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Diesel tax break could save $8M Louisiana’s farmers, truckers have ‘been suffering all year long’

BY JOANNA BROWN

Staff writer

As Louisiana’s fall harvest season approaches, farmers and timber producers will get a temporary break on diesel taxes under an executive order issued by Gov. Jeff Landry. On Wednesday, the governor issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency based on soaring diesel prices. Diesel prices in Louisiana are now averaging slightly more than $6 a gallon, about 80% higher than a year ago. Federal and state exemptions already allow farmers and loggers to use tax-exempt

ä See DIESEL, page 6A

STAFF PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK

Membership in recent years has dropped steeply at Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church, once the largest Catholic church in Calcasieu Parish. At its height, the Lake Charles church held six Sunday services, but they’ve dwindled down to just two as pews have emptied out.

Sacred Heart of Jesus has produced ‘unheard of’ 3 bishops, but recent challenges create struggle to grow parish BY MEGAN WYATT

STAFF FILE PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK

Amanda duhon, with her 4-month-old son Wiley secured to her, cuts grass around her father-in-law’s sugar cane field in Maurice.

Staff writer

“I want to be one who can advocate for the Black Catholic community. Particularly, I have something to say when it comes to Black Catholic experience.” THE MOST REV. ROBERT BOXIE III, Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in Lake Charles

A baby’s cries echoed through Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in Lake Charles. It was a recent Sunday and a few pews away, Kenneth Marchand, 78, watched as the baby’s parents tried to quiet him. “I almost wanted to say, ‘Let him cry,’ ” said Marchand, who’s been a parishioner at the church his entire life. “It was refreshing to hear a baby cry because we hardly hear that anymore. At one time, it may have been annoying, but certainly not now.” Membership in recent years has dropped steeply at what was once the largest Catholic church in Calcasieu Parish. At its height, Sacred Heart held six Sunday services, but they’ve dwindled down to just two as pews have emptied out. Still, the historically Black church has left a legacy of producing three bishops, a rare feat for any Catholic church across the country, regardless of racial makeup. The church’s latest success story is the Most Rev. Robert Boxie III, a Lake Charles native who was recently named the youngest bishop in America.

ä See CHURCH, page 6A

WEATHER HIGH 92 LOW 70 PAGE 10C

Scientists modeling Mississippi River’s future

‘Massive effort’ includes tracing saltwater intrusion BY MIKE SMITH Staff writer

PROVIdEd PHOTO

The Most Rev. Robert Boxie III, of Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in Lake Charles, is ordained as a bishop during a recent ceremony in Washington, d.C.

Down at a bend near the mouth of the Mississippi River, Claire Kemick keeps a close eye on a laptop as the boat that brought her here maneuvers the currents. A patchwork of colors lights up on the computer screen as an instrument lowered into the mighty waterway delivers data marking a key contrast. “Here’s the wedge,” says Kemick, a Tulane University researcher, pointing to blotches of dark blue indicating slower-moving water

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

ä See RIVER, page 7A

102Nd yEAR, NO. 90

2A ● Monday, September 28, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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2 giant pandas arrive in Atlanta from China

BANGKOK — Two giant pandas arrived in Atlanta on Sunday morning as part of an agreement between the Chinese and American governments. Ping Ping and Fu Shuang departed Chengdu in southwestern China early Sunday aboard a dedicated “FedEx Panda Express” Boeing 777 aircraft, officials said. A new agreement between Zoo Atlanta and the China Wildlife Conservation Association makes Atlanta one of three zoos in the U.S. to house giant pandas, along with the San Diego Zoo in California and the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C. “This is a thrilling day for Zoo Atlanta and a historic moment for the City of Atlanta, the state of Georgia, and beyond,” Zoo Atlanta President and CEO Raymond B. King said in a statement. “We are elated to welcome Ping Ping and Fu Shuang and could not be more excited about sharing that joy with our Members, guests, city, and community in the coming weeks.” Zoo visitors will have to wait awhile to see Ping Ping and Fu Shuang, officials said. The bears will be quarantined for about a month in a biosecure area of the wildlife park’s new giant panda complex. Park officials haven’t confirmed a specific opening date. The pandas’ arrival was announced Thursday by Chinese President Xi Jinping during a three-day summit with President Donald Trump. The loan of the pandas was one of the few concrete outcomes to come out of the state visit, which saw expressions of goodwill between the leaders, but no fixes to any of the long-standing differences between the two countries.

Sheriff: 12 teens hurt in shootout at Ga. party

MACON, Ga. — Two groups of people shot at each other during a birthday party at a Georgia city park, resulting in gunshot wounds to 12 teens, a sheriff said Sunday. The shootout occurred early Sunday morning, shortly after midnight, at Carolyn Crayton Park in Macon, Bibb County Sheriff David Davis said during a news conference. A group of young people went to the park to celebrate a woman’s 18th birthday after getting kicked out of a home rented for the party several hours earlier, Davis said. At some point, another group showed up at the park and a confrontation occurred. “Both groups exchanged words, brandished firearms and then began firing at each other,” Davis said. Investigators were still trying to determine how the two groups were related to each other and what prompted hostilities. Surveillance video from the park shows an eruption of gunfire that lasted about 30 seconds as people fled the area. Deputies responded to the park and learned that victims had been transported to a nearby hospital in personal vehicles. One 19-year-old male, four 18-yearold males, five 17-year-old males and two 18-year-old females were treated for injuries. Two of the people were in critical condition, and the others were stable.

Bus overturns on way to Germany’s Oktoberfest

BERLIN — A bus carrying tourists from the Philippines toward the Oktoberfest festival in Munich veered off a highway and overturned on Sunday, killing at least two people and injuring at least eight others, Germany ‘s dpa news agency reported. The coach left the road on a highway near the town of Buchloe in Germany’s Ostallgäu region at about 6 a.m., Germany’s dpa said, citing ofﬁcials. Images from the scene showed the bus lying on its side in a wooded area as rescue crews worked nearby. Martin Cornils, a spokesperson for trafﬁc police in nearby Fürstenfeldbruck, said at the scene that the tour group had been traveling to Oktoberfest, the news agency reported. The popular annual festival began eight days earlier. The cause of the crash was not immediately clear and remained under investigation.

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Five arrested near air base in U.K. Men suspected of preparing terrorist act; site used by U.S. in Iran war

BY PAN PYLAS

Associated Press LONDON — U.K. police said that ﬁve men arrested in the early hours of Sunday near an air base used by the United States during its war against Iran are being held on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act that appeared to involve three trucks. London’s Metropolitan Police, which takes the lead on potential terrorist activities, said police received a call at 12:45 a.m. related to the three suspicious vehicles that appeared to be traveling toward RAF Fairford, a U.K.-owned base that is operated by the U.S. under an agreement dating back to the Cold War. The arrests come at a time of heightened tensions around the threat from hostile states to the U.K., with Russia and Iran among those that have used proxies to commit crimes on their behalf on British soil. In March, ofﬁcials said the number of national security cases involving activity by hostile states including Iran increased 50% in the six months to December 2025. Fairford has been used by American bombers for strictly limited strikes against Iranian missile sites under an agreement with former British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who voiced opposition to the war after it was launched by the U.S. and Israel on Feb. 28. Authorities are investigating a

ASSOCIATEd PRESS PHOTO By ALASTAIR GRANT

Police guard a road leading to RAF Fairford, a U.K.-owned air base operated by the U.S., on Sunday in Fairford, England. link between the Fairford arrests and Iran as one possibility. Iran has previously indicated that a base used to attack its territory is a legitimate target. President Donald Trump praised those who were involved in making the arrests. “It was an amazing job. We had them under investigation. They were looking to do big damage to our fort. And working with the British worked out great,” he told reporters in Chicago on Sunday. “We had them under view for a long time and we got them.” The five men were initially arrested on suspicion of committing offenses under the Explosives Act in the Whelford area, which backs onto RAF Fairford, which hosts the

headquarters of the U.S. Air Force’s 501st Combat Support Wing and the 420th Air Base Squadron. Aerial footage from Sky News appeared to show a bomb disposal robot roaming between three white trucks. The rear doors of two of the vans were open and large black items could be seen scattered around. The robot appeared to be working toward getting access to the third truck. Police gave no details as to the nationality of those arrested. Suspects arrested under the Terrorism Act 2000 can be detained for up to 14 days without charge, compared to the 24-hour limit for standard arrests, without an extension application. “We are in the early stages of an

investigation, and five men remain in custody,” said Vicki Evans, the Met’s counterterrorism policing senior national coordinator. Evans said a 400-yard cordon has been put in place around the three vehicles that raised suspicion while the army conducts examinations. As a precaution, around 85 households have been evacuated whilst these examinations take place. Some have been taken to a nearby recreation center. The U.S. embassy in London warned Americans to be cautious and mindful of their personal security. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he knew the incident would be “deeply concerning” for many. In a post on social media, Burnham thanked police and the armed forces for their response and said he was grateful to the residents who have been evacuated from their homes “while precautionary checks are carried out.” He urged people “not to speculate while the authorities establish the full facts.” The defense secretaries of the U.S. and the U.K., Pete Hegseth and Wes Streeting, have also spoken about the incident. British security officials say proxies linked to Iran have been behind a string of arson and sabotage attempts in the U.K. and other countries, many of them targeting the Jewish community. They have previously warned that Tehran could expand its targets in the U.K. if conflicts in the Middle East continue. Gloucestershire police said the situation appeared to be “contained” and urged residents to follow official advice while the investigation continues.

Powerful nor’easter floods Northeast again BY LEAH WILLINGHAM and JOHN SEEWER Associated Press

BOSTON — Residents of coastal communities in the Northeast slogged through ﬂoodwaters for a second day as a powerful nor’easter pummeled the shoreline Sunday, knocking out power to tens of thousands of homes. Tidal surges swamped low-lying neighborhoods in New Jersey while wind gusts toppled trees on New York’s Long Island, damaging homes and bringing down utility poles. In the New Jersey beach town of Sea Bright, each high tide brought a new round of flooding. “It’s not like a one-time occurrence,” said Caroline Virenius, whose garage ﬁlled with about a foot of water. “It’s getting wet again and again.” The slow-moving storm, which killed a New York City housing authority worker when a tree fell Saturday, was expected to linger through Sunday with heavy rain, strong winds and dangerous surf all the

in counties along the coast Bob Oravec, a lead forecastfrom New Jersey to Con- er with the National Weather Service in College Park, necticut. Numerous flights were Maryland. In New York City, water a canceled or delayed up and down the coast. More than few inches deep filled streets 250 flights had been canceled in the Howard Beach neighat Boston Logan International borhood but didn’t deter resiAirport by late Sunday morn- dents from venturing out for ing as wind gusts reached 40 coffee Sunday morning. Carole Ann Palmer, who mph, according to the Massaowns Jingles Bait and Tackle chusetts Port Authority. The worst of the remain- in North Beach Haven, New ing rainfall was expected Jersey, said this was the Sunday from northern New worst flooding she’s seen in Jersey into southern New 10 years. “Yesterday, I was like, oh England. ASSOCIATEd PRESS PHOTO By ANdRES KUdACKI While the storm was gradu- my God, it just keeps getChris Ransom reacts Sunday as he stands on a flooded ally weakening, tidal flooding ting higher and higher,” said street during a nor’easter storm in Sea Bright, N.J. would stay through high-tide Palmer, who lives above the cycles Sunday night, said store. near that, it could be the way to New England. Extreme amounts of first of several along the GET IN TOUCH rain — more than 4 inches East Coast this fall because since Friday in some spots of an El Niño climate patCustomer Service: HELP@THEADVOCATE.COM or 337-234-0800 in New Jersey — combined tern that’s disrupting this News Tips / Stories: NEWSTIPS@THEADVOCATE.COM with a surging ocean led to year’s weather. Obituaries: 225-388-0289 • Mon-Fri 9-5; Sat 10-5; Closed Sun flooding amounts not seen Images of waves crashAdvertising Sales: 337-234-0174 • Mon-Fri 8-5 for close to a decade in ing into sea walls and onto Classified Advertising: 225-383-0111 • Mon-Fri 8-5 places used to dealing with beaches raised concerns Subscribe: theadvocate.com/subscribe high water, residents said. about coastal erosion. E-Edition: theadvocate.com/eedition The nor’easter triggered Well over 100,000 cusArchives: theadvocate.newsbank.com memories of Superstorm tomers were without powSandy, which left behind er across the Northeast The Acadiana Advocate (USPS # 25-866) is published daily by Capital City Press, LLC at 203 W. Third St., Lafayette, LA 70501. Periodicals postage paid at Lafayette, LA ISSN 2643-7252 and additional mailing offices. over $60 billion in damage and mid-Atlantic at times POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Acadiana Advocate, Circulation Accounting, P.O. Box 588, Baton across the eastern U.S. in on Sunday, according to Rouge, LA 70821. Newspaper carriers are independent contractors and not employees of Capital City Press. 2012. While this storm’s PowerOutage.us. The most All home delivery subscription sales are non-refundable. Should you discontinue impact has been nowhere widespread outages were your subscription during term, the subscription will end with the expiration date on

Palestinian death toll in Gaza war passes 74,000, officials say By The Associated Press

istry, which is part of the Hamas-led government. The Palestinian death toll It maintains detailed refrom the nearly three-year cords viewed as generally Israel-Hamas war has sur- reliable by U.N. agencies passed 74,000, according to and international organiGaza’s Health Ministry. zations. It does not distinThe ministry on Saturday guish between civilians said the Palestinian death and militants. Meanwhile, toll has risen to 74,016, with seven Israeli soldiers have 175,068 wounded. been killed since ONFLICT the ceaseﬁre. The war began CO on Oct. 7, 2023, IN THE Next steps in T when Hamas-led MIIDDLE the U.S.-brokered militants invaded ceasefire remain EAST AST Israel, killing largely stalled. Issome 1,200 people, raeli forces now mostly civilians, and tak- control over half of the tering 251 others hostage. ritory, and Prime Minister While a ceasefire that Benjamin Netanyahu says took effect last Oct. 10 has they will not withdraw unhalted the heaviest fight- til Hamas disarms. Meanwhile, Iran’s Foring, Israeli strikes have continued in what the mili- eign Minister Abbas tary has said are responses Araghchi said Tehran has not been formally notito threats or attacks. Since the ceasefire, fied of President Donald 1,145 Palestinians have Trump’s rejection of its been killed, said the min- proposed deal to reopen

the Strait of Hormuz. And the World Health Organization says nearly 700 people have been killed in Yemen since ﬁghting escalated last month. Speaking from New York, Araghchi told NBC that Iran is “fully prepared for the war to be resumed.” He added, however: “At the same time, we stand ready for diplomacy. It is up to President Trump to choose.” Trump told Axios he expects U.S. negotiators to engage in more talks this week. Araghchi, who had described the proposal on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, earlier told Iranian state media that Tehran’s conditions for reopening the strait remained unchanged and there would be “no backing down from them.”

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4A ● Monday, September 28, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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Pope blasts assisted dying as ‘false compassion’ Leo XIV speaks at French shrine known for miraculous cures

BY NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press

LOURDES, France — Pope Leo XIV on Sunday condemned the legalization of medically assisted death as immoral “false compassion,” reafﬁrming Catholic teaching on the sanctity of life during a visit to Lourdes, the French shrine associated with miraculous healings. On the third day of his visit to France, Leo again waded into the end-of-life debate unfolding in his native U.S. and countries around the world. The issue roiled French politics for years before lawmakers recently approved legislation allowing adults with incurable illnesses to receive lethal medication. Leo also met on Sunday with seven survivors of clergy sexual abuse, in what has now become a regular appointment for popes on foreign visits. The aim is to atone for the Catholic Church’s failure to protect its youngest and most vulnerable members from predator priests. “It was extraordinary,” said survivor Jean-Marie Delbos, who joined four oth-

ers at a news conference afterward to praise Leo for the encounter, saying he listened and was informed of their cases. “I never thought I would have a pope before me.” Leo’s visit to the once staunchly Catholic and officially secular France has been marked by huge crowds — 800,000 at Leo’s Mass on Paris’ iconic Place de la Concorde — and his messaging against abortion and assisted dying. France’s National Assembly in 2024 enshrined abortion as a constitutional right and recently gave ﬁnal approval to its end-of-life bill. On Sunday, the American pope celebrated Mass before some 150,000 people — many in wheelchairs — on the prairie next to Lourdes’ main basilica. He then visited a care center for sick people on the sanctuary’s grounds. He sought to encourage especially those who live in “terrible pain” that they have inherent dignity that no law or algorithm can “eliminate.” “On the contrary, it is precisely in the name of this inalienable dignity of the human person that we must reject the temptation to cause death under the guise of false compassion,” he said. “What is legal is not necessarily moral,” Leo said to applause from the crowd. Catholic teaching holds that all human life must

said he perceived that Leo was a decisive “man of engagement” who had done his homework going into the meeting. He said Leo knew Mardi’s case and asked him precise questions. “He’s not fooled; he knows that these incidents will continue and that we must remain vigilant,” he said. “There was an emotional side to it, and at the same time, something very powerful when he spoke.” The French church has faced a brutal reckoning with its legacy of abuse. An independent report in 2021 estimated 330,000 children had been abused over 70 years by some 3,000 priests and church workers. Despite criticism of the report’s methodology and conclusions, French bishops put in place an independent system of compensation for victims that to date has recommended the church pay out more than $22.7 million. During a meeting with French bishops on Sunday morning, Leo praised their response to victims and urged them to continue. But he also acknowledged that the cratering in priestly vocations in the French church is related to the scandal, given the priesthood is now sometimes viewed with suspicion. “For priestly vocations to ﬂourish, the priest must be welcomed, accepted, and loved,” Leo said.

ASSOCIATEd PRESS PHOTO By LAURENT CIPRIANI

Pope Leo XIV meets with staff, guests of Accueil Notre-dame and sick people on Saturday at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, France. be protected and defended from conception until natural death, leading to its ﬁrm opposition to abortion, euthanasia and medically assisted dying. Leo had speciﬁcally criticized a medical-aid-in-dying law that took effect in Sept. 12 in his home state of Illinois — the 13th U.S. state with such a law. Lourdes became a major pilgrimage destination after the Catholic Church officially recognized visions of the Virgin Mary reported here by a young girl in 1858. The site near the Spanish

border draws millions of pilgrims each year, especially sick and disabled believers hoping for a cure from the famed spring water in the Lourdes grotto where the visions purportedly occurred. As a result in Lourdes, where the church has recognized 72 “miraculous” cures as authentic, the question of respecting even the most frail, sick and vulnerable is particularly acute. More recently, Lourdes has also become a place of healing for survivors of clergy sexual abuse, and it was chosen as the site for

Leo’s encounter with victims. Leo met with them in a group and one-on-one in an encounter that lasted nearly two hours, the Vatican said. The pope “listened to their stories, the pain and suffering they had endured — sometimes, unfortunately, with the complicity or silence of those who could have helped them — and their suggestions for ensuring that this does not happen again,” the Vatican said in a statement. Olivier Mardi, co-founder of Voix Libérées de Touraine, a survivor group,

Nolo still threatens Hawaii as Mexico’s Baja braces for Polo BY EUGENE GARCIA and GREGORY BULL Associated Press

HILO,Hawaii — Hurricane Nolo was moving away from the Hawaiian Islands on Sunday, but the threat of heavy rain, flash flooding and strong winds persisted in areas of the island chain still recovering from previous storms. Nolo was about 365 miles south-southwest of Honolulu and moving away from the Big Island at about 12 mph. But the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency said a high wind warning, wind advisory and high surf advisory remained in effect for parts of the island through Sunday evening as Nolo’s maximum sustained winds rose to 115 mph. Nolo was expected to strengthen further and turn toward the northwest by Sunday night, though the U.S. National Hurricane Center said the storm’s center would remain well south and southwest of the Hawai-

ASSOCIATEd PRESS PHOTO By EUGENE GARCIA

Kenzielynn Kekoa, center, of Hilo, Hawaii, helps her family fill sand bags Friday as Hurricane Nolo approaches in Hilo, Hawaii. ian Islands. The storm was expected to approach the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, a national conservation area, early this week. Forecasters said Nolo’s outer bands could cause life-threatening ﬂooding and mudslides, with parts of the Big Island possibly getting

up to 20 inches of rain. Heavy rain also was expected on the other islands. “Don’t venture out if you don’t have to into the dangerous flooding environment, but also high winds. We can have trees and power lines down,” said Michael Brennan, director of the National Hurricane Center.

Heavy rain fell across the southern part of the Big Island on Saturday afternoon, prompting partial closures of one of the main highways linking Kailua-Kona in the west to Hilo in the east. Near Naalehu, at the island’s southern point, National Guard members were seen guiding a man driving through ﬂooded streets as he tried to leave his home during a downpour. More than 120 guard members were activated on the island, part of roughly 400 statewide after the governor issued an emergency proclamation. Residents are still recovering from Hurricane Lala, which produced heavy rain and winds strong enough to sweep about 100 homes off their foundations on the Big Island. About a dozen people were in the water Saturday morning at Carlsmith Beach Park in Hilo on the Big Island, despite signs saying the strand was closed. Andrea Gill was out for her regular swim be-

Paciﬁc often sees more tropical storms and hurricanes. Meanwhile, parts of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula awaited the arrival of major Hurricane Polo as it edged closer after lashing other parts of the country’s southwest coast with rain and strong winds. Polo remained a dangerous Category 3 hurricane with top sustained winds of 125 mph and was moving to the north-northwest at 12 mph about 275 miles southsouthwest of Cabo San Lucas at the peninsula’s southern tip, U.S. hurricane forecasters said Sunday afternoon. It was moving to the north at 12 mph. Mexico’s National Meteorological Service, or SMN, said in a post on the social media platform X that Polo was expected to make a Baja landfall on Monday. Mexico’s government issued a hurricane warning along the coast of mainland Mexico from Huatabampito to Guaymas.

fore heading back home to hunker down with family. Shop owners boarded up businesses, and events were canceled. Gill said storms are common, but hurricanes are rare. She was holding out hope that the islands might not get the full impact. President Donald Trump recently approved an emergency declaration, authorizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate assistance and provide funding support. Hawaiian Electric, the state’s primary utility, said crews helping restore power in Kauai after this month’s Hurricane Lowell returned to Oahu, Maui and the Big Island in response to Nolo. The Pacific has been unusually active this season, according to National Weather Service lead forecaster Bob Oravec, with storm activity running above average during what is already the peak of hurricane season. He said that pattern is consistent with El Niño years, when the

White House airs Strikes kill 8 people in Ukraine, 1 in Russia Trump campaign ad with taxpayer funds

forces on Sunday killed a civilian woman in Enerhodar, the town housing Europe’s largest nuclear plant, according to its Kremlin-installed mayor. Maxim Pukhov said the Ukrainian drones also wounded two others.

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Seed pods

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is using taxpayer funds to air a television advertisement from Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign in the latest in a series of ads promoting the president ahead of the midterms that the White House maintains are “public service announcements.” The 30-second video, which is virtually identical to one that aired in 2024, shows Trump walking down a hallway as his voice can be heard warning of a “final battle” against “globalists” and “warmongers.” The black-and-white video ends with Trump staring straight into the camera lens with a message that says: “Paid for by the U.S. Government.” The 2024 iteration of the ad from the Trump campaign urged viewers to “Join President Trump’s Fight for America.” Lawmakers of both parties have criticized the new series of ads for their inherently political nature and the use of taxpayer

dollars. The White House maintains they are like the ones used by past presidents, though those previous ads promoted particular policies, not Oval Ofﬁce occupants. Spending on the latest ad already topped about $319,000, according to AdImpact, which tracks media spending. “With you at my side, we will demolish the ‘deep state.’ We will expel the war mongers from our government. We will drive out the globalists; we will cast out the communists, Marxists, and fascists,” he says in the narration. “We will throw off the sick political class that hates our country. We will rout the fake news media, and we will liberate America from these villains once and for all.” It’s in addition to a minute-long ad that began airing Friday and features scenic videos of Mount Rushmore at night with quotes and clips from Trump’s Fourth of July weekend speech there honoring the country’s 250th anniversary.

administration head Tymur Tkachenko. In Kyiv itself, a drone hit a 9-story apartment block, wounding at least one woman, according to municipal authorities. In Russian-occupied Ukraine, a strike by Kyiv’s

By The Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine — Russia and Ukraine exchanged strikes overnight and Sunday, killing at least eight people in Ukraine and one in Russia, officials said, hours after Moscow rejected German calls to ease off its escalation toward NATO. Russia’s top diplomat on Saturday brushed off what’s believed to have been the ﬁrst face-to-face meeting with his German counterpart since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The meeting was held during the U.N. General Assembly’s annual gathering of world leaders, as an intensifying aerial war between Russia and Ukraine showed no sign of slowing. Ties between Russia and Germany have soured in recent weeks, following an attempted drone attack last month at Leipzig airport that Berlin blamed on the Kremlin. With front-line positions largely unchanged since last year, Moscow has hammered its neighbor with cruise and ballistic missiles, powerful glide bombs and jet-powered drones in recent months. Meanwhile, Kyiv’s longrange drones have targeted Russian oil refineries and businesses. In Kyiv, a man was found dead after a Russian drone hit a nonresidential build-

ing overnight, according to Ukraine’s emergency service. Later on Sunday, Russian drone strikes killed one person and wounded at least five on the outskirts of the capital, according to local

SCH

By The Associated Press

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The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Monday, September 28, 2026 ● 5A

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28 September 2026 | worldnewsday.org

It doesn’t add up. These documents tell a different story. I think we’re onto something here. Let’s pull the records.

Behind the words you see in this paper, are thousands you don’t.

Build the timeline. Find the ﬁrst witness. Can you talk? Will you call back? How do you know that’s true? Yes you can trust me. Will you go on the record? Who beneﬁts if this stays hidden? Can you prove it? What aren’t you telling me? Is this another dead end? Okay I’ll walk you through the legalities. We can protect you from this. I know it’s scary. The public deserves to know. Ok let me rephrase that. Shall I translate it? Let’s go off the record. Let’s check it again. Dead end - only for now. We need another source. I’m staying late again. I’m not going to make it to the thing. Order another coffee. One more call. Trust your instincts. That’s not enough. I’ll wait. I’ll come to you. We can’t publish. Yet. One day we will be able to corroborate. I will check every year. Has there been any change? Okay, this is the missing piece. We’ve got it. Read it one more time. This could change everything.

Know the facts. Understand what matters. Choose Trusted Journalism. PRESENTED BY

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6A ● Monday, September 28, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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CHURCH

Continued from page 1A “He’s the third bishop to come from that parish, which is completely unheard of,” said the Rev. Joshua Johnson, a Baton Rouge priest and friend of Boxie. “It’s just a small, little church in Lake Charles.” Before Boxie, the Most Rev. Harold Perry was named auxiliary bishop of New Orleans in 1966, and the Most Rev. Leonard Olivier was named auxiliary bishop of Washington in 1988. Boxie has now taken on the same title that Olivier held decades prior. In a recent interview with The Advocate | The Times-Picayune, Boxie said one of his first goals as auxiliary bishop of Washington will be to ﬁnd new ways to bring young, Black Catholics back into the fold. As the product of a Black Catholic church, Boxie has also spoken about his own attempts to confront racism within the American church. In a recent Catholic News Service interview that’s been widely shared online, Boxie recalled how his neighbor in seminary kept a Confederate ﬂag in his room. Several years later, he said the former neighbor reached out and apologized. He implored White Catholics to be open to hearing about the experiences of others. “I think the pope has realized that this voice needs to be at the table, and what better way to have a Black Catholic voice than a Black Catholic bishop?” Boxie said. “Some of our bishops have not advocated well enough for the Black Catholic community and I want to be one who can advocate for the Black Catholic community. Particularly, I have something to say when it comes to Black Catholic experience.” Boxie has also spoken glowingly about how Sacred Heart molded him spiritually and culturally and modeled Black, Catholic leadership. The church, however, now faces an uncertain future.

The Most Rev. Harold Perry, who grew up at Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in Lake Charles, was named an auxiliary bishop of New Orleans in 1966.

Discipline, responsibility

PROVIdEd PHOTOS

Continued from page 1A diesel in off-road equipment such as tractors and pumps. Landry’s order extends the exemption to highway vehicles through Oct. 22, allowing farmers and timber harvesters to use tax-free diesel in their trucks and other equipment. Jim Simon, general manager of the American Sugar Cane League, anticipates that the order could create around $8 million in savings for producers over the course of the harvest season — relief that one Lafayette Parish sugar cane and cattle farmer says is desperately needed. “In the sugar cane industry, you think about how

Robert Boxie III attends his first Communion ceremony at Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church.

The Most Rev. Leonard Olivier, who grew up at Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in Lake Charles, blesses his parents at his ordination. He schoolhouse. Eventually, with help would be named an auxiliary bishop of Washington, d.C., in 1988.

the Black and White communities of Lake Charles. “It was a faith that was born out of hardship,” Mancuso said. “But also a faith that was sustained in a God that would make things just and right one day.” Unlike most Catholic institutions, where a church is built and a school follows, Sacred Heart’s founding happened in reverse. In 1908, after Black parents asked Immaculate Conception’s pastor for help educating their children, a Lafayette woman named Eleanor Figaro began teaching 18 students in a building known as Green’s Hall at Enterprise Boulevard and Mill Street. “Education is extremely important in the Black community,” Boxie said in an interview with The ‘Born out of hardship’ Advocate | The Times-Picayune. Black Catholics used to be rel- “And Catholic education is the best egated to segregated pews at the of the best, traditionally.” But under Jim Crow laws that back of churches. In the early 1900s, Black Catholic families enforced segregation, many Black would walk for miles to attend families struggled to ﬁnd good edMass at the Cathedral of the Im- ucational opportunities. When Sacred Heart school maculate Conception in Lake Charles. They were the last to re- opened, Louisiana’s average annual per capita expenditure for ceive Communion. “If they were sitting in the back White students was $16.44 and and they ran out of room for White just $1.81 for Black students, acpeople, the Black people had to cording to Alvin Schexnider, who give up their pew so that White attended Sacred Heart School and folks could sit there,” said March- went on to earn his doctorate in and, who is Black. “And this hap- political science and lead higher pened right here in Lake Charles.” education institutions. “When you consider what it was Marchand’s grandfather, James like for African AmeriOlivier, and Frank Perry were among those who cans at the turn of the helped convince the forcentury to have their own school — a Catholic school mer bishop to create Lake — at a time when support Charles’ ﬁrst Black Cathofor education for Black lic parish in 1919. Decades people across the board later, Olivier’s and Perry’s was frowned upon, if not sons would become bishdetested, it was a pretty ops. Mancuso bold thing to do and quite The Rev. Henry Mancuso, former pastor of Sacred Heart, the visionary act on their part,” said Broad Street once acted “al- Schexnider said. Figaro quickly earned a reputamost like the Berlin Wall” dividing

DIESEL

a humble man with a great sense of humor. During his trips back home, Olivier would often dress in well-worn clothing, and his sisters would take him shopping for new clothes. On subsequent trips, he’d be back in those same tattered clothes. “They asked him, ‘What happened to the clothes we bought you last time you were here?’ ” Marchand said. “And he would say, ‘Well, you know, some of the guys needed it.’ He would give the new stuff away to the other priests and seminarians that he thought were needy.” Sacred Heart has also produced several priests and nuns. The school’s alums also include Allen Broussard, who became the first African American to serve on the California Supreme Court; Alvin Boutte Sr., co-founder of Independence Bank of Chicago; and Col. Anthony Polk, whose military career led to an executive role at the American Red Cross.

many trucks we have going on the road right now, and those trucks are taking our crop to the mill. Eight million in savings is an unbelievable amount of money, especially stretched out across Acadiana, because we’ve been suffering all year long,” Amanda Duhon said. “At least if we can have some relief when it comes to harvest, that’s going to be better than nothing at all.” According to LSU AgCenter economist Michael Diliberto, Louisiana agricultural producers are facing multiple challenges this year brought on by global factors that are affecting costs. Fertilizer costs have also gone up, and producers have seen diesel prices jump $2 to $3 per gallon since January. “That’s a pretty substan-

STAFF FILE PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK

Farmers harvest sugar cane in a field in duson. As Louisiana’s fall harvest season approaches, farmers and timber producers will get a temporary break on diesel taxes under an executive order issued by Gov. Jeff Landry.

tion as a great teacher. The parents who pushed for the school appealed to Katharine Drexel, an American Catholic religious sister who gave up a vast fortune to advocate for Black and Native American communities. She would later be canonized as a saint by Pope John Paul II in 2000. In 1910, with funds from Drexel to purchase land and construct a school, parishioners built a little red schoolhouse at Louisiana Avenue and Pine Street. Drexel would later establish schools in New Orleans as well, now operated as Xavier University. In Lake Charles, a storm in 1918 demolished the Sacred Heart school, and students returned once again to Green’s Hall as parishioners rebuilt the schoolhouse. All the while, Black Catholic families continued attending Mass at Immaculate Conception without a parish of their own.

‘We had a saint’ By the summer of 1919 — nearly a decade after the school’s construction — Bishop Jules Jeanmard of the newly created Lafayette Diocese asked a religious order called Congregation of the Holy Spirit, commonly known as the Holy Ghost Fathers, to serve Black Catholics in the Lake Charles area. The global religious congregation focused on evangelizing and serving the poor in places where the church otherwise struggles to ﬁnd workers. The Rev. Anthony Hackett of Ireland was the church’s ﬁrst pastor, formally establishing the parish in October 1919 while facing an immense challenge — a congregation that had no church, no rectory and no transportation. In the early days, Hackett lived at Immaculate Conception’s rectory and celebrated Mass in the red

tial increase from what producers thought they were going to have to spend this year as they planned their budgets and got their operating loans,” he said. “It’s just been a year of really high costs across the board. Interest rates are up, which are increasing your interest on operating capital. Tighter balance sheets typically mean farmers are going to have to delay major capital outlays for their farms. Do they replace irrigation equipment? Do they replace farm machinery? When they delay the purchase of new machinery, they’re probably going to have higher repair costs than they would normally have in a year.” Fuel costs trickle through the total cost of harvesting, said Maurice sugar cane farmer Bryan Simon. “It just gets cost-prohibitive to run these trucks. I mean, it’s just so expensive,” he said. “The sugar mill harvests and transports our crop, but our cost per ton is based on all the costs of actually harvesting. The reduced fuel cost is going to be a big, big help.” Duhon said that she attended the Women in Agribusiness conference in New Orleans last week, and rising diesel costs were a major topic among attendees — noting that a $2 price increase was “not necessarily in our proﬁt margins at all.

from Drexel and the Holy Ghost Fathers, the parish purchased land at Mill Street and Louisiana Avenue for a church. Parishioners built it. “Saint Katharine Drexel donated money to help build the church and sent the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament there to help staff the school and help at the parish,” Boxie said. “She actually visited a number of times.” Drexel personally wrote to Marchand’s mother, he said, and those letters were used during the canonization process. “So we not only have produced three Black bishops,” Marchand said. “But we had a saint walking our campus at one time.”

Path to higher education

Boxie’s mother, Roxanne, continues to attend Sacred Heart. During her formative years, she said Sacred Heart was “such a dynamic church” and the school was a strict but caring place. “They just really taught us a sense of the Gospel, a sense of discipline, a sense of responsibility,” Roxanne Boxie said. “And it was just a very, very loving parish, and hopefully that’s what other people saw from our parish by the way we and our kids and our parents acted.” With the growth of Calcasieu Parish came new church parishes and eventually the dwindling population of Sacred Heart. The school’s high school operations ceased in 1967, and the school closed its doors in 2012. In addition to its declining membership, the parish has faced an additional challenge in recent years — damage to its buildings from Hurricane Laura in 2020. Even with federal assistance, the small congregation struggled to raise money to complete the necessary repairs, which are ﬁnally underway. The church today is smaller, older and still recovering. Longtime members like Charles Honore, 88, are putting their hope in religious education and leadership programs to build the church’s future ranks. “With an aging population, we can’t do as much as we used to do at Sacred Heart,” Honore said. “The ﬁnances are just not there as in the past.” The Rev. Joby Mathew, who has served as the church’s pastor since 2022, wrote in an email to The Advocate that he’s been deeply inspired by the faith, generosity and dedication of his parishioners. “I feel blessed and humbled to be part of this history and to continue the pastoral ministry of the many faithful priests who have served our parish for more than a century,” Mathew wrote. In 2023, the Louisiana Trust for Historic Preservation named Sacred Heart as one of the most endangered places in the state.

As the Lake Charles population grew with the region’s shift from the lumber industry to the petrochemical industry, so did Sacred Heart. The school, which originally served ﬁrst through sixth graders, expanded through 12th grade. Parishioners raised money to build a larger church to accommodate the growing congregation. Sacred Heart School also became a path to higher education for Black students. Sacred Heart became a feeder school for Xavier given the Drexel connection. For those who could not move to New Orleans, Sacred Heart offered an extension program that allowed students to pursue higher education. “Many, many, many African Americans — Catholic and nonCatholic — were educated at Sacred Heart through the extension program,” Boxie said. Marchand was in preschool when his uncle was ordained as a priest and about 40 when he was named an auxiliary bishop of Washington, D.C., in 1988. Marchand remem- Email Megan Wyatt at mwyatt@ bers Olivier, who died in 2014, as theadvocate.com.

To say that it’s going to hurt some farmers is just an understatement.” Transport costs at Duhon’s operation are double what they were this time last year, she said. The tax break is welcome relief for the harvest, but it does not eliminate the broader cost

pressures farmers are facing this year. “I’m very happy that we’re getting that tax break, and it’s going to help tremendously when it comes to harvesting our crop,” Duhon said. “In the ﬁelds, we are still paying higher diesel prices. Prices went up so much we’re not

gaining this year. I’m worried about some of our other farmers who didn’t get relief earlier on — I hope that they can ﬁgure out something for them.” Email Joanna Brown at joanna.brown@ theadvocate.com.

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Police hunt gunmen after 2 mass shootings in S. Africa BY GERALD IMRAY Associated Press

CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Two separate mass shootings in South African townships within hours of each other have left at least 27 people dead, police said on Sunday. South Africa has struggled with violent crime for years, but recent shooting incidents have shocked a country used to some of the highest homicide rates in the world. In the first attack, eight gunmen armed with AK-47 rifles and pistols opened fire at a bar near Johannesburg late on Saturday. The South African Police Service said 17 people were killed at the small venue in Wedela township, southwest of South Africa’s biggest city. The attackers fired at patrons outside the bar before moving inside and continuing to shoot. The victims included 13 men and four women, with at least 15 other people injured, police said. The gunmen searched some of the patrons and took their mobile phones before escaping in two vehicles. Two cars were set alight outside the bar during the shooting.

ASSOCIATEd PRESS PHOTO

Community members on Sunday gather at the scene where gunmen opened fire Saturday night at a bar in Wedela township, southwest of Johannesburg, South Africa. Around four hours later, 10 people were killed and 11 wounded in a shooting at a store linked to what police described as an entertainment venue in Lwandle township, near Cape Town, South Africa’s second biggest city. Police said they were searching for multiple

suspects, though they didn’t give an exact number. No arrests have been made in either case. Police deployed specialized units to both townships and surrounding areas in the hunt for the gunmen. The attacks came ﬁve days after

another mass shooting in a township near Durban killed at least 11 people, including a pregnant woman, when multiple gunmen attacked a house party in KwaMakhutha township. Police have not reported any arrests. Wedela resident Siyabonga Nondabula said there had been shootings in the area in the past involving illegal mining gangs, but none of them targeted so many people. “Seventeen people and (maybe) even more have died, this has never happened here,” he said. “So I feel very sad and traumatized.” A high rate of killings is a longstanding problem for Africa’s most advanced economy, but the phenomenon of mass shootings is becoming more common, according to experts, with recent killings often being carried out by multiple gunmen. Gun homicides mostly affect South Africa’s poorest communities in townships and informal settlements made up of shacks and small homes on the edges of many big cities. Police have linked some of the recent shootings, including last week’s house party killings

near Durban, to criminal gangs. Other recent mass shootings include one in June in a poor neighborhood of Johannesburg that killed 12 people, and two in the space of two weeks in December that left a total of 21 people dead. South Africa’s violent crime problem prompted President Cyril Ramaphosa to deploy soldiers on the streets in March in a yearlong operation to combat crime in some of the country’s worst-affected areas. The deployment included high-crime areas around Johannesburg and Cape Town, as well as other areas. Announcing the deployment, Ramaphosa said crime by organized gangs was the biggest threat to South Africa’s democracy and economic development. Some critics viewed the use of soldiers on the streets as an admission that police were failing. Soldiers were deployed Sunday to the scene of the bar shooting in Wedela. South Africa recorded 5,427 homicides in the three-months ending June 30, an average of nearly 60 a day, according to police statistics.

RIVER

Continued from page 1A along the river bottom, signifying salt water. “And then here is the fresh water.” It was not a shocking discovery. Salt water creeps up the Mississippi River at varying degrees around this time every year. But Kemick and her colleagues were not focused on this trip alone. They’ve taken measurements repeatedly at various spots in the river since 2024, part of a vast research project that will supply a ﬁrst-of-its-kind look at the changing lower river, including saltwater intrusion. The data collected from around 200 sites across the lower Mississippi, from about 50 miles downriver of New Orleans to its mouth, will feed into complex models aimed at projecting the river’s evolution. The results will carry implications on everything from drinking water to hurricane protection and global shipping. Modeling is expected to be complete in the early part of next year, and the scientists from an array of institutions working on the $22 million, five-year project hope it serves as an important planning tool for government agencies. How long can the fading Bird Foot’s Delta, where the river empties into the Gulf, be sustained as erosion and subsidence tear away at its structure? How does the saltwater intrusion that regularly threatens drinking water systems for southeast Louisiana, including New Orleans, behave under varying conditions? The aim of the modeling is to provide the most detailed insight yet on those questions and others vital to Louisiana — and, in certain cases, the nation. “The science goal on the project is to say, ‘What does the future between now and 2100 hold for the Bird’s Foot,’ ” Mead Allison, a Tulane geologist and one of the two scientists leading the expansive project known as MissDelta, said as he motored a 22-foot boat past shrimp trawlers toward the Venice Marina last week. “And what can we do to forestall — lessen — the negatives that are coming.”

Breaks in the river The river’s importance to the state as well as the country is hard to overestimate. It built south Louisiana in the ﬁrst place with its sediment, but more recently provides drinking water to around 1 million people in the region while serving as one of the world’s most important shipping channels. But it has been roughly a century since the modern lower river took shape with the construction of the vast levee system along its banks, and a series of challenges are emerging in managing it. The MissDelta project is delving into some of those challenges. Funded by proceeds from the 2010 BP oil spill, through the National

Claire Kemick, a Tulane University researcher, retrieves an instrument used to collect data from the Mississippi River. Up close, as researchers fill plastic bottles with river STAFF PHOTOS By BRETT dUKE water and record flow data by hand in waterproof noteMahtab Panhwar, left, a University of Louisiana at Lafayette graduate student, and books, it is difficult to see Mead Allison, a professor in Tulane University’s department of River-Coastal Science what it will all foretell. But and Engineering, collect a water sample Thursday in a cut off the Mississippi River in the ambition is to produce something on a scale never Plaquemines Parish. done before. “It takes 38 (principal Academies of Sciences, En- el in a lab at Vicksburg, Mis- sippi is high, sediment sampling is also an important investigators), hundreds gineering and Medicine, it sissippi. of students,” Allison said. A threat that emerged in part of the project. is protected from the budget cuts hitting research across 2023 brought new attention the nation under the Trump to the problem: Initial proadministration. jections then showed the It includes 14 institutions, salt water reaching New Orled by Allison and LSU ge- leans, setting off an emergency declaration from the ologist Sam Bentley. Some of its research has al- White House and a scramble ready been published. Mod- for a temporary solution. The salt water didn’t get eling overseen by Tulane professor Ehab Meselhe has that far, though communiadvanced understanding of ties farther downriver were why saltwater intrusion up severely affected. the river has worsened in ‘A massive effort’ recent years. His team found that creManaging the crevasses vasses, or widening breaks in are complex for a number of the lower river’s banks, have reasons. For one, coastal adbeen the biggest factor. The vocates prefer to keep them deepening of the channel for open since they are restorshipping and sea level rise ing wetlands by delivering have also played roles. river sediment there. The crevasses bleed off Some in the shipping inflow from the main stem of dustry would like to see the river, slowing its mo- them all closed, but doing mentum. That limits its that may simply result in power to keep the heavier new ones forming during salt water at bay, allowing it high river years. Part of the MissDelta projto crawl along the Mississippi’s bottom in the shape of a ect involves examining condoorstop when flows drop in ditions in the crevasses. Last the late summer and fall. week, Allison navigated his If the salt wedge threatens boat into Neptune Pass, past to move too far upriver, the the new rocks put in place U.S. Army Corps of Engi- by the Corps. With the help of team neers builds a sill — essentially an underwater levee — member Mahtab Panhwar, across the lower Mississippi he took water samples and to slow its advance, hopeful- flow data that will feed into ly providing time for higher the larger modeling. He then swung over to where the flows to return. The sill had previously pass has been effectively been required about once a building a new delta, near an decade, but it was needed area known as Bay Denesse. “This is all freshwater every year in 2022-25. This year may finally break that marsh,” Allison said as ibis streak, though it is too early flew over mats of elephant ear on emerging land. “So to say for sure. The Corps has reduced the you’d think you’re right flow of the biggest crevasse, down here in the Gulf of known as Neptune Pass, lo- Mexico, it would be saline cated across from Buras. It marsh. But it’s the river inwas at one point taking as fluence.” much as 16% of the river’s Kemick and her colleague flow, but rocks installed at Tian Zhao were on a sepaits entrance have reduced it rate, larger boat, focusing by about half. their efforts on the river’s Corps spokesperson Matt main stem and using a set Roe said however that this of more sophisticated inyear’s improvement in con- struments. One was made ditions had more to do with of bronze and shaped like a nature than the new rocks. mini-torpedo, while another Low flows on the river “have carried a variety of tools, not been sustained for ex- including an underwater camera. tended durations,” he said. They approached the bank Significant rain in the Mississippi and Ohio river ba- about 40 miles upstream, sins is also making its way near the ruins of 200-yeardown, which will help as old Fort Jackson, and began well, said State Climatolo- collecting data across the width of the river. During gist Jay Grymes. The Corps is doing its own low-water periods, like now, modeling of the salt wedge, there is far less sediment in including employing a mod- the river; when the Missis-

“We’re talking a massive effort of all the different ﬁeld teams. This is just one subtask in the overall.” Mike Smith’s work is supported with a grant from the Walton Family Foundation, administered by the Baton Rouge Area Foundation. Email him at msmith@theadvocate.com.

PUBLIC NOTICE

The full text of the Acts from the 2026 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature may be viewed on the website of the Official Journal of the State at www.theadvocate.com. Prepared by Secretary of State Nancy Landry pursuant to Act 802 of the 2010 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature.

8A ● Monday, September 28, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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M o n d ay, S e p t e M b e r 28, 2026

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Sugar cane harvest begins Tuesday Caution urged on roadways as truck traffic increases

BY ANNAKATE FREELAND Staff writer

PHOTOS By PAUL KIEU

Saxophonist Brad Walker performs with singer-songwriter Anders Osborne during the Downtown Rising music festival at Parc International in downtown Lafayette on Saturday.

Downtown

TUNES

ABOVE: Bassist Tony Hall performs with singer-songwriter Anders Osborne. LEFT: New Orleans-based band Dumpstaphunk performs during the Downtown Rising music festival.

Sugar cane harvest season begins Tuesday across Louisiana, increasing tractor, cane truck and other commercial traffic on rural roads as farmers begin moving this year’s crop to mills. The harvesting season will last about 100 days, going through late December or early January. “As the harvest begins, the motoring public will see an increase of commercial truck traffic on our roadways. Coupled with our school transportation system, there will be a significant increase of activity on our roadways,” according to an announcement from Assumption Parish Sheriff Leland Falcon. Officials in other sugar cane-producing parishes also are warning residents to use caution during the harvest season. The West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office posted on Facebook urging drivers to slow down, allow extra following distance and time for travel. Louisiana is the country’s largest sugar cane-producing state. Farmers and mills produced more than 2 million tons of raw sugar last year, according to the American Sugar Cane League. The state has 11 sugar mills spread across seven southern parishes, supporting about 17,000 jobs, according to the league. Sugar cane is grown commercially in 25 parishes.

Mid-sized Hive with nearly 15 pounds of bees found at UL shopping Swarm of 65,000 center to relocated include Thai restaurant Staff report

The University of Louisiana at Lafayette has been housing more than a few unexpected residents on its campus, but unless you looked closely, you may have missed it. A large hive believed to contain nearly 15 pounds of bees was discovered hanging from a camellia tree in early September between Foster and Girard halls on the UL campus. Beekeeper Rachael Clayton, who was called in to remove and relocate the “open-air” hive, estimated that it held at least 65,000 bees. “(An open-air hive) means that they didn’t tuck into a hollow of a tree or hole, and they’re not in a beekeeper’s box,” she said. “This can only happen when we have a long period without rain.” Clayton, who graduated from UL in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in geology, has 10 years of beekeeping experience and owns a honey farm with her husband, Michael, called Sunshine and Clay Hives in Crowley. She also owns approximately 45 bee colonies spread over three locations, including Judice, where this colony will be relocated. She suggested that a swarm of European honeybees began building the hive sometime in June. “It deﬁnitely has been here for quite some time, because it’s pretty large,” she said. Mark Genung, an associate professor in the School of Biological Sciences at UL, said that a hive of this size is extremely uncommon in an area as densely populated as

PHOTOS PROVIdEd By UNIVERSITy OF LOUISIANA AT LAFAyETTE

A large hive believed to contain nearly 15 pounds of bees was discovered hanging from a camellia tree in early September between Foster and Girard halls on the University of Louisiana at Lafayette campus.

Beekeeper Rachael Clayton, who was called in to remove and relocate the ‘openair’ hive, estimated that it held at least 65,000 bees. a college campus. “I don’t think that we’d see one this large in the wild very often,” he said. Honeybees are unique among bee species because of their ability to remain active over the win-

ter, enabling them to build up their colony size faster than other species native to the area and giving them a head start once the spring season begins. Genung said that this advantage may have been what enabled the hive to reach

such a large size. “In the spring, when flowers start (to bloom), they’ve got hundreds or even thousands of workers ready to go,” he said. “They’re kind of evolutionary marvels.” Genung said that the swarm most likely originated from a managed colony that grew too large for its previous hive. “Over time, when they get too large for where they’re living, they will send out scouts and start new hives,” he said, “and I think something like that’s likely what’s happened here.” Clayton echoed this sentiment, adding that the presence of this swarm on UL’s campus indicates that the city’s ecosystem is healthy and ﬂourishing. “What it says is that you have enough environmental resources for them to fill up whatever space they had where they were, and establish new queens,” she said. “The old queen will leave with all of her older bees, and they’ll go find a new place to live.” Carl “Taz” Wininger, the university’s executive director of institutional risk and assessment, said that it was important to relocate the hive, rather than simply dispose of it, because of the vital role that bees play in pollinating plants, which helps to support UL’s campus landscape as well as the broader ecosystem. “By safely relocating the hive,” he said, “the university was able to protect the campus community while also demonstrating our commitment to environmental stewardship and the preservation of beneficial pollinator populations.”

development would be built on Gerald drive

BY ADAM DAIGLE

Acadiana business editor

A local Thai restaurant will likely move into a small strip center planned for a spot off Johnston Street. Renderings show the 9,660-squarefoot development will be built at 101 Gerald Drive and would house Bangkok Thai restaurant, currently housed at 3904 Johnston St. The project was granted two building permits earlier this month by Lafayette Consolidated Government for work valued at just over $2.3 million, records show. The owner of the property is listed as 4953 Johnston LLC. One of the officers listed for that is also listed as an officer for Bangkok Thai, records show. Attempts to reach the owners were unsuccessful. The project will feature multiple storefronts with 6,600 square feet available for lease for retail, office, restaurant or service-oriented businesses, the listing indicates. Bangkok Thai has been at its current location since about 2010, after its predecessor, Pimon Thai, moved out to its current location along Johnston Street, archives show. Pimon Thai opened there in 1997 after it was the home of Stop & Shop Bar-B-Q for decades.

2B ● Monday, September 28, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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

Vote in the midterms to hold the president accountable I am hearing significant unhappiness from friends who are Independents or Republicans and who voted for Donald Trump. Recent polling reflects this discontent. Their complaints include rising inflation, the war in Iran which has thrown the whole Middle East into conflict, ever-increasing gas prices, tariffs (a tax on consumers) that make products and services more expensive and the increasingly disconnected, rambling untruths that our president promulgates daily. Accordingly, I reflect on the times that I, as a Democrat, voted against my party because I thought the Republican candidate was more qualified for the office in question despite some significant policy disagreements. I believe this is the patriotic thing to do. As the adage says, “Country above party.” Hopefully, the many who are increasingly dismayed, appalled and alarmed at the direction of our country will do the same. After all is said and done about the midterms, voting is the only way we can make a course correction. The only way to reinstitute the checks and balances that our Constitution devised, to have an independent Congress that represents the will of the people and to make our president accountable is to elect a Democratic Congress on Nov. 3.

KATHY MEUNIER New Orleans

Why fortified roofs at the expense of affordable housing? It appears the governor is taking money designated for affordable housing, allocated for those least among us. He is then giving it only to those who can afford another $10,000 for a new roof, basically subsidizing junk insurance (“Gov. Jeff Landry announces new $20M grant program for fortified roofs in coastal Louisiana”). Why not subsidize flood insurance or fight to lower the rates? Citizens do not get credit on their flood insurance for housing rated Flood Zone X, located on a ridge, pier-raised or behind flood control levees and walls.

WILLIAM HIGHTOWER Metairie

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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.

New industries could make La. a leader in space exploration Data centers and spaceports have upset many Louisianans. We are stepping into places we have never been, and that frightens a lot of us. Is Elon Musk a shyster who will drain us for his own gain, or a builder who can help lead Louisiana forward? We can stay what we have always been: a charming place to visit. Great food, friendly people, swamps and marshes, hunting and fishing. America loves to come here. Too few want to stay. Our children finish college and leave before the ink dries on their diplomas. Our land is washing away so fast that Baton Rouge could sit on the Gulf in a geographic blink. I picture another Louisiana: A leader in space exploration, in charge of its own future, using this moment to rebuild the coast and keep our past. A place where our children stay because the jobs, wealth and opportunity are here. Nearly a century ago, New Orleans was among America’s richest cities. Cotton was king. The river was our lifeline. The great flood, greed and poor leadership helped undo that. Wealth will not fall in our laps, and the shore will not heal itself. It will take leadership and unselfish work. Our industries have already given us thousands of skilled people. Those who guard the environment must still protect what we have. The rewards are there only if we take them — and hold the people who promise them to it.

ASSOCIATEd PRESS FILE PHOTO

The U.S. Capitol building in Washington, d.C.

National debt grows under both parties, driven by many factors Regarding a recently published letter to the editor, “Runaway federal deﬁcit can’t be tackled with cuts alone,” by Robert Purrington, I would like to offer a few comments. First, the author of the letter should have spared us his vitriolic diatribe regarding tax cuts of past Republican administrations. Over the past 26 years, 14 years of Republican and 12 years of Democratic presidencies, the debt increase totaled $16.5 trillion and $17.7 trillion, respectively. These ﬁgures include the cost of programs previously enacted by prior presidencies and annual debt growth maintenance. While tax cuts occurred (2007 and 2017), the federal debt is the outcome of both political parties’ managing, and it is deeply tied to broader economic issues such as wars, emergencies and preexisting mandatory programs — not simply the result of one political party. Lastly, mandatory federal spending (which includes healthcare, social programs and net interest) will comprise 80% of the total

federal budget by 2036, according to the Congressional Budget Ofﬁce. Only 20% of federal spending will then be able to be allocated to national defense, education and infrastructure. Primary cost drivers over the next 10 years are mandatory outlays associated with social welfare and healthcare programs and will scale from $4.5 trillion to $7 trillion in 2036. During this period, interest payments will double to more than $2.1 trillion. In 10 years, it is projected that these costs will total $9.1 trillion per year before any national defense, education and infrastructure spending, eclipsing the growth of the national debt in any one president’s term(s). Debt reduction requires more than simple belt tightening and tax increases. Strong control will be required to prevent waste and fraud within social programs, to manage immigration and to drive investment that fosters job creation and grows the tax base.

GREG DERBES Baton Rouge

CHARLIE VON DREUSCHE Lafayette

Expect Israel to honor the principles of the United States

democratic Senate candidate has not received a fair representation I write on behalf of the 345,000 Democrats who voted in Louisiana’s Senate primary, along with the 99,000 Bill Cassidy voters and 113,000 John Fleming voters. I think many of us would like to revisit your early nod of support for U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow during the primaries, without offering an interview with Jamie Davis, much less including even a single sentence about his platform, candidacy or otherwise in your write-up. Since then, reports have raised concerns about Letlow’s nondisclosure agreement with Meta and subsequent trades in Meta stock. Your endorsement emphasized trust and accountability, but to many voters that foundation now appears shaky. A recent poll showed the candidates 4 points apart, with 1 in 5 voters undecided. Voters deserve answers on data centers, carbon capture, corporate inﬂuence, congressional stock trading, tariffs, war, gas prices, SNAP cuts, healthcare affordability and the government’s responsibility to protect everyday people. The election results also deserve scrutiny.

The United States is an ally of Israel. We have their back, and yet they make themselves a bigger target. Brutality is jungle justice. Jungle justice only begets more brutality. Jungle justice has no respect for individual lives. An eye for an eye is not enough. Killing innocent women and children, bombing hospitals, killing volunteers who come to feed the starving and treat the wounded, killing reporters, treating innocent people like cattle, upending tent villages with orders to move so they can bomb cities to rubble. Israel is doing this with impunity. It seems for Israel, annihilating every one of its enemies is the only way to victory. We are allies of Israel. We have their backs. Israel owes us respect for all we stand for. Our Constitution is meant to make real the belief all men are equal. Israel needs our strength to be safe. We are weakened when we aid a government that commits atrocities. Are we becoming more like them? Are we being deﬁned as like them? Are we a party to brutality? If the answer is yes to all of the above, it is time to expect Israel to honor the principles of the United States.

Roughly 84,000 Republican primary voters did not return for the runoff. In the primary, 221,271 Republicans chose another candidate. Letlow received 44.8% of the Republican vote, while 55% preferred someone else. That does not decide the general election, but it challenges the idea that Louisiana has spoken with one voice. Many voters remain undecided. At a minimum, your publication should host a public candidate forum, ask both candidates difﬁcult questions and provide voters with a meaningful comparison between Letlow and Davis. Your editorial page can help restore trust by acknowledging these divisions and encouraging genuine examination rather than treating the result as predetermined. Let reporters investigate and candidates explain their records, priorities and potential conﬂicts. Then let Louisiana voters make an informed choice this November.

BRITTANY GONDOLFI Mandeville

Louisiana needs a senator with an agenda for all Jamie Davis may very well be our next U.S. senator in the making. As I see it, he is one who wants to represent all the people in Louisiana and not just a select few who have vs. the have-nots in the state. Yes, we have many problems that are in need of solving in our state.

He has a true agenda to help all, and not just issue some rhetoric about solving problems while the other candidate has said that she will solve issues without giving any solutions.

VINCENT YOUNG Baton Rouge

KATHLEEN FISCHER Metairie

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COMMENTARY World News Day: Trust is earned right here in La. Louisiana. Every day across Louisiana, Our publications and now there are hundreds of stories that our websites have been telling help define who we are. Louisiana’s story for generations. And each year at Georges Through The TimesMedia, we publish nearly Picayune, The Advocate, 50,000 stories — stories The Acadiana Advocate, that unfold in the halls of NOLA.com, Gambit, Arthe Capitol in Baton Rouge and at City Hall in New thur Hardy’s Mardi Gras Orleans. They happen in Guide, Developing LafayKevin classrooms in Lafayette, ette, Shreveport-Bossier Hall businesses in Shreveport, City Advocate and our PUBLISHER neighborhoods in Lake other media platforms, we Charles and towns along have the privilege — and our coast. They are found important responsibility in our stores where we — of documenting this reshop, our congregations, our resmarkable state every day. That responsibility begins with taurants and on Friday night footthree words: truth, trust and ball fields. They especially come alive during Mardi Gras, our hun- transparency. Louisianans have plenty of dreds of festivals, college football sources competing for their atSaturdays and Saints Sundays. And when a hurricane enters tention: national news organizathe Gulf or a storm moves across tions, social media, the latest the state, reliable information can “influencer” podcasts, artificial inbecome more than important. It telligence and an endless stream can become essential. of “information” that so often Today is World News Day, and proves to be false. as president and publisher of But there is something different Georges Media, I am reminded about local journalism. that journalism is ultimately Our journalists live here. Many about serving people and this of them, like me, have generaplace we all call home. For us tions who have lived in Louisiana, at Georges Media, that place is and their roots run deep. They

know our communities because they are part of them. They aren’t just names on an article byline, but citizens of this state who are passionate about making sure you have all the accurate and trustworthy information you deserve. Our journalists understand that Louisiana is not one place, but many distinct parishes rich in sometimes complicated history that is connected by a culture and identity unlike anywhere else in America. They also understand that trust cannot simply be claimed. It must be earned every single day. We earn it by getting the facts right. By asking difﬁcult questions. By holding powerful institutions accountable. By correcting our mistakes. By distinguishing news articles from opinion columns and journalism from advertising. And by being transparent with readers about how we do our work. As journalism evolves and new technologies such as artiﬁcial intelligence become part of our industry, we must embrace innovation while protecting the standards that have always mattered: accuracy, independence, fairness

and accountability. Louisiana is a place of strong and diverse opinions. And you aren’t shy about offering your opinions about our coverage of topics you care about, based on the hundreds of emails and letters we receive each month. We aren’t going to agree on everything — and neither will our readers. Our responsibility isn’t to tell people what to think. It is to give them credible information so they can make their own decisions about their communities and their state. Great local journalism requires being present. When a storm approaches Louisiana, we’re here. When decisions are being made about our schools, taxes, economy and livelihoods, we’re here. When corruption needs to be exposed, we’re here. And when Louisiana has something worth celebrating — which is very often — we’re here for that, too. For nearly two centuries, our newspapers have recorded the ﬁrst draft of Louisiana history. Generations of journalists before us covered wars, epidemics, hurricanes, political scandals, economic transformation and cul-

tural moments that helped shape this state. Today, we continue that work on platforms those earlier journalists could never have imagined. The technology will continue to change. How people consume news will continue to change. But our responsibility to Louisiana cannot. I am proud of the nearly 200 journalists across Georges Media who show up every day to tell Louisiana’s stories. I wish you could see the love of truth and the passion for our state that is displayed every day in our ﬁve newsrooms. And to our readers across Louisiana and beyond: Thank you for reading us, challenging us, supporting us and holding us accountable. And on this World News Day, whether you are reading or viewing us anywhere from Washington, D.C., to Australia, we are thankful for you. Your trust is one of the most valuable things we have. And here in Louisiana, we intend to keep earning it. Kevin Hall is president and publisher of Georges Media Group.

Weighing the ‘disastrous, cascading consequences’ if China takes Taiwan

ASSOCIATEd PRESS PHOTO By MARK SCHIEFELBEIN

Journalists and the lectern are pictured before a press briefing at the White House in Washington.

President Trump and the press boycott one another We’re back in the children’s sandbox. Pres- NBC, and CNN suspended pooled television coverage of presidential events. ident Donald Trump banned CNN, MS Now, I have criticized press bias for most of my and Politico from covering him. The three career. I worked in television news. I know filed a First Amendment lawsuit. The president has retaliated with “Trump TV: The Es- reporters. I also know what happens when journalism becomes predictable, parsentials Station” on YouTube. American presidents have been tisan, or simply wrong. complaining about the press almost Criticizing the press is one thing. as long as we’ve had presidents. Using government access to punish Thomas Jefferson knew something coverage a president dislikes is anabout hostile newspapers. And yet other. in 1787 he wrote that if forced to If reporters get a story wrong, choose between government without show them where they got it wrong. Cal newspapers and newspapers without Thomas If they ignore the results of a policy, government, he would go with the invite them to see those results. Chalnewspapers. lenge their assumptions. Correct their facts. Presidential irritation with the press didn’t Engage them. Or ignore them. end with Jefferson. Ronald Reagan frequently sparred with Abraham Lincoln suspended the publicareporters. He also joked with them — and about himtion of various newspapers, banned critical papers from being delivered through the self. U.S. mail, and temporarily imprisoned or At his final White House Correspondents’ silenced editors during the American Civil Dinner, Reagan acknowledged the inevitable War to maintain public morale. friction between presidents and the press John Kennedy became so angry with the and said a healthy relationship meant each New York Herald Tribune that in 1962 he side could give as good as it got. canceled the White House’s 22 subscriptions “[M]y attitude is better than linebacker to the paper. George Atkinson’s when he was with the Richard Nixon banned Washington Post Oakland Raiders. Someone asked him what reporters from White House social events, the players’ reaction would be if the press restricted access following their coverage box blew up. He said, ‘We’d have 30 seconds of the Watergate scandal, and attempted to of respectful silence and then continue block the publication of the Pentagon Papers with enthusiasm.’ [Laughter] Now, honest, I through the judicial system. don’t feel that way — maybe once in a while. During the Obama administration, White [Laughter] House officials publicly stated that Fox “I’m sure we get exasperated now and News operated more like the “communicathen with each other, but that’s just the frictions arm of the Republican Party” than a tion of freedom.” traditional news organization. And when the Presidents do not need a friendly press. Treasury Department initially left Fox out They need the confidence to face an unof a round of pooled television interviews, friendly one. When journalists are wrong, the other networks pushed back. Fox was the strongest answer is better facts, better ultimately included. arguments — and the willingness to let the The Trump vs. press fight has produced public decide. another consequence. When CNN was prevented from taking its scheduled turn in the Email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub. com. television press pool, Fox News, ABC, CBS,

Deterrence employs military, dipcapitulation. The logistical demands of a resupply operation over vast dislomatic, economic, technological and political measures to prevent wars. The tances, with the paltry (fewer than 200) number of times deterrence has failed and aged (average age, mid-50s) U.S. approximately equals the nummerchant ships, would dwarf those of the 15-month Berlin ber of wars history has seen. airlift (June 1948 to September Deterrence failed to protect 1949) that sustained a city with a Ukraine against aggression, population one-tenth the size of the consequences of which are today’s Taiwan. slight compared with those that China cannot mobilize for war would follow a failure to deter George secretly. And an invasion, FreyChinese President Xi Jinping Will from invading Taiwan, or atmann says, “would rank among the most complex military operatempting to coerce its surrender by measures (intended to be) just tions in modern history,” much more short of war. Xi has ordered his milidaunting than D-Day. Between October and March, Freymann writes, harsh tary to be able to seize Taiwan in 2027. Deterring this involves influencing one weather in the 100-mile-wide Taiwan Strait often deters civil aviation and person: Xi. But the myriad variables passenger ships. In winter, there can be involved are staggering. Imagine the 50-foot waves. Between June and Octocomplexity of a Rubik’s Cube cubed. Or read “Defending Taiwan” by Eyck ber, there is an average of six typhoons Freymann, a Hoover fellow at Stana year. Only April and October are suitford. He believes that U.S. abandonable for amphibious operations. These would require air superiorment of Taiwan “isn’t an option.” The “disastrous, cascading consequences” ity, which China cannot assume. And of Taiwan’s forced submission to Beinaval mines laid by Taiwan could make China’s troop transports vulnerable in jing would include the collapse of U.S. narrow corridors. credibility, Beijing’s domination of its Preemptive Chinese strikes on U.S. Indo-Pacific neighbors, including their involvement in the global economy, and bases on Okinawa and Guam, and/or an incentive for Japan and South Korea U.S. strikes on the mainland, would ignite a war. Freymann: “No nuclearto acquire nuclear weapons. armed power has ever launched a Taiwan, a vibrant democracy of 23 large-scale kinetic strike against anmillion, is the world’s most important supplier of the high-end chips that other.” power economic modernity, including And: “China’s extensive missile ar90% of the most advanced chips power- senal has created a high-risk zone exing artificial intelligence. U.S. policy tending roughly 600 kilometers off its emphasizes that any resolution to coast.” The U.S. advantage in stealthy cross-strait tensions must be achieved submarines is eroding. without coercion, and in a manner Deterrence, Freymann writes, redemocratically acceptable to Taiwan’s quires convincing Xi that America can people. Washington leaves ambiguous “decisively” defeat China in an “all-out what it would do if either side changed air-naval war” near China. “Logistics,” the status quo unilaterally. Freymann says, “is the bridge between Xi’s constant “gray zone” operaa nation’s economy and its military options — economic, legal, cyber and erations.” The inadequacy of America’s sociocultural — include military violabridge has been revealed by Ukraine’s tions of Taiwan’s territorial waters and needs and the war against Iran. Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports “a airspace. Xi might hope that these, perhaps supplemented by a quarantine, profound shift in Taiwan’s identity”: In 1992, only 17.6% of Taiwan residents will, Freymann writes, “incrementally identified solely as Taiwanese. Today establish the norm that Taiwan no lon63.1% do. The share identifying solely ger has full practical control over” its as Chinese has plummeted from 25.5% global economic interactions. This slow death of sovereignty might to 2.5%. Time is widening a cultural dilead to a blockade. This act of war vide that increasingly precludes peacecould starve Taiwan of food, energy ful “reunification” (Xi’s propagandistic and munitions. Breaking a blockade term) of Taiwan with Xi’s Communist would require war, including striking Party state. targets on the Chinese mainland and Freymann says — startlingly, without mining China’s harbors. elaboration — that by seizing Taiwan, An early-20th-century theory was Xi could make himself “untouchable by slain by the facts of the rest of the rivals in his old age.” It is relevant, and century: The mutual dependence of unsettling, that Xi, who visited Washeconomically powerful nations on ington last week, has thrived in such a complex supply chains makes wars high-risk, high-stakes, uncivilized pobetween them impossible. A blockade litical milieu. would confront the U.S. president with a choice between the frightening, a Email George Will at georgewill@ military response, and the unthinkable, washpost.com.

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Marucci Sports changes hands after $225M deal Baton Rouge-based started in my backyard in 2004 with a simple goal: to baseball bat make the products players want and need to be succompany now cessful. That same goal has privately owned guided us for more than

BY TIMOTHY BOONE Staff writer

Baton Rouge-based Marucci Sports is once again privately owned after Fox Factory Holding Corp. sold the baseball bat manufacturer to a group led by founder and CEO Kurt Ainsworth for $225 million. Marucci and Fox Factory, the Georgia company that bought Marucci in 2023, announced the deal late Friday. Marucci plans to stay in Baton Rouge, with its existing brands and leadership in place, the companies said. In a statement, Ainsworth thanked Fox Factory for the accomplishments that happened during its nearly three years of ownership. That included Marucci and its sister brand, Victus, being named as the official bats of Major League Baseball. “Having the opportunity to lead Marucci back into founder-led, private ownership is incredibly meaningful to me,” Ainsworth said in a statement. “Marucci

twenty-two years, and it will remain at the center of everything we do.” Georgia-based Fox Factory acquired Marucci in November 2023 for $572 million. Fox Factory is the parent company of FOX, which designs and manufactures products for bicycles, offroad vehicles and on-road vehicles. But in February, Fox Factory started looking to sell off Marucci. CEO Mike Dennison said Marucci did not bring in the expected ﬁnancial returns, and a decision was made to improve the balance sheet and reallocate capital. “Marucci is a strong brand with talented people and a loyal following among athletes, and we believe it is well positioned for continued success under new ownership,” Dennison said in a statement. Ainsworth put together a group of investors that included current and former MLB players along with other pro athletes. Plans are for Marucci to reestablish a Player Advisory Board; the details and membership

include Alex Bregman, a former LSU star who was a key member of two Houston Astros teams that won the World Series; Freddie Freeman, who won the National League MVP Award in 2020; and Francisco Lindor, a five time All-Star. According to Bat Digest, 27.8% of bats used on opening day of the MLB season this year were Victus models, while Marucci accounted for 16.7%. In 2020, Marucci went public, when it was acquired by a Connecticutbased investment company, Compass Diversified Holdings, for $200 million. Three years later it was acquired by Fox Factory. Today, in addition to bats, Marucci sells gloves, balls, helmets, apparel and footwear. The company also operates 12 Hitter’s Houses with locations ranging from STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Lafayette to Tokyo and A Marucci employee sands a bat on June 16, 2025, in Baton Rouge. Baton Rouge-based London. The stores feaMarucci Sports is once again privately owned after Fox Factory Holding Corp. sold the ture batting cages along baseball bat manufacturer to a group led by founder and CEO Kurt Ainsworth for $225 with selling the full line of Marucci products. million. In 2024, Marucci generOver the years, Marucci ated $192 million in revenue will be announced after the and LSU pitcher, along with World Series ends. Joe Lawrence and Reed and Victus, which it ac- for Fox Factory, according Dickens. Its first acquisition quired in 2017, have become to the company’s annual reGrowth and expansion was Marucci Bat Co., which the two most popular lines port. Marucci Sports was former LSU athletic trainer of baseball bats in the big founded in 2009 by Ain- Jack Marucci had launched leagues. Some of the hitters Email Timothy Boone at sworth, a former big league in a backyard shed in 2004. who use the company’s bats tboone@theadvocate.com.

Archdiocese sells former Avondale property Police: Opelousas Logistics company purchases tract for $750K

BY GRACE MAYER Staff writer

Avondale Global Gateway has purchased the shuttered Holy Guardian Angels Parish campus in Westwego from the Archdiocese of New Orleans, which sold the property amid a broader downsizing that began in 2023. It’s the latest in a series of expansions for the West Bank logistics hub on the site of the former Avondale Shipyard. The property, at 1701 Bridge City Ave., is located about a mile from Avondale’s facility, and totals 7 acres with two church buildings and an education center. The sale price was $750,000. Avondale officials said they don’t have immediate plans for the property, but that it made sense to purchase it, as they eye options for growth.

“At some point there will be potential use of this site for our future plans for Avondale,” said Jeff Keever, government affairs representative for Avondale. “There are opportunities for us in the Bridge City area.” The company decided to purchase the property shortly after seeing it listed on the market about a year ago, Keever said. He said the property was notable because of its proximity to Avondale. “We think we’re in growth mode, and this is part of that,” Keever said. The property is the latest of several real estate holdings the archdiocese has sold in recent years, as it works to reduce its real estate footprint amid changing demographic patterns and the need to raise money to fund a bankruptcy settlement with clergy abuse survivors. The archdiocese declined to comment on the recent sale.

nounced its newest tenant: Suzano, a paper pulp supplier and one of the largest exporters based in Brazil. The company is currently in the process of setting up shipment and distribution operations on the Avondale campus, plans that include occupying 250,000 square feet of space for a ﬁve-year lease and creating 50 full-time jobs. Avondale’s recent property purchase is not linked to the Suzano tenant, or any existing or future tenant, Keever said. Work at the facility is also underway on a $13 million rail expansion, partially funded by the state Avondale has taken shape into a logistics hub in the last decade with millions of investment from its parent company, T. Parker Host. The property used to be home to the former Avondale Shipyard, a 275-acre campus that sat dormant for around four years before Host, a 103-year-old shipping and logistics company, Moving materials acquired the property in The purchase comes 2018. Av o n d a l e c u r r e n t l y nearly five months after Avondale Global an- employs more than 600

workers, including employees, tenants and contractors on its campus, which includes 1.2 million square feet of warehouse space. The campus is on track to move more than 2 million tons of materials in 2026 for hundreds of customers, including for its dozens of tenants, like Gulf Wind Technology, an offshore wind technology company. Email Grace Mayer at grace.mayer@ theadvocate.com.

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man dead after motorcycle crash BY BLAKE LESCHBER Staff writer

A 45-year-old Opelousas man is dead after a singlevehicle motorcycle crash in Iberia Parish, Louisiana State Police said. Troopers responded to the crash about 2 a.m. Sunday on La. 3212 near Grand Prairie Road. The initial investigation showed that a 2002 HarleyDavidson was headed west on La. 3212 when, for reasons still under investigation, the motorcycle exited Email Blake Leschber the roadway and struck a at blake.leschber@ concrete curb. theadvocate.com.

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PUBLIC NOTICE --NOTICE TO BIDDERS Notice is hereby given that sealed bids will be received until 10:00 AM, Monday, October 19, 2026, at the Scott City Hall Building, 125 Lions Club Road, Scott, Louisiana and shall thereafter be opened and publicly read aloud for: HARVEST POINTE OVERLAY The project will consist of patching and overlay‐ ing a section of Harvest Pointe Circle within the City of Scott. Bids re‐ ceived after the time speciﬁed above will not be considered. Digital copies may be ob‐ tained only from Bonnie Anderson at banderson@ cityofscott.org. The Speciﬁcations and Documents shall be available until twentyfour (24) hours before the time scheduled for the opening of bids. Bids shall be submitted inside a sealed envelope addressed to City of Scott showing the name of the project as above and the name of the Bid‐

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Bids must be submitted on the Bid Form included in the Specifications and the Documents. Each bid shall be accom‐ panied by a Certified Check, Cashier’s Check, or Bid Bond payable to the City of Scott, the amount of which is not to be less than five (5) percent of the total bid. This surety shall be given as a guarantee that the bidder will execute the contract should it be awarded to him in con‐ formity with the Docu‐ ments. A Performance Bond and a Payment Bond each in the full

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PUBLIC NOTICE --Burns & McDonnell on behalf of Cloud Connec‐ tor, LLC is requesting au‐ thorization to construct a natural gas pipeline be‐ tween an interconnect station near Melville, Louisiana in St. Landry and Venture Parish, Global Plaquemines LNG, LLC and Plaquemines Ex‐ pansion, LLC Terminals in Plaquemines Parish. The U.S. Army Corps of Engi‐ ( ) ill b

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y p g neers (CEMVN) will be accepting public com‐ ments on the project until October 8, 2026. To further review and/or provide comments, addi‐ tional information and plans related to the pro‐ posal may be obtained at the following website: www.mvn.usace.army. mil/missions/regulatory/ public-notices (see Ref#: If MVN-2026-00308-BV). you have any questions or would like additional information, please con‐ tact Courtland Vice with CEMVN, Regulatory Divi‐ sion at (504) 862-1349 or courtland.l.vice@ at usace.army.mil. A certiﬁ‐ cation that the proposed activity will not violate applicable water quality standards will be re‐ quired from the LDEQ be‐ fore a Department of the Army permit could be is‐ sued. 201953 Sept. 28-Oct. 8, 11t $1,405.06

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The motorcyclist was then ejected, suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene, troopers said. He was wearing a state Department of Transportation and Development-approved helmet at the time of the crash. Impairment is unknown, but toxicology samples were obtained and submitted for analysis, ofﬁcials said. The crash remains under investigation.

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PARISH OF LAFAYETTE, LOUISIANA ********************** NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR AUTHORITY TO SELL IMMOVABLE PROPERTY AT PRIVATE SALE Notice is Given that the court-appointed Admin‐ istrator of the Succes‐ sion of Paul Arthur Fore‐ man, has petitioned this Court for authority to sell immovable property be‐ longing to the deceased at private sale in accor‐ dance with the provi‐ sions of Article 3281 of the Code of Civil Proce‐ dure for THREE HUNDRED SIXTY-EIGHT THOUSAND NO/100ths AND DOLLARS, ($368,000.00) cash, with the succes‐ sion to pay all encum‐ brances. The immovable property proposed to be sold at private sale is de‐ scribed as follows: ALL OF DECEDENT'S RIGHTS, TITLE AND INTEREST IN AND TO THE FOLLOWING: That certain tract or par‐ cel of land containing eleven (11) acres, Save and except one (1) acre situated in the northeast corner thereof sold by Paul Arthur Foreman to Mary Ella Foreman Mont‐ gomery and Edna May Foreman Carter recorded the Conveyance in of Lafayette Records Parish under Act No.

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254535; said tract being situated in SE ¼ of NE ¼ of Section 3, Township 10 South, Range 3 East, being bounded now or as follows: formerly North by land of Sanders Roy and by land of Mary Foreman Mont‐ Ella gomery and Edna May Foreman Carter; East by land of Mary Ella Fore‐ man Montgomery and May Foreman Edna Carter, by public road and/or land of Whitley Domingue; South by land of Lena Foreman; West by land of Sanders Roy. Being the same property acquired by Paul Arthur Foreman by Act of Parti‐ tion dated November 27, 1950 and recorded at File Number 1950-00253110 of the public records of Parish, Lafayette Louisiana. Any heir or creditor who opposes the proposed sale must ﬁle his opposi‐ tion within seven (7) days from the day on which the last publica‐ tion of this notice ap‐ pears. ____________________ By Order of the Court Clerk, 15th Judicial District Court, Lafayette Parish, Louisiana Darla Veron Signed on 8/27/2026 199683 Sept. 5, 28, 2t $99.22

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Louisiana is set to start doling out supercharged unemployment benefits of $600 more a week on Monday, providing the first wave of relief to a staggering number of residents seeking aid as the coronavirus rocks the state’s economy. But as benefits begin flowing and officials project no part of Louisiana is on track to run out of hospital beds or ventilators in the coming 10 days, Gov. John Bel Edwards warned Wednesday it will be a long time before things return to normal. Until there is a vaccine and medication that can treat the virus — prospects that are months or longer away — Edwards said people will likely not see “life as you knew it before COVID-19.” Although at some point restrictions will be loosened, it remains unclear exactly what that will look like, Edwards said. The state will rely heavily on the federal government and will need far more testing, along with contact tracing and isolation of patients who later test positive, he said. “I promise you no matter what the timeline looks like, it’s going to be quicker if everyone follows the stay-at-home order,” the governor said. In the meantime, as the order is set to keep thousands of businesses closed until at least A il 30 th L i i W kf C i

democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a March campaign rally in detroit.

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M o n d ay, S e p t e M b e r 28, 2026

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Las Vegas Raiders linebacker Nakobe dean, right, forces New Orleans Saints tight end Juwan Johnson to fumble on Sunday at the Caesars Superdome. The play sealed the victory for the Raiders.

Saints squander double-digit lead thanks to quartet of 4th-quarter turnovers BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

Chase Young smiled and shook his head. The New Orleans Saints defensive end was in disbelief that this was seemingly the exact same situation as Week 1, only this time the call was the opposite. But like before, it hurt the Saints all the same. Two weeks ago, Young’s strip-sack that resulted in a Saints’ fumble recovery touchdown was wiped off the board because ofﬁcials determined that Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff had started his throwing motion. On Sunday, Saints quarterback Tyler Shough did not receive the same luxury. On third down, Shough was stripped for a fumble — despite the second-year quarterback appearing to start his throwing motion. And the Las Vegas Raiders recovered, setting up a pivotal touchdown in New Orleans’ 35-27 loss. But as angry as the Saints looked, they could blame

only themselves for Sunday’s letdown. That’s what four fourth-quarter turnovers can do to a team. Shough threw a crucial interception on the ensuing possession after Las Vegas retook the lead, leading to another Raiders’ touchdown. Down 35-27 with 6:22 left, the quarterback couldn’t lead another stunning comeback. The Saints got two chances to move past the mistakes. First, Shough committed his third turnover of the game — another fumble, this time on fourth-and-1. Then, tight end Juwan Johnson fumbled with 53 seconds left to seal the defeat and drop New Orleans to 1-2. Just a week ago, the Saints’ upset win over the Ravens caught plenty of people’s attention. The Saints were not only the talk of national shows, but the victory also generated local excitement. When Chris Olave went out to do the Who Dat chant before kickoff, the crowd’s echo reverberated throughout the Superdome. The last time the Saints went into a game with as much hype as Sunday was arguably in

2024, when the 2-0 Saints put up back-to-back 40-point performances when Klint Kubiak, now coaching the Raiders, served as New Orleans play-caller. And early on, the Saints made sure that atmosphere would stay alive. In a twist, the Saints actually got off to a fast start. While the offense opened with a three-and-out, the Saints rebounded on their next drive with their ﬁrst ﬁrst-quarter touchdown since Week 14 (Dec. 7) of last season. And on that lengthy 13-play, 84-yard series, Shough dazzled the home crowd. The quarterback took off for a career-long 36-yard run. He hit Devaughn Vele for an 11-yard gain on third down. Then he followed that up with a 12-yard strike to Chris Olave, also on third down. The Superdome erupted when Shough found tight end Juwan Johnson for a 2-yard touchdown. Daniel Carlson had his extra point blocked, but that hardly killed the

ä See SAINTS, page 4C

Hobbled Leavitt embraced ‘point guard’ role BY JON BLAU Staff writer

The fourth game of the season hasn’t been kind to LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt. Last year, Leavitt’s foot busted in Arizona State’s Week 4 contest at Baylor, forcing him to labor through four more games before he shut everything down with a lisfranc injury. This year, the LSU transferportal prize scrambled down the sideline in the second quarter versus Texas A&M, stepping out of bounds 4 yards short of the ﬁrstdown marker on a third-and-12. He pulled up short Saturday because he’d just pulled a hamstring. Less than ideal, but as the Rolling Stones once sang, “You don’t always get what you want … you

ä Up next: LSU vs. McNeese, 6:45 P.M. SATURdAy, SECN

get what you need.” “It kind of, like, almost locks you in on a different level when you get a little hurt,” Leavitt said, “because you don’t have another option other than distributing the ball and playing pure point guard in a different way than I have all season.” Leavitt’s sparkling performance against the Aggies, completing 17 of 23 for 312 yards and two touchdowns, was an interesting twist. The concern coming into the season was whether Leavitt, fresh off of foot surgery, could be enough of a dual-threat option in Lane Kifﬁn’s offense. That question was quickly an-

swered with 113 rushing yards against Clemson in the opener and another 62 versus Ole Miss in Week 3. But there were inconsistencies in Leavitt’s passing through three contests, dipping below 60% in completion percentage in each of his Power Four games and throwing ﬁve interceptions to just three scores on the year. Particularly in last week’s loss in Oxford, Mississippi, Leavitt was rattled by the Rebels’ interior pressure early. Kifﬁn put some of the blame on the offensive line for not allowing his quarterback to settle in. Leavitt wasn’t going to let himself off that easy. “There’s gonna be so many situations where you’re gonna have

STAFF PHOTO By PEARL SPURLOCK

LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt passes the ball for a touchdown against ä See LEAVITT, page 2C Texas A&M on Saturday at Tiger Stadium.

2C ● Monday, September 28, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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NFL ROUNDUP

Commanders snap Seattle’s streak The Associated Press LANDOVER, Md. — Marcus Mariota threw three touchdown passes, and Kain Medrano returned an interception 50 yards for a touchdown to help the Washington Commanders hand Seattle its first loss since November, 33-31 on Sunday. The Seahawks (2-1) had won 12 straight, including their postseason run to last season’s Super Bowl title, but Mariota was solid in place of the injured Jayden Daniels, and three crucial turnovers enabled Washington (1-2) to win its home opener. Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught 10 passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns for the Seahawks, and he even completed a short throw on a trick play in the final quarter, but Sam Darnold was intercepted twice in his return from his Week 1 glute injury. Washington, which was 1 for 11 on third down to that point, converted two on the final drive to run out the clock. Rachaad White caught the Seahawks off guard on a thirdand-9 run, going 19 yards around right end. Then Mariota ran for 9 yards on third-and-7 to seal the win. COLTS 19, TEXANS 17: In Indiannapolis, Spencer Shrader fought through a groin injury to make four field goals, including a 43-yarder with 16 seconds to go, and the Indianapolis Colts’ beleaguered defense barely held up long enough to close out a victory over the Houston Texans on Sunday. The Colts (1-2) snapped a ninegame losing streak, the longest active skid in the NFL, and won its first game since Nov. 2 at Berlin. It was the Colts’ first victory on American soil since Oct. 26. BILLS 24, CHARGERS 16: In Orchard Park, New York, Josh Allen scored two touchdowns rushing and the Buffalo Bills overcame a five-turnover outing to pull out a victory over the winless Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday. Allen’s second score, a 1-yard plunge with 7:35 left, gave Buffalo its first lead. The Bills then sealed the win on James Cook’s 3-yard run four minutes later, and after Buffalo’s defense forced Justin Herbert’s incompletion on fourth down at the Chargers 45. Buffalo improved to 3-0 despite Allen’s two interceptions and lost fumble. BROWNS 21, PANTHERS 18: In Cleveland, Deshaun Watson threw two touchdown passes to Harold Fan-

MEDINAH, Ill. — U.S. captain Brandt Snedeker won’t have to second-guess the outcome of this Presidents Cup. The Americans won for the 11th straight time Sunday with key rallies on the back nine by two-time major champion Collin Morikawa and 21-year-old rookie Jackson Koivun. Outplayed over three days in team matches, the Americans leaned on their strength in singles to make up a three-point deﬁcit. Cameron Young and Justin Thomas set the tone early. Scottie Schefﬂer took down Nico Echavarria with a show of pure sportsmanship when a spectator disrupted the Colombian’s swing. The clinching point came from Jacob Bridgeman, who rolled in a 3-foot par putt on the 18th green for a 1-up victory over Min Woo lee, assuring the Americans the 15½ points they needed.

Bulls acquire Hield in trade with Hornets for Dillingham

ASSOCIATEd PRESS PHOTO By NICK WASS

Washington Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota, left, is tackled by Seattle Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones during a game on Sunday in Landover, Md. nin, including a 14-yard strike with 1:48 remaining, and the Cleveland Browns rallied for a victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. The Panthers went in front 1813 with 4:25 remaining when John Metchie hauled in an 8-yard touchdown pass from Bryce Young. But the Browns (2-1) went 65 yards in eight plays for their second straight comeback win. STEELERS 30, BENGALS 27: In Pittsburgh, Aaron Rodgers passed for 292 yards and three touchdowns to outduel Joe Burrow as the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. Pittsburgh (2-1) bounced back from a miserable performance last week at New England to blunt some of Cincinnati’s early momentum. Cincinnati (2-1) had a chance late. The Bengals reached Pittsburgh territory, but Burrow fumbled after being sacked by defensive tackle Derrick Harmon. LIONS 31, JETS 24: In Detroit, Jahmyr Gibbs and the Detroit Lions held on to beat the New York Jets on Sunday. The Lions (2-1) leaned on their dynamic running back a lot — on the ground and through the air — and he delivered another fantastic performance. The Jets (1-2) overcame a 14-point deﬁcit in the fourth quarter with Geno Smith’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Ruckert, a 23-yard TD throw to Garrett Wilson and a 2-point conversion pass to Sterling

LSU LB Weeks suffers signiﬁcant leg injury BY REED DARCEY

Staff writer

LSU linebacker Whit Weeks will be out indefinitely after injuring his leg on Saturday in a win over Texas A&M, coach Lane Kiffin confirmed on Sunday. Weeks, a star senior, reportedly fractured his right leg at the 10:56 mark of the third quarter after an LSU defender landed at his feet. He then walked off the field on crutches with a boot on his right foot and a towel over his head. Kiffin said that he and his staff won’t know until Monday whether Weeks will be able to return at any point this season. “So, obviously,” Kiffin said, “that’s not an ideal situation. These are very significant players that continue to be lost for either the season or an extended amount of time, and leaders. “It’s really, really challenging, and a lot of people have to step up.” Through three games, Weeks led LSU in tackles with 20. He also had 2.5 tackles for loss. The Tigers have now lost three starters to significant injuries this season. Safety Dashawn Spears is out for the year with a torn ACL, and tight end Trey’Dez Green is out indefinitely with a knee injury. Both players went down in LSU’s Week 3 loss to Ole Miss. Defensive end Gabe Reliford (ACL), cornerback Aidan Anding (Achilles), kick returner

Americans rally to win 11th-straight Presidents Cup

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU linebacker Whit Weeks walks to the locker room for X-rays in the third quarter of the game against Texas A&M on Saturday at Tiger Stadium.

Phillip Wright and reserve linebacker Charles Ross (ACL) also have suffered season-ending injuries. Ross was hurt on Saturday against Texas A&M. In Weeks’ absence, the Tigers will rely on ﬁfth-year senior TJ Dottery and Davhon Keys, a junior who’s tallied 123 career tackles. He was LSU’s leading tackler in 2025. Email Reed Darcey at reed. darcey@theadvocate.com.

Shepard to make it 24-all. CHIEFS 24, DOLPHINS 10: In Miami Gardens, Florida, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs beat the Miami Dolphins. Kenneth Walker had a touchdown catch and rushed for a score, and Mahomes threw for 246 yards and two TDs to help the Chiefs. The Chiefs entered averaging more than 450 yards and 32 points but struggled to pull away from the winless Dolphins, who were missing arguably their best player for much of the game after Pro Bowler De’Von Achane left with a knee injury on the opening drive. JAGUARS 35, PATRIOTS 6: In Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence threw three touchdown passes, including one on which Parker Washington made a ﬁngertip catch in the end zone, and the Jaguars bounced back from their worst offensive performance in nearly a year to dominate New England on Sunday. The Jaguars (2-1) won their sixth consecutive regular-season home game and raised more questions about Drake Maye’s regression with the Patriots. Maye fumbled twice, losing one, and threw two more interceptions before getting pulled in the fourth quarter. He threw 31 touchdowns and eight picks last season for the AFC champion Patriots (1-2). GIANTS 12, TITANS 7: In East Rutherford, New Jersey, playing their ﬁrst game without quarterback Jaxson

LEAVITT

Continued from page 1C dudes in your face and you gotta make plays and let the receivers go catch the ball and get open,” Leavitt said. “So coming into this game was just nothing but trust from me for them.” Leavitt had a very specific mindset he wanted to employ Saturday, down to the smallest detail of not paying attention to the football’s spin as he released it but focusing intently on exactly where he wanted to place each pass. “The focus for me was just staying in the pocket, letting it rip,” Leavitt said. He was intent on trusting his arm and his receivers, which was easier said than done with star tight end Trey’Dez Green indefinitely sidelined after taking a helmet to the knee in the Ole Miss loss. Without his 6-foot7, 237-pound security blanket, Leavitt had to place his faith in the likes of wideouts Jackson Harris and Winston Watkins. And he had to really, really trust everyone when he felt his hamstring pull on that second-quarter scramble. “I told our running backs, you gotta get out (of the backfield), because when I scramble, I’m just gonna dump it down,” Leavitt said. “I had a couple where I dumped it down almost before they were even looking for it. “I told the whole line I might need a little bit more time back there, because I’m not gonna be able to run around and make any plays.” Kiffin said there was discussion about pulling Leavitt, but a stubborn competitor wasn’t having it. Leavitt, who played basketball in high school, was comfortable

Dart, the New York Giants (2-1) got just enough from replacement Jameis Winston on offense and another big play from safety Jevon Holland to win an ugly football game against the Titans on Sunday. The Titans (0-3) narrowly avoided becoming the first NFL team in eight years to not pick up a first down before halftime. The offense run by former Giants coach Brian Daboll was held off the scoreboard until Cam Ward connected with Wan’Dale Robinson for the game’s only touchdown with 5:35 left. 49ERS 36, CARDINALS 30: In Santa Clara, California, Brock Purdy threw four touchdown passes, with the first coming on a trick play, and the injury-depleted San Francisco 49ers held on for a victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. The game began well for the Niners before the injuries started mounting and they found themselves in a tight game against the Cardinals (1-2), who have lost 22 of their last 26 games in the division. VIKINGS 23, BUCANEERS 16: In Tampa, Florida, Myles Price returned a punt 86 yards for a score, Kyler Murray threw a 41-yard TD pass to Jordan Addison and the Minnesota Vikings beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. The Vikings are 3-0 for the second time in three years. The Buccaneers are 0-3 for the first time since 2014, when they finished 2-14 and got the No. 1 overall draft pick, taking Jameis Winston.

playing point guard. “I joked to him it was the best thing that happened because he had to stay in the pocket, throw on time, because he couldn’t run,” Kiffin said. “But really gutsy performance by him.” Leavitt locked in, throwing some of his prettiest passes in an LSU uniform. He connected with Harris, the Hawaii transfer, six times for 163 yards, including a 57-yard catch-and-run on a fake halfback draw on fourth-and-1. He also perfectly placed 35- and 36-yard passes to Watkins up the sideline. “It was just my pocket presence, being calm, flat-footed, and then just delivering the ball and have nothing but faith when I let go of it,” Leavitt said. “That’s kind of the emphasis of the week going into every single play. And it showed up today, so that’s gonna be something I gotta keep pushing forward and getting better.” It remains to be seen how much Leavitt, fresh off of a pulled hamstring, plays Saturday against McNeese State, because that’s a load backup quarterback Landen Clark could handle. LSU needs Leavitt as healthy as possible for an Oct. 10 trip to Kentucky; the Wildcats just improved to 3-1 with a 45-21 win over South Alabama. Then the Tigers close out October against No. 24 Mississippi State and Auburn before a bye week. For whatever reason, Week 4 just happens to be the week these injuries pop up for Leavitt, but this malady doesn’t appear as serious as his foot injury in 2025. He was adamant after the game that he’ll be “just fine.” “Not season-ending injuries, by any means,” Leavitt said, “but just a little something to keep me in the pocket.”

CHICAGO — The Chicago Bulls have acquired veteran guard Buddy Hield and cash from the Charlotte Hornets for guard Rob Dillingham. Hield, 33, is on the move for the second time in ﬁve days. He was traded from Atlanta to Charlotte on Tuesday. Hield played for Golden State and Atlanta last season, averaging 7.6 points in 51 games. He was traded from the Warriors to the Hawks in February. Chicago, which went 31-51 last season, is rebuilding under new leadership. Dillingham, who turns 22 in January, was the No. 8 pick in the 2024 draft. He was traded from Minnesota to Chicago in the Ayo Dosunmu deal in February.

Noskova, Muchova secure Billie Jean Cup for Czechia

SHENZHEN, China — In July they played each other in the Wimbledon ﬁnal. Now, Linda Noskova and Karolina Muchova have teamed together to win the Billie Jean King Cup for Czechia. The sixth-ranked Noskova and the eighth-ranked Muchova each won their singles matches Sunday as Czechia beat Ukraine 2-0 in the ﬁnal of the women’s tennis team event. Noskova sealed it by beating the seventh-ranked Elina Svitolina 6-3, 7-6 (5) after Muchova beat 47th-ranked Anhelina Kalinina 6-2, 6-3. On Noskova’s third match point, she hit a big serve and a big forehand that Svitolina could barely get her racket on. Then Noskova dropped on her back as Czech captain Barbora Strycova ran out to celebrate with her.

USC suspends LB Stephens 1 game after dangerous hit

Southern California suspended linebacker Desman Stephens on Sunday for one game for his dangerous late hit on Oregon quarterback Dante Moore and his celebration afterward. Stephens apologized and expressed empathy for Moore and his family in a statement issued by the Trojans. Coach Lincoln Riley condemned Stephens’ actions while announcing the suspension for his starting linebacker, who won’t play when No. 18 USC (4-1, 1-1 Big Ten) hosts Washington (31, 0-1) next weekend. Moore, whose hands went up after the hit in what appeared to be an involuntary body posture, eventually left the ﬁeld on a stretcher and in an ambulance with a neck brace.

Bears QB Bagent clears NFL concussion protocol

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Chicago Bears quarterback Tyson Bagent has cleared the NFL’s concussion protocol, putting him in the mix to play Monday night against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Bears announced on Sunday that Bagent has no injury designation for their Week 3 game. Bagent returned to practice on Saturday after he suffered a concussion in last weekend’s 9-3 loss to Minnesota. Bagent entered against the Vikings after Caleb Williams left with a right hamstring injury. Case Keenum or Bagent is expected to start against the Eagles. Neither player has started a regular-season game since 2023.

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The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Monday, September 28, 2026 ● 3C

CAJUNS 34, 49ERS 7 THREE AND OUT: KEVIN FOOTE’S TOP TAKEAWAyS FROM CAJUNS’ FIRST ROAd WIN OF yEAR

AWESOME DEFENSE It’s hard to play much better than the Cajuns defense did in the 34-7 win over Charlotte.The 49ers didn’t cross midfield until midway through the fourth period with the game already decided.The 49ers had 26 yards rushing on 15 carries and were 1 of 11 on third down. There were six punts and four turnovers. Because of the defense’s stellar effort, the Cajuns were able to win the time of possession battle 40:53 to 19:07.All five of Charlotte’s possessions in the first half ended with punts.The 137 yards were the fewest given up by UL since 57 to Nicholls State on Sept. 1, 2001.

GORDON IS SPECIAL It’s not news to anyone who has watched the Cajuns play over the last two seasons, but sophomore cornerback Brent Gordon is really good. His performance against Charlotte was spectacular. In addition to leading the defense with seven tackles, along with star Maurion Eleam, the Cecilia High product returned a punt 37 yards to set up the Cajuns’ first touchdown. He later caused and recovered a fumble on the same play. He then ended the 49ers’ very next drive with an interception. Gordon punctuated his effort with a second caused fumble in the fourth quarter.

OFFENSE WAS OK Again, the Cajuns had some problems on offense. Is it possible Charlotte’s front seven is just really good? Certainly, and UL coach Michael desormeaux is convinced it’s true. But the offense left a lot on the bone. Its first touchdown was aided by a roughing the passer call on a third-down incompletion.The defense set the offense up pretty too many times to score only 34 points.The offensive line has had protection issues the last two weeks, and there’s reason for some concern.What the offense did do in the win was open up the second half in style with a 10-play, 83-yard touchdown drive.

PHOTO COURTESy OF BENJAMIN R. MASSEy

UL quarterback Lunch Winfield was efficient again in the passing game, but the offense overall missed many opportunities in Saturday’s 34-7 win over Charlotte.

Work in progress

Cajuns defense shines UL 34, Charlotte 7 again, but there are plenty of areas for UL to clean up CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As the UL Ragin’ Cajuns exit their nonconference schedule with a 3-1 record, questions remain. Yards for the offense haven’t come easily over the last two games, and the special teams are far from consistent just yet. It’s hard not to be impressed with the defense after Saturday’s 34-7 win over Charlotte. The 137 total yards allowed and 47 yards given up in the ﬁrst half Kevin haven’t been done Foote since limiting Nicholls State to 57 total yards on Sept. 1, 2001. Charlotte had 11 true possessions in the game that resulted in six punts, three fumbles, an interception and a turnover on downs. “Our defense was phenomenal,” UL coach Michael Desormeaux said. “They never wavered.” The 49ers didn’t cross midﬁeld until midway through the fourth quarter. “I feel like we were all on the same page,” defensive tackle Fitzgerald West said. “We communicated really well, so that eliminates a lot of mental mistakes, mental errors.” West and his teammates have repeatedly claimed the secret sauce is great chemistry on the defense. “The difference this year is how together we are,” West said. “I don’t think people understand

UL 3 7 7 17 — 34 Charlotte 0 7 0 0 — 7 First Quarter ULL—FG Sterner 29, 4:58. Second Quarter ULL—Blanco 3 pass from Winﬁeld (Sterner kick), 5:59. CHAR—Jayl.Johnson 54 fumble return (Kelly kick), :24. Third Quarter ULL—Garner 7 run (Sterner kick), 9:11. Fourth Quarter ULL—FG Sterner 44, 14:55. ULL—Winﬁeld 9 run (Sterner kick), 9:21. ULL—Reagan 4 run (Sterner kick), :33.

A—14,311.

UL CHAR First downs 21 6 Total Net Yards 292 137 Rushes-yards 49-133 15-26 Passing 159 111 Punt Returns 2-37 1-1 Kickoff Returns 1-17 4-78 Interceptions Ret. 1-0 0-0 Comp-Att-Int 20-29-0 17-30-1 Sacked-Yards Lost 3-18 1-9 Punts 5-40.0 6-45.5 Fumbles-Lost 3-1 3-3 Penalties-Yards 6-50 9-83 Time of Possession 40:53 19:07 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING—Louisiana-Lafayette, D.Smith 1043, Winﬁeld 13-28, Reagan 9-27, Garner 6-13, Strother 1-7, Beale 1-5, Chaney 1-4, Norris 1-4, Blanco 6-4, West 1-(minus 2). Charlotte, Rutledge 3-14, J.White 1-8, Alexander 5-8, Cobb 1-7, Perteet 2-(minus 2), Harrell 1-(minus 4), Gonzales 2-(minus 5). PASSING—Louisiana-Lafayette, Winﬁeld 19-26-0-149, Beale 1-2-0-10, Norris 0-1-0-0. Charlotte, Gonzales 9-16-1-68, Harrell 8-13-043, J.White 0-1-0-0. RECEIVING—Louisiana-Lafayette, Strother 4-32, Chaney 3-44, Brooks 3-37, Chappell 2-10, Wade 2-10, D.Smith 2-9, Reagan 1-10, Blanco 1-3, Jensen 1-3, Babineaux 1-1. Charlotte, Barnes 5-45, Hampton 4-19, Eley 3-9, Rutledge 1-16, Collick 1-7, Alexander 1-5, Dawyot 1-5, Mauldin 1-5. MISSED FIELD GOALS—None.

how important that is with a team. I’ve been on teams that were divided — offense, defense or this group and that group. There’s never been any of that on this team in any way.” West led the defensive line with four tackles to help clog up the middle. “I started out slow this season, but I’m starting to get back in my groove,” he said. “I’ve been dealing with some personal issues, but other than that, I try to stay focused, protect my teammates and work on our craft together.” Through the ﬁrst four games, the

defense has allowed only one touchdown to any team not named USC. “We were very gap sound,” Desormeaux said. “We were physical. We knocked it back. And we allowed our defensive backs to not have to be in the fit the whole time, and then now you make some of those throws on the outside a little more difficult, too. And we tackled well on the perimeter.” If not for two fumble returns for touchdowns, the Cajuns would have two shutouts in their first four games. History says there’s going to be games down the road where the offense will bail out the defense. For now, the defense doesn’t mind carrying the burden. “We’ve got to have each others’ back,” cornerback Brent Gordon said. “Even when one side of the ball may not be at its best, the other side has to have their back. That’s just where we’re at.” It wasn’t necessarily a bad night for the offense. There were two bright spots. The Cajuns won the time of possession battle in a big way, 40:53 To 19:07, and the offense played a role in that. Even when it wasn’t finishing drives with points, it ate clock and kept the defense fresh. The offense also set the tone at the start of the second half with a 10-play, 83-yard touchdown drive in 5:41 to retake control of the game. “That drive was a big one for our team, for our offense,” Desormeaux said. “A three-point game was very uncomfortable. At halftime, we kind of got into some different stuff that we felt like had a better chance to work, and our guys executed it really well.” But it shouldn’t have been a scary game at halftime. UL had 10 first downs to three for Charlotte, had run 40 offensive plays

to 20, and led in total yards 136-47. The offense was fortunate to get the touchdown it scored on a 3-yard pass from Lunch Winfield to Steven Blanco with 5:59 left because a roughing the passer call extended the drive that was destined for a field goal attempt. Desormeaux warned all week about how good the Charlotte defensive front seven was, and he maintained that stance after the 27-point win. “I felt like it wasn’t gonna be really easy to run the ball tonight based off of what they do and how much they pressure,” Desormeaux said. “I think they’re really good at them. Some teams pressure a lot and they’re not very good at it. Their run fits are loose and they’re not in the right gaps and they’re not fitting it tight and you can crease those teams. “These guys, they were airtight in the run fits. We’ve got to do a better job as a staff. They had a couple patterns that they got to that we hadn’t worked on as much as you’d like.” The pass protection also was concerning for a second straight week. “The protection stuff, we’ve got to get better,” Desormeaux said. “It’s just so technical that the things we’re doing are just frustrating because it’s things that we’re harping on day after day, week after week. “We’ve got guys that I know can do it. We’re just getting outside of ourselves a little bit.” The good news is the coaching staff can continue working on that process with a 3-1 record. “This defense right now is writing a great story,” Desormeaux said. “This team is writing a story for itself, about a team that’s together, a team that’s connected, a team that believes.”

Gordon becoming playmaker on defense BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

CHARLOTTE,N.C. —The secret was out last season, but it was really on display during UL’s 34-7 win over Charlotte on Saturday. Brent Gordon is making plays all over the field. “Brent Gordon’s a special player,” UL coach Michael Desormeaux said. “We’ve some great Notebook had corners here. He was the best freshman corner we’ve had, and he’s taking huge steps this year as a sophomore.” The Cecilia High product led the team with seven tackles in addition to 1.5 stops behind the line. He also forced two fumbles, recovered one of them, had an interception and broke up two other passes. He also returned a punt 37 yards to set up a touchdown. “The guy knows the game,” Desormeaux said. “He sees the game. He plays fast, he plays without fear. He’s not worried about making mistakes. He is full throttle.” Redshirt senior defensive tackle Fitzgerald West appreciates Gordon’s strides as a leader. “I like to look at people and really I like to see how they act,” West said. “The change from freshman year to sophomore year, like his maturity is so much. It was still good. Don’t get me wrong, but like his maturity now, he’s becoming an early leader and that’s great for him.” Charlotte took some momentum into halftime after a 54yard fumble return for a touchdown to cut UL’s lead to 10-7. UL answered with 83 yards on 10 plays to up its lead to 17-7 on the first drive of the second half. Then Gordon personally squashed any remaining hopes for the 49ers. He ended their first possession by causing and recovering a fumble. Then he came up with an interception to end the next one. “I definitely feel like I’m a lot better at that this year,” Gordon said about stripping the ball. “It’s just being comfortable, getting out there and trying to get turnovers for the team.” He’s still not satisfied. “I had a lot of value in tonight’s performance, but I definitely do feel like there’s a lot that I left out there,” Gordon said. “There’s still a lot I can work on.”

Cheap touchdowns It was a joyous road trip for the Cajuns, who improved to 3-1. But there’s one subject that brought a temporary end to Desormeaux’s huge smile after the game. For the fourth time this season, a UL opponent scored a touchdown without its offense on the field. Lamar, UAB and Charlotte all picked up fumbles and returned them for touchdowns, while USC returned a punt for a score. “It can’t continue,” Desormeaux said. “I mean, it’s embarrassing. Thankfully, our defense is playing at an extremely high level. It’s something that’s got to get corrected immediately.” The first two fumbles occurred when running backs were tackled. The one Saturday was a botched exchange between quarterback Lunch Winfield and running back Steven Blanco. “It was a read play,” Desormeaux said. “We were reading the end. He went to pull it, and our rule is when you go to pull it, you got to pull it, and you got to secure it. We went to pull the ball and ... the back squeezed it a little bit. It is what it is. We’ve got to protect the ball at quarterback and get it in.”

Halftime speech Despite just a 10-7 halftime lead, the UL coaches kept a calm demeanor in the locker room. “The players were not very happy,” Desormeaux said. “The offensive players were not very happy. I think as a coach, whenever that’s going on, we’ve got to calm it down and get it where we want it.”

4C ● Monday, September 28, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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SCOREBOARD Odds Sports Betting Line NFL FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG Philadelphia 1½ 3½ (41½) at CHICAGO

College Football

FAVORITE at NMSU at TULSA

Friday

FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG Liberty 6½ 7 (49½) at DEL at VA TECH 5½ 4½ (52½) Pittsburgh Penn State 7 3 (47½) at NWSTRN

Saturday

FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG Notre Dame 23½ 21½ (48½) at UNC Syracuse 7½ 5½ (52½) at UCONN at AIR FORCE 1½ 2½ (47½) Navy at SMU 20½ 20½ (56½) B. College Alabama 3 6 (59½) at MISS ST at HOUSTON 11½ 11½ (51½) UCF at IOWA ST 1½ 1½ (52½) W. Virginia at KANSAS 21½ 19½ (51½) M. Ten at W. FOREST11½ 12½ (54½) Stanford Michigan 8½ 6½ (44½) at MIN at WISC 9½ 10 (44½) Michigan St at GEORGIA 23½ 24½ (53½) Vanderbilt W. Michigan 16½ 15½ (48½) at BUFFALO Toledo 13½ 18½ (51½) at BALL ST Virginia 1½ 2½ (51½) at FSU at NDSU 21 20½ (45½) Wyoming Ohio State 14 13½ (45½) at IOWA Old Dominion 1½ 1½ (51½) at GA ST Louisville 7½ 5½ (60½) at NC STATE Ohio 3½ 5½ (50½) at KENT ST at TEN 7½ 7½ (54½) Auburn at UMASS 2½ 5½ (48½) E. Michigan at UNLV 1½ 2½ (53½) Cal Memphis 22½ 21½ (54½) at CHAR at MIA (OH) 15½ 14½ (47½) B. Green Florida 2½ 4 (56½) at MISSOU at C. MICH 5½ 5½ (47½) Akron at J. MAD 14½ 16½ (54½) Marshall at NEBRAS 11½ 13½ (52½) Maryland at NEW MEX 21½ 22½ (49½) UTEP at ILLINOIS 9½ 10½ (59½) Purdue at S. CAR 7 3½ (53½) Kentucky Oregon State 5½ 4 (59½) at CSU Gea Southern 1½ 1½ (53½) at C. CAR at TEX A&M 15½ 14½ (51½) Arkansas at S. BAMA 15½ 14½ (55½) UL Monroe BYU 5½ 6½ (50½) at TCU UTSA 10½ 10½ (54½) at RICE Texas Tech 15½ 14½ (49½) at COL Miami (FL) 7 17½ (49½) at CLEMSN at USC 10 9½ (55½) Wash Army 3½ 3½ (46½) at LA TECH at BOISE ST 20½ 20½ (49½) Utah State at S. FLORIDA 6½ 6 (51½) Temple Indiana 23½ 23½ (55½) at RUTGERS at UL 5½ 6½ (49½) Arkansas St Fresno State 1½ 1½ (45½) at WASH ST at ASU 4½ 3½ (50½) Baylor Texas State 3½ 3½ (59½) at SDSU at ARIZONA 8½ 7½ (54½) Cincinnati

Pro basketball WNBA Playoff Glance (x-if necessary) First Round (Best-of-3)

New York 1, Minnesota 0

Sunday, September 27: New York 91, Minnesota 75 Tuesday, September 29: Minnesota at New York, 7:30 p.m. x-Thursday, October 1: New York at Minnesota, TBA

No. 2 Golden State vs. No. 7 Dallas

Sunday, September 27: Dallas at Golden State, 8 p.m. Wednesday, September 30: Golden State at Dallas, 8 p.m. x-Friday, October 2: Dallas at Golden State, TBA

No. 3 Las Vegas vs. No. 6 Indiana

Sunday, September 27: Indiana at Las Vegas, 3 p.m. Tuesday, September 29: Las Vegas at Indiana, 5:30 p.m. x-Thursday, October 1: Indiana at Las Vegas, TBA

No. 4 Atlanta vs. No. 5 Washington

Sunday, September 27: Washington at Atlanta, 6 p.m. Wednesday, September 30: Atlanta at Washington, 6 p.m. x-Friday, October 2: Washington at Atlanta, TBA

Pro football NFL Glance AMERICAN CONFERENCE Buffalo

SAINTS

W L T Pct PF 3 0 0 1.000 101

Continued from page 1C

.333 .333 .000

64 36 36

61 51 86

Jacksonville Indianapolis Tennessee Houston

W 2 1 0 0

T 0 0 0 0

Pct .667 .333 .000 .000

PF 82 72 37 54

PA 36 91 59 75

T 0 0 0 0

Pct .667 .667 .667 .500

PF 53 54 80 58

PA 60 71 63 47

T Pct PF 0 1.000 88 0 1.000 53 0 .500 30 0 .000 44

PA 50 27 44 76

North

OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG 1½ 1½ (52½) W. Kent 3½ 2½ (57½) North Texas

East

1 2 0 1 2 0 0 3 0

South

Monday

Thursday

N.Y. Jets New England Miami

PA 78

Pittsburgh Cleveland Cincinnati Baltimore

West

L 1 2 3 3

W 2 2 2 1

L 1 1 1 1

W 3 2 1 0

Kansas City Las Vegas Denver L.A. Chargers

L 0 0 1 3

NATIONAL CONFERENCE East

W 2 2 1 1

L 0 1 1 2

T Pct PF 0 1.000 48 0 .667 46 0 .500 57 0 .333 75

PA 42 55 48 92

New Orleans Carolina Atlanta Tampa Bay

W 1 1 1 0

L 1 2 2 2

T 0 0 0 0

PF 54 89 51 46

PA 48 83 68 56

T Pct PF 0 1.000 48 0 .667 93 0 .500 62 0 .333 56

PA 25 95 46 91

W L T Pct PF 2 0 0 1.000 62 2 1 0 .667 75 1 1 0 .500 35 1 1 0 .500 33

PA 20 50 33 45

North

Minnesota Detroit Chicago Green Bay West San Francisco Seattle L.A. Rams Arizona

W 2 2 1 1

L 0 1 1 2

Pct .500 .333 .333 .000

Thursday’s Games

Atlanta 35, Green Bay 14

Sunday’s Games

Buffalo 24, L.A. Chargers 16 Cleveland 21, Carolina 18 Detroit 31, N.Y. Jets 24 Indianapolis 19, Houston 17 Jacksonville 35, New England 6 Kansas City 24, Miami 10 N.Y. Giants 12, Tennessee 7 Pittsburgh 30, Cincinnati 27 Washington 33, Seattle 31 San Francisco 36, Arizona 30 Minnesota 23, Tampa Bay 16 Baltimore 34, Dallas 31 Las Vegas 35, New Orleans 27 L.A. Rams at Denver, n Philadelphia at Chicago, 7:15 p.m.

College football Saturday’s games EAST

Buffalo 31, Robert Morris 28 Colgate 28, Villanova 21 Columbia 20, Georgetown 17, OT Cornell 38, Yale 25 Delaware St. 33, Towson 28 Duquesne 53, Rio Grande Redstorm 0 Holy Cross 38, Lafayette 30 Lehigh 20, Penn 7 Marist 42, Presbyterian 7 Marshall 36, Gardner-Webb 35 Merrimack 17, New Haven 10 Monmouth (NJ) 31, Dartmouth 28 Oklahoma St. 41, West Virginia 24 Pittsburgh 59, Bucknell 0 Princeton 22, Albany (NY) 0 Sacred Heart 20, New Hampshire 13 Stony Brook 31, Fordham 16 UCLA 54, Maryland 3 Virginia Tech 21, Boston College 14 Wisconsin 24, Penn St. 20

SOUTH

Alabama 49, South Carolina 18 Alabama A&M 40, Florida A&M 21 Alabama St. 41, MVSU 15 Alcorn St. 43, Texas Southern 40, OT Auburn 21, Vanderbilt 15 Austin Peay 35, UT Martin 12 Campbell 44, Hampton 20 Chattanooga 27, The Citadel 8 Drake 51, Davidson 32 Duke 62, William & Mary 7 ETSU 58, W. Carolina 31 East Carolina 42, NC Central 9 Elon 43, Maine 17 FAU 45, Louisiana-Monroe 17 FIU 20, LIU Brooklyn 3 Florida 52, Mississippi 28 Florida St. 34, Cent. Arkansas 7 Georgia 41, Oklahoma 13 Georgia St. 35, N. Illinois 14 Houston 42, Georgia Southern 28 Jackson St. 35, Southern U. 17 Jacksonville St. 23, Middle Tennessee 13 James Madison 46, Old Dominion 20 Kentucky 45, South Alabama 21

vibe. The Saints would lead by the end of the first quarter for the first time under Kellen Moore. The Saint had not led after the first quarter in the previous 23 games. The good vibes were tested by Kirk Cousins and Brock Bowers. The Raiders quarterbackand-tight-end tandem gave the Saints problems they hadn’t faced this season. Bowers, making his season debut after missing the first two weeks with a knee injury, lined up in numerous spots — including out wide where he was matched up with Saints cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry. The Saints defense didn’t help itself as penalties plagued the unit. On Las Vegas’ touchdown drive, the Saints seemed to force two third-down stops — only for Jonas Sanker (pass interference) and Danny Stutsman (unnecessary roughness) to get flagged. Though the crowd and Moore took significant issue with the call on Stutsman’s penalty, the new life set up Cousins to find tight end Michael Mayer for a 3-yard touchdown to take a 13-6 lead. The issues again surfaced just before halftime. After the Saints tied it at 13-13 on a 3-yard touchdown to Noah Fant, the Raiders worked the two-minute drill and got help from New Orleans when safety Justin Reid hit a defenseless receiver in the end zone on third down. The Email Matthew Paras at error helped set up a 25-yard matt.paras@theadvocate. field goal by Raiders kicker com

The AP Top 25 Poll

Boise St. 32, W. Michigan 7 Butler 33, Valparaiso 28 Cincinnati 31, Kansas St. 26 E. Michigan 29, Lindenwood (Mo.) 3 Iowa 20, Michigan 19 Kent St. 26, Ball St. 13 Miami (Ohio) 24, UConn 21 N. Iowa 28, Illinois St. 21 Nebraska 31, Michigan St. 13 North Dakota 42, Indiana St. 35 Notre Dame 49, Purdue 10 Ohio 35, Stonehill 7 Ohio St. 42, Illinois 19 S. Dakota St. 42, E. Illinois 7 South Florida 14, Bowling Green 6 St. Thomas (Minn.) 50, San Diego 17 Toledo 41, San Diego St. 16 UNLV 38, Akron 10 Utah 31, Iowa St. 17 West Florida 20, SE Missouri 17 Youngstown St. 47, South Dakota 28 SOUTHWEST Arkansas 34, Tulsa 6 Arkansas St. 17, Kennesaw St. 14 Baylor 23, Colorado 13 Mercer 34, Abilene Christian 17 North Texas 63, Houston Christian 14 Oregon St. 33, UTEP 7 Prairie View 21, Grambling St. 14 SMU 34, Missouri St. 24 Stephen F. Austin 63, Northeastern St. 14 Texas State 63, Incarnate Word 10 Texas Tech 49, Sam Houston St. 14 UTSA 59, Colorado St. 45

FAR WEST

Monday’s Games

Matt Gay, giving them a 1613 lead at the break. But the Saints never let the crowd get out of it. As much trouble as Bowers gave New Orleans, the Saints feasted with their own tight ends. Shough found Johnson on a 1-yard touchdown to cap an efficient 12-play, 87-yard drive. Then — after the Saints’ special teams came up with a huge forced fumble on the ensuing kickoff — Shough hit Fant for his second touchdown on a 16-yard gain to take a 27-16 lead. The Raiders kept pushing New Orleans. Las Vegas rookie running back Mike Washington ripped off a 35yard touchdown, and New Orleans punted on its next possession, but the Saints defense responded with a three-and-out. Then came the controversy. On third-and-4 with 13:04 left, Raiders defensive end Malcolm Koonce got to Shough’s arm as the quarterback dropped back to pass. Though it appeared as if Shough’s arm was going forward, the Raiders jumped on the fumble and the ofﬁcials determined the initial call would stand. Had the play been an incompletion, the Saints could have punted the ball away with a ﬁve-point lead. But the Saints can’t afford to dwell on that what-ifs. This was a spot they could have made a statement but instead Las Vegas — led by Kubiak — is now off to a 3-0 start.

3-22, Wilson 3-20. MISSED FIELD GOALS—LSU, Starzyk 24.

MIDWEST

Philadelphia N.Y. Giants Dallas Washington

South

LSU 35, Texas A&M 6 Lamar 49, Nicholls 18 Louisiana-Lafayette 34, Charlotte 7 McNeese St. 27, East Texas A&M 24 Miami 52, Cent. Michigan 3 Mississippi St. 31, Missouri 24 NC A&T 22, Rhode Island 18 NC State 41, Appalachian St. 31 North Alabama 23, W. Illinois 20 Richmond 13, Furman 9 S. Illinois 46, Murray St. 6 SC State 31, Bethune-Cookman 21 SE Louisiana 52, Northwestern St. 21 Samford 45, VMI 7 Tennessee Tech 42, Wofford 38 Texas 20, Tennessee 17 Tulane 24, Southern Miss. 21 UCF 21, TCU 13 Virginia 42, Delaware 3 W. Kentucky 52, Mercyhurst 7 Wake Forest 30, Louisville 27 West Georgia 49, Fort Valley St. 7

Air Force 36, Nevada 33, OT Arizona 34, Washington St. 24 Cal Poly 31, E. Washington 27 Fresno St. 38, Rice 24 Idaho St. 28, S. Utah 24 Minnesota 27, Washington 24 Montana 62, UC Davis 22 Montana St. 28, N. Arizona 14 N. Colorado 37, Utah Tech 13 New Mexico 42, New Mexico St. 18 Norfolk St. 43, Chicago State 20 Oregon 41, Southern Cal 27 Portland St. 44, Weber St. 41 Stanford 34, Georgia Tech 27 UMass 35, Sacramento St. 6 Utah St. 21, Troy 10 Wyoming 27, Hawaii 10

Record Pts Prv 1. Texas (62) 4-0 1737 1 2. Georgia (6) 4-0 1646 2 3. Notre Dame 4-0 1581 3 4. Miami (FL) (1) 4-0 1501 6 5. Ohio State 3-1 1465 7 6. Indiana (1) 4-0 1408 5 7. Alabama 4-0 1305 8 8. Florida 4-0 1272 21 9. Ole Miss 3-1 1089 4 10. BYU 3-0 1078 9 11. LSU 3-1 1073 10 12. Texas Tech 4-0 1053 11 13. Utah 4-0 903 15 14. Iowa 4-0 856 17 15. Oregon 3-1 725 20 16. Mississippi State 4-0 715 24 17. Tennessee 3-1 663 14 18. USC 4-1 410 12 19. Oklahoma State 3-1 345 NR 20. Houston 3-1 278 25 21. SMU 3-1 246 22 22. Boise State 3-1 221 NR 23. UCLA 4-0 218 NR 24. Kentucky 3-1 150 NR 25. Missouri 3-1 118 19 Others receiving votes: Others receiving votes: Wisconsin 102, Duke 101, Penn State 98, Wake Forest 88, Virginia Tech 86, Michigan 54, Pittsburgh 52, Nebraska 36, Louisville 25, Cincinnati 20, James Madison 10, Arizona 8, Minnesota 7, North Dakota State 6, Northwestern 1

x-Tampa Bay y-New York y-Boston Baltimore Toronto

W 98 93 87 79 79

L 64 68 74 82 83

Pct .605 .578 .540 .491 .488

GB — 4½ 10½ 18½ 19

x-Cleveland y-Chicago Minnesota Detroit Kansas City

W 85 84 77 76 69

L 77 78 85 86 93

Pct .525 .519 .475 .469 .426

GB — 1 8 9 16

W Houston 80 Texas 80 Seattle 75 Athletics 64 Los Angeles 62 x-clinched division y-clinched wild card

L 81 82 86 97 99

Pct .497 .494 .466 .398 .385

GB — ½ 5 16 18

Central Division

West Division

Saturday’s Games

Detroit 4, Pittsburgh 3 Cincinnati 5, Toronto 1 Texas 6, Minnesota 2 Cleveland 11, Kansas City 5 Colorado 9, Chicago White Sox 6 Tampa Bay 12, Philadelphia 1 Houston 13, Athletics 2 Seattle 8, L.A. Angels 4

Sunday’s Games

Late Saturday No. 10 LSU 35, No. 23 Texas A&M 6 Texas A&M 0 3 3 0 — 6 LSU 7 7 21 0 — 35 First Quarter LSU—D.Jones 1 run (Starzyk kick), 9:37. Second Quarter TXAM—FG Olano 24, 8:46. LSU—Harris 16 pass from Leavitt (Starzyk kick), 1:54. Third Quarter LSU—Harris 57 pass from Leavitt (Starzyk kick), 10:57. LSU—Clark 4 run (Starzyk kick), 6:16. TXAM—FG Olano 54, 3:22. LSU—Clark 2 run (Starzyk kick), :31. TXAM LSU First downs 11 20 Total Net Yards 197 506 Rushes-yards 33-91 38-194 Passing 106 312 Punt Returns 2-5 1-(-1) Kickoff Returns 1-0 0-0 Interceptions Ret. 1-0 2-10 Comp-Att-Int 10-27-2 17-28-1 Sacked-Yards Lost 4-41 0-0 Punts 7-51.857 5-39.6 Fumbles-Lost 1-0 0-0 Penalties-Yards 7-44 5-35 Time of Possession 29:41 30:13 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING—Texas A&M, Owens 11-62, Edwards 4-21, Baker 7-15, Craver 1-6, Reed 10-(minus 13). LSU, D.Jones 14-63, Berry 7-58, Clark 9-41, Leavitt 5-22, Jayc.Brown 1-4, Wilson 1-3, Watkins 1-3. PASSING—Texas A&M, Reed 10-26-1-106, Hart 0-1-1-0. LSU, Leavitt 17-23-1-312, Clark 0-5-0-0. RECEIVING—Texas A&M, Horton 3-43, Craver 3-31, H.Thomas 2-10, Gregory 1-13, Owens 1-9. LSU, Harris 6-163, Watkins 5-107, D.Jones

Boston 4, Chicago Cubs 3, 1st game Kansas City 3, Cleveland 2 Philadelphia 7, Tampa Bay 3 Chicago White Sox 4, Colorado 2 Minnesota 6, Texas 4 Pittsburgh 4, Detroit 2 Toronto 5, Cincinnati 1 Baltimore at N.Y. Yankees, canc. Chicago Cubs 6, Boston 2, 2nd game Seattle 7, L.A. Angels 3 Houston 9, Athletics 0

No games scheduled

Wild Card Glance American League

W y-New York 93 y-Boston 87 y-Chicago 84 y-clinched wild card

National League

W y-San Diego 91 y-Chicago 89 y-Philadelphia 88 y-clinched wild card

L 68 75 78 L 71 73 74

Pct .578 .537 .519

WCGB +9½ +3 —

Pct .562 .549 .543

WCGB +3 +1 —

Transactions American League BOSTON RED SOX — Reinstated RHP Tanner Houck from the 60-day IL. Recalled LF Nate Eaton and RHP Wyatt Olds from Worcester (IL). Optioned RHP Jedixson Paez to Worcester. Placed DH Mickey Gasper on the 10-day IL, retroactive to Sept. 26, and RHP Tyron Guerrero on the 15-day IL, retroactive to Sept. 24. Transferred CF Eli White from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL. CLEVELAND GUARDIANS — Recalled RHP Austin Peterson from Columbus (IL). Optioned RHP Craig Yoho to Columbus. DETROIT TIGERS — Reinstated RHP Jack Flaherty from the 15-day IL. Optioned LHP Brant Hurter to FCL Tigers. HOUSTON ASTROS — Recalled 2B Raynel Delgado from Sugar Land (PCL). Optioned RHP Ronel Blanco to Sugar Land. KANSAS CITY ROYALS — Reinstated RHP James McArthur from the 60-day IL. Placed RHP Tony Gonsolin on the 15-day IL. TAMPA BAY RAYS — Recalled RHP Jesse Scholtens from Durham (IL). Optioned RHP Ty Johnson to Durham. TEXAS RANGERS — Recalled CF Cam Cauley from Round Rock (PCL). Optioned DH Logan O’Hoppe to ACL Rangers. National League CHICAGO CUBS — Recalled LHP Braxton Garrett from Iowa (IL). Optioned RHP Gavin Hollowell to ACL Cubs. LOS ANGELES DODGERS — Recalled RHP Bobby Miller from Oklahoma City (PCL). Placed RHP Blake Treinen on the 15-day IL. NEW YORK METS — Recalled LHP Jefry Yan from FCL Mets. Placed RHP Jonathan Pintaro on the 15-day IL. PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES — Reinstated LHP Jesús Luzardo from the 15-day IL. Designated RHP José Urquidy for assignment. PITTSBURGH PIRATES — Recalled RHP Noah Murdock from Indianapolis (IL). Optioned LHP Evan Sisk to FCL Pirates.

HOCKEY

National League x-Atlanta y-Philadelphia Miami Washington New York

W 94 88 80 77 74

L 68 74 82 85 88

Pct .580 .543 .494 .475 .457

GB — 6 14 17 20

x-Milwaukee y-Chicago Pittsburgh St. Louis Cincinnati

W 103 89 82 77 75

L 59 73 80 85 87

Pct .636 .549 .506 .475 .463

GB — 14 21 26 28

W x-Los Angeles 100 y-San Diego 90 Arizona 86 San Francisco 65 Colorado 58 x-clinched division y-clinched wild card

L 62 71 75 97 104

Pct .617 .559 .534 .401 .358

GB — 9½ 13½ 35 42

West Division

Monday’s Games

National Basketball Association CHICAGO BULLS — Acquired G Buddy Hield from Charlotte in exchange for G Rob Dillingham.

No games scheduled

Central Division

Boston 4, Chicago Cubs 3, 1st game Washington 6, N.Y. Mets 4 Philadelphia 7, Tampa Bay 3 Chicago White Sox 4, Colorado 2 Miami 5, Atlanta 3 Milwaukee 6, St. Louis 4 Pittsburgh 4, Detroit 2 Toronto 5, Cincinnati 1 Chicago Cubs 6, Boston 2, 2nd game L.A. Dodgers 5, San Francisco 1, 10 innings San Diego 9, Arizona 4

BASKETBALL

Monday’s Games

East Division

Sunday’s Games

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball American League East Division

L.A. Dodgers 4, San Francisco 3 Milwaukee 3, St. Louis 2 Colorado 9, Chicago White Sox 6 Tampa Bay 12, Philadelphia 1 San Diego 10, Arizona 7

Saturday’s Games

N.Y. Mets 7, Washington 1 Detroit 4, Pittsburgh 3 Cincinnati 5, Toronto 1 Atlanta 8, Miami 3

National Hockey League BOSTON BRUINS — Placed D Henri Jokiharju on waivers. Placed C Matthew Poitras on injured reserve. CAROLINA HURRICANES — Placed C Seth Jarvis on the injured non-roster list. Placed D Juuso Valimaki on waivers. COLORADO AVALANCHE — Placed D Keaton Middleton, D Wyatt Aamodt, LW Fabian Lysell, C Vinnie Hinostroza, LW Adam Beckman and G Mads Sogaard Nielsen on waivers. COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS — Assigned G Pheonix Copley to Cleveland (AHL). EDMONTON OILERS — Placed G Matt Tomkins on waivers for the purpose of assignment to Bakersﬁeld (AHL). NEW JERSEY DEVILS — Claimed LW Jeremie Poirier off waivers. NEW YORK RANGERS — Placed G Dylan Garand and D Taylor Raddysh on waivers. PITTSBURGH PENGUINS — Placed C Ben Kindel, C Blake Lizotte, RW Justin Brazeau and D Ryan Graves on injured reserve. UTAH MAMMOTH — Placed LW Ben McCartney on waivers. WASHINGTON CAPITALS — Placed G Clay Stevenson, D Louie Belpedio, C Mike Brodzinski and RW Spencer Smallman on waivers. Released G Cal Petersen from his professional tryout agreement.

SAINTS NOTEBOOK

Saints lose three key players vs. Raiders BY LUKE JOHNSON AND ROD WALKER Staff writers

The New Orleans Saints lost three starters to injuries against the Raiders on Sunday, as running back Travis Etienne (hamstring), linebacker Pete Werner (stinger) and defensive end Carl Granderson (ankle) all exited the game early and did not return in the Saints’ 35-27 loss. Etienne’s injury occurred at the end of his best run of the day, a 16-yard scamper down the right sideline in the third quarter. As Etienne was finishing the run, he reached down and grabbed at his hamstring. He had been battling a hamstring injury throughout the week. It was a disappointing finish to what had been Etienne’s best game in a Saints uniform. He had 70 total yards on 15 touches as the Saints featured him more often than they had the first two weeks, with 57 of those yards coming on the ground. Werner suffered an injury when he collided with teammate Jonas Sanker while making a tackle on an 8-yard pass to Tre Tucker down the middle of the field. Werner stayed in the game after that play and finished the drive, but he was clearly in discomfort and flexing his shoulder. Second-year linebacker Danny Stutsman filled in for Werner after the injury. He was involved in one of the more consequential plays of the

ﬁrst half when he was penalized for roughing the passer after drilling Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins to force an errant pass on third-and-4 near the goal line. Referees determined Stutsman drove Cousins into the turf, giving the Raiders a new set of downs. Cousins found tight end — for a 3-yard touchdown on the next play. It isn’t clear when Granderson suffered his injury. The defensive end ﬁnished with four tackles.

Streak snapped New Orleans looked like it was headed for another one of its typical slow starts when it went three-and-out on its opening drive. But, after holding the Raiders to a field goal, the Saints took the ball back and went on a 13-play, 79-yard touchdown drive. They converted all four of their third downs on that drive, including a third-and-goal from the 2-yard line, where quarterback Tyler Shough found tight end Juwan Johnson for a touchdown. New Orleans missed the extra point but took a 6-3 lead. That lead held when the first quarter came to a close, and with it, a particularly ignominious stretch came to a close. It marked the first time in 23 games that the Saints held a lead after the opening quarter. Sunday was Kellen Moore‘s 20th game as head coach and therefore the first time his team held a lead after one

quarter. Prior to Sunday’s game, Moore’s Saints teams had been outscored 136-29 in the ﬁrst quarter.

Shough scramble The Saints’ longest run of the day came from their quarterback. Midway through the ﬁrst quarter, Shough dropped back to pass and watched the Raiders vacate a huge swath of grass to his right. Shough took off into the void and gained 36 yards, setting up the Saints’ ﬁrst touchdown of the game. It wasn’t only the Saints’ longest rush, but it was a new career long for Shough. It eclipsed the 34-yard touchdown run he had as a rookie last season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Shough now has the seventh and eighth longest runs by a quarterback in Saints history. The top six longest runs all belong to Taysom Hill.

Odds and ends Chris Olave led the first pregame Who Dat chant for the home opener. … Former Saints tight end Ben Watson was honored as the team’s “Legend of the Game.” … With rookie return specialist Barion Brown out for the game with a hamstring injury, Jayden Price and Kendre Miller handled kick return duties for the Saints. … Starting safety Justin Reid handled the kicking duties for the opening kick of the second half.

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 28, 2026

5Cn

Texas on your mind How Ella Langley’s ‘Choosin’ Texas’ became the longest-running No. 1 hit of all time

BY MARIA SHERMAN AP music writer

STAFF PHOTO By ROBIN MILLER

Gene Callahan’s elaborate dining room set design for the 1968 musical, ‘Funny Girl.’ Though Barbra Streisand won the Best Actress Oscar for the lead role, Callahan wasn’t nominated. The Baton Rouge native did, however, win two Oscars for ‘The Hustler’ in 1961 and ‘America America’ in 1963. He donated his collection of ‘Funny Girl’ designs to the Louisiana Art & Science Museum in 1969.

Funny you’d mention it

Gene Callahan won two Oscars and worked on 100 ﬁlms, but a La. city was always his home BY ROBIN MILLER

‘It really can work everywhere’

Staff writer

painting caught Phyllis Hall’s attention as she was exiting Baton Rouge’s Manship Theatre, though she mistook it for a print. The art piece hung on a wall in the Shaw Center for the Arts, home to the theater where the Catahoula resident had attended a local music performance. “The print was credited to Gene Callahan, and the label next to it said it was his concept for a scene in the movie, ‘Funny Girl,’” Hall said. “It said Callahan was from Baton Rouge, which made me interested in learning more about him.” Hall is correct. Callahan’s native home is Baton Rouge, where he was born Eugene Fenton Callahan on Nov. 7, 1923, graduated from Catholic High School and attended LSU between 1941 and 1948. Though he didn’t graduate from the university, he began learning set design there by working with the university’s opera department, and in 1982, LSU awarded Callahan an honorary doctorate degree in ﬁne arts.

A piece of ‘Funny Girl’ in BR In 1969, he donated his set designs for “Funny Girl” to the Louisiana Art & Science Museum after attending a gala, museum

PROVIdEd PHOTO FROM THE LOUISIANA ART & SCIENCE MUSEUM

Gene Callahan, center, stands between Baton Rouge philanthropists Sue Turner, left, and her husband, Bert Turner, at the Louisiana Art & Science Museum’s 1969 ‘Heyday of Hollywood’ event in the late 1960s. curator Tracey Barhorst said. The three scenes that hung in the Shaw Center are paintings among the museum’s collection of Callahan’s 18 original set blueprints and 28 production paintings for “Funny Girl.” “They are actually mixed media paintings,” Barhorst said. “They’re mostly watercolor with some gouache, according to the description that he gave when he donated them to us. It doesn’t really say all the medias he used, but you can kind of see some acrylic, too.” The museum loaned three of the paintings to the Manship Theatre,

which hung them on the wall opposite its entrance in the Shaw Center in commemoration of its Aug. 16 screening of the 58-yearold film. “Funny Girl” is a semi-biographical musical that follows the life of comedienne and theatrical and film star Fanny Brice. The musical premiered on Broadway in 1964 starring Barbra Streisand, who reprised the lead role in the film. Callahan, in a museum record, recalled of working with Streisand: “Well, I enjoyed her

ä See CALLAHAN, page 6C

6-year-old girl sets women’s Rubik’s Cube record and improved to 4.27 seconds at another race in the southern BEIJING — A 6-year-old Chinese city of Guangzhou, state broadgirl has set a new women’s caster CCTV reported Monday. world record by solving Rubik’s She became the only female cubes at an average pace of just speedcuber to achieve an averover four seconds per cube. age below 4.5 seconds, it said. Lian Yunzhi first broke the The association listed Lian on record earlier this month with its website as the record holder an average time of 4.52 seconds for the fastest women’s average at a World Cube Association- time solving the 3x3x3 cube. certified competition in the ä See CUBE, page 6C central Chinese city of Wuhan By The Associated Press

NEW YORK — Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas,” a simmering, midtempo, country-and-thensome heartbreak song released last October, is indisputably 2026’s biggest hit. “Choosin’ Texas” is also the longest-running No. 1 hit in the U.S., having spent 23 weeks at the top spot on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100, it was announced Tuesday. That means the track has surpassed various records set by Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road,” Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Langley Love You” and most impressively, Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You.” Her holiday classic held the previous record, with 22 weeks at No. 1. The song’s laid-back sound, cross-genre appeal and heartache narrative are a few reasons why. But its dominance still comes as a surprise.

In this photo taken from video and released by youTube@ cuberootme, 6-yearold Lian yunzhi reacts after solving a Rubik’s cube at a World Cube Association-certified competition in China. PROVIdEd PHOTO

Luminate, the industry data and analytics company, found that “Choosin’ Texas” brought in 911 million on-demand streams in the U.S. and 1.26 billion globally as of mid-August. Considering that Langley started 2023, around the time she made her Grand Ole Opry debut, with under 1 million monthly listeners on Spotify — and now boasts of over 32 million — her rise has been meteoric. Historically, country listenership has centered on radio play. That has changed somewhat as the genre grows in popularity, solidifying around what Luminate’s Jaime Marconette describes as a “younger, streaming-forward listener.” He says it is a “multiyear narrative accelerated” by hits like “Choosin’ Texas.” Claire Heinichen, a senior editor at Spotify, says the song’s growth has been both explosive and consistent. “Choosin’ Texas” “started big,” she says, moving from the platform’s leading country playlist, ‘Hot Country,’ to its larger, generic offerings because it works across audiences. “It made its way into ‘Today’s Top Hits,’ which is our biggest global flagship playlist, but it’s also showing up in ‘Mood’ and ‘Moments’ playlists because it fits so well in ‘driving’ or ‘chill’ or ‘cookout,’ ” Heinichen says. “It really can work everywhere.” It’s not just country music fans who are connecting with “Choosin’ Texas.” “The song’s success on a playlist like ‘Today’s Top Hits’ is an indication that this is working for audiences who are not seeking out one specific genre,” Heinichen says. “It’s definitely growing in every direction.”

Sounds like staying power Go straight to Langley’s voice for another explanation for the song’s success. It’s “like syrup,” says Nate Sloan, a musicologist, assistant professor at the University of Southern California and co-host of the podcast “Switched On Pop.”

ä See SONG, page 6C

6C ● Monday, September 28, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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CALLAHAN

a reputation for hard work and attention to detail Continued from page 5C “while working on over 1,000 television shows and specials.” In the movie industry, thoroughly. Mostly profesCallahan worked on more sional at that time. Now than 100 films, includshe’s very professional, but PROVIdEd PHOTO By MARy ing “Grease 2” in 1982, she was a woman who knew AGNES HAMMETT/FINd A GRAVE “Places in the Heart” in exactly where she wanted to go, number one, which I 1984, “Children of a Lesser Baton Rouge native Gene love. And knew what was God” in 1986, “Butterfield Callahan is buried in best for her and worked in 1960, “Splendor in the Roselawn Memorial Gardens 8” very hard to achieve the Grass” in 1961, “The Stepconditions that made it best in Baton Rouge. His grave is ford Wives” in 1975, “Julia” marked with his name, birth in 1977 and “Steel Magnofor her. I liked her very, very much. She’s one of the date and date of death. lias” in his home state in most talented people I’ve 1989. His final film, “The ever worked with.” first, we’d have to get them Man in the Moon,” released The film would score a re-framed. They’re all still in 1991, was also filmed in Best Actress win for Streiin the original frames from Louisiana, specifically in when Gene Callahan doKisatchie National Forest in sand at the 1969 Oscars, Natchitoches Parish. and though Callahan’s nated them.” But Callahan didn’t “Funny Girl” set designs According to museum always stay in the backare probably his most glam- records, Callahan grew up orous, he wouldn’t receive a on Wisteria Street in Baton ground. There were times Rouge’s Garden District. nomination. he played cameo roles with“A visit to a friend who in the sets he designed. Two-time Oscar winner was designing theater sets “Gene’s physical build and appearance (a distincThat’s not saying his work in the Catskill Mountains would prove to be the jump- tive beard) often had him never won Oscars. The golden statue came to him cast by his director in a ing off point for Callahan in 1961 for the Paul Newwhen he was hired on as de- cameo role,” the museum’s man pool shark classic, signer,” the museum record record states. “Like Alfred “The Hustler,” and again continues. “When the small Hitchcock, if Gene liked the producer and director, he in 1963 for director Elia company closed, Callahan would agree to perform in Kazan’s epic, “America moved to New York City the film in a small cameo, America.” He also received and spent several years otherwise, he would decline nominations for “The Carworking on back-to-back dinal” in 1963 and “The Last shows but not moving up in the proposal.” Callahan and producer the business.” Tycoon” in 1976. He was hired by CBS tele- Ray Stark, who also was Back in the museum’s colBrice’s son-in-law, were lection room, Barhorst pulls vision as a set decorator, always on the set during the out other framed examples then moved into the posiof Callahan’s designs, intion as art director in televi- “Funny Girl” filming. “Ray made Gene agree to cluding a gauzy “Ziegfield sion production. Follies” stage set and back“As a production designer, perform the tugboat capI am responsible for the stage scenes. But the most tain (in ‘Funny Girl’) while ‘look’ of the show — from lo- the scene was filmed at sea breathtaking is that of an elegant dining room. to keep Gene, available, on cations, or exterior scenes, Callahan planned this and how they are to be shot, set,” the museum record scene to the last detail, continues. to the design (of the) sets including the placement Callahan returned to themselves, their construcof chandeliers, balconies, Louisiana to spend his final tions, their painting, and columns, dining tables and then the set decoration,” he years in his hometown, even a small orchestra to told The Associated Press in where he died on Dec. 26, entertain diners. His atten- 1990. “Sometimes I design 1990. He is buried in Rosethe titles too.” tion to detail became the lawn Memorial Park. signature of his work. TV shows, movies galore “We’re talking about Email Robin Miller at having an exhibit of these romiller@theadvocate. The museum record works,” Barhorst said. “But noted that Callahan earned com.

SONG

Continued from page 5C She sings in long phrases that lull the listener into the song’s rhythm, from its opening guitar line to its coda. “It’s almost like a trance,” Sloan says. It also pulls from other genres; a cross-pollination found in much modern country. Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” features shimmery disco grooves, not unlike Kacey Musgraves. “It’s a little more rock or even kind of soul-inﬂected,” Sloan says. “Part of the reason songs like ‘Choosin’ Texas’ are able to resonate with such a wide audience is because, musically, they’re bringing in a lot of diverse inﬂuences.” Charles L. Hughes, a Rhodes College professor and author of “Country Soul,” says the song sounds like many different eras of country music and, simultaneously, contemporary. To his ears, “Choosin’ Texas” pulls from a late 1970s, early ’80s era of country musicians who pulled R&B and pop into their sound — think Ronnie Milsap, Barbara Mandrell and Charlie Rich — but it isn’t stuck in that period. Those sounds are filtered through a post-Musgraves, post-Miranda Lambert songwriting style, with Langley’s idiosyncratic charms. (Lambert and Langley are two of the song’s four co-writers.) “The best country music has one foot in the past and one foot into the present, if not the future,” Hughes says. “And that’s what she’s doing.” Even for its light, bright musicality, “Choosin’ Texas” is an unusual hit, because it doesn’t possess the features that historically make up a No. 1 smash. It’s super specific — with its detailed descriptions of characters and geog-

CUBE

Continued from page 5C Wearing a red hairband with a bow, Lian looked serious as her small fingers moved quickly during the Wuhan competition. She smiled proudly and clapped after one attempt took her only about 3.54 seconds.

raphy in the lyrics — which is “antithetical to what you usually expect from a big, hit pop song that’s supposed to appeal to everyone,” says Sloan. It’s also “chill,” Sloan says. “It’s not bombastic or anthemic.” “It has no big moments,” says Hughes. But it has both a subtle dance pulse and steel guitar, so “it sounds country, but it doesn’t automatically turn off people who are allergic to certain kinds of country sounds.” There’s a sparkle that transgresses genre lines, but it does so while sounding mellow — the kind of track that inspires repeat listens.

nessee whiskey as a result. “There is the phenomenon of what some critics have called ‘the sad banger’ within the world of pop music,” says Sloan. In country, it’s even more common to take something sad and transform it into something funny or deadpan. “And that’s what she’s really good at, at this song.”

Sign of the times?

“Choosin’ Texas” continues a great tradition of “songs that country women do about what men do in bars,” says Hughes. It’s straightforward: She’s losing her lover to someone else. She’s not going to ﬁght for him — it’s a song of resignation that ends with her drinking alone as he chooses Texas (another woman) over her (and Tennessee). It’s a universal heartbreak theme with potential for cross-generational resonance: It works for both the insecurity of a ﬁrst breakup and a long-term relationship ending over another woman, or a move. “It’s got these great turns of phrase that give you a little bit of ironic distance as a narrator and as a listener,” says Sloan. “It doesn’t take a crystal ball to see,” Langley acquiesces in the chorus, “A cowboy always finds a way to leave.” The lyrics are also clever, standing out in contemporary country, says Hughes. (Compare it to Luke Bryan’s “Fish Hunt Golf Drink.”) And it’s detailed: Langley’s paramour loves George Strait’s “Amarillo by Morning,” a pantheon Texas track; she’s drinking Ten-

The fact that regular charttoppers like Taylor Swift, Morgan Wallen and Bad Bunny haven’t released new albums this year could’ve cleared a path for the dominance of “Choosin’ Texas,” but Sloan sees its rise as indicative of something else. “We’re in this environment where you can measure a song’s success in a numerical way,” he says. “But then in terms of its actual cultural impact, that might be more fragmented than you think.” Essentially: “Choosin’ Texas” is on top. But how many people know Langley’s name, the way they knew Houston’s and Carey’s when those hits were released? “It doesn’t feel like a centerpiece of a monoculture, but it is absolutely a key part of like radio culture, streaming playlists, TikTok,” Hughes adds. “But it’s hitting these various audiences in a way that combines to create something huge.” But what does it forecast for Langley? She’s no one-hit wonder: Her award-winning 2024 collaboration with Riley Green, “You Look Like You Love Me” is evidence of that. “It’s always hard to prognosticate with artists when they have an unexpected smash,” says Sloan. “Her ability to write songs with a lot of integrity that both reach back into country tradition and incorporate sounds of the 21st century? That’s a pretty good formula to have a successful and long career in the music world.”

CCTV said Lian ﬁrst tried to solve a Rubik’s Cube when she was 4 years old, and it used to take her 90 seconds to solve it. She initially lacked the confidence to compete, but became more enthusiastic about the puzzle as her results improved and she gained recognition. That encouraged her to train harder and persevere through challenges, it said.

“She was an introverted kid. Now, she is very conﬁdent wherever she goes,” her mother Lin Yangxi was quoted as saying. CCTV said Lian has mastered more than 1,300 solving formulas and recently spent roughly two to three hours daily on training. Her parents also brought her to Shanghai to learn from top coaches, it added.

Lyrical sharpness

Host wants assigned seating Gentle reader: Perhaps beDear Miss Manners: For work, I often attend meals with cause not all guests are as assigned seating — not just cooperative as yours. Many assigned tables, but hosts report resisindividual chairs. I tance, in the forms really enjoy these of surreptitious events, since they card-shufﬂing and are opportunities to outright complaints. talk with seatmates Mostly this is I may not know because their obJudith well, or at all. ject is to sit next to Martin people they already So I returned MISS to using assigned know — even people MANNERS seating at dinner to whom they are parties in my home, married. Yet the hoping to replicate the oppurpose of such meals is for people to mix, and it is portunity for my guests to a guest’s duty to make the get to know people better. effort. Not only did it achieve It bewilders Miss Manthis objective, but it also made it so much easier to ners that those who are so gracefully meet dietary open to meeting strangers or beverage restrictions, online will shy away from such as alcoholic vs. nonmeeting, in person, people alcoholic or red vs. white who have been vetted by wine. Given these social their real-life friends. and pragmatic beneﬁts, Typically, unattached why isn’t assigned seating singles want to scare up far more common? an escort when attending

weddings, complaining that they won’t know anyone there. Yet weddings, at least those where the bride’s friends and relatives have met those of the bridegroom, used to be the starting point for future weddings. (Note that it is legitimate to seat families together on such occasions, because these also serve as reunions.) Fortunately, you have more sophisticated guests. The opportunity to meet new people is a rare pleasure nowadays. Send questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners. com.; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail. com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

TODAY IN HISTORY By The Associated Press Today is Monday, Sept. 28, the 271st day of 2026. There are 94 days left in the year. Today in history: On Sept. 28, 1928, Scottish medical researcher Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin, the first broadly effective antibiotic. Also on this date: In 1781, American forces in the Revolutionary War, backed by a French fleet, began their successful siege of Yorktown, Virginia. In 1924, three U.S. Army planes landed in Seattle, completing the first roundthe-world trip by air in 175 days. In 1962, a federal appeals court found Mississippi Gov. Ross Barnett in civil contempt for blocking the admission of James Meredith, a Black student, to the

University of Mississippi. In 1995, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat signed an accord at the White House calling for an end to Israel’s military occupation of West Bank cities and expanding the responsibilities of the Palestinian Authority. In 2016, Hurricane Matthew formed near the Windward Islands and went on to kill over 1,000 people in Haiti, elsewhere in the Caribbean and the southeastern U.S. In 2000, capping a 12year political battle, the U.S. government approved use of the abortion pill RU486. In 2020, the worldwide death toll from the coronavirus pandemic reached 1 million, according to a count by Johns Hopkins University. In 2022, Category 4 Hurricane Ian barreled ashore

in southwestern Florida and then bisected the center of the state, causing more than 100 fatalities and billions of dollars in damage. Today’s birthdays: Filmmaker John Sayles is 76. Football Hall of Famer Steve Largent is 72. Zydeco musician C.J. Chenier is 69. Hockey Hall of Famer Grant Fuhr is 64. Actor-comedian Janeane Garofalo is 62. Actor Maria CanalsBarrera is 60. Actor Mira Sorvino is 59. Actor Naomi Watts is 58. Olympic gold medal swimmer Lenny Krayzelburg is 51. Rapper Jeezy is 49. Golf Hall of Famer Se Ri Pak is 49. Poprock musician St. Vincent is 44. Actor Hilary Duff is 39. Retired boxer Terence “Bud” Crawford is 39. Tennis player Marin Cilic is 38. Actor Keir Gilchrist is 34. Singer Sienna Spiro is 21. Actor Momona Tamada is 20.

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zItS

zodIAC LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Refine your goals, update your plans, and push your way forward with confidence, gratitude, and the wherewithal to complete your mission. Leave nothing to chance or up to someone else. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Think matters through with your heart. Determine how you can offer sound solutions without offending someone or making matters worse. When in doubt, take a back seat. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Pay attention to your domestic expenses and running your household efficiently. Be open to suggestions instead of trying to take care of everything yourself. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Spend more time perfecting how you do your job or take care of your home. Paying attention to detail and updating how you handle matters will make your life easier. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Refuse to let anyone or anything disrupt your life or cause you to lower your standards. Set boundaries, and head in a direction that promises you peace of mind and greater opportunities. PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Pay attention to debt, investments and how you use your money and skills to get ahead. Sharing your space, expenses or possessions with others will lead to problems. ARIES (March 21-April 19) Apply what you know and do well in order to help your community. What you offer others will snowball into something substantial.

Don't back away from applying yourself and your skills where they are needed most. TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Practice and discipline will help you excel. Be a friendly observer. Be sympathetic to what others are going through. You'll make better progress if you refuse to let frustration set in. GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Move things around. Make changes instead of just thinking about how you'd like things to be. Take the initiative, and use your ingenuity and skills to make your dreams come true. CANCER (June 21-July 22) It's what you do for others that will make you feel good about who you are and what you can do. Don't let the little things get to you or throw you off course. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Protect yourself from injury and illness, but don't shy away from doing what's right and best for you and all those you encounter today. Use your experience, and follow through with discipline as you finish what you start. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Kindness and generosity will carry you forward. Look for words and ways to make others feel good about themselves. An opportunity will offer benefits, but may not give you the feeling of satisfaction you desire. The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact. © 2026 by NEA, Inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

For better or For WorSe WonderWord

peAnUtS

SALLY Forth

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

TODAy'S CLUE: B EQUALS S

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

SherMAn’S LAGoon FAMILY CIrCUS

dooneSbUrY

8C ● Monday, September 28, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

CurTiS

Hi and LoiS

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

BaBY BLueS

BLondie

THe wiZard oF id

nea CroSSwordS

La TimeS CroSSword

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Monday, September 28, 2026 ● 9C

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B.C.

Bridge BY PHILLIP ALDER In “The Importance of Being Earnest,” Oscar Wilde wrote, “Thirty-five is a very attractive age. London society is full of women of the very highest birth who have, of their own free choice, remained 35 for years.” In bridge, you have a free choice of which card to play, with the restriction that you must follow suit. In this deal, declarer has two choices for trying to collect nine tricks. West leads the heart queen against three no-trump and East signals encouragingly with his seven. What should declarer do? North’s two-diamond rebid was a reverse, which promised a maximum opening bid: a good 17 to 20 high-card points. His three-heart continuation, a variation of fourth-suit forcing, asked South to bid three no-trump with a heart stopper. South has seven top tricks: two spades, one heart, one diamond and three clubs. There are two chances for the extra winners: The clubs might break 3-2 or the diamond finesse could work. Ideally, declarer would cash dummy’s top clubs. Then, if they do not split favorably, he would take the diamond finesse. However, with the heart ace dislodged, South has no hand entry left. What are the probabilities? A finesse is 50-50 and a 3-2 division is 67.8 per-

garfield

Pearls Before swiNe

hagar the horriBle

cent, the much better choice. However, before broaching the clubs, South, after winning the first or second trick with his heart ace, should lead the diamond queen. Maybe West will cover when he has the king — or take a long time ducking. Always give the opponents a chance to help you. © 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 — EPIGEAL: ep-ih-JEE-ul: Living on or near the surface of the

Bizarro

marmaduKe

ground. Average mark 11 words Time limit 20 minutes Can you find 17 or more words in EPIGEAL? sATuRDAY’s WoRD — noMInATE name nation neat neon nine none nonet note oaten omen omit

main mane mate mean meant meat mention meta mien mine mint

mite moan moat monte mote inane inmate innate into intone iota

item amen anime anoint anomie anon ante anti atom atone tame

team tenon time tine tinea tome tone tonne emit

loCKhorNs hidato Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

today’s thought “Truly, truly, I say to you, He that believes on me has everlasting life.” John 6:47

Have you put your trust in Jesus? He is the only one who can give you eternal life. G.E. Dean

10C ● Monday, September 28, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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TODAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

A t-storm around in the p.m.

An afternoon thunderstorm

Partly sunny, a t-storm; humid

Humid; a p.m. t-storm or two

Humid; an afternoon t-storm

Thunderstorms in the afternoon

HIGH

LOW

92° 70°

LOW

89° 73°

LOW

89° 74°

Beaumont 91/74 Port Arthur 90/76

Baton Rouge 94/68

Lake Charles 91/72

New Orleans 91/73 Houma 89/68

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

Hattiesburg 92/59

Alexandria 94/68

Lafayette 92/70

10s

20s

30s

40s

50s

LOW

HIGH

90° 74°

LOW

83° 73°

TEMPERATURE Jackson 90/60

Many 94/65

HIGH

YESTERDAY

Lafayette through 5 p.m. Sunday

Longview 92/69

-0s

90° 73°

Monroe 94/62

Shreveport 94/68

-10s

LOW

The picture-perfect weather that we experienced all weekend long will stay with us at least through Tuesday. Today, expect a mostly sunny and hot day with a light breeze. The dry air will continue to flter into Acadiana, keeping our dew points and the humidity low . Temperatures this afternoon will rise into the mid-90s. With low humidity, temperatures will feel like the mid-90s. No rain today or tomorrow, but that will change dramatically towards the end of the week.

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 LAST

OCT 3

City

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

Austin Boston dallas Fairbanks Honolulu Las Vegas Louisville Miami Nashville

PRECIPITATION

91°/68° 87°/67° 87°/65° 95° in 2023 42° in 1899

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

HIGH

9:12a 3:57a 4:19a 5:36a 11:11p 10:38p ---

7:00 a.m. 6:57 p.m. 8:02 p.m. 8:58 a.m. NEW

FIRST

OCT 10

97 59 93 46 90 86 80 89 84

TODAY Lo

73 55 76 38 76 63 55 75 53

FULL

OCT 18

t r t c pc t s pc pc

OCT 25

95 64 95 41 91 84 81 86 87

TUE. Lo

78 57 76 31 77 70 57 76 57

t c t r c t s t s

FT.

LOW

0.00” 2.37” 4.59” 46.16” 48.27”

FT.

HIGH

0.7 7:30p 0.3 1.8 12:14p 0.6 2.0 9:39a 0.4 1.5 1:27a 1.3 1.5 8:39a 0.4 1.9 6:56a 0.6 --- 9:41a 0.5

MOdERATE

REAdING 58 MAIN POLLUTANT Ozone

MAIN POLLUTANT Ozone

SOURCE: LOUISIANA dEQ ANd AIRNOW.GOV

FT.

LOW

FT.

--- ----- ----- ----- --7:06p 2.4 10:16p 1.9 9:37p 1.8 1:25p 0.3 --- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ---

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 12:41a 6:53a Tuesday 1:37a 7:51a Wednesday 2:39a 8:53a Thursday 3:44a 9:59a Friday 4:50a 11:06a Saturday 5:54a 12:09p Sunday 6:53a 12:39a

City

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

91 88 67 80 67 80 78 78 88

TODAY Lo

73 68 60 69 58 60 55 64 72

TODAY

MOdERATE

1:06p 7:19p 2:05p 8:18p 3:08p 9:23p 4:15p 10:30p 5:21p 11:37p 6:25p ---7:23p 1:08p

t pc r t c s s s s

91 88 75 84 71 84 84 80 88

TUE. Lo

74 71 60 70 55 59 64 68 73

s t pc t c pc c s t

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

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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

7.20 15.90 18.90 6.80 4.20 3.51 2.80

+3.20 -0.19 -0.20 -0.30 none -0.45 -0.13

26.76

+1.04

-1.68

+0.08

18 29 8

-1.29 9.78 2.43

-0.01 -0.02 -0.28

13 15

1.38 0.59

-0.02 none

47 34 29 20 12 6

7.13 4.83 3.53 3.84 3.00 3.04

-0.05 +0.07 -0.05 +0.09 +0.20 +0.21

data as of 7 a.m. Sunday