The Advocate 07-07-2026

RLD CUP: Belgium knocks U.S. out of tournament 1C WOR

ADVOCATE THE

T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M

BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA

|

T u e s d ay, J u ly 7, 2026

$2.00X

2026 LEAP TESTING

Ascension Parish schools top state in testing Baton Rouge-area students show improvement

BY CHARLES LUSSIER Staff writer

STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

State scores in grades 3-8 grew in math, science and social studies, while achievement was flat in English, according to 2026 LEAP results released Monday.

Louisiana student test scores see improvement English achievement remains flat across all grades

BY PATRICK WALL Staff writer

Louisiana students made gains or held steady on most state LEAP tests this year, a sign 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, according to LEAP results released Monday. High schoolers improved or held their ground in every subject except English I, where

the share of students hitting the state target dipped slightly.

The annual tests, which are required by federal law, measure students’ grasp of content the state expects them to learn by the end of each grade. The scores weigh heavily in school ratings, teacher evaluations and high school graduation requirements.

Across all tested grades and subjects, 36% of students met or exceeded state expectations in 2026, the highest rate on record, according to the state Department of Education. The latest scores follow a recent study that found Louisiana students have outpaced their peers in most states in reading and math growth since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down schools and disrupted learning, causing test scores nationwide to plummet.

ä See LEAP, page 5A

Subject growth Across all tested grades and subjects, 36% of students met or exceeded state expectations in 2026.

Math: 1% increase in scoring mastery or above in grades 3-8.

Science: 2% increase in grades 3-8 Social studies: 2% increase in grades 3-8.

Ascension Parish took first place in the state rankings on LEAP standardized tests, followed closely by West Feliciana Parish, according to results released Monday.

Central and Zachary schools scored in fourth and fifth place on the annual standardized tests.

Plaquemines Parish was the only district not in the Baton Rouge region to make the top five among the 69 districts across Louisiana.

For the first time, students in a majority of school districts in the region are scoring at or above their level before the COVID pandemic. And three districts in the region that have historically been among the lowest ranked — Baker, East Feliciana Parish and St. Helena Parish — posted the strongest growth in the state.

LEAP tests — short for Louisiana Educational Assessment Program — are given each spring in four subjects: English language arts, math, science and social studies. The tests are taken by students in grades three to eight as well in seven high school subjects.

These results are from this spring.

The current social studies test was first given in spring 2025, but its results were not included in last year’s initial LEAP score release. That year, Louisiana added a high school civics exam.

The Louisiana Department of Education will use these scores as its primary source for the annual school report cards it releases this fall. The state’s accountability system has changed this year. The new system gives more points for schools that show growth among their lowest-performing students. High schools, though, will be judged largely by test scores; several additional factors that lifted high schools for years above their feeder schools have been eliminated.

Student scores are grouped into five

ä See SCORES, page 5A

Data: Obamacare enrollments Moore appeals ruling shrank dramatically in many states in funding lawsuit Affordable Care Act subsidies expired in January

The data, posted in late June by the Trump administration and first reported on by The Associated Press, reveals how changes in each state’s insured population led to around 2.6 million fewer Americans having Obamacare

BY ALI SWENSON plans in February compared with Associated Press the same time last year.

It captures not only how many NEWYORK — States across the country saw steep drops in the number people signed up for or were auof people covered by the Afford- tomatically reenrolled in plans able Care Act over the past year, in 2026, but how many paid their with Ohio and Oklahoma each los- first monthly premiums to keep ing nearly one-third of enrollees, coverage, according to Cynthia according to new federal data that Cox, a vice president and direcprovides the first complete 50-state tor of the health law program at breakdown of sharp enrollment de- the healthcare research nonprofit clines following the January expi- KFF, who reviewed the dataset.

She said it accounts for people ration of enhanced subsidies.

WEATHER HIGH 90 LOW 75 PAGE 6B

who were retroactively removed from coverage after a nonpayment grace period ended.

“This is the first time we’ve seen state-level data that shows how much ACA marketplace enrollment truly fell,” Cox said. “It’s in line with our expectations, but it does show a very steep drop in the number of people with ACA coverage.”

Health analysts have kept a 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,

ä See ENROLLMENT, page 4A

Judge says all EBR cities must be added as defendants

BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER Staff writer

District Attorney Hillar Moore is asking an appeals court to weigh in on his lawsuit seeking millions of dollars in additional funding after a judge ruled the case cannot move forward unless every municipality in the parish is added as a party.

In a writ application filed Friday, Moore argued Judge Tarvald Smith wrongly ordered that the cit-

Business ......................6A Commentary ................5B Nation-World................2A Classified .....................6D Deaths .........................3B Opinion ........................4B Comics-Puzzles .....3D-5D Living............................1D Sports ..........................1C

ies of St. George, Baker, Central and Zachary must be added to the lawsuit as defendants alongside East Baton Rouge’s cityparish governMoore ment. Moore’s attorneys disagreed, contending Louisiana law places the responsibility for funding the District Attorney’s Office on the parish government alone.

“The statute contains no language suggesting, implying, or authorizing contributions from the

ä See APPEAL, page 4A

102ND yEAR, NO. 7

2A ■ Tuesday, July 7, 2026 ■ theadvocate.com ■ The Advocate

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

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.

CORRECTION 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.

lll

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

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.

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

GET IN TOUCH Customer Service: HELP@THEADVOCATE.COM or 225-388-0200 News Tips / Stories: NEWSTIPS@THEADVOCATE.COM Obituaries: 225-388-0289 • Mon-Fri 9-5; Sat 10-5; Closed Sun Advertising Sales: 225-388-0262 • Mon-Fri 8-5 Classified Advertising: 225-383-0111 • Mon-Fri 8-5 Subscribe: theadvocate.com/subscribe E-Edition: theadvocate.com/eedition Archives: theadvocate.newsbank.com TheAdvocate(USPS363-040)ispublisheddailyinBatonRougeandatadditionalmailingoffices.Periodicals postagepaidatBatonRouge,LA.ISSN:1061-3978.CapitalCityPress,proprietor.POSTMASTER:Send addresschangestoTheAdvocate,CirculationAccounting,P.O.Box588,BatonRouge,LA70821.Newspaper carriers are independent contractors and not employees of Capital City Press.

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.

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-

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.”

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. 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.”

All home delivery subscription sales are non-refundable. Should you discontinue your subscription during term, the subscription will end with the expiration date on your subscription, and there will not be a refund of a prorated amount. Subscribers who purchased their subscription before Feb. 1, 2023 and wish to cancel can request a refund of a remaining balance at https://www.nola.com/app/forms/refund-request-form/. Refunds are considered on a case-by-case basis at the discretion of Capital City Press, LLC or its designee. All subscriptions purchased that include a special edition will have the special edition value deducted prior to any refund provided to subscriber upon cancellation of service. Standard subscription rates may be effective upon renewal. All standard subscriptions include digital access and e-Edition, a digital replica of the printed Advocate edition(s). The apps are free for tablets and smartphones. Smartphone apps may not be supported on all devices.

The Advocate standard subscription rate is $80.89 per 4-week period, plus tax. The Acadiana Advocate standard subscription rate is $68.48 per 4-week period, plus tax.

Standard digital subscriptions include e-Edition with the rate of $31.15 per 4-week period, plus tax starting 1/1/25. Special editions included in home delivery subscriptions are 1/30/26, 3/11/26, 4/15/26, 5/27/26, 7/8/26, 8/19/26, 9/30/26 11/26/26, 1/22/27, 3/10/27, 4/14/27, 5/26/27, 7/14/27, 8/18/27, 9/29/27 and 11/25/27 and are billed at $6.23 each. The Thanksgiving Day edition will be billed at your regular Thursday rate plus $6.23. To opt out of special edition delivery, email help@theadvocate.com or call 225-388-0395. By opting out of special editions you will not receive that day’s newspaper. Thanksgiving Day is not a special edition and opting out for that edition isn’t permitted. Prices shown are in U.S. dollars. Prices subject to change. Other restrictions may apply. We no longer provide credit for temporary delivery stops of 14 days or less. During a temporary delivery stop donations are made to our News in Education program. This program provides newspapers and digital access to schools across Louisiana. This program is paid for by sponsors and temporary stops so that students may use the newspaper for educational purposes in the classroom. During a temporary delivery stop of the print edition subscribers have unlimited digital access to theadvocate.com, nola.com and the apps for tablet and smartphone. Seasonal delivery times from August 2025 through February 2026 will extend to 8:00 a.m. on weekends. Subscribers may also choose to access our digital replica e-Edition of the printed Advocate, Times Picayune | New Orleans Advocate and Acadiana Advocate only. As a highly valued customer, we also value your privacy. All personal information collected by The Advocate will be used for administration and customer verification; it may be used for promotional purposes in accordance with The Advocate’s privacy policy. Please refer to our policy located at https://www.theadvocate.com/ new_policy/ for information regarding the collection, use and disclosure of personal information. By providing your phone number and email address you agree that we can call or email you to confirm delivery service, satisfaction and/or sales promotions as they may occur from The Advocate.

The Advocate: 10705 Rieger Road, Baton Rouge, LA 70809 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588

The Advocate ■ theadvocate.com ■ Tuesday, July 7, 2026 ■ 3A

lll

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.

“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.

Compass Connections, a Texasbased nonprofit that runs shelters for unaccompanied immigrant chil-

dren, had originally been tapped to help operate the facility and laid out plans during a public presentation in February.

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.

R. Gray Sexton, 84, Democrats pulling support for Platner Maine Senate enforcer of state candidate accused of ethics rules, dies sexual assault

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 Sexton 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.

“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.

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

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.

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-

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.

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-

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.”

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.

AN ACCOUNT SUITE BUILT TO HELP YOUR MONEY MAKE MONEY

WEALTH CHECKING

Earn 2.50% APY* on balances over $100,000

*APY= Annual Percentage Yield. APY is accurate as of the last dividend declaration date. $25 minimum opening deposit required. $25 service fee applied to those accounts that fall below the $50,000 minimum average daily checking account balance. Tiered dividends rates based on average daily balances. Fees could reduce earnings on the account. All rates and offers subject to change.

DIVIDEND CHECKING

Earn 1.87%

APY on balances between $1,500 and $15,000 *APY= Annual Percentage Yield. APY is accurate as of the last dividend declaration date. $6 service fee applied to those accounts that fall below the $1,500 minimum average daily checking account balance. Regular share rate will apply to balances over $15,000. If the member fails to meet one or more of the qualifications, the member will receive only .05% dividend rate on the checking account.

Fees could reduce earnings on this account. All rates and offers subject to change.

COMMERCIAL MONEY MARKET

Earn 4.25% APY on balances over $100,000

*APY= Annual Percentage Yield. APY is accurate as of the last dividend declaration date. A $10 Below Minimum fee applies if your total average monthly deposit balance is below $500 with no active loan.

Fees could reduce earnings on all accounts. All rates and offers subject to change.

OPEN YOUR ACCOUNT TODAY Online at neighborsfcu.org or visit a branch to speak with one of our account experts today.

Federally insured by NCUA.

4A ■ Tuesday, July 7, 2026 ■ theadvocate.com ■ The Advocate

lll

ENROLLMENT

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.

Continued from page 1A

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 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

APPEAL

Continued from page 1A municipalities,” Moore attorney Lauren Foshee Morrison wrote.

Moore sued the city-parish in April, alleging the parish has failed to adequately fund his office.

Shortly after he filed his lawsuit, the city-parish responded and said Moore should have sued St. George, Baker, Central and Zachary too. Because of the current tax structure, city-parish attorneys say none are contrib-

Biggest enrollment losses

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By REBECCA BLACKWELL

Insurance agent Maria Collado, center right, works with clients at a shopping mall kiosk run by Las Madrinas de los Seguros, Spanish for ‘The Godmothers of Insurance,’ at a shopping center in Miami in December 2023.

New federal data revealed nearly 2.6 million fewer Americans had Affordable Care Act plans in February compared to last year following the expiration of Obamacare subsidies. 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 people 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.

uting funds to the District Attorney’s Office.

Arguing for the city-parish, attorney Brett Furr pointed to testimony from the St. George incorporation lawsuit, in which a witness testifying on behalf of the city’s founders said the city would give money to the District Attorney’s Office once it was up and running.

St. George leadership did not make good on that promise, Furr said.

In Smith’s ruling last month, the judge cited “fundamental fairness” as his reasoning for forcing the other cities to join.

But Moore said any funding

quarrel involving St. George or other cities is irrelevant, and the law clearly puts funding on the shoulders of “the Parish, and the Parish alone.”

“This case is not about what the Parish, the district court, or an expert witness in another case believes should happen as a matter of policy or perceived fairness, it is about what the law actually requires,” his attorney wrote.

Moore has asked the 1st Circuit to expedite his appeal.

Repeatedly, Moore has contended that his office is underfunded compared to other district attor-

neys in Louisiana.

In recent years, the mayorpresident and Metro Council have allocated between $7 million and $8 million to the District Attorney’s Office. Moore believes that number should be closer to $22 million, an amount he says would bring him up to par with his Louisiana peers.

According to Moore’s appeal, Smith ruling to add the five cities will unnecessarily delay his case and complicate what should be simple proceedings. His attorneys say this will potentially push the case past the end of the 2026

r y ou da tY o ar T St ove M

Visit us today and take the first step toward finding your perfect address.

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.

budget year and leave his office underfunded while appeals from St. George, Baker, Central and Zachary drag things out.

“The Parish’s ongoing failure to adequately fund the District Attorney’s Office has already resulted in staff attrition, overwhelming caseloads, and significant delays in prosecutions,” his attorney wrote.

“The district court’s incorrect ruling necessarily will impose substantial procedural delays.”

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

OVER 50?

UNLIMITED FOR JUST $35/MONTH.

Backed by #1 Network Coverage and Customer Satisfaction.*

100% U.S. BASED CUSTOMER SERVICE. Ranked #1 in customer satisfaction

by ACSI®.*

FAST, RELIABLE NATIONWIDE COVERAGE. Ranked #1 in network coverage by ACSI®.*

Switch & Save Today. addressbatonrouge.com DRE#01901536 This website is a marketing and information program that sends all inquiries to state-licensed real estate professionals.

888-348-1659

© 2026 Consumer Cellular, Inc. Terms and Conditions subject to change. Plans shown include $5 credit for AutoPay and E-billing. Taxes and other fees apply. Credit approval required for new service. Cellular service is not available in all areas and is subject to system limitations. For unlimited plans, high-speed data is reduced after 35GB on single-line plans and 50GB of combined usage on multi-line plans for the remainder of your billing cycle. Unlimited data plans only for customers age 50+.

Age validation required. *2025 ACSI® Survey of customers rating their own wireless service provider. ACSI® and its logo are registered trademarks of the American Customer Satisfaction Index LLC. For more about the ACSI®, visit www.theacsi.org.

The Advocate ■ theadvocate.com ■ Tuesday, July 7, 2026 ■ 5A

lll

LEAP

French Settlement fourth graders raise their hands in October as state Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley asks a question about math.

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.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

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 pre-COVID levWhat the scores show els, according to a recent In English language arts, analysis of state test scores 43% of students in grades by researchers at Harvard, 3-8 scored at the “mastery” Stanford and Dartmouth.

But while math scores conlevel or above, indicating they are ready to move to tinue to climb, they have plathe next grade level. The teaued in reading, according rate was the same in 2025 to the latest LEAP scores.

SCORES

Continued from page 1A achievement levels, ranging from unsatisfactory to advanced. Louisiana’s goal is for students to score at least at mastery, the secondhighest achievement level.

Statewide, 35% of students achieved mastery or above in the spring, up 1 percentage point from the year before.

Ascension Parish topped the list with a mastery rate of 53%, followed by West Feliciana with a mastery rate of 52%. Also ranking high were Central at 49% and Zachary at 47%. Livingston and West Baton Rouge parishes beat the state average, with mastery rates of 44% and 41%, respectively. Livingston came in 10th place statewide, tied with Lafourche and Lincoln parishes.

“These results reflect the determination of our students, the unwavering commitment of our teachers and staff, the support of our parents, and a community that believes in and invests in its public schools,” Ascension Parish Superintendent Edith Walker said in a statement.

West Feliciana Superintendent Hollis Milton credited students and employees for this year’s strong LEAP results.

“Every day, they bring their A game, demonstrating a commitment to excellence that makes our schools exceptional,” Milton said. “Their passion, perseverance and teamwork are the driving forces behind all that we accomplish together.”

At the subject level, Ascension either narrowly led or tied West Feliciana, with both outperforming every other district in the state in every tested subject.

The once perennially topranked Zachary school district continued its slow decline. It slipped 1 percentage point overall this past year, and it is down 8 points from where it stood in 2019, before the pandemic.

East Baton Rouge Parish, the second-largest traditional school district in Louisiana, scored 30% mastery and above, up 2 points from the prior year. The district is one of eight in the region

that has finally returned to pre-pandemic levels of academic performance. It improved or held steady in almost every tested area.

East Baton Rouge Superintendent LaMont Cole said the results show that his initiatives for the school district are working.

“When we launched our Dare to be Great vision, we committed ourselves to raising expectations, investing in our schools, and believing in what our students and employees are capable of achieving,” Cole said.

“These results show that commitment is paying off.”

As far as individual schools, the top ranks were dominated by selective public schools in the New Orleans region. The highest-ranking school in the Baton Rouge-area parishes was LSU Lab School, where 87% of the students scored at mastery or above. It was followed by Baton Rouge Magnet High and Mayfair Lab School, which both had 85% mastery rates.

The highest-performing public charter school was BASIS Materra, where students demonstrated LEAP mastery of 73% and above.

Its sister school, BASIS Baton Rouge Primary Mid City, had a 29% mastery, down 2 points from the year before.

The next highest-performing charter school in the local region, after BASIS, was GEO Prep Academy of Greater Baton Rouge with a 33% mastery rate.

The neighborhood school with the highest achievement in the Baton Rouge region was Bluff Middle School in Ascension Parish, with a 72% mastery rate.

East Baton Rouge Parish is home to three schools that are most improved, increasing their mastery rates by 10 percentage points or more.

The most improved among them is Crestworth Elementary School, which jumped 14 points; the school this year sent its middle schoolage students to Scotlandville Middle School. The Baton Rouge schools with big improvement were Riveroaks and Wedgewood elementary schools.

East Feliciana Parish’s Jackson Elementary saw its mastery rate improve by 11 points.

Baker’s LEAP performance this spring was no-

their peers grew or held steady this year, including Black and Hispanic stuThe share of Louisiana students reaching state benchmarks in dents, students with dis2026 increased in most subjects. English was flat. abilities, those still learning English and students from Scoring mastery Change low-income families.

Grades Subject or above since 2025 However, the gaps between English 43% No change 3-8 those groups and other stu+1 3-8 Math 34% dents remain stubbornly large. For example, 22% of +2 3-8 Science 31% Black students and 29% of +2 3-8 Social Studies 33% Hispanic students met state expectations on the grades +1 3-8 All Subjects 35% 3-8 tests this year, compared +2 High School All Subjects 36% with 49% of White students Source: Louisiana Department of Education Staff graphic — a chasm that was similarly wide in 2019.

“The gaps still remain,” Brumley noted that only our focus around teaching third graders saw a decline kids to read in those early Bendily said. “So obviously, in English mastery this year; grades,” Brumley said, add- there’s work still left to do.” the other grades were flat or ing that the test eventually grew slightly. He said that will be updated to incorpo- What’s working third graders’ scores could rate more phonics.

Several state policies have reflect the shift from an He pointed out that on likely contributed to Louiintense focus in the early a different test called DI- siana students’ academic grades on learning to sound BELS, which assesses stu- gains, state officials and exout words, a phonics-based dents’ basic reading skills, perts say. approach known as the “sci- 64% of third graders met Teachers were trained ence of reading,” to an em- or exceeded the benchmark in the science of reading, phasis in the later grades on this year — 2 percentage which is backed by extenpoints higher than in 2025. reading comprehension. sive research, and schools Student groups who have began assessing young stuThe LEAP English test “doesn’t perfectly align with traditionally scored below dents’ reading skills. Schools

Students grew in most subjects

table. This suburban district north of Baton Rouge has been in the academic cellar for most of its 23-year existence. In 2025, facing a potential state takeover, Baker converted its two remaining schools to charter schools, contracting with Baton Rouge-based Helix Community Schools.

Both schools showed improvement, particularly Park Ridge, where two elementary and one middle school merged into one with the charter conversion. Park Ridge’s mastery rate improved 7 percentage points over its performance the year before, while Baker High’s improved 1 point.

Baker celebrated the improvement in a social media post: “We know our work is not finished, and we are not yet where we intend to be.

But the direction is clear: City of Baker is moving forward — and no Louisiana school system made more progress this year.”

The lowest-performing schools in the Baton Rouge region were mostly public middle and high schools.

At Belaire, Broadmoor, Capitol, Glen Oaks, Istrouma, Northeast and Tara high schools, the mastery rate ranged from 6% to 11%. All of them improved over the previous year, except Northeast, which was unchanged.

Of those schools, Belaire, Capitol and Istrouma high schools showed the most improvement.

School turnaround efforts in Baton Rouge are producing mixed results. Claiborne and Dufrocq elementaries as well as Park Forest Middle all showed improvement. On the other hand, Capitol Elementary, Glen Oaks Park Elementary and Scotlandville Middle showed notable declines. Those three schools have a much different set of students thanks to a districtwide realignment plan.

Capital and Glen Oaks Park have different grade configurations and much larger attendance zones.

Meanwhile, two charter schools that replaced Texasbased IDEA Public Schools went in different achievement directions in their first years of operations. IDEA Bridge, now Bridge Academy and run by Coloradobased Third Future Schools, improved by at least 6 points over the mastery rate of the school it replaced. IDEA In-

novation, now Audubon Baton Rouge and run by New Orleans-based Audubon Charter, declined by 5 points as far as its mastery rate.

Third Future’s other school in Baton Rouge, Prescott Academy, slipped in its second year of operation, with a mastery rate 3 points lower

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 phonics-based 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 year-over-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 topachieving 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?’”

than its first year.

Email Charles Lussier at clussier@theadvocate. com.

Happy 250 Birthday America! th

1,776 PAYMENTS, NO NO OFF OR INTEREST FOR 12 MONTHS $

YOUR NEW BATH OR SHOWER SYSTEM

PLUS 2 FREE GRAB BARS

Offer ends 8/31/26. Participating locations only. Cannot be combined with any other advertised offer. Contact your local dealer for Financing options. The 2 Free Grab Bars are with purchase of a bathtub/shower/walk-in tub system.

Scan here or visit our website www.zintex.com for complete details.

CALL NOW

504-372-0007

Master Plumber • Tony Andrews • License # 46071

Locally owned and Family Operated for over 25 Years.

Born, Bred & Based in Texas.

• • • •

Bathtub Replacement Shower Replacement Tub to Shower Conversion Walk-in Tub/Accessibility Solutions PR

O DUC T

LIFETIME WARRANTY W

OR

K MA N S H

IP

UPGRADE YOUR OUTDATED BATHROOM IN AS LITTLE AS A DAY

6A ■ Tuesday, July 7, 2026 ■ theadvocate.com ■ The Advocate

lll

BUSINESS T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M/news/business

DOW 53,055.91 155.84 0.29%

NASDAQ 26,121.16 288.49 1.12%

S&P 500 7,537.43 54.19 0.72%

EURO 1.1442 0.0002 0.02%

CRUDE OIL 68.55 -0.14 -0.20%

GOLD 4,155.10 42.40 1.03%

Microsoft cuts 4,800 jobs, many at Xbox

Sky agrees to buy British broadcaster LONDON — Sky, the U.K.-based TV, internet and mobile phone provider owned by Comcast, has agreed to buy ITV’s media and entertainment arm for up to $2.1 billion after months of talks to create a major competitor to the global streaming giants.

The deal includes the terrestrial TV channels and streaming service of ITV, Britain’s largest commercial broadcaster. ITV’s production arm, ITV Studios, known for shows such as the “I’m A Celebrity” series, will remain an independent company.

The transaction will “create a UK champion with the scale and resources to better compete with global streaming platforms,” ITV Chairman Andrew Cosslett said in a statement.

The combined Sky-ITV entity will become part of NBCUniversal following the completion of its split from Comcast, ITV said.

Pipeline proposed to carry Canada oil TORONTO — Alberta and Ontario proposed a pipeline Monday to carry western Canadian oil east and eventually to Atlantic export terminals as Canada seeks new markets beyond the United States, reviving a project that was abandoned nearly a decade 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 a day with potential for up to 800,000 barrels.

She said the corridor 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’s largest proven oil reserves.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the pipeline would be a sound investment regardless of whether it is publicly or privately financed. A feasibility study is planned.

30-YR T-BONDS 4.99 0.0 0.02%

AI stocks rebound to lift U.S. market

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

REDMOND, Wash. — Microsoft is cutting 4,800 jobs, about 2.1% of its global workforce, including a large number of workers at its Xbox video game business.

The layoffs included 1,600 Xbox workers, with more to come this year in a broader reorganization designed to “reset” Xbox as it faces heightened competition, the company said Monday.

“Our business today is not healthy,” said a memo from Xbox CEO 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 competes with Sony’s PlayStation and Nintendo’s Switch, is facing a severe “hardware crisis” as costs soar for console components.

Beyond the layoffs announced Monday, Sharma said Xbox expects another 1,600 job cuts 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.

Nearly three years ago, Microsoft closed a $69 billion deal to acquire gaming giant Activision Blizzard, maker of “Call of Duty” and other blockbuster franchises. The company said at the time it wanted to broaden its game development portfolio and offer a Netflix-like streaming subscription service, but the strategy doesn’t appear to have been enough to get ahead of the competition.

“While those businesses have created meaningful value, they did not grow at the pace we expected,” Sharma said.

The Xbox cuts are in addition to broader Microsoft layoffs that the software giant’s Chief People Officer Amy Coleman tied to unspecified changes in customer needs.

6-MO T-BILLS 3.95 0.01 0.25%

BY STAN CHOE

AP business writer

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOS By MARK SCHIEFELBEIN

President Donald Trump rings the opening bell for the New york Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq in the Oval Office at the White House on Monday.

RINGING THE BELLS

President opens markets, ties time in office to stock market gains

BY JOSH BOAK Associated Press

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday rang the opening bells for the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq from the golden confines of the Oval Office, a symbolic act that reflects how he has increasingly tied his presidency to the stock market.

With high inflation hurting Trump’s popularity, the Republican president has tried to get more Americans to focus on their 401(k) investments, claiming that his policies should get the credit for any gains, particularly as the November midterm elections draw closer.

“It’s going to go up — I think the market’s going to go through the roof,” said Trump after formally launching the start of trading.

Only 33% of U.S. adults approve of Trump’s economic leadership, according to a June survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Still, the act of ringing the opening bell suggests why the president’s emphasis on the stock market might not help his party much with voters this fall.

The Oval Office event was promoting the launch of Trump Accounts, which were created as a vehicle for children to have investments in stock indexes as part of Republicans’ big 2025 tax and spending cuts bill.

In championing the accounts, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has emphasized that many Americans have no direct exposure to stocks.

This means that millions of people are not benefiting from

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks before President Donald Trump rings the opening bell for the New york Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq. investments that largely accrue to more affluent households or that the benefits they’re receiving are for retirements decades away.

Bessent declared before the bell ringing that “38% of American families do not have any exposure to our great equity markets.”

The S&P 500 stock index posted gains of 17.9% in 2025, but that came after annual returns of 25% in 2024 and 26.3% in 2023, during the presidency of Democrat Joe Biden. The benchmark stock index has risen roughly 10% so far this year.

But just as inflation crushed public support for Biden, Trump has also seen his approval fall prey to a cycle of rising prices. Trump won the 2024 election by promising to bring down costs, but his tariffs and the start of the war in Iran created new inflationary pressures.

The consumer price index has climbed 4.2% over the past 12 months, up from 3% when Trump started his second term

in January 2025.

Trump, however, is betting that the stock investments that are being seeded by the government and by some prominent companies and billionaires will give future generations a deeper stake in the U.S. economy. The accounts already have gotten a boost from billionaires beyond the $1,000 from the government.

Michael Dell, the founder of Dell Technologies, and his wife, Susan, appeared by Trump on Monday as they have pledged $6.25 billion for the accounts, while there have been separate pledges by billionaires including investor Ray Dalio and SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell, who said Monday that she would donate stock in the Elon Muskled company to the accounts.

Trump jokingly acknowledged that children had missed the stock market gains that have occurred so far because of the delay in launching the Trump Accounts.

“We should have acted faster,” Trump said.

NEW YORK — A rebound for artificial intelligence stocks lifted the U.S. market on Monday.

The S&P 500 rose 0.7% and pulled back within 1% of its all-time high, even though the majority of stocks within the index fell. The strength for companies in the artificial-intelligence technology 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 worries that their prices shot too high. Doubts are rising about whether all the dollars flowing into AI chips and data centers can possibly create enough gains in productivity and profits to make back all the investments.

Broadcom was one of the strongest forces lifting the S&P 500 and rose 3.7% after announcing long-term agreements to provide silicon products to Apple. It was coming off two straight losses of more than 2% on Wednesday and Thursday at the end of last week, before Friday’s holiday in advance of the Fourth of July.

The global appetite for AI from investors will face an additional test later this week when SK Hynix, the South Korean maker of computer memory, plans to raise $28 billion by selling shares of stock that will trade in the United States on the Nasdaq.

That would make it one of the biggest U.S. offerings ever, behind SpaceX’s IPO from last month, which raised $75 billion.

SK Hynix’s stock in Seoul has already more than tripled so far this year because of the AI boom, but its day-to-day swings have included sharp losses in recent weeks. It fell 14.6% on Thursday alone, for example.

SpaceX, which owns the xAI business, has seen its stock likewise swing following its ballyhooed initial 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 the oil market, prices drifted after OPEC+ announced Sunday that seven of its members plan to expand oil production by a combined total of 188,000 barrels per day in August. It was the fifth straight month that OPEC+ members have agreed to raise output, moves that tend to weigh on oil prices.

The price of a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, fell 0.2% to $71.99. That’s close to where it was before the United States and Israel attacked Iran in late February and sent prices spiking.

In the bond market, Treasury yields eased a bit. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.47% from 4.49% late Thursday.

A report showed that growth last month for U.S. recreation, finance and other services businesses was roughly in line with economists’ expectations. The survey by the Institute for Supply Management said that some businesses said they were seeing lower prices for gasoline and diesel, easing inflationary pressures.

In stock markets abroad, indexes fell modestly across much of Europe and Asia. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was an outlier and rose 1.1%.

Georges Media names Chase Heatherly as chief revenue officer Columbus, a marketing agency in Gras Guide, and has expanded South Carolina native announcement.

“Chase’s experience scaling rev- the state. coverage into new markets, such Heatherly joins Georges Media as Shreveport-Bossier and Lake organizations, growing digito lead sales team enue as the locally owned me- Charles. tal businesses, and leading

Staff report

Chase Heatherly, a veteran media executive, has joined the parent company of The Times-Picayune and The Advocate as its chief revenue officer.

The former chief revenue officer of The Post & Courier parent Evening Post Publishing in South Carolina, Heatherly, 34, joined Georges Media at the end of June. He will be responsible for leading the sales teams across all of the Louisianabased media company’s brands, according to an internal company

through transformation dia company is expanding makes him an outstanding across Louisiana and into fit for where we are headed adjacent markets, includas a company,” said Pubing along the Gulf Coast.

Local news outlets across lisher Kevin Hall. “This is the country are facing big an important step forward new challenges in the acfor Georges Media as we continue to invest in leadcelerating digital era, though some companies ership that supports our Heatherly with strong local brands long-term growth and poand independent ownership are sitions us for continued success.”

A South Carolina native, Heath- managing to weather the changes.

In recent years, Georges Meerly led sales at Evening Post after stints at Gannett, McClatchy dia has acquired local Louisiana and other media organizations, brands with strong followings, including as president of King & including Arthur Hardy’s Mardi

In addition to its growth digitally and its acquisitions, the company has also launched new print offerings, including an expanded business section and coverage focused on health.

Heatherly said he’s ready to take on the challenge of growing those businesses.

“I have seen firsthand the leadership and innovation that Georges Media brings to our industry and the commitment its staff has to serving readers and the community at large,” he said. “I am excited to dive in and contribute.”

The Advocate ■ theadvocate.com ■ Tuesday, July 7, 2026 ■ 7A

lll

GAZA

Forensic technician Joel Mirabal rides through the area struck by the earthquakes, collecting bodies recovered from the rubble, June 30 in La Guaira, Venezuela.

Hamas dissolves its government

BY WAFAA SHURAFA and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — The Hamas militant group said Monday it had dissolved its government in Gaza and is preparing to transfer power to a technical committee backed by the United Nations as part of a U.S.brokered ceasefire deal.

Hamas did not say whether it planned to take the crucial step of disarming or handing over security to an international force, but described its decision as evidence of its commitment to Gaza’s reconstruction after years of war.

It was unclear if the move, announced by a lower-level official, would lead to any meaningful change on the ground.

The Board of Peace, the new entity led by President Donald Trump with the mandate of governing and rebuilding Gaza, said it was aware of the Hamas announcement but would assess the impact based on “actions, not promises.” The board stressed in a statement on X that the technocratic committee must control all weapons in Gaza, as laid out in the ceasefire agreement.

At a news conference Monday, Ismail al-Thawabta, general director of the Hamas-run Government Media Office, said “only technical and professional staff” would remain in their positions to run the Palestinian enclave’s day-to-day affairs.

“All employees working in service provision are ‘state employees’ and are fully prepared to work under the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza,” al-Thawabta said during a news conference in the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah. Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem called it “a positive step forward on the path to implement the ceasefire deal.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar dismissed the move, saying it was designed to avoid disarmament.

“As long as Hamas retains its weapons, any civilian government will of course operate as Hamas dictates,” he wrote on X.

The committee of technocrats, which is based in Cairo, is chaired

by Ali Shaath, a Gaza-born engineer and former official with the Palestinian Authority. It has a mandate to restore essential services and oversee civilian affairs under the supervision of the U.N. and the Board of Peace.

In a statement on X, Shaath acknowledged the Hamas announcement Monday and said that in order for the committee to function effectively, there must be “a single governing authority operating under one legal framework” and “a unified security apparatus accountable to that authority.”

Nine months after the ceasefire was signed, negotiations between Israel and Hamas remain largely deadlocked over the implementation of its second phase, including the disarmament of Hamas and the reconstruction of Gaza.

Hamas has insisted on implementing the first phase before moving to discuss its weapons.

The Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamasled militants that sparked the war killed some 1,200 people in Israel and saw 251 others taken hostage.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed 73,098 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

The ministry, part of the Hamasled government, is staffed by medical professionals and maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants but says women and children make up around half of all fatalities.

Israeli strikes have lessened considerably since the ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10, but they continue almost daily. Israel’s military says it targets Hamas and other militants, often asserting they were planning attacks. The strikes have also killed many civilians.

On Monday, Israeli strikes killed at least five people in Gaza, including three in Khan Younis in the south and two in an apartment in Gaza City, health officials said.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MATIAS DELACROIX

Venezuelans are left alone to recover their dead after quakes

BY FERNANDA PESCE and ISABEL DEBRE Associated Press

LA GUAIRA, Venezuela — When the high-rise where Noel Márquez lived with his family crashed to the 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 heavy machinery to lift, responded.

Márquez and his father, who also survived, spoke through layers of concrete, hearing Leonel suffer, shout for help and inhale suffocating smoke as he waited for a crane to remove the columns crushing him. But it never came. After several hours, Leonel’s cries 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 recover his families’ tangled remains with little more than his bare hands and a saw. He sliced off limbs to free the corpses of Leonel and his mother but was forced to abandon his sister, who was eight months’ pregnant, grandmother and other relatives beneath the ruins — and with their bodies, the hope that if he couldn’t save

them, he could at least give them proper burials.

“It’s unfair. It’s inhumane, everything that is happening,” 26-yearold Márquez said from the overflowing makeshift morgue at La Guaira port. “We couldn’t get my brother out because we didn’t get a response from the state ... and after 11 days, we are still requesting a crane.”

Márquez is one of countless Venezuelans who, after days of torment, has been left alone to search, if not for signs of life, then for loved ones’ remains — and for some semblance of closure.

International rescue teams, quietly acknowledging the possibility that no more victims would be found alive after 12 days under the rubble, are preparing to depart.

Local authorities are turning their focus to finding shelter for thousands of displaced people. But the recovery of the dead has become a pressing, and horrifying, duty for Venezuelans still missing their loved ones.

Many say that just as they were left without government help to rescue survivors in the immediate aftermath of the quakes, so too are they now under-equipped to unearth their dead nearly two weeks later.

The more time passes, the more gruesome the recovery process

becomes, said William Gomez, a firefighter in La Guaira. “It has 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 how many people are buried under the rubble, but more than 30,000 reports of missing people have been sent to a website set up by the Venezuelan opposition.

There are 1.2 million tons of debris in the most affected parts of La Guaira, according to the United Nations Development Program.

“We are the ones helping ourselves: our family. Nobody else helps us except for a few volunteers,” said Yeikhary 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 who could no longer wait for authorities to help them recover their dead discussed pooling their own money to rent a crane — for the price of $11,500, in one case.

Hemingway masterpiece on Spain’s bull runs turns 100

BY JOSEPH WILSON Associated Press

PAMPLONA, Spain — Bill Hillmann has been gored three times while running with the bulls in Spain, but he wouldn’t miss this year’s San Fermin festival for anything.

It marks the 100th anniversary of the publication of Ernest Hemingway’s book “The Sun Also Rises,” which launched the future Nobel Laureate to literary fame and put Pamplona on the map for millions of people around the world.

On Monday, the festival kicked off with a firework blast over a jam-packed plaza. The first of eight bull runs is on Tuesday.

Hemingway’s 1926 novel captivated generations of readers with its sexy Jazz Age tale of American and British bohemians trying to fill some inner void with the distractions of exotic travel, vast quantities of alcohol and the anguishing pursuit of impossible love.

Its success established “The Sun Also Rises” as a cornerstone of the American literary canon, right up there with F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby.” It also popularized the term “lost generation” to describe the tight-knit group of early 20thcentury writers expatriated in Paris. Hemingway’s terse style forever changed American literature. In Spanish, its title 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 Spaniards risking their lives sprinting through the streets to guide the bulls to the bull ring during the nineday festival.

“I sat there for about six hours, well past midnight, reading the book,” Hillmann told The Associated Press in

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO

Bill Hillmann, of Chicago, center left, falls seconds before a Victoriano del Rio ranch fighting bull gored him on his right leg during the 2014 running of the bulls of the San Fermin festival in Pamplona, Spain.

Pamplona as he looked down on the pen where the bulls are held before being set free on the cobblestoned route.

“And by the time I was done with that book, I was going to be a writer and I was going to be a bull runner.”

Since that literary encounter, the 44-year-old Hillmann has run with the bulls in Spain hundreds of times, counting both his trips to Pamplona and his participation in dozens more bull runs in other Spanish towns. His infatuation with Hemingway and Pamplona has never waned, even though he nearly died one time that he was gored by a bull horn.

Hillmann’s appreciation led him to earn a doctorate in English, and now it is his turn to teach “The Sun Also Rises” at East-West University in Chicago, and write about bull running.

Hemingway is etched into the landscape of Pamplona.

Hotels and bars have busts of him or signs up that he was once there. Outside the Pamplona bull ring, which also has a statue of the writer, a huge banner hangs in honor of the novel, including a quote that shows how the festival left 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 his last visits to Pamplona, he would frequent the Perla Hotel; his suite still has furniture from the 1950s when he stayed there. The room, which overlooks the bull run route, also has two glass bookcases holding dozens of copies of “The Sun Also Rises.”

“Hemingway did a lot for Pamplona because he made it known around the world,” said Fernando Hualde, who worked for four decades as a receptionist in the hotel.

Hemingway’s local legacy, however, is mixed.

Beside a feminist critique of his hyper masculine public persona, Hemingway has drawn criticism from the animal rights movement for his praise of bullfighters.

Hualde says that some Pamplona residents rue his early promotion of the festival due to the ills of overtourism the sleepy provincial city is now experiencing.

Pamplona has 200,000 residents and receives over a million more people for the festival.

Call 225-709-5455 to schedule your free quote today!

8A ■ Tuesday, July 7, 2026 ■ theadvocate.com ■ The Advocate

lll

wanted: 20 people

Limited Time Offer

WE NEED 20 PEOPLE WITH HEARING LOSS TO TRY THE LATEST ADVANCEMENTS IN HEARING AIDS!

Your hearing plays a crucial role in your overall health. Untreated hearing loss can affect communication, confidence, and even long term cognitive well being. That's why we're inviting 20 people to experience the newest breakthroughs in hearing technology - completely risk free.

Visit us during our July Special Event and receive these FREE services: FREE Hearing Consultation FREE Video Otoscope Exam - Find out if it's hearing loss or just earwax FREE Clean & Check on your current hearing aids FREE Baseline Audiogram Assessment FREE Familiar Voice Test FREE Demonstration of Audibel's Latest Hearing Technology Try it with zero cost and zero obligation

FREE

Limited Time Offerr

Hearing Consultation

Appointments are first come, first served, and every service is 100% free. Simply call one of our offices to reserve your spot.

Audibel is NOW Offering...

Government-Wide Service Benefit Plan Member Name

John Doe

Member R0000000 Enrollment Code R0000000 00/00/0000

0000 0000 0000

$ $1000 OFF

a pair of Aris AI Hearing Instruments Offer valid on select in-stock 24 level technology.

Exclusions may apply.

Limited Time Offer

Effective Date

Rx# RxPCN RxGrp

• Hearing aids at NO COST to those who qualify!• • That’s Right...No Co-Pay! No Exam Fee! No Adjustment Fee! If you have this card, you may qualify for free hearing aids!

Call today to verify your benefits.

CLEAN & CHECK

If you already have hearing devices, receive a free cleaning & maintenance check.

RECEIVE

JULY 2026 BATON ROUGE

BATON ROUGE

8414 Bluebonnet Blvd.

Suite 100

15420 S. Harrell’s Ferry Rd. Suite B

225.319.5126

GONZALES

1124 S. Burnside BLG #200 Suite B

225.483.0357

*

225.319.5126

HAMMOND 702 SW Railroad

985.826.6822

NEW ROADS 103 Gisele St.

225.240.7558

Complimentary hearing consultations are widely available at no cost.

Amieva, H., Ouvrard, C., Giuloli, C., Meillon C., Rullier, L., & Dartigues, J. F. (2015). Self-reported hearing loss, hearing aids, and cognitive decline in elderly adults: A 25-year study. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2015 Oct;63 (10):2099 – 104. Doi: 10.1111/jgs.13649. 2Rechargeable option not available in all styles.

See clinic for details.

1

©2024 Starkey Laboratories, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 4/23 Audibel and Audibel logo are registered trademarks of Starkey Laboratories, Inc. Signature Series is a trademark of Starkey Laboratories, Inc.

UP TO

2000

$

*

Toward premium technology when you Trade-In & Trade-Up your old hearing aids. *Offer valid on 24 level technology.

Exclusions may apply.

Cannot be combined with other offers.

BATON ROUGE • ASCENSION • LIVINGSTON • FELICIANAS WEST BATON ROUGE • TANGIPAHOA • IBERVILLE

METRO

T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M

|

T u e s d ay, J u ly 7, 2026

1BN

Attempt to quash rape count fails Jan Risher LOUISIANA AT LARGE

N.O. home’s writing on the wall is 168 years 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 a lot more to the house than meets the eye from the street.

The home’s exterior is painted the kind of locally inspired terracotta that has been a part of New Orleans since Spanish colonial days.

It’s a fascinating place, with a courtyard I adore, but this is not a house story.

Several years ago, on my first visit, Theis took me upstairs to see four narrow strips of exposed plaster left bare against a wall they had painted teal. The rectangles, floating in a sea of bluegreen, preserved handwriting in French. Beneath each strip was a typed translation: n “Be happy, Eugenie! These are the vows of the one who loves you more than life. Let the one who courts you at the moment make you happy.” n Then a name, 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. You tricked me.

God will pardon you, but others, never.”

The last line appears to be dated “January 25, 1857.”

For years, that was the whole story Theis and Jordan had to go on.

They had built their own private theory: a French teenager, alone in his room, unrequited, working out his heartbreak on the wall because maybe there was no paper to be found. Or maybe permanence was the point?

And that’s where the mystery has remained.

Until recently.

One day last year, Theis came home and noticed a man and an older woman on the other side of the street. They seemed to be looking at her house.

Theis said, “Can I help 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 mentioned the 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 then to New Orleans, where the young man’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 had written on more than 150 years earlier, he cried.

“I’ve been using ancestry.com to do research a lot, and I look at these old photocopies ... but to actually see his handwriting on the wall — unreal,” Raul Mier said.

ä See RISHER, page 6B

Attorneys for suspect in Madison Brooks case argue charge was unconstitutionally vague

BY QUINN COFFMAN

tions put forward by Carter’s defense team in the lead-up to trial, Judge Gail Horne Ray heard a As the trial nears for multiple motion to quash Carter’s first-dedefendants in the rape of Madi- gree rape charge on the grounds son Brooks, one suspect’s de- the state law is unconstitutionfense team attempted Monday to ally vague. have his first-degree rape charge Ray dismissed the motion, but dismissed as unconstitutional. said the first-degree rape law is Desmond Carter, 21, is one “one of the worst written statutes of three suspects indicted in that I have seen in the course of the rape of Brooks in a vehicle my practice.” before her death. His trial on In her motion, defense attorcharges of first-degree and ney Caitlin Fowlkes challenged third-degree rape is scheduled the section of the state statute for Aug. 17. that says a charge of first-degree Among multiple pretrial mo- rape is called for “when two or Staff writer

more offenders participated in the act.”

Fowlkes argued in her motion that the first-degree rape statute’s language is circular and implies that a sex act is “deemed to be without lawful consent” only because it is group sex.

She also argued the law presupposes the defendant’s guilt by using the word “offenders” in its definition, which would push the responsibility of proving innocence onto Carter rather than having the state prove his guilt.

Ultimately, Ray dismissed the motion to quash despite the state

statute being “sloppily written.”

She cited case law that clarifies the law’s intention is not to criminalize consensual sex with multiple partners.

Other pretrial motions are still being considered, including a motion to quash on the grounds the first-degree rape charge and the third-degree rape charge create a double jeopardy for Carter because they are in reference to the same act.

Another motion seeks to keep courtroom spectators and Brooks’

ä See COUNT, page 6B

RIVERSIDE VIEW

A grass apron holds back the waters of the Mississippi along the levee recently in Baton Rouge.

Officials approve raise for Zachary school workers Move comes just days after voter approval

BY CHARLES LUSSIER Staff writer

Capitalizing quickly on a strong show of confidence from voters, Zachary school leaders have approved an acrossthe-board pay raise for district employees, the first of likely several raises over the next few years.

The Zachary School Board voted unanimously for the raises three days after voters on June 27 endorsed the district’s Zachary Forward initiative. The annual raises, which go into effect immediately, are $2,000 for teachers and $1,000 for support workers.

“This shows our employees that we’re actually serious about this,” Yolanda Williams, human resources director for the suburban Baton Rouge school district, told the board. “We’re not just holding off on it. We wanted to make sure that salary was there.”

The raises won’t appear in the paychecks of classroom teachers until the Aug. 15 payroll. Teachers return from summer break on Aug. 3 and classes start Aug. 6.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

Police: 4 hurt in separate shootings

A year ago, Zachary approved an identical set of pay raises in advance of the 2025-26 school year. That raise and the latest raise increase annual salaries by $4,000 for teachers and $2,000 for support workers.

And there’s more to come.

The Zachary Forward plan freezes in place 24 mills in property taxes that were set to expire over the next seven years.

Instead of paying for school construction, the tax will finance raises for teachers and staff. Over time, the taxes are estimated to generate at least $8.4 million annually for increased pay.

The vote by the Zachary School Board was taken at a specially called meeting last week.

For starting teachers, salaries are increasing from $52,022 to $54,022 a year.

The district’s goal is, over time, to increase starting teacher salaries to more than $60,000 a year.

In the Baton Rouge region, only Iberville Parish pays more than $60,000 in annual salary to starting teachers. Other districts are getting close. For instance, West Feliciana Parish recently approved a $7,000 stipend for the next two years for all its school employees, bringing its

A total of four victims — including juveniles — were injured when shots were fired from inside vehicles in two separate shootings on the night of July 4, Baton Rouge police said.

The first shooting occurred around 5:20 p.m. in the 8500 block of Scotland Avenue at its interCRIME section at Robin Street. Three BLOTTER people were inside a vehicle, talking to a male outside the staff vehicle, when an SUV pulled reports up. Three suspects got out of the SUV and began shooting at the others, striking two people. One victim, the male outside the other vehicle, was taken to a hospital for treatment and is expected to survive his injuries, police said.

The other victim, a female, was grazed by a bullet.

The second shooting came at 6:50 p.m. in the 4400 block of Sherwood Street. Two male juveniles were struck by gunfire as they were walking from a convenience store. The juveniles were taken to a hospital and are also expected to survive their injuries, police said.

ä See ZACHARY, page 2B

ä See BLOTTER, page 2B

2B ■ Tuesday, July 7, 2026 ■ theadvocate.com ■ The Advocate

lll

Cause of fire under investigation in N.O. French Quarter explosion led 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 evacuations to the 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 a roughly one-block radius around the intersection of Bourbon and Conti streets after the fire resulting from the explosion sent smoke billowing into the area.

In a statement on Monday, Entergy New Orleans spokesperson Beau Tidwell said the fire remained under investigation, with engineers “reviewing our data to determine where and how the event originated.”

“Entergy crews and our environmental remediation contractor are currently cleaning out the burned vault and working to effect repairs,” he added.

The New Orleans Fire Department, which responded to the blast on Saturday, did not provide any additional information on the incident Monday. City Hall referred questions to Entergy.

ZACHARY

Continued from page 1B

starting teacher salary to just shy of $60,000 a year.

Lifting Zachary teacher salaries above $60,000 annually looked doubtful just a few months ago.

In November, voters defeated the initial version of the Zachary Forward proposal. Voter discontent that day was amplified by opposition across East Baton Rouge Parish to the Thrive initiative, which sought to

BLOTTER

Continued from page 1B Investigators learned that an SUV pulled up along the juveniles and someone inside began shooting at them.

The two shooting incidents on Saturday involved two different SUVs, a police spokesperson said.

Anyone with information on the shootings is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (225) 344-7867.

sewage had collected inside one of Entergy’s transformer vaults and ignited, though officials never determined how it got there.

Danny Raines, a veteran electrical safety consultant based in Georgia, said there are various triggers that can lead to blasts like the one that occurred Saturday night. Speaking generally, and without any specific knowledge about the July 4 incident, he said that aging equipment, commonly including faults on older cables, can create stresses that result in a blast.

“Of course it makes a big old fireball with a lot of smoke,” Raines said, noting that sometimes moisture getting into electrical lines can be a factor and that utilities are typically responsible for clearing their underground vaults.

In its statement, Entergy said crews carry out vault inspections twice annually in an effort to prevent incidents.

The explosion was reported a little after 10:30 p.m. and Entergy said power had been restored by 6 a.m. the next morning.

Initially, Entergy representatives said the repairs were delayed after workers were “menaced by an individual threatening to shoot our lineman with a gun.”

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER New Orleans police and The New Orleans Fire Department fights an underground fire after a transformer blew Saturday in the 700 block of Conti Entergy later confirmed Street in the French Quarter in New Orleans. that the threat had come in the form of a phone call to Speaking at a news con- needed to wait to use wa- the French Quarter, much of In December 2019, a early- the utility’s call center and ference early Sunday, Fire ter until power was discon- that infrastructure is buried. morning blast on Dauphine that there was no reported That buried equipment can Street near Toulouse shot in-person threat.

Department Chief Roman nected.

Nelson said crews used While power lines and oth- cause problems, particu- several manhole covers high dry chemical extinguishers er electrical infrastructure larly when it interacts with into the air and set fire to a Email Jonah Meadows on the fire because it was are typically above ground other underground infra- parked car. An investigation at jonah.meadows@ indicated that methane from theadvocate.com. electrical in nature, so they in most of New Orleans, in structure.

redirect some library, Council on Aging and mosquito abatement property taxes.

Zachary leaders tweaked their initiative, focusing the money solely on employee compensation, and tried again. Zachary voters this time gave their strong assent, voting for the initiative by a 62% to 38% margin. Between November and June, turnout increased from 25% to 33%. That equates to almost 1,600 additional voters.

“We just connected with every group, everybody we could think of, to give them the information,” said Su-

1 dead, 1 arrested after July 4 shooting

What started as an argument on Calumet Street led to one dead and one arrested in the early hours of July 4, according to a Baton Rouge Police Department release.

Tray Young, 30, was found dead from a gunshot when officers arrived to the scene in the 6600 block of Calumet Street, according to the release. The shooting is believed to have occurred at 1:17 a.m.

Detectives said a dispute

perintendent Ben Necaise.

The 24 mills are not yet available for employee pay.

That won’t start happening until January, when local property owners pay their annual tax bills. The school district is financing the initial months of the pay raise with existing funds.

Zachary is likely to increase pay again soon, in the form of one-time stipends.

It’s an outgrowth of Gov. Jeff Landry’s plan to cut nearly $170 million from school budgets and use the money instead for one-time stipends to school employ-

ees. A lawsuit was dropped last week that sought to block the plan.

The new stipends — $2,000 for classroom teachers and $1,000 for support workers — will go to most, though, not all of the school employees who’ve been receiving identical state-funded onetime stipends since 2023.

The state refused to continue funding those stipends with additional money after the May 16 failure of a statewide ballot measure that would have financed slightly larger permanent pay raises.

As part of his plan, Landry

is stripping roughly 5% out of the normal state education funding that school districts were anticipating. In response, some school leaders say they may have to cut programs and personnel.

Zachary’s newly approved pay raise may well exempt the school district from Landry’s order.

In a June 15 social media post, the governor said districts that have approved their own pay increases will be able to use the new “stipend allocation to backfill their budgets,” but state leaders have been mum pub-

between Young and Precious Holliday, 25, escalated to gunfire. Holliday was arrested and booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on a count of negligent homicide.

The BRPD said the investigation is ongoing.

said.

Darrian Washington, 18, turned himself in after a vehicle used in the shooting was found by investigators at a home on South Richland Avenue in Gonzales, the Sheriff’s Office said.

The shooting happened about 10 p.m. Sunday in the parking lot of the Double A Discount store on Airline Highway in Gonzales. The victim had approached a vehicle there, when multiple shots were fired from the vehicle.

The victim was taken to

a hospital with multiple wounds, the Sheriff’s Office said.

In addition to the count of attempted second-degree murder, Washington was also booked on one count of illegal use of a weapon.

Gonzales man booked in shooting A Gonzales man was arrested on a count of attempted second-degree murder in a Sunday night shooting in a store parking lot, the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office

licly thus far about how that would work.

Even so, Necaise said he’s likely to recommend that Zachary go ahead to match the state stipend so employees see their total paychecks increase rather than stay flat, thanks to the loss of the state support.

“We don’t want, in any sense, to do a pay increase and, based on the (expired) stipend, that it is really not an increase,” Necaise said.

Email Charles Lussier at clussier@theadvocate. com.

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’s Office.

Lee was found lying in a street on the outskirts of Ville Platte with gunshot wounds and died at a hospital on March 30, 2024.

Bail was set at $150,000 for Two people have been arrested in the fatal shooting each suspect.

The investigation remains of a Baton Rouge man near Ville Platte more than two ongoing, and authorities said additional arrests are exyears ago, authorities said.

Daijah McClay, 29, of pected.

2 arrested in killing near Ville Platte

EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH BUILDING PERMITS Here is a list of commercial and residential building permits issued by East Baton Rouge Parish Government from June 26 to July 2.

BUSINESS

8540 FLORIDA BLVD.: clothing store; applicant, Kevin Smith.

3130 BALIS DRIVE: mixed-use commercial space with a private fitness training studio and office space for a real estate brokerage; applicant and owner, Fredlicia Phillips.

2769 MISSION DRIVE: new construction for a 3,320-square-foot factory/ industrial building, $250,000; applicant, C. Joseph Richard; owner, Steven Waguespack; contractor, Harvey Honore & Company.

8856 S. CHOCTAW DRIVE: general office and warehouse space, including a call center; applicant, Daniel Reid.

2106 PERKINS ROAD: new twostory medical center with 2,292 square feet of space, $550,000; applicant, John Pourciau; contractor, Leblanc & Fresina Investments.

11315 FLORIDA BLVD.: remodel suite into a restaurant,

$40,000; applicant, Chau Pham; owner, Minh Nguyen; contractor, Elvin Trung Do. 9257 FLORIDA BLVD.: tattoo studio lobby; applicant, Salena Alvarado; owner, Branden Barker.

1880 FLONACHER ROAD, ZACHARY: add limestone to 2,000-square-foot parking lot to prevent rainwater from leaving the property, $103,000; applicant, Hooper Price; contractor, Empire Integrity Services.

7570 JEFFERSON HIGHWAY: interior completion of space for a 5,325-square-foot store that sells pet food and pet accessories, $400,000; applicant, Thomas Donaldson; contractor, Centurion Construction Management.

8281 GOODWOOD BLVD: renovation of 2,000 square feet on the first floor of an existing building, $100,000; applicant, Britany Dealminana; owner, Chris Town; contractor, Arkel Constructors.

2040 O’NEAL LANE: commercial pylon sign, $11,500; applicant, Kimberly Gremillion; contractor, Gulf South Signs.

11834 MARKET PLACE AVE:

offices for Greater You Counseling Center, an outpatient practice that provides professional mental health services; applicant, Charme Thompson.

7225 ADELIA LANE: office for design-build contractor; applicant, Bill Firesheets.

6800 SCENIC HIGHWAY: converting existing building into student housing, $400,000, applicant, Dexter Henderson; contractor, I G H Contracting Services.

6347 GREENWELL SPRINGS ROAD: patio addition to Dee’s Blues Box, $40,000; applicant, Kelvin Hunter; owner, Demetris Chambers; contractor, Covenant General Contractors.

5425 GALERIA DRIVE: salon usage for one occupant; Markeisha Hills.

9257 FLORIDA BLVD.: change in use/occupancy for an 800-square-foot Paint Remix, $8,000; applicant, LaTaoya Moore-Jett.

10330 AIRLINE HIGHWAY: health and life insurance sales; applicant, Kenneth Wright.

2621 MEEKER DRIVE: heavy equipment business; appli-

cant, Gaynell Sanchez.

5557 GOVERNMENT ST.: hair studio; applicant, Kelli Hutchinson.

2040 O’NEAL LANE: nail salon; applicant, Thi Thu Minh Huynh.

8201 JEFFERSON HIGHWAY: law firm; applicant, Kirk Guidry.

5250 CHENEAU LANE: renovation of Rouzan supply storage structure to create HOA meeting office; $40,000; applicant, Amy Whitsell; owner, Joseph Labbe; contractor, Level Construction and Development.

325 FLORIDA ST.: renovations to install new elevator in a 5,950-square-foot office building, $325,0000; applicant, Landon Rainey; owner, Renee Amar; contractor, Buquet & LeBlanc.

4260 EVANGELINE ST.: commercial change in occupancy, using part of a church as a daycare; applicant, Destiny Chatman; contractor, Power House Developments.

13431 PERKINS ROAD: foundation for new elementary school; applicant, Cecilia Gomes; owner, Roosevelt

Haney; contractor, Lincoln Builders of Baton Rouge.

NEW HOMES

7639 WHITETIP AVE.: $200,000, 2,382 square feet; applicant, Jacob Harelson: owner, Carlos Alvarez; contractor, Alvarez Construction Co. 7337 RICHARDS DRIVE: $2.7 million, 7,422 square feet; applicant, Nick Cagley; contractor, Cagley Custom Homes.

2351 PLANTATION DRIVE: $125,000, 1,520 square feet; applicant, Butch Evans; owner, Ron Julien; contractor, Andre Denelle Newton Sr. 7727 SILVERSIDE COVE: $200,000; applicant, Jacob Harelson; owner, Carlos Alvarez; contractor, Alvarez Construction Co. 963 ROBERTO AVE., BAKER: $163,950, 2,186 square feet; applicant, Starts Department; owner and contractor, D.R. Horton.

802 ROBERTO AVE., BAKER: $172,500, 2,300 square feet; applicant, Starts Department; owner and contractor, D.R. Horton.

7116 LASALLE AVE.: $700,000, 5,200 square feet; applicant,

David Nelson; contractor, Nelson Custom Builders.

18022 PRIDE-BAYWOOD ROAD, GREENWELL SPRINGS: $366,500, 3,381 square feet; applicant, Jody McLin; owners, Lee & Laura Bourgeois; contractor, C-T Homes.

1003 RYAN AVE., BAKER: $172,500, 2,300 square feet; applicant, Starts Department; owner and contractor, D.R. Horton.

904 ROBERTO AVE., BAKER: $172,500, 2,300 square feet; applicant, Starts Department; owner and contractor, D.R. Horton.

951 ROBERTO AVE., BAKER: $163,950, 2,186 square feet; applicant, Starts Department; owner and contractor, D.R. Horton.

LOTTERY

SUNDAY, JULY 5, 2026 PICK 3: 0-9-2 PICK 4: 4-8-0-8 PICK 5: 5-5-5-1-1

Unofficial notification, keep your tickets.

The Advocate ■ theadvocate.com ■ Tuesday, July 7, 2026 ■ 3B

lll

Funerals Today Baxley, Charles

St. Thomas More Catholic Church, 11441 Goodwood Drive, at 11 a.m.

Henry, Frances

Broadmoor Baptist Church, 9755 Goodwood Boulevard, at 11 a.m.

Musso Jr., Michael

Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church at 10 a.m.

Obituaries Babin, Harold Bond

Harold Bond Babin, age 90, of Zachary, passed away peacefully on Sunday, July 5, 2026. Harold was born on August 7, 1935, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. In his early years, he attended elementary school in Clinton, Louisiana. His family later moved to Baton Rouge, where Harold attended Baton Rouge Junior High School, Baton Rouge High School, and Louisiana State University. He completed the Ministerial Course of Study of The United Methodist Church and was ordained a deacon in 1971. Beginning in 1963, Harold served as a local pastor in The United Methodist Church, ministering to the congregations of Angie, Varnado, Day's Center, Darlington, Bluff Creek, Slaughter, Corbin, Wilson Community Church, Tunica, and St. Francisville.

He served St. Francisville United Methodist Church from 1972 until his retirement in 2005. Harold began working in the Road Design Section of the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development in July 1956. At the time of his retirement in 1986, he was a Senior Road Design Squad Leader. Harold is survived by the former Patricia Pope of Zachary, Louisiana, his wife of 70 years.

They lived in Zachary beginning in 1958 and in St. Francisville from 1986 to 2005. He is also survived by his five children and their spouses: Brenda Babin Triche (Glenn), Cliff Babin (Johnnie), Linda Babin Stovall (Greg), Jimmy Babin (Marlene), and Bobby Babin (Janet).

Harold is also survived by his 17 grandchildren: Dr. Jason Triche (Grant Lane), Brandie Triche, Justin Triche (Lacey), Brad Thibodeaux, Mikki Helm, Ben Morgan, Greyson Stovall, Emery Stovall, Brittney Nichols (Dustin), Brooke Hafliger (Adam), Derek Babin (Caitlin), Stephen Babin (Anna Grace), Rebekah Babin, Katie Babin, Bond Babin (Rebecca), Rachael Vince (Patrick), and Bryce Babin (Jensen); 32 great-grandchildren; seven great-great-grandchildren; and a nephew, Hunter Babin (Joyce). He was preceded in death by his parents, V.V. and Essie Bond Babin, and his brothers, Clifford Babin (Sis) and Dr. Claude Babin (Barbara).

Visitation will be held at Zachary United Methodist Church on Wednesday, July 8, 2026, from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. Visitation will continue on Thursday, July 9, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m., with the funeral service beginning at 11:00 a.m. The service will be conducted by the Reverend Austin Rinehart, Dr. Greg Davis, and the Reverend Chris Andrews.

Burial will follow at Azalea Rest Cemetery. Pallbearers will be his grandsons with honorary pallbearers being Dr. Kemp Amacker, Ted Landaiche, Joe Kelley, and the Reverend Mike Clark.

Share sympathies, memories, and condolences at www.CharletFuneralHome. com.

Bezet Jr., Charles Curtis 'Chuck'

Charles "Chuck" Curtis Bezet, Jr. passed away on Wednesday, July 1, 2026, at his home in Brusly, at the age of 57. He was a native and lifelong resident of

Brusly. Chuck was a machinist with Industrial Parts Specialties LLC. Visiting will be at Wilbert Funeral Home in Port Allen on Wednesday, July 8th, from 5 to 8 p.m. and again on Thursday, July 9th, from 9 a.m. until religious service at 11 a.m., conducted by Rev. Steve Chadwick and Rev. Troy Romig. Entombment will follow in St. John the Baptist Catholic Church Mausoleum in Brusly. Pallbearers will be Billy Deshotel, Jesse Peavy, Jon Barbier, Phillip Deshotel, Barry Daigle, Todd Leray. Honorary pallbearers will be Mikey Rayburn, Landon Martinez, Easton Bezet, Jeremy "Frog" Bezet. Chuck is survived by his father, Charles Curtis "Curt" Bezet Sr.; brother, Jeremy "Frog" Bezet; daughters, Savannah Bezet Rayburn and husband Christopher "Mikey" Jr., and Emily Bezet; grandchildren, Easton Bezet and Eloise Rayburn; honorary grandchildren, Dylan and Allie Behrnes, Ava Grace Franklin. Chuck was preceded in death by his mother, Patricia "Pat" King Bezet. Chuck was a member of Red Diamond Hunting Club. He spent his free time at the ballpark supporting his daughters and his grandson. Chuck enjoyed hunting, baling hay with his dad, spending time with his friends and cooking.

Henry, Frances T.

Frances Turner Henry, April 30, 1937 - June 30, 2026.

Frances Turner Henry, beloved mother, grandmother, educator, civic leader, and pioneering businesswoman, passed peacefully from this world on Tuesday, June 30, 2026, at the age of 89.

Born on April 30, 1937, in Hodge, Louisiana, Frances was the daughter of Arnold A. Turner and Mary Elizabeth Eubanks Turner. From an early age, she distinguished herself as an exceptional student, graduating with honors from Jonesboro-Hodge High School in 1955.

Following high school, Frances attended Louisiana Tech University, where she earned her Bachelor's Degree in Education in 1957 and her Master's Degree in Education in 1958. Her lifelong devotion to education and public service would eventually lead to her being recognized as the Louisiana Tech University College of Education Alumna of the Year in 2019, one of the university's highest honors.

In the spring of 1958, Frances married her high school sweetheart, E.L. "Bubba" Henry. The newlyweds moved to Baton Rouge after Bubba's acceptance to LSU Law School. Frances supported their young family by teaching school while Bubba pursued his legal education. Upon his graduation, they returned to Jonesboro, where Bubba established his law practice and Frances continued her beloved work as an educator.

Throughout their marriage, Frances was Bubba's greatest champion. When he decided to run for the Louisiana Legislature in 1968, she stood steadfastly by his side throughout his distinguished political career. During his twelve years of legislative service, Frances balanced her responsibilities as a teacher and mother, often driving herself and their children to Baton Rouge on weekends when Bubba was unable to return home. She also made Baton Rouge a second home for the family during the legislative summers. In 1980, the family permanently relocated to Baton Rouge when Bubba was appointed Commissioner of Administration under Governor David Treen.

After more than twentytwo years as an educator, Frances embarked on an entirely new professional journey. She became one of the first successful fulltime female residential general contractors in the Baton Rouge area, building a respected career that spanned three decades and breaking barriers for women in the construction

industry.

Frances' impact on Louisiana extended far beyond her professional accomplishments. A passionate advocate for education and public service, she served for two decades on the Louisiana Board of Regents, where she played an influential role in shaping higher education policy, teacher quality initiatives, and systemic high school reform throughout the state. Her expertise and dedication to education also led to seven years of service on President George W. Bush's No Child Left Behind National Commission.

For more than twenty years, Frances served as a member of the Board of Directors of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, including as chair of the board. Through this work, she helped advance the Foundation's mission of improving the health and well-being of Louisianians, especially children and families.

Above all, Frances was devoted to her family. She embodied grace, intelligence, perseverance, and generosity, leaving a legacy of service and love that touched countless lives.

She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, E.L. "Bubba" Henry, and her eldest son, Preston Henry.

She is survived by her son, Patrick E. Henry and daughter-in-law, Lydia L. Henry; her daughter, Lori H. Taylor and son-in-law, Brunson Taylor; and her cherished grandchildren, Mary Elizabeth Gordon, Mona Taylor, Jacob McKenzie Henry, John Paul Shelton, James David Shelton, and Eva Shaw, along with numerous extended family members and dear friends.

A visitation will be held at Rabenhorst Funeral Home, 825 Government Street, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Monday, July 6, 2026, from 6:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m.

A celebration of Frances' life will be held at Broadmoor Baptist Church, 9755 Goodwood Boulevard, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, at 11:00 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to The Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank.

Herbert, Maureen R.

Maureen Richard Herbert, born in New Orleans on March 29, 1952, to Amedee S. Richard and Audrey Davis Richard, entered God's heavenly kingdom on July 5, 2026, following a long and brave battle with cancer. Maureen was a graduate of Sacred Heart of Jesus High School in New Orleans and attended UNO. She taught at Jefferson Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, as a Kindergarten Physical Education Teacher for 8 years and she served her community for many years as a school crossing guard providing safe travels for students.

Maureen was an integral part of Reliance Valve and Machine, the family-owned business, operating in Baton Rouge since 1988. Maureen was always a fun-loving person, who found good in everyone and cherished her relationships with her family and friends. Being generous was one of her strong points and she believed when you give, you receive tenfold. She had always been strong physically, emotionally and spiritually in the face of multiple obstacles in her life. Maureen was a devout Christian who attended Most Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church. She enjoyed idyllic weekends in Grand Isle with family and friends, fishing and relaxing with a good book.

Viewing the latest movie at the movie theater was her delight. Her talent for woodworking was a focal point for the neighborhood during the holiday seasons with decorative lawn displays and she left a legacy with the handmade Christmas ornaments for her loved ones. Her generous heart was a beacon of friendship to all who met her. Maureen cherished her family and is survived by her husband, Stafford Herbert, sons John Herbert (Regan), Patrick Herbert (Crystal), and daughter, Lauren Herbert, her grandchildren Elizabeth Herbert, Step-grandchildren Brooklyn Falcon, Tanner Falcon, Hunter Falcon, Kaylie

Davis, Alexis Limbers, and Payton Limbers, her siblings, Amedee S. Richard, III, Mary Ellen Weaker (Frank), Patrick Richard (Audra), Eileen Person (Dwight), Daniel Richard (Melinda), Timothy Richard (Terri), Brothers-in-law, Arthur Herbert, III, (Irene), Robert Herbert, (Carrie), and Aunt Martha Walker, along with numerous nieces and nephews. Maureen was preceded in death by her parents, Amedee S. Richard and Audrey Davis Richard; her father-in-law and mother-inlaw, Arthur Herbert, Jr. and Gloria Herbert; and her uncle, John Walker. We would like to express our gratitude to the staff of Clarity Hospice for their professional and compassionate care of Maureen, as they provided comfort in a warm and tender manner.

Pallbearers will be Johnny Herbert, Patrick Herbert, Danny Richard, Pat Richard, Timmy Richard, Arthur "Bud" Herbert, III. Visitation will be from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM prior to a Mass of Christian Burial at 1:30 PM on Friday, July 10th at Most Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, 15615 Jefferson Highway, Baton Rouge, LA 70817. Interment will follow Mass at Serenity Oaks Memorial Park, 15304 Highway 73 Prairieville, LA 70769.

Joseph, Linda Carter

Rev. Linda Carter Joseph was born on January 15, 1948, to the late Edward Carter Jr. and Elma Crockett Carter. She departed this life on June 26, 2026.

She dedicated 27 years to the East Baton Rouge School system as a teacher and Guidance Counselor. Rev. Joseph leaves behind cherished memories with her son Andre Joseph (Osjeta) and five grandchildren, Imani, Caleb, London, Khary and Carter. She was preceded in death by her husband, Ulysses Joseph and son Bryant, her parents, and sister Glenda Bernard. A funeral service will be held from 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM

on 2026-07-11 at Hall Davis and Son Celebration Center , 9348 Scenic Hwy.

Losavio, Odette Catlett

Mrs. Odette Catlett Losavio, age 85, of Lettworth LA, passed away July 4, 2026 surrounded by the ones who love her. Visitation will be held on Wednesday, July 8 at 9am11am. Services will be held at 11:00 AM at St. Ann's Church in Morganza LA, with interment to follow at St. Steven's Church in Lettsworth, LA. directed by Nilands funeral home.

Mrs. Losavio was a retired postmaster from Innis, a devoted wife, mother to her children, grandmother to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

She was a pillar of her community and will be so lovingly missed by her friends and family. Survivors include her husband of 67 faithful years, Anthony "Buddy" Losavio who often referred to her as "The only rose he ever wanted", four sons, Andy, Marvin, Sam, and Vince Losavio; 10 grandchildren; and numerous great grandchildren. Buddy lovingly referred to her as "The perfect wife, Perfect mother, and most wonderful cook". Mrs. Odette, Maw, Mama; Names referred to her from ones who know the weight that she carried daily. The glue that held the family together and never let anyone see the pain.

Martin, William Conner

in Manhasset, NY, before moving to Natchez, MS, at age 11, graduating from Natchez High School in 1953. Will graduated from LSU in 1959 and was a lifelong LSU Tiger fan, attending numerous LSU football, basketball, baseball, and Lady Tiger basketball sporting events. He was a cartographer with the U.S. Geological Survey, serving there for 37 years before retiring. Will loved caring for and taking his dogs (Duchess and Sophie) for walks around the neighborhood. He was a longtime member and usher at Broadmoor United Methodist Church, and most recently a member at St. John's United Methodist Church. He was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and friend. He was preceded in death by his father, William Thompson Martin, Jr., and mother, Eliza Conner Martin. He is survived by his beloved wife of 55 years, Loretta Shuffield Martin; three daughters, Lisa Martin Ludwig and husband Trip, Holly Martin Miller and husband Leon, and Mary Kathryn "Tat" Martin; one son, Teddy Martin and wife Nicole; seven grandchildren, Caroline Ludwig, Eddie Ludwig, Catherine Miller, Sarah Miller, Michael Miller, Meredith Martin, Grace Martin; two great-grandchildren, Edward Ludwig and Lucie Ludwig.

Also survived by his brothers-in -law Phillip Ross "Ross" Shuffield, Jr. (Gwen), and George Richard "Ricky" Shuffield (Pat); and sisterin-law Sudie Shuffield LeMasters (Earl). The family would like to express their heartfelt gratitude to the compassionate caregivers at the Baton Rouge General Hospital and the Baton Rouge Rehabilitation Center.

Relatives and friends are invited to celebrate Will's life on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, at Resthaven Funeral Home.

Visitation will take place from 6:00 PM until 8:00 PM. Visitation will resume on Wednesday, July 8, 2026, at St. John Methodist Church beginning at 9:00 AM until funeral service at 10:00 AM. Burial will take place at Natchez City Cemetery in Natchez, MS. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to St. John's United Methodist Church. Family and friends may sign the online guestbook or leave a personal note to the family at www.resthavenbaton rouge.com.

William Conner Martin, Baton Rouge, LA, passed away on July 3, 2026, at the age of 91. Will was born in Philadelphia, PA, and lived

When you need the news.

Wherever you read the news.

The newspaper of record for Baton Rouge

4B ■ Tuesday, July 7, 2026 ■ theadvocate.com ■ The Advocate

lll

OPINION T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M/opinions

OUR VIEWS

State failing neediest families with unused WIC funds A recent report by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor found that Louisiana is failing to use funds designated to help low-income pregnant women gain access to healthy foods.

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children — more commonly known as WIC — is entirely federally funded. It provides routine testing, nutrition counseling and money for healthy foods to eligible women. Louisiana ranks last in the rate of participation among all the states. Add Washington, D.C., and the territory of Puerto Rico to the list, and we’re still dead last.

Between 2021 and 2024, Louisiana did not use approximately $111 million worth of federal WIC funding, the auditor found.

That a state with one of the highest rates of infant mortality isn’t using a program designed to help women deliver healthy babies should shock the conscience of everyone who cares about Louisiana’s mothers and children.

The report lists several reasons for the state’s low participation rate. Many of them are easy to remedy. For example, around 80% of the clinics that screen participants were not open beyond normal business hours. Most women in the program must complete regular clinic visits in order to maintain their benefits. But for working mothers, finding a clinic that could accommodate their schedules proved challenging.

In north Louisiana, for example, only one clinic near Shreveport operated in early morning hours or late into the evening.

For other would-be participants, the problem was that clinic hours and phone numbers posted on their websites were not accurate, and staff did not answer the phone.

The audit also found that many clinics were not doing at least one outreach event per month as required by state policy to let potentially eligible moms know about the program.

We are glad to note that the Louisiana Department of Health, which oversees WIC, agreed with the audit recommendations and has already begun to address these issues. It will conduct reviews of clinic information online and will institute a “secret shopper” program to randomly call clinics to make sure phones are being answered. It has set a goal to improve participation by 25% this year.

Surveys of participants also found that the program where beneficiaries receive EBT cards to redeem at participating stores for specific food products was not meeting their needs.

Some products, like yogurt, were offered only in large quantities so they did not redeem the items for fear they would spoil, participants shared. The Department of Health agreed to have more flexibility in what products were offered. Some parishes only had one vendor that accepted the food benefit program, so the department is looking at expanding that.

All of these measures mean that a lifeline for needy families will now be strengthened. But outreach is key — a lifeline is only useful if it reaches those in need.

YOUR VIEWS

Arch is just a symbol of decline, not triumph A gigantic Roman triumphal arch would absolutely contradict the American liberal democratic experiment framed in our Constitution.

It seems that Rome’s early republican Senate rarely approved such monuments to victorious generals, but the empire grew lousy with arches after the Caesars and subsequent power struggles destroyed the Roman 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 toward civil rights based on rule of law, and celebration of civic rather than ethnic, racial, or gendered national identity have all underscored the idea of American exceptionalism.

In stark contrast,Rome’s persecution of Christian martyrs spanned a history 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.

A garish, bellicose arch in our nation’s capital associated with President Donald Trump might also conjure images of “fallen arches,” or flat feet, which, like shin splints and bone spurs, have exempted draftees from military

We’re loosening access to guns while tightening access to ballot So there is a governmental proposal brewing that would make it easier to mail guns directly to purchasers’ homes. At the same time, there are ongoing attempts to make it more difficult to mail ballots to legally vote for government officials. Is it a coincidence that Donald Trump Jr. is positioned to directly benefit from easy internet and mail ordering of firearms resulting in increased revenues at GrabAGun? He holds a board 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 — by a wide margin compared to similarly developed, high-income nations. Do we really need to make it easier for citizens to obtain guns and the Trump family to further enrich itself?

While efforts are being made by the current Congress and administration to make voting more difficult, 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, in the 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 many issues, so many questions.

Please, America, pay attention to the information coming from reliable sources. Do your research and think about what this means for our country and all of its citizens.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JEN GOLBECK

The U.S. Capitol and a mock-up of President Donald Trump’s proposed triumphal arch are seen from the Ferris wheel at the Great American State Fair on the National Mall.

service.

Should we copy arches sponsored

by European monarchs and emperors, like Napoleon’s Arc de Triomphe? No. Though arising as a Jacobin son of the revolution, Napoleon actually reversed hard-won French liberties that took two more major 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 Lady Liberty.

WILLIAM BERTOLETTE Baton Rouge

Kids can read the Ten Commandments, hypocrites LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ARE WELCOME. HERE ARE OUR GUIDELINES: Letters are published

identifying name, occupation and/or title and the writer’s city of residence.

The Advocate | The Times-Picayune require a street address and phone 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, SCAN HERE

I wanted to support Muhammad Yungai’s opinion on the hypocrisy of those people pushing the posting of the Ten Commandments in schools.

It is the continuation of brainwashing of children that self-righteous people employ to further their, and only their, religious views on others.

Yungai’s letter was well-written and on point. Older kids, more acquainted with diversity in this world, will have the wherewithal to figure out the bias behind this propaganda.

I still hear people talk about the glory of war and their sanctimonious

certainty in the correctness of capital punishment while witnessing their disregard for children after birth and their denial of pedophilia by priests (to name a few of the obvious hypocrisies).

Many now worship that gold-plated statue of a self-proclaimed god. They did then, and still do, parade as peacocks of “Christian” virtue. It doesn’t take kids long to connect the dots.

Thank you to Yungai for speaking the truth.

ROSE MARY WILLIAMS Baton Rouge

DENISE VERRET Breaux Bridge

WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR LOCAL REPORTING

KEVIN HALL

President & Publisher

RENE SANCHEZ

VP/News, Executive Editor

KARYN KEARNEY EVP/Strategic Partnerships

ARNESSA GARRETT Managing Editor/ Opinion

JUSTIN MITCHELL

Managing Editor/ Audience

HANK STUEVER

Managing Editor/ Enterprise

FRED KALMBACH

JENNIFER BROWN

JERRY DICOLO

EMMA DISCHER

Managing Editor

Managing Editor, New Orleans

KRISTIN ASKELSON Managing Editor, Acadiana

BARBARA LEADER Managing Editor, Shreveport

Senior Editor Senior Editor

ANDREA GALLO

ROGER HOLMES

Chief Revenue Office

ASHLEY WHITCHER

VP/ Consumer Sales

JIM MYERS

General Manager/ Advertising

VP/IT

Senior Editor/ Investigations

VP/Finance

JESSICA WILLIAMS

ROBERT STOLL

Senior Editor

CHASE HEATHERLY

Executive VP, Operations

VP/Distribution

KYLE WHITFIELD

G

GEORGES MEDIA GROUP JOHN D. GEORGES Owner

JUDI TERZOTIS

ROBERT YOUNG

Chief Executive Officer

LOU HUDSON

Editorial Page

VP/ Majors & Nationals

DAN SHEA

Chairman

ARNESSA GARRETT STEPHANIE GRACE WILL SUTTON QUIN HILLYER FAIMON ROBERTS

The Advocate ■ theadvocate.com ■ Tuesday, July 7, 2026 ■ 5B

lll

COMMENTARY Spell’s theology, not just actions, runs counter to historic Christianity Whether the Rev. Tony Spell will be convicted of a crime is a question that will be answered by a Louisiana jury.

Whether he holds views traditionally labeled heretical, however, is a verdict rendered more than 1,500 years ago.

Let me explain.

Spell, the fiery — some might say pugilistic — pastor of Life Tabernacle in Central, first came to prominence when he refused to abide by pandemic-era lockdown restrictions meant to slow the spread of the virus. More recently, he was arrested last month Faimon after an incident with his Roberts neighbor, in which Spell repeatedly punched his neighbor even after he had pinned the man to the ground.

The fight, which was caught on camera, landed Spell in the parish jail for a few hours on a count of second-degree battery. His case will work its way through our criminal justice system.

When he’s not fighting, Spell is running his church. Life Tabernacle is part of a movement within Pentecostalism that denies the ancient Christian formulation of God as a trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit as one God in three persons.

The church’s website makes this explicit: “the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are not names of separate persons, but titles of positions held by God.” Such a description is “classic modalism,” Lloyd Harsch, a professor of church history at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, told me.

Modalism emphasizes the “oneness” of God. It sees God as one being acting in three different “modes.” And while Pentecostalism is a relatively new movement — it grew out of an early 20th century revival in California — modalism goes back into the church’s early centuries.

It was “a heresy that was dealt with and resoundingly condemned as being outside orthodox Christianity” by the 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 years before the Roman Catholic-Eastern Orthodox split and more than 1,000 years before Martin Luther kicked off the Protestant Reformation.

PHOTO By MICHAEL BACIGALUPI

Life Tabernacle Church’s Tony Spell speaks to the media on June 24 at the church in Central.

Today, the majority of churches, including Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Protestant, are firmly trinitarian.

Spell’s views on the Trinity are a minority even within Pentecostalism.

Let me be clear here: I am not saying that Spell and his congregants should not be free to practice their religion as they see fit; they absolutely should. But I am noting that his beliefs fall outside of historic Christianity, and go against one of its bedrock doctrines.

Of course, one needn’t dive into dusty theological tomes or ancient church history to see the gaps between Spell’s version of Christianity and the one taught by Jesus.

Jesus taught humility, and Spell seems to revel in his own notoriety.

A few days after the fight, Spell told a deputy in a comment recorded on a body camera, “Everybody in the world knows my name.”

He also used a slur for gay people to describe the man he beat, and said he would beat the man or his family again if he felt it necessary, per body camera footage.

Jesus also taught nonviolence. When one of his followers cut off the ear of a soldier who had come to arrest Jesus, Jesus healed the man. He also famously said, “If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other

cheek also.”

Spell took a different tack: He charged across the street to confront his neighbor, and even after he was arrested, he boasted about the incident, saying in a news conference that he, as the shepherd, had to protect his flock.

Later, during a church service, he made light of it.

“I fulfilled Scripture because I lay hands on the sick. I don’t know how much recovery they’re going to have, but I laid hands on them,” he said.

Spell’s devotion to Scripture is clear.

And his 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 the letters of the Apostle Paul, who in 1 Corinthians holds aloft the three great Christian virtues: “faith, hope and love. And the greatest of these is love.”

And in Galatians, Paul lists the fruits of the Spirit, which include love, peace, gentleness and self-control, among others. And against those things, Paul notes, “there is no law.”

But it seems those virtues, like the Trinity, aren’t important to Spell and his version of Christianity.

Email Faimon A. Roberts III at froberts@theadvocate.com.

Soccer fans see our multicultural miracle The welcoming reception that so land migration from eastern and southmany European soccer fans have reern Europe, 1892 to 1914, you heard ceived as they have crossed the nation constantly that America was suddenly becoming — for some, dangerously bein pursuit of World Cup games has struck many as a happy surprise of coming — multicultural. the summer of the 250th anniversary In the decade from 1846 to 1857, of the Declaration of Independence. when immigration as a percentage of “The World Cup is at our shores, the preexisting population was at a and all these people are doing similar peak, the sudden inrush us a great service,” comedian of German and Irish Catholic Bill Maher posted. “They are immigrants inspired similar reminding Americans that this ruminations. The fact that place is kind of awesome.” many newcomers, rather than “They are seeing an America fan out into farms and the fronthey never imagined,” The Wall tier, clustered in high-density Michael neighborhoods in central cities Street Journal’s Peggy Noonan Barone seemed especially threatening. noted with something like awe.

“They expected a dark and But cultural diversity was brooding nation; they discovered a part of the American experience, gosun-filled magnificence. It’s so big, so ing back to colonial days and through spacious, has such wondrous shops, the Revolution and the first tenuous the best food and absolutely wonderyears of independence, which proful people.” duced the Constitution.

“We forget too easily,” British-born America’s revolutionary patriots had American Andrew Sullivan wrote, grown up during a period when recent “the loving, generous, beautiful culhistory was centered on foreign and civil wars centered on differences in ture that is still America at its core.

If it takes a soccer tournament rather religion. England’s Glorious Revoluthan a choreographed 250th annivertion, the ouster of a Catholic king by a Protestant foreigner, was as distant sary celebration to remind us of that, in time from revolutionaries active in so be it. We’re worth celebrating no the 1770s and 1780s as World War II is less.” as distant in time from us today.

Sullivan took special care to hail The English Civil War, which re“the multicultural miracle we have already achieved in this quarter of a sulted in the execution of the king, millennium.” It’s a refreshing contrast was contemporaneous with the demowith the notion, widely prevalent in graphically devastating Thirty Years’ the pre-Trump years of this century, War in Europe and 120 to 130 years in that America had suddenly, for the the past — not much further distant first time, moved from being a stifling- than World War I and the totalitarian fascism and communism of the 20th ly, insensitively monocultural society century that followed. to a multiracial, multicultural one.

Against such a background, the varWhen you go rifling back in American history, you encounter this notion time ied religious origins of the different and again. In the years of peak Ellis Is- colonies must have been disquieting.

The New England colonies had been founded by Calvinist rebels against the Church 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 the convention in September 1787 and ratified by the ninth state and rendered effective in June 1788, provided that, unlike in Britain, “no religious test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.”

And the First Amendment to the Constitution, approved by the First Congress in September 1789 and ratified by the states 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 the free exercise thereof.” States could keep their established religions — Connecticut did until 1818, Massachusetts until 1833 — or have none at all.

In the nearly 250 years since, Americans have grappled with the difficulties of maintaining their “multicultural miracle” even as the population has increased from 4 million to 349 million.

But that there have been difficulties should not blind us to the founders’ achievement in declaring independence and establishing a frame of government appropriate to an always, and always-changing, multicultural society.

Michael Barone is on X, @MichaelBarone.

With Cuba, Trump had better beware of what he wishes for After beginning the war, but before his conduct of it turned it into an embarrassment, President Donald Trump said: “On the way back” from Iran “we will be taking over” Cuba “almost immediately.” Now, humiliated and bewildered, he hungers for a success before this autumn’s elections.

Cuba’s 67-year-old regime has survived 13 U.S. presidencies. But a bumptious 14th has big plans.

Loosely speaking.

Communist Cuba, a threadbare museum of Marxism, has always attracted tyranny tourists, leftist pilgrims eager to experience, briefly, applied socialism. The only good its evil ever produced is “Against All Hope,” Armando Valladares’s magnificent 1986 memoir of 22 years as a political prisoner. Beatings were never perfunctory, always ferocious and imaginatively cruel.

He was fed watery soup laced with glass, or dead rats, or half the length of a cow’s intestine, rectum included, filled with waste.

Other than those pilgrims, no one believes the Havana regime has a shred of legitimacy. What should be done?

For decades, Communist Cuba, a mendicant nation prickly about its revolutionary dignity, depended on George subsidies from the Soviet Union, Will then on bartered oil from Venezuela. Now it experiences electricity blackouts, sometimes lasting 22 hours a day. Some airlines have stopped serving Havana because fuel is scarce for return trips. Tourism has evaporated. The Economist says “harvests are virtually non-existent.” The Wall Street Journal’s Mary Anastasia O’Grady reports, “Output from once-vibrant export industries like sugar, tobacco, coffee and fruit can’t even supply the domestic market.”

Like North Korea, another family business, Cuba’s regime, in which Fidel Castro’s brother Raúl, 95, still matters, has one priority: survival.

It understands the threat posed by permitting any freedom in tyranny’s fissures. Hence, it’s fear of free enterprise, socialism’s solvent.

Raúl Castro (with whom President Barack Obama posed for photos during his “engagement” with Cuba) cannot be an interlocutor, given the proper U.S. indictment of him for murder. In 1996, he ordered Cuban military jets to shoot down two U.S. civilian aircraft over international water.

They were helping escapees from the prison island.

Trump’s base includes Cuban Americans, a large majority of whom, according to a Miami Herald poll, favor military intervention and oppose any economic engagement that preserves the regime. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, an adult in Trump’s Cabinet, says Cuba’s economic trajectory “will not change as long as the people who are in charge of it now remain in power.”

Gaesa, an army-run conglomerate, controls 70% of the economy.

Cuba’s economy shrank 11% from 2019 to 2024, and more than 1 million people, about 10 percent of the population, fled the country between 2022 and 2023. The Trump administration insists that prostrate Cuba threatens U.S. “national security.”

Cuba’s army has about one-fifth of its former 200,000 soldiers; its tiny air force is ramshackle.

Cuba reportedly has more than 300 drones, but what use are they? And surely there is sufficient U.S. leverage to pressure Havana into ending Russia’s and China’s use of the island for listening to U.S. military communications. Is there, however, a U.S. obligation toward this unfortunate neighbor?

Thomas Gradgrind, the villain (until he softened his cold utilitarianism) of Charles Dickens’s “Hard Times,” probably believed that “the Good Samaritan was a Bad Economist.” Meaning: Charity skews incentives for self-reliance, etc. Some ethicists, however, wonder whether a Good Samaritan nation with the power to do good has an obligation to do it.

All agree, however, that there is no obligation to do what cannot be done. And what can be done for a nation that by now is all regime and no meaningful citizenry?

In March, a mob sacked a Communist Party headquarters in central Cuba. This spark of insurrection was aberrant and fleeting. Totalitarianism always has one foundational objective, which it has achieved in Cuba. The population is a dust of wary individuals, easily blown about. Their capacity for collaboration — for politics — has atrophied. A smooth democratic transition is a chimera.

In January, Trump said, “Cuba is ready to fall.”

Into what? Has Trump thought through his vow to “take care” of Cuba with a “friendly takeover” during “a little brief stopover”?

Before he skittered away from demanding Iran’s “unconditional surrender,” he jovially said of Cuba: A U.S. aircraft carrier will “stop about 100 yards offshore, and they’ll say ‘Thank you very much. We give up.’”

Such a cutup. Our Metternich from Midtown Manhattan is not intimidated by the aphorism that if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.

Email Will at georgewill@washpost.com.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ARE WELCOME. HERE ARE OUR GUIDELINES: Letters are published identifying name, occupation and/or title and the

writer’s city of residence. The Advocate | The Times-Picayune require a street address and phone 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, SCAN HERE

6B ■ Tuesday, July 7, 2026 ■ theadvocate.com ■ The Advocate

lll

Regional Summary

It will remain humid with times of clouds and sun. Spotty afternoon thunderstorms will rumble across the Southeast, west to Arkansas and Texas.

TODAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

An afternoon t-storm; humid

A t-storm around in the p.m.

A stray afternoon thunderstorm

A stray afternoon thunderstorm

A couple of thunderstorms

A couple of afternoon showers

HIGH

HIGH

HIGH

HIGH

LOW

90° 75°

LOW

91° 77°

LOW

91° 76°

Beaumont 92/77 Port Arthur 91/79

Baton Rouge 90/75

Lake Charles 91/78

New Orleans 91/78 Houma 89/75

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

0s

Hattiesburg 92/74

Alexandria 88/74

Lafayette 90/76

10s

20s

30s

40s

50s

LOW

HIGH

91° 76°

LOW

89° 77°

TEMPERATURE Jackson 91/73

Many 89/73

HIGH

YESTERDAY

TODAY

READING 41 MAIN POLLUTANT Ozone

MAIN POLLUTANT Ozone

Baton Rouge through 5 p.m. Monday

Longview 91/73

-0s

91° 77°

Monroe 91/74

Shreveport 91/74

-10s

LOW

60s

70s

80s

90s 100s 110s

High/low Normal high/low Last year’s high/low Record high Record low

Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today LAST

JUL 7

City

Atlanta Austin Boston Charlotte Chicago Dallas Denver Houston Las Vegas

Shown are areas of precipitation and high temperatures for the day.

PRECIPITATION

92°/72° 92°/74° 94°/74° 99° in 1960 64° in 1924

TODAY’S TIDES Lake Pontchartrain (Tchefuncte River) Shell Beach South Point, Marsh Island Cypremort Point Grand Isle (Barataria Pass) Mississippi River (Southwest Pass) Wine Island

24-hour total Month to date Normal month to date year to date Normal year to date

HIGH

4:22p 9:52a 9:25a 1:08a 5:39a 5:21a 6:47a

6:08 a.m.

8:11 p.m.

12:13 a.m.

1:12 p.m.

NEW

FIRST

JUL 14

Hi

92 97 67 94 85 97 95 95 109

TODAY Lo

76 76 63 75 66 78 64 78 84

FULL

JUL 21

W

t c r t s t t t s

JUL 29

Hi

93 99 76 95 87 99 90 96 111

GOOD

WED. Lo

74 75 67 76 70 79 63 78 83

W

t s pc t s s t pc pc

FT.

LOW

0.02” 1.36” 1.16” 38.08” 33.16”

FT.

0.4 8:30a 0.2 1.0 2:01a 0.4 1.4 12:40a 0.8 1.1 5:03a 1.0 0.8 4:35p 0.3 0.9 3:44p 0.3 1.0 5:37p 0.4

HIGH

FT.

--- ----- ----- --10:52a 1.4 --- ----- ----- ---

SOURCE: LOUISIANA DEQ AND AIRNOW.GOV

LOW

FT.

--- --9:20p 0.3 3:16p 0.2 7:09p 0.5 --- ----- ----- ---

The solunar period schedule allows planning days so you will be fishing in good territory or hunting in good cover during those times. Major periods begin at the times shown and last for 1.5 to 2 hours. The minor periods are shorter.

MAJOR MINOR MAJOR MINOR

Today 5:37a 11:48a 5:59p ---Wednesday 6:23a 12:11a 6:47p 12:35p Thursday 7:11a 12:57a 7:38p 1:24p Friday 8:02a 1:47a 8:31p 2:16p Saturday 8:56a 2:40a 9:28p 3:12p Sunday 9:55a 3:38a 10:28p 4:12p Monday 10:56a 4:40a 11:29p 5:13p

City

Hi

TODAY

Los Angeles 84 Miami 91 Nashville 87 New york City 71 Philadelphia 77 Phoenix 113 St. Louis 85 San Francisco 65 Seattle 77

Lo

63 80 72 64 67 91 71 55 57

W

s t t c c pc t pc pc

GOOD

Hi

WED.

86 93 89 82 85 113 90 68 71

Lo

65 81 72 68 70 90 76 57 53

W

MISSISSIPPI Memphis Vidalia-Natchez Red River Landing Baton Rouge Donaldsonville Reserve New Orleans OHIO Cairo COMITE Near Olive AMITE Near Darlington Denham Springs Port Vincent TICKFAW Montpelier Holden ATCHAFALAYA Simmesport Melville Krotz Springs Butte La Rose Bayou Sorrel Morgan City

s t t pc pc s t pc c

Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice.

FLOOD STAGE

34 48 48 35 27 22 17

MON. 24-HOUR STAGE CHANGE

16.00 41.30 43.10 26.90 17.70 13.26 8.80

-2.01 +0.42 none +0.20 +0.10 +0.03 +0.14

40

26.21

-3.14

19

-1.31

+0.06

18 29 8

-0.05 11.11 2.11

+0.75 -0.21 +0.26

13 15

2.89 1.54

+0.10 -0.05

47 34 29 20 12 6

26.24 17.61 15.33 12.07 7.00 3.46

+3.25 +0.09 +0.35 +0.08 +0.80 -0.16

data as of 7 a.m. Monday

Forecasts and graphics, except for Damon’s Outlook, provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2026

Authorities say body found on Horn Island Miss. teen went missing during holiday weekend

BY POET WOLFE Staff writer

Mississippi law enforcement found a body Monday morning on Horn Island, a day after a teen went missing in the area while on a Fourth of July trip with friends, according to Jack-

son County Sheriff John Ledbetter.

The National Park Service located the body on the island’s north shore near its western tip at 8:45 a.m., Ledbetter said. He added that the Coroner’s Office said the description of the body matched the missing teen and that it was “likely” him.

Officials are waiting to confirm the identity and inform family members before releasing any additional details. DNA results

are pending.

Authorities said 18-yearold Nolan Wells was last seen on Horn Island about 3 p.m.

Saturday wearing black shorts and sunglasses. Wells disappeared during a Fourth of July outing with friends on the popular barrier island off Mississippi’s coast near Ocean Springs, which drew large boating crowds over the holiday weekend.

Family members turned to Facebook on Monday afternoon to comment on Wells’

disappearance. His mother, Christine Wonsley, thanked friends, family and law enforcement for their support, and said she and loved ones are “absolutely devastated.”

“I’m heartbroken for my sweet son who was always willing to cheer and uplift others,” Wonsley said. “Nolan was a special soul, God took his time creating our son. I ask that you please give me and my family time to grieve.”

His grandfather, Christo-

pher Wells, said in a Facebook post that Wells’ mother and father “prayed for a positive outcome, but they also had to prepare themselves for the worst.”

“Now that my grandson has been found, it’s time for answers,” he wrote, “But be mindful they need space and need to grieve. There has been enough finger pointing. Let law enforcement do their job.”

Multiple agencies, including the Jackson County

Sheriff’s Office, the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department, the United States Coast Guard, the United Cajun Navy and the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, assisted in the search.

“On behalf of the United Cajun Navy, we extend our deepest condolences to Nolan’s family, friends, teammates, and everyone whose lives were touched by him,” the group said in a statement.

RISHER

COUNT

From there, he has continued his research — nearly three years of digging through census records and city directories.

He has pieced together a story far messier than the romantic sketch we had imagined.

Some Louisiana habits apparently go back a long way — Frederick was 22 in December 1856, and he was arrested for drunk and disorderly conduct at Elysian Fields and St. Claude, about a 30-minute walk from his home.

Six weeks later, he wrote his lines about Eugenie Ramel on the wall of his family home on Independence Street. Mier has wondered whether the arrest and the wall are connected.

In a turn we didn’t see coming, Frederick already had a son by then, born months earlier in June to a Dutch immigrant named Wilhelmina Prost, out of wedlock. He didn’t marry Prost until October 1857, nine months after he wrote of being fooled by Eugenie.

Meanwhile, Ramal married a notary named John

family from wearing pink in the courtroom during Carter’s trial. The color has become a symbol for supporters of Brooks, and is used in graphics and apparel tied to the nonprofit Madison Brooks Foundation, founded by Brooks’ mother.

Fowlkes argues a crowd of supporters in the pink merchandise could intimidate or otherwise bias the jury.

The 1st Circuit Court of Appeals previously barred Carter, as well as defendant Casen Carver, from using Brooks’ recent sexual history as part of their defenses.

Continued from page 1B

Continued from page 1B

STAFF PHOTO By JAN RISHER

Antonio Frederick Jr. wrote a stylized version of his name above that of Eugenie Ramal’s on the wall of his home in 1857. The writing has been preserved on the wall of the New Orleans home, which now belongs to Rick Jordan and Tammy Theis.

McClelland and had a daughter, Dolorita, in June 1859, about two and a half years after the inscription.

Frederick died in 1866, at 31, having barely lived past the Civil War. Ramal died in 1872, at 34.

Raul Mier has been generous with what he’s found, though he is short on certainty about what any of it means. He said the research has made him consider how history echoes through families. Frederick’s sister fled New Orleans for Cuba

during the Civil War. Nearly a century later, Mier and his parents fled Cuba for New Orleans in 1961.

Despite the writing on the wall and Raul Mier’s research, we don’t know what Ramal did to earn Frederick’s devotion or his eventual fury.

What we do know is that a young man’s heartbreak outlived him. It survived renovations, storms, changing owners and generations.

When Frederick wrote those words on the wall, he

PROVIDED PHOTO

Carmen Mier and her son Raul Mier stand beside the home in the Bywater area in New Orleans where their family lived in the mid-1800s. probably never imagined anyone would read them after he was gone — much less a grandnephew four generations later standing

in the very room where they were written.

Email Jan Risher at jan. risher@theadvocate.com.

NEWS

24/7 ON

SPORTS

T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M

|

T u e s d ay, J u ly 7, 2026

1CN

History not on Kiffin’s side

Odds are against LSU to win championship in coach’s debut

BY JON BLAU Staff writer

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By TED S. WARREN

United States goalkeeper Matt Freese, right, reacts after Belgium scores its third goal during the World Cup round of 16 match on Monday in Seattle.

END OF ROAD

Belgium throttles U.S. in round of 16, to face Spain next

BY RONALD BLUM AP sportswriter

SEATTLE — The United States’ hopes for a deep World Cup run at home ended when Charles De Ketelaere scored twice and assisted on another goal, helping Belgium expose the Americans’ defensive liabilities in a 4-1 win Monday night that earned a quarterfinal berth.

While the U.S. was boosted by the presence of star forward Folarin Balogun, whose one-game red-card suspension was controversially lifted by FIFA, American defenders were at fault in a pair of first-half goals, and goalkeeper Matt Freese’s gaffe gave the Red Devils a third early in the second half.

Second-half substitute Romelu Lukaku added Belgium’s final goal in the third minute of stoppage time after Chris Richards’ giveaway.

“Everyone saw from the beginning we didn’t connect with the game,” said U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino, who showed his frustration after Belgium’s second goal by kicking a rack in front of the bench, sending four water bottles flying. “It’s a process to learn. We need to assess that game and we need to see why we didn’t approach the game in the same way that (we approached) the rest of the World Cup.” Seeking its first World Cup title, Belgium knocked the U.S. out in the round of 16 for the second time in 12 years and extended its unbeaten streak to 18 games. The Red Devils play 2010 champion Spain on Friday at Inglewood, California, for a semifinal berth against France or Morocco.

Malik Tillman tied the score 1-1 midway through the first half with his second free kick goal of the tournament, but the Americans conceded just 61 seconds after the ensuing kickoff.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MADDy GRASSy

Belgium’s Charles De Ketelaere, right, celebrates after scoring against the United States on Monday in Seattle.

American star Christian Pulisic could only watch from the bench after injuring his right foot when he hit a boot of Belgium captain Youri Tielemans on a 52nd-minute shot attempt.

Pulisic favored his foot after that and was replaced seven minutes later.

After winning three games in a World Cup for the first time in this expanded 48-nation tournament, the U.S. failed in its quest to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since

ä See WORLD CUP, page 5C

There was a time when college football coaches such as LSU’s Lane Kiffin didn’t exist in a winnow echo chamber pressurized by 24/7 media cycles.

But this isn’t to say everything was peachy.

“Coaching football is a rotten life,” former Michigan coach Bennie Oosterbaan, one of just three college football coaches to win a national title in his first season, told Time magazine just a few years after his glorious debut in 1948.

“I’m on top now, and there is a lot of backslapping,” Oosterbaan said. “Let me lose the opener or a couple of other games next fall, and then watch how I’m blasted.”

Oosterbaan, considered the “best offensive mind in college football” by his predecessor, soured on scheming. When he left Michigan in 1958, he said Kiffin “the pressure” got to him.

“Not from my bosses or the fans,” Oosterbaan said. “I mean the pressure that builds up inside a head coach whether he wins or loses.”

The coaching profession applies pressure. Kiffin, a renowned offensive mind in today’s era, said he doesn’t fret about outside expectations because none are greater than his own.

But the LSU job is a pressurecooker.

It’s a place where three coaches — Nick Saban, Les Miles and Ed Orgeron — have won national titles this century. It’s a place where Brian Kelly was axed, with $54 million left on his contract, because 34-14 with no playoff appearances wasn’t good enough.

To put it lightly, Kiffin must win.

To put it not so lightly, LSU fans are “nuts,” according to Hall of Fame coach Urban Meyer, who proclaimed ahead of the Fourth of July weekend that Kiffin has to win a national title in 2026 — or at least come close — to stay in the fans’ good graces.

ä See LSU, page 3C

FIFA, World Cup under fire after Balogun decision

Absences highlight Pels’ Summer League roster The New Orleans Pelicans announced the roster for their Summer League team on Monday.

The players not on the roster proved to be bigger news than the players who were named.

Here are the five most notable things about who will be suiting up for the Pelicans when they tip off Summer League play in Las Vegas starting Thursday.

No Fears or Queen It’s Year 2 for Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen, who made their rookie debuts in Vegas last summer. After a year when they both were secondteam selections on the All-Rookie team, they won’t be playing in Vegas this time around. First-year Pelicans coach Jamahl Mosley discussed the decision after Monday’s practice.

BY GRAHAM DUNBAR AP sportswriter

Rod Walker “They’ve been in here working with these guys,” Mosley said. “A big portion of that is them playing 82 games and being able to be up and play these games against the heavy hitters in the league.”

Count me among those who agree with that decision after seeing Fears play in all 82 games and Queen in 81. They both have room for

STAFF FILE PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

Pelicans guard Micah Peavy reacts after hitting a 3-pointer against the Detroit Pistons during a game on Jan. 21 at ä See PELICANS, page 3C Smoothie King Center.

GENEVA — With the integrity of FIFA and the World Cup under attack from European soccer leaders, FIFA President Gianni Infantino acknowledged taking a call from President Donald Trump before U.S. forward Folarin Balogun was cleared to play against Belgium later Monday.

Balogun was issued a red card in the U.S. match vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina last week, resulting in a suspension for the Belgium contest. Trump called Infantino after the game with Bosnia to plead his case to overturn the call, and FIFA lifted the suspension Sunday.

That prompted a day of off-field furor at the World Cup. The Belgian soccer federation challenged FIFA’s

ä See BALOGUN, page 5C

2C ■ Tuesday, July 7, 2026 ■ theadvocate.com ■ The Advocate

lll

BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS 8 p.m.

On TV MLB 5:30 p.m. N.y. yankees at Tampa Bay 9 p.m.

Colorado at L.A. Dodgers NBA 6 p.m.

Atlanta vs. Memphis

TBS MLBN ESPNU

9 a.m.

11 a.m.

3 p.m.

Oklahoma City at Utah MEN’S RUGBY South Africa vs. Wales WORLD CUP Argentina vs. Egypt Switzerland vs. Colombia

IN BRIEF

FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

ESPNU CBSSN FOX FOX

7 p.m.

7 a.m.

10 a.m.

7 p.m.

SOFTBALL Blaze at Cascade TENNIS Wimbledon Newport Challenger WNBA Dallas at New york

ESPN2 ESPN TENNIS ESPN

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-

AP basketball writer

NEW YORK — It’s been a rough couple of weeks for the WNBA with injuries.

Stars A’ja Wilson, Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Plum have all missed time for a variety of ailments.

While Wilson and Clark, who were both selected as All-Star starters last week, should be back soon, Plum will be a bit longer.

Wilson has missed three games with a foot injury she suffered against Chicago.

Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon said that the fourtime MVP could have played in Sunday’s loss to Wilson Indiana if it was a playoff game, but she was keeping her out while looking at the bigger picture Clark has been working 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

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

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. 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

Ovechkin is back for another season with NHL’s Capitals

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 ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MICHAEL CONROy with Dallas having Bueckers and Azzi Fudd and the Liberty having Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark, right, drives on Atlanta Dream guard Stewart.

Te-Hina Paopao, left, during a game in Indianapolis on June 18.

Roberts has been impressed how the league has grown over the past Napheesa Collier has yet to play Toronto and Portland followed three decades.

“To see the respect it has earned, this year after she had offseason the Dream. Los Angeles, Chicago, surgery on both her ankles. She Seattle and Connecticut rounded the players are just incredible, and I’m just very grateful to see that it has started practicing again for out the poll. is getting the recognition that it’s Minnesota and also should be Player of the week getting right now,” she said. back soon.

Breanna Stewat of New York Power poll rankings was the AP player of the week. Game of the week Minnesota remained atop the She had a huge game in the LiberNew York at Minnesota, Saturpower poll this week barely edg- ty’s win over Minnesota last Fri- day. Two of the top teams in the ing New York. One point sepa- day. Stewart scored 36 points to WNBA will meet again in Minrated the top two teams. Golden go along with seven rebounds and nesota with the Lynx hosting the State was third with Las Vegas two blocks in the victory. Other Liberty. Star Minnesota forward fourth, The Valkyries picked up players receiving votes included Napheesa Collier might be ready some first-place votes. Dallas Paige Bueckers of Dallas, Sha- to play in that game as she’s been was fifth. Indiana, Washington kira Austin of Washington and working back from offseason anand Atlanta were next. Phoenix Gabby Williams of Golden State. kle surgeries.

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

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.

The Advocate ■ theadvocate.com ■ Tuesday, July 7, 2026 ■ 3C

lll

NASCAR uses 3 of its youngest drivers for Rolling Stones video

BY JAY COHEN

Tube automotive influencer known as “Cleetus McFarland,” also was part of the video.

“I think when you look at all of those drivers, they have great personalities, very rebellious spirits and they kind of have a rock and roll nature about them, just kind of at heart,” Malayter said.

Set to “In The Stars,” the first single off “Foreign Tongues,” the music video envisions the drivers as a touring rock band.

Zilisch, 19, Love, 21, and Hocevar, 23, clown around during a photo shoot before jumping on a tour bus driven by Mitchell. The drivers play cards before stopping at a bar. Back on the bus, Hocevar, who drives the No. 77 Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports in the Cup Series, writes 77 on the face of a sleeping Zilisch in black marker.

The video ends with the drivers at the track in their fire suits, signing autographs and posing for pictures with fans.

“It was cool. It was fun,” Hocevar said. “Yeah, just nice to kind of let loose, I guess, on a video.”

Hocevar said he likes to see NASCAR try new ways to interact with potential fans.

“Yeah, they have to,” he said.

“I feel like they just got to keep throwing stuff at the dartboard and hopefully something sticks here.”

Zilisch described himself as a huge music fan. He grew up listening to Foo Fighters, Linkin Park and the Red Hot Chili Peppers with his father in the car. He said he has paid more attention to the Stones’ music since he became part of NASCAR’s partnership with the band.

Filming the video, Zilisch said, was a memorable experience.

“They made us dress up like we were in the 90s and wear leather and have all this jewelry on,” he said. “It definitely was a little bit unique and outside of what I would normally be wearing but regardless it was just a cool shoot. We got to go inside this old tour bus and, you know, just kind of feel like I was back in the day even though I’ve never lived in that era of time.”

AP sportswriter

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By NAM y. HUH

Chase Briscoe celebrates after winning a NASCAR Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway on Sunday in Joliet, Ill.

Briscoe holds off Bell in return to Chicagoland

BY JAY COHEN AP sportswriter

JOLIET, Ill. — Chase Briscoe was on an offseason bonding trip to the United Kingdom with crew chief James Small when the NASCAR driver discovered chocolate buttons, a popular British treat. He bought some online after he returned to the U.S., but he said it wasn’t the same.

Small purchased some on a return trip to the and he Late Sunday U.K., promised to share if Briscoe won on the crew chief’s birthday. That made Sunday night’s victory pretty sweet.

Briscoe held off Christopher Bell in NASCAR’s return to Chicagoland Speedway, racing to his first Cup Series win of the season.

And Small delivered the chocolates to Briscoe moments after it was over.

“They were pretty dang good,” Briscoe said.

Briscoe was followed closely by Bell in the final laps on the 1.5-mile oval about 50 miles southwest of downtown Chicago. But Bell was unable to run down his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate.

The 31-year-old Briscoe, an Indiana native, celebrated his sixth career win with a burnout before standing on his car and waving to the sellout crowd.

“This has been a place that I’ve always loved coming to, back when we used to, and I’ve missed it,” Briscoe said. “It’s always been one of my top-five tracks.”

It was Bell’s fourth runner-up finish this season. He was wearing a splint on his arm as he continues his recovery after breaking his left wrist in a crash at Michigan

LSU

Continued from page 1C

on June 7.

“I think he’s handled that as well as you can handle it,” team owner Joe Gibbs said. “He’s got a burning desire to stay in there and win. I think he had, you know — he had a real good car tonight, too.”

Denny Hamlin, who started on the pole, was third. William Byron, who won two stages while leading a race-high 94 laps, and Alex Bowman rounded out the top five.

“I thought I was in control early on, even though I wasn’t leading,” Hamlin said. “I felt in control and probably got a little lazy on some restarts and things like that. Just taking for granted that I’ll just go up there and get it.”

NASCAR ran 19 Cup races in Joliet before pulling out after the 2019 season. It tried to build interest in the event in a crowded sports market, but the race struggled with attendance.

After racing on a street course in downtown Chicago each of the previous three years, NASCAR decided to go back to Chicagoland — eager to see how the Next Gen cars would do on the rough and bumpy asphalt at the facility. Rain on Friday and Saturday caused some parking issues, but the racing was compelling.

Led by Briscoe, Bell and Hamlin, Toyota accounted for seven of the top 10 cars for the first time in a Cup Series race — continuing a strong season for the manufacturer.

“Yeah, Toyotas are fast,” Bell said.

Driving a “Space Jam”-themed car in honor of the 30th anniversary of the Looney Tunes movie, Bubba Wallace was sixth in his No. 23 Toyota Camry. Wallace is part of the 23XI Racing team that is co-

owned by Michael Jordan, one of the stars of the 1996 movie.

Ryan Blaney was seventh in his seventh consecutive top-10 finish.

Ty Gibbs, Corey Heim and Riley Herbst completed the top 10.

Tyler Reddick’s championship hopes were damaged by an oil leak with about 32 laps left in Stage 2. There was a long caution while Reddick’s 23XI Racing crew worked on his No. 45 Toyota in the garage, replacing the radiator because of a hole.

Reddick, who won the first three races of the season, finished 36th.

He trails Hamlin by 44 points at the top of Cup standings after he was down by one going into the weekend.

Kyle Larson also had a rough day after qualifying second behind Hamlin. He was in third place when he spun out of Turn 4 on Lap 93. He drove his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet into the wet infield grass and had to be pulled out of the mud.

Larson finished 34th, extending his winless drought to 43 races.

He finished second in each of the previous two Cup races at Chicagoland.

Updating the In-Season Challenge Briscoe, Bell, Hamlin and Blaney were among the winners in the second round of NASCAR’s In-Season Challenge. Byron, Chase Elliott, Todd Gilliland and Alex Bowman also moved on.

The winner of the five-race, bracket-style tournament receives $1 million.

Briscoe eliminated Ty Gibbs, who won the inaugural competition last year. Byron defeated Larson, his teammate with Hendrick Motorsports.

Title contenders typically take time to build. In two 12-team playoffs, the average tenure of coaches in the tourney was 4.8 years. The average was seven years for coaches in the final trio of four-team playoffs, right after NIL started in 2021.

Coaches can build toward the playoff quickly, but national titles in Year 1 are 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’s Dennis Erickson and Larry Coker. Erickson, who won it all in 1989 and did it again in 1991, jumped to the NFL and bounced between levels, with fading success, for two decades.

Coker, a champion in 2001, was out of a job within five years.

At LSU, there’s a pace in which football coaches win titles. Saban arrived in 2000 and claimed his in 2003. Miles took 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 takes a few years. Even in this era, where rosters 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, including 11 players who were either fifth- or sixth-year seniors. LSU’s projected 22 is a bit younger, averaging 3.5 years.

“We’re going to have the teams and rosters back to the way they were playing when (LSU was) great. I don’t know how fast, that might not be today,” Kiffin said in June, “but it’s going to happen.”

The pressure is on.

“He’s gotta be within a swing of it,” said Meyer, who won a national title in his second season at Florida and his third at Ohio State. “That’s one place, I remember when I retired, I said ‘Good, I’m never going there again’ — because (LSU) fans are nuts.”

It’s questionable whether Meyer’s take is fair, but talk of Kiffin’s title timeline was fair game as soon as he jumped from Ole Miss ahead of a playoff run because he considered Baton Rouge more fertile soil to build a contender.

Kiffin has promised the Tigers will win a title during his tenure, though he didn’t offer a specific timeline. But the question is certainly being asked locally and nationally.

How long should it take?

There is a perception that titles can be won more quickly these days because of transfers and athlete pay. Curt Cignetti just led one of the least successful programs in college football history, Indiana, to the mountaintop.

But many of Cignetti’s stars followed him from James Madison, a Cinderella script that can’t be repeated. It wasn’t until the coach’s second year, with a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback, Fernando Mendoza, that the Hoosiers won it all.

The 2025 CFP included five coaches in their second seasons, including Texas A&M’s Mike Elko, Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer, Tulane’s Jon Sumrall and James Madison’s Bob Chesney. The only first-year coach was Pete Golding, who took Email Jon Blau at jon.blau@ over for Kiffin in the postseason. theadvocate.com.

JOLIET,Ill.— The first Rolling Stones album was released in 1964. NASCAR driver Connor Zilisch was born in 2006.

Of course, when it comes to Mick Jagger and company, time seems almost irrelevant.

“No matter who you are or where you’re from or how old you are, you know who the Rolling Stones are,” Zilisch said.

Zilisch joined fellow drivers Carson Hocevar and Jesse Love for a music video as part of a collaboration between NASCAR and the Stones ahead of the band’s 25th studio album, “Foreign Tongues,” which comes out on Friday.

A custom NASCAR show car served as a listening lounge for the Stones’ new music during events at Chicago’s Navy Pier and Plaza of the Americas in the run-up to the stock car series returning to Chicagoland Speedway over the weekend.

The partnership also includes a merchandise collection featuring the band’s tongue and lips logo, along with two NASCARthemed vinyl editions of “Foreign Tongues.”

Megan Malayter, vice president of licensing and consumer products for NASCAR, said the organization was approached by representatives of the band about working together.

“The Rolling Stones, they’re iconic, they’ve been around since 1962, and so they appeal to that generation that was there, but they have just such history, folklore, and nostalgia around them that they appeal to the younger audiences of today,” Malayter said. “So there really is amazing crossover.”

NASCAR walks a tricky line when it comes to satisfying older racing fans while appealing to its younger supporters and expanding its audience. While its older fans are likely more familiar with the Stones, who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989, Zilisch, Hocevar and Love are three of its younger drivers.

Garrett Mitchell, a popular You-

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By NAM y. HUH

Connor Zilisch drives to the track before the start of a NASCAR Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway on Sunday in Joliet, Ill.

PELICANS

Continued from page 1C

SUMMER LEAGUE ROSTER

(NBA experience in parentheses) Chris Bell 6-7 Forward (0) Kobe Bufkin 6-4 Guard (3) Melvin Council 6-4 Guard (0) Dominique Daniels 5-10 Guard (0) Malik Dia 6-9 F/C (0) Hunter Dickinson 7-1 Center (1) Nate Mensah 6-9 Center (1) Jalon Moore 6-7 Forward (0) Peavy back at it Markquis Nowell 5-7 Guard (1) While the Pelicans’ two firstJosh Oduro 6-9 F/C (1) round draft picks from 2025 won’t play, their second-round Johnny O’Neil 6-10 Forward (0) pick (Micah Peavy) will.

Micah Peavy 6-7 Forward (1) “I’m embracing it big time,” Jaron Pierre 6-5 Guard (0) Peavy said. “I’m going to go out Jordan Riley 6-5 Guard (0) and show what I’ve been working Christian Shumate 6-6 Forward (0) on and what this new coaching staff has been putting in place.”

Solomon Washington 6-7 Forward (0) improvement, 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’t do much to enhance that.

Peavy played in 61 games as a rookie. His best asset is his defense, which is why the Pelicans drafted him. But Peavy, who averaged 4.3 points per game last season, knows Vegas is a chance to show strides on offense.

“Mainly, (I can show) just how many shots I’ve been putting up,” Peavy said. “My confidence is there.”

New kid on the block Jaron Pierre, the New Orleans native and St. Augustine High School alum, is the only player in the Pelicans’ 2026 draft class.

He was drafted late in the second round with the 58th overall pick.

All eyes will be on him. At Pierre’s introductory news conference last week, he described playing with his hometown team as surreal.

“It’s not surreal anymore,” he

SCHEDULE Thursday: vs.Timberwolves, 2:30 p.m.

Saturday: vs. Hornets, 3 p.m.

Sunday: vs. Suns, 2 p.m.

July 15: vs. Cavaliers, 4:30 p.m.

July 17, 18 or 19: TBA said Monday. “I’m really living it.”

Home again 2 Pierre isn’t the only player from New Orleans on the Summer League roster. Solomon Washington, who played at Carver and was Louisiana’s Mr. Basketball in 2022, is getting his shot to play for the Pelicans. The 6-foot-7 forward played his first three seasons at Texas A&M before finishing up this past season at Maryland.

“I want to show that I belong here and that I can compete with anybody on any given night and probably be the best player on the floor for what I do,” Washington said.

Most intriguing players There are plenty to choose from. The high-flying Christian Shumate, who played at McNeese State, returns to the Summer League team for a second straight year.

There’s also Kobe Bufkin, who was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks with the No. 15 overall pick in the 2023 draft. That was one pick after the Pelicans drafted Jordan Hawkins.

I can’t leave off Markquis Nowell, a 5-foot-7 guard who set an NCAA Tournament record with 19 assists in Kansas State’s overtime win over Michigan State in 2023.

And there’s Dominique Daniels, who played at California Baptist.

Daniels averaged 23.2 points, including a 47-point game against Utah Valley. He made 18 of 21 free throws in that game. He is one of 10 players on the Summer League roster with no NBA experience. He and the other nine are hoping to change that with a strong showing in Vegas.

Email Rod Walker at rwalker@ theadvocate.com.

SPORTS 24/7 ON

■ The Advocate 4C ■ Tuesday Tuesday, July 7, 7 2026 ■ theadvocate.com t

lll

WORLD CUP 2026 W C A N A D A

•

U N I T E D S T A T E S

•

M E X I C O

TODAY’S GAMES ARGENTINA VS. EGYPT 11 a.m., Fox, Telemundo, Peacock | SWITZERLAND VS. COLOMBIA 3 p.m. Fox, Telemundo, Peacock

Merino kicks Spain past Portugal GLANCE

BY SCHUYLER DIXON AP sportswriter

ARLINGTON, Texas — Mikel Merino was still on the bench in the final minutes of regulation, with Spain coach Luis de la Fuente worried about hanging on to his substitutes as long as possible because of looming extra time.

The Arsenal forward made all that fretting moot.

Merino scored in the first minute of second-half stoppage time, and Spain beat Portugal 1-0 on Monday to end the World Cup career of superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.

Merino had just been knocked down and a foul was called. While Portugal’s Bernardo Silva argued, Merino played the ball back in, ran toward the goal and easily beat goalkeeper Diogo Costa after a series of passes capped by Ferran Torres’ nifty ball through the middle.

Ronaldo “He’s one of the best in his position worldwide, and he has given us a fantastic result and a fantastic goal,” de la Fuente said through a translator. “I want to express the importance of substitutes that came in later in the game. Not just today, but the contribution in other games has been enormous.”

Spain advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time since winning its only World Cup title in 2010.

Ronaldo was trying to get Portugal to the quarterfinals in a second consecutive tournament for the first time. Instead, the career on soccer’s biggest stage is over for the all-time leader in international goals (146) and appearances (233).

Merino didn’t enter until the 85th minute, and his heads-up play showed some of the versatility that helped Arsenal win its first Premier League title in more than 20 years this spring.

Scores, schedule ROUND OF 16 July 4

Morocco 3, Canada 0 France 1, Paraguay 0

Sunday

Norway 2, Brazil 1 England 3, Mexico 2

Monday

Spain 1, Portugal 0 Belgium 4, United States 1

Tuesday

Argentina vs. Egypt, 11 a.m.

Switzerland vs. Colombia, 3 p.m.

QUARTERFINALS Thursday

France vs. Morocco, 3 p.m.

Friday

Spain vs. Belgium, 2 p.m.

Saturday

Norway vs. England, 4 p.m.

TBD, 8 p.m.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JULIO CORTEZ

Mikel Merino celebrates scoring a goal for Spain during the World Cup round of 16 match against Portugal on Monday in Arlington, Texas. Spain won 1-0 and advances to the quarterfinals.

The World Cup was in doubt for Merino, who turned 30 during the tournament, after right foot surgery cut short 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 left corner of the net.

After emerging from a group hug with his teammates, Merino made a circle around the flag in a corner before letting out a guttural scream while clenching both fists.

That’s how his father, Miguel Merino, celebrated more than three decades ago during his club career in Spain. And his son first emulated it after a late goal to beat host Germany to send Spain to the

semifinals of the European championship two years ago.

This was Mikel Merino’s first World Cup goal, and 11th for the national team.

“What better way to celebrate,” Merino said. “You remember all the good and the bad, and there have been difficult moments for me this year.”

The latest meeting of Iberian Peninsula rivals that first played in a friendly in Madrid 105 years ago was 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 a 3-3 draw with Spain in a group stage opener that is consid-

Mexico comes back to earth after exit

ered one of the tournament’s best games.

The 41-year-old superstar scored three times in this tournament, but he didn’t have many chances against Spain’s Unai Simón, who extended his World Cup record to 609 minutes without conceding a goal. Spain became the first team to record six straight shutouts at the World Cup. The best chance was Ronaldo’s nifty backward kick in the 37th minute when Joao Felix’s header deflected off Simón’s left shoulder and popped in the air to Ronaldo.

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 a clear conscience,” said Ronaldo, who a day earlier had repeated his previous declaration that his sixth World Cup would be his last. “I gave my best. I won three titles with Portugal. Before Cristiano, Portugal hadn’t won any title. So, I’m happy.

The biggest title that I won with the national team was in 2016 (European Championship), which for me had the same dimension as a World Cup, honestly.”

Portugal desperately pushed for an equalizer in the final eight minutes of stoppage time. Silva had a header that went just over the top of the net.

The defensive struggle came just two days shy of a year since Portugal beat Spain in a riveting UEFA Nations League final that went to penalty kicks after a 2-2 draw.

The other World Cup meeting was Spain’s 1-0 victory — also in the round of 16 — when La Roja won the title in South Africa.

“It was a great match. Two superb teams,” de la Fuente said.

“As we had said it, it was like an anticipated final. As it was expected, we had to suffer until the very end.”

TUESDAY LOOKAHEAD

Co-host’s World Cup dreams ended after loss to England in Mexico City

More stars aim to shine in round of 16

BY CARLOS RODRIGUEZ

BY JOHN MARSHALL

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 past 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

Kylian Mbappé pushed France through to the World Cup quarterfinals. Erling Haaland and Norway will be there, too.

So will Harry Kane after England’s epic 3-2 win over Mexico.

The stars are shining in this World Cup and it’s about to get brighter, even after Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo bowed out for the last time.

The last two round of 16 games are Tuesday, including Switzerland against Colombia in Vancouver, British Columbia. Topping the marquee is a showdown between Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Egypt’s Mohamed Salah in Atlanta.

One star will move on and add to his legacy. The other will head home from the World Cup, maybe for the final time.

Messi added the one thing missing from his resume by leading Argentina to the World Cup title four years ago and has shown he’s still one of the world’s best at age 39.

Messi has scored seven goals in four matches, matching Mbappé and Haaland in a star-studded Golden Boot race. Messi has scored in a record eight straight World Cup matches, dating to the 2022 title run, and keeps adding to his record career total of 20 goals.

Salah, 34, has been the face of Egyptian soccer, a four-time Premier League Golden Boot winner and the league’s all-time leading foreign-born scorer.

The 34-year-old “Egyptian King” has an Egypt-record three World Cup goals and is one behind national team coach Hossam Hassan’s record of 69 international goals.

Perhaps Salah’s biggest accomplishment is pushing Egypt deeper into the World Cup than it’s ever been. The Pharaohs earned their

AP sportswriter

AP sportswriter

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By NATACHA PISARENKO

Mexico fans look on after the World Cup round of 16 match between Mexico and England on Sunday in Mexico City. England won 3-2. were playing as one of the best teams out there; we’re leaving with our heads held high.”

But unlike previous heartbreaks — late-game collapses 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 clean-sheet 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-yearold 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 results than we did.”

For Mexico’s fans, that transition will become the new anchor for their fractured hopes.

first World Cup victory by beating New Zealand 3-1 in the group stage and earned their first knockout stage win by outlasting Australia in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw.

At a World Cup in which powers such as Germany and Brazil were ousted by underdogs, Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said there was danger of underestimating Egypt.

“I think this World Cup has been, is very tricky for everyone. It seems there is no clear favorite,” Scaloni said Monday. “I am convinced that if we didn’t resort to our character in the last match we would be out as Cape Verde was giving us a very hard day.”

Egypt is confident it can test Argentina as well and produce the tournament’s latest upset — especially because it has Salah.

“My dreams have no limits. My ambitions have no limits. I promise that we will do everything to live up to the expectations (of fans),” Egypt coach Hossam Hassan said.

“We’re no underdogs. We’re big in every respect. We are a civilization that is 7,000 years old, even more than 7,000 years.”

Colombia vs. Switzerland With stops already in Mexico and the United States, Colombia will become the only team to play in all three host nations when they play Switzerland in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Tuesday.

Colombia opened with a 3-1 win over Uzbekistan in Mexico City, beat Congo 1-0 in Guadalajara, Mexico, and played Portugal to a scoreless draw in Miami Gardens, Florida. The Colombians opened the knockout stage with a 1-0 win over Ghana in Kansas City, Missouri, and now have the chance to clinch their first quarterfinal berth since 2014.

Switzerland beat Algeria 2-0 for its first knockout-round win since 1938 to earn the trip to Vancouver.

The Advocate ■ theadvocate.com ■ Tuesday, July 7, 2026 ■ 5C

lll

Stevens says Brown trade about flexibility

BY KYLE HIGHTOWER AP sportswriter

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By FRANK FRANKLIN II

Norway’s Erling Haaland leads the team as they participate in a viking boat row after the World Cup round of 16 match between Brazil and Norway on Sunday in East Rutherford, N.J.

World Cup run stirs Norway’s national pride Viking Row shows ‘we’re all together”

BY STEPHEN WHYNO AND STEVE DOUGLAS AP sportswriters

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Erling Haaland banged the drum to lead Norway fans in the Viking Row that has become a signature part of the World Cup. After celebrating carrying his nation into the quarterfinals of the tournament for the first time by scoring both goals in a 2-1 win over Brazil on Sunday, his thoughts drifted to the scene back home where tens of thousands of Norwegians partied into the night.

And, of course, performing the Viking Row themselves.

“Look at the streets in Norway,” Haaland said. “I’ve never experienced anything like it before. I kind of wish that I was in Oslo now celebrating with all the people.”

Thankfully for his teammates, the Manchester City striker is in the U.S. piling up the goals and making this the best World Cup in the history of the Norway men’s national team.

This improbable run that took another leap forward by knocking off five-time champion Brazil is stirring up pride in fans at stadiums and in the streets where the games are taking place, and across the Scandinavian country of just more than 5.5 million people.

As many as 50,000 people were watching the match against Brazil at Rådhusplassen — the square outside the town hall — in Nor-

BALOGUN

Continued from page 1C ruling not to enforce a ban on Balogun.

The European soccer body UEFA described the decision as an “incomprehensible” breach of soccer’s rule of law. Trump acknowledged calling Infantino and took credit for getting FIFA to review the red card.

A chaotic and unprecedented day in modern World Cup history then saw a FIFA appeals judge dismiss Belgium’s legal challenge, fewer than eight hours before kickoff in Seattle with a quarterfinals place at stake.

The Belgian soccer body “is not a party to the proceedings and, as such, has no standing to appeal the decision,” FIFA said in a statement.

The Belgian federation said it “has informed the United States Soccer Federation that it contests the eligibility of the player, should the player be listed on the referee’s team sheet. This leaves all further actions open.”

The fallout from Balogun’s redcard challenge against a BosniaHerzegovina defender in a 2-0 win for the U.S. in the round of 32 last Wednesday has turned scrutiny on Infantino’s executive control of FIFA and his years-long close ties to Trump.

Infantino insisted in a social media post that FIFA’s disciplinary committee acted with independence and judged cases such as Balogun’s on “applicable regulations and the specific facts.”

“During our conversation,” In-

wegian capital Oslo, according to the city council. Wearing a Norway soccer scarf around his neck, Crown Prince Haakon even met a throng of fans outside the royal palace and was seen taking part in a mass Viking Row after the game.

Fireworks exploded at Ullevaal Stadium, the home ground of Norway’s national team and where thousands more sat on long tables to view the game.

“The whole nation is rowing together,” coach Ståle Solbakken said. “We are having a great party here and in Oslo and in all the other big and small cities all the way through Norway, and the rowing is in a way a symbol of that and that we’re all together.”

Giant crowds of fans in the red, white and blue colors of the flag turned the rowing into a viral sensation by taking over Times Square and doing it in the stands at a New York Mets baseball game. They will get at least one more chance to see Norway play, against England on Saturday outside Miami with the chance to reach the semifinals.

“We have to keep the feet on the ground,” captain Martin Ødegaard said. “We’ve shown that we can beat anyone and that we are really enjoying what we’re doing. We’re having fun, and in football everything is possible so just keep the foot on the floor, keep working hard and we’ll see what happens and just go with the flow.”

Norway is in the World Cup for just the fourth time and the first since 1998 after failing to qualify each of the past six times. Haaland, who turns 26 on July 21, was not even born then and joked that

fantino said of his call with Trump, “I explained that there was an ongoing legal process involving FIFA’s independent judicial bodies and that the case would be decided in due course by the competent bodies.”

A FIFA disciplinary judge’s ruling Sunday left Balogun free to face Belgium in the round of 16 instead of serving a mandatory one-game ban.

The Belgian federation earlier said FIFA had not provided key documents for its appeal, and the soccer body of Norway — which faces England in the quarterfinals Saturday — said the lack of legal explanation from FIFA was “reason for concern regarding the integrity of the competition.”

The Swiss Football Association declared that the “credibility of the competition depends on clear rules that are applied consistently.”

Trump on Monday defended calling Infantino, saying he merely pointed out a “horrible” decision by a referee to issue Balogun a red card for an illegal tackle.

“All I did was ask for a review. I didn’t think it was a foul,” Trump told reporters at the White House about lobbying Infantino, a close ally, not to impose a one-game ban.

Instead, the ban was deferred for one year of probation and flared into an all-time controversy in the World Cup’s 96-year history just hours ahead of the U.S.-Belgium match in Seattle.

UEFA earlier criticized FIFA for an “incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision” that it said “crossed a red line,” and other stinging criticism came globally

no one can blame him for previous defeats when he wasn’t playing.

“You can blame me for coming here,” said Haaland, whose seven goals at his first World Cup are tied with Argentina’s Lionel Messi and France’s Kylian Mbappé. “It’s unbelievable. I’m proud. I’m proud of my country, and I’m proud of everyone.”

It continues a fairytale season for Norwegian soccer, with Bodø/ Glimt — a tiny team that plays in an 8,000-capacity stadium — delivering one of the most extraordinary stories for years in the European game by qualifying for the Champions League and beating a string of top teams, including Haaland’s Man City, to reach the knockout stage.

Now the national men’s team is taking center stage in its first major international tournament since 2000. The players are looking to emulate the Norway women’s team, which won the World Cup in 1995 and has long been a top international side.

Haaland said several times after beating Brazil that he could not believe such a victory was possible and that it was beyond his wildest dreams to pull it off. He also hopes Norway’s success transcends this year and makes kids want to represent their country.

“I want to actually also cultivate a culture where we are proud to play for the national team, and if you play for Norway then you should do it proudly and I think we should cultivate this kind of attitude in young people,” Haaland said. “To all the kids who see and watch now, I want you to do like me, and I want you to play proudly when you grow up.”

from former World Cup stars and coaches at the tournament.

“It’s a bad, bad, bad, bad, bad decision that will hurt the World Cup,” Norway coach Ståle Solbakken said Sunday after his team beat Brazil to reach the quarterfinals.

UEFA, whose member federations include Belgium, insisted: “Sometimes rules are open to interpretation. In this case not.

When the certainty of rules is no longer guaranteed by its guardians, the integrity of the game is at stake and the credibility of a competition is undermined.”

UEFA has often clashed with Infantino during his decade in FIFA power.

“We express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision,” said UEFA, where Infantino was its CEO-like general secretary from 2009 until being elected to lead FIFA in February 2016.

Infantino’s predecessor Sepp Blatter, who was forced from office in 2015 in fallout from corruption scandals, posted Monday on social media: “Red cards are not overturned 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 ankle of Bosnian defender Tarik Muharemovic during a 2-0 win for the U.S. in the round of 32.

That kind of challenge has been a routine red card all season in competitions worldwide, and Balogun could have expected a twogame ban for serious foul play under the FIFA disciplinary code.

BOSTON — Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens and team owner Bill Chisholm want to make one thing clear: The decision to trade perennial All-Star Jaylen Brown wasn’t arrived at lightly.

But from their perspective, it was necessary to give the franchise the flexibility it needs to compete with the changing landscape of an NBA in which managing the team’s balance sheet will be more important than retaining multiple homegrown stars with pricey contracts.

That said, Stevens said Monday that he is fully aware of the criticism that surrounds Boston’s front office in the aftermath of its stunning decision last week to trade Brown to division rival Philadelphia for Paul George and multiple draft picks.

“As Jaylen and I sat down in early June and we talked about potential futures in Boston and elsewhere, I told him if we were ever to trade Jaylen that would be a sad day for me personally,” Stevens said. “And certainly the emotions that all of us have felt ...

I do think we are empathetic and understand. This is a really hard thing.”

Hard, but also what Stevens said the front office collectively deemed vital for the ability of the Celtics to compete going forward despite coming off back-to-back 50-plus win regular seasons after their 2024 NBA championship.

“The path looked a little bit more challenging to me,” Stevens said. “I might be wrong.

I’m not going to stand up there and be defensive about that. But the path looked a little bit more challenging with 70% of our (salary) cap, and such a high percent of our usage tied into two players.”

Brown enters next season with more than about $185 million remaining on a five-year, $304 million contract he signed with Boston in July 2023. Had he stayed, the team would have to decide whether to give him a two-year extension of around another $140 million.

That, combined with the almost $190 million left on Jayson Tatum’s $314 million deal, was deemed too much for the Celtics to carry and maintain roster flexibility.

George will make $54 million this coming season, which combined with Tatum’s $58 million will constitute about 70% of the Celtics’ salary cap in 2026-27.

WORLD CUP

Continued from page 1C 2002 and lost to Belgium for the seventh straight time since a victory at the initial tournament in 1930. The Americans have dropped 11 of their last 12 games against European opponents, winning only their round of 32 match against Bosnia-Herzegovina.

A heralded generation led by Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Tyler Adams only partially accomplished their goal of lifting soccer’s stature closer to that of the NFL, MLB and the NBA. De Ketelaere put Belgium ahead in the eighth minute, the first time in this year’s World Cup the U.S. conceded first.

Tillman’s goal in the 31st minute energized a largely red-white-and-blue crowd of 66,925 at Lumen Field, but De Ketelaere dampened that and assisted on Hans Vanaken’s 57th-minute goal after Freese lost control of the ball in front of his net.

Belgium, which left stars Jérémy Doku and Kevin DeBruyne on the bench, pressed from the start and exposed a defense that was regarded as the Americans’ weak spot.

Dodi Lukébakio made a long diagonal pass to the opposite corner, leading to the opening goal. Leandro Troussard con-

AP PHOTO By CHARLES KRUPA

Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown drives to the basket against the Philadelphia 76ers during the first half of Game 2 of a firstround playoff series on April 21 in Boston.

With George having only one season and a player option remaining after that, Stevens said the future flexibility and draft compensation is what they value.

Additionally, Chisholm was adamant that there was no directive from him about keeping the salary cap at a certain level.

“This was all about basically trying to win, and really trusting in our process,” Chisholm said.

Stevens also defended against a sentiment that the trade return, which includes two first-round picks and two second-round picks, was low.

In George, the Celtics get back a six-time All-NBA and nine-time All-Star wing, but a player who has played 50 or more games just three times since 2019 due to various injuries.

“We like Paul. Paul’s a really good player,” Stevens said.

“We’re not very far removed from all sitting, in our series against Philadelphia and watching Paul be a guy that could carry you...but also play a complementary role on both ends of the floor at the highest of levels.”

Along with ending Brown’s 10-year tenure in Boston, it also ends the nine-year partnership between Brown and Tatum, who played in seven conference finals and two NBA Finals together.

Tatum celebrated the duo in an Instagram post in the days after Brown’s trade.

“From first round exits to winning a champ together and respect for you as a player and as a person,” Tatum wrote.

Stevens said Tatum was not consulted about the decision to ultimately trade Brown.

“I know how little I sleep. I don’t think anybody else needs to feel that,” Stevens said.

trolled the ball and his cross was blocked by Alex Freeman and popped into the air.

Freeman headed the ball into the penalty area and Timothy Castagne charged after it and hooked a centering pass around Richards.

De Ketelaere split Tim Ream and Antonee Robinson and with his right foot redirected the ball into an open net.

Pochettino held out his arms, as if to ask: What was going on?

Tillman scored after Brandon Mechele knocked down Balogun about 25 yards from goal.

Tillman’s kick deflected off Vanaken’s head and deflected to the left of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who had dived right.

Troussard got around Sergiño Dest for a cross and De Ketelaere outjumped Ream and headed the ball past Freese in the 33rd minute for his eighth international goal.

Belgium built a two-goal lead when Mechele lofted a long ball that Freese chested after two hops. Freese hesitated with a touch, then scrambled and kicked the ball off De Ketelaere. Vanaken one-timed a shot from 35 yards that deflected in off Ream, who tried for an offbalance clearance.

Vanaken replaced midfielder Amadou Onana midway through the first half after Onana suffered what coach Rudi Garcia feared might be a serious knee injury.

SPORTS

24/7

6C ■ Tuesday, July 7, 2026 ■ theadvocate.com ■ The Advocate

lll

SCOREBOARD

Astros fall short

Odds Sports Betting Line MLB Tuesday

American League FAVORITE LINE at TAMPA BAY OFF at DETROIT -190 Boston -120 Cleveland -122 at TEXAS -166 National League FAVORITE LINE at ST. LOUIS OFF at PITTSBURGH OFF at CINCINNATI OFF at ST. LOUIS OFF at SAN DIEGO OFF at LA DODGERS -250 Interleague FAVORITE LINE Chicago Cubs -112 at MIAMI OFF Houston -118 at N.Y METS OFF at SAN FRAN OFF

UNDERDOG LINE N.Y Yankees OFF Athletics +160 at WHITE SOX +102 at MINNESOTA +104 LA Angels +140 UNDERDOG Milwaukee Atlanta Philadelphia Milwaukee Arizona Colorado

LINE OFF OFF OFF OFF OFF +205

East Division

National League

W 52 49 42 42 40

L 35 40 48 49 48

Pct GB .598 — .551 4 .467 11½ .462 12 .455 12½

Atlanta Philadelphia Miami Washington New York

W 52 50 49 46 37

L 36 40 42 45 53

Pct .591 .556 .538 .505 .411

Chicago Cleveland Minnesota Detroit Kansas City

W 47 47 44 40 36

L 42 44 47 50 54

Pct GB .528 — .516 1 .484 4 .444 7½ .400 11½

Milwaukee Chicago St. Louis Pittsburgh Cincinnati

W 55 50 47 46 41

L 33 40 40 45 48

Pct GB .625 — .556 6 .540 7½ .505 10½ .461 14½

Seattle Texas Houston Athletics Los Angeles

W 47 45 45 41 36

L 44 45 47 49 55

Pct .516 .500 .489 .456 .396

Los Angeles Arizona San Diego San Francisco Colorado

W 59 44 44 37 37

L 32 45 45 52 54

Pct .648 .494 .494 .416 .407

Central Division

GB — 1½ 2½ 5½ 11

W 13 12 12 10 9 6 4

L 8 8 9 9 11 14 16

Pct .619 .600 .571 .526 .450 .300 .200

GB — ½ 1 2 3½ 6½ 8½

Minnesota Las Vegas Golden State Dallas Los Angeles Portland Phoenix Seattle

W 15 15 14 13 8 9 8 5

L 5 6 7 8 10 12 13 17

Pct .750 .714 .667 .619 .444 .429 .381 .227

GB — ½ 1½ 2½ 6 6½ 7½ 11

West Division

Sunday’s Games

N.Y. Mets 10, Atlanta 9 Cincinnati 3, Baltimore 2 Pittsburgh 11, Washington 5 Chicago Cubs 6, St. Louis 4 Kansas City 5, Philadelphia 2 Colorado 7, San Francisco 6 Milwaukee 3, Arizona 2 Miami 9, Athletics 8 San Diego 5, L.A. Dodgers 2

Kansas City 15, Philadelphia 1 N.Y. Yankees 5, Tampa Bay 1 Washington 12, Houston 11 Toronto at San Francisco, n

Kansas City 15, Philadelphia 1 Washington 12, Houston 11 N.Y. Mets at Atlanta, n Milwaukee 4, St. Louis 3 Arizona at San Diego, n Toronto at San Francisco, n Colorado at L.A. Dodgers, n

GB — 3 4½ 7½ 16

GB — 14 14 21 22

Monday’s Games

Tuesday’s Games

New York Indiana Atlanta Washington Toronto Chicago Connecticut

Central Division

Cincinnati 3, Baltimore 2 Minnesota 6, N.Y. Yankees 1 Chicago White Sox 7, Cleveland 6 Kansas City 5, Philadelphia 2 Houston 2, Tampa Bay 0 Detroit 6, Texas 3 Seattle 4, Toronto 0 Miami 9, Athletics 8 Boston 7, L.A. Angels 5

Monday’s Games

WNBA Glance EASTERN CONFERENCE

East Division

Tampa Bay New York Toronto Baltimore Boston

Sunday’s Games

Pro basketball

Sunday’s Games

American League

West Division

UNDERDOG LINE at BALTIMORE -104 Seattle OFF at WASH +100 Kansas City OFF Toronto OFF

WESTERN CONFERENCE

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

Chicago Cubs (Boyd 3-1) at Baltimore (Baz 4-8), 5:35 p.m.

Athletics (Ginn 7-4) at Detroit (Skubal 4-4), 5:40 p.m.

N.Y. Yankees (Warren 7-3) at Tampa Bay (McClanahan 7-5), 5:40 p.m.

Seattle (TBD) at Miami (Meyer 9-1), 5:40 p.m.

Houston (Imai 5-4) at Washington (Alvarez 2-1), 5:45 p.m.

Kansas City (Lugo 3-6) at N.Y. Mets (TBD), 6:10 p.m.

Boston (Tolle 4-6) at Chicago White Sox (Schultz 2-5), 6:40 p.m.

Cleveland (Cantillo 7-3) at Minnesota (Bradley 7-3), 6:40 p.m.

L.A. Angels (Soriano 8-5) at Texas (deGrom 7-5), 7:05 p.m.

Toronto (TBD) at San Francisco (McDonald 3-6), 8:45 p.m.

Tuesday’s Games

Milwaukee (Misiorowski 9-4) at St. Louis (McGreevy 3-7), 1:15 p.m., 1st game Chicago Cubs (Boyd 3-1) at Baltimore, 5:35 p.m.

Atlanta (TBD) at Pittsburgh (Skenes 6-8), 5:40 p.m.

Seattle (TBD) at Miami (Meyer 9-1), 5:40 p.m.

Houston (Imai 5-4) at Washington, 5:45 p.m.

Kansas City (Lugo 3-6) at N.Y. Mets, 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, 8:40 p.m.

Toronto at San Francisco, 8:45 p.m.

Colorado at L.A. Dodgers, 9:10 p.m.

Dallas 89, Toronto 76 Indiana 84, Las Vegas 68

Monday’s Games

BOX SCORES

Golden State 62, Washington 49 Connecticut at Minnesota, n Seattle at Los Angeles, n

Tuesday’s Games

Dallas at New York, 7 p.m.

Chicago at Phoenix, 9 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).

Golf PGA Tour Statistics Through July 5

FedExCup Season Points 1, Scottie Scheffler, 3,511. 2, Matt Fitzpatrick, 3,195. 3, Cameron Young, 2,586. 4, Wyndham Clark, 2,199. 5, Collin Morikawa, 2,176. 6, Chris Gotterup, 2,132. 7, Si Woo Kim, 1,860. 8, Ludvig Aberg, 1,773. 9, Sam Burns, 1,728. 10, Akshay Bhatia, 1,723.

Scoring Average 1, Scottie Scheffler, 68.901. 2, Collin Morikawa, 69.533. 3, Matt Fitzpatrick, 69.621. 4, Jake Knapp, 69.795. 5, Sam Burns, 69.908. 6, Wyndham Clark, 69.938. 7, Tommy Fleetwood, 69.943. 8, Chris Gotterup, 69.945. 9, Cameron Young, 69.971. 10, Ludvig Åberg, 70.014.

Driving Distance 1, Aldrich Potgieter, 329.8. 2, Michael Brennan, 326.1. 3, Gary Woodland, 322.4. 4, Nicolai Højgaard, 322.1. 5, Chris Gotterup, 321.5. 6, Rasmus Højgaard, 321.4. 7, Marco Penge, 320.8. 8, Min Woo Lee, 320.2. 9, Johnny Keefer, 318.4. 10, Jake Knapp, 317.7.

Driving Accuracy Percentage 1, Russell Henley, 73.41%. 2, Aaron Rai, 72.43%. 3, Si Woo Kim, 70.10%. 4, Lucas Glover, 69.65%. 5, Andrew Putnam, 69.53%.

6, Tommy Fleetwood, 69.44%. 7, Collin Morikawa, 69.41%. 8, Matt Fitzpatrick, 68.90%. 9, Corey Conners, 68.78%. 10, Emiliano Grillo, 68.24%.

Greens in Regulation Percentage 1, 10 tied with .00%.

Total Driving 1, Ludvig Åberg, 46. 2, Scottie Scheffler, 51.

3, Kurt Kitayama, 58. 4, Neal Shipley, 59. 5, Michael Brennan, 63. 6, Min Woo Lee, 68. 7, Jordan Smith, 73. 8 (tie), William Mouw and Cameron Young, 76. 10, 2 tied with 77.

SG-Putting 1, Vince Whaley, .825. 2, Jake Knapp, .698.

3, Akshay Bhatia, .681. 4, Jacob Bridgeman, .675. 5, Sam Burns, .662. 6, Harris English, .581. 7, Erik van Rooyen, .574. 8, Eric Cole, .568. 9, Beau Hossler, .567. 10, Alex Noren, .563.

Birdie Average 1, Scottie Scheffler, 4.82. 2 (tie), Si Woo Kim and Collin Morikawa, 4.59. 4, Wyndham Clark, 4.55. 5, Ludvig Åberg, 4.39. 6, Akshay Bhatia, 4.35. 7, Robert MacIntyre, 4.34. 8, Ja-

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JOHN MCDONNELL

Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros runs the bases after hitting a three-run home run during the second inning against the Washington Nationals on Monday in Washington. The Nationals won 12-11. cob Bridgeman, 4.33. 9, Keith Mitchell, 4.32.

10, Eric Cole, 4.31.

Eagles (Holes per) 1, Jake Knapp, 48. 2, Nicolai Højgaard, 77.5. 3, Matt Wallace, 81. 4, Sahith Theegala, 83.3. 5, Aldrich Potgieter, 84.6. 6, Tommy Fleetwood, 88.4. 7 (tie), Keegan Bradley, Shane Lowry and Brandt Snedeker, 90. 10, Max Greyserman, 93.6.

Sand Save Percentage 1, 10 tied with .00%.

All-Around Ranking 1, Scottie Scheffler, 160. 2, Ludvig Åberg, 224.

3, Sam Burns, 249. 4, Wyndham Clark, 254. 5, Collin Morikawa, 272. 6, Chris Gotterup, 277.

7, Doug Ghim, 281. 8, Jake Knapp, 323. 9, Si Woo Kim, 325. 10, Tommy Fleetwood, 327.

LPGA Tour Statistics Through July 5

Scoring 1, Nelly Korda, 68.51. 2, Haeran Ryu, 69.71. 3, Hyo Joo Kim, 69.81. 4, Hannah Green, 70.22.

5, Miyu Yamashita, 70.29. 6, Jeeno Thitikul, 70.33. 7, Ina Yoon, 70.36. 8, Ruoning Yin, 70.49.

9, Lydia Ko, 70.51. 10, Sei Young Kim, 70.55.

Driving Distance 1, Julia Lopez Ramirez, 290.89. 2, Riley Smyth, 288.74. 3, Polly Mack, 283.48. 4, Auston Kim, 280.82. 5, Helen Briam, 280.63. 6, Laney Frye, 277.63. 7, Suvichaya Vinijchaitham, 277.59.

8, Ina Yoon, 277.54. 9, Nelly Korda, 277.19. 10, Nanna Koerstz Madsen, 277.16.

Greens in Regulation 1, Haeran Ryu, .80%. 2, Helen Briem, .75%.

3 (tie), Isabello Fierro, Nelly Korda, Jeeno Thitikul and Lottie Woad, .74%. 7 (tie), Hannah Green and Dongeun Lee, .73%. 9, 2 tied with .72%.

Putts per GIR 1 (tie), Hyo Joo Kim and Stephanie Meadow, 1.69. 3, Minjee Lee, 1.72. 4 (tie), Mi Hyang Lee, Chiara Tamburlini and Angel Yin, 1.73.

7 (tie), Nelly Korda, Minjee Lee and Gaby Lopez, 1.74. 10, Brooke Matthews, 1.75.

Birdies 1, Aki Iwai, 197. 2, Lottie Woad, 186. 3, Miyu Yamashita, 185. 4 (tie), Minami Katsu, Jennifer Kupcho and Haeran Ryu, 177. 7, 4 tied with 175.

Eagles 1, Nelly Korda, 9. 2 (tie), Hye-Jin Choi and Brooke M. Henderson, 8. 4 (tie), Ariya Jutanugarn, Minji Kang, Ryann O’Toole and Weiwei Zhang, 7. 8, 9 tied with 6.

Sand Save Percentage 1 (tie), Pornanong Phatlum and Patty Tavatanakit, .62%. 3 (tie), Minjee Lee and Lucy Li, .61%. 5, Ryann O’Toole, .60%. 6 (tie), Peiyun Chien, Youmin Hwang, Minami Katsu and Nelly Korda, .59%. 10, Jing Yan, .58%.

Rounds Under Par 1, Nelly Korda, .86%. 2, Haeran Ryu, .71%.

3, Miyu Yamashita, .57%. 4, Aki Iwai, .54%.

5, Rio Takeda, .62%. 6, Lottie Woad, .60%. 7, Hye-Jin Choi, .59%. 8, Gaby Lopez, .65%. 9, Jeeno Thitikul, .60%. 10, Ruoning Yin, .58%.

11, Jin Hee Im, .53%. 12, Cassie Porter, .60%.

13, Chizzy Iwai, .54%. 14, Ina Yoon, .62%.

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.

13. (23) Austin Cindric, Ford, 267, 33.

14. (26) Daniel Suárez, Chevrolet, 267, 23.

15. (22) Erik Jones, Toyota, 267, 22.

16. (29) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 267, 21.

17. (11) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 266, 20.

18. (19) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 266, 19.

19. (3) Chris Buescher, Ford, 266, 23.

20. (27) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 266, 17.

21. (4) Brad Keselowski, Toyota, 266, 16.

22. (15) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 266, 15.

23. (17) John H. Nemechek, Toyota, 266, 15.

24. (25) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 266, 13.

25. (30) Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet, 266, 12.

26. (24) Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Chevrolet, 266, 11.

27. (32) Noah Gragson, Ford, 266, 10.

28. (16) Zane Smith, Ford, 266, 9.

29. (38) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 266, 8.

30. (37) Cody Ware, Chevrolet, 266, 7.

31. (33) Cole Custer, Chevrolet, 266, 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, 764; 2.

T.Reddick, 720; 3. R.Blaney, 651; 4. T.Gibbs, 627; 5. C.Elliott, 584; 6. K.Larson, 583; 7. C.Buescher, 541; 8. C.Briscoe, 538; 9.

C.Hocevar, 524; 10. C.Bell, 512; 11. D.Suárez, 507; 12. W.Byron, 499; 13. B.Wallace, 484; 14.

S.Van Gisbergen, 437; 15. A.Cindric, 434; 16.

E.Jones, 411.

NASCAR Driver Rating Formula A maximum of 150 points can be attained in a race.

The formula combines the following categories: Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish.

Transactions Major League Baseball

American League DETROIT TIGERS — Agreed to terms with OF Raylin Castillo on a minor league contract.

HOUSTON ASTROS — Reinstated SS Braden Shewmake from the 10-day IL. Optioned 2B Raynel Delgado to Sugar Land (PCL).

TAMPA BAY RAYS — Recalled RHP Chris Roycroft from Durham (IL). Optioned RHP Mason Englert to Durham.

National League ATLANTA BRAVES — Placed LHP Martín Pérez on the 15-day IL. Designated RHP Carlos Carrasco for assignment. Recalled RHP JR Ritchie from Gwinnett (IL). Selected the contract of RHP Owen Murphy from Gwinnett (IL).

WASHINGTON NATIONALS — Recalled RHP Cole Henry from Rochester (IL). Optioned RHP Eddy Yean to Rochester.

Kansas City 15, Philadelphia 1

Washington 12, Houston 11

Philadelphia

Houston

Kansas City

ab r h bi ab r h bi Altuve 2b 5 1 1 3 Wood dh 2 3 1 4 Y.Alvarez dh 5 0 1 0 García 1b 5 1 1 1 Paredes 3b 4 1 0 0 Mead 3b 5 2 3 3 Walker 1b 5 0 2 1 Abrams ss 5 2 3 3 Wade lf 3 1 0 0 Crews rf 4 1 0 0 Smith rf 3 2 2 0 Lile lf 4 0 0 0 Diaz c 4 2 2 2 Young cf 4 1 1 0 Shewmake ss4 2 2 1 Millas c 3 0 1 1 Matthews cf 4 2 2 3 Nuñez 2b 4 2 3 0 Totals 37 11 12 10 Totals 36 12 13 12 Houston 132 001 040 — 11 Washington 105 060 00x — 12 E_Burrows (1), Shewmake (2). DP_ Houston 0, Washington 2. LOB_Houston 2, Washington 4. 2B_Walker (17), Shewmake (4), Mead (12), García (16).

HR_Altuve (9), Diaz (5), Matthews (7), Abrams (19), Mead (15), Wood (24).

SB_Nuñez (33), Abrams (15), Wood (14).

SF_Millas (1).

IP H R ER BB SO Houston 7 2 3 Burrows L,4-9 4 1⁄3 9 10 2 2 0 3 Blubaugh 1 2⁄3 3 Pearson 1 1 0 0 0 1 De Los Santos 1 0 0 0 1 2 Washington Mikolas W,3-7 6 9 7 7 2 3 4 4 1 2 Henry 1 2⁄3 3 0 0 0 1 Beeter S,7-11 1 1⁄3 0 ABS Challenge_Paredes (Strike-Overturned to Ball); Mikolas (Ball-Overturned to Strike); Millas (Strike-Overturned to Ball); Mikolas (Ball-Overturned to Strike); Burrows (Ball-Overturned to Strike); Burrows (Ball-Confirmed); Henry (Ball-Overturned to Strike); Henry (BallConfirmed); Abrams (Strike-Overturned to Ball).

Umpires_Home, Dan Merzel; First, Shane Livensparger; Second, Mark Ripperger; Third, Brock Ballou.

T_2:46. A_11,092 (41,376).

N.Y. Yankees 5, Tampa Bay 1

Milwaukee 4, St. Louis 3

New York

Milwaukee

Tampa Bay ab r h bi ab r h bi Grisham cf 4 0 0 0 Díaz dh 4 0 0 0 Rice dh 4 1 1 1 Aranda 1b 4 0 0 0 Gldshmdt 1b4 0 0 0 Caminero 3b 4 0 0 0 Bellinger lf 4 0 0 0 Mullins cf 4 0 0 0 Domínguez rf3 1 0 0 DeLuca rf 3 0 1 0 Chisholm 2b 2 1 0 0 Simpson lf 3 1 1 0 3 0 0 0 Caballero ss 3 2 2 4 Fortes c McMahon 3b3 0 0 0 Palacios 2b 3 0 2 1 Wells c 3 0 0 0 Walls ss 3 0 0 0 Totals 30 5 3 5 Totals 31 1 4 1 New York 000 030 011 — 5 Tampa Bay 000 010 000 — 1 LOB_New York 0, Tampa Bay 3. HR_Caballero 2 (10), Rice (25).

IP H R ER BB SO New York Schlittler W,9-5 8 4 1 1 0 8 Bednar 1 0 0 0 0 1 Tampa Bay Jax L,4-6 5 1 3 3 2 10 Sulser 1 0 0 0 0 1 Legumina 1 0 0 0 0 2 Roycroft 2 2 2 2 0 4 ABS Challenge_Jax (Ball-Confirmed); Caballero (Strike-Confirmed).

Umpires_Home, Emil Jimenez; First, Gabe Morales; Second, Doug Eddings; Third, Mike Muchlinski.

T_2:21. A_18,129 (25,025).

BASKETBALL

National Basketball Association ATLANTA HAWKS — Acquired G Aaron Wiggins from the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for draft considerations.

BOSTON CELTICS — Re-signed G Ron Harper Jr. to a contract. Re-signed C Neemias Queta to a veteran extension. Acquired F Paul George from the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for draft considerations.

BROOKLYN NETS — Signed C Day’Ron Sharpe and F Josh Minott to contracts.

CHARLOTTE HORNETS — Signed F Hannes Steinbach and G Christian Anderson to rookie scale contracts.

DETROIT PISTONS — Signed G Ebuka Okorie to a rookie scale contract. Acquired G Isaiah Joe from the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for draft considerations.

GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS — Re-signed C Al Horford to a contract.

MIAMI HEAT — Re-signed F Andrew Wiggins to a veteran extension. Acquired Fs Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis from the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Gs Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Kasparas Jakucionis, C Kel’el Ware and draft considerations.

MILWAUKEE BUCKS — Signed G Kam Jones to a two-way contract.

PHILADELPHIA 76ERS — Signed G Anfernee Simons and F Dean Wade to contracts. Acquired G Jaylen Brown from the Boston Celtics.

HOCKEY

National Hockey League CALGARY FLAMES — Signed D Simon Nemec to a five-year contract.

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS — Signed D Colton White to a two-year contract.

EDMONTON OILERS — Signed F Owen Michaels to a two-year contract.

NEW JERSEY DEVILS — Re-signed F Ben Steeves to a one-year, two-way contract. Resigned G Jakub Málek to a two-year contract.

SOCCER

Major League Soccer REAL SALT LAKE — Acquired $1.1 million in cash from Toronto FC in exchange for M Nelson Palacio.

Washington

ab r h bi ab r h bi Turner ss 4 1 3 0 Thomas cf 3 1 2 1 Marchán c 1 0 0 0 Misner ph-cf 1 1 0 0 Schwarbr dh3 0 0 0 Witt dh 4 2 2 0 Crawford cf 1 0 0 0 Massey dh 1 1 1 1 Harper 1b 1 0 0 0 Perez 1b 4 1 3 1 Stubbs 1b-p 1 0 1 0 Collins pr-lf 1 0 1 0 Bohm 3b 5 0 1 1 Cglinne 1b 6 1 2 2 Marsh rf-lf 4 0 0 0 Loftin 2b 5 2 3 2 Sosa lf-ss 4 0 0 0 Marte lf-rf 5 1 2 2 Stott 2b 4 0 2 0 Tolbert ss 5 3 5 2 Realmuto c 3 0 1 0 Maile c 4 2 1 3 Rincones rf 1 0 1 0 Rojas 3b 5 0 0 0 Hill cf-1b 4 0 1 0 Totals 36 1 10 1 Totals 44 15 22 14 Philadelphia 100 000 000 — 1 Kansas City 611 111 22x — 15 E_Turner (12). DP_Philadelphia 1, Kansas City 1. LOB_Philadelphia 15, Kansas City 11. 2B_Turner (16), Bohm (14), Tolbert (1), Perez (12). HR_Maile (1), Perez (11), Thomas (6), Tolbert (1).

IP H R ER BB SO Philadelphia Sánchez L,10-4 3 1⁄3 12 9 9 1 1 2 Johnson ⁄3 0 0 0 1 1 Banks 1 1 1 1 0 1 Backhus 1 4 1 1 0 1 Trivino 1 1 2 2 2 1 Stubbs 1 4 2 2 1 0 Kansas City Cameron W,5-6 5 6 1 1 5 7 Cruz 1 1 0 0 1 2 Way 1 2 0 0 1 1 Cuas 2 1 0 0 0 3 HBP_Trivino (Perez). WP_Trivino, Cruz.

ABS Challenge_Schwarber (Strike-Confirmed); Cameron (Ball-Overturned to Strike); Way (Ball-Overturned to Strike); Way (Ball-Confirmed).

Ejected_Schwarber.

Umpires_Home, Alan Porter; First, Jim Wolf; Second, Alex MacKay; Third, Roberto Ortiz.

T_3:09. A_13,496 (38,427).

St. Louis

ab r h bi Yelich dh 4 1 0 0 Chourio lf 4 0 0 0 Turang 2b 4 0 1 2 Contreras c 4 0 0 0 Bauers 1b 4 0 1 0 Mitchell cf 3 1 2 0 Frelick rf 4 1 1 0 Pratt ss 4 0 1 0 Hamilton 3b 3 0 2 2 Ortiz pr-3b 1 1 0 0

ab r h bi Wethrhlt 2b 4 1 0 0 Herrera dh 4 0 0 0 Walker rf 2 0 0 0 Velázquez lf 3 1 1 1 Nootbaar lf 1 0 0 0 Fermín 3b 3 0 2 1 Winn ss 4 0 2 1 Church cf 4 0 1 0 Jordan 1b 3 0 0 0 Burleson ph 1 0 0 0 Pagés c 3 1 1 0 Totals 35 4 8 4 Totals 33 3 7 3 Milwaukee 000 000 400 — 4 St. Louis 002 001 000 — 3 E_Turang (3), Church (2), Fernandez (3).

DP_Milwaukee 0, St. Louis 1. LOB_Milwaukee 7, St. Louis 6. 2B_Frelick (14), Hamilton (6), Fermín (9), Velázquez (3).

S_Fermín (1).

IP H R ER BB SO Milwaukee Drohan W,4-2 6 6 3 1 2 2 Patrick H,3 2 0 0 0 0 2 Megill S,14-16 1 1 0 0 0 2 St. Louis 0 0 7 May 4 2⁄3 4 0 Bruihl 1 1⁄3 1 1 1 1 0 Fernandez L,1-2 0 2 3 2 0 0 Stanek BS,1-4 1 1 0 0 1 0 Graceffo 2 0 0 0 1 2 Fernandez pitched to 3 batters in the 7th.

ABS Challenge_Frelick (Strike-Confirmed); Fermín (Strike-Confirmed); Graceffo (Ball-Overturned to Strike); Patrick (Ball-Confirmed).

T_2:45. A_21,786 (44,494).

THIS DATE IN BASEBALL July 7

1923 — Lefty O’Doul, pitching for the Boston Red Sox, allowed 13 runs in the sixth inning to the Cleveland Indians, who won 27-3. In 1928, he was to return to the majors as a great hitting outfielder.

1936 — The NL won its first All-Star game 4-3 at Braves Field in Boston.

1937 — Lou Gehrig drove in four runs with a home run and a double to pace the AL to an 8-3 victory over the NL in the All-Star game at Washington’s Griffith Stadium.

In attendance was President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

1959 — At Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, the first of two All-Star games played that season went to the NL, 5-4. The NL scored the tying and winning runs in the bottom of the eighth when Hank Aaron singled in a run and scored on a triple by Willie Mays.

1964 — The NL beat the AL 7-4 in the AllStar game on Johnny Callison’s two-out, three-run homer off Dick Radatz in the bottom of the ninth inning at New York’s Shea Stadium. The win pulled the NL even with its rivals (17-17-1) for the first time since the series began.

1998 — Coors Field lived up to its billing as a hitter’s haven as the American League beat the Nationals 13-8 at Coors Field in the highest-scoring All-Star game in major league history. The 21 runs broke the record set in the AL’s 11-9 win in 1954.

2006 — Cleveland Indians designated hitter Travis Hafner became the first player in major league history to hit five grand slams before the All-Star break when he connected in the second inning of a 9-0 win over Baltimore.

2009 — Alan Embree earned the win in Colorado’s 5-4 victory over Washington without throwing a pitch. He entered with two outs in the eighth and picked off Austin Kearns, who had singled off Joel Peralta. It was the first time a major leaguer had gotten a win without throwing a pitch since B.J Ryan for Baltimore at Detroit on May 1, 2003.

2011 — Dustin Pedroia hit a three-run shot and Boston added three consecutive home runs in the seventh in a 10-4 win over Baltimore. Six different Boston players homered, including the three straight

by David Ortiz, Josh Reddick and Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

2011 — A Texas Rangers fan died after falling about 20 feet onto concrete reaching out for a baseball tossed his way by All-Star outfielder Josh Hamilton during a game. Shannon Stone, 39, was at the game with his young son, who watched as his dad tumbled over the outfield railing after catching the ball. The accident happened in the second inning after Oakland’s Conor Jackson hit a foul ball. Hamilton retrieved the ball and tossed it into the stands as players routinely do.

2016 — Colorado’s Trevor Story tied an NL rookie record for most home runs before the All-Star break, homering twice and boosting his total to 21 as the Rockies beat Philadelphia 11-2.

2018 — Mark Reynolds homered twice and drove in a career-high 10 runs and the Washington Nationals beat the Miami Marlins 18-4. Reynolds (5 for 5) tied his career high for hits and equaled the Nationals’ RBI record.

LIVING

T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M

|

T u e s d ay, J u ly 7, 2026

1dN

Microdrama filming starts in Baton Rouge and producer Tommy Harper talks his new adventure

LSU AGCENTER PHOTO

By RANDy LABAUVE

The LSU AgCenter Hammond Research Station is home to trial gardens where new plant introductions are evaluated on their performance in Louisiana’s challenging climate.

Trial run

Kasey Esser, center in dark suit, is readied to film a scene for ‘Because of Her’ in the Baton Rouge home of Elona and Kyle Sharbaugh on Wednesday.

Before plants make it into gardens, this LSU AgCenter station puts them to the test Plant breeders and marketing companies are constantly coming up with new cultivars to satisfy consumer preferences, fill market gaps and respond to industry needs.

GARDEN How do they NEWS decide which ones are good enough to be sold at garden centers across the country — and planted in your landscape?

You might be surprised to learn that, in many cases, the LSU AgCenter plays a role in this process.

In the heart of one of Louisiana’s clusters of nursery production, scientists at the AgCenter Hammond 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’s data on how the plants perform in Louisiana’s challenging climate.

“It’s important 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 a plant withers in the heat, doesn’t bloom as expected, struggles during dry spells or proves susceptible to pest problems, that information is noted. Of course, faculty and staff keep track of plants that shine, too. After all, if a plant can survive the Louisiana summer in full sun, there’s a good chance it can handle just about anything.

Other universities and private entities operate gardens that evaluate the performance of plants and provide data to help companies determine whether they’re worth putting them on 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 a lot of inputs to their plants such as fertilizer and irrigation,” 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 what you’d see outside someone’s home. That’s on purpose.

The gardens re-create the conditions where the flowers, shrubs and other specimens are most likely to be used

ä See TRIAL, page 2D

PROVIDED PHOTO By PATRICK MULHEARN

BY JUDY BERGERON Staff writer

While producer Tommy Harper focuses on production for Season 3 of Netflix’s supernatural, coming-of-age tale “Wednesday” in Ireland and France, his producing partner, Roberta Sparta, arrived in Louisiana last week to oversee another of Hollywood heavyweight Harper’s projects, the microdrama “Because of Her.” Early last week, lead actor Kasey Esser shared video on social media as he prepared to film scenes at the home of Elona and Kyle Sharbaugh off Highland Road. On Thursday, cast and crew re-assembled at the Shaw Center for the Arts downtown for more filming.

It’s humid; it’s humid. And I grew up in St. Louis, so I know what that feels like, but after being in LA for over a decade you

sort of lose the fortitude on that one,” Esser, 37, said on Facebook shortly after arriving in town.

For those unfamiliar, microdramas, sometimes called vertical dramas or vertical series, are short-form shows designed to be watched on a phone held upright.

Episodes typically run 60 to 90 seconds, with full seasons binged in about two to three hours.

Think soap operas with a 21stcentury delivery.

Subscribers download platform apps, including Harper’s new global VeYou, and receive a few free episodes before being charged a fee to view more. Average costs can range from $10 to $20 a week.

Baton Rouge company Irrevocable Designee LLC has a threeyear deal with Harper’s Tiny Verticals production arm to shoot

ä See MICRODRAMA, page 2D

PROVIDED PHOTO FROM FACEBOOK

A promo for one of Kasey Esser’s other recent projects, a microdrama called ‘The Unclaimed True Luna’

Original Triplet’s Blue Store in BR closing shop The original Triplet’s Blue Store is shown on May 27 in Baton Rouge.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

BY MADDIE SCOTT Staff writer

The original Triplet’s Blue Store near Southern University is closing on July 4 due to structural issues in the building, but the business may relocate to a site nearby with a new design, according to a social media post.

“Due to the poor condition of the building’s structure, it is

therefore deemed ‘unsafe’ to operate hereafter,” the business announced on its social media.

“For the safety of our customers as well as our staff, we can no longer operate business as is.”

At 605 Mills Ave., Triplet’s Blue Store was the first location of Blue Store Chicken, a fried chicken franchise with eight

ä See BLUE STORE, page 2D

2D ■ Tuesday, July 7, 2026 ■ theadvocate.com ■ The Advocate

lll

Bickering over leftover birthday cake This time I was not silent. In my Dear Miss Manners: I know this will sweetest voice, I said, “But you’ll probably sound trivial, but: Who share some with me.” should decide who gets the Then my sister-in-law leftover birthday cake? started talking about how See? I told you it was it wasn’t good manners, trivial. that the cake belonged to I made a birthday cake the birthday boy and that for my nephew. While I even though I made it, it was icing it, I mentioned to Judith wasn’t mine. his mom (my sister-in-law) Martin So, is the cake part of his that we could share the MISS birthday present? Or is the leftovers. She replied that MANNERS hostess or the baker the it was his cake, so he got one who decides how the all of it. I dropped the subject at the time, as it wasn’t worth food should be distributed?

Gentle reader: Apparently you do fighting over. consider this worth fighting over.

That night, we sang “Happy And a most unseemly battle Birthday” and sliced into the cake. it is, on both sides. Miss ManThen my sister-in-law said, “Just think, Jasper: That’s all yours.” ners’ only sympathies are with

the child, 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 the nephew, as the dessert to be shared with everyone at the table.

So, no — the baker should not make off with what is left.

Years later, your nephew’s wife will wonder why he begs her not to present him with a birthday cake, which would stir memories of his mother and aunt quarreling.

Dear Miss Manners: I am on a very limited income. A stamp is nearly a dollar, and that dollar can buy me a can of generic soup. I get free internet access, so email messages are how I write.

Should I give up a meal to send someone a thank-you note in the mail? Are their delicate sensibilities more important than me eating?

Gentle reader: Congratulations on your attempt to make it seem heartless to express gratitude to others. No doubt you picture Miss Manners harassing the unhoused for not giving dinner parties.

But yes, the delicate sensibilities of people who have been generous to you are important. You should be thanking them as best you can. Are those emails more than perfunctory notes? Are they specific and convincingly grateful?

Miss Manners worries about

that. The example of how you approached her, to whom you owe nothing but common civility, is not reassuring.

Dear Miss Manners: Is it proper to have a housewarming party for a man and woman who are building a house together, but aren’t married?

Gentle reader: Only if their building permit is legal.

Send questions to Miss Manners at her website, 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

LSU AGCENTER PHOTO By RANDy LABAUVE

At the Hammond Research Station trial gardens, plants are installed in beds, providing important information on how they perform in typical landscape settings.

TRIAL

Continued from page 1D while giving scientists and visitors a sense of how the plants might fit into a typical landscape.

Founded in 1922, the 140-acre station originally focused on work that sup-

ported the truck farming industry, which was popular in the Florida Parishes region at the time. The facility retooled in the mid2000s to support the green industry as it grew into a major economic driver of the area.

In addition to the trial gardens, the station also houses research aimed at

improving various facets of nursery production.

The station is located at 21549 Old Covington Highway about 6 miles east of Hammond. The trial gardens are open for selfguided tours from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday.

For more information, visit lsuagcenter.com/hammond or call (985) 543-4125.

MICRODRAMA Continued from page 1D

as many as 72 such series in Louisiana over the next three years, so “Because of Her” is just the beginning.

“It’s a romantic comedy.

Kasey Esser is a big actor in the space,” Harper said in late May. Something to watch for besides Esser, who’s referred to as “the Brad 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’s kind of a no-brainer for a brand and for us to work together, because you can integrate the brand into the story a very 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 familiar with shooting in Louisiana, having worked as unit production manager on the “Battle Los Angeles” shoot in Baton Rouge.

“I had a good experience.

It was all positive for me.”

Harper said of the 2011 project starring Aaron Eckhart. “Dealing with the city and the government was great. Everybody was very accommodating. The crew

BLUE STORE

Continued from page 1D locations that vary slightly in name and menu across Baton Rouge.

Each of the businesses is owned by a different member of the Phan family. Mua Phan, who died in 2012, started the local fried chicken dynasty after taking over Triplet’s Food Mart near Southern University in 2000.

He set himself apart from other convenience stores when he started selling chicken wings in 2003. As

PROVIDED PHOTO

Executive producer Tommy 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 I get back out there.”

Locals were used in multiple facets of the “Battle Los Angeles” production, and eventually 95% of talent signed on to Harper’s microdrama projects will be local as well, he explained.

Harper will be in the city periodically to oversee Tiny Verticals’ productions firsthand, although probably not for “Because of Her,” he said.

Microseries shoots are quick, to say the least, lasting just seven to nine days.

Three to four months later, the series is up and on the platform. Look for “Because of Her” on VeYou in late August or early September, said Harper.

“They (Tiny Verticals’ series) will be on other viewing platforms eventually, but all of our originals will go to VeYou exclusively for at least the first four weeks,” he said.

Harper also offered insights into what’s charting

within the soaring trend of microseries, which first became popular in China: n Thirty- to 60-year-old women are the biggest consumers of vertical entertainment, and VeYou’s core demo. n There are also titles suited for the Gen Z demographic, light thrillers and action, while high school romcom dramas and similar genres are still in the mix. n For the male audience, thrillers, action pieces and some sports are available.

With the accelerated production window for microseries, taking advantage of location shoots in Louisiana will be a given.

“For this one (‘Because of Her’), I don’t even 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’t I do that?”

of the tube, there is a Dear Heloise: The letter significant amount at the from Jan M. purports end where the toothpaste to end all the toothpaste exits the tube. It is drama. However, impossible to fully there’s one more squeeze this out, so thing that nobody several applications has mentioned. of toothpaste sit Because of my curithere unused. osity, I cut open the So, if one really tube after thinking Hints from wants to fully use up I’d effectively reHeloise a tube of toothpaste, moved all the toothit must be cut open paste within — only to access the remaining to discover that no matter amount, which will then be how one chooses to empty good for several brushings. the tube, it still has lots of And this is what should end toothpaste remaining. the toothpaste drama! — Rick I cut the end of the tube, B., in Portland, Oregon then cut along the creases of each side, and found Cotton swab trick that not only is there still toothpaste along the length Dear Heloise: I use a viscous

liquid cleaner to clean my sinks. After a few uses, the bottle clogs up, and the opening has to be cleaned out until the next few uses.

So, I decided to cut off one end of a cotton swab and put masking tape around the other end. I inserted the non-taped end into the bottle, and the taped end on top prevents the cotton swab from sliding all the way down into the bottle.

When I’m done, I reinsert the cotton swab until the next time I have to clean the sinks. — Linda, in Roanoke, Virginia Send a hint to heloise@ heloise.com.

TODAY IN HISTORY

By The Associated Press Today is Tuesday, July 7, the 188th day of 2026. There are 177 days left in the year.

Today in History: On July 7, 1981, President Ronald Reagan announced he was nominating Arizona Judge Sandra Day O’Connor to become the first female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

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, the first woman to be executed by the federal government.

In 1898, President William McKinley signed the Newlands Resolution, approving the annexation of the Republic of Hawaii.

In 1930, construction began on Boulder Dam (known today as Hoover Dam).

In 1976, the United States Military Academy at West Point included female cadets for the first time as 119 women joined the Class of 1980.

In 1990, the first “Three Tenors” concert took place as opera stars Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Do-

mingo and Jose Carreras performed amid the brick ruins of Rome’s Baths of Caracalla on the eve of the FIFA World Cup final.

In 2005, terrorist bombings in three Underground stations and a double-decker bus killed 52 people and four bombers in the worst attack on London since World War II. In 2010, Los Angeles police arrested and charged Lonnie Franklin Jr. in the city’s “Grim Sleeper” serial killings. (Franklin, who was sentenced to death for the killings of nine women and a teenage girl, died in prison in March 2020 at the age of 67.)

In 2013, Andy Murray became the first British man in 77 years to win the Wimbledon title, beating Novak Djokovic in the final.

In 2016, Micah Johnson, a Black Army veteran 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 a bomb delivered by a police robot.

In 2021, a squad of gunmen assassinated Haitian President Jovenel Moïse and wounded his wife in an overnight raid on their home.

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 appointment of a politician who had been accused of sexual misconduct.

Today’s birthdays: Musicianconductor Doc Severinsen 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 Amy Carlson 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 X Factor”) is 33.

Pop musician Ashton Irwin (5 Seconds to Summer) is 32. Country singer Maddie Font (Maddie and Tae) is 31.

YEARS

SUMMER OF SPACE

Email Judy Bergeron at jbergeron@theadvocate. com.

patriarch of the Blue Store Chicken franchise, Phan’s dream was for each of his 10 children to own and operate a Blue Store Chicken.

His daughter, Hue Tran, who now handles the legal and financial operations for all Blue Store locations, confirmed that the family owns the building they plan to vacate.

STAFF FILE PHOTO “Legends will never be

By HILARy SCHEINUK forgotten,” the post’s capCashier Deonshae Matthews tion said. “Legends will never die. Thank you all for shows off a plate of fresh the journey. We’re not going chicken wings at the original anywhere. But maybe only Triplett’s Blue Store on Mills a little further down the street.”

Avenue in Baton Rouge.

TONIGHT•8PM

WLPB 27

www.lpb.org

r b.o .lp w ww

str ive l / g

ea

m

The Advocate ■ theadvocate.com ■ Tuesday, July 7, 2026 ■ 3D

lll

FrAnK And erneSt

roSebUdS

zItS

zodIAC 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) Spend more 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

For better or For WorSe WonderWord

peAnUtS

SALLY Forth

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

toDAy's cLuE: n EQuALs H

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

SherMAn’S LAGoon FAMILY CIrCUS

dooneSbUrY

4D ■ Tuesday, July 7, 2026 ■ theadvocate.com ■ The Advocate

CurTiS

Hi and LoiS

lll

Sudoku InstructIons: Sudoku is a number-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 grid with several given numbers.

The object is to place the numbers 1 to 9 in the 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

BaBY BLueS

BLondie

THe wiZard oF id

nea CroSSwordS

La TimeS CroSSword

The Advocate ■ theadvocate.com ■ Tuesday, July 7, 2026 ■ 5D

lll

B.C.

Bridge

By PHILLIP ALDER Margery Allingham, commenting on her crime solver Albert Campion, wrote, “He did not arrive at this conclusion by the decent process of quiet, logical deduction, nor yet by the blinding flash of glorious intuition, but by the shoddy, untidy process halfway between the two by which one usually gets to know things.”

It is, of course, better to draw conclusions from logical deduction. In this deal, South is in four hearts. West leads the spade nine. How should East deduce the correct defense?

North made a game-invitational limit raise, showing four or more hearts, 10-12 support points (here, all high-card points, no short-suit points) and eight losers (here, two in each suit).

East knows that West has led a singleton or high from a doubleton — but which?

East should ask himself, “If my partner has a singleton, how many spades does that give declarer?” Here, the answer is five.

And would South have opened one heart with five spades in his hand? It would have been most unlikely, because with 5-5 in the majors, South would have opened one spade, not one heart.

So East should deduce that his partner has led from a doubleton and should signal encouragement with his spade seven.

South wins, cashes the heart ace, and

garfield

Pearls Before swiNe

hagar the horriBle

plays another heart. But West wins with his king, leads his second spade, receives a spade ruff and cashes the diamond ace for down one.

Note finally that declarer does best to call for dummy’s spade king at trick one, making it more likely that East will have a reflex reaction and win with his ace. © 2026 by NEA, Inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

wuzzles Each Wuzzle is a word riddle which creates a disguised word, phrase, name, place, saying, etc. For example: NOON GOOD = GOOD AFTERNOON

PiCKles

Previous answers:

mallard fillmore

word game InstRuctIons: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed. 3.

Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.

toDAy’s WoRD — sAMEnEss: SAME-ness: Monotony; uniformity.

Bizarro

marmaduKe

Average mark 16 words Time limit 20 minutes Can you find 21 or more words in SAMENESS? yEstERDAy’s WoRD — GInGIVAL gain

vial

lain

gang

vigil

laving

gingiva

vinal

ling

giving

aging

living

nail

ailing

vain

align

vang

anvil

loCKhorNs hidato Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

today’s thought “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.” Mark 1:35 Since Jesus prayed so shouldn’t we? It is a great way to start our day. G.E. Dean

6D ■ Tuesday, July 7, 2026 ■ theadvocate.com ■ The Advocate

lll

classifieds.theadvocate.com Search Search& &Place PlaceAds AdsOnline Onlineatatclassifieds.theadvocate.com classifieds.theadvocate.com* Call * Call -Friday Us Monday-Friday 8AM-5PM at 225-383-0111 8AM-5PM at 225-383-0111

Announcements

APARTMENT AREA 5 1BR $550, 2BR $650 Tigerland. $500 Deposit. 225-475-1737

Baton Rouge Rental

Merchandise

BUSINESS PERSONAL New to Baton Rouge Area looking to service your delivery needs. No package too big or too small, call 225 620-9145 more info

AREA 2 3BR 2BA, 16x80 Mobile Home in Central School District on 1 acre treed lot, $600 dep, $950/mth rent.

Large storage bldg, Lawn Service Included. 225-603-4395

Anyone knowing the whereabouts of Helen Molden and Sherita U. Molden and or their relatives, please contact Ivy L. Graham, Attorney at Law, 171 Del Orleans, Ste B, Denham Springs, Louisiana 70726 phone (225) 663-8959.

193235-July 7-9, 3t $200.50

AREA 3 3060 N. Acadian Thrwy 1BR/1BA $500/mth $300Dep Water/Sewer Paid 225-357-6436

Anyone knowing the whereabouts of Resbawn R. Henderson, please contact W. Hunter D' Aquila, Attorney at Law, P .0. Box 866, New Roads, LA 70760, Phone (225) 6389083.

193244-July 7-9, 3t $169 Taylor Family Enterprises LLC, is applying to the Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control of the State of Louisiana for the permit to sell beverages of high and low alcohol content at retail in the Parish of Ascension at the following address: Taylor Family Enterprises LLC d/a/b The Fairway Sports Bar 6473 HWY 44 Suite 120, Gonzales, LA 70737 Members: Zachary and Tarrasa Taylor 193262-7/7-1t $124.00

Public Notices

Public Notices Bids/Proposals

PUBLIC NOTICE --ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS FOR THE SALE OF LAND SB# 1869 Lot 7, Block 45, Istrouma Subdivision, Ward 1-2, Baton Rouge The Recreation and Park Commission for the Parish of East Baton Rouge (BREC) will accept sealed bids for the sale of 0.110± acres of vacant land fronting Chippewa Street in Baton Rouge, not needed for public recreation purposes, de‐ scribed as Lot 7, Block 45, Istrouma Subdivision, Ward 1-2 in Baton Rouge, for the minimum price of $6,000.00 approximated appraised value.

Electronic OR Paper bids will be received until 2:00 pm CT, July 9, 2026, by the BREC Finance Depart‐ ment, BREC Administra‐ tion Building, 6201 Florida Boulevard, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

All electronic bids will be downloaded and publicly read aloud, along with all paper bids received, im‐ mediately after the 2:00 pm bid closing in Room 1515 of the BREC Admin‐ istration Building. Bid‐ ders or their authorized representatives are in‐ vited to be present. No bids will be received after 2:00 pm on the same day and date.

Acceptance of a bid is subject to entry into a binding written Purchase Agreement acceptable to both parties within fortyfive (45) days of the opening of bids.

Complete bid documents are available by email re‐ quest to BREC Purchas‐ ing Department, Dedra.

Fountain@brec.org. Con‐ tact the BREC Purchasing Department at (225) 2736421.

Electronic bids must be submitted through www. bidexpress.com prior to the bidding deadline.

Bidders utilizing the elec‐ tronic bid process are re‐ sponsible for confirming that all documents are properly submitted and received by Bid Express.

Questions about this pro‐ cedure shall be directed to Bid Express Customer support@ Service at bidexpress.com.

Toll Free: (888) 352-BIDX (2439), Phone: (352) 3814888, Fax: (888) 971-4191, Monday through Friday, 6am - 7pm CT. BREC has elected to use LaPAC, the state’s online electronic bid posting and notification system, in addition to its stan‐ dard means of advertis‐ ing. LaPAC is resident on the Office of State Pro‐ curement’s website at LaPAC Public Menu (louisiana.gov) and is available for vendor selfenrollment.

Paper bid forms must be submitted in a sealed, opaque envelope and en‐ dorsed SB 1869 Lot 7, Block 45, Istrouma Subdi‐ vision, Ward 1-2, Baton Rouge One (1) copy of the bid form shall be submitted.

RECREATION AND PARK COMMISSION FOR THE PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE _________________ /s/ Janet C. Simmons, BREC Interim Superinten‐ dent THE ADVOCATE BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA To be Published Three Times: 06/09/2026, 06/23/2026, and 07/07/2026 190244 June 9, 23, July 7, 3t $162.61 PUBLIC NOTICE --ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS FOR THE SALE OF LAND SB# 1870 Lots 42 and 43 Monte Sano-Highland Farms Subdivision, Sections 37, T-6-S, R-1-W The Recreation and Park Commission for the Parish of East Baton Rouge (BREC) will accept sealed bids for the sale of 8.830± acres of vacant land fronting Alexander Avenue in Baton Rouge, not needed for public recreation purposes, de‐ scribed as Lots 42 and 43 Monte Sano-Highland Farms Subdivision, Sec‐ tions 37, T-6-S, R-1-W in Baton Rouge, for the min‐ imum price of $550,000.00 approximated appraised value.

Electronic OR Paper bids will be received until 2:00 pm CT, July 9, 2026, by the BREC Finance Depart‐ ment, BREC Administra‐ tion Building, 6201 Florida Boulevard, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

All electronic bids will be

ROOMS FOR RENT Furnished Rooms. $125/wk. $500/mo.

225-933-7560

Baton Rouge Real Estate For Sale

downloaded and publicly read aloud, along with all paper bids received, im‐ mediately after the 2:00 pm bid closing in Room 1515 of the BREC Admin‐ istration Building. Bid‐ ders or their authorized representatives are in‐ vited to be present. No bids will be received after 2:00 pm on the same day and date.

Acceptance of a bid is subject to entry into a binding written Purchase Agreement acceptable to both parties within fortyfive (45) days of the opening of bids.

Complete bid documents are available by email re‐ quest to BREC Purchas‐ ing Department, Dedra.

Fountain@brec.org. Con‐ tact the BREC Purchasing Department at (225) 2736421.

Electronic bids must be submitted through www. bidexpress.com prior to the bidding deadline.

Bidders utilizing the elec‐ tronic bid process are re‐ sponsible for confirming that all documents are properly submitted and received by Bid Express.

Questions about this pro‐ cedure shall be directed to Bid Express Customer support@ Service at bidexpress.com.

Toll Free: (888) 352-BIDX (2439), Phone: (352) 3814888, Fax: (888) 971-4191, Monday through Friday, 6am - 7pm CT. BREC has elected to use LaPAC, the state’s online electronic bid posting and notification system, in addition to its stan‐ dard means of advertis‐ ing. LaPAC is resident on the Office of State Pro‐ curement’s website at LaPAC Public Menu (louisiana.gov) and is available for vendor selfenrollment.

Paper bid forms must be submitted in a sealed, opaque envelope and en‐ dorsed SB 1870 Lots 42 and 43, Monte SanoHighland Farms Subdivi‐ sion, Sections 37, T-6-S, R-1-W One (1) copy of the bid form shall be submit‐ ted.

RECREATION AND PARK COMMISSION FOR THE PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE _________________ /s/ Janet C. Simmons, BREC Interim Superinten‐ dent THE ADVOCATE BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA To be Published Three Times: 06/09/2026, 06/23/2026, and 07/07/2026 190258 June 9, 23, July 7, 2026 3t $166.66 PUBLIC NOTICE --ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS FOR THE SALE OF LAND SB# 1871 Remainder of Lot 227, Containing 3.24 Acres, Kildare Subdivision, Ward 3, Section 1 The Recreation and Park Commission for the Parish of East Baton Rouge (BREC) will accept sealed bids for the sale of 3.240± acres of vacant land fronting Lanier Drive in Baton Rouge, not needed for public recre‐ ation purposes, de‐ scribed as the remainder of Lot 227, Containing 3.24 Acres, Kildare Subdi‐ vision, Ward 3, Section 1 in Baton Rouge, for the minimum price of $250,000.00 approxi‐ mated appraised value.

Electronic OR Paper bids will be received until 2:00 pm CT, July 9, 2026, by the BREC Finance Depart‐ ment, BREC Administra‐ tion Building, 6201 Florida Boulevard, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

All electronic bids will be downloaded and publicly read aloud, along with all paper bids received, im‐ mediately after the 2:00 pm bid closing in Room 1515 of the BREC Admin‐ istration Building. Bid‐ ders or their authorized representatives are in‐ vited to be present. No bids will be received after 2:00 pm on the same day and date.

Acceptance of a bid is subject to entry into a binding written Purchase Agreement acceptable to both parties within fortyfive (45) days of the opening of bids.

Complete bid documents are available by email re‐ quest to BREC Purchas‐ ing Department, Dedra.

Fountain@brec.org. Con‐ tact the BREC Purchasing Department at (225) 2736421.

Electronic bids must be submitted through www. bidexpress.com prior to the bidding deadline.

Bidders utilizing the elec‐ tronic bid process are re‐ sponsible for confirming that all documents are properly submitted and received by Bid Express.

Questions about this pro‐ cedure shall be directed to Bid Express Customer i

Public Notices Bids/Proposals p Service at support@ bidexpress.com.

Toll Free: (888) 352-BIDX (2439), Phone: (352) 3814888, Fax: (888) 971-4191, Monday through Friday, 6am - 7pm CT. BREC has elected to use LaPAC, the state’s online electronic bid posting and notification system, in addition to its stan‐ dard means of advertis‐ ing. LaPAC is resident on the Office of State Pro‐ curement’s website at LaPAC Public Menu (louisiana.gov) and is available for vendor selfenrollment.

Paper bid forms must be submitted in a sealed, opaque envelope and en‐ dorsed SB 1871 Remain‐ der of Lot 227, Containing 3.24 Acres, Kildare Subdi‐ vision, Ward 3, Section 1 One (1) copy of the bid form shall be submitted.

RECREATION AND PARK COMMISSION FOR THE PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE ________________ /s/ Janet C. Simmons, BREC Interim Superintendent THE ADVOCATE BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA To be Published Three Times: 06/09/2026, 06/23/2026, and 07/07/2026 190262 June 9, 23, July 7, 2026 3t $166.66 PUBLIC NOTICE --ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS FOR THE SALE OF LAND SB# 1872 Lot 119, Cedar Glen Sub‐ division, Section 88, T-6S, R-1-E The Recreation and Park Commission for the Parish of East Baton Rouge (BREC) will accept sealed bids for the sale of 0.310± acres of vacant land fronting Corlett Drive in Baton Rouge, not needed for public recre‐ ation purposes, de‐ scribed as Lot 119, Cedar Glen Subdivision, Section 88, T-6-S, R-1-E in Baton Rouge, for the minimum price of $25,000.00 ap‐ proximated appraised value.

Electronic OR Paper bids will be received until 2:00 pm CT, July 9, 2026, by the BREC Finance Depart‐ ment, BREC Administra‐ tion Building, 6201 Florida Boulevard, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

All electronic bids will be downloaded and publicly read aloud, along with all paper bids received, im‐ mediately after the 2:00 pm bid closing in Room 1515 of the BREC Admin‐ istration Building. Bid‐ ders or their authorized representatives are in‐ vited to be present. No bids will be received after 2:00 pm on the same day and date.

Acceptance of a bid is subject to entry into a binding written Purchase Agreement acceptable to both parties within fortyfive (45) days of the opening of bids.

Complete bid documents are available by email re‐ quest to BREC Purchas‐ ing Department, Dedra.

Fountain@brec.org. Con‐ tact the BREC Purchasing Department at (225) 2736421.

Electronic bids must be submitted through www. bidexpress.com prior to the bidding deadline.

Bidders utilizing the elec‐ tronic bid process are re‐ sponsible for confirming that all documents are properly submitted and received by Bid Express.

Questions about this pro‐ cedure shall be directed to Bid Express Customer support@ Service at bidexpress.com.

Toll Free: (888) 352-BIDX (2439), Phone: (352) 3814888, Fax: (888) 971-4191, Monday through Friday, 6am - 7pm CT. BREC has elected to use LaPAC, the state’s online electronic bid posting and notification system, in addition to its stan‐ dard means of advertis‐ ing. LaPAC is resident on the Office of State Pro‐ curement’s website at LaPAC Public Menu (louisiana.gov) and is available for vendor selfenrollment.

Paper bid forms must be submitted in a sealed, opaque envelope and en‐ dorsed SB 1872 Lot 119, Cedar Glen Subdivision, Section 88, T-6-S, R-1-E One (1) copy of the bid form shall be submitted.

RECREATION AND PARK COMMISSION FOR THE PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE _________________ /s/ Janet C. Simmons, BREC Interim Superintendent THE ADVOCATE BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA

store.nola.com

PETS • SUPPLIES • SERVICES • OBITUARIES • LOST & FOUND

PLACE YOUR PET SERVICES INFORMATION IN THE PET SERVICES DIRECTORY TODAY! • IT IS FAST AND EASY! • CALL 225-383-0111 AKC German Shepherd Pups Beautiful Pups, both parents are working dogs, easily trained.www.psdkennels.com 601 2990264

OUT OF TOWN PROPERTY 1 Acre City lot in Greensburg LA on Taylor Street, Town Water & Electricity, $58k (225) 324-1837

Public Notices Bids/Proposals

DOGS CKC YORKIES - (YORKIES w/papers) also BISHON YORKIES vet checked shot worming meet in Gulfport $750 (334) 467-3416

CATS RAGAMUFFIN & RAGDOLL KITTENS www.CatsByFrancy.com/kittens $1500up! Reg. Shots & Guaranty 337-230-3150

Public Notices Bids/Proposals

Public Notices Bids/Proposals

Public Notices Bids/Proposals

To be Published Three Times: 06/09/2026, 06/23/2026, and 07/07/2026

p.m. Local Time, Tuesday, August 4, 2026 by the Purchasing Division, Room 826, City Hall, 222 Saint Louis Street, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70802.

No bids will be received after 2:00 p.m. on the same day and date.

above email or phone number 225.387.2422.

190271 June 9, 23, July 7, 2026 3t $163.63 PUBLIC NOTICE --ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS FOR THE SALE OF LAND SB# 1873 4-Acre Portion of Kildare Plantation, Located in Section 50, T-6-S, R-1-E The Recreation and Park Commission for the Parish of East Baton Rouge (BREC) will accept sealed bids for the sale of 4.000± acres of vacant land fronting Dover Street in Baton Rouge, not needed for public recreation purposes, de‐ scribed as 4-Acre Portion of Kildare Plantation, Lo‐ cated in Section 50, T-6-S, R-1-E in Baton Rouge, for the minimum price of $250,000.00 approxi‐ mated appraised value.

Electronic OR Paper bids will be received until 2:00 pm CT, July 9, 2026, by the BREC Finance Depart‐ ment, BREC Administra‐ tion Building, 6201 Florida Boulevard, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

All electronic bids will be downloaded and publicly read aloud, along with all paper bids received, im‐ mediately after the 2:00 pm bid closing in Room 1515 of the BREC Admin‐ istration Building. Bid‐ ders or their authorized representatives are in‐ vited to be present. No bids will be received after 2:00 pm on the same day and date.

Acceptance of a bid is subject to entry into a binding written Purchase Agreement acceptable to both parties within fortyfive (45) days of the opening of bids.

Complete bid documents are available by email re‐ quest to BREC Purchas‐ ing Department, Dedra.

Fountain@brec.org. Con‐ tact the BREC Purchasing Department at (225) 2736421.

Electronic bids must be submitted through www. bidexpress.com prior to the bidding deadline.

Bidders utilizing the elec‐ tronic bid process are re‐ sponsible for confirming that all documents are properly submitted and received by Bid Express.

Questions about this pro‐ cedure shall be directed to Bid Express Customer Service at support@ bidexpress.com.

Toll Free: (888) 352-BIDX (2439), Phone: (352) 3814888, Fax: (888) 971-4191, Monday through Friday, 6am - 7pm CT. BREC has elected to use LaPAC, the state’s online electronic bid posting and notification system, in addition to its stan‐ dard means of advertis‐ ing. LaPAC is resident on the Office of State Pro‐ curement’s website at LaPAC Public Menu (louisiana.gov) and is available for vendor selfenrollment.

Paper bid forms must be submitted in a sealed, opaque envelope and en‐ dorsed SB 1873 4-Acre Portion of Kildare Planta‐ tion, Located in Section 50, T-6-S, R-1-E One (1) copy of the bid form shall be submitted.

RECREATION AND PARK COMMISSION FOR THE PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE /s/ Janet C. Simmons, BREC Interim Superinten‐ dent THE ADVOCATE BATON LOUISIANA

ROUGE,

190250-JUN 9-23-JUL 7-3T $151

Something for everyone.

WORKS

AREA 5 655 North St. Subsidized eff Apts cpabr.org 225-383-5551.

TDD/TTY /711RELAY

NEWS 24/7 ON

SHOP TODAY!

Pets / Pet Services Directory

AREA 3

Move In Ready!

3017 Chippewa St. 5159 Frey St. Both Properties 3BR 1BA Rent $800/mo, $300/dep 225-357-6436

PRINT ADVERTISING

SIGN UP TODAY

AREA 3 5135 & 5137 Fairfield (Duplex) 1BR/1BA, Rent $500, Dep $300 Updated 225-357-6436 WANT TO BUY Old Records 33's, 45's & 78's. All types of music. Call 985-259-1889

MOBILE HOME 1, 2 & 3 BR mobile homes, $675 & up 6061 Plank Rd. CALL 225-978-4653

Bid Openings can be in person or via teleconfer‐ ence.

Teleconference Call-in Information.

Join by phone +1-408418-9388 United States Toll Access code: 263 373 080 (followed by the # but‐ ton) Alternate numbers to call if number above is not available, which may occur due to network traffic (use the same Ac‐ cess Code, followed by the # button): States Toll United (Boston) +1-617-315-0704 United States Toll (Chicago) +1-312-5358110 United States Toll (Dal‐ las) +1-469-210-7159 United States Toll (Den‐ ver) +1-720-650-7664 United States Toll (Jack‐ sonville) +1-904-900-2303 United States Toll (Los Angeles) +1-213-306-3065 Electronic bids and elec‐ tronic bid bonds for the solicitation will be down‐ loaded by the City of Baton Rouge and Parish of East Baton Rouge, Pur‐ chasing Division.

Beginning as soon as feasible after the bid closing time all elec‐ tronic bids will be down‐ loaded and publicly read aloud along with all paper bids received, if any, in 806 of City Hall immediately after the 2:00 p.m. bid closing.

Bids, amendments to bids, or request for with‐ drawal of quotations, re‐ ceived after time speci‐ fied for bid opening shall not be considered for any cause whatsoever.

Bids shall be firm for a period of sixty (60) days from the date of the opening of bids and no bid shall be withdrawn for any reason during this period of time ex‐ cept as allowed per R.S. 38:2214.C. Official Bid Documents are available at Central Bidding www.centralbidd ing.com . Electronic Bids may be submitted at Central Bidding (www. centralbidding.com). For questions related to the electronic bidding Form Revised Apr 2, 2009 NC 2 of 2 process, please call Central Bidding at 225810-4814. Copies of the Contract Documents may be obtained and exam‐ ined without charge in the office of the Project Engineer, or as re‐ quested for electronic copies via PDF from the Project Manager by emailing Blake Roussel at RousselBlake@stanley group.com and Brady Richard‐ Richard at Brady@stanleygroup. com. For additional infor‐ mation, contact Stanley Consultants, Inc. at the

A Certified Check or Cashier's Check, payable to the Parish of East Baton Rouge or a satis‐ factory Bid Bond exe‐ cuted by the Bidder and an acceptable surety, in an amount equal to five percent (5%) of the total bid, shall be submitted with each bid.

Bids shall be received electronically via www. centralbidding.com or on solicitation bid forms furnished by the City of Baton Rouge and Parish East Baton Rouge, and only those bids shall be received by the CityParish which is submit‐ ted by those Contractors in whose names the so‐ licitation bid forms and/or specifications were issued. In no event shall paper solicitation forms be issued later than twenty-four (24) hours prior to the hour and date set for receiv‐ ing proposals.

The Bidder is advised that the City of Baton Rouge and Parish of East Baton Rouge is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Therefore, the Bidder is encouraged to utilize mi‐ nority participation in this contract to the ex‐ tent possible through the use of small, disadvan‐ taged and women-owned businesses as suppliers or subcontractors.

All Contractors bidding on this work shall com‐ ply with all provisions of the State Licensing Law for Contractors, R.S. 37:2150-2163, as amended, for all public contracts. It shall also be the responsibility of the General Contractor to as‐ sure that all subcontrac‐ tors comply with this law. If required for bid‐ ding, Contractors must hold an active license is‐ sued by the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors in the classi‐ fication of Highway, Street, and Bridge Con‐ struction, and must show their license number on the face of the bid enve‐ lope and the Uniform Public Works Bid Form.

Bidders should be aware that award of this con‐ tract is contingent upon receipt of a grant or grants from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the State of Louisiana Department of Transportation and De‐ velopment - Office of Avi‐ ation (DOTD), along with the securing of other re‐ quired approvals. Project numbers will be as‐ signed upon approval by the FAA. 1. Policy: It is the policy of the Department of Transportation (DOT) that Disadvantaged Busi‐ ness Enterprises as de‐ fined in 49 CFR Part 26 shall have the maximum opportunity to partici‐ pate in the performance of contracts financed in whole or in part with Federal funds.

2. Baton Rouge Metropol‐ itan Airport has estab‐ li h d i d d

DOGS Puppies for Sale! Adorable! 1/2 Pomeranian 1/2 Chihuahua $400, Full Blooded Chihuahua's $400, Full Blooded Toy Poodle's $600 (228) 669-0077

Public Notices Bids/Proposals p lished a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program in accor‐ dance with regulations of the U.S. Department of Transportation, 49 CFR Part 26. It is the policy of the Baton Rouge Metro‐ politan Airport to ensure that DBEs, as defined in 49 CFR Part 26, have an equal opportunity to re‐ ceive and participate in DOT-assisted contracts.

All Respondents or Pro‐ posers shall make good faith efforts, as defined in Appendix A of 49 CFR Part 26, to utilize DBE participation on the pro‐ ject. Until further notice – at this time, contractors are not required to com‐ plete Forms A, B, C. 3. The proposed Contract is under and subject to Executive Order 11246 of September 24, 1965, and to the Equal Opportunity Clause.

The Bidder’s (Proposer’s) attention is called to the “Equal Op‐ portunity Clause” and the “Standard Federal Equal Employment Op‐ portunity Construction Contract Specifications” set forth in the Project Manual.

4. The Bidder (Proposer) must supply all the infor‐ mation required by the bid or proposal forms.

The Bidders will be re‐ quired to submit a Certi‐ fication of Nonsegre‐ gated Facilities, and to notify prospective Sub‐ contractors of the re‐ quirements of such Certi‐ fication as Notice to Sub‐ contractors appears in the Project Manual.

5. Women will be af‐ forded equal opportunity in all areas of employ‐ ment. However, the em‐ ployment of women shall not diminish the stan‐ dards or requirements for the employment of minorities.

6. For contracts for $50,000 or more, a Con‐ tractor having 50 or more employees, and his Sub‐ contractors having 50 or more employees and who may be awarded a subcontract of $50,000 or more, will be required to maintain an affirmative action program within 120 days of the com‐ mencement of the con‐ tract.

7. Compliance Reports.

Within 30 days after award of this contract, the Contractor shall file a compliance report (Stan‐ dard Form 100) if: a. The Contractor has not submitted a complete compliance report within 12 months preceding the date of Award; and b. The Contractor is within the definition of “employer” in Para‐ graphs 2e (3) of the in‐ structions included in Standard Form 100.

The Contractor shall re‐ quire the Subcontractor on all-tier subcontracts, irrespective of dollar amount, to file Standard Form 100 within 30 days after award of the sub‐ contract if the above two conditions apply. Stan‐ dard Form 100 will be fur‐ nished upon request.

8. Buy American Provi‐ sion. The proposed Con‐ tract is subject to the Buy American Provision under Section 9129 of the

DOGS Shih Tzu, m/f, 10wks old, paper trained $250+, Adult Shih Tzu's $200, Cash Only. Call (504) 418-3046

PRINT ADVERTISING

WORKS

Public Notices Bids/Proposals

Aviation Safety and Ca‐ pacity Expansion Act of 1990. Details of such re‐ quirements are con‐ tained in the Project Manual.

In accordance with La. R.S. 38:2214 (B) the City of Baton Rouge and Parish of East Baton Rouge reserves the right to reject any and all bids for just cause. In accor‐ dance with La. R.S. 38:2212 (A)(1)(b), the pro‐ visions and requirements of this Section, those stated in the advertise‐ ment for bids, and those required on the bid form, shall not be considered as informalities and shall not be waived by any public entity.

For additional informa‐ tion please contact Blake Roussel or Brady Richard, at the number and email(s) noted above.

192888-jul 7-14-21-3t $415.53 PUBLIC NOTICE --East Baton Rouge Parish School System Child Nutrition Program Sealed Bids for the Pur‐ chase of Fresh Produce Items for School Meal Programs Notice is hereby given that the East Baton Rouge Parish School Sys‐ tem will receive sealed bids for the Child Nutri‐ tion Program Regular Fresh Produce Bids and for the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program Bids on the dates listed below in this advertisement.

Regular Fresh Produce sealed bids, are due no later than 9 a.m. Central Standard Time, and the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program sealed bids, are due no later than 10:30 a.m. Central Standard Time.

Bids may be hand-deliv‐ ered, mailed, or submit‐ ted electronically via BidExpress.com. There is a monetary charge to submit bids electroni‐ cally.

Detailed specifications and bid requests may be obtained at the East Baton Rouge Parish School System, Child Nu‐ trition Office, Building A, 3000 North Sherwood Forest Drive, Baton Rouge, La. 70814.

The deadline for submit‐ ting questions concern‐ ing the bids listed in this advertisement is two weeks before the listed bid opening date. Written responses will be pro‐ vided no later than one week before the listed bid opening date. No prebid meeting is scheduled for any of the bids listed in this advertisement.

Regular Fresh Produce Bids will be opened and publicly read aloud at 9:00 a.m., Central Stan‐ dard Time, on the dates listed below. Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program Bids will be opened and publicly read aloud at 10:30 a.m. on the dates listed below. Bids will be opened at the East Baton Rouge Parish School Sys‐ hild i i f

Public Notices Bids/Proposals g y tem, Child Nutrition Of‐ fice, Building A, 3000 North Sherwood Forest Drive, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70814. The pub‐ lic is invited to this bid opening. The East Baton Rouge Parish Child Nutri‐ tion Program is funded 96 percent with federal funds for an approximate total of $28,304,426 per year. This institution is an equal opportunity provider. For any infor‐ mation concerning this advertisement, you may contact the Child Nutri‐ tion Purchasing Depart‐ ment at 225-226-3762.

Regular Fresh Produce Bid Opening Dates: Bids open at 9 am CST 2026: July 21, 2026 (Aug. Sept. Oct.) Oct. 13, 2026 (Nov. Dec. Jan.) Dec. 1, 2026 2027: (Feb. Mar. Apr. May 2027) Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program Bid Opening Dates: Bids open at 10:30 am CST 2026: July 21, 2026 (Aug. Sept. Oct.) Oct. 13, 2026 (Nov. Dec. Jan.) Dec. 1, 2026 2027: (Feb. Mar. Apr. May 2027) 190718-JUN 23-JUL 7-2T $78.94

Legal Notices

PUBLIC NOTICE --Notice is hereby given that Corrent Services, Inc. has applied for a 401 Water Quality Certifica‐ tion to commercially dredge the Mississippi River and stockpile ma‐ terial in an existing sand pit. A containment dike will be constructed around the stockpile area. All work will occur on the right descending bank of the Mississippi River off Highway 405 northeast of White Cas‐ tle in Iberville Parish.

Corrent Services, Inc is applying to the Louisiana Department of Environ‐ mental Quality, Office of Environmental Services for a Water Quality Certi‐ fication in accordance with statutory authority contained in the LAC 33:IX.1507. A-E and provi‐ sions of Section 401 of the Clean Water Act. Comments concerning this application can be filed with the Water Per‐ mits Division within ten days of this notice refer‐ encing WQC 260622-01, AI 251526 to the following address: Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality Water Permits Division P.O. Box 4313 Baton Rouge, LA 70821-4313 Attn: Water Quality Certifications Comments may be sub‐ mitted by email to DEQWaterQualityCertifica‐ tions@la.gov

PRESERVE YOUR MEMORIES AND PUT THE KEEPSAKE ON DISPLAY

Memorialize your special day with quality reprints of any newspaper page.

PUBLIC NOTICE --ADVERTISEMENT To be published three times Legal – July 7, July 14, July 21, 2026 THE ADVOCATE BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS The City of Baton Rouge and Parish of East Baton Rouge for the Greater Baton Rouge Airport Dis‐ trict, will receive elec‐ tronic or paper bids for the construction of the following project: Taxiway F Reconstruction Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport, East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: This project will include new airfield pavement, drainage, electrical and earthwork.

There will be a NonMandatory Pre-Bid Con‐ ference held on Wednes‐ day, July 22, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. local time in the 1st floor conference room at the Baton Rouge Metro‐ politan Airport Terminal Building.

Electronic or sealed bids will be received until 2:00

Reproduced directly from our original newspaper, these custom-printed reproductions make an ideal gift to mark birthdays, anniversaries and other important dates.

SHOP TODAY! store.nola.com

The Advocate ■ theadvocate.com ■ Tuesday, July 7, 2026 ■ 7D

lll

FREE ESTIMATES

ON ALL TV’S THAT NEED REPAIR WHEN BROUGHT INTO THE SHOP!!

SHERWOOD TV & APPLIANCES *In-Home major appliances serviced at a charge.

WASHERS, DRYERS, REFRIGERATORS, FREEZERS, ELECTRIC & GAS RANGES

SHERWOOD MINI-STORAGE

MINI-WAREHOUSE (CLIMATE & REGULAR), MOTOR HOMES & BOAT STORAGE UP TO 45’ DEEP

11756 Florida Blvd. Baton Rouge 70815

BUSHHOGGING LOTS MOWED 225-505-3907 OR 225-272-5614

$125 First Visit - 1 Computer

225-803-8241 | THECOMPUTERDOCTORx.com

225-275-6900

SIMPLE ELECTRIC

Remove & Replace Driveways, Patios and Parking Lots.

Install culverts.

New Construction & Commercial

40 years experience

House calls | NoFixNoPay

IF NO ANSWER LEAVE MESSAGE

A1 CONCRETE

THE COMPUTER DOCTORx

Professional work • Lic/Ins/Bond.

40+ years experience No job too smalll/large

25 Years Experience

Call 225-803-8013

Call 225-921 2633

We are your go to company for your Gutter and Patio Top installations

HEATH WISE

VETERAN OWNED

WISE GUY’S GUTTERS & PATIOS DENHAM SPRINGS, LA 70726 WISEGUYSGUTTERSANDPATIOLA.COM GOLDDOG3447@YAHOO.COM

CALL 225-305-3776 FOR YOUR FREE ESTIMATE

LANDSCAPING 5 Fixtures, Controller & Wire

WE PAY CASH FOR YOUR UNWANTED VEHICLES!

HandyMan

Home Repairs

(100 ft. Wire) • $999 Special

SUMMER HOUSEWASHING SPECIAL!!

Call For A Free Estimate • I Look Forward To Working With You

• Doors • Tile • Painting • Windows & Door Awnings • Pressure Washing • Bathroom & Kitchen Repairs • Porch Roof and Metal Patio Covers

225-726-8096

LA CASH FOR CARS FREE TOWING | CASH AT PICKUP

Cars • Trucks • RVs • Boats • Motorcycles • Golf Carts

CALL OR TEXT 225-715-4852

QUALITY PAINTING • Interior/Exterior • Pressure Washing • Sheetrock Repair • Texturing/Acoustics • Handyman Work

American Green LLC Lawn Service

CALL (225) 806-5619 ROOF LEAKS STOPPED Free Estimates Licensed & Insured

No Job Too Big or Too Small James Wells DBA

Big Jim Construction

N f or R i on A T R f New R Roofs Repairs Any Type Roof Roofing • Painting • Carpentry

Over 50 Years Experience

225.338.6809

QUALITY TREE SERVICE STUMP REMOVAL Serving Baton Rouge & all surrounding areas.

We provide a full service for all your tree care needs.

• Now Providing all equipment on rubber tracks • Low Impact to Yard

Insured & Licensed Specializing in Tree Removal, Trimming, Pruning, Debris Removal Call Jay for your free estimate today

(225) 205-9875

All Work Warrantied

• Wood Refinishing • Affordable Prices • RELIABLE • No Mess Left Behind • Licensed & Insured

Over 30 years Experience • No Jobs Too Big or Small FREE Estimates

225-256-8518

DISCOUNT FOR FIRST RESPONDERS

225-290-1980 / 225-993-9204

tree trimming/flower bed clean up/flower bed designs/irrigation/ lighting pathways/prune & mulch/weeding/drainage/sod/pergola deck/power washing/stump grinding/consulting available

CALL FOR SPECIAL PRICING! INSTALL NEW ROOFS, J-W METAL, ROOFING* SHINGLES, FLAT, & REPAIRS.

STOP ALL LEAKS! CARPENTRY & PAINTING Lic/Ins. 225-205-9537

MILITARY DISCOUNTS

*Senior Citizen Discount

LEAK SPECIALIST

Quality Care Q

FIND AND FIX LEAKS ON ANY ROOF All work 35+ years of guaranteed experience No job to locally! big or small • Flashing • Gutters • Siding • Tree Pruning • Carpentry • Fences

Roofing & Maintenance R

Denham Springs & Gonzales

• All Types Roofing & Repairs • Fllashings • Sheet Metal • Dry Wall • Carpentry C • Painting • Masonry • Flooring • Electrical Spe cialty Ventilation and Insulation

KEVIN ROBERTS

FREE ESTIMATE!

(225) 603-2125

Swimming Pool Fill-In’s

STEVE ROBINS

RUSSELL CARPENTER ZACH CARPENTER

La. Lic. # 64014

(225) 603-2125 Cell KMRNBR55@GMAIL.COM

225-338-6922

FIBERGLASS - GUNITE - LINER 20 Years of Experience - Licensed and Insured

Call Casey For a Free Estimate

225-329-9502

pooldemolitionbycasey.com

tree service

Member of the BBB Licensed & Insured FREE Verbal Estimates to EBRP Residents 50 Years Experience Pruning & Trimming of Large Trees Small Tree Removal

Call 225.925.0610 Reasonable Rates for Quality Work!

JOHNNIE BOYS

APPLIANCE REPAIR Window Air Conditioners, Washers & Dryers, Freezers & Refrigerators

ALL Work Guaranteed.

To advertise here, please call 225-383-0111 or visit us at servicedirectory.theadvocate.com

Thank You for Your Consideration

Call 225-301-7575

GET FULL DIGITAL ACCESS

On your phone. On the go.

Interested in Print?

Sign up for home delivery of the newspaper in addition to full digital access on your phone, tablet or computer. Access to the daily e-replica of the newspaper is also included.

Subscribe today Scan the QR code CANCEL ANYTIME

8D ■ Tuesday, July 7, 2026 ■ theadvocate.com ■ The Advocate Legal Notices

Legal Notices

A copy of the application is available for inspec‐ tion and review at the LDEQ Public Records Center at 602 North Fifth Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70802, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The available information can also be accessed electronically on the Electronic Docu‐ ment Management Sys‐ tem (EDMS) on the LDEQ public website at www. deq.louisiana.gov.

Tim Soileau Project Manager/Envi‐ ronmental Scientist ELOS Environmental, LLC 607 W Morris Ave Hammond, LA 70403 tsoileau@elosenv.com (985) 662-5501

193318 July 7, 1t $211.71 PUBLIC NOTICE --RE: Public Notice for As‐ sumption Parish Canci‐ enne Canal Floodplain Preservation Project To: All interested Federal, State, and Local Agen‐ cies, Groups, and Individ‐ uals This is to give notice that the Assumption Parish Police Jury (APPJ) under 24 CFR Part 58 has deter‐ mined that this proposed action under Louisiana Community Development Block Grant (CDBG-MIT) number B-18-DP-22-001 is located in the 100year/Federal Flood Risk Management Standard (FFRMS) floodplain/wet‐ land. APPJ will be evalu‐ ating practicable alterna‐ tives to locating this ac‐ tion in the flood‐ plain/wetland, along with potential impacts from the proposed ac‐ tion, as required by Exec‐ utive Orders 11988 and 11990, as amended by Ex‐ ecutive Order 13690 in accordance with HUD regulations at 24 CFR 55.20 Subpart C Proce‐ dures for Making Deter‐ minations on Floodplain Management. Extent of FFRMS floodplain was determined using the 0.2percent-annual-chance flood approach (PFA).

Cancienne Canal’s up‐ stream limit is Louisiana Highway 1, and its down‐ stream limit is Lake Ver‐ ret. The project will ad‐ dress the need for drainage improvements to Ward 5 of Assumption Parish by dredging a 2.1mile reach of Cancienne Canal from LA 1 to Hard‐ time Road (eastern align‐ ment) and dredging a 3.7-mile reach (western alignment) from Lake Verret to farmlands (29° 53' 20.83'' N, 91° 03' 0.63" W). Project purpose is to reduce flooding through restoration of canal stormwater storage ca‐ pacity and conveyance.

Dredged material from the western alignment would be spray broad‐ casted at selected loca‐ tions on the northern and southern banks at a maximum height of 4 inches, not to extend be‐ yond 35 feet from tops of banks. Material from the eastern alignment would be mechanically stock‐ piled at selected loca‐ tions on the southside of the southern bank at a maximum height of 6 feet, not to extend be‐ yond 35 feet of the south‐ ern top of bank. Hy‐ droseeding banks would occur following con‐ struction to improve water quality and bank stabilization. Temporary construction servitude is granted. Limits of ground disturbance are confined to canal top-of-bank to top-of-bank, approxi‐ mately 85 feet, primarily occurring within the channel bottom. Approxi‐ mately 101 acres of FFRMS floodplain will be permanently impacted.

Approximately 117 acres of FFRMS floodplain and 45 acres of wetlands would be temporarily im‐ pacted during construc‐ tion. Potential impacts to wetlands are being ad‐ through the dressed LDENR/USACE joint per‐ mitting process.

There are three purposes for this notice. First, peo‐ ple who may be affected by activities in flood‐ plains and have an inter‐ est in the protection of the natural environment should be given the op‐ portunity to express their concerns and pro‐ vide information about these areas. Second, an adequate public notice program can be an im‐ portant public educa‐ tional tool. The dissemi‐ nation of information about floodplains can enhance Federal efforts to reduce the risks asso‐ ciated with the tempo‐ rary impacts to the spe‐ cial areas. Third, as a matter of fairness, when the Federal government determines it will partici‐ pate in actions taking place in floodplains, it must inform those who may be put at a greater or continued risk.

Written comments must be received by Tim Soileau at ELOS Environ‐ mental on behalf of APPJ at the following address on or before July 23, 2026, during the hours of 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM.

193179-jul 7-1t $449.08 PUBLIC NOTICE --REQUISITION 11297765 OFFICIAL PUBLIC NOTICE OF THE REGULAR ZONING MEETING OF THE METROPOLITAN COUN‐ CIL OF THE PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE AND THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE Notice is hereby given to all citizens of the City of Baton Rouge, Parish of East Baton Rouge and to all other interested per‐ sons, of the introduction at the regular meeting of the Metropolitan Council of the City of Baton Rouge and Parish of East Baton Rouge, held on June 24, 2026, of the pro‐ posed ordinances, the ti‐ tles of which are set forth hereinafter, and that public hearing will be held thereon by the Metropolitan Council at 4:00 P.M., Wednesday, July 22, 2026, in the Coun‐ cil Chambers (Room 348) on the third floor of the City-Parish Governmen‐ tal Building in this City, these proposed ordi‐ nances being entitled as follows: ORDINANCE Amending the Compre‐ hensive Zoning Map of the City of Baton Rouge and Parish of East Baton Rouge, as contained in and made part of the “Unified Development Code “, as amended so as to change the zoning on the property located at 11635 Nicholson Drive To rezone from Rural to Light Commercial Three (LC3) on property located on the east side of Nicholson Drive, north of Gardere Lane, on prop‐ erty now or formerly known as Tract C-5-A-2-A of Chatsworth Planta‐ tion. Section 41, T8S, R1E, GLD, EBRP, LA (Council District 3 - Gaudet) CASE 16-26 ORDINANCE Amending the Compre‐ hensive Zoning Map of the City of Baton Rouge and Parish of East Baton Rouge, as contained in and made part of the “Unified Development Code “, as amended so as to change the zoning on the property located at 9965 Meadowdale Drive To rezone from Sin‐ gle Family Residential (A1) to Single Family Res‐ idential (A2) on property located on the west side of Meadowdale Drive, south of Green Acres Drive, on property now or formerly known as Lot 26-B of Green Acres Sub‐ division. Section 77, T6S, R1E, GLD, EBRP, LA (Coun‐ cil District 2 - Kenney) CASE 17-26 ORDINANCE Amending the Compre‐ hensive Zoning Map of the City of Baton Rouge d i h f

lll

Legal Notices

y g and Parish of East Baton Rouge, as contained in and made part of the “Unified Development Code “, as amended so as to change the zoning on the property located at 12891 Coursey Boule‐ vard To rezone from Rural to Light Commer‐ cial One (LC1) on prop‐ erty located on the north side of Coursey Boule‐ vard, west of Stumberg Lane, on property now or formerly known as Lot C of the A. G. Savell Prop‐ erty. Section 29, T7S, R2E, GLD, EBRP, LA (Council District 8 - Amoroso) CASE 18-26

ORDINANCE Amending the Compre‐ hensive Zoning Map of the City of Baton Rouge and Parish of East Baton Rouge, as contained in and made part of the “Unified Development Code “, as amended so as to change the zoning on the property located at 2865 Millerville Road To rezone from Rural to Light Commercial Two (LC2) on property located on the east side of Millerville Road, north of South Harrell’s Ferry Road, on property now or formerly known as Lot C2-2-2 of the G. B. Mundinger Tract. Section 47, T7S, R2E, GLD, EBRP, LA (Council District 8 Amoroso) CASE 20-26 ORDINANCE Amending the Compre‐ hensive Zoning Map of the City of Baton Rouge and Parish of East Baton Rouge, as contained in and made part of the “Unified Development Code “, as amended so as to change the zoning on the property located at 2627 and 2629 South Sherwood Forest Boule‐ vard To rezone from Rural to Commercial Al‐ coholic Beverage (restaurant) (C-AB-1) and Light Commercial One (LC1) on property located on the east side of South Sherwood Forest Boule‐ vard, south of South Har‐ rell’s Ferry Road, on property now or formerly known as Tract C of the Max Tobias Tract. Section 49, T7S, R2E, GLD, EBRP, LA (Council District 8 Amoroso) CASE 21-26 192612 July 7, 14, 21, 2026 3t $242.44

CLASSIFIEDS.THEADVOCATE.COM

HOME DELIVERED

LOUISIANA OWNED

SUBSCRIBE TODAY

The Louisiana Office of State Parks is requesting proposals for a PublicPrivate Partnership pro‐ ject to design, construct, and operate a high-qual‐ ity recreational vehicle campground and related amenities. For more in‐ formation go to opportu‐ nitiesinlouisiana.com.

192994-jul 2-aug 15-45t $207.90

Public Notices Nat Res Coastal

PUBLIC NOTICE --NOTICE the Louisiana De‐ partment of Conserva‐ tion and Energy, Office of Permitting and Compli‐ ance (OPC) has received the following applica‐ tion(s) for a Coastal Use Permit (CUP) in accor‐ dance with La. R.S. 49:214.21 et seq., and the rules of the Coastal Man‐ agement Program. Appli‐ cations for coastal use permits may be in‐ spected at 617 North 3rd Street, Room 1078, Baton Rouge, LA or on the OPC webpage at: https:// denr.louisiana.gov/page/ public-notices.

Copies are available, costs apply. Written comments are solicited from the public and must be re‐ ceived within 25 days of the date of this notice.

Comments must be up‐ loaded directly to our electronic record through the OPC web‐ page or mailed to: OPC Administrator, Kyle Balkum, P.O. Box 44487, Baton Rouge, LA 708044487. All comments must contain the appropriate CUP number and the commenter's full name and contact information.

Below are the referenced application(s): ******* CUP NUMBER: P20250245 Name: Vermillion Parish Police Jury c/o Sellers & Associates 148 B. EASY ST. SUITE B LAFAYETTE, LA 70506 Attn: Matthew Vincent Location: Vermil‐ ion Parish, LA; Lat. 29-4450.12 N, Long. 92-6-5.97 W Description: Install shoreline protection structures along the North Shore of Vermilion Bay. Approx. 250,000 cy will be excavated to cre‐ ate a temporary access channel that will be backfilled prior to demo‐ bilization. Approx. 68,000 cy of rock fill will be re‐ quired for the shoreline protection installation. ************ CUP NUM‐ BER: P20260539 Name: Southern Oil Of Louisiana c/o Rccs, Llc POST OFFICE BOX 2182 COVINGTON, LA 70434-2182 Attn: Kasey Hebert Location: Plaque‐ mines Parish, LA; POB Lat. 29-27-39 N, Long. 8908-32 W and POE- Lat. 2927-05 N, Long. 89-09-40 W; Blocks 52 & 53, Breton Sound Area. Description: Proposal to P&A the SL 12806#1-D well, remove a caisson supported well platform and 4-inch pipeline, and perform site clearance activities.

Approx. 5,948 cy will be jetted to remove the pipeline.

193350 July 7, 1t $25.77

REQUISITION 11297764 NOTICE OF INTENTION TO DECLARE ADJUDICATED TAX PROPERTY SURPLUS AND TO SELL SAME UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF LSA-R.S. 33:4712.

Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan Council has received a request to declare the following listed property surplus and no longer needed for public purpose. These properties have previously been adjudicated to the Parish of East Baton Rouge for unpaid taxes.

Anyone wishing to offer an amount greater than the minimum bid for the property shall bring a certified check or money order payable to the Parish of East Baton Rouge in the amount of the administrative fees/certified funds indicated below, BEFORE 2:00 pm on the day of the Auction taking place July 15, 2026 at 222 St. Louis Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70802, 9th FLOOR. For additional information, contact the Parish Attorney’s Office, Property section at 389-3114.

Lot 15+, Square 2, Richmond Park North 32nd Street Initial Bid Amount Advanced costs required (certified funds): Lot 10, Square 6, Scott 2554 Cable Street Initial Bid Amount Advanced costs required (certified funds): Lot C, Sherwood Village Condominiums 2150 North Sherwood Forest Initial Bid Amount Advanced costs required (certified funds): Lot 4, Square 35, Scotland Addition 8651 Edwin Street Initial Bid Amount Advanced costs required (certified funds):

Lot 3, Square F, Crawford Addition 3241 Erie Street Initial Bid Amount Advanced costs required (certified funds):

N Stewart & D Oliver $ 100.00 $ 950.00

Public Notices Nat Res Coastal

$ 100.00 $ 500.00 Equity Real Estate $ 900.00 $ 500.00 Deidre Coates $ 100.00 $ 500.00

Lafayette & Co $ 1,000.00 $ 500.00 Lafayette & Co

Lot Square 30, Southdowns Glasgow Avenue Initial Bid Amount Advanced costs required (certified funds):

Norco Logistics Solutions

Lot 25+, Square 12, Bank 70th Avenue Initial Bid Amount Advanced costs required (certified funds):

Kevin Cook

Lot 8, Square 5, Scotland Heights Pintail Street Initial Bid Amount Advanced costs required (certified funds):

Genevieve Moore

$ 1,000.00 $ 500.00

$ 100.00 $ 500.00

$ 100.00 $ 500.00

$ 1,000.00 $ 500.00

Lot 54, Deer Park 19640 Deer Creek Drive Initial Bid Amount Advanced costs required (certified funds):

Joseph Jeanpierre Jr

Lot 285, Crystal Place 14821 East Beaver Drive Initial Bid Amount Advanced costs required (certified funds):

Joseph Jeanpierre Jr

Lot Lot 7, Square 28, South Baton Rouge Tyler Street Initial Bid Amount Advanced costs required (certified funds):

Kiara Roberts

$ 500.00 $ 500.00

$ 500.00 $ 500.00

$ 100.00 (Mow to Own) $ 555.00

Public Notices Nat Res Coastal

Public Notices Nat Res Coastal

COASTAL USE PERMITS NOT REQUIRED OF ACTIVITIES EXEMPT FROM PERMITTING AND/OR CORPS AREA OR GENERAL PERMIT NAME ST. JAMES PARISH GOVERNMENT WOOD RESOURCES, LLC ROBICHAUX, HAL CARR’S HILL CAPITAL PARTNERS MANAGEMENT, LP ASSUMPTION PARISH POLICE JURY CITY OF MANDEVILLE LOUISIANA DOTO HILCORP ENERGY COMPANY ENTERGY LOUISIANA, LLC ROCCAFORTE, CLAY CREDEUR, JORDAN ENTERGY LOUISIANA, LLC ENTERGY LOUISIANA, LLC ENTERGY LOUISIANA, LLC PHILLIPS 66 PIPELINE LLC ENTERGY LOUISIANA, LLC SLECA NEMO INDUSTRIES, INC. WHITE CASTLE PROJECT COMPANY, LLC ET CRUDE OIL TERMINALS, LLC ONEOK, INC OEHLERT, MICHAEL ALAN ARCHER DANIELS MIDLAND COMPANY CANTIUM PHILLIPS, BONNIE STAY READY NOLA EUSTIS ENGINEERING EUSTIS ENGINEERING EXXONMOBIL PIPELINE COMPANY, LLC WAYTI SERVICES LLC TRI-STAR OPCO LLC ST TAMMANY PARISH COASTAL ENVIRONMENTAL, INC. BATES, DON LDOTD COTERRA ENERGY, INC. TALOS ENERGY, INC. TERREBONNE PARISH CONSOLIDATED GOVERNMENT HILCORP ENERGY COMPANY HILCORP ENERGY COMPANY LOLLAR, CHRISTOPHER E. TALOS ENERGY OFFSHORE LLC TALOS ENERGY OFFSHORE LLC

PARISH ST. JAMES JEFFERSON ST. TAMMANY

CUPNO P20250319 P20260096 P20260104

COENO MVN-2024-00994-CO MVN-2022-00684-EPP

ORLEANS ASSUMPTION ST. TAMMANY JEFFERSON ST. JAMES TERREBONNE TANGIPAHOA VERMILION ASSUMPTION TERREBONNE TERREBONNE ST. CHARLES TERREBONNE ST. MARY ASCENSION IBERVILLE ST. JAMES JEFFERSON CAMERON ST. CHARLES LAFOURCHE LIVINGSTON ORLEANS ST. CHARLES ST. CHARLES ST. JAMES ST. MARY ST. MARY ST. TAMMANY ST. TAMMANY TANGIPAHOA TERREBONNE TERREBONNE TERREBONNE

P20260114 P20260264 P20260307 P20260371 P20260430 P20260433 P20260436 P20260440 P20260441 P20260444 P20260445 P20260456 P20260459 P20260462 P20260471 P20260481 P20260485 P20260487 P20260492 P20260500 P20260504 P20260505 P20260510 P20260517 P20260520 P20260342 P20260153 P20260340 P20260111 P20260345 P20260267 P20250369 P20250647 P20250889

MVN-2026-00248-SQ

TERREBONNE TERREBONNE TERREBONNE TERREBONNE TERREBONNE TERREBONNE

P20260108 P20260171 P20260277 P20260291 P20260434 P20260442

MVN-2026-00354-WLS MVN-2026-00370-WBB MVN-2026-00380-WLS MVN-2026-00382-WB

MVN-2026-00404-MM MVN-2026-00392-WB MVN-1998-00904-ESG

MVN-2026-00126-WKK MVN-2026-00338-WB MVN-2026-00265-WLS MVN-2024-00813-EDM MVN 2025-00843 WB MVN-2026-00223-WB MVN 2026-00268 WB MVN 2026-00325 WB MVN-2021-00498-WB MVN-2026-00389-WB

Louisiana Department of Conservation and Energy PERMITS ISSUED WITH CONDITIONS TO MINIMIZE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS NAME COATES, DARREN LAKE CHARLES HARBOR & TERMINAL DISTRICT ROY BAILEY CONSTRUCTION, INC. VENTURE GLOBAL CALCASIEU PASS, LLC TRIAD FRISCO PARTNERS, LLC CAMERON LAND VENTURES, LLC CAMERON LAND VENTURES, LLC CAMERON LAND VENTURES, LLC KINDER MORGAN LOUISIANA PIPELINE LLC ERM IBERIA PARISH GOVERNMENT GRAND ISLE INDEPENDENT LEVEE DISTRICT THIBEAU, ELDA 4H RENTALS LJH LIMITED, LLC SHELL PIPELINE COMPANY LP ICON ENVIRONMENTAL CANTIUM CSX TRANSPORTATION (CSXT) GUARDIAN DECOMMISSIONING I, LLC HILCORP ENERGY COMPANY CRESCENT LOUISIANA MIDSTREAM, LLC FIELDWOOD ENERGY OFFSHORE LLC CRESCENT MIDSTREAM, LLC ENTERGY LOUISIANA, LLC LLOX, LLC FIELDWOOD ENERGY OFFSHORE LLC OLIVIER PLANTATION, LLC CPRA MCMORAN OIL & GAS LLC TULANE UNIVERSITY TRI-STATES NGL PIPELINE, LLC BKV CORPORATION ENTERGY LOUISIANA, LLC ENTERGY LOUISIANA, LLC MARA THON PETROLEUM COMPANY

PARISH ASCENSION

CUPNO P20121435

COENO MVN-2012-02576-CO

CALCASIEU CAMERON CAMERON CAMERON CAMERON CAMERON CAMERON CAMERON IBERIA IBERIA JEFFERSON JEFFERSON JEFFERSON JEFFERSON LAFOURCHE LAFOURCHE LAFOURCHE ORLEANS PLAQUEMINES PLAQUEMINES PLAQUEMINES PLAQUEMINES PLAQUEMINES PLAQUEMINES PLAQUEMINES PLAQUEMINES ST. BERNARD ST. BERNARD ST. BERNARD ST. BERNARD ST. CHARLES ST. CHARLES ST. CHARLES ST. CHARLES ST. JAMES

P20240306 P20201064 P20241009 P20250714 P20260319 P20260331 P20260369 P20260454 P20260365 P20260418 P20250794 P20260025 P20260163 P20260350 P20260004 P20260222 P20260501 P20260304 P20250962 P20260202 P20260225 P20260284 P20260344 P20260420 P20260423 P20260518 P20221074 P20230091 P20260145 P20260403 P20250656 P20260152 P20260343 P20260449 P20260045

MVN-2024-00132-MG MVN-2020-01198-WS MVN-2014-02715-WKK MVN-2025-00516-SG MVN-2025-00516-SG MVN-2025-00516-SG MVN-2026-00396-WB MVN-2014-00433-EMM MVN-2026-00328-ENP MVN-2026-00358-ENP MVN-2025-00859-CW MVN-2026-00353-EDM MVN-2026-00332-WLS MVN-2026-00186-MM MVN-2026-00310-WB MVN-2026-00345-WB MVN-2026-00405-WB MVN-2026-00369-WB MVN-2023-00221-EDM MVN-2019-00798-ENP MVN-2026-00264-WLS MVN-2026-00367-EDM MVN-1998-02324-ESG

MVN 2026-00122 WB

Louisiana Department of Conservation and Energy PERMITS APPLICATIONS WITHDRAWN NAME CAMERON PARISH GRAVITY DRAINAGE DISTRICT #4 CITY OF WESTWEGO DUFRENE,STEPHEN HILCORP ENERGY COMPANY LA BAY CAMOPS, LLC PALM ENERGY OFFSHORE, LLC WALTER OIL & GAS CORPORATION

PARISH

CUPNO

COENO

CAMERON JEFFERSON LAFOURCHE PLAQUEMINES CAMERON PLAQUEMINES LAFOURCHE

P20200699 P20260475 P20260474 P20260432 P20250412 P20191088 P20260269

MVN-2009-02148-WRR

WITHDRAWN DATE 06/03/2026 06/03/2026 06/24/2026 06/26/2026 06/11/2026 06/15/2026 06/25/2026

MVN-2026-00386-WB MVN-2025-00497-WFF

Louisiana Department of Conservation and Energy

Timothy Paul McCoy $ 3,000.00 $ 500.00

Public Notices Nat Res Coastal

Louisiana Department of Conservation and Energy

Lafayette & Co

Lot 12, Victoria Gardens 6866 Winbourne Avenue Initial Bid Amount Advanced costs required (certified funds):

Lot 76, Square 12, South Baton Rouge East Polk Street Initial Bid Amount Advanced costs required (certified funds):

Public Notices Nat Res Coastal

PUBLIC NOTICE ---

ORDINANCE Amending the Compre‐ hensive Zoning Map of the City of Baton Rouge and Parish of East Baton Rouge, as contained in and made part of the “Unified Development Code “, as amended so as to change the zoning on the property located at 1407 and 1419 Curtis Street To rezone from Limited Residential (A3.1) to High Density Multi-Family Residential (A3.3) on property lo‐ cated on the north side of Curtis Street, east of Scenic Highway, on prop‐ erty now or formerly known as Lots 8 and 9 of Moreco Subdivision, Square 1. Section 50, T6S, R1W, GLD, EBRP, LA (Council District 2 – Ken‐ ney) CASE 19-26

Lot 3, Baldridge Place 4018 Chippewa Street Initial Bid Amount Advanced costs required (certified funds):

SEVEN DAYS

Legal Notices

LOCAL CONCERN PERMIT APPLICATIONS NAME VANLEEVE, GIOVANNI MOLEN, JESSE VANDER PUGH, CODY BONSALL, KRISTIN PISHUE’S RV PARK, LLC LABOVE, KAMREN RICHARD, DANE DUDDLESTON,GLENN ERBELDING, JAMES W., JR. NUNEZ, THOMAS WELCH.JOHN POTIER, KEVIN DELTA SOUTH LOUISIANA GAS COMPANY, LLC VINCENT, JIMMY MALLETT, CARLA CAMERON PARISH PARKS & RECREATION DISTRICT NO. 7 COURVILLE, KELLY NUNEZ, RICHARD & BOBBI JO SALACIA CONSTRUCTION, LLC CHRIST BUil T CONSTRUCTION LLC AYSEN, ELLIOT JR ALIA DEVELOPMENT GROUP LLC TREGLE, BARON SIGMON, WILLIAM MOSAIC FERTILIZER, LLC - FAUSTINA AMMONIA PLANT CARBONPAVE LA OASIS POOLS AND SPAS LORENZ, JEFF B & G CONTRACTING, LLC B & G CONTRACTING, LLC LAWSON, ALANE YOUNG, NATALIA LE, TAM CUSTOM CRAFT HOMES INC. LULICH, JOHN Ill

PARISH CAMERON CAMERON CAMERON CAMERON CAMERON CAMERON CAMERON CAMERON CAMERON CAMERON CAMERON CAMERON CAMERON CAMERON CAMERON CAMERON CAMERON CAMERON JEFFERSON JEFFERSON LAFOURCHE PLAQUEMINES ST. CHARLES ST. CHARLES ST. JAMES ST. JAMES ST. TAMMANY ST. TAMMANY ST. TAMMANY ST. TAMMANY ST. TAMMANY ST. TAMMANY ST. TAMMANY ST. TAMMANY ST. TAMMANY

CUPNO

193185-664877-jul 7-1t $ 362.60

Robert Smith Jr $ 100.00 (Mow to Own) $ 555.00

192608-663147-June 30, July 7, 14-3t $ 471.99

Place a Classified ad?

1-800-960-6397