The Acadiana Advocate 07-16-2026

LAFAYETTEPARISH

Waterfeesquestioned

is charginghefty

Heftyimpactcosts,capacitylimitsslow newhomeprojects, lead to complaints

BY STEPHEN MARCANTEL

Staff writer

When John Cagle bought property along South Richfield Road in the rural southwest of Lafayette Parish,he planned to put two mobilehomes on it so his family could live side by side.

Instead, one of those homes sits without runningwater because the Lafayette Parish Waterworks District South wants nearly $14,000, including two $5,500 impact fees plus meter and connection costs.

He said he refuses to pay them.Instead,he’soptingto pay $1,800 in rentontop of his home note.

“It sucks,” Cagle said.

The LPWDS says it can’t

handlethe amount of development in thatpart of theparishand thatitwould require “significant improv ements”to in crease capacity The district saysitcan charge the fees based on an attorney general opinionit requested about whether impact fees could beused tohelppay for expandingthe water system The LPWDS did not respond to requests for comment in time for publication. Thewater district board ap-

“They don’twant to charge their monthly subscribers anything.They’re trying to chargethe new developers for everythingthat they’ve failed to address for the past fouryears.”

ROSS BERTHELOT, developer

pearstohave interpreted the opinion as allowing it to impose the fees to cover about $4.9 million in system upgra des to accommodate around 898 single-family homes in acertain area near Ridge Road thathave requested water services.Somedevelopers saythe numberofrequests hasreached 1,000, with fees applying equallytoindividual homeowners and large subdivision developers. But attorneygeneral opin-

ions areadvisory, notbinding law,and ParishCouncil member Donald Richard, whose council district encompasses the water district, saidthis is nottraditionally howwaterdistricts handle improvements

Most districts use low-interest revolving loan programs or apply for grants to fund improvements, said Richard, who spent 12 years on the Lafayette Parish Waterworks DistrictNorth Board. That money would be used to cover construction costs in phases andgradually build out or improve thecurrentsystem That debt would then be paid off by billing existing and new

ä See WATER, page 4A

Lafayetteboard reported fornot livestreaming meeting

BY CLAIRE TAYLOR Staff writer

Aresident on Wednesday morning filed a complaint with the District Attorney’sOffice alleging the Lafayette Parish School Board violated state law by notlivestreaming a committee meeting on Tuesday By Wednesday afternoon, it was decided that the committee will meet again Thursday and livestream the meetingthistime.

Shameka Sinegalfiled aformal complaint with the office of District Attorney Don

ä See MEETING, page 4A

rmation

BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer

WASHINGTON —U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy used aconfirmation hearing Wednesday to indirectlyblast the anti-vaccination policies of Health SecretaryRobert F. Kennedy Jr., which he said have resulted in a series of infectious disease outbreaksand caused the deaths of untoldnumbers of children.

“Weneed aCDC director that will actually stand up to crazy,stupid things being said that undermine faithinimmunization,” Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, said to Erica Schwartz, 54, Trump’sthird nomineetobedirector of the Centers forDiseaseControland Preventionather Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions confirmation hearing.

Cassidy chairs the committee. Back when he wascourtingPresident Donald Trump’sbacking for his reelection, Cassidy, aphysician whostudied vaccine efficacy, was responsible forthe Senate

U.S. stepsupstrikes

Iran threatensto halt energy exports

BY JON GAMBRELL Associated Press

Days of back-and-forth strikes by the U.S. andIranacrossthe Middle East —and renewed threats to the waterway crucial to globalenergy supplies—have shreddedthe interimdeal to end the conflict and the region could tip back into all-out war

DUBAI,United Arab Emirates The U.S. reimposed anaval blockade on Iran and intensifiedits airstrike campaign Wednesday in retaliation for Tehran’sattacks on ships trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.The American strikes hit an Iranian army barracks, killed at least seven troops andwounded hundreds of people acrossthe country,Iranian officialssaid.

The U.S. first imposed ablockade in April and lifted it last month aftersigning the interim deal that paused the fighting and set a60day period for negotiations over issues such as Iran’snuclear program. Those talks have stalled as fighting over the Strait of Hormuz has intensified.

Whenthe U.S. andIsrael launchedthe waronIran on Feb. 28, Tehran effectivelyclosed the waterway to shipping traffic —a

ä See STRIKES, page 4A

STAFF PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK

Lafayette Parish WaterworksdistrictSouth

impact fees to newcustomers and developers to fund water system improvements, citing capacitylimits.

ASSOCIATEd PRESS PHOTO By RAZIEH POUdAT

Residents sit at acafé overlooking commercial vessels anchored in the Strait of Hormuzoff Bandar Abbas, Iran, on Sunday

ASSOCIATEdPRESS PHOTO

Erica Schwartz testifies during a Senate committee confirmation hearing to be the director of the Centers for disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday.

Cassidy

Mint produces $1 coin with Trump’s face on it

WASHINGTON The U.S. Mint has begun producing a new $1 coin bearing President Donald Trump’s face to help celebrate America’s 250th birthday, the Treasury Department said Wednesday

The final design for the commemorative coin, being released in the fall, was approved earlier this year by the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, whose members were appointed by Trump. But the finished product unveiled Wednesday differs from that version in a few aspects, including that it is not made of gold but rather has a gold finish. The coin is intended “to honor the enduring legacy of liberty and a lasting symbol of patriotism,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a post on X. “Featuring President Trump, it celebrates the strength of American values, and the promise of a nation dedicated to preserving freedom for all.”

The president on Wednesday told Fox Business Network that the move to put his face on a coin is “very unusual, but I was honored by it,” adding that “it’s very cute they gave me a coin.” Federal law prohibits the depiction of a living president on U.S. currency, though the treasury secretary has the authority to authorize the minting and issuance of coins in some circumstances

The front of the coin features an image of Trump in a suit and tie and with a stern look on his face.

Rescuers search for 3 after boat sinks in Calif.

SAN FRANCISCO U.S. Coast Guard crews combed a massive area for three people missing nearly a day after a boat carrying 20 family members and friends as part of a memorial service capsized in the cold, choppy waters of San Francisco Bay near Alcatraz Island, authorities said Wednesday

U.S. Coast Guard Captain Jared S Toczko said rescuers have cumulatively scoured 950 square nautical miles and would continue searching until sundown Wednesday Toczko would not dismiss the possibility that those missing could still be alive, though he also said some could have been trapped inside the three-deck, 49-foot cabin cruiser

“We do know individuals were in the main deck and potentially below deck,” he said.

One person was pulled from the water but later died, and 16 others were rescued Tuesday afternoon after the boat took on water listed heavily to one side and then rolled over before sinking, Toczko said.

The passengers on board were all close friends and family members, he said. A dog also died.

Crews have identified the location the boat sank but have yet to determine how deep it sank, Toczko said.

Trump fires U.S. attorney in Seattle within an hour

At 7:40 a.m. Wednesday, federal judges in the Western District of Washington swore in former King County Superior Court judge and federal prosecutor Roger Rogoff as their pick for U.S. attorney Fifty-four minutes later, President Donald Trump fired him. Rogoff, who recently resigned as director of the state office of independent investigations, formed to investigate police killings, is now the rope in a tugof-war with the Trump administration The district’s 17 sitting federal judges began looking for a replacement for Neil Floyd in January after the president failed to formally nominate him, instead appointing Floyd as interim and later as a “first assistant” in order to sidestep the nomination process. Floyd, a controversial and tough-minded immigration judge, was appointed by President Donald Trump last October, but his name was never advanced to the U.S. Senate. Floyd’s appointment was opposed by the state’s senior senator, Patty Murray, and immigration advocates Rogoff’s team of lawyers is expected to sue the administration and the U.S. Department of Justice.

Doubt cast on lawyer’s testimony

Former top attorney at Goldman Sachs had ties to Jeffrey Epstein

BY JOEY CAPPELLETTI Associated Press

WASHINGTON Lawmakers said Kathryn Ruemmler the former top lawyer at Goldman Sachs and White House counsel to President Barack Obama, was not being truthful Wednesday about her relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, rejecting her testimony that Epstein had merely “used” her Ruemmler in her opening remarks told members of the House Oversight Committee that “it was a mistake to deal with” Epstein, but she insisted she never witnessed criminal activity She said Epstein “used me and other respectable people to legitimize his standing.”

Democrats emerged from the first several hours of questioning saying Ruemmler was not being forthcoming about her ties to

Epstein.

“It is difficult to see how she’s being completely truthful in there with the answers she’s given the committee,” Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the committee, told reporters.

with Epstein. Lawmakers have focused on Ruemmler’s close relationship with Epstein in the final years of his life, pointing to affectionate communications between the two.

Ruemmler is the latest prominent figure called before the House Oversight Committee as lawmakers investigate the network of powerful people connected with Epstein. The bipartisan inquiry has already included testimony from more than a dozen high-profile witnesses as lawmakers examine how Epstein’s wealth and influence may have helped shield him from scrutiny Ruemmler served as White House counsel under Obama from 2011 to 2014. She served as Goldman Sachs’ general counsel for six years before announcing in February that she would step down amid backlash over her correspondence

“For her to deny that there was any type of real relationship there, I just don’t buy it,” Garcia said. “And so, again, the fact she is not under oath is very problematic.”

While Ruemmler has tried to downplay their relationship in more recent statements, thousands of documents released by the Justice Department showed that Ruemmler and Epstein had an extensive relationship. The files included personal emails, social plans and gifts that extended beyond formal legal work Documents showed she had called Epstein “Uncle Jeffrey” in emails and said she adored him. Ruemmler said in her opening remarks that she first met Epstein in 2014 regarding potentially working with him and Bill Gates “to set up a large donor-advised fund.” Soon after, according to Ruemmler, she

learned about Epstein’s 2008 conviction on sex crimes, when he became a registered sex offender She said Epstein expressed remorse about it, and that he did not know the women were underaged. She said she “relied on the resolution reached by federal and state prosecutors and validated by a judge as being a proportionate and final resolution of his criminal conduct.”

House Oversight Chair James Comer told reporters Wednesday that the “most concerning” part of Ruemmler’s communications with Epstein is how she “tried to rehabilitate his image after he was convicted of solicitation of a minor.”

During a lengthy podcast interview with Joe Rogan released Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance said the administration “absolutely” mishandled the communications surrounding the Epstein files and its contents. Vance pointed largely to Bondi, who infamously stated that an alleged “client list” of Epstein’s was “sitting on my desk right now.”

Trump: ICE should keep making traffic stops

BY REBECCA SANTANA and PATRICK WHITTLE Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump wants Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to keep pulling over vehicles, signaling his opposition Wednesday to plans announced just a day earlier to suspend most traffic stops following another string of fatal shootings.

It’s not clear whether ICE will quickly reverse course and resume most stops, which have been a key tool in Trump’s immigration crackdown.

Ending those stops, Trump wrote, would be “playing right into the criminal’s hands.”

“We CANNOT give up one of ICE’s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP!” Trump wrote Wednesday on his social media site.

Hours after Trump made his views known, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin issued his own statement saying people illegally in the country would be “arrested and deported wherever they are.” But Mullin didn’t directly say whether ICE officers will be allowed to carry out traffic stops.

ICE’s enforcement tactics are coming under renewed criticism after three people died during encounters with federal officers within a week. In Florida, a 28-year-old man was killed Tuesday after he was hit by a tractor trailer while running from immigration and other federal officers, authorities said.

Before that, two motorists were shot and killed by ICE officers — one in Texas last week and another in Maine on Monday

After the Maine killing, Trump administration officials told ICE officers to suspend most vehicle stops, people familiar with the decision said Tuesday

Since the immigration crackdown began, federal officers confronting drivers have opened fire several times, saying the drivers’ vehicles had posed a danger Policing experts have long said that shooting into moving cars presents a danger of its own and should almost always be avoided.

There have been at least 10 deaths involving encounters with immigration agents since Trump

launched his deportation campaign. At least four of them involved people in vehicles, a trend so troubling that Republican U.S Sen. Susan Collins of Maine urged Department of Homeland Security leaders “to cease all nonurgent vehicle stops.”

Two shootings in a week, she said Wednesday, “raise very serious questions” and warrant a halt in that approach for the time being.

ICE has been under pressure to beef up arrest and deportation numbers. It says people being sought are increasingly staying in their homes, and it often blames immigration advocates who advise immigrants to stay in homes unless ICE produces a warrant signed by an independent judge.

Mexico asks U.S. AGs to investigate migrant deaths

BY FABIOLA SÁNCHEZ Associated Press

MEXICO CITY — Mexico formally request-

ed that U.S. state attorneys general criminally investigate cases of migrants who have died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody or during raids, the Mexican government said Tuesday

The request follows the death of Mexican immigrant Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, who was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Houston. Since the beginning of U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term, 17 Mexican migrants have died during immigration enforcement, 14 in ICE custody and three in agency operations.

Mexico’s Foreign Ministry had previously said it would make the request, which was formalized on Tuesday, according to the ministry It said a similar request will be also sent to the U.S. Department of Justice. The United States is not legally obliged to act on the requests.

Also, the Mexican government said it has started sending letters to U.S. detention centers where Mexican migrants have died, demanding they “immedi-

ately cease the actions or omissions that resulted in these deaths, such as preventing access to prompt and expedited medical care, as well as the application of policies incompatible with medical and penitentiary standards.”

The letters are a first step toward “the eventual filing of civil lawsuits” against the companies that operate the detention centers to stop human rights violations, according to the ministry

Last week, Mexican Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco said his country would go directly to U.S. authorities to request criminal investigations in cases of Mexicans killed in ICE custody or enforcement operations.

Salgado Araujo, 52, who had no criminal record and had lived in the U.S for 35 years, was shot last Tuesday while driving his construction crew to a job site in Houston. His death sparked demands for an independent investigation from Democrats and Salgado Araujo’s family

The Department of Homeland Security said Salgado Araujo had rammed an ICE vehicle, and that a federal agent fired a weapon in self-defense.

ICE officers say that means they’re forced to find other ways to make arrests. Hundreds gathered Tuesday to remember Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, the 25-year-old Colombian national who was shot in his car Monday Karolina Rojas, his part-

ner and the mother of their young daughter, shared a photo on Instagram of the three hugging and smiling.

“I love you, my darling, my life. I love you I have no words for this pain. You were my everything. Please watch over me. Help me find the strength to carry on Stay with me always. Don’t leave me alone. I’m begging you, my love,” she wrote. Durán Guerrero illegally entered the U.S. on Sept 1, 2023, through the southern border, DHS said Wednesday Advocacy groups said that when he was killed, he was authorized to work in the U.S. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, said the Homeland Security secretary told him on Monday that ICE officers were in Biddeford to serve an arrest warrant but that it wasn’t for the person who was shot. When ICE tried to stop a vehicle driven by someone who came from a home under surveillance, the “vehicle attempted to flee the scene and, fearing for public safety, an officer discharged his weapon,” the department said. The department didn’t answer questions about the agent who shot him.

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ASSOCIATEd PRESS PHOTO By JAIME MORENO

Friends and relatives hold a vigil Tuesday for Johan Sebastián durán Guerrero, a Colombian national who was fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Maine, at his family home in Bucaramanga, Colombia

Ruemmler

Republicans unveil $95B budget resolution

House plan focused on Iran war, aiding farmers, stricter voter registration rules

BY KEVIN FREKING and LISA MASCARO Associated Press

WASHINGTON — House Republicans on Wednesday unveiled a $95 billion legislative plan focused on boosting defense, aiding farmers and enacting stricter voter registration rules, a sequel to the massive tax and spending cut bill that President Donald Trump signed into law last year The 47-page outline, called a budget resolution, is a long-shot undertaking designed to supplement Pentagon funding for the Iran war and address Trump’s top priority of changing voter registration requirements. A more ambitious effort was narrowed to address concerns of conservatives about adding to the deficit. The resolution does not seek any offsets to pay for the new spending House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, pushed ahead after meeting with Trump at the White House this week in what will be the Republicans’ calling card to voters this fall heading into the midterm elections.

“Safeguarding American elections and strengthening our national defense are the most basic responsibilities of Congress,”

Johnson said in a statement. Johnson welcomed the chance to again use a legislative process that will allow Republicans to overpower Democratic objections and eventually approve legislation on a party-line majority vote, saying the Democrats won’t be able to block the GOP priorities “any longer.”

those registering to vote to provide proof of citizenship and is a top Trump priority

Democrats, however, have argued against the sharply partisan path, particularly for matters of war funding The Budget Committee is expected to consider the outline Thursday, ahead of floor action in the House next week.

Billions of dollars for Iran war

The bulk of the $95 billion would go for the U.S.-led war against Iran, reflecting the White House’s request for supplemental spending to rebuild stockpiles and fund classified programs, among other expenses related to Operation Epic

Fury

The resolution calls for the House Armed Services Committee to craft legislation that will not increase deficits through 2036 by more than $60 billion; the Select Committee on Intelligence, $13 billion; the Agriculture Committee, $12 billion; and the House Administration Committee, $10 billion.

The latter funding would be focused on enacting aspects of an election law overhaul that requires

Overall, the plan is on par with a request the White House submitted to Congress last month, as the Iran war drags past four months. But it falls far short of the $350 billion increase the White House proposed in its budget request this year to beef up the Defense Department

Approving extra war funding will be difficult, even among Republicans supporting the Iran effort, as the nation confronts staggering annual deficits reaching nearly $2 trillion this year

Trump pushes for voting law

Both the House and the Senate would have to pass the same budget resolution to launch the crafting of the party-line bill, which is politically difficult in the Congress where Republicans hold only narrow majority control.

Along with the war funds, the package Republicans are pursuing would include $10 billion for the GOP’s effort to impose strict citizenship requirements in line with provisions of the SAVE America Act, which has been a top Trump priority

Trump has insisted that Republicans approve the elections overhaul bill, which has passed the House but does not have the votes to overcome the 60-vote threshold in the Senate. So Republicans are looking to get parts of it through the arduous reconciliation process that allows both chambers to pass a bill with a simple majority

Intelligence director nominee asked about 2020 election

BY MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump’s pick to head the nation’s intelligence agencies struggled to win Democratic support in a contentious confirmation hearing Wednesday where he clashed repeatedly with them over the 2020 election

Democrats asked Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and a former Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, over and over again whether former President Joe Biden won the election and defeated Trump. Echoing many of Trump’s nominees, Clayton said many times that the election was “certified” for Biden, declining to say outright that the Democrat won.

“I’m not going to get into this with you,” Clayton told Georgia Sen Jon Ossoff, the last of several Democrats on the committee to grill Clayton on the 2020 election. Clayton appeared frustrated and flustered as Ossoff repeated the question several times. “I’ve answered it,” he said.

Virginia Sen Mark Warner, who had praised Clayton’s nomination when Trump picked him for the role last month, expressed exasperation with him at the end of the hearing.

Democrats say they are concerned that Trump will try to direct intelligence agencies to influence U.S. elections as the president has repeated his false claims that the 2020 contest was stolen.

“I’ve known Mr. Clayton for some time, I worked with him closely when he was at the SEC,” said Warner, the top Democrat on the intelligence panel. “But I am bitterly disappointed.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said after the hearing that he thought Clayton’s performance was “abysmal,” and

that “makes it much less likely that he will get Democratic votes.”

While Clayton has broad support among Republicans, the acrimony with Democrats could be a blow to GOP leaders who had hoped to gain their consent for a quick vote to replace temporary intelligence director Bill Pulte, a former housing official with no known intelligence experience and who used his previous administration perch to target perceived adversaries of the president.

Senators in both parties have criticized Pulte, and Republicans had hoped to confirm Clayton immediately after he was nominated in June so Pulte did not take over when Gabbard left office. But Trump delayed Clayton’s nomination before the Senate left for a two-week recess, allowing Pulte to take the job temporarily

Senate Intelligence Committee

Chairman Tom Cotton R-Ark. said the committee will vote on Clayton’s nomination next week. Cotton, who expressed frustration last month when the hearing was delayed, said in his opening statement Wednesday that Clayton has a reputation for operating with “morality decency and integrity” in his previous positions and that he hopes his nomination will win bipartisan support Gabbard’s election activities

Democrats also pressed Clayton on former National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard’s visit to a Georgia election office earlier this year during an FBI search related to the 2020 election. Trump administration officials have given varying explanations for Gabbard’s involvement in the search, which appeared to be outside of her intelligence role.

Clayton declined to say whether Gabbard’s visit was appropriate or how he would handle the same situation At one point he said he wasn’t aware of Gabbard’s visit before this week, then later appeared to backtrack, saying “it wasn’t something on my mind” before he started to prepare for the hearing.

Warner said it “strains credibility” that Clayton wasn’t aware of Gabbard’s election activities.

Democrats also asked Clayton about Trump’s announcement that he will deliver a primetime address on Thursday with a focus on elections, after the president suggested he could revisit longdebunked conspiracy theories about his 2020 defeat. Clayton said he had has no involvement with that speech.

Clayton oversees vast portfolio

Clayton is currently the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, one of the most prestigious of the Justice Department’s prosecution offices. His cases have ranged from terrorism and espionage cases to security fraud and public corruption.

Democrats pressed Clayton on subpoenas of four New York Times journalists after they reported on security concerns involving the new, Qatari-gifted Air Force One. The Committee to Protect Journalists has called the subpoenas “an extraordinary escalation in President Trump’s efforts to threaten and intimidate independent news organizations and have a chilling effect on the work of journalists across the country.”

Clayton said he was not able to discuss the details of the subpoenas and declined to elaborate on whether he spoke to the White House before they were issued. He said he is “confident in procedures we have in place to protect freedom of press.”

Under Clayton, the office also facilitated the unsealing of thousands of pages of court records from the prosecutions of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell — documents that were made public as part of the Justice Department’s release of records related to the late sex offender and his longtime confidant.

Clayton has also overseen the prosecution of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores, on drug trafficking charges.

It’s unclear how the budget package would impose or fund voting law changes and if any alterations could be made before the midterm elections, with many state elections processes already underway Overall, passage of the package would be a lengthy process, with much of the action taking place after lawmakers return from their August recess and during the heart of election season. House Republicans hope to kick off the effort before they leave town at the end of this month.

Democrats mount opposition

The additional aid for farmers dealing with higher gas and fertilizer prices and retaliatory tariffs has become an election year priority for many lawmakers with large rural constituencies.

But even the addition of that type of farm aid is not likely to be an incentive for Democrats to lend support for what is essentially a Republican-only bill. Democrats are expected to overwhelmingly oppose whatever final product emerges and force votes on scores of difficult amendments.

Rep. Brendan Boyle, the lead Democratic lawmaker on the House Budget Committee, said the GOP’s budget plan would lead to tens of billions of dollars in additional debt to fund what he called the most unpopular war in American history

“I’m going to fight like hell to make sure taxpayer dollars are being used to lower costs and make life better for American families,

not to bankroll Trump’s giveaways to billionaires and endless wars overseas,” Boyle said.

Johnsonapplauded Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, and others on the panel for moving swiftly to advance the resolution and unlock what would be Republicans’ third reconciliation bill this Congress.

Trump’s big tax breaks bill last year and the Homeland Security funding bill this year both passed largely along party lines. Arrington said several factors contributed to the decision not to offset some of the new spending Republicans will seek. First, the Trump administration’s call for more defense spending was winnowed to just meeting replenishment needs during a time of war Second, he was concerned that some of the savings generated in last year’s party line bill could be relitigated and stripped out if the Senate Finance Committee had been instructed to find offsets. Republicans could have tried to work with Democrats to pass more defense spending through the regular appropriations process or through an emergency supplemental spending bill, but that would require bipartisan support to get through the Senate And Democrats likely would have sought commensurate spending increases for non-defense priorities.

“There’s no doubt that Democrats would exact a big price,” Arrington said. “… We avoided that, so I would say in this moment, with this scenario, that’s a win.”

Blanche confronts questioning of fund

BY ERIC TUCKER and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press

WASHINGTON Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche confronted skeptical questioning at a Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday about the creation of a fund to compensate President Donald Trump’s allies and a tax immunity deal for the president as he aimed to lock down the Republican support needed to advance his nomination.

Blanche insisted that the $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” which was scrapped after fierce bipartisan backlash, was “not moving forward.” But lawmakers, including Republican Sen. John Cornyn, conveyed concerns that the Trump administration has yet to commit in writing that the fund is dead and could therefore conceivably be resurrected.

“Just to be clear, the president of the United States, who’s a plaintiff in this lawsuit, has not agreed in writing to delete the ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’ and there’s no guarantee that he won’t raise it in the future?” Cornyn asked. Blanche replied that Trump has no power over the fund, which was to have been administered by the Justice Department but never launched.

Blanche requires the backing of all Republicans on the Judiciary Committee and the Texas senator has not committed his support.

The hearing arrived at a tumultuous time for the Justice Department, with mass firings and resignations hollowing out the workforce and Democrats and other critics raising alarms that Blanche is still functioning as the president’s personal lawyer He has led the department on an interim basis since April, functioning as the public face of the maligned and later-withdrawn

fund and accelerating investigations into perceived Trump adversaries.

Even as he said the fund had been shelved, he made clear that immunity from tax audits afforded to Trump this year remained in place. Those actions, plus the flawed release of files from the Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation, received fresh scrutiny Wednesday “You’re in charge of a Department of Justice I don’t recognize, prosecuting the president’s political enemies, firing rank and file prosecutors and FBI agents,” Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., told Blanche. “These are some actions that in your previous confirmation hearing before us, you said you would not take.” Blanche insisted he has presided over a course correction following Justice Department investigations into Trump during the Biden administration.

“In recent years, we watched the Justice Department turned against many of you and a former president, and it damaged the public’s faith in justice,” Blanche argued. “We are fixing that.” Blanche was also pressed on the department’s staggered release of the Epstein files, a process beset by problems, including redaction errors that left exposed nude photos showing the faces of potential victims.

Blanche acknowledged that “mistakes were made” in the release process but nonetheless defended the work.

A former federal prosecutor and key member of Trump’s defense team as the Republican battled four indictments, Blanche arrived at the Justice Department last year as deputy attorney general. At one point, under friendly questioning from Republican Sen. John Kennedy about whether he and Trump are friends, Blanche responded: “I’m his lawyer,” before quickly correcting himself to say he “was his lawyer.”

Hegseth announces new policy to test troops for low testosterone

BY KONSTANTIN TOROPIN and MATTHEW PERRONE Associated Press

WASHINGTON Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Wednesday that he is rolling out a new screening program for “testosterone deficiency” among troops, calling it necessary to allow them to operate at their “absolute best.” The screenings will be conducted annually as part of service members’ required medical screenings for those 30 and older, he said. Troops under 30 can volunteer to be tested. In a video on social media, Hegseth said receiving testosterone replacement therapy

would be voluntary In the video, Hegseth simply refers to troops, though it appears he is talking about only testing men in uniform for hormone irregularities. The move comes as other Trump administration officials have begun to advocate for men to have easier access to testosterone replacement therapies, but the messaging from Hegseth and others blends known science on the hormone with broader and less substantiated, claims.

When asked what conditions Hegseth was looking to address with the new policy, the Pentagon referred to Hegseth’s remarks in the video that mentioned keeping troops “strong, resilient and capable” and that the rigors of the modern battlefield demand “maximum psychological and mental readiness.”

Over the past several years, special operations troops — and specifically Navy SEALs have come under scrutiny for their use of testosterone and similar substances to enhance performance.

Hegseth said his new initiative is “not about artificial enhancement.” The Pentagon did not respond to

questions about what research or academic studies underpinned the move. It also didn’t say if female troops would be able to be evaluated for estrogen-based therapy as they entered perimenopause.

Testosterone levels in men decline naturally with age and have long been linked to issues like erectile dysfunction, low libido, mood changes and weight gain. But experts have debated for years how to diagnose those problems and whether they should be treated by replacing the hormone.

Hegseth’s announcement comes as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other Trump administration officials are moving to

make it easier for doctors to prescribe testosterone. Last month, the Food and Drug Administration proposed easing prescribing limits on testosterone gels, pills, patches and injections. The current FDA label specifies that the medications are only for men with hypogonadism, a medical condition that causes drastically low testosterone. But many influencers and proponents of Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement tout testosterone as a way to look younger, build muscle and stay mentally sharp — although those uses aren’t accepted by most medical experts.

Clayton

Blanche

Johnson

Hegseth

Flooding forces evacuations in parts of South Texas

BY JESSE BEDAYN and JAMIE STENGLE Associated Press

UVALDE, Texas Widening evacuation warnings and high-water rescues in Texas mounted Wednesday under relentlessly heavy storms that turned roads into rivers, washed away vehicles and spun up a tornado across a busy interstate in San Antonio.

Texas Game Wardens have participated in rescues of more than 40 people so far in the flooding, mostly in the Uvalde County area, according to a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department spokesperson. Forecasters warned that already dangerous conditions were likely to worsen in some hard-hit communities. The deluge dumped nearly a foot of rain in some counties and put people in dozens of counties under flood watches, including parts of the Texas Hill Country where last summer’s devastating

POLICIES

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confirming Kennedy, perhaps the most well-known vaccine skeptic, to run the federal agency in charge of the nation’s vaccination policy Trump, instead, endorsed U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow, R-Baton Rouge The Make America Healthy Again organization, which is closely aligned with Kennedy, raised money for Letlow Cassidy lost out in a closed party primary He will leave the Senate in January when either Letlow or Jamie Davis, the Democratic candidate from Tensas Parish in the November congressional elections, will be sworn in.

‘What is actually right and true’

Cassidy said he backed Kennedy because of promises to not significantly alter the federal government’s long-held guidance for

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customers.

“I would like to change (the board’s) opinion,” Richard said. “We appoint the board, but we don’t tell them what they’re doing.”

Richard hopes to have additional meetings with the board, calling the current impact fee “excessive,” adding that he isn’t entirely opposed to some sort of fee.

The issue came to a head during a Lafayette Parish Council meeting, where developer Ross Berthelot said the fees have halted the 300 homes he plans to build off

STRIKES

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move that sent the price of oil, fertilizer and many other goods soaring far beyond the region and gave Iran major leverage in negotiations Those rising prices pose a particular challenge to U.S President Donald Trump and his Republican Party, which hopes to retain control of Congress in November elections But Washington has struggled to successfully reopen the waterway About 24 hours after the blockade went into effect, the U.S military opened fire on and disabled a merchant vessel Wednesday Iran’s parliament speaker and lead negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, said Iran was prepared for a fuller military confrontation if the U.S. does not live up to the terms of the interim deal, and Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened to halt all energy exports from the Middle East over the blockade.

“The export of oil and gas from the region will be either for everyone or for no one,” the Guard said Soon after the U.S. launched its third wave of strikes in 24 hours, Trump said Iran was ready to

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floods killed more than 100 people.

Some of the flood watches were expected to remain in effect through Friday evening.

The National Weather Service said a tornado touched down in the northwestern part of San Antonio near Interstate 10. Videos posted

immunizations and to confer regularly with the committee — promises that Kennedy didn’t keep. Cassidy has since raised ever-harsher criticisms about the Department of Health and Human Services.

“I feel like we’ve got thousands of kids hospitalized because people have promoted that immunization is bad, and now kids have died because of it is evil to do that,”

Cassidy said at Wednesday’s hearing. “Will you have the ability to say no to junk science and to say yes to that which has been firmly established and to stick up for what is actually right and true as opposed to that which is superstition and prejudice?”

“You have my assurances that I will do that. I will never betray the science, ever,” Schwartz replied. “I will make sure that the CDC is focused on scientific rigor.”

She added that the CDC would focus on “radical transparency,” which is most important in restoring public trust.

Ridge Road

It would cost him $1.6 million to connect all his homes to the water district, he said in an interview.

Developers cover the construction cost of connecting their homes’ water lines to the districts. Those lines are then donated to the district for continued maintenance.

“They don’t want to charge their monthly subscribers anything. They’re trying to charge the new developers for everything that they’ve failed to address for the past four years,” Berthelot said.

During the council meeting, Mayor-President Monique Boulet reminded council members that they have appointing power over the board and can rearrange it as they

strike a peace deal, but he did not elaborate.

“They don’t like what we’re doing, and they do want to settle. We’ll find out whether or not we settle with them, or we just finish it off,” he said Wednesday at a defense summit at the U.S. Army War College in Pennsylvania.

The U.S. carried out a wave of strikes, hitting dozens of targets overnight, the military’s Central Command said Wednesday, and then resumed striking Iran during daylight — an unusual move that further signaled the increasing tempo of the attacks. Another wave of strikes began late Wednesday Central Command said it spotted Curacao-flagged oil tanker Belma sailing toward Kharg Island and, after the ship “ignored multiple warnings,” a U.S. aircraft disabled the merchant vessel by firing hellfire missiles into the ship’s smokestack.

In addition to the now-disabled Belma, the U.S. military said it also had to speak with two other commercial vessels, but they complied with their instructions to turn away

The U.S. military disabled at least eight merchant vessels during the first round of the blockade, including one strike that left three sailors dead.

Among the U.S. military’s tar-

Landry, 15th Judicial District in Lafayette, alleging an LPSS Discipline Policy Review Committee meeting held Tuesday afternoon violated Louisiana Revised Statute 42:23. That statute states, “Each school board in a parish with a population of 25,000 or more shall broadcast live all of its proceedings in public meetings, including the school board’s committee meetings.” The meeting was not available for live viewing online. Sinegal said she filed the complaint to hold the School Board and school system, including Superintendent Francis Touchet, accountable. Touchet, who is paid at least $300,000 a year is supposed to know the law, she said.

As much as 10 to 20 inches of rain was possible in some places before the storms move out, the weather service said.

As of Wednesday evening, just over 6 million Texas residents in 57 counties were under a National Weather Service flood watch that was scheduled to continue through early Thursday night. Watches for 34 of those counties were scheduled to expire Friday evening.

The highest rainfall totals so far — up to 16 inches — have been in Uvalde County, where officials tallied 25 rescues as of 9 a.m. Wednesday, and said more people needed help as river levels rose. Highways and roads were closed across the region because of high water

county was still intact, but the Leona River was still expected to rise another 15 feet. Police warned people along the river to get to higher ground.

on social media showed what appeared to be a small twister Apartment buildings and other properties were damaged, local officials said.

There have been no reports of deaths or injuries from the tornado or the flooding.

But Schwartz supported many of Kennedy’s policies. When asked if she would take down a page on the CDC website that suggests linkage between autism and vaccinations, Schwartz demurred, saying she hadn’t seen it.

Turmoil at the CDC

Cassidy referenced Susan Monarez, who was nominated by Trump and confirmed by the Senate as CDC director She was forced out in August 2025 after only a month in office for refusing to endorse Kennedy’s picks for the panel of vaccine advisers, which included prominent anti-vaxxers.

The CDC has since been run by interim directors. About a quarter of the agency’s staff was laid off or resigned since Trump began his second term in January 2025.

Trump nominated Schwartz in April. A doctor, lawyer and retired rear admiral who oversaw the U.S. Coast Guard’s 41 clinics and 150 sick bays, Schwartz was deputy

see fit. Those discussions are currently not on the table, Richard said.

The district has had a development moratorium in place since late 2023 or early 2024, Richard said In April, the board partially lifted the moratorium by allowing up to 150 new water connections but only for customers willing to pay the new impact fees.

As money rolls in, improvement could begin, adding capacity for additional meters in the future, Richard added. The district is also seeking grant funding for a water storage tank to enhance the system’s resilience.

Berthelot sees the impact fees and the ongoing moratorium as stifling development in the area.

gets this week was Greater Tunb Island, which is viewed as a strategic point in the Strait of Hormuz. Central Command said the attack targeted Iranian defense and missile sites.

Iran took control of three islands Abu Musa, Greater Tunb and Lesser Tunb — from what would become the United Arab Emirates in 1971. The UAE has sought to reclaim them.

Some analysts have suggested that if the U.S. seized the islands, they could allow it to control the strait.

The U.S. military said its bombing campaign hit targets along Iran’s southern coast in Bandar Abbas, Khormuj, Ahvaz, Qeshm, Bushehr and Kuh-e Stak.

Another strike targeted a barracks for Iran’s 388th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, which operates tanks and armored vehicles, in Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iranian state television reported. The report said Americans fired at least 13 missiles in the attack and the seven dead included conscripts and career soldiers. A number of troops were wounded.

More than 35 people have been killed and more than 300 wounded by U.S. airstrikes in recent days, said Hossein Kermanpour, a spokesperson for the Iranian

In an email to Sinegal, Touchet said the Discipline Policy Review Committee is not a committee of School Board members, so the school system is not required to livestream its meetings. Louisiana Revised Statute 17:416.8 indicates that Discipline Policy Review Committees are composed of 17 people, only one of them a school board member Earlier this week, the LPSS website listed under Upcoming Meet-

The county normally gets about 23 inches of rain a year, according to the Uvalde County Extension Office.

The Uvalde Police Department said on Facebook at 1 p.m. that a dam in the northern part of the

surgeon general during Trump’s first term.

Cassidy didn’t mention Kennedy or Trump by name but drilled down on actions taken at the U.S Department of Health and Human Services, particularly at the CDC, a subsidiary agency that has the most direct oversight of how many vaccines are required at what ages.

“Parents should not have to guess whether information on the CDC’s website reflects the best available science rather than the preferences of political appointees. This is what has led to children being hospitalized and dying from diseases preventable with the vaccine,” Cassidy said. “As a result, we see thousands getting measles. We see, unfortunately, deaths from measles, a vaccinepreventable disease, just lying at the feet of folks casting misinformation on these issues.”

Johns Hopkins University counts 2,250 cases of measles confirmed so far this year in the U.S.,

“They want to slow down growth,” Berthelot said. “In my opinion, it is a rural area of the parish, and I don’t believe they want a lot of new development. And they decided we have the potential to charge these new developers and discourage development at the same time.”

The dispute reflects a broader problem facing fast-growing parts of Lafayette Parish: While south Louisiana has abundant water the infrastructure needed to deliver it hasn’t kept pace with development

It’s been especially problematic in the rapidly growing unincorporated areas of the parish What was once farmland and empty lots has turned into townhomes and sub-

Health Ministry At least 72 people are hospitalized, he added. Kermanpour did not break down the figures between civilians and combatants.

The announcement marked the first overall toll given by Iranian authorities for this round of fighting. The number of wounded was far larger than for any other recent violence between Iran and the U.S. The army said it would make “a decisive response,” according to state TV U.S Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, who leads Central Command, said in a statement that Iran had launched dozens of missiles and drones at neighboring Gulf Arab countries.

Missile-alert warnings sounded Wednesday in Bahrain and Kuwait as they faced incoming Iranian fire — a daily occurrence recently In a post on X, Bahrain’s Interior Ministry urged people to “head to the nearest safe place.”

Jordan said it shot down three incoming Iranian missiles. Iran claimed attacks on the three nations, all of which host U.S. forces.

In a statement published online, Qalibaf said the United States had not lived up to the terms of the interim peace deal, which he said included “Iranian arrangements” over the Strait of Hormuz.

ings: LPSB — Discipline Policy Review Committee, LPSB referring to Lafayette Parish School Board. The meeting notice had been removed from the website by Wednesday morning. Shortly after 1 p.m. Wednesday the decision was made for the Discipline Policy Review Committee to meet again at 3 p.m. Thursday in the School Board meeting room, according to spokesperson Tracy Wirtz.

State Rep. Don McLaughlin said that despite a “little lull,” the rainfall wasn’t done and waterways could become more dangerous. “The rivers and the creeks are going to be coming up, and they’re going to be coming up again with a vengeance,” McLaughlin said. Frances McNamara and her 10-year-old son, Everett, watched the bloated Leona River in Uvalde sweep southward Wednesday as she considered possible evacuation routes. She pointed to a solid line of dirt, branches and twigs about 8 feet above the river where the water reached the day before.

“We’ve seen the water rise, but not to this extent,” she said, describing how it rushed through a ditch next to her home with enough force to sound like a river on Tuesday

where the extremely contagious virus had largely been eliminated through vaccinations There were 2,289 cases last year And the CDC is tracking thousands of people afflicted across dozens of states with cyclosporiasis and related cryptosporidiosis.

Overall, however, Cassidy also said Schwartz was qualified to run the CDC. The HELP committee will decide soon whether to recommend Schwartz’s nomination to the full Senate She likely will be confirmed.

Also considered in the confirmation hearing was Sean Kaufman, who was nominated as the Health and Human Services assistant secretary for strategic preparedness and response. Cassidy quizzed Kaufman on statements he had made when the department canceled funding for mRNA vaccine development. Email Mark Ballard at mballard@theadvocate.com.

divisions. And with that comes an increased need for water Lafayette Parish’s unincorporated growth has outpaced many municipalities across the state, growing 3.2% from five years prior, bringing its population to 74,643. Overall, the parish holds a greater population than the city of Lafayette.

It still leaves Cagle’s home without water, and a simple connection that the district can complete in a day he said, adding that he’s requested the board show him what improvements his money would fund. They still haven’t responded. “The pipe has been in the ground forever,” Cagle said “I am not new development.”

“Now that we have entered the implementation phase, the United States, having exhausted its legal and diplomatic options, is trying to undermine those Iranian arrangements through force,” he wrote.

Qalibaf’s comments appeared aimed at critics within Iran who oppose negotiations with the U.S. He argued that negotiations should not be equated with compromise or surrender, but as part of a broader strategy of resistance.

The latest fighting is focused on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas trade passes during peacetime How to reopen the strait has bedeviled the U.S. since Iran choked it off in the early days of the war

During the interim deal, some ships began moving through the passage using a route near Oman overseen by the U.S. military that is outside Tehran’s control.

In recent days, Iran attacked ships using that route and backand-forth attacks ensued. The U.S. has threatened to reopen the strait by force — but experts say that would require a much bigger armada if not tens of thousands of ground troops. Imposing the blockade is another way to put pressure on Iran.

The board is scheduled to conduct a public hearing on the Discipline Policy Review Committee’s recommendations at 5 p.m. July 23, just before the next regular School Board meeting, which begins at 5:30 p.m.

Contact

ASSOCIATEd PRESS PHOTO By dARREN ABATE

Members of the Boerne Fire deptartment rescue a woman from floodwaters on Wednesday in Boerne, Texas.

Elton cuts salaries amid financial turmoil

Mayor, police chief see sharp decrease in wages

BY JOEL THOMPSON

Staff writer

The town of Elton is slashing salaries for its mayor and police chief amid financial turmoil that stems back several years. According to Elton Mayor Michael Pierrotti, his salary follow-

ing the new adjustments is just shy of $12 an hour, or an annual salary of about $23,000, cut from $38,400. The police chief’s salary was cut to $11 an hour, or about $21,000 per year The sharp decrease in wages comes as the Jefferson Davis Parish town has been embroiled in

the fallout from years of financial mismanagement dating to before Pierrotti took office in May 2024 following a recall of the previous mayor, Keisa Lemoine. Pierrotti, who prior to taking office served as an alderman, claimed to have uncovered multiple major financial issues not

RIGHT: Freshly harvested quail eggs are seen at the Fightingville Fresh farmers market in Lafayette on Tuesday BELOW: Kamau

Kibodeaux, 3, from left, and his sister Ananzi, 5, pass freshly harvested quail eggs through the enclosure fencing to their mother, Indigo Kibodeaux, on Tuesday STAFF PHOTOS By

BRAd BOWIE

BY ELLYN COUVILLION Staff writer

Since taking office, Pierrotti has

previously known to the public including $92,000 in health insurance premiums being paid to former employees and their dependents following their termination. Additionally the town owes around $215,000 in overdue federal payroll taxes. KPLC reported in January 2024 that the town likely owed over $1 million in police pensions through the Municipal Police Employees Retirement System. Under Louisiana state law, every local police force is required to enroll each of its officers in the program. For several years following the passage of the rule, Elton failed to do so, which led to a lawsuit being filed against the town by MPERS.

180-home development gets approval

BY STEPHEN MARCANTEL Staff writer

The Lafayette Parish Planning Commission approved a 180-lot townhome development in Milton. The project, identified as Milton Commons, will stretch from East Broussard Road to Picard Road just north of Julie Drive The approval comes after several residents voiced concerns over

See TURMOIL, page 4B

VIEWS

Crime statistics show progress andpatterns in La.’s largestcities

After apost-pandemicspike, it seems that crime trends in someLouisiana citiesare movinginthe right direction. That’s thanks in large part to the coordinated effortsoflaw enforcement and local leaders.

For far too long, Louisianacities have been among the list of those with some of the highest murder rates in the country.Weknowthat much work remains to be done. This year, Louisiana made headlines for some shockingviolent crimes, including adomestic violence killing spree inShreveport that left eightchildrendead in April and ashooting at theMall of Louisiana days later that resulted in the death of aLafayette teen.

But it appears that despite thesehorrificepisodes, violent crime statistics may befalling in some places—most notably in New Orleans, where crime is down to levels not seen in decades.According tothe FBI’sUniformCrime Report, the state’slargest city recorded38 murders in thefirst half of the year, on pace to end the year with around thesame number of murders it saw in 1969.

Comparing the firsthalfof2026 to thesame span in 2023,murders in New Orleans aredown 68%, non-fatal shootings are down 70%, armed robberies aredown 62% and carjackings are down 63% in decades. That’s remarkable if you recall that in 2022, the cityranked first in the nationfor homicides. It’stime tochange the narrative around crime in NewOrleans that has toooften been used todepress tourismand economicactivity

In Baton Rouge, the numbers weren’tasdramatic, but the good news is that they weren’t worse. The number of homicides in thestate’s second-largest city held steadythrough thefirst six months of the year —with42homicides reported by the Baton Rouge Police Department since January,the same number as at themidpoint of 2025. The East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office reported 11 homicides, also thesame as lastyear. Still, it’s worth noting that overall crime dropped7%inBaton Rougecitylimits in the first half of this year compared to lastyear,with robberydown 25% and burglary down7%. In Shreveport, the number of homicidesincreased to 21 during this period,compared to 18 during thesame timeframein2025. Without the April mass shooting, however,thatnumber would have dropped to 13. Shreveportalso saw a19% increase in armed robberies. The number of nonfatal shootings, though,fell to 88 from 101 during the same time ayear prior Louisiana residents alwayssay public safety should be one of the top priorities. We know that for our state to live up to itspotential, we must first address our crime problem. Only thencan we fully turn our attention to becomingthe state we want to be.

LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR ARE WELCOME. HERE AREOUR

GUIDELINES: Letters are published identifying name, occupation and/or title and the writer’scity of residence

TheAdvocate |The Times-Picayune require astreet address andphone number for verification purposes, but that information is not published. Letters are not to exceed 300 words. Letters to the Editor,The Advocate, P.O. Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588, or email letters@ theadvocate.com.

TO SENd US A LETTER, SCANHERE

LegendarySoutherncoach builtmen,not just ballplayers

Baton Rouge lost acornerstone of this community.Coach Roger Cador wasn’tjust aSouthern University legend; he was adear friend, and for anyone who didn’thave the chance to know him personally,his passing deserves to be understood as more than a sportsheadline. Yes, Cador built one of the most respected baseball programsinthe countryatSouthern, over more than three decades on the Bluff. He remains Southern’swinningest coach, with one of the best overall records in Division Ihistory,including 14 SWAC titles and two national championships. However,those numbers only tell part of the story.What stays withme, in knowing him over manyyears, wasn’tthe trophies. It was how he showed up for people. He believed Southern baseball belonged not to him but to theuniversityand state, and he lived that belief in how he coached and led. Coach built men,not just ballplayers. He gave this city,and generations of

young people who came through his program,something to be proud of year after year Cador cared about the whole show not just his own program.Hehelped bring HBCU baseball onto the national stage and spent years working to grow baseball in inner-city communities, giving young people whomight never have picked up thegame achance to play Those contributions earned him a place in theSWACHall of Fame, the LouisianaSports Hall of Fame and the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Those honors only tell part of his legendary story.The rest of it lives in the lives he shaped. Coach, thank you for everything you gave to theyoung men you coached and the lives you touched, to Southern University and to our entire Baton Rouge community Youwill be missed.

HILLAR MOORE Baton Rouge

Katrinasurvivorbringspleafor climateactiontod.C

I’m far from theonly New Orleans resident whose entire life was changed by Hurricane Katrina.

This and every other hurricane season brings back haunting memories of the packed interstate on the way to Mississippi, all our neighbors evacuating with us; of the power outages that stretched across state lines;ofgoing from playing volleyball on aSaturday to being forced to moveaway from everything I’d ever known.

Iflew to Washington, D.C., recently to share my survivor’sstoryatthe Museum of Unnatural Disasters, a pop-up exhibit on the National Mall. Iwanted to impress upon museum visitors and my members of Congress that we need climate action. We need afully funded NOAA and

National Weather Servicethat can predict and prepare us forthe next hurricane. We need NWStoprovide up-to-the-minute forecasts. And we need FEMA to help us pick up the pieces and begin to recover after the storm As climate change fuels stronger hurricanes and other extreme weather,this administration is choosing to attack these lifesaving agencies and roll back climateprotections. Iwent to D.C. to push for climate action.Itisn’t aquick or easy fix. Butstormslike Katrina, Helene, Milton and Debby are only going to get worse if we don’tdo somethingabout it.

JESSICA BARNES NewOrleans

democratic Socialism hasbeentried and foundwanting

Democratic Socialism is neither new nor “progressive.”

In his brilliant autobiography, Chronicles of Wasted Time (William Morrow &Company,1973) Malcolm Muggeridge –reformed socialist, media personality,satirist, Moscow correspondent for the Manchester Guardian and former editor of Punch –described his “socialist upbringing” in England at the beginning of the 20th Century:

“They [i.e., his parents and their socialist friends] were not in any real sense revolutionaries; rather, they planned to take over the existing social and economic system and run it more equitably… Instead of railways, coalmines and industry generally being privately owned and enriching the few,they would be publicly owned and enrich us all… Isaw arosy future before us if only my father and his henchmen would take over the country.” Sound familiar?

Muggeridge continues: “Actually,I lived to see them –though not in their own persons –take over,but the rosy future continues to be elusive… It has all just been sleepwalking to the end of the night.”

Socialism was an attractive, if mostly untested, ideology in 1900. But not today.Why do some see “a rosy future” in socialism, given 125 years of demonstrated failure with it?

Muggeridge maintained that “People, after all, believe lies, not because they are plausibly presented, but because they want to believe them. So, their credulity is unshaken.”

Anyone who wants to believe the lies presented by Democratic Socialists today should read Muggeridge’s autobiography.Perhaps the credulity of modern socialists would be shaken by this powerful first-hand testimony of the failure of socialism.

CARYHEATH Lafayette

Listen to educatorswhenchangingschoolfunding forLouisiana

Why would teachersoppose thecutting of funds to school districts to increasetheir pay? At the end of this pastschool year,the Louisiana State Department of Educationrejoiced over the increased scores of our children in reading and math. We,those of us who had been and are in education, realized why when we

learned that student populations had dropped but funds to school districts had not. These “extra” funds provided moreteachers, teacheraides and the like, which lowered the student numbers in teachers’ classrooms and provided students the extra attention they needed. Those not in education would not

realize the great help this provided students. Ihave no statistics to prove this, but maybe we will see how muchthese funds helped once these “extra” funds are removed. Please honor us educators by listening to whatwehave to say

MERLE T. HARRIS NewOrleans

Forverygood reasons, N.O.

nowis officially irreplaceable

Louisianans may be nonchalant upon hearing againjust how special the state’smost historiccityis, but we shouldn’ttake it for granted.Weshould embrace news that an outfit called the World Monuments Fund has named the entire city of New Orleans among the10 most “irreplaceable” sites in all theland.

And we should cherish ourheritage, both of the city andof the whole state in which the city’s culture is moored.

New Orleans is not “so special,” he should welcome the national recognition of thecity as atributetothe whole state.

les. Percy answered that she should keep trying until her writing could capture “the smell of acamelback-double house on Magazine Street.”

$2.8Bdata center angers

S.C. residents

In conjunction with the Semiquincentennial celebration, the WMF recently announced “Irreplaceable America,” its list of the “10 historicplaces across the United States whose preservation is essential to the richness andcomplexity of American history.”

The other nine places are discrete structures or parcels of land:a garden in Philadelphia, ahospital in NewYork, theWright Brothers’ workshops and airplane testing fields in Dayton.Only New Orleans is included as an entire city because, as described bythe Preservation Resource Center in itsnomination,“itsheritage does not sitneatly inside oneboundary.

The WMF cited New Orleans’ “cultural heritage expressed through architecture, music, foodways, and neighborhood life …[which create] a cohesive urban landscape.” Because “the city faces escalating threats from flooding, aging infrastructure, highinsurancepremiums,and population displacement,” it merits particular,urgent national attention.

Even if we find allthis uber-familiar, we shouldn’tshrug it off. When theoutside world says we’re special in agood way but also endangered, it behooves us to redouble efforts to save that specialness.

And, despite Gov.Jeff Landry’s multiple shots at New Orleansinrecent weeks, culminating in him saying that

Please allow two separate quotes from the late Covington-based novelist Walker Percy.Asked what inspired so manywriters in theCrescent City,Percy said it was “its strange admixture of Deep South-nessand foreignness.”

TheDeep Southness comes mostly from thelands north of Interstate 10, which provide acultural backdrop of rootedness in alarger region defined by mores of hardiness, courteousness andsense of place. The foreignness comes from trade, from African and Caribbean cultures andfrom the French-Acadian-meetsswamp heritage that is the uncopiable, irrepressible culture of Cajunland. New Orleans may be where all that comes together,but without the context of therest of the state, New Orleans just isn’tNew Orleans. On theother hand, and contra Landry,without all the astonishingly special things about New Orleans, Louisiana isn’t “irreplaceable.” No national group suchasthe WMF is going to pay homage (for example) to thepiney woods of Tangipahoa or the ricefields of Jefferson Davis Parish, no matter how lovely or fertile they may be. Then again,there’salso something not readily definable about what gives New Orleansits special charm and value

The city’scharacter is all around us, yet elusive

Hence, theother Walker Percy quote.Decades ago, Iinterviewed local detective-fiction novelist Chris Wiltz about theNew Orleanssettings for her books. She said shehad told Percy she wanted to capture the atmosphereof New Orleansthe way Raymond Chandler captured the “feel” of Los Ange-

Now that is aparticularity.Without using thewords “camelback double,” theWMF surely was referring to those structures when itstop-10 recognition specifically lauded New Orleans’ “vernacular building types adapted to climate, density,and community use over centuries.”

The WMF’sassertion that New Orleans is “irreplaceable” isn’tunprecedented. After Hurricane Katrina, various people used that very word to describe aspectsofthe Crescent City: The archivistofthe United States worried about “the irreplaceable records” of “our collective memory;” former U.S. Rep.Bob Livingston described the port’s commerce as “irreplaceable;” theTimes-Picayune insisted we must recue “irreplaceable ingredientson our city’shistory;” and an art exhibit at the Contemporary Arts Center was entitled “The Irreplaceable Cannot Be Replaced.”

What also cannot be replaced —or equaled —isour joie de vivre. My Alabama-born wife repeatedly insists that New Orleanians are thewarmest, friendliest people she has ever met, and aCalifornia-raised, longtime New York-inhabiting friend said thesame after almost every one of the 28 Jazz Fests he attended.

The job,then, is for all of us to ensure that there be no need to replace anythingatall, which meanswemust not lose any of our wondrous civic character and cultural touchstones in the first place.

Now,while we’re at it, askourselves if jambalaya also tastes particularly memorable in acamelback double on Magazine…. Email QuinHillyer at quin.hillyer@ theadvocate.com

Take thecar keys away from Bernie

SPARTANBURG, S.C. Elon Musk’sidea to send data centers into space might prompt smirks in some quarters but probably not in Spartanburg, where amega data center slipped into town, catching residents by surprise and spawning a revolt.

Across the country,the explosion of data centers —driven by asurge in artificial intelligence demand —has created controversy because of environmental concerns, utility issuesand alack of transparency mixedwith misunderstandings among residents, corporate investors and local leaders. There are about 3,000 data centers in the United States, with roughly 1,500 more under development.

The Spartanburg data center, whichisunder construction and slated to begin operations in the third quarter of this year,arrived with hardly anyone’snotice until trees along South Pine Street were moweddown and heavy equipment started rolling in. The lack of awareness was no accident. Local officials who lured the project to Spartanburg County publicly referredtoitas “Project MOC-1” and characterized it as a“highperformance computing center.”

This subterfuge is aclassic example of good ol’ boy dodging that has comeback to bite local officials where they sit. MOC-1 was the work of NorthMark Strategies, aNew York investment firm that is developing the data center through its subsidiary,Valara Holdings. Thanks to the Spartanburg County Council’scomplicity in protecting the project until it was finalized, it tooka while forpeople to figure things out.

The February 2025 agreement between NorthMark and the county included a40-yearfee-inlieu-of-tax agreement that lowered the property assessment ratio for Valara Holdings to 4percent. The deal also included other taxcredits. Even when NorthMark announced the $2.8 billion center in apress release on April 22, 2025, it continued to use misleading language,saying it wasredeveloping the now-defunct Kohlermanufacturing plant into a“high-performance computing center.” For all anyone knew,this could have meant anything from ashared workspace complex with hundreds of computer stations to, well, agiant data center with all its attendant problems.

Froma Harrop

The Platner fiasco has unleashed something of abrawl in the Democratic Party over how the sexting candidate with aNazi tattoo came to be their rival to Susan Collins, now in her fifth term as aRepublican senator from Maine. Bernie Sanders thought his socialists could pass off blue-collar impersonator Graham Platner —a product of the elite Hotchkiss prep school —asa hard-working “oysterman.” Sanders had been waving off concerns about the guy.Then suddenly he calledonPlatner to leave the campaign. Twoproblems with Bernie’sdirective: One, Sanders is why Democrats got saddled with Platner to begin with. Two, the new revelations come on top of previous revelations about his piggish behavior Sanders evidently thought he could ignore all this until more startling charges came to light. The dam holding back Democratic demands to replacePlatner finally gave way.If Sanders didn’tjump in and pretend to have problems with the candidate he pushed onto the party,he wouldn’tbe in astrong position to choose his own left-fringe replacement withacolorful story The road to socialist victories, Sanders knows,runs through infiltrating the Democratic Party,ofwhich he’s not amember.His objective is not to help Democrats take over Congress but for his socialists to take over the Democratic Party Sanders, the “Independent “senator from Vermont, is not aMainer.He’s not much of aVermonter, either.He’s aNew Yorker,spending large amounts of time back home in hardcore Democratic districts trying—and succeeding —toget his followers toknock off liberal Democrat incumbentsin primaries. One of his winning primary offers called former President Joe Biden “a rapist.” Thing is, the Democratic Socialists of America are heavily represented by college-educated voters who don’t have to worry about losing their

healthcoverage. They don’tlike the rentstheyhave to pay to live in the neighborhoods they’re busygentrifying. Theythink socialists can fix that. NowlistentoaPlatner defender back in Maine. Joanie Monteith told AP,“I’m heartbroken for him and his wife.” Rest assuredthat Platner’s wife, AmyGertner,iswell practiced in the art of handling humiliation, with the world knowing her husband sentraunchy textstoassorted women before the couplereached theirsecond anniversary If finding plausible Democrats to represent the party requires aDemocratic rumble, let’shave it.Sofar,few prominent Democrats have spoken forcefully about the far-left’s boutique nominees. The exception is Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman. He let loose, calling Platner a“predator”and “Bona fide dirtbag,” and referringtohim as “P-Hustle,” his old Reddit handle. Pennsylvania Gov.Josh Shapiro, more gentle in his rebuke, joins Fetterman as aDemocrat who won office in astate that’sbeen turning Republican. Democratsshouldn’tneed alot of

magic to get one of their own elected in Blue New England, and in ayear favoring theirparty Sanders, age 84, might consider retirement. Butanother leftiststringpuller at the other end of the age spectrum, 27-year-old campaign adviser Morris Katz, should also look for another line of work. Katz won some fame as themind behind New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’sadorable internet storytelling campaign. Looking to repeat his act in Maine, Katz pushed theutterlyunqualified Platner over the primary win line, despitePlatner’s “imperfections” being widely known.Katz then made the dumb mistakeofpersonally threatening awoman who left the Platner campaign, demanding sherefute the things sheknew about his abuseof women. Democrats need to replace the internet-savvy fringe operatives with internet-savvy mainstream operatives of their own. Above all, they need to takethe car keys away from Bernie Sanders.

Froma Harrop on X, @FromaHarrop. Email her at fharrop@gmail.com.

The real kicker: the small number of jobs it will create. When fully operational, the largely automated center will provide “atleast 27”jobs, according to the governor’soffice, though this number seems to vary The secretive nature of the negotiations, though not illegal, has fueled growing anger among residents, who say they feel misled by their elected officials.

Twomeetings have been held recently to deal with public outcry.OnJune 24, NorthMark hosted avirtual town hall. The following day,the state Department of Environmental Services convened ameeting at the Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium to accommodate hundreds of outraged residents eager to discuss aproposed power plant expansion, from an approximately 50-megawatt facility to one that’sroughly 450 megawatts, to support the data center.

If approved, the facility would emit hundreds of tons of pollutants into the air annually through 35 exhaust stacks ranging in height from 31 to 80 feet. This includes more than nine tons of carcinogenic formaldehyde and158 tons of fine particulate matter,which is linkedto asthma, birth defects and lung cancerrisk.

The request for an increase in power also seemed to take residents by surprise, even though acounty official confirmed thatNorthMark made clear in its original “projectprofile that it would scale up to 450 megawatts. “Maybe the message didn’tget out properly,” Mike Dobeck, vice president of real estate development for NorthMark, told the Greenville News. Maybe? Emily Wyche of the Southern Environmental Law Center,which is fighting the permit request, wasblunt in her remarks at the public hearing: “The lack of transparency is stunning.” Accordingly,the state has extended the public comment period for the permit until July 31. Meanwhile, Spartanburg County has joinedseveral other counties in passing temporary moratoriums on new plans for data centers.

Spartanburg County officials clearly wanted to keep their discussions under wraps while NorthMark considered locations in other areas. And, charitably,aninvestment of this scale would be hard for any community to resist.

But politicians seem never to learn thatthey work for the people and not for corporations or private-equity firms looking for adealatthe expense of residents and the environment especially not in exchange for the quality of life that makes South Carolina adesirable placeto call home. All things considered, space seems a proper place for data centers —and maybe for afew politicians, if Mr.Musk can make room on his rocket.

Kathleen Parker is on X, @kathleenparker

Quin Hillyer

Kathleen Parker

ASSOCIATEd PRESS PHOTO By JACQUELyN MARTIN

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks about topics including politics and artificial intelligence June 8atthe National Press Club in Washington.

Hut8hosts communityopenhouse,job fair

data center reps reassure residents over concerns

BY IANNE SALVOSA Staff writer

Adata center developer constructing a$10 billion artificial intelligence facility in West Feliciana Parish steppedinto thepublic eye for the first time Tuesday evening.

Miami-based Hut 8hosted ajob fair and community open house to hire employeesand answer questions about its 600,000-square-foot AI data center in St. Francisville Representatives from Hut 8, Entergy and the parish told the story of how the project came to be and what it will mean for residents.

“Any time that we’redealing with citizens’ tax dollars, it should be an open and transparent process,”Parish President Kenny Havard said at the open house, held at the West Feliciana High School auditorium. “You should be able to know exactly where your money is being spent, how we spent, howwe negotiated the deals, how we gotto where we are.” Havard has laudedthe parish’s partnership with the data center developer,inking dealstoobtain up to $90 million annually for the parish. The parish recently received an upfront payment of $10 million, which it must later pay back to Hut 8, to fund road improvements. More than 100people attended the open house and posedques-

tions about thefacility’slighting, water usage and power needs. Many wanted reassurance thatthe project wouldn’tdisturb West Feliciana’srural nature and daily life.

The event followed ajob fair at theschool’sCareer and Technical EducationCenterwhereHut 8representatives and contractors met prospectivecandidates for project roles. More than 500 people attended. The jobfair was the first time Hut8hosted an event of its kind, said HaileyMiller,senior director of public affairs forHut 8. Millersaid the company intends to host more community open houseevents in West Feliciana and workwith residents to preserve their way of life as thedata

center comes into fruition. Afew residents at the meeting who live near the site saidthey have heard construction noises fromoutside their homes, andMiller saidthe company will work to quell noises for the nearbyresidents, wholive about 21/2 miles away

“Ifthere’swaystoassure folks besidesjustcoming up hereand telling youtotrust me, whether that’sthe form of public commitments by ourleadership that you’re able to seeand be able to hold us accountable.Ithink that’s something we’d be happy to do, because ‘trust me’ is not going to get youanywhere or give you any better sleep at night,” she said.

If the project fails,Miller as-

suredresidents that Hut 8would be responsiblefor anyconsequences.

“Weare building and then also owning and operating,” she said. “Tomake it kind of easy to imagine, you could think of us almost as avery large landlord to alot of computers, which are thetenants inside.”

RyanGallagher,aproject superintendent, saidconstruction workers have startedthe foundation of thedata center and will begin work on the roof thisweek.Workers are also constructing awater pipe that connects to the parish water from anew waterwell on Audubon Lane, he said.

Sincenoise is aprominent concern forthose living near data centers, Gallagher said the company is conductinganoise study to measure howloud the center will be so the team can find waystoquellthe noise. The study should conclude in the next few weeks

Excessive light issues should be mitigated, too, he said, sincelighting at the center will face downwardtoward rocks and grass on the ground to minimizereflection.

Hut 8ispaying $16 million for water infrastructure improvementstosupport the project, including awater well, 8milesof water maininfrastructure andfire hydrants. The company will donate the system to the parish once it is constructed.

Laura Beauchamp, vicepresident of business operations and strategy for Entergy Louisiana, saidthe company hasenoughpower forthe data center and residents and ensures that data companies fund anypower improvements needed to serve them

She said Entergy is conducting upgrades at existing plants and building12new plantsacross the state.

“I know the concerns of ‘do we have enough power?’ I’m going to say it here tonight and say absolutely,”Beauchamp said.

Diane Pownall, 64, attended the meetingafter goingtothe job fair with her son, who is interested in computers. Shesaidshe is excited forthe data center to be completed.

“It looks like they put alot of thought into their design and thought about the people of St. Francisville,” said Pownall, who has lived in the area for morethan 20 years.

GaryHill, 64, attendedthe meeting because he lives acouple of miles from thedata center site. Hillsaid the data center will be a “boost” for the parish

He posed questions regarding water use andexpressed concerns that the center would lead to overdevelopment of the area.

“Wedon’twanttobecome Baton Rouge,” Hill said.

The data center will require at least 2milliongallonsofwater for its initial chargetoflushorganic matter from the piping. The center also requires water for cooling, using aclosed-loop system designed to consumeless water,and fordaily functionssuch as running sinks and toilets.

JeffersonParishofficialaddresses Congress aboutFEMA

LeeSheng seeksdisaster relief changes

BY LARA NICHOLSON Staff writer

Jefferson Parish President

Cynthia Lee Sheng appeared before Congress on Wednesday to advocate for changes in disaster reliefshe said would help local governments as federal leaders push for abipartisan bill to overhaul the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency

Lee Shengtestified before the U.S. House Committee on Transportation andInfrastructure in Washington, D.C., on behalf of the National Association of Counties to express her support for the Fixing Emergency Management for Americans Act She appeared alongside several other disaster recovery experts, includingformer FEMA administrator Craig Fugate. The bill proposes sweep-

TURMOIL

Continued from page1B

made settling the town’sfinancial debtsapriority,with thetownreaching an amicable agreement with MPERS last weekregardingits outstanding debt.The details of the agreement have not yet been released. Elton’sfinancial troubles

LEA

Continued from page1B

had facilities for housing cattle, horses and other livestock during their care, butsometimes it was more convenient for his father to go to the farms, Lea said. During his years of private practice, Mack Lea served as presidentof the LouisianaVeterinary Medical Association at one time and “was known and respected” because of his longtime involvementin large-animal practice, his son said. Mack Lea had retired from private practice in 1990 when the Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry,the late Bob Odom, appointed him as veterinarian for the state.

“It was an opportunity for

ing changes to FEMA and its policies, thebiggest change beingthe removal of FEMA fromthe U.S. Department of HomelandSecurityto make it an independent, cabinetlevel agency

LeeShenglaudedseveral provisions of thebill intended to expedite recovery at the local level, such as givinggrants to local governments to payfor disaster recovery on the front end instead of reimbursements, streamlining bureaucratic proceduresfor obtaining aid and expanding on FEMA’s mitigation programstohelp prevent additionaldamage in future disasters.

“Public assistance is crucial for helping communities rebuildafter disasters, but thelengthyreimbursement process can delay recovery andhinder our abilitytorestorecriticalservices,”Lee Sheng said.

Thebillpassedthe House committee last September, butitawaits House floor action Under current FEMA assistanceprograms, local

stem from achangeinstate law that no longer requires the Coushatta Tribe of Indians to commit acertain amount of casino/gambling revenue tothe town. The change in law first tookeffect in early 2024 after it was signed into law by former Gov.John BelEdwards Eltonrelied on Coushatta moneyfor up to 80% of its budget, with the townreceiving approximately $910,000

himtobeinvolved statewide in animal healthinitiativesand policies,” Philip Lea said.

During MackLea’s 17 years as state veterinarian, Louisiana was officially designatedbythe U.S. Department of Agricultureas “Brucellosis Class Free,” meaning an end to thehighly contagious, bacterial disease in itsdomesticcattle. It was alongtime effort, started by the department in decades past, Philip Leasaid,but was finally achieved by vaccination initiatives, quarantines and isolation for animals who were ill, as well as regular testing, documentationand tracking

“He was veryanalytical andenjoyedworking with animals, for sure,” Lea said, “but Ithink what he enjoyed mostwas thepeople he worked with. His closest

governments andorganizationsare responsible forthe cost of disasterrecovery and can later receive reimbursementfromFEMA. While the current reimbursementsystem protects against fraud, waste and abuse, Fugatesaid, it can also causelocal governmentstowaityears before receiving funds.

Disaster mitigation and recovery,aswell as therole of FEMA, have become increasingly vital to communities across thecountry as disasters grow morefrequent due to climate change. Last year alone, theUnited States faced 23 different billion-dollar disasters thatcollectively caused more than $115billion in damages, according to Lee Sheng.

“Weare seeing different kinds of challenges, differentkinds of hazards that we’ve neverseenbefore, Lee Sheng said. “Wehad snowwhereI come from in Louisiana. We’ve never had snowbefore. So it’s very frightening, to be frank, and we wantasacountry to have

annually at the timethe tribe’s commitment was waived

The loss of the funds has led Elton to reduce thetown staff to fivepeople, including Pierrotti.According to Pierrotti,the salary reductions are just the newest step in the town’sefforts to settle its outstanding payments with limitedrevenue,although he vetoed asimilar salaryreduction forcouncil members.

friends were the cattlemen he kept in touch with,even after he retired.” Services for Mack Lea will be held on Tuesday at St. Johnthe Baptist Catholic Church in Zachary,with visitation from 9to11a.m., followed by afuneral Mass. EmailEllyn Couvillion at ecouvillion@theadvocate. com.

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disasterreform anddisaster response thatmatches the challengesthatweface.”

Since2024, Lee Sheng has servedasco-chair of the National Association of Counties’Intergovernmental Disaster Reform Task Force, abody of 28 members that makes federal disasterpolicyrecommendations with thegoalofstrengthening intergovernmental partner-

ships and enhancing local disastermitigationand recovery. She cameinto the role shortly after completing herfirst term as parish president,where she ledthe parish through alitany of major disastersincluding theCOVID-19 pandemic HurricaneIda andthreats to the watersupply because of saltwater intrusion caused by severe droughts. Separate from the House bill, President Donald Trump also appointedhis own FEMA Review Council to identify changestothe agency after originally proposing the elimination of FEMA altogether and cutting morethan 200 employees during theDepartment of Government Efficiency’s downsizing effort.

STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

RayNeck,ofTurner Industries, left, talks to residents during ajob fair hosted by Hut 8atWest Feliciana High School on Tuesday

LSU to enshrine

QB Jones’ number

All-American’s honor setfor Nov. 14 at TigerStadium

BY SCOTT RABALAIS Staff writer

Another LSU great is getting his placeof honorinTigerStadium.

The school announced Wednesday that it is retiring the No. 7jersey of former AllAmerican quarterback Bert Jones and will put his name and number in lights onthe stadium’sfacade. Aceremonytohonor Jones will take place Nov.14 during LSU’s regular-seasonhome finale against Texas According to LSU, Jones’ honor was by a unanimous vote of the LSU AthleticHall of Fame committee.

“I had no idea that there was anything inthe works,” Jones said in astatement from LSU “I have been the beneficiary of alot of good things and received alot ofaccolades and a lot of awards, but this is at the top of thelist “To(have my name andnumber) hung up in Tiger Stadium, where my father played, my brother played and cousins played,is special. And what’seven equally asspecial is that Iwill be up there withmyLSU roommate Tommy Casanova.”

Jones becomes the fifth player to have his name and number enshrined in Tiger Stadium, along with 1959Heisman Trophy winner Billy Cannon (No. 20), 1962 Heisman runner-up Jerry Stovall (No. 21), AllAmerican running back Charles Alexander (No. 4) and Casanova (No. 37),LSU’sonly three-time All-American.

The retirement of Jones’ No.7 jersey does not mean future LSU players will beunable to wear that number,animportant distinction as wearing No. 7and No. 18 have become annual honorsfor Tigerfootballplayers. Additionally,six other All-Americans wore No. 7atLSU, more thanany other number,includingPatrickPeterson, Tyrann Mathieu and Leonard Fournette. LSU’sonly retired number remains No. 20, which was last worn by Cannon.

Nicknamed the “Ruston Rifle” because of

See LSU, page 3C

SUNBELTCONFERENCEMEDIA

East lookstotoppleDukes

Napier takesover reigning SBCchampions

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

The James Madison Dukes played in the College Football Playoff last season after finishing 8-0 in the Sun Belt Conference and winningthe championship game. Naturally,the Dukes are themostpopular pick to win theSun Belt again in 2026, but things are nowhere near thesame. Former UL coach andnew James Madi-

sonhead manBilly Napier returned to the league on Day 1ofthe Sun Beltfootball media days on Wednesday at the Marriott WarehouseDistrictHotel in NewOrleans Napier is coming off a22-23 stint in four seasons at Florida.

With Napier,there will be 63 new players on the roster and 38 new staff members.

Napier said being able to observe the program during the CFPrun helped withthe transition.

“That was abig keyfor us, kind of acheat code,” Napier said. “Wehad access to practice. It allowed us to observe the operation. I’m incredibly gratefulfor (former) coach (Bob) Chesney for his open-minded approach.”

Among those 63 newplayers is agroup of huge offensive linemen. The newcomers will join one of only three returning starters in center Zach Greenburg. Quarterback Alonza Barnett transferred to CentralFlorida,and August camp will feature aquarterback battle among JC Evans, Richmond transferCamden Coleman and Memphis transfer Arrington Maiden. “It’satrue quarterback battle, but Ireally feel good about all of those guys,” Napier said. “I’m confident we’re going to be in good shape.” While Napier’scoaching staff will bring

Kamara to play 10th season with Saints aftersides restructure contract

BY MATTHEWPARAS Staff writer

The New OrleansSaints and Alvin Kamara have found common ground, and the team’sall-time leading rusher isn’tgoing anywhere.

Thetwo sides agreed on arestructured contract that will keep Kamara in the black andgoldfor a10thseason,sourceswithknowledge of the situation confirmed on Wednesday. The newswas first reported by former Saints offensive lineman TerronArmstead on his podcast.

The agreement comes after months-long speculation about Kamara’sfuture. Saints coach Kellen Moore and general manager Mickey Loomis remained coy about whether the team planned for Kamara to return in 2026,

even though he wasunder contract forone moreyear

“I just talkedtohim,” Armsteadsaid on his podcast.

“He’spissed off at the last couple years andhow thenarrativehas started to change that he can’t do this,thathe can’t do that. He hates that.”

The Saints usedanunconventional contract restructure in March to lower Kamara’scap hit fornext season to $10.5 million, but they wanted to address his contract —either by apay cut or by moving on —even further

The Saints added veteran back Travis Etienne on a four-year,$52 million contract in free agency

Speaking to reporters in June, whenhemadeasurprise appearance at the Saints’ voluntary offseason

ä See KAMARA, page 3C

Saints running back Alvin Kamara warmsupbefore agameagainst the San Francisco49ers on Sept. 1atthe Caesars Superdome. Kamara and the Saints agreed on arestructured contractthat will keep the star running back withthe team for a10thseason. STAFF FILEPHOTO By dAVIdGRUNFELd

Argentina’sresilienceprevailsagain to stun England

BYJAMES ROBSON AP soccer writer

ATLANTA— No “Hand of God” this time. Argentina didn’tneed it. Instead it was the hallowed feet of Lionel Messi and the unbreakable spirit of ateam that repeatedly has fought back at this year’sWorld Cup that is now one step away from back-to-back titles.

Trailing 1-0 going into the85th minute, Argentina rallied for a2-1 victory over England on Wednesday with goals from Enzo Fernandez andsubstitute Lautaro Martinez.

“I dreamedit, Iswear.ItoldAlexis (Mac Allister) that Iwas going to score. Itold him that Iwas going to comeonand Iwas going to win it,” Martinez said. “I can tell you this team keepsshowingwhat it’s madeof.” At the finalwhistle,Messi fell to his knees in celebration while England players collapsed in disbelief —again. Add 2026 to 1986 and 1998 on the list of games when Argentina hasextinguishedEnglish hopes at the World Cup. “I’mgutted for the team,the staff, the fans,”England captainHarry Kane said. “Weworked so hard to be here. The lads

have given everybit of blood, sweatand tears. To fall short like we did is just gutting.”

The reigning champions will take on European championSpain in thefinal Sunday in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The best that South America has to offer against the best of Europe. The loss for England will hurt anew generation of fans in asimilar way to DiegoMaradona’sinfamous handball goal in the 1986 World Cup quarterfinals and the penalty shootout loss in 1998 when David

PROVIdEd PHOTO By PARKER WATERS/SUN BELT

NewJames Madison coach Billy Napier addresses the media on dayOne of Sun Belt Conference media days at the Marriott Hotel Warehouse district in NewOrleans.

Verlander pumps up American League

Tigers pitcher reflects on career in final All-Star

BY DAN GELSTON AP sportswriter

Game

PHILADELPHIA Justin Verlander

used his fingers in this trip to Philadelphia simply to tip his cap toward applauding All-Star Game fans. He once playfully flipped off Phillies fans when his Houston Astros were in Philadelphia for the 2022 World Series. There was only mutual respect in this game.

The 43-year-old Verlander was one of the few All-Stars on Tuesday night to receive a warm ovation in Philadelphia from a crowd that reveled in jeering just about any player who was not in a Phillies uniform.

Verlander is set to retire at the end of the season to cap a career that includes three Cy Young Awards.

Up first, one more Midsummer Classic.

“In his 10th and final All-Star Game, please welcome to Philadelphia, Justin Verlander,” the public address announcer noted. Verlander didn’t totally sit out the American League’s 4-0 win over the National League on Tuesday night.

Toronto manager John Schneider asked Verlander to address the team and share thoughts on the importance of the All-Star honor out of respect for the pitcher’s career

“You never know when you’re going to be in this position,” Schneider said as he relayed Verlander’s message. “You have to appreciate the people along the way He’s made lifelong friends from being in this game for so long.”

Verlander had more gas left in the pregame speech tank. He talked starter Dylan Cease out of throwing a changeup as the first pitch of the game and go with a heater against Phillies slugger

Kyle Schwarber

Cease threw a 96.9-mph fourseam strike to Schwarber and struck out the side in the first inning, “He could be a politician,” Cease said of Verlander

detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander works against the Arizona diamondbacks during the

game on March 30 in Phoenix.

Kevin McGonigle, Verlander’s 21-year-old Tigers teammate and suburban Philadelphia native, soaked in the moment when Verlander took the floor

“He kept telling the guys that you don’t take anything for granted and if you keep working hard, you will find yourself back in this room multiple time,” McGonigle said “Be a good teammate and building relationships and getting to learn as much as you can from other guys.”

Verlander, who did not discuss the speech, enjoyed the chance to participate in some final festivities and walked the All-Star red carpet in the afternoon with his wife, model Kate Upton, and their two young children.

The lone bummer for Verlander is that the Detroit Tigers All-Star was unable to pitch in the game as he recovers from a hamstring injury Verlander, the oldest player in Major League Baseball, signed a $13 million, one-year contract to rejoin the Tigers in February

He has made only one start in an injury-ravaged season and was named to the All-Star team as a Legend Pick by Commissioner Rob Manfred Phillies slugger Bryce Harper earned the honor

in the National League.

“I’m happy with the body of work,” Verlander said ahead of the game. “I hope I can add to it somehow, someway in the second half When I look back, I know I gave it everything.”

Verlander went 183-115 from 2005 to 2017 with the Tigers. He won the American League Rookie of the Year award in 2006 and both the AL MVP and Cy Young Award in 2011. He helped Detroit reach the World Series in 2006 and 2012, along with four straight division titles from 2011 to 2014.

Verlander was the 2017 ALCS MVP in Houston and helped the Astros win the World Series that year, and was a key player for them when they won another title in 2022. He won his second and third Cy Young Awards in 2019 and 2022.

Verlander, who also had brief stints with the New York Mets and San Francisco, played coy when asked about which team cap he would choose for his sure-thing induction into the Hall of Fame.

“At least, I was able to narrow it down to two,” Verlander said with a laugh. “I’m not there yet.”

Verlander relaxed against a clubhouse wall next to his locker

Pelicans’ Summer League winning

streak snapped

The New Orleans Pelicans had their modest two-game Summer League win streak snapped Wednesday with an 82-77 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in Las Vegas. New Orleans (2-2) was led in scoring by Markquis Nowell with 20 points in 24 minutes. Chris Bell added 12 points, and Christian Shumate chipped in eight points and nine rebounds for the Pelicans, who led 33-31 at halftime. Malik Dia and Melvin Council each added nine points for the Pelicans. Free agent signee Solomon Washington, a former Carver High star, had five points, seven rebounds and four assists. Pelicans second-round draft pick Jaron Pierre did not play Cleveland (2-2) was led by Malaki Branham with 23 points.

Brewers bolster rotation in deal with the Astros

MILWAUKEE The Milwaukee Brewers acquired right-handed pitcher Lance McCullers Jr and left-hander Colton Gordon from the Houston Astros on Wednesday in exchange for outfield prospect Jadyn Fielder

inning of

as he reflected over a career that stamped him as perhaps the best of his era.

Verlander has a career record of 266-159 with a 3.33 ERA in 556 starts across 21 major league seasons with the Tigers, Astros, Mets and San Francisco Giants. He has 3,554 strikeouts while tossing 26 complete games, including nine shutouts.

Not bad for a kid from Virginia who was sent to a baseball academy by his family to help him gain arm strength. His parents knew so little about how to guide a kid that flashed big league potential that his father, Richard, bought a most unique kind of instructional guide.

“My dad bought a ‘How to Pitch for Dummies’ book,” Verlander said to laughter “I’m not joking. He’s like, OK, step one, you step back with your left foot. Step two, you turn this way We were doing that in my front yard because he learned I could throw a rock pretty far.”

Turned out, with a little help along the way, Verlander learned to throw a baseball pretty hard.

Verlander just hopes in his last season, he hasn’t thrown his last one.

American League earns first All-Star shutout since 2013

BY RONALD BLUM AP baseball writer

PHILADELPHIA Dylan Cease started a parade of pitchers that shut down a slew of baseball’s best batters in a display of the pitching dominance that rules the sport.

“I thought before the game about starting with a changeup and I thought it would be funny,” he said He didn’t. And the hitters were not laughing.

Cease struck out the side in the first inning, combining with 10 relievers on a three-hitter that led the American League over the National League 4-0 in Tuesday night’s AllStar Game.

Cease fanned Kyle Schwarber, Juan Soto and CJ Abrams around a walk in the first inning, when he got six misses among 15 swings. He became just the seventh pitcher to strike out three in an All-Star opening inning after Carl Hubbell (1934), Warren Spahn (1949), Jim Palmer (1977), Dave Stieb (1983), Pedro Martinez (1999) and Brad Penny (2006) — four of them Hall of Famers. After speaking with Justin Verlander, the senior AL All-Star, Cease gave up the idea of starting with a changeup and instead threw Schwarber a 96.9 mph four-seamer

“Verlander talked me out of it,” Cease said. “So we started with the heater and then I was glad we did.” Pitchers struck out 27, a record for a nine-inning All-Star Game, 15 of them by AL hurlers.

“That’s the game now Guys’ stuff is unbelievable,” said AL manager John Schneider, also Cease’s skipper in Toronto. “I think the bullpen guys kind of fed off of it. They were all excited coming off the mound.

ASSOCIATEd

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher dylan Cease throws during the MLB All-Star Game between the American League and National League on Tuesday in Philadelphia.

It speaks volumes to how good the pitching is, for sure.”All-Star MVP Cody Bellinger hit a two-run single and Ben Rice followed with an RBI single in the first against Cristopher Sánchez of the host Philadelphia Phillies. Miguel Vargas of the Chicago White Sox added an eighth-inning home run off the Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Justin Wrobleski, who was pitching on his 26th birthday, for the game’s only extra-base hit The AL won for the 18th time in 23 games and holds a 49-45-2 advantage overall.

“The pitching was just dominant today,” Bellinger said. Singles by Soto in the fourth, Pete Crow-Armstrong in the eighth and Otto Lopez in the ninth were the only hits by the NL, which failed to advance a runner past first. Parker Messick, Michael Wacha, Joe Ryan, Nick Martinez, Cade

Smith, Drew Rasmussen Jacob Latz, Louis Varland, Aroldis Chapman and Bryan Baker finished the 10th All-Star shutout and first since the AL’s 2-0 win in 2013 at New York’s Citi Field. Some starting star power was missing, with Jacob Misoriowski, Paul Skenes and Shohei Ohtani all unavailable. Just six pitches reached 100 mph, the fewest in an All-Star Game since 2021. Bellinger and Rice both singled on up sinkers from Sánchez, who struggled through a 34-pitch inning that included three hits and two walks.

“It just took me a little time to soak it all in and enjoy it,” Sánchez said through a translator Documenting the day Managers and starters entered through replica Liberty Bells in front of each dugout, walked to

home plate and used a feathered

quill to sign an oversized lineup card, as if they were Founding Fathers affixing names to the Declaration of Independence MLB donated the card to the Hall of Fame. Dirt around the plate was surrounded by 13 stars, one for each of the Colonies.

After the fourth inning, a video was played of kids bicycling to a sandlot game with a narration by Oscar-winning actor J.K. Simmons. As footage was played of Ray Charles singing “America the Beautiful” at Game 2 of the 2001 World Series, the kids biked onto the field and started interacting with the AllStars as fireworks went off above the ballpark.

“We were all one of those kids,” NL manager Dave Roberts of the Dodgers said. “Some of these kids might never get a chance to be on a major league field. So for them to have that opportunity to be have a conversation with an All-Star is something that they might never get that chance again, right?

Bellinger thought back to his youth.

“We’re all little kids at heart playing this game even though it’s a challenging game,” he said. “We’re all still those little kids with big dreams.”

Early exit

Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero was hit on the outside of his left hand by a 97.6 mph sinker from St Louis closer Riley O’Brien in the third inning and immediately left the game. The 23-year-old, fourth in the major leagues with 28 home runs, stayed down for a few moments before he popped up and ran straight into the clubhouse X-rays were negative.

Brewers general manager Matt Arnold announced the swap that included cash from Houston. Milwaukee cleared space on the 40man roster by sending left-handed pitcher Rob Zastryzny to the 60-day injured list. Milwaukee went into the All-Star break with a five-game lead in the NL Central. They trailed the defending NL champion Los Angeles Dodgers by 1½ games in the league standings.

The Brewers own a 3.48 team ERA that ranks second in the majors — behind only the New York Yankees.

Wilson chosen as No. 1 pick for WNBA All-Star Game

Four-time MVP A’ja Wilson was selected first in the WNBA All-Star draft for the exhibition game that will be played on July 25 in Chicago.

Acting as honorary general managers, WNBA greats Cynthia Cooper and Teresa Weatherspoon each drafted All-Star teams Wednesday from players that previously were either voted as starters by fans, media and fellow players or chosen as reserves by the league’s coaches. Previously the top two fan votegetters would serve as captains and draft their own teams. This year that would have been Dallas’ Paige Bueckers and Indiana’s Caitlin Clark.

Portland, Chicago, Connecticut and Phoenix have no All-Stars.

Wimbledon women’s final earns record viewership

LONDON Helped by some midmatch drama, the Wimbledon final between Linda Noskova and Karolina Muchova over the weekend was ESPN’s most-watched women’s championship match at the grass-court Grand Slam.

The all-Czech final, during which Noskova wasted five match points and a 5-2 lead in the second set before eventually winning 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 on Saturday, averaged 1.9 million viewers. That was an increase of 48% compared to last year’s women’s final: Iga Swiatek’s 6-0, 6-0 rout of Amanda Anisimova in 57 minutes. Overall, it ranked as ESPN’s second most-viewed Wimbledon, with an 18% year-over-year increase, averaging 853,000 viewers per day, the network said.

Yzerman steps down as GM of Detroit Red Wings

Steve Yzerman abruptly stepped down as general manager of the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday a stunning midsummer change by a franchise great leaving the job after seven seasons and zero playoff appearances.

Yzerman’s transition to an advisory role to owner and CEO Chris Ilitch comes several weeks after captain and No. 1 center Dylan Larkin’s trade request came to light. The Red Wings’ decade-long playoff drought is the longest in the storied history of the organization and the longest active drought in the NHL.

The team said its search for a new head of hockey operations has begun and that Yzerman will continue to be in charge on a day-to-day basis until his successor is determined.

ASSOCIATEd PRESS FILE PHOTO By dARRyL WEBB

first

a

PRESS PHOTO By MATT ROURKE

his hometown and powerfulright arm, Jones played at LSU from 1970-72 in an era whenathletes could play only three varsity seasons. Sharing time at quarterback with senior Buddy Lee, Jones helped lead the Tigers to the 1970 SoutheasternConference championship, LSU’sonly conference title between 1961 and 1988. LSU went 26-6-1 during Jones’ career, as he left Baton Rouge as the school’sall-time leaderinpassing yards (3,255), touchdownpasses (28), attempts (418) and completions (220).

In 1972, Jones became the program’sfirst All-America quarterback and finished fourth in Heis-

man Trophy voting. His signature moment that season came when he led the Tigers on an 80-yard drive capped by alast-second touchdown pass to Brad Davis to beatOle Miss 17-16, one of the most memorable playsinLSU history Jones was theNo. 2overall pick in the 1973NFL Draft by the Baltimore Colts, wherehewenton to be the 1976 NFL MVP. Jones retired in 1982 after nine seasons with theColts andone with theLos Angeles Rams, the second half of his career marked by shoulder andneck injuries. Jones finished his pro career with 18,190 yards passing and124 touchdowns.

In 2016, Jones was enshrinedin theCollege Football Hall of Fame.

For more LSU sportsupdates, sign up for our newsletter at theadvocate.com/lsunewsletter

ASSOCIATEd PRESS FILE PHOTO

LSU quarterback BertJones spikes the ball after scoringa touchdown in the fourth quarter against Iowa State on dec. 18, 1971, in El Paso, Texas. Jones received aunanimous vote from the LSU Athletic Hall of Fame committee to be enshrined at TigerStadium

KAMARA

Continued from page1C

workouts,Kamara said he was excited to playwithEtienne and had“no beef” with the Saints. He indicated he wasn’tbotheredby theteam’sapproach to his status.

“I’ve been through alot in my life, man,” Kamarasaid then.“I learnednot to take things personal. Man, I’m blessed. Like it is what it is. We’re in abusiness that’sunique to alot of spaces in theworld. Nothingcatches me offguard, man.”

The terms of Kamara’snew contract are not yet available, butthe agreementmarksthe latestcompromise between the Saints and an iconic playertokeep him around Last month, the Saints and Cam Jordan agreed on aone-year contract after the defensiveend

SBC

Continued from page1C

three new schemes, he knows many things about the program don’tneed to change.

“I think it’sabig part of thechallenge,” Napier said. “We’ve hada lotofconversations with coaches whohave been here in the past, andweleaned on the playersa little bit. Those 49 players that are returning from last year’steam have been huge. Imean, they’ve been abig asset for myself.”

Thedefense ranked No. 5nationallylast season in totaldefense. Defensive lineman Amar Thomas is one returning players forthe Dukes.

“Last year was great,” Thomas said. “Wecelebrated it, but this is anew season. Last year is over.”

ODUturns corner

Old Dominion is ready to prove it truly turned the corner after a 10-3, 6-2 seasonin2025.

“I think we learned how important every single possession can be,” ODU coachRicky Rahne said “Winning one-possession games

ARGENTINA

Continuedfrom page1C

Beckham was sent off for kicking Diego Simeone.

The difference is therecan be no sense of injustice this time, even if England had victory in its sights after Anthony Gordon scored the opening goal in the55th minute.

Theteam was hanging on as the gamewore on. England goalkeeper Jordon Pickford made vital saves while Mac Allistersent aheader off the post as wave after wave of Argentina attacks came.

Messi largely hadbeenkept quiet. But when he’sonthe field, anything seems possible.

He fed the balltoFernandez to sweep in the equalizer from outside the box in the 85th minute. And twominutes into stoppage time, Messi sent in across for Mar-

tinez to head in the winner It almost felt inevitable,especially given the amount of times Argentina simply has refused to give in at this year’s World Cup From Cape Verde to Egypt, Messi and his teammates always seem to find away England, in contrast, came up short in the World Cup semifinals for thethird time after losses to Germanyin1990 and Croatia in 2018. And it’sanother occasion in recent years when theEngland players have squandered awinning position in the later stages of amajor tournament.

They led 1-0 against Croatia in thesemifinals eight years ago and lost 2-1. They wereup1-0 against Italy in theEuropean Championship final in 2021 and lost on penalties.

On Wednesday,England coach Thomas Tuchel’ssubstitutions seemed to be more intent on hold-

testedfree agency so that Jordan couldreturn for a16th season. In theyears before that, the Saints negotiated pay cuts with veterans such as Jordan,TyrannMathieu andDemario Davis. The Saints’ negotiationswithKamara, at least publicly,never gotcontentious, but thesaga did draw plentyofinterest over thelastfew months. TheSaints received some criticism for their non-committal approach, most notably from Mathieu.He suggestedNew Orleans was disrespecting its all-time leadingrusherbynot acting in “good faith.” Mathieu, who retired last year,said hedidn’tthink the Saints had “theballs to outright cut him” and suggested the franchise wanted Kamaratoinstead retire.

“. We’reina business that’s unique to alot of spaces in the world.Nothing catches me off-guard, man.”

ALVIN KAMARA, Saints running back

The situation took another turn in June when Kamara showed up for an OTAsession for thefirst time since 2019. The visit appeared to evencatch Mooreoff-guard and happenedsoonafter Kamara’sagent told the NFL Network that the running back had every intentionofplaying for the Saints next season. Kamara’simpromptu visit did not spur aresolution. Instead, theSaintsconcluded OTAs andmandatory minicamp with the deal still unresolved. A month later,the Saints and Kamarafinally have reached a compromisejust two weeksbefore training camp begins.

Kamaraiscoming off his least productive season as apro. The 30-year-old posted career lows in several categories, including rush-

ing yards (471) and yards per attempt(3.6) while missing the final six games with aknee injury.As ateam, the Saints struggled in the run game last season,ranking 28th in rushing.

The pronounced struggles are why the Saints not only pursued Etienne butalso signed guard David Edwards. Now that the Saints know Kamara will be on the roster, theNew Orleans coaching staff can further envision ways the fivetime Pro Bowler can complement Etienne, who’sstill expected to be thelead back Kamara has said he has no problem sharing carries.

“We’ve done it here before,” Kamara said last month. “You saw it here with Mark (Ingram)and I. Latavius(Murray) and I. Just havingtwo talentedbacks,itbenefits each back. Yougotta try to prepare for both, and it puts (defenses) in a dilemma right there.”

Argentina forward Lionel Messi celebrates after teammate Enzo Fernandez scored agoal during the WorldCup semifinal match against England on Wednesday in Atlanta.

ing on rather than killing the game off with another goal.

“Weplayedagood gamefor the majority of it. When we went 1-0 up, we seemed to just try to hold on,whichatthis levelisnot enough,”Kanesaid. “Wetalkabout knocking on the door.We’re close, we just need to find that missing piece in the final stage of the tournament.”

In contrast, Argentina is onestep away from history.Messi,now 39 and likely playing at his last World Cup, is onewin away fromfurther strengthening his case as the greatest soccer player of all time.

“We’re going to try to win, we’re going to leaveeverything out there,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said. “It’svery difficult to get people to understand what these players are showing. It’sincredible. We are unique, truly,and it’snot arrogance, it’sfrom the heart. We are unique.”

aresoimportant. We won ourfair share (last year), but it’snot easy You’re not going to win all of them.

“Wewere able to finish last year There’sastat called ‘game control,’ and we finished 11th in the country in thatstat last year.Being able to controlthe gamemakes abig difference.”

Like most teams, that control revolvesaroundturnovers. The Monarchslost 14 fumbles last season.

“Since I’ve been the head coach, we have not lost aconference gamewedidn’tturnthe ball over,” Rahne said. “So if we have zero turnovers,wedon’tlose. That’s definitely something we’ve talked about, andithas to be on defense, too.”

In addition to returning six starters on defense, the Monarchs bring back nine seasoned players on adefense that didn’tallow more than 10 points in the last five games. ODU had18defensive players play 200 or more snaps last season and10ofthem are back.

The defense finished second in the SunBelt in total and scoring defense. The unit forced 25 turnovers andcollected 39 sacks.

Ledbyquarterback Colton Jo-

seph, the offenseoutscored opponents115-31inthe first quarter

The Monarchs rushedfor 218 yards in a27-14 loss to eventual national champion Indiana in the season opener last year

Joseph transferred to Wisconsin, so the Monarchs have aquarterback battle between last year’s backup Quinn Henicle, Washington Statetransfer Jaxon Potter and redshirt freshman Ryan Huff.

Marshall thinking big Basedoff of last year’sperformance, the mediadaysdarling this season seemstobeMarshall.

In coach Tony Gibson’sfirst season, theThundering Herd showed some positive signswith a5-7, 4-4 record.The Herd averaged404.9 total yards but alsoyielded 410.6 yards agame. Gibson brought in anew defensive staff, including coordinator Brad Lambert.

“A lot of ournew coaches have coached togetherinthe past, so theyunderstand each other and theyunderstand the scheme,” Gibson said. “Wehave seven starters coming back.”

Theoffense is ledbyquarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson, who

was recently voted as the preseason SunBeltOffensive Player of the Year.Del Rio-Wilson threw for 2,043 yards with 17 touchdowns and five interceptionswhile rushing for 660 yards and six scores.

“I wanttoshow my arm alittle more thisyear,” Rio-Wilson said. “I want to open it up alittle bit.”

Eyes on defense

Georgia Southern now has made it to fourstraight bowl gamesafter a7-6 and4-4 season,but coachClay Helton wants more.

The defense gave up 5,961 yards last season,soHelton brought in Mike Mutzascoordinator from StephenF.Austin, whichled the FCSintackles for loss and was 10th in sacks.

“Webrought in Mike forthat consistency on the defensive side to produce big plays, turnovers and tackles forlosses,” Helton said. “I think that’sahuge piece of thepuzzle.” Offensively,former LSU, Texas A&Mand NorthCarolina quarterback Max Johnsontakes over at quarterback.

“He walks into the room,poised, leadsit, and then,whenhedoes it on thefield,”Helton said.“Ithink

all great quarterbacks provide hope. That’swhat quarterbacks do.”

Coastala mystery

The biggest unknowninthe East race is Coastal Carolina under first-year coach Ryan Beard,who was21-14 in aturnaroundscenario at Missouri State. Beard brought quarterback Deuce Bailey with him to Conway, South Carolina, but declared the quarterback competition awideopen race, along with Trevor Jackson from Arkansas and Trey Gara of Tyler Junior College.

That decision is critical, especially with what’s expected by offensive coordinator Nick Petrino.

“Our quarterback has to be able to identifythings,”Beard said “He can’tjust be aguy who tries to overcome everything with athleticism. The quarterbackhas to put you in position to be successful.

“It’sgreat having aplaymaker at quarterback, but sometimes the other side of that is guys whogive afew games away.Itry to stay away from that.”

Email KevinFoote at kfoote@theadvocate.com.

STAFF

PHOTO By BRETT dUKE Saints backupquarterback Spencer Rattler,left, and running backAlvin Kamara embrace during organized team activities on June 3 in Metairie.

AP PHOTO By REBECCA BLACKWEL

Players map out strategy for final major of season

BY DOUG FERGUSON AP golf writer

SOUTHPORT, England — How far the golf ball goes has been debated for the past 20 years and distance is likely to be a big concern this week at Royal Birkdale for the British Open, with one twist.

It’s not how far shots are going in the air It’s what happens when they get on the ground. And with links golf, that’s not always easy to control, especially this week.

“You can’t judge every single bounce perfectly,” Justin Rose said. “But you have to accept the nature of a links golf course. There’s going to be some good bounces, bad bounces. Just keep playing with a bit of freedom and creativity, especially this week. You’re going to get a few funny bounces here or there. That’s all part of it.”

The 154th British Open begins Thursday with a mixture of excitement and curiosity For those who love links golf, there’s no greater colors than brown and yellow that indicate crispy conditions in which the fairways can run faster than some of the greens

Rarely has the forecast been filled with warm sunshine with a cloudless sky, which will be a challenge for the R&A to keep the turf from getting too fast. Rory McIlroy came to Royal Birkdale a few weeks ago and saw what seemed to be a different course. It was greener The rough was more lush. It’s no longer like that. Yes, it’s harder to

SCOREBOARD

Right, Edwin Moscoso; Left, Adam

(42,901).

03:10:06. 2. Olav Kooij, Netherlands, Decathlon CMA CGM Team, same time

3. Jasper Philipsen, Belgium, Alpecin-Premier Tech, same time.

4. Milan Fretin, Belgium, Cofidis, same time

5. Henri Artz, Netherlands, Lotto Intermarché, same time.

6. Biniam Girmay, Eritrea, NSN Cycling Team, same time.

7. Anthony Turgis, France, TotalEnergies, same time.

8. Clément Russo, France, Groupama-FDJ United, same time 9. Fernando Gaviria, Colombia, Caja RuralSeguros RGA, same time 10. Pascal Ackermann, Germany, Team Jayco AlUla, same time. Overall standings 1. Tadej Pogacar, Slovenia, UAE Team Emirates XRG, 39:25:08. 2. Jonas Vingegaard Hansen, Denmark, Team Visma ‘ Lease a Bike, 39:28:44.

3. Remco Evenepoel, Belgium, Red Bull — Bora — Hansgrohe, 39:29:14. 4. Juan Ayuso, Spain, Lidl-Trek, 39:29:30. 5. Paul Seixas, France, Decathlon CMA CGM Team, 39:29:43. 6. Florian Lipowitz, Germany, Red Bull — Bora — Hansgrohe, 39:29:52. 7. Isaac del Toro, Mexico, UAE Team Emirates XRG, 39:30:16. 8. Mattias Skjelmose, Denmark, Lidl-Trek, 39:30:53. 9. Lenny Martinez, France, Bahrain Victorious, 39:31:42. 10. Tom Pidcock, Great Britain, PinarelloQ36.5 Pro Cycling Team, 39:36:57.

Tennis

ATP-Croatia Open Umag

At ITC Stella Maris; Umag, Croatia Surface: Red clay Men’s singles Round of 16 Daniel Merida, Spain, def. Tomas Martin Etcheverry (3), Argentina, 7-5, 6-4. Damir Dzumhur, Bosnia-Herzegovina, def. Juan Carlos Prado Angelo, Bolivia, 7-6 (2), 6-1. Matteo Arnaldi (4), Italy, def. Federico Agustin Gomez, Argentina, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (2), Spain, def. Marco Trungelliti, Argentina, 6-4, 7-5. Roman Andres Burruchaga, Argentina, def. Flavio Cobolli (1), Italy, 6-2, 6-4. Camilo Ugo Carabelli (7), Argentina, def. Pablo Carreno Busta, Spain, 3-6, 7-5, 7-5. Titouan Droguet, France, def. Luca Van Assche, France, 6-1, 1-6, 7-5. Alex Molcan, Slovakia, def. Dino Prizmic, Croatia, 3-6, 7-6 (5), 4-0, ret. WTA-Iasi Open At Iasi, Romania Surface: Red clay Women’s singles Round of 16 Yulia Putintseva (9), Kazakhstan, def. Alina Charaeva, Russia, 6-3, 6-3. Tamara Zidansek, Slovenia, def. Anna Bondar (7), Hungary, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (5), 7-5. Clara Burel, France, def. Elsa Jacquemot (8), France, 6-1, 6-1. Petra Marcinko (2), Croatia, def. Elina Avanesyan, Russia, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5).

ATP-Swiss Open At Roy Emerson Arena; Gstaad, Switzerland Surface: Red clay Men’s singles Round of 16 Raphael Collignon (7), Belgium, def. Lorenzo Sonego, Italy, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5). Arthur Rinderknech (4), France, def. Clement Tabur, France, 6-7 (9), 7-6 (5), 7-5. Valentin Vacherot (3), Monaco, def. Yannick Hanfmann, Germany, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. ATP-Nordea Open At Bastad Tennis Stadium; Bastad, Sweden Surface: Red clay Men’s singles Round of 16 Adolfo Daniel Vallejo, Paraguay, def. Botic Van de Zandschulp (6), Netherlands, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4). Nuno Borges (5), Portugal, def. Grigor Dimitrov, Bulgaria, 6-4, 6-2. Stefano Travaglia, Italy, def.

ASSOCIATEd PRESS PHOTO Jon Rahm of Spain plays out

control shots running along the fairway But the rough, while still having some thick patches in which players are up to their knees in grass, is more burned and wispy. “I think it’s a double-edged sword,” McIlroy said. “I think all this dry weather and sun and a little bit of wind is obviously great for the course in one way but when I was here a couple weeks ago, the rough was a lot more penal than it’s going to be this week. It’s definitely burnt out a lot. “The big thing, especially

off the tee here, is the fairway bunkers and avoiding those. You might see some guys being more aggressive off the tee, taking driver, trying to take the fairway bunkers out of play. OK, it might be in the rough, but it’s not that penal, so you get a wedge in your hand and you can figure it out from there.”

Every hole seems to have options.

The redesigned fifth plays 321 yards and enough shrubs have been removed that it’s no longer a blind shot from the tee. What players see now is a pond — an unusual hazard for links golf, but it’s always been there and a row of pot bunkers leading to the green. The wind is out of a different direction than usual, making the 393-yard 16th hole play downwind and running fast. Most players were hitting no more than 5-iron off the tee to avoid the bunkers. The other option is a driver than can get close to the green.

It’s like that all over, and it could lead to brilliance and blunders.

“From what I’ve learned in the past, if you start pulling out drivers in an Open Championship, you can do a good job,” Jon Rahm said. “You can maybe get away with it one round. Over four rounds, you’re going to start finding spots you don’t want to be in, and you’re going to pay the price.”

Scottie Scheffler is the reigning champion, trying to become the first repeat winner of golf’s oldest championship since Padraig Harrington won at Carnoustie and Royal Birkdale in 2007 and 2008. The world’s No 1 player has played only five times in the British Open, but he probably spoke for many when he said, “This is the first forecast I remember seeing when it had no rain in it for the week.”

Attain rich flavors quickerby starting in microwave

BY LINDAGASSENHEIMER

Tribune News Service (TNS)

On arecent trip to St. Louis, Istopped at the legendary Pappy’sSmokehouse and fell in love with their smoky,tender barbecue ribs.

When Ireturned home, Iwas craving that same rich flavor but didn’thave hours to spend making them. Instead, Icreated aquicker version by giving the ribs ahead start in themicrowave,

Asimple

n Look for adry barbecue rub in thespice section of the market.

n Any prepared potato salad can be used.

n An easy way to turn over the ribs is with apair of tongs or use 2large spoons n Askillet can be used instead of astove top grill

No Fuss Barbecue Ribs Yields 2servings. Recipe is by Linda Gassenheimer ¾cup ketchup

1tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2teaspoons smoked paprika 1½ tablespoons brown sugar 1rack babyback ribs (about 1½ pounds)

3teaspoons barbecue dryrub

¼cup water Vegetable oil spray

1. In asmall bowl, mix ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika and brownsugar together to form asmooth sauce. Set aside.

2. Season both sides of the baby back rack with dry rub. Cut betweeneach bone to separate the rack into individual ribs. Place them in amicrowave-safe dish in one layer.Add the water and cover the dish with aplate or plastic wrap. Microwave on high 3minutes. Ameat thermometer should read 145 Fwhen inserted into the meatiest part near the bones.

3. Heat stove top grillorskilletover highheat. Spray grill panorskillet with vegetable oil spray.Place the ribs on aheated grill for 3minutes. Turn them over and grill another minute. Theyshouldhave anice crust

4. Divide between twodinner plates and spoon some sauceon top. Serve extra sauce on the side

NUTRITION INFO PER SERVING: 393 calories (33 percent from fat), 14.5 gfat (5.1 gsaturated, 6.2 g monounsaturated),94mgcholesterol, 31.3 gprotein, 39.0 g carbohydrates, 1.1 gfiber,613 mg sodium.

Doctored

Deli Potato Salad

Yields 2servings. Recipe is by Linda Gassenheimer

1cup bought red potato salad

3tablespoons sweet pickle relish

1. Mix potato salad and relish together

2. Divide in half and serve with the ribs.

NUTRITION INFO PER SERVING: 250 calories (63 percent from fat), 17.4 gfat (2.7 gsaturated, 3.3 g monounsaturated),13mgcholesterol, 1.4 gprotein, 21.9 g carbohydrates, 1.6 gfiber, 463 mg sodium.

BY APRIL HAMILTON

Contributing writer

The challenge was to cook at leasttwo recipes from the10th anniversary edition of “Cooking Up aStorm: Recipes

Lost and Found from The TimesPicayune of New Orleans,” the celebrated collection of quintessential Louisiana recipes published after Hurricane Katrina. When Isaw thelistof56recipes to choosefrom, my instant reaction was,“Can I make them all?” In amorepractical manner, Iselected four, extra captivated by aspecific title: ThePontchartrain Hotel’sMile High Pie. Unfamiliar withthis dish, Ipicked it notknowingifitwas asweet or savory recipe. Muchtomydelight, it is an adored concoctionoffour ice creams layered in apastry shell, crowned withburnishedmeringue andconsidered oneofNew Orleans’ most populardesserts. It elicits nostalgia from those who have experienced it in the famed hotel’s elegantCaribbean Room. Grown women have shared their affection for long-ago family

trips to New Orleans, dressedin their Sundaybest, with astop at the Pontchartrain Hotel for this memorabletreat. Their glee prompted me to ask my friendEllenGrayfor herpie memories. Ellen, ablogger andpie expert, hada residency at ThePontchartrain Hotel in 1982 when she servedasYul Brynner’s personalassistantduring athreemonth performance series of “The Kingand I” in the city Here’sher response: Mile High Pie stands tall on my listofindelible New Orleans food memories. Served on an oversized

dinner plate, the signaturedessert reflected the Pontchartrain’sCaribbean Room elegance. Agravitational wonder,itwas composed of vanilla, chocolate, strawberry and peppermint ice cream beneath atorched meringue crown; apool of darkchocolate sauce tamed the sweetness. The addition of peppermint ice cream ended this dessertonajazzy note, refreshing but not overly minty

Non-negotiables: 1. Make room in your freezer for the pie before you begin.

BYVIVIAN HOWARD Voracious

If

recipe for The PontchartrainHotel’sMile High Piecan be found in ‘Cooking Up aStorm: Recipes Lost and Found fromThe Times-Picayune of NewOrleans.

STAFF PHOTOSByJOHN BALLANCE

TNS PHOTO By LINdAGASSENHEIMER

Outdoorparties should remain outdoors

Dear Miss Manners: Is it rudeto host an outdoor event at ourhome and limit the indoor access to restroom use only?

My husband is one of seven siblings, who are all married with multiplechildren; some of those children are grown and married with children, as well. Needless to say,our combinedimmediate familyisvery large We come from different ethnicand cultural backgrounds, and even 10 years in, we still differ on what we feel is appropriate or reasonable to ask of relatives. Hosting such alarge family is one issue on which we still can’tmeet in the middle.

By The Associated Press

TodayinHistory:

Judith Martin MISS MANNERS

Idonot come from alarge immediatefamily,but do have a large extendedfamily,and the protocol for gatherings is still the same:With the exception of formal, blacktie events, onenever arrives to afamily member’s homeempty-handed, and if the event is being held outdoors, all guests remain outsidewith the host My in-laws (not all of them, but always the matriarch and patriarch) usuallyarrive with nothing more than an appetite. And no matter where thehost has made accommodations for guests to gather, they alwaysmaketheir way in-

TODAYINHISTORY

stock sale.

Today is Thursday,July 16,the 197th day of 2026. There are 168 days left in the year

On July 16, 1945, the United Statesdetonated its first experimental atomic bomb in thedesert of Alamogordo, New Mexico; the same day,the heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis left Mare Island Naval ShipyardinCalifornia on asecretmission to deliver atomic bomb components to Tinian Island in the Marianas.

Also on this date:

In 1790, asite along thePotomac River was designated the permanent seat of theUnited States government; the area became Washington, D.C.

In 1951, the novel “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger was first publishedbyLittle, Brown and Co.

In 1957, Marine Corps Maj. John Glenn set atranscontinental speed recordbyflying a Vought F8U Crusader jet from California to New York in 3 hours, 23 minutes and 8.4 seconds.

In 1964, as he accepted the Republican presidential nomination in San Francisco, Barry M. Goldwater declared that “extremisminthe defense of liberty is no vice” and that “moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.”

In 1969, Apollo 11 launched from Cape Kennedy in Florida on the first manned mission to the surface of the moon.

In 1999, John F. Kennedy Jr., hiswife, Carolyn, and hersister, Lauren Bessette, died when their single-engine plane, piloted by Kennedy,plunged into the Atlantic Ocean near Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.

In 2004, Martha Stewart was sentenced to five months in prison and five months of home confinement by afederal judge in NewYork forlying abouta

In 2008, Florida resident Casey Anthony, whose 2-yearold daughter,Caylee, had been missing amonth,was arrested on charges of child neglect, making false official statements and obstructing acriminal investigation.(Casey Anthonywas later acquitted at trial of killing Caylee, whose skeletal remains were foundinDecember 2008; Casey wasconvicted of lying to police.)

In 2015, ajury in Centennial, Colorado, convicted James Holmes of 165 counts of murder, attempted murder and other charges in the2012 Aurora movie theater rampagethat left 12 peopledead

In 2017, 10 people died at apopular swimming hole in Arizona’sTonto National Forest after arainstorm unleashed a flash flood.

In 2018, after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki,President Donald Trumpopenlyquestioned the finding of hisown intelligence agencies that Russia had meddled in the 2016 U.S. election to hisbenefit. (Trump saidaday later that he misspoke.)

Today’sBirthdays: International TennisHall of Famer Margaret Court is 84. Violinist Pinchas Zukerman is78. Actor-singer Ruben Blades is 78. Rock composer-musician Stewart Copeland is 74. Playwright Tony Kushner is 70. Dancer Michael Flatley is 68. Former actor and teen model PhoebeCates is 63. Actor Daryl“Chill” Mitchell is 61. Actor-comedian Will Ferrell is 59. FootballHall of Famer Barry Sanders is 58. Actor Corey Feldman is 55. Actor Jayma Mays is 47. Retired soccer star Carli Lloyd is44. Actor AnnaLynne McCord is 39. Actor-singer James Maslow (Big Time Rush) is 36. Actor Mark Indelicatois 32. Pop singer-musician Luke Hemmings (5 Seconds to Summer) is 30.

Summer Vegetable Scallion Pancakes

Serves

side thehouse to watch TV and spill/splatter indoors.

To me, it feels so disrespectful and discourteous. Ihave accepted feeling this way for manyyears, but this year,weare hosting a very carefully planned evening backyardgraduation partyfor our middle child. She is my child through marriage, so this event will include our combined immediate family and also my husband’sextended family

For thefirst time ever,Ihave asked all attending guests, no matter their status, to respectfully refrain from entering the home for anything other than restroom use. My husband did not feel that was appropriate.

Have Ireally lost touch?

Gentle reader: Although she is going to help you get your wish, Miss Manners warns you that what you asked for and whatyou actually want arenot in perfect alignment.

To change your in-laws’ longstanding behavior requires both their and your husband’scooperation —something you have not been able to obtaininadecade of trying.

But thisevent is differentfrom other informal family gathers: Graduations are unique. (No, scratch that: Children nowapparently graduate from everything except summer camp,and someone is no doubtworkingonthat. Butfor these purposes, we will pretend.)

Convince your husband that forthis one unique and more formal event, it would be unkind if everyone did not participate as afamily.Hewill then have to help you convince his side of the family

The quid pro quo is that you will stop fighting about less formal family events —which, remember,you werelosing anyway

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

Keepingthe absorbency of clothes

Dear Heloise: Here’sa hint about maintaining clothes’ absorbency Perhaps Ihad previously learned this from you, but it’s worth repeating as long as we’re on thesubject.Softeners decrease clothes’ absorbency,sodry them without any softener —John S.,inNewburyPark, California

Ticket snafu

2tablespoons all-purpose flour 2tablespoons buttermilk

1egg

¼teaspoon hot sauce

¼to 1 3 cup vegetable oil

1. Preheat ovento200 F.

2. In amedium bowl, stir together the minced okra, corn, squash, scallion and ½ teaspoon of the salt. Let that sit for about 5minutes. The saltwillleach out the moisture in thesquash. That moisture will activate the slime in the okra and bring the veggies together in kind of agooey-looking mass.

3. Stir in the cornmeal andflour to incorporate.Whisk together the buttermilk, egg and hot sauce,

and stir it into the dry,slimy mass. Mixthis up afew times and letitsit at least 3minutes and up to 1hour before you get ready to cook thefritters.

4. In a10- to 12-inchskillet or cast-iron pan, add the oilovermedium heat.Ifyou want larger fritters, spoon about2 tablespoons of the batter into the preheated oil and pressdown on each dollop to flatten it slightly.The fritters should be about ¼ inch thick. If you’d like smaller fritters, start with 1tablespoon of batter

5. Carefullycontinue dropping dollops of batter into the hot oil, making surethe frittersdon’t touch. Cook thefritters over medium heat on each side till they arechestnut-colored in some spots and golden in others. Transferthe fritters to apaper-towellined plate to drain and season them while hotwiththe remaining salt. Keep them warm in your oven while youfry the next batch.

6. Servewarm.

thename on your ticket is the exact same as it is on your driver’s license. —JeanG., via email Wrist-lickin’

Dear Heloise: Ijust read about someone who was stressed out while traveling. We traveled in April without aproblem when leaving; coming back home was theissue. On my husband’sticket, it just had his first and last name, but his driver’slicense includes his middle name. Make sure that

DearHeloise: To open plastic bags at the grocery store, I lick the inside of my wrist (much cleaner than my fingers) and touch this spot to dampen the fingers on my other hand. —Joanne M., in Rancho Mission Viejo, California

Hearingdifficulty

Dear Heloise: Despite hearing aids, Istill have difficulty understanding what astore clerk, awaiter,or my friend at lunch has said. When Idon’thearthem,I’ll say,“Excuse me?”Atthis point, not only does

the clerk or waiter repeat what wassaid, but my friend does as well. As aresult of this babel, I only hear garbled words. If Iask again forthe clerk or waiter to repeat what they said, the samething happens again —only louder.Not only do Inot hear the message any better,I’m embarrassed by all the shouting voices around me. Unless aperson whohas ahearing difficulty looks directly at you to repeat something, don’trepeat it. In an effort to help, thechorusoften isn’twanted, usually isn’thelpful, andisalways embarrassing for theperson who’s hard of hearing.

—H.S in OrangeCounty,California

Email heloise@heloise.com.

The Pontchartrain Hotel’sMileHigh Pie

Makes 8to12(or 16) servings. Therecipe is from “Cooking Up aStorm: Recipes Lost and Found from The Times-Picayune of New Orleans.”

FOR THE CRUST:

1½ cups all-purpose flour ½teaspoon salt

½cup shortening,cold 4to5tablespoons coldwater FOR THE FILLING (SEE NOTE BELOW):

1½ pints vanilla ice cream, slightly softened

1½ pints chocolate ice cream, slightly softened

½pint strawberry ice cream, slightly softened

½pint peppermintice cream, slightly softened FOR THE MERINGUE: 8largeegg whites

½teaspoon vanilla extract

¼teaspoon creamoftartar

½cup sugar FOR THE CHOCOLATE SAUCE:

1(1-ounce) square German sweet chocolate

2(1-ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate

½cup sugar

½cup heavy cream

MILE HIGH

Continuedfrom page5C

1. Preheat the oven to 450 F.

2. Sift together the flour andsalt. Cut in theshorteningwith apastrycutter until the pieces are the size of small peas.

3. Sprinkle in 1tablespoon of the cold water over the flour mixture and gently toss with afork.Repeat,adding water until all the flour is slightly moistened.

4. Form into aballand roll into a 1⁄8-inchthickness on alightly floured work surface.Fit loosely into a9-inch pie pan. Prick the crust with aforkto prevent bubbling.

5. Bakefor 10 to 12 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool completely before filling.

6. Layer the vanilla ice cream on the bottom of thecooled pie shell, and in layers add the remaining flavors.

7. Place the pie in the freezer while you makethe meringue.

8. In alarge mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the egg whitesand cream of tartar until soft peaks form.

9. Gradually add the sugar,beating untilthe eggwhites arestill andglossy and sugar is dissolved.

2. Blindbake the crust and cool completely before assembling.

3. Iprefer aSwiss meringue for thecrown; it doesn’trequire much time, helps stabilize themixture and eliminates the quandary of consuming raw egg whites.

4. Depending on time, Ihave prepared thepie in various ways:

I’ve assembled and frozen everything except for the meringue, opting to complete it just prior to serving.

I’ve assembled thedessert completewith Swiss meringue, held

it in the freezer for up to twodays (covered in plastic wraponce it firms up) and then torched it. When therehave been leftovers (rarely), I’ve covered and placed them in the freezer,re-torching themeringue beforeserving, just as arefresh.

10. Spread themeringue over the ice cream,sealing it to the edges of the pastry

11. Broila few inches from the broiler element forabout 1minute to brownthe meringue.

12. Freezethe pie severalhours or overnight.

13. In the top of adouble boiler (or a bowl set over asaucepan of simmeringwater), melt the chocolate withthe sugar and ¼ cup of the cream, stirring until wellblended and thick.

14. Add as much of the remaining cream as necessary to achieve apourable consistency

15. Cut pie intowedgesand serve with chocolate sauce.

NOTE: Isoftened each pint of ice cream for30minutes and pressed the contents of the pint, one at atime, into the crust. Ithen froze the pie for 30 minutes before adding the next layer.This technique makes it easierto spread the icecream andmakes for moredistinct layers.

5. In the heat of summer,cool heads (and hands)prevail. This is adessert deserving of achilly environment;dothe slicingand plating in acool kitchen.Ifthingsare heating up, return thepie to the freezer (that’swhy freezer real estate should be establishedinthe very beginning) and letthe pie firm up before slicing. It’s alsoafine ideato clean off your knife between slices. Athin, long blade works best.

With apologies to Ellen, Idid negotiate with the meringue, making the formula as described in the recipe and also, since my daughters were visiting, scooped in some of their favorite ice cream flavors instead of the ones listed (Guinness and coffee in place of strawberry and peppermint). When peppermint ice cream is making its rounds in the grocery,Iwill whip up a Mile High Pie precisely as prescribed.

My non-negotiable advice is for you to makethis dessert foryour next special occasion, layering in your favorite ice creams and serving without hesitation with chilled forks.

Hints from Heloise

PROVIdEd PHOTO By REX MILLER/VORACIOUS

STAFFPHOTO By JOHN BALLANCE

Apeek inside The Pontchartrain Hotel’sMile High Pie

cAncER (June 21-July 22) Speakup, and formulate your plan. Do the legwork and proceedtothe finish line. Complete whatever you've leftundonesoyou can putyour timeand effortinto something new and exciting you want to pursue.

LEo (July23-Aug. 22) Setboundaries and abudgetiftemptation comes your way. Youcan bypass regret and have fun if you maintain levelheadedness. Implement restraint and abide by the rules.

VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) Helpingothers maymakeyou feel good,but be carefulnot to let anyone take advantage of your generosity. Offer conversation, suggestions and kindness, but don't pay forsomeone else's mistakes.

LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Join forces with those who share your agenda and can also contribute suggestions that encourage greater success. Be open to change,learning and investing in a lifestyle that suits your needs.

scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Verify information before passingitalong. Someone will offer an inflated assessment of asituation that can cost youorcause regret. Be precise and be bold.

sAGITTARIus(nov. 23-Dec. 21) Take a critical look at yoursurroundings and consider what youcan do to add to your comfort andhow you can utilize your space to make your life more efficient.

cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Stop worrying about what to do next, andhead in the direction that offers personal growth, self-improvement or invest-

mentopportunities.Don't rely on otherstogive youthe lowdown.

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Payattention to your personalfinances and investments. How you handle your cashwill determine the lifestyle you can afford andsustain. Job opportunities show potential.

PIscEs(Feb. 20-March 20) Networking, socializing and mixing businesswith pleasure will pay off if you are agood listener, but whenitcomes to sharing personal information, keep your secrets to yourself.

ARIEs (March21-April19) Weighthe pros and cons and do what must be done to reach your destination of choice. It's up to you to control the outcome using aunique strategy that keeps anyone trying to outmaneuveryou at adisadvantage.

TAuRus (April 20-May 20) Look inward, and do what puts yourmindatease. You can't control what others do or say, but you can control how you react and protect yourself from any falloutthat comes your way.

GEMInI(May 21-June 20) Time is on your side, and exploring possibilities will give youa sense of whatyou can afford as well as what youdoand don't need in your life. It's out with the old and in with the new.

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

Andrews McMeel Syndication

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object 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. The difficulty level of the Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday

Puzzle Answer

THewiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

CurTiS

By PHILLIPALDER

Have you ever madeawild overbid on adeal because it feltlikethe right thing to do at thetime? Of courseyou have; we all have. But then youprobably found yourself in ahopeless contract, went down and apologized to your partner. Sometimes, though, you might have beenabletocallontheassistanceofyour opponents.

In today’s deal, South is in four spades. West leads the club jack. That wins the first trick and South ruffs thesecond club. Howshoulddeclarer continue?

WhenNorth rebidone no-trump to showabalanced12-14points,Southmight have settled foratwo-spade signoff, but one can understand agame-invitational three-spade rebid. Here,North would probably have passed because he does nothave avery suitablehand for aspade contract.

Four spades appears to be one level too high. South seemsdestined to lose two spades, one heart andone club. But he hasaMachiavellian chance. He should cross to thedummy in ared suit and call forthe spadejack

Many Easts, looking at the queen and 10, would notbeable to resist the temptation to cover with the queen. Then, though, after South wins with his ace, there will be astunnedsilence when West is forced to play his king. Declarer drives outthe spade 10 and claims his contract. Although the opponents aresupposedlytryingtodefeatyourcontract,remember that many of them will misdefend if you give them half achance. ©2026 by NEA, Inc dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

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

word

InsTRucTIons:

Previous answers:

that

ToDAy’s WoRD VEsTuRE: VESS-chur: Something that covers agarment.

Average mark 18 words

Time

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield B.C.

PiCKles

hidato mallard

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

U.S. stocksrise within 0.5% of theirrecord

NEW YORK

U.S. stocks ticked higherWednesdayfollowing strong profitreports from BlackRockand other bigcompanies.The tentative gains cameasoil prices swung to theirhighest levels in amonth because of the war with Iran

BlackRock helped lead the market with arise of 6.6% after the company behind some of the most popular investmentfunds reported stronger profitand revenuefor the latest quarter than analysts expected.

Bank of New York Mellon rose 5.1% after adding to the spateofstrong earnings reportsfrom many of the biggest U.S. banks aday earlier Cintas climbed 4.4% after the provider of office uniforms, restroom supplies andother products likewise delivered abetter profit for the latest quarter than analysts forecast.

They helped offset adrop for ElevanceHealth, which fell 8.5% even though it reported stronger profit and revenue than analysts expected.

The broad U.S. stockmarket gotalift from another report showing inflation slowed last month.Itsaid inflation at the wholesale level slowed to 5.5% from 6% in May,and it was much better than the accelerationthat economists expected.

The day before, aseparate reportsaid inflation that U.S.consumers are feeling was also not as bad as economists expected last month.

Five Below plans to have 2,000 stores soon Five Below has been opening hundredsofnew stores in recent years, and thismonth, the retailer is set to add its 2,000th location.

The new store is expectedto openinLaGrange, Georgia, on Friday,the company announced earlier this month.

The company’sexpansion puts itsstore count on par with Home Depot and Target.Asof the beginning of 2026, Home Depot operated 2,359 stores in theU.S., Canada, andMexico, andTargethad 1,995U.S stores.

Company leaders said in a recent annual report that they see opportunity to grow Five Below’sstore count to 3,500 eventually.

Five Below launched its first store in 2002 ,and mostitems the business sells cost between $1 and $5. Its offering of toys, gadgets, games, and other items includes slinky toys, crayons, sandcastle buckets, basketballs, and wireless gaming headsets.

Amazon satellite internet to launch in South Africa CAPETOWN,SouthAfrica Amazon saidWednesday that the technology company willlaunch its new satellite internet service AmazonLeo in South Africain 2027, seeminglypushing ahead of Elon Musk’srival Starlink to winbusiness in Africa’smost advancedeconomy Amazon,which wasfounded by Jeff Bezos, saidthat it wouldpartner withSouth Africaninternet provider Herotel to launch anew service in the countryof62million people. Amazon said that it was its first satellite internet agreementon the African continent. No financial details were initiallydisclosed. Amazon’sannouncement follows Musk’s bittercriticism of thegovernment in hiscountry of birth. The world’srichest man hassaid that SouthAfrican regulations have prevented him from launching Starlink therebecausehe’sWhite,and has accused the government of racism. He was referring to South Africa’saffirmative action policies, which require foreign companies operating in the communications sectorto give aminority share of their local entities to Black or other non-White owners in order to acquire alicense.

THEADVOCATE.COM/news/business

26 Meta employeessue company

Groupalleges AI-driven layoff pickshit thoseon medical, parental leave

BY BARBARA ORTUTAY and ALEXANDRA OLSON AP business writers

Agroup of 26 Meta employees has sued the company,claiming it usedartificial intelligence systemstoselect people forlay-

offs, disproportionately targetingthose on medical,parental or family leave. They areamongthe 8,000 employees, or about 10% of its workforce, Metasaid it would layoff in May. Thelawsuit filed lateMonday in federal court in Oakland, California, claimsthe company usedinternal AI systems,keystroke andactivitymonitoring data, AI token-usage dashboards and algorithmically assisted performance rankings,

amongothermethods, to determine who would be laid off. Many of these scores and ratings“by design,cannotbeaccumulated by an employee whois on protected medical or family leave, or whose output is reduced by adisability,” the lawsuit says. Meta, according to thelawsuit, didnot accountfor protected leave when taking employees’ scoresintoaccount and“didnot pause the system for the individualized, leave- and accommoda-

tion-neutral review that the law requires.”

As aresult, people on protected medical or family leave were disproportionately selected for layoffs,the lawsuit says. Each of the 26 anonymous employees in the lawsuittookprotected leave, or requested or receiveda reasonableaccommodation for disability. Though they have been notified of their layoffs, all26remainemployed by Meta, with separations set to begin July 22.

Rise in high-techvehiclesincreasing right-to-repair, tool access concerns

Mechanicssay they’relosing business as maker-specific software grows

BY SUMMER BALLENTINE

The detroit News (TNS)

High-tech features are making vehicles more expensive and difficult to repair,putting pressureonalready strained car ownersand posing an existential crisis for momand-pop mechanics, analysts andconsumer advocates say At issueisthe shift from mostly mechanicalvehicles to “big four-wheel rolling computers,”asone auto industry analystsaid. Localmechanicssay they’refacing roadblocks accessing the tools andinformation needed to work on modern vehicles,potentially givingdealershipsa monopoly on maintenance and repairs of new models.

“Not even just mechanics; thecustomers are frustrated with that,” said MohsenHarb, manager atDetroit’sCass Auto repair shop.

“Because instead of them being able to go to theirmechanic and getting it fixed for a much cheaper price, they’re gonna have to go to the dealership and pay three times that to getafixjust because thedealership or the company itselfisnot allowing these mechanicstoget theright tools to be able to fix it.”

Concern about who can repair increasingly tech-heavy vehicles —whether that be dealerships, neighborhood mechanics or vehicle owners —isgetting attention from the White House and Congress, although socalledright-to-repair legislation in the U.S. House is moving slowly President Donald Trumptold reporters thathespoke with leadersofFord Motor Co. andGeneral Motors Co. in June about “a move ontostop people from fixing their cars.

Ithought we’d do somethingabout that.” Days later,the presidentissued amemo directing theEnvironmental Protection Agency to “considerdeprioritizingcivil tamperingenforcement actions against anyone who, in good faith, attempts to fix his or her own vehicle to its original configuration.”The memo is primarily directed at making it easier to tweak vehicleemissions systems.

Decades ago, independent mechanicsor handy DIY-ers could fix most auto issues with “a good setofCraftsmantools,” iSeeCars.com analyst Karl Brauer said.Now, many repairs require automaker-specific software availablethrough subscriptions that can cost thousands of dollars ayear

Forexample, Teslacharges $3,188 foran annual subscription, according to the mechanicsand aftermarketparts trade group Auto Care Association. Ford Motor Co. charges $2,500 ayear foraccess, and General Motors Co. charges $1,200 ayear

“As cars have becomebasically big fourwheel rolling computers, all the things that go with computers, like regular updates to thesoftware, are commonplace now,” Brau-

er said. “Many of them can’tbedone over the air,and if you’re not adealer service center, but an independent (mechanic),your access to those updates is dependent on things like those subscriptions.”

Both dealerships and independentmechanics have to pay for software subscriptions, according to theNational Automobile Dealers Association, which in astatement saidnon-dealer mechanics“already have the information they need to service vehicles.”

Consumer advocates and analysts told The Detroit News that if roadblocks to tools and software lead to dealerships gaininganexclusive hold on modern vehicle repairs, independent shopscould shutter andput car owners at themercy of dealer prices. Automakers gain controloverrepairs

The higher use of software throughout vehiclesisgiving automakers more control over who can fix vehicles, Brauer said.

“There’snoway for an independent dealer to say,‘Well, I’lljust getmyown software engineers; we’ll come up with our own way,’ he said. “It’s impossible. So that’swhere the nature of the car’sdesign, and thus the nature of the repair process is so differentand so much easier to control at amanufacturer and adealer level versus just hardware (and) hard tools and material tools that you would have used to fix cars 50-60 years ago.

“The manufacturers would love to have more control over who repairs the carand havebasically more of amonopoly on that and make it so that it’simpossible to get the cars repaired outside of the dealers,”Brauer continued. “The dealers would love that, obviously.That’swhere dealer profit comes from.”

Ford didnot respond to aDetroit News request for commentonthe issue, and both

GM and Stellantis NV referred questions to the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a nationalautomaker trade group. The group pointed to an agreement automakers signed in 2014 promising equal access to information andtoolsfor repairs between dealers and independent mechanics.

Yes, your repair bill is probably higher

The costofvehicle maintenance hasbeen rising steadily fordecades.Factors include moreexpensive vehicle parts, moredemanding safety requirements from federalregulators, ashortageofqualifiedvehicle techs andsteep competitionbetween automakers to offer morehigh-tech features.

Vehicle maintenance andrepairprices spiked starting in 2022 after COVID-19 caused widespread disruptions throughout the auto industry and acrippling microchip shortage.

Costs rose 36% between May2022 and May 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This year alone, maintenancecosts increased 6%.Priceincreases for aftermarket auto parts are driven by tariffs, more advanced tech andexpensive rare earths and metals needed to make parts, Chung said.

“Those costs arebeing passedontothe consumer,”Chung said. “So if the manufacturer has to pay morefor the part, and then they have to sell to the shop at an increased price, you then sellittothe consumer,you or I, at an increased price.”

Harb said customers at Cass Auto sometimes pay morefor arepair than avehicle is currently worth to avoid new car payments. Mechanicsatthe shop on Fridayreplaced the engine on a2013Hyundai Accentsedan worth about$4,000. The engine cost $5,000, Harb said.

United Airlines attempting to attractflyers with emptymiddleseat

Airline to offerperkon select flights

By The Associated Press NEW YORK United Airlines is tryingtoattractflyerswithanother luxurious perk: an empty middle seat. The Chicago-basedcarrier announcedplans this week to roll out anew row of its“Economy Plus” seats with no neighbor in the middlespot— and instead use the space for ashared table (andmore elbow room)between the aisle and window travelers. The offering is only settobe available in onerow on United’s

newAirbus A321XLR aircraft, withpricing and sales expected to be disclosed later this year.But United suggesteditcould expand the no-middle-seat option to other planes down theroad.

The movearrives amid abroader push from airlines advertising moreand morespecial tiers and separate add-ons to theirflights —particularly when it comes to courting passengerswho arewilling to pay morefor comfort.

United is following the footsteps of ahandful of European airlines already offering empty middle seats to business classpassengers. Andother carriers have also allowed travelersfor years to pay extraorbuy additional tickets to keep seatsnear them empty

United said Tuesday that it expects to be “theonly U.S. airline” to have these kind of rows. The middle seat haslong been bemoaned by travelers— both those in the aisle and window seats that have to share an armrest or morewithwhoever is occupying the middle seat, and for those passengers stuck wedged in a middle seat between twoothers.

The latest no-middle-seat option also arrives just months after the airline announced the “United Relax Rows,”which, starting early next year,will allowpassengers in economy class to turn arow of three seats on some wider Boeing planes into acouch they can sleep or lounge on after takeoff. Acrosscarriers,passengers on thesame flight can still have

strikingly different travelexperiences.And while there’s demand forroomier seats and other perks, some budget-conscious travelers mayfeel awidening gap between the back and front of the plane or frustrationovernew fees for services thatwereoncefreeand added tiers to juggle when comparing fares. Ahandful of big-name airlines, likeDelta, have embraced strategiestoprovide “the best” —not thecheapest —offerings. Meanwhile, United executives have pushed back on the idea that the industry has becomesolely focused on chasing big spenders, maintaining that premium investments are part of abroader strategy to improve every traveler’sexperience

TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE PHOTO By dANIELMEARS Mohsen Harb,manager at Cass Auto, looksoveravehicle in the shop in detroitonJuly6as he discusses howindependent mechanics are frustrated and losing business as vehicles becomemore tech-heavy and expensive to repair.