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W e d n e s d ay, au g u s t 26, 2026

Plans unveiled for $100B rocket facility

$2.00X

DOLLY PARTON Jan. 19, 1946 – Aug. 25, 2026

Spaceport on Vermilion Parish coast will be largest launch site for SpaceX and will employ thousands

STAFF FILE PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER

Dolly Parton performs in New Orleans on Nov. 30, 2016.

STAFF PHOTOS By SOPHIA GERMER

Jeff Landry speaks during the announcement of the planned SpaceX facility during an event Tuesday in Abbeville. BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL Staff writer

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is planning a $100 billion rocket launch facility along the Louisiana coast, an unprecedented project that promises to forever transform a quiet strip of Vermilion Parish marshland into one of the busiest aerospace hubs on Earth. As part of an effort to launch thousands of satellites into orbit and a broader mission to someday reach Mars, SpaceX officials said Tuesday they will build five launch pads, a mission-control center, office buildings, power plants, a propellant factory and employee housing on a tract of coastal land abutted by wildlife refuges some 50 miles south of Lafayette. The facility, which will employ thousands of workers, will be larger than SpaceX’s three other launch sites, including its Starbase headquarters near Brownsville, Texas. And Musk plans to move fast, with construction starting in 2027 and the first rocket taking off in three years. Musk, the world’s richest man, made the announcement in a pre-

hall on Magdalen Square in Abbeville, the Vermilion Parish seat, for the Tuesday event. In the video, Musk is shown stepping out of a helicopter at the coastal site, where he is greeted by Landry and several SpaceX officials. “This is going to be fantastic for Louisiana,” Musk said in the video, which he recorded during a secret visit to the area earlier this month. The project, to be called Starbase Louisiana, will be key to launching “serious tonnage” into orbit, he said, making human space travel routine. “I think it is going to be totally exciting for Louisiana,” he said. Landry, who has made attracting major industrial investments a central tenet of his first term, called the project “a pivotal moment for Louisiana” that charts a new path for the President and Chief Operating state. Officer of SpaceX Gwynne Shotwell “For generations, industry came to speaks during Tuesday’s event. Louisiana not to build lasting prosperity but to extract wealth,” Landry recorded video at an invitation- said. “Too often, Louisiana was left only gathering hosted by Gov. Jeff with scars while others enjoyed the Landry. More than 450 elected offi- profits.” cials, business leaders, lawyers and ä See ROCKET, page 6A lobbyists crowded into a reception

Massive project expected to bring jobs, growth, growing pains to region BY ADAM DAIGLE and JOEL THOMPSON Staff writers

Gov. Jeff Landry’s announcement Tuesday that SpaceX will build a $100 billion spaceport in coastal Vermilion Parish could become one of the biggest economic developments in Acadiana’s history, bringing thousands of jobs while testing the region’s ability to absorb rapid growth. Thousands of high-paying jobs, an inﬂux of construction workers and new demands on housing, transportation and public infrastructure are expected to ripple across Acadiana

WEATHER HIGH 97 LOW 78 PAGE 10A

“It’s a tremendous investment in our area; it’s paradigm-changing. It’s going to create lots of jobs and really limitless opportunity.”

workforce training and long-term business investment. “This announcement marks a deﬁning moment for our region, generating thousands of quality jobs, new opportunities for local businesses MIKE TARANTINO, president and an economic impact that will and CEO of the Iberia Industrial beneﬁt families and communities for Development Foundation generations,” One Acadiana President and CEO Troy Wayman said. Mike Tarantino, president and as Elon Musk’s aerospace company CEO of the Iberia Industrial Develbegins building what officials say opment Foundation, said the projwill be the world’s largest rocket ect could help diversify Acadiana’s launch facility. economy, which has long relied on Local leaders also expect the projä See REGION, page 7A ect to spur university research,

‘I knew I’d be a star’

Dolly Parton, beloved icon known for her personality and songwriting, dies at 80 BY KRISTIN M. HALL Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Dolly Parton, the country music icon whose soaring vibrato vocals, poignant songwriting and sparkling costumes defined her rise from a log cabin in the Tennessee mountains to the height of stardom and acclaim, has died. She was 80. Parton died peacefully Tuesday in Nashville, Tennessee, her publicist said in a statement. A cause of death was not disclosed. Known for her curves, massive blonde wigs and skintight outfits that served her self-deprecating wit, she was among the most beloved personalities in music and beyond — the rare celebrity whose appeal transcended generations, geography and politics. She wrote hundreds of songs, including such favorites as “Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors” and “I Will Always Love You,” which totaled more than 100 million worldwide sales and more than 1 billion online streams. Parton was a generous philanthropist and successful businesswoman whose projects included a theme park in the Smoky Mountain foothills near her birthplace. Her career was influenced by her upbringing as one of 12 children born into what she called a “dirt poor” Tennessee family. She started her education nonprofit, Imagination Library, to send free books to needy children because her father quit school to work on the farm and struggled to learn to read. Her first musical performances were in church, where her grandfather was a preacher. At 13, she appeared on the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, where Johnny Cash introduced her as “a little girl here from up in East Tennessee.” With a suitcase of songs, she followed her uncle, Bill Owens, also a songwriter, to Nashville after graduating high school. Her partnership with Porter Wagoner and his syndicated TV show kicked off her career. Their first duet, “The Last Thing On My Mind,” was

Business ...................10C Commentary ................3B Nation-World................2A Classified .....................4B Deaths .........................4B Opinion ........................2B Comics-Puzzles .....7C-9C Living............................5C Sports ..........................1C

ä See DOLLY, page 8A

102ND yEAR, NO. 57

2A ● Wednesday,August 26, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

ICE arrests jumped to nearly 50,000 in July

WASHINGTON — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested nearly 50,000 people in July, the highest single monthly arrest total during the second Trump administration, according to new figures. The spike in immigration arrests shows that the administration has continued to advance its mass deportations agenda despite a shift in approach earlier this year from high-profile operations in large American cities that sparked a public outcry to arrests that have garnered less attention but have nonetheless been disruptive. The July arrest tally of 49,571 marks a 15% jump from 43,021 arrests a month earlier and a 70% increase from 29,241 in February, in the aftermath of the Trump administration’s enforcement surge in Minnesota, according to government data that was provided by ICE to the Deportation Data Project based at U.C. Berkeley and UCLA and analyzed by The Associated Press. As part of the surging arrest numbers over recent weeks and bolstered by a hiring surge, ICE has made arrests at traffic stops. The agency has increasingly relied on state and local law enforcement partners who are assuming immigration enforcement duties. And ICE officers have started to arrest people from Haiti who’ve seen their protections from deportation stripped away.

Pennsylvania reports first 2 measles deaths

PHILADELPHIA — Two unvaccinated Pennsylvania residents have died after being infected with measles, the ﬁrst U.S. deaths this year related to the contagious virus. State health officials announced the deaths Tuesday. They did not reveal any details about the people who died, other than that they lived in Lancaster County, west of Philadelphia. “My deepest sympathies are with the loved ones who are facing this unimaginable loss,” said state Health Secretary Dr. Debra Bogen. “Because measles was largely eliminated in the Commonwealth for more than three decades, people are not familiar with this disease and don’t fully understand the potential severity of the illness.” The U.S. has now seen five measles-associated deaths in the last two years — more than the combined total of reported deaths over the previous three decades — and is enduring its worst year for measles since 1991. With 2,777 cases as of Thursday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this year already has surpassed 2025’s measles count.

50 kidnapped, 47 killed in Haiti gang attack

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — At least 47 people were killed and more than 50 others kidnapped when armed men attacked a oncepeaceful community near Haiti’s capital earlier this week, the United Nations said Tuesday. It is believed to be one of the largest mass kidnappings in Haiti in recent years, and one gang leader is threatening to kill the hostages if authorities kill any gang members as they try to secure the community nestled in the hills above Port-au-Prince. Sunday’s attack on Kenscoff pierced the belief that security in the troubled Caribbean country was improving. “This is a major political and security test, for the government, for the police and for the international mission,” said Romain Le Cour, head of the Haiti Observatory at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. He said the threat of executing hostages is a trap: If forces don’t act, they’ve failed to protect them; if they do and hostages die, the gangs will blame the state.

CORRECTION Correction: The name of University of Louisiana at Lafayette President Ramesh Kolluru was spelled incorrectly in Tuesday’s paper. The Acadiana Advocate regrets the error.

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Canada strikes back with tariffs Trade war with U.S. escalates

BY ROB GILLIES Associated Press

TORONTO — Canada struck back at the United States on Tuesday with retaliatory tariffs on about $20 billion worth of American goods, including steel, dairy products, appliances and farm equipment, as the trade war between the once-friendly neighbors escalated sharply. The confrontation threatened one of the world’s largest trading relationships and further strained ties between the United States and a country long considered one of its closest allies. A prolonged dispute could raise costs for American businesses and consumers less than 21/2 months before the midterm elections. The new tariffs extended well beyond industrial goods, hitting everyday purchases such as seafood, cheese, clothing, cosmetics and toilet paper, with some facing duties as high as 50%. “We did not choose this conﬂict, but when our economic integration is used as a weapon rather than the foundation for a winwin partnership, we need to stand up,” Finance Minister François-Philippe

CANADIAN PRESS PHOTO By JUSTIN TANG

Minister of Finance and National Revenue Francois-Philippe Champagne speaks Tuesday at a news conference on Canada’s response to U.S. tariffs at a roofing company in Ottawa, Canada. Champagne said in French, calling the situation “an unprecedented challenge imposed on Canada.” Industry Minister Mélanie Joly urged Canadians to buy Canadian goods, saying doing so would help protect jobs and launch a “movement of resistance.” She said the tariffs would put pressure on particular U.S. states. A senior Canadian ofﬁcial said Ottawa did not design the new measures around the U.S. electoral map, unlike during President Donald Trump’s ﬁrst term, when retaliatory tariffs were

crafted to hit politically sensitive products. Back then, Canada targeted U.S. yogurt that came largely from Wisconsin, then-House Speaker Paul Ryan’s home state, as well as whiskey from Kentucky, home state of thenSenate Republican leader Mitch McConnell. The ofﬁcial, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the government’s strategy, said the new tariffs were chosen primarily to match U.S. measures and put pressure on American industries and supply chains, with state-level political effects a secondary

consideration. Canada’s retaliation came after the Trump administration imposed 50% tariffs over the weekend on Canadian goods following the collapse of trade negotiations. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney accused Washington of trying to subordinate Canada and said U.S. demands during the failed talks showed that Americans wanted to “destroy our major industries.” Trump intensiﬁed the confrontation Monday, telling Canadian leaders to “fall in line” or face consequences “far WORSE” than existing

tariffs and threatening new 50% tariffs on Canadian vehicles, auto parts and steel. Trump added another provocation Tuesday, saying the United States was giving “serious consideration” to renaming Lake Ontario “Lake America” in a feud with Ontario Premier Doug Ford. Such a change would be reminiscent of the Republican president’s executive order last year to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. In the hours before Canada’s announcement, Trump went on a social media tear against the country, accusing it of ripping off American farmers and driving American companies out of business. “I deal with many countries, and Canada is easily the most difficult and unreasonable,” Trump wrote in one post. “They feel entitled, but they are not a State, and will be entitled no longer!” Because the Supreme Court struck down his biggest tariffs in February, the president turned this time to an obscure provision of a Depression-era trade law that gives him the power to impose tariffs of up to 50% on imports from countries that have discriminated against U.S. businesses. No president has ever imposed such tariffs before, so they are untested in court.

Federal judge rules against Ghislaine Maxwell Court rejects ‘miscarriage of justice’ claims, bid for release

BY MICHAEL R. SISAK and LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press

NEW YORK — Ghislaine Maxwell’s bid to overturn her sex trafficking conviction and be freed from prison was rejected by a federal judge Tuesday who said the claims by Jeffrey Epstein’s former girlfriend and longtime associate that new evidence had emerged were “demonstrably meritless.” Maxwell filed a habeas petition last December

seeking to set aside her conviction and free her from a 20-year prison sentence, claiming exonerating information was withheld and false testimony presented at her trial, resulting in a “complete miscarriage of justice.” Judge Paul A. EnMaxwell gelmayer rejected her arguments, saying in his written ruling they “all or almost all are frivolous” and that she had presented nothing that could upend the outcome of her trial. “Nearly all its claims are procedurally barred; the overwhelming testi-

monial and documentary evidence adduced at trial conclusively established her guilt; and her petition’s claims are demonstrably meritless, and generally based on speculation, distortions, and/or outright falsehoods,” Engelmayer wrote. A request for comment was sent to lawyers who represented Maxwell in the past. Habeas petitions are often filed as a last resort and to protect against unlawful confinement after appeals are exhausted, as happened after Maxwell’s conviction and sentencing. Epstein, a millionaire financier, was arrested in July 2019 on sex trafficking charges. Ordered detained until trial, he was

Texas wildfire mushrooms within hours, ripping through ranchlands BY JOHN SEEWER

stein Files Transparency Act. As a result of that law, the Justice Department over the last eight months has released 18 categories of investigative materials gathered in the massive sex trafﬁcking probe, including search warrants, ﬁnancial records, notes from interviews with victims and data from electronic devices. Engelmayer said that material is “largely irrelevant to the charges against Maxwell and does not support her claims of error.” “On the contrary, to the extent it is relevant, far from exculpating her, it incriminates her or reinforces the correctness of the legal rulings Maxwell challenges,” he wrote.

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Associated Press

A wildfire that exploded in size in a matter of hours ripped through wide swaths of ranchland in rural Texas, burning structures at a youth camp while forcing evacuations and closing schools Tuesday. The fire, which began early Monday afternoon, charred more than 78 square miles in less than a day across lightly populated areas in two counties in north central Texas. Fueled by whipping winds along with extremely hot and dry conditions, the Ross Fire jumped creeks and rivers, residents said. “It just took off way too fast,” said Katie Rochelle, whose fifth-generation family canoe rental business lost its office and repair shop outside Graford. “The wind was going in a tornado motion.” Her husband, a local firefighter, helped save their home overnight, but she was worried it could go up in flames anytime. “I don’t know how our house survived,” she said. “Now we’re waiting and praying. Praying it doesn’t get our house. That’s all we can do.” It wasn’t immediately known how many structures have burned. Multiple buildings were destroyed at Worth Ranch, a youth camp on the southern edge of the fire, when flames swept through Tuesday. No campers or guests were on the property and all personnel were safely evacuated, according to Scouting America’s Longhorn Council, which owns the camp. Dangerous fire conditions allowed the blaze to shoot up faster than anyone could have imagined, officials with Palo Pinto County’s emergency services district reported. “We’ve thrown everything at this, and we’re still having minimal effect,”

found dead in his cell at a New York federal jail in August 2019 and his death was ruled a suicide. Maxwell, a British socialite, was arrested a year later and was convicted of sex trafficking in December 2021. She was moved from a Florida prison to a prison camp in Texas last year, shortly after she was interviewed by the Justice Department’s then secondin-command, Todd Blanche, President Donald Trump’s former criminal defense attorney and now U.S. attorney general. The judge noted that many of Maxwell’s claims of “new evidence” stem from documents released under the Ep-

PROVIDED PHOTO By TEXAS A&M FOREST SERVICE

The Ross Fire burns Monday in Palo Pinto County, Texas.

Fire Chief Danny Watkins said. Wildfires have been popping up across the South and the West in recent days as extremely dry conditions persist. A dozen new large fires were reported on Sunday alone, the National Interagency Fire Center said. Nationwide, there have been more than 50,000 wildfires so far this year, the most over the past 10 years covering the same time period, according to the center. The National Weather Service warned of a high risk of fast-moving fires in Southern California north of Los Angeles, and a red flag warning was issued through Friday. Meanwhile, firefighters in Nevada were making progress in slowing a fire that forced thousands to evacuate from Reno over the weekend after flames spread dangerously close to densely populated neighborhoods. The Hawk Fire has destroyed at least 47 homes across about 23 square miles. Authorities in Nevada said on Tuesday that the fire was 27% contained.

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Gas lines growing in Iran amid U.S. sanctions No signs yet Iranian leaders will bow to pressure

BY DAVID RISING

Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Lines have grown outside gas stations across Tehran in recent weeks as the United States has tightened its blockade and threatened more severe sanctions, with some people waiting for two hours or more to fill up. The uncertainty deepened on Tuesday, after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent vowed to fully sever the country from the global economy. In recent days, Iranian officials have spoken of a possible reduction in heavy gas subsidies as they seek to endure the tightening blockade. “Maybe we will face a shortage of fuel,” said Hashem Abadi, a 34-year-old barber. “I rush to the filling stations whenever my tank is down to half or so.” The latest U.S. measures are aimed at wringing concessions from the Islamic Republic nearly six months into the war launched by President Donald Trump and Israel. The war has al-

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By VAHID SALEMI

Cars line up outside a gas station on Tuesday in Tehran, Iran. ready battered Iran’s economy and inﬂicted mounting pain on ordinary people. But there’s no sign yet that it has brought Iran’s leaders to their knees, or that it will reignite the anti-government protests that convulsed the country in January. The lines had been growing longer well before Bessent’s announcement, amid shortages caused by the American blockade and existing sanctions. And with double-digit inflation and the rial currency at a record low, Iranians are struggling to afford more than just fuel. “I’m ﬁlling my car as much as possible since soon it will be sold at higher prices,” said 51-year-old taxi driver Mahmoud Chavoshi. “Everything I buy has grown more expensive over the last week, from milk to pasta.” There were no such line-

ups outside banks, and grocery stores and pharmacies are still well-stocked, but customers complained about being able to afford less. Inflation has soared during the war, and the currency hit a record low ahead of Bessent’s announcement. “Some of our regular customers buy now and pay later, since their pockets are not as full as before,” said Morteza Daryani, who runs a grocery store in Tehran. Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian accused the U.S. of resorting to economic pressure after failing to defeat Iran militarily. He said it was trying to create “social problems and economic dissatisfaction in order to throw Iran into chaos.” “Should we bow down to the problems and surrender? Absolutely not,” he was quoted as saying by the

Putin decree lets Russia seize control of infrastructure damaged in Ukraine attacks By The Associated Press Russian President Vladimir Putin has decreed that the state can temporarily seize control of critical infrastructure facilities if private owners fail to protect them from Ukrainian drone attacks or rebuild them after the strikes. The move came Monday amid growing economic pressure and public frus-

tration being felt in Russia after months of escalating Ukrainian attacks on oil reﬁneries and e-commerce hubs that have caused nationwide disruptions. Ukraine also is reeling from relentless aerial attacks that have smashed its power grid ahead of winter and heavily damaged homes as Russia’s invasion stretches into its ﬁfth year. The Kremlin’s exact in-

tentions with the decree are unclear. However, it applies to various sectors, including energy infrastructure, as well as industrial, communications, transportation and logistics facilities. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that “often business owners do not pay enough attention to taking measures to ensure safety, antidrone safety.”

semiofficial Fars and Tasnim news agencies. There are no signs yet that the economic discontent has translated into protests in Iran, where authorities violently crushed demonstrations at the start of the year, killing thousands. Iran has been under heavy international sanctions for decades due to its nuclear program and support for armed groups. Oil sales to China have long provided a lifeline, and it’s unclear if the U.S. can cut them off. Still, there are “always limits to resistance and resilience,” said Mohammad Farzanegan, a professor of Middle Eastern economics at the University of Mar-

US Army Corps of Engineers

burg in Germany. “People are losing their purchasing power every day,” he said. “All of this, combined with worsening diplomatic prospects and the psychological burden of mounting pressures, could push frustration to a point where it can no longer be effectively managed by the state.” Esfandyar Batmanghelidj, who heads the Bourse & Bazaar Foundation, a think tank focused on Iran’s economy, said the sectors that Bessent threatened to target “are not lifelines for the Iranian state, they are lifelines for the Iranian people.” In an analysis posted on X, Batmanghelidj said digital

assets and gold are how Iranians protect their savings, technology keeps them connected with the world, aviation allows them to travel, and shipping is how food and medicine reach Iran. At the moment, the most effective economic pressure has come from the naval blockade. But last week’s announcement from the United Arab Emirates that it was cutting off all trade and financial transactions with Iran could have longer-term effects if the country follows through, said Sascha Bruchmann, an analyst with the International Institute of Strategic Studies’ Middle East ofﬁce in Bahrain.

Public Notice

New Orleans District

NOTICE OF CHANGE IN PUBLIC NOTIFICATION PROCESS The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District (CEMVN) is modernizing its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) public engagement process. CEMVN will discontinue mass physical mailouts of notices of availability (NOA) and 404 (b)(1) Public Notices in favor of an electronic approach to public notiﬁcation. Emails, press releases, social media, and website announcements will be used instead to notify the public and agencies of the availability of NEPA documents. To receive these email notiﬁcations, please provide your email address to mvnenvironmental@usace.army.mil. CEMVN will maintain a database of emails to ensure that interested parties receive notices when NEPA documents are available for review. If you would prefer to continue receiving hard copies of NOA and Public Notices, please provide your physical address to the email address above. Questions about the new process may also be sent to the email address above or mailed to: US Army Corps of Engineers, Attn. RPEDS, 7400 Leake Avenue, New Orleans LA 70118 Press releases can be found at: http://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/Media/ News-Releases/. Website announcements can be found at: https://www. mvn.usace.army.mil/Public-Notices/ Jason A. Emery, RPA Chief, Environmental Planning Branch Regional Planning and Environmental Division - South 504-862-2201

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4A ● Wednesday, August 26, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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Graduated 3,100 students in Academic Year 2026, concentrated in STEM.

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Fastest-growing research university over the past decade

In the nation for percentage of private-sector funded research

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ROCKET

Continued from page 1A “What Elon Musk and his team is offering Louisiana is different,” he added. “They are offering us a permanent future and lasting prosperity.”

‘We want to do it here’ The deal to bring SpaceX to Louisiana, its details largely shielded until now by nondisclosure agreements, has been in the works for months. It was helped along by changes to Louisiana regulatory rules that make it harder for local ofﬁcials to scuttle projects or seek compensation for damages. Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Susan Bourgeois said Tuesday that conversations between the state and the company began in February and that plans came together in record time given the scope and size of the project. It comes as President Donald Trump, a key ally of Musk, has taken steps at the federal level to accelerate projects like this one by directing his administration to waive more than a dozen environmental regulations and streamline permitting for commercial rocket launch facilities, among other things. But even with political support, SpaceX’s plan nevertheless represents a massive and ambitious undertaking that will cost billions and take decades to be completed. The spaceport will be located on roughly 40,000 acres of coastline crisscrossed by natural-gas pipelines just to the west of Freshwater Bayou Canal, which links the Gulf to the Intracoastal Waterway. It is about 10 miles south of Pecan Island, a recreational hunting community that has been decimated by hurricanes in recent decades. Today, it has just a few dozen households. SpaceX President and Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell, who attended Tuesday’s event and spoke on stage, said the facility is key to Musk’s ambitious plans to put up to 100,000 of its Starlink communications satellites into low-earth orbit by 2030. SpaceX’s reusable Starship rockets, the most powerful ever made, are capable of carrying dozens of satellites with each launch. Musk also recently said he plans to eventually use his rockets to

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

A video of Elon Musk plays during Tuesday’s SpaceX announcement in Abbeville.

STAFF PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK

Susan Bourgeois, secretary of Louisiana Economic Development, speaks to the media after Tuesday’s announcement in Abbeville. launch up to a million orbital data centers to power artiﬁcial intelligence. To achieve those goals, Shotwell said, the company needs to build more launch facilities — “and we want to do it here.”

Environmental issues The land is part of a broader 125,000-acre site, sandwiched between two wildlife refuges, that was owned for more than 70 years by ExxonMobil. Earlier this month, Exxon donated the property to the state as part of a settlement of dozens of coastal

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

An inflated balloon hovers over guests at Tuesday’s event.

make coastal Vermilion Parish their home. And environmental groups have already started organizing to oppose the plans, though recent changes to state law preclude local governments and individuals from suing to try to stop commercial aerospace projects. Rebecca Triche, the executive director of the Louisiana Wildlife Federation, said the group was “understandably wary” of the SpaceX project given what she said was the state’s spotty track record on environmental issues. “Is the state capable of permitting and monitoring a project of this size?” she said. “How is the state preparing to protect our resources in this phase?”

Incentives

of Taxation in return for creating 3,000 jobs that pay $93,000 a year, or nearly two times more than average Vermilion Parish wages. Under the terms of the deal, SpaceX will pay $25 million a year for 25 years to Vermilion Parish, increasing by 2% a year for inﬂation, plus an extra $20 million in 2026. Additionally, the company will donate $25 million to the Community Foundation of Acadiana to help cover the cost of regional planning for the facility. The thousands of workers will almost certainly need more infrastructure than the sole two-lane highway leading south from Abbeville to the site. SpaceX ofﬁcials said they will begin regularly meeting with the community in the near future to hear their concerns, answer questions and give updates on their timeline. The Vermilion Parish site, though marshy and vulnerable to the ravages of climate change and a receding coast, is attractive to the company for a launch facility for several reasons. It is sparsely populated with a natural acoustic buffer. It is near the Gulf and Intracoastal Waterway, which can accommodate barges carrying heavy Starship rockets and components. And the site’s southwardfacing location on the Gulf coast is an ideal spot from which to launch into polar orbit — an orbital path that circles the planet from north to south. It also has easy access to abundant natural gas. SpaceX plans to have propellant farms on site at its Louisiana facility. In Texas, fuel has to be brought in on barges. In his announcement, Musk said that the company could eventually hire 10,000 workers at its Louisiana facility. In terms of money spent and expected launch capacity, Musk, who has a history of bold assertions, said it will be the world’s largest launch site. Staff writer Alex Lubben contributed to this report.

Among the incentives the company has received are a sales tax exemption from lawsuits. The state then sold a launch pad to humanity’s the state, passed by the legthe land to SpaceX for $100 greatest venture.” islature earlier this year, million, or about $800 an Waterfowl and migra- worth untold billions over acre. tory birds, including sev- the life of the project, and State officials said the eral endangered species, a 25-year Payment in Lieu money will go to the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority for coastal restoration projects, though specific details of how it will be spent were not immediately available. The land deal was just one piece of an incentive State Project No. H.004273.5 package with Louisiana Federal Aid Project No. H004273 Economic Development I-49 Lafayette Connector that includes tax breaks and (Lafayette Regional Airport other agreements. As part the deal, SpaceX has agreed to I-10/I-49/U.S. 167 Interchange) to hire at least 3,000 workers and create an additional The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LADOTD) 8,000 or so construction and and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) invite all interested parties spinoff jobs. to attend an open house public hearing on the proposed I-49 Lafayette It isn’t clear what the project will mean for nearby Connector Project in Lafayette Parish. The I-49 Lafayette Connector is a residents, businesses and future 5.5-mile segment of highway that will extend I-49 from I-10 to the hunting camps, or the coastal land itself. Lafayette Regional Airport. Representatives of LADOTD and the project team Shotwell said the comwill be present to provide information relative to the general location and pany will fund “thousands design features of the roadway, the relocation assistance program and the of acres” of marsh creation, build up beaches and “is right-of-way acquisition process, the project’s purpose and need, its committed to keeping large consistency with local urban planning goals and objectives, and reasonably part of these 125,000 acres untouched.” foreseeable social, economic, and environmental impacts of the proposed “We will help fund protecproject and the procedures for submitting comments. The date, time and tion, restoration and stewlocation are listed below. ardship while we build,” she said. “We don’t want this land just to survive. We want Wednesday, September 2, 2026 it to thrive while becoming

Easy A

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I- 49 D S E I S P U B L IC H EA R I NG NO T IC E

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Downtown Convention Center 124 S Buchanan St, Lafayette, LA 70501 The public hearing will consist of an open house from 4:30-6:00 pm, followed by a public comment session starting at 6:00 pm, until all comments are received. The public is invited to view project information at their convenience and ask questions of the project team during the open house. Comments will be accepted during the open house at the comment station. Those in attendance wishing to provide oral statements to the project team can do so in the public comment session. The DSEIS for the project is also available for review at the LADOTD District Oﬃce in Lafayette (228 Rue des Voyages), the Lafayette Public Library (Main Library) and online at www.lafayetteconnector.com, on or before the public hearing date. Comments received at the hearing, or received on or before September 12, 2026, will be included in the hearing transcript. If special assistance is required due to a disability or if a translator is needed to participate in this public hearing, please contact Kara Occhipinti with the I-49 Public Outreach team by email at communications@lafayetteconnector.com, or by telephone at (337) 233-1515, extension 106 at least ﬁve working days prior to the public hearing date.

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The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Wednesday, August 26, 2026 ● 7A

REGION

Continued from page 1A the oil and gas industry. “It’s a tremendous investment in our area; it’s paradigm-changing,” Tarantino said. “It’s going to create lots of jobs and really limitless opportunity.” Although state incentive agreements require SpaceX to create at least 3,000 permanent jobs paying an average of $93,000 annually, company officials suggested Tuesday the workforce could eventually be far larger. During a prerecorded video shown Tuesday, Elon Musk said the facility could ultimately employ 10,000 people. SpaceX President and Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell later indicated the long-term workforce would likely be much closer to that number than the 3,000-job commitment included in the state’s agreement. Those jobs will extend well beyond engineers and rocket scientists. Shotwell said SpaceX hopes to hire locally, noting that between 60% and 80% of employees at the company’s Starbase facility in Texas came from surrounding communities. She said the company expects to hire technicians, welders, mechanics, builders, equipment operators and support staff while creating demand for restaurants, hotels, airport services, transportation companies and other local businesses. “We’re very motivated on this,” Shotwell said. “We want to make this a great project not just for Starship and SpaceX but for Louisiana as well.” Lafayette officials say the city, about 50 miles to the north of the proposed launch site, is positioned to absorb much of that growth. Mayor-President Monique Boulet pointed to Lafayette’s technology sector, fiber infrastructure, regional airport, utilities and workforce

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

A reception after the SpaceX announcement takes over Magdalen Place in Abbeville on Tuesday.

Vermilion Parish by the numbers Parish: Created in 1844 when it was carved out of Lafayette Parish. Population: Was 57,671 as of July 1, 2025, an increase of less than 1,000 since 2020. Income: It has a median household income of $55,707, which is about $5,000 less than that of the state and $9,000 less than Lafayette Parish. Cities: Abbeville: Parish seat since 1854. Population was 10,861 in 2025, down 305 since 2020. The city’s median household income is $33,105, which is one-third of the rate of Youngsville. Maurice: Incorporated in 1911, it is becoming a Lafayette bedroom community with a population that grew from less than 1,000 in 2010 to 3,215 in 2025. Median household income is $90,833. Kaplan: Incorporated in 1902 with population of 4,116 in 2025, down 217 since 2020. Source: U.S. Census, Vermilion Parish Clerk of Court’s Office

as assets that can support the project. “Economic development does not stop at parish lines,” Boulet said. “When Vermilion Parish wins, Acadiana wins.” University of Louisiana at Lafayette President Ramesh Kolluru also said the university expects the project to create new opportunities for research partnerships, internships, workforce training and academic programs tied to the growing commercial space industry.

“One of the world’s most consequential space companies is investing in our region,” Kolluru said. “UL Lafayette will meet this opportunity by preparing talent, accelerating research and helping build the innovation economy that Louisiana needs.” Country music legend Sammy Kershaw, who grew up in Vermilion Parish, said the project could help change Louisiana’s economic trajectory. “For years, lots of us Loui-

sianans have complained about Louisiana being at or near the bottom of many national rankings in the United States,” Kershaw said in a statement released to The Acadiana Advocate. “Opportunities like this are how we begin changing that.” Even supporters acknowledged the project will bring challenges. Mickey Comboy, who owns a camp on 7 acres near the proposed launch site in Pecan Island, said he expects new housing, road improvements and other development to follow the project. While he believes SpaceX could provide a major economic boost for Vermilion Parish, he said he wishes residents had been included earlier in the process. “Do I wish it wouldn’t have happened? Absolutely,” Comboy said. “But do I see it as an economic boost for Vermilion Parish? Absolutely. I don’t disagree. I know there’s a greater good.” Comboy said he also worries about longtime shrimpers, crabbers and other coastal residents whose livelihoods could be affected. “There’s people down there who have made a living shrimping and crabbing,” he said. “You can’t leave them out in the cold.” Beyond the impact on longtime coastal residents,

the thousands of workers expected during construction and after the facility opens will place new demands on housing, roads, schools, utilities and public services throughout the region. Mandi Mitchell, president and CEO of the Lafayette Economic Development Authority, said local officials have already begun planning for that growth. A housing assessment examining Lafayette Parish’s supply and demand will be released soon, she said. Ofﬁcials at Lafayette Regional Airport have also begun discussing how to prepare for construction workers expected to ﬂy into the region from across the country. “We’re going to see an explosion of people coming to build their facility,” Mitchell said. “There’s a lot to think about. We have to start thinking about schools in the southern part of the parish. These are the conversations we have been having with partners in and around the parish.” SpaceX has already committed $25 million to the Community Foundation of Acadiana to help communities plan for that growth. It’s the largest single donation in the organization’s history, president and CEO Missy Bienvenu said. Wayman called the invest-

ment “generational change” for Acadiana and said communities will need to prepare for rapid growth. He pointed to Richland Parish, where sales tax collections doubled during construction of Meta’s data center as workers and contractors poured into the area. For some, the promise of jobs does little to ease concerns about how the project was handled or what it could mean for the coast. Samuel Reed, a 24-year-old delivery driver from Abbeville who attended the event, said he was frustrated by how little information had been shared publicly before Tuesday’s announcement. “It’s a complete betrayal of our trust,” Reed said. “The governor thanked us for our patience, but everything was so secretive that we never had a choice.” Reed said he also remains concerned about how the project could affect the coast and surrounding communities. “What we’re going to lose is something we can’t get back,” he said. “They talked about vague coastal restoration plans, but what are we actually doing to make sure that there won’t be negative environmental impacts?” Residents who live closest to the proposed launch site voiced similar concerns. Julie McNeil-Sagrera, one of the owners of Chenier au Tigre — a secluded island accessible only by boat and among the closest inhabited areas to the proposed launch site — said she remains concerned about how the facility could affect the area’s environment and local culture. McNeil-Sagrera has been outspoken in opposing recent state laws that exempt commercial aerospace projects from portions of Louisiana’s environmental review process. “I’m not against progress, but it will affect the quality of our life and our environment,” she said. “There’s no other place like Chenier au Tigre in the world. In light of everything else, we’re just a speck of sand, but we still matter.”

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8A ● Wednesday,August 26, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTOS

ABOVE: Dolly Parton poses in the press room with the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award during the 50th annual CMA Awards on Nov. 2, 2016, in Nashville, Tenn. LEFT: Dolly Parton appears at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., on March 8, 2024.

DOLLY

Continued from page 1A S

%* 35 e

A pop crossover star

up ave to

Supe

released in 1967, the year she started her publishing company. Their duets were often radio hits, but her solo singles didn’t chart as highly at ﬁrst. With Wagoner as co-producer, she adjusted her country warble to a more polished pop-leaning style. Her ﬁrst No. 1 solo single was “Joshua.” She reached the top 5 with the ballad “Coat of Many Colors,” about her mother sewing together scraps to make a coat Parton wore “so proudly” even as her peers mocked it. In 1973, she had the hit that made her career — “Jolene,” a country music standard with its churning rhythm and Parton’s repetition of the title as she pleads for the woman not to steal her man.

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Dolly Parton poses for a photo at her office in Nashville, Tenn., in 2005. were she wouldn’t curse and wouldn’t make fun of Jesus. She’d regularly joke about her breasts or her dumb blonde appearance, but with a wink that she was the one controlling the laughs. In the memoir “My Life So Far,” her friend Jane Fonda remembered Parton’s way with a wisecrack, “usually high raunch,” and a laugh that was “somewhere between a girl’s giggle, an explosive shriek, and a cascade of little bells.” She married Carl Dean, an asphalt paving contractor, in the mid-1960s and they were together until his death in 2025 at the age of 82. Though rarely seen in public, he was an inﬂuence on her career: She said she wrote “Jolene” about a ﬂirty bank teller who seemed to take an interest in Dean.

“Jolene” was followed by the 1974 hit, “I Will Always Love You,” an ode to Wagoner that helped her win the Country Music Association’s female vocalist of the year back to back in 1975 and 1976. She famously turned down Elvis Presley, who wanted to record it, because she would not share publishing rights. Decades later, Whitney Houston’s version became a smash for the 1992 soundtrack of her film, “The Bodyguard.” Houston won Hollywood and Broadway a Grammy for her perforIn her first major film role, mance in 1994, presented to Parton played alongside Fonda and Lily Tomlin in her by Parton. the hit comedy “9 to 5.” CritDown home charm ic Roger Ebert called her a For millions, she was sim- “natural-born movie star” ply “Dolly,” a mixture of and the title song, written Southern charm, humor and by Parton, earned her two glamour. She was also con- Grammy Awards and was a sidered a feminist role mod- pop crossover hit. Starring el for holding the reins of roles in “The Best Little her career, writing her own Whorehouse In Texas” and songs, owning her content “Steel Magnolias” followed. “I never thought of myself and controlling her finances in an entertainment world as a movie star,” she told The Associated Press’ Bob dominated by men. Parton was open to mak- Thomas in 1979. “I knew I’d ing fun of herself; when be a star, but as a singer or she hosted “Saturday Night as a writer of songs or books Live” in 1989 she told the or poetry. I wanted to be a writers her only restrictions famous performer and wear

ﬂashy clothes, but singing in movies was not one of my ambitions. My family lived in the mountains and we didn’t see movies.” Her love affair with TV and film continued for decades, with appearances alongside Miley Cyrus on “Hannah Montana” and adaptations of her music for Christmas specials, films and streaming series. The stage adaptation “9 to 5: The Musical” debuted in 2009, and “DOLLY: A True Original Musical” is set to open on Jan. 19 on what would have been her 81st birthday.

United States of Dolly Parton’s appeal spanned social and political divides. But she was strict in not voicing her own political beliefs, often turning aside questions about presidents, candidates, policies and other controversies. “I don’t do politics,” Parton told Jad Abumrad on his hit podcast “Dolly Parton’s America.” “I have too many fans on both sides of the fence. Of course, I have my opinion about everything, but I learned years ago to keep your mouth shut about things.” When the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation sent out a ballot with her name on it, though she said she felt she hadn’t earned it, the voters answered with a “Hello, Dolly.” Parton showed up to the induction ceremony, performed and then put out a rock album.

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TODAY

THURSDAY

Hot and humid; a p.m. t-storm HIGH

FRIDAY

A heavy t-storm in Mostly cloudy with the p.m. a t-storm

LOW

HIGH

97° 78°

LOW

HIGH

88° 74°

LOW

89° 73°

MONDAY

A t-storm around in the p.m.

A stray afternoon thunderstorm

A couple of afternoon showers

HIGH

LOW

91° 72°

Beaumont 98/77 Port Arthur 97/78

Baton Rouge 96/77

Lake Charles 98/79

New Orleans 94/78 Houma 93/76

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

Hattiesburg 97/75

Alexandria 99/75

Lafayette 97/78

10s

20s

30s

40s

50s

LOW

HIGH

89° 75°

Well, today we’ll probably see the same type of rainfall we experienced yesterday. So expect a mostly sunny, hot and humid day with some isolated showers and storms. The heat today will be your biggest weather challenge because once again we are under a major heat risk. Temperatures this afternoon will rise to the mid- to upper 90s, and with high humidity, “feels-like” temperatures will rise to 110. The UVI is very high today and there’s a risk of excessive rain that could lead to flash flooding tomorrow.

LOW

91° 74°

TEMPERATURE Jackson 98/75

Many 99/76

-0s

SUNDAY

YESTERDAY

Lafayette through 5 p.m. Tuesday

Longview 103/77

-10s

SATURDAY

Monroe 100/76

Shreveport 102/78

lll

60s

70s

80s

90s 100s 110s

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

91°/75° 92°/74° 95°/71° 101° in 2023 62° in 1917

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

Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today

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

HIGH

7:51p 2:05p 5:29a 8:05a 9:26a 8:50a 10:34a

6:41 a.m. 7:38 p.m. 6:55 p.m. 5:06 a.m.

FULL

LAST

NEW

FIRST

AUG 27

SEP 4

SEP 10

SEP 18

City

Austin Boston Dallas Fairbanks Honolulu Las Vegas Louisville Miami Nashville

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

PRECIPITATION

TODAY

105 78 102 57 88 109 88 91 94

75 67 78 38 76 88 69 79 71

s s pc sh pc pc pc t t

103 82 100 57 89 110 84 92 87

THU. Lo

75 71 78 44 75 88 68 80 69

t c s c sh s pc t t

FT.

0.8 1.7 1.9 1.9 1.4 1.7 1.7

LOW

Trace 2.59” 5.05” 43.38” 42.47”

FT.

6:35a --8:00a --8:10p 6:27p 9:12p

HIGH

0.1 --1.8 --0.2 0.2 0.3

FT.

--- ----- --1:39p 1.9 --- ----- ----- ----- ---

MODERATE

READING 51 MAIN POLLUTANT Particulates

MAIN POLLUTANT Particulates

SOURCE: LOUISIANA DEQ AND AIRNOW.GOV

LOW

FLOOD

FT.

--- ----- --8:06p 0.1 --- ----- ----- ----- ---

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

City

10:38a 11:21a 12:05p 12:29a 1:16a 2:07a 3:00a

New Orleans Orlando Philadelphia Phoenix Pittsburgh Raleigh St. Louis San Diego Tampa

94 93 86 115 81 89 91 82 92

4:26a 11:01p 5:10a 11:44p 5:54a ---6:40a 12:50p 7:27a 1:39p 8:18a 2:30p 9:13a 3:25p

TODAY Lo

78 74 71 91 64 71 68 74 76

t t s pc c t t s t

TODAY

MODERATE

88 92 84 113 82 87 87 84 92

4:50p 5:32p 6:16p 7:01p 7:50p 8:42p 9:38p

THU. Lo

77 75 71 91 62 70 67 73 78

data as of 7 a.m. Tuesday

SELF-SCH TO

ULE ED

SCAN

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

t t t s t t s c t

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UL softball coach diagnosed with cancer

‘I’m still good to go,’ Habetz says BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

Days after her University of Louisiana at Lafayette softball team was eliminated in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament on May 7, coach Alyson Habetz was feeling more than a broken heart after the disappointing end to the season. While preparing for a game in the tournament, Habetz said, she

“felt something kind of tight. ... It just didn’t feel right.” So she scheduled a mammogram, ultrasound and biopsy the week following the ﬁnale. The diagnosis was breast cancer. Medically speaking, it’s called triple positive invasive ductal carcinoma. “My ﬁrst reaction was, ‘OK, we’ve got to get this over with and done, because I’ve got to hit the portal and start recruiting,” she said. “To

me, it was just a bump in the road.” Over three months later, Habetz’s approach to the news and subsequent chemotherapy treatments hasn’t changed a bit. “It’s a type of cancer that others have struggled through before and come out victorious,” she said. “So that’s exactly how I plan on doing this. There’s no doubt God has a plan for this. My goal is just to follow his plan perfectly.” From diagnosis day until now, Habetz has avoided the agonizing thoughts that often accompany a

cancer diagnosis. “There’s never been any sense of worry or fear at all,” Habetz insisted. “I guess that’s a grace I have because I know that’s not the case all the time. I’m blessed with that because of my faith, but it’s really true. I’m good. Nothing has changed.” Habetz has already undergone four chemo treatments. The ﬁfth one is going to be Sept. 8 and the ﬁnal one three weeks later. “It’s already shrunk,” she said. She’ll then wait three to four weeks after the sixth treatment

to have surgery, followed by occasional radiation. “I’ll only be out a week for surgery — probably toward the end of October, which kind of works,” Habetz insisted. “I’ll be here for all the games in fall ball. I’ll be good to go.” Over the summer, she hosted a portal visit one day, underwent a chemo treatment the next day and then hosted another prospect a day later. Truthfully, Habetz’s ﬁrst reaction

ä See COACH, page 4B

Judge wins defamation case against Advocate Hughes awarded $300K in damages

BY DAVID J. MITCHELL Staff writer

PHOTOS By ROBIN MAy

CLOSED DUE TO FIRE

Bayou Teche Brewing and Cajun Saucer will be closed after a fire heavily damaged much of the businesses’ public space. No one was injured, according to the businesses. They thanked local firefighters for their response and said repairs will be needed before they can reopen. The businesses said they look forward to serving customers again as soon as possible.

TOP: Byron, left, and Karlos Knott, stand in the burned remains of the kitchen and dining area at the Bayou Teche Brewery in Arnaudville on Tuesday. ABOVE: The game room inside the Bayou Teche Brewery was heavily damaged by an electrical fire on Tuesday. LEFT: The kitchen was badly charred in Tuesday’s fire.

An Iberville Parish jury late Monday night found The Advocate defamed Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Jefferson Hughes III in a 2019 editorial about his handling of a child custody case. The jury awarded Hughes $300,000 in damages for his claim that the editorial incorrectly said he ruled on the custody case while his girlfriend was the attorney for the mother involved in the legal battle. Hughes had sought $10 million, arguing the editorial damaged his reputation. The 2019 editorial followed a front-page Sunday story two days earlier about Hughes’ actions on the bench in the late 1990s when he was a district judge in Livingston Parish. J. Hughes The editorial, which also focused on what it argued was a lack of transparency in the judicial disciplinary system, called his actions a “mockery of justice” in a headline. The jury returned its verdict after 10 p.m. Monday following 35 minutes of deliberation. Charles Hughes, an attorney for Jefferson Hughes, afterward said the case was never about the jury award. “Justice was served,” he said. “Jeff was able to clear his name from this unfortunate defamation.” Kevin Hall, publisher of Georges Media Group, which owns The Advocate, thanked the jurors for their service. “We respect the jury’s decision regarding The Advocate’s 2019 editorial,” he said. “We stand by our journalism and remain committed to strong, independent reporting that serves our communities.” The Advocate’s attorneys argued to the jury that the editorial hadn’t asserted what the judge was claiming, and that in any case Jefferson Hughes failed to show “actual malice,” the legal standard of proof for public ofﬁcials to prove defamation. They also elicited testimony about Hughes’ past censure by the state’s judicial disciplinary arm, arguing that may have affected his reputation beyond anything the story may have done. Hughes — who at times cross-examined

ä See JUDGE, page 4B

Lafayette woman loses U.S. Supreme Court may weigh federal appeal over protest La.’s Ten Commandments law BY CLAIRE TAYLOR

Staff writer

A Lafayette woman arrested in August 2020 for protesting by barbecuing on the street in front of then-Mayor-President Josh Guillory’s house has lost her federal appeal. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit issued the ruling on Monday, with Chief Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod and Circuit Judge Priscilla Richman ruling against the woman and Circuit Judge Don Willett dissenting. Tara Fogleman-Laxey on Aug. 29, 2020, set up a barbecue pit

between two parked vehicles on the roadside in front of Guillory’s house. She wanted to “promote a discussion” with Guillory in the wake of the Aug. 21, 2020, fatal police shooting of Trayford Pellerin outside a convenience store. The killing led to protests in the city. Guillory had law enforcement officers arrest Fogleman-Laxey for obstruction of a public passageway and disturbing the peace. The charges were dropped in February 2021. The ACLU, on behalf of Fogleman-Laxey, ﬁled a

ä See APPEAL, page 4B

Chris Dier, a history teacher at years teaching my students that New Orleans teacher Benjamin Franklin High School the Constitution protects every the 2020 Louisiana Teacher one of them — every faith, and no challenges posting and of The Year, ﬁrst sued in 2024 to faith,” Dier said in a statement. “I challenge the constitutionality of respect the Ten Commandments mandate

BY MARIE FAZIO Staff writer

A New Orleans teacher has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on the law requiring Louisiana schools to post the Ten Commandments in classrooms, bringing a last-ditch challenge to the controversial rule just after schools began to put up the posters.

the law, which requires all public K-12 schools and colleges in Louisiana to post the biblical text. Dier’s latest petition asks the Supreme Court to answer whether the Ten Commandments law violates the Establishment Clause, part of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution that forbids the federal government from declaring a religion. “I have spent over sixteen

and the place religion holds in millions of Americans’ lives, undoubtedly. But the State cannot turn my classroom into a place to deliver its own religious message, or make me the messenger who delivers it.” Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill declined to comment on Dier’s petition but said,

ä See LAW, page 4B

2B ● Wednesday,August 26, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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OPINION T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M/opinions

OUR VIEWS

Adding accountability can reduce angst about Flock cameras In recent months, there’s been growing concern among drivers in several Louisiana cities about cameras that can track their car’s movements as they go about their daily routines. Several law enforcement agencies are utilizing what are known as automated license plate readers as another tool to combat crime. Some have contracted with an Atlanta-based company called Flock Safety that records and retains vehicle information from its readers, which police can later use to identify vehicles involved in crimes. Flock’s cameras are part of a nationwide network and are proliferating around the state. We recognize that law enforcement needs to have access to the latest technology to ensure public safety. And there’s no question that Flock cameras have been involved in solving some crimes that may have otherwise resulted in further harm or loss of innocent lives. These include child abductions and homicides, especially when suspects flee the parish or the state. All that notwithstanding, recent revelations about misuse of Flock cameras by officers have made them the subject of increasing public anxiety. The cameras can be installed can be installed by police agencies, local governments or owners of private property. In recent years, they have also employed AI as they build out their databases. Some worry that the cameras amount to little more than mass public surveillance by the government and a loss of privacy. Flock cameras have been vandalized in some parts of the country. An investigation by The Washington Post found that there are few guardrails in police agencies regarding who has access to Flock cameras. The newspaper exposed cases where officers used Flock cameras to track others and other people not suspected of any crime. In Jefferson Parish, for instance, the Sheriff’s Office terminated a deputy in recent weeks after the paper’s reporting revealed he had accessed the Flock system to track his ex-fianceé’s whereabouts thousands of times. These are no small issues. We believe it’s possible for police agencies to get the benefits of this technology while ensuring public accountability. Firstly, all agencies should have strict controls over who can access camera systems and ways to track who does. Secondly, there needs to be some community oversight of how these systems are being used and how long data is retained. And lastly, there need to be severe consequences for officers who misuse the cameras and data. The growing public backlash against these camera systems is a predictable result when agencies employ technology without safeguards. Some cities are looking to ban the cameras altogether amid the controversy. Right now, that would be a step too far, but if cities are not responsive to public concerns, it’s easy to see where the push to abandon the cameras altogether gains steam. With the right safeguards, we don’t have to be forced into a choice between liberty and safety. It’s good that the controversy is now in the open so the public can be part of the discussion of how we balance these essential principles.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ARE WELCOME. HERE ARE OUR GUIDELINES: Letters are published

identifying name, occupation and/or title and the 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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YOUR VIEWS

I-49 Lafayette Connector is long overdue

Society demands that mothers self-diagnose, seek proper help I have watched with horror as the trial of Lindsay Clancy in the killings of her three children has turned the internet into a self-appointed jury on motherhood, mental illness and moral worth. The comments are remarkably conﬁdent: I would never. What an extraordinary luxury, to know precisely what you would do inside a mind you have never inhabited. Three children are dead. A jury will decide Clancy’s criminal responsibility. But the rest of us should ask another question: What happens before a mother becomes a defendant? The trial describes a woman whose mental health deteriorated for months. She sought treatment repeatedly, reported frightening thoughts and was hospitalized weeks before her children died. None of that decides her legal culpability. But surely it tells us something. We tell mothers to ask for help, then demand they ask in exactly the right language, at exactly the right volume, displaying exactly the symptoms someone has been trained to recog-

nize. We have designed a system in which a drowning woman may be required to provide a clinically precise description of water. Then we wonder why women drown. Afterward comes the great American alibi: the “perfect” mother. The perfect mom would have recognized the symptom. Demanded another doctor. Asked for more help. She would never… After childbirth, I experienced what I now understand as postpartum depression. Providers called it “the baby blues.” So I learned to call it that, too. “Nothing to see here.” Mothers become extraordinarily skilled at translating distress into language that makes other people comfortable. So spare me “I would never.” Mental illness does not ask what the healthy version of you would do. The harder question is whether, when a mother tells us she is disappearing, we believe her before she is gone.

I see that Harold Schoeffler has chimed in with the same old, tired opposition to the I-49 Lafayette freeway project that has been debated and debunked over the past 30 years. (“After all these years, Lafayette I-49 connector still a bad idea.”) And, the opposition is as wrong now as it always has been regarding this longoverdue facility. Funding of $30 million from the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development covers the engineering and initial construction of the Kaliste Saloom Road interchange, but the remainder of the project’s funding cannot be produced until the project is officially approved with a Record of Decision from the Federal Highway Administration. Considering the overwhelming support and prioritization of this project and the critical linkage to the overall I-49 South project between Lafayette and New Orleans, there should be little issue with staged funding. Also, no tolls would be required or even feasible for constructing any portion of I-49 South, especially not the connector segment. The old Southern Pacific Railroad railyard facility has already been the subject of several cleanup efforts. Protocols are already in place and will be enacted to protect the Chicot Aquifer from contamination and to avoid disturbing contaminated areas. Years of planning and community feedback have produced a facility that fully balances transportation needs with community development. The Lafayette Connector will incorporate a full multimodal transportation corridor with provisions for alternative means of transport and will bring needed relief to the Evangeline Thruway, currently a major, severe and deadly hazard for commuters and residents alike. Opponents’ preferred alternative concept of a bypass around Lafayette would be prohibitively more expensive and absolutely require tolls, and it would offer nothing to relieve the dangerous current situation with the Thruway. Thirty years of debate is 30 years too long. Build the connector now, and build it right.

MARY-PATRICIA WRAY Baton Rouge

LA Wallet alerts made renewal seem urgent, pricier Beware of LA Wallet, and watch your own. The LA Wallet app was installed on my phone as a place to keep my COVID vaccination record. It also holds my driver’s license and vehicle license registration information. It has come in handy from time to time. Recently, around Aug. 1, I received a reminder that my vehicle registration was about to expire and needed to be renewed. The message seemed to be urgent. In fact, the expiration isn’t until Oct. 31, almost three months away. I started to renew it anyway through LA Wallet, but before I submitted the renewal, I noticed a “convenience fee.” Checking the itemization, the renewal cost was $20, and the convenience fee

was $23, for a total of $43. So, I canceled the transaction. Over the next several days, I continued to receive what sounded like alerts and warnings that action should be taken urgently. Although the LA Wallet communications did not give any untruthful statements, it invoked urgency like spam or a scam does. No other payment options were given. I decided to wait for the renewal form in the mail, as in previous years. I received it on Aug. 17. It’s in the mail today for a convenience fee of the cost of a ﬁrst-class postage stamp and a trip to my mailbox.

JOHN SULLIVAN Mandeville

Excited to see positive coverage of Tulane football I am excited to open my paper every morning to the sports page and ﬁnd a positive article about Tulane football. Sports writer Guerry Smith and the other writers do a great job keeping up with my favorite football team. The prep sports coverage has also

been outstanding. This is highlighted by the fact that I can actually hold a physical newspaper and read it (can’t do that in Atlanta). Roll Wave!

JOE LAHATTE Metairie

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COMMENTARY Socialists shove aside Fla. resistance The most surprising result in the batch of primaries held last week over the vast stretch of America from Florida through Wyoming to Alaska was the defeat of famed anti-Trump whistleblower Alexander Vindman by state Rep. Angie Nixon in the contest for the Democratic Michael nomination against apBarone pointed Republican U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody in Florida. Of these candidates, Vindman was by far the best known nationally. His role in spurring the House’s 2019 impeachment of President Donald Trump made him a hero to Democratic moneygivers large and small. That helped his twin brother Eugene ﬁnance a successful race for a Virginia congressional seat in 2024 and helped Alexander raise $16 million for this year’s U.S. Senate race. The big surprise — and a disagreeable one for Vindman, whose campaign was evidently husbanding funds for the general election — is that he lost the Democratic primary by a 56% to 44% margin to Nixon, who raised only $974,000. Nixon entered the campaign known to those Floridians who pay close heed to goings-on in Tallahassee as a legislator who charged the podium, speaking through a pink bullhorn, to protest a redistricting bill and who sponsored a 2023 bill for a ceaseﬁre in Gaza that was voted down 104-2. During the campaign, she signed up with the Democratic Socialists of America and campaigned on its more presentable platform planks, such as “Medicare for All” and a $25 minimum wage. In the general election, less palatable planks may get an airing from Republicans — “demilitarize police departments,” “defund the Department of War,” “amnesty for all immigrants regardless of status.” Nixon carried her home base, Jacksonville, with 80% of the primary vote, and won 80% in Florida’s one Blackmajority county, Gadsden, as well. Her winning percentages in counties including Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa and Orlando suggest she owes much of her margin to Black voters, plus, like DSA-adjacent candidates in other states, support from college-educated voters with low incomes (including the

such as Charles Reich’s 1970 “The Greening of America.” Similarly, the great motivating cause of DSA-adjacent Democrats seems to be statehood for Gaza, opposition to Israel, and, in very many cases, hostility toward Jews. I see one highly visible difference between the 1970s and today: the composition of campuses and the ascendant groups of the Democratic Party. In 1970, 58% of college and university students were men, while today an almost identical 57% are women. Similarly, men formed most of the leadership cadres and masses of support in the campus and political movements of half a century ago. Today, or so it seems to me, women do. The media don’t seem to be spending on exit polls in this year’s spring and summer primaries, but some measure of support for DSA-type candidates can be gleaned from general election polls. One that has attracted special attention was conducted by Fox News in ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO Michigan, just after the DSA-adjacent Abdul El-Sayed won the Democratic State Rep. Angie Nixon, D-Fla., speaks primary for U.S. senator. loudly on the House floor as the House Even as other Fox News Senate polls votes during a special session of the showed Democrats leading in states Florida Legislature in April. that Trump had carried in 2024, the Michigan poll showed El-Sayed trailtwo counties, Alachua and Leon, with ing Republican Mike Rogers by 51% the highest percentages of campusto 47%. By way of comparison, in an oriented voters). open-seat Senate race in 2024, Rogers In contrast, she failed to carry the lost to Democrat Elissa Slotkin by 49% more affluent — and more elderly — to 48%. counties centered on West Palm Beach, In the Fox News poll, noncollege Naples and Sarasota. We seem to be graduates favored Rogers by wide witnessing a passing of the guard here, margins over El-Sayed — men by 63% from the Democrats of the Resistance to 37%, women by 60% to 38%. So did scrolling through Bluesky in search male college graduates by nearly the of candidates and causes with which same margin, 59% to 39%. The odd to display their loathing of Trump to persons out were female college gradua younger generation of Democrats ates, who favored El-Sayed by 60% determined to display their support of to 37% — a mirror image of the three “socialism” and opposition to “Zionother groups. That’s a familiar pattern to those of us who read, and sometimes ists.” overinterpret, the internals of political There is something redolent here polls. of the seeming takeover of the DemoGiven those numbers, perhaps Nixcratic Party half a century ago by a younger generation of voters and activ- on’s victory should not have been much of a surprise. Certainly, it fortifies ists opposed to the Vietnam War that earlier results that have established soresulted in the nomination of George McGovern in 1972 and had a continual cialists this year as the most dynamic influence on elected Democrats and and potentially the dominant force in policymakers through most of the America’s and the world’s oldest politi1970s and 1980s. That came from a cal party. protest movement incubated on college and university campuses, centered on Michael Barone is on X, @MichaelBarVietnam but also influenced by tomes one.

workplace performance.” In humanity’s present and future, “reasonably high levels of self-discipline are needed to do well.” So, heavy marijuana use will be another of society’s sorting variables, limiting the ﬂourishing of imprudent users. Cowen says paternalistic government that tries to protect people from themselves “is far less workable than in times past” because government has less credibility, less control over information and less control over our lives. Nevertheless, doubts about marijuana’s harmlessness are multiplying. In 2024, voters in Florida and both Dakotas rejected legalization initiatives. This November, in Massachusetts, which legalized recreational marijuana in 2016, voters might end its legal sale. This initiative probably will fail, but it and interest in repeal elsewhere indicate that the permissive consensus is fraying as accumulating evidence provokes second thoughts. As the eminent scholar of drug policy Mark Kleiman once said: Society can choose to have the problems of drug legalization or those of prohibition. But given those troublesome plant-derived molecules, society cannot choose not to have problems. The nation, and certain states, have chosen to have the problems accompanying varying degrees of permissiveness. Society, however, is not as tidy and controllable as an actual laboratory, where disappointing experiments can be easily scrapped. Drug policies will continue to evolve, generating evidence. Already, however, it is clear that various marijuana policies in different U.S. jurisdictions produce substantial collateral damages. All this illustrates a Brandeis warning: “There are no shortcuts in evolution.”

OGUNQUIT, Maine — As Maine goes, so goes the nation? Maybe. But maybe not. That phrase, from the faded past, once was a sturdy political guideline. For decades beginning when it joined the Union as part of the 1820 Missouri Compromise, Maine’s state and congressional elections — befitting a place where the rays from the sun hit its shores before landing David inland — occurred earlier Shribman farther than those in the rest of the country. Often its election results signaled national trends; Maine’s Republican wave of 1888, for example, foreshadowed the later triumph of GOP presidential nominee Benjamin Harrison. And so the question the political class has been pondering this hectic political season is whether the nomination of Troy Jackson as Maine’s Democratic senatorial nominee would stand a symbolic trigger for a broader party lurch to the left. The message from midsummer primaries in two Midwestern states is that there are limits to a sharp left turn in Democratic politics. Both Abdul El-Sayed, the progressive Senate candidate in Michigan, and Francesca Hong, the Democratic socialist gubernatorial candidate, held huge leads as their primaries approached. Ms. Hong suffered a stunning defeat. Dr. El-Sayed barely squeaked by a week earlier. Where have all those primary voters who propelled the two to top prominence gone? Their second thoughts prompted them to flee to more moderate, establishment candidates. That drift catapulted Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, the very model of a mainstream Democrat, to a general-election battle with Republican Representative Tom Tiffany in a swing state Mr. Trump took each time he won the presidency. And Dr. El-Sayed’s triumph merely transformed him into joining Mr. Jackson as the principal targets of Republican attacks in crucial midterm Senate races. At the same time, Peggy Flanigan’s emergence as the Democrats’ Senate nominee in Minnesota demonstrates an unforeseen but undeniably significant trend in summertime primaries. She’s a progressive, to be sure. But she’s not a socialist, nor even a progressive like Dr. El-Sayed, who steers clear of the socialist label but whose views have a tinge of the sort of socialism that Republicans already are gearing up to pulverize. There is a mystery that won’t be fully resolved for years: Is the party leadership, with trace elements of the New Deal and the Great Society, out of step as the Donald Trump era in American politics slouches into eclipse? Or are the new-wave Democrats, many of them identifying as democratic socialists, the ones who are out of sync with the times and at variance with American political customs? Here in Maine, the emergence of oyster farmer Graham Platner as an alternative to party stalwart Governor Janet Mills — for whom the Schumer endorsement was an albatross around her 78-year-old neck — signaled a major change in the state’s political fashions, which for decades tended toward men who were educated at elite small New England colleges, favored button-down Oxford-cloth shirts and appeared in public with buttoned-up lips. The campaign of Mr. Platner, who had no college degree and possessed neither that customary fashion impulse nor that trademark personal reticence, imploded after several character issues, including a series of charges of sexual aggressiveness, that rendered him an implausible nominee. A chest tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol didn’t help. But that didn’t end Maine’s romance with the political equivalent of the country and contra dances that have long been popular in this state. Mr. Jackson, with nearly identical views and colorful personal aspects of his own, was swiftly chosen in a series of county do-si-do caucuses as the party’s challenger to Republican Senator Susan Collins, reviled by Democrats but beloved by Republicans and possessed of a hardy instinct for electoral survival. Chilling reminder for Maine Democrats: Though Donald Trump lost Maine all three times he ran for president, he prevailed all three times in the 2nd congressional district (with a 10-percentagepoint victory margin in 2024), giving him a single electoral vote in Maine’s unusual practice of distributing results in presidential elections. Indeed, for those who regard Mr. Jackson as a rescue buoy after the catastrophic end to the Platner campaign, consider a particularly troubling piece of news that emerged in the last several days and may provide symbolic hope for Republicans. Greg Wilfert, the park manager at Scarborough Beach State Park, a popular bathing spot just seven miles south of Portland, was pulled underwater when a great white shark attached itself to his rescue buoy and dragged him 5 or 6 feet underwater. As events in Maine go, so might the prospects of the Democratic Party, where their hopes may be dragged underwater. Danger lurks beneath.

Email George Will at georgewill@ washpost.com

Email David Shribman at dshribman@postgazette.com.

Rethinking the marijuana social experiment Unfortunately, the structure of cercustomers, and/or legalization of suptain atoms makes nuclear weapons pliers, has produced a novel American possible. Any list of other regrettable moment. Two years ago, a clinical psyaspects of reality should include this: chologist and neuroscientist told the Certain molecules derived from New York Times: There is no plants interact in addictive U.S. precedent for a drug — a ways with the human nervous rapidly evolving one — concernsystem. So, Americans must ing which doctors have said, continue rethinking policies re“Go experiment and tell me what happens.” garding marijuana. Marijuana has swiftly joined Justice Louis Brandeis’s dicGeorge society’s long-standing menu tum that federalism enables Will of familiar recreational drugs. each American state to be a A majority of American adults “laboratory” of democracy is use, at least occasionally, a consumer especially apt today. Many states have good that is a sometimes addictive psybecome laboratories in often haphazard social experiments regarding mari- choactive drug: alcohol. This exercise of a private right that has been widely juana. Accumulating evidence is forcenjoyed for millennia is too embedded ing some facile beliefs to evolve. in most societies to extirpate, or even The Manhattan Institute’s Charles diminish, other than by cautionary Fain Lehman reports that 74% of health information. Americans live in states that permit In 2024, after six decades of intense access to recreational and/or medical marijuana. And “more Americans con- public health warnings, 9.9% of adults sume marijuana every day than smoke (25.2 million) were still ingesting nicocigarettes or drink alcohol every day.” tine from cigarettes, which are almost Legalization, Lehman says, has universally known to be harmful when meant drugs of reliable quality and used as intended. Cigarettes and alincreasing strength are conveniently cohol, and their social costs, are wellavailable in stores that customers visit known. Marijuana’s are not. without risking stigma. Cigarettes’ nicThe New York Times in 2024 reotine contents do not vary widely. But ported on harms done to constant regular marijuana users, who drive marijuana users who assume the drug commercial sales, demand ever-moreis nonaddictive and safe. Delusions, potent products. paranoia and other symptoms of psyOnly two states cap permissible levchosis, and severe vomiting, are among the potential effects of marijuana use els of THC (marijuana’s intoxicating disorder for a third of near-daily users, component). Jonathan P. Caulkins of Carnegie Mellon University, in a report or about 6 million people, according to the Times. Especially susceptible are on “alternatives to prohibitions,” says: “The THC content of seized marijuana the estimated 8.4 million 18- to 25-yearolds, with still-developing brains, who never exceeded 5% before 2000; but use marijuana regularly. soon after legalization” the labeled The versatile economist Tyler Cowpotency of some products sold in statelicensed stores “routinely exceeded en, the intelligentsia’s equivalent of 20%,” and other products are now a utility inﬁelder, writes for the Free supplemented by “extract-based prod- Press, “‘Pot psychosis’ is a common phenomenon, and an increasing body ucts with THC content of 60% or even of evidence ties marijuana consump90%.” Decriminalization of marijuana for tion to motor-vehicle crashes and poor

Hopeful Maine Democrats might be surprised

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COACH

Continued from page 1B was to not tell anyone. “I just feel like in my whole journey, Jesus has taken care of me my whole life,” Habetz said. “I wasn’t worried.” But she soon realized how much help her sisters who live right next door to her — Monica and Keven — could help. “I couldn’t do it without them,” Habetz said of her sisters. “They stepped up big time — just bringing me to appointments. When you go to the doctors, I might hear something, and she might hear something totally different.” In fact, the two things Habetz has been most concerned about are how and

APPEAL

Continued from page 1B complaint alleging her First Amendment and Fourth Amendment rights were violated. A district court dismissed her complaints and ruled on behalf of Guillory and others who sought a motion to dismiss. The district court agreed the defendants had qualified immunity, which protects police officers and officials from financial liabil-

JUDGE

Continued from page 1B witnesses before the jury and took part in sidebar discussions with the presiding judge at the bench — focused on the timing of his romantic relationship with attorney Berkley Durbin. Hughes took the stand to testify that he never ruled on any of Durbin’s cases while they were dating. For a time, Durbin did represent the mother of the boy at the center of the custody case. Durbin removed herself from the case in August 1998, before key rulings, Hughes testiﬁed. He claimed she stepped down months before he started dating her toward the end of 1998. The Advocate’s attorneys put into evidence court minutes showing he presided over an unrelated case in July 1999 where Durbin was present as a lawyer. A subsequent order arising from that court date was signed by a different attorney, not Durbin. Hughes and his attorneys

LAW

Continued from page 1B “Louisiana schools should follow the law.” Earlier this year, Murrill predicted the law would head to the Supreme Court and said she had conﬁdence the state would prevail. “Don’t steal or kill aren’t controversial. The law is constitutional, and I look forward to defending the people and laws of Louisiana all the way to the Supreme Court,” Murrill said in a post on X. The appeal to the Supreme Court is the latest twist in the legal back-and-forth over the law and questions of its constitutionality. It comes four months after U.S. District Court Judge Greg G. Guidry in the Eastern District of Louisiana dismissed Dier’s lawsuit, saying it was premature because it was ﬁled before the posters were put up in Louisiana classrooms. Guidry did not rule on the merits of the lawsuit. But in July the court upheld the lower court’s judgment against Dier, clearing the way for an appeal to the Supreme Court. A separate lawsuit brought by a multifaith group of families with children in Louisiana public schools was similarly squashed. Lower courts and a three-judge panel on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the law is “plainly unconstitutional” and could not be enforced, but the full 5th Circuit Court overturned that ruling, clearing the way for schools to put up the posters. The 5th Circuit did not weigh in on the constitution-

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when to tell her mother and the same thing for her team. “I didn’t want my mom to worry and I didn’t want to be a distraction to the team,” Habetz said. Because the team was mostly back home during the summer, delivering the message to the group was a challenge. “I thought about doing a Zoom call, but I just felt like it needed to be in person,” Habetz said. “My greatest fear was they would ﬁnd out and it wouldn’t be from me. “I wanted to be able to look them in the face and tell them everything’s OK. Nothing has changed. I’m still the same person. I wanted them to know I’m not going to be any easier on them because of this.” Habetz broke the news to both her mother, Deanna, and her team Monday on the

ﬁrst day back to school. “At the end of the day, I need my team,” she said. “They’re my family. I want them to know that I’m not going to be any different. Sure, there might be times when I might only be 70%, but they’re going to get 100% of my 70%. I need them to know that.” Her coaching staff helped Habetz get through the heavy summer recruiting period with Bill Shipman and Kyle Brady taking on much of the traveling and Habetz and Lacy Prejean handling most of the portal visits locally — although she did ﬂy to Indiana and several other recruiting trips. Although the 54-yearold Habetz has also fought for what she believed, she doesn’t seek out attention. During her high school years, she went to court for

the right to be the ﬁrst female in the state to play baseball because Notre Dame didn’t offer softball in those days. “I don’t want this to be all about me,” Habetz insisted. “I don’t want to be the center of attention. I’m the youngest of eight in my family and I was an assistant coach for 25 years, so being the center of attention is not what I enjoy.” Moreover, Habetz hopes her many friends and former players understand why she kept the news from them over the summer. “I have so many amazing people in my life, and the people here are so giving, so I know they’re going to support me, and I want that,” she said. “I love that. I know I’m going to be overwhelmed with gratitude, but I don’t want to be a distraction for this team.” Habetz, however, was wise

ity in civil cases. She appealed to the 5th Circuit, which ruled her arguments could not overcome the qualiﬁed immunity argument of the defendants, and she failed to plead the municipal defendants were liable. To overcome the qualiﬁed immunity defenses at the stage of a motion to dismiss, the court wrote, FoglemanLaxey had to “plausibly” allege a violation of a constitutional right clearly established at the time of the alleged violation. She failed to do so and

the district court found dismissal on qualified immunity was warranted. On appeal, the court wrote, two cases Fogleman-Laxey cited is sufﬁcient. She also failed to show her Fourth Amendment rights were violated. Willett, in his 16-page dissenting opinion, wrote that qualified immunity claims are allowed at the pleading stage of a lawsuit. “On the pleaded facts,” he wrote, “a reasonable ofﬁcial would understand that arresting a peaceful protester, without probable cause,

because of her protest” violates her First Amendment right to free speech and the right to be free from arrest without probable cause. “The scene may have been unwelcome and annoying, but annoyance is not” a violation, Willett wrote. Allegations that Fogleman-Laxey was obstructing passage while she was barbecuing between her parked truck and another vehicle are disputed by Willett since her actions did not “impede, hinder, stifle, retard or restrain trafﬁc or passage.”

claimed the newspaper knew Durbin had removed herself from the case in August 1998 because the initial news story reported that fact, though the editorial two days later left the opposite impression. They added that the newspaper’s failure to correct the error bolstered their “actual malice” claim. A few weeks after the editorial was published, the newspaper agreed to run a front-page story about Hughes’ views on the custody case and what he said occurred. The newspaper also issued a clariﬁcation of the editorial three years later. The change revised the editorial to make clear that Durbin was off the custody case before Hughes made his final ruling in March 1999. It also said child welfare advocates didn’t object to Hughes’s decision to award final custody to Durbin’s former client until shortly after his ﬁnal ruling in the case, which involved claims of child abuse. During closing arguments Monday, Charles Hughes told jurors The Advocate

should have followed the saying that when you “mess up, ’fess up,” and corrected its error. But it wouldn’t because of pride and a desire to sell newspapers, he said. “It’d been over seven years ago if they had printed a correction. Now we’re here having to ask for damages,” Charles Hughes said. In closing arguments for The Advocate, Scott Sternberg urged the jurors to

read the articles to make their decision. He also reminded them that the First Amendment lets publications have opinions and make news judgments — and allows them room for minor errors as long as the “gist” of a story is correct. Sternberg said the plaintiffs failed to prove the journalists involved in producing the editorial had the intent to publish false information.

ality of the law, saying there were too many “unresolved” questions, such as what the Ten Commandments posters will look like and how prominently they will be displayed. This summer, Louisiana Family Forum, a conservative advocacy group, distributed posters to school districts. Many schools have already posted them in classrooms, which means the nation’s high court, should it choose to take up the case, will have a point of reference. A petition to the Supreme Court does not guarantee a ruling: The nation’s highest federal court receives about 10,000 petitions every year, according to the National Constitution Center, and only reviews about 70. Dier’s appeal argues that the First Amendment’s establishment clause “forbids the government from commanding the placement of a single favored faith’s sacred text on the wall of every schoolroom as clearly as it would forbid the placement of that text on the wall of every courtroom.” The ACLU, one organization representing a group of families who sued over the law, petitioned the Supreme Court to weigh in on a similar Ten Commandments statute in Texas, which was passed by the state’s Republican-led Legislature in 2025, said Jesse Vad, a spokesperson for the ACLU. “We believe the Texas decision presents the clearest opportunity for the Supreme Court to determine the constitutionality of these laws,” Vad said, “because the court of appeals did not rule on that question with respect to the Louisiana law.”

enough to reach out to Penn State volleyball coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley, who won a national title while batting cancer. “(Schumacher-Cawley’s) wisdom helped me a lot and her journey inspires me,” said Habetz, who also referenced the example of Florida State’s softball coach Lonnie Alameda’s cancer battle. Habetz, who led a prospects camp at Lamson Park from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, afﬁrmed she was feeling good and complimented her doctor, Joseph Brierre, of Our Lady of Lourdes. “Sure, it makes me tired at times and there are few side effects, but it’s nothing I can’t handle. It hasn’t been debilitating at all,” she said. “I’m still good to go. This team is a special group. I can’t wait.”

Obituaries Curtis, Norman Ray

Norman Ray Curtis, 87. Visitation will be observed at Fountain Memorial Funeral Home in Lafayette, LA on Thursday, August 27, 2026, from 9:00 am until the Funeral Service at 11:00 am. Guest book may be viewed at www.fountainm emorialfuneralhome.com. Fountain Memorial Funeral Home and Cemetery, 1010 Pandora St. 337-981-7098 is in charge of arrangements.

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2028 In accordance with Louisiana RS 38:2212. may submit vendors their bid electronically at the website listed above. Bidders wishing to sub‐ mit their bid electroni‐ cally must first be regis‐ tered within LCG Vendor Access at the website listed above. The regis‐ tration process can take some time; therefore, LCG recommends regis‐ tering days in advance of the time that bids are due. It is the sole respon‐ sibility of the bidder to ensure their bid is deliv‐ ered (whether electroni‐ cally via Vendor Access, in person, or via mail) to the Purchasing Division prior to the scheduled date and time of the bid opening. Official Bid Doc‐ uments are available at Vendor Access (https:// lafayettecsdgovla.tyl erportico.com/va/ vendor-access/ registration). For ques‐ tions related to the elec‐ tronic bidding process, please call the office of Purchasing at 337-2918258. Bidders may re‐ quest the electronic bid from Dabne package Dover at dabnedover@ lafayettela.gov. Bidders submitting bids are re‐ electronically quired to provide the same documents as bid‐ ders submitting through the mail as soon as avail‐ able. Bidders submitting bids electronically shall in‐ clude all documents in one (1) combined PDF file with bookmark(s) and are required to provide (1) hard copy one through the mail. Bidders providing bids my mail, shall include one (1) hard copy with all documents in one (1) combined PDF file with bookmark(s) and are required to pro‐ id l i

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for the opening of bids. Each bid shall be submit‐ ted only on the bid form provided with the speci‐ fications. The successful bidder will be required to performance execute and labor and material payment bonds in the full amount of the contract as more fully defined in the bid documents. In accordance with Pub‐ lic Bid Law, bids are valid for a period of forty-five (45) calendar days from the time of the opening of bids.

Within one (1) week upon receipt of the Invitation to Bid, Bidders are en‐ couraged to conﬁrm in‐ tent to submit a bid by replying to the "Invita‐ tion to Bid" email sent by Dabne Dover (dabne‐ dover@lafayettela.gov). Bidders are requested to attend a non-mandatory pre-bid meeting, which will be held on Septem‐ ber 9, 2026 at 10:-00 a.m. CST in the Executive Con‐ ference Room at the LUS Operations Center lo‐ cated at 1314 Walker Rd., Lafayette, LA 70506. Bid‐ ders unable to attend the pre-bid in person can at‐ tend by joining through ZOOM using the follow‐ ing link: https://us02web. zoom.us/j/81375404283? pwd=lafhfZ3oxH85vuy 7BXjPsRA3XIdbM9.1 Alternatively, a meeting invite can be forwarded to you via email by con‐ tacting Dabne Dover at (337) 291-8262 or dabne‐ dover@lafayettela.gov. No bidder may withdraw his bid for at least fortyﬁve (45) calendar days after the time scheduled

Bids will be evaluated by the Owner based on the lowest responsible and responsive bid submitted which is also in compli‐ ance with the bid docu‐ ments. The Lafayette Govern‐ Consolidated ment reserves the right to reject any and all bids for just cause in accor‐ with LA R.S. dance 38§2214.B. The Lafayette Consoli‐ Government dated strongly encourages the participation of DBEs (Disadvantaged Business Enterprises) in all con‐ tracts or procurements let by the Lafayette Con‐ Government solidated for goods and services and labor and material. To that end, all bidders and suppliers are en‐ couraged to utilize DBEs business enterprises in the purchase or sub-con‐ tracting of materials, supplies, services and labor and material in disadvantaged which businesses are available. Assistance in identifying said businesses may be obtained by calling 337291-8410. PURCHASING DIVISION Lafayette Consolidated

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Government PUBLISH DATES: 8-26-26; 8-30-26 DPR 1007047 198413 Aug. 26, 30, 2t $139.42

Public Notices Successions

PUBLIC NOTICE --NOTICE Administrator for the Succession of Mary Fern Cobb Briggs gives notice of his intent to sell via private sale, the follow‐ ing: 1. The immovable estate home and property lo‐ cated at 311 Sunny Lane, Louisiana Lafayette, 70506, Being the same property acquired by Mary C. Briggs by Cash Sale from Jeanie Slay Mellinger dated April 29, 1994, recorded on May 2, 1994, under instrument no. 1994-00016195 of the records of public Louisiana.; Lafayette, and 2. All movables within the estate home at 311 Sunny Lane, consisting of home furnishings, deco‐ rations, and kitchenware. Any objections to the sale of the above prop‐ erty can be ﬁled with the Judicial District 15th – Parish of Court Lafayette under probate docket number 20250640, pursuant to LA C.C.P. art 3282. 198202 Aug. 22 to Sept. 20, 30t $456.60

OFFICIAL NEWS PARTNER OF THE LOUISIANA RAGIN’ CAJUNS

SPORTS

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

UL senior safety ready for expanded role

W e d n e s d ay, au g u s t 26, 2026

1Cn

P R E S E A S O N • S A I N T S A T C O W B O y S • 7 P. M . F R I D A y • K A T C

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

Time will tell how well redshirt senior safety Collin Jacob and the UL secondary will perform this season. “Man, I’m extremely excited,” Jacob said. “I’ve got to put all the marbles in the bag. Like they say, ‘Do everything like it’s your last day.’ That’s why I go so hard in practice. It’s my last year. I’m not trying to leave anything on the table. “I push myself to exhaustion every day. I sprained my ankle (last week) in practice and I’m like, ‘I can’t get out, coach, wrap it up.’ I need to be out there for my team.” Jacob arrived at UL from Loreauville High as a walk-on ﬁve years ago and primarily played special teams for the Cajuns. But a 14-tackle performance against Marshall last season showed everybody what he’s capable of at safety, but he suffered a season-ending injury a few weeks later. The big-picture perspective isn’t lost on Jacob. “I just kept working,” he said. “I just gradually kept building myself and just kept working. Never give up on yourself. I always just trusted and believed a spark would come. Now it’s like a crazy story. It was a crazy journey. “I’ve got a crazy testimony that one day I’ll share and it’s going to help some other college athletes: ‘If he can do it, I can do it.’ I look at every day as my testimony. I carry it on my shoulders, I carry it in my heart, and I express it through my playing style.” After finishing the season with 32 tackles in nine games last season, Jacob returns as one of the secondary’s leaders, along with redshirt junior safety Kody Jackson. “I’m a senior now, so now I got the guys below me that need help on certain things — whether that’s the playbook or whether that’s ﬁt in the right gaps,”

ä See UL, page 3C

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By DAVID RICHARD

Las Vegas Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson, center, boots a winning 48-yard field goal during a game against the Cleveland Browns on Dec. 20, 2021, in Cleveland.

STABILITY SEARCH

Saints crave steadiness kicker Carlson gave Raiders for 8 years BY MATTHEW PARAS

available in August. But after Las Vegas cut him in March, Carlson said he was focused on raising his family before deciding to join the franchise that allows him to be “as local as we To stay sharp in the offseason, when he was no longer on could get” to Auburn. After months of waiting, Carlson has a much faster turnan NFL roster, kicker Daniel Carlson worked out at his alma mater of Auburn University. And he even recruited some old around to show the Saints he’s the man for the job. He’s set to friends — his snapper and holder from college — to replicate kick in practice Wednesday, has a preseason game Friday and the snap, hold and kick part of the operation. roster cuts are due Sunday. Carlson’s buddies just had to change out of their work clothes But if all goes right, perhaps Carlson can be the answer to first. They were technically on their lunch breaks. the Saints’ instability at kicker as of late. “They would change in the locker room real quick, and yeah, Carlson spent eight years with the Raiders — a span in which get back to work right after,” Carlson said. the Saints have used seven different kickers. The New York The kicker said he also made sure to buy them lunch or din- Jets have had a league-most 15 kickers since 2018, so teams ner throughout the week as a token of gratitude for “sneaking are well aware how quickly the position can spiral. And finding out.” But the unusual setup was necessary: The 31-year-old a solution can be difficult. Carlson believes he has plenty of football left. He said he patiently waited and intentionally took his time before landing never contemplated retirement once the Raiders released him, with another team. The opportunity finally came this week. The Saints signed even with three young kids and a fourth on the way. “I’ve also put in a lot of work to do some of the things I’ve Carlson as a late entry into what is now a three-man kicking competition. Kickers such as Carlson — a two-time All-Pro ä See SAINTS, page 3C who spent eight years with the Raiders — aren’t normally

Staff writer

STAFF PHOTO By BRAD KEMP

UL safety Collin Jacob practices in preparation for the upcoming season for the Ragin’ Cajuns.

SEC casts doubt over viability of a few LSU players

Options limited if LSU wants to replace Koval BY REED DARCEY

Staff writer

When Kim Mulkey decided to recruit a player from Russia, she hoped that she could compete alongside the one from Ukraine who was already on the LSU roster. Mulkey thought the pairing could become an uplifting story. Those hopes ended Sunday when 6-foot-5 Ukrainian center Kate Koval sat down with Mulkey and told her that she had decided to leave the team ahead of her junior season. The two met a little over a week after the Tigers announced that they had landed the Russian

player Mulkey had been recruiting: 17-year-old center Anna Minaeva. Koval left for personal reasons, Mulkey said in a statement on Monday. “We will respect her privacy on her decision,” she said, “but we had a long talk about it, and it was a hard decision for her.” Now LSU has a Koval-sized hole in its frontcourt — and no sureﬁre way to ﬁll it. LSU cannot add a collegiate player to the roster without running afoul of the so-called “ghost transfer” rule — a relatively new NCAA

BY JON BLAU Staff writer

STAFF FILE PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

LSU center Kate Koval, right, fights for control of the ball against Arkansas guard Bonnie Deas, left, on Jan. 29 at the Pete Maravich Assembly ä See KOVAL, page 3C Center.

LSU’s plans to bring former pros back to the college ranks has prompted a response from the Southeastern Conference. In a statement released Tuesday night, the SEC said member schools are not permitted to have players on their rosters who previously have declared for various pro drafts without withdrawing, have signed with a pro team or have been listed on a pro team’s roster. The statement ended by saying SEC commissioner Greg Sankey has been authorized to “enforce this expectation with penalties” against

ä See SEC, page 3C

2C ● Wednesday, August 26, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

H lll

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UL HOF class full of hidden gems BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

To the average UL fans, this year’s UL Athletics Hall of Fame class may not appear to be the most star-studded group in terms of name recognition. But a deeper look into the fivemember class that’ll be inducted on Oct. 16 in the McElligott Club at Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium unveils some hidden gems. The class includes Dylan Moore from baseball, Lawrence Willis from track and field, Tenna Cooper from women’s basketball, wide receiver Fred Stamps and former football coach Nelson Stokley. Take Cooper, for example. She’s not as well known as the prolific scorer Kim Perrot from the 1980s, but Cooper was as steady as they come. The 1989 graduate is the only player in school history with more than 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. The 6-foot-3 Cooper is still UL’s all-time leader in rebounds with 1,082 and ranks seventh in scoring with 1,358 points. Cooper was consistent in many areas, including shooting. She set a school record by going 10 of 10 from the field in a game against Rice and has the second-highest career shooting percentage at 56.1%. In 1987, she led the conference in shooting (60.9%) and rebounding (10.4). She also grabbed a schoolrecord 21 boards in a win over Nicholls State. Cooper was a first-team AllSouthland performer in 1987 when she led UL in scoring at 16.6 points a game and second-team All-American South player a year later. Baseball fans are sure to remember the magical season Moore enjoyed in 2016 when he earned second-team All-America status with 14 saves and a 0.91 ERA. Moore is the school’s all-time leader with 38 career saves, more than double No. 2 Matt Hicks with 16. Moore led the Cajuns in saves three times. He helped the Cajuns advance to the super regional in 2016.

Reese breaks WNBA record with 26 rebounds

LOS ANGELES — Angel Reese rebounded her way into the record books not once but twice in one night. Reese set a WNBA record with 26 rebounds in the Atlanta Dream’s 7871 win over the Los Angeles Sparks on Monday, pushing her past the season record in the same game. Reese surpassed Chamique Holdsclaw’s record of 24 rebounds, set on May 23, 2003, for Washington. She now has 458 rebounds on the season, seven more than A’ja Wilson’s mark set in 2024. Reese secured her WNBAleading 27th double-double of the season on a basket with 13.9 seconds left in the game that gave her 11 points. A three-time WNBA All-Star, Reese set a WNBA rookie record with 13.1 rebounds per game.

Team of Serena, Alcaraz knocked out of U.S. Open

STAFF PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK

Former UL closer Dylan Moore is one of five members of the 2026 UL Athletics Hall of Fame class. Willis was elite in track and ﬁeld from 2002-04. The Iota native was a three-time All-American and nine-time All-Sun Belt honoree. In 2004, he won Sun Belt indoors and outdoors titles in both the triple jump and long jump. He still ranks second in school history in the triple jump and third in the long jump. Willis is one of only three UL athletes ever to place in the top ﬁve at the World Championships, along with Hollis Conway and Ndaba Mdhllongwa. Not surprisingly, when the Sun Belt Conference announced a 30year all-track squad, it included Willis. Just about any UL football fan can tell you about Brandon Stokley. If it wasn’t for Stokley, Stamps would be the best wide receiver in program history. Stamps is second to Stokley

in both career receptions (180) and receiving yards (2,789). Stamps still holds the record for consecutive games with a reception at 44, and he’s one of three players with a 1,000-yard receiving season. In 2002, Stamps also led the team in scoring, which no receiver has done since. A year later, Stamps had 13 receptions for 201 yards against Middle Tennessee and 198 yards against UL-Monroe. After his collegiate days, Stamps collected 536 catches for 8,411 yards in his nine-year CFL career, mostly with the Edmonton Eskimos. He led the Eskimos in receiving five straight seasons and still ranks second in team history with 7,932 yards. The New Orleans native had receptions in 111 straight games. Stokley came to UL in 1986 and

went on to coach more games than any coach in program history at 143. That ﬁrst game was a near upset of Oklahoma State 21-20 against a team that included Thurman Thomas and Barry Sanders. Stokley coached the most memorable home upset in school history with a 29-22 win over Texas A&M. He ﬁnished with a career record of 62-80-1, including 3-19 in this last two seasons. The Cajuns held a 38-26-1 record at Cajun Field during his tenure. The biggest distinction of the Stokley era was probably recruiting the two best quarterbacks in program history in Brian Mitchell and Jake Delhomme. Email Kevin Foote at kfoote@ theadvocate.com.

NEW YORK — Serena Williams getting back on the court at the U.S. Open after a four-year absence and Carlos Alcaraz returning to competitive tennis after being out the past four months with an injury brought cheers and nostalgia to the Grand Slam tournament. The celebration was short-lived. After winning their debut playing together, Williams and Alcaraz got knocked out in the mixed doubles quarterfinals by Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli 5-4 (4), 4-1 on Tuesday. Cobolli before the match called their opponents “the queen of tennis and the king of now.” The star-studded duo with a combined eight U.S. Open singles championships earned that praise, even in defeat.

Jets waive kicker York, give job to Sanders

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — The New York Jets waived kicker Cade York, who was in a tightly contested competition with Jason Sanders, before the team’s ﬁnal practice of training camp on Tuesday. York, a former kicker for LSU, was signed in March as a potential replacement for Nick Folk, who joined Atlanta in free agency after tying for the NFL lead with a 96.6% field-goal rate. But Jets special teams coordinator Chris Banjo announced Sanders, a longtime standout for Miami, won the job. Sanders was claimed off waivers from the Giants in June, pitting him against York throughout training camp. Sanders was 2 for 2 on ﬁeld goals and made both of his extra points in two preseason games.

Carencro assistant Franchak secures Crying Towel Commanders release BY ERIC NARCISSE Staff writer

Carencro High assistant coach Derrick Franchak participated in the battle for The Crying Towel at the Kiwanis Club of Lafayette Football Jamboree luncheon for the ﬁrst time a year ago. Although he prepared for the opportunity, he didn’t get the outcome he wanted. This year, he decided to wing it and play off coaches that would be called to the podium before him. That approach worked, as Franchak garnered enough laughs and votes to knock off first-timer Brandon Green of Northside and the godfather of laughter Ronald “Big Cheese” Gunner of Acadiana High to bring home the Crying Towel title. “Last year was my ﬁrst year, and I thought I had went out there and planned something and it didn’t work out,” Franchak said. “A bunch of those guys were really good. So, I told coach (Gavin) Peters I’m going to come out here and kind of play off what other coaches say. I’ll try to be humorous and serious at the same time. To go ahead and win the Crying Towel with some of these guys who are really humorous, it’s an honor.” The 74th annual Kiwanis Jamboree will be held Thursday and Friday at Our Lady Of Lourdes. Games will begin at 6 p.m. both days. Franchak wasted little time drawing laughs, saying Peters wanted him to talk because “Coach Peters forgot his step stool” and as a result “wasn’t going to be able to see over the podium.” Franchak, who applauded the

STAFF PHOTO By ERIC NARCISSE

Carencro High assistant coach Derrick Franchak wins the annual Crying Towel on Tuesday at the Kiwanis Club of Lafayette Football Jamboree luncheon. 2026 jamboree queen Nevaeh Williams of Southside High for her academic achievements that include a 4.0 GPA, said: “I wish you could come teach our kids how to make a 4.0.” His biggest laughs came after piggybacking off Lafayette High head coach Stephen Hearen’s speech. Hearen talked about his son, who doesn’t like sports, preparing to play football at

Franchak utilized it perfectly, calling it ironic because “our kids don’t want to catch or tackle, either. We may have to start sending our kids to Lafayette High.” Green, who is in his first year as the Vikings head coach, put himself in contention when he discussed the use of technology — most notably, ChatGPT. “A parent sent a note saying her son needed to be excused from practice because he is suffering from mental fatigue and athletic performance anxiety,” Green said as the crowd laughed. “I told him, ‘I’ve been knowing your mom since the second grade, and she has never used those words.’” Other standouts were Gunner, but not because of what he said. He wrote what Rams head coach Doug Dotson had to read while introducing him. “Boys and girls, it is my distinct pleasure to introduce to you the three-time reigning, defending Kiwanis Club Crying Towel champion of the world,” Dotson read as those in attendance laughed loudly. “The tower of power, too sweet to be sour, Ronald ‘Big Cheese’ Gunner.” Arguably the best one-liner of the day was delivered by Lafayette Christian head coach Matt Standiford, whose star running back Caiden Bellard transferred to Catholic High of Baton Rouge in early August. As he stood behind the podium, congratulating the queen, Standiford ruffled through sheets of paper in his hands and said, “I’m trying to find my speech. I hope a school out of Baton Rouge didn’t take that, too.”

Edgar Martin. Hearen talked about his son saying he didn’t want to play any position that required him having to catch the football, tackle anyone or practice on Tuesdays. “Every Tuesday is Dungeons and Dragons,” Hearen said. “So that was a great relief to me, because he’s going to be a great Email Eric Narcisse at ﬁt at Lafayette High.” enarcisse@theadvocate.com.

veteran safety Harris

ASHBURN, Va. — The Commanders released Will Harris on Tuesday, ending the veteran safety’s tenure in Washington after just one season. Harris, 30, signed a two-year, $8 million contract in March 2025. He played just nine games for the Commanders last season while missing time because of a fractured fibula, finishing with 38 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble and no interceptions. His starting spot ﬁrst came into question when the Commanders signed former Indianapolis Colts safety Nick Cross to a two-year deal in March. Harris began training camp with the backup defense but was relegated to the third-string unit midway through.

Cardinals place shortstop Winn on IL, recall Gorman

ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Cardinals put shortstop Masyn Winn on the 10-day injured list with a broken left thumb on Tuesday. Winn was injured on a slide into second base against Cincinnati last week. He has been out of the lineup for the past four games, although he played defense without an at-bat in a loss at Philadelphia on Friday. His placement on the IL is retroactive to Saturday. Winn said he expects to rejoin the team next week during its West Coast trip. Winn is the reigning NL Gold Glove winner at shortstop. He’s batting .238 with ﬁve homers and 51 RBIs and leads the league with 317 assists and 86 double plays turned. St. Louis also recalled inﬁelder Nolan Gorman from Triple-A Memphis.

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Wednesday, August 26, 2026 ● 3C

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SEC

Continued from page 1C member schools. The SEC did not state what penalties it might levy. Earlier in the day, the Big Ten announced a similar prohibition, which would ﬁne a school and suspend a program’s coach for 50% of its contests if an ex-NFL player was added, according to reports. Lane Kifﬁn is attempting to add former Ole Miss tight end Dae’Quan Wright, who was one of 16 football players granted a temporary restraining order against the NCAA to play a fifth season. Wright signed with the Philadelphia Eagles and then the Cleveland Browns before he was released Monday. LSU also has a commitment from former Ole Miss defensive tackle Zxavian Harris, who signed with the Saints in May but was sidelined by a foot injury until his release Aug. 8. Meanwhile, LSU basketball commitment RJ Luis was granted a preliminary injunction by Judge Ronald Johnson in Baton Rouge on

John’s and UMass guard entered the draft after three college seasons and signed a two-way contract with the Utah Jazz before he was traded to the Boston Celtics. Luis didn’t appear in any G League games, though, because the Maine Celtics waived him because of an injury. He also never played in the NBA Summer League because of an injury. He did appear in three NBA preseason games for the Boston Celtics, playing seven minutes and scoring six points overall. Tony Clayton, one of Luis’ attorneys, said on Monday that his client’s preliminary injunction was “monumental.” “I just think the NCAA has to follow this precedent here, that you got to treat these kids the same across the board,” Clayton said. “Period.” Kifﬁn has argued that athletes such as Wright, who STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK exhausted his eligibility in four seasons, would never Former LSU president William F. Tate IV, left, chats with SEC commissioner Greg Sankey on the sideline before LSU’s game against Baylor in the Texas Bowl on Dec. 31, 2024, at have ended up in the pro ranks if the NCAA had exNRG Stadium in Houston. tended the high school Class of 2022 a ﬁfth year of eligiBut Luis would be in con- NBA contract and stayed in bility like it did all other Monday, allowing him to play basketball this upcom- flict with the stated SEC the NBA draft past the with- athletes going forward. In June, the NCAA uppolicy because he signed an drawal date. The former St. ing season.

KOVAL

Continued from page 1C measure put in place to prevent players from leaving one school, enrolling at another and joining an athletic program without going through the formal transfer process. The NCAA wants players to move from school to school during only periods in which the transfer portal is open. For women’s basketball, that’s in midApril. As of Tuesday, some Division I women’s college basketball players are, in fact, in the transfer portal. But that group is limited to those who have filed suit to obtain either a temporary restraining order or a preliminary injunction through a state court. Former LSU forward Amiya

SAINTS

Continued from page 1C gotten to do,” Carlson said. “You just can’t take it for granted. You never know how long an NFL career is going to last. The likelihood is it’s not going to last very long. So being able to do what I got to do with the Raiders, as many years as I got to do it, I’m extremely grateful. “But at no point did I think I’m near the end.” To last this season, let alone another eight years, Carlson likely will have to be better than he was last year. The kicker’s accuracy on ﬁeld goal attempts fell to just 81.5%, down from the 85% he hit in 2024. The performance led the Raiders to move on, with Las Vegas opting to sign Matt Gay instead. But at his peak, Carlson showed he’s capable of being one of the best players at his position. He tied for the NFL lead in scoring in 2020 and followed that up with backto-back All-Pro campaigns.

Continued from page 1C Jacob said. “I think the leadership role right now is probably my biggest thing that was different from last year.” Jacob considers himself “a very physical guy who is able to run,” but “coverage-wise, I can work on my coverage, whether that’s in man or in the slot or over the tight end or in zone.” Jacob is hoping to lead the defense’s effort to limit big plays this season. “That’s communicating,” he said. “Last year, we had a hard time just communicating and that’s a big key to stopping those big plays. Some of those plays last year could have been avoided. “The communication this year in camp has been amazing. It’s gradually progressed through the fall camp. It’s been amazing

Joyner was one of those plaintiffs. She ofﬁcially hit the portal on Thursday, then committed to Louisville on Tuesday. If the Tigers want to replace Koval, they can either look in the U.S. for someone from the 2022 high school class willing to sue for a ﬁfth year of eligibility, or they can jump back overseas and search for a player interested in joining the college basketball ranks. That hypothetical signee likely wouldn’t be able to join the team until January, such as French forward Alicia Tournebize did for South Carolina last season. Even if LSU does find one of those players, it’s unlikely that she’ll have the combination of size, skill and experience that Koval would have contributed this coming season. “She doesn’t get too high, doesn’t get too low,” Mulkey said

The three-year stretch saw Carlson make 93% of his field goal attempts, which led the league among those with at least 50 attempts. “Daniel’s a really talented kicker,” Saints coach Kellen Moore said. Carlson knows he will be judged on his makes and misses. He’ll be expected to deliver in pressure-ﬁlled moments. Last year, he sometimes came up short in that area — a missed extra point came back to haunt him in a 30-29 loss to Jacksonville, and a 48-yard miss late in a 10-7 loss allowed Denver to run out the clock. But Carlson also hit a 60yard game-winner, the longest make of his career and good for one of the Raiders’ three victories in 2025. The scrutiny of every kick gives Carlson experience, something that could give him an edge in the Saints’ kicking competition. Incumbent Charlie Smyth, by contrast, began kicking footballs in 2023. Tanner Brown, signed from the UFL, has yet to appear in a regularseason game. The Saints

from the linebacker to the corners to the safeties, even the D-line.” UL defensive coordinator Jim Salgado appreciates how far Jacob has come during his career. “There wasn’t a guy on the team that plays harder,” Salgado said. “He is going to go 100 miles an hour. Early on, the issue was going sometimes 100 miles an hour but maybe not in the right direction. “He really grew as the year went on (last year). Now he’s really coming along, and he’s getting to understand how everything’s tied in together.” Jacob has kept his eye on Salgado’s inﬂuence as well over the years. “I’ve never told him this, but I look at him as a father figure,” Jacob said of Salgado. “He doesn’t really express that sentimental side, but I could just feel it. Every day I look him in the eye and say, ‘I trust you coach.’ We

in November about Koval. “I always like to pick on her and say she’s like the grandmother-type. She’s always encouraging everybody, and she understands you’re gonna have good days and bad days.” Koval started to have more good days than bad down the stretch last season, one of the reasons why her departure hurts LSU’s chances of competing for a national title in 2027. Koval played one of the best games of her career in the Tigers’ second-round NCAA Tournament win over Texas Tech in March. In that contest, which the Tigers won 101-47, Koval tallied 10 points, 10 rebounds, two steals and two blocks while shooting 3 of 5 from the ﬁeld and 4 of 4 at the free-throw line. That game was arguably LSU’s best defensive showing of the season, and it might not have

brought in Carlson only after the others struggled to establish consistency. Carlson was once in their shoes. As a rookie, the former 2018 ﬁfth-rounder won the Vikings’ kicking job — only to lose it just two weeks into the season when three missed kicks cost Minnesota a win. He landed with the Raiders weeks later, and they stuck by him even amid a shaky 2019. In the days since joining the Saints, Carlson admits he’s been “lost” all over the facility as he learns the ins and outs of the building. He said he’s also looking forward to reaching out to former teammates such as Derek Carr and Foster Moreau to learn more about New Orleans. If he does his job, he’ll have time to learn it all. “I’m just hoping my experience and what I’ve learned over the years, the good and the bad, continues to help me onward,” Carlson said. Email Matthew Paras at matt.paras@theadvocate. com

trust each other when we get on the field. “Whenever we go in the film room and I go upstairs, he’s an amazing person. He’s my guy.” The only thing that’s a bit disappointing to Jacob now that he’s earned more playing is that his old special teams role is diminished. In his heart, he’d prefer not to give up any of the roles that earned him this opportunity. “Actually, I just had a talk with coach Mike (Giuliani) and I told him, ‘I don’t want to be taken off special teams.’ That’s my bread and butter. That got me on the field,” Jacob said. Jacob told the special teams coordinator to “put me wherever you need me to help the team out the best way possible. I want to be that guy who if you need a rep here or a rep there, I have the ability to do that.” Email Kevin Foote at kfoote@theadvocate.com.

been possible without Koval, who used her size and strength to prevent Texas Tech from scoring around the rim and grabbing offensive rebounds. “Kate is just so mature for her age,” Flau’jae Johnson said after the win. “She doesn’t get sped up. She talks well. She’s a naturalborn leader.” Sophomore forward Grace Knox, Spanish forward Noa Morro and Minaeva are now expected to be LSU’s main frontcourt contributors. Sophomore ZaKiyah Johnson could also mix in to that group, though the Tigers had planned for her to spend most of her time on the perimeter this season. Knox is 6-2, Morro is 6-3 and Minaeva is 6-5. Of those three, Knox is the only one who’s played at the collegiate level. Morro is a sharpshooting 21-year-old who’s played professionally in Spain, and Minaeva

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dated its eligibility policy to allow five seasons in five years for current athletes. The SEC’s stated policy specifically forbids athletes from returning if they declared for the NFL, NBA or WNBA drafts without withdrawing. It also says an athlete must have not signed with or appeared on a roster for an NFL team, or any other pro football league, as well as the NBA or G League, or the WNBA and any of its affiliates. LSU football also has received a commitment from former Notre Dame defensive end Junior Tuihalamaka, who never signed a pro contract. He should be eligible to play a fifth season at LSU under the SEC’s policy. A lingering question is whether the SEC’s proposed penalties have teeth because it’s unclear whether temporary restraining orders directed at the NCAA also could include teams in specific conferences. It’s also possible the SEC could face lawsuits over its new policy. Staff writer Toyloy Brown III contributed to this report. Email Jon Blau at jon. blau@theadvocate.com

has seen action at both the ﬁrst and second tiers of a professional league in Russia. Mulkey said when LSU announced the Minaeva signing that the young post player had the “experience, skill set and size” to make an “immediate impact” in Baton Rouge. Now the Tigers will need Minaeva to prove Mulkey right — or else Koval’s decision to step away from the program could derail its potential Final Four run before it even begins. “(Koval) loves LSU,” Mulkey said. “Kate is a great person. She has to do what she feels is right for her, and we fully support her in that. We all wish her the best.” Email Reed Darcey at reed. darcey@theadvocate.com. For more LSU sports updates, sign up for our newsletter at theadvocate.com/lsunewsletter

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4C ● Wednesday, August 26, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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PREP FOOTBALL SEASON PREVIEW

LRCA

2026 SCHEDULE Date

Opponent

Sept. 4 Sept. 11 Sept. 18 Sept. 25 Oct. 2 Oct. 8 Oct. 16 Oct. 23 Oct 30 Nov. 6

Karr Catholic-NI JOHN CURTIS Liberty LAKE CHARLES PREP NORTHSIDE TEURLINGS ACADIANA RENAISSANCE Westgate Thibodaux

PLAYERS TO WATCH Kennan Brown QB, 5-10, 200, Sr. Brown has been a consistent playmaker under center for the Tigers the past two seasons. One of the team’s hardest workers, Brown is accurate and has the arm strength to make every throw. Tabbed as a pocket passer, Brown has shown the ability to extend plays with his legs.

HOME GAMES IN CAPS

Kaycee Sellers LB, 5-8, 230, Sr. A three-year starter on the defense, Sellers is a tonesetter. While not the most vocal, he allows his play do the talking. A physical tackler with a good nose for the football, Sellers has a high football IQ that helps him break down plays quickly.

PAST FOUR YEARS 2025: 9-3 2024: 6-4 2023: 1-6 2022: 1-6

PROJECTED STARTERS Offense WR Ashton Joseph (5-11, 175, Jr.)* WR Shemar Taylor (6-2, 180, Jr.)* WR Chance Valentine (5-10, 160, Jr.) WR Brenden Miles (5-9, 165, Sr.)* OL Khristion Owens (5-10, 250, Sr.)* OL Hayden Easton (5-9, 240, Sr.)* OL Ronin Montet (5-9, 260, Sr.)* OL Zakalien Andrus (6-0, 300, So.) OL Marcus Richard (6-1, 320, Jr.) QB Kennan Brown (5-10, 200, Sr.)* RB Keith Guillory (5-11, 170, So.) Defense DL Tyler yokum (5-9, 175, Sr.)* DL James Jones (5-9, 290, Sr.)* DL Trilon Frances (6-2, 250, Jr.)* LB Kaycee Sellers (5-8, 230, Sr.)* LB Ky Sellers (5-10, 205, Sr.)* LB Ansinneo Charles (6-6, 220, Sr.)* LB Jamyron Garrett (6-0, 180, Sr.) DB Jaymien Zenon (5-10, 180, Sr.)* DB Kamren Benton (5-10, 170, Jr.)* DB Chance Paddio (6-1, 165, So.) DB Dailon Johnson (5-9, 170, Sr.) * RETURNING STARTER

COACHES Head coach: Hunter Landry (26-10) Assistant coaches: Jacarde Carter, Andre Gobert, Dannie Harmon, Junavion Sias, Chris Davis, Chase Malbrue, Trev Faulk, Jared Evans, Lance Broussard, Dwight Lewis and Antonio Chapman

PROVIDED PHOTO

Lafayette Renaissance offensive leaders include, front row from left, Brenden Miles, Kennan Brown, Jayden Zeno and Billy James. Back row from left are Hayden Easton, Khristion Owens and Ronin Montet.

Ansinneo Charles LB, 6-6, 220, Sr. The UL Ragin’ Cajuns commitment has a great combination of size and speed. He rushes the passer equally as well as he plays the run. A game changer defensively, Charles has proven to be quite the disrupter against opposing offenses.

“I wouldn’t say we have question marks on offense, but we do have some players to replace,” Landry said. Defensively, Lafayette Renaissance is stout. “We gave some guys playing time in the scrimmage so It begins with the front seven, headlined by the return they could get experience. We have gotten better and of linebackers Ansinneo Charles and Kaycee Sellers, better every day.” and defensive tackle Tyler yokum. It all starts with Brown, who established himself “Our defense has shown signs of among the top performers in the state statistically in being ahead of our offense,” Tigers each of the past two seasons. coach Hunter Landry said. “There are “Kennan has done everything we have asked of a lot of guys on defense that have him and more since we arrived,” Landry said. “As a played since they were freshmen or sophomore, he led the area in passing yards, and last sophomores. Our front seven are year he led in passing touchdowns. He does a good job definitely going to set the tone for us.” of understanding what we’re trying to accomplish on Landry Landry said depth along the offense. He comes off as a pocket passer, but he has defensive line is among the team’s the ability to extend plays with his legs as well. ” strengths. If Brown is going to build upon the success he has “We have about eight or nine guys who started last enjoyed the past two years, he will need receivers year for us returning this year,” Landry said. “Experience Ashton Joseph, Shamar Taylor and Brenden Miles to fill plays a huge role for us, and on the defensive line we the void left by the graduation of Ja’Courey Duhon. rotate about six guys. So those guys are going to be “We really think Ashton can fill that role,” Landry said. able to stay fresh.” “He is capable of lining up anywhere on the field. He is Charles, who has battled injuries early in his career, quick, fast and he can jump.” has shown the ability to be a disruptive force off the The Tigers also will be relying on new starters along edge. The UL commitment, who is 6-foot-6 and 220 the offensive line and at running back in Keith Guillory. pounds, has a rare combination of size and speed. “Keith is a sophomore who played a little last year,” “There just aren’t too many 6-6 kids that can move Landry said. “He does a great job of setting up his like him,” Landry said. “He rushes the passer well, blocks and he runs hard between the tackles. Keith but he also has long arms that makes it hard on also catches the football well out of the backfield.” quarterbacks.” How we see it Sellers is also a force at linebacker and Landry expects that he’ll continue to shine in his final season. The Tigers will look to build upon last year’s success “Kaycee is not the biggest in height, but he is when they reached the Division III select quarterfinals. extremely physical,” Landry said. “He does a great job Doing so won’t be an easy feat. of breaking down the play before it happens. He’s Lafayette Renaissance arguably has the toughest quiet, but he is definitely one of our leaders.” schedule in the state as it will face Edna Karr, John Curtis, Lake Charles College Prep and Catholic High of What we don’t know Offensively, the Tigers have done a great job of putting New Iberia in a nondistrict games. The Tigers also are in their first season in Class 4A points up early and often the last two years. and join a district that includes Westgate and Teurlings While they have a great piece to build around in threeCatholic. year starting quarterback Kennan Brown, the Tigers “We are going to be tested early,” Landry said. “But we have some work to do in replacing running backs and are built for it. We are excited about the challenge.” receivers.

What we know

Ky Sellers LB, 5-10, 205, Sr. A four-year starter, Sellers is one of the Tigers’ most reliable leaders. A two-time all-district selection, Sellers is an honors student with a high football IQ. He can make plays sideline-to-sideline and is an outstanding tackler. Ashton Joseph WR, 5-11, 170, Jr. Joseph has great hands and is a really good route runner. He gets in and out of his breaks quickly. Shifty in the open field, Joseph has enough speed to make him a threat to score from anywhere on the field.

Eric Narcisse

SCOREBOARD Prep football

(At Clark Field, Lafayette)

Kiwanis Jamboree

6 p.m. — Northwood-Lena vs Berchman’s

Thursday, Aug. 27

(at Hoss Memtsas Stadium, Harvey)

(At Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium) 6 p.m. — Cecilia vs Lafayette 7:30 p.m. — Breaux Bridge vs St. Thomas More 9 p.m. — Carencro vs Southside

Friday, Aug. 28

6 p.m. — Northside vs Notre Dame 7:30 p.m. — Acadiana vs Teurlings Catholic 9 p.m. — St. Martinville vs Lafayette Christian

North Vermilion Jamboree Thursday, Aug. 27

(At North Vermilion High) Gueydan vs North Vermilion (JV), 5:15 pm Vermilion Catholic vs North Vermilion, 7 pm

Sugar Cane Jamboree Thursday, Aug. 27

(at Acadiana Renaissance) 5:15 p.m. — Lake Arthur vs Hanson6:30 p.m. — Catholic-PC vs Ascension Episcopal{p7:45 p.m. — Catholic High-NI vs Acadiana Renaissance Sugar Cane Jamboree

Thursday, Aug. 27

(at New Iberia Sr. High)7 p.m. — Westgate at New Iberia

Friday, Aug. 28

6 p.m. — Highland Baptist vs Delcambre 7:30 p.m. — Jeanerette vs Loreauville Ascension Christian Jamboree

Thursday, Aug. 27

(at Ascension Christian) 7 p.m. — Westminster-Lafayette vs Ascension Christian

Welsh Jamboree Thursday, Aug. 27

(at Welsh High) 5:30 p.m, — Crowley vs Grand Lake

St. Landry Parish Jamboree

(At Donald Gardner Stadium, Opelousa

Friday, Aug. 28

6 p.m. — Northwest vs. Beau Chene7:15 p.m. — Eunice vs. Opelousas 8:30 p.m. — North Central vs. Port Barre

Vermilion-Acadia Jamboree (At Erath High)

Friday, Aug. 28

5:30 p.m. — Rayne vs. Abbeville7 p.m. — Church Point vs. Kaplan 8:30 p.m. — Lafayette Renaissance vs. Erath

Joe Nagata Jamboree (At St. Edmund, Eunice)

Friday, Aug. 28

6 p.m. — Elton vs. St. Edmund 7:15 p.m. — Donaldsonville vs. Opelousas Catholic 8:30 p.m. — Iota vs. Sacred Heart-VP

Berchman’s Jamboree

Friday, Aug. 28

Thomas Jefferson Jamboree Friday, Aug. 28

5:30 p.m. — Westminster vs. Patrick Taylor

Hole-in-one Course: The Island Golf Cousre Hole: No. 10 Yardage: 128 Club: 8 Iron Witnesses: Chance Boudreaux, Rick Valet, Gordon Woolfolk, Carey Valet

Odds

FAVORITE OPEN at BUFFALO 1½ at LAS VEGAS 2½ New England 1½ at CHARGERS 3½

TODAY O/U UNDERDOG 2½ (35½) Pittsburgh 1½ (37½) San Fran 2½ (35½) at CLE 3½ (38½) LA Rams

FAVORITE at BALT Houston Atlanta Tampa Bay NY Giants at DALLAS Arizona at PHILA at K.C. at DENVER

OPEN 2½ 1½ 3 1½ 2½ 3½ 1½ 2½ 1½ 4½

TODAY O/U UNDERDOG 3 (34½) Wash 2½ (36½) at CAR 4½ (36½) at MIAMI 2½ (35½) at JAX 3 (37½) at NY JETS 1½ (38½) New Orlns 2½ (37½) at G.B. 2½ (36½) Cincinnati 1½ (36½) Seattle 6½ (39½) Minnesota

FAVORITE at IND at TENN

OPEN 1½ 1½

TODAY O/U UNDERDOG 3½ (35½) Detroit 3 (36½) Chicago

Saturday

MLB

+132 +106

LINE -108 -160 OFF

UNDERDOG at SEATTLE at MIAMI at ST. LOUIS

LINE -106 +129 OFF

UNDERDOG at DETROIT at LA ANGELS Houston Kansas City Texas at ATHLETICS

LINE -102 +117 OFF +112 +112 +118

Pro basketball

UNDERDOG at ARIZONA at SAN FRAN Pittsburgh Colorado

LINE -103 -107 +108 OFF

Detroit at Indianapolis, noon Chicago at Tennessee, 5 p.m.

Greevy 5-9), 6:45 p.m. Minnesota (Prielipp 3-7) at Athletics (Ginn 8-8), 8:05 p.m.

Major League Baseball

East Division

EASTERN CONFERENCE x-Atlanta x-Indiana x-New York x-Washington Chicago Toronto Connecticut

W 25 25 23 22 15 11 9

L 13 14 15 15 23 26 27

Pct GB .658 — .641 ½ .605 2 .595 2½ .395 10 .297 13½ .250 15

x-Minnesota x-Golden State x-Las Vegas Dallas Portland Phoenix Los Angeles Seattle

W 31 26 26 22 15 13 13 7

L 8 11 13 16 22 24 25 31

Pct GB .795 — .703 4 .667 5 .579 8½ .405 15 .351 17 .342 17½ .184 23½

x-clinched playoff spot Monday’s Games

Golden State 80, Minnesota 66 Atlanta 78, Los Angeles 71

Tuesday’s Games

Chicago at Connecticut, n Portland at Dallas, n Washington at Phoenix, n

Wednesday’s Games

Golden State at Connecticut, 6 p.m. Toronto at Seattle, 9 p.m.

Pro football NFL Glance Pittsburgh at Buffalo, 6 p.m. New England at Cleveland, 7 p.m. San Francisco at Las Vegas, 7 p.m. L.A. Rams at L.A. Chargers, 9 p.m.

Friday’s games

Saturday’s games

National League

American League

Thursday’s games

Wednesday

American League FAVORITE LINE Tampa Bay -120 Cleveland -143 at N.Y YANKEES OFF at TORONTO -132 at WHITE SOX -138 Minnesota -144 National League FAVORITE LINE Chicago Cubs -111 Cincinnati -115 at SAN DIEGO -122 at WASH OFF

at N.Y METS at ATLANTA

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Sports Betting Line NFL

Friday

-163 -130

WNBA Glance

Bird Guidry

Thursday

Milwaukee LA Dodgers Interleague FAVORITE Philadelphia Boston Baltimore

Washington at Baltimore, 5 p.m. Atlanta at Miami, 6 p.m. Houston at Carolina, 6 p.m. N.Y. Giants at N.Y. Jets, 6:30 p.m. Tampa Bay at Jacksonville, 6:30 p.m. Arizona at Green Bay, 7 p.m. Cincinnati at Philadelphia, 7 p.m. New Orleans at Dallas, 7 p.m. Seattle at Kansas City, 7 p.m. Minnesota at Denver, 8 p.m.

Tampa Bay New York Boston Toronto Baltimore

W 78 74 72 64 63

L 53 56 59 68 68

Pct .595 .569 .550 .485 .481

GB — 3½ 6 14½ 15

Chicago Cleveland Minnesota Detroit Kansas City

W 68 66 64 61 58

L 63 66 68 70 74

Pct .519 .500 .485 .466 .439

GB — 2½ 4½ 7 10½

Texas Houston Seattle Los Angeles Athletics

W 66 65 63 52 51

L 66 66 69 80 81

Pct .500 .496 .477 .394 .386

GB — ½ 3 14 15

Central Division

West Division

Monday’s Games

Tampa Bay 4, Detroit 1 Boston 4, Miami 2 Texas 11, Chicago White Sox 2 Cleveland 4, L.A. Angels 2 Seattle 9, Philadelphia 2 Minnesota 9, Athletics 6

Tuesday’s Games

Boston at Miami, n Tampa Bay at Detroit, n Houston at N.Y. Yankees, n Kansas City at Toronto, n Texas at Chicago White Sox, n Baltimore at St. Louis, n Cleveland at L.A. Angels, n Minnesota at Athletics, n Philadelphia at Seattle, n

Wednesday’s Games

Tampa Bay (Peralta 5-11) at Detroit (Melton 7-2), 12:10 p.m. Cleveland (Cantillo 9-7) at L.A. Angels (Rodriguez 4-5), 3:07 p.m. Philadelphia (Luzardo 11-5) at Seattle (Woo 9-8), 3:10 p.m. Boston (Gray 16-3) at Miami (Gusto 0-3), 5:40 p.m. Houston (Lambert 8-7) at N.Y. Yankees (TBD), 6:05 p.m. Kansas City (Dobnak 2-1) at Toronto (Bieber 5-2), 6:07 p.m. Texas (Gore 7-9) at Chicago White Sox (Burke 7-6), 6:40 p.m. Baltimore (Bradish 7-12) at St. Louis (Mc-

Atlanta Philadelphia Miami Washington New York

W 76 73 67 62 59

Central Division Milwaukee Chicago St. Louis Pittsburgh Cincinnati

West Division Los Angeles San Diego Arizona San Francisco Colorado

W 81 76 66 64 62

L 55 59 65 71 72

Pct .580 .553 .508 .466 .450

GB — 3½ 9½ 15 17

L 50 56 66 69 70

Pct .618 .576 .500 .481 .470

GB — 5½ 15½ 18 19½

Pct .611 .538 .523 .405 .382

GB — 9½ 11½ 27 30

W 80 71 69 53 50

Monday’s Games

L 51 61 63 78 81

Boston 4, Miami 2 Washington 13, Colorado 3 San Francisco 5, Cincinnati 0 Chicago Cubs 7, Arizona 0 Seattle 9, Philadelphia 2 Pittsburgh 3, San Diego 2, 12 innings

Tuesday’s Games

Boston at Miami, n Colorado at Washington, n Milwaukee at N.Y. Mets, n L.A. Dodgers at Atlanta, n Baltimore at St. Louis, n Chicago Cubs at Arizona, n Philadelphia at Seattle, n Pittsburgh at San Diego, n Cincinnati at San Francisco, n

Wednesday’s Games

Chicago Cubs (Boyd 8-2) at Arizona (Rodriguez 13-4), 2:40 p.m. Cincinnati (Lodolo 3-3) at San Francisco (Roupp 7-13), 2:45 p.m. Philadelphia (Luzardo 11-5) at Seattle (Woo 9-8), 3:10 p.m. Pittsburgh (Chandler 6-8) at San Diego (Vásquez 9-6), 3:10 p.m. Boston (Gray 16-3) at Miami (Gusto 0-3), 5:40 p.m. Colorado (Gordon 0-4) at Washington (TBD), 5:45 p.m. Milwaukee (May 6-8) at N.Y. Mets (Stock 0-2), 6:10 p.m. L.A. Dodgers (Sasaki 5-5) at Atlanta (SmithShawver 0-0), 6:15 p.m. Baltimore (Bradish 7-12) at St. Louis (McGreevy 5-9), 6:45 p.m.

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 26, 2026

5Cn

“We think it’s important to empower the people who buy our clothes with the skill sets to maintain them, to get them to that second life.” PAUL DILLINGER, Levi’s head of global design innovation

Fixing fashion Clothing brands try to win over Gen Z with a needle and thread

BY ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP retail writer

NEW YORK — Encouraging customers to mend worn clothes instead of buying new ones might seem like a self-defeating sales strategy. But in-store repairs and sewing workshops are becoming essential retail services for clothing brands as they try to appeal to young consumers who want to save money and the planet. While luxury fashion houses and select specialty retailers like Patagonia have offered product repairs for decades, the concept has caught on. Jeans giant Levi Strauss & Co., casual wear chain Uniqlo and budget retailer Primark are some of the apparel companies hoping to win over Generation Z shoppers with a needle and thread. Levi’s created a handstitching course for high school students after determining that many Gen Zers lacked the sewing skills to match their interest in thrift store shopping and sustainability. Employees spend 90 minutes instructing teenagers on four tasks: sewing on a button, hemming, patching a hole and ﬁxing a tear.

STAFF PHOTO By BRAD KEMP

Owner Madonna Broussard holds a plate of rice dressing, left, along with and a turkey wing plate with rice dressing, sweet potatoes and green beans at Laura’s II on Sunday in Lafayette.

ANY WAY YOU COOK IT

Rice dressing or dirty rice? In Louisiana, the answer may depend on your area code. BY JA’KORI MADISON

AP PHOTO By TERRy CHEA

Jesse Sanchez practices sewing during a clothing repair workshop at a Levi’s retail store in downtown San Francisco last month.

The Wear Longer program, which the San Francisco-based company is expanding across the U.S., builds on the repair and customization services Levi’s offers at hundreds of stores worldwide. “We think it’s important to empower the people who buy our clothes with the skill sets to maintain them, to get them to that second life,” Paul Dillinger, Levi’s head of global design innovation, said. Detroit resident Chloe Halprin, 25, is the kind of consumer retailers hope to attract with a “ﬁx it, don’t ditch it” message. In high school, Halprin shopped at inexpensive, trendy stores. Fixing a big rip felt beyond her limited sewing ability. If she damaged a top or skirt from Forever 21, “I might just throw it away.” These days, Halprin buys most of her clothes secondhand. She recently learned to hem with a sewing machine and hopes to tackle projects like turning a skirt into a shirt. “I try to be conscientious of my carbon footprint,” Halprin, a nonproﬁt grant writer, said. “I really don’t like waste. I’m trying to save money as well.” The evolution of mending from an economic necessity and traditional craft to a method for

ä See FIXING, page 6C

Staff writer

Louisiana, a few topics are almost guaranteed to spark a food debate. Put rice dressing or dirty rice on the table, and you’ve got one. Are they the same dish? Are they different? It depends on the family recipe. Or, often in Louisiana, it’s a case of: It depends on the area code. Chef Ju Lawrence has spent the past four years cooking at Prejean’s Cajun Restaurant in Carencro. Ask him whether dirty rice and rice dressing are the same, and he’ll give you a deﬁnitive answer: They’re related, but they’re not the same thing. “The two are similar,” Lawrence said. “Anyone wouldn’t be able to tell the difference unless you’re a culinary artist.”

such as liver and gizzards. He associates dirty rice more with a ground-meat mixture without the liver and gizzards. And if you’re going to make rice dressing his way, there’s one ingredient he considers nonnegotiable. “You have to have the green onions,” he said. At Prejean’s, the rice dressing is also garnished with green onions. Lawrence’s own rice dressing is a good example of how quickly a PROVIDED PHOTO recipe can change from one kitchen to another. Prejean’s Cajun Restaurant in Before becoming a chef at Carencro serves up a plate of Prejean’s, he made his rice dressing barbecue chicken and sides of with beef liver and ground meat, which he learned from his grandgreen beans and rice dressing. mother, who was also a cook. At At Prejean’s, the restaurant’s rice Prejean’s, he learned a different apdressing is made from scratch. It’s proach, one centered around pork. pork-based and includes pork liver. “About 95% to 97% of our menu Lawrence describes rice dress- items are made from scratch,” ing as the meatier cousin, tradiä See RICE, page 6C tionally incorporating organ meats

THE BEST THINGS WE ATE THIS WEEK

Discover sweet, savory dishes for any time of day Grilled pork chops, potato salad and collard greens from Midnight Munchies

STAFF PHOTO By MADDIE SCOTT

Staff report

Grilled pork chops and Cajun pasta n Midnight Munchies Inc., 3070

Monterrey Blvd., Baton Rouge

This is a new spot I just discovered — Midnight Munchies, open 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. only on weekdays. Boy, I’m glad I made the 19-minute drive to north Baton Rouge, and I’d absolutely do

it again after trying two entrees on a Thursday night. I opted for the grilled pork chops, which came with a choice of two sides, so I chose the collard greens and potato salad. My partner ordered the Cajun pasta with chicken, and we split the dishes so we could try both. The food is cooked to order, but the wait is well worth it in my opinion.

ä See BEST, page 6C

6C ● Wednesday,August 26, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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TODAY IN HISTORY By The Associated Press

lice crackdown on anti-war protesters in the streets. In 1972, the Summer Today is Wednesday, Olympics opened in MuAug. 26, the 238th day of 2026. There are 127 days nich, West Germany. left in the year. In 1978, Cardinal Albino Today in history: Luciani of Venice was electOn Aug. 26, 1944, French ed pope following the death Gen. Charles de Gaulle of Paul VI. The new pontiff, braved the threat of German who took the name Pope snipers as he led a victory John Paul I, died just over a march in Paris, which had month later. just been liberated by the AlIn 1980, the FBI inadverlies from Nazi occupation. tently detonated a bomb Also on this date: planted at Harvey’s Resort In 1939, the first televised Hotel in Stateline, Nevada, Major League Baseball while attempting to disarm games were broadcast it. (The hotel had been on experimental station evacuated and no injuries W2XBS: a doubleheader be- were reported, but the blast caused significant damage.) tween the Cincinnati Reds In 1985, 13-year-old AIDS and the Brooklyn Dodgers patient Ryan White began at Ebbets Field. The Reds won the first game, 5-2, and attending classes at Westthe Dodgers the second, 6-1. ern Middle School in KokoIn 1958, Alaskans went to mo, Indiana, via a telephone the polls to overwhelmingly hookup at his home; school vote in favor of statehood. officials had barred White In 1968, the Democratic from attending classes in National Convention person due to his illness. opened in Chicago; the fourIn 2009, kidnapping vicday event that resulted in tim Jaycee Dugard was the nomination of Hubert discovered alive in CaliforH. Humphrey for president nia after being missing for was marked by a bloody po- more than 18 years.

RICE

Continued from page 5C Lawrence said. “We also incorporate the holy trinity in most of our dishes — so it’s authentic southwest Louisiana cooking.” Chef Madonna Broussard, owner of Laura’s II, has a different take. “I think the two are really the same,” Broussard said. “We just each give it our own twist.” Her perspective comes from a family deeply rooted in Lafayette’s food history. Her grandmother, Laura Williams Broussard, started a restaurant in her kitchen in 1968, an establishment known for its famous plate lunches and Louisiana flavors. If someone came into her restaurant looking for “dirty rice,” Broussard said she’d ask where they were from. Broussard recently visited New Orleans and tried a dish described there as dirty rice. She returned home even less convinced there was a clear distinction between the two dishes. If there was a difference, she said, it was the color. “It’s not texture,” she said. “In my mind, it’s just color. I did notice the way we cook rice dressing is darker.” Her restaurant’s rice dressing is made with pork, chicken liver and gizzards. It also starts with a roux, which gives the dish its darker color. And then there’s Trinity Leblanc, a server at Gravy’s in Lafayette, whose own family food memories make the distinction even

PROVIDED PHOTO

Gravy’s dirty rice

In 2021, two suicide bombers and gunmen attacked crowds of Afghans ﬂocking to Kabul’s airport, transforming a scene of desperation into one of horror in the waning days of an airlift for those ﬂeeing the Taliban takeover of the country. The attacks killed at least 60 Afghans and 13 U.S. troops. Today’s birthdays: Former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge is 81. R&B singer Valerie Simpson (Ashford & Simpson) is 80. Broadcast journalist Bill Whitaker is 75. Puzzle creator/editor Will Shortz is 74. Jazz musician Branford Marsalis is 66. Actor-singer Shirley Manson (Garbage) is 60. Actor Melissa McCarthy is 56. Latin pop singer Thalia is 55. Actor Macaulay Culkin is 46. Actor Chris Pine is 46. Comedian/actor/writer John Mulaney is 44. Country musician Brian Kelley (Florida Georgia Line) is 41. NBA guard James Harden is 37. Actor Dylan O’Brien is 35. Actor Keke Palmer is 33. Actor Charlie Gillespie is 28.

working at Gravy’s. Maybe that’s where the debate gets tricky in Louisiana: The food can be familiar while the name changes. For Broussard, that comes back to the way food is passed down from one generation to the next. She said people have their own versions of dishes based on what their families taught them. “If this is your way,” Broussard said, “I have to adjust my palate.” She describes the food at Laura’s II as historical cooking, not simply because of the restaurant’s history, but because of the generations of food traditions behind the recipes. For Broussard, those recipes aren’t simply oldfashioned. They’re a way of preserving family and community history. “We cook historically,” she said. “We want you to taste some of our history and some of our traditions.” Lawrence sees a distinction. Broussard sees two versions of the same concept — and Leblanc grew up calling something rice dressing that, at her workplace, goes by another name. Maybe the difference has less to do with a deﬁnitive recipe and more to do with who taught you to make it, what your hometown calls it, what the restaurant down the road calls it and, sometimes, what part of Louisiana you’re ordering it in. In Louisiana, even the name can be part of the recipe.

less clear. Leblanc grew up in Lafayette with family roots in Abbeville. Rice dressing was a staple at her family’s gatherings. At Thanksgiving, she remembers, her grandfather was the designated rice-dressing maker while the rest of the family handled the other dishes. For her family, rice dressing was made with ground meat and vegetables, with the rice soaking up the ﬂavorful mixture. “It would be a gravy except it’s all in the rice,” she said. But when Leblanc tried the dish Gravy’s calls dirty rice, she said the taste and texture reminded her of the rice dressing she grew up eating, even though her family’s preparation was different. “I would say it’s very similar,” she said. “The texture and everything is very similar.” Leblanc had never actu- Email Ja’kori Madison ally heard the term “dirty at jakori.madison@ rice” before she started theadvocate.com.

STAFF PHOTO By JA’KORI MADISON

Magnolia Pantry’s handmade Bou Dat pie with a honey vanilla matcha

BEST

Continued from page 5C These were the best pork chops I’ve ever had in my life. They can be ordered as fried, but I’m glad I chose grilled because the sear was perfection, which brought out the ﬂavors from the peppery seasoning blend. The plate also came with a couple pieces of toast that tasted closer to French toast with a caramelized ﬂavor. It was sweet, buttery and delicious. The Cajun pasta was also something to rave about. It was spicy — with what may have been a cayenne pepper kick, cheesy and the perfect consistency. — Maddie Scott, features reporter

Bayou salad

n Willie’s Restaurant, 11260

Coursey Blvd., Baton Rouge

I met my mom for lunch this week, and we chose one of our standby places, Willie’s on Coursey. I ordered the bayou salad because I was in the mood for some seafood and vegetables. The bayou salad included sauteed shrimp, fried

STAFF PHOTO By JOy HOLDEN

Bayou Salad from Willie’s Restaurant in Baton Rouge crawﬁsh tails, croutons, diced tomatoes, diced cucumbers, black olives and avocado. The salad was huge and delicious. The house honey mustard won as best dressing for the salad. There was plenty to take home, and I was full. — Joy Holden, features reporter

Handmade pie

n Magnolia Pantry, 219 E.

Vermilion St., Lafayette

I checked out Magnolia Pantry’s popular specialty hand pies over the weekend. Their menu is a combination of savory quick

N O R T H A M ER I CA’S

bites and sweet treats. I decided to go with the Bou Dat pie, which was filled with house-made boudin, pepper jack cheese and came with a side of Tabasco honey. The flaky pastry crust was prepared to perfection. The sauce could be a great dip if you like a balance of sweet and savory, but for me, the pie was so flavorful from the boudin, I didn’t even need it. I also tried their popular honey vanilla matcha, which was the perfect sweet contrast to my savory pie. — Jakori Madison, features reporter

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FIXING

Continued from page 5C cultivating customers didn’t happen overnight. The fashion industry as a whole has come under intensifying pressure to reduce its contributions to environmental pollution and climate change. Textile waste — which includes manufacturing remnants, unwanted clothes and linens, and unsold products — is one of the industry’s most pressing challenges. Each year, the world generates fabric waste at a rate equivalent to a garbage truck’s worth getting dumped or incinerated every second, the United Nations Environment Program estimates. Researchers broadly agree that repairing and reselling clothes can reduce a garment’s environmental impact, especially if it delays or replaces a new purchase. But many caution the practices remain too limited to offset continued growth in clothing production and consumption. Clothing production roughly doubled between 2000 and 2015, while the average number of wearings per garment declined by about 36%, according to

the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. The sustainability nonprofit estimated that less than 1% of discarded clothing material got recycled into new apparel. Enter Generation Z, born between 1997 and 2012. It’s the generation that grew up with fast fashion and ecommerce, then had school years and young adulthoods shaped by the coronavirus pandemic and post-pandemic inflation. Whether due to limited budgets or a rejection of materialism, Gen Z has helped the preowned clothing market grow much faster than retail apparel sales in the U.S., independent market intelligence firm GlobalData estimated in a report with resale platform ThredUp. For companies that make new clothes, mending programs and classes address “some deeper consumer needs and consumer behaviors at the moment,” GlobalData retail analyst Neil Saunders said. “It puts a halo on the brand,” he said. The hands-on response from mass-market retailers, especially fast-fashion chains like Primark, Zara and H&M, has generated interest as well as skepticism. Zara, which has its headquarters in Spain, launched a digital platform in 2022

for customers to resell their used pieces and to request basic alterations and repairs. The program is available in 17 of the nearly 100 countries where the trenddriven retailer operates. Ireland-based Primark has focused more on customer education. The valuefocused retailer hosts free “Love It For Longer” events where customers are taught skills like replacing zippers and buttons. “Learning how to repair and care for clothing is probably one of the most simplest but absolutely totally effective ways that we can reduce waste and also extend the lifetime of whatever we buy,” Vicki Swain, Primark’s product longevity & partnership lead, said. The company has held the workshops — more than 730 altogether — in nine of the 17 countries where Primark has stores, including the U.S. Primark also tested in-store repairs at three U.K. locations this year. Swain argues that affordable clothes can be just as durable and repair-worthy as more expensive ones. Half the items Primark sells annually are basics like socks, underwear, T-shirts, and jeans, she said. “There is nothing throw away about our products,” Swain said.

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The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Wednesday, August 26, 2026 ● 7C

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FrAnK And erneSt

roSebUdS

zItS

zodIAC VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) Hold on to what you've got. Say no to climbing aboard someone else's train wreck. You owe yourself the time and patience to pursue the goals you set. Take action to make your dreams come true. LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Make plans to do something you enjoy. A social event will lead to people of interest, potential partners and emotional balancing. Go with the flow, and discover what those you encounter have to offer. scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Watch and wait. What you discover by monitoring how others react to situations will be a good indicator of your next move. Don't feel the need to act prematurely because someone else does. sAGITTARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Maintain stability, and refuse to take on other people's problems. If you want to make a change or move, it should be to increase your income or to handle your money and investments more efficiently. cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Fact-check information you receive before you proceed with your plans. It's likely something will get lost in translation if you aren't diligent regarding the cost, quantity and fulfillment obligations. AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Tackle money and medical matters first. Once you have a handle on your budget — and if you have the energy to follow your dreams — you'll find it easier to set your plans in motion. PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Establish your position and stick to your plans. Make it

your objective to incorporate the skills you enjoy using most into your daily routine or professional goals. ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Deal with doubt directly. Ask questions, then examine the information you discover carefully. Knowing what you are up against is half the battle when you are in a play-to-win situation. TAuRus (April 20-May 20) Say no to decadence. Social or networking events will lead to temptation. Use your intelligence, remind yourself what your goal is and stick to the plans that lead to your desired results. GEMInI (May 21-June 20) An invitation or offer will have strings attached. Ask questions. Get what you want in writing — or be adamant and take a pass. Rely on your intuition and read the room. cAncER (June 21-July 22) Direct your energy. Read, learn and pay attention to detail. If you desire change, work toward your goal behind closed doors. Revealing your plans prematurely will give outsiders a chance to intervene. LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Put a schedule together and forge ahead. You can accomplish plenty if you are organized and eager to put unfinished business to rest. Opportunity knocks, and friendships can be turned into something more substantial. 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: H EQuALs A

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

SherMAn’S LAGoon FAMILY CIrCUS

dooneSbUrY

8C ● Wednesday,August 26, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

CurTiS

Hi and LoiS

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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

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Wednesday,August 26, 2026 ● 9C

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B.C.

Bridge By PHILLIP ALDER Nancy Mitford, an English novelist, said, “I have only read one book in my life and that is ‘White Fang.’ It’s so frightfully good that I’ve never bothered to read another.” That is hard to believe — she must have read her own books! One of the arts of good bridge is reading the cards — working out who has what from those played. That is important for West in this deal. How should he plan the defense against three no-trump? West leads the heart four: three, jack, queen. South plays a club to dummy’s king, then runs the diamond jack. After winning with his queen, how should West continue? South starts with only five top tricks: two hearts (given trick one) and three clubs. Obviously he will play on diamonds for more winners, with spades on the back burner if necessary. Several years ago, during an interview, I was asked what is the one thing I teach my students that they never seem to get straight and I cannot understand why. This is what I answered. When playing third hand high on defense, you play the bottom of equally powerful cards. In this deal, when East plays the heart jack at trick one, he denies holding the 10. So West, reading the cards, knows that South started with the heart ace, queen and 10. This means that leading another heart cannot be right. West

garfield

Pearls Before swiNe

hagar the horriBle

needs to get East on play for a heart lead through South. Enter the second key rule: If you lead low from length, you guarantee at least one honor in that suit. Here, West should shift to the spade eight, high denying an honor. Then East should win with his ace and return the heart seven, resulting in South’s going down two. © 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 — IMBRuED: im-BROOD: Stained; tainted.

Bizarro

marmaduKe

Average mark 18 words Time limit 35 minutes Can you find 29 or more words in IMBRUED? yEsTERDAy’s WoRD — HAyWIRE hair hairy hare hear heir hire aery airy awry yare year

ware wary wear weary weir whey whir wire wiry

loCKhorNs hidato Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

today’s thought “And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said to him, Arise, go your way: your faith has made you whole.” Luke 17:17-19 Don’t forget to thank the Lord for all of His blessings. — G.E. Dean

10C ● Wednesday,August 26, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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FROM WIRE REPORTS

Target pulls ‘offensive’ Halloween costume

MINNEAPOLIS — Target pulled a Halloween costume from its website after social media users said it resembled racist caricatures historically used to demean Black people. The controversy lands as the Minneapolis-based retailer has shown signs of regaining momentum with shoppers, including stronger recent sales after a difficult stretch marked in part by backlash over its DEI retreat. The costume was part of Hyde and EEK! Boutique, a Targetowned Halloween brand, raising questions about how the item made it through the company’s product review process. The costume, meant for children, had the general design of a clown outﬁt with orange and black patterns, but it also included a mask that imposed a large grin over the wearer’s face. A small top hat was also included. The costume’s model on the retailer’s website appeared to be a Black child. The costume and the posture of the model in the photo drew comparisons online to images of the racist theatrical character Jim Crow, a staple in blackface minstrel shows, which dehumanized Black people. “As a company, we know we got this wrong, and we are deeply sorry,” a Target spokesman said in a statement. “The costume is offensive and should never have been part of our assortment. We know this is especially hurtful for our Black guests, team members and partners.”

Brazilian data regulator fines TikTok’s owner SAO PAULO — Brazil’s data protection regulator on Tuesday fined TikTok parent company ByteDance nearly $30 million because of alleged failures in the handling of personal data of children and teenagers. It’s the South American nation’s latest move against social media companies. The regulatory body said in its ruling that TikTok breached data privacy laws across both logged-in accounts and guest browsing sessions through the collection and processing of young users’ personal information without a valid legal basis or adequate safeguards. The company can still appeal the decision in the next 10 days, Brazil’s regulatory body said. It didn’t immediately comment about the Brazilian regulator’s ruling, which also includes an order for TikTok to eliminate all data that was gathered illegally. Brazil’s regulator also said that the company should offer a plan to improve its protection of minors. Earlier this month, the same body recommended the suspension of live broadcasts of platform Discord after it was linked to a suicide case.

Australia music industry bans AI-generated tracks MELBOURNE, Australia — Australia’s recorded music industry will bar tracks wholly generated by artificial intelligence from ofﬁcial charts as burgeoning generative technologies threaten artists’ livelihoods, a representative said on Tuesday. The crackdown comes as a variation of Madonna’s pop hit “Like a Prayer” created by an Australian producer using AIgenerated vocals and drums has spent 16 weeks in the Australian top 20, stoking debate about generative AI’s place in music. It peaked at number two on the Australian Record Industry Association’s top 20 Australian singles chart in May and remained in fourth place on Tuesday. Wholly AI-generated tracks will be banned from the ARIA charts from Monday next week, but some AI-assisted music will remain eligible, an ARIA statement said. Tracks can be eligible only if “humans wrote the song and performed the lead vocal and the primary instruments,” among other requirements, the statement said.

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Falling oil prices help calm markets BY STAN CHOE Associated Press

NEW YORK — Oil prices fell again on Tuesday, which helped ease worries in the bond market and support stock prices. The S&P 500 rose 0.3% and edged a bit closer to its all-time high set earlier this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 160 points, or 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.7%. Some of the strongest action was in the oil market, where the price for a barrel of Brent crude fell 3.6% to $87.27 for a second decline following 13 gains in 14 days. The drop came even though tensions between the United States and Iran seemed to ratchet higher after the Trump administration announced new sanctions to further hurt Iran’s economy. Brent’s price zigzagged between $72 and $102 last month as hopes rose and fell that the United States and Iran could reach a deal that would allow oil tankers to freely

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By yUKI IWAMURA

Trader Robert Charmak works on the floor of the New york Stock Exchange in New york. exit the Persian Gulf again. Tuesday’s drop in oil prices reined in worries about high inﬂation, which had helped drive Treasury yields higher in the bond mar-

ket through the summer. Yields had gotten so high that the U.S. Treasury Department announced a surprise move last week to increase its repurchases of longer-

term Treasury notes and bonds. High yields make borrowing more expensive for everyone and can slow the economy’s growth while undercutting prices for stocks, cryptocurrencies and other investments. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.63% from 4.70% late Monday and from 4.74% at the end of last week. That’s a significant move for the bond market, though the 10-year yield remains firmly above its 3.97% level from before the war with Iran sent oil prices and worries about inflation much higher. On Wall Street, Nvidia and other winners of the boom in artificialintelligence technology helped lead the way. Nvidia rose 2.2%, a day after its drop of 2.9% was the heaviest weight on the S&P 500. AI stocks have veered up and down through the summer on worries that their prices shot too high and that the AI boom may not be sustainable if it doesn’t produce enough profits for companies.

Ex-Meta staffer says 99% of teens shunned early safety tool Trial continues against tech company and its impact on minors

BY MADLIN MEKELBURG Bloomberg News (TNS)

A former data scientist at Meta Platforms Inc. testified that less than 1% of teenagers were early adopters of a feature designed to get them to take a break from scrolling on Instagram. George Volichenko — who worked on the platform’s mental well-being team from April 2022 to February 2023 — told a jury that the tool’s initial impact was “disappointing” and reflected what he saw as a lack of interest by leaders at Meta to advance safety tools that might hurt the company’s core metrics. His testimony speaks to one of Meta’s key defenses at a high-stakes trial in which a coalition of attorneys general have accused the tech giant of exploiting youths for profit by getting them hooked on social media. The company says it is constantly improving the tools it offers to children and parents to curb problematic use of platforms including Instagram and Facebook. “I was not happy with the limited freedom that the team was given to actually devise and test and launch features that were actually moving the needle and helping teens,” Volichenko said Monday in federal court in Oakland, California, where the trial is now in its second week. He said one of his first tasks after joining Instagram was to study the adoption rate of the “Take a Break” tool, which prompts users to take a 10-minute break from scrolling if they spend more than a predetermined amount of time looking at the platform in a single session. At the time, the tool required users to “opt in” to activate it, meaning it wasn’t part of the app’s default settings. Volichenko’s team found that less than .165% of teen users enabled “Take a Break” and went on to actually take the suggested 10-minute time-out. A later review he conducted saw the figure rise to .2%, an increase that Volichenko said amounted to “a drop in the ocean.” In 2021, when “Take a Break” was first introduced, Instagram head Adam Mosseri said on the company’s website the feature was promising.

TNS PHOTO By HEATHER DIEHL

George Volichenko, former employee at Meta Platforms Inc., exits the courthouse after testifying in Oakland, Calif. Meta Platforms Inc. is being sued for allegedly deceiving the public with intentionally addictive features on their platforms, Facebook and Instagram, that harm children’s mental health. “Early test results show that once teens set the reminders, more than 90% of them keep them on,” he wrote. Meta has since introduced teen accounts for users under 18, which have “Take a Break” and other features turned on by default, including one aimed at reducing time spent on the app late at night. These time management tools are not unique to teen users. Any Instagram user can enable them in their account settings. But anyone under 16 must have parental consent to disable the features on their own account. In 2025, Meta said that 97% of teens between the ages of 13 and 15 years old keep their default restrictions on. If the states win the trial, Meta could face astronomical penalties for violations of consumer protection and privacy laws and court orders requiring the company to change how it operates its platforms. Meta has denied the allegations, saying it takes its responsibility to protect young users seriously. Volichenko said he left the company in 2023, after growing disillusioned with management. He said he had started having

doubts about the “genuine goal” of his team, based on pushback from leaders when his team sought to broaden the reach of timecontrol features. When he raised these concerns with his manager, Volichenko said, he was told that he shouldn’t worry about the adoption ﬁgures being low for the tools “because the team exists partially to protect the company against the upcoming lawsuits.” During cross-examination by an attorney for Meta, Volichenko acknowledged that the “Take a Break” feature was not something that every teen would ﬁnd useful. Teens who opened the app several times a day, rather than spending long continuous stretches necessitating a break reminder, may still qualify as being problematic users. Although teens who adopted the tool — and actually took a 10-minute break when it was suggested — remained under 1%, Brian Stekloff, an attorney for Meta, insisted that still constituted a meaningful number of users. “If you do the math, that’s nonetheless hundreds of thousands of teens, right?” Stekloff said. “I believe that is correct,” Volichenko said.

U.S. consumer conﬁdence falls to lowest level in 7 months BY MATT OTT

Associated Press WASHINGTON — Americans’ confidence in the economy declined again this month as the ongoing conflict in Iran continued to push U.S. gasoline prices above $4 per gallon. The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index dipped to 89.4 in August from 90.2 in July. That was the lowest level in seven months but was essentially within the same lukewarm range it has been in since the beginning of the year. In late 2024 and early 2025, read-

ings were consistently above 100. Respondents’ views of their present situation improved, but their short-term outlook soured. Americans remain frustrated with the economy after ﬁve years of elevated inflation, potentially posing a risk to President Donald Trump and Republicans in the midterm elections, which are less than 70 days away. Write-in responses to the board’s survey, collected from Aug. 3 to Aug. 16, were slightly more pessimistic this month. References to prices in general — and oil and gas prices speciﬁcally — remained elevated. Comments about war and

geopolitics, food prices, trade and jobs rose in August. Trump continues to blame high prices on his predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden, yet inflation has risen since Trump’s inauguration last year. The Federal Reserve’s preferred inﬂation gauge — the personal consumption expenditures price index — was up 3.7% in June from a year earlier. That was down from May’s 4.1% year-over-year increase but up from 2.8% before the Iran war began on Feb. 28. It was 2.5% when Trump was inaugurated in January 2025. The government issues its July

PCE data Wednesday. Consumers’ views of the current labor market improved in August, with 27% saying jobs were “plentiful,” up from 24.4% in July. However, respondents were more negative about the labor market over the next six months, with just 14.6% expecting more jobs to be available, down from 16.4% last month. The U.S. job market stalled unexpectedly in July as employers cut 23,000 jobs. To make matters worse, Labor Department revisions erased 103,000 jobs from previously reported May and June payrolls.