Louisianastudent test
Englishachievement remains flat across allgrades
BY PATRICK WALL Staff writer
Louisianastudentsmadegains or held steady on most state LEAPtests this year, asign that Louisiana has sustained its nation-leading recovery from pandemic learning loss.
Students in grades 3-8 grew in math, science and social studies, while achievement was flat in English,accordingto LEAP results released Monday. High schoolers improved or held their ground in every subject except English I, where
the share of studentshitting thestate target dipped slightly
Theannualtests, whichare required by federal law,measurestudents’ grasp of content the state expects them to learnby theend of each grade. The scores weigh heavily in school ratings, teacher evaluations and high school graduation requirements.
Across all tested grades and subjects, 36%ofstudents metorexceeded state expectations in 2026, thehighest rate on record, accordingtothe state Department of Education. The latest scores follow arecent study that found Louisiana studentshave outpaced their peers in most states in reading and mathgrowth since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down schools and disrupted learning, causing test scores nationwide to plummet
Data:Obamacare enrollments
Subjectgrowth
Across all tested grades and subjects, 36% of students met or exceeded state expectations in 2026.
shrank dramatically in many states
Affordable Care Act subsidiesexpired in January
BYALI SWENSON Associated Press
NEWYORK Statesacrossthe country saw steepdrops in the number of people covered by the Affordable Care Act over the past year, with Ohio and Oklahoma each losing nearly one-thirdofenrollees, according to new federal data that provides the first complete50-state breakdown of sharp enrollmentde-
clines following the January expiration of enhanced subsidies. Thedata, posted in late June by theTrump administration and first reported on by The Associated Press, revealshow changes in each state’sinsured population led to around 2.6millionfewer Americans havingObamacare plans in February compared with thesame time last year
It captures not only how many people signed up fororwere automatically reenrolled in plans in 2026,but how many paid their first monthly premiumstokeep coverage, according to Cynthia Cox, avice presidentand direc-
Math: 1% increase in scoring masteryor above in grades 3-8.
Science: 2% increase in grades 3-8
Social studies: 2% increase in grades 3-8.
Lafayette scores show little progress
Overallgrowthmeasures 1%,with43% subject mastery
BY CLAIRE TAYLOR Staff writer
LEAP scores for Lafayette Parish public school students forthe 2025-26 school year increased 1% overall, with a43% mastery of all subjects. TheLouisiana DepartmentofEducation on Monday released Louisiana Educational Assessment Program test results for grades 3-12. The tests measure astudent’sreadiness to move up to the next grade level or college. Lafayette Parish school system studentsscored higher overallthan the state average of 36%, although state scoresrose2%over the previous year, compared with 1% for Lafayette Parish. Superintendent Francis Touchet Jr said he’sproud of the 1% growth reflectedinthe scores, “looking at all the diversity we have to deal with.” Some school districts’ students performbetter than Lafayette Parish, Touchet said, in part because they lack diversity,havehighly affluent populations and are smaller than Lafayette’s school system
There was no change in the overall 49% mastery of Lafayette Parish students in grades 3-8 in English/language arts.Student proficiency in both science andsocial studies improved by 2% each, with mastery levels of 38% in science and40% in social studies. Proficiency in mathincreased 1% to 45%. Of the33elementary andmiddle schools in Lafayette Parish, fewerthan half —45% —scored 50 or higher in English.Inmath, 41%scored 50%or higher
Only nine schools (27%) scored 50% or higher in social studieswhile 8(24%) scored 50% or higher in science.
Paul Breaux Middle School saw some recovery from 2024-25 whenits LEAP scores plummeted 26 percentage points, the largest decline of all schools in the state.
Overall proficiency at Paul Breaux Middle increased this year by 3% to 11%.Math scores this year rose6%, science rose 2% and English and social studies rose 1% each.
Judgeupholds denial of daiquiri barpermit
tor of the health lawprogramat thehealthcare research nonprofit KFF,who reviewed thedataset. She said it accounts for people whowere retroactively removed from coverage after anonpaymentgrace period ended. “Thisisthe first time we’ve seen state-level data that shows how muchACA marketplace enrollmenttruly fell,” Cox said. “It’sin line with ourexpectations, butit does show avery steep drop in the number of people withACA coverage.” Health analysts have kept a
See ENROLLMENT, page 4A
BY STEPHEN MARCANTEL Staff writer
ALafayette judge denied an appeal from the owners of aplanned daiquiribar in downtownLafayette after the City Council voted to prevent it from opening. Judge Cynthia Spadoni sided with the city of Lafayette in denying Marlon Haynes’ group’sappeal to open at 522 JeffersonSt. after
the City Council turned downits application for aconditionaluse permit necessary to open. An attorney representing Haynes, the operator of the proposed bar and owner of Rooftop 116, saidtheyplantofile an appeal Council members voted down the request in March in a3-2 vote split withthree White council members supporting amotion to deny the permit and two Black members voting against the motion. Haynesand co-applicantJeremy Figaro had received approvalfrom
Business owners vow to appeal ruling ä See DAIQUIRI, page 4A
STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
Trump says he’s building a White House helipad
WASHINGTON President Donald Trump said Monday that he’s building a granite helipad on the White House lawn, insisting that the landing area is needed to accommodate new, more powerful presidential choppers.
Confirmation of the project came as construction crews had already begun working on the helipad on the South Lawn, where the president had UFC build a temporary arena for a cage fight celebrating his 80th birthday. He said the project would be privately funded and estimated its cost at up to $6 million.
“It’s got the seal of the White House on it in granite, in carved granite,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “It’s really a beautiful thing.”
McConnell ‘continuing his recovery’ in hospital
WASHINGTON Staff for Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell said last week that the senator is “continuing his recovery” in a hospital while the Senate is out of session. But his office has released no details about the former Republican leader’s condition during his weekslong hospitalization or whether he will be at the Capitol when the Senate returns next week.
McConnell was admitted to the hospital on June 14, according to a statement from his office that only said he was “receiving excellent care.” McConnell, 84, was the longest serving Senate leader in history before stepping aside from that role He is serving out his final term, which ends in January
Russia’s missile, drone attacks kill at least 22
KYIV, Ukraine Russia unleashed waves of missiles and drones at Ukraine early Monday, killing at least 22 people in attacks that exposed widening gaps in the country’s air defenses more than four years into Moscow’s full-scale invasion, authorities said.
All of the ballistic missiles launched by Russia struck their targets, underscoring Kyiv’s need for more U.S.-made Patriot interceptor missiles — a point Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will likely reiterate at a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, this week.
Fifteen people were killed in the capital of Kyiv, which was Russia’s main target and 56 were injured, according to administrative head Tymur Tkachenko Another seven people were killed in the wider Kyiv region and 29 were injured, according to Ukraine’s emergency service.
French President Macron visits war-torn Syria
DAMASCUS, Syria French President Emmanuel Macron arrived Monday in Syria, making him the first major western leader to visit the war-torn country since the ouster of Bashar al-Assad in 2024.
The French president’s visit comes during a period of relative calm in the Middle East after the monthlong war in Iran and Lebanon. He will travel next to Ankara, Turkey, for the NATO summit, where Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa is also expected to attend and hold a high-profile meeting with President Donald Trump.
Syria’s state-run SANA news agency said Macron would visit with a business delegation to discuss regional security as well as business and investment opportunities.
Ex-officer describes ‘sniper pad’
Prosecutors begin laying out case in Kirk assassination trial
BY HANNAH SCHOENBAUM and MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press
PROVO, Utah A former campus police officer testified Monday that he found an apparent “sniper pad” on a rooftop near where Charlie Kirk was assassinated, as prosecutors sought to convince a state judge they have enough evidence to put a Utah man on trial for murder Former Utah Valley University Officer Christopher Bagley said he witnessed Kirk’s shooting while the conservative activist was speaking on Sept. 10 to a crowd of thousands. Soon after, Bagley went to a nearby gravel rooftop, where it appeared someone had been lying prone with a clear sightline to Kirk’s location, he said.
“It looks like a sniper pad,” Bagley said, adding, “you’ve got markings of elbows, knees and feet.”
The testimony came as Kirk’s parents, Kathryn and Robert, and widow, Erika, were in the courtroom for the first time since the case began, along with Donald Trump Jr President Donald Trump’s son.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for defendant Tyler
Robinson. The five-day preliminary hearing that began Monday marked the most significant presentation of evidence to date in the case.
There were no major revelations on the first day, although prosecutors aired new video that investigators believe showed Robinson getting in and out of his vehicle on Sept. 10 and 11.
Robinson’s parents also were present, sitting a few rows behind the Kirks. The 23-year-old defendant is charged with aggravated murder in the assassination of Kirk, an ally of the president. Robinson turned himself in the day after the shooting. Robinson has not yet entered a
plea, and his attorneys have not commented on his guilt or innocence. They have, however, sought to get the death penalty taken off the table, so far unsuccessfully Prosecutors showed several videos of Kirk’s shooting as they made their case to state District Judge Tony Graf.
Attorneys from both sides tried to shield their monitors from courtroom spectators, after Graf said the assassination videos couldn’t be publicized because of their graphic nature. Utah State Bureau of Investigations Agent David Hull described the videos during questioning by prosecutors: They showed the crowd milling around at the event,
Kirk interacting with some of the spectators, the harrowing moment when he was shot and, finally, an anxious scene as Kirk’s security detail picked him up and took him away while administering first aid.
The proceeding resembles a minitrial, but prosecutors need only demonstrate that there are reasonable grounds to believe Robinson killed Kirk and should stand trial. The standard is lower than for a trial, where prosecutors must prove guilt “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Prosecutors, as a result, should have little trouble advancing their case, said Mark Kouris, a former prosecutor and state judge in Salt Lake City
“This standard is extremely low and the chances of them not getting through it are, quite frankly, almost nothing,” said Kouris, now an adjunct professor at the University of Utah’s S.J. Quinney College of Law
Bagley, the prosecution’s first witness, said he could see the right side of Charlie Kirk’s body as Kirk spoke on campus. Kirk was answering a question when Bagley heard a gunshot.
“I saw him go to the left I could no longer see the right side of his body,” Bagley said. “Then everybody started getting up and started to run, more of a chaos situation.”
Defense attorney Kathryn Nester asked Bagley about finding an empty pistol holster on the ground after the crowd fled. Bagley acknowledged he never took custody of the holster and didn’t know whether it had been fingerprinted.
NATO chief demands credible plans for defense spending
BY LORNE COOK and SUZAN FRASER Associated Press
ANKARA, Turkey — NATO SecretaryGeneral Mark Rutte on Monday demanded that members put forward “clear, concrete and credible plans” to reach the organization’s defense spending targets at its annual summit in Ankara.
Rutte spoke in the Turkish capital ahead of the two-day summit starting on Tuesday at a crucial time for the alliance, with the United States scaling down its security role in Europe. Washington has been pressing allies to shoulder more of the spending burden
The 32 nations agreed last year to invest 5% of their gross domestic product on defense 3.5% on their defense budgets and 1.5% on roads, bridges and ports so troops and equipment can move faster in
times of conflict.
Spain endorsed the goal but said it could fulfill NATO’s security requirements without spending so much. Some countries are still struggling to meet the alliance’s old target of 2% of GDP
Asked what would happen to members that don’t have a clear plan, Rutte said: “If one or two of them still have to be convinced, we have ways to do that.” He did not elaborate.
U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker suggested last week that the U.S. has something in store for those who do not step up, but declined to say more.
“President (Donald) Trump fully expects that all allies will step up immediately and get on the path to 5% and do it with urgency,” Whitaker said.
On spending among European allies and Canada, Rutte said that “the
evidence we see so far is impressive.” He said NATO estimates that they will invest a combined $258 billion more in defense in 2025 and this year than they have in previous years. But the numbers might not be enough to satisfy the Trump administration. Trump has repeatedly lashed U.S. allies over defense spending, and in the past threatened not to come to the defense of any member not doing enough — challenging NATO’s key reason for existence.
Trump also has called for “loyalty” from NATO allies, after some of them declined to allow the use of their military bases in the U.S.Israeli war on Iran. As well as airing grievances about how much the U.S. spends on defense compared with other countries, Trump has sparred with allies over the war, his comments about annexing Green-
Islandwide blackout hits Cuba
Fuel reserve dwindling, aging grid crumbling
BY MILEXSY DURÁN Associated Press
HAVANA An islandwide blackout hit Cuba on Monday as the country’s fuel reserves dwindle and its electric grid continues to crumble.
The blackout in the country of nearly 10 million people was reported by the state-run Electric Union, which said on X that the cause is under investigation. The Ministry of Energy and Mines wrote on X that it has activated protocols to restore electricity
An article Sunday on the Living front about the Amistad Research Center at Tulane University contained incorrect details The Conversations in Color event is with former Chief Justice Bernette Joshua Johnson and Amistad Board Chair Kim Boyle. The collections include the Congress of Radical Equality newsletters, accounts of the American Committee on Africa, and John O’Neal’s records of the Free Southern Theater The Summer Teacher Institute is Aug 7. The Vinyl Record Listening Party is July 16. The Times-Picayune | The Advocate regrets the error
Fuel has been running out across Cuba since January when President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to the island, deepening the island’s ongoing economic and financial crisis. Public transportation has largely been halted, and officials have canceled tens of thousands of surgeries.
Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy said microsystems were already operating throughout Cuba a couple of hours after the outage: “Vital services continue to be protected, amidst this complex situation exac-
erbated by the energy blockade we face.”
Meanwhile, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel accused the U.S. of trying to “incite social unrest by strangling Cuba’s fuel supply.”
“The actions of electrical workers in the midst of a genocidal energy blockade are heroic,” he wrote on X.
Cuba produces only 40% of the fuel it needs, while the 730,000 barrels of oil delivered by a Russian tanker in late March ran out by the end of April.
The government also
has been rationing power with intentional outages that can stretch to more than 24 consecutive hours.
A blackout in mid-May affected the island’s eastern provinces, while a blackout in mid-March struck the entire island.
Like many Cubans, Mario Pedroso, a 33-year-old Havana resident, was resigned about Monday’s total blackout.
“Oil hasn’t come in here for a while, and we have no way to solve the problem,” he said. “We have to resist, as we Cubans say. That’s all.”
land and other tiffs.
The Trump administration is promoting what it calls “NATO 3.0,” a vision in which Europe assumes greater responsibility for its own defense, freeing the U.S. to concentrate on other priorities. The approach was laid out earlier this year by Elbridge Colby, a U.S. undersecretary of defense, during a meeting of NATO defense ministers.
“We need our allies in NATO to step up and assume leadership roles, and I mean that not only in sort of loud cheerleading but also the moral authority and the moral compass of the alliance,” Whitaker said last week.
NATO on Tuesday is due to make announcements showcasing the military equipment being bought with billions of dollars more being spent on defense and security The event has been dubbed the “big reveal.”
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ASSOCIATED PRESS PHTOO By MARIELLE SCOTT
Charlie Kirk’s parents, Robert and Kathryn Kirk, arrive at the Fourth District Courthouse for a hearing for Tyler Robinson, who is accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, on Monday in Provo Utah.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By RAMON ESPINOSA
A child walks with a bottle of oil past a solar panel set up on the street to charge batteries during a blackout Monday in Havana.
New La. ICE facility could speed up deportations
BY JACK BROOK Associated Press/Report for America
The Trump administration plans to open a 528-bed holding facility in Louisiana for migrant families and unaccompanied children next to an airport hub, positioning itself to speed up deportations.
The location in Alexandria would remove logistical headaches caused by wrangling children from foster homes and shelters across the country and not having anywhere to put them during final preparations for flight. Those obstacles were apparent last year when Guatemalan children were awoken at night and given almost no time to get to Harlingen, Texas, where they waited on an airport tarmac for hours.
A federal judge prevented their deportation, but the chaotic episode illustrated the challenges authorities face because they don’t have anywhere to put families and children near the airport. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is calling the Alexandria facility a “staging area,” not a detention center, and says people would only be there a few days at most.
However, several immigration advocates expressed concern that children could be held at the new facility for weeks or months, which happened at other federal immigration holding sites These advocates are also concerned about oversight, and say the facility represents a departure from how the government manages those children
R. Gray Sexton, 84, enforcer of state ethics rules, dies
BY TYLER BRIDGES
Staff writer
R. Gray Sexton, who spent four decades helping keep Louisiana elected officials on the straight and narrow as the top staffer for the board that enforces ethics rules, died Thursday in Baton Rouge following a brief illness. He was 84. Sexton left the ethics board in 2007 and, after a two-year cooling off period, spent the final stretch of his career as a private attorney representing public officials facing ethics complaints. Before then, though, Sexton did it all for the Board of Ethics for Elected Officials and the Commission on Ethics for Public Employees — as the staff director and general counsel of both The board policed public officials and campaign finance laws, while the commission regulated the actions of public employees.
The ethics board had a higher profile. The two entities were merged in 1997, and Sexton continued to oversee both.
Sexton issued recommendations to the board on how to rule when public officials asked whether they could do something, such as hire a nephew to work in their office.
He oversaw staffers while they investigated public officials to determine whether they might have violated state ethics rules. He acted as the prosecu-
tor when the board decided that enough evidence existed to pursue an ethics case against a public official, with the board serving as the jury
“Gray was a very smart person. He was a good lawyer He’d always give a straight answer, even if he disagreed with you ” said Emile Peppi” Bruneau Jr., a former state legislator from New Orleans who oversaw the House committee that handled ethics laws. “I wish we had more Gray Sextons in the world.”
But over time, Sexton faced complaints that he was wearing too many hats for the board and that representing clients as a private attorney at the same time presented a conflict of interest.
In 2007, the Legislature passed a law that prohibited his position from having outside employment.
“He was the executive director, and he had clients come before the board. We wanted to make sure that that situation wouldn’t present itself anymore,” said William Daniel IV, a top administrator under East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Sid Edwards now who sponsored the 2007 legislation as a state House member. Sexton responded to the legislation by resigning to begin representing clients facing issues before the ethics board.
“He went from prosecutor to defense,” Bruneau said. Sexton’s law firm also handled licensing cases and disputes involving construction law Sexton, who was from Pineville, came to Baton Rouge to study at LSU’s law school and never left.
N.J. store roof collapses amid rain, heat wave
BY JEFFREY COLLINS Associated Press
Heat wave-breaking rain caused part of the roof of a New Jersey warehouse store to collapse Monday, sending a shopper a cart and tables of baked goods skidding through rushing water
Two people were briefly trapped in debris at the BJ’s Wholesale Club in Ocean Township but managed to escape, and no injuries were reported, according to the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office.
Flooding rains were reported in parts of New York City Philadelphia and New Jersey as rounds of storms moved through the area Monday, breaking a heat wave that gripped much of the area last week.
On Sunday, New York City
Mayor Zohran Mamdani warned about heatstroke and shared locations of pools and cooling centers By Monday, he was urging people to leave basement apartments immediately if they saw water rising in their homes.
Heavy rain stranded cars on flooded highways across northern New Jersey and sloshed water into businesses and at least one hospital.
“It’s an expansion of the deportation system in ways we haven’t seen before,” said Leecia Welch, chief legal counsel at the nonprofit Children’s Rights. “There’s just so much that could go wrong with this facility.”
Unaccompanied children who are in the U.S without parents or close relatives are not taken to facilities overseen by ICE. Instead, the law says they must be swiftly placed in the care of state-licensed shelters and foster care programs.
Those are run by the Office of Refugee Resettlement in the Department of Health and Human Services. However, that agency isn’t involved in the Alexandria facility’s operation, according to a spokesperson at the airfield where
it’s being built. Instead, the facility would be run by a nonprofit arm of LaSalle Corrections, a private prison contractor, according to Ralph Hennessy, executive director of the England Airpark Authority He said it could be operational as early as August.
ICE officials signed a contract late last month to build the facility at the former military base near Alexandria International Airport, roughly 175 miles northwest of New Orleans, Hennessy said.
It would operate as a 72-hour holding center for migrants awaiting deportation, according to records obtained by The Associated Press.
“Nothing too serious. They have us running from call to call,” said Lakewood Police Capt. Leroy Marshall. The rain and storms broke the heat dome that settled over much of the Northeast last week.
LaGuardia Airport in New York set a record high Thursday of 104 degrees.
Low temperatures in many places barely made it below 80 degrees, preventing people from cooling off even at night. The temperature at LaGuardia hovered just below 70 degrees Monday with the rain.
Officials in New Jersey were investigating at least 29 deaths last week that were possibly heat-related. The people were found dead on the street or in homes without air conditioning. They ranged in ages from their 30s to their 80s New Jersey Department of Health Commissioner Raynard Washington said.
Autopsies and other investigations will be needed before the deaths are officially blamed on the heat, Washington said. Other states have not announced possible deaths from the heat.
Maine Senate candidate accused of
sexual assault
BY KIMBERLEE KRUESI and NICHOLAS RICCARDI Associated Press
A woman who previously dated Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner said he drunkenly forced her to have sex after she told him to stop, according to a Politico report released Monday, leading prominent supporters to pull their endorsements and throwing a must-win race for the party into turmoil.
Platner denied the allegation, but said he would be considering next steps for his campaign.
“Regardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting but mindful of the political reality it will inflict, we’re taking the time to reflect on the best path forward,” he said in a video released on social media.
Jenny Racicot, who lives in Maine, told Politico that Platner entered her home in 2021 while drunk and assaulted her Racicot said she had been in an on-andoff relationship with Platner, but she cut off contact with him after that night and told him the incident wasn’t consensual. A voicemail left at a number listed for Racicot seeking comment did not receive an immediate response.
Platner’s campaign did not immediately respond to an email and phone message from The Associated Press seeking comment
“Any accusation of nonconsensual behavior is categorically false,” Platner said in his video.
Still, the allegation sparked a flight away from a candidate who has long been controversial Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat who’d stood by Platner even as the insurgent candidate was hit with prior allegations, said Monday’s was enough.
“I’ve been very clear that sexual assault or violence against women is a red line,” Khanna said. “These allegations are very serious and credible. Graham Platner should drop out from the race. I am withdrawing my endorsement.”
Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego also announced he was pulling his endorsement, as did the Democratic-leaning political group End Citizens United.
The Democratic leaders of Maine’s legislature called for Platner to withdraw, as did top officials at the state Democratic Party
“Over the past several weeks, multiple women have made serious, credible allegations against Graham Platner Today’s statements take those allegations even further,” party chair Charlie Dingman, vice chair Imke Schessler and executive director Devon Murphy-Anderson said in a joint statement.
“This Senate race comes at a pivotal moment in the struggle against a government, supported by Senator Collins, that serves the interests of the wealthy
But the company’s president, Sonya Thompson, told the AP last week that it was no longer involved. She did not elaborate.
In public board meetings, airpark officials said the facility is a “humanitarian effort” for families that are “self-deporting.” Immigration advocates say families and unaccompanied children sometimes make that decision under pressure or because they don’t understand their options.
“These are people that are volunteering to go back home and they’re going back home as a family unit,” Hennessy told the AP
Compass Connections, a Texasbased nonprofit that runs shelters for unaccompanied immigrant children, had originally been tapped to help operate the facility and laid out plans during a public presentation in February
Democrats pulling support for Platner
paign town halls planned in Maine.
Platner was a first-time candidate who won the primary with backing of the party’s left wing While some Democrats came around to support him after his commanding primary win, Platner’s controversial history had already left others openly despairing of their chances of winning the race.
A Marine veteran who also worked for a private security contractor, Platner has a chest tattoo recognized as a Nazi symbol, had a history of controversial statements on social media and reportedly sexted with other women shortly after getting married.
lowing the Politico report.
“If new evidence presents itself, I’m going to change my perspective it’s that simple,” Piker said during a livestream on Twitch, adding: “This is a clear-cut instance of verifiable sexual assault allegations. It’s completely irredeemable.”
and powerful at the expense of ordinary Maine people. It is essential that we refocus this campaign on that struggle,” the statement continued.
Platner commandingly won Maine’s Democratic primary in April, but state law allows him to be replaced on the ballot if he withdraws by July 13. The replacement candidate must be named by July 27.
As of Monday, Platner had canceled a handful of cam-
In 2013, Platner posted on Reddit that people shouldn’t get so drunk “they wind up having sex with someone they don’t mean to” and that sexual assault victims should “just take some responsibility for themselves.” He’s since apologized for the post and says he no longer holds those beliefs.
Hasan Piker a leftist commentator and streamer who’s backed Platner, seemed to reverse himself Monday fol-
Maine’s Democrats have long sought to oust Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who’s held on despite representing a state that reliably votes for the other party at the presidential level. After Collins’ solid 2020 win, several Maine Democrats passed on the opportunity to challenge her this time and instead looked at other offices. That left the state’s 78-year-old governor, Janet Mills, as the Democratic establishment’s best hope. Platner rode into the political void and pitched himself as a blue-collar oysterman and veteran who could reach disaffected voters who had supported President Donald Trump. But as allegations began mounting against him, some state Democrats had heartburn, embodied by Mills’ refusal to endorse Platner after she dropped out of the primary
Sexton
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO
U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner speaks during a primary election night watch party after winning the Democratic nomination June 9 in Blue Hill, Maine.
LEAP
Continued from page 1A
“I’m proud of our progress,” said state Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley. “For us to be a state that is looked at across the country for making gains is just so positive.”
Among the state’s largest school systems, New Orleans led the pack. Making the state’s list of top-growing districts for the third straight year, NOLA Public Schools saw 31% of tested students hit the state target across all subjects — 1 percentage point higher than Jefferson Parish and East Baton Rouge
Still, the tests students took this spring raise some concerns.
Statewide English scores have stayed the same for the past three years, suggesting that students’ rapid recovery from pandemic learning declines has leveled out. Math scores continue to grow, yet about two-thirds of students still fall short of state expectations. And the score gaps between students of different racial and socioeconomic backgrounds remain about as wide now as they were before the pandemic.
“While we’re pleased that the net results are positive and trending upward, I think we should be expecting more,” said Erin Bendily, senior vice president at the Pelican Institute for Public Policy, a conservative Louisiana think tank, and a former state education official. What the scores show
In English language arts, 43% of students in grades 3-8 scored at the “mastery” level or above, indicating they are ready to move to the next grade level. The rate was the same in 2025 and 2024.
In math, 34% hit that mark, as did 31% in science and 33% in social studies. In math, this year’s mastery or above rate was 1 percentage point higher than last year’s, and in the other subjects it was 2 points higher In high school, most students must pass at least one English, math and biology or civics test pass to graduate. In all subjects combined, 36% achieved mastery or above — 2 percentage points above last year Louisiana students’ rebound from COVID-era learning disruptions has been the envy of the nation. It’s the only state where students now are reading above 2019 levels, and one of only two where math scores have surpassed preCOVID levels, according to a recent analysis of state test scores by researchers at Harvard, Stanford and Dartmouth. But while math scores continue
ENROLLMENT
Continued from page 1A
close eye on changes in marketplace enrollment since the expiration of so-called enhanced premium tax credits caused many Americans’ monthly health insurance fees to double or triple, forcing some to forgo coverage entirely The subsidies had been at the center of a bitter fight in Congress last fall, with Democrats and some Republicans calling for their renewal. Central voting issue
Health insurance costs have been rising across the marketplace and other health insurance programs at a time when voters in the approaching November elections say affordability is among their top concerns In a report released last week, the U.S. Department of Health
SCORES
Continued from page 1A
The gifted and Spanish and French immersion programs were removed from the school in 2023, leaving the school less racially diverse and with a larger population of economically disadvantaged children.
Students grew in most subjects
The share of Louisiana students reaching state benchmarks in 2026 increased in most subjects. English was flat.
GradesSubject
Source: Louisiana Department of Education
to climb, they have plateaued in reading, according to the latest LEAP scores.
Brumley noted that only third graders saw a decline in English mastery this year; the other grades were flat or grew slightly
He said that third graders’ scores could reflect the shift from an intense focus in the early grades on learning to sound out words, a phonics-based approach known as the “science of reading,” to an emphasis in the later grades on reading comprehension.
The LEAP English test “doesn’t perfectly align with our focus around teaching kids to read in those early grades,” Brumley said, adding that the test eventually will be updated to incorporate more phonics.
He pointed out that on a different test called DIBELS, which assesses students’ basic reading skills, 64% of third graders met or exceeded the benchmark this year — 2 percentage points higher than in 2025.
Student groups who have traditionally scored below their peers grew or held steady this year, including Black and Hispanic students, students with disabilities, those still learning English and students from low-income families
However the gaps between those groups and other students remain stubbornly large For example, 22% of Black students and 29% of Hispanic students met state expectations on the grades 3-8 tests this year, compared with 49% of White students — a chasm that was similarly wide in 2019.
“The gaps still remain,” Bendily said. “So obviously, there’s work still left to do.”
What’s working
Several state policies have likely contributed to Louisiana students’ academic gains, state officials and experts say Teachers were trained in the science of reading, which is backed
and Human Services suggested the significant drop in enrollment this year could be attributed to a federal crackdown on fraudulent or “phantom” enrollment. But analysts have said it was more likely related to the Jan. 1 expiration of federal subsidies, and other changes, including tightened requirements on which immigrants could access subsidized plans. Mike Rhoads, deputy commissioner of life and health at the Oklahoma Insurance Department, cited a crackdown on fraudulent enrollments as one reason marketplace enrollments dropped. But he said in his state, the biggest factor was money
“It’s all about affordability at this point in time,” he said in an interview adding that he expects the problem to continue with insurers forecast to raise rates again next year
Significant drop-offs
An AP analysis of the data finds
by extensive research, and schools began assessing young students’ reading skills. Schools also were required to provide tutoring to struggling students, and a revamped rating system rewards schools that help students improve their scores.
Other states have adopted similar policies, including phonicsbased reading instruction, yet they have not made similar academic gains.
“What we’ve done differently here in Louisiana that we’ve seen drive the results is the mixture of accountability and support,” said Jenna Chiasson, the Louisiana Department of Education’s deputy superintendent of teaching and learning. “I have a numeracy team and a literacy team who is out in schools and school systems pretty much every day providing training, providing support.”
In Vermilion Parish, 55% of students in grades 3-8 met state expectations in reading and 50% did so in math, making it one of the school systems with the highest mastery rates and biggest yearover-year gains. Superintendent Thomas Byler said multiple strategies boosted the scores, including building time into math and English class for struggling students to get extra help and hiring retired teachers to work as tutors.
“It’s really nice when the data support some of the decisions you make,” he said.
DeSoto Parish where 54% of students achieved mastery in English and 47% did in math, was another top-achieving and top-growing school district The results owe mainly to the hard work of educators and their desire to keep improving, said Superintendent Clay Corley
“We’ve stopped asking what program to try or what strategy to use,” he said. “We really just continue to ask ourselves, ‘How do we get a little better every single day?’”
that Ohio and Oklahoma each saw a more than 32% decline in ACA enrollment over the past year They lost larger shares of their covered populations than any other state. Following closely behind, and losing more than a fourth of their enrollees, were Arizona, South Carolina Minnesota Indiana Michigan, Mississippi, Louisiana and Missouri. Florida, a state that relies highly on ACA insurance in part because it did not expand Medicaid and is home to many gig workers and entrepreneurs, still has more residents in the marketplace than any other state, at nearly 4 million. But it also saw the highest number of enrollees drop coverage this year — around 443,000. The data doesn’t show whether people who dropped ACA health insurance this year found coverage elsewhere, and chances are some of them became insured through employer plans or other options. But Cox said most peo-
While not as dramatic a drop as Paul Breaux Middle School saw last year, Ernest Gallet Elementary School’s scores dropped 12% this year to 46% mastery overall, the largest drop of all Lafayette Parish 3-8 schools. Ernest Gallet Elementary’s LEAP scores fell in every subject tested: 13% in math and social studies, 12% in English and 8% in science.
The scores at another elementary school and four middle schools fell across-the-board in every subject tested. They include Carencro Middle, down 6% to 17% mastery overall; Acadian Middle and Scott Middle, both down 4%; and Green T. Lindon Elementary and Edgar Martin Middle, both down 2%.
“We had some schools that went down and some schools that went up,” Touchet said. “The goal for every principal is to show growth.”
School system leaders will meet individually with principals, he said, to review scores, trends and weaknesses and develop plans for their school to help students grow In grades 3-8, Duson Elementary and Myrtle Place Elementary recorded the biggest increases in proficiency overall, up 8% each.
Myrtle Place Elementary achieved the highest level of mastery of all subjects at 83%, followed by L. Leo Judice Elementary at 76%, Woodvale Elementary and Milton Elementary, both at 65%, and Green T. Lindon Elementary at 58%.
David Thibodaux STEM Magnet Academy students performed better in every category than all other high schools in the parish, scoring 50% or more in every subject: English I, 76%; English II, 78%; algebra, 83%; geometry, 62%; biology, 50%; U.S history, 60%; and civics, 82%.
Northside High School’s scores were the lowest in the parish:
DAIQUIRI
Continued from page 1A
the Lafayette city zoning commission, had exterior signage posted and had promoted the business for months before the council vote.
Among their claims were that Lafayette Consolidated Government limited the capacity of the bar to 49 patrons while the previous business in that space, a bar named Le Grenadier that was operated by a White person, was granted a capacity of 61. They also accused the vote of being retaliatory due to complaints filed against Rooftop 116, which Haynes operates.
The Downtown Development Authority, which recommended
ple who left the marketplace are likely going without insurance, because it is typically a “place of last resort” to get health coverage for people who aren’t eligible elsewhere
Some of the states that saw the largest enrollment declines were the same ones that saw the biggest enrollment gains after the federal government introduced enhanced subsidies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cox said that isn’t surprising, because those states likely had large numbers of people who enrolled only because the enhanced subsidies made coverage much more affordable
Only one state saw an increase in its covered population New Mexico gained some 14% more enrollees in the government health insurance program compared with the same time last year It was the only state in the nation that fully replaced the lost federal subsidies using its own funds.
English I, 10% or less; English II, 21%; algebra, 14% or less; geometry, 11% or less; biology, 9% or less; U.S. history, 2% or less; and civics, 15%.
Lafayette Parish mastery:
n English/language arts — 49%, no change
n Math — 45%, up 1%
n Science 38%, up 2%
n Social studies — 40%, up 2%
n All subjects, all grades — 43%, up 1%
Largest improvement, 3-8:
n Duson Elementary, up 8%
n Myrtle Place Elementary, up 8%
n Ridge Elementary, up 7%
n L. Leo Judice Elementary, up 7%
n L.J. Alleman Middle, up 6%
n Dr Raphael Baranco Elementary, up 6%
n Westside Elementary, up 5%
n Live Oak Elementary, up 5%
n J. Wallace James Elementary, up 5%
n J.W Faulk Elementary, up 4%
n Milton Elementary, up 4%
n Woodvale Elementary up 4%
Largest drop in scores, 3-8:
n Ernest Gallet Elementary, down 12% (down in all subjects)
n Carencro Middle, down 6% (down in all subjects)
n Acadian Middle, down 4% (down in all subjects)
n Scott Middle, down 4% (down in all subjects)
n Green T. Lindon Elementary, down 2% (down in all subjects except social studies)
n Edgar Martin Middle, down 2% (down in all subjects)
n Evangeline Elementary, down 2% (down in English/language arts and math)
n Broadmoor Elementary, down 2% (down in English/language arts and social studies)
n Broussard Middle, down 2% (down in all but math)
Mastery of subjects, all grades:
n Vermilion 46%, up 3%
n Lafayette — 43%, up 1%
n Iberia 35%, no change
n Acadia — 34%, no change
n St. Mary — 33%, up 4%
n Evangeline 29%, up 1%
n St. Martin — 27%, up 2%
n St. Landry — 26%, up 1%
n State — 36%, up 2%.
Contact Claire Taylor at ctaylor@theadvocate.com.
the permit not be allowed at the time, noted that Rooftop 116 generated the most noise complaints among downtown bars and was cited a year ago for failing to have adequate security at a large event, which was in violation of the bar’s conditional use permit. Rooftop also was the subject of 206 calls to 911 in the past four years, including several instances when authorities were called twice in one night, according to data gathered by the DDA. Haynes is also seeking a conditional use permit for a cigar bar that is going before the City Council on Tuesday That request was turned down by the Lafayette city zoning board in May Email Adam Daigle at adaigle@theadvocate.com.
Biggest enrollment losses
About three in five states use the federal marketplace Healthcare. gov, while the rest operate their own state-based marketplaces for ACA insurance.
The new data shows that federal marketplace states overall lost larger shares of enrollees than states with state-based exchanges. One reason for that could be that many states with their own marketplaces took steps to offset costs for their residents when the enhanced subsidies expired in January
New Mexico, which saw doubledigit enrollment gains, is the most extreme example of that. In a special legislative session last fall, lawmakers in the state approved a plan to use state funds to make up for the missing subsidies through mid-2026. In March, the state’s governor signed a bill to continue making up the difference through mid-2027.
STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
French Settlement fourth graders raise their hands in October as state Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley asks a question about math.
David Thibodaux STEM Magnet Academy scored 50% or more in every LEAP testing subject.
STAFF FILE PHOTO By BRAD BOWIE
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Venezuelansleftalone to recovertheir dead afterquakes
BY FERNANDA PESCE and ISABEL DEBRE Associated Press
LA GUAIRA,Venezuela Whenthe highrise where Noel Márquez lived with his familycrashedtothe ground and burst into flames in Venezuela’s twin earthquakes, Márquez,who happened to be at his girlfriend’s apartment, raced home and called out for his mother,grandparents and siblings. Only his 17-year-old brother,his legs pinned under columns that required heavymachinery to lift, responded.
Márquez and his father,who also survived, spoke through layersof concrete, hearing Leonelsuffer, shout for help and inhale suffocating smoke as he waited for acrane to remove the columns crushing him. But it never came. After several hours, Leonel’scries gave way to silence, Márquez said. But even that, terrible as it was, was not what disturbed him the most. The worst, Márquez said, was trying to recoverhis families’ tangled remains with little more than his bare hands and asaw.Hesliced off limbs to free the corpses of Leo-
BY JOSEPH WILSON Associated Press
PAMPLONA,Spain
Bill Hillmann has beengored three times while running with thebullsinSpain,but he wouldn’tmiss this year’sSan Fermin festival for anything
It marks the 100th anniversary of the publication of Ernest Hemingway’sbook “The SunAlsoRises,” which launched the future Nobel Laureate to literary fameand put Pamplonaonthe map for millions of people around the world.
On Monday,the festival kicked off with afirework blast over ajampacked plaza. The firstofeight bull runs is on Tuesday Hemingway’s1926 novel captivated generations of readers with its sexy Jazz Age tale of American and British bohemians trying to fill some inner voidwith the distractions of exotic travel, vast quantities of alcohol and the anguishing pursuit of impossible love.
nel and his mother but was forced to abandonhis sister, who was eight months’pregnant,grandmother and other relatives beneath the ruins and with their bodies,the hope that if he couldn’tsave them, he could at least give them proper burials.
“It’sunfair.It’sinhumane,everything that is happening,”26-year-old Márquez said from theoverflowing makeshift morgue at La Guaira port. “Wecouldn’tget my brother outbecause we didn’tget aresponse from the state and after 11 days,
we are still requesting acrane.”
Márquez is oneofcountless Venezuelans who, after days of torment, hasbeenleftalone to search,ifnot for signs of life, then for loved ones’ remains —and for some semblance of closure.
International rescue teams, quietly acknowledging thepossibilitythat no more victims would be found alive after 12 days under the rubble,are preparing to depart.
Local authorities areturning their focus to finding shelter for thousands of displaced people.But the recovery of the dead has become apressing, and horrifying, duty forVenezuelans still missing their loved ones.
Many say that just as they were left without government help to rescue survivors in the immediate aftermath of thequakes, so tooare they now under-equippedtounearth their dead nearly two weeks later
The moretime passes,the more gruesome the recovery process becomes, said William Gomez, a firefighter in La Guaira. “Ithas been difficult because the bodies are already in an advanced state of decomposition, decomposed to such
an extent that many times when we try to remove them, they fall apart.” Authorities announced that the death toll rose on Monday to 3,535, with another 16,740 people injured. Beyond that is an untold toll: those whose bodies have yet to be found. There are no official statistics on howmanypeople areburiedunder the rubble, but more than 30,000 reports of missing people have been sent to awebsite setupbythe Venezuelan opposition. There are 1.2 milliontons of debris in the most affected parts of La Guaira, according to the United Nations Development Program.
“Weare the ones helpingourselves: our family.Nobody else helps us exceptfor afew volunteers,” saidYeikhary Urbina, who found the bodies of her mother and brother on Saturday suspended under piles of concrete, seemingly locked in an embrace In several WhatsApp chats on Monday, neighbors whocould no longer wait for authorities to help them recover theirdead discussed pooling theirown money to rent a crane— forthe priceof$11,500, in one case.
ated in Paris.Hemingway’sterse style foreverchanged American literature. In Spanish, itstitle is translated as “Fiesta.”
Hillmann, who hails from Chicago, was 19 when Hemingway’s vivid depiction of the bull running festival first enthralled him, especially descriptions of average Spaniardsrisking theirlives sprinting throughthe streetstoguide the bulls to thebull ring during the nine-day festival.
to Pamplona and his participation in dozens morebull runs in other Spanish towns. His infatuation with Hemingway and Pamplona hasnever waned, even though he nearly died one time that he was goredbya bull horn.
Hillmann’sappreciation led him to earn adoctorate in English, and now it is his turn to teach “The Sun Also Rises” at East-WestUniversity in Chicago, andwrite aboutbull running.
quent the Perla Hotel; his suite still has furniture from the 1950s when he stayedthere.The room,which overlooks the bull run route, also hastwo glassbookcases holding dozens of copies of “The Sun Also Rises.”
“Hemingway did alot forPamplona because he made it known around the world,”saidFernando Hualde, who worked for four decades as areceptionist in the hotel. Hemingway’slocal legacy,however,ismixed.
Itssuccess established “The Sun Also Rises” as acornerstoneof theAmericanliterary canon,right up there with F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The GreatGatsby.”Italsopopularized the term“lost generation” to describe the tight-knit group of early 20th-centurywritersexpatri-
“I sat there for aboutsix hours, well pastmidnight, reading the book,” Hillmann told TheAssociated PressinPamplonaashe looked down on the pen where the bulls are held before being set free on the cobblestoned route. “And by thetimeIwas done withthat book, Iwas going to be awriterand Iwas going to be abull runner.”
Sincethatliterary encounter, the 44-year-old Hillmann has run with thebulls in Spain hundreds of times,countingboth his trips
Hemingway is etched intothe landscape of Pamplona. Hotels and bars have busts of him or signs up thathewas once there. Outside the Pamplona bull ring, which also has astatueofthe writer, ahugebanner hangs in honor of the novel, including aquote that shows how the festivalleft the writer speechless: “At noon of Sunday,the 6th of July,the fiesta exploded. There is no other way to describe it.” When Hemingway made hislast visitstoPamplona, he would fre-
Beside afeminist critique of his hyper masculine public persona, Hemingwayhas drawn criticism from the animal rights movement for his praise of bullfighters. Hualde says that some Pamplona residentsrue his early promotion of thefestivaldue to theills of overtourism the sleepy provincial city is now experiencing.
Pamplona has 200,000 residents and receives over amillion more people forthe festival.
ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO
Bill Hillmann, 35, of Chicago, center left, falls secondsbefore aVictoriano del Rio ranch fighting bullgored him on hisright leg during the 2014 running of the bulls of the San Fermin festival in Pamplona, Spain.
ASSOCIATED
JanRisher
LOUISIANA AT LARGE
N.O. home’s writingon thewall is 168years old
My friends Tammy Theis and Rick Jordan live in the BlanquePaturzo-Sessums House in the New Orleans Bywater.The home dates to 1826. Like many of the older New Orleans homes, there’s alot more to the house than meets the eye from the street.
The home’sexterior is painted the kind of locally inspired terracotta that has been apart of New Orleans since Spanish colonial days.
It’safascinating place, witha courtyard Iadore,but this is not a house story
Several years ago,onmyfirst visit, Theis took me upstairs to see fournarrow strips of exposed plaster left bare against awall they had painted teal. The rectangles,floating in asea of bluegreen, preserved handwriting in French. Beneath each strip was a typed translation:
n “Be happy,Eugenie! These are the vows of the one wholoves you more than life. Let the one who courts you at the moment make you happy.”
n Then aname, written large and stylized: “Ant. Frederick.Jr.” Beneath it: “Eugenie Ram.”
n “I’ll always love you. My last sigh will come out with your name.”
n And finally: “You were an ungrateful person. Youtricked me. Godwill pardon you, but others, never.” The last line appearsto be dated “January25, 1857.”
For years, that was the whole story Theis and Jordan hadtogo on. They had built their ownprivate theory: aFrenchteenager,alone in his room, unrequited, working out hisheartbreak on the wall because maybe therewas no paper to be found. Or maybe permanence was the point? And that’swhere the mystery has remained.
Until recently
One day last year,Theis came home andnoticed aman andan older woman on the otherside of the street. They seemed to be looking at her house.
Theis said, “Can Ihelp you?”
The man said his name was Raul Mier,from Fort Collins, Colorado. The woman was his mother,Carmen Mier,who lives in Metairie. He explained that he’d traced his family back to this exact address.
Then he mentionedthe name of one of his ancestors:Antonio Frederick.
With that, Theis invited them in and told them there was something they needed to see
“I said, ‘You’re not going to believe this. Come up these stairs,’” Theis said. “His little 95-year-old Cuban mama just ran up those stairs.”
Theis had always assumed the handwriting on the wall belonged to someone French. But the family surname was Frederick,and the line traced back through Menorca, Spain, and thentoNew Orleans, where the youngman’s grandfather had worked as a drayman, hauling people by horse and buggy When Raul Mier,74, looked at the wall his great-great-greatuncle hadwritten on more than 150 years earlier,hecried.
“I’ve been using ancestry.com to do research alot, and Ilook at theseold photocopies .but to actually see his handwriting on the wall —unreal,” Raul Mier said From there, he has continued his research—nearly three years of digging through censusrecords and citydirectories.
Judge: Librarianowed$50K
Lafayettegroup accusedofdefamation
BY CLAIRE TAYLOR Staff writer
ALivingston Parish judge has ruled that Michael Lunsfordand theLafayette-based Citizens for aNew Louisiana owe $50,000 to alibrarianina defamationcase that has not yet been triedonits merits.
Twenty-firstJudicial District Court Judge Erika Sledge of LivingstonParish on June 15 awarded AmandaJones,a Livingston Parish schoollibrarian, $50,979 to be paidbyCitizens for aNew Louisiana and Executive Director MichaelLunsford. In 2022, Jones spoke at aLiv-
ingstonParish Library Board meeting against censorship and the proposalremoval of books. Lunsford, who runs thesocial media for the conservative Citizensfor aNew Louisiana,and bloggerRyan Thames blasted Jones on social media, saying she supported books that she didn’t and thatshe supported pornography in libraries. Jones sued in August 2022 for defamation. Lunsford, Citizens andThamesfiled aspecial mo-
tiontostrike, whichwas granted. Amotion foranew trial by Jones was denied. She stipulated that, should the defendants win on appeal, shewould pay $12,500 to Citizens and $13,000 to Thames.
Sledge wrote in her decision that throughout 2023, Jones wentthrough theappealsprocess, filing multiple legalbriefs in responsetothe defendants’ twoseparate oppositions,filing asupplemental brief regarding thejurisdiction of the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal and so forth. The 1st Circuit, in January 2024, ruledthat it lacked jurisdiction in the case and dismissed the appeal without considering the merits of Jones’case.
Jones filed an application for a rehearing, whichwas denied, fol-
lowed by awrit to the Louisiana Supreme Court,whichfound the 1st Circuitdid have jurisdiction
The case was sent back to the appeals court in December 2024. The appealscourt found in October that Jones was likely to prevail in her defamation lawsuit. Jones has since settledwith Thames, who issueda public apology
The Supreme Court denied a writ application by Lunsford, which is nowfinal, Sledge wrote. Lunsford, she wrote, did not dispute that fees are owed but arguedtheyare unreasonable Sledge disagreed, awarding fees of $50,979 to Jones.
Contact Claire Taylor at ctaylor@theadvocate.com.
FRESHCOATOFPAINT
Dave Derouen adds afresh coat of paint to the St. John Cemetery gates on Monday
in Lafayette. Derouen said he and others are repainting the fence all theway around the 205-yearoldcemetery.The messageonthe gate, written in French, translates to ‘He will wipe away every tear,’ from the book of Revelation in the Bible.
Suspectfaces additional chargesafter attemptedescape
BYJA’KORI MADISON Staff writer
ACrowley man who was arrested in June in acarjacking and officer-involved shootingnow facesadditional charges after authorities say he attempted to escape custody during a hospital transport. Dusty Johnson, 35,was originally arrested in an early June incident in which he is accused of carjacking avehicle in Eunice and leading law enforcement on amultiparish pursuitthatendedin Crowley.Hewas booked on twocounts of attempted first-degree murder,attempted second-degree murder,armed robbery,carjacking, simple arson, two counts of hit-and-rundriving,simple
criminal damage to property,attempted aggravated kidnapping, aggravated flightfrom an officer and possession of afirearm by aconvicted felon.
Authorities said Johnson remained in custody until he required medical attention andwas taken from jail to ahospital on Sunday According to police, during that transport Johnson overpowered adeputy, stolethe car and attempted to flee. Lafayette policelater located andrecaptured himatahouse on SouthOrangeStreet, wherethey say he broke intoahome.
Johnson was booked on additional countsstemming from the Sunday incident, including aggravated battery on apolice officer,home invasion, carjacking, aggravated flight from an officer aggravated escape and simple escape, according to Lafayette police.
Authorities saidinJohnson’soriginal June case, he carjacked avehicle in
CRIME BLOTTER Advocate staff reports
Twopeople have been arrested in the fatal shooting of aBaton Rougeman near VillePlatte morethan twoyears ago, authorities said. Daijah McClay, 29, of Plaquemine, and Kamrein McClay,21, of Houston, each face one count of principal to second-degree murder in the death of 24-year-old Jonah C. Lee, according to the Evangeline Parish Sheriff’sOffice. Lee wasfound lying in astreet on the outskirts of Ville Platte with gunshot wounds anddied at ahospital on March 30, 2024. Bail wasset at $150,000 foreach suspect.
STAFFPHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK
at thecathedral
LIVINGSTON PARISH
OPINION
OUR VIEWS
Statefailing neediest families with unused WICfunds
Arecent report by the LouisianaLegislative Auditor found that Louisianaisfailing to use funds designated to help low-incomepregnant women gain access to healthy foods. The Special Supplemental NutritionProgram for Women, Infants, and Children —morecommonly known asWIC —isentirely federally funded.Itprovidesroutine testing, nutrition counseling and money for healthyfoodstoeligible women. Louisiana ranks last in therate of participation among allthe states. Add Washington, D.C., and the territory of Puerto Ricotothe list, andwe’re still dead last Between 2021 and 2024, Louisiana did not use approximately$111 million worthoffederal WIC funding, the auditor found.
That astate with one of thehighestrates of infant mortality isn’tusing aprogram designedto help women deliver healthy babies should shock the conscienceofeveryone who caresabout Louisiana’smothers and children
The report lists several reasons for the state’s low participation rate. Many of them areeasy to remedy.For example, around80% of the clinics that screen participantswerenot open beyond normal business hours. Most women in the program must completeregularclinic visits in order to maintain their benefits. But for working mothers, finding aclinic thatcould accommodate their schedules proved challenging. In north Louisiana, for example, only oneclinic nearShreveport operatedinearly morning hours or lateinto the evening. For other would-be participants,the problem was that clinic hours and phone numbersposted on their websites werenot accurate,and staff did not answer the phone.
The audit also found that manyclinicswere not doing at least one outreach event permonth as required by state policy to let potentially eligible moms know about the program
We are glad to note that theLouisianaDepartment of Health, which oversees WIC, agreed with the audit recommendationsand has already begun to address these issues. It will conduct reviews of clinic informationonline and will institute a“secret shopper” program to randomly call clinics to make sure phones are being answered. It has set agoal to improve participation by 25%thisyear Surveys of participants also found thatthe programwhere beneficiaries receive EBTcards to redeem at participatingstores forspecific food products wasnot meeting theirneeds. Some products, like yogurt, were offeredonly in large quantities so theydid notredeem the itemsfor feartheywould spoil, participants shared. TheDepartment of Healthagreed to have more flexibility in what products were offered. Some parishes only had one vendor that accepted the food benefit program, so thedepartment is looking at expanding that. Allofthese measures mean thata lifeline for needyfamilieswillnow be strengthened. But outreachiskey —a lifeline is only useful if it reaches those in need.
Letters are published identifying name, occupation and/or title and the writer’scity of residence TheAdvocate |The Times-Picayune require astreet address andphone number for verification purposes, but that information is not published. Letters are not to exceed 300 words. Letters to the Editor,The Advocate, P.O. Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588, or email letters@ theadvocate.com.
TO SEND US A LETTER, SCANHERE
Archisjustasymbol of decline, nottriumph
Agigantic Roman triumphal arch would absolutely contradict the American liberal democratic experiment framed in our Constitution. It seems that Rome’searly republican Senate rarely approved such monumentstovictorious generals, but theempire grew lousy with arches after the Caesars and subsequent power struggles destroyed theRoman Republic.
In our time, these symbols of Rome’s long decline and misplaced imperial pride, antithetical to American ideals, cannot represent true historic milestones. The end of monarchy, aristocracy and slavery,progress towardcivil rightsbased on rule of law,and celebration of civic rather than ethnic, racial, or gendered national identity have all underscored theidea of American exceptionalism. In stark contrast,Rome’spersecution of Christian martyrs spannedahistory longer than our own semiquincentennial observance. The OED further defines “arch” as denoting cunning or slyness, often personified in an arch villain or arch fiend.
Agarish, bellicose arch in our nation’s capital associated with President Donald Trumpmight also conjure images of “fallen arches,” or flat feet, which, like shin splints and bone spurs, have exempted draftees from military
service.
Should we copy arches sponsored by European monarchs and emperors, like Napoleon’sArc de Triomphe? No Though arising as aJacobin son of the revolution, Napoleon actuallyreversed hard-won French liberties that took two moremajor revolutions to restore. Over the past 250 years, Americans have preferred to express sincere gratitude to our old French ally with heartfelt appreciation of Lafayette and LadyLiberty
WILLIAM BERTOLETTE Baton Rouge
Kids canreadthe TenCommandments, hypocrites
Iwanted to support Muhammad Yungai’sopinion on the hypocrisy of those people pushing theposting of the TenCommandments in schools.
It is thecontinuation of brainwashing of children that self-righteous people employ to further their,and only their,religious views on others. Yungai’sletter was well-written and on point. Older kids, moreacquainted with diversity in this world, will have thewherewithal to figure out the bias behind this propaganda.
Istill hear people talk about the glory of war and their sanctimonious
certainty in the correctness of capital punishment while witnessing their disregardfor children after birth and their denial of pedophilia by priests (to nameafew of the obvious hypocrisies) Many now worship that gold-plated statue of aself-proclaimed god. They did then, and still do, parade as peacocks of “Christian” virtue. It doesn’t takekids long to connect the dots. Thank you to Yungai forspeaking thetruth.
DENISE VERRET Breaux Bridge
We’reloosening access to guns whiletightening access to ballot
So there is agovernmental proposal brewing that would makeiteasier to mailguns directly to purchasers’ homes. At the sametime, there are ongoing attempts to makeitmore difficult to mailballots to legally vote forgovernment officials. Is it a coincidence that Donald TrumpJr. is positioned to directly benefit from easy internet and mailordering of firearmsresulting in increased revenues at GrabAGun? He holds aboard position and is an official consultant to that company Louisiana consistently ranks among the states with the highest per capita firearm death rates in the United States. Louisiana typically ranks between second and sixth nationwide. The U.S. has the highest rate of firearm deaths —both homicides and suicides —byawide margin compared to similarly developed, high-incomenations. Do we really need to makeiteasier forcitizens to obtain guns and the Trumpfamily to further enrich itself?
While efforts are being madeby the current Congress and administration to makevoting moredifficult, other advanced countries are embracing online voting. Today,you can obtain just about anything online in the U.S., but you cannot vote online unless you are disabled, out of the country,inthe military and living abroad, or tribal voters living on reservations.
Other countries that allow online voting include Switzerland, France, Canada, the United Arab Emirates and India. Why not the U.S.? So manyissues, so manyquestions. Please, America, pay attention to the information coming from reliable sources. Do your research and think about what this meansfor our country and all of its citizens.
ROSE
MARYWILLIAMS
Baton Rouge
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOByJEN GOLBECK
The U.S. Capitol and amock-up of PresidentDonald Trump’sproposed triumphal arch are seen fromthe Ferris wheel at the GreatAmericanState Fair on the National Mall.
Spell’stheology, notjustactions, runs countertohistoricChristianity
Whether the Rev.Tony Spell will be convicted of acrime is aquestion that will be answered by aLouisiana jury. Whether he holds views traditionally labeled heretical, however,is averdict rendered more than 1,500years ago Let me explain. Spell, the fiery —some mightsay pugilistic —pastor of Life Tabernacle in Central, first came to prominence whenherefused to abide by pandemic-era lockdown restrictions meant to slow the spread of the virus. More recently,he was arrested last month after an incidentwithhis neighbor,inwhich Spell repeatedly punched his neighbor even after he had pinned the man to the ground.
The fight, which was caughtoncamera, landed Spell in the parish jail fora few hours on acount of second-degree battery. His case will work its way through our criminal justice system. When he’snot fighting, Spell is running his church. Life Tabernacle is part of amovement withinPentecostalism that denies the ancient Christian formulation of God as atrinity: Father Son and Holy Spiritas oneGod in three persons The church’swebsite makesthis explicit: “the Father,Son, and Holy Ghost arenot names of separate persons, but titles of positions held by God. Such adescriptionis“classic modalism,” Lloyd Harsch, aprofessor of church history at New OrleansBaptist Theological Seminary,told me. Modalism emphasizes the oneness of God. It sees God as onebeingacting in three different “modes.” And while Pentecostalism is arelatively new movement —itgrew out of an early 20th century revival in California modalism goes back into thechurch’s early centuries. It was “a heresy that was dealt with and resoundingly condemned as being outside orthodox Christianity”bythe 5th century because it denies the Trinity,Harsch told me.
The reason for those decisions was simple: Modalism denies the Trinity, which “was an early foundational doctrine of the church,” Harsch said This issue was settled more than 500 yearsbefore the RomanCatholic-EasternOrthodox splitand more than 1,000 years before Martin Luther kicked off the Protestant Reformation
Today, themajorityofchurches, includingCatholic, Eastern Orthodox and Protestant, are firmly trinitarian. Spell’sviews on the Trinityare aminority even within Pentecostalism.
Letmebeclear here: Iamnot saying that Spelland his congregantsshould notbefreetopractice their religion as they see fit; they absolutely should. But Iamnoting that his beliefs fall outside of historic Christianity,and go against oneofits bedrock doctrines.
Of course, one needn’tdive into dusty theological tomes or ancient church historytosee the gaps between Spell’s version ofChristianityand theone taught by Jesus.
Jesustaught humility,and Spell seems to revel in his own notoriety. Afew daysafter the fight, Spell told adeputy in acomment recorded on a body camera,“Everybody in theworld knows my name.”
He also used aslur for gay people to describe theman he beat, and said he would beat the man or his family again if he feltitnecessary,per body camera footage.
Jesusalso taught nonviolence. When oneofhis followers cut off the ear of asoldier who had come to arrest Jesus, Jesushealed theman. He also famously said, “If anyone slaps you on theright cheek, turn to them the other
cheek also.”
Spell took adifferent tack: He charged across thestreet to confront his neighbor,and even after he was arrested, he boasted about the incident, saying in anews conference that he, as theshepherd, had to protect his flock Later,during achurch service, he madelight of it.
“I fulfilled Scripture because Ilay hands on the sick. Idon’tknow how much recovery they’re going to have, but Ilaid hands on them,” he said.
Spell’sdevotion to Scripture is clear
Andhis church website calls the Bible “the inspired Word of God …Moreover,there is no salvation outside of what is taught in its pages.”
That presumably includes theletters of the Apostle Paul, who in 1Corinthians holds aloft the three great Christian virtues: “faith, hope and love. And thegreatest of these is love.”
AndinGalatians, Paul lists the fruits of the Spirit, which include love, peace, gentleness and self-control, among others. Andagainst those things, Paul notes, “there is no law.”
Butitseems those virtues, like the Trinity,aren’timportanttoSpell and his version of Christianity.
Email Faimon A. Roberts III at froberts@theadvocate.com.
Soccer fans seeour multiculturalmiracle
The welcoming reception that so many European soccer fans have received as they have crossed the nation in pursuit of World Cup games has struck many as ahappy surprise of the summer of the 250th anniversary of the DeclarationofIndependence.
“The World Cup is at our shores, and allthese people aredoing us agreat service,” comedian Bill Maher posted. “They are reminding Americans that this place is kind of awesome.”
“They are seeing an America they never imagined,” The Wall Street Journal’sPeggy Noonan noted withsomethinglike awe. “They expected adark and brooding nation; they discovered a sun-filled magnificence. It’s so big, so spacious,has such wondrous shops, the best food and absolutely wonderfulpeople.”
land migration from eastern and southern Europe,1892 to 1914, youheard constantly that America was suddenly becoming —for some, dangerously becoming— multicultural.
With Cuba, Trumphad better beware of what he wishesfor
Afterbeginning the war, but before his conduct of it turneditinto an embarrassment, President Donald Trump said: “On the way back”fromIran “we will be taking over”Cuba “almost immediately.” Now,humiliatedand bewildered, he hungers fora successbeforethis autumn’selections. Cuba’s 67-year-old regime hassurvived13U.S presidencies. But abumptious 14thhas big plans. Looselyspeaking.
Communist Cuba,athreadbare museum of Marxism, hasalways attracted tyranny tourists, leftist pilgrims eager to experience, briefly, appliedsocialism. The only good its evil ever produced is “Against All Hope,” Armando Valladares’smagnificent1986 memoir of 22 yearsas apolitical prisoner. Beatings were neverperfunctory,always ferociousand imaginatively cruel. He wasfed watery soup laced with glass, or dead rats, or half the length of acow’sintestine,rectum included, filledwith waste
Otherthanthose pilgrims, no one believesthe Havana regime hasa shredoflegitimacy.Whatshould be done?
Fordecades,Communist Cuba,a mendicant nationprickly aboutits revolutionary dignity,dependedon subsidiesfromthe SovietUnion, thenonbarteredoil fromVenezuela. Nowitexperiences electricity blackouts, sometimes lasting 22 hours aday.Some airlineshavestoppedserving Havana because fuelisscarce forreturn trips. Tourism hasevaporated. The Economist says “harvests arevirtually non-existent.”The Wall Street Journal’sMary Anastasia O’Grady reports, “Output fromonce-vibrant export industrieslike sugar, tobacco, coffee andfruit can’t even supply the domestic market.” Like North Korea, anotherfamily business, Cuba’s regime,inwhichFidelCastro’s brother Raúl, 95, still matters, hasone priority: survival. It understands the threat posedbypermitting any freedom in tyranny’sfissures. Hence, it’sfear of freeenterprise,socialism’ssolvent.
Raúl Castro (with whomPresident Barack Obama posedfor photosduring his “engagement” with Cuba)cannotbeaninterlocutor, giventhe properU.S.indictment of him formurder. In 1996, he orderedCubanmilitary jets to shoot down two U.S. civilianaircraft over internationalwater Theywerehelping escapees fromthe prisonisland.
“Weforget too easily,” British-born American Andrew Sullivan wrote, “the loving, generous, beautiful culture that is still America at its core. If it takes asoccer tournament rather than achoreographed 250thanniversary celebration to remind us of that so be it. We’re worth celebrating no less.” Sullivan took special care to hail “the multicultural miracle we have already achieved in this quarter of a millennium.” It’sarefreshing contrast with the notion, widely prevalent in the pre-Trump years of this century, that America had suddenly,for the first time, moved from being astiflingly,insensitively monocultural society to amultiracial, multicultural one.
Whenyou go rifling back in American history,you encounter this notion time andagain. In the years of peak Ellis Is-
In the decade from 1846 to 1857, when immigration as apercentage of the preexisting population was at a similar peak, thesudden inrush of German and Irish Catholic immigrants inspired similar ruminations. The fact that many newcomers, rather than fanout into farms and the frontier, clustered in high-density neighborhoods in central cities seemed especially threatening. Butcultural diversity was part of the American experience, going back tocolonial days and through the Revolution andthe first tenuous years of independence, which produced the Constitution America’srevolutionary patriots had grownupduring aperiod when recent history was centered on foreign and civil wars centered on differences in religion. England’sGlorious Revolution, the ouster of aCatholic king by aProtestant foreigner,was as distant in time from revolutionaries active in the 1770s and 1780s as WorldWar II is as distant in time from us today
TheEnglish Civil War, which resulted in the execution of the king, was contemporaneous with the demographically devastating Thirty Years’ WarinEurope and 120 to 130 yearsin the past —not much further distant than World WarI and thetotalitarian fascism and communism of the 20th century that followed. Against such abackground, the variedreligious origins of the different colonies must havebeen disquieting.
The New England colonies had been founded by Calvinist rebels against theChurch of England, and Virginia and the Carolinas by faithful Anglicans.Maryland had been established by Catholics,Pennsylvania by Quaker proprietors, and New York by Dutch Reformed Protestants.
Article VI of the Constitution, approved by theconvention in September 1787 and ratified by theninthstate and rendered effective in June 1788, provided that, unlike in Britain, “no religious test shallever be required as aQualification to anyOffice or public Trustunder theUnited States.”
Andthe First Amendment to the Constitution,approved by theFirst CongressinSeptember 1789 and ratified by thestates in December 1791, even before guaranteeing “the freedom of speech, or of the press,” provided that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting thefree exercise thereof.” States could keep their established religions —Connecticut did until 1818, Massachusetts until 1833 —orhave none at all.
In thenearly 250 years since, Americans have grappled with the difficulties of maintainingtheir “multicultural miracle” even as thepopulation has increased from 4million to 349 million.
Butthat there have been difficulties should not blind us to thefounders’ achievement in declaring independence and establishing aframe of government appropriate to an always, and always-changing, multicultural society
Michael Barone is on X, @MichaelBarone.
Trump’sbaseincludesCubanAmericans, a large majority of whom, according to aMiami Herald poll, favormilitary interventionand oppose anyeconomicengagement thatpreserves the regime.InteriorSecretaryDougBurgum, an adult in Trump’sCabinet, says Cuba’s economic trajectory“will notchange as long as the people who areincharge of it nowremaininpower.” Gaesa, an army-run conglomerate, controls 70% of the economy Cuba’s economy shrank 11% from2019 to 2024, andmorethan1 million people,about 10 percent of the population, fledthe country between 2022 and2023. The Trump administration insists that prostrate Cuba threatensU.S.“nationalsecurity.” Cuba’s army hasabout one-fifth of its former 200,000 soldiers; its tiny airforce is ramshackle. Cuba reportedly hasmorethan300 drones, but whatuse arethey? And surely there is sufficient U.S. leverage to pressure Havana into ending Russia’s andChina’s use of the island forlistening to U.S. military communications. Is there, however, aU.S obligation toward this unfortunate neighbor?
Thomas Gradgrind, the villain (until he softened his coldutilitarianism) of CharlesDickens’s “Hard Times,” probably believedthat“the Good Samaritan was aBad Economist.”Meaning: Charity skews incentivesfor self-reliance, etc. Some ethicists, however, wonder whethera Good Samaritan nationwith the power to do good hasan obligationtodoit.
All agree, however, thatthere is no obligationto do what cannotbedone. And what can be done for anationthatbynow is allregime andnomeaningful citizenry?
In March, amob sacked aCommunist Party headquarters in centralCuba.This spark of insurrectionwas aberrant andfleeting. Totalitarianism always hasone foundationalobjective,whichit hasachievedinCuba.The populationisa dust of wary individuals, easily blown about. Their capacity forcollaboration—for politics—has atrophied. Asmooth democratic transitionisa chimera
In January,Trump said, “Cuba is readytofall.” Into what? HasTrump thought through his vow to “take care” of Cuba with a“friendly takeover” during “a little briefstopover”? Before he skitteredaway fromdemanding Iran’s“unconditionalsurrender,”hejovially said of Cuba:A U.S. aircraft carrierwill “stopabout 100 yards offshore,and they’ll say‘Thank you very much. We give up.’”
Sucha cutup. Our MetternichfromMidtown Manhattanisnot intimidatedbythe aphorism thatifyou want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.
Email Will at georgewill@washpost.com.
Michael Barone
Faimon Roberts
George Will
PHOTO By MICHAEL BACIGALUPI
Life Tabernacle Church’sTonySpell speaks to the media on June 24 at thechurch in Central.
NEWORLEANS
Causeof fire underinvestigation
French Quarter explosionled to evacuations
BY JONAH MEADOWS Staff writer
Entergy engineers on Monday were still working to determine the cause of a late-night French Quarter explosion that knocked out power and prompted evacuationstothe area on Saturday,with workers focused on repairing and remediating an underground electrical vault damaged in the blast.
The incident, which didn’t cause any injuries, occurred about an hour after the conclusion of the July Fourth fireworks display on the riverfront. Police evacuated aroughly one-blockradius around the intersection of Bourbon and Conti streets after the fire resultingfrom the explosion sent smoke billowing into the area.
In astatementonMonday,Entergy New Orleans spokesperson Beau Tidwell said the fire remained underinvestigation,with engineers “reviewingour data to determinewhere and how the event originated.”
“Entergy crews and our environmentalremediation contractor are currently cleaning out the burned vaultand working to effect repairs,” he added.
The New Orleans FireDepartment, which responded to theblast on Saturday, did not provideany additional information on the incident Monday.City Hall referred questions to Entergy Speaking at anews conference early Sunday,Fire DepartmentChief Roman Nelson said crews used drychemical extinguishers on thefirebecause it was electricalinnature,sothey needed to wait to use water until powerwas disconnected. While powerlines and other electricalinfrastructure
are typically aboveground in most of New Orleans, in the French Quarter,muchof that infrastructure is buried. That buried equipmentcan causeproblems, particularly when it interacts with other underground infrastructure In December 2019, aearlymorningblast on Dauphine Street near Toulouse shot several manhole covers high into theair andset firetoa parked car.Aninvestigation indicated that methanefrom sewage had collected inside one of Entergy’s transformer vaultsand ignited, though officials neverdetermined how it got there.
Danny Raines,aveteran electrical safety consultant based in Georgia, said there are various triggers that can lead to blasts like the one that occurredSaturday night. Speakinggenerally, andwithout anyspecific knowledge aboutthe July 4incident,hesaid that aging equipment, commonly including faults on older cables, can create stresses
thatresult in ablast
“Of course it makes a big old fireball withalot of smoke,” Raines said, noting that sometimes moisture getting into electrical lines can be afactor and that utilities are typically responsible for clearing their underground vaults.
In itsstatement, Entergy said crews carry outvault inspections twice annually in an effort to prevent incidents.
The explosion wasreported alittle after10:30 p.m. and Entergy said power had been restored by 6a.m.the next morning.
Initially,Entergy representatives saidthe repairs weredelayed after workers were “menaced by an individualthreatening to shoot our lineman with agun.”
New Orleans police and Entergylater confirmed thatthe threathad come in the form of aphone call to theutility’s call center and thatthere was no reported in-person threat.
Authoritiessay body foundonHornIsland
Miss.teenwent missing during holidayweekend
BY POET WOLFE Staff writer
Mississippi law enforcement found abody Monday morning on Horn Island, a day after ateen went missinginthe areawhile on a Fourth of July trip with friends, according to JacksonCountySheriff John Ledbetter
The National Park Service located the body on the island’snorth shore near its western tip at 8:45 a.m., Ledbetter said. He added that theCoroner’s Officesaid
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He has pieced together a storyfar messier than the romantic sketch we had imagined.
Some Louisiana habits apparently go back along way —Frederick was22in December 1856, and he was arrested for drunk and disorderly conduct at Elysian Fields andSt. Claude, about a30-minute walk from his home.
Six weeks later,hewrote his lines about Eugenie Ramel on the wall of his family home on Independence Street. Mierhas wondered whether the arrest and the wall are connected.
In aturn we didn’tsee coming, Frederick already had ason by then, born months earlierinJune to aDutch immigrant named
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The investigation remains ongoing, and authorities saidadditional arrestsare expected.
July 4shooting in Jennings injures 2 Jennings police are investigating aFourth of July shooting that left two men injured following an altercation. On Saturday,officers with
ACCUSED
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Eunice, where they say he drove the vehicle to ahome andthreatened ahomeowner with afirearm, attempted to kidnap the victim and stole a2019 GMC Sierra pickup.
Investigators said Johnson later went to agas station and fired shots at aperson in the parking lot, striking the
thedescription of the body matched the missing teen andthat it was “likely” him. Officials are waitingto confirm the identity and inform familymembers before releasing anyadditional details.DNA results arepending Authoritiessaid18-yearoldNolan Wellswas last seen on Horn Island about 3p.m. Saturday wearing black shorts and sunglasses Wellsdisappeared during a Fourth of July outing with friends on the popular barrier island off Mississippi’s coast nearOcean Springs, which drewlarge boating crowds over theholiday weekend.
Family membersturnedto Facebook on Mondayafter-
versionofhis name above thatofEugenie Ramal’sonthe wall of his home in 1857.
Wilhelmina Prost, outof wedlock.Hedidn’t marry Prost until October 1857, nine months afterhewrote of beingfooled by Eugenie. Meanwhile, Ramal married anotary named John McClelland and had a daughter,Dolorita, in June 1859, about two and ahalf years after theinscription. Frederickdied in 1866, at 31, havingbarely lived past
the Jennings PoliceDepartment responded about 9:12 p.m. to areportofa shooting at aresidence in the 400 block of Mouton Drive. When officers arrived, they found 33-year-old Tevin Gotreauxsufferingfrom a gunshot wound to hisleft hand.
During the preliminary investigation, officers learned that Gotreauxhad reportedly beeninvolvedinaphysical argumentwith his girlfriend beforeher stepfather, Tris Madison, arrived at the residence. An altercation oc-
victim’svehicle. He then returnedtothe Eunice residence, crashed into avehicle parked in the driveway and intentionally set aChevrolet Trax on fire, according to Louisiana State Police. When Eunice policeofficers responded, Johnson opened fire on officers, policesaid. Officers returned fire,strikingJohnson before he fledinthe stolenpickup, authorities said Johnson remains held on a$275,000bail, according
noon tocomment on Wells’ disappearance. His mother, Christine Wonsley,thanked friends, family and lawenforcement for theirsupport, andsaidshe andloved ones are“absolutely devastated.”
“I’mheartbroken for my sweet son who was always willing to cheer and uplift others,” Wonsley said. “Nolanwas aspecial soul, God took his time creating our son. Iask that you please give me and my family time to grieve.”
His grandfather,Christopher Wells,said in aFacebook post that Wells’ mother andfather “prayedfor apositive outcome, but theyalso hadtoprepare themselves for the worst.”
“Now thatmygrandson
theCivil War. Ramal died in 1872, at 34.
RaulMier has been generous withwhat he’s found, though he is short on certainty about what any of it means. He said theresearch has made him consider how history echoes through families. Frederick’s sister fled New Orleansfor Cuba during the Civil War. Nearly acentury later,Mier and his parents fled Cuba for New Orleans in 1961.
Despite thewriting on thewall and RaulMier’s research, we don’tknow what Ramal did to earn Frederick’s devotion or his eventual fury
What we do know is that ayoung man’sheartbreak outlived him. It survived renovations, storms, changing owners and generations. When Frederick wrote those words on the wall, he probably never imagined
curred between Madisonand Gotreaux, leading to both suffering gunshotwounds, police said.Bothparties went to trauma centers for medical care.
Madison remains hospitalized in critical but stable condition. Police did not release information about Gotreaux’scondition.
Anyone withinformation aboutthe incidentisasked to contact theJennings Police Department at (337) 821-5500,ext.500,orthe department’stip line at (337) 275-9002.
to arrest records. Officials said additionalchargesrelated to the escape attempt may be filed in St. Landry Parish.
LOTTERY SUNDAY,JULY5,2026
PICK 3: 0-9-2
PICK 4: 4-8-0-8
PICK 5: 5-5-5-1-1
Evelyn Bonin Duhon, 96, abeloved wife, mother and educator, passed away at home on Friday, July 3, 2026 surroundedbyher family.
Evelyn wasbornon December 17, 1929, in Jeanerette,Louisiana. She wasthe youngestoften childrenborntothe late William Haywood Bonin andEuphemie Broussard Bonin.The familyowned andoperatedthe wellknown ParagonGrocery Storeand ameat market in Jeanerette.After thedeath of Evelyn'sfather in 1940, the familymoved to New Iberia around1949, the same year that Evelyn graduatedfromJeanerette High School. Fiveof Evelyn'sbrothersand some of theirchildren ownedand operated meat markets in and around NewIberia.
Urban Bonin;and hertwo sisters, Myrtle Gertrude "Coon" Bonin and Margaret Madeleine Bonin Parent. Funeral Serviceswill be held at 1:00 PM on Wednesday, July 8, 2026 in Delhomme's Chapel of the Flowers with Pastor Chris Fuselier,First Baptist Church -Youngsville,conducting theservices. Burial will take place in Greenlawn Memorial GardensCemetery
has been found, it’s time for answers,” he wrote, “But be mindfultheyneed space and need to grieve. There has been enough finger pointing. Let law enforcement do their job.”
Multiple agencies, including theJackson County Sheriff’s Office, the Harrison County Sheriff’sDepartment,the United States CoastGuard,the United Cajun Navy and the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, assisted in the search.
“On behalf of the United Cajun Navy,weextend our deepest condolences to Nolan’sfamily,friends, teammates, and everyone whose lives weretouchedbyhim,” thegroup said in astatement.
anyone would read them after he was gone much less agrandnephew four generations later standing in the very room where they were written.
Email Jan Risher at jan. risher@theadvocate. com.
On November 11, 1950, Evelyn marriedthe love of herlife, Truby EricDuhon, andraised threechildren. Evelyn'smain focus in life wasbeing thebest mother that she could be,and despite giving 100% of herself to that endeavor she still managed to pursue higher education, earning aBachelorofScience Master of Education and Education Specialist degreesinHome Economics from theUniversity of SouthwesternLouisiana (now theUniversity of Louisiana at Lafayette).
Evelyn spent 30 years teaching Home Economics at Judice MiddleSchool in Lafayette. Shewas admired for herhands-on teachingmethods and unwaveringcommitment to herstudents. As aresult of herdedication to the teachingprofession, Evelyn was arecipientof theJudice MiddleSchool Teacher of the Year Evelyn is survived by herchildren, Dr.Patricia DuhonRoberts andher husband, Dr.Charlie Roberts, of Baton Rouge, Truby Eric"Rick"Duhon, Jr of Miramar Beach, Florida and JeromeKeith DuhonofLafayette. Evelyn wasprecededindeathby herhusband, Truby Eric Duhon, Sr herparents, her seven brothers, Hudson Paul Bonin;Dalton Joseph "TahnThan" Bonin;LeRoy Anthony"Bill"Bonin; JamesJoseph "Jim"Bonin; Col. Louis AllenBonin USMC Ret; andRichard
Thefamilyrequeststhat visitinghours be observed at Delhomme Funeral Home -Bertrandon Wednesday, July 8, 2026 from 11:00 AM to 12:45 PM. Thefamilyextendsa special thanks to thewonderfulstaff at Southern GraceHospice,especially to Nurses Leah,Hanna Alana, Rachel, andTiffany. Thefamilywould also like to recognizeEvelyn's at home caregivers: Carmelita Brown,Samatha Burleigh, MichelleGuidry, Roxanne Richoux, and her bookkeeper, Dawn Williams. Theirexpertise, kindness, andunwavering commitmenttoEvelyn's comfortand dignity in her final days were truly remarkable Pallbearers will be Glynn Chauvin, Mark Culter, Craig Duhon, David Duhon, StevenLeBlanc, andTerry LeBlanc. In lieu of flowers, please considera donation in Evelyn'smemory to Tunnel to Towers Foundation,2361 HylanBoulevard, Staten Island, NY 10306.
Personal condolences may be sent to thefamily of Evelyn Bonin Duhonat: www.delhommefuneralho me.com Evelyn Bonin Duhonand herfamilywerecared for andentrusted final arrangements to Delhomme Funeral Home, 1011 BertrandDrive, Lafayette, LA. CopyrightDelhomme Funeral Homes, Inc. July 2026.
STAFF PHOTO By JANRISHER AntonioFrederick Jr.wrote astylized
Duhon, Evelyn Bonin
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Late substitute Merino kicksSpain past Portugal,Ronaldo
BY SCHUYLER DIXON AP sportswriter
ARLINGTON, Texas
Mikel Merino wasstill on the benchinthe
final minutes of regulation, with Spain coachLuis de la Fuente worried about hanging on to his substitutes as long as possible because of loomingextra time.
The Arsenal forward made all thatfrettingmoot
Merino scored in the first minute of second-half stoppage time, and Spain beat Portugal 1-0 on Monday to end the World Cupcareer of superstar CristianoRonaldo.
Merino had justbeen knocked down and afoul wascalled.
While Portugal’s Bernardo Silva argued, Merino played the ball back in, ran toward the goal and easily beat goalkeeper Diogo Costa after aseries of passes capped by Ferran Torres’ nifty ball through the middle
“He’sone of thebestin hispositionworldwide, andhehas given us afantastic result and afantastic goal,” de la Fuente said through atranslator.“Iwant to express the importance of substitutes that came in later in the game. Not just today,but the contributioninother games has beenenormous.”
Spain advanced tothe quarterfinals forthe first time since winning its only World Cup titlein2010.
Ronaldowas tryingto get Portugaltothe quarterfinals in a second consecutive tournament for thefirst time. Instead, the
career on soccer’sbiggest stage is over for the all-timeleader in international goals (146) and appearances (233). Merino didn’tenter until the85th minute, and his heads-up playshowed some of theversatility thathelped Arsenal win its first Premier League titleinmore than 20 yearsthis spring.
The World Cup was in doubt for Merino, who turned 30 during the tournament, after right foot surgery cutshort his Arsenal season.
In the biggest moment of the year for Spain, there he was with fresh legs, finishing with his left foot into the leftcorner of the net. After emerging from agrouphug with his teammates, Merino made acirclearound theflag in acorner before letting out aguttural scream while clenching both fists.
That’show his father,Miguel Merino, celebrated morethan three decades agoduring hisclubcareer in Spain. Andhis son first emulated it after alate goal to beat host Germanyto sendSpain to thesemifinals of the European championship two years ago.
This was Mikel Merino’sfirst WorldCup goal,and 11th for thenational team.
“What better way to celebrate,” Merino said. “You remember all the good and the bad, andthere have been difficult moments for me this year.”
Absences highlightPels’ Summer League roster
to be bigger news thanthe players who were named. Here are the five most notable things about who will be suiting up for the Pelicans when they tipoff Summer League play in Las Vegas starting Thursday No FearsorQueen
It’sYear 2for Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen, who made theirrookie debuts in Vegas lastsummer.After ayear when they both were secondteamselections on the All-Rookie team, they won’tbeplaying in Vegas this time around. First-year Pelicans coach Jamahl Mosley discussed the decision after Monday’spractice.
BY JON BLAU Staff writer
There was atimewhen college football coaches such as LSU’sLane
Kiffin didn’texist in awin-now echo chamber pressurizedby24/7 media cycles.
But this isn’ttosay everything was peachy
“Coaching football is arotten life,” former Michigan coach Bennie Oosterbaan, one of just three college football coaches to win a nationaltitle in his first season, told Time magazine just afew yearsafter his glorious debut in 1948.
“I’m on top now,and there is alot of backslapping,”Oosterbaan said “Let me lose the opener or acouple of other games next fall, and then watch how I’mblasted.”
Oosterbaan, considered the “best offensive mind in college football” by his predecessor, souredon scheming.Whenheleft Michigan in 1958, he said “the pressure” got to him
“Notfrommybossesorthe fans,” Oosterbaan said. “I mean the pressure that builds up inside ahead coach whetherhewins or loses.”
The coaching profession applies pressure. Kiffin, arenowned offensive mind in today’s era, said he doesn’tfret about outside expectations because none are greater than his own.
But the LSU job is apressurecooker
ä See WORLD CUP, page 3C
“They’ve been in here working with these guys,” Mosley said. “A bigportion of that is them playing 82 gamesand beingable to be up and playthese games against theheavy hitters in the league.” Countmeamong those who agree with that decision after seeing Fears playinall 82 games andQueen in 81. They bothhaveroom for improve-
BY GRAHAM DUNBAR AP sportswriter
GENEVA With the integrity of FIFAand the World Cup under attack from European soccer leaders, FIFAPresident Gianni Infantino acknowledged taking acallfromPresident Donald Trump before U.S. forward Folarin Balogun wascleared to play against Belgium later Monday Balogun wasissuedared cardinthe U.S. match vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina last week,resulting in a suspension for the Belgium contest. Trump called Infantino after thegame with Bosnia to plead his casetooverturn the call, andFIFAlifted thesuspensionSunday. That prompted aday of off-field furoratthe World Cup. The Belgiansoccer federation challenged FIFA’s
guard Micah Peavyreacts after hitting a3-pointer against the Detroit Pistons during agameonJan. 21 at Smoothie King Center
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JULIO CORTEZ
Mikel Merino celebrates scoring agoal for Spain during the WorldCup round of 16 match against Portugal on Mondayin Arlington, Texas. Spain won1-0 and advances to the quarterfinals.
STAFF FILE PHOTOByMICHAEL JOHNSON LSUfootballcoachLane Kiffin, shown at aTigers basketballgame vs. Kentucky on Jan. 1atthe PMAC, is under pressure to winbig in his first season.
ä See LSU, page 3C
Rod Walker
Cobolli victorious over de Minaur
Paolini also gets to Wimbledon quarterfinals
BY ANDREW DAMPF AP sportswriter
LONDON On his first match point, Flavio Cobolli stepped up and unleashed a 135 mph first serve down the T that landed on the line and sent a puff of chalk into the air on No 1 Court at Wimbledon.
Fifth-seeded opponent Alex de Minaur could barely touch the serve and the Australian’s weak return didn’t even go past his own service line.
Cobolli reacted by leaping into the air and pumping his fist. He launched a ball into the crowd before moving forward to shake hands with De Minaur
Then the Italian moved on to the performance he’d been waiting for Cobolli put his racket down and went back out into the center of the court and launched himself into the most iconic celebration in soccer: twirling in mid-air like Cristiano Ronaldo, he then landed on the grass with his feet planted wide and jerked his arms down by his side.
The mostly English crowd knew just what was going on and shouted “Siuuu” along with Cobolli.
“I love his celebration. I love him,” said Cobolli, who was once a promising soccer player himself in Roma’s youth system. “I will cheer for Portugal (against Spain at the World Cup) tonight because of Ronaldo.”
In his previous match, Cobolli performed a surfing celebration borrowed from Brazil striker Matheus Cunha.
Antonelli and Sinner
While four-time champion Italy failed to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup, the country has no lack of sports stars and a few of them were in the spotlight at the grass-court Grand Slam on Monday Cobolli’s 7-5, 7-6 (4), 6-3 victory over a fellow top-10 player to reach the quarterfinals was a statement win as he attempts to back up his run to the French Open final.
At the same time over on Centre Court, Jasmine Paolini ended the run of rising Filipino player Alexandra Eala with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 victory to return to the last eight at a Grand Slam for the first time since back-to-back runs to the Ro-
land Garros and Wimbledon finals
two years ago.
Watching Paolini from the Royal Box was Kimi Antonelli, the 19-year-old Italian driver who leads the Formula One standings for Mercedes.
“I met Kimi afterward,” Paolini said. “I’ve been following him a lot lately I’m becoming an F1 fan. He seems like a real nice kid and very down to earth.”
Coinciding with Italy’s troubles in soccer, Antonelli and defending Wimbledon champion Jannik Sinner — who plays Jan-Lennard Struff on Tuesday for a spot in the semifinals have become the country’s most popular athletes.
Cobolli, too, is rapidly gaining attention after his run to the Paris final, where he pushed Alexander Zverev to five sets De Minaur led 5-2 in the second set and was up a break twice in the third. But Cobolli wouldn’t be deterred.
“Alex is a stratospheric player
So beating him three sets to none makes me feel like I’m ready,” Cobolli said when asked if he’s ready for another deep run. “This gave me a lot of answers, and I think it provided a lot of answers to my opponents, too.”
World Cup and gelato
After the victory over de Minaur, Cobolli’s grandfather had to go and find a new house for their team in the Wimbledon village since they had only reserved through the first week.
Now they can maintain Flavio’s nightly routine during the fortnight: dinner cooked by his father and coach, Stefano, and shared with his best friend, Watford midfielder Edoardo Bove, before watching a World Cup match and downing a tub of gelato (pear and white chocolate is Cobolli’s flavor for the tournament).
“An Italian family give us all the house here in Wimbledon,” Cobolli said. “So it’s really cool.”
Cobolli’s quarterfinal opponent will be Arthur Fery the 23-year-old British player who grew up just five minutes from the All England Club.
Paolini doesn’t allow distraction
Besides the challenge presented by the 21-year-old Eala, who eliminated defending champion Iga Swiatek in the previous round, the 5-foot-4 Paolini also had to try and not to let the presence of Roger Federer in the
Royal Box distract her
At one point, Antonelli sat right next to Federer, the owner of a men’s record eight Wimbledon singles titles.
“He is my idol,” the 30-year-old Paolini said of Federer in an oncourt interview “I was like during the match, ‘Please stay focused stay focused Don’t think about he’s here.’ I was watching all the finals and all the tournaments he was playing here.”
Paolini’s next opponent will be Marta Kostyuk, the Ukrainian player who reached her first Wimbledon quarterfinal by beating American qualifier Ashlyn Krueger 6-4, 6-4.
It was the hottest day of the tournament so far, as the temperature rose to 90 degrees, prompting players to place bags of ice around their necks on changeovers.
Another women’s quarterfinal will feature Linda Noskova against Elise Mertens.
The strong performance by Italian players follows similar results at the French Open, where three men reached the quarterfinals despite Sinner’s secondround meltdown in a Paris heat wave.
Stars Wilson, Clark nearing a return from injuries
BY DOUG FEINBERG
Wilson
her way toward playing again after she aggravated a back injury Clark has started practicing again and potentially will return during the current road trip that the Fever are on with games in Los Angeles, Phoenix and Las Vegas. The star guard missed the first game of the trip against Las Vegas on Sunday Plum is out with a lower left leg injury and is expected to be evaulated in late July right around the All-Star break. Los Angeles has struggled without her Last season’s MVP runner-up
Napheesa Collier has yet to play this year after she had offseason surgery on both her ankles. She has started practicing again for Minnesota and also should be back soon. Power poll rankings Minnesota remained atop the power poll this week barely edging New York. One point separated the top two teams. Golden State was third with Las Vegas fourth, The Valkyries picked up some first-place votes Dallas was fifth Indiana, Washington and Atlanta were next. Phoenix
Toronto and Portland followed the Dream. Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle and Connecticut rounded out the poll.
Player of the week
Breanna Stewat of New York was the AP player of the week She had a huge game in the Liberty’s win over Minnesota last Friday Stewart scored 36 points to go along with seven rebounds and two blocks in the victory Other players receiving votes included Paige Bueckers of Dallas, Shakira Austin of Washington and Gabby Williams of Golden State.
Ovechkin is back for another season with NHL’s Capitals WASHINGTON Alex Ovechkin is returning for a 22nd season with the Washington Capitals. Will this be the final act of his illustrious career?
“I don’t know,” he said. “We’ll see.”
The NHL’s career leader in goals didn’t formally commit to returning in 2026-27 until last week, so it was perhaps no surprise that Ovechkin remained noncommittal on whether this is going to be his swan song in Washington. Ovechkin said his wife suggested he play “one more year or maybe two years, I don’t know” — so if anyone was expecting him to announce a retirement tour for this season, that did not happen. Instead, Ovechkin is focused on showing he can still be effective — he’ll be 41 — and help the team win.
Forward Hachimura agrees to 2-year deal with Clippers Free agent forward Rui Hachimura and the Los Angeles Clippers have agreed on a twoyear contract that would be worth $28 million if a team option is exercised, a person familiar with the talks said on Monday Hachimura will be joining his third team, after splitting his first eight NBA seasons between the Washington Wizards and Los Angeles Lakers. His departure means all five of the players that the Lakers started in Game 1 of last season’s playoff run — Hachimura, LeBron James (still choosing a new team), Deandre Ayton (trade to Washington), Marcus Smart (agreed to sign with Houston) and Luke Kennard (agreed to sign with Phoenix) — will play elsewhere this season.
Kings cut loose veteran DeRozan after two seasons
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — DeMar DeRozan is finally free to pursue other opportunities following two seasons with the Sacramento Kings. The Kings are waiving DeRozan in a move that has been expected for weeks, sources told The Sacramento Bee on Monday, making the six-time All-Star an unrestricted free agent.
DeRozan, 36, could have a number of potential suitors as he enters his 18th season at No. 16 on the NBA’s all-time scoring list with 26,711 points. ESPN reported that multiple contenders are expected to have interest in DeRozan, including those that are rebuffed in their pursuit of LeBron James. DeRozan had one year remaining on a three-year $74 million contract
Braves place LHP Perez on IL with arm contusion
Throwback game
Geno Auriemma and Robin Roberts will call the Dallas-New York game Tuesday night on ESPN. The pair called the first WNBA broadcast on the network 30 years earlier
“Yeah, I was nervous the first time I did it, because I didn’t know what I was doing and now that I remember back and having to do it again, knowing what could go wrong, I’m even more nervous,” Auriemma joked on a conference call. “We just tried, just figure out, let’s watch the game and see what happens and talk about what we see.”
There will be a lot of familiarity for Auriemma as three of his former players will be in the game with Dallas having Bueckers and Azzi Fudd and the Liberty having Stewart.
Roberts has been impressed how the league has grown over the past three decades.
“To see the respect it has earned, the players are just incredible, and I’m just very grateful to see that it is getting the recognition that it’s getting right now,” she said.
Game of the week
New York at Minnesota, Saturday. Two of the top teams in the WNBA will meet again in Minnesota with the Lynx hosting the Liberty Star Minnesota forward Napheesa Collier might be ready to play in that game as she’s been working back from offseason ankle surgeries.
ATLANTA The Atlanta Braves placed left-hander Martín Pérez on the 15-day injured list on Monday with a left forearm contusion. Pérez was hit by Juan Soto’s line drive in Sunday’s 10-9 loss to the New York Mets and left the game. Afterward, Atlanta manager Walt Weiss said X-rays were negative. Pérez (6-6) allowed six hits and five runs, four earned, in 41/3 innings. He has a 3.54 ERA in 18 games, including 14 starts. Right-hander Carlos Carrasco was designated for assignment after allowing five runs on five hits in two innings on Sunday The Braves recalled right-hander JR Ritchie from Triple-A Gwinnett and called up right-hander Owen Murphy, who has pitched for Gwinnett this season.
Cornerback Douglas agrees to 1-year deal with Commanders Veteran cornerback Rasul Douglas has agreed to terms with the Washington Commanders on a contract for next season, according to a person familiar with the deal.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Monday because the contract had not yet been signed.
Douglas, who turns 31 on Aug. 29, returns to the NFC East after beginning his NFL career in the division with Philadelphia. A thirdround pick in 2017, he helped the Eagles win the Super Bowl in his rookie year
With Washington coming off a season in which it ranked last in the league on defense, general manager Adam Peters has been active in adding talent on that side of the ball.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MICHAEL CONROy
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark, right, drives on Atlanta Dream guard Te-Hina Paopao, left during a game in Indianapolis on June 18.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MAJA SMIEJKOWSKA
Flavio Cobolli of Italy returns the ball to Alex de Minaur of Australia in their fourth-round singles match at Wimbledon in London on Monday.
WORLD CUP
Continued from page1C
Thelatest meeting of Iberian Peninsula rivals that first played in afriendly in Madrid 105 years agowas quite the contrast to their most recent World Cup match.
It was eight years ago that Ronaldo had his only World Cup hat trick in a3-3 draw with Spain in a group stageopener that is considered oneofthe tournament’sbest games.
The 41-year-old superstar scored three timesinthistournament, buthedidn’t have many chances against Spain’sUnaiSimón, who extended his World Cup record to 609 minutes withoutconcedinga goal. Spain became the first team
BALOGUN
Continued from page1C
ruling not to enforceaban on Balogun.The European soccerbody UEFAdescribed the decision as an “incomprehensible” breach of soccer’srule of law.Trump acknowledged calling Infantino and took creditfor getting FIFAtoreview the red card.
Achaotic and unprecedented day in modern World Cup history then saw aFIFAappeals judgedismiss Belgium’s legal challenge,fewer than eight hours before kickoff in Seattle with aquarterfinals place at stake. The game ended after press time.
The Belgian soccer body “is not aparty to the proceedings and, as such, has no standing to appeal the decision,” FIFAsaid in astatement.
The Belgian federation said it “has informed theUnited States Soccer Federation that it contests the eligibility of the player,should the player be listed on the referee’steam sheet. This leaves all further actions open.”
The fallout from Balogun’sredcard challenge against aBosniaHerzegovina defender in a2-0 win for the U.S. in the round of 32 last Wednesday has turned scrutiny on Infantino’sexecutive control of FIFAand his years-long closeties to Trump.
Infantino insisted in asocial mediapost thatFIFA’sdisciplinary committeeacted with independence and judged casessuch as Balogun’son“applicable regulations and the specific facts.”
“During our conversation,” Infantino said of his call with Trump, “I explained that there wasanongoing legal process involvingFIFA’s independent judicial bodies and that the case would be decided in due course by the competent bodies.”
AFIFAdisciplinary judge’sruling Sunday left Balogun free to face Belgium in the round of 16 instead of serving amandatory one-game ban.
TheBelgian federation earlier said FIFAhad not providedkey documents for its appeal, and the soccerbody of Norway —which faces England in the quarterfinals Saturday —said the lack of legal explanation fromFIFAwas “reason for concern regarding theintegrityofthe competition. The Swiss Football Association declared that the “credibility of the competition depends on clear rules that are applied consistently.” Trump on Monday defendedcalling Infantino, saying he merely pointed out a“horrible” decision by areferee to issue Balogunared card for an illegal tackle
“All Idid was ask for areview.I didn’tthink it was afoul,” Trump told reporters at the White House
PELICANS
Continued from page1C
ment, but what they did as rookies along with the work they have put in during the offseason suggest they are headed in the right direction.Playing against Summer League competition won’tdomuch to enhance that.
Peavybackatit
While the Pelicans’ twofirstround draftpicks from 2025 won’tplay,their second-round pick (Micah Peavy) will.
“I’membracing it big time,” Peavy said. “I’m going to go out and show what I’ve been working on and whatthis new coaching staff has been putting in place.”
Peavyplayed in 61 games as a rookie. His best asset is his defense, which is whythe Pelicans drafted him.But Peavy,who averaged 4.3 points per gamelast sesaon, knowsVegas is achance to show strides on offense.
“Mainly, (I can show)just how manyshots I’ve been putting up,”Peavy said. “My confidence is there.”
Newkid on theblock
ington said.
to record six straight shutouts at theWorld Cup.
Thebest chance was Ronaldo’s niftybackward kick in the 37th minute whenJoaoFelix’sheader deflected off Simón’sleftshoulder and popped in the airtoRonaldo.
He flicked the ball with his right foot, but it was soft enough to give Simón time to recover and make a leaping grab.
“I’ll wake up tomorrow like I woke up today, with aclear conscience,” saidRonaldo, whoaday earlierhad repeated hisprevious declaration that hissixthWorld Cup would be his last. “I gave my best.Iwon threetitles with Portugal. Before Cristiano, Portugal hadn’t wonany title. So,I’m happy. Thebiggest title that Iwon with thenational team was in 2016 (European Championship), which for
me had the same dimension as a World Cup, honestly.”
Portugal desperatelypushedfor an equalizerinthe final eight minutes of stoppage time.Silva had a header that went just over the top of thenet.
Thedefensive struggle came just twodays shy of ayear since Portugal beat Spain in ariveting UEFA Nations League final that went to penalty kicks after a2-2 draw.
The other World Cup meeting was Spain’s1-0 victory— also in the round of 16 —whenLaRoja wonthe title in South Africa.
“It was agreat match. Twosuperb teams,” de la Fuente said. “As we had said it, it was like an anticipated final.Asitwas expected,wehad to suffer until the very end.”
about lobbying Infantino,a close ally,not to impose aone-gameban. Instead, theban was deferred for one year of probation and flared into an all-time controversy in the World Cup’s96-year historyjust hours ahead of the U.S.-Belgium matchinSeattle.
UEFAearlier criticized FIFA for an “incomprehensible and unjustifiabledecision” that it said “crossed ared line,” andother stinging criticism came globally from former World Cup stars and coaches at the tournament.
“It’s abad, bad, bad, bad, bad decision thatwill hurt theWorld Cup,” Norwaycoach Ståle SolbakkensaidSundayafterhis team beatBrazil to reach the quarterfinals
UEFA, whose memberfederations include Belgium, insisted:
“Sometimes rules are open to interpretation. In this case not. When thecertainty of rulesisnolonger guaranteed by its guardians, the integrity of thegameisatstake andthe credibility of acompetition is undermined.”
UEFAhas often clashed with Infantino during hisdecadeinFIFA power
“Weexpress our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensibleand unjustifiable decision,”said UEFA, where Infantino was its CEO-like general secretary from 2009 until being elected to lead FIFAinFebruary 2016. Infantino’spredecessor Sepp Blatter, who was forcedfrom office in 2015 in fallout from corruption scandals, posted Monday on social media: “Red cards are notoverturned by political phone calls. They are overturned by rules, evidence and independent bodies.”
Balogun was sent off directly for planting his cleated foot on the ankleofBosnian defender Tarik Muharemovicduring a2-0 win for
theU.S. in theround of 32.
That kind of challenge has been a routine red card all season in competitions worldwide, and Balogun could have expected atwo-game ban for serious foul play under the FIFAdisciplinary code.
Still, similar challengesbystar players have gone unpunishedat this World Cup —byArgentina’s Lionel Messi against Algeria and Morocco’sAchraf Hakimivs. Brazil. Bernardo Silva of Portugal got just ayellow card against Congo.
“I think ayellowcardwould have been fair,” Balogun later suggested.
ThisWorldCup hasbeen remarkable for FIFAunderInfantinoseeming to rewritethe norms of disciplinary action even before thetournament began.
Apattern of pardons opened FIFAtosuggestions of executive intervention in thestatutory independenceofits judicial bodies, including the disciplinary committee that formally reprieved Balogun.
Cristiano Ronaldo was cleared to play in Portugal’sopening WorldCup game despitegetting ared card forserious foul playin aqualifyinggame against Ireland last November.Hestruck an opponent withanelbow Ronaldo served his mandatory ban in Portugal’sfinal qualifying game but he was reprieved from an expected two-gameban becauseFIFAintroducedthe idea of probation.
An imposed three-game ban was less meaningful as two games were deferred during aone-year probationary period.
At the opening game on June 11, SouthAfrica’sThemba Zwane got ared cardagainst Mexico for asimilar offense to Ronaldo’sand FIFAimposed athree-game ban with no probation. Zwane didnot play again at the World Cup.
Jaron Pierre, the New Orleans native andSt. Augustine High School alum, is the only player in the Pelicans’ 2026 draftclass. He was drafted late in the second round with the 58th overall pick.
All eyes will be on him.At Pierre’sintroductory newsconference last week, he described playing with his hometown team as surreal.
“It’s not surreal anymore,” he said Monday.“I’mreally living it.”
Home again2
Pierre isn’tthe only player from New Orleans on the Summer League roster.Solomon Washington, whoplayed at Carver and was Louisiana’sMr. Basketballin2022, is getting his shot to play forthe Pelicans. The 6-foot-7 forward played his first three seasons at Texas A&M before finishing up this past season at Maryland.
“I wanttoshow that Ibelong here andthat Ican compete with anybody on any given night and probablybethe best player on thefloor forwhat Ido,” Wash-
LSU
Continued from page1C
It’sa place where three coaches —Nick Saban, Les Miles and Ed Orgeron —have wonnational titles this century.It’sa place where BrianKelly wasaxed, with $54 million left on his contract, because 34-14 with no playoffappearances wasn’tgood enough. To put it lightly,Kiffin must win. To put it not so lightly,LSU fans are “nuts,” according to Hall of Famecoach Urban Meyer,who proclaimed ahead of the Fourth of July weekendthat Kiffinhas to win anational titlein2026 —orat least come close —tostayinthe fans’ good graces.
“He’sgotta be within aswing of it,”saidMeyer,who won anational title in his second season at Florida and his third at Ohio State. “That’sone place, Irememberwhen Iretired, Isaid ‘Good, I’mnever going thereagain’— because (LSU)fans are nuts.”
It’squestionable whether Meyer’stake is fair,but talkofKiffin’s title timeline was fair gameas soon as he jumped from Ole Miss ahead of aplayoff run because he considered Baton Rouge more fertile soil to build acontender
Kiffinhas promised the Tigers will win atitle during his tenure, thoughhedidn’toffer aspecific timeline. But the question is certainly beingasked locallyand nationally How long should it take?
There is aperception that titles canbewon more quicklythese days because of transfers and athlete pay.Curt Cignetti just led oneofthe leastsuccessfulprogramsincollege football history, Indiana, to the mountaintop. But many of Cignetti’s stars followed him from JamesMadison, aCinderella script that can’t be repeated.Itwasn’tuntil the coach’ssecond year,with aHeisman Trophy-winning quarterback, Fernando Mendoza, that the Hoosiers won it all. The 2025 CFPincludedfive
Most intriguing players
There are plenty to choose from. The high-flying Christian Shumate, whoplayed at McNeese State, returns to the Summer League team forasecond straight year
There’salso KobeBufkin, whowas drafted by the Atlanta Hawks with the No. 15 overall pick in the 2023 draft. That wasone pick after the Pelicans drafted Jordan Hawkins. Ican’tleave off Markquis Nowell, a5-foot-7 guard whoset an NCAA Tournament record with 19 assists in Kansas State’s overtime winover Michigan State in 2023. And there’sDominique Daniels, whoplayed at California Baptist. Danielsaveraged 23.2 points,includinga 47-point game against Utah Valley.Hemade 18 of 21 free throws in that game. He is one of 10 players on the Summer League roster with no NBAexperience. He andthe othernine are hoping to change that with a strong showing in Vegas. Email RodWalkeratrwalker@ theadvocate.com.
coaches in their secondseasons, including Texas A&M’sMike Elko,Alabama’sKalen DeBoer Tulane’s Jon Sumrall and James Madison’s BobChesney.The only first-year coach was Pete Golding, who took over for Kiffinin the postseason. Title contenders typically take time to build. In two 12-team playoffs, the averagetenure of coachesinthe tourney was4.8 years.The average wasseven years forcoaches in the final trio of four-team playoffs,right after NIL started in 2021. Coaches can build toward the playoffquickly, butnational titles in Year 1are rare, and they have not translated to long-term happiness. The only coaches other than Oosterbaan to win titles in their first seasons were Miami’sDennisErickson and Larry Coker. Erickson, whowon it all in 1989 and did it again in 1991, jumped to the NFLand bounced between levels, with fading success, for two decades. Coker,achampion in 2001, wasout of ajob within fiveyears. At LSU,there’sapace in which football coaches win titles. Saban arrivedin2000 andclaimedhis in 2003. Milestook charge of the Tigers in 2005 and won it all in 2007. Orgeron succeeded Miles in 2016 and took home the trophy in 2019. It usually takesa fewyears. Even in this era, whererosters can turn over in the portal, those new pieces have to mesh. Sometimes, they need to mature. Indiana starters in 2025 averaged 4.3 years in college ball, including11players whowere either fifth- or sixth-year seniors. LSU’s projected 22 is abit younger,averaging 3.5 years.
“We’re going to have the teams and rosters back to the waythey were playing when(LSU was) great. Idon’tknow how fast, that might not be today,” Kiffinsaid in June, “but it’sgoing to happen.”
The pressure is on.
Email Jon Blauatjon.blau@ theadvocate.com.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ASHLEy LANDIS
Spain’sPedro Porro, left, and Portugal’sCristianoRonaldoreact after Spain defeated Portugal in aWorld Cup round of 16 match on Monday in Arlington, Texas.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MARTIN MEISSNER
United States players Folarin Balogun,left, and Christian Pulisic stand by after Balogun received ared card during amatch against Bosnia on WednesdayinSanta Clara, Calif.
(TBD), 6:10 p.m. Philadelphia (Wheeler 8-1) at Cincinnati (Abbott 5-4), 6:10 p.m. Milwaukee (TBD) at St. Louis (TBD), 6:45 p.m. 2nd game Arizona (Gallen 3-8) at San Diego (TBD), 8:40 p.m. Toronto (TBD) at San Francisco (McDonald 3-6), 8:45 p.m.
Colorado (Lorenzen 3-9) at L.A. Dodgers (Wrobleski 10-2), 9:10 p.m.
Soccer
Men’s World Cup Glance ROUND OF 16
Saturday, July 4 Canada 0, Morocco 3 Paraguay 0, France 1 Sunday, July 5 Brazil 1, Norway 2 Mexico 2, England 3 Monday, July 6 Spain 1, Portugal 0 United States vs. Belgium, n
Tuesday, July 7 Argentina vs. Egypt, 11 a.m
Switzerland vs. Colombia, 3 p.m.
QUARTERFINAL Thursday, July 9
France vs. Morocco, 3 p.m.
Friday, July 10 W93 vs. W94, 2 p.m.
Saturday, July 11 Norway vs. England, 4 p.m. W95 vs. W96, 8 p.m.
Tennis
Wimbledon Results
Monday At All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club London Purse: £30,060,000 Surface: Grass Results Monday from the Championships at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
(seedings in parentheses): Men’s Singles Fourth Round Flavio Cobolli (9), Italy, def. Alex de Minaur (5), Australia, 7-5, 7-6 (4), 6-3. Taylor Fritz (6), United States, def. Alexander Bublik (10), Kazakhstan, 7-6 (1), 6-4, 6-4. Arthur Fery, Britain, def. Grigor Dimitrov, Bulgaria, 7-5, 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7)
Women’s Singles Fourth Round Marta Kostyuk (12), Ukraine, def. Ashlyn Krueger, United States, 6-4, 6-4. Elise Mertens (25), Belgium, def. Marie Bouzkova (21), Czechia, 6-4, 6-4. Jasmine Paolini (13), Italy, def. Alexandra Eala (29), Philippines, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. Linda Noskova (9), Czechia, def. Madison Keys (26), United States, 6-4, 7-6 (2)
Men’s Doubles
Third Round
Mate Pavic, Croatia, and Marcelo Arevalo (6), El Salvador, def. Jean-Julien Rojer, Netherlands, and Theodore Winegar, United States, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-3. Thanasi Kokkinakis, Australia, and Aleksandar Kovacevic, United States, def. Christian Harrison, United States, and Neal Skupski (5), Britain, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5) Lloyd Glasspool and Julian Cash (3), Britain, def. Petr Nouza, Czechia, and Neil Oberleitner, Austria, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5. Nikola Mektic, Croatia, and Austin Krajicek (14), United States, def. Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori (4), Italy, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-4. Women’s Doubles Third Round Shuko Aoyama, Japan, and En-Shuo Liang (13), Taiwan, def. Hsieh Su-wei, Taiwan, and Wang Xinyu, China, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2. Kristina Mladenovic, France, and Hanyu Guo (10), China, def. Irina Khromacheva, Russia, and Anastasia Detiuc, Czechia, 4-6, 7-6 (5) 6-3. Demi Schuurs, Netherlands, and Ellen Perez (9), Australia, def. Elena-Gabriela Ruse, Romania, and Marta Kostyuk, Ukraine, walkover. Xu Yifan and Xinyu Jiang, China, def. Vera Zvonareva, Russia, and Laura Siegemund (7), Germany, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.
Ingrid Neel, Estonia, and Giuliana Olmos, Mexico, def. Aleksandra Krunic, Serbia, and Anna Danilina (3), Kazakhstan, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.
Mixed Doubles Quarterfinals Storm Hunter and Marc Polmans, Australia, def. Guido Andreozzi, Argentina, and Aldila Sutjiadi, Indonesia, 7-6 (5), 7-5. Mate Pavic, Croatia, and Fanny Stollar, Hungary, def. Neal Skupski, Britain, and Desirae Krawczyk (6), United States, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5). Zhang Shuai, China, and Christian Harrison (3), United States, def. Joe Salisbury, Britain, and Leylah Fernandez, Canada, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-3.
Marcelo Arevalo, El Salvador, and Jelena Ostapenko (2), Latvia, def. Edouard RogerVasselin, France, and Laura Siegemund, Germany, 6-4, 7-6 (7).
Auto racing
NASCAR eero 400 Results Late Sunday At Chicagoland Speedway Joliet, Ill. Lap length: 1.50 miles (Start position in parentheses)
1. (7) Chase Briscoe, Toyota, 267 laps, 70 points.
2. (6) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 267, 40.
3. (1) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 267, 45.
4. (10) William Byron, Chevrolet, 267, 53.
5. (12) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 267, 35. 6. (8) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 267, 40. 7. (14) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 267, 36.
8. (5) Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 267, 38. 9. (28) Corey Heim, Toyota, 267, 0. 10. (18) Riley Herbst, Toyota, 267, 31. 11. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 267, 30.
12. (31) Joey Logano, Ford, 267, 25.
(23) Austin Cindric, Ford, 267, 33.
(26) Daniel Suárez, Chevrolet, 267, 23.
(22) Erik Jones, Toyota, 267, 22.
(29)
(27) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 266, 17.
(4) Brad Keselowski, Toyota, 266, 16.
(15) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 266, 15.
(17) John H. Nemechek, Toyota, 266, 15.
(33)
Custer, Chevrolet,
6. 32. (20) Ryan Preece, Ford, 266, 5. 33. (34) Josh Berry, Ford, 265, 4. 34. (2) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 265, 12. 35. (36) JJ Yeley, Chevrolet, 256, 0. 36. (13) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 237, 2. 37. (35) Austin Hill, Chevrolet, accident, 47, 0.
38. (21) Connor Zilisch, Chevrolet, accident, 0, 1 Race Statistics Average Speed of Race Winner: 126.937 mph. Time of Race: 3 hours, 9 minutes, 18 seconds. Margin of Victory: .276 seconds. Caution Flags: 7 for 43 laps. Lead Changes: 28 among 13 drivers Lap Leaders: D.Hamlin 0-6; K.Larson 7-18; D.Hamlin 19-34; C.Custer 35; D.Hamlin 36-37; K.Larson 38-48; W.Byron 49; A.Cindric 50-53; J.Logano 54; A.Cindric 55-68; W.Byron 69-85; C.Custer 86; W.Byron 87-90; B.Wallace 91124; C.Briscoe 125-128; D.Hamlin 129-132; R.Blaney 133-140; J.Yeley 141; W.Byron 142; C.Briscoe 143; W.Byron 144-169; J.Yeley 170; W.Byron 171-215; C.Bell 216; D.Hamlin 217218; B.Wallace 219; C.Heim 220; T.Gilliland 221; C.Briscoe 222-267 Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Led, Laps Led): W.Byron, 6 times for 94 laps; C.Briscoe, 3 times for 51 laps; B.Wallace, 2 times for 35 laps; D.Hamlin, 5 times for 30 laps; K.Larson, 2 times for 23 laps; A.Cindric, 2 times for 18 laps; R.Blaney, 1 time for 8 laps; C.Custer, 2 times for 2 laps; J.Yeley, 2 times for 2 laps; C.Bell, 1 time for 1 lap; C.Heim, 1 time for 1 lap; J.Logano, 1 time for 1 lap; T.Gilliland, 1 time for 1 lap. Wins: T.Reddick, 5; D.Hamlin, 4; C.Elliott, 2; S.Van Gisbergen, 2; R.Blaney, 1; T.Gibbs, 1; C.Briscoe, 1; C.Hocevar, 1; D.Suárez, 1. Top 16 in Points: 1. D.Hamlin,
BY CARLOS RODRIGUEZ
AP sportswriter
MEXICO CITY For nearly a month, millions of Mexicans allowed themselves to believe this World Cup would be historic. They dared bigger and brighter dreams as the national team racked up win after win in fortress Azteca. Then they woke up to a cruel reality on Monday morning: The World Cup was marching on without Mexico. The team lost to England 3-2 in a round of 16 thriller on Sunday night and officially disbanded in the morning.
Supporters reluctantly returned to their daily routines, their team no longer a contender and their country no longer a host in a tournament running for another two weeks across the United States.
“It’s painful because we dreamed and had high hopes, and crashing out like this hurts a lot,” Mexico coach Javier Aguirre said. “It wasn’t meant to be we couldn’t seal the deal and give the people another night of joy.” Mexico staged the opening ceremony and first match on June 11 for a 2–0 victory over South Africa. South Korea was beaten 1–0, the Czech Republic 3–0 and Ecuador 2–0 in the round of 32 for Mexico’s first knockout stage success in 40 years.
But Mexico stumbled in the round of 16 for the eighth time in the last nine World Cups. The sole exception was 2022 in Qatar, where El Tri failed to survive the group stage.
“Breaking through that barrier isn’t as easy as everyone thinks, but we’re on the right track,” midfielder Erik Lira said. “This time was different because we were playing as one of the best teams out there; we’re leaving with our
heads held high.” But unlike previous heartbreaks—late-gamecollapses against Germany in 1998 and the Netherlands in 2014, and the penalty shootout disaster against Bulgaria in 1994 — this exit was on home soil with every advantage.
Mexico was riding a wave of four consecutive cleansheet victories. Estadio Azteca was fiercely partisan. And Mexico City’s altitude was expected to hamper an unacclimatized England squad. Then a red card left England playing a man short for most of the second half. But Mexico couldn’t capitalize.
“Losing didn’t hurt so much just because it was England; it hurt because this time it really seemed possible to go further,” said Eduardo Juárez, a 63-year-old retiree still wearing his green jersey on Monday “We had a great team and high hopes but now it’s over.”
On Monday morning, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum used her daily news conference to offer words of comfort to the country.
“They played very, very well, and the moment Mexico is experiencing is one of great pride, hope and unity,” Sheinbaum said. “We need to keep our spirits up, acknowledge the effort and move forward.”
With Mexico’s run over, Aguirre’s contract has expired. According to the federation’s original roadmap, his assistant coach — Barcelona great Rafael Márquez — is slated to take the helm for the 2030 World Cup cycle. Márquez has a signed agreement in principle but his official appointment must still be ratified by the owners of the 18 Liga MX first division clubs This review will take place next month after Aguirre submits his final tournament report. “I had Rafa as a player and now as a colleague; he is more than qualified,” Aguirre noted. “He is a valuable asset, he’ll prove it and I hope he achieves better re-
LSU AGCENTERPHOTO
By RANDyLABAUVE
The LSU AgCenter Hammond Research Station is home to trial gardens wherenew plant introductions are evaluated on their performance in Louisiana’s challenging climate.
Trial run
Before plants make it into gardens, this LSUAgCenter stationputs them to thetest
Plant breeders and marketing companies are constantly coming up with new cultivars to satisfy consumer preferences,fill market gaps and respond to industry needs. How do they decide which ones are good enough to be sold at garden centers across the country and planted in your landscape?
Youmight be surprised to learn that, in many cases, the LSU AgCenter plays arole in this process.
In the heart of one of Louisiana’sclusters of nursery production, scientists at the AgCenterHammond Research Station put about 150 annual bedding plants to the test every year in expansive, sunsoaked gardens. They also trial perennials, woody shrubs and ornamental trees.
The researchers mostly study new introductions from companies seeking the AgCenter’sdata on how the plants performinLouisiana’schallenging climate.
“It’simportant for consumers to know what will work best in their environment,” said Caroline Blanchard, trials coordinator at the station.“We trial these plants so that consumers in Louisiana will know what works best in these hot and humid conditions.”
If aplant withers in the heat, doesn’tbloom as expected, struggles during dry spells or proves susceptible to pest problems, that information is noted. Of course, faculty and staff keep track of plantsthat shine, too. After all, if aplant can survive the Louisianasummer in fullsun, there’sa good chance it can handle justabout anything.
Other universities and private entities operate gardens that evaluate the performance of plants and provide data tohelp companies determine whether they’re worth puttingthemon the market. But the Hammond trials gardens are unique.
“This is different from other trialing companies who will trial in raised beds and really add alot of inputs to their plants such as fertilizer andirrigation,” Blanchard said.“Our plants really take all of it.They take the heat, the sunlight, the water and all of that.”
At Hammond, plants are trialed in the ground in pine straw-mulched beds much like whatyou’d seeoutside someone’shome. That’sonpurpose. The gardens re-create the conditions where the flowers, shrubs and other specimens are most likely to be used
ä See TRIAL, page 6C
Microdrama filming starts in BatonRouge and producer Tommy Harper talkshis
newadventure
KaseyEsser, center in dark suit, is readied to film ascene for‘Because of Her’ in the Baton Rougehome of Elona and Kyle Sharbaugh on Wednesday.
BY JUDYBERGERON
Staff writer
While producer TommyHarper focuses on production for Season 3ofNetflix’ssupernatural, coming-of-age tale “Wednesday” in Ireland and France, his producing partner,Roberta Sparta, arrived in Louisiana last weektooversee another of Hollywood heavyweight Harper’sprojects,the microdrama“BecauseofHer.”
Early last week, lead actor KaseyEssershared videoonsocial media as he prepared to film scenesatthe home of Elona and Kyle Sharbaughoff Highland Road. On Thursday,cast and crew re-assembled at the Shaw Center for theArtsdowntown for more filming.
It’shumid; it’s humid. And I grew up in St.Louis, so Iknow what that feels like, but after being in LA for over adecade you
sort of losethe fortitude on that one,” Esser,37, said on Facebook shortly after arriving in town. For those unfamiliar, microdramas, sometimes calledvertical dramas or vertical series, are short-form shows designed to be watched on aphone held upright. Episodestypically run60to90 seconds, with full seasons binged in about two to three hours.
Think soap operas with a21stcentury delivery
Subscribers download platform apps, including Harper’s newglobal VeYou, andreceive afew free episodes before being charged afee to view more.Averagecosts can range from $10 to $20 aweek.
BatonRouge company IrrevocableDesignee LLChas athreeyear deal with Harper’sTiny Verticalsproductionarm to shoot
ä See MICRODRAMA, page 6C
BY MADDIE SCOTT Staff writer
PROVIDED PHOTOBy PATRICK MULHEARN
Bickeringover leftover birthday cake
Dear Miss Manners: Iknow this will probably sound trivial,but:Who should decide who gets the leftover birthday cake?
See? Itold you it was trivial.
Imade abirthday cake for my nephew.WhileI was icing it, Imentioned to his mom (my sister-in-law) that we could share the leftovers. She replied that it was his cake, so he got all of it.Idropped the subject at the time, as it wasn’t worth fighting over. That night, we sang “Happy Birthday”and sliced into the cake. Thenmysister-in-law said, “Just think, Jasper: That’sall yours.”
This timeIwas not silent. In my sweetest voice, Isaid, “But you’ll share some withme.”
Judith Martin MISS MANNERS
Then my sister-in-law started talking about how it wasn’tgoodmanners, that the cake belonged to the birthday boy and that even thoughImade it, it wasn’t mine. So, is the cake part of his birthday present?Oristhe hostess or the baker the onewho decides how the food should be distributed?
Gentle reader: Apparently you do consider this worthfighting over And amost unseemly battle it is, on both sides. MissManners’ only sympathies are with
thechild, whose birthday was hijacked by two grown-ups haggling over his leftover cake. She is forced to rule that the cake was, in effect, presented to thenephew,asthe dessert to be shared with everyone at the table. So, no —the baker should not makeoff with what is left.
Yearslater,your nephew’swife will wonder why he begs her not to present him withabirthday cake, which would stir memories of his mother and aunt quarreling.
Dear Miss Manners: Iamonavery limited income. Astamp is nearly adollar,and that dollar can buy me acan of generic soup. Iget free internet access, so email messages are how Iwrite.
At the Hammond ResearchStation trialgardens, plants areinstalled in beds, providing important information on howtheyperformintypical landscapesettings.
TRIAL
Continued from page5C
while giving scientists and visitors asense of how the plants might fit into atypical landscape. Founded in 1922, the 140-acre station originally focused on work that sup-
MICRODRAMA
Continued from page5C
as many as 72 such series in Louisiana over the next three years, so “Becauseof Her” is just the beginning.
“It’saromantic comedy Kasey Esser is abig actor in the space,” Harper saidin late May Something to watch for besides Esser,who’sreferred to as “theBrad Pitt of microdramas,” is brand integration, according to Harper.New Orleans clothier Haspel has signed on for “Because of Her,” so expect to see Esser and other chiseled-featured actors entering the screen in Haspel’s signature seersucker suits.
“It’skind of ano-brainer for abrand andfor us to work together,because you can integrate the brand into the story avery natural way, and then you can also use the brand to help promote the series,” Harper said.
Harper,one of the creative minds behind many blockbuster films including “Top Gun: Maverick,” “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” “Star Trek Beyond” and “Star Wars: Episode VII —The Force Awakens,” is familiarwithshootinginLouisiana, having worked as unit production manager on the “Battle Los Angeles” shoot in Baton Rouge “I had agood experience. It was all positive for me.” Harpersaid of the 2011 project starring Aaron Eckhart.“Dealing with thecity and the governmentwas great. Everybody was very accommodating. The crew
BLUE STORE
Continued from page5C
locations that varyslightly in name and menu across Baton Rouge. Each of the businesses is owned by adifferent member of thePhanfamily.Mua Phan, who died in 2012, started the local fried chicken dynasty after taking overTriplet’sFood Mart near Southern University in 2000. He set himself apart from other convenience stores when he started selling chicken wingsin2003.As
ported thetruckfarming industry, which was popular in the Florida Parishes region at the time. The facility retooled in the mid2000s to support thegreen industryasitgrewintoa majoreconomic driver of the area. In addition to the trial gardens,the station also houses researchaimed at
improving various facets of nursery production. The station is located at 21549 Old Covington Highway about 6miles east of Hammond. The trial gardens are open for selfguided tours from 7:30 a.m to 4p.m. Monday-Friday For moreinformation, visit lsuagcenter com/hammondorcall (985) 543-4125.
ExecutiveproducerTommy Harper,second from left, at work on the set of ‘Top Gun: Maverick’
was great. The facilities were amazing. …I’m sure it’ll be the same when Iget backout there.”
Locals were used in multiple facets of the“Battle Los Angeles” production, and eventually 95% of talent signedontoHarper’smicrodrama projectswill be local as well, heexplained. Harper will be in the city periodically to oversee Tiny Verticals’ productions firsthand, although probably notfor “Because of Her,” he said.
Microseries shootsare quick, to say the least,lasting justseven tonine days Three to fourmonths later, the series is up and on the platform. Look for “Because of Her” on VeYouinlateAugustorearly September said Harper
“They (Tiny Verticals’ series) will be on other viewingplatformseventually,but all of our originals will go to VeYouexclusively for at least thefirstfour weeks,” he said. Harper also offered insights into what’scharting
within the soaring trend of microseries, which first became popular in China:
n Thirty- to 60-year-old women arethe biggest consumers of vertical entertainment, and VeYou’score demo.
n There are also titlessuited for theGen Zdemographic, light thrillersand action, while high school romcom dramas andsimilar genres are still in the mix.
n For the male audience, thrillers, action pieces and somesportsare available.
With the accelerated production window for microseries, taking advantage of location shoots in Louisiana will be agiven.
“For this one(‘Because of Her’), Idon’teven tell you where this series is located,but I’m just going to lean into the look and feel of Louisiana because it’s so picturesque,” he said. “Why wouldn’tIdothat?”
Email Judy Bergeron at jbergeron@theadvocate. com.
patriarch of the Blue Store Chickenfranchise, Phan’s dream was for each of his 10 children to own and operate aBlue Store Chicken.
Hisdaughter,Hue Tran, who nowhandlesthe legal andfinancialoperations for all BlueStorelocations, confirmedthatthe familyowns thebuilding they plan to vacate.
“Legends will never be forgotten,” the post’scaptionsaid. “Legends will neverdie.Thank youall for thejourney.We’re not going anywhere. But maybe only alittlefurther down the street
Should Igive up ameal to send someoneathank-you note in the mail? Aretheir delicate sensibilities moreimportant than me eating?
Gentlereader: Congratulations on your attempt to makeitseem heartless to express gratitude to others. No doubt you picture Miss Manners harassing the unhoused for not giving dinner parties. Butyes, the delicate sensibilities of people whohave been generous to you are important. You should be thanking them as best you can. Arethose emails more than perfunctory notes? Are they specific andconvincingly grateful?
Miss Manners worries about
that. The example of how you approached her,towhom you owe nothing but common civility,is not reassuring. Dear Miss Manners: Is it proper to have ahousewarming party fora man and womanwho are building ahouse together,but aren’tmarried?
Gentle reader: Only if their building permit is legal.
Send questions to Miss Manners at herwebsite,www missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City,MO 64106.
Ending toothpaste tube drama
Dear Heloise: The letter from Jan M. purports to end all the toothpaste drama. However, there’sone more thingthat nobody has mentioned.Because of my curiosity,Icut open the tube after thinking I’d effectively removed all thetoothpastewithin —only to discover that no matter how one chooses toempty thetube, it still has lotsof toothpasteremaining. Icut theend of the tube, then cut along the creases of each side, and found that not only is there still toothpastealong the length
By The Associated Press
of the tube, there is a significant amount at the end where the toothpaste exits the tube. It is impossible to fully squeeze this out, so several applications of toothpaste sit there unused. So, if one really wants to fully use up atube of toothpaste, it must be cut open to access the remaining amount, whichwill then be good for several brushings. And this is what should end the toothpaste drama! —Rick B.,inPortland, Oregon Cotton swab trick
Dear Heloise: Iuse aviscous
TODAYINHISTORY
Today is Tuesday, July 7, the 188th day of 2026. There are 177 days left in the year
TodayinHistory: On July 7, 1981, President Ronald Reagan announced he was nominating Arizona Judge Sandra Day O’Connor to become thefirst female justice on theU.S. SupremeCourt.
Also on this date:
In 1865, four people were hanged in Washington,D.C., for conspiring with John Wilkes Booth to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln:Lewis Powell, David Herold, George Atzerodt and Mary Surratt, thefirst woman to be executed by thefederal government
In 1898, President William McKinley signed the Newlands Resolution, approving theannexation of theRepublic of Hawaii.
In 1930, construction began on Boulder Dam (known today as Hoover Dam).
In 1976, theUnited States Military Academy at West Pointincluded female cadets for the first time as 119 women joined the Class of 1980.
In 1990, thefirst “Three Tenors” concert took place as opera starsLuciano Pavarotti, PlacidoDo-
mingo and Jose Carreras performed amid the brick ruins of Rome’sBaths of Caracalla on the eve of the FIFA World Cup final.
In 2005, terrorist bombings in three Underground stations and adouble-decker bus killed 52 people and four bombers in the worst attack on London since World WarII.
In 2010, Los Angeles police arrested and charged Lonnie Franklin Jr.inthe city’s“Grim Sleeper” serial killings. (Franklin, who wassentenced to death for the killings of nine women and ateenage girl, died in prison in March 2020 at the age of 67.)
In 2013, Andy Murray becamethe first British man in 77 years to winthe Wimbledon title, beating Novak Djokovic in the final.
In 2016, Micah Johnson, aBlack Armyveteran who served in Afghanistan, opened fire on Dallas police, killing five officers in an act of vengeance for the fatal police shootings of Black men;the attack ended with Johnson being killed by abomb delivered by apolice robot.
In 2021, asquad of gunmen assassinated Haitian President Jovenel Moïse and wounded his wife in an overnight raid on their home.
When I’mdone, Ireinsert the
Sendahinttoheloise@ heloise.com.
In 2022, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his resignation after top government officials quit over the latest scandal to engulf him,this one involving his appointmentofa politician who had been accused of sexual misconduct. Today’sbirthdays: Musicianconductor DocSeverinsen is 99. Former Beatle Ringo Starr is 86. World Golf Hall of Famer Tony Jacklin is 82. Actor Joe Spano is 80. Actor Roz Ryan is 75. Actor Billy Campbell is 67. Basketball Hall of Famer Ralph Sampson is 66. Singer-songwriter Vonda Shepard is 63. Actor-comedian Jim Gaffigan is 60. Actor AmyCarlson is 58. Actor Jorja Fox is 58. Actor Robin Weigert is 57. Basketball Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie is 54. Actor Kirsten Vangsness (“Criminal Minds”) is 54. Actor Berenice Bejo (Film: “The Artist”) is 50. Actor Hamish Linklater is 50. Olympic figure skating medalist Michelle Kwan is 46. Guitarist Synyster Gates (Avenged Sevenfold) is 45. Pop singer Ally Brooke (Fifth Harmony) (TV:“The XFactor”) is 33. Pop musician Ashton Irwin (5 Seconds to Summer)is 32. Country singer Maddie Font (Maddie and Tae) is 31.
Hints from Heloise
PHOTO By RANDyLABAUVE
cAncER (June 21-July 22) Whether you are dealing with money, joint ventures or health issues, knowing what's possible and what isn't before you make decisions will help you dodge letting someone take advantage of you.
LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Keep discussions going. You have more opportunities than you realize, and engaging in activities that can help you visualize the outcome and turn it into something realistic is encouraged.
VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) A positive attitude will help you acquire information that's geared toward better health, finances and negotiations. Dissect what you hear, and rework the information to suit your schedule and needs.
LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Refrain from offering personal information. Someone will use what you say against you. Concentrate more on what you can do to improve your life, prospects and financial situation.
scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Set a budget, draw the line and be realistic about what you want and what you need. Refuse to let anyone pressure you into something that isn't necessary. Do your research.
sAGIttARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Spendmore time nurturing meaningful relationships and fixing up your space to offer a convenient and comfortable place to excel. Don't hesitate to do things differently if it enriches your life.
cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Do a double take if someone surprises or pressures
you to do something that makes you uncomfortable. Being upfront will lead to the least amount of tension.
AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Changes at home that add to your comfort and convenience will also bring you peace of mind and help you open doors that have been off limits. Don't let love cost you.
PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Simplify your life and question anything that sounds too good to be true Put more thought into what you enjoy doing and how you can implement what brings you pleasure into your everyday routine.
ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Look for ways to expand, and explore new outlets for your skills. Staying updated and accepting new means and methods for your talents will keep you in the running when faced with competitive situations.
tAuRus (April 20-May 20) Get your facts straight, and stick to the bare minimum. Too much of anything will cost you mentally, physically or financially. Take an innovative approach to decluttering.
GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Explore, live, learn and discover what excites you most. A change of scenery will spark your imagination and encourage you to explore new possibilities, but don't take a chance that can cost you.
The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact. © 2026 by NEA, Inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication
FAMILY CIrCUS
CeLebrItY
Sudoku
InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1to9inthe empty squares so that each row,each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.
Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer
THewiZard oF id
BLondie
BaBY BLueS
Hi and LoiS
CurTiS
Bridge
By PHILLIP ALDER
MargeryAllingham, commenting on hercrimesolverAlbertCampion,wrote, “He did not arrive at this conclusion by the decent process of quiet, logical deduction,nor yet by theblinding flash of glorious intuition, but by the shoddy, untidy process halfway between the two by which oneusually gets to know things.”
It is, of course, better to draw conclusionsfromlogicaldeduction.Inthisdeal, South is in four hearts. West leads the spade nine. Howshould East deduce the correct defense? North made agame-invitational limit raise,showingfourormorehearts,10-12 supportpoints(here,allhigh-cardpoints no short-suitpoints) and eight losers (here, two in each suit).
Eastknows that West has ledasingleton or high from adoubleton —but which?
Eastshouldaskhimself,“Ifmypartner has asingleton, how many spades does that give declarer?”Here, theanswer is five. AndwouldSouth have opened one heart with fivespades in his hand? It would have been most unlikely, because with 5-5 in the majors, South wouldhave opened one spade, not one heart. So East should deduce that hispartner has led from adoubleton and shouldsignalencouragementwithhisspadeseven. South wins, cashes the heart ace, and plays another heart. ButWest winswith hisking,leadshissecondspade,receives aspade ruff and cashes the diamond ace for downone. Note finally that declarer does bestto callfordummy’sspadekingattrickone, making it morelikely that East will have areflex reaction and win withhis ace.
©2026 by NEA,Inc., dist.
By Andrews McMeel Syndication
Each Wuzzle is awordriddlewhich creates adisguised word, phrase, name, place, saying, etc. For example: NOON GOOD =GOOD AFTERNOON
Previous answers:
word game
InstRuctIons: 1. Words must be of fourormore letters. 2. Words that acquire fourletters by the addition of “s,”such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed.3 Additional words made by adding a“d” or an “s” may not be used. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit wordsare not allowed
toDAy’s WoRD sAMEnEss: SAME-ness: Monotony; uniformity.
Average mark 16 words
Timelimit 20 minutes
Can you find 21 or morewords in SAMENESS?
yEstERDAy’s WoRD —GInGIVAL
today’s thought “And in the morning, rising up agreat while before day, he went out, and departed into asolitaryplace, and there prayed.” Mark 1:35
wuzzles
loCKhorNs
marmaduKe
Bizarro
hagar the horriBle
Pearls Before swiNe
garfield
B.C.
PiCKles hidato
mallard
BRIEFS
FROM WIRE REPORTS
Microsoft cuts 4,800 jobs, many at Xbox REDMOND,Wash. Microsoft is cutting 4,800 jobs, about 2.1% of itsglobalworkforce, including alargenumber of workers at its Xbox video game business.
The layoffs included 1,600 Xbox workers, with more to come this year in abroader reorganization designed to “reset”Xbox as it faces heightened competition, the company said Monday
“Our business today is not healthy,” said amemo from XboxCEO Asha Sharma, who took over the gaming division earlier this year.“We are operating at margins that are 3-10x lower than comparable platform and publishing businesses.”
Sharma said the industry, in which Xbox competeswith Sony’sPlayStation and Nintendo’sSwitch,isfacing asevere “hardware crisis” as costs soar for console components.
Beyond the layoffs announced Monday,Sharma said Xbox expectsanother1,600 jobcuts over the course of the fiscal year that began last week. The company is also spinning off four video game development studios previously acquired by Microsoft.
Nearlythree yearsago, Microsoft closeda$69 billion deal to acquire gaming giant ActivisionBlizzard, maker of “Call of Duty” and other blockbuster franchises. Thecompany said at the time it wanted to broaden its game development portfolio and offer aNetflix-like streaming subscription service, but the strategydoesn’tappear to have been enough to get ahead of the competition.
“Whilethose businesses have created meaningfulvalue, they didnot grow at the pace we expected,” Sharma said.
The Xbox cuts are in addition to broader Microsoft layoffs that the softwaregiant’sChief PeopleOfficer AmyColeman tied to unspecified changesin customer needs.
Skyagreestobuy
British broadcaster
LONDON Sky,the U.K.-based TV,internet and mobile phone provider owned by Comcast, has agreed to buyITV’smedia and entertainment arm forupto $2.1 billionafter months of talks to create amajor competitor to the global streaming giants.
The deal includes the terrestrial TV channels and streaming serviceofITV,Britain’s largest commercial broadcaster.ITV’sproduction arm, ITV Studios,known for shows such as the “I’m ACelebrity” series, will remain an independent company
The transaction will create aUK champion with thescale andresources to better compete with global streamingplatforms,” ITV Chairman Andrew Cosslett said in astatement.
The combined Sky-ITV entity will become part of NBCUniversalfollowing the completion of its split from Comcast, ITV said Pipeline proposed to carry Canada oil TORONTO— Alberta and Ontario proposed apipeline Monday to carrywestern Canadian oil east andeventuallytoAtlantic exportterminalsasCanada seeks new markets beyond the UnitedStates, reviving aproject that was abandoned nearly adecade ago.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said the proposed 2,050mile pipeline would run from Hardisty,Alberta, to Sarnia, Ontario, carrying up to 500,000 barrels of oil aday withpotential forupto800,000 barrels. She said thecorridor eventually could extend to Canada’s Atlantic coast, opening the door to oil exports to Europe.
The United States is by far the largest buyer of Canada’s crude oil, while Alberta holds one of the world’slargestproven oil reserves. Ontario Premier Doug Ford said thepipeline would be a sound investment regardless of whether it is publicly or privately financed. Afeasibility study is planned.
RINGING THEBELLS
BY JOSH BOAK Associated Press
WASHINGTON PresidentDonald Trump onMondayrangthe openingbells forthe NewYork StockExchange and the Nasdaqfrom the golden confines of theOvalOffice, asymbolic actthat reflectshow he has increasingly tied his presidency to the stock market
With high inflation hurting Trump’spopularity,the Republican president has tried to get more Americans to focus on their 401(k) investments, claiming thathis policies should get the credit for anygains, particularlyasthe November midterm elections draw closer
“It’s going to go up —I thinkthe market’sgoing to go through theroof,”saidTrump afterformally launching the start of trading. Only 33%ofU.S. adults approve of Trump’seconomic leadership, according to a June survey by TheAssociated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Still, the act of ringing the opening bell suggests why the president’semphasisonthe stock market might not help his partymuch with voters this fall.
The Oval Office eventwas promotingthe launchofTrump Accounts, which were created as avehiclefor children to have investmentsinstockindexes aspartofRepublicans’ big 2025 tax and spending cuts bill. In championing theaccounts, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has emphasized that manyAmericanshaveno direct exposure to stocks. This means that millions of people are not benefiting from
Staff report
ChaseHeatherly,a veteran mediaexecutive,has joined the parent company of The Times-Picayune and The Advocate as itschief revenue officer Theformerchief revenue officer of The Post&Courier parent Evening Post Publishing in South Carolina, Heatherly,34, joinedGeorges Media at the end of June. He will be responsible for leading the sales teamsacross all of the Louisianabased media company’sbrands, accordingto an internal company
investmentsthatlargely accrue to more affluent householdsorthatthe benefits they’re receiving are forretirementsdecades away Bessent declaredbefore the bell ringing that “38% of American families do not have any exposuretoour great equity markets.”
The S&P 500 stock index postedgains of 17.9% in 2025, but that came after annual returns of 25% in 2024 and26.3% in 2023, during thepresidency of Democrat Joe Biden. The benchmark stock index has risen roughly10% so far this year But just as inflation crushed public supportfor Biden, Trumphas also seen his approval fall prey to acycle of rising prices. Trumpwon the 2024 election by promising to bring down costs, but his tariffs and thestart of thewar in Iran created newinflationary pressures. Theconsumerprice index hasclimbed4.2% over thepast 12 months, up from 3% when Trump started his secondterm
in January 2025.
Trump, however, is betting that thestock investments that are being seeded by the government andbysome prominent companies and billionaires will givefuturegenerations adeeper stake in the U.S. economy.The accounts already have gotten aboostfrom billionaires beyond the $1,000 from the government.
Michael Dell, the founder of Dell Technologies, and his wife, Susan, appeared by Trump on Mondayasthey have pledged $6.25billion for the accounts,while there have been separate pledges by billionaires including investor RayDalio andSpaceXPresident GwynneShotwell,who said Mondaythat she would donate stock in the Elon Muskled company to the accounts.
Trump jokingly acknowledged thatchildren had missed the stock market gains that have occurred so farbecause of the delay in launching the Trump Accounts. “Weshould have acted faster,” Trumpsaid.
AI stocks rebound to lift U.S. market
BY STAN CHOE AP business writer
NEW YORK Arebound forartificial intelligence stocks lifted the U.S. market on Monday. The S&P500 rose 0.7% andpulled back within 1% of its all-timehigh, even though themajority of stockswithin the indexfell. The strength for companies in the artificial-intelligencetechnology industry sent the Nasdaq composite 1.1% higher,and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 155 points, or 0.3%, to a record.
AI stocks have swung sharply in recent weeks on worriesthattheir prices shot toohigh. Doubtsare rising aboutwhether allthe dollarsflowingintoAIchips and data centers can possibly createenough gains in productivity and profits to make back allthe investments.
Broadcom was one of the strongest forces lifting the S&P 500 androse3.7% after announcing long-term agreements to provide silicon products to Apple. It was coming off twostraight losses of more than2%onWednesday andThursday at the end of last week, before Friday’sholidayinadvance of the Fourth of July The globalappetite forAIfrominvestors will face an additional test later this week when SK Hynix, theSouth Korean maker of computer memory,plans to raise $28 billionbysellingshares of stock that will trade in the United States on the Nasdaq. That would makeitone of the biggest U.S. offerings ever,behind SpaceX’sIPO from last month, whichraised$75 billion. SK Hynix’sstock in Seoul has already morethan tripled so farthis year because of the AI boom,but its day-to-day swings have included sharp losses in recent weeks. It fell 14.6%onThursday alone, for example.
SpaceX, which owns the xAI business, hasseen its stock likewise swing following its ballyhooedinitial public offering. It erased an early gain to fall 1% in the last day of trading before it’s scheduled to join the Nasdaq 100 index of the largest non-financial stocks on the Nasdaq. That inclusion will force funds like the QQQ exchange-traded fund, which mimic the index, to buy SpaceX themselves. In theoil market,prices drifted after OPEC+ announced Sunday that seven of itsmembersplantoexpand oilproduction by acombined total of 188,000 barrels per day in August. It wasthe fifth straight month that OPEC+ members have agreed to raise output, moves that tend to weigh on oil prices. Theprice of abarrel of Brent crude, theinternational standard, fell 0.2% to $71.99. That’sclose to where it was before the United States andIsraelattacked Iran in late February and sent prices spiking.
In the bond market, Treasury yields eased abit.The yieldonthe 10-year Treasury fell to 4.47% from 4.49% late Thursday.
Areport showed that growth last month forU.S.recreation,financeand otherservices businesses was roughly in line with economists’ expectations. The survey by the Institute for Supply Management said thatsome businesses said theywere seeing lowerprices for gasoline anddiesel, easing inflationary pressures. In stock markets abroad, indexes fell modestly acrossmuchofEurope and Asia. Hong Kong’sHangSeng was an outlierand rose 1.1%.
announcement.
“Chase’sexperiencescalingrevenue organizations, growing digital businesses, andleading through transformation makes him an outstanding fit for whereweare headed as acompany,” said Publisher Kevin Hall. “This is an important stepforward for GeorgesMedia as we continue to invest in leadership thatsupports our long-term growthand positions us for continuedsuccess.”
Columbus, amarketingagency in the state.
ASouth Carolinanative,Heatherly led salesatEvening Post afterstints at Gannett, McClatchy and other media organizations, including as president of King&
Heatherlyjoins Georges Media as the locally owned media company is expanding across Louisiana andinto adjacent markets, including along the Gulf Coast. Local newsoutlets across the country are facing big new challenges in the accelerating digital era, though somecompanies with strong local brands and independent ownership are managing to weather the changes.
In recent years, Georges Media has acquired local Louisiana brands with strong followings, including Arthur Hardy’sMardi
Gras Guide, and has expanded coverage into new markets, such as Shreveport-Bossierand Lake Charles.
In addition to its growth digitally and its acquisitions, the company hasalso launched newprint offerings,including an expandedbusiness section and coverage focused on health.
Heatherly said he’sready to take on the challenge of growing those businesses.
“I have seen firsthand the leadership and innovation that Georges Media brings to ourindustry and the commitment its staff hasto serving readers and the community at large,” he said. “I am excited to dive in and contribute.”
President Donald Trumpringsthe opening bell for the Newyork Stock Exchangeand the Nasdaq in the Oval Office at the White House on Monday.
Heatherly
TreasurySecretaryScott Bessent speaks before President Donald Trumprings the opening bell for the Newyork Stock Exchangeand the Nasdaq.