The Advocate 08-04-2026

‘Selling dreams’

Kevin Broussard, of J/B Racing, smiles as he applies baby oil to a horse’s coat before its auction during the 50th annual Louisiana Quarter Horse Breeders Association yearling Sale in Kinder on Saturday

50th annual Louisiana quarter horse yearling auction generates more than $6.2M in sales

BY COURTNEY PEDERSEN Staff writer

The Coushatta Pavilion was filled with a crowd wearing cowboy hats and baseball caps, the wafting smell of manure and the constant sound of flying numbers as hundreds of people bid on the next generation of Louisiana-bred race horses.

Search for teen’s body continues at landfill

BY OLIVIA TEES Staff writer

It has been four weeks since law enforcement started searching the Baton Rouge landfill for the body of 15-year-old Ja’Derrius Minniweather, who was killed in the early hours of June 5. It has been 60 days since the boy has been with his family Baton Rouge police said that since the start of the search July 13, all supporting agencies have been diligently combing through hazardous materials every day with the hope of recovering Minniweather’s body and giving closure to his family Police said they have carried out more than 4,600 hours of grueling work and gone through about 3,400 cubic yards of waste. A cubic yard is about the size of a standard washing machine. Last week, police said in a statement that they

Police say they have gone through 3,400 cubic feet of waste, have no plans to stop ä See SEARCH, page 5A

This year’s two-day annual Louisianabred Yearling Sale took place Friday and Saturday at Coushatta Casino and Resort in Kinder More than 425 quarter horses were offered for sale, and 329 were sold for a total of more than $6.2 million, an average of $18,878 per animal.

“At these sales, we’re selling dreams; most of the time, it can be a

For 50 years, quarter horse breeders and potential owners have gathered in Louisiana, looking for the ones they want to take to the racetrack, vetting the animals’ health, pedigree, temperament and potential for speed.

nightmare, but every now and then that dream comes true,” said Ryan Robicheaux, manager of the Robicheaux Ranch in Breaux Bridge. “It’s like a Lotto ticket. One of these horses is going to win the milliondollar race next year Not all 470 are going to be great ones, but somewhere in there, there’s going to be one that’s going to make a million dollars or half a million dollars.”

ä See SELLING, page 5A

GOP holdouts back Blanche for attorney general

WASHINGTON — Two Republican senators who threatened to block acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s confirmation to lead the Justice Department said Monday that they will support his nomination, ending an impasse over plans to create a fund to compensate allies of President Donald Trump. The endorsement from GOP Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis paves the way for the Senate Judiciary Committee to advance Blanche’s nomination

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Spectators could be kept from wearing pink at rape trial

BY QUINN COFFMAN Staff writer

The

first suspect accused of raping Madison Brooks to go before a Baton Rouge jury will do so in two weeks. The much-anticipated trial will come three years after the 19-yearold LSU sophomore’s death, which reignited a national conversation about campus sexual assault, violence against women and bars promoting underage drinking.

It will also come three years after Brooks’ mother, Ashley Baustert, founded the Madison Brooks Foundation in her honor, to “advocate for the safety of young adults.”

But a motion filed last month by 21-year-old Desmond Carter’s defense attorney could limit how family and sup-

porters of Brooks can dress while watching the trial, even down to keeping the color pink out of the courtroom.

A pretrial “Motion to Prohibit Prejudicial or Intimidating Spectator Displays” was filed by attorney Caitlin Fowlkes last month, seeking to keep court spectators from influencing jurors by attending the trial in clothing referencing Brooks or by wearing pink, the color of the foundation.

“Mr Carter requests an Order

from this Court to exclude or significantly limit MB’s spectators’ ability to inflame, prejudice, or otherwise improperly influence the jury by wearing pink and/or MB paraphernalia en masse in an effort to overwhelm courtroom dynamics and intimidate jurors in a case which has already been, by all measures, a circus,” the motion reads.

The motion is scheduled to go before Judge Gail Horne Ray on Tuesday Carter’s trial is scheduled

for Aug. 17. Fowlkes writes in her request that the U.S. Supreme Court has long recognized that certain displays inside a courtroom can prejudice a jury to such an extent that they rob the defendant of his right to a fair trial.

The motion was filed in anticipation of having a pink-clad crowd “as a means of prejudicing Mr Carter and intimidating the jury,”

BROOKS, page 5A

STAFF PHOTOS By JAVIER GALLEGOS

Benjamin Cifuentes, right, and Alejandro Resendiz Alvarez manicure a horse together during Saturday’s auction.

Bid spotter Ralph Means looks into the crowd to see if his bidder wants to increase their bid during Saturday’s auction.

BY MARY CLARE JALONICK and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO

Attorney General Todd Blanche appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 15.

BRIEFS FROM WIRE REPORTS

Trump: Pirro ‘folded’ on reflecting pool case

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump said Monday that U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro “choked” and “folded like an umbrella” in moving to drop charges against a former Olympian accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

Speaking at an unrelated Oval Office event, Trump ducked questions about whether he’d fire Pirro, a former Fox News host and longtime ally he handpicked as top federal prosecutor in the nation’s capital. But the president kept up his drumbeat of sharp criticism, saying he remained disappointed by her assessment that damage to the reflecting pool was the result of shoddy construction, not vandalism.

“Frankly I think she choked because the judge was really vicious. Instead of going after the people that did it, the judge went after her and went after her department, and I guess she choked,” Trump said in response to a reporter’s question after he signed an executive order for military spouses. “I don’t know what the hell happened.”

The move to dismiss charges against David Hearn was an embarrassing setback for the Justice Department and marked a rare moment during Trump’s second term of an aide or political appointee openly defying him. After initially posting on social media over the weekend, “I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro,” Trump was still fuming two days later, insisting for several minutes that vandalism had marred the troubled project.

“I was disappointed with Jeanine Pirro, really disappointed,” the president said Monday “She folded like an umbrella.”

States sue to block feds from sharing data

More than 20 states and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration on Monday to block it from getting wide access to the personal information of millions of recipients of a benefits program for low-income families.

The case is the latest legal action between states and the federal government over the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, which like other public programs have come under scrutiny from the Trump administration as sources of potential fraud.

The coalition of states sued in federal court in Washington to stop the agency that controls the program from moving ahead with a rule that would allow it to share recipients’ immigration status, Social Security numbers and additional personal information with other parts of government or potentially with private entities, according to the lawsuit.

“Instead of helping families struggling with the rising cost of living, this administration is trying to turn antipoverty programs against the people they’re supposed to serve,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement.

Nauru changes its name to Naoero

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — The Pacific Island country of Nauru has changed its name to the Republic of Naoero, its president said, matching the spelling and pronunciation in the national language.

The country’s international code will change from NRU to NRO and its people will be known as dei-Naoero instead of Nauruan. Commonly known abroad by the pronunciation of Now-roo, the new name is spoken as Now-ero.

The move would return the remote South Pacific island nation to its traditional name, a statement posted Thursday to the government’s Facebook account said. The country became known internationally as Nauru only because its local name was difficult for foreigners to pronounce and was a matter of convenience rather than one of choice, according to an earlier government statement.

“This proposed change seeks to more faithfully honor our nation’s heritage, our language, and our identity,” President David Adeang said when he proposed the move to Parliament in January

Trump: Talks are ‘last chance’ for Iran deal

BY AAMER MADHANI Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump has played this hand before during the 5-month-old Iran war — but this time, he insists it’s different.

The president on Monday said that new talks between Washington and Tehran are the “last chance” for Iran to forge a deal and avoid an escalation of U.S. strikes on the country

Trump, speaking at the Oval Office, said he expects negotiations will focus on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and create a pathway for Iran to address the United States’ concerns about its nuclear program. He told reporters they would likely learn about the status of the negotiations “today or tomorrow.”

“The first phase is the opening of the straits. The second phase will be the denuclearization,” the Republican president said. “And that will take a little while.”

While Trump has reveled in the U.S. military decimating layers of Tehran’s leadership and devastating its air force and navy, Iran is betting it can outlast Trump as he faces diminished stockpiles of munitions and the difficulty of executing a war that’s unpopular with the American electorate ahead of November’s midterm election.

Trump said he decided to hold off on ordering American forces to carry out new massive strikes against Iran at the urging of Gulf allies Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

He said a plan was in place for U.S. forces to carry out “the biggest attack since World War II” on Sunday But he decided to scrap the plan and give diplomacy more time to play out after hearing from key Gulf leaders — including Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — as well as at the request of unnamed Iranian officials

But Trump reiterated that he’s running out of patience with Iran.

“This the last chance for them to sign a good document,” Trump said.

Earlier Monday, Trump had criticized Iran on social media as being “unbelievably duplicitous.”

His ire was raised by Iran claiming that its meetings with Oman on Monday were focused solely on establishing a temporary route for safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for the global oil trade

“They ask for a meeting, some would say ‘beg,’ talks begin, with more scheduled in the immediate future, and they say openly and proudly that they’re not having any discussions, that nothing is be-

ing talked about, and they’re only dealing with Oman,” Trump grumbled.

Trump said whether “Iran wants to admit it or not, we are, in fact, talking” about preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

Trump has threatened to escalate attacks on Iran only to edge away from his threats several times since the start of U.S. and Israel strikes on Feb. 28.

Asked by a reporter how Americans view him repeatedly making grim threats on Tehran before backing away, Trump responded that he’s showing patience out of a consideration for Iranian life.

“I want to give them every last chance before decapitation,” Trump said. He added, “Hopefully, they’ll come to their senses.”

Trump may still come to the conclusion that a massive escalation in the conflict with Iran is necessary

But critics say his hesitation also might reflect an unspoken understanding inside the administration that U.S. military might alone may not be enough to compel Iran to back down and bring an end to a now monthslong war that Trump had earlier downplayed as a weekslong excursion.

“I think what we’re seeing here is a president who has an approach that’s just rather erratic,” Sen. Mark Kelly an Arizona Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said on CBS News’ “Face the Nation.”

“At this point, he’s trying to get us back to February And I think if he could if he had a big reset button he could hit — he would certainly take that option.”

With this latest episode, Trump suggested that the Saudi crown prince played a particularly important role in him turning away from escalating the fight

The U.S. president spoke by phone with the de facto leader of the kingdom on Saturday before announcing he was halting planned strikes.

The crown prince conveyed that an escalation in fighting could have a severe impact on the global economy if Tehran responded to a new U.S. bombardment by targeting some of the United States’ Gulf allies, according to a person briefed on the call who was not authorized to comment publicly and insisted on anonymity.

Saudi officials, the person added, have underscored in their engagements with the Trump administration that the kingdom is in a good position to defend itself against further potential Iranian strikes — as are fellow energy titans Qatar and the United Arab Emirates — but that Kuwait could be more vulnerable to attacks by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq.

Michigan reports first 2 U.S. deaths related to diarrhea-causing parasite

BY MIKE HOUSEHOLDER and SUDHIN THANAWALA Associated Press

DETROIT Two people have died in the cyclospora outbreak in Michigan, state health officials announced Monday, the first deaths confirmed in the U.S. related to the microscopic parasite.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said both people had underlying health conditions that may have been impacted by the intestinal illness and dehydration. The department said it would not provide additional information about the deaths.

Cyclospora is a microscopic, spherical parasite that commonly causes watery diarrhea “with frequent and sometimes explosive bowel movements,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Outbreaks tend to occur most often in the late spring and summer

The CDC says the illness, called cyclosporiasis, is rarely deadly

The heat-loving parasite infects the bowels and spreads through feces. In the

past, people have been infected by consuming fruits or vegetables that were exposed to feces-contaminated irrigation water

Dr Joel Kammeyer, the division chief of infectious diseases at Wayne State University and the Detroit Medical Center, called the deaths a “tragedy” but noted that despite thousands of cyclosporiasis cases, only two people have died.

“For someone who comes into an urgent care and cyclosporiasis is their only issue, it’s relatively easy to treat,” Kammeyer said. But for people who are struggling with other illnesses, he said, “it stands to reason that there are some patients that might not be able to withstand the dehydration that can come with severe cyclosporiasis.”

Cyclosporiasis is less common than other foodborne illnesses, including salmonella and E. coli Many cases are never linked to a specific food or other source and, for years, few U.S. cyclospora outbreaks were reported. But the number started rising about a decade ago, with a particularly notable spike in 2018 and 2019.

Board of Peace envoy meets with Israeli PM

Official discusses Gaza deal with Netanyahu, urges halt to strikes

BY JULIA FRANKEL and SAM MAGDY Associated Press

JERUSALEM, Israel The Board of Peace official overseeing Gaza’s postwar transition met Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to a statement, in part to discuss a new disarmament deal the board reached with Hamas.

Nikolay Mladenov, the high representative for Gaza, held “constructive and detailed” talks with the prime minister and his team, the Board of Peace said in a statement.

“The goal is clear and is not in question: the complete decommissioning of weapons in the Strip and the transition away from rule by the gun to civilian governance,” it said. According to two people familiar with the meeting, Mladenov also pressed Netanyahu to halt Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip Mladenov and his team, including senior adviser Aryeh Lightstone, are pressuring Israel to stop striking Gaza as they push ahead with the agreement to decommission the weapons held by Hamas.

In a statement Monday, Hamas said that the group and the various Palestinian factions “remain committed to what was agreed regarding the implementation of the second phase of the ceasefire agreement, including all parties’ obligations.”

It added that the group is awaiting “a clear and official response” from Mladenov and the mediators regarding what was agreed upon.

President Donald Trump announced the agreement, which is part of a broader ceasefire deal reached last year, last Thursday. It called for Israel to cease its military operations and

for Hamas and its allies in Gaza to halt all militant activity The agreement also laid out in general terms what the decommissioning process would look like.

After the text of the agreement was released, Israel said it had “serious security concerns” and that it shared those with the United States. It also ramped up its strikes in Gaza, killing 17 people overnight Saturday and into Sunday, according to local health officials. There were no recorded airstrikes in Gaza on Monday Israeli attacks have killed 1,250 people since the ceasefire deal was reached in October, an agreement that ended major fighting in a war that had raged for two years.

Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, mediators in the Gaza truce negotiations, denounced the ongoing Israeli strikes in a statement Monday, saying that the particular targeting of healthcare facilities, medical infrastructure and resulting civilian casualties constitutes a flagrant violation of international law and international humanitarian law

“The mediators also called on the international community to continue to exert pressure on Israel to fulfill its end of the deal. The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage. Israel’s military offensive in Gaza has since killed 73,375 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Its figures do not distinguish between civilians and combatants but they are considered generally reliable by the United Nations and other international organizations.

Associated Press writer Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed.

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President Donald Trump speaks Monday during a meeting about military families in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington.

Washington state fires destroy hundreds of buildings

Spokane-area residents forced to evacuate

BY LINDSEY WASSON, MANUEL VALDES and GENE JOHNSON Associated Press

SPOKANE, Wash. — Some resi-

dents returned to devastated neighborhoods in eastern Washington state to find their homes leveled by wildfires that erupted across a parched landscape over the weekend, covering yards in charred debris. In some cases, only chimneys were left standing.

The fires in and around Spokane, the state’s secondlargest city, were among the most destructive in state history About 700 buildings had been destroyed — a number that was expected to climb and some 67,000 people were under evacuation orders. The cause was under investigation.

“Hundreds of people have completely lost their homes and farms, and many are prohibited from returning to their homes or neighbor-

hoods as crews continue to extinguish smoldering embers,” the state’s entire congressional delegation wrote Monday in asking President Donald Trump to approve an expedited emergency declaration.

The fires jumped roads and rivers and had burned about 12.5 square miles by Monday The sky filled with smoke and haze. Calmer winds and lower temperatures arrived to help firefighters, but it was expected to be hot and dry again by midweek.

In one Spokane neighborhood, blackened vehicles, a boat twisted by the heat and melted plastic recycling bins remained. Across the street, lawns were still green and houses were spared, as residents continued to run hoses or sprinklers to water their properties.

Among those who returned were Miriam and Daniel Sim, both 76. Miriam held her hand over her mouth as she surveyed the ruins of the home where they had lived since 2005

“It’s like a war zone,” Miriam said. “There’s nothing to save.”

“At our age, do we want to

IDAHO

rebuild?” her husband asked.

Cpl. Mark Gregory, a spokesperson for the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, said the county initially received nearly 300 reports of missing people, but by Monday they had cleared all but 14.

Those outstanding reports more likely represented people who had not been in contact since evacuating

Authorities seek motive in shooting at In-N-Out Burger

BY MICHAEL BIESECKER and DAVE COLLINS Associated Press

A driver charging his electric taxi and a former law enforcement officer who tried to intervene were among the seven people wounded in a mass shooting at an Idaho fast food restaurant that also left three people dead, according to friends and relatives of the two men. The attack Saturday at a new In-N-Out Burger in Twin Falls ended when the gunman, identified by police as 24-year-old Chad Williams, shot and killed himself On Monday, police were still trying to determine why Williams carried out the attack, which happened in the afternoon in a busy shopping plaza in the southern Idaho city

Many details about Williams’ life were still unknown Monday, but an initial search of court records in Idaho and Arizona, where he used to live, didn’t show any criminal cases matching his name and birth date. Elijah Moseley who lived across the hall from Williams in a College of Southern Idaho dorm a few years ago, described him as “an introvert” and “a pretty chill guy.”

“I was never scared or weirded out by him,” he said.

Moseley said he considered Williams a relatively close friend, though they lost touch a couple of years ago. “I’m shocked by this and sick to my stomach about this,” he said.

Detectives are confident that Williams acted alone, Police Chief Matthew Hicks said Sunday, noting that Williams’ family is cooperating fully with the investigation.

Two of the wounded were treated at a hospital and released, three were listed as stable, and two others were in critical condition, police said Sunday During the attack, an off-duty state trooper and a civilian fired on Williams and diverted him from the restaurant, the chief said. Police haven’t disclosed their names or those of the victims, but some victims have been identified by friends and relatives. Twin Falls spokesperson Josh Palmer said Monday that police were still trying to identify next of kin.

The attack happened at an In-N-Out that opened late last month as part of the California chain’s Idaho expansion.

Ethics panel recommends House censure of GOP Rep.

BY KEVIN FREKING Associated Press

WASHINGTON The House Ethics Committee recommended Monday that Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., be censured after finding that he engaged in persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct toward two young female aides in his congressional office. A censure registers the House’s deep disapproval of a lawmaker’s conduct that does not meet the threshold for expulsion.

Chuck Edwards

Ed war ds has denied that any of his conduct was intended as a sexual or romantic advance, but the committee said his behavior would “lead a reasonable observer to interpret it as such.” It also described his actions as “beyond inappropriate.” The panel highlighted numerous examples of actions it considered improper, including Edwards providing

the young women with lavish and recurrent gifts, making comments regarding their appearance and dress, inviting them to intimate dinners and vacations, and sending notes regarding his affection.

The Ethics panel found no evidence Edwards explicitly propositioned any person under his employ or engaged in any sexual activity with them But it also said he failed to adhere to “the spirit of rules prohibiting sexual harassment of and unwanted advances to House staffers.”

than people who were truly missing or in danger, authorities said.

The Spokane-area wildfires were completely uncontained, said Courtney James, a spokesperson for the Washington State Department of Natural Resources.

They were among dozens across the Western U.S. stretching the ability of fed-

eral, state and local agencies to fight them. At least 390 square miles has burned across Washington, which has contended with severe drought and a paltry snowpack.

Authorities warned people not to fly drones near the burned areas, saying it could force them to delay aerial firefighting operations.

Angela and Wayde Deatherage, both 49, evacuated shortly after 3 p.m. Saturday with a son, grabbing a few bins of family photos and heirloom rings but not much else. Roughly 30 minutes later, their security camera was sending fire notifications to Angela’s phone. Wayde Deatherage took some back roads and returned by early evening. He stopped at the end of the street and called his wife: “Our house is done.” Deatherage, however, wasn’t done with his neighborhood. He propped a hose at another house so it sprayed the property That home survived. The couple returned to their property Sunday “It’s just ash,” Angela Deatherage said of the home where they had lived for nearly 22 years. “It’s like our house sunk down in the basement. There’s just so much loss for so many people.” Friends and relatives of fire victims posted online appeals for money, clothes and basic necessities. Kory and MacKensie Aspaas were away with their children when the disaster hit.

Capital One: Trump accounts closed over concerns with possible money laundering

BY KEN SWEET Associated Press

NEW YORK Bank accounts

held by President Donald Trump were closed by Capital One in 2021 after it flagged financial activity that had characteristics of money laundering, the bank disclosed in a court filing over the weekend.

The court filing is tied to a lawsuit filed against Capital One by one of Trump’s financial holding companies shortly after he was sworn into office a second time. Trump alleges that Capital One illegally closed his ac-

counts for political reasons, following the Jan. 6 attacks on the U.S. Capitol.

Capital One wants the lawsuit dismissed.

“The closures were the result of months of analysis and a careful review by Capital One’s AML team in accordance with bank policies and regulatory guidance,” the bank said in the court filing. The term “AML” is an abbreviation for anti-money laundering.

Trump has sued Capital One, as well as JPMorgan Chase, for allegedly debanking him after he left office in 2021. Debanking

occurs when banks shut down customer accounts because they believe they pose financial, legal or reputational risks to the banks. Both banks have denied they severed their relationships with the president, his sons, and other related businesses for political reasons. The lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase is seeking damages of $5 billion. JPMorgan has said it does not close accounts for political reasons, but closes accounts “with or without cause” and also accounts that create “legal or regulatory risk.”

By The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor refused Monday to halt a $656 million judgment against Palestinian authorities in a long-running lawsuit filed by Americans killed or wounded in attacks in Israel. The order signed by Sotomayor comes after the high court ruled last year in favor of the victims and their families. The Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority said in court

documents that paying the hefty judgment now could destabilize government services in the West Bank. They asked the justices to pause payment as they appeal the reinstatement of the verdict. The lawsuit was filed by victims of attacks in Jerusalem in the early 2000s that killed 33 people and wounded hundreds more. Families brought their lawsuit under the Anti-Terrorism Act, a law aimed at opening U.S. courts to victims of international terror attacks. A federal court in New York tossed the original

verdict on appeal and continued

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By LINDSEy WASSON

Miriam Sim, 76, reacts Monday while talking about her neighborhood largely burning to the ground after a wildfire hit the northern part of Spokane, Wash.

PHOTO PROVIDED By KMVT Authorities work Saturday at the scene of a shooting that started at an In-N-Out Burger restaurant in Twin Falls, Idaho.

Edwards

on Tuesday after the JusticeDepartment and lawmakers reached adeal to formally rescind the $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” proposed to settle Trump’slawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service.

Cornyn and Tillis had refused to back Blanche’sbid for the permanent post withoutofficial confirmation killing the fund meant to compensate people whobelieve theywere unfairly prosecuted by theJustice Department. Blanche’s written order,issued late Sunday, came after the daysofnegotiations between the Justice Department and the Republican senators whoare leaving Capitol Hill when their terms end in January “Wewant to expressour gratitude to Mr.Blanche and his staff for working with us on this, and we look forward to voting to advance his nomination out of the Senate Judiciary Committee soon,” Cornyn, of Texas, andTillis, of NorthCarolina, said in astatement.

Blanche has repeatedlysaid that the JusticeDepartment was scrapping plans for the fund, which sparkedbipartisan outcry

over the possibility that violent rioters who attacked police at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, could be considered for payments. But skeptical lawmakers said they were concerned that could be revived withoutacommitment in writing, especially because Trump has continued to defend the idea.

In hisorderpostedonsocial medialate Sunday, Blanchewrote that the department was confirming“beyond anydoubt, thatthere is no Fund.”

Since the settlement of the president’s lawsuit against the IRS was announced, “No Members were appointed; no fundswere transferred; no process for receiving claims was established; no claims were paid,” the order said. “This orderestablishes, beyond any doubt,thatthere is no Fund.

Cornyn and Tillis had also pressed the Justice Department to limit thescope of aseparate piece of the settlement that providedbroad immunityfor Trump andmembers of his family from tax audits

Under thedeal, the Justice Department clarified in writing that the tax audit immunity agreement “applies by its terms only retroactively”toclaims open at thetime of the settlement anddoes not protect the presidentfrom exami-

“From theoutset, we were clear that we needed awritten document addressing our concerns on the IRS audit agreement and the antiweaponization fund that included constraining the scope of audit protection by limiting it to the parties of the Settlement Agreement and legally ending the anti-weaponization fund,” they wrote.

Democrats,however,noted that the order rescinding the fund doesn’t stop the Trump administration from compensating Jan. 6 rioters through apreviously establishedprocessthatallows people to file claims for damages if they believed they were wronged by thegovernment.

sary votes.

After theThursday vote was delayed, Trump said in asocial media post that he mightpullBlanche’s nomination andresubmit it after Cornyn andTillisleaveoffice next year.And on Saturdaythe president threatened to push forward with the fund if the two Republicans blocked Blanche’snomination.

On Sundayevening, Trump said that people whohad faced charges from the Jan. 6, attack on the Capitol and could have benefited from thefund had“theirlivesdestroyed.”

“Thiswould be areimbursement forthe pain thattheysuffered,” Trump said. “A lot of people like it.”

nation of future taxfilings. It also makes clear that onlythe parties that brought thelawsuit —Trump, two of his sons, and the TrumpOrganization —are covered by the tax agreement.

Cornyn and Tillis said in their statement that they were “pleased” with the concessions madebyBlanche.

“This supposed ‘deal’ doesn’t prevent payouts to violent insurrectionists in the future,” DemocraticSen. AdamSchiff said in a social media post. Schiff added that it also “leaves in place ataximmunity deal that could help Trump skip taxes on the$2.3 billion he madelast year,and still leaves it vague who andwhatis covered.”

Blanche’snomination was thrown into doubt last week after the Judiciary Committee postponedavote that hadbeen scheduled for Thursday morning as Tillis andCornyn said they needed more from the administration before they could provide the neces-

Blanche, whoservedasTrump’s defense lawyer in his criminal cases,enteredthe JusticeDepartmentlast year as deputy attorneygeneral.Hewas elevated to the top post after Pam Bondi wasfiredinApril by Trump, who was frustrated by herfailure to successfully prosecute hispolitical enemies

Though Blanche insisted he wasn’tauditioningfor thepermanent job, he hasmoved quickly sincetaking thereins of thedepartmenttopromote theTrump administration’sagenda and accelerate investigations into the president’sperceived foes.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO

Tillis, R-N.C., said Mondayhewill supportTodd Blanche’snomination to be attorneygeneral.

Louisiana Quarter Horse Breeders Association Executive Director Misty Coats said the goal of the sale is for the horses to win

“The hopes of these yearlings are to go to the track next year, and then not only can they run for the purses, but the breeder that’s selling them here, if they run first, second, or third, they get 25% of the purse just as a breeder, even if they aren’t the owner,” Coats said

The 329 horses that went to new owners were priced from $2,200 to $252,000. Buyers traveled to Coushatta from across Louisiana and Texas, and some came from as far as Mexico, North Carolina, Minnesota and Arizona.

The most expensive horse sold was Pegasus SC, hip No. 430, who was purchased for $252,000 by Watson Land & Cattle Keith Nellesen. Nellesen is co-founder of Vivint Inc., a home automation, security and solar energy company.

The horse that sold for the second most was RF A Faster Train, hip No. 416, who was purchased for $132,000 by Daniel Miranda in Louisiana from Tim and Jennie Rogers with S&E Sales Prepping LLC as the agent.

S&E Sales Prepping owner Stephen Deville said what made RF A Faster Train worth so much money was that it has a good temperament.

“That horse had a great conformation,” Deville said. “He looked

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Fowlkes wrote.

“MB’s family and friends have consistently demonstrated their intent to litigate this case in the court of public opinion and to exert power and influence over the decision makers by whatever means necessary,” the motion reads.

In one cited 1966 case, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a defendant’s right to a fair trial was violated by a “carnival atmosphere” in the courtroom, depriving the defendant of a “judicial serenity and calm” that he was entitled to.

In another, from 1965, the presence of television cameras was found to have

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have no plan to stop the search. They will make the call later down the road if the search ends because it is no longer fruitful

The agencies assisting the Police Department, including specialty teams from the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, the Louisiana National Guard and the United Cajun Navy, have worked in shifts to protect themselves from the dangerous material lurking in the landfill.

In addition to challenging work conditions, the extreme heat has played a significant factor in how long the teams can work in

the part, but also his bloodline. His mom’s a really strong mare. She’s had multiple other horses that did well in races, including one last year.”

Robicheaux Ranch Inc. represented a total of 84 horses throughout the sale and sold 70 for a total of $2.1 million, Robicheaux said. This year, Robicheaux Ranch

Inc. won an award at the sale for leading agent, meaning they sold for more money than anyone else at the event.

“These horse sales are like the NFL Combine,” Robicheaux said.

“We don’t do the 40-yard dash, but future buyers, future trainers come watch them walk, study their conformation, look at their pedigree.

They X-ray them, they scope and make sure everything is correct that we can tell, and then they’ll put a price that they’re willing to buy them for.” Sales at the auction have trended upward since 2020, when they were just short of $4.7 million.

Coats said this is because the market is up and the horses have

gotten better over the years.

This year marked the 50th anniversary of the sale, which Coats said is a testament to the Louisiana horse community “I think it shows the grit and the commitment that Louisiana breeders have to the race industry and to breeding, you know, great horses,” Coats said.

prejudiced the jury as well.

Fowlkes argues that the matter of the crowd’s clothing is not trivial, since prosecutors are seeking to “convict Mr Carter to die in prison,” should he be found guilty of the first-degree rape charge. Included in evidence are screenshots of social media posts by Baustert encouraging people to attend an October hearing over Ray’s nowoverturned recusal; in it, she asks those coming to wear pink and says she’ll have “Madi stickers as well.”

The post ends with: “pray that justice for my little girl will prevail.”

Other posts, from 2023, have similar requests for spectators.

Baustert said wearing pink is a symbol of her daughter’s life, and for family and

the field before putting their own health at risk.

Although the Baton Rouge Fire Department and Emergency Medical Services are on scene to mitigate risks, law enforcement has implemented a strict schedule to prevent disasters.

Each search team is allotted 30 to 45 minutes of active work before its members undergo a period of rehabilitation lasting more than an hour

The rehabilitation includes decontamination from landfill hazards, rehydration, medical evaluations and putting on personal protective equipment before returning to the search.

The Police Department is asking the community to keep Minnieweather’s family and the people dedicated

friends, it is a peaceful act of remembrance. She said no legal motion can remove or silence the people who love Brooks.

“The request to prohibit people from wearing pink in the courtroom is heartbreaking,” Baustert said in an email to The Advocate. “Pink is not a protest. It is not an attempt to influence a jury It is not about the defendants. Pink is about Madison.”

Baustert said what concerns her the most is that “attention is being diverted.”

“Our hope has always been that this trial remains focused on truth, accountability, and that justice be served,” she said.

District Attorney Hillar Moore said on Monday that a response to the motion has

to searching for him in their thoughts.

Maurice Parms, 51, who was arrested June 20 on a first-degree murder charge, allegedly dumped the teen’s body in a garbage bin before dawn June 5. The garbage truck was scheduled to pick up the trash that morning at 6 a.m., according to Parms’ arrest warrant.

Police have said Parms has made no statement or offered any help to locate Minnieweather’s body

Parms remains in the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison and is held without bail. His next court date will be Oct. 15 for a bail review hearing.

Parms faces the possibility of the death penalty if convicted of first-degree murder

not yet been finalized but is forthcoming. He did not comment further Carter is charged with a count each of first-degree rape and third-degree rape.

He’s accused of raping the heavily intoxicated 19-yearold Brooks in a car with three other men, one of whom, Casen Carver, is also charged with rape. Instead of going before a jury Carver’s case will be a

bench trial and ruled on only by Ray Attorney Joe Long, who represents Carver, has not filed any similar motion against spectator displays. Ray was briefly recused from the cases before the state Supreme Court returned her to preside over the Brooks’ trials in May Among prosecutor’s original complaints was the fact that Ray’s son is a convicted rapist.

A previous motion from Fowlkes sought to have Carter’s first-degree rape charge quashed over claims the statute was unconstitutionally vague and written in a way that Fowlkes said criminalizes all group sex. Ray dismissed the motion, but admitted the rape law was “sloppily written.” Staff writer AnnaKate Freeland contributed to this report.

TheGoldenDeeds awardisthe most prestigious awardinthe GreaterBaton Rougearea. Since itsinceptionin1942, it hasbeen awardedtoonlyone outstanding recipienteach year forphilanthropic servicetothe community. Theactions andservice of therecipients have made thecommunity abetterplace to live andwork.

Awardnominations includethe nine-parishBaton RougeMetropolitan

ownwords about themostnotable things they’vedoneinservice to thecommunity,committees andcivicand charitable groupaffiliations eadifference hey’ve done s. obeconsidered.

STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

Hilary Ortiz, center walks with a yearling into the arena where

Breeders Association yearling Sale in Kinder on Saturday

BRIEFS FROM STAFFAND WIRE REPORTS

FAAcerti

fies Boeing’s new737 Max 7jetliner

The Federal AviationAdministration on Monday approved thesmallest model of Boeing’s Max jetliners for commercial service nearly adecade after the aircraft manufacturer first unveiledthe plane.

Certification of the Boeing 737 Max 7represents amilestone in the company’swork to overcome years of safety,quality and production challenges. Thelongdelayed Max 7ispart of Boeing’s 737family of commercialjets, which is the company’s bestseller and has been at the center of its troubles.

The FAAsaid it cleared the newplaneafter years of additional testing, designchanges andanextensive review of its design and safety systems. The certification was delayed as Boeing addressed technical issues and heightened regulatory scrutiny following two crashes involving the largerMax 8that killed 346 people in 2018 and 2019.

Since the crashes off the coast of Indonesia and in Ethiopia, the FAAoverhauled how it certifies Boeing aircraft. It saidits oversight of the company would continue beyond the Max 7’sapproval

Before signing off on the aircraft, the FAAsaid, it required Boeing to make severalsafety changes, including updating flight-control software, improving cockpit alertsfor pilots and redesigning the engine anti-ice system to prevent overheating

“Our team of dedicatedengineers and test experts worked through challenges, an extended pandemic,and thetransition to new certification processes,” said Stephanie Pope, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

Tentative deal reached with flight attendants

Canada’ssecond largest airline, WestJet,has agreed to a tentative agreement with flight attendants to end astrike that ledtohundredsofflight cancellations and thousands of stranded passengers over theweekend.

The union representing the flight attendants said Monday that if the deal is ratified, the work that flightattendants do before flights take off will be recognized.

The union, CUPE 8125, said that flight attendants will be returning to work now that the strike is over.The tentative agreementstill facesaratification vote.

WestJet canceled 495flights Sunday,snarling travelplans in Canada in the middle of along holiday weekend.

Akey issue in the dispute was how flight attendants shouldbe paid for duties performed while still on the ground. The union said some of that work is unpaid, while the company said they staff was indeed compensated, citing pay througha“credit hour” systemrather than an hourly rate.

Cyberattack hits

Liechtenstein’sregister

BERLIN Acyberattack tapped the data of some 31,000 people in Liechtenstein’sregister of people behind companies and foundations in the wealthy principality, the government said. The “register of economic beneficiaries” was accessed at night from Wednesday into Thursday last week, the government said. It said that the breach was noticed on Thursday,that measures were taken to secure data and the system taken offline.

Thegovernment said there were no indications that any data wasaltered or deleted.

The list of people behind companies, foundations and trusteeships is part of efforts to combat money laundering and terror financing.

Liechtenstein is anation of 40,000 peoplebetween Switzerland and Austria, and the financialindustry is central to its economy

The government set up acrisis unit over the weekend to investigate the attack.

States sueTrump over tariffs

SupremeCourt defeat leadstolawsuits

BY PAUL WISEMAN and MAE ANDERSON AP business writers

WASHINGTON— Twenty-fivestates sued the Trump administration Mondayover its latest tariffs, calling them apretext for replacing import taxesthe Supreme Court struck down in February

The United States last month imposed double-digittariffs on 59 countries andthe European Union, chargingthattheyhad notdone enoughtocrack downonimports produced by forcedlabor.The new tariffs took effect just as theclock ran out on temporary tariffs President Donald Trump had turnedto after the Supreme Court defeat

“After losing at the Supreme Court, theadministration is once again tryingtoillegally raise taxes

on families and businesses witha newroundoftariffs,”saidNewYork AttorneyGeneral Letitia James Joining New York in the lawsuit announced Monday are Arizona,California, Colorado,Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine,Michigan,Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin. Trump, whoargues that high tariffs will revive American manufacturing, last year overturned decades of U.S. policy that favoredlower tariffs andever-freertrade.Invoking the 1977 International Emergency Economic PowersAct, or IEEPA, he imposeddouble-digit tariffs on imports from almostevery country,saying America’slong-standing trade deficit amounted to anational emergency

But the SupremeCourt ruled that IEEPAdid not authorize tariffs. The decision forced the administration to send refunds to importers who’d paid the tariffs. Eagerto make up the lostrevenue Trump turned to temporary 10% worldwide tariffs. But they expiredatmidnight July24.

Now he’s tappingmore durable tariffs under Section301 of the Trade Act of 1974, whichpermits the president to impose import taxes andother sanctions against countries found to engage in unfair trade practices. Trumpused Section 301 to impose bigtariffs on China in his first term, and they survived court challenges.

The administration invoked Section 301 to impose theforced-labor tariffs, which range from 10% to 12.5% andhit countriesthatprovide 99% of American imports.

“The United States is using its

lawfulauthority to obtainthe eliminationofunreasonable acts, policies, andpractices that burden U.S. commerce,” White House spokesperson Kush Desaisaid. “A foreign country’sfailuretoimpose andeffectivelyenforce aprohibition on theimportation of goodsproduced with forced laborisunreasonable and burdens U.S. commerce, including American workers, andmustbe addressed. Section301 tariffs have proven to be alegally durable tool sincethe President’sfirst term,and they remainsonow.”

The states’ lawsuit follows two other lawsuits filed in The Court of International TradeinJuly by small businessesthatalso challengedthe 301 tariffs

Bothofthose lawsuits arguethat the government didn’tadequately establish its case against each specific economy or spell howthe tariffs will eliminate the specified practicetheyare being leviedfor, as required by Section 301.

U.Sstocksrally near all-time high

Falling oilpricesease

Wall Street’s worries aboutinflation

BY STAN CHOE Associated Press

NEW YORK TheU.S. stock market rallied to the edgeof its all-time high on Monday after easing oilprices helpedcalmWall Street’s worries that inflation could get even worse.

The S&P 500 jumped 1.5% and is just 0.1% belowits record set earlierthis summer It was coming off afrenetic July,where it swung up and down as oil prices shot higher because of thewar with Iran, before ultimately ending the monthjustabout where it started.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which measuresanarrowerslice of theU.S.stock market,climbed 693 points, or 1.3%,toan all-time high, while the Nasdaqcomposite leaped 2.1%.

Stocks got alift as the price for abarrel of Brent crudesank4.7% to $83.77. It dropped after PresidentDonald Trumpsaid over the weekendthathedecided to hold offonnew strikes against Iran at the urging of allies in the region

Brent’sprice careened between $72 and $102 last month as worries rose and fell about when the war withIranwould allowoil tankerstofreely exit thePersian Gulf again to delivercrude to customers worldwide

Thelatest acquiescence by Trumphelped to ease worries about theglobalflow of crude, andTreasury yields correspondingly fellin thebond market.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury sankto 4.68% from 4.75% late Friday.It, though, remains well above its 3.97% levelfrom before thewar with Iran.

Higher yieldsthreaten toundercut prices for stocks and other investments, while slowingthe economy by makingborrowing more expensivefor U.S. households and businesses.The average long-term U.S.mortgage rate has already leaped to its highestlevel in ayear

Monday’sease in oil prices helpedairlines and other companies with big fuel bills lead the market. UnitedAirlinesflew 5.8% higher,while American Airlines climbed 5%.

BY MAYUKOONO and ELAINE KURTENBACH Associated Press

TOKYO— The U.S. dollar weakened sharplyMonday against the Japanese yen after President Donald Trump and Japan’sfinance ministerconfirmed both sides had intervened in markets.

Before late last week,the dollar was trading above 163 yen, touching40-year highs. Afterregulators were suspected of stepping in, it fell below 160 yen.

Early Monday,after theofficial announcement of the intervention, the dollarfell to nearly 155.20 yen. That’sabig drop for theexchange rate. Thedollarwas trading at 156.70 yen earlyMonday Eastern time.

Even though it hasattracted millions of bargain-hunting tourists, the yen’sprolongedweak-

Norwegian CruiseLine Holdingssteamed 6.6% higher Boeing jumped8%after U.S. regulators certified its737 MAX7planes,clearing them for commercial service. TysonFoods rose 2.8% after themeat company reported aslightly stronger profit for the spring thananalysts expected. CEO Donnie King said strength is continuing in the company’schicken business and its preparedfoods, whichinclude brands like Jimmy Dean and Hillshire Farm. It joined alengthening list of big U.S. companiestodeliver abigger profitfor the spring than analysts expected.That’simperative forWall Streetbecause stock prices tendtofollow the path of corporate earnings over the long term, and worries were rising thatU.S.stock prices may have broadly already shot too high.

Companies in the S&P 500 are on track to deliver earnings pershare for the spring thatare 47% higher thanayear before, according to FactSet, with more than half of thecompanies in the index having already reported. If that ends up being the case, it

ness against the dollarhas been asourceoffrustration for Tokyo. SinceJapan imports so much of what it consumes, aweak currency pushesprices higher.High oilprices have amplifiedthatproblem and that’sputting pressure on the administration of Japanese PrimeMinisterSanae Takaichi to do moretoaddress therising cost of living. Efforts earlier this year to raise the value of theyen against the dollar didlittle to budge the exchange rate. Normally foreign exchange markets determine the relative values of currencies, butthere are many factors thatshape what happens in themarkets

Abig gap between interest rates in the U.S. andJapan hasled investors to sell yen and buy dollars to takeadvantage of the higher yields fromdollar-denominated assets.

would be the strongest growth since the spring of 2021, when the economy was roaring out of the COVIDpandemic.

Also offering encouragement forprofits wasa report on Monday showing that growth for U.S. manufacturing accelerated to its strongest level since 2022.

Keeping Wall Street unsettled, though, were swings for stocks of companies that make computer chips. They’ve been veering up and downfor weeks on worries about whether their surging revenues because of the artificial-intelligenceboom are sustainable.

If AI ends up producing less profit andproductivitythanhoped, BigTech companies couldcurtailtheir spending sprees on data centers that have helped chip stocks soar to tremendous heights.

Micron Technology wentfrom adrop of 6.4% to againof1.7% through the daybefore ending withagainof0.8%,for example It’s up roughly 190% forthe year so far.

Seoul’sKospi fell 5.1% Monday, coming off Friday’s17.9% surge thatwas its best day in history

Both the Bank of Japan and the Federal Reserve kept their interestrates unchanged at meetings last week, maintaining that gap. So, last week, when the dollar slippedbelow 160 yenand stayed there, theU.S. sidewas suspected of lending ahand. Officials usually staymum on such actions. But on Sunday, Trump confirmed thatthe U.S. side had helped, and Japanese Finance Minister SatsukiKatayamalikewiseissued astatementsaying the financeministryhad purchased yenincoordination with the U.S. TreasuryDepartment.

“Wewill nothesitate to conduct furtherjoint intervention,” she said.

Suchovert acknowledgment of marketintervention is rare, said Neil Newman, managing director and head of strategy at Astris Advisory Japan. He said thelastbig

example was when governments intervened following amassive earthquake andtsunami disaster in northeastern Japan in 2011. Whenaskedwhy Washington was helping, TrumpsaidSunday that “Wehave agood relationship with Japan. We’re very strong—very,very strong financially —and they are, youknow, they have a weakening yen, andthey wanted a little bit of help, and we’re always there for Japan. Japan’s been very good to us, with the exception, of course, of Pearl Harbor.”

Trump saidthe U.S. got “financial benefit”out of theintervention, callingita“signal of friendship.”

“It’salso good forthe world economy,” he said.

Aweaker dollar makes U.S.made goodsmorecompetitive, reducing their costs in yen terms, and might helpincrease American exports to Japan, Newman said.

The U.S. stock market surged close

worries about inflation.

Trump

Russia blasts southern Ukrainian city with glide bombs

Ukrainian drones kill at least 9

BY ILLIA NOVIKOV Associated Press

KYIV,Ukraine Russian planes dropped eight powerful glide bombs in a span of 90 minutes on residential districts of the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, killing one person and wounding dozens of others, regional chief Ivan Fedorov said Monday

Meanwhile, six people were killed by Ukrainian drone debris in ArkhipoOsipovka, a small town on Russia’s Black Sea coast in the Krasnodar region, regional Gov Veniamin Kondratyev said, adding that 40 others were wounded

Three other people were killed and two were wounded in Ukraine’s overnight attack on the illegally annexed Crimea, said the peninsula’s

Russian-installed head, Sergei Aksyonov He gave no details.

Neither side’s claims could be independently verified.

Ukraine’s innovative longrange drone technology developed during the war has enabled Kyiv to sign military cooperation agreements with nine countries, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday.

Under the deals, Ukraine receives long-term funding for its defense industry while partner countries get new defense capabilities, he said, adding that agreements with 15 other countries are being negotiated.

Ukraine is using its longrange strike drones to hit targets deep inside Russia in an effort to push Russian President Vladimir Putin into seeking a peace settlement Zelenskyy said in a speech to Ukrainian diplomats.

“We will work very hard to

make that happen this fall,” he said.

Ukraine wants countries to adopt heavier international sanctions on Moscow, but existing sanctions also need tightening to prevent Rus-

sian companies from exploiting loopholes, he said. Zelenskyy also announced he is appointing Rustem Umerov, who has been involved in U.S diplomatic efforts to stop the war, as head

of the Foreign Intelligence Service.

Russia has used glide bombs against Ukrainian towns and cities since it invaded its neighbor more than four years ago The Sovietera bombs are retrofitted with guidance systems and can carry up to 6,600 pounds of explosives, leaving huge craters. Ukraine has no effective countermeasures.

The Sunday evening onslaught on Zaporizhzhia killed a 71-year-old woman and wounded 31 people, including a 16-year-old girl, as the glide bombs damaged 22 apartment buildings in four districts of the city, Fedorov said.

While Moscow’s forces have captured the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and hold other parts of the region, its capital city of the same name remains in Ukrainian hands. It is one of the four regions, along with

Donetsk, Kherson and Luhansk, that Russia illegally annexed in September 2022 even though its forces do not completely control them. Other large-scale damage of civilian areas has resulted from Russian ballistic missiles, and late Sunday Zelenskyy made another urgent plea for countries to send Ukraine more U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems. Only Patriot interceptors can reliably stop ballistic missiles, but they are in short supply due to the Iran war

“The United States knows what we need. Europe knows what we need. Anti-ballistic missiles must protect people — not sit in stockpiles,” Zelenskyy said on social media. President Donald Trump last week appeared to back off from his earlier commitment to give Ukraine a license to make Patriots itself. He said Friday that he hasn’t made a final decision.

Trump administration overhaul could gut Head Start standards

BY MORIAH BALINGIT Associated Press

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s administration is planning a dramatic overhaul of Head Start that would gut its quality standards, upending the hallmarks of the early education program for impoverished children, two people familiar with the deliberations said. Head Start, established in the 1960s to help fight poverty, has long been considered by experts to be a gold standard early learning program. Its regulations, which stretch more than 100 pages, outline requirements on everything from child-to-teacher ratios and child health screenings to family engagement.

Trump’s Republican ad-

ministration would replace those regulations with around a dozen pages of rules, leaving most of the specifics up to state and local law said the people familiar with the deliberations, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss information that was not yet public and because they feared reprisal.

In a post on X on Saturday night, the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees Head Start, said to expect a rule to be published this week. The administration “remains committed to strengthening Head Start by preserving federal investment in the program while advancing reforms that expand access, increase local flexibility, reduce unnecessary adminis-

trative burden, and ensure services are delivered effectively to children and families in need,” department spokesperson Emily Hilliard said Monday in an email.

The draft rules would require more documentation from parents who are homeless or unemployed, the people familiar with the deliberations told The Associated Press. An early version of the proposal also would have barred parents who are in the United States illegally from enrolling their children even if the children are U.S citizens. It’s unclear whether those provisions will make the final draft.

Head Start, which operates in all 50 states, has long enjoyed robust bipartisan support.

BY BERNAT ARMANGUE and JOSEPH WILSON Associated Press

CEUTA, Spain The teenage girl made it through the waves to Spanish territory Her little brother did not, drowning in the Mediterranean, while their mother disappeared in the chaos when tens of thousands of people surged through the breakwater, trying to leave Morocco behind.

The tragic story of a 17-year-old from Tangier is representative of the plight of many of the more than 800 minors who four days after the collective push by migrants into Ceuta face a scary present and an uncertain future.

She told an Associated Press photojournalist how

she and her family joined the massive crowd that tried to swim around a border fence to reach the Spanish territory on Thursday Like many, she said they did so seeking better opportunities. The AP is withholding her identity because she is a minor in a vulnerable situation.

She described how she saw Spanish police pull the body of her 8-year-old brother from the water She made it to the shore but became separated from her mother and has spent the last four days on her own. She said some locals gave her food and some clothing, with one woman taking her into her home so she could bathe. She then went to a center for youths run by the government for some help,

but found it was full.

“I saw people stepping on the dead,” she said through a translator since she doesn’t speak Spanish. “Now we are children begging on the street.”

She is one of some 860 minors who remained in Ceuta on Monday after crossing over, according to local officials. AP journalists saw other minors asking for food. Those minors now make up a large part of the 3,000 to 5,000 migrants who

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By DAN BASHAKOV

A burned car is seen Saturday after a Russian missile attack in Kyiv Ukraine.

JanRisher

LOUISIANA AT LARGE

Women take thefield at LSUclinic

On Thursday evening, LSU’sairconditioned indoor football operations center felt warm. Atrucksized opening to the practice field could explain that. But theheat didn’tmatter

At The Huddle, LSU’sFootball Women’sClinic, 333 women shopped, ate, drank, learned some plays, threw passes, tackled and ran pregame drills —all for $200 apiece or $350 for VIP,which included yoga with Lane Kiffin before the main event. When Iwalked in, Iwas surprised to see pop-up boutiques along the sidelines of the practice field —selling all things purple and gold. And the womenwere buying it. The T-shirtoptions were impressive —the most notable styledlike acampaignlogo: “Kiffin/Orgeron’26,” later spotlightedbyKiffin himself.

STAFFPHOTO By JANRISHER

Participants MichelleHardyand Jennifer Welch sport‘Kiffin/ Orgeron ‘26’T-shirts at TheHuddle: LSU’sFootball Clinic forWomen on ThursdayatLSU’sfootball operations center

Ed Orgeron was standingnear one of the goal lines, with aline of women waiting for photos stretching to the 30-yard line. The routine was the same: New group. Handshake. Smile. “Geaux Tigas,” his signature call, over and over.Henever seemed to tire of it. After the shopping and photos came apanel of players, including new quarterback Sam Leavitt, then aQ&A with Kiffin hosted by Taylor Jacobs, LSU football’s chief strategy officer.She asked afew questions, then worked through questions submitted by attendees: What home game are youmost excited for?

“The first one,” Kiffin said. Do you see Whit Weeks being your future son-in-law?

“That’saquestion for Landry’s mom, Layla, over there,” he said. Football room,football pivot. Layla Kiffin gave athumbs up. Jacobs said, “Whit’shere. Maybe we should ask him.” Lane Kiffin responded,“Let’s see how he plays this year before we do that.” Next came the practice squads. We divided up into assigned groups and went into training rooms with coaches and players. Ilanded with the Red Stick Socialites, led by coachKevin Peoples. Our three players turned out to be Weeks, Leavitt and TJ Dottery,atransfer from Ole Miss. Ihad taken one of the last seatsin theroom, and the three players ended up right beside me for the better part of an hour They were charming, candid and sincere and talked about what goes into their rolesonthe football team, even before practiceofficiallybegins Aug. 5. Plus, Weeks gave more insightinto his relationship with the coach’s daughter Then we headedoutside onto the practice field, whereanother coach led the group throughthe team’spregame drills. My foot is injured, so Icould not fully participate.This would have driven my late father —alifelongfootball coach —right up awall. Still, Ifelt him out there. Lights

ä See RISHER, page 2B

Public moneyusedfor parties

Auditalso findsSt. Helena Police Jury membersoverspent on travel by 155%

BY GIGILIMAN Staff writer

State officials released an audit Monday that found the St. Helena Parish Police Jury spent public money on employee Christmas parties and fundraisers and blew its travel budget by 155%,with little oversight.

The audit, prompted by complaintsregarding the Police Jury’suse of public funds,analyzed the parish’s2024 and 2025 spending andportraysanagency hampered by mismanagement, poor record-keeping and ahabit of steering public money toward its own officials. Spending public money on the

partiesand fundraiser tables and failing to promptly repay travel advances may have violated the Louisiana Constitution and state law,the report from the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’sOffice stated.

“It’sconcerning, particularly for asmallparish like St. Helena that has extremely limited resources andrevenue,” said Scott Perrilloux, districtattorneyfor the21stJudicial District. “We’re going through thereport, and we’ll map out afuturecourse in

the near future.” St. Helena is governed by aPolice Jury,the electedbodythat serves as both the lawmaking and administrative head of most Louisiana’sparishes. St. Helena Parish has roughly 11,000 residents, anda higherpoverty rate than the Louisiana average, with 32% of its residents living below the poverty line. In awritten response to the auditor,PoliceJury President

IN FORALANDING

AGulf fritillary butterfly lands on aflower recently in the Botanical Gardens at the Independence Community Park in Baton Rouge. Gulf fritillaries love open, moderately sunny habitats and are afavorite visitor of local butterfly gardens. TheGulf fritillarybutterfly caterpillars prefer species of passion vines

Raccashiftingfocus to justiceofthe peace

handledisputesinvolving less than $5,000, matters between landlords and tenants, including evictions, and other legal issues.

BYPATRICK SLOAN-TURNER Staff writer

After roughly seven years on theEastBaton Rouge Parish Metro Council, Jen Ra cca announced she will be running for justice of the peace in the Novem ber election.

“The law andcourtrooms have alwaysbeen my passion,” Racca said in astatement Monday morning. “I am confident thatasjustice of the peace Iamequipped to provide exceptional,efficient service and impartial verdicts.” Justice of the peace officials

Earlier this year,the parishwent from eight justice of the peace districts to six The District 6 seat Racca is running forismadeupofareas that includedowntown, Mid City,south Baton Rouge, Gardereand Oak Hills Council member Aaron Moak, one of Racca’sRepublican colleagues, also recently announced he was running for mayor of Central. Racca will face at least one opponent in Robert Ainsworth,anattorney at theAndrewMurrell Law Firm, who announcedhis candidacyfor theseat last week.

BY HALEY MILLER Staff writer

At the Louisiana Community and Technical College System, thedifference between astudent who finishesadegree and astudent who drops outisn’t always the rigor of the curriculum. Forsomestudents, system Executive Vice President Chandler LeBoeufsaid, it’s theabilityto afford food and get their basic needsmet.

“Oftentimes, it’snot the academic coursework that stops them from ultimatelybeing 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 thetable.” Despite alargely standstill state budgetcoming outofthe

STAFFFILE PHOTO

STAFFPHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

Racca

Plea deal reached in Youngsville murder case

Man won’t stand trial a second time

BY CLAIRE TAYLOR Staff writer

A man convicted in 2017 by a split jury for the murder of a pizza delivery driver in Youngsville will not stand trial a second time.

Aaron Richards, 50, accepted a plea deal Monday, pleading guilty to manslaughter and armed robbery in the March 29, 2010, stabbing death of pizza delivery driver Timothy Falgout. Falgout, who was described as a deeply religious man, was stabbed five times while delivering pizza to a residence in the 300 block of Rue

RISHER

Continued from page 1B

on, with an incredible pink and purple sunset to the west. Mothers were throwing passes to their sons. Mothers were tackling their sons. My father built a career out of organizing fun like this — and for an hour, in the dusk, so did LSU, with a lot more bells and whistles.

The event was so much more than I expected. The coaches and players took it seriously, but they were having fun — and so were the participants. It was a blast to stand in lines and try to throw a football 10 yards into a garbage can. When the last rotation ended, most of the women hurried toward another field where Orgeron was, with his gravelly voice, setting up footraces. Unable to compete, thanks to my injury, I took my time.

On my slow walk over, I began chatting with two people gathering equipment. I told them how wellrun and fun the whole night had been. One of them fell into step beside me. Turned out he grew up in a small town in Mississippi, not too far from where I did. He’d played football at Hinds Junior College, where my uncle spent decades as an administrator He told me his name was Dwike Wilson, LSU’s senior executive director of recruiting and personnel.

RACCA

Continued from page 1B

Racca was appointed to the Metro Council in November 2019 after Barbara Freiberg ran for the Louisiana House of Representatives. She won the seat in an election the following year and ran unopposed for her

COLLEGE

Canard off Chemin Metairie Road in the Youngsville area. A resident of the home found Falgout after noticing his vehicle in her driveway Fifteenth Judicial District Judge Angie Wagar sentenced Richards on Monday in accordance with the plea agreement to 25 years at hard labor on the manslaughter charge and 25 years at hard labor on the armed robbery charge, to run concurrently Richards already is serving a life sentence at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola on a second-degree robbery charge. He was tried as an habitual offender, Assistant District Attorney Alan Haney said. Monday’s plea deal, Haney said, was “more about giving the victim’s (family) finality.”

One requirement of the plea deal

was that Richards admit in court that he stabbed Falgout to death. Falgout’s sister, seated in the courtroom Monday, fought back tears as Richards said that on March 29, 2010, he and another man were riding around Youngsville, getting high on drugs and drinking. Richards said he doesn’t remember each step of what happened.

“I will acknowledge that I was the one that took Mr Falgout’s life,’” Richards said. “I do have remorse.”

Richards turned to Falgout’s sister, saying, “I can’t give you back your brother I hope you are going to have some sense of justice for your loss.”

He was originally found guilty in an April 2017 trial by a 10-2 jury vote and was sentenced to life in prison.

In April 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion in the case of Ramos v. Louisiana that nonunanimous jury decisions in cases involving serious offenses were unconstitutional.

Richards petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for a writ at the same time the court was considering the Ramos case.

Following the Ramos decision, the Supreme Court vacated the 2017 Richards conviction and remanded it back to the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal, which ordered the 15th Judicial District Attorney’s Office in Lafayette to retry the case.

The Advocate was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in September 2022 for reporting on the racial impacts of Louisiana’s laws that allowed

“I bet you know Tony Hughes,” I said. “My dad coached him.” The guy looked at me

second term in 2024.

“Serving on the Metro Council has been one of my greatest honors,” Racca said. “It has given me the opportunity to work directly for our community and tackle difficult problems.”

In recent years on the council, Racca has prioritized city-parish employee insurance reform, city-parish finances and efforts to

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.

sideways.

“Tony Hughes?” he said.

“Tony Hughes coached me.”

Hughes played football for my dad at Forest High School in central Mississippi. He went on to coach at many places University of Southern Mississippi, Louisiana Tech, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and as head coach at Jackson State.

Wilson and I took a photo together before he headed his way and I headed mine, texting the pic to Tony Hughes as I walked.

Hughes wrote back in a flash: “Dwike is my favorite. He is like a son to me. He is my guy!!! I was just talking about Coach Risher at Bible study last night.”

streamline the blight abatement program.

Racca is an attorney practicing in family and criminal law

If elected, Racca said she will focus on ensuring the office is “accessible, efficient, respectful and responsive” to the people who need it.

Metro Council seats are not up for reelection until

Millions of college students in the U.S. go hungry, with roughly 1 in 4 students in 2020 saying they had experienced limited or uncertain access to food

Hughes and his wife have told me before that, through the decades, he has quoted my father in football and in life, on the field and off it.

Before I left the field, I tracked Wilson down to show him the message from Hughes. Maybe it was the sweat on his face, but to me, it looked like his eyes welled up with tears. My father coached high school football for decades in Mississippi. He has been gone four years.

But standing on an LSU practice field under stadium lights, there was no arguing with what I felt. He was there.

Email Jan Risher at jan. risher@theadvocate.com.

2028. If Racca is elected to her new office in November an interim council member will need to be appointed to fill her District 12 seat within 20 days. Then, a special election would take place in April to fill the seat through the end of the term.

Email Patrick SloanTurner at patrick.sloanturner@theadvocate.com.

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.”

juries to convict people without a unanimous verdict, a practice that hailed back to the Jim Crow era of discrimination.

The five-part series titled “Tipping the Scales” debuted on April 1, 2018, around the time the state Legislature began debating a bill that would allow Louisiana voters to amend the state constitution to require unanimous jury verdicts. The constitutional amendment passed by about a 2-1 margin, with The Advocate’s reporting credited with pressuring legislators to call for the election and for educating voters, putting names and faces on those impacted by the nonunanimous verdicts.

Email Claire Taylor at ctaylor@ theadvocate.com.

AUDIT

Continued from page 1B

Quanika Muse acknowledged that the Christmas party spending violated the constitution, and she expressed support for implementing stronger financial controls.

“I can assure the citizens of St. Helena Parish that we take these matters seriously and we will act in the best interest of all of our citizens,” Muse said in a public statement.

The 2024 and 2025 Christmas parties for parish leaders and employees featured a live band, catered food, alcohol and decorations. To help pay for them, the Police Jury turned to local vendors and businesses, which donated $9,100 over the two years. However, when a vendor donates to the parish government, it becomes public funds and must be used for the public.

The Police Jury has thrown the party for years, and it is not clear when businesses began covering part of the tab. Two jurors told auditors they had not known the jury solicited and accepted vendor donations for the party, that they had previously paid for the parties out of their own pockets and had never approved using public money to buy alcohol.

The state Attorney General’s Office has held that public money may cover meals at meetings and certain business functions, but that social functions benefiting employees does not constitute a valid public purpose.

St. Helena SecretaryTreasurer Sharonda Brown told auditors she believed it was permissible to use the donations to fund the party

The report also focused on the Police Jury’s travel spending, which far exceeded its budget in both years reviewed. Over two years, police jurors attended 27 out-of-town conferences, an average of more than one a month, and spent $206,578 on them, 155% over their $81,100 budget.

Police jurors flew to Atlanta; Chicago; Philadelphia; Tampa, Florida; and Birmingham, Alabama, and on multiple occasions, several members traveled to attend the same event.

Seven went to a National Association of Counties conference in Tampa in 2024 that cost more than $23,000; eight flew to Philadelphia in 2025 for nearly as much; and 13 attended a Louisiana Legislative

Black Caucus conference in New Orleans, where the jurors spent an additional $5,000 in public funds to reserve tables at fundraisers How the travel funds ballooned so far over budget is not entirely clear Brown told auditors that jurors know which conferences they will attend each year and the budget is created to reflect the expected cost of travel.

The jury also lost track of the cash it fronted for those trips, according to the audit. Jurors held on to $5,812 in unused travel advances from 2025, which was only returned to the parish after the Legislative Auditor’s Office presented its findings.

In one case, several jurors received $2,000 travel advances for a National Association of Counties conference in Washington, D.C. Jurors told auditors the money was provided to cover lodging, meals and a rental car But the audit found the lodging had already been paid by the jury’s debit card 11 days before the advances were issued.

Muse, one of the recipients, did not return her unused funds until the Legislative Auditor’s Office presented her with the preliminary findings. Two other jurors each had more than $1,000 in unused advances from 2025 still unpaid when they were presented with the audit’s findings. The jurors described the payment lapses as oversights.

“At no time was there any intent to avoid repayment or improperly retain public funds,” Police Jury Vice President Warren McCray Jr wrote in a letter to the auditors.

Brown said travel paperwork and reimbursements were managed through an “honor system,” where employees were responsible for presenting receipts and returning any unused money without additional oversight. The audit report recommended the jury hire legal counsel, write formal spending and travel policies, require proof that officials attended the conferences they billed for and review budget-to-actual expenses monthly

In a public statement, Muse said the jury had already started drafting new rules and requested a travel moratorium be put in place until the new policies are adopted. None of the Police Jury members could be reached for comment.

LeBoeuf said tackling college student hunger remains a multifaceted effort.

Continued from page 1B LOTTERY SUNDAY,AUG. 2, 2026 PICK 3: 5-8-8 PICK 4: 2-0-0-4 PICK 5: 1-0-5-8-9 Unofficial notification, keep your tickets

“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.”

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

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 The Louisiana program is managed by the Board of Regents.

According to the Regents’ annual Hunger-Free Campus report, wide disparities of food services between Louisiana colleges ex-

isted 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 off-campus 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.

“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.

STAFF PHOTOS By JAN RISHER

Jan Risher gets a selfie with coach Ed Orgeron at The Huddle: LSU Football Clinic for Women.

LSU’s new quarterback Sam Leavitt speaks to participants.

At The Huddle: LSU Football’s Clinic for Women, 333 women took part in drills, listened to coach Lane Kiffin, coach Ed Orgeron and numerous players amid preparations for the football season.

p.m

Legier,Barbara

ShilohMissionary BaptistChurch, 185 EddieRobinson Sr.Drive,at11 a.m.

Obituaries

Furr, Martha Myra Johnson Bishop Martha Myra Johnson Bishop Furr, amother, a homemaker, and owner and president of Baker Printing Company, passed away peacefullyather home in Baker, La., on Thursday, July 30, 2026. She was 89 years old. Born February 1, 1937, in Edinburg, Miss., Martha was the daughter of Elsie Kate Mooney Johnson and Arthur D. Johnson.In1953, she married Jack Andrew Bishop, with whom she had 6children -4 sons and twin daughters. The couple opened Baker Printing Co. in 1962, and upon Jack Bishop'spassing in 1983, Martha continued to run the business, which is still in operation to this day.In 1992, Martha then married Albert Furr, who passed away in 2014. Martha's life was atestament to the importance of unwavering faith, quiet strength, and extraordinary determination. During atime when female business owners were ararity, she played an integral role in the dayto-day operations of the business that she and her husband had built, one that her familycontinues to run to this day. Her greatest legacy,however, was the Christian faith she steadily lived and instilled in her familyfor generations to come. Martha's devout Christian beliefs profoundly influenced and guidedevery facet of her life. Martha is survived by her sons, John Andrew Bishop (Dawn) of Clinton, La., Richard Dean Bishop (Karen) of Zachary, La Timothy Paul Bishop (Debbie) of Saratoga, Wyo., and Spencer Jay Bishop (LuAnn) of Clinton, La.; her daughters, Martha Bishop Kwasny (John) of Brandon, Miss., and Myra Bishop

Penn (William"Michael") of Lena, Miss.;one stepdaughter, Lana Furr Griffin (Cary) of Baker, La ;three stepsons, Douglas Furr (Betty) of Baton Rouge,La., Tommy Furr(Susan) of Baton Rouge, La., and Roger Furr of Baker, La ;55 grandchildren, 56 greatgrandchildren, and 5greatgreat-grandchildren.She was preceded in deathby her father, Arthur Johnson; mother, Elsie Kate Mooney Johnson; sisters, Ella Johnson and Nell Johnson Grant; brother,Lee Johnson,Sr.;husband, JackAndrewBishop;husband, A.T. Furr; daughter-in-law, Robbie West Bishop;grandson, Trenton Paul Bishop; granddaughter,Nichole Laureme Penn; and greatgrandson,Ruston Dwayne Bishop.Visitation will be held on Wednesday, August 5, 2026atFaith Baptist Church at 15880Plank Road in Baker,La.,from9 a.m. until the service at noon.Burial will immediately follow at Hillcrest MemorialGardens, 6213 Groom Road, Baker,La. 70714. Pallbearerswill be JohnCharles Kwasny, WilliamMichael Penn, Spencer VanceBishop, Bennett Earl Bishop,Rusty Dean Bishop, andByram HallBishop.Honorary pallbearers will be JohnEddie Grant, Jr Noel Stiles, John AndrewBishop, II, and JerrelDouglas Day, and Roger Furr. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Quiet Waters Ministries, P.O Box 2247,Madison, MS 39130, or at quietwatersms.org. Sharememories at www.CharletFuneralHome. com

William and Katherine HypesonAugust 20, 1939. She is preceded in death by her daughter Mary Elizabeth Gugich. Helen was agraduateof LSUwitha masters in science education and taught science at theLSU Laboratory School forover twenty years. She was alovingwife, mother, and grandmother to allthose she left behind She is survivedbyher husband Ross Headlee,her sons GeorgeWilliam Gugich, John Michael Gugich, and daughter Karen Rose Gugich, and son-in-lawSteven Babcock.She is also survived by her seven grandchildren IlanaGugich, Nolan Babcock, GeorgeEdward Gugich, MileseGugich, BenjaminGugich, Catherine Gugich, and Addison Gugich.

The family plans to gather privatelyfor acelebrationofHelen's life at a laterdate.

Trudy G. Kahn Smith passed away peacefully in her sleep on the morning of August 2, 2026. After a multi-year, long and tough journey with Alzheimer's, Trudy is now enjoyingher best life on theother side, restored to fullhealth and reunited withRay and many lovedones. Trudy was borninVicksburg Mississippi,onJuly 8,1949, to her parents, James and Erma Kahn. Trudy lived most of her life in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where she graduated from IstroumaHighSchool and laterbecame aLicensed Cosmetologist. Trudymarried her husband Ray"Big Head" Smith on July22, 1972. Together they liveda fulllife,working day in and dayout, side by side as

they ownedand operated their well-known Baton Rouge staple, theHawk's Nest Restaurant and Bar, forover 50 years. Known for her unforgettablewit and straight forwardness, Trudy was atrue pistol. She was funny, real, unfiltered and entertaining to be with. Youwere guaranteed alaugh in thecompany of Trudy! Younever questionedwhere you stoodwithher. Trudy's family was her entire world!Ifshe wasn't at the Hawk's Nest or cutting hair, youwouldfind her celebrating family birthdays,spoilingher grandchildren, shoppingwith her daughter, traveling with her sister, doting on her nieces, Jenniferand Tracey, drinking and laughing with friends or "cruising thecoast' with Ray. Trudy was abeach lover, always up for aparty, festival or any adventure.She had agreen thumb, enjoyed time outside, was artsy and loved to tinker and paint; she lovedclassiccars, good music, fun people,car races and cigarette boat rides. Trudy never missed adance recital or ballgame for eitherofher children and would never pass up a chance to be with thetwo of them or hergrandchildren.She is deeply loved, sorely missed and forever remembered.Trudyispreceded in death by her husband, Ray"Bighead" Smith;and parents, James and Erma Kahn. She leaves behind her siblings, Mary Kahn Efferson (Richard) and JR Kahn (Jane); two belovedchildren, KyleRay Smith (Chela) and Jaime Smith Sims (Jeff); four grandchildren, Austin Sims, BryceSims, Luke Smith and PaigeSmith;as well as her cherished nieces, nephews, greatnieces, great-nephews and many extended family. Pallbearers willinclude KyleSmith,JeffSims, Austin Sims, Bryce Sims, LukeSmith,and Jackson Walker. Our family would like to thank thestaff at The Claiborne and Clarity Hospice fortheir care for Trudy during her time with them. Relatives and friends are invited to celebrate Trudy'slifeonWednesday, August 5, 2026, at Resthaven Funeral Home, from 5:00-7:00 PM.Visitation willresume on Thursday, August 6, 2026, at St. GeorgeCatholic Church beginning at 9:30 AM until

at 11:00 AM.Burial to follow at St.George Catholic Church Cemetery.Family andfriends may sign the online guestbook or leave apersonal note to thefamilyatwww.resthavenbaton rouge.com.

Whiteand Bertha Ella White. Donald Ray passed away on Sunday, July 19, 2026 at OurLady of the Lake Regional Medical Center

GeraldineEdithLuckett

White, born June 3, 1940, transitionedMonday, July 27, 2026 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Shewas aretiredEast Baton Rouge Parish School System Educator having taughtfor over 30 years at Brownsfield ElementarySchool. Sheissurvived by herdevoteddaughters,Marilyn June Beasley, Ursula Spratling(Laman)and Angela Bohannon(Alan); and fourgrandchildren; precededindeathbyher husband of 57 years, HoraceG White, Jr.Serviceswillbe held at Mt Pilgrim Baptist Church,9700 Scenic Highway, Baton Rouge.Visitation:Wednesday, Aug5 2026 at 5:30-7:30 pm; Fu-

Scott Young,Jr

White, Donald Ray Blue

Smith,Trudy Gail Kahn

White, Geraldine Luckett

Headlee, Helen E

Helen HypesHeadlee died August 1, 2026. She was borninAnsted, W. Virginia to her parents

Scantodownload

OUR VIEWS

Voters’

choices in fall elections narrow

As anew election cycle gets underwaywith qualifying for municipal andstate offices starting Wednesday,wecan’thelp butnotethat Louisiana voters this fall face adramatically changed landscape.

When the U.S. SupremeCourt’s ruling in Louisiana v. Callais came down in April, fundamentally altering the understanding of Section2of the Voting Rights Act, we said that we hopedit wouldn’tbethe end of thestory andthatvoters would see the importanceoftheirrole in our democratic system.

Since then, we have seen legislators in multiple states quickly revise maps to givetheir party’scandidates an advantage. In Louisiana, that has meant the elimination of oneofthe state’stwo majority-Black congressional districts, which is held by Rep. Cleo Fields, D-Baton Rouge.

After Callais, congressional primariesset for May were abruptly canceled so lawmakers could redraw districts.Inthe newlyconfigured 6th District, approved by theLegislature in May, aheated race among Republicansisexpected. But Fields has already announced he won’t run. Justasin2024, when thedistrictswereredrawn to comply with acourt orderand thenRep. Garret Gravesdecided not to seek the seat, we believethe political debate becomes poorer when voters have fewer choices.

And that is what is happening withthe intense focus by political parties on rewarding loyalty above all else. We see fewer coalitions forming and fewer candidates who can talk acrossthe aisle.Wedon’thear discussionsofissuesthat are important to large swathsofvoters. That, we fear,leads too many to believetheyhaveno option of supporting someone who’drepresent theirpoint of view or focus on solving their problems.

Let’snot forget that the Callais decisionaffects not just congressional elections, butalso comes into play for redistricting for city councils and school boards —bodies whereworking collaboratively matters.

There is little that the average votercan do to changethisstate of affairs, butitshould be clear to allthat voting matters now more thanever.

This latest bout of redistrictingseekstoguarantee the outcomes that party politicianswant to see. But even as they “pack andcrack”the electorate, their actions offer noguarantees,and indeed could make the paths of their favored candidates more perilousifvoter turnoutis greater than expected.

Our fervent wish is to get to aplaceinour state andinour country where politiciansseek less to pick their voters,but ratherpickupthe challenge of tackling the priorities that matter to abroad majority of theelectorate Until that day,though, we all havea responsibility tofollow the campaigns, demandthat candidates respond to voters andtoshowupatthe ballot box to make our voices heard.

LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR ARE WELCOME. HERE AREOUR

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

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

TO SEND US A LETTER, SCANHERE

Landry hasreasons fortreating NewOrleans as an adversary

Iwas intriguedbythe letter from Mark Weber of New Orleans.Hecomplimented Minnesota Gov TimWalz as an ideal governor.Isthat thesame Tim Walz who “respected” the Somali immigrantswho defrauded thegovernment in his state?

Iagree thatPresident Trump disagrees with many people who didn’t vote for him, but maybe it is because they are“an enemy of the United States.” Ihope he disagrees with alot morewho are taking our taxdollarsbydefrauding the government programs designed to help people.

Why would Gov.Jeff Landrybe“shameful” for

Medical sciencecan work miracles, if we will supportit

Ireally appreciated therecentletter fromJonathan Mizrahi, M.D., where he lauds the great strides in finding cures for pancreaticcancer

Dr.Mizrahi emphasizesthat these breakthroughs came via investments mademanyyears ago, andhepoints outthatfuture breakthroughs depend on ourinvestmenttoday

Fourteen years ago, my wife was diagnosedwith stage 4A breast cancer.Thanks to chemotherapy and hormonetreatment developedyears ago, my wife is nowconsidered cancerfree with avery lowchanceof it ever returning. Let’scontinue to invest in medical science. God works through medical science. QUIN BATES Marrero

treating the residentsof New Orleans as adversaries?

Maybe he does so becauseofthe actions of the cityleaders. We might remember Congressman William “Cold Cash” Jefferson from New Orleans Seems like he was indicted and went to prison. How about Mayor Ray“School Bus” Nagin. Seems like he was indicted and went to prison. And who could forget Mayor LaToya “The Apartment” Cantrell? Seems like she has been indicted also. Could it be that Gov.Landry, with his law enforcement background, might frown on the conduct of the leaders of New Orleans?

The state attorney general has aresponsibility to issue legal opinions on matters taking place in the state. If someone disagrees with that opinion, they have the right to file amotion contesting that opinion. But instead, agrand jury brought an indictment against the state’sattorney general. That certainly has the aromaofcorruption. Until NewOrleans residents elect people of integrity who work for the betterment of the city,I hope Gov.Landry continues to be “shameful” and treat them as adversaries instead of constituents.

DAVID MCLEMORE Baton Rouge

Following the last Louisiana governor’selection, Ipenned a letter mourning the end of Gov. John Bel Edwards’ leadership and expressing concerns about the incoming Jeff Landry administration. Iwas willing to see how the new governor enriched Louisiana; unfortunately,my initial fears have been realized. Jeff Landry,like Donald Trump, has issues with narcissism —asifhethinks his way is the only way. Donald Trump wants ownership of Greenland against the strenuous objections of Greenland, Denmark and other nations of the Western world. Then the president appointed Landry as official U.S. representative to Greenland.

In therecent article “New Carnival rules OK’d,” thenewspaper reports that grills, tents, furniture and portable toiletsremain prohibited in public spaces along New Orleansparade routes, but the fines for violatorswill increase from $250 to $1,000 and $2,000 each day thereafter.Blah, blah, blah.

Fines haven’tworked before, because enforcement is impossible. Howwill raising fines be different? What is theplan?

At theend of the parade days, Iwatch land grabberslowering canopies and tents, locking up ladders and tables, bundling chairs and re-staking tarps, knowing they will be there the next day

Many taketurns sleeping in vehicles or sitting in chairs to protect their turf for the next parade.

The misuse of public property for the private use of afew should not be tolerated. It’stimethe city goes old-school. Back when it meantbusiness, tow truckslined up beforeparades, hauling away illegally parked vehicles.Then came dumptrucks with city employees tossing ladders, furniture, tarps, tents and other prohibited items into them.

Onesweep doesn’twork. It must becomeroutine, bothbefore and after parades.

The city does an amazing job of cleaning up after parades.Now is thetime to put someteeth into enforcing Carnival rules SUSAN MUCHMORE NewOrleans

One of the governor’searly actions was to call several special sessions aimed at ramming through his private agenda for the state with little timeoffered forquestions and reflections by state legislators or citizens. Even with someeffective “no” votes by legislators, the governor still had success expanding power forhis office and himself When the GOPsent out directions to red states to reorder district boundaries to increase the number of Republicans running in the midterm elections, Landry jumped to it, increasing the number of White Republicans by gerrymandering the elimination of one of two Black legislators representing the third of Louisiana citizens who are Black. Then comes the New-Orleansisn’t-so-great kerfuffle, where Landry has whipped up conflict between NewOrleans and Baton Rouge.

In the meantime, several projects planned forNew Orleans have been canceled or denied in what uncannily resembles revenge.

Istill really miss our last governor.I wish for deeper reflection on the part of Gov. Landry,and that the next giftto Louisiana will be an infusion of down-to-earth humility with a clear lack of self-interest.

PAMHARTMAN Denham Springs

COMMENTARY

LSUsportsmakesequityplay

This week, Gov.Jeff Landry and LSU President Wade Rousse will convene apair of private meetings with top donors to LSU’ssports programs to lay out a new revenue model that could “change the future of college sportsin America.”

Grandiose statements aside, part of the deal may already be done: Baton Rouge news website RedEye reported Monday morning that LSU had already entered into an agreement withaprivate equity firm for $100 million.

Noneofthis should be surprising. College sports is now more than ever a big-money arms race. Every school is looking for new revenue sources that will help keep it at the topofthe heap. That’swhy LSU is searching so hard for more cash.

RedEye’sreport, which is anonymously sourced, says that the investors will provide $100 million in upfront cash. It’ssimilarto deals inked by Michigan State and the University of Utah, the report says In return, the firm will receive either aminimum guarantee or apercentage of media rights whenthe SECnegotiates its next football deal, RedEye reported.

It’sanimportantinfusion for LSU, which runs deficits in most sports

other than football, even popular ones like gymnastics, baseball and women’s basketball.

Player compensation is amajor expense. This is not theold days,with recruiting battles playing out in living rooms and at kitchen tables with mothers and fathers. They are waged in boardrooms and at conference tables, with agentsand consultants.

Butitwould be wrong to lay the blame for this at the feet of the players. For years, college sports was atopdown, closed economy.Within thelast half-century,astelevision brought more and more games into American homes, the money began flowing in. Athletics departments began to act like businesses. But they didn’tpay players in proportion to their value; the moneywent to coaches, administrators and facilities.

This arrangement was justified for years under thefarcical ideal of “amateurism,”even as increasingly wealthy coaches put ever-increasing demands on their players’ time and effort. Players haven’tbeen “studentathletes” for years.

This system allowed schools to keep the majorlabor costs down (coaches excluded) while pulling revenue from media rights.

Today,college athletics is amarketdriven economy.Top players are looking for the best deal for them andtheir

families. They are finally being compensated in relation to the value they bring to theirorganizations, the same as every other employee.

Butitputsthoseatthe top of theprogram in abind. To keep LSU’ssports roaring, to keep Tiger Stadium one of the best places to be on aSaturday night,tokeep the PMAC shaking at the conclusion of aflawless floor routine, LSU officials need to pay competitive rates. That’snot cheap.

Andso, we are in aspot whereLSU has cut its first privateequitydeal. Morethan thetaxpayers, residents, fans, donorsorthe state’spolitical leadership, one privatecompany now has an actual share of the flagship public university’ssports programs. Investors aren’tlooking for wins They’relooking for areturn.

Butthereisabright spot. The best way for private investors to get that return is for LSU sports to remaina hot commodity. Andthe bestway for that to happen is for theprogram to win on the field and on the court. That will do two things:keep fans happy and drive investor returns. It also putsalot of pressure on those at the top. It likely will lead to more such deals. Critics will say LSUhas soldout.The truth is,ithad no choice.

EmailFaimon A. Roberts III at froberts@theadvocate.com.

Who’stoblame when kids aren’t vaccinated?

New Hampshire, South Carolina test Democrats

David Shribman

CRAWFORD NOTCH, N.H.— Twohundred years ago this summer,aferocious storm moved through these mountains, prompting a massive landslide that killed seven members of the Willey family and two hired workers. More than twodecades ago, the Great Stone Face, the beloved rock formation above Franconia Notch that wasthe symbol of this state and the inspiration for scores of 19th-century paintings and the soaring oratory of Daniel Webster, collapsed. Recently,the Democratic National Committee took steps to end morethan acentury’sNew Hampshire tradition of holdingthe first presidentialprimary and delivered the prize to South Carolina.

Nothing if not resilient in the face of sadness and crisis, NewHampshire —shaped by massive geological forces that created the hills and glens of this state, buffeted by economic forces that created and then demolished what once wasthe largest cotton textile complex on the globe —has hewntotradition, nurtured a culture of independence, adjusted to powerfulgales of change, even endured extreme winds (234 mph, mostpowerful recorded in the Northern Hemisphere) and bracing temperatures (wind chill minus 109 degrees).

Nowit’sgirding to fight forthe lifeofits political culture.

One asset: The Republicans show no sign of moving their 2028 primary out of NewHampshire. One response: Guided by aGranite State law that requires the state to hold the first presidential primary “7 days or moreimmediately preceding the date on which any other state shall hold asimilar election” —to the mind of politicos here, and here that means pretty much everybody,Iowa’scontest, acaucus, doesn’tcount —the Democrats likely will hold their primary before South Carolina’s anyway With the support of GOPGov.Kelly Ayotte, they’lldare the Democrats to refuse to seat its delegates in the national convention. But those delegates werenever the point. In 2020, the last timethe party had acontested presidential nomination, NewHampshire’s24delegates constituted less than 1% of the total.

“There’snoreason we have to listen to this decision,” said former Secretary of State William Gardner,who fordecades fought to keep NewHampshire first.

That’sbecause the impact of New Hampshire always has been to test presidential candidates in an environment of highly engaged voters. It has provided asignal to the country of the legitimacy of somecandidates (Dwight Eisenhower,Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George H.W.Bush, Michael Dukakis, John F. Kerry,Bernie Sanders) and the weakness of somehighly touted others (Nelson Rockefeller, President Lyndon Johnson, Edward M. Kennedy,Bill Bradley). Often candidates wholost (Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Joe Biden) were strengthened by the test they endured.

What is the death count under Donald Trump? We’re not talking about loss of life in his war with Iran. We’re not talking aboutnatural deaths by agingorunpreventable diseases. We mean Americans who die because they refuse safe vaccines that Trump or his health secretary,Robert F. Kennedy Jr., question or discourage.

Arecent occurrence of death and suffering comes from the refusal by many parents to let doctors give their newborns avitamin Kshot. Infants are naturally deficient in vitamin K, which helps prevent blood clots and internal bleeding, which can be horrific. Kisavitamin, not avaccine. But ill-informed parents have developed suspicion of anything delivered with aneedle.

Vitamin Kshots were once routinely given, but now many parents refuse them. In 2024,anestimated 5.2% of American babies were notinjected with vitamin K, up from 2.9% in 2017. At least12suchbabies have died, and far more have sufferedpermanent brain damage.

Doctors believe the real numbers are far higher than reported

Who’sto blame —the parents for not studying the matter or ahealth department that hascastaspersions on accepted science?Jessica Kirk,a

pediatric specialist at aFlorida hospital, recalls trying to comfort agrieving parent. “But what Icould notbring myself to say to her was, ‘There’s nothing you could have done.’ ”

Fallingvaccination rates are to blame for America’sworst measles outbreak in more than 30 years. Parents are refusing the effective measles, mumps andrubella vaccine over the false claimthatitcauses autism.Trumpissaidtobehounding Bobbytolook deeper for alink that 138 studies by real scientists could not find.Trump now insists that the shot be broken up into separate injections, based on zero science.

Several children infected with measles died last year,whenthere were far fewer cases. Many more had to be hospitalized withseriouscomplications.

Trumpmakes us dizzy complaining that he doesn’tget credit forspeedingupdevelopment of aCOVID-19 vaccineand then putting avaccine skeptic with abizarre past in charge of Health and Human Services. He gushes abouthaving “a Kennedy” from “the greatest political family” in hisadministration. Whatfun that must have been Trumpnever directlydiscouraged Americansfrom getting COVIDshots. Buthekept minimizing the severity of the disease. He said it would “go away” or that it was undercontrol Trump would not receive the vaccine

beforecameras. ThatgaveAmericans whosuspected that vaccinesposed dangers more reasons to avoidthem.

An estimated 250,000 Americans diedunnecessarily from COVIDby refusing to be vaccinated after the shots became widely available.Who’s to blame? The first Trump administration or people whodidn’tseek outexpert advicetoget vaccinated?

Trump is allegedly unhappy with Bobby for notdoing more to fansuspicionofvaccines. Really,RFK Jr.has done quite enough harm already putting Americans’ health at risk.

Complicating matters forTrump are newfindings from afriendly pollster that vaccine skepticism is highly unpopularwith voters. In another survey, 80% of adults said they trusted their doctors most, while only 34% put their faith in Bobby Why is Trump pushing doubt in mainstream science when he andhis family reportedly getall the shots? Could it be fumes circulating in his 80-year-old head?Could it be apleasurable jolt of power from persuading people to, in effect, gamblewith their lives? Thatpossibility is too grim to contemplate.

Sufficeittosay,though, the Trump administration is doing real harm, and some of it is costing American lives.

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

This state has held the first primary since 1920 (winner: Herbert Hoover,who wouldn’t be elected president foranother eight years) and has been established as an important political test since 1952 (the first of two Eisenhower victories).

The key to the cult of NewHampshire is the intimacy of the process, conducted in living rooms, libraries, church basements —a reflection of the truth that Thornton Wilder, whoset his 1938 Pulitzer-winning play “Our Town”inthe fictional community of Grovers Corners, New Hampshire, identified when he wrote, “Inour town, we like to know the facts about everybody.” It is indelibly marked by the aggressiveness of the voters who attend meet-and-greets and town meetings, as former Governor Nikki Haley,accustomed to South Carolina politics and shivering —itwas only November! —asshe entered aHooksett, New Hampshire, meeting site in 2023, discovered first-hand.

But it has adamaging distinction for Democratic policy-makers: It’s 91% White, only 2% Black (Democratic Party: 18%) and 5% Hispanic (Democrats: 16%).

If, forexample, acandidate such as Kentucky Gov.Andy Beshear,who would be expected to do well in South Carolina, contests an early New Hampshire primary and does well, he could solidifyhis position as aputative frontrunner.Aprogressive candidate wholikes to defyconvention, such as, say,Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of NewYork, could campaign here alongside her ally Sanders (winner of two primaries and afamiliar figure across the state border), and have abreakthrough to catapult her into serious contention she’sunlikely to wininSouth Carolina.

Email DavidShribman at dshribman@postgazette.com.

Faimon Roberts

Froma Harrop

STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU interim coach FrankWilson leads theteamonto the field against WesternKentucky on Nov. 22 in TigerStadium.

If youenjoyed the weatheryesterday, youshouldlikeitonce again today.Expect amostlysunny, hot, relatively humid daywithalight breeze. Temperatures this afternoon willbeabout where theyshould be,rising to the

and protect yourself from the sun.

BY DEREK GATOPOULOS and SYLVIE CORBET

Associated Press

ATHENS,Greece Arecordbreaking hot and dry summer tightened its grip on EuropeonMonday,as water-dropping planes swooped over amajor wildfire in Greece, firefighters in France sought to stabilize a blazeinProvence, andmuch of theU.K. recordedits driest July in nearly two centuries. Wildfires west of Athens jumped containment lines, a day after amidair collision between two helicopters killed two crewmembers. AGreek and aDanish national died and two others were hospitalized in the helicopter collision. All four were private operators chartered by the Greek firefighting service. In France, firefighters in the region around Bordeaux guarded against potential flare-ups inside astill-burning scar four times the size of Paris.

Aprolonged heat wave and lack of rainfall led to the driest July in England and Wales in nearly 200 years of recordkeeping, according to provisional statistics, the U.K.’sweather service said Monday AllofWales andmorethan half of England are officially in drought, the Met Office said. The dry spell was accompanied by sweltering temperatures across much of the U.K., following heat waves in May and June.

Wales tied its record for its warmest mean temperature for July while England and the U.K. recorded their second-warmest July

Strong winds returnedto southern Greece late Monday,pushing flames into mountainhome clusters, destroying farms and property,and closing ahighway Areas surroundingAthens remain at high risk through the week with temperatures set to rise further.More than 1,000 people have been evacuated from around the

seaside resort of Porto Germeno and other areas west of thecapital —including more than 250rescuedby boatsfrom beaches in the area.

“This is adifficult firethat hastroubled us,” Fire Service spokesmanYiannis Artopiossaid, adding that 12 water-droppingplanesand 11 helicopters were operatinginthe area Monday. The blaze was blamed on afaulty power linefroma wind farm and led to the arrests of two contractors on charges of negligent arson. Despite improved detection methods and expanded cooperation among European Union members, Greece and other countries along Europe’sMediterranean coast sufferdevastating wildfires every summer as spells of heat wave temperatures growlonger Europe is Earth’s fastestwarming continent, heating at more than twice theglobal average since the1980s, according to the European Union’sCopernicus climate service. Risingtemperatures and prolonged drought leave vegetation drier and more combustible, allowing firestospreadfaster and burn more intensely In France, thousands of evacuees were allowed to

return home or to holiday accommodations Monday after amassive wildfire remained contained. More than 224,000 people had fled in what officialssaidwas the country’slargest civilianevacuation outside of wartime.

Thewildfire burned about 162 square miles,making it France’slargestwildfireon record. Monday’sreturn includesCap Ferret peninsula, atourist hot spot along the Atlantic coast,and Le Porge, themunicipalityhardest hit by thefire,where 183homes weredestroyed.Campsites remain closed Firefighters in theNetherlands were battling alarge blaze Mondayina forest in thesouthernprovince of Limburg, authorities said, as the countrysweltered through another dayofhot, drysummer weather.The national railway operator halted trains between two townsinthe area duetothe fire.

TheDutchair force sent twoChinook helicopters equippedwith large water containers to help firefighters tackle the blaze in the Netherlands. Mediareported that acampsiteinthe area was evacuated due to poor air qualitycaused by a large plume of smoke.

ASSOCIATEDPRESS

PHOTO By MICHAEL VARAKLAS

Avolunteer tries to extinguish small flames during awildfire Sundaynear PortoGermeno, northwest of Athens, Greece.

‘LOT OF PRIDE’

BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer

Kaden Elliss has notspent alot of time reflecting on his professionalfootball journey, but he quicklycan recall the unfortunate moment that changed the trajectory of his career

It was aMondayNight Football game against the Baltimore Ravens in 2022. Starting weak-side linebacker Pete Werner left the field on amedical cart inthe thirdquarter, an injury that required surgery andsidelined himfor six weeks.

“You pray for everyoneonthe team to be completely healthy all year,” Elliss said.“If Pete doesn’tget hurt against the Baltimore Ravens my last year here,Imight havejust signed back as aspecial-teamer,and that mighthave been my career.You knowwhat Imean?”

The New Orleans Saints suddenly needed to count on Elliss, known mostly for his special-teams ability,ina starting role. He delivered in abig way,recording six sacks and 63 tackles in the final nine games of that season, enough to earn him abig contract from the rival Atlanta Falconsthat offseason

This spring, Ellissreturned to wherehis career startedasa different playerthan the one who needed an opportunity

He has establishedhimself as aproven and dependable startinglinebacker in the NFL.

He has earned more than $30 million in his career and will top $50 million if hefinishes out his third contract.

That is not too bad for aformer seventhround pick out of theUniversity of Idaho.

“There’salot of pride,”said gen manager MickeyLoomis,who was ning the front office when the Sa selected Ellisswiththe No. 244 p in 2019. “I think anytime youdra the players that are in thelatter ha of the draftand they develop int All-Pro, Pro Bowl (players) …tha makesyou feel good “Kindofpissedoff that he was i Atlanta over those years and doin that —like,you don’tlike to see t —but you’re happy forthe player kindofmad that you didn’t see it so and keep him here.”

Sometimes the timing works out, though.

New Orleans already hada line of communication out to Ellis about the possibility of coming backwhen Demario Davis elected to sign with the New York Jets this offseason. That move created avoid that Elliss wasqualifiedtofill.

Elliss topped 100 tackles in eachofhis three seasons with theFalcons. He wasthe Falcons “green dot” defender,callingdefe sive plays in the huddle.And the skills that first started to show w gothis opportunity to play in New have been evident during early training camp

“I’m excitedtoplaywithhim,” tackle Davon Godchaux said. “Ve

‘Paranoid’ Faulktoput off Southern

BY TOYLOYBROWN III

Staff writer

Marshall Faulk is learning how quickly plans change well before thefirst snap of the regular season.

The first-year Southern coach demonstrated that when he told reporters on Monday he nolonger plans to announce astarting quarterback prior to the season opener after he originally said he would reveal astarter before preseason camp. Faulk said the Jaguars have an idea of whowill become the starter,but they have no intention of sharing it publicly during preseason camp prior to the season opener against Alabama State at 2p.m. Aug. 29 in Birmingham, Alabama.

“Wehave avery,very good idea of who our starting quarterback is going to be,” Faulk said. “And you know,newsisgreat.I believe news

is awesome, you know, but Idon’t knowwhy Iwould want to tell Alabama Statethat?

“Weknowwho we like,and we know what we want to do. Unfortunately, you guys are gonna have to wait ‘til the first game.”

Faulk’sstanceinkeeping the starting quarterback asecret mirrors the philosophy of his predecessor,Terrence Graves. Faulk previouslysaid he wanted to announceastarter during spring practice.Helater said he “hates” having aquarterback battle enteringpreseasoncamp and wanted it resolved after aweek.

On the first day of camp Saturday,Faulkexplained how leadershipqualities will factor greatly intothe decision along with onfield ability.Healsonamed the three quarterbacks vying for the starting job:junior Hutchinson (Kansas) CommunityCollege transfer Christian Johnson, returningsenior Ashton Strother and sophomore Long Beach City College transfer Wyatt McCauley Faulk was asked afollow-up

questionabout the shiftofhis quarterback announcement plans.

“I don’twant to be Bill Belichick up here,” he said. “I want you guys to know; we wanttobreak news. Butatthe sametime, we got games to win. Every advantage we can have,Iwanttouse it. Iwant to have it.And notlettinga team know whoour starting quarterback (is), that’s an advantage.” Johnsonisthe newest addition, joining theprogram in early June. The6-foot, 206-pound junior from Montgomery, Alabama, played in back-to-back NJCAADivisionI championshipgames at Hutchinson. As afreshman, he shared quarterback duties and helped the BlueDragons win the 2024 national title, completing65of112 passes (53.3%)for 983 yards, seven touchdowns and six interceptions. Lastseason, Johnson completed 156 of 258 passes (60.5%) for 2,120 yards,22touchdowns and five interceptions while leading Hutchinson to an 11-1 record.Healso had

Saints deal with fallout of Polk’s surprise decision

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

Aday after Ja’LynnPolkmade the surprising decision to retire from the NFL, there still wasn’tclarity about why the wide receiver wanted to walk away Coach Kellen Moore calledPolk’s choice “personal,” declining to share the reasons the 24-year-old provided the Saints. AndMoore saidthere was no illwilltowardPolk, adding thereceiver hadseveral conversationswiththe team in the days before he was placed on the league’sreserve/retired list.

“He just felt like this was the best decision forhim on apersonal level,” Moore said. “And so, youknow, love that guy. He didanawesome jobthrough the entire processhere (over) theyear-plus we had him.”

Make no mistake, Polk’sretirement was sudden and will force the Saints to change course after the black and gold hada clear visionfor the former2024 second-round pick. NewOrleans was hoping to salvage Polk’scareer after it acquired him from the New England Patriots last training camp. Polk’stenure ends without ever suiting up in aSaints uniform. He was sidelined allof2025because of ashoulder injurythatendedhis seasonbefore New Orleans traded for him.

Let’sexamine the ripple effects of the Saints losing Polk. Next man up

Before retiring, Polk had established himselfasthe Saints’ fourth receiver —with the potentialtocompete with Devaughn Vele for the third spot.

With Chris Olave and Jordyn Tyson sidelinedthrough thespring during team drills, Polk got valuable reps with the starters and formed anice chemistry with quarterback TylerShough. Polk impressed well enough that Moore madeapoint Monday to tell reporters he wasconfident thewideout could contribute in the NFLifPolk were to reverse his decision.

With Polk gone, there’sawide-open windowfor the eight other receivers not named Olave, Tyson and Vele to win that spot.

All eyes will turn to the Saints’ recent draft picks. Fourth-round wide receiver Bryce Lance had agood practice Sunday with back-to-back touchdowns whilethe Saints workedinthe redzone. On Monday, it wassixth-round wideout Barion Brown’sturn to stand out. The LSU product flashed by hauling in several long catches andusing his 4.4 speed to torch the opposing corner Third-year receiverKevin Austin perhaps shouldn’tbediscounted. He got work with the first-team offense near the end of practice Monday, when the Saints were scaling back the

STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

Saints linebacker Kaden Elliss runs adrill during

Faulk

On TV

LITTLE LEAGUE SOFTBALL

9a.m. WorldSeries: TBD,Game9 ESPN2

noonWorld Series: TBD,Game10ESPN2

3p.m. WorldSeries: TBD,Game11ESPN2

6p.m. WorldSeries:TBD,Game12ESPN2

7p.m.

6:30 p.m.FCPachucaatFCCincinnatiFS1

8:50 p.m.U.S.vs. Guatemala FS2

9p.m.Tigres UANL at RealSalt LakeFS1 TENNIS

10 a.m. Canada-ATP/WTATENNIS

RedSox,Phillies, Padres go big

Tradedeadline expires with flurry of moves

BY DAVID BRANDT AP baseball writer

The Boston Red Sox andPhiladelphia Phillies took big swings Monday ahead of baseball’strade deadline, with the Red Sox adding three-time All-Star catcher Adley Rutschman afew hours after the Phillies picked up three-time batting champion Luis Arraez.

Thepairofaggressivemoves highlighted ahectic day of swaps, featuring dozens of deals in the hours leading up to Monday’s 5p.m. deadline. Among Monday’s other fireworks: the Houston Astros added veteran outfielder Daulton Varsho from Toronto in exchange for right-hander SpencerArrighetti, andthe Chicago Cubs got pitcher Clay Holmes from the New York Mets.

The San Diego Padres made multiple moves to deepen their pitching staff, picking up former Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray in adealwith the San Francisco Giants and right-hander Casey Mize from the Detroit Tigers.

Here are Monday’sbiggest deals: RutschmantoRed Sox

Rutschmanwas theNo. 1overall pick in 2019 out of Oregon State and has largely lived up to the high expectations with five qualityseasons with theBaltimore Orioles.

Now he moves to the Red Sox, who started slow this seasonbut revitalized their playoff hopes with afranchiserecord-tying 15game winning streakinJuly.The 28-year-old Rutschman —who is under team control for one more season in 2027 —has hada bounce-back season at the plate with a.762 OPS, which helpedhim earn his third All-Star nod Rutschman is currently on the injured list with left wrist inflammation. He’salso dealt with an ankle injury and aconcussion this year

The Red Sox also received catcher Jake Rogers and cash considerations in the deal. The Orioles gotcatcher Carlos Narváez, minor leagueright-handed pitchers Anthony Eyanson and Kyson Witherspoon, minor league outfielder Enddy Azocar,and aplayer to be named laterorcash considerations. Eyanson, who pitchedon LSU’s2025 national championship team, is one of the top pitching prospects in baseball

BaltimoreOrioles catcher AdleyRutschman follows through on atworundouble against the ChicagoCubsinthe seventh inning on July 7in Baltimore. The Orioles traded him to BostononMonday.

Arraez to Phillies

Arraez comes to the Phillies from theSan Francisco Giants, and he’ll be expected to create RBI opportunities for sluggers Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber

Arraez is hitting an NL-best .324 in aresurgent season after signing a$12 million,one-year dealwith San Francisco earlyin spring training. The 29-year-old hashis highestbatting average since 2023, and he’splayed better defense at second baseafter questionsabout hisglove hindered his market in free agency

Phillyalsogot reliever Caleb Kilian back from theGiants in thetrade for two minor leaguers, and it swung aseparate deal for left-handed reliever Brooks Raley with theMets.

Padres loadup

The Padres have won eight of nine to moveone game back of thefinalwild-card playoff position, andthislatestsurge in their up-and-downseasonapparently prompted general manager A.J Preller to tradeyet another chunk of his severely depleted farm system for achance to win now Ray is 10-6 with a3.08 ERA and 107 strikeoutsin1222/3 innings this season, his third with San Francisco.

San Diego gave up right-hander

Miguel Mendez and 17-year-old shortstopJoniel Hernandez for the34-year-old Ray, who will be an unrestricted free agent this winter.The Padres also gotcash in thedeal.

The 26-year-old Mize has a4-6 recordand 2.70 ERA this season over 16 starts. The Tigers receivedleft-handedpitching prospects Kash Mayfield and Jackson Wolf.

Astros pickupVarsho

The 30-year-old Varsho has had adisappointing offensive season with a.682 OPS over 99 games with the BlueJays, but he earned aGold Glove award in 2024 and remainsanexcellent defender Houston cameinto Monday’s games witha58-55 record, which is good for first place in the AL West.The Astros took over the division lead for thefirst time since April after athree-gamesweep of theRangers over the weekend.

The Blue Jays received Arrighetti, whois7-5 with a4.60 ERA over 17 starts this season.

Guardians addthree

The Cleveland Guardians pickedupa power batand some outfield versatilitybyadding Jo Adell from the Angels, who receivedminor league catcher Jacob Cozart. Later in theday, they acquired veteran lefty Fos-

terGriffin from the Washington Nationals and sluggerNathaniel Lowe from the Cincinnati Reds.

The 27-year-old Adell has 16 homers and 62 RBIs this season, one year after hitting acareerbest 37 homers with 98 RBIs. Adell has spent his entire career with theAngels after being the 10th overall pick in the 2017 amateurdraft

The 31-year-old Griffin has been excellent for the Natsthisseason with a12-3 recordand 3.06 ERA. He’sback in the big leagues after athree-year stint playing in Japan.

The 31-year-old Loweishaving abouncebackseason with a.266 average, 12 homersand 37 RBIs He’lladd more thump from the left side.

Othertradesofnote

n ThePittsburghPirates added veteran right-hander Luke Weaver from the Mets. Weaver is in the first season of atwo-year,$22-million deal. He had been one of the few bright spots this season for thelast-placeMets, going2-1 with a1.84 ERA with one save in 42 appearances. The Pirates also added veteran right-hander Kirby Yates in adeal with the Angels.

n The New York Yankees added outfielder Heliot Ramos from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for minor league infielder Kaeden Kent andleft-hander HenryLalane. The26-year-old Ramoshas hit.264 with nine homers and 34 RBIsin74games this season for theGiants.

n The MilwaukeeBrewers added right-handed starter Dustin May andleft-handed reliever JoJo Romerofromthe Cardinals in exchange for prospects Alexander Frías andJosiah Ragsdale. May hasa5-7 record and 4.38 ERA over 21 starts. Romero has a3.35 ERA over 44 appearances.

n The playoff-chasing Arizona Diamondbacks gota left-handed bat thatcan fill aspot in left field with the acquisition of Lars Nootbaar from St. Louis forprospects. Nootbaar has hit .234 withthree home runs and 16 RBIs in 48 games since hisseason debut in early June after heel surgery last offseason.

n Torontogot utility player Josh Smith, who played at LSU,and minor league right-handerJosh StephanfromTexas for rookie left-hander AdamMacko. Smith, whoin2024 wonaSilver Slugger as autility player, was at TripleARound Rock. He went into this seasonwith the chance to be the Rangers’ everyday second baseman, but he hit .213 in 45 games andmissed 37 gamesbecauseof injuriesand about with viral meningitis.

Cubs acquire former LSU star RHP Gausman in trade

The Chicago Cubs bolstered their rotationlateSundaynight, acquiring right-handerKevin Gausman in atrade with the Toronto Blue Jays. Gausman, aformer LSU star, worked 5innings of one-run ball in Toronto’s5-1 win over St. Louis on Saturday.Hecould make his first start forChicagoonThursday,when the Cubs host the Blue Jays in the makeup of aJune 21 rainout.

The durable Gausman, who is eligible for free agency after this season, is 5-10 witha 4.38 ERAin 23 starts. He pitched at least 174 innings and madeatleast 31 starts in each of the previous five years. Gausman helped Torontoreach the 2025 World Series, going 2-3 with a 2.93 ERA in six postseason starts.

Former LSU big man Miller finds newhome with Miami Former LSU men’sbasketball player Robert Miller III has found anew home after entering the transfer portal on April 10. The 6-foot-10, 230-pounder is transferring to Miami, his father,Robert Miller II, told TheAdvocate. He averaged 6.1 points, 3.9 rebounds,1.4 blocks and0.9 steals pergameasa sophomore. Miller wasranked the No. 42 power forward in the transfer portal,according to 247Sports.

The Houston native was one of nine players to leave LSU ahead of coach Will Wade’sfirstseason back in Baton Rouge. His new home, Miami, is led by second-year coach Jai Lucas, who guided the Hurricanes to a26-9overall recordand a13-5finish in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

NinersWREvans sits out with strainedquadriceps Wide receiverMikeEvans missed practice forthe SanFrancisco 49ers on Monday because of astrained quadriceps in the latest injury to hit the team’sreceiver room Evanswas able to attend practice as aspectator andevencaught acouple of passes on the side during aspecial-teams drill. But his absence leftthe Niners extremely short-handed at receiver Projected starter Ricky Pearsall is alreadydonefor theseason because of an injury to his posterior cruciate ligament last season that hasn’thealed and requires surgery.The team’s top draftpick, De’Zhaun Stribling, has missedthe past two practices with tightness in his hamstring.

BearssafetyBryant leaves practice field on acart

BY NOAH TRISTER AP baseball writer

Thebiggestdealofthistrading season came courtesy of the Detroit Tigers, who sent left-handed ace Tarik Skubal to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday, two days before Monday’strade deadline. Skubal is afree agent after this season, and Detroit is under .500. But even consideringall that,trading away the 2024 and 2025 Cy Young Award winner couldn’t have been easy The Tigers will be judged on how the three prospects they acquired —Zyhir Hope, River Ryan and Brady Smith —perform. History showsthat it’spossible to come out OK when trading apitcher of Skubal’scaliber,but there are plenty of teams whogot little in return. Here are eight other instances when areigning Cy Young winner was traded before the end of the following season(hattip to Baseball Reference for the transaction recaps):

n FrankViola,Minnesota to New York Mets, 1989: Among theplayers Minnesota received for Viola were Rick Aguilera and Kevin Tapani. The former would save 42 games and the latter would win 16 in 1991, when the Twins won the

World Series. Viola wasn’tarental —after finishing the1989 season in New York,hewent 20-8 in 1990 for the Mets.But NewYork never made thepostseason with him.

n David Cone,KansasCityto Toronto to New York Yankees, 1995: Conewas actually traded twice theyear after his Cy Young season in Kansas City.Toronto acquiredhim forChris Stynes and two players who never made the majors. When the Blue Jays floundered, they dealt Cone —in thefinalyear of his contract —to theYankees for Marty Janzen and two players who never madethe majors.

n Pedro Martinez, Montreal to Boston,1997: Ouch. Montreal knew what it had in Martinez, but he was entering his walk year so the Expos traded himshortly afterthe ‘97seasonfor Carl Pavano andTonyArmas. Bostonwas able to keep him long term, andin1999 and 2000, he turned in oneofthe best two-year pitching stretches in the live ball era: 23-4with a2.07 ERA, followed by 18-6 with a1.74 ERA.

n Roger Clemens,Toronto to New York Yankees, 1999: New York was comingoff a114-win season and aWorld Series title when it sentfan favorite David Wells to Toronto along with reliever Graeme Lloyd and infielder Homer Bush. In return, theYankeeslandedClemens,who like Skubal was fresh of two straight Cy Youngs. He added another

withNew York in 2001 and kept pitching until 2007.

n CC Sabathia, Cleveland to Milwaukee, 2008: Another good comp for Skubal, in that the Brewers got Sabathia as apartial-seasonrental rightbefore he hitfree agency.It wasworthitwhen he went 11-2 with a1.65 ERA downthe stretch to help Milwaukeereach theplayoffs for thefirst timein26years. Outfielder Michael Brantley was aplayer to be named later in the package that went back to Cleveland, and he would become afive-time All-Star

n Cliff Lee, Cleveland to Philadelphia, 2009: Yes, that’stwo straight seasons Cleveland traded away theprevious year’sCy Young winner —and Leewasn’t even apending free agent. He helped the Phillies reach the World Series before being retraded to Seattle. As part of the deal for Lee, Cleveland got Carlos Carrasco, who would pitch there for over adecade.

n R.A. Dickey,New York Mets to Toronto, 2012: The Mets pickedthe right time to deal Dickey,who won 20 games in 2012 before New York sent him to the Blue Jays in December.Right-hander Noah Syndergaardand catcherTravisd’Arnaud were part of the return, and both were still with New York when the Mets won the pennant in 2015.

n Justin Verlander,New York MetstoHouston, 2023: Verlander is atrickycasesince he actually left the Astros as afreeagent

after winningthe Cy Young for themin2022. Then New York traded him back to Houston in the middle of the 2023 season.

Performanceofthe week

Kyle Freeland threw Colorado’s first complete gamesince 2002 on Sundayinan8-1 victory over KansasCity. It wasFreeland’s251st start and first complete game. EduardoRodriguez is nowthe lone pitcher in major league history with at least250 startsand no complete games.

Comeback of theweek

Twoofthe craziest comebacksof the season came this week, courtesy of teams trying to stay in the American League wild card race. Baltimore trailed Detroit 7-0 in thetop of the seventh with Skubal on the mound. The Tigers hada 99.4% win probability according to Baseball Savant.The Orioles finally chased SkubalwithLeody Taveras’two-out RBI single, and by thetime Detroit’sbullpengot out of the inning it was 7-5. Baltimore tieditinthe eighth, both teams scored twiceinthe 11thand then the Orioles won10-9 in 12. On Thursday, Kansas Cityled Minnesota 3-0 with two outs and nobody on in the bottom of the ninth. (Win probability: 99.5%.) Ahit batter,asingle and awalk loadedthe bases.ThenKodyClemens hita grand slam to give the Twins a4-3 victory

Chicago Bears safety Coby Bryant was injured at practice on Mondaywithanapparent leg injury and left thefield on acart. Bryant,the former Seattle Seahawks player who was acquired in free agency this offseason, was working against tight end Cole Kmet in 1-on-1 drills and clutched his left legnear the knee. He was able to getinthe cart on his own power,but the scenewas scaryfor theBears, who are depending on Bryant’s speed in arevamped starting secondary Theteam hasn’tannounced the nature or severity of the injury,but ESPNreported Bryant could miss 8-10 weeks with ahyperextension, bone bruise and small fracture.

Eala beats Pegula, becomes firstFilipina with WTAtitle WASHINGTON— Alexandra Eala’s breakthrough week at the DC Open lasted one daylonger than expected.Bythe time it ended, the Filipino expression written across the Nike T-shirt she had wornearlierthat week had become areality

“Once it grows, it cannot be stopped.”

After the women’sfinal stretched acrosstwo days because of heavy rain, Eala rallied past Jessica Pegula 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 Monday to capture her first career WTATour title. The victory made the 21-yearoldEalathe first Filipina to win asingles title on the tour,completing the samecareer-defining breakthrough thatthe Washington tournament once gave Pegula when she claimed her first WTA title in 2019.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By GAILBURTON

Skubal

U.S. soccer, coach Pochettino agrees to new 4-year deal

BY RONALD BLUM

AP sportswriter

Mauricio Pochettino is staying with the U.S. soccer team, agreeing Monday to a four-year contract to coach the Americans through the 2030 World Cup.

The 54-year-old Pochettino, who took over the national team in October 2024, led the U.S. to the round of 16 at this year’s World Cup, where the tournament co-hosts were eliminated in a 4-1 loss to Belgium.

Still, he helped the seeded U.S. team to a pair of firsts in the expanded 48-nation tournament, clinching advancement from the group stage with a game to spare and winning three games in a single World Cup. The team captivated American fans with excited audiences in stadiums and record TV viewership.

“The magic thing that happened during the World Cup, the connection with the people, of course with the whole organization and everything was a key point,” Pochettino said during a Zoom news conference from his home in Barcelona, Spain. Since reaching the quarterfinals at the 2002 World Cup, the U.S has lost four round-of-16 games.

“What we learn(ed) is that we can compete, that we have the quality and we have the talent,” Pochettino said. “We were so close. That gap with the best teams in the world is not too big.” Pochettino views the next cycle

as a new start for a program lacking quality depth at goalkeeper and central defender

“It is going to be important to provide the young kids that we really believe (in) that they have the potential to arrive in 2030, in four years,” he said.

Before taking the U.S. job, Pochettino coached Espanyol (2009-12), Southampton (2013-14), Tottenham (2014-19), Paris SaintGermain (2021-22) and Chelsea (2023-24).

When Pochettino replaced Gregg Berhalter two years ago, he signed an initial contract through the 2026 World Cup. Pochettino said ahead of the tournament that he had discussed a possible new deal with the USSF He also said in May that his agent had spoken with AC Milan, a club that then hired Rúben Amorim Pochettino, who has homes in Spain and London, said he may move to the U.S He intends to stay with the American team until 2030 but left himself an out

“Four years time is a really long period. You never know what can happen in soccer,” he said. “Today people really love you In eight weeks time, maybe that change(s), that feeling.”

He has led the U.S. to 17 wins, 13 losses and one draw Twenty-three of 62 players to appear under Pochettino have accounted for the team’s 57 goals.

“We know we have a lot of work to do to achieve our clear ambi-

tions, including competing to win Men’s World Cups and having soccer become the most played sport in every community,” USSF CEO JT Batson said in a statement.

U.S. coaches have not been successful when they remained for a second World Cup cycle.

After leading the Americans to the 2002 quarterfinals, Bruce Arena was unable to get his team past the group stage in 2006.

Bob Bradley helped the U.S. reach the round of 16 in 2010, then was fired a year later after the team lost the CONCACAF Gold Cup final.

Jurgen Klinsmann took over and in December 2013 was given an extension through the 2018 World Cup. The Americans reached the round of 16 in 2014 but Klinsmann was fired in late 2016 after the U.S. lost its first two games in the final round of qualifying. Arena returned but the U.S. failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.

Berhalter was hired in late 2018 and led the Americans to the round of 16 in 2022. Given a new contract in 2023, he was fired a year later after the U.S. failed to advance past the group stage at Copa America.

“We are going to demand more from them,” Pochettino said of the players. “We are not going to be in some situation(s) not flexible like we were because before it was (for) the benefit of players, benefit of structures that were already built. But now it’s about to start the house from zero.”

Notre Dame, USC agree to resume rivalry with series starting in 2030

BY ERIC OLSON AP college football writer

The Notre Dame-Southern California college football rivalry will start again in 2030.

The schools announced Monday they have agreed to a four-game home-and-home series. Notre Dame will play in Los Angeles on Aug. 31, 2030, and the Trojans will visit South Bend, Indiana, on Aug. 30, 2031. The meetings in 2032 and 2033 will be played in the first three weeks of the season.

The teams met each non-pandemic season from 1946-2025, typically in October or November, in what became known as “the greatest intersectional rivalry in college football.” The exception was the 2020 season when most schools played a conference-only schedule.

The 2030 date opened up when defending national champion Indiana canceled a home-and-home series with the Irish that was scheduled for 2030 and 2031, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no official announcement had been made.

NegotiationsbetweenNotreDame and USC to continue the annual series became challenging after the Trojans joined the Big Ten in 2024. The Trojans expressed that they did not want to play nonconference games after September Notre DamebeattheTrojans34-24inSouth Bend last Oct. 18, and the series officially went on hiatus in December when the Irish announced they had filled the last open spot on their 2026 schedule with a game at BYU. Notre Dame and USC first played in 1926 and the Irish lead the series 53-38-5. The series also was put on hold from 1943-45, during World War II.

The two schools have combined to win 22 national championships and produce 15 Heisman Trophy winners, and the discontinuation

prompted consternation on both sides. Navy is the only team Notre Dame has played more than USC, at 98 meetings.

Notre Dame and USC play for the Jeweled Shillelagh Trophy, a tradition which began in 1952. The Jeweled Shillelagh Trophy is presented by the Notre Dame Club of Los Angeles. Notre Dame victories are marked by green-jeweled shamrocks while USC victories are marked by rubyjeweled Trojan heads.

“USC’s historic rivalry with Notre Dame holds a special place in the history of college football, and we are happy to resume a series that means so much to the entire Trojan Family,” USC athletic director Jen Cohen said. “It remains important for us to play this game early in the season, as it allows us to schedule competitively with our Big Ten peers and takes into account the health and best interests of our student-athletes and program. We are excited for our fans, and we look forward to more memorable matchups and unforgettable games between the Trojans and the Irish.”

The Hoosiers and Irish last met in the first CFP playoff to be held at a campus site in December 2024. Notre Dame won 27-17 in South Bend and reached the national championship game before losing to Ohio State 34-23. In 2021, Indiana and Notre Dame agreed to what was supposed to be the first regularseason game between the two in-state schools since 1991. The Irish have won seven straight in the series with Indiana’s last victory coming in 1950.

But since the arrival of coach Curt Cignetti in 2024, Indiana has not played any Power Four schools, or Notre Dame, outside the conference schedule or the playoffs. The Hoosiers drew some criticism last summer when they also canceled a scheduled homeand-home series with Virginia.

U.S. district judge clarifies her NCAA eligibility order

BY EDDIE PELLS

AP national writer

DENVER The judge who granted some athletes the right to play another year in college issued a new order Sunday that makes clear that does not include football players who signed pro contracts this summer then had a change of heart.

U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney responded to an NCAA request for clarity about her Friday ruling that granted a fifth year to athletes who graduated

SOUTHERN

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140 rushes for 586 yards and seven touchdowns The team’s only loss was a 28-10 defeat to Iowa Western in the national championship game

Johnson’s likely biggest competitor is Strother, who had the edge in the quarterback battle over McCauley after spring practice.

In 10 games for Southern last season, the 6-3, 225-pounder from Memphis, Tennessee, completed 89 of 171 passes for 1,111 yards, four touchdowns and five interceptions. He rushed for 94 yards and four touchdowns on 50 attempts.

McCauley played nine games at Long Beach City College and completed 118 of 218 passes (54.1%) for 1,803 yards, 18 touchdowns and five interceptions The 6-2, 190-pound signal-caller also had 47 carries for 50 yards.

Faulk described himself as a

high school in 2022 and were not included in the new NCAA rule that allows five seasons of eligibility for Division I players.

She said the decision still stands.

But the clarification said her ruling had no impact on other NCAA rules, which would include its prohibition on players signing pro contracts, then coming back to college.

The NCAA filed its intention to appeal the case later Sunday night.

The ruling, as first written, had the potential to upend the upcoming college football season, where

“paranoid” coach because he has thought about the opportunities for outsiders to watch their practices. While he’s fine with the small number of fans who may peek at practice beyond the gate, he did joke he wished he could put a cover to block outsiders’ view in case they were spying. He also joked that he’s dubious of an apartment across the street from a part of the practice field.

The same fear Faulk has about losing an edge is realized in his reasoning for not announcing a starting quarterback.

“Literally, I’m paranoid about stuff,” Faulk said “I like the advantage of the unknown. Inside the unknown, it brings out the best of us because now we got to walk in the dark. And with that, then you got to rely on your preparation. And that’s how I feel It’s easier to walk when you see in front of yourself.”

Email Toyloy Brown III at toyloy. brown@theadvocate.com.

teams are starting camp planning on the “five for five” rule to take effect beginning next fall.

Extending it to players this fall granted hundreds a chance to return to school. In the direct aftermath of the decision, some media reports were listing players on NFL and CFL rosters who were signaling they’d be open to returning to school.

But that appears to be off the table after Sweeney’s clarification that said it was strictly about the players whose eligibility ended last school year It did not extend

beyond that — neither to rules regarding when athletes can enter the transfer portal nor to elements of the landmark House lawsuit settlement, which dictates how many players teams can put on rosters and how much schools can pay them.

The rulings out of U.S. District Court in Denver figures to impact sports differently. Football teams for instance, have already started practice for this season, while baseball doesn’t start for a while.

In making decisions, teams figure to factor the NCAA’s appeal

of Sweeney’s order and whether to risk bringing back players who could then be declared ineligible if her decision is overturned.

NCAA President Charlie Baker issued a statement after Sweeney’s initial ruling came out Friday, saying the ruling was potentially chaos-inducing and a reason Congress needs to pass the Protect College Sports Act. That bill, being considered in the Senate, includes lawsuit protection for the NCAA over eligibility rules, the likes of which they are defending in several courts around the country

Southern quarterback Christian Johnson catches the snap during practice on Saturday in Baton Rouge.

STAFF PHOTO

By MICHAEL JOHNSON

AP FILE PHOTO By LINDSEy WASSON

U.S. men’s national soccer team coach Mauricio Pochettino walks out to throw the ceremonial first pitch before a game between the Seattle Mariners and the Toronto Blue Jays on July 3 in Seattle.

AP FILE PHOTO By PAUL BEATy

Former USC wide receiver Makai Lemon catches a pass against Notre Dame’s Tae Johnson during the fourth quarter of a game on Oct. 18 in South Bend, Ind.

Offense shines for first time in camp

BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer

The pads came on, and the New Orleans Saints offense enjoyed its best performance to date. After a handful of days where things looked half a click off, Tyler Shough completed 11 of 14 pass attempts. The offensive line gave him a relatively clean pocket to operate from for much of the practice, and when pressure broke through, Shough would answer by using his legs to find space and extend the play It wasn’t just Shough making plays. A rookie wide receiver popped a couple of times Monday morning, and a veteran running back made an impact as a receiver out of the backfield. In both cases, it might not be the player whom you think. Here is what happened during the roughly 100-minute practice Monday morning in Metairie.

Attendance

There were no changes in at-

tendance Monday: Receiver Mason Tipton, and defensive linemen Keeshawn Silver and Zxavian Harris continued to miss practice with injuries suffered before camp began, and right guard Cesar Ruiz missed practice with an excused absence.

New Orleans has not yet made a roster move with defensive lineman Bryan Bresee who is expected to miss the 2026 season with a torn ACL, but it will soon have two roster spots to fill after Ja’Lynn Polk‘s sudden retirement.

Offense shines

Nobody was really worried about the offense this early in training camp, but Monday’s practice was the first one decisively won by the starting offense.

Shough easily had his best day, both in terms of the passes he completed and the rhythm he had the offense in. Only three of his passes during team drills hit the ground

two of them deep shots that he put just beyond his receiver’s reach, and the other a throwaway as he was escaping pressure while rolling left.

The Saints’ pass-catching depth showed up, too: Shough’s 11 completions went to seven different players — three receivers, two running backs and two tight ends.

First-round pick Jordyn Tyson made a nice sliding catch over the middle of the field, going to his rear end to corral a low throw from Shough. Fellow rookie Oscar Delp got in the action by catching

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MIKE STEWART

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Drake London, left, works against cornerback A.J. Terrell during training camp on Monday in Flowery Branch, Ga.

Falcons’ unity on display during emotional day

BY MAURA CAREY

AP sportswriter

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Tua Tagovailoa made his 11-on-11 debut at Atlanta Falcons training camp on Monday as full pads went on for the first time.

A strong fan turnout made its presence known with applause as Tagovailoa took the field, rookie receiver Zachariah Branch showed flashes of brilliance and Jeff Ulbrich returned to the practice facility Offensive guard Matthew Bergeron had one extra thing to smile about after signing a fouryear, $96 million contract extension on Saturday, joining a list of young Falcons playmakers who have been rewarded for their efforts leading up to the season.

Tears welled up in Bergeron’s eyes as he talked about what it means to continue his career in Atlanta, the southern city that has become home for the Canadian offensive guard since being drafted in 2023.

“Being Canadian and not having much family in the U.S., to be able to be here and everybody just welcomes you with open arms and southern hospitality — just being able to stay in Atlanta means the world to me,” he said.

To Bergeron, it’s the people that make the place. He said it’s hard

to explain the brotherhood without witnessing it for yourself in the locker room.

“I’m just very, very, very grateful,” Bergeron said, noticeably emotional. “My work ethic and the way I carry myself is never going to change. I’m going to hold myself to a high standard, keep working the way I do every day.”

That brotherhood was felt on Monday as Ulbrich made his first training camp appearance since the death of his wife, Cristina, following a battle with cancer

Both Bergeron and linebacker

Divine Deablo expressed their support and appreciation for the second-year defensive coordinator

“Man, I love Brich,” Deablo said.

“He’s like a, I don’t know, a father figure, an older brother for me. So, I was glad to have him back out there. I hugged him as soon as I seen him. Everybody just wants to play for Brich at the end of the day.”

Bergeron said he hopes the team can help Ulbrich through a difficult time, just as the coach does every day for players with his unwavering energy and intensity

“It means the world for us to just be all together, you know, offense, defense and coach ‘Brich,” Bergeron said. “He means a lot, not only to the defense but to the team as well.”

Shough’s first pass of the day in the left flat and turning upfield.

Importantly, the run game also produced a couple of big plays — at least, they looked like they would be big plays. While the players were in pads, they were not fully tackling their teammates to the ground.

Devin Neal hit a hole off left guard and rumbled downfield for a gain of about 10 yards before he was touched by a defender, and Alvin Kamara continued to show he still has something in the tank when he cut through the heart of the defense on a draw for a nice gain.

POLK

Continued from page 1C

workload for Tyson and Vele on certain reps. It shouldn’t be ignored that Austin also has found his way into playing time the last two seasons because of injuries in front of him, starting three of 16 appearances.

Outside of Austin, Ronnie Bell and Bub Means have had nice moments since camp began.

Will Saints add at WR?

Moore didn’t dismiss that the Saints could add another receiver to offset Polk’s departure, but the coach didn’t sound like New Orleans was rushing to make a move, either

“We’re always looking to see if something suits us, but right now we’ve got a lot of guys in that room that are all getting opportunities,” Moore said.

If the Saints do want to add another receiver there are a slew of notable veterans still available.

Among them, former Los Angeles Chargers wideout Keenan Allen has previous experience with Moore from their time together in 2023, when Moore served as the Chargers offensive coordinator There’s also Brandin Cooks, who rejoined the Saints last offseason but was released in November to allow him to join a contender Allen is coming off an 81-catch, 777-yard season, despite playing only 55% of the snaps.

“Yeah, I mean, I love Keenan,” Moore said. “Obviously I had a great experience with (the) one year But yeah, we’ll see how that goes. We’ll see. Got a lot of receivers.”

If anything, Polk’s abrupt decision underscored the importance of drafting Tyson with the eighth overall pick months earlier Had the Saints gone into the

ELLISS

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very good communicator very good on the blitz, too.”

Like Elliss, Godchaux was a Day

3 draft pick who found a role, established himself and found staying power in the NFL. Godchaux is entering Year 10, while Elliss is entering his eighth season.

Godchaux chose the word “grit” to describe the players who follow that path. They are not the players into whom the franchise has

rebounded with a brilliant over-theshoulder catch from Spencer Rattler near the end of practice.

n Travis Etienne prides himself on his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield, and his pass-catching skills flashed Monday He was running to the flat on one play as Shough evaded the rush and rolled to his left. Seeing Shough point downfield, Etienne broke off his route and sprinted, catching an over-the-shoulder pass for a big gain. When the first team took the field again, Etienne set up a screen perfectly, catching the pass and following his blocks for another big gain. He caught all three of his targets.

n Defensive back Isaac Yiadom and linebacker Danny Stutsman both took some first-team snaps during fullteam periods Monday Moore said the Yiadom move, which briefly sent Quincy Riley to the second team, was “no big deal” and that “we’re just giving ourselves different rotations.”

n Tyson went through all the fullteam drills, but he did not participate in the 1-on-1 period.

Odds and ends

n Barion Brown made a name for himself as a return specialist during his time at LSU and Kentucky, but shortly after the Saints selected him in the draft, coach Kellen Moore said he believed he could help as a receiver Monday’s practice was the best evidence in support of Moore’s statement. Brown started things off by beating Rejzohn Wright deep downfield in 1-on-1 drills. He missed another opportunity in team drills when the defense lost him on a scramble drill, failing to track the ball to his hands, but then

n Kicker Charlie Smyth had his first miss of training camp, pushing a kick wide from 44 yards. But he made his other five attempts, ending with a 54-yarder that cleared the uprights by a good margin. Smyth is now 15 for 16 on his training camp field goal attempts.

n For as well as the first-team offense played, the second-team defense got its hands on a couple of balls. Dalys Beanum undercut a downfield throw from Zach Wilson intended for Bub Means to pick it off, and backup defensive backs Jayden Price and Lorenzo Styles both had interceptions in 1-on-1 drills.

n The kick-return group included the following players: Brown, Price, Ty Chandler, Trey Palmer, Bryce Lance Kendre Miller and Jalen Cropper Email Luke Johnson at ljohnson@theadvocate.com.

year with Olave, Vele and Polk as their top three, maybe the franchise would have had to scramble after Polk’s news. Instead, the Saints can assess their depth and feel confident in their top-three receivers.

Re-analyzing the trade

When the Saints traded for Polk, the move was regarded as a lowrisk, high-reward trade.

The reward, it turns out, was minimal. But notably so was the cost. The Saints only had to give up a 2027 sixth-round pick in exchange for Polk and a 2028 seventh-round selection.

That type of framework a 6-7 pick swap plus a player — has been increasingly common in the NFL, and the Saints have hit on other trades using the template Tackle Asim Richards and defensive lineman John Ridgeway, two quality depth pieces, were also

invested heavily, and they are the ones who have to make the limited opportunities count. They also must have a stubborn belief. Elliss recalled one of his first experiences after a summer practice with the Saints in 2019 a team that would go 13-3 and win the NFC South. He told his father, former NFL All-Pro Luther Elliss, that he didn’t feel intimidated and figured he was one of the better athletes on the team. His dad laughed him off and made sure he knew that the veterans had a different gear for an

acquired in a 6-7 swap. Losing a sixth-round pick for a player who ultimately didn’t record a single statistic isn’t ideal, but the Saints picked up a 2027 sixth-round pick from the Chargers last November when the team shipped out guard Trevor Penning at the trade deadline. New Orleans will still have a pick in that round.

If this is indeed it for Polk, he ends his career with only 12 catches for 87 yards in 15 games. His underwhelming time in New England didn’t scare off the Saints, who were optimistic that a fresh start would do wonders for a talented wide receiver whom they were high on coming out of the draft. Sometimes, the vision just doesn’t pan out.

Email Matthew Paras at matt. paras@theadvocate.com

organized team activity But the belief never left Elliss, even after he tore his ACL during his rookie season and had to work his way back into feeling like himself. “I never viewed myself as like a seventh-round pick,” Elliss said. “From the jump, I was always like, ‘Man, this is only because I was at Idaho.’ You know what I mean? If I had been somewhere else (in college) and done the same things, I feel like I would have been much higher drafted.”

Email Luke Johnson at ljohnson@theadvocate.com.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER Saints wide receivers Ja’Lynn Polk, left, and Trey Palmer greet each other during a minicamp practice at the Saints’ outdoor practice field on June 17.

STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

Saints running back Travis Etienne catches a pass over Saints linebacker Kaden Elliss during training camp at the Ochsner Sports Performance Center on Monday

Big-name players have something to prove

BY DENNIS WASZAK AP pro football writer

FLORHAM PARK, N.J

Breece Hall

came to training camp with a new contract from the New York Jets and an intense desire to justify the big bucks.

“It makes me more hungry to keep proving I am who I say I am,” said the star running back, who received a three-year extension in May worth $45.75 million. It’s making me want to do more than I’ve done in the past.”

Meanwhile, Baker Mayfield said he feels “disrespected” by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for not getting the contract extension he sought and plans to play out the final season of his three-year, $100 million deal.

Several players know exactly how they feel, entering the season with something to prove because of either signing a big-money deal, looking for another contract, joining a new team, trying to overcome an injury or working to rebound from mediocre play Here are some players with a little extra to prove in 2026

Brian Thomas, WR, Jaguars

The 2024 first-rounder out of LSU set franchise rookie records for catches (87), yards receiving (1,282) and TD receptions (10), quickly emerging as Trevor Lawrence’s top target. But Thomas’ production nosedived last season with 48 catches for 707 yards and just two TDs. He also tied for second in the NFL with 10 drops. Thomas was impressive during

offseason workouts and minicamp, and the hope is being in his second year in Liam Coen’s offense will help him more closely resemble the playmaker he was as a rookie.

A.J. Brown, WR, Patriots

The three-time Pro Bowl pick was traded by Philadelphia to New England in June for a 2028 first-round draft pick and a 2027 fifth-rounder. Brown, who’s still only 29, had 339 catches for 5,034 yards receiving with 32 touchdowns in four seasons with the Eagles a tenure also marked by cryptic social-media posts and comments that soured his relationship with the franchise, including quarterback Jalen Hurts. In New England, Brown gets a fresh start with his childhood favorite team.

Keon Coleman, WR, Bills

The 23-year-old wide receiver has the talent to be a star for the Josh Allen-led offense. But inconsistency and lapses in focus on and off the field have prevented Coleman from reaching that potential. He has been disciplined three times for being late to meetings. After having eight catches for 112 yards in Buffalo’s season opener, Coleman had just 30 receptions for 292 yards in 12 other games. He acknowledged in minicamp that this is a “make or break” season.

Breece Hall, RB, Jets Hall ran for 1,000 yards for the first time in his career last season and also had 350 yards receiving

with five overall TDs while playing in 16 games. He was mentioned often in trade rumors last year but remained with the Jets. With Frank Reich running the offense, Hall should continue to be a doit-all bell cow out of the backfield with the hope he’ll firmly establish himself as one of the league’s top running backs.

Baker Mayfield, QB, Buccaneers

The No. 1 overall pick in 2018 by Cleveland revived his career in Tampa Bay after replacing Tom Brady in 2023. Mayfield insists he has shown himself with the

Giants quarterback Dart wants to right losing ways as rookie

BY STEPHEN WHYNO AP sportswriter

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — After taking part in John Harbaugh’s first training camp practice with the New York Giants last week, Jaxson Dart did not want to make too many premature judgments about the veteran coach’s demeanor, which he expects to evolve with time.

One thing the second-year quarterback has picked up over the past several months is Harbaugh’s mentality

“He just wants to, obviously, win,” Dart said. “He’s got a chip on his shoulder.”

So does Dart, who chalks it up to his rookie year not going well. The Giants lost eight of his first 12 NFL starts, finished 4-13 and after an offseason of organizational upheaval, he is determined to avoid a repeat losing performance. That process starts in camp, where this time Dart is the undisputed starter at football’s most important position, a long way from taking second- and third-team snaps behind Russell Wilson and sometimes even Jameis Winston a year ago. At 23, he’s still young and inexperienced and leaning into those facts.

“There’s a lot that I’ve got to still learn,” Dart said. “I’m trying to keep everything around me simple: from the things that I give my attention to, to my daily (practice and) study habits. That’s just me trying to continue to grow because I saw what it was like last year for a tough season. It was new for my career, and I want to make sure

that doesn’t happen again.”

Also new for Dart are incoming offensive coordinator Matt Nagy, QBs coach Brian Callahan and a host of new wide receivers.

With Nagy’s arrival comes a system that is different from the one Mike Kafka ran last season while in that job and after taking over as interim coach when Brian Daboll was fired Such a big change early in Dart’s career provides another challenge, though it’s one general manager Joe Schoen pointed out that Chicago’s Caleb Williams and New England’s Drake Maye handled smoothly

The lack of continuity makes it difficult to handicap expectations, though the Giants have high hopes for Dart regardless of who’s calling the plays.

“Just continue to build off of last season,” Schoen said. ”He played at a high level throughout last season, so, (we hope to) continue to see him to ascend. Really good staff, really good plan, scheme in place and excited for his Year 2 and how he does.”

Dart as a rookie completed 63.7% of his passes for 2,272 yards, 15 touchdowns and five interceptions. He also ran for 487 yards and nine TDs He took a few big hits along the way, including one that concussed and sidelined him for two games.

Growing every day is how Dart answered a question about what he expects of himself, and that includes better risk-reward decisions that a lot of mobile quarterbacks figure out (or don’t) along the way With Nagy in charge, it also

means more plays under center instead of out of a shotgun formation. That adjustment is ongoing.

“It’s been something that we’ve really pushed and really got a ton of reps at this offseason,” Dart said. “There are a few things mechanically that are different. Probably just the biggest thing is a little bit of footwork landmarks in the pocket. (But) I’m feeling really good with the track that we’re on, and I’m feeling comfortable.”

That comfort is slowly building with new wideouts such as Odell Beckham Jr., Calvin Austin, Darnell Mooney and JuJu SmithSchuster A similar familiarization process is also needed with Malik Nabers, who went down with a torn ACL in his right knee less than one full half into Dart’s first start on Sept. 28.

Dart said he and Nabers talked and watched a lot of video over the past few months, which he hopes will help the two establish a strong on-field rapport quickly when New York’s No. 1 receiver is fully healthy

Being the face of the franchise and the leadership responsibilities that come with playing QB also make it incumbent on Dart to interact with teammates everywhere on the roster His coach likes what he has seen so far in that department.

“He’s a charismatic guy, but he wants to win and he expects everybody else to want to win,” Harbaugh said. “We’ve got a bunch of guys that respond, but also a bunch of guys that feel the same way, so I just think he’s got a good relationship with the guys.”

lion, giving the Vikings someone to compete with J.J. McCarthy for the starting job Murray has been productive at his best as a dynamic dual threat. But he has had to deal with injuries and questions about his work ethic, something he’ll try to put to rest with the Vikings.

Michael Penix, QB, Falcons

The eighth overall pick in 2024 came to Atlanta as the possible quarterback of the future. Injuries and inconsistency have threatened those hopes. Penix opened last season as the starter, was benched late in Week 3 in favor of Kirk Cousins and then tore an ACL in Week 11. He’s working his way back from that injury and the Falcons aren’t quite sure when he’ll be fully ready Atlanta signed Tua Tagovailoa in the offseason to compete with Penix.

C.J. Stroud, QB, Texans

Buccaneers to be a franchise quarterback and wants to be paid as such. In his first two seasons in Tampa Bay, he made the Pro Bowl and led the Buccaneers to NFC South titles. Mayfield got off to another terrific start last season but fizzled down the stretch with injuries.

Kyler Murray, QB, Vikings Arizona released Murray in the offseason, a disappointing end to what was a promising beginning for the 2019 top pick. He signed with Minnesota in March for the veteran’s minimum of $1.3 mil-

The second overall pick in 2023 had a terrific first season, winning AP Offensive Rookie of the Year leading the Texans to the playoffs, making the Pro Bowl and giving Houston hope its franchise QB was in place. Stroud’s last two seasons might have caused some doubt. The Texans have made it to the postseason in each of his three NFL seasons, but Stroud had his worst performance in the divisional round against New England when he threw four first-half interceptions. The Texans exercised the fifth-year option on Stroud’s rookie contract in April and he’s eligible for an extension, with talks ongoing.

Donning pads escalates intensity for Commanders

BY ETHAN CADEAUX Associated Press

ASHBURN, Va. — After preaching the need for competition at the start of Washington Commanders training camp, coach Dan Quinn got his wish Monday in the first practice with players in full pads. The intensity ramped up as a result. Tight end Chig Okonkwo called it a chance to “finally play real football.”

“We were all out there flying around and talking smack,” Okonkwo said.

The Commanders spent most of practice working on redzone packages, and the offense turned in its best day of training camp thus far The first play of 11-on-11s gave the fans in attendance a reason to cheer Lined up goal-to-go from the 4-yard line, Jayden Daniels threw a perfect fade to Terry McLaurin, who made a toe-tapping touchdown grab over cornerback Mike Sainristil. McLaurin was animated after, and plenty of celebrations followed. Daniels and McLaurin were in sync for much of the session. The two connected on another touchdown during 7-on-7 drills, with Daniels delivering a strike to a diving McLaurin over the middle in between a pair of defenders.

The Daniels-McLaurin connection in midseason form is a welcome sight for the Commanders, as the wide receiver held out for the entirety of camp last year because of a contract dispute. Daniels and McLaurin were unable to replicate their 2024 success last season because of respective injury absences.

“Our communication has grown just as quarterback and receiver,” McLaurin said Thursday “Third year playing with one another, having a full offseason together to get some really good work in. I just love to see the way he’s grown as a player (and) as a leader.” When Daniels wasn’t connecting with McLaurin, he was often targeting his new tight end. The play of the day came during team drills: Daniels rolled out to his right and connected with Okonkwo for a 20-yard touchdown.

“With (Daniels), it’s really easy,” Okonkwo said. “You’ve just got to be where you’re sup-

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels works out during practice at the team’s training camp on Saturday in Ashburn,Va.

posed to be, and he’ll find you with an accurate ball.” Okonkwo has lined up all over the field during training camp, taking snaps out wide in addition to his typical tight end position along the line. He should be in line for a big role in new offensive coordinator David Blough’s system.

“Having an expanded playbook has allowed me to use my speed down the field a lot more,” Okonkwo said. The defense also had its moments, getting to Daniels during team drills and forcing the quarterback to throw the ball away or take a would-be sack during live game snaps.

Sonny Styles, the seventh pick in the draft, disrupted in the run game and as a pass rusher Sainristil, who was beaten on McLaurin’s touchdown, bounced back with two impressive pass breakups in the final session of practice.

The competition and intensity remained high throughout practice, even during positional drills. General manager Adam Peters observed closely for 1-on-1 matchups between the offensive and defensive lines.

“I think it’s a great offensive line,” edge rusher Odafe Oweh said. “Very physical, vet offensive line. Savvy They’re maulers. I’m having fun getting better I think the O-Line is great. They are only getting better just like us.”

AP PHOTO By NICK WASS

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By CHRIS CARLSON New york Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart practices during training camp on Friday in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va

AP PHOTO By KELLy JORDAN

Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas makes a catch during practice at the team’s training camp on Sunday in Jacksonville, Fla.

(Mize4-6) at

5-10), 5:40 p.m.

N.Y. Mets (Manaea 2-5) at Cleveland (Cantillo 8-6),5:40 p.m. Washington (Littell7-8)atPhiladelphia (Luzardo 9-5),5:40p.m. St. Louis (TBD)atN.Y.Yankees (Weathers 4-7), 6:05 p.m. Miami (TBD)atAtlanta (Sale12-6), 6:15 p.m. Pittsburgh (Jones 2-2)atMilwaukee (Henderson5-1),6:40p.m. L.A. Dodgers(Skubal 7-5)atChicago Cubs (Assad 6-1), 7:05 p.m. San Francisco (Ray10-6)atTexas (Gore6-9) 7:05 p.m. TampaBay (TBD)atColorado (Hughes 0-3), 7:40 p.m. San Diego (TBD)atArizona (Rodriguez 10-3), 8:40 p.m.

Golf

PGA Tour Statistics

Through Aug. 2 FedExCup Season Points 1, Scottie Scheffler, 4,123. 2, Matt Fitzpatrick, 3,329. 3, Cameron Young, 3,157. 4, Wyndham Clark, 2,255. 5, ChrisGotterup, 2,254. 6, Collin Morikawa, 2,229.7,SiWoo Kim, 2,201. 8, Sam Burns,2,078. 9, TommyFleetwood, 2,046. 10, Ludvig Åberg, 1,929. Scoring Average 1, Scottie Scheffler, 68.775. 2, Collin Morikawa,69.458. 3, MattFitzpatrick, 69.509. 4, Cameron Young, 69.655. 5, TommyFleetwood, 69.668. 6, Sam Burns, 69.742.7,Xander Schauffele, 69.780. 8, Chris Gotterup, 69.796. 9, JakeKnapp, 69.800. 10, Si WooKim, 69.806. Driving Distance 1, AldrichPotgieter,330.4. 2, Michael Brennan, 326.1. 3, Marco Penge, 324.4. 4, Nicolai Hojgaard, 323.9. 5, Rasmus Hojgaard, 322.4. 6, Gary Woodland, 322.3. 7, Chris Gotterup, 322.2. 8, MinWoo Lee, 320.9. 9, 2tiedwith 319.4. Driving Accuracy Percentage 1, RussellHenley,72.81%.2,Aaron Rai 71.70%. 3, DavisChatfield, 71.18%. 4, Joel Dahmen, 70.90%.5,Lucas Glover, 69.95%.6 Collin Morikawa,69.71%.7,Brandt Snedeker 69.48%. 8, Si WooKim,69.14%.9,Emiliano Grillo, 68.99%. 10,TommyFleetwood, 68.87% Greens in Regulation Percentage 1, 10 tied with .00%. Total Driving 1, Jordan Smith, 59. 2, Neal Shipley,63. 3, Scottie Scheffler, 66. 4(tie), Ludvig Abergand Cameron Young, 69. 6, KristofferVentura, 85. 7(tie), GaryWoodland and Sudarshan Yellamaraju, 86. 9, Kurt Kitayama, 88. 10, 2tiedwith 90. SG-Putting 1, Jacob Bridgeman, .684. 2, Vince Whaley .678. 3, AkshayBhatia, .664. 4, Sam Burns, .662. 5, Eric Cole, .598. 6, ScottieScheffler, .569. 7, Alex Noren, .556. 8, RobertMacIntyre, .544. 9, JakeKnapp, .543.10, A.J.Ewart 521. Birdie Average 1, Scottie Scheffler,4.76. 2, Si WooKim, 4.56. 3, Collin Morikawa, 4.52. 4, Wyndham Clark, 4.41. 5, Ludvig Aberg, 4.32. 6, Jacob Bridgeman, 4.29. 7(tie), Robert MacIntyre and KevinYu, 4.26. 9, Keith Mitchell, 4.24. 10, 2tiedwith 4.23. Eagles (Holes per) 1, JakeKnapp, 52.9. 2, Kristoffer Ventura, 59.5. 3, Nicolai Hojgaard, 79.2. 4, Matt Wallace, 82.5. 5, Aldrich Potgieter, 85.5.6,Shane Lowry, 91.6. 7, Sahith Theegala, 92.3. 8, TommyFleetwood, 93.9,Rasmus Hojgaard, 94.9. 10, Max Greyserman, 99 Sand Save Percentage 1, 10 tied with .00%. All-Around Ranking 1, Scottie Scheffler, 165. 2, Ludvig Åberg, 237. 3, Collin Morikawa, 257. 4, Sam Burns,261. 5, JakeKnapp, 274. 6, ChrisGotterup, 308. 7, Wyndham Clark, 326. 8, TommyFleetwood, 329. 9, MinWoo Lee, 334. 10, Doug Ghim, 348. LPGA Tour Statistics Through Aug. 2 Scoring

1, Nelly Korda, 69.18. 2, Haeran Ryu, 69.51. 3, HyoJoo Kim, 70.16. 4, JeenoThitikul, 70.18. 5, Miyu Yamashita, 70.29. 6, LydiaKo, 70.36. 7, Ruoning Yin, 70.63. 8, InaYoon, 70.73. 9, Sei Young Kim, 70.74. 10, Hannah Green, 70.76. Driving Distance 1, Riley Smyth, 288.74. 2, Julia Lopez Ramirez 288.55. 3, Auston Kim, 280.58. 4, Polly Mack, 279.46. 5, Suvichaya Vinjichaitham, 278.26. 6, InaYoon, 277.93. 7, Laney Frye,277.63. 8, Nanna Koerstz Madsen, 276.33. 9, Helen Briem, 276.18. 10, BaileyTardy,274.47. Greens in Regulation 1, Haeran Ryu, .80%. 2, Jeeno Thitikul 75%. 3, Isabello Fierro, .74%. 4(tie),Dongeun Lee and Lottie Woad, .73%. 6, 5tied with .72%. Putts per GIR 1, HyoJoo Kim, 1.71. 2(tie), Minami Katsuand Angel Yin, 1.73. 4(tie), Nelly Kordaand Mi Hyang Lee, 1.74. 6, GabyLopez, 1.75. 7, 6tiedwith1.76. Birdies

1, Aki Iwai,249. 2, Lottie Woad,225. 3, Miyu Yamashita, 219. 4(tie), Minami Katsuand Haeran Ryu, 213. 6, InaYoon, 207. 7, Jin Hee Im, 205. 8, Jeeno Thitikul, 202. 9, 2tied with200. Eagles 1, BrookeM.Henderson, 14. 2, Nelly Korda, 9. 3(tie), Hye-Jin Choi, Minji Kang, SeiYoung Kim and RyannO’Toole, 8. 7, 6tiedwith 7. Sand Save Percentage 1, Pornanong Phatlum, .61%. 2(tie), Peiyun Chien, Jin Hee Im and Nelly Korda, .59%. 5, Minjee Lee, .58%. 6(tie), Minami Katsuand Patty Tavatanakit, .57%. 8, 3tied with .56%. Rounds UnderPar 1, Miyu Yamashita, .59%.2,Aki Iwai 55%.3 Nelly Korda, .76%. 4, Haeran Ryu 69%.5,Lottie Woad, .56%. 6, JeenoThitikul 59%.7,Minami Katsu, .56%. 8, Jin HeeIm, .53%.9,CassiePorter, .59%.10, Ina Yoon, .58%.11, Rio Takeda 55% Tennis

ATPNational BankOpenResults

Monday

At IGA Stadium

Montreal Purse: $9,415,725 Surface: Hardcourt outdoor Results MondayfromNational Bank Openat IGA Stadium (seedings in parentheses): Men’s Singles Round of 128 James Duckworth, Australia,def. Christopher O’Connell, Australia,6-3,6-1. Vit Kopriva, Czechia,def.Alexis Galarneau, Canada, 6-4, 6-4. Mariano Navone, Argentina, def. Matteo Berrettini,Italy,6-3,6-7 (5), 6-3. Nicolas Mejia, Colombia, def. Martin Landaluce, Spain, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. Titouan Droguet, France, def. Luca VanAssche, France, 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(7) YannickHanfmann, Germany, def.Benjamin Bonzi,France, 6-1, 4-6, 6-2. WTAMubadala Citi DC Open

Results

Monday At William H.G. FitzGeraldTennisCenter Washington DC, United States Purse: $2,488,125 Surface: Hardcourt outdoor Results MondayfromMubadalaCiti DC Open at WilliamH.G.FitzGeraldTennisCenter (seedings in parentheses): Men’s Singles Championship Taylor Fritz (3), United States,def.Rafael Jodar, Spain, 7-6(2),6-4

Transactions

MajorLeague Baseball American League BALTIMORE ORIOLES —AcquiredRHPsAlex Hoppe, Brock Mooreand Harrison Kreiling from Seattleinexchange for LF TaylorWard.

Abug anda feature

Adult bark lice are long,slim and brown to black. Juveniles have rounder bodies with stripes. The insects like to hang out in groups to ward off predators like birds.

“Even though they may have ascary appearance withthat large aggregation, they are in fact not causing any harm to the tree,” said LSU AgCenter entomologist Aaron Ashbrook If you spot bark lice on a crape myrtle, restassured

ä See BARK LICE, page 2D

Maybe as youwalked outofthe first Ice Waterround, it hityou Maybe it wasa door that opened —orone that didn’t. Maybe it wasn’t until the next year when youwereonthe other side of the process. It could have been amoment standing in ahallway,waiting, that youcan still describe in detail yearslater. We’reinviting readers who went through sorority recruitment recently or decades ago —totell us about it: What’s thespecific moment from Rush Week you still think about? And what did Rush teachyou that youdidn’t expect? Send your response to jan.risher@theadvocate.com

THEPOWER OF PIGMENT

BY JANRISHER and LAURENCHERAMIE Staff writers

When it comes to redecorating, afresh coat of paintislikely the best return on investment. The cost is minimal, but the results can improve the looks of aroom dramatically That is —ifthe paint is theright color While paint chips don’tlie,they don’texactly tell thewhole story, either.A swatch on thewallinthe middle of the afternoon looks nothing like itself at dusk. Ask fourdesigners what colors they’reencouraging this year in homes, and four differentanswers will come back —plusone flatrefusal to play favorites. The bottom line is: There is not one right answer.Still, apatternemerges in the colors of aLouisiana life. Things are warmer,softerand less predictable thanthe stark whites and navy blues thatdominated for years

This is the first installment of local designers sharing their thoughts on colors in Louisianahomesright now: What color are you encouraging most often right now,and what’sitreplacing?

RACHEL CANNON —founder, creative director and principal interior designer at

Rachel Cannon Limited: Honestly,none. Idon’tbelieve in aone-size-fits-all color.Every homeand every clientisdifferent,soeverypalette is builtfromscratch aroundthat specific space and the people living in it. WhatImostlyencourage our clientstodoisbebrave when it comes to color!

JERAD GARDEMAL —founder and principal designer at JF Gardemal Designs: Currently,weare encouraging our clients who are in the processofrefreshing their interiors to move away from spaces covered in starkwhites and cool blue/grays andreturn to warmer,morenuanced tones

Warm taupe colors, soft putties

and limestone shades, with accents of camel, cognac and even chocolate browns, skillfully layered, give rooms far more depth andlongevity

KRISTINA PETIT —founderand residential designer at Kristina’sCollective Interiors: A softbeige/pink. Think Setting Plaster from Farrow and Ball. It’s my replacement forwarm white.

JEANNE LYONS DAVIS —writer and designer: GrayCashmere by Benjamin Moore is the perfect non-color color

If paint chips hada beauty pageant, it’d winMissCongeniality.Itgets along with everyone.Itreads blue It reads green and it reads neutral, depending on the light and what’s around it. It’sthe best!

Is there acolor clients keep asking for that you’dsteer them away from-and why?

DAVIS: Honestly,it’snever the color,it’sthe saturation.

That’swhere things gettricky If aclient loves acolor,wecan always dial back the saturation to soften it. Bottom line: if you love it, we’ll makeitwork!

CANNON: It’s less about one particular colorand more abouttrends in general. Ikeep aclose eyeon what’strending nationally,and my instinct is almost always to steer clients away from it. Nothing ages

PROVIDED PHOTOByKIM MEADOWLARK

Thispinkkitchenisa project from designer Rachel Cannon, whosaysthat she encourages her clients to be brave when it comestocolor

Cannon

Gardemal Davis Petit

Does thewhole queueget asay in alinecutter?

Dear Miss Manners: At times, agrocery checkout line will be very long, with only one cashier available.Someone witha fullcart, threeorfour customers ahead of me, willoffer acustomer approaching the long line with only a couple of items permission to go ahead of them. They thereby award the same permission on behalfofall customers behind them in line, even though we were notasked if we would mind waiting aminute or two longer for the single-item customer to check out. If the accommodating customer hadasked all of us if we minded, the odds of anyone objecting are almost nil. It is one of those small life

By The Associated Press

unpleasantries, but maybe Miss Mannersmight advise those who would givesuchpermission to askeveryone in line first, as a courtesy?

objects, I’ll let this ladywith only twoitems go ahead,”noone will want to be singled out as the one person saying “I object.” Butsadly,perhaps not.

It could hardly be moremeanspirited. So much so, that there is no response except turning your back on such people.

Judith Martin MISS MANNERS

Gentle reader: While the shopper stands there holdingacereal box and astick of butter,listening to thevote? Andinthese contentioustimes, someone shouts,“No fair!She’s busting into line! Get back there, lady.”

Of course, that reaction is what you are trying to avoid.From thenumber of letters Miss Mannersreceives aboutconfrontationsingrocery lines, she is not sure that such courtesies can beoffered without unpleasant repercussions. Perhaps if it is put as,“If no one

TODAYINHISTORY

Today is Tuesday,Aug. 4, the 216thday of 2026. There are 149 days left in the year

Todayinhistory:

On Aug. 4, 2020, nearly3,000 tons of ammonium nitratethat had been improperly stored for yearsinthe port of Beirut,Lebanon, exploded, killing more than 200 people, injuring more than 7,000 and devastating nearby neighborhoods; it was one of the largest non-nuclear explosions ever recorded.

Also on this date:

In 1790, the U.S. Coast Guard had its beginnings as President George Washington signed a measure authorizing agroup of revenue cutters to enforce tariff and trade laws and prevent smuggling.

In 1916, the United States reachedagreement with Denmark topurchase the Danish Virgin Islands for $25 million in gold.

In 1936, Jesse Owens of the United States won the second of his four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics as he prevailed in the long jump over German Luz Long, who was the firsttocongratulate him.

In 1944, 15-year-old diarist Anne Frank was arrestedwith her sister,parents and four others by the Gestapo after hiding for two years inside abuildingin Amsterdam. (Anne and hersister,Margot, died at the BergenBelsen concentration camp.)

In 1960, Burkina Faso (known then as Upper Volta) declared its independencefrom France after more than 60 years of colonial rule.

In 1964, 44 days after their murders, the bodies of missing civil rights workers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner were found buried in an earthen dam in Mississippi.

In 1972, Arthur Bremer was convicted and sentenced in Upper Marlboro, Maryland,to63 yearsinprison for his attempt on the life of Alabama Gov George C. Wallace (the sentence was later reduced to 53 years; Bremer was released from prison in 2007).

In 1977, President Jimmy Carter signed ameasure establishing the Department of Energy.

In 1984, the album “Purple Rain,” by Prince and the Revolution, began its 24-week run at the topofthe Billboard200 record chart.

In 1987, the Federal Communications Commission voted 4-0

BARK LICE

Continued from page1D

that they are not feeding on the tree itself. Instead, these insects grazeonalgae, lichens, mold and other organic materials growing on the tree’ssurface.

“So, in some ways, they’re even helping the tree,” Ashbrook said. Bark lice can be asource of entertainment, too. They’re commonly referred to as tree cattle and can be “herded.” Pointa finger or stick near abark lice aggregation, and they’ll moveup the tree as agroup in unison.

Now,don’tassume every insect you see on acrape myrtle is harmless. It’simportantto distinguish beneficial bark lice from insect pests such as aphids, which are tiny,yellowish and often found on the undersides of crape myrtle foliage. You’ll also want to keep an eye out for invasive crape myrtle bark scales, which are stationary, white-to-

Dear Miss Manners: Iam69and have worn avisible hearing aid my entireadult life. Ihave had manypeople who know I’mhard of hearing jokingly say “What?” or silently mouth words, as if my hearing loss is somehow humorous. Idoubt they are mean-spirited, but rather cluelessly insensitive. What is thebest way to let them know that people who are hard of hearing find these attempts at humor highly offensive?

Gentlereader: Has it cometothat? That Miss Manners has to inform people that it’snot nice to make fun of others’ disabilities?

to abolish the Fairness Doctrine, whichrequired radio and televisionstationstopresent balanced coverage of controversial issues.

In 1993, afederal judge sentencedLos Angeles police officers Stacey Koon and Laurence Powell to 2½ years in prison for violating Rodney King’scivil rights.

In 2009, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il pardoned American journalists Laura Ling andEuna Leefor enteringthe country illegally and ordered their release during asurprise visit by former U.S.President Bill Clinton.

In 2017, former pharmaceutical CEO Martin Shkreli, who becamenotoriousfor apricegouging scandal,was convicted of federal charges that he deceived investors in apair of failed hedgefunds. (Shkreli was later sentenced to seven years in prison; he was released in 2022.)

In 2019, amasked gunman fired on revelers enjoyingsummernightlife in apopular entertainmentdistrict of Dayton, Ohio, leavingnine people dead and 27 wounded;police said officers shot and killed theshooter within 30 secondsofthe start of hisrampage.

In 2022, American pro basketballstar Brittney Griner was convicted in Russia of drug possession and sentenced to nine years behindbars after police said they found vape canisters containing cannabis oil in her luggage at Moscow’sairport. (Shewouldbefreed and sent home in the politically charged case in exchangefor the U.S. releasing Russian arms dealer Viktor BoutinDecember 2022.)

Today’sBirthdays: Actor-singer Tina Cole is 83. Football Hall of FamerJohnRigginsis77. Actorscreenwriter Billy BobThornton is 71. Actor Kym Karath (Film: “The SoundofMusic”) is 68. Hall of Fame track star Mary Decker Slaney is 68. Actor Lauren Tomis65. Former President Barack Obama is 65. Retired MLB All-Star pitcher Roger Clemens is 64. Actor Crystal Chappell is 61. Author Dennis Lehane is 61. Actor Daniel Dae Kim is 58. Former race cardriver Jeff Gordon is 55. Rapper-actor Yo-Yois55. R&B singer-actor Marques Houstonis45. Britain’s Duchess of Sussex,the former actor Meghan Markle, is 45. Actor Abigail Spencer is 45. Actor/ director GretaGerwig is 43. CountrysingerCrystal Bowersox (TV:“American Idol”) is 41. Actors Dylan and Cole Sprouse are34. Singer Jessica Sanchez (TV:“American Idol”) is 31. Actor Tinsley Priceis14.

LSU AGCENTER PHOTO By OLIVIA McCLURE

Dear Miss Manners: When placing silverware on the table, does the sharp edge of the knifeface toward theplate or away from it?

Gentlereader: The simple answer is: toward the plate. ButMiss Manners can’thelp offering thewordy answer Until the 19th century,most Westerners, including European royalty, ate with their knives (and considered Italians to be sissies for using forks). Specifically,they ate with their own knives, which they used forhunting and then brought to the dinner table.

Somediners noticed that the knives had other uses —picking teeth,for example, and settling

arguments. To cut downonthe carnage —orperhaps on the sight of people picking their teeth —Cardinal Richelieu had the sharp points filed off table knives, and Louis XIV of France decreed blunted knives were to be used fordining.

Today’sdinner knifeisstill sharp, although never quite sharp enough. Youturn it toward yourself to symbolize your intent to use it only on your roast beef and not on your dinner partner

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

Partner pushes fornobirth control

Dear Harriette: My current form of birth control is abouttoexpire, andmypartner does not wantmetorenew it. He knewthis time was coming, but it feelslike he deliberately waited untiljust afew days priortomyprocedure to tell me he doesn’t wantmetorenew my birth control.Itfeelsasthough if Imoveforward with the procedure,mypartner may feel ignored, while I think Ishould stillbeonbirth control as we figure outwhat’snext for us. WhenI brought up the idea of us having two to fourweeksof no intimacy so that we can think clearlyand decide together if we are ready to prepare for parent-

hood,heresponded glumly that he’lldohis best, but no promises. Iwant to be considerate of my partner,but in the same breath, I’ve never allowed myself to make big decisions under pressure, and Idon’twant to start now.Doyou have any suggestions on how we can compromise without risking pregnancy while we decide? —Split the Baby Dear Splitthe Baby: Your partnerisbeing unreasonably demanding. Youdonot have to accommodate his pushiness. Stand your ground. Begin to talk seriouslyabout the future.Whatdo you twowantfor your lives? What commitmenthaveyou made or

areyou willing to make now? If childrenare aserious part of your vision, when do youwanttohave them? Howmany? Have youset yourselvesupfor successinbuilding alife together? Are youfinancially ready? Do youplantomarry, or whatotherway do youintend to solidify your commitment?

Talk about all of this —and yes, do so without being sexually intimate. Youare looking at the big picture of your lives together.A fewweeks of sober contemplation should not be too much to ask.

Sendquestions to askharriette@ harriettecole.com or c/o AndrewsMcMeel Syndication 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

COLORS

Continuedfrom page1D

abeautiful room faster thana trend that peaksand fades within a year,and Iwant my clients’ homes and businesses to age well.

GARDEMAL: As much as Ilove navy blue in all itsvarious shades, Ithink it has becomeoverused in the last five years. It’s aclassic color that feels tailored and sophisticated andconsequently has become a“safe” choice for many homes. Kitchen cabinets, accent walls,studies, powder rooms it’sa color that has been so widely adopted that it can begin to feel predictable.

Petit:Not really.Ifyou loveit, let’s go for it

ELLA JEAN’S

Continuedfrom page1D

Barkliceare beneficial insects thatshowuponcrape myrtles in spring and summer in Louisiana. loves bright pops of color

gray, fuzzyinsects. Aphids and scales both suck sap from crape myrtles —aphids from leaves and scales from bark. They excrete asticky honeydew, encouraging thegrowth of sooty mold on trunks and branches. Bark lice, on theother hand? At most, all they’ll leave behind are thefine, silky webs they sometimes spin as another protectivemeasure. And you can easily wash away thewebs with awater hose if you don’tlike the way they look

“She’s gotthiscute, funky, little taste,” Cappo said about her daughter.“It’s amix of me —retro, can do whatever Iwant,because it’sa fun space —and her.”

Menu rundown

The shop serves 12 flavors of scoopable, Oregon-basedTillamook icecream:old-fashioned vanilla,chocolate, Oregon strawberry,cookies &cream, cookie dough, mint chocolatechip, white chocolate raspberry,peaches & cream, marionberry pie,butter pecan, campfire peanut butter cup

How do youthink the Pantone Color of the year affects color choices locally?

Petit: Idon’tfind it does.It’sa color Idon’treally agree with currently,based on my first answer Gardemal: 2026 is the first year that Pantone has ever selected awhite as its Color of the Year.I think it’sa color that aligns wonderfully with ourSouthern sensibilities. It steers clients toward warmer whites and creamy ivories that are welcoming to anyone who walks through the door Cannon:It’smore of aslow trickle than an instant splash. In my experience, it usually takes two to three yearsafter Pantone’s announcementbefore that color showsupin big-box stores andmassproduced items. By the timeit’severywhere, thedesign world has already moved on.

and lemon sorbet.

Milkshakes, sundaes, banana splits,housemade lemonade, housemade limeade, anddesserts suchasstrawberry shortcake, cookies and brownie alamode are also on the menu. Lots of toppings areavailable, from gummy bears to graham crackers

OneofCappo’sfavorites is the Mookie Cookie, an ice cream sandwich with achoice of ice cream in between two cookies.

“Wewanted to give anod to the Tillamook brand just because it is so good,” she said. “Wecoined the nameMookie Cookie.”

‘Nothing buthappiness’ Cappohopes Ella Jean’s Ice Cream &Treats will be another space where family and friends

This project is aspacefrom designer Jerad Gardemal,who says he is encouraging hisclients to move away fromstark whitespaces and returntowarmer tones.

canhangout, grab abananasplit and enjoy the photogenic atmosphere.

“This is just nothing but happiness,” she said.

The business opened about midJuly,soit’sbeen operating fora couple of weeks. Business has been great, Cappo said.

“The response hasbeen great,” she said. “Wepoured alot into this foralong time.”

Ella Jean’sIce Cream & Treats, 40306 La. 42, Suite 106, Prairieville. Open 11 a.m to 8p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 11 a.m.to9p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 11 a.m.to6 p.m.Sundays. Closed Mondays. Hoursmay change when the school season starts.

PROVIDED PHOTOS

This bathroom is aproject from designer Jeanne Lyons Davis.

Harriette Cole SENSE AND SENSITIVITy

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Stretch your imagination, learn from your mistakes and turn your ideas intoareality. Place your energy where it has the most value. Set your emotions on theback burnerand put your egoaside. VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) Achange may tempt you, but before you make a move, take acloser look at what you might lose.Reach out to someone you trusttotell you the truth andsuggest alternatives. Patienceisnecessary LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) You'll be pulled in differentdirections,all of which need consideration. Partnerships, routine and schedules will require finetuning anda lifeline of their own scoRPIo(oct. 24-Nov. 22) Brainpower is your weapon.Sizeupsituations and think matters through. Refuse to let anyone pressure you to make snap decisionsortoallow them to takecontrol of your life.

sAGIttARIus (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Put everything in context anddowhat's best. Don't put yourself in harm's way physically or where relationships are concerned cAPRIcoRN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Takecare of yourself, your reputation andyour future. Investmore time and money in upgrading your skills andqualificationsand connecting with people who can help youget ahead.

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) If youwant control, be prepared to follow through. Opportunities are apparent; if youdon't takeadvantage, youwon't getareturn.

Youare overdue forachange,sobuckle up andsee what's available. PIscEs (Feb. 20-March20) Having proper eatinghabits, exercisingand staying away from people or situations that could lead to illness or injury are best avoided.Use your intuition, memory andcommonsense.

ARIEs(March 21-April 19) Emotions, overindulgence andsocial settings can lead to arguments. Don't mix business with pleasure. Being honest is honorable, but there's atime andplace forit.

tAuRus (April 20-May 20) Takehold of your feelings before you go out the door. You'll tendtooverreact today, offering bold and brazenopinions to those youencounter. Takeamoment to calmdownand to change your demeanor.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Pickupthe pieces andput them back together the way youwantthemtobe. Stop letting negativity andupset take over when practicality and common sense are necessary

cANcER (June 21-July 22) Tread lightly when dealingwith others. Stick to the facts, offerkindness andunderstanding, andkeep an open mind when listening to others, andifthat's too difficult look inward and do alittle self-help work.

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

CelebrityCipher cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, past and present. Eachletter in the cipher stands for another.

toDAy's cLuE:A EQuALs H

CeLebrItY CIpher

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudokuis anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with severalgiven numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1to9inthe empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 boxcontains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday

Puzzle Answer

THe wiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

By PHILLIP ALDER

Jason Fried, the founder and CEO of Basecamp (formerly known as 37signals), said, “Make decisions when you have alot of information to makethe decision. Not when youhavetoguess about what the decision is going to be or use data that doesn’t exist yet.”

We are looking at the Rule of Seven, which tells ano-trumpdeclarer how long to holduphis only stopper in the suit that the opponents have led. In today’sdeal, North and South have six spades. Subtracting six from seven tells South to hold up his spade ace at trick one, but to take the second trick. However, is that the right play here?

Whenyouopeninno-trump,donotworry —too much! —about an unstopped suit. Here, if South opensone club and Westpasses(letusassume),Northwould respond one diamond. What wouldSouth do next? He would have no accurate rebid.

South starts with eight top tricks:one spade, three hearts andfourdiamonds. He needs one club trick to get home. But should he lead low to his jack or to his king? He does not have enough data to answer the question.

Southneedstoknowhowthespadesuit is splitting. So he should hold up twice andtake the third round. Here, declarer learnsthatWeststartedwithfivespades.

Bridge EachWuzzle is aword riddlewhich creates adisguised word, phrase, name, place, saying, etc. Forexample:NOON GOOD =GOOD AFTERNOON

If West also holdsthe club ace, the contract cannot be made—South will lose one club and fourspades. So declarer must play aclub to his king, hoping for the best. If it transpires that West has onlyfourspades,Southwillhavetoguess the clubs. Wish him good luck— unless you are East or West.

By Andrews McMeel Syndication

Previous answers:

word game

INstRuctIoNs: 1. Words must be of four or more letters.

today’s thought “I tell you, No: but, except you repent, you shallall likewise perish.” Luke 13:5

wuzzles

loCKhorNs

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C. PiCKles

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August 4,2026 To:All Interested Federal, State, andLocal Agen‐cies,Groupsand Individ‐uals

is to give notice that theIberville Parish Coun‐cilhas determined that thefollowing proposed action under theState of LouisianaCommunity DevelopmentBlock

(Grant

0001)

jacent to

andthe Parish

Ibervillewillbeidentify‐ingand evaluating prac‐ticablealternativestolo‐cating theactioninthe floodplainand wetlands andthe potentialim‐pactsonthe floodplain andwetlandsfromthe proposed action,asre‐questedbyExecutive Order11988 and11990, in accordance with HUD regulationsat24CFR 55.20 SubpartC Proce‐duresfor Making Deter‐minationsonFloodplain Management andProtec‐tion of Wetlands,toun‐dertakea projectknown as the“Iberville Parish WaterSystemImprove‐ments” Thespecificelementsof this proposed projectwill includethe replacement of theexistingwater mainswithnew,modern 6” and4”diameterwater mainsand associated valves fire hydrants and flushing assemblies alongPatureauLane, BayouRoadand sur‐rounding streets. The Parish hasdetermined theproject site is located within aFEMA-desig‐natedSpecial Flood Haz‐ardArea(SFHA), Flood Zone A, as shownonthe applicable Flood Insur‐ance Rate Map(FIRM). Thereare threeprimary purposes forthisnotice. First, people whomay be affected by activities in floodplains or wetlands andthose who have an interest in theprotection of thenatural environ‐ment should be givenan opportunitytoexpress theirconcernsand pro‐vide informationabout theseareas.Second, an adequate public notice programcan be an im‐portantpubliceduca‐tional tool.The dissemi‐nation of information about floodplains and wetlands canfacilitate andenhance Federalef‐

PUBLIC NOTICE Qualifying of candidates for: District Judges,Family CourtJudges, Juvenile CourtJudges District Attorney Justices of thePeace Constables School BoardMembers: (EastBaton Rouge Parish,Baker,Central andZachary) CentralMayor,Central ChiefofPolice, and CentralCouncil Members ZacharyMayor,Zachary ChiefofPoliceand ZacharyCouncilmen BakerCityCourt Judge will be conducted by the ClerkofCourt’s office from Wednesday, August 5, 2026, until Friday,Au‐gust 7, 2026. Theelection will be held on November 3, 2026. Candidates may qualify from 8:00 AM until 4:30 PM,daily,at thefollowing locations: 222 St.Louis St Room 179 BatonRouge,LA 9050 AirlineHwy Ste. 100 BatonRouge,LA In addition,qualifying will be conductedfrom 8:00 AM until 11:30 AM In CentralonWednesday, August 5, 2026, at thefol‐lowing location: CentralCityHall 11530 Sullivan Rd Central, LA In addition,qualifying will be conductedfrom 1:00 PM until 4:30 PM In ZacharyonWednes‐day, August 5, 2026, at thefollowing location: ZacharyCityHall 4700 Main St Zachary, LA Please call theClerk of CourtElectionDepart‐

Development Code “, as amendedso as to change thezoning on thepropertylocated at 13118, 13122, 13126, 13130 and13040 Scenic HighwayToamend the ComprehensiveLandUse Plan from Neighborhood Center to Industrial,lo‐catedonthe east side of Scenic Highway, southof Rafe MayerRoad, on property noworformerly knownasLot Y-1and 118-Bofthe ShadyAcres Subdivision. Section48, T5S, R1W, GLD, EBRP,LA (Council District 2- Ken‐ney) PA-4-26 ORDINANCE Amending theCompre‐hensiveZoningMap of theCityofBaton Rouge andParishofEastBaton Rouge, as containedin andmadepartofthe “Unified Development Code “, as amendedso as to change thezoning on thepropertylocated at 13118, 13122, 13126, 13130 and13040 Scenic HighwayTorezonefrom HeavyCommercial(C2) andLimited Residential (A4) to LightIndustrial (M1) on property located on theeastsideofScenic Highway, southofRafe MayerRoad, on property noworformerlyknown as LotY-1 and118-Bof theShady AcresSubdivi‐sion.Section 48, T5S, R1W, GLD, EBRP,LA (Council District 2– Ken‐ney) CASE 23-26

ORDINANCE Amending theCompre‐hensiveZoningMap of theCityofBaton Rouge andParishofEastBaton Rouge, as containedin andmadepartofthe “Unified Development Code “, as amendedso as to change thezoning on thepropertylocated at 4743, 4747, 4751, 4755 and4759 Peerless Street and4730 PaigeStreet To rezone from Single Fam‐ilyResidential (A2) to TwoFamily(A2.9)on property located on the northsideofPeerless Street andsouth of Paige Street,eastofMoon Street,onpropertynow or formerly knownasLot 9-A, 10-A, 11-A, 12-A, 13-A and40-Aofthe Fortune Addition Subdivision, Square 11. Section96, T6S, R1E, GLD, EBRP,LA (Council District 5Hurst) CASE 24-26

ORDINANCE

Amending theCompre‐hensiveZoningMap of theCityofBaton Rouge andParishofEastBaton Rouge, as containedin andmadepartofthe “Unified Development Code “, as amendedso as to change thezoning on thepropertylocated at 228 West Chimes Street To rezone from HeavyCommercial(C2) to Commercial Alcoholic Beverage (bar and lounge) (C-AB-2) on prop‐erty locatedonthe north side of West Chimes Street,westofHighland Road,onpropertynow or formerly knownasa por‐tion of Lot6 of theCam‐

ORDINANCE Amending theCompre‐hensiveZoningMap of theCityofBaton Rouge andParishofEastBaton Rouge, as containedin andmadepartofthe “Unified Development Code “, as amendedso as to changethe zoning h l d g g on theproperty located at 9798 Greenwell SpringsRoadTorezone from LightCommercial (C1) to CommercialAlco‐holicBeverage(restau‐rant)(C-AB-1)onprop‐erty locatedonthesouth side of Greenwell Springs Road,westofPlatt Drive, on property noworfor‐merlyknown as aportion of LotC of theW.A.Henry LeeTract.Section 26, T6S, R1E, GLD, EBRP,LA(Coun‐cilDistrict5 –Hurst) CASE 22-26

panile View Subdivision, Square 1. Section54, T7S, R1W, GLD, EBRP,LA (Council District 10Coleman) CASE 25-26 ORDINANCE Amending theCompre‐hensiveZoningMap of theCityofBaton Rouge andParishofEastBaton Rouge, as containedin andmadepartofthe “Unified Development Code “, as amendedso as to change thezoning on thepropertylocated at 14832 OldHammond HighwayTorezonefrom RuraltoNeighborhood Commercial(NC)on property locatedonthe southsideofOld Ham‐mond Highway, west of LakemontDrive,onprop‐erty noworformerly knownasLot 7-DofLarry Worthy Property.Section 39, T7S, R2E, GLD, EBRP LA (Council District 4Moak) CASE 26-26 ORDINANCE Amending theCompre‐hensiveZoningMap of theCityofBaton Rouge andParishofEastBaton Rouge, as containedin andmadepartofthe “Unified Development Code “, as amendedso as to change thezoning on thepropertylocated at 7740 and9400-9500 PettitRoadProposed sand andgravelmining operationlocated on the southand west side of PettitRoad, northof Comite Drive, on prop‐erty noworformerly knownasthe W. Y. Pettit Tractofthe EvaT.Graves Land LLCand Tract8-B-2AofH.B.Weiland Prop‐erty.Section 33,T5S,R1E GLD, EBRP,LA(Council District 2- Kenney) MCUP-1-26 195383 July 28, 1t $278.83