The Acadiana Advocate 09-21-2026 by The Advocate

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Best Stop celebrates 40 years of selling boudin in Scott

M o n d ay, S e p t e M b e r 21, 2026

STAFF PHOTOS By LESLIE WESTBROOK

Janelle Cormier prepares an order of hot boudin for a customer at The Best Stop Supermarket in Scott on Thursday.

$2.00X

Healthy Blue ending state Medicaid plan Nearly 300,000 residents will need to choose new coverage BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer

Monical LeBlanc serves customers Mary Amos, left, and Tationna Malveaux at The Best Stop Supermarket. Since opening in 1986, the supermarket has been a popular spot for boudin and Cajun specialty meats off of Interstate 10 in Scott. BY JOANNA BROWN Staff writer

Before Best Stop came on the scene in 1986, boudin wasn’t necessarily the kind of thing you’d go on a road trip for. Boudin, the local sausage that has come to deﬁne Cajun cuisine alongside gumbo, rice and gravy and jambalaya, is essentially a merging of sausage traditions from French,

Acadian, Creole and German sources. The casing is stuffed with the chef’s preferred ratio of meat to rice, generously seasoned with a Cajun blend of spices and aromatics. It’s a country food, created from south Louisiana’s affinity for rice and hog meat. As such, it was something you’d process at home as part of a boucherie, or grab from the local meat counter for a hearty lunch. And until interstate travel came

along, it stayed highly local to southwest Louisiana. That all changed when Robert Cormier and his cousin, Lawrence “Brud” Menard, decided to open The Best Stop Supermarket in Scott 40 years ago, just a mile off Interstate 10 at exit 97. Now dubbed the “Boudin Capital of the World” thanks to a 2012 declaration by the

ä See BEST STOP, page 4A

About 290,000 people who get Medicaid through the Healthy Blue plan will soon have to choose a new insurer after one of the five companies that offer Medicaid in the state decided to pull out of Louisiana. The Louisiana Department of Health announced this month that Healthy Blue, which is owned by parent company Elevance Health, will no longer provide Medicaid coverage in Louisiana beginning Jan. 1. The Health Department is working to ensure doctor’s visits and medications stay covered for the roughly 290,000 people switching plans, Health Secretary Bruce Greenstein told a panel of state lawmakers Thursday. Greenstein In Louisiana, about 1.3 million are on Medicaid, a government-funded health insurance program for poor and disabled people. Healthy Blue members will have the option to select one of Louisiana’s four other Medicaid plans during a special enrollment period Oct. 15 to Nov. 16, Medicaid Director Seth Gold said. Aetna, AmeriHealth Caritas, Humana and Louisiana Healthcare Connections will continue to offer plans in Louisiana, which state officials are set to renew for 2027. For anyone who misses the sign-up window this year, the Health Department will use algorithms to select a new plan for participants, Gold said. The goal is to both keep family members on the same plan and ensure a person’s primary care doctor and pharmacy benefits continue to be covered based on claims data, Gold said. Healthy Blue members will also have three additional windows to switch plans next year, he said.

ä See INSURANCE, page 4A

Editor’s note: This story is part of our coverage of Chattanooga’s downtown revitalization. Business editor Adam Daigle is reporting from Chattanooga while participating in One Acadiana’s Leadership Exchange, a three-day program that brings Acadiana business and community leaders to cities to study approaches to economic development, workforce development, infrastructure and urban revitalization.

WEATHER HIGH 95 LOW 73 PAGE 12C

Radical collaboration key to Chattanooga’s success ‘The walls of the clubs have to come down’

It’s a belief that goes back years and became evident when leaders came together to build the aquarium, now considered the crown jewel of its downtown that will draw just under 1 million visitors and generate $9 BY ADAM DAIGLE million in sales tax revenue this year. Acadiana business editor “The Chattanooga way is that every entity CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Talk to enough lead- here doesn’t live completely by the label of ers of this city where Little Debbie snack what they are,” Wood told members of the cakes were born and the ﬁrst Coca-Cola was Acadiana delegation Friday on the ﬁnal day bottled, and you’ll hear three words get re- of the Leadership Exchange trip hosted by One Acadiana. peated: the Chattanooga way. “I run a community asset. We don’t label It means radical collaboration. It’s something Andy Wood, who was hired as top ourselves by, ‘That’s a business, and they’ll president and CEO of the popular Tennessee deal with it.’ We label it as, ‘That’s a part of Aquarium, had to learn after starting the job ä See SUCCESS, page 4A just over a year ago.

Classified .....................3B Living............................7C Nation-World................2A Comics-Puzzles .. 9C-11C Lottery..........................6B Opinion ........................4B Commentary ................5B Metro ...........................1B Sports ..........................1C

Ben Berthelot, president and CEO of the Lafayette Convention and Visitors Commission, speaks on the final day of the Leadership Exchange trip in Chattanooga, Tenn. STAFF PHOTO By AdAM dAIGLE

102Nd yEAR, NO. 83

2A ● Monday, September 21, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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Merz vows to press ahead with reforms after election defeat

Trump and Mamdani plan to meet in N.Y.

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump will meet with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani when Trump travels to the city for the upcoming U.N. General Assembly. The meeting is scheduled for Monday and at Gracie Mansion, the official mayoral residence, according to Anna Bahr, Mamdani’s communications director. Bahr said the two will discuss issues affecting the city and New Yorkers. The White House confirmed the meeting will take place but did not offer more details. Mamdani, a democratic socialist who upset former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary before winning the general election in November, has been a favorite and frequent political foil for Republicans. But Trump has often been warm to Mamdani and seemed charmed by the young mayor. Their first meeting after Mamdani’s election was quite cordial, with Trump saying at the White House that the then-mayor-elect would “surprise some conservative people.” The Republican president had called Mamdani a “100% Communist Lunatic” during the 2025 campaign. During a February meeting, Mamdani gave Trump a mock New York Daily News front page that said “Trump to City: Let’s Build.” That was riff on the famous front-page headline from 1975, “FORD TO CITY: DROP DEAD,” referring to President Gerald Ford’s promise to veto financial assistance to the city. Mamdani’s aides said at the time that it was meant to show Trump the reaction and support that new federal investments in housing could have in the city.

Tropical Storm Fay forms far out in Atlantic

MIAMI — A new tropical storm formed Sunday in the northern Atlantic Ocean but does not appear to pose a threat to land. Tropical Storm Fay had maximum sustained winds of 65 mph and was located late Sunday about 405 miles southwest of the Azores. There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Fay will likely dissipate by the end of the week. Separately, Tropical Storm Odalys has formed southwest of Mexico’s west coast and is expected to strengthen into a hurricane in the next day or so. The hurricane center said the storm’s center was becoming better organized and was about 1,345 miles west-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California, with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph. It was moving west-northwest at 10 mph. There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect for either tropical storm.

Converse apologizes and pulls sneaker ad

The sneaker company Converse has removed a social media ad that sparked outrage among critics who viewed it as evoking the Ku Klux Klan and lynching. The Instagram ad photo showed K-pop singer Karina wearing a skirt and holding a pair of Chuck 70 X sneakers. Critics lashed out online, saying that a white triangular image created by lighting on the skirt resembled a KKK hood and that the way she held the sneakers made them look like the dangling feet of a lynching victim. Converse, owned by Nike, issued a statement apologizing and saying it removed the ad. “We’re sorry,” said the statement, first released on Friday. “We understand why this image is deeply upsetting and recognize that we got this wrong. We removed it from our channels and are working to remove it everywhere it appeared. This should not have happened and we will do better.” Converse, based in Boston, declined on Sunday to answer questions seeking additional information, including how the company screens ads before they are posted and how the ad was approved. Karina and her management company, SM Entertainment Group, did not immediately respond to messages through their Instagram accounts.

BY KIRSTEN GRIESHABER Associated Press

ASSOCIATEd PRESS FILE PHOTO By JEN GOLBECK

A mockup of President donald Trump’s proposed triumphal arch stands June 27 at the Great American State Fair on the National Mall in Washington.

Trump: Arch would be ‘military complex’ cial media post that he had agreed, at the President says planned “strong request” of the military, to conthe planned 250-foot-tall memorial monument would be able vert arch “into a top grade Military Complex/ Arch, to house, store, and to host drones, snipers Triumphal have the rapid ability to use large num-

BY SEUNG MIN KIM

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Sunday that the massive arch he wants to build between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery would become a “top grade military complex” able to host drones and snipers while storing ammunition. It is one more example of how Trump is insisting that his initiatives to beautify the White House and the city are also serving a defensive purpose. Trump has been calling the new White House ballroom a “military complex” and arguing it is necessary for national security purposes. The Pentagon said it had no information beyond the president’s statement. Trump’s announcement also comes as the arch, like his other projects, faces legal challenges. Though the arch has received early approval from the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, whose members were all tapped by Trump, a group of three veterans and an architectural historian sued, saying the project needs to be approved by Congress. “The President’s belated efforts to manufacture a national security justiﬁcation for this project do nothing to cure its fundamental illegality,” Nicolas Sansone, one of the attorneys representing the litigants, said Sunday. “Congress has not authorized the arch and unless and until Congress does so, the project should not be permitted to move forward.” The Republican president said in a so-

bers of drones, plus Snipers, on both the roof and plaza areas, and additionally have and hold large quantities of sniper ammunition in storage.” The arch is proposed for a circle adjacent to the Memorial Bridge, which is a heavy traffic area as one of a handful of connecting bridges between the nation’s capital and northern Virginia. Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., who represents the area, noted another potential problem, given the proximity to the Washington airport. “Putting a drone launching site directly in the landing path for DCA is a stupid, dangerous, and unworkable idea,” Beyer wrote on X. “Trump clearly expects to lose a lawsuit and therefore wants to set up a pretext to argue that the arch is tied to national security. Which is obviously idiotic.” The project is one of several that the Republican president is pursuing to leave his lasting imprint on Washington. Among the others are the White House ballroom, renaming and renovating the Kennedy Center, refurbishing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and rebuilding a golf course in East Potomac Park, which could significantly reduce the public’s access to running and biking paths. The groundbreaking for the arch was to have happened sometime this month. The project has not yet received final approval from the National Capital Planning Commission, which greenlit the site and preliminary plans at its July meeting. The commission is expected to take up the matter again this fall.

ICE agent shoots, wounds man in Texas, officials say BY JESSE BEDAYN and CHRISTOPHER WEBER Associated Press

AUSTIN, Texas — A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and wounded a man Sunday afternoon in Texas’ capital of Austin, local authorities said, and anti-ICE protesters quickly gathered at the scene. The unnamed man was in serious but stable condition at a hospital after being shot once in the torso on the city’s north side, Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said at a news conference with the mayor and other city officials. The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, did not participate in the news conference and didn’t immediately respond to requests for details. Austin police officers were not involved in the operation or the shooting, which occurred after a traffic stop, Davis told reporters. Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, a Democrat, said he wants the city’s police department to be involved in the investigation so it can provide “clear, third-party eyes” in the process. Watson said he does not think it would be appropriate for ICE to conduct an investigation on its own. Austin residents have “a right to feel safe in their city,” Watson said. A proper investigation will only enhance credibility, he added. Davis said she did not yet know the nationality of the person who was shot. The chief said there were not many facts she could provide so soon after the incident, but added that her department’s special investigation unit was at the scene. A dark blue Toyota Corolla was parked under an overpass with damage to its passenger-side door and what appeared to be bullet holes, local media reported.

BERLIN — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz suffered a bruising electoral setback in two state elections on Sunday, including a historic defeat for his party, but vowed to press ahead with potentially painful reforms to Europe’s biggest economy. Projections by public broadcaster ARD on Sunday night indicated that Merz’s center-right Christian Democratic Union, or CDU, came in with just 4.9% in MecklenburgWestern Pomerania — the lowest result since World War II for the party in any state. The anti-migration, Russia-friendly Alternative for Germany, or AfD, party made significant gains Sunday. The projections were based on exit polls and partial counting for ARD television. Should the CDU stay below 5% in the ﬁnal vote count, it would mean that the party would fail for the ﬁrst time to win seats in a state legislature anywhere in Germany. Merz acknowledged his party’s result as a “disaster,” but struck a defiant note, rejecting any retreat from his government’s reform agenda. He argued that Germany’s economic and political problems made difficult and potentially unpopular reforms more urgent, not less so, and pledged to press ahead. “What needs to be done now requires backbone, steadfastness, and patience,” Merz said in a statement shortly after the exit polls were announced on public television. “I will demonstrate these qualities as chair of the CDU and, above all, as chancellor of our country.” In Berlin, projections showed the CDU was to come in second with 19.1%, behind the Left party at 25.3%, according to ARD. Merz’s authority was already damaged by CDU’s stinging defeat to AfD

in the Sept. 6 election in the small eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt. That result shocked many Germans who had believed their country had developed an immunity to nationalism and assertions of racial superiority after confronting the horrors of its Nazi past through education and laws to outlaw persecution. On Sunday, AfD also made big gains in both states. In MecklenburgWestern Pomerania, it garnered 37.9% of the vote, and in Berlin it achieved 16.2%, according to ARD. But it was nowhere close to being able to form a regional government. AfD’s national co-leader, Alice Weidel, said on ZDF television that “we have displaced the CDU as the people’s party.” She added that “we have a great deal to offer our voters, namely political change in this country.” However, in an apparent reference to the far-right party, Merz said that his government’s reforms would be “the antidote to the poison of authoritarianism, which is penetrating ever deeper into our society as the fascination with authoritarianism grows.” The government’s reforms include cuts to income tax for low- and middle-income families, an overhaul of the creaking pension system and a reduction of Germany’s stiﬂing bureaucracy. Merz, 70, became Germany’s leader 16 months ago with promises to turn around an economy that has barely grown in years. But he has failed to lift a sullen national mood and become deeply unpopular. The strong showing of AfD in the Saxony-Anhalt election, where it has the best chance yet of forming the country’s ﬁrst far-right regional government since World War II, had further weakened the chancellor’s standing on the national level as well.

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ASSOCIATEd PRESS PHOTO By JESSE BEdAyN

Police block a street Sunday after a shooting involving a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Austin, Texas.

A large law enforcement presence was at the scene, along with a crowd of about a hundred protesters. Some demonstrators cursed at police officers holding riot shields, while others yelled out as passing cars honked in support of the protest. One man held a sign saying, “Nobody is safe” and, on the other side, “ICE Nazi.” Asked if Austin authorities knew where the involved federal agent is, given that agents have left states after previous shootings nationwide, the mayor said: “We do not know that. But my hope would be that, an agent that’s involved in an officer-involved shooting would not leave the city. Certainly not leave the state.” U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, a Democrat representing parts of Austin, called for transparency as the shooting is investigated. “It is awful that this horror has come to our doorstep,” Casar told reporters. “For Austin to be safe, ICE should end its surge here.” The shooting comes as ICE surges enforcement across the country this summer, producing more than 50,000 arrests a month for the first time in its history in July and August.

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Houthis warn against joining Saudis in civil war

ASSOCIATEd PRESS PHOTO By OSAMAH ABdULRAHMAN

Supporters of yemen’s Houthi rebels shout slogans Friday during a rally in Sanaa, yemen, in support of the group and to protest Saudi Arabia’s accusation that the Houthis targeted Islam’s holiest site, Mecca. Al-Bukhaiti blamed Saudi Arabia for the latest escalation of violence in Yemen, which he said erupted after an airstrike blamed on the Saudi-led coalition fighting the rebels hit the Sanaa international airport. The strike prevented an Iranian ﬂight carrying a Houthi delegation to land. The ﬂight was a Houthi attempt to challenge the coalition’s air and naval blockade. The Houthis responded with missile and drone strikes on Saudi Arabia, including one that targeted

Ukraine fires over 1,000 drones at Russia

A 30-year-old Israeli man was killed near the Neve Tzuf settlement north of Ramallah, hours before the Yom Kippur holiday, widely considered the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. Israel’s military said the suspected attacker opened fire from a vehicle and fled on foot. After a search by security forces, the military said the man, who was injured while fleeing, was detained at a hospital where he had sought care. The Samaria regional council said the killed man, Neta-

U.S. concessions to Iran, the only country with leverage over the Houthis. But Washington’s negotiations with Tehran over their own war fell apart weeks ago. “We have not closed the door to peace,” Mahdi alMashat, president of the Houthis’ Supreme Political Council, the top executive body, said in a speech Sunday marking the anniversary of their 2014 takeover of Sanaa. The U.S., which bombed the Houthis under the Biden and Trump administrations, has shown no interest in get-

BY EVENS SANON and DÁNICA COTO Associated Press

mir Putin into negotiating a peace settlement. Putin has so far shown no signs he intends to stop the invasion. Instead, Moscow and Kyiv have been drawn into an escalating duel of longrange aerial strikes as ﬁghting along the roughly 780mile front line in eastern and southern Ukraine has slowed, restricted by large numbers of drones and ground robots threatening troop movements. Writing on social media, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Kyiv had used a range of missiles and drones in the attack — including Ukraine’s domestically made Flamingo and Pelican missiles — to hit oil and logistics facilities. “These are billions of dollars that sustain the war machine,” Zelenskyy said, referring to the financial pressure that Kyiv hopes to put on Russia’s economy. Ukraine also continued to fend off Russian attacks, Zelenskyy said. A Russian drone strike hit a monastery in Ukraine’s Kherson region Saturday, killing a member of the clergy and wounding four people, he said.

A Russian attack on the Ukrainian capital also killed two children and their mother on Saturday evening, said Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv regional state administration. He later said that another child wounded in the same attack had died in hospital on Sunday. Separately, Zelenskyy said he spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday. Writing on X, Zelenskyy said they agreed they would meet next week at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The attack took place on the final day of Russia’s ﬁrst wartime parliamentary election — balloting that has been virtually devoid of opposition to President Vladimir Putin’s policies and is all but certain to cement the Kremlin’s dominance. Russia was also holding the vote in the four Ukrainian regions that Moscow illegally annexed after the war began but still doesn’t fully control, and in Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014. Kyiv has denounced the action as illegal.

nel Shakron, was a settler who had been bathing at a spring ahead of Yom Kippur. It was the second time an Israeli civilian had been killed in a confrontation with a Palestinian this year in the West Bank, according to the U.N. Separately, the military said it killed a Palestinian man who attempted to carry out a ramming attack against soldiers at an intersection near Jenin in the northern West Bank, less than an hour later. The military said it was searching for another man who was in the car. Prime Minister Benjamin

Netanyahu in a statement called the attacks “despicable” and instructed the military to expand operations in the West Bank. Tensions have surged in the West Bank, and extremist Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians have increased exponentially, emboldened by right-wing, ultra-nationalist politicians in Israel’s government. Earlier Sunday, Israeli troops carried out a large counterterrorism operation in the northern West Bank town of Al-Mughayyir. Palestinian ofﬁcials said at least 28 people were detained.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Eighteen suspects who were arrested in the July 2021 killing of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse were awaiting extradition to the U.S. on Sunday, marking the end of a drawn-out judicial process in Haiti for a killing that shocked the troubled Caribbean country. The suspects will face trial in Florida, according to Jason Reding Quiñones, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. “Today marks the next major phase in our pursuit of accountability for the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse,” he wrote on X. “We will follow the evidence wherever it leads, to those who financed it, facilitated it, supported it or committed crimes to make it possible. Five years later, we are still bringing defendants before American courts, and we are not finished.” Quiñones did not identify the suspects, but those who remain in Haiti awaiting trial include more than a dozen Colombian soldiers, a former Haitian police officer and a former Haiti Ministry of Justice employee who was part of an anti-corruption unit. Quiñones said that 30 people have been indicted in Moïse’s killing, with FBI Special Agent in Charge Brett Skiles noting that there were multiple arrests in the U.S. and abroad on Sunday. He said that the FBI and others “remain steadfast in ensuring that all individuals who allegedly sought profit from the assassination of a head of state are held fully accountable.” Relatives of some of the Colombian soldiers didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on Sunday. They had previously complained about the repeated delays in the Haitian judicial

ASSOCIATEd PRESS FILE PHOTO

Colombians and Haitians who are accused of involvement in the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse are escorted in handcuffs to their court hearing on May 26, 2025, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

process following their arrest in 2021, with the investigation stalled by gang violence, death threats and a crumbling judicial system. In October 2025, justice ofﬁcials in Haiti asked the U.S. and Canada for help after a local court of appeals ordered a new investigation into Moïse’s killing, the third inquiry of its kind since he was fatally shot at his private residence in July 2021. The previous investigations were stalled because Haitian judges kept resigning from the case, fearing for their lives, and gangs seized control of the downtown Port-au-Prince courthouse where the judges were interrogating suspects. The extradition comes as the U.S. continues to prosecute and sentence multiple other suspects in the case. In May, a jury in Florida convicted four men in the killing, and at least ﬁve others have pleaded guilty and are serving life sentences.

Stop cleaning-out your gutters this season

Debris Buildup Stands No Chance With LeafFilter

U L E YO U R

Heavy leaves

Pinecones

Pine needles

Seed pods

ASSOCIATEd PRESS PHOTO

Flames and smoke rise Sunday from Moscow’s oil refinery in the southeast area of the city following a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack.

Israeli man killed in West Bank By The Associated Press

Riyadh on Saturday before being intercepted. Saudi officials said debris from a Houthi drone also killed one civilian and injured others. The Houthis also declared a blockade on Saudi shipping in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Red Sea, attacking Saudi-linked vessels and oil facilities inside the kingdom, the world’s top oil exporter. The Saudis and their allies have long struggled to contain the Houthis, and may be tempted to seek a diplomatic solution to halt attacks. That might ultimately require

18 accused in 2021 killing of Haiti’s president being extradited to U.S.

By The Associated Press

Ukrainian forces fired more than 1,000 drones at Russia overnight, including hundreds that were launched toward Moscow, ofﬁcials said Sunday, as the Kremlin was wrapping up the third and last day of its parliamentary elections. Moscow’s mayor described the wave of drones as the “largest ever” drone attack on the Russian capital and said there had been damage to the Moscow Oil Reﬁnery, which is among several sites that supply the Russian capital, and a residential building. Across the wider Moscow region, the attack killed two people and wounded 20, local Gov. Andrei Vorobyov said. The dead were a 74-year-old man and a 44-year-old woman, he said. Since Russia’s invasion more than four years ago, Ukraine has become a global leader in military drone technology, deploying domestically produced longrange drones alongside missiles for strikes deep inside Russia. Its drone technology has impressed governments and defense manufacturers around the world. Kyiv is aiming to make the Russian public feel the war’s consequences and pressure Russian President Vladi-

ting involved militarily this time around. The rebels’ advance inside Yemen seized the crucial port city of Mokha and key Red Sea islands that allow them to better monitor shipping trafﬁc through the Bab el-Mandeb, through which some 12% of world trade normally passes. The Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces, long divided into factions, withdrew but have vowed to regroup. The escalation ended a 2022 ceasefire that largely ended fighting in Yemen’s civil war, which started when the Houthis swept in from their mountainous heartland and seized much of northern and central Yemen, including Sanaa, 12 years ago. The Saudi-led coalition entered the war the following year on behalf of the internationally recognized government. The civil war killed at least 150,000 people, according to U.N. estimates, and pushed the country to the brink of famine. Now, with Houthis in control of Yemen’s western coast overlooking the Red Sea shipping corridor, “the balance of power has shifted in favor of the Sanaa government,” al-Bukhaiti said, referring to the rebels’ de facto authorities there. “Ultimately, (Saudi Arabia) lost its most critical card: the west coast,” he said.

CAIRO — A senior official with the Iran-backed Houthi rebels is warning countries against joining Saudi Arabia in Yemen’s revived civil war, telling The Associated Press on Sunday that his group has assured the Trump administration that it won’t attack U.S. vessels in the Red Sea. Mohamed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthis’ political bureau, said Washington reached out to the rebels after their rapid advance down Yemen’s western coast to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait earlier this month. “We confirmed that we are not targeting the United States, or any other nation, in the strait, with the sole exception of the Saudi enemy,” he told the AP in a Zoom interview from the rebel-held Yemeni capital, Sanaa. “That remains the case.” U.S. President Donald Trump last weekend said his administration has “had discussions” with the Houthis, but did not say when. “The Houthis called us, and they don’t want to ﬁght with us,” he said. “They would much prefer not having us involved, and they’re letting most ships go through.” The AP later reported that Oman hosted a meeting between U.S. and Houthi representatives last weekend, citing a Houthi ofﬁcial and

another individual familiar with the talks. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media. However, al-Bukhaiti only confirmed indirect contacts with U.S. officials through longtime mediator Oman, which brokered a 2025 ceasefire between the Houthis and the Trump administration. That ended a weekslong U.S. bombing campaign against the rebels in return for them ceasing attacks on U.S. vessels in the Red Sea. “The goal of our military operations is not to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, but rather to ensure freedom of navigation through it for everyone, including Yemen,” he said. Al-Bukhaiti said the rebels have the capacity to fight a war on multiple fronts “should any nation become implicated in the aggression against Yemen alongside Saudi Arabia.” “Today, Yemen is capable of waging battle — not merely an internal conflict, but an international one as well,” he said. He said the Houthi attacks against neighboring Saudi Arabia will persist until Riyadh ends its decadelong blockade on rebel-held areas in Yemen and allows vessels to reach Houthi-controlled ports on the Red Sea. Then they will be ready to negotiate, he said.

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Soaring gas prices impact voters, worsen financial hardships Trump says it’s an ‘inexpensive price to pay’ for the Iran war BY STEVE PEOPLES, JESSE BEDAYN and JONATHAN J. COOPER Associated Press

EDINBURG, Texas — Quinten Martinez, pumping gas under a hot South Texas sun, remembers a time when fueling up didn’t require difﬁcult decisions. “Is it going to be groceries this week?” asked the 28-year-old Amazon delivery driver as he watched the numbers tick higher. “Is it gonna be getting gas in our tank to go to work?” He shook his head when asked about President Donald Trump’s assertion last week that higher gas prices are a small price to pay for the war with Iran. “I don’t feel like it’s a good tradeoff,” Martinez said. “I don’t feel like this is good for anyone.” Voters across the country, and across the political spectrum, tend to agree. Interviews with voters in several states, along with a fresh round of national polling, reveal an overwhelming sense of frustration that skyrocketing gas prices — a direct result of Trump’s war — are creating serious and sustained ﬁnancial hardships for America’s working class. The acute concerns are adding to a bad political environment that

may be worsening for Trump and his Republican Party as early voting gets underway in the November midterm elections. Historically, the party holding the White House has suffered major losses in midterms. Today, seven weeks before Election Day, Republican candidates at all levels are struggling with the additional burden of Trump’s weak approval ratings, an unpopular foreign conﬂict and an affordability crisis that Trump and his congressional allies had promised to ﬁx. But when Trump campaigned in North Carolina on Wednesday, he played down the impact of surging gas prices. “You have a little higher. It’s a very inexpensive price to pay for what we’ve done,” Trump said of the war, which he describes as critical to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. “Remember that. It’s a little more. Frankly, even if it was a lot more.”

‘Gas prices matter’ Despite what Trump says, there are few things that may matter more this election year than the price of a gallon of gasoline, according to political operatives in both parties. Gas prices are moving sharply in the wrong direction at a time of year when drivers typically get some relief. The national average for a gallon of gas reached $4.48 on Friday, according to AAA, up roughly 17 cents over the last week, 40 cents in a month and

$1.27 from a year ago. “Gas prices matter because they’re one of the few economic indicators voters experience and see in real time,” said veteran Republican strategist Chris Wilson. “The price is literally staring them in the face several times a week. So I wouldn’t minimize the frustration we’re seeing, particularly among working- and middle-class voters.” Interviews with voters this week found bipartisan frustration and disappointment. Democrats and independents were especially motivated to punish Republicans at the ballot box for their economic hardship, while some of Trump’s working-class supporters pledged to support Republicans this fall, even if they weren’t happy with the president’s leadership on the economy.

Some Republicans disappointed Dan Lloyd, who voted for Trump, lamented the president’s leadership as the 63-year-old carpenter paid $4.39 a gallon to fill up his pickup truck in Mesa, Arizona. “He hurt himself stepping into this,” Lloyd said of Trump. “Where’s all this oil from Venezuela? I thought we were ﬂush with gas and everything, but no. The American people eat it every time, whether it’s interest rates, food, gasoline.” Still, he expects to vote Republican in the midterms. “I think the Democratic Party has lost its way,” Lloyd said. “I just feel like the whole system’s on the

verge of collapse.” In sweltering Edinburg, Texas, 52-year-old Kristin Jimenez shrugged off the rising price of gas after filling up her Mercedes. “We’ve paid the same price under Republican presidents, we’ve paid this price under Democrat presidents,” said Jimenez, a mother who runs a small business. She plans to vote for a Republican in because they’re the “lesser of two evils.” She said gas prices aren’t part of her calculation. “We don’t mind paying $8 for a cup of coffee at Starbucks, but we have a problem paying four bucks at the pump?” she said. “Make it make sense.” More than 1,500 miles to the north in central Michigan, 35-yearold Garth Johnson is trying to make ends meet running a deepcleaning business with several gas-powered vehicles and one machine fueled by diesel, which was $6.79 a gallon as he filled up his SUV. Johnson voted for Trump, but doesn’t know what he’s going to do in November. Johnson doesn’t feel qualified to second-guess the president’s evaluation of the war, but he’s feeling financial pressure in his own life. “I like a lot of the things he’s done,” Johnson said, but added “I’m a little guy and I’ve got to live my life.”

Other voters are not so forgiving Midterm voting was already

BEST STOP

Fresh cooked boudin is seen at The Best Stop Supermarket.

Continued from page 1A Louisiana Legislature, Scott is a hub for local producers and boudin shops, and hosts the Scott Boudin Festival each spring. The area’s proximity to a major travel corridor has helped boudin’s fame spread far and wide — to Texas, among workers from Louisiana who stock up on the drive home, and to the rest of the world via tourists who want to experience boudin for themselves. “If I-10 ever moved, we’d move,” said Cormier, who hit a sweet spot in the Cajun food market — something that locals love, and people will travel to get for themselves. “When we started, we were making our boudin right here in the front of the store, and customers would come in from Port Arthur and all these Texas places,” he said. “We were making about 150 pounds a week, and when I asked customers if they’d be coming back, they’d say, ‘Oh yeah. We can’t ﬁnd anything like this in Texas.’ That’s when I said, ‘We have something here.’ ” Now retired with his wife, Brunella, Cormier’s children Dana Cormier, Penny Gennuso and Damon Cormier are busy steering the business into the future. In 2020, they opened a U.S. Department of Agriculture-approved production facility to be able to sell products to franchisees, and have items for sale at around 600 market loca-

for the two or three times there’s been a wreck and the interstate shut down, according to Dana Cormier. Customers ﬂow in daily to purchase regular or smoked boudin, cracklins, boudin balls, jerky, andouille, tasso, a wide assortment of Cajun meats and spices — and maybe a souvenir or two. More expansion is planned for the future, said Gennuso, who worked in education before joining the family business to help manage growth. “We’ll be doubling the size of the plant and should be in operation with that by Jan. 1,” she said. “We’re going to potentially have some new items come out of that as well.”

Best Stop’s boudin was developed by Menard, who worked as a butcher, and family friend Mrs. Jerry Hovatta early on in the business — and the recipe has stayed the same ever since, according to the Cormiers. “I think it’s the meat to rice ratio that makes it special,” said Dana Cormier. “We have a lot more meat, and it just has a taste that’s like no other taste. It’s doesn’t have a whole lot of black pepper in it. It doesn’t have a whole lot of red pepper. It’s a mix that leaves you wanting to come back, that’s just a little spicy and still gives that good ﬂavor.” Said Robert Cormier: “I had a saying all these years: ‘You can always try to fool people, but you can’t fool their taste buds.’ When they take a bite and say, ‘Oh, this is good,’ then you have something special.” Even as boudin competition has exploded in recent years, the dis-

tinctive stories and ﬂavors in each link keep all of the producers in the area busy, said Damon Cormier. When it comes to Louisiana boudin, there’s always enough to go around. “It’s like the more competition that comes here, the busier we get,” he said. “It’s like a car dealership. Customers all come to the same place, but they might like something different and check out a different dealership. “Even if people like something better over there than here, or if we don’t have something they want, it just brings more people to this area for this product. If they want Cajun meats, they think about Scott.” Best Stop Supermarket will host a public event celebrating 40 years in business on Nov. 1, at their Scott headquarters located at 615 La. 93 N.

other off. We got to ﬁnd a thing, we got to get behind it and not everybody’s going to win.” Philanthropy was also part of that radical collaboration in Chattanooga. With the aquarium proj-

ect, John Lupton — the grandson of the man who started the ﬁrst franchised Coca-Cola bottling plant over 100 years ago — put $11 million of his own money and $10 million from his Lyndhurst Foundation to kick start the project. The Downtown Development Association and the Community Foundation of Acadiana have begun working in that area. Yet there’s still a ways to go, said City Council member Kenneth Boudreaux, and the efforts need consistency and better messaging. “Once we become consistent, we have to become better collaborators,” he said. “We have to remove any barriers that exist for whatever reason that they may exist. And of course, we have to communicate. We just cannot continue to function and operate in vacuums on intelligence.” Much of it is also taking the next step and capitalizing on what is ex-

isting, said Vincent June, chancellor at South Louisiana Community College. Transportation is a big issue across the region, he noted, and will likely be even bigger as large employers First Solar and eventually SpaceX try to ﬁll their workforce needs. In Chattanooga, the Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority offers a multimodal transportation system throughout Hamilton County and the surrounding areas. In the workforce space, the W.D. and Mary Baker Smith Career Center is a successful program, said School Board member Kate Labue, but it needs to be more adaptable. It needs more contributors to ensure students get on a pathway to meaningful employment. In Lafayette’s urban core, a crown jewel could very well be the Louisiana Music Museum, which has raised $6 million of the $8 mil-

lion needed to start construction, said Sam Oliver, executive director of the Acadiana Center for the Arts. A seven-ﬁgure donation will be announced soon, he said, and construction on the site at the corner of Vermilion and Buchanan streets could start in January. Collaboration would spur all of those projects. It could be the Lafayette way, Boudreaux said. “We need the courage to deﬁne the Lafayette way — because I don’t know what it is — and commit to it,” said Anita Begnaud, managing director of the Lafayette Resource Development Initiative with the Community Foundation of Acadiana. “And I think philanthropy needs to drive. Courage and commitment are really necessary.”

decision. “Since 2012, it has been our privilege to serve Louisiana Medicaid members,” a statement from the organization said. “Our focus remains on serving Medicaid members through December 31, 2026,” the statement said. “Until then, members should continue to use their Healthy Blue beneﬁts and get the care and services they need.” This summer, multiple outlets reported that Elevance Health,

Healthy Blue’s parent company and one of the largest managed care companies in the U.S., planned to downsize its Medicaid business in a number of states due to weak proﬁt margins. This is the second insurer to stop offering a Medicaid plan in Louisiana this year, though the circumstances are unrelated. Louisiana officials abruptly decided against renewing a Medicaid contract with UnitedHealthcare late last year over a dispute tied to

pharmacy benefits. UnitedHealthcare ended its Medicaid contract in Louisiana in April. Greenstein told lawmakers he is confident the four remaining plans will remain available in the coming years. “I’ve spoken to the senior leadership in each these plans in their national office and have great assurance that none of them plan to leave,” he said. “We’re not concerned at all about having fewer plans.”

In fact, some state officials and lawmakers have been pushing to reduce the number. Having fewer plans reduces the administrative burdens on healthcare providers and on the Health Department, Greenstein said. He also noted that having more people in each plan can lead to better services for patients. “When a plan can become more efficient, they can make more money, and then they can offer more benefits,” he said.

STAFF PHOTOS By LESLIE WESTBROOK

dana Cormier, from left, Penny Gennuso, Brunella Cormier, Robert Cormier and damon Cormier stand in their family’s business, The Best Stop Supermarket, in Scott on Thursday. tions across the Gulf South and nationally. There are currently five Best Stop franchise locations, in Broussard, Carencro and Toledo Bend and Baytown and Katy, Texas, and the company has also begun expanding with a “Cajun Express” cstore model, alongside 150 to 200 packages that they ship out weekly to customers. “A couple of weeks ago, all the boudin products we were making in the plant came out to 74,000 pounds in one week,” said Dana Cormier. “It’s probably over 2 million pounds a year.” The Best Stop Supermarket headquarters stays busy, except

SUCCESS

Continued from page 1A us. And if it’s a part of us, how does all of this impact it?’ ” In Lafayette and Acadiana, that sense of collaboration is not as evident, and while there are many areas now that work together, there are other areas of division that is holding progress back, said Ryan Pecot, longtime leasing agent with Stirling Properties and owner of Adopted Dog Brewery. There are too many clubs in Lafayette, he said, who are siloed with their own ideas and often compete against others for wins. “We just beat ourselves up because we have clubs that aren’t inclusive of everybody,” Pecot said. “The clubs have to communicate. The walls of the clubs have to come down. We got to piss each

INSURANCE

Continued from page 1A

From six plans to four

Greenstein said Healthy Blue did not provide the Health Department speciﬁc reasons for leaving the Louisiana market and referred questions on the decision to the company. Healthy Blue did not respond to questions about why it is leaving Louisiana and what led to the

underway on Friday in Virginia, where 60-year-old engineer Alan Johnson said Trump seems to have “no empathy” for Americans who are struggling ﬁnancially. “With the gas prices being what they are and continuing to grow, we’ve got to do something. Hopefully the Democrats can get into ofﬁce and turn the ship around,” said Johnson, who cast ballots in the morning for Democrats for the U.S. Senate and U.S. House. In Raleigh, North Carolina, teacher Brittney Bivins sees surging gas prices as evidence that Trump and his Republican Party aren’t dealing with the issues that matter most to people like her. “He really doesn’t care about everyday people,” the 45-year-old said. “He can afford the gas, but most of us can’t. So it feels like he’s not even connected to his own people.” Bivins, who described herself as an independent, said she’s eager to support Democrats this fall — especially the party’s emerging democratic socialist wing. At a gas station in Lansing, Michigan, Rina Risper spent $50 on 8 gallons of premium gas. “When I rolled up I was in shock, actually, and said, well, maybe I should drink water instead of having that $4.99 bottle of whatever it was I was gonna get,” Risper said. She thinks Trump’s tariffs will make affordability even worse. “We’re not in Miami. We’re in Lansing, Michigan,” she said. “It’s really going to impact our people.”

STAFF PHOTO By AdAM dAIGLE

Missy Rogers, president and founder of Noble Plastics, speaks to others on the final day of the Leadership Exchange trip in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Email Joanna Brown at joanna. brown@theadvocate.com.

Email Adam Daigle at adaigle@ theadvocate.com.

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Monday, September 21, 2026 ● 5A

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Rate hike reflects world of inflation, faster growth BY CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP economics writer

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has renewed his attacks on the Federal Reserve after it hiked its benchmark interest rate Wednesday, but the Fed matters less than broader economic trends when it comes to longer-term borrowing costs, economists say. The economy is growing steadily despite being hit with repeated shocks — and may even be accelerating — while inﬂation remains stubbornly high. And big tech firms are borrowing huge amounts of cash to plow into data center construction while the federal government is still running large yearly budget deficits. All these trends point to higher interest rates regardless of what the Fed does, analysts say. As a result, the low interest-rate, low-inﬂation world that lasted for nearly 15 years after the Great Recession is over and a higherpriced, higher-rate world is taking its place. Mortgage rates fell into the 3% range in the 2010s and even lower during COVID-19, but such deals are long gone. The average 30-year mortgage rate reached 6.95% last week, the highest in more than a year and a half. Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM, a tax con-

sulting firm, said that a big reason for the change is a shift from the pre-pandemic economy in which consumer and business demand was weak, to the current economy in which healthy consumer and business spending is colliding with supply shocks and bottlenecks. In addition to higher oil and gas prices because of the Iran war, the AI buildout has struggled with an insufficient supply of computer chips, electronic equipment, and workers to put it all together. “We’ve undergone a structural transformation of the economy,” Brusuelas said. “The regime change in inflation and interest rates is the outcome.” The shift, in many ways, returns the economy to where it was before the financial crisis in December 2007 that lasted through June 2009. But even after the downturn ended, consumer and business spending remained weak. Millions of Americans in the 2010s focused on paying down outsized mortgages and credit card debt instead. Businesses saw few investment opportunities, and many big tech firms such as Alphabet’s Google and Meta’s Facebook piled up cash. Now those companies are using those stockpiles to build out AI data centers,

ASSOCIATEd PRESS PHOTO By MARK SCHIEFELBEIN

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Kevin Warsh speaks Wednesday during a news conference at the Federal Reserve in Washington. and are borrowing even more money to do so. And American consumers — despite surveys finding they are pessimistic about the economy — are still spending at a healthy pace. A recent report showing that retail sales picked up last month led economists at Bank of America to forecast growth will reach a healthy 3% at an annual rate in the July-September quarter. Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh highlighted the shift in a speech

at the central bank’s annual conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming last month. After 2008, “it was a widely held view that an excess of capital would sit on the sidelines for a long, long time, because there just wouldn’t be enough compelling investment opportunities,” Warsh said. “All the good stuff had been invented. So growth would be low and slow. “Well, times sure have changed,” he continued. “Ever-expanding pools of

capital are pouring into AIrelated infrastructure of all sorts.” The additional spending and investment has contributed to higher longer-term interest rates on government bonds that are competing for lenders. The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond topped 5% this year for the first time since 2023, even before the Fed raised its benchmark short-term rate Wednesday. At the same time, political polling and consumer senti-

ment surveys continue to find that many Americans are struggling to keep up with rising prices, and affordability remains a top concern heading into the midterm elections. Even as the economy expands, inflation has outpaced the annual growth in average wages for the past five months. Brusuelas said the U.S. economy’s expansion is “imbalanced” with growth “entirely dependent” on the AI buildout and strong spending by wealthier consumers, who have benefited from rising stock prices driven by hopes that AI will lift profits. After the Fed lifted its rate to 3.9% Wednesday, Trump said on Truth Social that U.S. rates should be 1% instead. Yet many of Trump’s policies have contributed to higher borrowing costs, in particular the Iran war that has driven up gas prices. When inflation persists, investors demand higher interest rates on longer-term Treasury bonds, such as the 10-year, which strongly influences mortgage rates. “The president can say he wants interest rates lower all he wants, and yet he continues to push the button on all the policies that raise rates,” said Elizabeth Pancotti, vice president of policy, advocacy and research at the progressive Groundwork Collaborative.

Ed Sheeran says situation in Gaza ‘catastrophic and unjustifiable’ and I’ve never wanted where Sheeran’s tour was disappointed that Sheeran and attended. She said she is day he is donating $1 million Performer speaks tofans, be an activist musician, but scheduled to play on Friday. did not take a stand. a big Sheeran fan, doesn’t to support Palestinian relief Within hours of Sheeran’s this has put me in the middle “I was, until this week, a think he did anything wrong efforts and called on Kraft as he opens of an important and passion- statement Tuesday, his sup- big Ed Sheeran fan,” Stein- and a concert is not the place to match the gift; a spokesperson for Kraft has said the berg said. “I think all art is for politics. a t e a r g u - porting acts withdrew. concert “A concert should be for billionaire and Sheeran have Sheeran has performed political, and all music is poment about

BY TASSANEE VEJPONGSA Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA — Ed Sheeran opened a concert Saturday with comments about Gaza after controversy swirled around his tour and supporting acts withdrew in solidarity with opener Macklemore, who was dropped after making pro-Palestinian comments onstage. Sheeran began the concert alone on stage with no opener, but was joined by other musicians later in the show. Sheeran said he wants his music and shows to be about unity and humanity, not politics. But he said the attacks in Israel of Oct. 7, 2023, were horriﬁc and what is happening in Gaza “catastrophic and unjustiﬁable.” “I don’t want to disappoint

freedom of speech and the most complex political issue on the planet,” Sheeran Sheeran said during his performance at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. The comments before a nearly full stadium came after a tumultuous week that began with rapper Macklemore, Sheeran’s original U.S. opener, being dropped in response to exclaiming “Free Palestine” during a Sept. 5 show in New Jersey. Sheeran has said he was not responsible for the decision, which came at the urging of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. His company owns a stadium

many songs solo during his Loop Tour concerts, but was joined for several songs at each stop by the Irish folk band Beoga before they dropped out in support of Macklemore. Macklemore was replaced by Danish band Lukas Graham and Irish singer Aaron Rowe before they backed out, and Finneas, Billie Eilish’s brother and musical collaborator, was due to tour with Sheeran in South America later this year before he too dropped out this week. Before Saturday’s show, a small group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators congregated outside the stadium. Hillary Steinberg, 34, said she got concert tickets a year ago but wound up getting a refund and attended the demonstration instead,

Carney and Macron deepen ties as Canada turns toward Europe

litical, and so this choice — even though he was saying that he wasn’t complicit — is a political choice.” Diane Savitz, a 53-year-old from Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, got tickets months ago

people enjoying the music. Music should bring people together,” Savitz said. “Everyone has their right to freedom of speech, but not every platform is the place for it.” Macklemore said Wednes-

each agreed to donate $2 million but have not specified where the money will be directed. Sheeran’s representatives have not responded to multiple requests for comment.

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By The Associated Press SAINT-PIERRE, Saint-Pierre-etMiquelon — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and French President Emmanuel Macron moved Sunday to deepen a strategic partnership spanning space, defense, energy and business, another step in Canada’s accelerating turn toward Europe as relations with the United States deteriorate. They met in Saint-Pierreet-Miquelon, a French territory just off Newfoundland’s coast where France and Canada are separated by only a few kilometers — a striking setting for two countries trying to build closer economic and security ties across the Atlantic. “Only a few kilometers separate Canada and France at their closest point. Our values are even closer,” Carney said in French while standing alongside Macron. Carney said the countries will task their space agencies and defense ministries to develop and share infrastructure, including launch systems and ground-based reception facilities. They also agreed to expand cooperation in energy, telecommunications, climate resilience and economic development. The meeting comes days after Carney embraced the

CANAdIAN PRESS PHOTO By AdRIAN WyLd

French President Emmanuel Macron, left, takes a selfie with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Sunday after delivering remarks in Saint-Pierre, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon. prospect of Canada becoming the European Union’s ﬁrst associate member and argued that deeper ties with Europe would make Canada less vulnerable to economic coercion by any single country. Macron called Carney’s visit a “historic moment,” saying that amid global turmoil, the two countries were afﬁrming “our sovereignty, our freedom to decide” and their determination to build closer ties. Macron also backed Canada’s future involvement in the European Union. U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, demands for economic concessions and repeated talk of making Canada the 51st U.S. state have pushed the Canadian government to reduce its de-

pendence on its neighbor and pursue deeper economic, security and political relationships with Europe. Macron welcomed Carney on Sunday at the airport of the French territory off Newfoundland’s coast. “This is an important moment,” Macron said Saturday upon arrival in Saint-Pierreet- Miquelon, home to about 5,800 people. Talks “will allow us … to strengthen our bilateral economic ties and defense relationship,” Macron said. Macron also said that Sunday’s talks are part of broader efforts to help France secure oil and gas supplies as the Iran war disrupts global energy markets and raises fears of higher prices for fuel and other essentials.

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Courthouse renovations complete BY CLAIRE TAYLOR

Staff writer

Renovations to the 1960s-era Lafayette Parish Courthouse are complete after more than three years and $12.2 million of work. Lafayette Consolidated Government announced Thursday the completion of the third and ﬁnal phase of renovations to the courthouse located in downtown Lafayette at 800 S. Buchanan St. The courthouse is home to civil, criminal and land records; operations of the 15th Judicial District Court in Lafayette Parish; the District Attorney’s Office; the Clerk of Court’s Office; judges ofﬁces; and courtrooms.

“The renovations are making it a lot easier for witnesses, victims, jurors and other people to navigate the civil and criminal justice system, which can sometimes be challenging,” District Attorney Don Landry said. His employees also are benefiting from the renovated space on a daily basis, Landry added. State capital outlay funds covered half the cost of the renovations, while LCG funded the other half, Allison Dickerson, LCG public information specialist, said. Construction on Phase 1 began on May 24, 2023. Improvements to the fourth, fifth and seventh floors were com-

pleted on time and within budget, according to a news release. The final phase of construction focused on the fifth floor that included removing asbestos, fireproofing and floor renovations. The overall project also included design and construction for renovations to the seventh floor, which originally housed the jail. Across the three phases, walls were replaced with compliant fire-rated walls to accommodate enhanced floor plans with courtrooms, deliberation rooms, office space and other features. Upgrades also were made to public restrooms, HVAC systems, ceilings and lighting.

PROVIdEd PHOTO

Courtroom upgrades were part of $12 million in renovations to the Lafayette Parish Courthouse.

St. Landry gets more time to repay loan State warns of possible financial oversight

BY JOEL THOMPSON Staff writer

St. Landry Parish has six more months to repay $1.65 million in state loans, but the Louisiana legislative auditor warned Thursday that the parish could face state financial oversight if it fails to make signiﬁcant cuts to its operating expenses. The State Bond Commission voted Thursday to extend the repayment deadline to March. The parish originally was required to repay the loans sooner. The commission approved loans of up to $4.6 million for the parish in September. St. Landry used roughly $2.9 million of that amount, Parish President Jessie Bellard said. Louisiana Legislative Auditor Mike Waguespack told the commission that reducing core operating costs is the parish’s only realistic option for repaying the remaining debt. “They just haven’t been hawkish enough on making the cuts,” Waguespack said. “They need to get serious about making cuts to their operations. That’s the only way they’re going to do it.” Bellard announced in late July plans to reduce the number of parish employees and cut salaries for some retained employees in an effort to substantially reduce general fund expenses. The parish also has discussed reducing spending on animal control and transportation for seniors provided through the Community Action Agency. Together, those changes would save about $600,000 annually. “Right now, around 88.5% of the general fund money is for mandated expenses,” Bellard told The Acadiana Advocate in July. “That’s stuff we’ve got to pay for regardless, so there isn’t a lot of choice about where we can cut.” Waguespack said ﬁgures provided by the parish show payroll has remained relatively steady since April at about $350,000 a month. The parish projects that figure will fall to about $250,000 a month beginning in September, but Waguespack said he was skeptical of the projections. “They have a history of making projections, saying they’re going to make these cuts, but it hasn’t happened,” Waguespack said. The original proposal before the commission called for extending the loan’s maturity by one year. Waguespack instead recommended a six-month

ä See LOAN, page 6B

STAFF PHOTOS By BRAd BOWIE

99 BOTTLES OF BEER

TOP: Beer connoisseurs enjoy samples during Gulf Brew on Saturday in downtown Lafayette. ABOVE: A sample of beer is poured. LEFT: Members of the Dead Yeast Society hand out samples.

Billy’s Boudin to open Firefighters honored for new store by spring rescuing trapped children BY COURTNEY PEDERSEN Staff writer

nouncement, Henry’s Travel Plaza owner Kendal Henry told The Advocate that the exterior has been bricked up and exterior signs have been added to the 4,500-square-foot addition. “Now, we’re ﬁxing to move to the inside,” Henry said. “(There are) just a lot of details (that need to be done).” Henry said the location is planned to open in the ﬁrst quarter of next year. “(The response from the public) has been overwhelmingly positive,” Henry said.

The popular Billy’s Boudin is building a new location in southwest Louisiana with an anticipated opening by the spring of 2027. Billy’s Homemade Boudin & Cracklins is a well-known, beloved institution with four locations in Louisiana: Scott, Opelousas, Krotz Springs and Lafayette. In November, Henry’s Travel Plaza announced on Facebook that the newest Billy’s Homemade Boudin & Cracklins location would be inside its truck stop at 14390 La. 101 in Lacassine. Email Courtney Pedersen On Wednesday, nearly 10 at courtney.pedersen@ months after the original an- theadvocate.com.

BY CLAIRE TAYLOR Staff writer

Lafayette firefighters were recognized at a recent City Council meeting for rescuing two children, a 5-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy, from a burning apartment. Fireﬁghters Seth Judice and Cole Champagne, who have both been with the Lafayette Fire Department for over four years, on Aug. 3 practiced search-andrescue skills at Fire Station No. 2 on Mudd Avenue, like they do most days, Capt. Sean Lirette said. Just after 4:30 that afternoon, a call came in about a fire at Himbola Manor apart-

ments on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and they rushed to the scene. “We got there and the mom was outside screaming,” Judice recalled. The mother and neighbors said there were children trapped in the apartment. The men went inside the burning apartment three times, finding the two children in a bedroom. The ﬁreﬁghters performed lifesaving measures on the pair, who also were treated on the scene by Acadian Ambulance EMTs when they arrived, according to news

ä See RESCUE, page 6B

2B ● Monday, September 21, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate Legal Notices

Legal Notices

NOTICE Proposed Constitutional Amendments to be voted on at the U.S. Senate General/Open U.S. Representative Primary/Open Primary Election November 3, 2026 ---------CODING: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law; words in boldface type and/or underscored are additions. Proposed Amendment No. 1 Regular Session, 2026 -------ACT No. 39 -------SENATE BILL NO. 180 BY SENATOR FOIL A JOINT RESOLUTION Proposing to amend Article VII, Section 21(K)(1) of the Constitution of Louisiana, relative to ad valorem tax exemptions; to provide relative to the ad valorem tax exemption for certain disabled veterans and their surviving spouses; to allow for the transfer of certain exemptions by a surviving spouse; to provide for limitations; to provide for effectiveness; and to specify an election for submission of the proposition to electors and provide a ballot proposition. Section 1. Be it resolved by the Legislature of Louisiana, two-thirds of the members elected to each house concurring, that there shall be submitted to the electors of the state, for their approval or rejection in the manner provided by law, a proposal to amend Article VII, Section 21(K)(1) of the Constitution of Louisiana, to read as follows: §21. Other Property Exemptions Section 21. In addition to the homestead exemption provided for in Section 20 of this Article, the following property and no other shall be exempt from ad valorem taxation: *** (K)(1)(a) In addition to the homestead exemption authorized pursuant to the provisions of Section 20 of this Article, which applies to the first seven thousand five hundred dollars of the assessed valuation of property, the next two thousand five hundred dollars of the assessed valuation of property receiving the homestead exemption that is owned and occupied by a veteran with a service-connected disability rating of fifty percent or more but less than seventy percent by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs shall be exempt from ad valorem taxation. The surviving spouse of a deceased veteran with a service-connected disability rating of fifty percent or more but less than seventy percent by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs shall be eligible for this exemption if the surviving spouse occupies and remains the owner of the property, whether or not the exemption was in effect on the property prior to the death of the veteran. If property eligible for the exemption provided for in this Subsubparagraph has an assessed value in excess of ten thousand dollars, ad valorem property taxes shall apply to the assessment in excess of ten thousand dollars. (b) In addition to the homestead exemption authorized pursuant to the provisions of Section 20 of this Article, which applies to the first seven thousand five hundred dollars of the assessed valuation of property, the next four thousand five hundred dollars of the assessed valuation of property owned and occupied by a veteran with a service-connected disability rating of seventy percent or more but less than one hundred percent by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs shall be exempt from ad valorem taxation. The surviving spouse of a deceased veteran with a service-connected disability rating of seventy percent or more but less than one hundred percent by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs shall be eligible for this exemption if the surviving spouse occupies and remains the owner of the property, whether or not the exemption was in effect on the property prior to the death of the veteran. If property eligible for the exemption provided for in this Subsubparagraph has an assessed value in excess of twelve thousand dollars, ad valorem property taxes shall apply to the assessment in excess of twelve thousand dollars. (c) In addition to the homestead exemption authorized pursuant to the provisions of Section 20 of this Article, which applies to the first seven thousand five hundred dollars of the assessed valuation of property, the remaining assessed valuation of property receiving the homestead exemption that is owned and occupied by a veteran with a serviceconnected disability rating of one hundred percent unemployability or totally disabled by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs shall be exempt from ad valorem taxation. The surviving spouse of a deceased veteran with a service-connected disability rating of one hundred percent unemployability or totally disabled by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs shall be eligible for this exemption if the surviving spouse occupies and remains the owner of the property, whether or not the exemption was in effect on the property prior to the death of the veteran. (d) Once a surviving spouse of a deceased veteran with a serviceconnected disability is eligible for and has taken the exemption, if the surviving spouse then acquires a different property which qualifies for the homestead exemption, the surviving spouse shall be entitled to a one-time transfer of the exemption to that subsequent homestead, the exemption being limited in value to the amount of the exemption claimed on the prior homestead in the last year for which the exemption was claimed. The assessor may require the submission of certain information concerning the amount of the exemption on the prior homestead for purposes of determining the extent of the exemption available for the subsequent homestead. *** Section 2. Be it further resolved that the provisions of this amendment shall become effective January 1, 2027, and shall apply to all taxable years beginning on January 1, 2027. Section 3. Be it further resolved that this proposed amendment shall be submitted to the electors of the state of Louisiana at the statewide election to be held on November 3, 2026. Section 4. Be it further resolved that on the official ballot to be used at said election there shall be printed a proposition, upon which the electors of the state shall be permitted to vote YES or NO, to amend the Constitution of Louisiana, which proposition shall read as follows: Do you support an amendment to allow the surviving spouse of a deceased veteran with a service-connected disability, who receives the additional property tax exemption, to make a one-time transfer of the additional property tax exemption property tax exemption to a subsequent qualifying property? (Effective January 1, 2027) (Amends Article VII, Section 21(K)(1)) Proposed Amendment No. 2 Regular Session, 2026 -------ACT No. 273 -------HOUSE BILL NO. 521 BY REPRESENTATIVES WILDER, AMEDEE, BAMBURG, BAYHAM, BERAULT, BILLINGS, BOUDREAUX, BOURRIAQUE, BRASS, CARVER, CHASSION, CHENEVERT, COATES, COX, CREWS, DESHOTEL, DEWITT, DICKERSON, EDMONSTON, EGAN, FIRMENT, FONTENOT, FREIBERG, GALLE, HEBERT, HORTON, KNOX, LACOMBE, JACOB LANDRY, MARTINEZ, MELERINE, OWEN, SCHAMERHORN, TAYLOR, TURNER, WILEY, AND WRIGHT A JOINT RESOLUTION Proposing to amend Article VII, Section 23(C) of the Constitution of Louisiana, relative to ad valorem property tax millage rate adjustments; to provide for maximum authorized millage rates; to provide for applicability; to provide for an effective date; to provide for submission of the proposed amendment to the electors; and to provide for related matters. Section 1. Be it resolved by the Legislature of Louisiana, two-thirds of the members elected to each house concurring, that there shall be submitted to the electors of the state of Louisiana, for their approval or rejection in the manner provided by law, a proposal to amend Article VII, Section 23(C) of the Constitution of Louisiana, to read as follows: §23. Adjustment of Ad Valorem Tax Millages Section 23. *** (C) Increases Permitted. Nothing herein shall prohibit a taxing authority from collecting, in the year in which Sections 18 and 20 of this Article are implemented or in any subsequent year, a larger dollar amount of ad valorem taxes by (1) levying additional or increased millages as provided by law or (2) placing additional property on the tax rolls. Increases in the millage rate in excess of the rates established as provided by Paragraph (B) above of this Section but not in excess of the prior year’s maximum authorized millage rate approved by this constitution and approved by the taxing authority until the authorized millage rate expires may be levied by a two-thirds vote of the total membership of a taxing authority without further voter approval but only after a public hearing held in accordance with the open meeting law; however, in addition to any other requirements of the open meetings law, public notice of the time, place, and subject matter of such hearing shall be published on two separate days no less than thirty days before the public hearing. Such public notice shall be published in the official journal of the taxing authority, and another newspaper with a larger circulation within the taxing authority than the official journal of the taxing authority, if there is one. *** Section 2. Be it further resolved that the provisions of the amendment

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contained in this Joint Resolution shall become effective January 1, 2027, and shall be applicable to all taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2027. Section 3. Be it further resolved that this proposed amendment shall be submitted to the electors of the state of Louisiana at the statewide election to be held on November 3, 2026. Section 4. Be it further resolved that on the official ballot to be used at the election, there shall be printed a proposition, upon which the electors of the state shall be permitted to vote YES or NO, to amend the Constitution of Louisiana, which proposition shall read as follows: Do you support an amendment to allow a local taxing authority to continue to levy a lower millage rate without losing its ability to adjust to the maximum authorized millage rate from a prior year’s reassessment? (Effective January 1, 2027) (Amends Article VII, Section 23(C)) Proposed Amendment No. 3 Regular Session, 2026 -------ACT No. 271 -------HOUSE BILL NO. 51 BY REPRESENTATIVE VILLIO A JOINT RESOLUTION Proposing to add Article I, Section 18(C) of the Constitution of Louisiana, relative to the right to bail; to prohibit bail for offenders who have been convicted of certain offenses; to provide for submission of the proposed amendment to the electors; and to provide for related matters. Section 1. Be it resolved by the Legislature of Louisiana, two-thirds of the members elected to each house concurring, that there shall be submitted to the electors of the state of Louisiana, for their approval or rejection in the manner provided by law, a proposal to add Article I, Section 18(C) of the Constitution of Louisiana, to read as follows: §18. Right to Bail Section 18.

*** (C) However, after conviction, a person shall not be bailable if the offense is an aggravated offense as defined by R.S. 15:541 that is committed against a victim who is a minor. Section 2. Be it further resolved that this proposed amendment shall be submitted to the electors of the state of Louisiana at the statewide election to be held on November 3, 2026. Section 3. Be it further resolved that on the official ballot to be used at the election, there shall be printed a proposition, upon which the electors of the state shall be permitted to vote YES or NO, to amend the Constitution of Louisiana, which proposition shall read as follows: Do you support an amendment to prohibit a defendant from being released on any post-conviction bail if the defendant is convicted of an aggravated offense against a minor child? (Adds Article I, Section 18(C)) Proposed Amendment No. 4 Regular Session, 2026 -------ACT No. 414 -------HOUSE BILL NO. 225 BY REPRESENTATIVES BAYHAM AND MANDIE LANDRY A JOINT RESOLUTION Proposing to amend Article IV, Section 3(B) of the Constitution of Louisiana, to provide for the term limit for the office of the governor; to provide for a lifetime term limit; to provide that the limit is not limited to service in successive terms; to provide for submission of the proposed amendment to the electors; and to provide for related matters. Section 1. Be it resolved by the Legislature of Louisiana, two-thirds of the members elected to each house concurring, that there shall be submitted to the electors of the state of Louisiana, for their approval or rejection in the manner provided by law, a proposal to amend Article IV, Section 3(B) of the Constitution of Louisiana, to read as follows: §3. Election; Term Section 3.

*** (B) Limitation on Governor. A person who has served as governor for more than one and one-half terms in two consecutive terms shall not be elected governor for the succeeding term. *** Section 2. Be it further resolved that this proposed amendment shall be submitted to the electors of the state of Louisiana at the statewide election to be held on November 3, 2026. Section 3. Be it further resolved that on the official ballot to be used at the election, there shall be printed a proposition, upon which the electors of the state shall be permitted to vote YES or NO, to amend the Constitution of Louisiana, which proposition shall read as follows: Do you support an amendment to prohibit a person who has served more than one and one-half terms as governor from being elected as governor for any future term? (Amends Article IV, Section 3(B)) Proposed Amendment No. 5 Regular Session, 2026 -------Act No. 606 -------HOUSE BILL NO. 27 BY REPRESENTATIVE MCMAKIN A JOINT RESOLUTION Proposing to amend Article VII, Section 10(D)(2)(b)(iii) of the Constitution of Louisiana, relative to application of certain state monies to state retirement system unfunded accrued liability; to remove requirement that such monies be applied to the oldest system liabilities first; to provide for submission of the proposed amendment to the electors; and to provide for related matters. Notice of intention to introduce this Act has neem published as provided by Article X, Section 29(C) of the Constitution of Louisiana. Section 1. Be it resolved by the Legislature of Louisiana, two-thirds of the members elected to each house concurring, that there shall be submitted to the electors of the state of Louisiana, for their approval or rejection in the manner provided by law, a proposal to amend Article VII, Section 10(D)(2)(b)(iii) of the Constitution of Louisiana, to read as follows: §10. Expenditure of State Funds Section 10. (D) Appropriations.

***

*** (2) Except as otherwise provided in this constitution, the appropriation or allocation of any money designated in the official forecast as nonrecurring shall be made only for the following purposes: *** (b) *** (iii) For Fiscal Year 2024-2025 and each fiscal year thereafter, the legislature shall appropriate no less than twenty-five percent of any money designated in the official forecast as nonrecurring to the state retirement systems for application to their unfunded accrued liability. Money appropriated pursuant to this Item shall be applied by the receiving system to its outstanding positive amortization bases in the order in which they were created, from oldest to newest. The legislature may provide by law for a formula to distribute the nonrecurring money between those state retirement systems that have unfunded accrued liability. If the legislature has not provided by law for a distribution formula, nonrecurring money shall be appropriated pursuant to this Item to each system in the proportion that the system’s total unfunded accrued liability bears to the total of all state system unfunded accrued liability, using the most recent system valuations adopted by the Public Retirement Systems’ Actuarial Committee or its successor. Any payment to a state retirement system made pursuant to the provisions of this Item shall not be used, directly or indirectly, to fund cost-of-living increases for such system. *** Section 2. Be it further resolved that this proposed amendment shall be submitted to the electors of the state of Louisiana at the statewide election to be held on November 3, 2026. Section 3. Be it further resolved that on the official ballot to be used at the election, there shall be printed a proposition, upon which the electors of the state shall be permitted to vote YES or NO, to amend the Constitution of Louisiana, which proposition shall read as follows: Do you support an amendment to authorize a state retirement

Legal Notices

system to apply any nonrecurring state monies it receives to any of its unfunded accrued liability rather than requiring application to its oldest unfunded accrued liability? (Amends Article VII, Section 10(D) (2)(b)(iii)) Proposed Amendment No. 6 Regular Session, 2026 -------ACT No. 274 -------HOUSE BILL NO. 514 BY REPRESENTATIVES FARNUM AND CHASSION A JOINT RESOLUTION Proposing to add Article VII, Section 21(P) of the Constitution of Louisiana, relative to ad valorem taxation; to extend an ad valorem tax exemption for property owners who are sixty-five years of age or older; to provide for the amount of the exemption; to provide for requirements and limitations; to provide for implementation of the exemption by parishes and municipalities; to prohibit the reappraisal and valuation of property for purposes of millage adjustments under certain circumstances; to provide for applicability; to provide for an effective date; to provide for submission of the proposed amendment to the electors; and to provide for related matters. Section 1. Be it resolved by the Legislature of Louisiana, two-thirds of the members elected to each house concurring, that there shall be submitted to the electors of the state of Louisiana, for their approval or rejection in the manner provided by law, a proposal to add Article VII, Section 21(P) of the Constitution of Louisiana, to read as follows: §21. Other Property Exemptions Section 21. In addition to the homestead exemption provided for in Section 20 of this Article, the following property and no other shall be exempt from ad valorem taxation: *** (P)(1) In addition to the homestead exemption authorized pursuant to the provisions of Section 20 of this Article, which applies to the first seven thousand five hundred dollars of the assessed valuation of property, an additional exemption shall apply to property receiving the homestead exemption that is owned and occupied by a person who is at least sixty-five years of age or older and who qualifies for the special assessment level pursuant to Article VII, Section 18(G) (1)(a)(i) of this constitution. The amount of the additional exemption shall be as follows: (a) For persons sixty-five years of age but not yet sixty-nine years of age, the next six thousand dollars of the assessed valuation of the property shall be exempt from ad valorem taxation. (b) For persons sixty-nine years of age but not yet seventythree years of age, the next twelve thousand dollars of the assessed valuation of the property shall be exempt from ad valorem taxation. (c) For persons seventy-three years of age but not yet seventyseven years of age, the next eighteen thousand dollars of the assessed valuation of the property shall be exempt from ad valorem taxation. (d) For persons seventy-seven years of age but not yet eighty-one years of age, the next twenty-four thousand dollars of the assessed valuation of the property shall be exempt from ad valorem taxation. (e) For persons eighty-one years of age and older, the next thirty thousand dollars of the assessed valuation of the property shall be exempt from ad valorem taxation. (2) The surviving spouse of a property owner claiming the exemption shall be eligible for the exemption provided for in this Paragraph if the surviving spouse occupies and remains the owner of or retains a usufruct on the property and is not more than five years younger than the owner. (3) The exemption provided in this Paragraph shall be applicable in any parish or municipality in which the exemption has been approved by a majority of the electors of the parish or municipality voting at an election called for that purpose. (4) Notwithstanding any provision of this constitution to the contrary, any decrease in the total amount of ad valorem tax collected by the taxing authority as a result of the exemption shall be absorbed by the taxing authority and shall not create any additional tax liability for other taxpayers in the taxing district as a result of any subsequent reappraisal and valuation or millage adjustment. Implementation of the exemption authorized in this Paragraph shall neither trigger nor cause for a reappraisal of property or an adjustment of millages pursuant to the provisions of Section 23(B) of this Article. (5) A trust shall be eligible for the exemption provided for this Paragraph as provided by law. Section 2. Be it further resolved that the provisions of the amendment contained in this Joint Resolution shall become effective January 1, 2028, and shall be applicable to all tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2028. Section 3. Be it further resolved that this proposed amendment shall be submitted to the electors of the state of Louisiana at the statewide election to be held on November 3, 2026. Section 4. Section 4. Be it further resolved that on the official ballot to be used at the election, there shall be printed a proposition, upon which the electors of the state shall be permitted to vote YES or NO, to amend the Constitution of Louisiana, which proposition shall read as follows: Do you support an amendment to authorize parishes and municipalities to extend an additional property tax exemption for property subject to the homestead exemption that is owned and occupied by a person who is at least sixty-five years of age and who qualifies for the special assessment level? (Effective January 1, 2028) (Adds Article VII, Section 21(P)) Proposed Amendment No. 7 Regular Session, 2026 -------ACT No. 607 -------SENATE BILL NO. 228 BY SENATOR DUPLESSIS AND REPRESENTATIVES BOYD, BRASS, BRAUD, BRYANT, CHASSION, FISHER, FREEMAN, GREEN, JACKSON, TRAVIS JOHNSON, JORDAN, KNOX, LAFLEUR, MANDIE LANDRY, TERRY LANDRY, LARVADAIN, LYONS, MARCELLE, MENA, MILLER, MOORE, NEWELL, THOMPSON, WALTERS AND YOUNG A JOINT RESOLUTION Proposing to amend Article VII, Section 14(B) of the Constitution of Louisiana, relative to water utility service lines; to provide for the use of public funds to remove or replace drinking water utility service lines located on property owned by utility customers; to provide relative to identifying, inventorying water utility service lines made of or affected by certain hazardous materials; to specify an election for submission of the proposition to electors and provide a ballot proposition. Section 1. Be it resolved by the Legislature of Louisiana, two-thirds of the members elected to each house concurring, that there shall be submitted to the electors of the state, for their approval or rejection in the manner provided by law, a proposal to amend Article VII, Section 14(B) of the Constitution of Louisiana, to read as follows: §14. Donation, Loan, or Pledge of Public Credit *** Section 14. (A) (B) Authorized Uses. Nothing in this Section shall prevent (1) the use of public funds for programs of social welfare for the aid and support of the needy; (2) contributions of public funds to pension and insurance programs for the benefit of public employees; (3) the pledge of public funds, credit, property, or things of value for public purposes with respect to the issuance of bonds or other evidences of indebtedness to meet public obligations as provided by law; (4) the return of property, including mineral rights, to a former owner from whom the property had previously been expropriated, or purchased under threat of expropriation, when the legislature by law declares that the public and necessary purpose which originally supported the expropriation has ceased to exist and orders the return of the property to the former owner under such terms and conditions as specified by the legislature; (5) acquisition of stock by any institution of higher education in exchange for any intellectual property; (6) the donation of abandoned or blighted housing property by the governing authority of a municipality or a parish to a nonprofit organization which is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization and which agrees to renovate and maintain such property until conveyance of the property by such organization; (7) the deduction of any tax, interest, penalty, or other charges forming the basis of tax liens on blighted property so that

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Monday, September 21, 2026 ● 3B

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they may be subordinated and waived in favor of any purchaser who is not a member of the immediate family of the blighted property owner or which is not any entity in which the owner has a substantial economic interest, but only in connection with a property renovation plan approved by an administrative hearing officer appointed by the parish or municipal government where the property is located; (8) the deduction of past due taxes, interest, and penalties in favor of an owner of a blighted property, but only when the owner sells the property at less than the appraised value to facilitate the blighted property renovation plan approved by the parish or municipal government and only after the renovation is completed such deduction being canceled, null and void, and to no effect in the event ownership of the property in the future reverts back to the owner or any member of his immediate family; (9) the donation by the state of asphalt which has been removed from state roads and highways to the governing authority of the parish or municipality where the asphalt was removed, or if not needed by such governing authority, then to any other parish or municipal governing authority, but only pursuant to a cooperative endeavor agreement between the state and the governing authority receiving the donated property; (10) the investment in stocks of a portion of the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge Trust and Protection Fund, created under the provisions of R.S. 56:797, and the Russell Sage or Marsh Island Refuge Fund, created under the provisions of R.S. 56:798, such portion not to exceed thirtyfive percent of each fund; (11) the investment in stocks of a portion of the state-funded permanently endowed funds of a public or private college or university, not to exceed thirty-five percent of the public funds endowed; (12) the investment in equities of a portion of the Medicaid Trust Fund for the Elderly created under the provisions of R.S. 46:2691 et seq., such portion not to exceed thirty-five percent of the fund; (13) the investment of public funds to capitalize a state infrastructure bank and the loan, pledge, or guarantee of public funds by a state infrastructure bank solely for transportation projects; (14) pursuant to a written agreement, the donation of the use of public equipment and personnel by a political subdivision upon request to another political subdivision for an activity or function the requesting political subdivision is authorized to exercise; or (15) a political subdivision from waiving charges for water if the charges are the result of water lost due to damage to the water delivery infrastructure and that damage is not the result of any act or failure to act by the customer being charged for the water; or (16) the use of public funds by a political subdivision for the purpose of identifying, inventorying, removing or replacing drinking water utility service lines made of or affected by materials as specified or prescribed by the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, promulgated October 30, 2024, or subsequent promulgation, on property owned by utility customers. *** Section 2. Be it further resolved that this proposed amendment shall be submitted to the electors of the state of Louisiana at the statewide election to be held on November 3, 2026. Section 3. Be it further resolved that on the official ballot to be used at said election there shall be printed a proposition, upon which the electors of the state shall be permitted to vote YES or NO, to amend the Constitution of Louisiana, which proposition shall read as follows: Do you support an amendment to allow for the use of public funds by a political subdivision for the purpose of identifying, inventorying, removing or replacing drinking water utility service lines made of or affected by materials as specified or prescribed by the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, promulgated October 30, 2024, or subsequent promulgation, on property owned by utility customers? (Amends Article VII, Section 14) Proposed Amendment No. 8 Regular Session, 2026 -------ACT No. 277 -------HOUSE BILL NO. 192 BY REPRESENTATIVE OWEN AND SENATORS ALLAIN, BARROW, BASS, CATHEY, CLOUD, EDMONDS, FESI, HODGES, JACKSON-ANDREWS, MIGUEZ, PRESSLY, SEABAUGH, AND WHEAT A JOINT RESOLUTION Proposing to amend Article I, Section 4(B)(4) of the Constitution of Louisiana, relative to the right to property; to prohibit expropriation by foreign adversaries; to provide for submission of the proposed amendment to the electors; and to provide for related matters.

Legal Notices

Section 1. Be it resolved by the Legislature of Louisiana, two-thirds of the members elected to each house concurring, that there shall be submitted to the electors of the state of Louisiana, for their approval or rejection in the manner provided by law, a proposal to amend Article I, Section 4(B)(4) of the Constitution of Louisiana, to read as follows: §4. Right to Property Section 4.

***

(B)

*** (4) Property shall not be taken or damaged by any private entity authorized by law to expropriate, except for a public and necessary purpose and with just compensation paid to the owner; in such proceedings, whether the purpose is public and necessary shall be a judicial question. No private entity that is a foreign adversary or an agent of a foreign adversary, as defined by law, shall take or damage property. *** Section 2. Be it further resolved that this proposed amendment shall be submitted to the electors of the state of Louisiana at the statewide election to be held on November 3, 2026. Section 3. Be it further resolved that on the official ballot to be used at the election, there shall be printed a proposition, upon which the electors of the state shall be permitted to vote YES or NO, to amend the Constitution of Louisiana, which proposition shall read as follows: Do you support an amendment to prohibit expropriation of property by a foreign adversary or an agent of a foreign adversary? (Amends Article I, Section 4(B)(4)) Proposed Amendment No. 9 Regular Session, 2025 -------ACT No. 220 -------HOUSE BILL NO. 300 BY REPRESENATIVE MACK A JOINT RESOLUTION Proposing to amend Article VII, Section 18(G)(1)(a)(ii) of the Constitution of Louisiana, relative to ad valorem taxation; to provide for assessment of property for ad valorem tax purposes; to provide with respect to the special assessment level; to provide with respect to the income limit associated with qualifying for the special assessment level; to provide for an effective date; to provide for submission of the proposed amendment to the electors; and to provide for related matters. Section 1. Be it resolved by the Legislature of Louisiana, two-thirds of the members elected to each house concurring, that there shall be submitted to the electors of the state of Louisiana, for their approval or rejection in the manner provided by law, a proposal to amend Article VII, Section 18(G)(1)(a)(ii) of the Constitution of Louisiana, to read as follows: §4. Right to Property Section 18.

*** (G) Special Assessment Level. (1) (a) *** (ii) Any person or persons shall be prohibited from receiving the special assessment as provided in this Section if such person’s or persons’ adjusted gross income, as reported in the federal tax return for the year prior to the application for the special assessment, exceeds one hundred fifty thousand dollars. For persons applying for the special assessment whose filing status is married filing separately, the adjusted gross income for purposes of this Section shall be determined by combining the adjusted gross income on both federal tax returns. The assessor may establish an applicant’s income eligibility for the special assessment level by verifying the applicant’s federal adjusted gross income as reported on the Louisiana income tax return for the year prior to the application. Beginning for the tax year 2026 2028 and for each tax year thereafter, the one hundred fifty thousand dollar limit shall be adjusted annually by the Consumer Price Index as reported by the United States Government. Notwithstanding any provision of this constitution to the contrary, a decrease in the total amount of ad valorem tax collected by a taxing authority as a result of the special assessment level shall be absorbed by the taxing authority and shall not create any additional tax liability for other taxpayers in the taxing district as a result of any subsequent

Legal Notices

reappraisal and valuation or millage adjustment. Implementation of the special assessment level shall neither trigger nor be cause for a reappraisal of property or an adjustment of millages pursuant to the provisions of Article VII, Section 23(B) of this constitution. *** Section 2. Be it further resolved that the provisions of the amendment contained in this Joint Resolution shall become effective on January 1, 2027, and shall be applicable to all tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2027. Section 3. Be it further resolved that this proposed amendment shall be submitted to the electors of the state of Louisiana at the statewide election to be held on November 3, 2026. Section 4. Be it further resolved that on the official ballot to be used at the election, there shall be printed a proposition, upon which the electors of the state shall be permitted to vote YES or NO, to amend the Constitution of Louisiana, which proposition shall read as follows: Do you support an amendment to increase the maximum amount of income a person may receive and still qualify for the special assessment level for residential property receiving the homestead exemption? (Effective January 1, 2027) (Amends Article VII, Section 18(G)(1)(a)(ii)) Proposed Amendment No. 10 Regular Session, 2026 -------ACT No. 272 -------HOUSE BILL NO. 214 BY REPRESENTATIVES CHANCE HENRY AND CHASSION AND SENATORS BARROW, BOUDREAUX, JACKSONANDREWS, JENKINS, AND PRICE A JOINT RESOLUTION Proposing to add Article VII, Section 21(P) of the Constitution of Louisiana, relative to ad valorem taxes; to authorize the exemption of certain property from ad valorem taxes subject to conditions provided in law; to require the legislature to enact laws relative to implementation of the exemption; to provide for applicability; to provide for an effective date; to provide for submission of the proposed amendment to the electors; and to provide for related matters. Section 1. Be it resolved by the Legislature of Louisiana, two-thirds of the members elected to each house concurring, that there shall be submitted to the electors of the state of Louisiana, for their approval or rejection in the manner provided by law, a proposal to add Article VII, Section 21(P) of the Constitution of Louisiana, to read as follows: §21. Other Property Exemptions Section 21. In addition to the homestead exemption provided for in Section 20 of this Article, the following property and no other shall be exempt from ad valorem taxation: *** (P) There shall be an optional ad valorem tax exemption for blighted or derelict property that has been rehabilitated. The legislature shall enact laws defining blighted property, derelict property, and any other terms as may be necessary for implementing the exemption provided for in this Paragraph. The legislature shall establish in law the term of the exemption and the conditions, requirements, and procedures necessary for a political subdivision to administer the exemption. *** Section 2. Be it further resolved that the provisions of the amendment contained in this Joint Resolution shall become effective on January 1, 2027, and apply to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2027. Section 3. Be it further resolved that this proposed amendment shall be submitted to the electors of the state of Louisiana at the statewide election to be held on November 3, 2026. Section 4. Be it further resolved that on the official ballot to be used at the election, there shall be printed a proposition, upon which the electors of the state shall be permitted to vote YES or NO, to amend the Constitution of Louisiana, which proposition shall read as follows: Do you support an amendment to allow property tax exemptions for blighted or derelict properties that have been rehabilitated, and to require the legislature to enact laws providing for administration of these exemptions? (Effective January 1, 2027) (Adds Article VII, Section 21(P))

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4B ● Monday, September 21, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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

Secret deal for SpaceX raises questions

What if other sweet industry deals go the way of bankrupt golf tourney? A year ago, Gov. Jeff Landry touted — amid lots of fanfare — his commitment to the LIV golf tournament to be held in New Orleans (despite the city already hosting a golf tournament) and the state’s funding commitment to that tournament. Now that LIV has ﬁled for bankruptcy, the state is on the hook for $1.2 million, not counting the amount spent to upgrade the City Park course, which may or may not have been a priority absent the proposed tournament. Now, Landry is touting exponentially more ambitious projects for our state — a giant Meta data center in Richland Parish and a massive SpaceX rocket launch and data center in Vermilion Parish. These projects have been courted and negotiated in secret with legislators and government ofﬁcials signing nondisclosure agreements, despite the fact that they are government servants and supposed to be working for us, their constituents. Also, the companies have been granted generous tax breaks, and legislation has been passed protecting the companies from lawsuits that could have been brought by residents who may be harmed by these enterprises. These are among the richest companies in the world, owned by the richest individuals. Why are they getting tax breaks? Putting aside the very large question of whether these projects are advisable at all, one wonders who is looking out for the welfare of our residents and for the state environment that was once known as a “sportsman’s paradise.” That moniker will no longer apply to these two locations, what with the constant blasting of rockets and drone of generators. And what happens if Louisiana and Richland and Vermilion parishes are left holding the bag, à la the LIV Golf debacle?

NANCY PICARD Mandeville

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

published identifying name and the writer’s city of residence. The Advocate | The Times-Picayune require a street address and TO SENd US A LETTER, phone number SCAN HERE 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.

A Baton Rouge attorney wrote recently that the Elon Musk SpaceX development was a good thing for Louisiana. It’s an interesting fact that among the occupations that beneﬁt most from projects such as this are attorneys. The nondisclosure agreements that politicians signed before approving this project are explained by our governor as a way to prevent Texas, or other states, from knowing what Louisiana is doing. Why is this not being questioned more deeply, especially because it is clear that Musk has a history of buying his way into making trillions? These projects bring to a community egregious offenses including noise heard miles away and disruption to community resources by way of costs forced upon residents, on top of the loss of value to property. In this agreement, residents have no legal recourse to seek damages from the corporation or Musk. Do the residents deserve to know why these plans were agreed upon? Did Musk promise something we don’t know about? We are not Texas; we are Louisiana, and the money bartered away belongs to the residents affected. Unfortunately, the NDA prevents us from knowing more. Our governor seems to think we are not worthy of that knowledge. Trump would agree.

AP PHOTO/PAUL SANCyA

detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff is hit by Saints defensive end Chase young in the first half of the Sept. 13 game in detroit.

Saints are robbed by another bad call There it was. Chase Young had supplied the greatest play for the New Orleans Saints in 2026. It was just what Saints fans were looking for. Sack, fumble, touchdown! Except, as has been true all too often for Saints fans in the last decade, it wasn’t to be. By what new rule was this touchdown negated? Certainly by one we have not heard of before or since. It was similar to the SaintsRams game in the 2018 NFC Championship. All will remember that game. And what is a fan to do? The only thing that can be done is to give up football. Stop paying for it. That is a tall order in a day when NFL football gives a much-needed respite to fans eager to forget their everyday lives and pin their hopes on local heroes, albeit ones who are paid many times what the fans

themselves could ever hope to make in their lives. The time has come for us all to take a long, hard look at this game. Are we indeed serfs, who must till the ground and grow crops for the wealthy landowners (i.e. NFL owners and even players)? What rules are we even playing by, when NFL referees can seemingly change calls arbitrarily and based on rules none of us have heard of? Far too many calls have gone the way of this one, and far too many times it has cost our New Orleans Saints a win, like this time. Are fans of NFL teams destined to be like the serfs of old? Or can we come together and effect change?

GERARD RAULT New Orleans

JOHN SFIRE New Orleans

Trump unfairly blames Ukraine for fallout from his war

Louisianans are lured with big promises “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” tells of a poor Southern family watching the Confederacy collapse. Old Dixie fell because the Confederacy chose to preserve a political and economic order built on slavery. The suffering of ordinary Southern families was real, but the system rested on a terrible moral wrong that needed to end. Southern communities saw their land occupied and their society shattered by advancing Union armies. Today, no invading army is taking land away. The sacriﬁces now being demanded are the result of choices made by the South’s own leaders. Louisiana has spent generations giving oil, gas and petrochemical companies access to its land and natural resources in return for promises of jobs and prosperity. Yet Louisiana remains at or near the bottom of major national measures of health and poverty. Now Louisiana’s leaders are making huge new bets. Massive data centers consume extraordinary amounts of electricity and water, require major new power infrastructure and place added pressure on local com-

munities. SpaceX has acquired 125,000 acres for a massive complex in Vermilion Parish. Supporters tout jobs and investment, but questions remain about public subsidies, environmental damage and what local people must sacrifice. Politicians are treating land, water and local ways of life as things to trade for another corporate promise. But the wetlands matter. Hunting matters. Shrimping, oystering, crawfishing and fishing all matter, and the people who make their living from that land and water matter too. They must not be cast aside just to satisfy a trillionaire’s lust for further excess. Louisiana has made this bargain before. Again and again, parts of the state have been turned into sacrifice zones while ordinary people were told prosperity would soon follow. Looking at where Louisiana stands today, once again those same promises ring hollow.

An article in the newspaper on Sept. 14 states that President Donald Trump is asking President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine to stop bombing Russian refineries and that there are “plenty of other targets.” Trump claims that the cause of the global oil shortage is these Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil and gas refineries. Has he forgotten that he himself started a war with Iran this past February and that the Iranian war is causing a gigantic bottleneck in the Strait of Hormuz? That global shipping of oil and all other products is being severely delayed due to his war with Iran? Instead of asking the president of Ukraine, which has been defending itself against Russian aggression for four-plus years, to stop bombing Russian refineries, shouldn’t he be asking or insisting that Russia stop its unjust war with Ukraine? Shouldn’t he be spending more time and effort to stop the war that he and Israel started with Iran?

BRIAN SALVATORE former member, Louisiana Environmental Education Committee Pismo Beach, California

Battle with AI is unending, because robots have no moral compass In the pursuit of expanding our knowledge and using it for our collective beneﬁt, artiﬁcial intelligence has created a system of hardware and software that can function with no moral compass — the ability to determine true right from wrong. A true moral compass can only come from the spirit of God and be imparted to men and women whom God has created. Even so, humans are fallible and imperfect in their desires and actions and act contrary to the truths and desires of God. But my point is about AI and not the people who have created it. AI has shown through numerous instances of hacking other companies’ supposedly secure systems that it has and will continue

to have the ability to lie and to teach itself to lie (“thou shalt not bear false witness”). In hacking, the hacker is lying in that it is saying it has the legal right to be at a system’s door and to enter. The intent of the intrusion can be manifold and can include violations of other moral compass points (theft, murder, etc.). Regulating AI is needed regardless of which country “wins.” However, it must be recognized that the battle is unending because AI systems, robots, etc. cannot be implanted with a true moral compass, which can only come from God to humans.

JEAN DUPAS Metairie

Comic strip reacts without a thought “Mallard Fillmore” for 9/11: Never think. Just react, insult and smear.

DAVID PORTER Baton Rouge

JAMES SMITH Baton Rouge

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COMMENTARY If the Kennedy Center stays closed for now, so be it Go ahead, President Donald Trump, keep the Kennedy Center closed. Don’t give it money for necessary repairs. This is low-hanging fruit for Americans done with your extortion schemes. They don’t have to submit to smallbore intimidation like this. They can just shrug at the demand that your name, with words of gratitude, be placed on the building’s facade. To use a different metaphor, they have bigger ﬁsh to fry. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is suffering serious structural damage. Some believe the Washington cultural Froma center can remain open Harrop while necessary repairs are made. Trump and his hand-picked Kennedy Center board say that it must stay closed while the place undergoes renovations. The bigger holdup stems from a recent federal court decision that stops the board from inscribing the building’s portico with “renovated and restored by Donald J. Trump.” As Judge Christopher Cooper put it, “Defendants cannot install memorials for President Trump or anyone or anything else at the Kennedy Center without Congress’s blessing.” Trump vows to appeal that ruling, and if he doesn’t get his way, take the matter to the U.S. Supreme Court. Trump further warns that no money will be forthcoming for the necessary ﬁxes until he gets what he wants. When it comes to Trump’s campaign of disruption, you don’t always have to oppose his preferred outcome. The Kennedy Center put on performances that one may or may not agree with politically, or that didn’t seem political at all. In any case, America has hundreds of major performing-arts centers plus hundreds of streaming channels offering symphony, concerts, opera, dance and theater. The republic won’t buckle if a cultural center in Washington, or elsewhere, is shuttered. This happens all the time during normal renovations. For this reason, the Kennedy Center

ASSOCIATEd PRESS PHOTO By JACQUELyN MARTIN

A sign directs people away from behind the Kennedy Center, which has been fenced off and closed to the public in Washington. is an ideal place to lose a battle in service of winning a war. Real Americans should not have to submit to Trump’s mob talk, his warped need for domination and craving for attention. When he forces these behavior patterns on a real war, Americans must deal with it as best they can. But if Americans are willing to lose a battle to win a larger war, this ﬁght over naming the Kennedy Center is a good battle to lose. Why has Trump chosen to bully a cultural center? There are several explanations. The easy one is that he is not well in the head. Another is that he regards the American experiment as a grand stage for product placement, of himself. A third is that he simply enjoys humiliating others. But there’s a fourth big reason, and it explains other seemingly goofball crusades he’s gone on. Trump needs to change the subject. From what? From a mismanaged economy straining under high interest rates. From inﬂation made worse by his tariff tax. From a massive federal debt now accounting

for 101% of GDP. From a war with Iran that is not going well. And, oh yes, the Epstein files. What better way to send the nation’s attention into left field than by insulting our former best friends, the Canadians. That’s a bigger crisis, but facilitating the closure of the Kennedy Center fits right in as a headline grabber. Once Trump is gone, one hopes the next president will undo some of the cultural as well as diplomatic damage. An easy start would be ripping up the pavement Trump had installed in the Rose Garden where grass used to be. Take away the tables, chairs and striped umbrellas, too. The Rose Garden functions as a ceremonial space where presidents would make important announcements. It’s not supposed to be a poolside lounging area. Let’s count the days. Froma Harrop is on X, @FromaHarrop. Email her at fharrop@gmail.com.

S.C. has an alternative to Darline Graham KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. — This state’s resi10% of earners pay 70% of federal income taxes.) dents can be droll about their ample In this year of an inconclusive war, a self-regard, as when they say: By flowing into Charleston Harbor, the Ashley soaring deficit and stubborn inflation, many Republican candidates seem and Cooper rivers create the Atlantic most worried about transgender Ocean. In November, South matters. Graham, emulating the Carolinians’ choice of their rhetorical style of her presidential next U.S. senator will inpatron, wrote in a Fox News op-ed dicate whether their pride that Andrews is “the worst pediatriabout their independence still endures. cian in the country” because she They threatened seces“supports turning confused little George boys into little girls and vice versa.” sion in 1828 over what Will Andrews, who opposes gender surthey called Washington’s “tariff of abominations” gery on minors, says such surgery that raised the price of imports and has never occurred in South Carolina. threatened their export-based agriGraham also said, “I believe boys have no place in girls’ sports.” In the cultural economy. In 1860, this was context of her Fox screed, this falsely the first state to vote for secession. suggested that Andrews disagrees. The Civil War’s first shots were fired Graham seems oblivious of what the here. This year, South Carolinians can demonstrate political independence by Constitution’s Framers intended when electing Democrat Annie Andrews. She they stipulated that a senator must be at least 30, five years older than a member is a 45-year-old mother of three and of the House of Representatives. This, a pediatrician who likes children and and six-year terms, and selection (until wants to be in the U.S. Senate. 1913) by state legislators, were proviWhen Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham died in July, the governor appoint- sions intended to increase the probed his sister, Darline Graham, to finish ability that senators would be mature, his term. When she decided to seek the and insulated from transitory gusts of Republican nomination for a full term, public opinion. The Framers wanted President Donald Trump endorsed to encourage senatorial independence, her, so she won the primary despite buttressing the separation of powers by a cringeworthy debate performance. encouraging the legislative branch to Asked about Taiwan, she said: “I’m not counterbalance the executive. that informed on national security.” Graham promises she will not be senAndrews has graduated from mediatorial, as the Framers understood that adjective. She expresses unshakable cal school, so she knows what it is to know things, and how dangerous it can faith in Trump’s Iran war, his tariffs and everything else: “I will have Presibe to get things wrong. She is not a political rookie, having unsuccessfully dent Trump’s back 100%.” run for Congress in 2022. She pleases So, of course Graham wants all illegal her party’s base by being displeased immigrants deported “immediately.” with pharmaceutical companies and Her state might immediately miss a what she considers insufficiently sesignificant portion of its immigrant population, which makes up 6% of vere taxation of the wealthy. (The top

South Carolinians, accounts for 7.7% of the state’s labor force and pays $3.5 billion in state taxes. Thanks partly to Charleston’s busy port, South Carolina now has a manufacturing economy, many of whose products are exported. The president’s tariff ﬁxation provokes other nations’ retaliations, disrupts trade ﬂows and injures this state. Volvo, Mercedes and BMW are among the more than 1,100 international operations in the state. Five foreign tire companies producing more than 100,000 tires a day in South Carolina account for almost a third of all U.S. tire exports. South Carolina is as red as the cheeks of a blushing Senate candidate should be when the candidate promises to serve passively as an enabler of presidential whims. No Democratic Senate candidate in South Carolina has come within eight points of winning in this century. By taking Lindsey Graham’s sister away from her admirable work advocating for people with disabilities, the president is proclaiming that he can do whatever he wants. And he expresses a disdain for the Senate, as well as for South Carolina. Today’s president, like many of his predecessors, but more than any, aggrandizes his power by maximizing the abject subordination of his entire party. It is perhaps too much to hope that today’s South Carolina might spurn a Senate candidate too servile to secede from Donald Trump’s domination. Still, come November, hope for evidence that South Carolina, which historically has been so truculent about its independence, has actually exercised it. Email George Will at georgewill@ washpost.com.

Donald Trump, inflation and the midterms Recently, the Commerce Department released inflation figures for August, and what they showed was ... more of the same. The yearover-year inflation rate last month was 3.4%, a rate unchanged from July, and one many analysts call “stubbornly high.” For President Donald Trump, it’s a stubborn problem. Trump campaigned on a promise to bring down inflation, and millions of Americans voted for him to do just that. When Trump took office in January 2025, the rate stood at 3%. It dipped in Trump’s first few Byron months, hitting 2.3% in April York 2025. But it later rose, and now, after Trump has been in office 19 months, it is 3.4% in the new report. The bottom line is that Trump has not brought down the rate of inflation. Of course, as many Trump supporters will point out, a 3.4% annual rate is wonderful compared to the worst inflation of the Joe Biden era. In June 2022, inflation hit 9.1%, a rate not seen since the bad old days of Jimmy Carter. But with the Federal Reserve raising interest rates, the annual rate fell to 6.4% in January 2023 and then kept falling, hitting 3% in June 2023. It stayed in that range for the rest of Biden’s presidency. So Trump inherited an inflation rate of 3%. It’s fair to say that many Trump supporters expected inflation to be lower by now. One of the main drivers keeping that from happening has been Trump’s tariffs, which, while they have had less negative effect on the economy than many hysterical reports at the time predicted, have still raised some prices. Another, of course, is Trump’s decision to launch the Iran war, now in its seventh month, which has caused a big rise in energy prices. The president has made several statements that indicate he is quite sensitive to the connection between the war and gas prices. At a campaign rally in Garden City, New York, last month, he made a frank appeal for more patience. “So I just say this, for you to pay a tiny little bit more for your gasoline, just remember, you’re doing it so that a very evil country cannot have — a country, really, it’s the No. 1 state sponsor of terror in the world. We don’t want them to have a nuclear weapon. So remember that, when you have to pay a little bit more. You’re at $4 [a gallon]. It’s OK. I mean, it’s — I’m not — I’m not, I’ll never apologize. I did the right thing, but you could — you know if you didn’t have [the war] you’d be at, I mean, I had it down to below $2 in many states.” At the Republican midterm convention in Dallas, Trump predicted that the war will end “immediately after the election.” And that, he added, means gas prices will go down then, too. “Shortly, but right after the election, because they’d like to have it that way, but right after the election, oil prices are going to be tumbling downward,” Trump said. “They’re going to be tumbling down and we’ll get them down, I think, for gasoline. We’ll get them below $2 a gallon, but not until after the midterms. I think it’s going to take a little bit longer than the midterms.” As with previous inflation reports, energy is by far the main problem for prices in the new CPI report. The price of gasoline was up 27.4% in August over the year before, while fuel oil was up 52% in the same period. Other products were up, but at a far lower rate: fruits and vegetables, 3.2%; nonalcoholic beverages, 3.7%; full-service restaurant meals, 3.5%, and more. Some portion of those increases, of course, is attributable to higher energy costs. The midterm elections are weeks away, and with the president himself predicting the Iran war will last until after the voting, it seems clear that energy prices will continue to be a problem for Trump and the Republican Party. And that is on top of the reality that a majority of American voters already disapproves of the war and Trump’s handling of it. It could add up to a tough midterm experience for Republicans. In his main address to the GOP midterm convention, Trump placed a lot of the blame for inflation on Democratic green energy programs. “Our predecessors killed and buried the American Dream with trillions of dollars in waste and green energy scams, the greatest scams in American history — green energy,” Trump said. “Every country that’s gone green is down the tubes, you do know that. But it caused prices to skyrocket. They used the word affordability, right? It’s fake. They are so fake, because it was them that caused the affordability, to use their word, crisis. And I’m bringing the prices way down, way, way down. They caused the prices, but we’re fixing it.” Perhaps — but not, it appears, in time for the midterms. Email Byron York at byork@washingtonexaminer.com

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6B ● Monday, September 21, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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N.O. businesses respond to AI promotional flyers BY KASEY BUBNASH

Staff writer

shop bulletin boards. It’s a quick and low-cost way to get a message out there, and even the leaders at Haydel’s acknowledge it has its beneﬁts. But in New Orleans and other cities, the ubiquity is creating its own backlash, and do-it-yourselfers are starting to grab more attention. Flyers that are drawn, painted or otherwise crafted by human hand have become a quiet form of protest, their makers say, against what feels like the encroachment of AI into every facet of daily life. Bands are discouraged from using AI-generated ﬂyers to promote gigs at certain bars. Radio hosts are signing off with a promise to remain “guaranteed human.” And local businesses like Bywater Bakery that have leaned on AI designs for convenience in the past are moving away from it now. At Holy Diver, a metal and punk bar in the 7th Ward, coowner Nick Jarrett uses an old-fashioned sheet of paper and marker to draw out the bar’s lineup each night. The internet is overrun with AIgenerated content, he said. Now it’s the human touch that stands out. “It’s not that hard,” Jarrett said. “It’s a touch of authenticity, it shows that there’s actually someone there doing something on a daily basis.”

Ryan Haydel posted a photo from outside Haydel’s Bakery earlier this month holding nothing but a plain white sheet of paper. On it was a message. “We will not be using AI flyers or photos to promote ourselves,” read the sign, handwritten in black marker. “From scratch pastries and from scratch marketing (that’s how we roll).” Haydel, a co-owner and baker, often serves as a cheery online mascot for his family’s famed king cake shop. He’s featured in videos explaining how cakes and hand pies are made, and cracks jokes about hosing down in the dish pit after hours in front of the commercial ovens. But this post got at something deeper, capturing the dilemma that many local small business owners and entertainment venues face in the age of artificial intelligence. The introduction of ChatGPT, Claude, Grok and other consumer AI models has made it easier than ever for people to create their own signs, flyers, advertisements and other graphic designs. And like the AI-generated videos that have flooded social media, the announcements and event posters — for church meetings, alumni gatherings, restaurant Not punk menus, you name it — are Marc Bruckel, the chef flooding Instagram feeds, behind St. Roch Tavern’s Coemail inboxes and coffee lombian residency El Caimán

STAFF PHOTO By KASEy BUBNASH

A mix of AI-generated and other flyers at Hey! Café on derbigny Street on Wednesday. Gordo, paid $70 recently to a local artist who painted a watercolor ﬂyer that he uses to get the word out about his offerings. She has a little piece of land where she raises guinea pigs, and Bruckel likes to imagine that he helped fund some part of their care. When he paid a local food photographer about $150 to take 50 photos of his heaping plates of arepas and chicharrón (menus featuring AI-generated images of food are his biggest pet peeve right now), he and the photographer became quick friends. Now she’s a recurring customer. “In the bigger scope of things, it’s outsourcing everything to a corporation,” Bruckel said of why he decided to go local. “We can keep money in our community by paying people to do these things.”

It’s more complicated when it comes to policing the independent bands that play gigs at Holy Diver and provide their own ﬂyers, the bar’s coowner Jarrett said. He tries to discourage the use of AI when necessary, directing bands to some of the many local tattoo artists who frequent the bar. But if a musician uses a little AI here and there and it’s not too obvious, Jarrett said he’s OK with it. His own team uses some AI to format the weekly calendar. They leave it at that though. At a bar where younger bands regularly include anti-AI themes in their music, it’s just not punk, he said.

released to the wider public a few years back. Now, much of it looks the same. AI created flyers for events and business advertising regularly feature similar formatting and color schemes. “AI flyers are just ugly,” said DJ Toki Doki Hoe, one of the anonymous performers behind Delirium Aura dance parties. They spend anywhere from an hour to a week drawing out bubbly, colorful flyers on Procreate or by hand, each one attuned to every individual event’s theme. “If you don’t care about your flyer, you don’t care about your event,” the DJ said. ‘Just ugly’ But a handmade flyer Several locals said it was doesn’t have to be overly fun to see what AI could do labor intensive. Heather Valenzuela has when programs like DALLE and ChatGPT were first been hosting line-dance

classes and parties under the Giddy Up Two Step brand since 2023. She’s creative in a lot of ways, but said graphic design isn’t one of them. A one-woman show who schedules several events and classes each month, Valenzuela has little time to spend drawing. She keeps her ﬂyers simple and to the point, usually using Canva or Adobe, out of necessity. Valenzuela was one of several New Orleanians who pointed to concerns about AI data centers going up on Louisiana’s coast and their rates of water consumption. Plus, she’s noticed recently it’s the handmade online ﬂyers that are “borderline too basic” that often perform the best on social media. In this digital era, she said she thinks people are just starved for something real, something tangible, something obviously human. “I’m gonna keep it organic, I’m gonna keep it human and I’m gonna keep it real as long as I can,” she said. For many, including Haydel’s Bakery, that strategy is working. Co-owner David Haydel said the idea for his brother’s post came from the bakery’s social media team, which watches for trends online that align with Haydel’s values. “AI has its place,” Haydel said. “But as far as promotion and things like that, here we really let our product do the talking.”

Lawyer: Former N.O. Mayor Cantrell, co-defendant haven’t spoken Hearing held about grand jury transcripts BY JAMES FINN

Staff writer

Just over a year ago, former New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell was accused in a federal indictment of carrying on a whirlwind romance with her police bodyguard. The two have not spoken since — at least not without attorneys present, Cantrell’s lawyer said Thursday. “She has not communicated with her co-defendant outside the presence of counsel,” defense lawyer Eddie Castaing told federal magistrate Judge Michael B. North at an evidentiary hearing.

Castaing made that assertion as he sought to assuage North that Cantrell has closely followed her bond conditions since being arraigned last fall. Both Cantrell and her former New Orleans Police Department bodyguard, Jeffrey Vappie, were barred from communicating with witnesses, including each other. (Vappie’s lawyers at one point asked a judge to allow him to speak with Cantrell while navigating “the greatest ordeal of his life.” A judge denied the request.) Prosecutors said the alleged romance between Cantrell and Vappie spawned federal crimes when they spent government cash on a series of illicit trips, then deleted messages and lied to federal agents.

They continue to deny the alleged relationship. Their lawyers accuse prosecutors of treating an alleged affair as a federal crime. The assertion that Cantrell has not communicated with her alleged paramour for the past year, even if under courtordered bond conditions, sheds light on the former mayor’s life since she left ofﬁce in January. Cantrell has kept a low proﬁle since then, appearing in July at the Essence Festival of Culture and in June at a “women’s empowerment” conference. The procedural hearing Thursday came as questions have swirled around the federal case against Cantrell. The prosecutor who shepherded her indictment resigned last month as the Justice Department probed allegations that

he concealed a relationship of his own with a U.S. Attorney’s Ofﬁce subordinate. A judge delayed Cantrell’s trial in July, citing scheduling conﬂicts. It’s now set for March 2027. Thursday’s hearing hinged on Castaing’s request that prosecutors provide early access to grand jury transcripts of testimony by Cantrell’s former chief of staff, plus a bevy of other material Castaing said he expects the Justice Department to wield at her trial. The former chief of staff, Clifton Davis, was a key adviser to Cantrell as her inner circle shrank drastically during her second term. Castaing told North that some of Davis’ statements to the grand jury may prove favorable to Cantrell and could

LOAN

Continued from page 1B extension, giving the parish until March to demonstrate that it is making the necessary cuts. “If it’s not been ﬁxed after six months, why let it bleed further?” Waguespack said. “They need to show us the numbers and show us the math. We’re

shape her defense. Castaing declined to comment further on his reasons for seeking the grand jury transcripts. Davis declined to comment. As Cantrell’s chief of staff, Davis produced records to the grand jury in the latter stages of the federal investigation of Cantrell’s affairs. Attorneys for both sides on Thursday described Davis as cooperating with their inquiries and said he was not accused of hindering the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nick Moses pushed back on Castaing’s requests, citing what he called Vappie and Cantrell’s pattern of deleting communications and admonishing underlings for asking about their alleged relationship. Moses acknowledged there was no indication that Cantrell

going to dig in and verify that these cuts are being made and if they’re not, we’re going to move forward with a ﬁscal review committee.” When Republican state Rep. Jerome Zeringue asked Waguespack whether he reasonably expected the parish to get its ﬁnances under control within the next quarter, Waguespack replied, “I think they have to.”

has violated bond conditions since her arraignment last September. Yet the behavior detailed in the indictment indicates a “real risk of obstruction,” Moses said. He said Cantrell and Davis have remained close, suggesting that giving her defense team the grand jury transcripts early could lead to attempts to improperly shape Davis’ testimony. If North rejects Castaing’s request, the government will still be required to provide the transcripts two weeks before trial. “I have trouble envisioning what Mr. Castaing could do with this material” if provided the transcripts early, Moses said. North said he would review the grand jury transcripts before issuing an order.

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Lafayette Parish Mayor-President Monique Boulet and Fire Chief Earl Borden recognize firefighters Cole Champagne, Seth Judice and Capt. Sean Lirette on Tuesday for recently rescuing two children from a burning apartment.

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Continued from page 1B reports. The children were in stable condition the next day, according to police reports. The fire started on a sofa in the living room, Alton Trahan, public information officer, said. The fire was ruled an accident as it appears the 5-year-old child

was playing with a cigarette lighter. Lirette praised Judice and Champagne. “These two guys were literally doing rescue training right before we got the call,” he said. “They do that every day.” Fire Chief Earl Borden praised ﬁreﬁghters, Lafayette police, Acadian Ambulance and residents of Himbola apartments, who all assisted.

“It truly takes a village to do something this extraordinary,” he said. Their actions, Borden added, were the result of years of training, preparation and team work. “There are many calls in a firefighter’s career that eventually fade from memory,” Borden said “This isn’t one.” Email Claire Taylor at ctaylor@theadvocate.com.

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ASSOCIATEd PRESS PHOTO By NICK WASS

Saints wide receiver Chris Olave celebrates his touchdown reception with teammates in the second half against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday in Baltimore. The Saints rallied to beat the Ravens 24-17.

Shough delivers more fourth-quarter heroics — and a win over Baltimore BY LUKE JOHNSON

Staff writer

BALTIMORE — The nickname coaches bestowed upon Tyler Shough this week was supposed to land with a wink and a nod, like a good-natured poke in the ribs. They called him “Poor Man,” referencing Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver calling Shough a “poor man’s Josh Allen.” Weaver meant it as a compliment, comparing Shough to an NFL MVP. Everybody, Shough included, understood that. But, just maybe, there was a little bit of a there there. An unintended slight. “I know what he meant by it; obviously (Allen) is an elite player,” Shough said. “But it ﬁres me up.” Weaver is certainly familiar with the New Orleans Saints quarter-

back’s game now. Shough carried the Saints to a thrilling fourth-quarter comeback, leading his team to a 24-17 win against one of the NFL’s premier teams on the road. It was the second consecutive week that Shough provided some magic late in the game, except this one came with a real victory instead of a moral one. To be clear, Shough did not go at it alone. The comeback was only viable because of the contributions throughout the roster and coaching staff. The New Orleans defense clamped down after an up-and-down ﬁrst half and delivered the winning play in the game’s closing moments when Julian Blackmon intercepted former NFL MVP Lamar Jackson. Special teams decidedly went in New Orleans’ favor,

NFL official explains QB Shough’s controversial touchdown call, Page 4C

ä See SHOUGH, page 5C

Saints get signature win over Ravens, provide optimism for 2026 BALTIMORE — The New Orleans Saints dug themselves out of it. This time silenced some noise Sunday. they finished the job, stunning the They silenced, at least for a week, Ravens 24-17 to earn the biggest victhe skeptics who weren’t so tory of the Kellen Moore-Tyler sure if second-year coach KelShough era. This could be a defining moment in the Moorelen Moore has his team pointShough era, one of those wins ed in the right direction. you look back on years from And they silenced the “white now and talk about how it noise,” which is what the Balchanged everything. That’s timore Ravens called their Rod what can happen when you go home opener. Walker on the road and get a signature But the story of this game win over a team that will be in wasn’t the white that the Rathe Super Bowl mix. vens and their fans wore at “I think this game reaffirms everyM&T Bank Stadium. This game was all about the white thing that we thought and believed,” flag that these 2026 Saints simply said Saints guard David Edwards. refuse to wave, even when times get “It’s never going to be perfect. But if tough. you continue to play and don’t worry For the second straight week, the about the score or the circumstances Saints dug themselves into a deep and you just keep playing, good hole. ä See WALKER, page 4C For the second straight week, they

Jeff duncan’s three takeaways from New Orleans’ win in Baltimore, Page 5C

Saints’ defense keeps QB Jackson, Ravens in check , Page 5C

2C ● Monday, September 21, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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Kiffin glad Ole Miss game is in past BY JON BLAU Staff writer

The opening three weeks of LSU’s season layered anticipation upon anticipation. The debut of Lane Kiffin and a rumored $50 million roster versus Clemson was quickly followed by the coach’s return to Ole Miss. Never mind the off-the-field drama involving Jayden Daniels’ No. 5, the legal battle surrounding a couple of “ex-pros” Kiffin wanted to add and the Southeastern Conference’s threat of expulsion that came with it. “It feels like we’ve already played a season with so much emotion on the games, the first and third games and all the stuff,” Kiffin said after a 32-24 loss to the now-No. 4 Rebels. “Now we’re right back to where we’ve always been and have eight SEC games to play.” There was pain and regret Saturday after the now-No. 10 Tigers dropped a much-hyped conference opener, falling to Kiffin’s former quarterback, Trinidad Chambliss, and losing tight end Trey’Dez Green and safety Dashawn Spears to injuries during the game. The first three weeks of the season consumed a year’s worth of oxygen, but LSU now catches its breath with Texas A&M slated to visit Tiger Stadium this coming Saturday. “I’m kind of glad that the week’s over,” Kiffin added Sunday in a teleconference with reporters. “There’s two really good teams. I’m sure it was a really enjoyable college football game for people to watch.” There are unknowns moving forward to Week 4 because Kiffin wouldn’t comment on when Green and Spears might be back, though CBS Sports quickly reported Spears is out for the year with an ACL tear. There have also been inconsistencies in quarterback Sam Leavitt’s throwing accuracy and antsy feet, but Kiffin distributes some of that blame to LSU’s offensive line. “We’ve got to play better around him,” he added. “We’ve got to protect him better.” This is still a transfer-laden squad, especially on the offense,

Associated Press

Ole Miss moved into the top five with its win over LSU, the Tigers stayed in the top 10, and Florida and Mississippi State cracked the rankings to give the Southeastern Conference 10 teams in The Associated Press Top 25 college football poll released Sunday. The Rebels, who held off Lane Kiffin and LSU 32-24 on Saturday night, jumped over the Tigers and three other teams to land at No. 4 for their first top-five ranking since they were No. 3 in the final poll last season. LSU slipped three spots to No. 10. Texas was No. 1 for the second straight week and followed by Georgia, Notre Dame, Ole Miss and Indiana. Miami, Ohio State, Alabama, BYU and LSU completed the top 10. The Longhorns followed up their win over Ohio State with a solid 30-6 victory over UTSA and topped the ballots of 58 of the 69 media members on the Top 25 voting panel. Indiana got four firstplace votes, Georgia and Ole Miss three apiece and Miami one. Louisville was the biggest gainer, rising seven spots to No. 16 after its 41-31 victory over SMU, which dropped six rungs to No. 22. Texas A&M took the biggest fall, going from No. 9 to No. 23 after its 31-21 home loss to unranked Kentucky. This week’s Top 25 marked the seventh time in the poll’s history the SEC has had at least 10 teams ranked in a regular-season poll. The SEC had a record 11 ranked teams in back-to-back polls last September.

HOUSTON — The Atlanta Braves clinched their seventh NL East championship in nine years on Sunday with a 4-2 win over the Astros, and celebrated with hugs and a team photo in championship hats and T-shirts. Mike Yastrzemski hit a threerun homer during a four-run sixth inning to give the Braves the lead. After Dylan Dodd struck out the side in the ninth to clinch the title, the team ran onto the field to celebrate. Under first-year manager Walt Weiss, the Braves have rebounded after missing the playoffs last season with a disappointing 76-86 record and fourth-place finish in the division, snapping a streak of seven straight playoff appearances that included six consecutive NL East titles from 2018-23.

Red Sox clinch playoff berth with huge comeback

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU cornerback dJ Pickett, left, walks off the field following a loss to Ole Miss on Saturday at Vaught Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Miss. which has a chance to come together and play its best football toward the end of the season. The next few weeks will offer LSU a chance to regain momentum. The Aggies just lost 31-21 in College Station, Texas, to Kentucky. Then McNeese leads into a trip to Lexington, Kentucky. October closes out with a couple of opponents that are more difficult to read: No. 24 Mississippi State, which just won a 41-34 shootout with South Carolina, and Auburn, which recently dropped a 44-39 result to No. 21 Florida. Then there is a bye week to rest for possibly the most consequential stretch of the season, home games versus Alabama and Texas and a trip to Tennessee. That could determine whether LSU makes the College Football Playoff. “There’s a lot of football left,” Kifﬁn said. “Go back home next week and get a win.” To win, LSU’s defense has to get back to creating negative plays and getting quarterbacks on the ground, which was exceedingly difﬁcult against Chambliss.

The Tigers had 23 tackles for loss and 12 sacks in their ﬁrst two games; they managed just three TFLs and two sacks against Ole Miss. “I said to our staff, ‘You’re gonna play a 24-year-old that the ﬁrst guy never tackles.’ That’d be like putting (Bears QB) Caleb Williams back (in college) and having to defend him … and I’m not sure I wouldn’t rather go against Caleb, no disrespect to him. “There’s so many plays in the game where you’re like, ‘Man, we got a great call. There’s someone free, there’s someone there.’ He just runs around and makes some third-down, amazing plays.” Even if Texas A&M lost to Kentucky, the now-No. 23 Aggies have a scrambling quarterback, Marcel Reed, who can create issues with his legs. He isn’t a Chambliss-level passer, completing just under 60% of his passes for 632 yards through three games. A season ago, Reed ran 13 times for a season-high 108 yards on LSU in a 49-25 win in Tiger Stadium that spurred Brian

Kelly’s ouster. Kiffin has other issues to navigate, including Green and Spears’ absences, Leavitt’s inconsistencies as a passer and the offensive line’s up-and-down play protecting him. In Leavitt’s case, Kiffin said the quarterback missed LSU’s thirddown, red-zone practice day with whatever injury had him listed as “doubtful” midweek for the Ole Miss game. “The timing of those routes,” Kiffin said. “I believe that practice matters.” The offensive line appears to be a greater concern, because Kiffin believes Leavitt was affected by the pressure he faced early and started scrambling more. “Sam really was competitive, made some great plays running around and trying to will the comeback and everything,” Kiffin said. “We’ve been off in the passing game now at the beginning of both games.” Email Jon Blau at jon.blau@ theadvocate.com

SEC tallies 10 teams in AP Top 25 poll BY ERIC OLSON

Braves clinch seventh NL East title in nine years

AP TOP 25 POLL Record Pts Prv 1. Texas (58) 3-0 1706 1 2. Georgia (3) 3-0 1580 2 3. Notre Dame 3-0 1517 3 4. Ole Miss (3) 3-0 1488 8 5. Indiana (4) 3-0 1467 4 6. Miami (FL) (1) 3-0 1445 5 7. Ohio State 2-1 1415 6 8. Alabama 3-0 1182 10 9. BYU 3-0 1090 11 10. LSU 2-1 1078 7 11. Texas Tech 3-0 1067 13 12. USC 4-0 907 12 13. Penn State 3-0 850 14 14. Tennessee 3-0 826 15 15. Utah 3-0 752 17 16. Louisville 2-1 692 23 17. Iowa 3-0 561 18 18. Michigan 3-0 432 19 19. Missouri 3-0 369 20 20. Oregon 2-1 364 21 21. Florida 3-0 269 NR 22. SMU 2-1 212 16 23. Texas A&M 2-1 202 9 24. Mississippi State 3-0 179 NR 25. Houston 2-1 127 22 Others receiving votes: Washington 107, Kentucky 98, West Virginia 93, Oklahoma 91, Oklahoma State 50, Boise State 48, Virginia Tech 46, Western Michigan 27, Duke 20, Tulsa 18, Arizona 12, Pittsburgh 10, UCLA 10, James Madison 7, North Dakota State 6, Kansas State 3, Nebraska 2

44-39 road win over Auburn. The Gators are 3-0 for the first time since 2019 under first-year coach Jon Sumrall, formerly head coach at Tulane, and in the Top 25 for the first time since Sept. 2, 2025. No. 24 Mississippi State is in the Top 25 for the first time since 2022, when its coach was Mike Leach. That team was No. 20 in the final poll. Jeff Lebby’s Bulldogs, led by rising star quarterback Kamario Taylor, has won back-to-back road games for the first time since 2014, erasing a 16-point deficit to beat South Carolina 41-34. Oklahoma struggled offensively for a second straight game in its 14-6 win over New Mexico and went from No. 24 to out of the Top 25. Virginia, which had been No. 25 two straight weeks, was knocked out after losing 38-27 to West Virginia.

ASSOCIATEd PRESS PHOTO By ROGELIO V. SOLIS

Ole Miss offensive lineman Enoch Wangoy, left, and defensive tackle Jehiem Oatis carry the Magnolia Bowl trophy after their team’s win over LSU on Saturday in Oxford, Miss. ranked in 100 straight Top 25s, third among active streaks behind Alabama’s 299 and Georgia’s 152. The Buckeyes have their lowest ranking since Dec. 1, 2024. n No. 9 BYU hadn’t been ranked in the top 10 so early in a season since 2009. n No. 24 Mississippi State has its highest September ranking since it was No. 23 on Sept. 23, 2018. That doesn’t include a No. 16 ranking on Sept. 27, 2020, when the Big Ten was not yet playing because of the pandemic.

Conference call

SEC (10 ranked teams): No. 1 Texas, No. 2 Georgia, No. 4 Mississippi, No. 8 Alabama, No. 10 LSU, No. 14 Tennessee, No. 19 Missouri, No. 21 Florida, No. 23 Texas A&M, No. 24 Mississippi State. Big Ten (7): No. 5 Indiana, No. 7 In and out Ohio State, No. 12 USC, No. 13 Penn State, No. 17 Iowa, No. 18 No. 21 Florida made its season Poll points n No. 7 Ohio State has been Michigan, No. 20 Oregon. debut in the rankings following a

Big 12 (4): No. 9 BYU, No. 11 Texas Tech, No. 15 Utah, No. 25 Houston. ACC (3): No. 6 Miami, No. 16 Louisville, No. 22 SMU. Independent (1): No. 3 Notre Dame.

Ranked vs. ranked No. 1 Texas at No. 14 Tennessee: First meeting since the 1969 Cotton Bowl. No. 4 Mississippi at No. 21 Florida: Kewan Lacy ran for 224 yards and three touchdowns in the Rebels’ come-from-behind win last year. Will Lacy be healthy for this one? No. 17 Iowa at No. 18 Michigan: Iowa’s 111 points through three games are its most since 2003. No. 19 Missouri at No. 24 Mississippi State: Bulldogs go for their ﬁrst 2-0 SEC start since 2014. No. 20 Oregon at No. 12 Southern California: Ducks playing for a fifth straight win in the series. No. 23 Texas A&M at No. 10 LSU: Aggies look to win two straight years at Death Valley.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — As the Boston Red Sox celebrated an improbable postseason berth at Tropicana Field, with Champagne and beer flowing all around, the clubhouse soundtrack seemed appropriate. “Stayin’ Alive.” The Red Sox were 32-46 and 15 1/2 games back in the AL East race on June 24. They have since gone 52-25. The Red Sox lost 5-1 to the Tampa Bay Rays in their series finale, so couldn’t take care of things themselves. But about an hour after the game finished, the Houston Astros lost 4-2 to the Atlanta Braves, allowing the Red Sox to secure a wild-card spot. Interim manager Chad Tracy was in place for much of the turnaround. Since being appointed on April 26 following the dismissal of Alex Cora, the Red Sox have gone 74-55.

Cubs 3B Bregman taken to hospital after ball hits face

CINCINNATI — Chicago Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman was taken to the hospital for tests after being struck in the face by a foul ball while standing in the grass several feet in front of the on-deck circle during Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds. There was no decision yet on whether the former LSU star, who was going for X-rays and CT scans, would travel with the team back to Chicago after its 9-1 win. “He got hit in the left cheekbone essentially, under the eye,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “I don’t know anything more than that right now. He was bleeding from his nose a little. There’s some swelling. It’s a terrible, terrible accident. We hope he’s OK.”

Miles breaks Clark’s WNBA record for points by rookie

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Olivia Miles broke Caitlin Clark’s WNBA record for points by a rookie in a season on Sunday in the Minnesota Lynx’s 101-89 victory over the Connecticut Sun. Miles, who finished with 21 points, was tied with Clark at 769 points coming into the game and moved atop the list when she made a free throw in the second quarter. The Lynx rookie came into the game averaging 19.7 points, 6.0 assists and 4.7 rebounds, and was a big reason the team had the best record in the WNBA. Miles and Clark both accomplished their feats in 40 games. The Lynx star also became the fastest rookie to reach 350 points, 100 rebounds and 100 assists in her career, doing it in 21 games — one quicker than Clark and former Charlotte Sting guard Andrea Stinson.

Pulisic scores first goal of season with AC Milan

MILAN — U.S. star Christian Pulisic made his ﬁrst start and scored his ﬁrst goal of the season with AC Milan on Sunday. Pulisic scored in the 14th minute to help lead Milan to a 3-0 home win over Lecce in the Italian league. Pulisic had made two other appearances with Milan this season in all competitions, coming off the bench in both at halftime. Pulisic’s last goal for Milan had been in December in a league win over Verona. “It hasn’t been an easy year,” he told DAZN. “I’m happy about the goal today, but right now all that matters is to keep winning.”

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The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Monday, September 21, 2026 ● 3C

CAJUNS 21, BLAZERS 14 THREE AND OUT: KEVIN FOOTE’S TOP TAKEAWAyS FROM UL’S WIN OVER UAB

DEFENSE PLAYED GREAT In the first half, UL’s defense was dominant, limiting the Blazers to three first downs and 74 total yards.As typically happens, UAB’s offense figured it out in the second half and put together one long drive in addition to getting a 42-yard punt return. In the final quarter, though, the defense stood strong by forcing two turnovers on downs to secure the win.We finally saw the Conor McPherson the coaches have been raving about, and Collin Jacob continued to shine. In the end, a UAB offense averaging 230 rushing yards a game settled for 74 on 31 carries.

PASSING GAME SLUMPS A week ago, the concern was the passing game producing anything at No. 14 Southern Cal, only for the Cajuns to throw for 212 yards.Against UAB on Saturday, the passing game was pedestrian with 110 yards. Landon Strother returned and caught five passes for 41 yards and Russell Babineaux added four for 20 yards. It was almost like the offense was sleepwalking in the second half, squandering good field position on its first two drives of the third quarter. Not scoring in the second half after a dominant first half is inexcusable.

BETTER THAN LOSING After the encouraging performance in Los Angeles, if receivers Shelton Sampson and tight end Caden Jensen returned, the offense would be even better than most hoped.Well, after that performance, it’s back to still having a lot to prove.The good news is the defense was up to the task when the offense faltered.There will be times later in the year when the offense will have to bail out the defense. In this instance, two units walked off the field unhappy with the offense and special teams.At least it was in a win.

STAFF PHOTOS By BRAd KEMP

UL running back Anthony Reagan, center, ran extra hard but was one of two Cajun ball carriers to fumble during UL’s 21-14 win over UAB on Saturday.

‘Ugly win’ raises concerns defense saves Cajuns from second-half struggles vs. UAB

Things were going fairly well at halftime for the UL Ragin’ Cajuns during their 21-14 win over UAB on Saturday. The offense had scored three times, the defense had completely shut down the Blazers’ worrisome rushing attack and nothing had really happened yet in the kicking game. Then came the second half. The offense looked to be sleepwalking. The passing game that showed some life in the loss at USC the week before suddenly wasn’t there. And the punt coverage team allowed another long punt return. It was ugly. “Look, there are bad losses and there are ugly wins,” said UL coach Michael Desormeaux, whose Cajuns (2-1) will next play at Charlotte. “There are no bad wins.” A well-made point, but Kevin the concerns remain. We Foote don’t know exactly when wide receivers Shelton Sampson and Trenton Chaney, as well as tight end Caden Jensen, will return. It sure would be nice for that projected first unit to get at least one dress rehearsal before Sun Belt play begins in two weeks. Yes, the win was nice, but there’s more doubt now than a week ago after a 49-30 loss to the Trojans. “Offensively, we just got in our own way in the second half,” Desormeaux said. “We either turned it over, got false starts to get behind the sticks, something like that. “We’ll address every one of those things. The bottom line is that we have got to get better and play better if we want to be a championship football team.” The biggest issue was losing two fumbles, with one of them producing a defensive score for the Blazers. “That can’t happen,” Desormeaux said of the turnovers. “Not being able to scratch out any points (in the second half) ... I mean, disappointing is an understatement.” Quarterback Lunch Winfield continued the preseason goal of pass efficiency, going 15-of-20 passing for 110 yards, and rushing for 91 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries. “Just too many turnovers, too many false starts and missed assignments, things like that,” Winfield said. “Just things that just can’t happen when you want to win a football game. When you know you’re better than the team, you just got to go out there and play your

Late whistles complicated play for both teams BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

The UL Ragin’ Cajuns were dominating Saturday’s game against UAB midway through the second quarter with a 14-0 lead. In a split second, the game changed. Redshirt freshman running back Darrell Smith suffered an injury on a first-down play from UL’s own 21 on a play where the whistle never blew when it seemed appropriate. Then the UAB defense used that extra time to force a fumble that Chris Burge recovered and reNotebook turned 13 yards for a touchdown. “Yes, I felt like his momentum was stopped,” UL coach Michael Desormeaux said. With that said, Desormeaux added perspective to his comment. “I’ll give the officials this: they were consistent with the fact they let the play continue on (throughout the game),” he said. “That is what they did. I felt like there were some other instances where it wasn’t as well. It wasn’t just that play. That’s the way they did it.” Like most coaches, though, Desormeaux wasn’t in the mood for excuses, because of the importance of ball security. “The ball’s the most important thing that we’re going to have, so it can’t come out,” Desormeaux said. “I don’t care if we’re down. It doesn’t matter, and he was not down. They did rip it out.” UL had three fumbles and lost two of them. UL quarterback Lunch Winfield also experienced the extra late whistles, being forced to endure long scrums with no whistles. “It definitely was (longer than usual),” Winfield said. “A couple of them, I was just in there and was like, ‘Are they going to blow the whistle?’ But you just have to protect the ball. That’s the thing. “They trying to let them stay in the game, I guess, so just protect the ball in the hole, keep driving your feet and try to make a play.”

Special issues again

UL defensive players celebrate a fourth-down stop during the Cajuns’ 21-14 win over UAB on Saturday. game.” It was definitely a step backward offensively. Winfield’s determination shined through on a 20-yard run right after UAB closed the game to 21-14. “That’s my job, to always keep the guys going ... just pick up the damage, the damage that’s going on, you know, fix the damage,” Winfield said. “So, they all look for me when things are not going as good and I take that to my shoulders.” Fortunately for UL, Saturday’s biggest burden was absorbed by the defense. UAB was averaging 230 rushing yards a game and settled for 74. At halftime, the Blazers had three first downs and 74 yards. Leading the charge was linebacker Conor McPherson with 11 tackles and a sack. “Stopping the run is number one on our board,” McPherson said. “I feel like we have to do that. It’s all hats to the ball no matter where it’s at. If it’s on the other side of the field, go get the ball.” The game came down to a fourth-and-2 with 1:54 left that UL’s defense completely stifled and forced a fumble. “I’m listening to (defensive coordinator) Jim (Salgado) the entire time, kind of talking through the process and what he wants to do,” Desormeaux said. “He ends up calling a pressure into it and it was a great call ... unbelievable call.

That play didn’t have much of a chance with that call.” Not surprisingly, in the middle of that decisive stop was redshirt senior safety Collin Jacob, who had six tackles, a forced fumble and an interception in the win. “Coach called man coverage,” Jacob explained. “I was down on the tight end ... you know, it’s see ball, get ball. I saw the quarterback snap the ball and start running to the outside. I’m like, ‘If I could beat my man with the front,’ with the way the front was getting pushed at the end, I was able to slide off the field who was trying to block me and affect the quarterback.” For the game, UL’s defense limited the Blazers to 11 first downs and 218 total yards. After a disastrous second half for the offense, the special teams wasted a 53yard punt return with a flag and allowed a 42-yard punt return to set up a touchdown; the defense saved the day. Desormeaux rightfully said he doesn’t want to feel sad after a win, but that’s a long way from satisfied. “When you do as many things as we did poorly tonight, it says a lot about your team to find a way to win,” Desormeaux said. Email Kevin Foote at kfoote@ theadvocate.com.

In Saturday’s 21-14 win over UAB, the special teams unit encountered more stumbling blocks, much like they did against USC the previous weekend. There was a critical penalty. With 4:37 left in the third quarter and UL’s offense beginning to struggle, Brent Gordon returned a 52-yard punt 53 yards to the UAB 10 — only to be erased by an illegal block in the back on the return. Then the Blazers’ comeback attempt was accelerated by UAB’s Ty Mims returning a 42-yard UL punt 42 yards to the UL 13. Two plays later, backup quarterback Nathan Rogers scored on an 11-yard touchdown run to trim UL’s lead to 21-14 with 8:59 left to play.

Unusual game There were many unexpected aspects of the Cajuns’ win Saturday. It began with holding an offense that was averaging 230 rushing yards a game to 74 — although Desormeaux didn’t know what to make of it all. “When they play somebody you don’t know and there’s no common ground between who you’ve played before, it’s tough to know,” Desormeaux said. “I mean, the way they were running the ball, they were knocking people off the ball and they were falling forward every time they were running the ball. “I mean, they were creasing people. So yeah, I mean, it was deﬁnitely better than I thought. It’s just hard early because you don’t know what to expect.” Penalties were also an issue for both teams. Coming into this matchup, UAB had committed 17 penalties to only two for its ﬁrst two opponents — Illinois and UL-Monroe. On Saturday, the Blazers were flagged nine more times for 89 yards, compared to seven for 50 yards for the Cajuns. “We’ve got a lot of things we need to correct after this game,” Desormeaux said.

4C ● Monday, September 21, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate H

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SAINTS 24, RAVENS 17

BY THE NUMBERS New Orleans 24, Baltimore 17 New Orleans 0 6 3 15 — 24 Baltimore 7 7 3 0 — 17 First Quarter Bal—Henry 1 run (Loop kick), 2:52. Drive: 12 plays, 76 yards, 6:51. Key Plays: L.Jackson 10 pass to Andrews; L.Jackson 5 pass to Andrews on 3rd-and-5; L.Jackson 20 pass to Henry; L.Jackson 19 pass to Bateman; Henry 5 run on 3rd-and-2. Baltimore 7, New Orleans 0. Second Quarter NO—FG Carlson 23, 3:46. Drive: 12 plays, 56 yards, 6:24. Key Plays: Shough 29 pass to Vele on 3rd-and-13; Shough 11 pass to Olave on 3rd-and-8; Shough 11 run on 3rd-and-14. Baltimore 7, New Orleans 3. Bal—Bateman 22 pass from L.Jackson (Loop kick), :24. Drive: 11 plays, 80 yards, 3:22. Key Play: L.Jackson 11 run. Baltimore 14, New Orleans 3. NO—FG Carlson 47, :00. Drive: 5 plays, 15 yards, 00:24. Key Plays: Brown kick return to Baltimore 44; Shough 13 pass to Vele. Baltimore 14, New Orleans 6. Third Quarter NO—FG Carlson 51, 11:00. Drive: 9 plays, 41 yards, 4:00. Key Plays: Brown kick return to New Orleans 26; Shough 25 pass to Ju.Johnson on 3rd-and-13. Baltimore 14, New Orleans 9. Bal—FG Loop 49, 3:23. Drive: 15 plays, 37 yards, 7:37. Key Plays: C.Moore kick return to Baltimore 32; L.Jackson 7 pass to Andrews on 3rd-and-4; L.Jackson 18 pass to Bateman. Baltimore 17, New Orleans 9. Fourth Quarter NO—Olave 21 pass from Shough (Etienne run), 9:42. Drive: 9 plays, 68 yards, 5:18. Key Play: Shough 12 pass to Olave on 3rd-and-5. New Orleans 17, Baltimore 17. NO—Shough 1 run (Carlson kick), 1:28. Drive: 16 plays, 68 yards, 6:38. Key Plays: Shough 15 pass to Olave; Shough 5 pass to Vele on 3rdand-6; Shough 1 run on 4th-and-1; Shough 3 pass to Olave on 3rd-and-2; Shough 25 pass to Ju.Johnson on 3rd-and-8. New Orleans 24, Baltimore 17.

A—70,437.

NO Bal FIRST DOWNS 19 19 Rushing 6 8 Passing 11 11 Penalty 2 0 THIRD DOWN EFF 8-15 4-9 FOURTH DOWN EFF 2-2 0-0 TOTAL NET YARDS 298 312 Total Plays 64 56 Avg Gain 4.7 5.6 NET YARDS RUSHING 65 108 Rushes 27 22 Avg per rush 2.407 4.909 NET YARDS PASSING 233 204 Sacked-Yds lost 3-19 3-31 Gross-Yds passing 252 235 Completed-Att. 27-34 21-31 Had Intercepted 0 1 Yards-Pass Play 6.297 6.0 KICKOFFS-EndZone-TB 5-3-1 4-1-1 PUNTS-Avg. 3-39.0 3-41.333 Punts blocked 0 0 FGs-PATs blocked 0-0 1-0 TOTAL RETURN YARDAGE 106 108 Punt Returns 2-13 0-0 Kickoff Returns 3-91 4-108 Interceptions 1-2 0-0 PENALTIES-Yds 5-35 7-34 FUMBLES-Lost 1-0 0-0 TIME OF POSSESSION 32:45 27:15 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING—New Orleans, Etienne 8-25, Shough 9-23, Kamara 9-15, Donaldson 1-2. Baltimore, Henry 16-68, L.Jackson 4-34, Hill 2-6. PASSING—New Orleans, Shough 27-34-0-252. Baltimore, L.Jackson 21-31-1-235. RECEIVING—New Orleans, Olave 8-86, Vele 5-64, Kamara 5-7, Johnson 4-66, Etienne 2-6, Delp 1-8, Lance 1-8, Austin 1-7. Baltimore, Bateman 7-88, Andrews 6-49, Henry 3-19, Hill 2-12, Walker 1-47, Wester 1-14, C.Moore 1-6. PUNT RETURNS—New Orleans, Brown 2-13. Baltimore, None. KICKOFF RETURNS—New Orleans, Brown 2-73, Price 1-18. Baltimore, C.Moore 4-108. TACKLES-ASSISTS-SACKS—New Orleans, Werner 8-3-1, Elliss 4-2-0, Emerson 3-0-0, McKinstry 3-0-0, J.Reid 3-0-0, Granderson 2-3-0, Blackmon 2-0-0, Sanker 2-0-0, Shepherd 1-3-.5, Jennings 1-2-0, Young 1-1-1.5, Jordan 1-1-0, Riley 1-0-0, Stutsman 1-0-0, Broughton 0-1-0, Godchaux 0-1-0, Wooden 0-1-0. Baltimore, Hamilton 7-6-0, T.Simpson 5-1-0, Humphrey 4-0-0, Wiggins 3-3-0, Hawkins 3-2-0, Starks 3-1-0, Hendrickson 3-0-1, Smith 2-6-0, Green 2-0-1, T.Robinson 2-0-1, Rivers 2-0-0, Washington 1-2-0, Jenkins 1-1-0, Young 1-1-0, T.Jones 1-0-0, Campbell 0-1-0. INTERCEPTIONS—New Orleans, Blackmon 1-2. Baltimore, None. MISSED FIELD GOALS—Baltimore, Loop 49. OFFICIALS—Referee Clete Blakeman, Ump Scott Walker, HL Andy Warner, LJ Kent Payne, FJ Karina Tovar, SJ James Coleman, BJ Jonah Monroe, Replay Chad Adams.

ASSOCIATEd PRESS PHOTO By TERRANCE WILLIAMS

New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough attempts to score during the second half of a game against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday in Baltimore.

NFL explains why Shough’s TD was upheld

BY MATTHEW PARAS, LUKE JOHNSON AND ROD WALKER Staff writers

BALTIMORE — Moments after the call confirmed Tyler Shough’s fourthdown, game-wintouchdown Notebook ning in Sunday’s 24-17 win for the New Orleans Saints, the pro-Baltimore Ravens crowd began chanting an obscenity to show their displeasure. But much to their dismay, the NFL said the initial ruling stood because Shough wasn’t clearly down when he was shoved across the goal line. “The key here is the ruling on the field is a touchdown,” NFL vice president of instant replay Mark Butterworth told a pool reporter. “So we need clear and obvious video evidence that he didn’t score in order to reverse the ruling. “We stopped the game; it’s a high-leverage play, we wanted to make sure to either find clear and obvious video evidence that he didn’t score or to confirm the call on the field. We exhausted all available angles and could not prove clear and obvious that he did not break the plane of the goal line.” In other words, if Shough was initially ruled down instead of in, that same judgment call would have likely stayed the same. Butterworth did not address, nor was he asked about, what

appeared to be a clearly missed facemask penalty during the play. With 1:28 left in the game, a Ravens defender appeared to yank Shough’s facemask as the quarterback was pushed in the pile. The lack of a penalty, which the league’s replay review could not change, perhaps explains why Saints coach Kellen Moore laughed and said he should “be quiet” when initially asked about the play. Shough said the play “hurt a little bit,” but that he was “able to get in there.” “We’d like to not make it as close, but I think that’s deﬁnitely something to look at,” Shough said. “I mean, I was going to reach for it, but get your head pulled off, it’s tough.” Sunday marked the second straight week that the league’s vice president of instant replay had to chime in on a ruling made during a Saints game. Last week, the league overturned a play that took a sack-fumble touchdown away from the Saints after determining Lions quarterback Jared Goff started his throwing motion. During Sunday’s interview with the pool reporter, Butterworth asked whether Shough lost control of the ball at any point while trying to get it across the goal line. “No,” Butterworth said. “If he did lose control of the ball, we would need to find, after he regained possession, if the ball broke the plane of the goal line. In

that mass of players, we weren’t able to ﬁnd clear and obvious video evidence that the ball did not break the plane of the goal line. “Therefore, the ruling on the ﬁeld stands.”

Class reunion Two members of arguably the best draft class in Saints history were reunited in Baltimore on Sunday. While Alvin Kamara made his season debut for the Saints, defensive end Trey Hendrickson played in his first home game for the Ravens. The two were drafted by the Saints in 2017 along with Marshon Lattimore, Ryan Ramczyk, Marcus Williams, Alex Anzalone and Al-Quadin Muhammad. Kamara is the only player from that class still with the Saints. Hendrickson spent four seasons in New Orleans before signing with the Cincinnati Bengals. He played five seasons there, earning Pro Bowl honors four times, before signing with the Ravens this year. Hendrickson finished with three tackles and a sack Sunday. “We were special,” Kamara said about the class. “We were super special. I’m happy that Trey was able to carve out a career. When he was here, I don’t think he got as much as he would have liked to. He obviously went on to get money and get his stats and do what he had to do.” Ramczyk (retired), Lattimore and Williams aren’t on NFL ros-

WALKER

Continued from page 1C things will happen.” This game, just like last week’s season-opening loss on the road to the Detroit Lions, was far from perfect. The Saints’ offense struggled out the gate again, settling for a pair of first-half field goals. They have yet to score a touchdown in the first half. But they scored when they needed to in the fourth quarter to steal a win and raise expectations. When the NFL released the schedule in May, pretty much everyone (including me) predicted the Saints would be 0-2 after two weeks. Starting the season on the road at Detroit and Baltimore wasn’t going to be easy. Just don’t try telling that to this gutsy bunch of guys who don’t blink when times get tough. And times got tough Sunday. They trailed 14-3 late in the second quarter and didn’t seem to have an answer for the Ravens’ dynamic duo of quarterback Lamar Jackson and running back Derrick Henry. Things got even bleaker on the second drive of the third quarter, when left tackle Kelvin Banks had to be carted off with an ankle injury. But none of that fazed a team that just a week before rallied from a 21-0 deficit to force overtime before falling to the Lions. Where does the resiliency come from? “Our guys are really close,” Moore said. “Our guys are really connected. All the stuff you do all offseason is for these moments when things aren’t going great for you. Our guys aren’t looking at each other frustrated. They are looking at each other saying we

ASSOCIATEd PRESS PHOTO By STEPHANIE SCARBROUGH

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is sacked by Saints defensive end Chase young in the first half of their game Sunday in Baltimore. are going to find a solution and find a way.” Now if they can just find a way to play an entire game the same way they play in the third and fourth quarter. The NFL doesn’t give extra credit for how you win. So forget about the style points and instead look at what a win like this can do. “I think it’s just a momentumbuilder,” center Erik McCoy said. “We came to a tough place, and we were down early. We stuck together and we finished. Together-

ness. The fact that we did training camp in New Orleans and we had those three joint practices. We’ve been through the fire.” When you’re going through a fire, it’s much easier when you have a guy like Shough to douse the flames. Shough shows poise when the Saints need it most. Shough (27 of 34, 252 yards, TD) out-dueled fellow University of Louisville alum and two-time MVP Lamar Jackson (21-31, 235, TD). It helps having a defense that continues to shine. They held

Henry to 68 yards rushing, including just 17 in the second half. “This win gives us conﬁdence,” said safety Julian Blackmon, whose interception in the ﬁnal minute sealed the win. “We got off to a rocky start last year, so being able to beat a team that’s really good at home gives us a lot of encouragement going into the home game next week.” As it should. The Saints don’t have a team remaining on their schedule as good as the one they faced Sunday.

ters. Kamara will see the other two members of the class (Anzalone and Muhammad) twice this season. Both play with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Injuries New Orleans will closely monitor Kelvin Banks in the coming days after the prized young left tackle had to be carted off the field Sunday with an ankle injury. Banks suffered the injury in the third quarter when another player rolled up behind him as he was engaged in a block in pass protection. Banks immediately fell to the ground and reached for his left ankle on the play before the medical staff began attending to him. “It always hurts when you lose guys,” Moore said. “We’ll see what this thing looks like tomorrow, but I thought our guys hung in there.” The No. 9 pick in the 2025 draft led all Saints players in offensive snaps as a rookie and is expected to play a critical role in the team’s offensive plans this season. Veteran Asim Richards, who started games at right tackle last season, filled in for Banks after his injury. The Saints also lost cornerback Martin Emerson to a shoulder injury during Sunday’s win. Emerson had been periodically rotating in at corner in place of regular starter Quincy Riley the first two weeks, but suffered his injury after his lone drive on the field Sunday.

Chris Olave, so instrumental in this win, called it the best victory since being drafted in 2022. “I feel like since I’ve been here, we haven’t really beat a good team,” Olave said. “It’s been tough for us to be able to battle against good teams or great teams that make the playoffs every year. Baltimore is a contender. To be able to battle, to show our resilience and come in here and get a W is huge for us. We’ve got to carry it over into next week.” The last time the Saints felt this good two weeks into a season was in 2024, when they blasted the Carolina Panthers and Dallas Cowboys in back-to-back weeks. We all remember how that turned out. They lost seven straight games after that, leading to the ﬁring of Dennis Allen nine weeks into the season. This version of the Saints feels different. This is a team that can handle the expectations that come with a monumental Week 2 win. They will be favored in their next two games against the Las Vegas Raiders and Atlanta Falcons. Those two games will be in the Superdome, where the noise from the black and gold faithful should be much louder than the white noise that became dead silent when the clock struck zero Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium. “When the crowd got silent at the bank, we’re taking withdrawals,” said veteran Cam Jordan. “We love it.” There was plenty to love about a win of this magnitude. And with the grittiness this team continues to show, there just might be plenty to love all season long. Email Rod Walker at rwalker@theadvocate.com.

SAINTS 24, RAVENS 17

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Monday, September 21, 2026 ● 5C

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THREE AND OUT: JEFF dUNCAN’S TOP THREE TAKEAWAyS FROM SAINTS’ WIN IN BALTIMORE

DRAMATIC AND CONTROVERSIAL FINISH Replays appeared to show that Tyler Shough was stopped short of the goal line by the Ravens defense on his 1-yard sneak on fourth-and-1 inside the final 2 minutes. However, Shough was stopped short for good reason: A Ravens defender grabbed his facemask and pulled him backward in a clear infraction that was missed by officials. After a replay review, officials upheld the call of a touchdown on the field, ultimately avoiding what would have been a complicated and controversial ruling. It was the right call because Shough almost surely would have scored if he was not being pulled backward by the helmet. In the end, the officials made the best of a complicated and potentially dicey situation.

SHOUGH WAS SPECIAL AGAIN For the second consecutive week, Shough orchestrated a furious second-half comeback with near-flawless execution. This time, though, his heroics resulted in a victory. Shough dissected the Ravens defense throughout the second half, leading the Saints on nine- and 16-play touchdown drives in the fourth quarter to complete the comeback. For the game, he completed 27 of 34 passes for 252 yards and a 107.4 passer efficiency rating. He added 23 rushing yards on nine carries. In a first-ever NFL matchup of exLouisville quarterbacks, Shough outdueled Lamar Jackson to hand the Ravens their seventh loss in their past 10 home games. Shough was 12 of 14 for 119 yards with a passing and rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter.

SPECIAL TEAMS KEPT SAINTS IN IT It’s been a while since New Orleans has had a special-teams performance as good as this one. All facets of the teams contributed to the road victory in Baltimore. Veteran kicker daniel Carlson was 3 for 3 on field goal attempts, converting from 23, 47 and 51 yards. defensive end Carl Granderson blocked Ravens kicker Tyler Loop’s 49-yard field goal attempt in the second quarter. Saints wide receiver Barion Brown returned a kickoff 53 yards to set up one of Carlson’s field goals just before halftime. Without the special play from the Saints’ special teams, they wouldn’t have been in position to make their big second-half rally.

‘We hit people in the mouth’ Saints defense keeps QB Jackson, Ravens in check

RESULTS

Sept. 13

31-30

Sept. 20

24-17

Sept. 27 Raiders 3:25 p.m.

Oct. 5 Falcons 7:15 p.m.

Oct. 11 Vikings Noon

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

BALTIMORE — The play that best summed up the relentlessness of the New Orleans Saints’ defense in Sunday’s 24-17 upset win over the Baltimore Ravens was the unit’s ﬁnal one. Rushing from the inside, rather than off the edge, Carl Granderson spun around Ravens rookie guard Vega Ioane to get a clear path to Lamar Jackson. The two-time MVP quarterback, sensing the pressure, let it fly. The problem? Jackson had little time to set up his throw. The ball sailed over Rashod Bateman’s head, landing right in the hands of Saints safety Julian Blackmon. “Pheeew,” defensive end Chase Young said, sighing in relief. “Literally. Phew.” Young may have been put at ease seeing the Saints clinch a statement-deﬁning upset victory, but it was the Ravens who had it the toughest. After putting up 41 points in an electric season debut a week ago, Baltimore was held to just 17 points against New Orleans — only three in the second half. The Saints’ physicality, both at the line of scrimmage and in the secondary, appeared to wear down a Ravens unit that initially seemed on pace for another breezy afternoon. But nothing was easy for Baltimore. Not for Jackson, who completed less than half of his second-half passes (8 for 15 for 65 yards). Not for star running back Derrick Henry, who went from averaging 4.6 yards per carry to 3.4 after halftime. Not for anybody. Just the way the Saints planned. “We are a physical group, bruh,” Saints safety Justin Reid said. “This is one of the most physical defenses — and I pride myself on my physicality — that I’ve been a part of. We come downhill. We hit people in the mouth. And it wears on them as the game goes on. “We gave up, what, three points in the second half? Unbelievable performance, man.”

Oct. 18 at Giants Noon

Oct. 25 Steelers 8:30 a.m.

Nov. 8 Browns Noon ASSOCIATEd PRESS PHOTO By STEPHANIE SCARBROUGH

Baltimore Ravens running back derrick Henry carries the ball against Saints cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry in the first half of their game on Sunday in Baltimore. The Ravens, to be fair, were missing star receiver Zay Flowers because of a hamstring injury. But that hardly looked like a problem early. In the first half, the Ravens strung together lengthy drives, relying on their bread and butter. Henry consistently put them in favorable down-and-distances. Jackson wiggled free, finding his targets downfield. Bateman and tight end Mark Andrews looked well-equipped to make up for Flowers’ absence. But as the game unfolded, Reid said he started to notice a “crack in the armor.” He first observed it when Granderson got a hand up to block Tyler Loop’s 49-yard field goal attempt, although the Ravens would go on to easily score on their ensuing drive. But that play, he thought, started to shift the momentum. New Orleans’ game plan also mattered. To combat Henry, the Saints consistently rotated their defensive linemen — notably pairing Cam Jordan

in Baltimore’s locker room. “They did a great job of being where they needed to be and for those not to occur.” For Saints coach Kellen Moore, perhaps the most impressive aspect of Sunday’s defensive performance was that the unit never got rattled when Jackson made plays. And that was true even in the second half. In the third quarter, the Ravens had reached the red zone — only to get knocked out of the area on a huge thirddown sack from Young and settling for a 49-yard ﬁeld goal. And on the ﬁnal drive, the Ravens quickly reached New Orleans’ 37-yard line — but Granderson and Blackmon came through. “Our guys just didn’t stop,” Moore said. That’s been a theme for the Saints’ defense over the last two seasons. And on Sunday, that relentlessness helped earn them their biggest win in the Moore and Staley era.

Nov. 15 Panthers Noon

Nov. 22 at Bears Noon

Nov. 29 at Bengals Noon

dec. 6 Packers Noon

SHOUGH

Saints quarterback Tyler Shough throws a pass in the second half of a game against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday in Baltimore.

Continued from page 1C with kicker Daniel Carlson going a perfect 3-for-3 on field goals, rookie Barion Brown adding a crucial 53-yard kick return and defensive end Carl Granderson blocking a field goal. But the NFL has proven itself over and over again to be a league of haves and have-nots. Those who have a great quarterback enjoy the spoils. And it was Shough, again and again, dragging the Saints to the finish line. “I think it just reconfirms Tyler is just going to keep going for it,” coach Kellen Moore said. “That is just the way he plays. There are highs and lows in games. There are things that go our way, (there are) things that do not go our way, and he just keeps going.” The Saints struggled to run the ball again. Their excellent young left tackle, Kelvin Banks, left the game in the third quarter with an ankle injury and did not return. Their quarterback didn’t blink — even as Baltimore threw everything it had at him. Late in a tie game, staring into the teeth of the Ravens’ formidable pressure, Shough stood tall in the pocket and delivered a strike to his trusted tight end on third-and-8. It was a zone blitz. Baltimore showed six pass rushers at the snap, but two linemen dropped into a zone shortly after the start of the play. Shough took

and Anfernee Jennings, two reliable run defenders, to set the edge. To limit the explosiveness of Baltimore’s passing attack, the Saints deployed zone coverages that dared Jackson to settle for throws underneath — and indeed, Jackson went from having 15 completions of at least 10 yards in Week 1 to just eight on Sunday. They mixed in linebacker Kaden Elliss on blitzes, an effective move that resulted in four pressures, according to Pro Football Focus’ initial charting. They also contained him in the pocket: Jackson rushed for only 34 yards on four carries and was sacked three times. “I feel like Staley doesn’t get enough credit,” Saints wide receiver Chris Olave said, referring to defensive coordinator Brandon Staley. “He puts the players in a great position to succeed.” “They did a great job with limiting the explosives,” Henry told reporters

AP PHOTO By NICK WASS a massive hit from former Saints pass rusher Trey Hendrickson as he released the ball, but he released it true. Juwan Johnson hauled it in, broke two tackles, and rumbled for 25 yards to the Baltimore 5-yard line. “We had a good play call, I knew I was going to be hot and Juwan did a really good job being friendly there,” Shough said. “I was able to dump it off to him, and he just made the play with his legs.” Four plays later, Shough pushed the ball across the goal line himself on a fourthand-1 sneak to give the Saints a lead for good. The play did not come without controversy — replay reviews did not deﬁnitively show Shough getting in, but also showed Shough’s head getting torqued by an aggressive face-mask grab from line-

against the Detroit Lions, Shough proved to the football-watching public that he and the Saints aren’t going anywhere. Shough finished 27 of 34 for 252 yards and a touchdown through the air and added 23 yards and a touchdown on the ground. New Orleans converted eight of its 15 third downs, many of which required Shough to dance around traffic before finding a target. It wasn’t a perfect game. The Saints got off to a slow start again, falling behind 14-3 with 24 seconds to go in the first half. They allowed Jackson to throw for 171 first-half passing yards, and future Hall-of-Fame running back Derrick Henry looked poised for yet another big day with 73 total first-half yards and a touchdown. But the Saints defense turned the screws on the Ravens’ attack, limiting Henry to 17 rushing yards and Jackson to 64 passing yards, respectively, in the second half. That was more than enough for Shough to provide the heroics — and probably to shed his well-intentioned nickname. Chris Olave, who turned in another big game (eight catches, 86 yards and a touchdown), doesn’t think his quarterback needs to be compared to anybody else anyway. “Tyler’s one of one,” Olave said. “He’s making a name for himself in this league.”

backer Roquan Smith. When the play stood, the defense had to hold up one last time against Jackson. The electric Ravens quarterback looked like he had some magic of his own ready, needing four plays to push the ball to the Saints’ 37. But, with 20 seconds remaining, the Saints pass rush forced an errant throw, and Blackmon was the only one with a chance at a play. He picked it off easily to seal the win. After the game, Saints pass rusher Chase Young described what he was feeling in the moment with an exaggerated, “Whew!” It was just the latest example of what could be with Shough under center. A week after he nearly directed the Saints Email Luke Johnson at to a dramatic come-from-behind win ljohnson@theadvocate.com.

dec. 13 at Panthers TBd

dec. 20 at Buccaneers 7:15 p.m.

dec. 27 Arizona Noon

Jan. 3 Falcons TBd

TBd Buccaneers TBd

6C ● Monday, September 21, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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NFL ROUNDUP

Watson outplays Mayfield in win over Bucs By The Associated Press TAMPA, Fla. — Deshaun Watson earned at least a few more starts for the Cleveland Browns. Watson threw two touchdown passes, including a go-ahead 17yard toss to Blake Whiteheart in the fourth quarter, leading the Browns to a 23-19 comeback victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday in a game that was delayed two hours, 12 minutes because of lightning. The Buccaneers (0-2) were driving and had a second-and-4 at the Cleveland 28 when the game was suspended at the two-minute warning. When it finally resumed, heavy rain started falling again. Bucky Irving ran twice and Baker Mayfield’s pass to Ted Hurst got the Bucs to the 13 before a holding penalty set them back. Mayfield’s pass on fourthand-10 from the 20 to Emeka Egbuka in the end zone was out of his reach, sealing the win for the Browns (1-1). Watson outplayed Mayfield on his home turf in the first meeting between two quarterbacks who are linked together. Watson was 24 of 30 for 238 yards with no turnovers and a 121.9 passer rating in his best game since Sept. 24, 2023 against Tennessee. Mayfield, who was selected No. 1 overall by the Browns in 2018, was traded to Carolina after a blockbuster trade brought Watson and his off-field troubles to Cleveland in 2022. He was eventually released by the Panthers during that season and played for the Rams before rejuvenating his career in Tampa Bay, where he has made two Pro Bowls and received a $165 million, three-year contract extension earlier this month.

ASSOCIATEd PRESS PHOTO By JASON BEHNKEN

Cleveland Browns tight end Blake Whiteheart scores a touchdown during the second half of a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday in Tampa, Fla. PACKERS 20, JETS 17, OT: In East Rutherford, New Jersey, Trey Smack kicked a 26-yard field goal in overtime and Green Bay overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit and a sloppy, penalty-filled performance to snap a six-game skid with a victory over New York. Jordan Love threw two touchdown passes for the Packers (1-1), who had 14 accepted penalties and appeared on their way to another ugly loss after a fourth-quarter collapse at Minnesota last week. But it was the Jets (1-1) who couldn’t hold on in the end after mostly outplaying the Packers and stifling Love and the offense for much of the game. EAGLES 24, TITANS 20: In Nashville, Tennessee, Jalen Hurts threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Darius Cooper with 9 seconds left, and Philadelphia beat Tennessee. The Eagles (2-0) appeared ready to dominate Tennessee. They

opened the game by stringing together three straight drives of at least 11 plays. VIKINGS 9, BEARS 3: In Chicago, Isaiah Rodgers recovered a fumble and blocked a late field-goal attempt, and Minnesota shut down Caleb Williams and Chicago for the victory. Aaron Jones rushed for 105 yards as Minnesota improved to 2-0 for the first time since it opened the 2024 season with five consecutive wins. Will Reichard kicked three field goals, including a 39-yarder with 1:09 left. Williams departed with a right hamstring injury midway through the fourth quarter, silencing a drenched crowd of 58,914 at Soldier Field. The No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft was 15 for 26 for 138 yards, and he also had five carries for 42 yards. PANTHERS 34, FALCONS 3: In Atlanta, Bryce Young threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns, including

two to Darren Waller, Carolina’s Devin Lloyd returned one of his two interceptions for a touchdown and the Panthers routed shorthanded Atlanta. The Panthers (1-1) earned their fourth straight win in the NFC South rivalry. Young completed 23 of 36 passes as he improved to 5-1 against the Falcons. He set a franchise record with 448 yards passing in a 30-27 overtime win to cap last season’s sweep. With fill-in starter Cooper Rush at quarterback, the Falcons (0-2) had more offensive woes following their 20-13 opening loss at Pittsburgh last week. Michael Penix Jr. (knee) and Tua Tagovailoa (oblique) again were inactive. PATRIOTS 20, STEELERS 3: In Foxborough, Massachusetts, TreVeyon Henderson ran for a 39-yard touchdown in his season debut, Eli Ponder added a 19-yard fumble recovery for a score and New England’s defense smothered Aaron Rodgers on the way to a victory over Pittsburgh. With the victory, Patriots coach Mike Vrabel avoided just the second 0-2 start of his eight-year coaching career. BENGALS 20, TEXANS 6: In Houston, Joe Burrow threw two touchdown passes to Ja’Marr Chase to lead Cincinnati to a win over Houston. The big day by Chase came a week after the five-time Pro Bowler had just two receptions for 12 yards in a win over Tampa Bay. That prompted Burrow, coach Zac Taylor and offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher to say that getting him the ball more had to be a priority against the Texans. They showed they meant that early as Chase eclipsed last week’s performance with 14 yards receiving on Cincinnati’s first drive and

didn’t slow down after that. SEAHWKS 31, CARDINALS 7: In Glendale, Arizona, Drew Lock threw for 235 yards and three touchdowns to Jaxon Smith-Njigba in a stellar first start subbing for the injured Sam Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks continued their dominance over the Arizona Cardinals with a win on Sunday. The defending Super Bowl champions have now won 10 straight over their NFC West rival dating to 2022 and closed this one by scoring the final 24 points. Smith-Njigba finished with nine catches for 155 yards and the career-high three TDs in one of the best performances of his fouryear career. Arizona has lost eight straight games at home in a streak that’s lasted 360 days. The Cardinals finished with just 150 total yards. COWBOYS 37, COMMANDERS 20: In Arlington, Texas, Dak Prescott threw four touchdown passes to break Tony Romo’s career franchise record, and the Dallas Cowboys beat Washington on Sunday after the Commanders’ Jayden Daniels went down with another gruesome-looking injury to the left elbow he dislocated last season. Prescott’s record-breaking 249th TD pass was his second TD of the game to CeeDee Lamb, who had 153 yards receiving. Tight end Jake Ferguson had the other two scoring catches. The Cowboys (1-1) led 17-10 with the Commanders on the Dallas 1-yard line with 3 seconds remaining in the first half. Left guard Chris Paul stepped on Daniels’ foot as he backed away from center, and Daniels’ left elbow appeared to bend the wrong way as he braced himself and threw a wild pass that was incomplete as time expired.

SCOREBOARD Odds Sports Betting Line NFL FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG at LA RAMS 9½ 6½ (47½) NY Giants

College Football

OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG 1½ 1½ (52½) at C. CAR

FAVORITE Army Navy at INDIANA at CAL

OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG 3½ 3½ (50½) at TEMPLE 12½ 10½ (52½) at UAB 23½ 22½ (49½) Nrthwstrn 1½ 1½ (50½) Clemson

MLB

28 22 20

20 24 28

Carolina New Orleans Tampa Bay Atlanta

W 1 1 0 0

L 1 1 1 2

T Pct 0 .500 0 .500 0 .000 0 .000

PF 71 54 27 16

PA 62 48 33 54

Minnesota Detroit Chicago Green Bay

W 2 1 1 1

L 0 1 1 1

T Pct PF 01.000 48 0 .500 62 0 .500 62 0 .500 42

PA 25 71 46 56

San Francisco Seattle Arizona L.A. Rams

W 1 1 1 0

L 0 0 0 1

T Pct PF 01.000 27 01.000 13 01.000 26 0 .000 7

PA 7 10 14 27

West

Buffalo 41, Detroit 31 UNDERDOG at BALTIMORE

LINE -104

UNDERDOG Washington at SAN FRAN

LINE OFF +106

Pro basketball WNBA Glance EASTERN CONFERENCE x-Atlanta x-Indiana x-New York x-Washington Chicago Toronto Connecticut WESTERN CONFERENCE x-Minnesota x-Golden State x-Las Vegas x-Dallas Portland Los Angeles Phoenix Seattle

01.000 0 .000 0 .000

Thursday’s Games

Monday

American League FAVORITE LINE Toronto -112 Interleague FAVORITE LINE at DETROIT OFF Minnesota -124

0 1 1

North

FAVORITE Liberty

Friday

1 0 0

South

Monday

Thursday

N.Y. Giants Washington Dallas

W 28 27 25 25 15 11 10

L 14 14 16 16 27 30 32

Pct GB .667 — .659 ½ .610 2½ .610 2½ .357 13 .268 16½ .238 18

W 32 31 28 26 16 15 15 8

L 10 11 13 16 26 26 27 34

Pct GB .762 — .738 1 .683 3½ .619 6 .381 16 .366 16½ .357 17 .190 24

x-clinched playoff spot

Saturday’s Games Dallas 87, Phoenix 82 Atlanta 106, Chicago 81 Golden State 70, Seattle 57

Sunday’s Games

American League z-Tampa Bay z-New York Boston Toronto Baltimore

W 95 89 84 76 75

L 60 65 72 79 80

Pct .613 .578 .538 .490 .484

GB — 5½ 11½ 19 20

Cleveland Chicago Detroit Minnesota Kansas City

W 80 79 73 72 67

L 75 76 82 83 89

Pct .516 .510 .471 .465 .429

GB — 1 7 8 13½

W L Texas 78 77 Houston 77 79 Seattle 72 83 Athletics 61 94 Los Angeles 60 95 z-clinched playoff berth

Pct .503 .494 .465 .394 .387

GB — 1½ 6 17 18

Saturday’s Games

NFL Glance AMERICAN CONFERENCE East

W 2 1 1 0

L 0 1 1 1

T Pct PF 01.000 77 0 .500 30 0 .500 40 0 .000 13

PA 62 16 30 27

Jacksonville Indianapolis Tennessee Houston

W 1 0 0 0

L 0 1 2 2

T Pct PF 01.000 34 0 .000 23 0 .000 30 0 .000 37

PA 10 41 47 56

Cincinnati Baltimore Pittsburgh Cleveland

W 2 1 1 0

L 0 1 1 1

T Pct PF 01.000 53 0 .500 58 0 .500 23 0 .000 10

PA 33 47 33 34

Kansas City Las Vegas L.A. Chargers Denver

W 1 1 0 0

L 0 0 1 1

T Pct PF 01.000 31 01.000 27 0 .000 14 0 .000 10

PA 10 13 26 31

W 2

L 0

T Pct PF 01.000 48

PA 42

South

North

West

NATIONAL CONFERENCE East Philadelphia

Cleveland 1, Athletics 0 Tampa Bay 5, Boston 1 Pittsburgh 4, Kansas City 3 Atlanta 4, Houston 2 Toronto 7, Texas 2 Seattle 2, Colorado 1 Minnesota 8, L.A. Angels 0 Arizona 8, N.Y. Yankees 4 Detroit at Chicago White Sox, 2:10 p.m. Milwaukee at Baltimore, n Toronto (Yesavage 5-5) at Baltimore (Baz 6-15), 5:35 p.m. Washington (TBD) at Detroit (Ryan 0-0), 5:40 p.m. Minnesota (Ober 7-6) at San Francisco (Roupp 9-14), 8:45 p.m.

National League x-Atlanta Philadelphia Miami Washington New York

W 92 86 76 73 71

L 64 70 80 83 85

Pct .590 .551 .487 .468 .455

GB — 6 16 19 21

x-Milwaukee

W 97

L 58

Pct .626

GB —

Central Division

GB — 9 14 32 39

Saturday’s Games

Milwaukee 1, Baltimore 0 N.Y. Mets 10, Philadelphia 3 Chicago Cubs 5, Cincinnati 2 Pittsburgh 6, Kansas City 5 Atlanta 6, Houston 3 Colorado 5, Seattle 3 Arizona 5, N.Y. Yankees 3 Washington 8, St. Louis 5, 11 innings L.A. Dodgers 10, San Francisco 4 San Diego 7, Miami 6, 10 innings

Wild Card Glance American League

W L z-New York 89 65 Boston 84 72 Chicago 79 76 Houston 77 79 Toronto 76 79 Baltimore 75 80 z-clinched playoff berth

National League Chicago San Diego Philadelphia

W 87 86 86

L 69 69 70

Pct .578 .538 .510 .494 .490 .484

WCGB +10½ +4½ — 2½ 3 4

Pct .558 .555 .551

WCGB +1 +½ —

College football

Alabama 50, Florida St. 36 Alabama A&M 45, Bowie St. 3 Appalachian St. 26, Charlotte 21 Austin Peay 38, West Florida 16 Bethune-Cookman 62, Va. Lynchburg 3 Campbell 42, NC A&T 14 Charleston Southern 65, Point (Ga.) 0 Chattanooga 41, Wofford 7 Clemson 28, North Carolina 20 Davidson 27, VMI 24, OT Dayton 17, E. Kentucky 14 Delta St. 21, MVSU 6 Duke 35, Stanford 7 ETSU 35, West Georgia 27 East Carolina 20, Old Dominion 17 Elon 24, Sacred Heart 21 FAU 16, FIU 10 Florida 44, Auburn 39 Fordham 52, William & Mary 27 Gardner-Webb 44, NC Central 20

Georgia Tech 44, Mercer 11 Jackson St. 41, Tuskegee 7 Jacksonville St. 31, Georgia Southern 27 Liberty 51, Ball St. 15 Louisiana-Lafayette 21, UAB 14 Louisville 41, SMU 31 Memphis 45, UT Martin 21 Middle Tennessee 27, Nevada 20 Mississippi 32, LSU 24 Mississippi St. 41, South Carolina 34 Norfolk St. 42, Hampton 21 North Alabama 38, Alcorn St. 20 Richmond 24, Georgetown 21 SC State 20, Furman 17 SE Louisiana 38, Louisiana-Monroe 35 South Alabama 41, Ohio 36 South Florida 59, Delaware St. 17 Southern U. 50, Louisiana College 31 Tennessee 42, Kennesaw St. 9 Tennessee St. 29, Florida A&M 26 UCF 44, Georgia St. 30 UConn 48, Southern Miss. 20 UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros 27, McNeese St. 10 Vanderbilt 35, NC State 31 W. Carolina 58, Presbyterian 14 West Virginia 38, Virginia 27

Total Net Yards 330 426 Rushes-yards 43-172 25-63 Passing 158 363 Punt Returns 0-0 1-0 Kickoff Returns 1-20 0-0 Interceptions Ret. 1-10 1-0 Comp-Att-Int 16-27-1 33-48-1 Sacked-Yards Lost 2-8 2-22 Punts 4-42.75 2-42.0 Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-0 Penalties-Yards 7-34 8-77 Time of Possession 30:15 29:45 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING–LSU, D.Jones 23-106, Leavitt 17-63, Gage 3-3. Mississippi, K.Lacy 9-43, Lindsey 4-20, Alexander 1-4, Chambliss 9-2, (Team) 2-(minus 6). PASSING–LSU, Leavitt 16-27-1-158. Mississippi, Chambliss 33-48-1-363. RECEIVING–LSU, T.Green 4-60, Watkins 3-54, Jayc.Brown 3-23, D.Jones 2-6, Wilson 2-4, Elzy 1-6, Harris 1-5. Mississippi, Ray 7-115, Alexander 7-60, Odom 5-88, Fields 5-52, Hasz 3-15, Smith 2-13, K.Lacy 2-(minus 2), Cook 1-14, Lindsey 1-8. MISSED FIELD GOALS–Mississippi, Carneiro 53.

Arizona St. 24, Kansas 17 Butler 47, Chicago State 20 Cent. Michigan 24, Wyoming 10 Cincinnati 35, Miami (Ohio) 31 Illinois 48, S. Illinois 10 Illinois St. 49, E. Illinois 13 Indiana 38, W. Kentucky 0 Indiana St. 39, Valparaiso 16 Iowa 55, N. Iowa 0 Iowa St. 55, Bowling Green 7 Kansas St. 31, Tulane 20 Marshall 30, Missouri St. 24 Michigan 52, UTEP 17 Minnesota 41, Akron 7 Missouri 27, Troy 17 Nebraska 34, North Dakota 7 Northwestern 41, Colorado 7 Notre Dame 27, Michigan St. 10 Ohio St. 59, Kent St. 3 S. Dakota St. 27, Youngstown St. 20 SE Missouri 27, Cent. Arkansas 9 St. Thomas (Minn.) 28, S. Utah 26 Toledo 49, Temple 48, OT W. Illinois 59, Morehead St. 2 Wisconsin 54, E. Michigan 10

UAB 0 7 0 7 — 14 UL 7 14 0 0 — 21 First Quarter UL—Blanco 1 run (Sterner kick), 8:52. Second Quarter UL—Winﬁeld 9 run (Sterner kick), 14:51. UAB—Burge 13 fumble return (Delange kick), 7:56. UL—Winﬁeld 11 run (Sterner kick), :45. Fourth Quarter UAB—Rogers 11 run (Delange kick), 8:59.

MIDWEST

Milwaukee at Philadelphia, 5:40 p.m. St. Louis at Pittsburgh, 5:40 p.m. Washington at Detroit, 5:40 p.m. Cincinnati at Atlanta, 6:15 p.m. Miami at Chicago Cubs, 6:40 p.m. N.Y. Mets at Texas, 7:05 p.m. Arizona at Colorado, 7:40 p.m. Minnesota at San Francisco, 8:45 p.m. San Diego at L.A. Dodgers, 9:10 p.m.

SOUTH

Monday’s Games

East Division

Pct .615 .558 .526 .410 .365

Boston College 22, Maine 16 Brown 17, New Haven 10 Bryant 21, Princeton 14 Colgate 20, Cornell 7 Columbia 40, Lafayette 34, OT Delaware 22, Coastal Carolina 14 Harvard 31, New Hampshire 7 Lehigh 24, Dartmouth 20 Mercyhurst 49, Glenville St. 20 Monmouth (NJ) 28, Albany (NY) 20 Morgan St. 41, Towson 26 Penn 20, Bucknell 7 Penn St. 55, Buffalo 13 Southern Cal 42, Rutgers 35 Stony Brook 56, Rhode Island 24 UMass 36, Stonehill 14 Villanova 20, LIU Brooklyn 16 Virginia Tech 35, Maryland 26 Yale 38, Holy Cross 28

Sunday’s Games

Buffalo New England N.Y. Jets Miami

L 60 69 74 92 99

EAST

Chicago White Sox 3, Detroit 1 Milwaukee 1, Baltimore 0 Tampa Bay 2, Boston 1 Cleveland 12, Athletics 6 Pittsburgh 6, Kansas City 5 Texas 6, Toronto 2 Atlanta 6, Houston 3 Colorado 5, Seattle 3 Arizona 5, N.Y. Yankees 3 L.A. Angels 6, Minnesota 5, 11 innings

Pro football

W x-Los Angeles 96 San Diego 87 Arizona 82 San Francisco 64 Colorado 57 x-clinched division

West Division

Tuesday’s Games

Major League Baseball

Connecticut at Washington, 6:30 p.m. Minnesota at Indiana, 7 p.m. Toronto at Chicago, 7 p.m. Golden State at Portland, 9 p.m. Los Angeles at Las Vegas, 9 p.m.

Tuesday’s Games

10½ 18½ 21½ 25½

Monday’s Games

N.Y. Giants at L.A. Rams, 7:15 p.m.

West Division

.558 .506 .487 .462

Washington (TBD) at Detroit (Ryan 0-0), 5:40 p.m. Minnesota (Ober 7-6) at San Francisco (Roupp 9-14), 8:45 p.m.

Monday’s Games

Minnesota 101, Connecticut 89 New York 106, Toronto 69 Washington 93, Indiana 77 Portland at Los Angeles, n Seattle at Las Vegas, n Atlanta at New York, n Dallas at Phoenix, n

69 77 80 84

Chicago Cubs 9, Cincinnati 1 Philadelphia 7, N.Y. Mets 2 Pittsburgh 4, Kansas City 3 St. Louis 5, Washington 3 Atlanta 4, Houston 2 Seattle 2, Colorado 1 San Diego 7, Miami 3 L.A. Dodgers 3, San Francisco 1 Arizona 8, N.Y. Yankees 4 Milwaukee at Baltimore, 6:20 p.m.

Cleveland at Tampa Bay, sus. Carolina 34, Atlanta 3 Cincinnati 20, Houston 6 Green Bay 20, N.Y. Jets 17, OT Minnesota 9, Chicago 3 New England 20, Pittsburgh 3 New Orleans 24, Baltimore 17 Philadelphia 24, Tennessee 20 Denver 20, Jacksonville 13 Las Vegas 26, L.A. Chargers 14 Dallas 37, Washington 20 San Francisco 35, Miami 13 Seattle 31, Arizona 7 Indianapolis at Kansas City, n

Central Division

87 79 76 72

Sunday’s Games

East Division

Chicago Pittsburgh St. Louis Cincinnati

SOUTHWEST

Ark.-Pine Bluff 41, Central St. (Ohio) 35 Baylor 36, Louisiana Tech 19 Georgia 45, Arkansas 17 Incarnate Word 30, Houston Christian 23, OT Kentucky 31, Texas A&M 21 Oklahoma 14, New Mexico 6 Oklahoma St. 59, Murray St. 0 Sam Houston St. 59, Nicholls 0 Stephen F. Austin 31, Prairie View 10 TCU 31, Arkansas St. 7 Tarleton St. 45, Merrimack 20 Texas 30, UTSA 6 Texas State 49, North Texas 35 Tulsa 42, East Texas A&M 0 W. Michigan 28, Rice 21

FAR WEST

Abilene Christian 41, Idaho 39 Arizona 42, N. Illinois 17 BYU 41, Colorado St. 23 Boise St. 38, South Dakota 24 California 49, Wagner 7 Fresno St. 26, San Jose St. 10 James Madison 26, San Diego St. 13 Montana St. 35, CCSU 30 N. Arizona 35, Utah Tech 23 N. Colorado 23, Northeastern St. 17, OT N. Dakota St. 31, Sacramento St. 10 Oregon St. 52, Montana 17 San Diego 38, Cal Poly 35 UC Davis 45, Stetson 7 UCLA 52, Purdue 38 Utah 33, Utah St. 0 Washington 48, E. Washington 16 Washington St. 48, Duquesne 7 Weber St. 49, Northwestern St. 20

No. 8 Ole Miss 32, No. 7 LSU 24

LSU 0 7 14 3 — 24 Ole Miss 10 14 0 8 — 32 First Quarter MISS–FG Carneiro 37, 6:38. MISS–K.Lacy 5 run (Carneiro kick), 2:00. Second Quarter MISS–Ray 21 pass from Chambliss (Carneiro kick), 9:49. LSU–D.Jones 2 run (Starzyk kick), 1:57. MISS–Alexander 20 pass from Chambliss (Carneiro kick), :05. Third Quarter LSU–Leavitt 4 run (Starzyk kick), 9:18. LSU–Watkins 26 pass from Leavitt (Starzyk kick), 3:05. Fourth Quarter LSU–FG Starzyk 23, 11:21. MISS–Chambliss 14 run (Lindsey run), 6:14. LSU MISS First downs 19 25

UL 21, UAB 14

A—18,216.

UAB UL First downs 11 21 Total Net Yards 218 335 Rushes-yards 31-74 53-225 Passing 144 110 Punt Returns 3-52 1-8 Kickoff Returns 0-0 2-43 Interceptions Ret. 0-0 1-0 Comp-Att-Int 15-27-1 15-20-0 Sacked-Yards Lost 3-8 2-6 Punts 6-39.0 6-41.667 Fumbles-Lost 1-0 3-2 Penalties-Yards 9-89 7-50 Time of Possession 24:37 35:23 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING—UAB, Ro.Robinson 13-52, Rogers 2-13, McReynolds 7-12, Simpkins 2-10, Burton 7-(minus 13). Louisiana-Lafayette, Winﬁeld 20-92, Blanco 11-55, Reagan 8-48, Garner 5-16, D.Smith 8-14, (Team) 1-0. PASSING—UAB, Burton 15-25-1-144, (Team) 0-1-0-0, Rogers 0-1-0-0. Louisiana-Lafayette, Winﬁeld 15-20-0-110. RECEIVING—UAB, Reid 5-28, Mims 4-57, Smith 2-28, Ro.Robinson 1-20, Simpkins 1-8, Isacks 1-4, McReynolds 1-(minus 1). Louisiana-Lafayette, Strother 5-41, Babineaux 4-20, Chappell 2-17, Brooks 2-16, Wade 1-15, Gawlik 1-1. MISSED FIELD GOALS—None.

Transactions Major League Baseball

American League ATLANTA BRAVES — Sent RHP Robert Suarez on a rehab assignment to Gwinnett (IL). BOSTON RED SOX — Reinstated RHP Tyron Guerrero from the 15-Day IL. Optioned RHP Wyatt Olds to Worcester (IL). CHICAGO WHITE SOX — Reinstated RHP Huascar Brazobán from the 15-day IL. Optioned LHP Chris Murphy to Charlotte (IL). TAMPA BAY RAYS — Reinstated 2B Ben Williamson from the 10-day IL. Designated RF Jake Fraley for assignment. TEXAS RANGERS — Placed RHP Cal Quantrill on the 15-Day IL. Recalled RHP Winston Santos from Round Rock (PCL). National League ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS — Sent RHP Ryan Thompson on rehab assignment to Reno (PCL). CHICAGO CUBS — Sent LHP Riley Martin on a rehab assignment to Iowa (IL). CINCINNATI REDS — Placed RHP Chase Burns on the 15-day IL, retroactive to Sept. 19. Designated CF TJ Friedl for assignment. Selected the contract of RHP Carson Spiers from Louisville (IL). LOS ANGELES DODGERS — Placed LHP Tarik Skubal on the bereavement list. Recalled RHP Emmet Sheehan from Oklahoma City (PCL). Recalled RHP Kyle Hurt from Oklahoma City. PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES — Recalled RHP Max Lazar from Lehigh Valley (IL). Optioned RHP Orion Kerkering to Lehigh Valley. SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS — Optioned LHP Philip Abner to Sacramento (PCL). Recalled RHP Tristan Beck from Sacramento.

LIVING

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

M o n d ay, S e p t e M b e r 21, 2026

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La. baker rises to occasion on Food Network New Orleans cake artist one of nine still in competition BY JUDY BERGERON Staff writer

PROVIdEd PHOTO FROM LE PAVILLON

A stack of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches is ready for guests and visitors to enjoy at Le Pavillon Hotel in New Orleans.

BY MATTHEW HAINES | Contributing writer

Despite burnt brownies and a not-so-humorous comedic mask creation, Louisiana’s Baindu Squire will live to bake another week on Food Network’s “Halloween Baking Championship.” New Orleans cake artist Squire and nine other contestants from around the United States were introduced on the series’ 12th season premiere on Sept. 14. The show returns at 7 p.m. Monday and will stream the following day on HBO Max. “A classically trained chef and the talent behind Lady B’s Cakes, Squire brings her Philadelphia upbringing and distinctive culinary perspective to the competition,” according to a Food Network news release. Squire, born and raised in Philadelphia, competed on Food Network’s “Holiday Wars” in 2020. She is a ﬁrst-generation Sierra Leonean. This season’s backdrop for “Halloween Baking Championship” is the Museum of Unnatural History, “where eerie exhibits inspire a series of artistic and blood-curdling baking challenges,” the release also said.

As you approach Le Pavillon Hotel, it stands apart from the jungle of modern architecture that comprises Poydras Street. A gem of the French Renaissance Revival style, it has been a historic structure of the Central Business District since 1907.

Why are the iconic sandwiches a free late-night tradition at this downtown New Orleans hotel? Inside, a little after 9 p.m., the sounds of a jazz trio — piano, upright bass and female vocals — ﬂoat over marble ﬂoors, under crystal chandeliers and across European and American art and antiques. You’ll see Bar 1803, a lounge with red velvet decor and guests sipping cocktails under the watchful eye of a large, masked Napoleon Bonaparte portrait. ä See CURIOUS, page 8C ASSOCIATEd PRESS PHOTO By KATIE WORKMAN

More than a century later, the peanut butter and jelly sandwich remains a favorite for many Americans.

The versatile, no-fuss creation remains king of the lunchbox after 125 years BY KATIE WORKMAN

Associated Press

If there is a single sandwich associated with childhood and school lunches in the USA, it has to be the PB&J. Sweet and salty, inexpensive, easy to make (maybe the first sandwich many kids make for themselves?), peanut butter and jelly is as close to iconic as a sandwich can get.

It’s been 125 years since the ﬁrst known written recipe, and the PB&J concept is still going strong. In its simplest form, it’s a lunchbox staple, but it’s also a jumping-off point for creative takes in eateries from delis to high-end restaurants. It’s nothing if not versatile: When peanut allergies led to school bans, alternative nut

ä See SANDWICH, page 8C

PHOTO VIA dETROIT PUBLISHING CO. / PROVIdEd By THE LIBRARy OF CONGRESS

A 1910 photo shows the New denechaud Hotel in New Orleans. Five years after its 1907 opening, the hotel would be rebranded the Hotel deSoto and, in 1971, Le Pavillon Hotel.

PROVIdEd PHOTO By ROB PRyCE/ FOOd NETWORK

Follow Baindu Squire, of New Orleans’ Lady B’s Cakes, on Season 12 of Food Network’s ‘Halloween Baking Championship.’

For their ﬁrst challenge, the “Haunted Heat,” the contestants were tasked with transforming their “best Halloween ever” into a dessert. “One of the most iconic Halloween memories that I have was a party my roommate and I put together. I was Whitney Houston. We had karaoke. We had libations. We had brownies, of course. And so I’m making a layered walnut brownie,” she explained. “People brought snacks. There was pretzels. There was ginger snap cookies, marshmallows. And so I incorporated all of that.” A black jacket fashioned of fondant, coating chocolate (also called compound chocolate) for the rhinestones, and isomalt, a sugar substitute often used for edible decorations, would be her dessert’s dramatic centerpiece. “I totally burned this,” Squire said, pulling the pan of coal-colored brownies from the oven. “I’m thinking I have to do a little

ä See BAKING, page 8C

8C ● Monday, September 21, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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Proprioception helps brain with movement

CURIOUS

Continued from page 7C Each detail oozes opulence, which is why you may be shocked to notice what’s on the plate of every satisﬁed bar patron: humble, nostalgia-inducing peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in all varieties. Two guests, both in town for a healthcare conference, argue about the ideal ﬁllings. Shannon Huron from Ohio considers herself a traditionalist, opting for smooth peanut butter and blueberry jam on white bread. Her friend and coworker, Chrissie Twomey of New Hampshire, rebrands “traditional” as “boring” and shows off her wheat bread bursting with crunchy peanut butter and strawberry jam. While they have little in common when it comes to sandwiches, the two wholeheartedly agree on why they would rather be eating one at the end of the night than exploring the French Quarter or nodding off to sleep. “Traveling can feel adventurous, but it can also sometimes feel lonely,” Huron said. “To be able to come to an elegant place like Le Pavillon, sit among other guests, and enjoy something that feels so comforting and homey at the end of the night is really special.” What adds to that feeling, Huron said, is knowing the hotel has engaged in this custom nearly every night since Sept. 10, 1988.

A tradition begins Some details are lost to history — the name of the man who began the tradition and where he was from, for example — but the gist of the story is part of Le Pavillon lore. It began with a businessman who ordered a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a glass of milk at the hotel’s bar. The bartender found this a curious order and asked why. The man said he traveled a lot for work and being away from home was tough on him, his wife and young daughter, especially in the era before cellphones. So, they began little rituals to feel more connected. Because the man’s daughter loved a late-night PB&J with a glass of milk, the two decided that every night around 9 p.m., they would both enjoy her favorite treat. No matter how far apart they were, they could trust that they were think-

SANDWICH

Continued from page 7C butters like almond and seed butters like sunﬂower, ﬂaxseed and pumpkin seed stepped in.

The combo’s beginnings The recipe that appeared in 1901 in The Boston Cooking School Magazine was written by Julia Davis Chandler. It called for currant or crab-apple jelly and was viewed as a fancy tea-time snack for wealthy people. In the 1920s and ’30s, commercial peanut butter and machine-sliced bread became widely available. Peter Pan and Skippy were early brands, and then Jif came along in the 1950s. Natural peanut butter has also carved out a niche, though what “natural” means is up for debate. Many people think of it as peanut butter that allows the natural oil to separate, and requires stirring to emulsify. The classic old-school sandwich would have to be two slices of soft bread, probably white, maybe wheat, with a layer of peanut butter (crunchy or smooth) on one side, jelly (often grape, maybe strawberry or raspberry, probably seedless) on the other. Simple and perfect. Not so long ago, a kid who lugged sandwiches to school made with heavy natural peanut butter and sugar-free jam on multigrain bread wouldn’t have found anyone who wanted to trade. (Trust me on that.)

STAFF FILE PHOTO By ENAN CHEdIAK

Cars drive past Le Pavillon hotel in downtown New Orleans. ing of each other. As was often the case with hotels, Le Pavillon didn’t have peanut butter and jelly on hand, so the man graciously settled for a glass of cold milk and went to bed. The next day, “the bartender shared the story with the general manager, who was very intrigued,” reads a sign in the Le Pavillon lobby. The manager had the staff purchase ingredients for a sandwich that evening. Front desk manager Paula Carter has worked at the hotel since 1993, back when the tradition was still in its infancy. She understands why it has endured. “It’s so unexpected to ﬁnd a display of free peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at this big, beautiful bar,” she said. “Guests love it, and the staff at the hotel staff love watching the joy it brings them. Kids, of course, but adults, too. It kind of awakens something childlike in them.”

Peanut butter for all There’s only been one pause in the peanut butter tradition: during Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. “We had to stop it for about a year as we got back on our feet,” Carter explained. “But we relaunched the tradition on Sept. 21, 2006. We had a lot of military and recovery people in the hotel, and I’ll never forget seeing that idea of New Orleans hospitality click for them.” Executive chef Brian O’Malley loves creating the peanut butter and jelly display each night because it is an opportunity for him and his team to show that hospitality to their guests. “As we set up, you have some guests who are unsure what’s happening, and they get this kind of delighted curiosity,” he said, “and then you have others who have stayed with us for a while or have read about the tradition, and they are lined up and eager.” You can feel that excite-

But times and tastes have evolved, and now a sandwich like that would no longer feel crunchy-granola-weird.

ment as individuals, families and groups of friends begin to ﬁll their plates and glasses. Tea towers are stacked with pre-made sandwiches for those who prefer their peanut butter and jelly delicate and crustless. But for those desiring a heartier sandwich, clochecovered wooden boards are there for individuals to create their dream combination. Spreads include smooth and crunchy peanut butter, Nutella, grape jelly, strawberry jam and apple butter, which can be slathered on white or wheat bread. Wash it down with regular milk, cold chocolate milk in the summer or hot chocolate when the weather chills. Two local travel agents — Chandra Jury and Jay Kapela — prove that this isn’t only for out-of-towners. They make a point to stop here whenever they are downtown for dinner. “A nightcap and a sandwich!” Kapela laughed. A few tables away sat a group of co-workers in town for a medical sales and device conference. They might have been talking about work at some point, but the focus was on choosing between the premade sandwiches or making your own. They were split down the middle, arguing and laughing. “It’s the only place you can get a paper plane (cocktail) and a PB&J,” joked Chad Flora from Houston before striking a more serious note. “New Orleans is special because of traditions like this. Can you believe all of this happened because of some guy 40 years ago? That’s pretty cool.” Have a question about something in Louisiana that’s got you curious? Email your question to curiouslouisiana@ theadvocate.com. Include your name, phone number and the city where you live.

At Pearl Street in New York City, you can indulge in PB&J Triangles with foie gras ganache on milk bread. Fancy, but it’s noted on the With a twist! menu that the strawberry Griddled or pan-fried ver- jam is Smuckers and the peasions of the PB&J are popu- nut butter is Jif. This mashup lar throughout the South and will set you back $24. Midwest. In some regions of the U.S., you might find Raising the bar dill pickles tucked into the There are a lot of compasandwich, or potato chips nies making gourmet verlayered in for salty crunch. sions of peanut butter. PB&J with a side of chili is At Big Spoon Roasters, in pure school-cafeteria nostal- Hillsborough, North Carogia — cheap, protein-packed lina, bestsellers include and filling. Pistachio Crunch Almond In New England, the Butter made with almonds, “Fluffernutter” still reigns, pistachios, organic maple with marshmallow fluff syrup and sea salt. They destanding in for the jelly. scribe their Maple Cinnamon Texans sometimes take Peanut and Pecan Butter as their PB&Js with jalapeño “cinnamon-dusted pecan pie jam and crispy bacon, of- in a jar.” Peanut Butter & ten double-decked with an Co., based in New York, sells extra slice of bread. And at a flavor enticingly named Southern state fairs, you can Dark Chocolatey Dreams, find the sandwich deep-fried and another called The Bee’s (though I’d advise waiting a Knees, made with honey. To change up your jelly, while before getting on any add chia seeds, maple syrrides afterwards). up, crushed pretzels, sliced Restaurant inventions peaches or apples, pomeIn San Antonio, Texas, a granate seeds. restaurant called PB&J with Try it on a croissant or Tay has a whole menu in- challah. No matter how far the spired by this sandwich. You might try The Egg-Cellent, PB&J has come from its which contains peanut but- 1901 currant jelly version, ter, hard-cooked egg, bacon somehow it still tastes like and strawberry-jalapeño being a kid. jelly, or The Kitchen Sink (Double Decker), jammed Katie Workman writes with peanut butter, banana, regularly about food for walnuts, almond butter, The Associated Press. She bacon, cream cheese and has written two cookbooks choice of jelly. focused on family-friendly The South Philadelphia cooking, “Dinner Solved!” Tap Room in Philly has a and “The Mom 100 Fried PB&J made with sour- Cookbook.” She blogs at dough bread that is crusted https://themom100.com/. in Frosted Flakes before be- She can be reached at Katie@themom100.com. ing griddled.

Dear Doctors: I got diagnosed with a strained tendon in my hip after a soccer game. I thought it was healing OK, but now when I try to make fast movements, like a quick step forward, my leg feels slow and heavy. It’s like walking through deep water. What is happening? Is it going to go away? Dear reader: The sensations you have described are actually a well-known part of the healing process from a soft tissue injury in the hip, which includes the muscles, ligaments and tendons. When any of these tissues is injured, it is possible for the nervous system to inhibit movements that it perceives as potentially damaging. In your case, you tried for a forward thrust of the leg in order to step quickly. Instead, you got a slower, more measured movement. That’s the “walking through water” sensation you described. It occurred because the brain modiﬁed your “move fast” command in order to protect the injured area. Let’s begin with the hip, which is a ball-and-socket joint. That means the rounded head of the thigh bone, or femur, ﬁts into a cuplike hollow in the hip. This ingenious structure allows the hips to bear the weight of the torso while also giving the legs and

Dr. Elizabeth Ko Dr. Eve Glazier ASK THE dOCTORS

pelvis an impressive range of motion. Muscles, ligaments and tendons — the soft tissues — anchor the hip joint. They provide power, stability and ﬂexibility. They also send information to the brain about changes in the hip’s movement and location. This is a concept known as proprioception. It’s complex, subtle and (nerd alert!) fascinating. And it’s at the heart of that “walking through water” feeling you have described. When you injure your hip, sensory receptors in the soft tissues can also be affected. This can result in confused or faulty information about the hip’s position and movement — that’s proprioception — being sent to the brain. Rather than risk further injury, the brain begins to modulate movement. The good news is that, with time, normal movement typically does return. How long this will take depends on the extent of the original injury, successful healing and the demands that are put on the

hips and legs. Physical therapy can also play an important role in recovery speed. For this type of injury, the focus is on balance, strength and dynamic stability. That’s a fancy way of saying the ability to maintain your balance while your body is in motion. Exercises include single-leg stances for balance, performed in a variety of positions. In more advanced work, balance exercises may take place on an unstable surface, which targets stabilizing muscles around the hip. Step-ups onto a low box and minisquats help build strength. Increasingly challenging ball catches are used to improve coordination and reaction time. Improvements to strength and proprioception allow the brain to once again trust the information it receives. This lets the nervous system gradually back off from its protective response. And with those protective “walking in water” inhibitions eased, normal speed and freedom of movement can ﬁnally return. Send your questions to askthedoctors@mednet. ucla.edu, or write: Ask the Doctors, c/o UCLA Health Sciences Media Relations, 10880 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1450, Los Angeles, CA, 90024.

TODAY IN HISTORY By The Associated Press Today is Monday, Sept. 21, the 264th day of 2026. There are 101 days left in the year. Today in history: On Sept. 21, 2013, an attack by armed militants in the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya, left 67 people dead and hundreds injured. Also on this date: In 1792, the National Convention of France issued a proclamation announcing the abolition of the French monarchy. In 1898, in response to a letter from 8-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon, the New York Sun newspaper wrote an editorial containing the famous line “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.” In 1915, Cecil Chubb purchased Stonehenge for £6,600; the last private owner of the site, Chubb donated it to the British people three years later. In 1922, President Warren Harding signed the Lodge-Fish Resolution, a congressional resolution endorsing the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine.

In 1937, “The Hobbit,” by J.R.R. Tolkien, was first published by George Allen & Unwin Ltd. of London. In 1939, Romanian Prime Minister Armand Calinescu was assassinated by members of the fascist Iron Guard movement. In 1955, at Yankee Stadium in New York, heavyweight boxer Rocky Marciano completed his undefeated professional career by knocking out Archie Moore in the ninth round of their title fight. In 1970, “Monday Night Football” made its debut on ABC, with the Cleveland Browns defeating the New York Jets 31-21. In 1981, the Senate unanimously confirmed the nomination of Sandra Day O’Connor to become the first female justice on the Supreme Court. In 1989, Hurricane Hugo crashed into South Carolina; the storm was blamed for 56 deaths in the Caribbean and 29 in the United States. In 2022, Russia’s Vladimir Putin ordered a mobilization of reservists for the first time since World War

II, nearly seven months after invading Ukraine. In 2025, Donald Trump praised ally Charlie Kirk as a “great American hero” and “martyr” for freedom as the U.S. president and other leading conservatives took part in a televised tribute in Glendale, Arizona, to the political activist who was shot dead at a Utah speaking appearance Sept. 10. Today’s birthdays: Producer Jerry Bruckheimer is 83. Musician Don Felder is 79. Author Stephen King is 79. Actor-comedian Bill Murray is 76. Champion race car driver Arie Luyendyk is 73. Filmmaker Ethan Coen is 69. Basketball Hall of Famer Sidney Moncrief is 69. Actor-comedian Dave Coulier is 67. Actor David James Elliott is 66. Actor Nancy Travis is 65. Actor Rob Morrow is 64. Actor Angus Macfadyen is 63. Actor Cheryl Hines is 61. Country singer Faith Hill is 59. Actor Billy Porter is 57. Actor Alfonso Ribeiro is 55. Actor Luke Wilson is 55. Musician Liam Gallagher (Oasis) is 54. Actor Maggie Grace is 43.

BAKING

Continued from page 7C bit of surgery. Send some prayers, please.” Salvaging the usable brownie sections, Squire poured on melted marshmallows to pull the dessert’s elements together. “This is a hot mess express, but Halloween is kind of like that,” she continued. She presented her walnut brownie with pretzels, marshmallows and a ginger snap crust to the judging panel. “This is exceptional. This is how you do Halloween without the gore,” began judge Zac Young, a pastry chef and TV personality. But things took a turn in the tasting. The judges chewed their overbaked brownie portions, and chewed, and chewed some more. “I’m sad because I thought the decoration was exceptional, but the execution of the brownie just killed it,” Young said. He’s joined at the judges’ table this season by fellow pastry chefs and TV per-

PROVIdEd PHOTO By ROB PRyCE/FOOd NETWORK

Competing for the $25,000 grand prize are New Orleans pastry Baindu Squire, second from left, along with Ciarra Roberts, Caleb King, Katie Shegda, Kyle Caulkins, Lisa Pak, Justin Giordano, Kyle Olsen, Marian Mulero and Elizabeth Suwanski. sonalities Stephanie Boswell and Aarti Sequeira. Comedian and actor John Henson hosts. Squire’s unsuccessful showing in the “Haunted Heat” sent her into the “Bake for your Lives” round, where she turned her comedic mask inspiration into a creepy one, complete with snaggled teeth and wild corn silk hair. The dessert itself was a toasted black sesame tart with a pumpkin pie ﬁlling and marshmallow brulee.

Despite a weeping meringue and the judges’ want for more of the sesame flavor, Squire eked out a spot among the surviving contestants. Katie Shegda, a pastry chef from Greenville, South Carolina, was eliminated. The winner of the “Halloween Baking Championship” will take home a $25,000 grand prize. Email Judy Bergeron at jbergeron@theadvocate. com.

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Monday, September 21, 2026 ● 9C

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zodIAC VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Tidy up, and make your surroundings convenient and comfortable. The effort you put in will encourage you to start new projects or explore new possibilities. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Make your move. A domestic or relationship change is applicable. Don't hesitate when the need for a shake-up is so prevalent. Listen to your intuition, and base your decisions on what's best for you. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Choose to push yourself physically and emotionally. Reach out to those who can help or hinder your progress to ensure you are the one in control. Monitor situations. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Opportunity and timing align. Take the time to investigate what's available and what it will cost to improve your surroundings and your relationships with those you deal with daily. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Trust your intuition. Conversations will be deceiving if you take them at face value. Let your gut be your barometer for justice and fair play. Put your energy into learning. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Put some power behind your emotions and push forward. A change has given you leverage to follow your dreams, your heart, and your professional and personal desires. Explore new possibilities. PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) A change is in order, but first ask yourself how much you are willing to spend. Set a budget to

ensure you don't add more stress when what you want is to decrease anxiety and boost your confidence. ARIES (March 21-April 19) Look for opportunities, participate in activities or events that interest you, and mingle and network. Don't limit what you can do or hold back on your thoughts. TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Take more time to rejuvenate, rethink your lifestyle and consider what makes you happy. Taking on too much can lead to overreacting or having unrealistic expectations. GEMINI (May 21-June 20) A lifestyle change will combat health issues. Focus on discipline and innovative ways to gain strength of mind, body and soul. Reach out to those who inspire you most. CANCER (June 21-July 22) Self-improvement is a mindset that includes desire and discipline. Find an activity that motivates you to get moving. Joining a group will lead to commitment. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Consider your options and make your voice heard. Your actions should back up your thoughts and intentions. Call the shots, be the leader, and protect yourself and your possessions from outside influences. The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact. © 2026 by NEA, Inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

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10C ● Monday, September 21, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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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. Saturday’s Puzzle Answer

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The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Monday, September 21, 2026 ● 11C

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B.C.

Bridge BY PHILLIP ALDER Lillian Eichler Watson said, “Don’t reserve your best behavior for special occasions. You can’t have two sets of manners, two social codes — one for those you admire and want to impress, another for those whom you consider unimportant. You must be the same to all people.” Similarly, don’t reserve your best bridge for special occasions. You must play the same against all opponents. The deals this week occurred during a social game of bridge, but all four were trying to play their best. What do you think of the auction? The first seven calls are fine (although if North-South had been using the support double, South could have doubled one spade to show three-card heart support and any point-count). With nine points and three spades, West should have raised to two spades. Yes, partner was a passed hand, so game was impossible, and West’s hand was as flat as a pancake, but he ought to have made life harder for North. To bid two spades on the next round gave his opponents a fielder’s choice because North had been able to describe his hand. Finally, South should have passed out two spades because he also had a pan-

garfield

Pearls Before swiNe

hagar the horriBle

cake. True, that contract can be made, but three diamonds had no chance. South lost two spades, two diamonds and two clubs to go down two — luckily, but understandably, not doubled by West. Bid your hand immediately and be cautious with 4-3-3-3 distribution when not in no-trump. © 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 — REGAIn: rih-GANE: To get something again; recover.

Bizarro

marmaduKe

Average mark 15 words Time limit 20 minutes Can you find 19 or more words in REGAIN? SAtuRDAY’S WoRD — nucLEAR nacre near neural ulcer ulna uncle unclear unlace unreal urea cane

caner care clan clean clear clue crane cruel cure curl lace

lance lancer lane lean learn lunar lune lure earl earn ecru

elan acne acre race rale real renal rule

loCKhorNs hidato Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

today’s thought “He that believes on the Son has everlasting life: and he that believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God stays on him.” John 3:36 What you do with Jesus now will determine what He will do to you for eternity. G.E. Dean

12C ● Monday, September 21, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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TODAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

A t-storm around in the p.m.

Partly sunny

A t-storm around in the p.m.

Mostly cloudy and less humid

Sun through high clouds

Partly sunny

HIGH

LOW

95° 73°

LOW

96° 74°

LOW

94° 72°

92° 69°

Beaumont 94/75 Port Arthur 93/75

Baton Rouge 95/72

Lake Charles 94/74

New Orleans 94/76 Houma 90/72

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

Hattiesburg 97/72

Alexandria 97/71

Lafayette 95/73

10s

20s

30s

40s

50s

92° 70°

LOW

90° 71°

TEMPERATURE Jackson 97/70

Many 97/69

LOW

YESTERDAY

Lafayette through 5 p.m. Sunday

Longview 97/72

-0s

LOW

Monroe 97/72

Shreveport 97/73

-10s

HIGH

Today, expect a mostly sunny, hot and humid day with a light breeze. Temperatures this afternoon will rise to the mid-90s. The dewpoint temperatures are higher, so the humidity will be greater today than it’s been all weekend. Because humidity is high, heat index values could rise to 105 or greater. Our heat risk is also on the rise. Most of Acadiana is under either a a major or extreme heat risk so please be cautious. There is also a 20% chance of rain, so you may want to grab the umbrella.

60s

70s

80s

90s 100s 110s

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

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 FULL

SEP 26

City

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

Austin Boston dallas Fairbanks Honolulu Las Vegas Louisville Miami Nashville

PRECIPITATION

93°/73° 88°/70° 91°/69° 100° in 1933 47° in 1901

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

HIGH

4:28p 10:16a 4:14a 5:57a 6:08a 5:27a 7:16a

6:56 a.m. 7:06 p.m. 4:19 p.m. 1:55 a.m.

LAST

NEW

OCT 3

TODAY

97 65 95 47 89 93 83 88 96

73 55 75 36 77 71 62 76 70

FIRST

OCT 10

t c t r c t t t t

OCT 18

98 61 94 44 89 91 74 87 84

TUE. Lo

72 54 74 32 78 73 63 77 65

t c s pc sh s t t t

FT.

LOW

0.00” 2.37” 3.56” 46.16” 47.24”

FT.

HIGH

0.8 3:50a 0.2 1.9 10:09p 0.4 2.2 5:44p 0.5 2.1 9:44p 0.5 1.5 5:43p 0.3 1.8 3:58p 0.4 1.8 6:45p 0.4

---------------

FT.

---------------

MOdERATE

REAdING 61 MAIN POLLUTANT Ozone

MAIN POLLUTANT Ozone

SOURCE: LOUISIANA dEQ ANd AIRNOW.GOV

LOW

---------------

FT.

---------------

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 8:00a Tuesday 8:43a Wednesday 9:24a Thursday 10:04a Friday 10:44a Saturday 11:27a Sunday 12:14p

City

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

94 90 71 101 61 92 75 76 91

1:48a 8:24p 2:31a 9:07p 3:13a 9:47p 3:53a 10:26p 4:33a 11:06p 5:15a 11:49p 6:02a ----

TODAY Lo

76 73 60 80 56 69 62 66 75

t t c s r t t pc t

TODAY

MOdERATE

93 90 64 101 62 83 70 78 89

2:12p 2:55p 3:35p 4:15p 4:55p 5:38p 6:25p

TUE. Lo

78 74 55 83 53 62 57 69 75

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

t t r s sh t c s t

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

FLOOD STAGE

34 48 48 35 27 22 17

SUN. 24-HOUR STAGE CHANGE

-0.40 14.90 17.90 6.00 3.80 3.00 3.20

+0.10 +0.69 +0.40 -0.10 -0.20 +0.02 -0.14

13.72

-2.32

-1.57

+0.01

18 29 8

-1.26 9.84 2.72

-0.01 -0.04 -0.24

13 15

1.46 0.67

-0.02 -0.07

47 34 29 20 12 6

6.09 4.15 3.20 3.35 3.20 2.03

-0.22 -0.17 +0.31 -0.12 +0.30 none

data as of 7 a.m. Sunday

PRESERVE YOUR MEMORIES AND PUT THE KEEPSAKE ON DISPLAY

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Reproduced directly from our original newspaper, these custom-printed reproductions make an ideal gift to mark birthdays, anniversaries and other important dates.

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