The Advocate 07-17-2026

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School founder charged with diverting money

Impact Charter School in Baker was founded in 2014.

Husband, daughter also indicted in Baker case

BY CHARLES LUSSIER Staff writer

The founder of Impact Charter School in Baker, her husband and her daughter are facing criminal charges, accused of illegally diverting money to buy a Tesla install a swimming pool at their house and to take trips around the world

A federal grand jury in Baton Rouge returned an indictment on seven criminal counts Wednesday. Each count is a felony, each with a maximum jail time of 10 years.

The charges are a fresh blow to founder Chakesha Scott, who lost control of the elementary school in February 2025 after a damning state audit and subsequent action by state

regulators. She and affiliates of the old school have filed multiple civil lawsuits seeking to turn back the clock and restore them to power at the K-8 school of nearly 400 students.

Throughout this time, federal prosecutors have been looking into the charter school. The current charges were sought by U.S. Attorney Kurt Wall, who took over the Baton Rouge office in October

The grand jury also indicted Scott’s husband and former principal of the school, Eric Scott, as well as their daughter Courtney Scott, and local construction contractor Sam Green. In addition to potential jail time, federal prosecutors are asking the

court to compel the defendants to forfeit any property “derived from proceeds traceable to the offense,” or, failing that, forfeit comparable “substitute property” or pay financial damages.

Chakesha Scott, who founded the school in 2014, referred questions about the indictment to her attorney, Ben Bagert of New Orleans. The Advocate left multiple messages with Bagert seeking comment.

In a statement, Cade Brumley, superintendent of schools for the Louisiana Department of Education, said the indictment “reinforces” the February 2025 decision by the state Board of Elementary and Secondary

ä See CHARGED, page 7A

President raising doubts about election security heading into

BY MICHELLE L. PRICE, ERIC TUCKER and COLLIN BINKLEY Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump used a primetime address to the nation Thursday to once again raise doubts about the results of past elections, reviving a subject he’s long used to make unproven claims and deny his loss in the 2020 election Trump’s fixation on his loss to Democrat Joe Biden six years ago and the long-debunked theories he’s circulated about it are things he still brings up regularly when discussing other subjects But elevating the deeply political and conspiratorial topics to a presidential primetime address underscores the lengths to which Trump has used his second term to both blow past

BY BLAKE LESCHBER Staff writer

On July 17, 2016, six Baton Rouge law enforcement officers were shot in an ambush at a convenience store off Airline Highway, an attack that shocked the city

Three of them — Baton Rouge police Cpl. Montrell Jackson, Officer Matthew Gerald and sheriff’s Deputy Brad Garafola — died that day A fourth, sheriff’s Sgt Nick Tullier succumbed to his wounds nearly six years later On Friday, 10 years after the attack, the officers are being honored in what East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Sid Edwards calls a time “to remember the heroes who gave everything in service to our community.”

At 8 a.m., members of the community are invited to walk from the Baton Rouge Police Department headquarters at 9000 Airline Highway to the site of the shooting, Benny’s B-Quik at 9611 Airline. A time of reflection and prayer will be held there.

Police Chief T.J. Morse said that time was chosen because the ambush happened about 8:40 a.m.

Also, the Gulf Coast Brotherhood will be riding bicycles from the Slidell Police Memorial to BRPD headquarters. They are scheduled to arrive at 3 p.m. for a memorial service.

Morse said the events are important, as the families of the fallen officers will be in attendance. They show that those lost in the line of duty will always be remembered, he noted.

“Also, for the law enforcement officers that are there this is a chance that they know the public has their back and they can see, ‘Hey, if something like this ever happened to me, I know that I would still be remembered and my family would still be taken care of,’” Morse said.

East Baton Rouge Sheriff Sid Gautreaux said the tragedy of the ambush is still felt.

“Law enforcement, we’ll never forget what happened that day; I know I most certainly won’t,” Gautreaux said. “I think about it all the time when I ride down Airline Highway and see Benny’s.

Montrell Jackson Matthew Gerald

Brad Garafola

Nick Tullier

STAFF FILE PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

President Donald Trump speaks in the East Room of the White House on Thursday.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By SAUL LOEB

2plead not guilty in attack plot on UFC fight

COLUMBUS,Ohio Twoofthe eight men indicted in an alleged drone and sniper plot to attack President Donald Trump’sUFC cage-fighting show on theWhite House lawn pleaded notguilty Thursday to federal conspiracy charges.

Clothed in jail garband shackled, Tycen Proper, 19, of Danville, Ohio, and Chandler Scaggs, 21, of Chapmanville, West Virginia, entered thepleas before U.S. DistrictCourt Judge Edmund Sargus Jr.inOhio, where the case has been consolidated. They and theother six defendants are each charged with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and conspiracy to commit murder on federal government territory and to murder afederal government official.

Sargus scheduled their trial to begin Sept. 14. It remains unclear from the court record how closethe would-be attackers were tobeing able to carry out the plan they are alleged to have hatched.

Scaggs’ attorney,EricBrehm, said in astatementthat his office isonlyinthe early stages of reviewing the case, “but one issue is already clear: there appears to be asignificant disconnect between the severity of the alleged offenses and Mr.Scaggs’ naivety,lack of sophistication, and judgment.” The firstcharge is punishable by up to 15 years in prison; the second could mean prison for life.

Puerto Rico announces water rationing

SAN JUAN,Puerto Rico PuertoRico announced water rationing measures on Thursdayasa drought gripsthe U.S. territory,worsening chronic water shortagesthat have forced the governorto declare astate of emergency Thousands of people in the island’snortheast region face 48-hourrationing periods from Friday,said Luis González, executive president of the island’s water and sewer authority.

The rationing program will affect several communities in the cities of Canovanas and Rio Grande as temperatureskeep rising.

“There’sjust not enough water,”hesaid, adding that rationingwill likely be extendedto other areas.

González blamed alackof rain, although severe water shortages began affecting some of the island’smost populated areas months before the drought began, with officials yet to identify the problem.

Those outages prompted the mayor of San Juan to sue the island’sWater andSewer Authority in late May,withGov Jenniffer González acknowledging that the agency’sinfrastructure has lacked investmentand maintenance for decades.

Almost 40,000 customers were leftwithout water lastmonth, leading González to activate the National Guard. Thatoutage was not tied to the current drought.

1killed in crowd surge at Hindu festival in India

NEWDELHI Asudden crowd surge at apopular Hindufestival in eastern India’sOdisha state on Thursday left at least one person dead and manyhospitalized, a news agency reported.

The incident occurred as tens of thousands of people gathered in the coastal town of Puri for the annual RathYatra chariotfestival, according to the Press Trust of India. The festival is considered one of the world’soldest and largest religious processions. The centuries-old festival involves the idols of Hindu deities being taken outofthe Jagannath Temple and carried through the streets in colorfully decorated chariots.

Videos from the sceneshowed injured devotees being carried to hospitals as shoes, bags and other belongings were left strewn across the area in the aftermath of the incident.

Odisha police said in asocial media post that rescue teams provided first aid and oxygen to 33 peoplebeforetransferring them to nearby hospitals.

Last year,three people were killed and morethana dozen hospitalizedfollowing acrowd surge during the same festival.

U.S. expandsattacks on Iran

Bridges increasingly being targeted

BY JON GAMBRELL Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates

TheUnited States expanded its airstrike campaign against Iran early Friday by increasingly hitting bridges, part of PresidentDonaldTrump’s threatstostart striking infrastructure to pressure Tehran to easeits chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz. Iran launched new missile attacksagainst U.S.-allied nations in the Middle East and warned thatits attacks would escalate.

In Qatar,authorities warned thepublictotake shelter as abarrage of Iranian missilestargeted the nation. People heard explosions overhead as air defenses fired to intercept the missiles.

Qatarisakey mediator with Pakistan in trying to reach an end to theIran war.But talks havebroken down over Iran’schokehold on theStrait of Hormuz Iran earlier targeted Bahrain and Kuwaitover U.S.airstrikes hitting bridges in the Islamic Republic overnight. The interim ceasefire agreed to last month has collapsed, and the regionhas endured days of

back-and-forth attacks by theU.S. and Iran as theybattle for controlof thestrait. Iranian officials say U.S.strikes have killed more than 35 people and wounded over 300 others, with new casualties reported in Friday’sstrikes.

Whenthe U.S.and Israel launched the war on Iran on Feb.28, Tehran effectively closed the straittoshipping traffic, amovethatsent theprice of oil soaring and gave Iran major leverage in negotiations. Speaking in aprimetime address to the American public, Trumpinsisted the war was going well.

“Weare likewise winning big in Iran, and you will see thefruits of that labor very, very shortly,” Trumpsaid. Col. EbrahimZolfaghari, aspokespersonfor the Iranian military’sKhatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, earlier threatened that Iran could launch widespread attacks on “all the infrastructure in the region” if the U.S. acted on Trump ‘s repeated warnings that America could hit Iranian bridgesand power plants. “Under no circumstances and in no way will we allow America, as aforeign and extraregional country,to

interfere in theStraitof Hormuz,”headded. “This is Iran’sinvincible red line.”

The U.S. airstrikeshit bridges overnight into Friday in Iran’ssouthern Hormozgan province, killing at least seven people, Iranian state television reported. Theattacks hit Bandar Khamir,a city on Iran’scoast on the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranianstate media said the U.S. strikes Thursday hit around Tehranand Semnan province, home to Iran’sballistic missile production and space program

Trumphas returned in recent days to histhreats to target Iranian power stations and bridgestotry to compel Iran to loosen its hold on thestrait, through which aboutafifthofall oil and natural gas once passedinpeacetime. The U.S. also reimposed anaval blockade on Iranian portstohaltits shipments of crude oil. Week-to-week cargo shipments through the strait dropped by almost aquarter at the beginning of the month, according to Maritime data firm Lloyd’sList Intelligence. And that was before the recent surge in tit-for-tat attacks. Given the risks, some oilshippers aretransiting the strait with theirlocation devices turned off, but many are just staying put, Lloyd’ssaid Thursday Agrowing amount of the region’senergy is being shipped through pipelines, but notnearly enough to offset the decline in shipping through the strait. U.S. forces have redirected three commercial vessels trying to run the blockade, disabled one that did not comply and boarded another “to ensure full compliance,” the U.S. military’sCentralCommand said in apost on X. Associated Press writers Abby Sewell in Beirut, MaeAnderson in New York and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

Ukrainians protestousterofdefense minister

BY SAMYAKULLAB and ILLIA NOVIKOV

Associated Press

KYIV,Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shook up his wartime government,drawing thousands into the streets Thursday across Ukraine to protest theouster of his youthful defense minister —seen as an innovator of the country’ssuccessful drone technology but who clashedwith thetraditional military establishment.

The personnel overhaul, which included replacing his prime minister,could becomeatestofZelenskyy’spolitical authority as Ukraine’s fight against Russia’sfull-scale invasion approaches41/2 years. Zelenskyy has remained in office undermartial law because wartimeelections areprohibited but has periodically reshuffled his government.

Themoves threw Ukraine’smilitary leadership into an unwelcome crisisatatimewhen its actions against Russia are starting to bear fruit and

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By DANyLO ANTONIUK Ukranians gather ThursdayinKyiv, Ukraine, to denounce PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy’sdecisiontodismiss Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.

as Moscow hasunleashed unrelenting aerial attacks Twopeople were killedand five otherswerewounded, including achild, when Russianmissileshit the capital of Kyiv overnight, Ukraine’sEmergency Service said.

In making thechanges, Zelenskyycited friction between outgoing Defense MinisterMykhailo Fedorovand Gen.Oleksandr Syrskyi,the commander of Ukraine’sarmed forces “I’mjust showing that

if thesides can’tresolve an issue, Iwill have to resolve it,”Zelenskyy said at anews conference.

Fedorov,35, is considered to be avigorous modernizer whose technological expertise is credited in part with significantly improving Ukraine’smilitaryperformance in recent months againstRussia’s bigger army.Heisleaving thegovernment after only six months in thepost.

Fedorov appeared at anewsconferenceina

U.S. designates 2new Mexican cartelsasterrorist groups

BYMARÍA VERZA Associated Press

MEXICO CITY The U.S. government has designatedtwo new Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. They are theJuárez Cartel,onthe border with Texas, and Los Viagras, a criminal group from the western state of Michoacán. The Federal Register, the U.S. government’s gazette, published the designation on Thursday Theyjoined sixother Mexicancriminalorganizationsthatthe U.S. considers terrorist groups, including theSinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. Gangs in other Latin American countries, including Venezuela, Brazil, Ecuador and El Salvador,also have beendesignatedasforeign terrorist organizations by

theTrumpadministration.

President DonaldTrump begantoextend theterrorist label to LatinAmerican cartelsinFebruary 2025 to allow U.S. authoritiestotake more aggressive action against them or againstanyone who theU.S. sees as aiding the groups.

SecretaryofState Marco Rubiosaid that both criminalgroupseither have committedterrorist acts or pose aserious risk of committing acts thatthreaten the security of U.S. nationalsorthe national security,foreign policy,oreconomy of the United States. The measure represents afurther increase in pressure on Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’sadministration following the indictmentof10current andformerofficialsfrom the state of Sinaloafor al-

leged ties to the Sinaloa Cartel, as well as thecontroversies aboutU.S. operations in Mexico.

Juarez Cartel is one of Mexico’soldestdrug trafficking organizations, which for decades has controlleda keycrossing point in thecentral part of the Mexico-U.S. border: Ciudad Juárez,across from El Paso, Texas. One of its factions is considered responsible for the 2019 deaths of nine U.S. citizens, six of whom were children.

Los Viagras is alocal cartel in the western state of Michoacan, which is alreadyhome to two other criminal groupsdesignated as terrorist organizations: Cárteles Unidos and La NuevaFamiliaMichoacana. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel and partners of SinaloaCartel also operate in this state.

dark T-shirtand jeans, and accused Syrskyi of blocking reformsneeded because “the war has changedcompletely” due to new technology like drones.

During his time in office, he secured restrictions on Russian forces’ access to the Starlink satellite communications system, allowing Ukraine to better leverage its midrange strike capabilities giving Kyiv significant battlefield advantages.

Fedorov said he was willing to work with Syrskyi, “but we encountered asituation in which all the initiatives we proposed began to

be blocked.” “Under this arrangement (with Syrskyi as commander), Ipersonally do not know how the war can be won,” he said. On social media, Fedorov highlighted what he called his major achievements: redirecting funds earmarked for salaries into midrange strike capabilities, fiber-opticdrones, reconnaissance systemsand other technologies. He pointed to expanded drone procurement, Patriot missile defense contracts, successful ballisticmissile tests and sweeping changes to military procurement.

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ISNA PHOTO By RAZIEH POUDAT

Three boys playinthe shallowwaters of the Strait of Hormuz as aplumeofsmokerises from an explosion in the background on Mondayoff Bandar Abbas, Iran.

Texas flash floodsleave

BY JESSE BEDAYN and JAMIE STENGLE Associated Press

UVALDE, Texas Rescuers aboard boats and helicopters

saved dozens of stranded drivers and people trapped in homes from catastrophic flash floods in Texas in areas stillreeling from devastating floods ayear ago.

At least one person was dead, Gov.Greg Abbott said, adding that it appeared many of the summer camps hit hard last year were notin danger.“Our No.1focus is saving lives,” he said.

After days of pounding rain, the National Weather Service saida“large and deadly flood wave” barreled downthe sameriver wrecked by flash floods last summer when two dozen children andcounselors were killed at Camp Mystic.

Much like last year,the floods came in the middle of the night. But this time some residents in the Texas Hill Country said they received more warnings.

Forecasters urgently warned, “Move to higher ground now!” as rivers rose hour by hour,turning them into fast-moving seasof white water.Somespots of the Guadalupe River rose by more than 30 feet.

The governor saidmore than 1,300 first responders were deployed,rescuing well over 70 people.

As much as 28 inches of rain fell over the past three days in Uvalde County which was spared from the worst flooding ayearago, the weatherservice said Thursday.Other areassaw roughly afoot of rain with more expected going into Friday

“This is hopefully the last real batchofrain,”saidJasonRunyen, ameteorologist with the weather service.

Whileauthoritieshavenot released the name of the per-

son who died, Jennie Steward said the body of her husband, 65-year-old John Mark Steward, of Kerrville, wasfound Thursday.

She was visiting herparents when aneighbor calledovernight, saying her husband was missing after water had risen tothe door of their mobilehome, whichstood about 8feet off the ground.

The entire home was swept off the platform and floated down Goat Creek on the Guadalupe River, she said

“It’sreallyhardthatIwasn’t there with him,” she said. The two weremarried three years ago and last spoke by phone Wednesday to celebrate their anniversary

Theunfolding crisis brought back haunting memoriesoflastsummer’s unimaginableHillCountry floods that killedmore than 100 people over theJuly Fourth holiday.

“It’scrazy happening two times in one year,” said Josiah Rodriguez,who awoke to the sound of heavy rain around 2a.m. Thursday in Kerrville.Henavigated flooded roadstohelp evacu-

aterelatives

“Last year there was no warningofit,” he said. “It just kind of happened overnight and it took everyone by surprise. This year,alot more alerts have gone into place, a lot more safetymeasures.”

Residents saidthey were caught off guard ayearago and didn’treceive any warning when floodsovertopped the Guadalupe. Some local leaders were criticized for not acting quickly

Thestorms and flooding thistime threatened multiple counties closetothe Mexico border and in the Hill Country near San Antonio. Roughly six million residents across Texaswere underafloodwatch this week, and somewere expected to remain in effect through Friday evening.

Several agencies sent rescue helicopterstothe flood zone,including Travis County in thestatecapital of Austin.

“Myunderstanding is peopleweremostlytrappedin trees andonrooftops,” said Travis CountyJudge Andy Brown, who said one caller

warned 10 people were trapped on abarnroof.

At awildanimalrescue, KatieBuckevacuated sev-

eral dozen animalstohigher ground in the dark Thursday as thenormally dry Lazy Creek overflowed. She had to quicklygrab aporcupine despite having no gloves.

She got all of the animals to safety,but flooding destroyed several enclosures at the BuckWild AnimalRescue and Wildlife Rehabnear Ingram in Kerr County

“Wewerejuststartingto get backonour feet again,” Buck said. “Tohave to go throughthisagain is just devastating.”

Residents at an RV park in Comfort moved their trailers as sirens sounded, said manager Duke Earwood.

Water rose over thehoods of vehicles parked near the river at the Comfort RV Resort. Markers showed the flooding already matched last July’sbig flood.

“Too familiar forsure, and too soon,” Earwood said.

Floodwaters also overran the city of Uvalde overnight, cutting offmost outside routes. The Leona River,normally dry most of the year filled streets with water

“People really can’tget anywhere,” said Carmen Rodriguez, who nervously watchedwater engulf her neighborhood as ahelicopter roared overhead. “Wehave a place to go, but all the streets are closed.”

Rodriguezsaidauthorities seemed to be well prepared, ordering mandatory evacuations and notifying people directly Texas Game Wardens rescued close to 150 people by the afternoon, according to aTexas Parks andWildlife Department spokesperson. Video releasedbythe agency showed crewshoisting children from ahouse surroundedwithwater intoa helicopter

Wildfire smoke makes air unhealthy across U.S.

BY TAMMY WEBBER and PHILIP MARCELO Associated Press

NEW YORK Heavy, pungent

wildfire smoke darkened skies in the U.S. on Thursday from the Great Lakes to parts of the East Coast, reducing visibility and prompting warnings that breathing the air outside could be dangerous. Officials in many cities urged residents to stay inside or wear masks outside as air quality reached unhealthy to hazardous levels, meaning it’s unhealthy for anyone regardless of health conditions. The smoke is coming from fires that are burning primarily in Canada but also in northern Minnesota. A lingering high pressure system has trapped the smoke close to the ground, said Steven Freitag, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Detroit, where air quality was among the worst in the world for major cities.

“Sure enough, it arrived in force here and it’s really pretty extreme levels,” said Freitag, who noted that visibility in some areas was reduced to a half mile.

“It’s scary,” Omar Mitchell, 50, said as he looked to the

Bill Ostrowski, 76, wore a mask as he walked through downtown Chicago, where wildfire smoke shrouded skyscrapers. “It stinks. It’s not a good sign when you wake up in the morning and you can smell the air,” said Ostrowski.

In St. Paul, Minnesota, the sky was “glowing yellow,” said Brent Williams, head of the soil, water and climate department at the University of Minnesota. The area “could be looking at weeks to months of continued smoke and flare-ups off and on as the winds blow in different directions,” he said.

issues, including respiratory illness, cardiovascular and neurological diseases, and premature death.

sky He wore a mask while walking to his restaurant in Detroit. “You don’t know necessarily what the side effects may be. That’s days or months later.”

Microscopic particles can lodge deep in the lungs and enter the bloodstream, leading to heart and lung problems and contributing to other long-term health issues.

All of Michigan and much of Minnesota were under a hazardous air quality alert.

In the Chicago area, air quality ranged from very un-

healthy to hazardous.

National Weather Service meteorologist Jake Petr said even if winds from the northwest clear skies as expected later this week, the smoky air could keep returning until the fires are out. That could take months, until it snows in Canada and northern Minnesota, officials have said.

“Anytime we have something that could bring air from that region until the fires are over, it could conceivably dip back into the area,” Petr said.

FDA OKs first-of-its-kind pill to cut cholesterol in high-risk patients

BY MATTHEW PERRONE Associated Press

WASHINGTON The Food and Drug Administration has approved a first-of-its-kind pill that can drastically reduce cholesterol in a way that’s previously only been available with expensive, injectable drugs.

The drug from Merck was OK’d on Thursday for patients with artery-clogging cholesterol that persists even after taking statins, the standard medications for cutting heart attack risk. Merck will market its pill under the brand name Lipfendra.

It’s the first noninjectable medication that works by blocking a liver protein

called PCSK9. That protein limits the body’s ability to clear cholesterol from the blood, and biotech injectables targeting it have been available from Amgen and other drugmakers for more than a decade. But patient access has been stymied for years by high prices, insurance restrictions and limited prescribing by doctors.

Statins block some of the liver’s production of cholesterol and are the cornerstone of treatment. But even at the highest doses, many people need additional help lowering their LDL, or bad, cholesterol enough to meet medical guidelines.

Merck, which has headquarters in Rahway, New

Jersey won approval based on two studies in high-risk patients who added the company’s pill to their standard treatment, including statins. In one study of 3,000 patients, those taking Lipfendra saw their levels of LDL cholesterol drop more than 55% after six months. In a second study, patients averaged a reduction of 59% compared with patients who received a dummy pill. That benefit dropped only slightly over a year, and side effects — including dizziness and diarrhea — were similar between those taking the pill or a placebo, researchers found. One caveat: The pill must be taken on an empty stomach.

Trump’s teleprompter operator accused of making bets on speeches

BY BILL BARROW Associated Press

ATLANTA President Donald Trump’s teleprompter operator is on unpaid leave after reports that he used his inside knowledge to make bets about the president’s speeches on the online prediction market Kalshi, the White House said Thursday The firm’s enforcement chief said Kalshi contacted federal regulators about bets allegedly made about what the president would say in public addresses. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president is aware of the situation, which she de-

scribed as “unfortunate” and “a disgrace.”

“The White House has extremely strict ethical guidelines with respect to issues like this,” Leavitt told reporters, saying the aide is on unpaid leave.

ABC News reported Thursday that Gabriel Perez, who has been operating Trump’s teleprompter since 2016, used his inside knowledge to win more than $100,000 betting on what the president would say in big speeches, including the State of the Union address earlier this year

Robert Denault, Kalshi’s lawyer and head of enforcement, said on X that the

“Kalshi surveillance team promptly flagged, investigated and referred these trades” to the U.S Commodity Futures Trading Commission that has regulatory authority over such matters.

His statement did not name Perez.

“We have been assisting regulators on this matter and provided all evidence that we collected, as we do with any referral,” Denault added.

ABC based its report on multiple sources who have knowledge of the matter but spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the details.

A study published this year found that long-term exposure to tiny particles from wildfire smoke contributed to an average of 24,100 deaths a year in the lower 48 states. Long-term exposure can make existing health problems worse and lead to a range of chronic and deadly

In the New York City area, a thick haze tinged the morning sky orange and yellow and partly obscured Manhattan’s skyline. City officials opened cooling centers as health officials urged New Yorkers to limit strenuous and prolonged outdoor activities. The city’s schools, parks and other agencies moved activities indoors, rescheduled events and adjusted operations. State officials distributed tens of thousands of face masks at transit hubs and other major locations.

Gwen Moseley, 65, was among the first patrons at Rosedale Library in Queens to take advantage of the free masks, saying she’s on the road much of the day working as a therapist for children with autism.

“Who wants to be breathing this? It’s not healthy,” Moseley said as she waited to meet a young client. “When I’m out walking, I can feel the scratchiness in my throat.” Smoke eased a bit but was expected to thicken again by late afternoon or evening, possibly lasting overnight, weather service meteorologist Maureen Hastings said. She said it might move south for a while on Friday but return at night. The state Department of Environmental Conservation warned that there was a potential for temporary spikes of “very unhealthy” air quality from Buffalo in the state’s western corner to Rochester by Lake Ontario, Syracuse in the central region, down to the greater New

area. Philadelphia officials urged people to avoid strenuous activity and stay inside or wear N95 or KN95 masks outside.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By PAUL SANCyA A pedestrian crosses the street Thursday as the Detroit skyline is obscured during poor air quality due to smoke from Canadian wildfires.

House GOP’s $95B Iran war package clears first hurdle

BY LISA MASCARO AP congressional correspondent

WASHINGTON Republicans on the House Budget Committee advanced a $95 billion package Thursday for the Iran war, farm aid and President Donald Trump’s push for strict new voter ID requirements, moving forward on a party-line vote despite trouble in the full House and the Senate.

Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington framed the proposal as one last push to deliver for voters ahead of the midterm elections that will determine control of Congress. It advanced on a vote of 20-14.

“We are rallying to finish what we started when the American people sent us here,” said Arrington, RTexas.

With Iran war funding makes up the bulk of the package, some $60 billion, Arrington acknowledged that people can debate “why we’re there” in the overseas conflict But he said the money is needed for basic supplies — “just the bombs, bullets and battlefield readiness for our men and women in uniform to finish the fight successfully and return home safely — that’s it.”

The resolution, which sets out instructions for the various congressional committees to draw up proposals

also calls for $13 billion for Intelligence, $12 billion for Agriculture, and $10 billion for Administration, which handles voting and elections. The proposal is the third budget reconciliation package Republicans in control of Congress have put forward this session to steamroll Trump’s priorities past Democratic objections using a legislative procedure that allows for simple majority votes for passage.

It’s the same process

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, used to pass Trump’s big tax cuts bill last year and to advance Homeland Security money after Democrats refused to fund the department following the deaths of Americans protesting Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions earlier this year

Johnson is pushing the effort almost single-handedly, without full backing from his slim House Republican majority or the Senate. He held lengthy meetings with Trump this week at the White House and hosted a private session for Republicans at the president’s Camp David retreat to hash out details.

But the 47-page package remains a long-shot effort too meager for some, too costly for others — ahead of voting in the full House expected next week

Thursday during a

Key Republican Rep. Chip Roy, an influential member of the Freedom Caucus who has expressed reservations about the package, did not vote at the Budget Committee session, as his home state of Texas deals with flooding. Democrats are ready to vote against the proposal, as they did Thursday during committee action.

Rep. Brendan Boyle, of Pennsylvania, the ranking Democrat on the Budget Committee, said the document, some 6,500 words, never once mentions the

issue that’s top of mind for many Americans: affordability

“People know this is a failed presidency and a failed Republican majority,” Boyle said.

Democrats offered more than a dozen amendments to the package during the hourslong Budget Committee session and raised questions about how the new spending will ultimately be paid for either via budget cuts to other programs or by piling onto the nation’s debt. Boyle offered an amend-

ment to reverse healthcare cuts from the Republicans’ big tax breaks bill. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., sought to reinstate funding for food stamps under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Rep. Scott Peters, D-Calif., suggested funding for immigration enforcement at Department of Homeland Security could be used to offset costs elsewhere.

Rep. Lloyd Doggett, DTexas, blamed the high costs of living on the Iran war and said every time Americans open their refrigerators or go to the gas pump they are “paying for a war that should never have been started.”

Next steps are highly volatile, as the House holds a rare Saturday pro forma session, which is a largely administrative meeting that will allow the resolution to be filed in time for consideration next week. Johnson can only lose a few detractors on his side of the aisle as he relies on Republicans only, without Democrats, for passage. But the resolution would also have to be agreed on by the Senate, and Republican senators have largely panned the House effort, waiting to see if Johnson can heave it to passage. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said senators have “a lot of questions” about it from defense hawks concerned about the military to deficit hawks who want to offset costs. “It’s a very uneven path,” he said. “We’ll see what the House can execute on,” he said, but “I can’t make any guarantees over here.” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., who is expected to take over the Senate Budget Committee after the sudden death of Sen. Lindsey Graham, has been a leading budget hawk concerned about the nation’s rising deficits.

Rule could deny green cards to immigrants using public benefits

BY GISELA SALOMON Associated Press

MIAMI The Trump administration is reviving a rule that could deny green cards to immigrants who use public benefits that could include food stamps, Medicaid, housing vouchers and others. The policy, known as “public charge,” appeared on Thursday in the Federal Register It will be formally published on July 20 and take

effect Sept. 18. Under the policy, applicants for green cards have to show they wouldn’t be burdens to the country or “public charges.”

The policy was first implemented in February 2020 as one of President Donald Trump’s moves to limit legal immigration during his first administration, but it was reversed after Democratic President Joe Biden came to power. Its return comes when the

Republican administration is implementing a hard-line policy to curb both illegal and legal immigration, and when the cost of healthcare and food is rising.

The federal government “is reaffirming the requirement of self-reliance, protecting public resources and ending policies that encouraged dependency on the backs of hardworking American taxpayers,” U.S. Citizenship and Immigration

Services said in a post published on its X account

“Under President Trump, USCIS is restoring the basic principle that immigrants must be able to support themselves,” the post said. While the administration’s crackdown on immigration has an increased focus on deportations and immigration enforcement in cities across the country and at borders and entry points, it has also taken actions that target le-

gal immigrants and mixedstatus families, in which the parents are foreign nationals with U.S.-born children.

Federal law already requires those seeking permanent residency or legal status to demonstrate that they will not become a public charge.

The Trump administration’s rule, however, broadens the grounds for disqualification.

The new rule does not describe or specify by name the benefits and programs that

could be considered a public charge. Instead, it says that officers who would implement the policy will make “individualized, fact-specific public charge inadmissible determinations, based on a totality of the alien’s circumstances.”

It says that, “using good judgment and discretion, officers will more accurately assess an alien’s likelihood at any time of becoming a public charge.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By J SCOTT APPLEWHITE House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, center, speaks with an aide

markup on the Fiscal year 2027 spending plan, at the Capitol in Washington.

SenatorpushesBlanche to meet with Epsteinaccusers

BY ALANNADURKIN RICHER and JOEY CAPPELLETTI Associated Press

WASHINGTON Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche met Thursday with accusers of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein following the demand by aRepublican senator whose support is crucial to advancing his nomination tolead the Justice Department.

Blanche met for about an hour with agroup of Epstein’s accusers at Justice Department headquarters in Washington. After the meeting, Blanche told reporters that he encouraged theaccusers to come to the FBI with any information that could helpinvestigators.

The political firestorm over Epstein has been apersistent headache for the Trump administration, which released millions of investigative documents overthe last year in response to right-wing clamoring for answers about the disgraced financier’s crimes and connections to high-profile people.

ActingAttorneyGeneral

with Blanche “through multiple channels and he never responded.”

“Wedeserve to be heard directly, not dismissed and ignored,” Bensky said.

Blanche has pushed back on suggestions that the Justice Department hasbeen dismissive of the late financier’s accusers, saying officials havespoken with morethan 30 representativesofthe women over thecourse of theirsweeping review of thefiles.

which questionedBlanche for hours Wednesdayabout the Epstein files as well as the creation of afund to compensate President Donald Trump’sallies, atax immunitydeal forthe president and aslew of other issues.

Another Republican, Sen. John Cornyn,has also expressed concern over the fund and has said he remains undecided about his vote.

Tillis indicated during Blanche’s confirmationhearing Wednesday that he wasleaning toward backing Blanche, whohas been leading the department in an acting capacity since April. But after lawmakers heard Bensky’stestimony, Tillis said he expected ameeting between victims and Blanche to occur before he’s“willing to vote out of this committee.”

The Justice Department hasrepeatedly said it will investigate further if new information surfaces, but the government doesn’t currently have evidence to support additional prosecutions against peopletied to Epstein.

“Americaisbackand doing really well, but we stillhavea major challenge that must be urgently addressed, because no country can be great without fair andhonest elections,” he said.

He said all Americans should be assured their elections are free of cheating and interference.

“Unfortunately,the system we have today falls catastrophically short of that standard,” Trump said.

Trump used the remarks to justify his push to pass astrict voter ID bill in Congress.

Primetime presidential addresses are typically reserved for major milestones or nationallysignificant events.

Trump last did it in Apriltospeak on the Iran war,amonth after it started. He said then thatthe U.S. would accomplish itsobjectives

“Itwasn’tall cordial,” Blanche said of Thursday’smeeting. “Becausethere’s somethingthatthey wantthat Idon’t think Ican give them, which is some formofjustice. And Iwant to be able to give justice in the formofprosecutions, and maybe we can do aprosecutionatsomepoint,” Blanchesaid. ButBlanche added, “I don’tknow.”

“very shortly” and that “the hard partisdone, so it should be easy.”

The war,however,has dragged on and strikes between the U.S. and Iran have intensified this week.

Trump also delivered apolitically chargedprimetime speech in December in which he sought to blame thechallengingeconomic climate on Democrats.

Some networks didn’t airit

At least some TV networks said Thursdaytheywould notcarry thespeechlivebut wouldair it on their streaming services. ABC, NBCand CNNdecidednot to air theremarkslive but to carry them in full on their streaming services and break intonetwork coverage as needed

CBS said it was “airing aspecial report” during the address, but it wasn’tclear ifthe network would carry it live.

Trumpcalled out themedia outlets for not carryingitliveand accused them of being“part of aplot.”

Oneaccuser,Dani Bensky, expressed frustration after the meeting, telling NBC in an interview that it wasn’tsubstantive or productive.

“Mymind has not been changed that he will do what is best for the American people and survivors in this country,” she said.

EarlierThursday, Benskytold lawmakersonthe SenateJudiciary Committee that women harmed by Epsteinrepeatedlyasked to meet

Networks typically but don’t always choose to carrypresidential addresses to the nation live.

In 2022, when then-President Joe Bidendelivered aprimetime address full of warnings about Donald Trump and his adherents’“extreme ideology,” the networks did not carry it live.

In 2014, themajor networks chose to stick with their primetime programming instead of airing an address by then-President Barack Obama on his plansfor immigration reform

White House press secretary KarolineLeavitt on Thursday afternoonseemed to be still trying to persuade networks to carry the remarkslive, saying, “I think that themainstream media should air thepresident’s speech and allow theAmerican people to draw their own conclusions from it.”

Questionsabout midterms

Democratswarned that Trump was trying to revive false claims

“The Department of Justice will alwaysmeetwith victimsortheir representatives,and if those victims or their representatives have evidence that anybody committed acrime —whether it has to do with Jeffrey Epstein or anybody else we will of course move forward andinvestigate andprosecute,” Blanche toldreporters.

The meeting came hours after Republican Sen. Thom Tillis said it needed to happenbeforeBlanche couldearn hisvoteamid criticism from accusers aboutthe Justice Department’shandlingofEpstein’s case anda trove of files related to his sex trafficking investigation.

WithoutTillis’ support, Blanche’s nomination won’tmake it through the Senate Judiciary Committee,

of past stolen elections in order to delegitimize the 2026 midterm elections, in which Trump’sRepublican Party is facing headwinds.

“Trumpisgoing to useaprimetime address to stokemisleading claims about our elections in order to justifyinterfering in our midterms.It’sonall of us to follow the factsand not accept his constant stream of misdirections and lies,” Virginia Democratic Sen. Mark Warner saidinastatement on X.

“Trumpisagain trying to drum up baseless electionconspiracies ahead of the November elections,” New Jersey Democratic Sen. Andy Kimsaid in apost on X. “Americans aretired of endless war,skyrocketing gasprices, and a president that isn’tlooking out for them. Voters will maketheir voices heard, whether Trump wants them to or not.”

Leavitt didn’tanswer aquestion Thursday about whether Trump would accept theresultsofthe midterms, though Vice President

Tillis later Thursday commended Blanche forholding the meeting, writing in asocial media post, “I appreciate his willingness to directly engage and listen to them.”

After missteps by then-Attorney GeneralPam Bondi that enraged Trump’sbase, Blanche as deputy attorney general oversaw amassive review and the release of millions of files related to the investigation into Epstein.

JD Vance told reporters on Capitol Hill aday earlier that “of course we’re gonna support the results of the midterm elections.”

VancebristledWednesday when askedifhe’dencourage Trump in his Thursday remarkstostay focused on November’smidterm electionsrather than relitigate past elections. “‘The unfounded claims,’”Vance said, repeating the reporter’slanguage. “You’re basically assuming an answer in the very question that you ask.”

“The president is goingtotalk aboutanumberofthingstomorrow night. I’m obviously not going to getahead of hisremarks,”Vance said. “But we can talk about anumber of the American people’sproblems. We can solve anumber of the American people’sproblems.” Before he began speaking about elections, Trump started his speech by ticking through along list of whathesaidwerehis administration’saccomplishments —including cutting drug prices.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MARIAM ZUHAIB

Todd Blanche talks withreporters on Thursday after attending ameeting related to survivors of convicted sex offender JeffreyEpstein.

This pays homage to the individuals that lost their lives and to those that were injured and recovered.”

East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore said such events allow the community to come together and be mindful and respectful of everyone.

“Rememberthatlaw enforcement and our community canbe attacked at any time, and so you always have to be aware of potential problems and issues,” Moore said Edwards has directedall U.S and Louisiana flags at city-parish government facilities to be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset.

“TheCity-Parish encourages residents, businesses, and organizations throughout East Baton Rouge Parish to join in this tribute by lowering their flags to half-staff andtaking amoment to remember the heroes who gave everything in service to our community,” Edwards stated in anews release.

Morse wasonthe SWAT team the morning of the ambush. He said he wasworking 12-hour shifts as Baton Rouge was handling protests during the period of unrest after Alton Sterling wasfatallyshotby apolice officer July 5.

The ambush at Benny’s B-Quik lasted alittle under 14 minutes.

The gunman —Gavin Long, a 29-year-old former Marine who traveled to Baton Rouge from Kansas City —chose the location because it’sabout amile from BRPD headquarters,soofficers would drop by thestore forcoffee and other items, Moore said.

CHARGED

Continued from page1A

Education “to install new leadership and protect the school’sstudents and staff.”

“Weappreciatefederal investigators for pursuing this matter, and trust thejudicial system to resolve this issue in accordance with thelaw,” Brumley said.

For their charges, prosecutors followed closely on some of the findingsofthe Louisiana Legislative Auditor’sOffice in their 173-page auditofImpact Charter They include the following:

n Greenoverbilled Impact Charter to construct atemporary building at the 4815 LaveyLanecampusand then used almost $106,000 of those payouts to help complete construction on the Scott’shome in Zachary, including installing anew swimming pool.

n Took $458,200 that Impact receivedfrom the federally-funded COVIDeraPaycheck Protection Program and moved it in June 2020, two months after receipt, to the bank account of anonprofit associated withthe school, Friends of Impact Charter, agroup auditors say is controlledby Chakesha Scott. Prosecutors say that diversion of funds was illegal. The Scotts have argued that the nonprofit’s finances are separate from that of the school n Starting in June 2021, ChakeshaScott and Courtney Scotttookcarsacquired by the school— a2017Acura MDX and a2021Land Rover —for their own personal use. Totalestimated expense for the least-to-purchase arrangementispeggedat $166,520.

n Chakesha Scott, “without authority,” illegally di-

About8:35 a.m., Long arrived in thearea of Benny’sB-Quik in a white Chevrolet Malibu carrying a semiautomatic rifle, according to a summary of theinvestigation into theattack.Heambushed Jackson

and Gerald about 8:40 a.m.

At 8:41 a.m., Garafola radioed “shots fired andofficerdown” from behind the building and, despitebeing fatally wounded, Gerald transmitted his final radio call,

theirs and not the school’s.

verted more than $2 million in leasepaymentstoFriends of ImpactCharter,the owner of the Lavey Lane campus. Those payments,which covered an 18-month period starting in September 2022, were$846,048 more than what Friends was paying on itsmortgage.Scott also allegedlyspent $171,659 from the school’sbank account to pay closing costs on that property,even though the school was not party to the real estate sale.

n Thehusband and wife charged $114,094 to school credit cards to payfor what prosecutors say were “personaltravelexpenses.”Auditors counted 20 trips taken between October 2021 and July2023. They included a 17-day European trip to Paris, London and Amsterdam, with astopatDisneyland Paris. TheScotts have argued that alltheir trips were legally appropriatetravel to professional conferences and the credit card in question was

n Over more than five years thecouple illegally diverted$292,993 from student fees and uniform sales to Friends of Impact Charter

Six of the criminal counts involve “theft or bribery concerning programs receiving federalfunds”and that Impact Charter during thisperiod was receiving at least $10,000 ayear in federal funding. The only specific federal programnamed in theindictmentisthe Paycheck Protection Program. Theseventh count involves money laundering. It focuses on $42,371 Chakesha Scottpulled in May 2023 from theaccount of Friends of Impact Charter School to buy a2018 Tesla ModelS Prosecutors say the “funds were derived from the unlawfultheft of funds from Impact Charter School.”

Email CharlesLussier at clussier@theadvocate. com.

“shotsfired.” Garafola had lefthis coverafter seeing Gerald go down. Morse arrivedatthe sceneand went to the wounded officers.

“Whenthe call went out, Iwas one of the first SWAT officers to arrive on the scene and the very first person to get to Montrell and Matthewand Brad, and found them over by the side of the business,”

Morse said.

Long then positionedhimself between Carolyn Sue Drive and theHair Crown, located next to theconvenience store, and fired 10 rounds at officers arriving on Airline to create aperimeter.At 8:45 a.m., Long fired shots at Tullier and another sergeant, who survived.

Mooresaid BRPD’sSpecial Response Team was right down the road from the ambush, so several members quickly showed up in unmarked cars. Long also began to fire at them.

Alongside other officers, Morse helped track down Long, who was shot in the legabout 8:46 a.m. but wasstill alive andmoving toward his gun. The finalshots were fired around 8:49 a.m., and Long died at the scene.

“But for this group being right down thestreet, he (would’ve) gone to otherplaces,” Mooresaid.

“He’sready to go; hisammo is filledtogotoother places and kill morepeople.”

Many changes were made after 2016 in how Baton Rouge law enforcement officers perated, Morse and Gautreaux said.

It is now standard for officers to wear vests with rifle plates in them. Rifles are also now alarger part of the weapons officers carry, according to Morse.

Morse said training forofficers’ mental health increased after the ambush.

“We’veincreased ourtraining, increased our preparation. We can’t,unfortunately, trainfor everything, and officers are still being shot across the country,” Morse said. “Wejust need the public’s help whenthings happenand even when we’re not in atimelike this in remembrance, Iencouragethe public to takeamoment, say hello, tell them you appreciate them.”

Gautreauxsaidthe gathering of information and its dissemination hasimproved significantlyfrom10 years ago, andEBRSO continues to relyoncommunityoutreach to better itself and justice.

The community came together in ways not seen in Baton Rouge before, Gautreauxexplained. He described seeing strangers hug each other and pay for one another’slunch at arestaurant.

“After this happened, and Iwish it never would have occurred, but the whole complex of the people in the parish changed,” Gautreaux said. “Everybody was coming together from all walks of life, from all economic areas. It notonly shocked us,itshocked thecommunity.”

Moore said he knew the officers who were shot and had talked to oneofthe surviving injured officers the night before. He said emotionswerehighafter theincident due to the proximity to home.

“Itwas just areallyunique, unnerving situation that you can’t ever think of thatbeing created and can’tever recreate that whole circumstance again,” Moore said.

Controversial building repairs resume

Collis Temple Jr., East Feliciana Parish reach settlement

BY AIDAN McCAHILL

ruled out the possibility of converting it into a mental hospital.

“We’re just trying to get the repairs done so it can be in good condition,” Temple said “We may sell it. It may be used as an emergency shelter; it may be used as a nursing home.”

The building, located at 9725 Grace Lane, previously operated as a nursing home through the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. It was later converted into a small hospital, then an emergency facility, before Temple’s company

BY BRIANNA MEEKS Contributing Writer

TIMOTHY BOONE Staff writer

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

Injunction granted in New Orleans judges suit

Law shrank criminal court from 12 to 9 seats

BY MATT BRUCE Staff writer

The three New Orleans judges slated for removal last month by state lawmakers may be able to qualify to run for their seats in the upcoming election under a Baton Rouge judge’s order Tuesday But it remained far from settled if those races will actually happen Judge Tarvald Smith, of the 19th Judicial District, enjoined state and local officials from enacting

REPAIRS

Continued from page 1B

of the university’s Board of Supervisors. He serves as the CEO of Harmony Behavioral Health and also owns a construction company that began renovating the property without a permit the same month it was purchased. Under a cooperative endeavor agreement with the state, Temple’s company would have operated a facility for “civilly committed” patients individuals ordered into mental health treatment by a court. Louisiana planned to pay Harmony Behavioral Health $700 per patient per day and up to $4.5 million for renovations to bring the former nursing home up to code for use as a forensic facility

That agreement stemmed from a federal lawsuit against the Louisiana Department of Health alleging the state’s failure to take custody of individuals found incompetent to stand trial or not guilty by reason of insanity resulted in unconstitutional confinement in parish jails and the denial of adequate mental health care. As part of the settlement, the state agreed to expand capacity for civil commitments The plan called for transferring 118 patients from the state-run mental hospital in Jackson to the

HOUSING

Continued from page 1B

students who must live off campus because of limited living space They said Southern currently has a waiting list for on-campus housing.

“Today represents growth in our future,” Pierre said. Pierre said university surveys found that most students are living off campus, whether downtown or across town, when they should be living on campus. He said the university had to demonstrate its financial strength before securing financing for the project.

Phase 1 is designed for freshman and sophomore students.

The dorm will have modern study rooms and collaborative common spaces on each floor In contrast to the older dorms, the housing will assimilate a modern studentcentered design. These new housing units are aimed at prioritizing academic engagement and communitybuilding.

any provision of Act 748 until after the qualifying period ends next month.

His ruling came after Smith heard arguments in a lawsuit filed by newly elected Orleans Parish Criminal Court Judge John Fuller, challenging the act. Fuller argues that neither chamber of the Legislature reached a required two-thirds vote for passage of the measure to shrink the criminal court from 12 judges to nine.

State officials argued that the measure didn’t need a supermajority for passage, citing a specific exception

for New Orleans municipal offices from the 1974 constitutional convention. The delegates made the Crescent City’s courts “subject to change by law” with a simple majority vote, the state argues. As defendants, Fuller’s lawsuit listed Gov Jeff Landry, Attorney General Liz Murrill, Secretary of State Nancy Landry and Orleans Parish Clerk of Court Chelsey Richard Napoleon.

The court ruling comes two months after Fuller won a special election to complete the unexpired term of

former Judge Darryl Derbigny in Section J. The law change takes effect Jan. 1, axing Fuller’s seat along with the seats currently held by Judges Simone Levine and Rhonda Goode-Douglas.

All 12 judges’ terms end at year’s end. The qualifying period runs Aug. 5-7. There’s no timeline for when Smith might decide the broader constitutional question about the number of votes needed for the law to pass.

“While the final decision wasn’t made on that question, the judge did think that there was enough vigor to maintain the status quo until a final decision can be made,” said Fuller’s attorney, Jerome Matthews. “Be-

Grace Lane property by summer 2023.

Parish officials and residents, however, strongly opposed housing such patients — considered a danger to themselves or others — in a residential area. Temple had previously attempted to build a similar facility in East Baton Rouge Parish, which also faced stiff opposition.

According to Temple’s lawsuit against the parish, the cooperative endeavor agreement required only minor renovations to the main building for patient housing, totaling about $100,000.

But Jeff Williams, who oversees inspections and permits for East Feliciana, said Temple began work without a permit, which would have required rezoning for use as

a mental health facility Although Temple attempted to apply for a permit, Williams said he continued work after the parish issued a stopwork order Temple and two contractors were eventually issued criminal citations by the Sheriff’s Office. In the months that followed, residents packed local government meetings to voice concerns about the project and their mistrust of both the state and Temple. As tensions escalated, the state proposed an alternative: converting the Grace Lane property into a nursing home, relocating residents from Villa Feliciana, and repurposing that facility as a psychiatric hospital. Many residents still opposed the plan, arguing Temple

Renovation plans for a building on Grace Lane, outside Clinton, are underway again.

had attempted to move forward with a psychiatric facility under their noses.

“It appears they’ve taken a very personal stance against me, for no reason,” Temple said at the time.

“The state was sending out mixed messages,” said Chrissie O’Quin, vice president of the parish Police Jury, who represents the area.

“Those of us that were involved with it stood our ground because we knew what was right.”

Lawsuit, aftermath

In June 2023, Harmony Behavioral Health filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in the Middle District of Louisiana against the parish government, naming Police Jury President Louis Kent, Wil-

cause if you don’t allow the judges to qualify and we come to find out afterward that it was unconstitutionally passed, it’ll be too late for them to qualify for their seats at that point.” Murrill said she plans to appeal the injunction

“The law is clear that a preliminary injunction blocking implementation of a state law is not legally proper,” Murrill said in a statement. “We will file an appeal immediately, which suspends the judgment As this matter impacts elections and qualifying deadlines, we will seek priority review to get this matter resolved quickly.”

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

liams, O’Quin, District Attorney Sam Dequilla and Sheriff Jeff Travis. The suit alleged the parish deliberately delayed permitting to kill the project, violating the Fifth and 14th Amendments. It also argued the property did not require rezoning and claimed Harmony stood to lose more than $100 million if the permit was denied. Harmony also filed a separate mandamus action in East Feliciana Parish seeking to compel permit approval, but a judge declined to expedite the process.

In April 2026, the parties reached a settlement The parish agreed to pay Harmony more than $120,000 and to request that the district attorney drop the criminal charges. Temple is now allowed to resume renovations, which began in early July, consistent with the building’s previous use, Williams said.

“I tried to hold him to the standard I hold to everybody,” said Williams. “He wasn’t able to put in a psych hospital, but he will be able to put in a nursing home.” Temple said that to his knowledge, the state is no longer involved in the project.

“It won’t be in the deplorable condition it was in when we stopped working on it,” he added. Email Aidan McCahill at aidan. mccahill@theadvocate.com.

The construction site of the new four-story residence hall at Southern University is seen on Thursday. The $50 million student housing development will have 500 beds during the first phase.

STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

INVOICES

Continued from page 1B

Phase II will add 350 beds for upperclass and graduate students. The apartmentstyle dorms will include an in-unit washing machine, kitchenettes and an outdoor quad. The dorms are being built by Tillage Construction LLC and Milton J. Womack, construction companies that formed Womack-Tillage LLC for the dorm project.

Continued from page 1B

for a potential restaurant but decided not to proceed with the location. Judah Vedros of Kurz & Hebert Commercial Real Estate, who represented Raising Cane’s, said the restaurant chain was looking to lease rather than sell the building. But he said the Bank of Zachary approached it with an offer where it made sense to sell. Rising land and construction costs have made it “super expensive” to build a bank from the ground up, Vedros said. So taking over a turnkey operation was appealing to the Bank of Zach-

Keith Tillage, a Southern University alumnus and principal in charge of the project, said the objective is to empower as many alumni as possible. “What you leave behind is the only thing that matters,” said Tillage.

ary, he said. Regions shut down the 3,600-square-foot bank branch in February 2022. Plans are to open a fullservice branch in the building in the fall, said Mark Marionneaux, president and CEO of the Bank of Zachary Between five and seven people will work in the branch. This will be the sixth local branch for the Bank of Zachary, joining two locations in Zachary, along with operations in Central, St. Francisville and Watson. The bank had nearly $356 million in deposits as of June 2025, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

“This is a great great opportunity for us to expand

Tillage said Tyrie Jamerson, owner of Near Future, a technology company, will design and install all low-voltage systems. Darius Bonton, owner of Bonton Associates, a civil engineering firm, will design the dorms’ infrastructure.

Southern students said the housing development could improve the campus community and make living easier “I think it’ll just help make people more excited to stay on campus,” said Brant Fowl-

for our customers in East Baton Rouge Parish and to reach into Ascension Parish,” Marionneaux said. Email Timothy Boone at tboone@theadvocate.com.

LOTTERY WEDNESDAY, JULY 15, 2026

er II, a junior who attended the groundbreaking.

This story was reported and written by Brianna Meeks, a student at Southern University, with the support of the

nonprofit Louisiana Collegiate News Collaborative, an LSU-led coalition of eight universities funded by the Henry Luce and John D. and Catherine T MacArthur foundations.

“The city of Gonzales owes Liberty for unpaid invoices for which they have admitted owing. Liberty is simply trying to get paid,” Liberty Fence’s attorney Kim Landry said. Liberty Fence originally sued the city in October, alleging Gonzales failed to pay for work completed on five projects earlier in the year, including replacing a damaged pump at the city pool and installing new posts at Woodman Park. Landry said the city acknowledged owing payment on two of the five invoices and admitted Liberty Fence performed work associated with the remaining three invoices but argued those projects had not been completed. Gonzales’ attorney, Allen Davis, could not be reached for comment.

FILE PHOTO By JAMES MINTON

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

Trump firm plans to sell special access to posts

NEW YORK President Donald Trump’smedia companyis planning to charge for special high-speed access to Truth Social posts, includingpossibly hisown affecting national security and financial markets.

The move announced Thursday wouldallow Wall Street trading firms and other institutions to get news from Truth Social contributors in milliseconds so theycould profit off subsequentmoves in stocks, bonds and interest rates. Called Truth PSI, it would mimic paid access at other platformswith onekey difference:The most popular Truth Social poster is thepresident himself and, as the biggest shareholder of the public traded parent company woulddirectlybenefit.

“He’sselling expedited,privileged access to information about whatheisdoing as president,” saidKathleen Clark of Washington University School of Law and an expert in governmentconflicts of interest rules.

“It’s yet more brazen corruption,animproperexploitation of government power to enrich himself.”

The Trump familycompany declined to comment. TruthSocial’spublic parent, Trump Media &Technology,did not immediately respond to emailed questions,includingwhether the president’sposts will be excluded from the offering

The release did not sayhow much customerswould be charged.

Slumping AI stocks drag down global markets

NEW YORK Drops for computer chipmakers and other winners of theartificial-intelligenceboom dragged down stock markets worldwide on Thursday

Nearly three out of every four stocks rose within the S&P 500 after more of the country’s biggest companies reported better earnings for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

Abbott jumped 10.7% after the healthcarecompany delivered a fatter profit than expected and raised its forecast for earnings overthe full year.J.B.Hunt Transport Services climbed 8% after thefreight companylikewise topped analysts’ expectations for the latest quarter

But a1%move forNvidia’s stock packs more punch on the S&P 500than a1%move for any other company because it’sthe largest on Wall Street by value. And Nvidia fell 2.4%,making it the heaviest weight on the index. Other AI winners also sank, giving back some of their stellar gains.

Micron Technology fell 5.6% to shave its gain for the year so far below 199%. Sandisk fell 12.6% but is nevertheless up 494%for theyear so far.Western Digitalsank9.2%but is still up 171% for the year so far

Average mortgagerate climbs to 6.55%

Theaverage long-term U.S mortgage rate climbedthisweek to its highest level in nearly a year,driving up borrowing costs for prospective homebuyers. The benchmark 30-year fixed ratemortgage rate roseto 6.55% from 6.49% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday.One year ago, theaverage rate was 6.75%. Higher mortgage rates can add hundreds of dollars amonth in costs for borrowers,limiting homebuyers’ purchasingpower at atime when affordability challenges continue to sideline many aspiring homeowners.

Mortgage rates are influencedbyseveral factors, from the Federal Reserve’sinterest rate policy decisions to bond market investors’ expectations for the economy and inflation. Theygenerally follow the trajectory of the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans. Rates have been mostly rising this year as the war with Iran has driven crude oilprices sharply higher,stoking expectations of hotter inflation.

Administration racesthe clocktorebuild tariff wall

Presidentlikelytoturn to TradeAct of 1974 to impose sanctions

BY PAUL WISEMAN AP economics writer

WASHINGTON The U.S. Treasury last year swelled with revenue from President DonaldTrump’sdouble-digit taxes on imports from almost every country on earth.

But the money dried up afterthe Supreme Court struck down thebiggest and boldest of Trump’stariffs in February

Thequestion now is: Can the president’stradeteammake good on its promise to replace thelost revenue?

Adeadline is approaching rapidly After the Supreme Court setback,the president turned firsttoSection 122 of theTrade Actof 1974 toimpose 10% tariffs globally. ButSection 122 only authorizes tariffs for 150 days. Trump’sexpire on July 24. Congress would have to extendthose tariffs —something lawmakers are unlikely to do as theNov.3midterm elections approach amid voter discontent over thehighcost of living.

But the administration has more durableoptions: Section 301 of the same 1974 trade law permits the president to impose tariffs andother sanctions against countries foundtoengage in “unjustifiable,” “unreasonable” or “discriminatory” trade practices. Trump used Section 301 to impose bigtariffs on China in hisfirst term and is rollingthem outagain —asrecently as late Wednesday when he announced 25% tariffs on some Brazilian imports, chargingthe world’s 11thbiggest economywith ahostof unfairtrade practices. Trade attorneys andanalysts are confidentthe tariff-happy

BY ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP retail writer

NEWYORK Shoppers slowed their spending in June from May, as they spent less to fill their gas tankbecause of falling gas prices. Butthe report,released by the Commerce DepartmentonThursday,showed consumers’ continued resilience despite ongoing economic uncertainty as they bought cars and took advantage of summersales events.

Retailsales rose 0.2% in June, after being up arevised 1% in May, accordingtothe report Outsideofgas stations, retail sales rose asolid 0.7%, according to thereport. The government figuresaren’t adjusted for inflation so last month’sdeclineingas prices

Trumpadministration will managetobeat the clock and swap out Section 122 tariffs withbigger Section 301 tariffs by the July 24 deadline. “They’re going to raise thetariffwallagain,” said trade lawyerRyanMajerus, apartner at King &Spalding anda trade official in Trump’sfirst administrationand in President Joe Biden’s. Trump lastyear tested —and exceeded —the limitsofhis authority to impose import taxes, apower the U.S. Constitution gives Congress. He invoked the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act to slap bigtariffs on most of theworld’s countries.

He justified thelevies, which markedastunning reversalof decades of U.S. policyinfavor of lower tariffs and freer trade, by labeling America’slongstanding tradedeficits anational emergency

The Supreme Court didn’tbuy it, rulinginFebruary that the president couldn’tuse the emergencypowers law to impose tariffs at all. Thelegal defeat meantthe administration had to send refundstoimportersthat had paid thelevies.

As aresult,tariffs have at least temporarily gone from awindfall to adrain on the Treasury.

Revenuefromimporttaxes peaked at more than $31.4 billion lastOctober.Then, after theSupremeCourtruling, it started dwindling —to$22 billion in both March and April. As refund checks went out faster than revenue from the Section 122 andother tariffs came in, thenumber turned negative: A small ($42 million) shortfall in Maywas followed by awhopping $25.6billion loss in June.

Trump andTreasury SecretaryScott Bessenthave vowed to use other legalauthoritiesto recoup the lost income.

Enter Section 301, which gives the president power to impose —and adjust —tariffs in re-

sponse to other countries’ trade practices.But the administration must first check procedural boxes—collecting comments and holding hearings. There are no limits on Section301 tariffs. Theyexpire after four years but can be renewed.

So the president has flexibility in howheusesthe Section301 tariffs. Trump can still change them —after clearing procedural hurdles —but he can’t impose or move them up or down on awhim as he often did with the IEEPA tariffs. Uncertainty over Trump’s tariff policy hasvexed businesses, leaving them hesitant to make investments and decisions because they don’tknow what the trade rules are goingtobe. Aswitch to rule-bound 301 tariffs would mean “there’sless uncertainty but not no uncertainty,” said Sarah Bianchi, aformer U.S. tradeofficial who is now chief strategist of internationalpolitical affairs at theinvestment research firmEvercore ISI.

The Trump administration has turned to twobig Section301 investigations in its campaign to replace lost tariff revenue.One accuses 60 countries, accounting for99% of U.S. imports, of failing to do enough to crack down on imports created by forced labor.The other is investigating whether 16 U.S.trading partners —includingChina,the European Union and Japan —are overproducing goods, driving down worldwide prices andputting American manufacturers at adisadvantage.

The administration hasalready decided what it wantstodoabout theforced labor issue. Invoking Section 301 last month, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer proposedtariffs —10% on 16 countries and12.5% on 44 —that arethe same or slightly higher than the 10% Section122 levies they wouldreplace. ButGreer’s office is stillreceiving public comments on the proposed tariffs and has not imposed them yet.

Brazil calls Trump’s 25%tariff unjustifiable Government vows

to impose reciprocal tariffs

BY MAURICIO SAVARESE and ELÉONORE HUGHES Associated Press

RIO DE JANEIRO— Brazil has described the latest U.S. tariffs on certain Brazilian imports as unjustifiable and politically motivated and threatened on Thursday to impose reciprocal tariffs against U.S. products. The country’stop diplomat criticized U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio forthe move.

TheU.S. saidonWednesday it would impose anew 25% tariffon certain imports from Brazil, citing unfair trade practices by the world’s10th-biggest economy

Brazil’sForeign Minister Mauro Vieira accused Trump administrationofficials of pressuring theSouth American nation to give American companiesexclusiveaccesstosome sectors of itseconomy.HesaidBrazil has never left the negotiating table. The tariffs,first proposed last month, will take effect July22. The order exempts somegoods that are not produced in the U.S. or that officials worry would disrupt supply chains —including coffee, beef,oranges and orange juice and aircraft components. Brazil’sgovernment said the decision hits about 3,000 items, but is yet to decide whether and how it could retaliate with alaw itsCongresspassedin2025in response to President Donald Trump’stariffs.

In astatementlate Wednesday,the office of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva refuted the U.S. allegations of unfair trade practices. It said 76% of imports from the U.S. entered Brazil duty-free in 2025, and said the averagetariff effectively applied to U.S. products was only 3.1%. It said it has taken steps to impose reciprocal tariffs,along with other trade-related countermeasures, through its own law and through the World TradeOrganization’sdispute settlement mechanism.

Vieira saidRubio made statements that are “unacceptable, offensive to the Brazilian people andthe Brazilian government” after the new tariffs wereannounced. Rubiosaidinapost on X that thetariffs were the resultof Lula putting “his ownego ahead of making adeal”and notnegotiating withthe U.S. in good faith. “Rubio launches acrude and arrogant attack on the Head of State of afriendly nation, who has personally sought to open channels fordialogue on severaloccasions,”Vieira tolda news conference in the capital, Brasilia.

“What Secretary Rubio dismisses as ‘ego’ is, in fact, President Lula’s steadfast resolve to defend Brazil’ssovereigntyand theinterests of our businesses and workers.”

pulled down gas station sales and thus theoverall retail sales figure. Business at gasstationsfell 5.3% lastmonth. Meanwhile, sales at motor vehicle andparts dealers rose 1.9%, helped by aggressive manufacturers’ incentives, according to thereport.

Elsewhere, shoppers were selective in their buying, given their worries about the economy and fadingbenefits of generous governmenttax benefits, which propelled spending earlier in the spring.

Business at clothingand accessoriesstoresaswell as at miscellaneousretailers both postedsmall declines, Andsales at retailers that sell big-ticketitems were mixed, with business at furniture andhome furnishings merchants flat, while electronicsand appliancestores showing asmall increase for June.

Among the bright spots: online sales rose 1.9%,fueled by spending surrounding Amazon’s Prime Day event, which was held from June 23 through June 26. Business at sporting goods, hobby,musical instrument and book stores was up 1.3%, likely helpedbyspending around the World Cup tournament.

The data offers only asnapshot of consumer spending and doesn’t include activities like travel and hotelstays. The lone services category —restaurants —registered aslim 0.1% increase.

The so-called control group which excludes food services, autos, building materials and gas station sales andisusedtocalculate economic growth —rose asolid 0.5%.

The report comes as U.S. inflation cooled last month as the cost

of gas, clothes,and used cars fell, offering some relief to consumers, whileunderlying price pressures also slowed morethan anticipated Gasprices fell to $3.94 per gallon on Thursday, down from $4.04 amonth ago, according to motor club AAA.

“Falling fuel prices weighed on headline sales data, but asmaller bill at the pumpwas asource of relief forconsumers and provided at least alittle more cushionin household spending budgets,” Jim Baird, chiefinvestmentofficer with Plante Moran Financial Advisors,wrote in areportpublished Thursday

But Baird notedthe June report suggests consumers are “perhaps taking amorediscerningapproach to where they’re spending andhow they’re prioritizing their choices.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By NG HANGUAN Shipping containers are seen readyfor transportatthe Guangzhou Port in the Nansha districtin southernChina’sGuangdong province in April 2025.

Laws,Harry St.Paul'sHolyTrinity

Whitley, Bernice St.John TheBaptistCatholic Church 4826 Main Street in Zachary, at 11 a.m. Whitley, Bernice

St.John TheBaptistCatholic Church

4826 Main Street in Zachary, at 11 a.m. Obituaries

Caballero, Cecile

Ourso 'Cissy'

Cecile "Cissy" Caballero passed awayonJuly 13, 2026.She was 77 years old. Born on July 31, 1948,in White Castle, she lived most of her life in Donaldsonville before moving to Baton Rouge.

Cissy was the heartof her family. The one who always made ahouse feel like ahome and aplace where everyone was welcome. Her love was shown in many ways: acrowded stove, afull glass, aset table, anda standing invitation to stay for supper. She was aremarkablecook and carried on family traditionsthat will last alifetime.Each recipe is apiece of her that will be passed down and remembered every time they are made.

Cissy was awoman of deep faith whose compassion and generosity knew no limits. She was selfless, always ready to show up and help without being asked or expecting anything in return.

Cissy is survived by her husband of 54 years, Dennis Caballero; and her children, Cecile "Celie"Caballero Webre and her husband, Gary; Kaye Caballero Templet and her husband Marty, and Paul John Caballero and his wife, Penny. She is also survived by her sisters, Cindy Ann Ourso, who passed away later

day,and Lori Ourso Babin, and her grandchildren, Isabel Webre,Anna Webre, Jane Templet, SamTemplet MackenzieCaballero, and Cameron Caballero.

Shewas precededin death by her parents, E. J. Ourso and Marjory Barbier Ourso; and her siblings, SidneyOurso, Philip Ourso and Nancy Ourso.

Pallbearers willbeGary Webre, Marty Templet, Paul Caballero, JohnOurso, Chad Ourso, Thomas Ross Babin, Philip Babin, and SamTemplet.

Familyand friends are invited to attend visitation and funeral servicesatSt. Judethe ApostleCatholic Church, 9150Highland Road, Baton Rouge,LA 70810, on Saturday, July 18, 2026.Visitationwill begin at 9:00 a.m.,followed by the Funeral Mass at 12:00 p.m. Aprivate burial will follow

In lieuofflowers, gather your family around atable, cooka meal together, and carry on atradition of your own. Thatwas Cissy's greatest gifttoall

Betty Dipuma Hidalgo passedawayonJuly14, 2026.Relativesand friends areinvited to St. George CatholicChurch, on Saturday, July 18, 2026 fora visitation beginning at 9:00AM until the Funeral Mass beginning at 11:00AM. Burial is to follow at the St. George CatholicChurch Mausoleum. Please visit

Parmelee,Janice

Lynn'JP'

Afew weeks ago, my wife decided she wanted to write her own obituary. She wanteditshort and concise and toldme, "Peopledon'twant to read allthatstuff!" By "allthat stuff," she meantthe detailsofanamazing life welllived

As Ipromised, hereis her version: JP passed peacefully on July5,2026, at her home in NewOrleans. She wasborn on January3,1948, in Oakland, California, to MiltonHaroldParmeleeof Berkeley, California, and Georgia Lucille Penny Parmelee of BatonRouge, Louisiana. She was predeceasedbyboth parents.

She is survivedbyher most belovedhusband of morethan 33 years, William "Bill"Hammack; her sister, Joan B. ParmeleeofDiamondhead, Mississippi;her stepchildren,WillHammack and hiswife,Melissa, and Amanda Hammack; and her step-grandchildren, CassidyLinkand Nicholas Link. Her careerwas in finance, publishing, and hospitality. She also served on many nonprofit boards.Inlieuofflowers, please donatetoone of her twofavoritelocal charities, Cloverorthe Youth Empowerment Project Acelebration of life reception willbeheldon August 7from 5:30 to 8p.m. at Calcasieu, 930 Tchoupitoulas Street in NewOrleans. Now, forthe rest of us, here are thedetails.

so mastering scubadiving at atime when few women were reaching theranks of Master Diver and Rescue Diver. She completedhundredsofdives throughout theCaribbean and on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. She was also an expert snowskier who never met adoubleblack diamond run she didn't love.She was agreat dancer and barber, too. But thosewere onlya few of hermany talents. JP and Imet later in life after we had both been married previously. The bond was instant. Our first formal date was in September.I asked her to marry me in October, and we were marriedin December...33 1/2 years ago She left banking to join my publishing business in NewOrleans, servingas Chief Financial Officerand helping grow it into avery successfulventure. Innovation was part of her DNA.She helpedguide our traditional print operation intothis "new" thing called theInternet,quickly pivotingthe company into online publishing,internet software development, and local searchmarketing Almost 26 years ago,I was considering arestaurant partnership with DonaldLink, thefather of my grandchildren, Cassidy andNico. JP's first comment was, "Restaurants

are terriblebusinesses. Bankers avoid them at all costs!"

Sheimmediatelyadded, "ButDonald is aspecial talent. Let'sdoit!" That decision began an amazing partnership with thehighly successfulLink Restaurant Group, nowencompassingsix wonderful, award-winning restaurants andanextraordinary group of talentedteam members.

JP usedher business

success to do what shealways didsowell:help others. Over the years, shedevotedmanyhours to nonprofit boards and financially supported causes that made areal difference in thelives of countless people. She was also always quicktolenda helpinghand to an individualinneed. Hertravels took her across Europe, Africa, South America, theUnited States, Canada, the

JP,asshe was called by allwho knew and loved her, was aphilanthropist, an adventurer, aworld traveler,and ahighly accomplishedbusinesswoman. She hada trailblazing career in banking,where she and her best friend of morethan 50 years, Mary Catherine Maddox, broke throughthe glass ceiling of thegood-old-boys' networkthatdefined the banking industry in the 1970s. JP was one of the first female vice presidents and commercial loan officers in Baton Rouge. While shaking up the banking world,she was al-

Hidalgo, BettyDipuma

Caribbean, and Antartica

She embraced my love of flying and became an efficient radio operator and capable backup whenever the two of us took off on one of our flying adventures. She was also remarkably forgiving whenever Itried to talk her into the "next" airplane. JP was surrounded by dear friends and made new ones easily. She had a gift for creating special relationships, and those of you reading this know exactly what Imean. She could bridge generations, forming close friendships with people older than she was and with many who were much youngerincluding "the boys,"whom she loved as if they were her own.

Iamnot going to go on, because she is already fussing at me for including all this "detail." But abook could be written about her accomplishments, her character, her passions, her courage, and her strength.

JP, thank you for sharing all of it with us

Pope,RobinFord

ROBIN FORD POPE April12, 1933- July 15, 2026

"So, I'llcherish the old ruggedcross, tillmytrophies at last Ilay down;I willcling to the oldrugged cross, and exchange it someday fora crown! On July 15, 2026, Robin Ford Pope receivedhis crown!! Born April 12, 1933to Gladys and Burton Ford Pope, Robin was the fourth of six children. He spent his entire life on "the place" on Pope Road in Zachary, LA, with the exceptionofthe two years he served in the US Army, which he always claimed werethe ten longest years of his life!! He metthe love of his life, Betty Hadden, when she came home from school one daywith his

sister, Patricia.On September 22, 1956, he and Betty married and started afamily.They were blessed withfive children, Robin Lee, Janet Faye, BeverlyAnn, Laura Gayle and Burton Ford. Robinworked at Copolymer Rubber and Chemical plant in Baton Rouge for 36 years, retiring as Plant Coordinator. After he retired,heraised cattle and picked up woodworking.Starting outmaking rough plant stands, he honed his skills, culminating with making beautiful cedar chestsfor each of histhree granddaughters But thething he was most proud of, after hisfamily, was his garden!! Everyone was welcome to vegetables fromhis garden, and what was left,hewould take to theZacharyFood Bank.Hewas alife-long member of Zachary United Methodist Church, where he fulfilledthe pledge to serve withhis Presence, Prayers, Gifts, Servicesand Witness. Robin is survived by his wife, Betty Hadden Pope,and four children, Janet Duplechain(Tim), Beverly Pope,Laura Zettlemoyer(Doug), and Burton Pope (Tamora). He is also survivedbyhis granddaughters, Meghan Ludwig

(John), Rachael Dowden (Doug)and Katie Pope,as well as five greatgrandchildren, Victoriaand Jack Ludwig,and Demi, Jonah and Robyn Dowden. He was preceded in death by his parents, Fordand Gladys Pope,brother Lee Pope,sister Barbara Crocker, and hisinfant daughter, Robin Lee Pope.Inlieuof flowers,pleasemake donations to theZachary UnitedMethodist Church. Share sympathies,memories,and condolences at www.CharletFuneralHome. com

It is with profoundsorrowthatweannouncethe passing of Mrs. Dorothy MaeWashington whodepartedthisearthly life on the30th of June,inthe year of ourLord2026, at the distinguishedage of 89. Apublicviewing shall be held in herhonor on

OPINION

Newlaw aims to help make home ownershipeasier

When moms and dads lie down to sleep at night and can’t,it’sprimarily because they are worried about the cost of living in America. And the largest expense most Americans face each month is housing. Roughly half of all Americans spend more than 30% of their income on housing, including the 16% of individuals whose rent sucks up more than half of their paycheck. When rent claims most of your income, it becomes incredibly difficult for afamily to save even $1,000 for an emergency expense, let alone adown payment on ahome. In turn, the average age of afirst-time homebuyer has increased from 30 years oldin 2010 to 40 years old today

The cost of housing has spiraled out of control for many reasons, but one problem is obvious: We aren’tbuilding nearly enough homes. Demand exceeds supply

New home construction starts fell by40% over thepast two decades. Meanwhile, thecountry’s population increased by 15%. We have too many people competingfor too few homes, andithas driven housingprices to the moon. Some cities responded to this housing crisis better than others. Raleigh, North Carolina, and Austin, Texas, forexample, cut regulations to make it easier for home builders to build. Thesetwo cities lead the nation in new home construction. Other cities spentmore time regulating than building. In Los Angeles, for example, homeowners waited for months for the city to approve newbuilding permits followingthe devastatingEaton and Palisades fires. By thefirst anniversary ofthe blaze, Californianshad rebuilt fewer than adozen of theroughly13,000

homes that burned to theground.

While it is painful to watch the incompetence in Los Angeles, Congress does not control local regulations or zoning policies and that’sa good thing.Ahousing policy that works well in New Orleans may not work in New York City,and that’sOK. Washington’s one-size-fits-all policies have a long history of making matters worse.

ButCongress should not reward cities and local governments that are making life unaffordable for American families

The federal government has manytools at its disposal to incentivize good policies and punish thebad.

Oneexample is theDepartment of Housing and Urban Development’sCommunity Development Block Grants, or CDBG, program. This program distributes $3.3 billion in grantstostate and local governmentstosupport economic development and community im-

provementplans.

Local leaders have alot of discretion to choose how to use these grants, and they love this money like the devil loves sin. They’ll do just about anything to keep this money flowing into their communities, and that gave me an idea: We could use the CDBG program to reward cities that build lots of new homes,and we could take somefunding away from those that fail to increase new housing starts.

This idea turned into my Build Now Act, and it just becamelaw as part of the larger 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act.

Here’show it will work: Cities that fall below the national median rate of homebuilding will lose 10% of their CDBG funding.

The funding we take away from cities that fail to build will then go intoabig pot that we will proportionallydistribute to the cities that outpace the national median rateofhome building. Cities that

face natural disasters or other hardships will receive an exemption, and their CBDGfunding won’t change at all.

It’s both areward to cities that increase their supplies of homes and apenalty forthose whoenjoy burdensomeregulations more than affordable housing. It’s a carrot and astick —and it could unlock the American dream of homeownership forthe families that have struggled to afford a place of their own.

The only way to bring downthe cost of anew homeistoincrease our housing supply Idon’tcare how cities do it, but they better get serious about cutting red tape if they wantto keep the federal funding they have growntolove. The days of rewarding bad policies that make lifetoo expensive forAmerican families are over

JohnKennedyrepresents Louisiana in theU.S. Senate.

Murrillcaseshows that lawfarehas no winners Fish farmsinthe Gulf wouldhurt area fishermen

On July 2, agrand jury charged Attorney General Liz Murrill with16 feloniesbecause of letters she sent in May to New Orleans officials during the Orleans Parishclerk of court dispute. One day later,the Louisiana Supreme Court halted the case, found her likely to prevail on amotion to dismiss and cited serious problems in how the charges were obtained.

Ihold no brief for the attorney general, and no quarrel with New Orleans. Yetthis case is a symptom of adangerous national habit: using criminal charges to fight political battles. Lawfare has no winners, and no onewho loves this country shouldwant it to become normal.

Anew law,Act 15, combined the two Orleans Parish clerk of court offices into one, as in every otherparish. Officials disagreed in good faith: One side believed it created avacant office for the CityCouncil to fill; the attorney general believed it merged theold office into theexisting one, leaving no vacancy.Her letters stated her position, quoted the law word for word,and saidshe would file acivil suit if the appointment went forward. It was an ordinary “demand letter,” sent by lawyers by the thousandsevery year.Such letters are sometimes unwelcome, sometimes even wrong They are not crimes.

On June 1, afull month before the indictment, the Supreme Court ruled that Act 15 was constitutional. The court agreed withthe heart of what her letters said. In the same ruling it protected the officials on theother side, holding that the genuineconfusion shielded them from thevery laws her letters cited. The civil courts answered the question and shielded everybody.The fight was over.Then, amonth later,criminal charges arrived anyway.They resolved nothing, because nothing remained toresolve. They could only reopen awoundthe courts had already closed

On this, there can be no argument: Every official who holds thepublic’s trust, the attorney general included, answers to the same law as any citizen. Had she demanded money, threatenedharm or lied aboutthe law, her title would not protect her,and it should not. The problem withthis indictment is different: What shedid is not acrime, not for her andnot for anyone. Take awayher title, and these letters are what any Louisianaattorney sends before filing suit.The office

changes nothing but theaudience. Every citizen should worry,whatever their politics. Allover this country, on every side, aline we once respected has been erased: the line between “you are wrong” and “you areacriminal.” Losing an election used to mean goinghome. Now,too often, it means being investigated. Winning an argument used to be enough. Now the opponent mustbecharged. Each side sees its own cases as accountability and its opponent’sasattacks, and the score is kept in charges filed, not cases proven. Thedamage lands on all of us. Good people stop running for office. Those who serve govern scared. Real corruption grows harder to punish, because thepublic stops trusting any charge. Andmost gravely, the peaceful transfer of power,the thingthat makes America work,grows shaky when losing might mean prosecution.

Principles only count when they cost something, so everything said here must hold when the roles flip. If these charges are dismissed, the right response is not celebration or revenge, but aquiet return to the people’s business. Andthe real testof “noone is above the law” is whether we also believe“no one is beneathits protection,” including those we disagree with most.

This month,America turned 250. TheFounders disagreed about more than we do, yet pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor to each other while trusting argument,not accusation, to settle their differences. We can disagree about this case and everything else in our politics andstill hold three truths in common:Argument should never be acrime, aprosecution never a campaignand acourtroom never a weapon Standing down is not weakness. It is thediscipline of the confident. Louisiana has already shown the country how this dispute should have ended: in acourtroom, on themerits,with gracefor thelosing side. Now,let us show how it ends for good. Let the first side to put down theweapon be theone that proves it never needed it. Let it be us, and let it begin here. There is no better gift Louisianacould give this country in its 250th year

Lance C. Beal is aLafayette attorney

Louisiana’sfishing grounds are already under pressure from decades of oil andgas development.Now Congress is advancing a bill that could open the door to offshore fish farming in theGulf.

I’ve been acommercial shrimp fisherman in the Gulf for morethan 30 years, where my extended family and our United HoumaNation have fished for centuries. I’ve also worked in theoil and gas industry.I’ve watched corporations put profits above our safety.Pipelines have cut through and weakened protective wetlands that shield us from hurricanes and turned working families intoclimate migrants. Even as we push for cleanup of abandoned oil and gas wells after companies fled, theGulf is facing anew threat: offshore fish farms.

Right now,Congress is debating theMarine Aquaculture Research for America Act, or MARA Act, abill seeking to open the door to offshore fish farms in federal waters forthe first time. The bill calls this “research.” Our communities, which have been stewarding Gulf waters for generations, don’tneed experimentsonour fishing grounds. What’smore, ourcountry is not suffering from a“seafood shortage” to begin with. Yet, theGulf is being targeted as an “aquaculture opportunity area,” so we may be first in line for these fish farmsif MARA passes.

MARA’s “research” tagline makes it harder for thegeneral public to understand what’sreally happening. The bill would give the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration full authority to hand out permitsand government subsidies to commercial operations. That makes it aone-way speedboat to permanent commercial finfish farms, withnoclear way to shut it down if the impacts are disastrous, as they’ve been in countries that permit this practice.

Here’swhat we need to ask ourselves today: Should public waters support existing waysof life and community-scale seafood systemsor subsidize theworst of industrial food production in our waters?

MARA supporters and opponentsreflect an all-too-familiar divide: Megacorporations and their shareholders pursue profit on one side, andeveryday people who care aboutour food, planet,communities and local economies on theother

The main argument used to legitimize MARA —that theU.S. needs seafood security because of our “seafood deficit” —isfalse. Our commercial fishermen already catch more wild seafood than our country eats every year In 2023, for example, thenumber landed was about 8.4 billion pounds, versus the6.4 billion pounds eaten. On top of this, arecent study in Nature backs up what many of us on the water already know: The U.S. could meet more of its

AWestbank Fishing boat passes poles used to mark oyster beads as it heads backtoEmpire loaded with menhaden caught in the Gulf.

own seafood needswith better,more independent processing and local distribution andby eatinga widervariety of species.

Claimsabout industrial aquaculture’ssustainability fall apart when you look at what it actually takes to feed carnivorous fish. In practice, farmed fish are fedamix that still heavily relies on wild-caught fish, much of it extracted from coastal communities around the world to supply global fish feed markets. A 2024 study found that producing one pound of farmed salmon, for instance, can take two to five pounds of wild fish.

And because offshore fish farmsmust be industrial-scale to withstand rough seas with powerful storms, these projects will likely depend on government subsidies and taxpayerfunded cleanup when disasters like amass fish escape occur Congress should instead invest in the seafood systemswealready have, and the deep heritage they support. Bills like the Domestic Seafood Production Act focus on timely solutions, such as supporting community-based fishermen, oyster farmers and kelp growers to improve local seafood processing and distribution. In addition, the Keep Finfish Free Act would keep offshore fish farmsout of our waters, and the Destruction of Hazardous Imports Act would makesure low-quality imports don’tundercut wild-caught seafood from the Gulf Ultimately,the vote on MARA will determine whobenefits from our waters, whogets leftout and whowill carry the burden of cleanup foryears. Gulf communities have already been footing the bill —financially,culturally and with our health —for ongoing harmsfrom the oil and gas boom.Let’snot repeat that with factory fish farms.

JustinSolet is acommercial fisherman from southeast Louisiana and an Equation Fellow withTrue Transition, where he advocates for thecleanupofthousands of abandoned oil and gas wells in hisstate.

ASSOCIATEDPRESS

ISSUE OF THE WEEK GRAHAM’S LEGACy

The unexpecteddeath of Sen.LindseyGraham, aSouth Carolina Republican, has led to much speculation about thefuture of theinstitution asthe midterms approach. In addition to the loss of Graham,Sen.Mitch McConnell, the longtime Republican leader, has been absentfromthe chamberfor more than amonth as rumors swirledabout thechances for his return. Graham, astaunchally of President Donald Trump, wasknown as ahawkonIranand a strong supporter of Ukraine.South Carolina Gov. HenryMcMasternamed Graham’s sister Darline Graham Nordone to fill the vacancy beforethe November elections. Butwhat will happentothe causes Graham championed and will Trump face more obstacles advancinghis agenda amid the turmoil? Here are twoperspectives:

Graham wasthe best kind of political‘operator’

On Feb. 22, 2022, two days before Vladimir Putin sent his tanks rumblingtoward Ukraine’scapital, Donald Trump said of the Russian leader: “This is genius. .Here’sa guy who’svery savvy.”

Eight days later,Lindsey Graham offered astarkly different sentiment: “The onlyway this ends is for somebody in Russiatotakethis guy out.”

The Republican senator from South Carolina had ahistoryofdismissing Trump’sworldview.When Trump first ran in 2015, Graham let loose, calling him a“race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot.” After Trump won, Graham shocked observersbyheaping unbridled praise on the game show host now entering the White House.Hecame off as an almost comical fawner. Many thought Graham had noprinciples or self-respect,that he’d do anything to ensure reelection. Turnsout,hehad very different motives. He was playing the long game. Graham stayedin, it seems, tostem MAGA’s weakening viewsonthe importance of strong Americanglobal leadership. Trump himself had isolationist tendencies, amplified by ignorance of world affairs. How did Graham become one of Trump’s dearestgolf buddies?Heemployedwit wrapped in Southern charm. He’d say things to Trump like “Mr.President, you’re not far behind God.” (The mockery it contained may have flown over Trump’shead.) Graham was playing the longgameofretaining influence in an administrationrun by amercurial and angry personality Many of us failed to see this. Grahamwas determined to stay in the president’sgood graces to preserve American support for Ukraine’sresistance to Putin’saggression. And he held that stance even when Trump ignorantly saidabout Ukrainianleader VolodymyrZelenskyy: “I’ve been watching him negotiate with no cards. He hadnocards.” Zelenskyy responded, “We’re not playing cards.” Graham understood thenationalsecurity threat posed by Putin’s marchtoward NATO’sborders. And it turns outthatZel-

enskyyobviously had cards in theform of Ukraine’sprogram to develop adroneforce now battering Russia’sinfrastructure.

Illness, death, turmoil change face of Senate

Harrop

Trumprecently did a180 on Zelenskyy “Look, he’sdone an amazing job,” Trump said. Graham also remained asteadfast supporter of Israel when much of MAGA andmany Democrats turned against it over thewar in Gaza. Graham didn’talways agree with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies, but he had asophisticated understanding of Israel’sneed to defenditself.

On the domestic front, Graham had joined agroup of Republicans who worked with Democrats to pass the2013 immigration reform bill in the Senate. HadRepublican House Speaker John Boehner put it up for avote, the bill would have been approved andput teeth in immigration enforcement.

Boehner let it die because some of his members opposed thepart extending amnestyto otherwise law-abiding immigrants who had been in the U.S. and working for along time. Graham was one of 10 Republicans who joined an agreement on gun control. That took guts.

Graham’s lowest moment camewhenhe triedtohelp Trump overturnthe results of the 2020 election. He asked Georgia’ssecretary of state, in BradRaffensperger’s recollection, to throwout legally cast mail ballots. Republican Raffensperger refused to do so. Complex man,Graham was.Afew days ago, hedined with DelawareDemocrat Sen. Chris Coons at theNATOconference in Turkey.“While we disagreed fiercely on many policy issues,” Coons said in astatement of remembrance, “he was complicated and could not be pigeonholed.” Coons went on:

“Few have been able tofrustrate and anger, amuse and engage me in asingle conversation theway Lindsey could.”

Graham is areminder of patriots who loved this country before radicals in both parties turned against it. Can anyone replacehim?

FromaHarrop is on X, @FromaHarrop.

Oneofthe colder aspects of lifein Washington politics is that the death of an important person often results, before much grieving is done, in afrenzy of speculation about who will get the unfortunateimportantperson’s job.Soitiswith South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham,whose deathset off an immediate “frenzy” of guessing who would fill his post both in the short and long term SouthCarolina Gov.Henry McMaster answered thefirst part of thequestion quickly,appointing thelate senator’ssister,Darline Graham Nordone, to serve the remainder of Graham’sterm, which lasts until Jan. 3, 2027. The second answer,onwho will be the next full-term senator from South Carolina, will come after aspecial primary in August and the general election in November People are still processing Graham’s loss. Think back to some of the most momentous issues of the last several decades —the war in Iran, national security, judicial confirmations, budget battles, immigration and political fights going back to theimpeachment of Bill Clinton. Graham, who, when he died, was chairman of the Senate Budget Committeebut also earlier chaired the Judiciary Committee, was in the middle of them all. He was the face of the Republican Party in theSenateonmany issues, and for many years, he was close to whoever was seen as the leader of the party Butthere is alarger story.Graham’s deathcomes at awrenching momentfor theRepublican Party in the U.S. Senate. That is because, beyond Graham, anumber of leaders who played key roles in theevents of the last decade and beyond —who shaped the Senate as we know it today —are leaving, the result of illness, age and thepolitical turmoil of the Trumpyears. Lawmakers normally exit when they retire or lose reelection. This year,there’smore than

that going on. Sen. Mitch McConnell’sdecline has been long and public, and at age 84, he is serving —sometimes from ahospital room —the last months of 42 years in the Senate. After rumors that he had died, or that he was braindead, this week, McConnell released astatement explaining that he “took afall which landed me in the hospital” and also had a“mild case of pneumonia.” Another longtimeRepublican senator,John Cornyn of Texas, is also leaving at the end of this term.Inhis 24 years in the Senate, Cornyn built areputation as an effective lawmaker and served as party whip, the second-highest position in the party.Hescored an 85% lifetime rating from CPAC USA; in 2025, he voted with President Donald Trump100% of the time. That, apparently,was not enough forthe president, whofelt that Cornyn had not supported him quickly enough in the 2024 presidential race. Trump endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, whothen handily defeated Cornyn in the GOPprimary Two-term GOPSen. Bill Cassidy is also being pushed out by Trump, having lost aprimary to aTrump-backed opponent.

Republican Thom Tillis is also leaving, by choice but also under pressure from Trump. Other GOPsenators are leaving, too. Retiring are Joni Ernst of Iowa,Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Steve Daines of Montana and Alan Armstrong of Oklahoma, whohas served as the placekeeper forMarkwayne Mullin. Tommy Tuberville of Alabamaisatthe end of his term and is running forgovernor,and Tennessee’sMarsha Blackburn, whoisinthe middle of her Senate term,isalso running forgovernor and will leave the Senate if she wins. There’sareally big change coming, no matter whowins in November Byron York is on X, @Bryon York

Byron York

Froma

Sen. Lindsey Graham,R-S.C., speaksduring a2022 news conference in Washington, D.C.

LSU, SEC schools oppose college sports bill

Officialsremainvague on reasoningbehindopposition

BYJON BLAU Staff writer

After years of lobbying Congress for help, the NCAA has been offered the “Protect College Sports Act” as ameans to clean up its mess. But to the surprise of no one familiar with political horse-trading, the proposed legislation, which provides the NCAA power to enforce rules regarding athlete pay and eligibility, hasn’tsatisfied all parties.

Severalschools, including LSU,have come out in opposition to the bill in its current form. Some institutions have detailed their objections more than others.

Alabama and Auburn penned aletter on July 6, saying the bill meant to “stabilize” college athletics would do the oppositebecause its antitrustexemption isn’t strong enough to ward off lawsuits and override a patchwork of state laws.

LSU, on the otherhand, joined ahandful of SEC schools in publicly opposingthe bill Monday but did so withoutexplainingwhy

“While we appreciate all of the efforts surrounding the Protect College Sports Act, we believe key issues remainwith the

ä See LSU, page 4C

April 10

LosAngeles. James is yettoreveal

will playnext season.

LeBron remains undecidedon future team

BYSTEPHENWHYNO andTIM REYNOLDS AP sportswriters

NEW YORK —IfLeBron James knows where he will play this coming season,he’sstill not saying. The NBA’s career scoring king and current free agent spoke publiclyfor the first time in weeks Thursday afternoon,indicating that adecision is close —though stopping short of revealingwhich team he’ll choose to play for this fall, despite at least one cry from someone in ajampacked room shouting for him to “pick ateam.”

“I won’thold you guys up too much longer,”James said.

Thefour-timeNBA champion had apair of appearances Thursday: He recorded an episode of his “Mind the Game” podcast alongside guest co-host Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana PacersinNew York on the opening day of Fanatics Fest, then spoke at the Game Plan Summit presented by CNBC

ä See LeBRON, page 2C

Saints QB Shough lookingtoprove

BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer

After watching four and ahalf years of middling quarterback play,ittook eight gamesfor theNew Orleans Saintsfaithful to start feeling good about what’sgoing on under center again.

Technically,Tyler Shough started nine games last season (andappeared in 11 total). Butthe momentum truly started withstartNo. 2, when he led the Saints into Carolina anddelivered an impressive winagainst the team that would go on to win the NFC South.

Shoughbuilt upon that initial winning performance and wound up finishing second in the NFL’sOffensive Rookie of the Year race despite playing roughly half of the 2025 season.Then New Orleans spent theoffseason building up thecastofcharactersaround him, aclear indication it felt Shough was ready to take another step.

Thesecond-year signal caller has saidand done all the

P G

right things since theend of his rookie season.Now he just needs to prove that optimism is well-placed. Depth chart(name,height, weight, experience)

n Tyler Shough, 6-foot-5, 210 pounds, 2years

n Spencer Rattler,6-0, 211, 3

n Zach Wilson, 6-2, 214, 6

n Hunter Dekkers, 6-1, 210, 1

Number to know:118.5

That wasShough’spasserratingwhentargeting receiversinthe intermediate areaofthe field (10-19 yards past the line of scrimmage),according to NFLPro.Among 33 qualifiedNFL passers, only Detroit’sJared Goff hadahigher rating. It maysound likeaniche stat, but this means much of Shough’sproduction camewhenpushing theballdownfield. With an improved crew of pass catchers,the Saints maybeabletotap intosome moreexplosive pass plays

See SAINTS, page 4C

‘The moment an object became an icon’

How an Italiansculptorcreated thecoveted WorldCup trophy

BY NICCOLÒ LUPONE TheAssociated Press

MILAN The Italian sculptor whodesigned theFIFAWorld Cup trophy wanted to capture three sportingemotions in asingle spiraling form:the athlete’sstruggle,the fan’sjubilation and the moment of victory.

On Sunday,eitherSpain or Argentina will lift the trophy after the 2026 World Cup final.

Here’swhat to know aboutthe most coveted prize in soccer

Thetrophywas designed in Milan

Silvio Gazzaniga designed the trophy in his studio in Milan’sBrera neighborhood after FIFAissuedan open competition for anew design when Brazil took permanent possession of the original trophy by winning its third World Cup in 1970. Thedesign, now familiartogenerations of World Cup fans, features twofigures swirling up toward an orb representing the Earth.

“When he started to design the cup, he was sketching ahuge numberofdrawings and finally started to develop the idea to have the

world andthis symbolthatitislike atwo DNA spirals, thatare moving up,”saidGiorgio Gazzaniga,the designer’sson who wasa teenager at the time. The elder Gazzaniga, asculptor and trophy designer who died in 2016, worked for G.D.E. Bertoni Srl andcreated some of the most prestigious trophies in the world, including the UEFACup and European Super-Cup. 1930 trophy wasstolen

The first World Cup Trophy,introduced for theinaugural tournament in 1930,depicted the Greek goddess Nike, and wasknown as the Jules Rimet Trophy for the tournament’s founder.FIFAcommissioned areplacement after Brazil earned permanent possession of theoriginalafter becoming thefirst nation to win three WorldCups

The JulesRimetTrophy wasstolentwice —first in 1966 while on public displayinEngland, before beingrecovered by adog named Pickles beneath ahedge in south London, accordingtoFIFA. It wasstolen againfromthe BrazilianFootball Confederationheadquarters in 1983 after Brazilhad taken permanent

See ICON, page 3C

AP FILE PHOTO By JESSIE ALCHEH Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James dunks against the Phoenix Suns during a game on

in

where he

STAFF FILE PHOTOByBRETT DUKE

Saints quarterback Tyler Shough looks to throwthe ballduring organized team activies on June 3atthe team’s practice facility in Metairie.

More whistles, more points

How the WNBA’s new officiating focus is reshaping games

BY DOUG FEINBERG

AP basketball writer

NEW YORK Cheryl Reeve has seen a lot of improvements in officiating this season and it’s helped the WNBA have record offensive numbers so far through the first half of the season.

There’s still areas that need to be worked on, but it will take more than 20 games for everything to be cleaned up.

“We’ve seen great improvements on the very things that were broken,” the Minnesota Lynx coach said. “There was a level of impeding players and trying to cut off a screen. We don’t want the unnecessary physicality.” The league put together a task force, which Reeve is on, in the offseason to help clean up some of the physicality in the game. The main point of emphasis was to help players’ freedom of movement. Despite some hiccups early on, it has led to more offense as teams are averaging around 86 points a game — the highest ever They are shooting nearly 45% from the field — also the best in league history

So far this season there have been roughly 4 1/2 more fouls called per game with 75% of them being non-shooting fouls

“I think it’s fair for our coaches and players to be able to say

we’re happy and we think positive things are taking place, but still I disagree with the calls that are affecting our team tonight,” Monty McCutchen, who is the head of WNBA officials, told The Associated Press.

“I want coaches to remain advocates for their teams,” McCutchen added. “We have gotten positive feedback that we’re on the right track. we’ll continue to work through specifics when we

fail that task and we’ll continue to check in with the officiating task force to make sure that we’re aligned with the expectations.”

By no means are things perfect. Coaches and players have complained of inconsistencies between officiating crews. What might be called a foul in one half might not be deemed a foul at another point in the game. Obvious fouls are getting missed too.

“It’s never going to be perfect,

but we’re trending in the right direction,” Reeve said. “We’ve put resources into this.”

Reeve recalled a play that she asked to be reviewed during her team’s game against Dallas. The officials looked at the play and upgraded it to a flagrant.

The league is constantly reviewing plays. Alyssa Thomas’ punch to the throat of Caitlin Clark that was upgraded to a Flagrant-2 was one of four that the league reviewed that night and was the only one upgraded.

Common fouls aren’t the only thing on the rise. Both technical fouls and flagrant fouls are up too. There have been 124 technicals assessed this season (four more were rescinded). Last year there were 171 total. There have been 44 flagrants called this season as compared to 51 all of last year

“I think they are doing a better job at reviewing hostile acts,” Reeve said. “We didn’t ask for that, but if that’s what it takes to clean it up (it’s worth it).”

Not everyone is a fan of all the reviews. Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon said after a loss to Indiana last week that there were too many of them.

“It’s exhausting when they go to the review every time I mean, these games are getting longer and longer It’s encouraging more drama,” she said. “So, it’s like somebody gets hit, and it’s like take them to the hospital. And they jump up, and they’re fine. So I actually think it’s not just today It’s across the league. There’s so many reviews.”

Giannis looking to follow Messi’s path to titles, success

BY TIM REYNOLDS AP basketball writer

MIAMI Giannis Antetokounmpo

was watching Lionel Messi play in the World Cup semifinals this week, and a realization struck him.

Messi, to him, is greatness. And Antetokounmpo wants to follow Messi’s path.

Antetokounmpo got his welcome-to-Miami ceremony Thursday at the team’s arena, with a few fans chanting his name as he walked along his new home court for the first time after he got a tour of his new city

“I need pressure at this time of my career,” Antetokounmpo said “I think in order for me to go to the next level, I’ve got to get out of my comfort zone — and I feel like Miami was the place for me to be.”

Messi came to Inter Miami three years ago, adding to his already copious resume by winning a couple of Major League Soccer MVP awards and another championship. Antetokounmpo has now joined him in Miami, hoping his relocation comes with the same level of success.

“That’s the blueprint,” Antetokounmpo said. “LeBron James, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, they set the blueprint and you just got to follow, right? It’s hard You have to be disciplined. You have to

LeBRON

Continued from page 1C

and Boardroom later in the afternoon. At the summit, he told Boardroom co-founder Rich Kleiman in an on-stage conversation that making this decision has a slew of layers — many of which, it seems, are off the court

“It’s not just about the team,” James said. “There’s so many other factors that I’m factoring in right now on what best fits me as a player, what best fits me as a person and what best fits my happiness, and also my family as well.” At Fanatics Fest, an 11-year-old in the crowd asked James about

be dedicated to your craft, but it’s there. And if you want to follow, you follow If you don’t want to follow, then you go home.”

He didn’t go home. He’s in a new home.

Antetokounmpo got his formal Heat introduction a couple of weeks after Miami swung the trade that landed the two-time MVP along with Bobby Portis Jr from the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr Kel’el Ware, Kasparas Jaku ionis and draft capital.

For the Heat, it’s another on a long list of superstar acquisitions made since Pat Riley arrived to take over as team president in 1995.

“I think this is just part of who the Heat are in the pursuit of excellence,” Riley said. “But you don’t win championships unless you have greatness on the court and on the bench. I’m just so excited for this challenge.”

Antetokounmpo entered the NBA in 2013. His career totals to date: 21,531 points, 8,882 rebounds and 4,484 assists. The point and rebound totals are both fifth best in the NBA over that span, while the assist total is 13th best — and those numbers are just part of the reason why the Heat consider him to still be one of the five best players in the league.

If all that wasn’t enough, has simply been a nightmare for de-

free agency and his next team

— “first of all, that was a hell of a question and some of the media people here probably should learn from the young fella,” James said — and the youngster got perhaps the best answer of the session, with James indicating that the 2026-27 season may not necessar-

ily be his last as a player

“It’s a big decision for not only myself, but for my family as well,” James said “Just for the last part of my career and where I want to spend the last few years or the last year or the last two years of my NBA career

I’m going to try to fit into whatever team I’m going into — but also give them all the tools and give them all the knowledge that I’ve been able to grasp over the last 23 years I know the

fenses. Nobody has drawn more fouls over those 13 seasons than Antetokounmpo, which is absolute music to the ears of Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.

“A little while ago Pat called me into his office and he looked at me,” Spoelstra said. “He said, ‘Do you want to coach Giannis?’”

Spoelstra’s no-brainer answer: “Yes.”

And then he walked out, waiting for Riley, Heat general manager Andy Elisburg and the rest of the front office to get a deal done. When Antetokounmpo arrived early Thursday morning for his first workout as a member of the Heat, Spoelstra was waiting for him.

“I just want to be coached hard,” Antetokounmpo said. “I’d rather you tell me the ugly truth than a beautiful lie. I’m excited to be coached by him.”

Antetokounmpo’s run in Milwaukee ended with him having, by far, the most points in franchise history, more than 7,000 ahead of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s total during his tenure with the Bucks. Antetokounmpo is also Milwaukee’s all-time leader in rebounds and assists, plus he ranks second on the team’s career list in steals. He had a ton of success there. He’s looking for more success in Miami, which is one of the reasons why Portis felt like the Heat were

game. I know the ins and outs of the game of basketball.”

James playfully chided Haliburton for asking him about his future — “didn’t we talk about this in the back?” James asked, and Haliburton said he would ”leave it alone.”

Of course, they didn’t leave it alone. James made reference to a slew of teams such as Cleveland, Miami, Philadelphia and Golden State, though didn’t appear to give much in the way of hints He did sip from a bottle of red wine that he opened and shared with Haliburton, calling it one of his podcast traditions. And when fans shouted out suggestions for James’ next team — one even asked him to play for the New York Yankees — no clues

Liberty-Wings postponed because of travel issues

New York’s game against the Dallas Wings was postponed Thursday after the Liberty had travel delays caused by mechanical issues on their charter flight, the league announced.

On Wednesday evening, New York rookie Pauline Astier posted to Instagram that the team was “still on the tarmac” after 10 hours on the plane. The game was originally scheduled to be played Thursday night in Dallas, but has been rescheduled for 7 p.m Monday The Wings said all tickets purchased for Thursday’s game will be honored for Monday’s matchup.

The Liberty, who have dropped three games in a row, next visit Indiana on Saturday

NBA, Heat won’t punish Adebayo for altercation

MIAMI The NBA is moving on from Tyler Herro v. Bam Adebayo, with the league issuing a statement Thursday that there will be no disciplinary action regarding last week’s practice-court kerfuffle between former Heat guard Tyler Herro and Heat captain Bam Adebayo:

“After discussing with the players involved and the NBPA, everyone would prefer to move on from this unfortunate circumstance, and no further action will be taken by the league.”

The Heat later confirmed that no team action will be taken.

Herro and Adebayo got into a confrontation over social media posts last Friday on a practice court set up at a Las Vegas resort, one utilized by teams participating in the NBA Summer League and also available to NBA players for workout sessions.

NHL releases expanded 84-game schedule

NEW YORK The most expansive season in NHL history will begin in September not October and limit most teams to four preseason games.

The league’s first 84-game season since 1993-94 opens on Sept. 29, as 32 teams will combine to play a total of 1,344 games. The season runs through April 10, before the playoffs begin the following week.

the best place for him as well.

“The conversations I have with Giannis have always been about winning. ‘Where can we go to win? How can we impact winning? How can you get another ’chip? That’s always been the talk,’” Portis said during his introductory news conference earlier Thursday “It hasn’t been about anything else but winning. All he cares about is winning.”

By all accounts, the Giannis-inMiami era is off to the right start.

Antetokounmpo was thrilled by the welcome he and his wife got when their plane landed in Miami after watching Messi and Argentina beat England in Atlanta on Wednesday He says he already loves the Miami weather (“warmer than Milwaukee,” he said) and isn’t a fan of iguanas, which are everywhere in South Florida (“those guys, stay away from me,” he said).

Riley told him the Heat are looking to win and win big. That was all Antetokounmpo needed to really hear He has one ring. He wants more.

“You’ve got to work,” Antetokounmpo said “They show you, they show you the way It’s not hard. Just listen and open your eyes. It’s something that I wanted. I was able to accomplish it once in my career Hopefully, it will happen a second time.”

were forthcoming.

“We’ll see,” he said.

In Miami, where the Heat introduced Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis Jr as their newest forwards on Thursday, team president Pat Riley acknowledged there have been talks about a reunion with James.

But the Heat don’t seem to have any hints either “Right now, I think we’re like everybody else,” Riley said “We’re just waiting to see what he does and then we’ll see what happens.”

Same goes for the NBA: Commissioner Adam Silver spoke at the Game Plan Summit not long after James on Thursday Silver said he has a bit of an “inkling” on which way James is leaning, but no concrete word.

The increase from an 82-game slate, which had been the standard since the mid-90s, was agreed upon by team owners and players in the last round of talks on a collective bargaining agreement. The intent is to provide more breathing room between the end of the Stanley Cup Final and the draft in late June before free agency commences on July 1.

Burns agrees to $105M, seven-year deal with Reds

Right-hand pitcher Chase Burns has agreed to a $105 million, seven-year contract with the Cincinnati Reds that covers 2027-33, two people familiar with the deal told the Associated Press on Thursday The people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been announced. Burns has a $785,000 salary while in the major leagues this year and $198,173 in the unlikely event he is sent to the minors.

Burns’ deal would run through the 2033 season and, under the current labor contract, covers three seasons of arbitration eligibility and the first two years after he would have been eligible for free agency It does not include options or deferrals.

Norris hit with 10-place grid penalty for Belgian GP

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium Lando Norris’ faltering Formula 1 title defense hit another setback Thursday as McLaren confirmed he will get a 10-place grid penalty for the Belgian Grand Prix. Norris is paying the price for poor reliability earlier in the season of the electronics that manage his car’s hybrid power systems. Fitting an upgraded power electronics unit supplied by Mercedes with what McLaren called “a series of reliability fixes” took Norris over his allowance of three for the season and triggered the penalty Norris lost two of the units to failures, including a breakdown that left him unable to start the Chinese Grand Prix.

McLaren picked Belgium to use the new unit because it will be relatively

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By LM OTERO

Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve questions a call during the second half of a game against the Dallas Wings on June 28 in Arlington, Texas.

WORLDCUP 2026

Spainpractices outside as smokefillsthe air

Englishmedia criticize Tuchel afterletdown

BY STEPHENWHYNO AND SETH BORENSTEIN Associated Press

With the sun obstructed by haze, Spain’splayers practiced Thursday ahead of the WorldCup final outside in northern New Jersey while air conditions are hazardous because of smokefromCanadian wildfires.

It was not clear how fastpacedapractice Spain held Media members are only able to observe the first 15 minutes of what wasscheduled to be ahourlong session in East Hanover beginning at 10 a.m. EDT Argentinaremained in the Atlanta area to work out less than 24 hoursafterrallying to beat England and reach the final for asecond consecutive tournament. Marietta, Georgia, is far enough south to avoid the effects of the fire, which are being windblown to the southeast from northern Ontario, triggering warnings from the U.S. Midwest through the Northeast.

Officials urged people to stay inside or wear masks outside as air quality reached unhealthy to hazardous levels, meaning it’sunhealthy for anyone, regardless of health conditions. Expertsexpressed concern overholding practice outdoors.

“These are high-level athleteswho are moving alot of air through their lungs during every practice in every game, and really they shouldn’tbepracticing outsideifthe air quality levels are at hazardous sortofranges for wildfirerelatedair pollution,”said Dr.Courtney Howard, an emergency room physician and Global Climate and Health Alliance official. “That’sthe time to schedule apractice inside. Youcould put an N95 mask on them, but trying to make sure that everybody’smask is well-fitted, Isuspect that’snot the best choice. I

ASHLEyLANDIS

Spain’sDani Olmo, right, greets teammate Mikel Merino as Olmoisreplaced by Merino during the WorldCup semifinal soccer matchbetween France and Spain on Tuesday in Arlington, Texas.

would go find an air-conditioned indoor facility that’s aclean-air shelter.”

Messages sent to FIFA andthe Spanish Football Association asking whether that was consideredorpossible were not immediately returned. The smoke is expected to clear the area well before the championship game Sunday in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with kickoff scheduled for 3p.m. The air quality in East HanoveronThursday startedearlyinthe morning as “unhealthy” but got cleaner,so by midafternoon it was merely “unhealthy for sensitive groups,” according to the U.S.EnvironmentalProtection Agency’sAir Now monitoring system. Particle pollution in New Jersey on Thursday was more thanseven timeshigher thanthe WorldHealthOrganization standard. The forecastcalls foranimprovement to “moderate” for Sunday

Smokefrom wildfires which are burning more of North AmericaasEarth warms—attacks nearly every system in the body, killing tens of thousands of peoplea year, numerous medical studies show It attacks the body im-

mediately,spiking asthma cases with increased ambulance runs within hours. Smoke can triggerinflammation in different parts of the body,often attacking aperson’sweakestpoints, which can then cascade into differenteffects of an immune system trying to fight anasty irritant, doctors and scientists said.

“It’snot healthyfor anyonetobeinthe smoke, especially if you’re exercising,” Harvard School of Public Health environmental healthresearch scientist Mary Johnsonsaid. “You’re exchangingmore air, so you’re being exposed to even more pollutants, and even healthyindividuals at some pointwill have some type of healtheffect from the exposure to the smoke. So,even though theseare healthy,young individuals, it’snot agood idea to be exercising in this type of environment.”

U.K. urgesFIFAtoinvestigate ArgentinaoverFalklands banner

BYJILL LAWLESS AND GRAHAM DUNBAR

Associated Press Writers

LONDON The British government on Thursday urged FIFA to investigate Argentina’s team after players celebrating their 2-1 win overEngland in the World Cup semifinals posed with abanner that claimed sovereignty over the contested Falkland Islands. During post-match celebrations Wednesday in Atlanta, Argentine players heldabanner handed over by fans, reading “Las Malvinas son Argentinas” —“The Malvinas are Argentine.” Argentina refers to the Falkland Islands as Islas Malvinas. They were invaded in 1982 under orders from Argentina’sthen-military dictatorship, triggeringa10week war won by Britain. “The World Cup might

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Continued from page1C

possession. It has never been recovered and is widely believed to havebeen melted down.

Winnerstakehomereplica

The official World Cup trophy hoisted by the winning captain at the end of the final is 14 inches tall cast in 18-carat gold, sitting on a

not be ours, but theFalkland Islandsdefinitelyare,” aspokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Thursday.“Self-determination restswiththe islanders and our commitment tothe Falklands willneverwaver.”

Starmer supported calls forFIFAtoinvestigate,the spokesperson said,afterU.K Business Secretary Peter Kyle said the players’ behavior was “entirely inappropriate.”

FIFAcan prosecute Argentina’splayers and soccer federation because itsdisciplinary codeprohibits at stadiums any “messagethat is notappropriate for asports event” including thoseof“a political, ideological, religious oroffensivenature.”

The FIFAfinesfor political messaging range from around$5,000to$20,000 FIFA was approached for comment Thursday

base featuring two rings of green malachite, symbolizing the playing fields. After the tournament, the original trophy goes back to FIFA, which keeps it at its Swiss headquarters between World Cups. The winning teambrings home agold-plated replica. FIFAnolonger lets threetimewinnerskeeptheoriginal. This is the 14th World Cup to use Gazzaniga’sdesign,and FIFAhas decided to keep the trophy in use at least through

Argentine President Javier Milei described the players’ celebration with the banneras“perfectly valid,” saying the message “reflects asentimentsharedbyall Argentines.” But he said he expected FIFA to sanction the team with afine.

“Whatthe players do is understandable;theyget carried away by theiremotions,theyact on impulse, andthatwill likely lead to discussions about afine,” Milei told a local Buenos Aires radio station.

Vice President Victoria Villarruel was morevocal in her support,posting aphoto on social media of the players raisingthe banner with the caption: “The Malvinas are Argentine! They banned us from bringing (signs) into the stadium, forgetting that we carry them in our blood and in our hearts.”

the 2038 tournament, according to Gazzaniga’swebsite. TheyoungerGazzaniga still vividly remembers watching the 1974 World Cup final at home withhis family as West Germanyfaced the Netherlands. It was the first time his father’strophy was presented at the World Cup.

“The real explosion of joy came when theGerman team raised thecup in Munichand the whole stadium erupted,” hesaid.“Thatwasthemoment an object became an icon.”

BY JAMES ROBSON AP soccer writer

ATLANTA— England hired aGermancoach to end 60 yearsofhurtbut saw its World Cup hopes come crashing down in the most English of ways. Anotherdefeat in the semifinals. Anotherdefeat from awinning position.

The English mediawas predictably critical of coach Thomas Tuchel after Wednesday’s2-1 loss to Argentina.

“Same oldstory” read oneheadline.Another declaredthat“Tucheljust shrank.”

Tuchel, aserial trophy-winning coach with BorussiaDortmund, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea andBayern Munich, was hiredtoput asecondstar on England’sjersey and end the decades-long wait for afirst trophy since the WorldCup in 1966.

The wait goes on.

Former England captain Gary Lineker raised th eq ues tio na bo ut Tuchel’sfuture, saying he was “brought in specifically to take us over the line.”

“Is he the right man to take us forward?”Lineker saidonhis Netflix show ‘TheRestisFootball.’ “He just got it so wrong in the big moment.”

Tuchel’spredecessor, Gareth Southgate, wascredited with making England fans fall back in lovewith the men’snational team afteryearsofunderachievement.Hereached back-toback European Championship finals but ultimately fell short, with his supposed cautious approach said to have costEngland in clutch matches.

Southgate’ssubstitutions were criticized as well as his tacticswhen England relinquished leads againstCroatia in theWorldCup semifinals in 2018 andItalyinthe final of the Euros three years later.

Therewas criticism of theEnglish soccer federation’sdecision to turn to aGerman,but Tuchel,a Champions League winner was supposed to be difference maker in those key moments

Leading 1-0 going into the85th minute and in a defensive shell, England saw its hopesshattered on Argentina goalsfrom Enzo Fernandez andsubstitute Lautaro Martinez.

“It’sa realpanic. You can’t go agoal up andthen

surrender theballand surrender any opportunity of trying to get the second goal,” former England captain Wayne Rooney told the BBC. ”I just think the decisions Thomas Tuchel made, and Ithink we have to be honest on this, have cost us tonight.”

Lineker said Tuchel’stactics andsubstitutionsafter going 1-0 up “made zero sense to me.”

Tuchel, whosigned atwoyear contract extension ahead of the World Cup, stood by his decisions.

“As soon as you lose, you get criticized. It’s just what it is,” Tuchel said. “No one knows what would have happened if Ihad madedifferent decisionssoitmakes no sense to engage in that and lose my head.

“I’m responsible for them.I took them,soI take the criticism. That’sjust the wayitis.”

FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said shortly after the loss that it is “heartbreaking to be so close.”

“The players and Thomas gave it everything today and the squad, coaches and staff could nothaveworked harder during thetournament,” he said in astatement. “I wouldliketothank them all —and also give my heartfelt thanks to our wonderful fans here in the USA and at home. We felt yoursupport every step of the way and we are all so disappointed not

to go further.” England will face France in thethird-place game on Saturday in Miami. Defeat to defending champion Argentina continuedapattern for the England men at theWorld Cup.

It hasnot beaten oneof the traditional major nations at soccer’sbiggest tournament sincethe 1-0 win over Argentina in the groupstagein2002. Before that,England beat France in the group stage in 1982.

Knockout eliminations have comeatthe hands of Argentina and Germanyon three occasions each, Brazil, Portugal and France. There was also the2018 semifinals defeat to Croatia, ateam that has never won a major trophy Tuchel,however,does notbuy intothe narrative that repeated failureisa specifically English problem.

“I love to see these things in afootball matter and through football glasses. So first of all Ialways think it’s solvable on thefootball field,” he said. “I don’tbelieve so much in an English thing or in acurse or whatever or historyrepeating itself.”

Britain and Ireland are co-hosting Euro 2028. “I have acontract until thehome Euros, and I’m looking forward to that, even if right now it is difficult to look that farahead,” Tuchel said.

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTO By

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOByERIK S. LESSER England coachThomas Tuchel stands by the benchduring the WorldCup semifinal match against Argentina on WednesdayinAtlanta. England lost 2-1.

Southernplayers walk to the locker room duringa stoppage for weather during the spring showcase on April 4atA.W.Mumford Stadium. Southernwas votedamong thebottom teamsinthe league’spreseason poll.

Southern votedamong bottom of teamsin SWAC preseasonpoll

BY TOYLOYBROWN III

Staff writer

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. As the SheratonBirmingham Hotel ballroom filled up forthe Southwestern Athletic Conference football mediaday on Wednesday,the conference simultaneouslyunveiled its 2026 preseasonpoll.

ThevotingbodyofSWAC coachesand sports information directors predicted that Southern will be amongthe bottom tierof teams.

The Jaguars finished fifth out of six teams in the SWAC West, receiving one first-place vote. This is astark contrast from last year when Southern was voted the No. 1team in the SWAC West before going 2-10 overall

The positive beliefgoing into the 2025 season, before finishing tied for last in the SWAC, came aseason after it appearedinthe conference championship game in 2024.

First-year Southern coach MarshallFaulk said thepreseason poll doesn’tmean much to him. The former NFL Network analyst said that he understands the purpose of polls like this “I used to be in the business of predictions,” the Pro Football Hall of Fame running back said. “I did thatfor along time. And there were times when Iwas rightand times Iwas wrong. Do I care about it? No. They have ajob to do. The same way we have a job to do. My role is to make sure we do the job that we came to do.” Standout safety Herman Bristersaid he doesn’thave any emotion after seeingthe pollresults because he remembers how last year turned out.

“That’spreseason stuff,” the redshirt junior said. “That doesn’t really mean anything because last year we was number oneand

SAINTS

Continued from page1C

Thelowdown

It is hard to overstate how much Shough’srapid ascent into apotential franchisequarterback has meant for the Saints.Just think back to what thediscourse was like this time ayear ago. Last summer,more oxygen was expended on the Saints potentially being in positiontodraft aquarterback No.1overallin the 2026 draft than there was on Shough. That was based on two assumptions: The Saints were going to be the worst team in the NFL, and Shough (the No. 40 pick in the 2025 draft) was not goingto be worth building around. As things currently stand, the Saints are apopular dark horse to go from worst to first in their division. Alot of that is basedon thegood vibes emanating from Shough’sdebut season, both directly and indirectly

Direct: Shough displayed an advanced skillset in his time as a starter.New Orleans was adifferent team when he took over,going5-3 in their final eightgames as Shough finished the season. During that span, Shough ranked second among all qualifying NFL passersincompletionpercentage (69.7%), seventh in passing yards (2,080) and ninth in passer rating (97.1)and ninth in passing yards.

Three of the Saints’ fivewins with Shough as astarter included gamewinning drives in the fourth quarter (and Shough nearly pulledoff two others).

SwinneysayshelpfromCongress only

BY STEVEREED Associated Press

CHARLOTTE, N.C.

It’sbeen six monthssince Clemson head coach Dabo Swinneypubliclycalledout OleMissfor engaging in what he called “blatant” tampering to lure away transfer linebackerLuke Ferrelli.

He has heard nothing back despiteproviding an allegedtimeline, evidence and receiptstothe NCAA.

Swinney said Thursday he doesn’tregret pointing thefinger at Ole Miss head coach Pete Goldingand generalmanager Austin Thomas.And he again pushed for change andaccountability on Thursday for what he called “rampant” tampering in college football.

SWACPRESEASON POLL

WEST

1. Prairie View:130 points (19 firstplace votes)

2. Grambling: 93 points (2)

3.AlcornState: 90 points (1)

4.Texas Southern:79points (1)

5. Southern:65points (1)

6.Arkansas-Pine Bluff: 32 points

EAST

1.Alabama State: 131 points (16)

2. Jackson State: 122 points (7)

3. Bethune-Cookman: 71 points

4. Florida A&M: 70 points

5.Alabama A&M: 66 points (1)

6. MississippiValleyState: 29 points

we went 2-10, but Ican tell you that it won’t last long.”

Wide receiverCam Jefferson said that his experienceat Southern since 2023 has taught him how much things change positivelyornegatively during a season.

“You’re gonna have ebbs and flows,you’regonnahavehighs andlows,”the redshirt junior said. “With coach (Terrence) Graves in 2024, you know we made the SWAC championship, and then last year,unfortunately we were preseason favorites, but that ended up not happening. And then Coach Faulk came in,you know,we’re on ahigh again like that. Andwe’re gonna try to stay on that high

“It’sjusttaught me alot about life. Like life isn’tgonna go your way.Lifeisgonna have changes, and it’sgonna throw obstacles at you, but it’show you respond to those obstacles.”

BeforeSouthernwas picked first in the SWAC West in the2025 preseason poll, theteam was voted fourth in 2024 andfirstin2023 and2022.

“We’re probably gonna need somecongressional help for that,” Swinney said during the AtlanticCoast Conference’spreseason football media days. “There has to be sometype of order put in place. The tampering is aproblem. So there needs to be consequences or youjustsay to heck with it, don’t worry about it, and let’sjust call it like it is —the wild, wild West.”

Swinneysuggested fines,suspensions and even firings should be considered to discourage tam-

pering, which has been afrequent topic of concern in multiple sports. “There is lots of things that can be put in place,” Swinney said. ”(Tampering)isrampant because there hasn’tbeen consequences and Idon’tknow there has been muchfear of consequences. So you’ve got to get someorder.”

Golding defendedOle Miss in April, explaining there are “two sides to every story” referring to Ferrelli, whoabruptly transferred to Ole Miss 20 days after beginning classes andteam meetings at Clemson in January

Ferrelli played last season at Cal beforeoriginally transferring to Clemson.

In March, Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey called NCAA language covering tampering rules “archaic,” but stopped shortofurgingthe oversight body to halt tampering investigations.

Sankey said the new landscape in college sports calls forthe rules language to be changed.

ACCCommissioner Jim Phillips on Wednesday urged coaches and administrators to go public with information if they see potential tampering.

OtherACC coacheshave expressed support forSwinney for

speaking out.

“I agree withDabo,” Louisville coach JeffBrohm said. “He should have been upset. To me that type of tampering shouldn’thappen. It goes back to there needstobe moreguardrails. There needs to be asystem in place where there’s consequences for doing things you’re not supposedtodo, and that’snot in college football right now.”

Brohm said it’sone of the reasons he wantstosee the Protect College SportsAct passedinCongress.

The bill that top lawmakers and athletic leaders have described as the best hope to stabilize college sports cleared akey vote in the Senate in June following weeks of input fromschools, conferences and athletes.

It is now currently in the House foravote.

The bill would address many areas, including tampering.

“Itmay not be perfect foreveryone, but I’mall forit,” Brohm said. ”I think it’s important thatwedo something to trytohelpthe game overall and thenmake adjustments along the way.Until there’s consequences forcheating and tampering, people will continue to skirt the edges.”

legislation,” said aletter co-signed by LSUpresident Dr.WadeRousse andboard of supervisors chairLee Mallett.

The Advocate contacted Rousse’soffice on Tuesday.Aspokespersonsaidthe bill continuesto undergo changes and the university would have no comment beyond what’swritten in theletter.Mallett did notreply to an email requesting comment either

While LSU’slist of “key issues” remains unexplained,the university’s opposition underscores a tensionbetween the NCAA’s power players.

In early June, the SEC and Big Tenreleased ajoint statement saying both support a“sustainable national framework” but that the bill presented by Sen. MariaCantwell (D-Washington) and Sen. TedCruz (R-Texas) left “criticalissuesunresolved.”

Along withconcernsaboutthe strength of the act’santitrust exemption, the SEC and BigTen objected to ashift of “ongoing rulemaking” to Congress. Therewere also concerns about how the bill would change theHouse settlement’srevenue-sharing framework.

In turn, Cantwell blastedthe “Power Two” forconsolidating power viaconference realignment.

“The politics of these commissionersmoving around deck chairs and making millionsofdollars

themselvesand not thinking about the broad interest to solve these problems has led us to this point,” Cantwell said during ahearing of the Senate Commerce Committee in June. “It’stimetolisten to some other people.”

Cantwell’sbill prohibits conferencesearning $700 million or more from adding new members, essentially halting realignment.That has led to moreimmediate discussion about expansion before alaw is passed.

The bill also amends the Sports Broadcasting Act, allowing collegestopool their mediarights, like the NFL, which would theoretically leverage moremoney from networks. But the resulting payouts could shrink the revenue gap between theBig Ten, SEC and therest

TheaverageSEC school, for example, received just over $72 million in broadcast revenues in 2025, while theACC average was $47 million this past year

While the SEC and Big Tendon’t appear anxious to surrender their financial advantage,there are other points of contention.

Auburn and Alabama’sletter argued that apoolingofmedia rights would advance theinterest of private equity,which “stand to profit froma redistributionof media-rights revenue” if they invest in college sports programs.

There is also aworry athletes will ultimately make less money,because thereislanguage in the47-page bill stating that athletes can’tstrike dealswithentities closely “associated” with a school,suchasa booster-funded

Indirect: NewOrleans wasa populardestinationfor big-ticket free agents this offseason. Running back TravisEtienneand guard David Edwards,two of the top available players at theirrespectivepositions, chosetosign with the Saints. Noah Fant turned down the Saints last year to play with JoeBurrow inCincinnati, but wound up signing with the Saints this offseason. Shough’srole in getting the Saintsarrow trending upward played apart in that. The Saintsshouldfeelgood aboutShough.They’ve invested inhis supporting cast, and they’ve seen him fully take the reins of the offense this offsea-

son.But these are still the early days, anditisalso fairtowantto seeitover alarger sample size beforeNew Orleans can fully claim it has itsfranchise quarterback in place.

Potentialcampbattle Spencer Rattler played well enough in his eight starts last year to generate some buzzasa potential trade chip this offseason.Whether that was amedia creation or thereweregenuinely teamsinterestedinacquiring him is somewhat beyond the point: He is avaluable piece of thepuzzle becauseheisyoung, inexpensive and, to adegree, proven.

Saints backup

quarterback

Spencer Rattler throws the ballduring organized team activities on May28at the team’s indoor practice facility in Metairie.

STAFFFILE

That being said, thislikely will be histhird consecutivetraining camp where he will have to competefor his spot on the depth chart. New Orleans signed former No. 2overallpick Zach Wilson this offseason, amove that almost certainly was madewith the intent of lettinghim compete for the No. 2 job While Wilson’sstruggles have been well-documented, hisstatistical résumé (on arate basis) is similar to Rattler’s. The best guess here is thatRattlerwill havea head start, given his history with the team and hisrecent starting experience, but Wilson will have the opportunity to unseat him.

collective or corporate sponsor, if those payments circumvent a school’syearly revenue-sharing cap.

As of now,schools can share up to $21.3 millionwith athletes duringthe 2026-27 schoolyear, but promotional dealswithbusinesses, oftentimes facilitated by the school itself, don’tcount toward the limit.

For instance, LSU has worked withits multimedia rightsholder, PlayFly,and its apparel sponsor, Nike, to steer millions of dollars to athletes. Nike just announced arosterfor itsBlueRibbon Elite Football campaign and LSU’s11 athletes were the most of any school.

Most of the rumored $40 million invested in LSU’sfootball roster this season came from third-party dealslike these, notdirect revenue sharing with the school.

Again, LSU’sleadershaven’t specified which provisions in the bill are mostworrisometothem, butit’snot difficulttotheorize why they currentlystandagainstit.

Thus, the horse-trading continues.

“Welook forward to working with the House, the Senate, and our fellow institutions in the Southeastern Conference to make the needed improvements to the legislation,” LSU’s letter concluded.

“Weare hopeful that together we can support abill that will truly help ensure college athletics is preserved forour students and all higher education institutions.” Email Jon Blauatjon.blau@ theadvocate.com.

After an offseason of hemming and hawing,the NewOrleans Saintsand Alvin Kamarareached an agreement on anew contract thisweek that should allowKamara to finish his career in New Orleans.

The details of that deal became clear Thursdaymorning via an NFL Media report: Kamara’snew contract will payhim abase $6 million salarywith achance to earn$8.5 million with incentives.Kamara was settoplayon the final year of a2-year,$24 million extension he signed in 2024. It puts an end to an offseason of drama surrounding Kamaraand the Saints, after the organization repeatedly declined to saywhether Kamarawas part of theirplans for 2026. The deal ensured one of the most prolificplayers in franchise history sticks around. Nowentering his 10th season in NewOrleans,Kamara holds the franchise’sall-time marks in rushing (7,250) and rushing touchdowns (61) as well as total touchdowns (87) and yards from scrimmage(12,198).Heis one of nine activeplayers with more than 12,000 career yards from scrimmage. Kamaraiscoming off the worstseason of his career.Injuries limited him to a career-low 11 games,but he also posted someofhis worstper-game and pertouch figures in his career

The Saints responded by signing the younger and more explosiveTravis Etienne thisoffseason to lead theirbackfield. Kamaraisexpected to serveasthe primaryoption behind Etienne. —LukeJohnson

STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

BRITISH OPEN

QUICK STUDY

BY DOUG FERGUSON

AP golf writer

SOUTHPORT, England — Jackson Suber got his first taste of links golf — on his first trip to Europe — when he arrived at Royal Birkdale. Three days later, he proved to be a quick study with a superb par save and a 6-foot eagle late in his round for a 5-under 65 to lead the British Open Bryson DeChambeau might be getting the hang of this, too, no matter what three-time British Open champion Nick Faldo said he thinks about his strategy An opening round lasting some 15 hours included just about everything during a warm and breezy start. Five of the leading 12 players were playing the British Open for the first time. Rory McIlroy missed three 4-foot putts in a four-hole span and had six bogeys in his round of 72. Scottie Scheffler opened with four birdies in six holes and didn’t make another the rest of the way for a 68. Most startling was Suber, a 26-year-old American who has yet to win anywhere since leaving Ole Miss and is playing in only his third major He made a tough par save on the new par-3 15th with slopes off severely on both sides. He followed with a 6-foot birdie on the 16th and then choked up on a 4-iron from 233 yards and hit it to 6 feet for eagle. Not bad for his seventh round in any major and first on a links course as tough as Birkdale.

“Just kind of kept the ball in good spots and didn’t put much pressure on my game to make pars,” Suber said. He led by one shot over Sungjae Im and Dan Brown of England. The nine players at 67 include four Open debutants — Alex Smalley, Ryan Gerard, M.J. Daffue, Pierceson Coody And then there was DeChambeau, who has missed the cut in all three majors this year and has chosen not to speak to the media since Friday at the Masters, except for on LIV Golf.

Turns out he had enough strategy to get in the mix, often ripping driver to take the fearsome bunkers out of

Cigarette smoker Brown lights up with strong round

BY STEVE DOUGLAS AP sportswriter

SOUTHPORT, England Dan Brown is lighting it up again at the British Open.

One of the few smokers in golf, Brown went through “seven or eight” cigarettes during his 4-under 66 that left him tied for second place, one shot off the lead, after the first round at Royal Birkdale on Thursday.

After weeks of sunshine in this northwest corner of England, the fairways here are baked and parched — making them a potential fire hazard from discarded cigarettes.

“I’ve been making sure that they’re out,” the 31-year-old Englishman said reassuringly

Not that he sounds too proud of a habit that makes him stand out on the circuit, but which he feels is needed to relieve some stress.

“Sorry, Mum,” he said with a cheeky smile

The burly and bearded Brown is an interesting character not least because of the 10 tattoos on his body — three of which are of little birds — and his YouTube channel called “BeersForeBogeys” which has around 4,000 subscribers.

Brown first came into widespread consciousness in golf in 2024 when, as the

world No. 272, he shot a 6-under 65 for the outright first-round lead in his British Open debut at Royal Troon.

His name — one he shares with the author of “The Da Vinci Code” — was a headline writer’s dream and his dry humor proved popular, too.

Brown was tied for second place heading into the final round at Troon and wound up in a tie for 10th.

That experience taught him he could compete with the best players in the world.

“I feel like I’m a better player now to what I was back then, two years ago,” he said. “So we’ll see.” Brown arrived at the Open

with no form from his first year on the PGA Tour he missed the cut in his last four events — but has immediately taken to the Birkdale links. He made seven birdies, including three straight around the turn, after being 1 over after seven holes.

“Today a few putts dropped, which was nice to see,” Brown said, “because I’ve not seen that for a while.

“(Hopefully), I’m in a sort of similar area on the leaderboard come Sunday.” That might mean continuing to have a smoke during his rounds.

“There might be a big drop off by Sunday if I’m not allowed,” he said.

play and doing enough right for a 67 that left him two shots behind.

Strategy became a talking point when Faldo told the Sky Sports Golf Podcast this week, “DeChambeau has zero clue of strategy He said last year, ‘I’m going to go out and attack the links.’ Well, I’ve never attacked a links. You thread it, don’t you? You feed it down the fairway You don’t think, ‘Oh, I’ll just blast it down there.’ ” DeChambeau hit only four fairways but missed only three greens, though he was rarely in big trouble when he wasn’t in the short grass. He twice blasted tee shots over the trouble and close to the green at the par-4 second and the par-4 10th, the latter a blind shot. He made birdie on both. And while Jon Rahm was among those who said going long can lead to trouble at some point, the only two shots DeChambeau dropped came from his putting (the par-5 14th) and chipping (the par-4 18th). He was tied for the early lead until going from wispy rough over the back of the 18th, chipped weakly to 8 feet and missed the putt. He missed three birdie chances from around 10 feet or under, one of them on redesigned, 321-yard fifth hole, when he drove it just over the green.

DeChambeau agreed to take a few questions from the R&A and said, “I feel like I did a really good job today of being incredibly strategic and focused super hard on placing it in the

right places. Besides 18, I placed the ball in some good areas. I just need to hit more fairways. Other than that, I feel like my strategy was nice today.”

Cameron Young, one of the hottest players in the spring but quiet the past two months, also was at 67 along with Robert MacIntyre, Thomas Detry and Francesco Molinari, the 2018 Open champion at Carnoustie, which also featured a baked links course.

Scheffler had few complaints after a 68, even not making a birdie over his last 12 holes, playing the two par 5s in 1 over and making a pair of soft bogeys. He also missed a 5-foot birdie putt Whether he could have gotten more out of his round was of little concern.

“If I continue to strike the ball the way I did today and just keep giving myself looks, that’s part of it,” Scheffler said. “Golf is played over 72 holes and I definitely liked what I saw today.”

Smalley, who took a twoshot lead into the final round at the PGA Championship, was leading until his drive on the 18th was fading with the wind and then the luck of links golf took over One wild bounce sent it further right and out of bounds He finished with a double bogey for a 67.

“Got up to where the ball was supposed to be and was told it hit a spectator fence and kicked another 15 yards right out of bounds. All three of us in our group actually hit it over there, and mine just got an unlucky break,” Smalley said. “Poor

BY STEVE DOUGLAS AP sportswriter

SOUTHPORT, England — The only Argentine golfer in the British Open field was playfully jeered by some spectators on the first tee Thursday, the morning after his national soccer team’s epic comeback win over England at the World Cup.

Mateo Pulcini delivered an amusing response a few hours later

After holing a 40-foot putt for birdie on the 18th green at Royal Birkdale, the 25-year-old amateur cupped both of his ears in a gesture to spectators that mimicked the celebration his countryman, Enzo Fernandez, produced after scoring Argentina’s 85th-minute equalizing goal on Wednesday Argentina went on to win 2-1 in the semifinals.

“I was pretty excited and that came to my mind,” he said, “and I did it.”

Pulcini stressed there were only “a few boos” on the first tee and that it was just a bit of fun.

“People are being great.

Fans are being spectacular They were cheering for me as well,” he said. Asked what felt better — his putt on the 18th or seeing Fernandez’s goal — Pulcini said: “Enzo’s goal, for sure.”

Pulcini is making his debut at the British Open after qualifying by winning the Latin American Amateur Championship in a playoff in Peru. He shot 5-over 75 on Thursday

Former Ole Miss star Suber grabs early lead at Royal Birkdale

tee shot, poor break. Sometimes that’s how it goes.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By PETER MORRISON

Jackson Suber and his caddie Greyson Porter walk on the 18th green during the British Open on Thursday at Royal Birkdale golf club in Southport, England.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JON SUPER Bryson DeChambeau, right, and Scottie Scheffler walk off the 18th green after completing their round.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JON SUPER

Daniel Brown watches where his shot landed after playing off the first tee on Thursday. Brown shot a 4-under 66.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By DAVID GOLDMAN Mateo Pulcini of Argentina plays on the 10th fairway during a practice round for the British Open on Wednesday.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO Argentina’s Enzo Fernandez gestures to fans after scoring against England in a World Cup semifinal match on Wednesday.

ROCK OUT

Pink Floyd tribute band BritFloyd will takethe stageatthe River Center Theatre for Performing Arts at 7:30 p.m. Sundaytocelebrate two of rock’smost iconic albums, “The DarkSideofthe Moon” and “The Wall.”Tickets are $63-$200. theatre.raisingcanesrivercenter.com

THINGS TO DO THIS WEEKEND

Event gearsup with curated features

Staff report

The Baton RougeUndergroundFilm Festival will present nine feature-length films, two extended short filmsand 56 shortfilm projects for its sophomoreevent Aug. 27-30 at the Manship Theatre. The nonprofit festival whittled down the final lineupfrom more 400 independent submissions from around the country and the world.

“Louisiana has always played an important role in the legacy of independent cinema,” says BRUFF Creative Director NathanHall. “Our festival ensures that the Capital City continues thatlegacy, remaining afilmfriendly destination for filmmakers and moviegoers alike. Ifyou love movies, you’ll love BRUFF.” In addition to thescreenings, BRUFF will host seven panels, ranging in topics from financial knowledge to fundamentals of filmmaking. Attendees have the opportunity to winprizes, engagedirectlywithindustry professionals, and discover topics that arespecific to theircareers.

PROVIDED PHOTO

Baton RougeUnderground Film Festival attendees takeina film screening at the Manship Theatre in August 2025.

Alongsidethesepanelswillbe five hands-onworkshops where filmmakers can get industrylevel training from local organizations. BRUFF also will hostInDepth Live! as part of their workshop series. Here, attendees can learn from Mike James Gallagherand Mark Mangini about the intricaciesofsound design on Hollywood productions like “Dune” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” “The Baton Rouge Underground Film Festival returns as afocal point for crewtraining for theLouisiana film industry says BRUFF Financial Director Joe Carleton. “In year two, the festival has already expanded to include more workshops and panels than in its first year.Education is aclear focus for this organization, and we look forwardtoseeing our filmmakers growasaresult.” The full festival scheduleis available at BatonRougeUnderground.com. Tickets are on sale now at manshiptheatre.org.

Cost is $75 for thefull event pass, and$30 for aday pass, with discounts available for students.

‘THE ADDAMS FAMILY FAMIL MUSICAL’

SullivanTheater’sproduction of ‘The Addams Family’ musical

WHEN: July 17-19, July 23-26, July 30-Aug.2.Sundaymatineesbegin at 2p.m.All otherperformances begin at 7:30 p.m WHERE: Sullivan Theater,8849 Sullivan Road, Central.

ADMISSION: $28-$39.

TICKETS: TICKETS sullivantheater com/tickets sullivantheater.com/tickets

RERUN FUN

The CarySaurageCommunity Arts Center Shell Gallery’sexhibit “Tell AVision” runs through Aug. 14. Curated by Jay Schwarzhoff, it features the work of 21 artists whoturned trashed TVs into works of art. 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. MondayThursday, 8a.m.-3:30 p.m. Friday,and noon-4 p.m. on first Sundays. artsbr.org

THE FINALFRONTIER

The Highland Road Park Observatorywill host Science Academy 10 a.m.-noon Saturday forages8-12. Cadets are brought into the worldofastronomyand givenachance to explore gravity,simple machines, stars, spacecraft, meteors, the Earth-Moon system and more. $5. hrpo.lsu.edu/science-academy

Sullivan Theater’s ‘Addams Family’ householdare, backrow from left,Peter Blanchard as Lurch, LouisMangiaracina as Gomez Addams, Carole Moore as Morticia Addams and MalloryTaylorasUncle Fester;front row, Amy Himel Gomez as Grandma Addams, Autumn Dedon as Pugsley Addams and Michelle Willis as WednesdayAddams.

Wednesday Addams is in love.

Yes, thesame girl whoprides herselfonterror and torture. She’sin lovewith aseemingly normalguy but wants to keep it secret.

This is really what ‘The Addams Family Musical’ is more so about than Wednesday’slove life. Secrets.Lots of them

BY ROBIN MILLER | Staff writer

So manysecrets, in fact,thatitrattlesthe quirky core binding the Addams family while also smashing theillusion of happiness maintained by Lucas Beineke’sfamily

See FAMILY, page 2D

BY KEITH SPERA Staff writer

Rapper Ye,previously known as Kanye West, has announced that hisintermittent stadium touris headed for the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. He is slated to headline the Su-

of which are in Europe. He’sscheduled to perform July 30 in

andAug. 7inAlgarve,

After the NewOrleans show on Aug. 28, he’llplaytwo shows Sept. 3-4atChicago’sSoldier Field, if all goes as planned. West last performed in New OrleansonDec.5,2013, when his “Yeezus Tour” stopped at whatis now theSmoothie King Center He appearedatthe Essence FestivalofCulture in the Superdomein2008 and 2011. In addition, West staged one of his “SundayService” concerts beneaththe giantwhite crosseson the Bethany Church South lawn in Baton Rouge in 2019. Despite the last-minute announcement for the event, the open-air concert drew thousands. He hadreleased his first gospelalbum theprevious

PROVIDED

PHOTO By MATTHEW WALKER

FRIDAY

HONKY TONK PLAY-

BOYS: T’Quilas, Denham Springs, 6p.m.

HISTORICAL HAPPY

HOUR FEATUR-

ING JUST ATRACE: West Baton Rouge Museum, Port Allen, 6p.m.

ACOUSTICRATS: The Brakes Bar, 6p.m.

CAMPYLE: Galvez Seafood, Prairieville, 6p.m.

MIKE ESNEAULT: Stab’s Restaurant, 6p.m.

3BLIND MICE: Sullivan’s Steakhouse, 6p.m.

EDDIE SMITH: El Paso, Denham Springs, 6p.m.

JOSHUAMAGEE: BLDG

5, 6p.m.

STONE SOBER: Court to Table, 6:30 p.m.

DERRICK LEMON: Le Chien Brewing Co., Denham Springs, 6:30 p.m.

JOVIN WEBB: Bin 77, 7p.m.

WUNDERKIND: Copa Restaurant, Gonzales, 7p.m.

THE REMNANTS: On The Half Shell, Prairieville,7 p.m.

THELEE SERIO BAND: Phil Brady’s, 7:30 p.m.

LAUREN LEE: T-Fred’s Tiki Bar, Prairieville, 8p.m.

BUBBAPLAUCHÉ: Spanky’s, 8p.m.

LOGAN SOILEAU: The Edge Bar at L’Auberge, 9p.m.

LA WESTWIND: Churchill’s, 9p.m.

KENDALL SHAFFER: Crazy Dave’s,Livingston, 9p.m.

MCFLY: Icehouse Tap Room, 9p.m

SYLAS FAUST TRIO: Fred’s on the River, Prairieville, 9p.m.

JT MCCAFFREY: Double DDaiquiris, Denham Springs, 9p.m

BRIAN &THE BANDITS: Coop’s on 621 Gonzales,9 p.m.

JOEY &THE JUMPER

CABLES: FatCat Saloon, Prairieville, 9p.m.

CANE FEVER: The Vineyard, 9p.m.

DOWNBEATLOUISIANA: Swamp Chicken Daiquiris,St. Amant, 9p.m.

FILM FEST

SATURDAY

TAYLOR NAUTA: Leola’s Café, 11 a.m.

‘HOOD FEST: Main Library at Goodwood

noon

RICKY PATTERSON: Fred’s on the River, Prairieville,2 p.m

IAN WEBSTER DUO: Sullivan’s Steakhouse, 5:30 p.m

RODNEY BOYD: Central City,5:30p.m.

ACOUSTICRATS: Electric Depot, 6p.m.

ARNETT HAYES: Stab’s Restaurant, 6p.m.

PHOEBE KOONTZ: BLDG 5, 6p.m.

THE COOL BEANS: T’Quilas, Denham Springs, 6p.m.

STONE SOBER: Victoria’s Mexican, Denham Springs,6p.m.

DON POURCIAU&

KONSPIRACY: El Paso Denham Springs 6p.m.

HOTLINKS: Courtto Table, 6:30p.m.

DONNIE CARVAJAL: Le ChienBrewing Co.,Denham Springs, 6:30 p.m.

DIZZY: Bin 77, 7p.m.

MIKE HOGAN: Copa Restaurant,Gonzales, 7p.m.

RHODES,MAURER & FRIENDS: On The Half Shell, Prairieville, 7p.m.

GRAND COUNTRY

JUNCTION: Suma Crossing Theatre, Satsuma, 7p.m.

ALLISON COLLINS: PatioLounge, 8p.m

LOUISIANA LAND-

FALL: Fred’s on the River, Prairieville, 8p.m.

BRIAN &THE BANDITS: Sandy’s Daiquiris, Port Allen, 8p.m.

CLEVE: Churchill’s, 9p.m.

JOEL COOPER & SCOTT JORDAN: The Vineyard, 9p.m.

SAVANT: The Basin Music Hall, 9p.m.

KENDALL SHAFFER BAND: FatCat Saloon, Prairieville,9 p.m

TREY MORGAN: Swamp Chicken Daiquiris, St.Amant, 9p.m.

JAKE ROUNDS: Crazy Dave’s, Livingston, 9p.m.

THREATLEVEL

MIDNIGHT: Double D

Continued from page1D

Call forvolunteers

Join the ranksofthe Underdogs by volunteeringto take tickets,set up andtear down, workshopassistance, monitoring panels and more.

All volunteers will receive abadge for the festival. In order to receive abadge, at least two time slots will need to be registered for via the BRUFF Volunteer Application on the fest’sInstagram page and at https://forms. gle/dBEDPzfDuGCfhGLK8. Libraryforum

In advance of the main event, the Baton Rouge Underground Film Festival will host asatellite eventalong with the East Baton Rouge Public Library.A filmmaker forum is set for 6p.m.

Daiquiris, Denham Springs, 9p.m

SUNDAY

KASEY BALL: Copa Restaurant, Gonzales

10 a.m

RACHAEL&ERIC: Leola’s Café, 11 a.m.

JOVIN WEBB: On The HalfShell, Prairieville, 11 a.m

JUSTIN BURDETTE TRIO: Superior Grill-

MidCity,11a.m

RHETT GUILLOT: Locals Central, noon

JAZZ BRUNCH: Red Stick Social, noon

T-BOY&JUST US: Fred’s on the River, Prairieville, 3p.m

CAJUN JAM: West BatonRouge Museum, Port Allen, 3p.m

MIKE HOGAN: IcehouseTap Room, 4p.m.

SONGWRITER SUN-

DAYS: La Divina Italian Cafe,5 p.m.

OPEN MIC JAM: Fat Cat Saloon, Prairieville, 7p.m

BRIT FLOYD: River Center Theatrefor Performing Arts, 7:30 p.m

MONDAY

RHETT ANTHONY: Superior Grill-MidCity 6p.m. BUCK MEEK: Chelsea’s Live,7p.m

TUESDAY

GARRETT REMSON DUO: Superior GrillMidCity,6 p.m.

EDDIE SMITH: On The HalfShell, Prairieville, 6:30 p.m

WEDNESDAY

JENNA &DON: Superior Grill-MidCity 6p.m.

BRENTARMSTRONG: Danny’sDiveBar, 6p.m.

LSU JAZZ JAM: ClassicVinyls, 6p.m

TAYLOR NAUTA: On The Half Shell, Prairieville, 6:30 p.m.

KIRK HOLDER: Bin 77, 6:30 p.m

SONGWRITERS OPEN MIC WITH HEATH RANSONNET: Coop’s on 621, Gonzales, 7p.m.

ANDYPIZZOTRIO: HayrideScandal, 7:30 p.m

Wednesday,July 22, at the Main Library at Goodwood. Apanel of filmmakers from Louisiana will speak abouttheir experience, how they got into the industry, andbesttips fornew and currentfilmmakers alike

The forum will also double as anetworking event where artists can get to know each other and find like-minded membersoftheir community

“Attending community events is pivotal for growingyour career and network.BRUFF’sfilmmaker forum is one greatexample of the festival’srobust education impact on thefilmmaking community in Baton Rouge,” says BRUFF Events Director Kelly Swift. “Whether it’stomeet fellow filmmakers, people in the industry,ortosimply share ideas about the community, attendthe forumtobroaden

OPEN MIC JAM: O’Hara’s Irish Pub, 8p.m

THURSDAY

BRIAN RITTENHOUSE:

T’Quilas, Denham Springs, 6p.m

WUNDERKIND: El Paso, Denham Springs, 6p.m

STEVE JUDICE, RYAN

HARRIS&JASON HARRINGTON: La Divina Italian Cafe, 6p.m.

BRANDON NICHOL-

SON: Superior GrillMidCity, 6p.m

KYBALION: El Paso, 6p.m

CAITLYN RENEE: Thai Kitchen,6 p.m.

MATT HOLT: Luna Cocina, 6p.m

DON POURCIAU &

KONSPIRACY: Pedros, Denham Springs, 6p.m

BEN RAGSDALE: On The Half Shell, Prairieville, 6:30 p.m.

ENUF: Swamp Chicken Daiquiris,St. Amant, 7p.m

KICKSBAND: Gino’s Italian, 8p.m

HENRY TURNER JR.

&ALL-STARS: Henry Turner Jr.’s Listening Room, 8p.m

KENDALL SHAFFER DUO: FatCat Saloon, Prairieville, 8p.m

HEATH RANSONNET: The Vineyard, 9p.m

BLUES JAM: Phil Brady’s, 9p.m

OUTLYING

FRIDAY

TREY &PAUL: Bayou

SaraBrewing,St. Francisville, 6:30 p.m.

SATURDAY

AVERYLANDRUM: BayouSaraBrewing, St.Francisville, 1p.m

COVER-6: Big J’s Side Porch, Clinton,6 p.m.

Compiled by Marchaund Jones. Want your venue’s musiclisted? Email info/photos to showstowatch@ theadvocate.com. The deadlineis noon FRIDAY for the following Friday’s paper

your reach andconnect with like-minded creatives in the industry.”

Sponsors,grants, donations

With support from sponsors, thefestival will be able to provide three grants to young filmmakers. The Shoestring Grant will award $5,000 cashtoafilmmaker to use on anew project. The LBLE PicturesGear Grant will award adirector or cinematographer withone week’srental of a1-ton grip andelectric package. The Celtic Studios Grant will award afilmmaker with five days of stage space. Alistofsponsors can be found at BatonRougeUnderground.com/#sponsors. Individuals can donate to support the nonprofit organization on BRUFF website and at https://www.paypal. com/donate/?hosted_button_id=DEP48THG3JFM8.

FAMILY

Continuedfrom page1D

Lucas is Wednesday’slove interest. He’splayed by TylerBrian in Sullivan Theater’sproduction of “The Addams Family,” opening Friday on itsstage at 8849 Sullivan Road,Central. Broadway debut

Themusical made its Broadway premiere on April8,2010,inthe LuntFontanne Theatre, treating audiences to all of the beloved charactersfrom Charles Addams’ daily comic strip, which inspired the1960s televisionseries whichinspired the 1990s movies.

And through each iteration,the family’sgothic authenticity is aconstant.

The family,inthis production, is headed by Gomez,the hopeless romantic patriarch played by Louis Mangiaracina, and Morticia, the aloof and unbreakable matriarch played by Carole Moore.

Butinthe spotlight is thebroodingWednesday, playedbyMichelle Willis,who not only has fallen in love with anormal guy she’ssworn herdad to silence about her secret.

He’snot even allowed to tellMorticia, theone person from whom he’snever kept asecret.

“Buthehas to keep this secret from her,” Mangiaracina said. “And it causes trouble for him later.”

Well familiar with Gomez Mangiaracina knowsGomezwell. He played the Addamsdad in ahigh school production.

“It was my first musical,” he said. “And when I learned that Sullivan would be doing ‘The Addams Family,’Ithought, ‘Why notdoit again?’

Why not, indeed?Especially when there’ssomuch comedyintertwinedwithin Gomez’sromanticdisposition. And Mangiaracina believesthis added comedy to Gomez’s character

Addams’ dark quarters when Lucas and his parents are invited to dinner How? Well,it’snot giving away any spoilers to reveal that Pugsly has atruth serum in his possession. But it would be amajor spoiler to reveal exactly what happens when he laces everyone’sbeverages withitat dinner

Mingling in the midst of all the action are the Addams’ ancestors, who have ventured out of their graves for theannualfamily celebration of all Addamses, living or dead.

This is where director Matt Miyagi wasable to wield his own magic into the production.

differentiatesthe musical from both the television and movie versions of the family

“He’sjust so funny in this show,” he said. “That’sjust what makes it so different.”

Some of that comedydoes arise from his alliance with Wednesday,whose odd love forLucas seems real.But why? Wednesday is as unbreakable as her mom, a cynicwhose unapologetic morbid view of the world is laced in dark comedy And Lucas?He’sjust an everydayguy living anormal life. Or is he?

“I thinkWednesday is very attracted to the fact that Tyler seemslike anormal person, but in reality, there’ssomething lurking underneath the surface that she latches on to,” Brian said. “And because of that, he latches on to Wednesday.So, they suit each other morethan people would think when they first look at them.”

Thetruth is revealed

Meanwhile, Wednesday’s youngerbrotherPugsly, played by AutumnDedon, doesn’tlike any of it and decidestobringthe truth to light —oratleast to whatever light is available in the

“I had areally fun idea to make the ancestors different in this show,”he said. “Typically,the ancestors, as they’rewritten in the script, are abride, a caveman, et cetera. But I decidedthatthe ancestors would be amix of historicalfigures,along with Tim Burton characters. So, we have the Corpse Bride from TimBurton’smovie, Katrina Anne VanTasselfrom‘SleepyHollow,’ JackSkellingtonfrom ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas,’ Zelda Fitzgerald and others. Ijust felt like it was something different, something Ihadn’tseen before and Iwanted to explore that.”

“The Addams Family” marks Miyagi’sSullivan Theater directorialdebut though he honedhis ghoulish comedy skills by directing aTheatre Baton Rouge production of “The Rocky Horror Show.”

But the Addams crew is much biggerthanthatof “Rocky.”

“Wehave 24 in the cast,” Miyagi said. “So, thisisa huge show.” Ashowwith love and secrets that stand ready to be revealed in the mysterious andspookyand alltogether ookyAddams Family abode.

Email RobinMillerat romiller@theadvocate. com.

FRIDAY-SATURDAY

EVENING SKY VIEWING:

8:30 p.m. to 10 p.m., BREC Highland Road Park Observatory,13800 Highland Road

See the majesty of the night sky,for those 6and up.hrpo. lsu.edu/events.

SATURDAY

RED STICK FARMERS MARKET:

8a.m. to noon, Fifth and Main streets, downtown. Farmfresh produce and goods,including wine, seafood, plants, flowers, prepared and baked items and more. breada.org

NPC NATURAL MUSCLE

BODYBUILDING COMPETI-

TION: 9a.m 8p.m., Manship Theatre, 100 Lafayette St. Formoreinformation or to sign up as acompetitor, visit the Louisiana Muscle site, https://louisianamuscle.com/ natural-muscle.

FAMILY-HOUR STARGAZING:

10 a.m., Irene W. Pennington Planetariumatthe Louisiana Art &Science Museum, 100 S. River Road.Learnabout the stars and constellations in the local nighttime sky followedbyanall-ages show lasm.org.

HAPPY’S50005K&BEER RUN:

5p.m.-7p.m., North Boulevard Town Square. Abenefit for Keep Tiger Town Beautiful. Includes the fast 5K, Beer Mile and festivecostume contest Also, Southern food along with beverages. $25-$65. https://runsignup.com.

SUNDAY

CAJUN MUSIC JAMSESSION:

3p.m.-5 p.m., West Baton Rouge Museum, 845N.Jefferson Ave., Port Allen. With host musician Cajun accordion artist Sheryl Cormier. All Cajun musicians, dancers and fans invited. Free. westbatonrougemuseum.org.

TUESDAY RED STICK FARMERS MARKET: 3p.m. to 6p.m., Main Library at Goodwood,7711 Goodwood Blvd. Farm-fresh produce, goods, cooking demonstrations. breada.org

BATONROUGECHESS CLUB: 6p.m.-8 p.m., La Divina Italian Cafe, 3535 Perkins Road, Unit 360. Achance to playand learn; all levels welcome. Free.

TUESDAYAND THURSDAY

TWILIGHTTOURS: 6p.m.7:30 p.m., BREC’sBaton Rouge Zoo, 3000 ZooCircle. Take a tram ridethroughthe zooin thecool of the evening, enjoy anarrated ride through the zoo, an animal encounter at theWildlife Safari Theatre and an evening snack.Adults and teens, $16; children ages 2-12, $13; registration required. https://brzoo.org/.

WEDNESDAY RED STICK FARMERS MARKET:

9a.m. to noon, ExxonMobil YMCA, 7711 Howell Blvd Farm-fresh produce,goods and more. www.facebook com/redstickfarmersmarket.

THURSDAY RED STICK FARMERS MARKET:

8a.m. to noon, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, 6400 Perkins Road.Farm-fresh produce, goodsand more. facebook.com/redstickfarmersmarket.

OUTDOOR COMMUNITY

YOGA: 6p.m. to 7p.m., pavilion by thepond, LSU Hilltop Arboretum, 11855 Highland Road. Drop-in; noregistration required; bring your ownmat. Free, butdonationswelcome. lsu.edu/hilltop.

WEEKLYSOCIAL BIKE RIDE: 7:30p.m., Geaux Ride, 601 Laurel St.Free.

By The Associated Press

Today is Friday,July17, the 198th day of 2026. There are 167 days left in the year

TodayinHistory: On July 17, 1955, Disneyland opened in Anaheim, California, after its $17 million, yearlong construction; the park drew amillion visitors in its first 10 weeks

Also on this date:

In 1862, during the Civil War, Congress approved the Second Confiscation Act, which declared that all enslaved people taking refuge behind Union lines were to be set free.

In 1902, Willis Carrier produced aset of designs for what would become the world’sfirst modernairconditioning system.

In 1936, the SpanishCivil Warbegan as right-wing army generals launched a coup attempt against the Second Spanish Republic.

In 1944, during World War II, 320 men, two-thirds of them African Americans, were killed when apair of ammunition ships exploded

KANYE

Continued from page1D

a song from the album, “Closed on Sunday.”

“You my Chick-Fil-A,” West rapped. “Hold the selfies. Put the ’gram away

at thePort ChicagoNaval Magazine in California. In 1945, following Nazi Germany’ssurrender, PresidentHarry S.Truman, Soviet leader Josef Stalin and British Prime Minister WinstonS.Churchillbegan meeting at Potsdam in the final Allied summit of World WarII. In 1981, 114 people were killed when apair of suspendedwalkways abovethe lobby of the Kansas City Hyatt Regency Hotel collapsed during atea dance In 1996, TWAFlight 800, aEurope-bound Boeing 747, exploded and crashed offLongIsland,New York, shortly after departing JohnF.Kennedy International Airport, killing all 230 people on board In 2014, all 298 passengers andcrew aboard MalaysiaAirlines Flight 17 were killed when theBoeing777 was shot down over rebel-held eastern Ukraine; both Ukraine’sgovernment and pro-Russian separatists denied responsibility. In 2020, civil rights icon

Get yourfamily.Y’all hold hands and pray Raise our sons. Train them in thefaith, through temptations. Make sure they’re wide awake. Follow Jesus. Listenand obey.”

Another of thenight’s selections, “Follow God,”featured West’ssignaturerap-

AROUND BATONROUGE

geauxridebikes.com.

KARAOKE,TRIVIA, BINGO AND MORE: 8p.m.to11p.m

BrickyardSouth Bar +Patio, 174 SouthBlvd. Presented by BarFly Entertainment. Free to play. acebook.com/brickyardsouth

ONGOING

ANN CONNELLYFINE ART: 1670 LobdellAve.Hours are 9a.m.to5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. Free. (225) 927-7676 or annconnelly.com.

ARTGUILD OF LOUISIANA: Independence Park Theatre, 7800 Independence Blvd. “Workshop Show,”through Sept. 9. Life Drawing sessions 6p.m.-9 p.m. Wednesdays $15 per session; open studio; no instruction. Classes are held at AGLPark Studio,2490 Silverest Ave.

BATONROUGEGALLERYCENTER FORCONTEMPORARYART: 1515 Dalrymple Drive. Works by Mitchell Gaudet, Mark Jane Parker and Brandon Surtain, through July 26. Hours:noon to 6p.m. Tuesday-Sunday. batonrougegallery.org.

CAPITOLPARK MUSEUM: 660 N. Fourth St. “Wethe People,” aliving portrait of 21st-century American identity through nearly 200 paired photographs by Steven G. Smith shown acrosstwo giant screens, together measuring about 12 feet highand 36 feet wide, through Jan. 2, 2027. (225) 342-5428 or louisianastatemuseum.org.

CARY SAURAGE COMMUNITY ARTS CENTER SHELL GALLERY: 233 St.FerdinandSt. “Tell AVision,” through Aug. 14. Hours arefrom9a.m.to 4p.m.weekdays.artsbr.org.

ELIZABETHAN GALLERY: 680 Jefferson Highway.Call (225) 924-6437 or followthe gallery’s Facebook page.

THE GALLERYATMANSHIP:

100 Lafayette St.“The Monsters We Sometimes Become,” multimedia art exhibition featuring original works of artist Nathaniel A.J. Landry with an original musical scoreand liveperformance by Monoblack,through Aug. 14. Hours are9 a.m. to 4p.m Monday,9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 9a.m to 11 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturdayand 11 a.m. to 5p.m.Sunday.

KNOCK KNOCK CHILDREN’S MUSEUM: 1900 Dalrymple Drive.Offering interactive exhibits, programs and resources that inspirechildren to become creativeproblem solvers and lifelong learners. Summer hoursare 10 a.m.4p.m. daily,through Aug. 3. https://knockknockmuseum. org.

LOUISIANA ART& SCIENCE

MUSEUM: 100 S. RiverRoad. “PermanentImpressions: Women Defining OurLouisianaCollection,” through Aug. 2; “Spirit of theSwamp: ThePhotographyofJulia Sims,” through Aug. 9; “Then, AndNow,And Always: The Artwork of NickBustamante,” through July 19; “Crossroads &Connections: ACentury of theRailway in Baton Rouge,” through Oct. 1; and“Going Places: Transportation Toys of the Past,” through Aug. 9. (225) 344-5272 or lasm.org.

LSU MUSEUM OF ART: Shaw Center forthe Arts, 100 Lafayette St.“ReVision: Women in Photography,”through Aug. 30. “South Arts Southern Prize &State Fellowships forVisual Arts, through Sept. 6. “The Folk ArtGallery,” through June 30, 2027. (225) 389-7200 or lsumoa.org.

LSU TEXTILE &COSTUME

MUSEUM: Human Ecology

John Lewis, whose bloody beating by Alabama state troopers in 1965 helped galvanize opposition toracial segregation, and who went on to along and celebrated career in Congress, died at age 80. In 2022, areport said nearly 400 law enforcement officials rushed to amass shooting that left 21 people dead at RobbElementary School in Uvalde, Texas, but “egregiously poor decision-making” resulted in achaotic scene that lasted morethan an hour before thegunman was finally confronted and killed.

Today’sbirthdays: Former sportscaster Verne Lundquist is 86. Queen Camilla of the United Kingdom is 79. Rock musician Terry “Geezer” Butler is 77. Actor Lucie Arnaz is 75. Actor David Hasselhoff is 74. Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel is 72. Film director Wong Kar-wai is 68. Television producer Mark Burnettis66. Singer ReginaBelle is 63. Country music artist Craig Morgan

ping alongsidethe chorus’ sung lines of “stretch outmy hands to you. His career in recent years has been overshadowed by a series of controversiesand unconventional affiliations.

Email KeithSpera at kspera@theadvocate.com.

Building, TowerDrive, LSU campus. “Quilts&Fashion,” exploring theenduring dialogue between quilt making and dress, through Jan. 15, 2027. (225) 578-5992 or email textile@lsu.edu

MAGNOLIA MOUNDMUSEUM

+HISTORIC SITE: 2161 Nicholson Drive.Guided and selfguided tours.10a.m. to 4p.m. Monday-Saturday and 1p.m. to 4p.m. Sunday.brec.org/ facility/MagnoliaMound

MANSHIP THEATRE JONES

WALKERFOYER: 100 Lafayette St. “Michalopoulos,” through Friday.Freeand open during regular Shaw Center building hours unless thereisa private event.

OLD GOVERNOR’SMANSION: 502 NorthBlvd. Open for tours.9 a.m. to 4p.m. Monday-Friday.Freeadmission. oldgovernorsmansion. com.

OLD STATECAPITOL: 100 NorthBlvd. 10 a.m. to 3p.m. Tuesday-Saturday,plus Free FirstSunday.“Excursions, Expeditions,and Discoveries: A Young Nation Expands &Reimaging America: The Maps of Lewis &Clark,”through Dec.

18. Free. louisianaoldstatecapitol.org.

USS KIDD VETERANS MUSEUM: 305 S. River Road. Displaysofavariety of artifacts that celebrate veteran and navalmilitary history.Note: Vessel is in Houma for dry dock repairs.usskidd.com. WESTBATON ROUGEMUSEUM: 845 N. Jefferson Ave., Port Allen. Travelexhibit “Awkward Family Photos,” through Aug. 9. (225) 336-2422 or westbatonrougemuseum.org.

CompiledbyJudy Bergeron. Have an open-to-the-public eventyou’dlike to promote? Email details to red@theadvocate.com. Deadline is 5p.m.Friday forthe following Friday’s paper

cANcER (June 21-July22) Alittle charm will carry youalong way when dealing with personal situations and people you want to keep by your side. Sticktothe truthand offer incentives. Be agood listener.

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Explorepossibilities, but hold your thoughts while gathering information. Bigtalkers willbemisleadingand eager to take advantage of you if yougive them thechance. Youcan be direct, but don't give away your ideas

VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) Waitand watch. The changes unfolding around you will have consequences that canhurtyour status quo. Pay more attention to what you can control, and investmoretime andeffort in expanding your interests

LIBRA(sept. 23-oct.23) Take adisciplined approach to learning, usingyourskills andoutmaneuvering anyone who challengesyou. Opportunities areapparent, but obstacles exist. Choosing the right path will be difficult.

scoRPIo(oct. 24-Nov. 22) An open mind will lead to seminars, documentaries and conversations with informative people whospark your imaginationand encourageyou to go on alearning expedition.

sAGITTARIus (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) If you venture off course,you'll encounter emotionally manipulative people. Your best opportunities will come from being selfserving, not counting on others to do things foryou.

cAPRIcoRN(Dec. 22-Jan.19) Takenote where your money goes. Don't feel you have to payfor others'entertainment or

mistakes.Let your income reflect your lifestyle. Don'thesitate to have tough talks with anyone youfeel is taking advantage of you.

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) An opportunity to workinafield that offers securityor to surround yourself with people who share your beliefs will encourage you to get out moreand enjoy what lifehas to offer.

PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Choose your battles wisely. Concentrate on nurturing important relationships. Social events, entertainment and activities you enjoy will put you in agood mood and give you achance to meet people.

ARIEs(March 21-April 19) Choose acreative outlet or social event that favorsa hobby or pastime you enjoy. Participation will lead to an interesting offer or concept that can change your lifestyle or how you earnyour living.

TAuRus (April 20-May 20) Socializing will lead to interesting conversations and an opportunity to hear about aprofessional opportunity or an introduction to someone of interest. Don'tfeel obligated to show off.

GEMINI (May 21-June20) You'll face emotionalobstacles if you participate in competitivechallengesthatputyourphysical well-being in jeopardy. It'sOKtocheer fromthe sidelines

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

FAMILYCIrCUS

bAILeY

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1to9inthe empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

THe wiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS CurTiS

Bridge

By PHILLIP ALDER

Gary Player said,“Agood golfer has thedeterminationtowinandthepatience to wait for the breaks.”

At the bridge table, the break in one suit can influence how declarer plays. In thisexample deal,Southisinfour spades.Westcashes histhree top clubs, thenshiftstotheheartthree.Howshould declarercontinue after taking East’s queen with his ace?

North,despite having abalanced hand, raisestotwo spades with three good trumps because he is very weak in an unbid suit.Ifhis side belongs in three no-trump, probably South should be the declarer. Andhere, when South jumps to four spades,heought to have at least afive-card suit so that he can guarantee an eight-cardfit.

South has nine top tricks: fivespades, one heartand three diamonds. He needs to establishafourth diamond trick. This willbeeasyifdiamondsarebreaking3-3, but if they are 4-2, declarer will have to ruff adiamond in his hand, draw trumps and be in the dummytocash the last two diamonds

Thekey question is: How are the trumps dividing?

Southcashes his spade queen, then plays aspade to dummy’s king. If they split 4-1, declarer will have to draw trumps and hope that the diamonds divide 3-3. Here, though, he next plays adiamondtohis ace, returnsadiamond to dummy’s queen, ruffs adiamond high in hishand, leads aspade to dummy’s ace (drawingWest’slast trump), and cashes the diamond king and six for his contract. ©2026 by NEA,Inc., dist. By AndrewsMcMeel Syndication

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

Previous answers:

word game

INsTRucTIoNs: 1. Words must be

ToDAy’s WoRD GLABRous: GLAY-bruss: Smooth.

Average mark 24 words

Canyou find 33 or more words in GLABROUS?

wuzzles

loCKhorNs

Amen! G.E. Dean

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles hidato mallard