverly is precededin death by her parents; her belovedhusband of more than 65 years; their sons Gary Engels, Keith Engels, and Eugene Engels;her brothers, Raymond Boudreaux and Louis Boudreaux;and her sister, Verlin B. Murphy. Beverly is survived by her loving children, James
"Butch" Engelsand wife Sheri,CherylRioux and husband Paul, and Michael Engelsand wife Jami; her daughters-in-law,Melanie Engelsand Elizabeth Engels; 23 grandchildren; 43 great-grandchildren; and five great-great-grandchildren.She also leaves behind numerous nieces, nephews, extended family members, and dear friends.
While most of her life was dedicatedtochurch and community,Beverly enjoyed spendingtime outside tendingtoher yard. Her famous chicken stew, gumbos, potatosalad and sweettea were the highlight of many family gatherings. Above all of this, it was who she was at her very corethatinspired so many. Beverlywas alwayscontent and found joyinhelpingothers. She was family-focused, easygoing,lovingand tender with aheart of gold.While she was often soft spoken, as her children learned growing up, she could be stern when needed.The valuesshe instilled in her family and others willhave her live on in our heartsfor years to come.
We find comfort knowing that Beverly is now reunited with thosewho went before her and resting in thepresence of our Lord and Savior.
Relatives and friends are invitedtothe Visitation on Friday, June 26, 2026, beginning at 1:30 p.m.,with Funeral Servicestobeheld at 2:30 p.m. at Resthaven Funeral Home,11817 Jefferson Highway in Baton Rouge. Interment willfollowatResthaven Gardens of Memory.
Familyand friends may signthe online guestbook or leavea personalnote to thefamily at www.resthav enbatonrouge.com
John Courtney
John Courtney Porteous IV, 49, of Gonzales Louisiana, passed away unexpectedlyonJune 21,2026. Born on December 8, 1976, in Houma, Louisiana, John was a hardworking man who builta career in theHVAC industry. He was known for his generous heart,his love of family,and his abilitytomakefriends wherever he went.John found joyinthe simple thingsin life.Heloved fishing, cooking,grilling, riding motorcycles,plants, watching fireworks, gathering around bonfires,and spending timewiththose he lovedmost.His easygoing nature, sense of humor,and devotiontofamily willberemembered by allwho knewhim. He is survivedbyhis mother BrendaPorteous; his children,Brodie, Bo and Brock; specialfriend, Jennifer Aldridgeand themotherof his children, Marja Porteous; alongwithnumerous aunts, uncles, cousins, and many dear friends. John was precededindeathby his father, James Warren Porteous. John's memory willliveoninthe heartsof his family and friends, who
willforevercherish the love,laughter, and countless memories they shared with him. Avisitation will be held on Thursday,June 25th, 2026, from1:00- 2:00 PM at Ourso Funeral Home, 13533 Airline Hwy, Gonzales, LA,70737. Celebration of life will follow.
Sanches, Wanda J.
WandaJ.Sanches passed away on Friday, June 19, 2026, at theage of 96. Relatives and friends are invitedtoattend the Funeral Mass at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, June 25, 2026, at St.GeorgeCatholic Church, 7808 St.George Drive in BatonRouge. A Visitation willbeheldatSt. GeorgeCatholicChurch beginning at 9:30 a.m. Entombment willfollowatSt. GeorgeCatholicChurch Cemetery.A moredetailed and specific obituary will be available soon, please visit www.resthavenbatonr ouge.comfor updates. Family and friendsmay sign theonline guestbook or leavea personalnote to thefamily at www.resthav enbatonrouge.com
It is withheavyhearts that we announce the
passing of Brad Webb—a devotedhusbandand father,anexceptional criticalcarenurse,anavidoutdoorsman,and aman who lived with courage, kindness, and aheart for servingothers. Brad wasborn on May30, 1974, in McComb, Mississippi, and passedawayonMonday, June 22, 2026, surrounded by hisfamilyathis home in Pine Grove, Louisiana. He is survived by his loving wife, Sarah Lynn Bennett Webb;son,CambreWebb;mother, Margaret AnnCookseyWebb; sister Janie Oncale (Barry); mother-in-law, Mary Lou BoudreauxBennett;special friend, Dr.Arvind Yertha;nieces and nephews, Amy, Colby, Caroline, andmanyothers wholovingly referredto himas"Uncle Rad"; as well as agreat-niece, Jolie. He wasprecededin death by hisfather,Alfred H. "Billy" Webb;sister,RebeccaBourne; father-inlaw,CarlMalcolmBennett, Jr.; and brother-in-law, JamesRawlsBennett
Brad lived life fearlessly and met everychallenge with quietstrength and determination.Asa critical care nurse,hededicated hislifetocaringfor people duringsome of their hardest moments. With his steady presence,skilled hands, andcompassionate heart, he saved countless lives andbroughtcomfort to patients andfamilies when they needed it most. Nursingwas more than a jobtoBrad—it waspartof whohewas. He cared deeply forothers and gave of himself wholeheartedly, neverasking for recognition in return When he wasn't at the hospital,Brad washappiest outdoors.Anavid bowhunter and fisherman he foundpeaceinGod's creation—onthe water high in themountains, and surroundedbythe beauty andsolitude of thewilderness. Some of his favorite adventureswerehunting in Colorado andAlaska, placesheloved deeply and wherehemade memories that will forever be cherished by those whoshared those experienceswith him.
More than anything, Brad lovedhis familyand friends. Hisgreatest pride andjoy were hiswife and son. He wasa devotedhusbandwhose love and loyalty neverwavered anda proudfather wholoved his son beyondmeasure Hisabsenceleaves an
immeasurablevoid,his memory will live on in everylifehesaved, every mountain sunrise,every cast upon thewater,and most importantly, in the hearts of hisbeloved wife, son, family, andfriends. In lieu of flowers, contributions in memory of Mr Webb may be made to ProjectPurple at projectpurple.org or to the NationalPancreatic Cancer Foundation at npcf.us/donate. Relativesand friends are invited to attendthe visitation on Saturday, June 27, 2026, from 1:00 PM until2:00 in the Mausoleum Chapel of Pinecrest Memorial Gardens, 2280 West 21st Avenue, Covington,Louisiana, witha gravesideservice beginning at 2:00 PM.Interment will be in Pinecrest Memorial GardensMausoleum. E. J. Fielding Funeral Home of Covington, Louisiana, is honored to be entrusted with Mr.Webb's funeral arrangements. His familyinvites you to share thoughts,memories, and condolencesbysigning an online guestbook at www.ejfieldingfh.com.
Webb, William Bradley 'Brad'
Porteous IV,
Dickerson, MarthaK
With aU.S. Supreme Court ruling thatput apause on Alabama executinga prisonerby nitrogen gas, Louisiana also should back offits insistence on using amethod of carryingout the death penalty that couldamount to “cruel and unusual”punishment.
Louisiana, once,and Alabama, seventimes, are thetwo states that have executedprisoners by using arespirator to replaceordinaryair with pure nitrogen gas, causing death fromlack of oxygen. As we said last year,reliable evidence indicates this method isbarbaric.
Veterinary scientists refuse even to useit foranimaleuthanasia, because tests showit causes “panic and distress …and seizure-like behavior” or “convulsions.” Andobserversof Alabama executions have confirmed Associated Press reports that the condemned men “writhe violently”for two or moreminutes anddon’t stopvisibly breathing for up to 10. We will spare readers more of the horrid details.
Courts didn’tblock the earlier nitrogengas executions, but when convicted Alabamadoublemurderer Jeffery Lee challenged that method for his pending execution, athree-judgepanel of the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruledit violated the Eighth Amendment’sban on cruel andunusual punishment. After afederal district court then issued an injunction against it, the Supreme Court, in a6-3 vote, left the injunction in place until the full meritsofthe casecan be argued.
Louisianaofficialsshould payheed. If they want to impose the death penalty— whichis highly problematic under anycircumstances —they ought to find another method that’snot literally torturous. Louisianacarried outits first execution in 15 years in March 2025, using nitrogen gastoend thelifeofJessie Hoffman, convicted of the1996 rape andmurderofMary “Molly” Elliott.
For now,the Supreme Court’s decisiondoes notapply to Louisiana. The injunctionapplies just to the federal 11th Circuit, whichcovers Florida, Georgia and Alabama only.And it isn’ta final decision on the merits after full briefsand oral arguments, but merely an injunctionblocking those states from usingnitrogengas until the case can be considered.
Nonetheless, if Louisiana tries to proceed with this means of execution, the condemned person surely will use the same appealsprocessall the way to the SupremeCourt,whichlikely would mimic its own actions in theAlabama case. How many prosecutorial workhours, and how many taxpayer dollars, would be wasted just to arrive at the same place?
None of which is to belittle the nature of the crimes for which death-row inmateshavecommitted, nor the pain that victimsand theirfamilies have suffered, nor theneed to impose sure justice. Acivilized society, though,must mete out justice in ways both civilized andconstitutional.
Pricetransparencyin healthcare asmoke screen
The political focus on hospital price transparency is meaningless. Health insurance companies negotiate discounted reimbursement rates with hospitals. Hospitals know exactly what they will be paid by Medicare, Medicaid, BlueCross BlueShield and other commercial carriers if they participate in their networks. Hospitals also have apretty good idea of what they will be paid by the uninsured. It is not 100% of what they charge, and in many cases, no payment is ever received. The price charged is meaningless for an insured patient if someone goes to an in-network hospital because he or she only pays the deductible, copay and/or coinsurance theinsurer tells them to pay on their explanation of benefits.
No hospital is paid 100% of its charges unless thehospital is not in apayor’s network and the charges are paid by thepatient. Politically,requiring hospitals topost their prices may sound
like agood idea. In reality,itisawaste of time and money to force hospitals to post their charge masters or charges for common services on websites. Even if thehospital business office is connected online with the payor’s claims processing system, it would be difficult to determine in advance of an admission or service exactly every single item that will be charged forthe patient during that medical encounter Only after services are rendered, the claim is prepared and submitted to the insurer and the insurer sends an explanation of benefitstothe patient can they really determine what portion of thebill to pay The price transparency effort may sound good, but it does not workfor thepatients or hospitals. If our politicians want to do something useful for hospitals and patients, they should create anational health system that works for everyone.
RICHARD WILLIAMS retired Blue Cross Blue Shield executive
LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR ARE
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TO SEND US A LETTER, SCANHERE
Many contemporarynewspapers are prone to ersatz reporting of little probative value.
Arecent story bearing theheadline “Americans are increasingly worried about the economy and inflation” reveals nothing about the meaning of inflation, nor itsfundamental cause.
An oft-cited, half-baked idea is that high oil prices causeinflation. But such statements merelykeep us ignorant, becausethey amount to the assertion that high prices are caused by high prices —auseless non sequitur Surely,wecan do better
Obviously,when people get more money,they spendmore (though not everyone spends the full amount of theincrease).But how money is obtained matters. If people get more money through higher productivity (i.e., earnings), inflation does not usually follow,because more production means more output, which requires and makes possible morespending. In many cases, increased productivity leads to lower,not higher,prices.
If, however,more money flows into theeconomy through central-bank
manipulation of themoney supply inflation is highly likely Yetonly afew people cansee past the“news”tograsp afundamental truth,i.e., inflation is notcaused by higher prices but by the amount of money in circulation.
The job of aresponsible central bank is to maintain some semblance of balance between aggregate demand (a nation’sexpenditure) and aggregate supply (a nation’soutput).
Data published by the FederalReserveindicates the U.S. money supply increased by 17.7%since the beginning of Joe Biden’spresidency in 2021. The increaseinrealnational outputduring thesame time frame was 10.5%. This discrepancy underscores and underwrites our present concern about inflation. It won’tbeeased by most “fixes” coming out of Washington,because thefundamental problem is too much money chasing too few goods. But what politician ever thinks there’stoo much money?
ROBERT HEBERT Baton Rouge
So, Cal Thomas felt the need to dash off yet another jeremiad attacking the usual suspects: “the news media, Democrats, academia, ‘science’ and Hollywood elites.” On this outing, Thoams complains that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (the UnitedNations body for assessing the science related to climate change) has concluded that “the extremescenarios” they (IPCC) once were guilty of selling us are now “implausible” because the body had withdrawn ascenario known as Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 (RCP 8.5), which he calls a“prediction.” It should comeasnosurprise that Thomas totally misrepresents the IPCC report and action with mischaracterizations, trolling and outright lies about the RCP 8.5. In anutshell, the IPCC never predicted anything. The RCP 8.5 is one of four scenarios published in 2011 that describe arange of possible pathways for climate change this century, ending in 2100. In the highest range, average Earth temperature increase would range from 3.3 Celsius to 5.7 degrees Celsius. In the lowest range the increase would be 1.5C.
The IPCC has now determined that the highest scenario is implausible. What Thomas fails to tell us is that the IPCC has also determined that the lowest range scenario is also implausible.
The reason that the high end is now “implausible” is because we have been somewhat successful in mitigating climate change through emissions standards and reduction worldwide in the use of coal to generate electricity But, the low end of a1.5 Cincrease in temperature by 2100 is also implausible because we still have not done enough to mitigate carbon emissions. Make no mistake, the scenario in the middle,arise of between 2degrees Celsius to 3degrees Celsius, will cause catastrophic consequences.
Thomas’slies are an embarrassment to this paper
JAMES TAYLOR Baton
Rouge
In what could be ametaphor for things to come, workers removed President Donald Trump’s namefrom the Kennedy Center in Washington U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled the rebrandingof the KennedyCenter as the “Trump Kennedy Center” violated thelaw, writing, “Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it.” Is America growing tired of Trump’s nonstop appearances? Hisdisapproval ratings suggest overexposure could be acontributing factor.Hegoes on sometimes for more thananhourin hisfrequent Oval Office appearances and often repeats himself.Trumpstill claims he “won” the 2020election. Trump seems reluctanttocedethe limelight to anyone else. In aSeptember 2023 interview with CNN, the then- former president acknowledged that,despite receiving counsel from multiple people that the 2020 election was not stolen,hepushed ahead anyway withhis false claims to tryand overturn the results. Perhaps he should have considered theproverb that says: “The godlygive good advice to their friends; the wicked lead them astray.” (Proverbs 12:26 NLT).Scripture, which apparently Trumpdoesnot
read, is full of examples of what happens to peoplewho ignore good advice and seek their own way If themidterm elections turn out the way currentpolls indicate(and polls are not alwaysright), President Trump can look forward to his final two years in office achieving little while facing more impeachments and numerous investigations of himself and his family’s business dealings. Most would consider Trump’spresidency afailure, regardless of the outcome of the Iran war.He will have only himself to blame. As Annie Linskey writes in The Wall Street Journal: “(Trump) and his advisershave madeastrategic decision to turn the president into an omnipresent figure in American life, drawing acontrast with his octogenarian predecessor,Joe Biden. Trumpregularly makes marathon appearances in the Oval Office, he answers reporters’ cold calls andhetees off on social media at all hours of the day and night. The result is that Americans are seeing moreof both thegood and the bad of an aging president. These include, she notes,bruised hands, closed eyes at Cabinet meetings andother events, astooped postureand confusion aboutnames and places.
Whatthe president should be doing is featuring people who have benefited from his policies and others who did notbenefitfrom policies when Demo-
crats ran thegovernment.It’snot about him and his legacy.Alegacy will take care of itself if the policies work. It’s about who benefits from those policies. Democrats want us to believe only “the rich” benefit and so they must be taxed into oblivion. Why do we continue to debatethese policies every two to four years? It’s because thedebate is about the policies and not which ideas have worked and which have not.
In conservative churches, people give what they call “testimonies” about how God transformed their lives. That can also be applied to politics. These testimonies would include theformerly poor who are now able tocare for their families because they embraced ideas promoted by Republicans. It would be thesame for poor children who were trapped in failing public schools, but now,because of school choice programsare making good grades, graduating high school and attending college. Many voters would respond to such policy contrasts. They have before. The president should trythis strategy, although at his age and with his record, he is unlikely to takegood advice, even from friends. If he refuses, he would have greater concerns than his name coming off the Kennedy Center
Email Cal Thomasattcaeditors@ tribpub.com
We can thank China that gasoline prices aren’thigher than they are. By last month, China had cut imports of oil by 3million barrels aday,the daily consumption of Italy andFrance combined. China’seconomy,meanwhile, hums along.
Americans agonize over how the price of oil affects gas at the pump. Were it not for China, a tank of gas would cost considerablymore. “China is Propping Up the World Economy by Importing aLot Less Oil,” readsa Wall Street Journal headline. There are severalreasons China has been able to cut oil imports, but one is its move away from gas-powered vehicles into electric vehicles.
plain other than his personal ties with the oil industry.The U.S. is producing more fossil fuel, but much of it is being exported to other countries willing to pay alot for it. Get this: If Americans want more of their fuel to stay home, they’ll have to pay morefor it.
China has also invested heavily in electric-powered high-speed rail, letting travelers replace oil-guzzling shortflights and trips in gas-powered cars with train travel. By 2030, China’s EVs could displace 2.7 million barrels aday,according to the International Energy Agency.
If the war with Iran is truly over, and it may not be, Americans’ price of oil should be coming down. That’s already started, but economists warn thatthe decline willbeslow Thus, Donald Trump’slong crusade against electrified vehicles and promotion of gas-powered ones is hard to ex-
Trump hollers that Americansmust drill-drill-drill to cushion themselves from the cost of foreign energy. Andsowhat did he do onthe first day back in office?Heorderedthe Energy Department to restart exports of American-produced natural gas. He alsosupportsexporting U.S. oil, branding it as “energy dominance.”
Other than environmentalists, and bless youall, Americans tendnot to care what powers their cars. Electricity,gasoline, whale oil Buyers of cars or trucksgenerally prefer whichever option is cheaper.Happily,the energy source that does least damage to the planetisnow the lessexpensive one. True,it costs moretomake electric vehicles than gas-powered ones. However —and this is abig however —the cost to operate EVs is alot less. And themore gasoline costs, the better the electric car deal becomes.
AChevy Equinox EV costs about $35,000, butthe price for thegaspowered version of the compact SUV is $30,000. But if an Equinox owner in,
say,Iowa drives about 11,000 miles a year —the American average —over 10 years, they will be spending nearly $10,000 more to power thegas SUV than the electric one. We get it.Ifyou must have anew Chevy Equinox right now and can’t spare an extra $5,000, then the gas version mayberegarded as anecessary purchase. What happens 10 or 15 years down theroad can be worried about later Electricity prices had also been going up, but nowhere near as much as oil prices. That’sbecause power plants use energy sources other than oil, including hydro, wind, solar and nuclear,inaddition to natural gas. Butthose who can plan for their economic future should be ontoit. Andso are countries that do planning, such as China. The U.S. tried under President Joe Biden to electrify the economy,but Trumphas undermined almost all that progress. What’s promoting American consumers’ new interest in electric vehicles is thehigh price of gasoline. If this country had madethe kind of advances China has, we wouldn’tbe caring so much aboutwhat happens in theStrait of Hormuz. On somethings, China knows better Froma Harrop is on X, @FromaHarrop. Email her at fharrop@gmail.com.
It has never been abetter time in America to be asocialist. We aging Gen Xers whothought that socialism had been decisively refuted by the fall of the Berlin Wall have been refuted ourselves: Democratic socialists now run Seattle and NewYork City,and come January,probably D.C. too, where Janeese Lewis George won the Democratic primary that generally decides the district’smayoral elections. It is aheady momentfor the left, because socialism’stainted brand has recovered from the vivid failures of the Soviet Union. Fully 66% of Democrats tell Gallup they view socialism favorably,while 42% say the sameofcapitalism. This makes the leftsee arevolution marching toward victory,because it can promise something that the center leftcannot: adisruptive break with an unsatisfying status quo.
The challenge is that socialism’s rise is spiky concentrated in blue cities where affluent (but often downwardly mobile) college graduates cluster.That’saproblem forthe Democratic Party,where the excesses of progressive governance are helping to makethe party’sbrand toxic in the less true-blue areas. But it’salso a challenge forthe socialists, because cities are the hardest place to execute big plans fornew taxing and spending.
Without the exuberant demand from an oversize millennial generation, mayors are rediscovering the hard reality of urban governance: It is much easier to leave acity than it is to leave astate or acountry,sothe tax base is moreconstrained, and the scope forpunitive business regulations much smaller.That has always been true, but it is even moresoin the era of remote work, because proximity to adowntown office is no longer as valuable as it wasbefore we could Zoom into meetings. Even if the traditional downtownoffice culture hadn’tchanged, socialist mayors would find it challenging to deliver truly disruptive change. The last timesocialists wereaforce in American politics was acentury ago, when government was tiny,and apractically virgin tax base wasripe forthe plucking. Ahundred years later,the government already does alot, funded with aprogressive tax structure that places much of the burden on the high-income taxpayers the socialists want to tap to pay for their programs. Those services are often absurdly expensive forwhat they deliver.American infrastructure costs, forexample, are ascandal. But every excessive cost is someone else’sincome, and that someone will fight like acornered tiger if you try to reduce their incomebyone thin dime. The progressivity of the tax code also complicates things on the revenue side. Socialists may waxlyrical about aNordic-style welfare state, but those states are paid forbyheavily taxing the middle class, an idea that is unlikely to gain much purchase with the educated base of the Democratic Socialists of America; today’s college-educated elite is voting formore public services, not less disposable income. Unfortunately,New York City already gets roughly athird of its incometax revenue from “millionaire filers,” whoface acombined state, local and federal marginal personal income tax rate that can exceed 50%. D.C. also has one of the highest combined marginal tax rates in the country,atroughly 48%. There is probably someadditional tax capacity there, but how much is an open question, given how easy it is to move. If socialist mayors get it wrong, the first warning sign will be falling revenue. NewYork Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Seattle Mayor Katie B. Wilson and Lewis George are already struggling with these issues. Mamdani has scaled back his ambitions in the face of a $5.4 billion deficit that was only closed with substantial state aid, while Wilson is pondering layoffs to patch her own budget hole. The D.C. Council, where Lewis George sits, is wrestling with a$1.1 billion gap that will makeittricky to deliver on her big promises, such as an expensive child care subsidy Ironically,these dismal fiscal realities are part of what is boosting socialist fortunes. The parlous state of federal finances reduces the scope forabold new national agenda, and may also be contributing to higher interest rates and inflation. That’sanopportunity forsocialist politicians. But the reality forthose politicians is that once in office, they will find it difficult to maintain the status quo, much less improve on it in the way their supporters expect.
MeganMcArdle is on X, @asymmetricinfo
Froma Harrop
Cal Thomas
ega McArdle M n
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO
Visitors walk past the John F. Kennedy Center forthe PerformingArtsinWashington as its signremains covered by atarp.
Goingsecondclass?
Zurich Classic’sstatusinPGA in jeopardy afternew league format revealed
BY JEFF DUNCAN Staff writer
The Zurich Classic’sstatusas apremier PGA Tour event isinjeopardy
Starting in 2028, New Orleans’ longstanding professional golf tournament could be relegated to secondary status in anew tournament model announced Tuesday by PGA Tour officials
The new system will be divided into two tiers: achampionship series of 2324 events,featuring the Tour’s premier players that includes the four majors (the PGA, the Masters, the U.S. Open and British Open), the Players Championship and international team events (Presidents Cup, Ryder Cup); and achallenger series of 20 or so events, which would featuresmaller purses and lowerprofile players and future stars.
The new model was among aseries of recommendations from the Tour’sFuture Competition Committeeapproved by members of the PGA Tour boards
ä See ZURICH, page 6C
Editor’snote: This is one among 12profiles of inductees forthe Louisiana Sports Hall ofFameClass of 2026 Festivities willtake place from Thursday-Saturday in Natchitoches.
BY KENT LOWE
Contributing writer
All Iguess that the LouisianaSportsWriters Association can say is, “we’re sorry.”
Almost always, the LSWAhas been proud to start the run of big Hall of Fame inductionsinNatchitoches for stars of their games. But thistime,the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and the Naismith Hall of Fame beat the LSWAtothe punch.
Our rules for inductionafterretirement got abit in the way,sowehad to wait therequisite period of time before we could make the move. But Sylvia Fowles was on the Hall’sradar from the moment she announced her retirement in August, and itwas a lightning-quick decision that shewould be the next women’sbasketball standout to join the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. Hall of Famers come in all shapesand sizes. When it comes to basketball Hall of Fame types, LSU longtime associate basketball coachBob Starkey knows one when he sees one. “Well, Ithink when you talk aboutbeinga Hall of Famer,you’re talking aboutacompletebody of work long-term,”Starkey said. “Andwhenyou look at what Sylvia’sdone first on the collegiate level here at LSU thenyou take it to the WNBA. Youtakeittoher overseas basketball career andthen her Olympic career “She’sbeen absolutely one of thebestofthe bestat every single levelfor an extended period of time.To me,that’swhat aHall of Fameris. It’snot abouthavingagood year or agood run. It’sabout your entire career being elite.” Hard to argue with that
Five games Tigers can’t affordtolose in Kiffin’s debutseason
It goes without saying, LSU doesn’t want to lose asingle gamethis fall. But it also goes without saying, some losses would be moreacceptable than others.
LSU didn’thireLane Kiffin away fromOle Miss and make him one of the highest-paid coaches in college football to drop nonconference “guarantee” games againstLouisiana Tech and McNeeseState or middling SEC opponents like Mississippi State and Kentucky
There is adegree of grace forafirst-year coach whohas turned over his roster,which meansNovember defeats to the likes of Alabama or Texas probably won’t raise alarm bells if September and October go relatively well. That said, there are ahandful of games on the 2026 schedule that could excessively alter the narrative of Kiffin’sdebut season. Here are the games LSU can’tafford to lose in 2026.
Clemson
There are waystotalk around this one because it’sanopener foraremade LSU roster that’sjust one spring and fall camp deep into learning Kiffin’ssystem
But if LSU lost this game, what afirestorm it could create.
Nearly$150 million was set aside to turn Brian Kelly looseand bring in Kiffin. Tens of millions more were poured into atransfer-infused roster Not to mention, adebut infused with expectations comes in Tiger Stadium against theother DeathValley program.
Clemson comes into this season with question marks as well. The program’s likely starting quarterback, Christopher Vizzina, has one career start under his belt. The offensive line protecting that signal caller will be inexperienced in multiple spots.
It’s possible Dabo Swinney patches holes and expertly plays his underdog
ä See BLAU, page 3C
Dybantsa
BYBRIAN MAHONEY AP basketball writer NEW YORK The Washington Wizards selected forward AJ Dybantsa, wholed thenation in scoring in his one seasonatBYU, with the No.1pick in the NBA draft on Tuesday night. Dybantsa averaged 25.5 points, highlighted by a 43-point effort that broke BYU’s freshmanscoring record. He was the first of eight straight college freshman taken to begin the draft At 6-foot-9 and 217 pounds, Dybantsa hasdrawncomparisons to Kevin Durant, who happens to be his favorite player. Durant grew up in the Washington area, andWizards fans can only hope Dybantsa can live up to the comparisons.
Theycertainly hope he will be betterthancenterKwame Brown, the pickWashington madein2001, the first timeithad theNo. 1selection after the NBA
changeddraftformats to eliminate territorial picks in 1966. The Wizards took John Wall in 2010 the other time, and he did turn into an All-Star He appeared to say aquick prayer after his namewas announced,thenwentonstage to greet Commissioner Adam Silver andslippedona black Wizards hatthatmatched nicely with his black suit.
Dybantsa beat out fellow freshman Darryn Peterson of Kansas, who was taken at the No. 2pick by Utah. While somethought Peterson hadthe most talentinthe class, the guard missed 11 games during the season because of injuries and illness, potentially creating somequestions that Dybantsa didn’thave. CameronBoozer, thecollege player of the year in his one season at Duke, was taken at No. 3by Memphis. Caleb Wilson, another freshman forward from rival North Carolina, went to Chicago with the next pick.
Those players were the expected top four throughout the pre-draft process, though there was certainly acase forPeterson to go first with his promise Or for Boozer,with his body of workafter he put up 22.5 points, 10.2 reboundsand 4.1assists
Jon Blau
Alex Fitzpatrick, left, and Matt Fitzpatrick hold the trophyastheycelebrate winning theZurich Classic on April 26 in Avondale.
STAFF FILE PHOTO By LIZ CONDO
in agame.
STAFF FILE PHOTOSByBRETT DUKE
Austin Eckroat putts on the ninth green during the final round of the Zurich Classic on April 26 at TPCLouisiana in Avondale. Starting in 2028, thetournament could be relegatedtosecondarystatus in anew tournament modelannounced Tuesdaybythe PGA Tour
LOUISIANA SPORTS HALL OF FAME
LeBreton earns induction into sports hall
‘Nostradamus’ of sportwriters known for annual predictions column
Editor’s note: This is one among 12 profiles of inductees for the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2026. Festivities will take place from Thursday-Saturday in Natchitoches.
BY JOHN HENRY Contributing writer
As a recipient of the Distinguished Service Award in sports journalism and his induction into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, Gil LeBreton takes his place in the state’s sports lore — not as an athlete or coach, and certainly not for a double life led as “the human Ouija board.
As the fearless forecaster of all things sports each Jan. 1, this “Nostradamus with the nostramostest” often made Mario Mendoza look like a contact hitter But each year, without fail, the polished crystal ball was brought back out and eventually even “retro-fitted for the digital transition.” Jerry Jones hosting the Mary Kay convention at AT&T Stadium — including offering discounted Party Zone tickets to attendees — was a miss in 2010. Gil did, however, accurately predict the Texas Rangers would win the AL West that season, as well as TCU’s Horned Frogs making a trip to the
FOWLES
Continued from page 1C
2007, just the sixth women’s player in college basketball to dunk the basketball in a game. It was a simple play, so it seemed. And with due respect to my friends in Lafayette where the Ragin’ Cajuns player may still have nightmares, Fowles came out to steal the ball near midcourt, gathered it up, dribbled down the court and right-hand dunked it to the delight and maybe some amazement of the Maravich Center crowd.
“We had been begging her I know I had been begging her (to dunk in a game),” said Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame teammate Seimone Augustus, who is now an LSU assistant coach. “Coach Starkey is the post coach so we were seeing it every day in practice she would have like a little dunk. It wasn’t too crazy, but it was a dunk. We were like why don’t you do it a game? She’s just like, if you know her demeanor, it’s like, ‘Do I need to?’ And we were like, ‘Yes, you need to.’
“It just so happened that I was in town from overseas, on our Christmas break or whenever it was, like during a break and (Sylvia) got a breakaway She got a steal at half court and it was just her and the basket. We were like, she’s going to do it I saw her start to gather her steps and I’m like she’s got to do it and she did it. That was like the most amazing thing ever because there’s very few women in the college game that have done it. I mean, you are talking Lisa Leslie, Candace Parker, Sylvia Fowles, Brittney Griner There’s a handful of women that have ever done that. She’s one of those women.” Patrick Wright the radio voice of LSU women’s basketball for over 35 years, remembers it well.
“We all knew she was capable of dunking,” Wright said. “It happened because of a smart defensive play by Sylvia. Not many girls Syl’s size were remotely coordinated to dribble the ball 70 feet, but she had the grace of the point guard she just stole the ball from As she got to the free-throw line, the thought everyone in the arena had was the same she might dunk this.
“She threw it down with one hand. It was a legitimate dunk that any men’s player would be proud of. I will always remember the reaction of her teammates and
the Rose Bowl where they would face, ahem, Ohio State.
“If you’re scoring along at home, this is the 29th annual edition of the predictions column,” he wrote in 2011, patting himself on the back for a few hits the year before “Sooner or later in other words, I was bound to get something right.”
No, Gil LeBreton will live in Louisiana sports posterity because of a masterful ability to marry exceptional prose with a deep understanding of sport and the human condition, and a storyteller’s gift for connecting with readers, making them laugh, think, remember and care.
Over the course of a 50-year, award-winning sportswriting career, LeBreton has borne witness to some of the most significant moments in sports history in arena and stadium press boxes around the world.
“Gil writes with insight and humor, shoving flowery prose aside for columns that followed a natural rhythm, direct and unpretentious, human and authentic,” said T.R. Sullivan, a former colleague and longtime beat writer of the Texas Rangers. “He used his needling wit and superb analytical mind to take on serious subjects in an entertaining and informative style.”
LeBreton was one of the most versatile sportswriters of his era, and, more than all that, he was a respected colleague.
A New Orleans native, Jesuit and LSU journalism graduate, LeBreton built one of the most accomplished careers in American
sportswriting, covering everything from neighborhood heroes to the biggest stages in the world. Along the way, he chronicled legends ranging from Muhammad Ali and Tom Landry to Nolan Ryan, Jack Nicklaus and John Wooden.
He earned a reputation for pairing elegant prose with sharp reporting, using sports as a lens to explore character, ambition, triumph and disappointment. His work from multiple Olympic Games garnered state and national honors, and he remains the only journalist to be named Sportswriter of the Year in both Louisiana and Texas.
A Vietnam veteran, LeBreton returned home to earn his degree before embarking on a career that took him across the globe and into the press boxes of nearly every major sporting event imaginable. In 2024, he was inducted into the LSU Manship School Hall of Fame.
LeBreton reported from 26 Super Bowls, 13 World Series, 16 Final Fours, the World Cup, the Masters, the Tour de France, Wimbledon and countless other major events. His byline appeared in the Times-Picayune, Baton Rouge Morning Advocate, Kansas City Star, Baltimore News American and, most notably, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram where his columns — and, yes, his annual fearless prognosticating — became
the crowd, and everyone knew they just witnessed something historic.”
But it was more than dunking. It was scoring, rebounding, blocked shots and being a good teammate that LSU folks remember
“The thing about Sylvia and again, this is what makes her not just a Hall of Fame player but a Hall of Fame person is she is, legitimately, seriously happy for other people’s success,” Starkey said. “So when she came here, we went to four straight Final Fours, and then, three out of four years, we won the SEC championship.
“It’s never been done before or after at this school. And those where when those three out of four SEC championships, that’s the days of Pat Summitt (Tennessee) and Andy Landers (Georgia) and Joe Ciampi (Auburn) and Gary Blair (Texas A&M) and all these Hall of Fame coaches. So it was a remarkable, remarkable period.
But it meant a lot to her because she was able to help her team-
mates garner some success.”
Unfortunately with the passage of time those NCAA Final Four appearances in the mid-2000s have drifted a slight bit to the back of LSU fans’ minds because of LSU’s most recent success in women’s basketball. But those banners hang high in the Maravich Center and they are just as important as any others that hang there.
More important, in the rafters with the greatest LSU players like Abdul-Rauf, Macklin, Maravich, Pettit, O’Neal and Augustus, flies the banner for Fowles. All of those are deserving Louisiana Sports Hall of Famers. The numbers back up all of those being in this Hall and others. But what struck Starkey most was a personality that made her a player he wanted to bring to LSU.
“There’s no question that having a good, athletic, fast, quick post player is enticing,” he said. “But it wasn’t until Sylvia came to our elite camp, and we got to sit down to have a conversation that she
required reading for generations of sports fans. His first Olympics was the 1976 Montreal Games.
LeBreton’s reporting from the Olympic Games won numerous state and national awards His stories for the Picayune on Louisiana Olympic hopefuls, including the married Armstrongs the “world’s fastest family” — were honored as the LSWA’s top series.
He had a front row seat to the Game’s biggest stories
“Comaneci mania! It reached out and touched this Olympic city during the past week as it has not been moved since Maurice Richard was in training skates.”
He reported on the U.S. Olympic basketball team’s redemption and recouping of its rightful place at the top of the mountain of basketball in the world The Americans dropped Tito’s Yugoslavia under coach Dean Smith for gold.
“Ring down that iron curtain! Break out the vodka!
“There were no controversies, unlike that 1972 final in Munich. There were no three-second replays. There was no postgame confusion.
“Most of all, there were no Russians. The Yugoslavs had disposed of the ‘72 pretenders to the Olympic throne in a semifinal victory Monday.”
The experience proved transformational, igniting a lifelong passion for Olympic storytelling. LeBreton would go on to cover 15 more Olympic Games, chronicling some of the most memorable moments, athletes, and issues of the modern era.
became somebody that I just had to recruit, and that was because of her mindset. Her personality She was obviously gifted physically, but it was the other things that I got to learn about during that week, that made me know that she had a chance to be just not really good, but to be absolutely one of the game’s best.
“It was her ability to be a great teammate, to be unselfish. I was able to gauge her desire, her commitment to wanting to be at a different level. I just knew I really, really want to coach her.” But there was some learning that had to be done.
“A funny story is very early on,” Starkey said. “I think it was an exhibition game. There was a battle for a rebound. She went up and grabbed it and, knocked the other team’s rebounder down. Instead of running the floor, she leaned over and helped her up. It speaks to the type of character she has.”
And then the most important praise this veteran could assess.
“She was a great teammate. Unless you’ve coached on this level, (you don’t realize) when your best players are your best people, that’s when you have a chance as a team.”
She would continue to prove that in the WNBA and in the Olympics and for overseas professional teams. She won four Olympic gold medals, two WNBA titles, honors galore professionally in the league and beyond. She even teamed with her two-year college teammate Augustus in the WNBA for the Minnesota Lynx after Fowles looked to move after several years with the Chicago Sky
“We never really thought we would play together,” Augustus said. “An opportunity came in 2015. It was between two teams that she was deciding between Obviously, we had won a number of championships so we looked a little bit more appealing to her I just remember our coach telling us, ‘Sylvia might want to come here and would I give her a phone call and see where she is in the process?’
“I picked up the phone and the phone call was like, literally five seconds. I was just ‘we would love to have you here.’ She was like ‘on my way.’ Click. And within a matter of a few hours, maybe a few days, she was in Minnesota and the rest is history.”
The team won championships in 2015 and 2017 and Fowles was Finals MVP both times.
NHL exploring expansion in Texas with billionaire NEW YORK The NHL is exploring potential expansion in Texas in either Houston or Austin under an agreement with billionaire Dan Friedkin and his family, Commissioner Gary Bettman said Tuesday Bettman said the Board of Governors executive committee endorsed a term sheet agreed to with the Friedkins over the next six months. The total investment required between an expansion fee and the cost to build a new arena in one of those cities would amount to $3.5 billion, according to Bettman, who said discussions over the past two years largely revolved around Houston before Austin joined the conversation. Friedkin is chairman and CEO of the Friedkin Group with a net worth of $6.4 billion, according to Forbes.
Sorsby has to wait until 2027 to join the NFL
Brendan Sorsby will have to wait until 2027 to begin his NFL career
The NFL informed the 22-yearold quarterback on Tuesday that it will not hold a supplemental draft this year, and encouraged him to focus on preparing for possible entry into the league through the regular draft next year
Sorsby had applied for the supplemental draft after a legal battle with the NCAA, which had declared him ineligible for making thousands of bets on sporting events worth at least $90,000 during his college career
The NFL hasn’t held a supplemental draft since 2023 and had no plans to do so this year before Sorsby’s petition. No player has been selected in the supplemental draft since 2019.
Reds’ De La Cruz activated after 3 weeks on injured list
CINCINNATI Elly De La Cruz was back in the Cincinnati Reds’ lineup for Tuesday night’s game against Milwaukee after spending just over three weeks on the injured list.
The Reds announced they activated the two-time All-Star shortstop, who strained his right hamstring on May 31, and optioned outfielder Will Benson to Triple-A Louisville. De La Cruz completed a threegame rehab assignment at Louisville over the weekend. He homered and played five innings at shortstop on Friday, was 0 for 3 as the designated hitter Saturday and 0 for 3 with two strikeouts and an error on Sunday De La Cruz was batting .280 with an .855 OPS and 12 home runs in 58 games before he went on the IL for the first time in his major league career
N.C. State-Virginia game relocated back to U.S. CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The N.C. StateVirginia football game being relocated from Brazil back to the United States will remain as a Week Zero contest.
The Atlantic Coast Conference announced Tuesday that the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision Oversight Committee had approved a waiver to keep the game on its originally scheduled Aug. 29 date. That comes three weeks after the league and schools announced the matchup set to take place in Brazil as the first college football game played in South America could not be conducted in Rio de Janeiro. The game will be played at the Cavaliers’ home field in Charlottesville, Virginia. N.C. State won last year’s first matchup in Raleigh.
Falcons agree to 3-year deal with tight end Pitts ATLANTA The Atlanta Falcons have agreed to a three-year, $54 million contract with tight end Kyle Pitts Sr securing another foundation player on the team’s offense through the 2028 season. The deal was announced on Tuesday by Pitts’ agency, Athletes First, in a social media post. The agency said it is the largest threeyear deal for
ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO
LSU’s Sylvia Fowles, left, and acting head coach Bob Starkey watch practice March 31, 2007, before their Final Four game against Rutgers in Cleveland.
LeBreton
New LSU center Dessert a strong rim protector, dunker BASKETBALL
BY TOYLOY BROWN III Staff writer
Brice Dessert is the kind of center every college team would love to have.
LSU coach Will Wade is no different, as the Tigers’ new 6-foot-11, 252-pound forward/center from France is a true paint presence on both ends.
Grizzlies draft Duke’s
Boozer at No. 3 overall
BY TERESA M. WALKER AP sportswriter
The Memphis Grizzlies selected Duke forward Cameron Boozer with the third pick in the NBA draft Tuesday night, adding another high pick in their latest rebuilding project.
Boozer joins 7-foot-3 center Zach Edey, the ninth overall pick in 2024, and Cedric Coward, the 11th selection a year ago and member of the All-NBA rookie team.
“It’s crazy,” Boozer said of hearing his name called by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver “It’s a happiness. It’s a joy.” The 6-8, 253-pound Boozer is the son of former Duke and NBA player Carlos
DRAFT
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Carlos, also played before becoming a two-time NBA
All-Star
The uncertainty was expected to begin at No. 5. The Los Angeles Clippers acquired the rights to it after a trade with the Indiana Pacers and used it on Illinois guard Keaton Wagler. The host Brooklyn Nets then went with Louisville guard Mikel Brown Jr Darius Acuff Jr to Sacramento at No. 7 and Kingston Flemings to Atlanta at No. 8 continued the run of scoring guards before Dallas went back to the bigs — and created a reunion in the process — by taking Morez Johnson Jr from Michigan. Johnson
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card in an upset win. But that’s very much what it would be — an upset, and quite upsetting to an LSU program that has invested so much treasure and trust in Kiffin Ole Miss
Kiffin had his exit from Oxford, Mississippi, burned into his memory, including the profanities hurled at him on his way to the plane — and the Rebels fans who seemed determined to run him off the road before he even made it to the airport Now imagine the aftermath if Kiffin were to lose in his return to Ole Miss?
A defeat is certainly in the realm of possibility, because if any defensive mind is practiced against Kiffin’s scheme, it’s Pete Golding
The Rebels also return the talented backfield Kiffin assembled, passer Trinidad Chambliss and rusher Kewan Lacy
But five of Chambliss’s top six targets from 2025 are gone, and Kiffin brought the seventh, Winston Watkins, with him to LSU. Plus play-caller
Charlie Weis Jr at a cost of
Boozer He was the fifth freshman voted AP men’s national player of the year Now Cameron Boozer joins Edey, a two-time AP men’s national player of the year in Memphis.
Carlos Boozer said his son shows up every single day, and he had some advice for him now
“Take this moment, enjoy this moment,” Carlos Boozer said. “Obviously be where your feet are. Go enjoy it man, go enjoy it.”
Boozer averaged 22.5 points and 10.2 rebounds while helping Duke win 35 games and reach No. 1 in the AP Top 25 poll. The Blue Devils claimed the top overall seed for March Madness and reached the NCAA Tour-
was congratulated by national champion Michigan teammates Yaxel Lendeborg and Aday Mara, who were also in the green room, and then hugged his old and new coach. Dusty May left the Wolverines to coach the Mavericks on the eve of the draft.
Lendeborg and Mara didn’t have to wait long for their turn. The Golden State Warriors took Lendenborg with the No. 11 pick and the Oklahoma City Thunder followed by going for the 7-3 Mara. The draft is always a celebration, when all teams have hope, but the cheers seemed even more frequent than usual.
They began when Silver opened his remarks by hailing the NBA champion Knicks and NBA Finals MVP
$2.5 million per year Plus defensive stars Princewill Umanmielen and T.J. Dottery One loss to Kiffin’s school of six years wouldn’t necessarily doom his LSU tenure, but a dropped Magnolia Bowl would make for an unforgettable lowlight in the Tigers’ season and, perhaps, the coach’s career Who knows the degree of riotousness Ole Miss’s celebration would achieve. Best for LSU to not find out.
Auburn A 2010 national title win led by Cam Newton feels like forever ago at this point, especially given Auburn hasn’t even made a bowl game in three of its past four seasons. But the last thing LSU wants to do is provide another first-year coach, Alex Golesh, a statement victory at Jordan-Hare Stadium that can be played on a loop for recruits as a sleeping football giant tries to regain momentum.
While recruiting rankings are far from complete in June, Auburn sits at No. 9 nationally in the 2027 cycle, according to 247Sports LSU ranks 17th.
There is also the issue of where Auburn falls on LSU’s
nament’s Elite Eight.
He showed the kind of toughness the Grizzlies can use after so many injuries over the past couple seasons. Boozer finished a loss to UConn with 27 points despite suffering multiple facial fractures in the first half.
That helped Boozer prove he can finish through contact shooting 55.6% from the floor and also shot 39.1% from 3-point range. Boozer also is a strong passer (4.1 assists), notably assisting on Isaiah Evans’ late 3-pointer to beat reigning national champion Florida.
The Grizzlies came into this draft as the NBA’s only team with three selections in the top 35.
Jalen Brunson, with a number of fans in Barclays Center wearing Knicks jerseys. Nets fans, who endured a miserable season watching the home team in the arena, applauded the selection of Brown, who had a 45-point performance to highlight his season that was cut short by a back injury
The Milwaukee Bucks, who are losing two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo picked up two rookies.
They took Arizona guard Brayden Burries with the No. 10 pick and are acquiring the rights to Tennessee forward Nate Ament, who was taken at No. 13 by Miami but is part of the package the Heat are sending to Milwaukee in the trade for Antetokounmpo that was agreed to Monday
2026 schedule: before an Oct. 31 open date, meaning Kiffin and Co would have to stew for two weeks before consecutive home games against SEC heavyweights Alabama and Texas.
Then LSU has to hit the road, again, to play Tennessee.
Speaking of Tennessee
Building on Kiffin’s encounters with hostility, he left Neyland Stadium with a golf ball and a mustard bottle after both were thrown at him during a 2021 win there.
He’s a couple of stops removed from being the coach who left Tennessee after just one season to lead USC, but there’s bound to be some leftover animosity from Vols fans.
The Tigers have had some success in Knoxville; they haven’t lost a game in Neyland Stadium since 2001. That’s not a streak Kiffin wants broken on his watch.
Arkansas
LSU’s nine wins over Arkansas in its past 10 meetings has drained some luster from the “Battle for the Golden Boot,” but it’s still a meaningful trek to Fayetteville, Arkansas. Because the rivalry is the
In 26 games, Dessert averaged 8.5 points on 81.3% shooting, 3.2 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and 0.9 turnovers in 19.1 minutes for Anadolu Efes, a Turkish club in the Basketball Super League this season.
In 17 games in the EuroLeague, the most competitive league outside the United States, he averaged 9.0 points on 62.9% shooting, 2.5 rebounds and 0.5 blocks in 12.9 minutes. Dessert, 23, went undrafted in the 2025 NBA Draft.
Elite finisher
Dessert’s field-goal percentage is remarkable because he dunks as often as humanly possible. While the French center’s leaping ability is solid rather than sensational, his 7-4 wingspan allows him to score above the rim with ease.
He knows how to use his size to park himself near the hoop.
Dessert is not only a dunker He has a soft enough touch to finish layups and post-ups. Keeping his scoring simple is his preference, but there were flashes of self-creation with back-down moves and drives from outside 15 feet.
His strong frame helps him carve out space against centers and power through mismatches. His physicality also shows in fastbreaks, where his speed for 252 pounds makes him a true rim runner Wade will use Dessert often as a screener in pick-and-roll actions, using his size to set solid screens and skill to finish near the hoop. He has a large catch radius with his length and athleticism. He’s good at catching lob passes, but there were times when he didn’t cleanly secure interior passes with zip.
It didn’t occur routinely, but suggests his hands are good rather than elite.
Dessert’s high efficiency
Tigers’ last chance to make a statement, for better or worse.
If LSU achieves just enough in the previous 11 games to put itself in posi-
ANALYSIS
is also tied to his seldom shooting outside of five feet, never taking more than one 3-pointer in a season since he was 16. He’s self-aware and has poor mechanics that appear on the free-throw line, shooting 53.6% in 43 games. His awkward release and energy transfer make meaningful improvement at LSU seem unlikely
Dessert’s skill level as a dribbler and passer is limited. He isn’t selfish, but not a passing threat either
For a play finisher, he had too many turnovers — 20 assists to 39 turnovers in 43 games. With the clear limitations, what makes his offense a boon for LSU is his impact on the offensive glass. Dessert has the physical tools and instincts to grab his team’s misses. He can be boxed out and still come down with the ball. When Dessert doesn’t grab the ball, he can tap it to a teammate.
Those extra possessions will matter in the Southeastern Conference, where teams like Florida and Tennessee have excelled as the nation’s best teams at crashing the offensive boards.
Rim protection, versatility
The French center is imposing in the paint as a true rim protector Dessert’s size and athleticism will deter drives at the college level. When challenged, he can rise and reject layups. His 1.3 blocks in under 20 minutes per game in the BSL is a strong mark, especially averaging only 2.2 fouls. Against higher-end EuroLeague talent, his block numbers dropped to 0.5 shots in nearly 13 minutes per game.
Dessert excels at rejecting shots when attackers come toward him. If he’s certain a layup or dunk is coming, he times his leap well. He also has a knack for chasing and blocking shots from behind due to his wingspan.
What kept him from being an elite rim protector internationally was his average anticipatory skill.
Dessert doesn’t rotate early from the side where the ball is — the weak side
tion for a playoff berth, a loss to the Razorbacks could be enough to knock the Tigers off the bubble.
If LSU’s season tanks because of injury or discon-
to erase layups.
While he takes up space in the paint, he doesn’t have the quickest feet to afford late rotations from the weak side. His reactive nature shows in his low steals — 0.3 per game in 43 contests. His reliance on reacting also appears in pick-and-roll defense in drop coverage, a tactic where the screen defender remains closer to the paint to guard a ball handler’s drive. There were enough moments where Dessert left his feet prematurely on a ball handler’s shot fake, leading to dump-off passes to his original defensive assignment.
Dessert doesn’t have a quick second jump, making recovery difficult after he bites.
Despite this, his drop defense isn’t a trainwreck and could be coached up to defend the crafty guards of the Southeastern Conference.
Dessert showed a neat ability to defend outside the paint occasionally When instructed to press guards after screens — hard hedge he had positive instances of pressuring the ball without fouling and recovering to his assignment. There are also older videos showing he can switch on to guards in one-on-one situations. Dessert could be viable in creative nondrop schemes for Wade, who has a history of using aggressive defenses. Final verdict
Dessert was talented enough to be on NBA radars but went undrafted for a reason. While his physical frame intrigues, his defensive imperfections and poor free-throw shooting outweighed his tantalizing strengths.
For LSU, however, he’s more than qualified to be a starting center who can finish plays at the hoop, do well on the offensive glass and serve as a reactive shot blocker
With strong coaching from Wade and his staff, Dessert has the tools to become an imposing college center He will also have a better chance to achieve this as he plays alongside other strong defenders: versatile 6-7 forward Mo Dioubate and athletic 6-7 wing Saliou Niang.
nects, surrendering the Golden Boot to another team led by a first-year coach, Ryan Silverfield, who inherited a 2-10 program, would be a real kick in the pants.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By yUKI IWAMURA
Cameron Boozer, right, poses for a photo with
selected by the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the
in New york
WORLDCUP 2026
Ronaldo roarsbackwithbrace
By The Associated Press
HOUSTON Cristiano Ronaldo rebounded from alackluster start to his sixth World Cup and led Portugal to adominant victory over Uzbekistan on Tuesday,renewing hope that the team is acontender for the title.
Ronaldo scored two goalsto help Portugal roll to the5-0 win and move on from its disappointing performance in aopening 1-1 draw with Congo.
“Weimproved,” Ronaldosaid in Portuguese. “It’slife, sometimes you will have challenges and the main goal is always to improve and that’swhat we did.”
The 41-year-old Ronaldo became the first player to score in six different World Cup tournaments with his goals, adding another impressive accomplishment to his storied career.Hewas named manofthe match.
The victory gives Portugal four points in Group K. Colombia, which has three points in the group, plays Congo on Tuesday night in Guadalajara.
Some critics questioned if Ronaldo should remain in thestarting lineup after aforgettable performance in the match against Congo. But coachRoberto Martínez stuck with the superstarand his decision paid off almost immediately with Ronaldo puttingthe team up 1-0 in the sixth minute.
ENGLAND 0, GHANA 0: In Foxborough, Massachusetts, England dominatedpossession but came up empty on several late scoring opportunities in adraw with Ghana.
Both teams have work to do in GroupLbefore securing aspotin the knockout round. England, which has not lost to
an African country at the World Cupinninemeetings, outshot Ghana 19-1 but failed capitalize on multiple chances in theclosing minutes.
England lost to France in the quarterfinals at the2022 tournament in Qatar.Ghana hasn’tmade it to the knockout round since reaching thequarterfinalsatthe 2010 World Cup in SouthAfrica.
The Three Lionshad achance to takethe lead in the 86th minute when Nico O’Reilly’sheader hit the crossbar.Harry Kane gathered therebound but couldn’tget
enough on it with his left foot and shot high. Ghana’s best chance came in the78th minute came when Abdul Fatawu outfought England midfielder Eberechi Eze for the ball and raced down thesideline. He fed theball to Prince Adu, but he was challenged from behind by Ezri Konsa before he could get off ashot. Adu wanted afoul but didn’tget it.
CROATIA 1, PANAMA0: In Toronto, Josip Stanišic lifted acurving crossonto the boot of AnteBudimir, who tapped it into an open net in the 54th minute, giving Croatia awin over Panama.
Croatiaremains in contention
for the knockout round ahead of its third andfinalgroup-stage matchagainst Ghana on Saturday Panama was eliminatedand is still seeking its first World Cup point in two appearances. After aslow-moving first half at BMO Field, Croatia broke through Panama’sstrong back line after the break, with substitute Budimirfindingthe netjustfour minutes after coming on. The Vatreni nearly added another goal threeminuteslater when 40-year-old Luka Modric passed aheadtoMarco Pašalic on abreakaway,but Panama goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera blocked Pašalic’sshot.
Priced-out Mexicanfanscelebrate theirown way
BY MEGAN JANETSKY Associated Press
MEXICO CITY
“GOOOOOOOOOAL!”
The thunderous cry rings out over acrowd gathered in front of atelevision propped up on plastic tables and past amazeof vendors lining abustling workingclass neighborhood in downtown Mexico City.Itechoes over fans across the Latin American nation, who roar as they watch Mexico’s national team winanother match in the FIFAWorld Cup with eyes glued to screens set up in plazas, below highway underpasses and tucked away in taco stands.
Priced out of stadium ticketsto the tournamenttheir country is hosting alongsidethe U.S. and Canada, many Mexicansare reclaiming the event and staging their own celebrations on the streets
“Honestly,there’snothing like going to the stadiums, but Iprefer being here in the street. …For me it’slike watching the game from my living room,” said Esmeralda Serrato, who watched aTVinthe street with dozens of neighbors.
“I feel the blood rushing through my veins saying ‘This is the World Cup.’ Ticket prices excludemany World Cup festivities in Mexico have generated an almostincalculable buzz as hundreds of thousands of people gather in mass
celebrations in host citiesincludingMexico City,Guadalajara and Monterrey following the country’s two consecutivevictories.
Butthe street parties alsocome aftermonthsofscrutiny as FIFA has faced searing criticism across theglobe for soaringWorld Cup ticketprices. In Mexico, where theaverage worker earns around $433 amonth and soccer is considered asport that unites people across class, thegap between who can and cannot get into games is felt acutely
That has fueled socialtensions and left many Mexicansfeeling
as if “it’sa party we weren’t invitedto,” saidDiegoMerla, fiscal justicecoordinator forOxfam Mexico.
“The World Cup is built around thelogic of squeezing as much value out of it as possible,” Merla said. “It’s about getting those who are willing and able to pay theabsolute maximum. Andthat ends up excluding alot of people.
Earlier this year,tickets went on saleatprices ranging from $140 to $8,680, but have since skyrocketed, with some tickets to the World Cupfinalcosting around $32,970.
In thewake of mounting criticisms,FIFAPresident Gianni Infantino has defendedhigh ticket prices as fitting the U.S. market.
“You cannot go to watch in the U.S. acollege game, not even speaking aboutatop professional gameofacertain level, forless than $300,” Infantinosaid. “And this is theWorld Cup.”
Homegrowncelebrations
For fans like Guillermo Ramírez, the solution wastotake thingsinto their own hands.
Ramírez, 49, is anative of Tepito, theworking-class Mexico City neighborhood thatishome to sprawling street markets packed with pirated World Cup jerseys.
Here, soccer is asymbolofresistance and local identity in an area of the city most commonly associated withcrime.Nestled in the heart of the dense markets is a soccer fieldnamed after Bernardo ManoleteHernández, arenowned Mexican soccer player born in the neighborhood.
Just ablock away from the field, Ramírez,wearing abright green and white Mexico jersey,set up aTVscreenand speakers on top of two plastictables in front of his house and small corner shop before Mexico faced off against South Korea. He remembers as ayoung boywatching the 1986 MexicoWorld Cup fromTVs set up by neighbors unable to get into stadiums.
Multiple teamsplaying forspots in knockout stage
BY JOHN MARSHALL Associated Press
The World Cup opened withtwo games per day over during itsfirst two days and expanded to four games aday over the next10. Now the schedule gets even more condensed. Starting Wednesday, thereare six games aday until theend of group play on Saturday Reigning World Cup champion Argentina, the United States, France, Germany,Mexico and Norway havealready secured spots in the knockout stage. There’sstill plenty up in the air
WEDNESDAYLOOKAHEAD
as teamsget readytoplaytheir third andfinal group-stage games. Canadafaces Switzerland in Vancouver,British Columbia, with the winner likelyearning the top spot outofGroup B. BosniaHerzegovina and Qatar bothneed to win in Seattle to haveany hope of reaching the knockout stage. Scotland needs adrawormaybe even anarrow loss to Brazil to get through to the knockout stage for thefirst time in nineattempts South Korea and South Africa play forachance to finishsecond
in Group Abehind Mexico. Memo couldplayhis finale Mexicohas GroupAlocked up, giving coachJavierAguirre an opportunity to send off veteran goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoain style in front of his home fans. The40-year-old Ochoa was addedtoMexico’sroster for this year’s WorldCup, therecord sixth in thecareerofthe player known as “Memo.”Ochoa has announced he’s retiring following theWorld Cup, but has yet to seethe field, serving as backup to RaúlRangel. He’s expected to geta chance
to play against Czech Republic on Wednesday in Mexico City Redcards affect Qatar, Bosnia Qatar andBosnia-Herzegovina will be short-handed for amatch criticaltobothteams’hopes of advancing to the knockout stage. Bosnia willbewithout center back TarikMuharemovic,who received ared card in a4-1 loss to Switzerland. Qatar has twoplayers out due to redcards in a6-0 loss to Canada: left back Homam Ahmed and midfielderAssim Madibo,who broke the leg of Canada’sIsmaëlKoné with atackle from behind.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOByKARENWARREN
Fromback left, Portugal teammates Pedro Neto,Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes and Joao Cancelo celebrate afterRonaldo scored during aWorld Cupmatch against Uzbekistan on TuesdayinHouston. ROUNDUP
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MARCO UGARTE
Mexicofans celebrate awin over South Korea on Thursday at the Angel of Independence monument in Mexico City.
Clarkshowedhis toughness as theU.S.Openchampion
SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y.— For
thousands in the gallery on the final day of the U.S. Open, he was amost unpopular champion.
One media account noted that he “defeated par,pressure and ahostile gallery Sunday” and that he “stalked poker-faced through the heat and caustic comments of the gallery.” The local columnist wrote “except for afew strays from his hometown,” nobody rooted for him. That was Jack Nicklaus in 1962 at Oakmont. Nicklaus certainly can relate to the toughness Wyndham Clark showed Sunday at Shinnecock Hills to become aU.S. Open champion for the second time. If hearing the crowd cheer hisbad shots wasn’tenough of a challenge, Clark’ssix-shot lead was nearly gone in five holes.But he showed his moxie by not lettingSam Burns or anyone elsecatch him.
“He had some stones down the stretch,” said Scottie Scheffler,high praisefrom golf’s best player But could Nicklaus relate to the “hostile gallery” and “caustic comments” Clark endured? Hostile and caustic had adifferent meaning in 1962.
Society has changed mightily over the past 64 years, and it’sgetting worse by the year.The Long Island fans —noone would referto them as “patrons” —had no filter and no restraint. But this isn’taLong Island problem. It’slargely an American problem everywhere but Augusta National.
Clark is not the firstperson to be amajor champion hardly anyone wanted. Nicklaus was never going to be celebrated in 1962, not in an 18-hole playoff against Arnold Palmer in the King’s backyard at Oakmont, especially with Palmer having won theMasters that year It felt as though all of New
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on Monday,PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp said Tuesday It will be builtupon “a foundation of meritocracy,” with players moving between the two series through aformalizedstructure of promotion and relegation.
The Tour has already lined up 10 of the 15 remaining regular-season championship seriesevents for 2028, therelease said.The remaining events will either be filled by existing events, with the Zurich as apossibility,ornew markets under consideration, such as Boston, Denver,New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C. Everychampionship series regular-season event will feature 120-player fields on average and acut with minimum purses of $20 million per event, Rolappsaidat anews conference Tuesday “Ultimately,whenfans tuneintothe PGA Tour Championship Series, they know they will see the best playersinthe world competing head tohead,” he said.
“From Day 1, the focus of the Future Competition Committee has been to build the best version of the PGA Tour,and to do so in away that reflects the voice of our players and theexpectations of our fans,” Rolapp said.
“The result is anew competitive modelgrounded in meritocracy,with clearer pathways, higher stakes and more consistency when the best players compete together.” What that means for the Zurich Classic remains to be seen. The 2028 tournamentschedule will not be announced until early 2027. Since championship series players will not be eligible to participate in the challenger series events, arelegation to secondary status for the
madeamarshal flinchat the PGAChampionship, and amonth later smashed a locker at Oakmontwhenhe missed thecut at the U.S. Open.
“New York didn’t really like me. Iloveyou guys,” Clark said during thetrophy presentation.“But Iget it. Some of it’sself-deserved.I didsome unfortunate things last year that Ireally regret, andI’ve been sorry multiple times and I’m still sorry So hopefully,Ican win you guys over eventually.”
BY DOUG FERGUSON AP golf writer
CROMWELL, Conn. Tiger
Woodssaidthe objective was to create thebestversion of thePGA Tour.The answer Tuesday was amajor shakeup to its model that effectivelycreates two tours, expanding the field for the elite tier and cutting in half prize money forthe secondarytier
ity”when he took over last summer,and those pillars have become more clear Theseason will be shorter —approximately February through August with some scheduled weeks off —without taking away playing opportunities.
York was ready to crown Phil MickelsonatShinnecockHills in 2004 until he three-putted from 5feet for doublebogey on the 17th hole. The air came out ofthe place in aNew York minute. Retief Goosenwas appreciated —but notadored— as theU.S.Open champion This was different. This wasugly.Itwas relentless. “Hit it in the fescue!”was nothing like Nicklaus ever heard. Nordid Oakmont in 1962 have afan likethe idiotwho shouted, “Don’t choke, Wyndham!” whenit wasClark’sturn to teeoff on the fourthhole. Thefan wasquicklyapproachedand evicted.
Therousing and sudden cheer on the par-3seventh sounded as though Clark had just hititclose.Instead, it wasbecause hisballwent into the bunker. It might have been differenthad Clark played in the final groupwith TomKim insteadofScheffler,the No 1playerinthe world who hada chance to give fans something to remember forever by winning the U.S. Open on his 30thbirthdayto completethe careerGrand Slam Clark no doubtisdifficult to embrace,particularly after his behaviorlast year when he flung adriver that
Zurichwould mean the end of eliteplayerslike Rory McIlroy,MattFitzpatrick, XanderSchauffeleand Jon Rahm, who have competed in and won the tournament in recent years.
“Weobviously watched the Tour press conference, andthe structure going forward was in line with what we’d been told,” said Steve Worthy,the CEOof theFore!Kids Foundation, which operates theZurich Classic for the PGA Tour
“Wehaveagreat title sponsorinZurich, andwe have been in conversations exploring allour options.
We are proud of the success we’ve had with our event, and we expect to match or exceed last year’s$3,600,000 in contributions tochildren’s charities. We have dedicated Fore!Kids Foundation members and volunteers who have driven those record charitable dollars, agreat fan base, and our teamcompetition includes agreat list of champions.Our record is strong and we are working hardwith Zurich and the PGATourtobepositioned in the best placepossible for ourfuture.”
If the ZurichClassic is relegated to the secondary challenger seriesitwouldbeone of the most significant developments in the 88-year history of the eventinNew Orleans. The Zurich switched to atwo-man team format in 2017, marking the first time an official FedEx Cup points-paying eventuseda teamformat since the 1981 Walt Disney WorldNational Team Championship
The challenger series will feature aslateofatleast 20 events with purses of at least $4 million as players seek to earn promotions to the championship series. Thetournaments will be played at traditional PGATour courses and run concurrently with the championship seriesevents. They will featurefields of approximately 144 play-
His signaturemoment came on thepar-5 16th when he atoned for abad tee shot into gnarly grass by making a30-foot birdieputt. The applause was muted,and don’t getthe idea it soundedthat way because too many fans hadphonesintheir hands They didn’tlike him.
The Long Islandgallery was at another level, and ultimately Clark took hisplace among other Shinnecock Hills championsnotes for their toughness —Brooks Koepka,Goosen, Corey Pavin and Raymond Floyd. Scheffler hasseen this act before. He played McIlroy in singles at Bethpage Black in theRyderCup last September,whenthe taunts became personal andleft a stain on thematches. He also gota relatively muted response in McIlroy’s home country when Schefflerwon theBritish Open at RoyalPortrush last summer There was no heckling, certainly not anybad behavior But it was quiet for aworldclass performance by the No. 1player Clarktook thehighroad in the closing ceremony,his news conference and other interviews in the hoursafter hisvictory.Heposted on social media Mondaynight, “Thisgame can be incredibly humbling. It doesn’t owe youanything, andsometimes the only thing you can do is keep showingup and trust that the work will eventually pay off.”
Keep showingupand maybe the fansmight cheer for him.
ers, and be played across72 holeswitha 36-holecut to the top 65 and ties.
Approximately seven of the challengerseriesevents will be played during championship series off weeks, with increasedconsequence, benefits and exposure.
Playersearnpromotion from the challenger series to the championship series by winning two events during the season or by finishing theseason in the top20 on the points list.
Amongthe otherchanges and additions announced Tuesday:
n Areimagined seasonending championship event that will rotate among venues featuring the top championship series players. This will include courses the Tour has never visited before;
n Anew postseason match play event;
n Adesignated regular season champion, determined by the Tour’spoints system;
n Adefined PGA Tour cardretention system that rewards the top 90 finishers at aminimum on the championship series points list withcards forthe following season. Players that finish outside that number face relegation to thechallenger series;
n Alater start date to the annual Tour schedule, which will run approximately from February to August;
n Astrategicalliance with theDPWorld Tour,which will allow top playersfrom the championship series to play in alimited series of elevated international events each fall.
“Thismodel positionsthe PGATourfor thefuture,” Rolapp said. “At its core, this work was driven by asimple objective: To build the best version of the PGA Tour, something that could endure andoutlive us all. Ourfocus now shifts to finalizing the details and preparing for implementation in 2028.”
The new system is to start in 2028,and the FutureCompetition Committee that Woodsleadsstill haswork left on keydetails. Chief amongthemiswhichof the roughly 15 tournaments will be part of the “Championship Series,” andthe 20 events on the lesser “Challenger Series.”
Otherdetails involve bringing aformofmatch playtothe postseason and creating arotation of prestigious courses instead of going to East Lake in Atlanta everyyear
“This work wasnever about any one player or person,” Woods said in his first public appearance since hisarrest on aDUI charges on March 27. “Itwas about bringing together different perspectives, having honest, hardconversations,and thinking boldly about what is best for the game that we all love.”
ThePGA Tour boards on Mondayafternoon approvedthe recommendations. Woodsjumped back into his role as chairman the last several weeks upon his return fromseeking treatment out of the country since his arrest.
“It’sgreat to see him back,”PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp said.“Tiger has been involved throughout theprocess. He’scontributed meaningfully.It’sawesome to see himbackand in greatform. Rolapp preached “scarcity,simplicityand par-
The$20 million signature events for 72 players now will be partofthe Championship Series andexpanded to 120 players on average. Players are notrequired to play them all and those tournaments will not have sponsor invitations or an alternate list. There will be a 36-hole cut.
“Whenfans tune intothe PGA Tour ChampionshipSeries, they knowtheywill see thebest players in theworld competing head-to-head,” Rolapp said.Hesaid it was important to credibility not to have sponsor exemptions because sponsors in other sports don’tdeterminewho plays.
TheChallenger Series will be apath forplayers to earn theirway to the top level. Thosefields will be about 144 players, and Rolappsaid purses would be at least $4 million.Thisyear,all but three regular non-signature events had prize funds of at least $9 million.
Exceptfor aboutseven times during theseason,the Championship and Challenger Series tournaments will be held thesame week.Rolappsaid on the occasion of a week off for the elitecircuit, the Challenger Series event would be elevated RoryMcIlroy last week referred to thesecondary tier as a“glorified Korn Ferry event,”referringtothe tour’sdevelopmental circuit.
“I just think there’sgoing to be certain events that might lose theirstatus if a sponsor doesn’t pony up $30 million,” McIlroy said.
Rolapp said he spoketo McIlroy on Tuesday —the
Masterschampionisskipping theTravelers Championship, thethird signature event he hasmissed this year —and said the new modelwill serve thesame player and offer asimilar numberoftournaments. Korn Ferry pursesare $1 million. “We’ve justorganized the same tourintoamuchmore interesting and competitive system,” Rolapp said. “If you look at the Challenger Series events, they’llbeatvenues you recognize.They’ll be forhealthypurses. They’ll include asubsetofthe same 200 andchange players that we have today.Thatismuch different than what theKorn Ferry Tour is today.”
Each tour will have aseparate points standings and there is no planfor players to move up to theChampionshipSeriesduring the seasonunless they weretowin twice.
TheChampionship Series eligibility would be determined by the top 90 players fromthe previous year,the top 20 players fromthe Challenger Series andother exemption categories fortournament winners, injuries or career milestones. As forthe fall, thePGA Tour is moving toward a separate series of fourto six tournaments in which top performers can earn their way back to theChampionship Series. The tour saiditstillhas plansfor the Korn Ferry Tour,PGA Tour Americas and thePGA Tour Universityranking system that creates places fortop collegeplayers. Finishing in August would give theelite players timeto consider playing overseas, such as premierEuropean tour events or the AustralianOpen. The PGA Tour recently becamepartners with Golf Australiawithout co-sanctioning thecenturyold event.
AP PHOTO By GEORGE WALKER IV Wyndham Clark celebrates after abirdie on the16th hole during the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.y.,on Sunday.
Doug Ferguson
LIVING
Lauren Cheramie BONVIVANT
Bon vi·vant /noun/ asociable personwho has cultivatedand refined tastes, especially with respect to food and drink
Wine andspirits
Tequila exploration:6 p.m. to 8p.m. Friday at The Tipsy Librarian, 7450 Jefferson Highway,BatonRouge Participants will maketheir way through seven pure tequilas while learning about the land where they’re grown and the processes used to create them. The class will include four blancos, one reposado and two añejos. Guests will have the opportunity to purchasebottles after class. Tickets are $125 per person, available for purchase at thetipsylibrarian.com BR sushi restaurant
Tipsy Librarian’s Maranda Howell adds tequila to amixingcup at the bar area of thestore on Nov. 20, 2023, in Baton Rouge.
Honor Flight Louisiana fundraiser: 6p.m.Friday at Martin’s, 6463 Moss Side Lane, Baton Rouge Martin’sishosting awine sampling event to support Honor Flight Louisiana, which is dedicatedtohonoring America’sveterans by providingthem with a trip to Washington, D.C.tovisit the memorials builtintribute to their service. The tasting lineup features 21 wine selections, including Pavette Chardonnay, Pike Road Sparkling Rosé,Atamisque Malbec, Zephyr Savignon Blanc Marlboroughand more. Tickets are $40 per person, available for purchase at martinwine.com/events.
In theknow
Tsunami’s downtownlocation, 100 Lafayette St., Baton Rouge, has anew birthday perk. On your birthday,show your ID to spin the wheel for achance to win acomplimentarycocktail. Only bar top guests at the downtown location are eligible. EM’sBakery has various flavors of cheesecake at severalretailers in Baton Rouge wherethey regularly keep treats in stock. Trythese locations:
n BesTeas Sip and Bite, 1082 W. Lee Drive n King Kong, 8342 Perkins Road n Umami, 3930 Burbank Drive n Homakase, 4611 S. Sherwood Forest Blvd. n Rock-n-Sake, 3043 Perkins Road n Pho 97, 15540 GeorgeOneal Road. Looking for kid-friendly summer fun? Trykids nightat Jabby’sPizza,18303 Old Perkins Road, Baton Rouge, every Tuesday.Participants will create their own oven-baked pizza for the same price as the restaurant’sregular pizzas After numerous requests, Vietnamese-style beef jerkyis back at Teatery,7620 Corporate Blvd. and 3132 College Drive in Baton Rouge
Newdrinksonthe block
The summer drink menuis out at Brew Ha-Ha!,711 Jefferson
FEEL THE CRUNCH
FBY MADDIE SCOTT Staff writer
or some, the pinnacle of great food is food that is battered, seasonedand fried.
Chicken is no exception.
Fried chicken is fuel for thesoul, andit’ssold in restaurants, momand-pop establishments, food trucks, gas stations and drivethrus throughout Baton Rouge. But where is the best of thebest?
We asked chefs in thecapital regionwhere their favorite fried chickenis, with the caveat that they can’tpick their own restaurant.Some chefs immediately thought of one place, while others were tornbetween their top picks. We listed it all down below
BrandonOdom
n Odom’s Kitchen
Locatedat7112Florida Blvd. is Odom’sfavorite fried chickenspot: Southern Chicks Cafe and Daiquiris, alocal franchise with three locations. It firstopenedinNew Roads and has since expanded to Baton Rouge and Plaquemine. He ordersthe three-piece dark fried chicken with rice dressing, aside of jalapeños anda daiquiri. Basedoff thetaste, customers cantellthe chickenismarinated and loaded with spices and herbs, he said.
“The chickenisfried Southernstyle, so it’s moreonthe soul food, homestyle side,” Odom said. “It tasteslikehow my grandmother used to fry it.”
JimUrdiales
n Mestizo
The owner of Mestizo said his pick is Chicken Shack, the longtime Baton Rouge eatery that opened in 1935 from Thomas “Tommy”
Delpit. The menuisbroad: seafood baskets, macaroni and cheese, pork chop sandwiches and candied yams, to nameafew ForUrdiales, he’s therefor the chicken.
“As arestaurateur,you learn the recipes only tell part of the culinary story and its flavors,” he said.
H.
STAFFFILE PHOTOByJAVIER GALLEGOS
An employeeprepares atrayoffried chicken wings at Blue Store Chicken on Staring Lane.
STAFFFILE PHOTOByROBIN MILLER
Shack is located at
N. Acadian Thruway.
STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
Dear Miss Manners: I’ve become lost for words greeting peopleI interact with on aregular basis —for example, neighbors and store employees.
After greeting them with asmile, Iask them, “How are you today?” I’m then metwith abarrage of things going wrong in their lives, their financial hardships, and many details of illnesses.
to run.Your thoughts?
ing an immediate peril.
Idohave ahealthy dose of empathy by nature; however, I’m fed up with the negativity and “woe is me” attitude. It seems to be getting worse in society as awhole.
In addition, I’m shocked how self-centeredthey come off, andI don’tknow how to respond. Iwant
BONVIVANT
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Highway,BatonRouge. The menu includes specials like these and more:
n The Carlos, made with blackberry coconut matchawith honey cold foam
n Otter’sDelight, apineapple coconutfrozenlemonade
n Pink Orchard, an apple chai withraspberry coldfoam
Gentle reader: People have also becomestupefyingly literalminded, asdemonstrated by how many people think that “How do you do?” (or “How you doin’?”) is an attempt to digfor personal information. Miss Manners wondersif it is time to dispense with thatas a casual greeting. In the meantime, you will have to nodpolitely,say,“I’mso sorry,” and change the subject. Butshe will add, for those who choose not to understand the context in which this answer applies, that youwouldobviously not respond this way to someone close to you, or with aperson express-
n Choco-Mallow Wave, a spiced s’mores mocha with toasted marshmallow cold foam. Speaking of drinks …try the summercocktails at Mid City Beer Garden,3808 Government St., Baton Rouge.There’sthe 7Minutes in Heaven, Butterfly Effect, TeaParty,Cloud 9, Cabana Boy,Garden Fairy and JungleBird cocktails.
If youhave an upcoming food event or akitchen question, email lauren.cheramie@ theadvocate.com.Cheers!
BEST
Continued from page1D
Classic burger
n Hub City Diner, 1412 S. College Road, Lafayette
Aburger with curly fries is the perfect summer lunch,especially when the days are hot and the kids are out of school. That’swhen you bring them to Hub City Diner,a place that bustles with community all day long. Something about this season makes me hungry for nostalgia, so aclassic burger on asesame seed bun was just the ticket —well done, perfect char, with all the fixings and aside of curly fries. The niece and nephew helped me with my fries, which was fine by me, as Hub City serves a healthy-sized burger that won’t leave you hungry (but also won’t leave you mopping up withnap-
kins after,apet peeve Ihave with overly messy burgers)
This is one of thefriendliest mealstobehad in Lafayette, and Irecommend astop,especially if youhaven’tbeen in awhile.
—Joanna Brown, staff writer
Shrimppo-boy
n Save MoreMarket,2956 NicholsonDrive, Baton Rouge
Oneofmyfavorite po-boys that’s under$10 in Baton Rougeisfrom Save More Market,a local gasstation andmarket chain with six locations across the city.I wenttothe one right by LSU’scampus and ordered a shrimp po-boy fully dressedwith extra mayonnaise. It was pretty affordable —$8.99 for a16-inch sandwich made on Leidenheimer bread. It’s alwaysagood day when Igrab apo-boy for lunch.
—Maddie Scott, features reporter
Dear Miss Manners: Iwork in ahospital where Idoalot of filing by thepatients’ last names. It is chic now to use two lastnames, such as “Jane Doe Smith” or “Jane Doe-Smith.” In those cases, is it filed under DorS? People using two lastnames do not realize theproblemsthey have created.
Gentlereader: Youwill love visiting Spain, which has been using double surnames since the16th century While Miss Manners is ready to defend theright of people to choose their own names, the filing system belongs to you (or the hospital, anyway).Ifyou are still using paper,you can pick what-
ever convention you like, even if it is not technically correct —for example, you might decide that “last name” means“anything after thelast space.” The patients themselves will never know.If you are using electronic systems, all that matters is that the first person who creates thefile asks thepatient what to put in the “last name” field.
Next customer!
Dear Miss Manners: Whenhaving guests over for dinner, Iamunable to find agraciousway to refuse alcohol to those who will be driving. Igenerally don’tgive it as an option when asking whattheywould liketodrink, but theyoftenrequest aglass of wine nonetheless. It’snot that Iassociate with
lushes and felons, but Ipersonally would prefer not to serve any alcohol to adesignated driver
Gentle reader: The gracious —and perfectly acceptable —way is not to serve alcohol to anyone.
Miss Manners assumes that people are asking because they see it being offered to other guests, aproblem that would go away if it was nowhere in evidence. Any other solution, even one motivated by adesire to protect your guests from harm, cannot avoid also looking like an intrusion into personal autonomyand anegative judgment on character
Sendquestions to Miss Manners at herwebsite, www missmanners.com.
partofmanyMardi
FRIEDCHICKEN
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“It’sthe personwho is preparing your food that matters. That’swhy Ialways peek into the kitchen to see whoiscooking with heartand soul.”
Victoria Vaughn n TJ Ribs
Vaughn, general manager at TJ Ribs, loves the wings from Baton Rouge-born franchise Blue Store Chicken, which has about eight locations across thecity Before it was afranchise,it startedatthe original Triplet’s Blue Store, located at 605 Mills
An online commenter calls Chicken Shack’sfried chicken ‘a golden, flaky,greasy,scrumptious piece of heaven.
Ave., near Southern University
After former owner Mua Phan died, some of his 10 adult children startedopening morelocationsto expand the family legacy
Though each location’s menu ranges abit, one thing is consistent: the chicken. Evencold, it’s still delicious, Vaughn said.
Mark Reilly
n Cecilia CreoleBistro
The executive chef at Cecelia CreoleBistrohad trouble choosing just one. Reilly lovesBlue Store forfried chicken wings. When he wantssomething more churched up, he opts for Chow Yum’sBombaychickendish, whichincludes curry-fried chickenbites topped with charred jalapeños and cilantrolime aioli.
But Chicken Shack takes the cakefor bestoverall friedchicken, he said.
“Like mostpeople down here,I lovefried chicken in all forms,” Reilly said. “Sometimes Iwant theclassic breast or thigh, and the Chicken Shack does it the best. The batter really makes it,plus the Delpits are Baton Rouge throughand-through.”
BlaizeRomanick
n The Big Cheezy
Romanick, ownerofThe Big Cheezy, also hopped on the Blue Store Chicken train. His favorite menuitemsare the chicken wings andshrimpfried rice from the location at 879 Staring Lane.
“The chicken is always hot,
pictured at SouthernChicks Cafe and Daiquiris. The franchise started in NewRoads, and the second location is open on Florida Boulevard in Baton Rouge.
juicy and crispy with the perfect amount of seasoning,”Romanick said. “I really like that they do the full chickenwings because Ican never choose between drumsticks and flats.”
BrianMinor
n LittleVillage
The general manager at Little Village’sdowntown location said this may not be the answer people expect, but Popeyes chicken is a food he grew up with.
“There’ssomething nostalgic aboutitfor me,and Istill think when it’sfresh, it’shardtobeat,” Minor said. “The crispy crust, the seasoning and the consistency are what keep me coming back.”
PROVIDED PHOTO
The chicken combo meal is
STAFF FILE PHOTOByIAN McNULTy
Kitchen has roots in NewOrleans and its chicken is
Grasparadeparties.
STAFF PHOTO By JANRISHER
STAFF PHOTO By MADDIE SCOTT Shrimp po-boyfrom Save More Market
STAFF PHOTO By JOANNA BROWN
Aclassic diner burger with curly fries from Hub City Diner in Lafayette
Jobhunterweighsbenefits of taking retail position
DearHarriette: An old manager of mine recently reached out to me and offered me ajob. It’sa department store-esque luxury makeup beauty adviser position in an upscale neighborhood in New York City.The job aligns with my interests and would give me money that Idesperately need, especiallysince I didn’tget asummer internship. My only fear with taking the job is that I’ll trap myself in retail when Ishould be networking and trying to get industry exposure. Ialso don’t want to run into scheduling conflicts during the school year when classes resume, causing me to have to quit the job and let downmyformer manager.What do you think Ishould do? Should I take the job for now and see whether anything changes or becomes available in the future?
that out in between work andthe rest of yourlife. Talk about your upcoming school schedule, andfind outifheiswilling to have you workfulltime now and changeyourscheduletoaccommodate school in the fall.
By The Associated Press
iting prayer as apart of graduation ceremonies.
Harriette Cole SENSE AND SENSITIVITy
—The JobHunt Drama
Dear The JobHunt Drama: Your old manager knows you and respects you enough to invite you to take this position. That is excellent. Now it’syour turn to be mature and clear.Explain your schedule —not the desireto network. Youhave to figure
Dear Harriette: Recently,Istarted seeing this guy,and Iamreally into him. We have known each other for aweek and havealready seen each other twice. It’ssafe to say that Iamfallingfast, but Iamworried that I’m being love-bombed. He brought me my favorite drinks andseashells from hiswalk on thebeach, and he talked aboutour futures while also bringinguphis ex-girlfriend,other people he’sseeingand how he’s too busy fora relationship at themoment. Ifeel like he’s giving me thingsand making empty promises to make up for the fact that this will probablyend with me gettinghurt After our secondhangout, he said, “Love you,” while leaving. Iwas caught off guardand didn’tknowhow to respond, and Istilldon’t knowhow to feel. Do you thinkthat I’m beinglove-
bombed, or am Ireading too much into the situation? Is it possible that he just says he loves people casually? —Love or Lies Dear Love or Lies: Slow down and take adeep breath. This guy sounds like acharmer Flinging “love you” around like an air kiss may be fun for him, but you are considering it seriously.Don’t. In two dates, yes, you have had fun and he seemsboth romantic andattentive, but that does not along-term relationship make. If you can just enjoy the moment, continue to see him —he has told you that he isn’t ready for commitment. Believe him.
Suggesting that this man is love-bombing you implies that you thinkheisduping you; Ithink he is just having fun with you. If you can go along and casually enjoy his flirtations and attentiveness, enjoy yourself. If you feel theneed to cling to him with hopes of arelationship, you are settingyourself up for heartbreak.
Send questions to askharriette@ harriettecole.com or c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City,MO 64106.
Today is Wednesday, June 24, the 175th day of 2026. There are 190 days left in the year
Todayinhistory: On June 24, 1983, the spaceshuttleChallenger —carrying America’s first woman in space, Sally Ride —coasted to asafe landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
Also on this date:
In 1509, Henry VIII was crowned king of England; his wife, Catherine of Aragon, was crowned queen consort
In 1812, French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte’s Grande Armee began crossing theNiemen River,embarking on acampaign to invade Russia. (Napoleon’sforces would enter Moscow in early September,but failing to decisively defeat the Russians, would retreat with staggering losses to disease and desertion as winter set in.)
In 1939, the Southeast Asian country of Siam changed itsnametoThailand. (Itreverted to Siam in 1945, thenbecameThailand once again in 1949.)
In 1948, Communist forces cut off all land and water routes between West Germany and West Berlin,prompting the Western allies toorganize theBerlin Airlift
In 1957, theU.S. SupremeCourt, in Roth v. United States, ruled 6-3 that obscene materials were not protected by the First Amendment
In 2010, in the first round of the Wimbledon Championships, American John Isner wonthe longest professional tennis match in history,defeating Nicolas Mahut of France 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 7-6, 70-68; the match wasplayed over the course of three days and lasted a total of 11 hours, 5minutes.
In 2015, afederal judge formally sentenced Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to death forthe 2013 terror attacks. (A federal appealscourt later threw outthe sentence; the Supreme Courtreinstated it.)
In 2018, women in Saudi Arabia were allowed behind the wheel forthe first time as the world’slast remaining ban on female drivers wasformally lifted.
In 2021, a12-story condominium building collapsed in Surfside, Florida, killing 98 people.
In 2022, in Dobbs v. JacksonWomen’s Health Organization, the Supreme Court ruled6-3 to remove constitutionalprotections forabortionthathad been in place since1973’sRoe v. Wade Today’sbirthdays: Author Anita Desai is 89. Cinematographer Vittorio Storaro is 86. Actor Michele Lee is 84. Actor-director Georg Stanford Brownis83. Musician Mick Fleetwood is 79. Actor Peter Weller is 79. GolfHall of Famer Juli Inkster is 66. Actor Iain Glen is 65. Musician Curt Smith (Tears for Fears) is 65. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum is 64. Singer Hope Sandoval (Mazzy
rated it in afall theme.
Dear Heloise: Iread aletter about keeping track of elderly people who live alone and their pets. Afriend of my mother’swas left three days after having astroke before someone found her After this, Ibegan calling my mother daily at 8a.m. She’d answer and say, “I don’tknow anything,” and I’d say,“I don’tknow anything.” Then, an hour later,we’d hang up after chatting. Imiss these calls. Now I’m the one living alone, and Itext my son daily that I’m OK. Ialso keep abowl full of drycat food for my Katie, just in case something happens —Linda H., in Lincoln, Nebraska Linda, Iused to call home frequently when Iwas away to make certain that my folks were OK and that they knew Iwas, too. Icall my friends regularlyto makecertain that everyone is safe and well. In this busy world, we should all look out for people who might need help. —Heloise
TheThanksgivingtree
nice to look at, but it attracts termites.
Hints from Heloise
When everyone arrived on Thanksgiving, Igave themeach apiece of paper and told them to write down what theywere thankful for.Then Ifolded the papers and placed them on the tree. Later in the evening, Iread themout loud to everyone while we rested after such aheavy meal. TheThanksgiving tree was abig hit with everyone! —Connie R., in Utica, NewYork
Hungry housepests
Dear Heloise: My husband andIjust spentasmall fortuneonatermiteinfestation in our home.Idon’t wanttogothrough this again,sowhat should Ido to avoid termites in the future? —Doug and Mamie, in Houston Dougand Mamie,here are suggestionsthat Ireceived from apest control company:
Dear Heloise: This past year, my family (my husband and I, as well as our six children, plus both of our mothers) couldn’tgather togetherfor Christmas. So, Idecided to have a “Thanksgiving tree.” I bought asmall blue spruce tree, which we later planted in our yard and deco-
n Never let shrubs, stacked firewood, trellises or tree branches touch thehouse. This goes for wooden decks and wooden planters aswell. Termites usuallylook for water,and the items mentioned above provide apathway into your house
n Because they seek water,try to keep puddles, sprinklers andwater fountains away from yourhome. Awater feature may be
n If there’sany indication of termites, such as tunnels, loose wooden steps, or perhaps holes in your wooden deck (or if you see an actual termite), call aprofessional pest control company.Ignoring their damage will only result in moredamage to your home.
n If you use aprofessional pest control company, ask them about installing a French drain, which channels water away from your home.
—Heloise Contactlistfor wills
Dear Heloise: My brother and Iwere talking about our wills the other day,and Iasked him to makeout a“contact list” of people and phone numbers to call when he leaves this world. I’ve done thesame thing, and Imailed acopy to him and have acopy on my bulletin board. We live in different cities and states, so we felt that it was importanttonotify people when one of us dies. I’m 84, and my brother is 81. —HenryK., in Detroit
Send ahinttoheloise@ heloise.com.
In 1973, President Richard Nixon concluded asummit with thevisiting leader of the Soviet Union, Leonid Brezhnev, who hailed thetalks in an address on American television.
In 1992, theU.S. SupremeCourt, in a5-4 decision, strengthened its 30-year ban on officially sponsored worship in public schools, prohib-
Star) is 60. Actor Sherry Stringfield (“ER”) is 59. Actor-producer Mindy Kaling is 47. Actor Minka Kelly is 46. Singer Solange Knowles is 40. Soccer player Lionel Messi is 39. Actor Beanie Feldstein is 33. Actor Harris Dickinson is 30. Actor Liana Ramirez is 28.
CANCER (June 21-July 22) You'll be sensitive to what others sayand do.Understanding the motivation will play arole in how situations unfold and help you stretch your mindtoaccommodate bothyourself andthose youare dealing with.
LEO(July 23-Aug. 22) Stay on top of your responsibilities. If you fall short,criticism will follow. Work diligently behind the scenes, fine-tuning what you can do and how you can help and make adifference.
VIRGO (Aug.23-Sept. 22) Tuck your emotions somewhere safe. Concentrate on putting your energy andintellect into developing an infrastructurethat encourages positive change. Use your strengths to make adifference.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct.23) Pay attention to money flow. Save for something meaningful. Apartnership will play arole in howmuch you accomplish. Weigh the pros and cons, and maintainequalityin all your dealings.
SCORPIO(Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Put ego aside when dealing with emotional situations, relationships or no-win discussions or situations.Listen,observeandoffersolutions that benefit everyone.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Look for additional income. Asmallhome-based businesswillleadtolearning,experience andprospectsyou neverthought possible. Let your entrepreneurial talents rise and shine.
CAPRICORN(Dec. 22-Jan.19) Mixed emotionscan lead to trouble. Take amoment,
read the room andtakeanintellectual approach regarding who youare,what you want andwhere you feel your time and energy will have the best impact
AQUARIUS(Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Put your energy into making your space convenient and comfortable. Set the atmosphere to suityour routine and needs to encourage productivity and inner peace.
PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Reaching out to people who share your interests will lead to information that can help you expand your circle and your ability to use your skills and creative gifts to ease stress or to bring in extra cash.
ARIES (March 21-April 19) Trust issues will surface if someone doesn't honor their promises. Stick close to home, and don't share your feelings impetuously. Consideryour options and the individuals you are dealing with.
TAURUS(April20-May 20) Pay attention to your inner voice and to your mental and physical needs. You'll have the discipline to set up and stick to aroutine that promises better health and emotional well-being.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Put your energy intolearning, improving your surroundings and taking an energeticapproach to manufacturing positive change. Someone you associatewith professionally may not share sufficient information.
InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 gridwith several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1to9inthe empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Sudoku increases fromMonday to Sunday.
Yesterday’sPuzzleAnswer
THe wiZard oF id
BLondie
BaBY BLueS
Hi and LoiS
CurTiS
Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer
Bridge
BY PHILLIP ALDER
SylvesterStallone said, “Success is usually the culmination of controlling failure.”
In today’s deal, success is the culmination of controlling the trump suit. This is easier to do whenpresented with adeal onpaper.Atthetable,itisharderbecause no oneisringing awarning bell.
South is in fourhearts. West starts the defense withhis three top spades. How shouldSouth continue?
North opened one clubbecause his hand was too strong fora 15-17-point no-trump. Southwas temptedsimplyto raiseclubs.
However, he knew that the game revolves around the majors. So he respondedone heart. West made atakeout double, promising four spades and four or more diamonds. North’sjump to game wasanoverbid given his 4-33-3 distribution,but he wanted to try for thegame bonus. If he had bidonly threehearts, South would have also had aclose decision. And note that in five clubs, North should lose two spades and onediamond.
It looks so easy: Ruff the third spade, draw trumps andrun theclubs for an overtrick
Here,though, when West discards on the second round of hearts, the contract issuddenlyunmakable.Declarerhaslost trump control.
Each Wuzzleisaword riddle which creates adisguised word, phrase, name,place, saying, etc. For example: NOON GOOD =GOOD AFTERNOON
Previous answers:
word game
InstRuctIons: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire fourletters by the addition of “s,”such as “bats”or“dies,” are not allowed. 3. Additional words made by adding a“d” or an “s” may not be used. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.
toDAY’s WoRD InHIBItED: in-HIH-bih-tid: Restrained.
Average mark 25 words
Can you find 30 or more words in INHIBITED?
YEstERDAY’s WoRD —HuMIDoRs
today’s thought
shall not takethe name of the Lord yourGod in vain; for the Lordwill not hold him guiltless that takes his name in vain.” Exodus 20:7 We aretoreverethe name of the Lord.Heisholy G.E. Dean
wuzzles
Pearls Before swiNe
Many Americans are fortunate to have
life, through employer-providedbenefits.
end with retirement, paying
cancome as a shock,leading people to put
or even go without
Simplyput —without
in your
When you’re comparingplans
Look forcoverage that helps pay formajor services. Some plans may limitthe number of procedures —orpay forpreventive care only.
Look forcoverage with no deductibles. Some plans mayrequire you to payhundreds out of pocketbefore benefits are paid.
Shop forcoverage with no annual maximum on cash benefits. Some plans have annual maximums of $1,000.
Medicare doesn’tpay for dental care.1
That’s right. As good as Medicare is, it wasnever meanttocover everything. That means if youwant protection,you needto purchase individual insurance.
Early detection canprevent small problems from becoming expensiveones.
The best way to preventlargedental bills is preventive care.The American Dental Association recommends checkupstwiceayear.
Previous dental work canwear out. Even if you’vehad qualitydentalwork in the past,you shouldn’t take your dentalhealth forgranted. In fact, your odds of havinga dental problem only go up as youage.2
Treatment is expensive— especiallythe servicespeople over 50 often need.
Consider these national averagecostsof treatment. $274for acheckup $299 for afilling $1,471 foracrown.3 Unexpected bills likethis canbeareal burden, especially if you’re on afixedincome.
