Scientist Solomon David holds agarfish after taking a finclipping in Wilkinson County,Miss., on Thursday.The restorationefforts at Loch Leven, Miss., led by the Nature Conservancy,supports the growth of alligator gar populationsand demonstrates the importance of floodplain habitats in the ecosystem’shealth.
net spread out like aspiderweb over murky waters, hung for amoment and dropped. Charles Vaughan hauled it in and found what he’d traveled 1,000 miles for: ababy fish.
Thealligator garwas already more than afoot long at about 2months old, armored in hard scales with apointed snout full of sharp teeth. The species can live for acentury and grow to more than7 feet long.
“They’ve got super fast growth rates,” said Solomon David, aprofessor of aquatic ecology at the University of Minnesota who calls himself “the gar guy.” Under the right conditions, thesefish can grow to over 2feet long within ayear.“The right conditions arebasically like here,” David said.
The alligator gar is what ateam of researchers Vaughan and David, along
with GabbyGonzalesand Luxi Feyereisen, all with the University of Minnesota system —spent ahot morninginJulywading through theshallow waters at Loch Leven to find. And they found one, a sign that arestorationeffort here is working.
At Loch Leven, a6,000acre former farm surrounded by alevee built before theCivil War, the Nature Conservancyled aproject to reconnect the waters of theMississippi River with part of its natural floodplain,orthe land that the river onceflooded.
Centuries ago, the river ran through here. In 1776, it cut off the bend, leaving behind an oxbowlake— LakeMary, which curves in ahorseshoearound the property.The riverkept flooding this land until
ä See SUCCESS, page 5A
N.O. native haskey role in Guard’sD.C.mission
Cannon coordinates soldiers’presence in nation’s capital
BY JAMES FINN Staff writer
Born and raised in theNew Orleans
Bridge toll companies faced lawsuits, concerns
‘We’re learning from their mistakes,’ Lake Charles lawmaker says
BY COURTNEY PEDERSEN and MEGAN WYATT Staff writers
The companiesresponsible fortolling once construction finishes on the new Interstate 10 Calcasieu River Bridge have been mired in controversy over problemswith their tolling infrastructure on another south Louisiana bridge, leading to lawsuitsand questionsfrom public officials about the state’s continued partnership with them Publicinfrastructure companyPlenary and tolling operator Kapsch’swork on the Belle Chasse Bridge in PlaqueminesParish prompted widespread complaints from residentsafter it opened last year,who said the tolling system frequently malfunctioned and led to locals receiving feebills as high as $7,000. Under pressure, state officials suspended tolling last Octoberonthe Belle Chasse Bridge while the state andcompaniesfaced lawsuits from Plaquemines Parish and agroup of residents. In themeantime, Louisiana hasmoved forwardwiththe sametwo companiesasthe lead developer and tolling operator for the I-10 bridge in Lake Charles, which broke ground in
BY SAM MEDNICK Associated Press
ABRIDGE TOOSTEEP
Fourth in an occasional series about the Lake Charles I-10 bridge
ä See CONCERNS, page 4A
Christian Cannon joined the Marines as ayoung man, serving18years, includingmultiple tours in Iraq.
Nowthe Old Metairie native, whomade apivot to the Louisiana National Guard in 2021, is helping lead adifferent type of mission: Atask force of more than 5,000 National Guard soldiers from across thecountry who have joinedwith local and federal law enforcement agents to provide security for the nation’s250th birthday.
“This is probably my favorite mission I’ve ever been on,” he said in arecent interview.“Every day Iwake up,goto work andget to see the Capitol Domeand theWhiteHouse above me.” Cannon, alieutenant colonel in theNationalGuard, is high up in the Guard’s Joint Task Force-DC —part of what the government calls its mission to “Keep
TELAVIV, Israel— Israel has shared “serious security concerns” with the White House regarding the proposed disarmament deal with Hamas, an Israeli official said as Israeli strikesovernight andinto Sundayevening killed at least 17 people, including children, in Gaza. The remarks by Doron Spielman, spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister BenjaminNetanyahu’soffice, were some of the first public comments since President Donald Trumpannounced the agreement. Spielman toldThe Associated Press that Israel’s intelligenceassessment is that Hamas remains committedtorebuilding its military rather than genuinelydemilitarizing. He said
Israel says it has seriousuneasewith Hamasdisarmament Trumpannounces U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement ä See ISRAEL, page 4A
Julycelebration
area,
Lt. Col. Christian Cannon, aNew Orleans native, leadsaNational Guard task force on asecurity mission during the Fourth of
in Washington, D.C.
PROVIDED PHOTOBy SGT.SHERALD McAULAy
CANNON, page 5A
The Narrowsand theMississippi River are seen in Wilkinson County,Miss., as scientist Solomon David and his teamofstudents collect garonThursday.
Senate leaders reach deal to avoid shutdown
WASHINGTON — Key senators unveiled a short-term spending bill on Sunday that would keep federal agencies funded past the midterm elections and into early December as they look to avoid a government shutdown during the middle of campaign season.
The Senate is likely to vote on the measure before leaving Washington at week’s end for its traditional August recess, a period that many lawmakers want to spend shoring up their reelection prospects rather than working in the nation’s capital.
The bill generally funds the federal government at current levels though Dec 11 The House has passed a similar measure, but it did not include various exceptions sought by the White House. Senators have been spending recent days negotiating which of those exceptions to include
One exception that did not make it into the bill, Democrats noted, was the administration’s request to include $1 billion to build “Trump-class” battleships. In another major difference with the House bill, Democrats say they also were able to include language that will ensure the administration cannot transfer funds from other programs to the Border Patrol.
Suicide bomber strikes Pakistan rally
PESHAWAR, Pakistan A suicide bomber targeted protesters at an antimilitant rally in northwestern Pakistan on Sunday, killing at least 14 people, mostly civilians and police officers, and wounding more than two dozen others, officials said.
The attack happened in Kabal, a town in Swat Valley in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where demonstrators had gathered near a police station, chanting antimilitant slogans and demanding peace, district police chief Omar Khan said. According to witnesses, shortly before the attack, speakers at the rally said that ensuring security and eliminating militancy were the state’s responsibility They also accused authorities of failing to act decisively against militants, saying residents wanted to live without fear after years of violence that devastated the region.
Police official Omar Khan said at least nine civilians and five officers were among the dead.
AI draws boos at German festival
BERLIN An experiment with artificial intelligence at the annual Richard Wagner festival in the southeastern German town of Bayreuth drew boos from the audience after producing a staging that appeared to leave some spectators confused Curator Marcus Lobbes and his team were greeted with boos and whistles as they took to the stage at the end of Saturday evening’s performance of “Götterdämmerung,” German news agency dpa reported. However, there was warm applause for the singers and musicians, and particularly for conductor Christian Thielemann.
Festival organizers said ahead of the performance that it would be the first time AI took part on stage at the event, “not as a character, but as an imagegenerating force.” They said that singers would be “the fixed point within a visually seething cosmos of light, texture, history, and association, amidst projections that erupt, constantly shift, and merge into one another.”
The AI-assisted projections included scenes from previous performances of Wagner’s “Ring” cycle and historical themes, and drew from images pre-selected by Lobbes, the director of the Academy for Theater and Digitality in Dortmund, and his team. The collage that the technology projected on stage puzzled the audience, dpa reported, with images including former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, the towers of the World Trade Center after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and a special postage stamp marking German reunification in 1990
Police: Suspected shooter killed self
Man found shortly after 3 die in Idaho fast-food restaurant gunfire
By The Associated Press
TWIN FALLS, Idaho The suspect in a fatal shooting at a fast-food restaurant in Idaho died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said Sunday, crediting an off-duty officer and a citizen with firing shots that diverted him.
Investigators are confident that the gunman, identified as 24-yearold Chad Williams, acted alone during the shooting Saturday in Twin Falls, Police Chief Matthew Hicks said at a news conference.
In all, three people died and seven others were injured at the recently opened restaurant in the southern Idaho city of about 56,000 people.
Authorities said Sunday that two of the injured were treated at a hospital and released, three were listed as stable, and two were in critical condition.
Hicks said an off-duty state trooper and an armed citizen — whose identities weren’t immediately dis-
closed both fired back and diverted the gunman from the restaurant.
“We believe their actions helped drive the suspect away from the scene, preventing further casualties,” the chief said. “We want to take a moment and commend the actions of the off-duty officer and the citizen, and their heroic action to stop this incident.”
Hicks said detectives are working to determine Williams’ motives, and said the suspect’s family was cooperating fully with law enforcement
He also warned of misinformation spreading online identifying a different man as the shooter, saying the man had “no involvement in this incident whatsoever.”
One of those killed was an employee, the fast-food chain’s owner said.
“My heart is broken, my chest is heavy my eyes burn from the tears I’ve shed. We lost one of our beautiful Associates tonight,” In-
N-Out owner Lynsi Snyder said in a statement released early Sunday on social media. “In-N-Out will be mourning with the families and praying for them as they tread through a very painful season.”
The FBI on Sunday encouraged the public to submit images and videos related to the shooting Saturday in Twin Falls that left seven other people wounded, some critically The In-N-Out had opened just about a week earlier, on July 24, as part of the California-based company’s recent expansion to Idaho.
Snyder did not identify the worker Officials were still trying to notify relatives of victims and so were not yet releasing the names, ages or other details about the people hurt in the shooting, Twin Falls spokesperson Josh Palmer said Saturday
Police who responded to the shooting found the body of the suspected gunman in an area near the restaurant, Palmer said.
Palmer said investigators were interviewing witnesses to the shooting. The restaurant is in a busy shopping plaza, and hundreds of people were in the area when it happened around 2 p.m.
Lane Koehn, 34, said he was at a stoplight near the In-N-Out when he saw a person with an AR-style rifle emerge from the drive-thru. A man with a pistol started firing at the shooter
He then saw someone in an InN-Out uniform drag a person, also wearing a uniform, bleeding from a gunshot wound to her chest across the parking lot. The employee, Koehn and the man with the pistol stayed until paramedics arrived for her
“She was pretty bad off, but I don’t know I hope she made it,” Koehn said.
He said the shooter fired at least three or four rounds and it was not clear whether or not anyone in particular was targeted.
Video taken by a driver from across the street captured a shooter, who appeared to be dressed in black, walking up to a white car carrying a long rifle, opening the driver-side door and popping the trunk. The person then walked to the trunk and reached inside. At that point the driver who shot the video left quickly, fearing that the man might be getting more weapons.
Hundreds of thousands line Amsterdam canals
Boat parade held week after deadly Berlin Pride fest attack
BY MIKE CORDER Associated Press
AMSTERDAM Hundreds of thousands of people lined Amsterdam’s canals on Saturday to watch the city’s canal boat parade, the highlight of an annual Pride festival that this year comes just a week after a deadly attack on a Pride event in Berlin.
Openly gay Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten, dressed in a white shirt, black life vest and gold necklace, waved to crowds as he sailed in a small boat through the colorfully decorated parade of 80 vessels, waving to participants and spectators as techno music pumped from speakers along the route.
The colorful floating parade came a week after the Berlin attack left one person dead and 29 injured. A suspect, Abdul Ballout, was suspected of driving a van into a crowd near the festival Saturday night before apparently stabbing others with a machete in what authorities believe was an
Islamic extremist attack. Ballout was shot and killed by police during a confrontation on July 26 in a suburb of the city, authorities said.
Jetten, the first Dutch prime minister to take part in the boat parade, said in a video posted on X that the event was more important than ever because worldwide the freedom and security of the LGBTQ+ community “is under pressure with new discriminatory legislation, lack of safety on the street or last week’s terrible attack in Berlin.”
Amsterdam Mayor
Femke Halsema said in the aftermath of the German attack that authorities in the city would “where necessary take extra measures that visitors will hopefully notice as little as possible.”
Motorboats carrying police officers cruised the canals and a helicopter hovered overhead as Saturday’s parade got underway
The Berlin attack also cast a shadow Saturday over Hamburg’s Pride parade, one of Germany’s biggest, where increased security was noticeable as dozens of trucks made their way through Germa-
Ukrainian drones kill 5, set fire to Russia’s Wildberries warehouse
By The Associated Press
Ukrainian drone strikes killed at least five people across Russia, also hitting industrial sites and a further warehouse belonging to Russia’s e-commerce giant Wildberries, local officials said. Wildberries, Russia’s largest online marketplace, is sometimes described as the country’s answer to Amazon. In under two weeks, Ukraine has struck over a dozen of the retailer’s depots, part of Kyiv’s aerial campaign aimed at undermining Moscow’s war effort, hurting its economy and making people feel the consequences of the Kremlin’s all-out invasion of Ukraine.
Russian air defenses overnight shot down 635 Ukrainian drones, including over occupied Crimea and the Black and Azov Seas, according to the Defense Ministry in Moscow The ministry did not say how many were launched or struck targets.
Meanwhile, Russia attacked Ukraine with 133 drones during the night, 24 of which hit targets according to the Ukrainian
air force. Later on Sunday separate Russian attacks on the Ukrainian cities of Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv killed at least two people, according to local officials.
Ukrainian drones targeted a Wildberries warehouse in the Samara region, some 500 miles from the RussianUkrainian border, according to local Gov Vyacheslav Fedorishchev He said a fire had broken out but there were no casualties.
Kyiv’s campaign against Wildberries first hit the company’s sites in Elektrostal, just east of Moscow and in the Tambov region
July 18. Strikes followed on facilities across western and southern Russia, as well as Russian-held Crimea. At least nine people have been killed and scores wounded.
In Ukraine, one person died on Sunday as a Russian guided bomb struck a residential building in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, according to local administration head Ivan Fedorov Another attack on Sunday killed one person and set fire to a postal terminal on the outskirts of Kharkiv, in the northwest, said regional administration head Oleh Syniehubov
ny’s second-biggest city Police and organizers said about 300,000 attended, compared with about 260,000 people last year, German news agency dpa reported. Hamburg’s police chief said earlier this week that roughly twice as many officers as last year would protect the event.
The boat parade is the traditional highlight of Amsterdam’s Pride. This year it
coincides with a World Pride celebration that also is being hosted by the Dutch capital. Rod Lugtenburg, 55, of Toronto, said he came to Amsterdam for World Pride. He stood on the city’s famous Skinny Bridge wearing a Tshirt emblazoned with a rainbow maple leaf as the boats passed.
“For me, it’s about acceptance, being able to be who you are,” he said.
People celebrate atop a boat on one of the Dutch capital’s historic canals Saturday during the Canal Parade, the most popular event of the Pride Amsterdam festival.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By PATRICK POST
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By yEVHEN TITOV
A firefighter puts out a fire Sunday at a Nova Poshta postal warehouse following Russian air attack on the outskirts of Kharkiv, Ukraine.
U.S. pullsbackon renewing strikes againstIran
BY AAMER MADHANI and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press
WASHINGTON PresidentDonald Trump said Sunday he decided to hold off on ordering American forces to carry out new strikes against Iran at the urging of Gulf allies Qatar,Saudi Arabia andUnited Arab Emirates.
He added that aplan was in place for U.S. forces to carry out “thebiggest attack since World WarII” on Sunday.But he decidedtoscrap the plan and give diplomacy more time to play out after hearing from key Gulf leaders —including Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman —aswell as at therequest of unnamed Iranian officials.
“I said to the crown prince, ‘What would you rather do? Wouldyou
causeyou don’tknowwhere these attacks lead.
Trump andthe crownprince spoke on Saturday beforethe U.S president announced in asocial media postthat Mideastallies had reached the “perimeters” of adeal to end the 5-month-old war
It wasanotherturnabout for Trump, whoaday earliersaidhe’s “losing faith” in negotiations with Iran and offered the ominous warning that theU.S.military “will be hitting themvery hard.”
rather us do this or not?’”Trump told reporters on Air Force One as he flew back to Washington after spending the weekendathis golf clubinBedminster,New Jersey
“They said we would much prefer adeal as opposed to an attack, be-
Trump on Sundayreiterated that the emerging deal would include a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the critical waterway where about a fifthofthe world’senergy flowed before thestart of thewar,and would resolve U.S.concerns about Iran’s nuclear program. Iran has repeatedly attacked vessels attempting to transit through theStraitofHormuz without its authorization as part of itsconflict withthe U.S.
And Iran’sForeign Ministry spokespersonEsmail Baghaei said
on Sunday that theStraitofHormuz “will in no way return to thestatusit wasbefore February 28th,” theday thewar started On acall withIranianstate TV,he added that Iran is discussing shipping through thestraitwithOman, on the other side of Hormuz, but that there’snocurrent talk about reopening the crucial waterway Trump has announced halts to strikes on Iran on several occasions since the United States andIsrael attackedIranonFeb.28, only for things to unravel and fighting to resume again Iran’sdefense minister saidon Xthatthe country was “neither surprisednor passive” following Trump’sannouncement and said Iran remains alertinthe face of concretethreats from the U.S. While Iran’sleadersappear united in awar strategysignaling strength and endurance, astruggle for controlseemstobebrewingwithin the theocracy’sleadership between those who oppose all negotiations with theU.S.and otherswho count
on military pressure to win at the negotiating table
TrumponSunday said he expected negotiations to resume “tomorrowafternoon”but did notdetail who would be involved in such talks.
Aregionalofficial said theproposal announced by Trump over the weekend calls for the U.S. and Iran to return to negotiations and continue working out manyofthe issues that have stymiedprior progress on thedeal
The official,who is involved in the mediationefforts, saidthe proposal calls for reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and halting attacks across the region, including by Iranianbacked militiasinIraq on the Arab Gulf countries andJordan.
The U.S., in exchange,will endits naval blockade on Iran and allow Tehran to export its oil as stated in thetentative ceasefire deal,hesaid. No deal hasbeen reached yet, but mediation efforts are underway, said theofficial, who spoke on condition of anonymitybecausehewasn’t authorized to talktothe media.
Trumppolls strong on immigrationamong Republicans
BY AMELIA THOMSON-DEVEAUX, LINLEY SANDERS and MIKE CATALINI Associated Press
WASHINGTON Immigration remains astronger issue for President Donald Trump than the economy or Iran, according to anew AP-NORC poll, even after three people were killed in encounters with Immigration and Customs Enforcementin the span of under aweek in July Trump is not gettinga glowing endorsement on hisimmigration approach from Americans overall, the new survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found. Only 39%ofU.S.adultsapproveofhis performance on immigration, adecline from 49% at the beginningof his second term.
Despite that, about 8in10Republicans continue to approve of how Trump is handling immigration. That’saslight decline from the beginning of Trump’ssecond term, when about 9in10Republicans approved, but his support on the issuewithin his base has been mostly stable since last summer despite achaotic year of immigration enforcement actions. Republicans are also more likely to approve of how Trump is handling immigration than the economy or Iran. In just the past month, Republicanapproval of Trump’s handling of Iran dropped slightly in AP-NORC polling.
The poll found that about half of
U.S. adultssay Trumphas “gone too far” on deporting immigrants living in theU.S.illegally.Thatnumber has also remained steadyfor over a year,despite multiple immigration crackdowns that deployed federal law enforcement to large cities and at least 10 deaths involving encounters with immigration officers since the mass deportation campaign began. Republicans, however,are muchless likely to say Trump has overstepped in his immigration enforcement actions. Overall, Trump’spopularity has fallen since he took office last year,but the findingshighlight the relativelymuted impact of thepast year’saggressive immigration enforcement on his public standing. That’sacontrast with views of his handling ofIran, where he’s seen more recent signs of slippage, even among hisown supporters.
Immigration
Americansremaindivided on whether Trump has overstepped on immigration. About half of U.S.adults say Trumphas “gonetoo far” when it comes to restricting legalimmigration, in line with the last time the question was asked in February Roughly half —47% —say Trump hasexceededhis authority when it comes to deporting immigrants living in the U.S. illegally.Ineach case, about 3in 10 say Trump’sactions have been “about right,”and closer to 2in10say he hasn’tgone far enough.
Few Republicans—about 2in10 or fewer —say he’s“gone toofar on deporting immigrants in the country illegally or restricting legal immigration.
Most Americans, however,say he’s gone too farwhenitcomes to using traffic stops to findand arrest immigrantsliving in the U.S illegally —a practice that was at the center of two recent ICE shootings in Maine —and when it comes to sending federal immigration agents into U.S.cities. Republicans were also less likelytosee these as oversteps.
James Leatherman,a68-year-old Republican from San Antonio, is overall supportive of Trump’shandling of the presidency and backs himonimmigration in particular.
“You cannot come in here illegally —you’re breaking thelaw,” he said.
More Americans disapprove than approve of the way ICE is enforcing immigration laws. About half of Americans “strongly” or “somewhat” disapprove of the agency’sapproach,while roughly 3in10“strongly” or “somewhat” approve. There’sa wide partisan split, though: About6 in 10 Republicans approve of ICE’sapproach, compared withabout 2in10independents andjust 4% of Democrats
Eric Coursen, 76, an independent fromChincoteague,Virginia, agrees with the president that there were issues with theimmigration system.Hesaiddoesn’t believein open borders —but he’sdeeply opposedtohow the administrationhas
Washington fires force evacuationof5,000 homes
BY JOHN HANNA Associated Press
About 5,000 homes have beenevacuated andabout 600 homes, businesses and other buildingshave been destroyed by wildfires that remained uncontained Sunday in eastern Washington state, authorities said. The fires burned more than 8.2 square miles around Spokane, the second largest city in Washington, and were among dozens across the western U.S. —stretching the ability of federal, state and local agencies to fight them. No deaths have yet been reported from the fires in the Spokane area. Meanwhile, crews using bulldozers and helicopters continued for the 10th day to fighta fire that has burned nearly 525 square miles of grasslandinwestern Idaho and eastern Oregon.The area is home to cattle ranches, and authorities said the fire is threatening more than 600 homes and 800 other structures.
The NationalWeather Service issued warnings about the air quality in eastern Washington,eastern Oregon, western and central Idaho, and western Montana. It issued red flagfire warnings for parts of Utah and Montana and western Nebraska, and extreme heat warnings for the southern parts of Arizona, California and Nevada and northern Montana.
There were three fires in the Spokane area: the Old
on West
at the duplex
Trails Fire, the Fairview Fire and theMeadowview Fire, andthe stateissued air quality warnings.WashingtonGov.Bob Ferguson declared astate of emergency Saturday,and the National Weather Service issued a “particularly dangerous situation” red flag alert for eastern Washington. BenjaminCossel,public information officer for the federal response team from California,saidthat as it gets warmer during theday, cool air that’snow closer to theground and keeping winds at bay will rise, allowing those windstomove throughthe area. The Spokane River cuts throughthe city of about 229,000 people, andthere are steep canyons on both sides that channel the wind.
“They push thefire throughthe canyons,up, up the slopes, and then outside
theslopes andaround,” he said.
“It’svery, very hilly, very,very steep slopes, alot of canyons thatcreate really turbulent,really challenging sort of wind scenarios.”
Authorities in Spokane setupashelter at the city’s main convention center
Several larger fires continued to burn in less populated areas northwest of Spokane, including one about 80 miles from Spokane that has burned about210 square miles. Another fire in eastern Oregon, about 70 miles to the northwest in theStinkingwater Mountains, has burned about 336 square miles.
“The whole northwest is heavily impacted right now,” saidKeila Vizcarra, the spokesperson for the federal team from California handling what’s been named the Big Grass Fire in western Idaho and eastern Oregon.
been enforcing immigrationlaw
“It’s like taking somebread when you’re hungry and you take it, you’re going to shoot that person rather than just, you know,get them for theft?” he said. “It’sjust overkill.”
Economy
About 3in10U.S.adults, 32%,approve of howTrump is handling the economy.That’sdown from 40% at the start of his second term, and marks ashiftfrom his first presidentialtermwhenthe economywas astronger issue forTrump. During Trump’sfirst term, his lowest approval on the economy was 40% in December 2017. Now, hisrating is well belowthat. Roughly7 in 10 Republicans— 69% —approve of how Trump is handling theeconomy.That’s roughlyinline with the share who approve of howhe’shanding the presidency,but it’sslightly below the 78% who approved early in Trump’ssecondterm.
Leatherman, despite his support for Trump, said he’sfeeling the pinch of higher prices in hisbudget “I almost have to go to the bank to get aloan before Igogroceryshopping,” he said.
About 7in10U.S. adults describe the nation’s economy as “very” or “somewhat” poor,in line with April. Republicans are more optimistic,with about6 in 10 saying that theU.S.economy is doing well, compared with about 2in10independentsand roughly
1in10Democrats.
Healthcare
Healthcare has never been a strong issue for Trump. Unlike with immigration andthe economy,a clear majority of U.S. adults has disapprovedofTrump’sperformance on healthcareacrossbothpresidential terms. That hasn’tchanged in the newpoll, whichfound thatonly about3 in 10 Americansapprove of how Trump is handling healthcare, in line with when the question was last askedinDecember He’sseen arebound on the issue among his own supporters since late last year,though. Roughly 71% of Republicans nowapprove,compared with 59% in the December poll. That shift comes as Democrats kicked off 100 days until the midterm elections last week,with leaderssayingthey’ll focusonhealthcare cuts, in addition to the cost of livingand the warinIran. Democrats and independentscontinue to overwhelmingly disapprove of Trump’shandling of healthcare. The AP-NORC poll of 1,165 adults was conducted July 23-27 using a sample drawn from NORC’sprobability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of theU.S.population.The margin of sampling error for adults overallisplus or minus 3.7 percentagepoints. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 6.0 for Republicansoverall andplus or minus 5.4 forDemocratsoverall.
Helicopter collisionnearAthenskills 2
BY ELENA BECATOROS and THOMAS ADAMSON Associated Press
ATHENS,Greece TwoGreek
firefighting helicopters collided in midair on Sunday as they were battling awinddriven wildfire west of Athens, sending one aircraft crashing to the ground. Two crew members, aGreek and aDanish national, died in the crash.
The collisionlaidbare the danger at the mostvolatile frontofEurope’s wildfire emergency. Strong winds
drove flames deeper into the regionofthe Greek capital and forced fresh evacuations, France guarded astillburning scar four timesthe size of Paris, while Spain’s major firesstoppedadvancing.
The aircraft were Bell helicoptersoperating over the Psatha area west of Athens, each witha two-personcrew. Foreign firefighting and helicoptercrews areoften deployed in Greece to help tackle wildfires during the country’s hot, dry summers.
The two crew members
who were recovered alive were aGreek anda British national Farther west, containment brought no end to the emergency. France’slargest wildfire remained held within its perimeterafter forcing 224,000 peopletoflee in what may have been thecountry’s largest civilianevacuation outside wartime. Together, firesinFrance and Spain have driven roughly athird of amillion peoplefrom homes andvacationsitesatthe height of theEuropean summer
ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTO By yOUNG KWAK
KimberleySather stands
sherents
Indian Trail Road on Sunday after it burned in awildfire in Spokane, Wash.
ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTO
President DonaldTrump speaks to reportersSundayonboard Air Force Onewhile returning to the White House.
the Israeli military would not withdraw from Gaza — where it controls more than 60% of the territory — before Hamas disarms.
“Our assessment is that if we redeploy before Hamas is truly disarmed, it will quickly expand its presence throughout Gaza, rebuild its terrorist infrastructure, once again threaten Israeli communities, and seek to carry out another Oct. 7-style attack,” he said, referring to the Hamas militant attack on Israel in 2023 that triggered the war in the Gaza Strip.
“Disarming means physically giving up the weapons. Nothing less,” Spielman said His comments come days after Hamas said that it would begin disarming as part of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire signed nine months ago to end the nearly threeyear conflict. It marks a potential breakthrough in end-
CONCERNS
Continued from page 1A
April and is expected to finish construction in 2031 The Lake Charles bridge’s toll would be the only required one on I-10 spanning the nation’s east to west coasts.
Lake Charles bridge project officials have defended their decision to partner with Plenary Americas and Kapsch for the $2.3 billion project despite the companies’ track record in Belle Chasse. The state finalized its agreement for the companies to operate tolling on the Lake Charles bridge in August 2024, before tolling began on the Belle Chasse project
The bridge project’s public information manager and Plenary issued similar statements in response to questions for this story
“The new I-10 Calcasieu River Bridge is a separate project with its own contracts, operational requirements, and performance standards established by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LADOTD),” the company said.
Calcasieu Bridge Partners public information manager Patricia Prebula reiterated the separate “performance standards, oversight, and contractual requirements” for the I-10 Calcasieu River Bridge project.
“While Plenary serves as the lead developer on both projects, the bridge will operate under its own contractual framework, oversight, and accountability measures specific to this project,” Plenary added.
A Kapsch spokesperson referred questions to Prebula, saying that “for contractual reasons we are not in a position to answer your questions about the project.
Prebula said the project team plans to roll out an awareness campaign about toll rates before they go into effect, expected in 2031 Tentative toll rates listed in January 2024 in a news release from DOTD showed them starting at 25 cents for local vehicles with a toll tag and $3.75 for those without a toll tag, though Prebula said those were based on 2023 rates and are subject to change.
Some say that the problems with the Belle Chasse Bridge, which was delayed several times, should serve as a wake-up call about the potential perils awaiting Lake Charles. State Rep. Phillip Tarver, R-Lake Charles, said he’s trying to learn as many lessons as possible from Plaquemines Parish He noted that he opposed the bridge requiring a toll from the start.
“We’re learning from their mistakes and are much more prepared for some things than they were prepared for,” Tarver said.
He said he and other local officials will watch carefully
“to make sure we don’t fall into the same kind of situation that they’ve fallen into,” describing the fees on the Belle Chasse Bridge as “outrageous and onerous.” Plenary billed customers about $6.8 million in fees ver-
ing the conflict, but many hurdles, conditions and long timelines remain.
Trump’s 20-point ceasefire plan calls on the militant group to surrender its weapons and destroy its vast network of tunnels It also envisions Israeli forces withdrawing from Gaza, the arrival of a new technocratic Palestinian government, deployment of an international security force and the rebuilding of the battered Palestinian enclave. Hamas disarming has been a sticking point and has deadlocked negotiations for months. In announcing the deal on social media on Thursday, Trump said it would be carried out in “carefully structured phases.”
A copy of the agreement obtained and verified by the AP said that all weapons held by the Hamas-run police will be transferred to the U.S.backed Palestinian technocratic committee, known as the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, upon its arrival in the
enclave. It’s not clear when that would happen since it is contingent on other steps.
A process to decommission and store heavy weapons and to dismantle military production sites and tunnels will begin after the arrival of the Palestinian committee and the deployment of international forces. The process will be linked to a phased Israeli withdrawal, according to the agreement
The areas Israel controls in Gaza have been mostly destroyed and depopulated. Most of the territory’s 2 million Palestinians are in the other part, where hundreds of thousands live in squalid tent camps and destroyed neighborhoods.
Israel appears unlikely to pull back significant forces or make other concessions ahead of its October elections. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces a tough reelection battle, with his far-right coalition partners urging him to keep up the pressure on Hamas and leave forces in Gaza, and
opponents accusing him of failing to prevent the Oct 7, 2023, attack.
Hamas-led militants attacked Israeli communities then, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 others hostage. Israel responded with a punishing military offensive that has killed more than 73,000 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry
The ministry, which was part of the recently dissolved Hamas-run government, maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and international organizations. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants but says women and children make up around half of all fatalities.
While Spielman said Israel greatly appreciates Trump’s commitment to its security and to finding a durable resolution, the government’s position on disarmament is based on detailed intelligence saying that Hamas continues to rearm, recruit
sus $5.2 million in tolls during the four months before Gov Jeff Landry suspended tolls altogether last October, according to state Rep Jacob Braud, R-Belle Chasse When the new Belle Chasse Bridge opened last year over the Intracoastal Waterway southeast of New Orleans, tolls for Plaquemines Parish residents with a GeauxPass were advertised at 25 cents. Rates listed for drivers without GeauxPasses were $2.26. But based on the actual bills customers received, a roundtrip visit to Plaquemines Parish cost motorists an average of $57, according to Braud.
“They would even bill you for the bill that they sent in the mail,” Braud said. “I can’t make it up. It’s that bad.”
One difference that Lake Charles bridge project officials have pointed to compared to the Belle Chasse Bridge is a customer service center Prebula said they have not chosen a location for it yet, but that a local customer service center will be available for the Lake Charles bridge.
For the Belle Chasse Bridge, the only customer service center was in Golden Meadow, furthering the uproar from drivers. The drive between the two can take 90 miles, or a four-hour round trip. The state opened another customer service center in Belle Chasse after suspending the tolls
“That’s pretty crazy and pretty onerous,” Tarver said, noting that the governor, Plenary representatives and legislators have assured him there will be a customer service office in proximity to the Lake Charles bridge. “So that kind of thing is what is coming out of their misfortunes over there.”
What will tolling look like?
Tolling and public-private partnerships have become increasingly common to pay for infrastructure projects across the nation, though they’re still relatively new in Louisiana Plenary’s publicprivate partnership for the Belle Chasse Bridge was DOTD’s first.
“We are seeing, you know, inflation and costs increase over time,” Federal Highway Administration Administrator Sean McMaster told The Advocate | The Times-Picayune at the recent groundbreaking for the I-10 bridge. “So, we want to leverage pri-
fighters, and rebuild its military capabilities. The White House did not provide additional comments on Sunday when asked specifically about Israel’s assessment that Hamas remains committed to rebuilding its military
U.S. officials who briefed reporters on the disarmament agreement last week, said that Israel had been consulted at every step of the negotiations and was not being asked to do anything more than what it had committed to as part of the ceasefire and hostage release agreement signed last October
It’s unclear what exactly Israel conveyed to the White House. Two people with knowledge of the deal told the AP that Israel had communicated its issues with it to former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who’s part of the Trump-led Board of Peace. One of them said that among the points Israel wanted was freedom to conduct military operations
delayed by nearly a year after ground settlement — or the movement of soil underground — forced contractors to replace some fully built approaches with a newer and lighter design. Plenary incurred $10,000-per-day fines for the bridge not being ready on time, racking up over $3 million in fines.
Once the Belle Chasse Bridge finally opened to traffic, state officials delayed the implementation of tolling at least a dozen times. A Plenary spokesperson blamed weather for the delays.
vate sector investment, le-
verage the state investment and leverage the federal investment to move faster so that these projects don’t continue to increase in cost. This is a significant bridge project relative to similar ones around the country.”
With tolling still suspended on the Belle Chasse Bridge, the only bridge currently tolling drivers in the state is the La. 1 Bridge for Grand Isle and Port Fourchon. State officials have also said they expect to implement tolling on the future Mississippi River bridge in Baton Rouge, though a final location has yet to be selected and construction is still years away
The new Lake Charles bridge is expected to include reconstruction of 5.5 miles of I-10, an additional travel lane in each direction and construction of an elevated Sampson Street interchange to eliminate the railroad crossing. It should also have accommodations for pedestrians and bikers on either side.
State officials have said people who live in the parishes closest to the bridge Calcasieu, Cameron, Allen, Beauregard and Jefferson Davis will pay the lowest rates if they have a GeauxPass account and toll tag Previously, DOTD said toll rates would start as low as 25 cents for local vehicles with a toll tag, and go as high as $12.36 for large trucks without a toll tag High-occupancy vehicles may also see reduced toll rates. Prebula cautioned, though, that the rates are subject to change.
Lake Charles Mayor Marshall Simien said he’s pushing to lower toll rates.
“I am actively advocating for further reduced tolls, especially for local residents, and ultimately for the elimi-
nation of any and all adverse effects tolls would have on this bridge project,” he said in a statement And former Lake Charles Mayor Randy Roach said the tolling issue has prompted years of debate.
“At the end of the day they had to figure out a way to get the money because that bridge grew in terms of costs,” he said. “It’s going to be a nice bridge, and I think people will like it once it’s built, but the toll issue is, of course, always controversial.”
Kapsch plans to use an allelectric tolling system to bill drivers, and drivers without a toll tag can still cross with a higher “pay-by-plate” rate that will use license plate billing. The bridge won’t have traditional toll booths, and traffic will keep moving while overhead sensors detect vehicles and charge tolls automatically, said Calcasieu Bridge Partners public information officer Jonathan Hill.
The public-private partnership contract calls for tolls to be removed in 2081, said DOTD Southwest Louisiana Area public information officer John Guidroz.
State officials have also said that every 15 cents on the dollar that the bridge pays off with the tolls will go toward infrastructure projects in Calcasieu Parish.
“Every time a citizen of this state pays this particular toll, they’re paying for future infrastructure improvements in Imperial Calcasieu forever,” Landry said during the bridge’s groundbreaking.
A closer look
Plenary has taken heat for other problems related to the Belle Chasse Bridge beyond the tolling The bridge’s construction and eventual opening was
in Gaza. They spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to speak to the media. According to another person familiar with the deal, the Israelis raised two other issues: that Qatar and Turkey not be involved in verifying the stages of the agreement, and that Hamas’ weapons be destroyed after confiscation. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. Since the ceasefire was signed last October Israel has continued striking Gaza, saying it’s targeting Hamas and its infrastructure. Gaza hospitals said at least 17 were killed in the latest Israeli strikes, including children. A strike on a residential apartment in southern Gaza killed three family members, including their 4-year-old child, according to Nasser hospital, where the bodies arrived. The Israeli military said the strikes had targeted militant operatives.
Plaquemines Parish filed a lawsuit against the DOTD, Plenary and its tolling subcontractor, Kapsch, in the 25th Judicial District Court in December, seeking an injunction on bridge tolls and the return of all tolls and fees collected from May to October of last year According to the parish, the lawsuit was filed because the state and Plenary “were unable to reach an agreement” on how to fix the toll system.
Customer complaints rolled in shortly after tolling began. As he suspended tolling, Landry sent Plenary a letter accusing them of violating their contract with the state over a number of issues: failing to provide information, placing nonrenewal flags on licenses, disrupting utility services and more.
“It was almost like I was a customer service rep for this private company that was tolling people that couldn’t get it right,” Braud said. “It was just a mess. The complaints were through the roof. It was unbelievable.”
Braud said the ground settlement issues were never fully resolved, and Plenary had to make repairs after the bridge was completed. He said the company’s on the hook for the construction defects.
“They actually built the bridge started using the bridge, and then they had to shut down part of the bridge to redo the approaches,” he said. “And even after they redid them, DOTD is alleging that there’s still a subsidence issue.”
Bridge project officials did not respond to a request for comment on the allegations of ongoing subsidence problems.
Braud attempted to pass a bill in this year’s legislative session that would have raised enough money to reduce tolls or to buy out the contract with Plenary; the bill stalled in the state’s Senate Finance Committee.
Three Plaquemines Parish residents also filed a lawsuit last October against the state and operators of the Belle Chasse Bridge for charging motorists excessive tolls and fees. They are seeking class action status to represent any driver charged an “excessive toll” and/or an “unreasonable fee” since the tolling system began in May 2025. Trial dates have not been set in either case. The defendants asked a federal court to hear the cases, but both cases were sent back to the 25th Judicial District Court in Plaquemines. Braud said elected officials in southwest Louisiana should carefully review the state’s contract with Plenary and learn from Belle Chasse’s experience.
“The devil’s in the details,” Braud said. “The Belle Chasse contract — it’s almost as thick as a Bible, so you know that would be the word to the wise men over there is to go through those details and make sure it doesn’t have a lot of the provisions we have here in Belle Chasse.” Tarver said that’s what they plan to do.
“Over the next four years, a lot of conversations will probably come to the surface,” Tarver said. “So we’re in the early stages of those conversations, and we have radar up for a lot of the pitfalls that the other guys have experienced.” Staff writer Lara Nicholson contributed to this report.
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STAFF FILE PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK
The companies responsible for tolling once construction finishes on the new Interstate 10 Calcasieu River Bridge have been mired in controversy over problems with their tolling infrastructure on the Belle Chasse Bridge
STAFF FILE PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD
The new bridge over the Industrial Canal in Belle Chasse is seen on May 6, 2025.
SUCCESS
the 19th century, when a levee was built in a ring around it so it could be farmed for cotton.
But the ring levee would be overtopped when the river rose too high, inundating the entire property all at once, filling it like a bathtub. Those floods happened sporadically throughout the 20th century, once every few decades. Then, they started happening back-to-back — in 2008, 2011, 2013 and 2019.
“Several 100-year floods in a row,” said Will Prevost, a director of freshwater programs with the Nature Conservancy “They’d have to cut the levees — or they blew out every time.”
And every time the levees were overtopped, the farmland would be ruined. Animals on the property — deer, raccoons — would drown. So the landowners reached out to the Nature Conservancy They designed a simple structure, a box culvert with a valve that can be opened and closed.
“It allows the water on the interior of the property to rise and fall with the flood pulse of the Mississippi River,” Prevost said, keeping the river from busting through the levees. “It also acts more like a natural floodplain, like it’s supposed to.”
“Projects like this are becoming increasingly necessary, I think, on a global scale,” said Joshuah Perkin, a professor of ecology and conservation biology at Texas A&M who was not involved with the project. “When levees are put in place, the connection from the river to the floodplain is severed. This is a pattern that’s happening everywhere.
‘Trash fish’ no longer
Now, David is here looking for gars, to find out whether the floodplain is providing habitat for spawning fish. Alligator gars need flooded vegetation to spawn — exactly the type of landscape that Loch Leven provides.
“If we find baby gars on the floodplain, it’s a good indication that the floodplain is serving its use as far as supporting aquatic wildlife,” David said.
And though they’re looking specifically for alligator gar, David said that’s because they function
CANNON
Continued from page 1A
D.C. Safe and Beautiful” during America’s semiquincentennial
summer As the task force’s operations officer, he coordinates National Guard soldiers’ day-to-day presence in the city, from providing security at prominent monuments soldiers are there in a “support” capacity for law enforcement, Cannon said — to providing water to dehydrated visitors and Narcan to overdose victims.
For Cannon and some 200 Louisiana soldiers also in D.C for the summer, the assignment blends the sort of security-support work the National Guard has assumed in New Orleans over the past year with the organization’s perennial role in Louisiana as hurricane first responders.
The job has put Cannon and his soldiers front-and-center for a series of marquee events. He handled security for the controversial UFC fight on the White House lawn and responded to the attempted assassination of President Donald
They’re far from trash to David, who kept several as pets while he was in graduate school. They lived in a 300-gallon tank in the house he shared with other fish scientists in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
His team also stopped by the Livingston Parish Gar Fish Rodeo on Sunday at the Blind River Bar, accessible only by boat in the middle of the Maurepas Swamp. There, working alongside local fishermen, they collected additional fish samples to bring back to their Minnesota lab.
those bigger fish.”
New Orleanians, who live downstream from projects like Loch Leven, are connected to it, too, according to Prevost.
When the flood gate is opened and the waters flood Loch Leven, it can hold 72,000 acre-feet of water — roughly enough water to fill 25 Superdomes — acting as a kind of mini spillway That water isn’t flowing downstream when the river is at flood stage, and could, to a small extent, lower the flood risk downstream in Baton Rouge and New Orleans.
as an “indicator species.” If the gars are doing well, that’s a sign that the ecosystem is healthy And because they migrate between the river and the floodplain, they can give scientists a fuller picture of the health of the broader riverine ecosystem.
“Although people at one point
considered gars to be ‘trash fish,’ including alligator gars, they can serve as good indicators of aquatic ecosystem health,” David said.
“And it’s not just gars that we see here. We see crappie, we see bass, we see sunfish — all kinds of other fish. We’re just using gars as a representative group.”
They’ll age their gar specimens using their otoliths, a type of ear bone made of calcium carbonate crystal. Humans have them too; when ours slip out of alignment, we get vertigo. A specialized saw cuts that crystalline bone into thin slices, and the cross sections show rings, like a tree’s, that can be counted under a microscope to estimate the fish’s age.
‘Show folks up north’
To David, all of this work is connected.
“If you think of it from an angling perspective, we all tend to want bigger fish,” he said. “Those floodplain systems can help you get
To the Nature Conservancy, that’s an argument for replicating these projects. The more of them there are, the more the river can breathe, the less likely it is to flood towns and cities.
And the more baby gars David finds here, the stronger the argument becomes for reconnecting more floodplains to the Mississippi — not just on the lower river, but also in Minnesota, where his lab is. “It would be great to see projects connecting the floodplain to the river throughout the Mississippi River, and even on other rivers,” he said. “We can show folks up north the value of floodplains.”
PROVIDED PHOTO By SGT KEyRA MOOLENAAR
U.S. Army Col. Larry Doane, commander of the Joint Task Force-District of Columbia, Lt Col. Christian Cannon and Sgt. Maj. Scott McKennon, all assigned to Joint Task Force-District of Columbia in support of the D.C. Safe and Beautiful mission, conduct a presence patrol at the Great American State Fair in Washington on June 25.
Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner
Last month, he oversaw a frenzied water distribution operation as soaring temperatures threat-
ened to derail July Fourth celebrations on the National Mall.
His soldiers had already spent the lead-up to the celebrations distributing some 500,000 bottles of water
across the city as temperatures were expected to, and eventually did, soar beyond 100 degrees.
As temperatures climbed, a storm descended on the capital and revelers had to be ushered into nearby museums to avoid lightning threats.
Soldiers under Cannon’s command flocked to the mall and hurried the celebrators indoors after local weather stations blared commands to “seek shelter now.” Then, when the shelter sites ran out of water, they rushed more bottles from across the city
Maj. Kevin Casey, a deputy to Cannon and fellow New Orleanian, said two things stood out that day One was Cannon’s sharp ability to visualize a large, complex public setting and coordinate an emergency response; the other was how the guard’s Louisiana-specific experience had prepared the two of them.
“It would be like trying to do Mardi Gras on Bourbon Street, but imagine it’s 99 degrees outside,” said Casey, who has worked Mardi Gras security for the Guard.
“Him and I were out there directing trucks, pulling soldiers wherever we had to, creating lanes so those trucks (with water) could get
where we needed them.”
Cannon and his soldiers are gearing up next for the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, the first IndyCar race in the nation’s capital.
Soldiers under his command were among the first to respond to the assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in late April, he said Cannon himself was nearby and rushed to a command center to monitor the response.
Most days, soldiers work security near Washington’s many monuments, which have seen a spate of alleged vandalism. While Cannon sees those acts as potential responses to Trump’s support for the law enforcement and military mission in D.C., he doesn’t feel that they define his soldiers’ mission.
“I think they see it as opposition to an administration as opposed to these monuments representing us all,” Cannon said.
“I know there are political implications for this mission, and people see it one way,” he added. “Our soldiers don’t. They are completely committed to this mission.”
Email James Finn at jfinn@ theadvocate.com.
STAFF PHOTOS By SOPHIA GERMER
Gabby Gonzales, a master’s student at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities; Charles Vaughan, a master’s student at the University of Minnesota-Duluth; science professor Solomon David; and Luxi Feyereisen, a master’s student of the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, collect and measure garfish in Wilkinson County Miss., on Thursday
Call today to verifyyour
| Monday, august 3, 2026 1Bn
La. supports college hunger program
State adopted Hunger-Free Campus initiative
BY HALEY MILLER Staff writer
At the Louisiana Community and Technical College System, the difference between a student who finishes a degree and a student who drops out isn’t always the rigor of the curriculum.
For some students, system Executive Vice President Chandler LeBoeuf said, it’s the ability to afford food and get their basic needs met “Oftentimes, it’s not the academic coursework that stops them from ultimately being successful,” LeBoeuf said. “They have to make the tough decisions of pausing
school and education to go to work to be able to put food on the table.”
Despite a largely standstill state budget coming out of the 2026 legislative session, a statewide program to reduce college student hunger got a first-time, $1 million investment from the Legislature.
The infusion has elated campus
leaders and food bank workers, some of whom said they were uncertain of the program’s future. They say they will be able to deliver more food, connect students with local food banks and improve on-campus food pantries, among other services.
Police chief dedicated to public safety
First Black person to lead department glad to make history
BY JIM DERRY Staff writer
When Kevin Collins first entered law enforcement 13 years ago, the Covington Police Department was in a crisis.
Public trust was lost amid some officers’ use of excessive force and other problematic behavior Collins didn’t know what he was getting into, and becoming the city’s police chief someday was far from the forefront of his mind
But over time, the department has done its best to shed its problems, firing problematic employees and making other changes. And these days, Collins said he’s glad to take the helm and make history
When Mayor Mark Johnson appointed Collins to replace Michael Ferrell in June, he promoted the first Black person ever to lead the department. Collins said he understands it’s a significant moment, but he hopes the fact is nothing more than a footnote in his career
“Even if you don’t want it to be a thing, it’s a thing, right?” he said. “One day there may be a little girl or little boy who looks like me and has aspirations to be a police officer someday, and then they know if they decide to become a police officer, they can rise all the way up to chief.” Collins took a circuitous route to law enforcement. He was raised in New Orleans’ Mid-City neighborhood and graduated from Warren Easton High School, where he played football in the early 2000s. He strove to work in sports management and earned a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from Southeastern Louisiana.
His senior year in Hammond, he was required to do an internship and found one with Special Olympics. For a short time, it looked like that might end up being a career for Collins, and he was named their Louisiana director of sports and competition in 2008.
“Special Olympics incorporates many law-enforcement officers and my interest began to pique,” he said. “I watched shows like ‘The First 48’ and ‘COPS’ and movies like that, and I said, ‘I would really like to be a detective.’ And an opportunity came up in Covington, and everything kind of worked itself out.” He spent two years on patrol
Millions of college students in the U.S. go hungry, with roughly 1
“We are thrilled to see this funding increase,” said Zoe Duffield, with Swipe Out Hunger, which championed Hunger-Free Campus legislation across the country in a statement. “It demonstrates not only the commitment and dedication of the Louisiana Board of Regents to the Hunger-Free Campus program, but also the state’s overall investment in the basic needs of higher education.”
SUMMER FUN
BY RICH COLLINS Staff writer
ENAN CHEDIAK
ABOVE: Kid Merv, center, performs with the All That Jazz band on the Delta Utilities Stage. LEFT: Yasir Mobley, 7, decorates a Zulu coconut.
COLLEGE
in 4 students in 2020 saying they had experienced limited or uncertain access to food.
Louisiana does not conduct regular surveys of how many college students don’t have enough to eat — how many live in a state of “food insecurity” — but because of the state’s poverty rate, those numbers are likely higher locally, advocates say Misconceptions that young, college-going people don’t qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program compound the problem.
“There’s a lot of college students that are hungry, and people don’t realize that they are,” Marleah Walker, director of programs and outreach for Feeding Louisiana, said. “They’re maybe not in the area that they’re from, they don’t have family support, and if they don’t have a pantry on campus, or they don’t have SNAP benefits they’re really struggling to make ends meet.”
Louisiana was one of 10 states to adopt Hunger-Free Campus legislation, sponsored by Rep. Barbara Freiberg, R-Baton Rouge, in 2022. The national initiative encourages uniformity of food services with “Hunger-Free Campus” designations awarded to schools and provides grants for institutions to maintain food pantries and other resources.
POLICE
Continued from page 1B
in January 2015 He rose all the way to lieutenant and director of training and internal affairs investigator before becoming deputy chief for Ferrell in March 2025.
And Johnson said when he was tasked with finding the next chief, not only was it an easy decision, but one he had made “probably two to two and a half years ago.”
“He is calm and he confronts problems head-on,” Johnson said.
“He’s dedicated to public safety, integrity and strengthening our community He’s also empathetic and compassionate, but he holds people accountable. And when I say people, I mean his officers and the public.”
Collins is a father of five to four boys — Cameron, 19, Mason, 14, Drew, 9, and Ky, 6, who has a twin sister, Reese. He and his wife, Marice Collins, celebrated their 19th anniversary on Tuesday
In his off time, he coaches and watches football with family and friends.
“We’re always busy There’s always some extracurricular activity going on,” he said.
‘Fine line of gaining trust’
Although he is a young chief at
41 years old, Collins is old-school.
He arrives at work by 7:30 a.m and jots down a “to-do list” with pen and paper. He often makes his way around the squad room to help solve problems and to hear from officers with suggestions.
Meeting with his deputy chief, Edwin Masters, is part of his daily repertoire, and then, along with the regular paperwork, Collins gets out on the street as much as he can — with the windows rolled down
“It’s not for the sake of being seen,” he said. “It’s typically because I may get an email or text message about something going on, and I want to have a better understanding of the house, the location.”
For quite some time, driving or walking around parts of town with a badge on your chest would immediately have many in the community turning around to head in a different direction.
In March 2013, two of the department’s officers were fired for using excessive force on an arrestee. Soon after, then-Mayor Mike Cooper released Chief Richard Palmisano from his duties.
Later that year, an officer was fired after arresting two Louisiana high school football officials during a game The arrests made national news and embarrassed
The Louisiana program is managed by the Board of Regents According to the Regents’ annual Hunger-Free Campus re-
the city
Over time, the department has worked hard to clean up its image. Collins said he embraces the fine line of gaining trust.” That line isn’t always marked in ink, and each instance is different from another.
“You pull somebody over, you walk up to the window Mom’s hair is all over the place. You hear kids screaming in the car She might have vomit from a baby or something on her shirt,” he said. “She just had to pick up her oldest from school; she happened to reach back and didn’t completely stop at a stop sign or ran a red light.
“Being able to have that discretion to understand what’s going to happen if I write her a ticket. That’s only going to make this situation even harder for her and I do believe in compassion for folks and know that every situation doesn’t require enforcement.
“On the other side of that, I am completely for us doing what we have to do if people violate the law. If anybody thought I was soft on that, they’re wrong.”
No politics in his future
Crime numbers overall are down since Collins joined the force in 2013, and the unit overall had a solid run under Ferrell.
port, wide disparities of food services between Louisiana colleges existed as recently as 2023, with one school offering a wooden box stocked with canned goods and another providing a “one-stop shop” for students complete with perishables and nonperishables, household items, a vegetable garden and cooking lessons.
To be deemed a Hunger-Free Campus, an institution must maintain a task force that meets regularly, notify students of potential SNAP eligibility, hold hunger awareness events and connect students with on- or offcampus food resources.
This is the first investment in the effort by the state Legislature Previously, the Board of Regents allocated dollars internally toward the program, awarding 21 campuses in 2026 with over $100,000 in awards.
LeBoeuf said tackling college student hunger remains a multifaceted effort.
“We 100% are appreciative of the investment of the Legislature and the work that they continue to do around this space,” LeBoeuf said. “But we recognize that for long-term sustainability, it takes partnership of all.”
Email Haley Miller at haley miller@theadvocate.com.
Some crimes are significantly lower, including aggravated assaults — from 30 in 2013 to 17 last year a 43% decrease, according to an FBI chart. Burglaries dropped from 45 to nine, and motor-vehicle thefts went from 13 in 2013 to six in 2025. Collins hopes to continue that trend with his 44 sworn officers and administrative staff of six. Unlike many municipalities, Covington has a waiting list for those wanting to serve the city in law enforcement, which is something he is proud of.
He has no idea how long he will be in the role of chief — that’s up to the mayor — but he knows he has no aspirations to get into politics. In other words, he has no desire to ever put a “Kevin Collins for St. Tammany Parish sheriff” sign in your front yard.
“I love people, and if they support me, I appreciate it,” he said. “But I am not doing this because in four or five years I am looking to run for anything.
“I just want to make Covington the safest place it can be; that’s really it.”
Jim Derry covers St. Tammany Parish, and has been part of The Times-Picayune staff for much of the past 36 years. Jim can be reached via email at jderry@ theadvocate.com.
AEROSPACE
Continued from page 1B
“This investment strengthens our ability to deliver advanced capabilities and offers our workforce a long-term base, all while contributing to continued economic growth and job creation in the region,” Ryan Schaffernocker, senior vice president of air, land and sea systems at Textron Systems, said in a statement.
For Slidell, the deal eliminates more than $500,000 the city spent each year to maintain the building, which was built in the 1960s for the federal government and once housed operations for NASA and an arm of the U.S. Department of Defense. In 1995, the federal government donated the building to the city of Slidell.
In April, the Slidell City Council unanimously approved a measure to sell the property to Textron. City officials said that the building was no longer needed for public use and cited maintenance costs as reasons for a sale. At the time, Jonathan Graffeo, vice president of sales and local relations at Textron, said he expected the acquisition could spur additional economic development and growth for the company He estimated that Textron’s roughly 100-person workforce could more than double in the coming years.
Earlier this spring, the company announced plans to spend nearly $6 million upgrading and expanding the business campus facility as well as its other Slidell location, which is in an industrial park on Stone Road near Interstate 12. The company does manufacturing, welding, assembly and testing at the two sites.
Textron officials said the expansion will lead to the creation of an estimated 133 jobs. It received a $600,000 performance grant from Louisiana Economic Development to cover investments in equipment and improving existing infrastructure.
Textron Systems is part of Textron Inc., which owns other aerospace and defense brands, including Cessna, Beechcraft, Bell and E-Z Go. The parent company, headquartered in Rhode Island, reported $3.8 billion in revenue in the second quarter Textron Systems reported $347 million in revenue in the second quarter Email Grace Mayer at grace. mayer@theadvocate.com.
Following the nearby Saint Claire restaurant‘s debut last year, the new venture is the second to open in an area just downriver from a former Navy base in Algiers known as Federal City, where developers have been working for more than a decade to build a community of businesses, recreation, retailers and affordable housing
The Patterson also joins dozens of other properties, including several deconsecrated churches, throughout the city that have been redeveloped by owners hoping to cash in on New Orleans’ booming destination wedding marketplace, which ranks among the nation’s most popular After purchasing the property in 2023, the Snodgrasses financed the roughly $4 million restoration project themselves with help from a loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration and state and federal tax credits. Their efforts have resulted in a 10,000-square-foot entertainment complex that includes multiple indoor and outdoor gathering spaces, a boutique hotel with room for 20 people, dedicated bridal and groom suites, a commercial kitchen and lots of string lights dangling between buildings.
A former helipad is now home to a fountain stocked with goldfish. Rooms have been redecorated
And one of The Patterson’s buildings is topped with a cupola that provides views of the Mississippi River for those brave enough to climb the vertical ladder
The Snodgrasses call their new business a “private estate venue” that customers can rent for a day, a weekend or longer They envision the space being used for weddings, small retreats and other gatherings that will benefit from on-site accommodations and proximity to downtown New Orleans, which is about 15 minutes away by car
Though she and her husband
have restored 10 residences in or around Algiers Point since moving to the area roughly 15 years ago, Lindsey Snodgrass said The Patterson is their most ambitious undertaking to date.
“This was our dream project,” she said. “We’re all in and we have high hopes even though there’s a little bit of risk.”
A place for sick sailors
The neoclassical-style buildings that now make up The Patterson were originally part of a larger campus known as the Algiers Quarantine Station built for the U.S Public Health Service. Ships coming upriver would dock at the facility so a physician could board and examine the crew, looking for signs of yellow fever or other illnesses of the time. Sick sailors would be taken to the onsite hospital for treatment. When the facility opened, it was considered a huge improvement over a separate complex further
downriver, Lindsey Snodgrass said.
“It saved shippers thousands of dollars,” she said. “Before, if anyone was ill, the whole boat would have to quarantine while goods were spoiling. Building the station closer to New Orleans and allowing a physician to board saved on food and shipments.”
The facility served its original purpose for roughly half a century, but, over time, as air travel and vaccinations reduced the need for such stations, the site became used for other purposes, eventually being divided up and sold to multiple owners. The Orleans Parish School Board owned the property that’s now home to Saint Claire. The city of New Orleans still owns the park between Saint Claire and The Patterson.
The Patterson’s mostly brick buildings, located on the portion of the former complex that’s closest to the Mississippi River levee, were formerly home to adminis-
trative offices, a mechanics shop and storage.
The Snodgrasses plan to convert the site’s former sleeping barracks into their home but they are prioritizing getting their events business up and running.
Big project
The Snodgrasses both grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, but Lindsey Snodgrass’ family has deep roots in the New Orleans area. Her grandfather Dick Piner, a cofounder and longtime executive at the Belle Chasse-based maritime company Versabar, has lived in Algiers Point for decades.
Lindsey and Joel Snodgrass, who operates an environmental consulting firm, began fixing up houses soon after they got to town, but she said they were eager to try something on a larger scale.
They had their eyes on the complex since it closed in 2018 but were not in a position to make an offer when it first went up for sale. An out-of-town buyer was the first to acquire it via a government auction, but they had a second chance a few years later when that buyer abandoned redevelopment plans and put it up for sale
“We saw it the day it was listed again and put in an offer,” she said.
Once the property was theirs, they encountered new challenges, Lindsey Snodgrass said. These included searching for funding, which ultimately was provided by the Small Business Administration.
“We rehabbed several properties so had quite a bit of equity near Algiers and New Orleans,” she said. “The SBA allows you to cross collateralize, which means we can take the equity out of those properties without having to sell them and get cash and use that equity as leverage.”
Tax credits were another essential piece of the financial puzzle
The property, which is designated as its own historic district, qualified for federal and state credits, which together provided
up to 45% refunds on qualified expenses.
The process took months and a lot of emotional energy, Lindsey Snodgrass said.
“We were negotiating the final rate in the hospital with our fourth child, and I joked to Joel at one point that I was thinking more about the property closing than preparing for the new baby,” she said. “Most women would decorate a nursery at that phase of a pregnancy but I had to buy a compound.
In 2024, when the financing was in place, a two-year-long construction project began.
The Snodgrasses hired Robert Wolfe Construction to handle the bigger jobs but also did much of the work themselves, including installing roughly 18,000 square feet of sod throughout the grounds. New Orleans City Council member Freddie King III, whose District C includes The Patterson, said he’s encouraged by this most recent example of investment in the area, which also includes more housing under construction in Federal City
“The site has been vacant too long, and now it’s a beautiful venue close to Saint Claire,” he said. “It’s bringing excitement and attention to a section of Algiers that deserves it.”
Email Rich Collins at rich. collins@theadvocate.com.
STAFF PHOTO By ENAN CHEDIAK
Joel and Lindsey Snodgrass sit outside The Patterson, a historic 1930s estate that the couple renovated into a riverside venue in New Orleans on Thursday.
STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
Jackie Boyd, food pantry graduate assistant, stocks a shelf at the LSU student food pantry in the Student Union on Dec. 5 in Baton Rouge.
Stewart, Julienne
Obituaries
Stewart, Julienne
tributes and messages of sympathy may be sharedby visiting Julienne Territo StewartatBrown-Wynne Funeral Home,Cary.
EMAIL: obits@theadvocate.com OR CALL FORMORE INFORMATION: 225-388-0289
Howtoplace an Obituary Notice Howtoplace aMemorial Ad
An In Memory Of”ad, is away to pay tributetoyourloved one.Thisremembranceisoften printed on theanniversaryof aloved one’s death. Thedeadline is twodayspriorto the dayyou want your ad to appear TO PLACEA MEMORIALAD GO TO: obituaries.nola.com clicksubmit an obituaryand select create amemoriam
JulienneTerrito Stewart departed thislife peacefully on July 13,2026, surroundedbyher loved ones She wasborn on July13, 1954, to ThomasA.Territo and Betty MarseTerrito Mitchell, whopreceded her in death. She is survived by her loving husbandof45years, LarryStewart; her sister-in -law, Phyllis Stewart; her nephew,Grant Stewart (Rachel); and her uncle and godfather, Julien E. Marse Jr. She is also survived by many devoted cousinsfrom the Territo and Marsefamilies. Relatives and friends are invited to attend the Funeral MassatOur Lady of Prompt Succor Church, 146 Fourth Street, Westwego, Louisiana, on Thursday August 6, 2026 at 1:00PM. Visitation will be held from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM. Interment will follow in Westlawn Memorial When youneed
Clinical trials should be accessible to all
Clinical trials are essentialto developing new treatments and improving survival and quality of life forpeople with cancer.Yet, they are not accessible to everyone. At 27, Iwas diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia.I was lucky to receiveatailored treatment plan based on the groundbreaking blinatumomab clinical trial. The access Ihad to this treatment proved lifesaving and significantly improved my quality of life compared with the intense chemotherapy that had previously been the standard of care. For many patients, both medical costs, like copays and deductibles, and non-medical costs,including transportation, lodgingand meals, canalso be major barriers to trial participation.
The bipartisan Clinical Trial Modernization Act (SR4440 and HR3521) would help removethese financial hurdles by allowing trial sponsors to help cover both medicaland non-medical costsassociated with trial participation. It wouldalso ensure that aportion of certain types of financial support for trial participation would not be considered as income, protecting eligibility for safety-net programs such as Medicaid and ensuring patients are not taxed for their trial participation. As acancer survivor,Iurgeour elected officialstohelp more patients participate intrialsand access innovative treatments with this criticallegislation.
COURTNEY FOURNET Baton Rouge
Trump’scrusade againstfraud is ironic
It’srather ironic that President Donald Trump is tryingtostop nonexistent voting fraud. This is from the fellow who voted by mail recently,isonaudio trying to “find” 11,000 votes in 2020 and used gerrymandering and threats to keep the Republicans in power Several states had fake electors trying to verify votingballots.A year ago, the Department ofGovernment Efficiency (DOGE) was wrecking things, looking forfraud and waste. The new ballroom ($600 million estimated so far), trashing the reflecting pool($14million and counting), an airplane as a“gift,” using defense money for questionable purposes and trying to get immunity from audits for his family and business —knock, knock, Congress! Anybody doing your job? Not to mention Epstein and theIran war.Wake up,America!
KIM ALLAIN River Ridge
LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR
AREWELCOME.HEREARE
YOUR VIEWS
Love ourcountry as it becomes better andmorefreeovertime
Shouldwelove our country because the Declaration of Independence says “Governmentsderivetheir just powers from the consentofthe governed” and “All men are created equal?” Or should we hateour country because it was legal to own slaves until 1865 and women weren’t allowed to voteuntil 1920?
Wouldn’titbemore helpful and hopeful to love our country for becoming better and morefree over time?
If we love theU.S. and all our fellow Americans (no matter who they vote for), we can continue to grow
We must move beyond researchto
STEVENW.LLOYD NewOrleans
find solutionsthatcut carbon dioxideemissions
Thankyou for your recent article on our warming Gulf. Unfortunately,the editorial response deemed the threat of climate changemerely “worrisome.”
Moreover,its priorities were limited to more research.
Some observersdiscount the impactsof climate change by failing to recognize that carbon dioxide emissions remain in the atmosphere for 100 years or so. Thus, even if the world sharply and quickly reduces its emissions, the ill effects of the changes in ouratmosphere are bound to get much more serious than they are today
The body of scientific research already justifies the need to promptly reduce the emissionsofgreenhouse gases. The National Academy of Sciences published amassive research agenda for climate change in 1975! By 1979, the basics of climate science had achieved ahigh level of consensus.Since then, the Academy,the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and other authoritativebodies have produced dozens of very detailed reviews
The Gulf has not been ignored. Of note, the BP settlementafter the 2010 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon directed considerable funding towardunderstandingGulf science with more precision. Gaps remain. But we already know alot.
Since the1980s, foes of action to protect our atmosphere have argued we must wait for scientific certainty or exactitude to cut emissions. Thus, theeditorial’scall to know “exactly” what’shappening in the Gulf falls into thetrapofassuming thatscientists will ever achieve exactitude about medicine, weather or climate. That day will never come.
We need to electrify vehicles, transition electric power away from fossil fuels and sharply reduce methaneleaks. Each solution has becomemore affordable and practical in recent years.
If we don’tmove briskly beyond more research, we will have difficulty defending our diffidence to our drowning descendants.
JAYHAKES NewOrleans
Attorney general’sthreats crossaline
Lafayette lawyer Lance C. Beal’s columncritiquing the indictment of Attorney GeneralLiz Murrill for her threatening letter to several New Orleans public officials misstates Louisiana criminal law
He describes Murrill’sletter-writing action as “what every Louisiana attorney sends before filing suit,” a remark whichisprecisely wrong.
The Louisiana extortion statute is fairly broad:
A. Extortion is the communication of threats to another with the intention thereby to obtain anything of value or any acquittance, advantage or immunity of any description. Any one of the following kinds of threats shall be sufficient to constitute extortion:
(2) Athreat to accuse the individual threatened or any memberofhis family or any other person held dear to him of any crime.
(5) Athreat to cause harm as retribution for participation in any legislative hearing or proceeding, administrative proceeding or in any other legal action.
(6) Athreat to do any other harm.
B. Whoever commits the crime of extortion shall be imprisoned at hard labor for not less than one nor more than fifteen years. (La.R.S. 14:66, in pertinent part) Lawyers, and others, are prohibited from sending demand letters whichthreaten any of the foregoing.
Did Murrill do that? It certainly seems so.
STEVENLEMOINE attorneyatlaw
Shoutout to members of National Guard
Re: “Historic drop in New Orleans crime is worth celebrating:” Your recent editorial forgot to mention the dedicated, hardworking, mostly young people in the National Guard and the Louisiana National Guard fortheir efforts to help secure and makethe city safer Ihave met many, and they’re pleasant and wonderful. I’mglad to have their help. Let’srecognize that, too.
MORRISKAHN NewOrleans
StoryonTrump’s election claims wasburied
Recently,the paper published an article detailing the claimsthat President Donald Trump’s2020 candidacy failed due to a“deep state” conspiracy.The article debunks his claimsofinterference in his loss of that election.
OUR GUIDELINES: Letters are published identifying name and the writer’scity of residence.The Advocate |The Times-Picayune require astreet address and phone 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. Box588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588, or email letters@theadvocate.com. TO SEND US ALETTER SCAN HERE
Louisiana seniors rely on Medicare Advantage plans because they make real-world healthcare affordable.
As director of theNew OrleansSenior RX Program at the Council on Aging, Iappreciate that thefederal government’sCenters for Medicare and Medicaid Services adjusted the final Medicare Advantage ratenotice to better reflect thereal-world pressures facing the 35 million Americansand their families whorely on the program. Healthcare costs are top of mind for seniors and their families, especially to ensure access to high-quality care for manyolder Louisianans.
Healthcare affordability is an ongoing issue. Seniors will continue working on it with policymakers in Washington tostrengthen Medicare Advantage andtoensure that concerns about the stability of the Medicare Advantage program and the predictability of healthcarecostsare heard loud and clear
For seniors and patientswith disabilities who depend on Medicare Advantage, this option is alifesaver Louisiana’sseniors deserve aprogram that reflectstoday’shealthcare costs and meets their needs. More than half of Medicare beneficiaries nationwide have chosen Medicare Advantage as their coverage, and enrollment continues to grow.InLouisiana, this option serves morethan 60% of all Medicare enrollees. Healthcare costscontinue to rise. When federal funding for aprogram doesn’tkeep pace withrising medical costs, the people relying on it will eventually feel the impact. That is our fear with Medicare Advantage. We rely on our congressional advocates. To our elected representatives: We are watching, and we vote!
SHARON SHELLING NewOrleans
Ifind it disturbing that an article about the leader of our country using his influence to mislead the populace at large with his untruths is not on the front page, but relegated to the sixth page.
Not to have this information on the front page of the paper,Ibelieve, is adisservice to the readers, no matter what their political beliefs may be. Our elected leaders, no matter whichparty or office they have been elected to, should not be allowed to push unfounded theories as truths or lies. This article could have served the readership and public at large had it been on the front page. Please keep up the good work of informing the populace of NewOrleans and surrounding parishes and cities.
WILLIAM EDWARDS NewOrleans
Defensebillisnosellout to Israel
Congress has been knowntoslip indefensible special-interest provisions into large must-pass bills when no one is looking.
What it has never donebeforeis use such sleight of handtohandover control of the U.S. militarytoaforeign country.But that’swhat we’retold is on the verge of happening on Capitol Hill.
The House just passed the National Defense Authorization Act, asprawling $1.15 trillion bill that supposedlyincludes a provision buriedinit “merging” the U.S. and Israeli militaries.
This provision, known asSection219, hasunited some of the most fervent anti-Israel conspiracy theorists on the right and the left in denouncing the alleged betrayal of America, from Marjorie Taylor GreenetoAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez, from TuckerCarlsonto CenkUygur
AOC has warned that the provision“is an existential threat to Americansovereignty and democracy.”
Greene has said anyone who voted for thebill “sold out the American people to aforeign country.”
Carlson wants literal treason trials. So what is the substanceofSection 219? Legislationoften has obfuscatory titles,but this provision is deemed, with admirable clarity,the United StatesIsrael Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative.
It calls for the secretary of defense to designate “an executive agent” to coordinate between the U.S.and Israel on “bilateral defense technology research, development, testing, evaluation, integration and industrial cooperation.”
The Pentagon will come up with aplan for such cooperation and report back to Congress.
That’sit. There is nothing about merging the general staffsofthe U.S. military and the IDF; nothing about creating ajoint office whereDefense Secretary Pete Hegseth and his Israeli counterpart, Israel Katz, work together; nothing about givingBibi Netanyahu partial control of CENTCOM.
That the United States would want aclose working relationship with Is-
rael on military technology is hardly surprising. Israel is one of the world’s most innovative societies and, givenits precarious security environment,has become aleader in advanced defense technologies
That anefarious interpretation of the bill hasgottensome traction underlines howany preposterous lie, so long as it’s about Israel,getsa hearing thesedays
Likemany conspiracy theories, this onedepends on adarkview of Americansociety.Weare allegedly so corrupt that we arehanding control of our militarytoa foreign country without any senior military leaders or officials in an “America First” administration lodging acomplaint. No wonderCarlson wants the kind of tribunals that attended theend of World WarII.
At the firstNuremberg Trials, Wilhelm Keitel was found guiltyofcrimes againsthumanity and hanged; at the secondNurembergTrials, Mike Johnsonwill be found guilty of supporting mutually beneficial technology sharing between allies—means of execution yetto be determined.
One perversityhereisthat Netanyahu conceives of the technological coopera-
tionasasubstitutefor the U.S. military aid thathesupportsphasing out.In other words,enemies of Israel oppose U.S. militaryaid, and when aconstructive plan is offered for how to go about ending it,they oppose that,too, as an Israeli plot.
Anotherperversityisthat theU.S. should want averyclose relationship withIsrael on missile defense, an area whereIsrael excels and that, as we’ve seen in the Ukraine and Iran wars, is crucial to modernwarfare.
And yet, thesame people who portray themselves as zealously protective of the U.S. national interestwant us to turn our back on asource of technological advance.
Israel naturally fits in theWestern alliance, but nations ultimately pursue their selfish interests. If we spurn the Jewishstate outofirrational animus, it will inevitably look elsewhere and perhaps build astronger relationship withChina. Then we will surely be told by the critics now obsessedwithending the U.S.-Israel relationship that Israel has shown itstrue colorsand deserves even moreofour scorn.
Rich LowryisonX@RichLowry
Future storms couldbring worseoutcomes
As Tropical Storm Berthaapproached Louisiana, most residents likely gave ashrug and gotonwith their daily routines. This wasn’t ahurricane, just a“little” disturbance. Its winds were not likely to move ashingle off their roofs and, most importantly, its storm surge would likely max out at 2to4 feet, conditionsweoften see during stiff southerly blows. No big deal. But what if those little disturbances start pushing surges 6feet —orhigher?
And what if the scientificbreakthroughs that have led to better predictions for threats from weather and pollution arerestricted? Whatifwedon’t know how to best protectour families and our property?
That’sthe future revealed by two news stories that arrived just before Bertha.
The
first: New NASA research says in just 24 years the GulfofMexico will rise as much as 18 inches along the Louisiana coast.
That means that soon “little” disturbances like Bertha could push surges 4 to 6.5 feet —orhigher More worryingly,that also means larger storms will be pushing even higher,more damaging surges further inland, not just drowning the coastal zone but requiring more frequent evacuations in areas above I-10. This increases the urgency for findingmore billions in funding to lift storm surge levees. And there’snotelling how high thecost of flood insurancewill soar or if we can even get it. The report was produced by the NASA Sea Level Change Team which includes researchers from NOAA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California InstituteofTechnology, which led the effort. It was based on three decades of satellite altimeter measurements of seasurface height and correlated with NOAA tide gauge records dating as far back as 1920. In other words, this is based on factual measurements of what has happened
TO THEEDITORARE
and what is continuing to happen.
Theprojections now place theaverage2050 rise along the contiguous U.S. at 12 inches. That includes 10 to 14 inches on average for the East Coast,4 to 8inches forthe West Coast and 14 to 18 inches for the Gulf Coast.
Thespeedofthat change places future sea level rise in thehigher range of thescenarios in the accepted models.
Those are based largely on the amountofgreenhouse gas emissions beingreleased into theatmosphere. This is moresolid evidence that reducing the use of fossil fuels is an existential issuefor Louisiana. That second piece of news paints a dark future for Louisiana’scoastal and environmental health: President Donald Trumphas decided to have political loyalists instead of qualified scientists decidehow the nation spends its billions in scientific research grants. These appointees —basically “yes” menand women —require no background in the subjects of the grants. They must only certify research that alignswith Trump’sopinions on science and other subjects. They will have thepower to deny grants on subjects
and from organizations Trumpdislikes. They can also cancel grants for research he disapproves of that are already underway
Andthis is apresident who still claims climate change is ahoax, whose love for oil, gas and coal has led him to cancel funding for green energy programs, kill federal electric vehicle incentives and open wilderness and national monumentstodrilling. He is even moving to cancel the long-standing energy efficiency ratings requirements for homeappliances, aprogram popular among consumers because it saves them money
So, what do you thinkwill happen to an application for research on lighter, safer,more powerful and longer-lasting EV batteries? Or on the human health risks from pollution at petrochemical refineries and methane releases from oil drilling sites?
Or thehuman healthimpacts of greenhouse gas emissions?
Is this makingAmerica great again?
Bob Marshall, aPulitzer Prizewinning Louisiana environmental journalist,can be reached at bmarshallenviro@gmail.com.
If you squint, you can see them. Theyare signs that the Democratic Party understands historian Robert Conquest’srule: The behavior of anybureaucratic organization can best be understoodby assuming that it is controlled by asecret cabal of its enemies. In the Aug. 4primary,Michigan’sDemocratic Party will select its Senate candidate. Three stalwarts of the national party’skamikaze caucus, two of them fresh from telling Maine’s Democrats whomtonominate for Senate, are now instructing Michiganders. They are Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who called Maine’sGraham Platner “mykind of man,” and Sen. Bernie Sanders, another Platner enthusiast. These two, and Rep. Alexandria OcasioCortez, who flinched from Platner,have discovered anew paladin of progressivism.
Abdul El-Sayed is 41. In 2018, he lost the Democratic gubernatorial primary by 21 points to a centrist Democrat, Gretchen Whitmer,who is now completing her second term. Today,El-Sayed campaigns with Hasan Piker,a“Twitch streamer” (yes, that is ajob description in today’sAmerica) sympathetic to Hamas. Piker has apologized for having said, “America deserved 9/11.” Today, El-Sayed says Israel is a“rogue state”guilty of “genocide.” He says, opaquely,that there should be “certain kinds” of law enforcement at America’sborders, but Immigration and Customs Enforcement should be “abolished.”
He favors Medicare-for-all, asingle-payer healthcare system. One hundred eighty million Americans are covered by employer-provided health insurance that El-Sayed would terminate. He would erase muchthat organizedlabor has achieved by negotiating the untaxed benefits of generous employer-provided healthcareplans. Amoderate Democrat who hadbeen seeking the Senate nomination recently withdrew. This should help El-Sayed’sremaining opponent, Haley Stevens, who was trailing in polls taken before the withdrawal. She is afour-term congresswoman from Oakland County,much of it suburban Detroit. Forty-six years ago, this county was the canary in the national Democratic Party’scoal mine:Oakland was an early habitat of anew political species, “Reagan Democrats.” Theyare now called “Republicans.”
Timeschange. Stevens’sdistrict voted solidly for Hillary Clinton in 2016, Joe Biden in 2020 and Kamala Harris in 2024. Stevens is acentrist liberal, supportive of Michigan’sauto industry,not Hamas. She is something that purple Michigan might like. Donald Trump’s2024 victory in Michigan was wafer-thin (1.4%), but Michigan Democrats should remember: He carried it.
The American Enterprise Institute’sRuy Teixeira, acenter-left Democrat, describes a perverse dialectic of “Trumpian overreach:” The more Trump is flamboyantly provocative, the more Democrats lurch into “histrionic,radical, ineffective responses.” He controls the shrillest Democrats by triggering them, and theypropel their party toward self-indulgent, self-destructive choices, such as El-Sayed.
The United Auto Workers has endorsedElSayed. It might, however,someday be the United Graduate Students.
Michigan, historically hospitable to strong unions, experienced history-making labor conflicts in the 1930s. “The strike heard around the world” was the sit-down strike at aGeneral Motors plant in Flint. In the “Battle of the Overpass,” Ford employees bloodied UAWorganizers near the main gate of the River Rouge plant.
But U.S. automaking is no longer so concentrated in Michigan. It has dispersed, oftentoright-towork states, partly to avoid the increasingly radical UAW. More than 100,000 of its roughly 400,000 active members (down from alate-1970s peakof 1.5 million) are whatthe union calls “academic workers” —graduate student teaching assistants, postdoctoral researchers, etc.
No wonderthe UAWlikes El-Sayed, who vibrates like atuning fork to academic radicalism. And he is fluent in the online snark and condescension that clogs social media. For example,hehopes Stevens’ssupporters “find some way to teach her how to string together two coherent sentences.” She “is asuit with alarge AIPAC” —American Israel Public Affairs Committee —“bank account, that’sit.”
Of course: Beware of the Jews. El-Sayed has impeccable credentials for representing today’sleft. But he is not running to be the senator from Ann Arbor.And Rep. James E. Clyburn, D-South Carolina, who is Black and the closest thing to apower broker remaining in today’spolitics, supports Stevens. If El-Sayed is nominated to replace retiring Democrat Sen. Gary Peters, his Republican opponent will be formerseven-term congressman Mike Rogers, who in 2024 lost aMichigan Senate race by just 0.34%. In that case, Rogers almost certainly will win. Republicans almostcertainly will retain control of the Senate. And Robert Conquest’srule certainly will be validated.
EmailGeorge Will at georgewill@washpost.com.
Bob Marshall
Rich Lowry
George Will
ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO
Speaker of the House MikeJohnson, R-Benton, center, flanked by House Majority Whip TomEmmer,R-Minnesota, left, and House Majority Leader SteveScalise, R-Jefferson, speak to reporters at the CapitolinWashington.
STAFF PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER
Plaquemines Parish flood controlstaff move largesandbags alongLa. 39 in preparation for Tropical StormBertha on July 21.
Saints WR Polk re
Promising 24-year-old receiver placed on reserve/ retiredlistonSunday
BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer
Going into training camp,several people in the New Orleans Saints organization said they were excited to see what receiver Ja’Lynn Polk would do withhis secondopportunity.
The team never got to find out: Sunday afternoon, theSaints placed Polk on thereserve/retired list, meaning Polk has retired from the game at the age of 24. The reasons behind Polk’sdecision are still not known. The former second-rounder out of Wash-
ington endured arocky 2024rookie season with the New England Patriots, catchingjust 12 of his 33 targetsfor 87 yards. He suffered ashoulder injury that required seasonending surgery beforethe 2025 season began.
NewOrleans likedPolk when he was coming out of the draft and bought low on hispotential, acquiring him from the Patriots last fall for alate-round pick swap.
He had earned someadmirers inside the organization for the work he put in this
ä See POLK, page 4C
SHIFTING INTO
Saints cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry takes abreak in between
Metairie. McKinstryishoping to step up in his third
BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer
Justin Reid wantstotell you aboutKool-Aid McKinstry
The New OrleansSaints safetywants to tell youabout the work the third-year cornerback has done from the startofthe offseason program to training camp.He wants to tell you aboutthe growth that he’s seen,how McKinstry has disrupted play after play with anurgency and naturalness thatmakes itapparent that the corner has been working on his game. AndReid wants to tell you how excited he is for McKinstrythiscoming season, how confident he is thatall the work the 23-year-old has put in willpay off.
“That cat is going to be something special,”Reid said. Reid is far from alonein hisopinion. Alloffseason, numerous Saints —from players to coachestoevengeneral managerMickey Loomis— have made apoint to single out McKinstry,somuchsothatitalmostfeels deliberate. On some occasions, likewithReid,the praise comes when asked ageneral question about the secondary.On
others, themention comes completely out of nowhere likewhenLoomistargeted McKinstry as akey player the Saints are hoping will take another leap in 2026.
“The leap he made from Year 1toYear2 waspretty good,”Loomis said. “Weneed another.”
Theplaybook, intentional or not,mirrorswhathappened withChase Young ayear ago. Last summer,players and coaches weren’tshy about boasting about the pass rusher —all while acknowledging theyneeded more out of him. That mixofconfidence and pressure worked. Young rewarded their faith with acareer-high 10 sacks in 12 games, puttingitall together despite missing thefirst five weeks because of acalf injury
Now, the attention hasturnedtoMcKinstry.And it makes sense. The Saints lost Alontae Taylor in free agency to the Tennessee Titans, and rather thanspend bigon his replacement,New Orleans is trusting safety Jonas Sankercan hold it down in theslotand that McKinstry further ascendsasaNo. 1corner.(Taylor played both
ä See SAINTS, page 4C
‘A great deal forour program’
BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer
Jay Johnson had only seen it happen once before.
WhenJohnsonwas theassociatehead coach at San Diego in 2010, signee and right-handedpitcher Dylan Coveywound up at school despitebeing theMilwaukee Brewers’ first-round pick. His physical withthe club after he waspickedrevealed that he had Type 1diabetes, resulting in the twosides not being able to agree to signing terms.
The Covey saga was the onlytimeJohnsonhad ahigh school signeewho was picked in the topfew rounds of the MLB draft but still endedupatschool.But that changed on Saturday Logan Schmidt, one of the top high school left-handed pitchers in this year’sdraft who the Cleveland Guardians selected withthe No. 59 overallpickinthe second round, is joining the Tigers, he announced on Saturday.The top prospect turned downachance to sign with the Guardians and join the junior college ranks —which would have allowed him to be eligible for next year’sdraft —tocome to Baton Rouge.
“Inthis era, they only pick guys that they have agreements with,” Johnsonsaid in
ä See LSU, page 3C
LSU football players report Tuesday for preseason camp, with the first full-team practice set forWednesday Typically,I loathe preseason camp, smothered as it is by August’sgiant outdoor sauna of oppressive heat and humidity
But considering how fast, furious and mind-spinning off-the-field newscontinues to be surrounding college athletics, never have Ibeen so looking forward to standing on asideline dripping sweat while watching the Tigers assemble the building blocks forthe coming season. No cell phone calls or texting allowed during practice, you say? Fine with me. It will be awelcome respite from the constant barrage of sweeping and stunning changes that have me longing to just watch someone play agame. Could be football. Could be cornhole at this point. Ialmost don’tcare. Three headlines from the past week highlight the constantly shifting landscape of college sports where we are all trying
STAFFFILE PHOTOByMICHAEL JOHNSON LSUcoachJay Johnson reacts to acallina game against Sacramento State on March8 at Alex Box Stadium.
Kuwaki wins Women’s British Open
By The Associated Press
ST ANNES, England Shiho
LYTHAM
Kuwaki of Japan saved par to stay alive in a sudden-death playoff Sunday and won with a par on the second extra hole to claim the Women’s British Open over Esther Henseleit of Germany for her first major title.
Kuwaki closed with a 1-under 70 and looked like a winner as she waited nearly 30 minutes in the scoring room. Henseleit, in the final group, holed a 40-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole at Royal Lytham & St Annes for a 70 to join Kuwaki at 5-under 279.
Henseleit then had the advantage in the playoff when the 23-year-old from Japan was in deep grass short of a bunker and had to lay up short of the green. Kuwaki hit wedge to 3 feet to save par and got another chance when Henseleit missed a 15-foot birdie putt for the win.
The tables turned on the second extra hole. Henseleit’s tee shot on the 18th drifted far enough to the right that it was beneath a gorse bush. She did well to get that back to the fairway and hit wedge to about 12 feet. But her par putt stayed left of the cup, and that left Kuwaki to tap in for par
“Very happy with how I gave myself the opportunity to win today and how I handled myself Just got a bit unlucky on the second playoff hole there,” Henseleit said. “I tried really hard and I guess it just wasn’t meant to be today.”
This is the second straight Women’s British Open title for Japan, following Miyu Yamashita’s victory last year at Royal Porthcawl. Kuwaki, often known for her fashion, becomes the fifth player from Japan to have won an LPGA major over the past three years.
“I can’t believe it,” Kuwaki said through a translator and the trophy presentation. The disappointment on Sunday belonged to third-place Yealimi Noh (74), the 25-year-old Californian who began the final round with a three-shot lead until it slowly went away with bogeys. She fell out of a share of the lead with a bogey on the 14th hole. Noh was one shot behind and had two reasonable looks at birdie with Kuwaki already in the clubhouse at 279 — but failed to convert
“It stings being one short,” said Noh, who had missed three straight cuts before this week.
“I told myself this morning, no matter what happens I’m happy to be in this position again. A couple of weeks ago, I was losing a lot of motivation. This week has helped me feel so much bet-
L.A. sends All-Star Plum to Mercury for Makani, picks
The Los Angeles Sparks traded All-Star guard Kelsey Plum to the Phoenix Mercury for a first-round pick next year, Monique Akoa Makani and a second-round draft choice in 2028.
The deal was finalized late Saturday night ahead of Sunday’s trade deadline and was first reported by ESPN. It’s rare for an All-Star to be traded in the middle of the season, only happening a handful of times before Saturday night.
Plum will wear No. 0 for the Mercury She is a free agent at the end of this season and has been sidelined since June 21 because of a lower leg injury Plum was averaging a careerbest 23.9 points and 6.4 assists before getting hurt. Los Angeles has struggled without her, including losing its past six games.
A’s slugger Kurtz to see specialist for hurt thumb
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Athletics
slugger Nick Kurtz will see a hand specialist in Los Angeles on Monday about his injured right thumb and could be headed to the injured list.
Kurtz went on the IL with a sprained right thumb on July 11 and returned two weeks later But he has struggled at the plate since then, going 1 for 18 in seven games. Kurtz was also hit on the left forearm with a pitch on Wednesday but was able to return to the lineup for the next two games.
Manager Mark Kotsay said on Sunday that the team will determine the next steps for Kurtz after he visits the specialist.
BY MICHAEL MAROT Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS Alex Palou and Alexander Rossi were sold on the new IndyCar at first glance.
Then they climbed inside the cockpit, took it around Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course and were even more impressed.
Palou, the four-time series champ, and Rossi, the 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner, became the first test drivers of the new model and both left the track giving the car rave reviews.
“I am very happy to announce that we will race it next year,” Palou joked Sunday “I wish (it was next year) — like that’s the level of excitement I think among everybody I think everybody, when we saw it live for the first time, I was shocked at how good it looked and how excited I was to give it a try.”
The Spaniard who drives for Chip Ganassi Racing certainly would be leading the pack again if he actually competed in the IR-28 next year because it isn’t scheduled to debut until 2028. Naturally though, Palou, who has won 21 of the past 64 races including Indy in 2025 and is on the cusp of clinching a fourth straight series title, would prefer everything goes quicker His interest in this model was piqued after seeing the initial renderings of the lighter, sleeker, jet-like looking car The higher sidepod and more
ter about my game.”
Haeran Ryu fell short in her bid to become the first player since Inbee Park to win three straight majors in one year The Women’s PGA and Evian Championship winner was still in the mix on the back nine. She needed birdies and instead closed with two straight bogeys for a 74 to tie for sixth.
Nelly Korda, the No. 1 player in women’s golf and winner of the year’s first two majors, started eight shots behind and closed with a 68. She was the leader in the clubhouse for the longest time at 2 under until Kuwaki finished.
Korda tied for fourth along with Jeeno Thitikul (73)
Kuwaki, at No. 46 in the women’s world ranking played bogey-free over the last 13 holes as everyone around her made mistakes. She was in the scoring room after signing and stayed even as Henseleit and Noh had birdie chances on the final two holes to force a playoff.
Henseleit delivered with a most unlikely putt, 40 feet across the 18th green. The 27-year-old German raised her right arm as the golf ball still had a few feet to
on his last hole to shoot 7-under 63 and reach 18 under to win his first PGA Tour title by two shots at the final Rocket Classic.
The 24-year-old Thorbjornsen sealed his spot in the FedEx Cup playoff after rolling into the Motor City No. 69 in the standings.
The top 70 advance to the postseason after next week’s Wyndham Championship.
Thorbjornsen started the fourth round three shots behind leader Davis Riley, whose rough start opened opportunities for the field. Thorbjornsen took advantage, surging into the lead at No. 14 with his third of four birdies in a six-hole stretch and closing with a clutch, curling putt that went in the right side of the cup.
“Perfect pace, perfect read,” he said.
go and punched the air when it dropped for birdie.
It was only the second playoff since the Women’s British Open became a major in 2001.
Thorbjornsen wins in Detroit
In Detroit, Michael Thorbjornsen made a 26-foot putt for birdie
He’s the eighth first-time winner this season on the PGA Tour and the second straight, following Jackson Koivun’s victory last week at the 3M Open.
“It was such a battle, playing with some great players,” Thorbjornsen said “Everyone was in the mix after nine holes.”
Xander Schauffele (65) briefly led during the final round and finished second, two shots back.
expansive, wavier front wings make the car look larger while the digital display featuring the car’s position during a race, qualifying or practice appears just behind the redesigned, less bulky aeroscreen give as a high-tech feature. Designers promised the car would have roomier cockpits, run faster and race better all while adding safety features. Rossi thought it was better than advertised He started seven Formula 1 races in four seasons before moving to IndyCars in 2016, and at 6-foot-1, Rossi is one of IndyCar’s tallest drivers. “Not to draw comparisons to F1, we don’t like doing that, but
I think anyone who drives an F1 car for the first time, they notice how smooth the car is — not from a powertrain standpoint but from the surface standpoint,” Rossi said Saturday “This car starts to get to that level.” He added: “It’s a little bigger, certainly more room for me. My knees aren’t headed into the top of the chassis, which is great. But it’s not like you’re out there driving a Suburban.”
And even though the goal was not necessarily to post fast laps, both drivers enjoyed the ride.
Track officials said no official or unofficial speeds were kept. Instead, series officials asked
Rossi and Palou to produce some baseline measures about the car’s on-track performance, which can be used to help modify setups for future tests. That made it essentially a two-day shakedown with Rossi scheduled to run three hours on Saturday and Palou three hours Sunday There was just one problem — rain.
Each driver had their allotted time slot cut by at least half because of the cool, wet conditions that blanketed the Indianapolis area Saturday and Sunday Still, it didn’t dampen the spirits of either driver
“It’s pretty incredible to be able to be a part of the next evolution and to do it at a place that obviously means a lot to me and all of us here,” Rossi said “It’s a small part to play in the history and the future of this championship, and that’s super cool.”
What’s next remains the great unknown.
While series officials have not yet scheduled the IR-28’s next test, Palou wants other drivers to join the parade he and Rossi just led.
“It’s super fun,” Palou said. “It’s just like being on a higher end car It feels like one of those interiors that are like good leather and it’s quiet inside. It’s good, it’s comfy so, yeah, I can’t wait to hopefully try it in the dry (conditions) and see how it really feels when I push it.”
IndyCar returns to action next Sunday at Portland, Oregon.
The 23-year-old Kurtz is batting .256 with 21 homers and a teamhigh 69 RBIs.
Braves place López on IL with knee inflammation
ATLANTA The Atlanta Braves placed right-hander Reynaldo López on the 15-day injured list with left knee inflammation on Sunday
The Braves recalled right-hander JR Ritchie from Triple-A Gwinnett to start Sunday’s game against the Washington Nationals.
The move with López was expected after he was scratched before Saturday night’s scheduled start against the Nationals. López was warming up in the bullpen when he experienced discomfort in the knee.
Fill-in starter Martín Pérez held Washington hitless until the seventh inning of the Braves’ 8-3 win. Ritchie is 1-2 with a 4.50 ERA in 13 games including seven starts with Atlanta.
British PM: Infantino not the right man to lead FIFA British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Sunday that FIFA president Gianni Infantino was not the right man to lead world soccer’s governing body in the latest fallout from the now abandoned plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors.
“I do not believe that he is the right man to lead football forward on the world stage,” Burnham said. “The plan that was put forward was offensive to many people football people around the world, and it can’t be the case that we just move on and forget that, it wasn’t acceptable.”
On Saturday, European soccer’s governing body UEFA said it had lost confidence in FIFA’s leadership — possibly paving the way for a challenge to Infantino’s presidency
Wiebes wins again at Women’s Tour de France
GENEVA Lorena Wiebes again sprinted to victory in the second stage of the Women’s Tour de France on Sunday The Dutch rider won the flat 91.9mile stage from Aigle to Geneva, the second on Swiss territory, in 3 hours, 42 minutes, 8 seconds. Wiebes went ahead with some 250 yards to go and claimed her seventh overall victory at the tour
Wiebes also won the opening stage on Saturday in the same dominant fashion.
“It’s special to win in the yellow jersey but also because again, my team SD Worx-Protime, worked really hard for this,” Wiebes said. “The girls were chasing full gas in the final to bring back Riejanne Markus. That makes it even
GOLF ROUNDUP
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JON SUPER
Shiho Kuwaki holds up the trophy after winning the Women’s British Open on Sunday in Lytham St. Annes, England.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MIKE MAROT Reigning IndyCar champion Alex Palou drives into the pit lane to test a new IndyCar model on Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis.
AP PHOTO By JOSE JUAREZ Michael Thorbjornsen hits from the fifth tee during the final round of the Rocket Classic on Sunday in Detroit.
TakeawaysfromBig Tenfootballmedia days
BY COLLEEN KANE ChicagoTribune (TNS)
CHICAGO Indiana’s Curt
Cignetti was the final coach to take the big stage at Big Ten football media days, walking up in front of acrowded room Thursday atthe Hilton Chicago. “Everybody ready to get out of here and get home?” he cracked.
Big Tencoaches have a busy month ahead as training camps get underwayto prepare for aseason that starts Aug. 29 for ahandful of FBS teams and the following weekend for the rest.
But first the coaches cycled through myriad interviews overthree days.They talked about their teams this season but also the state of the conference andother big-picturetopics —includingwhat Cignetti did last season withthe national champion Hoosiers. Here’swhat coachessaid during the event.
On Indiana’srise
Illinois’ Bret Bielemacalled Indiana’srise ‘the most impressive story that I’ve witnessed in my college career.’
The Hoosiers’ rapid turn-
LSU
Continued from page1C
an interview on Saturday “In this case, they picked a player they didn’thave an agreement with.
“It also speaks to his talent and his capabilities that they were willing to roll the dice on it.” Schmidt, atop-60 player in the draft, according to The Athletic, ESPN and MLB. com, will get achance to developunder Johnson and LSU for potentially the next three seasons before he is eligible to be draftedagain in 2029.
“It’sagreat deal for our program on alot of levels,” Johnson said. “Having been doing thisfor along time now,you don’twin these with Major League Baseball, typically.” LSUrampedupits communication with Schmidt’s camp once it became clear that he wouldn’tcome to an agreement with Cleveland, speaking with them “several times” in the 2-3 weeks leadinguptoSaturday’s announcement. Johnson met
RABALAIS
Continued from page1C
to get agrip and findour footing.
ProtectCollege Sports Act
There was widespread surprise Friday when the Southeastern Conference and Big Tenreversed course to express support for the bipartisan Protect College Sports Act. The bill, which was running on fumes at best, now has a renewed chance of becoming law,though anarrow window before the congressional summer recess and November’smidterm elections remain major hurdles.
What changed the SEC and Big Ten’scollective mindset? Political pressure from the Trump administration was afactor,but apparently the big selling point was aprovision that prevents schools from circumventing the revenue-sharing cap through third-party deals. Under the PCSA, schools would be allowed to pay players as much as $48.8 million annually,according to CBSSports.com.
Also very importantly,the PCSA would protect women’sand Olympic sports,almost all of which operate at afinancial deficit.Schools would be prohibited from reducing the number of varsity teams, roster participants or competition (games and tournaments)
around from longtime Big Tenbottom dweller to16-0 national champion in Cignetti’s second season was apopular topic. Coaches gave Cignetti and his playerstheirdue but also noted that it shows what’spossible in this era of collegefootball thanks to the transfer portal,revenue sharing and name, image and likeness compensation
“If you look at it in the landscape of collegefootball, it shouldgive every player, everycoach, every fan base hope, vision and beliefthat it can happen,”Purdue’s Barry Odom said. “It’s sped things up foreveryone. Butyou also look at how they pieced it together.Itworked for them. It’snot thesame for every team and program.”
Bielema, whose team lost, 63-10, to Indiana in September, said it was the greatest run he has seen in college football.
“I’m not going to saythat Indiana inspired me, but I wouldsay that what they have done shows youwherever we are in college football,” Bielema said. “Don’t getme wrong, it takesan incredibly talented person. Curt is an extremelyintelli-
withthe lefty in person twice last week, including with pitching coach Nate Yeskie on Saturday LSU’s meetings with Schmidt were less about selling him on hisopportunity to play for the school and more about listening to him and his family about what they thought wasbest for him.
“Thisisa trickier dynamic with aplayer that was sought after by MajorLeague Baseball for along time,” Johnson said. “I mean,hereclassified up into the 2026 class with thethought of being a first-round pick, and, frankly,hepitchedthat way duringthe high schoolseason this year.”
Schmidt’sfit at LSU
With 39 players on its roster before Schmidt’ssurprise inclusion, it was hard to findmany holes on LSU’s roster after the MLB draft.
But Schmidt still fills apotentialneed as aleftywho could contend for aplace in the starting weekend rotation.Freshmenrarely come out of the gates as starters in Southeastern Conference play,but Schmidt’sbigger
below athreshold required for FBS membership.
Again, the bill still has along way to go to get across the goal line, but at leastthereisa chance. Congressional oversight, of course, has its potential pitfalls and unintended consequences, but schools have shown over and over again that they are unable to police themselves when it comes to spending. The PCSA has the potential to take college athletics off the unsustainable path it is currently on.
Classof2022injunction
Also Friday,aU.S. district judge in Denver ruled that all college athletes who graduatedhigh school in 2022 whose clock ran out this spring were eligible for afifth season in 2026-27.
The judge, Charlotte Sweeney,clarified her ruling Sunday (that’sasof this writing; who knows what could change again?) to say herruling doesn’t override current transfer rules, roster limits or revenue sharing caps. In other words, if afootball team has afull rosterfor this fall, it can’tjustadd a fifth-year player or exceed its revenue sharing cap. The NCAA, which adopted a“five-for-five”eligibility rule set to go into effect this fall, is expected to appeal what still is apotentially chaos-causingruling. All that said, Sweeney’s decisioncould beasilverlining forLSU men’s
gent coach whosurrounded himself with some really gifted people, it looks like.
“And, you know,itisinspiring becauseyou see something that I’ve known forever,right? I’vebeen in this conference alongtime, and to see Indiana become what theyare is pretty impressive. Ilike those kinds of things. I like people thatdothings that no oneelse says they can do, and he obviously just did it.”
Michigan lookstomoveon
Michigan’sKyle Whittingham said he wantsto‘put the drama to bed.’
Kyle Whittingham, the coach at Utah for 21 seasons, took over aMichiganprogramin December that has had alaundry list of scandals in recent yearsatthe leadership level, including the firing of coach Sherrone Moore after an inappropriate relationship with a staffer
Whittinghamistasked with bringing stability back to the program. He acknowledged hisplayers have been through alot over thelast several years andsaiditwill be “refreshing” for his team to focus only on football and academics.
frame (he’s6-foot-4), mid90s fastball, strike-throwing capabilitiesand two offspeed pitches provide him the tools to contend for a rotation spot
LSU hasseven leftiesbesidesSchmidt,but Cooper Williams was the only arm amongthemwho hadany chance of cracking the rotation
“It’sawide-opencompetition,and he has theabilityto contend for it, as Ithink the number of guys do,” Johnsonsaid. “Wehavetoperform better there.”
At thevery least, Schmidt hasthe talent and polish to makeabig impact out of the bullpen immediately,similar to what Casan Evans provided for the Tigers in 2025. He andfellow freshman Lucas Nawrocki —the No. 91 player in thedraft,according to ESPN —were LSU’sbiggest left-handed additions over the offseason after theTigers didn’tadd alefty out of theportal.
“I’ve alwaysbelievedin left-handed pitching and left-handed hitting,”Johnson said. “And really excited about that group as we start out.”
basketball and coach Will Wade. He is still trying to build aroster for the 202627 season, abuild-out being hampered by new NCAA restrictions on players who have competed in foreign professional leagues. Programswith open roster spotsand revenue-sharing funds could be landing spotsfor Class of 2022 players seeking afifth year Arizona has already signed former Clemson forward RJ Godfrey,one of the plaintiffs in asuit against theNCAA’s “five-for-five” rule.
Sweeney’sruling highlights theneed, hopefully addressed by thePCSA, to steer college athletics away from theepidemic of players and schools seeking out afriendly judge to grant their eligibility.That can’t be what the legal system is about.
OleMisslawsuit
This past week,Ole Miss announced it was seeking nearly $1 millionincombineddamages for breach of contract from two Ole players nowatLSU:defensive end Princewill Umanmielen and offensive lineman Devin Harper. Both reportedlysigned revenue-sharing agreements with OleMiss before jumping in the portal in January to followLane Kiffin to LSU.
Ole Miss, which claims it was put in aroster bind because of when the players left, says it’stried to collect from LSU on Umanmielen
Lynx hold off Fever
TheAssociated Press
MINNEAPOLIS Rookie sensation Olivia Miles spearheadedanefficient offense with 28 points, Courtney Williams added 27 points, and the Minnesota Lynx won their 10th-straight game with a108-100 win over the Indiana Fever on Sunday There was arally outside the Target Center that pitted those supportingFever reserve Sophie Cunningham, who toldESPN last week she believedtrans athletes shouldnot play againstgirls, against those withthe opposite feeling. Minnesota coach Cheryl Reevewore ashirtthat read, “Trans kids belong,” and had apregame conversation with Cunningham, who was booed throughout thegame.
“Both of us understand that we have platforms and we both talked about wantingto, more than anything, educate,” Reevesaid after thecontest.
Minnesotahad a96-82 lead with6:41 to play before the Fever,who hadscored 100ina record six-straight games, pulled within 100-98 with morethan 2 1/2 minutes to go. Miles and Williams both came up with big basketsasthe Lynx won their 10thstraight for the first time since 2016.
and Harper’sbehalf. Ole Miss said it’s heard crickets from LSU other than to affirm it wasn’tparty to either player’scontract with their former school.
Isee both sidesofthis convoluted coin. On one hand, acontract should be acontract, and both players should be beholden to Ole Miss for thedeals they signed.
On the other hand, this
“First time playingeach other,sothere’sa bit of a feeling out sort of thing,” Reeve said. “And offense definitely had their way with each of the teams’ defense. Certainlyknewit probably wasn’tgoing to be sustained, and it wasn’t. We were hoping at some point our defense could be aseparator
“Wefeltlike we hadto really fighttowin,and glad we glad we didthat. The next time we play them,each team is going to have alot moreinformation.”
The league’s No.1offense definitelymadelife difficult forthe league’s No.2 defense, but the Fever,who played in Portland on Friday night, struggled to stop the Lynx on the offensive end. Both teamsshot57% and both had 11 3-pointers and went 11 of 15 from the foulline.They also combined for 55 assists. The big difference wasIndiana had 12 turnovers to six forMinnesota, which had an 11-5 edge in offensive rebounds and 9-0 advantage in fastbreak points.
Napheesa Collier had 18 points, eight rebounds and seven assists forthe Lynx (25-6).Natasha Howard scored 13 pointsand Kayla McBride 10.
The Fever (19-11), who had their five-game win-
makes Ole Miss look rather petty,especially since it’salso asking for reimbursement of legal fees. Would Ole Miss be doing this if Umanmielen, acertain starter for the Tigers, and Harper,inthe mix forastarting spot on the O-line, hadn’tfollowed the now vilifiedKiffin to LSU? No way to tell, but Ibelieve if they’d gone to NC State or Louisville
ning streak halted, were led by Kelsey Mitchell with 37 points, herfifth30-point gameofthe season and 14th straight 20-point game, second in league history behind A’ja Wilson’s15-straight in a single season. Caitlin Clark added 19 points and 10 assists and Aliyah Boston had 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. “Wewerejust alittle bit of astep slow,” Clark said of the defense.“ Proudofour group forfinding ways to adjust, and that’swhatyou have to do versus areally good team.”
Both teams gotoff to a blistering startwithMinnesota leading 36-32 after one quarter,tying theleague record formostpointsin an opening period. Mitchell had 16 points in the first period, but Miles had 14 in the second and the Lynx led 64-53 at the break.
The crowd,listed as 16,505, certainly had plenty of Fever fans. That’s nota surprise given that Clark grew up in West Des Moines, Iowa, which is about 3 1/2 hours away
“Itwas weird hearingfans cheer whenthe other team scored,” Miles said. “Bothways, there was cheering for basketsand it was just loud in there. The energy,it’s what you want as abasketball player.”
(who the Rebels open with Sept. 6inNashville) this wouldn’tbeanissue. In the end, it’sanother log for the LSU-Ole MissKiffin fire leading up to their ever more emotional Sept. 19 showdown in Oxford.
Maybe Ole Miss and LSU should agree to play double or nothing with the lawsuit riding on the outcome.
ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOByABBIE PARR
Indiana Feverguard Sophie Cunningham and Minnesota Lynx head coachCheryl Reeve right, stand on the courtduring the first halfofagame on SundayinMinneapolis.
Rattler holding steady in backup QB battle
Shough sporadic as first-team offense
has sloppy outing
BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer
At some point, Kellen Moore says he plans to rotate the backup reps between Spencer Rattler and Zach Wilson
The New Orleans Saints signed Wilson with the intention of creating a competition for the spot behind starter Tyler Shough The move was nothing against Rattler personally the Saints kept the quarterback, despite plenty of trade speculation — but rather, New Orleans’ staff wanted to see what they had in the former 2021 second overall pick. But through the first four practices of training camp, as well as OTAs and mandatory minicamp, the competition hasn’t materialized.
And that’s a credit to Rattler
The third-year quarterback has seemingly given his coaches no reason to contemplate a switch over the past few months. The 25-yearold has been largely steady, even as the offense has yet to fully find a rhythm. Wilson, by contrast, looks very much like a player still learning a new system, which is understandable since this is his first year with the Saints.
“Eventually, we’ll probably do something,” Moore said. “We just like to rotate these guys and give different exposures. All three of those guys are playing good football.”
But if Rattler keeps performing as he has been, he likely won’t be in jeopardy of losing his backup job.
Here’s what else stood out on Day 4.
Attendance: The Saints saw a few faces return to practice. While Cesar Ruiz and Ja’Lynn Polk were still excused for personal reasons, tight end Cody Hardy was removed from the non-
football-injury list. Defensive linemen Zxavian Harris (foot) and Keeshawn Silver (undisclosed) were in uniform, but still working with trainers off to the side.
Cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry (ankle) returned to team drills after sitting out of them Friday as a precaution.
Sloppy starters
The Saints moved practice indoors Sunday due to inclement weather Practicing inside did not help the first-team offense get into a groove.
Shough was again sporadic as he and the Saints try to adjust to the new pieces on offense. In 11-on-11 drills, Shough completed only three of his 13 passes — although there are some caveats.
Titans’ Levis: ‘There are not 32 QBs in this league better than me’
BY TERESA M. WALKER AP pro football writer
NASHVILLE,Tenn. Go ahead and call
Will Levis cocky
The Tennessee Titans quarterback currently fighting for the backup job here, or somewhere else, isn’t worried about winning anyone’s approval.
He wants to play
“There are not 32 quarterbacks in this league better than me,” Levis said Saturday “I know that for sure.” Levis’ confidence has not wavered one bit from his arrival as the 33rd overall pick in the 2023 draft. The general manager who drafted him was fired in January 2025, and Levis now has to earn more playing time with his third different coach for a franchise that drafted a quarterback No 1 overall in 2025. His biggest goal for this training camp? Be the best version of himself.
“When I get the opportunities, I know I’m gonna make the most of it and I’m going to shine,” Levis said. On paper Levis is a prototypical quarterback at 6-foot-4 and 229 pounds with all the physical tools. He is 5-16 as a starting quarterback having completed 61% of his career passes for 3,899 yards with 21 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. The other side? Levis threw four pick-6s in 2024, the most for this franchise in a season since the then-Oilers relocated to Tennes-
see in 1997. He lost five of eight fumbles and had only one more TD pass (13) than interceptions (12) that season
He missed three games and much of a fourth with a sprained AC joint in his right, throwing shoulder
Levis appeared ready to back up Cam Ward until sharing a photo of the U-shaped dip in his shoulder on social media, announcing he was having season-ending surgery the day before the Titans reported to training camp
That left no competition for Ward, and the Titans went 3-14 with Brian Callahan fired early in his second season
The Titans then hired Robert Saleh as coach who brought in offensive coordinator Brian Daboll.
Tennessee also signed veteran Mitchell Trubisky, the second overall pick in 2017 to a two-year contract hoping to tap into both his experience with Daboll and backing up a young quarterback in Buffalo.
That leaves Levis competing with Trubisky to back up Ward.
The Titans could keep Levis as the third quarterback for depth or trade him if Levis plays well enough this preseason to attract an offer
That’s what Tennessee did with Malik Willis in 2024. Now Willis has a starting gig with Miami.
“I know I put the tape out there already that I’m a dang good quarterback in this league,” Levis said. “And I’m even better than I ever have been.”
Two of those seeming incompletions were up for debate as it was unclear whether Chris Olave was in bounds on a deep ball on Shough’s first throw, while another appeared to be incomplete on a bang-bang play that could have been interpreted as a catch-and-fumble by Travis Etienne. Another of Shough’s incompletions, too, would have been wiped away because of an offsides penalty from Chase Young Still, whether he was 3-of-13 or 5-for-12, Shough struggled in team drills against New Orleans’ starting defense. He threw his second interception of camp when he held the ball for too long and tried to force a throw near the end zone that safety Julian Blackmon intercepted. He also saw Jonas Sanker make an impressive pass breakup when the second-
POLK
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offseason, and Polk also seemed motivated to put his time in New England behind him.
“I feel like I’m supposed to be here,” Polk said earlier this summer “For them bringing me in here and having that trust of seeing the player I’m capable of being, it speaks a lot. I just want to go out there each and every day and show them they made the right decision of bringing me in here.”
Polk had been absent from the past two days of training camp for what the Saints called an excused absence for personal reasons.
He was expected to play a large part of a revamped Saints receiver corps this season.
Polk was one of three receivers the Saints acquired shortly before
SAINTS
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inside and out.)
Fittingly, McKinstry is back wearing No. 1 — his college number that was previously taken by Taylor When McKinstry wore that jersey at the University of Alabama, that was the last time he was truly seen as a true, shutdown cornerback.
But if the progress he has seemingly made this offseason is real, and the momentum carries into the regular season, it won’t be long before McKinstry’s reputation as an elite corner is established at the NFL level.
“I’m the type of guy that keeps my head down and work,” McKinstry said “I thank (my teammates) for that recognition It just showed me that my work is paying off, but me, I’m the type of guy that I’ve got to keep my head down and work and be able to do this day in and day out.
“That’s the type of guy that I am.”
So, this offseason, McKinstry made it a priority to get in the best shape of his life Back in his hometown of Birmingham, the Alabama native focused on running. Miles. Sprints. Forty-yard dashes. You name it. McKinstry said he did it all because if there’s one thing he’s realized the most about playing his position, it’s that cornerbacks have to be able to run.
But McKinstry didn’t come to the realization on his own. For that, he credited his coaches —
we’re counting it as an incompletion. If there was a bright spot for Shough, it came during 7-on-7 drills. He went 4-for-4 in his reps, notably hitting Etienne on a nice wheel route and finding DevaughnVele in traffic for a touchdown from the 5-yard line
“It’s training camp,” Moore said. “There are good days and days you want to improve. That’s part of this installation process.”
Play of the day
Bryce Lance continues to make plays. And during a 7-on-7 rep Sunday, the rookie wide receiver read the Saints’ zone defense perfectly as he found an opening in the back of the end zone so that Rattler could deliver the strike past a few nearby defenders.
Rattler’s pass itself was a dime. But the play also said something about the fourth-round wideout’s ability to read coverage.
“For him to be able to weave through all that coverage, it might not look like nothing is there at first, but for him to just feel that zone in the back of the end zone was big time,” Rattler said.
Odds and ends
year safety broke up a pass to Jordyn Tyson on the way to the ground. Shough hasn’t received a lot of help from his playmakers, either Drops were again an issue Sunday as Alvin Kamara couldn’t hold onto a good look that was generated off of play action. And there was one — or two — fumbles from the supporting cast, as well.
On the first, Juwan Johnson fumbled the ball out of bounds after a completion. The second turned out to be more controversial. Late in practice, linebacker Pete Werner punched the ball out of Etienne’s hands as soon as Shough’s pass arrived — causing the official to rule it a catch-and-fumble This, however, was highly debatable as it appeared Etienne had not established full control and for these purposes,
the start of last season, joining Devaughn Vele and Trey Palmer
Then New Orleans selected three receivers in the 2026 NFL draft, including No. 8 overall pick Jordyn Tyson.
The Saints’ top three in their rotation may not change after this news Vele may have had the inside track at the primary No. 3 role, though the Saints certainly would have varied personnel based on their opponent.
But Polk’s sudden retirement may impact the schedule New Orleans had for its other young receivers, with fourth-rounder Bryce Lance potentially being pushed into a bigger role than initially envisioned for him. It could also create space for another player to make the roster, such as Ronnie Bell or Kevin Austin.
Email Luke Johnson at ljohnson@theadvocate.com.
past and present. Former Alabama coach Nick Saban, he said, used to stress that a cornerback needed to play every down, even if they were only seeing the ball five times per game And last year, Saints defensive coordinator Brandon Staley pointed to Jalen Ramsey’s conditioning when McKinstry inquired about some of the greats that Staley previously coached before arriving in New Orleans.
“You got to be able to run all day,” McKinstry said. Before he suffered a minor ankle injury that kept him out of team drills Friday, McKinstry had been running and then some. Arguably the Saints’ top performer to begin camp, no play appeared to summarize his effectiveness more than his pass breakup on Devaughn Vele in which he came crashing in to knock the ball out of the receiver’s hand. Even without pads McKinstry had established a level of physicality and command that kept him on the winning end of his matchups. That, too, started to happen more and more as last season progressed. The Saints believe McKinstry made significant strides over the second half of the season. And though Pro Football Focus’ charting system is subjective, the data reflects what the team saw McKinstry, according to PFF, went from allowing 32 catches for 444 yards and five touchdowns over the first nine games to just 17 catches for 228 yards and three touchdowns over the final eight contests. Now, there’s demand for anoth-
n Defensive tackle Bryan Bresee will indeed undergo knee surgery after tearing his ACL last week, Moore said.
n The Saints squeezed in some extra reps near the end of practice as they conducted 11-on-11 drills with the first-team on one side of the field, while the second and third units worked on the opposite end. n Sunday’s practice again featured a lot of work in the red zone, an area New Orleans struggled in last season.
n Moore estimated the team has installed only half of its playbook so far n Monday marks the first day of pads for the Saints. Get ready
Email Matthew Paras at matt. paras@theadvocate.com
er jump. Young knows what it’s like. In training camp last year, teammate Cam Jordan notably said they wanted to see waves, not splashes, from the pass rusher And linebacker Pete Werner called for Young to be “on his game” in the fall. But that type of push, Young said last week, provided motivation. He understood it came from a healthy place — and that his team had faith in him.
This year Young said he can tell that McKinstry understands his “number is being called” — but also noted McKinstry hasn’t had a pass caught on him yet.
“He knows he has to step up,” Young told the Times-Picayune.
“It’s good.” In addition to his team standing to benefit if McKinstry hits a new gear, the cornerback could stand to gain a lot individually as well. He’ll enter the final year of his contract in 2027, and if he dominates, McKinstry could be in line for a big-time extension, even before that season begins.
McKinstry just watched a similar path unfold for Chris Olave, the Saints wide receiver who recently signed a four-year extension worth up to $132 million. But for now, the cornerback said it’s not his job to be focused on any similarities. Instead, McKinstry has heard what his teammates have said. And he’s found plenty of motivation in that.
“I feel like that’s something I’ve got to do for these guys,” McKinstry said, “to make sure their word come to life.”
AP PHOTO By MATTHEW HINTON Saints wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk makes a catch on Wednesday at training camp in Metairie. Polk retired from the NFL on Sunday.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By GEORGE WALKER IV
Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis huddles with teammates during the team’s training camp on Saturday in Nashville, Tenn.
STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD
Saints backup quarterback Spencer Rattler runs a drill during training camp on Sunday at the team’s indoor practice facility in Metairie.
NFL
Lions, Saints lead teams to go from worst to first
BY JOSH DUBOW AP pro football writer
Going from last place to first in the division is far from an oddity in the NFL.
With last-place teams getting advantages like favorable schedules and higher draft picks, there have been 27 teams since the 2002 realignment that followed up a lastplace finish with a division title the following year
The New England Patriots and Chicago Bears both pulled off the trick last season, making it the fifth time in the last six seasons that at least one team has done it. Perhaps no team is better positioned to do it this season than the Detroit Lions, who came in fourth in the NFC North with a 9-8 record last season and still have many of the key pieces that helped the team earn the top seed in the NFC playoffs in 2024.
The Lions were hurt by injuries on defense and the struggle to replace offensive play-caller Ben Johnson. Drew Petzig was hired in the offseason to take over as offensive coordinator after John Morton was stripped of play-calling duties midway through the season. The Lions benefit from a last-place schedule that features nine of their 11 games outside the division against teams that finished with losing records last season
Here’s a look at the contenders based on their odds to finish first from BetMGM Sportsbook: Detroit Lions
Odds to win division: +175. Reason for optimism: The Lions have the best odds of any team in the NFC North to win the division after all four teams in the ultracompetitive division finished with winning records last season. Petzig takes over an offense that could be one of the most potent with stars like Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Penei Sewell, Jahmyr Gibbs and Sam LaPorta. Reason for pessimism: The offensive line that had been the strength of the team in recent years has several questions. Sewell is moving from right tackle to left tackle and the other four spots are manned by unproven players, including first-round right tackle Blake Miller The secondary is a major concern with safeties Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph hobbled by injuries that might linger into the season.
New Orleans Saints
Odds to win division: +260. Reason for optimism: Quarterback Tyler Shough showed promise in nine starts as a rookie, with the Saints getting five of their six wins with him at the helm. New Orleans has a solid offensive line, playmakers Chris Olave and rookie Jordan Tyson at receiver, and a defense that was much improved under coordinator Brandon Staley With no team in the NFC South finishing with a winning record last season, the gap between last place and first is narrow Reason for pessimism: Olave played 16 games last season but has a history of concussions that could be a concern for a team that
has few proven stars on offense.
The pass rush got 10 1/2 sacks from Cameron Jordan last season but he might need more help as he turned 37 this offseason. If Shough regresses, the Saints could be looking at a sixth straight season out of the playoffs.
New York Giants
Odds to win division: +550
Reason for optimism: New coach John Harbaugh brings a proven track record to a franchise that needed a big jolt. Jaxson Dart showed flashes as a rookie with 15 touchdown passes and nine TD runs and could be better if WR Malik Nabers is healthy Brian Burns and Abdul Carter give New York a potential strong one-two punch at pass rusher and rookie Arvell Reese could make an immediate impact.
Reason for pessimism: The Giants had one of the league’s worst run defenses last season and traded away defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence in the offseason That leaves a potentially big hole on the interior defensive line. If Nabers doesn’t get back to his rookie form from 2024, the offense lacks playmakers on the outside.
Tennessee Titans
Odds to win division: +850. Reason for optimism: If Cam Ward takes a big step in year two after some rookie struggles as the No. 1 overall pick and new coach Robert Saleh can improve the defense, the Titans could make a big jump after back-to-back three-win seasons. Star defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons anchors the defense and rookie receiver Carnell Tate should provide a big boost to Ward on the outside.
Reason for pessimism: The offensive line remains one of the worst in the league and could hamper Ward’s progress. The defense underwent a major overhaul in the offseason but might take more than one season to get back to being competitive.
Cleveland Browns
Odds to win division: +2,000. Reason for optimism: The Browns got major contributions from last year’s draft class led by Defensive Rookie of the Year Carson Schwesinger, prolific tight end Harold Fannin Jr. running back Quinshon Judkins and de-
Broncos need to reunite coach Payton with QB Hill to help injured Nix
BY SEAN KEELER The Denver Post (TNS)
DENVER If it means saving Bo Nix’s ankle, we would absolutely die on that Hill.
Taysom Hill, a Sean Payton favorite when the two were in New Orleans together, announced this past Wednesday that he was leaving the Saints. The longtime quarterback-tight-end-specialteams-gadget-dude said he’s considering his options. The football wonks up in the Grading The Week offices are hoping, and not all that quietly, that the 6-foot-2, 221-pound former BYU star would consider a short-term deal here. And that the Denver Broncos will do the same for the veteran utility banger As Payton/George Paton moves go, finding a place for Hill in orange and blue just makes sense. Almost too much sense, when you think about it.
Yes, Hill will turn 36 next month. Yes, he hasn’t played on at least 300 combined offense/ special teams snaps since 2023. Yes, he hasn’t attempted more than 11 passes since 2022. You know what we say to that?
Nix the overthinking, my friend.
As this past January reminded us, the most important, critical, almost spinal thread toward a march to the Super Bowl in 2026-27 is a.) playing in postseason games; and b.) having Nix healthy and rarin’ to go for those playoff tilts.
Taysom, even at 36, could become one of Bo’s best friends. What could the Broncos use on the fringes right now, at least on paper?
n A different, more athletic, option at backup QB. That’s Hill.
n More proven, reliable, shortyardage options at tight end. Also Hill.
as a runner on critical shortyardage situations, you could take No. 10 out from time to time and use Hill as a “tush push” weapon on third or fourth down? Or at the goal line, where Nix’s ankle would also be routinely tested?
Or, if you want to keep the element of surprise, why not line up with both quarterbacks on short yardage, and make the defense have to choose who’s getting the ball? Given Payton’s madscientist proclivities and gameplanning creativity, the sky’s the limit. Any coach that could get Frank Crum in the end zone in a postseason game could find fun ways to use Hill in a pinch.
Nix accounted for 25 rushing first downs on 83 attempts last fall, a ratio of 30.1%. Hill sported a first-down ratio of 30.8% in 2025, and a 46.1% first-down ratio the season prior to that Save those legs, man. Save those ankles. We’ll grant you this: The same caveat applies to shoehorning Hill onto the Broncos as it does to trying to bring back, say, Von Miller — with a roster this sound, at least at the start of training camp, how often would he actually, seriously, play? Whom would you cut to make room? And, true, something might have to go very wrong over the next few weeks for an obvious roster spot to open up.
fensive tackle Mason Graham. With four picks in the first two rounds in April, the Browns are hoping they added more building blocks. Reason for pessimism: Not much matters until the Browns find their quarterback. Deshaun Watson is returning from an Achilles injury that sidelined him all last season but he hasn’t been an effective quarterback since 2020. Shedeur Sanders made seven starts as a rookie but showed no signs of being a franchise quarterback. The offensive line remains a major problem and the defense must replace Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett after he was traded to the Rams.
New York Jets
Odds to win division: +2,000. Reason for optimism: A reworked staff under coach Aaron Glenn will lead to improvement and new QB Geno Smith will look more like the passer he was in Seattle than last season with the Raiders thanks to a much better offensive line.
Reason for pessimism: The Jets have the longest active playoff drought in the NFL at 15 seasons and need lots of work to get back to contention. Smith was one of the worst QBs in the league last season.
Las Vegas Raiders
Odds to win division: +2,200.
Reason for optimism: There’s nowhere to go but up after last season’s three-win campaign under Pete Carroll. New coach Klint Kubiak takes over after helping Seattle win the Super Bowl last season as offensive coordinator and will develop an offense around No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza. The offensive line should be improved with free agent acquisition Tyler Linderbaum and a healthy Kolton Miller and the team has young playmakers in Brock Bowers and Ashton Jeanty
Reason for pessimism: The Raiders are in a tough division with returning playoff teams Denver and the Chargers, along with Kansas City The issues that plagued Las Vegas last season will likely take more than a year to fix. The defense lacks stars outside of Maxx Crosby, the wide receivers are weak and there are questions at three spots on the offensive line
n A veteran presence who knows Payton and can help smooth over the coach’s more well-known, shall we say rough edges during times of crisis. Especially on game days. Sound like anybody we know?
Again, it’s about Bo. What if, instead of always leaning on Nix
But by the same token, it’s not as if the Broncos can’t afford him, either According to OverTheCap.com, as of Friday afternoon, the law firm of Payton & Paton had $29.5 million in cap room to work with, ninth-most of any NFL franchise. And unlike the Vonster, Hill has been used as a spot/situational player for years. He knows his role. Knows the drill. He also comes to Dove Valley with a comparatively clean slate locally What do you give a team that has, presumably, everything? A player that can do about anything might be the final X-factor that pushes the Broncos over the AFC pile and into a Super Bowl berth down in Inglewood, California, next February
Jeanty hopes to return to first-round pick form
BY MARK ANDERSON AP sportswriter
HENDERSON, Nev There were
flashes last season of the Ashton Jeanty who put up historic rushing numbers in 2024 at Boise State and finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting.
But 2025 was a trying rookie season for the Las Vegas Raiders’ first-round draft selection that year, certainly not to even his lofty expectations.
Jeanty has taken those experiences into 2026 with the hopes of producing the type of season that he hopes would make him one of the NFL’s top running backs.
“When everything is not going well, continuing to go to work and having hope and faith,” Jeanty said. “I think that’ll carry into this year Just taking it one week at a time, whether you win or you lose, you’ve got to attack the next game and the next week with the same mindset.”
It’s not that last season was a complete failure. Jeanty, in fact, came within 25 yards from reaching 1,000 behind an offensive line that was the NFL’s worst. His 1.6 yards per attempt before contact, according to Pro Football Reference, was third worst among backs with more than 100 rushes.
The Raiders invested in their offensive line, most notably signing three-time Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum out of Baltimore to a three-year, $81 million deal, with $60 million guaranteed. That’s the richest contract ever for an interior offensive lineman. Las Vegas also signed Spencer Burford, who spent the previous
four seasons at San Francisco, and he has been the first-team left guard this training camp. Left tackle Kolton Miller returns from an ankle injury that ended his season after just four games. How much better the line will be remains to be seen, but there is genuine hope that Jeanty will have more running room than he had last season.
“He wants to be a major part of this team,” first-year coach Klint Kubiak said. “We’re going to give him that opportunity.”
That comment falls in line with a similar one Kubiak made in the offseason that he expects Jeanty to be the bellcow back even with fourth-round pick Mike Washington Jr on the roster The rookie has had his moments in camp, and even got a carry with the starting offense on Sunday
“It’s always great to come out the game and have another guy come in there and there’s no drop down,” Jeanty said. “I truly believe he’ll be able to help us win some games.”
The Raiders, of course, are counting on Jeanty to do the same, and he enters the season with a lot of focus on how he can take his game to another level.
One way, according to offensive coordinator Andrew Janocko, is for the soft-spoken Jeanty to be a more outspoken leader
“It’s always tough being in the first year trying to figure out so much stuff,” Jeanty said. “But this year, there’s a lot of expectations for me and I think I’ve got to make a big jump. I think that starts with helping my teammates as well and just being a better teammate.”
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By PAUL SANCyA
Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell talks to the media before practice at the team’s training camp on Thursday in Allen Park, Mich.
STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD
Saints quarterback Tyler Shough hands the ball off to running back Travis Etienne during training camp on Sunday at the Ochsner Sports Performance Center in Metairie.
FORTHE PEOPLE
Banksy didn’t authorizethe Banksy exhibition in Tampa, butheknows aboutit
BY CHRISTOPHER SPATA
TampaBay Times (TNS)
TAMPA, Fla. For years,Michel
Boersma,curator of aprivate collection of 160 worksbythe artist Banksy goingondisplay in Tampa this week, has traded emails with the artist’smysterious and notoriously strict authentication office known as Pest Control.
It’s the only conduitfor those withouta direct relationship with Banksy to reach out to the artist, whose identity hasnever been confirmed.
“I”m 99% sure there’sasection of that correspondence that was directly with (Banksy),” Boersma said. “At somepoint I’m like, ‘I’m in my 50s, you’re in your 50s, and we’re emailing each other at 2 o’clock at night. Iknowwho I’m talkingto. Whyare we playing this game?’
At first, the emails felt only contentious. Banksy,hesaid, had been actively trying to disruptthe traveling exhibition behindthe scenes, pressuring collectors who’d purchasedpiecestonot allowthem into the show.Boersma, to get cooperation, agreed to cover the
BY JOCELYN NOVECK
AP nationalwriter
NEW YORK Twomonths after amajor shakeup, CBS’s“60 Minutes” has hired alineup of new correspondentsand contributors in time for its 59th season, including Ross Douthat,a conservative opinion columnistat The New York Times, and Norah
edition numbers on some artworks so that Pest Control wouldn’tknow whose they were. There were other attempts at disruption, Boersma said,without getting into details. “It involved (Banksy) involving his Hollywood friends and twoveryinfluential
O’Donnell, former anchor of “CBS Evening News.” Theshow’snew executive producer,Nick Bilton, announced thenews in astaff memo Tuesday shared on X. Joining Douthatand O’Donnell will be author Sebastian Junger,Trevor Phillips and GiannaToboni. All will be contributors to the show
artists to try to stop us.”
That complicated relationship follows “The Art of Banksy” to Tampa, where it runs through Sept. 27 on the stageofMorsani Hall at theStraz Center for the Performing Arts.
The new journalistsjoin current correspondents Lesley Stahl, Jon Wertheim andBill Whitaker. Their hirings cometwo months after ashakeup at the storiedprogram, led by the network’snew editor-in-chief, BariWeiss. Weissinstalled Bilton,who has little substantive broadcast news experience, as executive producer,replacing Tanya Simon, who was let go after a30-plus year
tenure with the show.Also let go were correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi andCecilia Vega —and soon after,ScottPelley,after atense confrontation with his bosses over the changes. In addition to the three dismissed, Anderson Cooper whose primary job is at CNN —said earlier this year he was
Austria’s 16th-century bell foundryadds modern tech to keep thecasting processalive
BY PHILIPP JENNE Associated Press
INNSBRUCK, Austria Wearing protective gear to shieldfrom the extremeheat of molten bronze,workers at oneofthe last bell foundriesinEurope are casting bells weighing several tons.
One after another,the artisans carefully pour themolten metal into specially shaped molds held together with steel bands to create12bells for churches in Italy,Germany and Romania. Foundedin1599, theGrassmayr Bell Foundry,inInnsbruck, western Austria, has survived wars, famines, epidemics and economic challenges. These days, the family business is run by brothers Johannes and Peter Grassmayr During theRenaissanceinthe late MiddleAges, there were hundreds of bell makers in Europe, while today only ahandful remain across the continent.
By
An employeeworksonthe inside of abell at the 400-yearoldfamily-owned bellfoundry Grassmayr in Innsbruck, Austria.
Maybe as youwalked out of the
Water round,ithit you. Maybeitwas adoor that opened —orone that didn’t. Maybeit wasn’t until thenextyear when youwereonthe othersideofthe process. It couldhavebeen amoment standing in ahallway,waiting, that youcan still describein detailyearslater. We’reinviting readers who went through sorority recruitment recently or decades ago —totell us about it: What’s the specific moment from Rushweek you still think about?
AP PHOTO
MATTHIAS SCHRADER
O’Donnell
TNS PHOTOSByJEFFEREE WOO
Amural for ‘The ArtofBanksy’ exhibition is displayedoutsideofthe StrazCenter in Tampa.
Fraser Goulding,left, and Jake Grundy, artinstallers, takeout Banksy’s ‘Mona Lisa on Mesh’ while theyprepare to hang it on awall at the Straz Center on July 27 in Tampa
Waking with numb limbsoften result of sleepposition
Dear Doctors: My wife often wakes up with one of her arms completely numb. As feeling returns, sheexperiences excruciating pain. Could this be due to her sleeping position, or does it suggest aproblem with the nerves, neck or shoulder? Is there away to prevent it?
Dear Reader: Recurring arm numbness can have arangeof causes. Compression of aperipheral nerve, conditions that affect the cervical spine, neuropathy and certainmetabolicdisorders can all affect nerve function.But because your wife’ssymptoms develop while she is lying down, and resolve when she changes position in the morning, temporary nerve compressiondue toher sleeping position comes to mind
By The Associated Press
Today is Monday, Aug. 3, the 215th day of 2026. There are 150 days left in the year
Todayinhistory:
On Aug. 3, 2019, agunman openedfire at a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas, resulting in the deaths of 23 people; after surrendering, the gunman told detectives he targeted “Mexicans” and had outlined the plot in ascreed published online shortly beforethe attack.
Also on this date:
In 1492, Christopher Columbus set sail from Palos, Spain, on his first voyage that took him to the present-day Americas.
In 1852, in America’s first intercollegiate sporting event,Harvardrowed past Yale to win the first Harvard-Yale Regatta.
In 1916, Irish-born British diplomat Roger Casement, astrong advocate of independence for Ireland, was hanged for treason.
‘60 MINUTES’
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leaving of his own accord after two decades
Enthusiasm over hires
Weiss and TomCibrowski, the CBS News president, praised the new hires in an internalmemo. “We couldn’t be more excited about this news,” the two said,welcoming the new additions. “Onward!”
Bilton called Douthat “one of the preeminent publicintellectuals in America today,athinker of uncommon rigor and ajournalist of deep empathy.” The columnisthas spent nearly two decades at the Times and is an author of numerous books.
The producer called O’Donnell “a powerhouse.”
“You’ve seen her allover the network. She’slaunched anew podcast. And you’ll see much more of her in our halls because Norah will be
FOUNDRY
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it made up 30% of total production time. Nowadays, with thehelpofmodern tools, that process takes only atenth of the time. Grassmayr keeps some of its most innovative production steps asecret, such as a special chamber where the bells are cleaned with ahighpressuresandblaster,not to mention the specialized apps used to calculate the sound of each particular bell
Even with moderntechnology,the process of designing and forming the molds for alarge bell can take up to six months.
“The important thing is that you have calculate, form and then cast the bell as amusical instrument.” Johannes said, adding that the greatest difficulty in creating the bell is the risk that molten metal pressure will destroy the mold.
When the workers cast a large bell weighing several tons, the liquid bronze creates up to 137 tons of pres-
Dr.Elizabeth Ko Dr.Eve Glazier ASK THE DOCTORS
It is surprisinglyeasyfor peripheral nervestobecome compressedduring sleep. As we drift off, our muscles relaxand gravity takesover.This opens thedoor for prolonged pressure on anerve, or forthe position of alimbor joint to interferewiththat nerve’s normalfunction. The initial result is numbness. Whensleep ends, compressionends. Blood flow is
TODAYINHISTORY
In 1936, Jesse Owens, of theUnited States, wonthe first of hisfour gold medals at theBerlin Olympics as hetook the100-meter sprint.
In 1972, theU.S.Senate ratified the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty between theUnited Statesand the Soviet Union. In 1977, theTandy Corporation introduced theTRS80, one of thefirst widelyavailable home computers. In 1981, U.S. air traffic controllers wentonstrike, seeking payand workplace improvements (two days later,President Ronald Reagan fired the11,345 striking union members and barred them from federal employment) In 2018,Las Vegaspolice said they wereclosing their investigationinto the Oct. 1, 2017,shooting that left 58 peopledeadatacountry music festivalwithout a definitive answerfor why Stephen Paddock unleashed gunfire fromahotel suite onto theconcert crowd.
acorrespondent on 60 Minutes.”
Bilton praised Junger for his nonfiction work “The Perfect Storm,” about acatastrophic 1991 storm.The book “landed with an electric charge in the world of reported nonfiction, defining an intenseand intimate form of storytelling and establishing Sebastianasagenerational talent,” Biltonsaid. Toboni joins“60 Minutes” as acontributor andCBS News as anational correspondent. Previously a senior correspondent with VICE News andVICE on HBO, shecomes to theprogramfromCNN. Callingher ajournalist of “extraordinary range,” Biltonnoted that Toboni has interviewed members of ISIS, investigated cartel violenceinMexico andhas written abook on the death penalty Alsoserving as contributor will be Trevor Phillips, announced last monthas the news division’s senior global affairscorrespon-
sure inside themolds, he said. To ensure theintegrity of themold,onlyhigh-quality clay is used and then encased in steel sleeves designed to withstand extreme pressure. Butit’snot only the difficulty of the production that has Grassmayr worried. The modern bell-making industry is under pressure as fewer churches are being built, changing thedemand for bells. Rising energy costsdue to thewar in Ukraineare nothelping, and labor costs have risen30% since thepandemic in 2020.
But the maincost factor of anewly cast bell is still the price of materials. The bestbells requirehighquality bronze, whichis80 partscopper to 20 partstin. Afew years ago, theprice of bronze was $9.23 per kilogram compared with $26.17 today,Johannes said “That’swhy Ican’t even say how much abell is goingtocost in ayear.Ijust hope the metal price is going to come down again,” he added To keep the business going, the familyhas increas-
restoredand nerve function returns. The recovering nerve can thensend bursts of abnormal signals, which result in the pins-andneedles feeling. When it’sbeen compressedfor along time, like during sleep, the return of sensationcan be painful. The first thing to check would be your wife’ssleep posture —and because we shift during the night, your input can help with this task Someone who develops arm or hand numbness during thenight should avoid sleeping face down or on their affected side. They should alsoavoid sleeping with their arm under theirbody or overhead. These positions can adversely affect spine alignment and put pressure on the shoulders. It can be hard to change sleep
BANKSY
In 2021, New York’sstate attorney general said an investigation found Gov Andrew Cuomohad sexually harassed multiple current and former stategovernment employees; the report stepped up pressure from fellow Democrats for Cuomo to resign, and he did so aweek later Today’sbirthdays: Football Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy is 101. Actor Martin Sheen is 86. Lifestyle guru Martha Stewart is 85. Film director John Landis is 76. ActorJoMarie Payton (TV: “Family Matters”) is 76. Hockey Hall of Famer Marcel Dionne is 75. ActorJohn C. McGinley is 67. Rock singer/guitarist James Hetfield (Metallica) is 63. ActorLisa Ann Walter (TV: “Abbott Elementary”) is 63. Rock musician Stephen Carpenter (Deftones) is 56. Former NFL quarterback TomBrady is 49. ActorEvangeline Lilly is 47. Olympic swimming gold medalistRyan Lochteis42. Model Karlie Kloss is 32.
dent.Based in London, he is “one of the most respected andtrusted voices in the UnitedKingdomfor his abilitytoask thetoughest questions andhold anyone in power to account,” Bilton wrote in his memo.
Upheavalat‘60 Minutes’ Turmoil had raged at “60 Minutes” for more thana year before theMay shakeup. Much of it came after President Donald Trump sued theshow over itsediting of a2024 interview with then-Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
That became part of a broader shakeup at CBS News after Weiss was named to the new role of editor-in-chiefbyparent companyParamountlate last year following David Ellison’sarrivalasthe network’scorporate leader
Jocelyn Noveck covers the intersectionofmedia and entertainment for The Associated Press.
ingly turnedtorestoring old bells,often with the help of modern technologies Hundreds of defectivebells from 12 European countries have been restored at the Grassmayr bell foundry, according to thecompany Bells made by Grassmayr can be found in over 100 countries, ranging from Japan to theUnited States. One of thelargest the brothers have cast was for Romania’sNational CathedralinBucharest. Castin 2016, it is 10.8 feet tall and weighs more than 27.5tons. Another creation, weighing 16.5 tons, hangs in achurch on Mount Tabor in Israel. Johannes showed theAP several recently cast bells that were beingleft to cool down for aweek before beingremoved from their molds.Hepointed to the precise negativeimprint still visible in the clay form. “This bell is forthe church in Zethau, in Germany,” he said. “I’mvery happy with the casting. I’mespecially happy that theinnovations of the past decades helped alot to makethe bellsever morebeautiful and better.”
positions. Giving it atry can help narrow down the cause of her arm numbness. With side and front sleeping being possible culprits, it wouldbeuseful to see if sleeping on her back helps. Some people also find stretching before bed helps. Aseries of gentle back, side andarm stretches can reduce tension and improve circulation. Sleeping surfaces can also affect spine alignment. When amattress is too soft, gravity can tug at the hips and shoulders enough to lead to nerve compression. If a mattress is too firm,itcan create pressure points that place excess stress on theshoulder,hip or arm. Apillow that is too high can do thesame to the neck. And it may be counterintuitive, but apillow that is too low can also put the neck into an awkward position. If changing sleep position doesn’thelp, we recommendshe see her healthcare provider.They can evaluate her foraherniated disc, arthritis or other conditions that can affect the cervical spine. If the numbness ever fails to resolve after moving positions or comes with weakness in the limb or hand, facial weakness or loss of coordination, she should seek a prompt medical evaluation. Send yourquestions to askthedoctors@mednet.ucla. edu, or write: Ask theDoctors, c/oUCLA HealthSciences Media Relations, 10880 Wilshire Blvd.,Suite 1450, Los Angeles, CA, 90024.
Continuedfrom page1D
Visitors will walk through a temporarymuseum displaying prints, paintings, sculptures, sketches, stencils and ephemera owned by about 40 private collectors. Tickets start at $29.99 beforefees. Banksy emerged from the graffitisceneinBristol,England, in the1990s and gained attention in the 2000s as his darkly funny stencils appeared on walls acrossthe world. His instantly recognizable attacksonwar,authority,consumerism and inequality —and hishidden identity —created aphenomenon. Soaring auction prices, famous collectors and the Oscar-nominated documentary “Exit Through theGift Shop” put him at the center of the art world.
The exhibition in Tampa includesfamiliarimages such as “Girl with Balloon” and“RudeCopper,” along withwhat its organizers call the original “Flower Thrower,” apparently made as agifttoone of Banksy’s former girlfriends years before the imagebecame internationally recognizable. Another featured workisa versionofthe “Mona Lisa” thatwas purchased by actor Brad Pitt, returnedto Banksy in 2022 and transformed into anew work that is nowbeingpublicly displayedinthe United States for thefirst time. Theshowhas traveled internationally for abouta decade, but Tampa marks the firsttime it has been installed directlyona theater stage. Temporary walls wereerected across the stage and orchestra pit area, creating asort of maze where theart will be individually lit and rock music will play. Videos feature people from Banksy’spast, including printmakerBen Eine and former girlfriend Leonie Laws Banksy did not curate, approve or authorize any of it.
Pest Controldeclined to commentonspecifics of “TheArt of Banksy” or Boersma’scharacterizations of their communication.In an email to the Tampa Bay Times signed “PCO,” theofficeonly reiterated that the exhibition is “wholly unofficial and unauthorized.”
But over the years, Boersmasaid, Banksy has stopped trying to disrupt the exhibition. And he has nevercondemned “The Art of Banksy” publicly.That’s notanendorsement, by any stretch, but to Boersma, it meanssomething.
“If youlook at Pest Control’swebsite right now,on the homepage above or under their logo, there’sa message attacking another exhibition in London,” Boersma said. “They could have done that when we wereinLondon, but they never did.”
He feels his exhibition, due to its efforttoauthenticate every artwork, has reached asortof“gentleman’sagreement” with theartist Most of theworksinthe exhibition carry certificates of authenticity issued by PestControl. Otherpieces, such as personal sketches or gifts,fall into categories forwhich Banksy does not issue certificates.Those have been supported by provenanceconnecting them directlytoBanksy or his associates, including correspondence, photographs and statementsfromtheir
original owners. Boersmasaid the exhibitionhas turneddown objects that looked convincing when he and other experts could not trace their histories.
“The risk of us putting it on display and then it not beingcorrect wasjustnot worth it,” Boersmasaid.
The relationship with Pest Control shifted, Boersma said,whenthe office began pressing himtoprovide alist of works traveling under Banksy’sname. Boersmainitially refused, butitbecame clear to him they only wanted to make sure anything identified as aBanksy was actually made by Banksy —and that any work made by somebody else properly credited the real artist.
That madeBoersma realize they were, from differentangles, trying to protect the samething.
“I’m taking aleap of faith,” Boersmarecalledwriting
“I’ll send youthe artwork list.” It was, he said, “the beginning of us doing adance of trusting each other.” Pest Control,hesaid, will flag anything that isn’tright.
Pest Controldid notconfirm that arrangement to the Times
The producers are making some of that email correspondence part of the Tampa attraction. Visitors purchasing the VIP experiencecan enter alounge displaying selectionsfrom the emails. The exhibition’s website characterizes them as an ongoing dialogue about authenticity and intellectual property
Corey Ross, owner of Starvox Entertainment and aproducer of the exhibition, saidthe presence of actual artwork is the maindifference between “The Art of Banksy” and competing attractions that rely heavily on enlarged scans, recreated images or immersive projections.
Boersma,Rosssaid, spent years developing relationships with collectors and convincing them to let valuable and sometimes intensely personal objects travel.
“This show,inaway, celebrates thecollectors as much as it celebrates Banksy,” Ross said.
The works in this exhibition are not taken from streetsorpublic walls, or works that wereeveravailable to see for free, its producers say.They are objects Banksy sold or gave to people whonow control where they are displayed.
Theyalso believe thatas moreartwork is stashed in storagecontainerstoavoid taxes, awaiting the day it will be flipped forabig payoff, there’s value in keeping it on display somewhere. Many of the lenders are notwealthy artinvestors Boersmasaid. Theyare
early admirers who bought prints whentheycost 50 or 100 pounds or spent years of savings on aworkbefore Banksy’smarket exploded. Someknew the artist personally.Others bought the artbeforehis name alone could add hundreds of thousands of dollars to its value. The exhibition’searly “Flower Thrower” offers the mostpersonal example. Boersma said Banksy madethe small workin1997 as aValentine’s Daygift for Laws. In afilmed interview included in the exhibition, Laws recounts receiving it and later sending it to Pest Control while seeking formal authentication.
The work was returned months laterwithits original personal message partly ground away and replaced. The exhibition will show visitors ascan of the reverse side, where remnants of the first inscriptioncan still be seen. For Ross, an independently assembled retrospective can do something Banksy’s own projects can’tdo. When Banksy creates an exhibition, it is typically anew artwork, not ahistory.“The Art of Banksy” places pieces from differentstagesofhis career together,alongside the stories of the people who acquired them.
Museums generally have policiesagainst staging a retrospective for aliving artist without that artist’s direct cooperation.
“When someone is as publicand as politicaland as influential as Banksy has been,”Rosssaid, “there’s also aplace and value fora third party to look at what his work is and to talk about it.” Banksy is arguably the mostfamouslivingartistin the world.
Tampaartist Leon Bedore, better known as TesOne, sees the absenceofBanksy’s permission as adisqualifying problem Bedore, whose career has rootsingraffiti, declinedan invitation to walk through theexhibitionbeforeit opened.
“The reason is that ‘The ArtofBanksy’ is notanauthorized exhibition of his work,” Bedore wrote in an email. “It’sjust one of many exhibitions that tour and exploit hiswork forspectacle and profit.
“Ifyou’rea fanofBanksy, I highly encourage you to seek out and experience his work where he originally placed it,” he wrote. “Context is key and an unauthorized exhibition has none of it.”
TNS PHOTO By JEFFEREE WOO
Richard Wormley, an assistant curator,shows Banksy’s‘The FlowerThrower’ at the Straz Center on July27inTampa.
LEO (July 23-Aug.22) Gather information and consider thepossibilities. Don't stop short, have low confidence or letconfusion take over. If you do the legwork, you'll be surprised how much you can achieve.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Personal situations involving money, contracts and commitments will be strained if not handled openly and honestly.Ifyou feel someone is giving you the runaround, they probably are.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Complete your missions beforeyou getintodiscussionsortakeonnew projects. It's important to stay on top of matters if youwanttoeliminate undue stress. Don't overthink.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Stay focused on your agenda and objective. Apleasantdisposition will help you gain the respect and assistance you need. A change or move you wanttopursue will have underlying stipulations.
SAGITTARIUS(Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Make domestic changes to ease your overhead. Consider who and what is costing you, and go through aprocess of elimination to ensure you aren'twasteful.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Educational pursuits that enrich your mind or physical changes that makeyou more appealing can both help youbuild momentum in achieving personal and professional gains.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Imagination, intuition and an abundance of energy
that needs an outlet will help you find apathloadedwithall sorts of interesting opportunities. Reinvent yourself.
PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Pullinthe reins and rethink your plans. Acting prematurely will leave you cleaning up amess. Be methodical, resourceful and humble when it comes to how you proceed.
ARIES(March 21-April 19) Limit the information you share. Choose your words wisely, anddon'tmakepromises you can't honor. Adirect approach will help you get what you want and when.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Choosing practicality over whimsy will save you from loss. Avoid hype about earning easy money. Someone will have a hidden agenda that can leave you in a vulnerable position.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Makingalifestyle change or renovation or participating in apastimeyou feel passionate about will enhance your chances of fraternizing with someonewho offers insight into something unique.
CANCER(June 21-July 22) The more information you have, the easier it will be to avoid traps and trouble. Listen carefully, and don't let anyone pushyou into an argument.Using charm will helpyou get thesupport you need.
InstructIons: sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. Theobject is to place the numbers1to9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. Thedifficulty level of the sudoku increases from monday to sunday.
Saturday’s Puzzle Answer
THe wiZard oF id
BLondie
BaBY BLueS
Hi and LoiS
BY PHILLIPALDER
John Wesley, an 18th-century English preacher, said, “Once in seven years I burnall my sermons; for it is ashame if Icannot write better sermons nowthan Idid seven yearsago.”
Last weekImentioned theRuleof Seven. In ano-trumpcontract, when a defender leads asuit in which declarer hasonly one top-trick stopper (usually theace), the Rule of Seventells declarer how long to hold up that stopper. He subtractsfromseventhetotalnumberof cards his sidehas in the suit and holds up forthat number of rounds.
When declarerisonlyworried about thesuitled,the Rule of Sevenworksfine Butitneeds careful handling.
In this deal, how should South plan the play in three no-trump after West leads the spade two?
TheRuleofSeven is primarilyuseful whenthe opponents have eight cards in their suit dividing 5-3. Declarer holds up hisace for tworounds (seven minus five is two), so that the defender with the long suit can cash his two remaining winners only if he has an entry.
Whatiftheir eight-card fit is breaking 4-4? Then there is no point in holdingup, becausedeclarer cannot break the opponents’ communication in the suit. They will always get three tricks (unless declarer can immediately run forhome).
wuzzles
In thisdeal, if South takes the first trick anddrivesout the diamondace, he losesonlyonediamondandthreespades. But if he ducks his spade ace at trick one, East might notice the interesting heart situationandshifttotheheartking.Then South will lose one spade, threehearts andone diamondtoend down one.
Each Wuzzle is aword riddle which creates adisguised word, phrase, name, place, saying, etc. Forexample: nOOn gOOD =gOOD aFTErnOOn
Previous answers:
word game
InStRuctIonS: 1. Words must be of
toDAY’S WoRD outMoDED: owt-MOH-did: No longer in style.
Average mark 13 words Time
SAtuRDAY’S WoRD —MESoMoRPH
loCKhorNs Thank theLordfor
G.E. Dean
marmaduKe
Bizarro
hagar the horriBle
Pearls Before swiNe
garfield
B.C. PiCKles
dIrectIons: make a2-to 7-letter word from the lettersineach row. add points of each word using scoring directions at right. Finally, 7-letter words get 50-point bonus “Blanks”used as any letter have no point value. all the wordsare in the Official sCraBBlE® players Dictionary, 5th Edition.
Saturday’s Puzzle Answer
Formore information on tournaments and clubs, email naspa –northamerican sCraBBlE playersassociation: info@scrabbleplayers.org.Visit ourwebsite:www.scrabbleplayers.org. For puzzle inquiries contact scrgrams@gmail.com. Hasbro andits logo sCraBBlE associated logo,the
and
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InstructIons: 1 -Each row and each column must containthe numbers 1thorugh 4(easy) or 1through 6 (challenging) without repeating 2 -The numbers within the heavily outlinedboxes, calledcages, must combine using the given operation(in any order) to produce the target numbers in the top-left corners. 3 -Freebies: Fill in the single-box cages with the number in the top-left corner.
Datesare subjectto changesvia an adden‐dumpostedbythe Bu‐reau of Purchasing on theCity’ssupplierportal.
If this solicitation is fed‐erally funded,prospec‐tive bidder/respondent must payparticularat‐tentiontoall applicable laws andregulations of theFederal government andthe Stateof Louisiana. TheBureauofPurchas‐ingusescommodity codestonotifysuppliers of therelease of asourc‐ingevent andsubse‐quentmodificationsvia addendum. Note that you wouldreceive thosenoti‐ficationsifyou selected thefollowing commodity code(s) before there‐leaseofthe sourcing event: COMMODITYCODE(s): 918, 918-32, 918-90
TheCityofNew Orleans strongly encourages mi‐nority-owned and women-ownedbusi‐nesses, socially andeco‐nomicallydisadvantaged businessesand small
I, MohamedN business of BirdiesFoodthe Collector StateofLou sell tobacco lawatthe located at Marrero, LA,7 Jefferson 196213-8/3-1t $146.74 NOLA Public Schools MEDIA RELEASE Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) School Food Service
lunch and breakfast at no charge at the
businessestorespond to this solicitation,orto participateinsubcon‐tracting opportunities pursuant to this solicita‐tion Formoreinformation aboutthissourcing event, go to www.nola. govand clickon“BRASS Supplier Portal under “BIDS& CONTRACTS” Once on theSupplierPor‐tal, search “Open Events.” Thankyou foryourinter‐estindoing business with theCityofNew Or‐leans. JamesC.Simmons,Jr. ChiefProcurement Officer AdvertisingDates: July 20, 27 and August 3, 2026 NOCP 9163 194652-jul20-27-aug3-3t $113.37
DEPARTMENT: CHIEFADMINISTRATIVE
3
COST &MANAGEMENT
EVENTNO.: 4742 TYPE OF SOLICITATION: PROFESSIONAL SERVICES DBEOPPORTUNITY: YES(35%) RELEASED ON: July 27, 2026 DEADLINETORESPOND: AUGUST 25, 2026 @4:00P.M PRE-BIDCONFERENCE: AUGUST 11, 2026 @11:00 A.M. MeetingID: 297 866 476 593 46 Passcode:
p must payparticular at‐tentiontoall applicable laws andregulations of theFederal government andthe Stateof Louisiana. TheBureauofPurchas‐ingusescommodity codestonotifysuppliers of therelease of asourc‐ingevent andsubse‐quentmodificationsvia addendum. Note that you wouldreceive thosenoti‐ficationsifyou selected thefollowing commodity code(s) before there‐leaseofthe sourcing event: COMMODITY CODE(s): 918-06, 918-58, 918.65, 950-01; 961-21, 918-85, 949-90, 961-30 TheCityofNew Orleans is an equalopportunity employer andstrongly encourages minorityownedand womenownedbusinesses, so‐cially andeconomically disadvantagedbusi‐nessesand smallbusi‐nessestorespond to this solicitation,ortopartici‐pate in subcontracting opportunities pursuant to this solicitation.Any person with disabilities requires specialaccom‐modation must contact thebuyer listed within h bid l h
sites: Benjamin Franklin Elementary, BenFranklin Annex,EdwardHynes-Lakeview,EdwardHynes-Parkview, EdwardHynes-UNO, Mary Bethune Elementary,The Leah Chase School, New Orleans Center for Creative Arts(NOCCA) For additional information please contact: NOLA Public Schools, Attention: RosieLJackson, Executive Director, Child Nutrition Department, 2401 Westbend Parkway, New Orleans, Louisiana 701114, 504-304-4314 rosie_ jackson@nolapublicschools.com.
Non Discrimination Statement: In accordance with federal civil rights law and USDA civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its agencies, offices, employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs areprohibited from discriminating based on race, color,national origin, religion, sex, disability,age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from apublic assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliationfor prior civil rights activity,inany program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs)
Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident.
Persons with disabilities who requirealternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the state or local agency that administers theprogram or contact USDA through the Telecommunications Relay Service at 711 (voice and TTY). Additionally program information may be made available in languages other than English.
To file aprogram discrimination complaint, complete theUSDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD3027, found online at How to File aProgram Discrimination Complaint and at any USDA office or write aletter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form.Torequest acopy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by:
1. Mail:U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue,SW, Mail Stop 9410, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410;
2. Fax:(202) 690-7442; or 3. Email:program.intake@usda.gov
USDA is an equal opportunity provider,employer, and lender LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION DIVISION OF NUTRITION SUPPORT SCHOOL
y the bid no later than seven(7) days priorto bidopening Formoreinformation aboutthissourcing event, go to www.nola. govand clickon“BRASS SupplierPortal” under “BIDS& CONTRACTS” Once on theSupplierPor‐tal, search “Open Events.” Thankyou foryourinter‐estindoing business with theCityofNew Or‐leans. JamesC.Simmons,Jr. ChiefProcurement Officer AdvertisingDates: July 27, August 3 and10, 2026 NOCP 9174 195197-jul27-aug3-10-3t $126.48
4744 TYPE OF SOLICITATION: PROFESSIONALSERVICES DBEOPPORTUNITY: YES(35%) RELEASED ON: AUGUST 3, 2026 DEADLINETORESPOND: SEPTEMBER1,2026 @4:00P.M PRE-BIDCONFERENCE: AUGUST 19,2026 @11:00 AM TEAMS: MeetingID: 252 498 720470 92 Passcode: 252 498 720470 92 Call in: 504-356-4110, 88186549# Datesare subjectto changesvia an adden‐dumpostedbythe Bu‐reau of Purchasing on theCity’ssupplierportal. If this solicitation is fed‐erally funded,prospec‐tive bidder/respondent must pay particularat‐i ll li bl
nomicallydisadvantaged businessesand small businessestorespond to this solicitation,orto participateinsubcon‐tracting opportunities pursuant to this solicita‐tion Formoreinformation aboutthissourcing event, go to www.nola. govand clickon“BRASS SupplierPortal” under “BIDS& CONTRACTS” OFFICE TITLE: RE-BID CONTRACT
how often the person receives the income;where it is from, suchaswages, retirement, or welfare;the signatureofan adult household member certifying thatthe information provided is correct;and the last four digits of the social security number of the adult household memberwho signed the application, or astatement thatthe household member does not possess one.
Children categorized as foster,homeless, runaway,migrant, or enrolledinstate-fundedHead Start or Even Start programs, if known, areautomatically eligible for free meals. School officialswill determine eligibility for free mealsbased on documentation
eligibility.Ifa parentorguardianisdissatisfied with the ruling of the official,hemay wishtodiscuss the decision with the determining official on an informalbasis. If the parent wishes to make aformalappeal, he maymake eitheranoral or writtenresponse to the following:
Name: Don LeDuff,Chief Operations Office
Address: 2401 Westbend Pkwy New Orleans, LA 70114
Phone Number: 504-304-3812
The policy contains an outline of the hearing procedures.
In accordance with federal civil rights lawand USDAcivil rights regulations andpolicies, the USDA, its agencies, offices, employees, and institutions participating in or administeringUSDAprograms areprohibitedfrom discriminating based on race, color,nationalorigin,religion, sex, disability,age,maritalstatus, family/parental status, income derived from apublic assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity,inany program or activity conductedorfundedbyUSDA(not allbases applytoall programs).
Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident.
Persons with disabilities who requirealternative meansofcommunication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language,etc.) should contact the state or local agency thatadministers the program or contact USDA throughthe TelecommunicationsRelay Service at 711 (voice andTTY). Additionally, program information may be made
by
arerequiredtobesold after
in
or
by
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avail‐
thetimebidsare received,orwhenthe contract requires apoll of theLouisiana Legisla‐ture before contract fundsare available, the time will notstart until receiptoffederal or state concurrenceorconcur‐renceofthe other fund‐ingsourceinaccordance with LA.R.S.38:2215(D). Awardwillbewithin45 calendar days after the sale of bondsorreceipt of concurrenceinaward from thefederal or state agency or otherfunding source.Funds forthis contract: will not be immedi‐atelyavailable,the 45dayperiodfor contract awardwill not beginat thetimeofbid opening, andthe deadlinesunder La.R.S.38:2215 forcon‐tractexecution andis‐suance of notice to pro‐ceed shall not apply. _X_willbeimmediately availableand the45-day period forcontract awardwillbegin at the time of bidopening Work in theamountofat least sixtypercent (60%) of totalamount of con‐tractasawarded shallbe performedbycontractor at theconstructionsite or within hisown shop plant, or yard with his ownemployees TheBoard as an equal opportunitypublicentity invitesand encourages DBE’sand SBE’stosub‐mitbidsonits projects In ordertocomplywith theConstitutionofthe StateofLouisiana,such certification programs must be race andgender neutral. Allquestions,correspon‐dence, inquiries, and othercommunications regardingthisprocure‐ment shallbedirectedto BoardofCommissioners of thePortofNew Or‐leans, ProcurementDe‐partment,1350 Port of NewOrleans Place, New Orleans, LA 70130 or pro‐curement@portnola.com.
&REPAIR BoardofCommissioners of thePortofNew Or‐leans(Board) will receive electronic bids uploaded to Centralbidding.com on or before Friday,August 21, 2026 at 11:00 A.M. localtime, forWork OrderNo. 1-1194, Nashville-Napoleon Ter‐minalComplex:Cranes 8 &9 Structural Inspection &Repair. Theworkconsistsoffur‐nishingall labor, mater‐ialand equipmenttoper‐form non-destructive weld testingonthe Board’sship-to-shore containercranes8 and9 includingbut notlimited to providingequipment foraccess, removaland replacementofcoatings, performing VT,MT, and UT tests, andpreparation of reports. Theworkmay also consistofperform‐ingas-needed structural repairsatthe directionof theEngineer.The site is locatedatthe NashvilleNapoleon TerminalCom‐plex in NewOrleans Louisiana. (Estimated Cost:Tobe provided at bidopening). AllBidsmustbeinaccor‐dancewiththe Bidding Documentson file with thePortofNew Orleans. In accordance with LSA R.S. 38:2212 (E)(7), com‐
notstart until receiptoffederal or state concurrenceorconcur‐renceofthe otherfund‐ingsourceinaccordance with LA.R.S.38:2215(D) Awardwillbewithin45 calendar days after the sale of bondsorreceipt of concurrenceinaward from thefederal or state agency or otherfunding source.Fundsfor this contract: will notbeimmedi‐atelyavailable,the 45dayperiodfor contract awardwillnot beginat thetimeofbid opening, andthe deadlinesunder La.R.S.38:2215 forcon‐tractexecution andis‐suance of notice to pro‐ceed shallnot apply. Xwillbeimmediately availableand the45-day period forcontract awardwillbegin at the time of bidopening Work in theamount of at leastsixty percent(60%) of totalamount of con‐tractasawarded shallbe performedbycontractor at theconstructionsite or within hisown shop plant, or yard with his ownemployees TheBoard as an equal opportunitypublicentity invitesand encourages DBE’sand SBE’stosub‐mitbidsonits projects In ordertocomplywith theConstitutionofthe StateofLouisiana,such certification programs must be race andgender neutral. Allquestions,correspon‐dence, inquiries, and othercommunications regardingthisprocure‐ment shallbedirectedto BoardofCommissioners
