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MURRILLINDICTED

AttorneyGeneralLiz Murrill answers questions ata news conference on Wednesday

BY JAMES FINN and SAM KARLIN Staff writers

BY KEITH SPERA Staff writer

TheEssence Festival of Culturedates to 1995. But it seems as if Essence must prove itself all over again in what is shaping up to be apivotal year for the cornerstone event of New Orleans’ otherwise slow summer tourism season.

ANew Orleans grand jury returned a16-countfelony indictment Thursday against Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, charging her withmalfeasance and intimidation, adding criminal allegations to an already-raging legal and political battle between the Republican state official and Democratic local leaders.

ä Chaos erupts in courtas Murrill is indicted. PAGE 10A

Thegrand jury handed up theindictment at New Orleans’criminal courthouse aftermeeting for weeks to weigh bringingcriminal charges against Murrill. The attorney general faces eight countsofmalfeasance and another eightcounts of intimidation.

Special prosecutor Laurie White announces the indictment of AttorneyGeneral Liz Murrill outside the Orleans Parish Criminal District Courtbuilding on Thursday.

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

The festival’sseven-year contract withthe city endsinSeptember,and Essence officials have asked localand state ofﬁcials formillions of dollars in subsidies to keep the event in NewOrleans.

MayorHelena Moreno expressed concerns in March before creating asteering committee to try to avoid arepeat of 2025’sfan frustrations over late-running concerts, lack of communication and aconfusing “superlounge” revival.

Some fans arealreadyquestioning producers’ approach to this weekend’sfestival.

On Thursday,aday before the CaesarsSuperdomeopens forthree nights of concerts running Friday through Sunday,Essence had not revealed performance times.

Aweek earlier, Essence moved twomajor acts from onenight to another andaddedtwo more major acts.

Thelast-minute changes and announcements are part of an effort to presentthe best possible show,according to Kirk McDonald, the CEO of EssenceFestparentcompanySundialMedia & Technology Group.

“It’s really drivenbycreativity andcuration more than anything else,” McDonald said

ä See MURRILL, page 6A

Former Judge LaurieWhite,appointed as aspecial prosecutor in the case, confirmed thecharges against Murrill in anews briefing outside thecourthouse. OrleansCriminal District Judge Leon Roche issued a warrant for Murrill’sarrest,setting bailat$400,000. The grandjurors reviewed evidence about whetherthe state attorneygeneralsought to intimidate local New Orleans public officials, includingMayor Helena Moreno and District Attorney Jason Williams, White confirmed. Murrill told the officials in Maythattheyhad imperiledtheir jobs by pushing back on anew lawtocombine the city’s criminal anddistrict clerks of court. White wastapped to handle the probe after Williams, who was involved in thecityleaders’dispute with Murrill at several turns, recused himself. Aformer Orleans Criminal Court

“Louisiana looked at this as aprime opportunity to showcase theLouisiana that people don’tknow.”

RACHEL SHIELDS,chief engagement officer for Louisiana Economic Development

Ashowcase forthe state

Beads, rice andgo-cups part of Louisiana’s tent at Washington’s GreatAmericanState Fair

BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer

WASHINGTON— At thecenter of the nation’s 250thbirthdaycelebration, the Great American State Fair on the National Mall has endured several rocky days

—including about 10 states notshowing up —but that’sgoing largely unnoticed at Louisiana’sexhibit

“It’sinterestingbecause Louisiana looked at this as aprime opportunity to showcase theLouisi-

ana that peopledon’t know,” said Rachel Shields, the chief engagement officer for Louisiana Economic Development, which is in chargeofthe state’spavilion. Between handing out Mardi Gras beads and bags ofLouisiana rice, the state is using itsspot in the festivities to show off all the economic development opportunities in the state.

“Wewould hopethat every state in the union would take advantage of that opportunity.It’skind of a

once-in-a-lifetimedeal,”Shields said.

Gov.Jeff Landry visited the Louisianaexhibition on Tuesday, including ﬁlming asegmentwith FoxNews on the grounds

“Looking forward toagreat celebration of American exceptionalism all week long,” he wrote on X, before dropping by Described by President Donald Trump as “a giantpatriotic festival” at the June 24 opening, crowds have been sparser thanatsimilar events on the National Mall. Visitors who came over theweekend had to hunker down when aviolent thunderstorm passed.

ä See SHOWCASE, page 10A

STAFF PHOTO By ENAN CHEDIAK

Patricia Thomas, left,and Staci Pamphlet-Gill, friendswho traveled from Mississippi to attend the EssenceFestival,walkbyanadvertisement forthe festivalonPoydras Street on Thursday.

STAFF PHOTO By MARK BALLARD

Rachel Shields, the chief engagement officer forLouisiana Economic Development, stands in the state’spavilion at the Great American State Fair on the National Malllast week.

STAFF PHOTO By JOHN BALLANCE

BRIEFS FROM WIRE REPORTS

Olympian indicted over alleged vandalism

WASHINGTON A former Olympian was indicted Thursday on a felony charge in what President Donald Trump has called vandalism of the Lincoln Memorial Reﬂecting Pool, where a renovation project he launched has been riddled with problems.

David Hearn, a former Olympic canoe racer, was indicted on a single count of property destruction in Washington, D.C., court.

District of Columbia U.S Attorney Jeanine Pirro said Hearn ripped up recently installed sealant on the pool in “a deliberate act” that caused more than $1,000 in damage. She accused him of “forcefully and violently” pulling up the bottom liner “with both hands” and acting belligerently toward an employee who told him to stop.

“This is a case with tremendous evidence,” she said, adding that authorities have made about six other misdemeanor arrests.

In a statement, Democracy Defenders Fund co-founder Norm Eisen and Mary Dohrmann, senior counsel at Washington Litigation Group, said that they represented Hearn and that the charges were “outrageous and should be alarming to every American.” Eisen and Dohrmann construed the case as representative of “the misuse of government power against an ordinary citizen based on a concocted narrative.” Hearn didn’t immediately return a phone call seeking comment. He previously told The Associated Press that he reached into the pool on June 19 to examine the newly peeled coating. He said he brieﬂy touched a chunk that was still attached to the side of the pool, then let go shortly after a park worker told him to.

Last-minute problem

delays satellite rescue CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A rush rescue mission to save a NASA space telescope remains grounded, this time because of a last-minute launch problem

Northrop Grumman’s rocketlaunching plane took off from the Marshall Islands in the Pacific on Thursday, following weather delays all week. While in flight, the team observed a warning in the stream of data and decided against releasing the Pegasus rocket strapped to the plane’s belly, the company said. It was not immediately clear whether the warning came from the rocket or the plane.

The rocket holds a threearmed robotic spacecraft built by Katalyst Space Technologies to capture the Swift Observatory, which will come crashing down by October if no help arrives. No new launch date has been set. NASA paused Swift’s science operations earlier this year to preserve its orbit as long as possible. It has detected thousands of gamma ray bursts and exploding stars since its launch in 2004, tipping off other telescopes for more detailed observations.

Anxious to continue Swift’s scanning of the universe, the space agency hired Katalyst Space last September for the $30 million salvage operation

U.N.: Widespread peace deal violations in Congo

DAKAR, Senegal All parties in eastern Congo’s worsening conflict are violating peace terms and committing abuses, U.N. experts said in a report seen by The Associated Press Thursday The Congolese army and the M23 rebel group, along with its Rwandan backers have failed to implement a December peace agreement initiated by the Trump administration that aimed to end the decades-long conflict, the experts said They said that the Congolese army continued to cooperate with a Hutu rebel group, known by its acronym FDLR, which includes fighters who participated in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and escaped to Congo. The government in Kinshasa had promised to cease cooperation as part of the December agreement. Rwanda has repeatedly sent troops and backed armed groups in eastern Congo, saying it was acting to neutralize Hutu fighters and protect its security Congo and the U.S. government have accused Rwanda of using the rebels as a pretext to gain access to the region’s mineral wealth.

Drug proposal could save $1.1B

Administration presents new rule for Medicare patients

BY JOSH BOAK Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is proposing a new rule on Thursday to keep hospitals from charging markups on discounted drugs for Medicare patients and says that could save consumers $1.1 billion next year, according to estimates obtained by The Associated Press.

The rule would apply to hospitals that serve low-income patients under what is known as the 340B program, which lets hospitals buy outpatient prescription drugs at discounted prices. But in many cases, hospitals can bill insurers at rates that exceed those costs, allowing hospitals to keep the difference and resulting in higher costs to patients.

Under the proposed rule, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services would change the for-

mula for what hospitals participating in the program can get reimbursed, in an effort to cut costs for patients.

The Republican administration has sought to show during an election year that it is tackling the challenges of affordability for U.S. families at a time when rising healthcare costs are driving ﬁnancial strains for households and the government alike. While the administration has taken several steps it says will save money on medical treatment, it is unclear how much savings might ultimately materialize based on the complexity of the country’s healthcare system

The American Hospital Association said the proposed rule would compound the ﬁnancial pressures its members face.

“These proposals will undermine the ability of hospitals to maintain essential services and protect af-

fordable access to care for those who depend on the 340B program,” said Ashley Thompson, the group’s senior vice president for public policy analysis and development.

There is the risk that hospital systems could see their revenues decrease, which could have consequences in the communities they serve. The 340B program was initially designed as a way for healthcare providers to stretch scarce federal resources to better serve more patients. But it has long been at the center of a lobbying battle between hospitals and pharmaceutical companies, with each side attempting to enlist lawmakers in maintaining or changing the beneﬁt.

The agency estimates that the average older adult with Medicare Part B coverage who is administered one of these drugs would save $800 a year in co-payments. That would work out to a total sav-

Explosive device goes off in cafe in Syria’s capital

No group immediately claimed responsibility for attack that killed at least 9

BY GHAITH ALSAYED Associated Press

DAMASCUS Syria An explosive device

was detonated Thursday in a cafe in the Syrian capital of Damascus, killing at least nine people, Syria’s Health Ministry said.

The explosion near the main courthouse complex left 20 others wounded, the ministry said as reported by Syria’s state-run Al-Ikhbariya network.

No group immediately claimed responsibility Security forces rushed to the cafe and cordoned off the area as they investigate the attack

The Interior Ministry is set to announce its initial ﬁndings soon, said Damascus Gov Maher Idlibi. Idlibi said the device appeared “primitive” and vowed that the perpetrators will be held to account

A video circulating on social media showed several wounded people lying on the ground, with police ofﬁcers nearby Ambulances later rushed to the scene treating people on site and taking the more severely wounded to hospitals in the Syrian capital. The cafe was frequented by

lawyers who worked in the neighborhood.

Jalal Aljanani, who owns a restaurant next door, ran toward the cafe when he heard the explosion and was horriﬁed by the sight of the bodies on the ﬂoor

“We carried the victims to the cars until the trafﬁc police arrived,” he told The Associated Press, his shirt covered in blood. “Many of them had suffered severe impact injuries, and almost all of them were bleeding.”

Since overthrowing the Assad dynasty and taking power in a lightning insurgency in December 2024, Syria’s new rulers have cracked down on militants from the extremist Islamic State group in an attempt to thwart attacks in and around the capital.

During the uprising-turned war in Syria that began in 2011, Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa led the Hayat Tahrir al Sham group, formerly afﬁliated with al-Qaida, but since coming to power has vowed to protect Syrians of all backgrounds, especially religious and ethnic minorities.

Al-Sharaa has reasserted the government’s full authority across the vast majority of the country, wresting control back from extremist groups or Kurdishled forces. However he still contends with security concerns as he tries to stabilize the country

Carney says northern British Columbia tanker ban will stay

Canada pursues pipeline from Alberta to Pacific Coast

BY ROB GILLIES Associated Press

TORONTO Canadian Prime Minister

Mark Carney said Thursday that a proposed pipeline to carry Alberta oil to the Paciﬁc Coast would preserve a longstanding ban on oil tankers off northern British Columbia, as his government addresses environmental concerns and seeks to ease separatist tensions in oil-rich Alberta.

Carney’s government has made expanding pipeline capacity to the Paciﬁc a priority as it seeks to diversify Canada’s oil exports beyond the U.S. market while responding to long-standing complaints in Alberta that his predecessor hindered the province’s energy industry and fueled separatist sentiment.

Alberta is holding a public vote in the fall on whether to hold a referendum on leav-

ing Canada. Getting a pipeline built would alleviate some separatist sentiment.

British Columbia and some First Nations are against a pipeline through northern British Columbia.

“The tanker ban will remain in place. We will be protecting the northern coast of British Columbia,” Carney said.

Carney also said Thursday he will compensate British Columbia for environmental risks if a pipeline is built in the southern part of the province.

A previous memorandum of understanding Ottawa and Alberta included an adjustment of an oil tanker ban off parts of the British Columbia coast, but British Columbia Premier David Eby also said Thursday he secured a commitment to keep the northern tanker ban in place, protecting the province’s pristine northern coast Carney has set a goal for Canada to double its non-U.S. exports in the next decade and has said a pipeline can reduce the price discount on current oil sales to U.S. markets.

ings of $1.1 billion for everyone with that coverage. The savings over 10 years could total about $20 billion, according to a White House official who requested anonymity to discuss the rule before the official announcement. The official said the proposed rule was not previewed for hospital groups before the release. In a policy draft of the rule, the administration gave a specific example of how the current system works for the prostate cancer drug Lupron Depot. Hospitals under the 340B program can acquire a dose for roughly $700, but they can receive about $4,000 in Medicare reimbursement for administering it and an additional $1,000 from the patient co-payment. The proposed rule would cut by roughly 40% that amount that hospitals in the discounted drug program could be paid through Medicare programs. If approved, the rule would go into effect at the start of next year

ICE arrests spike, 10,000 arrested in 5 days in June

BY REBECCA SANTANA Associated Press

WASHINGTON Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 10,000 people over a ﬁve-day period at the end of June, marking a major push by the agency tasked with carrying out the Trump administration’s mass deportations agenda. The arrest numbers, obtained from a person familiar with the information who spoke anonymously to discuss data that has not been publicly released, comes after the agency shifted its approach from high-proﬁle arrest sweeps in major American cities to quieter ways to reach President Donald Trump’s deportation goals.

The ﬁgures indicate that while the administration is no longer cracking down on individual cities, the arrests continue and are surging.

The total number of arrests during the five-day period starting Friday and

ending Tuesday translates into roughly 2,000 arrests per day. It was not clear where the arrests had taken place. The spike in arrests was ﬁrst reported by The New York Times.

“Since Day One, DHS law enforcement has been delivering on President Trump’s promise to the American people to arrest and deport criminal illegal aliens including murderers, rapists, pedophiles, gang members, and terrorists,” said the Department of Homeland Security in a statement. “Our message is clear: if you come to our country illegally, we will ﬁnd you, we will arrest you, and we will deport you.” The arrests news also comes as the number of people entered into ICE detention facilities climbed in June to roughly 39,000 after hovering around 30,000 per month since February, according to information obtained by The Associated Press.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By GHAITH ALSAyED

Syrian security inspects the site after an explosive device was detonated in a cafe near the main courthouse complex, in Damascus, Syria, on Thursday

Teamsin Venezuelacling to hope aftermiraculousrescue

Emergencyworkers celebraterescueof security guard

BY REGINA GARCIA CANO,MEGAN JANETSKY andFERNANDAPESCE Associated Press

CATIA LA MAR,Venezuela The stench of decomposing bodies hung heavy over streets of ﬂattened buildings Thursday as rescue missionsto

ﬁnd survivors of Venezuela’sdevastating earthquakes increasingly turned to the recovery of corpses.

Desperate for good news, Venezuelan and international emergency workers celebrated the nearmiraculous rescue of a43-year-old security guard found alive after almost eight days under the rubble.

National broadcasters reran footage all day of the exuberant moment he waspried free from thecollapsed mall andliftedonto astretcher as crowds, including rescuersfrom10countries, embraced one another and cheered.

Trapped in an air pocket beneath the concrete, Hernán Alberto Gil Flores survived on the food and water that rescuers managed to pass him through the crevices. But elsewhere across thehardest-hit state of La Guaira, where thousands remain missing, an air of hopelessness was settingin. The port city of Catia La Mar teemed with ofﬁcials carryingbodybags and stacking caskets.

The government of actingPresident Delcy Rodríguez, whose response to the earthquake has been widely criticized as slow and disorganized, has counted at least 2,295 people killed by the earthquake and more than 11,000 injured With thousands sleeping in crowded shelters or outside, doctors have voiced concern that the fallout could pave the way for awidening medical crisis of untreated injuries and infectiousdiseases in ahealthcare system already on the brink.

Uncertaintyoverleadership

Faced with complaints thatforeign crews and civilians have shoulderedmost of the rescue ef-

ASSOCIATED

Rescue workerssorthumanitarian aid for earthquakesurvivors in La Guaira, Venezuela, on Thursday

forts, Rodríguezsought to defend the government response aday before theextension of her180daymandate as acting leader was set to expire. Rodríguez served as deputytoformerPresident Nicolás Madurountil he wasousted by the UnitedStatesinJanuary.She becameinterim leaderwith the backing of the Trump administration. With little transparency by Venezuelan officials,itwas unclear what would happen once the deadline passes on Friday

Under Venezuela’sconstitution, temporary absencesare to be ﬁlled by the vice president —which was Rodríguez’sformer role —for up to 90 days.These interim appointments can be extended by thenational assembly for an additional 90 days.

TheVenezuelanleaderhas strong supportfromlawmakers and theTrump administration. The National Assembly,controlled by Rodríguez’sparty,can triggera snap election iflawmakers declare thepost permanently vacant.

U.S. supportunder fire

Since the U.S. capture of Maduro, the Trumpadministration has expandedits role in Venezuelan affairs —aseismic shiftinrelationsbetween the long-adversarial nations.

TheU.S.has thrown supportbehind Rodríguezand largely turned its back on opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner María

Corina Machado, who this week accused Rodríguez’sgovernmentof blocking her return to her country Washingtonhas alsosought to remakeVenezuela’slucrative energy industry and opened thedoor for Venezuela’sstate oilcompany to sell fuel to U.S. companies.

John M. Barrett,the U.S. chargé d’affaires to Venezuela,said Wednesdaythatrevenue from Venezuelanoil production, controlled by the U.S. Treasury since Maduro’sseizure,isalso being madeavailable for relief efforts.

While the U.S. hascommitted over $300 million in assistance to the response, the State and Treasury Departmentteams were working “to makesure that those funds aremade available for this specific reconstruction effort, including forshelter, sanitation, healthand energy generation,” Barrett said. Venezuela’soil and gas production was not directly impacted by the earthquakes, he added, and said production continues to increase.

Oversightofwherethat money flows is crucial,saidLaura Cristina Dib, Venezuela programdirector at the independent human rights organization Washington Office on Latin America. When asked about growing criticism over the Venezuelan government’srelief efforts, U.S. officials have been vocal in their support forRodríguez.

Researcherslaunchstudy on Ebola treatments as outbreak worsens

BY LAURAN NEERGAARD AP medical writer

Researchers begana highly anticipated study of two possible Ebola treatments on Thursday in hopes of ﬁghting the still-growing outbreak in eastern Congo, as the World Health Organization announced the enrollment of the ﬁrst participant. The virus causing this outbreak,called Bundibugyo, is less common than others that cause Ebola diseaseand there are no specific treatments or vaccines for it. Already more than 1,400 people have been diagnosed and 438 have died, WHO DirectorGeneralTedrosAdhanom Ghebreyesus said Thursday. Standard supportive care, especially if started early, can helpand the WHO says more than 200 people have

recovered.But there’sanurgent needfor better options. Thetrial “offers real hope that we can deliver concrete results for —and with— the communities at the heart of the outbreak,” Tedrossaid in astatement.

Researchers will be testing if twodrugs could improve survival. One is Gilead Sciences’ remdesivir, abroad-acting antiviralapproved to treatCOVID-19 but that has shown some hints inlab tests that itmay help fightthe currently spreading virus. The other is Mapp Biopharmaceutical’sexperimental MBP134, antibodies engineered to targetEbolaviruses including Bundibugyo.

All patients enrolled in the trial would receive today’sbeststandardcare and be randomlyassigned

to also receive remdesivir MBP134,both or neither, said WHO research adviser Dr.Vasee Moorthy.Survival will be tracked for 28 days after starting treatment.

It couldtakemonthsand possibly as manyas1,000 study participants to tell if either drug works, Moorthy cautioned, explaining thatscientists could tell more quickly,and with fewer patients, if oneorthe otherturns outto be highly effective.

Currently the studyis being offered only in one Ebola treatment center in Congo’sIturi province. The region has been hit hard by violence, including toward healthcare workers trying to fighta virus spread by contact with sick patients’ bodily ﬂuids. Ofﬁcials plan to expand to other locations once it is safe to do so.

Iran warnsoil tankers to useapprovedroutes in Strait of Hormuz

Shipscould face a ‘forcefulresponse’

BY JON GAMBRELL and DAVID MCHUGH AssociatedPress

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES— Iran’sjoint military command warned Thursday thatall oil tankersmoving through the Strait of Hormuz must use its approved routes or face a“forceful response,” ratcheting up tensions again over awaterway crucial for international energy supplies. The strait, the narrow mouth of the PersianGulf, has emerged as one of the top issues in negotiations seeking apermanentend to the Iran war. Thestatement from the Khatam al-Anbiya military command,reported by Iranian state television, comes after both U.S. and Iranian diplomats metwith mediators Wednesday in Qatar Iran is preparing forthe funeralofthe late Supreme Leader AyatollahAli Khamenei, who was killedinthe war’sfirst moments in February.OnThursday night, Iranian state media broadcast images of what it saidwas the casket with Khamenei’sremains arriving at the Imam Khomeini Hussainiya, for the farewell ceremony Hundreds were seen in the footage, praying andgrievingnearthe casket covered with agreen cloth. The weeklong official funeral is expected to start on Saturday It wasn’tclear what sparked Iran’s warning Thursdayabout oil tankers moving through the Strait of Hormuz.However,the U.S. military’sCentral Command hadput outastatementabout ameeting with officials from Mideast nations in Bahrain that said “leaders underscored their shared commitment to the free flow of commerce through” the strait That could have been the phrase that angered Iran.

“Any failure to comply,deviation fromthe designated route, or disregard for the navigation protocolsofthe Islamic Republic

of Iran in the Strait of Hormuz will be metwith an immediate and forceful response from the armed forces, endangering the security of the violating vessels,” the Iranian statement said. It also said that interference by U.S. forces in the strait “will be metwitha rapid anddecisive reaction.”

Iran and the UnitedStates agreed as part of an interim deal to allow ships to pass without paying chargesfor 60 days. But Tehraninsisted it mustcontrol theroutes of thevessels andlater charge fees for passage, upending decades of practice in the waterway

The U.S. and many Gulf Arab states say they won’tagree to Iran charging for passage through the strait. An effort by Oman anda UnitedNations agency to launch anew route near Oman’sshore sparkedattacksacross the Mideast last weekend, highlighting the tensions.

Despite the attacks, ship trafﬁc in the strait continued to rebound. At least258 shipstransited the waterway last week,aperiod that included Iranian strikesontwo commercial vessels, according to marine data and analysis company Lloyd’sList Intelligence. That’supfrom 138 ships the previous week.

Iran’sattacks on June 25 and 27 “seem to have been forgotten,” RichardMeade,editor-in-chief at Lloyd’s, said Thursday during awebinar Trafﬁc in the straithas slowed somewhat sincethe strikes and remainsfar belowlevelsseen before the war,when about 130 vessels passed through daily And with ship operators having to choose between complying with Iran’sdemands or braving the route off Oman watched by U.S. forces, “nothing about this situation is stable,” Meade said. “Routes are being chosen on an hour-by-hour basis and they are contingent on shiftingpolitical approvals andreal-time security assessments,”hesaid. “Thisis not the new normal.”

PRESS PHOTO By MATIASDELACROIX

judge, White told reporters that the grand jury “chose to investigate” Murrill at the end of their six-month term.

“Aren’twealittle tiredas New Orleanians having everyone in thestate kicking NewOrleans?”White said in anews brieﬁng on the courthouse steps. “Why wouldwe want people to be afraid to run for ofﬁceifthey’re going to be intimidated?”

Murrillsaid in astatement late Thursday that she’sfiling an emergency request for the Louisiana Supreme Court to review the indictment, adding that it’s“no surprise the status quo is looking for ways to stop me” overher efforts to ﬁght crime and corruption in New Orleans. If the indictment moves forward, Murrill would likely be required to turn herself in and face an arraignment.

“This unprecedented action and the corruptindictments spawned from it are retaliatory,meritless, and unconstitutional,” Murrill said. “After confidential information was illegally leaked to members of the pressbythe grandjuryor the improperly appointed, unqualifiedspecial prosecutor,there are now indications that the court handcuffed and locked out members of the media— and threatened them with contempt —inclear violation of Louisiana law.” White wasinand out of Roche’scourtroom Thursday before the judge closed it to the public and the grand jury returned the indictment. Reporterswere threatened with arrest if they entered the courthouse while theindictment was handed up. At least one reporter was handcuffed by sheriff’s deputies.

Murrill’sattorney,Laura Cannizzaro Rodrigue, called the indictment “embarrassing” and said Roche also prevented her from returning to the courtroom after he issued Murrill’sbail.

“This is acomplete misuse of the criminal justice systemfor various reasons, Rodrigue said.

White said the court had issues withseveral reporters “looking into the grand jury room” and that reporters who “failed to obey” orders to leave were handcuffed.

“When there are security issues, security is tantamount in this building and also anonymity for the grand jury,” White said.

Murrill disputed White’s reasoning for closing the courtroom.

“It is beyond ironic that the improperly appointed special prosecutor,who called my office and violated the conﬁdentiality of the grand jury proceedings herself, claims protecting conﬁdentiality justified closing the courtroom,” Murrill said “And the grand jury that leakedinformation like a sinking ship hardly seemed concerned about privacy.”

JudicialAdministrator Rob Kazik referred questions about the court security’shandling of the episode to theOrleans Parish Sher-

iff’sOfﬁce, which oversees security at thecourthouse.

Sheriff’s Ofﬁcespokesperson Keith Lampkindid not respond to arequest for comment.

Gov.Jeff Landry,along with other high-proﬁle Republicans, took to social mediatoexpress theirsupport for Murrillshortly after news broke Thursday that she’d been indicted.Hesaid he would order State Police to investigatethe grand jury’salleged improprieties.

“I would like to inform the great citizens ofLouisiana whocareabout theruleof law,thatour fabulous (Attorney General Liz Murrill) will not have to worry abouthavingher reputation tarnished by this kangaroo grand jury or the Orleans Kangaroo court as Iwill pardon her as fast as the law allows,” Landry said. “The criminal justicesystem is acircusat its ﬁnest in Orleans and we will not have any of that!”

Asked about the governor’s comments, Whitesaid afterward in anews brieﬁng: “Good, let’sget her convicted and then he canpardon her.

White left the criminal court bench in 2023 amid a court employee’ssexual harassment complaint, which shedeniedatthe time. A federaljudgethat yeardismissed alawsuitfromthe employee, andMurrill’soffice represented White in aseparatelawsuit the employee filed in statecourt that was also dismissed.

Moreno, meanwhile, said Thursday thather focus remains on building momentum to improve New Orleans.

“Today’s developmentinvolving the attorneygeneral is amatter for the courts,” the mayor said.

Thecriminal charges represent astunning escalationofthe back-and-forth city-versus-state feud that erupted last fall during the city’s municipal election cycle andreached new heights during this spring’s state legislative session in Baton Rouge. Murrill, ahardchargingconservativewho hassoughtcriminal indict-

ments of aslate of public ofﬁcials across Louisiana, now faces charges of herown in acourthousewhere just months ago she secured an indictment of New Orleans’ outgoing sheriff.

Louisiana’slaw barring public intimidation and retaliation, revised statute 14:122, says it can be appliedintwo ways: Breaking the statute can involve “violence, force, extortionate threats, or true threats” against public ofﬁcials “with theintent toinﬂuence his conduct in relation to his position, employment, or duty.

Thelaw also says it can involve retaliation against public officialswhen“violence, force, or threat is relatedtothe duties of the elected official,”orwhen the actionsinvolve “retaliation or retribution for actions taken by the elected official as partofhis official duties.”

The law says convictions can carry afineofupto $1,000 or five yearsinprison. Themalfeasance in officestatute, which involves employees intentionally failing to performtheir duties,can carry afine of up to $5,000 or 10 years in prison.

Thefight that seemed to yield Thursday’scharges revolvesaround apower struggle between cityand state leaders. Thestructure of New Orleans’ courts had triggered thelatest ﬁssures.

An early inflection point camewhen Murrill waded into the city’smunicipal election last fall, sending cease-and-desist letters to acandidate for the criminal clerk of court position, former life prisoner Calvin Duncan.The attorney general warned Duncan, a prison lawyer freed from behind barswhen ajudge found him innocent of murder,tostopcalling himself “exonerated” on the campaign trail. After mounting a campaign that drewnational headlines, Duncan defeated apowerful incumbent in the runoff by securing 68% of thevote.

Williams was also pulled into the election-cycle brawl. In her lettertoDuncan’scampaign, Murrill

accused Williamsofhaving represented Duncan as adefense attorney years beforeWilliams became a prosecutor and his office negotiated Duncan’s release fromprison, andoffailing to recuse himself during those negotiations. Williams calledthe accusation afabrication.

Months later,Louisiana’s Republican-controlled state Legislature created and passed alaw eliminating Duncan’sposition.

Thelaw did nothing to combine New Orleans’ separate civil and criminal courts themselves, which are unique among court systems in thestate. But supporters calleditaneeded reform for theonly local government with separate clerks’ ofﬁces for civil and criminal matters.

White, thespecial prosecutor in Murrill’s indictment, also once represented Duncan in his criminal case before theInnocence Project, now known as Innocence andJusticeLouisiana,took

it over Thelegislation,which Landry usheredthrough the Capitol andsigneddays before Duncan would have assumed the criminal clerkship, spurredfurious pushback from local activists and elected leaders, including Moreno and Williams. The two city officials in early Mayasked the City Council to trigger aspecial election, arguingthe voters must fill the newly-melded office. Murrill responded with her May 13 letters to Williams,Moreno andfive City Councilmembers who voted to triggerthe election,warning them they were at risk of “usurping” the authority of Chelsea Napoleon,the former civil clerk who assumed the duties of the combined clerk job after the new state law took effect. The Louisiana Supreme Court has since issued aruling upholding that law Moreno postedanInstagramvideohours after receiving the letter in May warning Murrill that the let-

ters might violate the antiretaliation law

“Itissurprising thatthe attorney general put all of this in aletter,considering there is also acriminal law that prohibitsintimidating or threatening apublic official in an effort to try to influence theirdecision or change theirposition,” Morenosaidthen. “Bottom line: I’m not going to be threatened, I’m not going to be intimidated, and Iwon’t back down.”

The Times-Picayune |The Advocate broke the story this week that Murrill’sletters had become the focus of agrand jury probe at thecriminal courthouse on Tulane Avenue andSouth Broad Street.

While somelegal watchers have questioned the extent of criminalexposure Murrill mightfaceover theletters, the indictment thrusts upon astate Republican from Lafayette the uncomfortable prospect of facing ajury in one of Louisiana’sfew Democratic strongholds.

At aThursday evening news conference on abalcony on thecornerofToulouse and Decatur streets in the French Quarter,former New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial called the grand jury indictment an instance of New Orleanians pushing back on an unnecessary state incursion.

He called Murrill and Landry to “lay downtheir arms”and cease their“attack” on New Orleans. And he also said the relationship between city and state can be repaired.

“Itcan always be repaired,” Morialsaid. “We can work things out. But it takes twototango.”

Meanwhile, Dane S. Ciolino, an ethics attorney and law professor at Loyola University,said many in New Orleansdislike whatsome perceive as bullying from statewide ofﬁcials.

“But at the end of the day, this is alegal issue,” Ciolino said. “A grandjury canalways indict theproverbial ham sandwich.” Staff writer Joni Hess contributed to this report.

STAFFPHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

Laura Cannizzaro Rodrigue, AttorneyGeneral Liz Murrill’sattorney, speaks outside the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court building on Thursday

ChaoseruptsinN.O.court as Murrillindicted

Judgeclosescourtroom to spectators

BY JAMES FINN Staff writer

While agrand jury returned a criminal indictment Thursday againstLouisiana’sattorney general in aclosed New Orleanscourtroom, chaos erupted in the hallway as security ofﬁcers placed anews reporter and an attorney in handcuffsafter they questionedwhy a judge booted onlookers from the proceeding. The episode ended with combative, dueling news conferences on the courthouse steps. The special prosecutor assignedto the probe lamented that she had taken the case; defenselawyers forAttorney General LizMurrill decried asystem of “kangaroo courts”in NewOrleans.

Thespecial prosecutor,former Orleans criminal court Judge Laurie White, walked intoJudge Leon Roche’scourtroom minutes before the brouhaha. White had been in and out of the courtroomall day, and it seemed that an indictment of Murrill, which The Times-Picayune reported on Tuesday had been under review forseveral weeks, could be imminent.

Around 2:45 p.m., Roche ordered the room sealed so the grand jury

SHOWCASE

Continued from page1A

Electrical problems kept the Ferris wheel from operating full time. Ice cream supplies melted.

Amain sponsor withdrew when an image of the Confederate ﬂag was displayed at the North Carolina exhibit, which is privately funded.

NorthCarolina is oneof 10 state governments that declined to participate, citing high costs —between $100,000 and $500,000, according to news reports when the states droppedout

Before the fair opened, about half the musical acts withdrew upon learningthe event waspart of Freedom 250, apublic-privatepartnership with the Trump administration that sidelined the federal government’s organizers.

The Great American State Fair is about 10 blocks long between the Capitol and the Washington Monument, surrounded by tall fences with tight security screeningof visitors.

Don’tthink deep-fried Oreos, meat on astick, and jambalayathatare ubiquitous at the Louisiana state fairstakingplace in Baton Rouge and Shreveport.

There is asmall pen for a mini-rodeo, corn dogs and plenty of merch available. In the middle of the eventis aFerris wheel andamockup of the controversial arch that Trump wants to build between the Lincoln Memorial and the gates of Arlington National Cemetery

But thecenterpiece of the fair is exhibits where states tout their culture andhometown heroes.

MardiGrasvibes

Visitors entering the Loui-

could make its returns in secret —though he didn’texplain his reasonsfor ushering spectators out. Louisianalaw says grand jury indictments handed up in state courts“shallbereturned in open court.”

Ahalf-dozen or so news reporters there tocover the indictment waited in thehallway for Roche to reopen theproceeding. WWLTV reporterDanny Monteverde called aFirst Amendmentlawyer, ElanaM.Beiser Beiser arrived minutes later withwhat she titled a“motion to open courtroom for room of indictment”and banged on thedoor.The document quoted the state lawthat says grand jury returns must occur in open court

Roche,however, did not reopen hiscourtroom Half an hour after he shuttered the proceedings,about adozen OrleansParishSheriff’s Office deputies ﬂooded thehallway.They shouted at reporters to walk away from thedoor andstandatthe end of thehall.

(Later on thecourthouse steps, White would accuse reporters of tryingtoidentifythe grand jurors.)

As several reporters pressed the

deputiesabout whytheywere being barred entry to the courtroom, aman who did not identify himself came outfrom the courtroom. He warned that if reporters didnot leave, they would face contempt of court charges

Beiser was trying to hand copies of her motion to court staff when deputiesstartedmoving to detain people.

“I’m gonna start cufﬁng people if y’all don’tmove,” one OPSOdeputy told aTimes-Picayune reporter Monteverde andBeiser were cuffed. When aTimes-Picayune reporter left thebuilding,then triedtoreenter several minutes later,adeputy told thereporter thatmedia representatives were not being allowed back inside. Monteverde andBeiser emerged from thecourthouse at 3:22 p.m. “I was just handcuffed for 20 minutes,”saidMonteverde, whowas handcuff-free by then.

Judicial Administrator Rob Kazik referred questions about court security’shandling of the episode to theOrleans Parish Sheriff’s Office, which overseessecurityat thecourthouse. Sheriff’s Office spokespersonKeithLampkindid not respond to arequest for comment. White walked down thecourtroom steps about threeminutes later.“YouOK?” she asked Monte-

siana booth receivedbeads and were greeted by abust that usually wouldbeona MardiGras ﬂoat.

Shaka Zulu, BigChief of theGolden Feather HuntersMardi Gras tribe, said he presented alecture at the pavilion Saturday explaining theelaborate costumes that combine African and Native American traditions. He displayed aqueen’ssuit to illustrate histalk Chief Zulu said crowds circulated throughthe pavilion as he spoke. Many audience members paused tolisten to histalkand lingered afterward to ask questions. Some already had knowledge of the maskingculture, but not its complexities, he said “A lot of people know it’s part of MardiGras,”hesaid.

“But the presentation clariﬁed alot of things for them.”

ChiefZulu said he was told 4,000 people passed through theLouisianapavilion on oneday Shields says the exhibit is really focused on economic development opportunities.

About 80 companies were represented in the booth, Shields said. “Every corner of the state is represented over these16days in their spirits and in theirproducts,” sheadded About 50 volunteers from private businesses, trade

associations and state governmentagenciesare manning thebooth —only ahalf adozen at atime, thespace isn’tthatlarge—throughout theevent’s run, which ends July 10.

Lanier Thibodeaux, of the North Louisiana Economic Partnership in Shreveport, helped touriststake selﬁes in front of thepresentations. Harrison Crabtree, from the WorldTrade CenterinNew Orleans, chatted up visitors while handing out swag.

“Louisiana has atremendous amount of opportunity rightnow;atremendous amount of momentum when we think aboutinfrastructure,whenwethink about global investments coming into Louisiana. We think about workforcedevelopment, education, and our incredible people,” Shields said.“This is ourchance to marry that with the Louisiana that most people know: Mardi Gras, culture, food, heritage, all those things, all thethings people know and love about Louisiana.”

Mississippitouted Elvis Presley,who was born in Tupelo butlived in Memphis, and Florida claimsJimmy Buffett, who livedinthat state as an adult but grew up in Mississippi. Georgia had a WafﬂeHouse menu andTennesseeallowed visitors to

verde. “I’m angry,” he replied.

“I knowall of you media were very unhappy that thejudge closed off the court,”White told the gaggle of reporters. “I wasn’t the judge for that. I’m the prosecutor.”

WhenMonteverde andBeiser were detained, Whitesaid she “helped getthemout of thearrest.”

“You allwerehandcuffedby sheriff’s deputies because you wouldn’tobey an order,” White added. “You all weren’twilling to walk out when you wereasked to do so.”

White then outlined how the grand jury hadreturned a 16-count indictmentagainstMurrill for violating anti-intimidation laws. Thecharges, she added, stemmed from letters the attorney generalsenttoMayor Helena Moreno,DistrictAttorneyJason Williams, retired Judge Calvin Johnsonand five City Council membersthreatening to remove them from ofﬁce if they did not walk back supportfor electing a new court clerk. White also saidshe wished she hadn’ttakenthe special prosecutor assignment.

“This will teach younot to say yeswhenpeople calland ask you, ‘What’re youdoing today? Can youcome into town? Ihave some-

take their photo with aGrand OleOpry microphone. Louisiana displayed atall photo of Louis Armstrong blowing his trumpet

Allthe state-themed booths have swag. Michigan handed outlittleboxes of cereal.Tennessee had gourmet crackers.Louisiana handed out pound bags of riceand plastic cups that ﬁll kitchen cabinets across thestate, but are rare in Washington and points north.

Louisianain1776

Thefair celebrates America’sbirthday 250 years ago At thetime, French-speaking Louisianawas actually a Spanish colony France gave Louisiana to Spain as partofthe 1762

thing you’d be great for,’”she said. “Don’teverlet people tell you you’re good at something. Then you might show up and your ego gets you into the middle of this.”

While White addressedreporters, Murrill’sattorneys, Laura Cannizzaro Rodrigue andBlake Arcuri,walkedintothe courthouse behind her.When White finished her remarks, they stepped to the row of mics. Rodrigue said she, too, was barred from the courtroom by Roche when she tried to enter She then reeled off alitany of allegations— of conflicts of interest by Roche, whom she noted was handling cases being prosecuted by Murrill’soffice, and by White, whoisrepresented by the Attorney General’sOffice in acivil lawsuit in which she’saccused of sexual harassment; and of unspecified communications between grand jurors and the public.

“That will affect the integrity of every indictment that came out of that grand jury,” Rodrigue said. Within afew hours, Murrill herself chimedinonsocial media, calling the indictment “retaliatory, meritless and unconstitutional.” She said she would be making an emergencyﬁlingtothe Louisiana SupremeCourt.

“Hopefully this will be sortedout quickly,” she said.

Treaty of Fontainebleau. The colony was returned to France in 1800, then sold to the United States in 1803.

Theoriginal Louisiana Purchase Treaty,signed by Napoleon, is on display at the Old State Capitol in Baton Rouge,ina different250th Anniversary celebration.

Louisiana was the 18th state admitted to the union andthe first onethathad been ruledasacolony of a European nation other than Great Britain. Spain aligned with the Americanwar effort in 1779, but had fewengagements save asuccessful effort by thenLouisiana Gov.BernardodeGálvez to oustthe British from afort situated about where the River Cen-

ter is nowlocated in Baton Rouge. That July 1779 battle is remembered withstatues of Gálvez near the U.S. Department of State and at the entrance of the Spanish Embassy in Washington.His statue also is prominently displayed in his hometown of Málaga, Spain. “When we think about French culture; when we think about Spanish culture; and everyone else in between, we’rebringingthat all together under this banner,” Shields said. “Wewanted to show up, showcase our statefor thebeauty andthe wonder and the amazing things that we’re doing.” Staff writer DougMacCash contributed to this article.

STAFF PHOTO By MARK BALLARD Guests atLouisiana’sexhibit at the GreatAmericanState Fair aregreeted by aMardi

Thursdayfollowing anews conferenceatthe Ernest N. Morial Convention Center

“Wecontinue to try our best to get all that done muchearlier.The creative process, I’ve been reminded, can’tberushed. Butas aCEO, I’d much rather it all be done back in February.”

‘We’re learning’ Evening concerts in the Superdome are only one facetofEssence Fest. Free daytime panels, product promotions and activationsin the Convention Center draw thousands of attendees

In hisremarks during Thursday’snews conference, Sundial founder Richelieu Dennis trumpeted how Essence magazine, which launched in 1970 and was acquired by his company in 2018, has returned from a print hiatus.

Dennis praised aredesign that boasts alarger format, higher quality paper and a greater emphasis on eyecatching photography and long-form storytelling.

He playedupEssence Fest’snew afﬁliations with rapper Westside Gunn’s 4th Rope professional wrestling, Formula 1racing and Cadillac. Essence also leans heavily into its book fair, film festival and culinary showcases.

But the Superdome concerts are the weekend’s highest-proﬁle happenings.

In years past, such superstars as Beyoncé, Prince, Usher,JanetJackson and Mary J. Blige have ﬁlled the Dome duringEssence. No comparable superstars are on the bill this year

Based on Ticketmaster seating charts, Essence won’tcome anywhere close to selling out the approximately 43,000 seats available each night.

Last year’sconcerts, which featured as many as eight acts per night, ran hours behind schedule and may have deterredsome fans from returning.

This year,each night is limited to ﬁve acts

“We’re learning,” McDonald said. “We’re head-

inginthe right direction. The question is, should it be four? We still believe that we wanttoover-deliver.”

Moving LaBelle, Babyface

Even before the 2026 festival’sFriday opening, it had faced headwinds. Executive turnover has beenanongoing challenge Former Essence CEO CarolineWanga recentlysued the company for defamation. And the producers’ ambitionstoﬁnalize the full 2026 music schedulemonths in advance weren’trealized.

Patti LaBelleand Kenneth “Babyface”Edmonds, two Essence Festfavoritesdating back to its earlyyears, were bothinitially advertised for Sunday Lastweek, EssenceannouncedthatLaBelleand Edmonds had beenmoved to Saturday.Fans who had alreadypurchased single-

night Sunday tickets expressedtheir displeasure on social media.

LaBelle and Babyface were rescheduled, McDonald said, at the suggestion of Teyana Taylor,the Academy Award-nominated actress and singerwho is curating the2026Essence with her creative collective The Aunties

“In an effort to make the show better,this felt like the right thing to do, to makethat change,”McDonald said. “Wehad one idea, agreed-on nights, then Teyana came in and asked some questions.

“You think back to the Frankie Beverly (Sunday night) endings we used to do, thatnostalgia,families dancing together.Does that feel right for Patti? Patti wants to hype it up.

“Wetry to balance the show out (so) each night feels like it’stelling astory that continues.Theyneed to feel like they’re part of a single journey.”

The festival has tried to accommodate fans upset by themove, McDonald said, in part by offering discounted multi-night tickets.

Need more ‘male energy’

Some fans maynot have heardabout last-minute lineup additions.

Sunday’stribute to Aaliyah, thecontemporary R&B star who died in aplane crashfollowing avideo shoot in the Bahamas in 2001, was announced June 22. Essence wanted to celebrate Aaliyah because 2026 is the25th anniversary of her death and the 30th anniversary of her landmark “One In aMillion” album.

Essenceasked hip-hop icon Missy Elliott, who worked with Aaliyah on “One In aMillion” and was a close friend, to curate it. Both Aaliyah’sfamily and

Elliott needed time to decide whether to participate, McDonald said. Ultimately, Aaliyah’smother Diane Haughton andbrother Rashad Haughton gave their blessing.

“The work with the family was just alongerprocess,” McDonald said. “They had to get grounded in it

“There’s an emotional connection between Missy and Aaliyah that wasn’t as simple as,‘Oh yeah, I’ll do that as much as, ‘I’ve gottosit with that andreally ﬁgure that out. CanI do it right? Whatwould it look like? How can Icurateit, because Ican’tdoitalone?’ That (took)longer than booking a single artist.That was more complicated than booking Cardi B.”

Atlanta rapperT.I., who is slated to close Sunday night backed by members of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, was also alate addition.

The guiding philosophy for this year’sperformers was “ladies’ ﬁrst,” McDonald said. “But at acertain point, it also felt like it didn’t have enough sort of male energy

“T.I.was available, he’s a friend, so we reached out. He wanted to do something with an orchestra. Once we got those pieces brought together (with the LPO), we thought that was anice way to cap off Sunday night.”

Mothership to land early Fans hoping to see certain actsata festivalneed to

know performance times. The NewOrleansJazz & Heritage Festival announces performance times for its 600 acts amonth before the start of the festival. As of Thursday morning, Essencestill hadn’t posted start times forits 15 acts. Onereason, McDonald said, is that someartists wouldn’tknow how much stage timethey needed until after rehearsals Thursday “As thosethings change, what we’relooking to do is not have as much down time” between acts, he said. Essencehas confirmed that formerfirst lady Michelle Obama’stalk on the Superdome’smain stage Friday will start at 8p.m. And funk legendGeorge Clintonwillmake music history as Sunday’sopening act. In 1976, the ﬁrst iteration of Clinton’sfamed “Mothership” spaceship madeits debut at the Municipal Auditorium in New Orleans. Fiftyyears later,he’ll land anew Mothership in the Superdome. The rappers Scarface andBig Boi, New Orleans’ ownTroy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews and Big Freedia and other special guests are set to join him His performance wasoriginally slated forlate Sunday butwas movedto7 p.m., when attendees are usually just starting to trickle into the Dome.

Longtime EssenceFest fan and former main stage DJ Melissa “DJ Soul Sister” Weber has frequently collaborated with Clinton’s camp. She’sconcernedfans won’tget themessage that theMothership is landing early at the Dome “The set happens from 7 to 8:30p.m.,” Weber said. “I hope this informationis widely communicated to Essence Fest-goers and New Orleanians, becauseitwill be ahistoric happening that people shouldn’tmiss. They won’tmissitifthey know about it in advance.”

Email KeithSpera at kspera@theadvocate.com.

Baby Ba Boneless

BY BEN MYERS Staff writer

defends power complex’s reliability

The Sewerage & Water Board

on Thursday defended the performance of its $300 million power complex, arguing it was “inaccurate” to call the system unreliable two days after top ofﬁcials at

the utility acknowledged that key components wouldn’t be relied upon during major storms. In a prepared statement that appeared to contradict some of its leadership’s comments Tuesday in front of the City Council, the utility that’s been under fire for its performance following Tropi-

cal Storm Arthur said that “recent public statements characterizing the Power Complex as unreliable are inaccurate and do not reﬂect the system’s design or performance.”

It said that electrical components known as frequency changers, which tripped off during the

June 18 storm and slowed the work of its drainage pumps, “are a reliable component of our drainage infrastructure” and that the storm offered “valuable operational experience” that would strengthen the system as it reﬁned the way it used equipment and its operating procedures.

“The Power Complex was built to provide New Orleans with a more reliable, ﬂexible, and resil-

ient drainage power system,” said the statement sent by the S&WB’s communications team “We remain committed to continuous improvement and to strengthening the performance of this critical infrastructure as it protects our city.”

The news release did not refer to any speciﬁc public statements

Cantrell’s federal trial delayed again

Former mayor’s defense attorneys’ schedule cited as reason

BY JAMES FINN Staff writer

A federal judge this week delayed LaToya Cantrell’s corruption trial until the spring of 2027, citing defense attorneys’ packed schedule during a sum-

mer ﬁlled with high-proﬁle trials at the federal courthouse on Poydras Street. The former New Orleans mayor had been set to face a jury on wire fraud, obstruction and conspiracy counts starting on Oct. 19 — a date that had already been punted repeatedly following her August indictment. She is charged alongside her New

Orleans Police Department bodyguard, Jeffrey Vappie, with spending taxpayer money on romantic liaisons, then lying and destroying evidence to conceal signs of their alleged romance. Their new trial date is March 15, 2027. In an order signed Wednesday, Chief U.S. District Judge Wendy Vitter of Louisiana’s Eastern District cited the “arduous trial calendar” facing Vappie’s attorneys for the delay

One of the defense lawyers, Shaun Clarke, also represents federal defendant Sean Alfortish, a former Kenner magistrate set for an August trial on murder, wire fraud and witness tampering. Alfortish is the alleged leader of a yearslong scheme by local lawyers and ﬁxers who staged car wrecks with big-rig trucks, snagging millions in bogus insurance payouts.

Vitter, too, has presided over

BY MATT BRUCE Staff writer

Voyeurism charges reinstated against N.O. man

Appellate court rules time element decision incorrect

BY MATT BRUCE Staff writer

trict court, ruled in September 2024 that the district attorney filed charges against Darlak well past the six-year window in which the state must initiate prosecutions, according to Louisiana law

STAFF PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER

Waldron

Cantrell

Gunfight suspect held on $220,000 bail

Man accused of shooting stepdaughter’s boyfriend

BY MISSY WILKINSON Staff writer

Bail was set at $220,000 for a nine-time felon accused of shooting his stepdaughter’s boyfriend and the boyfriend’s mother during a gunﬁght in Gentilly Terrace on June 25. Ralph C. Doughty, 50, was booked into the Orleans Justice Center that night on two counts each of aggravated assault with a firearm and aggravated second-degree battery along with one count each of possession of a ﬁrearm by a felon, illegal use of weapons and aggravated criminal damage to property

New Orleans police say Doughty had been drinking all morning when he became

enraged by the presence of his stepdaughter’s boyfriend at his home in the 3400 block of Franklin Avenue shortly after noon “Doughty felt disrespected by (the boyfriend) being in the home without his permission,” according to an affidavit supporting Doughty’s arrest, signed by Magistrate Commissioner Jay Daniels.

The affidavit states Doughty called his ex-girlfriend while “belligerent and drunk” and told her he was “going to take care of it.” She, in turn, called the boyfriend’s mother, and the two planned to meet at the Franklin Avenue home in an attempt to de-escalate the situation

According to police, Doughty stalked through the house yelling, entered his stepdaughter’s bedroom, struck the boyfriend and pointed a Glock 17 at him, telling him to “hurry up and leave.” As the boyfriend ran

sources during storms because the frequency changers could trip ofﬂine during commonplace power lags.

from the house, Doughty

legedly ﬁred at him from the porch.

timony that it’s not reliable.

and didn’t address recent comments by S&WB General Superintendent Kaitlin Tymrak before the council. Under questioning from council members on Tuesday, Tymrak said that instead of using frequency changers and Entergy-supplied power during strong storms, the S&WB would rely on its new in-house turbines. The new power complex schematic included the turbines as backup power in case of a grid failure, but Tymrak said the turbines would be used as primary

JUDGE

Continued from page 1B

at the Orleans Justice Center leading up to last year’s mass jailbreak, which Hutson controlled at the time. All 12 judges on the Criminal District Court bench have recused themselves, citing the fact that most of them could be called to testify against Hutson and Brown. Chief Judge Juana

CHARGES

Continued from page 1B

In time-barring and dismissing the charges Derbigny decided the six-year prescriptive period was triggered when each of the alleged offenses occurred.

According to the 124-count indictment filed two years ago, 76 of the charges were tied to offenses that happened separately in 2003, 2010 and 2011. The state later filed an amended indictment that placed those offense dates between 2017 and 2021.

But in a June 22 opinion overturning Derbigny’s decision, the New Orleansbased 4th Circuit ruled those offense dates didn’t matter because the clock for the state to ﬁle Darlak’s charges didn’t begin until March 2022, when one of his alleged victims ﬁrst discovered the pics of herself and other women on his Google Drive.

The woman reported her discovery, prompting a New Orleans Police Department investigation. A short time later, her

WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 2026

PICK

When District A council member Aimee McCarron asked for a speciﬁc instance, Tymrak replied that “Arthur would have been a great example.”

In an interview Thursday, McCarron questioned the rationale for the S&WB’s latest statement and said it was inconsistent with what she was told at the meeting. “This statement doesn’t clarify anything for me going forward on how they’re going to be solving this problem,” McCarron said. “We’ve seen that it’s not reliable, and we heard their tes-

Marine Lombard asked for an ad hoc replacement in a letter to the state Supreme Court on Tuesday

The high court responded by appointing Wa ldron, who served 26 years as a Criminal District Court judge before retiring in 2008. Hutson, 59, and Brown,

friends found illicit Google Drive photos of themselves while Darlak was in a rehab facility, police said When detectives searched his phone, computer and external hard drive, they found images that included at least three videos of a woman being raped while unconscious, NOPD sex crimes Detective Brandon McDonald wrote in an afﬁdavit.

“The victims in this case are very pleased with the ruling and look forward to having their day in court,” said Penny Kissinger, deputy chief of the District Attorney’s Sexual Assault Kit Initiative We expect Darlak to seek review by the Louisiana Supreme Court, which will further delay the prosecution.”

State lawmakers tweaked Louisiana’s video voyeurism statute in 2016 and again in 2023. Those changes to the state law delayed the clock from ticking until victims first discover the images tied to the crime. In Darlak’s case, Derbigny barred the

While they are coordinating to ﬁgure out what went wrong, there’s no solutions yet offered to make it more reliable.”

The S&WB did not respond to a request for more information on what previous comments it deemed inaccurate or if its latest public statement was aimed at clarifying the earlier comments from Tymrak or other top leaders.

The council summoned S&WB ofﬁcials earlier this week after complications with the operation of frequency changers caused seven major drainage pump stations to lose power on June 18. After that failure,

40, have yet to be formally arraigned on their slate of respective charges No arraignment date was listed on the docket as of Thursday morning.

Hutson has said she will pursue every legal option to prove the allegations against her are false.

“I will aggressively ﬁght to clear my name,” she said following her ﬁrst appearance in court in April.

Prosecutors from Attorney General Liz Murrill’s

prosecution of any crimes that took place before Aug. 1, 2016, the date the law change took effect.

Fourth Circuit Judge Tiffany Chase wrote the appellate court’s opinion. She was joined on the review panel by judges Sandra Jenkins and Monique Morial.

Prosecutors acknowledged that time had expired on two video voyeurism charges that were filed as low-level offenses. Those two counts had four-year prescriptive periods. The state agreed to dismiss both of them.

But the appeals court determined the statute of limitations didn’t run out on the remaining 98 counts before the new law took effect in 2016. Since that window hadn’t closed, judges applied the exception to the charges.

“If the counts were not time-barred prior to the effective date of, Aug. 1, 2016, then its provisions apply and the state has four or six years from the date the

the S&WB acknowledged that the same problem occurred on May 20.

New Orleans received less than three inches of rain from the remnants of Arthur, while surrounding areas saw as much as three times that amount.

The frequency changers allow the S&WB to use Entergy-supplied power from a new substation to run its century-old drainage pumps.

Entergy power supplied to the S&WB never went down during the June 18 storm.

The two recent failures happened when a common electricity disruption known as a “voltage sag” caused the frequency changers to

office secured the indictments April 29 in the ﬁnal days of Hutson’s term. The outgoing sheriff was indicted on 30 criminal charges that included counts of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, malfeasance in ofﬁce and filing or maintaining false records. Brown was hit with 20 similar indictments.

Eleven of the Criminal District Court’s 12 judges were on the bench last July, when Hutson and the judges

victim discovered the crime to institute prosecution,” Chase wrote.

Each of the voyeurism counts may be punishable by up to ﬁve years in prison at hard labor

Not only did Derbigny lop away 100 of Darlak’s charges in 2024, he also slashed the man’s bond to $50,000, down from $450,000, and allowed him to be released on house arrest.

Afterward, Derbigny recused himself from the case, citing a long friendship he had with the father of one of the alleged victims.

The case was shuffled

finiti

trip ofﬂine. The frequency changers were set to trip when voltage dipped below 80% of normal, ofﬁcials said, but voltage sagged to 72% of normal on June 18 and 40% on May 20.

The trip settings have since been lowered to 70%, which would have prevented the June 18 failure. But 40% of voltage sags are below 70%, according to national standards that Entergy has published on its website.

ex-girlfriend arrived and became “trapped in between the subjects exchanging gunﬁre,” the afﬁdavit states.

The boyfriend was shot in the chest and critically injured, and his mother was grazed in the chest during Doughty’s “volley of gunfire,” police said. Doughty was struck in the shoulder and ankle.

Police arrived on the scene to find the Infiniti fleeing to a hospital and Doughty firing a gun. Doughty told police he’d shot in self-defense, but Real-Time Crime Center surveillance footage contradicted his account. Because of his criminal history, Doughty was prohibited from possessing a firearm until August 2027. His felony convictions include armed robbery, forgery, possession with intent to distribute heroin, attempted possession of a firearm by a felon, simple robbery, two theft convictions and two contraband convictions.

S&WB officials are now investigating if the settings can be lowered further without causing damage, though Tymrak and S&WB Executive Director Randy Hayman have told council members they aren’t sure if it is possible. In the S&WB’s prepared statement on Thursday, it said that it had adjusted settings on the frequency changers “to better accommodate reasonable voltage ﬂuctuations while maintaining equipment protection.” It added that the S&WB and Entergy were working with consultants to determine the best way to adjust the equipment in the future.

clashed over inmate transfers to court from the jail.

After Hutson claimed she lacked the money or manpower to resume the practice of bringing the new arrestees to the courthouse for weekend and holiday hearings, the court held her in contempt. John Fuller, elected May 16, was the lone judge not on the bench at the time.

Tracey Flemings-Davillier, who was the court’s chief judge last summer, issued

to District Judge Simone Levine until a hearing last July, when fellow Judge Kimya Holmes took her off the case. She did so after Kenn Barnes, Darlak’s defense attorney at the time, filed a motion for Levine’s recusal, arguing a member of her staff is a former prosecutor who had loose ties to the case while working for the District Attorney’s Ofﬁce.

District Judge Benedict Willard handled the case afterward as it stalled in anticipation of the appellate court’s decree. He appointed a public defender to repre-

Also on Thursday, Entergy New Orleans CEO Deanna Rodriguez said that the utility and the S&WB “want to assure the public that the grid is secure, and the new facility is receiving reliable, quality power — as designed.”

Hutson’s contempt order following a July 17 hearing inside her courtroom Each of her colleagues signed off on the contempt ruling. In court filings, prosecutors from Murrill’s office indicated 18 of the charges against Hutson and Brown stem from documents the two submitted to the court during last July’s legal showdown.

Email Matt Bruce at matt. bruce@theadvocate.com.

sent Darlak on March 26. In its order last week, the 4th Circuit sent the case back to Criminal District Court for further proceedings. Willard transferred the matter to Judge John Fuller’s section during a subsequent June 25 hearing, according to district court records.

Representatives from Orleans Public Defenders declined to comment on the ongoing litigation. It’s not clear if they plan to appeal the decision.

Email Matt Bruce at matt. bruce@theadvocate.com.

Hutson

al-

The boyfriend’s mother and a male family member had arrived in a white In-

sedan, and the male relative returned ﬁre, police said. Meanwhile, Doughty’s

STAFF PHOTO By ENAN CHEDIAK

New Orleans police officers investigate a shooting on June 25 on Franklin Avenue.

BRIEFS FROM STAFFAND WIRE REPORTS

TopEUcourtdismisses

Google antitrust appeal

BRUSSELS Judges at theEuropean Union’stop court dismissed an appeal by Google over alandmark, $4.5billion antitrust ﬁne imposed for throttling competition and reducing consumer choice throughthe dominance of its mobile Android operating system.

The case has been tangled up in courts since the European Commission announced the ﬁne in 2018. But the EuropeanCourt of Justice dismissal on Thursday marks the end of that process.

“The appeal brought by Google and its parent company Alphabet against the judgment of the General Court is dismissed,thereby conﬁrming the penalty imposed for Google Search’sabuse of a dominant position in the context of the Android operating system,” the Luxembourg-based judges wrote in their ruling.

Google previously argued free and open-source Android has resulted in low-cost phones and driven competition with its chief rival, Apple. Android is the most popular mobile operating system, beating even Apple’siOS.

The ﬁne is one of three antitrust penalties totaling more than$8 billion that the EuropeanCommission slapped on Google between 2017and 2019,putting the 27-nation bloc at the forefrontof the global push to rein in tech giants.

Since then, the commission has widened its crackdown on digital giants with more antitrust investigations targeting Amazon, Apple and Facebook and sweeping new rules aimed at clamping down on the biggest digital companies.

Average U.S. mortgage rate falls to 6.43%

Theaverage long-termU.S mortgage rate fell this week to its lowest level since mid-May, easing borrowing costs for prospective homebuyers.

The benchmark 30-year ﬁxed rate mortgage rate fell to 6.43% from 6.49%last week,mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday.One year ago, the average rate was 6.67%.

The average rate has been mostly hovering around 6.5%going back to mid-Mayand trending higher overall in the months since the war between the U.S. and Iran began in lateFebruary, disrupting the ﬂow of crude oil from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide. That’ssentoil prices sharply higher,helping drive up inﬂation, bond yields and mortgage rates. Despite the modest decline from last week, the averagerate is now at its lowest level since May 14, when it was 6.36%.

Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, often sought by borrowers reﬁnancing ahome loan,alsodeclined this week. That average ratefell to 5.79% from 5.84% last week. Ayear ago, it was at 5.8%, FreddieMac said.

U.S. filings forjobless aid fall to 215,000

WASHINGTON U.S.applications for jobless aid inched downlast week as layoffsremain at historically healthy levels. The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits in the week ending June 27 fell by 1,000 to 215,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday.That’s fewer than the 225,000 new applications forecast by analysts surveyedby the data firm FactSet. Weekly filings for unemployment benefits are considered representative of U.S.layoffs and areclose to areal-time indicator of the health of the job market. The government also released its morecomprehensiveJune jobs report on Thursday,aday earlier than usual duetothe July 4holiday That data showed that U.S. employers pulled back on hiring last month, adding only 57,000 jobs. That’s less thanhalf the previous month’stotal and asign companies remain cautious. The unemployment rate dropped to 4.2% from 4.3% in May,though that decline is mostly due to the fact that manyout-of-work people gaveup looking for jobs and werenolonger counted as unemployed.

BUSINESS

NOLA.COM/BIZ

WorldCup fans sueStubHub

Customers file lawsuitoverticket cancellations

BY MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press

NEW YORK After weeks of complaints fromfrustratedfans, StubHub is being sued by customers who say theticket reseller’sinability to fulﬁllorderscrushedtheir dreams of going to World Cup.

Julia Reeker Moghal and Reuben Renteria, both of California,sued the ticketing giant this week in federal court inNew York, alleging that “false andmisleading” sales practicesleftthem withoutthe tickets they purchased for group stagematches last month.

The lawsuit, which seeks to become aclass action, says Moghal andRenteriaare among hundreds or even thousands of World Cup fans who purchased ticketsonly to ﬁnd out thatthey “did not exist, were revoked withoutany forewarning,orhad been erased” be-

cause of what thetournament’sorganizer,FIFA, deemed “poor digital infrastructure.”

In additiontomonetary damages, Moghal andRenteriaare asking thatStubHub be barred from selling World Cup ticketsand that any proﬁts from those sales be given to affected customers.

StubHub declined to comment on the lawsuit but said in astatement that its“singulargoal is to get fans into events.”

If anything goes wrong, “our FanProtect Guarantee provides replacement tickets or afull refund,” thecompany said. “The World Cupisnodifferent,and theissues fans have experienced are largely driven by problems with the event organizer’sown ticketing infrastructure.”

FIFAencourages fanstobuy tickets through its own marketplace, where it adds a30% surchargeto every resold ticket —15% each from the buyer and seller.

In astatement, the organization said it “has no visibilityover, or control of, secondarymarket ticket transactions carried out on

third-party platforms” and“rejects any suggestion that thefunctional issuesbeing experienced by users of third-party platforms” are the result of FIFA’sticketing infrastructure

For weeks, fans have been complaining on social media about tickets that never arrived from resellers, orders that were canceled at the last minute and hours they spent trying to sort out problems between FIFA’sticketing system and outsideresale platforms.

According to the lawsuit, Moghal paid $1,905 for threetickets to the June 18 Switzerland-Bosnia and Herzegovina match at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California,but never received them and never got arefund, whichwould violate the company’sguarantee.

As thematch approached, Moghal wasgivenconflicting information about the status of her order,ﬁrst receiving anoticethat the tickets were ready, then learning that StubHub had canceled her order,then being misledinto thinkingher tickets wouldbedelivered after all, the lawsuit said.

After the initial cancellation, Moghalspent hours on the phone withStubHub, whichsaidthe order would remain canceled but then reversed course and promised her that they wouldbedelivered an hour before thematch, the lawsuit said. Moghal drove to the stadium and waited in line, but never received hertickets,the lawsuit said. She was then promised arefund but never got one, the lawsuit said. Had she known“that StubHub was eitherunable to deliverornot authorized to deliver her World Cup Tickets to her, she neverwould have purchased them,” the lawsuit said.

Similarly,Renteria paid $2,294 for two tickets to the June 18 Mexico-SouthKoreamatch in Guadalajara,Mexico,but never received his tickets, the lawsuit said.

Like Moghal, Renteria received a notice that his tickets were ready, only to ﬁnd that StubHub canceled the order, the lawsuit said. He was only refundedafter“significant complaints to StubHub,” but had to eat the cost of traveling to Mexico, the lawsuit said.

Dowhitsrecordasmoststocksrise

ButslumpingAIstocks keep indexesmixed

BY STAN CHOE Associated Press

NEW YORK Most U.S. stocks rose on Thursday, and theDow Jones Industrial Average rallied to another record, but more drops for computer chip companies and other winners of the artiﬁcial-intelligence boom kept indexes mixed.

TheS&P 500 finished theday virtually unchanged and edged up by less than0.1%, even though sevenout of every 10 stocks within the index rose. The Dow jumped 594 points, or 1.1%,while theNasdaq composite dropped0.8% after erasinganearly gain.

Stocks broadly got some helpfrom areport showing that U.S. employers added 57,000 jobs to their payrollslast month. That’s growth, which is good for the economy,but it was also short of the 100,000 jobs that economists expected and aslowdown from May’s hiring pace

Thebright side of the weaker-than-expected result is that it could keep pressure off inﬂation, which has been accelerating worldwide becauseofjumps in oilpricescaused by thewar with Iran. Andnow that oil prices are back below where they were before the war,ifinﬂation slows in upcoming months, theFederal Reservemay feel less need to raise interest rates several times this year

That would be arelieffor investors,who tend to love lower interest ratesbecause theycan givethe economy aboost by making it less expensive for U.S. households and businesses to borrow money andspend. Lower ratesalsotendtopushupwardonprices for stocksand other investments

The yield on the10-year Treasury got to 4.50% in the morning, up from 3.97% just before thewar.But after the release of the U.S. hiring data, it immediately fell back to 4.46% before drifting to 4.48%.

Traders now seean82% chance that the Fedand its new chairman,Kevin Warsh, will not raise the federal funds rate at its next meeting later this month. That’supfrom the 71% chanceseen aday earlier,according to

BY CARSON HARTZOG

Minnesota Star Tribune (TNS)

The

How much betterdoes aTVhave to work before shoppers are willing to spend upward of $1,500 to replacethe one already hanging on their walls?

That’sthe questionfacing Minnesota-based Best Buy as it becomes theexclusive nationalretailer for anew generation of premium TVs that promises brighter colors, deepercontrastand less glare than today’smodels.

After several sluggish years for consumerelectronicsfollowing the pandemicbuying boom, executives andWall Street analysts believethe TV market may ﬁnally be on the verge of along-awaited replacement cycle. Best Buy is betting that improved picture quality —combined with millions of aging TVs purchased during COVID-19 —will ﬁnally persuade shoppers it’stime to upgrade.

datafrom CME Group.

“The labor market isn’toverheating,” said Brian Jacobsen, chief economic strategist at AnnexWealthManagement. He said the data could allow the Fed to wait through the summer to get more clues abouthow inﬂation is behaving before having to decide on hiking rates On Wall Street, the companybehind LaCroix sparkling waters climbed 7.5%after National Beverage said it will pay aspecial dividend of $3.25 for each share that investorshold.

DollarTree rose 2.4% after the retailer said it approved aprogram to send up to $2.5 billion to its shareholders by buyingback its stock.

Stocks of companies in the crypto industry were also strongafter theprice of bitcoin rose roughly 2%,aday after dropping near itslowestlevel since2024. Robinhood Markets rose 3.8%, and CoinbaseGlobal gained 3.9%.

Incoming CEO Jason Bonﬁg has said Best Buy is “notjust aretailer anymore,” but itsstores remain central to thecompany’sstrategy andgenerate most of its revenue. Expanding into categories such as Lego andtrading cardsispartof that evolution, butthe electronics chainstill relies on newphone and TV releases to drive storetrafﬁc.

“For us,it’salways been about making sure we servecustomers across every price point,” Bonfig said in an interview at the Richﬁeld store. “When new technologycomes in, that absolutely helps our business. But at thesame point in time, it’sour jobwith our vendors to tell them what customers want.That’s really when our model works best.”

BestBuy is thenational retailer withexclusive rights for one year selling RGB LED televisions from leadingmanufacturersincluding Samsung, Sony,LG, TCL and Hisense The setsare positioned above con-

But moredrops for computer chip companies weighed on indexes. They’ve come under pressure because of worries that their stock prices shot too high in the frenzy around AI and that all the spending on chips and data centers may notresult in as much proﬁt and productivity growth as hoped. Memorymaker Micron Technology erased an early gain to drop 5.5%, aday afterplunging 10.6%. Nvidia fell1.4%, and Lam Research sank 10.2%. They were some of the heaviest weights on the S&P 500 because they’ve grown so huge in size amid AI mania. Nvidia hasatotal value of nearly $4.7 trillion, for example, which means that its stock’smovements have moreweight on the S&P 500 than any other All told, the S&P 500 rose 0.01 to 7,483.24 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied594.83 to 52,900.07, and the Nasdaq composite sank 207.36 to 25,382.67.

ventional LEDmodelsand compete with OLED televisions, withprices ranging from about $1,000 to more than$30,000 fora115-inch screen

Thechallenge is convincing shoppers thetechnology is worth the premium. Bonﬁg believesseeing theTVs in personwill make the difference —atagline Best Buy hasembraced withits “Believing Is Seeing” marketing campaign.

“There is really something very powerful about whenpeople get an opportunity to see it,” he said. “Or some people say, ‘Oh,it’samazing, butI actually need something in this price range.’ We have that covered as well.”

Unlike traditional LED televisions, which use awhite backlight, RGB LED sets use separate red, green andblue LEDs, producing brighter colors, stronger contrast and lessglare in sunlit rooms.

Bonﬁg said innovation also has returnedtoamore “normal” pace since thepandemic,when compa-

nieswerefocused on producing “as much productaspossible,” ashift he said hashelpedimprove sales trends across categories, including TVs.

Best Buy has struck similar deals before.In2023, it became the exclusiveretailerfor Roku-made TVs. Afew years before that, it partnered with Amazon on amultiyear agreement to sell Toshiba and Insignia TVs.

That wasn’tthe case when OLED TVs entered the market. In 2013, Best Buy became theﬁrst U.S. retailertosellLGOLED TVs, but it didn’thave the kind of marketexclusivity this deal provides.

“It’snot about just asking foran exclusive,” Bonfig said. “The exclusive meansthat we’re going to represent the products in away thevendors want.We’regoing to show the technology like nobody else can.We’re going to trainour employees (and) have the digital resources.”

RICHARD DREW Specialist Gennaro Saporito works June 26 on the floor of the Newyork Stock Exchange.

OPINION

Judiciary’sresponsibilitytofulﬁllDeclaration’s promise

On the Fourth of July,our nation will commemorate the 250thanniversary of its founding charter: the Declaration of Independence. Adopted on July 4, 1776, by the Second Continental Congress, the document which was then titled “The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America,” announced to the world that the 13 colonies were free from the rule of Great Britain.

Weimer

The declaration arose from aperiod of profound strain between the colonies and the crown led by aking many colonists considered to betyrannical and prone to putting his thumb on the scales of justice. The authors set forth 27 grievances against the king of Great Britain, asserting that his actions had undermined representative government andthe fair administration of justice.

In doing so, they articulated a

principleboth bold and enduring: That when agovernment becomes destructiveofthe people’s rights, thepeople possess the authority to alter or abolish it. The 56 delegates who afﬁxed their names to thedocument, at least 25 of whom were attorneys, understoodtheir act was considered high treason, punishable by tortureand death.Benjamin Franklin quipped, “Wemust all hangtogether,ormost assuredly we shall all hang separately.” At atime whenmonarchies ruledovernations,the United Statesput its faith in thecitizens to govern themselves. In theyears that followed independence, the ideals announcedin1776 were woven into the fabric of our constitutional structure.InThe FederalistNo. 78, Alexander Hamiltonmetaphoricallydescribed the judiciary as the “least dangerous”

branch of government, possessing neither the swordofthe executive nor the purse of the legislature. The judiciary’sauthority,heexplained, rests in neither force nor will but in judgment alone. At the same time, Hamilton emphasized thatanindependent judiciary is absolutely essentialtopreserving liberty as acheck upon the political branches.

Over the course of two and ahalf centuries, theDeclaration has becomeone of the most widely circulated and inﬂuential political documentsinhuman history. Its assertion that “all men are created equal” and “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights” has echoed far beyond our shores, bothattracting new citizens and inﬂuencing other countries to emulate these principles.

Abraham Lincoln,our nation’s 16th president, regarded thedeclaration as the moral standard to which theUnited States must

Before La.joinedthe U.S., N.O. nuns hadquestions

Today,it’snot easy to imagine New Orleans as anything other than part ofthe UnitedStates.

But it wasn’t always so,and anexchange of letters in 1804 between the Ursuline sisters of New Orleans and American President Thomas Jeffersonremindsusof an important reality: New Orleans became an American city in adistinctive way —bygovernance quickly,but by culture much more slowly

This year,wecelebrate 250 years of the political independenceofthe United States of America aswell as the development of the distinctive American political worldview, which includes two key principles: arespect for adiversity of religions in society and aseparation between the institutions of government and religion.

“Therewas no comfortable place for the Ursulines in this changed world,”she wrote in her book “MasterlessMistresses: The New Orleans Ursulines and theDevelopment of aNew World Society, 17271834.”Theywereneither Protestant nor wives andmothers. Whatwas the place of unmarried women as property holders?

continually aspire. He viewed it as aprism through which the Constitution should be understood and applied. He relied on the principles of theDeclaration of Independence in his Gettysburg address, calling the United States anation “conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” Lincoln also wrote about a“government of the people, by the people, and forthe people[.]”

To preservethe principles embodied in the Declaration of Independence, ourfounding citizens adopted an intricate system of checks and balances in the Constitution providing each branch with separate powers, checked and balanced by the power of theother branches. The role of thejudiciary is to resolve issues which those before the court cannot resolvethemselves, not by declaring “winners or losers,” but by applying the rule of law as enacted by the legislative branch,

This summer,America turns 250 years old. Across the country,communities are marking theoccasion with celebrations and ceremonies. Flags will ﬂy,speeches will be given and the nation will pause to marvel at two and ahalf centuries of the American experiment.

tempered by the fundamental law of the Constitution. The judiciary must remain above the fray and resolve matters fairly,justly, impartially and independently without partisanship, personality or politics. All stand equal before acourt of justice.

As we celebrate this 250th anniversary,werecognize not only a historic document, but the lasting principles it sets forth: liberty under law,equality in dignity and agovernment accountable to the people. The Declaration of Independence continues to stand as areminder of the courage and conviction of those whosigned it and of their belief that justice must rise above power.Aswereﬂect on its words, we must renew our commitment to the ideals that shaped our nation and that continue to guide it today

John L. Weimer is the chief justiceofthe Louisiana Supreme Court.

These two points were at issue when Sister Therese de Saint Xavier Farjon wrote with her sister nuns to President Jefferson. Simply put, the Ursulineswere notconﬁdent that their convent wouldbe recognized as their property undernewly established American rule.

The cultural context of the day made their concern justiﬁed. These French nuns would have remembered two very different revolutions. The AmericanRevolution of 1776 was not asectarianone.Christians in English colonies of all denominations or none joined in opposition to English rule from London.

The Ursulines also had the powerful memory of the French Revolution of 1789, whichwas arevolution against both the king and the Roman Catholic Churchin France. Convents and other religious communities were destroyed, disbandedor conﬁscated in reaction to the privileged position held by the Catholic Churchin French society

The same year,the American Constitution had become law,soon after including the First Amendment and its famous ﬁrst words “Congress shall make no lawrespecting an establishment ofreligion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” In Americanlaw,noparticular church would hold aprivileged position.

For the Ursulines, these memories would cause concern about their future under American rule. Their Frenchexperience of democratic anti-royalism wasthatitwas violently anti-church In addition, frequent recent regime changes in New Orleans —injust 40years from French to Spanish,back to French, then American —caused angstabout the legitimacy of property claims. The historian Emily Clark notes thatyoung America was broadly Protestant andemphasized women’splace in the home aswives and mothers.

The Ursulines quickly showed savviness and courage by courtinggood relationswiththe new American governor,W.C.C. Claiborne, successfully seeking his support with the American president.Their letter to Jeffersoncarries this coreassertion: “thatthe treaty of cession, and the sense of justicewhich marks the character of the United States, would have secured to them[the Ursulines] the property theynow possess …”

The nuns’ argument is about morality, notonly about propertyrights, citing their seclusionfromthe world, shunning of wealthand commitment to “the causeof the orphan, of the helpless child of want.

In their Catholic worldview,the nuns speak not about individual rights but rather about thecommon good and carefor those mostvulnerable. By this measure, their worldview is not yet American.

Jefferson’sreply was reassuring.

“The principles of the constitution and government of the United States area sure guarantee to you thatitwill be preserved to you sacredand inviolate, and thatyour institutionwill be permitted to govern itself according to its own voluntary rules, without interference from thecivil authority,” he wrote.

In thenuns’ Catholic tradition, liberty of conscience allowed religious errorto grow, andseparation of church and state was condemned. Jefferson’sacceptanceof religious diversityand assurance that the nuns wouldoperate “without interference from civilauthority” was new to them indeed.

This exchange of lettersabout property reveals much about differences in worldviews.The Ursuline sistersand other Catholicsinearly America had to grow comfortable over timethat theirchurch couldthrive in this democratic republican context Today, you can seeareplica of President Jefferson’s letter at the Old Ursuline Convent Museum in the French Quarter, but theoriginal document remains part of the Ursulineorder’sarchives—now located at BostonCollege,aCatholic institution in acity that was ahotbed of the American Revolution.

ChristopherWisemanisthe executive director of the Catholic Cultural Center of New Orleans.

Twohundred and ﬁftyyears of democracy is, by any measure, an extraordinary achievement. Anation that began as abold experiment in self-governance has grown into the world’slongest-standing constitutional republic, proving to be abeacon of progress and inspiring movements for freedom and liberty across the globe.

While this milestoneiscause for celebration, it is also amoment forhonest reckoning —asking ourselves which chapters of our story we have told in full, and which we have too longconsigned to themargins

America’sfounding promise —that all men arecreated equal —was adeclaration thenation had not yet earned,“the promissory note” referred to by Dr.Martin Luther King. The work of earning it has been thegreat,unﬁnished labor of every generation since. The emancipation of enslaved people and the century-long struggle of their descendants to claim full citizenship rightsrepresent perhaps the mostprofound achievement in that ongoing project of liberty.And historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs)were built precisely at the hinge of that achievement, making it possible for Black Americans to pursue lives of dignity, purpose and full citizenship.

The story of HBCUs is one such chapter.And it belongs not at the footnotes of American history,but at itsvery center Borninthe aftermathofthe Civil War, HBCUs were created out of necessity.A shattered nation, reconstructing itself,refused to open the doors of higher education to Black Americans. Andwith the assistance of generous and committed friends, Black Americansbuilt their own. Against immense opposition, HBCUs emerged ﬁrst as institutions of learning that soon became engines of Black self-determination and, in turn, pillars of American democracy itself.

Consider what that moment demanded: not only the courage to imagine freedom, but thediscipline to build the institutions that freedom requires. Schools. Libraries. Laboratories.Lecture halls. HBCUs provided theeducational infrastructure and thought leaders for apeople emerging from bondage.

The principles of justice, service and democratic citizenship that were cultivated on HBCU campuses didnot remain conﬁned to classrooms and yards. They took root in studentsand alumni whocar-

ried those values into the wider world. From the suffrage movement to the Civil Rights Era, HBCU students and alumni have been at the forefront of every major campaign to redraw the moral and legal architecture of American democracy They organized sit-ins and freedom rides. They registered voters in counties where doing so required extraordinary courage. They argued cases before the SupremeCourt, wrote the legislation, preached the sermons and paid the prices that madethe Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act not just possible, but inevitable. When we speak of the legal victories that transformed this republic, we are speaking, in no small part, of men and women shaped on HBCU campuses. This legacy did not end with the passage of landmark legislation. It endures. Today,HBCUscontinue to produce adisproportionate share of Black professionals in law,engineering, medicine, education, the sciences and public service. Across every industry and in every region of the country,the ﬁngerprints of an HBCU education are visible proof of what an equitable higher education system can produce —and what this nation is capable of when it invests in all of its people.

There is atemptation in moments of national celebration to flatten complexity and tell the story of America as astraight and unbroken line from promise to fulfillment. But the truer and, Iwould argue, the more patriotic story is the one that acknowledges how much each generation has had to fight forthe ideals the founders declared. It is the story of arepublic perpetually reforming itself,perpetually reaching toward and securing amore perfect union. HBCUsare apart of the American story in its deepest sense. They did not merely respond to injustice. They modeled the possibility of abetter day.They said, in brick and mortar and curriculum and community,that Black intellectual lifewas not aconcession to be granted but atruth to be celebrated, agifttothe nation —and that the American project of liberty could not be complete without fulfilling its promise to all.

As the nation raises atoast to 250 years, we would do well to remember: Our democracy endures because every generation has had the courage to demand that its promise extend further —toinsist that liberty is not agift bestowed on some, but aright belonging to all. HBCUshave carried that promise forgenerations. This is not afootnote. That is the story of American progress.

Dr.Reynold Verretispresident of Xavier University of Louisiana.

COMMENTARY

ISSUE OF THE WEEK AMERICA 250

As the nation celebrates itssemiquincentennial on July 4, the focus hasturnedtoour founding documentsand what they meantoday.Has America lived up to the promise in itsDeclaration of Independence? What lessons should we takefrom history? Hereare twoperspectives:

Celebratinga milestone withoutbeing chauvinistic

Even with semiquincentennialcelebrations and anniversary essays in the air,and with readers alreadysaturated with commentaries on American democracy and 250 years of independence, there’sgood reason to linger,ifjust for amoment, on what Gerald Ford had to say when the country,exhausted by the Vietnam Warand besieged by Watergate, marked its bicentenniala half-century ago Ford deliveredremarks even perfectly suited to his time, andall time, including and especially our own. What the country wouldn’tgivetohear speeches like these now.Whatthe country wouldn’tgive to believe speeches like these in this era The president began his July 2, 1976, remarks by reminding his listeners that July 4may not reallybethe beginningof American independence. But theFounders, those sages in powdered wigsand knee breeches, did what editors do to columns like this one: They read andrereadwhat Thomas Jefferson haddrafted, offered some suggestions, made some adjustments. “They took two moredays to debate and to approvethisdeclaration and announcement to the world of what they had done and the reasonswhy,” Ford explained.

(“Men maybetrusted to govern themselves without amaster”) and saying, “This was the most revolutionary idea in theworld at that time. It remains themost revolutionary idea in the world today.”

Thebackgroundthatmade theRevolutionpossible

David Shribman

This is aspeech that’scelebratory without in any way being chauvinistic. It is afundamentally optimistic view,but Fordwasn’t issuing an apology for America. He was simply saying thecountry had unﬁnished business and must overcome ahistory that in many ways wasn’t the history we wished it were. It’s important to remember that this speech was issued after the country came through Watergate’ssevere test of our founding and thenation’sdeﬁning values.

As we near the250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, let me share acouple of reﬂections on the background of how this extraordinary,unprecedented and daring event succeeded.

Twodecades ago, Iset out to write abook about the events known as theGlorious Revolution of 168889. Isuspected that this revolution —the ouster of the Catholic King James II of England andthe installation of his Protestant son-inlaw (and nephew) William III and daughter Mary I—was helpful, perhaps anecessary precursor of the American Revolution.

Standing in the National Archives, the home of America’s cherished founding documents, Ford reminded the country that the Declaration of Independence was far more than the beloved melodic opening language, withits “self-evident truths” and ‘unalienable rights” and its high-minded goals toachieve“Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” that have been memorized by American school pupils for generations. He pointed to the document’slist of grievancesthe onetime colonists deplored (obstructing justice, establishing an “Arbitrary government,” and “cutting off ourTrade withall parts of theworld”) andurged Americans to read what hecalled the “dull parts.” Twodays later,atMonticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson,Ford used a naturalization ceremony to expandhis thoughts.

He spoke about independence —not onlyabout independencefrom Great Britain but also from governmental tyranny “Jefferson and his colleagues very deliberately and very daringly setout to construct anew kind of nation,”Ford said, quoting the Declaration’sauthor

He then went on to speak of the contributions of America’simmigrants, saying that their “transfusions of traditions andcultures, as well as of blood,”have enriched the country and transformed America into “a new kind of people.” In today’senvironment, it is worth quoting Ford at length: “Foreigners like Lafayette, VonSteuben, and Pulaski cametoﬁght in our Revolution because they believed in its principles that they felt were universal. Immigrants like Andrew Carnegie came as poor boys and created agreat steel industry, then gave his fortune back to America for libraries, universities and museums. Maria Francesca [Ste. Frances Xavier] Cabrini came as amissionary sister to serve the sick and the poor Samuel Gompers worked in asweatshop, spent his lunchtime helping other immigrant workers learn toread so they could become citizens.Wehave gained far,far more than we have given to the millions whomade America their second homeland.

Usingthe metaphor of Jacob’smulticolored coat to describe themodern United States, he cited “the rich treasures you brought from whence you came, and let us shareyourpride in them.”

Hardly anyone at the time pointed to these speeches as especially eloquent. They were delivered by an accidental president whose eloquence was in his simple appreciation of the achievement of theFounders. So think of this time as more than the 250th anniversary of American independence. Think of it as the50th anniversary of two remarkable speeches.

Email David Shribman at dshribman@ post-gazette.com.

ects, starting in NewEngland and New York, was to abolish the colonial legislatures. William III reinstated the legislatures, leaving them to tussle with royal or proprietorial governors or lieutenant governors. Over the next 75 years, these political arenas were schools of practical politics and philosophic principle, whose star pupils included Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.

Iwas convinced then and am moreso now that the events of the Glorious Revolution and their reverberations over the next three-quarters of acentury madepossible thesuccess of the American Revolution

First,because the ouster of one king with aclear hereditary claim, the exclusion of his male heirs, and the installation of three foreign successors left acloud over thetitle of whoever held the monarchy James and his Stuart son and grandsons were Catholics, unsuitable forProtestant England.

William was aDutchman, stadtholder of the Dutch Republic; his English wife, Mary,was subservient and died six years into his reign; they were childless and succeeded by thevery English Queen Anne. After her one survivingchild died of smallpox in 1700, Parliament passed the Act of Succession barring Catholics (and anyone who married aCatholic) from the throne, and when Anne died in 1714, she was succeeded by George I, elector of Hanover,who spoke no English.

George Ispoke to his ministers in French,the lingua franca of continental courts; his son George II spoke English with aGerman accent, and both weresuspected of caring more for their German lands in Hanover than for England. Only in 1760 did England get aplainly English king, theyoung George III.

The clouds on thetitles of both the Stuart pretenders and the Hanover incumbents left room for philosophers to concoct theories of resistance to kings.

At thesame time, English monarchs, aware of their arguable illegitimacy,avoided the fashion for absolutist government pursued and championed by Louis XIV in France, Charles III in Spain, Joseph II in Austria and Frederick III in Denmark.

James II’staste for absolutism was apparent before his ouster.One of his proj-

Progressive historians portrayed the legislatures as devices forlongestablished rich people to hold on to their money.But property was widely held in the colonies, and with manpower always scarce, the older legislative leaders were always on the lookout fortalented young men.Both Washington and Jefferson were given important assignments while still in their 20s.

The colonies were founded at different times, were of different heftand the product of diverse religious traditions after a century of wars centered on religious differences

Franklin’sidea that the colonies, for all their particularities, shared common interests had consequences in 1774 when grievances in afew colonies prompted the summoning of aContinental Congress and its continual meetings during the Revolutionary War.

The American Revolution was achancy event, unsure of success at every turn, and, at the sametime, of enormous possibility: Franklin and Washington contemplated that the American republic could be the world’slargest and strongest nation. It was the product of extraordinary individuals, whose clustering genius at one time and in one place is reminiscent of Periclean Athens or Renaissance Italy

But background circumstances also contributed. Without alightly governing king-in-parliament, unwilling to press for absolutist rule; without locally elected legislatures, leftlargely to their owninitiatives and devices; without the willingness to perceive common interests despite differences in religious belief and cultural folkways that had been so recently the stuff of violent disagreement and war without all these advantages, it is hard to see how the Revolution whose Declaration we celebrate this week, of which we are the fortunate, if often also the querulous heirs, could have been so largely,though imperfectly,successful.

Happy Fourth!

Michael Barone is on X, @MichaelBarone.

Michael Barone

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOByJEN GOLBECK

The Great AmericanState Fair on the National Mall is seen through an American flag in Washington.

with meteorologist DamonSingleton

LSUcuts 25 staff positions

Savingswillgotoward faculty, research

BY HALEY MILLER Staff writer

LSU eliminated 25 staff positions in administrative ofﬁces Thursday to put more money toward faculty and research,LSU system President Wade Rousse said in astatement.

“Louisiana deserves transformational change from LSU,”Rousse said. “I committed to streamlining operations and ﬁnding efﬁciencies so the university can focus on, and afford, the faculty neededtobecome atop 50 research institution.” Theemployees affected worked in the communications, student engagement and executive departments, an LSU spokesperson said. Rousse went on to saythe cuts would enablethe university to restructure and direct savings toward faculty and research. Hehas stated LSU will need to hire more faculty to reach its goal of being a “top 50”researchuniversity,a distinction based on the National Science Foundation Higher Education Research and Development Survey,which tracks how much each university spends on research.

It’snot the first move LSU has made to get closertothe top 50. Earlier this year,the Board of Supervisors approved asystem-level restructuring to bring the Pennington Biomedical Research Center,two healthscience centers and LSU AgCenter under the umbrella of the flagship campusin Baton Rouge for the purpose of counting research dollars altogether.The changes ruffled feathersoutside of Baton Rouge as some advocates for LSU Health Shreveport worried about the medical school losing autonomy

The president and the Board of Supervisors have said ranking in the top 50 will make LSU eligible formore grants and increase its academic prestige.

RTAseeks feedback on N.O. East busservice

Survey runs throughAug.31

BY JONI HESS Staff writer

The New Orleans Regional Transit Authority launched an online survey this week to gather community input on improving bus service reliability in New Orleans East,anarea theagency has made apriority

The surveyruns through Aug. 31, and responses will be used to addresssafety improvements and accessibilitychallenges and to gauge the overall transitexperience for riders.

Thesurvey is partofaseries of communityengagement initiativesunder the New Orleans East Service Improvement Plan. The RTAhopes to enact changes by fall 2027.

Riders will be asked for input on the 61 Lake Forest-Village de L’Est; the 62 Morrison-Bullard; 62-O Morrison Owl;the 66 Hayne Loop; the 67 Michoud Loop, and the 68 Little Woods Loop.

“The feedback we receive, together with operational data, will helpinform serviceplanning as we continue working to improve access andmobilityfor thecommunitiesweserve,”saidRTA interimChief Executive Ofﬁcer RonBaptiste

New Orleans East is one of the region’smost important transit markets, according to theRTA, and its distancefromjobs,edu-

TRIAL

Continued from page1B

apacked docket of late: She oversaw themarathon March jury trial of two personal injury lawyersconvictedofwirefraud and obstructionfor theirroleinthe staged-wrecks scheme. In June, Vitter ran thetwo-week trial of aformer New OrleansPolice Department ofﬁcer,Christian Claus, found guilty of wire fraud and lyingtothe FBI in an art-insurance scam. The postponement of Cantrell’s trial comes weeks after The Times-

cation and healthcare resources in the city’score makes service reliability all the morecrucial for riders.

The agency hasfielded yearslong criticism for slow service across its ﬂeet of buses, streetcars and paratransit vehicles

Picayune |The Advocate reported thatthe case’slead prosecutor,Assistant U.S. Attorney Jordan Ginsberg, was placed on leave amid an internalDepartment of Justice probe into allegations that he concealed aworkplace relationship withasubordinateinthe local U.S. Attorney’sOfﬁce. Alongtime public corruption prosecutor,Ginsberg had been promoted this spring to lead all of theU.S. Attorney’sOfﬁce’scriminal prosecutions. He was withdrawn from the Cantrell prosecution team around thetime that the internal probe became public. Ginsberghas since been pulled off several more

It’salso dealing with abus shortage problem, funding shortfallsand amanagement shakeup as ofﬁcialssearch for anew CEO.

Former CEO Lona Edwards Hankins resigned in May

The RTAwill hold ameeting on Tuesday —the first of several —toprovide an overview of

cases on which he had continued handling case work since being named the office’scriminal chief. Ginsberg’sallegations have not come up so farincourt proceedings or filings related to Cantrell’s case, and attorneys for Vappie and Cantrell have declinedtocomment on them. Still, Cantrell’sOct. 19 trialdateseemed to pose logistical challengesfor the government. AssistantU.S. Attorney Nick Moses,another prosecutor assigned to the Cantrell matter,has another trial set to begin that day: that of Randy Farrell, an electrician charged under a2024 indictment with bribing Cantrell in abid to shirkscrutiny over his firm’s

thestudy,explain theplanning process and hear from the public before recommendations are presented to the RTABoard of Commissioners.

The meeting will be held at theNew OrleansEast Library at 5641 Read Blvd. from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

permitting practices.Farrell’s case is overseen by U.S. District Judge Jay Zainey.(Cantrell has not been charged in that scheme.)

“There was no objection to the requested continuance (of Cantrell’strial) by counsel forthe Government,” Vitter wrote in this week’sorder Cantrell left office in January Both she and Vappie have pleaded notguiltytotheir federalcharges James Finncovers federallaw enforcementand courts for The Times-Picayune|The Advocate. Reachhim at jfinn @theadvocate.com or on Signal at jamesfinn.82.

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

The NewOrleans Regional Transit Authority launched an online surveythisweek to gather community input on improving bus service reliability in NewOrleans East.

Soft-spoken

Tillman

delivers loud statement with World Cup goal

BY JOSH DUBOW AP sportswriter

SANTA CLARA, Calif. Malik Tillman is soft-spoken off the ﬁeld with his interviews often given at a volume just above a whisper

He spoke loudly with his bloody right foot at one of the biggest moments of the World Cup for the United States.

Still feeling the affects of being stomped on by an opponent’s studs, Tillman scored the ﬁrst free kick goal in a World Cup for the Americans in 32 years to seal a 2-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina on Wednesday night that sent the U.S. into the round of 16.

Tillman celebrated the biggest moment of his young career with a smile and a scream as he ran to celebrate with his teammates in front of the large contingent of American fans at Levi’s Stadium.

“I’m a different type of person on the pitch,” he said

Son of legendary Saints RB is a two-sport standout

BY CHRISTOPHER DABE Staff writer

after the game. “Of course maybe you don’t really see my emotions, but then if you score a goal like this, I think also you guys saw my emotions. It’s a great feeling.” Tillman showed off his bloody sock perhaps the most famous in American sports lore since Curt Schilling’s in the 2004 baseball playoffs for the Boston Red Sox — after the game, saying he was still in a bit of pain.

But the discomfort was lessened by pure joy as the U.S. now prepares to play Belgium on Monday night in Seattle with a chance to make it to the quarterﬁnals for the ﬁrst time since 2002.

Tillman’s goal came with the U.S. protecting a one-goal lead and down a man after Folarin Balogun was sent off with a red card early in the second half Balogun scored his third goal of the tournament in the ﬁrst half but Tillman delivered the game-sealer in the highlight of what has

ä See WORLD CUP, page 5C

BY JON BLAU Staff writer

At ﬁrst blush, it doesn’t appear that last month’s change in NCAA eligibility rules will affect LSU football all that much.

There are just four true seniors who can now return for a fifth season in 2027 because college athletes have five years to play five. And those four players, defenders Whit Weeks, Princewill Umanmielen and Ty Benefield and wideout Jayce Brown, each find themselves one big season away from NFL draft-worthiness.

Plus, LSU’s seven redshirt seniors, by the letter of the law, aren’t eligible to return for a sixth year But there are ways the NCAA’s attempt to simplify its eligibility rules could factor into Lane Kiffin’s build of LSU next offseason and beyond. The pool of players available via high school recruiting, roster retention, and transfer portal acquisitions just changed.

NFL or bust … but not totally

If anything, the likes of Weeks, Umanmielen, Benefield, and Brown don’t have to go pro after this season. But some are more likely than others to consider a fifth year Benefield, the 6-foot-3, 208-pound transfer from Boise State, seems like a long shot. He’s been listed by ESPN experts as a topfive safety in the 2027 draft class. Umanmielen, the Ole Miss transfer, just

See NCAA, page 3C

BY JEFF DUNCAN Staff writer

United States midfielder Malik Tillman takes a corner kick during a World Cup match against Bosnia on Thursday in Santa Clara, Calif. The United States won 2-0 to advance to the Round of 16. AP PHOTO By EAKIN HOWARD

STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL DEMOCKER Saints

Keith Mitchell looks

STAFF FILE PHOTO By BRETT DUKE

Day’s Curtis McAllister, center, runs the ball as Newman’s Jack Falgoust, left, defends on Oct. 20. McAllister has emerged as a two-sport standout with potential to play either sport in college.

Clark to start third straight WNBA All-Star Game

NEWYORK Caitlin Clark was voted to start her third straight All-Star Game and will be joined by Indiana Fever teammates Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston, the WNBA announced Thursday

Anisimova avoids upset in tiebreaker

BY KEN MAGUIRE AP sportswriter

LONDON Amanda Anisimova

served three of her 20 aces in the deciding tiebreaker to hold off

Soﬁa Kenin 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (3) and reach the third round at Wimbledon on Thursday as Kate, the Princess of Wales, visited the All England Club Anisimova, who was consoled by Kate a year ago after being routed by Iga Swiatek in the ﬁnal, trailed 3-1 in the third set before she broke back in the sixth game against her fellow American.

“Some moments were really awful. I’m just so happy through to the next round,” Anisimova said on No. 2 Court.

“I never thought that I’d be saying this but thank you to my serve today,” she added. “I’m

not an amazing server Now, I can ﬁnally say I can serve pretty good.”

The sixth-seeded Anisimova whacked her racket on her leg at one point in the deciding set

“I was down 3-1 and I told myself to just keep ﬁghting and this might be your last moments at Wimbledon just try and maybe have fun and enjoy it,” said Anisimova, who will next face 26thseeded Madison Keys. “I try to remind myself, just have fun, you are playing at Wimbledon. I do get hard on myself sometimes.”

Swiatek, who beat Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 for the 2025 title on Centre Court, needed just 70 minutes to get past 2021 Wimbledon ﬁnalist Karolina Pliskova 6-1, 6-3.

The reigning champion gets Filipino rising star Alexandra Eala, who rallied to beat Maya Joint

3-6, 6-2, 6-0, in the third round.

On Tuesday Joint spoiled Serena Williams’ singles comeback.

Fritz emulates Tiafoe

A well-dressed Taylor Fritz impressed again, beating compatriot Patrick Kypson 6-2, 6-2, 7-5 to reach the third round.

Fritz’s white blazer and NBAstyle warmup pants for his walkon at No. 2 Court drew attention but his play wasn’t bad either — he ﬁred 19 aces and avoided getting pushed into a fourth set

The sixth-seeded American, a semifinalist last year, emphatically pumped his right ﬁst when he broke Kypson to convert his fourth match point

Fritz also won his opener in straight sets and had worn a similar outﬁt with tear-away warmup pants — designed to easily unbut-

ton as you pull them off in one tug. “I took it off slowly in the ﬁrst round. I kind of actually made a mess of it,” Fritz said in his press conference. “It’s actually just a lot easier to just rip them off. I saw a video of Frances (Tiafoe) doing it. I was just trying to copy him today ”

Later an equally dapper Tiafoe showed how it’s done — earning applause for quickly pulling off the bottoms before his match against Jan Choinksi.

Naomi Osaka’s fashion statements have made her court walkons must-see viewing at Grand Slam tournaments — Wimbledon included.

Also Thursday, both secondseeded Alexander Zverev and fifth-seeded Alex de Minaur recorded straight-set victories.

Cink, Wi share U.S. Senior Open lead after opener

BY JOE REEDY AP sportswriter

COLUMBUS,Ohio Stewart Cink got off to a great start in a bid to win his third straight senior major Cink was the only player to make five birdies on the back nine at Scioto Country Club on Thursday shooting a 3-under 67 for a share of the first-round lead in the U.S. Senior Open with Charlie Wi Cink struggled on the front nine, shooting a 2-over 37, but found momentum once he made the turn I’ve been off for a little while, and I started like I’ve been off for a little while I had to prove it to myself again that I could play decent golf a certain way,” Cink said. “The back nine was really nice. I actually could have shot quite a bit lower on the back nine. I missed three very reasonably like inside right around 10 feet or less birdie putts.” The 53-year-old Cink has four wins in nine PGA Tour Champions starts this year, including the Senior PGA Championship and the Tradition. The last player to win the Senior PGA, Tradition and U.S. Senior Open in the same year was Jack Nicklaus in 1991. Scioto, the Donald Ross course hosting its third U.S. Senior Open, is where Nicklaus learned to play the game. Simon Griffiths, Freddie Jacobson and George McNeill were tied for third at 68. Defending champion Padraig Harrington was among a group of 10 players at 69.

“Of course it’s tough, we know that, so once you get through that, the golf course itself is playing nicely,” Harrington said Cink is also attempting to be-

come the ﬁfth player to win the event after being runner-up the previous year Fred Funk was the last to do it in 2009. Cink was part of the seventh afternoon group to tee off from the ﬁrst hole and played in the tough-

est conditions of the day when the temperature reached 95 degrees midway through his round and a heat index of 103 according to the National Weather Service.

“The heat is a factor for sure. It affects your focus and your en-

It’s the second time in four years that three players from the same team were chosen to start the game, with Las Vegas doing it in 2023. Clark and Mitchell will be joined this year in the backcourt by Dallas’ Paige Bueckers and Minnesota rookie Olivia Miles. It’s the fourth consecutive year that a rookie was chosen as an All-Star starter Bueckers played last season.

A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, Jessica Shepard, Natasha Howard and Gabby Williams were selected for the frontcourt for the game that will be played in Chicago on July 25.

St. John’s forward Freeman to miss next season

NEW YORK

St. John’s forward Donnie Freeman will miss next season with an Achilles injury after getting hurt during a workout.

It’s a signiﬁcant blow to the Red Storm, who landed Freeman in the transfer portal from Syracuse this offseason and were expecting him to be a top player on the 2026-27 team.

The rising junior was injured Monday and had surgery on his right Achilles tendon, the school announced Wednesday night.

“Donnie had a non-contact injury in a workout and will miss the season,” Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino posted on social media.

The 6-foot-9 Freeman averaged 15.3 points and 7.5 rebounds in 37 games over two seasons at Syracuse.

Raptors agree to multiyear contract with coach Rajakovic

TORONTO The Toronto Raptors have agreed to a multiyear contract extension with coach Darko Rajakovic, who will soon lead a team featuring Kawhi Leonard. The Raptors announced the agreement on Thursday, days after making a blockbuster deal to bring Leonard back the franchise he led to the 2019 NBA title.

Rajakovic led Toronto to 46 wins last season, guiding the team to the playoffs for the ﬁrst time since 2022 before losing in Game 7 of an ﬁrst-round series against Cleveland. He helped the Raptors bounce back from winning 30 or fewer games the previous two seasons under him. Rajakovic is 101-105 over three seasons with the Raptors.

Congo coach suprised to share news of father’s death

ergy level Sometimes even the simplest shots just kind of it’s easy to fall asleep at the wheel when the conditions are like that,” he said.

Cink tied Wi with a birdie on the par-4 18th. Cink’s tee shot found one of the bunkers on the left hand side, but he got a great lie. His second shot landed within 2 feet near the front of the hole, and made for an easy putt. Wi was at even par through his ﬁrst 11 holes before his string of birdies on holes three through seven holes. Wi made a double bogey on the par-4 eighth before ending his round with a par Wi thought his best shot came on the par-3 fourth, when he hit his tee shot within a couple feet with a 5-iron on the 205-yard hole.

“I hit the ball pretty solid today made a couple of putts. It was a hot day I just made sure that I stayed in the ballgame, meaning like mentally, because you could easily lose it out there,” he said.

Wi’s run of bridies ended on the eighth hole when his second shot went left and into the water near the green. He is the 14th player in the 46-year history of the Senior Open to have at least ﬁve straight birdies in a round. The last time it happened was in 2022 when Thongchai Jaidee birdied Nos. 5-9 at the Saucon Valley Country Club’s Old Course in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, during the third round.

The 54-year old South Korean player has nine worldwide professional victories — including ﬁve on the Korean Tour — but none on the PGA Tour or Champions circuit

ATLANTA The death of the father of Congo coach Sébastien Desabre was revealed at a media conference after his team was eliminated from the World Cup, an announcement in public that appeared to startle the Frenchman.

Desabre had just ﬁnished taking questions from the media after Congo’s agonizing 2-1 loss to England in the round of 16 on Wednesday

The team’s spokesman then closed the session by saying in French “the coach has lost his father Sincere condolences.”

Kalemo Ngoy said Thursday the passing of Desabre’s father had been known to him before the game.

The 49-year-old Desabre has coached Congo for four years.

Horse racing great Dettori injured in car accident

NEWMARKET England Frankie Dettori, one of the most successful jockeys in horse racing history, sustained “several broken ribs and a broken thumb” in a car crash and is undergoing further tests in hospital, his representatives said Thursday

The 55-year-old Dettori was driving a car that was involved in a collision with another vehicle in Newmarket, a town in eastern England regarded as the country’s home of horse racing, H Talent Management said in a statement.

“Frankie was taken to hospital, where he was found to have sustained several broken ribs and a broken thumb,” the agency said. The Italian jockey, who famously went through the

with

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By BRIAN INGANGA

Amanda Anisimova returns the ball to Sofia Kenin in a second-round singles match at the Wimbledon Championships on Thursday in London.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By MATT SLOCUM

Stewart Cink hits from the 10th fairway during the second round of the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club on May 15. Cink shot a 3-under 67 for a share of the first-round lead in the U.S. Senior Open on Thursday.

Brown still processing being traded to 76ers

BY DAN GELSTON AP sportswriter

PHILADELPHIA Jaylen Brown said he was still processing how the trade agreement went down that will send the former Boston Celtics star to one of its most storied rivals, the Philadelphia 76ers.

Brown the 2024 NBA Finals MVP, a ﬁve-time All-Star and the league’s fourth-leading scorer this past season — is getting traded by the Celtics to the Sixers, a person with knowledge of the deal’s terms said Wednesday Boston is getting Paul George, along with a slew of draft capital that could become two ﬁrst-round picks and two second-round picks, said the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade does not yet have the required league approvals.

“I’m still processing how this all went down,” Brown wrote on social media Thursday. “I’m excited and disappointed at the same time. I earned my respect from this city I never asked for shortcuts or special treatment. I simply showed up every day, put my head down, and accepted every challenge.

The relationships I built here, the battles we fought together the championship we brought to this city, and the connection I shared with the fans, I’ll carry on with me.”

Jayson Tatum missed most of this past season while recovering from an Achilles tendon tear that happened during the 2025 playoffs, meaning Brown had to carry even more of the load for Boston — and he wound up with careerbest averages of 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game It seemed, though, that Brown has felt underappreciated, espe-

Hendrix making his mark at Newman

Son of former LSU linebacker shining in versatile role

BY SPENCER URQUHART Staff writer

Hendrix Hill has learned plenty about football from a young age as the son of former LSU linebacker Eric Hill, who went on to play 11 seasons in the NFL. Now heading into his senior year at Newman, Hendrix has applied the lessons learned from his father to become a standout on the football field at wide receiver with the ability to play defensive back and return kicks. Eric began coaching Hendrix when he was six years old He started noticing his son’s football skills take off in middle school, and Hendrix is now on track to play at the college level, having received 10 Division I offers.

“Around the seventh or eighth grade, you could see (Hendrix’s) talent,” Eric Hill said. “It manifested itself as he got older You could really see the possibilities of having the opportunity to play at the next level.”

play Division I football.

“I’ve been around a lot of great talent,” Hendrix said. “Being around these kinds of people has always helped me understand my goals in life.”

Currently standing at 6 feet, 185 pounds, Hendrix added 15 pounds to his frame last year and has continued to grow as a leader

“(Hendrix Hill) has grown a ton,” Newman football coach

Aaron Vice said. “He’s a mature kid, he’s a great kid. His dad guides him well. He knows what he’s going to do, and it makes it easier for him to be able to tell other people what to do.”

Hendrix also has plus speed, and he ran a 4.48 40-yard dash this summer at a Tulane camp. He was a running back at Newman during his freshman year before transitioning to wide receiver

“(Hendrix) has built his body through training,” Eric Hill said “You can see the power in his game, and he has the speed to really separate He’s still learning the wide receiver position. He has a ceiling that hasn’t been hit yet, and I believe it’s pretty high.”

While Hendrix appears likely to primarily play wide receiver in college, his versatility caught the attention of Tulane coaches this summer

cially after it became known that Boston had included him in trade talks with Milwaukee when Giannis Antetokounmpo was on the market.

“Saying goodbye isn’t easy when you’ve invested your heart into something,” Brown wrote.

The Sixers have another star to pair with two-time NBA scoring champion Joel Embiid — and the true franchise cornerstones in All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey and second-year standout VJ Edge-

combe — after new team president of basketball operations Mike Gansey pulled off a whale of a move in his ﬁrst month on the job.

“I’m excited for what’s ahead and grateful for the opportunity to join Philadelphia,” Brown wrote.

“Every city has its own identity, its own passion, and its own expectation. I respect that, and I’m looking forward to earning that respect the only way I know how, through the work.

“Philly — throw the ball up let’s get it!”

LSU steals 4-star DB James from Texas

BY JON BLAU Staff writer

LSU didn’t have a defensive back commit in its 2027 class.

Until the Tigers got “Greedy.”

On Thursday, Lane Kiffin and Co. reached into the state of Texas to ﬂip four-star Karnell “Greedy” James from a commitment to the Longhorns. The Manvel, Texas, native had pledged to his in-state program in December James, a 6-foot-1, 175-pound defensive back, is the 15th commit in the Tigers’ 2027 class, including

McALLISTER

Continued from page 1C

“Maybe they just want me to go play football at Ole Miss or something like that,” McAllister said. “I may I may not. I’m not sure.”

Given his father’s career — a first-round pick out of Ole Miss who ended his Saints career as the franchise’s rushing leader many assume football is the obvious path.

“On the football side of it he’s an SEC football player, period,” Powell said. “He can play Saturdays in that league — Saturdays in the Big Ten. Now, of course, you never want to project anything past that.”

He also has a future in basketball after participating in last week’s Nike Elite 100 camp in St. Louis, Missouri, an event for the nation’s top prep players.

“He knows that he’s got a chance to do something special in either sport,” Country Day basketball coach Mike McGuire said. “He may grow another inch or two (and choose basketball). He may get like Deuce 15 more pounds of muscle. If that happens, he’s going to pick his sport.”

Basketball, like football, is in the bloodlines. McAllister’s mother, Danielle McAllister was a defensive-minded standout at Flint (Mich.) Northern High School in the 1990s and played on two SWAC championship teams at Alcorn State in the early 2000s. On the basketball court, McAllister plays more like mom than dad

“She says that I get all my defense from her,” McAllister said with a smile.

His aggressiveness and physicality are most like what she brought to the ﬂoor she said.

“Always on his toes, shufﬂing his

the third on the defensive side of the ball. LSU already has top-50 national prospects KJ Green and Chris Whitehead in the fold at defensive end

If James has his way, the Tigers could add another ﬁve-star recruit. He was asked during his 274Sports commitment livestream if he’s recruiting anyone to come with him to Baton Rouge, and James pointed to one of the Longhorns’ current receiver commits.

“Deﬁnitely my dog, Easton Royal, for sure,” James said of the ﬁvestar wideout from New Orleans,

feet, active hands,” Danielle said.

“Playing the passing lanes. Making sure you have the right angles.”

It was McAllister’s play on defense that put him in the starting lineup late in his freshman season.

“He’s just so disruptive,” McGuire said. “And he’s real long longer than most people think.”

McAllister ended that season with the LHSAA outstanding player award for his 17 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals in the state finals victory over top-seeded Calvary Baptist.

He keyed another title run last season, scoring on a one-handed put-back dunk that helped carry momentum in a last-second semiﬁnal win against Dunham.

“He’s gotten so many and-1s at the rim,” McGuire said. “And then his dunk — that turned the whole momentum of the game.”

McAllister gets plenty of direction at home with two former athletes as parents. His younger brother, Emory, is a skilled point guard entering seventh grade. Older brother Kaleb won a high school powerlifting state title in Mississippi and is now a defensive lineman at Tuskegee University.

“There’s a lot of teaching going on,” Danielle said “I don’t know if he always likes it. Not a lot of letting things go when you’re not doing something right.”

Deuce’s guidance has him focused on the here and now

“You want to keep your head down and work,” Deuce said. “If you’re being honest about it, you’re proud and pleased and thankful for the success you have. At the end of the day, it’s really just understanding and knowing if you’re going to be successful a long time, every day you’re getting one percent better.”

McAllister has been into basketball for as long as he can remember He ﬁrst dunked during

who is ranked as the No. 6 overall recruit in the 247Sports Composite. “We’ve always been talking. James is an intriguing prospect himself with a reported 6-6 wingspan. He has the length and range to play safety, which is where he has predominantly lined up at Manvel High in 2025, but James also has the versatility to play cornerback. As a high school junior, James posted 53 tackles, two interceptions, and six pass breakups, as well as two punt return touchdowns.

warmups before a sixth-grade game. His ﬁrst in-game dunk came in an eighth-grade game at Country Day

“I like the pace and how one player can control the entire game,” McAllister said. “I like shooting the ball, scoring, a lot of that. It’s fun.”

McAllister has always been taller than most kids his age. He played defensive end, linebacker and running back in his ﬁrst season of tackle football in seventh grade—eventually moving to wide receiver and defensive back, where he could put his high reach and ranginess to good use.

He also has potential in track and field. McAllister tried the triple jump as a freshman and fell three inches short of qualifying for the state meet — without any training.

“The coaches just threw me in the event and said, ‘Go try and jump,’” McAllister said, recalling how his “technique was terrible. I think I was landing on my butt and everything.”

Come August, McAllister’s attention turns fully to football.

With two high school seasons still ahead, there’s still time before any college decision becomes ofﬁcial.

“If Deuce calls anybody (and says), ‘My son wants to play football, give him a scholarship,’ he’s going to get a scholarship,” McGuire said.

Deuce is not looking to speed up the recruiting process

“Recruiting, it’s good and bad,” Deuce said. “You see so many kids, so young they have opportunities, and they forget what got them those opportunities. I want him to be a kid as long as he can.”

Whatever he chooses, it will be his decision.

“We’ll see,” McAllister said.

Contact Christopher Dabe at cdabe@theadvocate.com

Eric didn’t hold back when coaching his son. He taught Hendrix the importance of staying humble on the ﬁeld after making a play rather than celebrating, while emphasizing the importance of correcting mistakes to improve his game.

“After I make a big play, (my father) would be like, ‘next play,’ ” Hendrix Hill said. “He’d always have my head on a straight path.

Hendrix took a major step forward last season in Newman’s offense while also contributing on defense and special teams. He ﬁnished his junior year with 584 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns, along with a kick-return touchdown and an interception. Other members of Hendrix’s family have played football, such as his uncle Verge Ausberry, who’s currently LSU’s athletic director His cousins Jaiden and Austin Ausberry both went on to

NCAA

Continued from page 1C

ranked third in the SEC with nine sacks last season, along with 13 tackles for loss. If the edge rusher stacks productive seasons, he’s likely to be a Day 1 or Day 2 pick at what NFL teams regard as a premium position. But in this era of name, image, and likeness (NIL) and revenuesharing pay, athletes with a Day 3 grade could realistically earn more money playing a ﬁfth year in college than they would manning an NFL practice squad. This could factor into decisionmaking for not only the quartet of true seniors on LSU’s roster but also fourth-years across the country, which should have ripple effects in the player market Kifﬁn and Co. will pull from in Year 2.

There may be an uptick in fringe NFL players aiming to play a ﬁfth season elsewhere, either because they want to maximize their earning potential or their current program decided to allocate scholarship and NIL resources elsewhere.

LSU, which acquired 40-plus transfers this offseason, hasn’t been shy about adding college veterans. And the Tigers could continue to be aggressive if their 2027 recruiting class, which currently has 15 commits, remains on the smaller side.

Whether it’s bringing back a senior or two for a ﬁfth year or collecting transfers from elsewhere, LSU could increase the average age of its roster, hoping to increase its odds of winning in the near term.

Recalibrating the development timeline

There’s no change for the 22 redshirt juniors on LSU’s roster because they still have one season to play in 2027, barring some unforeseen lawsuit where redshirted athletes argue they were unjustly sidelined and a court grants them a sixth year Without dispute, LSU has 12 true juniors who not only have

“At ﬁrst I started talking to (Tulane) from a receiver standpoint, but they liked what I was doing at (defensive back),” Hendrix said. “Just knowing wherever I’m able to be an asset and be able to make plays.”

Hendrix has had talks with LSU coaches but has yet to receive an ofﬁcial offer He’s gotten Power Four offers from Baylor and Washington and recently visited Navy’s campus.

“I’m keeping my options open,” Hendrix said “Just understanding that I don’t have to make a split-second decision that I’ll later regret if I wasn’t ﬁrm in my commitment.”

Wherever Hendrix decides to play football in college, he’ll have his father’s support.

“(Hendrix) is at a point in his life where he sees the prize out there,” Eric Hill said. “He wants it. I told him it will only work out if it’s your decision He’s been handling it the right way.”

this year to play but two more after that. There are 12 true sophomores who have four seasons remaining, and there are 17 true freshmen who don’t have to worry about the four-game redshirt rule anymore. The latter was important to coaches because rosters will be hard-capped at 105 players once walk-ons grandfathered into the House settlement depart. Freshman availability is essential for depth, while sophomores and juniors now have more time to develop.

Sophomore safety Faheem Delane, who played his freshman season at Ohio State, still has four years to chase greatness similar to his brother, Mansoor Sophomore receiver Winston Watkins, who came from Ole Miss, has four years in Kiffin’s LSU offense. Junior defensive tackle Dominick McKinley, who just started flashing his five-star potential in 2025, has three seasons left to reach his ceiling.

That’s not to say any of these players, specifically will stay all five years. But several fifthyear seniors could decide to stick around in the coming years, sort of like athletes with added eligibility from COVID, which will have a similar downstream effect. There will be fewer scholarship opportunities for high school athletes if current college players stick around longer Schools, however, will have more seasoned athletes if coaching staffs identify talent correctly and maximize all ﬁve years of development.

For example, Lamar Brown, Deuce Geralds, and Richard Anderson were probably going to be turned loose for LSU’s D-line in 2026 regardless, but there’s no need to wonder if one will be shut down after four games to preserve a redshirt There are no redshirts.

From week to week, the best players can play — regardless of whether they are on a three-, four, or ﬁve-year development track.

The 5-for-5 rule has certainly changed a coach’s calculus.

Email Jon Blau at jon.blau@theadvocate.com.

Hill

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By CHARLES KRUPA Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown drives to the basket in a first-round playoff game against the Philadelphia 76ers on April 21 in Boston. Brown was traded to the 76ers on Wednesdayn.

WORLDCUP 2026

Argentina forward Lionel Messi trains ahead of aWorld Cup match against Cape Verde on

Messi, Argentinaawait Cape Verdeinround of 32

BY TIM REYNOLDS AP sportswriter

MIAMI GARDENS,Fla. Argentina

hasthe WorldCup titles, arguably the best playerofall-time in Lionel Messi, the rich history and aroster ﬁlled with stars.

Cape Verde has none of that.

Soccer’sversion of David vs.Goliath happens Friday night at Hard Rock Stadium, where defending World Cup champion Argentina faces aCape Verde squadwith absolutely no burden of expectations going into the round of 32 match

“I believe we can do agreat thing here,” Cape Verde backup defender Ianique dos Santos Tavares, who goes by the name Stopira, said through atranslator on Thursday.“And this is no exception.This match is no exception.”

Awin by Cape Verde would be oneofthe most stunning upsets in soccerhistory,maybe even sports history. Thinkofitona “Miracle on Ice” scale from 1980,when the youthful U.S. hockey team stunned the supposedly unbeatable Soviet Union at the Lake Placid Olympics and went on to win the gold medal. This would be aMiracle on Grass, without question.

The Argentines mean no disrespectwhen they say this, butwhen the draw for the tournamentcame out they thought Spain or Uruguay would be waiting for them in this round. It wasgoing to be the Group Jwinner —three-time champion Argentina —against the Group H runner-up,and most people would have picked Spain or Uruguay for that spot.

Enter Cape Verde, the tinyisland nation with a40-year-old goalkeeper,the tale of how his mother need-

July7 TBD,11a.m. TBD,3 p.m.

GLANCE

Goliath, so to speak —awaits.

“The most importantmatch in ourhistory,”CapeVerde coach Bubistasaid. “So, we arebeing responsible andalsotrying to enjoy the match. We did notreach this stage by chance. It was on ourown merits andwewant to show the worldour qualities, ourvalues and that there’salot of qualityinCape Verdean football.”

Cape Verdehasn’t yetwon a match at this year’sWorld Cup, makingitthe only team to reach theround of 32 without avictory It hadthreedraws in the group stage; Argentina won all three of its matches, with Messi starring in each of them.

They’re even now. It’s winorgo home.And it’s no ﬂuke that Cape Verde is here,Argentina coach LionelScalonisaid.

“Weare not surprised, to be honest,”Scalonisaid. “Theyare a good team. And they arenot here by chance.Wemust respect them. And that’swhat we will do.”

Oyarzabal’s2 goals send dominant SpainpastAustria

BY GREG BEACHAM AP sportswriter

INGLEWOOD,Calif. Mikel Oyarzabal scored twogoals and Spain beat Austria 3-0onThursdayfor its ﬁrst World Cup victory in a knockout matchsincewinning the title in 2010. Pedro Porro added agoal in the secondhalf for Spain, which put on itsmostimpressiveperformance of the tournament while dominating possession and demonstrating the offensive creativity across its vaunted lineup. Spain also hasyet to allowa goalatthis year’s World Cup. Unai Simón didn’thave to make asavewhile keeping his fourth consecutive clean sheet,since Austria failed to get ashoton target.

“I’m happy to have helped the team for us to go through another round,”Oyarzabal said. “Now just rest andget readyfor the next one. It wasa complicated match. We knew that it was going to be difﬁcult against avery physical team,but we had avery good dayand played agood match.”

La Roja will next face thewinner of Portugal’smatch against Croatia in DallasonMonday in the round of 16. Lamine Yamal hadfour of Spain’s10shots on goal while getting wild cheers from the proSpanish sellout crowd at SoFi Stadium. The 18-year-old Barcelona sensation played hislongest stretch of the tournament before coming off in the 85th minute, moments after Austria defender David Alaba deflected Yamal’s hard shot off the goal line.

Spain got its marquee offense

from Oyarzabal, theRealSociedad captain who doubled his goal totalatthis year’s World Cup by opening thescoring in the36th minute and clinchingthe victory in the 89th. Marc Cucurella had assists on both of Oyarzabal’s goals, demonstrating an excellent connection from the left side.

“The great teams step up when it’sneeded,” Spain coach Luis De La Fuente said. “Weplayed agreat match. We came close to perfection, but we mustkeep improving. There is always room for improvement, because every upcoming match will be very difﬁcult.”

Goalkeeper AlexanderSchlager made sixsaves in an outstanding performance for Austria, which reached the knockout rounds of its ﬁrst World Cup since 1998 by squeaking out alate draw with an injury-timegoal against Algeria. Coach Ralf Rangnick’s team hasn’twon aknockout match at the World Cup since 1954.

After an unbeaten group stagethatstill didn’tquietthe questions aboutthis star-laden team’s championshippotential, Spain is firmly back in World Cupcontention forthe ﬁrst time sincewinning it all in South Africa 16 years ago. Spain lost two knockout matches and got eliminated in the group stage over the past three World Cups. Spain is now unbeaten 35 straight competitive matches since March2023. La Roja won the 2023 Nations League and the 2024 European Championship in that stretch, but also lost the 2025 Nations League ﬁnal on penalties to Portugal.

BY LEXIE LINDERMAN Associated Press

ed help to get tothe U.S.towatch some of the group stage, andhow one of thelongest long shots in the tournament grabbedeveryone’sattention by playingSpain to adraw in its opening match.

“The truth is that when thedraw was decided,the group that we would (have) to face. therewere two world champions there,” Argentina midﬁelder Rodrigo de Paul said.

Spain, the 2010 champion, got through the group stage. Uruguay, atwo-time World Cup winner, did not. Cape Verdedid, anda showdownwithMessi —the 5-foot-7

Cape Verde insists it hasa plan for Friday night. It wants to be aggressive on setpieces. It wants to try to control possessionas much as possible. It will rely on adefense that yielded only two goals in three group matches and kept Spain scoreless.

Andit’lltry to be ready for Messi, though no team in the world ever really seemstobeready for Messi.

“Wehave our own strategy, not only against Messi, but the whole team,” Bubistasaid. “We know theyare the current world champions, one of thebest teamsin the tournament. And we will play against the whole team, not just Messi.”

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOByJAE C. HONG

Spain’sMikel Oyarzabal celebrates after scoring hisside’sopening goal during aWorld Cup match against Austria on Friday in Inglewood, Calif. Spainwon 3-0 to advancetothe

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By CHARLIE RIEDEL

MondayinKansas City,Kan.

WORLD CUP

already been aproductiveWorld Cup for the 24-year-old.

“Obviously he’sbeen playing so well,” captain TimReam said. “I’d argue he’s,otherthan Balo’s goals, he’sone of our best players. Everywhere on the field, doing the dirty things, making the hard things easy.Ithink it is just that He just wanted to feel like he had aplace. He’sa quietkid, but he’s justcomeonleaps and bounds.”

Tillman is the son of an American servicemanand German mother and grew up in Germanyplaying on the Bayern Munich youth squad and the German national youth team before making the switchtothe U.S. team in 2022.

His big moment came last summer in the Gold Cup when he scored two goals against Trinidad and Tobago and another against Haiti in the group stage. Hethen missed apenalty kick in the first halfofthe quarterfinals against Costa Rica before making one in the penalty shootoutthat sentthe U.S. to the semifinals.

“The Gold Cup was reallyhuge for him,” Ream said. “I think the adversity of the Costa Rica game, the penalty was really big for him. Now you lookathim and he looks like he’sjust playing such an easy game. It’sincredible to see. He’shad that in him all this time. It was justamatter of him finding theconfidence and him believing in himself ” This past year wasn’teasy for him after he moved from PSV Eindhoven to BayerLeverkusen in atransfer worth areported $41 million. He had sixgoals and one assist in 29 gamesin the Bundesligaand scoring two more in the Champions League. His biggest goal came Wednesdaynightwhen he becamethe first American mantoscore off afree kick in aWorldCup since Eric Wynalda in the 1994 opener against Switzerland.

“It was amazing,” coach Mauricio Pochettino said. “I think Malik is an amazing player, full of talent. We knew that he has the talent to do what he did. I’m so happyfor him. Toughseasonfor him in Leverkusen but Ithink now he’senjoying and we are enjoying and the fans are enjoying his football.”

Ared card meanstrouble,controversy

Americansseeingred over biggestred card issued so farin WorldCup

BY JIM VERTUNO AP sportswriter

The Americans are seeing red over the most controversial and consequentialred card so far in theWorld Cup

While the United States celebrated a2-0 win over BosniaHerzegovina, fans andplayers were angry andfrustratedbya second-halfred card that sent off star striker Falorin Balogun. It will sidelinehim for the next match against BelgiumonMonday

The penalty,called after the referee watched avideo replay,ignited debate over whether it was too harshand whetherother players, most notably Argentina’sLionel Messi, have unfairlyavoided similar punishment

What is ared card

Red cards are the most serious form of punishment in areferee’s pocket. Ared card does morethan just send aplayer outofthe game. It also means theteamcan’t replace them andmustplay shorthanded. The ejected player is also suspendedfor the next match— and sometimes longer depending on theoffense.

The red and yellow card system of disciplinewas inventedafter the 1966 World Cup by former referee Ken Aston,who came up with thecolor-coded level of discipline while stopped at atrafﬁc light

“I thought, ‘Yellow,takeiteasy; red, stop, you’re off’,” said Aston, whodied in 2001.

Much is lefttothe referee’sdiscretion in the heat of play. Aplayer whoreceives asecond yellow card during agame is automatically ejected with ared card. Direct red cardsusually result from more serious offenses, such as dangerous tackles and violentplay

Under FIFArules, “Any player wholunges at an opponent in challengingfor theball from the front, from the sideor from behind using one or both legs, with excessive force or endangers thesafety

Referee Raphael Claus shows ared card to United States forward Folarin Balogun during aWorld Cupmatch against BosniaonWednesdayin Santa Clara, Calif. The call will sidelinehim forthe next match against Belgium on Monday.

of an opponent is guilty of serious foul play.”

Balogun’s redcard sparked adebate over whether thefoulshould have been deemed intentional or just ahard tackle that would have justiﬁedawarning with ayellow card.

“It never was intentional,”U.S coach Mauricio Pochettino said. “If theintention is to damage the opponent, OK, Iunderstand. But that neverwas.Itwas anormal action in footballthatyou areﬁghting forthe ball andyourfeet land.”

Theuse of videoreview

The referee has thechallenge of watching allthe action allthe time. In atangle of bodies, something could be missed. FIFA introduced the use of VideoAssistedReview, or VAR, in theWorld Cup in 2018.

In Balogun’scase, Brazilian referee Raphael Claus didn’t initially signalacard. But an order from theVAR ofﬁcials to review thereplay in slow motion resulted in the red card.

That sparked another debate of whether the play looked worse and moreintentional in slow motion.

Former France striker Thierry Henry,now astudio analyst forthe WorldCup with Fox Sports, criticized the red card.

“You need to have somecommon sense,” Henry said. “Where is the playersupposedtoput his foot there in that situation?”

Thereisnopathtoappeal

As it stands, Balogun will miss thenext gamebut could return for the quarterﬁnals if the U.Sbeats Belgium to advance.

There is no appeal forared card suspension unless FIFA assesses apenalty of more than one game FIFA could increase the ban if it believes thechallenge deserves a harder punishment.

Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo avoided missing games in the World Cupafter aseriousred cardincident in qualifying. FIFA instead determined two games of athree-match ban would be de-

ferred during aone-year “probationary” period. Ronaldo missed only a9-1 winover Armenia. Arestarplayers gettingcalls?

Criticshavebeen raising this questionsincethe start of tournament as some of the topplayers have been entangled in questionable plays, mostnotably Messi.

In Argentina’s first match, Messi’sstuds-up challenge from behind caught Algeria defender Aissa Mandi on the calf and Achilles tendon. It leftMandi rolling on the ground and clutching his leg. Messi immediately put his arms up like he didn’tmean to hack Mandi’sleg.Algeria wasawarded afree kick but the tournament’s biggest star wasn’tbooked, stayed in the gamefinished with ahat trick.

Video clips of the Messi foul beganﬂying around social media by the next day,and caught ﬁre again after the Balogun red card. American defender Weston McKennie calledthe red card againstBalogun “disappointing.” Balogun is thetop scorer forthe U.S. with three goals.

“I think there’sbeen many other plays like that throughout the tournament on other players that acard wasn’tgiven at all,” McKennie said.

WelcometoWorld Cupcontroversy

TheAmerican aren’t the ﬁrst to howl over ared card and won’tbe the last. The complaints come after send-offs and no-calls alike. In 1998, England’sDavid Beckhamwas dismissedinthe second half of around of 16 match against Argentina fortrippingDiego Simeoneinretaliation.In2006, England’sWayne Rooney wassent offofa quarterﬁnallosstoPortugal after he stomped prone Portuguese defenderRicardo Carvalho in the groin.

The mostfamous World Cup red card sent France legendZinedine Zidane outofthe 2006 ﬁnal after he headbutted Italy’sMarco Materazzi. Italywould win on penalty kicks

Themost famous non-callcame in the 2010 ﬁnal when the Netherlands’ NigeldeJongwasn’tsent offfor his studs-up kick into the chest of Spain’sXabi Alonso in the ﬁrst half.Spain would wininextra time.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOByJULIOCORTEZ

New Orleans andthe evolution of anation

By 1802, Thomas Jefferson

was no longer amere revolutionist but the ultimate symbol of authority,the president of the United States. In the second year of his ﬁrst term, he no longer workedin old Philadelphia but in anew city called “Washington.” His ofﬁce was in arelatively new building, the “President’sMansion” to eventually be known by a more democratic term, the “White House.”

There, the nation’sthird president faced the task of building anew nation. Paramount among the issues was what to do about the French-created Louisiana territory and the Gulf’s Florida region recently ceded by Spain to France. At that time, the United States was arelatively small nation formed by 13 colonies, but there was more land to the southand west,controlled by othercountries,that could ﬁll out acontinent. Jeffersonsaw big opportunities

Most importantly,healso saw New Orleans, the ﬂedgling city nearest to the mouth of the Mississippi River,about which he would write one of themost consequential paragraphsin American history

In aletter to RobertLivingston, aNew York state journeyman statesmanand politician from the revolutionary days, whom Jefferson had appointed minister to France, the president giftedhis nation with these resounding words: “There is on theglobe one single spot, the possessor of which is our natural and habitual enemy.ItisNew Orleans, through which the produce of three-eighths of our territory must pass to market, and from its fertility it will .yield more than half of our whole produce and contain more than half of our inhabitants.” Jefferson’smessage to the future was clear: Any nation that controls New Orleans, and hence its waterways,is the United States’ enemy.The simple truth is that ultimately the Louisiana Purchase wasall

BY KEITHSPERA Staff writer

The story of Aaliyah is one of contemporary R&B’smost searing tragedies.

Apreternatural talent, she became astarat15after hitmaker R. Kelly wrote andproduced herdebut album. But shepaidaheavyprice for her associationwithKelly,whose abuse and exploitation of girls and young women would eventually land him in prison.

Aaliyahescaped hisorbit to shine even brighter as arecording artist andactress, only to die at 22 in aplane crash caused by others’ negligence.

The2026 Essence Festival of Culture will commemorate

LaTosha Brown, co-founder of the Black Voters Matter Fund, speaks on apanel about threats to democracy at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’sannual legislative conference in 2023 in Washington.

her enduring legacy Sunday in the Caesars Superdome. Hiphop icon Missy Elliott, who was friends with Aaliyah and akey musical collaborator,will curate the celebration of her songs and short life.

Thetribute was alate additiontothe Essence schedule; it was only announced on June 22, less than two weeksbefore the festival’sopening night. That left little time to promote it or for fans to make plans to attend.

But 2026 is the appropriate year for Essence to remember Aaliyah.Itcoincides with the 30th anniversary of her watershed “One In aMillion” album.

INVISION/AP PHOTOByAMy HARRIS

Missy Elliott performs at the 2018 EssenceFestival at the Superdome in NewOrleans on July7,2018. The hip-hop iconisplanning atribute to Aaliyah’s legacy by curating aselection of the late artist’s songs forthe 2026 EssenceFestival.

Blackwomen’s nonproﬁt awards grants to localSoutherngroups

BY MATT BROWN Associated Press

Organizations supporting Black women and girls across theAmerican South can expect abit morejoy —and moremoney —this summer following a new round of grants.

The Southern Black Girls and Women’s Consortium will grant $350,000 to twodozen Southern community organizations work-

ing in 13 states. The grants will fund organizations that address acute challenges facing underserved Black women and girls, like maternal health, genderbased violence prevention and educational support.

The funding and tour come at amoment when organizations focused on supporting underserved communities face funding crunches following the

down on diversity,equity and inclusion policies. The administration has invoked civil rightslawstraditionally understood to have protected therights of marginalized communitiestoinvestigate or prosecute instances of “anti-white racism”and “illegal DEI” in companies, nonproﬁts and government agencies.

Errol Laborde STREETCAR

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILEPHOTO By JIM COOPER

Gaugingthe temperatureofoil

Dear Heloise: Ilove your column Heloise. Iread it every day!It’s sometimes hard to get an accurate temperature of oil when using athermometer,especially if there’sonly ahalf inch of oil in asaute pan My hint is to dip the end of awooden spoon into the hot oil. When you see theoil sizzling around the end of the spoon, you’ve reached the desired temperature for frying. When frying multiple items, just retest in between each addition to maintain the temperature I’ve been doing this for years, and it never fails. Irarelyhave to use athermometer unless I’m deep fat frying at ahigher temperature or using adeep fat fryer —MaryLou, in Connecticut Weddingbellblues

Hints from Heloise

$34,000 and $36,000? My husband wantstooffer them $25,000 if they’ll agree to elope! —Jessie R.,inLaguna Beach, California Jessie, there are so many factors to consider One is thestatewhere you live. New Jersey, NewYork and Massachusetts all have weddings that can cost as much as $50,000. ButOklahoma andSouth Dakota have an averagecost of $20,000 to $35,000 for awedding.

Experts say that you’ll probably spend aquarter of thebudget on thevenue. Catering averages between 12% to 15% of the budget, asdoesphotography.There are thecake, ﬂowers, invitations and ofﬁciate to consider.(By the way,this doesn’tpertaintothe costs of adestinationwedding.)

PROVIDED SCREENSHOT

Ascreenshot from contemporaryR&B singer Aaliyah’s2001 video forthe song ‘Rockthe Boat.’She diedina plane crash as sheleft the Bahamas followingthe video shoot.

TRIBUTE

Continuedfrom page1D

Dear Heloise: My daughter’sgetting married close to Christmas, and her father and Iare shocked at theprices. We sincerely believe that we’re being taken advantage of by the wedding industry.Isittrue that the average wedding costs are between

By The Associated Press

Setabudget and stick to it as closely as you can. After all, a wedding is only thebeginning of amarriage, anda marriage isn’t aboutadiamond, adress or the bridesmaids. —Heloise

Send ahint to heloise@heloise. com.

TODAYINHISTORY

Today is Friday,July3,the 184th day of 2026. There are 181 days left in the year

Today’shighlight in history:

On July 3, 1863, the Civil War Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania ended in amajor victory forthe North as Confederate troops failed to breach Union positions during an assault known as Pickett’sCharge.

Also on this date:

In 1775, Gen. George Washington took command of the Continental Army at Cambridge, Massachusetts.

In 1944, during World WarII, Soviet forces recaptured Minsk from the Germans.

In 1950, the ﬁrst carrierstrikes of the Korean Wartook placeas the USS Valley Forge and the HMS Triumph sent ﬁghter planes against North Korean targets

In 1971, singer Jim Morrisonof The Doors died in Paris at age27.

In 1979, Dan White, convicted of voluntarymanslaughter in the shooting deaths of San Francisco MayorGeorge Moscone andSupervisor Harvey Milk, was sentencedtosevenyears and eight months in prison.

In 1986, President Ronald Reagan presided over agala ceremony in New York Harbor that saw the relighting of the renovated Statue of Liberty In 1988, the USS Vincennes shotdown an Iran Air jetliner over the Persian Gulf, killingall 290people aboard.

GRANTS

Continued from page1D

“We’ve seen this retrenchment in philanthropy,and people are not putting resources on the ground,” said Chanceé Lundy, Southern Black Girls’ executive director.“Organizations are struggling, and we want to make sure that people know that we see them. We value the work that we’re doing, and we want to be able to help ﬁll some of the gaps that they are experiencing.” The grants coincide with the organization’ssummer“Joy and Justice” tour,which convenes community building activities, resource drives and festivals in nine cities.Mostofthe tour stops take place at schools and community centers in majority-Black neighborhoods. One rally will take place at the Virginia Capitol alongside agency leaders promoting diversityinthe state’sgovernment.

Southern Black Girls has maintainedfunding from somemajor corporations and foundations, though Lundy describedthe efforts to maintain those relationships as “extremely difficult for most groups in the current political climate, where supporting race and gender conscious organizations may prompt backlash from the federal government.

“We’re being punished for who we are,” saidLaTosha Brown, avotingrightsactivist andcofounder of the organization

President Donald Trumpdefeated former Vice President Kamala Harris, thefirst Black woman presidential nominee of a

In 2012, AndyGriffith who made homespun American Southern wisdom his trademark as thewise sheriff in “The Andy Griffith Show,” died at his North Carolina home. He was 86. In 2022, aman opened fire at amall near Copenhagen in Denmark, killing three people, believing the victims were zombies. Twenty-three other peoplewere injuredinthe attack and therush to flee; the man, whowas not identified during the trial because of court rules, was later convicted of murder and other charges and sentenced to asecure medical facility

Today’sbirthdays: Attorney Gloria Allred is 85. Actor Kurtwood Smith is 83. Country singer JohnnyLee is 80. Humorist Dave Barry is 79. Actor Betty Buckley is 79. Talk show host Montel Williams is 70. Country singer Aaron Tippin is 68. Rock musician Vince Clarke(Depeche Mode, Yaz, Erasure) is 66. Actor TomCruise is 64. Actor Connie Nielsen is 61. Actor Yeardley Smith is 62. Actor-singer Audra McDonald is 56. Hockey Hall of Famer Teemu Selanne is 56. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is 55. Actor Patrick Wilson is 53. Former mixed martial artist Wanderlei Silvais50. Actor Olivia Munnis46. Formula One driver Sebastian Vettel is 39. Rock singer-songwriter Elle King is 37. Actor Mia McKennaBruce is 29. Actor SaraWaisglass is 28. Dancer andactor Corinne Joy is 19.

major party.About 9in10Black women backed Harrisfor the presidency, according to asurvey of voters byAPVoteCast. Brown said that Black women’slongstanding participation in liberal politics made them a“target” in the current political climate.

“Wehave always been anchored, particularly in the social justice movementsofthis country,and I don’tthink that that’sany differentnow.Ithink in manywaysit has been exacerbated, just given the environment,” said Brown.

Both Brownand Lundy noted that Black women havealways faced discrimination and marginalization in theSouth despite being integraltothe region’s economy and culture. Lundy recalled stories of past generations of Black women who raisedthe children of White familiesthat upheld Jim Crow policies that underfunded schools, restricted voting andenabledpolitical violence against Blackcommunities

“You have tohave adeep, deep sense of humanity to be able to do that,”saidLundy.She said thatthe tour waspartofpromoting Black women’splace in the country’s history and future asthe U.S. preparestocelebrateits 250th anniversary.“We’ve kept our humanity intactthrough it all, and Ithink this moment requiresthat.”

Lundy said she hoped the tour andgrants wouldenableBlack girlstoreach their full potential.

“You matter now in this moment,”Lundy said washer “joyful” messagetoyoungBlack girls. “And you’re not avictim Youare actually the solution, thatyou are the antidote to what is happeningright now.”

It also marks the 25th anniversary of her shocking death.

‘One In aMillion’talent

Aaliyah Haughton seemed destined for famefrom ayoung age. She grewuparound the music industry.Her uncle Barry Hankerson was married to Gladys Knight for several years. When Aaliyah showed promise as asingerasa child, sheappearedon“Star Search” andasaspecial guestwithKnight during concerts in LasVegas. She was only 12 when Hankersoncreated arecord label, Blackground, to showcaseher talents He introduced her to Kelly,who spentcountless hourswiththe young singer as he wroteand produced songs for Aaliyah’s1994 debut album,“AgeAin’tNothing But aNumber.” Distributed by Jive Records, the album sold more than 2million copies. During the subsequent tour,she performedatthe inaugural Essence Festival in 1995 alongside ArethaFranklin, Patti LaBelle, Luther Vandross, BoyzIIMen, the O’Jays,B.B.King, Mary J. Blige and Frankie Beverly &Maze.

Kelly,who was in his late twenties, secretlymarried Aaliyah when she was 15; he allegedly commissioned falsiﬁed documents thatstatedshe was 18. According to published reports, her parents had themarriage annulled, and Aaliyah cut all personal and professional ties with Kelly and Jive. The scandal damaged her reputation and career.Her brother,RashadHaughton, who became her manager,has saidshe had trouble ﬁnding producers willing to contribute to her next album

After several false starts, Aaliyahﬁnally connected with Missy Elliott, who was not yetanestablished star,and thelittle-known

EVOLUTION

Continuedfrom page1D

about New Orleans.

April11, 1865,Washington, D.C.

From that sameWhiteHouse where Thomas Jefferson had pondered so earnestly,Abraham Lincoln,63years later and having just overcomethe nation’sgreatest crisis, spoke from abalcony to acrowd gathered outside.

It was ajubilant moment. Three days earlier,April 9, Generals Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant met at Appomattox Court House in Virginia and signed the treaty that ended the war that had split thenation.

Lincoln had ﬁrst appeared on the balcony the night earlier,not for aspeech, but for informal comments. The president even teased thatthere was one Confederate creation he admired. He quipped thatheaskedthe attorney general about the legalities of acquiring the song “Dixie” and even asked the Marine Band to play it

On thenext night, Lincoln was moresomber as he read ahandwritten speech explaining the legal procedure for uniting the nation (or as he called it, “Reconstruction”).Key to the task was theeffort, already in progress, of readmitting Louisiana, where anew state government had recently abolished slavery and taken steps toward allowing voting rights for Black people. Lincoln emphasized that Louisiana’s new government might not be perfect,but it was somethingto work with.

“The question is,”hesaid, “will it be wiser to take it as it is, and help improve it,ortoreject and disperse it?” Lincoln mentioned Louisiana14times in his speech

producer Timbaland. Together, they created an album whose adventurous productionand genre cross-pollination came acrossas forward-thinking and mature. Ablend of R&B, hip-hop, pop andelectronic beats,“OneIna Million” was released in August 1996. Acreative and commercial success, it sold morethan 3million copiesinthe UnitedStates. It not only revived Aaliyah’scareer but establishedher as agrown-up artist who had moved past the R. Kelly scandal. Aaliyah graduated from high school in 1997. She co-starred alongside martial artist Jet Li in the 2000 ﬁlm “Romeo Must Die;” “Try Again,” asong she recorded for thesoundtrack, hit No 1onthe Billboard Hot 100. She worked on herself-titled thirdalbum while also shooting thevampire movie “Queen of the Damned.” The “Aaliyah” album dropped on July 17, 2001, and immediately shot up the charts.

Amonth later,onAug. 21, 2001, Aaliyah appeared on theBET show “106 &Park” as part of apromotiontogive away aCadillac Escalade. Poised, polished, professional andvery much looking ahead to the future, she chatted with the show’shosts about her next single and video, “Rock the Boat,” which showcasedher feathery soprano and understated production.

“It’s avery sensualsongabout being withsomebody you love and howitjust takes you to another place, likeanatural high,” she said on “106 &Park.”

Videoshoot ends in crash

The “Rock the Boat” video shoot commencedthe next day in Miami. Theproduction moved to the Bahamas, whereshe wasﬁlmedcavorting on abeach and dancing on acatamaran. She was originally scheduled to depart the Bahamas on Aug. 26.

Butbecause the shoot finished early,she opted to leave on the

and even referred to New Orleans once.

Not everyone listening was pleased with his message. In the crowd was alocal actor named John Wilkes Booth. He reportedly was so outraged by Lincoln’scomments about voting equality that he vowed, “That is the last speech he will ever make.” Three days later,Booth took action.

Lincoln’sﬁnal public wordswere thathe, “shallnot fail to act when satisﬁed that action will be proper.”

July 4, 1944,somewhere in France,nearNormandy

It was 142 years after France sold theLouisiana territory to the U.S. that the country would be the major force in saving France.

Afew days after the initial DDay landing during World WarII, asoldier from the French-speaking part of Louisiana found time to write aletter hometoasister, Lena, in New Orleans.

“I am sure you have heard and seen much about the invasion since D-Day,” he wrote using an understatementabout the greatest military invasion in world history.“Iwas in action several times.Thank God,” he added, “so far Idon’tyet have ascratch.” Military censorshiprules demanded that letter writers should not be speciﬁc about where they were located nor provide news about casualties. With theAllied invasion asuccess, it seemed the warmight be ending andthere would be time to think about homeand the future. Before the war,that soldier —eventually my father,Ellis Laborde —had moved from one of the state’sjobless rural areas to New Orleans. He had found work as aCanal Street hotel room clerk, but now had his eye on a grander prize.

evening of Aug. 25.

Sheand membersofher entourage boarded achartered twin-engine Cessna 402-B to ﬂy to Florida. Moments after takeoff, the Cessna nose-dived andcrashed;all nine people on board died.

Investigators later determined the plane was overloaded by several hundredpounds and the weight was not properly distributed. The pilotalsohad alcoholand cocaine in his system and was not certiﬁed to ﬂy that type of aircraft.

Thatthe accident wasentirely avoidable madeitall the more tragic.

Thatshe diedsoyoung granted Aaliyah adegree of immortality in the public’simagination. In theimmediateaftermath of her death, sales of her albums surged. Her music,especially “One In aMillion,” has held up well. Artists continue to cite Aaliyahasaninspiration. Everyone fromThe Weeknd to T.I. to Drake to JoJo has sampled, covered or performed “Rock the Boat.” Indicative of her enduring legacy, Barbie released adoll in Aaliyah’s likeness in January 2025.

Both RashadHaughton andAaliyah’smother,Diane Haughton, have giventheir blessing to this weekend’sEssence Fest tribute. “In 1995 my sisterperformed at the inaugural Essence festival alongside an impressive lineup of legendary performers,”Rashad Haughton said in astatement released by Essence.

Thatﬁrst EssenceFest“was so successful that it becameayearly celebration of our culture, andan illumination of the power of Black women’svoices within it. Thirtyone years later,Iamovercome with gratitude to the founders, artists andthe inimitableMissy Elliott forhonoring my sister with this tribute, celebrating herlife, art and ongoing legacy.”

Email KeithSpera at kspera@ theadvocate.com.

At the time, acompany called New Orleans Public Service Inc. (NOPSI)not only supplied energy but also ran public transportation: buses and streetcars. In reference to energy bills, alocal quip was“Public Service makes you nervous, it heats your homeand takes you foraride.”

Still, forayoung man having survived awar,itseemed like a solid place forbuilding his future. Perhaps he could go back to working at the hotel “or getting ajob with Public Service.”

First, there wasthe wartoget past. In December,the Germans staged asurprise invasion, charging through upper France and Belgium in what would be known as the Battle of the Bulge.

Ultimately,the letter writer would not remain unscathed. In what would be the coldest winter in recorded European history, manysoldiers suffered from the freezing temperatures. One of his legs wassofrostbitten that the doctors considered amputation. My father objected; the doctors relented. The leg wassaved, but he suffered with it the rest of his life.

He wasinaBelgian hospital in May 1945 when there wasaglorious echo in the distance. Everyone paused to listen as abugler played “The Star Spangled Banner.” The warinEurope wasover He would be heading home soon, returning to the townthat Thomas Jefferson coveted, located in the state that Lincoln believed would lead the way toward reuniﬁcation.

Once again, New Orleans would be providing hope forthe future.

Errol Labordeisaproducer and panelist on WYES Channel 12’s “Informed Sources.” Contact himatelabordenola@gmail. com.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Be careful what you share and with whom; not everyone will be sincere. Let your imagination wander,and you'll discover obscure options that helpyou navigateyour way through any uncertainty you face.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Youmay have to juggleafew things to reach your goal, but thetime and effort it takes will be worthwhile. Set yoursights on what's important to you, and don't deviate from your plans until you satisfy your soul.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Take amoment to observe. Don't let anyone talkyou into something you do not want to do.Your best opportunities will be theonesyou deviseyourself. Take control of your destiny.

LIBRA (Sept.23-Oct. 23) It's time to have some fun, learn through experience and engage in events that push you to make new friends and explorewhat life has to offer. Practicing clear communication will encourage you to participate.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Take your time. If you rush into something, youwill have regrets.Emotions will be hard to disguise. Take amoment, think matters through and keep your thoughts to yourself while observing how othersreact.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Participate in events that motivate you to take better careofyourself. Paying attention to how you present yourself to othersand what you share will make adifference in how others treat you.

CAPRICORN (Dec.22-Jan. 19) Share your concerns,and know when to walk away

from people and situations that you find sketchyorunreliable. Concentrateon homeimprovements that will make your life easier and your relationships less tense

AQUARIUS (Jan.20-Feb. 19) Participate in something exhilarating. Achange of pace, sceneryorpeople will be uplifting. Physical activity will touch your soul.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Refuse to let what others choosetodoruin your plans. Getting out and socializing will help you gain insight intowhat and who makes your day worthwhile.Emotionswill be closetothe surface.

ARIES(March 21-April 19) Take pride in what you do.Discipline coupled with innovation and enthusiasm will help you makeyour wayforward in whatever manner youapply yourself. Refuseto let criticism stifle your dreams.

TAURUS(April20-May20) Trust your instincts. Follow the rules, andvouch for what'stried andtrue. Knowyourlimits and strengths, and parlaywhat youdo best into getting what you wantand letting go of what's holding you back.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Let your inquiring mindlead youona research mission Satisfy your soulbyengaging in what interests you and exploring how you can reach your objective.

FAMILY CIrCUS

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

Sudoku

InstructIons: sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. Theobject is to place the numbers1to9 in the 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 Puzzle Answer

THe wiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

CurTiS

Bridge

BY PHILLIP ALDER

Jef Mallett, the“Frazz” cartoonist, said,“Writingwell means never having to say, ‘I guess youhad to be there.’”

When the defenders play perfectly, declarer is sometimes unable to make hiscontract. On other deals, though, adefender will fail to find the killing play. Then declarer needstotakefull benefit In this deal, West cashes three club tricks against four hearts. He then shifts to adiamond. Howshould South continue?

Afour-heartopening bid usually indicates an eight-card suit. However, South decided to tell asmall white lie because he was nonvulnerableand the opponents were vulnerable. West wondered if his sidecould do well, but he had too few points to act at the four-level. North and East had easy passes. When Westhad to guesswhich suit to lead at trick four, he decided that South would be more likelytopre-empt when very short in theother major. Hence his diamond lead. (Asyou can see, aspade switch would have been lethal.)

Now let’s look at South’spredicament He needstotake threepointed-suit trickstogowith his seven trump winners. Should he finesse in spades or in diamonds?

Either is apure guess. But he can slightlyimprovehis chances. He should win withdummy’s diamond ace, ruffa

diamond in his hand, cash theheart ace, play aheart to dummy’snine and ruff another diamond. Here, theking comes tumbling down. So Southcan draw trumps and claim But if the diamond king does not appear, declarer can run his trumps, planning to fall back on thespade finesse. ©2026 by nEa, inc dist.Byandrews mcmeel syndication

Each Wuzzle is aword riddlewhich creates adisguised word,phrase,name,place, saying, etc. Forexample: nOOn gOOD =gOOD aFTErnOOn

Previous answers:

word

InstRuctIons: 1. Words mustbeoffour or moreletters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed. 3. additional wordsmade by adding a“d” or an “s” may not be used. 4. proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.

toDAY’s WoRD GERMAnE: jer-MANE: Fitting; appropriate.

Average mark31words

Time limit 45 minutes

Canyou find39ormore wordsinGERMANE?

YEstERDAY’s WoRD —oBLIQuELY

wuzzles

loCKhorNs

Thereisnoone likethe Lord.Stand in aweofHim G.E. Dean

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles

hidato

mallard fillmore

dIrectIons: make a2-to 7-letterword from the letters in each row.add points of each word, using scoring directions at right.Finally 7-letterwords get 50-point bonus. “Blanks”used as any letter have no point value. all the words are in the Official sCraBBlE® players Dictionary, 5thEdition.

kenken

InstructIons: 1 -Each row and each column must contain the numbers 1thorugh 4(easy) or 1through 6 (challenging) without repeating. 2 -The numbers within the heavily outlined boxes, called cages, must combine using the given operation (in any order) to produce the target numbers in the top-left corners. 3 -Freebies: Fill in the single-box cages with the number in the top-left corner.

Puzzle Answer

WiShinG Well

Scrabble GramS

roSe

Mu‐nicipalDistrict, bounded by TouroStreet,French‐menStreet,Mandolin Street,and Pelopidas Street (Municipal Ad‐dresses: 4235-4237 Touro Street,2110-2116 Man‐dolin Street). ZONING DOCKET NO.45/26 Said ordinancemay be seen in full in theOfﬁce of theClerk of Council, Room 1E09, City Hall, 1300 PerdidoStreet AISHAR.COLLIER CLERKOFCOUNCIL PUBLICATIONDATE: July 3,

NOTICE Public Notice is hereby giventhatthe Councilof theCityofNew Orleans will consider itsregular meetingofJuly23, 2026 at 10:00 a.m.,tobeheld either viavideo confer‐ence or in theCouncil Chamber, City Hall,1300 PerdidoStreet,Room 1E07, theadoptionofOr‐dinanceCalendarNo. 35,472 introduced

MERGER TO WELLSFARGO BANK MIN‐NESOTA,NA‐TIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE FORREPER‐FORMING LOAN REMIC TRUST CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2003-R1 VERSUS DEBORAH LANDRY WISHEM A/K/A DEBORAHL WISHEM A/K/A DEBORAH WISHEM AND THEUNOPENED SUCCESSION OF ANDUNKNOWN HEIRSOF JARRED WISHEM,JR. A/K/AJARRED WISHEM,JR. A/K/AJARRED WISHEM By virtue of and in obedienceto aWritof SEIZUREAND SALE from the 24thJudicial District Court, Parish of Jeffer‐son, Stateof Louisiana, in the abovenum‐beredand enti‐

tled cause, datedJuly1 2025, Ihave seized andwill proceed to sell to thehighest bidder at public auction, at the JeffersonParish Sheriff'sOfﬁce Complex, 1233 Westbank Ex‐pressway,Har‐vey, Louisiana, 70058, on Au‐gust 12, 2026 at 10 o'clocka.m thefollowing describedprop‐erty to wit: Acertain lotof ground,to‐gether with all thebuildings andimprove‐mentsthereon, and allrights, ways, privileges, servitudes and advantages thereuntobe‐longingorin anywiseapper‐taining, situated in theTownof McDonoghville, nowpartofthe City of Gretna in the Parish of Jeffer‐son, Stateof

Louisiana, des‐ignatedbythe letter "L"in square no.127, bounded by Vir‐gil, Franklin Wei‐dman (formerly Herschell),and Hancock Streets, in ac‐cordance with plan of resubdi‐vision of Square N. 127, by Alvin E. Hotard, Parish Engineer datedAugust 19, 1938, aduly certiﬁed blue printof which plan is at‐tached to an act before NatB Knight,Jr.,No‐tary,dated Sep‐tember 6, 1938, according to which said plan, said Lot "L"beginsat a point60.78 feet from the corner of Franklin andVir‐gilStreets, and measures thence 50 feet frontonVirgil Street,the same widthinthe rear,bya depth of 125 feet be‐tween equal d ll l

q andparallel lines. Allas more fully shownonsur‐veybySterling Mandle,Land Surveyor,dated June 30, 1993 annexedhereto andmadea part thereof.

This sale is sub‐ject to allsupe‐rior securityin‐terests, mort‐gages, liensand privileges. TERMS- Thefull purchase price is dueatthe time of thesale.

NOTE:All funds must be Cashier'sCheck Certiﬁed Check, MoneyOrder,or Personal Check with Bank Letter of Credit COREYJ.GIROIR Attorney for Plaintiff JOSEPH P. LOPINTO, III Sheriff Parish of Jefferson TheNew

Orleans Advocate: July 3, 2026, August 7, 2026

jul3-aug7-2t

TRUSTCOM‐PANY,NATIONAL ASSOCATION, AS TRUSTEE, AS SUCCESSOR-ININTEREST TO U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCATION AS TRUSTEE, ON BEHALF OF THE REGISTERED HOLDERSOF BEAR STEARNS ASSETBACKED SECURITIES I LLC, ASSETBACKED CER‐TIFICATES, SE‐RIES 2007-AQ1 VERSUS ROSALINDCAS‐SANDRA WAL‐TERS AND BRANDONDER‐RICK WALTERS By virtue of and in obedienceto aWritof SEIZUREAND SALE from the 24thJudicial District Court, Parish of Jeffer‐son, Stateof Louisiana, in the abovenum‐beredand enti‐tled cause, datedAugust1 2025, Ihave seized andwill

proceed to sell to thehighest bidder at public auction, at the JeffersonParish Sheriff'sOfﬁce Complex, 1233 Westbank Ex‐pressway,Har‐vey, Louisiana, 70058, on Au‐gust12, 2026 at 10 o'clocka.m thefollowing describedprop‐erty to wit:

That certain pieceorportion of ground,to‐gether with all thebuildings d

g and improvements thereon, andall of therights, ways,privi‐leges, servi‐tudes, appurtenances andadvantages thereuntobe‐longingorin anywiseapper‐taining, situated in the Parish of Jeffer‐son, Stateof Louisiana, in that part thereofknown as WOODMERE SOUTHSUBDIVI‐

SION,SECTION 3, designated as LOT632, SQUARE "O", bounded by Red CedarLane, De‐strehanAvenue, Burntwood Drive andKeith-Way Drive, said lot commences at a distance of 123 feet from the intersection of Keith-WayDrive andRed Cedar Lane andmea‐suresthence60 feet frontonRed CedarLane,

same in widthin therear, by a depthof100 feet,between equaland paral‐lellines

This sale is sub‐ject to allsupe‐rior security in‐terests, mort‐gages, liensand privileges.

TERMS- Thefull purchase price is dueatthe time of thesale.

NOTE:All funds must be Cashier'sCheck,

Certiﬁed Check, MoneyOrder,or Personal Check with Bank Letter of Credit

KATE SOTO‐LONGO Attorney for Plaintiff

JOSEPH P. LOPINTO, III Sheriff Parish of Jefferson TheNew Orleans

Advocate: July 3, 2026, August 7, 2026 jul3-aug7-2t JUDICIAL

OFFICIAL NOTICE

Public Notice is hereby given that the Council of the City of New Orleans

will consider at its regular meeting of July 9, 2026 at 10:00 a.m., to be held

either via video conference or in the Council Chamber,City Hall, 1300 Perdido Street, Room 1E07, the adoption of Ordinance Calendar No 35,489 introduced at the meeting of June 24, 2026.

SAID ORDINANCE would authorize the Mayor of the City of New Orleans to enter into aCooperative Endeavor Agreement between the City of New Orleans (the “City”) and the Orleans Parish Sheriff’sOffice (“OPSO”), Civil Division, for aterm greater than one year,toprovide executive protection services to the New Orleans City Council (the “Council”), as morefully detailed in the Cooperative Endeavor Agreement attached hereto as Exhibit “A”.

Said ordinance may be seen in full in the Office of the Clerk of Council Room 1E09, City Hall, 1300 Perdido Street.

AISHA R. COLLIER

CLERK OF COUNCIL

PUBLICATION DATE: July 3, 2026

NOCP 9125

OFFICIAL NOTICE CAL. NO. 35,489

EXHIBIT A COOPERATIVE ENDEAVOR AGREEMENT BETWEEN

THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS AND THE ORLEANS PARISH SHERIFF’S OFFICE

COOPERATIVE ENDEAVOR AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS AND THE SHERIFF FOR THE PARISH OF ORLEANS

THIS COOPERATIVE ENDEAVOR AGREEMENT (“Agreement”) is made and entered into by and between the City of New Orleans, represented herein by Helena N. Moreno, Mayor (the “City”) and the Orleans Parish Sheriff’sOffice (“OPSO”or“Contractor”) represented herein by the Honorable Michelle Woodfork, each hereunto duly authorized. The City and OPSO aresometimes eachreferred to as a“Party” andcollectively as the “Parties”. This Agreement is effective as of January 1, 2026.

RECITALS

WHEREAS,the City is apoliticalsubdivision of the State ofLouisiana; WHEREAS,OPSO, existing by the authority of the 1974 Louisiana Constitution, Article V, Section 32, with an office located at 421 Loyola Avenue, New Orleans, Louisiana 70112, is duly authorized to provide securityservices to the New Orleans City Council (“the Council”) utilizing securitypersonnel employed by OPSO (“Council security”); and WHEREAS,the City desires to cooperate with OPSO to provide Council security personnel for the Council, which is apublic purpose; and WHEREAS,pursuant to the authority contained in Article 7, Section 14 (C) of the Louisiana Constitutionof 1974, and statutory authority supplemental thereto, the state of Louisiana and its political subdivisions may enter into cooperative endeavors with each other,orwith any public or private corporation or individual; for activities in support of economic growth and other public purposes; and WHEREAS,the Council has set aside funds for Council security personnel to fulfill this Agreement.

NOW,THEREFORE,inconsideration of themutual covenants contained herein and the mutual benefits to be derived herefrom, the adequacy of which is hereby acknowledged, the Parties hereto agree as follows:

ARTICLE I–OPSO’sOBLIGATIONS

A. OPSO agrees and obligates itself to:

1. Provide seven (7) Council security personnel for the use and direction of Council members whose daily assignment shall begin upon their arrival and end at their departurefromthe Council member’sresidence or office (“Assignment Period”), as the Council member may direct. Council security personnel shall carry out Council members’ directions in compliance with all OPSO policies and procedures.

a. All Council security personnel areassigned to the Executive Protection Unit (“EPU”) of OPSO under the command of the Sheriffordesignee, pursuant to applicable OPSO Policies and Procedures. The Sheriffordesignee shall be assisted by the highest-ranking supervisoryCouncil security personnel member,asdesignated by the Sheriff.

b. Selection and assignment of Council security personnel by OPSO will be made in coordination with each of the members of the Council, from the existing assignees to the EPU employed by the OPSO at the time of the selection. OPSO shall not be required to employ an individual for the purpose of serving as aCouncilsecuritypersonnel.

c. If aCouncil security personnel is not available at any time during the term of this Agreement, OPSO will provide a backup Council security personnel immediately upon request of the Council Member.Any such backup Council security personnel aretobecompensated at notmore than at the agreed upon monthly rate set forth in the table annexed to this Agreement Under Exhibit A.

d. Upon the initial selection of aCouncilsecurity personnel by amember of Council, the Sheriffordesignee commanding the EPU shall provide each Council security personnel with an orientation briefing.

e. In the event that any Council security personnel is made aparty defendant to aclaim or legal action, whether it be solely,with the Council or aCouncilmember, or theCity for claims arising from any acts or omissions during the course and scope of his/her official capacity as Council security,then the City,through the Law Department of the City,shall provide adefense and indemnity to that Council security personnel. For any such legal actions and claims, thereshall be apresumption of acts or omissions arising from the course and scope of the Council security personnel in his/ her official capacity as Council security until otherwise established and properly noticed upon OPSO.

i. OPSO agrees and understands that if OPSO is separately named as aparty to any such legal action in addition to aCouncil security personnel, and for claims made directly against OPSO,then OPSO shall bear the responsibility for OPSO’s cost of defense for such direct claims, as well as for any and all amounts that may be assessed against the OPSO by the court in suchmatters for OPSO’sown acts or omissions

2. Provide amonthly invoice for payment showing, at aminimum: a. each Council security personnel by name, b. fringe benefits for each such Council security personnel, and c. the administrative expense associated with the management of the Council security personnel team.

3. Coordinate all normal and emergency operational issues with the Council Chief of Staff.

B. OPSO Representations and Warranties OPSO represents and warrants that:

1. OPSO has the full power and authority to enter into and execute this Agreement and, as such, this Agreement is legally binding upon and enforceable against OPSO in accordance with its terms.

2. OPSO is not under any obligation to any other party that would be inconsistent with or in conflict with this Agreement or that would prevent, limit or impair in any way its performance of any obligations hereunder

3. OPSO has the requisite expertise, qualifications, staff, materials and equipment in place and available to enable it to fully perform the scope of services set forth in subsection Aofthe Section 1and OPSO, along with its employees, as required,

their favoronthe Sheriffs LiabilityInsurance Program, including Police Professional.ACopy of the OPSO’s Certificate of Insurance evidencing these coverages shall be provided to the City’sRisk Manager within ten (10) days after signing this Agreement

6. The preceding paragraph notwithstanding the City acknowledges and accepts the OPSO’sself-insurance program(s) as satisfactory evidence of the coverages, limits, termsand conditions required by this Agreement.A writing or attestation from the OPSO regarding the self-insurance plan(s) shall meet the requirements of producing aCertificate of Insurance as provided in this Agreement

7. The OPSO’scurrent administrator for property and liability (including automobile liability) claims is Keith D. Lampkin, Chief Administrative Officer,2800 Perdido Street, New Orleans, La 70119. The OPSO’scurrent administration for Worker’sCompensation ClaimsisHammerman &Gainer, 1010 Common Street, Suite 2600, New Orleans, La 70112.

8. OPSO has read and fully understands the terms, covenants and conditions set forth in this Agreement and is executing the same willingly and voluntarilyofitsown volition.

C. Security Personnel Training Standards.

1. In accordance with Section86-47 of the Code of the City of New Orleans, and CAOPolicy Memorandum 141 (R), VIIl(l), each full timeOPSO Council security personnel shall participate in the minimum one hour training on preventing sexual harassment during each full calendar year of their assignment to the Council. Annual training must be completed in accordance with CAOannual schedule, and certificates of completion shall be maintained on file with the Council Human Resources Manager.Failuretocompletethe training will be reported to OPSO and appointing Council member

2. Advance written notices by Council shall be provided to OPSO of any actsorbehaviors by Council security personnel that may result in claims of OPSO’snonperformance with this Agreement.Councilshall also provide written notice to OPSO of any formal or informal, verbal or written warnings or notices made directly to Council security personnel by acouncilmember forany claims of insubordination, or dereliction of duties set forth under this Agreement.For any and all other complaints initiated by,oragainst,OPSO personnel, such complaints shall be conducted in compliance with OPSO policy

3. Each Council security personnel shall also successfully complete executive protection training on an annual basis, not to exceed forty (40) hours, to be approved by the Sheriff or designated Commander of EPU.The costs of the initial and annual training shall be reimbursed to OPSO pursuant to Section VII, A, 2.

D. Declared Disaster

1. Declaration. During the declaration of an emergency by federal, state, and/ or local government, Councilsecurity personnel identified in the essential personnel list of the Council’s Emergency Preparedness Plan may provide support to the City on an as-needed and task-order-driven basis. Because of the uncertainty of the scale and/ or type of emergency,the services to be provided by the Council security personnel will vary and may need to be adjusted as needs areidentified. Security personnel may be requested to provide arange of services. Said services may need to be rendered on acontinual basis(24 hours/ 7days per week) during the declaration of an emergency.Should any claim or legal actionresult against OPSO for such support provided to the City by Council security personnel, the City shall defend and indemnify OPSO for each and every claim or legal action.

2. Task Order,Notification, and Personnel. Priortoorduring the declaration of an emergency,each respective Council member will notify each security professional via task order if the City requires Councilsecuritypersonnel support. Upon activation by task order,the OPSO will provide the City with contact information of personnel assigned to the task order; and coordinate with the City to identify any personnel available to meet the City’sneeds.

3. Hourly Rate The hourly rate of compensation during a declared emergency shall be no greater than timeand ahalf fortimespent on task order approved assignments in excess of 40 hours per week.

4. Purchase Order Once Agreement is fully executed, the City will issue apurchase order to OPSO. The City will issue a subsequent purchase order in case of additional needs for services, or may issue amodified purchase order if changes aremade to the initial purchase order

5. OPSO will ensurethat the City is provided with timely and accurate reports and other documentation, as requested.

II -THE CITY’SOBLIGATIONS

ARTICLE

A. City agrees and obligates itself to:

1. Provide Agreement administration through the Council Chief of Staff’sOffice by working directly with the Sheriffordesignee.

a. Council shall have the exclusive authority to approve daily duties and overall daily direction of Councilsecurity personnel assigned to Council member under this Agreement.Any changes to post, duties, or direction shall be designated in writing by the Council and agreed upon by OPSO. Minimum training and qualification requirements shall be determined jointlybyCounciland the OPSO.

2. Council shall maintain adequate liability insurance coverages for the City vehicles driven by Council security personnel, naming Council security personnel as additional insureds thereto. Acopy of the Council’s Certificate of Insurance evidencing these coverages and additional insureds shall be provided to OPSO within ten (10) days after signing this Agreement

ARTICLE III –COMPENSATION

A. Council Security Personnel

1. Salarycompensationfor each Council security personnel shall be Eighty-Four Thousand One Hundred Ninety-Four Dollars and sixteen Cents ($84,194.16, including fringebenefits) per year,and Eighty-sixThousand SixHundred Thirty Dollars and four cents ($86,630.04, including fringe benefits) for the supervisory Council security personnel per year,asset Forth in Exhibit“A” annexed to and made part of this Agreement

2. Council shall also reimburse OPSO for fringe benefits for the Council security personnel to include, retirement,FICA Medicare, hospitalization, life insurance, unemployment compensation, and costs for initial and annual trainings. Compensationfor fringe benefits will be paid by billing for each Council security personnel by name, to the extent any such itemsare actuallypaid by OPSO.

B. Maximum Compensation under this Agreement. The maximum base compensation to be paid by CounciltoOPSO during the term of this Agreement upon invoices prepared in accordance with this Agreement is $2,367,180.00. This amount shall be paid as follows: $49,316.25 per month or $591,795.00 for twelve (12) months exclusive of administrative expenses incurred by OPSO in management of the Council security personnel team as set forth in Exhibit“A” attached hereto.

C. Invoices. The OPSO must submit detailedinvoices monthlytothe City electronically, via its supplier portal, for services provided under this Contract. Untimely invoices may result in delayed payment forwhich the City is not liable. At aminimum,each invoice must include the following information: contract or purchase order number issued by the City,

the City’sreasonable attorneyfees andexpenses, incurred by the City in enforcing this indemnity

ARTICLE VI -PERFORMANCE MEASURES

A. Factors. The City will measure the performance of OPSO according to the following non-exhaustive factors: work performed in compliancewith the terms of the Agreement; staff availability; stafftraining; staffprofessionalism; staffexperience; customer service; communication andaccessibility; prompt andeffective correction of situations andconditions; timeliness andcompleteness of submission of requested documentation (such as records, receipts, invoices, insurancecertificates, and computer-generated reports).

B. Failure to Perform If OPSO fails to perform according to the Agreement, the City will notify OPSO. If there is acontinuedlack of performance afternotification, the City maydeclareOPSO in default andmay pursue anyappropriate remediesavailable underthe Agreementand/or anyapplicable law. In the event of anotification of default, the City will invoicethe defaulting contractor for anyincrease in costs andotherdamages sustained by the City.Further, the City will seek full recovery from the defaulting contractor

ARTICLE VII -NON-DISCRIMINATION

A. Equal Employment Opportunity. In allhiring or employment made possible by,orresulting from this Agreement, OPSO (1)will not discriminate against anyemployeeorapplicant for employment because of race, color,religion, sex, gender,age physical or mental disability,nationalorigin,sexual orientation, creed, culture, or ancestry,and (2)where applicable, will take affirmative action to ensurethatthe Contractor’semployees are treated during employment without regardtotheir race, color religion, sex, gender,age,physical or mentaldisability,national origin, sexual orientation, creed, culture,orancestry.This requirementshall applyto, but not be limitedtothe following: employment, upgrading, demotion or transfer, recruitment or recruitment advertising, layoffortermination, rates of payor other forms of compensation, andselection for training, including apprenticeship. All solicitationsoradvertisements for employees shall state thatall qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color,religion, sex, gender,age,physical or mentaldisability,nationalorigin,sexual orientation, creed, culture,orancestry

B. Non-Discrimination In the performance of this Agreement, OPSO will not discriminate on the basis, whetherinfact or perception, of aperson’srace, color,creed, religion, nationalorigin,ancestry age, sex, gender,sexual orientation, genderidentity,domestic partner status, marital status, physical or mental disability,or AIDS- or HIV-status against (1)anyemployeeofthe City working with OPSO in anyofOPSO’soperations within OrleansParish or (2)any person seeking accommodations, advantages, facilities, privileges, services, or membership in allbusiness, social, or other establishments or organizations operated by the Contractor OPSO agrees to comply with andabide by allapplicable federal, state andlocal laws relating to non-discrimination,including, without limitation, Title VI of the Civil Rights Actof1964, Section Vofthe Rehabilitation Actof1973, andthe Americans with Disabilities Actof1990.

C. Incorporation intoSubcontracts OPSO will incorporate the terms andconditions of this Article into allsubcontracts, by referenceorotherwise,and will requireall subcontractors to comply with those provisions.

D. Termination for Breach The City mayterminate this Agreement for cause if OPSO fails to comply with anyobligation in this Article, whichfailureisamaterial breach of this Agreement.

VIII -INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR

ARTICLE

A. Independent Contractor Status. OPSO is an independent contractor andshall not be deemed an employee, servant, agent, partner,orjoint ventureofthe City andwill not hold itself or any of its employees, subcontractors or agents to be an employee, partner,oragent of the City

B. Exclusion of Worker’sCompensation Coverage The City will not be liable to OPSO, as an independent contractor as defined in La.R.S. 23:1021(6),for anybenefits or coverage as provided by the Workmen’s Compensation Lawofthe State

SHELLPOINT

MORTGAGE SERVICING VS SHICOLA MARTIN

By virtue of and in obedienceto aWritof SEIZUREAND

SALE from the 24thJudicial District Court, Parish of Jeffer‐son, Stateof Louisiana, in the abovenum‐beredand enti‐tled cause, datedMay 4, 2026, Ihave seized andwill proceed to sell to thehighest bidder at public auction, at the JeffersonParish Sheriff'sOfﬁce Complex, 1233 Westbank Ex‐pressway,Har‐vey, Louisiana, 70058, on Au‐gust 12, 2026 at 10 o'clocka.m thefollowing describedprop‐erty to wit:

Acertain piece or portionof ground,to‐gether with all thebuildings andimprove‐ments thereonand all therights, ways privileges, servitudes,ap‐purtenances and advantages thereuntobe‐longingorin anywiseapper‐taining, situated in theParishof Jefferson, State of Louisiana, in that part thereofknown as ThreeOaks Subdivision, (being aresub‐division of Lots E-15 andH-115

of Ames Farms Subdivision), and, accordingto a plan of resubdi‐vision by DonA Garland, C.E., datedJune 16 1971, registered in COB744, folio 291, said lotis designated as Lot15ofSquare "B", boundedby LouisI Avenue StebbenStreet, thenortherly line of thesub‐division and theboundary line separating Square "A"from Square "B (AmesBoule‐vard side), andwhich said Lot15measures 60 feet fronton LouisI Avenue, thesamewidth in therear, with a depth of 84.35 feet between equaland paral‐lellines,said Lot15 formingthe cor‐nerofLouis I Avenue and StebbenStreet Allasmorefully shownon survey by Don A. Garland, C.E., datedAugust 22, 1972 andre‐datedApril 26, 1973.

This sale is sub‐ject to allsupe‐rior security in‐terests, mort‐gages, liensand privileges TERMS- Thefull purchase price is dueatthe time of thesale.

NOTE:All funds must be Cashier'sCheck, Certiﬁed Check,

MoneyOrder,or Personal Check with Bank Letter of Credit

COREYJ.GIROIR Attorney for Plaintiff

JOSEPH P. LOPINTO, III Sheriff Parish of Jefferson

TheNew Orleans Advocate: July 3, 2026, August 7, 2026

jul3-aug 7-2t

g estbidderat public auction, at theJefferson Parish Sheriff's Ofﬁce Complex, 1233 Westbank Expressway, Harvey, Louisiana, 70058, on Au‐gust 12, 2026 at 10 o'clocka.m thefollowing describedprop‐erty to wit:

ACERTAIN PIECEORPOR‐TION OF GROUND,to‐gether with all thebuildings and improvements thereon, andall therights, ways, privileges, servitudes,ad‐vantages andappurte‐nances there‐untobelonging or in anywise appertaining situated in the PARISH OF Jef‐ferson,STATE OF LOUISIANA, in that part thereofknown as Floral AcresSubdivi‐sion Addition No.1 formerly designated as a portionofArea H, Live OakPlantation, in accordance with survey by AdloeOrr, Jr andAssociates, C.E., datedOctober 9, 1963, ap‐proved by the JeffersonParish Councilunder Ordinance No.6566 adoptedApril 9, 1964, recorded in COB590; folio 940; andasre‐visedby plan of resubdi‐vision by DonA Garland, C..E.,

datedJanuary 22, 1982, ap‐proved by theJefferson Parish Council on February 17, 1982, under EmergencyOr‐dinanceNo. 15060 recorded under EntryNo. 1005497 in COB 1021, folio 405, in conjunction with OrdinanceNo. 15088 approved by theJefferson Parish Council on March17, 1982, recorded under theEntry No 1007502 in COB 1022, folio 434; andasfurther resubdivided by that plan of re‐subdivisionby J.J. Krebs& Sons,Inc C.E.& S.,dated March17, 1984 approved by the JeffersonParish Councilunder OrdinanceNo. 16014 recorded under EntryNo. 8425173 in COB 1075, folio 890, more speciﬁ‐cally describedas followstowit: Square 20A,Lot 13, which square is bounded by MorningGlory Lane,AzaleaDr, Honeysuckle Lane,and Dan‐delion Drive

This sale is sub‐ject to allsupe‐rior security in‐terests, mort‐gages, liensand privileges.

TERMS- Thefull purchase price is dueatthe time of thesale.

NOTE:All funds

must be Cashier'sCheck, Certiﬁed Check, MoneyOrder,or Personal Check with Bank Letter of Credit AMYR.ORTIS Attorney for Plaintiff

JOSEPH P. LOPINTO, III Sheriff Parish of Jefferson

TheNew Orleans Advocate: July 3, 2026, August 7, 2026 jul3-aug7-2t

This sale is sub‐ject to allsupe‐rior security in‐terests, mort‐gages, liensand privileges TERMS- Thefull purchase price is dueatthe time of thesale.

NOTE:All funds must be Cashier'sCheck Certiﬁed Check, MoneyOrder,or Personal Check with Bank Letter of Credit

DENNIS F. WIGGINS, JR. Attorney for Plaintiff

JOSEPH P. LOPINTO, III Sheriff Parish of Jefferson TheNew Orleans Advocate: July 3, 2026, August 7, 2026 jul3-aug7-2t

p auction, at the JeffersonParish Sheriff'sOfﬁce Complex, 1233 Westbank Ex‐pressway,Har‐vey, Louisiana, 70058, on Au‐gust 12, 2026 at 10 o'clocka.m thefollowing describedprop‐erty to wit: Onecertain lot of ground,to‐gether with all thebuildings andimprove‐mentsthereon andall the rights,ways, privileges, servitudes,ap‐purtenances andadvantages thereuntobe‐longingorin anywiseapper‐taining, situated in theParishof Jefferson, Stateof Louisiana, in that part thereofknown as Bissonet PlazaSubdivi‐sion,in Square 11, Sec‐tion 5, bounded by WiltyStreet, CraigAvenue, Glendale Street and PowerBoule‐vard,saidlot of ground is desig‐natedbythe number16, commences at adistanceof onehundred twenty-six and eighteen hun‐dredths (126.18’)feet from thecornerof WiltyStreet and CraigAvenue, andmeasures thence sixtytwoand no hundredth (62.00’)feet frontonWilty Street,the same in widthinthe rear,bya depth of onehundred andnohun‐dredths (100.00’)feet be‐tween equal andparallel lines; all accordingto a sketch of survey by Gilbert, Kelly andCouturieJamesH.Cou‐turie, CivilEngineer, datedSeptem‐ber27, 1974. All as more fully shownonthe survey by Mandle Survey‐ing, Inc.,dated January30, 1989

JUDICIAL ADVERTISE‐MENT 24THJUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT PARISH OF JEFFERSON STATEOF LOUISIANA NO:871-381 SELECT PORTFOLIO SERVICING, INC. VS DONNIE K. SMALLAND RONNIE WEB‐STER SMALL(F/K/A RONNIE WEBSTER) By virtue of and in obedienceto aWritof SEIZUREAND SALE from the 24thJudicial District Court, Parish of Jeffer‐son, Stateof Louisiana, in the abovenum‐beredand enti‐tled cause, datedJanuary 5, 2026, Ihave seized andwill proceed to sell to thehighest bidder at public auction, at the JeffersonParish Sheriff'sOfﬁce Complex, 1233 Westbank Ex‐pressway,Har‐vey, Louisiana, 70058, on Au‐gust 12, 2026 at 10 o'clocka.m thefollowing describedprop‐erty to wit: THAT CERTAIN PIECEORPOR‐TION OF GROUND,to‐gether with all thebuildings andimprove‐mentsthereon andall the

rights,ways, privileges, servitudes, appurtenances andadvantages thereuntobe‐longingorin anywiseapper‐taining, situated in the STATEOF LOUISIANA, PARISH OF JEF‐FERSON,in SQUARE NO 152, LINCOLN MANORSUBDI‐

VISION, bounded by 31st Street,Duncan Street (side),Mayﬁeld Street (side) (lateLake),and Utah Avenue (lateOzark), designated as LOTS NOS. 17,18 &19. WhichsaidLots adjoin each otherand mea‐sure together 60 feet fronton 31st Street same in width in therear, by a depth of 120 feet between equaland paral‐lellines.All as more fully shownonsur‐veyofGilbert Kelly & Couturie,Inc S &E,dated Octo‐ber31, 1991

This sale is sub‐ject to allsupe‐rior security in‐terests, mort‐gages, liensand privileges

TERMS- Thefull purchase price is dueatthe time of thesale.

NOTE:All funds must be Cashier'sCheck Certiﬁed Check, MoneyOrder,or Personal Check with Bank Letter of Credit

WILLIAMS TEBBE Attorney for Plaintiff

JOSEPH P. LOPINTO, III Sheriff Parish of Jefferson TheNew Orleans Advocate: July 3, 2026, August 7, 2026 jul3-aug7-2t

JUDICIAL ADVERTISE‐MENT

24THJUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT PARISH OF JEFFERSON STATEOF LOUISIANA NO:870-044

MORTGAGE SOLUTIONSOF COLORADO,LLC VS SANJAY RAMAN

THAT CERTAIN PARCEL OF GROUND,to‐gether with all thebuildings and improvements thereon, andall of therights, ways,privi‐leges, servi‐tudes, appurtenances andadvantages thereuntobe‐longingorin anywiseapper‐taining, situated in the Parish of Jeffer‐son, Stateof Louisiana, in that part thereofknown as Stonebridgeby bdi i i

g resubdivision approved by Or‐dinance#15014 recorded in COB 1019, folio 674, in January1982, andall as more fullyshown on a plan of resubdivsion prepared by J. J. Krebs& Sons Inc.,dated Au‐gust 31, 1981, as Lot 353, Square 14, Section2,which measures as follows:

Said LOT353 OF SQUARE 14,is bounded by Lake Lynn Drive, Parcel 2A (120' LouisianaPower &Light Com‐pany Rightof wayside), BayouBarataria and180' TrappCanal RightofWay side.Inaccor‐dancewith a survey of Gilbert, Kelly and Couturie, Inc. datedJune 24, 1992, said lot measures a ﬁrst fronton37.06 feet anda second frontof 71.59 feet on Lake Lynn Drive, a ﬁrstwidth in therearof31.12 feet anda second width in the rear of 36.89 feet,bya depth alongthe north‐westerly most sideline of 181.19 feet,and adepth along theopposite sideline of 199.22 feet This sale is sub‐ject to allsupe‐rior security in‐terests, mort‐gages, liensand privileges

TERMS- Thefull purchase price is dueatthe time of thesale.

NOTE:All funds must be Cashier'sCheck, Certiﬁed Check, MoneyOrder,or Personal Check with Bank Letter of Credit

EMILYA MUELLER Attorney for Plaintiff

JOSEPH P. LOPINTO, III Sheriff Parish of Jefferson TheNew Orleans Advocate: July 3, 2026, August 7, 2026 jul3-aug 7-2t

JUDICIAL ADVERTISE‐MENT

24THJUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT PARISH OF JEFFERSON STATEOF LOUISIANA NO:872-828

U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, NOTINITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY BUT SOLELY AS TRUSTEE FOR PRPTRUST, SERIES 2024 COTTAGE-TT-VI VERSUS DOUGLASA BORDELON AND ROBINLYNN BORDELON

ONECERTAIN LOTOFGROUND, together with allthe buildings d i

g andimprove‐ments thereon, andall of therights, ways,servi‐tudes, appurte‐nances andad‐vantages thereuntobe‐longingorin anywiseapper‐taining, situated in theParishof Jefferson, Stateof Louisiana, in that part thereofknown as TERRYTOWN SUBDIVISION NO 5, beinga part of OakdaleSub‐division,Section B, FirstWard, all in accord with a survey thereof by AdloeOrr, Jr &Associates, C.E.,dated Janu‐ary20, 1960, and accordingto a survey by GuyJ Seghers, Jr C.E. datedMay 24, 1966, thesaid lotis designated and measures as follows: LOT10, SQUARE 90, bounded by Holt Place, Huckleberry Lane,Guardian Avenue andHeritage Avenue;com‐mences at adis‐tanceof341 feet from thecorner of Guardian Av‐enue andHer‐itageAvenue andmeasures thence 60 feet fronton Guardian Av‐enue,samein width in the rear,bya depth of 110feet be‐tween equal andparallel lines.

This sale is sub‐ject to allsupe‐rior security in‐terests, mort‐gages, liensand privileges TERMS- Thefull purchase price is dueatthe time of thesale.

NOTE:All funds mustbe Cashier'sCheck Certiﬁed Check, MoneyOrder,or Personal Check with Bank Letter of Credit

KATE SOTO‐LONGO Attorney for Plaintiff

JOSEPH P. LOPINTO, III Sheriff Parish of Jefferson TheNew Orleans Advocate: July 3, 2026, August 7, 2026 jul3-aug 7-2t

JUDICIAL ADVERTISE‐MENT

24THJUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT PARISH OF JEFFERSON STATEOF LOUISIANA NO:873-353

MIDFIRST BANK VERSUS THEUNOPENED SUCCESSION JAMESBENARD KNOX ANDTHE OPENED SUCCESSION OF ROSALYNWHITE KNOX (A/K/A ROSALYNBRAT‐TON, ROSLYN W. KNOX)AND DESTINYBRAT‐TON (A/K/A DESTINY RENEE BRAT‐TON) AND JASONBRATTON ANDJHERICA KNOX

p vey, Louisiana, 70058, on Au‐gust12, 2026 at 10 o'clocka.m thefollowing describedprop‐erty to wit: THAT CERTAIN PIECEORPOR‐TION OF GROUND,to‐gether with all thebuildings andimprove‐mentsthereon andall the rights,ways, privileges, servitudes, appurtenances andadvantages thereuntobe‐longingorin anywiseapper‐taining, situated in the Parish of Jeffer‐son, in theState of Louisiana, in that part thereof knownasFLO‐RALACRES SUB‐DIVISION,said portionbeing designated as LOTNo. 6, SQUARE 5, ac‐cordingto a plan by Adloe Orr, Jr., andAs‐sociates,C.E datedJuly 24, 1969, SQUARE 5is bounded by But‐tercup Drive, Bluebell Lane, Azalea Drive andAster Lane, Lot6 com‐mences at adis‐tanceof276.29 feet from the corner of ButtercupDrive andBluebell Lane andmea‐suresthence55 feet fronton Bluebell Lane, thesame in width in the rear,bya depth of 100 feet be‐tween equal and parallel lines. This sale is sub‐ject to allsupe‐rior security in‐terests, mort‐gages, liensand privileges.

TERMS- Thefull purchase price is dueatthe time of thesale.

NOTE:All funds must be Cashier'sCheck Certiﬁed Check, MoneyOrder,or Personal Check with Bank Letter of Credit

EMILYA MUELLER Attorney for Plaintiff

JOSEPH P. LOPINTO, III Sheriff Parish of Jefferson TheNew Orleans Advocate: July 3, 2026, August 7, 2026 jul3-aug7-2t

JUDICIAL ADVERTISE‐MENT 24THJUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT PARISH OF JEFFERSON STATEOF LOUISIANA NO:872-316 ONPATH FEDERALCREDIT UNION VS DMS INVESTMENTS, LLC

ACERTAIN PIECEORPOR‐TION OF GROUND,to‐getherwithall h b ildi

g thebuildings and improvements thereon, andall of therights, ways,privi‐leges, servi‐tudes. appurtenances andadvantages thereuntobe‐longingorIn anywiseapper‐taining, situated in the Parish of Jeffer‐son, Stateof Louisiana, In the VillageofMar‐rero, formingpartof theMARRERO ADDITION which said lotis designated by the numberSIX (8) of SQUARE FOUR (4), which said square is bounded by Seventh andEighth Streets, Avenue A. andthe line of theproperty of Estate of Murphy Alfo accordingto a plat of HenryL Zander,Engi‐neer,dated No‐vember 10 1921, on ﬁle in theofﬁce of therecorderfor this Parish,and accordingto said plan thelot measures30 feat frontonAv‐enue Aby a depth of 120 feet between equaland parallel lines. Accordingto survey by Wilton J. Dufrene, L.S., datedJune26, 1984, said lothas the same designa‐tionsand mea‐surementsas hereinaboveset forthand aresituatedIn thesame Parish,Subdivi‐sion and Square,which square is bounded by Avenue A, SeventhStreet, Allo Subdivi‐sion,and Eighth Street (side).All as more fully shownon survey by Gilbert, Kelley andCouturie, Inc.,Surveying and Engineering, datedJuly22, 1996.

Forinforma‐tional purposes only:Improve‐mentsthereon bear Municipal No.709 Avenue A, Mar‐rero,Louisiana 70072.

This sale is sub‐ject to allsupe‐rior security in‐terests, mort‐gages, liensand privileges

TERMS- Thefull purchase price is dueatthe time of thesale.

NOTE:All funds must be Cashier'sCheck, Certiﬁed Check, MoneyOrder,or Personal Check with Bank Letter of Credit

JOSHUA P. MATTHEWS Attorney for Plaintiff

JOSEPH P. LOPINTO, III Sheriff Parish of Jefferson

TheNew Orleans Advocate: July 3, 2026, August 7, 2026 jul3-aug7-2t

CERTIFICATES, SERIES 200624CB VERSUS ALICIA DAVIS

By virtue of and in obedienceto aWritof SEIZUREAND SALE from the 24thJudicial District Court, Parish of Jeffer‐son, Stateof Louisiana, in the abovenum‐beredand enti‐tled cause, datedMarch 25, 2026, Ihave seized andwill proceed to sell to thehighest bidder at public auction, at the JeffersonParish Sheriff'sOfﬁce Complex, 1233 Westbank Ex‐pressway,Har‐vey, Louisiana, 70058, on Au‐gust 12, 2026 at 10 o'clocka.m thefollowing describedprop‐erty to wit: THAT CERTAIN PIECEORPOR‐TION OF GROUND,to‐gether with all the improvements thereonand all therights, ways, privileges, servitudes,ad‐vantages andappurte‐nances there‐untobelonging or in anywise appertaining, situated in the Parish of Jeffer‐son, Stateof Louisiana, in that part thereofknown as MEADOWBROOK SUBDIVISION, UNIT NO.1,in accordance with plan of subdivision made by J.J. Krebs, &Sons, Inc.,dated April 22, 1965, revised on August 9, 1965, ap‐proved by the Jeffersonparish CouncilOrdi‐nanceNo. 7276 on August 19, 1965, registered in COB622, folio 92. Said lotis more fullyde‐scribedon a plan of survey Wilton J. Dufrene, Sur‐veyor, Dated March9,1973, a printofwhich is annexed hereto,asfol‐lows, to-wit:Lot 4ofSquare3, which said square is bounded by Willowbrook Drive, Baywood Drive, Lapalco Boulevard, Com‐merceStreet, and Oakwood Drive. Lot4 com‐mences at a pointof278.83 feet from thein‐tersection of LapalcoBoule‐vard andWil‐lowbrook Drive andmeasures thence 60 feet fronton Willowbrook drive, same width in the rear,bya depth of 110 feet be‐tween equal and parallel lines.

This sale is sub‐ject to allsupe‐rior security in‐terests, mort‐gages, liensand privileges

TERMS- Thefull purchase price is dueatthe time of thesale.

NOTE:All funds must be Cashier'sCheck Certiﬁed Check, MoneyOrder,or Personal Check with Bank Letter of Credit EMILYA MUELLER Attorney for Plaintiff JOSEPH P. LOPINTO, III Sheriff Parish of Jefferson TheNew Orleans Advocate: July 3, 2026, August 7, 2026 jul3-aug7-2t

24THJUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT PARISH OF JEFFERSON STATEOF LOUISIANA NO:873-357 REGIONSBANK DBAREGIONS MORTGAGE SUCCESSOR BY MERGER TO UNION PLANTERS BANK,N.A VERSUS TINA LOUISE BARRY(A/K/A TINA L. BARRY, TINA BARRY)

ONECERTAIN LOTOFGROUND, together with allthe buildings andimprove‐ments thereonand all therights, ways, privileges, servitudes,ad‐vantages and appurtenances thereuntobe‐longingorin anywiseapper‐taining, situated in theState of Louisiana, Parish of Jeffer‐son, in Floral AcresSubdivi‐sion Addition No 2A, designated as lotB-2-C on a survey by Ger‐aldB.Dunn, Land surveyor, dated February 20,1981 ap‐proved by Jef‐ferson Parish Councilunder OrdinanceNo 14695 registered in COB1001, folio 672 under Entry No 963643, a portionofwhich was resubdivided into Floral Acres Subdivision No.2A, Sq A, Lots 1-26, Sq B Lots 27-49, Sq C, Lots 50-56 andSqD,Lots 57-76 as per plan of resubdi‐vision by Rich‐mond W. Krebs, Profes‐sional Land Sur‐veyor, L.S., datedJuly 22,1999, last re‐visedNovember 19,1999 in COB 3022, folio 105 under Instru‐ment No.09972937, more particu‐larly describedas follows:

Lot61, Square D is bounded by GoldenrodLane, DaisyLane, Larkspur Lane(side) andSweet Pea Lane(side) and measures 50 feet fronton GoldenrodLane, as the same widthin therearby a depthof110 feet between equaland paral‐lellines.All in accordance with survey by JohnsonProfes‐sional Land Sur‐veyors,Inc., datedJune 20,2002,resur‐veyedJuly 24,2002 to locate forms, resur‐veyedAugust9, 2002 to locate slab, resurveyed No‐vember 5,2002,a copy of which is annexedhereto and made apart hereof

Whichhas the addressof21 Golden Rod Lane,Wagga‐

man, LA 70094

This sale is sub‐jecttoall supe‐riorsecurityin‐terests, mort‐gages, liensand privileges.

TERMS- Thefull purchase price is dueatthe time of thesale.

NOTE:All funds must be Cashier'sCheck, Certiﬁed Check, MoneyOrder,or Personal Check with Bank Letter of Credit

EMILYA MUELLER Attorney for Plaintiff

JOSEPH P. LOPINTO, III Sheriff Parish of Jefferson

TheNew Orleans Advocate: July 3, 2026, August 7, 2026 jul3-aug7-2t

JUDICIAL ADVERTISE‐MENT

24THJUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT PARISH OF JEFFERSON STATEOF LOUISIANA NO:873-700

WILMINGTON SAVINGSFUND SOCIETY, FSBAS OWNER TRUSTEEOF CFS15 GRANTOR TRUST VERSUS CARL SCARKINO,JR. A/K/ACARL SCARKINO AND LOLA M. SCARKINO A/K/A LOLA SCARKINO By virtue of and in obedienceto aWritof SEIZUREAND SALE from the 24thJudicial District Court, Parish of Jeffer‐son, Stateof Louisiana, in the abovenum‐beredand enti‐tled cause, datedMarch 13, 2026, Ihave seized andwill proceed to sell to thehighest bidder at public auction, at the JeffersonParish Sheriff'sOfﬁce Complex, 1233 Westbank Ex‐pressway,Har‐vey, Louisiana, 70058, on Au‐gust 12, 2026 at 10 o'clocka.m thefollowing describedprop‐erty to wit: THAT CERTAIN PIECEORPOR‐TION OF GROUND,to‐gether with all thebuildings andimprove‐mentsthereon andall the rights,ways, privileges, servitudes, appurtenances andadvantages thereuntobe‐longingorin anywiseapper‐taining, situated in the Parish of Jeffer‐son, in theState of Louisianain that part thereofknown as GREENLAWN TERRACESUBDI‐VISION (High‐wayPark),said portionbeing designated as LotL of Square 63 accordingto aplanbyJ.J Krebs& Sons, Inc., datedMarch 25, 1969, Square 63 is bounded by California Av‐enue,40th, Arkansas Avenue,and 41st Avenue LotL formsthe Corner of Cali‐fornia and40th Street andmea‐suresthence58 feet frontonCalifor‐niaAvenue same widthin therear, by a depth and frontage on 40th Street of 120 feet,and by a depthonthe opposite side‐line of 120 feet

This sale is sub‐jecttoall supe‐i i i

j p rior security in‐terests, mort‐gages, liensand privileges.

TERMS- Thefull purchase price is dueatthe time of thesale.

NOTE:All funds must be Cashier'sCheck, Certiﬁed Check, MoneyOrder,or Personal Check with Bank Letter of Credit

ELIZABETHC PRICE

Attorney for Plaintiff

JOSEPH P. LOPINTO, III

Sheriff Parish of Jefferson

TheNew Orleans Advocate: July 3, 2026, August 7, 2026 jul3-aug7-2t

BANK OF

N.A.

F. ALTMEYER AND LISA DURNING A/K/ALISA DURNING ALTMEYER

LOT26-A SQUARE 85. This sale is sub‐ject to allsupe‐rior security in‐terests, mort‐gages, liensand privileges.

TERMS- Thefull purchase price is dueatthe time of thesale.

NOTE:All funds must be Cashier'sCheck, Certiﬁed Check, MoneyOrder,or Personal Check with Bank Letter of Credit CRIS R. JACKSON Attorney for Plaintiff

JOSEPH P. LOPINTO, III Sheriff Parish of Jefferson TheNew Orleans

jul3-aug7-2t

U.S. BANK

BANK

VERSUS SUCCESSIONS OF ANDREA G. RAGASA/K/A ANDREA GREEN RAGASA/K/A ANDREA GAE

RAGAS ANDDENNISJ RAGAS, JR. A/K/ADENNIS JOSEPH RAGAS, JR.

By virtue of and in obedienceto

aWritof SEIZUREAND SALE from the 24thJudicial District Court, Parish of Jeffer‐son, Stateof Louisiana, in the abovenum‐beredand enti‐tled cause, datedMay 21, 2026, Ihave seized andwill proceed to sell to thehighest bidder at public auction, at the JeffersonParish Sheriff'sOfﬁce Complex, 1233 Westbank Ex‐pressway,Har‐vey, Louisiana, 70058, on Au‐gust 12, 2026 at 10 o'clocka.m thefollowing describedprop‐erty to wit: TWOCERTAIN LOTS OF GROUND,TO‐GETHER WITH ALLTHE BUILD‐INGS ANO IMPROVEMENTS THEREON, AND ALLOFTHE RIGHTS,WAYS, PRIVILEGES, SERVITUDES, APPURTE‐NANCES ANO ADVANTAGES THEREUNTOBE‐LONGING OR IN ANYWISE APPERTAINING SITUATED IN THEPARISHOF JEFFERSON, STATEOF LOUISIANA, IN RIVERSIDEPARK SUBDIVISION ANDDESIG‐NATED AS LOTNUM‐BERS FIFTY(50) AND FIFTY-ONE (51) OF SQUARE 'J'OFSAID SUBDIVISION. SAID LOTS HAVE THEFOLLOWING DIMENSIONS AFTER DEDUCTING THAT PORTION TAKENBYTHE FEDERALGOV‐ERNMENTFOR THECONSTRUC‐TION OF THE NEWMISSIS‐SIPPIRIVER LEVEE; SAID LOT 51 MEASURES 124.9 FEET ON ITS NORTHERN

EASTERN BOUNDARY FRONTING ON GLENWOOD AV‐ENUE AND29 FEET 7INCHES ALONGITS REAR OR WESTERN BOUNDARY SAID LOTS BEINGFURTHER SHOWNONSUR‐VEY OF GILBERT, KELLYAND COU‐TURIE, INC., SURVEYINGAND ENGINEERING, DATEDDECEM‐BER 2, 1977, AND ACCORDINGTO WHICH, SAID LOTS HAVE THESAMEDI‐MENSIONS,DES‐IGNATIONS, ANO LOCATION AND AREBOUNDED BY BERKLEYAV‐ENUE,OAKLAND STREET,MISSIS‐SIPPIRIVER AND GLENWOOD AV‐ENUE. SAID LOT 51 LIES NEAREST TO ANDCON‐MENCES AT A DISTANCE OF 350 FEET FROM THECORNEROF OAKLAND STREET AND GLENWOOD AV‐ENUE

This sale is sub‐ject to allsupe‐rior security in‐terests, mort‐gages, liensand privileges

TERMS- Thefull purchase price is dueatthe time of thesale.

NOTE:All funds must be Cashier'sCheck Certiﬁed Check, MoneyOrder,or Personal Check with Bank Letter of Credit RADERJACKSON Attorney for Plaintiff

JOSEPH P. LOPINTO, III Sheriff Parish of Jefferson

TheNew Orleans Advocate: July 3, 2026, August 7, 2026 jul3-aug 7-2t

JUDICIAL ADVERTISE‐MENT 24THJUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT PARISH OF JEFFERSON STATEOF LOUISIANA NO:875-347

D.A.N. JOINT VENTUREIII, L.P. VERSUS PERFECT SOLUTIONS, LLC, ANDVERNELL LESHON BRISCOE By virtue of and in obedienceto aWritof SEIZUREAND SALE from the 24thJudicial District Court, Parish of Jeffer‐son, Stateof Louisiana, in the abovenum‐beredand enti‐tled cause, datedMay 5, 2026, Ihave seized andwill proceedtosell to thehighest bidder at public auction, at the JeffersonParish Sheriff'sOfﬁce Complex, 1233 Westbank Ex‐pressway,Har‐vey, Louisiana, 70058, on Au‐gust 12,2026 at 10 o'clocka.m thefollowing describedprop‐erty to wit:

which property is describedas follows, to-wit: LOT13, of SQUARE “EE” measures 63 feet fronton 25thStreet,the same in width in therear, by a depth of 100 feet on each side line.Said lotcommences 50 feet from theinter‐sectionofNe‐braska Avenue and25thStreet, andaccording to survey of AdloeOrr,Jr. & Associates, Consulting Engi‐neers, dated March12, 1962, theabove describedprop‐erty hasthe same designa‐tion andloca‐tion Thefollowing is notinsured and provided forin‐formationalpur‐posesonly: Improvements thereonbear theMunicipal No.8705 25th Street,Metairie, Louisiana 70003.

This sale is sub‐ject to allsupe‐rior security in‐terests, mort‐gages, liensand privileges.

TERMS- Thefull purchase price is dueatthe time of thesale.

NOTE:All funds must be Cashier'sCheck Certiﬁed Check, MoneyOrder,or Personal Check with Bank Letter of Credit SIERRA E GRASS Attorney for Plaintiff

JOSEPH P. LOPINTO, III Sheriff Parish of Jefferson TheNew Orleans Advocate: July 3, 2026, August 7, 2026 jul3-aug 7-2t

JUDICIAL ADVERTISE‐MENT 24THJUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT PARISH OF JEFFERSON STATEOF LOUISIANA NO:875-375

DEUTSCHE BANK NATIONAL TRUST COMPANY, AS TRUSTEE FOR NEW CENTURYHOME EQUITY LOAN TRUST, SERIES 2003-2, ASSET BACKED PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES SERIES 2003-2 VERSUS ROGER LARGAESPADA (A/K/A ROGER H. LARGAESPADA, ROGER HERNALDO LARGAESPADA)

longingorin anywiseapper‐taining, situated in the PARISH OF JEF‐FERSON,STATE OF LOUISIANA, Pontchartrain Gardens Subdivision, SectionD,Unit 1, in Square 17, bounded by KawaneeAv‐enue,Kent Avenue,Love‐land Street and Half Street or St Martin Avenue, designated as LotNo. 21, more partic‐ularly described as follows,towit:

LotNo. 21 com‐mences 266.11 feet from the corner of Kawa‐neeAvenue and Kent Avenue and measures 50 feet fronton KawaneeAv‐enue,samein width in the rear, by adepth of 161.69 feet be‐tween equal and parallel lines; allaccord‐ingtoa survey by Sterling Man‐dle, Land Sur‐veyor, datedAu‐gust 24, 1977, copy of which is attached to ActNo. 784944.

This sale is sub‐jecttoall supe‐rior security in‐terests, mort‐gages, liensand privileges

TERMS- Thefull purchase price is dueatthe time of thesale.

NOTE:All funds must be Cashier'sCheck, Certiﬁed Check, MoneyOrder,or Personal Check withBankLetter of Credit WILLIAMS TEBBE

Attorney for Plaintiff

JOSEPH P. LOPINTO, III Sheriff Parish of Jefferson TheNew Orleans Advocate: July 3, 2026, August 7, 2026 jul3-aug7-2t

JUDICIAL ADVERTISE‐MENT

24THJUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT PARISH OF JEFFERSON STATEOF LOUISIANA NO:875-491

appurtenances thereuntobe‐longingorin anywiseapper‐taining, situated in theParish of Jefferson, Stateof Louisiana, in SQUARE NO.219 of HIGHWAY PARK,Kenner, bounded by Illi‐nois Avenue 33rdStreet, IdahoAvenue and32ndStreet, designated as LOTS 34 and 35 on asurvey made by Gilbert, Kelly andCou‐turie, Inc.,Sur datedJuly18, 1977, andac‐cordingthereto, said lots adjoin each otherand measure each 25 feet frontonIllinois Avenue,the same width in therear, by a depth of 127.5 feet between equaland paral‐lellines.Said LotNo. 34 lies nearer to and commences at adistance of 225 feet from thecornerof Illinois Avenue and32ndStreet Improvements thereonbear theMunicipal number3221 Illi‐nois Avenue (“Property”)

This sale is sub‐ject to allsupe‐rior security in‐terests, mort‐gages, liensand privileges.

TERMS- Thefull purchase price is dueatthe time of thesale.

NOTE:All funds must be Cashier'sCheck, Certiﬁed Check, MoneyOrder,or Personal Check with BankLetter of Credit

ELIZABETHC PRICE

Attorney for Plaintiff JOSEPH P. LOPINTO, III Sheriff Parish of Jefferson TheNew Orleans Advocate: July 3, 2026, August 7, 2026 jul3-aug7-2t

JUDICIAL ADVERTISE‐MENT

24THJUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT PARISH OF JEFFERSON STATEOF LOUISIANA NO:875-934

U.S. BANK NATIONAL AS‐SOCIATION, NOTINITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY BUT SOLELY AS TRUSTEEFOR THECIM TRUST 2021-R5 MORTGAGEBACKED NOTESSERIES 2021-R5 VERSUS JACK H. ZEWE

By virtue of and in obedienceto aWritof SEIZUREAND

PARISH OF JEFFERSON STATEOF LOUISIANA NO:798-514

U.S. BANK NATIONAL AS‐SOCIATIONAS INDENTURE TRUSTEEFOR, CIMTRUST 2016-4, MORT‐GAGE-BACKED NOTES, SERIES 2016-4 VS BILLYPORCHE, (A/K/A BILLYJ PORCHE,SR., BILLYJO PORCHE,SR., BILLYJO PORCHE,BILLY J. PORCHE, BILLYPORCHE, SR.AND THEUN‐OPENED SUCCESSIONOF DELORES RICHARD PORCHE,(A/K/A DELORES RICHARD PORCHE,DE‐LORESRICHARD, DELORES PORCHE,DE‐LORESR PORCHE)

bounded by TitanStreet Cerritas Via, SpanishOaks Drive(side), Colombo Drive(side), Woodland West Subdivision (side) and JupiterStreet (side),measur‐ing63 feet fronton TitanStreet same widthin therearby a depthand front of 105 feet

Whichhas the addressof2000 TitanStreet, Harvey,LA 70058

This sale is sub‐ject to allsupe‐rior security in‐terests, mort‐gages, liensand privileges

TERMS- Thefull purchase price is dueatthe time of thesale.

RIGHTS,WAYS, PRIVILEGES, SERVITUDES, APPURTE‐NANCES,PRE‐SCRIPTIONS (BOTHLIBERA‐TIVE AND ACQUISITIVE) ANDADVAN‐TAGESTHERE‐UNTO BELONG‐INGORINANY‐WISE APPERTAINING, SITUATED IN THEPARISHOF JEFFERSON, STATEOF LOUISIANA, IN THAT PORTION THEREOF KNOWNAS BONNABEL PLACE SUBDIVISION, IN SQUARE #78, BOUNDEDBY CLAUDIUS ORIONSTREETS, W. ESPLANADEAV‐ENUE SOUTH (FORMERLY CAESAR STREET)AND BONNABEL BOULEVARD, ANDWHICH SAID LOTS OF GROUND ARE DESIGNATED BY THE NOS. 3AND 4, ADJOIN EACH OTHER, AND MEASUREEACH 52 FEET FRONT ON CLAUDIUS STREET,THE SAMEINWIDTH IN THEREARBY ADEPTH BETWEEN EQUALAND PARALLEL LINES OF 150 FEET; THESAIDREAR LINE OF SAID LOTS FRONTING ON A 12 FOOT ALLEY, RUNNING PAR‐TIALLY THROUGHTHE SAID SQUARE, FROM BONNABEL BOULEVARD, IN THE DIRECTIONOF ORIONSTREET; THESAIDLOT NO.3 BEING NEARER TO AND COMMENCING AT ADISTANCE OF 104 FEET FROM THECOR‐NEROF CLAUDIUS STREET AND BONNABEL BOULEVARD; ALLINACCOR‐DANCEWITH ASKETCHOF SURVEY MADE BY GILBERT, KELLY &COU‐TURIE',EVERETT V. TREIGLEJR. SURVEYOR, DATEDMARCH 27, 1991. AND WITH REGARD TO 1711 CLAUDIUS ST SQUARE 78, LOTS 3AND 4, BONNABEL PLACESUBDIVI‐SION,PARISHOF JEFFERSON, STATEOF LOUISIANA, ALLEYWAY 3N4N ON THEIM‐MEDIATEAND ENTIRE NORTH‐SIDE OF LOTS 3 AND4 MEASUR‐INGSIX FEET IN WIDTHAND ONE HUNDREDFOUR FEET IN LENGTH

ONECERTAIN LOT OF GROUND together with allrights, ways privielges, servitudes,ad‐vantages, and appurtenances thereuntobe‐longingorin anywise appertaining, situated,lying andbeing in the Parish of Jeffer‐son, Stateof Louisiana, in WESTGATE ANNEX(part of HighwayPark) as perplatof survey by Adloe Orr, Jr &Associates, Consulting Engi‐neers, datedAu‐gust 5, 1958, re‐visedMarch 19, 1959,

ACERTAIN PIECEORPOR‐TION OF GROUND,to‐gether with all thebuildings and improvements thereon, andall rights,ways, privileges, servitudes and appurtenances andadvantages thereuntobe‐

SALE from the 24thJudicial District Court, Parish of Jeffer‐son, Stateof Louisiana, in the abovenum‐beredand enti‐tled cause, datedMay 11, 2026, Ihave seized andwill proceed to sell to thehighest bidder at public auction, at the JeffersonParish Sheriff'sOfﬁce Complex, 1233 Westbank Ex‐pressway,Har‐vey, Louisiana, 70058, on Au‐gust 12, 2026 at 10 o'clocka.m thefollowing describedprop‐erty to wit: TWOCERTAIN LOTS OF GROUND,to‐gether with all thebuildings and improvements thereonand all therights, ways, privileges, servitudes,and

CROSSCOUNTRY MORTGAGE,LLC VS THEOPENED SUCCESSION OF RICHARDC GIESELER,SR. (A/K/A RICHARD C. GIESELER) By virtue of and in obedienceto aWritof SEIZUREAND SALE from the 24thJudicial District Court, Parish of Jeffer‐son, Stateof Louisiana, in the abovenum‐beredand enti‐tled cause, datedMay 26, 2026, Ihave seized andwill proceed to sell to thehighest bidder at public auction, at the JeffersonParish Sheriff'sOfﬁce Complex, 1233 Westbank Ex‐pressway,Har‐vey, Louisiana, 70058, on Au‐gust 12, 2026 at 10 o'clocka.m thefollowing describedprop‐erty to wit:

This sale is sub‐ject to allsupe‐rior security in‐terests, mort‐gages, liens and privileges.

TERMS- Thefull purchase price is dueatthe time of thesale.

NOTE:All funds must be Cashier'sCheck, Certiﬁed Check, MoneyOrder,or Personal Check with Bank Letter of Credit WILLIAMS TEBBE Attorney for Plaintiff

THELANDRE‐FERREDTO HEREIN BELOW IS SITUATED IN THEPARISHOF JEFFERSON STATEOF LOUISIANA, AND IS DESCRIBED AS FOLLOWS: TWOCERTAIN LOTS OF GROUND,TO‐GETHER WITH ALLTHE BUILD‐INGS AND IMPROVEMENTS THEREON, AND ALLOFTHE

JOSEPH P. LOPINTO, III Sheriff Parish of Jefferson TheNew Orleans Advocate: July 3, 2026, August 7, 2026 jul3-aug7-2t

By virtue of and in obedienceto aWritof SEIZUREAND SALE from the 24thJudicial District Court, Parish of Jeffer‐son, Stateof Louisiana, in the abovenum‐beredand enti‐tled cause, datedAugust 30, 2019, Ihave seized andwill proceed to sell to thehighest bidder at public auction, at the JeffersonParish Sheriff'sOfﬁce Complex, 1233 Westbank Ex‐pressway,Har‐vey, Louisiana, 70058, on Au‐gust 12, 2026 at 10 o'clocka.m thefollowing describedprop‐erty to wit: That certain pieceorportion of ground,to‐gether with all thebuildings andimprove‐ments thereon, andall of therights, ways,privi‐leges, servi‐tudes, appurte‐nances and advantages thereuntobe‐longingorin anywiseapper‐taining, situated in theParishof Jefferson, State of Louisiana, formerly being apart of Lots 17 and18ofDe‐strehan Division,lo‐catedinSection 56, Township 14 South, Range14 East andnow knownas SpanishOaks Subdivision, PhaseII, allas perplanthereof made by S.K. Landry,C.E., datedSeptem‐ber22, 1975, and approved by the JeffersonParish Councilunder OrdinanceNo. 12175, recorded in COB848, Folio 803, andasper ActofDedica‐tion before Bern‐hardtC.Heebe, Notary Public, datedJanuary 24, 1973 recorded in COB 781, Folio112, andinaccor‐dancewith a plan made by S.K. Landry,C.E., dated September7 1973, adopted by theJefferson Parish Council on October4 1973 under OrdinanceNo. 11393, andac‐cordingtothe aforesaid plan, said property is more particularly as follows: Lot144 is

NOTE:All funds mustbe Cashier'sCheck, Certiﬁed Check, MoneyOrder,or Personal Check with Bank Letter of Credit

EMILYE HOLLEY Attorney for Plaintiff

JOSEPH P. LOPINTO, III Sheriff Parish of Jefferson

TheNew Orleans Advocate: July 3, 2026, August 7, 2026 jul3-aug7-2t

ADVERTISE‐MENT 24THJUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT PARISH OF JEFFERSON STATEOF LOUISIANA NO:835-892 U.S. BANK TRUST, N.A.,AS TRUSTEEFOR LSRMFMH MASTER PARTICIPATION TRUSTII VS EDDIEA MARROQUIN A/K/AEDDIE ALEXANDER MARROQUIN ANDJUDITHA MARROQUIN A/K/AJUDITH ANNYOUNG COOPER MARROQUIN

By virtue of and in obedienceto aWritofFIERI FACIAS from the 24thJudicial District Court, Parish of Jeffer‐son, Stateof Louisiana, in the abovenum‐beredand enti‐tled cause, datedDecem‐ber21, 2023, I have seized and will proceed to sell to thehigh‐estbidderat public auction, at theJefferson Parish Sheriff's Ofﬁce Complex, 1233 Westbank Expressway, Harvey, Louisiana, 70058, on Au‐gust 12, 2026 at 10 o'clocka.m thefollowing describedprop‐erty to wit: THAT CERTAIN PIECEORPOR‐TION OF GROUND,to‐gether with all thebuildings andimprove‐mentsthereon andall the rights,ways, privileges, servitudes, advantages and appurtenances thereuntobe‐longingorin anywiseapper‐taining, i d i h

g situated in the PARISH OF JEF‐FERSON,STATE OF LOUISIANA, in that part thereof knownas NEYREY PARK EXTENSION, NO 2, as perplanof subdivision made by J.J. Krebsand Sons,Inc dated July 2, 1963, and approved by Or‐dinanceNo. 6249 of theJefferson Parish Council on September5, 1963 andregis‐teredinCOB 579, folio 237, being part of Original Lot4 of Rosedale Plan‐tation.SaidLOT is designed as LOT15of SQUARE 6, bounded by Neyrey Drive, West Esplanade Avenue (formerly FreeportAv‐enue), 13th Street,and NorthTurnbull Driveand com‐mences 92.89 feet from thecornerof Neyrey Drive andWestEs‐planadeAvenue (formerly FreeportAv‐enue), andmea‐suresthence60 feet fronton Neyrey Drive, thesame widthinthe rear,bya depth of 117.25 feet alongLot 16 and adepth on the opposite sideline of 117.03 feet Allinaccor‐dancewith a survey by J.J. Krebsand Sons Inc.,C.E.&S., certiﬁed correct on Janu‐ary13, 1970; subjecttore‐strictions,servi‐tudes, rights-ofwayand outstanding mineralrights of record affect‐ingthe prop‐erty Theimprove‐mentsbearthe municipalad‐dress4416 Neyrey Dr, Metairie, Louisiana 70002.

This sale is sub‐ject to allsupe‐rior security in‐terests, mort‐gages, liensand privileges.

TERMS- Thefull purchase price is dueatthe time of thesale.

NOTE:All funds must be Cashier'sCheck Certiﬁed Check, MoneyOrder,or Personal Check with Bank Letter of Credit CANDACEA COURTEAU Attorney for Plaintiff

JOSEPH P. LOPINTO, III Sheriff Parish of Jefferson

TheNew Orleans Advocate: July 3, 2026, August 7, 2026 jul3-aug7-2t