The Times-Picayune 08-06-2026

FremauxTownCenter

buckstrend with growth

BY GRACE MAYER Staffwriter

Alittle more than adecade after the Fremaux Town Center opened in Slidell, the owners of the mixedusecenter are planninga major expansion that would significantly grow the center’sfootprint with the addition of much-needed new retail space.

Officialswith StirlingProperties, which owns the centerlocated off Interstate 10 near U.S.190, are planning to addbetween300,000 and 400,000 squarefeet of newretail space to the center —aroughly 50% increasethat will bring the development to over 1million square feet and enable it to attract more nationalretail brands, boutiques and restaurants.

“There are abunch oftenants that have wantedtobea part of this project that we haven’thad room for,” said Ryan Pécot,senior

retail leasing anddevelopment adviser with Stirling.“We have enoughmomentum to stack three, four, five of thosetenants together and put this new phase together.”

Since opening in 2014, Fremaux —a“lifestyle center” that combines an open-air shopping center with restaurants, ahotel and apartments— has come to reflect the changing faceofretail, creating acampus where people can live, work and play

While many malls andtraditional retailers have downsized or closed in recent years due to competition from online shopping, Fremaux and other lifestyle centers in the region are demonstrating that demand still existsfor in-person shoppingdestinations, provided they have theright tenant mix and the rightlocation.

“Wehave people living agolf ball

‘Definite’

cuts coming next year,N.O.o

fficials say

Moreno administration lookingat feehikes

Moreno

Chief Administrative Officer Joe Giarrusso, addressing the New Orleans City Council’sBudgetCommittee,saidthe administration will also look forways to increase revenue,including feehikes, to offset thecuts. “Cuts aren’tapotential. They area definite. Thequestion is themagnitude. The hope is we

by

Giarrusso said. Thesize of the deficit won’t be clear until anewly hired economistcomes up with an official revenue forecast in coming weeks, but the administration is using $125 millionasa yardstick. That is theamount of onetime cash the administration used to plug the gap between revenue and expenses this year That required certain tree-shaking measures —like tapping reserves of external city agencies —that will be much more difficult next year,Giarrusso said.

ä See BUDGET, page 5A

BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer

As qualifying begins for the November open primary for Louisiana’s congressional districts, two seats are wide open for anyonetotake— and theyare drawing quite the array of candidates.

But, after the first day for candidates to sign up to run passed Wednesday,one big mystery remained: Will state Sen. BlakeMiguezrun forone of those seats? And, if so, which one? Miguez, aRepublican from New Iberia, was running for the 5th District until Louisiana’smaps gotredrawn in thespring. He won President Donald Trump’sendorsement forthe seat, apowerful boost in the race. But candidates had to requalify

BY MATT BRUCE Staff writer

Several incumbents qualified to fight for their seats Wednesday in what promises to be amonumental election season forOrleansParish’s courts. Dozens of candidates for elected office lined the halls outside the clerk’soffice at Criminal District Courttoofficially launchtheir campaigns as the three-dayqualifying period kicked off statewide Wednesdayfor midtermelections this fall Thirty hopefuls qualified over the course of the day

The ballot in New Orleans is dominated by judicial races in the wake of Act 748, astate law that cut three of 12 district judgeships from criminal court as part of abroader shrinking of the city’scourt system Rhonda Goode-Douglas, one of the judgesslatedfor removal at year’send, madegood on a promise to challenge JudgeLeon Roche, whose Section Iseat was

ä See JUDICIAL, page 5A

Fremaux Town Center in Slidell opened in 2014.

Donny Rouse CEO, 3rdGeneration

-Donny Rouse, CEO, 3rdGeneration

U.S. offers$25M for leader of powerful cartel

MEXICO CITY The U.S. governmentonWednesday offered a $25 million reward for information leading to the capture of Juan Carlos González,or “Pelón,” scaling up pressure on aU.S. citizenwho hasemerged as thefigurehead of Mexico’s mostpowerfulcartel.

The rewardwas bumped up from $5 million. The Trump administration offered atotal of $100million in rewards for various leaders of theJalisco New Generation Cartel, or CJNG, and restricted the visas of family membersand business associatesofcartel members

U.S. officials said the rewards, along with newly unsealed charges against fiveother highranking leaders, were aimed at crippling the organization’s leadership.

CJNG is among eightMexican cartelsdesignated as a foreignterrorist organization. Thegroup was dealt ablow in February when leader Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, or “El Mencho,” was killed by the Mexican military.The U.S. provided intelligence for the operation,which resulted in aburst in violence in the state of Jalisco. González, OsegueraCervantes’s stepson andadual Mexican and U.S. citizen, is reported to have takencontrol of the cartel, which is involved in everything from avocado production to drug smuggling Drone with explosives found at German airport

BERLIN Adrone with explosives wasfound at Germany’s Leipzig/Halle Airportand the device was defused, authorities said Wednesday,inanincident that the country’stop security official said posed a“new quality of danger.”

Both the runwaysatthe major freight hub were closed and several flights, including one passenger plane,were diverted to other airports after aflying object was sighted nearby shortly before midnight Tuesday.An anti-explosives robot wasdeployed to check an object near the south runway Regional police and prosecutors later said an airport employee discovered adrone near the south runway with “an unknown explosive device,” and the object was examined by police. They removed its detonator

That the drone was carrying explosives “is anew quality of danger,” German Interior Minister AlexanderDobrindt told reporters at the airport. Clerkwon’t have to pay Murdaugh’slegalfees

COLUMBIA, S.C— Afederal judge has thrown out alawsuit by Alex Murdaughseeking $600,000 in legal fees by the former court clerk whosemisconduct led his murder convictions to be overturned on appeal.

Murdaugh sued Becky Hill in May saying she violated his right to afair trial in the deaths of his wife and son.

Ajury found Murdaughguilty but the state Supreme Court overturned the convictions and life sentences earlier this year sayingHill’scommentstojurorssuggested the once-prominent lawyer was guilty and his testimony in his own defense couldn’tbetrusted.

The problem with Murdaugh’s legalreasoning is he would have had to spend the money anyway because it wasn’tHill who investigated or pursued justice againsthim, Judge Richard Gergelwrote in his ruling Wednesday Murdaugh’sattorneys filed a notice to appealabout twohours later

CORRECTIONS

A story Tuesday incorrectly stated how often NewOrleans City Hall employees have beenfurloughed. They are furloughed onceper pay period.

Aheadline on astory Wednesday incorrectly said that 13 New Orleans firefighters called out sick over adispute. Theircolleagues did not replacethem due to adispute. TheTimes-Picayune regrets the errors.

Deal will hingeonU.S.blockade

Iran insistsonsomecontrol of Strait of Hormuz

BY ELENABECATOROS, SAMY MAGDYand DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press

CAIRO— Iran saidWednesday it is in the “final stage” of drafting an agreementwith Oman over the Strait of Hormuz,and U.S.President Donald Trump has said adeal could be announced this week. That could potentially reopen the critical waterway, ease pressure on the world economy and help bring an end to thewar Butthe agreement is likely to be contingent on the U.S. lifting its blockade on Iran’sports. The Trump administration has previously ruled out any deal that would cement Iran’sgrip over thestrait, which would amount to amajor loss for the U.S. and abreak with globalnorms. Iran hasinsisted on some mea-

sure of control over the strait,saying it will not go back to being an open internationalwaterway, as it was before thewar

The U.S., along with Israel, launched the war on Feb. 28, citing various goalsincluding toppling Tehran’sgovernmentand ending its nuclear program.Those have not been achieved, and the conflict hasdevolved intoafight over the strait as Iran’s assertionofcontrol andattacksonshipping have ground traffic to anear-halt. Closure of thestrait, through which afifth of theworld’straded oiland natural gasoncepassed, has drivenupthe priceoffuel andbasic goods, roiling the global economy.Trump is alsounder mounting pressure to end an unpopular war ahead of U.S.congressional elections

Iran’sForeign Ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei,said that theagreement withOman is in the “final stage” of drafting, and that

ajoint statement will be issued “if certain parties do not obstruct this process,” apparently referring to theU.S. Iranian and Omani negotiators have finalizedthe draft deal to reopen the strait andawait final approval from Iran’sSupreme Leader AyatollahMojtaba Khamenei, two regional officials told The Associated Press on Wednesday. Khamenei is believed to have been wounded in thewar’sopening strikes and has not been seen in public since then.

Theofficials, who were briefed on the negotiations, portrayed the potential deal as atemporary solutiontothe dispute over the strait. They said it is tied to an agreement reached between the U.S. and Iran in June that aimedatendingthe fighting andreopening the waterway but ultimately collapsed.

Theofficials, whospoke on conditionofanonymity to discuss the private talks, said the potential deal will pave the way forthe U.S. and Iran to resume negotiations on

Progressives breakthrough with El-Sayed wininMich.

BY JOEY CAPPELLETTI Associated Press

DETROIT Abdul El-Sayed, aformer public healthofficialwho harnessed Democratic frustration with the party establishment,narrowlydefeated Rep. Haley Stevens in Michigan’sU.S. Senate primary,settingupacrucial testfor progressives in akey battleground state

El-Sayedwill face Republican Mike Rogers, aformer congressman, in November in arace that will help determine control of theSenate. Hisfirst challenge will be unifyingDemocratic factions after abitter primarythatoffered divergent visionsfor aparty desperatefor a path back topower

Themargin was extraordinarily close.

El-Sayed walked off the stageathis Tuesday night election party withoutdeclaring victory,and the racewas not called until early Wednesday,after nearly all ballotsstatewidehad been counted.At the time TheAssociated Press declared him the winner,El-Sayed led Stevens by 14,893 votes —just under 1percentagepoint—out ofmore than 1.5 million ballotscounted,the most in recent state history

The political significance of the result, however,extends wellbeyondthe slim margin.

“Abdul’svictory was, in my opinion, the most extraordinary victory thatI can thinkofinmodern American politics,”Sen. BernieSanders, aleader of the progressive movement who was an early supporter of El-Sayed’scandidacy, said Wednesday El-Sayed, 41, has neverheld elected office andenteredthe race seven years after losing Michigan’sDemocratic gubernatorial primary by more than 20 percentagepoints. This time, running on an unapologetically progressive agenda, he overcame morethan $60 million in outside spending and an opponent backed by many of Michigan’stop Democrats,including Gov.Gretchen Whitmer and outgoing Sen. GaryPeters.

Extraordinary trajectory

El-Sayedwas joined on Wednesday by state Sen. Mallory McMorrow,aformer opponent in the Senate primary,and Curtis Hertel, chair of the Michigan Democratic Party.Itwas an initial step toward aunified frontafter abitter primary, and it reflected El-Sayed’sextraordinary political trajectory in less than adecade.

After losing the 2018 Democraticprimary for governor to Whitmer,El-Sayed retreated into thepolitical wilderness.

He starteda podcast, wrote abook and becamea regular presence on YouTube and television, slowly building afollowing while waiting for apolitical opening he did not know would come.

It arrived when Petersmadethe surprise announcement that he would not seek reelection, creating an open Senate seat in one of thecountry’smostcompetitivestates

El-Sayed launched his campaign in April 2025 withastaff of four.Inhis victory speech Wednesday, he recalled the small rooms that definedits early months.

“Back in April, Iremember talking to aroom of five people,” he said.“It was an opportunity for us to share an honest conversation about pain and about purpose. And I’ve been able to have 500 more of those discussions over the past 15 months.”

El-Sayedsaid he visited110 citiesand hosted more than 500 events. Hisvolunteer networkgrew alongside the campaign, eventually reaching 12,000 people, according to his campaign.

The campaign also embraced amedia strategy thatreflected El-Sayed’syears outsideelected office, aggressively pursuingattention acrosstraditional outlets, podcastsand online platforms. Someappearances, including multiple interviews with controversial streamer HasanPiker,drew swift backlash.

‘Movementofthe many’

On July 5, McMorrowendedher campaign, leaving atwo-personrace between El-Sayed and Stevens.Soon after, El-Sayed stood before door-knocking volunteersinaGrand Rapids park and declared that “we have achance of winning this election.”

“More importantly,wehave achance at winning ourpolitics,” El-Sayed said. “Whatwe’redoing is building amovementofthe manyagainst themoney.”

In thefinal days, El-Sayed leaned even further into thestrategy that had helped build his campaign. He marched through downtown Detroit alongside social media influencers, then attended aprivate pool party with contentcreators,including Piker

On election day, El-Sayed didthree interviews withcontent creators at Detroit’sEastern Market before doing three morewith traditional news organizations, including The Associated Press and MS NOW Hours later,the campaign that had once struggledtofill smallrooms packed Detroit’s MajesticTheatre for an election night party.

Tehran’snuclear program

Earlier,they had said the potential agreement would have ships enterthe Persian Gulfthrough an Iranian-controlledroute and exit through aroute controlled by Oman. Servicefees would be chargedfor providing security and preserving the maritimeenvironment, the officials said.

TheU.S.has said it is strongly opposedtoany arrangement that would see Iran charge fees.

Trump was asked on Tuesday evening by reporters about areport on the Axios newssite that an announcement on the straitcould be madeonWednesday “Itcould happen. Tomorrow or the next day,” Trump said. “A lot of progress has been made.”

The Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemenclaimed Wednesday they had fired ballistic missiles towardaSaudi oil tanker on the Red Seaoff theSaudi port of Yanbu, without providing evidence. There was no immediate commentfrom Saudi Arabia.

CDC: 15 states now linked to cyclospora

BY MIKESTOBBE Associated Press

NEWYORK— Parasitic illness cases in 15 states have been linked to iceberg lettuce, U.S. health officials said Wednesday Cyclospora caseshave been reported in at least 47 states this year, and investigators havecontinuedto probe howmanycould be linked to acommoncontaminated source. TheCenters forDisease Control andPrevention said the number of states tied to the deadly outbreak had grownfrom nine to 15. Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire and North Carolina were added to alist that previously included Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky,Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Investigators initially narrowed in on lettuce served at Taco Bell. Federal officials subsequently said they are focused on Taylor Farms as thesource, and the company has recalled iceberg lettuce grown in

central Mexico. There are several reasons cyclospora outbreaks canbehardtoinvestigate and contain, said Dr.Juan Luis Marquez, medical director of the Washtenaw County andLivingston Countyhealth departments in Michigan. It can take weeks between whensomeoneis exposed to the parasite and whenthey comedown with symptoms; it’shardertoanalyze the parasite in laboratories; and it’salot of work to interview everyone who is sickand clearlyidentify common exposures, said Marquez, an adjunct public health professor at the University of Michigan. Also,“therehavebeen staffing cuts at alllevels of public health —federal, local,state —sothere are less resources and capacity generally available,” Marquez said in astatement. Cyclospora is amicroscopic,spherical parasite that commonly causes watery diarrhea “with frequent and sometimes explosivebowel movements,” according to the CDC.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JULIA DEMAREENIKHINSON Abdul El-Sayeddeparts followinganewsconference Wednesday in Detroit shortly afterwinning the Democratic nominationfor U.S. Senate in Michigan.

La. federal judge could hold

U.S. officials in contempt

Government has tried to deport man despite orders not to

BY JAMES FINN Staff writer

A Baton Rouge federal judge on Wednesday weighed holding U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials in contempt in a hearing after finding federal officials repeatedly tried deporting a man despite the judge’s repeated orders to stand down.

“The issue is not whether I can make a contempt finding, but whether I should,” said U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles of the Middle District of Louisiana in a Zoom hearing in the case of 43-year-old Ibrahim Mohammed.

A contempt ruling against officials within DHS, which oversees U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, would mark the second such order by a federal judge this month amid an ongoing clash between federal judges and the immigration crackdown from President Donald Trump’s administration.

A Maryland man jailed over the past year at the “Camp 57” immigration lockup in the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, Mohammed moved legally into the U.S. in 2014 and earned asylum from his native Ethiopia. He was ordered deported after a child sexual abuse conviction, and federal officials marked him last year for deportation either to Eswatini or Equatorial Guinea — part of a push by the administration to send deport-

ees to countries other than their places of origin amid the administration’s ongoing immigration crackdown.

DeGravelles in February ordered Mohammed freed from Angola, ruling that ICE let him languish in detention without a viable place to deport him after finding he had qualified for supervised release.

ICE agents rearrested Mohammed two months later after finding that the two small African countries would agree to take him, a federal official previously testified. DeGravelles slammed government lawyers for their handling of the rearrest, again ordering him released In that instance, he ruled agents violated Mohammed’s due process rights, including by failing to serve him papers saying where he would be deported, and warned the government against arresting him again without those steps. Last week, ICE agents in Maryland did exactly that, deGravelles wrote in a curt order that triggered Wednesday’s hearing.

The government, DeGravelles wrote after consulting Mohammed’s attorneys, again failed to serve Mohammed with required papers notifying him of the country to which he would be sent — this time, the Central African Republic. Government officials also did not interview Mohammed to determine whether he had credible fear of harm upon arriving there, among other failures to adhere to due-process requirements.

The judge called government lawyers to his virtual courtroom Wednesday to show why he should not hold “decision-makers who are responsible for this re-

detention in contempt.”

DeGravelles said he would deliver a ruling on that question within a week. The civil contempt ruling would apply to senior ICE officials involved in attempts to deport Mohammed, he said.

A federal judge in California on Tuesday held DHS in civil contempt for allegedly slow-rolling her order to create digital copies of messages contained on personal cellphones of immigration agents involved in immigration raids in Los Angeles.

A senior ICE official who ordered Mohammed’s rearrest, Vernon Liggins, told deGravelles during Wednesday’s hearing that some required papers were not served to Mohammed during his latest arrest because of the huge volume of people ICE is now detaining.

“We try to get all detainees served as quickly as possible, but we’re arresting a lot of people nowadays,” Liggins said. “Mr Mohammed, I’m sure, wasn’t the first person processed that day.”

Citing internal DHS sources, ABC News reported that ICE arrests reached a record high of 51,000 in July

Attorneys for Mohammed asked deGravelles to compel the government to pay his attorneys fees as well as about $180 in compensation for time lost to his detention. They also asked deGravelles to affirm a portion of an earlier ruling requiring a 14-day notice period if the government seeks to detain him again.

James Finn covers federal law enforcement and courts for The Times-Picayune | The Advocate. Email him at jfinn@theadvocate.com or contact him on Signal at jamesfinn.82.

Nanny: Clancy appeared to be a loving mother before killings

BY MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press

Months before Lindsay Clancy strangled her three children, she lost significant weight, couldn’t sleep and complained of postpregnancy mental health issues, the family’s former nanny testified at her murder trial

Wednesday

But the nanny never worried the Massachusetts mother might be a danger to her children or to herself. “I observed a wonderful mom who loved her kids,” Elaine Rossi told the jury on the seventh day of the trial in Plymouth. “She was concerned about their safety, and Callan eating and sleeping. She was a wonderful mother.” Clancy’s defense says she was a loving mother who was overmastered by postpartum psychosis, a dangerous psychiatric condition that afflicts a small proportion of women after childbirth and affects their hold on reality Prosecutors contend that she acted intentionally on Jan. 24, 2023, and should be held criminally responsible for the deaths of Callan,

CDC leader confirmed

Senate approves Schwartz for tumult-laden agency

BY MIKE STOBBE Associated Press

NEWYORK The Senate on Wednesday con-

firmed Dr Erica Schwartz as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, placing her in charge of a public health agency beleaguered by political meddling and low morale.

the agency has lost 3,000-plus employees, more than one-quarter of its workforce. Morale has plummeted as a succession of mostly temporary leaders has come and gone. The front office has been staffed by political appointees with little or no training in medicine or public health.

Schwartz was confirmed in a 51-44 vote. The 54-year-old becomes the 22nd leader of the Atlanta-based CDC, which is charged with protecting Americans from preventable health threats, and the agency’s first confirmed director in nearly a year Her resume includes medical and law degrees, a stint as deputy surgeon general, and a leadership position at the U.S. Coast Guard.

Schwartz’s nomination appeared to be on shaky ground after a hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee last month. The chairman, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, and others questioned whether she would be willing to stand up to Republican President Donald Trump’s health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., if he ordered CDC to do something unsupported by science and good public health practice.

But weeks later, Cassidy said he had spoken with Schwartz after that hearing and with others who knew her, and said he had gained confidence in her U.S. Department of Health and Human Services officials did not immediately respond to questions about when Schwartz will start the job or her salary

The CDC has been in turmoil since Trump returned to office last year Largely due to layoffs and resignations,

“Now, Dr Schwartz needs to prove that her leadership will serve science and not the whims of politicians. CDC needs a Director who will protect public health workers, defend evidence-based guidance, and refuse any directive that would undermine public safety,” said the National Public Health Coalition, an organization of former and current CDC workers, in a statement Wednesday When Schwartz was nominated in April, public health experts were cautiously optimistic, citing her background. They also noted that Schwartz was the choice of Trump and not Kennedy, who is a leading voice in the anti-vaccine movement before he was tapped to oversee the CDC and other federal health agencies. Schwartz was the third Trump nominee for CDC director in the past 18 months.

The first was a former Florida congressman, Dr David Weldon. His Senate hearing in March 2025 was canceled an hour before it was to begin. Weldon said at the time that he had been told not enough senators were willing to vote for him.

The White House then moved on to Susan Monarez, who had been serving as the CDC’s acting director Monarez was confirmed by the Senate, but ousted from the job in less than a month. Trump administration officials said she was not aligned with the president’s agenda, so they terminated her Since then, there have been a series of HHS officials as acting CDC directors.

“With all the turmoil of the past two years, the CDC desperately needs stability experienced leadership and a steadfast commitment to science,” said Dr Georges Benjamin of the American Public Health Association, in a statement Wednesday

Man arrested at Trump’s golf course faces weapons charges

By The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — A California man who was arrested at President Donald Trump’s Los Angeles-area golf course was pretending to be part of the security detail preparing for Trump’s visit and had a stash of illegal weapons in his car and home, authorities said.

Dawson and Cora Clancy, who ranged in age from 8 months to 5 years. Rossi was hired in September 2022, a few months after Callan was born, and let go in December after Clancy, 35, decided not to return to work. Rossi said she wasn’t told why Clancy, a former labor and delive ry nurse, chose to remain at home.

The defense sought to portray Clancy as a doting mother who acknowledged her mental health difficulties Prosecutors likely hope the jury will see a mom who wasn’t impaired by her mental health. Rossi testified that she saw prescription medicine bottles in the house, and that Clancy “shared with me she had postpartum and couldn’t sleep,” and had taken to sleeping in the basement. In her journals during that

time, Clancy indicated she was struggling with anxiety and feeling overwhelmed by motherhood.

Both the prosecution and defense read excerpts from her diary to the jury Monday, where she catalogued an ever-shifting lineup of psychiatric prescriptions, as well as thoughts of suicide.

Clancy remains paralyzed from the waist down after jumping from her home’s second-story window on the night of the killings.

Clancy wrote about her struggles to get newborn Callan to sleep, and constant worries of his being sick. She also expressed concerns about going back to work, not being able to breastfeed, and feeling disconnected from her children and her then-husband.

“I’m so desperate to get a mental break from taking care of everyone that my mind is trying to find something physically wrong with me,” she wrote in a Nov 18, 2022, entry “I have crazy brain fog. I feel like I can’t make a plan,” she wrote in another undated entry “I live moment to moment waiting for the next nap time.”

Influencer killed during livestream

BY MEGAN JANETSKY Associated Press

MEXICO CITY — A gunman killed a social media influencer during a livestream in Mexico’s volatile northwestern state of Sinaloa, authorities said Wednesday, a public killing that underscored ongoing violence targeting social media personalities in the Latin American nation.

The influencer, César Gastélum, was killed on Tuesday night in the Sinaloa state capital of Culiacan, officials said. Mexican authorities implied the killing of the young man was linked to cartel violence but did not blame any particular group

A video of the moment of his death which was viewed by The Associated Press, shows him laughing with two other men in a parking lot when two men pull up on a motorcycle. One is seen pulling out a gun and shooting Gastélum. The attackers then flee the scene. The attack was carried out just blocks

away from the local prosecutor’s office during rush hour Gastélum had more than 650,000 followers on TikTok, and more on Instagram and other social media platforms and would regularly post comedy videos and content layered over Mexican regional music. He at times referred to himself in his videos as “bélico,” a term often used in subcultures in Mexico to imply a connection to cartel culture. Sinaloa has in recent years been ravaged by warring between two factions of the Sinaloa Cartel. At the height of the fighting, dead bodies would be left across the city marked with a faction’s signature. One of them, Los Chapitos, would regularly leave a pizza or a pizza box on a dead body The other, Los Mayos, would leave behind a sombrero, and it soon became dangerous to wear the hats in Culiacan as it could signify allegiance to one group. On Tuesday night, Gastélum was filmed wearing a white sombrero.

Jeanine John Taele, 38, was due in court Wednesday on a federal weapons charge but the hearing was canceled. He is being held at a downtown LA jail on state charges, according to booking records and not yet in federal custody, said a spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office.

Taele was arrested Sunday at Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes, two days before Trump visited for a fundraising dinner

Taele was first seen on the property Friday, walking throughout the course wearing an earpiece and taking photos and videos of federal agents’ activities as they conducted a security assessment, according to a federal criminal complaint.

Taele drove away but then returned to the course Sunday He approached federal agents and said he was employed by the State Department and was there for a security detail. Taele said he had a loaded weapon in his vehicle and was arrested after it was searched, according to federal officials. Authorities also found a 16-round magazine with ammunition in his pocket.

He already appeared in court on state weapons charges and a second-degree robbery charge for an unrelated incident.

Taele is charged federally with possession of an unregistered short-barreled rifle that was found at this home, authorities said. The complaint alleges the firearm is an illegally modified AR-style rifle with a barrel that was cut down to 10 inches from 14 inches.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said a search of his pickup truck in the club parking lot turned up a loaded 9 mm pistol, binoculars and a badge that read “security protection agent,” according to federal prosecutors. Law enforcement searched his home in the nearby city of Downey on Monday and found a rifle and other firearms, magazines and ammunition, body armor and notebooks with “concerning statements,” federal authorities said. No details about the statements were released.

“Mr Taele’s troubling behavior at the President’s public golf course merely days before the President was expected to arrive raised serious red flags for law enforcement,” Patrick Grandy, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles office, said in a statement. In brief remarks about Taele’s arrest to Fox News on Tuesday, Trump said “only consequential presidents” are targeted, “and I am definitely consequential,” which he said brought him “a little solace.” Taele was a corporal in the U.S. Marines who was deployed to Iraq in 2008 and Afghanistan in 2010 and worked as a warehouse clerk, according to the U.S. Marine Corps. He earned numerous commendations, including an award for good conduct, during his service from 2008 to 2016. State records show Taele is a licensed security guard, with his most recent license issued in February of this year and expiring in 2028. Records also show several canceled or suspended permits to carry a firearm as a security guard. State officials did not immediately respond to a request for more details about those permits. The Los Angeles County public defender’s office, which is representing Taele in the state criminal case, did not immediately return an email seeking comment Wednesday

Schwartz

Rossi Clancy

Continued from page1A

after the redistricting, and Miguez has been mum aboutwhether or where he willrun. He could now run in the 5th Districtinnortheast Louisiana or in the 6th District, which was redrawntobea majority-White district in the Baton Rouge area that will likely elect a Republican. It was formerly amajority-Black district representedbyU.S.Rep Cleo Fields, aDemocratwho decided not to run after the district was redrawn.

Miguez represents and has lived in the New Iberia area, but he owns aproperty in BatonRouge. The possibility that he would run in a district different from the one he has long represented has prompted barbs from fellow legislators.

Miguez did not return requests for comment Wednesday

Despite the uncertainty over whetherthestatesenatorwillmakea bid for Congress, one of his potential opponents—and acolleague in the Senate —fired shots at Miguez after filing to run for the 6th District.

“I’m not new to this district,and I’m not new to fightingfor the people of this district,” state Sen. Rick Edmonds, R-BatonRouge, told members of themedia at the Secretary of State’sOffice.

Miguez “is not from here,” Edmonds said. “He doesn’t understandour communitiesand issues.”

JUDICIAL

from page1A

sparedfor her Section Einthe final days of the session, whenlegislators discarded a“last in, first out” approach to the cuts.

As Goode-Douglas qualified to challengehim, Roche did not file papers on the first day of the threeday qualifying period.

“I’ve never donethis, so I’m not sure what to expect,” said GoodeDouglas,aformerveteran prosecutor seekinga second term as judge. “Obviously,Irespect my colleague. We’ve worked together the last couple of years since he’s been on the bench.

“I think the raceshould really focus on my legacy here at Criminal District Court and my experience,” she added.

Judges John Fuller andSimone Levine, the two other jurists with

BUDGET

Continued from page1A

More details about filling the gap are likely to come during the fall budgetseason. Moreno’s2027 budget proposal is due Oct.1.The administration on Wednesdayreleased abudget dashboard that Moreno said allows residents to track spending decisions as they aremade.

To cut costs this year,more than 700 employees were furloughed for one day per pay period. Giarrusso said the administration wants to avoid continuing the furloughs, noting they only savedabout $4 million, while adding that “all options areon thetable.”

The2026general fund budgetis $800 million, but Giarrusso said expenses havecrept up to $850 million from acombinationofretention payments,accrued leave payments to new retirees, delayed

Edmonds said he hadspoken with the White House and was confidentMiguez would not get Trump’sendorsement in the 6th District; Miguez did not respond to questionsabout that claim But Edmonds also saidhewas unsurewhether Miguezwas running, or whether he would choose the 5th or 6th District.

Because of last-minutechanges to the voting maps, the congressional races will be open primaries. Thetop two vote-getters, regardless of party,willheadtoa runoff

expiringseats under thenew law,did not file qualifying papers Wednesday.Levine, who sitsover the court’sSection A, hassaidshe will run for judge, but she hasn’t revealed forwhich section she’ll make her bid.

Fuller declaredhewon’tchallenge afellowjudge,but it remains uncertain if he’ll seek another elected office.

District Attorney Jason Williams willrun for reelection and saidhe wants to build on the strides from hisfirst term. He did not incur any challengers Wednesday

“It has been an honor of my life workingwith the team of folks I get to work with in theDA’sOffice,”Williams said. “I am really just lookingforward to continuing the good workthat we have done collaboratively withall the people in the criminal justice system to bring crime to its lowestpointin our lifetime. To hit that goal has beensomeaningful, butwe’ve still

invoices from last year and debt service payments. He saidthe additional expenses have been covered with theone-timesources

Council President JP Morrell pointed to aNov.3ballot initiative that would require city officials to identifyfunding sources for all unbudgeted spending. He blamed formerMayor LaToya Cantrell’s administration for overspending that was never disclosed to the council,giving rise to theongoing fiscal crisis.

“The prior administration deficit spent us into amassive,gigantic hole,” Morrell said Giarrusso also detailed the administration’splantomake up $110 millionthe city expected to receive from arevenue bond issue. Moreno scrapped that plan last month when it became clear the State Bond Commission would block the bond issue amid apolitical feud between state andcity officials.

That left acashshortage in the general fund, which could runout by the end of August withoutim-

in December Whoqualified?

On Monday, four Republicans andone Democrat filed to run in the5th District,and four Republicans filed to run in the6th District

Thebetter-known contenders for the5th District included three state legislators. Twoare Republicans from Monroe: state Sen. Stewart Cathey Jr.and stateRep. Michael Echols. Rep. GabeFirment, R-Pollock,also signedupto run.

gotalot more work to do because we can be better.And we will be.”

Judge Clint Smith, Candice Bates Anderson andDesiree CookCalvin filed to retain their seatson theNew OrleansJuvenileCourt bench, which also sustainedcuts underthe newlaw.The seat held by Judge Ranord Darensburg is beingphasedout at theend of the year.Asecond seatwill be eliminated through attrition.

“I am so excited to have the opportunitytoreturn to thebench to serve another sixyearsofbringingcritical contacts andrelationships,” Smithsaid. “Working together in collaborationfor the most vulnerable kids if families arenot communicating.”

All11judgesinCivil District Courtwho are eligible forreelection qualified Wednesday, according to the clerk’soffice. Three other seatswill be vacant with longtime juristsKern Reese, Sidney Cates and Bernadette D’Souza

mediate action. The money was needed because thecity had to pay back $125 millionfrom arevenue bond issued last fall, when acash crisis threatened employee paychecks.

Unlike then, the city’sfund balanceisnow flush, buoyedbya $103 million infusionfromadeal with Caesar’sCasino and Hotelfor upfrontlease payments.The fund balance also includesthe $35million “rainy-day fund.”

The fund balance could theoretically cover theentire cash gap, but officials want to keep it mostly intact in case of acatastrophe like amajor hurricane. Giarrusso is proposing to use $25 millionfrom the rainy-day fund, which would require acouncil vote at afuture meeting. He said the money would be repaid as soon as taxreceiptsallow

To help make up the difference, the administration wants to recoup spending on $35million in capital projects that aredelayed,under budget or reduced in scope. The council is expected to vote on that

Misti Cordell, the chair of the BoardofRegents, has also announced her candidacy but did not qualify on Wednesday. Qualifying runs through Friday

The newly-drawn 5th District coversnortheast Louisiana and is currently represented by U.S. Rep.Julia Letlow,who is running for U.S. Senate. She won the Republican primary and is heavily favored to win the general election in November

Also running in the 5th District is Austin Magee, aRepublican from Franklinton,and DanMcKay,a Democrat from Bunkie.

In the 6th District, Edmonds is the heaviest hitter in the field so far Charlton Meginley,secretary of theLouisiana Department of Veterans Affairs, is considering entering the race, though he has not announced adecision yet, a spokesperson said.

Monique Appeaning, aRepublican from Baton Rouge whoserved as an aide to Mayor-President Sid Edwards but departed after she was put on leave forbeing accused of bullying employees and using slurs, also filed to run.

Larry Davis III,a Republican from Denham Springs who declined to saywhere he worked, citing “ethics,” also is running.

AnotherRepublicancandidate is Michael Mebreur,ofSt. Francisville.Mebreur hasworkedasa traveling medical professionaland is obtaining amaster’sdegree in financial economics from LSU, ac-

leaving office due to astate judicial age cap of 70.

State Rep. Candace Newell lodged her bid to replace Reese; veteran trial attorney Tiffany Delery qualified to run forCates’ seat; and New Orleansfamily lawyer Michael Hall filedpapers aiming to succeed D’Souza.

Of the nine criminal courtjudges with seats up forgrabs after Act 748, Roche was the lone incumbent who didn’tfile qualifying papers on theopeningday of qualifying.

Marcus DeLarge said getting theelection season underway was exciting.

“There is someanxiousness because there is an unknown,” he said momentsafter qualifying for his Section Kseat. “Unfortunately threeseats have been eliminated, so that causes some confusion, maybea little chaos.But Istill woke up with the sameconviction, and it’smyfull intention to continue to serve as thecriminal court

maneuver on Thursday

City officials are promising to reallocatefunds for delayed projects, which arescattered across the city They include drainage projects in Broadmoor,astreetscape project near theErnest N. Morial Convention Center and awalking path along Peoples AvenueinGentilly to name just afew

The council’sPublic Works Committee already signed offon the capital projects maneuveron July 30, and therewas no strong objection at the BudgetCommittee on Wednesday. Butthe move could become controversial when neighborhood residentsrealize anticipated projects are being put off.

Morgan Clevenger,aFairgrounds Triangle resident and community activist, called on the council to deferits vote on Thursday until residents have achance to weighin.

“Thetaxpayers,the community,wehave ideas. I’mhearing a lot about meetings between all of

cordingtohis website.

Otherraces

Louisiana’sother congressional seats are held by strong incumbents —and some of the biggest names in politics, such as U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, who represents the 4th District, andHouse Majority Leader Steve Scalise, whorepresents the 1st District.

Both are Republicans, as is U.S. Rep. ClayHiggins, who holds the 3rd District seat. None of those candidates are likely to be unseated. Nor is U.S. Rep. Troy Carter aDemocrat who represents the 2nd District. That area is now the state’s only majority-Black district and expected to be the only Democratic seat after thestate Legislature redrew the 6th District. Carter,Higgins and Johnson all qualified Wednesday. Scalise has not yet officially signed up to run. Lauren Jewett, of Metairie, a Democrat, and Randall Arrington, of Ponchatoula, aRepublican, signed up to run against Scalise. Walter “Rocky” Beach, who is from Gonzales and is not affiliated with any party,qualified to run in Carter’sdistrict. Meanwhile, Democrat Conrad Cable, afarmer from Farmerville, and Republican Mike Nichols, of Pitkin, are challenging Johnson.

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

judge in Section K. Camille Buras, the city’s longestserving criminal judge, was atop prosecutor under former District Attorney Harry Connick when state legislatorsaddedSections K and LtoCriminal District Court in 1995. She recalled the district attorney, sheriffsand mayorunifying to lobby forthe judgeships. Buras wasamongthe contingent of local judges who testified before state lawmakers as the bill to cut the judges made its way through the Legislature. She told them the statisticstheyreliedontowarrant shrinking the courts were “skewed.”

“I saw the creation, and now I’m seeing elimination,” Buras said Wednesday.“To see threecourts from our important building be eliminated, it’sreally aheartbreak.”

Email Matt Bruceatmatt. bruce@theadvocate.com.

y’all. That’sgreat, but the community needs to be included,” Clevenger said.

The administration is also seeking $50.5 millionfrom overdue grant reimbursements, receivables fromthe Sewerage &Water Board and projects funded by COVID-19 grants that haven’tmaterialized.

The S&WB portionis$20 million,which is in addition to the $42.5 million the utility has already transferred this year.Giarrusso said theS&WB notifiedhim just before the meeting on Wednesday that it had transferred alittle more than $4 million, but it’snot clear if the agency has agreedtothe remaining $16 million.

“Our teamsremaininactive communicationand areworking collaboratively,” an S&WB spokesperson said this week.

If necessary, Giarrusso said he would ask thecouncil to force additionalpaymentsunder the authority of anew state law giving the council oversight of the S&WB.

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

Appeals courtmay refuse defamation suit

SCARBOROUGH, Maine Afederal appeals court signaled that it might not allow alawsuit brought by fishing industry businesses and trade groups against aCalifornia aquarium to proceedbecause of the case’s potential impact on free speech.

The New England-based plaintiffs sued the Monterey Bay Aquarium for defamation after the aquarium’sSeafood Watch conservation program placed American and Canadian lobster on its do-not-eat“red list” in 2022.The Boston-based 1st U.S. CircuitCourt of Appealsisdeciding whether the lawsuit can go forward.

One of the appellate judges, Judge Seth Aframe, said during oral arguments on July 27 that it doesn’tstrike him as adefamationclaim and that he finds thecase troubling “from aFirst Amendment perspective.”

“The more you broaden the class of people that fall within this, the more it feels like everybody can sue,” Aframe said Seafood Watch placed lobster on its list of seafoodtoavoid because of the threat posed to rare whales, such as the North Atlantic right whale, by potentialentanglement in fishing gear

Electronic Arts closes $55 billion sale

CHICAGO Video game giant Electronic Arts officially has newowners.

The California-based makerof popular titles like “Battlefield” and “The Sims” announced Tuesdaythat it closed the $55 billion sale of its business to Saudi Arabia’ssovereign wealth fund PIF,investment firm Silver LakePartners andAffinityPartners,which is runbyU.S. President Donald Trump’sson-in-law Jared Kushner

The acquisition’spricetag is the largest-ever for abuyout fundedbyprivate equity And wider shifts to the gaming world could be on the way now that the deal is complete In astatement, CEO Andrew Wilson said EA and its new owners would“invest boldly,accelerate innovation, and build the nextgeneration of games and experiencesfor the hundreds of millions of players and fans who inspire us every day.” And Turqi Alnowaiser,deputy governor and head of international investments at PIF —which already held aminority stake in EA for five years —also pledged to “invest heavily in EA’s growth,” including through the use of artificial intelligence in game development.

Japan’sHonda reports robust results

TOKYO— Honda’sprofit forthe fiscal first quarter more than doubled from ayear ago, as the Japanese automaker continues to tackle aturnaround from the first full year loss in its history Tokyo-based Honda Motor Co. said Wednesday its AprilJune profit totaled 456.9 billion yen($2.9 billion), up from 196.6 billion yen for the same period ayear ago. Quarterly sales rose13.5% to $38 billion, as vehicles sold well in the U.S. and India, according to the maker of the Accordsedan,Fit subcompact and Super Cub motorcycle Honda previously recorded a $2.7 billion loss for the fiscal year ended in March, acknowledging heavy costs for its electric-vehicle plans, which didn’tmeasure up to the original ambitions, partly because of U.S.President Donald Trump’spolicies.

Analysts say many consumers weren’tready to go electric. Honda has abandonedmany of its plansfor EV models.

The Trump administration has pulled back on incentive programs for EVs and withheld money to states wanting to add moreEVcharging stations, even as gas priceshave soared over the war in Iran. Trump’stariffs on imported autos and auto parts, lowered to 15% from the initial 25%,also workedtodent Honda’sprofitability.

BUSINESS

NOLA.COM/BIZ

U.S. stocksremainnearrecords

Wall Street expects profitgrowthof50%

BY DAMIAN J. TROISE Associated Press

NEW YORK Stocks meandered to a mixed finish on Wall Street Wednesdayand remainedclosetotheir records, while oilprices held steady

The uncertain trading on Wall Street followed two days of big gainsthatgave theweek and August astrong start. Several big

technology companies slumped, though, ultimately weighing down themarket.

“The coiled spring investors have been waiting for has finally released,with the S&P 500 Index surging to record highs for the first timeintwo months,” said Mark Hackett, chief market strategist at Nationwide, in areport.

Themarket hasbeen generally rising as companies head into the closing stretch of theirlatest round of earnings reportswith sharp overallgains. Three-quar-

tersofthe companies within the S&P500 have reportedresults so far, andWallStreetexpects profit growthof50% whentheyare all finished.

The Walt Disney Co. rose 3.6% after easily beating Wall Street’s profitforecasts, helpedbya $1 billion box office haul from “Toy Story 5” and theme park revenue.

Booking Holdings jumped 6.6% after reporting that strong travel demand drove profit and revenue growth during itsmost recent quarter

ElonMusk’sSpaceX fell 13.6% following the releaselateTuesdayofits first quarterlyreportas apublic company, whichshowed thatitsharply boostedspending on artificial intelligence. The company did help give semiconductor giant Nvidia a3.4% boost after announcing it would exclusively use that company’schips for its artificial intelligence technology Treasury yields slippedinthe bond market. The yield on the 10year Treasury slipped to 4.61% from 4.63% from late Tuesday

Rising temperatures couldkeep more flights from taking off on time

Clearblueskies don’t always mean smooth flying

BY RIOYAMATand M.K. WILDEMAN Associated Press

LAS VEGAS Airline passengers knowto expect possible flightdelays when weather forecasts callfor thunderstorms, heavy snow or strong wind. The omens are less obvious on ahot summer day with clear skies. Yetextreme heat also disrupts flightsand travel plans. On thehottestdays, thinner air can make it harder for aircraft to get off the groundsafely.Airlinesmay have to lighten theload by removing passengers or cargo, or carryingless fuel.

The snag is well knownatairportsindesertclimates around the world, from the U.S. Southwest to theMiddle East.But even less extremeheat can create similar challenges at airports with higher elevations or shorter runways. Researchers sayhuman-caused climatechange could make suchdisruptions more common. With heat wavessearing parts of theUnited States and Europethissummer,Las Vegas illustrated howextreme heat caninterfere with air travel. AmericanAirlinesoffered compensation to customers who voluntarily gave up their seatsona July 24 flight from Harry Reid International Airport after temperatures reached 114 degrees Fahrenheit.

Theairline described reducing aplane’s weight as astandard industry practice in hot-weather destinationswhen conditions require it to ensure asafe takeoff. The explanation comes down to physics.

Hotair is thinner than cool air,making it harder for aplane’swings to generate lift and for jet engines to generatethe thrust needed fortakeoff, explained RossAimer,a retiredUnited Airlines captainand CEOof Aero ConsultingExperts.

“There is ascience behind all this,” Aimer said. “You can’t deny the scienceofflight and what it takes for an airplane to operate.”

Airplanesstruggleinhot,thinair

Aimer likens the effect of high temperatures on airplane performance to athletes competingathighaltitude. During this year’s World Cup, foreign teams competinginMexico City —located morethan 7,300 feet above sea level —had to contend with thinner air that can leave players fatigued morequickly “Just like human beings, jet engines require lots ofcool, dense air to perform well,”

Aimer said

Before every departure, pilots andairlines determine whether an aircraft can safely take off bycalculating severalkey factors, including the airplane’sweight, the airport’s elevationand theoutside temperature, said AlanPrice, aretired DeltaAir Lines captain.

Aircraft athigher elevations arealready operating in thinnerair,sotemperatures don’thave to climb ashigh to affect takeoffperformance. Denver,for example, sits

morethan 5,000 feet above sea level

Runway lengthalso matters. Airlinersneed room to build enough speed for takeoff when temperatures soar,and shorterrunways leave less distance to do that, Price said.That’sone reason airportssuch as New York’sLaGuardia andWashington’sReagan National can be more likely to face takeoffrestrictions or weight limitsduring very hot weather

If thepilot’s preflight math shows an aircraft cannotsafely depart as planned,airlines may choosetoreduce cargo, carry less fuel and make arefueling stop later,wait for cooler temperaturesorask passengers to volunteer for alater flight.

But there comes apoint when removing weight isn’tenough to makeasafe takeoff possible.

“At some point, the numbersjust don’t make sense,” Aimer said. “You could roll down arunway as long as you want, andyou still can’ttake off.”

Delays couldbecomemorecommon

The Federal Aviation Administration does not set asingle maximum temperature for takeoff. Instead, the FAAsays, operating limits vary basedonanaircraft’smake and model, its weight and the airport’saltitude.

A2017 study by researchers fromColumbiaUniversity,NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies and theLogistics ManagementInstitute projected that someairports could see weight restrictions on 10% to 30% of flights departing during thehottest part of the day by midcentury if greenhouse gas emissions continued to rise. The study examined 19 airports around the world and found thatairports with short runways, high elevations and hotter climates would be affected most.

Amorerecent study concludedthatcurrent climateprediction modelsindicated

planes taking offfrom four European airports would have to shed the weight equivalent of 10 passengers per flight by 2065.

While triple-digit temperatures come with desert living, the kind of hot days that might affect flights are becoming morefrequent in both Phoenix and Las Vegas.

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport has averaged 43 days each year since2020 when the temperature reached at least110 F, according to an analysis of weather station data by The Associated Press. The numberofsuchdaysincreased gradually over several decades before surging in the 2020s to more than triple the average during the middle of the last century

At Harry ReidInternational Airport in Las Vegas, temperatures reached that threshold an average of about 18 days ayear between 2020 and 2025 —more than double the annual average during the1940s through1960s, the AP analysis found.

Safety determines when to reduce weight Airlineshavedealtwiththese issuesfor years. During astretch of scorching heat in June 2016, American canceled several round-tripregional flights between Palm Springs, California,and Phoenix. The following year,the airline canceled dozens of regional flights in Arizonaastemperatures in Phoenix climbed toward 120 F. In July 2018, some airlines bumped passengersatDenverInternational Airport to later flights as temperatures reached 98 F, KDVR-TV in Denver reported.

DeltaAir Lines also asked forvolunteers to step off aplane in Las Vegas during an excessive heat warning in July 2023 because of weight restrictions tied to the extreme temperatures. That flight was ultimately canceled afterpassengers spent hours aboard the aircraft in the heat.

Regulators to consider newsafetyrequirementsfor electric doors

BY CHASE HUNTER

The MercuryNews(TNS)

Nearly twoyears afterthree young peopledied of smokeinhalation inside aburning Tesla CybertruckinPiedmont California, as a friendstruggled to open its doors, federal regulators are considering new safetyrequirements intended to preventoccupants from becoming trapped when electronic latches lose power

TheNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced last week that it had granted aNovember petition asking the agency to consider anew federal standard requiring a“robust and obvious” dooregress systeminall motor vehicles. The decision begins a rulemaking process but does not

guarantee that the agency will ultimately adopt anew standard.

“Itisimperative thatNHTSA moves swiftly through the rulemaking process to develop and implementnew federal door egress safetystandards that will protect future vehicle occupants,”said Andrew McDevitt, theattorney for the Nelson family whoseson Jack diedinthe Piedmont crash.

“But thesewill arrive far too late to save thelives of Jack Nelson, Krysta Tsukahara, Jeffreyand Michelle Bauer, and so many otherskilledand seriously injured by Tesla’scompletely inexcusable door design.”

TheBauerswereamongfive people killed in aNovember 2024 Tesla Model Scrash in Wisconsin. McDevitt also representstheir family

Tesladid notrespond to questions from the Bay Area News Group regarding the federal agency’sreview Since 2018, NHTSA has received more than 140 complaints about Tesladoors becoming stuck, failingtoopenorotherwise malfunctioning. NHTSA’s OfficeofDefects Investigation also opened an investigation in September 2025 into approximately174,000 model-year 2021 Tesla Model Yvehicles after receiving nine complaints that exterior doors becameinoperable when thevehicles lost low-voltage power

Thecomplaints generally involved parentsgetting outoftheir vehiclesand then being unable to reopena door to reach achild in the back seat. In four cases, an owner

broke awindow to regain entry NHTSA found that current federal standards do notregulate the placement or labeling of manual releases andconcludedthatfurther investigation was unlikely to establish asafetydefect.The agency said the broader issue was better addressed through the separate rulemaking process.

Rep. Robin Kelly,D-Ill., introduced the legislation in January It would require new vehicles to have accessible manualreleases for each door,establishlabeling requirements and ensure first responders can enter vehicles after aloss of power

The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved the bill in May,sending it to the full House forpossible consideration

ASSOCIATEDPRESS FILEPHOTO By MATT yORK

Ajet takes flight as heat ripples radiate from the runwayatSky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix in 2023. Researchers sayextreme heat wavescan disrupt flights due to thinner air.

stroke away from this shopping center,which is clearly good for the retailers and restaurants,” Pécot said. “Consumers come here, especially on the weekends, to shop, eat and do whatever.”

Stirling’splans will involve constructing multiple buildings, likely between three andseven structures, across from the existing 650,000-square-foot retail center,which is 95% leased andcountsDick’s Sporting Goods, Dillard’s, Kohl’s and Best Buy as its anchor tenants The new buildings will be located on undeveloped, tree-lined acreage behind the shopping center’sDillard’slocation, which backs up to the Town Center Parkway road.

The expansion would allowfor more “junior”anchor tenants, Pécot said, who are looking for 15,000 to 25,000 square feetofstore space.Italsowouldadd smaller storefronts for boutiques looking for 1,500- to 5,000-square-foot locations.

“Wejustdon’t have aton of flexibility in the current buildings because most of the spaces are leased,” Pécot said. “These new phases would allow us to bringsome different size inventoriesto the market.”

Stirling officials began thinking aboutthe expansion around five years ago, after fielding consistent inquiries from prospective

retail tenants. They held off, Pécot said,because of soaring construction costs following thepandemic Pécot declined to disclose how much theproject will cost, saying it’sstilltoo soon to estimate. Asimilar project currently underway the additionof70,000 square feet of new retail space at Elmwood —is projected to cost$35 million, or about $500 per square foot No dealswith prospective tenants havebeen finalized yet, butPécot said Stirling planstolock in lease agreementsbythe end of theyear They hope to beginconstruction in 2027 and open in late 2028.

“Withthis larger project we’ve got alot of acreage to have some flexibility,”Pécot said. “That’swhat we’re moving toward,iscreating somenew space and taking some new risks.”

In 2013, Stirlingpartnered with Tennessee-basedCBL &Associates Properties Inc. to develop the Fremaux Town Center, taking over the stalled development from Alabama-based Bayer Properties. Bayer had announced theprojectin2008, butnever moved forward.

When Fremaux opened a year later,St. Tammany officialshopeditwould boost salestax revenues andinject newactivityinalimited retail marketinSlidell. Developers with Stirling and CBL said at the time thatthey plannedtopursue additional phases, though theyknew the buildout would take years.

At the time,North Shore Square Mall, about 6miles

west of Fremaux, was the only mall in St. Tammany The 621,292-square-foot indoor mall housedseveral large anchor tenants,includingDillard’s. Days before Fremauxopened, the mall learned it would lose Sears as an anchor tenant—an early sign of what was to come.

In theyears that followed, more retailers vacated North Shore mall. Today,the 41-year-old mall sits virtually empty,save for aDillard’s Clearance Center,though that may soon change: Covington-based grocer Acquistapace purchased property at the site earlier this year Fremauxcarved out adifferent fate.

Stirlingand CBLgrew the center’sfootprint with

two apartmentcomplexes, additional stores and restaurants, creating an expansive mixed-use development around the shops called FremauxPark.

In 2021,anewly constructed Marriotthotelopened next to the property.In2025, an Amazon Logisticsfacility opened.

Likethe NorthShore mall, Fremauxhas experienced its share of tenant turnover Lane Bryant, awomen’splussize clothing store, closed afterits parent company, Ascena Retail Group, filed for bankruptcyin2020. Charlotte Russe,awomen’sclothing brand, also left the location.The shopping center has five vacancies, Pécot said. Today, the shopping center has over 65 retailersand

restaurants.

In addition to the retail expansion, Stirling, which boughtout CBLlastyear and is now the sole owner of the center,iseyeing deals forthe broadercampus. The firm is in talks withpotential industrial tenants, which couldincludemanufacturers and logistics companies, Pécot said.

Lifestylecenters

The expansion plans for FremauxcomeasClearview City Center in Metairie undergoes demolition, part of a $100 million redevelopment that hasbeeninthe works formore than adecade.

In nearby Elmwood, the Lauricella Land Company’s plans forthe nearly 50-yearold shopping center have in-

cludedupgrades, attracting new tenants, renovations andthe plannedadditionof anew apartment complex on the site of the former Kmart. Thecomplex, called The Francis, broke ground in May Fremaux hasestablished itself as amajor retail hub thatthe St. Tammany Economic Development Corp is focused on furtherdeveloping, said Keith Espadron, director of business andindustry development. He noted how the shopping center,and the development that has sprung up around it, was key to attracting Horsburgh andScotttothe area in 2024. Thedefense contractor and manufacturer built a32,000-square-foot facility aboutamile from the shopping center,and created 40 new jobs.

“This is avery attractive area for growth, and there is more land availablefor more investment,” Espadron said.

Slidell MayorRandyFandal, whoisinhis first year in office, said theshopping center’splans dovetail with anumber of economic plans aimed at growing Slidell. Next to the Retreat at Fremaux Town CenterApartments, the city is renovating theSlidell Bantam Baseball Association complex, which will have eight newly turfed baseball fields aimed at hosting tournaments. “A

Firefighters get handle on Spokane wildfires

BY MANUEL VALDES, MARTHA BELLISLE and GENE JOHNSON Associated Press

SPOKANE, Wash. Firefighters have taken advantage of cooler weather to begin getting a handle on wildfires that have displaced tens of thousands of people around Washington state’s secondlargest city, but hotter, drier and breezier days lie ahead.

Officials reported Wednesday that firefighters had established containment lines around the perimeters of all three fires affecting Spokane and that they were focused on reinforcing those lines. Temperatures were expected to climb from the 80s the past two days into the upper 90s, with less humidity, late this week.

The fires one of which authorities say was deliberately set by a man who was arrested and charged with arson — have destroyed about 850 buildings and forced the evacuation of around 67,000 people since they erupted last weekend Damage assessment crews have yet to tally exactly how many houses have been lost or damaged. No deaths have been reported.

Spokane. When the fire approached on Saturday, the staff moved 27 patients to local hospitals and temporary shelters, said Bret Bowers, a spokesperson for the center

The medical center was not burned in the fire but several staff lost their homes.

Adam Wilson, a communications officer at the Washington State Auditor’s Office, fled Saturday with his wife and three children, ages 9, 14 and 16. They had moved into their Spokane home a little over a month earlier and were still unpacking, he said.

Since then, they’ve stayed at a hotel 90 minutes to the south and with his father in Idaho. This weekend, they’ll move again, to a rental home in Spokane that their insurance is covering.

3 charged

BY JOSH KELETY Associated Press

Some evacuees were allowed to return home, but officials did not immediately say how many. Others re-

The other two fires were also started by people, though not necessarily deliberately, investigators have said They remain under investigation. Those fires, the Autumn Lane and Fairview fires, started independently of the arson-caused Old Trails Fire, they said

with

Three people have been charged with threatening a judge, a witness and local officials connected to the investigation into the death of Nolan Xavier Wells, an 18-yearold found dead after a July Fourth boat trip with friends to an island off Mississippi’s Gulf Coast

None of the three appear to know Wells, his family or the boating group, or be part of the investigation. The threats came amid rampant speculation and scrutiny of the investigation, deepened in part by uncertainty surrounding Wells’ final hours, distrust of law enforcement and the state’s long history of

mained in a shelter set up in a Spokane convention center, at hotels or rentals, or at the homes of friends or relatives, with no idea of how soon they might go back — if they have a house to return to.

“We figured it would be a day or two, not four or five.

It’s not the best situation,” said Debra Curran, who has been staying at the convention center since Saturday

with her husband, who has ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Their house survived, but her husband would need to be transported by ambulance, which officials won’t do until the fire risk in their neighborhood drops.

Among those under evacuation orders are patients and staff from the Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center in

Their house is fine Wilson said, despite flames that leveled an entire cul-de-sac just two blocks away, leaving only chimneys standing in some cases. The neighborhood remains under an evacuation order Even if they could return, there’s no power and no internet service, and no information about how soon either will be restored.

“What you really want to hear, nobody can tell you,”

Wilson said. “It is oddly emotional and disorienting. We did not lose any property From the outside it looks like a family trip — ‘Hey, kids, we’re going to go visit Papa for a week, pack your bags.’ And yet you feel like something isn’t right.” In Washington, there are 16 uncontained wildfires burning more than 672 square miles and being fought by more than 7,000 fire personnel, said Thomas Kyle-Milward, a spokesman for the Washington Department of Natural Resources. “We’re looking down the barrel at one of the worst fire seasons in state history,” he said. The man charged with starting the Old Trails Fire, Aaron F. Farinacci, 37, of Spokane, was expected to be arraigned Thursday According to court documents, he was arrested after a resident reported him being in the area where the fire began. He denied having started it when questioned by deputies. Authorities said they previously contacted him during two fire

threatening people linked to Nolan Wells investigation

racist violence.

The teenager, who was Black, had traveled to the uninhabited island with a group of friends from high school, all of whom were White. He did not return with his friends to the mainland that evening. His body was found two days later off the island’s coast. Authorities have not made any arrests or named any suspects. An independent autopsy commissioned by Wells’ family found the 18-year-old’s cause of death to be “undetermined” pending further investigation. Attempts to reach the defendants for comment were unsuccessful. Phone numbers listed for some of the defendants in af-

fidavits weren’t active and a call to another number went unanswered. Emails sent to addresses listed in an affidavit for one of the defendants went unanswered. It is unclear if they have attorneys yet.

One of the defendants, Edward James Porter of Illinois, allegedly called an unnamed witness on July 31 and threatened to kill them and their family, according to an affidavit. Porter also allegedly told another person in Mississippi in a phone call that he would cut them up and put them “into a suitcase.” Porter was charged on July 31 in federal court for the Southern District of Mississippi for the threat. Porter threatened two members of the family of Bart Edminston

Jr., a 21-year-old who knew Wells and provided aid to the boat the group used on July Fourth, said family attorney Russell Latino. Latino said that one of the family members who Porter threatened is a witness in the investigation.

An Ohio woman was also charged with allegedly placing bomb threats at the George County Chancery Clerk’s Office and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office on July 23. The woman, Michelle Francine Edwards, allegedly called the clerk’s office 21 times and said, “the clock is ticking,” according to an affidavit.

A California man, Joseph Alfredo Vasquez Dumarce, was charged on July 14 for allegedly sending a

threatening Facebook message to a Jackson County Chancery Court judge with ties to the Wells investigation. According to an affidavit, a Facebook user believed to be Dumarce sent a message to the judge’s account that constituted a “threat that a bomb would be mailed to the judge’s office.” Judge Ashlee Cole posted a screenshot of Dumarce’s threatening message on Facebook on July 9. Cole wrote in an earlier Facebook post that her son last saw Wells on July Fourth around 3 p.m. and decided to “stay on the island and return inland later with another group of friends.” Cole wrote that she deactivated her Facebook and that she fears for the safety of her children.

Murrill files suit in hunt for N.O. records

Orleans

BY JOHN SIMERMAN Staff writer

A lawyer for Attorney General Liz Murrill sued Wednesday to force Orleans Parish Attorney Jason Williams and special prosecutor Laurie White to dig harder for emails and other communication about Murrill’s short-lived criminal indictment.

Attorney Blake Arcuri filed the petitions in Orleans Parish Civil District Court, claiming Williams

and White both failed to respond properly to public records requests filed in conjunction with Murrill’s defense to the 16 felony charges she faced of public intimidation and malfeasance in office.

The filings are the latest indication that Murrill has no plans to let her aborted prosecution fade away She and Gov Jeff Landry have urged state and federal investigations.

records, written communications or draft bills of indictment that might indicate the district attorney’s involvement in the secret inquiry into Murrill. The request for records from White also sought communications on the origins of the July 2 indictment.

itself on June 1. He’s said he had no role in an investigation the grand jury appears to have initiated on its own, exercising a little-known power under state law

But Murrill and Gov Jeff Landry continued to cast doubt on those claims Wednesday outside the federal appeals court in New Orleans, both saying it stretched credulity

With the charges against her dropped, Murrill said her push for public records remains personal.

and I think for everybody to know I think we all deserve to, at this point.”

The attorney general’s request to Williams’ office sought phone

After the Louisiana Supreme Court swiftly stayed the indictment before Murrill could be booked, White dropped the charges, saying she did so under pressure from Williams and the other city leaders who were cast as Murrill’s victims by the grand jury Williams’ office formally recused

“I do not believe and nobody that I know believes that this just happened magically all by itself,” Murrill said. “It’s for me to know,

Cameras off, but tickets still on

Police to enforce school zone speed limits while traffic cameras remain off

BY MARIE FAZIO Staff writer

School zone cameras remain shut off in New Orleans as students return to school, but drivers can still be fined for speeding near schools.

Automated traffic cameras in designated school zones, which have been decommissioned for more than a year, will remain off for the foreseeable future as the city continues to challenge a 2024 law that requires municipalities to split revenues from the cameras with their respective school districts.

Still, New Orleans police officers began enforcing school zones this week using speed guns and active patrols, according to information provided by the New Orleans Police Department’s Public Affairs Division.

“At this time, no camera-initiated speeding or school zone tickets are being issued in the city,” the department said in a statement. “However, this does not mean that school zones will not be enforced.”

Taslin Alfonzo, a spokesperson for NOLA Public Schools, said in a statement that the district is committed to student safety regardless of the cameras.

“We urge the community to stay vigilant in school zones: slow down, exercise caution, and carefully observe all signage and speed limits around our schools,” Alfonzo said.

Jonah Gilmore, a city spokesperson, did not immediately answer several questions about the status of the cameras but said the Department of Public Works is in the process of ensuring flashing beacons in school zones are functioning.

The cameras have been shut off since the end of the 2024-25 school year. Since then, the long-running saga has included a threatening letter to city officials from Attorney General Liz Murrill and a lawsuit from the city challenging state law

State legislators in 2024 passed a law that requires municipalities to split revenues from tickets issued by school zone cameras with their local school districts. It also barred municipalities from issuing tickets until revenue-sharing agreements are in place.

But as the city and School Board negoti-

Hopefuls

sign

A school zone speed camera,

Wednesday. The traffic cameras will remain off while the city continues a challenge to a 2024 law, but police officers will enforce speed limits using speed guns and patrols.

ated the agreement, New Orleans cameras kept issuing tickets. School officials said last year that from May 2024 to March 2025, the school zone cameras generated $1.375 million in net revenue and held it in escrow

After a 2025 law cleared the way for public officials to be charged with malfeasance in office for violating the school zone

See CAMERAS, page 2B

up for Nov. 3 races in Jefferson, St. Tammany

More than 140 candidates qualify

BY JIM DERRY and LARA NICHOLSON Staff writers

day of qualifying for the November election, when voters will select judges, School Board members, mayors and more. Candidates seeking to represent the two large suburbs may continue to put their names on the ballot through Friday, ahead of a Nov 3 election that will also decide who is going to Congress.

A Board of Elementary and

Secondary Education seat and a Public Service Commission seat representing Tammany and portions of Jefferson, among other parishes, are also on the ballot

Voters in Kenner and Metairie will also decide between candidates in a special election for the state House’s 92nd District. In most races with multiple opponents, the top two vote-getters will head to a December runoff if no candidate wins a simple majority of votes. Jefferson Across federal, state and local races, Jefferson Parish has 58 races on the November ballot.

Two candidates qualified for the state House seat on Wednesday Gregory Carroll, a Democrat and former three-term Kenner

City Council member, will run against political newcomer Alex Perdomo, a financial adviser and a Republican. At the 24th Judicial District Court, only two of the 16 judge races were contested, both for seats currently held by judges that cannot run again because of their ages. In Division F, currently held by Judge Michael Mentz, Marko Marjanovic qualified against Joe McMahon III, both Republicans. Marjanovic is the executive council for the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office and a former prosecutor, and McMahon is an attorney Blaine Benge Moncrief, a Republican, attorney and former prosecutor, qualified to run in

She raised the specter of suing for malicious prosecution but said she would reserve judgment, noting that both she and Landry have called for criminal investigations into the grand jury and possible leaks.

Murrill was accused of crimes for sending letters in May to Williams, Mayor Helena Moreno and five council members, claiming they were breaking the law and

DA, special prosecutor named ä See MURRILL, page 2B

BY JONI HESS Staff writer

Former N.O flood authority leader alleges termination was act of retaliation

BY ALEX LUBBEN Staff writer

Joshua Rondeno, the former superintendent of police at New Orleans’ flood protection authority, who was fired in June, sued the agency last week alleging his termination was in violation of an employment contract that Rondeno drafted himself.

The lawsuit, filed on July 28 in the Civil District Court for Orleans Parish, centers on a series of changes to Rondeno’s employment contract that Rondeno claims the board never approved. The lawsuit asks the court to declare the termination invalid and seeks Rondeno’s reinstatement, as well as back and future pay, lost retirement benefits and damages for reputational harm and emotional distress, plus attorney’s fees under Louisiana’s whistleblower law

The board did not publicly vote on any version of his employment contract, and the board president told lawmakers that Rondeno drafted one version himself. Rondeno’s attorney, Suzette Bangeris, said Wednesday that

Rondeno

STAFF PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER

far left, is seen on Nashville Avenue in New Orleans on

MURRILL

Continued from page 1B

risked their jobs by backing an election for a unified court clerk. She argued she was doing her job After heavy pressure from Landry and others, the local leaders urged White, a former criminal court judge, to drop the case.

Murrill argued Wednesday that dropping the indictment didn’t affect her right to the records. If anything, Arcuri argued that it cleared legal barriers Williams had claimed in his response.

“Laurie White hasn’t answered at all. She’s refused to conduct a search,” Murrill said. “Jason Williams basically pointed at other directions. He didn’t adequately respond to our request either.”

Murrill said she would pay the lawyers herself for her quest for records now that the criminal case is closed.

On Wednesday, White questioned why Murrill was still pursuing the records at all.

“You can’t seem to ever make Liz Murrill’s attorneys happy, or Liz Murrill. I’ve answered their questions I dismissed the case at the request of the politicians in New Orleans,” she said.

“I don’t know what she’s looking for There’s no deep unknown conspiracy, and if there was, what does she hope to do? Retaliate? Which is exactly the complaint the good citizens had at the grand jury because of her letters,” White added.

“It was dismissed. How is anything that’s going on going to be perceived as anything but retaliation and retribution and intimidation?”

CANDIDATES

Continued from page 1B

Division H for the seat currently held by Donald “Chick” Foret On the Jefferson Parish School Board, incumbents Gerard LeBlanc, Kriss Fairbairn Fortunato and Chad Nugent all signed up for reelection Wednesday and had drawn no opponents. Incumbent Michael Pedalino will face off against Al Galindo, a Republican and former Jefferson Chamber of Commerce chair Former School Board member Simeon Dickerson and local educator Dionne Nichols-Condoll, both Democrats, are running for the District 5 seat held by Derrick Shepherd. Shepherd has not publicly discussed whether he is running for reelection.

Rachel Spears, a Democrat and OB-GYN, is the only candidate thus far to qualify for the District 2 seat

PARK

Continued from page 1B

Department officials in response said their hands are tied in many instances because of limited resources. They encouraged residents to continue routing their concerns through the city’s 311 nonemergency reporting system, and said the most severe problems would be resolved first.

“If it’s something that we can put on the back burner and wait until resources become available, or wait until staff becomes available, then we’ll put it on the back burner. But we’re acting currently in terms of the severity of their requests,” said NORD Chief Operating Officer Edgar Alexis The issues plaguing NORD parks

RONDENO

Continued from page 1B

Rondeno was terminated for trying to fix problems at the agency

“We believe him to be a protected whistleblower who was fired on the basis of retaliation,” she said.

“We do also believe that his contracts were breached.”

The Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East oversees the system of levees and pumps that protect the east bank of the New Orleans region from another Hurricane Katrina. The authority also has a small police force whose primary job is to physically protect the area’s flood control infrastructure but also performs community policing duties in a handful of neighborhoods on the shoreline of Lake Pontchartrain.

The president of the agency’s board, Peter Vicari, said he could not comment on pending litigation but did say the agency had not been served and he had not reviewed the lawsuit as of Wednesday State lawmakers had questioned

Williams’ office issued a statement saying it promptly responded to Arcuri’s July 10 records request and hadn’t heard from him about any “alleged deficiencies” since.

“Rather than attempting to resolve any perceived dispute through a simple conversation with our office, Mr Arcuri and Ms. Cannizzaro chose to file this mandamus action,” the statement read.

“Their decision to bypass any effort at communication and proceed directly to litigation speaks for itself, diverting scarce judicial resources to a dispute that could have been resolved with a single phone call or email.”

Landry said he doesn’t “want to visit with the mayor if she was involved in it” and didn’t believe the citizen jurors acted alone.

“I can think of no possible scenario under which a grand jury on its own spontaneously decides the attorney general has committed some kind of crime against the City Council, the mayor and the district attorney,” said the Republican governor, who early on called on Louisiana State Police to investigate.

currently held by Ricky Johnson, who can’t run due to term limits.

Kevin Delahoussaye, a Republican who was appointed to the District 9 seat in June, qualified Wednesday against John Cunningham II, a retired teacher and also a Republican The District 4 seat, held by Republican Clay Moise, had no candidates yet.

In the city of Harahan, the top seat will be open for the taking, as Mayor Tim Baudier is term limited and announced on social media that he would run for the Jefferson Parish Council District 2 seat.

As of Wednesday, Harahan City Council member Eric Chatelain and Carol Logreco, a local real estate investor and previous City Council candidate, had signed up for that job. Both are Republicans.

Five candidates qualified to run for Harahan City Council: Linda Domangue, Lionel Hotard III, Craig Johnston, Michael Ricks and Carrie Wheeler Ricks currently

and operations have long been a concern among community members. They have also lambasted the department for failing to communicate basic information on its website and other public-facing mediums. Officials shut down Lyons Pool in June for maintenance, for instance, but as of Tuesday NORD’s website showed the pool was still open to the public. Their concerns come as the NORD Commission searches for a new CEO after former longtime CEO Larry Barabino resigned this summer to take a new job at the Housing Authority of New Orleans. The NORD board also received an overhaul after Moreno took office in January and added six new members.

Residents said Tuesday that whoever is considered for the role should be committed to fix-

Rondeno’s employment contract in the months preceding his termination at the flood agency, where he oversaw the agency’s 50 police officers. An initial version of his contract, signed by Rondeno and Vicari in January, stated that he could only be fired by a supermajority vote of the board and would have granted him four years’ pay with built-in annual raises, totaling up to $910,000, as severance if he were fired without cause.

The Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s Office has deemed any severance payments for state employees to be an unconstitutional donation of public funds.

Rondeno was at that point making $208,000 per year By law, the flood agency’s police chief cannot make more than the superintendent of the Louisiana State Police, who at the time made about $207,000.

That caused Sen Kirk Talbot, RRiver Ridge, to question the contract, which he said on Wednesday clearly violated state law

Vicari told Talbot at a hearing in May that the contract was justified because Rondeno was “taking a beating in the media,” which Vi-

Attorney General Liz Murrill, left, stands next to Gov. Jeff Landry outside the U.S Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in New Orleans on Wednesday.

STAFF PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER

White says nothing was rigged on her end. She said she received a phone call from Judge Leon Roche the first week of June, after Roche had signed Williams’ recusal.

“When a judge calls you who’s a fellow colleague who says, ‘I have an issue I need your help on’ — I’m a retired public servant. I help people that need help. It’s as simple as that. It’s not like I woke up with the idea to go after somebody,” White said.

“I did accept it blind,” she added of the appointment She said she first learned the grand jury wanted to investigate Murrill when she stood before the body with Roche.

All she read, White said, was a recusal motion from Williams’ office. It said that the grand jury “independently decided to investigate Attorney General Liz Murrill about ‘public threats against multiple elected officials,’” including Williams.

“I had no idea what the letters were,” White said. “Didn’t know what the crime was.” White earlier refused a request from Arcuri’s law partner Laura

serves on the council, while Johnston and Wheeler are both former council members. The five candidates with the highest number of votes will be selected to serve. Harahan City Council members Jason Asbill and Tommy Budde are prohibited from running again due to term limits.

District Attorney Paul Connick, a Metairie resident and Democrat, qualified to run for potentially his seventh consecutive six-year term in office. As of Wednesday evening, no opponents qualified to run against him. Harahan Police Chief Ed Lepre was also uncontested for his seat as of Wednesday Voters will also decide in November on parish court judges, juvenile court judges, justices of the peace and constables.

St Tammany

The Nov. 3 election will include one of the largest ballots in St. Tammany Parish history In total, candidates have put their names in the

ing NORD’s chronic failings They said the candidate should also be a local with a firm understanding of New Orleans culture and its people. The agency is accepting applications until Monday

The state of Joe Brown was another big concern of residents on Tuesday. Washington added that there’s a homeless woman living in one of the Read Boulevard park’s shelters.

“There was algae all over The homeless woman in Shelter No. 3 told me that the bathroom toilet wasn’t working.”

NORD board member Daphney Young said trees overhang throughout the park, and that neglected lagoons could pose a danger to families

“There is a big issue with cutting, especially if children are going fishing close to the lagoon and

cari called “fake news.”

Through his attorney, Rondeno quibbled with Vicari’s account of how the contract was drafted. Rondeno said it was Vicari’s idea to add the severance clause, not Rondeno’s.

The contract was rewritten in February to remove the severance clause. But it maintained that Rondeno could only be terminated by a majority vote of the board.

Then, in May, Rondeno and Vicari signed a third document, voiding the second version of his contract because “a Committee of the State Legislature expressed concerns surrounding the circumstances under which the Employment Agreement was confected.” It states that Rondeno will continue to serve in his role as an at-will employee.

Rondeno’s attorney said if the February contract was voided, then the January version, which included the severance clause, should remain in force.

Then, in early June, Rondeno was placed on leave pending an investigation into allegations that he sent inappropriate messages to a woman who was his subordinate at the agency, according to sources

Cannizzaro Rodrigue, to pass along to the grand jurors letters requesting they preserve all records about the case for potential litigation.

Rodrigue defended those letters on Wednesday, calling them standard. She said Murrill’s defense hasn’t had any contact with grand jurors.

“Laurie White refused. There’s nobody else that could give it to them,” she said of the preservation letter “It’s just saying you may be in possession of materials that could be relevant. ‘Do not destroy this material.’”

Murrill noted that media reports about the grand jury inquiry emerged before Murrill’s indictment. She also cited a statement from attorney and TV legal analyst Pat Fanning stating that White called him and discussed the grand jury before the charges, alleging a breach of grand jury secrecy Murrill said that broad immunity for grand jurors does not extend to misconduct.

“If there was grand jury tampering and that involved the grand jurors themselves participating in it, then they’re not protected from that. If they were communicating outside the room with other people, they are not protected from that,” Murrill said.

“I have never asked what were they talking about inside the room about me. What I asked was, who are they talking to outside the room about me and about this indictment? And so I think that’s fair game.”

The “petition for writ of mandamus” for records from White was assigned to Civil District Judge Jennifer Medley The one for Williams was assigned to Judge Nicole Sheppard.

running for 67 races, though some may end up running unopposed.

One down-ballot race that will garner much local attention is that of St. Tammany sheriff, as a special election is being held for the remainder of Randy Smith’s term, which runs through June 2028. That vote became needed after Smith resigned in June due to his plea of guilty to attacking a local man in a Madisonville-area steakhouse the previous month.

Four men have already announced their candidacy: Robert Hodges, retired head of the Louisiana State Police; Scott Illing, former U.S. marshal and state trooper; David Maki, retired 20year veteran of the STPSO; and Daniel Seuzeneau, who served in the Slidell Police Department for 20 years and recently was its interim chief.

As of Wednesday afternoon, all but Seuzeneau had officially qualified.

Another race that will gain at-

can’t see. Something, an alligator or anything comes up, the kids cannot see it, the parents cannot see it,” she said.

Interim CEO Natasha Robinson said the department’s maintenance team has roughly $719,000 of projects in progress, including an air handler unit replacement at the Treme Recreation Center HVAC repairs at a Joe Brown concession building and tree canopy cutbacks on the outskirts of Joe Brown Park.

“We look forward to those improvements being completed in the next 30 to 60 days,” she said.

NORD obtained one of those contractors through the city’s Parks and Parkways Department after officials reached out to them for help at Joe Brown. Parks and Parkways also lacked the staffing or resources to cut back the trees and overgrowth, Robinson said,

with knowledge of the investigation who were not authorized to disclose information about it. Rondeno was fired on June 26.

“He responded to an Instagram post with a fire emoji,” Bangeris said of the allegation. “Any suggestion that Mr Rondeno was accused of sexual harassment is inaccurate and defamatory.”

The lawsuit also claims that Rondeno fixed administrative problems at the agency that exposed the police to potential litigation, and that he helped lead an effort to rectify racial pay disparities.

During his tenure as police chief, the board expanded his role and approved budgets that increased spending on police and the flood control agency Spending increased from around $8 million per year to nearly $14 million. A fifth of the flood agency’s operating budget is now spent on policing.

Blair duQuesnay, who leads Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans, a flood protection watchdog group, said there was a “direct link between this lawsuit and political interference with flood protection governance.”

“The governor’s hand-picked

CAMERAS

Continued from page 1B

traffic camera laws, city and School Board officials agreed last summer to split revenues from camera tickets 60/40. (The malfeasance charge can be punishable with up to 10 years in prison, with or without hard labor, or a fine of up to $5,000.) Then Murrill sent a letter ordering the city to return any fines collected after the law went into effect but before the agreements were in place, threatening to launch a criminal investigation and pursue charges against city officials if New Orleans if they did not comply Two weeks later, the city of New Orleans filed a lawsuit against Gov Jeff Landry in the 19th Judicial District Court in Baton Rouge, arguing the traffic camera laws overstepped New Orleans’ authority Lester Duhe, a spokesperson for Murrill, declined to comment. In the lawsuit, the city argues that sharing camera revenues with schools equates to illegal donations because the city receives nothing in return. The city also argues that new street marking requirements — including a two-foot wide yellow stripe that says “Entering school zone” in 12-inch white lettering are improper because they differ from requirements published by the Federal Highway Patrol. A hearing is scheduled for Sept. 21.

tention is for northshore district attorney a position held by Collin Sims, who took over on an interim basis in November 2023 when former District Attorney Warren Montgomery died in office. Sims, who presides over St. Tammany and Washington parishes, then defeated Vincent Wynne in March 2024 to fill the remaining six-year term, which runs through January 2027. No candidates signed up Wednesday to challenge him.

Other races on the ballot include all 15 St. Tammany Parish School Board members, mayor and aldermen in Abita, Pearl River and Folsom, along with several constables, justices of the peace and judgeships.

Staff writer Elyse Carmosino contributed to this report.

Lara Nicholson writes about Jefferson Parish for The Advocate | Times-Picayune. Email her at lnicholson@ theadvocate.com.

so they are waiting for the city’s third-party contractor to schedule that job.

Alexis added that overgrown vegetation is a “heavy lift from our staff,” and that people should reach out to elected officials like the City Council who can potentially access other resources to expedite fixes.

But still, some residents said the problems have gone on too long.

“We’re really losing a lot of opportunities at that park,” said resident Tangee Wall, who runs Friends of Joe Brown Park, a nonprofit that aims to beautify Joe Brown. “NORD has gotten quite a bit of funding over the years and some things have just not been addressed, and it’s unacceptable.”

Email Joni Hess at joni.hess@ theadvocate.com.

board president admitted he signed an employment contract that he believed to be written by the police chief himself,” she said. “He did so without consulting with the flood protection authority’s attorney, and without seeking the advice of the board.”

Email Alex Lubben at alex. lubben@theadvocate.com and follow him on Twitter @alexlubben. His work is supported with a grant from the Walton Family Foundation, administered by the Baton Rouge Area Foundation

LOTTERY TUESDAY,AUG. 4, 2026 PICK 3: 2-4-8

4: 3-1-2-5

5: 4-8-7-4-9

AlexanderSr.,Burnell

Eckles,Rhosus

Foret, Brent

Grundmann,Ann

Johnson, Carmen

Johnson, Edna

Jones, Gilda

Kay, Tuey

Kruppa,Alexander

Martin,Eugene

Miron, Ricardo

Peterson, Herbert

Talazac, Paul

Triche,Kenneth

Obituaries

Burnell Alexander, Sr. peacefullyentered eternal rest on May 29, 2026, at the age of 79. He was anative of New Orleans, LA, born August 4, 1946, to the late Henry and Hilda (Bogens) Alexander Burnell began his career with the New Orleans Police Department. After leaving law enforcement, he worked for Southern Pacific Railroad (New Orleans), Burlington Northern Railroad then Amtrak (Seattle) Burnell waspreceded in death by his parents, Henry and Hilda Alexander; his brother, Calvin Alexander; his son, Burnell Alexander, Jr. and nephew Jerald M. Alexander, Jr. He leavesto cherish his memory his wife, Kumiko Alexander; his daughter, Michelle Alexander; his sons, Corey Alexander, Chase Alexander; his brothers, Alvin Alexander (Phyllis) Jerald M. Alexander, Sr. (Carolyn), Gregory Alexander and his sister, Sharon Alexander; 16 grandchildren; 3great grandchildren; and ahost of nieces, nephews, cousins, dear friends, and loved ones.

ACelebration of Life service will be held at 11am on Saturday, August 8, 2026, at New Orleans Bible FellowshipBaptist Church, 4430 Bundy Road, New Orleans, LA 70127, Pastor Leonard M. Parker, Officiating.

Rhosus Gary

Rhosus Gary Eckles entered eternal rest on Friday, July 31, 2026, at the age of 74. He was the son of the late Rhosus B. and Lou Sylvia Eckles and the beloved husband of Mrs Verlee T. Eckles. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, August 8, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. at Pilgrim Baptist Church, 2114 Rev. Richard Wilson Dr., Kenner, LA, with Rev Dr. Mitchell Stevens, Sr. officiating. Visitation will begin at 9:00 a.m. Interment will follow at Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home and Cemeteries, New Orleans, LA. Arrangements are entrusted to Richardson Funeral Home of Jefferson in River Ridge, LA. www.ric hardsonfuneralhomeofjeff erson.com

Brent JosephForet, born November 7, 1952, in New Orleans, Louisiana,passed awayonAugust 3, 2026. Brent was the beloved husband of Sondra Hill Foret for30years.Hewas adevotedfather to Chad Foret (Mayerlin), KellyForet (BurkeStutes), Doug Foret (Brandi), and Jaclyn Caside (L.C.),and atreasured grandfather to Bryce Gras, MasonDice,Emma Foret, Cole Foret,Syriana Caside, Sage Caside, and Jake Foret.Heisalsosurvived by his siblings: Leonard Foret Jr.( Gloria), Lyle Foret (Stacy), Wayne Foret (Theresa), Drew Foret (Laura), and Cindy Foret Papas (Clem). He is precededindeath by hisfather, LeonardForet Sr.,and mother,ElaineTroxler Foret. Sondra and Brent sharedmany memories in their 30 year marriage traveling, going to concerts &simplyspending time together.

Brent found his greatest joyinthe moments spent surrounded by hischildren andgrandchildren, whether it was sharing laughter,orsimplyenjoying their company

Brent was awonderful, loving, and generous husband, father,grandfather, brother,and friend. He freely sharedhis knowledge and abilities, never hesitatingtohelpanyone with anything. Brent personally builtboth acamp and ahome for himand Sondra,aswellashis sons. Many memories were made at "Paradise"aka Lake Hermitage. Atrue outdoorsman, he held a special passion forshrimping and bass fishing, pursuits that brought him peace and fulfillment Brent also treasured time in the country at the home in Mississippi. Histalents as acraftsmanwere known among family and friends; there wastruly nothing Brent couldnot fix, build, or repair.

Avisitation willbeheld on Thursday, August6 2026,from9:00 AM to 11:00 AM at Harvey -Mothe Funeral Homes, LLC, located at 2100Westbank Expressway in Harvey, LA. The funeral service will follow immediatelyat11:00 AM. Brentwillbelaidto rest at WestlawnMemorial Park, 1225 Whitney Avenue,Terrytown, LA with the burial proceeding at 12:00PM. To view and signthe online guestbook, visit MOTHEFUNERALS COM

Grundmann, Ann Christianne

thingsthatbrought her, and those around her, joy. Long beforethe days of streaming services,Ann's collectionofmovies on VHS wouldrival anycatalogonNetflix or Hulu. And whilemost people may see Costco or Buc-ee'sasnothing morethana place to fill up your tank or buya 128 pack of toilet paper, this was not thecase for Ann.

But whileAnn certainly lovedher movies, or pit stopsatBuc-ee's on aroad trip (or aroadtrip to Bucee's), it pales in comparison to Ann'slovefor her family.Itcannotbeoverstated, and frankly, Iam struggling to find the words to adequatelyarticulatehow much she loved her family and howmuch we lovedand willmiss her.

Ann lovedher rescue dogs. In lieu of flowers, please donatetoARNO (Animal Rescue New Orleans) or theLASPCA which wouldbea great way to honorher memory Visitation willbeat 11:00 AM SaturdayAugust 8thatJacob Schoen &Son, 3827 CanalStreet, New Orleans, LA witha funeral mass at noon

Edna Hoffmann Johnson, age79, was called to be with theLordonSaturday, August 1, 2026.

Edna was born and raised in NewOrleans, Louisiana. She was agraduate of Francis T. Nicholls HighSchool class of 1964. On October 15, 1966, she married theloveofher life Willie L. Johnson, Jr.They madetheir home in Chalmette until Hurricane Katrina hit in August of 2005. They moved to Slidell shortly thereafter and havenever left.She worked at multiple medical officesover thespanof 50+ years. She lovedthe workshe did over that time, and mademany acquaintences,and friendships.

She leaves behind aloving family who willcherish her memory,includingher devoted husband,Willie L. Johnson Jr.; her children, William "Billy" Johnson (Kara), Scott Johnson (Altee), and John "JJ" Johnson(Anjanette); her siblings,Arthur Hoffmann (Janis), Margaret Dubuisson, Hyacinth Serpas (Valance)and her sister-in-law Mildred Hoffmann; her beloved grandchildren, Jamilynne, Madeleine,Sidney, Abigail, Harper, and Sterling. She also leavesbehindmany nieces, nephews, extended family members, and dear friends whose liveswere touched by her kindness and generosity

She wasprecededin death by her parents, John Raymond Hoffmann and Edna Marie Ducote Hoffmann; her brothers, John "Jay" Hoffmann (Jackie), Jerrel "Jerry" Hoffmann, and brother-inlaw Joseph Dubuisson.

madetothe Hospice HouseofSlidell,P.O. Box 5806, Slidell, LA 70469.

Johnson, Martha Seymour

Carmen Martha SeymourJohnson, 85, entered peacefully into eternal rest on July26, 2026, in NewOrleans, Louisiana.

Johnson was born August 25, 1940, in New Orleans, Louisiana, the daughter of the late Regina Morgan Seymour and Charles Jules Seymour, Jr. She was one of six siblings and was preceded in death by her parents; her siblings, JeanmarieSeymour, Charles J. Seymour III, James M. Seymour, and Rose Marie Cunningham; and her husband, Lofton Johnson, Sr.

She attended McDonough41and Xavier Preparatory School before graduatingfrom JosephS Clark High School.She served in theUnitedStates Women's Army Corpsfrom 1962 to 1965 and was honorably discharged following hermilitary service She laterfulfilledher lifelong dreamofbecoming a registered nurse and dedicated morethan 30 years to caring for thepeopleof NewOrleans at Charity Hospitalbefore retiring following Hurricane Katrina. She attendedboth Our LadyofGuadalupe and St. PeterClaver Catholic Church.

Carmen Martha SeymourJohnsonissurvivedbyher children, Jeanmarie M. Sculfield, Jeannine M. Sculfield, and Jean-Pierre M. Sculfield; her grandchildren, Dallas Hightower, Maleia GentileSculfield, and Makailea Gentile-Sculfield; her brother, Reginald J. Seymour, Sr. (Gerry); and a host of nieces, nephews relatives, and cherished friends.

Visitationwillbeheldon Friday, August 7, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. at St.Peter Claver CatholicChurch, 1923 St. Philip Street,New Orleans, La followedbya Mass of ChristianBurial at 10:00 a.m. Interment willbeheld Monday, August 10, 2026, at SoutheastLouisiana Veterans Cemeteryin Slidell, at 11:00 a.m. Please sign theonline guestbook at www.charbonnetfuneral home.com. Charbonnet Labat GlapionDirectors (504) 581-4111

passedaway peacefullyon July 7, 2026, at the age of 95. Born on August 22, 1930, in Toisan, Canton, China,she lived alifedefined by faith, family, generosity, and love In 1948, Tuey married HomFook "Tom" Kay, and togethertheyembarked on ajourney that wouldtake them to theUnited States, whereshe attendedcitizenship classes andbecame aproud naturalized American citizen.During theirearly years, she devotedherself to raising her familyasa homemaker and later workedalongside herhusbandatSingLee Laundry. Tuey wasa longtime member of theChinese Presbyterian Church in NewOrleans,where her faithprovidedguidance andstrength throughout herlife. Shewas known for herwarm hospitality, kind spirit,and unwavering dedication to herfamily. Nothing broughther greater joythancaringfor herchildren, grandchildren,and great-grandchildren.Her home was a place wherefamilyand friends were welcomed with delicioushomecooked meals and loving fellowship.She wasespeciallyrenowned for her Chinese dimsum specialties,includingcharsiu steamed bao, red bean pastebao, pork and shrimp dumplings(ha cao),red bean pastetee doi, andpeanut teedoi. HerSundaylunches and holiday celebrations became treasured traditions that created lastingmemories for generations. Amongthe fondest memories shared by her familyare summergatherings at thebeach, where she lovingly prepared egg sandwichesfor hergrandchildrenand delightedin havingeveryonetogether Shealso foundgreat enjoymentingardening, nurturingboth plants and people with care and devotion. Tuey waspreceded in death by herhusband, Tom Kay; herson-in-law, Gordon Wong; andher grandson, HamiltonKay. Sheissurvived by her children: MayKay Wong (the lateGordon Wong), Lila Kay Crotty (Bernard Timothy Crotty), Dr.Dickie Kay (Dr. Mary Chang), and Dr.DennisKay (Maria Kay); hergrandchildrenand theirspouses: Jason Wong (Amy Benoit), Amy Wong Fortson (Paul Fortson), Lindsay Crotty Shin (Austin Shin), EmilyCrotty(Wes McClurg), Dr.HarrisonKay (Andrea Kay), Dr. Hannah Kay (Dr. Tim Schurz), Haddon Kay, Dr.Danielle Kay (Dr. Thomas Dukovac) Christian Kay, andAndrew Kay; andher great-grandchildren: Kay Fortson, Eloise Fortson,Lea Shin, Penelope Shin,Oliver Shin SunnyMcClurg,Wyatt McClurg, Karissa Kay, Noah Schurz,Henry Dukovac,Graham Dukovac, andEleanorDukovac. Her legacyoflove, hard work, faith, hospitality, and devotion to familywill live on through all whoknewand lovedher

Covington,LA.

He is pre-deceased by hisparents Alexander Frederick Kruppa andAvie Elizabeth Kruppa andhis brotherRonny

At Sarasota High School, Alex joined theSailor Circusasa trapeze artist andgymnast and traveled with acircusfor two years after high school. He later taughtcomputers at DelgadoCommunity College.

Alex met Dinah Blackwellwhenher family traveled to Florida in 1965. TheyweremarriedJuly23, 1966 in Covington.Alex passedawayfourdays before their60th wedding anniversary.

Alex is survivedbyhis wife, Dinah, andtheir two sons, Jason andJohn, and John'swife Heather,as well as grandchildren Jacob,CJ, Avery and RonnieKruppa.

EugeneSterlingMartin, Sr., age 71, enteredinto eternalrest on Wednesday, July 22, 2026. Belovedhusband of Phyllis Denise SterlingMartin Eugeneisalso survivedby ahostofother relatives andfriends. Relativesand friends of thefamily, also pastors, officers,and members of Household of Faithare invited to attend theCelebrationofLife at Household of Faith, 712 27th Street,Gretna, LA on Friday, August 7, 2026, at 10:00a.m. Elder Booker T. Collor,Jr., officiating Visitation will begin at 8:30a.m. untilservice time at thechurch.Interment: Southeast Louisiana Veterans Cemetery,Slidell LA Arrangements by Davis Mortuary Service,230 Monroe Street Gretna, LA To view andsignthe guestbook, please go to www.davismortuaryservic e.com.

Astrong disruption was felt in the FORCE on Monday July 6, 2026 as Ann Grundmann departedthis life. Cool A(u)nt, as she was known to her nieces and nephews, flew off to NeverNever land where she willremain perpetually young at heart. She was preceded in death by her mother, Elizabeth Jewett Grundamann andleaves behind her father Lawrence Grundmann, Jr. (Kathy),her sister Kay Grundmann Giepert (Gary), her nephews Jonathan and Stephen Giepert (Alathea), herniece Caroline Giepert (William),her grandniece Evie, her grandnephew Harris, hercousinand dear friend MarySue Flatley, as well as her beloved dog Daisy. Ann was atruespark of joy. Shemade everyone feel welcome, everyone was her friend, and she had an infectious and unique laugh. Shewas generous and lovingtoa fault. In an ever changingand complexworld, Ann was abletokeepthings simple because she knewwhat she likedand poured allof her heartand soulinto the

Edna livedlifewith warmth,laughter, and a deep love forfamily and friendship.In1980, she was Queen of Gladiators Carnival Group.She was also an activemember of theShangri-La Carnival Group.She enjoyed participating in numerous softball and bowling leagues, whereshe formed many lifelong friendships.

In her free time, Edna lovedplaying Keno,cards, and avariety of games with her family and friends. She also enjoythe "girls" tripsshe took with hersisters,cousins,and friends. Her joyful spirit quick smile,and love of gathering withthose she cared about created countless treasuredmemories that willliveoninthe heartsofeveryone who knew her.

Edna'slegacy is one of love,devotiontofamily and thehappiness she brought to others.She will be deeplymissed butforever remembered with love

In lieu of flowers,the family requests that memorial donations be

Gilda "Jeri" "Topaz" Jones, age 68 was born on November 29, 1957 in Los Angeles, CA and resided in NewOrleans, LA,earned her wings on Monday, July 27, 2026. Gilda left alasting impressiononeveryone she met. She leaves to cherish her memories a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends. Relatives and friendsof thefamily,also parishioners of St.Katharine Drexel Parish(formerly HolyGhost)and Xavier Prep Alumni are invitedto attend theMass of ChristianBurial on Friday, August 7, 2026 at St. Katharine Drexel Catholic Church, 2015 Louisiana Avenue,New Orleans, LA 70115 at 10:00 a.m. Visitation from9:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m. Private Burial.You may signthe guest book on www.gertru degeddeswillis.com. Gertrude GeddesWillis Funeral Home Inc.,in charge(504) 522-2525.

Thefamilyisgratefulfor theloving, attentive care shown to ourmotherby doctors andnursesat OchsnerMedicalCenter, andall thecaregiversat Peristyle,especially MaryuriCastillo and MoniqueBrannonoverthe past years. Funeral serviceswill be held at Garden of Memories in Metairie, Louisiana on August 8, 2026. Familyand friends are invited to gatherincelebrationofa life well lived anda woman whose kindness, strength,and love enriched thelives of so many. Visitation willbegin at 10am andthe service at 12pm.

In lieu of flowers, please make donationsto Samaritan's Purse,POBox 3000, Boone, NC 28607. "Her love wasexpressed notonlyinwords, butineverymeal she prepared,everygatheringshe hosted, andeverylifeshe touched."

Ricardo Enrique Mirón, age 81 of Metairie, LA, passedawaypeacefully surroundedbyhis family at hishomeonTuesday, August 4, 2026. Rick was born on August 25, 1944, in Guatemala City, Guatemala to Ricardo Mirónand Elisa Gonzalez Mirón. In the early 1950's, Rick's familymigrated to theUnited States wherehe grew up in the Carrollton area of NewOrleans.He graduatedfromIncarnate Word ElementarySchool andDeLaSalle High School in 1963. After high school, Rickattendedand graduatedfromLSUNO in 1968 with adegree in Business. After college, Rickwas draftedand proudlyservedhis country in theUnited States Army duringthe Vietnam Conflictwhere he wasstationed in Germany. In 1971, Rick marriedthe love of his life, Susan M. Mirónand together they hadtwo sons. He workedfor Greater New OrleansFederal Credit Union, serving as President for over 20 years. He wasa proudmember of the Kiwanis ClubofNew Orleanswhere he served as aTreasurerfor many years, the De La Salle AlumniAssociation, anda boardmember of the NationalCreditUnion Association.Along with his wife, Rick wasa longtime parishionerofSt. Philip Neri Catholic Church. Rick wasprecededin death by hisparents and hisgrandmother, Dolores Gonzalez. Survivors includehis belovedwife,Susan; his sons, Jeffrey Mirón (Angela)and Jonathan Mirón(Erin);his granddaughters, Isabella, Scarlet,and Katherine;and hisbrothers, Luis Mirón (Rose Ann) andChristian Mirón(Graziella). Also sur-

Martin, Eugene Sterling

Alexander Sr., Burnell

Johnson, Edna Hoffmann

Miron,Ricardo Enrique

Jones, Gilda

Eckles,

Kruppa, Alexander Stephen

Alexander Stephen Kruppa wasborn December 5, 1938 in Sarasota, FL.Hepassed away July 19, 2026 in

Kay, TueyNgook Lee

Tuey NgookLee Kay, belovedmother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and devoted friend,

OPINION

Congratulations to Drew Brees on well-deserved honor

Drew Brees’ accomplishments on thefootball field will culminate Saturday when he isformally enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, as the firstNew OrleansSaint to be elected on the first ballot.

Brees’ ascendance to thesport’smost hallowed ground was assured years ago. His Saintsrecord reads like video game statistics: five 5,000-passingyard seasons, sixtimesasthe NFL’s completion percentage leader,seven times passingyard leader and the mostconsecutive gameswitha touchdown pass in league history

During his 15 years leading the Saints’ offense, the team won 62% of its games, made theplayoffs nine timesand capturedthe franchise’s only SuperBowltitle.

OUR VIEWS YOUR VIEWS

His brilliance didn’tjust reveal itselfinconsistency andlongevity.Italsoshone through in individual moments and games: his 62-yard toss to Tre’Quan Smith that set the NFL passingyards record in 2018; a40-yard touchdown passtoDevery Henderson in 2012that set the record forconsecutivegames with atouchdown pass; his511-yard, seven-TD game against the Giants in 2015.

Saturday,wewill join the rest of the football world in celebrating Brees’ gridiron accomplishmentsduring the traditionalkickoff to theNFL season.

But we will also celebrate much more thanjust that.It’salmostimpossible to understate thepsychological importance of what Breesdid in theaftermathofthe worst disaster Louisiana hadseen in generations.

When he arrived, he —and new coachSean Payton—tookover afranchise whose moribund status was treatedasagiven. They were aperfect matchfor acityand astate devastated nearly a year before by Hurricane Katrina. Indeed,Brees, himself recoveringfrom aserious shoulderinjury,has said that one reason he chose theSaints was because he sawthe devastation and wanted to be part of acivic rebuilding effort.

Payton’scoaching brilliance and Brees’ transcendent skillpaid immediate dividends, notjust in the emotional win over the hated Falcons in the famed Domecoming game, butinexcellence every singleday.The team’srenaissancegave NewOrleansreasontobelieveinitself again The ensuing years saw theteam growever closer to agoal once thoughtimpossible:aSuper Bowl. The cityimproved,too, with thetwo feeding off each other in asymbiotic relationship Thewhole time,Brees remainedrelentlessly competitive, upbeat and committedtothe team andLouisiana. When heled theSaints to the title, it signified not just achampionship for asports team but the recovery of the state against what had seemed likeimpossible odds. Off the field, too, Brees’ contributions arelegendary. Throughout Louisiana, Breesfamously financed facilities at some 50 schools, plus residential wards for cancer patients, child-care services and more.

So, thank you, Drew.Ofcourse we’re celebrating your on-the-field accomplishments, andwill rejoice to see your enshrinement,complete with Payton’ssure-to-be-emotional introduction. But we are eternally grateful, too, forall you did beyond the playing field. Youwill always be aSaint.

U.S. canlearn from thesesocialist countries

The July 20 issue of thenewspaper contained two items connected by thewriters’ insightsabout building a stronger nation. Wayne Parker’sletter cautions against oversimplifying thecontroversial term “socialism.” Jay Lapeyre’sop-ed columnencourages civic engagement. Iwriteto expand on the emotionally charged term“socialism.”

Oneform of socialism is practiced in two of the least democratic countries of the world: North Korea and Cuba. However,another form of socialism is practiced in some of themost progressive democratic countries.

Think Norway,Sweden, Denmark, Finlandand manyother countries in Europe and elsewhere.

These social democracies combine practices of capitalism withemphasis on free and fair elections, civic participation, social cohesion and reducing inequalities in accessto healthcare, education and housing.

We can learn from countries like these. Look at any nonpartisan ranking of the world’scountries in theareas of life expectancy,infant mortality,crimeand overall life

satisfaction. Many countries that practice social democracy appear in the top 10 of one or moreofthese categories. Unfortunately,the United States is not ranked in the top 10 in any of these categories. However,the U.S. is ranked in the top 10 in the category of millionaires per capita. So are Switzerland, Australia, Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Canada —all governed by aform of social democracy Ironically,some of the mostpopular U.S. government programs are similar to those practiced in social democracies.The nonpartisan opinion polling company YouGov surveyed across-section of Americans, asking about five federal programs. Here are the programs and the percentage of respondents favoring funding at current or higher levels: Social Security(78%); Medicare (76%); Medicaid and Children’s HealthInsurance Program (72%); Supplemental NutritionAssistance Program (69%); and the Women,Infants &Children Program (70%).

DAVID SABRIO Metairie

By thenumbers,Trump’s policies adduptomisplaced priorities

Have themoney to buy anew car?

How about aluxury Cadillac Escalade, baseprice $91,000, withhigh performance variance as much as $170,000 each? How many are our tax money purchasing? Quantity 250, so the Secret Service “can ride in style” and Trump said “he’ll look good in it.”

How big amotorcade is he gonna have? Can’tthe Secret Service carpool some? Even base price will cost $23 million.

Important expenditures: for changing the name to Gulf of America, replacing highway signage, maritime markers, updating state textbooks and maps —estimated anywhere from half amillion to $200 million or more Vital, really important one: changingthe name of the Defense Department to “Department of War. Internal updates, signs, digital assets and stationery —anestimated $125 million.

Fora gaudy military parade to satisfy and stroke his ego, more mil-

lions. As muchas$2billion aday fora war to get anuclear deal we had that included inspections, camerasand enrichment levels. If your neighbor’shome is on fire, what would you do? Trytohelpthem? Or sue because you don’t like the smoke? It’sthe United States’ No.1 trading partner.Why is he picking a fight with Canada?

Cost to Americans for food andeverything else because of chaos caused by his tariffs thatwe’re notsupposed to be paying ourselves. Gas prices because of his foolish aggression that’s igniting arapidly spreading Mideast war.Denying healthcare to children, plus food aid to Americans and starving people worldwide.

Nero, the Earthisonfire, andhere’s $500 millionfor aballroom to throw another “Great Gatsby” party.That is not my vision of making America great.I’d prefer the word “shameful.”

TERRYGRUNDMANN Kenner

The proposed SpaceX launchpad on Pecan Island is adirect assault on Louisiana’scoast. Our state leaders preach about protecting our vanishing coast, yet they are willing to hand over afragile ecosystem to launch rockets. They are swapping decades of oil pollution from ExxonMobil for the destructive impact of rocket launches.

Worse still is the corrupt push to shield SpaceX from accountability.The state is stripping constitutional rights from the taxpayers by giving SpaceX immunity from lawsuits.

Louisiana must stop sacrificing its citizens to play landlord to billionaires. We must reject the Pecan Island launchpad and demand that our laws protect taxpayers, not corporate balance sheets. MONICA KEESE Mandeville

Banning foreignrobotics only dullsthe abilityof U.S. to compete

Recentactions by theFederal Communications Commission to block foreignmade advanced robotics (see your recent article, “U.S.bansforeign-made humanoidrobots”) underthe guiseofnational security represent atroublingslide into protectionism. While shielding domesticfirmsfrom intense pricecompetition may offer short-term comfort, it inflicts afar more damaging, long-term cost on theAmerican economy:the loss of theabilityto learn through competition Capitalismthrivesonthe relentless pressure to adapt, innovate andoutcompete rivals on an open field. When international competitors command the vast majority of theglobalmarket and drive rapid technological iteration, erecting tradebarriers does not foster true resilience. Instead,itcreates an insulated bubble that deprivesdomesticdevelopers of therigorous, real-worldbenchmarking necessary to sharpen theircapabilities. Just as military strategists warnagainst compressing decision cycles to thepoint of blindness, we must recognize that artificially slowing down market exposure to globalinnovation does not protect us. It isolates us True economicstrength is forged notby hiding behind walls,but by engaging with the world’smost advanced technologies andcultivating thecapacity to out-learn andout-compete them.

PRESTON

C. RODRIGUE NewOrleans

By DAVID GRUNFELD

Retired quarterback DrewBrees celebrates his 2024 induction into the Saints Hall of Fame. On Saturday, he will be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame as the first NewOrleans Saint to be elected on the firstballot.

Armstrong’sbirthdayacall to action forLa. jazz lovers

The first time Iever saw my father cry was when he heard LouisArmstrong died.

It wasn’tobvious: He was pretending his glasses were just fogging up, necessitatinguse of ahandkerchief near his eyes. Still, he couldn’thidesome tears running down his cheek.

Quin Hillyer

Dad pulled an LP from the shelf and beganplaying it. Ilooked at the album’sback cover,and either there or on theTV news Idistinctly remember aphoto of Armstrong on his New York front steps, playing his trumpetwithsome children.

If this guy was cherished enoughto make my father cry,and if he was nice enough to hang out with neighborhood children, Ifigured Ishould give him a listen. And, well, wow:I’vebeen nearly obsessed, ever since, with traditional New Orleans jazz.

These memories return because this past Tuesday was Louis Armstrong’s 125th birthday.(Is there aname for that? If “hemi” is ahalf, wasithis hemi-semiquincentennial?) We know the exact day because, 38 years ago, New Orleans music historian TadJones dugupArmstrong’sbaptismal records listing his birth date as Aug.4,1901, ratherthan the July4,1900, that the great jazz musician long had claimed (As an aside: Ididn’tknowJones, but Irandomly found myself sitting next to him at the breakfast bar of the old Bluebird Café on Prytania Street in 1988 and striking up aconversation that naturally turnedto jazz —at which time he asked if Icould keep a secret, and he told me he was just aday or threeawayfrom making “a bigannouncement”about Armstrong’s birth. To say the least, his announcement certainlymade bignews.)

Of course the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival made ahuge celebration of the centennial of Armstrong’s birth in 2001 (I stillhave theT-shirt). And last weekend the 26thannual

SatchmoSummerfesttook place at the New OrleansJazz Museum. Moreover, all weekendlong, on Frenchmen Street and Bourbon Street and elsewhere aroundtown,traditional jazz bands were plyingtheir trade. The Palmetto Bug Stompers, playing withverve at DBA New Orleans, were particularly fun. Coincidentally,the birthdateitself saw an announcement that the documentary “City of aMillion Dreams,” about jazz funerals and the city’smusic culture, is now getting anationwide release on public television. It will air on WYES in New OrleansonAug. 13 at 7:30 p.m. andAug. 15 at 4p.m., and on Louisiana Public Broadcasting on Aug. 18 at 8p.m.The documentary’sfilmmaker, New Orleanian Jason Berry, also was Jones’ co-author (1986) of the acclaimed Louisiana music history called “Up From the Cradle of Jazz.” Small world —and, as Armstrong would say,“What aWonderful World, as well. Now: Apologies if all the informa-

tion above may seem atad disjointed, but then again, this is acolumn about jazz, where individual musicians can improvise in unexpected directions but only while still staying tethered to, and returning to, acentral theme.

If you haven’tfigured it out yet,the central tune here is that New Orleans traditional jazz is atreasure, as is the particular legacy of Armstrong.

Yetwhat should worry all of us is that this signaturemusic of the state —which, according to essayist Gerald Early,joins the Constitution and baseball as this nation’sthree mostenduring gifts to civilization —seems always on the verge of dying out. Maybe I’m missing something,but no matter how hard Ilook, Ican never seem to find anyone under 50 years old who regularly plays the real, true thing

Yes, there are bands and musicians semi-rooted in traditional jazz of the sort played by Armstrong, King Oliver and Buddy Bolden, but mostofthem are brassier,funkier,less subtle,less wedded to acentral melody in each song. They may be playing great music, but it’s not really traditional New Orleansjazz. Yetwemust,weabsolutely must, ensure that our native music doesn’tdie. It is heartening, though, to see key institutions devoted to the music’scontinuance. There’sthe aforementioned jazzmuseum,and of course there’sthe Preservation Hall Foundation, and the New OrleansJazz and Blues Market, along with numerous clubs that still host themusic. Andthere’salso the ambitious, forthcoming Louisiana Music and Heritage Experience, which will be agrand, museum-plus establishmentinthe city’sRiver District. Through all these outlets, and more, all of us should want to transmit our musical heritage tonew generations. Let’srenew our dedication to this task—both as abirthday present to Satchmoand so my late father won’tbe shedding tearsofloss in heaven. Email QuinHillyer at quin.hillyer@ theadvocate.com

Theera of peak socialisminAmerica

Nebraska Senate candidate Osborn is therealdeal

“A Face in the Crowd” is the prophetic 1957 movie abouta charismatic drifter “discovered”inanArkansasjail. The face belongs to “Lonesome”Rhodes, ascoundrelwhose folksy act catapults him to nationalprominence. “Lonesome” (Andy Griffith) abuses women, but the crowdonly sees alovable spinnerofdown-home yarns. He deflatesafter getting caught on an open mic mocking his followers as idiots andfools. Maine’s Graham Platner was a face in the crowd, sold to Democratsasa salt-of-the-sea oysterman who actually came from aprivileged background. The senatorial candidate survived his sordid history of mistreating womenuntil aplausible accusation of rape finally did him in.

American politicsfeasts on stories of candidatesfromhumble backgrounds who know what it means to be aworking stiff. Some suchcontenders areuncovered as bums or phonies. But some arethe real thing. Theywould include DanOsborn of Nebraska.Heisthe steamfitter and former union organizerfromOmaha running for the Senate as an independent against RepublicanSen Pete Ricketts.

Osborn nowhas adecent chance of prevailing in November. His is notanew face. He hadrun in 2024 as an independent who did surprisingly well against Republican incumbent DebFischer. Osborn lost by only 7points in astate thatDonald Trump carried by about 21 points. Osborn clearly has appeal.

Afterthe election, Osborn launched aPAC calledthe Working Class Heroes Fund. Its statedmissionistosupport candidates like him, regardless of party label. With Ricketts an heir to afamily fortune exceeding $1 billion, Osborn haspredictably framed the race as between the “billionaire class” and the working class.

Michael Barone

The emergence of the Democratic SocialistsofAmerica and their political victories, from NewYork City across the fruited plains of Michigan andWisconsin allthe way to Colorado, strikes many as anew thing in U.S. politics. Previous movements have, in fact, increased, sometimes significantly the size and scope of government. But it has been their opponents who have accused them of “creeping socialism,” while advocates have avoided the S-word

Some major policies of Franklin Roosevelt’sNew Deal —Social Security most of all —remainpart of the fabric of American life, and elements of the social safety net have been expanded quietly but effectively enough that, as former Sen.PhilGramm has argued, the governmenttransfer payments have effectively equalized the incomesofthose on thebottom 60% of theeconomic ladder

But virtually no attention, so far as Ican see, has been paid tothe period in U.S. history when the government took maximum control of the private-sector economy,including the dissemination of information and communication of opinion.

That moment came more than 100 years ago, before the emergence not only of the internet but also of radio and talking motion pictures. It lasted only briefly,and its implications have mostly been glossed overbyhistorians. It has been chronicled recently, however, and with the helpofartificial intelligence, by the iconoclastic economist Arnold Kling. The centerpiece is the policies adopted by Woodrow Wilson’sadministration and an acquiescent Democratic Congress during the 19 months from April 1917 to November 1918, in which the United

States was at war with Germany and its alliesinWorldWar I.

This creation of an American state thatwould “seize therailroad, ration the coal,set the price of wheat,conscript four million men, and prosecute the printed word”was the work of progressive reformers convinced that experts could do better than seemingly chaotic markets in running the economy

Wilson’sWar Industries Board, headed by Wall Street speculator Bernard Baruch, set out “to decide, for the wholenation,what got made, from what materials, in what quantities, at what price, and in what order of priority.” His food administration, headed by mining engineer Herbert Hoover, pushed for “meatless Tuesdays and wheatless Wednesday (and) victory gardens,” and doubled theprice of wheat so that U.S.farmers could feed allies in Europe.

Thegovernment seized therailroads in December 1917, and Treasury Secretary WilliamMcAdoo (who was also Wilson’sson-in-law) “set theschedules, the rates, the wages, unified the equipment,and cut the competitive duplication.” It ran thesystem “imperfectly,expensively,but it moved the troops and thecoal,” the essential fuel thenfor both heavy industry and home heating.

The fueladministration enforced “heatless Mondays,” theNational War Labor Board set theeight-hour day and the WarFinance Corporation built an emergency fleet. In November 1917, the 35-year-old AssistantSecretary of the Navy Franklin Roosevelt imposed astrike settlement on BethlehemSteel’s Fore River Shipyard manager,a29-year-old bank president named Joseph P. Kennedy

This socialist America was anything but friendly to civil rightsand civil liberties. Wilson imposed racial segregationonthe federal workforce and shut down German cultural orga-

nizations.His government prosecuted and jailed the Socialist presidential candidate Eugene Debs for defending men imprisoned for obstructing the militarydraft

“Everything,”Kling writes, “so far has described astate expanding seizing, planning, rationing, prosecuting, persuading. The last movement is theone thebuildup does not prepare you for,and it is theheart of thematter:how fast nearly all of it came apart.”

The WarIndustries Boardvoted to dissolve itself on New Year’sDay 1919, less than two months after the Armistice; the WarLabor Boardlapsed; the food and fuel controls ended; Congress (Republican after the November 1918 election) returned therailroads to privateowners in theTransportation Act of 1920. Wilson’sDemocratic Party was punished in thepresidential election that year.The Democratic ticket of James Cox and Franklin Roosevelt got 34% of the popular vote. The Republican ticket of Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge got 60%, thehighestpercentage in any election up to that date. Youcan find elements of Wilson’s wartime socialism in some selfdescribed experimentswithin Roosevelt’sNew Deal. Butwhen war came, he didn’tchoosetonationalize the railroadsand industries. Instead, he got William Knudsen to enlistexecutives in moving toward wartime production

If you listen to atape of Roosevelt’s speech toCongress on Dec. 8, 1941, theloudest applause, cheers and rebel yells cameafter he said, “The American people, in their righteous might, will win through to absolute victory.” Socialism,heevidently thought, was not theway to get there.

Maybe there’sa lesson there for the public today

Michael Barone is on X, @MichaelBarone.

One of his challenges, though, is to minimize the extent to whichDemocrats openly want him to win. Nebraska Democrats arenot running their owncandidate andurge their contributors to back Osborn. To prevail in aconservative state like Nebraska,Osborn needs support from disaffected or moderate Republicans. If elected, he vows nottocaucuswith either party.And he criticizesDemocrats for their focus on whitecollarprofessionals.

Working in his favor is the fact thatmany Nebraska Republicans are nothardright. Omaha Rep. Don Bacon, for example, is aRepublican moderate known for often criticizing Trump. His is aswing district, nationally known as the “blue dot.” Seeing himself at a disadvantage among MAGA Republicans and Democrats desperate fora win, Bacon decidednot to seek another term

Former Nebraska Sen. BenSasse is atraditionalconservative known for his intellect andcourteousmanners. Sasse wasone of only sevenSenateRepublicans who votedtoconvictTrump for inciting the Capitolriot. He is nowbravely confronting Stage 4pancreatic cancer

Trump’sjob approval rating in Nebraska is evenly dividedorslightly underwater.And so aworking manfixed on pragmatic solutions would seem aserious challenger

Arizona Democrats have Katie Hobbs running forreelection as governor.The product of amiddle-class family,Hobbs put herself through college.While secretary of state in 2020, she earnednational renown for defending Arizona’s election results against phony claims of voterfraud.

As governor,she hasluredbusiness to her state,whichexplains herdirecting adstoward Republicans andindependents. Many Arizonans, meanwhile,remain incensed at Trump’sshabby treatment of the late Republican icon JohnMcCain.

McCain’swidow, Cindy McCain, has publicly endorsed Hobbs against her Republican opponent, Andy Biggs. Tied hand andfoot to Trump, Biggs triedtooverturn the results of the 2020 election.

Moderate Democrats do have agood shotat winning this November.Electorates may have grown wearyoffaces in the crowd, entertainersoffering colorful talesand little more.

Follow Froma Harrop on X@FromaHarrop.

Froma Harrop

TIMES-PICAyUNE ARCHIVE PHOTO young Louis Armstrong

withmeteorologist Damon Singleton

Some of the sameshowers and storms we sawyesterday will be around again today. Expect apartly to mostly cloudy, hot, humid and breezy day. Temperatures thisafternoon will be just about where theyshould be,inthe lowtomid-90s. The heat index values will rise to the upper 90s to 104 or higher.Most of Southeast Louisiana is under amoderate heat risk, so takeprecautions to avoid heat illnesses. Keep the umbrella with you, as rain and storms will be with us for the next fewdays.

vived by numerous nieces and nephews. Relatives and friendsof the familyare invited to the Mass of Christian Burial at Leitz-Eagan Funeral Home, Metairie, LA on Friday, August7,2026 at 1:00 PM. Visitationwill be held from 11:00 AM until 1:00 PM. Interment will follow in Lake Lawn Park Mausoleum.

In lieu of flowers, please consider adonation in Rick's honor to the Kiwanis Club of New Orleans at https://www.paypal.com/ donate/?cmd= _sxclick&hosted_button_id= 8GS9ZTZJF4H98&ssrt=1785 874109386.

Herbert J. "Chip"

Peterson III, 56, of Corinth, Mississippi, passed away on July 28, 2026, in Houston, Texas, following along and courageous battle with cancer. Visitation will be held on Saturday,August8,2026, from 12:00 p.m. until 2:00 p.m. at First Baptist Church, 501 Main Street, Corinth, MS with amemorial service immediately following.Bro. Nathan VanHorn and Bro. Bobby Capps willofficiate the service with Parker Peterson delivering family reflections. He was born on September 13, 1969, in New Orleans, Louisiana,to Herbert J. Peterson Jr. and Joan Murphy Peterson. Chip spent his childhood summers around Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, where he loved being on the water. He graduated from De La Salle High School in 1987. He then attended the University of Mississippi and earned aBachelorof Business Administration in 1993. On October 7, 1995,

DEATHS continued from Chip marriedAngel Little Peterson. Together they builta life centered on family,raisingtheir daughters, Parkerand Pierce, who wereamong his greatest joys and proudest accomplishments. He loved spending time with them anywhere, but especially on Pickwick Lake, wherehepassed along his lifelong loveofthe water to his daughters, teaching them everything he knew. In 1999,heco-founded CMS Management alongside his father-in-law and business partner,Jerry Little. Over time,CMS grewinto asuccessful and highly respected affordable housing management and development company,managing morethan one hundred affordable housing communities across eight states Throughout hiscareer, Chip became one of the most respected leaders in the affordable housing industry. He served on the Board of Directors of the National Council for Affordable Housing, the HousingAssociationof Mississippi,where he served as President,and theTennessee Association of Affordable Housing. His knowledge, leadership, and unwaveringcommitment to affordable housing earnedhim the respect of colleagues across the country, but it was hisgenuineconcern forothers that distinguishedhim most. Chip served on the Corinth School District Board of Directors, including atermasBoard President. He was alsoa memberofFirst Baptist Church. He enjoyed developingproperties,traveling with his family, andspending time huntingand fishing with friends. His outgoing personality,genuine kindness, and abilitytosee thegoodinothers allowed him to form friendships that lasted alifetime. He valuedrelationshipsand invested deeply in the people who mattered most to him. His generosity touchedcountless lives, often in ways known only to those he helped.Henever sought recognition for his kindness andfound greater satisfaction in serving others thaninreceivingcredit. His quiet compassion,humble spirit, and willingness to help those in need will remain among the most enduring parts of his legacy. Chip is survived by his wife, Angel; his daughters, Parker and Pierce;his mother, Joan

Murphy Peterson; his father-in-law and mother-inlaw, Jerryand Joyce Little; and awide circle of friends, colleagues, employees, and industry partners who were fortunate to knowhim. He was preceded in death by his father, Herbert J. PetersonJr. In lieu of flowers,the family requests that memorial contributions be madeto CrosswindMinistry, Lighthouse Foundation, Living Free Ministries, or a charityofthe donor's choice.

Paul JosephTalazac, Jr., adevoted husband, father, grandfather, and greatgrandfather passed away peacefully on July31, 2026, at theage of 91.

BornonNovember 17, 1934, in NewOrleans, Louisiana, Paul was the belovedson of thelate Paul JosephTalazac, Sr and Emelda Rita Blanchard Talazac. Alifelong New Orleanian at heart, he carried with him adeepappreciationfor his family his faith, and his country's history throughout his life

Paul proudly served his nationinboth theNaval Reserves and theUnited States AirForce,where he was assignedtothe 10th Reconnaissance Bombardment Squadron underthe Strategic Air Command.His military service remained asourceof pridethroughout his life and helpedshapehis enduring respect for those who served.

Following his military service, Paul enjoyed a successfulcareer as a salesman, wherehis friendlypersonality, honesty, and abilitytoconnect with people earnedhim therespect of colleagues and customers alike.

Aman of many interests, Paul had alifelong passionfor family genealogy and military history.He

devotedcountless hours to researching and documenting his family's heritageand themilitaryservice of relatives,preserving an invaluable legacy for future generations. He was an avid fisherman who found greatjoy in the outdoors and never missed an opportunitytoshare storiesofhistory,family, or his latestadventure. Paul also lovedtraveling and cherished every opportunitytospend time with his family

Paul was amember of theSilverSneakers, the Forever Young SeniorClub at Epiphany of theLord CatholicChurch, the TastersSupperClub and theNational Rifle Association. Hisfriendshipsthrough these organizations enriched his life and reflected his outgoing nature and genuine enjoyment of people

Aboveall else, Paul was devoted to his family.Heis survivedbyhis loving wife of 65 years, Joan Ann Davis Talazac; hisdaughter, Jon Ann Talazac Lawson (Stanton); his son, ChristopherPaulTalazac (Charise); his grandchildren,Jessica Alaine Talazac (Tanden), Jamie Ann Zaruba (Travis), and Michael Christopher Talazac (Rebecca); and his cherished great-grandchildren,Elizabeth Grace Zaruba and Aaron Paul Zaruba

Relatives and friends are invitedtoattenda funeral service on Friday, August 7, 2026, at Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home,5100 Pontchartrain Blvd. NewOrleans, LA 70124. Visitation willbe held from 9AM- 11 AM with aservicetobegin at 11 AM. Interment willfollowatLake Lawn Park Mausoleum.

NursingHome.

We give thanks to God for hislifeand the love he shared Kennethispreceded in death by hisbeloved wife, Joan Farnell Triche; parents: Earl andVelma Gross Triche; brothers: Earl Louis Triche, Jr Ronald Triche, andDarrell Triche, Sr.; sister:Pamela TricheClark; sister-in-law: Hilda Triche; andnephew Darrell Triche, Jr

On Wednesday, July 29, 2026, KennethJoseph Tricheenteredeternal rest at the age of 71. Kenneth is survived by hisbrothers andsister,Gregory, Bernard Sr.(Shandra), Brian,and Diane Triche; sisters-in-law: Wanda Tricheand Blondia Paul; devotednieces and nephews: Erica Clark, Christie Williams, Danielle, Bernard Jr,TamalaTriche, Ava Jackson,Tiffinie Sterling, and Wallace Young;great-nieces and nephews: Brandon, Bernard III andBryce Triche, Brianna Sterling, Ahmad and AsiaYoung, DominicJones, andCraig Williams; godchild: Bryce Triche; loving cousins: Linda Jones,Robin Lovely IvoryElmore Jr., Derrilland PokeyChatman;close friends: Rodney Joseph, Sr., Bruce Kelly, Shelita Bias, Margie Langand a host of loving extended cousins, family, and the devoted staff of Twin Oaks

Familyand friends are invited to attend the Celebration of Life Service on August 7, 2026, for 11:00 AM at 10867 RiverRd. Ama, LA. Visitationwill begin at 10:00 AM Pastor Shateek Nobles, Sr.officiating. Intermentwill follow at RestlawnParkand Cemetery &Mausoleum 3540 US 90 Avondale.LA. GuestbookOnline: www.an ewtraditionbegins.com (504)282-0600. Linear Brooks Boyd andDonavin D. Boyd Owners/Funeral Directors.

Triche,Kenneth Joseph

Talazac,Paul Joseph

Peterson, Herbert Joseph 'Chip'

Tulane’s fearsome foursome back for fall camp

Playmakers return following offseasonsurgeries,recovery

BY GUERRYSMITH

Contributing writer

Tulanefootball coach Will Hall did not glean much from Wednesday morning’s spirited preseason practice. In hiswords, “everybody in the country has alot of energy on the first day,” andworkouts without pads are akin to “playing basketball without aball.”

He loves the Green Wave’spotential, though.

The two-hour-and-15-minutesession at Yulman Stadium marked thereturn of Jack Tchienchou, the team leader in tackles, along with leading returning rusher Jamauri McClure, projectedsecondary starter TJ Smith and starting linebacker Dickson Agu. The former three missed springdrills due to offseason surgery,and Aguwas held out of contact as he recuperatedfrom atorn patellar tendon he suffered last September It is amuch different rosterwith all four playmakers available.

“It feels great to be back, I’m notgoing to lie,” said Agu, asenior whohad ateam-high 31 tackles through four games in 2025. “I’ve just been waiting. The coaches wereholding me back, saying you don’t winaring in the spring, so now that we’re finally going, it’s amazing to be out there withthe guys.”

Agu heard stories aboutplayers never fully recovering from patellar tendon injuries when he started his rehab work,but he is well past those concerns.

“I feel way better,”hesaid. “The leftleg Ihurt is testing stronger thanI was before the injury.Ifeel like I’m coming back even

SPORTS

Safety Blackmon hopefultorewardSaints’ faithinhim

BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer

Kellen Moore didn’thave to think too hard about his first memoryofJulian Blackmon in aNew Orleans Saints uniform His memorywas assisted by where he was standing. Addressing reporters from thecornerofthe Saints’ indoor practice facility,Moore was standing maybe 15 yards away from where Blackmon, about ayear earlier, madeamemorable interception near the end of his first practice withthe team.

“I don’tevenknowifheknewwhatour coverages were,” Moore said. “Hejust hopped in and played ball.” That particular memoryistwo-sided.

The unfortunate part is that New Orleansdid not have much else to go off of when considering Blackmon as a player.Heappeared in onegamewith theSaintslast year as thestartingsafetybefore tearingthe posteriorlabrum in hisrightshoulder—his second consecutive season that required surgery on that shoulder

Then again, it is plays like that one Blackmon made in hisfirst training camppractice —plus many more throughout camp last year —that madethe Saints comfortable betting on everything Blackmon can be in their defense despite the recent injury history

“The coaches felt like Idid enough, they saw enough to know thatifIcame back andwas able to geta full season, things would be really good and it would benefit thewhole team,” Blackmon said. “Weliketosay ‘together,weeat.’ I’mexcited formyopportunity this year,because Ifeel like we can do that with me on the field.”

Blackmon looked like the ideal complement to Justin Reid in their brief timetogether last season. In Reid, the Saints have asafetywhose primary mission is to make hisopponents remember his physicality. They pair him with Blackmon, who can take away awhole half of the field with his range andwho is at his best whenthe ball is in the air

See

page 3C

Lane Kiffin is no longer thewunderkind of football.

It’sbeen 20 years since Al Davis made the then-31-year-old Kiffin head coach of the then-Oakland Raiders. Now 51, Kiffin is probably as lean as he was thenthanks to all the hot yoga, though he hasa few more linesinthe still boyish face. Certainly,above all, he’salot wiser For LSU, that’sagood thing. At one point during Wednesday’snews conference after LSU’s first preseasonpractice, Kiffin dropped into the conversation that he had along talk Tuesday night with his mentor and one-time boss Pete Carroll. It was aboutascasually as one might mention cribbing arecipe from afriend. Carroll isn’tcreditedfor being as big an influence on Kiffin taking the LSU job as Nick Saban is, thoughhe deserves aslice of the credit That said, Kiffin is at apoint in his career where he can keep his own counsel.

Einstein saidthe only source of knowledge is experience. LSU is Kiffin’ssixth head coaching job, college and pro. All thatexperience should make LSU fans glad Kiffin didn’t get the job when it hired Brian Kelly four yearsago, or certainly before that.

“Going back over things (with Carroll), you remember how little you knew,” Kiffinsaid. “I equate it to parenting. The first time you’re aparent compared to if you had six kids now.It’smysixth job

You’ll probably do abetter job.”

Kiffin had the Tigers easing into practiceWednesdaymorning. He said the goal is to ramp up gradually, reducing the potential of injuriesand to be fresher in the long run.

Fresher —goal strongly implied —for theCollegeFootball Playoff. The way he saidOle Misswas last year when Kiffinfirst embarked on this workload

BY JON BLAU Staff writer

Lane Kiffinstrolled into LSU’s team meeting room at 11:41 a.m. on Wednesday,a full four minutes before he was originally scheduledtospeak with the media following his first preseason camp practice as head coach. There was no need to spend another four minutesinthe 92-degree heat of Baton Rouge, whipping the Tigers into shape, when the season will beat on them plenty Practice started at around 10 a.m., and it wasdone in about 90 minutes. “We’refollowing kind of aramp-up program to prevent injuries, onethatwekind of started last year (at Ole Miss), just lookingatbeing fresh at theend of season and injuries in the first five days,” Kiffin said. “There’snot muchwork out there, but that’s really long-term thinking.”

STAFFPHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

Saints safety Julian Blackmon runs adrill during trainingcamponWendesdayatthe team’spractice facility in Metairie. Blackmon is looking to make an impact in his returnfrom shoulder injury

STAFF PHOTO By PEARL SPURLOCK

LSU wide receiver Phillip Wrightmakes acatch on the first dayofpreseason practice on Wednesday.

STAFFFILEPHOTO By BRETT DUKE

Tulane safety TJ Smith runs adrill during practice on Aug. 22. Smith had offseason shoulder surgery.

BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS

Preakness will run on a Sunday

BY STEPHEN WHYNO

AP sportswriter

A big change is coming to horse racing’s Triple Crown, with the Preakness Stakes moving to three weeks and a day after the Kentucky Derby and being run on Sunday for the first time.

Maryland Gov Wes Moore and the Maryland Jockey Club announced the decision Wednesday No Triple Crown race has ever taken place on a Sunday in the century-plus-old history of the series.

The shift marks a major change on the horse racing calendar, following significant debate and speculation. Except for 2020 during the pandemic, the Preakness has been on the third Saturday in May, two weeks after the Kentucky Derby, since 1950.

Maryland Jockey Club CEO Bill Knauf acknowledged the tradition while also calling this the time to move the Preakness back. The Preakness will be run on May 23

“It’s been discussed for a very long time (and) we recognized the different trends and training methods recently,” Knauf told The Associated Press. “We entered the discussion maybe even saying, ‘Hey, is two weeks the right amount? I think the week was the right placement. It still gives an incredible test for a horse and a champion to go through that, even at three weeks.”

The aim is to get more Derby horses to participate in the second leg of the Triple Crown. For decades, it was normalcy but has become increasingly rare in recent years.

Two consecutive and three of the past five Derby winners have bypassed the Preakness to aim for the final jewel, the Belmont Stakes in June Of the 95 horses who ran in the Derby dating to 2022, just 13 have gone to the Preakness (13.7%) with just one winner in that group.

“We are going to move it back to be able to ensure that the winner of the Kentucky Derby will then be prepared to compete in the second leg of the Triple Crown,” Moore said at a news conference in Annapolis. “By moving the day, you’re then providing additional time and

aj

space for our horses and the people who compete in the Derby to be able to then now compete to be able to be part of that Triple Crown.”

For at least next year, it has the chance to produce the opposite effect, with the Belmont scheduled for June 5, as announced Monday Going from a three-week to a 13day gap between the Preakness and Belmont could force owners and trainers to choose between them, given that modern 3-year-old thoroughbreds typically get significantly more time off.

Knauf said it was a decision made for the long-term future of the Preakness.

Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, who with American Pharoah in 2015 and Justify in 2018 is the only trainer to win the Triple Crown since Affirmed in 1978, said in a social media post Monday that if he has the right horse from the Kentucky Derby, he will continue to go to the Preakness annually That was in response to the unveiling of a new championship series of races at Churchill

Downs in Louisville, Belmont Park on Long Island and Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York and does not — for now — include the Preakness.

Future changes to the schedule are always possible beyond 2027. The shift does put the Preakness on the Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend beginning in 2028 and running through ‘31.

“We believe this creates tremendous excitement for our local economy and businesses,” Knauf said. “Baltimore will become the place to be on Memorial Day weekends, as the spotlight of the racing world descends on Pimlico.”

The change comes with an extension of the media rights agreement with NBC Sports through 2032. The Preakness as well as the BlackEyed Susan Stakes for fillies on the third Saturday in May — will air on NBC and Peacock for the next six years.

NBC Sports President of Acquisitions of Partnerships Jon Miller said at the news conference that

the network as far back as 10 years ago broached the idea of pushing the Preakness back at least a week, but previous ownership was not interested.

“It’s a success factor for everybody by moving it to the eight days later,” Miller said. “The idea of doing it Saturday-Sunday quite honestly, was to create a weekend celebration and not just have it be a one-day event in the middle of a Triple Crown series.”

Moving the Preakness coincides with its return to Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore as part of a $500 million reconstruction project, after a one-time stop at Laurel Park. Next year, there is expected to be limited capacity, with the full, new Pimlico scheduled to be completed by the spring of 2028.

“It’s something business has been a huge champion of,” Greater Baltimore Committee President and CEO Mark Anthony Thomas told the AP “And so people are very enthusiastic around the state’s investments.”

LIV Golf has new lead investor and is planning ahead

BY DOUG FERGUSON AP golf writer

LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil announced an agreement Wednesday with a lead investor that would allow the rival league to forge ahead without the backing of Saudi funding while making players major equity holders.

“So many of them came because this was a good opportunity for them to make some money, and this second bite at the apple is equity instead of cash,” O’Neil said at a news conference at Trump Bedminster, site of this week’s LIV Golf New York event.

O’Neil was short on details, starting with the identity of the investor and how much money was involved He said the lead investor

“has signed a term sheet approved by our board, which will carry and fund LIV going forward.”

“It’s very good news for all of us,” O’Neil said.

O’Neil said LIV is getting “strong interest” from more than a dozen other parties who would be minority investors as the league tries to survive

“We don’t need them, but we have the opportunity to do it,” he said of other investors.

LIV Golf New York is the penultimate individual event in a season that has been marked by upheaval, particularly the stunning announcement in March that the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia — the financial muscle of LIV since it began — is withdrawing funding after 2026.

One tournament in New Orleans already has been scrapped, and there are serious doubts the season-ending team event in Michigan on Aug. 27-30 will be played, particularly after reports the tournament has not even started preparing for it.

“We have not made any final formal decisions and hope to in the coming weeks,” O’Neil said.

LIV Golf, which launched in 2022, has spent more than $5 billion on the league. That includes some of the nine-figure bonuses to lure top players like Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Phil Mickelson.

But it all began to fall apart earlier this year Koepka was let out of his contract and returned to the PGA Tour and Patrick Reed chose

not to renew his deal. He is leading the European tour points list and will be eligible to return to the PGA Tour next year Lucas Herbert, who has won twice on LIV Golf this year, said Tuesday his management has been in touch with PGA Tour officials.

O’Neil met with team captains on Tuesday, and DeChambeau led a player-only meeting later in the afternoon, though none of the players shared details.

O’Neil said he expected to finalize terms with the lead investor in the next few weeks with the goal of getting it done in September The plan for what is being referred to as “LIV Golf 2.0” is for 10 team events each year, five of them in the United States and five others around the world.

Rivera leads LSU gym commitments into nationals

BY SCOTT RABALAIS Staff writer

The U.S. Gymnastics Championships begin their four-day run Thursday in Phoenix with the women’s competition taking on a definite future LSU flavor

Hezly Rivera, the 2024 U.S. Olympic team gold medalist, returns to defend the women’s all-around title she won last year at the Smoothie King Center. Rivera is a long-time commitment to the Tigers but plans to defer the start of her college career until after the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Two other LSU recruits — Tatum Drusch and Reese Esponda — will also compete. Both are also planning to defer their enrollment until the 2028-29 academic year Rivera, 18, who currently lives

and trains in Plano, Texas, dominated last year’s championships. In addition to the all-around crown, she also won on floor and balance beam while sharing first place on uneven bars.

Men’s competition will be Thursday and Saturday, with women’s competition Friday and Sunday

The women’s competition will be at 9 p.m. Friday on NBC Sports Network and Peacock, with Sunday’s finals at 5 p.m. on NBC.

Injury updates

LSU coach Jay Clark said three key Tiger gymnasts underwent offseason surgery but that he expects all three to be ready for the start of fall practice.

Senior Konnor McClain had operations on her shoulder, wrist and ankle, but Clark said she is recovering well. Junior Kaliya Lincoln had work done to her elbow, while se-

nior Kylie Coen also underwent ankle

surgery New skills

Clark said the Tigers are preparing for rule changes for 2027 requiring more difficulty on uneven bars.

“They took away some connections that had been commonly utilized,” he said “It requires us to add more skills or do different releases.

“It takes a while. You may see mistakes early in the season with the new skills that kids have never competed with or haven’t competed with in a long time. Overall, they’re positive changes.”

Schedule talk

Now that SEC basketball schedules have been released, Clark believes TV slots for conference gymnastics meets will soon be

Announcer Vitale optimistic despite 5th cancer diagnosis

NEW YORK Longtime college basketball announcer Dick Vitale says he is making positive strides after announcing in April that he had been diagnosed with cancer for the fifth time.

The 87-year-old Vitale said on social media Wednesday that recent blood tests came back “very good” and that the immunotherapy treatments that he has been receiving are “very effective in wiping out the cancer.”

Vitale was first diagnosed with cancer in 2021, when he revealed that he had melanoma. He also was diagnosed with lymphoma and, after being declared cancer-free, learned in 2023 that he had vocal cord cancer The following year, Vitale was diagnosed with lymph node cancer, and he underwent surgery to help treat it.

Scottish police look into missing athletes reports

GLASGOW, Scotland Police in Scotland said they had received reports that “several” athletes were unaccounted for following the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow Ugandan sporting news website NBS Sport said four members of the nation’s boxing squad had reportedly gone missing in Scotland and did not rejoin the rest of the delegation before the team’s scheduled return to Uganda on Tuesday

The Pakistan Today newspaper also reported a missing boxer from the Pakistan team.

There have been numerous cases of athletes seeking asylum following previous Commonwealth Games, including 2018 on the Gold Coast in Australia and in 2014 when hosted by Glasgow again.

Center Washington transfers to Tennessee following injunction

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Former Vanderbilt basketball player Jalen Washington has transferred to Tennessee, announcing his new school less than a week after a judge in Colorado granted a preliminary injunction giving student-athletes who graduated from high school in 2022 another season of eligibility for the upcoming year

The decision from U.S. District Court Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney last Friday came hours after I’Ashea Myles of the Davidson County Chancery Court issued a temporary injunction to Washington and 18 other players to retain their eligibility Washington was the lead plaintiff in a complaint filed July 6 by the Texas Trial Group seeking the injunction.

Georgia to debut all-white uniforms vs. Western Kentucky

ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia announced Wednesday the Bulldogs will debut a new all-white look as an alternate uniform when they play Western Kentucky at home on Sept. 12.

Georgia’s uniform traditionally emphasizes its primary colors, red and black, with silver trim. The new uniform will feature white helmets, with red and black stripes, white jerseys with black numbers and red trim, and white pants.

Georgia players said they were shocked when two veterans, tight end Lawson Luckie and defensive back KJ Bolden, were selected to unveil the new uniform in a team meeting.

Georgia finished No. 6 in the AP Top 25 after winning its second consecutive SEC championship last season.

filled, allowing LSU to release its schedule in early September

The Tigers have a blockbusterfilled home slate with SEC meets against Oklahoma, Florida, Georgia and Missouri, along with a season opener in January against Arizona State.

LSU is also expected to take part in the annual Podium Challenge meet at the Raising Cane’s River Center The Tigers’ road SEC meets include trips to Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn and Kentucky, while the SEC Championships begin a two-year stint in Tampa, Florida. LSU will not host an NCAA regional as it did in 2026. Clark plans to again hold LSU’s annual exhibition meet in early January

For more LSU sports updates, sign up for our newsletter at theadvocate.com/lsunewsletter

Corning Classic returns to LPGA schedule after 18 years CORNING, N.Y The Corning Classic is returning to the LPGA Tour schedule in 2027 after an 18-year absence going from a popular small-market event in western New York to offering a $5 million purse that ranks among the richest outside the majors.

The tournament had a 31-year run through 2009 until it did not renew because the economy was in a downturn and LPGA leadership at the time was demanding more from its sponsors.

Now it will be known simply as “The Classic” when it gets back its familiar spot on the calendar the last week in May Corning, New York, is about two hours southeast of Buffalo with a population of about 11,000.

Yani Tseng won the

of

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By JULIA DEMAREE NIKHINSON

Mahal, second from right, and other horses compete during the 151st Preakness Stakes on May 16 at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md.

Donald works out for Rams in latest step on comeback path

BY GREG BEACHAM AP sportswriter

LOS ANGELES Aaron Donald

formally worked out for the Los Angeles Rams on Wednesday, presumably taking one of the final steps before the superstar defensive tackle decides whether to end his 21/2year retirement. The 35-yearold Donald participated in a hosted workout with the Rams, ac co rd in g to the league’s official transaction wire, which records such workouts with free agents before their possible signings to NFL rosters.

Donald has been working out at the Rams’ Woodland Hills training complex and at home for several weeks in his attempt to return to NFL shape. While the Rams have emphasized their willingness to wait indefinitely for Donald to decide, coach Sean McVay has expressed cautious optimism in the past week about the prospect of lining up Donald and Myles Garrett together this season on a remarkable defensive line.

“If there’s an arrow, it’s trend-

ing upwards,” McVay said last Friday McVay indicated that the Rams didn’t expect a decision until after they wrap up training camp at Loyola Marymount University this week. The Rams are planning to reconvene in Woodland Hills on Saturday for their first post-camp practice.

Donald retired somewhat abruptly in March 2024 following a decorated 10-year career spent entirely with the Rams. He won the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year award three times along with eight All-Pro selections, 10 Pro Bowl selections and a Super Bowl championship ring.

Donald apparently began to entertain the idea of a comeback early last month after the Rams traded for Garrett, one of Donald’s few contemporary peers.

The 30-year-old Garrett won two of the last three Defensive Player of the Year awards in Cleveland, where he received five All-Pro nods and seven Pro Bowl selections, along with setting the NFL’s single-season sacks record last year

“If he’s here, I’m going to be excited to be his teammate, his partner in crime,” Garrett said last week. “I think we’re going to do great things.”

Saints safety

SAINTS

Continued from page 1C

Beyond their physical skillsets, Reid and Blackmon are similar personalities who think about the game in a similar way — something that is evident while watching them communicate on the field.

But the Saints barely got a glimpse of it. Blackmon made seven tackles and recorded a pass breakup in 66 defensive snaps against Arizona in the opener last season. He went to dinner with his agent after the game and felt good about his debut performance, even if it came in a loss.

Then he woke up the next morning and felt something off in his shoulder Imaging showed the problem, and Blackmon’s 2025 season was suddenly over “It was just hard to hear, especially with the anticipation of being back after having been hurt the year before,” Blackmon said.

His contract added to the uncertainty

locked in — which I’ve got to be,” Blackmon said. “It’s another prove-it year it’s another oneyear contract, and it’s another chance for me to get out there and play a full season.”

Even when he wasn’t on the field, Blackmon added value.

He played through his injury in 2024 because he felt compelled to be there for a young secondary to lean on. When he couldn’t be on the field last season, he put on his “coach’s hat” and helped then-rookie Jonas Sanker where he could.

Sanker turned in a strong rookie season filling Blackmon’s spot in the lineup, and has since shifted over to the “Star” position in Brandon Staley’s defense — a transition Blackmon has helped ease based on his own experience playing as a nickel safety

“I feel like, mentally, I’m very locked in — which I’ve got to be. It’s another prove-it year, it’s another one-year contract, and it’s another chance for me to get out there and play a full season.”

JULIAN BLACKMON, Saints safety

While Blackmon has been productive when he’s been on the field, he had to wait until the start of training camp to land with a team last year because he’d played through his first shoulder injury (suffered in Week 1 of the 2024 season) and put off surgery until after the season was over. He signed a one-year “prove-it” deal with the Saints shortly after Tyrann Mathieu’s sudden retirement last July Now he was staring at free agency again, only this time he was coming off back-to-back injuries. The Saints were there again, but Blackmon knows he only has so many chances to show who he is.

“I feel like, mentally, I’m very

Position battles heating up

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

The longer training camp lasts, the more the New Orleans Saints have started to experiment with their starting lineups.

Coaches across the NFL say there is competition at every position, and New Orleans’ Kellen Moore is no exception. But some spots are less locked down than others.

Through six practices, the team’s position battles have begun to crystallize — with two or three starting spots, in particular, that could be up for grabs. All of them, coincidentally, reside on the defense.

Linebacker Danny Stutsman took a series of first-team reps ahead of Pete Werner for the second straight practice Wednesday, while defensive tackle John Ridgeway took snaps over veteran Nathan Shepherd. Two days earlier, the Saints also rotated in Isaac Yiadom in place of Quincy Riley Moore said Monday that the changes were “no big deal,” adding that the Saints would rotate guys in “different capacities” as camp progressed. And that might be true, in some instances. It would be surprising, for instance, if Riley was ultimately relegated to a lesser role after a promising rookie season.

But the swaps do matter to the players involved, particularly for those eager to prove they’re capable of starting in the NFL.

“That’s a dream,” Stutsman said when asked how badly he wants to be a starter “That’s kind of why you wake up. That’s motivation. At the end of the day you want to contribute as much as you can for the defense to do as much as I can.

“There’s a respect between everyone in the room, but it’s the kind of job that you want to win. Every

day you’re fighting out there and putting your best thing on tape.”

Injuries stacking up

After putting the pads on earlier this week, the Saints are now dealing with the aftereffects of the ramped-up physicality Running back Kendre Miller (back), rookie defensive lineman Christen Miller (toe), rookie guard Jeremiah Wright (shoulder) and defensive lineman Keeshawn Silver (calf) were sidelined for Wednesday’s practice, Moore said Moore downplayed the significance of Kendre Miller’s latest injury, which naturally drew curiosity given the fourth-year back’s lengthy history The coach, however, said he did not know the severity of Christen Miller’s toe injury such as whether it was turf toe.

“I don’t think (so), but we’ll see,” Moore said.

Otherwise, the Saints had their usual attendance, with Bryan Bresee (ACL), Mason Tipton (leg) and Zxavian Harris (foot) still sidelined.

Play of the day

While this section is usually reserved for action that happens in team drills, there’s an exception that is going to be made for Vernon Broughton’s first rush during one-onone pass rush drills.

Lined up against guard Cesar Ruiz, the second-year defensive lineman drove the 316-pounder back roughly 10 yards in a manner of less than two seconds. The rush even elicited an “oh my God!’ from a fan sitting in the stands.

Broughton’s second rep against Ruiz could have also qualified here, too. On the second time around, the former third-rounder used a spin move to shed Ruiz off him and climb up the pocket to get to the stand-in

quarterback

Odds and ends

n After having their best practice of camp Monday, the firstteam offense had a quieter outing Wednesday Tyler Shough went 10-for15, but many of his throws were on the shorter side. His best pass of the day was when he hit Chris Olave on a comeback route about 12 yards for the first down.

n The Saints love to run situational drills and Wednesday’s practice concluded with a scenario in which the offense was down 3 with 1:15 left, starting from the opposite 35-yard line. Run by both the 1’s and 2’s, neither quarterback got a satisfying result. Shough’s drive settled for a 51-yard field goal when the signal-caller was jumped by a trio of defenders for the sack. Spencer Rattler‘s unit also had to settle for a field goal after a costly delay of game on thirdand-1 led to an incompletion. n Tanner Brown, competing to unseat kicker Charlie Smyth, went 5-of-6 during the period of practice dedicated to field goals. The UFL product missed from 39 yards, making him 15-of-17 in camp.

n Barion Brown is quickly becoming a fan favorite. The sixth-round wide receiver had another noteworthy day with three impressive catches in 1-on-1 drills. And during the Saints’ situational period, Brown hauled in a dime from Rattler, stayed in bounds and took off for 36 yards down the sideline. After practice, quarterback Zach Wilson raved about the energy the rookie brings.

Email Matthew Paras at matt. paras@theadvocate.com

Falcons outside LB Walker to miss 2026 season with torn ACL

BY MAURA CAREY AP sportswriter

“He took me in and taught me the way he watches film, the way he approaches game day, everything,”

Sanker said.

Blackmon said he did not know how his shoulder would respond until he was out of surgery, but this recovery went smoother than the last, and he feels a more comfortable range of motion in the joint than he did after his first surgery Which is good for a lot of reasons one of them being that he and Reid have a lot of unused celebrations in the bank already, and they’re planning on using them a lot this season.

“You don’t know how many handshakes we came up with, and we didn’t get to use any of them bro,” Reid said “We got a whole armory of celebrations we’re going to be throwing out this season.”

Email Luke Johnson at ljohnson@theadvocate.com.

Atlanta Falcons outside linebacker Jalon Walker will miss the 2026 season with a torn ACL, the organization announced Wednesday Walker was carted off the field at training camp on Tuesday after going down following a passrush play The injury was quickly feared to be an ACL tear, as the second-year pass rusher was unable to put any weight on his left leg.

The Falcons selected Walker with the No. 15 pick in the 2025 draft after an outstanding career at neighboring University of Georgia. He immediately bolstered the Falcons’ pass rush, recording 36 tackles, 5.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery in a strong rookie campaign.

Walker’s efforts helped bring the Falcons from the bottom of the sack leaderboard in 2024 to the second-most sacks (57) in the NFL this past season, behind only the Denver Broncos (68).

The future of the Falcons’ pass rush this season is murky, as Walker’s counterpart, James Pearce Jr., could be awaiting a suspension following an offseason arrest. Police referred to the Feb. 7 incident as a domestic dispute with WNBA player and ex-girlfriend Rickea Jackson. Walker expressed his excitement about the upcoming season

the Falcons’

STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

Julian Blackmon runs a drill during training camp on Wednesday in Metairie

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By DANNy KARNIK Atlanta Falcons linebacker Jalon Walker runs during a game against the Saints on Jan. 4 in Atlanta. Walker is out for the season with a torn ACL.

(played by assistant defensive line coach BrianYoung).

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By GERALD HERBERT

Saints wide receiver Trey Palmer right, and cornerback Isaac yiadom run through drills on Monday during training camp in Metairie.

Donald

WR Diggs signing with Washington Commanders

BY STEPHEN WHYNO AP sportswriter

Stefon Diggs is signing with the Washington Commanders, a big addition at wide receiver to give quarterback Jayden Daniels and the offense a proven commodity who showed last season he can still be productive more than a decade into his NFL career

The Commanders agreed with Diggs on a contract for this season, according to a person familiar with the agreement. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday because the deal had not been announced

Diggs, a native of nearby Gaithersburg, Maryland, joins Washington for a 12th year in the league and reportedly can make up to $12 million He spent last season with New England, making 99 catches for 1,123 yards and five touchdowns in 21 games, including the Patriots’ playoff run to the Super Bowl.

New England released him in March, and the 32-year-old went unsigned in free agency while facing strangulation and other criminal charges in connection with a dispute with his former private chef. Diggs was found not guilty in May, and the NFL said in June that he wouldn’t face any discipline after a review de-

LSU

Continued from page 1C

The opener against Clemson is just one month away, along with a season of immense expectations, but Kiffin didn’t want the Tigers going too hard, too fast.

There were certainly intense periods in the 10 minutes of practice media members were allowed to observe. Would-be tacklers chased ball carriers in unison in a pursuit drill as assistant coaches barked. Defensive tackles jarred a sled with the palms of their hands and tossed it aside as coaches barked some more. But it was a quick in and out on Day 1, for the media and the Tigers alike.

“We have a lot of really good pieces. We got a chance to be really good But everybody wants to know ‘How many wins is that?’” Kiffin said. “That’s all outcome, and there’s so many variables in that. We’ve got a lot of work to do with these pieces, get them to play together well, get them to play as a team together.”

There’s urgency but also a pace to that work.

LSU had a morning practice Wednesday but will return in the evening, around 6:35 p.m., on Thursday Then a lighter walkthrough Friday

Another morning practice follows Saturday, then no practice at all on Sunday

Alternating morning and evening practices will follow on Monday Tuesday Thursday and Friday with a walk-through between them on Wednesday

Things will get harder toward the middle of the month when consecutive practices are followed by scrimmages on Aug. 15 and Aug. 22. But this first week will fly by because Kiffin wants to avoid soft-tissue issues at all costs.

“Those happen, and they linger, and then we fall behind,” Kiffin said. “It’s usually receivers, DBs — and then we can’t practice the way we want to, and the quarterbacks’ timings can be off.”

LSU needs to sync things up between a new quarterback, Arizona State transfer Sam Leavitt,

RABALAIS

Continued from page 1C

management stratagem Injuries will happen, sometimes in the most mundane of ways. Ask the Saints about losing star defensive tackle Bryan Bresee to a season-ending non-contact ACL tear the first day of training camp. But Kiffin is out to tip the odds in his favor

“We’ve got to control,” he said, “what we can control.”

Kiffin isn’t naïve about the LSU job, maybe his biggest pressure cooker since the Raiders. Expectations are arguably higher even than they were when he was head coach at USC. In SoCal, they demand excellence from

termined there was not enough evidence to punish him under its personal conduct policy

The Commanders had a hole at the position, and they are banking on Diggs filling it The inhouse options of Treylon Burks and Luke McCaffrey would have put Daniels in a tough spot and likely made No. 1 receiver McLaurin deal with plenty of double teams this coming season.

Signing Diggs could rule out going after Brandon Aiyuk, a friend of Daniels’ who is still under contract with San Francisco Aiyuk said on social media in June that he would join Washington immediately if the 49ers released him.

Aiyuk remains on the reserve/ left squad list out West, while Diggs is now in an NFC East that features receivers CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens with Dallas, DeVonta Smith with Philadelphia and Malik Nabers with the New York Giants.

Diggs previously played for Minnesota, Buffalo and Houston during a career that included him being an All-Pro selection in 2020, when he led all players with 127 catches and 1,535 yards Since making his debut in 2015

after the Vikings took him in the fifth round of the draft that year, Diggs has 1,025 catches for 12,523 yards and 79 TDs in the regular season and playoffs combined. That included the “Minneapolis Miracle” catch for Minnesota in the divisional round in January 2018. With 10 seconds left, Diggs leapt and evaded a tackle to score a 61-yard touchdown and beat New Orleans 29-24. Off the field, it has been a more tumultuous ride, including getting fined more than $200,000 by the Vikings during his final season with them in 2019 for unexcused practice absences. Diggs was traded to Buffalo in March 2020.

Diggs led the Bills in receiving four seasons in a row, but sideline outbursts and cryptic social media messages were also part of his tenure before being traded to Houston in April 2024. A torn ACL ended his time with the Texans, and skipping a voluntary offseason workout got him off to a bumpy start with the Patriots before he turned out to be a reliable option for QB Drake Maye. Cut in part because he was owed $20.6 million, Diggs now is teaming up with Daniels, who was taken one spot ahead of Maye when they went No 2 and 3 in the 2024 draft.

who missed most of spring practice, and a completely revamped receiving corps. But there are enough “offseason training activities,” or OTAs, in college football now that Kiffin doesn’t see the need to overdo it.

“Looking at last year,” Kiffin said, referring to a Rebels squad that made a run to the College Football Playoff semis, “we were as healthy as any team going into the playoffs, if not healthier than anybody. I think a big part of that was because of our change of practicing less and less.”

Kiffin began really focusing on practice schedules when he arrived at Ole Miss, wondering how he could gain any possible edge over “big schools” like Georgia and Alabama that “traditionally has better players.”

“Monday, the traditional (Nick) Saban, Kirby (Smart) thing, they start practicing, which is fine; it’s won a lot of championships,” Kif-

fin explained at a Georgia Football Coaches Association event.

“That same practice those guys do, we just walk through it. I’m conscious of legs and body and tear, and I think it pays off at the end of the year.”

Kiffin favors an Olympic-style ramp, full pads on Tuesday halfpads on Wednesday, then a 200-

their Trojans, sure. But if USC doesn’t win, their fans can go to the beach. Or the mountains. Or the beach and the mountains in the same day

In Louisiana, LSU football is a 24/7/365 all-consuming passion.

“Expectations are high,” Kiffin said. “I knew that when I came here.”

He is clearly confident he can deal with them because he has his systems well-established. Ole Miss fans won’t want to hear this, but Kiffin’s six years in Oxford were a touring company-like rehearsal for the Broadway theater that is being on the LSU stage.

Why is he vilified so by the Ole Miss folks? Sure, he left them on the eve of the CFP, perhaps undercutting a trip to the national championship game.

Cardinals-Panthers will open NFL’s exhibition season

Beck makes his NFL debut while Pickett starts for his 5th team in four years

BY ROB MAADDI AP pro football writer

Welcome to the NFL preseason.

If you want to see starters play, wait until next month when the games count in the standings Or watch joint practices.

The exhibition schedule kicks off Thursday night with Carson Beck and the Arizona Cardinals facing Kenny Pickett and the Carolina Panthers in the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio.

The preseason is an opportunity for rookies, backups and players fighting for roster spots to get snaps and showcase what they can do Most first-round picks won’t play much. Cardinals running back Jerimiyah Love (No 3 pick) and Panthers tackle Monroe Freeling (No. 19) are sitting out the opener Beck, a third-round pick from Miami, will be under center for new Cardinals coach Mike LaFleur. Veteran Jacoby Brissett is Arizona’s starter and Gardner Minshew is the backup.

season with an 8-9 record. But the Panthers led the 12-win Rams in the final minute of their wild-card playoff game before NFL MVP Matthew Stafford threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Colby Parkinson with 38 seconds left for a 34-31 victory

The Panthers have been getting after each other in practice, so coach Dave Canales is looking forward to seeing his team hit an opponent.

“Tempers are flaring a little bit and I just have to remind them none of that helps us. It throws us out of the rhythm of practice,” Canales said.

Practice is everything for coaches in training camp.

Fewer teams play their starters in preseason games so they have to get them ready for the regular season in practice. Joint practices — teams facing opponents ahead of their exhibition game — are a growing trend in the NFL. A total of 28 teams have scheduled joint practices which begin next week.

The Rams have joint practices with the Cowboys and Saints coming up.

play walk-through on Thursday

That last part came from former Oregon coach Chip Kelly, who just seemed to have a fresher, faster team in the fourth quarter

“Our last physical practice is Wednesday, done at noon,” Kiffin told his fellow coaches. “Alabama, Georgia their last is Thursday at 6 p.m.” Friday, however, isn’t a day Kiffin wants his team resting. He prefers a “Fast Friday” practice where his players “rev up” with a short, but full-speed practice, typically centered around special teams work.

He isn’t at Ole Miss anymore, but Kiffin’s formula doesn’t appear to have changed much at LSU. There are games to be won, but he wants his team prepared for a 12-team playoff that continues well into January

No need to overdo it in August.

“There’s always outside circumstances and things that happen in games and injuries that have a lot to do with your season’s winloss total,” Kiffin said. “We’ve got to control what we can control, which is working really hard and getting the players used to playing together.”

Email Jon Blau at jon.blau@theadvocate.com

But Kiffin is also vilified there for the same reason Saban was reviled at LSU when he returned to college football at Alabama three years after leaving Baton Rouge in 2004. They’re worried, rightly so, that Kiffin has perfected his craft. Or at the very least polished it to a high gloss. Kiffin is confident in himself, confident in his plan, confident in his staff. He spoke about how he was recently able to deal with some transfer portal issue instead of having to shepherd the offensive staff meeting because he knew offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr., who followed Kiffin from Ole Miss, had things well in hand. That he will do things the Kiffin way He doesn’t feel he has to drop in and monitor the defensive

“I had no clue I was going to start,” Beck said. “Obviously, I thought I was going to play but I really didn’t have any expectations going into any of this. Obviously, our schedule is absolutely crazy right now, practice, meetings. But I’m looking forward to it.”

Beck who led the Hurricanes to a national championship matchup against Indiana, said he won’t have any butterflies before the game.

“I think the last time I was nervous was maybe when I was 8 years old for our city championship in Pop Warner,” Beck said.

“It’s a game at the end of the day It’s an opportunity to go out there, have fun with your teammates and play the game that I love. It’s what I love doing.”

Pickett a first-round pick by the Steelers in 2022 who led Pittsburgh to a 14-10 record in two seasons, has bounced around the league.

He spent the 2024 season with the Eagles before Philadelphia traded him to Cleveland last year

The Browns sent him to the Raiders during training camp and he started two games for Las Vegas.

The Panthers signed Pickett to back up Bryce Young.

“Just want to go out there and operate a high level,” Pickett said.

“All the hard work that we’re putting in practice you want to see come to life on game day and that’s everyone just doing their job and executing.”

Carolina won the NFC South last

staff room because Blake Baker, who stayed as LSU’s defensive coordinator instead of leaving for any of several mid-major head coaching jobs, is running the show It’s very early days. The promise of LSU, a team of “really good pieces” as Kiffin called it, is counterbalanced by questions. Questions about quarterback Sam Leavitt’s health (Kiffin said the Arizona State transfer looked the best he’s looked, though reporters only saw him during two practice periods) and the enormous job of turning this 112-piece band of players into a symphony orchestra are reflected in the Tigers’ No. 13 ranking in the preseason coaches’ poll. The promise is there. The Kiffin factor, shall we say

“That’ll be basically their preseason,” Los Angeles coach Sean McVay said. “We’ll get an opportunity to see a lot of the younger guys play in the preseason and those are great opportunities to play real football. When we put the pads on, it’s close, but you’re still not playing tackle football. And there are a couple spots. There are always important things that you want to be able to see unfold and be able to establish some depth if, God forbid, we have the inevitable injuries that do occur But we’ll take it a day at a time and there’s so many things.”

The Detroit Lions are one of the four teams that won’t have any joint practices so some of their starters could see action in the preseason games.

“We have got to get these guys ready for a season,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “There’s a chance we play some of these guys in the preseason without the joint practices, and so I’m going to do what I think is best to prepare these guys for 17 weeks, but also understand that we have got to be smart about it and we can’t break them in training camp, and so the approach will stay the same, it will, and you have got to get ready and you can’t let fear of injury scare you away from what you believe in.”

Several key players already have been hurt in practices over the past week. The Panthers lost second-year edge rusher Nic Scourton to a torn ACL on the first day of camp. They also saw wide receiver Chris Brazzell II go down with a torn LCL.

If you haven’t found Kiffin as brash as you thought you would when he arrived at LSU, you’re not alone. While he’s been tweaking fewer noses at LSU than in past years, he still found room for a bold prediction on this first day of camp for his first season: “I know as good as we are now we’re just beginning,” he said. “Next year, we should have a better roster We had to sign a (high school) class in a week, then sign a portal class with half our coaches going back and forth (to Ole Miss). We should be in a better position.”

That’s the voice of experience talking.

For more LSU sports updates, sign up for our newsletter at theadvocate.com/lsunewsletter

STAFF PHOTO By PEARL SPURLOCK

LSU wide receiver Tyree Holloway runs with the ball during the first day of preseason practice on Wednesday at the team’s practice facility

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ROSS D FRANKLIN Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Beck throws during practice at the team’s training camp on Sunday in Glendale, Ariz.

Diggs

By JOHN McCUSKER

STAFF FILEPHOTO

John Curtis defensivebackPrentice MackyeonpursuesBrother Martin’sBrodie DuMontier on Oct. 17 at TadGormleyStadium. Mackyeon is committed to Arkansas State.

Poised to shine

John Curtis secondaryled by

BY CHRISTOPHER DABE Staff writer

John Curtis freshman

Prentice Mackyeon sat in the front rowasassistant coaches Tommy Fabacher and Jay Pittman spoke. Seated beside himwere teammates Craig Connor and Jewellz Tapp.

The three defensive backs had not yet logged any meaningfulvarsity snaps, and the coaches said they liked what they saw in practices and junior varsity games They said thetriocould becomedifference makers at atalent-richschoolthat has celebrated 28 football state championships.

“You guys are up next,” Mackyeon remembered the coaches telling them.

Three years later,the coaches’ prediction has come true. The longtime teammates are now collegecommitted seniors with state-title aspirations

“That talk kind of set us up,” said Mackyeon, an Arkansas State commitment whose six interceptions led Curtis last season. “Wehave thechancetodobig things. That was always the goal. Just hearing that from our coaches. It felt really good.”

Fabacher,anLSU safety in the1990s, has coached the secondary at his high school alma mater for the better part of three decades.

“The biggest thing was they weren’tscared to go make atackle,”hesaid. “They didn’ttalk alot. They just worked.” That work began to pay off the following season,

TULANE

Continued from page1C

better than Iwas.” He is part of aloaded linebacker room. Senior Chris Rodgers had 65 tackles with 61/2 stops for loss in 10 games after replacinghim. Senior Makai Williams added 40 tackleswhilestarting three times as akey rotational player.Transfer Dalton Hughes matched Williams’ 40 tackles at South Alabama last year.Fourth-year junior Jean Claude Joseph made strides in the spring.

“Weprobablyhave one of the most experienced groupsthat’sbeen at Tulane for along time,” Agu said “There’salot of guys that have played here and know how to win championships. Having that experienceis crucial to running it back this year.”

Tchienchou is back after fracturing afibula in the third quarter of Tulane’sCollege Football Playoff loss at Ole Miss. He tried to get it wrapped up and return to the game before realizing the seriousness of the injury,which sidelinedhim until June.

Spring practice was no fun.

“It was hard,” he said. “We’re bringing in new guys, and Iwanted to show themthe ropes and be the

threecollege-bound seniors

“Wehavethe chance to do bigthings.That was always the goal.Just hearing that from our coaches. It felt really good.”

PRENTICE MACKyEON John Curtis defensiveback

when Mackyeon’s gameendinginterception sealed a win against Brother Martin. It was an earlysign of the secondarythat would become one of Curtis’ biggest strengths.

In 2025, Curtis rodea ballhawking secondary that produced16ofthe team’s 17 interceptions to the Division Iselect semifinals before falling to St. Augustine in thefinalseconds. Mackyeon earned first-team all-district honors in the Catholic League.

“Itwas atough loss,” Mackyeon said. “Welooked at (thefilm) hundreds of timestofigureout what we could have done better, coverageswecouldhave changed ”

Afteryearsofplaying together,all three can line up at multiple positions, aversatility they sharpened duringsummer seven-on-seven workouts.

“We’re so interchangeable,” said Mackyeon, primarily astrong safety who can also play free safety and cornerback.

Their bond goesbeyond thegridiron.

“We’re always together outside of football,” said Connor,aSouthAlabama-

guy they lean on. Alot of times they didn’tevenknow Iplay football. Iwas on a scooter for half the semester and then wore asling for the rest.”

Wednesday was hisfirst chance to lead on the field.

“The standard at Tulane is the defense setsthe tone,”he said. “Wedon’tplanonletting thatdrop at all. We are allhungry.Wehave points to prove, and this year is going to be agood show.”

Smith, aDivision II transfer(East Central) who earned third-team All-American Conference honors as a return specialist last year, lined up next to Tchienchou as afirst-team safety on Wednesday.Hemade 24 tackles as areserve nickelbacklast year.

“He’sput on alot of muscle andalot of weight,”Hall said.

“He looks like agrown mannow instead of just an athlete. I’m really proud of himfor howheattacked the offseason (followingshouldersurgery).Hehad aplan to improve his body.We’ll move him around. He’sgot achance to be areally good player.”

McClure already is there after takingover as Tulane’s feature back in the final fivegames as asophomore and demonstrating1,000yard potential. He, too, approached rehab from offseason double-shoulder surgery with gusto.

committed free safety with threeinterceptions last season, including one in the semifinal. “Wegohangout. We watch film at Prentice’s house. That’s agood connection we made and chemistry that we builtoverthe years.

Tapp, aTCU-committed cornerback and key contributor on the state titlewinning basketball team picked off fivepasses, the second-most on theteam.

The veteran secondary isn’tthe only reason Curtis says another title run is possible. Quarterback London Padgett returns, as does wide receiver Paul Dufrene, while junior playmaker Jarvis Stevensonisback after missing last season with a knee injury

Youngerstarters in the secondary included Jaden Turner,asophomore cornerback with two interceptions last season, and junior strong safetyJaden Keelen, the top returning tackler with 58 in 2025.

Turner is part of ayounger group that has coaches believing another standout secondary is on the way, with Fabacher listing Dewin Arlineand Kendall Joseph as up-and-comingsophomores

Three years ago, Mackyeon, Connor and Tapp were freshmen sitting quietly in the front rowhearing they were “up next.”

Now they’rethe veterans setting the standard for the next wave of Curtis defensive backs.

ContactChristopherDabe at cdabe@theadvocate.com

“He’smadehimself into agreat player,” Hall said. “He’sreally changedhis body composition. We’ve built this (program)onguys gettingintoyear 3and becoming superstars.”

Running back is the deepest positiononthe roster, with McClure, Maurice Turner,Jaylin Lucas, Johnnie Daniels and DH Dugar (who was held outWednesday with an ankle injury) possessing big-play potential.

McClure shouldbefirst in line.

“I feel great,” he said. “I’m readytoplay right now. I don’tknow if it’sjust the playbook is easier or I’ve just matured, but Ihavea bettermindsetofhow to learnthings. Whatever it is, it’sworking. Ifeel like we (therunning backs)are the best positionfor this team We aregoingtobethe leaders.”

Lagniappe

Quarterback Zeon ChrissGremillion took the first series in theopening 11-on11 drill, followed by Dagan Bruno, Kadin Semonza and Trace Johnson. …Lucas ripped off asizable gain on the opening play.…Friday will be the first day in full pads. …Tchienchouison the preseason watch list for theBronko Nagurski Award, whichgoestothe nation’s best defensive player

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Leavitt‘full participant’ in Day1ofLSU practice

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

QuarterbackSam Leavitt wasafullparticipant at LSU’sopening dayof preseason practices on Wednesday, the first dayof fall camp for coach Lane Kiffin in Baton Rouge.

But Leavitt’sactivity and performance on Wednesdayare abit of amystery, even if Kiffinsaidafter practice that theArizona Statetransfer was “moving around really well” after missing mostofthe spring recovering from afoot injury

“Ifyou justwent out todayand sawhim,I don’t thinkthat you’dthink there was an injury,” Kiffin said. “He’sall the way back from that.”

Media members were only allowed to watch two periodsofWednesday’s practice,about 10 minutes total. Leavitt worked on read-option handoffs with his running backs and threw to hisreceiversagainst no defenders during the media-viewing period.

“I thought Sam had a great day today,” Kiffin said. “He really looked the best he’s looked.And Iwas excited to see that he was even more comfortable with the receivers.”

Leavittthrew forover 4,500 yards and scored 44 total touchdownsina season and ahalf withthe Sun Devils. He ledArizona StatetoaBig 12 championship and the College Football Playoff in 2024 before afoot injury —the sameinjury that caused Leavittto

during Wednesday’spractice at the LSUpractice facility

miss much of this spring derailed his 2025 campaign.

Leavittwas availableina limited capacity during the spring but sat out after doctors removed pins from his foot that were there from the initial surgery.Kiffin then said over the summer that Leavitt would be a full participant to start fall camp in August.

“Sam’sdoing great,” Kiffin told the Baton Rouge Rotary Club last week. “He’s coming back from afoot injury.He’s(at) full strength. Now,it’sjust aboutgetting the timing down with everybody.”

In his place, Elon transfer Landen Clark and Southern Cal transfer Husan Longstreet split reps at firstteam quarterback during the spring. Neither quarterback arrived at LSU with much high-level playing experience, resulting in an up-

and-down spring forboth players. But both Longstreet and Clark improved by the end of it and showcased their impressive arm strength and mobility more effectively Longstreet wasafive-star recruit in the2025class and threwfor 103 yards on just 15 pass attempts in his only season with the Trojans. Clark scored 29 total touchdowns and threw for 2,321 yards in 11 starts at Elon last season as afirst-year starter and redshirt freshman Longstreet and Clark werepresent at Wednesday’spractice, taking reps after Leavitt.

Email Koki Rileyat koki.riley@theadvocate. com. For more LSU sports updates,sign up forour newsletter at theadvocate.com/ lsunewsletter

Newcoach Morris aims

to

getOkla. St.backontrack

BY TIM WILLERT Associated Press

STILLWATER, Okla,— New

season’steam,which finished 1-11 and hasn’twon aBig 12 Conferencegame since Nov.25, 2023.

Oklahoma State football coach Eric Morris was busy bri ngi ng people together long before fall camp started Wednesday Morris, hired in November to replace Cowboys legend Mike Gundy,has added 88 new players sincethen, including 21 playershecoached at North Texas State.

“Our guys have meshed,” Morris told The Associated Press outside the team’s training facility.“We spent alot of time together this offseason because Ithought building relationships was such an important thing.

OklahomaState returns just 25 players from last

“Wejust have so many new people that don’tknow each each other and Ithink that was something that we’ve done agood job of,” Morris said. “Now we’ve got to bring ’em all together,teach them how to play football and get them to execute on Saturdays.”

Execution is something that eluded OklahomaState in 2024 and2025, when Gundy was firedafterthe team’sthird game. The team’s star quarterback in thelate1980s,Gundyposted winning records every season from 2006 to 2023 and had acareer record of 170-90.

Morris, who hasa reputation forhelping quarterbacks —including North Texas transfer Drew Mestemaker —was hiredto revive the program Gundy brought to prominence.

Mestemaker threw for 4,379 yards and 34 touchdowns lastseason as aredshirt freshman. “I just wanttosee these guys compete,” Morris said. “Luckily,I’ve been in the majority of the Big 12 stadiums. I’ve coached in them,soit’snot like athing where I’m anxious to see the crowd or whatever.But Idothink it will be aton of fun formeand agreat personal experience to walkout intoBoonePickens (Stadium)for the first time.” TheNCAAdoesnot keep records formostnewcomersona roster, but Colorado documented 87 on its 2023 roster,Deion Sanders’ first as coach.

“We’ve broken alot of records in our time,” Morris said. “Time will tellifthis is oneI’m proud of or not proud of.

“I think I’ll be able to answer that question after you look at our wins and losses this year.”

Standout DE Daleymakes surprise return to Indiana

BYMICHAEL MAROT AP sportswriter

Indianadefensive end

StephenDaley thought his college career ended in December when he suffered a season-ending knee injury during theBig Tenchampionship celebration. Now,he’sback.

Four days aftera U.S. District Court judge in Colorado ruled high school players from the 2022 graduating class could play their fifth college season, Daley returned to the practice field forthe reigning national champions. He’ll be limited in earlyworkouts, butcoach Curt Cignetti remains hopeful it won’ttakeone of the

nation’smost disruptive defensive linemenin2025long to getback to full speed.

“He looks pretty good

He’s on amodified program where he’ll dress out for practice, participate in some individual right now, no 11-on-11, and then get with the strength andconditioning staff, who will bring him along until they feel confident he’s readytogo,” Cignetti said Wednesday after the team’s first summer practice. “I don’tthink it’s going to be real, real long because he wastraining to be ready for next year in the(NFL), so it lookslike he’sinpretty good shape.”

Daley’sreturn solidifies what was already expected

to be

adeep,experienced and talented group of defensive linemen. Aftertransferring to Indiana, Daley became akey cog in the Hoosiers’ historic title run.Herecorded51/2 sacks, forced two fumbles, knocked down apass and led the Big Tenwith 19 tackles for loss while earning honorable mentionall-conferencehonors. He played three seasons at Kent State, starting all24 games in hisfinal two seasons with the Golden Flashes. But the injury following the 13-10victory over then No. 1OhioState forced Daley to sit out all threeplayoff games as Indianabecame thefirstteamsince the1890s to finish with a16-0 record.

STAFFPHOTO By PEARL SPURLOCK LSUquarterbackSam Leavitt makes athrowtoareceiver

BY LINDAGASSENHEIMER Tribune News Service (TNS)

Glazed Swordfish Yields 2servings. Recipe is by Linda Gassenheimer

6tablespoons Dijonmustard

4tablespoons orangemarmalade

¾pound swordfish Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2tablespoons orangezest (optional garnish)

1. Preheat ovento350 F.

2. Add mustard and marmalade to asmall bowl and stir to completely combine the ingredients. Set aside.

3. Line abaking tray withfoil or parchmentpaper andadd the swordfish.Sprinkle bothsides of the fish with saltand pepper to taste. Spread the mustard sauce on top of the swordfish

4. When the oven reaches 350F,place the baking tray on themiddle shelf and bake10 minutes. Ameatthermometer should read123 F.

5. Divide in half and place on two dinner plates. Sprinkle the orange zest on top.

NUTRITION INFO PER SERVING: 343 calories (22 percent from fat), 8.4 gfat (2.0 gsaturated, 3.6g monounsaturated),66mgcholesterol, 35.5 gprotein, 30.2 g carbohydrates, 2.2 gfiber, 666 mg sodium.

LIVING

Trio of recipesstirupmemorieswhile sharinga comforting meal with family

When my oldestchild went to college, he asked me to create a book of our most loved family recipes. He said he wanted to have away to cook all the dishes that we made the mostduring his childhood years. Ihate to admit this, but my son graduated last spring and all of our well-worn recipe cards still sit on my desk waiting tobeput in alogical format.

Chicken and SausageJambalaya

Recipeisfrom “Cooking Up AStorm:Recipes Lost and Found from theTimes-Picayune of NewOrleans,” edited by Marcelle Bienvenu and Judy Walker

about 5minutes.

2tablespoons vegetable oil

until the next

when youwereonthe other side of the process. It could have been amoment standing in ahallway,waiting, that youcan still describein detail years later. 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? Andwhat did Rush teach youthat youdidn’t expect? Send your responseto jan.risher@theadvocate comby 2 p.m. Monday.

There is comfort that comes from the meals we share around our family tables.Itisvery nostalgic to thinkback on cooking and baking withmychildren as they grew up in our home. Acompilation of favorite family meals is awonderful gift because it provides thearomas,tastes and memories from homeeven when that homeisonly adistant memory. This month,Ipicked three more recipesfrom “Cooking Up AStorm: Recipes Lostand Found from theTimes-Pica-

1pound of boneless skinless chicken breast (cut intobite-size pieces)

2teaspoons Cajun seasoning

½pound smoked sausage(sliced into ¼inch-thick pieces)

1½ cups chopped yellowonions

1cup chopped bellpeppers

3cups water

1tablespoon tomato paste

2tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

2tablespoons chopped green onion

1½ cups long grain rice

1. Heat theoil in aheavy pot, such as aDutchoven. Season thepieces generously withCajun seasoning.Add the seasoned chicken pieces to the pot, and cook over medium heat until browned,

2. Add the sausage to the pot and cook it with thechicken, stirring it for 2minutes,or until it is browned.

3. Addthe onions and peppers andcook,stirring until soft and golden; this takes about 5-6 minutes.

4. Add the water,tomato paste, parsleyand greenonions. Stir and bring to aboil.

5. Add the rice, gently stir in the rice, cover the pot and reduce the heat to medium-low Cook until the rice is tender and has absorbed mostofthe liquid, 15- 20 minutes. Do not stir.Fluff themixture witha fork before serving.

6. Optional: Garnish the jambalaya with sliced green onions, parsley and adashof hot sauce.

BY GRETCHEN McKAY Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (TNS)

TNS PHOTO By LINDAGASSENHEIMER

Swordfish with Crunchy Zucchini Salad

Liz Faul

PHOTOSByLIZ FAUL

Chicken and SausageJambalaya

By The Associated Press

Today is Thursday,Aug.6, the 218th day of 2026. There are 147 days left in the year

Todayinhistory: On Aug. 6, 1945, during World WarII, the U.S. B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, resulting in an estimated 140,000 deaths.

Also on this date: In 1806, EmperorFrancis II abdicated, marking the end of the Holy Roman Empire after nearly athousand years. In 1942, Queen Wilhemina of the Netherlands became the first reigning queen to

TODAYINHISTORY

address ajointsession of Congress,tellinglawmakers that despite Nazi occupation,her people’smotto remained, “No surrender.” In 1962, Jamaica gained independencefromthe United Kingdom after300 years ofBritish rule. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed theVoting Rights Act,prohibiting racial discrimination in voting. In 1991, theWorld Wide Webmade its public debut as ameansofaccessing webpages over theinternet In 2025, aU.S. Army sergeant shot and wounded five fellow soldiersatFort Stewart in Georgia before beingtackled by other

CrunchyZucchini Salad

Yields 2servings. Recipe is by Linda Gassenheimer

1cup zucchini cubes (about ½inch each)

1cup cherry tomatoes

½cup cucumber cubes (about ½inch each)

½cup yellow bell pepper cubes (about

½inch each)

1cup canned, rinsed and drained reduced-salt cannellini beans

3tablespoons reduced-fat vinaigrette dressing

2cupswashed, ready-to-eatarugula

troops. Quornelius Radford was later sentenced to life in militaryprison with thepossibility of parole after being convicted of attempted murder at acourtmartial.

Today’sbirthdays: Actor-director Peter Bonerz is 88. Actor Dorian Harewood is 76. Actor LelandOrseris66. Actor Michelle Yeoh is 65. Basketball Hall of Famer David Robinson is 61. Movie writer-director M. Night Shyamalan is 56. Singer Geri Halliwell Horner is 54. Actor Vera Farmigais53. Actor Soleil Moon Frye is 50. Actor Leslie Odom Jr.is 45. Actor Ty Simpkins is 25. Singer Nessa Barrettis24.

1. Add thezucchini,cherrytomatoes, cucumber, yellow bellpepper cubes and cannellini beans to a small bowl.

2. Addthe vinaigrette dressing and toss well.

3. Divide the arugula in half and placeontwo dinner plates. Spoonthe zucchini mixtureoverthe arugula

NUTRITIONINFOPER SERVING: 2.5 calories (11 percent from fat), 2.5 gfat (0.4 gsaturated, 0.6 gmonounsaturated), 1mg cholesterol, 12.1gprotein, 36.3g carbohydrates, 9.0 gfiber,25mgsodium.

Eggplant Fritters and Tartar Sauce

EggplantFritters

Makes about 6servings. Recipeisfrom the cookbook “Cooking Up AStorm:RecipesLost andFound from the Times-PicayuneofNew Orleans,” edited by Marcelle Bienvenu and Judy Walker

Pinch of cayennepepper

1pound eggplant, peeled and cubed 1teaspoon baking powder ½cup all-purpose flour ½teaspoon sugar

1⁄8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1teaspoon salt Vegetable oilfor frying OPTIONAL ADDITION: Sliced ripe summer tomato to serve with the fritters.

1. For the sauce: In abowl, add the mayonnaise,sweet pickle relish, chopped onion, lemon juice, hot sauce and Creoleseasoning and mixtogether until combined intoa smooth sauce. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed.

Tartar Sauce

Recipe is from thecookbook “CookingUpA Storm: Recipes Lost and Found from the Times-Picayune of NewOrleans,” edited by Marcelle Bienvenu and Judy Walker

½cup of mayonnaise 1tablespoon sweet pickle relish ½teaspoon finelychopped onion 1teaspoon fresh lemon juice 2dashes hot sauce Creole seasoning to taste

2. For the fritters:Ina heavy pan, over medium heat, add the cubed eggplant and just enough water (about 1⁄8 cup) to keep theeggplant from sticking to the bottom. Stir the eggplant, and cook untilitis tender. Oncethe eggplant is soft, remove it from the heat,mash well with afork and let it cool.

3. In alarge mixing bowl, combine theeggplant, bakingpowder,flour, sugar, nutmeg, cayenne pepper and salt.Mix well.

RosemaryCookies

4. Heat about 4inches of oilina deep,heavypot or electric fryer to about 360 F. Using atablespoon measuring spoon, drop the eggplant mixture intothe hot oil and fryuntilgolden brown, about 2-3 minutes per batch. Drain on paper towels. You can season the fritters with moresalt if you wish.

Makes 12-15 cookies.RecipeisbyMary YoungbloodCooper,from “Cooking Up AStorm: Recipes Lost and Found from the Times-Picayune of New Orleans,” edited by Marcelle Bienvenu and Judy Walker

½cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1cup all-purpose unbleached flour ½cup confectioners sugar

2tablespoons minced fresh rosemaryleaves

Squeeze of fresh lemon juice (optional)

About 2teaspoons granulated sugar

FAMILY

Continued from page1D

yune of New Orleans”that I could serve together as one meal with arange of tastes and textures. First, Imade eggplant fritters that had crispy edges and tender centers. Also, becauseI had aperfectly ripe farmers market tomato on my kitchen counter,Isliced it thin and served it under the eggplant fritters and topped each fritter with a dollop of tartar sauce. Next, Imade the chicken and sausage jambalaya. This one-dish Louisiana classic is afavoritemeal

1. Preheat theoven to 350F

2. In alarge mixing bowl with an electric mixer,beat togetherthe butter,flour, confectioners sugar, rosemary and lemon juice

3. Spoon the dough by the teaspoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet, about1½ inch-

to servetoacrowd. My husband often says,“Jambalaya is the perfect meal.” My daughter recently requested that we make jambalaya forher graduation party. Thechickenand sausage recipe in “Cooking Up AStorm”was easier than theversion that Iusually makeand it tastes just as good There are many ways to make jambalaya. Thekey is to find the right balance between rice, fluid and flavor.This recipe worked great. Igarnished it with green onions and adash of hot sauce for extra texture and spice. Iserved it with sweet slices of summer cantaloupe. The sweet and

‘Thanksfor inviting me to your awful, messyhome’

Dear Miss Manners: My hus-

band met avery nice, likeminded neighbor during a walk, and we invited him and his wife over for dinner.Almost from thevery beginning of the evening, his wife was very critical and rude and insisted on commenting on our home. She claimed we had too much clutter,too many gallery walls, that our home was amess, and on and on. At first,Ithought she was referring to another space or someone else’shome because Icouldn’tbelieve my ears. It was not until she directed her commentsto me in away Icould no longer ignore that her unbelievable rudeness hit me. She would not drop it After thefifth comment about clutter,Iquestioned her constant negative comments on our beloved space by repeating thelast one back to her,sarcastically thanking her for her gratuitous input Let me say that our space is amix of airy and cozy,

es apart. Press thedough flat with acookie stamp or the bottom of asmall drinking glass dippedingranulated sugar

4. Bakethe cookies until lightbrown around the edges, about 10 minutes. Cool on awire rack andstore in an airtight container

salty combination is awinning one.

Finally,Imade the rosemarycookies. When Iread that this is one of “the most requested cookie recipes since it was published in The Times-Picayune in September 2000,” Iwanted to tryitmyself. LikeMary Youngblood Cooper,who contributed the recipe, I have always enjoyed adding fresh herbs to almost every dish. The savory, peppery rosemary works perfectly withasqueeze of lemon in these classic butter cookies. Ihave only madethese cookies twice, but they are already afavoritethat Iwill add to our family cookbook.

Judith Martin MISS MANNERS

and, until this woman, it had been complimented by anyone whovisited. Ipride myself on keeping it clean, tidy and inviting at all times. Iwas at aloss on how to respond and not stoop to her level of offense. Why in the world would she or anyone with amodicum of manners and respect do this? What, if anything, could Ihave said or done to curb her rudeness, if not outright stop it?

Gentle reader: The situation you describe is not lifethreatening, but it is bad, and it is therefore helpful to prioritize your response —touse an etiquette equivalent of the medical concept of triage. Just as hospitals consider it good form to stop the bleeding before you ruin the furniture, etiquette prioritizes putting astop to insults before you spoil the evening.

Sarcasm —asyou discovered —was not the way to do this.

Miss Manners would

Pomodori conilRiso

have first attempted to change the subject, without initially registering any insult received which perhaps you did. If that failed, she would have eventually ceased to respond, knowing that the silence would eventually register with the woman’s husband, and with the womanherself shortly after.Ifthe rest of the evening could be madebearable, you could still serve the meal If there really was no stopping the comments, then eventually you might have had to pointedly stand up and thank them for coming. Either way, there is no reason to ever invite them back. As to whyyour guest felt free to insult you: Do you really care?

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

Serves 6. Youneed to turn on the oven for this dish from aforthcoming book, “Rome:

Classic Recipes from theEternal City” by Lucia Tersigni and Audrey Cosson (Michael Beazley,$33). Butthe upside is the finished dish doesn’thave to be eaten hot; it’sjust as tastycold, making it the perfect dish for aquick summer lunch.

12 ripe tomatoes

4tablespoons extravirgin olive oil, divided 1garlic clove, roughly chopped Leaves from1 small bunchofbasil

Pinch of dried oregano or 1fresh oregano sprig

12 tablespoons long-grain or basmati rice Saltand freshly ground black pepper Grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Line abaking dish with parchment thathas been dampened and any excess water shaken off. (I put the tomatoes directly into the pan.)

3. Wash and dry tomatoes. Slice offthe top one-third of the tomato and set aside the caps. Scoop out the flesh inside with aspoon, making sure not to split the skins.

4. Putthe pulp in asieve to drain off the juice, then place the pulp (without juice) in afood processor with 2tablespoons oil. (I picked outmost of the seeds.)

5. Add garlic,basil and oregano and season liberally with salt andpepper. Blenduntilsmooth, then remove to abowl.

6. Add ricetothe tomato puree and mixwell. Refrigerate for around 1hour to

allow the rice to soak up the flavor.(Don’t skip thisstep or the rice will be hard and separate from the pulp.)

7. Once thericefilling is ready,stuff the tomatoes with themixture.Replace thetopsofthe tomatoes and arrange in the pan.

8. Drizzle the tomatoes with the remaining 2tablespoons of olive oil, then cover with foil.

9. Bake in preheated oven for20minutes,removethe foil and bake foranother 30 minutes, or until tomatoes are tender and jammy

10. Allow to cool slightly and serve with grated Parmesan cheese on top.

Tomato CrackerSalad

Serves 4-6. Sometakes on tomato cracker salad call for dicing the tomatoes and combining them with mayonnaise and crackers for one homogenousbite. Thisold-school recipe from Southern Living builds asalad with sliced tomatoes on top of seasoned mayo. However you make it, it’sessential to eat the salad right away,while the crackers are still crunchy.Raw sweet corn adds acrisp and juicy finish.

12 saltine crackers

1tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

1teaspoon garlic salt, divided

1½ cups mayonnaise

2tablespoons chopped fresh chives

1tablespoon applecider vinegar

2½ pounds heirloom or other peak summer tomatoes (assorted sizes and colors), sliced Black pepper

¾cup fresh cornkernels (1 ear)

2tablespoons smallfresh basil leaves

TOMATO

Continuedfrom page1D

a meaningful amount of vitamin Cplus lycopene, a plant compound prized for its antioxidant properties. Below we dish up two recipes in which tomatoes take center stage. The first is acrunchy,deconstructed take on atomato sandwich. Made with just ahandful of

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.

2. Line arimmed baking sheet with parchment paperand place crackers in asingle layer on the sheet.

3. Brush tops of crackers liberally withmelted butter and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of garlic salt. Bake until golden brown and fragrant, 8-10 minutes. Cool completely, about 20 minutes.

5. Spread mayonnaise mixture evenly on alarge platter.Arrange tomato slices on top of mayonnaise mixture,overlapping slightly

6. Season tomatoes with peppertotaste andsprinkle with corn. Coarsely crush crackers over salad;sprinkle with basil.

4. Meanwhile, stir toge th er mayonnaise, chives, apple cidervinegar and remaining ½ teaspoon garlic salt in asmall bowl.

pantry ingredients, tomato cracker salad is asummer classic in the South. The second is an Italian dish from aforthcoming cookbook featuring authentic recipes from Rome. Pomodori con il riso is usually madewith risotto-style rice that is par-cooked in the tomato pulp just long enough to get rid of its raw,hard bite, but this version madewith basmati opts forsimply

soaking the rice in the pulp forabout an hour in the fridge to soften it. Iadded agenerous dusting of Parmesan before serving. Fora more substantial meal, adda fewchoppedpotatoes thathavebeen tossed in oiland choppedfresh rosemary to the pan. Just make sure it’sa small dice so theycook at the same rate as the tomatoes. The recipe can easily be halved forsmaller appetites.

PHOTO By LIZ FAUL

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Balance is what's important, and learning and living life happily requires equality and the ability to live up to your expectations, notwhat others want from you. Be brave.

VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) Planstolook and feel your best will be met with people who have their own ideas of how you should proceed. Don't trust those who paint apretty picture withnorhyme or reason behind their promises.

LIBRA (sept.23-oct.23) Ditch replaying things in your head; move on. It's time to cut your losses and to make your way in adirectionyou truly believe in. Entertain the thought of immersing yourself in something that fascinates you.

scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Reduce, simplify, declutter and free your body, mind and soul of all thattorments you. Your energy needs to be strategically aimedatapurpose or what matters to you. Dig deep.

sAGIttARIUs (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Throwyour energy in adirection that lightens your heart, fills your home with happiness and allows you to let your creative spirit take over. Love looms

cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Speak on behalf of those who can't.Wrap your mind around howand whattoenforce to make adifference in how you live, think andmove forward. Don't wait until it's too little, too late.

AQUARIUs(Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Get the facts beforeyou act. Overthinking or overdoing will lead to mistakes. Putyour emotions andego aside and do what's

best for everyone, andyou'll fulfill your desire to make peace with yourselfand those you care about PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Trust your instincts. Take your time and use your intelligence to sort through your options and consider the consequences. Time has away of healing what is meant as alesson.

ARIEs(March 21-April 19) Take adeep dive intoyour creative psyche and see what transpires. Reinventing yourself or trying something newwill inspire youto be good to yourself andmakeadifference.

tAURUs (April 20-May 20) Make your space comfortable and convenient. An opportunitytobring in extracash from ahome-based business doing something you enjoy will be uplifting and help with confidence and personal growth.

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) If you don't like something, change it. Look over your personal preferencesand puta to-dolist together. Take control of your life, and put what youneed to reach your goal in place.

cAncER (June 21-July 22) Gravitate toward those who are transparent Take aunique approach to producing authentic answers to solutions.Specialize in beingyourself andoffering others your very best

The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientificfact. ©2026 by nEa,inc.,dist. By andrews mcmeel syndication

CelebrityCipher cryptograms arecreated from quotations by famous people, past and present. Each letter in the cipher stands for another toDAy'scLUE:Z EQUALs y

Sudoku

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

Yesterday’s PuzzleAnswer

THewiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

CurTiS

Bridge

By PHILLIPALDER

We have been looking at declarer’s plan in no-trump when he hasonlyone stopper in the suitled at trick one. But howdoes hisstrategychange whenhe has two stoppers in that suit? It depends upon the number of opposinghigh cards declarer has to drive out before running for home. If he will lose the lead onlyonce, he shouldtakethe first trick, give the opponents the trick they are due, and claim.However, if he has two losers to drive out, usually it is right to duck (lose) trick one.

In this example deal,West leadsthe spade four against threeno-trump and East puts up his jack. How should South plan the play? South starts with only five toptricks: two spades and three diamonds. He can get three winners from clubs, so also needs aheart trick. He has to concede trickstobothrounded-suitaces.Therule recommends ducking the first trick Let’s assume East returnshis second spade. South wins andplays on clubs. East takes his ace, but doesn’t have another spade to lead (and if he did, the suit would be 4-3).

Note that if South takes the first trick and leads aclub, East wins andreturns his second spade,establishing West’s suit while West still hasanentryinthe heart ace. Or, if South plays ahigh heart at tricktwo,Westwins with his ace andEast drops the jack,the topofhis sequence when he cannot win the trick. Then West should lead his second heart, which would defeat the contract. Finally, yes, if East, whengiventhe first trick, shifts to his heart jack at trick two,Southhastoguesstoplaylow,which is not clear-cut.

©2026 by nEa, inc dist. By andrews mcmeel syndication

Each Wuzzle is aword riddle which creates adisguised word, phrase, name, place, saying, etc. Forexample: nOOn gOOD =gOOD aFTErnOOn

Previousanswers:

word game

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

toDAy’s WoRD LEsIons: LEE-zhuns: Injuries; harm

Average mark 19 words

Time limit 30 minutes

Canyou find25ormore words in LESIONS?

yEstERDAy’s WoRD— IMPRoBIty

wuzzles

loCKhorNs

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles

dIrectIons: make a2-to 7-letter word from the letters in each row. add points of each word, using scoring directions at right. Finally, 7-letter words get 50-point bonus. “Blanks” used as any letter have no point value. all the words are in the Official sCraBBlE® players Dictionary, 5th Edition.

Yesterday’sPuzzle Answer

info@scrabbleplayers.org.

ken ken

InstructIons: 1 -Each row and each column must contain the numbers 1thorugh4(easy) or 1through 6 (challenging) without repeating. 2 -The numbers within the heavily outlined boxes, called cages, must combine using the given operation (in any order) to produce the target numbers in the top-left corners. 3 -Freebies: Fill in the single-box cages with the number in the top-left corner.

WiShinG Well

HErE is aplEasanT

Scrabble GramS

Get fuzzy

jump Start

roSe iS roSe

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adden‐dumpostedbythe Bu‐reau of Purchasing on theCity’ssupplierportal. https://teams.microsoft com/meet/22164137158 1634?p=5H3VtnbDsU4 y0Juxgo If this solicitation is fed‐erally funded,prospec‐tive bidder/respondent must payparticularat‐tentiontoall applicable laws andregulations of theFederal government andthe Stateof Louisiana. TheBureauofPurchas‐ingusescommodity codestonotifysuppliers of therelease of asourc‐ingevent andsubse‐quentmodificationsvia addendum.Notethatyou wouldreceive thosenoti‐ficationsifyou selected thefollowing commodity code(s) before there‐leaseofthe sourcing event: COMMODITYCODE(s): 910-36; 914-50; 928-30; 967-02

TheCityofNew Orleans is an equalopportunity employer andstrongly encourages minorityownedand womenownedbusinesses, so‐cially andeconomically disadvantagedbusi‐nessesand smallbusi‐nessestorespond to this solicitation,ortopartici‐pate in subcontracting opportunities pursuant to this solicitation.Any person with disabilities requires specialaccom‐modation must contact thebuyer listed within thebid no laterthan seven(7) days priorto bidopening Formoreinformation aboutthissourcing event, go to www.nola. govand clickon“BRASS SupplierPortal” under “BIDS& CONTRACTS” Once on theSupplierPor‐tal, search “Open Events.” Thankyou foryourinter‐estindoing business with the City of NewOr‐leans. JamesC.Simmons,Jr. ChiefProcurement Officer

AdvertisingDates: July 23, 30, & August 6, 2026 NOCP 9171 195183-jul23-30-aug6-3t $130.53

PRE-BIDCONFERENCE: August 4, 2026 at 1:30 PM Datesare subjectto changesvia an adden‐dumpostedbythe Bu‐reau of Purchasing on theCity’ssupplierportal. https://teams.microsoft com/meet/24913913146 001?p=epr6lAhVAps52uu LF1 If this solicitation is fed‐erally funded,prospec‐tive bidder/respondent must payparticularat‐tentiontoall applicable laws andregulations of theFederal government andthe Stateof Louisiana. TheBureauofPurchas‐ingusescommodity codestonotifysuppliers of therelease of asourc‐ingevent andsubse‐quentmodificationsvia addendum.Notethatyou wouldreceivethose noti‐ficationsifyou selected thefollowing commodity code(s) before there‐leaseofthe sourcing event:

COMMODITYCODE(s): 907-35; 925-17; 958-26; 958-77; 961-56 TheCityofNew Orleans is an equalopportunity employer andstrongly encourages minorityownedand womenownedbusinesses, so‐cially andeconomically disadvantagedbusi‐nessesand smallbusi‐nessestorespond to this solicitation,ortopartici‐pate in subcontracting opportunities pursuant to this solicitation.Any person with disabilities requires specialaccom‐modation must contact thebuyer listed within thebid no laterthan seven(7) days priorto bidopening

Formoreinformation aboutthissourcing event, go to www.nola. govand clickon“BRASS SupplierPortal” under “BIDS& CONTRACTS” Once on theSupplierPor‐tal, search “Open Events.” Thankyou foryourinter‐estindoing business with theCityofNew Or‐leans. JamesC.Simmons,Jr. ChiefProcurement Officer AdvertisingDates: July 23, 30 and August 6, 2026 NOCP 9173 195190-jul23-30-aug6-3t $128.52

TheBureauofPurchas‐ingusescommodity codestonotifysuppliers of therelease of asourc‐ingevent andsubse‐quentmodificationsvia addendum. Note that you wouldreceive thosenoti‐ficationsifyou selected thefollowing commodity code(s) before there‐leaseofthe sourcing event: COMMODITY CODE(s): 962-58

TheCityofNew Orleans is an equalopportunity employer andstrongly encourages minorityownedand womenownedbusinesses, so‐cially andeconomically disadvantagedbusi‐nessesand smallbusi‐nessestorespond to this solicitation,ortopartici‐pate in subcontracting opportunitiespursuant to this solicitation.Any person with disabilities requires specialaccom‐modation must contact thebuyer listed within thebid no laterthan seven(7) days priorto bidopening Formoreinformation aboutthissourcing event, go to www.nola. govand clickon“BRASS SupplierPortal” under “BIDS& CONTRACTS” Once on theSupplierPor‐tal, search “Open Events.” Thankyou foryourinter‐estindoing business with theCityofNew Or‐leans. JamesC.Simmons,Jr. ChiefProcurement

TheDistrictreservesthe

THURSDAY,AUGUST6 2026 195544-JUL30-AUG6-2T $82.38

ingDepartmentfor the OrleansParishSchool Board(“OPSB” or “the District”) at 2401 West‐bend Parkway, Suite 5055, NewOrleans Louisiana70114 until 10:00 A.M. (CST)onTues‐day, August 25, 2026. Specificationsand quali‐fication documentsmay be obtained by visiting theDistrict’swebsite at www.nolapublicschools com; or by contacting theExecutive Director of Procurementatplucius@ nolapublicschools.com. TheDistrictwillhost a VirtualPre-Proposal meetingtobeheldon Friday,August7 ,2026 at 10:00 A.M. (CST). TheVir‐tual link canbefound below: Register in advancefor this meeting: https://us06web.zoom us/meeting/register/d3u 7LRLEQCK7VZ1WIymb6A Afterregistering,you will i fi i

Aug. 6, 2026

Cajun bandleader Bruce Daigrepont at Tip’s on Sunday page 4

feature city’s female chefs

‘Ladies Night’ series to

don’t miss don’t mis don’t miss

nola comic con

Comic book dealers, toy and collectible vendors, artists and more are all headed to the Pontchartrain Center at Williams Boulevard and the lake in Kenner. The annual event, which also hosts a cosplay costume contest each day, is from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m to 4 p.m Sunday. Tickets start at $18.

hexfest

Billed as “a weekend of witchery in old New Orleans,” a three-day gathering starts at 5:30 p.m. Friday with a riverboat ritual and dinner aboard the Creole Queen. Activities including workshops, drumming and more rituals continue Saturday and Sunday at the Bourbon Orleans Hote 717 Orleans St. with witches, rootworkers, voodoo priests and more, plus a curated selection of wares from local shops. The fest is presented by Brian Cain, Christian Day and the Witches of New Orleans. Tickets start at $111. hexfest.com.

history of los isleños

The thousands of Canary Islander who arrived in Louisiana latter part of the 1700s will be the subject of a lecutre at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the East Bank Regional Library, 747 W. Napoleon Ave., Metairie. The settlers landed in four trategic areas to help protect the city, including present-day St. Bernard Parish, where the culture has survived and is celebrated. jefferson.lib.la.us.

star spangled

all white gala

The benefit for Veterans Empowerment Services, at 7 p.m. Friday at the Capulet, 3014 Dauphine St., features entertainment, dining, a silent auction and presentations. Guests are encouraged to wear all-white attire. Tickets start at $125. empoweringvets.us.

peppa pig at the aquarium

The lovable children’s character will be taking the plunge (not really) Friday through Sunday for a meet-and-greet and photos. Also, the aquarium is offering three hours of free parking each day. Tickets start at $47.50. Schedule a session at audubonnatureinstitute. org/peppa.

ABOUT LAGNIAPPE

The Lagniappe section is published each Thursday by The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate. All inquiries about Lagniappe should be directed to the editor.

LAGNIAPPE EDITOR: Lauren Walck, lauren. walck@theadvocate.com

COVER DESIGN: Andrea Daniel

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Victor Andrews, Marco Cartolano, Doug MacCash, Ian McNulty, Justin Mitchell, Keith Spera

GET LISTED IN LAGNIAPPE

Submit events to Lagniappe at least two weeks in advance by sending an email to events@ theadvocate.com.

ON THE COVER

Both runners and nonrunners dressed in red attire take part in the 2025 Red Dress Run in support of local charities. Photo by John McCusker. About 3,500 runners are expected for this year’s deep-summer event. Story by Doug MacCash on Page 6.

don’tmiss don’tmiss don’t miss

Experts and enthusiasts from avariety of disciplines will be on hand Friday through SaturdayatThe Historic New OrleansCollection’s Williams ResearchCenter, 410 Chartres St., for the program “Material Belief: Objects of Faith, Spirit and Tradition.” Discussionson such items as Catholic statuary, Judaica, Afro-Caribbean ritual objects and prayer samplers will include how they were made,used and kept and how they continue to function as powerful material expressions of belief throughout the region. Costis$225. hnoc.org.

antiques forum bicentennial birthday bash

Afree block party at 6p.m. Tuesday on Chartres Street celebrates the 200th anniversary of the Historic BK House &Gardens. Construction began after the final architectural drawings for the Beauregard-Keyes House were signed Aug. 11, 1826. DJ Harold Spinner will facilitate the “dancing in the street”with cocktails, acash bar and birthday cakes baked by neighbors and friends. bkhouse.org.

music music music

Keith Spera SOUND CHECK

With the summer heat fully turned up, New Orleansmusic slows down. The Maple Leaf Bar is closedthis week and Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro is closed on Mondaysand Tuesdays allmonth.

OTHERNOTEWORTHY SHOWS

THURSDAY

New Orleans smoothjazz saxophonist Clarence Johnson III leads his quartet at Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro on Frenchmen Street for shows at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $35. Geno Delafose &French Rockin’ Boogie are featuredfor Zydeco Night at Rock ’N’ Bowl. Tickets are $17.

FRIDAY

R&B singer/songwriter Ella Mai is on the road supporting her third studio album, “Do YouStill Love Me?” Her Saenger Theatre stop on Friday is sold out.

Drummer Jason Marsalis,the youngest of the Marsalis brothers, presents the music of his latefather,Ellis, the renowned jazz pianist, composer and educator,atSnug Harbor at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.Tickets are $40.

This week’sinstallment of the summer-long “Free Fri-

BRUCEDAIGREPONTwithWAYLON THIBODEAUX

SUNDAY,TIPITINA’S

Bruce Daigrepont is that rare Cajun bandleader who has lived his entire life in Orleans and Jefferson parishes rather than southwest Louisiana, the genre’s natural habitat.Geography aside, he is one of Cajun music’smost vital voices. He’sanespecially expressive singer and accordionist backed by an equally nimble band. Drawing on his family’s Avoyelles Parish roots, he’swritten dozens of original Cajun French compositions.Some are now standards for French-speaking bands around the world.

Andnoone else has done moreto

sustain Cajun music’spresence in Ne Orleans. In 1986, Daigrepont moved weekly fais do-do from the Maple Leaf to Tipitina’s. Fourdecades later,his Cajun dance party is still going strong, even though it’snow once amonth stead of once aweek.

In June, Daigrepont celebrated the40th anniversary of his Tipitina’sresidency.That residency continues this Sunday when Daigrepont and his band —fiddle player Gina Forsyth, bassist Jim Markway and drummer Mike Barras —are joined by special guest Waylon Thibodeaux, theveteran Cajun fiddler and bandleader. The show/dance starts at 5:15 p.m Tickets are $15.

days” series of no-cover concerts at Tipitina’sisheadlined by Flow Tribe,the airtight, superfunkyNew Orleansparty band whose frontman often breaks out atrumpet. Opening the show at 9p.m. is Zita,the local rock band frontedbytrombonist/vocalist Michael Mullins. It’s“Back to School Night” at Rock ’N’ Bowl withthe hornheavy Bucktown Allstars hosting a“citywidehighschool reunion.” Tickets are $17.

SATURDAY

Formanyyears, trumpeter KevinLouis,aSt. Augustine HighSchool andNew Orleans Center forCreative Arts alumwho went on to earn degreesinjazz performance

from Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio and Queens College in New York, led theFriday night band at the Palm Court Jazz Café. The Decatur Street nightspot,which evoked asaloon of the early 20th century, served up traditional New Orleansjazzand food. The Palm Court closed in summer 2024. ButLouis and other alums of the band continue to keep themusic alive. In 2024, they released “Last Chance to Dance,” aselection of favorites from the Palm Court featuring singer Yolanda Robinson. On Saturday,Louis and the Palm CourtJazz Band will reuniteat7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. at Snug Harbor,just afew blocks from theformer home

Eagles of Death Metal

of the Palm Court. Tickets are $40.

Earlier on Saturday,pianist KeikoKomaki’s duo plays afree happy hour show at Snug Harbor at 4:30 p.m.

From 11 a.m. to 3p.m. Saturday,Tipitina’shosts its second annual “Tie-Dye Social,” an all ages event centered around tie-dyeing white Tipitina’sTshirts. Shirtscan be purchased at shop.tipitinas.com. The NOLA Patty Wagon food truck and Imperial Woodpecker Snoballs will also be on hand. Admission is free.

Americanasinger-songwriter Patty Griffin plays asold-out show at Chickie WahWah.

The “4 theTrenches Tour” brings Detroit rappers Babyface Ray and 42 Dugg to the Joy Theater on Saturday.Tickets start at $62.

The House of Blues hosts “Billy vs. Elton: ATribute to Billy Joel and EltonJohn.” Tickets are $27. Costumed cover band Bag of Donuts hosts aHawaiianthemed “Luau Night” at Rock ’N’Bowl; tickets are $17.

SUNDAY

Vocal group the Pfister Sisters plays afree happy hour show at Snug Harbor at 4:30 p.m. Later,Snug Harbor hosts New Orleans jazz/R&B singer RoderickHarper,whose résumé includes multiple albumsand numerous appearances in films, TV shows and national advertising campaigns. Harper will be joined by Max Moran on bass, Roderick Paulin on saxophones,

Johnson Flow Tribe

music music music

Revivalists billboards take humorous approach in promoting album

BY KEITH SPERA Staff writer

Morris Bart, Gordon McKernan, Dudley DeBosier and all the other injury attorneys who occupy billboard space across the New Orleans area have a new competitor: The Revivalists.

To promote their new album “Get It Honest,” the eight members of the New Orleans rock band dressed up in suits to appear as faux attorneys on a number of billboards in the Bywater neighborhood.

“Injured in a wreck? We can’t help!” announced one set of two stacked billboards.

Callers to the (417) 738-5463 number advertised on the billboards can choose to hear a sample of one of the nine songs on “Get It Honest.” Callers can also leave a voicemail that may be used on the band’s social media.

A July 30 Instagram post announcing the lawyerly campaign featured Revivalists singer David Shaw, bassist George Gekas and saxophonist Rob Ingraham posing in front of the band’s billboards.

“There are some new lawyers in town……and we can’t help. At all. But! We’ve got a handful of billboards up around the Bywater, and a hotline hotter than your momma’s hot sauce,” the post read. “Give us a call at 417-REVLINE, and see just how much we can’t help.”

In the comments section of the post, Shaw wrote, “We’re comin’ for ya Morris Bart.”

“Get It Honest,” released July 24, is the Revivalists’ sixth full-length album and first since 2023’s “Pour It Out Into the Night.” The first single from the new album, “Heart Stop,” recently became the seventh Revivalists song to crack the Top 5 of Mediabase’s national AAA airplay chart.

The band will be on the road intermittently over the next few months, including at their annual headlining show Sept. 25 at Red Rocks Amphitheater near Denver and their first themed cruise Nov. 3-7, “The Revivalists Present Otherside of Paradise at Sea.”

They’ll sail from Miami to Nassau, Bahamas, with a slew of other bands.

SOUND CHECK

Continued from page 4

Shea Siraj on piano and Gerald Watkins Jr. on drums. Showtimes are at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $30.

MONDAY

The Eagles of Death Metal — not to be confused with the regular Eagles — rock the House of Blues on Monday as part of the band’s 20th anniversary tour for the album “Death By Sexy.” Headsend opens the show at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $37.

Masego, the Jamaican-born singersongwriter whose self-described “traphouse jazz” music relies heavily on saxophone, brings his “Fix Your Face Tour”

to the Fillmore. Tickets start at $47.

WEDNESDAY

Grammy-winning drummer, composer and vocalist Jamison Ross presents “Summer Soul Live” at the New Orleans Jazz & Blues Market in Central City at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $39.

Brian Toval & the Vision, an inspirational quartet consisting of Brian Toval on piano and vocals, his wife Jo Ann Toval on lead vocals, drummer Cameron Woods and bassist Cheryl Woods, does a free happy hour set at Snug Harbor at 5 p.m. Later on Wednesday, trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis leads the Uptown Jazz Orchestra at Snug Harbor at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $45.

Email Keith Spera at kspera@ theadvocate.com.

of The Revivalists David Shaw,

and Rob

pose in front of a billboard in the Bywater promoting the band’s album ‘Get It Honest.’

PROVIDED PHOTO By INSTAGRAM

Members

George Gekas

Ingraham

events events events

STREAK HOT

In thedepthsofsummer, RedDress Rundrawing thousandstothe French Quarter

Heat advisory,schmeat advisory. The thousands of runners whoplan to gather on Saturday morning for a 2-mile trot through the French Quarter don’tcare about what the thermometer says. They care about athleticism, charity, adult beverages and apeculiar fashion requirement. Every runner wearsared dress, regardless of gender.Because this is New Orleans, the getups can be anything from alluringtoabsolutely absurd. It’sanandrogynous spectacle that draws ahuge audience of onlookersto the old Vieux Carre during the dreary August doldrums.

Red DressRun board member Brooke O’Bryant said thatcontributingtothe Quarter wasthe goal from the start. The Red Dress Run is atradition in the Hash House Harriers international organization, whichbills itself as a“drinking club with arunningproblem.” Thirty-two years ago, theNew

Orleans branch of the Harriers couldhave picked adifferent season andlocation for their version of theRed Dress Run.

But, O’Bryant said, thegroup picked thetourist center in late summer in order to “bring asmall boost to theeconomy.”And the Harriers have stuck to theplan.

Last year,Red Dress Runbegan at theentrance to Armstrong Park on North Rampart Street. But because ofconstruction at the old MunicipalAuditorium, O’Bryant said, the start has been moved to the intersection of Esplanade Avenueand North Peters Street, next to CrescentPark.

Theexact route is customarily kept asecret, even to the runners, until the startofthe event. ButO’Bryant assures everyone that the path has been designed to avoid construction obstacles in the French Quarter.

Last year,there were alittle more than 3,000 official runners, O’Bryantsaid.But this year, signups have increased, withan expected 3,500 paid participants by runday

FILE PHOTOS By JOHN McCUSKER ABOVEand TOP: The 2025 Red DressRun blazes acrimson trailthrough the French Quarter and Marigny.

Doug MacCash

It costs $69 to $89 to officially join in the run. The fee covers expenses and contributes to charity.Overthe past three years,

O’Bryant said, the red Dress Run has generated$300,000, which was divided up among local nonprofit organizations selected bythe Red Dress Run board of directors.

But here’sthe thing. There’s nothing to stop folks from just showing up wearing ared dress and joining in the joggingmob somewhere along the route.

O’Bryant said theremay beas

many unofficial participantsas official, thoughmore and more peopleseem to be signing up in order to enjoy the amenities and contribute to the charities.

RedDress Runnersmay begin to arrive at the Mandeville Street shed in Crescent Park at 9a.m. to begin fueling up.They will assemble at the starting line at North Peters Street and Esplanade Avenue for the start of run at 10:15 a.m.

Theroute of the run returns to the startingpoint.Afterward, a

RED DRESS RUN

Runa2-mile route dressed in redfinery.

WHEN: Lineup at 9a.m., startat10:15 a.m. Saturday; apost-party is from 11 a.m. to 4p.m.

WHERE: North Peters Street and Esplanade Avenue REGISTRATION: $69-$89

INFORMATION: noh3.com/RDR/RDRHome.php

post-run partytakes place from 11 a.m. to 4p.m. in the shade of the Mandeville Street shed. For details and toregister to run, check the event website at noh3.com/RDR/RDRHome.php.

Email Doug MacCash at dmaccash@theadvocate.com.

The Red Dress Run, an annual charity event organized by the NewOrleans Hash House Harriers in which runners and nonrunners dress in all-red attire, usually dresses, has generated $300,000 in the lastthree years. STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

food food food

‘LadiesNight’kicks off with chef Nina Compton

Upcoming happyhours to featuredifferent restaurants,female culinarians

Afew tables were seated forearly dinner one night at Compère Lapin, but the realaction at chef Nina Compton’s restaurant wasatthe bar.

Acrowd of mostly women was chatting and circulatingasthey sipped special rum cocktails andnoshed bar snacks from Compton’s menu and also from guest chef Lisa Nelson, of Mid-City’s backstreet Trinbagonian island soul restaurant Queen TriniLisa.

It was adifferent pace for what might’ve otherwise been aslow weeknight in downtownNew Orleansin deep summer

It was also the firstedition of anew happy hour series that moves todifferent local restaurantsfromweek to week over the next two months.

The series is called LadiesNight NOLA, but that’snot because thespecials are for only women(they’reopen to all).Rather, eachofthe restaurants is led by women, either as chef, proprietor,co-owner or some combination of these roles.

Each one brings differentflair to their own edition, with achanging roster of collaborations, minimarkets, karaoke at one, awhole fish breakdown at another and cocktails from stop to stop.

Compton cooked up theseries through discussions with her fellow “lady boss” friends in thebusiness, she said. She sees it as away forhospitality businesses to dial up some self-help in summer,supporteach otherand highlight just how much women are shaping the modernNew Orleans dining scene.

“I see these women as fearless leaders in our community andthey deserve more attention for what they’re doing,” Compton said.

When she proposedthe idea, it

Chefs Lisa Nelson, left, of Queen Trini Lisa, and NinaCompton, of Compère Lapin,collaborated for the first Ladies Night NOLA happyhour,anongoing series held at restaurants around NewOrleans.

Members of the Les Dames d’Escoffier culinarygroup pack the baratCompère Lapin for the inaugural edition of Ladies Night NOLA

caughtfire and the circle of collaborators grewtoa 10-part series.

“We’re all looking for ways to mix

thingsupinthe summer,and, let’sbe honest,people are looking for adeal,” Compton said. “So it’sjust about hav-

Kelly Jacques prepares pastries in the open kitchen at AyuBakehouse on Frenchmen Street.

ing funand getting people together, introducing them to places and people they might not know yet.”

“My hope is people turn it into that thing they do after work, getting the ladies together and going out forladies night again,” she said.

Someevents are drop-by happy

STAFFPHOTO By IAN McNULTy

STAFF FILE PHOTOByIAN McNULTy

STAFF PHOTO By IANMcNULTy

Ian McNulty

food food food

PROVIDED PHOTO

Sophina Uong is chef and owner at Mister Mao restaurant in New Orleans.

hours, others are ticketed with reservations recommended. All are on Wednesdays from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Here’s the Ladies Night NOLA schedule for August:

n Aug. 12, Mister Mao, 4501 Tchoupitoulas St., collaborating with the Marigny bakery/cafe Ayu Bakehouse with French Truck espresso martinis, snacks and karaoke (this edition is until 8 p.m.).

n Aug 19, Rosedale, 801 Rosedale Drive, collaborating with Porgy’s Seafood Market, with a mini market of local vendors, light appetizers, live music, wines selected by Rosedale sommelier Michelle Gueydan and a whole fish butchery demo from Porgy’s fish monger Caitlin Carney supplying crudo plates. Tickets are $40.

n Aug. 26, Dolfy’s, 4508 Freret St., a “Pintxos & Pitchers” happy hour with a choice of the Basque-style bar snacks and pitchers of summery cocktails, with live entertainment (t.b.a.). Tickets are $45.

Ladies Night NOLA events will continue each Wednesday in September.

n Sept. 2: Chef de cuisine Nicole Cabrera Mills, Pêche Seafood Grill, 800 Magazine St.

n Sept. 9: Co-owner Effie Richardson, Dakar NOLA, 937 Leonidas St.

n Sept. 16: Chef/owner Sue Zemanick, Zasu, 127 N. Carrollton Ave.

n Sept 23: Co-owner Arkesha Baquet, Lil Dizzy’s Cafe, 1500 Esplanade Ave.

n Sept. 30: Chef/owner Melissa Martin, Mosquito Supper Club, 3824 Dryades St.

Email Ian McNulty at imcnulty@ theadvocate.com.

‘Breaks our hearts’:

Slidell Cuban cafe with big following is closing

BY JUSTIN MITCHELL Staff writer

A popular Cuban cafe that has served Slidell and New Orleans diners for almost two decades has closed its dining room, the owners announced in a Facebook post Tuesday

Que Rico!, a spot known for its strong coffee, authentic sandwiches and beef or pork dishes has been open in the New Orleans metro since 2009, when owners Richard and Iderlin “Donna” Rivera welcomed diners to their first space in Old Town Slidell.

The original location was a big hit among St. Tammany Parish residents, and many from New Orleans would make regular trips down interstates 10 or 12 to grab lunch or dinner there.

The Riveras moved their restaurant to Uptown New Orleans in 2019 after their lease was not renewed on the northshore. By 2022, the couple was on the move again, this time going back to Slidell with the same recipes, same big following and Instagrammable dining space at 2170 Gause Blvd.

Que Rico’s dining room is already closed but will still be doing takeout and catering orders for a few weeks.

“It breaks our hearts to have to come to the decision of closing Que Rico,” the Riveras said on Facebook. “It’s been a hard run here and we gave it all we could and more. It’s just not in our best interest to stay open, any longer, at this location.”

Que Rico’s sudden closure announcement came as a shock to St. Tammany foodies. Hundreds of comments flowed onto Facebook, with many wishing the Riveras the best or recalling favorite dishes like the famous roasted pork.

“Your dedication to the community

is appreciated,” one fan said. “Thank you for years of wonderful, delicious family meals.”

Others hoped the Riveras would consider opening again when it is feasible for them. The owners teased this may not be the end in their Facebook post.

“Let us know if and when you open another location,” a commenter replied. “You all are the best Cuban food anywhere.”

Email Justin Mitchell at justin. mitchell@theadvocate.com.

FILE PHOTO By CHERyL GERBER Richard Rivera and Iderlin ‘Donna’ Rivera serve roasted pork and Cuban favorites at their former restaurant in Uptown New Orleans.

food food food

How area Cubanos stack up for a Miami native

BY MARCO CARTOLANO Staff writer

As the newsroom’s resident halfCuban American from Miami, I’ve been asked more than once to give my stamp of authenticity on Cuban food across the New Orleans area, particularly on Cuban sandwiches.

The classic Cuban sandwich, also known as a Cubano, is a spin on a ham and cheese sandwich, where mojoroasted pork, pickles and mustard are added to ham and melted Swiss cheese, then placed between Cuban bread that has been buttered and pressed.

While researchers believe the Cubano has its origins in the mixed sandwiches of the Cuban homeland, the sandwich was mostly popularized by the Cuban diaspora in Florida. These days, a deep rivalry exists between Miami and Tampa over which Florida city perfected the craft of a Cubano — Tampa’s adds Genoa salami thanks to its Italian immigrant community.

New Orleans may not be known for its own take on Cubanos, but in a city celebrated for diverse flavors, I knew a true Cubano must be out there. I decided to put that to the test at five local Cuban outposts across New Orleans and Jefferson Parish.

Taking on this sandwich odyssey, I realized how much I missed the familiar flavors of a Cubano after spending years without them, while in Illinois and Massachusetts. I also came to understand the true power of a good Cubano: the combination of the savory pork, tangy mustard, cheese and salty pickles that’s so addictive I sometimes ate half the sandwich before remembering to take notes.

Cubanos are also deceptively dense — the pressed bread gives a more modest appearance. I always needed a nice nap after

CAFÉ CONMIGO

2511 Jena St., New Orleans

I started with a relatively new addition to the New Orleans food scene: Café Conmigo by Freret Street.

The quick-service restaurant is a great spot for casual Cuban fare for the Uptown crowd, and its diner seats give a good view of the sandwichmaking.

I ordered a Cubano and a pastelito and was fed well within a typical lunch break.

The Cubano was filled with meats and cheese, and the bread was crunchy I was particularly impressed by the mustard, which had a tangy flavor that managed to stand out between all the meats and pickles.

The pastelito was flaky and had a sweet guava that wouldn’t be out of place in a Miami bakery. It would be a great accompaniment to a strong coffee.

EL SÁNDWICHE

3750 Williams Blvd., Kenner

This pressed sandwich spot may look like a humble convenience store, but it had the Cubano that made me most nostalgic.

The two halves of the sandwich are wrapped, so they’re easy to eat without getting your hands dirty. They come with papas fritas, small and thin French fries that are common sides for Latin American sandwiches. I also

ordered a café con leche that woke me up from my post-work fatigue.

The sandwich kept its heat and juiciness during the 20-minute drive back from Kenner The pork and ham were the stars of this sandwich, and the mustard and melted cheese blended gloriously

NORMA’S SWEETS BAKERY

3200 Georgia Ave., Kenner, and 2925 Bienville St., New Orleans

Norma’s may be best known for its bakery, but its two locations also feature a deli filled with appealing meats, cheeses and breads, as well as groceries.

I stopped by the original Kenner location and, after ordering, was handed a pretty, wrapped Cubano. I took the sandwich back to the office and unwrapped it to marvel at the bread’s texture and the bits of meat poking out.

The bakery-made bread was what immediately impressed me. It was flaky and crunchy, but it was also rich. The sandwich was filled with seasoned, salty pork and ham, and I was impressed that the sandwich never fell apart.

When I finished Norma’s sandwich, I felt genuinely sad that I was done.

CHURROS CAFÉ

3100 Kingman St., Metairie

It took me a minute to find the strip mall where this Metairie Cuban restaurant sat, but I felt at ease when I walked inside to a restaurant beaming with pride for Cuban culture.

Churros Café had one of the most beautiful Cubanos I have seen in Louisiana, cleanly cut in the middle with well-pressed bread.

The bread was soft and the cheese well-melted, even stretching a little as I took bites. The sharp Swiss cheese really made the sandwich, balancing the flavors from the pork, ham and pickles. Its namesake refers to a traditional dessert, referred to as “the Spanish beignet,” and I had to try their take on it. The churros were some of the most delightfully crispy I’d ever seen. I dolloped sugar on them, and they were a sweet and crunchy delight that complemented a nice café con leche.

MANOLITO

508 Dumaine St., New Orleans

It takes something special to get me to walk through the French Quarter’s busy and loud construction in 90-degree heat, but I’m here to say I would do it again for the Cuban sandwich at Manolito.

The cozy bar and restaurant overlooking a courtyard may be the closest thing to a Havana watering hole that you can get in New Orleans (I have never actually been to Cuba, but I’ve seen photos).

I was immediately impressed with how well-put-together the sandwich looked when I saw the plate. The freshpressed bread teased an enticing stack of pork, mustard, pickles and cheese.

The crispy bread had a good crunch but was still soft enough to eat with little effort. The mojo pork was juicy — but what I enjoyed most was how the pork blended with the cheese and mustard.

For me, this sandwich was absolutely the winner.

I also tried the restaurant’s Cuban take on hummus with Tajin crackers, a savory black bean puree and a strawberry daiquiri that actually tasted like real strawberry.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

A Cuban sandwich is served at Manolito in New Orleans.

stages stages stages

WITCH HUNT

Atownisunder suspicion in ‘The Crucible’at Mandeville’s 30 by Ninety

Local theatrical attentionlooks north this week —the northshore and New York —asshows ease into August with performances and new works to keep stagesgoing.

‘The Crucible’

The McCarthy “witch hunt” for communists in the 1940s and ’50s and the actual witch trials of the Massachusetts colony ofthe 1600sinspired Arthur Miller’s dramatic stage powerhouse, acautionarytale for bigotry and hate.

Victor Andrews

“The Crucible,” setin Salem,Massachusetts, at the height of the witchcraftfrenzy, opens Saturday at 30 by Ninety Theatre in Mandeville.

In the play,agroup of young girls are accused of practicing witchcraft in the puritanical age. Using actualhistorical events, Miller crafts astory wherethe events draw in the town and suspicion rampantly runs through the townasa trial progresses, lies become truths and protecting oneself can come at ahuge price.

Courtney Calato Lee is the director of the show,with the talents ofBlair Mayeux, Michael Graves, Aniyah Franklin, TomHassinger,Nino BonuraJr.,Lindsey Ehricht, Robert Pool, Jack Latner, Julia Simon, Mary Beth Stone,Tara Bennett, Nino Bonura Sr., Chris Aberle, David Jacobs, Genevieve Soine,Daniel Laurent, Ella Kornfuhrer,Amanda Jones, Sam Lee, ArdenDufilho,Sarah Cook and Travis Nevers

The show is at 8p.m. Fridays and Saturdaysand 2:30 p.m. Sundays through Aug. 23 at 880 Lafayette St.. Tickets start at $20. Visit 30byninety.com.

‘One Nightatthe Blackbird’

It’snot aNew Orleans stage but a

By MAGGIE MORONEy

‘The Crucible’ will open the newseason at 30 by NinetyTheatre in Mandeville. Performing ascene are Sam Lee, from left, LindseyEhricht and Amanda Jones.

New York one that will open anew show Wednesday withroots in the Crescent City,starring apair of local actors and penned and produced by part-time resident Thomas Mullen.

Aria Jackson and KC Simms, familiar to local audiences from theirworkwith NOLAProject and other local offerings, will star in “One Night at the Blackbird” as part of the Broadway Bound Festival in the Big Apple’s theater district.

Setina funeral home in New Orleans’ 7thWard,the show centers on club owner Lucy (or Lucifer), who has hosted dead legends in thesecret nightclub foreonsbut is growing weary

“I play Lucy,” Jackson said in publicity material. “She is written to double as the devil but aredeemable character nonetheless, who has alove for jazzbut seeksaspiritual connection withGod, being afallen angel.”

The club manager,who wantsLucy to keeps things going, is Herman Godfrey, playedbySimms

“Herman Godfrey is an anxious wreck,”Jackson said. “He’scoming face to face with his own mortality and he’s willingtodoanything, including making adeal. No, making another deal with thedevil.”

The transition from one “New” city to another seems to workfor Jackson.

“Being here in New York feels surreal in away,becauseInever imagined that Iwould be in New York, and in aplay so soon,” she said. “It was always adream of mine, but it’s really exciting that I’m here courtesy of NOLA Project and withafellow NOLA actor.It’sgood to have afriendly face as we’re breaking into awhole new world.”

AddedSimms: “I’m grateful we can showcasethe talent thatNew Orleans has been cookin’ up.”

The show was chosen in August 2025 for the NOLA Project’sRough Draughts reading seriesheld at local bars,breweries and watering holes

Mullen, who wrotethe show with Maria MessiasMendes,hopes to bring the showback “within thenext year or two.”

Aformer newspaper owner,Mullen received amaster’s degree from Cambridge Universityand at 59 started a new career in theater.Hesplitshis time between Washington state and New Orleans

The show will run for threeperformances along with the other 11 offerings of the festival. Visit broadwayboundfest.com.

and

on aNew york rooftop for‘One Night at the Blackbird,’a NewOrleans-set play by part-time resident Thomas Mullen set to premiereatthe BroadwayBound Festival.

In production

“CHICAGO”: 8p.m.Fridays and Saturdays through Aug. 15; Cutting Edge Center for the Arts, 767 Robert Blvd., Slidell. Kanderand Ebb’sVaudevillestyle setting for the murderous 1920s in this Illinois town takes looks at two murderesses as they “paint the town ... and all that jazz.” Tickets start at $33. cuttindedgetheater.com

“A GENTLEMAN’SGUIDE TO LOVE ANDMURDER”: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2p.m.Sunday; Westwego Performing Arts Theatre, 177 Sala Ave. in Westwego. Jefferson Performing Arts stages the Broadway hit about aman desperate for atitle to the point where he begins killing his relatives who stand in this way. Tickets start at $42. jpas.org.

“THE ROSE TATTOO”: 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 3p.m.Sunday; Loyola’sMarquette Theater,6363 St. Charles Ave. Tennessee Williams Theatre Co.’sproduction about aSicilian widowliving somewhere in Mississippi with herdaughter,who deifies her late husband, in spite of his all-too-human foibles, sheltering herself and her daughter.She begins to comeout with the arrival of another truck driver named Alvaro. Tickets start at $45. twtheatrenola.com.

EmailVictor Andrews at vandrews@ theadvocate.com.

PHOTO PROVIDED

PROVIDED PHOTOByOSCAR FOUDA KC Simms

Aria Jackson rehearse