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La. child welfare agency touts progress Lawmakers express skepticism at committee meeting

BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer

Leaders for the Louisiana Department of Children & Family Services say they have made strides in alleviating the heavy caseloads for Child Protective Services staff that have long plagued the agency, all but eliminating backlogs in every region outside of Baton Rouge. But some lawmakers expressed

skepticism about those assertions when they spoke with DCFS ofﬁcials at the State Capitol on Monday, during a meeting of the Senate Select Committee on Women and Children that lasted eight hours. State Sen. Patrick McMath, RCovington, questioned how the agency could have reduced caseloads when it appeared to be losing staff. Lawmakers also raised concerns about the agency’s decision to reassign around 100 state ofﬁce

staff to positions in the ﬁeld, and about a policy that changed how foster parents are paid. In recent years, DCFS has faced intense scrutiny over its handling of child deaths related to abuse and neglect. And a 2025 annual report from Kathleen Stewart Richey, the state’s child ombudsman, found that the agency had unnecessarily separated a pair of siblings in foster care, communicated poorly with families and left

children in psychiatric care after they were discharged — sometimes for months. Those findings surfaced during the recent legislative session, when concerns about the department came to a boiling point. Some lawmakers, including McMath and state Sen. Regina Barrow, DBaton Rouge, entertained whether the state should dismantle the department altogether and assign its work to other state agencies. Monday’s committee meeting, where DCFS officials faced a litany of questions from Barrow,

BRPD may have found teen’s body in landfill

McMath and other lawmakers, represented the latest chapter in the debate over how to address Louisiana’s struggling child welfare system. During the meeting, DCFS Secretary Rebecca Harris and other agency ofﬁcials said that, in every region except Baton Rouge, the department had nearly eliminated backlogs in Child Protective Services cases. Connie Guillory, the assistant secretary for child welfare, said the average caseload in

ä See PROGRESS, page 8A

Killer’s appeal rejected Todd Wessinger fails in attempt to stop execution for 1995 double murder BY QUINN COFFMAN Staff writer

STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

Baton Rouge Police Chief TJ Morse discusses the search for the body of Ja’Derrius Minnieweather at a Tuesday news conference.

Remains turned over to coroner for DNA testing

“This morning, after all the hard work our collaborative search teams have done so far, I can report that we’ve located suspected human remains, and the evidence gives me hope that these remains belong to BY OLIVIA TEES Ja’Derrius,” Police Chief TJ Staff writer Morse said. Morse said the area where Baton Rouge police say they strongly suspect the body of Minnieweather’s remains were 15-year-old Ja’Derrius Minnie- found was not in the original weather was found Tuesday in 0.64-acre sector that was identhe East Baton Rouge Landﬁll, tified with help from the FBI two months after the teen was Laboratory’s Technical Hazards reported missing. Response Unit and Evidence

WEATHER HIGH 97 LOW 76 PAGE 8B

Response Team. Because the case is still an ongoing and active homicide investigation, Morse could not confirm whether the remains found were full or partial. The remains were turned over to the East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner’s Office to be processed. The DNA extraction from the bones will take a day or more to conﬁrm if they are Minnieweather’s, Morse said. “Professionally, I am unable to

ä See LANDFILL, page 7A

Business ......................3B Commentary ................7B Nation-World ................2A Classified .....................7D Deaths .........................4B Opinion ........................6B Comics-Puzzles .....4D-6D Living............................1D Sports ..........................1C

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AUG 20 | SEP 3 | SEP 17 OCT 1 | OCT 29 | NOV 12 | DEC 10

Nearly 30 years ago, Todd Kelvin Wessinger was sentenced to death by a Baton Rouge jury for fatally shooting two of his former coworkers at Calendar’s Restaurant as they begged for their lives. Before leaving, he stole $7,000. Now, after three decades of sitting on death row, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals Wessinger has denied Wessinger’s latest attempt to escape execution. Wessinger’s appeal is just the latest in a legal ﬁght that has lasted almost as long as his time on death row. His appeals have been heard multiple times by state and federal courts, and have reached as high as the U.S. Supreme Court. The panel’s Tuesday ruling reversed a previous ruling that vacated Wessinger’s death sentence. In that instance, the federal judge determined Wessinger’s courtappointed attorneys provided ineffective counsel during the sentencing phase of his 1997 trial. In the panel’s decision, Circuit Judge Don Willett described Wessinger’s appeal as a “clever” attempt to repackage a previously denied state-court argument and present it as new in federal court.

ä See APPEAL, page 8A

102ND yEAR, NO. 50

2A ■ Wednesday, August 19, 2026 ■ theadvocate.com ■ The Advocate

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FROM WIRE REPORTS

Explosions tear through Ohio building, killing 2

TOLEDO, Ohio — Explosions rocked an Ohio industrial recycling business early Tuesday, killing two workers and sparking a large fire, officials said. Flames and dark smoke poured from Brent Industries in Toledo as fire engines surrounded the building, TV news video showed. Crews later discovered the bodies of two employees, a man and a woman, inside the smoldering building, said Toledo Fire Chief Allison Armstrong. Two or three other employees had minor injuries, she said. Two explosions occurred shortly before 5 a.m., during a shift change, Armstrong said. Crews had to deal with hazardous materials, runoff and the threat of more explosions while first searching for victims and accounting for the other employees, she said. Environmental officials said monitors showed that there was no hazardous threat in the air. Demetrius Langston said he felt the explosion half a mile away. He ran outside with his phone and captured video of a huge plume of smoke rising into the dark sky. “The shock waves came down the block,” he said. “Then we all heard it again. Boom! You could feel it.”

Woman accused in plot gets 6 years in prison WASHINGTON — A Massachusetts woman who told police that she brought homemade ﬁrebombs to the U.S. Capitol to kill Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was sentenced on Tuesday to just over six years in prison. Riley English, a 26-year-old transgender woman, said she was in the grips of a mental health crisis and abusing drugs when she drove to Washington in January 2025 and told Capitol police that she was there to kill Bessent on the day of his Senate conﬁrmation. “I never wanted to hurt anyone,” she told U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras. “I’m not a political person. I’m not a violent person.” Contreras, who was nominated to the bench by Democratic President Barack Obama, sentenced English to six years and one month of imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release. English has remained jailed since her arrest and will get credit for the nearly 20 months that she already has spent in custody. She pleaded guilty in March to two weapons charges. “You’ve had a very difficult life,” Contreras told English. “Hopefully, the progress you’ve made in jail to this date has set you on the right path.” Nobody was injured, and Contreras said her plan to harm Bessent had an “exceedingly low or nonexistent” chance of success.

Comedians settle suit over airport drug search ATLANTA — Comedians Eric André and Clayton English have reached a settlement in a lawsuit they filed challenging a police program at the Atlanta airport that they said used racial profiling and coercive searches just as airline passengers, particularly Black passengers, were about to board their flights. The lawsuit, originally filed in October 2022, alleged that the two men were racially profiled and illegally stopped by Clayton County police at HartsfieldJackson Atlanta International Airport. The settlement agreement, announced Tuesday by the pair’s lawyers, does not include an admission of fault or liability but says the county has ended the program at issue and has no intention of reactivating it. Both men said officers at the airport singled them out because they were Black and grilled them about drugs while other passengers watched during separate stops about six months apart. In an interview when the lawsuit was filed, André called the experience “dehumanizing and demoralizing.” The stated purpose of the program was to fight drug trafficking, but the lawsuit said drugs are rarely found, criminal charges seldom result, and seized cash provides a financial windfall for the police department.

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End to military drills hurt South Korea alliance, observers say Joint exercises prepare for conflicts with North Korea

Liberia agrees to take 1,200 deportees from U.S.

BY HYUNG-JIN KIM

BY MARK MENGONFIA

SEOUL, South Korea — For decades, the United States and South Korea have regularly staged military drills to prepare their soldiers to work together smoothly in the event of a crisis or conﬂict with North Korea. But this year’s Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise, one of two main drills conducted by the allies annually, could be disrupted after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered his Pentagon chief to “substantially” scale it back just before its start Monday. He cited what he said was a good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korea’s refusal to join the U.S. war against Iran. It was unclear what parts of the 11-day exercise were being cut and to what extent, but many experts say Trump’s move threatens to hurt combined U.S.South Korean readiness and eventually weaken their decades-long alliance. The Ulchi Freedom Shield, or UFS, is largely a computer-simulated command post exercise meant to hone the allies’ ability to deal with potential regional security threats like North Korean aggression. The two countries usually hold ﬁeld training exercises during the command post exercise period. South Korea’s military had earlier said this year’s exercise would be similar in scale to previous years, with the participation of about 18,000 South Korean

MONROVIA, Liberia — Liberia has agreed to accept up to 1,200 third-country deportees from the United States, authorities in the West African country said Tuesday, in one of the largest such arrangements under the Trump administration’s broader crackdown on immigration. The deportees will be received within a year, with the first batch of 20 expected on Thursday, Liberia’s Information Minister Jerolinmek Piah told reporters. The 1,200 deportees will include Africans as well as nationals from North America, South America and the Caribbean, Piah said. Under a series of often-secret agreements, the Trump administration has deported thousands of people to nearly two dozen countries that are not their own, advocates say, with about 10 of them in Africa. A key issue in the agreements is that they can involve migrants with protection orders from a U.S. immigration judge not to be returned to their home countries because of concerns for their safety. The Liberian minister did not say if the deportees expected in Liberia had such protection orders. Liberia’s Justice Minister Natu Oswald Tweh said at Tuesday’s brieﬁng that the country has screened the list of migrants ahead of their arrival. “Most of them are people who had immigration violations and offenses,” he said. They “may wish to seek asylum” in Liberia after their arrival or “can leave the country whenever they desire,” Piah said. Piah added that Liberia will receive support from the U.S. to manage the program and strengthen its migration system. “Liberia’s gesture is entirely humanitarian and in keeping with the country’s longstanding traditions,” he said. “The government of Liberia intends to provide the transferred persons with the necessary support to seek protection in Liberia and to be safe during their stay here.”

Associated Press

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By AHN yOUNG-JOON

U.S. Army soldiers conduct a training exercise on a river in yeoncheon, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, on Tuesday. soldiers. The U.S. military said it would incorporate lessons from recent conflicts such as North Korea’s battlefield experiences on the Russia-Ukraine front. Local media reported South Korea and the U.S. had planned 14 field training exercises. The UFS, along with a similar joint war game in the spring, is a central pillar of the U.S.-South Korea alliance, which dates back to the 1950-53 Korean War. But it’s also a long-running source of tensions with North Korea, which has denounced the exercises as a rehearsal for war and responded with provocative missile tests. On Friday, North Korea’s Foreign Ministry accused the U.S. and South Korea of plotting more provocative drills this year and vowed to respond with “a new level of a deterrent.” The U.S. and South Korea have said their regular drills are defensive in nature.

In a social media post, Trump called the exercise costly, “with much of these costs paid for by the United States of America.” During his first term, Trump complained about the cost of drills with South Korea, suspending joint exercises in 2018 to advance now-stalled nuclear negotiations with North Korea. Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of about 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea, visited South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back on Tuesday for talks likely focusing on the adjustment of this year’s drills, according to media reports. South Korea’s Defense Ministry said it couldn’t confirm the reports. Yang Uk, an analyst at Seoul’s Asan Institute for Policy Studies, said the U.S. will likely participate in the command post exercise but cancel “some costly field training that requires large-scale movements of troops.”

Navy destroyer breaks down in the Pacific BY KONSTANTIN TOROPIN

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — A U.S. Navy destroyer with about 300 sailors aboard suffered a major breakdown in the Pacific Ocean last month that left it without power for four days, the Navy conﬁrmed in a statement. The USS Benfold “reported an engineering casualty involving its generators, causing a loss of power” on July 24, Navy spokesman Cmdr. Matthew Comer said in the statement. The breakdown meant the crew went without

drinking water, meals, functioning toilets and air conditioning for days aboard the ship, Comer said. The incident, which only became public on Friday when it was ﬁrst reported by USNI News, comes as the Pentagon grapples with serious questions about the quality of life aboard naval vessels and the military’s ability to supply ships during the conﬂict with Iran. Democratic lawmakers are calling for investigations into conditions aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. Reports last week revealed that the ship, which has spent a record-setting

250 uninterrupted days at sea, has experienced shortages of supplies, including food and hygiene products, while crew members have suffered from stress and poor mental health. Comer stressed that there were no injuries to the crew of the Benfold, “who demonstrated resilience, grit, professionalism, and unwavering steadiness in their response,” but that the ship needed assistance from the George Washington carrier strike group. The cruiser USS Robert Smalls provided meals to the stricken destroyer.

Frank Beard, drummer for rock trio ZZ Top, dies at 77 BY MARK KENNEDY Associated Press

NEW YORK — Frank Beard, the drummer for the Texas boogie-rock trio ZZ Top who kept the tempo for the band’s biggest hits like “Sharp Dressed Man,” “Legs” and “Gimme All Your Lovin,” has died. He was 77. Beard was in hospice care when he died Tuesday at his ranch in Richmond, Texas, with family members at his side, according to publicist Bob Merlis. Band co-founder and guitarist Billy Gibbons, on tour with bassist Elwood Francis, hailed Beard in a statement. “Today, Elwood and I lost a great friend and collaborator, and the world lost one of the most naturally innovative drummers and a great and true son of Texas. His signature backbeat was key to keeping ZZ on top. The band of which he was part for six decades is going to keep on keeping on as he had wished,” Gibbons said. ZZ Top sold more than 50 million records and had six singles that reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart. Seven of their albums have been in the Billboard 200’s Top 10 and they earned three Grammy Award nominations. “I’ve found the people I was meant to play with,” Beard says in the 2019 documentary “ZZ Top: That Little Ol’ Band from Texas.” “I never wanted to quit, and never wanted to get ﬁred.” Beard, from Frankston, Texas, met Gibbons in a band called The Moving Sidewalks and later introduced bassist and vocalist Dusty Hill who had been in several bands with Beard. The trio formed ZZ Top in 1969, naming themselves in part after blues singer Z.Z. Hill and inﬂuenced by the British power trio Cream and Jimmy Reed. They main-

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ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard died Tuesday at his ranch in Richmond, Texas. He was 77.

tained their original lineup for more than ﬁve decades. Their signature look — long, bushy beards on Gibbons and Hill, and dark sunglasses for all — didn’t change much, either. ZZ Top songs — with their sly and humorous lyrics — were popular in Hollywood, which used “Gimme All Your Lovin’ ” in “Happy Feet,” “Sharp Dressed Man” in “Evan Almighty,” “Legs” in “Air,” “Sleeping Bag” in “I, Tonya,” “Tush” in “Dazed and Confused,” “Mexican Blackbird” in “From Dusk Till Dawn” and “La Grange” in “Armageddon.” “The best way to describe ZZ Top is we’re interpreters of a great American art form,” Gibbons told The Dallas Morning News. Hill died in 2021. In March 2025, the band announced via Instagram that Beard would temporarily step away from the band’s tour to tend to foot and ankle problems. Beard died weeks after ZZ Top called off its Aug. 5 concert at the Hollywood Bowl due to his health issues. Beard is survived by his wife, Debbie Meredith, and three children.

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Trump threatened to bomb Oman, officials say President reportedly unhappy with Iran deal

BY SAMY MAGDY

Associated Press

CAIRO — U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to bomb Oman because he is unhappy that the country is close to a deal with Iran to manage ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, two regional officials said on Tuesday, a day after Trump leveled the threat. The officials said the Trump administration has told Oman it is opposed to parts of the yet-to-be-announced deal, including the joint Iranian and Omani management of the exit route out of the passage that’s critical to global supplies of oil and natural gas. The officials were briefed on the U.S. position and how the administration views Oman’s position. Meanwhile, a projectile hit a ship as it sailed out of the strait, and a cargo vessel was rendered a “constructive total loss” by multiple projectiles off the coast of Yemen, according to the British military’s maritime monitoring agency. The defense ministry of the United Arab Emirates said two ballistic missiles were launched from Iran toward the UAE. An Iranian official said the strait would not reopen until the United States meets Iran’s conditions. The U.S. believes Oman has not been tough enough in its negotiations with Iran and is unhappy with Oman’s agreement to collect voluntary fees from vessels, even if the charges are related to security and maritime environmental protection, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to journalists. Trump on Monday threat-

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By AMIRHOSEIN KHORGOOI

A small boat sails past cargo ships and other commercial vessels anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, earlier this month. ened to bomb Oman as it works with Iran on a deal to open the strait and pave the way for the U.S. and Iran to resume negotiations to end the war. He posted a map on social media on Tuesday depicting the strait as a U.S. territory. The president first mentioned the idea in an offhand comment last week. On Monday, he told reporters in the Oval Ofﬁce, “I like the idea of declaring it a territory,” without providing details. The White House on Tuesday referred to Trump’s remarks in the Oval Ofﬁce and declined to comment further. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi appeared to respond to Trump’s post on social media depicting the strait as American territory. “Just as Trump correctly wrote the name of the eternal Persian Gulf, his delusion regarding the Strait of Hormuz will soon either be corrected, or we will correct this deluded man’s delusions for him,” Gharibabadi wrote on X. Trump’s comment on Monday was not the first time he has threatened Oman. In May, he told reporters during a Cabinet meeting that Oman “will behave just like everybody else, or we will have to blow them up.” Iran reiterated Tuesday

that Tehran plans to maintain its grip on shipping trafﬁc until Washington meets its conditions. “Until the United States fulﬁlls its commitments under the agreement, including lifting the blockade, releasing frozen assets, lifting oil sanctions, ending threats and military operations on all fronts, and implementing the other conditions to which it committed, the Strait of Hormuz will not reopen,” said Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Iran’s parliamentary speaker and negotiator in

previous talks with the U.S. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that the Iranian-Omani deal could pave the way for Washington and Tehran to return to negotiations for a “compre-

hensive and permanent deal that addresses all concerns and enhances regional security and stability.” The statement came after a meeting between Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Omani counterpart Badr al-Busaidi. But it did not address Trump’s latest threat against Oman. Trump said on Tuesday the U.S. has no planned talks with Iran but insisted the strait is “open and operating,” despite limited trafﬁc, the reported boat strike and the end on Monday of the 60-day negotiating period between the countries. Trump wrote on social media that a U.S. blockade of the strait remains “in full force and effect,” adding that all water mines have been removed. As the talks between Iran and Oman continue, more attacks were reported in the region.

Both missiles fired at the UAE fell into the sea, the UAE Defense Ministry said. No damage or injuries were reported. Iran disputed the UAE’s claim that it launched missiles toward the country. The ministry later said assessments showed that the missiles targeted maritime traffic. It was not clear whether they directly targeted UAE ships or the country’s territorial waters. In the weeks after the U.S. and Israel launched a war against Iran on Feb. 28, the UAE was frequently targeted by Iranian missiles and drones, but Tuesday’s reported attack was the first in weeks. An unidentified projectile hit a ship early Tuesday in the strait off the coast of Oman, damaging the engine room and causing a casualty, according to the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations center.

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Israel strikes Syria air base BY SAMAR KASSABALI Associated Press

NASA PHOTOS

Images taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter shows before, left, and after images of a fresh crater on the moon created by a collision with a SpaceX rocket.

Images show crater that SpaceX rocket left on moon after drifting through rial that was close to the surRocket crashed 5space for more than a year. face and shaped by eons of It launched a pair of private solar wind, cosmic rays and into lunar surface moon landers with experi- micrometeorite strikes. The

ments and even a tiny rover in 2025 as part of NASA’s push to commercialize lunar AP aerospace writer exploration. Based on these new phoCAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A NASA spacecraft circling tos by NASA’s Lunar Reconthe moon is providing the naissance Orbiter, the fresh sharpest views yet of the crater appears to be 60 feet crater carved by a crashing across and less than 10 feet SpaceX rocket. The space deep, according to scienagency released before-and- tists. after photos of the impact Dark and bright streaks area Tuesday. are clearly visible emanatThe Falcon rocket’s up- ing like butterﬂy wings from per stage plowed into the the crater. The darker lines moon at 5,400 mph on Aug. represent excavated mate-

BY MARCIA DUNN

brighter rays indicate fresh rocks and dirt that were hurled from farther down. The spacecraft photographed the crater a week after the collision from 60 miles up, while zooming along at one mile per second. Flight controllers had to tilt the spacecraft so its cameras pointed toward the impact scene. The orbiter completes a lunar polar orbit every two hours, as the moon rotates beneath.

DAMASCUS, Syria — Israel struck an air base in northwest Syria early Tuesday, saying it aimed to prevent Turkish troops from deploying there. Turkey, which has close ties with the Syrian government and has been providing assistance to Syria’s military, has tense relations with Israel. The rival countries have sought to curb each other’s influence in neighboring Syria. Eight strikes hit the runway of the Abu Duhur air base in the northwestern province of Idlib, causing damage but no casualties, state TV said. Syria’s Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani told reporters in Damascus that Syria condemns the “Israeli aggression,” adding that the

strikes were “an unjustified provocation, a violation of Syria’s sovereignty, and a direct threat to regional and global stability.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ofﬁce said in a statement that Israel had attacked the base because Syria had been “on the verge of breaching” an agreed-upon “status quo in security matters” by allowing Turkish troops to deploy there. “Israel repeatedly warned Syria that such a deployment would pose a threat to Israel’s security. Syria chose to ignore these warnings,” the statement said. The Foreign Ministry of Turkey condemned the attack in a statement and called for “the international community to take a more decisive stance to end Israel’s escalating aggression against Syria and

to ensure accountability for these actions that disregard international law.” The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, said foreign fighters used to stay at the base before they were recently asked to leave. The Observatory added that Turkey, which is a main backer of Syria’s government, has been rehabilitating the air base that had been out of service for years during Syria’s conflict that left nearly half a million people dead. Tom Barrack, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey and special envoy to Syria, posted on X that Washington is “deeply concerned that the confirmed Israeli airstrikes” on the Abu Duhur air base constitute “an unnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability.”

Easy A

Back to school

special

Whistleblower alleges political pressure in antisemitism probes Task force pushed for settlements, complaint says

BY ERIC TUCKER and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press

WASHINGTON — A Trump administration task force created to combat antisemitism pushed for settlements with Ivy League universities despite government investigations that were rushed and incomplete or that failed to establish legal violations by the schools, a former Justice Department lawyer alleged in a whistleblower disclosure obtained by The Associated Press. The complaint alleges that the investigations into some of the nation’s most prestigious academic institutions were designed to strong-arm the schools into cutting deals for political purposes. Outcomes of the investigations were “predetermined, without regard to the evidence” in a “politically mandated effort” to extract money from schools through settlement demands and funding freezes under the pretext of rooting out antisemitism, the complaint alleges. The work of the multi-agency task force, launched by the Justice Department under then-Attorney General Pam Bondi in 2025, was “marked by extraordinary procedural irregularities, predetermined outcomes without factual or legal support” and disregard for the law and Constitution, lawyers for the former government attorney wrote in seeking watchdog investigations into their client’s complaints. The complaint taps into a broader public discussion about the administration’s efforts to confront allegations of antisemitism at colleges, a problem that received renewed attention during campus protests over Israel’s war in Gaza that some Jewish students said made them feel unsafe.

President Donald Trump returned to the White House with a goal of rooting out antisemitism that he said had gone unchecked during the Biden administration, but critics have called his government’s response heavy-handed and said it infringed on free speech rights and coerced concessions from public institutions. Lawyers for the former Justice Department attorney, identified as Haley Van Erem, filed the disclosure with the inspectors general at the departments of Justice and Health and Human Services, as well as with the Office of Special Counsel. Van Erem spent nearly a decade working in the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division before being involuntarily assigned to HHS to work on the Title VI investigations into the universities, the complaint says. The health department assignees were initially told to scrutinize allegations of antisemitism at medical school commencement ceremonies — the lawyers were advised of a New York Post story describing antisemitic conduct at graduation events, the complaint says — but the inquiries were later expanded to focus on the entire schools in the cases of Columbia and Brown, according to Van Erem’s account. Van Erem left the Justice Department in May 2025 because she was “unwilling to be made vulnerable to further participation in politically motivated investigations unsupported by facts and contrary to law,” says the complaint, which also says “officials targeted some Middle East Studies faculty for the content of their work and other professors for their Muslim faith.” Kiersten Pels, a Justice Department spokesperson, said the department “stands behind the integrity” of its investigations. A spokesperson for the Health and Human Services Department did not immediately respond to requests seeking comment Tuesday.

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Tupac Shakur’s autopsy photos shown at trial Testimony continues in murder case

BY JESSICA HILL Associated Press

LAS VEGAS — Some members of Tupac Shakur’s family stepped out of the courtroom Tuesday before prosecutors showed photos from his autopsy at the Las Vegas trial of the man charged in the killing of the rap giant. Others remained in the courtroom to face the grim facts of what happened to his body. The grisly photos came on the second day of testimony in the trial of 63-year-old Duane “Keffe D” Davis, who is charged with orchestrating the 1996 drive-by shooting in Las Vegas. He has pleaded not guilty and his lawyer in opening statements called the prosecution’s narrative “ﬁction.” Dr. Lisa Gavin, a forensic pathologist and medical examiner for Clark County, Nevada, described Shakur’s injuries and explained his cause of death. Jurors were shown photos of his body. Some relatives who remained in the courtroom looked away. Shakur’s cousin Zayd Akinyela said he wanted to stay in court to learn more. “I feel like the details, especially for people that are close to him, honestly for me helps, helps the grief process. I think we’ve been waiting 30 years to grieve properly,” Akinyela said outside the courtroom. “A lot of people don’t get to grieve until they understand what happened to their loved one and how it happened.” He added, “That’s why I wanted to stay and just see for my own personal closure.” He said he hadn’t known how many times his cousin

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JOHN LOCHER

Defense attorney Michael Sanft, foreground, cross-examines James McDonald during the murder trial of Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur on Tuesday. was shot and can’t help but think of the ways the night could have played out differently. Seeing the photos of Shakur’s body made him feel “Very angry, very angry, to say the least, very sad,” Akinyela said. Gavin described three bullets. One of them caused his lung to collapse and bleed, and doctors ultimately removed the damaged lung in an effort to save his life, she said. Additional bullets damaged his intestines and other parts of his body, she said. Jurors looked intently at the photos of Shakur’s body, which was bloated and had multiple chest wounds. The nearly full courtroom was silent. Gavin was not at Shakur’s 1996 autopsy but was called as a witness because the examiner who performed it has since died. Prosecutors allege Shakur was killed to avenge Shakur’s entourage attacking Davis’ nephew Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson a few hours earlier at the MGM Grand after a Mike Tyson ﬁght. Jurors were shown the casino surveillance video of a group of people beat-

ing and kicking someone on the ground. The video then showed Shakur and his entourage moving quickly through the crowded building in the minutes after. A few hours later, Shakur, riding in a black BMW with hip-hop mogul Marion “Suge” Knight, was gunned down by shots fired from a white Cadillac that had Davis, Anderson and two other men inside. Davis is not accused of pulling the trigger. After many technical and procedural witnesses, James McDonald brought both hostility and humor to the stand when he testified unwillingly under a court order. McDonald, like Knight, had been affiliated with the Mob Piru Bloods gang, and worked security for Knight at his Club 662, where Shakur and Knight had been headed when they were fired on. Davis was a member of the rival South Side Compton Crips. Asked by Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal if he was aware of why Anderson was beaten, he wouldn’t say. “I’m aware of a lot of things,” McDonald said, “things that was going on, people ain’t talked about them in 30 years. Today ain’t one of them.”

14 charged in Penn State drug ring Frat pledges cut, packaged drugs, report shows

By The Associated Press STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Penn State fraternity pledges were made to cut and package cocaine for a drug ring that was run out of two offcampus frat houses, authorities said. The illicit initiation was revealed Monday as Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday charged 14 people — including 13 current or former Penn State students — in connection with the alleged drug ring. The man accused of leading the operation, 24-yearold Agostino Abbatiello, surrendered on Tuesday after failing to appear for a scheduled arraignment on Monday on charges including possession with intent to deliver and conspiracy.

He was ordered jailed without bail. A message seeking comment was left for Abbatiello’s lawyer. According to court documents, the drug ring operated in 2023 and 2024, fueled by bulk quantities of cocaine that two of the charged men obtained from contacts in Philadelphia and New York. They cut and bagged the drugs mainly at the Sigma Chi and Delta Upsilon fraternity houses, using frat brothers and pledges as labor, then distributed it through Penn State students, court documents said. One of the men said a codefendant was the “largest distributor of cocaine” at Penn State and would “boast about how much money he was making from selling cocaine.” At least four of the defendants are current students, Sunday’s ofﬁce said. “This is very serious criminal conduct. There was

nothing junior or childlike about this type of conduct,” Sunday said at a news conference on Monday. “This was an upper-level trafﬁcking organization for this region in Pennsylvania.” Four people are charged with conspiracy, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activity, felony corrupt organizations and other offenses. Another defendant is charged with felony conspiracy and criminal use of a communication facility. Eight defendants are charged with misdemeanor drug possession. Paul Robinson, the father of a student who was accused with Abbatiello of being one of the ring’s two main suppliers, is charged with felony tampering, hindering apprehension and obstructing the investigation. Authorities say he took steps to conceal evidence, including a safe containing drugs and cash.

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Panettiere’s on-and-off boyfriend was at her S.C. apartment, report shows By The Associated Press

ter attempting lifesaving measures, the emergency GREENVILLE, S.C. — Hayden workers declared PanetPanettiere’s on-and-off boy- tiere dead at 2:31 p.m. No cause has been defriend Brian Hickerson and his brother Zach termined, and her Hickerson were at death remains unthe South Carolina der investigation. apartment where An autopsy found the actor died over no signs of trauma, the weekend, acand police said ofcording to a police ficers saw no signs report released of foul play. Tuesday. The onetime A Greenville po- Panettiere child star, who soared to fame in lice officer who responded to the residence the TV shows “Heroes” and Sunday afternoon was met “Nashville” while endurby the brothers and then ing struggles with alcohol observed paramedics per- addiction and depression, forming CPR on an unre- would have turned 37 on sponsive woman, the report Friday. Panettiere and Brian states. “The patient did not seem Hickerson had been in a tuto have any obvious physi- multuous relationship for cal reasons to be unrespon- years, with allegations the sive,” the officer notes. Af- 37-year-old aspiring actor

physically abused her. He was charged in 2020 with multiple counts of felony abuse, and he pleaded no contest to two counts of injuring a spouse or partner and served a short time in jail due to the case. He was sentenced to four years of probation and anger management and Alcoholics Anonymous sessions. He completed the terms and recently asked a judge to reduce his conviction to misdemeanors; that request was denied Thursday by a Los Angeles judge. Messages were sent Tuesday seeking comment from Pat Carey, an attorney for Hickerson. Panettiere wrote of Hickerson’s time behind bars, and how she hoped it would change him, in her memoir, “This Is Me,” which came out in May.

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Crews work to restore power in Hawaii after Lala hits islands BY JOSH KELETY Associated Press

STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Sid Edwards speaks during Tuesday’s news conference about the search for the body of Ja’Derrius Minnieweather.

LANDFILL

Continued from page 1A make any speculations, but I remain very, very hopeful,” he said. Morse said he and his team intend to return to the landﬁll Wednesday to continue the search until the results of the DNA come back as positive, or until Friday. The search at the 400-acre East Baton Rouge Landﬁll near Zachary started at 6 a.m. July 13. While the Baton Rouge Police Department is the lead agency on the case, the complexity of the search meant it required help from 12 other law enforcement agencies, including specialty teams from the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations and the Louisiana National Guard. More than 4,000 tons of waste have been processed by 821 search shifts. The teams spent nearly 17,500 hours searching in hazardous conditions. Over 4,000 bones were recovered during the search, all of which were found not to be human. There were eight cases where members of the search teams needed medical treatment for heat-related injuries, Mayor-President Sid Edwards said. “It was because of the determination, of the grit of these professionals, that this baby, a son of Baton Rouge, is going to be brought home,” Edwards said. Edwards said the search was unprecedented, with the national average of recovering a body from a landfill being only a 12% success rate. “They didn’t count Baton Rouge. They didn’t count these people up here and all their agencies from Baton Rouge. They didn’t count that,” Edwards said.

The case so far Minnieweather was last seen about 2 a.m. June 5 on Bradley Street in the Foster and Winbourne area, police said. Police said they believe Minnieweather was killed that night by Maurice Parms. While investigating the teen’s disappearance, police

discovered a 16-year-old girl who was allegedly involved in an illicit relationship with Parms. He was arrested June 10 on counts of indecent behavior with juveniles and computer-aided solicitation of a minor, but was released on bail a short time later. As the investigation continued, the 51-year-old Parms was arrested again June 20 on a count of ﬁrst-degree murder. Police say he allegedly beat Minnieweather to death and went to great lengths to hide the evidence. Morse said the department had evidence that strongly indicated Parms had killed Minnieweather and dumped the body in a garbage can. Parms admitted in an interview with police after his second arrest that he had met Minnieweather on June 4 at a residence on Bradley Street, which is the home of the 16-year-old girl, who police say was a friend of Minnieweather. Detectives obtained footage of a tall Black man dragging a trash can to a spot in the 3200 block of Conrad Street. They also found video from a minute later of a man matching Parms’ body type riding a child’s bike away from Conrad toward Charles Street. A male was also seen getting off the bike and throwing it into bushes, where he is then seen taking off a black mask, gloves and a T-shirt, which he threw into multiple garbage cans. Witnesses described seeing a tall man beating a smaller person while a child’s bike was in the

middle of the roadway. Detectives were able to locate blood soaked into the ground, and Parms’ truck tested positive for blood after detectives obtained a search warrant. Parms has not made any statements or cooperated with authorities to help them find Minnieweather’s body, according to Morse. Parms remains in the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison and is held without bail. His next court date is Oct. 15 for a bail review hearing. If he is convicted of firstdegree murder, Parms would face the possibility of the death penalty. Assistant District Attorney Tiara Jones will represent Minnieweather and his family in court and be a strong voice for his case, according to East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore. “At this stage we, the District Attorney’s Office have not only the duty but the pleasure and the honor now to speak for Ja’Derrius and his family,” Moore said. Even with the possibility of Minnieweather’s body being found, the work isn’t over yet, Morse said. “I don’t think it’s completely sunk in yet because there’s still work to do, right? We’re going to be out there again tomorrow. The job’s not done, and the job will not be done until we are able to hand over a completed case, and we see Maurice Parms responsible,” Morse said. Staff writer Blake Leschber contributed to this report.

Crews were working to restore power to thousands of Hawaii residents Tuesday after the outer bands of Lala battered the archipelago over the weekend, causing destructive ﬂooding and killing one person, before weakening from a hurricane to a tropical storm. Crews on the Big Island were working to clear and restore roads. Most public schools across Hawaii reopened but Hawaii County’s non-emergency operations were still suspended, ofﬁcials said. Tourists were among those impacted by power outages. Sydney Ambrose, a California resident who was visiting Maui with her son and mother, said that

they had just sat down to order at a restaurant in Kaanapali on the island’s west side when the power went out. Their hotel also lost power, forcing them to try to sleep without air conditioning in a hot room. Hotel guests gathered on the ground ﬂoor to use the few working power outlets to charge their phones and other devices, she said. “We were pretty anxious,” Ambrose said. “My mom was a little bit freaked out.” The storm has since moved west, according to the National Weather Service. It is expected to eventually turn north toward the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, a massive and remote federally protected area of the Paciﬁc with islands, atolls,

sea mounts, shoals and coral reefs. Hawaiian Electric said inspections are showing signiﬁcant damage, especially in remote areas, and crews were working overnight to restore power to thousands across the Big Island, Maui, and Oahu. Many large trees in Maui’s upcountry region fell and toppled power lines and damaged infrastructure, according to Maui County ofﬁcials. “Roads are getting cleared, debris is getting cleaned up, and the people, while hurting, remain strong,” Hawaii County Mayor Kimo Alameda said Monday. Officials said the storm caused one death — a 90-year-old woman who had been reported missing in Naalehu and then found dead on Monday.

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PROGRESS

Continued from page 1A regions outside Baton Rouge was 25. McMath, who grilled Harris about the caseloads, expressed confusion over how the agency had lowered its numbers. Last spring, some employees were handling 75, 90 and even 165 cases, McMath said. Many of those employees had since left the department, according to McMath, who said he came to that conclusion by comparing lists of current and past employees. And, he added, 24 of the department’s 89 child welfare trainees left between March and July of this year. “How has the department been able to reduce caseloads and clear backlog cases when employees leave and ship those cases to someone else who either has an equally high caseload or is too new to carry more than one or two cases?” McMath asked. “Help me make the math make sense.” “I’d probably have to make it make sense per region,” said Guillory, adding that in November, she instructed regional directors to come

APPEAL

Continued from page 1A In her own statement, Attorney General Liz Murrill summarized the court’s decision as ruling that Wessinger had presented “the same claim with additional evidence,” but that failed to make a “new claim that could be used to obtain federal relief.” “Today is a huge victory for justice and for the Guzzardo family, who have waited decades to see justice for their daughter, Stephanie. I promised Wayne and Carolyn Guzzardo that I would never stop ﬁghting for them, and today we are one step closer to keeping that promise. We will ensure justice

STAFF FILE PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK

Rebecca Harris, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services, and other department officials were grilled Tuesday during a meeting of the Senate Select Committee on Women and Children. up with tailored “backlog burndown” plans. Meanwhile, Barrow questioned Harris as to why Baton Rouge struggled so badly as compared with other parts of the state. Harris said she believed it had to do with “leadership” issues there. “We have made changes in stafﬁng within that ofﬁce.

We have brought in individuals and leadership from other ofﬁces that are very successful,” Harris said, adding that she hoped that the agency would soon see better results.

Staffing reassignments Later in the meeting, McMath shared a concern he had received from a con-

stituent, who told him DCFS had moved a hundred state office workers back into the field to do case management — and was refilling the state

office positions with people from the Louisiana Department of Health and applicants without child welfare experience. After DCFS restructured itself last year by moving some benefit-related functions to LDH, the child welfare agency asked individuals with expertise in direct casework to help in the state’s regional offices, Harris confirmed. “No one took a cut in pay,” she said. Very few people without child welfare experience were being hired into the state office, Harris said. And those that were being hired had another skill set the department needed, such as a background in call center management or clinical expertise, she said. “There are positions — they may have the same job title, but the duties within that job are very different,” Harris said. Lawmakers also heard from Kimberly Chachere, a longtime employee who

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

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is ﬁnally done for Stephanie Guzzardo and David Breakwell,” Murrill said. A spokesperson for Murrill’s office said they are “continuing to assess next steps” in seeking Wessinger’s execution. Wessinger could still possibly appeal the 5th Circuit’s decision.

Wessinger hiding in a cooler. He was fatally shot as well. Another employee, who’d greeted Wessinger as he walked in, was shot in the back but survived to later testify. Wessinger aimed at a fourth employee, but his pistol jammed. Before leaving, Wessinger stole $7,000 from the ofﬁce. Wessinger was tried in the A 1995 double murder 19th Judicial District Court Thirty-one years ago, then and convicted of two counts 27-year-old Wessinger biked of ﬁrst-degree murder folto the Perkins Road res- lowing an eight-day trial in taurant he used to work at, June 1997. One day after the conviccame in through a back door and began shooting his for- tions, a jury returned death penalty verdicts for both mer co-workers. Stephanie Guzzardo, murder counts during the a 27-year-old manager, sentencing phase. begged for her life before being shot in the heart. Da- Email Quinn Coffman vid Breakwell, a 47-year-old at quinn.coffman@ dishwasher, was found by theadvocate.com.

said she was moved back to the field from a managerial position in the state office. The change “hurt,” she said, but she decided to move forward and apply for other openings. Now, she is the area director for the Baton Rouge region. “I have told all of my staff that I work with every day, ‘I know what you’re feeling, I have lived it with you,’ ” Chachere said. “‘It’s hard … but we don’t know the bigger picture that is being looked at. We only know our piece of the picture.’ ” Also on Monday, Harris agreed to roll back a policy change governing how foster parents are paid. That commitment came at the urging of state lawmakers — and after the committee heard concerns that the change was making it more difficult for foster parents to afford offering care.

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Minn. AG sues Texas governor over ICE agent BY MARK VANCLEAVE and RUSS BYNUM Associated Press

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota’s attorney general sued the governor of Texas on Tuesday, seeking to compel the extradition of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent charged with wounding a man and then lying to justify the shooting during the agency’s crackdown in Minneapolis. Attorney General Keith Ellison is asking a federal judge to bar the sheriff in Cameron County, Texas, from releasing ICE agent Christian Castro, and to order Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to sign his extradition warrant so that Minnesota officers can take custody. Minnesota officials have clashed with the federal government over who has jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute federal officers for on-duty conduct. Ellison is a Democrat and Abbott is a Republican ally of President Donald Trump. Castro was arrested in Texas in

Cesar Sosa-Celis. Castro, 52, is accused of ﬁring a gun through the front door of a Minneapolis home, striking Sosa-Celis in the leg with a bullet that lodged in a child’s bedroom wall. Prosecutors say Castro then falsely accused Sosa-Celis and another man of attacking an ICE ofﬁcer with a broom handle and a snow shovel. Ellison told a news conference that unless he’s extradited, Castro could be released from jail next week — 90 days since he was detained — under Texas law. And if he’s freed, Castro could slip into ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO Mexico from the border town Minnesota Attorney General Keith where he’s being held, Ellison said. Ellison is asking a federal judge The lawsuit said Castro has been making calls from jail to a woman to order Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in Mexico, talking “about marto sign an ICE agent’s extradition her and buying a house in warrant so that Minnesota officers rying Mexico when he is released.” can take him into custody. “Christian Castro has been charged with breaking the law in May on Minnesota charges of as- Minnesota,” Ellison said. “He must sault and falsely reporting a crime face justice in Minnesota. Gov. in the Jan. 14 wounding of Julio Abbott should have granted Gov.

Fla. carries out 13th execution of year

of the execution, and and then went to Woodard’s Man convicted of amost priest sat at his feet and Orlando-area home, where Asked if he had any his wife had been living since fatally shooting prayed. ﬁnal words, Silvia said, “I’m their separation two months all this happened. It was earlier. The family was in estranged wife sorry an accident. I never meant to the middle of a cookout when

BY DAVID FISCHER Associated Press

STARKE, Fla. — A Florida man convicted of fatally shooting his estranged wife and wounding his mother-in-law was executed Tuesday, continuing the state’s aggressive use of the death penalty in Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ ﬁnal term. William Frances Silvia, 61, was pronounced dead at 5:11 p.m. after receiving a three-drug injection at Florida State Prison near Starke. Silvia was already strapped to a gurney with an IV in his arm when the curtain to the death chamber went up at 5 p.m. He remained relatively motionless with his eyes and mouth open throughout

hurt her.” A warden shook him and shouted his name several minutes after the lethal drugs began flowing but got no response. A medic declared him dead a short time later. Silvia is the 13th prisoner put to death this year in Florida, which has two more executions scheduled in September. The state has carried out more than half of the nation’s 23 executions so far in 2026. Silvia was sentenced to death after being convicted of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder for the deadly 2006 attack on Patricia Silvia, along with her mother, Betty Woodard. According to court records, William Frances Silvia purchased a shotgun that year

Silvia arrived, and after an unsuccessful attempt to reconcile, authorities said Silvia retrieved the shotgun from his truck and shot the two women. Pamela Wyatt, Patricia Silvia’s sister, said William Frances Silvia’s actions not only took her sister’s life but changed the lives of everyone who loved her. “Nothing that happens today can give us those stolen years. No execution can return Patricia to her children and give her the grandchildren she dreamed of knowing,” Wyatt said after the execution. “But today can be an opportunity to remember that Patricia’s life was bigger than the terrible act that ended it.”

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Walz’s extradition request long ago and is required to do so now.” Abbott said Tuesday that he has no immediate intention to respond to extradition requests from Minnesota. He cited ongoing investigations of fraud in government social service programs in Minnesota, which Trump used to justify his immigration crackdown there. “I will not respond to them at all until they step up and do what’s right and they acknowledge their fault in the fraud that took place,” Abbott said during a news conference on an unrelated topic in Austin, Texas. The extradition lawsuit Ellison ﬁled in U.S. District Court in Texas cites a 1987 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that compliance with the Constitution’s extradition clause is mandatory, affording no discretion to the governor of a state where a defendant is being held. It was not immediately known if Castro had a lawyer who could speak for him. Online court re-

cords in Minnesota and county jail records in Texas did not list a defense attorney. The jail holding Castro declined to relay a message to him from The Associated Press. Abbott’s office said in a statement that it would not comment on “pending extradition matters.” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said the legal action to compel Castro’s extradition “should be a completely unnecessary lawsuit.” She said jail officials and prosecutors in Texas have been “very cooperative,” and that an extradition “is not supposed to be controversial.” The office of Cameron County Sheriff Manny Trevino declined to comment Tuesday on the case. Authorities say Sosa-Celis was shot after Castro and another officer chased a different man, Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna, to the Minneapolis apartment duplex where he and Sosa-Celis lived. Sosa-Celis and Aljorna were legally in the U.S., according to Minnesota officials.

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Judge presiding over probe won’t be recused Requests in Dunn corruption investigation filed too late

BY QUINN COFFMAN Staff writer

Requests to recuse Judge Gail Horne Ray from the Louisiana Attorney General Office’s investigation into alleged Baton Rouge city corruption were denied Tuesday on the grounds they were filed too late. Judge Marilyn Castle, who was appointed to rule on dozens of recusal requests from Attorney General Liz Murrill’s office, said

Tuesday the requests were made outside of the allowed 30-day window, measured from the moment prosecutors learned of facts they believe made a recusal necessary. Murrill ﬁled the recusals on the grounds that her ofﬁce are defendants in an ongoing voting-rights lawsuit brought by three Baton Rouge judges, including Ray. In the case of Metro Council member Cleve Dunn, the motions were filed on June 1, nearly six months after the case was first

brought before Ray. The Attorney General’s Office argued Dunn’s case was handed off between prosecutors in their office recently due to a medical crisis. The recusal had been filed within 30 days of the new prosecutor taking the case up and so should be approved, they said. Castle did not agree that this handoff counted as a new start to the window for the Attorney General’s Office to file for Ray’s recusal.

“It would be one thing if we were dealing with a sole practitioner who got sick and nobody could act on their behalf, but we’re dealing with an ofﬁce here,” Castle said. Her ruling was the same for all of Dunn’s co-defendants, including: former bus system official Pearlina Thomas, and contractors Jay Colar, Terral “TJ” Jackson and Erica Jackson. All ﬁve have had new court dates scheduled for Sept. 23 and 24, each back on Ray’s docket. Prosecutors say Dunn, 49, helped steer the Capital Area Transit System contract to Colar, who was

also indicted earlier this year. Colar then paid more than 90% of the contract to Dunn as a kickback, prosecutors claim. Speaking outside the courthouse Tuesday, Harry Daniels III, Dunn’s attorney, said the ruling was “the ﬁrst step of justice working.” “I think it was the right ruling by the court,” Daniels said. “We look forward to doing motions and everything else for the process to work. It’s going to work in Mr. Dunn’s favor.” Email Quinn Coffman at quinn. coffman@theadvocate.com.

Slaughter charter OK’d to open new school Campus would compete with elementary facility

BY CHARLES LUSSIER Staff writer

STAFF PHOTOS By JAVIER GALLEGOS

HAVEN FROM THE HEAT St. Vincent de Paul in Baton Rouge offers an indoor cooling center to escape the heat. Free water is provided to guests. TOP: People gather around to watch TV at the indoor cooling center at St. Vincent de Paul on Saturday. RIGHT: As temperatures reached a high of 99 degrees outside, a visitor cools off inside while drinking a Gatorade.

An A-rated charter school in Slaughter is poised to open a new elementary school in the town, but only if it agrees to cut its planned enrollment in half. Slaughter Community Charter School’s application for a new campus earned preliminary approval Tuesday. The Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education is expected to ratify that action when it meets again Wednesday for its regular meeting. The new elementary campus would compete directly with Slaughter Elementary, which has historically served as a feeder to the charter school. It would also draw students from three public schools in Clinton and one in Jackson. The East Feliciana Parish School Board rejected the proposed school in January, prompting Slaughter Community Charter to appeal to BESE. More than a dozen district employees drove to Baton Rouge on Tuesday to oppose the charter. “Why change what isn’t broken?” asked Sarah Moreland Guidry, who works in human resources. Guidry called it an “unnecessary school” that would undermine Slaughter Elementary. “It would be nothing more than a measure to divide our community,” she said. Stephanie Goudeau, the director of the charter school, said the new school is responding to parent demand for more options. “We don’t want to harm anyone. We just want to offer choice,” she said.

ä See SCHOOL, page 2B

Lawsuit challenging 23rd Judicial Man allegedly drives through District judge’s candidacy rejected Ascension Parish cemeteries Plaintiff appeals immediately BY ANNAKATE FREELAND Staff writer

A St. James Parish judge ruled Tuesday that 23rd Judicial District Court Judge Steven Tureau can remain on the November ballot, rejecting a lawsuit that sought to disqualify him over his state income tax ﬁlings. Robert J. Snyder Jr. and Ruth W.

Snyder, both of St. James Parish, filed the lawsuit Friday seeking to disqualify Tureau from the Division D race. Robert Snyder registered to run against Tureau for the seat. Ruth Snyder is Robert Snyder’s aunt. Following Tuesday’s ruling, Robert Snyder immediately appealed the decision before the court was dismissed. Tureau first took office in 2020. The 23rd Judicial District covers Ascension, Assumption and St. James parishes.

Robert Snyder alleged Tureau falsely certified on his qualifying paperwork that he had filed his state income tax returns for 2022 through 2024. Tureau’s attorney, Rob Marionneaux, argued during the hearing Tuesday that Tureau met the requirements because he had received extensions to file his returns. On the qualifying form, paragraph nine states that applicants

ä See RULING, page 2B

A man has been arrested after he allegedly damaged multiple graves by veering off a state highway and driving through two Ascension Parish cemeteries. Byron Buie, 70, of Prairieville, was CRIME booked into the BLOTTER Ascension Parish jail on five counts staff of desecration of reports graves, two counts of simple criminal damage to property and one count of hit-and-run driving, the Sheriff’s Ofﬁce said in a news release. The Sheriff’s Of-

ﬁce said tips from the community helped identify Buie. The department released a video Monday showing someone driving at a high speed on La. 933 before going off the road and reemerging some distance away, without stopping. The vehicle’s route took it through two cemeteries across from the Galvez campus of the Household of Faith Church, damaging graves, caskets and fencing. The Sheriff’s Ofﬁce said it caused more than $10,000 in damage.

ä See BLOTTER, page 2B

2B ■ Wednesday, August 19, 2026 ■ theadvocate.com ■ The Advocate

lll

Livingston Parish Sheriff Jason Ard poses with nearly 800 pounds of methamphetamine seized during an April drug bust. PHOTO PROVIDED By LIVINGSTON PARISH SHERIFF’S OFFICE

STAFF FILE PHOTO By BILL FEIG

Under a clear sky, traffic zips to and from the Sunshine Bridge near Donaldsonville in 2020.

Officials: One lane of Sunshine Bridge to close for 2 weeks

BY ELLYN COUVILLION

Staff writer

Motorists traveling eastbound across the bridge should allow for additional travel time, as delays may occur during the inspection work, the agency said. “Pay close attention to posted signs and trafﬁc control devices and be especially mindful of workers and equipment in the area,” the DOTD said.

The right, eastbound lane of the Sunshine Bridge will be closed for several hours a day this week and next as crews conduct bridge inspection work, the state Department of Transportation and Development said. The closures, which started Monday, will continue from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each Email Ellyn Couvillion at day through Aug. 28, the ecouvillion@theadvocate. DOTD said. com.

RULING

eral and state income tax returns, have filed for an extension of time for filing Continued from page 1B either my federal or state income tax return or both, must confirm “that for each or was not required to file of the previous five tax either or federal or state inyears, I have filed my fed- come tax return or both.”

SCHOOL

Continued from page 1B BESE voted 9-2 in favor of the new school, with members Conrad Appel and Lance Harris voting no. Slaughter Community Charter School, which opened in 2011, has close to 400 students in grades seven to 12. It has similar racial demographics to Slaughter Elementary; about 60% of the students are White and 30% are Black. For years, the two schools had comparable academic performance. But since COVID-19, Slaughter Elementary has slipped to a C letter grade, while the charter has improved. East Feliciana Parish Superintendent Keisha Netterville said the school district just suffered a $2 million cut in state funding and would lose another $2 million over time if the new school opens. She said the school district has shown ample academic growth. “We should strengthen that momentum, not jeopardize it,” Netterville said. Kimberly Glascock, a supervisor of curriculum and instruction and a former principal of Slaughter Elementary, said creating the new school makes no sense and will damage an already successful elementary school. “Slaughter Elementary has always been a shining light,” she said. “Please do not dim that light and divide our community even more.” The new elementary school in Slaughter is set to open in fall 2027. In an unusual move, it plans to start with sixth grade and add grades over time until reaching capacity in fall 2032. Unlike the current school, the new school would have a Type 2 charter that would allow it to enroll students from outside East Feliciana Parish. Students attending the new elementary school who live outside East Feliciana would not be able to enroll in the secondary school since that school is open only to parish residents. Charter schools are public schools run privately via charters, or contracts. Cutting its enrollment in half is the price exacted by

the Louisiana Department of Education before the state agency was willing to recommend the new school. Now, the new school would shoot for a total of 203 students once at capacity versus 420 students. German Gilson, assistant superintendent for school choice for the state agency, noted that East Feliciana has a limited number of schoolage children, making it hard to justify a new elementary school that enrolled “400some odd students in a very small rural parish.” Massachusetts-based SchoolWorks evaluated Slaughter Community’s charter proposal and recommended approval, saying it met all 124 applicable standards. State schools Superintendent Cade Brumley said he’d hoped that the East Feliciana Parish School Board and Slaughter Charter could have reached an agreement rather than seeking a state charter. “It is certainly a school that is worth expansion,” Brumley said. Toby Daspit, an education professor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, disputed that idea. Daspit conducted a third-party evaluation for East Feliciana leaders urging them to reject Slaughter Community’s charter application. Testifying Tuesday, Daspit said the charter group offered nothing innovative in its proposal, and it lacked expertise in educating younger children. “Yes, they operate a successful secondary school, but can they scale it down to an elementary level?” Daspit asked. The School Board, through the years, has resisted efforts to expand Slaughter Community Charter into the lower grades. In 2017, it rejected an application to convert Slaughter Elementary into a charter school run by Slaughter Community Charter. In 2025, Slaughter Charter sought to amend its contract to add sixth grade. The school district agreed but would allow only 15 students to enroll; Slaughter Community Charter normally enrolls about 60 students per grade. The charter school then revived the idea of starting a new charter elementary

No charges filed in seizure of nearly 800 pounds of meth Investigators: Suspect unaware of illegal goods

BLOTTER

Continued from page 1B The investigation remains ongoing, the Sheriff’s Ofﬁce said.

6 suffer minor injuries in bus crash Six children were transported to a hospital with minor injuries Tuesday morning after a school bus crashed with another vehicle, a West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Ofﬁce spokesperson said. The crash happened about 6:45 a.m. on La. 415 near Main Street, Sgt. Landon Groger said. The vehicles were off the roadway shortly after 8 a.m., he said.

Livingston Parish made the national spotlight this month when the Sheriff’s Office announced it had seized nearly 800 pounds of methamphetamine, one of the largest drug busts in Louisiana history. The Aug. 11 announcement came in a social media post complete with an image of Sheriff Jason Ard standing in front of two towering pyramids made from the seized drugs. But months after the bust, which occurred in April, no one has been charged in

connection with the seized drugs, which a Sheriff’s Office spokesperson estimated had a street value of $8 million to $10 million. “Based on our conversation with LPSO and the feds, we rejected (the charges),” District Attorney Scott Perrilloux said. “We rejected it because we could not establish this defendant knew there were drugs in the trailer, based on the reports and further discussion with the Sheriff’s Office.” The seizure was made on April 22 when Sheriff’s Office deputies pulled over an 18-wheeler on Interstate 12 in Denham Springs. Deputies arrested the truck’s driver, Russian national Anton Racov, who was named in the sheriff’s post about the seizure but

was never charged in connection with the case. Perrilloux said the man may have been an unwitting participant in the drug scheme. The investigation indicates Racov likely believed he was transporting legal goods and was unaware of the copious amounts of drugs in the truck. Racov was later taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on July 3. It is unknown if he has been deported. Asked why the Sheriff’s Ofﬁce waited months to inform the public of the seizure, Ard wrote, “As you can imagine, cases of that magnitude require time to process. Lots of moving parts — still. Investigation ongoing.”

The death of a West Baton Rouge jail inmate, who died in early July, was from natural causes, the Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday after the Coroner’s Office released its findings. The inmate, 46-year-old Darren Dorma Jr., was found unresponsive in his cell about 9:30 p.m. July 5, the Sheriff’s Office said at the time. Staff administered first aid while Emergency Medical Services was on the way, but Dorma died despite the life-saving measures taken. The Coroner’s Office reported that Dorma died of hypertensive heart disease.

Dale Thornton, a certiﬁed public accountant who has worked with Tureau and his wife on their taxes for several years, testiﬁed that the couple had requested extensions for their 2022, 2023 and 2024 tax returns.

Robert Snyder alleged that Tureau did not ﬁle his taxes after Snyder requested records from the Louisiana Department of Revenue. In the request, Robert Snyder requested only records of ﬁlings, not extensions.

“He knew what he was going to get if he drafted it in accordance with paragraph nine,” Marionneaux said. If the judge had ruled in favor of Robert Snyder and removed Tureau’s candidacy, Snyder would automati-

cally be named 23rd Judicial District Court Division D judge. “I don’t see you disqualifying Judge Tureau with what this judicial district would be left with,” Marionneaux told the judge.

school. This time, the new school plans to operate initially on the nearby charter school campus. Last year, 22 acres adjacent to the charter school were purchased, land that could serve as a permanent location for the new elementary school. Slaughter Elementary, with 466 students, is East Feliciana Parish’s largest public school. It educates

30% of the 1,600-plus students in the school district. Slaughter Elementary and the charter school in Slaughter combined educate more

than half the students in the district. The almost 800 students in other district schools are about 84% Black and almost all qualify for

public assistance programs.

BY GIGI LIMAN Staff writer

Death of inmate due to natural causes

Email Charles Lussier at clussier@theadvocate. com.

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KIRKPATRICK TASKER JR 09/05/2000 BLACK / MALE 5’10 / 180 LBS BLACK HAIR / BROWN EYES FTA: ILLEGAL USE/ POSSESSION/CONTROL OF WEAPONS-CRIME OF VIOLENCE/CDS, DISTRIBUTION OR POSSESSION WITH THE INTENT TO DISTRIBUTE MARIJUANA, THC OR SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS Warrants active as of 8/18/26

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BUSINESS

The Advocate ■ theadvocate.com ■ Wednesday,August 19, 2026 ■ 3B

T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M/news/business

DOW 53,343.40 -116.38 -0.22%

NASDAQ 26,289.71 -355.20 -1.33%

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FROM WIRE REPORTS

Sinking AI stocks pull Wall Street further from record

NEW YORK — Wall Street pulled further from its all-time high on Tuesday as artificial intelligence stocks got back to sinking. The S&P 500 fell 0.7% for a third straight modest loss since setting its all-time high on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 116 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 1.3%. Leading the way lower were stocks that have been big winners in the boom around AI technology. They’ve been veering up and down this summer on worries that their prices shot too high in the AI frenzy and that the strong demand for memory, processors and other building blocks of data centers may fizzle out if AI proves less profitable than promised. Micron Technology dropped 7%, and the seller of computer memory was one of the heaviest weights on the S&P 500. So were chip companies Nvidia, which fell 2.3%, and Broadcom, which sank 3.2%. Even with their recent swings, such stocks remain big winners, and Micron has more than tripled this year. But stocks that critics call too expensive get more scrutiny when interest rates are high, and yields remained that way in bond markets worldwide Tuesday. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury edged down to 4.70% from 4.72% late Monday but remains well above its 3.97% level from just before the war with Iran began. The 30-year Treasury yield also ticked lower but is still near its highest level since 2007.

S&P 500 7,691.76 -53.30 -0.69%

EURO 1.1576 -0.0001 -0.01%

CRUDE OIL 84.94 0.44 0.52%

GOLD 4,366.00 -51.80 -1.17%

Costco to launch its own healthcare plan Costco is partnering with a nonprofit to launch its own brand of Medicare. The warehouse chain has agreed to work with a California-based nonproﬁt insurer called SCAN to offer a Medicare Advantage plan that includes a suite of senior-focused insurance products. For Costco, the move means breaking into a Medicare Advantage industry worth more than $500 billion, in which private insurers offer health plans approved by Medicare. And for SCAN, a midsized organization with around half a million members, partnering with Costco means access to millions of Medicare enrollees who use Costco. In a SCAN news release on Tuesday, the nonproﬁt said the products will integrate with Costco’s current prescription, vision, hearing and over-the-counter offerings, which attract seniors. “Older adults want healthcare that is easier to navigate, more responsive to their needs and rooted in organizations they trust,” SCAN CEO Sachin H. Jain said in the news release.

30-YR T-BONDS 5.28 -0.03 -0.6%

ABC sues FCC over license challenge

Kimmel — an outspoken whose hosts and guests are often ditional work for the FCC ahead.” Broadcaster says Jimmy Trump critic — had infuriated the critical of Trump, subject to equalCarr, a longtime FCC commispresident, who has called for Kim- time rules. That’s a question ABC sioner, was named chairman by actions present mel’s ﬁring. says the agency itself decided — in Trump in November 2025. He has “Again and again, the Adminis- the network’s favor — more than indeed made it clear that he is conhas attacked ABC’s speech two decades ago. ABC argues “The sidering revoking ABC’s licenses, ‘existential threat’ tration — the stories its journalists report View” is a bona ﬁde news program, or trying to, in what would surely

BY JOCELYN NOVECK AP national writer

Further escalating its battle with the Trump administration, ABC on Tuesday took the rare step of suing the Federal Communications Commission on First Amendment grounds, saying the agency’s demand for early review of its broadcast licenses posed an “existential threat” to the network. In the lawsuit, ABC, its parent company Disney and the eight ABC-owned stations whose licenses are affected asked a federal court to stop the early renewal proceedings. The FCC under Chairman Brendan Carr, an ally of President Donald Trump, had ordered the early review in April — itself a rare move — of all eight licenses owned by ABC, years before they are set to expire. Licenses are issued for eight-year periods. The FCC cited the network’s diversity and inclusion practices as a reason, but the development came shortly after a joke by ABC’s late-night host

and the viewpoints its network programs air,” the network alleged in its lawsuit Tuesday. “Over time, those attacks have escalated into express demands that ABC be stripped of its broadcast licenses because of its speech.” “Facing this existential threat,” it added, “Plaintiffs have no choice but to seek redress from the judicial branch for the Administration’s blatant retaliation for their First Amendment speech.” It said ABC had “no alternative means to eliminate these ongoing and immediate threats other than total capitulation to the Administration’s demands.” It asked the court to “immediately enjoin Defendants from taking or threatening to take any action against Plaintiffs in relation to the early license renewal applications.” The early license review is only one part of a long-simmering confrontation between ABC and the FCC. The network has also been ﬁghting Carr’s efforts to make the morning talk show “The View,”

meaning it’s exempt from equal time rules, which require granting equal airtime to competing candidates for office. The ABC lawsuit Tuesday also spoke of broad ramifications that go well beyond one network. “The consequences of the Administration’s campaign against free speech reach well beyond ABC,” it said. “If the Administration gets its way, the message to every media company in the country will be unmistakable: tell only the stories the Administration deems favorable, or face the coercive machinery of the federal government. In such a world, the press could in no way be described as free.” It added: “The FCC Chairman has left little doubt that this is his goal.” The lawsuit also quoted Carr as saying, when Kimmel made comments that angered the administration, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways ... to take action ... on Kimmel, or there is going to be ad-

be a drawn-out legal process. Longtime free-speech attorney Floyd Abrams noted that tensions between the press and the commission are not new — but have never been this pronounced. “There has long been a level of tension between the broadcast media, which seeks full First Amendment protection, and the FCC,” Abrams wrote in an email to The Associated Press. “But not until the Trump Administration has the government so directly, so deliberately and so dangerously sought to limit the freedom of the broadcast press to cover and discuss the news.” The sole Democrat on the commission, Anna Gomez, commended ABC and Disney for pushing back against the FCC’s actions. “For months, the FCC has waged a campaign of censorship and control against Disney’s ABC stations,” she said in a statement, “using the threat of broadcast license revocations to punish a company for speech this administration doesn’t like.”

St. Jude names Dr. Charles Roberts as new CEO

Meta Platforms faces pivotal trial OAKLAND, Calif. — Opening statements started Tuesday in a pivotal trial for Meta Platforms in a California federal court, where states are seeking billions of dollars in damages for social media harms to children. Attorneys general from California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey are seeking a ﬁnancial penalty that could, in theory, total as much as $1.4 trillion plus changes to how the company operates Facebook and Instagram. Twenty-nine states sued the tech giant in 2023 over child safety and privacy — the other 25 will go to trial later. The company also faces lawsuits in state courts. The lawsuit accuses the social media giant of contributing to the youth mental health crisis by knowingly and deliberately designing features that addict children to its platforms. It also argues that Meta routinely collects data on children under 13 without their parents’ consent, in violation of federal law. Megan O’Neill, a deputy attorney general for the California Department of Justice, laid out the states’ case for jurors during opening statements in federal court in Oakland, California. “You’re going to hear that Meta knew a lot about kids’ brains,” O’Neill said. This includes how they are constantly seeking rewards, how they are sensitive to social feedback and “how they are still developing their ability to control impulses the way adults do.”

6-MO T-BILLS 3.91 -0.01 -0.26%

BY GLENN GAMBOA AP business writer

AFP/GETTy IMAGES/TNS FILE PHOTO By MARCO BERTORELLO

OpenAI, the maker of the artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT, is rolling out an experience for teens that includes safety and learning features. The learning features include quizzes, homework reminders, study mode and learning visualizations. Safety tools include reducing exposure to sensitive or potentially harmful content and limiting the amount of time teens spend on ChatGPT.

‘ChatGPT for Teens’ launches as AI safety concerns mount BY QUEENIE WONG

Los Angeles Times (TNS) OpenAI, the maker of the artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT, is rolling out an experience for teens that includes safety and learning features. The global introduction of “ChatGPT for Teens” comes as OpenAI and other tech companies face lawsuits that allege AI chatbots are harming young people by providing information used to plan mass shootings and suicides. As students turn to chatbots for schoolwork, teachers and parents also worry that teens will use the tools to cheat or avoid practicing critical thinking skills. OpenAI said ChatGPT users who state their age is between 13 and 17 will automatically be placed into the teen experience. The San Francisco AI company also estimates if a user is under 18 and those minors will also be added to ChatGPT for Teens. “Teens should be able to use AI to learn, create, and explore. But that access should come with protections that reflect their developmental stage, reinforce real-world relationships, and support healthy use over time,” OpenAI said in a blog post on Tuesday. The learning features include quizzes, homework reminders, study mode and learning visualizations. Safety tools include reducing exposure to sensitive or potentially harmful content and limiting

the amount of time teens spend on ChatGPT. Tech companies are under more scrutiny to make their platforms safer. Parents, some of whom lost their children to suicide or accidental drug overdose, have sued companies for damages and urged politicians to pass new child safety laws. Meta, which has an AI assistant within a standalone app and across its platforms, including Instagram, is headed to trial on Tuesday over allegations that its products harmed young people and that it misled the public about the dangers of social media. Meta-owned Instagram also has accounts with more restrictions for teens. Meta lost a social media addiction case in Los Angeles and another child safety case in New Mexico this year. A New Mexico court ordered Meta to pay $942 million and take steps to make the platform safer, including preventing minors from engaging in romantic or sexualized interactions with its AI chatbots. OpenAI has been grappling with legal hurdles, too. Last year, the parents of a California teen who died by suicide sued OpenAI over allegations that ChatGPT provided information about ways to kill himself. OpenAI has said it directs people to suicide prevention resources and denied it caused the teen’s death. The company also rolled out new parental controls. In June, Florida Attorney

General James Uthmeier sued OpenAI and its chief executive, Sam Altman, for failing to warn the public about ChatGPT’s dangers. The lawsuit alleged that OpenAI designed and maintained a “dangerous online product where harmful information such as tips on eating disorders, self-harm, and mass murder are readily available, including to young children.” Safety concerns have also raised questions about what roles parents and teachers should play as more teens use AI chatbots. Roughly 70% of teens say their teachers haven’t talked to them about how to use AI safely, according to a survey of U.S. teens age 13 to 17 conducted by the Youth AI Safety Institute at Common Sense Media. The group, which published the survey Tuesday, said it’s releasing a new “Digital Literacy & Well-Being Curriculum” that’s free for teachers, schools and districts. It explores topics such as why using someone’s likeness to create AI-generated images without their consent is harmful. Roughly 42% of U.S. parents of teens ages 13 to 17 say they haven’t talked to their kids about chatbots, according to a survey released by the Pew Research Center in February. Roughly 1 billion people use ChatGPT every week. U.S. teens use chatbots to ﬁnd information, get help on schoolwork for entertainment and other reasons, according to the Pew Research Center.

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital named Dr. Charles W. M. Roberts its new president and chief executive officer Tuesday, replacing Dr. James R. Downing, who led the nonprofit for 12 years. Roberts, who has been director of St. Jude’s Comprehensive Cancer Center and an executive Roberts vice president, will begin his new job on Jan. 1, as Downing moves into a faculty role in the hospital’s Global Pediatric Medicine department. When actor and philanthropist Danny Thomas founded St. Jude in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1962, the survival rate for childhood cancer patients was around 20%. Today, it is more than 80% and Roberts says the hope is for all childhood cancers to be easily treatable someday, with major strides toward that goal are within reach. “I’m really excited because I think we are at the dawn of a new era,” Roberts told The Associated Press in an interview. “In the next several years, I believe we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to achieve much more of Danny’s dream than ever before. And I’m excited to take us there.” The opportunity comes through a convergence of technological advances that are creating treatments that kill childhood cancers more effectively, while also reducing the impact on the patient, Roberts said. Technology is also helping create treatments for more catastrophic childhood diseases beyond cancer. Judy Habib, chair of the St. Jude Board of Governors, said Roberts’ emphasis on new treatment discoveries played a significant role in convincing the board to choose him as the hospital’s next leader after a global search. “He combines the rigor of a researcher, the care of a clinician, and passion for our mission, making him the perfect person to lead one of the most accomplished pediatric research institutions in the world,” Habib said in a statement. When he takes on his new role as St. Jude CEO, Roberts said he plans to continue his research, which has included confirming that certain genes suppress the growth of tumors. “Keeping my hand in that is really important to make sure that I’m still at the cutting edge of understanding where the field is, what the opportunities are,” he said. “Working with other researchers is very useful input to me in helping steer our priorities. I’m a big believer in learning and growing and having input from others.”

4B ■ Wednesday,August 19, 2026 ■ theadvocate.com ■ The Advocate

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Obituaries Zachary, La - Velma Teen Armwood, a beloved Mother, sister and friend, enternal rest on August 15, 2026 visitation will be held August 22, A viewing (wake) will be held from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM on 2026-08-22 followed by service at Hall Davis & Sons funeral service , 9348 scenic highway .

Theresa Gail White Chastant, a loving wife and mother, passed away on Friday, August 14, 2026, at the age of 68. The family deeply appreciates the support that so many have shown throughout her illness. Visitation will be held at Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church, 2250 Main St., Baton Rouge, LA 70802, on Friday, August 21, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. until Mass of Christian Burial at 12:00 p.m. Interment will follow at Resthaven Gardens of Memory. Family and friends may sign the online guestbook or leave a personal note to the fam-

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Gerald "Jerry" W. Cutrer, a resident of Watson, Louisiana, passed away on Monday, August 17, 2026, at the age of 89. Jerry was a graduate of Istrouma High School and proudly served his country in the United States Marine Corps. Following his military service, he enjoyed a long career with ExxonMobil, from which he retired. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Mary

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Lois Cutrer; his parents, James Virgil Cutrer and Mary Menee Cutrer; and his siblings, Ronald Cutrer, James Cutrer, Mary Ann Passons, and Beverly Turner. Jerry is survived by his siblings, Wally Cutrer (Wanda), Bob Cutrer (Toni), and Judy Hoover. He is also survived by his three children and their families: His son, Michael Cutrer (Mary Jane), and grandchildren Kyle Cutrer, Kaleb Cutrer, Madison Chatelain (Dillon), Haleigh Baldwin (Nathan), and Hope Turner (Trampus Butler); and great-grandchildren Wyatt, Hudson, and Keller. His son, David Cutrer (Christi), and grandchildren Caitlyn Cutrer (Connor McGinness), McKenzie Cutrer, Cameron Cutrer, and Kennedy Cutrer. His daughter, Kellie Wentz (Shawn), and grandchildren Austin Wentz (Keeley Elliott), Alex Wentz, and Amber Wentz. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Riverside Baptist Church, Denham Springs, La.

Flournoy, Clay McAfee

Clay McAfee Flournoy, a Baton Rouge financial advisor, military veteran, proud father and grandfather, devoted husband, faithful church member, big brother and loyal friend, died peacefully at Baton Rouge General Medical Center on Saturday, August 15, 2026 after a brief illness. He was 77. Clay was born September 25, 1948, in Shreveport, LA. He graduated from Byrd High School and earned his undergraduate degree at LSU-Shreveport. He joined the United States Marine Corps in 1968, serving initially with the Third Marines and later with the First Battalion, First Marines Regiment, First Marine Division as a gunner in the 81st mm Mortar Platoon. His service to his country was a formative experience of his life and he remained devoted to helping veterans in any way he could, formally and informally. He was among the original volunteers with Hospice of Baton Rouge for the "We Honor Vets" pinning ceremony program, which he found deeply meaningful. Until his final days, he raised an American flag at his home each morning to honor the country he cherished. He was a true patriot. Clay pursued several professions from restaurant manager to bar owner to big-rig truck driver before finding his calling as a stockbroker. He worked as a First Vice President and Financial Advisor with Morgan Stanley for more than two decades. A renowned poker player, Clay combined a wickedly sharp mind with an otherworldly ability to invest in opportunities others overlooked. Clay was a natural athlete and played competitive tennis practiced yoga and worked out with weights. Trinity Episcopal Church held a special place in Clay's heart. A member since 1990, he was elected

to the Vestry twice, served on the Trinity Day School Board and was a faithful member of the Early Birds, a group that meets each Thursday at 6:30 a.m. He was a friend of Bill and blessed by the grace of sobriety one day at a time since June 4, 1990. Clay often said his daughters, Sarah and Bea, were his greatest gifts in life. They said their greatest gift was having Clay as their father. He is survived by his wife Katheryn Wolfe Flournoy of Baton Rouge, daughters Sarah Luce Falconer and husband Craig of Agoura Hills, CA and Beatrix Rose Flournoy of Baton Rouge and granddaughter Lydia Baylee Noffke of Agoura Hills, CA; sister Kathryn Flournoy Nicholson and husband John of Birmingham, AL; Craig Flournoy and wife Nina Planchard of Dallas and Charles Flournoy of Dallas, TX. He also is survived by his nieces Helene Flournoy Sula and her husband Michael, Louise Flournoy, Emma Flournoy, Malise Flournoy Cotton and husband Carson, Caroline Flournoy, Mary Katherine Flournoy, and nephew Taylor Flournoy. He is also survived by sister-in-law Laura Wolfe and brother-inlaw Philip Elliott of Baton Rouge. Memorial service will be held at Trinity Episcopal Church, 3552 Morning Glory Avenue in Baton Rouge, on Thursday, August 20 at 10:30 a.m. Officiating will be the the Revs. Ralph Howe and Peter Wong. The service will be livestreamed on the Trinity Episcopal Church YouTube channel. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Hospice of Baton Rouge, Friends of the Animals Baton Rouge, Trinity Episcopal Church endowment or any program helping US veterans, especially Marines. He was a man of honor, courage and kindness. He was loved.

Lolley, Vicki L.

She is survived by her husband of 43 years, Ronald "Ron" Lolley; children, Shannon Peterson (Todd), Megan Whitmer, Chandra Wingerter (Josh), Cherie Lolley (Daniel), and Philip Lolley (Jorden); grandchildren, Nicholas, Luke, Gideon, Piper, Payton, Barry, Ethan, Haley, Remey, Kennedy, Hope, Carsyn and one grandchild, Camryn, on the way; and 1 great grandchild, Hudson. She is also survived by her sister, Lisa Risinger, and brother, Don Tilley. Vicki was preceded in death by her daughter, Brandi Woodling; parents, Floyd and Flora "Susie" Tilley; and her brothers, Ronald Tilley and Randall Tilley. Visitation will be held on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm, and again on Thursday, August 20, 2026, from 9:00 am until the funeral service at 11:00 am at Ourso Funeral Home, 13533 Airline Hwy, Gonzales, Louisiana. Pallbearers will be Jeremy, Shannon, Mark, Pete, Josh, and Ethan. Burial to follow in Serenity Oaks Memorial Park, 15304 Hwy 73, Prairieville, Louisiana.

The Advocate ■ theadvocate.com ■ Wednesday,August 19, 2026 ■ 5B

invited to attend a Celebration of Life at First Christian Church, 8484 Old Hammond Hwy in Baton Rouge, on Saturday, August 22, 2026, with visitation from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., with a service at 11:00 a.m. Burial will follow at Resthaven Gardens of Memory, 11817 Jefferson Hwy in Baton Rouge. Visit www.resthavenbat onrouge.com to leave a personal note to the family.

in Shreveport, LA to the late Annie Mae Thomas. She departed this life on July 31, 2026. Visitation at Mount Pilgrim Baptist Church, 9700 Scenic Hwy. on Saturday, August 22, 2026, viewing at 9:00 a.m. and religious services at 10:00 a.m. Interment in St. Francis Chapel Cemetery, New Roads, LA.

Raby, Barbara Jean

Barbara Jean Raby was born on December 9, 1962,

Moses Jr., Gerald Eugene

Gerald Eugene Moses, Jr. passed away peacefully in his home on August 13, 2026. He was 94. He was born in La Porte, TX, on February 27, 1932, and graduated from Lamar High School in Houston in 1950. He joined the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve in 1949 and served with the First Marine Division in Korea from 1950-1951. He attended the University of Texas and graduated from North Texas State College in 1957. The same year, he married the love of his life,

Vicki L Lolley, age 70, passed on Friday, August 14, 2026. She was a resident of Prairieville, Louisiana.

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How to place a Memorial Ad An “In Memory Of” ad, is a way to pay tribute to your loved one. This remembrance is often printed on the anniversary of a loved one’s death. The deadline is two days prior to the day you want your ad to appear. TO PLACE A MEMORIAL AD GO TO: obituaries.theadvocate.com, click submit an obituary and select create a memoriam.

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Marian Gill, with whom he was married for 60 years. Gerald is survived by his four children, Ernest Gill Moses (Marcy) of Houston, TX; Lawrence Kent Moses of Prairieville, LA; Allen Keith Moses (Marie) of North Richland Hills, TX; and Mary Elaine Smith (Gary) of Sarasota, FL; grandchildren, John Moses, Kenneth Moses, Jennifer Perez del Burgo, Spencer Moses, Emily Keckler, Alison Madden, and Christina Karp; 13 great-grandchildren; and 2 great-great-grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his father, Gerald Eugene Moses, Sr., mother, Mary Belle Walker; stepfather, Ernest C. Walker of Lakeway, TX; sisters, Carolyn McElrath of Nocona, TX, and Nancy Vowell of Lakeway, TX; and numerous nieces and nephews. He was a retired journalist, employed as a correspondent for United Press International for 4 years, a political reporter for the Morning Advocate for 15 years, and an editorial editor with the Baton Rouge State Times for 14 years. He was a lifelong member of First Christian Church of Baton Rouge. Friends and family are

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A real opportunity for La. workers is gone with the wind It was with deepening concern that we watched the unraveling of support for offshore wind projects along Louisiana’s Gulf Coast. While we knew that many of the issues related to offshore wind remained to be resolved, we and many others saw a budding industry that could make use of the unique skills of Louisiana companies and workers to diversify an energy sector that has been heavily reliant on oil and gas for so long. And at one time, there was broad bipartisan support for this point of view. The state famously embraced an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy, and shipbuilders and fabrication companies were taking advantage of new opportunities on the horizon. Key lawmakers in Washington were pushing to make sure the state got its share of money from offshore wind lease sales to potentially help shore up money for our coast. Now, all that appears to have come to an abrupt end with the federal government under President Donald Trump pulling back support for wind energy projects. The death knell may have come earlier this month with the German company RWE reaching a settlement with the government to relinquish its leases, including one off the coast of Cameron Parish, which was lauded when it was announced as the first offshore wind project in federal waters in the Gulf. Make no mistake, this doesn’t mean the end of wind energy globally. It only means that the United States, and more importantly, our Louisiana companies, won’t be able to benefit as easilyfrom what is sure to be a booming industry as the world seeks alternatives to fossil fuels. The numbers don’t lie. Global wind energy hit a record of 1,299 installed gigawatts in 2025, a 40% increase over the previous year, according to the Global Wind Energy Council. China leads the world in wind energy, with the United States a distant second and falling. The rationale for turning away from wind appears thin — Trump says he wants to open more areas to oil and gas drilling and is turning to nuclear energy. But there is no way that increased wind exploration hindered those aims. It was clear that private sector companies saw potential for profit here, and the downsides were something that the developing industry had plans to address. We hope there will be some resurrection of this important industry at a future date. But for now, we are dismayed for the workers and companies who saw a new market disappear right in front of their eyes. We hope that Louisiana skill and expertise will still be useful in wind projects around the globe. We know that our people can innovate and compete with anyone. We only wish that our own government would give them the chance to show it.

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YOUR VIEWS

Government should serve citizens, not punish them How many times does Gov. Jeff Landry have to target New Orleans before we stop pretending these are unrelated policy decisions? New Orleans voters overwhelmingly elected Calvin Duncan as clerk of Criminal Distict Court. The state responded by eliminating the ofﬁce he was elected to lead. The state has moved to reduce New Orleans judgeships and cut funding previously allocated to the Orleans Parish district attorney’s ofﬁce. Before the New Orleans Super Bowl, the administration spent millions on a temporary shelter to remove people experiencing homelessness from highly visible areas. Instead of investing those millions in permanent solutions,

public dollars went to a short-term operation run by a company whose owners have contributed to Republican political causes. Now the administration wants control of federal homelessness funding intended to house some of New Orleans’ poorest and most vulnerable residents. Yet while the state’s intentions surfaced through a leak, where is the public explanation of how required services would be provided or these federal dollars spent? That secrecy feels familiar. Revelations about nondisclosure agreements involving government ofﬁcials and corporations doing business with the state raise the same question: Why

High court was scene of a hostile takeover The Louisiana Supreme Court’s recent opinion recusing Chief Justice John Weimer from participating in an appeal in which a former judicial colleague serves as counsel is interesting on many levels. It raises questions about under what circumstances a justice may be removed from a case. Lawyers care about that. It also details the recent history of discord between the chief justice and other current and former members of the Supreme Court over judicial compensation and expense reimbursement. We should all care about that. What struck me, however, is something that appears as more of an afterthought in the court’s recusal order. Speciﬁcally, the order states that one of the grounds offered by counsel seeking recusal was the action taken in 2023 to denude Justice Weimer of his constitutionally mandated administrative responsibilities and lodge them in an “executive committee” of the other six justices, chaired by that same counsel, then serving as a Supreme Court justice. Yes, for whatever the reason, the

six associate justices arrogated the chief justice’s administrative responsibilities to themselves, leaving the chief with a hat but no cattle. And, by all accounts, they did so without making this action public by rule, announcement or written order until three years later. So what, you say? Well, Art V, § 6 of the Louisiana Constitution designates the chief justice as the “chief administrative ofﬁcer of the judicial system of the state, subject to rules adopted by the court.” The phrase “subject to rules adopted by the court” clearly gives a majority of justices a role in deciding how the chief justice exercises his administrative authority. But that’s not what happened here. Rather, the six associate justices stripped the chief justice of exercising virtually any administrative duties. That’s not a rule; that’s a hostile takeover.

LAWRENCE PONOROFF law professor emeritus New Orleans

Weimer did right thing by calling out judicial fund I am so proud of Justice John Weimer, who appears to be alone in his concerns over misuse of taxpayer money (“Louisiana Supreme Court chief justice responds to recusal after clash with colleagues”). Justices who actually have a residence in New Orleans should not feel free to charge for living

expenses. The supplemental compensation fund seems designed to hide the actual salary of all the statewide judges and should be abolished. Thank you, Justice Weimer, for trying to look out for us taxpayers.

GEORGIA WILEMON Baton Rouge

are Louisiana’s leaders so determined to keep their intentions from public view? Apparently, poverty and homelessness aren’t the only things this administration would prefer we didn’t see. How many coincidences make a pattern? New Orleans loses resources. New Orleans loses judges. New Orleans voters have their choices overridden. Poor people are swept away, warehoused or threatened with jail. New Orleans is not Louisiana’s enemy. Poverty is not a crime. State government should serve its citizens, not punish them.

SUSAN MEALY New Orleans

Did BR learn anything from 2016 floods? Remembrances of the 2016 flood in East Baton Rouge should include the collision of local infrastructure decisions with that record rain event. This collision occurs in every natural disaster to some degree, but in East Baton Rouge it followed decades of warnings about allowing development in high-risk flood areas. After the 2016 flood, some residents called for a pause to assess more responsible paths going forward. Instead, approval of development of high-risk flood areas resumed, including those that had just flooded. The late council member Buddy Amoroso attempted to pass a temporary moratorium on development of these areas so that an assessment could be done, only to see powerful developers intervene to block the vote, showing once again where the real power in the parish lies. Five years after the flood, the council passed a measure falsely termed a “moratorium,” which was instead a somewhat more stringent set of mitigation requirements that allowed development of the high-risk flood areas to continue. There have been flash floods and other rain events in the interim that have caused major inundations, many occurring with greater rapidity than in years past. Publicly funded measures like the Comite Diversion Canal and the Stormwater Management Plan will provide partial protection, if they are completed. But they won’t reverse the trend of rising vulnerability to flooding exacerbated by development of high-risk areas and decision-makers ignoring the interests of the public — or the public bearing the burden of those mistakes.

DOUG DAIGLE Baton Rouge

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COMMENTARY Midwest shows DSA left could take over Democratic Party It’s worth poking around the entrails of the returns for the agonizingly close and, given the pre-primary polls, surprising results of recent Democratic primaries in the key swing Midwestern states of Michigan and Wisconsin, with a side look at Minnesota. These results highlight a basic split between the constituencies that have suddenly come to domiMichael nate the Democratic priBarone mary electorate, neither of which much resembles the White working-class demographic, the memory of which Democratic politicians invoke nostalgically, though its members mostly vote for Trump Republicans these days. In both Michigan’s senatorial and Wisconsin’s gubernatorial primaries, the results were so close that it’s useful to express them in the usually supererogatory tenths of a percentage. In Michigan, the Woke 2 (to use Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s terminology) candidate Abdul El-Sayed beat Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Michigan, by a margin of 1 percentage point. In Wisconsin, the establishment choice, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, beat Assemblywoman Francesca Hong by 0.4 percentage points. Switches of just 8,000 votes in Michigan and 2,000 votes in Wisconsin would have changed the results. Just as El-Sayed’s victory does not prove that a candidate who emphasized issues out of the Democratic Socialists of America playbook is a sure winner, Hong’s defeat does not prove that such a candidate is a sure loser. Both have proven that a DSA-type candidate can be a serious contender for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028, a year in which, if current trends continue, the Democratic nominee would be favored to win the presidency. Looking back, one can see how changes in the Republican Party’s constituencies foretold the success of Donald Trump’s candidacy. In the 2008 and 2012 presidential primaries, Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum carried the noncollege demographic and nonmajor metropolitan areas in seriously contested Midwestern primaries.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By PAUL SANCyA

Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate Abdul El-Sayed speaks at a rally for Michigan Democrats in Detroit.

In 2016, those groups were key to Trump’s plurality wins in crowded primary ﬁelds and to his upsets of Hillary Clinton in the key Midwestern states of — yes, the same ones again — Michigan and Wisconsin. Midwestern Democratic primaries were once dominated by blue-collar workers in major factory towns. But less than half of Michigan’s primary vote this month came from metro Detroit, which favored the establishment candidate Stevens, 51% to 45%. El-Sayed’s margin and more came from the state’s college and university counties, where some 14% of all Democratic primary voters supported him over Stevens, 59% to 37%. There were splits within the metro areas as well. El-Sayed, who is Muslim and spoke out constantly against Israel, carried heavily Arab American Dearborn, 78% to 20%, while Stevens carried next-door and majority-Black Detroit, 62% to 34%. In Oakland County, heavily gay Ferndale voted 78% to 21% for El-Sayed, while neighboring and heavily Jewish Oak Park voted for Stevens, 60% to 33%. As elections analyst Ryan McComb notes, precinct returns showed ElSayed ran strongest in places where a majority of adults had college degrees and incomes below $100,000. That’s the “downward-mobile educated class,” as he put it, or the “graduate student proletariat,” a term I’ve used since Jesse Jackson won the 1988 Michigan presidential primary. We don’t yet have such ﬁne-grained analyses of Wisconsin, but there are some obvious reasons why Hong fell

just short. Her chief weakness was in her home turf, Dane County, which she carried by just 7 percentage points. It’s home not only to the state’s flagship university but the state capital, Madison. Hong seemed far less adroit and charming than El-Sayed. For the last two weeks, she parried with difficulty questions about her past advocacy of abolishing prison and police. Even Madison denizens may have feared her opposition to Thanksgiving and Valentine’s Day might strike normie voters as bizarre. In contrast, El-Sayed’s disparagement of football, Fourth of July fireworks and Mackinac Island seem to have become public only after the primary. Crowley carried his home turf, metro Milwaukee, 44% to 39%, based on strong support from Blacks and affluent Whites. Still, Hong carried counties beyond Madison and Milwaukee, not just college towns like La Crosse, Eau Claire and Stevens Point but also Wausau, Oshkosh, Appleton and Green Bay. My guess is, that’s due to strong support from low-income college grads — we’ll see if that’s right from finer-grain analysis. Meanwhile, in Minnesota, the one clear contest between a DSA-type progressive and a more conventional Democrat resulted in a solid left-wing victory: Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan (DMinn.) beat Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.), 59% to 39%. Minnesota is dominated by the Twin Cities metro, which includes the flagship state university in Minneapolis and the state capital of St. Paul. It’s also the home of 62% of the state’s population and 74% of Democratic primary voters. That’s why it’s been a further reach for Republicans than Wisconsin or Michigan. In any case, it’s wrong to conclude, “Socialist wave hits wall with upset in Wisconsin.” There’s a large segment of the Democratic Party that is “charged up and ready to go,” in Barack Obama’s phrase, and could capture the party’s presidential nomination — and maybe the White House. Something like that happened in 2016 and could happen again in 2028. Michael Barone is on X, @MichaelBarone.

Dems need unity and careful messaging ing, during a Sunday appearance on Here’s an easy lesson for rising political hopefuls to draw from Francesca ABC’s “This Week.” Translation: Some Democratic candiHong’s failed bid to be Wisconsin’s Democratic gubernatorial nominee: dates (including herself) were distancDon’t demonize Thanksgiving. ing themselves from extreme stateHong, a chef, state legislator and dem- ments like “Defund the police” that were all the rage, quite literally, in the ocratic socialist, was the clear frontrunner in the Democratic primary race volatile context of 2020’s protests over until a social media comment she posted the killing of George Floyd. “I think that what’s important is that six years ago, now deleted, turned up, in we have to assess what a candidate is the way that old tweets often do to emsaying now,” she said. barrass political candidates. “Woke 1” (or 1.0, as some call You didn’t have to be a rightit) presumably met its demise in winger to slap your forehead, 2024 with the reelection of Donshake your head and condemn cheap shots at a holiday long ald Trump. What Woke 2.0 looks cherished by countless familike, or if it even exists, is not for me to say. Yet progressive lies yet dismissed by Hong as a candidates are learning that the glorification of colonialism. Clarence “woke” frame continues to be a She backpedaled on those Page bludgeon used against them, and past remarks, but one way or however pure their intentions another her polling lead evapomay be, they need to formulate their rated, and last Tuesday she lost to a positions and explain themselves to moderate opponent, David Crowley, voters with care. the Milwaukee County executive. Calls for the blanket defunding of poAlthough Hong had campaigned on a platform that no doubt appealed to lice or throwing open the doors to prismany Wisconsin voters, by the end she ons and jails don’t play so well when was beleaguered by questions about you’re running for governor or SenTurkey Day and whether she still beate — or the presidency, an office that some speculate AOC has her eye on. lieved in defunding the police. The same message came from New Such left-wing stars as Rep. AlexanYork City Mayor Zohran Mamdani in dria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, and a later news conference. People can Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, re“change” and “develop” their beliefs, frained from endorsing Hong, despite he said, adding that he, too, does not campaigning for other prominent prosupport problematic positions like gressives, including Michigan Senate defunding the police, although he is on nominee Abdul El-Sayed. record as having done so in the past. Such hesitancy about Hong and her So far, Mamdani has pretty much hot-button holiday heat signaled a governed in that fashion, and other renewed appreciation of moderated progressive-wing voices, wishing to rhetoric even among the progressives avoid snatching defeat out of the jaws in pursuit of restoring unity to the Democratic Party and calming the con- of victory, seem to be showing a new respect for their fellow partisans in the cerns of independent voters. political ground. Rep. Ocasio-Cortez suggested the If they keep that up and avoid too dawn of a new post-“woke” era to much infighting, Democrats will be replace “Woke 1” like a new model of able to enjoy Trump’s gift to them: his automobile. administration’s seemingly endless “Woke 1 was crazy,” she said, laugh-

controversies that have put his popularity ratings on the skids. For example, while Wisconsin’s votes were being counted, Trump’s approval rating continued its downward slide amid the interminable Iran war and its knock-on effects on the economy and affordability. But, as I always caution, it’s early. With the midterms less than three months away, there’s still time for either party to lose. And the same goes for the next presidential election in 2028, when Trump (presumably) will not be on the ballot. The Democrats would do well to remember the lessons of 1972, the ﬁrst election in which I was old enough to vote. Richard Nixon was well-positioned to win reelection. The economy was recovering from a recession; he was winding down the Vietnam War, and with his trips to Beijing and Moscow, he had largely defused the Cold War. Yet his victory was a historic landslide, in which he won more than 60% of the popular vote (a GOP high-water mark) and carried every state but Massachusetts and the District of Columbia. He owed this stunning result to an unexpected gift: Democratic disarray. Long story short, the Democrats had failed to patch up their differences in time. George McGovern had won the Democratic nomination on his bona ﬁdes as an antiwar liberal, and that inspired more traditionalist elements in the party, such as some labor unions and Southerners, to start an “Anybody But McGovern” campaign. In order to win in 2028, the Democrats have to do more than wait for the current president to destroy his own presidency. They need to nominate someone without dividing themselves and destroying their own chances. Their challenge begins now. Email Clarence Page at clarence47page@gmail.com.

Chicagoans are getting fed up with the city’s teachers union CHICAGO — The social science phrase “wicked problem” can denote social dysfunction that is insoluble because those causing it are immovable from power. But America’s worstgoverned city has begun breaking the grip of the peculiar political machine driving Chicago’s decline. The Chicago Teachers Union’s cupidity in enriching itself, and the dismal results of Chicago’s public George schools, have drained the public’s Will reservoir of goodwill. Among the reasons for the CTU’s downfall is a school named for someone who, as a slave, taught himself to read — a skill poorly imparted by Chicago teachers, when they teach. The indispensable Illinois Policy Institute says the Frederick Douglass Academy, whose 47 classrooms were built to accommodate 1,008 students, has 27. But the CTU has seen to it that it has 28 full-time staff. So, in the 2023-2024 school year, Douglass spent $93,000 per pupil. But Douglass is not entirely an outlier. At more than 50 Chicago schools, the percent of students who achieve math proficiency is 0. The 20 lowestenrollment schools, spending $33,500 per student, have an 11% average reading proficiency. Students graduate unprepared for flourishing; the CTU thrives. The adjective “wicked” should be used sparingly in political discourse, but it fits the CTU’s ongoing child abuse. Last year, 43% of the city’s teachers were absent 10 or more school days. Students similarly negligent produce the phenomenon called “chronic absenteeism.” A quarter of Chicago high school students missed more than a month of school, and 100% of Douglass’s seniors were chronically absent. Yet the graduation rate remains high, at about 83%. The CTU’s president, Stacy Davis Gates, who likes her son’s private school, vows to “create the crisis by which the boss … the government can no longer ignore you.” But the CTU is the government’s boss, having engineered the election of a former CTU organizer, Brandon Johnson, as mayor. Johnson’s guileless candor indicates the CTU’s sense of invulnerability: “I personally don’t give a lot of attention to grades. … My responsibility is not simply to grade the system, but to fund the system.” So, deciding “whether or not our public school system is working” depends not on measuring cognitive outcomes. Rather, it depends solely on the amount of taxpayer money that flows into the system, ultimately to the CTU. Ninety-three percent of Johnson’s funds came from the CTU and other unions. Davis Gates calls standardized testing “junk science rooted in white supremacy” and designed to fail Black students. CTU placeholders like Johnson are fungible. Electing union ciphers, and passing union-favored ballot measures, is facilitated by Chicago’s scheduling of elections. They do not occur in state and national political cycles. They occur during winter, when the razor-sharp winds off Lake Michigan discourage participation. A highly motivated minority can prevail in small turnouts. This is one reason Chicago’s government of, by and for government employees spends more than 22% of local revenue on government employees’ pensions. The CTU’s indifference to norms was displayed on May 1, when Chicago Public Schools staged a “day of civic action,” busing students downtown to attend political events demanding more money for public employees. During the Biden administration’s pandemic spending spree, the number of CPS employees increased more than 19% while school enrollments were shrinking 9%. It is, however, a law of political physics: There is some critical mass of corruption, some arrogance so off-putting, some indifference to competence so gross that some reform is irresistible, even here. In 2024, the CTU and its affiliates squandered $2.1 million of their almost $2.9 million in political contributions to 10 CTU-supported school board candidates, six of whom lost. The union’s request for members to pay higher dues was crushed. The CTU has unsuccessfully demanded that the school district get a $300 million high-interest loan to fund the union’s contract demands. Voters soundly rejected a tax increase that was marketed as spending for the homeless but could have funded housing stipends for CTU members. A poll last month showed that nearly 14% of Chicagoans want Johnson to seek reelection. For decades, a large majority of Chicagoans liked teachers, and hence their union. Now, however, Chicago ranks last among the nation’s four largest cities (the others: New York, Los Angeles, Houston) in fourth graders’ reading and math proficiency (23% and 24%, respectively). A Chicago political axiom: “Don’t make no waves, don’t back no losers.” The CTU is losing, inundated by waves of hostility it has created. In 1955, an alderman content with Mayor Richard J. Daley’s machine said, “Chicago ain’t ready for reform yet.” The CTU has made it ready. Email George Will at georgewill@washpost. com.

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writer’s city of residence. The Advocate | The Times-Picayune require a street address and phone number for verification purposes, but that information is not published. Letters are not to exceed 300 words. Letters to the Editor, The Advocate, P.O. Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588, or email letters@theadvocate.com.

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8B ■ Wednesday,August 19, 2026 ■ theadvocate.com ■ The Advocate

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TODAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

MONDAY

A stray afternoon thunderstorm

A t-storm around in the p.m.

HIGH

LOW

HIGH

98° 75°

LOW

96° 76°

Jackson 101/77

Beaumont 94/76 Port Arthur 94/77

Baton Rouge 97/76

Lake Charles 95/77

New Orleans 95/79 Houma 93/75

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

-0s

Hattiesburg 99/76

Alexandria 99/76

Lafayette 96/76

10s

20s

30s

40s

50s

HIGH

LOW

95° 75°

TEMPERATURE

Longview 104/78

Many 98/74

LOW

YESTERDAY

Baton Rouge through 5 p.m. Tuesday

Monroe 104/79

Shreveport 103/78

-10s

LOW

98° 76° 100° 74°

60s

70s

80s

90s 100s 110s

High/low Normal high/low Last year’s high/low Record high Record low

Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today

AUG 19

HIGH

1:16p 6:59a 1:07a 4:32a 3:00a 2:15a 4:08a

LAST

AUG 27

Atlanta Austin Boston Charlotte Chicago Dallas Denver Houston Las Vegas

24-hour total Month to date Normal month to date year to date Normal year to date

6:34 a.m. 7:42 p.m. 1:28 p.m. 11:45 p.m.

FULL

City

Shown are areas of precipitation and high temperatures for the day.

96°/79° 92°/73° 97°/73° 102° in 2023 64° in 2004

TODAY’S TIDES Lake Pontchartrain (Tchefuncte River) Shell Beach South Point, Marsh Island Cypremort Point Grand Isle (Barataria Pass) Mississippi River (Southwest Pass) Wine Island

FIRST

PRECIPITATION

TODAY

95 103 87 92 78 105 89 100 108

73 78 71 71 63 82 62 78 87

NEW

SEP 4

pc s pc s pc s t s pc

SEP 10

95 104 79 94 80 106 94 99 109

THU. Lo

76 79 65 74 65 83 65 80 87

t s pc t s t s s pc

FT.

0.7 1.5 1.8 1.6 1.3 1.5 1.5

LOW

1:17a 7:45p 2:45p 6:18p 3:10p 1:38p 4:12p

Trace 0.73” 3.55” 42.22” 40.64”

FT.

HIGH

0.1 0.2 0.1 0.4 0.2 0.1 0.3

FT.

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READING 50 MAIN POLLUTANT Particulates

MAIN POLLUTANT Particulates

SOURCE: LOUISIANA DEQ AND AIRNOW.GOV

LOW

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FT.

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City

5:12a 11:24a 5:36p 11:48p 6:01a 12:13p 6:25p ---6:49a 12:36a 7:14p 1:01p 7:35a 1:23a 8:01p 1:48p 8:21a 2:09a 8:47p 2:34p 9:07a 2:54a 9:31p 3:19p 9:51a 3:39a 10:15p 4:03p

Los Angeles 92 Miami 97 Nashville 95 New york City 86 Philadelphia 90 Phoenix 109 St. Louis 81 San Francisco 73 Seattle 78

TODAY Lo

70 80 75 72 73 89 70 58 58

pc t pc s s t t pc pc

91 95 88 79 80 111 83 68 82

THU. Lo

69 81 72 67 67 90 68 58 59

Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice.

pc t t sh sh t pc pc s

MISSISSIPPI Memphis Vidalia-Natchez Red River Landing Baton Rouge Donaldsonville Reserve New Orleans OHIO Cairo COMITE Near Olive AMITE Near Darlington Denham Springs Port Vincent TICKFAW Montpelier Holden ATCHAFALAYA Simmesport Melville Krotz Springs Butte La Rose Bayou Sorrel Morgan City

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26.12

+1.63

-1.48

+0.13

18 29 8

-1.13 10.27 1.51

+0.07 +0.28 +0.08

13 15

2.50 0.81

-0.01 +0.04

47 34 29 20 12 6

7.89 5.01 3.67 3.60 2.90 1.89

-0.10 +0.15 -0.22 -0.20 none -0.14

SCAN

SELF-SCH TO

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+2.11 +0.15 +0.30 +0.40 +0.10 -0.04 +0.02

Now

6.80 19.20 21.90 8.20 4.70 3.37 3.00

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34 48 48 35 27 22 17

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TUE. 24-HOUR STAGE CHANGE

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1Selling Walk-In Tub

FLOOD STAGE

ULE ED

N O R T H A M ER I CA’S

MODERATE

The solunar period schedule allows planning days so you will be fishing in good territory or hunting in good cover during those times. Major periods begin at the times shown and last for 1.5 to 2 hours. The minor periods are shorter. MAJOR MINOR MAJOR MINOR

Today Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday

TODAY

GOOD

LOW

AP P

HIGH

97° 76°

Well, the heat will be your biggest issue with the weather once again today. A heat advisory is in effect for your Wednesday because heat index values up to 110 or more are possible this afternoon. Most of us are also under either a major or an extreme heat risk for today, so heat illnesses are a real possibility if working outside this afternoon. The actual temperatures will rise to the midto upper 90s and there should be a few isolated storms this afternoon, which should cool some of us off a bit.

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W e d n e s d ay, au g u s t 19, 2026

HOLDING THE LINE

A lookahead in the District 9-2A football race PAGE 4C

1Cn

LSU’s Mulkey explains pairing of Ukrainian, Russian players BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU defensive tackles Deuce Geralds, center, and Richard Anderson prepare to run a drill at spring practice on March 26 at the LSU practice facility. The freshman duo are expected to play a key role on the defensive front.

LSU’s success could hinge on how youngsters perform in trenches

hen Nick Saban was the LSU football coach, he brought up the old adage about how you can chalk up a loss for every freshman you have to start. Then college football changed and for a long period of time trended younger. Coaches felt compelled to play freshmen who could help them right away, especially at the skill positions, worrying that if they were good enough they would be gone in three years to the NFL. Now, the pendulum has swung back. Because of the transfer portal, big-time programs such as LSU are bringing in experienced veteran players from other schools, pushing freshmen back down the depth charts. “Old teams win now,” LSU coach Lane Kifﬁn said Monday. “I think that’s the maturity of the player, the fourth- and ﬁfth-year player. How they think and what’s important to them. They’re used

Scott Rabalais to playing. They’re veterans.” Sometimes, though, veterans just aren’t available or aren’t better than the freshmen who can take the leading roles from their older teammates. Kifﬁn’s ﬁrst LSU team looks like it’s going into this season with freshmen in critical roles on the interior defensive line. Deuce Geralds, a 6-foot-1, 279-pound freshman from Suwanee, Georgia, and Richard Anderson, the 6-3, 339-pound blue-chipper from New Orleans prep power Edna Karr, look like they’re trending toward being LSU’s starting defensive tackles. Geralds, undersized

but agile, enrolled in January and has been turning heads since spring practice. Anderson, the nation’s top-rated defensive tackle prospect, formed an impressive 1-2 ranked recruiting coup for Kifﬁn with defensive end Lamar Brown from University High. No one is questioning the talent Geralds and Anderson bring to the Tigers. Their upside is high. But this is the Southeastern Conference, where talent is only part of the equation. Playing Dline in this league is only a notch below playing in the NFC South. It takes skill and guile to succeed, with experience being the best teacher. The David Mamet quote — “Old age and treachery will always beat youth and exuberance” — certainly applies. In short, LSU needs to be a strong team up the middle against the run to have a chance to be in the 12-team

ä See RABALAIS, page 3C

Kim Mulkey doesn’t remember when she sat down with Kate Koval this offseason, but she remembers where. It was in the parking lot of her 6-foot-5 center’s apartment complex. Ordinarily, Mulkey wouldn’t talk to one of her players before she recruits another. But she thought that this situation required a little extra care — and perhaps a more intimate setting than the secondfloor offices her program occupies in the athletics administration building. “We just sat in the car,” Mulkey told The Advocate on Monday. “Kept the AC on.” And then they talked. Mulkey wanted to discuss with Koval the fact that she had an opportunity to pursue a center named Anna Minaeva. She won’t turn 18 until January, but Minaeva already was playing professional basketball, and her film had intrigued both Mulkey and other powerconference coaches across the country. Minaeva is 6-5 and skilled, with a soft touch and impressive vision. Mulkey thought she could, despite her age, make “an immediate impact” this season for her LSU team. The problem is that Minaeva is from Russia and Koval is from Ukraine. At least a couple of handfuls of players from those two countries have moved to the U.S. to play Division I women’s college basketball since Russia first invaded its neighbor to the west in 2022, but it does not appear that any of them have played on the same team. Koval and Minaeva — who was announced as LSU’s latest signee on Friday — are now the first, and Mulkey hopes the fact they are sharing a locker room turns into an uplifting story once the 2026-27 season tips off Nov. 2. That’s part of the vision she laid out for Koval in the parked car. “I want you to understand I’m not here to ask you to change how you feel about Russia,” Mulkey said, recalling her conversation with Koval. “I’m just here out of respect for your family and out of respect

ä See MULKEY, page 3C

STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU coach Kim Mulkey makes a point to a referee during a game against Southeastern Louisiana on Nov. 6 at the PMAC.

N.O. dealing with fallout of Tyson’s hamstring injury

Shough, Olave take ﬂight amid ﬁghts

Staff writer

OXNARD, Calif. — The lasting image from Tuesday’s joint practice between the New Orleans Saints and Dallas Cowä Saints boys might have defense been center Erik also finds McCoy doing his best Kyle Turley its fight. impression, chuckPAGE 5C ing a Cowboys helmet a solid 15 yards downfield during a melee. Or it might have been undrafted rookie receiver Brock Rechsteiner needing to have his fingers pried from a Dallas defensive back’s face mask during a separate skirmish, only to see him turn around, find a different defensive back and body slam him to the ground. It was exceedingly easy to make a parallel between him and his father, WWE Hall of Famer Scott Steiner, in that moment.

BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer

BY MATTHEW PARAS

This was the risk of drafting Jordyn Tyson. Saints coach Kellen Moore said the rookie wide receiver’s latest hamstring injury is different from the hamstring issues that affected Tyson’s ﬁnal year at Arizona State. Analysis Moore said the way Tyson was hit — how his foot slipped out from underneath while shoved from behind during Thursday’s joint practice against the Jacksonville Jaguars— “probably” would have led to a hamstring injury for any player. But Tyson entered the NFL with questions about whether he could stay healthy. Before his ﬁrst season has begun, the eighth overall pick now is sidelined for about two months with another hamstring injury. Let’s dive into the ripple effects of what Tyson’s injury means for the Saints.

Next men up Tyson’s setback puts more pressure on Chris Olave and Devaughn Vele to stay healthy. Olave and Vele both have their own injury histo-

STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

Saints wide receiver Jordyn Tyson walks off the field after Saturday’s preseason game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at the Caesars Superdome. Tyson is expected to be sidelined about two months with a hamstring injury suffered during Thursday’s practice. ä Saints at Rams. 3 P.M. SATURDAy,WAFB ries. It will be paramount they are available for the Saints, who are looking to improve an offense that ranked 27th in DVOA (efficiency) last season. In terms of target share and snaps, Vele may benefit the most in the short term. Previously set to be the third receiver, the 28-year-old presumably will be on the field even when the Saints roll out tworeceiver sets. He also established chemistry with

ä See TYSON, page 5C

And who knows what happened under piles or behind the screens of big bodied men throwing ﬁsts and shouting at each other throughout much of the nearly two hours the two teams spent practicing against each other. The word often associated with these types of practices is “chippy,” but that word would fail to capture exactly what happened Thursday. “There’s some edginess to football, and we can learn from how this one navigated,” Saints coach Kellen Moore said. When they weren’t fighting, the Saints offense and Cowboys defense were playing some entertaining football against each other — especially when it meant Tyler Shough was throwing to Chris Olave. And maybe because they were ﬁghting, the stakes felt elevated toward the end of practice.

ä See SAINTS, page 5C

2C ■ Wednesday, August 19, 2026 ■ theadvocate.com ■ The Advocate

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Texas, Manning have championship hopes

BY JIM VERTUNO AP sportswriter

AUSTIN, Texas — Arch Manning’s name is still on the back of the No. 16 jersey. Texas is still on the front. Stitched permanently into both are the questions of whether player and program can deliver on super-sized potential and expectations of a national championship. Year two of the Manning era at Texas carries a lot with it, from the residue of last season’s failures of not making the College Football Playoff to the burning new question of “if not now, when?” Coach Steve Sarkisian aggressively used the transfer portal to retool the lineup around his star quarterback in a push for a return to the CFP. Twenty-one years since its last national title, Texas loaded up for what could be Manning’s moment. Can he stitch his name into Texas history? “He’s a very dangerous player because he learned a lot from last ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ERIC GAy season, and he is surrounded by Texas quarterback Arch Manning, center, and running back Hollywood Smothers, left, take part in a preseason some good players,” Sarkisian practice in Austin, Texas, on Aug. 5. said. “I think that he’s a guy that’s poised for a heck of a season.” And as Manning goes, so does lina State), and added elite wide Cam Coleman, go get a Hollywood played. When Mississippi comes Texas. receiver Cam Coleman (Auburn). Smothers and go get a (lineback- to Austin on Oct. 24, the stories “(Livingstone) was my room- er) Rasheem Biles,” Sarkisian will be about his grandfather ArMolding the lineup chie and uncle Eli. mate. So now playing against said. Archie Manning praised his Last season started with Texas him is definitely a little bit of a grandson for the way he’s handled ranked No. 1 and Manning as the change,” Manning said. “I think Heisman and NFL draft talk Heisman Trophy favorite. The that’s just kind of how college The Manning hype or hate will everything thrown at him so far. bubble burst quicky for both in a football is now.” fire up again quickly. Texas hosts College football analysts and critIn an era of constant roster re- Ohio State on Sept. 12 and opens ics were “unfair” because they 3-2 start that saw Manning pounded by defenses and labeled a bust building, Texas seized the moment SEC play Sept. 26 at Tennessee. “crowned him before he ever to build an offense where he could Win those and he’s likely topping played,” Archie Manning said. by some national media. the Heisman short lists again by “So, he struggled a little bit. It Texas rallied with a 7-1 finish let it rip. “I think strategically, there were October. And his potential draft happens when you play college and made a legitimate argument for the playoff before getting left some tough decisions to make,” status will be a conversation all football, playing at that level. But he kept his head down and kept out. That run included a win over Sarkisian said. “But we made season. Lose them? Look out. fighting. I was really, really proud then-No. 3 Texas A&M and thump- them. I think we all can agree The buildup to the matchup of him.” ing Michigan in the Citrus Bowl that we’re probably better around Sarkisian said the attention and as Manning showed big improve- Arch today than we were a year with the Buckeyes will likely be a heavy dose of Manning’s strug- negativity last season forged a ago at this time.” ment on the field. Manning also played a role. gles in a season-opening loss in better player. Still, Sarkisian knew changes “I think the way of what he had to be made. Some key veter- Sarkisian has said that Manning’s Columbus last year. “I’ve obviously matured. I think got put through probably would ans were pointed toward a trans- sponsorship deals with Red Bull, fer portal exit: Running back Tre Uber and other major brands going through those rough times, have melted or destroyed 99% of Wisner (Florida State) and receiv- meant he demands less money I learned a lot about myself. And people in his shoes. All he did was ers Parker Livingstone (Okla- from Texas in revenue sharing. I’ve become a better man because stay consistent and true to who homa) and DeAndre Moore Jr. Manning reportedly agreed to of it and hopefully a better player. he was, which was to continue to take less from Texas this year I don’t want to repeat that game,” work hard, continue to be a great (Colorado) headed out. teammate, try to get better, and he Texas has upgraded at both po- so Sarkisian could spend it else- Manning said. The game at Tennessee will be did,” Sarkisian said. “I think that sitions with running backs Raleek where. All of that freed up several mil- a trip down memory lane at the he’s grown into a great leader for Brown (Arizona State) and Hollywood Smothers (North Caro- lion dollars “that I can go get a place where his uncle Peyton us.”

Pelicans sign forward Dia to a two-way contract

Malik Dia’s impressive Summer League play for the New Orleans Pelicans has landed him a two-way contract. The team announced the deal Tuesday. Dia is a 6-foot-9 forward who played at Ole Miss. He didn’t get drafted, but he made the most of his time with the Pelicans in Las Vegas. He averaged 10 points and 5.8 rebounds in the Summer League play. His best outing was in a win over the Phoenix Suns when he scored 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Dia also had a pair of steals and blocks in that game. On his two-way deal, Dia will split time between the Pelicans and the Laketown Squadron, the Pels’ G League afﬁliate that will play its games in Kenner.

Colts add depth by signing WR Allen to 1-year deal

INDIANAPOLIS — Keenan Allen is getting another chance to extend his NFL career. The Indianapolis Colts added depth to their receiving corps by signing the 34-year-old receiver to a one-year contract worth up to $8.32 million, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Tuesday. Allen is a six-time Pro Bowler who caught at least 100 passes in a season ﬁve times, won the NFL’s 2017 Comeback Player of the Year Award and is the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers’ career leader with 985 receptions in 12 seasons with the team. He also worked with Colts coach Shane Steichen for seven seasons when they were with the Chargers. Steichen was the offensive quality control coach from 2014-15.

Jets running back Hall is sidelined with groin strain

New York Jets running back Breece Hall will be sidelined two to three weeks with a strained groin, but is expected to be ready to play in the regular-season opener. Coach Aaron Glenn was cautiously optimistic after Hall caught a pass late in practice Monday, pulled up and fell to the rainslicked grass. Glenn said Tuesday that tests conﬁrmed that the injury isn’t serious and won’t sideline the Jets’ No. 1 running back for long. “Knowing how important he is for what we’re doing, it was really exciting to hear it,” Glenn said. The 25-year-old Hall is considered a key to New York’s offense and is coming off his ﬁrst 1,000yard rushing season.

Buckeyes, Ducks out to supplant Hoosiers in Big Ten Mancini retires after a BY ERIC OLSON

And the rest

The 2025 Indiana Hoosiers won the Big Ten and national championship and were the ﬁrst team in the modern era to go 16-0. They have 10 starters back, the hottest coach in the game and a manageable schedule. It’s Ohio State and Oregon generating most of the preseason buzz, though, with both perched 1-2 atop the preseason AP Top 25 poll and among eight ranked teams. The consensus around the sport is that the Buckeyes and Ducks are loaded and the Hoosiers’ roll is about to slow with TCU transfer Josh Hoover replacing Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 NFL draft pick Fernando Mendoza. Doubt coach Curt Cignetti at your own peril. He’s 27-2 with two College Football Playoff appearances at Indiana and has yet to write a check his team can’t cash. Ohio State plays the toughest conference schedule. The Buckeyes visit Indiana on Oct. 17 and host Oregon on Nov. 7. Those games will go a long way in deciding which teams make the Big Ten championship game in Indianapolis, not to mention affect CFP seeding. The Buckeyes are built for what awaits. Jeremiah Smith is the most productive receiver in the nation, quarterback Julian Sayin is one of the most accurate passers and the offensive line is elite. There are plenty of talented transfers waiting to emerge for a defense replacing eight starters, all of whom were drafted. Oregon is one of the most seasoned teams in the nation with quarterback Dante Moore among six starters back on offense and

Iowa has reeled off at least eight wins all but one non-pandemic season since 2013. Two inexperienced QBs are battling for the starter’s job and the defensive line must be rebuilt. ... Katin Houser, who has a combined 26 starts at Michigan State and East Carolina, becomes Illinois’ fourth transfer to start at QB in Bret Bielema’s six seasons. ... Minnesota has beaten a ranked opponent three straight years and is 7-0 in bowls since 2018. The Gophers will be a tough out again with returning QB Drake Lindsey and a dominant edge in Anthony Smith. ... Nebraska’s Matt Rhule is 19-19 in three seasons, including 1-4 since he signed a two-year contract extension. No one plays a tougher October-November schedule. Wisconsin is counting on transfers Colton Joseph (QB, Old Dominion) and Abu Sama III (RB, Iowa State) to recharge an offense plagued by injuries the last four years. ... QB Nico Iamaleava is back for UCLA, and 10 of the Bruins’ 45 transfers followed Bob Chesney from James Madison. ... Northwestern brought in Chip Kelly as offensive coordinator and Jerry Neuheisel as QBs coach to spark an offense that’s last in Big Ten in yards per play (4.9) since 2023. ... Maryland’s Malik Washington is one of the great young QB talents but the Terrapins need their defense to spend less time on the ﬁeld. ... Michigan State, 9-27 in Big Ten play since 2022, hopes to become relevant again with new coach Pat Fitzgerald.... Rutgers’ 22 Big Ten wins are fewest among teams that have been in the conference since 2014. ... Purdue has lost 18 straight Big Ten games and beaten one FBS opponent (Ball State) the last two years.

AP college football writer

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By MIKE STEWART

Oregon quarterback Dante Moore works against Indiana during the Peach Bowl playoff semifinal on Jan. 9 in Atlanta.

tackle A’Mauri Washington and Jason Beck coming with Kyle edge Matayo Uiagalelei lead- Whittingham from Utah. Penn State first-year coach ing a defense that returns eight Matt Campbell brought 24 playstarters. ers with him from Iowa State, Other teams could challenge including QB Rocco Becht. The Southern California coach Nittany Lions don’t have to play Lincoln Riley goes into his ﬁfth Ohio State, Oregon or Indiana. season with his best team on paper. The schedule is brutal with Team on the rise home games against Oregon and Washington got back dynamic Ohio State and a trip to Indiana. QB Demond Williams Jr. after QB Jayden Maiava has made 17 a kerfufﬂe with the school over straight starts. pay. If the Huskies can rebuild Michigan is looking to improve what was one of the Big Ten’s on offense. QB Bryce Under- best defenses, their ascent unwood, who didn’t live up to lofty der Jedd Fisch can continue. The expectations as a freshman, schedule is a bit tougher than in should make progress with OC 2025.

5-game Angels comeback

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Trey Mancini, the AL Comeback Player of the Year in 2021 for his return from colon cancer who then helped Houston win the 2022 World Series, announced his retirement Tuesday after his latest comeback lasted five games with the Los Angeles Angels. Mancini, 34, agreed to a minor league contract with the Angels in February, a deal that included an invitation to major league spring training. Mancini hit .273 with six homers, 29 RBIs and three steals for Triple-A Salt Lake this year. The right-handed batter had three hits in his first major league game since 2023 playing first base in a 5-4 loss to the Houston Astros in 10 innings. Mancini’s final major league appearance was June 14.

Man charged in burglary of Biffle’s home after he died

STATESVILLE, N.C. — A Georgia man burglarized former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle’s home after learning Biffle and his family died in a plane crash, a North Carolina sheriff said Tuesday. Terrell Williams, 44, has been charged with second-degree burglary, safe cracking, money laundering and other felonies, Iredell County Sheriff Darren Campbell announced at a news conference. Williams was being held without bond in Cobb County, Georgia, on suspicion of another home burglary. Campbell said investigators were led to Williams in July, when Cobb County police arrested him and found items taken from Biffle’s home. Biffle, his wife and his two children, along with three others, died in the Dec. 18 crash.

The Advocate ■ theadvocate.com ■ Wednesday,August 19, 2026 ■ 3C

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Tigers TE Green a preseason All-American Two LSU teammates make second team

AP ALL-AMERICA TEAM The 2026 preseason Associated Press All-America team

BY JON BLAU

First-team offense

Staff writer

Lane Kiffin doesn’t just have talent on his inaugural LSU roster. He is expected to have AllAmerica level talent. Tight end Trey’Dez Green was announced Tuesday as the firstteam tight end on the preseason Associated Press All-America squad, while safety Ty Benefield and offensive tackle Jordan Seaton were second-team selections. Green, a 6-foot-7 former basketball player, heads into his junior season with extremely high expectations. He was hot and cold as a sophomore with 33 catches, 433 yards and seven touchdowns, but Kiffin’s offense should feed him the ball more regularly. Seaton was a second-team AllBig 12 selection at Colorado as a sophomore and will protect Arizona State transfer Sam Leavitt’s blindside this season. The 6-5, 307-pound junior was projected as a top-10 NFL draft pick by ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. this week. Benefield, a senior who comes over from Boise State, is considered a top-five safety prospect in this year’s draft class. LSU was one of seven SEC schools to have more than one honoree on the preseason All-America squad. Only five teams nationally exceeded LSU with four selections, including defending national champ Indiana, Oregon, and fellow SEC squads Ole Miss, Georgia

RABALAIS

Continued from page 1C College Football Playoff. The Tigers were solid against the run in 2025 — 32nd in the FBS in rushing defense with 124.1 yards per game, 26th in thirddown conversion defense. LSU needs to at least be that good against a schedule that includes five preseason AP Top 25 opponents. LSU came in at No. 11 overall when the AP poll was released Monday after being No. 13 in the USA Today coaches poll. They are rankings that reflect both the confidence in the Tigers’ ability and their question marks, factors that going into the season make LSU appear to be a borderline CFP participant. The Tigers’ rebuilt defensive line, with all new starters, is a microcosm of their promise and potential pitfalls. You could

MULKEY

Continued from page 1C for you to let you know. Because I know how personal it is for you. “Know that what I have to do in this business, I cannot make a decision to not recruit somebody that can help our program because of a conflict between two countries.” Koval, a junior, was born and raised in Ukraine’s capital city Kyiv. Her father, Oleksandr, is ﬁghting in the war. He’s a drone operator. The one time he could visit the U.S. last season to watch an LSU game, Koval said she was “grateful” he was there because she didn’t have to “worry for his life” — something she does “every single day” when he’s back home. There’s reason for Koval to worry. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in January that his country has suffered more than 50,000 service member deaths as part of a war that, as of August, also has killed at least 16,000 Ukrainian civilians. According to UN data, the number of civilian casualties has increased every month in 2026. Sometimes the war intersects with the sports world. In June, a Ukrainian gymnast covered her eyes with her hands during a medal ceremony to protest an International Gymnastics Federation decision that allowed Russian athletes to compete under their country’s flag.

Quarterback — Dante Moore, fourth year, Oregon. Running backs — Kewan Lacy, third year, Ole Miss; Ahmad Hardy, third year, Missouri. Tackles — Carter Smith, fifth year, Indiana; Trevor Goosby, fourth year, Texas. Guards — Evan Tengesdahl, fourth year, Cincinnati; Shadre Hurst, fifth year, Houston. Center — Kade Pieper, fourth year, Iowa. Tight end — Trey’Dez Green, third year, LSU. Wide receivers — Jeremiah Smith, third year, Ohio State; Malachi Toney, second year, Miami; Cam Coleman, third year, Texas. All-purpose player — Wayne Knight, fifth year, UCLA. Kicker — Tate Sandell, fifth year, Oklahoma.

First-team defense

Edge — Colin Simmons, third year, Texas; Dylan Stewart, third year, South Carolina. Tackles — A’Mauri Washington, fourth year, Oregon; David Stone, third year, Oklahoma. Linebackers — Rasheem Biles, fourth year, Texas; Xavier Atkins, third year, Auburn; Rolijah Hardy, third year, Indiana. Cornerbacks — Leonard Moore, third year, Notre Dame; Ellis Robinson IV, third year, Georgia. Safeties — KJ Bolden, third year, Georgia; Koi Perich, third year, Oregon. Defensive back — Bray Hubbard, fourth year, Alabama. Punter — Evan Crenshaw, ﬁfth year, Troy.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU tight end Trey’Dez Green carries the ball up field during practice on Friday. and Texas. The Rebels put quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, running back Kewan Lacy, defensive tackle Will Echols and kicker Lucas Carneiro on the team. Georgia placed offensive lineman Drew Bobo, linebacker Raylen Wilson, and defensive backs KJ Bolden and Ellis Robinson. Texas was represented by edge rusher Colin Simmons, offensive lineman Trevor Goosby, receiver

say the same thing for the Tigers’ rebuilt offensive line, with only one full-time starter (center Braelin Moore) returning. Less than three weeks before the Sept. 5 season opener against Clemson, the starting O-line looks to be transfer Jordan Seaton at left tackle, veteran Bo Bordelon at left guard, Moore at center, transfer Aliou Bah at right guard and another veteran, Weston Davis, at right tackle. All the bells and gadgetry of the Lane Kifﬁn/Charlie Weis Jr. offense promise great things for LSU. But the bedrock of that offense is being able to run the ball and being successful in the trenches. For the Tigers, that cuts both ways. Run the ball. Stop the run. And hope that a lack of experience doesn’t cost LSU somewhere along the way.

Farewell to The General II Joe Dean Jr. — a basketball coach, broadcaster and

The issue also surfaced this year at the French Open, where Ukrainian player Marta Kostyuk dedicated a quarterfinal win to her home country and called out her Russian opponents who had not spoken publicly about the war. Minaeva first appeared on LSU’s radar two months before that event began, when Mulkey hired former Miami assistant Fitzroy Anthony to fill a vacancy on her staff. Mulkey said Anthony deserves “all the credit” for landing the two international players the Tigers signed this offseason: Minaeva and Spanish forward Noa Morro. Anthony told The Advocate he was already recruiting Morro to Miami before he accepted the job at LSU. He discovered Minaeva, he said, through an overseas contact who reached out to say they knew of a player who “would be a great fit” at LSU. Once Anthony received Minaeva’s film, he passed it along to Mulkey, associate head coach Bob Starkey and the rest of the staff. “Bob was like, ‘Wow, this kid’s special,’ ” Anthony said. “They think she actually has the ability to be a (WNBA) draft pick.” So Starkey and Mulkey each sat down with Koval, then started recruiting Minaeva. Because she and Morro are on board — along with Koval and 6-2 forward Grace Knox — 6-foot sophomore ZaKiyah Johnson can spend more time on the perimeter than she did last season, when the Tigers sta-

Cam Coleman and linebacker Rasheem Biles. As far as the expectations being placed on LSU players this season, Kifﬁn said Monday: “They gotta control what they can control, which is perform really well and not worry about outside noise that comes with it.” Elsewhere on the team, Oregon quarterback Dante Moore is the first-team quarterback. He is joined by two fellow Ducks, defen-

administrator — died over the weekend. He was 71. The son of legendary LSU basketball player and later athletic director Joe Dean Sr., Joe Dean Jr. followed in his famous father’s footsteps as an SEC basketball broadcaster. Together they ran the long-standing Dixie Basketball Camp, held every summer in Summit, Mississippi. Joe Dean Sr. was “The General” at the camp, and Joe Dean Jr. “The General II.” Joe Dean Sr. died in 2013 at age 83. Through basketball they touched the lives of thousands of young campers, including my son Nicholas. Like his dad, Joe Dean Jr. brought energy and enthusiasm to every broadcast. “Joe was a walking, talking memorial to his legendary father, and he loved that,” said veteran broadcaster Tim Brando, a frequent partner with Dean on SEC basketball telecasts.

tioned her primarily in the post. The group offers a nice blend of size and versatility. Knox is long and athletic. Morro is 6-3, and she can shoot 3-pointers. There may come a time when Mulkey puts Koval and Minaeva on the ﬂoor at the same time, and if she does, she said she wants them to “pass the ball to each other.” “I love Kate,” Mulkey said. “I love her family, and I wanted them to know. I wanted her to know. “You want her to feel your compassion, and yet you don’t ask her to change her feelings. Her feelings are what they are. You just want her to know and be informed. That’s all.” In the car, Mulkey said she thinks Koval and Minaeva can be “ambassadors” for kinship amid international conﬂict. Maybe the two LSU post players could even help end the war. “ ‘You never know,’ ” Mulkey recalled telling Koval. “And she just kind of smiled and said, ‘I doubt that.’ ”

sive lineman A’Mauri Washington and safety Koi Perich. Wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, the Big Ten preseason offensive player of the year, is the only selection from Ohio State, the No. 1 team in the preseason AP Top 25 poll. Smith, Missouri running back Ahmad Hardy and Notre Dame cornerback Leonard Moore are returning AP ﬁrst-team All-America picks who are on the preseason

Second-team offense Quarterback — Trinidad Chambliss, fifth year, Ole Miss. Running backs — Mark Fletcher Jr., fourth year, Miami; LJ Martin, fourth year, BYU. Tackles — Cayden Green, fourth year, Missouri; Jordan Seaton, third year, LSU. Guards — Greg Johnson, fourth year, Minnesota; Luke Montgomery, fourth year, Ohio State. Center — Drew Bobo, fifth season, Georgia. Tight end — Terrance Carter Jr., fifth year, Texas Tech. Wide receivers — Duce Robinson, fourth year, Florida State; Charlie Becker, third year, Indiana; KJ Duff, third year, Rutgers. All-purpose player — Cam Cook, fourth year, West Virginia. Kicker — Lucas Carneiro, fifth year, Ole Miss.

Second-team defense

Edge — Anthony Smith, fifth season, Minnesota; John Henry Daley, fourth year, Michigan. Tackles — Tyrique Tucker, fifth year, Indiana; Will Echoles, third year, Ole Miss. Linebackers — Sammy Brown, third year Clemson; Raylen Wilson, fourth year, Georgia; Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, third year, Notre Dame. Cornerbacks — Brandon Finney Jr., second year, Oregon; Zabien Brown, third year, Alabama. Safeties — Brauntae Johnson, third year, Notre Dame; Ty Benefield, fourth year, LSU. Defensive back — Kelley Jones, fourth year, Mississippi State. Punter — Palmer Williams, fourth year, Baylor.

team. Iowa’s Kade Pieper was voted ﬁrst-team center by a wide margin even though this will be his ﬁrst season playing the position. He moved from right guard to replace 2025 consensus All-American Logan Jones. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Email Jon Blau at jon.blau@ theadvocate.com

Rasmussen, an ESPN co-founder, dies at age 93 The Associated Press LAND O’ LAKES, Fla. — Bill Rasmussen, who co-founded TV sports giant ESPN after hatching the idea for the world’s ﬁrst all-sports cable network with his son, died Tuesday. He was 93. ESPN historian Mike Soltys said Rasmussen died at his Florida home from the effects of Parkinson’s disease. Rasmussen announced in 2019 that he had been diagnosed with the degenerative disease in 2014. “Bill was a remarkable man — a visionary and an innovator who conceived the idea of a network entirely devoted to sports,” ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement. “Quite simply, none of us would be here today if it wasn’t for Bill’s passion and all the hard work and entrepreneurial spirit he put into building ESPN in the late 1970s — key aspects of our company culture that still carry on to this day.” Rasmussen and his son Scott came up with the idea of a network carrying sports around the clock, and it would revolutionize Americans’ TV-watching habits. But the Rasmussens didn’t stick around long. They were forced out after

AP FIILE PHOTO By MICHAEL DWyER

ESPN co-founder Bill Rasmussen tosses a ball before a game between the Boston Red Sox and the New york yankees in Boston on Sept. 8, 2019.

only a year by ESPN majority owner Getty Oil. Bill Rasmussen’s original idea was a cable channel covering only Connecticut sports. Many cable operators in the state were skeptical, but someone suggested buying satellite time to reach a national audience. ESPN was launched on Sept. 7, 1979. George Grande welcomed viewers to the ﬁrst “SportsCenter” broadcast before the network’s first live event, a

Email Reed Darcey at reed.darcey@theadvocate. com. For more LSU sports updates, sign up for our newsletter at theadvocate. com/lsunewsletter

slow-pitch softball game between the Kentucky Bourbons and the Milwaukee Schlitz. “In those days, we didn’t know if we’d last four weeks, four years, let alone 40-some, but we knew it was special,” Grande said. “Bottom line was Bill Rasmussen was the true purveyor of the original American dream, and he gave us all something very special that we still have today.” The Rasmussens secured financial backing from Getty Oil and a rights deal with the NCAA, and built a studio in Bristol, Connecticut, still under construction when ESPN went on the air. The Getty investment and the deal with the NCAA occurred on the same day. “When someone tells you you can’t do something, you want to prove them wrong,” Bill Rasmussen said. “Many, many people told us there wasn’t enough sports to do a 24-hour channel. I didn’t argue with anybody. I just thought they were wrong and I was right.” When the Rasmussens were forced out of ESPN in 1980, Getty owned 85% of the network. Texaco, which had acquired Getty, sold its interest in ESPN to ABC in 1984.

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THE VARSITY ZONE FOOTBALL PRE VIEW n DISTRICT 9-2A LOOKING BACK Dunham Last year: 13-1 (Division III select state champions), 6-0 in 8-2A Episcopal Last year: 5-6 (first round), 4-1 in 8-2A Donaldsonville Last year: 8-4 (second round), 1-2 in 7-3A Slaughter Community Charter Last year: 8-4 (second round), 3-3 in 8-2A Springﬁeld Last year: 2-8, 0-5 in 8-3A Northeast Last year: 5-6 (first round), 1-5 in 8-2A

FIVE PLAYERS TO WATCH

STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

Dunham defensive end Charlie Myers, center, runs through smoke as the Tigers take the field for a game against Live Oak on Sept. 11 at BREC’s Olympia Stadium.

Target on its back

Favorite Dunham looks to win District 9-2A again BY CHARLES SALZER Contributing writer

Reigning Division II select state champion Dunham is the favorite to again rule the roost in District 9-2A with a roster that has changed, but not enough to move out of the favorite’s role. Overall, the district will have a similar feel, although Capitol and East Feliciana have dropped down to Class 1A, and Baker has moved up to 3A. Donaldsonville, which reached the regional round of the Division III nonselect playoffs the past two seasons, is a new member, along with Springﬁeld. Episcopal, Northeast and Slaughter Community Charter all made the LHSAA playoffs last season and are back to challenge Dunham. Dunham coach Neil Weiner says his team isn’t taking anything for granted. “On paper, I think most people would (have Dunham as the district favorite), but we all know you don’t win games on paper,” Weiner said. “You’ve got to get out there and play them. If you’ve had success, you get a target on your back, that’s part of it, but it should be motivation for our players not to lose sight of how hard they’re supposed to play and prepare.”

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW 1. Slaughter defeated Pope John Paul II in the first round of the Division III select playoffs to set the school record for wins in a season at eight.The playoff win was the second overall for the Knights, who picked up the program’s first postseason win in 2024. 2. Dunham reached the Division

The Dunham conversation starts with Alabama commitment Elijah Haven, considered to be one of the top quarterback prospects in the country. Named to just about any all-star list there was, Haven threw for 3,931 yards and a state-record 62 touchdowns last season. Three returning offensive linemen will help protect Haven, but the Tigers will need to replace all of their top receivers. Live Oak transfer Calvin Ursin and CJ De Leon, a transfer from Parkview Baptist who sat out last season, are expected to be factors. Defensively, Dunham’s line is anchored by three-year starting lineman Charlie Myers. The Tigers also have two-way players Milo Johnston, Will Dantin and Jarone Harris also slated to play important roles. At Donaldsonville, third-year head coach Darnell Lee has adjusted to lower classiﬁcations after spending eight seasons at East Ascension, his alma mater. Even so, Lee said he sees similarities. “I think it’s going to be a tough district with Dunham coming in as the team to beat,” Lee said. “It reminds me of when I was in (District 4-5A). You have your good rivalry games with a lot of parity, but it still comes down to every given Fri-

III select championship game for the third time in four years, where it finally broke through with a 34-17 win over Calvary Baptist. The title was the school’s second overall and its first since 2004. 3. Springfield’s first-year coach Tony Salim will lead the Bulldogs after serving as head coach of the Springfield baseball team the past two seasons. Salim replaced longtime football coach Ryan

day and having your team ready to play, regardless of who the opponent is.” Among the top starters for Donaldsonville will be quarterback Skyler Garrison, a junior who is also one of the state’s top basketball players, two-way back Khy Jones as well as linebacker Zaylon Phillip. Slaughter is coming off of what may have been its best season in school history. The Knights return a handful of starters on each side of the ball, and will look to continue their success. “I think the district will be just as competitive as it was last year,” Slaughter coach Patrick Clarkston said. “I think Donaldsonville will be a formidable opponent for all of us, Dunham is going to be Dunham, and we have 13 seniors. “I think it all boils down to which team has the least amount of injuries so they can ﬁnish strong at the end of the season.” Episcopal and Northeast each won ﬁve games last season, but Episcopal had the stronger overall resume with four district wins. Episcopal will need to replace most of its offensive production from last season. At Springfield, the Bulldogs will be looking to improve on their total of two wins each of the past two seasons.

Serpas and will continue coaching the Bulldogs baseball team. 4. First-year Northeast coach Traye Jones has been busy since being hired in July, but hectic schedules are nothing new for him. Last fall, he served as head coach and athletic director at Church Point Middle School while also putting time in as an assistant for the Church Point varsity team.This spring, Jones had accepted a

position as an assistant at Amite High before Northeast came calling. 5. Donaldsonville drops down to District 9-2A after competing in 7-3A last season, but the Tigers’ path to postseason glory will be the same. Just like last year, the Tigers will compete in the Division III nonselect playoffs. Charles Salzer

Elijah Haven QB | Dunham, Sr. An Alabama commit, Haven is the reigning Class 2A offensive MVP. He guided Dunham to the Division III select title last season, and is considered one of the top quarterback prospects in the country for the 2027 recruiting cycle. Khy Jones WR | Donaldsonville, Sr. Jones’ speed means he is a breakaway threat every time he touches the ball. He is back to full strength after battling injuries last season. Max Ribes DB | Episcopal, Jr. An All-Metro selection last year as a sophomore, Ribes will see action on both sides of the ball. He was the Knights’ leading tackler last season. Keller Spinks LB | Slaughter, Sr. Spinks is one of the top returning players for a Slaughter defense that recorded six shutouts last season. On the other side, he is expected to see spot duty at fullback. Calvin Ursin WR | Dunham, Jr. Ursin had more than 30 catches for a Live Oak offense that averaged 34 points per game last season. His one-handed circus grab for a touchdown against Dutchtown went viral.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

Dunham wide receiver Calvin Ursin, center, goes up for a pass as Live Oak cornerback Richard Montgomery, left, defends in the second quarter of a game on Sept. 11 at BREC’s Olympia Stadium.

Talented area offensive linemen return to anchor teams BY JACKSON REYES

All-Metro team last year. He didn’t allow any sacks or pressures in more than For most football teams, 135 snaps played. building a successful squad starts in the trenches on Jackson Shaw, the offensive line. Catholic, Sr. The position group helped generate some of the most The Bears senior has exciting offensive perfor- made an impact on both mances last year through- sides of the ball at defenout the Baton Rouge area. sive and offensive line. Several top names return Jackson Shaw is a threeto help their schools start star recruit who is coma new run toward a state mitted to Tulane. The 6-6, title. 260-pound lineman will be The following is a list 10 one of the top players hopoffensive linemen to watch ing to lead Catholic to a this season. state title. Staff writer

Reggie Trusclair, Plaquemine, Sr.

Nolan Daniel, West Feliciana, Sr.

Plaquemine returns one of the state’s best offensive linemen, Reggie Trusclair. The 6-foot-21/2, 275-pound lineman was named to the

West Feliciana will feature one of the top-rated recruits in the state in Nolan Daniel. The 6-4, 294-pound interior offensive lineman

committed to South Alabama this offseason. The three-star senior should pave the way for the Saints’ offense this year.

Derrick Hooker, University High, So. University High’s Derrick Hooker is one of several new faces on the Cubs’ roster. The 6-4, 260-pound sophomore is rated as a three-star recruit and holds Division I offers from schools such as LSU, Florida, Alabama and Ole Miss. He arrives at U-High from Grenada High in Mississippi.

Johnny Herman, Southern Lab, Sr.

terback, but one important returner is offensive lineman Johnny Herman. The 6-foot, 290-pound lineman played 703 total snaps last year. He totaled 47 pancakes with a 93% player efficiency rating without allowing a sack.

Carter Steele, Parkview Baptist, Jr.

Leading the offensive line will be senior Douglas Kelley. The 6-5, 280-pound senior is a McNeese State commit and could play a big role for the offense this season.

Evans Quibodeaux, Prairieville, Sr.

The Eagles bring back three starters along the offensive line, including Carter Steele. The 6-2, 265-pound lineman helped running back Marquise Franklin run for 1,950 yards last year.

Prairieville enters its third year as a football program. The Hurricanes will bring back several of starters, including offensive lineman Evans Quibodeaux. The senior offers size at 6-3, 305 pounds and received an offer from Sterling College in August.

Douglas Kelley, St. Michael, Sr.

Carson Lacombe, East Ascension, Sr.

Southern Lab enters the St. Michael could be East Ascension looks to season in a new district poised for a big year with build on its playoff run and will start a new quar- a majority of starters back. last year with several key

starters back. One returner is senior Carson Lacombe. The 6-2, 290-pound lineman received an LFCA all-state honorable mention last season.

Cole Cassard, Ascension Catholic, Sr. Ascension Catholic will look to replace several talented graduated players, but one important returner is Cole Cassard. The center helped running back Trevin Simon set a state record for yards rushing (3,994) in a single season last year.

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SAINTS SAINTS

Saints cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry waves to the fans during training camp on Aug. 8 at the Saints’ practice facility in Metairie.

Continued from page 1C Here’s what happened.

Attendance

STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

Saints defense gets it going after wobbly start BY MATTHEW PARAS

essarily want that. But you Still, Emerson’s hit hyped can’t control it in certain in- up the sideline and New Orstances. leans made the stand. “The finish was definitely a OXNARD, Calif. — To start Tuesday’s joint practice against priority, and I thought we did Hands full the Dallas Cowboys, the pretty well.” CeeDee Lamb and George New Orleans Saints defense Pickens have a claim as the Better red zone looked all out of sorts. best receiver duo in football. And not just because of a In Thursday’s joint prac- So it was no wonder they jersey issue. tice against the Jacksonville proved to be a challenge for The Saints defense had to Jaguars, the Saints first-team the Saints. switch from white to black defense gave up back-toNew Orleans held its own. jerseys in a last-minute back-to-back touchdowns. McKinstry had a notable pass uniform mixup, resulting The unit was much better breakup on Lamb, helped in in defenders picking their Tuesday. part by Reid knocking the own numbers (and for some, Prescott still found the receiver off his route. Julian no number at all). Kool-Aid end zone twice, but one of Blackmon, who picked off McKinstry, normally in No. those plays was called back Trevor Lawrence last week, 1, wore No. 0. Pete Werner because of an ineligible recorded another intercepwent from No. 20 to No. 89 — receiver downfield. But tion in a joint practice on an with “Tyree” written on the after Prescott found Ryan overthrow from Prescott. back. Carl Granderson was Flournoy for a score, the But the Dallas duo are Pro either wearing Bub Means’ Dallas starters were shut Bowlers for a reason. Pickuniform, or the wide receiv- down on the remaining five ens got wide open between er suddenly had gained a lot reps. Blackmon and Isaac Yiadom of weight. Prescott threw consecutive for a 40-plus-yard bomb. The differences made it incompletions, one of which Lamb found space between hard to tell who was who, was broken up by defensive Jordan Howden and Emernot that it mattered to Dak end Chase Young in cover- son for a quick strike. The Prescott. age and another was the re- two are so skilled that they The Dallas Cowboys quar- sult of pressure from defen- forced the Saints corners to terback carved up the Saints sive tackle Khristian Boyd. be constantly aware of where early, but the black and gold Linebacker Jaylan Ford then they were running, even found its fight — literally. On snuffed out an Israel Abani- when they veered off their a scrappy day that featured kanda run for a tackle for traditional routes. at least 15 scuffles, the de- loss. The pair were a great test fense accounted for at least The highlight of the se- for the young trio of McKina half-dozen against a Cow- quence was undoubtedly a stry, Riley and safety Jonas boys offense that seemed combo tackle from safety Sanker. to take exception to hard Justin Reid and cornerback hits after each play. But the Martin Emerson to knock Odds and ends n Maybe physicality set the tone and tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford Granderson helped New Orleans settle out of bounds. After Reid should angle to wear No. into a groove. made the initial thump, Em- 16 permanently. The pass “The emphasis was going erson came flying in to deliv- rusher feasted on 1-on-1 for it,” Werner said. “Being er a hard crack to the tight matchups with Dallas’ attenphysical and thudding up the end — causing Spann-Ford to tion turned toward Young. ballcarriers, having a really take exception. Trash talking Granderson had a sack on good finish on the tackles. ensued and bodies huddled Prescott and numerous other Sometimes when they go to around, but no punches were pressures against Dallas. n Riley left practice with the ground, you don’t nec- thrown.

a groin injury, coach Kellen Moore said. The cornerback had a noticeable limp as he went to the medical tent for further evaluation. n The Cowboys seemingly went after Sanker more than the Jaguars did, but the 23-year-old held his ground. He even drew an offensive pass interference penalty on Pickens. It was good work considering Sanker moved from the back end to the slot in the offseason. n Boyd has done well at nose tackle in Davon Godchaux’s absence. Godchaux did not practice Tuesday with an ankle injury. Defensive lineman John Ridgeway, meanwhile, returned after he was sidelined previously with a back injury. Rookie Christen Miller (shoulder) was also out. n Of the fights that happened on the defensive side, edge rusher Tyree Wilson appeared to tick Dallas off the most. Wilson was ﬂat-out punched in his helmet after one play, causing the whistle to be blown. n Jayden Price took the first reps at punt returner. That could be a good sign the cornerback is making headway on locking down a spot on the 53-man roster. n Moore on the jersey mixup: “We were just working through a little miscommunication on the color of each side of the football. I think our defense was real excited about this because they got to pick numbers. Some of them really enjoyed these alternate numbers they got to wear.”

TYSON

separation is special, and he used his smooth route running to routinely win matchups. The Saints needed a receiver badly, which is why they passed on Cowboys

Staff writer

Continued from page 1C quarterback Tyler Shough last season. Vele was effective on intermediate routes, accounting for 185 of his 293 yards receiving. But there will be other opportunities. The Saints will see which of their young receivers is ready for a larger role. Fourth-rounder Bryce Lance and sixth-rounder Barion Brown have had their moments in camp, and both could provide a deep threat. Don’t discount the tight ends. Juwan Johnson is coming off a career season, and the Saints landed Noah Fant in the offseason after spending more than a year pursuing him. New Orleans was already on track to implement more 12 and 13 personnel this season, and that process could be expedited with Tyson not available. If Tyson opens the season on injured reserve, that likely will affect the Saints’ decision-making on their initial 53-man roster. If the Saints keep ﬁve receivers, Tyson’s injury could open up a spot for someone like Kevin Austin or Bub Means.

Recovery timeline Placing Tyson on injured reserve to start the season would require him to miss the ﬁrst four games, keeping him out at least until Oct. 11 against the Minnesota Vikings. But if Tyson needs two months to recover, that could push his debut to an Oct. 18 game at the New York Giants. Even that comes with questions. Would the Saints really be OK with Tyson making his debut on MetLife Stadium’s turf, a surface that has drawn criticism? And if Tyson can’t play that week, the next game is in France. Is that the right environment to unleash him? The Saints’ open date looms after that, setting up a Nov. 8 debut against the Cleveland Browns at home. If the Saints wanted to take a cautious approach, shutting Tyson down until then is an option. This all depends on Tyson’s recovery and how he responds to treatment. If he is medically cleared and feels comfortable being out there, the Saints will play him — regardless of where that takes place.

20/20 hindsight Did the Saints make a

mistake taking Tyson at No. 8? Let’s not overreact. Tyson’s injury doesn’t ease fears he’ll struggle to stay healthy in the NFL. It doesn’t guarantee that will be the case, either. Tyson is not the first rookie to have an injury that tests the patience of everyone invested. Odell Beckham — a popular pre-draft comparison for Tyson — missed the first four games of his career because of a hamstring injury before having a sensational season that included his famous one-handed catch against the Cowboys. Detroit’s Jameson Williams has blossomed into a 1,000-yard receiver despite missing most of his first season with a torn ACL that he suffered in college. For every Beckham, there’s a Kevin White or a Josh Doctson — two receivers who weren’t able to overcome injuries early in their career but didn’t live up to the high expectations that come with being a firstrounder. It’s still too early to tell how Tyson’s career will pan out. The pattern of hamstring injuries is discouraging, but when healthy, he looked like a differencemaker in practice for the Saints. His ability to create

Running back Alvin Kamara (knee) and defensive back Quincy Riley (groin) left practice early with injuries. Receiver Ronnie Bell also left early because he was overheating. Receiver Jordyn Tyson (hamstring), running back Audric Estime (ankle), defensive back Rejzohn Wright (hip/ankle), linebacker Chris Rumph (ankle), and defensive linemen Cam Jordan (hamstring), Davon Godchaux (ankle) and Christen Miller (shoulder) were not present. Receiver Devaughn Vele was present, but he didn’t participate in what Moore called a rest day. Running backs Kendre Miller (back) and Devin Neal (hamstring) returned to practice.

On point

on the money no matter who he threw the ball to. Shough completed 18 (or 19, on the debatable Olave catch) of his 23 passes. He threw one interception in the middle of the field when he appeared to get fooled by the Dallas zone, but outside of that he was nearly perfect. “He’s going to get to learn from a few throws, but I thought his operation, his command, I thought he did a good job of manning (the offense) the whole day,” Moore said. His second-to-last throw of the practice was a perfectly layered drop in the bucket to tight end Noah Fant in the back of the end zone for a touchdown during a red-zone period. Shough and the Saints offense got off to a slow start, but lately he is looking every bit of the quarterback that made a push for rookie of the year while making only nine starts last season.

Odds and ends n The Dallas Cowboys defensive front got to Saints quarterbacks a couple of times Tuesday, but the pass protection was much improved this week compared to last week’s joint practice against the Jacksonville Jaguars. n The offensive line also cleared some nice holes for the run game against a tough Cowboys front. One thing that is noticeably different this year compared to last is the number of cutback lanes the running backs are taking advantage of. Travis Etienne, Neal and Miller all had what likely would have been explosive runs exploiting cutback lanes. n Speaking of Miller, he had a couple of impressive runs in his return from a back injury, some of which came with the first team. He may need a strong finish to camp considering his lengthy injury history, but Tuesday was a good step in that direction. n Rookie wideout Bryce Lance put together another strong practice, catching three of his four targets from Shough — one of which was an explosive play when Lance beat his man on a double move to catch a hole shot down the right sideline. n Saints kickers Charlie Smyth and Tanner Brown both made four of their five attempts on a windy day. Brown missed wide right from 39 yards out, and Smyth missed wide right from 45-yard line.

On one of his final dropbacks of practice, Shough didn’t wait long to pull the trigger. He saw Olave lined up in the slot against rookie Caleb Downs and pulled the trigger on his throw just as Olave was beating the No. 10 pick to the middle of the field for a goal-line touchdown. It was two good players making a difficult game look easy, and that was the case for the entirety of Tuesday’s practice. Shough threw Olave’s way eight times, and depending on the perspective, he had either seven or eight completions. The only one that left some room for interpretation came when Olave leaped to pluck a ball off Downs’ helmet downfield. It was ruled a catch on the field, though Olave wound up cradling the ball between his legs at the end of the play. Right, left, short, deep — it didn’t really matter. Their first connection came on a deep comeback route toward the right sideline, and they made a similar hookup off play action seven plays later. Olave caught passes over the middle of the field and as an outlet in the flat. “Just continuing to grow the trust there,” Shough said. “We’re going to keep building. We’re on the same page on a lot of stuff. We may have some hiccups here and there, but it’s a lot of fun when we’re out there and knowing what each other is thinking.” While Olave was the star Email Luke Johnson at of the show, Shough was ljohnson@theadvocate.com.

safety Caleb Downs (who went 12th) and Buccaneers edge rusher Rueben Bain (15th). The Saints could have taken wideout Makai Lemon instead, but the

Philadelphia Eagles rookie has been sidelined for all of training camp with his own hamstring injury. Email Matthew Paras at matt.paras@theadvocate.com

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LSU basketball commitment Luis gets court date for eligibility BY TOYLOY BROWN III

Staff writer

LSU men’s basketball commitment RJ Luis has a preliminary injunction hearing set for Monday to try to earn eligibility for the 2026-27 season. The former St. John’s star will sit in front of Judge Ronald Johnson at 1:30 p.m. in an East Baton Rouge court, according to a search on Clerk Connect. Luis, who committed to play for coach Will Wade on May 19, needed to file a lawsuit against the NCAA to gain eligibility for the upcoming season. He wants to return to college basketball after going undrafted in the 2025 NBA Draft and signing an NBA contract. The NCAA wants players who’ve signed NBA contracts to be ineligible. “The NCAA has not and will not grant eligibility to any prospective or returning student-athletes who have signed an NBA contract (including a two-way contract),” NCAA president Charlie Baker said in a statement in December. Luis, a 6-foot-7 wing, entered the draft after playing three years of college basketball. After going undrafted, he signed a two-way contract with the Utah Jazz. The 23-year-old was then traded to the Boston Celtics in exchange for

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL AMERICAN LEAGUE East Division

W Tampa Bay 75 New York 70 Boston 68 Toronto 62 Baltimore 61 Central Division W Chicago 65 Minnesota 62 Cleveland 61 Detroit 61 Kansas City 53 West Division W Houston 63 Texas 62 Seattle 59 Los Angeles 50 Athletics 49

Monday’s games

NATIONAL LEAGUE L 50 55 58 65 65

Pct .600 .560 .540 .488 .484

GB — 5 7½ 14 14½

L 59 65 65 65 74

Pct .524 .488 .484 .484 .417

GB — 4½ 5 5 13½

L 63 64 67 76 77

Pct .500 .492 .468 .397 .389

GB — 1 4 13 14

Tampa Bay 7, Baltimore 6 Boston 11, Arizona 1 Minnesota 4, Atlanta 2 Detroit 8, Pittsburgh 5 Kansas City 9, Athletics 5 Chi. Cubs 7, Chi. White Sox 5, 10 innings

Tuesday’s games

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By MATT SLOCUM

RJ Luis, shown playing for St. John’s, looks to return to college basketball after going undrafted in the 2025 NBA Draft and signing an NBA contract. Georges Niang and two future second-round picks. He was waived on Oct. 15 and signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Celtics’ NBA G League afﬁliate, the Maine Celtics. An Exhibit 10 contract is a one-year, minimum salary agreement that isn’t guaranteed. Luis didn’t appear in any G League games as the Maine Celtics waived him because of an injury. He also never played in the NBA Summer League due to a knee issue. Luis did appear in three NBA preseason games for the Boston Celtics, playing seven

minutes and scoring six points overall. Luis averaged 18.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game at St. John’s during the 2024-25 season, winning Big East Player of the Year and being named a second-team AP All-American. He left college after his junior year while his name was in the transfer portal. He spent his freshman year at Massachusetts in the Atlantic 10 before playing for coach Rick Pitino at St. John’s for two years. Email Toyloy Brown III at toyloy.brown@theadvocate.com

Pittsburgh 4, Detroit 1 N.Y. Yankees 3, Baltimore 1 Cleveland 8, San Francisco 1 Toronto 10, Tampa Bay 5 Minnesota 4, Atlanta 1 Boston 9, Arizona 4 Kansas City 4, Athletics 3 Milwaukee 22, Seattle 0 Texas 5, Washington 0 L.A. Angels 3, Houston 1 Chicago White Sox at Chicago Cubs, n

Wednesday’s games

Detroit (Jobe 1-1) at Pittsburgh (Skenes 9-11), 11:35 a.m. Atlanta (Sale 12-8) at Minnesota (Bradley 9-5), 12:40 p.m. Chicago White Sox (TBD) at Chicago Cubs (Holmes 5-5), 1:20 p.m. Arizona (Pfaadt 7-1) at Boston (Tolle 8-6), 3:10 p.m. N.Y. Yankees (Warren 8-6) at Baltimore (Bassitt 4-4), 5:35 p.m. San Francisco (Houser 3-7) at Cleveland (Messick 9-7), 5:40 p.m. Toronto (Scherzer 1-5) at Tampa Bay (Rasmussen 12-5), 5:40 p.m. Athletics (Jump 5-7) at Kansas City (Lugo 5-7), 6:40 p.m. Seattle (Gilbert 9-7) at Milwaukee (May 6-7), 6:40 p.m. Washington (Cavalli 10-5) at Texas (deGrom 8-8), 7:05 p.m. L.A. Angels (Ureña 8-8) at Houston (TBD), 7:10 p.m.

SCOREBOARD Odds NFL Thursday

FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG at HOUSTON 1½ 1½ (40½) Las Vegas San Francisco 1½ 1½ (38½) at LA CHRGRS

Friday

FAVORITE at PITTS at JAX at DENVER

Saturday

OPENTODAY O/U 2½ 3½ (39½) 2½ 2½ (38½) 4½ 6½ (40½)

UNDERDOG NY Jets Carolina Green Bay

FAVORITE OPENTODAY O/U UNDERDOG at DETROIT 1½ 4½ (37½) Washington at INDIANAPLS 2½ 3½ (36½) Atlanta at CLEVELAND 1½ 2½ (36½) Buffalo at MINNESOTA 2½ 3½ (36½) Baltimore New Orleans 1½ 3 (37½) at LA RAMS NY Giants 1½ 2½ (37½) at MIAMI Philadelphia 1½ 2½ (36½) at N. ENGLND Chicago 3 1½ (36½) at CINCINNATI at TAMPA BAY 3 5½ (37½) Kansas City at ARIZONA 1½ 1½ (37½) Dallas

Sunday

FAVORITE OPENTODAY O/U at TENNESSEE 3 4½ (38½)

MLB

UNDERDOG Seattle

Wednesday

American League FAVORITE LINE at BALTIMORE OFF at TAMPA BAY -224 at KANSAS CITY OFF at HOUSTON -168 National League FAVORITE LINE San Diego -134 at PHILADELPHIA -132 at CINCINNATI -139 LA Dodgers -196 Interleague FAVORITE LINE at PITTSBURGH -152 Atlanta -113 at CHICAGO CUBS -175 at BOSTON -153 at CLEVELAND OFF at MILWAUKEE -129 at TEXAS -126

UNDERDOG N.Y Yankees Toronto Athletics LA Angels

LINE OFF +180 OFF +137

UNDERDOG at N.Y METS Miami St. Louis at COLORADO

LINE +109 +109 +114 +158

UNDERDOG Detroit at MINNESOTA Chi. White Sox Arizona San Francisco Seattle Washington

LINE +123 -109 +152 +125 OFF +105 +108

Pro basketball WNBA glance EASTERN CONFERENCE Indiana Atlanta New York Washington Chicago Toronto Connecticut

W 23 21 22 20 13 10 8

L 12 13 14 14 22 23 25

Pct .657 .618 .611 .588 .371 .303 .242

W 29 25 24 20 15 13 12 7

L 7 9 12 16 20 23 22 30

Pct GB .806 — .735 3 .667 5 .556 9 .429 13½ .361 16 .353 16 .189 22½

WESTERN CONFERENCE x-Minnesota x-Golden State x-Las Vegas Dallas Portland Phoenix Los Angeles Seattle x-clinched playoff spot

GB — 1½ 1½ 2½ 10 12 14

Monday’s games

Tuesday’s games

Indiana 101, Toronto 95 Connecticut 5, Los Angeles 77 Atlanta at Las Vegas, n Chicago 93, New York 86

Wednesday’s games

Toronto at Washington, 6:30 p.m. Minnesota at Golden State, 9 p.m.

Pro football NFL preseason Thursday’s games

Las Vegas at Houston, 7 p.m. San Francisco at L.A. Chargers, 9 p.m.

Friday’s games

N.Y. Jets at Pittsburgh, 6 p.m. Carolina at Jacksonville, 6:30 p.m. Green Bay at Denver, 8 p.m.

Saturday’s games

Washington at Detroit, 11 a.m. Atlanta at Indianapolis, noon Baltimore at Minnesota, noon Buffalo at Cleveland, noon N.Y. Giants at Miami, 3 p.m. New Orleans at L.A. Rams, 3 p.m. Chicago at Cincinnati, 6 p.m. Philadelphia at New England, 6 p.m. Kansas City at Tampa Bay, 6:30 p.m. Dallas at Arizona, 9 p.m.

Sunday’s game

PGA Tour FedEx Cup Leaders Points 4,873 3,426 3,183 2,701 2,542 2,416 2,288 2,247 2,242 2,130 1,981 1,761 1,745

$6,019,835 $7,514,799 $5,526,457 $5,987,898 $5,693,252 $6,227,739 $4,590,614 $4,878,908 $6,371,326 $5,118,908 $4,939,356 $5,468,659 $4,663,710 $4,149,268 $5,047,158 $4,493,948 $4,870,736 $4,409,712 $5,752,029 $4,822,868 $4,169,215 $3,882,296 $4,353,388 $5,094,602 $4,103,407 $4,307,687 $3,190,077 $3,750,041 $3,768,179 $3,923,596 $3,654,774 $3,335,671 $3,182,448 $2,818,668 $2,869,154 $3,306,377 $3,044,181

Soccer MLS glance Eastern Conference W Nashville 13 Inter Miami CF 11 Chicago 10 New England 9 Charlotte FC 8 Cincinnati 7 New York City FC 7 New York 7 D.C. United 5 Orlando City 6 Columbus 5 Toronto FC 4 Philadelphia 5 CF Montréal 4 Atlanta 4

L 2 3 6 7 7 6 7 8 5 10 9 7 10 10 12

Western Conference

T 4 5 2 3 4 6 5 4 9 3 5 8 4 5 3

Pts 43 38 32 30 28 27 26 25 24 21 20 20 19 17 15

GF GA 39 15 46 36 34 24 29 25 32 28 46 45 33 27 30 41 27 30 31 48 27 31 26 33 28 35 25 36 21 34

W L T Pts GF GA Vancouver 11 3 4 37 40 17 Houston 11 6 2 35 28 24 Los Angeles FC 10 6 4 34 35 20 San Jose 10 6 3 33 38 27 FC Dallas 8 5 6 30 34 26 St Louis City 8 6 5 29 27 25 Real Salt Lake 8 6 4 28 30 26 Colorado 8 10 1 25 29 25 Minnesota United6 6 7 25 21 26 Portland 7 9 3 24 34 35 Seattle 7 8 3 24 20 24 San Diego FC 6 7 6 24 33 29 LA Galaxy 5 8 7 22 24 30 Austin FC 4 10 5 17 23 38 Kansas City 4 13 2 14 18 48 NOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie.

New York City FC at Cincinnati, 6:30 p.m. CF Montréal at Columbus, 6:30 p.m. New England at D.C. United, 6:30 p.m. Nashville at New York, 6:30 p.m. Chicago at Orlando City, 6:30 p.m. Miami at Philadelphia, 6:30 p.m. Charlotte FC at Toronto FC, 6:30 p.m. St Louis City at Sporting Kansas City, 7 p.m. Atlanta at Minnesota, 7:30 p.m. Los Angeles FC at Colorado, 8:30 p.m. FC Dallas at Real Salt Lake, 8:30 p.m. Austin FC at Seattle, 8:30 p.m. San Jose at LA Galaxy, 9:30 p.m. San Diego FC at Portland, 9:30 p.m. Houston at Vancouver, 9:30 p.m.

Saturday’s games

D.C. United at Charlotte FC, 6:30 p.m. Seattle at Cincinnati, 6:30 p.m. Toronto FC at Miami, 6:30 p.m. LA Galaxy at CF Montréal, 6:30 p.m. Chicago at New York, 6:30 p.m. Real Salt Lake at Orlando City, 6:30 p.m. Philadelphia at Austin FC, 7:30 p.m. Columbus at Nashville, 7:30 p.m. Houston at St Louis City, 7:30 p.m. FC Dallas at Vancouver, 8:30 p.m. Portland at Los Angeles FC, 9:30 p.m. Colorado at San Diego FC, 9:30 p.m. Minnesota at San Jose, 9:30 p.m.

Sunday’s games

New York City FC at New England, 3:30 p.m. Sporting Kansas City at Atlanta, 6 p.m.

Tennis

Seattle at Tennessee, 7 p.m.

Pro golf Through Aug. 17

1,740 1,730 1,600 1,540 1,481 1,473 1,416 1,414 1,397 1,375 1,355 1,352 1,341 1,315 1,259 1,258 1,258 1,256 1,237 1,208 1,197 1,196 1,191 1,146 1,124 1,122 1,052 1,051 1,040 1,029 1,027 908 898 875 875 863 845

Wednesday’s games

Golden State 78, Dallas 70

1. Scottie Schefﬂer 2. Matt Fitzpatrick 3. Cameron Young 4. Si Woo Kim 5. Wyndham Clark 6. Sam Burns 7. Chris Gotterup 8. Tommy Fleetwood 9. Collin Morikawa 10. Ludvig Åberg 11. Xander Schauffele 12. Jacob Bridgeman 13. Rory McIlroy

14. Russell Henley 15. Akshay Bhatia 16. Hideki Matsuyama 17. Ryan Gerard 18. Min Woo Lee 19. Kristoffer Reitan 20. Alex Fitzpatrick 21. J.J. Spaun 22. Viktor Hovland 23. Alex Smalley 24. Justin Rose 25. Ryan Fox 26. Tom Kim 27. Adam Scott 28. Kurt Kitayama 29. Bud Cauley 30. Rickie Fowler 31. Gary Woodland 32. J.T. Poston 33. Nicolai Højgaard 34. Alex Noren 35. Jake Knapp 36. Robert MacIntyre 37. Aaron Rai 38. Ben Grifﬁn 39. Sepp Straka 40. Sungjae Im 41. M. Thorbjornsen 42. Nicolas Echavarria 43. Patrick Cantlay 44. Justin Thomas 45. Ryo Hisatsune 46. Sahith Theegala 47. Michael Brennan 48. Eric Cole 49. Maverick McNealy 50. Matthew McCarty

Money $20,511,275 $14,118,067 $14,302,482 $9,610,944 $10,636,186 $8,743,540 $7,882,219 $6,984,605 $8,601,712 $6,835,271 $7,275,225 $7,678,365 $8,506,606

Western & Southern Open Results Tuesday At Lindner Family Tennis Center, Cincinnati Purse: $9,415,725 Surface: Hardcourt outdoor Men’s Singles Round of 32 Christopher O’Connell, Australia, def. Joao Fonseca (23), Brazil, walkover. Nuno Borges, Portugal, def. Andrey Rublev (13), Russia, 6-3, 6-4. Lorenzo Musetti (10), Italy, def. Michael Zheng, United States, 6-1, 6-3. Taylor Fritz (6), United States, def. Daniel Merida, Spain, 6-3, 6-4. Brandon Nakashima (27), United States,

def. Daniil Medvedev (4), Russia, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (4), 6-1. Women’s Singles Round of 32 Madison Keys (20), United States, def. Katerina Siniakova (33), Czechia, 6-1, 6-3. Wang Xiyu, China, def. Elina Svitolina (8), Ukraine, walkover. Mirra Andreeva (5), Russia, def. Janice Tjen (32), Indonesia, 6-1, 7-6 (5). Coco Gauff (4), United States, def. Ann Li (28), United States, 6-1, 7-6 (3). Marta Kostyuk (10), Ukraine, def. Sloane Stephens, United States, 7-5, 7-5. Sara Bejlek, Czechia, def. Ekaterina Alexandrova (16), Russia, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.

Transactions Baseball Major League Baseball

American League ATHLETICS — Recalled RHP Taylor Rashi from Las Vegas (PCL). Optioned RHP Mason Barnett to Las Vegas. BALTIMORE ORIOLES — Sent C Samuel Basallo on a rehab assignment to Chesapeake (EL). BOSTON RED SOX — Sent LF Roman Anthony on a rehab assignment to Portland (EL). DETROIT TIGERS — Sent CF Trei Cruz outright to Toledo (IL). KANSAS CITY ROYALS — Recalled RHP Carlos Duran from Omaha (IL). Optioned RHP Lucas Erceg to Omaha. Sent RHP Beck Way on a rehab assignment to Northwest Arkansas (TL). NEW YORK YANKEES — Reinstated LHP Carlos Rodón from the 15-day IL. TEXAS RANGERS — Reinstated C Danny Jansen from the 60-day IL. Designated C Austin Wynns for assignment. TORONTO BLUE JAYS — Reinstated 2B Lenyn Sosa from the 60-day IL. Sent Sosa outright to Buffalo (IL). National League ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS — Sent LF Lourdes Gurriel Jr. on a rehab assignment to Reno (PCL). ATLANTA BRAVES — Agreed to terms with C Chuckie Robinson on a minor league contract. Recalled RHP AJ Smith-Shawver from Gwinnett (IL). Designated RHP Tyler Kinley for assignment. CINCINNATI REDS — Recalled C Will Banﬁeld from Louisville (IL). Optioned RF Noelvi Marte and RHP Zach McCambley to Louisville. COLORADO ROCKIES — Recalled DH Braxton Fulford from Albuquerque (PCL). Placed C Hunter Goodman on the 10-day IL, retroactive to Aug. 15. MIAMI MARLINS — Sent RHP Anthony Bender on a rehab assignment to Jacksonville (IL). NEW YORK METS — Reinstated RHP Austin Warren from the 15-day IL. Optioned RHP Chayce McDermott to Syracuse (IL). Sent RHP Justin Hagenman on a rehab assignment to St. Lucie (FSL). PITTSBURGH PIRATES — Recalled RHP Antwone Kelly from Indianapolis (IL). Optioned RHP Isaac Mattson to Indianapolis. ST. LOUIS CARDINALS — Optioned LHP Quinn Mathews to Memphis (IL). WASHINGTON NATIONALS — Sent RHP Josiah Gray on a rehab assignment to Fredericksburg (CAR).

Basketball

National Basketball Association

NEW ORLEANS PELICANS — Signed F Malik Dia to a two-way contract. Waived C Hunter Dickinson.

Football

East Division

Atlanta Philadelphia Miami Washington New York Central Division Milwaukee Chicago St. Louis Pittsburgh Cincinnati West Division Los Angeles San Diego Arizona San Francisco Colorado

W 74 69 64 60 57

L 52 58 63 67 70

Pct .587 .543 .504 .472 .449

GB — 5½ 10½ 14½ 17½

W 78 73 65 62 60

L 48 53 62 66 66

Pct .619 .579 .512 .484 .476

GB — 5 13½ 17 18

W 75 68 66 51 50

L 51 59 61 74 75

Pct .595 .535 .520 .408 .400

GB — 7½ 9½ 23½ 24½

Monday’s games

St. Louis 2, Cincinnati 1, 1st game N.Y. Mets 2, San Diego 1 Cincinnati 6, St. Louis 5, 10 inn., 2nd game Philadelphia 6, Miami 5 Boston 11, Arizona 1 Minnesota 4, Atlanta 2 Detroit 8, Pittsburgh 5 L.A. Dodgers 11, Colorado 5 Chi. Cubs 7, Chi. White Sox 5, 10 innings

Tuesday’s games

Pittsburgh 4, Detroit 1 St. Louis 3, Cincinnati 0 Cleveland 8, San Francisco 1 Philadelphia 6, Miami 4 Minnesota 4, Atlanta 1 Boston 9, Arizona 4 San Diego 5, N.Y. Mets 2 Milwaukee 22, Seattle 0 Texas 5, Washington 0 Chicago White Sox at Chicago Cubs, n L.A. Dodgers at Colorado, n

Wednesday’s games

Detroit (Jobe 1-1) at Pittsburgh (Skenes 9-11), 11:35 a.m. San Diego (King 8-8) at N.Y. Mets (Stock 0-2), 12:10 p.m. Atlanta (Sale 12-8) at Minnesota (Bradley 9-5), 12:40 p.m. Chicago White Sox (TBD) at Chicago Cubs (Holmes 5-5), 1:20 p.m. Arizona (Pfaadt 7-1) at Boston (Tolle 8-6), 3:10 p.m. Miami (Alcantara 13-7) at Philadelphia (Nola 4-9), 5:05 p.m. San Francisco (Houser 3-7) at Cleveland (Messick 9-7), 5:40 p.m. St. Louis (Liberatore 5-10) at Cincinnati (Burns 14-2), 5:40 p.m. Seattle (Gilbert 9-7) at Milwaukee (May 6-7), 6:40 p.m. Washington (Cavalli 10-5) at Texas (deGrom 8-8), 7:05 p.m. L.A. Dodgers (Sasaki 5-5) at Colorado (Freeland 4-10), 7:40 p.m.

BOX SCORES Pittsburgh 4, Detroit 1

Cleveland 8, San Francisco 1

Detroit

Pittsburgh ab r h bi ab r h bi Torres 2b 4 0 1 0 Horwitz 1b 3 0 1 1 McGongl 3b 4 0 1 0 Lowe 2b 4 0 0 0 Keith dh 3 0 1 0 Reynolds dh 4 0 1 1 Dingler ph 1 0 0 0 E.Valdez rf 3 1 0 0 Valencia c 4 0 0 0 Cook lf 0 0 0 0 McKnstry rf 3 0 0 0 Cruz cf 3 1 1 2 Lee ph 1 0 0 0 Mangum lf-rf 3 0 1 0 Torkelsn 1b 3 0 0 0 Flores c 3 1 1 0 Callahan lf 3 1 2 1 Gonzalez ss 3 0 0 0 Clark cf 3 0 0 0 Triolo 3b 3 1 1 0 Báez ss 3 0 0 0 Totals 32 1 5 1 Totals 29 4 6 4 Detroit 000 010 000 — 1 Pittsburgh 000 030 01x — 4 E—Lowe (11). DP—Detroit 1, Pittsburgh 1. LOB—Detroit 4, Pittsburgh 3. 2B—Flores (2). HR—Callahan (1), Cruz (15). IP H R ER BB SO Detroit Montero L,9-8 5 4 3 3 1 3 Madden 2 1 1 1 0 2 De Jesús 1 1 0 0 0 0 Pittsburgh Ashcraft W,13-5 8 5 1 1 0 4 Montgomery S,5-7 1 0 0 0 0 2 Madden pitched to 1 batter in the 8th. HBP—De Jesús (Horwitz). ABS Challenge—Horwitz (Strike-Overturned to Ball); Valencia (Strike-Overturned to Ball). Pitch timer violations—Madden (pitcher). Umpires—Home, John Tumpane; First, Chris Conroy; Second, Austin Jones; Third, Ben May. T—2:02. A—20,222 (38,753).

San Francisco Cleveland ab r h bi ab r h bi Cox cf 4 0 2 0 Kwan cf-lf 3 3 1 0 Devers dh 4 0 0 0 Ramírez 3b 5 2 3 0 Bericoto rf 4 0 0 0 Adell rf 4 1 3 6 Eldridge 1b 4 1 2 1 Halpin cf 1 0 0 0 Basabe 2b 3 0 0 0 Martínz lf-rf 4 1 1 1 Kennedy 3b 3 0 1 0 Hoskins 1b 4 0 1 0 Hill ph 1 0 1 0 Genao 2b 3 0 2 0 Gilbert lf 3 0 0 0 Bazzana dh 4 0 0 0 Knizner c 3 0 0 0 Bailey c 4 0 0 1 Koss ss 3 0 1 0 Rocchio ss 4 1 1 0 Totals 32 1 7 1 Totals 36 812 8 San Francisco 010 000 000 — 1 Cleveland 320 200 10x — 8 E—Gilbert (2), Eldridge (1). DP—San Francisco 0, Cleveland 1. LOB—San Francisco 6, Cleveland 7. 2B—Koss (4), Hill (1), Genao (2), Ramírez (20), Martínez (17). HR—Eldridge (14), Adell (19). IP H R ER BB SO San Francisco Whisenhunt L,3-4 4 9 7 6 2 1 Harris 2 1 0 0 0 5 Sanmartin 2 2 1 0 1 2 Cleveland Grifﬁn W,14-4 6 5 1 1 2 6 Festa 11⁄3 1 0 0 0 3 Herrin 1 0 0 0 0 2 2 Yoho ⁄3 1 0 0 0 1 Herrin pitched to 1 batter in the 9th. ABS Challenge—Kwan (Strike-Overturned to Ball); Eldridge (Strike-Conﬁrmed). Umpires—Home, Jordan Baker; First, Stu Scheuwater; Second, Steven Jaschinski; Third, Rob Drake. T—2:37. A—21,309 (34,788).

N.Y. Yankees 3, Baltimore 1

Philadelphia 6, Miami 4

New York

Baltimore ab r h bi ab r h bi Grisham cf 4 1 2 3 Holliday 2b 4 0 0 0 Rice dh 3 0 0 0 Alonso dh 4 0 1 0 Ramos lf 3 0 0 0 O’Neill rf 2 0 0 0 García 1b 4 0 0 0 Beavrs ph-rf1 0 0 0 Jones rf 4 1 1 0 Mayo 1b 3 1 1 1 Chisholm 2b 4 0 0 0 Hendrsn ss 4 0 0 0 Lombard ss 4 1 2 0 Encrn-St 3b 3 0 0 0 McMahon 3b1 0 0 0 Taveras cf 4 0 2 0 Gldschmt ph0 0 0 0 Franklin lf 2 0 0 0 Caballr pr-3b1 0 0 0 Cowser ph 1 0 0 0 Wells c 2 0 0 0 Narváez c 2 0 0 0 Rosario ph 1 0 0 0 Jackson ph 1 0 0 0 Sánchez c 1 0 0 0 Pozo c 1 0 0 0 Totals 32 3 5 3 Totals 32 1 4 1 New York 001 000 200 — 3 Baltimore 001 000 000 — 1 E—Chisholm (9). LOB—New York 6, Baltimore 8. HR—Grisham (17), Mayo (17). IP H R ER BB SO New York Rodón 4 2 1 1 2 4 De los Santos W,1-0 2 1 0 0 0 0 2 Headrick H,20 ⁄3 1 0 0 1 1 1 Cruz H,19 ⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 Blackburn H,6 1 0 0 0 1 2 Bednar S,28-31 1 0 0 0 0 2 Baltimore Baz L,4-13 61⁄3 4 3 3 2 10 2 Walker ⁄3 1 0 0 1 2 Suárez 2 0 0 0 0 2 HBP—Walker (Rice). ABS Challenge—Ramos (Strike-Confirmed); Rodón (Ball-Overturned to Strike); Jones (Strike-Confirmed); Baz (Ball-Confirmed); Baz (Ball-Overturned to Strike); Mayo (Strike-Overturned to Ball); Taveras (Strike-Confirmed). Umpires—Home, Will Little; First, Ryan Wills; Second, Ryan Additon; Third, Jonathan Parra. T—2:40. A—23,257 (45,971).

Miami Philadelphia ab r h bi ab r h bi Marsee cf 2 0 0 0 Schwrbr dh 5 0 1 1 Edwards 2b 3 0 1 1 Turner ss 4 1 0 0 Lopez ss 3 1 0 0 Harper rf 2 1 0 0 Conine 1b 4 2 2 1 Arraez 2b 4 1 3 0 Hernández lf4 0 1 1 Bohm 1b 4 1 2 2 Ramírez dh 4 0 0 0 Stott 3b 3 2 1 2 Caissie rf 3 0 0 0 Marsh lf 4 0 1 0 Jiménez ph 1 0 0 0 Realmuto c 3 0 0 0 Sanoja 3b 4 0 1 0 Crawford cf 4 0 2 1 Navarreto c 2 1 0 0 Ruiz ph 1 0 0 0 Totals 31 4 5 3 Totals 33 610 6 Miami 010 011 010 — 4 Philadelphia 100 004 01x — 6 E—Arraez (6), Kerkering (1). DP—Miami 0, Philadelphia 1. LOB—Miami 5, Philadelphia 8. 2B—Bohm (22). HR—Conine (14), Schwarber (37). IP H R ER BB SO Miami Gibson 1 1⁄3 2 1 1 1 1 Zuber 11⁄3 0 0 0 1 1 Ekness 12⁄3 1 0 0 0 1 Petersen L,2-3 BS,1-2 1 4 4 4 0 0 Phillips 2 2 1 1 2 3 2 ⁄3 1 0 0 0 2 Faucher Philadelphia Wheeler 5 2 2 2 4 7 McFarlane W,1-1 1 1 1 0 1 0 Alvarado H,11 1 1 0 0 0 0 Kerkering H,15 1 1 1 0 0 1 Raley S,1-3 1 0 0 0 0 1 HBP—Petersen (Turner). WP—Phillips(2). ABS —Wheeler (Ball-Overturned to Strike); Ramírez (Strike-Confirmed); Zuber (BallOverturned to Strike); Harper (Strike-Confirmed); Faucher (Ball-Confirmed). Umpires—Home, Shane Livensparger; First, Clint Vondrak; Second, Todd Tichenor; Third, Tyler Jones. T—3:01. A—39,237 (42,901).

Toronto 10, Tampa Bay 5

L.A. Angels 3, Houston 1

National Football League

ATLANTA FALCONS — Signed OLB Za’Darius Smith. Waived WR Le’Meke Brockington, P Matthew Hayball and G Layden Robinson. BALTIMORE RAVENS — Signed OT David Sharpe. Waived/injured CB Jahquez Robinson. BUFFALO BILLS — Waived FB Jackson Acker. CAROLINA PANTHERS — Waived G Joshua Gray and LB Nick Hampton. CHICAGO BEARS — Waived RB Coleman Bennett. Reverted TE Nikola Kalinic to injured reserve after he cleared waivers. CLEVELAND BROWNS — Signed WR Ben Patterson. Waived G Jack Conley. Reverted TE Brenden Bates to injured reserve after he cleared waivers. DALLAS COWBOYS — Signed OLB Von Miller. Waived WR Traeshon Holden. DETROIT LIONS — Waived DT Aidan Keanaaina. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS — Signed OTs Roy Mbaeteka and Trey Wedig and TE Tyler Moore. Waived WR E.J. Horton and OT Bayron Matos. Placed TE Carson Towt on injured reserve. LOS ANGELES RAMS — Signed WR Alex Bachman. Waived/injured WR Mario Williams. MIAMI DOLPHINS — Signed EDGE Seth Coleman-Lyles. Waived DB Tanner Wall. Waived/injured EDGE Mason Reiger. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS — Signed OL Greg Van Roten. Waived TE Mitch Van Vooren. NEW YORK GIANTS — Signed RB Najee Harris. Released CB Sam Webb. NEW YORK JETS — Signed EDGE Nate Lynn and CB Keenan Garber. Waived DL Ben Barten. Waived/injured EDGE Kingsley Jonathan. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS — Waived DT KeeShawn Silver. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES — Waived T Hollin Pierce. SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS — Signed DL Evan Anderson to a one-year contract. Waived/ injured DL Titus Leo.

Toronto

Tampa Bay ab r h bi ab r h bi Bateman cf 6 1 2 1 Simpson lf 5 0 2 0 Lukes rf 5 1 1 0 Caminer 3b 5 0 2 0 Kirk c 6 2 3 3 Aranda 1b 5 0 1 0 Springer dh 4 1 3 1 Díaz dh 4 1 2 0 Sánchez lf 3 0 1 1 Hicks c 4 1 1 0 Straw lf 1 0 0 0 Mesa rf 0 0 0 0 Okamoto 1b 5 1 1 1 Vilade ph-rf 3 1 2 0 Giménez ss 5 0 1 0 Mullins cf 3 1 1 1 Clement 2b 5 3 3 0 Palacios 2b 3 1 1 1 Smith 3b 4 1 2 2 Walls ss 4 0 1 2 Totals 44 1017 9 Totals 36 513 4 Toronto 202 220 200 — 10 Tampa Bay 000 300 020 — 5 E—Caminero (17). DP—Toronto 2, Tampa Bay 0. LOB—Toronto 11, Tampa Bay 7. 2B—Kirk (6), Sánchez (16), Springer (15). HR—Kirk (6), Okamoto (25), Smith (3). SB—Springer (10), Bateman (1). SF—Mullins (4), Palacios (2). S—Smith (2). IP H R ER BB SO Toronto 3 0 2 Soriano W,10-6 5 2⁄3 9 3 1 ⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 Fluharty Waldron 2 4 2 2 0 1 Miles 1 0 0 0 0 0 Tampa Bay 6 2 5 Martinez L,12-4 32⁄3 9 6 2 0 0 Matz 11⁄3 3 2 Scholtens 4 5 2 2 1 2 HBP—Soriano (Mesa). WP—Soriano, Martinez(3). ABS Challenge—Soriano (Ball-Confirmed); Soriano (Ball-Confirmed); Soriano (BallOverturned to Strike); Kirk (Strike-Overturned to Ball); Walls (Strike-Confirmed). Umpires—Home, James Hoye; First, James Jean; Second, Sean Barber; Third, John Libka. T—2:44. A—12,387 (25,025).

Los Angeles Houston ab r h bi ab r h bi Meckler lf 4 1 1 0 Peña ss 4 0 0 0 Siri lf 0 0 0 0 Alvarez dh 4 0 0 0 Trout cf 3 0 0 0 Paredes 3b 2 0 0 0 Schanuel 1b 4 1 2 1 Altuve 2b 3 0 1 0 Neto ss 4 0 2 1 Varsho cf 4 0 0 0 Ballestrs dh 4 0 0 0 Walker 1b 4 0 0 0 Grissom 2b 4 0 1 0 Trammell lf 3 0 0 0 Peraza 2b 0 0 0 0 Smith rf 3 1 1 1 Lowe rf 4 1 1 1 Diaz c 3 0 1 0 Guzman 3b 4 0 1 0 Heineman c 3 0 0 0 Totals 34 3 8 3 Totals 30 1 3 1 Los Angeles 001 110 000 — 3 Houston 000 000 010 — 1 DP—Los Angeles 0, Houston 1. LOB—Los Angeles 5, Houston 5. 2B—Neto (24). HR— Lowe (10), Smith (17). SB—Meckler (5). IP H R ER BB SO Los Angeles Klassen W,2-1 7 1 0 0 3 7 1 ⁄3 2 1 1 0 0 Fermin H,6 2 ⁄3 0 0 0 0 1 Watson H,3 Joyce S,3-3 1 0 0 0 0 2 Houston Javier L,1-4 4 5 2 2 1 5 2 ⁄3 1 1 1 0 1 King De Los Santos 11⁄3 1 0 0 0 0 Blubaugh 2 1 0 0 0 0 Ullola 1 0 0 0 0 2 ABS Challenge—Schanuel (Strike-Overturned to Ball); Klassen (Ball-Overturned to Strike); Schanuel (Strike-Conﬁrmed); Grissom (Strike-Overturned to Ball); Klassen (Ball-Overturned to Strike); Smith (Strike-Conﬁrmed). Umpires—Home, Alfonso Marquez; First, Mike Estabrook; Second, Lance Barrett; Third, Malachi Moore. T—2:44. A—22,767 (41,000).

LIVING

T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M

W e d n e s d ay, au g u s t 19, 2026

1dn

Lauren Cheramie BON VIVANT

Halloween pop-up bar to bring scary good menu to Baton Rouge Bon vi·vant /noun/ a sociable person who has cultivated and reﬁned tastes, especially with respect to food and drink.

In the know Through Aug. 31, Sullivan’s Steakhouse, 5252 Corporate Blvd., Baton Rouge, is pairing its signature 8-ounce ﬁlet mignon with a glass of premium wine for $63. Guests can choose from Chalk Hill Chardonnay, Justin Rosé or Caymus-Suisin “The Walking Fool” Red Blend. The promotion is part of the restaurant’s monthlong celebration of National Filet Mignon Day, Aug. 13. The team behind Miracle, a national Christmas-themed pop-up cocktail bar with locations across the country, has a new pop-up. The brand is hosting its ﬁrst Halloween experience, The Haunting, with immersive design and a curated cocktail menu.

Parking at dusk under Interstate 10 next to Schlittz & Giggles

STAFF FILE PHOTO By TRAVIS SPRADLING

Eats around the clock Craving a midnight snack? These BR restaurants are open late or 24 hours.

BY MADDIE SCOTT Staff writer PROVIDED PHOTO

Hankering for a midnight snack in Baton Rouge? We’ve all been there. The sun sets, hours pass and all of a sudden, bedtime was yesterday and back-of-the-pantry ramen just ain’t cutting it. Fear not, the city has lots STAFF FILE PHOTO By CHELSEA SHANNON of locally owned restaurants and Friends dig in to the spinach and late-night spots serving fare into artichoke dip from The Chimes the a.m. Take your pick: grilled porkchops Restaurant and Taproom. will collard greens, New York-style pizza, tacos and wings galore, beig- four locations in Louisiana, The nets hot from the fryer and more. Chimes serves Southern classics from po-boys to gumbo, seafood Locally owned spots open late plates, burgers, salads and an exMidnight Munchies Inc. (3070 Monter- tensive beer list. The location by LSU campus rey Drive): Menu includes homestyle comforts such as Cajun (3357 Highland Road) is open pasta, Tuscan chicken, quesadillas 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Mondays through and pork chops. Seafood options Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 12 a.m. Friinclude chili glazed salmon, catﬁsh days, 10 a.m. to 12 a.m. Saturdays or seafood fries. and 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sundays. Open 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. Mondays KOK Wings and & Things (1509 Governthrough Fridays. Closed Saturdays ment St. Bldg. D): This Louisiana and Sundays. chain has four locations serving The Chimes Restaurant & Tap Room (two wings and things such as ﬁsh slidlocations in Baton Rouge): With ers and fries.

The poison apple cocktail, a drink on the menu with ‘The Haunting’ pop-ups, includes calvados, bonded rye whiskey, fino sherry, bitter apple and miso. In Baton Rouge, The Station (4608 Bennington Ave.) is hosting a pop-up, including cocktails like the poison apple with calvados, bonded rye whiskey, ﬁno sherry, bitter apple and miso. The Haunting will open from Oct. 1 through Halloween.

New food, drinks on the block PJ’s Coffee, with several locations in Baton Rouge, released its seasonal lineup with banana sweet cold foam: pumpkin latte, cold brew mocha with banana sweet cold foam, iced matcha latte with banana sweet cold foam and bananas Foster bites. Restaurant Week may be over, but Jed’s Local, 672 Jefferson Highway, Baton Rouge, is keeping a few things on its menu. These two items are now available full-time: étouffée fries with crawﬁsh étouffée and melted cheese, and the grilled pork chop with Steen’s cane syrup glaze, stewed collared greens and smashed potatoes.

Wine and spirits Negretti Barolo wine tasting: 6 p.m. Aug. 26, Rocca Pizzeria, 3897 Government St., Baton Rouge Explore a curated selection of Negretti Barolo wines, paired with chef-crafted bites at Rocca Pizzeria. Tickets are $50 per person, available for purchase at roccapizzeria. com. If you have an upcoming food event or a kitchen question, email lauren.cheramie@ theadvocate.com. Cheers!

Open daily 11 a.m. to midnight. Schlittz & Giggles (2355 Ferndale Ave.): Since 2008, this local pizzeria has served New York-style pizza, salad, wraps and garlic knots. Open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Coffee Call (3132 College Drive, Suite F): This longtime Baton Rouge staple serves beignets, coffee and hot chocolate. If you catch them on a weekday during lunchtime, they serve po-boys and soup. Open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and 6 a.m. to midnight Fridays through Sundays. Olive or Twist (7248 Perkins Road): The bar and kitchen serve fare such as seafood entrees, soups, salads, po-boys and sandwiches as well as a brunch menu. Drinks include house cocktails, ﬂights, spirits, wine and more. Open 3 p.m. to 2 a.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Fridays, 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. Saturdays and 10 a.m. to midnight Sundays.

ä See OPEN LATE, page 3D

THE BEST THINGS WE ATE THIS WEEK

Discover new depth of ﬂavors around area eateries Truffle salmon from Homakase in Baton Rouge

Staff report

Truffle salmon and hotate hand roll n Homakase, 4611 S. Sherwood

Forest Blvd., Baton Rouge

STAFF PHOTO By MADDIE SCOTT

Homakase opened in December on Sherwood Forest Boulevard, and if you’re looking for quality sushi, hand rolls or cold plates in Baton Rouge, this is the place to be. I ordered the hotate (scallop) hand roll and the trufﬂe salmon.

Each bite of the roll is a melding of textures, a crunchy seaweed exterior with soft rice and tender scallops on the inside. The trufﬂe salmon, served chilled, came in a fantastic sauce, chopped up with citrus and green onion. I’m a huge salmon fan, and the citrus made it the perfect summer dish. I’ve been on a hunt this year to ﬁnd the best sushi in Baton Rouge, and this is in my top two

ä See BEST, page 2D

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Who pays when plans change? and enjoy it at one of our Dear Miss Manners: I know houses. We chose their the etiquette of the host home, so their teenager paying for the event, not might also participate on the guest. Which is great. However, in my wide circle this school night. We ordered the food, paid of friends, we do things for it, and went to pick it up, differently. We often eat with no offer from potluck, though them to pay part of when one of us does the tab. provide the meal, I’m interested to we provide all of see how this pans it at our own cost. out in the future, but Guest will usually I don’t think they are bring wine to share, Judith in any way trying or maybe a homeMartin to stiff us. In fact, made dessert if they MISS though we are comwant (and if the host MANNERS agrees). fortable, they are Dining out, unless clearly in a higher it is clearly stated as a treat economic bracket. I suspect for a birthday or anniverthat the hefty tab is a paltry sary, is always Dutch treat, amount to them. But it got me thinking: no matter who suggested it Were we the hosts? And or who made the reservahow do you tell who is, in tions. This seems to work situations like this? for everyone, and it’s the I have to admit, I may be universal custom in this crowd of well-off but infor- tempted at some point to say, “Look, we always share mal folks. the cost equally on outings Enter new friends/ with friends,” and ask if neighbors of mine and my husband. They seem to hold that is OK with them, too. It very strictly to the idea that just seems simpler to me, if the get-together was sug- and without any danger of feeling like one is being gested by A, A pays for it. taken advantage of. The other night, after Gentle reader: You are corhaving a planned hike washed out due to rain, I rect that standard etiquette suggested we get takeout requires hosts who have

invited people to their home for dinner to pay for the meal. But it does not therefore condemn a group of consenting adults — such as yours used to be — from agreeing upon some other arrangement. Communal meals, where everyone contributes, are now common. So are separate checks at restaurants. So long as the form is understood, both systems — yours and those in which people rotate doing full hosting — result in the cost being equally shared. But everyone has to know which one you are using. In this case, your new friends may well have wondered whether they became the sole hosts, as it ended up at their house, but then yielded to you as having brought the meal. Even you seem to have been confused on this occasion. Yes, please explain to them what your circle normally does. Hoping things will work out on their own is how such systems, not to mention friendships, fail. Send questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com.

STAFF PHOTO By JOy HOLDEN

Sensation salad and boudin and fig tartine at Crown Bistro in Baton Rouge

BEST

Continued from page 1D favorite spots — if not the top. Everything was fresh, ﬂavorful and plated beautifully. Plus, the prices are generous considering the quality. It made for the perfect lunch for me, but I’m excited to return for dinner service and explore more of the menu. — Maddie Scott, features reporter

Meatball stew

n Laura’s II, 1904 W. University

Ave., Lafayette

It’s no secret that there are plenty of plate lunch spots to choose from in the greater Lafayette area, and all have raving fans. But few have earned as much notoriety as Laura’s II, which Anthony Bourdain visited when he came to Acadiana in 2018. He fell in love with chef Madonna Broussard’s stuffed turkey wings and other soul food standards

Boudin and fig tartine

TODAY IN HISTORY By The Associated Press Today is Wednesday, Aug. 19, the 231st day of 2026. There are 134 days left in the year. Today in History: On Aug. 19, 2010, the last American combat brigade exited Iraq, seven years and ﬁve months after a U.S.-led invasion marked the beginning of the Iraq War. Also on this date: In 1692, four men and one woman were hanged after being convicted of witchcraft at Salem in the Province of Massachusetts Bay; the story of one of the men, John Proctor, inspired Arthur Miller’s play “The Crucible.” In 1812, the USS Constitution defeated the British frigate HMS Guerriere off Nova Scotia during the War of 1812, earning the nickname “Old Ironsides.” In 1814, during the War of 1812, British forces landed at Benedict, Maryland, with the objective of capturing Washington, D.C. In 1854, 31 U.S. soldiers were killed after one of the soldiers fatally shot Brule Lakota Chief Conquering Bear, sparking the First Sioux War. In 1934, German voters approved the vesting of sole executive power in Adolf Hitler. In 1953, Iran’s elected prime minister, Mohammad Mosaddeq, was overthrown in a coup backed by the U.S. and U.K. that ultimately restored Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi to power. In 1960, a tribunal in Moscow convicted American U2 pilot Francis Gary Powers of espionage. (Although sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment, Powers was returned to the United States in 1962 as part of a prisoner exchange.) In 1980, 301 people aboard Saudia Flight 163

died as the jetliner made a fiery emergency return to the Riyadh airport. In 2013, South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius was indicted in Pretoria, South Africa, on charges of murder and illegal possession of ammunition in the shooting death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, at his home on Valentine’s Day; Pistorius maintained he’d mistaken her for an intruder. (Pistorius would be found guilty of murder and sentenced to prison; he was released on parole in January 2024.) In 2022, armed Islamic militants stormed a hotel in Somalia’s capital, engaging in an hourslong firefight with security forces that left at least 20 people dead and dozens wounded. Authorities said more than 100 hostages were rescued during the 30-hour siege in Mogadishu. Today’s birthdays: Former tennis player & coach Renee

Richards is 92. Actor Jill St. John is 86. Author Jack Canﬁeld is 82. Rock singer Ian Gillan (Deep Purple) is 81. Former President Bill Clinton is 80. Actor Jim Carter (“Downton Abbey”) is 78. Rock bassist John Deacon (Queen) is 76. Actor-director Jonathan Frakes is 74. Actor Peter Gallagher is 71. Actor Adam Arkin is 70. Football Hall of Famer Anthony Munoz is 68. Musician Ivan Neville is 67. Football Hall of Famer Morten Andersen is 66. Actor John Stamos is 63. Actor Kyra Sedgwick is 61. Country singer Lee Ann Womack is 59. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is 59. Country singer Clay Walker is 57. Olympic gold medal tennis player Mary Joe Fernandez is 55. Actor Erika Christensen is 44. Actor Melissa Fumero is 44. Author Veronica Roth is 38. Actor Ethan Cutkosky (TV: “Shameless”) is 27.

Living Waters has affordable rooms and houses for rent. Please call our office for more information at 225-356-7142

n Crown Bistro, 16016 Perkins

Road, Baton Rouge

A lovely and peaceful Friday lunch at Crown Bistro is always a good idea. I stopped in hoping for some serene time to grab a yummy bite to eat and read my book. I love dining alone with a book. I chose the boudin and fig tartine with a side senSTAFF PHOTO By JOANNA BROWN sation salad. I was in the Meatball stew from Laura’s II mood for some comforting in Lafayette flavors. My meal arrived on a that bring in a dedicated butcher block plank. The lunch crowd. I got a meatsensation salad was bright ball stew plate with a delec- and acidic with cherry table gravy, perfectly cara- tomatoes and delicious spiced almond slices. The melized yams and a side of tartine, a nice French savory smothered green word for open sandwich, beans that were delicious came toasted with Best enough to eat on their own. Stop boudin, sweet fig Half of the meatballs and mustard, melted gruyere rice was enough for a very cheese and topped with hearty lunch, but you know green onions. The combihow it goes — I was picking at it the rest all afternoon. nation of sweet and heat Bring a friend or an appetite, hit just right, and the ideally both, because no one cheese gave a layer of leaves Laura’s II hungry. creaminess to the spice. — Joanna Brown, — Joy Holden, staff writer features reporter

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The Advocate ■ theadvocate.com ■ Wednesday,August 19, 2026 ■ 3D

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Change the head on a toothbrush several sizes) and placed Dear Heloise: Regarding one under each corner of the person who comthe baskets. Now plained about their when I need to toothbrush only pull them out, they vibrating instead slide out easily. — of spinning, the Bonnie D., in Houston fault isn’t with the toothbrush. I had Reset toothbrush the same thing Hints from Dear Heloise: Your happen to me, and Heloise column about fake I have a very wellknown brand of electric toothbrush toothbrush. The problem heads got my attention. is with the brush head. My toothbrush stopped I changed mine, and it spinning months ago, so works ﬁne now. — Jan P., via after reading your colemail umn, I thought I must have a fake brush head. I Sliders to the rescue! ordered new heads from just to be sure that they Dear Heloise: I had some were genuine, but the baskets that I used for brush still didn’t spin. extra storage under a I read online that you bench at the end of my can do a motor reset. I did bed. They were great, this, and the toothbrush but they were heavy and started spinning again! To hard to pull out because do this, place the brush they were on carpet. I on the charger while it’s got some of the sliders turned off, and press and that you can use to move hold the on/off button for furniture (which come in STAFF FILE PHOTO By JOHN BALLANCE

Clarence Barber, a 15-year employee of Coffee Call, dusts beignets with powdered sugar.

15 seconds. Don’t check it for at least 30 minutes. At ﬁrst, I didn’t think that it had worked, but later that night, it started spinning again. Hope this helps someone else. Thanks for your helpful column! — Laura W., via email

Remove product buildup Dear Heloise: In response to the subject of product buildup in hair, my hairdresser advised me to shampoo my hair with dishwashing liquid. At ﬁrst, I thought it might be a bit harsh on my hair, but it really worked great. After using my normal conditioner, my hair was back to normal. It was quick, easy, and a very inexpensive remedy. — Linda, in Santa Ana, California Send a hint to heloise@ heloise.com.

L S U T H E AT R E & F I L M P R E S E N T S

OPEN LATE

Continued from page 1D

Chains open late

Raising Cane’s (several locations): Baton Rouge born, this chain has several locations throughout its hometown serving chicken fingers, fries, coleslaw and toast. Hours vary per location. The locations that open latest are on Highland Road and West Lee Drive, both open 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. Sundays through Wednesdays and 9 a.m. to 3:30 a.m. Thursdays through Saturdays. Insomnia Cookies (128 W. Chimes St.): Grab sweet treats such as cookies, brownies, ice cream and ice cream sandwiches. Open 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Mondays through Wednesdays, 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. Thursdays and Fridays, noon to 3 a.m. Saturdays and noon to 1 a.m. Sundays. Taco Bell (several locations): Tacos, burritos, quesadillas, bowls, nacho fries and more are available at the many Taco Bell locations in Baton Rouge. Hours vary, but every location is open daily and into the early morning. Hours vary per location. The location open the latest is 10623 Burbank Drive, open 9 a.m. to 4 a.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 9 a.m. to 3 a.m. Sundays through Wednesdays. D.P. Dough (3272 Highland Road): This drive-thru spot serves calzones, wings, desserts and more. Open daily 4 p.m. to 4 a.m.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By MATTHEW ALBRIGHT

The Dirty South Chicken Sandwich, with fries and a Whiskey Smash, from Olive or Twist

Open 24 hours Fuego Tortilla Grill (805 W. Lee Drive) After opening a Baton Rouge spot in March, this chain serves tacos, bowls, desserts and margaritas. Open 24 hours every day except Mondays. Whataburger (two locations in Baton Rouge): This Texas-born chain serves burgers, chicken sandwiches, fries, milkshakes, malts and breakfast sandwiches. Open 24 hours every day. Located at 5851 Creek Centre Drive; 6745 Siegen Lane. IHOP (three locations in Baton Rouge): This chain has three locations in the Baton Rouge area, all open 24 hours serving pancakes, breakfast plates, burgers, coffee and more. Open 24 hours every day. Located at 3006 College Drive, 3680 Harding Blvd., and 6875 Siegen Lane. Waffle House (several locations): Waffles, burgers,

The table for KOK Wings & Things featured several chicken wing flavorers like Sweet Rub during a sampling of stadium food at Tiger Stadium. STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

breakfast plates and hashbrown bowls and coffee available all day every day. Open 24 hours every day. For a location close to LSU, try 885 Frogmore Drive Sonic Drive-in (several locations): Every Sonic in the city is open into the early morning, but four locations are open 24 hours, serving burgers, shakes, chicken, sundaes and more. For locations open 24 hours, try 6808 Siegen Lane, 1801 S. Sherwood Forest Blvd., 4171 Perkins Road and 8223 Airline Highway. Jack in the Box (several locations): This chain is open all day every day, serving bites such as burgers, tacos, breakfast sandwiches, French toast sticks and chicken wraps. Open 24 hours every day. For a location close to LSU, try 3255 Highland Road. Burger King (several locations) Many locations in this chain are open 24 hours, serving signatures like the Whopper. For a location open 24 hours and close to LSU, try 3100 Highland Road. Wendy’s (several locations) There’s one location open 24 hours, while others are open until about 1 a.m. or 2 a.m., serving burgers, Biggie Bags, Frosties, chicken tenders, salads, chili and more. For a location open 24 hours, try 2374 College Drive.

What the Fox Knows

August 22 November 8, 2026

BY SELINA FILLINGER Directed by Lori Elizabeth Parquet

SEPT. 24–OCT. 4

Shaver Theatre lsu.edu/cmda/theatre 225-578-3527

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4D ■ Wednesday, August 19, 2026 ■ theadvocate.com ■ The Advocate

FrAnK And erneSt

roSebUdS

zItS

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zodIAC LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Pause, monitor what's happening and resist temptation. The information you receive will be misleading. Pay attention to taking care of responsibilities that can ease stress. VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) References will pay off in conversations. Managing details with precision will help you handle any unexpected changes you encounter. Look for the positive in everything and everyone. LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Making emotional purchases are apparent. Put your credit cards away, and avoid malls and places that tempt you to spend. You can have fun without going overboard. scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Keep your thoughts to yourself. Expressing your opinion will draw you into something you will regret. Pay more attention to how you look and feel and how you handle your investments. sAGITTARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Consider your budget for self-help or lifestyle improvements, and pursue something that interests you. Engaging in physical activities or educational pursuits will improve your awareness about health. cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) If you reach out to someone you lost touch with, you will rediscover some of the people, places and pastimes you miss. Exploring the past will help you revise your to-do list. AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Take the road less traveled. Explore what's new, exciting and available to you. A change will make you aware of what you've been

missing. Focus on getting along with others. PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Mingling and observing what others do and say will lead to positive personal changes that will draw interest from those who can help you transform your lifestyle into something that brings you greater peace. ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Chill; take a little "me" time. Eliminate what's causing you distress, and change your schedule to accommodate the projects and pastimes that make you feel good about yourself. TAuRus (April 20-May 20) Take a moment to contemplate the consequences before you act. Your energy will serve a better purpose if you jump into learning and finding out what you enjoy and who you want to spend your time with. GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Explore all avenues, and confront situations that require an adjustment before you carry on. Choose the journey that appeals to you most, and live in the moment. Update your look. cAncER (June 21-July 22) Honesty begins with you. Rate yourself, consider your concerns and address issues that will give you the boost and confidence you need to live life by your rules. Pay attention to people. The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact. © 2026 by NEA, Inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

For better or For WorSe WonderWord

peAnUtS

SALLY Forth

beetLe bAILeY CeLebrItY CIpher Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, past and present. Each letter in the cipher stands for another.

ToDAy's cLuE: c EQuALs A

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

SherMAn’S LAGoon FAMILY CIrCUS

dooneSbUrY

The Advocate ■ theadvocate.com ■ Wednesday,August 19, 2026 ■ 5D

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CurTiS

Hi and LoiS

Sudoku InstructIons: Sudoku is a number-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday. Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

BaBY BLueS

BLondie

THe wiZard oF id

nea CroSSwordS

La TimeS CroSSword

6D ■ Wednesday,August 19, 2026 ■ theadvocate.com ■ The Advocate

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B.C.

Bridge By PHILLIP ALDER Hannah More, an English playwright, moralist and philanthropist who died in 1833, said, “Goals help you overcome short-term problems.” At the bridge table, a deal is a shortterm problem. Your goal is to make or break the contract. However, sometimes there is an ominous problem that can be hard to spot. In today’s deal, how should South play in three no-trump? West leads his fourthhighest heart. East wins with his ace and returns the heart jack, the higher of two remaining cards. The auction was straightforward. South’s one-no-trump rebid showed a balanced hand with 12-14 points. North knew to go for the nine-trick game, not to look for five clubs. Here, careful defense would have defeated five clubs; South would have lost two spades and one heart. Declarer seems to have nine easy winners: one spade, one heart (given the first trick), two diamonds and five clubs. But if South wins the second trick and goes after the clubs, he will, sooner or later, notice a problem. Since East has jack-third, declarer will have to win the fourth round of clubs in the dummy. He will have no way to reach his winning club six. It is difficult to anticipate the potential blockage in the club suit. But once it is spotted, how can South get around it?

garfield

Pearls Before swiNe

hagar the horriBle

The solution is not to win the second heart trick. Then, when East leads his last heart, declarer takes the trick with his king and discards a club from the dummy. Alternatively (but not recommended), South could take the second trick and lead his third heart, throwing a club from the board. © 2026 by NEA, Inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

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

PiCKles

Previous answers:

mallard fillmore

word game InsTRucTIons: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed. 3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.

ToDAy’s WoRD — oFFsPRInG: OFF-spring: The product of reproductive

Bizarro

marmaduKe

processes. Average mark 14 words Time limit 35 minutes Can you find 29 or more words in OFFSPRING? yEsTERDAy’s WoRD — cAnonIZE cane canine canoe canon ciao coin cone conn acne anon azoic

neon nice nine none ocean once icon inane zein zinc zone

loCKhorNs hidato Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

today’s thought “There is that speaks like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health.” Proverbs 12:18

What kind of words do you speak? — G.E. Dean

The Advocate ■ theadvocate.com ■ Wednesday,August 19, 2026 ■ 7D

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classiﬁeds.theadvocate.com | 225-383-0111 Baton Rouge Real Estate Announcements Merchandise For Sale Anyone knowing the whereabouts of Brian Paul Cyres and Lisa C. White, please contact B. Kyle Kershaw, Attorney at Law, 212 Laurel Street, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 70801, telephone number (225) 336-9600. 197875-Aug 19-21, 3t $98.50 Anyone knowing the whereabouts of Clifton James please contact Attorney Kandice Doley Meyers at 504-943-7071. 197881-Aug 19-21, 3t $64.90 Anyone knowing the whereabouts of Frank Love, Jr., please contact B. Kyle Kershaw, Attorney at Law, 212 Laurel Street, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 70801, telephone number (225) 336-9600. 197864-Aug 19-21, 3t $90.10

Public Notices

Public Notices Bids/Proposals

PUBLIC NOTICE --ADVERTISEMENT SOWELA Technical Com‐ munity College is accept‐ ing sealed bids for med‐ ical equipment & sup‐ plies to be used at SOW‐ ELA Technical Commu‐ nity College campus. Bids will be publicly opened and read at SOW‐ ELA Technical Commu‐ nity College; 3820 Sen. J. Bennett Johnston Av‐ enue, Lake Charles, LA 70615 on September 08, 2026 at 10:00 A.M. Specifi‐ cations and bid form (#86638) may be ob‐ tained by contacting Susan Tucek at bids@ sowela.edu. SOWELA Technical Community College does not discrim‐ inate on the basis of race, color, national ori‐ gin, gender, disability, or age in its programs or activities. The following person has been desig‐ nated to handle inquiries regarding the non-dis‐ crimination policies: Title —Compliance Office, Ad‐ dress—3820 Sen J Ben‐ nett Johnston Ave, Lake Charles, LA 70615, Tele‐ phone No—337-421-6565 or 800-256-0483, Email complianceofficer@ sowela.edu 197705 Aug. 19, 2026 1t $38.19 PUBLIC NOTICE --CITY OF CENTRAL East Baton Rouge Parish REQUEST FOR PROPOS‐ ALS FOR A UNIT PRICE CONTRACT FOR 2027 STORM DEBRIS REMOVAL SOLICITATION NO. 2026-002 Proposals must be re‐ ceived by 12:00 NOON on September 30, 2026 at one of the following addresses: City of Central ATTN: Debris Removal RFP 11530 Sullivan Road Central, LA 70818 OR Submitted through www. centralbidding.com The City of Central seeks proposals from qualified firms to collect, remove, process, and dispose of storm debris. During a disaster event, the Con‐ tractor must coordinate with the City, state de‐ bris management offi‐ cials, and FEMA to en‐ sure debris removal is completed efficiently, ef‐ fectively, and in compli‐ ance with all eligibility requirements for avail‐ able federal and state funding. Proposals mailed to or hand delivered to the designated address must include at least four (4) hard copies. Proposals must be placed in a sealed package or enve‐ lope and include a cover sheet with the following information: Name of Proposer Proposer’s mailing address Contact person’s information 196793-aug 12-19-26-3t $68.88 PUBLIC NOTICE --CITY OF CENTRAL East Baton Rouge Parish REQUEST FOR PROPOS‐ ALS AND QUALIFICA‐ TIONS FOR 2027 STORM DEBRIS MONITORING SERVICES SOLICITATION NO. 2026-003 Proposals must be re‐ ceived by 12:00 NOON on September 30, 2026 at one of the following addresses: City of Central ATTN: Debris Removal RFP 11530 Sullivan Road Central, LA 70818 OR Submitted through www. centralbidding.com The City of Central in‐ vites qualified Debris Monitoring Consultants to respond to this re‐ quest for proposals and qualifications (RFP) by providing Statements of Qualification and Propos‐ als to provide Debris Services Monitoring (DMS) for the period Jan‐ uary 1, 2027-December 31, 2027 which may be extended for two addi‐ tional one-year periods. Proposals mailed to or hand delivered to the designated address must include at least four (4) hard copies. Proposals must be placed in a sealed package or enve‐ lope and include a cover sheet with the following information: Name of Proposer Proposer’s mailing address Contact person’s information 196795-aug 12-19-26-3t $66.87 PUBLIC NOTICE --Invitation to Bid SEALED PROPOSALS AS LISTED BELOW WILL BE RECEIVED BY THE PUR‐ CHASING DEPARTMENT AT: LSU HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER 433 BOLIVAR STREET ROOM 623

APPLIANCES Side by Side stainless steel Whirlpool Refrigerator, like new. 36"X 69". $500. Call 225-205-3316. For Sale: (Crypts) 2 Double Depth, Double Companion Niches(Crypts). Located-Lake Lawn/Metairie. $5500 ea. 757-647-6748 cq5280@aol.com I am interested in purchasing old United States currency. For example, looking for star notes, silver certificates, Series 1928 and Series 1934 notes, etc. Cash upon sale. Call 225-229-5070. Cherrywood dresser 7 drawers/ 32Hx64Lx18W/Brass pulls/ Cash Only $290.00 225-892-8559 gfsimmons51@gmail.com

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Public Notices Bids/Proposals

NEW ORLEANS, LA 70112 (504) 568-6261

Payment Bond written by a company licensed to do business in the State of Louisiana, equal to 100% of the Contract amount, including Addi‐ tional Bid Items (ABI), if required.

UNTIL TIMES AND DATES INDICATED, AT WHICH TIME AND PLACE THE PROPOSALS WILL BE PUBLICLY OPENED AND READ: BID TITLE: AHSON 7TH FLOOR AHU EQUIPMENT PURCHASE BID NUMBER: 002989 BID OPENING DATE: SEP‐ TEMBER 15, 2026 @ 2:00PM ALL INQUIRES AND RE‐ QUESTS FOR SPECIFICA‐ TIONS SHOULD BE AD‐ DRESSED VIA EMAIL TO: MWIL34@LSUHSC.EDU BIDS WILL BE PUBLICLY OPENED AT: LSUHSC-433 BOLIVAR ST. 6TH FLOOR, RM 623C NEW ORLEANS, LA 70112 SPECIFICATIONS MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE PURCHASING DEPART‐ MENT. THE RIGHT IS RE‐ SERVED TO REJECT ANY AND ALL BIDS AND TO WAIVE INFORMALITIES. 197718-aug 19-25-31-3t $72.31 PUBLIC NOTICE --NOTICE TO BIDDERS SP# 150 Sealed bids will be re‐ ceived by the Procure‐ ment Section of the Divi‐ sion of Administration, 1201 N. 3rd. St., 2nd. Floor, Suite 2-160, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, at 10:00 A.M. for the follow‐ ing: RFx No. 3000026545, SICO Brand Name Furniture Statewide, 9/3/26 Bid proposal forms, in‐ formation and specifica‐ tions may be obtained by accessing the bid num‐ ber in LaPac at www.doa. la.gov/doa/osp/ or from the procurement section listed above. No bids will be received after the date and hour specified. The right is reserved to reject any and all bids and to waive any infor‐ malities. Amy Vincent Director of State Procure‐ ment FAX (225) 342-8688 197825-AUG 19-1T $11.77 PUBLIC NOTICE --PUBLIC NOTICE Sealed Bids for the Mon‐ roe FMS Generator, 5000 Central Ave, Monroe, LA 71203 will be received at the Monroe Field Mainte‐ nance Shop (FMS) #3, (Classroom), 5000 Cen‐ tral Ave, Monroe, LA 71203, until 11:00 a.m. CT on Thursday, September 17, 2026. ANY PERSON REQUIRING SPECIAL ACCOMMODA‐ TIONS SHALL NOTIFY KARR A. BENOIT OF THE TYPE(S) OF ACCOMMO‐ DATION REQUIRED NOT LESS THAN SEVEN (7) DAYS BEFORE THE BID OPENING. Complete Bid Documents for this project are avail‐ able in electronic form. They may be obtained without charge and with‐ out deposit from CFMO Energy LAANG. Printed copies are not available from the Project Man‐ ager, but arrangements can be made to obtain them through most re‐ prographic firms. Plan holders are responsible for their own reproduc‐ tion costs. Questions about this procedure shall be directed to the Designer at M&E Consult‐ ing, Inc, 1304 Bertrand Drive Suite F7, Lafayette, LA 70506. Phone (337) 234-7474. Attention: David Carrol. E-Mail Ad‐ dress: david@meconsu lting.com. A Mandatory Pre-Bid conference and site visit is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. CT on Thursday, September 3, 2026, Mon‐ roe Field Maintenance Shop (FMS) #3, (Class‐ room), 5000 Central Ave, Monroe, LA 71203. Atten‐ dance at this Conference is mandatory. Prospec‐ tive bidders must attend the entire mandatory Pre-Bid conference in order to submit a bid. The Construction and Fa‐ cilities Management Of‐ fice point of contact is Karr A. Benoit, Email: karr.a.benoit.nfg@army. mil CFMO Building #3022, Office #220, 6400 St Claude Avenue, New Or‐ leans, LA 70117, 504-2788047. BIDS SHALL BE ACCEPTED ONLY FROM CONTRAC‐ TORS THAT ATTEND THE ENTIRE MANDATORY PREBID CONFERENCE. ANY PERSON REQUIRING SPECIAL ACCOMMODA‐ TIONS SHALL NOTIFY KARR A. BENOIT OF THE TYPE(S) OF ACCOMMO‐ DATION REQUIRED NOT LESS THAN FIVE (5) DAYS BEFORE THE MANDATORY PRE-BID CONFERENCE. All Bids must be accom‐ panied by Bid Security equal to five percent (5%) of the Base Bid and Additional Bid Items (ABI) and must be in the form of a certified check, cashier’s check or bid bond. Bids shall be accepted from Contractors who are licensed under LA. R.S. 37:2150-2192 for the classification of BUILD‐ ING CONSTRUCTION and/or ELECTRICAL. Bid‐ der is required to comply with provisions and re‐ quirements of LA R.S. 38:2212(B)(5). The successful Bidder will be required to fur‐ nish a Performance and

No Bid may be with‐ drawn for a period of forty-five (45) days after receipt of Bids except under the provisions of LA R.S. 38:2214. Electronic Bid Docu‐ ments may be submitted by Contractors to the Construction & Facilities Management Office by submitting their bid along with their bid secu‐ rity to https://www.cen tralauctionhouse.com/. Electronic bids must be submitted so as to be posted prior to 11:00 a.m. CT on Thursday, Septem‐ ber 17, 2026. Hard copies of the contractor’s elec‐ tronically submitted packet must be sent to ATTN: Karr A. Benoit, Construction and Facility Maintenance Office Building #3022, Office #220, 6400 St Claude Ave, New Orleans, LA 70117, telephone 504-278-8047. Contractors MUST attend the mandatory Pre-Bid conference scheduled for 11:00 a.m. CT on Thurs‐ day, September 3, 2026, at the listed above loca‐ tion in order to submit an electronic bid. The Owner reserves the right to accept or reject any and all Bids for just cause. In accordance with directives and guid‐ ance published by Facil‐ ity Planning and Control, the Louisiana Revised Statutes, the provisions and requirements of those stated in the ad‐ vertisement for bids and those required on the bid form shall not be waivered. The Louisiana Military Department Deputy Director for Con‐ tracting and Purchasing and the State Contract‐ ing Officer do not pos‐ sess authority to waive any informality inciden‐ tal thereto. The Owner shall incur no obligation to the Contractor until the Contract between Owner and Contractor is fully executed. The Louisiana Military Department is a partici‐ pant in the Louisiana Ini‐ tiative for Small Entre‐ preneurships (SE) Pro‐ gram (the Hudson Initia‐ tive) and the VeteranOwned and Service-Con‐ nected Disabled VeteranOwned Small Entrepre‐ neurships Program (the Veteran Initiative). Bid‐ ders are encouraged to consider participation. 196562-ayg 12-19-26-3t $209.50

PUBLIC NOTICE --PUBLIC NOTICE Sealed Bids for the Sus‐ tainment for Natchi‐ toches Readiness Center will be received at the Conference Room, 500 Fairgrounds Rd, Natchi‐ toches, Louisiana 71457, until 1:00 p.m. CT on Wednesday, September 16, 2026. ANY PERSON REQUIRING SPECIAL ACCOMMODA‐ TIONS SHALL NOTIFY ALAN REISDORPH OF THE TYPE(S) OF ACCOMMO‐ DATION REQUIRED NOT LESS THAN SEVEN (7) DAYS BEFORE THE BID OPENING. Complete Bid Documents for this project are avail‐ able in electronic form. They may be obtained without charge and with‐ out deposit Alliance De‐ sign Group, LLC. Printed copies are not available from the Designer, but arrangements can be made to obtain them through most repro‐ graphic firms. Plan hold‐ ers are responsible for their own reproduction costs. Questions about this procedure shall be directed to the Designer at Alliance Design Group, LLC 1439 Centre Ct, Ste 401, Alexandria, La 71301. Attention: William A. Tudor A.I.A. E-Mail Ad‐ dress: adg@adgllc.net or via phone (318)445-3151. A Mandatory Pre-Bid conference and site visit is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. CT on Wednesday, Sep‐ tember 2, 2026. at Confer‐ ence Room, 500 Fair‐ grounds Rd, Natchi‐ toches, Louisiana 71457. Attendance at this Con‐ ference is mandatory. Prospective bidders must attend the entire mandatory Pre-Bid con‐ ference in order to sub‐ mit a bid. The Pre-bid conference shall be con‐ ducted within current ap‐ propriate guidelines con‐ cerning COVID-19. The Military Department and Camp Minden point of contact is Mr. Alan Reis‐ dorph, 100 Louisiana Boulevard, Camp Min‐ den, Minden, Louisiana 71055 Phone: (318) 2994287 Email: alan.w. reisdorph.ctr@army.mil. BIDS SHALL BE ACCEPTED ONLY FROM CONTRAC‐ TORS THAT ATTEND THE ENTIRE MANDATORY PREBID CONFERENCE. ANY PERSON REQUIRING SPECIAL ACCOMMODA‐ TIONS SHALL NOTIFY ALAN REISDORPH OF THE TYPE(S) OF ACCOMMO‐ DATION REQUIRED NOT LESS THAN FIVE (5) DAYS BEFORE THE MANDATORY PRE-BID CONFERENCE. All Bids must be accom‐ panied by Bid Security equal to five percent (5%) of the Base Bid and Additional Bid Items (ABI) and must be in the form of a certified check, cashier’s check or bid bond. Bids shall be accepted from Contractors who are licensed under LA. R.S. 37:2150-2192 for the classification of BUILD‐ ING CONSTRUCTION. Bid‐ der is required to comply with provisions and re‐ i f

Pets / Pet Services Directory

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Public Notices Bids/Proposals p quirements of 38:2212(B) (5).

R.S.

The successful Bidder will be required to fur‐ nish a Performance and Payment Bond written by a company licensed to do business in the State of Louisiana, equal to 100% of the Contract amount, including Addi‐ tional Bid Items (ABI), if required. No Bid may be with‐ drawn for a period of forty-five (45) days after receipt of Bids except under the provisions of LA R.S. 38:2214. Contractors to the Con‐ struction & Facilities Management Office may submit electronic Bid Documents by submit‐ ting their bid along with their bid security to https://www.centralauct ionhouse.com. Electronic bids must be submitted to be posted prior to 1:00 p.m. CT on Wednesday, September 16, 2026. Hard copies of the contrac‐ tor’s electronically sub‐ mitted packet must be sent to CFMO-CQA Office, ATTN: Mr. Alan Reis‐ dorph, 100 Louisiana Boulevard, Camp Min‐ den, Minden, Louisiana 71055 Phone: (318) 2994287. Contractors MUST attend the mandatory Pre-Bid conference scheduled for 1:00 p.m. CT on Wednesday, Sep‐ tember 2, 2026, at the above listed location in order to submit an elec‐ tronic bid. The Owner reserves the right to accept or reject any and all Bids for just cause. In accordance with directives and guid‐ ance published by Facil‐ ity Planning and Control, the Louisiana Revised Statutes, the provisions and requirements of those stated in the ad‐ vertisement for bids and those required on the bid form shall not be waivered. The Louisiana Military Department Deputy Director for Con‐ tracting and Purchasing and the State Contract‐ ing Officer do not pos‐ sess authority to waive any informality inciden‐ tal thereto. The Owner shall incur no obligation to the Con‐ tractor until the Contract between Owner and Con‐ tractor is fully executed. The Louisiana Military Department is a partici‐ pant in the Louisiana Ini‐ tiative for Small Entre‐ preneurships (SE) Pro‐ gram (the Hudson Initia‐ tive) and the VeteranOwned and Service-Con‐ nected Disabled VeteranOwned Small Entrepre‐ neurships Program (the Veteran Initiative). Bid‐ ders are encouraged to consider participation. 196903-jul 12-19-26-3t $ PUBLIC NOTICE Sealed Bids for the FMS 9 Sustainment will be re‐ ceived at the FMS 9 facil‐ ity, 1806 Surrey Steet Lafayette, Louisiana 70508, until 10:00 a.m. CT on Wednesday, Septem‐ ber 9, 2026. ANY PERSON REQUIRING SPECIAL ACCOMMODA‐ TIONS SHALL NOTIFY PAUL RICCARDI OF THE TYPE(S) OF ACCOMMO‐ DATION REQUIRED NO LESS THAN SEVEN (7) DAYS BEFORE THE BID OPENING. Complete Bid Documents for this project are avail‐ able in electronic form. They may be obtained without charge and with‐ out deposit from Ziler Ar‐ chitects LLC. Printed copies are not available from the Designer, but arrangements can be made to obtain them through most repro‐ graphic firms. Plan hold‐ ers are responsible for their own reproduction costs. Questions about this procedure shall be directed to the Designer at 101 Calco Blvd # 101, Lafayette, Louisiana 70503. Attention: Jim Ziler, Email Address: jim@zilerarchitects.net or via phone (337) 2696326. A Mandatory Pre-Bid conference and site visit is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. CT on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, 1806 Sur‐ rey Street, Lafayette, Louisiana 70508. Atten‐ dance at this Conference is mandatory. Prospec‐ tive bidders must attend the entire mandatory Pre-Bid conference in order to submit a bid. The Pre-bid conference shall be conducted within current appropri‐ ate guidelines concern‐ ing COVID-19. The Louisiana Military De‐ partment and Camp Beauregard point of con‐ tact is Paul Riccardi, Email: richard.p.riccardi. nfg@army.mil, Bldg. 420 F St., Room 233, Pineville, Louisiana 71360. BIDS SHALL BE ACCEPTED ONLY FROM CONTRAC‐ TORS THAT ATTEND THE ENTIRE MANDATORY PRE-BID CONFERENCE. ANY PERSON REQUIRING SPECIAL ACCOMMODA‐ TIONS SHALL NOTIFY PAUL RICCARDI OF THE TYPE(S) OF ACCOMMO‐ DATION REQUIRED NO LESS THAN FIVE (5) DAYS BEFORE THE MANDATORY PRE-BID CONFERENCE. All Bids must be accom‐ panied by Bid Security equal to five percent (5%) of the Base Bid and Additional Bid Items (ABI) and must be in the form of a certified check, cashier’s check or bid bond. Bids shall be accepted from Contractors who are licensed under LA. R.S. 37:2150-2192 for the classification of BUILD‐ ING CONSTRUCTION. Bid‐ der is required to comply with provisions and re‐ i f

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Public Notices Bids/Proposals p quirements of 38:2212(B) (5).

R.S.

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Public Notices Bids/Proposals

q py with provisions and re‐ quirements of LA R.S. 38:2212(B) (5).

p y to waive any informality incidental thereto. The Owner shall incur no obligation to the Con‐ tractor until the Contract between Owner and Con‐ tractor is fully executed.

Successful Bidder will be required to furnish a Per‐ formance and Payment Bond written by a com‐ pany licensed to do busi‐ ness in the State of Louisiana, equal to 100% of the Contract amount, including Additional Bid Items (ABI), if required. No Bid may be with‐ drawn for a period of forty-five (45) days after receipt of Bids except under the provisions of LA R.S. 38:2214. Electronic Bid Docu‐ ments may be submitted by Contractors to the Construction & Facilities Management Office by submitting their bid along with their bid secu‐ rity to https://www.cen tralauctionhouse.com/. Electronic bids must be submitted to be posted prior to 10:00 AM CT on Wednesday 16 Septem‐ ber 2026. Hard copies of the contractor’s elec‐ tronically submitted packet must be sent to Construction & Facilities Management Office, ATTN: Keith S. Cash, 420 F Street, Camp Beaure‐ gard, Pineville, LA. 71360, telephone 225-505-6429 keith.s.cash.nfg@ or army.mil. Contractors MUST attend the manda‐ tory pre-bid conference scheduled for 10:00 AM CT on Wednesday 2 Sep‐ tember 2026, at the above-listed location to submit an electronic bid. The Owner reserves the right to accept or reject any Bids for just cause. In accordance with direc‐ tives and guidance pub‐ lished by Facility Plan‐ ning and Control, the Louisiana Revised Statutes, the provisions and requirements of those stated in the ad‐ vertisement for bids and those required on the bid form shall not be waivered. The Louisiana Military Department Di‐ rector for Contracting and Purchasing and the State Contracting Officer do not possess authority i i f li

The Louisiana Military Department is a partici‐ pant in the Louisiana Ini‐ tiative for Small Entre‐ preneurships (SE) Pro‐ gram (the Hudson Initia‐ tive) and the VeteranOwned and Service-Con‐ nected Disabled VeteranOwned Small Entrepre‐ neurships Program (the Veteran Initiative). Bid‐ ders are encouraged to consider participation. 196643-aug 12-19-26-3t $200.08

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Legal Notices

4524 Virginia Street & 4341 Florida Street

Conditional Use Permit Alcoholic Beverage 5145 Main Street

PUBLISH: August 18, 19, 20, of year 2026 197806 Aug 18, 19, 20, 3t $47.41

PUBLISH: August 18, 19, 20, of year 2026 197804 Aug. 18, 19, 20, 3t $48.40

Conditional Use Permit Manufactured Home 21301 W.J. Wicker Road

Legal Notices

PUBLISH: August 18, 19, 20, of year 2026

197796 Aug. 18, 19, 20, 3t $46.39

197805 Aug. 18, 19, 20, 3t $48.40

PUBLIC NOTICE Public Hearings will be held at Zachary City Hall 4700 Main St. during a regular meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission meetingMonday, September 14, 2026 – 6:00 pm and the City Council meeting Tuesday – October 27, 2026 - 6:30 pm for the purpose indicated: Conditional Use Permit Manufactured Home 4464 New Weis Road PUBLISH: August 18, 19, 20, of year 2026 197800 Aug. 18, 19, 20, 3t $48.40

PUBLIC NOTICE Public Hearings will be held at Zachary City Hall 4700 Main St. during a regular meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission meetingMonday, September 14, 2026 – 6:00 pm for the purpose indicated: Resubdivision Lots Y-1 into Lots Y-1-A & Y-1-B 20900-21000 MacHost Road PUBLISH: August 18, 19, 20, of year 2026 197807 Aug. 18, 19, 20 3t $47.41

PUBLISH: August 18, 19, 20, of year 2026

PUBLIC NOTICE The City of St. George Planning & Zoning Com‐ missions will hold public hearings on Monday, Au‐ gust 31, 2026, at 6:00 pm at St. George City Hall, 11207 Proverbs Ave, St. George, LA 70816, to con‐ sider the following: Planning Commission S-26-0026 Combination of Lots at 15961 Airline Hwy: This 6.01-acres combined property is located on Lots TR 3-A-1 and 4-A-1 of the Edna D. Martin Tract in Sec 37 and 38, T8S, R2E, GLD, EBR. The applicant requests to combine two lots into one in the B-2 Business-2 Zoning Dis‐ trict. (Applicant: Brian Aguillard, B.M. Aguillard & Associates, LLC, on be‐ half of MMR Construc‐ tors, Inc) Zoning Commission T-26-0008 Home Occupa‐ tions: Amend Title 7 Uni‐ ﬁed Development Code (UDC) to update regula‐ tions for home occupa‐ tions and provide for re‐ lated matters. T-26-0009 Signiﬁcant Trees: Amend Title 7 Uni‐

PUBLIC NOTICE CAPITAL REGION PLANNING COMMISSION – AMENDED 2026 AND PROPOSED 2027 OPERATING BUDGET A Budget Hearing will be held on Thursday, August 20, 2026, at 11:00 A.M., Central daylight savings time; at the BREC Foundation Ballroom, located at 6201 Florida Boulevard, City of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for interested citizens. The purpose of the hearing is to review the proposed amendments of the operating budget for the year ending June 30, 2026, and adoption of the June 30, 2027, operating budget. A summary of the proposed amendments for 2026 and adoption of 2027 are as follows:

195268 August 5, 12, 19, 3t $205.21

Proposed FY 25-26

Adjustments

Adjusted FY 25-26

Original FY 26-27

PUBLIC NOTICE ---

LOCAL FUNDING

$ 577,800

(179,236)

$ 398,564

$ 708,200

Sealed Bids for the Fort Polk Readiness Center Sustainment will be re‐ ceived in the conference room at 8553 K Avenue, Fort Polk, Leesville, LA 71457 until 10:00 AM CT on Wednesday 16 Sep‐ tember, 2026.

TOTAL FEDERAL FUNDING - UPWP

3,536,700

(1,569,658)

1,967,042

3,043,500

TOTAL FEDERAL FUNDING - OTHER

362,100

(75,547)

286,553

359,000

TOTAL REVENUES

4,476,600

(1,824,441)

2,652,159

4,110,700

TOTAL PERSONNEL

1,425,865

(399,923)

1,025,942

1,329,800

TOTAL CONSULTANT AND PROFESSIONAL

1,729,000

(1,207,150)

521,850

1,045,300

TOTAL ADMINISTRATIVE AND GENERAL

31,000

(3,759)

27,241

62,600

TOTAL VEHICLES AND EQUIPMENT

40,000

14,177

54,177

397,100

TOTAL DIRECT COSTS

3,225,865

(1,596,655)

1,629,210

2,834,800

ANY PERSON REQUIRING SPECIAL ACCOMMODA‐ TIONS SHALL NOTIFY KEITH S. CASH OF THE TYPE(S) OF ACCOMMO‐ DATION REQUIRED NOT LESS THAN SEVEN (7) DAYS BEFORE THE BID OPENING. Complete Bid Documents for this project are avail‐ able in electronic form. They may be obtained without charge and with‐ out deposit from Cohe‐ sion Architecture, LLC. Printed copies are not available from the De‐ signer, but arrangements can be made to obtain them through most re‐ prographic ﬁrms. Plan holders are responsible for their own reproduc‐ tion costs. Questions about this procedure shall be directed to the Designer at Cohesion Ar‐ chitecture, LLC, Atten‐ tion: Heather Burton, 2740 Rue De Jardin, Suite 400, Lake Charles, LA 70605. Email: ofﬁce@coh esionarchitecture.com or via phone: 337-419-0008 A Mandatory Pre-Bid conference and site visit is scheduled for 10:00 AM CT on Wednesday 2 Sep‐ tember 2026, at 8553 K Avenue, Fort Polk, Leesville, LA 71457. At‐ tendance at this Confer‐ ence is mandatory. Prospective bidders must attend the entire mandatory Pre-Bid con‐ ference to submit a bid. The Military Department point of contact is Keith S. Cash, cell: 225-505-6429 and email: keith.s.cash. nfg@army.mil, mail to: Bldg. 420 F St., Room 233, Camp Beauregard, Pineville, LA 71360.

BIDS SHALL BE ACCEPTED ONLY FROM CONTRACTORS THAT ATTEND THE ENTIRE MANDATORY PRE-BID CONFERENCE. ANY PERSON REQUIRING SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS SHALL NOTIFY KEITH CASH OF THE TYPE(S) OF ACCOMMODATION REQUIRED NOT LESS THAN FIVE (5) DAYS BEFORE THE MANDATORY PRE-BID CONFERENCE. All Bids must be accom‐ panied by Bid Security equal to five percent (5%) of the Base Bid and Additional Bid Items (ABI) and must be in the form of a certified check, cashier’s check or bid bond. Bids shall be accepted from Contractors who are licensed under LA. R.S. 37:2150-2192 for the classification of BUILD‐ ING CONSTRUCTION. Bid‐ der is required to comply i h i i d

DIRECT COSTS:

INDIRECT COSTS: TOTAL PERSONNEL

664,800

(53,061)

611,739

623,700

TOTAL CONSULTANT AND PROFESSIONAL

198,500

(63,811)

134,689

198,500

TOTAL ADMINISTRATIVE AND GENERAL

78,700

11,795

90,495

101,200

TOTAL VEHICLES AND EQUIPMENT

109,200

(33,544)

75,656

114,200

TOTAL MISCELLANEOUS AND IN-KIND

85,000

(92)

84,908

86,000

TOTAL INDIRECT COSTS

1,136,200

(138,712)

997,488

1,123,600

TOTAL EXPENDITURES

4,362,065

(1,735,367)

2,626,698

3,958,400

Net surplus

$ 114,535

$ 152,300

25,461

The proposed budget will be available for examination beginning August 7, 2026. The proposed budget may be examined Monday through Friday from 8:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. at the Capital Region Planning Commission central office, located at 14734 S Harrell’s Ferry Road, Suite B, City of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Interested citizens will have the opportunity to give written or oral comment. Darnell Waites Chairman 196866-676025-aug 12-19-2t $ 330.76

8D ■ Wednesday,August 19, 2026 ■ theadvocate.com ■ The Advocate Legal Notices

Legal Notices

fied Development Code (UDC) to prohibit re‐ moval of significant trees and provide for related matters. 197640 Aug. 15, 19, 31, 2026 3t $74.53 PUBLIC NOTICE The City of Zachary Plan‐ ning Commission will conduct a Public Hearing Monday, September 14, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. at Zachary City Hall 4700 Main St. Zachary, LA 70791 during the Plan‐ ning Commission’s regu‐ lar meeting. The purpose of the pub‐ lic hearing is considera‐ tion and adoption of the City of Zachary Master Plan as the City’s official long-range planning and policy guide for future growth, development, land use, and community character. The details of the current draft of the proposed Master Plan can be viewed online at www.cit

yofzachary.org PUBLISH: August 18, 19, 20, of year 2026 197797 Aug. 18, 19, 20, 2t $59.53 PUBLIC NOTICE --The Louisiana Ofﬁce of State Parks is requesting proposals for a PublicPrivate Partnership pro‐ ject to design, construct, and operate a high-qual‐ ity recreational vehicle campground and related amenities. For more in‐ formation go to opportu‐ nitiesinlouisiana.com. 192994-jul 2-aug 31-t

Public Notices Nat Res Coastal

PUBLIC NOTICE --NOTICE the Louisiana De‐ partment of Conserva‐ tion and Energy, Ofﬁce of Permitting and Compli‐ ance (OPC) has received the following applica‐ i ( ) f l

Public Notices Nat Res Coastal

g pp tion(s) for a Coastal Use Permit (CUP) in accor‐ dance with La. R.S. 49:214.21 et seq., and the rules of the Coastal Man‐ agement Program. Appli‐ cations for coastal use permits may be in‐ spected at 617 North 3rd Street, Room 1078, Baton Rouge, LA or on the OPC webpage at: https:// www.dce.louisiana.gov/ page/coastalmanagement-publicnotices. Copies are avail‐ able, costs apply. Written comments are solicited from the public and must be received within 25 days of the date of this notice. Comments must be uploaded directly to our electronic record through the OPC web‐ page or mailed to: OPC Administrator, Kyle Balkum, P.O. Box 44487, Baton Rouge, LA 708044487. All comments must contain the appropriate CUP number and the commenter's full name and contact information. Below are the referenced application(s): ************ CUP NUM‐ BER: P20230782 Name: Low Land Investors, LLC c/o Natural Resource Professionals, LLC 7330 HIGHLAND ROAD SUITE B-

1 BATON ROUGE, LA 70808 Attn: Gregg Fell Location: Lafourche Parish, LA; Lat. 29-43-29.62N, Long 90-4328.99W; See plats for ad‐ ditional coordinates; Section 26,27,72, 118-125 T15S R17E; Burma Road, Thibodaux, LA. Descrip‐ tion: Proposed construc‐ tion and establishment of the Zero Ranch Mitiga‐ tion Bank. The applicant proposes to establish a self-sustaining bottom‐ land hardwood, cypress swamp, and fresh marsh ecosystem. The project involves removing and plugging culverts, ﬁlling ditches, removing/gap‐ ping spoil banks/lev‐ ees/roads, and the restoration of portions of the historic Bayou Folse Channel that traverse the property. An existing pri‐ vate pumping station will ultimately be removed, but will remain in place for 2 growing seasons to facilitate the establish‐ ment of planted vegeta‐ tion which will be planted throughout. Miti‐ gation features include 147.3 acres of bottom‐ land hardwoods, 110.3 acres of cypress swamp, and 41.3 acres of fresh marsh. Typical equip‐ ment such as bulldozers,

excavators, and tractors, as well as hand tools for planting will be utilized to complete the project. Approx. 29000 cy of ma‐ terial will be excavated and placed onsite and 2100 cy will be excavated and hauled offsite. ************ CUP NUM‐ BER: P20260685 Name: MOEM Pipeline, LLC c/o Matrix New World Engi‐ neering 6717 COMPLEX DRIVE BATON ROUGE, LA 70809 Attn: Lee Womack Location: Plaquemines Parish, LA; Lat. 29-2356.64 N, Long. 89-34-20.74 W; Section 17, T19S-R16E Description: Conduct an integrity validation dig on an existing 14" diame‐ ter pipeline. Approx. 1,744 cy of prop washing will be required for ac‐ cess and maneuvering. Approx. 1,540 cy of exca‐ vation will be required for the dig. A temp. 12' x 10' caisson will be in‐ stalled to facilitate exca‐ vation. ************OPC; CUP NUMBER: P20240665 (Amended) Name: St. Tammany Parish Govern‐ ment c/o Neel-Schaffer, Inc 2900 E. CAUSEWAY APPROACH MANDEVILLE, LA 70448 Attn: Amanda Phillips Location: Saint Tammany Parish, LA; POB

- Lat. 30-12-55.00 N, Long. 89-49-24.16 W and POE Lat. 30-12- 47.18 N, Long. 89-47-52.38 W; Lake Pontchartrain between Highway 11 and I-10 in Slidell. Description: The construction of 13 break‐ waters in Lake Pontchar‐ train to address erosion along the shoreline of Lakeview Dr. Approx. 161,846 cy of rock ﬁll will be used for the breakwa‐ ters. AMENDMENT 1: Total number of break‐ waters has decreased to 11 and breakwaters have been re-aligned to move them further away from the shore. A total of ap‐ prox. 339,883 cubic yards of rock ﬁll will now be used.

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PUBLIC NOTICE --NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING Parish Council Meeting August 27, 2026 5:30pm SITE PLAN APPEAL REQUEST File #C2026-1: Applicant: Bradford Engineering and Services, LLC. c/o Epic Paving Location: 3022 Hwy 190 West. Port Allen, La 70767

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A PUBLIC HEARING will be held by the West Baton Rouge Parish Council relative to the aforementioned re‐ quest(s). Date:

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Thursday, August 27, 2026

WBR Legal Notices

Request: Appeal for a Waiver for 30 Ft buffer when C-1.4 is abutting an AG district or zone.

All Public hearings will be held at 5:30 p.m. in the West Baton Rouge Parish Council Meeting Room, 880 N. Alexander, Port Allen, LA 70767 Run in The Advocate Au‐ gust 5, 12, & 19, 2026

An Ordinance To Amend And Reenact The West Baton Rouge Parish Code Of Ordinances, Part II (General Code of Ordi‐ nances), Chapter 34 (“Garbage, Trash and Refuse”), Article I (“In General”), Section 34-1 (“Garbage Pickup”), and Section 34-2 (“Garbage Collection Service Carts Deposit”) A PUBLIC HEARING will be held by the West Baton Rouge Parish Council relative to the re‐ zoning requests.

196135-aug 5-12-19-3t $51.72 PUBLIC NOTICE ---

Date: Thursday, August 27, 2026 Time 5:30 pm

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING West Baton Rouge Parish Council Public Notice Notice Is Hereby Given To All Citizens Of The Parish Of West Baton Rouge, State Of Louisiana, And To All Other Interested Persons, Of The Introduc‐ tion At The Regular Meet‐ ing Of The West Baton Rouge Parish Council Of The Proposed Ordi‐ nance(s) Introduced By Title August 13, 2026 As Set Forth Hereinafter.

Public hearings will be held at the West Baton Rouge Parish Govern‐ mental Building, 880 N. Alexander, Port Allen, LA 70767 197768 Aug. 19, 2026 1t $18.58

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LANE KIFFIN, WILL HALL AND MARSHALL FAULK LEAD LSU, TULANE AND SOUTHERN INTO A NEW ERA OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL IN LOUISIANA.

2026 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW The Lane Kiffin effect on LSU’s offseason

Tulane using doubters as motivation

Cajuns determined to be contenders this season

2 2026 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW THE TIMES-PICAYUNE | THE ADVOCATE | THE ACADIANA ADVOCATE

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2026 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW THE TIMES-PICAYUNE | THE ADVOCATE | THE ACADIANA ADVOCATE 3

// 2026 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW //

The ‘Lane Kiffin Effect’ has brought LSU buzz this offseason. Will it last through the fall? BY JON BLAU | Staff writer There was a hesitance on Lane Kiffin’s part to say the term aloud, because he was keenly aware speaking in the third person doesn’t sound great. But one of the most famous — or, some would say, infamous — coaches in college football has enough self-awareness to grasp the attention he brings to a program. Call it, “The Lane Kiffin Effect.” His name carries some baggage, because Kiffin has already had two acrimonious exits from SEC schools. He was fired midseason by the Raiders and Southern Cal. He rehabbed his coaching reputation at Ole Miss, spring-boarding to LSU, but he inflamed passions by telling Vanity Fair how hard it was to recruit Black athletes to Oxford, Mississippi. Kiffin generates headlines but also high-powered offenses. That’s helped put 46,000 fans on LSU’s season ticket waitlist. That’s helped him secure more five-star recruits in six months at LSU than in his six years at Ole Miss. LSU has a dozen athletes with Nike NIL deals, including a backup quarterback; the most anyone else has is eight. “We’re going to make this thing different than anywhere else to go,” Kiffin said at SEC media days, “when you combine LSU and us.” The Lane Kiffin Effect has resulted in gaudy offseason stats, but there are zero yards to the coach’s name at LSU. Zero touchdowns. Zero wins. Despite everything Kiffin believes his marriage with the Tigers can bring, he’s keenly aware they haven’t done anything to this point. And they must, soon. He’s promised LSU will win a national title at some point in his tenure, but Kiffin, who has projected a more measured persona — quitting alcohol and, more recently, social media — has tried to paint a longer-term vision. “I know everyone wants to talk about Year 1,”

Kiffin said, following LSU’s signing of the No. 1-rated transfer class in the country, “but as you get to Year 2, OK, you’ll be able to develop a deeper roster. … It’s actually a pretty young team.” Kiffin is correct because LSU only has 14 seniors in the fold, including four “true” seniors who have the option to return in 2027 because of the NCAA’s new eligibility rules where athletes have five years to play five seasons. The overwhelming majority of LSU’s roster, 88%, is comprised of 33 juniors, 29 sophomores and 37 freshmen. But there are juniors Kiffin may only have a year with. Left tackle Jordan Seaton, the transfer from Colorado, is possibly a one-and-done player. Tight end Trey’Dez Green, if he lives up to his billing, also could be pro-bound in April. Quarterback Sam Leavitt, the redshirt junior brought over from Arizona State, could wind up staying for two seasons, but if he clicks spectacularly in Kiffin’s system, then he too could be off to the NFL sooner rather than later. Regardless, a significant financial investment was made into this year’s roster, and the expectation is the Tigers, who just struggled to a 7-6 season, will significantly improve and make the College Football Playoff for the first time since their national title run in 2019. “When you hire a coach, that’s part of what you hire. You hire the energy that comes around it,” Kiffin said. “And that’s the business element. And that pays off in fan support, pays off in donations, pays off in recruiting and players wanting to come.” “It’s working,” he added. “Now, obviously, the No. 1 thing to do is to win to maintain that excitement. And with that comes a lot of expectations to perform really well. And I think the expectations are extremely high here, which is OK. I knew that coming in.” There are several problems LSU has to solve to keep the “Lane Train” rolling through 2026. The Tigers were one of the worst rushing

4 2026 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW THE TIMES-PICAYUNE | THE ADVOCATE | THE ACADIANA ADVOCATE

// 2026 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW //

STAFF PHOTO BY MICHAEL JOHNSON LSU football coach Lane Kiﬃn poses with gymnastics alumnae (left to right) Aleah Finnegan, Olivia Dunne and KJ Johnson during a meet against Alabama on Feb. 27 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

Lane Kifﬁn LSU Football Head Coach

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teams in college football last season at 104 yards per game and a paltry 3.8 yards per carry. Kiffin’s schemes have emphasized the run, whether it was Florida Atlantic’s Devin Singletary exploding for 1,920 yards in 2017 or Ole Miss’ Kewan Lacy grinding out 1,567 yards on an NCAA-high 306 carries last fall. Leavitt has to prove he’s healthy following his 2025 foot injury. Camp opened Aug. 5, and Kiffin said he couldn’t tell Leavitt was injured a season ago. Meanwhile, Kiffin has entrusted one of college football’s rising stars, Charlie Weis Jr., with his offense so he can be more of a “CEO” head coach. Same with the defense, led by retained coordinator Blake Baker, who was considered for head jobs at Tulane and Memphis. Baker had a top-25 unit in 2025, surrendering 19.8 points per game, but LSU needs to get more pressure from its front four with Ole Miss transfer Princewill Umanmielen, Tennessee transfer Jordan Ross, and freshman defensive linemen Deuce Geralds and Lamar Brown now in the rotation. “l’ll have (purview) of who we play and maybe overall philosophy,” Kiffin said of the offense, but he has no inten-

tions of meddling on Baker’s side. Kiffin, who has yet to win a league or national title at a power conference school, hopes he’s put the right pieces in place and everything falls LSU’s way. He’s referenced the numerous “variables” that separate good seasons from bad, perhaps a word of caution that the highest of expectations could prove unattainable. LSU’s path to a CFP goes through ranked Clemson in Week 1, heading into a nine-game conference slate that peaks early with Kiffin’s return to, potentially, a top-10 Ole Miss squad in Week 3. Games against Texas A&M, Alabama, Texas, and Tennessee follow. It’s a gauntlet, and the headlines of the offseason will soon be washed away by instant reactions to thrilling wins or depressing losses. “I know that as good as we are right now, this is just the beginning,” Kiffin said. “The season after, we’ll have a better roster. Because if you think about it, we just have more time. I’m not asking for it.” Nor would would time necessarily be offered. He understands that. This season might determine whether the Lane Kiffin Effect remains in full force.

2026 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW THE TIMES-PICAYUNE | THE ADVOCATE | THE ACADIANA ADVOCATE 5

TRUST IS EVERYTHING Whether you’re cheering on Sam Leavitt and LSU Football in Death Valley or conquering your own health goals, the same spirit that drives the Tigers drives FMOL Health | Our Lady of the Lake to deliver best-in-class care Louisiana trusts — for every fan, every family and every community.

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Sam Leavitt LSU Quarterback

6 2026 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW THE TIMES-PICAYUNE | THE ADVOCATE | THE ACADIANA ADVOCATE

// 2026 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW //

LSU offense enters Year 1 under Lane Kiffin with a significant rebuild BY KOKI RILEY | Staff writer

In two years, the drop-off was stark. LSU’s offense had gone from being arguably the best in the sport, and showcasing another Heisman winner at quarterback, to this: having one of the worst attacks in the Southeastern Conference in 2025. En route to a miserable 7-6 campaign that ultimately led to head coach Brian Kelly losing his job eight games into the season, the Tigers ﬁnished last in the SEC in rushing yards and points per game. They failed to score more than 25 points against an FBS opponent until the Texas Bowl, and only Florida, Kentucky and South Carolina ﬁnished last year with a less efficient offense in the

conference, according to ESPN’s College Football Power Index. Garrett Nussmeier’s mysterious injury, a leaky offensive line and questionable play calling had led LSU to this point. There was no choice but to blow it all up and start over. “If things aren’t working, you need to change,” said Lane Kiffin, Kelly’s replacement, to the Baton Rouge Rotary Club on July 29. “You don’t just take the same pieces and sprinkle magic dust on it.” So that’s what Kiffin and his offensive staff, most of whom followed him to LSU from Ole Miss, did over the offseason. The Tigers only brought back 10 scholarship players from last year’s offense, including just one wide receiv-

er and no quarterbacks. Unlike on defense, where Blake Baker and the majority of last year’s defensive staff return, no offensive coach from a season ago is back with the program in 2026. The staff changes on offense will be most felt with the new-look scheme Kiffin plans to implement. Kiffin and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr., who followed Kiffin from Ole Miss, constructed an attack that nearly got the Rebels to the national championship game last year despite starting a quarterback — Trinidad Chambliss — who played in Division II the season prior. Ole Miss had a solid defense, but it was led by Kiffin and Weis’ offensive

system. It had the eighth-most efficient offense in the nation last year, according to ESPN, and the attack averaged 36.9 points per game. Over the past four seasons, since Weis took over as Kiffin’s offensive coordinator, Ole Miss has averaged no fewer than 33 points per game and had no worse than the ﬁfth-most efficient offense in the SEC, per ESPN’s College Football Power Index rankings. The Rebels had the SEC’s top offense in 2024 and the No. 2 attack last year. “Charlie does a great job,” Kiffin said during spring practices. “… Our dynamics have totally changed over time in who’s calling the plays. Now he calls

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8 >>

2026 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW THE TIMES-PICAYUNE | THE ADVOCATE | THE ACADIANA ADVOCATE 7

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8 2026 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW THE TIMES-PICAYUNE | THE ADVOCATE | THE ACADIANA ADVOCATE

// 2026 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW // them, (and) he runs the meetings. He’s in charge of it, and that was a good progression over time to get to that.” Kiffin and Weis will try to maintain that level of consistency at LSU with a new quarterback who owns a lengthy track record of success. Arizona State transfer Sam Leavitt threw for over 4,500 yards, scored 44 total touchdowns and ran for over 800 yards in a season and a half with the Sun Devils, leading the program to a Big 12 championship and a spot in the College Football Playoff in 2024. A foot injury cost Leavitt half of last season and most of this spring, but the highly regarded transfer is a full go to practice this preseason, according to Kiffin. “Sam’s doing great,” Kiffin said to the Rotary Club. “He’s coming back from a foot injury. He’s (at) full strength. Now, it’s just about getting the timing down with everybody.” Two more new faces will back up Leavitt, as Kiffin added Southern Cal transfer and former five-star recruit Husan Longstreet and grabbed Elon transfer Landen Clark out of the portal. Both gunslingers lack experience at the highest level, but they’re skilled enough to thrive in Kiffin’s system, thanks to their mobility and arm talent. Protecting Leavitt will be an offensive line that added 10 transfers, including star left tackle and Colorado transfer Jordan Seaton — by all accounts the top offensive lineman in the portal — and Maryland transfer Aliou Bah, who was a two-year starter with the Terrapins. Seaton and Bah project as plug-andplay starters next to center Braelin Moore and right tackle Weston Davis, who both return after starting for the Tigers in 2025. Moore had a solid season, but Davis struggled in his first year as a regular. The hope for Kiffin and new offensive line coach Eric Wolford is that they can tap into Davis’ immense potential this fall. At left guard, fifth-year senior Bo Bordelon spent most of the spring as the first-team option despite playing sparingly in four years under Kelly. Ole Miss transfer Devin Harper is a strong candidate to slide in at the position if Bordelon loses his spot. “That, offensively, is the posi-

tion that has probably developed the best through a couple weeks and has played well together,” Kiffin said during the spring. “And, in my opinion, has dramatically improved from when we got here.” Phillip Wright was the lone wide receiver who is back for a second season in Baton Rouge, despite registering just one catch last year as a freshman. Kiffin signed three freshmen and added nine players from the portal to fill out the rest of the room. Kansas State transfer Jayce Brown, Ole Miss transfer Winston Watkins and Florida transfer Eugene Wilson were the three biggest names LSU added out of the portal, while Troy transfer Roman Mothershed and Hawaii transfer Jackson Harris were standout performers in the spring. For as deep as LSU’s wide receiver room is, Leavitt’s top target might actually be at tight end. Trey’Dez Green, who had 433 receiving yards and seven touchdowns a year ago, flashed his limitless potential last year and was a priority for Kiffin to retain this offseason. Green and Pittsburgh transfer Malachi Thomas will earn the majority of snaps at tight end. Oregon transfer Zach Grace could also help out the Tigers as a blocker in the run game, especially in short-yardage situations. Speaking of the rushing attack, LSU’s ground game has struggled since Daniels departed for the NFL. Expect Kiffin, Weis and company to flip the script on that narrative this season, as Ole Miss had one of the best run games in the SEC during their time in Oxford. “That’s really high on our list,” Kiffin said. “A very big challenge to get that fixed. And that takes a lot of things. It’s a system thing, it’s a personnel thing.” After an unsuccessful attempt to lure Ole Miss star running back Kewan Lacy to Baton Rouge, LSU brought back Caden Durham and Harlem Berry, its two lead ball carriers last season. But the rest of the room is made up of new faces. Wisconsin transfer Dilin Jones leads the bunch after an impressive spring. “He’s been really good,” Kiffin said of Jones during the spring. “He’s come in and been good at protection, been good with his vision, his feet, running the ball. He’s really been a bright spot.”

STAFF PHOTO BY MICHAEL JOHNSON LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt (10) walks across the ﬁeld in the team’s second preseason practice on Thursday, Aug. 6.

LSU oﬀensive depth chart

WR WR WR LT LG C RG RT TE QB RB

6 WINSTON WATKINS 5-10 182 So. 2 Tre Brown 6-2 190 Sr. 3 EUGENE WILSON 5-11 190 Jr. 4 Jackson Harris 6-2 202 Jr. 1 JAYCE BROWN 5-11 175 Sr. 82 Roman Mothershed 6-5 208 Jr. 77 JORDAN SEATON 6-5 307 Jr. 65 Sean Thompkins 6-5 308 Jr. 67 BO BORDELON 6-6 305 Sr. 70 Devin Harper 6-4 312 So. 61 BRAELIN MOORE 6-2 301 Sr. 50 William Satterwhile 6-3 293 So. 55 ALIOU BAH 6-5 327 Sr. 70 Devin Harper 6-4 312 So. 75 WESTON DAVIS 6-6 315 So. 69 Darrin Strey 6-7 314 Fr. 14 TREY’DEZ GREEN 6-7 237 Jr. 12 Malachi Thomas 6-3 242 Jr.

44 Zach Grace 6-2 236 Jr.

10 SAM LEAVITT 6-2 216 Jr. 8 Husan Longstreet 6-1 195 Fr. 11 Landen Clark 6-0 195 So. 22 HARLEM BERRY 5-10 187 So. 13 Dilin Jones 5-11 211 So. 29 Caden Durham 5-9 200 Jr. 23 Stacy Gage 5-10 206 So.

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Blake Baker stayed put, and now LSU’s defense can try to take another step forward BY REED DARCEY | Staff writer LSU could’ve lost its defensive coordinator last December. Blake Baker really thought about leaving – to the point at which he invited Tulane and Memphis administrators to his house so they could discuss their head coaching vacancies with him. So, why did Baker stay in Baton Rouge? Because he thought he could still accomplish more in a third season with the Tigers, and that if he did, then he could soon become a candidate for some higher level jobs than the two enticing, yet challenging Group-of-6 gigs that arrived at his doorstep as LSU was introducing coach Lane Kiffin. “It was really critical to keep him,” Kiffin said in March. Now, the Tigers can keep building on the success they’ve had on defense in Baker’s first two years as coordinator. It’s easy to forget that Baker inherited a mess. The defense that LSU fielded in 2023 was one of the worst units in program history, a group made more infamous by the fact that it hamstrung one of the best offenses in program history – the record-setting unit led by Heisman-winning quarterback Jayden Daniels. That year, the Tigers finished 108th among FBS teams in total defense and 81st in scoring defense. Then Baker took over, and LSU moved up to 61st in total defense in 2024 before finishing the 2025 season ranked 27th.

Now – with Baker, the bulk of his staff and several starters back for a third year – there’s reason to believe the unit can take yet another step forward in 2026. Kiffin hopes that LSU has enough talent to “go to another level” and field the kind of tough, physical defense that “creates a lot of havoc” but plays “with great discipline.” “That’s been here before a number of times,” Kiffin said, “and so that’s a big, big goal – to get that back to that style of play that nobody wants to play LSU’s defense...like it used to be.” Most of LSU’s starters are set. Whit Weeks and Ole Miss transfer TJ Dottery are the two linebackers. DJ Pickett and PJ Woodland are the two outside cornerbacks. Boise State transfer Ty Benefield and Tamarcus Cooley will man the safety spots, while Dashawn Spears will fill the Star position – the hybrid safety-linebacker role that Harold Perkins played last season. The defensive front is comprised almost entirely of newcomers. Ole Miss transfer Princewill Umanmielen, a senior, is the top edge rusher. Tennessee transfer Jordan Ross and five-star freshman Lamar Brown will line up on the opposite edge, while a mix of Auburn transfer Malik Blocton, freshman Deuce Geralds, Clemson transfer Stephiylan Green and junior Dominick McKinley will occupy the middle. There’s NFL-level talent at all three levels of the defense. Kiffin thinks highly enough of Bene-

STAFF PHOTO BY HILARY SCHEINUK LSU linebacker Whit Weeks speaks with LSU defensive coordinator Blake Baker on the sideline in the ﬁrst half between the Tigers and South Carolina Gamecocks on Oct. 11 at Tiger Stadium.

ﬁeld to say on Tyrann Mathieu’s podcast in June that Beneﬁeld can be “one of those legends” to play at LSU. Pickett, a 6-foot-5 sophomore, was one of the most highly rated recruits in his class, and now he’ll have a chance to prove that he has can use his physical tools to develop into a true shutdown corner. Weeks, if healthy, can be one of the most productive defenders in the SEC. Dottery was the league’s leading tackler last season. And then there’s the pass rush, which got a major upgrade in Umanmielen. In 2025, he chipped in almost twice as many sacks (nine) as LSU’s

top three edge rushers combined (five). His presence should give the Tigers a more productive four-man rush, which should allow Baker to be more selective with his blitzes, which should limit the numbers of times the Tigers find themselves exposed on the back end of the defense. Explosive plays are still a vulnerability. Only five SEC teams gave up more gains of at least 20 yards than LSU did last season (50). The Tigers could also do a better job of turning pressure into sacks and creating more negative plays in the run game.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 12 >>

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// 2026 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW // But LSU ﬁgured out how to create a nice amount of havoc anyway. Only two SEC defenses created more turnovers than the Tigers did last season (21), which was a large reason why Kiffin decided to sit down with Baker and sell him on the chance to stay in his role through the coaching change. “I had a bunch of questions that he did a great job answering,” Baker told The Advocate last December, “and that made me feel at ease because at the end of the day, it’s an unknown either way. Unknown staying here with a new head coach, but also an unknown going to be a head coach for the ﬁrst time. So, I wanted to get as much clarity on this end as I possibly could.” And once he did, Baker signed a new three-year, $9.3 million contract that cemented his status as one of the highest-paid assistant coaches in the country. He can earn that new deal, in part by helping Kiffin slow down the elite quarterbacks LSU will face this season, such as Ole Miss’ Trinidad

Chambliss (Sept. 19), Texas A&M’s Marcel Reed (Sept. 26) and Texas’ Arch Manning (Nov. 14). The Tigers also have road games against Kentucky (Oct. 10), Auburn (Oct. 24) and Tennessee (Nov. 21) – a trio of teams that have unproven quarterbacks but sharp offensive systems. It’s the dual-threat passers who usually threaten Baker’s defense, and LSU will once again have to bottle up some of the nation’s best if it wants to reach the College Football Playoff for the ﬁrst time since 2019. Kiffin made his choice. Then Baker made his. Now it’s time to see if the Tigers can reap the beneﬁts of continuity on the defensive side of the ball – and if Baker’s decision to hold out for a more premier head coaching job winds up paying off. “I’ve enjoyed our interactions,” Kiffin said. “I’ve enjoyed the competitiveness of Blake, and I think it’s gonna be a great combination.”

STAFF PHOTO BY HILARY SCHEINUK LSU cornerback DJ Pickett celebrates with Mike the Tiger in the end zone after making an interception in the second half of the Tigers’ 20-10 win over the Gators on Sept. 13 at Tiger Stadium.

LSU defensive depth chart

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Expectations for the Lane Kiﬃn era at LSU are great, but so are his BY SCOTT RABALAIS Sports columnist

It’s time to find out. Time to find out what this Lane Kiffin chapter — this era, this experiment, this age of the visor — will be like. Aside from Jayden Daniels’ Heisman Trophy run in 2023, LSU football has stumbled its way through six mostly unremarkable seasons since Joe Burrow also won the Heisman and led LSU to the 2019 national championship. Years spent in a college football wilderness wandering almost as much as winning, with the Tigers going a tepid 47-29 overall and 28-22 in the Southeastern Conference. Now, in 2026, a giant page is turned. LSU has gone to great, expensive lengths to remake its image, spending a fortune no one really thought it had. All to reclaim a place as one of the nation’s premier college football brands, befitting of one of just two programs this century to win three or more national titles. LSU shelled out the equivalent of a small Caribbean island nation’s GDP to buy out Brian Kelly and bring in Kiffin, a total of $145 million, in fact ($54 million for Kelly’s buyout, $91 million for Kiffin’s contract). That’s on top of upwards of $40 million to build this year’s roster – according to Kelly, it must be said, not Kiffin. On top of that, LSU is prepared to park its athletic broadcast rights in a new, revenue-generating enterprise, bumping up against the threshold of what is considered “private equity.” If you want to be a major player, what they call a “whale” in Las Vegas, you have to bring a big bankroll to the table. LSU has staked it all, everything, on Kiffin. A brilliant offensive mind, an apparent introvert whose preferred canvas is the football playbook and, until quite recently, social media. A man carrying the scars of so many failed and truncated head-coaching tenures but who most recently got it right at FAU

STAFF PHOTO BY PEARL SPURLOCK LSU coach Lane Kiﬃn addresses the media after the Tigers’ ﬁrst day of preseason practice on Aug. 5 at the LSU football complex.

and really got it right at Ole Miss, setting the Rebels on a path that carried them closer to a national championship than they’d been in six decades. Kiffin left Ole Miss after an 11-1 regular season — his second 11-win season in Oxford, something the Rebels had never managed before — on the cusp of the College Football Playoff, a run that would reach all the way to the national semifinals under new coach Pete Golding. Kiffin was vilified for his move, and LSU was pilloried for plundering an ancient and now profoundly bitter SEC rival in its ascendant moment. LSU’s response: All’s fair in love and football. Especially for a school that loves football above all else. “It was best for LSU” to hire Kiffin, athletic director Verge Ausberry said. Not the end of the story, but certainly the end of LSU explaining itself, like it or not. Everyone who lobbed barrages of venom at the new coach and his new school conveniently overlooked the fact that Ole Miss would have fired Kiffin if he didn’t win long before his six years there were up.

That’s frankly old business now. Kifﬁn was THE coach LSU wanted and somehow got despite all the upheaval during the search: the governor’s meddling, the attempt to ﬁre Kelly for cause and the brief declarations of then new LSU president Wade Rousse that Ausberry may or may not be the athletic director going forward. Through that swamp of potential sinkholes, LSU kept aiming at its north star in this search. Remarkably, Kiffin took the job, in part because Nick Saban — who became to LSU fans at Alabama what Kiffin now is to fans at Ole Miss — told his old offensive coordinator that when the smoke clears, this is one of the best jobs in America. By some metrics, maybe the best. Kiffin has made the phrase “It’s just different” at LSU his mantra since arriving in Baton Rouge. It may be approaching the realm of sports clichés at this point, but he isn’t wrong. How different LSU football may be is subject to debate, but it certainly is … rare. There are just 14 Power Four conference schools across America that

are the only P4 schools in their home states. And none of the others can match Louisiana’s standing as producing the second-most NFL players per capita of any state. That, a rabid fan base, a financial valuation of its program just north of $1 billion and a legendary 102,000-seat stadium is a combination that is, indeed, just different. If Kiffin was looking for something different from LSU, the same thing in reverse applies: making the Tigers a consistent year-over-year winner. Know how many times LSU has finished in the final Associated Press top 10 three straight years since 1936? Once, from 2005-07 under Les Miles. Georgia, which until recently has had a fairly comparable football history to LSU’s, has finished in the AP top 10 nine straight seasons. In fact, LSU has finished out of the final AP top 25 more often since 2008 (six times) than it has finished in the top 10 (four). Maybe making LSU a perennial top10 program is reaching for a too distant shore for Kiffin — but it certainly should be the goal. Though Kiffin has spoken often about the challenging parameters to building this year’s roster, perhaps pumping the brakes on pot-boiling anticipation for this season, he hasn’t shied away from long-term expectations. Kiffin said he expects LSU’s 2027 roster to be better, and recently said on a podcast with former Tigers great Tyrann Mathieu that he believes he will lead LSU to a national championship during his time here. Perhaps that’s easy for Kiffin to say now, but over the long haul he knows he will be expected to do what three of LSU’s past four coaches — Saban, Miles and recently returned special assistant Ed Orgeron — did when they coached the Tigers: get to the top. Kiffin is the man LSU wanted most to lead its program. Can he deliver what LSU wants most: to make what may be the best job in the country the best on the field? It’s time to find out.

2026 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW THE TIMES-PICAYUNE | THE ADVOCATE | THE ACADIANA ADVOCATE 15

// 2026 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW //

Tu ulane using do oubters as motivation for ﬁfth h consecutive cha ampionship gamee appearance

BY GUERRY SMITH Contributing writer

As the Tulane football team began preseason practice, the door to the offensive line meeting room was covered with bulletin-board material from three different magazines. One listed the line’s No. 113 ranking out of 138 FBS teams, according to Phil Steele. Another noted Athlon’s tabbing the unit eighth-best out of 14 in the American Conference. The third was a passage asserting the blockers would be nowhere as good as the excellent pass protectors from the 2025 league champion. The outside doubts extend far past the O-line. Negative press is fueling the Green Wave’s fire as it looks to extend its American Conference-record four consecutive title-game appearances to five and also become the first team to win three championships in five years.

Despite its dominant 31-5 league mark during that span and the return of more experienced players than just about anyone in the league, almost no one is picking Tulane to win the American under new coach Will Hall. One preseason media poll tabbed the Wave fourth. Another dropped it all the way to seventh. This after Tulane placed no worse than second from 2022 to 2025 — tying for the best record twice while taking the outright regular-season title once. Observing his team’s progress from the end of spring drills to the start of preseason practice, Hall grew even more conﬁdent the Wave could maintain the level it exhibited in the ﬁnal two years of Willie Fritz’s tenure and the following two seasons with Jon Sumrall. He coached under both of them and believes he knows what it takes. “This group works,” he said. “I’ve really enjoyed their summer. They have put

the time in. Our leadership’s been awesome. We are a player-led team. They feel like they have something to prove, and that’s why they work so hard to keep Tulane at the standard that it is.” Safety Jack Tchienchou, who cracked the Bronko Nagurski Trophy preseason watch list for the nation’s best defensive player, expects more of the same. “Not much has changed,” he said. “There’s going to be no drop-off. We’re all buying in. The best is yet to come.” Tchienchou is one of several key defenders who stuck around because of continuity in the transition to Hall from Sumrall. Speciﬁcally, former linebackers coach Tayler Polk’s promotion to defensive coordinator convinced linebackers Dickson Agu, Chris Rodgers and Makai Williams (156 combined tackles in 2025) to remain in the fold. Six of Tulane’s top 10 tacklers returned — a much higher number than for most of the rest of the American.

“If he (Polk) wasn’t here, a lot of us probably wouldn’t have stayed,” said Agu, who led the team in tackles before tearing a patellar tendon in the conference opener at Tulsa. “He brings energy every day. He’s one of the most consistent people I’ve met since I’ve been here. That really helped build the foundation we have on defense right now.” Hall sees even a perceived weakness as a strength. Although none of the four quarterbacks competing for the job started a college game last year, leading candidates Zeon Chriss-Gremillion (UL and Houston) and Kadin Semonza (Ball State) have combined for 29 career starts. That number puts the Wave in pretty good company as it enters its fourth consecutive year with a different starter. Navy’s Braxton Woodson, the quarterback for the consensus American favorite, has started three times over three years.

16 2026 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW THE TIMES-PICAYUNE | THE ADVOCATE | THE ACADIANA ADVOCATE

// 2026 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW //

Marcus Stokes, the projected starter for perennial contender Memphis, is a transfer from Division II West Florida. Michael Van Buren, the frontrunner at NIL darling South Florida, started eight times at Mississippi State in 2024 and four times at LSU last season, going 3-9 in those opportunities. Hall praised his group, which includes athletic walk-on John Curtis product Dagan Bruno and freshman dart-thrower Trace Johnson. “They can play,” Hall said. “They do everything we ask them to do. You’ve got two guys in the room that are extremely experienced. They are leaders. The big thing for us is to continue to improve.” The other skill positions appear strong. The Wave boasts abundant speed and talent at running back, with Jamauri McClure (490 yards in the last ﬁve games of 2025), Maurice Turner and Florida State transfer Jaylin Lucas all ﬁguring heavily in Hall’s plans.

The wide receivers are considerably more experienced than at this time a year ago. Anthony Brown-Stephens (41 catches) and Zycarl Lewis (24 catches) improved as the season went along and got better again in spring practice, leading a host of candidates that includes Brother Martin alum Garrett Mmahat, LSU transfer Destyn Hill and Edna Karr product Oliver Mitchell. The Wave goes six deep in scholarship tight ends, with converted quarterback Ty Thompson, Duke transfer Vance Bolyard and sophomore Gabe Lovorn looking to make an impact. Although Tulane is young on both lines, there are enough upperclassmen on the defensive front to help a talented group of second-year players come along. Seniors Gerrod Henderson, Ed Smith and Derrick Shepard complement redshirt freshmen Warren Roberts and Reshad Sterling among others. “Our defensive linemen are going to

Tulane oﬀensive depth chart

QB RB WR WR WR LT LG C RG RT TE

9 ZEON CHRISS-GREMILLION 6-3, 220, SR. 3 Kadin Semonza 5-11, 195, Jr. 25 JAMAURI MCCLURE 5-10, 212, SO. 0 Maurice Turner 5-10, 196, Sr. 5 ANTHONY BROWN-STEPHENS 5-10, 178, SR. 8 Bredell Richardson 6-1, 197, So. 1 ZYCARL LEWIS 5-10, 170, SO. 17 Oliver Mitchell 6-1, 185, So. 2 DESTYN HILL 6-1, 191, JR. 85 Gabe Daniels 6-2, 190, So. 55 DOMINIC STEWARD 6-5, 280, SO. 70 Juelz Baptiste 6-5, 323, Fr. 73 ELIJAH BAKER 6-3, 295, SO. 76 Gresham Perry 6-4, 322, Fr. 51 JOHN BOCK 6-3, 316, SR. 60 Gavin Marks 6-3, 297, So. 78 REESE BAKER 6-5, 292. SO. 71 Riley Rushing 6-4, 322, Jr. 58 RYAN MICKOW 6-7, 311, JR. 77 Darion Reed 6-7, 314, Jr. 13 TY THOMPSON 6-4, 235, SR. 86 Gabe Lovorn 6-4, 241, Fr.

surprise a lot of people,” Rodgers said. “They can rush the quarterback.’ The offensive line embodies the disparity in perception of this team inside and outside the program. While critics see a bunch of unproven players and no returning starter at the same position, those close to the team rave about individual improvement in the weight room and in quickness. “Other people just don’t know what we have,” said senior center John Bock, a Florida International transfer who locked down the starting job at right guard last year in preseason camp be-

fore tearing the plantar fascia in his left foot during the ﬁnal scrimmage. “At FIU my last year we were top 20 in the nation for least sacks allowed. This group is two times better. We all could start on any American Conference team.” Ultimately, where Tulane was picked during the summer will not matter. “We know what we have in this building,” Hall said. “We have 68 scholarship returnees that know they are really good players that were highly recruited. All of them had lots of options in December. They didn’t just fall into Tulane. We like this team.”

Tulane special teams depth chart

K P

96 JACKSON COURVILLE 5-10, 184, JR. 35 Cooper Helmke 6-3, 202, Fr. 34 WILLIAM HUDLOW 5-11, 215, JR. 33 Brooks Moore 6-0, 212, Fr.

Tulane defensive depth chart

DE NT DT OLB ILB ILB NB CB CB SS FS

10 GERROD HENDERSON 6-2, 267, SR. 51 Reshad Sterling 6-3, 271, Fr. 94 DERRICK SHEPARD 6-3, 313, SR. 98 PaLanding Drammeh 6-2. 292, Fr. 45 ED SMITH 6-3, 306, SR. 96 Geordan Guidry 6-2, 282, So. 40 WARREN ROBERTS 6-2, 219, FR. 48 Jah’rie Garner 6-3, 234, Jr. 2 DICKSON AGU 6-2, 223, JR. 42 Makai Williams 6-1, 231, Sr. 4 CHRIS RODGERS 6-1, 222, SR. 11 Dalton Hughes 6-3, 226, Sr. 3 TJ SMITH 5-10, 183, SR. 13 Kajuan Banks 5-10, 189, Sr. 21 MACHO STEVENSON 6-1, 187, JR. 12 Anthony Rogers 5-11, 176, So. 5 E’ZAIAH SHINE 6-1, 201, SO. 22 Justin Agu 6-2, 190, Sr. 7 KEVIN ADAMS 5-10, 195, JR. 7 KEVIN ADAMS 5-10, 195, JR. 1 JACK TCHIENCHOU 5-10, 192, JR. 8 Joshua Moore 6-2, 202, Jr.

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18 2026 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW THE TIMES-PICAYUNE | THE ADVOCATE | THE ACADIANA ADVOCATE

// 2026 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW //

Cajuns determined to be Sun Belt contenders again, despite younger roster BY KEVIN FOOTE | Staff writer As UL coach Michael Desormeaux prepares his team for the 2026 season, he’s still feeling the scars from last season’s weekly struggle. His Ragin’ Cajuns got off to a 1-3 start and trailed Marshall 34-17 midway through the third quarter at home in the fifth game. The offense that focused on a big-play passing game in August camp appeared wasted when starting quarterback Walker Howard was injured in the season opener. Lunch Winfield, Howard’s replacement, delivered a comeback for the ages in the final quarter and a half against Marshall with six scoring drives in a 5451 double-overtime win to help give UL the spark it needed to rebound and qualify for an eighth straight bowl. Needless to say, Desormeaux is hoping for fewer obstacles this fall. “We started slow last year and certainly didn’t play the way we wanted to early,” Desormeaux said. “We’ve got to get off to a fast start this year. “We’ve got to find a way to muster up that urgency we had in the last half of the season and take that from start to finish.” That’s the idea anyway, for two main reasons.

One, it makes things much easier. Secondly, this is a younger team that might not be able to overcome as many huge obstacles to success. “Last year was not easy, but that’s kind of what has me excited about this year,” he said. “We’re younger, but we were able to keep the team intact. All those guys know what it felt like – the urgency that it took to get it where we wanted it.” This time around, the offensive staff will begin the process preparing for a running quarterback in Winﬁeld. “I’ve gotten way more comfortable with most of my teammates and timing and everything,” Winﬁeld said. “It’s just like normal now. Everything is way easier now.” Howard’s injury was followed by an incredible rash of injuries to the offensive line, forcing 11 different starting lineups for the offense. Senior right tackle George Jackson was part of that long list of injuries, but he’s back. “Last year was hard,” Jackson said. “It was hard watching. Injuries are going to happen. We’re all working very hard on doing what we can to prevent them. “I’m feeling 100% and ready to go.” With the injuries came more players getting more experience. Matt Broussard emerged as the new right guard to

go along with left guard Kaden Moreau and center Cooper Fordham. Zay Alexander was injured last season as well and is expected to start at left tackle. With running backs Zylan Perry and Bill Davis lost in the portal, the backfield is expected to feature three underclassmen in Steven Blanco, Darrell Smith and JJ Garner. “I feel really good about our backs,” Desormeaux said. “They’re young, but they have a lot of talent. I think they’re ready.” Another major factor in last year’s slow start was an undisclosed injury to top receiver target Shelton Sampson. Those early doubts, though, were overshadowed by Sampson’s strong finish. Former St. Thomas More product Landon Strother has also made a big step forward. “I feel really good about those two, and I think we’ve got a lot of playmakers among the other guys in that room,” said Desormeaux, referring to Trenton Chaney, Russell Babineaux and Rahji Dennis. “All of those guys want the ball to show what they can do with it,” Winfield said. The biggest question mark on offense may be depth at tight end behind Caden Jensen and Brock Chappell.

“I can’t tell you right now who it’s going to be behind those two guys,” Desormeaux said. “I challenged those guys going into the summer and fall camp to ﬁgure out who the third guy is going to be. If no one does, it’ll limit our ability to play ‘12’ personnel, and I certainly don’t want that to happen.” There were some awfully big losses on the defensive front wall last season in Jordan Lawson, Kadarius Miller and Jaelen Crider, but that unit should anchor the defense again. “I really like what I’ve seen from that group,” Desormeaux said of the defensive line. “The offensive and defensive lines are the groups I feel like have the most playing experience.” What the defense may lack is a true leader. Redshirt senior Fitzgerald West has shown signs throughout the offseason to ﬁll those shoes. “Yes, I think Fitz is the leader in that group for sure,” Desormeaux said. “Fitz is set for a really big year. He’s got such a high motor. He’s one of the guys that affects everyone around him.” But the staff is also excited about the potential breakout season of 6-foot-7, 295-pound redshirt junior Chase Edwards. “I think Chase is the one who is about to have a different type of season this

2026 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW THE TIMES-PICAYUNE | THE ADVOCATE | THE ACADIANA ADVOCATE 19

// 2026 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW //

year,” Desormeaux said. “At times, he’s really good.” The redshirt sophomore duo of Priest Ashe and Ashton Wright also appear primed to elevate their games, like redshirt senior Maxie Baudoin did last season. Tarleton State transfer Brodrick Stewart (6-1, 305) should also help plug the middle. “The list goes going on and on,” Desormeaux said. “They’re all going to grow and have continued to improve year after year after year. Day after day, year after year, you can see that they’re ready for that moment.” Working closely with that group will be talented edge rushers in redshirt junior Ashley Williams and portal newcomer Tito Chikere. The depth there looks promising as well with redshirt junior Lester Jones and redshirt freshman AJ Spencer. “I believe in our ability to evaluate and to develop,” Desormeaux said. For the third straight season, UL’s

linebacker crew is looking for a new leader as well. Jaden Dugger was drafted in the ﬁfth round by the San Francisco 49ers after a huge season. The new chief is redshirt senior Jake St. Andre, who has plenty of talent around him in redshirt sophomore Conor McPherson, redshirt senior Kailep Edwards and redshirt junior Micah Johnson. There’s two things to focus on when it comes to the critical cornerback position for the Cajuns. One, can Brent Gordon avoid a bit of a sophomore slump after such a fantastic freshman season? Desormeaux is convinced Gordon won’t fall into that trap. “I think it’s the maturity that he’s got,” he said. “It’s just the way that he’s wired. When he didn’t start right away, he told me, “I don’t like not playing,’ and he played that way. “By the time he got his opportunity, he didn’t give it up.” Two, somebody else has to step up.

UL oﬀensive depth chart

WR WR TE LT LG C RG RT QB RB RB

6 SHELTON SAMPSON 6-4, 206, RJr. 4 Trenton Chaney 5-9, 178, RFr. 17 LANDON STROTHER 6-1, 197, RSo. 9 KeDarius Wade 6-4, 200, RJr. 88 CADEN JENSEN 6-6, 266, RJr. 83 Brock Chappell 6-5, 252, Sr. 78 ZAY ALEXANDER 6-7, 333, RSo. 61 Jayce Mitchell6-3, 322, Rso. 75 KADEN MOREAU 6-4, 305, RSr. 77 Jakoby Isom 6-1, 318 So. 50 COOPER FORDHAM 6-2, 295, RJr. 59 Andrew Martinez 6-3, 306, RJr. 76 MATTHEW BROUSSARD 6-4, 313, RJr. 77 Jakoby Isom 6-1, 318, So. 71 GEORGE JACKSON 6-5, 315, RSr. 78 Michael Bowens 6-5, 318, Fr. 7 LUNCH WINFIELD 6-2, 225, RJr. 11 Daniel Beale 6-2, 206, RSo. 24 STEVEN BLANCO 5-9, 215, RSo. 20 JJ Garner 5-10, 210, RFr. 0 DARRELL SMITH 5-8, 200, RFr. 22 Anthony Reagan 5-9, 185, Sr.

The most likely candidates are redshirt sophomore Avery Demery and redshirt junior Jeremiah Moses. “I think Avery had a great summer ... a great summer, and really the same for Jeremiah,” Desormeaux said. Elsewhere in the secondary, the Cajuns found out how important redshirt senior Maurion Eleam was last season at the star position. When he went down, the drop-off in the overall unit was readily apparent. This year, UL will be quick to move Gordon to the star spot, or potentially

redshirt freshman Jayden Gloston. In the back of the secondary, there are four safeties with some experience in redshirt junior Kody Jackson, redshirt sophomore Lake Bates, redshirt freshman Steven Ranel and redshirt senior Collin Jacob. None of them have the ﬁeld time of a Tyree Skipper a year ago, but none of them will be ﬁrst-timers. “I think our safety room is in pretty good shape,” Desormeaux said. “Steven’s still young, but all four guys have at least played a little bit.”

UL special teams depth chart

K P

96 JACKSON COURVILLE 5-10, 184, JR. 35 Cooper Helmke 6-3, 202, Fr. 34 WILLIAM HUDLOW 5-11, 215, JR. 33 Brooks Moore 6-0, 212, Fr.

UL defensive depth chart

DL DL DL OLB OLB LB LB STAR CB CB SS FS

41 CHASE EDWARDS 6-7, 295, RJr. 95 Maxie Baudoin 6-5, 300, RSr. 68 FITZGERALD WEST 6-2, 300, RSr. 93 Brodrick Stewart 6-1, 305, Rjr. 0 PRIEST ASHE 6-4, 235, RSo. 9 Lance Williams 6-3, 233, Rjr. 2 ASHLEY WILLIAMS 6-5, 260, RJr. 80 Lester Jones 6-3, 235, RJr. 17 TITO CHIKERE 6-3, 247, RSr. 33 AJ Spencer 6-4, 205, RFr. 44 JAKE ST. ANDRE 6-0 220, RSr. 16 Kailep Edwards 6-0, 220, Rsr. 6 CONOR MCPHERSON, 6-2, 219, RSo. 3 Micah Johnson, 6-0, 232, Rjr. 21 MAURION ELEAM 5-10, 180, RSr. 25 Jayden Gloston 5-11, 190, R-Fr. 11 BRENT GORDON 5-11, 200, Sr 13 Curley Reed 6-1, 200, Rjr. 11 BRENT GORDON 5-11, 200, Sr 23 Jeremiah Moses 6-0, 186, RJr. 35 COLLIN JACOB 6-0, 180, Rsr. 24 Lake Bates 5-11, 190 RSo. 8 KODY JACKSON 6-1, 200, Rjr. 28 Steven Ranel 6-1, 205, Rfr.

20 2026 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW THE TIMES-PICAYUNE | THE ADVOCATE | THE ACADIANA ADVOCATE

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2026 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW THE TIMES-PICAYUNE | THE ADVOCATE | THE ACADIANA ADVOCATE 21

// 2026 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW //

Year 1 for Marshall Faulk has arrived. Here’s what you need to know about Southern football.

STAFF PHOTO BY MICHAEL JOHNSON Southern coach Marshall Faulk addresses the media before practice at the Southern practice ﬁelds Aug. 1.

BY TOYLOY BROWN III Staﬀ writer Within the conﬁnes of Southern’s football facility are determined players and coaches. Returners and newcomers alike want a redemptive season that erases the stench of last year’s 2-10 record

and 1-7 ﬁnish in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. Outside the building, excitement is driven by the hiring of Marshall Faulk, the rookie head coach and Pro Football Hall of Famer tasked with ushering in the Jaguars’ next era. Alongside diehard fans’ optimism and Southern’s newfound spotlight

22 2026 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW THE TIMES-PICAYUNE | THE ADVOCATE | THE ACADIANA ADVOCATE

is skepticism. Neutral observers are curious to see how Faulk’s first crack at leading a program will unfold in the sports-crazed HBCU world. That intrigue is part of why Southern’s season opener against Alabama State will air on ESPNU at 2 p.m. Aug. 29 at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. Voters in the SWAC preseason poll picked Southern to finish fifth out of six teams in the West division. Preseason projections don’t concern Faulk, a Super Bowl XXXIV champion. His focus is preparing a team that expects to win every time it steps on the field. “There’s no fear in me,” Faulk said. “Winners win. And if you’re a winner, then you win. At every level, somehow, some way, I found a way to find the win, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

The SWAC meets the Go-Go offense Some doubts about Faulk’s first season are rooted in the unpredictable nature of NFL players transitioning to coaching for the first time at the HBCU level. Last year, Michael Vick’s Norfolk State team went 1-11, while DeSean Jackson led Delaware State to an 8-4 season. There’s mystery in how Southern will look as it runs a unique system: the Go-Go offense. It gets murkier, as the conductor of the offense could be a quarterback who joined the team two months ago. Offensive coordinator Ken Merchant didn’t reveal much during preseason camp, but the system is traditionally run-heavy, featuring two tailbacks aligned side by side. “Our identity is going to be in running the football,” Faulk said. “That’s the brand of football I want to play. But I’m smart enough to know I can’t dictate how we win games. I’m not going to run the football if they’re giving us an opportunity to throw it. That’s just not smart football.” The quarterback who will unleash that offense won’t be fully known until Southern’s first offensive play of the regular season. Southern narrowed its likely starter to junior Christian Johnson, a Hutchinson (Kansas) Community College transfer; returning senior Ashton Strother; or Wyatt McCauley, a sophomore transfer from Long Beach City (Calif.) College. Johnson is the favorite based on his early-June arrival and praise by the

// 2026 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW // coaching staff. “He’s won at every level he’s played at,” Faulk said. “He just wants to win. I literally asked him, ‘Look man, we got fourth-and-2, I’m calling quarterback power.’ And he said, ‘Coach, I’m putting my head down, and I’m getting it.’ I like that mentality from a quarterback.” Last season, Johnson completed 156 of 258 passes (60.5%) for 2,120 yards, 22 touchdowns and five interceptions while leading Hutchinson to an 11-1 record. The 6-foot, 206-pound junior also rushed 140 times for 586 yards and seven touchdowns. As a freshman, he shared quarterback duties during the Blue Dragons’ 2024 national title run. Running back Trey Holly, who began his career at LSU, is expected to be Southern’s best offensive player. Faulk placed added leadership responsibility on the 5-7, 192-pound redshirt junior, a preseason All-SWAC second-team selection who finished fourth in both rushing yards and rushing touchdowns last season. The Go-Go offense should distribute carries among multiple tailbacks, mirroring Merchant’s success at Sacramento State. That team ranked second in the Big Sky in rushing with 3,151 yards and produced three of the league’s top 15 rushers. None of that is possible without a steady offensive line. Southern could see as many as four transfers starting. The staff may not have enough time in camp to refine the connectivity the group needs, but it could compensate with impressive individual talents. Riverside (Calif.) Community College transfer Trinidad Wilson — a 6-5, 350-pound sophomore — picked Southern over Oregon State. The Jaguars also added the 6-3, 310-pound Zuri Madison, who played at Arkansas State last season after beginning his career at Arkansas. The wide receiver room no longer has its top target, Darren Morris, who transferred to Boise State. Returning redshirt junior wideout Cam Jefferson could be due for a breakout season after having 19 receptions for 276 yards and two touchdowns in 2025. Southern might also showcase the only 6-9 pass catcher in HBCU football in Emeka Iloh, a redshirt junior transfer from Mississippi State. On special teams, Southern likely will

turn to freshman kicker Christopher McKenna, ranked No. 42 nationally in the 2025 high school class by Kohl’s. New defensive identity Ckelby Givens, Southern’s defensive centerpiece of the last three years, is gone. Southern is unlikely to have an edge rusher who could lead the SWAC in tackles for loss and sacks as Givens did. Defensive coordinator Todd Lyght is expected to use a 4-3-4 base defense.

The former NFL defensive back and Notre Dame assistant has emphasized building a unit that can adjust mid-game. “As coach Lyght said, we’re going to be tough, we’re going to be smart, we’re going to be disciplined, we’re going to be multiple,” Faulk said. “We’re not just going to defend. We’re going to attack.” What Southern may lack in top-end star power, it hopes to replace with depth from transfers and returners. “We got beat last year because we didn’t have enough depth,” Faulk said.

Southern special teams depth chart

K P KR PR

34 CHRISTOPHER MCKENNA 6-4, 210, FR. 38 Nathan Zimmer 6-2, 200, SO. 38 NATHAN ZIMMER 6-2, 200, SO. 38 Trey Johnson 5-9, 150, FR. 25 JASON GABRIEL 5-8, 190, R-SO. 17 Cam Jeﬀerson 5-10, 190, R-JR. 14 KOBE BROWN 5-10, 170, JR. 23 Macario Dade 5-6, 165 FR.

Southern oﬀensive depth chart

QB RB WR WR TE LT LG C RT RG

2 CHRISTIAN JOHNSON 6-0, 206, JR. 15 Ashton Strother 6-3, 225, SR. 6 TREY HOLLY 5-7, 192, R-JR. 7 Mike Franklin 6-2, 225, GR. 17 CAM JEFRESON 5-10, 190, R-JR. 14 Kobe Brown 5-10, 170, JR. 18 MALACHI JACKSON 6-2, 200, JR. 2 Daejawn Smith 6-0, 180, R-FR. 11 AIDEN VALDEZ 6-5, 250, R-JR. 12 Emeka Iloh, 6-9, 275, R-JR. 55 TIM ARTIS 6-4, 315, R-SR. 71 Ramirez Young 6-4, 315, R-JR. 68 JERON LEWIS 6-4, 325, R-JR. 62 Javaughn Matthews 6-3, 330, FR. 56 ISMAEL BAH 6-2, 315, SO. 78 James Wright 6-6, 310, R-SO. 52 TRINIDAD WILSON 6-5, 350, SO. 57 Clifton Webb 6-3, 300, SO. 61 ZURI MADISON 6-3, 310, R-SO. 60 Raul Aguilar 6-5, 330, SO.

2026 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW THE TIMES-PICAYUNE | THE ADVOCATE | THE ACADIANA ADVOCATE 23

// 2026 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW //

“Second half in games, our guys were gassed. We can’t allow that to happen, especially early. We got to play a lot of guys until they get their game legs under them. You can’t wear guys out. You actually have to protect them from themselves, because they think they can go and they don’t know.” The defensive line returns De’Myrion Johnson, who began his career at LSU. His talent pairs with UMass transfers Jermaine Wiggins Jr., a graduate defensive end, and Jaden Wiggins, a redshirt junior defensive tackle. The sons of former NFL tight end Jermaine Wiggins Sr. could cause damage in backﬁelds. They’ll be crucial because Southern’s second level lacks experience. The Jaguars have only one upperclassman linebacker, redshirt junior Markeis Batiste, after graduating their top four at the position. Southern’s secondary is where its best defensive player lies: redshirt junior safety Herman Brister. The preseason All-SWAC ﬁrst-team selection battled injuries last season and

M O n day,

F E B R u a Ry

8 ,

2 0 1 0

57 JADEN WIGGINS 6-0, 280, R-JR. 93 Darren Scott 6-2, 313, SR. 97 DE’MYRION JOHNSON 6-2, 290, R-SO. 67 Jayden Rogers 6-2, 375, R-JR. 5 JORDYN DICERSON 6-4, 240, JR. 59 Lance Joseph 6-2, 235, R-JR. 53 JERMAINE WIGGINS 6-4, 260, GR. 48 Kai Brown 6-3, 250, JR. 46 MARKEIS BATISTE 6-2, 220, R-JR.. 50 Justin Hillard 6-3, 254, R-SO. 54 KADAVIUS MAYS 5-11, 205, R-FR. 32 Jeremiah Coleman 6-0, 200, R-FR. 33 JAYDEN COOK 6-0, 205, R-SO. 17 Hunter Schnakenberg 6-3, 200, FR. 23 LANDON CARTER 6-2, 199, R-SO. 10 Kiwaun Davis 6-3, 185, R-JR. 8 DENZEL WILLIAMS 6-2, 195, R-SR. 4 Donald Johnson 6-0. 195, R-SR. 3 HERMAN BRISTER 6-2, 205, R-JR. 26 Avery Johnson 6-0, 170, FR. 15 TY LEE 6-0, 190, R-SO. 20 Cody Morris 6-0, 175, R-FR.

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Southern defensive depth chart

still finished third on the team with 55 tackles. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Brister also had 1.5 tackles for loss, five pass breakups, two quarterback hits and one forced fumble. “Herman is one of our leaders,” Faulk said. “He earned that before we got here.” Helping Brister will be returners such as redshirt sophomore Landon Carter, who led the team with two interceptions, and transfers such as redshirt senior Denzel Williams from Pace University and redshirt junior Kiwaun Davis from Eastern Illinois. Sophomore Nathan Zimmer will likely handle punting duties after serving as the team’s field-goal kicker last season. Southern’s every-down havoc creator isn’t fully known yet and may not exist to the degree of Givens. The Jaguars have prepared for that. With more players it can trust to play, Faulk’s team could try to keep more players fresh and be ready for when injuries strike.

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