The Advocate 07-11-2026

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Baton Rouge judgefaces misconduct probe

Reversal of rape conviction questioned

BY QUINN COFFMAN Staff writer

Thestate JudiciaryCommissionisaccusing Baton Rouge Judge Gail Horne Ray of misconduct for tossing out a man’s1973 rape conviction— and life sentence— withoutallowing prosecutorstoargue againstit.

The state Supreme Courtlater overruled Ray,reversing her action and saying she had no authority to makethat decision.

Ray

The commission, which handlescomplaintsagainst judges,alsosaysRay failed to do “any meaningful work”ina client’scase before droppinghim. That misconduct allegation stems from Ray’s work as adefense attorneybefore she was elected judge. The commission’snotice of hearing against Ray was filed in April and became public this week. The hearing is set for Aug. 26. Ray has filed aresponse, saying any legal errorsshe might have committed were made in good faith and she should not be subject to discipline.

The disciplinary action againstRay also has deepened an ongoing legal battle between herand stateAttorney General Liz Murrill. Ray successfully claimed Judiciary Commission member John Sinquefieldneeded to recuse himself from her case, citing his positionas Murrill’sexecutive counsel.

Murrill is adefendant in avoting rights lawsuit Ray filed earlier this year alongside otherBaton Rouge judges. Murrill sought and got Ray’s removal from ahost of criminal caseshandled by the Attorney General’sOffice in district court, arguing the judge couldn’t fairly handle themafter filingthe voting rights suit.

Attorney Steven Scheckman, a

BY MICHELLE L.PRICE and JOSH BOAK Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Donald

Trump will let the bipartisan housing billapproved by Congress become law without his signature, saying Friday that he wasrefusing

EthicsBoard hands out fi

BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER Staff writer

Leaders of acompany charged with plugging orphanedoil wells in Louisiana have been fined$5,000each afterthe state Ethics Board found they violated the law by giving a$780,000 loan to atop official in the department that oversaw their work.

The finesfrom the Louisiana Board of Ethics add to intense scrutiny of the now-shuttered Louisiana Oilfield Restoration Association, which already is the subject of an investigation by theAttorneyGeneral’s Office anda damningreport by the Louisiana legislativeauditor In an opinion issuedlastweek, the Ethics Board saidLORA, itssubsidiary Chromos and Andrew Berthelot —a manager for bothcompanies —improperlygave the loan to former Officeof Conservation attorney Johnny Adams in 2023.

to put his name on it because of the littleprogress made in passing a strict voter ID bill that he has been pushing.

“I will not sign theHousing Bill, which has been fullyapprovedby Congress and sent to the White House, in PROTEST over thefact that the United States Senateis

As atop attorney in the state office at thetime, Adams helpedorganize the state’sprogram involving LORA and personally drafted theagreementbetween theconservation office and the new company,the board said. Theboard finedBerthelot, LORA and Chromos $5,000 each.

According to the board’sfindings,Berthelot served as LORA’s chief financial officer and was amanager of Chromos Attempts to reach Berthelot and his attorney werenot immediately successful Friday Despite theboard’sfindings, partial owner of LORA VanMayhall III said Friday that the company did not violate any ethics rules or laws but said the company’sleaders “have decided not to spend anymore time or resources contestingthe BoardofEthics’ actions.”

“LORA’s ownersand directors are

not capable of passing THESAVE AMERICA ACT,”Trump posted on social media.

Trumphad 10 days until theFridaydeadline to sign the bill, issue aveto, or allowthe measure to takeeffect without his signature. He has chosen tolet the measure become lawwithout his express

BY THENUMBERS

$780,000

Theloan provided to former Officeof Conservation attorneyJohnnyAdams $5,000

Theamount manager AndrewBerthelot,Louisiana Oilfield Restoration Association and its subsidiary Chromos were fined 2.6%

Theunusually lowrateofinterest chargedtoAdams and his wife, Baton RougeMetro Council member Laurie Adams

approval, undercutting hisadministration’sclaims that he considers it apriority to combat inflation.

Trump’srejection of the bipartisan housing legislationexacerbates tensionswith his ownparty in a midterm election year and cuts

short their efforts to address akey voter concern about rising costs. His post comesmorethanaweek after he canceled plans to sign the bipartisan legislation, announcing he wasusing it as leverage in his push forastrict voter ID bill. The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act aims

Islandwide blackout strikes Cuba again

HAVANA An islandwide blackout struck Cuba on Friday for the second time this week as the nation of nearly 10 million people grapples with a crumbling power grid and fuel shortages stemming from a U.S. energy blockade.

While total blackouts have become increasingly common in the Caribbean country, it’s unusual for back-to-back ones to hit just days apart. Cuba’s Electric Union confirmed the outage on X.

Officials had also confirmed the first total power outage which happened on Monday, although it wasn’t clear what caused it. Authorities at the time said an investigation was underway

Fuel has been running out across Cuba since January, when U.S. 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.

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.

Former Afghan official extradited to U.S.

NEW YORK A former Afghan general who also served in his nation’s National Assembly was extradited to the U.S. on Friday to face drug charges, authorities said.

Abdul Zahir Qadeer, 52, of Afghanistan, appeared in Manhattan federal court and was ordered detained until trial, federal prosecutors said in a release.

Qadeer was arrested in Nairobi, Kenya, on April 15 before his extradition to face charges that he conspired to import heroin and methamphetamine, along with related firearms offenses.

Authorities said he previously served as a general in Afghanistan’s Border Force and as first deputy speaker of Afghanistan’s House of the People.

It was unclear who is representing him on the U.S. charges, which if he is convicted carry a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life behind bars.

U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton described Qadeer as a large-scale international narcotics and military-grade weapons trafficker.

“In an attempt to traffic massive amounts of poison and weaponry including heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenade launchers — Qadeer allegedly sold a two-kilogram test shipment to a buyer, which was delivered in South Africa,” Clayton said in a release.

The prosecutor said the buyer was actually working with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Abducted students rescued in Nigeria

ABUJA, Nigeria Students abducted in May by Islamic militants in Nigeria’s southwestern Oyo state have been rescued, the government said Friday Government spokesperson Bayo Onanuga did not specify the total number of students rescued, but authorities said at the time of the abductions on May 15 that more than 40 people had been abducted. One of the teachers abducted alongside the students was killed shortly afterward.

Eight militants were arrested as part of the operation, while an unspecified number of the militants were killed, Onanuga said.

The abductions in a southern state had represented an escalation of the country’s security crisis because most such abductions previously had taken place in the north.

“This successful military operation has ended the siege and standoff of over 50 days and has brought relief to the entire nation and the affected families in particular,” Nigerian President Bola Tinubu said in a statement.

U.S. demands Iran say strait open

Officials want Tehran to say it won’t attack ships anymore

BY MICHELLE L PRICE, JON GAMBRELL and WILL WEISSERT Associated Press

WASHINGTON The U.S is demanding that Iran make a public statement saying the Strait of Hormuz is open and that ships crossing the vital corridor won’t be attacked anymore, senior U.S. officials said Friday, adding that internal Tehran power struggles have made it difficult to reach and keep a deal.

The U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe to reporters the state of play with Iran, said the resumption of strikes this week came after what they described as a rogue faction of Iranian hard-liners trying to sabotage the ceasefire between Tehran and Washington.

It comes as President Donald Trump reiterated on social media Friday that he views the interim ceasefire deal as “OVER!” But he said the U.S. would continue talks aimed at putting a permanent end to the war

The officials said Friday that Trump is giving U.S. negotiators limited time to reach a deal with Iran, but, in a sign of the challenges ahead, they underscored that the president had a wide range of options if talks fall apart. They also said a power struggle was playing out in real time in Iran after U.S and Israeli strikes at the start of the

war killed its longtime leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Control of the strait

The U.S. is working on pressing Iran to make a public statement that the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for world energy markets, is open and free to ships to transit, the officials said.

On a call with reporters, the officials suggested that leaders in Iran even told their U.S. counterparts that the ship strikes were a mistake and the country hoped to continue negotiations despite that.

Trump didn’t care that the firing on ships came from a hard-line faction and responded with more powerful counterattacks, showing Iran that there would be consequences no matter who was behind it, the officials said.

But moments before the U.S. officials spoke, Teh-

ran’s diplomat at the United Nations told reporters that any activity in the Strait of Hormuz, including its opening or demining operations, “rests exclusively with Iran.”

“Any attempt, by external actors, to interfere with or establish a power arrangement would violate the (interim deal), and undermine its implementation, delay the restoration of normal commercial navigation, jeopardize maritime safety, and increase regional tensions,” Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said outside the U.N. Security Council.

Iran has said the strait must now be under its sole control and that vessels should begin to pay fees to Tehran — even though the world for decades has considered it an international waterway. About a fifth of all traded oil and natural gas passed through the strait before the war began.

Iran’s grip on the strait during the conflict led to a global energy crisis, though oil prices have sharply dropped since wartime highs of $120 a barrel.

Nuclear deal

The U.S. officials said to reporters Friday that any deal on Iran’s nuclear program would require Tehran to turn over its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. If the U.S. does not reach a deal with Iran to turn over its nuclear material, it has military options to ensure that it remains buried underground forever, the officials said. They did not detail those options. The highly enriched material that could potentially be used to make a nuclear weapon is believed to be buried after strikes the U.S launched on Iran last summer. Iran says its nuclear program is intended for peaceful purposes.

The officials said they would never reach a nuclear deal with Iran if it would not first abide by terms of the ceasefire deal and stop renewed attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz. That struggle underscores the long-term challenges the Trump administration faces in the wake of the war it started and expected to wrap up months ago. Trump in late February broke off talks with Iran over its nuclear program and launched the military campaign, saying he was taking the action because Tehran was attempting to rebuild its program and develop long-range missiles. He faces political pressure in the U.S. to bring the conflict and its economic impact to a close and avoid the kind of prolonged Middle East conflict he had campaigned against.

Unclaimed strikes

No one claimed responsibility Friday for airstrikes that hit Iran after the U.S. said it finished its attacks, leaving questions about who else may be targeting the Islamic Republic.

On Friday, Iranian state media quoted Esmail Kousari, a member of the Iranian parliament’s national security committee and a former commander in the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, as warning the UAE would “pay the price for its cooperation with the United States.” He accused the Emirates of having a “behind-the-scenes” role in the recent U.S. attacks. U.S. Central Command spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins said there were “no operational updates” after Trump’s pronouncement about the ceasefire.

Trump ousts election commission members

BY BILL BARROW Associated Press

President Donald Trump has ousted members of a bipartisan federal election commission that resisted his efforts to require would-be voters to document their U.S. citizenship before registering.

The White House on Friday confirmed the executive action against members of the Election Assistance Commission, which distributes federal grants to states, oversees the testing of voting systems and maintains the national voter registration form.

conducted, and it’s the first test of his newly expanded presidential power after the Supreme Court ruled recently that the president can fire members of independent agency boards without cause.

“The President, and head of the Executive Branch, reserves the right to remove individuals that may not be totally aligned with the important task of securing America’s elections and ensuring every legal vote is counted. The Slaughter decision gives the President precedence to do so,” said a White House statement to AP

can commissioner Donald Palmer already had left his post voluntarily earlier this year The changes were first reported by VoteBeat, a news outlet that covers elections and voting across the U.S.

Trump has repeatedly tried to reshape voting regulations, even though the U.S Constitution grants control of elections to the states and not the president. Citing that separation of powers, courtshaveblocked most of Trump’s two executive orders that sought to reshape voting.

executive fiat and David Becker, a former Department of Justice attorney who runs the Center for Election Innovation & Research, said his purge of the EAC wouldn’t alter that.

“This doesn’t really change anything about how our elections will be run, and how states are successfully ensuring secure, convenient, safe elections,” Becker wrote on the social media site BlueSky Friday morning. On Capitol Hill, the leading Democrats with election oversight responsibility said Trump, rather than bolstering U.S. election integrity, is further politicizing the voting process.

Though the move likely won’t have major effects on the November midterms, it’s the latest instance of the Republican president trying to exert White House influence over how U.S elections are

The president removed the four-seat commission’s two Democratic members, Thomas Hicks and Benjamin Hovland. The panel’s Republican member, Christy McCormick resigned. Former Republi-

Trump has also launched an investigation of his 2020 loss, which he continues to falsely insist was due to fraud, and this week his administration threatened states if they did not try to purge what federal officials believe are noncitizens from their voter rolls. Still, Trump has largely been powerless to change election processes through

Graham Platner withdraws from Maine U.S. Senate race

BY MEG KINNARD and PATRICK WHITTLE Associated Press

PORTLAND, Maine Gra-

ham Platner on Friday submitted his paperwork to formally withdraw from Maine’s U.S. Senate race, officially ending an upstart yet troubled campaign whose dissolution threatens Democrats’ pursuit of chamber control.

Platner’s paperwork was received by the Maine secretary of state’s office and reflected shortly thereafter in its online withdrawal list.

In a letter to the secretary of state’s office, which Platner also posted on social media, he wrote

that the Mainers who had nominated him “voted for a new kind of politics” that is “representative of people down here in the real world — not billionaires, oligarchs, or the political establishment.” It was the same outsider chord that had been a trademark of his tumultuous campaign, in which Platner drew backing from progressive leaders including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, of California. “I seek to further the movement we have built together and the future we believe in,” he went on, without detailing what that meant. Maine is considered a

key state for control of the narrowly divided Senate, and Democrats were desperate for a candidate capable of defeating Republican Sen. Susan Collins. The formal withdrawal comes two days after Platner said he would quit the race, facing an allegation of sexual assault that he has denied. Maine Democrats are seeking a new nominee, and several hopefuls have already begun jockeying for position.

State law includes a provision for Democrats to replace Platner before the general election but the replacement must by named by July 27.

Trump

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ALTAF QADRI

A man waves an Iranian flag on Sunday during funeral ceremonies for slain Iranian

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and members of his family at Imam Khomeini Mosalla Grand Mosque in Tehran, Iran.

Detaineessay ICEofficer shot driver throughwindow

BY LEKAN OYEKANMI, JACK BROOK and RYAN J. FOLEY Associated Press/Reportfor America

HOUSTON Threemen inside avan who witnessed the fatal shooting of thedriver by an immigrationofficer in Houston said the Mexican man was shot through apassenger window and that the officer was never threatened, alawyer who has spoken with them said Friday.

The shooting Tuesday duringan attempted traffic stop by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officersinHouston hasrevivedcritical voices deriding the Trump administration’simmigrationcrackdown and how ICE operates. Immigration arrests around the country recently surged to 10,000 over a five-day period, fueled in part by massive congressional funding.

The Department of Homeland Security,which overseesICE, has released no evidence to support the officer’sstory that Lorenzo Salgado Araujo ignored their commands and rammed into an ICE vehicle with hiswhite van, or that theofficer fired in self-defense.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia has said the acting director of ICE told her officers thought someone in the van, but notSalgado Araujo, had afinal order of removal but did not share aname.

The officers were notwearing body cameras and neither ICE nor DHS have released photos, videos or other evidence fromthe scene.

Salgado Araujo was a52-yearold homebuilder who was shot and killedashewas driving his crew to aconstructionsite.His family said he hadlived in the U.S. for more than 35 years, had no criminal record and was close to finishing the long process of obtaining legal status when he was killed.

ICE detained theother threemen in the van and they all toldalawyer that no officer was in frontofthe vanoreven in danger

“After speakingwiththese men, Ihave no doubt that whatthey’re saying is the truth. Iknow that these agents —the agency —isgoing to try to cover it up,” attorney Hugo Balderas-Ibarrasaidduring anews conference.

Images of the van after the shooting appeartoshow no damage, he said

ICE has not released the names of thedetainedmen, butfamily members saidtheyhave been able to briefly talkwith them. Salgado Araujo’sbrother was amongthose arrested.

Garcia said at thesame newsconferenceitwas unsurprisingthat Salgado Araujo droveoff when ICE tried to stop hisvehicle, given that

their vehicleswere unmarkedand had no lights.

“Whatwould you do if you were being followed by someone and the cars were unmarked?” Garcia said.

Salgado Araujowas at least the eighth person to dieduring the Trump administration’simmigrationenforcement campaign. No immigration officershave been charged in the killings and video footage in several previous shootings has contradicted the accounts of federal officers.

ICE is pressuring themen to self-

deport, which would makeitharder forthem to sharetheir version of eventswith investigators or others, said Juana Degollado, who said her stepfatherDaniel Tirado Pantoja is among thedetained men.She said he has no legal permission to live in the U.S. but hasnocriminal record.

“It is extremely important that we preserve the integrity of this investigation,”Balderas-Ibarra said “Thatwill all be outthe window if theyare deported.”

DHS said allegations that the men have been pressured to leave the

country are “categorically false.”

DHS saidThursday that officers investigating atip weeksearlier saw two white vans at the address of atarget. While heading to that address Tuesday,officers saw a white vanand someone inside who resembledthe person they were looking for,the department said in astatement.

“No one in that van had warrants or any legal problem,”Degollado told The Associated Press in atext message.

DHS said it will not release the officer’sname because they could face threats and violence and their family could be at risk.

DHS also hasnot respondedto requests forotherinformation, including how long the officer has worked for ICE or whether anyone involved in the shooting is on administrative leave.

Unlike some previous deaths involving federal immigration officers, fewphotos or videos surrounding the shooting have emerged publicly in the days since Salgado Araujo’sdeath.

The League of United Latin American Citizens offered a$5,000 reward forvideo or other evidence, but the positions of the vehicles means surveillancecameras in the area were blocked from recording theshooting, CEO Juan Proañosaid.

BY WILL WEISSERT Associated Press

WASHINGTON Crews are again draining the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool as President DonaldTrump’s problem-plagued effort to revampthe waterway pushes well past his initial goal of having it ready by July4 to markthe nation’s250th birthday

The president at firstsug-

gested his renovations would last acentury.But, within weeks of the project originally reaching completionlast month, the water was beset by an algae bloom and pieces of thenew coatingappeared to bepeeling offthe bottom Trump has blamedthe peeling on vandals, though criticsallege it’sfromshoddy repair work.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, whose agency

overseesthe National Park Service, told conservative podcaster KatieMillerinan interview released earlier this week that the new round of draining was planned. He also said that thewater might stillcontain debrisfroman extensive Independence Day fireworks display over the National Mall.

“Drain the water,clean up the fireworks stuff,” Burgum told Miller,who is thewife of

deputyWhiteHousechief of staff Stephen Miller.“Repair the vandalism that was done. Fill it back up again.”

The workonthe reflecting pool is just one of anumber of projectsTrumphas spearheaded acrossthe nation’s capital. Most prominently, he demolished the White House’s East Wing to build a$400million ballroom and plans to build atowering arch between the Lincoln

Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery

He initially announced his intentions to beautify the reflecting pool this spring, sayinghewanted it completed before thenation’s 250th birthday celebrations.

Water wasdrained and Trump directed that the bottom be painted what he called“American flagblue.”

In May,the president posted on hissocial media site of the

Family of Mississippiteenwho died aftertripseeks

BY MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press

NEW YORK Attorneys for the family of aMississippi 18-year-old who was found dead after aJuly 4boat trip with friendstoanisland off the Gulf Coast called for a deeper investigation and greater transparency at a news conference Friday with the Rev.AlSharpton, saying many of the details they’re discovering are “not adding up.”

Noted civil rightsattorney Ben Crump, who was retained by the family of Nolan Xavier Wellsearlier this week, has said the familyhas concernsabout the investigation and planned to conduct an independent autopsy.Wells traveledby boat to Horn Island, Mississippi, on July 4with agroup of friends, but did not make the return trip with them that afternoon. His body was found early Mondaymorning, more than aday later While Jackson County Sheriff’s Officeofficials said investigatorsdon’tsuspect foul play in the Black college student’sdeath, the sheriff hasasked for any

witnesses or people with video from the popular beach island about 10miles off thecoast of Mississippi to come forwardto help shed light on the moments before Wells’ disappearance and death.

Family members have raised concerns, saying they’ve seen video of a fight allegedlyinvolving their son, and saying as an elite athlete he was able to swim. Wells, who would have turned19 next month, attended Southwest Mississippi Community College, where he played wide receiver on thefootball team.

At thenews conference Friday attorneyssaid the friends who left Wells on theisland, took his phone and keys when they departed. Crumpsaid Wells’ family used an app to track his phone, and afriend went to where it was on landto pick it up.

“What teenager would leave their phone behind if they’re goingtostay on this island? Whatteenager wouldn’ttake their phone?

It’snot adding up at all,” Crump said.

He added that the fam-

ilybelievestext messages from social media apps had been deleted from his phone when they gotitback, and they plan to employ experts to try to receive all thedata they can.

Aphoto postedtosocial media, allegedly from the boat ride to the island, shows Wells withhis arms around threeWhite,male friends Speculation andsuspicion aboutthe teen’s deathhave been rampant online, as people grapplewiththe state’s history of racial tension and what it means to be aBlack personina majorityWhite space.

Wells’ mother,Christine Wonsley,looked to thesky severaltimes as lawyers spoke Friday,tohold back tears. Whenshe spoke,she said thiswas nothow she wanted the worldtoknow her son.

Wonsleysaidtheyhad taught him abouthistory but he was apeacemaker who didn’tlike division, and wanted everyone to be included.

“Wejustwanna know what happened,” shesaid, through tears. “And whyour baby didn’tcome home.”

pool: “The goal is to have it done, at this higherlevel,prior to July 4th —Weare ahead of schedule!”

But problems began quickly after the initial work was finished. Trump blamed vandals, andcourt documents later showed that the National Park Servicereported to the U.S. Park Police aJune 9incident in which asharp knife or razorcut the pool’s new liner

transparency,probe

Crump called for athorough investigation, saying to law enforcement, “They wanttoknow that youhave nottaken thepath of least resistance.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOByANNIE MULLIGAN

Democratic U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia speaks Friday during anewsbriefing regarding her conversation withActing ICEDirector David Venturella outsideher office in Houston.

U.S. license could let Ukraine produce Patriot missiles

But it won’t be simple or quick

BY ILLIA NOVIKOV Associated Press

KYIV,Ukraine President Donald Trump’s pledge to give Ukraine a license to produce Patriot air-defense systems could mark a major breakthrough for Kyiv, but experts and Ukrainian officials warn that turning the idea into real weapons would likely take years.

Speaking Wednesday alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Trump said the United States would allow Ukraine to make the U.S.-designed systems that Kyiv has long sought to shield its cities and infrastructure from Russian missiles and drones.

“We’ll give them the right to make Patriots. We’ll show them how to do it,” Trump said “I think they can produce them pretty quickly.”

But the statement left open a crucial question: What exactly would Ukraine be allowed to produce?

“America has recognized Ukraine as a country that is ready to do this,” Zelenskyy told reporters Thursday, adding that Ukrainian and U.S. diplomats and defense officials must now work “without pauses” to finalize the licensing arrangements. Patriot interceptor missiles, which are fired to shoot down incoming missiles, drones and aircraft, are produced by U.S. defense con-

UNITED KINGDOM

Charles III hosted Prince Harry, family

BY DANICA KIRKA and BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press

LONDON King Charles III hosted Prince Harry and met with his family for the first time in years Friday as they try to repair a rift that has persisted since his youngest son and wife quit royal life and moved to America six years ago. Harry, Meghan and their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, met with the king and Queen Camilla at Highgrove House, a country estate west of London, Buckingham Palace confirmed.

The Duke of Sussex had arrived Monday in his homeland for a number of charity events that were

overshadowed by speculation of whether he would meet with his father British tabloids and news broadcasts were filled with speculation about whether Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, would accompany him and, more importantly, whether they would bring their two children so they can finally get to know Grandpa Charles. However, the monarch’s schedule is often years in the making, with events penciled in long before they take place. An opportunity to hold such a meeting would have been fleeting, particularly because the children would need to return to school in the fall and because they live in California.

tractors Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, part of RTX.

A production license would not automatically allow Ukraine to manufacture complete Patriot batteries — including launchers, radar systems, command posts and missiles — from scratch. It could instead cover narrower parts of the system, such as interceptor missiles, final

assembly from imported component kits or production of selected components.

Serhii Beskrestnov, an adviser to Ukraine’s defense minister, said a U.S. license would typically come with technical documentation, training for specialists, supplier contacts and foreign consultants to help launch manufacturing.

Other experts say the first step would likely be more limited than full domestic production.

Anatolii Khrapchynskyi, development director of the Fly Group Ukraine defense company, said Trump’s wording was ambiguous because he referred broadly to producing “Patriots,” without specifying whether he meant missiles, launchers, radar systems, command centers or components.

Missile production alone involves a vast supply chain, Khrapchynskyi said, with hundreds of companies making parts such as control surfaces, engines, guidance systems and communications equipment.

The Trump administration has not offered details about the Ukraine license, but an administration official said the U.S is significantly accelerating and expanding Patriot production to meet growing demand and is forming industrial partnerships with allies and partners globally to deliver Patriots. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly

Any additional Patriot systems would enter a war

that has shown how quickly weapons production can expand when a country receives designs, technical support and access to components. Ukraine has become a leader in the manufacture of cheap, expendable drone systems. Russia has scaled up domestic production of Iranian-designed Shahedtype attack drones, known in Russia as Gerans, at a factory in Tatarstan. But experts say Patriot interceptors are far more complex, requiring precision guidance, advanced radar technology solid-fuel rocket motors, military-grade electronics and strict certification standards. Yehor Chernev, deputy chairman of Ukraine’s parliamentary committee on national security, defense and intelligence, said the legal and bureaucratic process could be launched within months, but implementing production would take years. Even if Ukraine received complete component kits from abroad, Chernev said, it would likely need at least 18 to 24 months to launch its first pilot production line, followed by more time to complete the first weapons.

Sources: Detroit-Canada bridge to open by late July

BY JOEY CAPPELLETTI Associated Press

SAWYER, Mich. — A completed bridge linking Detroit and Canada is expected to open by the end of the month after U.S. and Canadian officials reached an agreement to resolve the dispute that delayed its debut, according to two people directly involved in the negotiations.

The sources were not authorized to publicly disclose the deal before a formal announcement

A ribbon-cutting ceremony scheduled for early June was postponed after the WindsorDetroit Bridge Authority said the two countries needed more time to resolve “outstanding issues.” The delay followed President Donald Trump’s earlier threats to block the bridge’s opening. Commercial traffic is now expected to begin before Aug. 1, according to two officials, though a date for the

“I had a conversation with the secretary yesterday, Secretary of Commerce Lutnick, and the deal will be announced in the next few days,” Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers said Friday on WJR radio. “This is getting wrapped up. That bridge is going to get open.” Michigan Gov Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, congratulated those who have worked to open the bridge.

BY BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press

LONDON British police on Friday arrested a 26-yearold man on suspicion of murder in the killing of Ann Widdecombe, a former British member of Parliament and reality TV contestant.

Widdecombe, 78, was found dead on Thursday in her Haytor Vale home on the edge of Dartmoor National Park in southwest England after sustaining what police said were “serious injuries.”

The killing was not believed to be an act of terror and there was no information to suggest it was politically motivated, Devon and Cornwall Police Assistant Chief Constable Matt Longman said Longman did not discuss a possible motive but said the suspect was in custody as the investigation continues.

“This is really shocking news, and my thoughts, I think all of our thoughts, will be with the family and friends of Ann Widdecombe

at this awful time,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said. “Ann was a distinguished politician over many, many years with many achievements, and it’s a huge, huge loss.”

Widdecombe found fame after leaving Parliament as a contestant on the “Strictly Come Dancing” and “Celebrity Big Brother” reality television shows She later joined the Brexit Party and became a spokeswoman for the anti-immigration Reform UK party

official ribbon-cutting ceremony has not yet been set Republican U.S. Senate

candidate Mike Rogers referenced the deal during an interview Friday

“This bridge is a testament to the enduring partnership between Michigan and Canada and what we can get done when we think big and bet on our shared future together,” she said in a statement.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By PAUL SANCyA

The Gordie Howe Bridge is shown under construction on May 22 between Windsor, Ontario and Detroit.

JUDGE

Continued from page 1A

former longtime Judiciary Commission special counsel, is defending Ray before the commission. He said she’s confident in the merits of her defense and respects the judicial process.

“In the defense of the charges, it is Judge Ray’s intention to present a comprehensive case to the Commission and the Court concerning the facts and the law,” Scheckman said in a written statement.

Ray is the third judge on the 19th Judicial District Court bench to have a misconduct case reach the public stage of Judiciary Commission hearings since 2025

Judge Eboni Johnson Rose returned to the bench last summer after a two-month, unpaid suspension that she agreed to in a consent order with the commission. And late last year, the Louisiana Supreme Court took the extraordinary step of kicking Judge Tiffany FoxworthRoberts off the bench, finding she engaged in a pattern

FINE

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proud of the important work that we did to clean up orphan wells in Louisiana as a private company with private funds,” Mayhall said LORA was formed in 2019 to work with the Louisiana Office of Conservation on plugging orphaned oil and gas wells, using fees collected from industry operators that purchased financial security through the nonprofit.

To manage that money, LORA hired Chromos, a company run by many of the same people, including Berthelot, according to a recent report from the legislative auditor In 2022, after the partnership was active, investigators say LORA transferred $780,000 to Chromos, which then made an identical loan to Adams while he oversaw legal matters for the Office of Conservation. The board concluded the money originated with LORA, despite passing through Chromos.

Adams and his wife — Baton Rouge Metro Council member Laurie Adams

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construction. It’s the broadest federal effort in decades to address America’s housing affordability problems, as state and local regulations have made it difficult to build in many of the communities that are also sources of job growth and economic opportunity White House economists estimated earlier this year a national shortage of 10 million homes and the bill could help to close a portion of that gap. But Trump called the bill “a yawn” and “so unimportant” compared to legislation

of falsehoods.

The allegations In the case involving her time as a judge, Ray is accused of improperly vacating Donald Ray Link’s 1973 aggravated rape conviction after he asked the court to rule whether he should be eligible for parole.

After Ray took up his case in 2024 — a year into her time on the bench she ruled that erroneous jury instructions had affected the outcome of his case and tossed his conviction East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore’s office vehemently objected, saying Link had not even asked the judge to do that Ray had “effectively became a ‘one man pardon board,’” prosecutors argued in appealing her decision.

The Louisiana Supreme Court quickly intervened, first staying Ray’s ruling and then reinstating Link’s conviction and life sentence. Ray had committed a “patent abuse of discretion,” the state’s high court ruled.

In the disciplinary filings, the Judiciary Commission says Ray didn’t allow

used the funds to buy a home and quickly paid off the loan in about six months, according to records.

“The loan was not a bona fide loan made by a duly licensed lending institution at the normal rate of interest,” ethics officials said in their opinion last week Because of the unusually low 2.6% rate and LORA not being a proper lender, the loan was a “thing of economic value.”

The transaction violated multiple ethics laws, the board said.

Company under scrutiny

Last month, the legislative auditor released a scathing report on LORA, which detailed a scheme that officials say went on for several years and included numerous improprieties. As part of that report, investigators cited email chains sent between Mayhall, Berthelot and others while LORA was being formed. Adams, a Louisiana conservation official at the time, was included in the emails.

“(LORA) will basically just be a shell ” Mayhall wrote

that would require proof of citizenship for all voters.

He surprised Republican lawmakers on June 24, when, shortly before a planned signing ceremony at the Capitol, he announced he would not approve the bill until lawmakers first passed the voting legislation

That bill, the SAVE America Act, doesn’t have enough Republican support to pass.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, said after submitting the housing bill to the White House that he told Trump he should get the “fattest black marker you have, and sign your name really big on that.”

“I hope he does sign it,” Johnson told reporters at the

prosecutors to present evidence before her decision. The commission found Ray grossly departed from proper procedure, gave extraordinary relief neither party requested, failed to review the complete record, granted relief that went against well-established precedent and erroneously stated she had the authority to do so.

In her defense, Ray said she did allow argument over vacating Link’s conviction and believed she had reviewed the full record in the case.

“However, if she did not review the complete record this omission might at most be characterized as inadequate but not intentional conduct,” her lawyer argues.

In the other matter against her, Ray is accused of dropping a client after he paid her for more than two years to represent him for postconviction relief related to a 60-year sentence for distribution of cocaine within 1,000 feet of a school zone.

Ray sent a letter to the client, Willie Pogue to terminate their relationship 10 days before she took office as district judge in 2023. But in

in September 2019.

In the same email, Mayhall said “when the DNR wants to look at our books, we can show them the books of (LORA),”and the state would not have access to Chromos’ financial records.

On the day the report was released, Attorney General Liz Murrill — whose office previously opened a civil case against LORA — said in a statement that “we will be further reviewing the case for criminal charges that may be appropriate as well.”

Adams’ attorney Steve Moore said the report did not paint the whole picture, calling it “misleading” and “inaccurate.”

Moore said Adams did not influence the selection of LORA to run the state’s program as the auditor “cherry-picked” information to include in its findings.

Mayhall had ownership in bothLORAandChromos.Like Adams’attorney,Mayhallsaid the auditor’s report left out key facts, despite LORA’s cooperation with investigators.

Email Patrick SloanTurner at patrick.sloanturner@theadvocate.com.

time. “If he doesn’t, it’s still law We’ll still celebrate it.”

He said he also understood Trump was trying to make a point that the elections bill is the top priority “And I think he’s making it very effectively,” Johnson said.

Still, Trump’s decision not to sign the bill gave Democrats an opening to criticize him on the issue of affordability

“His priorities couldn’t be clearer: higher cost for families and more power for himself,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said on X.

The housing bill passed the Senate on an 85-5 vote and the House approved it with an 358-32 vote.

the time he was paying her, she had filed just one motion in the case and had spoken with Pogue once and that only after he called her, according to the commission.

Pogue also never received the letter from Ray terminating their contract, as he had been moved to a different prison, according to the commission.

Ray admits she never met with Pogue and did accept his payments, but argues that her firm refunded $4,500 of the total $4,800 he paid once the contract was ended.

She adds that what appeared to be lack of action on her part in his case was a handful of good-faith errors as an attorney, including assuming that the matter had been docketed when it had not and that her letter to terminate their contract had reached Pogue.

Ray says her conduct never involved deceit or misrepresentation, and never amounted to an ethical violation, only

ordinary legal error

Recusal of member

Beyond filing her defense, Ray also successfully moved for the recusal of Sinquefield due to his job at Murrill’s office.

With Ray as one of three Baton Rouge judges suing Murrill in a contentious voting-rights case, Sinquefield’s role as executive counsel for Murrill’s office creates an “objective basis that would reasonably be expected to prevent” him from being impartial, she argues.

Her lawyer, Scheckman, invokes the same arguments against Sinquefield that Murrill wrote in her own requests to remove Ray from criminal cases at the 19th Judicial District Court earlier this year

Scheckman quoted from Murrill’s recusal motion against Ray in his own motion against Sinquefield: “Recusal is appropriate most fundamentally because Judge Ray has sued Respon-

dent’s attorney and, by definition, placed herself in an adversarial posture with the lawyer litigating for one of the parties before her.”

While Sinquefield denied that Ray has “any valid grounds,” he agreed to recuse himself. Ray had also asked the commission to reconsider its investigation into her without Sinquefield involved. The commission refused, saying in part that Sinquefield was not a deciding vote in the investigation. Leon Cannizzaro, who’s been newly appointed to the commission, also recused himself. Cannizzaro previously served as the Orleans Parish district attorney, then as chief of the attorney general’s criminal division from 2021 until his retirement earlier this year

Reporter John Simerman contributed to this story

Email Quinn Coffman at quinn.coffman@ theadvocate.com.

Once again, someofthe samescattered showers and thunderstorms thatweexperienced yesterdaywill returntoday So expect apartlytomostlycloudy, hot and humid daywith scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms.Someofthe thunderstorms couldbeverystrong and resultinexcessiverainfall that couldlead to flash flooding.Temperatures thisafternoon will be about where theyshould be, rising intothe lowtomid-90s.The humidity will remainhigh, so temperatures will feel likethe triple digits.

Crewsrescueabout 20 afterbuildingcollapses in Mo.

By The Associated Press

REYNOLDS COUNTY,Mo. Emergency crewsrescued about20people in Missouri on Friday after abuilding collapsed in acampground following widespread floodingand heavy rainfall in the state.

The campers were on top of a building at the BearcatGetaway campground near the Black River,

about85 miles southofSt. Louis, when it collapsedand werelater rescued from the water,saidSgt Eddie Young with theMissouri StateHighwayPatrolata news conference.

TheReynolds Countysheriff’s office said emergency responders hadmore than 90 water rescues of campersand people in cars after several inches of rainfell over-

nightintothe morning across a longswath of central andeastern Missouri.

The National Weather Service issued flash flood warnings for the area, which got between 6and 12 inches as thunderstorms piled on the area one afteranother, said Matt Beitscher,alead meteorologist withthe weather service office in St.Louis.

“It’svery, very popular placefor recreation,” said Beitscher of the affected counties. “So there are campgrounds there. There are float trip locations there. Alot of vulnerable populations that would be susceptible to flash flooding.”

Gov.Mike Kehoe declared astate of emergencyand activated one of the state’s search and rescue teams to assist. Several major roads were

impassable due to flooding and damage, and ahelicopter from the MissouriNationalGuard was being used to reach stranded people, said Young. In Reynolds County,two rescue boats capsized in the flooding, but other emergency personnel safely recovered the responders, the sheriff’s office said. Afamily reunification center has been set up.

Meteorologists warn of extremeheatinU.S.inweekahead

BY SETH BORENSTEIN

AP science writer

Most of America’sLower 48 states are about to swelter under an unusually large, strong and long-lasting heat dome that will spiketemperaturesinaway that the National Weather Service calls “significant and dangerous.”

The heat wave will start this weekend and last at least aweek, with some areas feeling its effects until the end of the month, meteorologists said. Temperatures will be 15 to 25 degrees warmer than normal in many areas, including at night, they said. Hotter nighttime temperatures areespecially bad for both human health and efforts to tampdownanalready active wildfire season.

“This upcomingheatwave does look prettyremarkable,” said Daniel Swain, aclimate scientist with University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources. “This is going to be along duration, widespreadand high-intensity heat event that’sgoing to affect millions of people for over aweek.”

fan themselves while waiting in line forthe

wheel on July 1at the GreatAmericanState

Washington.

Adomeofhigh pressure —which traps hotair like apot lid while blocking cooling winds and rain— will initially park overthe Northern Plains, but it willbesobig that it

will trap sweltering temperatures acrossasmuch as two-thirds of the continentalUnitedStates, three meteorologiststold The Associated Press. While it willinitially miss the

East Coast, the heat dome will shift and wobble, maybe even spreading from coast-to-coast over the next 10 days or more,they said.

Forecastersare expecting record triple-digit highs this weekend in Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota and SouthDakota.

Theweather serviceispredicting more than 90 U.S. local temperature recordswillbetiedor broken through Wednesday,with two-thirds being overnight heat records that can hinder how the human body recovers from broiling days.

“Nightscan be just as dangerous as days. If you don’tget heat relief at night, that’sgoing to spill out into your daytime experienceand become extremelydangerous,” said meteorologistBob Henson withYale Climate Connections.

“Heat is nottobeplayed with. It’s just as dangerous as atornado or hurricanethat can kill you just as easily,just in aquiet and different way.”

Swainsaidwhatmakes this heat wavesodifferent is how big a

warm shadow it will cast and how long it will persist.

In the past couple of weeks,major heat waves have caused extensive suffering in Europe,the U.S. East Coast andmostrecentlythe U.S. Southeast. Nowany placein theUnited Statesthatescaped the earlierJuly heat waves will get this one, Swain said.

Rainislikelytosneak belowthe southern edge of the heat dome anddouse theU.S.Southeastduring the daytime, setting up something strange,Climate Central meteorologist ShelWinkleysaid. Because of the added moisture and humidity,the Southeastcould get record-shattering nighttime heat but below-normal daytime warmth, he said.

The weatherserviceispredicting record nighttimeheat in anumber of locations from Texas to Florida to North CarolinaonSaturday Temperatures won’tdrop below 80 degrees at night in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Miami; Tampa,Florida;Galveston,Texas;and Charleston, South Carolina, according to the forecast.

Wildfire devastates communityinsouthernSpain,killing at least12

BYSUMAN NAISHADHAM Associated

at least 12 people asvictims tried to flee the flames in cars and on foot, authorities said Friday Eight people were injured and 23

missing, Andalusia’s regional leader Juan Manuel Moreno said. Theblaze, one ofSpain’sdeadli-

ignoringshelter-in-placeinstructions, said Antonio Sanz, head of Andalusia’semergency services. Some triedtoescape via adry riverbed that “turned into adeath trap,” he said. Fourvictimswere believed to be Britishnationalsbecause the steering wheel of their burnedout car was on the right side,as

with British vehicles, regional authorities said. Other unspecified nationals also were believed to be among the dead, and the death toll was expected to rise, authorities said.

Sevenpeople died while on foot after abandoning their cars, Sanz said, adding that mostofthe deceased were believedtobeforeign

nationals. Dean Taylor,aresident whodivides his timebetween Spain and the U.K., said he managed to just barely escape the neighborhood by using back roads to get out.

“It was quite terrifying,” Taylor said in an interviewwith The Associated Press. “It’s averysad day, isn’tit? It’s devastating, really.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JACQUELyN MARTIN

Mickelina Papotto, of Salem,Ore., left, and Lorie Odegaard,of Gaithersburg,Md.,

Ferris

Fair on the National Mall in

EBR Library sued over pronoun controversy

Pastor says he was unlawfully fired

BY CLAIRE GRUNEWALD

Staff writer

A local pastor has filed a lawsuit claiming Baton Rouge’s library system unlawfully fired him after he refused to use someone’s preferred gender pronouns.

The Rev Luke Ash filed the suit Thursday alleging that the East Baton Rouge Parish Library ter-

minated his employment a year ago because of his religious beliefs, which Ash said prevented him from using a co-worker’s preferred gender pronouns. He is also the lead pastor at Stevendale Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, per the church’s website.

Ash is represented by Liberty Counsel, a Christian civil liberties law firm, and said the library’s in-

clusivity policy violated his First Amendment rights, and his lawsuit seeks a permanent injunction declaring the policy unconstitutional The lawsuit also asks the court to order the library to reinstate Ash to his former position, restore his benefits and award back pay and damages.

Liberty Counsel said in a news release that a library co-worker in July 2025 asked that Ash refer to them by their preferred pronouns. Ash told the co-worker he would

not do so due to his religious beliefs.

Shortly after this conversation, Ash’s supervisors reiterated the library’s policy, which states “all employees have the right to be addressed by their chosen name and pronouns.” According to the lawsuit, Ash said he would not lie.

The lawsuit said that after this encounter, Ash’s employment was terminated and “the library made clear to Ash that he was being terminated because of his refusal to

KEEP A SKATE FACE

use preferred pronouns and nothing more.”

Ash was hired as a library technician in late March 2025, and his termination was effective July 11, 2025, according to personnel records obtained by The Advocate. Library director Katrina Stokes said Friday that the library does not comment on employee and personnel matters. The lawsuit also names the city

Liam Hardin, 11, crosses the street on his cruiser board under the supervision of his mom,

Man pleads guilty in video voyeurism of ex-partner

He’ll be deported back to Honduras, officials said

BY QUINN COFFMAN Staff writer

A Geismar man will serve only a few months in jail for having placed spy cameras in an ex-partner’s attic, but the short plea deal will expedite his deportation back to Honduras, prosecutors said. Angel Rodriguez, 46, pleaded guilty Wednesday to two counts of video voyeurism and a count of simple burglary He was sentenced to seven months in prison for each charge, to run concurrently East Baton Rouge Assistant District Attorney Quoc-Huu Nguyen said in court that the plea was made to hasten Rodriguez’s release to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation back to Honduras, his nation of origin.

SpaceX among attendees at La. ‘summit’

Speculation over company’s plans swirls

BY MIKE SMITH Staff writer

Two SpaceX representatives attended a recent “summit” in Baton Rouge with senior officials from the U.S Army Corps of Engineers and Gov Jeff Landry’s administration, another potential signal of interest in a Louisiana expansion by Elon Musk’s rocket company.

The meeting on June 26 was primarily aimed at discussing ways to speed permitting and other regulatory steps for projects, which often require Corps involvement and approval. The meeting included a broad range of attendees from government agencies, ports, contractors, industry associations and relevant nonprofits.

lands issues for the Environmental Protection Agency during President Donald Trump’s first term.

Two SpaceX representatives involved in governmental and regulatory matters participated, including one, Owen McDonough, who specialized in water and wet-

Michael Hare, executive director of the state’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, said he invited McDonough because he knew him from previous work and believed he could provide valuable insight into regulations surrounding water and wetlands issues. The other SpaceX representative, Brandon Conroy was involved in required environmental mitigation efforts

related to the company’s “Starbase” industrial and launch facility near Brownsville, Texas. Hare said there was no discussion of potential SpaceX projects in Louisiana at the event and that McDonough and Conroy came for the same reason as did other attendees: to provide insight and suggestions on how to overcome bottlenecks in the federal regulatory process. Hare has previously worked in Washington and has specialized on mitigation issues.

“I just consider him a national expert on wetland policy,” Hare

Longtime WAFB news anchor to leave station

Elizabeth Vowell to join LSU faculty

BY IANNE SALVOSA Staff writer

Elizabeth Vowell, a longtime news anchor for WAFB, will leave the station next month to take a job with LSU. She will become director of LSU’s Office of Student Media on Aug. 17 after serving as an adjunct professor at the university

since 2022. Vowell told the local CBS affiliate earlier this year that she was seeking a different role to spend more time with her family, according to the station. “It has been a privilege to serve my community

of Broadcasters, the Telly Awards, the national and regional Edward

R. Murrow Awards and Regional Emmy Awards. Vowell earned a bachelor’s in broadcast journalism from the University of Mississippi. She came to WAFB in 2012 after spending two years at WLOX, the ABC station in Biloxi, Mississippi. She started as a morning reporter at the station, and later moved to the medical beat before becoming a senior reporter. She currently anchors three of WAFB’s weekday evening broadcasts.

STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

Whitney, in downtown Baton Rouge on Friday

Vowell

Musk

Man arrested after allegedly shooting two people

Police around 7:20 a.m a 2026

CRIME BLOTTER staff reports

A Baton Rouge man was arrested Friday after allegedly shooting a man and a woman during a traffic altercation, while four children were in their car Jonathan Williams, 44, faces two counts of attempted first-degree murder, along with aggravated criminal damage to property and illegal use of a weapon. He is being held in the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison.

According to Baton Rouge police, at about 7:19 p.m on June 24, the victims were stopped at the intersection of Scenic Highway and North Street talking to someone when Williams approached their vehicle from behind while repeatedly honking. The woman said a verbal altercation occurred, during which Williams exited the car with a handgun and began firing multiple

rounds at the male victim. Afterward, he turned the gun on her and continued firing, police said.

The woman tried to retreat to her vehicle, where her four children were sitting; however she fell to the ground after being struck once in the back of the head. The man sustained about five gunshot wounds.

Man accused of shooting neighbor eight times

Baton Rouge police arrested Tyzerrian Castle this week on attempted murder charges after he allegedly shot his neighbor eight times while returning a stolen PlayStation in August.

According to the arrest warrant, Castle, 24, allegedly first stole the PlayStation from his neighbor on Aug. 23. Both men lived in an apartment complex in the 7000 block of Plank Road. Castle lived two floors from the victim’s apart-

ment, and security cameras confirmed that Castle and an unidentified subject were walking away holding a bag, police said.

The neighbor and Castle had known each other for about six months, and the neighbor immediately texted Castle asking for the console back, according to the arrest warrant. After an initial denial, Castle admitted to stealing the PlayStation and stated that he would return it immediately, according to the affidavit Castle and the neighbor agreed to meet at 2 a.m. on the next day, Aug. 24, 2025, in the 600 block of North Ardenwood Drive, police said.

After Castle arrived at the agreed-upon location, he allegedly entered the neighbor’s passenger seat. The neighbor asked for his belongings back. While the two were talking, an unidentified individual armed with a rifle pulled on the car door, demanding the neighbor get out of the car police said.

The neighbor quickly drove away, then Castle pulled out a handgun and told him to stop the vehicle, the affidavit stated. The neighbor stopped the car and wrestled over the gun while pleading with Castle to leave the car, police said.

After Castle exited the car, he went to the driver’s side of the car and shot at the neighbor eight times, hitting his side, left leg, stomach area and parts of the car

The neighbor survived the shooting.

Castle is also charged with illegal use of a weapon and aggravated criminal damage to property Crash in Livingston Parish kills 2, driver arrested

A fatal crash on La. 42, west of Oliver Wheat Road in Livingston Parish, killed a wife and husband early Friday morning.

According to the Louisiana State

Landry, Moreno trade barbs over money, politics

N.O. mayor requests meeting with governor

BY TYLER BRIDGES Staff writer

Gov Jeff Landry showed no interest Friday in New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno’s request the night before to have the two of them hash out their escalating differences over money and politics

Landry jabbed her in a tweet Friday for having sought state approval to hold a bond sale for the cash-strapped city

It confirmed to him, he wrote, that the city is treating the state “as an ATM” to balance its budget.

He added, “Please remember the State and its citizens are not an ATM on Bourbon Street!”

Moreno responded several hours later with a digital media post where she once again asked to sit down with him.

“Governor let’s find a way for New Orleans to be successful so that the state can be successful as well,” she said from her City Hall office. “As goes the city of New Orleans, so goes the state of Louisiana.”

Moreno ended by jabbing him back.

“Happy to meet you anywhere, even on Bourbon Street, and you can show me your favorite ATM machine,” she said, barely suppressing a smile.

Upper hand

Landry has the upper hand in this dispute with Moreno because she has inherited a budget shortfall from her predecessor LaToya Cantrell, and the city needs authorization to borrow money or sell bonds from the State Bond Commission — populated by the governor’s Republican legislative allies. On Thursday, Moreno announced

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of Baton Rouge, the Metro Council and library board of control as defendants.

SPACEX

Continued from page 1B

said of McDonough, who was involved in developing a wetlands policy in the first Trump administration known as the Waters of the U.S., or WOTUS. “He just happens to work at SpaceX, and so that was the easy button I hit on inviting him there.”

Hare said the summit would help Louisiana projects, but that the issues discussed are relevant on a national level and that he organized the meeting with that in mind.

“This is really meant to help inform national policy,” he said. Clearing the way

SpaceX’s attendance, however, comes as the state appears to be clearing a path for aerospace development in Louisiana State legislators this past session approved incentives designed to attract such companies and another measure granting them broad immunity from lawsuits. Lawmakers also granted them exemptions from public records laws related to critical infrastructure. The state’s recent deal with Exxon to settle long-standing coastal

she was withdrawing the city’s request to have the State Bond Commission approve a $110 million bond sale for New Orleans next week because she heard from Republican friends that the commission would reject it.

She also said that state leaders “seeking to defund New Orleans to punish, weaken or destroy it must face the harsh truth and consequences that, ultimately, doing so is self-harm to Louisiana.”

In her social media post Friday, she included a video clip of Mike Waguespack, the Louisiana legislative auditor, telling Landry last year that the city would need additional funds this year

Landry letter

Landry also sent a letter to legislative leaders on Friday telling them that he has asked Waguespack to study why the Sewerage & Water Board has moved so slowly to repair Decatur Street in New Orleans. Three businesses there have said the delays have turned that stretch of the French Quarter into a ghost town, forcing them to shut down.

In her letter to the governor Thursday night, she said that not having access to the additional funds for the rest of 2026 would force city officials to delay infrastructure projects, institute $20 million in budget cuts and continue furloughs of city employees.

“I commend the City for now taking the more fiscally responsible approach,” Landry responded, in his only positive comment to Moreno in his tweet Friday aimed at her Waguespack, a certified public accountant and former sheriff, said in an interview Friday that the city’s request to sell bonds would not cost state taxpayers anything unless, in a worst-case scenario, the city defaulted on the bonds.

This would hurt the state’s overall bond rating, he added.

The city’s request before the State Bond Commission, Waguespack said, “is simply a legal and procedural authorization, it’s not financial backing.”

A spokesperson for the Mayor’s

Office declined to comment.

“The East Baton Rouge Parish Library violated the U.S. Constitution and Louisiana law for requiring Pastor Ash to refer to a female employee by masculine pronouns and then firing him for uphold-

Moreno has also been criticizing the S&WB for moving too slowly to finish the work.

Jay Dardenne, a Republican who served in the state Senate and as secretary of state, lieutenant governor and as then-Gov John Bel Edwards’ top budget official, lamented Landry’s unwillingness to meet with Moreno.

“Any time a party is not willing to talk with an opposing side about an issue that could be resolved is not a good thing,” Dardenne said “We ought to be about trying to work together for the common good for everybody in Louisiana. That speaks for people in New Orleans, for people who feel offended by Republicans and Republicans who think the indictment is a politically motivated attack on them.”

Dardenne was referring to the indictment of Attorney General Liz Murrill, handed down by an Orleans Parish grand jury last week. It has intensified tensions between New Orleans officials and Republicans elsewhere in the state.

The grand jury indicted Murrill on 16 felony counts for writing a letter to Moreno and other city officials that they called threatening. Landry trolled Moreno on this

ing his religious beliefs,” Liberty Counsel Founder Mat Staver said.

“The library also violated Title VII for not even considering a religious accommodation for Pastor Ash.”

Following Ash’s termination in July 2025, several of Louisiana’s

SpaceX representatives joined officials in Baton Rouge to discuss regulatory processes and potential expansion opportunities in Louisiana. The meeting aimed to streamline permitting procedures and foster collaboration between government agencies, industry stakeholders and environmental experts.

damages lawsuits also heightened speculation over whether SpaceX is interested in large tracts of coastal land in Vermilion Parish. Exxon owns the land, which it had initially intended to use for carbon capture, and removing legal liability connected with it could ease a sale. McDonough and Conroy did not

respond to requests for comment, nor did SpaceX’s media affairs office. The Governor’s Office also did not respond to requests for comment. Louisiana Economic Development, the state’s business promotion arm, declined to comment on any potential discussions with SpaceX.

Freightliner box truck driven by 30-year-old Brandon Koehnke, of Denham Springs, was traveling west on La. 42. At the same time, a Toyota Highlander driven by 64-year-old Linda Watts with 62-year-old Joseph Watts in the passenger seat, was traveling east.

The Freightliner crossed the centerline in a right-hand curve and struck the Highlander, according to a news release from State Police. Linda and Joseph Watts suffered fatal injuries and were pronounced dead at the scene. Koehnke sustained minor injuries, and whether he was impaired is unknown at this time.

After being released from the hospital, Koehnke was booked into the Livingston Parish Detention Center on two counts of negligent homicide and one count of improper lane usage.

The crash remains under investigation.

GUILTY

Continued from page 1B

Friday

“I understand your desire not to trade public letters, as that seems to be an indictable offense in the City of New Orleans,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, Murrill appears to continue to feel aggrieved by a grand jury indictment of her

On Thursday night, she released a statement saying the city didn’t have the means to pay back the $110 million in bonds over the 16year term period.

“That request was dead on arrival,” she said pointedly

The Attorney General’s Office on Thursday filed a public records request to the city asking for documents related to the decision by Moreno and the City Council to bolster their slim reserves by selling the next nine years of revenue from its lease with Caesars’ casino. In exchange, the city received $103 million.

On Friday, the Attorney General’s Office didn’t respond to a query on the reason for the public records request.

On Thursday, Landry wrote Moreno that the deal cost the city $50 million in future lease payments, “a decision that is tantamount to the largest ‘pay day loan’ by a municipality in recent times.”

One Republican who voiced support for the city and Moreno was Lt. Gov Billy Nungesser, who noted in his role as the state’s chief tourism promoter that millions of people visit New Orleans every year

“Mayor Moreno and her administration have worked hard to get New Orleans moving in the right direction,” Nungesser said in a statement Thursday night. “We should all be focused on building on that momentum by working together At the end of the day, this is about doing what’s best for the people of Louisiana.”

top GOP leaders weighed in on the situation and criticized the library’s decision. Gov Jeff Landry, in reference to Ash’s firing, said on X that “Louisiana is the real world, and in the real world, preferred pronouns don’t exist only biological ones!”

“LED doesn’t comment on prospective projects,” said agency spokesperson Emma Wagner Reducing red tape

Any potential SpaceX development, particularly along the coast, would likely require permits from the Corps. Rene Poche, a spokesperson for the Corps’ New Orleans district, said the agency has not received any permit applications from SpaceX and has not held discussions with the company on the topic.

The June event, dubbed the “Summit at Sea Level,” was billed as a first-of-its-kind between the Corps and local leaders. Corps leadership at both the national and local levels attended, including Army Assistant Secretary for Civil Works Adam Telle.

The meeting concluded with a Q-and-A session between Telle and Landry The Corps and CPRA issued a joint statement on Thursday detailing areas targeted for improvements and describing a plan to address them.

“Attendees from across the public and private sectors together identified 19 priority actions designed to tear down administrative red tape, align complex permitting requirements and significantly shorten project delivery timelines,” it said.

“If it was not for your immigration status, I would not be giving you the sentence I’m giving you,” Judge Carson Marcantel said during sentencing. “I find your actions inexcusable and despicable. I would be giving you the maximum that I could have given you on these charges.”

Rodriguez was arrested on Dec. 16 after a woman with whom he had previously had a sexual relationship called police to report finding two cameras hidden in her attic that were pointed through air vents down toward her bedroom and bathroom.

The woman told police she was having trouble sleeping due to a noise she couldn’t identify Then one day, she saw what appeared to be a camera lens through a ceiling air vent in her bedroom. When she entered the attic, she found wiring running from above her bedroom to an area above her living room, according to a warrant for Rodriguez’s arrest.

In court, Nguyen said one of the cameras was pointed toward the victim’s bathroom.

She suspected that her former partner, Rodriguez, had placed them there, telling police she had ended their casual relationship two months before, when Rodriguez had asked her to date. He reportedly did not take this well, continuing to text her persistently and make unannounced visits to her house.

The victim suspected Rodriguez had planted the spy cameras in October 2025, the last time he had been to her house. That day, Rodriguez had texted the victim, saying he was coming over for sex, and disregarding her texts that he should stay away Rodriguez entered a closed garage door using a code he knew, but found the interior garage door locked, according to his arrest affidavit. He then accessed the building’s attic through the garage and used it to move inside the home.

The victim wasn’t aware Rodriguez had entered inside until he kicked down her bedroom door, coming inside and grabbing her she told police.

She further told police that Rodriguez had said, “Angel gets what Angel wants, and I want sex. I haven’t had sex in three weeks.”

She pushed him away and fled the home, but instructed Rodriguez the following day to repair the broken bedroom door

He repaired the door while she wasn’t at home, and the victim believes it was then that he placed the cameras in her attic, his warrant said.

Detectives with the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office obtained a search warrant for the two cameras, finding that a number tied to Rodriguez was used to register the Amazon account linked to the cameras.

Email Quinn Coffman at quinn.coffman@theadvocate. com.

Landry Moreno

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By DAVID J PHILLIP

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Funerals Today Jenkins passedaway peacefully on June 30, 2026, at the ageof81. Born on August4,1944,inSt. Amant, Louisiana,Judy was alongtime resident of White Castle,Louisiana. Shewas adevoted wife, lovingmother, cherished sister,and faithful friend whosegreatestjoy came from the people she loved Judy willberemembered forher kind heart,gentle spirit,unwavering strength, and the warmth she sharedwith everyone she met. Her lifewas a beautiful reflection of love, compassion, and selflessness. Judy was precededin death by her beloved husband, Emerald "Bubba" Jenkins; her beloved son, CraigThomasJenkins; and her parents,BeatriceLindsay Guercio and Jimmy Joseph Savoy as wellas her step fatherSam Guercio.She leavesbehindto cherishher memoryher sisters,Rose Mary Johnson andRuth Cedotal;her brothers,Jim Savoy and TimGuercio; along with many nieces, nephews,extendedfamilymembers, lifelong friends, and all whoselives wereblessed by knowing her. Though our heartsgrieve herabsence, we find comfort in knowing that Judy's faith has become sight and that she has been welcomed into the presence of her Savior, Jesus Christ. The love she gavesofreelywill continue to liveoninthe hearts of her familyand friends, and hermemory willbetreasuredfor generations to come. ACelebration of Lifewillbeata later date.

OurLadyofMercy at 11 a.m.

Smith,Daisy EileenGates Daisy EileenGates Smith, alifelongresident of Livingston died July 9, 2026.She was bornNovember 25, 1926,tothe late Henry Gates and Pearl SicklesGates. She wasan honor graduate of Doyle High School. As amember of the "GreatestGeneration", she workeddiligently for the war effortonthe "home front" as her future husband fought in the Pacific during WWII. On August 23, 1947, she married Charley Ross Smith. Their livesservedasa wonderful example for their familyas theyboth worked hard, livedfor the Lord, and loved their familyand friends. Daisywas acharter member of Bethel Baptist Church, an honorary lifetime member of the Livingston Parish FairAssociation, and aretired clerkof

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theparish healthunit in Livingston. She was preceded in death by her husband: Charley; her parents: her mother-in-law: Inez Lard; a son-in-law:Kenny Barksdale; four sisters:Bea Hood, PearlMcDonald, Lucy Brister, and Goldie Breland; and one brother: Al Gates. She is survivedbyher daughters: JenniferSmith Goodwin andCynthiaS Barksdale Dill(John); her son: Keith Russell Smith; herbeloved grandchildren: Ashley Smith, Alan Barksdale andwife, Brooke,Trish Mack, RachelBarksdale, and Matthew Barksdale and wife, Lizzie.Great -grandchildren: ColeMack, Lexi Mack, Whitney Smith, EastonBarksdale, Katherine Barksdale, Charleigh Barksdale, EverlyBarksdale, KenleighBarksdale, BarrettBarksdale, and HarperBarksdale. She is also survivedbymany dear nieces and nephews including,Tim, Sylvia, and Vicky Hill whom she raised from ayoung age. Seale FuneralServices were entrustedwithfinal arrangements and care. Visitationwillbegin at 2PM at Bethel Baptist Church, Sunday July12, 2026, until time for funeral service at 3:30PM. Aprivate burial willimmediately follow.

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Many Americans are fortunate to have dental coverage fortheir entire working life, through employer-providedbenefits. Whenthosebenefits end with retirement, paying dental billsout-of-pocket cancome as a shock,leading people to put off or even go without care. Simplyput —without dental insurance, there may be an important gap in your healthcare coverage.

When you’re comparingplans ...

 Look forcoverage that helps pay formajor services. Some plans may limitthe number of procedures —orpay forpreventive care only.

 Look forcoverage with no deductibles. Some plans mayrequire you to payhundreds out of pocketbefore benefits are paid.

 Shop forcoverage with no annual maximum on cash benefits. Some plans have annual maximums of $1,000.

Medicare doesn’tpay for dental care.1 That’s right. As good as Medicare is, it wasnever meanttocover everything. That means if youwant protection,you needto purchase individual insurance.

Early detection canprevent small problems from becoming expensiveones.

The best way to preventlargedental bills is preventive care.The American Dental Association recommends checkupstwiceayear.

Previous dental work canwear out.

Even if you’vehad qualitydentalwork in the past,you shouldn’t take your dentalhealth forgranted. In fact, your odds of havinga dental problem only go up as youage.2

Treatment is expensive— especiallythe servicespeople over 50 often need.

Consider these national averagecostsof treatment. $274for acheckup $299 for afilling $1,471 foracrown.3 Unexpected bills likethis canbeareal burden, especially if you’re on afixedincome.

“Medicare&You,” Centersfor Medicare& Medicaid Services,2025. 2 “Aging changesinteeth and gums”, medlineplus.gov,4/17/2022. 3 FairHealth, Inc. National average dental fees.Datacurrent as of July 2025;subject to change

“Absolutely love” “I absolutelylove my dental insurance. My dentaloffice files the claims,leaving me with very littlebalancetopay.” DorothyP TN

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

China blocks exports of helium, key for chips HONGKONG China on Friday said it is temporarilyblocking theexport of helium, akey element for chipmaking, as the Iran war’sescalation adds to global supply disruptions.

China’scommerce ministry and its customs agency said in abrief statement that they are imposing atemporary export ban on helium, effective immediately,inaccordance with the relevant provisions of the ForeignTrade Law of the People’s Republic of China.

They didnot elaboratefurther on the reasons.

Helium is crucial for semiconductor manufacturing, and is also used in the medical sector such as in the coolingof MRI machines. Since the Iran war began in lateFebruary, global helium supply has been disrupted and prices have gone up substantially Chinaonlyproduces about 15% or less of its own helium, importing much of it from Qatar,which generates roughly one-third of the world’ssupply, according to estimates cited in aresearch note by the consultancy Trivium China.

China is looking to protect itsindustries as globalsupply of helium has become “very tight,” said Gary Ng, asenior economist at the French bank Natixis.

“Such an export control measure is intendedtoprotect the local industry,especiallyasit is critical to chipmaking,”he said. It is imposing the measure likely more to secure supply for local usage than for political reasons, Ng said.

The move comes at atime whenChina is stepping up its self-sufficiency capabilities in chipmaking and artificialintelligence as its technologyrace with the U.S. heats up. It is notknown when global helium supply will return to normal, said Cameron Johnson, asenior partner at Shanghaibased consultancyTidalwave Solutions.

Kia launches newrecall for 463,000 Tellurides

NEW YORK Kia America has issued anew recall for nearly 463,000 of its Telluride SUVs, urging owners to againpark their vehicles outside and away from buildings afterseveral customers reported fires following previous repairs.

The recall, announced this week by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, replaces aprior one Kiainitiated in 2024. Certain Tellurides from the 2020-24 model years are affected, with the NHTSA warning that the front power seat motor of these vehicles may overheat due to astuck slide knob. That could result in afire while the car is parkedorbeing driven. And even after Kia rolled out aremedy in 2024, recall documents note several customers filedcomplaints of alleged fires underneath the passenger seat

The automaker investigated other vehicles that had received the prior repair and identified “sporadic dealer workmanship issues” —later deciding to initiate anew recall. Between October 2024 and April 2026, Kia North America’ssafety office identified 18 incidents involving eitherlocalizedseatfires or meltingof the seat motor, per recall documents. No associated injuries or crashes have been reported In astatement, Kia America noted that “an external impact with excessive force” to thevehicles’ frontpowerseat side coverorslide knob could cause their switch to become dislodged or otherwise damaged— resulting in overheating if the motor continuestobe used over time. To prevent this, Kia’snew fix willbefor dealers to install an electronic fuse assembly,free of charge. That remedy will be available in early August, according to an advanced dealer notice published by the NHTSA. And owner notification letters are set to be mailed starting Aug. 13.

EU demands Facebook design changes

BY KELVIN CHAN Associated Press

The EuropeanUnion accused Meta on Friday of breaching its social media lawbydesigning Facebook and Instagram to get users hooked,and demanded it disable “key addictive features” like infinite scrolling.

TheEU’sexecutivearm issueda fresh set of chargesagainst Meta Platforms as part of its investigation under the 27-nation bloc’s strictdigitalrulebookknown as the Digital ServicesAct. The sweeping setofregulations from Brusselsrequirestechplatforms to protect internet users under threat of heftyfines.

The European Commission said Metafailed to properly assess the risks its design features pose to the physical and mental healthof users, including minors. And while the company hastoolsand controls to help manageFacebook and Instagram use,itsaidtheywere easily overridden, dismissed, or technically challenging touse.

Meta “needs to implement design changes” to Instagram and Facebook, such as disabling “key addictive features” like autoplay of videos and infinite scroll so they’renot turnedonbydefault, the commission saidinits preliminaryfindings

Meta now hasthe chance to respond and defend itself before the commission issues itsfinaldeci-

it says

sion, which could result in afine worth up to 6% of the company’s global annual revenue.

Meta said Friday that the preliminary findings do not recognize thestepsthat the company has already taken to protect teens.

“Sincethis investigation began, we rolled out Teen Accountsthat automatically protectteensand put parents in control —allowing them to block access to Instagram at night andcap daily screen time at just 15 minutes,” Meta said in a prepared statement. Europe is committed to enforcing its legislation that holds platforms accountable foraddictive design features, saidHenna Virkkunen, an executive vice-president at the

commissionoverseeing tech. “Protecting the physical and mental health of Europeans must be apriority for social media platforms,” Virkkunen said in astatement.

Facebook andInstagram design features, including personalized recommendationsand push notifications,serve up an endlessstream of content, putting users’ brains on “autopilot” and fueling compulsive use, the commissionsaid. Meanwhile, screen time controls that parents can impose on their teens’ devices can be “easily dismissed” anddon’t result in ameaningful reduction of use, the commission said. And the controls are undermined by the technical expertise,time andeffort that parents need to understand and use them,itsaid.

SK Hynixrises 13%indebut

BY DAMIAN J. TROISE Associated Press

NEWYORK— Shares of SouthKorean memory chipmaker SK Hynixrose13.1% as they made theirdebut on Wall Street,ata time whendemand for chips is surging thanks to the frenzy around artificial intelligence. Thecompanyisalready one of the largest in South Korea, along with Samsung Electronics, andisamember of the Kospi index. Even with arecentpullback, the country’s Kospi index is up 77% so far this year and SK Hynix shares have more than tripled.

SK Hynix priced its American depositary receipts, or ADRs, at $149 each Thursday. They opened Friday at $170 and closed at $168.49. Theoffering of 177.9 million ADRs raised proceeds of $26.5 billion, making it thebiggest-ever initial share sale in the U.S. by aforeign company.AnADR is issuedby abankorbroker and is asimplified way for U.S.investors toown foreign stocks through the U.S.markets.

SK Hynix is going public in the U.S. amid a surge in IPO proceeds.There were 48 IPOs raising atotal of $104.8 billion during the second quarter,according to Renaissance Capital. It is the biggest quarterfor deal proceeds in five years, in large part because of SpaceX raising $75 billion. Many of the companies goingpublic arecapitalizing on thedemandfor all thingsAI.

SK Hynixhas adominant position globally for high bandwidth memory,which is essential for the developmentofadvanced AI technology.The company recently entered apartnership with Wall Street’smostvaluable company,Nvidia, for advanced memory

chips as AI infrastructure expandsglobally Increasing demand for AI has been driving asurge in profitsfor chipmakers. Memorychips have become moreexpensiveas demand outpaces supply along with the advancement of artificial intelligence technology.Technologygiant Apple recently announced an increase in prices for Macs andiPads becauseofthe jumpinprice for memorychips.

The U.S. is SK Hynix’slargest market, accounting for 68.8% of its revenue last year.It is planning an expansion that includes build-

ing its first U.S. production facility,located in Indiana. Overall, the company had revenue of just under $65 billion in 2025. That helped profits double to about $28 billion. The company recently joined with Samsung andthe governmentinannouncing plans to invest acombined $518 billion in building anew computer chipmaking hub in SouthKorea’ssouthwest region, part of national efforts to expand investment beyond the greater Seoulmetropolitanarea, the country’seconomic center and heart of its semiconductor sector

Wall Street showsit’shungryfor AI winners

BY STAN CHOE Associated Press

NEWYORK U.S. stocks ticked higher Fridayafter Wall Street showed its appetite is still big for winners of the artificial-intelligence boom

The S&P 500 rose 0.4% to close out its fourth winning week in the last five. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 149 points,or0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.3%. That’s ledtosharprecent

swingsfor AI stocks, which have grown intosome of Wall Street’s mostinfluential because of their huge sizes.

Nvidia was the strongestsingle force lifting the S&P 500 Friday after rising 4%.

Delta Air Lines said it was able to absorbhigher fuel prices from April through June because of strong demand from customers to fly,including awide range of corporate travelers. That helped it report profit andrevenue for the spring that topped analysts’

Appleaccuses ChatGPTmaker OpenAI of stealing tradesecrets

BY KAITLYNHUAMANI and MATT O’BRIEN AP technologywriters

Apple on Fridayaccused OpenAI of stealing trade secrets as it seeks to build its own hardware for ChatGPT,amajor rupture in apartnershipbetween theiPhone maker andthe artificial intelligence company

Apple said in the lawsuit filedin aCaliforniafederal court that the theft of its tradesecrets was part of a“coordinated pattern of misconduct at an institutionallevel” by OpenAI.

“This case is about Apple’sformer employees stealing Apple’s trade secrets for the benefit of OpenAI,” thefilingsays. “Apple brings this suit to putastop to it.”

Twoformer Apple employees who now work for OpenAI are also named as defendants. OneisTang Tan, whohelpeddesign the iPhone, Apple Watch andiPod andisnow OpenAI’schief hardware officer

Theother is ChangLiu, aformer electrical engineer Apple says it entrusted with someofits most sensitive product development effortsbeforeLiu left Apple to join OpenAI earlier this year OpenAI did notimmediately respond to requestsfor comment. OpenAIhas never said exactly what type of device it is building but has described it as an effort to find anew way of interacting with AI thatgoesbeyond “traditional products and interfaces.” It’s part of abroader push to create aphysical embodiment of the latest AI

expectations, and it gave aforecasted range forupcoming profit in the summer whosemidpoint was above analysts’ expectations.Delta’sstock fell 1.8%, though, after coming into the day withastrong28.2% rise forthe year so far

Companies across industries will need to produce big growth in profits to justify thebig moves for their stock prices, which are broadly near records.

Elsewhere on Wall Street, CircleInternet Group rose 5%. The

company behind the USDC cryptocurrency,which is supposed to keep the value of $1, said it won U.S. regulatory approval to establish abank. It will operateunder thenameCircleNational Trust, and CEO JeremyAllaire said the move“marks adefining step in bringing blockchain technology and digital assets into the core of the U.S. financial system.”

WD-40’sstock jumped10.6% after reporting muchstronger profit forthe latest quarter than analysts expected.

adecadeafter Amazon and Google introduced screen-free talking speakers into homes.

The lawsuit claimsthe effort wasbuilt

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOByAHN yOUNG-JOON

Acurrency trader watches monitors near ascreen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), SK Hynix and Samsung ElectronicsCo. stockprice at the foreign exchange dealingroom of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul,South Korea, on Thursday.

OPINION

ANOTHERVIEW

ThenextAmerican revolution is already here

Recently,welooked back at the American Revolution

Now it’stime to look ahead to the next revolution already taking shape.

This new revolution won’t be fought withmuskets and cannon, but with code, models and automated workflows. Sparked by artificial intelligence, it will fuse technology,economics and government policy in ways we’re only beginning to understand.

tance for thedisadvantaged, higher taxes on therich and an array of free or subsidizedsocial services.These proposalswill appeal tothe left, especially newlyenergized DemocraticSocialists. They will also findsupport amongothers whoare less liberal, but who are losingjobsand careers due to AI.

Seen by many as mysterious and creepy,AI is imposing new demands on an unprepared government.

It’ssetting off alarms loud enough for both parties to hear AI should lift productivity.

It will also bring fear and churn to the job market. It could dislocate millions of workers, widen the wealth gap and furtherstrain our limping democracy

The size and speed of the AI transformation remain uncertain, but its scale will be revolutionary.Goldman Sachs says two-thirds of occupations could face significant AI exposurewithin adecade.The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development finds higher-wage, knowledge workers to be most exposed McKinsey estimates nearly athird of U.S. work hours could be automated. Imagine the ripple effects.

Politicians aren’tdriving this change; technology is.

AI will force government to think and act differently It will put apremium on competence, efficiency and nimbleness in publicagencies. Americans won’tneed a technical manual to protect themselves, but anew vision for managing government and safeguarding the economy

Many agencies can’t untangle yesterday’sIT problems, much lessmaster today’ssurging computing power.That’swhy we must ask: Does government federal, state and local have the capacity to handle what’scoming?

One challenge cannot be dodged: reformofcivil service, the system government uses to hire, fire and compensate public employees. AI will eliminate the need for hundreds of thousandsof government jobs and create the need for new ones. Civil service must make sweeping changes to job descriptions, recruitmentefforts, training and pay scales to keep up.

AI rewards speed and flexibility; civil service, withits endless paperwork, doesn’t That will put Democrats in apolitical bind; do they support necessary reforms even if they offend their alliesin public employee unions?

But Democrats have plenty off-the-shelf remediesto reduce AI’snegative effects: Medicare for All, cash assis-

Economic conservatives needtobeon guard; they have big fightsaheadofthem. Voters will demand action,and that usually meansmore spending, taxes andbureaucracy.Democrats will becomfortable in that political environment; Republicans won’t. So,what will Republicans offer? Economic growth and governmentreform couldbe popularsolutions.But conservatives must spell out exactly how these policies will directly help those in need; if they can’tdothat,Democrats will havethe edge.

Oneidea that may gain traction is “universal basic income” (UBI),which would giveall Americans amonthly check without theneed to perform work. Numerousentrepreneurs, investors andpunditshave floatedvarious formsofUBI to cushion against economic disruptions caused by AI. This includes Elon Musk, who says it will be“necessary” as AI automates work. UBI would appeal to politicianslooking forafast fix. ButUBI would cost a fortune to implement— as much as $4 trillion ayear making it an awfully bigbet.

That’swhy hard questions need to beasked about UBI and other new safety net proposals: Wouldthey changethe nation’swork ethic? Wouldtheyswell the national debt beyond what the economy and currency can stand?What other programscould becut to offset costs?

Expensivesocial welfare proposalswould likely face stiff opposition from the right, but an economic crisis could force Congress to get the ball rollingonone or some of them, even when many members are disinclined to doso. Remember how fiscalconservatives during thepandemicreluctantly voted for pumped-up unemployment benefits and rounds of cash giveaways that sentdeficits and debt into orbit?

They say never waste a crisis, butthey should also ask,how much will it really cost?

Thenext revolution has started. Whether it renews America or hardensits divisions depends on whether we can match the speed of technology with thelight of wisdom.

Ron Faucheuxisanonpartisanpoliticalanalyst,pollster and writer based in Louisiana.

The Coastal Protection andRestoration Authority is currently stressing storm surge mitigation projects. Timely elevated structures are the only adequate method of accomplishing that goal. A10- to 15-foot storm surge event will cause severe damage to thespan of populated areas only protected by various low landforms.

The CPRA is trying to accomplish effective storm surge protection through the construction of adequate mitigation projects. Can that be achieved within the CPRA guidelines and budget?

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers can construct the necessary projects to accomplish that goal. They are currently not doing that based on the support of the many Mississippi River crevasses by not adequately clos-

ing them. The saltwater infusion issue will continue to harm the communities of the delta and possibly locations further upriver The destruction of thousands of acres of east bank oyster and associated fisheries continues. The completed Neptune crevasse USACE structure was not designed to accomplish storm surge protection. That structure is said to be currentlysinking. Timely mitigation by elevated temporary structures constructed utilizing sheet piling effectively solves the issue. The sheet piling can be easilyremoved at somepoint of that process or remain.Permanent sheet piling structures were constructed in Lafitte andLake Borne postKatrina projects.

KENNETH RAGAS NewOrleans

In May,the Food and Drug Administration announced that it authorized four flavored e-cigarette products, including mango and blueberry flavors. This marks the first timethe FDAhas authorized a flavored e-cigarette product (other than menthol and tobacco flavors) and it’svery concerning forthe health of our kids.

Iwritewith deep disappointmentabout theJune 9Hammond City Council decision to overturn theHistoric District Commission’sdenial of arequest to paint exposed brick and stone at 408410 W. Thomas St. The commission’sdenial followed theHammond Historic District guidelines and the Secretary of the Interior’sStandards for Rehabilitation, which discourage painting historic masonry The commission has applied these standards consistently for 48 years. We were appointed by themayor and confirmed by the council because we possess the training and experience to interpret preservation guidelines and protect downtown Hammond’s historic fabric.

Ourwork contributed to the district’s national recognition in 2022 with aGreat American Main Street Award. The commission has been acornerstone of downtown’s resurgence: Vacancies are under 5% and many properties have been responsibly rehabilitated using historic tax credits and established guidelines. Visitors, residents, businesses and film productions are drawn to downtown’sunique sense of place.

When councilmember Carlee Gonzales seconded council member Steve Leon’s motion to override thedenial forChristopher Edwards, she remarked that the commission gives little consideration to economic development. That is incorrect. Since 1978, thecommission’spreservation standards havebeen grounded in economic development. Those standards are whydowntown is attractive, whyinvestments worth millions align with them, and why altering historic features, such as painting masonry, would degrade materials and harm thecharacter that sustains commerce.

The council’sreversal disregards decades of policy and expert review and substitutes politics for preservation principles. Irespectfully request that Mayor Pete Panepinto veto this action.

If Hammond is serious about preserving downtown’scharacter and economic vitality,the council should respectthe commission’s role, consult theguidelines and base decisions on informed review rather than expedience.

MICHAEL HOLLY commissioner Hammond Historic District Hammond

After years of recognizing the dangers flavored e-cigarettes pose to youth, it is deeply troubling to see the FDAignore the scientific evidence and reverse course. According to the FDA’s own report, youth often start vaping because of flavored products, including fruit flavors. One in 10 middle school students and 1in5high school students in Louisiana currently use a tobacco product. More than 70% of youth initiate tobacco use by vaping. Proven policies like comprehensive flavored tobacco laws, high tobacco taxes, strong smokefree laws and public education campaigns work. We have done atremendous job in reducing smoking over the last 50 years and even saw a70% decrease in youth e-cigarette use from 2019 to 2024. But we cannot go backward.

With the FDAfailing to protect our kids from tobacco use, Louisiana lawmakers must take action to end the sale of all flavored tobacco products to protect the health and safety of our youngest residents.

of

American Lung Association

As the descendant of three generations of New Orleanians who served in the Armyofthe Tennessee —one of whom was aprisoner of waratMeridian, Itake great exception to Michael Burnside’scomparison of Confederate soldiers to Nazisoldiers. Not only is it historically inaccurate, it is also an ethnic slur on people whoemigrated from Ireland to New Orleans in 1832 and becamerespectable businessmen. They served on the Confederate side because that was their home and their livelihood. And by the way,they never owned any slaves. BILL HUEY Baton Rouge

Ron Faucheux

ROOM BR G

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

Jay Johnson’sjob this summer was never going to be easy

LSU neededtoreplace itsstartingoutfield. It had to revitalize an infielddefense that struggled throughout2026, and changes were needed to apitchingstaff that finished last in the Southeastern Conference in ERA.

But, for the most part, thosequestions LSU entered the summer with have been answered. It’swhy Johnson headsintothisweekend’sMLB Draft —which begins on Saturday at noon with rounds 1-4and continues on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. with rounds 5-20 —feeling good about this offseasonand where his team stands heading into next year

“Weretained just about everybody we wanted to retain,” Johnsonsaid. “And then with the portal, we’re excited about what we’ve added. And we’vegot athird layer of this with thedraftand the highschoolrecruits, and we’rejust kind oftrying to get prepared for alot of different scenarios with that.”

LSU has 22 high school signees whocould be swooped up by MLB teams in thecoming days. Johnson expects about14ofthem to make it to campus, but afteradding eight players from the transfer portal and bringing back numerous key pieces on both sides of the ball, LSU won’t have to rely on apositiveoutcome

ä MLB Draft Rounds 1-4 NOON SATURDAy,MLB NETWORK, NBC

at the MLB Draft to finish off the lineup or startingrotation.

With only 17 signees, LSUlost eight players tothe draft last summer

“It’s really hardtoforecast because Ithink we have maybe only onethat’s going to go in thefirst round (this year), but there’sa huge ‘but’ behind this:There’sgoing to be (more than) $350 million given away to players in this draft,” Johnson said.“So that’sa lotofwiggleroom when you talk about the second and

third round for teams to pay guys $2 millionormore. And we have anumberofguysthatI think arecapable of commanding that bonus.”

Rebuilding thelineup

LSUbrought back four of itsfive best hittersbythe end of last year, including OmarSerna, CadeArrambide, MasonBraun andSteven Milam. Convincing Milam, who was draft-eligible,toreturnwas arguably the best news Johnsongot all summer

Milamcaught Johnsonoff guard when he told him he’d be returning ä See LSU, page 3C

LSU coach JayJohnson walksout of the dugout before agameagainst OklahomaonMarch21atAlex BoxStadium.

MICHAEL JOHNSON

BY ANDREWDAMPF Associated Press

LONDON Novak Djokovic didn’tdwell on Centre Court after getting dominated by Jannik Sinner in theWimbledon semifinals.

The39-year-old Djokovic enjoyed awarm, smilefilled embrace with his 24-year-old opponent at the netafter the 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 defeat Friday, quickly packed up his tennis bags and then waved to the boisterous crowdasheheld onehand to his chest to show hisappreciation as he walked off.

Will the seven-time Wimbledon champion ever be back to play on these hallowed lawns again?

Onlytime —something that Djokovic is running out of —will tell.

It’sbeen nearly three years since Djokovic won his record-extending 24th Grand Slam singles title at the2023 U.S. Open. And despite reachingthe semifinals at all four Grand Slamslast year and reaching afinal and another semi in two of three Slamsthis year —heacknowledges that’snot enough.

“For 99% of the players, that would be a very good Grand Slam result,” Djokovic said. “For me, it’sgood but not good enough, because I’m blessed and cursed to be used to something of ahighest degree in terms of results and achievements.

“I always have the highest expectations for myself,” Djokovic added. “So it’skind of

MLB’s proposed changescould transform collegeball

Owners suggesteliminating high school playersfromdraft

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

If Major League Baseball goes into alockout, the ramifications would be obvious. Players would be outofwork. Team employees would likely be furloughed or,even worse, laid off. And fans wouldn’tbeable to enjoy the sport that they love. But the consequences of awork stoppage in MLB wouldn’tend there. Alockout and the effects of anew collective bargaining agreement—the current one expires in December —would also strike at the heart of how LSU baseball fills out its roster every year

That’sbecause this year’sMLB Draft couldbethe final oneunder itscurrentset of rules.

“I thinkprobably thebiggest thingisit’s just abunchofquestionmarks foreverybody,” one MLB scout said. “I think at the end of the day,the samething that always kind of rings true is that theownersdon’t want to spend as much money,and the owners want amore efficient way for talent to get to MLB.”

Last month, in the early stages of negotiationswiththe MLBplayersunion,owners laid outa varietyofproposedchanges to theMLB Draftand amateurdevelopment system. Theproposalincluded eliminating high school players from thedraft, forcing those players to stay in college foratleast twoyears, shrinkingthe draftto12rounds and slashing signing bonuses in half

Forcontext, clubs have over $358 million to spend on players during this weekend’s MLBDraft, andhigh school players have been eligible forthe draft sinceitbegan in 1965. Changing the latter custom would not only addmore talenttothe college game but it would also save money for major league owners.

“I think MajorLeague Baseball appreciates thefact that it has avery strongpipeline coming from college baseball,” ESPN MLBinsiderJeffPassantoldThe Advocate months before theowners’latest proposal. “A lot of

ä See MLB, page 3C

Pittsburgh

AP FILEPHOTO By

shortstop

swings at apitch during aspring training game on Feb.22. Under MLB’sproposed changes, LSUwouldhavehigh school players on itsroster fortwo years.

that internal battle really of what I’ve been through forthe 20-plus years of my career, what the goals were always, the expectations, and trying to balance it out and really be alittle morehumble in that sense.”

Still, Djokovic expressed interest in playing Wimbledon when he’s40: “I would like to, at least one moretime,” he said. “I feel when I’m healthy,”Djokovic added, “I’m still able to play as atop-five player, still able to compete at the highest level.” For Sinner,itwas ameasure of revenge afterDjokovic won their last meeting in five sets in this year’sAustralianOpensemifinals.

“Playing against Novak,” Sinner said, “what he’sstill showing is true inspiration.” Aiming to defend histitle at thegrasscourt Grand Slam, the top-ranked Sinner ä See WIMBLEDON, page 2C

Jannik Sinner AP PHOTO

MATT SLOCUM

Pirates

Konnor Griffin

9

McIlroy shares lead at Scottish Open

Scheffler misses cut for first time in nearly four years

BY DOUG FERGUSON Associated Press

BERWICK, Scotland Rory

NORTH

McIlroy took advantage of the scoring holes in windy conditions Friday and posted a 4-under 66 for a three-way share of the lead in a Scottish Open that no longer has Scottie Scheffler.

As comfortable as McIlroy looked, Scheffler struggled from the start and wound up with a 72 to miss the 36-hole cut for the first time in nearly four years. He had made 78 cuts in a row, the longest streak since Tiger Woods set the record (142) more than 20 years ago.

“Got off to a poor start and after that, I didn’t really it close enough to give myself a bunch of looks,” Scheffler said. “That’s how you shoot over par.”

Jordan Smith of England had the low score of the tournament with a 63 and was the first to post at 9-under 131, joined by the resurgent Tom Kim (66) and McIlroy, who has not won since going backto-back in the Masters in April.

“It would have been nice to be a couple better,” McIlroy said “But it’s obviously another good day and in good position.”

But the most surprising development at The Renaissance Club was Scheffler Instead of heading to the range after his round, he was making plans to head south earlier than he imagined for his title defense in the British Open at Royal Birkdale He had not missed the cut since the 2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship. Scheffler had company that was equally surprising. Patrick Cantlay and Bernd Wiesberger became the first players since Jordan Spieth at the 2023 Sony Open to share the 18-hole lead and then miss the cut. Cantlay shot a 74, while Wiesberger shot 43 on the back nine for a 78.

Brooks Koepka, who was one shot off the lead going into Friday, also missed the cut.

McIlroy, who won the Scottish Open three years ago, found a new wedge to help him with firm turf at Renaissance and next week at Birkdale. He still faces a busy leaderboard going into the weekend

Smith ran off four straight birdies early on the back nine, all of them inside 10 feet. Kim, who tied for third in the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, holed a 40-foot eagle putt on the par-5 seven and finished with two birdies on his last five holes.

Kim fell out of the top 100 in the world before steadily climbing back up. The U.S. Open was a big step, and it eventually got him into the British Open next week.

“I think being under the radar was kind of nice, just be able to work on my game and keep get-

ting better,” Kim said. “Not being in the spotlight all the time, you don’t see everything, you don’t see all the good stuff. I knew I was really, really close And I’m still working towards trying to be the best I can be But all those little things kind of kept adding, kept adding, and I think it’s shown the last couple weeks.”

Matt Fitzpatrick had a 65 and was one shot out of the lead along with Min Woo Lee. The group at 133 included defending champion Chris Gotterup and Scotland’s own Robert MacIntyre who thrilled the gallery in the arena around the par-3 15th with a 30-foot birdie putt. The cheer was so loud he raised his putter to salute them. Gotterup, who played alongside McIlroy and MacIntyre, was one shot out of the lead playing the 18th when he drove right into high, wispy grass. With the wind at his back, his iron bounced hard

and rolled close to 100 yards, onto and through the green and against a television tower He chipped beautifully from the drop area, but failed to convert the par Even so, he was only two back going for his fourth win of the year Gotterup is coming off a victory last week in the John Deere Classic.

The British Open is offering three spots to the leading finishers not already qualified. Among those in position at the halfway point was Nicolai Von Dellingshausen of Germany at No. 258 in the world who won his first European tour event last year in the Austrian Open.

“Honestly, I was nervous,” he said. “This is the best player field I’ve played during the year There are a couple good names out there. Trying not to look too much into it and playing my own game.”

IN BRIEF FROM

Dodgers’ Ohtani to miss All-Star Game due to knee Los Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani will have his left knee drained on Sunday to relieve continued irritation, and the procedure will force him to miss next week’s All-Star Game in Philadelphia.

Ohtani will have fluid removed from his left knee following a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks in which he will continue to start at designated hitter Ohtani had been scheduled to pitch on Friday night, but the Dodgers instead decided to make it a bullpen game to avoid further aggravating the ongoing discomfort in his left knee.

Ohtani has been dealing with discomfort in his left knee for at least a month. The right-hander had an outing cut short against the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 11 because of inflammation in the knee.

Cardinals,

Wetherholt agree to $112.5M deal

The St. Louis Cardinals and JJ Wetherholt have agreed to an eightyear, $112.5 million contract that starts next season and buys out the rookie second baseman’s first several years of potential free agency St. Louis selected Wetherholt seventh overall out of West Virginia in the 2024 amateur draft and he rocketed through their farm system. The 23-year-old made his major league debut on opening day and was hitting .267 with 13 homers and 36 RBIs and nine stolen bases going into Friday night’s game against the Atlanta Braves. Advanced metrics also have graded Wetherholt as one of the best defensive second basemen in baseball this season. He is earning the major league minimum $780,000 this year

Wembanyama’s extension with Spurs may top $250M

Victor Wembanyama has signed what will be the richest contract in San Antonio Spurs history, a fiveyear extension that could exceed $250 million if the player option in the final season is picked up, a person with knowledge of the negotiations said Friday

The Spurs, who went to the NBA Finals this past season behind the All-NBA center and unanimous Defensive Player of the Year, announced that Wembanyama had signed, simply saying the sides agreed on “a multi-year contract extension.”

The agreement comes at a discount; Wembanyama could have agreed to a deal that topped $300 million but chose a lesser amount to help give the Spurs flexibility going forward with their young core, the person said.

Top-ranked

Korda misses cut; Woad takes Evian lead

will face second-seeded Alexander Zverev in Sunday’s final.

Zverev ended the “Ferytale” run of British wild card Arthur Fery with an overpowering 7-6 (0), 6-2, 6-4 victory earlier as the starstudded crowd on Centre Court witnessed two one-way contests.

Zverev will be playing for another major trophy a month after winning his first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros.

If there were any lingering questions over Sinner’s physical status after his meltdown at the French Open, they should be answered now

Sinner blasted his way past Djokovic and showed off the kind of dominance he displayed before that second-round defeat in Paris.

“I knew mentally,” Sinner said, “that today I had to raise my level, which I’ve done.” Andre Agassi attributed Sinner’s performance in part to Djokovic: “What these guys can do now is all because he has shown them what’s possible,” Agassi said on the BBC. No heat issues for Sinner It was another warm day in southwest London, with the temperature

rising to about 85 degrees. It was also breezy, though, and a bit cloudier than in recent days. Still, it felt nothing like the suffocating heat and humidity in Paris when Sinner wasted a big lead against Juan Manuel Cerundolo, who was ranked No. 56, and had his 30-match winning streak ended.

Djokovic was coming off the longest quarterfinal in Wimbledon history when he outlasted Felix Auger-Aliassime after 5 hours, 15 minutes on Tuesday Sinner, by contrast, hadn’t lost a set since he was pushed to five by Miomir Kecmanovic in the first round.

From the start, Sinner pushed Djokovic back with his powerful groundstrokes and came up with big serves in big moments. When Sinner faced his only break point of the match early in the third set as late-afternoon shadows started creeping across the court, he produced an ace.

Sinner undefeated vs. Zverev Zverev, whose breakthrough at Roland Garros came in his fourth Grand Slam final, is attempting to become the first man in the professional era (since 1968) to win his second major title at the next event immediately after his first.

Sinner has won his last nine meetingswithZverevand14straightsets

“I have to trust myself and I have to believe that I can win and that’s what I’m going to do,” Zverev said before he knew who his opponent would be.

The 114th-ranked Fery, who grew up five minutes from the All England Club and played at Stanford University, was attempting to become the first wild card to reach the final since Goran Ivanisevic won Wimbledon in 2001. Zverev did well not to let the proFery crowd get behind the local player too much, and a double fault from Fery early in the first-set tiebreaker put Zverev in control.

EVIAN-LES-BAINS France Topranked Nelly Korda’s bid for a third straight major and fifth overall ended early when she missed the cut after the second round of the Evian Championship on Friday As Korda scrapped to stay in the tournament, English golfer Lottie Woad carded a 7-under 64 to take a one-stroke lead from overnight leader Aki Iwai of Japan. Korda had a poor opening round of 74 on Thursday and, although she improved with 69 on Friday, her 1-over total left her tied for 67th and she missed the cut by one stroke. She last missed a cut at the 2024 Women’s PGA Championship. Woad’s round featured eight birdies and a bogey and put her on 11 under overall at the midway point of the fourth of the five women’s majors this year

Percy shoots 66 at rainy Firestone to take lead

AKRON, Ohio Cameron Percy shot a 4-under 66 on Friday at rainy Firestone Country Club to take a one-stroke lead in the Kaulig Companies Championship, the fourth of the five major tournaments on the PGA Tour Champions. Percy had a 7-under 133 total. The 52-year-old Australian is winless on the senior tour

“You can’t fake it around here. You’ve got to hit it solid,” Percy said. “The par 3s are hard, everything’s hard. You’ve

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By BRIAN INGANGA Jannik Sinner serves to Novak Djokovic in their singles semifinal match on Friday at Wimbledon in London.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MALCOLM MACKENZIE

Rory McIlroy plays on the 14th fairway during the first round of the Scottish Open on Thursday at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick, Scotland McIlroy had a share of the lead after two rounds.

Cholowsky, Emersonamong top prospectsfor WhiteSox at No.1

BY DANGELSTON AP sportswriter

PHILADELPHIA The Chicago White Sox are doneplaying for first

In the standings? Of course not Led by All-Star thirdbaseman Miguel Vargas, the White Sox have emerged as one of thetop surprises and are in AL Central contention afterenduring three straight 100-loss seasons

In the MLB draft? TheWhite Sox have the No. 1pick in the draft for Saturday’sevent in Philadelphia as part of All-Star Game weekend festivities.

The No. 1pick belongstoChicago —after it lost 102 games last season and won the draftlottery —and perhaps afuture star that can help the White Sox win their first World Series title since 2005 will get selected in the top spot. There are no clear-cut No.1 picks in this year’sdraft much likecurrentPhiladelphia Phillies slugger and 2026 All-Star Bryce Harper wasin2010. The White Sox willlikely pickone from the following three players: UCLA shortstopRochCholowsky, Texas high school shortstop Grady Emerson or Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey MLB said Friday no amateur players are scheduled to attend the draft, which is the sameas last year Here’salook at the most enticing prospects for the White Sox and the rest of the teams drafting early in the first round.

n Cholowsky.A6-foot-2 righthanded hitter,hewas aGolden Spikes finalist at UCLA and had a

MLB

Continued from page1C

the baseball education that’sdone these dayshappens at thecollege level, and MLB teams essentially don’thave to pay for it.

“So farming out labor sounds good. Baseball organizations will sign up for that eight days a week.”

It’sunlikely that all ofMLB’s proposals will be implemented

The MLB players union hasalready decried the plans in astatement,sayingthat “MLB made another set of proposals that are flatout badfor baseball,ones that would cripple the next generation of players and damage the future of our game.”

Before MLB’slatest proposal,

LSU

Continued from page1C

to LSU for his senior season.The possibility of him coming back was brought to JohnsoninApril, but LSU’scoach didn’tbelieve it because he thought MLB would prioritize Milam as aslick-fielding shortstop who was coming offhis best season at the plate against SEC competition.

“I’m probably his biggest fan as a player.I think(he has) tremendous value for aMajor League Baseball team,” Johnson said. “He went out and did his research about where he felt he would be anddecided that he wanted to come back

“I think that’sthe cool side of this. This is more about (the fact that) he wasn’tready to leave yet.I think that’spretty awesome.”

With Milam, Braun, Arrambide and Serna providing LSU astrong core for the lineup,Johnsonwas aggressive in the transferportal to supplement what he already had LSU added outfieldersAngel Laya (Oregon), Jason Wachs (Tulane) and Bino Watters (Notre Dame) to replace its starting outfield from the past two seasons. Laya, Wachs and Watters were all in the top-60 of ESPN’sportal rankings.

Theonly question surrounding the trio is who plays center field Laya, Wachs and Watters were primarily corner outfielders at their past stops.

“I think they all are goodoutfielders,” Johnson said. “I need to, frankly,see more beforeI would comment on that, but we’ll probably play them all in center at some point during the fall and go from there.

“I think Jasoncoulddoit. Ithink Angel can do it, and Bino’sagood runner.Imean, he has like six or seven stolen basesupinthe (Cape Cod Baseball League).”

On the infield, the Tigers also brought in Texas State shortstop Dawson Park and Floridasecond baseman Cade Kurland.Park is expected to shift to third base

UCLA’s Roch Cholowsky reacts after hitting ahomerun during agame against TexasChristian on Feb.20inLos Angeles. Cholowskyisone of severalprospects forbeselected at No.1 in the MLB Draft.

1.088 OPS with 21 homers and 60 RBIs in his junior season.

n Lackey.The 21-year-old catcher didn’treceive anyDivision Ioffers until his senior year of high school and has since blossomed into one of the top catching prospectsin thedraft outofGeorgia Tech. The 6-foot-2, 215-pounder showed some versatility by also playing third base.

n Emerson. Just18years old, the 6-3, 185-pound shortstop bats left, throws right and is widely considered the best all-around

two scouts had speculated in interviews with The Advocate that MLBwas intentonremoving high school players fromthe draft. Last month’soffer from theowners only confirmed their suspicions.

“MLB wants to have areally good working relationshipwith thecollegeteams,” one scout said.

“Owners want more assurance with drafting college players. Just look at the amount of money that’s spentonhighschoolplayers. The dataisjustnot very good. It’sa lot of wasted money.”

If MLB’sproposalshad been in place over thepastfew seasons, LSU would have had thelikes of Konnor Griffin, Justin Crawford and Robby Snelling wearing the purpleand gold for two years.

All three players were LSU signeeswho were drafted out of high school, became top prospects and

with Milam returning to shortstop —and Kurland will likely play second baseafterstarting there for fouryears at Florida. Park is coming off abig season, hitting13home runs and posting a .962 on-base plus slugging percentage last year at Texas State. But hiscampaignwas cut short in early May after he gotintoanon-field altercation with ateammate and left the program for theremainder of theseason theday after “Relative to the situation, Idid what Ineeded to do to findout everythingaboutthat,”Johnsonsaid.“And I’mcomfortablewithit,andfeelvery good about Dawson. And Ihavezero concerns about him fitting intoour team andadding to our team.”

Pitching stafftakingshape

LSUwas aggressive in the portal in addinghitters, but the same wasn’t true for the Tigers’ portal strategy with pitchers. They were more timidinthe market, only adding three arms, none of whom are left-handed That, in part, was because the market forpitcherswasn’tstrong in Johnson’seyes. LSU aggressively pursued only one left-handed pitcherinthe portal,hesaid, andGonzaga right-hander Landon Hood —one of theTigers’ three pitchingadditions —was among thefew pitchers with the profile they were seeking.

“Earlyon, as we were evaluatingwhat was inthe portal, Ididn’t thinkthere wouldbemany guys likehim entering,” Johnson said about Hood. “Andwewere right aboutthat.”

Johnson’sexcitement about Hood, therefore, can’tbeunderstated. The risingsophomore was the West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year after posting a2.48 ERA in 541/3 innings. He struck out 78 batters while only walking21.

“He’sareally good pitcherand areally good competitor,” Johnson said AlongwithHood,LSU also added right-handersDiego Velazquez (Southern Cal) andKaden Smith

White Soxdirector of player development PaulJanish said. “You have the draft in July, the minorleague season is over in early September.There’snot ahuge window. Youtakeall those things in consideration,reallythe motive is health.We’re going to get you as ready as you can be fornext spring training to havea good first full pro season.”

Thedraft order

Here’sthe rest of the top 10 following Chicago for the start of the draft Saturday Tampa Baypicks second and Minnesotaisthird. San Francisco is fourth and Pittsburgh fifth. Kansas City, Baltimore, the Athletics, Atlanta and Colorado round out thetop 10.

Like father,like son

player in thedraft The WhiteSox are in win-now mode after years of rebuilding andcould lean toward acollege playersuchasCholowsky Cholowskyisa provenprospect with plenty of seasoning at amajor college programand could helpthe WhiteSox faster,even maybe this season —exceptfor thepitchersthey may draft “Most of the guys we take, even if they playedincollege versus ahighschool pick,theyhaven’t thrown competitively in awhile,”

have since debuted in themajor leagues Having players of Griffin’scaliber on LSU’sroster would transform not just theTigers, but every program in college baseball. There’dbeasignificant trickledown effect that would raise the level of talent at mid-major schools and junior college programs. That’s, in part, because not every top signee is ready tocontribute in aleague suchasthe Southeastern Conference right away

“In theSEC, there’ssomuch pressuretowin right now,” ascout said. “You go through the starting lineups; it’s almostananomaly now when you see afreshman playing every day.”

Ultimately,high school players may not get boxed out of the draft Passan didn’tbelieve that would be the caseinhis conversation

Jim Thome helped changed the perception of the Philliesfrom long-time losers to championship contenders when he leftClevelandand signeda six-year,$85 million contract ahead of the 2003 season. Thome hit 47 homers in his first season, his 400th career homer the next in Citizens Bank Park’sfirst season and now can enjoyanother milestone in thecity —his 18-year-old son, Landon, is a likely first-round pick.

TheNazareth Academy (Illinois) infielder,who is committed to Florida State, is ranked among thetop 50 prospects.

“All thehard work, which at the endofthe day,theydoitall. As a dad, you sit back,you watch the journey,” theelder Thometold MLB Network.

with The AdvocatebeforeMLB’s latest proposal, and the MLB players union has already taken ahard stance on theissue.

But even if high school players are still allowed to be selected under the next CBA, other changes could arise. The draft could be shortened further,the bonus pools for players may shrink or the ability for teams to sign players to over-orunder-slot deals could be eliminated.

Whatever happens, the owners seem intentonmaking sweeping changes, notjust withthe draft but with the entire sport —the introduction of asalary cap being the most notable proposal.

The owners are so motivated to makechanges that onescout told TheAdvocate he expects there to be alockout that would last through all of next year,which

(South Florida). Velazquez, atwo-way player,is another rising sophomore whowas atop recruit from California in the 2025 class, postinga 4.26 ERAon the mound as afreshman and playing 26 games as aposition player Johnson wouldn’tclose the door on his future as ahitter,but he views Velazquezasapitcherfirst moving forward. “The focus is pitching,” Johnson said. “He’sgoingtobeanexcellent draft pick outofhere in two yearsas apitcher.Ithink he’s good enough to be aposition playerfor us. We may investigate that, but Ithink he’sgot the ability to be asignificantcontributor to the pitching staff.” Smithwas alater addition to LSU’sportalclass. He posted a4.24 ERA over 462/3 innings, working as both astarter and areliever for theBulls after transferring from TCU, where he spent his freshman year.Johnson believes he is good enough to get outs in the SEC.

With Casan Evans, Cooper Moore

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

LSU high school signee and lefthanded pitcher Lucas Nawrocki has taken his nameout of the 2026 MLB Draft and is coming to school,heannounced on social media Friday

He’sthe third player from LSU’s 2026 recruiting class to withdraw hisnamefromthe draft and decide to come to LSU, joining outfielder Nathaneal Davis andleft-handed pitcher Braxton Beaty Nawrocki is the No. 115 player in ESPN’sdraft rankings andthe No. 151 playerinMLB.com’s list. He wenttoAledo High in Aledo, Texas, andwas atwo-wayplayerin high school. He even hit in front of scouts at the MLB Draft Combine last month.

Nawrocki is on the shorter side at 5-foot-10, but he hasa fastball that’s up to 95 mph andanexcellent slider.Healsohas achangeup, but he did not use it muchinhigh school. Nawrocki, according to ascout who spoke with The Advocate, isn’texpected to be atwo-way player in college.

“It’smore like afastball slider (combo). He’llthrowfastballs up in thezoneand then trytoget the slider down,” the samescout told The Advocate. “And, Imean,it works. He’sgot apretty good idea what he’sdoing.”

Email Koki Rileyat koki.riley@theadvocate.com.

would mean there would be no MLB games in 2027. And nobody wholoves the game would wantthat scenario. “Ownershipisinsuch adifferentposition than it waswhen we were coming offofCOVID that I think they’re going to draw ahuge line in the sand: ‘Hey,we’regoing to stick to this, and we wanta(salary) cap,’ ”the scout said. “And I think theplayers havejustfought it forsolongthatIdon’t seethem going downwithout afight as well. “Both sidesjust seem to be so dug in right now that it’s hard for me to see apath to them playing in 2027.”

Email Koki Rileyatkoki.riley@ theadvocate.com. For more LSU sports updates,signupfor our newsletter at theadvocate.com/ lsunewsletter

pitching talent through will be important.”

Howthe freshman classfits in LSU’s freshman class enters this year’s draft as the No.2class in the nation, according to Perfect Game. Butask Johnson which signees makeitthrough the draft, and he can’tpretend to give astraight answer

“All I’mdoing right nowis (thinking about) what’sgoing to happen with the draftthis week, Johnson said. “Like it’s1000% my focus. Having conversationswith players andtheir advisers, and those types of things.

“We’llsee. Iwish Icould be abetterprognosticator of howit’sgoing to go, but nobody really gives anybody astraight answer in regards to these things.”

andWilliam Schmidt already set to return, LSU didn’tneed to remake the top of its staff. Hood hasa chance to crack thatrotation, and Velazquezand Smith could contribute as important relievers, but the rest of the staff will likely be made up of freshmen andreturning arms.

LSUisset to bringbackrighthanders Zion Theophilus and Reagan Ricken andleft-handers DannyLachenmayer,Jonah Aase, EthanPlogand Cooper Williams

The Tigers also have one junior college commit (right-hander Major Osbolt) and 11 high school signees they could add depending on the outcome of the MLB Draft. One of those signees, left-hander Braxton Beaty, hasalready withdrawn his namefrom the draft.

“There are afew targeted playersthatwefeelwillhelpusget to another level next year,” Johnson said. “And, obviously,for the long-term success of the program Ithink getting someofthis young

It’shardtodeny the impact some of LSU’stop signees could make if they made it to school. Dominic Santarelli has one of the most powerful highschool bats in the draft. Malachi Washington is a power-hitting centerfielder with top-tier athleticism. Will Adamsis afirst baseman who’d be ready to contribute as ahitter on Day 1.

But if none of themmakeitto school, Johnson has madesure to cover his potential losses with top hitters in the transfer portal, such as Laya, Watters and Park.

LSU may be more reliant on its tophigh school signees to make it through the draft on the pitching side —including left-handerLucas Nawrocki and right-hander Cooper Sides —but Johnson still has most of histop arms returning and has added three morefrom the portal. According to Johnson, LSU landed eight of the 10 players it coveted in the portal.

“I think, forthe mostpart, we met the needs for this team that were maybe lacking with some of the returning players in the portal,” Johnson said, “probably about as good as you can.”

Email Koki Rileyat koki.riley@theadvocate.com.

FILEPHOTO By MICHAEL BACIGALUPI

coach JayJohnson makesa pitchingchangeinthe first inning of a game against SoutheasternonApril 28 at Alex Box Stadium

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By KyUSUNGGONG

WORLDCUP 2026

Merino starsagain as Spainedges Belgium

BY GREG BEACHAM AP sportswriter

INGLEWOOD,Calif. Mikel Merino

scored in the 88th minute on arebound yielded by backup Belgium goalkeeper SenneLammens, and Spain advanced to the World Cup semifinals with a2-1 victoryon Friday Merino was the late hero for the secondstraight match for Spain, which will face tournament favorite Franceinthe semifinals on Tuesday in the Dallas area.

“It will be aclash of giants,” Spain coachLuis De La Fuente saidthrough atranslator

Merino came on in the 86thminute and scored on his secondtouch of the match, charging into the box and pouncing after Lammens spilled arebound of Pau Cubarsí’s long shot.

The Arsenal forward also scored as asubstitute early in injurytime to secure Spain’s1-0 victory over Portugal in the round of 16. This second clutch goal against anupset-minded Belgium sent La Roja to the semifinals for the first time since they won the World Cup in 2010.

eluLukaku leading the effort, but AymericLaporte acrobatically volleyed the best chance out of the box in thesecond minute of injury time.

Fabián Ruiz scored in the 30th minute for Spain, but Belgium forward CharlesDeKetelaere notched the first goal allowed by Spain in the entire World Cup in the41st minute. Spain remained unbeaten since March 2023 in astreakof37 matches,while Belgium’s streak of 18 straight unbeaten matches ended.

QUARTERFINAL Thursday’s game France2,Morocco 0 Friday’s game Spain2,Belgium1 Saturday’s games Norway vs.England, 4p.m. Argentina vs.Switzerland, 8p.m. SEMIFINAL Tuesday Francevs. Spain, 2p.m. Wednesday TBD,2p.m. 3RD PLACE PLAYOFF July18 TBD, 4p.m. FINAL July19 TBD, 2p.m

“I’ve done thisagain, andit’s happened to me again, so it would seem that coincidence exists,” asmiling Merino said. “If you’re readyand youtry,itcan happen for you. I’m very,very pleased.”

It’s Englandvs. Norway in thequarterfinals, with alleyeson Haaland

BY TIM REYNOLDS AP sportswriter

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla Everyone knows that England’smasterplan coming intothe World Cup quarterfinals on Saturday will revolve around stopping Norway striker Erling Haaland. As they would say in Norway, “Lykke til.” Translated: Good luck.

“Has anyone ever stopped Erling Haaland?” England midfielder Morgan Rogers asked, probably only somewhat rhetorically.“I’m not sure they have, but we’re going to try.You’re going to have to try.” Stopping Haaland —who has seven goalsinthis year’s World Cup, one behind France’sKylian Mbappé and Argentina’s Lionel Messi for the most at the tournament —will be the primary subplot of the Norway-England match at Hard Rock Stadium.

Among theothers: Haaland versus England’sHarry Kane in a striker showdown, aNorway team with no pressure versus an England team with enormous expectations, even British Airways versus Norwegian Air in asocial media chirping battle. At stake for the teams is aberth in Wednesday’s semifinals, with the winner to face either Argentina or Switzerland.

“I think it’sNorway vs. England,” Norway coach Ståle Solbakken said Friday,afterhis teamwentthrough itsfinalwalk-throughbeforeperhaps thebiggest matchinthe nation’ssoccer history.“But Idon’t think it’s asecret that Kane is matchleader No. 1for England andHaaland is match-leader No. 1for us.” Indeed, there are twoelite strikers in this game—not justone. England coach Thomas Tuchel raved aboutKane on Friday, and rightly so. Kane has six goals so far in this year’sWorld Cup. “He’sinthe shape of hislife and in the highest peak of his career,” Tuchel said.

When Haaland —who stands nearly 6-foot-5 —gets the ball in his preferred spots, opponents realizethatstopping himisalmost out of the question. He’stoo big, too strong, too skilled, and the ball is almost certainly going to find its way into the back of the net.

England’sNico O’Reilly—Haaland’steammate at Manchester City —has seen it happen time and again. And if there is asolution to the Haaland problem, O’Reilly might have the closest possible thing to an answer His plan: Don’tlet the ball get

to him.

“Weall knowwhathe’slike,” O’Reillysaid. “He can score goals,he’sdangerous in thebox, he’s areal threat. They need to gethim theballthere first.”

Haaland —who didn’tplay for Norway in its loss to France in the group stage —has gotten his goals in bunchesinthis tournament.Against Iraq, his two goals came 14 minutes apart. Against Senegal, his two goals were 10 minutes apart. AgainstBrazil, his two goalswere 11 minutes apart.

He was born in England; his fatherwas playing for Leeds at that time. AndHaaland certainly sees thesignificance.

“It’saspecialgame, definitely,” Haalandsaid. “I think, for me, it’ssuper special because Iplay in England and I’m borninEnglandand I’llbeplaying against (Manchester City)teammates andeverything.”

It’snot just Haaland in that friends-turned-foes spot.There are nine players for Norway who play for clubsinEngland, so there will obviously be familiarity between thesides on Saturday

“Everything is on the line,” O’Reilly said. “Everything is at stake.”

Both teamsridinghigh

The teams got to Saturday’s match in dramaticfashions, with Norway holding off perennialpower and five-time World Cup champion Brazil 2-1 and England going into Mexico City and stunning previously unbeaten —and unscoredupon— co-hostMexico 3-2.

Both sides have acknowledged that coming down from thehigh of such wins took alittle extra time.

“Wediscussed that we need to put the drama and the emotions of theMexico game behind us,” England forward Bukayo Saka said.

“Now we needtofocus on Norway, which is goingtobeanothertough challenge, adifferent challenge, and we’re fully focused.”

Theymight be close to fully loaded, too.

Declan Rice, Marc Guehi and Reece James, allsidelined in recent days,trained Friday and Tuchelsaid he anticipates having a“full choice” awaiting him when the lineup for Saturday gets decided. England will be without defenderJarell Quansah as he begins serving histwo-match suspension that was handed down after hegot red-carded against Mexico in the round of 16.

Only Germany’sManuelNeuer has played more WorldCup matches than Courtois,while Lammens hadnot yetplayed at this year’s World Cup.

Belgiumdesperatelypressed for an equalizer in thefinal minutes withsubstituteforward Rom-

Lammens, thecapable Manchester United keeper, was forced into the match in the 71st minuteafter longtimeBelgium keeper Thibaut Courtoisleft withanapparent thighinjury Courtois madefour saves, but the Real Madrid keeper went down to the grass four minutes before hissubstitution.Hereceived treatment during the hydrationbreak, but he left the match in tears.

After acautiousstart fromboth teams in the WorldCup’ssecond quarterfinal match, Spain broke through when Lamine Yamal and Pedro Porro moved the the ball down theright side andgot it to Dani Olmo, whoseshotwas stoppedbyCourtois. Therebound wentstraight to Ruiz, who hammeredhomehis firstgoalofthe tournament. Ruiz was making his first start since Spain’sWorld Cup opener, replacingPedri in thelineupina mildly surprising tactical decision by De La Fuente —whose later substitute decisions paid off even more.

Spaindidn’tallow agoal in its first five matchesatthisyear’s tournament, and goalkeeper Unai Simón hadn’tconceded in aWorld Cup-record 650 minutes dating to Qatar.The streaks

abruptly ended when De Ketelaere muscled past Cubarsí and headed home across fromTimothyCastagnefor Belgium’stying goal.

Belgium hadn’tgenerated anything close to astrong scoring chance before the latest big moment for De Ketelaere, the Atalanta forward who scored twogoals in Belgium’s 4-1 rout of the co-host U.S. on Monday Belgiumcaptain YouriTielemans wasremovedfromthe starting lineup after getting injured during warmups. He joined injured defender Amadou Onana on thesidelines, although Kevin De Bruyne returned for Belgium andstarted thematch.

Messi, Argentinaplayupstart Switzerlandinquarterfinals

BY DAVE SKRETTA AP sportswriter

KANSAS CITY,Mo. On one side of the field will be Argentina, the defending WorldCup champions, boasting aroster that features thelikes of Lautaro Martinez, Julián Alvarez and, of course, Lionel Messi, perhaps the greatest player of his generation. On theother side, Switzerland. Yes, the finalquarterfinal match Saturday night could hardly seem abigger mismatch. Argentina hasthe glitzand the glamor,tosay nothing of the starsand thetrophies, whilethe Swiss have never even reached the World Cupsemifinals; in fact, they haven’tbeen to thequarterfinals since1954, when theylost to Austria in atournament they hosted.

Butanythingcan happen on the field as Argentina and the rest of the world learned when the three-time championsstruggled to beat Cape Verde, and whenLaAlbicelestehad to rally from a2-0 deficit in thefinal 11 minutes to beat Egypt on Tuesday.And that hasgiven hope to aSwitzerlandteam thatbeat Colombia on penalty kicks to earn adatewiththe ArgentinesatArrowhead Stadium.

“Weknow Argentina has many fine qualities. Few talk about the Swiss qualities,” defensive midfielder and team captain Granit Xhaka said Friday.“Tomorrow we will talkonthe pitch, andwewill show what we can do, andeverythingelse doesn’tmatter.”

The winner will play either Norway or England on Wednesday in Atlanta for aspot in theWorld Cup final.

“It’s obviously averytough challenge,” Switzerland defender ManuelAkanji said, “but Ithink we’re ready.Ithink we canplayagainst anyopponent and make it hard for them. We know it’s going to be difficult but we’re going to give our best.”

Everything starts on defense for Switzerland, whichhas allowed only three goals in five matches, andwhich shut outLuisDíazand Colombia for 120 minutesinthe roundof16. Thejob of stopping Messi’s charmed WorldCup will fall on theshoulders of Xhaka and Akanji, along with Remo Freuler,Nico Elvedi and goalkeeper Gregor Kobel.

Meanwhile,LaAlbiceleste is riding an 11-match World Cup unbeaten streakdating to 2022 in Qatar,and they’vescored multi-

plegoals in each of those games, which ties them with Uruguayfor thelongest such streak in tournament history Messi, who had ahat trick against Algeria in agroup match at Arrowhead Stadium, is even with France forward Kylian Mbappe with eight goals apiece in their race for the Golden Boot.

The 39-year-old Argentina captain hasscored arecord 21 goals in hisWorld Cup career,and that includesatleast one in arecord sixconsecutive knockout matches.

Messi’sgoal against Egypt leveled the game in the 83rd minute before Enzo Fernández delivered thewinner in stoppage time.

“Especially forthose players on the bench, the players who watch LionelMessi play and can’tbelieve what they’rewatching —heshould be arole modelfor them,” Argentinacoach Lionel Scaloni said. “He tries again and again, and Iget goosebumps.” He might give goosebumps to hisown side, but Messi sends a different kind of chill through the opposition.

“I don’tknowthatwecan stop him over 90 minutes. It’s going to be difficult,” Xhakasaid. “Butwe have to be smart, compact, close thegapsand notgive himtoo many spaces. We just try to play our game.”

Injury outlookfor Switzerland Argentina appearstobehealthy

going into thematch,but Switzerland will once againbewithout midfielder Johan Manzabi because of aknee injury.The SC Freiburg star scored two goals in a4-1 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina in the group stage.

“Wetried everything we couldto gethim back in peak form,”Switzerland coach MuratYakin said. “Momentum was on his side,and there was so muchjoy when he plays, andhehas his teammates by his side. Everything worked out so wellfor him until now.”

Reprieve from weatherinK.C

One of the big concerns for games in Kansas City had been the weather,not only because of severe storms in the Heartland but also heat indexesthatfrequently top triple digits in the summer.But temps should be in the upper 80s Fahrenheit(30 degrees Celsius) for the start of the match with only aslight chance of precipitation. Eyes on thereferees

Several games throughout the World Cuphave found thespotlight cast on the referee, but FIFAdecided to turnattention there before this match began. Usually,FIFAtriestoappoint referees from different confederations to avoid any potential bias.But it will be João Pinheiro of Portugal —like Switzerland, aUEFAnation —who will be monitoring theaction Saturday night.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MARK J. TERRILL Spain midfielder Mikel Merino celebrates scoring agoal during aWorld Cupquarterfinal match against Belgium on FridayinInglewood,Calif.

LeBron to Warriors? Curry shares his pitch

BY JOSEPH DYCUS Bay Area News Group (TNS)

As he prepares for the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament at Lake Tahoe, Warriors star Steph Curry fielded questions Thursday about the Warriors’ offseason.

The most notable topic of conversation at Edgewood Tahoe was a move the Warriors have not yet made.

Golden State is a candidate to sign longtime nemesis LeBron James as an unrestricted free agent. Steph Curry, 38, said he did not have an exact percentage that he could ascribe to the Warriors’ chances of signing James, but he already had his reasoning for why the Bay Area would be the perfect landing spot for the league’s alltime leading scorer

“The pitch is we want to play good basketball and be around people that know how to play the game,” Curry said, sitting next to the past two ACC tournament champions, tennis player Mardy Fish and former Sharks captain Joe Pavelski. “Hopefully raise our floor on our competitiveness this year We’re an organization that’s been there and he knows that. It’s self-explanatory It’s just a matter of where he sees himself fitting, and at the end of the day, that’s up to him.”

He also noted that the Bay Area has plenty of great golf, Curry’s top pastime and one James has been taking up more.

On a recent podcast by James’ agent, Rich Paul, the Warriors were listed among 10 teams with a realistic shot at signing his client.

The Warriors have run most of last season’s roster back this offseason after going 37-45 and being bounced in the play-in tournament. They re-signed Kristaps Porzingis, De’Anthony Melton and Al Horford on two-year deals and agreed to terms with backup center Charles Bassey on a one-year deal Thursday, just after losing Quentin Post to Memphis Aside from drafting Yaxel Lendeborg No. 11 overall, have not brought

in any outside talent. Curry is fine with the steady approach.

“It’s great to get KP back, it’s great to get Melton back,” the twotime MVP said. “We’re in a very unique situation because Jimmy’s hurt and Moses is hurt, and they’re going to miss a good amount of the season. You’ve got to try to hold the fort down until those guys get back because we do have an idea of who we could be with them.”

Curry and James met in four consecutive NBA Finals from 2015-18, with the Warriors winning three series and the Cavaliers coming back from a 3-1 deficit in the other

After so many legendary battles and a thrilling stretch as teammates at the 2024 Paris Olympics — Curry saw the appeal in ending their careers on the same team.

“Until probably two, three years ago, it was like a pipe dream question or even a thought. That is part of the allure,” Curry said, “For him going into his 24th season, and me going to my 18th, and the battles that we’ve had, that would be such a unique story in NBA history But it’s a little premature right now to talk about it.”

As for the work on the Edgewood resort course, Curry said he’d love to play a round with James in Tahoe, where he won the tournament in 2023 and finished fifth last season.

“I missed it during the Olympics in ’24, but coming back, you just have higher expectations now ’cause you’ve actually won it,” Cur-

ry said “I think that’s good and it’s also dangerous because you kind of want to stay composed in the first round and just enjoy yourself and let it come to you.

“I have so much fun in competition with these guys they bring the best out of you. But more so than just the golf, it’s just the camaraderie out here. You know the guys who have a legitimate shot at it and you just want to be there on Sunday just to have a chance.” Wednesday and Thursday were the celebrity pro-am, with the three-day tournament scored in a modified Stableford format beginning Friday

BY MICHAEL MAROT Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS Conversations

about whether Caitlin Clark is getting officiated fairly in the WNBA can be polarizing as fans, players, coaches and even lawmakers have opinions about whether the league needs to take some action about the physical play Congress is looking for answers by July 24.

“Millions of casual fans now tune in to watch her play,” 11 members of the House Republican Study Committee wrote in a letter sent to WNBA Commissioner Cathy Englebert. “Unfortunately, what they too often witness is not simply aggressive competition, but repeated acts of physical hostility and violence. Clark has been hip-checked, poked in the eye and struck in the throat during games.

“These incidents go far beyond routine physical play yet the WNBA and its officiating have too often failed to address these unacceptable incidents and hold players accountable.”

It’s the latest chapter in the Clark saga about whether league officials must do more to protect one of the WNBA’s top players from unnecessarily aggressive physical contact.

The letter was sent two weeks after Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas made contact with her fist to Clark’s throat in a June 24 game. Thomas was not called for a foul on the play during the game, but the league subsequently upgraded the play to a flagrant foul and suspended her one game for “recklessly making contact with her fist.” League officials have not yet issued a statement in response.

Thomas has called the play a “complete accident,” adding that she has received death threats since the incident. Clark and her coach, Stephanie White, an ardent defender of Clark, have condemned threats levied at Thomas.

The 24-year-old Iowa alum has helped increase WNBA ticket sales and driven women’s basket-

ball television ratings to unprecedented heights with her play

However, many conversations around her tap into a variety of combustible hot-button topics, including race, officiating, money and politics. Clark has largely managed to thrive, but can’t completely escape the noise.

“I think sometimes people think I’m a robot. I’m not a robot,” she said. “It can be really frustrating to me at times. I’m 24 years old trying to navigate a lot. I’ve been in this world for four years now — and you would never change any of it — but there are times that it is hard. And there are times when it affects me a little bit more than I do put on. I think it’s important that people remember that part of it, too.”

Lawmakers also suggested in their letter that government agencies such as the Department of Justice should investigate if discrimination or retaliation are creating a hostile work environment in the WNBA.

Fever officials said in a statement that neither Clark nor team officials have been in contact with the Congressional group and that they were unaware of the letter before its release.

Clark is one of the league’s most popular players, but she’s also one of the most polarizing — even amongst her peers.

Fans made her the No. 2 votegetter for next week’s All-Star Game while Clark’s fellow players ranked her 11th among league guards — something three-time WNBA champ and Hall of Famer Candace Parker took exception with.

“If you’re sitting down and putting Caitlin Clark as the 11th best guard y’all need to go to a therapist and figure out what childhood issues you have,” Parker wrote on social media.

Clark instantly became the face of the league from the moment she was drafted first overall in 2024, before ever playing a pro game and even though she had not won an NCAA championship. To accommodate her fan base, opponents moved games from home arenas to larger venues, which generated more revenue. Fever games quickly became a regular feature on national television even though Indiana missed the playoffs from 2016-23. Clark supporters say her immediate notoriety created resentment among WNBA veterans and has led to the hard fouls that cross the line.

Opponents counter that because of Clark’s ability to shoot the ball and

LIVING

BelfairChurch feasts on ‘Lunch and Learn’ series

Bibles were open. Pens moved across notebooks. Eyes followed both while ears were fixed on the Rev.Jon Bennett’steaching Members of Belfair Church in Baton Rougehave been getting their fill during the annual two-month summer “Lunch and Learn” Bible study series, trading in their Wednesday noon lunch hours for an opportunity to dig deeperinto Scriptures.

Bennett, the church’spastor for 24 years, said it gives him joyto see the enthusiastic turnoutfor the series, which concludes with groupdiscussions

Bennett TerryRobinson FAITH MATTERS

“It encourages me as apastor to see that our members love the Word and that they want to grow,” said Bennett, 47. “In the middle of the day, they bringtheir lunch andfeast on the Word.”

This series has centered on the seven churches described in the prophetic Book of Revelation.

Azalee Barlow,aminister and member of Belfair for nearly 48 years, said the study of the churches has given her an understanding of how to cope during the difficult times in which we are living.

“It’sspeaking of what’sgoing on now and getting us prepared,” said Barlow,70. “Wehavetorealize that we have to go through all this stuff, but we have to keep our eyes focused on the prize— and that prize is Jesus.”

Last week’sstudy focused on the church at Thyatira.

Bennett said Thyatira was a working church characterized by love, faith, service, patience and endurance. But he highlighted from Revelation 2that the church tolerated “that woman Jezebel,” which represents corrupting influence and named for theidolatrous Old Testament figure.

“She lived kind of aloose lifestyle. Shenot only lived it,but she told other people that it was OK,” Bennett shared with the class. He warned that Jezebel andher followers will be judged.

“Weforget who we’re messing with,” Bennett said. “Wethink just because folks in the world get awaywith sin, we can get away with sin. (Jesus) says, ‘When I

PROVIDEDPHOTO FROM FOODNETWORK Louisiana mother-and-sonbarbecue team LeslieRoark Scott andJacob Scott are oneofnineteams on the firstseason of Food Network’s ‘Pitmasters.’

INTO THE FIRE

BY JUDY BERGERON Staff writer

When Leslie Roark Scottand her son, Jacob Scott, “gothe whole hog,” they mean it literally.

The dynamic barbecuing duo are fourth- and fifth-generation pitmasters and Yazoo City, Mississippi, natives whomoved south last year andimmersed themselves in lifeinNew Orleans’ Marigny neighborhood

“I liketosay thesame river (the Mississippi),differentswamp,” Roark Scottsaid Monday on aphone call shared withher son/grilling partner

Viewers can see theScottsinaction starting Monday on Food Network’s new competition series “Pitmasters,” not to be confused with thenetwork’s 2009-15 show “BBQ Pitmasters.”

JANRISHER ffwriter

Eight weeks in, andthe count ands at 142 postcards from 40 ates and 14 counes. They keep arrivg —from Grand teau,from Chicafrom Ireland and intsbeyond.

ohn James Maketook the chalnge of making his own postcard, keeping withpartofthis year’s eme. He sent his interpretation Cathedral Rock in Sedona, Arina. The McGovern family wenton unconventional pilgrimage to wa. My mom worked forJohn ere,” Mr.McGovern wrote. “We ways havetobow our heads when see aDeere tractor.So, of course, hadtovisit theJohnDeereMu-

seuminIowa.”

From tinyGrand Coteau,the Blanchards kept it simple: “Preciouslodging, cute shops, lovely homes, good food —great experience.” Michele Snyder wrotefromLittle Rock, Arkansas, witha NewOrleans historylessonona postcard, explainingthat Sicilian immigrants landed in New Orleansinthe late 19th and 20th centuries and left their mark on the producetrade —fruit, oysters —and on the city’stable, from the muffuletta to the St. Joseph altar tradition. Tenstates remain unclaimed: Connecticut, Hawaii, Massachusetts,Nebraska,Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina andVermont. The 2026 Postcard Project ends on Labor Day.

ä See FIRE, page 3D

ä See FAITH, page 2D

Jobhuntertoo focusedonnegativity

Cole

Harriette

DEAR HARRIETTE: Irecently applied for and interviewed foran internship in thecity.Ifelt like theinterview went well,and Iwas told Imet the requirements and qualifications for the role. The company ended up going in adifferent direction, and Iam at aloss. Inormally get everything I want and apply for, and Ihave never faced rejection before. Idon’tknow what to do. I feel down aboutitand like Ihave let myself and my family down Ialwaysaim to be the best,and now I’m not. I’m writing to see if you have any words of encourage-

mentor advice to help get me out of this post-interview funk. —PostInterviewFunk DEAR POST INTERVIEW FUNK: There’s asaying:Don’t put your eggs in one basket. What does that mean? Ihaveanotherfriend who just experienced this same thing. He applied for one internship, was over-the-moon excited about it, and then hewas crushed when he didn’tget it. Plus, he didn’thave apivot because he hadn’teven looked at other opportunities. That is crushing,but as hard as it seems, you havetopick yourself up and look for something else. Of course, rejection sucks. But the good news is thereare lotsof choices out there. Youjust have to go out and findthem.Look around,ask for help and don’t

give up. It stings, but it’s OK. That wasn’tfor you even though you wanted it. So, what’s next?The best way to get out of your negativityisto double down on finding something else. Get up every day and search foropportunities. Stop talking about what didn’thappen for you and focus on what you want. Say outloud what you are looking for Tell other people, and invite the universe to help you manifest a job

DEAR HARRIETTE: Ihave been going out with aguy for thepast five months. He attends military college, and every chance he got this past semester,hewould travel an hour to spend time with me in thecity.When we weren’tseeing each other in person, we were

Attendees participate in arecent Lunch and Learn Bible studyatBelfair Church in Baton Rouge.

FAITH

Continued from page1D

judge her,the church will wake up and realize that we can’tcompromise (and) we can’ttolerate sin. We got to

call aspade aspade.’”

TheLunchand Learn series reflects what Bennett calls the“new energy”that Belfair continues to enjoy since relocating in 2023 to the more visible Mid City location at 5550 Florida Blvd. Thechurchspent its

first 50-plus years on Fairfields Avenue.

“The church is going well,” said Bennett,who answered his call to ministry at age 21 and was named pastor of his childhood church at 23. “Wesee alot of visitors here at the church.

Our membersare serving in alot of different ways There are lot of needs in the church, and the members arerising to theoccasion.”

ContactTerry Robinson at terryrobinson622@gmail. com

Nutallergy scareoccurswithbeer

J.D., thanks for thewarning. Ifoundout that mangos were afirst cousin to poison ivy after Iate one. They’re adeliciousfruit, butthey’re not for me —Heloise Vaping isn’tharmless

Dear Heloise: This is awarning/tip for adults with a nut allergy.My40-year-old daughter was at acraft brewerywith friends enjoying abeer when she began having amildreaction, as she has with her allergy to several nuts. She took the appropriate steps immediately and is fine. She called me the next day asking “what are the chances?” When Iwent on the brewery’swebsite, this particular beer had already been removed, so we couldn’tevencheck the ingredients. So, this is aword to the wise. Apparently,beer ingredients needn’tbe listed on the label. If you have anut allergy,ask before you drink. —J.D., in St. Louis

Dear Heloise: My daughter gave up cigarettes and took up vaping!She went from badtoworse as far as I’m concerned,but she keeps saying that vapingisharmless. Is it harmless? —Andrea K., in Iowa Andrea, no,it’snot harmless. According to the Centersfor DiseaseControl,many vaping devices contain more nicotine than cigarettes. They also have cancer-causing chemicals and heavy metals, and they can irritate the lungs. The use ofane-cigarette isn’tsafer than cigarettes, but many young people believe that they’ll quit before there is any real danger —orthat they

won’tbeaffected by vaping. —Heloise Have medicalinfoready

Dear Heloise: When someone calls emergency services and rescue personnel comes to your house, you may not be able togive them the facts that they’d need to takecare of you. This is why Ihave vital medical information on one sheet of paper,which I have laminated and affixed to theback of my front door.Itincludes my full name, dateofbirth, age, my primary care physician with their phone number, emergency contacts with their addresses and phone numbers, allergies, importanthighlights of my medical history,medications and supplements,surgeries, etc.

Ialso indicate that Ihave acat and include the name of their veterinarian and thevet’sphone number

textingand FaceTiming all day and night. Irecently came home forthe summer,and everything has changed.Our conversations slowly started to fade, and then out of nowhere, he texted me saying that he wanted to take apause on our relationship and pursue someoneelse. I’mhurt and confused by this, especially since the day before, he told me how much he missed me and yearned to see me. I’vespent the whole day crying, and Ifeel like Ihave done something wrong. Why doesn’the want me? Why am Isuddenly no longer good enough? How do Iget past this rejection and the relationship? —Rejected and Gutted DEAR REJECTED AND GUTTED: Being abruptly sidelined fornoapparent reason can be devastating. It’s no wonder you are upset. Sometimes you cannot understand a person’smotivations. Clearly,he met someone else and wants to see where that may lead. While that is painful, be glad he told you rather than either just ghosting you or cheating on you. Give yourself timetomourn this loss, but also get up and go out. Don’t allow yourself to wallow in the pain. The season of sunshine is here. Go out and enjoy it. Getintouch with friends and do someexploring of your city.Keep busy as you heal your heart.

This information could save your life if you’re unable to speak tothe rescue personnel. —Hannelore R., in Omaha, Nebraska

Toothpaste tablets

Dear Heloise: Regarding the different ways to squeeze thelast bitsof toothpastefrom atube, Ihave a“greener” solution:Purchase toothpaste tablets!Ibuy these in bulk at asustainable shop in Webster Groves, Missouri. Toothpaste tablets take a bit of gettingused to, but they clean teeth just as well as “regular” toothpaste. According to Nature.com, toothpastetubes take500 years to decompose. —Jan, in St. Louis Jan, in all honesty,I’ve never seen toothpastetablets in any store. Still, it’s an interesting idea. —Heloise Send ahinttoheloise@ heloise.com.

Send questions to askharriette@ harriettecole.com or c/o AndrewsMcMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

No excuse forputting feet on furniture

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I would like to explain why somepeople put their feet on the furniture, or tuck their feet under and sit on them

erly meansthat we will be in pain. We usually ask our host(ess) if we can tuck up our impeccably clean feet after we explain the pain of being short.

GENTLE READER: “The pain of being short”?

The women in my family are short. Most furniture is designed forpeople taller than us. Our feet do not reach the floor, nor do they reach the stools or ottomans that are usually placed a long-legged length away Our backs hurt after (properly) sitting on most furniture. One hour of dangling feet equals three days of back pain. In our homes, we each have asmallchair forour own comfort. When we spend timein public, at friends’ houses or at each other’splaces, we find ourselves tucking at least one foot under, or sitting sideways in the corner of acouch with crossed legs. My daughters and Ifrequently fight over the corners. We don’tstay long in places where sitting prop-

Miss Manners herself suffers from that affliction. And yet somehow she has managed never to have put her bare feet on other people’sfurniture. So forgive her if she remains steadfast in requiring that the rest of the population behave similarly However,inthe game of “I get an exception for medical reasons,” she applauds your effort and originality DEAR MISS MANNERS: When is the proper time to attach an anniversary band to your wife’swedding band?

GENTLE READER: While you are still married.

Send questions to Miss Manners at herwebsite, www.missmanners com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail. com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St Kansas City MO 64106.

RELIGION BRIEFS

Social justice Sunday

Wesley United Methodist Church, 544 Government St., Baton Rouge, will host Social JusticeSunday at 10 a.m. July 12. During the service, the church will recognize three community members for their contributions. All are invited.

Father’sday luncheon

The Women’sMinistry of Berean Seventh-day Adventist Church, 5100

Osborne Ave., will honor fathers and the menofthe church and community with aspecial Father’sDay luncheon on Saturday, following the11a.m.worship service.

The Rev. T. RonWeegar, pastor,will deliveratribute to fathers during the service. Theluncheon, originally scheduled for Father’sDay weekend, wasrescheduled due to the Southwest RegionConference’sannual camp meeting. The public is welcome.

PROVIDED PHOTO

Hints from Heloise

Judith Martin MISS MANNERS

For the new one, “teams of the world’smost elite pitmasters push live fire cooking to its limits as they compete in anon-stop weeklong battle for BBQ glory. Bold flavor,innovation and mastery of the pit is the name of the game,” according to ashow synopsis. It’snot the first rodeo for either Jacob Scott or his mom.

“So this is going to be my third appearanceonFood Network,” the recent Chef John Folse Culinary Institute graduate said. “I did ‘Kids BBQ Championship’ back in 2015. Iwas 12 then, and then ayear later when Iwas 13, Idid ‘Chopped Jr.’ And then me and Mom did ashow called ‘Stove Tots,’ where we worked together

“So this is kind of us revisiting that. And getting a chance to yet again be aduo on TV,” he said.

For “Stove Tots,” Scott, now 22, was the main cook while his mom was sous chef. She was required to stand back and watch, unless her son used alifeline to call her in for assistance.

His mother,53, has competed on “BBQ Pitmasters,” appeared afew times on “Chopped” and one episode of “Beat Bobby Flay.”

“And Ididn’tbeat Bobby. Imean, who beats Bobby?

It’simpossible,” she said. Roark Scott squared off against veteranchef and Food Network personality Flay with each’stake on barbecue wings.

The Scotts’ latest barbecue adventure, “Pitmasters,” was adifferent kind of competition, they agreed “Wewere in the mountains in Utah, and it was as far from sea level for

me and Jacobthan it could have possiblybeen.Itwas just such adifferent environment,” Roark Scott explained.“All I’ll say is everyone was equally equipped,and the show did areally good job at showing that barbecue isn’tjust one thing.Wehad pitmasters from all over theplace. Everybody with their own styles andmethods. Each team that you watch, they’regonna be doing something completely different.”

The Scotts have been part of New Orleans’Hogs for the Causecharity event since its third year She operated arestaurant for 20 years, still caters,

and also appears at events such as upcoming demonstratons for Royal Oak Charcoal at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Her great-grandfather started the family’sbarbecue tradition, and handed it down to hergrandfather, who wouldshare his special barbecuesauce with the neighbors.

The family eventually started bottlingand selling thesauce, called Ubons, which is still available, along with abloody mary

mix

The mother-son team have wanted tocook on TV side-by-side again for a while.

“Just because it’s some-

TODAYINHISTORY

By The Associated Press

Today is Saturday,July 11, the 192nd day of 2026. There are 173 days left in the year

TodayinHistory:

On July 11, 1995, the U.N.designated “safe haven” of Srebrenica in BosniaHerzegovina fell toBosnian Serb forces, who subsequently carriedout the killings of more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys. Also on this date:

In 1798, the U.S. Marine Corps was formallyreestablished by acongressional act that also created the U.S. Marine Band.

In 1804, Vice President Aaron Burr mortallywounded former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton during apistol duel in Weehawken, New Jersey.(Hamilton died the next day.)

In 1859, Big Ben, the

great bell inside the famous Londonclock tower,chimed forthe first time. In 1864, Confederateforces led byGen. Jubal Early began anabortive invasion of Washington, D.C.; the raid was turned backthe next day.

In 1914, Babe Ruth made hisMajor League baseball debut,pitching the Boston Red Sox to a4-3 victory over Cleveland In 1921, fighting in the Irish WarofIndependence ended with atruce.

In 1960, Harper Lee’snovel “ToKill aMockingbird” was published.

In 1972, the World Chess Championship opened as grandmasters Bobby Fischer of theUnited Statesand defending championBoris Spassky ofthe Soviet Union began play in Reykjavik, Iceland. (Fischer won after 21 games.)

In 1979, theabandoned U.S. space station Skylab madeaspectacular return to Earth, burning up in the atmosphere and showering debris over the Indian Ocean and Australia.

In 1991, aNigeria Airways DC-8 carrying Muslim pilgrims crashed at the Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, international airport,killing all 261 people on board.

In 2006, eight bombs hit acommuter rail network during evening rush hour in Mumbai, India, killing more than 200 people.

In 2022, President Joe Biden revealed thefirst image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, the farthest humanity had ever seen in bothtime and distance, closer to the dawn of theuniverse and the edge of the cosmos.

Today’sBirthdays: Actor Susan SeaforthHayes is 83.

thingthat we do so well,” she said. “But just getting to be on ateam with Jacob and watch him work so hard. This was agrueling competition, truly “I’ve been doing barbecue competitions overnight, starting as akid where you’re on siteat4 a.m. and you’re done at 7p.m. —this was even more than that. This was 24 hours aday This was super intense, and Iwouldn’thave done it with anybody else,” she said.

Her son expressed similar sentiments.

“I was catching side-eye from thecompetitors, not because of who Iamand them trying to get ajump on me, but it was because

Actor Bruce McGill is 76.

Actor Stephen Lang is 74.

Actor Mindy Sterling is 73.

Actor Sela Ward is 70. Reggae singer Michael Rose (Black Uhuru) is 69. Singer Peter Murphy (Bauhaus) is 69. Actor Mark Lester is 68. Saxophonist Kirk Whalum is 68. Singer Suzanne Vega is 67. Rock guitarist Richie Sambora(Bon Jovi) is 67. Actor LisaRinna is 63. Author Jhumpa Lahiri is 59. Wildlife expert Jeff Corwin is 59. Actor Justin Chambers (TV:“Grey’s Anatomy”) is 56. Actor Michael Rosenbaum (TV: “Smallville”) is 54. Rapper Lil’ Kim is 52. ProFootball Hall of Famer Andre Johnson is 45. Pop-jazz singermusician Peter Cincotti is 43. Actor Serinda Swan is 42. Actor David Henrie is 37. Actor Connor Paolo is 36. R&B/pop singer Alessia Cara is 30.

Ithink Ihad alot of people jealous of me because Igot to do this with my mama,” he said. “And so we were ateam to makeeverybody jealous.”

The six days of almost 24-hour cooking challenges, with very limited timefor showers or rest, ran the gamut as farasweather conditions —warm, sunny days, contrasting with quite cool mountain nights.

“I’d pack my stuff up and do it again right now,”

Roark Scott said. Starting with Monday’s premiere, all nine teams will be presenting their finished dishes to apanel of judges including Andrew Zimmern, Jess Pryles, Moe Cason and Ernest Servantes. The winner will receive up to $50,000.

“Pitmasters” will air at 8p.m. Mondays on Food Network and will stream the following day on HBO Max.

PROVIDED

PHOTOByKIM RAFF/FOOD NETWORK

Host AndrewZimmern, second from left, gathers with‘Pitmaster’ judges Ernest Servantes, from left,Jess Pryles and Moe Casen in the Utah mountains.

cAncER (June 21-July 22) Opportunity requiresdoing your part to investigate what's possible. Waiting for someone to do the work for you leads to unfulfilled dreams and disappointment. Be your own bestie.

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Test the water, focus on what'sfavorableand head in adirection that makes you feel content and happy to be alive.Surround yourself with people who makeyou think.

VIRGo (Aug.23-sept. 22) Take asecond look at what's available to you before you take aleap of faith. You may want to redirect yourenergy into something more stable and reassuring regarding your lifestyle.

LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Taking advantage of opportunities thatleadtointeresting partnerships or encounters with those doing something that you see yourself participatinginwill encourage you to go the distance.

scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) An observant attitudewill prompt you to improve your standards, qualifications and prospects. Dig into what's trending, and apply your skills andexperience to ensure you stay ahead of challenges.

sAGIttARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Confront what isn't working for you. Concentrate on your lifestyle,and ensure you find peace of mind from your surroundings and those you hang out with cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan.19) Take better care of yourself.Don'tfollowthe crowdorgive in to temptation. Impul-

sive actions will lead to regret. When in doubt, take apass. Payattention.

AQuARIus (Jan.20-Feb. 19) Achange of scenerywill give youback your spark and reunite you with your dreams. Don'tbetoo quick to let outside influences step in and take over. You must satisfy your needs.

PIscEs(Feb. 20-March 20) Takeabreak, venture out, find your circleand enjoy your day.Focus on healthand your emotional well-being. Aspa dayoran activity thatbrings out the best in you will help youput your life in perspective

ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Dream it, believe it and follow through. Actions speak louder than words. Put your plans in motion, and stop worrying aboutwhat others think, say or do

tAuRus(April 20-May20) Stick closeto home, and turn your place into acomfort zone whereyou can relax, formulate your next move and feel free from the stress and tension that outside influences have on you.

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Send amessage to thoseyou want to back away from and those you want to spend moretime with.How you use your time is instrumentalingetting what you wantout of life.

Thehoroscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact. ©2026 by NEA, Inc dist.ByAndrews McMeel Syndication

FAMILY CIrCUS

CeLebrItY CIpher

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. Theobject is to place the numbers 1to9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. Thedifficulty level of theSudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

THewiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS CurTiS

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

By PHILLIP ALDER Bridge

Jimmy Carter, in his farewellpresidential address, said, “Our American values are not luxuries, but necessities —not the salt in ourbread, but the bread itself.” Bridge is full of rules that need to be taken with alarge pinch of salt. Always treat each deal on its own merits; do not thoughtlesslyassumethatthe“textbook” playwill be right. Howdoes that apply to this deal? South is in threeno-trump.West leads his fourth-highest heart. South takes East’s 10 with his king andruns the diamond 10. What should happen after that?

South did not like to open one no-trump with two unstopped suits, but he had no more accurate sequence available. The books recommendreturning partner’ssuitinno-trump—anditistruethat that will be right much more often than not. (In asuitcontract, shifting will be bettera lot of the time.) But if East does that here, South will take the trick with his heart ace anddrive out West’s diamond ace.Westmay shifttoaclub, but declarer plays lowfromthe dummy and loses only two diamonds and two clubs.

Instead, East should pause for thought at trick three. Surely West hasthe diamondace,becauseifSouthhadthatcard, hewouldhavecasheditbeforetryingthe diamond finesse. And if Westisabout to

wuzzles

gain the lead,East should see howto defeat the contract. At trick three, he leads his club three.

South wins with his10and continues diamonds, but West should take thetrick and lead hissecond club. ThenEastgets three tricks in the suittodefeat the contract.

©2026 by NEA, Inc., dist.

By Andrews McMeel Syndication

Each Wuzzle is aword riddle which creates adisguisedword, phrase,name, place, saying, etc. For example: NOON GOOD =GOOD AFTERNOON

Previousanswers:

word game

InstRuctIons: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire fourletters by the addition of “s,”suchas“bats” or “dies,”are notallowed. 3. Additional words made by adding a“d” or an “s” may notbeused. 4. Proper nouns, slang words,orvulgar or sexually explicit words are notallowed.

toDAy’s WoRD conVERsE: kun-VERSE: Talk.

Average mark 31 words Time limit 55 minutes

Can you find 48 or more words in CONVERSE?

yEstERDAy’s WoRD —MAtRons

today’s thought “Riches profit not in the dayofwrath: but righteousness delivers from death.”Proverbs 11:4

Pearls Before swiNe

#1

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