The Acadiana Advocate 06-25-2026

LawmakersOKteacher stipendplan

Courttemporarily blocks Landry’s executiveorder

BY PATRICKWALL Staff writer

Louisiana lawmakers approved

Gov.Jeff Landry’splan to cut nearly $170 million from school budgets to pay for teacher stipends, according to vote tallies released Wednesday,though acourt has temporarily blocked the plan

from taking effect

More than two-thirds of membersinboth chambers of theLegislature votedinfavor of reducing the state’smain education fund by $168 million, which requires legislative approval.Under Landry’s executive order,that money would insteadbeused to give $2,000 stipends to teachersand $1,000 to

somesupport staffers

Louisiana educators have receivedthe stipends the past three years instead of raises. After voters rejected aballot measure in May to finance permanent raises, teachers were settolosethe stipends this school year before Landry proposed usingstate education funds to pay for them.

“While working towards a permanent solution to raise our teacher pay in Louisiana, the Legislature clearly did not want to see areduction in teacher pay this year,” Senate President Cameron Henry and House Speaker Phillip DeVillier said in ajoint statement Wednesday.

In theHouse, 76 of 105 members voted forthe funding cut, while eight members voted against it, one abstained and 20 members did not vote, according to the official tally.The “no” votes were cast by Democrats and Rep. Neil Riser,a Republican who represents several rural parishes where school leaders have said the state funding cut could devastate their budgets. In the Senate, 37 of 39 members voted in favor of the funding reduction, while Sen. Royce Duplessis, D-New Orleans, cast

‘The

environmenttheydeserve’

Arenderingofthe newPaul BreauxElementary and Middle

Officialsbreak ground on $62M northLafayette school

BY CLAIRE TAYLOR Staff writer

Lafayette Parish school system officials broke ground Wednesday on construction of a$62 million, 1400-square-foot PaulBreaux Elementary andMiddle School in north Lafayette

The school is being builtonpropertynext to J.W. Faulk ElementarySchool on Willow Street.

When construction is completed, the existing school, built in 1958, will be demolished, spokesperson Tracy Wirtz said.Nodecision hasbeen made on what to do with theBaranco and Paul Breaux Middle school buildings, whichwere built in 1926 and1958, respectively

By January 2028,students from J.W. Faulk Elementary,Dr. Raphael Baranco Elementary andPaul

ä See SCHOOL, page 4A

Concerns mountover powerplant purchase

Electedleaders raising questionsabout Entergy acquiring Texassite

BY SAM KARLIN Staff writer

Gov.JeffLandry is planning to issue an executive order Thursday on data centers emerging in thestate andtheir impact on consumer electric bills, amid newconcerns about an Entergy proposal to spend $1.8 billion buying anew power plant.

Details about the executive order’s language and potential impact were not immediately available Wednesday,but sources said that Landry plans to sign an order about thetopic.Landry’sofficeannounced thathe and Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Susan Bourgeois would hold anewsconference Thursdayabout anew,statewide initiative “focused on protecting ratepayers andstrengtheningLouisiana whilesupporting the state’scurrent economic momentum andlong-term competitiveness.”

The high-profile movecomes as some elected leaders, including Republicans, areraising questions aboutEntergy Louisiana’splans to buy apower plant in Texas calledCottonwood, adecision that would costthe averagecustomer about $8 amonth, according to records. Aconsultant for Louisiana’sPublic Service Commission, which hastoapprove the acquisition, saidina recent reportthat the plant is primarily needed because of Meta’s giantnorth Louisianadatacenter. Entergy and Meta say the conclusion is inaccurate. But it has put apublic spotlight on whether the companies are fulfilling the promise that regular customers won’tpay fordata center costs. Landry expressed concerns last week aboutthe plan, in apostonthe social

Letlow,Fleming down to wire in Senate Republican primary

BY TYLER BRIDGES Staff writer

In the final days of an increasingly divisive Senate Republican campaign, the race hascomedown to this: Can President DonaldTrump and theavalanche of negative ads against treasurer John Fleming

stem hismomentumand give U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow thevictory on Saturday?

Polls show that Fleming has erased most or allofLetlow’s17-point advantagecomingout of theMay 16 primary

“It’sdog close,” said Greg Rigamer,a New Orleans pollster who has

done weekly surveys for super lobbyist Alton Ashy,a Letlow contributor With Flemingmounting asurprisingly strong challenge, Trump

is stepping up hispush forLetlow, and outside groups are launching a barrage of attacks againstthe treasurer Fleming said those moves indicate his political strength. “They wouldn’tbedoing this if

Letlow Fleming

Bourgeois

STAFF PHOTOSByLESLIE WESTBROOK

School is displayedduring Wednesday’sgroundbreaking ceremony.

Amy Trahan, Lafayette Parish School Board member forDistrict 4, center,and school system Superintendent Francis Touchet Jr are joined by teachers and other faculty during Wednesday’s groundbreaking ceremony.

ä See STIPEND, page 4A

Man allegedly filmed people inside bathroom

A San Francisco Bay Area pop culture writer and former curator of San Francisco’s Cartoon Art Museum was arrested earlier this month after allegedly filming people inside his bathroom during a birthday party. Andrew Farago, 54, hosted a birthday party at his South Berkeley house on May 23 and allegedly used a cellphone to secretly record people using his bathroom, according to court records.

Berkeley police confirmed that Farago was arrested June 3 on suspicion of invasion of privacy by using a hidden camera to secretly record someone under their clothing.

During the party, a woman found a video showing Farago “setting the phone up, concealing it with a towel, and aiming it to record people’s genitalia as they used the restroom,” Berkeley police said in court records.

Farago “made admissions and also stated that he had deleted the videos” from his phone and iCloud, according to Berkeley police.

Texas Hill Country told about giraffe on the lam

A giraffe named Gracie is missing in Texas, and the search for her has become a tall order Gracie, who is about 3 years old, has been missing for nearly two weeks after escaping her enclosure at Cedar Hollow Ranch in the Texas Hill Country, said Vic Jones, who owns the remote property about 100 miles west of San Antonio. He said Wednesday that Gracie had wandered into a part of the privately owned preserve that other giraffes previously avoided.

Jones said he has sent up helicopters to look for Gracie, a few sightings have trickled in, and a $5,000 reward is on the table. But the giraffe, which stands roughly the height of a tree, hasn’t turned up.

“She wound up going up and feeding in an area on the hillside and the rocky ledges that none of the other giraffes had ever gone on before,” Jones said. “And when she came down off of there, she came down on the wrong side of the gate.”

The ranch is in rural Real County, where its roughly 2,700 residents were put on alert to be on the lookout for a missing giraffe. Jones said the search area is extremely remote, and the likelihood of Gracie encountering any humans is low

“People are not in danger of her because she’s not around people,” Jones said. ‘She’s out in very, very rough, heavily wooded lands.”

The Texas Hill Country has one of the largest concentrations of exotic captive animals in the country Real County Sheriff Nathan Johnson said the mild climate and rugged terrain seems to serve as a good standin for most of the animals’ native African environments He rattled off a list of animals that have gone missing over the years, especially after floods, but said this was his first giraffe

“I’ve had wildebeests, I’ve had water buffalo, I’ve had monkeys, I’ve had zebras, all go missing,” Johnson said. “Sometimes we recover them, and sometimes we don’t.”

While the middle of Texas is not a giraffe’s native environment, Jones said Gracie should be able to find plenty of leaves and other vegetation to eat. He said other animals were not likely to bother her Jones said he initially had helicopters searching an area of about 7,500 acres with no luck. A few days later, there was a report that Gracie was spotted to the south. But by the time they could search the area, Jones said, she was already gone.

White House seeks $87.6 billion

Money wanted for Iran war costs, U.S. farmers and

BY LISA MASCARO and KEVIN FREKING Associated Press

WASHINGTON The White House has formally requested $87.6 billion mostly to replenish the Pentagon after the U.S. war against Iran, submitting the request to Congress at a politically difficult time as Republican and Democratic lawmakers have objected to any further military action.

The Office of Management and Budget sent the supplemental spending request on Wednesday It arrived just hours after President Donald Trump assailed Republican senators during a private lunch — engaging in a shouting match with one over their votes to approve a war powers resolution that would halt further hostilities.

The request is mostly for expenses incurred by the Defense Department as part of Operation

Epic Fury, the U.S.-led attack on Iran. But it also includes a range of other items, including aid to American farmers, help for the Ebola crisis in Africa, and other needs closer to home, including restoration projects in Washington, D.C.

“I urge the Congress to take action on these important and urgent requests as soon as possible,” said OMB Director Russ Vought in a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton.

It’s unclear how quickly the House and Senate could act on the White House’s request, or if Congress takes up the matter at all.

The funding faces a difficult path because many lawmakers could view any votes as a reflection of test of their support for the war effort.

Yet the White House was clear to include provisions to interest lawmakers from various regions, including $1 billion to assist “the

final design and construction of a modernized Penn Station in New York City,” which would be of interest to the Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both New York Democrats.

The administration said it is requesting $67 billion for the Department of Defense for what it said were urgent needs related to the war against Iran, including “funding for military personnel and readiness expenses, operational costs to rebuild stocks.”

It also wants $11.1 billion toward economic assistance for American farmers, $1.4 billion for the Ebola virus outbreak in Central Africa and requests $500 million to support ongoing efforts “to complete restoration and construction projects in and around Washington, D.C.”

The package also includes a collection of policy proposals that the

Ukraine hits natural gas plant, satellite centers

BY ILLIA NOVIKOV

Associated Press

KYIV Ukraine — Ukrainian forces struck a major natural gas processing plant and two key satellite communications centers in their latest nighttime attacks on Russia, Ukraine’s General Staff said Wednesday

The operation was part of Ukraine’s aerial campaign targeting energy facilities and military industries that has intensified as Kyiv builds bigger and better long-range weapons to ward off Russia’s full-scale invasion now in its fifth year

In response, Moscow has ordered the redeployment of some air defense systems from Russian regions to the capital and to Crimea’s Kerch Bridge, a crucial link for supplying Russian troops, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. The bridge connects the Crimean Peninsula with the Russian mainland.

“It is important that as many Russians as possible come to understand that it is the Russian leadership’s rejection of diplomacy that is prolonging the war,”

Zelenskyy said on X.

Zelenskyy has accepted an unconditional ceasefire demanded by U.S. President Donald Trump but Russian President Vladimir Putin has refused.

In northern Ukraine meanwhile military officials ordered a mandatory evacuation for communities and settlements in the Chernihiv region bordering Belarus starting July 1, according to Viacheslav Chaus, the head of regional military administration, in a statement on his Telegram channel.

Ukraine: Plant among world’s largest

The overnight attack hit the Orenburg Gas Processing Plant, which is part of a complex that also houses the only helium plant in Russia, the General Staff said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app. The attack set the complex on fire, it said.

Orenburg, in the southern Urals near Russia’s border with Kazakhstan, is more than 750 miles behind the front line in eastern and southern Ukraine.

The plant is one of the largest gas complexes in the world, according to the General Staff. It produces helium, used in liquid-fuel rocket engines and guidance systems, and ethane, a key component in producing solid rocket fuel and gunpowder, it added.

Overnight attacks also hit two satellite communication centers used by the Russian military, according to the General Staff. One was the Dubna Space Communications Center near Moscow, which it described as Russia’s largest groundbased satellite communications complex, and the other was in the Vladimir region east of the capital.

It was not possible to independently verify the General Staff’s report, and Russian officials made no immediate comment.

Ukraine keeps hammering Crimea

Ukraine has recently focused its drone and missile attacks on Crimea, aiming to cut off the vital Russian-held peninsula, and overnight drone strikes knocked out power in Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev, the city’s Moscow-installed governor said Wednesday Crimea, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014, sits in a strategic location on the Black Sea. It has naval bases and also provides an important supply line to Moscow’s forces inside Ukraine.

Ukraine recently destroyed more than 60,000 tons of Russian ammunition when it hit a Baltic Fleet arsenal near St Petersburg, Zelenskyy said.

Ukraine is trying to disrupt military supply lines in Crimea and strike the peninsula’s power grid at the height of the summer tourist season. Kyiv hopes the campaign will embarrass Putin and increase public pressure on him to end the war, according to Western analysts.

Zimbabwe’s Senate approves bill to delay presidential election

BY FARAI MUTSAKA Associated Press

HARARE, Zimbabwe Zimbabwe’s Sen-

ate on Wednesday approved constitutional amendments that would remove direct presidential elections, delay the next one and extend the tenure of the country’s 83-year-old leader, whose signature is the final step for them to become law

Seventy-five senators voted in favor of the bill that would postpone elections scheduled for 2028 to 2030 and extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s term by two years. Four senators opposed the measure.

The bill overhauls the way presidents are chosen, replacing direct popular elections with selection by lawmakers. It also extends the terms of the president and members of par-

liament to seven years from five.

The proposed amendments have heightened political tensions in Zimbabwe. Critics of the bill have faced arrest and detention, while others have alleged harassment and intimidation.

Mnangagwa has been in power since 2017, when the military backed the ouster of his mentor and Zimbabwe’s longtime ruler Robert Mugabe, who died in 2019.

administration strongly supports, and which are certain to raise interest among lawmakers.

Among them, the package proposes revisions to federal regulations of hemp products that have long been in dispute, changes to the year-round sales of renewable fuels and lifting of restrictions around federal investment support in Venezuela.

The biggest share of defense funding, $21 billion, will go to weapons munitions, with another $17.3 billion for operational costs and $12.1 billion for other classified programs. Funds are also requested to cover fuel costs, drone manufacturing and cybersecurity

The money for farmers would provide $10 billion in economic assistance to row and specialty crop farmers and $1.1 billion specifically to Florida agriculture producers who suffered losses from this

BY JAMIE STENGLE and KATHY McCORMACK Associated Press

DALLAS Camp Mystic

filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization on Wednesday, nearly a year after catastrophic floods killed 25 campers and two teenage counselors at the Christian camp for girls along the Guadalupe River in Texas.

Camp Mystic has been under increasing pressure since the July 4 disaster Owners had planned to reopen the Texas Hill Country camp this summer for its 100th anniversary but reversed course in April amid outrage from victims’ families and lawmakers. Victims’ families filed lawsuits accusing the camp of failing to protect the girls as the powerful floodwaters approached.

Camp Mystic’s owner Richard Eastland, also died in the flood.

The camp listed its debt at more than $10 million, according to the filing made in federal bankruptcy court in Houston.

“Bankruptcy will not

stop all responsible parties from being held accountable,” Paul Yetter, a lawyer who represents multiple families of campers and counselors who died at Camp Mystic, said in a statement. “These innocent girls deserve justice.” For decades, Camp Mystic was a summer staple and an institution for generations of families, who dropped off their girls at the sleepaway camp to ride horses, canoe, fish and attend Bible studies Other summer camps did not take on such devastating flooding and in some cases have reopened. All told, the destructive flooding killed at least 136 people along a several-mile stretch of the river raising questions about how things went so terribly wrong. In the aftermath of the tragedy, the Eastland family spent months determined to reopen the camp this summer, pointing to enhanced safety measures that included flood warning river monitors and putting two-way radios enabled with national weather alerts in every cabin.

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ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By EFREM LUKATSKy

An owner rummages through the ashes on the site of the ruined city marketplace after a recent Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Wednesday.

Cassidy, Trump have shouting match over Iran

BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy and President Donald Trump got into shouting match Wednesday during a closed-door meeting with Republican senators. Trump asked why four GOP senators voted Tuesday for legislation directing the president to either withdraw troops from the conflict Iran or seek Congressional approval for the operation under the War Powers Act. Cassidy, a Baton Rouge Republican, voted for the measure, which also passed in the House with Republican help.

The resolution carries no legal authority but sends a powerful symbolic message about the conflict.

“I said, ‘Is that a rhetorical question? Or would you like to really know?’” Cassidy told reporters after the luncheon, which was billed as a kumbaya effort to overcome

disagreements between Trump and the GOP majority in the Senate.

“He said, ‘I’d like to know.’ I stood and said, ‘You have not told the American people what’s going on.’ It was supposed to last four weeks It’s lasted four months

Our original objectives have not been achieved. And I want to know what’s going on,” Cassidy said.

Trump didn’t care for Cassidy’s comments and raised his voice, Cassidy said, adding that he matched Trump’s “tone and vibe.”

“It’s the Irish in me,” Cassidy said. “It went back and forth.”

Trump dismissed the senior senator reminding Cassidy that he lost his bid for a third term in the May 16 closed party primary “I don’t like a few people, but I think you know who they are,” Trump said when he left.

Trump backed U.S. Rep Julia Letlow, R-Baton Rouge, in the election She faces State Treasurer

John Fleming, R-Minden, in Saturday’s primary runoff to determine which Republican will face the Democratic candidate in the Nov 3 general election. Cassidy had been deferential to Trump before ballots were counted in May Since the election, like other incumbents who lost because of Trump’s opposition, Cassidy now has more flexibility to contradict the president.

Only one or two other senators spoke up at the meeting meant to repair bridges between the Senate majority and the White House, Cassidy said, adding that it was mostly Trump talking.

Trump canceled a ceremony to sign bipartisan legislation to incentivize the building of more houses until the Senate passes a bill that would require proof of citizenship when registering to vote and showing picture identification to cast a ballot. Last week he said he would refuse to sign a measure reautho-

rizing spying on foreigners until the voting bill is passed.

Cassidy supports the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, called the SAVE America Act. But not enough other senators do. Senate leadership wants to move on to address other issues, such as lowering health care costs, in the time remaining for this Congress.

One colleague quietly told Cassidy to let it go, and he “sat down and tried to de-escalate,” the senator said.

“I make no apologies for standing up to the president, if you will, trying to demand that more information be shared with the Senate and more information be shared with the American people,” Cassidy said. “If someone tries to bully me and is not answering that question, I’m not going to accept that either.”

Email Mark Ballard at mballard@theadvocate.com.

Trump berates Senate Republicans, cancels bill signing

BY MARY CLARE JALONICK and STEVEN SLOAN Associated Press

WASHINGTON President

Donald Trump berated Senate Republicans during a visit to the Capitol Wednesday for allowing a vote to block his war in Iran, further escalating a feud that has diverted GOP efforts to focus on election-year affordability issues and brought much of the chamber’s business to a halt.

Invited to speak at the GOP luncheon by Florida

Sen. Rick Scott, Trump had signaled ahead of time that he would use the closed-door meeting to push senators to pass his proof-of-citizenship voting bill. But the conversation was more focused on Tuesday’s vote to approve the war powers resolution, a mostly symbolic measure that allows Congress to rebuke the administration’s military actions. The House passed its own version of the resolution earlier this month.

Trump had particular words for the four Republican senators who voted with Democrats on the measure Republicans Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Bill Cassidy of Baton Rouge — after calling them “losers” on social media.

Publicly, Trump said afterward that they had “a re-

ally great meeting.” But he hinted at the discord

“We like everyone in the room,” Trump said. “I don’t like a few people, but that’s OK.”

The meeting capped weeks of friction between Trump and Senate Republicans and added a new layer of frustration as Tuesday’s vote was the first time the Senate had adopted a war powers resolution on the Iran war.

Trump made clear he was in no mood to compromise before it even started, calling off a scheduled signing ceremony on a housing bill that passed both chambers overwhelmingly this week and that GOP lawmakers were touting as an electionyear achievement.

Trump housing bill reversal Republican senators were eager for a conciliatory meeting with the president after escalating tensions in recent weeks. But Trump upended their plans when he declared on social media just beforehand that he wouldn’t sign the legislation until they send him the SAVE America Act, his bill to require proof of citizenship for all voters.

North Carolina Sen Thom Tillis said before the meeting that he doesn’t know why Trump is holding the housing bill “hostage” for the voting bill that “will never pass in this Congress.”

“It makes no sense to me,” Tillis said as he walked into the luncheon.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said the housing legislation, which aims to lower costs, is “an affordability issue,” Thune said, “and eventually I hope he finds a way to sign it.”

The White House did not immediately respond when asked whether Trump would veto the legislation. But his apparent reversal on the

measure that Republicans have touted ahead of the election is likely to only aggravate the deepening split between the president and his Republican majorities on Capitol Hill.

Trump, senators at odds Trump’s move on the housing bill is his latest reversal after weeks of being at odds with Senate Republicans.

Trump has blocked the Senate from confirming

one of his own nominees, asked them to fund parts of his White House ballroom project despite opposition and forced them to defend the Iran war even as they question the strategy and endgame.

By rejecting a public bill signing, Republicans worry that Trump is also indicating a level of indifference to voters’ affordability concerns heading into November’s midterm elections.

Trump has also helped whittle down his own support in the Senate after endorsing primary challengers to two GOP incumbents who were previously reliable votes for his agenda Cassidy and Texas Sen. John Cornyn. Both men have become more critical of Trump since losing reelection.

“If we’re going to win the midterm elections, we need to get on the same page,” Cornyn said ahead of the meeting. “We’re not on the same page now, and that I think is dangerous.”

Trump pushes Thune on bill

Trump has pressed Republicans for months to kill the Senate filibuster and focus on the proof-of-citizenship voting bill, even though Thune has repeatedly told him that neither has the votes.

While Thune remains popular in his conference and cordial with the president, he has spent much

of his time lately telling Trump what he doesn’t want to hear Thune said Tuesday that while Trump and some in their conference want to see the voting bill pass, “it’s just not realistic.”

Trump has also demanded that they add a ban on mailin ballots to the bill as well as unrelated provisions to block sex reassignment surgeries on some minors and prevent transgender women from playing in women’s sports. Thune devoted weeks of floor time to the voting bill earlier this year and has said he supports it. But he has repeatedly said there aren’t enough votes to scrap the filibuster that triggers a 60vote threshold to pass most bills in the 53-47 Senate. And Democrats are uniformly opposed to the bill.

“Those are just hard realities,” Thune said. “And I think people at some point have to come to grips with that.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, said Wednesday that he had talked through a different approach on his call with Trump — putting the voting bill on a budget reconciliation measure that would only need a simple majority to pass. He has proposed a federal grant program that would provide funding to states if they implement various SAVE Act provisions.

Judge bars Trump from implementing proof of citizenship requirement to vote

BY JULIE CARR SMYTH and MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press

A federal judge on Wednesday permanently barred President Donald Trump’s administration from implementing most of his first executive order on elections, part of which sought to require people to show documentary proof of citizenship when they register to vote. The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Denise Casper in Boston effectively converts a preliminary injunction she issued a year ago, in which she temporarily blocked

many of Trump’s efforts to overhaul elections, into a permanent ban.

Casper rejected the Republican administration’s argument that the lawsuit to block the changes brought by Democratic state attorneys general was premature because the rules had yet to be put in place. Instead, she agreed that the Constitution gives states and Congress the authority to regulate elections, and that Trump’s requirements violated the separation of powers.

The Constitution “does not grant the President any specific powers over elections,” wrote Casper

Among other proposed changes, Trump’s order would have required people to provide documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote, prevented mail ballots from being counted if they arrive after Election Day, even if they were postmarked by then, and punished states that failed to comply by withholding certain federal money In a statement, New York Attorney General Letitia James said she was grateful the court had blocked Trump’s “unconstitutional attempt to seize control of our elections” and would continue to defend voting rights in this year’s midterm elections.

“Generations of Americans fought tirelessly for the right to vote, and we honor their legacy by protecting that right against anyone who tries to undermine it,” said James, a Democrat.

Requests for comment sent to the White House and the U.S. Department of Justice were not immediately returned.

The ruling was the latest in a series against the elections executive order Trump signed just months after taking office for his second term. The Republican president has since signed another executive order on elections that

seeks to create a national voter list and limit mail balloting That directive also faces multiple legal challenges.

Last fall, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., overseeing a separate challenge to the first election executive order by civil rights and Democratic Party-aligned groups blocked the government from taking steps to include the proofof-citizenship requirement on the federal voter registration form. That judge later barred Trump’s defense secretary from requiring documentary proof of citizenship when military personnel register to vote or request ballots.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By J SCOTT APPLEWHITE

President Donald Trump, escorted by Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., heads to a meeting with Senate Republicans at the Capitol in Washington on Wednesday.

STAFF PHOTO By MARK BALLARD

U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, speaks to reporters Wednesday at the Capitol after getting into a shouting match with President Donald Trump over the military conflict with Iran.

STIPEND

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the lone “no” vote and Sen. Katrina Jackson-Andrews, D-Monroe, abstained.

Rep. Aimee Adatto Freeman, D-New Orleans said she declined to vote because the court order forbids Landry from taking “all steps” to enact the funding cut, including any efforts to obtain lawmakers’ consent.

“I don’t believe they should have even counted the vote,” she said, adding that she does not think Landry has the legal authority to reallocate education funding through an executive order “I don’t even know how this is constitutional.”

The order was set to take effect July 1, if the Legislature gave its blessing. However, a Baton Rouge judge put the plan on hold after a

SCHOOL

Continued from page 1A

group of education advocates last week filed a lawsuit arguing that Landry overstepped his legal authority by effectively reallocating education funding, which is controlled by the Legislature and the state board of education.

On Tuesday, state attorneys asked the court to lift the temporary restraining order which they called an “unprecedented intrusion into the appropriations process.” On Wednesday, the plaintiffs — a former state education board member, a former school superintendent and a current Orleans Parish School Board member — filed a motion to preserve the order arguing that the funding cut would cause “irreparable harm.”

The plaintiffs’ lawsuit also argues that proper legislative procedure was not followed. Landry issued the order after the legislative session ended June 1, so lawmakers voted electronically on the funding cut without a public

Breaux Middle schools are expected to begin classes at the new school, Stuart Billeaud, president of contractors

J.B. Mouton, said.

Funded primarily through selling bonds, the new school is designed for 1,200 students.

Originally planned for kindergarten through eighth graders, District 4 School Board representative Amy Trahan announced Wednesday the new school also will accommodate pre-K classes.

“It’s a total blessing,” said J.W Faulk Elementary pre-K teacher Derris Boatmon, who first heard the news at the groundbreaking.

The new school, Boatmon said, “is going to encourage children to learn, motivate them to learn,” putting them “in the environment they deserve.” Trahan, who represents that area of

POWER

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platform X, responding to a TimesPicayune | The Advocate article about it. The governor said Entergy promised him they wouldn’t pass costs along to ratepayers, and he called on the PSC to ensure that doesn’t happen.

“The PSC should not allow anyone to take advantage of power markets at the expense of our ratepayers,” the governor said in his post.

State Sen. Bob Hensgens, a prominent Republican lawmaker who chairs the Senate Committee on Natural Resources, is also wading into the issue. He recently sent a letter to PSC member Mike Francis that warns about data centers’ potential impact on customers’ electric bills.

“Recent developments, including the PSC consultant’s testimony that the plant’s need is driven principally by Meta’s data center ramp-up, underscore the risk that significant costs could be shifted onto residential and small com-

PRIMARY

Continued from page 1A

they weren’t worried where they are,” Fleming said in an interview Wednesday “In a certain odd way, it’s reassuring to us.

“They are spending millions and millions of dollars trying to save her campaign.”

Probable voters in the Republican runoff received texts Wednesday that contained a pro-Letlow message from Trump.

“With your vote, she will protect your borders, your paychecks, your jobs and your Second Amendment,” Trump said in the text, which was paid for by an outside group called Save American Freedom.

Trump will participate in a “telerally” Thursday afternoon with Letlow, where supporters can call a toll-free number and listen in. At the same time, an outside group associated with Gov. Jeff Landry is spending heavily to try to taint Fleming enough to give Letlow the edge. The anti-Fleming campaign calls him “a fraud” and says he supports the flow of “illegal aliens” across the Mexican border

“Muchas gracias, John Fleming!” reads one side of a mailer featuring a brown-skinned man sporting ganglike tattoos of a marijuana leaf, a revolver and two skulls. “I voted” reads a red-whiteand-blue sticker on his shirt.

The Accountability Project, which is run by Landry’s campaign associates sent the mailer to homes this week, as part of a bar-

debate.

Greg Beuerman, a spokesperson for the plaintiffs, said Wednesday that they believe the Legislature’s vote “carries no force of law” because the temporary restraining order issued June 18 forbids Landry from taking “all steps” to enact the funding cut, including any efforts to obtain lawmakers’ consent.

“As the plaintiffs have maintained all along,” Beuerman said in a statement, “the appropriate and constitutionally correct course of action is for the governor to call the Legislature back into special session and to address this issue openly, transparently and with the kind of public input and engagement an issue of this importance deserves.”

A hearing in the case is scheduled for Monday

The legal battle follows a debate over how to boost average teacher pay in Louisiana, which has the

Lafayette on the School Board, called the new school monumental, historic and transformative, “a place where boundaries are broken and dreams are built.” The board voted unanimously in September to move ahead with building the new school.

North Lafayette representatives and community members have long called for more government investment in their community

Schools Superintendent Francis Touchet, at the groundbreaking, agreed that “there has been limited investment” in the northside of the city He said the new school “is just the beginning” and that the school system will continue to invest in the northside.

Lafayette Consolidated Government soon will be building a new public library on the northside An architect for the Northeast Regional Library project is expected to unveil designs for the structure at a library board meeting Monday

mercial ratepayers absent stronger safeguards,” wrote Hensgens, who represents Abbeville.

Hensgens also asked the PSC to answer six questions about such projects, including whether it will explore a new policy for customers with large power needs and how it will handle the Cottonwood plant.

Entergy has won approval for a massive build-out of power plants and transmission lines to service Meta’s data center in north Louisiana, with an agreement that Meta will cover the costs for 15 years.

Entergy filed a separate plan to buy Cottonwood in December for $1.8 billion Entergy said the 1,200 megawatt, gas-fired plant in Deweyville, Texas, is needed for general growth in power demand, not Meta.

The PSC consultant, Lane Sisung, wrote in his filing that Meta should pay for the plant if the PSC decides it’s needed to meet its demands for power He also warned the plant is unreliable, having sustained recent outages, and its private equity owners are charging a premium of about $1 billion to Entergy for the plant.

rage of anti-Fleming ads that are citing a 2008 campaign comment by Fleming, which he said was a slip of the tongue that he immediately corrected

Fleming said the ads are misleading since they don’t note his correction and his strong record on border security as a member of the House.

“I’ve never seen so much money being spent in the final 72 hours of the race. It’s just unbelievable,” said Fleming campaign strategist Roy Fletcher who has worked on Louisiana campaigns since the 1970s.

Fletcher, nonetheless, predicted that Fleming would win narrowly, citing a poll by his campaign taken on Sunday and Monday of 600 likely runoff voters by John Couvillon that had the treasurer up, 45%-40%.

Parker Carey, Letlow’s campaign manager, said their poll has her leading by 7 points.

“We are confident she is going to win,” he said.

While the Republican runoff has received most of the attention, farmer Jamie Davis and business owner Gary Crockett are facing off Saturday for the Democratic Party nod in a separate primary.

Davis led Crockett in the May 16 primary, 47% to 26%. During the campaign, Davis has raised $1.2 million, while Crockett has not collected any money. Davis has a full campaign staff unlike Crockett — and has endorsements from the Louisiana Democratic Party, New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno and Indivisible NOLA, a grassroots group. Davis and Crockett are both

49th lowest rate in the country

After voters rejected a state constitutional amendment to bankroll permanent raises, Landry proposed shifting the money out of school budgets. He argued that most school systems have enough savings to cover the gap, adding that districts need to “tighten their belt.”

But school boards and superintendents loudly objected, saying Landry and lawmakers should find money for the stipends in the state budget rather than shift the burden onto schools. They also warned that the loss of state dollars would force some school systems, particularly in rural areas with limited local tax revenue, to eliminate programs or positions.

“I talked to some of them and they said, ‘I’m going to have to do a bunch of cutting,’ ” said Mike Faulk, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, who previously led the Louisiana Association of School

Superintendents. “It’s more than talk it’s facts.”

Some lawmakers said they did not want to cut school budgets, but they worried that Landry could veto funding for projects in their districts if they voted against his plan, according to people who spoke with them. Other lawmakers said they did not want already underpaid teachers to lose the stipends.

“Our teachers and our support personnel have earned this,” Rep. Charles Owen, R-Rosepine, said Monday Louisiana educators overwhelmingly want to receive the one-time pay bumps, according to the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, the state’s largest teachers union, which surveyed its members. But nearly two-thirds of survey respondents said they oppose Landry’s plan to pay for the stipends by cutting school budgets, the union said.

The PSC has not made Sisung available for comment.

“The scarcity conditions and resulting capacity needs relied upon by (Entergy) are being driven principally by the Meta-related ramp period rather than by general system load growth,” Sisung wrote.

Commissioner Mike Francis, RCrowley, said in an interview that it’s too early to make a decision but that he generally trusts Sisung, who regularly analyzes utility deals on behalf of the PSC.

“If that’s his opinion, I’m going to be inclined to go with it,” Francis said. “But I haven’t seen all the details yet.”

Francis declined to comment on Hensgens’ letter, saying the PSC is already reviewing the issues raised.

Entergy Louisiana and Meta insist that Sisung’s testimony is wrong and that the plant is needed for general demand growth, not the data center Entergy spokesperson Brandon Scardigli said in a statement Tuesday that Louisiana customers would “only pay for their power” from Cottonwood, and Meta would pay for its share.

blasting Trump’s moves on Iraq, taxes, spending and immigration enforcement.

The winner will advance to the Nov. 3 general election and be the first Black finalist for a Senate campaign in Louisiana since Reconstruction.

GOP battle by the numbers

On the Republican ledger, little distinguishes Fleming and Letlow on the issues, so each side has seized on old comments or past votes to paint the other as a “liberal,” an epithet among conservative voters. Both are pledging their fealty to Trump, although she has the president’s endorsement.

The expected overall low turnout of about 15% of voters is scrambling the analysis of who might win the Republican runoff and advance to the Nov. 3 election Republicans and no-party voters who didn’t vote in the Democratic Party primary are eligible to vote in the Republican runoff.

Rigamer is projecting that 300,000 to 320,000 people overall will vote in the Republican runoff, based on the eight-day early voting period that ended on Saturday

He found that early voting for the runoff was down by 25% for Republicans and 50% for Democrats compared to early voting for the May 16 primary

Rigamer conducted two polls on Monday and Tuesday

In one, he surveyed 600 people who had already voted in the Republican runoff. The result: Fleming with 43.8% and Letlow with 42.5%. That’s a statistical tie since it was within 3.5 points of the mar-

“Entergy Louisiana customers are not only NOT paying for Meta’s power, but the reverse is happening,” Scardigli said. “Meta is paying for grid improvements and maintenance that our Louisiana customers would have otherwise had to pay for themselves — reducing future customer bills in the process.”

Meta has rebuffed claims that the company would be violating a recent pledge with the White House that tech companies will pay for their own power needs when building data centers.

“This consultant’s report is inaccurate speculation given the facility will provide power to multiple Entergy customers and Entergy planned to acquire it before Meta decided to build in Louisiana,” Meta spokesperson Francis Brennan said in a statement last week. “Meta pays its own way, both for the power and new infrastructure we use. Our agreement with Entergy is built to guarantee we pay those costs, not Louisianans.”

Hensgens said in an interview that the consultant’s report about Cottonwood raises questions about

gin of error In another poll, Rigamer surveyed 600 people who had voted in the May 16 Republican primary but hadn’t yet voted in the runoff In that poll, Letlow led, 42.8% to 35.8%.

The two sets of numbers suggest that Letlow has the advantage, because early voting typically accounts for about one-third of the overall vote. But Rigamer cautioned that Letlow’s advantage on Saturday is likely to be lessened because of the projected lower turnout.

“It’s all about who gets their vote out,” the pollster said.

What to know about candidates

Fleming was a family physician in Minden, east of Shreveport, when he was elected to the U.S. House in 2008 representing northwest Louisiana. Over the next eight years, he voted consistently against President Barack Obama’s initiatives and helped co-found the House Freedom Caucus, perhaps the most conservative wing within the Republican Party in Washington.

Fleming ran for the Senate in 2016, lost and went on to serve four years in the first Trump administration, including the final 10 months as the president’s deputy chief of staff. He was elected treasurer in 2023.

Fleming, 74, is banking on his grassroots network to turn out to overcome Letlow’s huge spending advantage.

“Fleming is capturing the outsider spirit to overturn the establishment,” said Pearson Cross, a political science professor at the

whether regular customers are going to see cost hikes as a result of data centers.

“It’s fine if they want to pass that on to Meta,” Hensgens said. “It’s not fine if they want to socialize it to the ratepayers.”

Hensgens asked the PSC to consider establishing a policy for customers that need huge amounts of power like data centers. The commissioners have fast-tracked Entergy’s plans for Meta, raising concerns from advocacy groups. Hensgens added that he wants to see the PSC allow large customers to procure power outside of the traditional process, a long-running desire of the Louisiana Energy Users Group which represents industrial customers LEUG has called on the PSC to let its members get power from other sources than Entergy

The PSC will ultimately vote on whether to approve Entergy’s request to buy Cottonwood. Two of the five elected members Republican Eric Skrmetta and Democrat Davante Lewis have already flagged concerns with the plan. Skrmetta said he won’t consider voting to approve it.

University of Louisiana at Monroe. “This may indicate that the Trump brand is losing credence in Louisiana.”

Letlow, who has a doctorate from South Florida University, planned to spend her career in higher education. She was serving as a senior staffer at the University of Louisiana at Monroe when her husband Luke was elected to the House in 2020 — but then died from COVID-19 five days before he took office.

Letlow captured the seat in a special election, won reelection in 2022 and 2024 and jumped into the Senate race in January after Trump endorsed her Letlow, 45, is banking on Trump and her support from Louisiana’s political establishment.

She held a meet-and-greet Monday at the office of Jefferson Parish’s preeminent political consultant, Greg Buisson, and the elected officials in attendance included Sen. Kirk Talbot of River Ridge, Sen. Greg Miller of Norco, Rep. Laurie Schlegel of Metairie, Rep. Polly Thomas of Metairie, Rep. John Illg of Harahan, Rep Mike Bayham of Chalmette, Rep. Kim Carver of Mandeville, Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joe Lopinto and Plaquemines Parish President Keith Hinkel.

A pianist in the corner of the room played the refrain from Jimmy Davis’ “You Are My Sunshine” as Letlow was introduced.

“I got that unbelievable, unimaginable call from the Big Man, and I don’t mean the Lord,” Letlow told the crowd. “He encouraged me to run for the seat, and that meant the world to me.”

STAFF PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK

Lafayette Parish school officials broke ground Wednesday on the $62 million Paul Breaux Elementary and Middle School.

Well, that high pressureridgehas been doing agreat job of keeping our

and our rainchanceslow.Sincethe ridge is

in place,expect more of the same today. So,your Thursday will be mostly sunnytopartly cloudy, hot and humid with alight southerly breeze. Temperatures this afternoon willrisetothe low 90s and with high humidity,temperatures willfeel liketheycould getupto102. Rain chances are low, butthe UV index is at the extremelevel,sobesure to protect yourself.

BY MICHELLE L. PRICE and WILL WEISSERT Associated Press

WASHINGTON NATO Secre-

tary-General MarkRutte laid on the flattery with President Donald Trump on Wednesday,pressing the case fora militaryalliance that the volatileU.S.leader hassharply criticized as the Pentagon reviews the size of the U.S. military footprint in Europe. Trump has repeatedly slammed NATO, arguingthe U.S. carries more thanits fair share of military spending. But his grievances have been louder since the Iran war, as he fumedoverthe fact that some member countries ignored his call to help him restart oil trade through the Strait of Hormuz.

“They weren’ttoo nice to us in our recent little military skirmish,” Trump said of NATO allies as he introduced Rutte during their Oval Officemeeting.

Subsequently pressedon what key U.S. allies could do to get back on his good side, Trump responded, “Justbe loyal.”

“Wedon’tneed their money —wedon’tneed anything,” the president added.

“Wehavethe most powerful military in the worldbyfar But Ijust want loyalty.”

Trump has renewed his threats to leave the 77-yearold alliance, raisingthe stakes before the NATO

BY OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ and CHRISTOPHER WEBER Associated Press

SANFRANCISCO Arural area of Northern California experienced its strongest earthquake since 1940 on Wednesday morning, causing some injuries butno immediate reports of major damage,officialssaid. The epicenter of the quake, with apreliminary magnitude of 5.6, was about 7miles northwest of theag-

NATO’s ‘Trump whisperer’ meetspresident

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTO By JACQUELyN

MARTIN

President DonaldTrump meets with NATO Secretary General MarkRutteinthe Oval Office at the White House in Washington on Wednesday.

leaders’summit in Turkey next month. But Rutte, who has become knownas aTrump whisperer for his abilitytocharm thepresident,took on thenow-familiarroleofattemptingtoappease himanew Ruttepushedback gently against Trump’scomplaints, saying, “I know there have beenisolated cases about which you are really disappointed, but generally speaking, your European allies have been there withyou.”

He also noted that 4,000 to 5,000U.S.planes took off from bases in Europe before Iran and the U.S.agreed to a ceasefire.

Rutte gushedabout Trump having been“veryharsh” with defense contractors, saying, “I hadone of them

over in my office. He was still trembling.”

That was areferenceto Trumphaving held aseries of meetings with Pentagon officials andleading military contractorsatthe White House recently,discussing ways to increase munitions production after the Iran war raised concerns about the U.S. eating into itsstocks of missiles.

“This is your president, but alsothe leader of the free world, taking the leadership role, as is necessary,” Rutte told reporters in the Oval.

Thevisit,Rutte’s fifth since Trumpreturned to power last year,comes after U.S. Defense SecretaryPete Hegseth last week lashedout at allies during ameeting at NATO headquartersinBrus-

sels. His department is in the midst of asix-month review of U.S. forces in Europe.

Hegseth echoed some of Trump’scritiques,faultingEuropean alliesfor not letting the U.S. usebases in Europe to attack Iran. NATO allieswere notconsulted about the war before the U.S. launcheditwith Israel on Feb. 28, and some have been openly critical of Trump’sstrategy

Trump argues that NATO allies were notthere for the U.S.and suggestedleaving the alliance, which was founded in 1949 to counter the Cold Warthreat posed to European security by the Soviet Union. At theheart of their treaty is amutualdefenseagreement in which an attack on one is considered an attack on all. The only time it hasbeen invokedwas in 2001, to support the United States after the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington.

Trumpspent long stretches nottalking aboutNATObut instead boasting about his effort to beautify Washington. He even suggested that, two years ago, beforehedeployed theNational Guard, the NATO chiefmight have “had agood chance of being mugged, although you’re a very big guy.”

“They would have mugged him up. Theywould have beaten the hell outofhim,” Trumpsaid to laughs.

ricultural town of Willits, accordingtothe U.S. GeologicalSurvey.Itwas widely felt, including in the coastal city of FortBragg. The initial quakewas centered inland about 50 miles east of Fort Bragg at 8:10 a.m. PT, and the USGS said it was about5 miles deep. The area in Mendocino Countydotted with small, agriculturaltowns is 140 miles northeast of San Francisco. Heather Rose, aMendocinoCounty spokesper-

son, said that hospitals had reportedsomeinjuries but that shehad no details on their nature or extent.

Brie Leon andher colleagues had just opened Club Calpella Restaurant when thebuilding started shaking, rattling plates and liquor bottles.

“I had just turned theopen sign on and went back into thekitchen, and that’swhen it happened,” she said. “It almost felt like something hit thebuilding.

The restaurant is in Calpella,California,atown about10milessouth of the epicenter

This was thebiggestearthquake in nearly nine decades in the region, which is not on amajor fault, said Lucy Jones, aveteran California seismologist. “The area is notwithoutearthquakes, but they’re usually smaller than this,” Jones said. Three other quakesunder a2.7 magnitude struck near the epicenter within an hour

SHERIFF'SSALE U.S.BANKNATIONALAS‐SOCIATION,ASTRUSTEE FOR VELOCITY COMMER‐CIALCAPITAL LOAN TRUST 2021-2VersusNo. 20245354 B.A.L.A.A. IN‐VESTMENTLLC 15TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT PARISH OF LAFAYETTE STATEOF LOUISIANA Notice is hereby given thatbyvirtueofawritof SEIZURE ANDSALEis‐suedinthe hereinabove entitledand numbered cause Ihaveseizedand taken into my possession and will offerfor sale and sell forcash, ***WITH***appraise‐ment, to thelastand highest bidder,atpublic auction,atthe LAFAYETTE PARISH GOV‐ERNMENT BUILDING,1010 LAFAYETTE STREET,2ND FLOOR in Lafayette Louisiana,between the legal sale hourscom‐mencing at 10:00A.M.on WEDNESDAY, ***JULY29, 2026* ,the followingde‐scribed property,towit: THOSETHREE (3)CER‐TAINLOTSORPARCELS OFGROUND, TOGETHER WITHALL IMPROVE‐MENTS THEREON, AND ALL RIGHTS,WAYS, PRIVI‐LEGES,SERVITUDES, AP‐PURTENANCES ANDAD‐VANTAGESTHEREUNTO BELONGING ANDALL AP‐PURTENANCES THEREOF, BEING KNOWNAND DES‐IGNATEDASLOTSFORTYSIX-A (46-A),FORTY-SIX-B (46-B) ANDFORTY-SEVENA (47-A) OF TERRACE ACRESSUBDIVISION,A SUBDIVISION OF THE PARISHOFLAFAYETTE LOUISIANA ON THAT CER‐TAINPLATOFSURVEY PREPAREDBYA.R.YAN‐DLE,ATTACHEDTOTHAT ACT RECORDED UNDER ENTRY NO.1950-251460 AND MADE PART HEREOF BYREFERENCE,AND BEING DESCRIBEDWITH REFERENCE THERETOAS BEING CONTIGUOUS AND HAVINGA FRONTAGE OF 81.9FEET ON DEAR STREET BY ADEPTH BE‐TWEEN PARALLEL LINES OF100 FEET,AND TO‐GETHERBEING BOUNDED NORTHEASTERLY BY LOTS 44AND 45 OF SAID SUBDI‐VISION, SOUTHEASTERLY BYEDMEESTREET SOUTHWESTERLY BY DEARSTREET,AND NORTHWESTERLY BY LOT 47-BOFSAIDSUBDIVI‐SION, ANDASHAVING SUCHDIMENSIONS, BOUNDARIESAND MEA‐SUREMENTS AS ARE MOREFULLY SHOWNON SAIDPLATOFSURVEY. BEING THESAMEPROP‐ERTYACQUIREDBY GUARDIANPROPERTIES, LLC IN THAT ACT RECORDEDUNDER ENTRY NO. 2013-11800OFTHE RECORDS OF LAFAYETTE PARISH, LOUISIANA.

SERIES 2006-HE4VersusNo. 20261202 SARAHL.MOU‐TON,(A/K/ASARAH LEE MOUTON, SARAHSAM MOUTON) 15TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT PARISH OF LAFAYETTE STATEOF LOUISIANA Notice is hereby given thatbyvirtueofawritof SEIZURE ANDSALEis‐suedinthe hereinabove entitledand numbered cause Ihaveseizedand taken into my possession and will offerfor sale and sell forcash, ***WITH***appraise‐ment, to thelastand highest bidder,atpublic auction,atthe LAFAYETTE PARISH GOV‐ERNMENT BUILDING,1010 LAFAYETTE STREET,2ND FLOOR in Lafayette Louisiana,between the legal sale hourscom‐mencing at 10:00A.M.on WEDNESDAY, *JULY29, 2026*** ,the followingde‐scribed property,towit: ACERTAIN TRACTOR PARCELOFLAND, TO‐GETHERWITHALL BUILD‐INGS ANDIMPROVE‐MENTS SITUATED THEREON,SITUATEDIN NORTHSIDE SUBDIVISION, EXTENSION NO.1 LAFAYETTE PARISH, LOUISIANA,SAIDTRACT BEING MORE PARTICU‐LARLY DESCRIBEDASTHE SOUTHERN44’ OF LOT2 AND THENORTHERN45’ OFLOT 3OFSAIDSUBDI‐VISIONASSHOWN ON THE PLAT OF SURVEY RECORDEDINTHE PARISH RECORDS.SAIDPROP‐ERTYHAVINGSUCH OTHER DIMENSIONS AND BOUNDARIESASARE SHOWN ON SAID MAP. MUNICIPALADDRESS: 2317 LOUISIANAAVENUE, LAFAYETTE,LA70501 ANYONE PURCHASING PROPERTYATSHERIFF'S SALEISGIVEN UNTIL2:00 P.M.ONSALEDAY TO PAY THE FULL PURCHASE AMOUNTBYCERTIFIED FUNDS PUBLISHON: JUNE 25 2026 &JULY23, 2026 LAFAYETTE

More warnings issued for St. Landry

Rising water still threatens some communities, officials say

BY CLAIRE TAYLOR Staff writer

Residents in part of the Lebeau community in St. Landry Parish were asked Wednesday to consider evacuating due to rising water from Tropical Storm Arthur The St Landry Parish government is-

sued a voluntary evacuation recommendation for residents in the Lebeau area who live along U.S. 71 from U.S. 190 north to La. 10. Lebeau is in northeastern St. Landry Parish, south of Morrow and west of Palmetto. St. Landry Parish suffered some flooding due to heavy rainfall last week from Arthur Avoyelles Parish, to the north, experienced 20-30 inches of rainfall in 24 hours, flooding hundreds of homes. That water is making its way south into St Landry Parish.

Residents who need shelter should report to the Yambilee Building, 1939 W.

BLESSING OF THE BELLS

Residents in Simmesport experienced flooding on June 18 following Tropical Storm Arthur

Residents in the St. Landry Parish community of Lebeau are asked to evacuate as floodwaters from Arthur rise.

Bishop Douglas Deshotel performs the the Blessing of the Bells on those that will be placed in the bell tower of the new Our Lady of Wisdom Church on the campus of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette on Wednesday. The rite provided an opportunity for attendees to get a close look at the bells before they are placed

School Board considers school closures

System has $18M budget gap

BY STEPHEN MARCANTEL Staff writer

BY ADAM DAIGLE

St. Landry Parish School Board committee members met Tuesday to discuss plans to shutter several schools to help close its $18 million budget gap. The School Board is expected to meet next Wednesday to adopt

a final plan to consolidate smaller schools across the parish.

The plans presented to the committee members largely remained unchanged from when they were first discussed at a special retreat meeting for board members in mid-June. On Tuesday, the committee agreed to move forward with the plan, with one alteration that would keep Grand Prairie Elementary open for at least another year “It would be great to keep and

protect every single school in St. Landry Parish, but it is not the reality of St. Landry Parish,” said Superintendent Milton Batiste.

Schools facing possible closures/consolidation include: n Krotz Springs Elementary School: consolidated into Port Barre Elementary School and Port Barre Middle/High School n Eunice Central Middle School: consolidated into East Elementary School, Glendale Elementary

School and Eunice Junior High School n Grolee Elementary School: consolidated into Park Vista Elementary School n Grand Coteau Elementary School: rezoned into Cankton Elementary School and Leonville Elementary School. After the parish lost COVIDera federal funding in 2024, the district has been operating at a

Domestic violence agency analyzed by state auditor

BY CLAIRE TAYLOR Staff writer

The Louisiana Legislative Au-

ditor’s Office recently addressed seven “areas of concern”

STAFF PHOTO By BRAD BOWIE

STAFF PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK

OUR VIEWS

We should heed lessons from Arthur — thenew normal

Tropical Storm Arthur,aslow-moving rainmaker that washed throughLouisianalastweek, should not be viewed as an outlier

Instead, storms like Arthur are the newnormal. No longer do stormsoriginateonlyoff the west coastofAfrica, meander throughthe Caribbean and then enter the GulfofMexico as known threats. Now,potentially devastating tropical systems can form at any time andneed only the warm waters of the Gulf to develop into somethingdangerous

In this case, what eventually became Arthur began with an Atlantic system thatcombined with theremnants of aPacific storm that had moved across Central America before heading north. Because it waspoorly organized,its official landfall was in Texas, but thebrunt of the impacts were felt far to theeast in Louisiana As of Wednesday,14tornadoes havebeen attributed to the stormacross southLouisiana andMississippi.Mostofthemwere small, and thankfully,nodeaths were attributed to them Arthur brought heavy rains, too: around10 inches of rain in and aroundpartsofsoutheast Louisiana, but it saved its heaviest loads for central Louisiana, whereofficials estimated as much as 29 inches of rain fell in a24-hour period in Avoyelles Parish. Morethan 200 structureswereflooded, and scores of residents were forced to evacuate. Arthur is not the firststorm to defy the decades-long pattern to which many of us have become accustomed. And it certainly won’tbe thelast.

Itsearly season toll remindsusofthe importance of federal weather forecastingand climate science efforts, many of whichare housed within the National Oceanic andAtmospheric Administration or NOAA. The Trumpadministration has cut the agency,and earlierthisyear, proposed more cuts. Those cutscouldhit the National Weather Service, for example,akey federal entity thatprovides crucial forecasting and weather data to localmedia whothenshare that with the public.

Such cuts threaten to reduce ourreadinessto face storms just at the momentthey arebecoming more unpredictable. For those of us who confront anew each year thethreatsofsevere weather,this is worrisome.

We are encouraged thatthe administration has stepped back from earlier indications that it would abolish or greatly reduce the Federal Emergency ManagementAgency.FEMA isn’t aperfect bureaucracy byany means,but it has on more than one occasion provided essential federal support to disaster-stricken regions, including in Louisiana.

We therefore encourage ourelected federal representatives to heed Arthur’swarnings. Any reductions in NOAA funding should be surgical and focused on efficiencyratherthanjust cuts for cuts’ sake. We know thischallenge is formidable. Butsolving hard problems is what they were elected to do.

For now,weurge our fellow Louisianans to do what we always do, and offer helpinghands to those affected by Arthur.Weare thankful that its effectswere not worse, butwehopeits lessons linger

LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR ARE WELCOME. HERE AREOUR

GUIDELINES: Letters are published identifying name, occupation and/or title and the writer’scity of residence TheAdvocate |The Times-Picayune require astreet address andphone number for verification purposes, but that information is not published. Letters are not to exceed 300 words. Letters to the Editor,The Advocate, P.O. Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588, or email letters@ theadvocate.com. TO SEND USA

OPINION

YOUR VIEWS

Land bridge conceptwas proven by I-10 project, in 1967

Mike Smith’sMay 24 article asks whether Louisiana can build a94-mile land bridge. His own comparison answers the question: The distance is “longer than thedriving mileagefrom New Orleans to Baton Rouge.”That is exactly how we built Interstate10. Between August 1967 and July 1968, theLouisiana Department of Highways let four contracts to construct 22 miles of I-10 embankment across the swamps between Sorrentoand LaPlace. Contractors dredged 13.35 million cubic yards of sand from theMississippi River and pumped it through pipelines up to 15 miles to the construction site, using booster-pumpstations at 2- to 3-mile intervals. That was 1967 technology —a30-inch hydraulic dredge recovering 1,000 cubic yards per hour from theriver bottom. Today’scutterhead dredges are larger,more efficient and routinely pumpsediment farther.The land bridge concept uses theidentical method dredge river sediment,transport it by pipeline, build stable embankments

at ascale Louisiana contractors demonstrated nearly 60 years ago. The question is not whether it can be done. The question is why it took so long to return to what works.

The article quotes Steve Cochran urging thestate to “use the river.” That is precisely what dredge-and-pipeline does: It uses theriver’ssediment, placed where it is needed, without the open-discharge salinity shocks that threatened dolphins, fisheries and drinking water under the canceled diversions Afinal noteonsourcing. Smith’sarticle carries thedisclosure that his work is supported by agrant from the Walton Family Foundation. That same foundation invested tens of millionsofdollars in the organizations that promoted the diversions the land bridge now replaces. Readers should weigh the article’sskepticism accordingly DENNIS LAMBERT

formerchair,Waterways Committee,ASCE Coasts, Oceans,Ports &Rivers Institute Lettsworth

Confederatesoldiersand thebreakaway states were fighting forslavery,and they knew it

On May 21, you published aletter to theeditor by Toby Russo: “Treat Confederate dead just like other veterans.”

This may be one of the most ignorant, factually dishonest screedsever published in your paper

Russo saysnot honoring dead Confederates —who, to be clear,are traitors whotook up arms against the United States —isbeing “ignorant of history,” when they themselves seem to have no working knowledge of it.

Russo wrote “there was no OneNation”in1861.

This will come as ashock to thewriters of the Constitution, which begins “Wethe people of the United States.”

Russo then states that “onenation” wasn’tadded to thePledge of Allegiance —which is not alegal document —until 1883, even though Francis Bellamy didn’twrite thepledge until 1892. Russo then contradicts himself, saying Southernersthought they were “defending themselves from invasion” (also factually wrong) but also that rich slaveowners made them “fight re-

gardlessofhow they felt about awar.”

Forgetting that the South startedthe war,claiming soldiersfought only because they were forced to echoes NazisatNurembergwho said they were “just following orders.”

It’snot “inconceivable” that Southerners fought to preserve slavery Texas,Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Virginia and Arkansas all explicitly cite the preservationand expansion of slavery in their articles of secession, which were endorsed by the rest of the Confederate states.

Russo’sentirenarrative is built on lies about the“lostcause”and “states’ rights.” Ihave onequestion for people defending this position: the states’ rightstodowhat exactly?

Instead of espousing factually empty nonsense, Isuggest Russo go to a libraryand read firsthand accounts written by Confederates bragging about their slaves thatthey would fight to thedeath to keep.

ALEJANDRODELOS

RIOS NewOrleans

Historywill harshly judge thoseletting Trumprun amok

The emperor has no clothes. Iwrite not just about President Donald Trump, but the Republican Party and mostofits voters. The president’sauthoritarian impulses, corruption, disregard for the Constitution, and racist and misogynistic behavior are well documented. His actions are unhinged as evidenced by his recent interview with Kristen Welker on “Meet the Press.” Most of his insults are reserved forfemale reporters. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is hostile to women and people of color.This is systemic throughout the Republican Party “Profiles in cowardice” describes Republicans in Congress. Any pushback against this president is tepid at best. There are symbolic votes, but they won’t stand up when it counts. This conservative SupremeCourt has acreative interpretation of the Constitution. They gave Southern states the green light to dilute the votes of African Americans. Hoping to preserve their House majority,Republican dominated legislatures have been all too eager to target Black-majority districts in their gerrymandering schemes. Speaker Mike Johnson seemstoemulate the cardinals in the Catholic Church whohid abuse of children as he has fought the release of the Epstein files by going as farasrefusing to swear in Adelita Grijalva formore than 40 days. She wonanopen seat in Arizona and was the 218th vote on the discharge petition to release the files.

Iwas aRepublican until Donald Trumpdrove me away.Now Ihave no party preference. Ifind their silence to be deafening on the president’sposting Christlike images of himself or attacking the pope, in addition to his racist posts targeting the Obamas. History has away of grading you. Former U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger predicts that in 10 years, fewpeople will admit to voting forTrump. Ibelieve him CHARLESV.DUNCAN Lafayette

Cassidyhas remedy for medical cost squeeze

No mere election loss can stop Sen

Bill Cassidy,R-Baton Rouge, from tryingtocraft policies that improve familyfinances, especiallyrelated to the costs of medical care.

Quin Hillyer

Not that Louisiana GOP voters, intent on exercisingtheir rageful ids, seem to care. But when they refused to reelect Cassidy, they gave him only about six more months to push through good ideas as chairman of the Senate’skey healthcare committee. Nonetheless, he’s trying to make the most of those six months.

In aJune 22 column in theonline publication “State Affairs,”Cassidy continued severalmonths’ worthofattempts to outline what hecalls his MVP Agenda: Money and Value for Patients. His proposals make aton of sense. In floor speeches and other forums, Cassidy has noted that theaverage American household now has more than $10,000intotal credit card debt, and that more than 60% of personal bankruptcies relate in part to healthcare expenses. Full-coverageinsurance plans can be too expensive, though, while out-of-pocket healthexpenses, even for insured people, can be quite burdensome.

The answer,Cassidy says, is to allow or incentivize more people to choose lower-cost and “catastrophic” plans rather than lower-deductible ones —driving down demand costs, and prices, for the whole insurance market —while providing “pre-funded” health savings accounts (HSAs) that could coverfar more of the out-of-pocket costs. Younger people would receive$1,000 annually,and older people up to $1,500, for these accounts, if used in conjunction with low-cost insurance plans. Unused funds each year,ofcourse, would roll over, so by the time young workers really need to dip heavily into the HSAs, the accounts could be rather substantial.

The money for the pre-funded accounts would come from changes to the government’stax subsidyformulas for health-insurance purchases. Those formulas favor high-income earners over middleearners, butCassidy’splan would free up money by equalizingthe

treatmentacross income groups. Other policychanges, morecomplicated but eminently sensible in incentivizing care for lower-income workers, would free up even more money for HSAs.

Meanwhile, Cassidyhas been pushing (andonsome fronts already has helped enact) tools to force more “pricetransparency” frombothmedical providers andinsurance companies. The idea is to give patients accesstoprices before securing services, rather than being surprised by multiple bills afterwards.

Cassidywants to pair up transparency laws with new online applications that will enable patients to seewhich providers are nearby,comparetheir prices, and seevarious indicators of thequality of care from each.

“Takepower from the insurance company, power from the middlemen and giveittothe patients,” Cassidy said in aJune9,15-minute Senate floor speech, then repeated: “Power tothe patients, notprofit for theinsurance companies.”

Cassidy also would trytoreduce health problems from starting in the first place by adding an element helping parents know what ingredients are in the foods they buy,sochildren are better nourishedand avoid chronic disease.

Parts of Cassidy’sMVP approach

dovetail withchanges in law already madebyeither the first or second Trumpadministration, or withwidely supported bipartisan initiatives in the past 10 years. Someofthe food labeling elements track the wiser partsof HealthSecretary Robert Kennedy Jr.’sotherwise dicey agenda. Cassidy’s MVPapproach probably will involve several bills, not just one.

Either way,though, this is thesort of creative reform package that actually makes sense, one in which the numbers really do work well with no magic asterisks: In sum, they are actuarily sound.

Andthey are designed, as Cassidy told me this week, toempower middleclass “families across Louisiana (who) are being squeezed by rising healthcare costs.”

The problem Cassidy is addressing is real. As aloser in his reelection primary,Cassidy isn’twasting his time licking his wounds. Instead, he is diligently working to help moreAmerican people afford to get medical help for their own wounds and illnesses. In doing so, he upholds thehighest standards of the proverbial good doctor,seeing to his patients’ needs.

Email QuinHillyer at quin.hillyer@ theadvocate.com

SupremeCourt supports religiousfreedom, except when it comesina differentpackage

The U.S. Supreme Court has consistently ruled in favor of protecting people who have specific faithand religious practices, arguingthat mainstream religious values andorganizations must be protected, with an expansive view of the free exercise clause of the First Amendment.

Trump’sbig, beautiful birthday brawl

Were you not entertained by the human cockfight staged on the South Lawnofthe White House recently? Blood and guts were the coin of the realm in Washington’sUltimate Fighting Championship extravaganza held to celebrate President Donald Trump’s80th birthday and, supposedly,the 250th birthday of the United States of America.

Isuspect the nation’sfounders would have been unamused by Trump’sidea of acelebration worthy of the blood sacrificed for the highest prize —freedom.If the term “toxic masculinity” were in search of an illustration, Trumpgleefully provided it.

With fighters, politicians, billionaires, military performers and about 4,000 spectators, the nation’scapital wasfor several hours a250year testosterone-flood event. Even the scantily clad Octagon girls were about to sprout mustaches by the end of the morethan $60 million show Yes, somewomen enjoy the sport, and some are fighters, too, though none competed in this event. Though it’sdifficult to estimate the number of womenwho attended the White House fight fest, somenotables stood out, including first lady Melania Trump; Ivanka Trump, who posted that the evening was “epic,” and, of course, Linda McMahon, whowas chief executive of World Wrestling Entertainment before Trumptapped her as education secretary For the uninitiated, the Las Vegas-based UFC is one of the world’slargest mixed martial arts organizations. It hosts combat events forathletes from different fighting styles —boxing, wrestling, jiu-jitsu and kickboxing —inside a cage called the Octagon. As they say,ittakes all kinds. But on the White House lawn? What should we expect from areality-show president whodemolished part of the White House to makeway foragargantuan, gilded ballroom?Amaster of distraction, Trumpis never at aloss forways to deflect attention from whatever is making headlines to himself Although he may have felt rebuffedbymusicians whocanceled their showsfor the 250th anniversary celebration once they learned about the host organization’sties to the president, the new circumstances gave Trumpan excuse to take the stage himself on July 4and lead what he’snow calling a“rally.”

From about 1950 until about 1995, Fred M. Vinson (1946-1953),Earl Warren (1953-1969) Warren E. Burger (19691986) and William H. Rehnquist (1986-2005) served as the first among equals on the nation’shighest court. In thattime,the Supreme Court ruled in favor of faith and religious plaintiffs in some cases and not in others. The record shows that they split about 50-50 withtheir decisions on these issues.

In 2005, President GeorgeW.Bush appointed John Roberts as chief justice. Since then, faith andreligious plaintiffs have won the Supreme Court’sfavor 83% to 91% of thetime. That’sahuge increase,and onethat plaintiffs who feel they’vebeen discriminated against based on theirfaith of choice and religious practices were pretty certain that they would get a fair hearing —and likely afavorable result.

I’m sure that’swhat Damon Landor and his attorneys thought whenthey filed Landor v. Louisiana Department of Corrections, alawsuit that argued that Landor’sreligious rights as a

Rastafarian were violated when Louisiana prison guards forcibly cut off his dreadlocks while he was imprisoned. But no. Theconservative majority of six decided that federal laws protectingreligiousrights don’tapply to state officials as individuals and therefore Landor cannot sue theprison guards whoignored afederal law providing him andother prisoners protections based on alegitimate religious practice. Landor showed guards and thewarden proof that his long locks shouldn’tbecut.The paper was tossed in the trash. They handcuffed him and shaved him bald. I’ve never been in ajail or prison excepttovisit. I’ve been bald since 2018 bychoice.I’m apracticing Christian,and my faith doesn’trequire me to grow my hair andnever cut it. But

Landor’sfaith does require that practice. I’d be appalled if someone had mandated that Igobald and proceeded to shave my head against mywill.

The state and the high court surely must realize that somereligions either strongly encourage or require men to grow beards.

Devout (Amritdhari) Sikhs keep all hair uncut,especially men withbeards. Somewho practice Judaism reference theZohar and the Torah law,either to keep fully-grown beards or totrim beards without arazor.That’s especially true for Hasidic Jews and someOrthodox or ultra-Orthodox Jews. Some Christians, like theAmishand Old Order Mennonites, keep their beards once they are married.

Though theSupremeCourt decision was narrowly tailored, Ican’thelp but thinkthe high court and prison officials too easily dismiss thecomplaints of people like Landor who don’tlook like them —and those who don’thave religious practices they don’tunderstand or care to understand.

Idoubt they would’ve cut the hair of aSikh, aHasidic Jew or an Amish prisoner,people who also don’tlook like them.

Landor’shair should’ve never been cut. The state and prison officials know that. That’swhy they changed the policy to include providing cover for Rastafarianslike Landor

Email Will Sutton at wsutton@ theadvocate.com.

At atimewhen toxic masculinity is alegitimate concern —and when boys and men sufferfrom avariety of problemsrelated to education, jobs, relationships, isolation and depression —itisjarring to see the mostextremeexamples of masculinity highlighted by the president, not only as entertainment but, presumably,asrole models. Ihave no reason to think that those men in the cage are anything but good citizens, fathers, sons and brothers, but they don’toffermost of America anything to celebrate. Why not skip the pretense and bring in somelions and giraffes?

I’mtrying to be polite. Really,I am. And please don’tmistake me for an anti-male feminist. Iwrote the book “Save the Males” way back in 2008, outlining the early warning signs of the problemswe’re seeing now.Would Irather watch the cast of “Hamilton” at the White House than men pummeling each other into bloody pulps? Youbet. But there’sachasmic difference between brilliant Broadway performers and hyped-up men kicking and punching forspectacle. Ican’tbear to think what the rest of the world sees when it watches the most powerful country on Earth, the heart of democracy,descend from the hilltop into the primal muck where man-as-beast triumphs over the sublime. (That’smebeing polite.)

The People’sHouse has been so desecrated by this president.

Finally,the fighter whodecided that his victory wasthe perfect timetoinsult former first lady Michelle Obamaunderscored the tasteless theatrics. Real men don’tspeak disrespectfully of others regardless of circumstances, but that ship sailed long ago.

Trump’sbig, beautiful brawl, with all its blood, sweat and smears, wasan“epic” embarrassment. Once again, the president of our United States has shownthe world whohereally is —ashowman with poor taste and worse judgment, whogets his kicks from watching other people get knocked down. Our boys and young men deserve better,and so do our girls and women.

Kathleen Parker is on X, @kathleenparker

Will Sutton

Kathleen Parker

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By GERALD HERBERT

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, speaks to supporters during an election night watch party onMay 16.

ASSOCIATEDPRESS FILE PHOTO

The U.S. Supreme Court

Centralpastordefends attackingneighbor

Tony Spellsays manhad been threatening him

BY OLIVIA TEES Staff writer

The Rev.Tony Spell stood on the steps of his churchin Central on Wednesday —a day after being arrested for allegedly beating up his neighbor’s20-year-old son —and defended his actions, comparing himself to ashepherd protecting his flock. Spell said the neighbors, who liveacross the street from his Life Tabernacle Church on Hooper Road, have been terrorizing him and his congregation for months. Just beforethe fistfight, the 20-year-old man threatened to rape andkill his family,Spell claimed.

Scott Sherwin, the father of the 20-year-old, countered after the news conference that his son wouldn’thave said something like that, let alone loud enough for Spell to hear across fourlanes of traffic.

“You know what Ithink?” he said.“Ishouldbuy my son amegaphone because I know he didn’thear across the highway.” Sherwin said his son was in the front yard checking whether the grass was dry enough to mow and had done nothing to provoke Spell.

LEMOINE

and William Lemoine was named chief operating officer Seth Lemoine has been with thecompany for 24 years, workinginoperational, managementand executive leadership roles. His last title was chief operating officer of the company’s Response &Resiliency service line. William Lemoine will oversee all organizational operations. He has nearly 30 years of experience and was most recently president of building construction and

AGENCY

Continued from page1B

At the news conference, Spellsaid that as a“natural protector to my wife and to my grandchildren whowere threatened murder, who were threatened rape, Ihave an obligation toprotect them ”

“I’mapastor who shepherds his flock. It’s not the job of the sheeptoattackthe wolves; it’sthe job of the shepherd to protect his sheep,” Spell said. On Tuesday morning,Spell said,he was fixing thebattery on achurch bus asthe neighbor was walking along hispropertyinfrontofthe church on the other side of Hooper Road. The neighbor shouted obscenities, Spell said.

Spell’sarrest warrant says that theman yelled “f*** you.”

Surveillance footageshows Spell running acrossthe road,with the neighborvideoing him with acellphone until thefight ensued.

Videoappears to show theneighbor threwthe first punch as he was being chargedbySpell. Spell then started punching the neighbor,whose identity has not been released,onthe sideof themajor roadasvehicles passed by Video shows Spellpunching the man eight times before tackling himtothe

ground, thenhitting him another 27 times. During the fight, Spellalsothrowsthe phone intothe street.The majority of the35 puncheswere to the head and chest.

Between punches, while on topofhim on theground, Spell twists theman’s neck to theside.

AfterSpell stopped punching, he delivered akick to theman’sside before crossing back over the road and going into the church.

Sherwin said his son was taken after the fight to a hospital and requiredfive stitches to his chin.

Deputies made contact with Spell inside thechurch and later booked him intojail on asecond-degreebattery count. He was released on bond the same day, in time to make it to his church’susual Tuesday service.

Although another pastor was calledintohandle much of the service, Spell took to thepulpit at onepoint and told congregants that his day had begun withthe Biblical scripture that followers of Jesus would lay hands on thesick.

“I fulfilled the scripture, because Ilaidhands on the sick. Idon’tknow how much recovery they’re going to have, but Ilaid hands on them,” Spell said.

Spell wentontoimply thatheshould have done so sooner.Hesaid thatwhile he wasinparish prison, he and othersinornear his cell quoted the Bible and poetry, adding that the guards were watching the videoofthe fight earlier in the day.He added that controversial radio show host Alex Jones hadinvitedhim to go on his program.

Spell described theSherwin family as “domestic terrorists” andclaimed the church has made multiple complaints to Central Police about them. Spell said police have chosen to ignore the complaints Central Police Chief Roger Corcoran said they have only received one complaint about the family,filed by the pastor’swife, Shaye Spell. Corcoran said they investigated the claim but found nothing and closed it.

Sherwin andSpell have been feuding since at least 2020. After Sherwin set up surveillancecameras at his own home, Spell sued, claimingtheywereinstalled to keep tabsonhim.

Spell drew national attentionin2020 after refusing to stopholding church servicesatLifeTabernacle, defying then-Gov.JohnBel Edwards’ emergency orders shutting down groupevents becauseofthe COVID-19 pandemic.

BY QUINN COFFMAN Staff writer

A17-year-old wasconvicted Monday on two counts of attempted second-degree murder for afootballgamedayshooting at LSU thatinjured two people, including abystander

Kyiveon Keller,who was 16 at the timeofthe October shooting, wasconvicted in juvenile court on two counts of attempted second-degreemurder, illegal carrying of afirearm on school property and illegal possession of afirearm by ajuvenile.

“Thiswas adifficult case withmanyevidentiary issues,”EastBaton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Mooresaid. “After hearing allthe evidence, Judge (AdamJ.) Haneyadjudicated (Keller) andfound himguiltyofthese offenses. Since these charges are classified as crimes of violence this information is allowed to be released.” LSU policeresponded

around 8:30 p.m. Oct. 11 to reports of ashooting during the football gameagainst the University of South Carolina.

BatonRouge policesaid at the time thattwo people opened fireand twowere injured in the exchange, with one victim being a bystander. The shooting stemmed from a“prior altercation between the parties,” BRPD said in anews releasefollowing the shooting.

The on-campus violence prompted Gov.Jeff Landry to order state and local law enforcementtoincrease security on campus for upcoming home games. Keller’ssentencing is scheduled for Aug. 4. As a juvenile,hecan be kept in prison for only amaximum of four years, getting out on his 21stbirthday.

COOover the organization’s building, infrastructure and program management service lines.

Lemoine, which marked its 50th anniversary in December,is amulti-professionalservices company with threeintersectional servicelines of building and infrastructure, response and resiliency and advisory services.

It provides afull-service offeringthatsupports clients at all stages of facilities and infrastructure growth, disaster relief and disaster prevention.

Lemoine also powers Macro,one of theworld’s largest emergency fuel and water suppliers, and

DCMC, agloballeader in crisis management, disaster recovery operational support, hazard mitigation and grants management.

Lemoine’shistory has rootsinCottonport, where Lenny Lemoine’sfather owned aretail lumberyard andhardwarestore, andLemoine andanolder brother,Tim, joined on, according to archives.

Thebrothers sold the lumberyard companyin1979 and used the money from that to start aconstruction company.Theymoved the company,which would later become The Lemoine Co., to Lafayette in 1983.

In Lafayette, LennyLemoine later got involved with

Continued from page1B communities where they operate. The auditor’soffice expressed concerns over whether Chez Hope is accurately reporting performance information and whether it meets expected performance targetsthat warrant an increased funding request Chez Hope replied that they followperformance guidelines provided by DCFS. The guidelinesrequire that clients should be counted once regardless of whether they are served multiple times in a fiscal year,which can misrepresentactual shelter occupancyrates andutilization of services and justification for requesting more funding.

CLOSURES

Continued from page1B

deficit, projecting a$18 million shortfall in the 2025-26 fiscal year ending on June 30. The district hoped to find some relief with two parishwide tax proposals in May, butvoters rejected them. Charter schools represent an additional drainoneducation dollars in the parish and contribute significantly to St.Landry’scurrent financial situation. Because education funding follows the child in Louisiana, school boards must transfer

WARNINGS

Continued from page1B

Landry St., Opelousas. Shelter operations are being controlled by the American Red Cross. Avalid photo ID is required.

Aflood warningremains in effectuntil 6p.m. Thursday in parts of St. Landry, Avoyelles, Evangeline and Rapides parishes, according to aNational Weather Service notice at 11 a.m. Wednesday Some of the locations that are expected to experience flooding include Marksville, Bunkie, Simmesport, Melville, Moreauville, Cheneyville, Palmetto, Mor-

acertain portion of funding foreachchild in the parish who is enrolled at acharter school

The total impact of charterschools on the2025-26 SLPSB budget is estimated at $12.1 million.

“Weusedtohavea school district with 20,000 kids,“ Batiste said. “Now we have aschool districtwith 11,000 kids. 1,000 ofthose kids are charters.“

Howmuchmoney consolidation and closures would save is unclear, as Batiste was unabletoprovide a number to committee members. Anysuccessful proposal the board passes will

row, Bordelonville,Bayou Current, PortBarre,Cottonport, Mansura,Hessmer, Evergreen,Plaucheville, Dupont,Goudeau,Big Cane and Lebeau, the National Weather Service reported. In asocial media updateat noonWednesday,St. Landry ParishPresident JessieBellard said the bulk of the water coming downfrom Avoyelles Parish is to thewest of U.S. 71. Areas inside levees in Melville, he said, and the townsofKrotz Springs and Washington are expected to be OK. Thenorth side of Palmetto remains flooded,Bellard said, and the south side of thetownisbeginning to flood.

likely need to cut at least $8 million in expenditures to breakevenfor the202627 fiscal year, with further cuts likely necessary for 2027-28.

“Wehavetomove forward, but Icannot make a sound decision withoutunderstandingthe costsavings,” said Renee Aymond, School Board member for District5.“How arewegetting to the $18 million?”

“If we give you numbers, we’re going to look real ridiculous,” Batiste told Aymond.

Afinal voteonthe plan is scheduledat5p.m. next Wednesday

Bellard said officials expect water coming from the northtocontinuetopress into St. LandryParish for another four to five days.

ContactClaire Taylor at ctaylor@theadvocate.com.

LOTTERY

TUESDAY,JUNE 23, 2026

PICK 3: 5-9-6

PICK 4: 1-3-8-2

PICK 5: 0-5-4-6-5

MEGA MILLIONS: 48-51-60-63-66

MEGA BALL: 20

Unofficial notification, keep your tickets.

the Community Foundation of Acadiana and others to help developwhatwould become Moncus Park. He alsohelped start AMIKids, anonprofit that helps boys ages 14-18 who have been in the justice system develop life skillsand discover their potential.

Lenny Lemoinewon the Lafayette Civic Cup award 2022.

Email Adam Daigleat adaigle@theadvocate.com.

LIFE CHANGER

One swing altered Morris’ legacy with LSU baseball

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 through Saturday in Natchitoches.

BY JOHN MARCASE Contributing writer

Thirty years after hitting the biggest home run in college baseball history, Warren Morris is still amazed at its impact.

“I had no clue that it was gonna be something where strangers would come up to me all the time and tell me, I remember where I was, I was doing this or, you know I was at this wedding,” Morris

said “It’s kind of like a moment in time; people remember where they were.”

that one swing did not change him.

The moment was the championship game of the 1996 College World Series. LSU trailed Miami, 8-7, with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning and the tying run on second base. Morris, batting last in the LSU lineup because of a hand injury and subsequent surgery, had not hit a home run that season. Until then.

Morris attacked the first pitch from Miami closer Robbie Morrison. The line drive just sailed over the right-field wall.

Morris’ life changed with that one swing. But as anyone who has known him before he stepped into the left-handed batter’s box at Rosenblatt Stadium for the final time on June 8, 1996, will attest

“Warren Morris was a great kid before he hit that home run,” said Steve Boniol, Morris’ first baseball coach, “and Warren Morris would’ve been the same had he struck out. He has not changed.”

That is one of the reasons Morris is being recognized as the third recipient of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame’s Louisiana Sports Ambassador Award, established in 2020. The award honors longterm exemplary contributions to the perception of Louisiana by an individual who has ties to the state’s sports landscape.

Morris’ former offseason workout partner called to congratulate him upon

See MORRIS, page 3C LOUISIANA SPORTS HALL OF FAME

U.S. deciding how to approach Turkey

BY GREG BEACHAM AP sportswriter

IRVINE, Calif. — Christian Pulisic said he feels “great” now after missing one World Cup match with a calf injury, and he hopes to play for the U.S. in its final group match against Turkey on Thursday night.

Pulisic played a dynamic first half in the Americans’ 4-1 victory over Paraguay to open their home World Cup nearly two weeks ago, but the AC Milan midfielder came off at halftime after an injury from training stiffened up.

ä U.S. vs.Turkey, 9 P.M.THURSDAy

Pulisic said he nearly played in the the 2-0 victory over Australia last Friday but was held out to get closer to full fitness for the games ahead. He has returned to practice with his teammates this week after working out on his own last week before the trip to Seattle.

“I’m hoping to play a part in (the match against Turkey), for sure,” Pulisic said before the U.S. training session Wednesday at Great Park. “I’ll discuss that with my coaches and the medical staff. Obviously not a good chance I’ll probably go and play 90 (minutes) right away after you come back and miss a game, but we’ll see.” U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino hasn’t said how he will treat the final group match, which is meaningless for both teams. The Americans are locked into first place in their group, while Turkey has been eliminated from knockoutround contention.

Pulisic hopes the plan includes at least some playing time for him as the U.S ramps up for its round-of-32 match in Santa Clara, California, on July 1. While Pulisic’s calf injury robbed him of one chance on the World Cup stage, he felt certain he wouldn’t be out for long.

“I never feared anything worse,” Pulisic said “I was pushing, and I was really close to trying to be available for the last game, for sure. I did feel a little something (against Paraguay), but I definitely was able to push through in the first half and just get me through. But yeah, it wasn’t quite ready, but it wasn’t anything where I feared anything worse than what it was.”

With no stakes for the U.S. against Turkey, Pochettino seems likely to provide some rest to key players in his starting lineup while giving a few of his reserves possibly their only opportunity to hit the field. That sounds great to starting central defender Chris Richards, who thinks some time off wouldn’t be a hindrance

See SOCCER, page 3C

Women’s World Cup countdown begins a year out

BY ANNE M. PETERSON AP soccer writer

While most of the soccer world is focused on the men at the World Cup, the countdown has begun for the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil. The women’s tournament is set to start June 24, 2027, hosted by a South American country for the first time. Brazil hosted the men’s World Cup in 1950 and 2014.

“I think that the host country, it sleeps and breathes football. So, I think just the energy you’re going to see from the public, the general public, and obviously the teams touching down in Brazil, I mean, it’s such a unique, special country,” FIFA chief football officer Jill Ellis said at an event Wednesday in Miami. “I think the same energy

you’re going to feel right now when you bring the world together, and you have an incredible product in women’s football, I mean, the level of quality the players is so extraordinary that I think, honestly, it will be an epic showcase of football and fandom.”

In addition to Miami, a countdown event was also held in Rio de Janeiro. Even in Vancouver, British Columbia, at Wednesday’s World Cup match between Switzerland and co-host Canada, video signage flashed with ads for the upcoming women’s tournament.

All eight cities that will host women’s matches next year also hosted men’s games in 2014: Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Fortaleza, Porto Alegre, Recife and Salvador Qualification for the tournament

has already begun. Brazil, which has an automatic spot as host, has never won the women’s tournament and it remains to be seen whether Marta, the six-time FIFA world player of the year, will be on the national team. The 40-year-old Marta never has won a major international tournament.

Thirteen other teams also have qualified, including Australia, Philippines, Japan North Korea, China, South Korea, Argentina, Colombia, New Zealand, Germany, France, Spain and Denmark.

“There is only one year left until the moment that will be marked in the history of our country For the CBF (Brazilian soccer confederation) and for all Brazilians, it is a source of great pride to host

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By RODNEy WHITE

LSU hitter Warren Morris celebrates as he rounds first base in front of assistant coach Daniel Tomlin after hitting a two-run, walk-off home run to win the national championship against Miami at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb., on June 8, 1996.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By DHAVID NORMANDO Christ the Redeemer monument is illuminated in Brazil’s national colors as part of the countdown to the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Tuesday.

Pulisic

Southwest Division spotlights frontcourt

Grizzlies, Mavericks and Spurs select 4 prominent prospects in the first round of the NBA draft

BY BRETT MARTELL AP sportswriter

The Memphis Grizzlies, Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs brought four prominent frontcourt prospects to the Southwest Division in Tuesday night’s first round of the NBA draft. Memphis took Duke forward Cameron Boozer third overall. Michigan’s Morez Johnson went to Dallas with the ninth overall draft choice.

When the defending Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs picked 20th overall, they added Kentucky forward and center Jayden Quaintance — and then traded for another big man at 26th overall: Tarris Reed of Connecticut.

In Memphis, the 6-foot-9 Boozer will join another top young big man in Zach Edey

“We automatically become one of the best rebounding duos in the league,” Boozer said. “It’s going to be exciting to see what different types of things we can do — really mess up other teams and cause some mismatches for sure.”

The 6-9 Johnson helped Michigan win the second NCAA title in program history this past season, averaging 13.1 points and 7.3 rebounds The 6-9 Quaintance averaged 5 points and 5 rebounds for Kentucky during an injury-shortened season after spending his previous college campaign with Arizona State.

Meanwhile, Houston and New Orleans entered the draft without a first rounder and neither succeeded in finding a trade they liked to get back into NBA draft’s opening round.

New Orleans Pelicans

What was the team’s need: The Pelicans could use more outside shooting particularly if they intend to continue to build around power forward Zion Williamson. Trey Murphy III is New Orleans’ lone reliable outside shooting threat, and he’s been mentioned in trade talks so often that it’s not entirely clear how long his tenure with the Pelicans will endure.

Who New Orleans drafted: The Pelicans entered the draft without a first-round choice, having traded it away last year to Atlanta so New Orleans could acquire a sec-

ond 2025 first-rounder that was used to take Derik Queen. Pelicans basketball operations chief Joe Dumars expressed interest in making a trade to get back into the first round this year, but apparently couldn’t find a deal he liked New Orleans wasn’t slated to pick until late in the second round, at 58th overall.

Memphis Grizzlies

What was the team’s need: Pieces for a rebuild Memphis started the process last summer, and these are the latest steps.

Who did Memphis draft: Cameron Boozer, 6-foot-9 power forward from Duke with the No. 3 pick.

Two trades dropped the Grizzlies from No. 16 to No. 17 to 21, picking up five second-round picks in the process, a person familiar with the moves told The Associated Press. At No. 21 from Detroit, Memphis selected Karim Lopez, a 19-year-old forward from Mexico, who played for the New Zealand Breakers in the NBL.

The picks’ NBA comparison: Boozer compares to Al Horford, Paolo Banchero and Kevin Love. As for Lopez, the comparisons stretch from Kyle Kuzma to Deni Avdija.

Dallas Mavericks

What was the team’s need: The Mavericks might spend a long time looking for their next star point guard after the ill-fated Luka Doncic trade.

Who did Dallas draft: Michigan F/C Morez Johnson Jr at No. 9 and G Sergio De Larrea of Spain at No. 25 in a trade with the Knicks.

The pick’s NBA comparison: At 6-9 with a defensive pedigree, Johnson fits the profile of a young Bam Adebayo. Johnson is considered limited offensively with the potential to grow Adebayo wasn’t a double-figure scorer until his third season. De Larrea, who fits the mold of a point guard, turned down U.S. college offers to follow the same path as Doncic in the EuroLeague. That comparison is farcical for now

NBA draft showcases Graham’s

BY JAY COHEN AP sportswriter

CHICAGO — Bryson Graham took over the Chicago Bulls when he was hired as executive vice president of basketball operations in May At his introductory news conference, he referenced the acronym SLAP size, length, athleticism, physicality

That vision is beginning to come into focus.

Chicago selected Caleb Wilson and Dailyn Swain in the first round of Graham’s first draft with his new team on Tuesday night. It was part of a busy stretch for the Bulls, who reportedly acquired Nic Claxton as part of a three-team trade on Monday night Tiago Splitter was hired as coach last week.

The 6-foot-9 Wilson and 6-7 Swain are known for their athleticism and finishing ability, and the 6-11 Claxton shot 57% from the field while averaging 11.7 points for Brooklyn last season. The three additions — along with Splitter’s arrival — provide the strongest indication yet of how the Bulls might look under Graham.

“We’re definitely not where we want to be, but we’re establishing an identity,” Graham said. “I think that’s really important for this organization, especially where we’re at right now Both Caleb and Dailyn, they fit the bill. We’re not addressing every skill yet. A lot of people might (ask), ‘Where is the shooting at?’ and things of that nature. I’m not typically worried about that right now.”

San Antonio Spurs

What was the team’s need: Losing 4-1 to the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals exposed the Spurs’ need for another big man to play alongside and spell Victor Wembanyama. The French All-Star averaged 26.0 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.6 blocks and 2.6 assists while playing a series-high 39.7 minutes.

Who the Spurs drafted: Jayden Quaintance, a 6-9, 253-pound forward from Kentucky and Tarris Reed, a 6-11 center from Connecticut. Quaintance’s career started at Arizona State, but his freshman season ended when he suffered a torn ACL, torn meniscus, and fracture to his right knee on Feb. 23, 2025. He played four games for Kentucky before knee pain and swelling forced him to end his season. Reed, picked 26th overall and acquired from Denver in a draft night trade, spent his first two seasons at Michigan before closing his career at UConn. Reed averaged 9.2 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks during his fouryear career Both Quaintance and Reed are rim protectors and defensive-minded players who rely on their strength.

The pick’s NBA comparison: Quaintance has been compared defensively to Portland’s Robert Williams III and Houston’s Clint Capela and offensively to Detroit’s Jalen Duren for his play around the rim. Reed has been compared to Joakim Noah and Andrew Bogut for his back-to-the-basket approach to offense.

Houston Rockets

What was the team’s need: Houston could use help with perimeter shooting, having ranked near the bottom of the NBA in 3-point shooting. But the Rockets also could use help in the front court, given the recent injury struggles of Capela and Steven Adams. Depth at point guard also would come in handy for a team that seemed to struggle to produce when starter Fred VanVleet wasn’t on the court.

Who Houston drafted: The Rockets aren’t scheduled to pick until 39th and 53rd overall in the second round, having traded away their 2026 first-rounder back in 2019 and part of a trade that sent Russell Westbrook to Houston that year

vision for the Bulls

Wilson made just seven 3-pointers in his only season at North Carolina, and Swain shot 37% (26 for 71) from deep during his junior year at Texas. But Graham said he thinks both players can improve their shooting skills. What Wilson and Swain bring right now is defensive versatility an important upgrade for Chicago after it allowed 121.5 points per game last season, ranking 28th overall in the NBA. The rebuilding Bulls also have two more picks in the second round of the draft on Wednesday night.

“The fastest way to find playing time and opportunity is on the defensive side of the ball,” Graham said. “So as Dailyn comes in and as Caleb comes in, I’m looking for them to be tone-setters on that side of the floor and be pillars for this organization going forward. Wilson, quite possibly the most athletic player in the draft, was the No. 4 pick after he averaged 19.8 points and 9.4 rebounds in 24 games with the Tar Heels. His season was cut short by left hand and right thumb injuries, but he said he feels great right now.

Ex-LSU coach Kelly to call football games for CBS

Brian Kelly, the former LSU football coach fired in November, has landed a new job as CBS college football color commentator Kelly is expected to be a part of a three-man booth and call Mountain West games on the network this fall.

Kelly did in-studio work with CBS for the NFL draft.

LSU announced it “separated” from Kelly in October after the Tigers started 5-3 in 2025 The separation, however, was found to be without cause, so the two sides agreed to a $54 million buyout, and Kelly was officially fired in November, the same month the program hired his successor, Lane Kiffin. Kelly, 64, previously said he wanted to work in a role around football to keep his opportunity to coach again open.

LSU gymnast Chio wins program’s 5th Corbett Award

LSU gymnastics star Kailin Chio has been named the recipient of the 2026 James J. Corbett Award, presented annually by the Allstate Sugar Bowl to the top female amateur athlete in the state.

Chio becomes the latest LSU gymnast to earn the prestigious distinction. She is the fifth LSU gymnast to be recognized with the Corbett Award, joining Haleigh Bryant (2024), Sarah Finnegan (2019), Ashleigh Gnat (2017) and Susan Jackson (2010).

The sophomore from Henderson, Nevada, earned eight All-America honors and helped lead the Tigers to an national runner-up finish in 2026. Her 13 perfect 10 scores set a new LSU single-season record and marked the second-most perfect scores by a NCAA gymnast in a season since 2019.

LSU baseball LHP signee will reopen recruitment

LSU signee and left-handed pitcher Colton Christman has decided to decommit from the program and reopen his recruitment, he announced on social media Wednesday Christman attended Arbor View High in Las Vegas and played some outfield in high school. Without Christman, LSU’s incoming class shrinks from 24 to 23 players.

LSU has a strong crop of lefthanded pitchers in its incoming recruiting class. Even without Christman, the Tigers have signed five lefties, including Logan Schmidt, who could be selected in the first round of the MLB draft next month. Schmidt, Lucas Nawrocki, Spencer Evans, Braxton Beaty and Bradyn Cupit are LSU’s remaining freshman left-handed pitchers.

Lakers to re-sign guard Reaves to 4-year deal

“My fit on the team is going to be, I’m just going to go hard, man, honestly,” said Wilson, who turns 20 on July 18. “I’m going to make it happen. Whatever they need me to do, I going to do it and more.”

Swain, taken at No. 15, played for Xavier for two seasons before transferring to Texas. He averaged 17.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists last season with the Longhorns. He also led the team with 59 steals.

Swain prides himself in being what he called “a connective player.” Asked what that means from a defensive perspective, he focused on being able to disrupt the opposing offense.

“You know, get them out of rhythm, read plays before they happen,” Swain said, “get in the passing lanes and, you know maybe help out a teammate. Just anything to help out on defense.”

Chicago finished with a 31-51 record last season while missing the playoffs for the fourth straight year Graham has described the Bulls as being “at the ground floor,” so the development of Wilson and Swain will be a major factor in the direction and timeline for the team’s future Swain, for one, seemed excited about beginning his NBA career alongside Wilson.

“He is an electric player Every time you watch him, he has a highlight,” said Swain, who turns 21 on July 15 “I’ve just seen like a five-minute video of all his dunks from this season. It was the longest thing I’ve watched. I think we’re going to be great together.”

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Austin Reaves is re-signing with the Los Angeles Lakers on a four-year contract worth $185 million, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Wednesday

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal is not yet official for Reaves, who cements his status as one of the most successful undrafted players in recent NBA history with this contract. Reaves is declining his $14.9 million player option for the upcoming season to reach this deal with the team that signed him out of Oklahoma after the draft in 2021

The 28-year-old Reaves averaged 23.3 points, 5.5 assists and 4.7 rebounds last season despite missing two significant chunks of the year with injuries.

Cubs add pitchers Brown, Cabrera to injured list

NEW YORK Ben Brown and Edward Cabrera were placed on the injured list Wednesday, delivering two more blows for the pitching-depleted Chicago Cubs. Cabrera was expected to get imaging Wednesday after straining his left hamstring/adductor stretching for a throw at first base Tuesday during a 9-6 win over the New York Mets. Brown has a neck strain. He is 4-2 with one save and a 1.85 ERA for the Cubs, including 3-1 with a 1.70 ERA in eight starts since joining the banged-up rotation May 8. The Cubs have six starters

is

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By yUKI IWAMURA

Cameron Boozer right, poses for a photo with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected by the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the NBA draft on Tuesday in New york.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By yUKI IWAMURA Dailyn Swain, right, celebrates after being selected by the Chicago Bulls as the 15th pick in the first round of the NBA draft on Tuesday in New york

Soonersstarted titleseasonbymakingtheir beds

BY ERIC OLSON AP sportswriter

OMAHA, Neb.— When the Oklahoma baseball program brings in new players, coach Skip Johnson gives themadailyexercise to make sure they are cut out for the type ofprogram he runs.

“Wemake them make their beds andthey send me pictures of bedsbeing made,” he said. “It’s stuff like that, we’re just trying to get those guys to be attentive and detailed of what we try to do.”

That’snot to suggest thedaily bed-making initiation is what led to the Sooners winning their first national championship since 1994, but it does hint at the stickto-itiveness Johnson demands from his players. Theydemonstrated it during alate-season slump that, oncebroken, turned into atitle run no one outside the team could have foreseen.

“Wespend alot of time trying to find out theircharacter from the place they were ator their high schoolcoach or their junior college coach,” Johnsonsaid.

“Wewatch them. We do all those things. We bring them in and we ask them questions, andinsome places some guys are not the right fit.” Oklahoma played itsbest by far at the end, punctuating its championship Mondaywith a13-2 win over North Carolina in athreegame College World Series final. In six games in Omaha,the Sooners batted .307 and averaged eight runs and two homers pergame.

MORRIS

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hearing the news.

“I told him that in away,that’s even better than what Igot,because they put me in on what Idid on the field,” said Russ Springer, who was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Famein2018 after 18 years in the majorsafter astellar career at LSU, “but they thought he was agood enoughperson and all the things he did outside of the field that youdeserve this award.”

How Morris ended up as amember of the Louisiana SportsHall of Fame would be astorybook tale, onlyifhehadn’t already been the subject of an SEC Network documentary,“The Walk Off.” To adequately comprehend how Morris got to this point in his lifewould need aseries, not just aone-hour production.

“Ifyou would have told the9-, 10-year-oldme, go ahead and just dream big,” Morris said, “I would have sold myself way short.All of this is just way beyond anything that Ithought Iwas evencapable of doing.”

The 9-year-old Morris would’ve told youhewas gonnabeabasketball player.After all, that was his favorite sport, and his dad, Bill, was the high school coach at Bolton High School inAlexandria. That was when fate intervened for the firsttime.

Steve Boniol’sson, Scott, and Warren were best friends. Scott’s Dixie Youth Baseball team, coached by Steve,needed an extra player.Steve had to talk Bill and BarbaraMorrisintoletting Warren play baseball. Steve andScott Boniol took Warren to his first practice, but first, they had to stop at Steve’sstore, Cenla Sports, to get Warren aglove.

Oklahomaheadcoach Skip Johnson, top center,and his team pose for photos withthe championshiptrophy after their victoryoverNorth Carolina in Game 3ofthe CollegeWorld Series finals in Omaha, Neb.,onMonday

That’sthe third-highest batting average and most runs and homers per game byachampion since the CWS moved to Charles Schwab Field in 2011. CWSmost outstanding player Jaxon Willits batted .500 anddrove in seven runs. Jason Walk and Dasan Harris each hittwo homers in an 11-4win over Georgia after

coming intothe gamewith four apiece. Deiten Lachance homered threetimes in the seriesand 18 times in thelast 34 games.

“I think we knewthatthe talent was always in theroom, and that’ssomething that Skip andall the coaches preached to us from day one in the fall, is that this group of guys is special,”Willits

said. “Whether we were playing well or not, we believedthatwe had the talent in the room to go out and win anational championship.”

Johnson, one of the most successful juniorcollege coaches in the1990s andearly 2000s at Navarro College in Texas, leaned on what he knows when building

the team. Five everyday position players were highschool recruits and three werefrom junior colleges. Third baseman Camden Johnson wasthe only transfer from a four-year school (Wichita State).

All three starting pitchers were freshmen and recruited from high schools. LJ Mercurius (UNLV) and three other relievers camefrom the portal.

“I think the biggest thing I’ve seen in my three years of college so far, is teamshave two choices,” said Mercurius, who allowed just tworuns in 122/3 innings andgot the win in Game 3. “It’s eitheryou kind of split apart when things aren’t going well, or youcome together when things aren’tgoing well. When we were losing games, we were still in the locker room,having fun, cracking jokes and just pulling foreach other.”

Johnson said the gauntlet that is theSoutheasternConference schedule prepared theSooners forthe national tournament. They were picked 14th in the preseason poll, lost six of their nine conference seriesand finished11thwith lossesinseven of nine gamesentering regionals.

TheSooners became theseventh straight SEC team to win the national title.

“It’sthe best conference in the country,and it molded us,”Johnson said. “It was asuper regional every weekend. And those guys continued to grind it out and pick each otherup. And it shows you what kind of character they have when they becameselfless. That waswhat’sreally special.”

“I mean, obviously,atthe time, Iwasn’tenjoying it, but looking back, it kind of goes back to God’s got aplan,”Morrissaid. “You don’t understand it, but it turned out better in twoways.”

The first wasMorris surrendered to God’swill. If he could return to baseballhewould. If his career wasfinished, he wascontent to graduate and move on with his life’scalling.

The secondpartpaiddividends on thefield. The injury andpostsurgery recoverychangedMorris’ swing. He wentfrom aplayer who threw right-handed and was acontact left-handed hitter,toahitter who could really start driving the ball when he madecontact.

Morris returned to the LSU starting lineup on May 16, hitting ninth. Hadhenever been injured, he would not have been in position to hit his walk-off homer in Omaha. As it turnedout, LSUwon all22 games he started that season.

Had he never been injured, Morrislikelywould nothavebeenthe best player on the 1996 U.S. Olympic baseball team that won bronze. He led the team in average (.409) to go with five homers,11RBIsand 10 runs scored in nine games.

Had he never been injured, Morris admits, he may never have made the major leagues, finishing third in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 1999 when he hit 15 home runs. Morris retiredfrombaseballin 2006. He and his wife, Julie, settled in Alexandria to raise their three daughters. Morris eventually took ajob working forRed River Bank. He took another job in an unofficialcapacity —perhaps the best ambassador LSU baseball could ask for.

WOMEN

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the Women’sWorldCup,” federation president Samir Xaud said in astatement. “It will be an opportunity to show the world our passion for footballand, aboveall, the strength of Brazilian women’s football. We are certain that this will be atransformative World Cup, capable of inspiringgirls in all regions of Brazil andleaving a lasting legacy.”

The first Women’sWorld Cup was hosted by China in 1991. The United States has won the most titles with four.Spain won the last title in 2023atthe tournamentco-hosted by Australia and New Zealand Women’ssoccer has experienced exponentialgrowth in thepast decade, with new leagues, and increasing viewership and revenue. The Women’sWorld CupinBra-

The valedictorianofhis graduatingclass, andanall-state infielder, Morriswound up acceptingawalkon invitation to jointhe LSU baseball program, then promptly redshirted during his freshman year

Thefollowing season,Morris

“The firstpractice, Ithrew batting practice and he would miss every time,” Boniol said. “I told my assistant, Billy Moore, to teach Warren how to bunt. Warren had a work ethic, and he wasn’t going to settle fornot being able to hit. By the end of the season, Warren led the team in hits.”

zil will be the last with 32 teams.

In 2031 theevent willinclude 48 teams, likethe men’stournament started this year The2031 World Cup is expected to be hosted by the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica and Jamaica. The formal decision will likely be announced in November

“I thinkwhen we went to 32 there was somenoise,are we’re ready,are there going to be blowouts? We saw an incredibly competitivelandscape. We saw debutantes making the knockout rounds. Ithink the globalgame is accelerating so fast that countriesare closingthe gapa lotfaster,” Ellis said. “Our job is to make sure teams comeinthere as prepared andreadyasthey can, so we have themost competitiveWorld Cup. So Ithink thegrowth of the game is accelerating rapidly,and Ithink by 2031 wecertainlywill have avery competitive World Cup.”

started 63 of 66 gamesasanoutfielder.The next season, he took over at second base and earned second-teamAll-American honors.Headinginto hisfourth year of college andthird as an everyday player, Morriswas apreseason All-American. Then, fate intervened again. His right hand felt uncomfort-

SOCCER

Continuedfrom page 1C

“Our trainings are pretty intense,”Richards said. “I think fitness won’tbeanissue. Idon’t think sharpness will be,either Obviously it’sgoodtokeep into some sort of rhythm, but Ithink these guys deserve it if they get the chance (Thursday). Ithink we’llbefine when it comes to the next game.”

Pulisic was visibly excited as a spectator during the Americans’ wininSeattle, celebrating along with histeammatesastheycapably handled asecondstraight opponent for their team’sfirst consecutive WorldCup victories since 1930. The U.S. offensive performance withoutits most accomplished attacking player, particularly in the first half against Australia, pleased Pulisic greatly

able during the fall of 1995, and it never improved as the 1996 season began. Eventually it was discovered Morris had fractured the hamate bone and would need surgery.Itforced him to miss 39 games,and it caused manyfrustrating moments. Yet, it may have been the best thing that ever happened to him

“He providedthe greatestmoment in the history of the College WorldSeries 30 yearsago,and he since has embodied the values of a devoted husband, father and communityleader,” said Bill Franques, the LSU baseball communications director since1989. “LSU is very grateful forthe lifetime impact Warren Morris has madeupon our state.”

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOByANDRE PENNER

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILEPHOTO

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOByREBECCA S. GRATZ

Westgate DL Archangel commits to Aggies

Junior

ranked as state’s No. 2 player for 2028

BY MIKE COPPAGE

Contributing writer

Chance Archangel had an idea he would commit to Texas A&M when he attended the Aggies’ football camp earlier this month

Once he arrived in College Station, Texas, and thought about it, the decision became more clear for Westgate’s four-star defensive lineman.

“I’ve been knowing what I wanted to do,” he said. “It just felt like a perfect time.”

The fact the Aggies were the first school to offer Archangel a scholarship in January of 2025 resonated with the 6-foot-4, 240-pound junior

“They believed in me first when I thought nobody did,” he said.

“They came early That’s what happened.”

Archangel informed the A&M

coaching staff

he was ready to become the program’s first Class of 2028 commitment and then reiterated it.

“They were excited,” he said.

“They thought I was playing. Then after the camp, I told them I was serious.”

That prompted a trip to coach Mike Elko’s office for a celebration

WORLD CUP ROUNDUP

Switzerland wraps up Group B with win against Canada

Brazil clinches Group C after blanking Scotland

By The Associated Press

VANCOUVER, British Columbia

Rubén Vargas and Johan Manzambi both scored to give Switzerland a 2-1 victory over Canada on Wednesday at the World Cup as both teams advanced to the knockout round.

Promise David scored a late goal for Canada, which took second place in Group B behind the Swiss and earned a spot in the knockout round for the first time in its history Switzerland will face a thirdplace team on July 2 in Vancouver in the round of 32. Canada needed a win or a draw to finish at the top of the group and stay on home soil, but instead will travel to Inglewood, California, for its next game on Sunday against the second-place finisher in Group A. After Manzambi came off the bench and scored two goals in Switzerland’s 4-1 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina on Thursday, he earned a spot in the starting lineup against Canada. The20-year-old midfielder became the youngest player to score two goals off the bench in the World Cup and is among the breakout young stars at the tournament Vargas broke through for Switzerland about 40 seconds into the second half with a strike that sailed past sliding Canada goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau, hit the post and went into the net Breel Embolo then crossed the ball to Manzambi, whose shot went through the hands of Crépeau to put the Swiss up 2-0 in the 57th minute.

Canada pulled a goal back in the 76th. David scored with a volley on his first touch of the game about a minute after he came on as a substitute. Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka had a chance in the scoreless first half but his free kick in the 37th minute and sailed over the net as he let out a yell. Ali Ahmed had one of Canada’s best attempts of the first half in the 42nd minute, but his shot to the near post was smothered by Switzerland goalkeeper Gregor Kobel.

BRAZIL 3, SCOTLAND 0: In Miami Gardens, Florida, Vinícius Júnior scored two goals, Matheus Cunha also scored and five-time World Cup champion Brazil beat Scotland to win Group C and advance to the knockout round.

“I’m done now,” Archangel said of visiting colleges this summer

In recent weeks, he made trips to LSU, Texas, Houston, Florida State and Alabama.

“The culture, academics and weight rooms,” he said of important factors in making a decision.

“How they’re going to develop me as a player and a person, and the way they communicate with my family and me.”

Rivals ranks Archangel as the No. 2 in-state player for 2028. He’s ranked the No. 20 edge rusher and No 207 overall player Class of 2028 teammate Cayden Lancelin, a receiver is No. 3. Senior Karon Eugene, a four-star safety, ranks as the No. 9 player in Louisiana by ESPN. They aren’t the only standouts for the team from New Iberia.

“We have (defensive backs) Shadon Lee, Zyier Stokes and Dashawn White,” Archangel said.

“If we stay together and play together that will bring us to our main goal.”

That goal is winning another state championship. Westgate, which won the Class 4A crown in 2021, is among the favorites to win Division II nonselect after playing in Division I with Class 5A schools.

“We’re coming with it all this year,” Archangel said. “We stay on each other and do the little things off the field like hydrate, sleep and eat.”

Led by coach Ryan Antoine, the Westgate staff is pushing Archangel and his teammates to the limit.

“Our coaches are going to tell

you (what’s on their mind),” he said. “Being coached hard: that’s how you get to the next level.

“If we’re not getting coached hard, why are we out here? At the end of the day, it’s tough love.”

The team’s junior class, which also includes college prospects in receiver/defensive back Rahim Alem, quarterbacks Noah Antoine and Brock Mitchell (also a wide receiver) and running back Caemon Crockem, have been standouts in football and basketball for several years.

“Us being together since we were young, we know how each other plays,” Archangel said. “We know the ins and outs of the game, just talking to each other, and we have goals we want to accomplish.”

SCOREBOARD

Vinícius — who has a goal in all three of Brazil’s group matches — scored in the seventh minute and again just before halftime, tying Kylian Mbappé of France with four goals, one behind Lionel Messi’s tournament-leading five

Neymar entered as a substitute in the 76th, making his debut after a right calf injury sidelined him for Brazil’s first two matches The majority-Brazilian crowd at Hard Rock Stadium began chanting his name midway through the second half as he got off the bench and began doing warmup sprints on the sideline and fans roared as he trotted onto the pitch

Neymar is Brazil’s career scoring leader with 79 goals in 130 international appearances. The 34-year-old forward appeared in each of the past three World Cups for Brazil, scoring eight goals.

Scotland is playing in its first World Cup since 1998 and has become one of the more interesting teams of the tournament. Its dedicated fans, known as the Tartan Army, brought a party atmosphere to the Boston and Miami areas ahead of their team’s matches.

Scotland hasn’t advanced past the group stage in nine tries.

BOSNIA 3, QATAR 1: In Seattle, Bosnia-Herzegovina eliminated Qatar and boosted its chances of advancing at the World Cup with a victory With the win, the third-place finishing Bosnia-Herzegovina is more than likely to advance to the Round of 32 in the expanded field. The eight best third-place finishers across the 12 groups advance. Should Bosnia-Herzegovina advance to the knockout round, it would mark the first time in national team history at the World Cup.

MOROCCO 4, HAITI 2: In Atlanta, Soufiane Rahimi and Gessime Yassine came off the bench to help Morocco rally past Haiti and erase the Caribbean nation’s hopes of a first point at the World Cup.

Morocco twice came from behind against a team playing at soccer’s biggest tournament for the first time in 52 years. Rahimi’s deflected shot in the 78th minute put Morocco ahead 3-2 and Yassine killed off any chance of an upset with a goal in the 89th.

Morocco advanced to the round of 32 in second place behind Brazil in Group C.

8 p.m. NBA draft First round 1. Washington Wizards, AJ Dybantsa, f, BYU 2. Utah Jazz, Darryn Peterson, g, Kansas 3. Memphis Grizzlies, Cameron Boozer, f, Duke 4. Chicago Bulls, Caleb Wilson, f, North Carolina 5. L.A. Clippers (from Indiana), Keaton Wagler, g , Illinois 6. Brooklyn Nets, Mikel Brown Jr., g, Louisville 7. Sacramento Kings, Darius Acuff Jr., g, Arkansas 8. Atlanta Hawks (from New Orleans), Kingston Flemings, g, Houston 9. Dallas Mavericks, Morez Johnson Jr., f, Michigan 10. Milwaukee Bucks, Brayden Burries, g, Arizona 11. Golden State Warriors, Yaxel Lendeborg, f, Michigan 12. Oklahoma City Thunder (from L.A. Clippers), Aday Mara, c, Michigan 13. a-Miami Heat, Nate Ament, f, Tennessee 14. Charlotte Hornets, Hannes Steinbach, f, Washington 15. Chicago Bulls, (from Portland), Dailyn Swain, g, Texas 16. b-Memphis Grizzlies (from Phoenix via Orlando), Bennett Stirtz, g, Iowa 17. c-Oklahoma City Thunder (from Philadelphia), Ebuka Okorie, g, Stanford 18. Charlotte Hornets (from Orlando via Phoenix), Christian Anderson, g, Texas Tech 19. Toronto Raptors, Allen Graves, f, Santa Clara 20. San Antonio Spurs (from Atlanta), Jayden Quaintance, f, Kentucky 21. d-Detroit Pistons (from Minnesota), Karim López, f, Mexico 22. Philadelphia 76ers (from Houston via Oklahoma City), Labaron Philon Jr., g, Alabama 23. Atlanta Hawks (from Cleveland), Zuby Ejiofor, f, St. John’s 24. e-New York Knicks, Cameron Carr, g, Baylor 25. f-L.A. Lakers, Sergio De Larrea, f, Spain 26. Denver Nuggets, Tarris Reed Jr., c, UConn 27. Boston Celtics, Chris Cenac Jr., f, Houston 28. g-Minnesota Timberwolves (from Detroit), Joshua Jefferson, f, Iowa St. 29. h-Cleveland Cavaliers (from San Antonio via Atlanta), Alex Karaban, f, UConn

Dallas Mavericks (from Oklahoma City via Washington and Philadelphia), Koa Peat, f,

at Washington (Cavalli 4-4), 5:45 p.m. Chicago Cubs (Boyd 2-1) at N.Y. Mets (Peralta 5-6), 6:10 p.m. Arizona (Gallen 3-6) at St. Louis (McGreevy 3-6), 6:45 p.m. Soccer World Cup glance GROUP A GPWDLGFGAPts

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By DARRyL DyCK

Remo Freuler of Switzerland plays the ball in front of Stephen Eustaquio of Canada during their World Cup Group B match on Wednesday in Vancouver British Columbia. Switzerland won 2-1.

Ashortcut to crunchy half-sour pickles

BY BRUCE WEINSTEIN and MARK SCARBROUGH Voracious

Half-sour pickles are crunchy and bright green with adistinct snap and gentle flavor In their cookbook “Cold Canning,” Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough have aguide to making half sourswitha simplerefrigerator ferment. Sterilizing the jar is crucial, and substitutions should be avoided, exceptfor swapping thyme with herbs like dill or cilantro. Use distilledwater to prevent fermentation issues. After preparing the brineand cucumbers in jars, let them sit at room temperature for 12–16 hours, then refrigerate for five–six days before eating The pickles will last for upto three weeks in the fridge. If you know deli lingo, you know that half-sour pickles are crunchy,bright-green pickles, not the duller green of more familiarlong-souredpickles.

This recipe from our cookbook “Cold Canning” is our first refrigerator ferment: There’snovinegar,but we’re using ashortcut method, not standard fermentation, giving the jar alittle bump toward true fermentation at room temperature before squirreling it away in thefridge for upto three weeks (do not freeze).

This way,wedon’tpush the limits of what cold canning can accomplish withpickles. In any event, sterilize the jar and don’tbetempted to make substitutions. Though, for a completely nontraditional take, you can swap out the thyme sprigs for other leafy herbs: tarragon, rosemary, dill, cilantro or parsley

Use only distilled waterfor best results (since the chlorine in tap water or chemicals in well water can haltfermentation.)

Half-Sour Pickles

Makes 7-9 pickles.Recipe is from “Cold Canning” by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough.

1medium garlic clove, peeledand thinly sliced

1teaspoon coriander seeds

1teaspoon yellow mustard seeds

1teaspoon black peppercorns

2dried bayleaves

1¾ pounds (or 7to9)medium Kirby or pickling cucumbers, each fairlythin and about 5inches long

Distilled water for rinsing the cucumbers

2fresh thyme sprigs

4cups distilled water

¼cup kosher salt

1. Put the garlic, coriander mustard seeds, black peppercorns and bay leaves in one clean 2-quart jar or other container.

2. Rinse the cucumbers with distilled water, gently scrubbing them with anew sponge or awad of paper towels (without nicking the skins). Stuff the cucumbers and thyme sprigs into the jar

3. Whisk the 4cups of distilled water and salt in abowl until the salt dissolves. Pour this brine over the cucumbers and aromatics,leaving about ½-inch head space. If the brine does not cover everything, make more in that same ratio by volume to fill the container (Make sure no cucumbersticks out of the brine.)

4. Cover or seal; set aside at room temperature for 12–16 hours.

5. Refrigerate to steep until the cucumbersare crisp and starting to get sour,5–6 days, before enjoying. (The longer the pickles sit in the brine, the saltier and more sour they’ll get.)

OUTDOOR SPECIAL

Liz Williams

TIPOFTHE TONGUE

Summer is theright time for apicnic! With the Fourth of July holiday coming up, and considering how special this 250th anniversary of our nation is,why wouldn’tyou want to celebrate?

Even if you cannot go out for apicnic, you can eat picnic food at home. So Ihave picked some traditional picnic foods, like potato salad, as well as some nontraditional items,like Lemon CreamPie in ajar,sowecan celebrate thepast and look forward to thefuture.

MORE RECIPES

ä Lemon Cream Pie in aJar

ä Oven Barbecued Chicken Strips PAGE 6C

Serves 8.

Potato Salad

8medium redskinned potatoes, unpeeled,quartered and boiled until forktender

1cup mayonnaise ½cup prepared basil pesto or sundriedtomato pesto

4cloves garlic, chopped ¼cup olive oil

5scallions, chopped using white and green parts

1cup fresh basil leaves, chopped ½pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved 1teaspoon salt ½teaspoon pepper ¼cup capers, chopped ½cup pitted black olives, roughly chopped 4hard-boiled eggs, peeled and sliced

1. Place thedrained, cooked potatoes into alarge bowl. In aseparate bowl, mix the mayonnaise, prepared pesto, garlic andolive oil. Mix until uniform and set aside.

The Oven Barbecued Chicken is great cold. This versionis easy to makeand designed for dipping. Cut chicken strips from thebreast or buy already cut chicken fingers, if you prefer breast meat. If you prefer

Apicnic staple, potatosalad can be bland and very mayonnaise-forward. Itried to punch up the flavors abit, while making sure the hunks of potatoare nicesized and comforting. This is not bland potatosalad. Be sure to keep it cold on ice. Youcan make it the daybefore and refrigerate it so it stays cold in acooler

2. Addthe choppedscallions, basil leaves, tomatoes, salt, pepper,capers andolivestothe bowl withthe potatoes. Add the mayonnaise mixture to the bowl. Mix thoroughly with asturdy spoon. Cover until ready to serve Keep the bowl and the eggs chilled.

3. When ready to serve, sprinkle with the sliced eggs. Toss and serve.

BY GRETCHEN McKAY

Liz Williams makes potato salad at home in Chalmette.

Lemon Cream Pie in aJar

Makes 84-ounce jars

Crust

1cup

114ounce can condensed milk (or condensed coconut milk)

2eggs, cracked and whipped with afork

1. Mix the lemon juice, condensed milkand egg together with afork until well combined in amicrowaveable bowl.Heatfor 1 minute in the microwaveon

high. Removefromthe microwave and stir again with the fork. Return the bowl to themicrowave and cook for30seconds. Remove and stir with afork. Cook for 30 more seconds. Set aside to begincooling Assembling the pie in a jar:

1. Thelayers can be added in anyorder that you like. Youmay startwiththe crumb to mimicacrust. Distribute thecrumbsevenly amongthe 8jars. Add a few drops of themelted butter into each jar and stamp down thecrumbs with a muddler or the handle of a wooden spoon.Ilike tostart with the lemonmixture and put thecrumbs on last so

that they stay crispy.This is your dessert. Make it the way you want.

2. The next layerfor me is alwaysthe yogurt. Distributethe yogurtequally among the jars.

3. End withyour choice of layers. If you add the crumbslast, adda fewdrops of meltedbutter for extra flavor.Ifyou endwith the yogurt, youcould garnish with lemon zest or amint leaf. That is up to you.

4. My jarislemon curd on the bottom, yogurtinthe middleand crumbsontop. Youcouldmake 2recipes of this dessert, which is preportioned for thepicnic, and keep theother batch in the fridge for snacks.

Oven Barbecued ChickenStrips

Serves 8.

2½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts or precut chicken strips or boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into strips

Salt and pepper to taste

2tablespoons olive oil

The sauce: (You will need 2batches of this sauce. One for cooking the strips,and one for dipping.Donot use the cooking batch for dipping.)

2cups tomato ketchup

2tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce

3tablespoons brown sugar

¼cup cane syrup

3tablespoons smoked paprika

1tablespoon minced garlic (about 5cloves)

¼cup olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 350F Mix all ingredients together in apot and cook, stirring occasionally,until the mixture begins to bubble around the edge of the pot. Cook, stirring as needed, to incorporatethe sugar andthe syrup.

2. Cover the pot and cook for 5more minutes. Allow to cool.

(Repeat this process for the secondbatch of sauce.Cool and refrigerate the second batch until you are readyto leave for your picnic. Divide

PICNIC

Continued from page5C

thighs, as Ido, buy boneless, skinless thighs and cutthem into strips with a sharp knife. Cook them in the oven, and make enough for two meals. The day that you cook them, serve them for dinner.Use the leftovers for the picnic the next day Whip up lots of sauce for moredipping, making sure each person gets alittle cup of it. The Lemon Cream Pie in ajar is easy to transport,

amongthe eaters fordipping sauceontheir plates.) To prepare thechicken:

1. Salt and pepper the chicken strips. Then use the oliveoil to coat asheet pan.

2. Coat the strips with the prepared sauce by dipping them so that they arewell covered. Lay them out on thesheet pan. Place the pan in the preheated oven for 10 minutes.Remove thesheet panfromthe oven andturn

which is always an important consideration for apicnic.Keepitcold untilyou beginthe meal, thenset out thejars so they aren’t too cold,asthe flavors are best just cool.Havingindividual jars makes serving easy and if you are not keeping the jars, it makes cleanup quick. Don’t forget to pack fruit and extra drinks. If you are having apicnicatabeach or park, you might consider having table linens and glasses. It’sfun and slightly elegant to eat outdoors with real tableware. If youare goingtobe eatingonthe ground, or not able to easily drag things

Buffalo Chickpea Wraps

the strips. Brush the turned strips withmore sauce.

3. Return the strips to the oven for another 10 to 15 minutes. Do not overcook.

4. Place the cooked strips into acontainertocarry to thepicnic site andserve when ready. Give everyone adollop of sauce for dipping from your secondbatch of sauce. Be prepared withpaper towels or wipes.This is messy but worthit!

around with you, paper or other disposable goods can make the meal run smoothly Youshould takeall of this into consideration as you plan. Anddon’tforget bottle openers, condiments and clean up wipes for hands and faces. Happy birthday, America!

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

Makes 4wraps. If using cannedchickpeas,besuretorinse and drain themtoremove excess starch before addingtothe hotsauce.Recipe is adapted from “Weeknight Vegetarian” by Joe Woodhouse. FOR SAUCE:

1⁄3 cup tahini Finely grated zest and juice of 1lemon Salt, to taste

2½ ounces cold water FOR WRAPS:

2(15-ounce) cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained

4tablespoons hot sauce, such as Texas Pete or Frank’sRed Hot, plus more forgarnish

1clove garlic, finely minced

1celerystick, finely chopped

1small red onion or 2green onions, finely sliced or chopped

2tablespoons chopped cilantro

4(10-inch) flour tortillas

1cup (4 ounces) blue cheese, crumbled

2⁄3 cup (3½ ounces) cherry tomatoes, quartered Babygem or romainelettuce, shredded Neutral oil, for cooking

CHICKPEA

Continued from page5C

Woodhouse’slatest cookbook, “Weeknight Vegetarian: Easy VegetableRecipes for Lunch &Dinner” (Kyle Books, $30), is abetter-foryou vegetarian spin on the dish. It’smade with chickpeas instead of chopped chicken, cream cheeseand shredded cheddar Arich source of protein,

Cleanshowers with ease

easy gliding.

Dear Heloise: The easiest way to clean ashower is with asqueegee. They come in different widths, and it only takes a minutetorun the squeegee over the door when you’re finished showering. Ialso use them to washwindows, which makes this taskasnap. —MaraT., in Alexandria Ideasfor theelderly

1. Whisktahiniwith lemon zest and juice and agood pinch of salt. Add enough of the measured water to loosen themixture and form asauce; fluid but notrunny is thekey

2. Toss drained chickpeas in amixing bowl with hot sauce and garlic, gently crushingafew chickpeas to help the mixture cometogether.Stir in celery,onion and cilantro. Tasteand adjustseasoning.

3. Gently warm flatbreads in adry fryingpan to make themsoftand malleable. Youalso can warm them by laying them on atoaster; just be careful they don’t catch fire

chickpeas (legumes) are also cholesterol-free and full of soluble fiber.They’re also aheck of alot cheaper than chicken: a15-ounce can often costs less than $1 andserves two people. Included in the “AssemblyJobs (mostly)” section of Woodhouse’sbook,this recipe requires minimal cookingtomaximumeffect. If you know yourway aroundafrying pan and can chop astalk of celery you’regolden.

4. Spread tahinisauce on flatbreads.Pile the chickpea mixture in thecenter and add cheese, tomatoes and lettuce.

5. With thewrap in front of you, foldupthe edge closest to you. Turn and fold the next section into themiddle and continue until you have aneat pentagon.

6. Brush atiny bit of oil over afrying pan andtoast the wraps on each side, starting with the seam side,untilgoldenand crisp (it will help seal thewrap) Go slowly,asyou want the cheese to meltand the filling to be warmed through.

7. Enjoy with extra hot sauce if you like.

Iused10-inch flour tortillasand Texas Petehot sauce, but any brand of hot saucewill work. If you’re not sure of your heat tolerance, add slowly and taste as you go. While atraditional Buffalo chicken dish doesn’t include cilantro, Iadded a couple of tablespoons for an extra popofcolor and flavor Trying to stay glutenfree? The filling could also be used to add alittle plantbased protein toatossed salad.

Dear Heloise: Here are somethings that I’ve learned from taking care of my disabled spouse: n Attach tennis balls to thefeet of walkers for

By The Associated Press

Today is Thursday, June 25, the 176th day of 2026. There are 189 days left in the year

Todayinhistory: On June 25, 1950, war broke out in Korea as forces from the communist North invaded the South. The conflict would last for over three years and would bring about an estimated 4 million deaths, three-quartersofthem civilians.

Also on this date:

In 1876, theBattle of the Little Bighorn, also known as Custer’sLastStand, began in theMontana Territory.Asmanyas100 NativeAmericans were killed in the battle, as were 268 people attached tothe 7th Cavalry Regiment, including George Armstrong Custer and Mark Kellogg, thefirst Associated Press reporter todie in theline of duty

In 1938, theFair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which set aminimum wage, guaranteed overtime pay and banned “oppressive child labor,” was signed into law by

n If someone has vision problems, attach asmall piece of contrasting tape to the top of one of their shoes and tell them which side of the shoe it always goes on so that they can put their shoes on correctly n As an alternative to traditional giftgiving, maybe gifts of the following would really be appreciated: postage stamps, an assortment of greeting cards, asubscription to their local newspaper or favorite magazine, ashopping trip, or abasket of basic grocery itemsthat they use regularly n Offertotakethemshopping,dotheir shopping, andhaul theirgroceries in forthem. Offertohelp them withlawn mowing, snow removal in thewinter, leaf raking, or just plainol’ chores that they can no longerdothemselves. n Check on your elderly/ disabledloved onebycalling or,better yet, visiting them (even if it’s just fora short time) —A Reader,via email Reader,these are some wonderful ideas. Thank you forwriting in! —Heloise Sendahinttoheloise@ heloise.com.

TODAYINHISTORY

President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

In 1947, “The Diary of a Young Girl,” the personal journal of Anne Frank, a German-born Jewish girl whohid with her family from the Nazis in Amsterdam during World WarII, wasfirst published.

In 1973, former White House Counsel John Dean began testifying before the Senate Watergate Committee, implicating top administration officials, including President Richard Nixon as well as himself,in the Watergate scandal and cover-up.

In 1990, the U.S. SupremeCourt, in Cruzan v. Director,Missouri Department of Health, its first “right-to-die” decision, ruled 5-4 that family members could be barred from ending the lives of persistently comatose relatives whohad not made their wishes knownconclusively

In 1996, atruck bomb killed 19 Americans and injured hundreds at aU.S. military housing complex in Saudi Arabia. In 2015, in the case of

King v. Burwell, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld nationwide tax subsidies under President Barack Obama’shealth care overhaul in a6-3 ruling that preserved health insurance for millions of Americans. In 2021, aWhite former Minneapolis police officer,Derek Chauvin, was sentenced to 221/2 years in prison forthe murder of George Floyd, aBlack man whose death led to some of the biggest protests against racial injustice in the U.S. in generations. Today’sbirthdays: Civil rights activist

Hints from Heloise

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

Oven barbecued chicken strips

CANCER (June 21-July 22) You may have to step outside your comfort zone when dealing with associates or authority figures. Listen carefully and respond honestly to ensure you understand what others want from you.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) An open mind and heart will redefine who you are and what you share. Volunteering, donating and reaching out with compassion will have an infectious effect on those you encounter.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Don't let what others do stop you from pursuing what matters to you. What you do to make a difference to yourself, your community or a cause you feel passionate about will give you hope for a better future.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Size up situations before you indulge in rhetoric that can cost you. Discipline and ingenuity are necessary if you want to navigate your way through a stormy situation.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Size up and sort through differences. How you engage in talks and work alongside others will determine how far you get. By choosing intellect over a force play, you'll gain respect.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec 21) Have faith in yourself and your resources. Focus on fixing up your space. A work-related opportunity will enhance your earning potential. Choose what makes you feel comfortable.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Reach out to experts and get the lowdown on what you can do to contribute to something

purposeful. Walk away from people and situations that are dishonest or cause despair.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Personal improvements show promising results. Engage in fixing up your life and surroundings, and the rewards will shine through in how you treat yourself and others moving forward.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Money and emotions won't gel. Avoid scams and purchases making unreasonable claims. Paymoreattentiontorunningyourhome efficiently and putting money aside for something special.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) You'll be tempted to exaggerate. Stick to the truth or be ready to explain your assumptions. Don't try to change others when your efforts will offer better results if you focus on self-improvement.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Note your feelingsbeforeyouengageinsomethingthat puts your well-being at risk. A change to your living arrangements will help you sort through any differences you have with associates or family members.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) You'll be quick to respond. Choose your words wisely, and take the time to process the information you receive prior to blurting out what you think. Your best returns will come from what you learn.

The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact. © 2026 by NEA, Inc., dist.

By Andrews McMeel Syndication

Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, past and present. Each letter in the cipher stands for another.

TODAy'S CLUE: B EQUALS H

CeLebrItY CIpher For better or For WorSe

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM SherMAn’S LAGoon

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers1 to 9inthe empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. Thedifficulty level of the Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

Yesterday’s PuzzleAnswer

THe wiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

BY PHILLIP ALDER

Professor Shlomo Benartzi, an expert on various types of behavioral finance, said, “Self-control is not a problem in the future. It’s only a problem now when the chocolates are next to us.” Keeping the trump suit under control is often a problem of what to do now, at this trick. Today’s deal would trip the unwary or the perennially optimistic. How should South play in four spades after West leads the heart six?

East opened with a textbook vulnerable weak two-bid, promising a good six-card suit and 6-10 high-card points. South made a takeout double, and North cue-bid to indicate at least 12 high-card points. South started showing four-card suits in ascending order, and North raised to game in spades. South has two losers in the red suits, so at first glance needs to find spades 3-2. However, on closer inspection, declarer will notice that he can discard dummy’s heart losers on his club winners. Without further thought, but perhaps after eating an orange cream or two, South would win with dummy’s heart ace, cash the two top trumps (getting the bad news), and take his three clubs, discarding dummy’s hearts. However, whenhenextplaysadiamond,Westwins with his ace, draws trumps, and leads a heart, resulting in down four.

Often, when you must make use of a side suit, it is right to play on that suit first. Here, declarer should win the first trick, draw one round of trumps, take his heart discards on the clubs, and play a diamond. Everything is then under con-

loCKhorNs

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

Tech pulls down stocks as day ends mixed

NEWYORK Stocks wavered to a mixed closeWednesday on Wall Street as technology stocks once again weighed down the market. Declines for several influential tech heavyweightspulled the broader market lower even though most stocks in theS&P 500 gained ground. That was also thecaseonTuesday,when techstockspulled the market lower despite broader gains elsewhere.

A2.3% drop in Microsoftwas the heaviest weight on themarket. Oracle slumped 4.6%.

Many large tech companies have been behind Wall Street’s record-setting runthroughout theyear,but analysts have warned their valuationsmay have become stretched.

Google’sparent company Alphabet slipped 0.2%. The company is replacing Verizon in the Dow on Monday. The company’s inclusion in the S&P 500 means more to investors, however,because 401(k) accounts are much more likely to include an S&P 500 index fund than anything tied to the Dow Alphabet will become thefifth

Magnificent 7company to join the Dow.The others are Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and Nvidia

Suit says AI colludesto raise Calif.fuelprices

AI-powered software has allowedgas station operators across California to illegally collude and drive up prices at the pump, according to afederal lawsuit.

The proposed class action lawsuit, filed Monday,accuses gasstationgiants including Marathon and Circle Kof violating California’santitrust law through Kalibrate, afuelpricing software system used across the world. The plaintiffs describe Kalibrate as the “centralnervous system for a conspiracy to extinguish retail price competition among gas stations.”

According to the lawsuit, Kalibrate helps “coordinate high prices” and evendiscourages itsusers from pricingtheir gas lower than competitors,saying that doing so would triggera “downward spiral.”

“Kalibrate promises that if gas stations surrender their pricing decisions and competitively sensitive cost and volume datatoKalibrate Fuel Pricing, thesoftware will enablethemto avoidcompeting with other area stations and to charge higher prices to consumers,” thelawsuit said.

Concern over algorithmic pricing prompted Democratic California Gov.Gavin Newsom lastyear to sign abill saying that state antitrust law applies to pricing algorithms, helping to pave the wayfor thisweek’s lawsuit.

Alibaba sues the U.S. Defense Department

WASHINGTON The Chinese tech giant Alibaba has suedthe U.S.Department of Defense, demanding that it be removed fromthe Pentagon’slist of Chinese military companies that prohibits them from landing U.S.defense contracts and carries reputational damage

In the petition filed thisweek in the San Jose division of the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California, Alibaba, whichispublicly traded on theNew York Stock Exchange, argued that the designation, announced on June 8, has “no basis in fact or law” and that the Pentagonfailedtoreach its conclusion through any fair process.

In 2021, with some in Washington seeing Chinaasagrowing military threat, Congress asked the department to create alist of Chinese companies directly controlled by the Chinese military and security forces, as wellasthose it believed had contributed to thecountry’s defense industrial base.

The current list includes 188 entities ranging from stateowned defense businesses, to private-sector tech companies like Alibaba and the robotics company Unitree.

THEADVOCATE.COM/news/business

BY MATTHEW DALY Associated Press

WASHINGTON The Trump administration on Wednesday reached amulti-state settlement with chemical giant Chemours Co. over years-long, illegal discharges of synthetic “forever chemicals used to make products resistantto water,grease and stains. The settlementisthe first by the federal government to resolve enforcement claims against amanufacturer of harmful chemicals known as PFAS. Under the agreement, filedin federal court in West Virginia,

Chemours will paya civil penalty of $22.5 millionfor alleged violations and spend $90 million over 15 yearstomitigatePFAS discharges in three states:West Virginia, North Carolina and New Jersey Chemours, aspin-off of chemical maker DuPont, also agreedto install PFAS pollution controls for and surface water discharges and air emissions at aWest Virginia facilityatanestimated cost of $60 million, supply clean drinking water to communities near itsWest Virginia andNew Jersey sites at an estimated cost of $280 million; and implement controls to reduce releases of PFAS and other toxic chemicals from its facility in North Carolina, based on apending independent assessment.

Combined,the penalties and relief programs are estimated to cost at least $450 million, the Justice Department said.

The settlement allows Chemours to continue manufacturing PFAS forcommercialand military applications while preventing future contamination and protecting communitiesfromexisting pollution, said AdamGustafson,principal deputy assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural ResourcesDivision.

“The Trump administration recognizes the important role of Chemours foritcommercial and militaryobligations,” Gustafson saidinaninterview

“The settlement protects public health while preserving that importantbalance.”

The agreement will greatly reducePFAScontaminationofwater, land andair andeven begin to mitigate past harm, Hall said.

“This settlement brings Chemours into compliance with the law and holds it fully accountable,” he said.

In astatement Wednesday,Chemours said it has already begun planning and implementing operational improvements at its facilities and will take steps to mitigate future emissions andenhance existing programs.

The settlement comes as the Trump administration is expected to propose softening Biden-era limitson“forever chemicals” in drinking water,while delaying but keeping tough standards for two common typesofthe substance.

BY CAROLINE PETROW-COHEN Los Angeles Times (TNS)

The electric vehiclecompanySlate Auto set out in 2022 to make the most affordable electrictruck in the country.This week, it unveiled the price tag: $24,950.

At atime when demand for new electric vehicles is coolingand cars are getting harder to afford, Slate’scustomizable truck couldbringafreshwaveofexcitementto theindustry Deliverieswill begin later this year and accelerate in 2027, the company said. Slate’s vehicle is built around asimple concept payonly forwhat you actually want.

Buyers will start withabasic truck without powerwindows or even paint and can then customizeithowever theylike. They can tailor-make their “blankslate” by paying extra for smart phone-compatible screens, speakers, colored wrap or paint.A$5,000 kit even converts the truck into an SUV Slate’sdesignteam is based in LosAngeles County and recently moved into anew space in Carson,California, which employs about 50 workers. The company’sheadquarters are in Troy,Michigan,and itsvehicles will be produced in Warsaw,Indiana.

Squeezing outasmuchcostaspossible whilemakingitaseasyasLegos to snap on different options has required complex engineering,whichiswhy the company decided to set up its design studio in Southern California. The region is full of experts.

“Slate has done something smart,”said autoindustryanalystBrianMoody.“Their EV isn’tonly about price, there’s also a strong personalization element. In Southern California, theboxy,retro look will earn it a lot of attention.”

Thecompanyisbuilding amarketplace of accessories for customers to choosefrom, including 54 basic wrapsthatcost less than $500 each.Incontrast, apaint jobona car can cost thousands of dollars. The marketplacealso offers roof stacks,zip-on seat coversand stereos.

Forjustunder$30,000 total, customers can getabasic SUV in afastback or squareback style. Whether it’s configured as atruckor SUV,the EV will have an estimated range of 205 miles and will be compatible with Tesla chargers.

“This is thefirst time in automotive history that consumers aregoing to get to choose,” said Slate Chief Executive Peter Faricy,who

BY BENFINLEY Associated Press

WASHINGTON—

AU.S. official told The Associated Press on Tuesday that one of Anthropic’sartificial intelligence models hadidentified vulnerabilities in highly sensitive and secure U.S. governmentcomputersystems during atesting exercise.

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss thematter,said Anthropic had teamedupwith U.S. intelligence agencies to conduct tests using the company’sMythos model. It hadidentified certain vulnerabilities within hours, but that does not meanthe modelwas able to exploit

joined thecompany in March after 13 years with Amazon.

“It started with design, then engineering, andeventually manufacturing, andwe figured out innovations in all three of those phasesthatmakethe vehicle less expensive,”hesaid. Forexample, Slate vehicles were designed from thebeginning to be wrapped instead of painted. The company will offer more than 100 colors of wrap at itslaunch, or customers can choose acustom color Slatedid not disclose financial information or howmuchthe vehicles costtoproduce. However,Faricy said thecompany will generate apositive gross margin on its vehicles, meaning they areselling for morethan what they cost to make.

“Whether Slatesucceeds or fails, it has already influenced the conversation forcing theindustry to ask whyaffordable vehicles have becomesorare,” said Jesse Toprak, an industry analyst and founder of OptiCar.ai “They are betting on making higher profit marginsonthe accessoriesand do-it-yourself angle.”

Slate says it hasalready received more than 180,000 reservations. The earlier acustomer placed theirreservation,the sooner they’ll get their vehicle. Pre-orders opened Wednesday for $300, or $250 if the customer has already paid a$50 reservation fee. Despite thehype,Slateisstill astartup

that has yet to prove itself in the market. The companyhas about750 employees and has raised more than $700 millionfrom Amazon’sJeff Bezos and others.

“For thevehicle itself, theconcept is brilliant,” Toprak said. “I think theexecution risk is enormous.”

The EV industry has been under fire from the Trumpadministration, whichhas removed incentives for ownership and cleancar goals.

Major automakers including Ford and Stellantis have paredback their EV offerings, and other startups have struggled to turn a profit.

The Irvine,California-based EV company Rivian, which hasn’treached profitability sinceits founding in 2009, recentlylaidoff hundreds of workers. It launched itshighly anticipated R2 SUV earlier this month, which will eventually be available forless than $45,000.

Lucid, theluxuryelectricvehicle maker based in Newark,California,announced this week that it’sreducing its workforce by 18%. The cuts come just months after it laid off 319 Bay Area employees in February Faricy,Slate’schief executive, saidthe company’svehicle will appeal to awide range of customers.

“There will be alot of people thatare attracted to the affordability but have never had an EV before,” he said.

themwithin thattime, the official said.

Theofficial said thetestingwas done through an Anthropic initiative called Project Glasswing, which brought together tech giants and other companies in hopes of securing the world’scritical software from“severe”fallout that the Mythosmodel could pose to public safety,national security and the economy

Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia had briefly mentioned the testing during aJune 11 hearingbefore the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Warner had said, “This tool broke into almost allofour classified systems, not in weeks but in hours.” He attributed the information to the head of the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command,

who is Gen. Joshua Rudd. The NSA declinedtocomment on the matter in an email. An Anthropic spokesman also declinedto comment.

Despitethe recent cooperation between Anthropic and U.S. agencies to test forvulnerabilities, tensions betweenthe California companyand the Trump administration have been growing. Anthropic hasraisedconcerns over howthe U.S. military would use its AI, while the administration hasrestrictedthe use of some of Anthropic’s models. The administration issued adirective earlier this month requiring Anthropic to prevent foreign nationals from using its latest artificial intelligence models, known as Fable 5and Mythos 5. Anthropic released Fable widely earlierthis month

That model is alimited version of the more advanced Mythos, to which the company has tightly limited access duetocybersecurity fears. The directive came10days after PresidentDonaldTrump signed an executive order to establisha framework forthe federalgovernment to vetthe national security risks of the mostadvanced AI systems for up to amonth before their public release. Participation by AI developers would be voluntary,the order said. Anthropic said it disabledthe models for all of its customers to comply withthe administration’s directive.

The AI giant said it did not believe the steps taken by the government were warranted by the concern it flagged about apotential security issue.