The Acadiana Advocate 07-18-2026

TUMBLING DOWN

Demolition of Coburn building in downtown Lafayettebegins

Demolition of theold Coburn buildingbegan on Fridayindowntown Lafayette. Theproperty,owned by the state Department ofTransportation and Development, has sat abandoned for years. In May, rotting wood beams in thebuildingcollapsed,taking the roof and partofthe wall with it. The building dates backto the late 1800s andwas once the site of Merchants Grocer Co., whichleft the buildingin1976, accordingto archives.

‘Never stop tellingtheir stories’

BR honors fallen officers on anniversary of ambush

BY BLAKE LESCHBER Staff writer

Officer Matthew Gerald’smother

Patricia wears ahomemade necklace with his photo on it. Her sister made one for all of the family members of the four law enforcement officers who died in the July 17, 2016, ambush.

“People will ask, ‘Who is that

youhave around your neck?’”Pa-

tricia Geraldsaid. “ThenI get to tell amagical story,especially in July It’sjust away to keep their memory alive.”

This is oneofmany waysthatthe Baton Rouge community honored the10th anniversary of ashooting that took thelives of four law enforcement officers.

On July 17, 2016, six officers were shot in an ambush at aconveniencestore off AirlineHighway,about amile from theBaton Rouge Police Department headquarters. Three of them —Cpl. MontrellJackson, Officer Matthew

Gerald andsheriff’s DeputyBrad Garafola —died that day.Almost sixyears later, sheriff’s Sgt. Nick Tullier succumbed to his wounds.

At 8a.m. Friday, community members walked from the police headquarters to the Benny’sBQuik convenience store, honoring the exact time stamp —8:40 a.m. —when theambush occurred.

Later,at3 p.m., about 300 law enforcement officers, family members and community members gathered at amemorial at the police headquarters to remember

Cyclospora linked to contaminated lettuce

BY STEPHANIERIEGEL Staff writer

The food-borne parasitic outbreak that can cause extreme diarrhea and has affected several U.S. states, including Louisiana, is creating headaches forowners of local restaurants andsupermarkets.

They’ve stopped buying some bagged shredded lettuce, which hasbeen linkedtothe outbreak, and scrambled to ensure the lettuce they do have is safe.

“I heard about it on the ‘Today’ show like everybody else, so Istopped ordering it and started buying headsoficeberg lettuce instead,” said Cindy Mandina, afourth-generation owner of Mandina’s,a Mid-City establishment known for

ä See STORIES, page 5A ä

Documents don’tprove Trump’sclaims, review finds

Presidenthas long alleged voterfraud,foreign interference

BY JILL COLVIN and ERIC TUCKER Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Donald Trumpreleased atrove of documentsduring aprime-time address to the nationthatallies hadhypedasasmoking gun that would prove his long-debunked allegations of massvoter fraud.

Speaking from theWhiteHouseonThursday night, he described shocking revelations, like Chinese meddling to undermine his failed candidacy in 2020 and acover-up by the “deep state.” He claimed, “Americans were blatantly lied to about the security of our election infrastructure.”

But areview by The Associated Press found no

ä See TRUMP, page 5A

STAFF PHOTO ByLESLIE WESTBROOK

Riders with the GulfCoast Brotherhood pass under an American flag Friday as part of amemorial service to honor four Baton Rougelaw enforcement officers who died in a2016 ambush.

STAFF PHOTO

By MICHAEL JOHNSON

See OUTBREAK, page 5A

Body found after boat tragedy in San Francisco SAN FRANCISCO Police have recovered the bodyofawoman who was one of three people missing after aboatsankthis week in San Francisco Bay

The body was identifiedasTondra Madruga, 58, also known as Tondra Miller,the San Francisco medical examiner saidFriday Madruga’sbody was recovered Thursday by apolice marine unit, two days after the Volare,a 49-foot cabin cruiser,sank with 20 people aboard after being hit by awave and capsizing. The group was on the boat to scatter the ashes of aloved one.

One man, Clifford Boisa, died immediatelyafter being retrieved from thechillywater

The U.S. Coast Guard suspended rescue efforts Wednesday evening but police are still looking forthe missing.

Ralph Boisa said his extended family and some close friends were on the boat Tuesday to celebrate the life of his daughter,who died over adecadeago. Madruga was afriend.

The two people who remain missing are Ralph Boisa’s sister, Carol, and Clifford Boisa’swife, Jackie, he said.

Magnitude7.3 quake hits southernMexico

MEXICO CITY Mexican authorities were reporting no immediate damage after astrong earthquake struck in the Pacific Ocean off the coastofthe southern state of Chiapas, resulting in shakinghundreds of miles away in Mexico City

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake —with amagnitude of 7.3 —occurred at 8:48 a.m., with an epicenter about 30 miles southwestofthe city of Huixtla, in Chiapasstate, near the border with Guatemala. ReportsinChiapas indicated aseries of aftershocks as panickedresidents left their homes as aprecaution.

Trump urges Darline Graham to runfor term COLUMBIA,S.C.— President Donald TrumpsaidFriday that Darline Graham,the sister of thelate Lindsey Graham, has his support to run for afull term to replace her brother in the U.S. Senate. He wrote on socialmedia that she “has been aWINNER all of her life and, should she accept, has my Complete and Total Endorsement.”

The president said he had discussed apotential campaign with Darline Graham at the WhiteHouse.Four peoplefamiliar with the deliberations, none of whom were authorized to speak publicly,had previously said that she privately expressed interest in running. Plans for Lindsey Graham’s funeral were also announced Friday.There will be aservice in Washington on July 28 and more in South Carolina on July 29. After both of theirparents diedwhen Darline Graham was only13, Lindsey became her legal guardian and later adopted her,toensure his military benefitswould flowtoher

Man confronts ‘Today’ show host, is arrested

NEW YORK NBC reportedly fired asecurity guard afteran intruder breached the “Today” show set, where he sought out Al Roker and Craig Melvin, allegedlyusing racial slursand turningviolent before being taken into custody Asource close to the matter

confirmed the guard’stermination to TMZ after Andrew Truelove snuck into Studio 1A in New York City’sRockefeller Center

The suspect allegedly entered through the lobby,then followed closely behind an employee, who used an ID card to scan in to a restricted area, according to a complaint in the case. Truelove then made his way backstage, where he apparently beganto search for 71-year-old Roker. According to the complaint, a person identified as Informant 2—presumably Melvin—spottedthe suspectatthe bottom of astairwell in an “Employees Only” zone. Truelove, 41, was charged with burglary and menacing, both as hate crimes, in addition to criminal trespass and harassment in connection with the case

U.S.,Iranescalateattacks

Airstrikes hitmorebridges;tower collapsesatkey port

BY JON GAMBRELL Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates— The United States and Iran escalated their attacks across the Middle East on Friday,trading strikes aimed at infrastructure andmilitary targets as their battle over the Strait of Hormuz intensified.

The U.S. expanded itsattacks against Iran by hitting more bridges and energy sites andcollapsing atower at akey Iranian port, following through on President Donald Trump’sthreats to pressure Tehran to ease its chokeholdon the waterway vital to world energysupplies.

In response,Iranlaunched missilesintoU.S.-allied nations in the

Mideast,including Qatar,a mediatorinthe war,and Kuwait, where oneofthe desert nation’swater desalination plantswas damaged.

U.S. Central Commandsaid late Friday it had launched its seventh straight night of attacks aimed at degrading Iran’smilitary

The price of oil rose Friday above $86 abarrel, close to its highest level in amonth,ascrossingsthrough the strait fell to a three-week low,according to an international shipping tracker

TheU.S. airstrikeshit bridges overnight into Friday in Iran’s southern Hormozganprovince, Iranianstate television reported The attacks hit Bandar Khamir,a city on the Strait of Hormuz.

The highway and railway bridge strikes appeared aimed at cutting off Bandar Abbas, Iran’smain port, from roads leading into the

Islamic Republic’scentral region onward to Tehran, the capital.

Iran acknowledged“attackson power infrastructure” during the U.S.airstrike campaign for the first timeFriday when itsEnergy Ministry issued acallfor people to use lesspower in southern provinces “experiencing extreme heat.” The ministry did notspecify what was hit.

Iranian authorities said at least 46 people have been killedand more than 400wounded in recent U.S. strikes, including eight killed in astrikeonabridge Friday

U.S. officials acknowledged 13 additional U.S.service members —10Army soldiers andthree Navysailors —had been injured sinceMonday,but offered no furtherdetails.Since thewar began, 14 U.S.servicemembers have been killed and427 wounded.

Lawmakersdemand answersonICE vetting

Officerwho shot man in Mainehas hadpast mental health issues

BY LISA MASCARO AP congressional correspondent

WASHINGTON Democratic members of Congress are demanding answers about Homeland Security’svetting andtraining of immigration enforcement agents afterit was disclosed that the ICE officer involved in adeadly shooting this week in Maine had ahistory of mental health issues andviolentbehavior

The Associated Press reported Thursdaythat DavidBrouillette, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who shot aColombian man in Maine, is an Army veteranwho has struggled with serious mental health issues since early childhood, according to several of his close relatives.

TheAPreached out to congressional leaders andseveral key lawmakers of both majorpolitical partiesfor response.

The top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Bennie Thompson ofMississippi, said Brouillette’shistory of violence and mental health issues and thedeath in Biddeford, Maine, “directly call intoquestion the supposed vettingand training ICE does of its recruits.”

“Thissenseless tragedy must be investigated and the officer responsible should be takenoff ourstreets andface justicefor his actions,” Thompson saidin astatementtothe AP Brouillettedidn’trespond to text messages or an email seeking comment, but three relativeswho said they had spoken to himsince theshooting, including an ex-wife and adaughter,said he told them he acted in self-defense.

BY DANICA KIRKA Associated Press

LONDON Brenda Fricker,who became the first Irish woman to win an Academy Award for her role as BridgetFagan Brown in the 1989 film “MyLeft Foot,” died ThursdayinDublin. She was 81. Fricker won theAcademy Awardin 1990 for best supporting actressfor her portrayal of the determined mother of Christy Brown, awriter and painter who wasbornwithcerebralpalsyand could control only his left foot. Daniel Day-

SenateMinority Leader Chuck Schumer,D-N.Y., wholed ashutdown of the Department of Homeland Security earlier this year as Democratstried to impose restraintsonimmigration enforcement operations, said the consequences of failing to put guardrails on ICE are now being measured in lives.

President DonaldTrump’sadministration“rushed12,000 agents onto our streetswithout ensuring they were fit to carry abadge and agun —and Republicans gavethisrogue agency vast power andnoaccountability,”Schumersaidina statement. “They empowered ICE.Now theymust work with us to prevent more killings.

The report on Brouillette’stroubling past comes as the Department of Homeland Security has been on ahiring spree, fueled by vast sumsofmoney from Republicans in Congress to help carry out Trump’smass deportationagenda. It raises fresh questionsabout the department’sefforts to quickly hire,vet, train anddispatch recruits who are being sent to patrol communities across America.

Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the Republican chair of the powerful AppropriationsCommittee, said earlier that it is “extremely unfortunate” that the agent did not have abody-worn camera.

The senator ensured $20 millionfor expanded use of body-worncameras and $2 millionfor de-escalation training as partofthe Homeland Security funding bill that Congress approved to end the departmentshutdown.

At least10people have diedinencounters with immigration agents since Trumplaunched the crackdown after retakingoffice, including 25-year-old Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, the Colombian national who was shot and killed by Brouillette on Mondaywhile in hiscar nearhis home in thecoastal Mainecity of Biddeford.

Lewis, who played Brown,won bestactor She later spoke of how the award doomed her to being typecast to forever playingrolesasmothers. Laterinlife, she said she used the weighty statuette to prop open her bathroom door Fricker,who appeared in more than 90 filmsand television shows between 1964 and2024, was known forher role as the “pigeon lady” in the 1992 film “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” where she played ahomeless woman who befriended Macaulay Culkin’scharacter in New York’sCentral Park.

Central Commandsaid it hit dozens of military and military infrastructure targets in Friday’s airstrikes.

The strikes collapsed atower at Iran’s Chabaharportonthe Gulf of Oman, akey traderoute forlandlocked,neighboringAfghanistan, thestate-runIRNAnewsagency reportedand theU.S. military later confirmed.

Iransaid the tower oversees commercial traffic into the port. But Central Command said it was part of amaritime surveillancenetwork usedbyIran’sparamilitary Revolutionary Guard to “track and target” commercial vessels in the strait.

In Kuwait, authorities said Iran attacked apower and water desalination plant, causing widespread damage to the station. Kuwait said it extinguishedthe blaze and wasworking to assess the damage and get the station working again. About 90% of the country’sdrinking water comes from desalination.

BY ANDYWONG Associated Press

CHONGQING, China Alandslide Fridayonthe outskirts of thesouthwestern Chinese city of Chongqing killed at leasteightpeople andleft 34 missing, burying residential buildings andforcing morethan 1,100 people to evacuate, according to local officials and state media reports.

Thelandslide occurred at around 9:08 a.m. in Pengshui Countyonthe outer edge of the Chongqing municipality,when massive amounts of rocks and soil washed downslope, burying morethan 10 residentialbuildings, state broadcaster CCTV said.

Tenpeople were rescued from thedebris, including twowho were seriously injured, Pengshui County Mayor Ren Xujiang said. Chinese President Xi Jinping asked authorities to determine the cause of the disaster,state media said.

The landslide contained about636,000 cubicfeet of rocks and debris, and the largest single rock was around106,000cubic feet, said Wang Chuanjun, head

of Planning and Natural ResourcesinPengshui County,atanewsconference.

Wang also warned of persistent risk of further collapse under extreme weather conditions, such as heavy rainfall or prolongedperiods of clear and hot weather,based on experts’ field inspections that foundscattered unstable rock masses remain at the top and along the sides of the steep cliff.

Water,electricity and gas supplies were cut off within a0.6-mile radius of the landslide to prevent furtherdisruptions. Over 800 rescuers workedon site,alocal government statement said. Residents said local officials andcommunities organized an evacuation after small rocksfell andunusualsounds were heardfromthe hills. The landslide happened during the evacuation, local newspaper Chongqing Daily reported. Rescue efforts were hinderedbythe unstable terrain and the risk of another landslide,according to the broadcaster

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ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By CHARLES KRUPA People hold signs in protest during avigil Fridayfor Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, aColombian national whowas shot and killed by an ICE agent, in Biddeford, Maine.

Texas floods leave big cleanup job ahead

More than 570 people rescued

BY JESSE BEDAYN, JAMIE STENGLE and JOHN HANNA Associated Press

UVALDE,Texas First responders in storm-battered Texas again rushed to save people trapped in high waters Friday, as more heavy rain widened the danger from floods that have killed at least two people and left hundreds more in need of rescue.

A week of punishing downpours dumped more than 2 feet in some areas. The rain was expected to taper off, but another round of showers worsened already swollen rivers and flooded rural communities near the border with Mexico that had largely been spared major damage Near Ozona, a small town about 200 miles west of San Antonio, floodwaters spilled over Interstate 10. More than 50 people were rescued by boat from flooded apartments and a waterlogged RV park

A section of a bridge also collapsed over the Nueces River in Uvalde County, where months’ worth of rain has fallen in a span of days. In Uvalde, about 80 miles southwest of San Antonio, floodwaters rushed through Miguel Vasquez’s home twice this week, leaving a layer of mud and knocking over his refrigerator and other items

Debris was strewn around his neighborhood and a neighbor’s shed teetered over a washed-away section of the property. He said Friday that he’d been caught in the waters’ current and nearly been swept away and drowned in trying to get to his house Wednesday “I had to grab on with my hands and my feet. You couldn’t swim,” he said “People think that when there’s a flood, you can swim. Swimming’s not going to help you. It’ll take you. The current’s too strong.”

Almost a trillion gallons of water

Nearly 1 trillion gallons of water fell on the three hardest-hit counties over three days enough to fill 1.5 million Olympic-sized swim-

ming pools or supply 11 million homes for a year

Uvalde County alone got more rain in that period than California has seen over the last month, according to Ryan Maue, former chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association.

The Hill Country is especially prone to flash floods because the area’s signature limestone is covered by just a thin layer of soil. During heavy rains, water can quickly shoot downhill before filling the narrow river basins.

Emergency personnel across a wide swath of southern and central Texas have rescued more than 570 people, including stranded drivers and people trapped in homes, Gov

Greg Abbott said. Hill Country residents were beginning to clean up after floodwaters again barreled down the Guadalupe River and through communities still reeling from deadly floods a year ago.

Giant border buoys set adrift

Floodwaters on the Rio Grande temporarily closed the two international bridges on the border with Mexico at Eagle Pass, stranding a few people on the wrong side.

About 600 huge buoys placed on the river to deter migrants from crossing into the U.S. illegally were set adrift by the rising waters, U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar said. Cuellar said about 480 of them were captured by noon Friday Critics have worried about the damage the buoys might do if they became untethered and got caught along banks and against bridge piers. Each is about 15 feet long and weighs 1,000 pounds.

In the Hill Country, Serena Reyna woke up Thursday morning to find her Kerrville boutique, Nu Accents, covered in debris after four feet of floodwater rushed into the store. She described the store as “a total loss.”

“The floors, I mean they’re soaked in mud and still you know an inch of water in some spots,” she said.

The Texas Department of Transportation said high waters closed a 50-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 57 and that parts of the roadway were not expected to reopen until

Monday In all, roughly 6 million residents across Texas were under a flood watch at various points this week. A return to flooded homes

Floodwaters had overrun Uvalde and cut off most outside routes, making it one of the hardest hit cities. The waters were receding Friday, and officials said a major highway, Route 90, had reopened.

One person died while driving on a flooded road, swept away near Uvalde, authorities said.

Another victim, 65-year-old John Mark Steward of Kerrville, died after his mobile home was swept into Goat Creek on the Guadalupe River, his wife said. The same river was wrecked by flash floods last year when two dozen children and counselors died at Camp Mystic. Authorities on Thursday said summer campers were safe.

In Ozona, the seat of Crockett County, authorities used seven rescue boat teams to get people out of the hardest-hit areas They were taken to the local civic center for shelter

Eddie Martin, the county’s emergency management director, said the area received 6 inches of rain after midnight, on top of nearly 10 inches of rain before that.

“We have more and more accidents on the interstate,” he said. “We have more and more water pouring into the neighborhoods where we’ve been pulling people out of.”

Fires’ smoke pushes farther into U.S., engulfs D.C.

BY PHILIP MARCELO Associated Press

NEW YORK Millions of people in the Great Lakes, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states muddled through another day of unhealthy air from uncontrolled wildfires on Friday

The thick smoke enveloped the nation’s capital in a gloomy, eerie haze

Warnings of dangerous conditions were expected to remain in effect through Saturday across a wide swath of the U.S., though there’s potential for temporary improvement with storms forecast in some affected areas during the weekend.

D.C. resident Stewart Verdery awoke Friday to take in his usual sunrise view of the city’s famous landmarks from a rooftop, only to be greeted by a darkened horizon and no monuments in sight.

“It’s pretty crazy to wake up at sunrise and not see the sun when it’s not even raining,” he said by phone after posting a video of the surreal scene on X. “And it smells

like somebody’s having the world’s largest cookout.

No end in sight

There may be pockets of relief at times, such as this weekend, but the smoky conditions won’t be gone anytime soon as the fires continue to burn largely unchecked, cautioned Bob Oravec, a lead forecaster at the National Weather Service based in Maryland Wildfires are burning in the Ontario area of Canada as well as the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota, which U.S officials have closed as they fight to put out the blazes.

“The source of the smoke is going to continue on for certainly a week, probably,” Oravec said “It’s just going to depend upon which way the wind’s blowing as to where the smoke is going to affect the most.”

On Friday, communities in Minnesota, Illinois and Michigan, including Detroit, again registered some of the worst air quality in the world, according to IQAir, an air quality monitoring website.

Not far behind Detroit was Washington, D.C., where the smoke created eerie scenes.

The Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial and other national landmarks were enveloped in an orange-hued haze throughout much of the day

People, particularly those with heart or lung disease, older adults and children, were urged to limit or avoid going outside until air quality improved.

Long-term exposure to smoky conditions can complicate existing health problems and lead to chronic and deadly issues, including respiratory illness, cardiovascular and neurological diseases and premature death, officials warned.

For Maria Travela, Friday was her first day outside since after smoke from the wildfires blanketed the Chicago area early Thursday

“Now it’s better This morning, it was bad,” said Travela, who has asthma and wore a mask as she crossed a bridge over the Chicago River downtown. “They were saying that, for people like me, with asthma, any kind of is-

Burnham is declared leader of U.K.’s Labour Party, pledges to restore hope

BY JILL LAWLESS Associated Press

sues like that it would be bad for your lungs.”

Trump criticizes Canada

Hundreds of wildfires are burning in Canada, including about 190 in northern Ontario, Premier Doug Ford said at a news conference. Flames destroyed the Namaygoosisagagun First Nation community, and 10 northern Ontario communities have been evacuated or were being evacuated, with more possible.

The increase of fire in vast

Canadian forests has largely been blamed on climate change.

In response to the smoke, U.S. President Donald Trump made a social media post Friday that blamed Canada for its forest management and threatened additional tariffs on Canada.

The Canadian government didn’t initially respond to questions about Trump’s comments.

Asked about a Michigan lawmaker’s criticism about the smoke, Ford noted Can-

ada has helped the U.S. fight fires in the past.

“If there’s some politicians out there chirping away, maybe what you should do rather than complain is send support, send help, because we have done the exact same thing for our American friends and that’s what you’re supposed to do,” Ford said.

Saturday brings a high chance of thunderstorms across much of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, which will help dampen the bad air.

LONDON Andy Burnham was officially declared leader of Britain’s governing Labour Party on Friday, promising to bring hope to the British people and purpose to the floundering government as he cleared his final hurdle to take office as prime minister next week. The former mayor of Greater Manchester was the only contender in the center-left party’s leadership contest to replace departing Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who was forced out by a rebellion within his party Friday’s announcement was a foregone conclusion after Burnham secured nominations from 379 of the 403 Labour lawmakers in the House of Commons. Burnham pledged to serve “people and places who have been waiting too long for politics to let them hope again.”

He sketched out some priorities in Friday’s speech, promising to deliver “hope in every heart” and “good growth in every post code,” in part by transferring power from central government in London to local leaders in cities and regions.

“We will take power back from Westminster and Whitehall and give it to the place you live,” he told the audience.

Starmer announced last month that he would resign after two years in office marred by missteps and judgment errors that eroded his standing with his party and the public.

Labour regularly trails behind anti-immigration party Reform UK in opinion polls, and the governing party had catastrophic results in local elections in May, triggering pressure on Starmer to step down that he couldn’t resist.

‘Series of wrong turns in the 1980s’

“We’re going to give them hope back,” he told an audience of lawmakers, party activists and trade union leaders in his first speech as leader. “I am ready.”

“I have a plan,” he added, in a bid to reassure a party that has seen its popularity nosedive since a landslide election victory two years ago He pledged to end Labour’s factional disputes saying “we won’t beat Britain’s new right if we are consumed by infighting and pulling in different directions.” PM in waiting is about to take office

Burnham has been prime minister-inwaiting for weeks, since winning a special election for a seat in Parliament a month ago, but he has revealed little detail about his policy priorities. He will arrive in Number 10 Downing Street largely unknown to voters outside Manchester

He highlighted plans to focus on economic renewal, more public control of key sectors and creating new modern industrial jobs, arguing that Britain took “a series of wrong turns in the 1980s” when “political power was centralized and economic power privatized.”

That’s the decade when Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher oversaw policies of privatization, deindustrialization and political centralization that transformed the U.K. economy

“Slowly, at times imperceptibly, over four decades, political and economic power drained away out of our communities in every region and nation of the U.K.,” Burnham said, calling Britain’s change of prime ministers for the sixth time in a decade — the most significant change moment in our politics for 40 years.”

Starmer will remain prime minister until Monday, when he formally tenders his resignation to King Charles III. The king will then ask Burnham to form a government

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By GERALD HERBERT

An aerial view shows flooding on Friday in Ozona, Texas.

Mullin pushes states to comply with election demands

BY ALI SWENSON and COLLIN BINKLEY Associated Press

WASHINGTON Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on Friday warned that state officials couldlose funding or face investigations if they fail to go alongwithPresident DonaldTrump’selection security demands,part of the Republican president’s longstanding attempt to undermine Americans’ confidence in the vote.

Experts said the threats— issued just months before midterm elections that will determine control of Congress —were likely hollow because Trump’svoting initiatives have been stalledby judges and theConstitution gives states control over how elections are run.

Nevertheless,Mullin’sremarks, delivered from the White House complex one day after Trump’sprimetime address on the topic, could further doubts about election processes andcreate headaches for statesas they prepare for November “Weabsolutely can build confidence in the American

people,but the stateshave to do their part,” Mullin said.

Trump continues to falsely claimthatDemocrat Joe Bidenwon onlybecause of fraudin2020, and he’s tried to marshal the powers of thefederal government to rewrite that history since he returned to office last year—even though judges and his own attorneygeneral in his first term concluded the election was legitimate.

Department of Homeland Security’sinvestigation was conducted using public data, which election experts say is insufficiently detailed and updated toproperly identify whetheraregisteredvoter is anoncitizen.

Mullin insistedthat the president was not relitigatingthe 2020 election, “although he definitely could at this point.

“This is just aboutexposing what took place and making sure it never happens again,” he said Duringhis remarks, Mullin advanced an unsubstantiatedclaim Trump made Thursday that the federal government hadfound 250,000 noncitizen voters on the rolls in California, Nevada, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He said the

ClaraEster,activist whorushedtoKing afterhewas shot,dies

BY TRAVIS LOLLER and KRISTIN M. HALL Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. Clara Ester,anactivist whoasa 20-year-old college student rushed to theRev.Martin Luther King Jr.’sside when he was shot, has died. Ester,who died on July 9 at the age of 78, was among afew remaining witnesses to King’sassassination and its immediate aftermathin Memphis. With the passing of the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr.inFebruaryand Ester this month, King aide and former U.N. ambassador Andrew Young is believed to be thelast survivingeyewitness to the shooting.

Ester Grew up in Memphis attending Centenary United Methodist Church, where her pastor was civil rights leader the Rev.James Lawson.

“Weused to joke about coloredwater being Kool-Aid and the white water just being water,and so that satisfied us as children,” Ester told The Associated Press in 2018, around the 50th anniversary of King’s death. “But until you see the racism,untilyou seewhat has been withheld from you because of your color —is what started to really truly anger me. And Iknew if there was amovementthat could help change any of that, Ihad to be in it.” Civil rights issues were oftendiscussed fromthe pulpit of her church, Ester said. Lawson was very involved in the sanitation workers’ strike, so it was natural for her to become involved too.

“I got to the point that I didn’tmiss amass meeting,” she said. “I picketed every day that the picket lines were up.”

Even 50 years later,she clearlyremembered the impact of hearing King’s speech at the Mason Temple the night before he was

assassinated and how it seemed toforeshadow his death thenext day

“Hehad seenthe mountaintop,” Estersaid. “Itwas evident on the balcony how calm.”

Esterhad gonetothe LorraineMotel for dinner on April 4, 1968, when shesaw Kingchatting on thebalcony with people below.Thenshe heard ashot

“He was speakingcalmly and pleasantly to acrowd,” she said. “Andsohewas happy at that moment. But to lay there with hiseyes open, looking toward heaven. He hadseenthe promised land, and he may not get there with us, but he promised that we as apeople will see the promisedland.”

Ester said she rantoKing and saw he was struggling for air.She triedto loosen his belt and asked someone to bring towels to tryto staunch the bleeding. After King was taken awayby ambulance, she had to stay at thehotel,whereshe was questioned by police.

Whenshe was finally allowed to go home, her parents asked if shewas OK.

“I said,‘No, I’mnot OK. There’ssomethingwrong with this.’ And it was many months laterthat Iguess at some point, Ijustbroke down,” Ester said She left Memphis to work elsewhere that summer and as soon as she finished school, sheleft for good.

“It’sjusttoo much to …it hurt me that it happened, but it hurt me that it happened in my hometown,that that’sthe legacy for this city,” shesaid Ester moved to Mobile, Alabama, where shefoundwork as aneighborhood organizer at the DumasWesleyCommunity Center,according to herobituary.She laterwas named the executive director of the center,serving inthat role until sheretired in 2006. In 1986, shewas commissioned as adeaconess in the UnitedMethodist Church, a type of lay minister.She remained active in the church throughout her life.

Election officials in California and Pennsylvania said theywould reviewthe Trump administration’s findings but noted thatthey conduct their own voterlist maintenance andnoncitizen voting is exceedingly rare.Research has supportedthat finding.

CaliforniaGov.Gavin Newsom,a Democrat, responded to Mullin’sthreats with apost on social media.

“California hasfree, fair, and secure elections and we will fight for them,” he wrote. “Try us.”

In Nevada, Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar, alsoa Democrat, said he was confidentinthe integrityofthe state’svoter file.

Mullin also pledged to aggressively monitor public voter lists to pursue potential voter fraud cases before and after the 2026 election.

“If you are an illegalor youare voting illegally,we

will hunt you down, we will find youand we will prosecute you,”hesaid. He urged states to participate in DHS’ recently overhauled SAVE program, afederal tool central to the Trump administration’s efforts to nationalize elections. At least 25 states have used it to check theirvoter rolls since April 2025, after theTrumpadministration significantly expandedits search abilities, andthe Trump administration has demanded thatstatessubmit their sensitive voter data to the programtofully audit their voter lists.

Mullinsaidifstate officials don’tparticipate in SAVE, they could face fines, penalties or prison time.

But the overhauled program’suse was recently blocked by afederal judge over concernsabout privacy and wrongful purges of eligiblevoters.The case includedvoters whose registrations were wrongly flaggedbythe program, temporarily threatening their place on the rolls.

David Becker,the executive director of the nonprofit

Center forElectionInnovationand Research, said Mullin was making empty threats.

“Every court to consider theDOJ’sdemands —15 of them to date, six of those judges appointed by President Trump— have confirmed that the federal government cannotlegally demand access to states’ sensitive voter data,” he said. “What he’ssuggesting is illegal.”

In addition, Trump’s efforts to pass the SAVE Act, federallegislationthatwould require proof of citizenship for voter registration,has stalledinthe Senate. Republicans don’thave enough votes to change the filibuster rules and pass it without Democratic support.

Mullin also elevated Trump’sconcerns about vulnerabilities in electronic voting machines —which voting experts have long acknowledged. While Trump suggested Thursday that theserisks make it possible to “rig” the vote, election officials say there are numerous safeguards in place to prevent that, including

$2,500 OBO

BY JOSH KELETY Associated Press

physical security,votingmachine tests, postelection reviewsand paper ballotbackups in mostofthe country

To address the concerns, Mullin said the nation’sCybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency,which sits under DHS, would release an updated election infrastructure plan within 30 days andprovide cyber threat resourcestoelection officials if they participate in SAVE.

However,Trump has broadly dismantledthe agency’s election security operation.

CISA waslargelyabsent fromits long-held role assisting states in last year’s elections after the Trump administration conducteda reviewofits election work, placed more than adozen election-focusedstaffers on administrative leave and slashed$10 million from two cybersecurity initiatives, including onededicated to helping state andlocal election officials. Theagency is also still without aSenateconfirmed director and has cycled through aseries of acting leaders.

Ester

Mullin

OUTBREAK

Continued from page 1A

its gumbo, pastas and fried shrimp and oyster loaf “Now, I’m shredding it myself, old school.”

The outbreak of the cyclospora parasite, as the bug is called, has been linked to Taco Bell locations in five states that served bagged shredded lettuce from one of the country’s largest agricultural producers, Taylor Farms.

Louisiana was not among the states identified by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Still, the number of reported cases in Louisiana of the parasitic infection have more than doubled in one week to 55, including five hospitalizations, underscoring the many questions that still remain about other potential sources of the outbreak.

Reports on the parasite have not gone unnoticed. At Canseco’s, which owns six supermarkets in the New Orleans region, produce sales have slipped slightly in recent days, according to owner Sinesio Canseco, even though the store doesn’t carry Taylor Farms lettuce.

So far, though, the reaction has mostly been muted.

“We haven’t heard much from customers, at least not yet,” said Canseco. “That could change. People get paranoid pretty fast.”

Common source

Since May 1, the CDC has received reports of 1,645 confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis in the U.S. and is aware of more than 5,100 cases that require further analysis to confirm the illness

In Louisiana, cases have been reported in every region of the state, with the highest numbers in

STORIES

Continued from page 1A

the lives lost that day

“Today is one of those defining days of our city, that everyone can think back and remember where you were 10 years ago,” Baton Rouge police Chief TJ Morse said “The memories of those heroes will never leave us. Their smiles, their service, the way they raise their children, loved their families, lifted up their friends and looked after this community.”

The shootings at Benny’s BQuik lasted a little under 14 minutes. The gunman Gavin Long, a 29-year-old former Marine who traveled from Kansas City to Baton Rouge to target law enforcement officers — chose the location because it’s about a mile from police headquarters. Officers often dropped by the store for coffee and other items, District Attorney Hillar Moore said.

Before speeches Friday, dozens of charity members arrived at the headquarters on bicycles, biking 90 miles from Slidell. Michelle

TRUMP

Continued from page 1A

such confirmation in the collection of newly declassified reports, investigation files, intelligence analysis and assorted correspondence. Many pages are so heavily redacted that their findings are unclear Others outline vulnerabilities and assessments that have been welldocumented for years. There’s no evidence that China or any other foreign entity manipulated the vote in 2020 or any other year

“The White House promised a bombshell, and they delivered a dud,” said David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation & Research, who attended a White House briefing on the material ahead of the speech. Despite what appeared to be a concerted effort by administration officials, ”there was absolutely nothing here that was news, nothing here that even calls into question past elections and certainly not the 2020 election.”

Here’s a look at what the documents say China has our data. Lots of it

“Starting during the 2020 election cycle, the People’s Republic of China carried out what is believed to be the largest compromise of election data in history, resulting in China’s illicit acquisition of 220 million U.S. voter files,” Trump said Thursday night. There is no evidence, however, that China actually used that information in any way It has long been established that China collects immense volumes of data on Americans unrelated

East Baton Rouge and Lafayette parishes.

On Thursday, the CDC and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration confirmed that public health officials had linked the outbreak to shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell locations in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia. The agencies said the lettuce came from five-pound bags produced at Taylor Farms’ facility in Guanajuato, Mexico.

Local health experts said lettuce and berries are common sources of cyclospora because they grow close to the ground, where they

can be contaminated by feces. Also, they’re often consumed without being cooked, which would kill the parasite.

“What happens is some form of sewage or stool that has this organism in it gets into the soil of where this produce is being grown, and then gets on that produce through the soil,” said Dr Katie Taylor, medical director of infection prevention at Our Lady of the Lake Hospital in Baton Rouge.

Taco Bell, in a statement Friday said the affected lettuce would be “indefinitely removed from our supply chain nationwide and will be replaced within 24 hours in se-

Beck, a former police officer and member of the Gulf Coast Brotherhood Ride, said they biked here to honor the fallen officers and fulfill their mission of never forgetting what happened. Beck is also the

to any efforts to manipulate votes or alter election outcomes. And public versions of voter files are widely available, including online, and can be bought and sold by campaigns and political parties so they know which doors to knock on and where to send mail.

China’s efforts to influence the 2020 campaign were already welldocumented, and there was no assessment of any direct election interference. The records released Thursday night do not refute that conclusion, but reveal an internal intelligence community debate about how to characterize Beijing’s efforts and motives.

The emails show that a dissenting viewpoint was that China had taken steps to “denigrate” Trump. But that perspective, instead of being hidden, was already reflected in the intelligence community assessment produced after the election.

China on Friday called Trump’s allegations “groundless” and “entirely fabricated” and said it has never interfered in U.S. elections and has no interest in doing so.

Noncitizens on voter rolls

In his remarks, Trump touted the release of a new Department of Homeland Security investigation, based on state voter rolls and public records, that he said had identified approximately 278,000 noncitizens registered to vote in federal elections.

The report said the agency uncovered more than a quarter of a million noncitizens illegally registered to vote in California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Nevada, based on public records, which are often erroneous or incomplete.

Another 28,000 noncitizens, it claimed, were found on voter rolls

widow of BRPD K-9 Officer Mark Beck, who died on duty in 2008.

“A man dies two deaths: one when he physically leaves Earth and one when the last time his name is ever spoken,” Beck said.

in 25 states using the new Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements system. There is no allegation, however that any of those people actually voted, which would be a crime.

That data has also not been verified. Reports have found that the SAVE database is plagued with errors, including outdated information that has often classified naturalized citizens as noncitizens. Indeed, a federal judge has barred the database from being used over fears that voters will be wrongly purged from voter rolls.

Studies have found noncitizen voting to be extremely rare. Noncitizens are also allowed to vote in some local elections, and could be on the rolls for that reason.

Russia’s election efforts

Trump has spent years criticizing the intelligence community’s assessment that Russia meddled in the 2016 election to help him win. But the documents shed new light on the country’s ongoing efforts.

One declassified document from 2020 portrays Russia as the country that has tried the most to penetrate American election systems — but in an effort to defeat Joe Biden. It notes how Russia worked to amplify claims that Biden, while serving as vice president, engaged in inappropriate behavior involving Burisma, the Ukrainian energy firm that employed his son Hunter, a charge frequently repeated by Trump and Republicans.

“Their aim is to defeat the former Vice President and ensure the President’s victory,” reads the document from the National Intelligence Council.

The document went on to state that both China and Iran wanted

Not worried?

Some local grocers and wholesalers have pointed out that while they carry some Taylor Farms produce grown in the U.S., they do not stock the company’s shredded lettuce from Mexico.

Dorignac’s and Zuppardo’s in Metairie both said they don’t stock bagged iceberg from Taylor Farms.

Southside Produce in Baton Rouge said it doesn’t either Rouses, which has 76 supermarkets in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, said it also had not been affected by the outbreak, and provided an “all clear” letter from Taylor Farms issued late Friday “Our records indicate that you WERE NOT shipped iceberg lettuce products included in this action,” the letter from Taylor Farms to Rouses said. It added that the company had stopped sourcing iceberg lettuce from Central Mexico.

Some restaurant operators said they were relying on their wholesalers for guidance and weren’t worried.

lect states.” It did not identify the states.

The statement added, “Taco Bell has taken precautionary action, and we encourage all relevant restaurants, retailers, and foodservice operators to do the same.”

One of Louisiana’s largest Taco Bell franchisees, Morgan Citybased B&G Foods, declined to comment on the lettuce used at its 230 Taco Bell outlets in Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, referring a request for comment to the statement released by Taco Bell’s corporate office.

“Part of my reason for being here is to speak those names, make sure those names and their memories live.”

Beck said this is the first time the Gulf Coast Brotherhood Ride has done a ride for an anniversary Typically, the nonprofit bikes longer routes — Louisiana to Alabama or vice versa but decided to connect members from different law enforcement agencies in Louisiana and Mississippi for this day

“We did what we do on all our other rides, and we searched for those magic words to bring some healing and take some pain away from these families,” said Craig Russell, president of the Gulf Coast Brotherhood Ride. “But I don’t know if those words are out there; I don’t have them. But what we brought today is love and honor.” Through Scripture, praise and emotions, attendees of the memorial listened to each other speak their hearts for about an hour

East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff Sid Gautreaux said the ambush was one of the darkest days in Baton Rouge history, but community gatherings honor not just the tragedy, but the beauty of how the

Trump to lose. But it included a chart documenting each country’s known efforts. Only Russia was marked as having been known to have engaged in “targeting, accessing, or manipulating election processes or election-related systems.”

Russia has continued to deny interfering in U.S. affairs.

Michigan in the spotlight

Many of the documents released involve a Michigan case in which a seemingly pro-Biden canvassing operation submitted thousands of questionable voter registrations to a local election official in 2020. The official did not accept the registrations and alerted authorities.

The documents include notes from at least one FBI agent that are heavily redacted but indicate that the agent unsuccessfully pushed for further investigation and charges through 2024. Michigan Republicans in 2023 complained the state’s Democratic attorney general did not charge anyone.

However the case was closed “because logical investigation and/or leads have been exhausted, and the investigation to date did not identify a criminal violation or a priority threat to national security,” according to one of the records.

Vulnerabilities in voting systems

The documents, Trump told the nation, included intelligence “revealing shocking vulnerabilities in our election infrastructure” that leave it vulnerable “to hacking, exploitation and foreign interference.”

One report included a list of recent breaches mostly by Russia — and called on state and local

“I’ve been dealing with the same supplier for 20 years and I trust them,” said Justin Kennedy, manager of Parkway Bakery & Tavern near Bayou St. John. “They haven’t notified me of a problem.” Mandina said she isn’t taking any chances at her Canal Street restaurant.

“We’ve had a few customers ask about it, not many,” she said. “But we’ve made changes anyway No one wants to get this bug. So I’m just being careful.”

Staff writers Margaret Delaney and Joy Holden, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Email Stephanie Riegel at stephanie.riegel@theadvocate. com.

fallen lived.

“They were husbands, fathers, sons, friends, partners and public servants,” Gautreaux said. “They laughed together and served together They believed this community is worth protecting, and that is a legacy we honor.”

Morse and Gautreaux made promises that they would never forget what happened, and would always carry the officers’ legacies.

“As sheriff, I make a promise to you: East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office will never stop telling their stories,” Gautreaux said. “We will never stop supporting their families, and we will never forget the price they paid for this community.”

After the memorial, Patricia Gerald reflected on how she sees Matthew every day and hopes to see more respect and honor for law enforcement officers.

“I say Matthew’s name every day,” Patricia Gerald said. “I have a sticker on my car; my license plate says ‘PD.’ I always take the opportunity to the bag boy, or whoever’s getting around my car, I say, ‘This is my son, who died protecting and serving.’”

election officials to step up their defenses to prevent information from being used to obtain absentee ballots or alter voter rolls. Election officials acknowledge that voting machines also carry risk — which is why they don’t rely on them alone to ensure the accuracy of the vote. Safeguards like physical security, equipment testing, paper ballot backups and postelection audits help to catch machine errors or threats.

But it is unclear what the administration is doing to facilitate their efforts. Earlier this month, Trump ousted members of a bipartisan federal election commission that distributes federal grants to states, oversees the testing of voting systems and maintains the national voter registration form, after the group resisted his efforts to require potential voters to document their U.S. citizenship before registering.

Trump has also cut millions of dollars in federal funding from the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency known as CISA, which helped state and local election officials keep elections secure, and disbanded an FBI task force focused on investigating foreign influence operations, including those that target U.S. elections The documents make repeated reference to the risks posed by large databases of voter information, including registration databases and election websites that could be accessed or manipulated by foreign adversaries.

But the SAVE system, which Trump has been pushing states to adopt, has been criticized as an unlawful, centralized federal database of voter information, which could be another target.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON Baton Rouge police Chief TJ Morse delivers a speech at a memorial service Friday at police headquarters for the four officers killed in a 2016 ambush.

STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

Packages of lettuce and salad greens fill a refrigerated display at a grocery store. Lettuce sold across the United States is facing increased scrutiny as federal and state officials investigate whether iceberg lettuce linked to a multistate cyclospora outbreak reached retailers or other businesses beyond Taco Bell restaurants.

Makerspace offers tools, resources to community

Free facility provides industrial creative equipment

BY JA’KORI MADISON Staff writer

For many entrepreneurs, thebiggest obstacle isn’talackofideas.

It’saccess to the tools needed to bring those ideas to life, said Kevin Guillory,operations and community engagement manager atthe University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s

LEED Center.

To help bridge that gap, the REDII Works FabLab, afreepublic makerspace that gives entrepreneurs and community membersaccess to industrial-grade equipment for prototyping, design and smallscale manufacturing, recently opened “Welooked at thegapsinservices

that entrepreneurs were receiving and where thenext step was,” said Chad LaComb, director of theOffice of Innovation Management at UL.“This wasdesigned to bridge that gap.”

Located inside theLouisiana ImmersiveTechnologyEnterprise

FAMILY TRADITION

ABOVE: Shop manager Anthony Martin displayssome examples of hiswork at the Martin Accordion shop inLafayette on Friday.Since thepassingofhis father, Clarence “Junior” Martin,inlate June, Martin andhis sister,Penny Huval, operate the family business offeringhandmade accordions and repairs. RIGHT: Apainted crawfish adorns afinished accordion at the Martin Accordion shop. LEFT: Martin displaysawork in progress at his shop on Friday STAFF PHOTOSByBRADBOWIE

womanchargedwith bribingfederal official in La. CRIME BLOTTER Advocate staff reports

The Department of Homeland Security,Immigration and Customs Enforcementand the Office of ProfessionalResponsibilityinvestigated the case.

Twoaccusedinselling alcoholtoteen buyers

The Lafa yette Po lice

ANew York woman has been charged with bribing afederal official in Louisiana to releaseImmigration and Customs Enforcement detainees from detention. Afederal grand jury indicted Diana Kutateladze, 37, of Brooklyn, New York, on three counts of bribery of aLouisianapublicofficial,accordingto aWestern District of Louisiana statement. She faces up to 15 years in federal prison on each count. The alleged bribes, which occurred over three instances in 2024, included tequila, a$100 gift and $3,000 in online payments to a public official in theWestern District of Louisiana in an effort to influencehimtodisregardfederalimmigration laws andrecommendthe release of immigration detainees. An investigation began after the officialreportedthe bribes tohis supervisors.

Residentsurged to usemeasures to prevent mosquito bites

BYMARGARETDeLANEY Staff writer

The Louisiana Department of Healthconfirmed the first human case of West Nile virus of the 2026 mosquito season in aperson in Ouachita Parish on Friday West Nile virus hasbeen actively spreading throughout Louisiana since its first detection in the statein2002. In 2025, there were 86 confirmed humancases of the diseaseinLouisiana,including four deaths.

So far in 2026, 13 parish mosquitoabatement districts have detected West Nile in mosquito pool samples. “Mosquitoes maybeacommonsummertime nuisance, but they’re morethanjusta pest,” said Secretary Bruce D. Greenstein in astatement from LDH.

“Every year,West Nile virus reminds us that mosquitobites can sometimes lead to serious illness. The good newsisthat afew simple steps, like using insect repellent and eliminating standing water,can significantly reduce your risk.”

About 1in150 people who are infectedwith West Nile virus develop asevere illness that can affect the brain, spinal cord and nerves,whichmay even cause paralysis or death, according to the

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The mostimportant wayto prevent mosquitoes is by dumping any standing water that could be collecting outside of your home, according to New Orleans Mosquito, Termiteand Rodent ControlBoarddirectorClaudia Riegel. Riegel emphasized that any littlebit helps mosquitonumbers as awholeand encouraged residents to spend just 10 minutes aweek scanning their yard on trash day to see if there are any items that could be collecting water Small containers with water inside, like asoda can, can be an incredibly productive site for mosquito breeding.

STAFF FILE PHOTOByLESLIE WESTBROOK

The REDII Works FabLab at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette offers free accesstoindustrial-grade equipment helping entrepreneurs in rural Acadiana prototype and developproducts.

ä See MAKERSPACE, page 2B

ManarrestedindrugbustnearLSU

Coke,meth, MDMA found, deputies say

BY OLIVIA TEES Staff writer

ABaton Rouge man was arrested after police were informed he was allegedlyselling cocaine out of an apartment near LSU’s North Gates. Jordan Langlois, 35,was arrested and booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on June 30 on

three counts of possession with intent to distribute and possession of drug paraphernalia. His bond review is set for Sept.22. In March, the Sheriff’s Office wascontacted by an anonymoussource who said Langlois wassellingdrugs at an apartment complex in the 1900 block of East Magna CartaPlace, according toanarrest warrant

Detectivesalso received information from LSUPolice sayingLanglois was a cook and was selling drugs to LSU students, thewar-

rantstates. During the investigation, agents set up adrug salebetween aconfidential informant and Langlois at an apartment on West Chimes Street.After the sale, agents observed Langlois had interactions with other individuals, typical of inconspicuously handing off drugs, according to the warrant.

Agents obtained probable cause andexecuteda search warrant at the West Chimes Street apartment and arrested Langlois.

Deputies found 70 grams

of individually packaged cocaine,21grams of meth, andMDMApills in alocked safe. They also found multiple digital scales, empty clearmini baggies and a bottleofInositol —asugar substitute commonly used to cut drugs, the warrant states.

Afterbeing read hisMiranda rights, Langlois admitted to being an active user of drugs and knew the safe was in the apartment, but saidhewas not selling thedrugs Based on the training and expertise from the agents,

the amount of cocaine found in theapartment was exceedinglymorethana personwould have forpersonal use, the arrest warrant said. Langlois wasidentified in policedocuments as acook for Delta Chi fraternity However,House Corporation President of theLSU Chapter of Delta Chi John Dunlapsaid Langlois was notemployed at any point by the fraternity or the catering companyituses. LSU Police did not return acall for commentonLanglois’semployment.

La.highcourt

CriminalDistrictCourt

BY MATT BRUCE Staff writer

TheLouisianaSupreme

CourtonFriday took over and fast-tracked alawsuit challenging anew state law that reduced thenumber of judges in New Orleans courts.

Judge John Fuller sued Gov Jeff Landry and other state officials, askingthe courtstoblockthe provision of Act 748 that eliminates three sectionsof cri mi nal court by Jan. 1. Landry signed the measure into law last month. Fuller,the newest member of the criminal court bench, argues that the Louisiana constitution callsfor a two-thirdssupermajority

vote to change the number of judgesinLouisiana and that bothchambersfell shy of the mark.

State officials claimthe measure didn’tneed asupermajority for passage.Theycite an exception for New Orleans municipal offices from the 1974 cwonstitutionalconvention. The delegates made Crescent Citycourts “subject to change by law” witha simple majority,the state

argues.

Judge Tarvald Smithof the 19thJudicial District this week enjoined state officials from enacting any provision of Act 748 until after the qualifying period, which runs Aug. 5-7. That left open adoorfor Fuller and thetwo others with seats marked for elimination— JudgesRhonda Goode-Douglas andSimone Levine —torun for reelection Murrillvowed to appeal Smith’sinjunction. Fuller’s attorney, JeromeMatthews,

askedthe state’shigh court to step in.

The SupremeCourt halted proceedingsatthe lower courts and gave Murrill and others until next week to file any oppositions to Fuller’s claims.

Matthewssaid he expects the court to rule before Aug. 5, given its expedited track. “Whoever lost at the (appeals court) would’ve just hadtogotothe Supreme Court anyway,” he said. “So …let’s just go straight to the SupremeCourt to get aruling.”

Prairieville teen to be featured in ESPN ‘MyWish’ series

She gets to meet WNBA star

A’ja Williams

BY ANNAKATE FREELAND Staff writer

APrairieville teen’swish to meet one of the WNBA’s biggest stars will be featured on national television this weekend as part of ESPN’slong-running “My Wish” series.

Khloe C., 18,isone of five children and young adults

featured in ESPN’s20th anniversary “MyWish” special, which partners with Make-A-Wish to grant sports-themed wishesfor children with critical illnesses.

An avid basketball fan whoenjoys playing with her family, Khloe underwent aliver andkidney transplant afterbeing diagnosed with agenetic disorder,leavingher unable to competeinthe sport sheloves. Her wish was to meet four-time WNBA MostValuablePlayer and

three-time championA’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces. The segment follows Wilsonasshe givesKhloe abehind-the-scenes look at what it is like to be aprofessional basketball player,creating what ESPN describes as aonce-in-alifetime experience.

Khloe’sstory will premiere during “SportsCenter” at 8a.m.July19, the first of five “MyWish” features airing this year Produced in partnership with Make-A-Wish, thean-

nual series showcases childrenwhose sports dreams are made possible by some of the biggest names in athletics.This year’sfeatured athletes includeWilson, PGA Tour championScottie Scheffler,WWE’s Seth Rollins, San DiegoPadres star Fernando Tatis Jr.and theTennessee Volunteers football team. “Now more thanever,the courageofthese children and the love andresourcefulness of their families remain inspiring,” longtime “My Wish” host Chris

Connelly said in anews release. “Thanks to ESPN and our friends at MakeA-Wish, this year’swishes go along way to restore so muchofthe joy and exuberancethatcritical illness takes away.”

Now in its 20th year,ESPN’s“My Wish” series has featured hundreds of wish recipients and some of the biggest names in sports, highlightingthe hope and encouragementwishescan bring to children and their families during difficult times.

MAKERSPACE

Continued from page 1B

Center,the fabrication laboratory was funded through aU.S. Department of Agriculture grant supporting entrepreneurship in rural Acadiana.

The facility features multiple 3D printers,laser cutters, vinyl cutters and electronics equipment that allow users to create prototypes, test product ideas and manufacture small batchesofproducts.

LaComb said those resources areoften outof reach for entrepreneurs because of the cost or lack of availability

“If you haveanidea, and

BLOTTER

Continued frompage1B

needsomething you need to help make that idea come to life,this is theplace to come,” he said.

Beyond providing equipment,the FabLab connects entrepreneurs with resources related to patents, intellectualpropertyand commercialization.

“There’snot ashortage of ideas,”saidKevinGuillory “A lotoftimes, the shortage is access. If we can help give people accessto resources, that’s what we really love to do.”

Oneofthose entrepreneurs is Kierra Eddie, owner of Seventh& Joseph, a Lafayette business specializinginlarge-format printing, graphic design and branded event installations.Eddie launched her

Department arrested two people during an underage buyer operation on Thursday. Chestina Clark-Lemelle and Ronald Smothers were arrested and face charges of selling alcohol tosomeone under21and bar card violations, according to an LPD statement.

business after leaving the corporate world, but said shequickly discovered entrepreneurship involved much more than just her ideas

“I knew Icouldn’tafford to do what Iwanted to do right away,” shesaid. “Who do Italk to? How do Imake this areal business?”

After participating in the LEED Center’s Accelerate Northside business program, Eddie discovered the FabLab.

Although she already owned asmall3Dprinter,Eddie said seeing the FabLab’s industrial-sized equipment completely changedhow she thinks about growing her business. The largerequipmenthas

Thetwo werearrested at Kwik Stop at 1734 N. University Ave. andaShell gas station at 1400 W. Pinhook Road LPD visited 46 businesses throughout the city, with44 found to be in compliance.

WEST NILE

Continued from page1B

As for keeping the bugs off your skin, bug spray,long sleeves and stayingnear airflow from fans while outside is your bestbet. Southern house mosquitoes also bite in the evening, Reigel said, so try to lessen your time outside at night.

Here are afew extra tips to stay safe duringmosquito

season:

n Wear an EPA-registered insect repellent when you know you’ll be outdoors

n Wear long-sleeved, loose-

fitting clothing

FuneralHome Downtown,Lafayette at 1:00pm Obituaries

Barlett, Teresa

ACelebrationofLife Visitation willbeheld on Saturday, July 18, 2026 from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM in Martin& Castille Funeral Home -DOWNTOWN Location in Lafayette, for Teresa Barlett, age 65, who peacefully passedawayon Tuesday, July 14, 2026 at herresidenceinLafayette. Survivors includeher belovedhusband, William Barlett; son, William Barlettand hiswife Emily; twograndchildren,Sam Barlettand EllaBarlett, andtwo brothers, Jack Bertino andMike McFarland Shewas preceded in death by herparents, Jacquelyn OrsburnBertino andJohnDavis Bertino andone sister,Mary Ramsey. Teresa was a42year residentofLafayette anda 20 year employee of Lafayette General Medical Center Honorary Pallbearers will be,Mike McFarland, Sam Barlett, EllaBarlett, andBruce McFarland. Special thanks to Dr. Mire for hercareand compassion given to Teresa at hertimeofneed. Donationscan be made or in lieu of flowersinTeresa Barlett's name to Women's Shelters. View theobituaryand guestbook online at www.mourning.com Martin& Castille Funeral HomeDOWNTOWN, 330 St LandryStreet, Lafayette, Louisiana 70506, 337-2342311

n Spray bug spray on exposed skin or on top of clothes

n If you’re using sunscreen, apply sunscreen firstand theninsect repellent

n Wear clothing orgear treated with permethrin if youknowyou’llbeoutside for prolonged periods of time n Weather-strip doors and windowsand check forholes in screens to ensure no bugs are able to sneak inside n Dump any standing water around your home, including in bird baths, buckets, trash cans and children’stoys, at least once aweek to prevent mosquito breeding n Flip overany itemsthat could collect standing water n Scrub bird baths or any

items that hold water constantly to kill larvae

n Clean swimming pools that aren’t being used collect water outside

n Use mosquito fish in your ponds

n Check andclean your gutters.

LOTTERY

THURSDAY, JULY16, 2026

PICK 3: 8-2-7

PICK 4: 4-3-7-8

PICK 5: 0-2-9-6-4

allowed Eddie to begin developing prototypes fora newproduct shehopes to commercializeinthe future.

“I literally could take these small thingsand make them big,”she said “Instead of building everythingbyhand, Ican sit in front of acomputer,design something, make it easier and produce it on amassproduction level.”

She saidthe FabLab also introduced hertoconcepts suchasprototyping, licensing and intellectual property thatshe had never considered beforediscovering theFabLab.

The makerspace is open to thepublic free of charge, with users only responsible for purchasing their own

printing materials.Staff members are available to teachvisitorshow to use the equipment andconnect them with additionalbusiness resources.

While the USDA grant focusesonserving entrepreneurs in ruralcommunities across Acadiana, LaComb said anyone with an ideais welcome to use the space.

The university also plans to expandthe FabLab for studentsand through additional grants, workforce training programs and certification opportunitiesas demand grows.

For entrepreneurs wondering where to begin, LaComb offered some simple advice.

“Just comehere,” he said. “Wecan talk through it.”

Howto place an Obituary Notice Howto place a Memorial Ad

EMAIL: obits@theadvocate.com OR CALL FORMORE INFORMATION: 225-388-0289 An

BRIEFS FROM WIRE REPORTS

U.S. restores trade privileges for Hong Kong

HONG KONG

The United States

confirmed Friday that it will not renew an executive order that revoked Hong Kong’sspecial trading status. The decision comes after China signaled that the city’spreferential privileges were being restored.

The U.S. order, which President Donald Trump signed in July 2020 in his first termin response to Beijing imposing anational security law to limit dissent in Hong Kong, is not being renewed, according to a Treasury Department spokesperson who was not authorized to speak publicly on theissueby name andspoke on conditionof anonymity. Trump’sorder was last renewed fora year in July 2025.

China considers the national security law for HongKong necessary to restore stabilityin the city aftermassive anti-government protests in 2019. Under the order,Trump said Hong Kong was no longer sufficiently autonomous to justify differentialtreatment in relation to mainland China under certainlaws. It eliminated the preferential treatment for Hong Kong to the extent permitted by lawand in thenational security, foreign policy,and economic interest of the United States.

The implications of the decision not to renew the order were not immediately clear

TheWhite House referred questions about the executive order lapsing to the Treasury Department.

General Mills recalls PillsburyBreadRolls

Twokindsoffrozen Pillsbury Bread Rolls were recalledafter glass might have gotten into the dough, according to General Mills.

The two lots of Pillsbury BreadRolls Hard Roll Dough are lot Nos. 11JUN6JL and 12JUN6JL with best bydates of Oct. 12 and 13, 2026, respectively.This covers544,400 rolls. There’sonly one lot, 12JUN6JL, of PillsburyBreadRolls Kaiser Roll Dough recalled. This covers 181,440 rolls.

Astatement by General Mills said the “two frozen doughproducts were baked onsite and sold exclusively at Walmart in-store bakeries in the UnitedStates. This voluntary recall is limited in scope, highly contained and all potential impacted product has been removed.”

Recalledbreadswenttodistributors in 19 states including Louisiana.

If you have arecalledproduct, throw it away or return it to the store for afull refund. If youhave more questions about this recall, call General Mills at (763) 764-7600. GeneralMills statement didn’t address how the glass got into some of the dough, what facility wasused, or why no news releasewas issued.

FAAwill allow Boeing to certify its planes

Boeing will be allowedto take responsibility for certifying all of its 737 Max and 787planes starting next week, the Federal Aviation Administration said Friday The FAAsaid that after months of review the agencydecided that Boeing’sfinalsafety checks on its planes are good enough to ensure theyare airworthy. Since September,Boeing and the agency had been taking weekly turns performing the safety checksthat are required beforeaircraft are cleared for delivery and declared safe to fly.The FAAsaidFriday that the plane maker and government inspectors were both issuing similar findings as they issued airworthiness certificates. Federal regulators took full control over 737 Max approvals in 2019, after the second of two crashes that were later blamed on anew software systemBoeing developed for the aircraft. The FAAended the company’s righttoself-certify 787 Dreamliners in 2022, citing ongoing production quality issues.

President Xi Jinpingspeaks Fridayatthe

NewChinese AI model surprisestech industry

Kimi K3 appears to be catching up to Claude,ChatGPT

BY MATT O’BRIEN AP technologywriter

Another powerful new artificial intelligence model from China took theU.S. tech industryby surprise Friday,the latest sign that Chinese startups thatpublicly release their “open-source” AI technologyare making the California titansofAIsweat.

The newestKimi K3 model fromBeijing-based startup Moonshot, run by aPink Floydloving entrepreneur who earned hisdoctorate inPittsburgh, appears to be catching up to the best versions of Anthropic’s Claudeand OpenAI’sChatGPT.

“This may be the single biggest release of the year,” and marks amoment when open-source Chinese modelsare surpassing closed U.S. models, saidAnastasios Angelopoulos, co-founder and CEO of Arena, aplatform for evaluatingAI systems.

Kimi K3 topped the charts in Arena’s ranking of what it calls “front-end coding capability,” a measureofanAIlarge language model’sperformance. “More results are rolling in that are likely to continuetoshow it is at the top of the pack,” Angelopoulos said on social media.

It was not likely acoincidence that K3’sunveiling came shortly before Chinese President Xi Jinping’sopening address Friday to the nation’s annual World ArtificialIntelligenceConference in Shanghai American-led restrictions have blocked China from accessing some of the world’smost advanced technologies,spurring China’sefforts to build its own know-how and intensifying the rivalry between the world’stwo

Citizens

BYKEN SWEET AP business writer

NEWYORK Citizens Banksaid it plans to wind down its financial relationship with two private prison companies that have been government contractors underthe Trump administration to help run immigrationdetention centers, bowing to public pressurefromadvocates andleft-leaningcity governments. CitizensprovidedbankingservicestoCoreCivic and The GEO Group, both companies that own or run private prisons throughout thecountry.UnderPresident Donald Trump, both companies have beencontracted by U.S. Immigrationand Customers Enforcement

biggest economies.

“The development of artificial intelligence should not be a solo performance by any single country butrather asymphony of global cooperation,” Xi said at theevent K3 follows another major AI model release last month from the Chinese startup Zhipu, or Z.ai. Its newflagshipGLM-5.2 model is already widely used by software developersaround the world who say it can perform workalmostaswell as top U.S models at alower price.

The hype over thenew Chinese model resembles themarket-shaking panic that followed Chinese startup DeepSeek‘s new model release in early 2025, though not everyone finds it justified. The response toK3isan “overreaction shockingly similar”toDeepSeek’srelease last year,saidtech analyst Patrick Moorhead on social media. He said it could be good for parts of thebroader AI industry but poses arevenue challenge to Anthropic and OpenAI.

During the conference, which runs until Monday,tech giant Huawei has alsobeen showcasing anew AI computing system called the Atlas 950 SuperPoD, a signal that China increasingly is amassing the domestic hardware it needs despite U.S.restrictions on imports from chipmakers like Nvidia.

Moonshot hasn’tsaid what hardware it usedtobuild K3, but thestartup is apartner with Huawei.

The price to use K3 is the highest yetfor aChinese AI model, but is still half as expensive as OpenAI’shigh-performingGPT5.6 Sol model, according to aFri-

day report by Bank of America research analysts.

U.S.politicians and several major U.S.AIcompanies including Anthropic and OpenAI have accused Chinese AI models of illicit “distillation” of their models to extracttheir technologies, aclaim that Beijing says is “groundless.”

Anthropic in February accused DeepSeek, Moonshot and athird China-based AI lab, MiniMax, of engaging in campaigns to “illicitly extract Claude’scapabilities to improve their own models” using thedistillation techniquethat “involves training aless capable modelonthe outputsofa stronger one.

Anthropic said that distillation canbealegitimateway to train AI systems but it’s aproblem when competitors“use it to acquire powerful capabilities from other labs in afractionof thetime, and at afraction of the cost, that it would take to develop them independently.”

But it can go bothways.San Francisco-based startup Anysphere,maker of the popular coding tool Cursor,has acknowledgedthatone of its topproducts was based on Moonshot’s K2.5 model. Elon Musk’sSpaceX is planning to close adeal to buy Cursor for $60billionlater this year

Developers who build “opensource” AI make key componentsofthe technology accessiblefor anyone to examine, modify and build upon. Proponentssay open-sourcepractices promoteinnovation, while critics warnthat making powerful AI models publicly accessible poses safety and security dangers.

to operate detention or deportation centers as partofthe Trump administration crackdown on illegal immigration.

Thebankcame underanintense public campaign for its relationship withCoreCivic and GEO who demanded that Citizenscut ties with thetwo companies. At least two city councils in New Jerseyhave voted to withdraw theirmoney from Citizens if theydid not cutties with the private prison operators.

“Today’s announcementthat CitizensBankwill exit itscurrent lending relationships with private prison giantsCoreCivic and The GEOGroup is an importantvictory forthe people whorefused to letamajor bank financehu-

man suffering brought on by ICE detention activitiesofthe current federaladministration,”saidthe De-ICE Citizens Bank Coalition, in astatement. In astatement, Citizenssaidthey were ending their relationship with the two companies purely for business reasons and not because of politicalpressure. The federal government has said it plans to buy several facilities run by CoreCivic and is in talkstodosowith GEO. Becauseofthis, Citizens said thecompanies’ financialneeds have been reduced.

“This is abusiness decision based on changed commercial circumstances and does not reflect anychange in ourviewregarding

IBM warning is ‘hammer’ on tech’s AI outsiders

BY RYAN VLASTELICA and CARMEN REINICKE

Bloomberg News (TNS)

International Business Machines’ warning this week that its sales are falling well short of expectations highlights agrowing divide between artificialintelligencewinners andeveryone else in the tech universe.

On Tuesday,IBM said it failed to predictthatits customers would shift their spending away from the company’sproducts so they can focus on servers, storage and memory products used in AI computing.The company’sshares plunged25% for their worst dayeverindatagoing back to the 1960s. Butinamuch broader sense, the revelation explained how the current technology trade is throwing awrench into the stock prices of huge companies that provide popularproducts and services unrelated to AI

“It’snot just awrench, it’s like ahammer,” saidBrian Mulberry, chief market strategist at Zacks Investment Management. “It’snot that there’snot demand for(other services). There is. It’s just thattheycan’t getthere because there’sonlya finite amount of capex that can be spent.”

Perhaps the best examples of this bifurcation are software giants Salesforceand ServiceNow,which sell tools that manage sales, human resourcesand IT functions for companies. The stocks have lost roughly athird of their value this year and are among the 20 worst performers in the S&P 500 Index. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index is up 62% in 2026. IBM’snews marked “a pivotal moment in thetech trade,” Mulberry said. It underscored how companies are de-emphasizing traditional tech products and services and prioritizing AI-related infrastructure and security software, which is in demand because the existence of AI represents arisk to corporate security With those costs rising —particularly soaring memory prices —the businesses are being forced to reassess how much theycan spend elsewhere. Software developers like Workday and SAP SE are also likely to feel the pinch from the spending shift, according to BloombergIntelligence analyst Anurag Rana. And leading tech business indicators like cloud backlogs and new subscription sales maycomeinbelow Wall Street expectations as these companies report earnings in the coming weeks.

“While theshortfall may be because of shifting IT budgets, this fundamental weakness will likely be interpreted as AI disrupting their core businesses, which could put further pressure on the sector’svaluation,” Rana wrote in anote on July 14. Wall Street hasbeen lowering its estimates for the software andservices sector,which is expected to post earnings growth of 16.5% in 2027, aconsensus thathas steadily declined for seven straight weeks, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. An indexofsoftware-as-aservice stocks is down 26% this year,compared with an 11% drop for abroader software index and a 13% rise in the tech-heavyNasdaq 100 Index.

these companies’ business models or operations,” the bank said in a statement. Banks cutting ties with businesses or individuals is known as debanking, and it has become apolitically charged topic in Trump’s second term.Under the Trumpadministration,bankregulatorshave been conductinginvestigations into bank’sdebanking practices, withthe potential of these bank regulators issuing fines or penalties to any banks that are found to have committed debanking.

“Allbanks, including ourselves, must considerthese regulatory and contractual frameworks in making decisions on who to bank or not bank,” Citizens said.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOByNGHAN GUAN

Chinese

opening ceremonyfor the WorldAIConferencein Shanghai. The newest Kimi K3 model from Beijing-based startup Moonshot appears to be catching up to thebest versionsofAnthropic’sClaude and OpenAI’sChatGPT

OPINION

ANOTHERVIEW

Pollsshowhow Americanssee theissues

Americans have endured adizzyingstretchofcontroversies and sudden turns in recent months —fromwars in Iran and Ukraine to Supreme Court rulings, congressional maneuvering and presidentialdrama. It’sbeen exhausting and, at times,confusing Through it all, DonaldTrump’sjob approvalratings have remained steady.His latest ratingaverages43%, exactlywhere it was four months ago. The president’scritics find that hardto believe; they keep hearingabout individual polls showing his popularityfalling But polling averages, which combine results from multiple surveys, have shown little movement.

Ron Faucheux

But the more revealingstory may be what voters say aboutspecific issues. Iran: Thelatest Economist/YouGov poll finds that only 36% of voters approveofTrump’s handling of the war with Iran, while nearly 6in10disapprove. Fewer thanathird believe going to warwas the right decision.

Trump campaigned in 2024 as dealmaker-in-chief, promising to bring peace throughquick, smart negotiations. Yet60% now say he’sbeen ineffectiveinnegotiating with Iran.

More voters expected areturn to full-scalewar than anegotiatedsettlement. Only31% believe the United States should continue attackingIran, including 59% of Republicans, 17% of independents and 5% of Democrats. Israel: 32% of U.S. voters say their sympathieslie more with Israel, 25% side more withthe Palestinians andanother 25% are unsure. AmongDemocrats,just 10% side with Israel, while 36% favor the Palestinians

Thirty-six percent of voters supportcontinuedU.S. military aid to Israel, while 45% oppose it. Support among Republicans is 57%; amongDemocrats, 22%. Ukraineand Russia:Americans overwhelmingly support Ukraine in the war against Russia.Sixty-nine percent side with Ukraine, comparedwith only4%who side with Russia. A56% majoritysupportssending military aid to Ukraine, while28% oppose.Yet voterssee no clear winner in the war

The economy: Only 27% of votersratethe economy as excellentorgood. Those views are heavily influenced by partisanship. While 49% of Republicansgive the economypositive marks, only 9% of Democrats and14% of independents do. On top of that,amajority of Democrats and Independents believethe economy is getting worse. Politicians and sexual assault: ThecollapseofDemocrat Graham Platner’sSenate campaign in Maine has pushed this issueback intothe headlines.The poll finds that 62%ofvotersnationwidebelievea candidateaccusedofsexualassault by several women should drop out of the race, unless theallegations can be disproved. That view is shared by 58% of men, 63% of women,74% of Democrats, 60% of independents and49% of Republicans.

At the same time, 62% believepoliticalcandidates are, at least sometimes, unfairly accusedofsexualassault. Voters are also unimpressed withhow both parties handle such charges. Only25% say Democrats do agood or excellent job, while24% say thesame of Republicans. World Cup: 41% of Americans say theywatched at least some of the 2026 FIFAWorld Cup. Thatincludes47% of men, 37% of women, 36% of Whites, 53% of Blacks and 60% of Hispanics. Only 21% approved of Trump’srequestthatthe onegame suspension of U.S. player Folarin Balogun be overturned. Greenland, Canada and Cuba: Americansshowlittle appetite for using military force toseize other countries. Only 10% support using force to take control of Greenland. That low number drops further to 6%whenit comes to Canada. Taking control of Cuba draws slightly greater support, though still only 20%.

World leaders: Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy receives the highest favorable ratingamong the four foreign leaders tested:53% favorable to 31% unfavorable RussianPresident Vladimir Putin’snegativerating in theU.S.is10times greater thanhis positive rating— 80% to 8%. Iran’sMojtabaKhameneiiseven worse;his negative is nearly 11 times larger thanhis positivescore, 54%to5%.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahuisviewed favorably by 28% of U.S. voters and unfavorablyby52%. That’sfar down from where it stood.Netanyahu has becomeapariahamong Democrats, with afavorable ratingofjust 9%. He does better withRepublicans,where nearly 50% view him positively Numbers tell the story,but they canchange.That’sexactly why they’re worth watching.

Ron Faucheux is anonpartisanpoliticalanalyst, pollster and writer based in Louisiana

Gravesshouldadmit GOP’smentality is what ledtoclosedprimaries

Iwritetoday to express my agreement with Garret Graves’ June 30 commentary on the issue of open vs. closed primaries. I, too, believe that open primaries foster greater electoral participation, result in better candidates and, generally,better serve our state. What Ihope now is that Graves’ concern with voter engagement and ensuring that “citizens choose their representatives and government remainsaccountable to its people” extends to other areas of our electoral process Graves, as acongressman, voted in 2020 to reject the electoral college delegation from Pennsylvania after they were properly elected by thecitizens of their state, basically tellingthose citizens their votes didn’tcount. Mr.Graves’ own party has also enthusiastically taken advantage of their legislative majorities around thecountry to ger-

rymander congressional districts, effectively disenfranchising Democratic and minority voters at every opportunity,and further dividing our country.They also, without evidence, daily cast doubt on the integrity of our electoral process. Each of these seems amuch greater infringement of voting rights and a much greater risk to our democracy than how we go about selecting candidates in aprimary election.

To flip Graves’ point, Louisiana and the United States currently have aproblem in search of asolution. Ihope Graves and the rest of those in his party will, forthe good of the state and the country,turn their backs on this “win at all costs” approach to politics and governance and stand up fordemocracy andthe sanctity of aperson’svote when it matters.

PATFORBES Baton Rouge

Obituaries arebig part of celebratingalife

As alongtime reader of the obituary section and an expert on local funeral customs and traditions, I have noticed asignificant decline in thenumber of funeral notices published in the daily paper

Though this letter may not be reaching the right audience, since people who do not read thenewspaper mostly likely do not post obituaries., it should be noted that published obitsserve anumber of purposes. They inform thepublic of the death. They highlight thelife of thedeceased and identify the next

of kin. Butperhaps mostimportantly,they preservethe lifeofthe individual in perpetuity forfuture generations, researchers and historians.While manydeaths are now noted on social media, which is not incidentallyfree while it costs money to post in the paper,those outlets are ephemeral and today’s post disappears into the ether by tomorrow

Postinganobituary in the newspaper ensures thememoryofour loved ones lives on.

JAYMAZZA NewOrleans

NewAir ForceOne awaste of taxpayer dollars

Watching in horror as thegovernment pursuesanother senselesswar

This year,some people in our country are celebrating our 250th anniversary.Not me. Iam ashamed of what the United States has become. Sadly,this is not the first timeour government has screwed things up so badly Fifty years ago, as we celebrated our 200th anniversary,wehad just been defeated in South Vietnam, having lost 58,220 of our best young people and atrillion dollars. We watched in horror as the Communist North Vietnamese Army overran the country,slaughtering amillion of the people whohad believed in us.

Now, here we are, 50 years later, watching in horror again as our government, led by acriminal madman and his incompetent Secretary of “War,” pursue another senseless slaughter forreasons based upon faulty logic and vanity When will we ever learn?

ED BROCK Baton Rouge

Newspaper’slove affair with Republican Senate candidateis notgoodjournalism

Youdoyour readers adisservice by giving disproportionate attention to U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow over her Democratic election opponent. Yougave moreattention to her losing primary opponent, John Fleming, forexample, than to Democratic candidate Jamie Davis, not to mention posting ahuge picture of Letlow and atiny one of Davis on election night.

Youalso unfairly minimized the potential draw of Davis by ignoring the fact that aDemocrat won the statewide position of governor very recently,serving from 2016 to 2024, if Irecall correctly Regardless of whom you personally prefer forthe position, you owe us, your readers and those paying not-insubstantial subscription fees forjournalism, better and fairer reporting.

ROWENA JONES NewOrleans

GLENJACKSON NewOrleans

President Donald Trumphas squandered hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to “upgrade” the luxury airplane gifted to him.This plane, thenew Air Force One, will becomehis personal property once he leaves office. Yetwhen departing therecent NATO summit in Turkey,heflew on theprevious Air Force Onebecause it was deemed safer and more capable than thegifted airplane. Hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars have been spent on an aircraft that cannot perform as well as theprevious plane. Lookslike the definition of waste, fraud and abuse on the largest scale to me.

Tulane returningtoLSU schedule in 2030

even bigger deal.

The matchup is scheduled for Aug. 31 of that year in Tiger Stadium, according to aFridayrelease from LSU, which means it could lead off the Tigers’ 2030 slate.

BY JON BLAU Staff writer

LSUaddingTulanebacktoits

football schedule is abig deal.

But what week the Tigers will playthe Green Wave in 2030isan

LSU is also adding an Aug. 28, 2027, opener with Northwestern State; an Aug. 26, 2028, opener with UL-Monroe; and aSept.9,2028, contest with Southern.

Coach Lane Kiffin hasmadeit known he doesn’tlove playing marquee opponents, such as a

Clemson, in Week 1ofthe regular season. College football programs don’thave preseason games to prepare,and starting the season with aloss to adifficult opponent can change thecourse of aseason from both amomentumand perception standpoint In this playoff era, abad start can be the difference between making or missing the College Football Playoff field, which was a point of discussion for Kiffin on the PardonMyTake podcast in May

He highlighted his 20-0 record in nonconference games during his six seasons at Ole Miss.

The Rebels made the CFP last season andwentona runtothe semifinals after Kiffinlefttotake theLSU job

“Wedidn’t play in any of them big openers,”Kiffin said. “This place (LSU) in afour-year span lost three of four openers. ‘Yeah, that’ssogreat (to play abig game),’ whatever.But you don’t get rewarded for it because it’snot

For the most part, SunBelt media days on Wednesday andThursday in New Orleans equated to agiant guessing game.

But when the West teams were spotlighted on Day Two, there were afew old-school storylines that were quite refreshing.

Since Sun Belt football began, the missing element for manyofthe schools has been rivalries that createmust-win matchups regardless of the teams’ records. Most league matchupsare more like two ships passinginthe night

Enter Louisiana Tech in the Sun Belt in football for the first time And there was afamiliar face in former Arkansas State coach BlakeAnderson wearing the black andgolfofSouth-

BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer

The progress has been slow and it has notgone withoutsomebumps in the road, but through the draft and free agency, the Saints have assembled an offensive line that should serve as the bedrock of asuccessful offense.

It is bookended by twotackles taken in the top 15 of back-to-back drafts in Kelvin Banks on the left and Taliese Fuaga on the right. It is led by Pro Bowl center Erik McCoy, who ishopeful he canput his injury woes from the lasttwo seasons behind him. And it may be taken to thenext levelbypriceyfreeagent acquisitionDavid Edwards, who boasted an impressive 95% pass-block win rate last season, according to ESPN.

ern Mississippi. He is very aware of the history in the region.

Forthe first time in morethan two decades, UL-Monroe will play Louisiana Tech in football.

“Wecan’twait,” UL-Monroe coach

BryantVincent said of the Oct. 17 showdown in Monroe. “This game has to be played. That is going to be first class and

acharge that’sgoing to be needed.”

What better way to bring energyback to aprogram than to play itsmost historic rival as aconference game. Even a UL fan who doesn’tlike either program should be able toappreciate how cool that matchup will be in 2026. The old Gulf States Conference matchup just feels right.

The UL-Southern Miss rivalry is heating up and now the Cajuns can start playing LouisianaTech again as well. Regional rivalries just make sports morefun.

“Ohyeah, we didn’tlike UL,” Anderson said of his days at Arkansas State. “Wehated the Cajuns. That madethose

For ateamthat has been searching for an offensiveidentity for quitesome time, astrongoffensive line can help right that ship.Just by virtue of their personnel at the point ofattack,the Saintsshould hold up in both the run and passing game,allowing them to dictate thegametothe defense.

That is atheoryatthis point. Alot of things can go wrong, as recent seasonshave proven. Butonpaper,this is the best offensive line the Saints have put on the field since Terron Armstead and Ryan Ramczyk lined up at tackle. Number to know:742

That is thenumberofcombinedoffensive snaps McCoy has played thelasttwo seasons —fewer than any one of his first five seasons. Thetwo injuries that ended McCoy’slast twoseasons —anelbow in 2024and atorn bicepsin2025 —were somewhat freak occurrences.McCoy recently said theaction that caused him to tear his biceps last year was something that he’d done countless times before.

It doesn’tchange thefact the Saints need McCoy to stay on the field, becausethere is no questionthe offense functions at a

worth it enough.”

LSUlost five straight openers from 2020-24, starting the skid with ahome loss to Mississippi State and aroad defeat at UCLA. BrianKelly opened his tenure as head coach withconsecutive Week 1losses to Florida State in New Orleans and Orlando, Florida, respectively After an opening-game loss to Southern CalinLas Vegasin2024,

BY DOUG FERGUSON AP golf writer

SOUTHPORT,England TheBritish Open came to lifeFriday when Lucas Herbert and formerLSU golfer Sam Burns took their place in history by tying the majorchampionshiprecordwith62s, andBryson DeChambeau waspenalized twoshots after his round for inadvertently improving the path of his swing.

In the midst of all the late drama was Jon Rahm getting an official conduct warning forthrowing his club after a bad tee shot. The real emotion came in thetwilight hours with no spectators around as DeChambeau stood in high grass on the fifth hole with two rulesofficials, pleadinghis caseand ultimately losing the argument. His 4-under 66 becamea 68,and he wentfromone shot behind Herbert to three behind. And then he went to the range until the only light came from the video boards.

DeChambeau has turned down media at the majors dating to his missed cut at the Masters in April. Herbert, who was at 8-under 132, was slightly disappointed with his record-tying round because he missed a5-foot par putt that would have given him a61. “Very,very proud to put my nameon that list of guys that have shot 62 in amajor championship.Soit’skind of holding twoemotions there at the sametime,” Herbert said. “It’sapretty good problem to have, too, to be disappointed you shot 62.”

Burns didn’teven know he tied arecord when he holed abunker shot on the 18th for his third straight birdie, just 22

Kevin Foote

LSU loses freshman signee

chosen late in MLB draft

One of LSU baseball’s freshman signees will no longer begin his collegiate career in Baton Rouge. Anthony Murphy a power-hitting California centerfielder who was selected by the Washington Nationals in the 16th round of the 2026 MLB Draft, said in a social media post Friday that he had “decided to decommit” from LSU and “reopen my recruitment.”

“Being committed to LSU has been an incredible honor,” Murphy said, “and I’ll always be thankful for the relationships I’ve built and the support I’ve received.

“This decision was not made lightly and is in no way a reflection of LSU, its coaches or the program. I have nothing but respect and appreciation for everything they’ve done for me.”

Smith-Njigba cream of WRs

BY ROB MAADDI Associated Press

Jaxon Smith-Njigba won the AP Offensive Player of the Year award and the Super Bowl last season before the Seattle Seahawks gave him the biggest contract for a wide receiver in NFL history No surprise he was voted the NFL’s top wideout by The Associated Press in a preseason survey

Smith-Njigba received four

first-place votes, three thirds and a fourth from a panel of eight AP pro football writers, who ranked the top five receivers entering the 2026 season. First-place votes were worth 10 points. Secondthrough fifth-place votes were worth 5, 3, 2 and 1 points.

1. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seattle Seahawks

The 24-year-old set a team record for yards receiving (1,793) and receptions (119) last season. He received a four-year, $168.6 million extension that averages $42.15 million annually and includes over $120 million in guaranteed money

Smith-Njigba, a unanimous All-

Pro selection, had nine 100-yard receiving games during the regular season and was a key to Seattle winning its second Super Bowl in franchise history

2. Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals

Chase, a unanimous All-Pro selection in 2024, tied Justin Jef-

Arizona TE McBride continues to shine

BY ROB MAADDI Associated Press

Trey McBride was the bright spot last season for a dismal team in Arizona. He was the most productive tight end in the NFL, a near-unanimous All-Pro selection and made his second straight Pro Bowl. McBride’s success has also landed him the top spot at tight end in a preseason survey by The Associated Press He received five first-place votes from a panel of eight AP Pro Football Writers who ranked the top five players at the position.

1. Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals

McBride had a breakout year in 2024 and followed that up with a record-setting season in 2025. He caught 126 passes last season, breaking Zach Ertz’s record for most in a season by a tight end, had 1,239 receiving yards, and his 11 receiving touchdowns tied for first. McBride also led tight ends with 566 yards after the catch.

2. George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers

Kittle had 57 receptions for 628 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in only 11 games last season, averaging 11.0 yards per reception. He had just two drops and 259 yards after the catch

The seven-time Pro Bowl pick and two-time All-Pro is one of the best blocking tight ends in NFL history

3. Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders

After a sensational All-Pro rookie season, Bowers was plagued by injuries last year. He caught 64 passes for 680 yards and seven TDs in 12 games and made his second Pro Bowl. Bowers gained 296 yards after the catch, and had three drops. A

AP FILE PHOTO By JOSHUA A. BICKEL Cardinals tight end Trey McBride catches a touchdown pass in the end zone against the Bengals on Dec 28 in Cincinnati.

dynamic receiver Bowers is still a work in progress as a blocker

4. Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions

LaPorta was limited to nine games because of injuries last season and had 40 catches for 489 yards and three TDs.

He wasn’t charged with any drops and totaled 273 yards after the catch. LaPorta is one of the best all-around tight ends in the league and an asset in Detroit’s run game because of his outstanding blocking skills.

5. Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons

Pitts earned second-team AllPro honors after a career-high 88 catches for 928 yards and five TDs last season.

Pitts, who was the highestdrafted tight end in NFL history in 2021 when the Falcons selected him No. 4 overall, lived up to expectations as a rookie when he made the Pro Bowl But he was disappointing until a breakthrough season last year

ferson for first place in voting last year in this survey

He had 125 receptions, 1,412 yards receiving and eight touchdowns last season after earning the receiving triple crown in 2024.

3. Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams

Nacua was a unanimous All-Pro

selection after leading the NFL with 129 catches for 1,715 yards and 10 TDs.

Nacua has averaged 104 catches, 1,397 yards receiving and six TDs over his three seasons in the NFL, giving Matthew Stafford a top target and the Rams an elite passing attack.

4. Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings

In a down season, Jefferson had 84 catches for 1,048 yards and two TDs while catching passes from three different Vikings quarterbacks. The two-time All-Pro has averaged 97 catches, 1,413 yards and seven TDs over his six seasons in the NFL.

5. Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions

St. Brown was a second-team All-Pro after earning first-team honors the previous two seasons. He had 117 receptions, 1,401 yards receiving and 11 TDs last season for the Lions. St. Brown has four straight seasons of more than 100 receptions and more than 1,100 yards receiving.

RB Robinson meets hype

BY JOSH DUBOW Associated Press

The expectations for Bijan Robinson were high as soon as he entered the NFL in 2023 as the first running back taken with a top-10 pick in five years. Robinson made an impact almost from the start with the Atlanta Falcons and then took his game to another level last season when he led the NFL in yards from scrimmage and was picked as the All-Pro running back.

That production helped Robinson win the honor of being named the top running back in the league by The Associated Press.

1. Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons

Robinson, the eighth pick in 2023, is one of the top dual-threat backs in the league, finishing fourth in the league in rushing last season with 1,478 yards to go along with 820 yards receiving. He became the second player ever with at least 1,400 yards rushing and 800 yards receiving in the same season, joining Steven Jackson, who did it in 2006. Robinson led the NFL with 2,298 yards and scored 11 touchds.

2. Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers

McCaffrey has established himself as the most dangerous receiving threat out of the backfield and is a focal point of Kyle Shanahan’s passing game in San Francisco. McCaffrey wasn’t the explosive runner last season as he had been earlier in his career, rushing for 1,202 yards and averaging just 3.9 yards per carry He more than made up for that with 102 catches for 924 yards as he nearly became the first player ever with two seasons with at least 1,000 yards rushing and receiving.

3. Derrick Henry, Baltimore Ravens

People have been waiting for Henry to shows signs of decline as he reached his 30s, but it hasn’t been evident yet.

Henry has topped 1,500 yards rushing in each of the past two seasons after turning 30, with his five 1,500-yard seasons tied with Lions legend Barry Sanders for the most ever Henry ranked second in the NFL last season with 1,595 yards rushing and is 10th all-time with 13,018 yards.

4. Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia Eagles

Barkley took a step back from his record-setting 2024 season when his 2,504 yards rushing in the regular season and playoffs were the most ever as Philadelphia’s offense was less potent last season. He still managed to rush for 1,140 yards and scored nine total touchdowns.

5. Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions

Gibbs has been a scoring machine since entering the league with Robinson in 2023, when he was picked four spots later at No 12 overall. Gibbs’ 49 career TDs are the most ever for a player before turning 24, topping the previous mark of 47 set by Sanders.

Had Murphy decided to join the Tigers, he would’ve faced a roster crunch. LSU was projected to have more than 40 players on its 2027 roster before Friday and a likely competition for the starting centerfield spot.

NFL suspends Cardinals executive over gambling

The NFL has suspended Arizona Cardinals personnel executive Ryan Gold indefinitely for violating the league’s gambling policy

The league said Friday that its investigation determined that Gold provided confidential, nonpublic inside information regarding 2026 draft selections by the Cardinals before the picks were announced, and Gold also participated in parlay bets on NFL and college games. The league didn’t say who Gold had provided with the information.

Gold, who is in his 13th season with the Cardinals, was promoted to director of college scouting in June 2025. He spent 2022-24 as the assistant director of college scouting.

Titans to honor Johnson as Ring of Honor inductee

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Titans will induct Chris Johnson, the sixth man in NFL history to run for 2,000 yards in a season, into their Ring of Honor during halftime of their regular-season opener Sept. 13. The Titans announced the honor Friday following Johnson’s revelation June 29 that he was diagnosed with ALS, the fatal nervous system disease a year earlier Johnson was the 24th pick overall in 2008 by the Titans and played six of his 10 seasons in the NFL with Tennessee. Johnson, nicknamed “CJ2K,” rushed for 7,965 yards and had 58 total TDs in that span.

MLB restricts dugout iPad usage to prevent use of AI NEW YORK Major League Baseball is restricting iPad usage in dugouts to prevent the tablets from running artificial intelligence to help make decisions.

The tablets have access to video and league-provided data, and also included a custom tab where teams could access other programs. MLB made the custom tabs inaccessible to teams starting Wednesday night, when the second half of the season started.

“In many cases, the custom tab had expanded the use of the dugout iPads beyond their originally intended purpose to include recommendations regarding substitutions, pitch calling, and other ingame decisions traditionally made by players and coaches,” MLB executive vice president of baseball operations Morgan Sword wrote in a June 11 memo to GMs, assistant GMs and video coordinators.

Ohtani likely to pitch next week after knee treatment

NEW YORK Shohei Ohtani had a lubricant injected into his left knee, but the Dodgers two-way star did not have fluid drained, Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said Friday

Ohtani was in the starting lineup leading off as the designated hitter in Friday’s second-half opener against the New York Yankees. The four-time MVP is not slated to pitch this weekend and likely will make his next start Wednesday at Philadelphia Roberts said Ohtani had the procedure after Sunday’s game against Arizona. Ohtani last pitched on July 3.

“It gives him some relief in his knee and then the four days off from activity which gets it all to kind of settle in,” Roberts said.

AP FILE PHOTO By BRyNN ANDERSON Falcons running back Bijan Robinson celebrates his touchdown reception against the Los Angeles Rams on Dec. 29 in Atlanta.

at RoyalBirkdale golf club in Southport, England.

McIlroy makesweekend with sizable gaptoclose

BY STEVEDOUGLAS

AP sportswriter

SOUTHPORT,England Rory McIlroy has done enoughtomakeit to the weekend at RoyalBirkdale.

He’ll have to do much, much more to lift the claret jug.

The world No. 2bounced back with a3-under 67 in the second round at the British Open on Friday,ensuring he would the cut with his score of 1-under par overall. But he sits seven shotsback of leader Lucas Herbert while sitting in atie for 38th.

McIlroy knew he’d leftafew shots out there, though, especially when he saw that two other morning starters —Herbert andformer LSU golfer Sam Burns —tiedthe major championship record with rounds of 62 in gorgeous conditions.

“It was alittle better today,”

BRITISH

Continued from page 1C

minutes after Herbert shot his 62. But there was no mistaking the frustration of DeChambeau, who tends to draw attention no matter what he does. He hasbeen more visible on his successful YouTube channel than in the majors, particularly having missed the cutin all three of them until this week

Six-time major championNick Faldo criticized him for having no strategy for links golf, and DeChambeauresponded by working his way into contention with plenty of power

DeChambeau was hand-slapping with the gallery after he made a12footbirdieputt on the 18th to get within one shot of Herbertgoing into the weekend. Thatchanged when officials asked him to review his shot from the fifth hole. DeChambeau asked to be taken to the scene of theinfraction,in thick, high grass to the right of the 321-yard hole. TV cameras picked him up arguing with Grant Moir, the R&A executive director of governance, andMarkLuiten,a chief referee from the European tour He drove well to the right and wasstomping around as he triedto figure out how to navigatea shot 72 yards from the hole. At issue was whether he violated Rule 8that governs the intended swing.

Officials eventually deemed a section of grass behind the ball was tamped down by his movement, which might haveaffected his backswing on the shot

“A player is allowed to fairly take their stancebytakingreasonable actions to get to the ball and take astance, if in some situations that improves theconditionaffecting the stroke,” Moir said. “But when doingso, the player must take the least intrusive courseof action to deal with the particular situation and is not entitled to a normalstance or swing.”

He said the rule applies even when there is no intention to improve the area. Even more drama followed when DeChambeau stormedoff tothe range.His agent, BrettFalkoff, was asked if the two-timeU.S. Open champion would play on Saturday and replied, “We’llsee.”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” the agent said.

Herbert was long gone whenall this was taking place, with mixed

McIlroysaid, “butstill didn’tfeel 100% comfortable. Hopefully try to figure that out as theweek goes on.” He mighthavefigured it outtoo late.

While McIlroyisseven shots off theclubhouse lead held by Herbert, morerelevant might be No. 4-ranked Cameron Youngbeing at 6under. Otherplayerssuchas top-ranked Scottie Scheffler,Jon Rahm and BrysonDeChambeau are also well ahead of thebackto-back Masters champion on the leaderboard.

McIlroy,who wonthe British Open just down the road in Hoylake in 2014, struggled on the greens in shooting72onThursday and said he still hasn’tfigured them out.

“I felt like Ihit good puttsand they didsomething completely different to what Isaw in the read,

and Ithink that’salittle unnerving,” he said.

McIlroy was happy with his driving. He drove the green on the par4ninth hole with a377-yard tee shotthatsettled 11 feet from the pin, settingupthe third of his four birdies on Friday

Yet, for all his excellence off of thetee, he has madeonly one birdie on the par 5s this week.

McIlroy hopes theconditions allow him to be aggressive off of the teeoverthe weekend.Itmightbe his only hope of avictory

“I think any timeIcan get adriver in my hand, I’mgoing to tryto,” he said. “I just feel like with how I’m feeling with thedriver,Ithink it’sa big advantage if Ican get the ball down there and takeout some of these fairway bunkers.

“l continue todothat when Ican, and thenI’m still trying to figure out these greens alittle bit.”

PLAYERS SHOOTING62INMAJORS

Playerswitha62inmen’smajor championshipswithround,year andcourse(par) U.S. OPEN

n Rickie Fowler, first, 2023, Los Angeles CountryClub (70) n XanderSchauffele, first, 2023, LosAngeles Country Club (70) PGACHAMPIONSHIP

n x-XanderSchauffele, first, 2024, Valhalla (71)

n Shane Lowry, third, 2024, Valhalla (71) BRITISH OPEN

n Branden Grace, third, 2017, RoyalBirkdale (70)

n Lucas Herbert, second, 2026, RoyalBirkdale (70)

n Sam Burns, second, 2026, RoyalBirkdale (70)

The Associated Press

“Very, veryproud to put my name on that list of guys that have shot 62 in amajor championship. So it’skind of holding two emotionsthereatthe same time. It’sapretty good problem to have, too, to be disappointed you shot 62.”

LUCAS

HERBERT,British Open leader

emotions abouta shortmissonthe final hole but proud to becomethe sixth persontoshoot 62 in amajor.And then Burns madeitseven with his astonishing finish —a 40foot birdie putt from off thegreen at the 16th, a20-foot birdie on the 17th andthe first birdie of the day on the18th with his bunker shot. Still steamingfrom abogey-bogey-bogeyfinish onThursday for a3-over 73, Burns’ goal was to get back under parand keep his hopes aliveinthe championship.

“The finishthere thelast three holeswas just abonus,” Burns said of his roundFriday Burns wasn’teven supposed to be at the British Open. Hiswife was due with their second child this week,but whenshe hada daughterearlier than expected on July 3, Burns decided to cross the Atlantic for another shot at amajor. He wasrunner-up by oneshot in the U.S.Open. When the dustfinallysettled on the brown-baked linksofRoyal Birkdale, the only clarity was Herbert having his first 36-hole lead in amajor.And golf’s oldest championship, which rarely lacks fordrama, hadalmostmorethanit could handle.

Reigning champion Scottie Scheffler couldn’tbuy aputt until a12-footer for par on the final hole gave hima 68 andlefthim only four shots behind “All you can do is continue to give myselfopportunities,” Scheffler said. “I washitting somegood putts as well, the balls just weren’t

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higher level when he is playing.

Thelowdown

The question of howgood the offensive linecan be likely will come down to the development of the young offensive tackles.

New Orleans used the No. 9 overall pick in 2025 on Banks to be theirlefttackle of thefuture. He took over that positionfrom Fuaga, who slid over to the right side after his impressive rookie season as the No. 14 pickinthe 2024 draft.

Banks appearstobeahome runpick for theSaints. He played nearly every offensive snap in 2025 and improvedasthe season went along, cutting his quick pressure rate from over 5% in thefirst half of the season to less than 2% in the second half Fuaga appeared to be on that same track after his rookie season.But after switching to the right side —the side he played at Oregon State —Fuaga’s play fell off abit in 2025 as he managed an injury throughout the season.

If ahealthy Fuaga can rediscover his form and Banks takes anotherstep forward,the Saints could have one of the NFL’s best young offensive tackle tandems.

That does noteveninclude what happened along the interior.Edwards wasone of the best available free agents at any position this offseason, and the Saints snapped him up for$61 million over four years.

The veteran has drawn rave reviews forquickly settling into aleadershiprolefor the Saints, and he fills acrucial need —left guard was abit of ablack hole a year ago. That leaves veteranCesar Ruiz, theSaints’ 2020 first-rounder.He is coming off adisappointing 2025 season but has shown at times in his career that he can play at an above average level. He has two yearsremaining on his contract but no guarantees after this year and the Saints added alittle pressure on him by selecting Jeremiah Wright out of Auburn in the fourth round. While Ruiz likely isn’tgoing to share starters’ repswithWright during training camp, the stakes are relatively high forhim to prove he shouldstill be theright guard beyond 2026.

Potentialcampbattle

The Saints were able to navigate McCoy’sinjury to adegree last season because theytraded forLuke Fortner,who wound up starting the final 10 games and playing well enough to earn a $2.75 million contract fromthe Carolina Panthers in the offseason. That leaves relatively untested young players such as Torricelli Simpkins and WilliamSherman to compete for the primary spot behind McCoy.Both started a pair of gamesatguard while New Orleans endured arash of injuriesonthe interiorofthe offensive line last season. Simpkins is the younger of the two, entering his true second season in the NFL. Sherman was drafted in 2021 but spent several seasons on practice squads before returning to agameday roster last season.This summer, Simpkins took snaps withthe second team,though that is hardly an indication of where things will land in September One thing to keep in mind: Ruiz is listed as aG/C on the team’swebsite (as is McCoy) and was primarily acenter in college. The Saints didn’twant to shifthim inside after McCoy’sinjurylast season because they feltitwouldmake them worse at twopositions,but perhaps that mindset would change if NewOrleans feelsconfident aboutWright.

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dropping. If Icontinue to strike it like Idid today and yesterday over thenext coupledays, I’ll be in a good spot.”

Jackson Suber (69) and Ryan Gerard (67), apair of newcomers to linksgolf, were tied for second withCameronYoung, whohas powerfully put together apair of 67s as he looks morelike the player who dominated the spring.

Rahm,who missed a4-footbirdie putt on thefinal holeand shot67, was very muchinthe mix just four shots behind and not about to change his intensity,eventhough another conduct violation would be atwo-shot penalty

“It’snot like I’m going to if I trytoalter who Iamtoo much, it might cost me alittle bit on the course,” Rahm said. “But certainly shouldn’thave moments like the one on 15. Iget it.”

Sixteenplayers were separated by four shotsgoing into the weekend, whichincludes hometown star Tommy Fleetwood,who had threebirdies over the last five holes for a67.

The cut was at 1-over 141 and a few of England’s best hopeswon’t be around —Matt Fitzpatrick, the No. 3player in the world, and Justin RoseatNo. 10. Herbert,who has won on five tours around the world and most recently on LIV Golf, made the cut for only the 10thtimein18majors. He madeitlook easy until thefinal hole,and nowhis thoughts shift from having his name in the record book to his nameonthe claret jug.

games so much fun.

“Now I’matSouthern Miss and we hate UL,too. It’s not personal. Iget along fine with the coaches off the field, but on the field, you hate those guys and they hate us.” Imagine being aseasoned Louisiana Tech fan. The Bulldogs have spentthis entire century with strangers whohave never heard of Billy Ryckman or Bobby Ray Tell. The Bulldogs abandoned the fun of regional rivalries to join theWAC from 2001-12, before gettingalittle closer to homein Conference USAfrom 2013-25.

In his fifth season, Louisiana Tech coach Sonny Cumbie has heard allofthe stories about his program’sold rivals.

“Whenever I’ve traveled around and we’re playing an old staterival, it’s‘you better win this game,’ “Cumbie said with alaugh. “When we play ULM, theenvironment is going to be electric. The fans are going to be very excited aboutit.” Forthe team, it meansless travel. For the fans, it means the abilitytotravel to games as families can creatememories that simply don’thappenagainst league members five states away

“I’ve heard it 100 times from our fan base about getting to travel to Hattiesburg to face Southern Miss or going to Lafayette to create memories as a

fan,” Cumbie said. The fungenerated by these renewed rivalries is only part of the motivation that keeps Anderson going as he starts from scratch at Southern Miss. He’s only 57 years old, but fewhave endured what Anderson has overcome to stay in the game.

During his stint at Arkansas State, his first wife died of cancer in 2019. Then one of his two sons died tragically in 2022 at 21 years old while Anderson was coaching at Utah State.

“Losing aspouse, and achild, and abrother,and afather in afive-year period, it changes you,” Anderson said. “I’ll never be the sameagain. Idon’tknow how Iwould have gone through that without Christ. God has put me around so manyamazing people —all the staffand players. Those guys liftmeup.” While mostofthe conferences in the country are now spread farand wide, the Sun Belt continues to narrow its focus.

Getting to see new James Madison coach Billy Napier forthe first timeinfour years on Wednesday also makes the league seem morefamiliar More Sun Belt games will matter now,beyond the ramifications on the league standings. Future trips to Ruston, Monroe or Hattiesburg will offer grandfathers enough time to relay stories of great games from decades ago to their grandkids as new memories are created. Email KevinFoote at kfoote@ theadvocate.com.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By PETER MORRISON

RoryMcIlroyofNorthernIreland looks at the lie of hisputtonthe fourth green during the second dayofthe British Open on Friday

STAFFFILE PHOTOByDAVID GRUNFELD

Saints tacklesDillon Radunz, second fromleft, and Kelvin Banks, right, line up against the San Francisco 49ers on Sept. 14 in the Caesars Superdome.

Photo portended generational clash at World Cup years later

Messi held baby yamal in now iconic pictures

BY JOSEPH WILSON Associated Press

BARCELONA, Spain Almost two decades ago, photographer Joan Monfort didn’t think much of his photo shoot of a teenage Lionel Messi bathing a cute baby boy in a plastic bathtub. Not until the remarkable twist of fate became clear years later, when that infant blossomed into Lamine Yamal.

Now those images of the longhaired Messi, his hands covered in soap suds as if anointing Yamal as soccer’s Next Big Thing, have become the most talked about and gawked about — in the run-up to Sunday’s World Cup final, when Messi’s Argentina will play Yamal’s Spain for the biggest trophy in the sport.

“I have never been a believer or thought that anything was destined to occur, but I am beginning to have my doubts. This is beyond all reasonable explanations,” Monfort told The Associated Press from his home in Barcelona on Friday Monfort, who works as a freelance photojournalist for the AP, took the photos in 2007 as part of a charity calendar produced by local newspaper Sport and UNICEF Luck dictated that Yamal’s mother, who appears in the calendar photo, won a raffle of families in the city of Mataró, near Barcelona, who wanted to participate. Soccer destiny then deemed that her baby boy, who would become a star for Barcelona some 15 years later, was paired up with the Argentine who would become one of the greatest of all time.

A tearful Messi left Barcelona in 2021 when the club was in financial trouble. Yamal erupted at the club two years later The journey is now complete, from bathtub to World Cup final, where the 19-year-old Yamal will face a Messi who is 20

ä Spain vs. Argentina.

2 P.M.SUNDAy FOX

years his senior Monfort had no recollection of the photos until Yamal’s father posted one on social media during the 2024 European Championship, when a teenage Yamal was enjoying his international breakout and led Spain to the title.

The photo went viral then. But now, with the World Cup final looming, Monfort said, interest in his photos has skyrocketed.

“This has exploded all over the world, and the fact that the final is in the U.S. has given it the extra push,” Monfort said. “And now this has culminated with the final between Messi and Yamal. It is better than any film script.”

Monfort said he has been bombarded by queries for the photos by professional media outlets, while also seeing his images reproduced countless times on social media and the internet without any credit or compensation.

Yamal’s Spain teammate Mikel Merino had the same reaction as most people who see the photos.

“The first time I saw it, I thought

it was AI and that it wasn’t even real,” Merino said Friday “It’s unbelievable that two of the best players to have played the game — and hopefully Lamine, in the future, will be one of those — share a picture like that. Hopefully we’re going to see a very bright final with those two protagonists at their best, playing and giving all the fans a great spectacle.”

Like many Barcelona fans, Monfort’s loyalty is split. It is common to see children wearing both Yamal’s Barcelona and Spain shirts as well as any Messi shirt, whether from his Barcelona years or Argentina or his current club, Inter Miami, on the city’s streets.

Monfort, 58, is considering traveling to see the final in New Jersey, but whether he watches it in person or at home, he said he will have trouble cheering for one team or the other

“My heart is split. I don’t know if I want Messi or Yamal to win,” said Monfort, a lifelong Barcelona supporter “I have an everlasting love for the best player of all time (Messi). Yamal has broken the mold here.

“Maybe they can both win I wouldn’t rule it out after everything we have seen.”

Kelly finally won an opener at Clemson last season. Now LSU has to complete the home-andhome series against Clemson with a Sept. 5 contest in Baton Rouge, which will be Kiffin’s debut.

Kiffin doesn’t want to play a tough nonconference slate when he doesn’t believe other leagues are doing the same. He argues the Big Ten, home to the last three national champions, isn’t as deep as the SEC and those teams don’t have as many games to “get up for” on their schedule each year

“That schedule, where half your games you don’t have to get up for it’s a mental toll that you gotta play when you have to get up for (it),”

Kiffin said on Pardon My Take.

Kiffin would much rather open with a school from a non-Power Four conference, and American Conference member Tulane fits the bill Tulane also happens to be the team LSU played in its first football game ever in 1893, which Tulane won 34-0.

That’s not to say the Green Wave has become pushovers, because it made the playoff under now-Florida coach Jon Sumrall last season. But the last time LSU played Tulane was an Oct. 31,

2009, contest in Tiger Stadium, which the Tigers won 42-0.

LSU’s only other game against Southern came in 2022 for a 6517 victory LSU last faced Northwestern State in 2019 and prevailed 65-14.

UL-Monroe is a program LSU has faced four times. The Tigers have won all four games in the series, though its 2014 win was vacated because of a booster scandal.

Officially, LSU is a combined 16-0 vs. Northwestern State, ULMonroe and Southern.

LSU holds a combined record of 69-22-7 vs. Tulane, but the Tigers have won 18 straight and haven’t lost since 1982. Of Tulane’s 22 wins over LSU, 18 came prior to 1950.

LSU will open 2027 with Northwestern State, Houston and Texas-San Antonio before launching into a nine-game conference slate. The 2028 campaign will open with UL-Monroe, SMU and Southern.

In 2029, the Tigers are slated to make a return trip to SMU before hosting Rice and McNeese State in Tiger Stadium.

LSU currently has a home-andhome series scheduled with Utah in 2031-32, as well.

Email Jon BLau at jon.blau@ theadvocate.com

SCOREBOARD

(Canning 1-7) at Kansas City (TBD), 3:10 p.m. St. Louis (May 5-6) at Arizona (Pfaadt 3-1) 3:10 p.m. Texas (Gore 5-8) at Atlanta (Murphy 0-1) 3:10 p.m. L.A. Dodgers (Sheehan 4-6) at N.Y. Yankees (Weathers 3-7), 7:08 p.m. San Francisco (Webb 5-7) at Seattle (Woo 7-6), 7:08 p.m. Washington (Littell 7-6) at Athletics (Ginn 7-6), 9:05 p.m.

Tennis

(Boyd

p.m. Chicago White Sox (Martin 9-4) at Toronto (Bieber 0-1), 2:07 p.m. Baltimore (Rogers 6-7) at Houston (Arrighetti 7-5), 3:10 p.m. Pittsburgh (Ashcraft 9-3) at Cleveland (Cantillo 8-4), 3:10 p.m. San Diego (Canning 1-7) at Kansas City (TBD), 3:10 p.m. Tampa Bay (Seymour 6-2) at Boston (Sandoval 0-0), 3:10 p.m. Texas (Gore 5-8) at Atlanta (Murphy 0-1), 3:10 p.m. L.A. Dodgers (Sheehan 4-6) at N.Y. Yankees (Weathers 3-7), 7:08 p.m. San Francisco (Webb 5-7) at

(Woo 7-6), 7:08 p.m. Washington (Littell 7-6) at

(Ginn 7-6), 9:05 p.m. Detroit (Skubal 5-5)

Swiss Open Results Friday At Roy Emerson Arena Gstaad, Switzerland Purse: €612,620 Surface: Red clay Results Friday from Swiss Open at Roy Emerson Arena (seedings in parentheses): Men’s Singles Quarterfinals Raphael Collignon (7), Belgium, def. Valentin Vacherot (3), Monaco, 7-6 (7), 4-6, 7-5. Juan Manuel Cerundolo (6), Argentina, def. Casper Ruud (2), Norway, 3-6, 7-5, 6-2. Aleksandr Shevchenko, Russia, def. Quentin Halys, France, 7-6 (5), 6-3. Stefanos Tsitsipas, Greece, def. Arthur Rinderknech (4), France, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Men’s Doubles Quarterfinals Sander Gille, Belgium, and Sem Verbeek, Netherlands, def. Dominic Stricker and Dylan Dietrich, Switzerland, 5-7, 6-3, 10-5 Jakub Paul, Switzerland, and Ryan Seggerman, United States, def. Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Quentin Halys (3), France, 6-4, 3-6, 10-7.

Croatia Open Umag Results

Friday At ITC Stella Maris Umag, Croatia Surface: Red clay Results Friday from Croatia Open Umag at ITC Stella Maris (seedings in parentheses): Men’s Singles Semifinals Daniel Merida, Spain, def. Roman Andres Burruchaga, Argentina, 6-4, 6-2. Men’s Doubles Championship Adam Pavlasek and Patrik Rikl (1), Czechia, def. Marcus Willis and David Stevenson, Britain, 6-3, 4-6, 10-6 Golf

The Open Championship Friday At Royal Birkdale Southport, United Kingdom Purse: $17.8 million Yardage: 7,223; Par: 70 Second Round Lucas Herbert, Australia

8 Ryan Gerard, United States

Jackson Suber, United States

Cameron Young, United States

Cauley,

Im, South Korea 66-72—138 -2

John Keefer, United States 70-68—138 2

Collin Morikawa, United States 68-70—138 2

R. Neergrd-Petersn, Denmark 72-66—138 -2

Patrick Reed, United States 72-66—138 2

Adam Scott, Australia 72-66—138 -2

Jordan L. Smith, England 68-70—138 -2

Matthew Southgate, England 69-69—138 2

Sepp Straka, Austria 68-70—138 -2

M. Thorbjornsn, United States 70-68—138 2

J. Bridgeman, United States 70-69—139 1

Patrick Cantlay, United States 71-68—139 -1

MJ Daffue, South Africa 67-72—139 1

H. Du Plessis, South Africa 70-69—139 -1

Ben Griffin, United States 69-70—139 -1

Kazuma Kobori, New Zealand 70-69—139 1

Hideki Matsuyama, Japan 72-67—139 -1

Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland 72-67—139 1

Shaun Norris, South Africa 69-70—139 1

John Parry, England 71-68—139 -1

Andy Sullivan, England 70-69—139 1

Jesper Svensson, Sweden 73-66—139 1

Nick Taylor, Canada 68-71—139 -1

Justin Thomas, United States 70-69—139 1

M. Brennan, United States 72-68—140 E

Laurie Canter, England 69-71—140 E

Eric Cole, United States 76-64—140 E

Rickie Fowler, United States 71-69—140 E

Ryan Fox, New Zealand 72-68—140 E

Max Homa, United States 71-69—140 E

Casey Jarvis, South Africa 73-67—140 E

Kurt Kitayama, United States 69-71—140 E

E. Lopez-Chacarra, Spain 70-70—140 E Alex Noren, Sweden 71-69—140 E Marco Penge, England 72-68—140 E

Kristoffer Reitan, Norway 69-71—140 E

X. Schauffele, United States 71-69—140 E

Alex Smalley, United States 67-73—140 E

S. Theegala, United States 71-69—140 E

Josele Ballester, Spain 71-70—141 +1

Keegan Bradley, United States 69-72—141 +1

Russell Henley, United States 70-71—141 +1

Kazuki Higa, Japan 73-68—141 +1

Ryo Hisatsune, Japan 68-73—141 +1

Naoyuki Kataoka, Japan 73-68—141 +1

Brooks Koepka, United States 70-71—141 +1

Min Woo Lee, Australia 70-71—141 +1

Jack McDonald, Scotland 70-71—141 +1

M. Plunkett, United States 70-71—141 +1

Aldrich Potgieter, South Africa 69-72—141 +1

Peter Uihlein, United States 73-68—141 +1

James Nicholas, United States 75-WD

Missed Cut Harris English, United States 73-69—142 +2

Daniel Hillier, New Zealand 72-70—142 +2

Nicolai Hojgaard, Denmark 72-70—142 +2

Billy Horschel, United States 71-71—142 +2

Mason Howell, United States 73-69—142 +2

Jake Knapp, United States 71-71—142 +2

Joakim Lagergren, Sweden 68-74—142 +2

M. McCarty, United States 75-67—142 +2

T. McKibbin, Northern Ireland 71-71—142 +2

Andrew Novak, United States 73-69—142 +2

J.T. Poston, United States 71-71—142 +2

Aaron Rai, England 71-71—142 +2

Antoine Rozner, France 69-73—142 +2

J. Trey Schaper, South Africa 70-72—142 +2

Cameron Smith, Australia 73-69—142 +2

Henrik Stenson, Sweden 68-74—142 +2

Sam Stevens, United States 71-71—142 +2

Sami Valimaki, Finland 70-72—142 +2

Bernd Wiesberger, Austria 71-71—142 +2

Angel Ayora Fanegas, Spain 72-71—143 +3

Wyndham Clark, United States 73-70—143 +3

David Howard, Ireland 74-69—143 +3

Tom Kim, South Korea 70-73—143 +3

M. McNealy, United States 71-72—143 +3

Keith Mitchell, United States 72-71—143 +3

Ryutaro Nagano, Japan 71-72—143 +3

Keita Nakajima, Japan 73-70—143 +3

Justin Rose, England 75-68—143 +3

Travis Smyth, Australia 71-72—143 +3

Akshay Bhatia, United States 71-73—144 +4

Jason Day, Australia 73-71—144 +4

Joe Dean, England 72-72—144 +4

Matt Fitzpatrick, England 72-72—144 +4

Harry Hall, England 77-67—144 +4

Michael Hollick, South Africa 72-72—144 +4

Viktor Hovland, Norway 70-74—144 +4 Frederic Lacroix, France 72-72—144 +4

Joaquin Niemann, Chile 76-68—144 +4

Mateo Pulcini, Argentina 75-69—144 +4

FILE PHOTO By KATHy ANDERSON LSU coach Lane Kiffin rides in the Endymion parade on Orleans Avenue on Feb 14 in New Orleans.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JOAN MONFORT

Soccer star Lionel Messi, then 20, cradles Lamine yamal, who was 6 months old during a photo session in September 2007 in the dressing room of the Camp Nou Stadium in Barcelona, Spain.

LIVING

BR Ballet Theatre names interim leader

Staff report

Baton Rouge Ballet Theatre announced the appointment of MystiByrnesasinterim executivedirector

Byrnes is anonprofit leader, communityadvocateand arts supporter whosecareerhas focused on strengthening communitiesthroughphilanthropy, public engagement, foodaccess and cultural enrichment.

Shepreviously served Baton Rouge as the development director of the Big River Economic &Agricultural Development Alliance, directorofPublic Relations for the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge, associate director of Opéra Louisiane and is currently aBaton Rouge Area Foundation Development fellow Her commitment to the community extends beyond herprofessional roles. She currently serves as aCapital Area CASA volunteeradvocate, secretary for the Baton Rouge Opera Guild Board of Directors and is adedicated co-leader of the “Perk Up Perkins”initiative agrassroots movement focused on improving pedestrian safety and corridor enhancements along Perkins Road.

As atrained opera singer,Byrnes is no stranger to the performing arts and has long been an advocate for preserving and expanding access to classical arts organizations throughout the Capital Region.

“I’m honored and excited to return to the performingarts and gratefulfor the opportunitytohelp guideBaton Rouge Ballet Theatre through its next chapter,” Byrnes saidin anews release. “BRBT hasarich history of artistic excellence that has made an enduring contribution to our region’scultural identity Ilook forward to working alongside the Board, staff, instructors, and supporters to continue building on that legacy.”

As interim executivedirector,Byrnes will overseethe

ä See BALLET, page 6C

As the schoolyear starts,we’re thinkingabout thepeoplewho stand at the front of the room, who open classroom doorswith asmile. Sometimes astranger in August becomes the person a student never forgets.

Certain teachers saysomething on arandom October afternoon and students repeat it for decades to come —orateacher mayleadbyexample and givein waysthat changes lives.

We invite readers to tell us about that teacher who made all the difference: write aletter directly to the teacher and send it to us. Or tell the story plain:a name, aclassroom and the moment that stuck. We’relooking for the lessons that have outlasted the chalkboard(or the dry erase board,as the case maybe). Send your letter or story,including the name of the teacher,name of school city and year to jan.risher@ theadvocate.com by 2p.m. July 28. Photos of the teacher arealso welcome.

TLCstars soak up NewOrleans at national conference

‘Little

cast members fromleft,

and

visitNew Orleans thisweek for the Little Peopleof America conference.

BY JUDYBERGERON Staff writer

BigEasy

As TLC’sfreshman season of “Little Singles” passes the midway point, three series principals were outand about in New Orleansthis week.

John Ferguson, Stephanie Vrettakos and Sammy Replogle traveled to the cityalong with about 700 fellow little people for the nonprofit Little People of America’sannual conference. Their entourages —both short-statured and average-sized family andfriends brought total attendance to around 2,000, according to thetrio of castmates known as “the threeamigos.”

They’ve been buddies for years, having first met at past conferences. Forging friendships, whichsometimeslead to permanentrelationships are part of the camaraderie of conference week.

“It really is asupport group and a community where, for oneweek, you can really feel like everyone else wouldfeelall year ’round,” Ferguson, 28, of Toronto, Canada, said. “It’s our chance to just leave the average world where we obviouslystand out

and we’re looked at and all of that, but here it’s like everyone shares the same experiences and it’ssuper-relatable.”

Adigital content creator, Ferguson added that the conference is great for all age groups. Younger kids have a

ä See STARS, page 6C

PHOTOFROM WARNER BROS.DISCOVERy ‘LittleSingles’castmates, from left,StephanieVrettakos, Sammy Replogle, John Ferguson, Krista Sulaica and Jordanna James gather in the backyard of theirPalmSprings

Louisianaartistinspiresfashion line

BY DOUG MacCASH Staff writer

Theglittering gowns recently debutedbythe house of ChristianDior may seem familiar to fine art aficionados, especially in Louisiana. They are tributes to 84-year-old Lake Charles artist Lynda Benglis, who regularly rattled the art world with her avant-garde work. JonathanAnderson has only been thecreative director of

ChristianDiorHaute Couture for about ayear,but he has alreadydelivered oneofthe plum couture commissions of all time: Taylor Swift’swedding gown. It’s unclear from reports in the fashionpress howexactly Anderson, 42, becameenamored with Lynda Benglis’ art. His fall 2026-27 couture collection is concentrated on Benglis’ mostbeautiful sculptures, particularly a

ä See BENGLIS, page 6C

Byrnes

Singles

John Ferguson, Stephanie Vrettakos

Sammy Replogle

vacation rental

Women’s retreat in Denham Springs

LAYD Retreat House, 10875 Fontenot Road, Denham Springs, will host “God’s Daughters Retreat: Who Am I? Identifying the REAL ME!” from 6:30 p.m. Friday, July 31, through noon Saturday, Aug. 1. The overnight retreat is designed to help women rediscover their identity in Christ through worship, prayer, fellowship, reflection and Biblical encouragement.

“Participants will be reminded that they are chosen, loved, healed and deeply valued as daughters of God,” a news release states Registration is $214.19 and is available through

eventbrite.com

Event to promote spiritual renewal

Global Network Outreach Ministries, 9466 Greenwell Springs Road, Baton Rouge, will host “The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit: Breath on Us Again, Lord” from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, July 25.

This Speak Life Encounter is designed to encourage spiritual renewal through worship, prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit Inspired by Ezekiel 37:14, the event will focus on restoring faith, healing brokenness and renewing God’s spirit in every area of life.

Lavern Thames will be the featured speaker All are welcome.

TODAY IN HISTORY

By The Associated Press

Today is Saturday, July 18, the 199th day of 2026. There are 166 days left in the year

Today in History:

On July 18, 1976, at the Summer Olympics in Montreal, Nadia Comaneci of Romania became the first gymnast to receive a perfect score of 10 from Olympic judges for her performance on the uneven bars.

Also on this date:

In 1536, the English Parliament passed an act declaring the authority of the pope void in England.

In 1863, during the Civil War, Union troops spearheaded by the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry made up of Black soldiers, charged Confederate-held Fort Wagner on Morris Island, South Carolina. The Confederates were able to repel the Northerners, who suffered heavy losses; the 54th’s commander, Col. Robert Gould Shaw, was among those who were killed.

In 1925, Adolf Hitler published the first volume of his autobiographical manifesto, “Mein Kampf (My Struggle).”

In 1947, President Harry S. Truman signed a Presidential Succession Act which placed the speaker of the House and the Senate president pro tempore next in the line of succession after the vice president.

In 1964, nearly a week of rioting erupted in New York’s Harlem neighbor-

BALLET

Continued from page 5C

hood following the fatal police shooting of a Black teenager, James Powell, two days earlier In 1994, a bomb hidden in a van destroyed a Jewish cultural center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, killing 85 people. In 2005, an unrepentant Eric Rudolph was sentenced in Birmingham, Alabama, to life in prison for an abortion clinic bombing that killed an off-duty police officer and maimed a nurse.

In 2013, Detroit became the biggest U.S. city to file for bankruptcy, its finances ravaged and its neighborhoods hollowed out by a long, slow decline in population and auto manufacturing Today’s Birthdays: Olympic gold medal figure skater Tenley Albright is 91. Movie director Paul Verhoeven is 88. Singer Dion DiMucci is 87. Actor James Brolin is 86. Baseball Hall of Famer Joe Torre is 86. Singer Martha Reeves is 85. Business mogul Richard Branson is 76. Actor Margo Martindale is 75. Musician Ricky Skaggs is 72. World Golf Hall of Famer Nick Faldo is 69. Actor Elizabeth McGovern is 65. Actor Vin Diesel is 59. Author Elizabeth Gilbert is 57. Retired NBA All-Star Penny Hardaway is 55. Singer-songwriter M.I.A. is 51. Actor Elsa Pataky (“The Fast and the Furious” films) is 50. Movie director Jared Hess is 47. Actor Kristen Bell is 46. Actor Priyanka Chopra is 44.

dence in her leadership and her ability to position BRBT as the region’s leading performing arts organization.”

STATE OF MIND

BY THOMAS ADAMSON AP fashion writer

PARIS Jonathan Anderson arrived at Paris couture week with the fashion world still waiting to see the Dior wedding dress he made for Taylor Swift.

On Monday, on the first day, he tried to give it something else to look at.

Three days after Swift married NFL star Travis Kelce at New York’s Madison Square Garden, with both dressed by Dior, Anderson returned to the runway with a sculptural, heavily pleated haute couture collection inspired by American artist Lynda Benglis.

The commission was a coup for the LVMH-owned house and for Anderson, the 41-year-old Northern Irish designer appointed a year ago to overhaul all of Dior’s fashion lines.

For months, industry watchers had bet on American names, such as Ralph Lauren, or on Vivienne

BENGLIS

Continued from page 5C organization’s day-to-day operations while working closely with the company’s board of directors to support the organization’s mission, strategic priorities and continued artistic excellence.

“We are delighted to welcome Mysti to the BRBT family,” said Heather Herman, chair of BRBT’s Board of Trustees, in the release. “I have the utmost confi-

The Baton Rouge Ballet Theatre, under the artistic direction of Rebecca Acosta and Jonna Cox, is a nonprofit organization chartered in 1960 to promote and assist the advancement of classical and contemporary dance by maintaining a performing company, presenting a high-quality season, and providing dance education and community outreach.

Continued from page 5C

chance to make friends with others who look like them, while adults may look for love and fun.

The Big Easy heat aside — had a lot to offer conferencegoers.

“We went to Bourbon Street yesterday, had a great time,” Ferguson said. “Did a bar night with karaoke, went to watch some sports this morning.”

The sports competitions, directed by the Dwarf Athletic Association of America, include soccer, basketball and track and field.

“It’s nice because then it’s like you’re on an equal playing field for once, too,” said Vrettakos, 33, who works in marketing in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The conference also offers medical sessions, workshops, field trips, dances and other celebrations. The packed schedule included a Steamboat Natchez dinner cruise, a National WWII Museum tour, a pontoon ride through the swamp and a jazz brunch.

“The three amigos” are all about such fun on their new unscripted series, set in California, where a cast of five vacation at a luxury Palm Springs getaway while exploring life and love in their 20s and 30s.

Predictably with reality television, tension comes when a romance triangle threatens longtime friendships. Other friends also drop by for parties, adding to the fun and drama.

“I miss that house,” Vrettakos lamented of the spacious party house with a large backyard pool.

“Little Singles follows

series of large works that appeared to be shimmering pleated ribbon knotted into loose bows.

He respectfully translated Benglis’ vision into gowns that are both spectacular and quietly elegant. Anderson, who is certainly aware of Benglis’ role as a 1970s feminist firebrand, also scored a conceptual coup by wrapping young women in the pioneering artist’s life’s work.

Benglis might be the most famous artist to have ever graduated from Newcomb College’s art department — now part of Tulane University She was already achieving fame in New York by 1974 for her experimental

a succession of TLC series revolving around the lives of families with dwarfism, including “Little People, Big World, “The Little Couple” and “7 Little Johnstons.”

Those series have a different dynamic than “Little Singles,” Vrettakos pointed out

“I’ve watched some of ‘Little People, Big World.’ I don’t follow any of the other ones too closely, but they’re just more family-oriented, whereas ours is obviously — we’re all navigating our 20s and 30s,” she said. “So it’s just a very different dynamic that I think is relatable too, but a different demographic of people.”

Producers from Shed Media initially reached out to Ferguson on Instagram about a possible reality series Considering the stunts and tricks reels he posts, the first idea was a prank show “Then I explained a little

Westwood, whom Swift wears often.

The one dress the world wanted to see was the one Anderson would not show

So on Monday he changed the subject to art.

Poured, not sewn

The collection tried to move the conversation from Swift’s hidden gown to the work of Benglis, known since the late 1960s for pouring latex onto gallery floors and letting metal fold and sag into shape.

Dior workrooms were treated as a version of her studio a place where flat fabric is pressed, knotted and bent into three dimensions.

Benglis bends flat material into shape; so, in the end, does couture.

The clothes followed that idea. A skirt of silver-foiled petals moved with each step.

A strapless silver lamé gown was cinched with an oversized bow Trousers and blouses were finished in tight hand-pressed pleats.

Dior’s signature Bar jacket, the nipped-waist shape the house has built on since 1947, was remade several ways: in fern-green tweed with a frayed fringe, in gray houndstooth folded into a giant bow, and once with loose chiffon threads left hanging at the hem.

Other looks were built entirely from embroidered silk flowers.

A wide fan of blue tulle was splayed across the front of one dress.

Handbags came in metallic pleats — four of them designed with Benglis herself. Fans out, stars in France was in another heat wave, with temperatures above 86 F.

Dior had sent fans with its invitations, and guests used them through the show in the gardens of the Rodin Museum.

The front row mixed pop stars with artists. Singer Sabrina Carpenter and actor Josh O’Connor sat

style. Imagine gallons and gallons of rainbow-colored latex paint poured directly onto the floor of an art gallery Lava flows of foam plastic insulation gushing from the walls and piling up in the

about our community and how crazy and close we all are. And they were like, ‘Scrap the pranks We want to see you and all of your friends,’ ” said Ferguson.

“I hit up the closest friends I have in this community (Vrettakos and Replogle).

Krista Sulaica, 31, a content creator from Lake Orion, Michigan, and dancer and actress Jordanna James, 37, of Hartford, Connecticut, filled out the cast.

“It’s great because we also help create it, you know what I mean? Because like even the greatest of producers don’t fully understand what we deal with or our struggles or what we like,” Ferguson said. “So it really feels like a groupprojectratherthanlike, ‘Hey,we’regoingtothrowyou in this house and like, this is exactly what you need to do.’”

The cast’s input shapes how misconceptions get ad-

corners. Imagine enormous, crusty, curly, coils of clay coated in gold or silver glaze. That’s the sort of thing Benglis has been known since the 1960s. Back then, big-time art was mostly a boys’ club.

dressed on-camera.

“For me, it’s the fact that everyone thinks that we can’t do everything that everyone else does,” Replogle said. “And my mom always taught me growing up, you can do anything you put your mind to, just maybe a little bit different than how someone else would do it. And so you just kind of have to look at it that way.”

Another misbelief is that little people aren’t happy with who they are, according to Ferguson.

“At least all the friends I have who are small, I know they’re confident with who they are and they wouldn’t change who they are or what they look like,” he said. “Even like growing up, everyone always asked me, ‘Hey, how would you feel if you were average? Isn’t that what you want?’ It’s like, honestly, ‘No.’

among guests including Priyanka

and

Despite the razzmatazz, Anderson’s wager is plain: that the world’s most storied fashion house can afford to be strange. He is often compared to Matthieu Blazy, the new designer at rival Chanel, who made the wedding dress for singer Dua Lipa this month. The season now carries a peculiar distinction: Its two biggest stories are dresses no one is allowed to see. The bride you can’t see As couture tradition dictates, the show closed with a bride. Anderson sent out a pale, strapless column gown under a long veil of hand-pleated chiffon, trimmed with feathered dandelions and embroidered cactus flowers. It was the second wedding dress Anderson showcased this week — and the only one anyone could photograph.

Benglis satirized the situation by taking out an ad in a respected art magazine that featured a totally nude photo of herself with a large dildo. It was an art world hand grenade that immediately made her a feminist icon. A couple of Benglis’ major works are on permanent display in New Orleans. One of her golden abstractions stands on the Poydras Street neutral ground near the intersection of Baronne Street, and a wave-shaped bronze piece rises from the bank of Big Lake on the walking path near the entrance to City Park. There are also six smaller Benglis sculptures in the New Orleans Museum of Art collection.

Email Doug MacCash at dmaccash@theadvocate. com.

In Louisiana, the trio was happy to report that all the locals were super-friendly and respectful. Such is not always the case, as seen on a recent “Little Singles” episode where the gang is in a grocery store. They are annoyed by a shopper who can’t seem to stop gawking at them. Later, at a bar, an average-sized stranger literally grabs Ferguson off the dance floor, raising him over the crowd.

“I think it’s (the series) an eye-opener for a lot of people to see how our age bracket just lives their life — and that we still party We still have relationship problems. And, we can just live life to the fullest at the end of the day,” said Replogle.

“Little

Chopra, Nick Jonas, Naomi Watts, Rebecca Ferguson

Alexa Chung.

Dior shifts buzz from Taylor Swift’s wedding gown to sculptural couture

STAFF FILE PHOTO By DOUG MacCASH

Lynda Benglis’‘The Wave’ fountain was dedicated in City Park in 2015.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By EMMA DA SILVA

A model wears a creation as part of the Christian Dior Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2026-2027 Women’s collection presented in Paris on July 6.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Speak your mind, but be prepared to live with the consequences. Letting go is hard but alsorejuvenating. Carrying burdens affectsyour emotional and mental wellbeing.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Arguments over money, personal choices andhow you wanttospend your time will escalate quickly. Useyour imagination, and you'll find away to do what pleases you and thoseyou encounter.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Contemplate your personal and professional situation, and you'll discover apathtobetter days ahead.Reach out, start conversations and choose the road that offersa chance to do things your way.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Sit back and study situations carefully. How you deal with others will make adifference to theoutcome. Positive change is within reach if you channel your energy in adirection that's comfortable.

SCORPIO (Oct.24-Nov. 22) Be gracious, humbleand kind, and you'll attract the same in return. Keep your promises doable andhonor your word. Setting high standards will lead to greater respect from your peers.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Afinancial gain lookshopeful. Go over your documents, be resourceful and put your plans in motion.A change at home will encourage you to rethink your lifestyle.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan.19) Apply pressure and be ready to defend yourself

and your plans if someone tries to intervene. Take advantage of any opportunity youget to voiceyouropinionand enlist people who have something to contribute.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb.19) Achance to be withordosomething nice for someone youcareaboutwill pay off. Apositive change at home will develop due to your innovative planning.

PISCES (Feb.20-March 20) Stopworrying about what others think or do. Createopportunities, and embrace what belongs to you. Love and romance are on the rise.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) Themore receptiveyou are, theeasier it becomes to manipulate whatever situation youface by offering incentives to get whatyou want in return. Aunique offer or opportunity will develop.

TAURUS(April 20-May 20) Keep your eye on the moneyand the people whocan help or hinderyour journey. Navigating your waytothe prospects that excite you will encourage greater freedom to follow your heart.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Refusetolet emotional mayhem ruin your day. Size up situations, andpoint yourself in a direction that offers aunique perspective on how to use your connections, skills and attributes.

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

cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, past and present.Eachletterinthe cipher stands foranother.

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

Sudoku

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

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

THewiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

CurTiS

BY PHILLIP ALDER Bridge

Thefirst sentenceof“1984” by George Orwell is, “It was abright coldday in April, and the clocks were striking 13.”

When you bid to agrand slam, there is normally notmuch point in counting losers, becauseyou cannotafford any. Youmight as wellonly trytofind 13 winners. In this deal, which 13 tricks should Southhope to take in sevenhearts after West leads the diamond three?

The bidding had amodern tinge. South’s four-club rebid was asplinter, showing at least game-forcing values with asingleton or void in clubs. North then control-bid (cue-bid)his diamond ace, which Eastdoubled to askfor adiamondlead.AndSouthoptimisticallytook ashot at all of the marbles.

Outside hearts, South hassix winners: four spades, one diamond and one club. He could rely on the diamond finesse andtry to take six trump tricks. But East’s double strongly suggests that that finesse will fail. Instead, declarer should play for seven trump tricks. But which seven?

South should usedummy’s winners to remove East’s trumps andtakethree ruffs in his hand. However, he hastobe careful with his communications.

wuzzles

Declarer wins with dummy’sdiamond ace, ruffs aclub withahigh trump (queen, king or ace), returns to dummy with aheart, ruffs another club high, leadsaheart to dummy,and ruffsthe last lowclub. Then, after aspade to dummy’s queen,declarer draws trumps and claims.Itisa classic dummy reversal. ©2026 by NEA, Inc., dist.

By AndrewsMcMeel Syndication

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

Previous answers:

word game

InSTRucTIonS: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Wordsthat acquire four letters by theaddition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed. 3. Additional words made by adding a“d” or an “s” maynot be used. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words arenot allowed.

ToDAY’S WoRD PALMETTE: pal-MET: Adecorative motif suggestive of apalm.

Average mark 35 words Time limit 55 minutes

YESTERDAY’S WoRD —GLABRouS

Can you find 47 or more words in PALMETTE? garb

thought “Trust in him at all times; you people, pour outyourheart before him: Godisarefuge for us.Selah.” Psalms 62:8

loCKhorNs

Youcan count on theLord. He is faithful. G.E. Dean

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles hidato

mallard fillmore