The Acadiana Advocate 07-23-2026

‘It’snot

over’

Felony chargesfor Murrilldismissed

amid pressure

AG accusesNew Orleansleaders of weaponizinggrand jury

BY JOHN SIMERMAN Staff writer

Less than three weeksafter an Orleans Parish grand jury handed upfelony charges against Attorney General Liz Murrill,special prosecutor LaurieWhite dismissed the indictment Wednesday morning under pressure from thesame elected New Orleans leaderswho were Murrill’spurported victims.

Thedecision to dismiss the 16-count indictment drew approvalfrom Murrill andGov.Jeff Landry,but little sign that it had ended araging political drama.At an afternoon newsconference,Landry and Murrillbacked state and federal investigations intothe originsofthe grand jury probe.

Landry said he supported arequest by U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins for an FBI investigation, on top of aLouisianaState Police probethe governororderedshortly after

Murrill’sJuly 2indictment on countsof publicintimidation and malfeasance in office.

Landry went furtheronWednesday, calling for Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williamsto“have his law license ripped fromhim”for urging the NewOrleans City Council to back an election for acitywide court clerk and appoint an interim.

Thecouncil’s move promptedMurrill in May to warn MayorHelenaMoreno, Williams and five CityCouncil members in letters thatthey were violating the law and risking their elected posts.The grand jury decided those letters amounted to crimes.

Murrill blamed Williams —“He’s not a victim. He started all of this.” —and cast theirrelationship as deeply damaged by theindictment. Their two offices have collaborated in apartnership that Williams called “a hallmarkofmyadminis-

tration” in his letter to White on Tuesday

Murrill said Williamsknew better as she accused city leaders of weaponizing thegrand jury “It’snot over,” she said. “That dismissal of that indictment today wasnot an effort to simply get us all back together to be friends again. First of all, you can’t be friends with somebody whowants to putyou in jail for 80 years. So, you know, friendship is not really on the table.”

Williams did notimmediatelyrespond to arequest for comment Wednesday

The dismissal came amid mounting repercussions to NewOrleans from Landry andstate political leaders.

Landry vetoed more than $33 million in state funding lawmakers intended to send to New Orleans,and Moreno withdrew arequestfor State BondCommission approval of a$110 million bond sale,

ä See MURRILL, page 5A

Parish leaders urgedto preparefor projects

Statesenator talks possible aerospace economic booms

BY JOEL THOMPSON Staff writer

More than 200 people packed the Erath Community Center on Wednesday to hear state Sen. Bob Hensgens address months of speculation about apossible SpaceX or Blue Origin project in Vermilion Parish. Hensgens, R-Abbeville, emphasized that he has no confirmation that either company plans to purchaselandor build afacilityinthe parish and said he is notinvolvedinany negotiations. “Weare talkingElonMuskand JeffBezos levels of important here,” Hensgens told the crowd. “Thisisway aboveme, so whenever

Lafayetteman sentencedto 150years in 2023 shootout

Gunfire left achild dead,one officer disabled,two injured

ALafayette man was sentenced Wednesday to spend the rest of his lifeinprison forthe attempted murderofthree police officersina 2023 shootout that left officer Hali Bradford permanently disabled and a 19-month-old child dead.

John Nicholas, 33, was convicted in April of three counts of attempted first-degreemurder andone countof

ä See SENTENCE, page 5A

Trump: U.S. will destroypower plants,bridges if strait is attacked

Presidentwarns Iranian infrastructurewould be targeted in retaliation

BY JONGAMBRELL and COLLIN BINKLEY Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates U.S. President Donald Trumpwarned Wednesday that the U.S. will destroyone bridge or power plant each time Iran shoots at ashipin the Strait of Hormuz.

SeyedAbbasAraghchi, Iran’s foreign minister,said his country would adoptan“eye for an eye” defense doctrine.

“Any aggressionagainst Iran, includingour infrastructure,will compel apowerful and decisive response,” he posted WednesdayonX

Trump’slatest threat to target civilian infrastructure came as the unpopularwar spiralswithno clear off-ramp,threatening furtherworldwide economic disruptionand sending fuel prices up aheadofmidtermU.S.elections this fall. Both sides have dug in on theirdispute over the strait, a crucial waterway for global energy thatremains largely closed because of Iranian attacks.

EAST T

TheU.S.carriedout another wave of strikes on Iran overnight intoWednesday,and air defenses opened fire over the capital,Tehran.Iran launched amissile attack on aJordanian city on Israel’s

doorstep,and alerts wereissued in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. With negotiations largely stalled, both sideshavesought leverage by targeting civilianinfrastructure. Iran has responded to U.S. attacks by targeting energy infrastructure and desalinationplants that provide drinking water in parched neighboring Gulf countries. International lawgenerally

ä See IRAN, page 5A

STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

Gov. Jeff Landrybegins tospeak as AttorneyGeneral Liz Murrill gives astatement about the felonychargespressed against her from an Orleans Parish grand juryduring anewsconference in Baton RougeonWednesday

Hensgens

Adolf Hitler’s birthplace becomes police station

BRAUNAU AM INN, Austria Adolf Hitler’s birthplace in Austria was officially inaugurated as a police station on Wednesday in an effort to destroy the building’s appeal as a site of pilgrimage for people who glorify the Nazi dictator A memorial stone is to remain in place outside the house in Braunau am Inn near the German border with the inscription, “For freedom, democracy and liberty Never again fascism. Millions of dead remind us.”

Hitler was born in the building on April 20 1889 His family moved to another residence in Braunau am Inn after only a few months, before settling temporarily in Passau in southern Germany

Fueled by racial fanaticism, Hitler’s Nazi regime killed approximately 6 million Jews and other minorities and groups during the Holocaust. The dictator unleashed World War II in which at least 60 million people died. He committed suicide in April 1945, shortly before the end of the war

Protections for right

whales likely delayed

SCARBOROUGH, Maine New protections for endangered right whales in the North Atlantic would be postponed for nearly a decade under a plan that cleared a key hurdle in Washington last week with the full-throated support of the fishing and lobster industries. Environmentalists say this could spell the end for the vanishing whales, which can drown after getting tangled up in fishing gear or being struck by boats. There are only about 380 North Atlantic right whales left

The federal government has already paused any new right whale rules until 2028, and the House Natural Resources Committee voted on July 15 to extend that moratorium to 2035 A vote by the Republican-controlled Congress could happen as soon as this summer and is almost certain to pass

President Donald Trump’s administration has thrown its support behind U.S. Rep Jared Golden, a Democrat from Maine, in his efforts to further delay new regulations aimed at protecting right whales. Golden introduced the bill along with Republican Rep. Mike Lawler of New York. Much of the pushback against further regulations has come from the lobster and crab industries in New England states like Maine and Massachusetts Those fishing industries say they already follow some of the most comprehensive conservation measures in the world, and have made a case that adding more rules might drive them out of business.

Louvre reopens Apollo Gallery after brazen heist PARIS The Louvre’s Apollo gallery on Wednesday reopened to the public for the first time since $102 million worth of crown jewels were stolen in a dramatic daytime heist.

The public can tour the majestic room and view its gilded ceilings and Greek frescoes en route to the nearby Mona Lisa, but they won’t see any crown jewels or empty display cases. The collections and precious jewels once displayed there have been removed, as the museum said the gallery is returning to its 17th-century original ceremonial purpose.

The stolen jewels remain unrecovered nine months later

The gallery’s former exhibits will be relocated elsewhere in the museum, said Christophe Leribault, the Louvre’s director “It’s also an opportunity to rediscover the splendid architecture and decor of this gallery,” he said.

Leribault was named to lead the Louvre in February after previous director Laurence des Cars resigned after the October crown jewels heist and a string of failures that battered confidence in the leadership of the world’s most-visited museum.

“That sinister day, when iconic pieces were taken, cannot be forgotten, and indeed, I believe, should not be,” said French Culture Minister Catherine Pegard.

Trump pays respects to service members

4 killed in Middle East returned to America

BY MATT ROURKE, JULIA DEMAREENIKHINSON and COLLIN BINKLEY Associated Press

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del Presi-

dent Donald Trump on Wednesday honored the lives of four U.S. service members who were killed in the Middle East and returned to their families at an air force base in Delaware.

The president saluted as four transfer cases carrying the service members’ remains were escorted off an airplane during the dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base. The ritual is one of the most somber duties of a commander in chief. It was the third that Trump has attended since he launched the war in Iran in February

Speaking at an event in Georgia hours later, Trump described the ritual as “the toughest thing I do.”

“I’ve been there many times before,” he said of Dover “This was, in particular, something very sad.”

Earlier in the day, Trump said his message to families was simple:

“We love you. We love your child,” Trump told reporters. Trump was accompanied at the

dignified transfer by administration officials including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Also present were Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C. and Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del.

During the ritual, transfer cases draped with the American flag and holding the remains of the fallen soldiers are carried from the military aircraft that transported them to awaiting vehicles to take them to the mortuary facility at the base. There, the service members are prepared for their final resting place.

Two U.S. Army soldiers killed in Iranian missile and drone attacks in Jordan were returned during the dignified transfer The remains of a third service member who is believed to be the soldier missing after the Jordan attacks were also returned, as well as the remains of a soldier killed in Iraq during a detonation of an Iranian drone.

The soldiers killed in Jordan were identified by the Defense Department as Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii; and Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carroll-

ton, Texas. The soldier who disappeared after the Jordan attacks is Angel S. Rampersad, 28, of Ozone Park, New York, the Defense Department said. The soldier killed in Iraq was identified as Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, who lived in Spring Lake, North Carolina.

Trump said Feehan’s family accepted an invitation to join him on Air Force One on Wednesday as he traveled to an event in Georgia, where the family lives. Speaking at the event in Marietta, Trump described Feehan as a “flawless” person who was “going all the way — he was going to be a general.”

“We will carry Tyler’s memory in our hearts forever, and I just want to thank you,” he told Feehan’s parents during his remarks. “It’s an honor to have you here today.”

Trump previously said the soldiers died while protecting America and other nations from Iran.

“We feel very badly, but you know, those great people, those great patriots were out there fighting so that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Trump told reporters on Sunday

Guard deploys as W.Va. floods inundate homes, businesses

BY JOHN RABY Associated Press

CHARLESTON, W.Va Torrential rains caused flash floods in West Virginia that inundated homes and businesses, washed out bridges and led to numerous water rescues, authorities said. The governor said there were no reports of deaths or missing people as of Wednesday

Gov Patrick Morrisey sent 100 National Guard members to the hardest-hit areas in the northern part of the state, and declared a state of emergency for all 55 counties Tuesday night. An additional 200 National Guard members were deployed Wednesday

“State and local agencies will remain on the ground for as long as it takes to help affected communities,” Morrisey said in a statement.

The state Division of Natural Resources has been involved in 85 rescues, he said, and 19 National Guard and state police helicopters were either out on rescue missions or standing by if needed. Local officials also reported numerous rescues.

Bob Pfister said the power remained on at the hotel where he was staying in Weston, even though the first floor was inundated with coffee-brown water

Most people had planned to stay put until Wednesday morning.

“Right now this option is much better than a shelter and a life boat,” Pfister posted on Facebook. “If the power goes out that may change a whole lot!”

Forecasters said up to 7 inches of rain fell in some places.

The National Weather Service in Charleston warned of life-threatening flooding conditions in some communities Tuesday night telling people to “SEEK HIGHER GROUND NOW!”

Video and photos on social media showed submerged vehicles in parking lots, including at a Walmart in Weston where muddy water surged far into the store.

Emergency crews reported dozens of rescues of people stuck in submerged vehicles.

However, some rescuers were unable to get to locations where floodwaters had cut off access.

Officials in some communities were still waiting for floodwaters to recede Wednesday before figuring out where the public can drop off donated supplies.

“Right now, that’s our problem,” Mayor Robbie Skinner of Buckhannon said on social media. “Our city is spliced up in such a way by the flood waters that there’s simply not a centralized place for everyone to access at this time.”

The heavy rains were part of wideranging storms which also produced reports of tornadoes — stretching from the Cincinnati area across New Jersey to the New York City suburbs Damage from a possible tornado was reported in the area of St. Marys and Belmont in West Virginia.

Trial date set in U.S. Maduro drug case

BY MICHAEL R. SISAK and LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press

NEW YORK Former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife will go on trial on drug trafficking charges next June, a judge said Wednesday as their lawyers continue to object to the U.S. military action that snatched them from power Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein set the June 1 trial date at the request of lawyers on both sides. Under the approved schedule, defense lawyers will begin filing requests in early September to challenge the indictment and the couple will return to the courtroom Nov. 17 for oral arguments on the motions. Maduro, 63, and his wife, Cilia Flores, 69, have been held at a Brooklyn jail since U.S. forces seized them from their Caracas home in a middle-of-the-night raid and brought them to New York in early January Neither spoke during Wednesday’s 15-minute hearing as each sat separately at a defense table, surrounded by their lawyers. Both have pleaded not guilty They face potential life prison sentences if a jury agrees that they were part of a conspiracy to send cocaine into the U.S. As he was led into the courtroom, the bespectacled Maduro greeted the judge’s staff and shook hands with lawyers for him and his wife. Noticeably thinner in a tan jail suit and with his thick mustache he seemed upbeat, smiling and chatting with his lawyer He listened to a Spanish interpretation of the proceeding through headphones and clasped his hands in front of him in a prayerlike gesture. He had a black pen wedged in his right fingers and sporadically jotted notes on a white pad. As deputy U.S. marshals led him out, he waved to someone in the gallery President Donald Trump’s administration has defended the raid to capture Maduro as a “surgical law enforcement operation” in a criminal case first brought six years ago Maduro has called himself a prisoner of war and his capture a kidnapping.

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ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MATT ROURKE

President Donald Trump salutes Wednesday as a U.S. Army carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, of Carrollton, Texas, at Dover Air Force Base, Del.

PROVIDED PHOTO Floodwaters cover vehicles in a Walmart parking lot Tuesday in Weston, W.Va.

Republicans adopt $95B budget plan

House pushes through proposal to fund Iran war and other White House priorities

BY LISA MASCARO AP congressional correspondent

WASHINGTON The House adopted a Republican-only

$95 billion budget proposal

Wednesday, a long-shot effort to fund the Iran war and other White House priorities over objections from Democrats and a few GOP holdouts in a final push before the midterm elections.

House Republicans were divided over the plan, with conservatives wary because there are no offsetting budget cuts But Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, plunged ahead, viewing the go-it-alone process as the best chance to usher President Donald Trump’s priorities through the split Congress, despite skepticism in the Senate.

The vote tally was 216-214, with two Republicans and one independent joining Democrats in opposition.

“Just bullets and bombs to finish the job,” said Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, the chairman of the Budget Committee.

Democrats argued the money should be spent at home, particularly on efforts to lower costs for Americans.

“Republicans plan to spend tens of billions of dollars on Trump’s failed war in Iran,” said Rep. Pete Aguilar, of California, chairman of the House Democratic caucus, this week. “Think about what

APPLEWHITE

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By J SCOTT

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-Benton, leaves the chamber Tuesday as members debate a series of measures, including a continuing resolution to fund the government and a spending package for the Iran war, at the Capitol in Washington.

we could spend with these resources instead.”

Congress is at a standstill over the U.S war against Iran — unable to stop Trump’s military strikes, but not having authorized the use of American military force and politically torn over having to provide billions of taxpayer dollars to pay for it.

Most Americans disapprove of Trump’s Iran strategy, according to a recent AP-NORC poll.

The budget battle comes as Trump attended the dignified transfer of four service members killed in the Middle East, bringing the military death toll to 18. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told senators at a fiery hearing this week that the Pentagon is running short of cash, despite a massive $150 billion one-time allotment in last year’s big budget bill.

Even as the House action advanced the resolution, Johnson’s strategy faces un-

certainty in the Senate.

The package has $60 billion for the Pentagon and $13 billion for other national security needs, $12 billion for farmers struggling under Trump’s tariffs and $10 billion for voting law changes aligned with the SAVE America Act and proof-of-citizenship requirements that are Trump’s top priority Republicans are relying on the budget reconciliation process, which enables approval on a majority vote in Congress, bypassing the Senate’s ability to filibuster the measure to stall or kill it.

Once rare, the reconciliation process is now Johnson’s preferred strategy for pushing proposals through Congress. It’s the way Republicans approved Trump’s big tax breaks and spending cuts bill last summer and funded Homeland Security this year over Democrats’ refusal to fund Trump’s mass deportation agenda.

Trump’s FEMA nominee passes Senate committee

BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer

WASHINGTON As tropical storm winds and waters

lashed Louisiana’s coast on Wednesday, a Senate committee took a step to install the first permanent head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency since President Donald Trump took office again in January 2025. Cameron Hamilton, who was fired last year after temporarily leading FEMA, was approved on an 8-4 vote by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

His nomination now goes to the full Senate for a confirmation vote. The Senate leaves next week for its annual August break.

“Cameron Hamilton is an excellent choice by President Trump to serve as FEMA director and will do a great job.

are anxious for the agency to settle down Hamilton was let go in May 2025 after telling Congress that he believed the disaster response agency needed to continue to exist with significant changes at the time, Trump and his top aides were widely saying that FEMA should be shut down.

The agency, which sends funds to state and local governments as well as individual survivors of disasters like hurricanes, had four temporary leaders, and pushed out thousands of staffers, causing thousands more to quit about 20% of its staff levels from two years ago.

I have supported his selection since the president first tapped him earlier this year,” said Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., the committee chair Tropical Storm Bertha came ashore about 2 p.m. Wednesday near the Biloxi Wildlife Management Area in St. Bernard Parish. Louisiana has been hit with 106 weather events causing losses of more than $1 billion each between 1980 to 2024, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

FEMA provides nationally, on average, $12 billion a year to help communities collect debris and repair homes, businesses and infrastructure after severe disaster events, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, wildfires and heavy rains

Big turnover

Two months into hurricane season, and with an extreme El Niño impacting America’s weather patterns, storm-prone communities

After Trump’s first Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Kristi Noem, was fired March 24, a special presidential task force researching FEMA’s future recommended detailed changes in operations and law The goal is to make the agency more effective while lowering its costs, as well as shifting more responsibilities from the federal government to the states.

Many of the suggestions will need to be approved by Congress.

What Hamilton said

“We must return to our roots, where disaster response is locally executed, state led and federally supported. Building state and local capacity is a critical step toward empowering jurisdictions to lead and manage,” Hamilton said Hamilton didn’t have experience managing natural disasters before assuming the FEMA job on a temporary basis. He has handled emergencies along the U.S. border with Mexico.

A former U.S. Navy SEAL, Hamilton unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2024 from the district composed of the outer Virginia sub-

Saudi Arabia sign

agreement

BY AAMER MADHANI, MICHELLE L. PRICE, MATTHEW DALY and DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press

WASHINGTON The U.S. and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday forged a new agreement that could potentially provide the kingdom with uranium enrichment capability for its civilian nuclear program.

U.S Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Minister of Energy Abdulaziz bin Salman formally signed the nuclear cooperation agreement, known as a 123 agreement, alongside what the Trump administration described as a “bilateral safeguards agreement.”

The U.S. administration released scant details of the deal, but the framework paves the way for the build-

ing of a uranium enrichment facility in Saudi Arabia after a joint U.S.-Saudi study, according to two people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity

“These agreements reflect our two nations’ shared commitment to strengthening U.S.-Saudi commercial relations, delivering prosperity at home and security to our allies abroad,” Wright said in a statement. “Rest assured, these agreements uphold the highest standards of nuclear safety and nonproliferation, while relying on the world’s best nuclear technology and scientists, designed right here in the United States.”

Earlier, Secretary of State Marco Rubio sought to head off emerging criticism of the decision under questioning by reporters about the risk that helping the Saudis fulfill their long-standing desire to enrich their own uranium could lead to new rounds of nuclear prolif-

eration and competition in a volatile region.

“The U.S. is not going to reach any agreement with any country in the world that leads to the risk of proliferation,” said Rubio, who was traveling in the Philippines on Wednesday The agreement does not include the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Additional Protocol, which would allow for more monitoring, inspections and verification, according to one of the people familiar with the decision.

The deal is expected to last 30 years and involve U.S. firms in developing the program The Energy Department in a statement said it will be submitted for review to Congress, where it could face opposition.

The announcement comes during the war against Iran launched by the U.S. and Israel, in part, to wipe out Tehran’s ability to develop a nuclear weapon. Iran has insisted its nuclear enrichment program is peaceful.

urbs between Washington and Richmond. He had been a strategist for a defense contractor Hamilton came to prominence over his criticism of FEMA and then-President Joe Biden after Hurricane Helene hit the southeastern U.S. in September 2024.

As with many issues, GOP senators on the committee blamed Biden throughout Hamilton’s hearing.

Republican senators focused on reports that FEMA agents during the Biden administration skipped houses with “Trump for President” signs. Democratic panelists countered with reports showing Trump’s FEMA approved 89% of applications for aid from GOP-run states and only 23% from Democratic-run states.

“I don’t believe the president would do that, but I will tell you that my oath of office requires that I follow and obey the law,” Hamilton replied.

His focus will be on being consistent and transparent on how the agency apprises requests and calculates how much to expend in federal dollars.

“My goal would be to make that process as clear and objective as possible,” he said.

Hamilton said he believes that existing rules and procedures sometimes “incentivizes” state and local officials to request more money than is necessary Decisions about how much financial help a state receives are ultimately made by the president, who must follow the law to a certain extent, he said.

“My job will be to represent to him (Trump) all the objective facts; to ensure as we liquidate and expend dollars in accordance with his decision that we do so with reasonableness; and that we’re wise with those dollars,” Hamilton said.

Email Mark Ballard at mballard@theadvocate. com.

Hamilton

AEROSPACE

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something gets announced, I’m not going to be the one who gets to do it.”

Despite the uncertainty,Hensgens said local leaders shouldbegin preparing for the possibility of alarge aerospaceprojectbecause of its potentialeconomic impact.

Speculation began in March after Lafayette developer and real estate broker Jim Keaty publiclyoutlined whyVermilionParish couldappeal to an aerospacecompany,citing deep-water accessthrough the Freshwater Bayou Lock, proximity to the Port of Iberiaand theregion’s marine fabrication industry

The possibility of an aerospace facility has generated widespread interest in Vermilion Parish because neither SpaceX nor BlueOrigin has publicly announced plans forthe site, leaving residents to speculate about the project’sscope and potential impact.

Rather than discuss negotiations, Hensgens focused on howthe parish could benefitifaproject materializes.

“Weneed to start thinking now about how to maximize the possibilities and minimizedisruptions,” Hensgens said.

Hensgens said the parish should focus on three priorities if anaerospace manufacturer ultimately chooses VermilionParish: workforce training, developinglocal suppliers and preparing infrastructure and housing.

“Weneed to make surethe possible company partners with and participates in workforce training, so our people can benefitfrom those high-paying jobs,” Hensgens said. “Weneedtomake sure we

SENTENCE

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being aconvicted felon in possessionofa firearm. On Aug. 5, 2023,Nicholas was involved in ashootout with Lafayette police.His 19-month-old niece,Kaci Cyprian, was killed in the shootout. Nicholas had been chargedinbut wasnot tried for thechild’sdeath.

Fifteenth Judicial District Judge Angie Wagar,calling Nicholas a risk to society, sentenced Nicholas to three 50-year prison terms for the attempted murder of apolice officer,the sentences to be served consecutively,and another 15 yearstobeservedconcurrently for acharge of aconvicted felon in possession of a firearm.

Each of the 26 times Nicholas pulled the trigger,Wagar said, was aconscious decision that could have endedwith countless deaths. Before the sentencing was handed down, Nicholas tookthe stand to say he was sorry and ask for20 years in prison insteadof150 years. He apologized to the police officers and saidhenearly lost his mind when he was told hehad shot awoman. Bradford, along with Officers Raynard Ford and AlanCortez, testified at the April trial and offered often emotionalvictim impact statements before sentencing Wednesday

In her statement, Bradford said she nearly died on theoperating table the night of the shooting, suffering damage to herintestines, colon, kidney and sciatic nerve. She was partially paralyzed for months and her left foot remains permanently paralyzed, inhibiting her abilitytowalk.

The unincorporated Vermilion Parishcommunity of Pecan Island,withapopulation of about 100 people along La 82, is believedtobea potential location for the construction of amassiveSpaceX spaceport.

STAFF PHOTO By STEPHANIE RIEGEL

have astrong supplier network so thatVermilion-basedcompanies can get contracts, and of course we needtoprepareour infrastructure andhousing.”

Notably,the Louisiana stategovernmenthas already approved multiple pieces of legislation aimed at promoting aerospace-relatedindustry in the state, includingallowingparishes to exempt companies engaged in that type of manufacturingfromtraditional propertytaxes and sales taxes.

Hensgenspointed to the Meta data center in Richland Parish as an exampleofhow large industrialinvestmentscan generate indirect tax revenue and support higherpublic spending, even when companies receive certain tax exemptions.

Hensgens also addressed concerns aboutthe potential impact on nearbycommunities and the environment.

“A major industrial spacecomplex here wouldbetransformational,” Hensgenssaid. “We’re talkingabout thepossibility of thousands of high-wage jobs in engineering,manufacturing, construction, operational and technical skills. These are careers that can raise family incomes well aboveour currentmean.”

The propertythat has drawn speculationisowned by ExxonMobil and leased forhunting,alongstanding part of Vermilion Parish’s culture. Hensgens said he believes stateleaderswouldseek to protect the area’snatural resources.

Hensgens said that while he is notdirectly involved in discussions surrounding afacility,hetrusts Gov Jeff Landry’sjudgment, saying, “No one Iknowlikestohuntmorethan Jeff Landry.He’sone of us. He’snot going to sign offonanything that will hurt our environment.”

“I lost being able to do everything that mademewho Iam,” Bradford said The injuriesended her career in law enforcement and military service.

Bradford and later Nicholas’ sister,Jowanna Washington, the mother of Cyprian, in statements Wednesdaycalled the judicial systembroken for repeatedly letting Nicholas freeafter previous arrests for attemptedmurder and domestic abuse.

Cortez was just 21 years old and afatherthatnight when he said Nicholas tried to murderhim. He was shot twice byNicholas.

An emotional Ford said Wednesday that he remembersthinking when he decided to kick in thedoor to the housewhere Nicholas was holedupthathewas going to die, leaving his 5-month-oldson without afather

WhileNicholashas notbeen shown to have fired the shot that killed Cyprian, Ford said thechild died because of Nicholas’actions.

“I wear theuniform for people like him,”Fordsaid. “Don’tlet him hurt anybody else.”

Nicholashad been drinkingthe evening of theshooting and allegedlyhit his sisterand girlfriend, who called police. When officers arrived,helocked himselfinside the home with the girlfriend,along with two children asleep on the livingroom floor and an elderly aunt asleep in abedroom.

Policeattemptedtocoaxhim out, eventually threatening to kick in the door.Whenthey entered the house, Nicholas retreated to his bedroom, retrieved an AR-15assault-style rifleand fired at least 26 times. Police officers returned fire Email Claire Taylor at ctaylor@ theadvocate.com

MURRILL

Continuedfrom page1A

citingwarningsthatLandry and Murrill would not support it

Theblowback prompted alleight of Murrill’spurportedvictims to sign letters Tuesday urging White to reconsider acasethat theLouisiana Supreme Court had swiftly stayed. The letters undercut the indictment against Murrill.

“Wewerenot intimidated,” the letter from Moreno and the five council members said.

Retiredjudge Calvin Johnson, the council’schoice forinterim clerk,“did notfeelvictimized by theletter Ireceived,” he wrote.

In astatement, White said she dismissed the case based on the letters.

“I performed my responsibilitiesasanappointed prosecutor in accordance withthe law,” she wrote. “Itisimportant to understand that the grand jury brought this indictment, and that what followed was in accordance with theirjudgment.Irespect the grand jury’sservice andactions as we all should, and thank them for their service.”

White continued with criticism of aprocess that included the Louisiana Supreme Court’sunusually swift stay, issued beforeMurrill could be booked or arraigned.

“Extraordinary interferencein this situationhas been truly unfortunateand we should all hope that it doesn’t set aprecedent,” she wrote.

Murrill, meanwhile, said the more concerning precedent was the grand jury’sindictment of asitting attorney general.She warned about others facingsimilar prosecutions as well.

The appeal from city officials for White to drop theprosecution came as an ad hocjudge, Robert Chaisson, was set to decide on subpoenas that Murrill’slawyers

IRAN

Continuedfrom page1A

prohibits such attacks unless the infrastructure is being used for military purposes. UnitedNationsSecretary-General Antonio Guterres decried such attacks as “unacceptable” on Tuesday Thecosts aremounting

Theclosure of the strait, through which afifth of the world’s traded oil and gaspassed during peacetime, has joltedthe world economy with effects far beyond the MiddleEast. Anew threat by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen to target Saudi shipping in the RedSea putsanother trade chokepoint at risk.

“Fromthis point forward, any time theIslamic Republic of Iran shoots at aship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket,Drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT,” Trumpwroteonsocial media.

Trumptraveled to Dover Air Force BaseonWednesday for the arrivalofthe remains of four U.S. service members. Aday earlier, his defense secretary,Pete Hegseth,estimated in a fierySenate hearing that the U.S. hadspent $37.5 billion on the war so far

Benchmark Brent crude oil rose to morethan $93 abarrel in trading. That’supfrom less than $72 early this month,whichisroughly where it was before thewar.Gasoline prices are also climbing.

Iransaysithas theright to manage trafficand potentially charge fees in thestrait, which was open to all and toll-free before thewar It has attacked ships using aroute through the strait thatisoverseen by U.S. forces andintended tobe outside Tehran’scontrol.

Iran’sparliament speaker,MohammadBagher Qalibaf, who has led negotiations withthe U.S.,

issued last week to White and Williams, seeking emails and other records about the grand jury investigation Murrill argued it wasfear of reprisal, notpeacemaking,that drove the pressure campaign to drop theindictment.

“I think it’sbecause they want to hide records,” Murrill said. She said she was unconvinced by Williams’insistence that his office “had nothing to do with it whatsoever.” District Judge Leon Roche signed Williams’ recusal on June 1and twodays later appointed White as aspecial prosecutor, records show Landry declined to comment Wednesdayonthe status of an earlierprobe he called for from StatePoliceoverthe grand jury investigation.

“How many of you actually believe that agrand jury of citizens in New Orleans spontaneously justdecided that aletter sent by theattorney general to the City Council wasa criminal act?” the governor asked

Landrysaidearlyonthathe would pardon Murrill if she were to be convicted. In staying the case, amajority of state Supreme Court justices viewed the indictment with suspicion while casting doubt on White’soversight, citing possible conflicts. It was not immediately clear whether the FBI, the U.S. Department of Justice or other federal lawenforcementagencies had opened investigationsofthe circumstances surrounding Murrill’sindictment, despite the calls from Landry and Higgins.

“The FBI did receive the congressman’s letter,aswereceive complaintsand concerns regarding potential wrongdoing every day,” saidLesley Hill, aspokesperson for the bureau’sNew Orleans fieldoffice. “Longstanding Department policy and practice, however,prevent us from confirming the existence of or otherwise commenting on any ongoing investigations.”

Staff writer James Finn contributed to this report.

appeared to brush offTrump’s threats.

“If our security is notensured no infrastructure will be safe, and the security of the strait is in the absence of American forces,” he wrote on social media. “Wehave repeatedly said that the situation of the strait will not return to prewar conditions.”

Attacksshake Iran andJordan

Jordan’smilitary said it intercepted four Iranian missiles over Aqaba,while twoothers fell in “uninhabited areas.” Plumesofsmoke could be seen overhead in videos filmed by people in the nearby Israeli city of Eilat. Jordan saiditalso intercepted four Iranian drones.

Iran hasavoided striking Israel since hostilities resumed last month,apparently hoping to keep it from reentering thewar.But theattackonAqaba,withinsight of Israel’sEilat, raised concerns over afurther widening of the conflictafter an agreementtohalt hostilities collapsed Another missilealert sounded in Bahrain, and SaudiArabia warned residentsofthe Persian Gulf city of Dammam to seek shelter.Saudi authorities later

said the danger had passed, without elaborating.

The U.S. military saidearlier Wednesday that it had completed an 11th night of strikes on Iran, withtargets including aircraft hangars and drone storage sites.

Iran’sstate-run IRNA news agency reported explosions across severalprovinces.Iran’s Health Ministry says U.S. strikes over the past 11 days have killed 53 people,including sixwomen andthree children,and wounded nearly 600 people.

Iran’sparamilitary RevolutionaryGuard insisted its retaliatory attacks would continue.

Diplomatic efforts

Before the latest strikes, Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momenivisited Pakistan, akey mediator in theconflict, seeking to revive diplomacy.But it wasunclear what newarrangement mightbe reached to endthe war,whichlately has become abattle for control over theStraitofHormuz.

Iran’sInterior Ministry spokesman AliZeinivand said“diplomacy isn’tcalled off” and that messages were still being exchanged, without elaborating, accordingtoIRNA.

ISNA PHOTO By RAZIEH POUDAT Mourners carrythe coffins containing additional remains of victims identified through DNA testing during funeral ceremonies in Minab Iran, on Tuesday, nearly five months after theywere killedinthe Feb. 28 strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh School.

STAFFPHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS Gov. Jeff Landrygets heated whilespeakingabout the felonycharges against AttorneyGeneral Liz Murrill during anewsconferenceinBaton RougeonWednesday.

We are watching Bertha very closely as it moves from the southwest Louisiana coastline into coastal Texas thismorning or early this afternoon. So expect amostly cloudy, hot, humid and windyday with scattered showers and storms.Windstoday will shift from easterly to southerlythisafternoon at 15 to 20 mph with gusts to 30. Temperatures thisafternoon will risetothe lowtomid-90s,but with high humidity,the heat index or “feelslike” temperatures will rise to 102 or higher.Rain chances willfall tomorrow.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

By

Forestrangers take abreak Wednesdaybeforereturningtowork on the fire near CondemiosdeArriba, Guadalajara province, Spain.

Firefighters battle oneof Spain’sbiggest-everwildfires

BY JOSEPH WILSON Associated Press

BARCELONA, Spain Firefighters in central Spainbattledawildfire on Wednesday that has burned over 79,000 acres in oneofthe country’s largest blazes on record. The fire in rural Guadalajara comes less than two weeksafter adeadly blaze devastated asmall expatcommunityin southern Spain. That smallbut extremely virulent fire killed 13 people, including several foreigners, in one of the southernEuropean country’sdeadliest wildfires Spanish PrimeMinister Pedro Sánchez on Wednesday visited the fire-ravaged area in Guadalajara, and called for apact between political parties to fight climate change.

“Year afteryear we clearly see how climate change kills and destroys wealth in our communities,” Sánchezsaid in thevillage of Tamajón, locatedless than two hours by car northeast of Madrid.

“Thisisn’t politics.Itisscience, it’sabout facts.”

Some 34 villages have been evacuated in the area but there are noreportedserious injuries or deaths.Over 200 firefighters were supported by land vehicles andaircraft on Wednesday Spainthisyear hasalready suffered22major forest fires, defined as afire that burns over 1,235 acres.

The Socialist leader said over 247,000 acres had already been scorched through the first half of the year,matching the total yearly averagefor Spain overthe last decade.

Spain’s Minister for Ecological Transition, Sara Aagesen, described theGuadalajara fire as “one of the largest in the recent history of ourcountry” and the largest ever for the region of Castilla La Mancha.

The Guadalajara blaze is the second-largest on recordinSpain’s history after some 91,000 acreswere burned last year in the northwest of

the country,according to data from theecological transition ministry, as cited by EFEnews agency Regional authorities saidfirefighters supported by water-dumping aircraft had so far protected homes in all40villagesinthe burned area, 90% of which belongs to anational park. Firefightershope to have the nearly week-old fire under control by Friday, said Emiliano García-Page, regional president of Castilla La Mancha. MiguelÁngelMoreno, mayor of thevillage of Zarzuela de Jadraque, said its 100 residentswereevacuated Friday,with 14 taking refuge at aRed Cross shelter Moreno said that the firefighters should receive as much admiration as thesoccer playerswho won the World Cup on Sunday Thefirefighters“hadtorun from one side of the village to the other putting out fires,” Moreno told Spanish national television TVE. “Besides the heroes who won the World Cup, we have other heroes who remain nameless.

Author whopopularized bodybuilding dies at 84

BY MARKKENNEDY Associated Press

NEW YORK Charles Gaines, the author whose book and documentary“Pumping Iron” helped bring professional bodybuilding into the mainstream and introduce Arnold Schwarzenegger to theworld, has died. He was 84.

Gaines diedTuesday, according to Greta Gaines, the author’s daughter. She did notreveal a cause.

“You always marchedtoyour own drummer and inspired everyonearoundyou to do the same,” she wrote in atribute to her father “Follow thatbliss, catch that fish andkiss those lips while you can because my father was the live life to thefullest kinda guy.”

Gainescollaborated with George Butlertowrite “Pumping Iron: The Art and Sport of Bodybuilding,” whichled to themaking of thedocumentary “Pumping Iron,” for which Butler and Gaineswrote

the script.

In theintroduction to their1974 book, Gaines wrote that he and Butler considered it “a sort of respectful report from the interior of an interesting, colorful and heretofore ignored region of American life.”

In a2022 edition, he admitted that neither author thought “many people outsideofthe bodybuildingworldwould be interested in” the book.Gains wrote Schwarzeneggeralmost single-handedly “brought bodybuilding out of the shadowsithad languished in since itsearliest days in America and into the limelight.”

Schwarzenegger,who won seven Mr.Olympia and five Mr.Universe titles and who was pictured flexing on the cover of “Pumping Iron,” wouldharness theattention into acareer, first in movies— including “The Terminator,” “True Lies,” “Twins”and “Predator” —and thenpolitics, becoming governor of California from 2003 to 2011.

Kaylee Hottle,‘Godzilla’ actor, killed in carcrash

BY REBECCA BOONE and LARRYLAGE Associated Press

Kaylee Hottle, adeaf actor best known for her starring role in two “Godzilla” films, died in acar crash in Maryland early Tuesdaymorning, theFrederick County Sheriff’s Office said. She was 18. Hottle was one of two passengers in the car when it went offthe road and hit aculvert in Ijamsville before 3a.m. The driver was taken to ahospital with injuries that were notlife-threatening, andthe other passengerdeclinedmedical treatment, according to anews release from the Sheriff’sOffice. Exces-

sive speed is believed to be afactor in the crash, the office said. Hottlewas anativesignerof American Sign Language, and her family membersare also deaf.Her parents, Joshua and Ketsi Hottle, shared emotional video statements on social media sites.

“Kaylee’smom and four siblings are crushed,” her father said in ASL in apost. “Theyare together at home, grieving. Iamonmyway to Maryland to bring Kaylee’s body back home.”

Kaylee Hottle’sheart stopped before she arrived at ahospital, transported by air from the scene of the accident, her father said.

“Very grateful forthe 18 years we had together —and wish we had more,” he said. Joshua Hottle also reached out to the driver,describedbypoliceasa 19-year-old Frederick man

Hottle

PHOTO

MANU FERNANDEZ

Extremeheat warningissued

Heat indexinAcadiana couldreach 115degrees

BY KRISTIN ASKELSON Staff writer

An extreme heat warn-

ing that was in effect across Acadiana on Wednesdayunderscored another day of dangerous temperaturesand humidity,with heat index values climbing as high as 115 degrees in some areas.

Afternoon highsreached the mid- to upper 90s, with afew locations approaching 100 degrees. Combined with high humidity,the conditions significantly increased the riskofheat-related illnesses, according to theNational Weather Service.

The extreme heat caused an Abbeville drawbridgetomalfunction Tuesday,prompting firefighters to help cool the structure so it could reopen

The Abbeville Fire Department said it respondedatthe request of the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Developmentafterhigh temperatures caused the steel drawbridgeto expand, preventing it from raising for awaiting barge.

Firefighters sprayed water on the bridge to lower its temperature, allowing it tosafely reopen. The operation temporarily delayed both motorists and river traffic.

“Weappreciate everyone’s patience whilethis operation was underway,” the depart-

ment said in a statement. “We were glad to assist our partners at DOTD in getting the bridgebackintooperation as quicklyand safelyaspossible.”

Agiant fan is set up for visitors to take advantage of at Girard Park on Wednesday.

Residents were urged to stayhydrated, limit timeoutdoors, takefrequent breaks in air-conditionedspaces and checkonvulnerableneighborsand relatives. Officials

also remindedthe public nevertoleavechildren or pets unattendedinvehicles, where temperatures can become deadly within minutes. Relief is expected Thursday as scattered showers and thunderstorms associated withTropical Storm Bertha move through the region. Highs are forecast to reach about89degrees in Lafayette, with southeast winds of 12 to 25 mph. Hotter,drier weather is expected to return forthe weekend.

Email Kristin Askelsonat kaskelson@theadvocate. com.

BY MARGARETDELANEY Staff writer

BY MEGHANFRIEDMANN Staff writer

OchsnerLafayette General Medical Center’schief executive officer is moving to the greater NewOrleans region. Al Patin served as CEO of Ochsner Lafayette General Medical Center since 2021and will transition to anew role as CEO of Ochsner South Shore Community Hospitals and Bayou Region beginning Aug.

3.

Ochsner Lafayette General is anetwork of eight hospitals, including OchsnerLafayette General Medical Center and more than 50 clinic locations.

Patinheadedto greater N.O. region Patin

Ochsner Lafayette GeneralCEO Patrick W. Gandy Jr.expects to announce new leadership and “a transition plan” forthe hospital system’s mainmedical building in Acadiana in the coming weeks.

“While we will certainly miss Al in Acadiana, we are proud of him and excited for himashebegins thisnextchapter,” Gandy said in astatement. “Our focus remains unchanged: delivering exceptional care and service to the patients andcommunities who rely on us every day.”

La.fertilizer planthit

workers exposedtofumes, report says ä See PATIN, page 4B

BY DAVID J. MITCHELL Staff writer

MosaicFertilizer andone of itssubsidiaries have agreed to pay amore than $100,000 fine to federal regulators to settle equipment safety and operational concerns at their western St. James Parish complexfor asecond time in alittle morethan twoyears.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency inspectors accused Mosaic andthe subsidiary,TampaPort Services,ofthe maintenance andoperationalbreakdownsfollowing an accidental release of anhydrous ammonia last October,according to anew agreement.

Four contract workers were exposed to the liquid ammonia vapors at Tampa Port inside Mosaic’sFaustina plant along the Mississippi Riverinthe late morning hours of Oct. 27, 2025, according to astate incident report. Twoneeded oxygen before they werecleared to return to work the sameday Anhydrous ammonia can be acolorless,

ä See FINE, page 4B

St.Bernard

TheNational Weather Serviceissued atropical storm warning for New Orleans. It also issued acoastal flood advisory for St. John the Baptist, Orleans, St. Tammany,Tangipahoa, Jefferson, Lafourche, Terrebonne and St. Charles parishes. The advisory was expected to expire at Bertha makesquiet landfall in

Tropical Storm Berthacame ashore WednesdayinSt. Bernard Parishafter weakening substantially,but Gov.Jeff Landry warned residentsinthe southeastern part of thestate to stay alert as the system and its remnants passed through. “Wehavetaken thestorm seriously from the beginning,” Landry said during anews conference at

the Governor’sOffice of Homeland Security andEmergencyPreparednessinBaton Rouge. But “the latest forecast is extremelyencouraging Iwant to thank everyone out there whoprayed real hard that this storm would not affect Louisiana as someother stormshave in the past.” Bertha made landfall around 2p.m., according to state meteorologist Jay Grymes, whoechoed Landry’sadvice during the news conference. Thestorm came ashore withsustained winds of 45 mph, accordingtothe NationalHurricane Center,making it the first direct hit of Louisiana’s 2026 Atlantic hurricane season. “There’s adecent chance that

Berthaisgoing to collapse in the next 48 to 60 hours,” he said. “But don’tcount on that.” The tropical storm weakened Tuesday night,but coastal parishes in southeast Louisiana still braced forrainfalland wind gustsasBertha approached. The heaviest rains stayed offshore.

WESTBROOK

JacobyDavis, an employeewith the Lafayette Consolidated GovernmentPARCDepartment, keeps his head cool in thesweltering heat as he cuts grass at GirardPark on Wednesday.

Cadie Sonnier braves the heat to getinafew practice swings on the tennis hitting wall at Girard Park Wednesday. The heat index rose to around 110 degrees.

OUR VIEWS

Rekindling LSU-Tulane, otherin-state gamesgood forLa. football

College sports have provided no shortage of worrisome topics in recent months —transfer portal chaos, revenue sharing, escalation and the SEC’sthreat to leave the NCAAaltogether amongthem —but we’d like to take amoment to note one positive recent development:LSU’s scheduling of in-state opponentsfor regularseason home games overthe next several years.

Southern, UL-Monroe and Northwestern State will all make trips toTigerStadium, but the headliner is Tulane. The Green Wave will be LSU’sopening-week opponent in 2030, the first time since 2009 that the two will play.It’sawelcome return of LSU’slongest running rivalry (LSU’s first game ever was a34-0 loss toTulane in 1893), and among itsmost intense.

LSU has arecordof69-22-7 against the Greenies, but in this era of college football, anything is possible. After all, it was Tulane who made the College Football Playoff last year,not LSU. That achievement was the latest signal of Tulane’srenewed commitment to football, something that was missing in the previous decades.

Southern’sreturn will also be awelcome one. The two have only played once, in 2022, when LSU won handily.But the environment,tailgating and camaraderie among Baton Rouge’stwo major universities, not to mention the band performances, were well worth the wait

From afootball perspective, the reason for these games is clear.LSU coach Lane Kiffinhas talked about his dislike for playing highly-ranked opponentsinthe first weeks of aseason. He wants less challenging opponents for his nonconference schedule. These moves would appear to fitthat strategy But we like it for adifferent reason.

Louisiana has aproud footballtradition that extends far beyond its flagship university. Though LSU has long reigned supreme on the gridiron, teams from around the stateboast rosters of home-grown talent that represent thebest of Louisiana.

Playing these games not only gives local athletes achance to compete on a field many of them dreamed of playing on as children, but it also gives their supporters achance to root for their team on one of college football’sbiggest stages.

From apractical perspective, it also helps the athletic budgets of those schools who compete against LSU. They may anticipate aloss on the field, but they can be certain of asignificant financial windfall for just showing up. Those funds can then be used to support the many Louisiana athletes who don’tgotoLSU.

The Demon, Warhawk, Jag and Green Wave fandoms have traditions as proud and athletes as deservingasthe Tigers do. It will be good to see them compete on the same field.

Acadians must honorunique past to ensure astrongfuture

In January 1990, Isubmitted a petition to theBritish Crown seeking aformal apology for its role in the1755 deportation of the Acadians from Nova Scotia. Many historians view thedeportation as an act of ethnic cleansing, and somecharacterize it as genocide because nearly half of theAcadian population perished. After receiving broad international support, theeffort culminated on Dec. 9, 2003, when arepresentativeofQueen ElizabethIIsigned the Royal Proclamation. The document acknowledged the injustices committed against theAcadian people, offered ameasure of symbolic reconciliation and established July 28 as an annual Day of Commemoration of the Acadian deportation. The proclamation continues to have lasting significance. It is featured in educational and historical programs, including exhibitsat theCanadian Museum for Human Rights, and has been used as ateach-

ing resource in Louisiana schools and French immersion programs. Acadian identity is rooted in more than four centuries of shared history,culture and language. It survived thedeportation, later assimilation pressures and restrictionsonthe use of French in Louisianaschools. Acadiansdeveloped adistinct peoplehood withtheir own traditions, institutions and collective memory long before thefounding of Canada. Today,Acadians are recognized as aprotected ethnic minority under federal law While influenced by African, Creole, Native American and AngloAmerican cultures,they remain a distinct cultural community.Preserving that identity is not merely amatter of honoring the past. It is essential to ensuring the continued vitalityand future of the Acadian people.

WARREN PERRIN Lafayette

La.leaders must push bill to invest in roadsand bridges

Louisiana’sroads, bridges and highways are thebackbone of the Bayou State’seconomy,security and energy industry.From hurricane evacuation routes to major freight corridors, our transportation system protectsour freedom and helps connect Louisiana’sabundant energy to therest of America.

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

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

TO SEND US A LETTER, SCANHERE

Yetthe condition of Louisiana’sinfrastructure also puts public safety and security at risk. AmongLouisiana’s12,684 bridges, morethan 11% are considered structurally deficient and in poor condition, according to theAmerican Road &Transportation Builders Association.

Agingbridges and congested freight bottlenecks create more road hazards, slow emergency response and drive up costsfor everyday goods and groceries.

The current federal surface transportation law expires Sept.30. If Congress does not pass anew,multiyear funding bill by then, Louisiana risks losing thelong-term certainty needed to plan, fund and deliver critical infrastructure projects

That’swhy theBUILD America 250 Act is soimportant. It would

preserve and grow currentinvestment, improve project delivery and ensure taxpayer dollars are spent efficiently.After earning bipartisan support at the committee level, thelegislation is now primed fora House floor vote. We can see how reliable federal investments work in Louisiana, like therecently completed Interstate 20 rehabilitation project in Bossier City,which strengthensavital commercial corridor and keeps traffic flowing smoothly

Ourrepresentative, House Speaker Mike Johnson, helped secure the federal funding to complete that upgrade. Now,SpeakerJohnson and his colleagues, including Majority Leader Steve Scalise, should schedule avote and pass the BUILD America 250 Act to keep Louisiana building and moving.

RELDON OWENS

CEO, Louisiana Associated General Contractors of America CASEYCRAWFORD boardchair,Louisiana Associated General Contractors of America president GradyCrawford Construction

The article “LSU to host summit on funding athletics“ states that Gov. Jeff Landry and LSU President Wade Rousse plan to host the top 40 donors to LSU sports at the Governor’sMansion in Baton Rouge for apresentation on the financial future of the university’sathletic department.

Yes, as Tiger Athletic Foundation President Matt Borman says, college athletics is at a financial crossroads. And I, for one, am grateful for the support TAFhas given the university athletic teamsover the last 40-plus years. Moreover,every year,inaddition to supporting LSU athletic teams, TAFprovided scholarships for students in each of the colleges, acontribution that receives little publicity but, by my estimate, has helped over 1,000 students.

It seems to me the main purpose of university athletics should be to benefit the students. Ihave to conclude, however that the concerns about funding athletics focus on the top donors’ input with little consideration for the students, since no students appear to be invited to this event. So, President Rousse and Gov.Landry how about including some current and former students, student-athletes and TAFscholarship recipients?

Afew voices from the academic side of the university wouldn’thurt either.Iam certain they could make some excellent suggestions.

LAURAF.LINDSAY professor emerita, LSU Baton Rouge

Dems pressured flawed candidatetoquit; what do Republicansdo?

The editorial cartoon on July 12 is a perfect example of the hypocrisy and arrogance of the GOP and its followers. Depicting Democrats as having no moral compass for initially supporting Maine Senate candidate GrahamPlatner is laughable when the opposition party continues to strongly support various rapists and fraudsters (Donald Trump and Texas Senate candidate KenPaxton, to name two). What did Democrats do when confronted with Platner’sbehaviors? They removed support and pressured him to drop out. What have Republicans done in the face of the adjudicated crimes of their candidates? Nothing.

Where’sthe GOP’smoral compass?

JONATHAN TANKEL

NewOrleans

Theendlessly pliableJDVance hasnoaversiontoconversions

“Unstable as water,thoushaltnot excel …” —Genesis 49:4

George Will

JD Vance has an aptitude for conversions. His have involved politics, economics, historyand religion, so far.Whatever his next one is will probably not be his last. One propelled him from thePentecostal Protestantism of his youth, through atheism, to Catholicism. As the U.S. government’s “most senior Catholic” (his self-description) he, in the church since 2019, warned thepope to “be careful” when speaking “on matters of theology.” Leo XIV was careless (in Vance’sview) when criticizingthe Iran war Vance in scold mode has also reprimanded Chief Justice JohnG.Roberts Jr., who Vance says should be “extremely deferential” to President Donald Trump. Probablyapost-2024 conversion brought Vance to this view of the Supreme Court’s function When interviewed concerninghis book “Communion” abouthis religious conversion, Vance recalled that when he was asenator,his son, during a flight, dropped acookie and said “shit.” Vance worried that people might think “I am apparently aterrible father because I’ve raised my kids, my 3-year-old, to use that language.”

Five months ago this column listed examples of Vance’smany public vulgarities, as when he denounced a “dipshit” critic, and others whocan “eat shit.” Five months is, however, plenty of time for aVance conversion, this time to decorousness. In “Communion,” his new delicacycauses him to obscure the adjective “p***y.” So presumably, he will not again talk of tech corporations telling a“bullshit story” about the need for more foreign workers. Christianity,Vance says, “is America’screed.”

His Christianityoften dovetails with MAGA commandments. He says a “Christian statesman” must preserve “social cohesion.”

Thisiscode for restricting immigration. Something already has, Vance says, made America aplace where “you don’thave to apologize for being White anymore.”

Especially if you are properly descended. “I think,” Vancesays, “the people whose ancestors foughtinthe Civil Warhave ahell of alot more claim over America.” More “claim” (whatever that means) than most of today’sAmericans, whosedescendants arrived too late to fight.What conversion convinced Vanceof this?

RespondingtoCOVID, Vance bought extra food and “one thousand rounds of ammunition.” Praise the Lord and pass the Visiting the Richard Nixon Presidential Library,Vance told his hosts what heperhaps thought they were keentohear: Today,Watergate would be only a“12-hour news story.” He said the real story was that “the deep state took down” Nixon. Vance such atease —did not explain how What conversion convinced Vance of that?Has Vance, aYale Law School graduate, alwaysconsidered a president plotting to obstruct justice trivial? Or is this another convenient conversion,considering the president Vance so obediently serves?

“I’ve always liked” Nixon, Vance said, because Nixon, like Vance, was ayoungsenator,then ayoung vice president, who wrote books and was “hated by the media.”

This narcissism as arationale for historical revisionism did not impress National Review’sDan McLaughlin, who says celebrating Nixon is part of Vance’s“ongoing effort to downplay thepolitical success of Ronald Reagan.”

DisparagingReagan is a prerequisite forrunningin2028 as Trumpism’s second wind. The political left, like the Trump-Vance administration, favors wielding uncircumscribed executivepower to erase thedistinction between public and private economic sectors. This administration has madethe

federal government an investor in 30 companies. Andthe administration’s Kulturkampf, Vance believes, has not gone far enough. He wants to “seize theendowments” of universities that he thinksare politically incorrect.

Plasticity is part of thevice-presidential job description, but credit thesincerity of Vance’sconversion to Nixon celebration.

Nixon, who gave America wage and price controls, might have favored, as Vance and socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders do, creating asovereign wealth fund to expand socialism thefederal government purchasing equity stakes in artificial intelligence companies. Vance’sconversions include his recent discovery that Iran’sIslamic Revolutionary Guard Corps wants to “turn over anew leaf.” But, then, before Ohio’s2022 Senate election, Vance suddenly discovered that Trumpisnot “cultural heroin” and “America’sHitler” but actually is Western civilization’ssavior.Another in-the-nick-of-time, road-to-Damascus epiphany was that the 2020 election was “rigged,” so hadhebeen vice president then, he would not have certified theresults.

Whether Vance has excelled as a result of his serial conversions is a matter of opinion. Butcertainly he has risen fast and far because he is as unstable as water

Email George Will at georgewill@ washpost.com.

Renewedwar meansGOP worries

In the last week, the war in Iran has seemedlike awar again,after along time in agray area that was neither warnor peace. Now,withboth sides shooting at each other, war is back. And, politically, the threat that the war presents to Republican prospects in the midterm elections is back, too.

What thewave of Neo-Nazis says aboutus

ranks abovethe war in voter concern, as does immigration.

Three U.S. servicemembers were killed in Jordan on Friday,bringing the total American deaths in the war to 17. More than 400 have been wounded. On Monday, U.S. Central Command announced a10th consecutive day of strikes against Iran. Fox News reported that President Donald Trump wasconsidering areturn to “full-scale war operations against Iran.”

But thewar isstill areal worry,and, to thedegree that voters link it to gasprices, which is one of themost important componentsofthe real top concern —the cost of living —the war alwayshas the potential to dash Republican hopes. Right now,infact, gas prices are risingagain.

To say this is worrying some Republicans running for Congress this November wouldbeanunderstatement. “I know of zeroRepublican strategists or campaigns that believe continued hostilities are good for our chances in the midterms,”said one GOP strategist, who asked not to be named. “Zero.” Republicans can hope thisstrategist is overstating things.After all, the war,atleast at this moment,is not the voters’ greatest concern.That remains the cost of living andthe economy overall.Healthcare also

If the polls are correct, most U.S. voters oppose thewar.Polling analyst Nate Silver’saverage of polls on thesimple do-you-support-or-doyou-oppose question for the war is 58.3% oppose, versus 33.8% support TheRealClearPolitics average of approval of Trump’s handling of the war is prettyclose to that, with 60.4% disapproveversus37% approve.

Iasked the Republican strategist what hewas seeing. “Two weeks after the war started, it was atie,” he answered.“Now,itismore than 60% unfavorable.” Obviously,that number includes ahigh level of opposition among Democrats, but it also includes an alarming —for Republicans —level of opposition among independent voters. “Independentsare acting like Democrats on the conflict with Iran,” thestrategist said. The unpredictability of events aroundthe war is keeping many

Republicans on edge. The conflict is now in its fifth month, after Trump repeatedly promised aquick victory Pressed about the length of the war, thepresident has occasionally noted that the U.S. was in Vietnam for 19 years. That’s about the worst possible answer,given the long-running disaster in Vietnam, but in any event, it does not matter today that this or thatwar was longer.The voters will decide whether they think this war has gone on too long. The president has said, perhaps moretimes than can be counted, that an end to the war was coming very soon. He has said theIranians desperately want adeal to end the war.Yet what happened, with the now-dead memorandum of understanding, was along negotiation followed by alopsided agreement that large numbers of Americansthought was not agood deal for theUnited States and which Iran began violating immediately

So now thewar is escalating again. If theprevious monthshave been any lesson, it could be abumpy ride. Andfor Republican strategistsand candidates working toward this November’selections? It’sa worrisome picture.

Byron York is on X, @Bryon York. Email him at byork@washingtonexaminer.com.

On July 4, the nation’s250th anniversary,amysterious group of young meninkhaki pants, navy blue shirts, logoed baseball caps and white face masks surfaced in the capital, marching out of adowntown Metro subway station and into the news. By now they look oddly familiar,part of the menagerie of uniformed street brawlers and torch-carriers that emerged in the tumultuous first term of President Donald Trump. And there are unsavory historical echoes as well. Though smaller in number,the neo-Nazis in the capital brought to mind the 1925 parade down Pennsylvania Avenue by thousands of robed Ku Klux Klansmen in avisible show of strength.

Indeed, the Patriot Front —the group that marched this month —appears to have similar publicity-seeking aimsasthe Klansmen of yore: to red-white-and-blue-wash their violent bigotry.Unfortunately for them, passersby appearedtobemuch more concerned about the stifling 100-degreeheat dome that settled over the city with particularly ferocity

Performers must sometimes suffer for their art.

Given the opportunity to perform, alot of people will do precisely that, across awide variety of media as long as they can pull in an audience.

That’svery true of the Patriot Front, an ethnonationalist group whose idea of “patriotic”apparently does not include non-Whites, non-Christians or apparently nonmales. They were foundedbyTexan Thomas Rousseau after the bloody 2017 Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, whentheysplit fromanother racist organization called Vanguard America. I first heard of the group in 2021 when theystaged a protest at Chicago’sCity Hall, which theyapparently planned to coincide with the annual anti-abortion “March for Life” rally in the Loop. (The organizers of the latter were not pleased.)

Iwas suitably disgusted but not shocked, as I’ve observed these kinds of groups before Today’sPatriot Front reminds me of Frank Collin, the neo-Nazi leader who famously wageda legal battle in the late 1970s for the right to marchinSkokie,Illinois, aChicago suburb with aheavily Jewish population. Collin later settled for the right to marchinMarquette Park on Chicago’sSouth Side.

Yettoday’syoung fascists have learned from the mistakes of Collin’s“Illinois Nazis,” whose campy cosplay wasmemorably lampooned in the movie “The Blues Brothers.” As NPR reported, Patriot Front scrupulously avoids swastikas andNazisalutes, preferring to wrapthemselves in classically American symbols and to present themselves orderly and public-spirited.

On July 4, they got the publicity bump they were hoping for.AReuters photographer captureda Pulitzer-worthy news photo of aBlack woman, sitting quietly alone on asubway car,surrounded by masked Frontmen, on their best silent behavior

Sights like that cause me to keep reminding myself that, no, this is not the 1960s. We’ve come alongway since those bad old days, to be sure. But as today’spolitics keep reminding us, we still have alongway to go We’re anation that elected aBlack mantoour highest office, but we also elected Donald Trump. But I’m still curious about whatmotivates the 400 or so young mentoleave their homes andtaketothe streets dressed like demented preppies. Their grievances, Ihave to say,are not very well articulated, judging by the Patriot Front website

Is it to fill avoid of fellowship and meaning in an increasingly online world? Is this the dark side —or, if you prefer,the white side —ofthe social media “manosphere”?

That’sapopular label for the myriadwebsites, blogs, podcasters and online forums thatpromote a hyped-up version of masculinity,misogyny and antifeminism to an audience that seems endlessly hungry for such content.

It’shard to disentangle the ideologicalstrands of the online hard right, but asimilar discourse hasgrown up around White identity.Athread thatruns through neo-Nazi and other hard-right groups is the fear of other races, whose numbers and place in society seem to them uncomfortably on the rise, at the expense of White men. Consider the so-called GreatReplacement conspiracy theory.This is the notion, endlessly propagated online, that White populations in modern Western countries are being replaced by Brown and Black alien populations, and that this replacement is aproject —commonly attributed to Jews.

This was behind the infamous chant at Unite the Right in Charleston: “Jews will not replace us!” It also supplied the motive of the murderer who killed11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018, as well as numerous other attacks.

As anation, we have been slow to understand the hate-inflected extremism that flourishesinanew media landscape with no editorial oversight andnosanction for the harm bad actors maydo. Norisitobvious what to do about it.

YetI’m still old-fashioned enough to believe we do our young men—and women— averyvaluable service by encouraging them to live, learn and work together across racial, religious and genderlines —as Americans. That’strue patriotism to me, front, back and sideways.

Email Clarence Page at clarence47page@gmail.com.

Byron York

Clarence Page

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MARK SCHIEFELBEIN Vice PresidentJDVance listens as PresidentDonald Trumpmeets with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in the Oval Office at the White House on Tuesday

Teen’s cause of death of undetermined, autopsy reveals

Exam was commissioned by Nolan Wells’ family’s legal team

BY POET WOLFE Staff writer

An independent autopsy commissioned by the legal team representing the family of Nolan Wells determined that the cause of death of the 18-year-old found dead on Horn Island remained undetermined pending further investigation.

High-profile civil rights attorney Ben Crump released the autopsy findings Wednesday at the NAACP National Convention in Chicago, where he said a 12-by-8-inch area of discoloration had been identified on the back of Wells’ head.

The autopsy was performed by Roger Mitchell, a physician and forensic pathologist, who conducted the first examination on July 9, Crump said. Mitchell performed a second examination a day later but identified several limitations in

determining a definitive cause of death, including that the body was not examined when it was first recovered and that decomposition can obscure bruises or abrasions.

Crump, however, said Mitchell found no fractures or deep tissue injuries.

The autopsy conducted by the Jackson County Coroner’s Office, which examined the body soon after it was recovered, could provide additional information, he noted. The office has not yet released its report, and toxicology results remain pending.

“My legal team and I, we stand for truth, no matter who it implicates or who it exonerates,” Crump said. “We stand for justice, no matter who it convicts or it acquits. We stand for transparency.”

The results of the autopsy represent a major development in a case continuing to draw national attention after Wells disappeared over the Fourth of July weekend during a boat trip to the Mississippi Coast barrier island with friends. His body was found two days after he went

missing following a multiagency search. The Jackson County Coroner’s Office also conducted an autopsy of the beloved teen and former high school athlete, but has not yet released its report.

Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter previously said there was no reason to believe a crime had been committed, but additional evidence could also suggest otherwise. The Sheriff’s Office has been working to collect and verify information and tips around the clock.

“Nolan Wells’ family deserves a thorough and factual investigation,” Ledbetter told the Sun Herald. “And that’s exactly what they are going to get.”

Ledbetter and Jackson County District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath could not be immediately reached for comment.

Wells’ parents, Elmore and Christine Wonsley, said during Wednesday’s news conference they had not yet heard back from local authorities after receiving the independent autopsy results.

Entergy: Cause of New Orleans French Quarter fire unknown

Underground transformer exploded July 4

BY JONAH MEADOWS Staff writer

More than two weeks after an underground transformer explosion knocked out power to nearly 1,000 customers, forced a hotel evacuation and sent thick, acrid smoke billowing up above Bourbon Street, Entergy New Orleans executives said they cannot determine the cause of the July 4 incident.

“Because of the fire significantly damaging the equipment, we’re unable to determine specifically the cause of the issue in that area,” Dan Calamari, Entergy’s vice president of reliability operations, told a New Orleans City Council committee on Wednesday Calamari said routine inspections of the utility’s transformer vaults — the below-ground concrete bunkers that house its electrical equipment in the French Quarter and Central Business District — turned up no sign of trouble before the late-night incident. Entergy conducts “endto-end” inspections of all its

underground vaults in the area twice a year Calamari said, performing simulations and other tests to inspect the electrical components inside the vaults.

And after heavy rains, he said, crews visually inspect the vaults to make sure their pumps are functional, since much of the area’s stormwater runoff finds its way into vaults’ grates.

“None of those inspections suggested that we had risk like we saw here,” he said.

No one was injured by the explosion and subsequent fire which took place shortly before attendees of the Essence Festival of Culture concert began departing the Caesars Superdome and shortly after the end of a riverfront fireworks display

According to a timeline presented to the council, crews were dispatched after Entergy’s operations teams were alerted to the fault at 10:38 p.m. Streets were closed around the intersection of Bourbon and Conti streets due to a report of a fire around 10:55 p.m. At 11:35 p.m., customers in the area had their power shut off for safety and to prevent further damage to the grid. Power was restored shortly before 6 a.m. on July 5.

Entergy crews worked 24/7 shifts to repair the damage, with new transformers inserted into the vault on July 7, street closures lifted two days later and the new equipment fully energized on July 10.

No information was available from Entergy representatives after the meeting regarding the last time the vault in question was inspected or whether inspection logs are shared with its City Council regulators.

According to Entergy’s presentation to the council, the company has “completed a thorough review of similar equipment” and would replace it where needed. Company representatives declined to say whether that review had identified any equipment in need of replacement.

Entergy has recently begun installing upgraded transformers that allow it to remotely monitor the status of the underground vaults. “Currently, to know that our pumping system is working, we have to actually go to each vault and see that the water is receding,” Calamari said.

The company spent last year working with vendors on a proof of concept and recently settled on one, he said.

BERTHA

Continued from page 1B

4 a.m. Thursday And the agency warned of the possibility of scattered power outages, downed tree limbs and limited property damage. Bertha is expected to maintain tropical storm intensity until it reaches the Texas coast on Thursday, the National Hurricane

PATIN

Continued from page 1B

Patin’s position is newly designated and will cover:

n Ochsner Baptist

n Ochsner Medical Center

— Kenner

n Ochsner Medical Center

West Bank Campus

n St. Charles Parish Hospital

n St. Bernard Parish Hospital

n Ochsner St. Mary

n Leonard J. Chabert Med-

ical Center n Ochsner St. Anne. Patin will have “strategic oversight” over the hospitals while the existing CEOs will remain unchanged, according to a hospital representative. In 2018, Patin was named senior vice president and chief operating officer of Lafayette General Medical Center Before that, Patin served as chief administrative officer of the Lafayette General Medical Doctors Physician Group, regional vice president for Parish

“Hearing nothing from them, it’s heartbreaking, and it’s concerning,” she said, “Which, again, is why we are here, why we have asked for this help.”

The case has drawn widespread online speculation after photographs circulated showing Wells, who was Black, with a group of friends who were all White. Highprofile figures have since stepped in. Crump, who has represented the families of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor is representing Wells’ family Former NFL football player Colin Kaepernick contributed to the independent autopsy, and actor Tyler Perry covered the funeral costs.

At Wells’ funeral Monday in Ocean Springs, the Rev Al Sharpton and Perry together offered a $100,000 reward for anyone who reaches out to Crump’s office with information that leads to an arrest. Former NFL football player Terrell Owens later contributed an additional $25,000 to the reward fund.

Two weeks ago, Crump was the first to reveal that Wells’ body would be flown to Washington, D.C., for an independent autopsy, where a thirdparty medical examiner would look

BLOTTER

Continued from page 1B

his injuries.

The suspect, identified as Drailun Anthony, 23, of Lafayette, was arrested and booked into the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center on one count of second-degree murder The Lafayette Police Department reminded the public that its Safe Exchange Zone is available at the department’s main station, 900 E. University Ave. The monitored location provides a neutral setting for parents and guardians to exchange

FINE

Continued from page 1B

toxic gas or a liquid vapor that can cause severe respiratory problems, skin burns, blindness and even death at high enough concentrations, according to the EPA.

The ammonia release occurred as Tampa Port was in a maintenance and construction turnaround where a protective flare system was being added. It had been both preceded and followed by other accidental emissions of ammonia in the months before and after, including a far larger one the prior June, state records show

Waves from Lake Pontchartrain crash onto West End Point in New Orleans as Tropical Storm Bertha approaches the Louisiana coast on Wednesday.

Center said. Staff writer Kasey Bubnash contributed to this story

Email Meghan Friedmann at meghan.friedmann@ theadvocate.com.

Management Consultants LLC in Metairie, working as a registered nurse, director and service line administrator at Lafayette General Medical Center

Patin holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He completed the Wharton School of Business Anesthesia Leadership Program in 2010.

Email Margaret DeLaney at margaret.delaney@ theadvocate.com.

Following the Oct 27 incident, which is the subject of a parallel and still pending state investigation the companies were accused by the EPA of two violations involving “mechanical integrity,” or ensuring equipment is maintained in a way that prevents dangerous failures and chemical releases.

Under the agreement with EPA, Mosaic and Tampa Port didn’t admit or deny the two violations detailed but waived their rights to appeal the settlement. The full fine was $103,449.50.

EPA officials in Dallas, Texas, declined to comment Tuesday on the settlement Mosaic officials said in a statement they’ve “implemented corrective actions and continue to evaluate our processes to help prevent similar occurrences.”

Among them are new worker training, a list of critical spare pressure valves and new quality control procedures for valve settings, Tampa Port has told the state

In January 2024, Mosaic and Tampa Port Services reached a settlement with EPA involving multiple alleged breakdowns in mechanical integrity over several years. They were accused of not following through quickly enough on their internal hazard analyses and other shortfalls, including failing to test highpressure ammonia piping for corrosion.

The companies agreed then to pay $217,085 in civil fines and spend another $100,000 on projects in St. James Parish, including 11 new ammonia air monitors. In the latest case, Tampa

for any physical injuries beyond those consistent with drowning.

During interviews Friday on “Good Morning America” and “CBS Mornings,” and later at Wells’ funeral, Crump called for a transparent investigation into the teen’s death.

The Wonsleys, who sat alongside Crump during the interviews, said their son had visited Horn Island several times this year with friends, routinely texting his parents when he returned home and posting about the outings on social media. But this time, they said, there were no texts, calls or posts.

On Wednesday, the parents remembered their son for his kindness, hard work ethic and aura that “you were automatically drawn to,” Elmore Wonsley said, adding that his death “is going to be hard” for their family “He should be at football practice right now,” he said Anyone who was on or near Horn Island on Saturday and has information is asked to call the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department Criminal Investigations Division. The Criminal Investigations Division can be reached at (228) 769-3065.

children during scheduled custody or visitation arrangements. The investigation remains ongoing.

One person arrested in fatal shooting

One person has been arrested in connection with the homicide that occurred on North St. Antoine Street, according to the Lafayette Police Department.

Tylier Lindon, 23, of Lafayette, has been charged with one count of first-degree murder, one count of attempted first-degree murder, one count of aggravated criminal damage to prop-

Port Services told state regulators that a pressure relief valve opened and released 673 pounds of anhydrous ammonia vapor to an emergency flare. That flare was designed to destroy the vapor but was still under construction, so it was released into the air

Workers recognized the problem immediately, the company said, but it took 30 minutes to bring the release fully under control and halt the vapor

Tampa Port told the state Department of Environmental Quality that the vapors were dispersed by the wind but did not go off-site, though employees and contractors had to shelter in place while the leak was halted.

Preventable release

Tampa Port is authorized to emit ammonia into the air at concentrations aimed at protecting worker and public health, but the high rate of the accidental release more than eight times what is allowed per hour — violated the terms of its air permit, DEQ inspectors allege.

Tampa Port later acknowledged the release was preventable. The company told DEQ that a relief valve had been installed with pressure settings too low

Tampa Port ran into similar alleged problems four months before the October release, according to state reporting.

An estimated 4,436 pounds of anhydrous ammonia were released in 15 minutes on June 4, 2025, from a different piece of equipment when another relief valve had pressure settings that were too low about 4% off the level required.

This shortfall, which Tampa Port acknowledged was preventable, again caused that emergency valve to open too soon, the company

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MEGA BALL: 10 Unofficial notification, keep your tickets.

erty and one count of illegal discharge of a weapon. One of the victims, identified as John Andrus, 24, of Lafayette, died as a result of the shooting on July 2. The second victim was listed in stable condition. The shooting occurred June 30 at 2:55 p.m., when officers with the Lafayette Police Department were called to the 600 block of North St. Antoine Street in reference to a shooting. Upon arrival, the two victims were located with gunshot wounds. Lindon was arrested Tuesday in St. Landry Parish. Bail details were not released.

told DEQ. The company had to use water deluge systems to control the release while the unit was shut. In late December, Tampa Port had a relief valve release of anhydrous ammonia that went to the same flare, which was operating then, keeping ammonia releases at permit levels, the company said. Both the June and October ammonia releases are part of a more comprehensive listing of alleged air quality and safety process violations that DEQ inspectors have accused Tampa Port of having going back to 2022. The state violations are still pending. At Faustina, Mosaic processes dry agricultural phosphate fertilizers that also are used as fire retardants. Tampa Port runs an adjacent facility at Faustina that makes anhydrous ammonia, another fertilizer component that supplies critical nitrogen. The combined complex is just downriver from Donaldsonville and operates in conjunction with Mosaic’s Uncle Sam plant, which is across the river from the St. James complex.

Golding stands tall, butSept. 19 adifferent beast

TAMPA, Fla. Pete Goldingwon SEC media days on Wednesday

BITTER DIVORCE

Other than astray curse word referring to barnyard manure (since Nick Saban dropped abomb on “College GameDay” I think football coaches believe they have carte blanche to follow suit),the Hammond native and still new Ole Miss coach trumped all theothers here so far in the affable and engaging department. He was even alittle selfdeprecating. When asked what was different about him from when hewas the Ole Miss defensivecoordinator,hesaid:“I’m thinner.”

Unless Lane Kiffin—speakingofthinner,Georgia’sKirby Smart called theHot Yoga King the Adonis of coaches —decides to punch back with some instantly viral remark when he takes the podium here Thursday,itwon’tbeacontest. That would be out of character for the still new LSU coach. Kiffinhas areputation forbeing fairly subdued at these things. Talking season is one thing. The real season is 180 degrees different.And everyone knowswhen and where the most important contest between these twomen andtheir teams will be: Sept. 19 in Oxford Kiffinneeds that win to validatehis move to LSU, to what he has so oftensaid is the better job. Golding needs to win to validatehimself as acoach, his 2-1 post-Kiffinrecord in this past season’sCollege Football Playoffnot withstanding. When asked about allegationsoftampering by Clemson coach Dabo SwinneyconcerningformerClemson turned OleMiss linebacker Luke Ferrelli, Golding didn’tissue a flat-out denial. As you could probably

ä See RABALAIS, page 3C

BY JON BLAU Staff writer

TAMPA, Fla. As Ole Miss took thestageWednesday for SECmedia days,the Rebels understood theirroleina larger storyline. They are college football’sjilted lover.The program LaneKiffincoached until LSUstole him away Ole Miss coach Pete Golding didn’ttry to pretend there weren’tbitter feelings in Oxford, Mississippi. He acknowledgesthe storyofKiffin, LSU and OleMissalways will be intertwined.

“Are you married?” Golding asked amale reporter in Tampa. “If you do get married, right, and you have an ex that your wife knows about, she doesn’teverage,she’s never dead. That’s kind of where it is right now.” Kiffinisstillonthe OleMissfaithful’scollective consciousness, especially sinceLSU visits Ole Miss on Sept. 19 in one of the most highly anticipated games of the season.

Saints hope production carriesov

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

As he remained unsigned for most of this offseason, Cam Jordan couldn’tquitestop paying attention to the New Orleans Saints The veteran pass rushermonitoredevery move the franchise made,especially the ones relatedtohis position. But over the last few months,the Saints never made the splashatedge rusher that Jordan and plenty of others thought was possible. Sure, NewOrleans took aflyer by trading for aformer top-10 pick whose career hasn’t lived up to expectations. Andyes,theybrought back veteranChris Rumph and signed aveteran whohas startingexperience.But those moves were afar cry from drafting apass rusher in the first round or trading for awell-establishedveteran.

Thedecisionspaved theway forJordan’s return for a16th season, but were they enough to improve the pass rush?

The Saints are comingoff aseason in which they ranked 10th in sacks. They hada

pair of edge rushers record at least10sacks for the first time since 2013.

New Orleans also didn’tgenerate pressure as consistently as those numbers would suggest.The Saints ranked just 21st in pressure rate (32.6%), according to Next Gen Stats. New Orleans’ average time to pressure was 2.83 seconds, the fifth-slowestrate in the league.

The contrast between thoseideas —that the Saints were good at bringing down the quarterback but so-so at getting to him sets up an interesting storyline to monitor this coming season.

Depthchart (name, height,weight, experience)

n Chase Young, 6-5, 265 pounds, 7

n Carl Granderson, 6-5, 261, 8

n Cam Jordan, 6-4, 287, 16

n Tyree Wilson, 6-5, 263, 4

n Anfernee Jennings, 6-2, 255, 7

n Chris Rumph, 6-2, 244, 6

n FadilDiggs, 6-4, 257, 2

n Michael Heldman, 6-3, 268, R

During theathleticdepartment’sRebel Road Trip, Golding has been pulled aside by severalfans, asking: “Tellmewhat you really think about him.”

Golding has been blunt with his reply: He didn’tknow Kiffinall that well before he came to Oxford in 2023. Their tenures didn’toverlap at Alabama, and Golding didn’ttakeajob running the Ole Miss defense because Kiffinwas his best bud.

But they aren’t enemies just because Kiffinleftfor another SEC school.

“He did alot formeand Iwas very,very appreciative of how he treated me and my family.I learned alot from him,” said Golding, who took over for Kiffinwhen the latter bounced to LSU before the College Football Playoff.

“I have no ill willtowards coach Kiffin. He textsmeon aregular basis and there’scertain things that we’ll talk about and there’scertain things that we don’ttalk about.”

ow:10 in12

Number

If theS andstill to need som Let’ss healthy,h player.D gameslast former secon actionand sacks in on pace 17 games, takethat tinues that massivee is the fina $51 million 2025. Elsewhe needs eight his career all but guarant

can generate more pressure op 10 in sacks, they’re going ig-time performances ith Chase Young When ked like the Saints’ best e missing the first five r with a calf injury, the overall pick returned to ked up a career-high 10 mes His output put him 141/2-sack campaign over he Saints certainly would 26 If his production cony, he could be in line for a sion, as next offseason ar of the three-year, l he signed in March rdan has noted he ks to reach 140 for tal he said should his Hall of Fame

SAINTS, page 3C

Ole Miss coach Pete Golding speaks on the

Tampa,Fla.

Scott Rabalais

Saints DE Cam Jordan STAFFFILE

PHOTO By BRETT DUKE

AP FILE PHOTO By THOMAS GRANING

Then-Ole Missdefensivecoordinator Pete Golding,left, and coach Lane Kiffinchat before agame against UL on Nov. 18, 2023, in Oxford, Miss. Golding and Kiffinare setto face off on Sept. 19.

8

5

7

7:30 a.m.

BY DAVE CAMPBELL AP sportswriter

BLAINE, Minn. — Scottie Scheffler left the British Open with some frustration after another near miss in a major championship and traveled straight to Minnesota for his first appearance in the 3M Open.

A week off after the last major of the season would have made sense for the world’s top-ranked player, but Scheffler was focused on keeping his game sharp ahead of the FedEx Cup playoffs — and find some off-the-course respite for him and his supporting cast.

“The people have been tremendous, the fans have been really nice to me so far, and the tournament seems to do a really good job just taking care of everybody,” Scheffler said Wednesday after playing a ninehole pro-am with Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell.

“Clubhouse has been good. Food’s been really good Family’s taken care of. Caddie’s taken care of. Those are the things at a tournament when everybody around me is getting taken care of as well, it’s really easy for us to come and play.”

Hollis Cavner is happy to hear that The tournament’s director and chief executive officer of Pro Links Sports has made player hospitality a priority since the 3M Open was added to the PGA Tour schedule in 2019.

From the catered family dinners on the clubhouse patio each night to the inflatables and magicians for the kids, the event at TPC Twin Cities a half-hour’s drive north of Minneapolis has become well-regarded by players, even if its calendar placement has limited the star power in the fields.

“People seem to be really thankful that we’re here which is surprising for a golf tournament,” Scheffler said. “I was kind of taken aback by how nice people have been.” Scheffler’s presence has put the tournament on pace for record attendance.

“Every tent and every skybox sold out for the pro-am,” Cavner said. “We’re really getting in position now where we feel like we’ve arrived.”

Though this will be his fifth tournament in six weeks, including two in Britain, Scheffler didn’t want to enter the playoffs after three weeks off. Plus, Cavner who is a longtime friend of Scheffler’s coach Randy Smith and agent Blake Smith, has been relentless in his requests to have Scheffler make his first visit to Minnesota. Caddie Ted Scott also has a positive view of the course from his previous work with Bubba Watson.

“We’ve been talking to him for years, working him and working him and working him,” Cavner said. “Finally, they relented.”

There are several players in contention for the playoffs who could use a strong showing this week to climb above the cut. Jason Day, Brian Harman, Tom Hoge and 2022 3M Open champion Tony Finau are currently outside the top 70.

Scheffler, who had his third top-four finish in four majors this year at the British Open, has not won a tournament since The American Express in California in January

“One of the things that I’ve always kind of prided myself on is the consistency. That’s something that shows that I’m playing some pretty good golf,” Scheffler said.

Model for fast play

BY DOUG FERGUSON AP golf writer

SOUTHPORT, England — More than a British Open champion Ryan Fox has become the new face of playing quickly in a sport that could use a good example.

Perhaps the best illustration came during the most important moment of his life. He had a 12foot birdie putt to win his first major pressure as great as can be found in golf. The 39-year-old Fox took all of 22 seconds to send it on its way

He chose his words carefully Sunday evening to make sure he didn’t offend.

“I need to make sure this comes across right,” Fox said. “It’s not that difficult to pick a shot and pick a club. I get in there, and it all happens quick. It’s always going to be between one or two clubs into a green, and I just see the shot quickly, pick a shot quickly, and the less time I have to think about it, the less bad stuff can creep in there.”

It was all good Sunday the perfect drive, the perfect 9-iron, the perfect putt.

Fox joins a short list of players renowned for getting on with it during the big money era Joe Ogilvie and Bill Haas, Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka, Lucas Glover and Matt Jones.

Fox was asked if anyone was quicker than him, and he mentioned Renato Paratore of Italy

“He used to hit while his name was getting announced on the first tee,” Fox said.

He also shared a story involving Scottie Scheffler, who did not make the list. He said they played in a threesome during the Phoenix Open.

“I can’t work out if this was a burn or a compliment,” Fox said.

“We walk off the ninth tee and he goes: ‘Foxy, it doesn’t even feel like you’re in the group. It just feels like we’re playing in a twoball, you hit so fast.’

“It’s just always how I’ve played. I’m kind of glad I kept that routine down the stretch.”

Begay wins Stewart award

Notah Begay was been chosen to receive the Payne Stewart Award, an honor that dates to 2000 and has become one of the highest awards for a PGA Tour member It honors character, sportsmanship and charity commitments.

Along with his four PGA Tour victories and being the only fullblooded Native American on the tour, Bay founded the NB3 Foundation, which emphasizes health and wellness challenges facing Native American youth and their communities.

“Notah Begay III has always used his platform to make a meaningful and lasting impact, particu-

fi

nish got him into the 3M Open at the TPC Twin Cities. His top 10 also gets him into the British Open next year at St. Andrews.

“I didn’t expect to be in this position competing against the best players in the world,” Jarvis said.

“I didn’t see myself coming top 10 in The Open. The last seven months have been a little bit of a blur.”

Making the cut

Xander Schauffele extended his streak of 19 consecutive cuts made in the majors, one ahead of Scottie Scheffler They were among 14 players who made the cut in all four majors this year

larly within his Native American communities, and that ongoing work no doubt reflects the values of character, compassion and leadership that define the Payne Stewart Award,” PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp said.

Begay will be honored on Aug. 25 in Atlanta during the Tour Championship. The award was created after the death of Payne Stewart in a plane crash in October 1999, the year he won the U.S. Open.

“Payne Stewart represented the very best of our game, not only in how he competed, but in how he lived his life and gave back to others,” Begay said “To be associated with his legacy is truly special. Golf has given me a platform to serve, and I’ve always believed it’s our responsibility to use that platform to uplift others, especially the next generation.”

PGA Tour home stretch

The 3M Open this week in Minnesota starts a three-week stretch to determine the top 70 who reach the lucrative PGA Tour postseason. Among those on the outside of the top 70 are Keegan Bradley at No. 72, and Brooks Koepka, who returned from LIV Golf but is at No 82 in the standings. One spot behind him is Tony Finau.

PGA champion Aaron Rai, meanwhile, missed the cut at the British Open and is the only major champion to be outside the top 30.

Rai is at No. 33.

Lots of air miles

South African golfers are used to traveling, and Casey Jarvis has quite the itinerary going.

Jarvis who won back-to-back weeks on the European tour in February and March, began his journey at the Italian Open. He went to the BMW International Open in Germany the following week, then to the Scottish Open and the British Open at Birkdale. And now it’s off to Minnesota.

Jarvis closed with a 66 on Sunday to tie for sixth, and the top-10

Star 3B Ramírez returns to Guardians after surgery

CLEVELAND The Guardians managed without José Ramírez. They’d rather not have to do that again. Ramírez was activated from the injury list on Wednesday after the seven-time All-Star third baseman missed five weeks following left hand surgery Cleveland stayed near the top of the AL Central while he was out, a testament to the young club’s depth and resolve “The last five weeks could have been a lot different, and it wasn’t,” manager Stephen Vogt said. “We kept our heads above water You can use all the cliches you want, but we did not let the last five weeks determine the rest of our season.” Ramírez had been sidelined since getting hurt against Detroit on June 13 and having an operation to remove the hamate bone in his left hand.

Former WNBA stars to compete in All-Star event

The WNBA is going with a shooting stars competition instead of its skills challenge, pairing one former great with a current player in the league on Friday night as part of All-Star weekend.

Seattle will be represented by former star Lauren Jackson and Flau’jae Johnson, a former LSU standout. Washington will have former great Elena Delle Donne partnered with Shakira Austin. Dallas, which started out as a franchise in Detroit, will pair Jessica Shepard with Deanna Nolan. Minnesota will have Rebekkah Brunson playing with Courtney Williams.

Each team will also include a standout high school player from Nike EYBL, bringing together three generations of women’s basketball in one competition.

Cardinals lineman Adams arrested on gun charges

TEMPE, Ariz Arizona Cardinals offensive lineman Isaiah Adams was arrested in Canada recently on four weapons charges. Adams, 25, was charged with possession of a firearm obtained in a crime, possession of a restricted/prohibited firearm, no license while in possession of a loaded firearm and possessing a prohibited device, according to an online release from the Durham Regional Police Service in Ontario. Adams was one of four people arrested.

Schauffele hasn’t missed a cut since the 2022 Masters, while Scheffler last missed at the PGA Championship a month later in 2022.

Corey Conners is the only other player to have made all four major cuts in each of the past three years, his last weekend off at a major coming at the 2023 U.S. Open.

The other players to make every cut in a major this year: Rory McIlroy, Cameron Young, Sam Burns, Collin Morikawa, Hideki Matsuyama, Ludvig Aberg, Chris Gotterup, Ben Griffin, Michael Brennan, Justin Thomas and Kurt Kitayama.

The flip side was Harry Hall, the only player to miss the cut in all four majors.

Divots

Along with being a good bloke, Ryan Fox is an engraver’s dream. The seven letters in his name for the base of the claret jug were the fewest since Ted Ray won the British Open in 1912. Adam Scott’s consecutive major streak reached 101 at the British Open, and he’s in the Masters for life, so it will go to No. 102 in April. Scott also is assured of being back at the British Open next year He tied for ninth at Royal Birkdale with a 66 in the final round. Fox (No. 56) is the first player outside the top 50 to win the British Open since Darren Clarke was at No. 111 when he won in 2011 at Royal St. George’s. Ryan Fox moved to No. 2 in the Presidents Cup standings for the International team and would figure to be a lock for the matches at Medinah in September Stat of the week Cameron Young was No. 4 in the world when he won the Cadillac Championship at Doral on May 3. He is the last player to win on the PGA Tour while being ranked in the top 10.

Final word

“It’s going to ruin a lot of guys’ Monday mornings.” — Ryan Fox, on what impact his British Open title would have in his native New Zealand.

The report says that on Friday police concluded an investigation into a man believed to be in possession of a firearm and involved in drug trafficking. Two of the other people arrested were charged with possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute.

Cardinals sign QB Beck to rookie deal before camp

TEMPE, Ariz. — The Arizona Cardinals agreed to a four-year rookie deal with quarterback Carson Beck on Wednesday, one day before the team has its first practice of training camp.

The 24-year-old Beck looks as if he’ll be part of a three-man quarterback competition when training camp begins on Thursday, facing off against veterans Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew Kedon Slovis is also on the roster The Cardinals are led by first-year coach Mike LaFleur Beck was drafted in the third round out of Miami after leading the Hurricanes to a runner-up finish in the College Football Playoff last season.

The Cardinals have now signed all of the players in their most recent draft class.

More than 66 million in U.S. watched World Cup final PHILADELPHIA A historic summer for soccer in the United States was capped Sunday with one more record broken, as 66.4 million Americans watched Spain’s title win over Argentina.

The audience showed up despite the game ending in a 1-0 score including extra time. Ferran Torres had the breakthrough in the 106th of what proved to be 140 minutes of game clock, counting all the stoppage time.

Fox reported an audience of 42.5 million for its English-language broadcast, a new high for a soccer audience on a single channel. Telemundo’s audience of 23.9 million also set a record for the biggest viewership of a soccer game in Spanish.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JON SUPER Ryan Fox of New Zealand putts on the 18th green during the third day of the British Open on Saturday at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO NBC golf analyst Notah Begay walks on the 14th green during the Arnold Palmer Invitational on March 8, 2024, in Orlando, Fla.

credentials. Jordan’sresurgent 101/2-sack seasonin2025 came as asurprise to everyone but Jordan, who maintained he had plenty left in the tank.

This year will be atestof whether the resurgence can last. Jordan’spressure rate of 9.4% was his highest since 2020, though it was the lowestofthe 15 players to record double-digit sacks.

Theother nametomention is Carl Granderson.Inwhathas been atheme throughout his career,Granderson started off strong before cooling off considerably last season. He finished with six sacks despite entering Week 3tied for the league lead with 31/2.Granderson went 12 straight games without a sack before recording 11/2 in the team’sseason finale against the Atlanta Falcons.

Thelowdown

Young, Jordan and Grandersonhaveplentytoplay forin 2026, but the same can be said about the rest of the group

The newcomers, Tyree Wilson andAnfernee Jennings, will have to carve out roles in training camp in order to see the field. Neither player cost alot for the Saints to acquire. New Orleans sent a fifth-round pick to Las Vegas forWilson on Day3of the draft, while Jennings signed aone-year,$1.4 million contract. Both have upside,and the Saints will see whether they can harness the talent that led to Wilson being picked seventh overall in 2023, while Jennings hasbeen areliable run defender throughouthis career with the New England Patriots.

Should the Saints have done more to address the position?

The answer to that may come only with hindsight, but it’scertainlyupfor debate. The Saints notably passed on Rueben Bain in the draft,withthe Miami product falling to No. 15 andthe Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Arun of edge rushers did start in Round 2— with RMason Thomas and Cashius Howell picked rightbefore theSaints’selection at No. 42 —but New Orleans still chose to take an interior defensive lineman (Christen Miller) over other edge rushers on the board, such as Derrick Moore (picked 44th by Detroit) and Zion Young (45th by Baltimore).

Sumrallcontrasts his decision with Kiffin’s

NewFlorida coach wasabletolead Tulane in CFP

BY JON BLAU Staff writer

TAMPA, Fla. If Florida asked Jon Sumrall to leave Tulane before that program’sCollege Football Playoff appearance in 2025, he would havehad astrong reply

“I don’tcare what the offer was on the other side,” Sumrall said Wednesday at SEC media days.

“If somebody had said,‘We need youtotake this job and do it on our terms in terms of how you finish thejob at Tulane,’the answer was not ‘No’ —itwas ‘hell no.’ ” Butdon’ttake Sumrall’sprincipled answer to mean he thinks less ofthe coachwho infamously didn’tfollow the same path —LSU

he was bound for aconference rival, and LSU certainly wanted Kiffintoarrive ahead of Dec. 3so he could retain the Tigers’ freshman classonearly signing day

Sumrallwantedtodowhatwas “right” in delaying his start at Florida, butwhat he considers wrong isn’tKiffin. It’sthe college football calendar itself.

“Our calendar does not make sense,” Sumrall said. “The NFL, they haveit figuredout.Theyplay games, and then after the Super Bowl,they have playermovement, like free agency,the draft, OTAs, practice, training camp play games again.

“When players move, coaches change jobs, too, around the same time.”

latethe landscape, it included what was dubbedthe “LaneKiffinRule” to prevent coaches from leaving early While Kiffinwas panned, Sumrall had hisintroductory news conference at Florida on Dec. 1 but returned to New Orleans to coachTulaneinits Dec. 20 playoff game against aKiffin-less Ole Miss squad. The Rebels, ledby newcoach Pete Golding, wonthe game41-10.

Sumrall is now taking on his first Power Four job. He posted double-digit wins at Troy in back-toback seasonsbeforehetookover at Tulane in 2024. The Green Wave went from aGasparilla Bowl appearance in Sumrall’s first year to theCFP in Year 2.

The Saints also explored acquiring KayvonThibodeaux from the New York Giants, but the teams couldn’tagree on a deal. The Giantsreportedly wanted asecond-round pick; New Orleans felt that was too high of aprice and instead focused on landing Wilson from the Raiders at alower cost Training camp battle to watch Young and Granderson figure to take the majority of snaps,but what’sthe order after that? And how many edge rushers will the Saints keep on the 53-man roster? Thoseare thequestions to monitor in the weeks and months ahead. Jordan’s résumé likely will give himthe nod for the third spot, as long as he continues to produce. The Saints hope to tap into Wilson’spotential in away similar to what worked for Young, who has enjoyed a bounce back since he joined the Saints in 2024. Wilson’sbreakout isn’tguaranteed. After posting only 12 sacks in 50 games, he’ll have to fend off Jennings, Rumph and the others behind them to earn arotationalspot.

The Saints kept onlyfouredge rushers on their initial 53-man roster ayear ago.

Continued from page1C

Golding has posed ahypothetical to Ole Miss fans: If they found out in 2021 that the Rebels would be a playoff-bound, 11-1 football team in 2025 but their head coach would leave after the season, would they take that deal?

“Hell yeah,” Golding said. “You would. Everybody won from it. (Athletic director) Keith(Carter), you made agreat hire, youdid a great job. Every placeisn’t for everybody.That’scoaches, that’s players …and that’s OK. “I’ll be the first one to tell you: I told (Kiffin) Iwould think he was dumb if he was to leave. Iwanted

first-year coach Lane Kiffin. In fact, the two coaches, who were both tied to the Gators’ search,talkedoften during Octoberand Novemberwhen Kiffinweighedleaving Ole Miss after six seasons. Sumrallfelt bad for Kiffin, whom he considers a friend.

“When Italked with him, he was like, ‘You and Iare going through the same thing,’ ”Sumrall said.

“I’m like, ‘No, we’re not. If you leave, you’re leaving an SEC school, you’re goingtoanSEC school. It’salittledifferent. I’m leaving Tulane.’ ” Ole Miss wasn’t going to allow Kiffintocontinue to coach when

RABALAIS

Continued from page1C

surmise, Ole Miss kept Ferrelli as far away from media days as possiblewithout him needing a passport

ButGoldingwas honest in acknowledging he may have to live with the specter of Kiffinfor a long, long time.

“If you get married, and there’s an ex your wife knowsabout, she doesn’tage,” Golding said. “She’s never dead.”

That’sthe plight of being the manwho follows theman, which Goldingis. He’sa man of thepeopleright now in Mississippi, but let himlose to Kiffinand see how that worm turns. It won’tbewhat Kalen DeBoer is enduring as Saban’sreplacement at Alabama, but it’sapotentially prickly time.

him to stay.That was aselfish decision because Ilovedbeing the DC where Iwas. Buthedecided it was better for himand his family,and that was for himtodecide.”

That resulted in Golding taking ajob he wasn’t necessarily pining for.The 42-year-old said he was never interested in head coaching positionsbecause he didn’twant to deal with all of the “bull(crap)” involvedwith being “CEO” of afootball program.Golding just wanted to coach.

He then called Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables, aformer Clemson defensive coordinator Venables told him, “Don’tstop doingwhat got you there.”

“Look, man, nobody’sgonna call it like you,” Venables said, which convinced Golding he could hire

Kiffinhad to figure things out sooner,sending his family to visit both Baton Rouge and Gainesville, Florida, ahead of his decision. He was alsoonthe phone with Sumrall, who ended up taking the Florida job when Kiffin chose LSU.

“It’scumbersome to say the least,”Sumrall said of the calendar “I did not envy Lane’ssituation at all. Every time he and Iwould talk, Ifelt awful for whathewas going through andeverybody involved because it wasn’tfair to him.”

Kiffin’searly departurecreated astir in Oxford, Mississippi, where he was cursed by Rebel fans on thetarmac before a flight to Baton Rouge. On anational level, his abrupt exit at Tennessee in 2009 to takethe Southern Caljob was rehashed.

As lawmakerscrafted theProtect College Sports Act to regu-

As has been pounded intothe well-manicured Vaught-Hemingway Stadium turf, the animosity between Ole Miss folks and Kiffin has raged like aCanadian wildfire this offseason. Golding, seemingly with some direct intent, tried to takethe heat down anotch when asked about his relationship with Kiffin.

“Lane and Iare good,”hesaid.

“I did not know coach Kiffin prior to takingthe OleMiss job Iwasn’tatAlabama when coach Kiffinwas. So our relationship really grew in those 31/2 years (at Ole Miss)

“He did alot for me, and Iwas very,very appreciative of how he treated me and my family.I learned alot from him. Ihave no illwill towards coach Kiffin. He textsmeonaregular basis and there are certain things we’ll talk about and certain things we don’t talk about.He’svery competitive,

staff members to handle some of the duties traditionally assigned to ahead coach and he could keep calling plays.

“You managethis, andyou do this, because this (crap’s)nofun for me,” Goldingsaid. “You do that, and let me go coach.The combination of thathas worked to this point.”

Golding hasn’tbeen without controversy in his early tenure as ahead coach.Hewas calledout by Dabo Swinney in January for allegedly tampering with alinebacker transfer,Cal’sLuke Ferrelli, who had signed withand was takingclasses at Clemson.

At SEC media days, Golding had abrash reply when he was asked about tampering. “Let’snot act like recruiting in collegefootball for thelast 100

Sumrall hasa mighty task at Florida because one of the SEC’s biggest brand names has stagnated sincethe endofUrban Meyer’s tenure. Will Muschamp, Jim McElwain, DanMullen and BillyNapierproducedfour seasonswithdoubledigit wins in 15 combined years. Napier topped outat8-5 in his third campaign before he was fired midseason with a3-4 mark in 2025.

Sumrall, in his blue-collar way, saidthe Gatorsjust have to keep “stacking days” as theyattempt to move things in the right direction.

“I’m nottrying to temperexpectations. My expectation is to winevery timeweplay,”Sumrall said. “Wehavea freakinglong way to go.”

Email Jon Blau at jon.blau@theadvocate.com

just like I’mvery competitive.

“I can separate the two. Some people can’t.”

Ithink he was talking to you, Johnny Reb.

Golding then wentfurther,relating aquestion he recently put to agroup of Ole Miss boosters. It went like this:

“In 2021 if you said you could look into 2025 and you’re about to be 11-1 andgotothe (College Football) playoff, would you take it if your coach wasleaving?” Golding asked the group. “Hell yeah, you would.”

It’sa similar question that could have been put to LSU fans in 1999: Nick Saban is coming. He’s only staying five years, but he’s going to winanational championship and set you up foranother three years after that. But he’s then going to come back to Alabamaand own you and the rest of theSEC forthe next decade and a

years is the most moralthing that’s ever existed,” Golding said, pointing out that ADs are calling coaches during the season, like Kiffin, to recruit them to other institutions. Golding didn’tspecifically cite OleMiss’ angst over Kiffinallegedly tampering withformer playerstojoinhim at LSU, or Swinney’scomplaints about Ferrelli, butGolding insinuated that most coaches are breaking the rules.

“When you are on theinterstate, and people are flying by you, what do you start doing?” asked Golding, who heard someone in the gallerysay theywould “start speeding.”

“Damn right,” Golding responded, “or you’re gonna get hit.” Golding was unapologetically himself in his first media days rep-

LSU

LAST YEAR:7-6 (3-5 SEC)

COACH:Lane Kiffin(1styear)

PLAYERS:LBWhit Weeks,TE Trey’Dez Green, LB TJ Dottery

THEBUZZ: Lane Kiffintook an audacious shot at Ole Miss in aVanityFair profile,thendecidedtolie low. On Thursday, though, he’ll step back intothe spotlight,and reporters will lob questions about those infamous commentsand thesky-high expectations he must nowmeet in year 1atLSU.The spectacle won’t be boring.WithKiffin, it neveris.

ARKANSAS

LAST YEAR:2-10 (0-8 SEC)

COACH:RyanSilverfield(1styear)

PLAYERS:OLCayden Kitler,RBSutton Smith,DEQuincy Rhodes

THEBUZZ: Arkansas fired SamPittman in October and hired one of the coaches whobeat his Razorbacks in September.Now that difficult job belongs to Ryan Silverfield, thesharp 45-year-old whowill have to lead Arkansas through what ESPN said is the nation’stoughest schedule.The Hogs open SEC playvs. Georgia.

MISSISSIPPI STATE

LAST YEAR:5-8 (1-7 SEC)

COACH:Jeff Lebby (3rd year)

PLAYERS:QBKamario Taylor,WR AnthonyEvans, CB KelleyJones

THE BUZZ:The Bulldogsare about to begintheir third season under Jeff Lebby, and they’re still searching for the second SEC winofhis tenure.They’ve beaten onlyArkansas.KamarioTaylor, their quarterback,is atall,athletic sophomore whorushed for 173 yards and twotouchdowns last year when he made his first career startinthe Egg Bowl

TEXAS

LAST YEAR:10-3 (6-2 SEC)

COACH:Steve Sarkisian (6th year)

PLAYERS:QBArchManning,DEColin Simmons, OL TrevorGoosby

THEBUZZ:Texas is aclear title contender.Just look at itsstarstuddedroster and theintriguing fact that Arch Manning made significant strides last season as theyearrolledalong.The Longhorns addedformer Auburnwide receiverCam Colemanasatransfer, too, which should help theiroffense (and Manning) develop intoa more consistentforce.

ReedDarcey

half.Deal?

Done deal, forsure.

Nowfor the big question about Golding and the Rebels: What will they do foranencore to Ole Miss’ mostsuccessful season since the days of Johnny Vaught in the early 1960s?

The argument can be madethat the Rebels return the nation’s best backfield duo in quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and running back Kewan Lacy,who both are being pushed by Ole Miss as Heisman Trophy candidates. But will the Rebels be as explosive without Kiffinand offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr.running the show?Ole Miss had four of its five mostproductive offensive seasons ever under Kiffin. That won’t be easy to replicate in the slightest. Neither will Golding’swin at SEC media days when what really matters comes around Sept. 19.

resentingOle Miss. He assumes Kiffinwill do the samewith LSU Kiffinhas been uncharacteristically quietonsocial media in recent weeks, but Golding said he’d “take the over” on Kiffingetting back to his trolling ways this season.The OleMisscoaching staff tried aweek of silence heading into a2024 game vs. Georgia because the Rebels were crushed by the Bulldogs ayear prior Putting down the phone and not tweeting didn’twork for Kiffin. The Rebels lost 28-10. “He’lldefinitely be back (onsocial media),” Golding told reporters, “whichisprobably good forall you guys.”

Email Jon Blauat

jon.blau@theadvocate.com.

Granderson

PROVIDED PHOTO By TODD VANEMST/SEC

Florida coach John Sumrall speaks at SEC media days on Wednesday in Tampa,Fla.

Revisiting classicN.O.recipes with shrimp remoulade, eggplant Josephineand anisecookies

BY LIZ WILLIAMS

Contributing writer

oosevelt Hotel Shrimp

Remoulade is like an old friend. Almost nothing says New Orleans like a good shrimp remoulade.

Growing up eating fresh shrimp, cooked perfectly,and so well-seasoned, Iwas shockedthe first time someone servedmefrozenboiled shrimp with ketchup. Iwas probably about 12 years old, and Irealized howlucky Iwas to be eating in New Orleans —and nowI would expandthat to say Louisiana. Youcan definitely spice up this dish with horseradish or cayenne, but the basic sauce hits all the right notes. Youcan makeitpersonal with your own additions. I really like adding capers.

The Roosevelt Hotel recipeis one of many in “Cooking Up a Storm: Recipes Lost andFound

MORE RECIPES

ä Eggplant Josephine

ä Ursuline Academy Anise Cookies PAGE 6C

Williams TIP OF THE TONGUE Roosevelt Hotel Shrimp Remoulade Makes 12 Servings

from The Times-Picayune of New Orleans,” which was published in 2008 after manyrequests for recipes lost during Hurricane Katrina. Now,The Times-Picayune and The Advocate food columnists are revisiting those specialrecipes and their stories.

Eggplant Josephine was requested by LeonaCerny, whorecalled eatingthe dish at theWhite Pillars restaurantonthe Gulf Coast. This entree is rich andlayered with a combination of meat sauce and crabmeat with luscioushollandaise

ä See CLASSICS, page 6C

2largeegg yolks

1cup Creolemustard, homemade or store-bought,orany coarse, grainy brown mustard ¼cup distilledvinegar Juice of 1lemon (about 3tablespoons) Salt Black pepper

2cups vegetable oil

1bunch green onions, minced (white and green parts)

½stalk celery, minced 4pounds small to medium shrimp, boiled, peeled, and deveined 6cups shredded lettuce (about ½ cup per serving)

1tablespoon drained capers, minced (optional)

BY GRETCHEN McKAY

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (TNS)

One of the oldest cultivated crops in history,beans have been ahome cook’sbest friend foravery long time. Both inexpensive and pantry stable, they can be madeinto any number of dishes, whether you’re looking to eschew meat for more planet-friendly,plant-based proteins or just want to put a nutritious and inexpensive dish on the table. Easy to find in even the tiniest grocery store, beans are a great source of both soluble and insoluble fiber,inaddition to protein. And because so many varieties comealready cooked in cans —you just need to rinse and drain —they’re acinch to add to your favorite recipe, be it acasserole, soup, dip or salad. And talk about economical: Many varieties cost less than $1 acan, and dried beans are significantly cheaper on a price-per-serving basis. Even pricey heirloom beans, which are grown from seeds that have been handed down through generations and loved for their distinctive colors and tastes, can be considered abargain when you compare them to the several pounds of beef or poultry it takes to feed afamily California-based Rancho Gordo, aforerunner of the current “bean revolution” that celebrates its 25th anniversary this year,is such acult favorite among bean fiends that there’sawaiting list for its sold-out “Bean Club.” We offer an easy recipe to help you workmore beans into your weekly rotation. This simple spread forcrostini made with white cannellini beans

1. In alarge mixing bowl, blendthe eggyolks,mustard, vinegar, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.Add the oil slowly, beating constantly,asif you were makingmayonnaise.

2. When thesauce hasthickened,add the greenonions and celery.Combine thesauce with theshrimpand chill for 4hours in the refrigerator.Serveona bedofshredded lettuce.

Zucchini

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

1

Eggplant

Ursuline Academy Anise Cookies

CLASSICS

Continued from page 5C

It’s the kind of dish that’s perfect to celebrate something special like an anniversary, graduation or birthday Serve it with a salad and crusty bread. The dish will be much better with a homemade tomato sauce with meat Or, if you have leftover marinara, skip the meat since it’s rich enough with crabmeat.

Be sure to get fresh mozzarella, not the preshredded bags, which don’t melt well. You could slice the fresh mozzarella and place a thin piece on each round of eggplant, spoon the crab on top, and cook for 20-30 minutes as suggested. Top each eggplant slice with the hollandaise and serve. And for dessert, Ursuline Academy Anise Cookies will be perfect. These are wonderful St. Joseph’s Day cookies, but why only serve them once a year?

Zucchini Carbonara

smashed garlic over medium. Cook until garlic is lightly browned (2-3 minutes), then discard garlic.

3 Add half the zucchini in an even layer sprinkle with salt and cook without stirring until golden brown on the bottom (3-4 minutes)

4 Flip and cook until browned; repeat with the remaining zucchini and remaining oil.

5. Remove from heat, and set aside.

6. Boil pasta in 4 quarts of salted water until al dente, about 9-10 minutes. Reserve about 1 cup of the starchy cooking water, then drain.

7 While pasta is cooking, prepare breadcrumbs. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in medium skillet over medium heat. Add breadcrumbs, lemon zest, garlic and a big pinch each of salt and pepper Stir to mix, then continue to stir until the garlic is fragrant and the breadcrumbs are evenly browned, 4-5 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside to cool.

8. Return the pasta to the pot, add ½ cup of the reserved pasta water and cooked zucchini. Cook over

The recipe was submitted by J.M. of Metairie and taken from “Recipes and Reminiscences of New Orleans” by the Parents Club of Ursuline Academy (the Ursuline Cookbook) and used with permission.

Liz Williams is founder of the Southern Food & Beverage Museum in New Orleans. Listen to “Tip of the Tongue,” Liz’s podcast about food, drink and culture, wherever you hear podcasts. Email Liz at lizwillia@gmail.com.

medium-high heat for about 1 minute.

9. Pour in egg-cheese mixture after taking the pasta and zucchini mixture completely off heat this is a crucial step to avoid scrambled eggs! Stir vigorously for 2-3 minutes until the sauce thickens and clings to the noodles. If it’s too thick add reserved pasta water 1 tablespoon at a time. Add red pepper flakes and toss gently to combine.

10. Before serving, sprinkle on a little more grated Parmesan and some toasted breadcrumbs. Serve pasta in warmed bowls, with remaining bread crumbs.

11. lf desired, you can also add a little cooked, crispy bacon (but the dish will no longer be vegetarian).

NOTE: Be sure to take the pasta/zucchini mixture OFF the heat before adding the egg/cheese mixture or the eggs will scramble instead of dissolving into a glossy sauce. You’ll also want to save about a cup of your starchy pasta water to emulsify and thin the sauce if it seems too thick. I used almost a full cup of reserved water

By The Associated Press

Today is Thursday, July 23, the 204th day of 2026. There are 161 days left in the year

Today’s highlight in history:

On July 23, 1967, deadly rioting erupted in Detroit as an early morning police raid on an unlicensed bar resulted in a confrontation with local residents that led to five days of violence and resulted in 43 deaths.

Also on this date: In 1903, the Ford Motor Company sold its first car, a Model A, for $850.

In 1958, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II named the first four women to peerage in the House of Lords.

In 1982, actor Vic Morrow and two child actors, 7-year-old Myca Dinh Le and 6-year-old Renee Shin-Yi Chen, were killed when a helicopter crashed on them during filming of a Vietnam War scene for “Twilight Zone: The Movie.” (Director John Landis and four associates were later acquitted of manslaughter charges.)

In 1983, an Air Canada Boeing 767 ran out of fuel while flying from Montreal to Edmonton; the pilots were able to glide the jetliner to a safe emergency landing in Gimli, Manitoba. (The near-disaster occurred because the fuel had been erroneously measured in pounds instead of kilograms at a time when

BEANS

Continued from page 5C

— one of the cheapest and easiest-to-find grocery store varieties.

Lemony White Beans on Crostini

Serves 6. Recipe is from Gretchen McKay, PostGazette. This protein-rich appetizer can be whipped

Canada was converting to the metric system.)

In 1990, President George H.W Bush announced his choice of Judge David Souter of New Hampshire to succeed the retiring Justice William J. Brennan on the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 1996, at the Atlanta Olympics, Kerri Strug made a heroic final vault despite torn ligaments in her left ankle to help secure the U.S. women’s gymnastics squad’s first-ever Olympic team gold medal.

In 1997, the search for Andrew Cunanan, the suspected killer of designer Gianni Versace and others, ended as police found his body on a houseboat in Miami Beach, an apparent suicide.

In 1999, Eileen Collins became the first woman to command a U.S. space flight as the shuttle Columbia blasted off to deploy the world’s most powerful X-ray telescope, the Chandra X-ray Observatory

In 2003, Massachusetts’ attorney general issued a report saying clergy members and others in the Boston Archdiocese had probably sexually abused more than 1,000 people over a period of six decades.

In 2011, singer Amy Winehouse, 27, was found dead in her London home from accidental alcohol poisoning.

In 2012, Penn State’s football program was all but leveled by penalties for

up in just a few minutes. Fresh lemon adds a bright, summery note.

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 can (15 ounces) cannellini or butter beans, rinsed and drained

3 tablespoons smooth tahini

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Crostini, for serving Sea salt, black pepper and a pinch of ground cumin

its handling of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal as the NCAA imposed an unprecedented $60 million fine, a four-year ban from postseason play and a cut in the number of football scholarships the school could award. In 2021, Cleveland’s Major League Baseball team, known as the Indians since 1915, announced that it would get a new name, the Guardians, at the end of the 2021 season; the change came amid a push for

2. Simmer for 5 minutes until warm. Gently mash some of the beans in the pan for texture, if desired.

3. Season to taste, then spoon over crispy toast.

NOTE: To make homemade crostini, brush thin slices of bread with olive oil and toast, grill or fry in a hot pan (my favorite method) until crisp and golden.

1. In a pan, saute the garlic in olive oil, then add the white beans, tahini, lemon juice and a splash of water to thin the beans out just a touch.

Ursuline Academy Anise cookies

STAFF PHOTOS By SOPHIA GERMER Eggplant Josephine

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Youare better off reviewing what's happening around you before you decide to makeamove. Not everything or everyone will be as you envision. Ask questions, gather facts and store information for reference.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Takeabreather and assess situations before you make a move. Reach out to experts. Use charm, show interest and relyonthe factsand figures offered to make the best decision.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct.23) Choose your positionand executeyour plans. Precision anddetailare necessary if you want to flourish. Waiting for someone elsetodo the work will be alesson in negativity versus positivity.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Emotions will surface, and tempers will mount if you have afinancial, contractual or physical dispute with someone. Refuse to let anyone talk you into taking on more than you can handle.

SAGITTARIUS(Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Tidy up looseends,and address issuesthat require signatures, updates or paymentstoavoid penalties. Achange to how you feel about someone or somethingwill surface.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Claim what's yoursand keep moving. Refuse to let anyonetakeadvantage of you or compromise your position.Adisciplined attitude will help ward off anyone trying to undermine you

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Apositive lifestyle change will encourage you to

rethink how you wanttouse your skills to create additional income. Afinancial matter requires proper handling to generate profit.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) An emotional revelation will prompt an unexpected personal change. Be quick to fill in the blanks and to set yourself up for profits, notlosses. Everymoveyou make will impact how situations unfold.

ARIES (March 21-April19) Leap forward with faith, trust your instincts and push open doors that can help you advance. Listen carefully, and offer visual responses that are impossible to deny.

TAURUS (April20-May 20) Think before you act. Taking on too much or making unrealistic promises will lead to disappointment or potential loss. Put your emotions aside, and offer asound rendition of how you feel based on facts. GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Achange will point you in adirection you feel passionate about. Don't put your well-being in jeopardy. Walk away from disruptive situations. Embrace opportunity. CANCER (June 21-July22) How you function in social or networking settings will be asign of what's possible. Don't hold back.Express your thoughts and desires, and the responses you receive will prompt youtopush your way forward.

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

FAMILY CIrCUS

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placingpuzzle basedona9x9 grid with several given numbers The object is to place the numbers 1to9inthe empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 boxcontains the same number only once. Thedifficulty level of the Sudoku increasesfrom Monday to Sunday

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

THewiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

CurTiS

Puzzle Answer

BY PHILLIP ALDER

Michael Porter, aleading expert on competitive strategy, said,“The essence of strategy is that you must set limits on what you’re trying to accomplish.”

At the bridge table, your strategy may dependupontheformofthegame.When you are playing Chicago or in an event scored using international matchpoints, you should concentrate on makingor breaking the contract; overtricks are trivial. But when youare competing in a pair tournament, overtricks can be valuable. You get one matchpoint for every other pair holding yourcardsthatyou outscore, whether by 10 or 500 points. How does that affect strategy? Look at this deal. South is in four spades after the given auction, in whichEast made a three-club weak jump overcall andWest allowedthe unfavorable vulnerability to silence him. First, whatshould West lead?

At the table, Jerry Masters of Bonita Springs,Florida,ledtheclubking,giving the defenders the optionofwho would lead to the second trick. Then he shifted to alow heart. When overtricksare unimportant, South should win with dummy’s ace, draw trumps and drive out the diamond acetoguarantee 10 tricks.Atpairs, though, it is tempting to play low from the dummy at trick two.Maybe the finesse will work. And if it does not, the play costs only when East hasasingleton

wuzzles

diamond, shifts to it at trick three and receives adiamond ruff —exactly as happened at the table

Yes,Southerred,becauseifJaneCookson of Bonita Springs (East) had not held theheartking,shewouldhaveovertaken the clubking with her ace andled aheart (orher singleton) herself.

©2026 by NEA, Inc., dist.ByAndrews McMeel Syndication

Each Wuzzle is aword riddle whichcreates 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. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats”or“dies,” are not allowed. 3. Additional words made by adding a“d” or an “s” maynot be used. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.

toDAY’s WoRD tRouPE: TROOP:A group of theatricalperformers.

Average mark 19 words

Time limit 25 minutes

Can you find 24 or morewordsinTROUPE?

YEstERDAY’s WoRD— AGEnEsIs

aegis anise assign assignee gain gases gene genesis genie gneiss ease

easing egis ness sage sane sang sans seeing seen seine sense siege sign signee sine sing singe snag

thought

Iregard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:” Psalms 66:18

loCKhorNs

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles

hidato

mallard fillmore

EU puts some limits on Paramount-WB merger

NEW YORK The European UnionapprovedParamount’s $81 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discoverythis week, effectivelyclearinganother regulatory hurdle for amegamerger that could vastly reshape the entertainment and media landscape worldwide. But the greenlight comes with certain conditions.

The European Commission —which servesasthe EU’s antitrust enforcer —saidthat evenwithaParamount-Warner combo, enough competitors would exist across markets like film production and streaming in its 27-nation bloc.Still, when it comes to distributing movies to theaters, theCommission warned of high concentration that could lead to “worse rental and distribution terms for cinema operators, ultimately disadvantaging consumers.”

To address this, the Commission said Skydance-owned Paramount agreed to end its European Economic Area stake in United International Pictures —a longstanding venture with another major studio, Universal, that Paramount has usedto distribute films in theaters outside North America. The company must end that partnership within 13 months of closing its Warner acquisition, the Commission said, and not enter any new agreements with Universal for thenext 10 years

Among other terms, current distribution of Warnerfilms must be shifted to the same pipeline Paramount is using in these European countries.

Oil rises another 3% while Wall Street drifts

NEW YORK U.S. stockindexes barely budged on Wednesday after oil prices climbedanother 3% as fightingcontinues in thewar withIran. PhilipMorris International rallied3.3% after the seller of Marlboro cigarettes reported stronger profitand revenue for the latest quarter than expected. Itsshipments of smoke-free products rose 7.5% AT&T climbed 3.5% after reporting astronger profit than analysts expected. CEO John Stankey also said the telecom is accelerating plans to send roughly $10 billion to its shareholders this year through the buybacks of its stock.

Super Micro Computer soared 19.8% after the seller of AI servers said it expects to report stronger profitmarginsfor the latest quarter than it had earlier forecast.It, though,also said that revenue will likely come in at the lowend of itsforecastedrange of $11 billion to $12.5 billion. On the losing side of themarket was GE Vernova, which fell 8.7% after reporting aweaker profitfor the latest quarter than analysts expected. Rising oil prices are threatening areacceleration of inflation

AAA said Wednesday that the average price for agallonof regulargas in the U.S. jumped again overnight to $4.06.That’s still below highs of around $4.56 per gallon in May,but it had been below $3 before the United Statesand Israel attackedIran in late February

Google quarterly report beats expectations

Google parent company Alphabet Inc. posted strongerthan-expected results for its second quarter,asign that it’s massive artificial intelligence spending spree is paying off so far and advertising revenue is coming in strong.

TheMountain View,Californiabased company said Wednesday it earned $112.11 billion, or $9.11 per share, in the April-June period. That’supfrom $28.2 billion or $2.31 per share, in thesame perioda year earlier.Revenue grew 24% to $119.8 billion from $96.43 billion.

Analysts, on average, were expecting revenue of $117.06 billion, accordingtoa poll by FactSet. Google did not disclose an adjusted earnings figure that’s comparable to analysts’ expectations, which was $2.88 pershare

OpenAI modelhacks into company

ChatGPTmaker says system brokeout of testing environment

BY MATT O’BRIEN AP technologywriter

ChatGPT makerOpenAI says it is still investigating the “unprecedented cyber incident” that led its artificial intelligence systems to break out of atesting environment andhackintoanother AI company

OpenAI said Tuesday two of its most capableAImodelswereresponsiblefor thecyberattack targeting AI startup Hugging Face. The incidentisstirring debates over theneed forguardrails and the extent to which AI agents are

capable of acting on their own.

Hugging Face saidlast week that it had detected an intrusion into its data processing systems thatitsuspected was caused by an AI agent acting on its own. But the NewYork-based startup said it wasn’t until this week that it learned OpenAI was responsible, and it worked with the larger company to contain what Hugging Face CEO Clément Delangue called “anattack unlike anything we’ve seen before.”

SanFrancisco-based OpenAI said itsAIused stolen credentials anddiscovered apreviously unknown vulnerabilitytoaccess Hugging Face’sservers. It was workingwith reduced guardrails because it was supposedtobein an isolated testing environment

known as asandbox.

But it went to “extremelengths to achieve arather narrow testing goal,” finding waystoconnect to the internet without human direction and “gainaccesstosecret information that it could use to cheat theevaluation,” thecompany said.

OpenAI said theintrusion was caused by acombination of itsAI models, including itsnewlyreleased GPT-5.6 Soland an “even more capable” model that is still being tested internally

“It went off and did this hack all by itself, as faraswecan tell,”said Colin Shea-Blymyer, acybersecurity research fellow at Georgetown University’sCenter forSecurity and Emerging Technology Shea-Blymyersaid OpenAI’s internal environment for testing

AI capabilities and risks worked a “littlebit like putting astudent in aroom and telling them,‘Do bad things. Your job now is to evaluate howbad of aperson youcan be.’ And thenyou lock the room and youleavefor the weekend and you come back and they’ve left the room.”

But then“the cybersecurity agent that was being tested broke outofits sandbox, hadaccessto the internet andsort of thought to itself, ‘Who would have the answers to the test that I’m working on?’”

The answer was Hugging Face, a repository forAItesting data.

“And so the agent thought, ‘Well, we’ll go to the teacher’shouse,’ so to speak. And from there it devised aplan to break in and steal the answer key,” he said.

Automakerslookatwaystouse EVs as backup powersources

BY ALEXA ST.JOHN Associated Press

DETROIT— The multiday winterstorm that slammed Texas in February 2021 and pummeled the state’spower gridhas been on KennethKovar’smindeversince. Though theresidentofNew Braunfels, northeast of San Antonio, didn’tlose power at thetime, he wasn’table to run his septic tank —itisindependent from local systems. He had to fill his toilets with water from his backyardpool.

So when Kovar,64, bought aFordF-150 last fall, his hope was to be better prepared for any new crisis.

“I was interested in trying to find some sort of power backupsituation,”hesaid.

Now,Kovar has asetup from Ford thatallows drivers of certain F-150 models to plug their vehicle directly into their electric metertopower partsoftheir home during an outage.

It is the latest exampleofautomakers broadly adapting their electrification technologies to the home energy business, especially as demandonthe gridincreases andsales of electric vehicles slow.Car companies are looking to leveragetheir multibillion-dollar EVinvestmentstotap into a promising market in vehicle, homeand grid technology, bothfor backup power andfor supporting electrical grid resiliency

Ford connects F-150drivers to themeter

Drivers of the F-150 PowerBoost hybrid and F-150Lightning electricpickup trucks can now plug in a1-foot-long adapter to a 240-voltoutlet onboard. That adapter— which Ford made with companyGlobalPower Products—makes the vehicle compatible to plug into alonger,separate cable. That cable connects to atransfer switch installed directly on one’selectric meter

Through the adapter and cable series, homeowners can connect their vehicle essentially right to theirhome’sbreaker box.

Thehomeownersimply turnsonand off which breaker switches they want forwhich devicesthey want powered

“The way we think about it, especially for customers whoalready have acompatible vehicle is, you already own thepower source, it’sinyourdriveway,” saidAmanda Roraff,Ford’sgridand energyservices business acceleration lead.

being able to feed the grid.

Otherautomakersboostingsolutions

Over 630,000 U.S.vehicles already have this functionality, estimates say,and automakers are rapidly expanding their available options withthe goal of full vehicle-togrid support in the long run.

South Korean auto brand Kiaand Wallbox, an EV charging company,have teamed up so thatdrivers of eligible compatible vehicles can have homepower backup during outages or during periods of high demand, to cut their utilityuse.Theycan send powerback to the grid.

Tesla’stechnology is similar —allowing drivers of equipped vehicles to connect to their homeusing additional Tesla hardware. The Cybertruck provides full vehicle-tohomecapability,where other Tesla models can only connect to and power specificdevices or appliances.

The setup only applies to about 200,000 vehicles so far,and it is also exclusively for outages. Ford also offers itsHomeIntegration System for bidirectionality,sending power both from the vehicle to the home and from the home to thevehicle, while also

The Lightning might provide power for two to three days, depending on what home devicesare being used, and the PowerBoost Hybrid, up to five days on asingle tank of gas. Conventional, diesel-powered portable generators and full-homestandby setups require expensive installation, costing several thousands of dollars. This solution, which also requires professional installation at the meter,starts around $1,100.

Arecent partnership with WeaveGrid allowshomeowners whodrive certain General Motors EVs —and have the automaker’s home system anda propergrid interconnection —toenroll in somegrid reliability utility programs. Once an outage is detected, GM’svehicle-to-home tech has the capability to disconnect one’shomefrom the grid and start supplying power from their GM EV

BYMORIAH BALINGIT

Associated Press

WASHINGTON— At arally Wednesday, PresidentDonald Trumptouted the $1,000 babies can receive when their parents open Trump Accountsintheir names, seed money that Trumpsays will help give them “a really fair shot at the American dream.”

“Think of that. The government is finally giving money back to our children,” Trump saidtothe crowd gathered at aGeorgia high school

Some parents who opened accounts earlier this month for their babies saythey’restill waiting for their money. Theaccounts went live July 4. Thetax-advantagedaccounts can beopened for anychild under theage of 18, andmore than 7millionaccountsare already active,

Trump said Wednesday.Babies born between Jan. 1, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2028, get$1,000 in seed money from the U.S. Treasury. Mostofthose familiesreceive their $1,000 in one or two days, the Treasury Department said. After the Trump Accounts are set up, parents, relatives, friends andemployers can contributeto them. Some billionaires have also pledged philanthropic contributions to the accounts. Themoney is turned over to private firmsthat investitinindex funds,atype of mutual fund that tracks the performance of the stock market.The money can’tbeaccessed until the child turns 18, and only then for specificpurposes, such as going to school, opening abusiness or buying ahome. At the rally Wednesday,Rick Jackson,Georgia’s GOPnominee

for governor,saidhewould push forstate lawmakerstomatch the $1,000 in seed moneyfrom the federal government. Jackson, a wealthybusinessmanand CEO of ahealthcare company,said he believesGeorgia lawmakers will support that,but “ifthey don’t, I will personally donate it myself.”

Boosters of the program say it’s achance to give more Americans astake in the stock market. They hope it will stemthe rising popularityofdemocratic socialists, who seek to raise taxes on corporations andwealthy people to easethe cost of things like food andhealthcare for low-income andmiddle-class Americans.

For babies born since Trump took office last year,$1,000 from theU.S. Treasury is supposed to kickoff the accounts. While some parentsreport receiving the mon-

ey,others said in interviews andon social media they’re still waiting fortheir $1,000. The Treasury Department said that the lag between opening an account and receiving the seed funding constitutes “standard processing time,like receiving atax refund,” and that theoverwhelming majority of parents are waiting only one to twodays. But the department likestogiveparents aconservative estimate forhow long it might take forthe money to be transferred.

Trump Accounts are similar to baby bonds, championed by Democratic-led cities and states meant to shrink thewealth gapbetween low- andhigh-incomechildren. But unlike most baby bonds, which generally target kids from disadvantaged backgrounds, Trump Accounts are available to families of all incomes.

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOS By PAUL SANCyA

A1-foot-long adapter is shown connected to a240-volt outlet on board aFord F-150 King Ranch on WednesdayinSouthgate,Mich