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A pedestrian walks past an Elon Musk mural that reads ‘BOCA CHICA TO MARS’ in Brownsville, Texas. STAFF PHOTOS BY SOPHIA GERMER

How SpaceX transformed the Texas coast Brownsville saw downtown revival, job growth along with pollution and sonic booms

Tesla Cybertrucks are lined up near the production facility in Starbase, Texas. BY ALEX LUBBEN

$2.00X

Early voting begins in Louisiana Midterms to determine control of Congress

BY MATTHEW ALBRIGHT Staff writer

Early voting begins Tuesday in Louisiana for the Nov. 3 midterm elections that will determine which party controls Congress. At the top of the statewide ballot is the race for U.S. Senate. U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow, who has President Donald Trump’s backing, aims to keep Republican control of a seat in a solidly red state. But she faces an energetic challenge from Democrat Jamie Davis, a Tensas Parish farmer who has held rallies across the state H H H H H H seizing on the cost of living, Iran war and other issues. All six of the state’s U.S. House seats are also up for election. In four of those races, incumbents are expected to win reelection against little-known challengers, but two open seats are hotly contested by crowded fields of candidates. One is likely to flip from Democrat to Republican after the Legislature redrew district lines to eliminate a majority-Black district in the wake of a major U.S. Supreme Court ruling. Nationally, all eyes are on whether Democrats will take control of the House from Republicans — and the two Louisiana men who hold the chamber’s top leadership positions, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, and Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson. But the election also has some significant stakes at the state and local level. Two seats on the Public Service Commission, which regulates public utilities, are also on the ballot as questions swirl about data centers and their massive power demands. And voters will decide on a whopping 10 proposed amendments to the state constitution, affecting property taxes, term limits for governors and more. At the local level, voters will be choosing judges, district attorneys and a host of other local offices and ballot propositions. Early voting runs from Tuesday through Oct. 27, excluding Sunday, Oct. 25. Polls are open from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. You can find a sample ballot, early voting lo-

ELECTION

ä See VOTING, page 6A

Staff writer

BROWNSVILLE,Texas — Elon Musk hadn’t yet flown a single person to space when he approached local leaders here with a plan 15 years ago: He wanted to save humanity by colonizing Mars, and to get there he proposed building a giant rocket facility in this impoverished town. Gilberto Salinas, a local economic development ofﬁcial, said he laughed it off initially: “This is just crazy, right?” Salinas ﬂew to Hawthorne, California, to see SpaceX’s early rocket factory and to “kick the tires” on the company, as he put it, because it was then still essentially a Salinas startup. “They were, in fact, building rockets,” Salinas said. “But they were a bunch of kids that were in their late 20s, early 30s. To me they looked like skateboarders.” Still, Salinas wondered: What if this could be the project to revive his downtrodden hometown on the Mexican border? “We could potentially become the next space city,” Salinas remembers thinking. “Fast forward to today and we are that.” SpaceX has dramatically transformed the Brownsville region in the last 15 years — for better or worse, depending on who you ask. Here, the company is building the world’s largest and most powerful rocket in a newly formed company town called

Funding OK’d to restore land on edge of N.O. Two projects set in the Rigolets and landbridge

BY MIKE SMITH Staff writer

Justin LeClaire, an avian conservation biologist, walks through the Las Palomas Wildlife Management Area near the SpaceX launchpads in Starbase, Texas, last month. LeClaire and his group, the Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program, have documented SpaceX’s ecological impact. Starbase, just east of Brownsville on Boca Chica Beach. Since SpaceX arrived in 2014, the region has added about 25,000 jobs. The company and local ofﬁcials boast that it has injected $13 billion into the South Texas economy in 2023 and 2024. And Brownsville, which not long ago was the poorest community in the U.S., now has new, upscale res-

taurants and coffee shops downtown. An estimated 20,000 spaceﬂight tourists flock to town for every launch of the company’s 40-story prototype rocket, dubbed Starship. Still, on a regular basis, protesters take to the streets with signs labeled “¡Fuera SpaceX!” — “SpaceX leave!”

ä See SPACEX, page 4A

Louisiana will get more than $260 million for two large-scale coastal restoration projects, including one aiming to shore up key sections of an eroding chunk of vital land that helps protect the New Orleans area from storm surge. The projects are being paid for with funds related to the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Trustees overseeing those funds gave ﬁnal approval for the two plans last week. They include work along sections of what is known as the East Orleans Landbridge on the far eastern edge of New Orleans. The landbridge divides Lakes Pontchartrain, St. Catherine and Borgne, but has been gradually disappearing for decades. It is estimated to help protect some 1.5 million people in the New Orleans area from storm surge, on both sides of Lake Pontchartrain, while also preventing further saltwater intrusion into

ä See RESTORE, page 6A

WEATHER HIGH 81 LOW 51 PAGE 6A

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

102ND YEAR, NO.112

2A l Tuesday, October 20, 2026 l theadvocate.com l The Acadiana Advocate

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FROM WIRE REPORTS

Police: Fatal shooting not connected to mosque

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A shooting in a neighborhood near a mosque in Ohio’s capital city left one person dead Monday but was not connected to the house of worship or those who were inside, police said. Federal and local authorities descended on the area as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said in a post on X that agents were responding to a report of a shooting at the mosque, northeast of downtown Columbus. Police later said the shooting happened in the parking lot of an apartment complex next to the mosque.

Miss. AG: Force justified in shooting of 1-year-old

Mississippi’s attorney general says a Senatobia police officer was justified in the use of force during a June shoplifting call that ended in the fatal shooting of a 1-year-old boy. The conclusion of the state’s investigation into the shooting death of Kohen Wiley follows months of mourning and calls for justice, both nationally and in the small town about 40 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee, where the shooting took place. The shooting occurred in midJune as Senatobia officers responded to a shoplifting call at a local Walmart, where they saw Vellesiya Wiley, Kohen’s mother, carrying her son as she and a friend left the store, got into a car and began driving away. Wiley and her friend are both Black. Police reports indicate diapers and baby clothes were allegedly stolen. According to a statement released shortly after the shooting by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but the car drove toward law enforcement, prompting an officer to fire into the car, striking Kohen and his mother’s friend. In a video released days after the shooting, Vellesiya Wiley denied that she or her friend stole anything and disputed that her friend, who was driving, headed toward the officers. Ben Crump, a nationally renowned civil rights attorney who is representing Kohen’s family, has said results of a preliminary independent autopsy indicate Kohen was shot from the side of the car, not the front, contradicting officers’ claims that the car was heading toward them.

Leader of Kenyan cult convicted of 191 murders

NAIROBI, Kenya — The leader of a Kenyan doomsday cult linked to more than 400 deaths was convicted Monday of murdering 190 children and one adult after ordering followers to starve themselves to death to meet Jesus. Justice Diana Kavedza ruled that Pastor Paul Mackenzie, leader of the Good News International Church, oversaw an organized system that used religious teachings to compel followers to fast until they died. In 2023, more than 400 bodies were exhumed from shallow graves on the 800-acre Chakama Ranch in coastal Kiliﬁ County, where Mackenzie’s followers lived in mud huts, away from the scrutiny of local communities and authorities. Mackenzie was arrested and charged with murder alongside his wife and dozens of his followers. Some followers later became prosecution witnesses in the case. The court found that the directive to fast to death was implemented by targeting children first, while guards were deployed to prevent them from escaping, beating those who attempted to escape or eat.

Australian PM: Lawmaker injured by car ‘no accident’

MELBOURNE, Australia — An Australian federal lawmaker remained in critical condition Tuesday after undergoing surgery for injuries sustained when she was hit by a car in what Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said was an apparently deliberate attack. Helen Haines, a 65-year-old independent politician, was struck by a Toyota Land Cruiser SUV outside her electoral district ofﬁce midafternoon Monday in the city of Wangaratta in Victoria state, police said. The driver was arrested and remained in police custody. Albanese said the national counterterrorism team was investigating, incorporating police and intelligence agencies.

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Zelenskyy slams partner countries

Washington moves benefiting tems has made Ukraine more vul- Zelenskyy said on social media. President says cent Russia fired 16 ballistic missiles Russian President Vladimir Putin, nerable. Delays are still occurring waiving U.S. sanctions with some “vital supplies” from at Kyiv and its surrounding region, Ukraine was again including on Moscow and signing a deal to the U.S., Zelenskyy said without Zelenskyy said, with officials in diesel from Moscow. elaborating, and senior Kyiv of- the capital reporting a 21-year-old not given early import Moscow and Kyiv, meanwhile, ficials are urgently contacting woman was killed. Ukraine received no warning discussing the possible evac- other countries to strengthen air warning of Russia were from its partners ahead of the first uation of the Russian-occupied defenses. Western intelligence sharing wave of attacks, and information city of Oleshky in the strike of power grid front-line southern Kherson region, where has helped Ukraine counter Rus- about a second wave arrived too

BY SAMYA KULLAB and BARRY HATTON Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine — Russia launched new attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure using ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday, adding that Kyiv again received no early warning of the attack from partner countries that previously shared their intelligence. Zelenskyy is grappling with re-

about 2,000 people have been cut off from food and medical supplies for months, according to a Ukrainian human rights ofﬁcial. Zelenskyy said speed restrictions are still in place on Kyiv’s use of the military-grade version of U.S. company SpaceX’s satellite internet service. Full service was being restored at the end of last week, but Zelenskyy said Monday that the restrictions are still slowing Ukraine’s drones along the front. Also, a severe shortage of American-made Patriot air defense sys-

sia’s devastating ballistic missiles and hold back Moscow’s full-scale invasion, which began more than 4½ years ago. President Donald Trump says Washington hasn’t stopped providing intelligence to Kyiv. Secretary of State Marco Rubio repeated that position Monday, saying he had no information about the previous night’s Russian attack. The Russian nighttime barrage hit 28 substations and other critical energy facilities, depriving more than a half-million people of electricity, heat and running water,

late for air raid sirens to be activated in time, air force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said on national television. The Russian Defense Ministry said that it struck Ukrainian targets including a data center, a logistics hub storing components for drones and cruise missiles, an industrial facility making drone components, and a locomotive depot where missiles are stored. It also said it struck a bulk carrier in the Black Sea heading for Odesa with supplies for Ukraine’s armed forces.

Albertans vote on path to independence Carney fights to keep Canada united BY ROB GILLIES Associated Press

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO BY EMMA DA SILVA

A woman walks her dog past a looted store Sunday, the day after a demonstration against rising living costs, joining students’ grievances, in Paris.

After riots, Paris police issue overnight curfews French capital looks to prevent further disorder

BY SYLVIE CORBET Associated Press

PARIS — Paris police issued an overnight curfew on Monday in two areas of the French capital, after a weekend marred by France’s worst rioting in years that targeted city halls, other public buildings and thousands of businesses across the country. The order aims to protect “people and property from the violence and looting,” the Paris police statement said. The curfew prohibits anyone from entering or remaining on the Place de la République, where rioting took place Saturday, and the shopping neighborhood of Les Halles, which has been subject to looting. The curfew will be in effect from 11 p.m. Monday until 6 a.m. Tuesday. In addition, gatherings and demonstrations are banned from 8 p.m., the Paris police said. Earlier Monday, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu had called for “very limited” and “localized” curfews. In northern France, local authorities imposed a curfew for children and

teenagers under age 18 in several cities, including Lille, starting from Monday and for the next two days from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Nice, on the French Riviera, also imposed an overnight curfew for minors from 9 p.m. Lecornu defended police handling of the unrest, saying that “despite scenes of severe violence and extensive property damage, no one was killed, and that is a miracle.” He said that details of the curfews would be announced later Monday after consultations with mayors. Mass protests in France are often tainted by violence on the fringes of otherwise peaceful marches, leading to clashes with police. Saturday’s unrest recalled the riots that followed the fatal police shooting of a teenager in 2023, when authorities imposed local curfews, and violence during the yellow vest movement that began in 2018 over fuel prices and broader economic grievances. The prime minister’s instructions come after Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez offered his resignation Sunday. But President Emmanuel Macron refused it “given the need for continued command of law enforcement in the current context,” Macron’s ofﬁce said in a statement Monday.

Japan launches spacecraft to mysterious moons of Mars

spacecraft on Mars over Mission aims to moons. The Japan Aerospace the past 50 years and Chibring home soil Exploration Agency, na scored a 2021 touchwhich is leading the down, no one has ever samples bold sampling effort, ventured onto Phobos

BY MARCIA DUNN AP aerospace writer

A Japanese spacecraft rocketed toward Mars on Tuesday on an unprecedented quest to explore its mysterious moons and bring back samples. Five of the world’s space agencies joined forces for the five-year mission that will attempt to land a robotic prospector plus a rover on Phobos, the larger and closer of Mars’ two pint-sized

launched the spacecraft before dawn from the country’s main spaceport on Tanegashima Island. Officials declared success an hour later when the spacecraft separated as planned from the rocket’s upper stage. Flight controllers burst into applause and jumped to their feet, shaking hands and embracing. No one has managed to get samples from Mars or its moons yet While NASA has successfully landed nine

or its sidekick Deimos. And no one has managed to fetch samples from Mars, let alone its moons. If successful, bits of dust, soil and rocks from Phobos will arrive on Earth in 2031. “There’s a lot of adrenaline and a lot of excitement and a lot of wow,” said NASA astrophysicist Tom Statler, who’s involved with the project. Japan has an edge going in, with two asteroid sample returns already under its cosmic belt.

EDMONTON, Alberta — Voters in Canada’s oil-rich Alberta province were deciding on Monday whether to begin a process that could lead to independence, testing national unity as Canadians rally against U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war and threats to claim Canada as the 51st U.S. state. Monday’s vote is not a direct referendum on independence. Alberta, home to most of Canada’s proven oil reserves — the fourth largest in the world — will decide whether to remain a province or begin the legal process toward a future referendum on separation. More than 1.35 million Albertans, or 43% of eligible voters, cast advance or special ballots ahead of Monday’s referendum, an unusually high level of early participation that underscores the intense interest in the province’s future. Polls close at 8 p.m. local

time, with results expected in the hours afterward. Alberta is Canada’s oil heartland and cowboy country, a conservative stronghold whose political culture has long had more in common with the American West than much of Canada. Resentment toward Ottawa runs deep, but has not traditionally translated into widespread support for independence. But even if Albertans reject the proposal, separatist leaders say the movement has transformed a fringe cause into a force in provincial politics and is not going away. Prime Minister Mark Carney urged Albertans to deliver a decisive vote for unity. “Vote like Canada’s future depends on it because it does,” he told a rally Friday in Edmonton, where he grew up. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who called the referendum despite opposing independence, cited a poll showing just 22% support for separation, a ﬁgure she said was still too high.

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SPACEX

Continued from page 1A in Spanish. That’s because residents say their homes shake during launches, and some allege in class-action litigation that their foundations have been damaged by sonic booms. The launch site, tucked between wildlife sanctuaries, has also polluted wetlands, according to regulators, and the spaceport’s impact on migratory birds relying on the habitat is not fully understood. As Musk and SpaceX get ready to bring rocket launches to Louisiana’s Vermilion Parish with a planned $100 billion spaceport, the warp-speed transformation of Brownsville may offer a view of what’s to come.

A business boom In Brownsville, population 185,000, downtown murals funded by the Musk Foundation depict Starship barreling toward the moon and Mars. At bars in town, beer from Starbase Brewing, an Austinbased brewery that aims to be the ﬁrst to brew beer on the red planet, is served in pint glasses that read “Beer today, Mars tomorrow.” The local boat tour companies on South Padre Island, which traditionally ferried tourists to spot dolphins, have added tours focused on watching SpaceX rockets launch. Among local leaders, there’s an optimism about Brownsville’s future that hasn’t been felt in years. “When I go talk to the kids at schools, they tell me they want to work at SpaceX, they want to be astronauts, or they want to be engineers. And they want to work here,” said Eddie Treviño, the Cameron County Judge, a role comparable to that of a Louisiana parish president. Once the nation’s leading cotton exporter, Brownsville was an agricultural community in the first half of the 20th century known for ranching and a shrimp ﬂeet largely worked by Cajuns. Then, in the 1980s, oil prices tumbled and led to a collapse in the value of the Mexican peso. Because Brownsville’s economy was so intertwined with Matamoros, Mexico, just across the border, it took a hit. Unemployment surged. For decades, Brownsville was in dire need of an economic boost. After those early meetings between Musk and Salinas in 2011, the local and state government put together a $50 million incentive package to bring SpaceX in, according to Salinas, now the president and CEO of the Greater Brownsville EDC. That package was much smaller than the $27.5 billion in incentives that Louisiana just offered the company. “We got SpaceX here for pretty cheap back then,” Salinas said. Brownsville officials and residents said the company’s presence has paved the way for big-ticket industrial projects bringing jobs and money to an area that was, in Salinas’ words, a “sleepy border town.” SpaceX says it has created more than 4,300

STAFF PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER

Starbase launchpads are seen in the distance from the top of the lighthouse in Port Isabel, Texas, about 6 miles from the launch site.

Jobs jump in Brownsville

Brownsville, Texas, among the poorest communities in the U.S., has seen job growth since SpaceX broke ground in 2014. 190,000

Peak: 179,464

180,000

three explosive, window-rattling blasts. So far, the company has launched that rocket, which is still a prototype, on just 14 test launches. In Louisiana, Musk has said he hopes to launch it 30 times a day, or more than 10,000 times a year.

Growing pains

170,000

From the porch of his ranch home, 15 miles from 160,000 SpaceX’s launchpad, Rene Medrano can feel the sonic booms. 150,000 “When the rocket takes off Pandemic: 156,571 from over there,” he said, 140,000 gesturing toward Boca Chi’14 ’15 ’16 ’17 ’18 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’23 ’24 ’25 ’26 ca Beach, “we feel it.” Medrano, 66, and his wife, 1 2 3 4 Ida, 65, have lived here for 40 years. They keep chickAugust 2014: July 2019: April 2023: May 2025: ens and goats in their backSpaceX announces First test First Starship Starbase, Texas yard. They’re in the counits launch site near flight launch incorporates as its try, the kind of place you’d Brownsville own city choose to build a life if you Staff graphic Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics valued quiet and nights with dark skies. well-paid jobs, with plans to “It’s not quiet anymore,” Still, Brownsville remains expand. largely poor. The city no lon- said Rene Medrano, taking New business has flocked ger has the highest poverty a sip of his beer. “You would to surrounding Cameron rate in the U.S., as it did in County, too, which local of- 2013, according to census ficials attribute to SpaceX’s data. But roughly a quarter presence. A liquefied natural of people in the Brownsville gas terminal is slated to open region still live below the at the Port of Brownsville. A poverty line, more than doudata center broke ground in ble the national average of nearby Harlingen. And the about 1 in 10. Down the street first new oil refinery to open from Brownsville’s new in the U.S. in nearly 50 years French restaurant, many is planned for the county. buildings remain boarded up. Vice President JD Vance “It’s bringing money into was here last month for a the place,” said Joseph Mengroundbreaking ceremony dez, 42, who cooks at The for a company that will build Library, a Brownsville bar. AI-powered battleships and “Me, personally, I’ve seen a promises to bring 10,000 jobs lot of people come in from to the region. out of town. There’s a lot of “Twenty years ago, if we jobs, a lot of good stuff.” could get a development SpaceX is eyeing big exor a project of $30 million, pansion there, too, well bethat was just unbelievable. yond what local officials Now all of our projects are originally bargained for. The in the billions,” Treviño said. Federal Aviation Administra“We’re spoiled. And it’s led to tion this week posted a notice a lot of other issues. Our in- that it will look into the envifrastructure needs to catch ronmental impact of SpaceX up.” launching Starship, a rocket As the region has indus- nearly as tall as the Louisitrialized, residents see their ana State Capitol building, home values increasing and up to 456 times a year from feel the uptick in economic its Texas launch site. That activity. “There’s just a cer- would mean up to 912 landtain vibe in town now that ings, since both stages of the did not exist before,” Salinas rocket would touch down. said. Every launch will feature 151,819

176,474

‘So clean you could drink it’ Two hours after SpaceX launched its 14th Starship test ﬂight in late September, shorebirds — black-necked stilts and sandpipers — wad-

ä See SPACEX, page 5A

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“

come out here and you’d be silent and you could see the stars. Now you see glows of light from all the construction.” They said they’ve had items fall off their shelves when the rockets launch. Their dog, Miller, “turns herself into a little ball” and hides under a chair trembling, Ida Medrano said. Trafﬁc snakes through their small community. The road to Boca Chica Beach, previously used only by beachgoers, now shuttles and carries the Starship rocket to the launchpad. Locals now have less access to Boca Chica Beach, a place that Brownsville residents value. “It was known as the ‘poor man’s beach,’ ” Medrano said. “Families would go. They would barbecue; they would ﬁsh; they would enjoy the day.” Salinas brushed off the concerns about beach access. “It was a very dirty beach,” Salinas said.

“I never knew people cared so much about the beach until we started working on this project. Suddenly now, they’re very worried about it.” Now, the city of Starbase decides if the beach is open or closed, thanks to a Texas law passed last year. Treviño, the county judge, said that he opposed the law — he previously had the authority to close the road and he would occasionally veto SpaceX’s requests to do so. Treviño said he took heat from his constituents for allowing SpaceX to incorporate as its own municipality. Starbase, Texas, became a city unto itself last year, after 212 residents there — mostly SpaceX workers — voted to do so. It is largely closed off to anyone who is not a SpaceX employee. The city’s mayor is a SpaceX vice president, Bobby Peden, who ran for his position unopposed and declined an interview request for this story. “I was blamed for giving away Boca Chica Beach,” Treviño said. “But people have to understand that I don’t have the authority to say, well, you know what? I don’t want your business. … If you meet your requirements and ask for an election, I’m duty-bound.” Treviño lost his bid for reelection earlier this year and is serving out the end of his term. Still, he said, SpaceX has been a good partner, for the most part. “All of our dealings with SpaceX have been more positive than negative,” he said. “I understand the concern from the environmental standpoint. We probably won’t know until down the road whether or not this was worse than we anticipated or whether all the precautions are working.”

- Catherine

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lll

The Acadiana Advocate l theadvocate.com l Tuesday, October 20, 2026 l 5A

SPACEX

Continued from page 4A ed in water that had flowed off the launchpad. At liftoff, a “deluge” system blasts hundreds of thousands of gallons of water beneath the rocket, soaking up some of the blast’s heat and noise. Much of that water instantly turns to steam. Some sprays into the surrounding area. It may contain heavy metals, like mercury, according to environmentalists and regulators. “SpaceX says it’s so clean you could drink it,” said Justin LeClaire, an avian conservation biologist. LeClaire doubts that. Federal and state regulators cited the company in 2024 for discharging that water into surrounding wetlands without a permit. But the site remains a birdwatcher’s paradise. On a single winter day on Boca Chica Beach, in the shadow of the launch towers, LeClaire counted 1,000 reddish egrets, a record-high number for the rare North American bird. He and his group, the Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program, have documented SpaceX’s ecological STAFF PHOTOS BY SOPHIA GERMER impact. When the SpaceX rockets take off from Boca Chica Beach, Texas, Rene and Ida Medrano say, ‘We feel it. ’ The Medranos, Rene, 66, and Ida, 65, are Paradoxically, the launchpad lured in shorebirds at first, LeClaire 15 miles from the Starbase launch site where they have lived for 40 years. said. When SpaceX blew up its ‘When I go talk launchpad in 2023, it sprayed hunks to pay to achieve their interplanof concrete and smaller pebbles etary ambitions. And if his plans to the kids at over a sandy stretch near the pad. schools, they tell come to fruition, it appears that Plovers and terns like a beach with Musk thinks that SpaceX will ulme they want to small rocks, according to LeClaire; timately save the birds — and all work at SpaceX, they moved in and nested there. life on Earth. they want to be But the next launches shot debris “Extremely severe extinction at the nests, decimating many of events happen every 100M years astronauts, or them. or so and just switching to sustainthey want to be It’s also not entirely clear what able energy will not be enough to engineers. And kinds of impacts the launches have stop them,” Musk posted recently they want to work on X, the social media platform he on birds’ bodies. Gwynne Shotwell, here,’ Cameron SpaceX’s president, said during a owns. “Space satellites to control speech announcing the company’s temperature and massive geo-enCounty Judge Louisiana spaceport that birds Eddie Treviño says gineering will be needed or it will return to their habitat after each be game over.” in his office in launch. Some clearly do. But no The idea: to blot out some small Brownsville, Texas. percentage of the sun’s rays with a one has yet fully taken stock of the impact of a sonic boom on, for inswarm of what Musk has described as “sentient satellites” to scale back stance, a snowy plover. The fast-flyglobal warming. ing, hollow-boned creature weighs While Musk thinks his rockets can as much as a small lemon, and its save the planet, Bekah Hinojosa, a populations are declining. Brownsville resident and a founder As the frequency of launches of the South Texas Environmental increases to a pace that humanity Justice Network, thinks the city’s has not previously attempted, the ambitions would be better directed environmental impacts will only increase. Rocket launches aside, done the birds and other wildlife LeClaire said. “We don’t know how now, in both Texas and Louisiana. at problems closer to home. “We do need jobs,” Hinojosa said. LeClaire said, the sheer scale of the any favors. it will be if it’s every day, or mul- To the richest man in the world development at Starbase, in a cruand his followers, cracking a few “But we need jobs that don’t shake “We’re only looking at the im- tiple times a day.” That’s exactly what’s planned bird eggs may be a small price and crack people’s homes.” cial migratory bird habitat, hasn’t pacts of launch every few months,”

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6A l Tuesday, October 20, 2026 l theadvocate.com l The Acadiana Advocate

TODAY

WEDNESDAY

Brilliant sunshine HIGH

THURSDAY

LOW

HIGH

LOW

HIGH

82° 52°

LOW

84° 54°

HIGH

LOW

84° 56°

Beaumont 81/61 Port Arthur 79/64

Baton Rouge 81/49

Lake Charles 82/55

10s

20s

30s

Houma 80/52

50s

HIGH

Another great day is in the forecast today. Expect a mostly sunny and warm day with a light breeze. Temperatures this afternoon will be about where they should be, rising into the low 80s. Temperatures will return to the mid-80s tomorrow and the mid- to upper 80s by Thursday. Winds will be out of the northeast at 5 to 10 mph. The air will be dry, dew points will be low and the humidity will be hardly noticeable. There is no rain in the forecast today, and we’ll probably be dry for the rest of the week.

LOW

81° 60°

YESTERDAY

TODAY

READING 44 MAIN POLLUTANT Ozone

MAIN POLLUTANT Ozone

60s

70s

80s

90s 100s 110s

OCT 25

City

Austin Boston Dallas Fairbanks Honolulu Las Vegas Louisville Miami Nashville

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

HIGH

3:17p 9:24a 2:33a 4:36a 4:47a 4:16a 5:55a

FT.

NEW

NOV 1

84 61 80 32 88 82 72 86 76

TODAY Lo

50 46 56 24 74 66 45 71 43

FIRST

NOV 9

pc pc s sn pc pc s s pc

NOV 17

86 52 80 31 86 82 73 85 77

WED. Lo

55 44 59 17 72 63 47 71 44

LOW

0.8 1.8 2.2 1.9 1.3 1.7 1.6

7:13 a.m. 6:32 p.m. 3:23 p.m. 1:39 a.m.

LAST

GOOD

PRECIPITATION

75°/49° 80°/59° 86°/54° 93° in 1921 33° in 1948

Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today FULL

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

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

New Orleans 79/61

40s

Sun and some clouds

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

Hattiesburg 81/45

Alexandria 80/47

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

Mostly sunny

TEMPERATURE Jackson 80/46

Lafayette 81/51

SUNDAY

Lafayette through 5 p.m. Monday

Longview 79/48

Many 81/45

SATURDAY

84° 57°

Monroe 80/46

Shreveport 80/50

-0s

FRIDAY

Plenty of sunshine Plenty of sunshine Plenty of sunshine

81° 51°

-10s

lll

s pc s c s t s s s

2:43a 8:24p 4:49p 8:46p 4:14p 2:41p 5:16p

0.00” 0.89” 2.83” 47.05” 51.53”

FT.

HIGH

0.2 0.6 0.8 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.6

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

FT.

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

SOURCE: LOUISIANA DEQ AND AIRNOW.GOV

LOW

FT.

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

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

Today 7:29a Wednesday 8:10a Thursday 8:48a Friday 9:26a Saturday 10:07a Sunday 10:52a Monday 11:44a

City

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

79 81 71 93 65 74 73 76 82

1:18a 7:52p 1:59a 8:32p 2:37a 9:10p 3:15a 9:49p 3:55a 10:30p 4:39a 11:17p 5:30a ----

TODAY Lo

61 62 48 72 37 48 46 65 62

s s s pc s s s s s

81 82 66 87 61 72 75 76 83

1:40p 2:21p 2:59p 3:37p 4:18p 5:04p 5:57p

WED. Lo

61 63 46 70 37 42 51 66 64

s s s t s s s t s

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

RESTORE

Continued from page 4A the brackish estuary. One section of it is estimated to have lost about 110 acres of marsh since 1956. The plan would be the largest restoration project yet for the landbridge. Another plan will restore Raccoon Island, a barrier island off Terrebonne Parish that is part of the Isles Dernieres chain. The island provides important habitat for birds, ﬁsh and shellﬁsh and acts

VOTING

Continued from page 4A cations, your election day polling place and other information at the secretary of state’s website, GeauxVote.com.

Senate race leads the list In the eyes of most national political observers, the most interesting part of Louisiana’s U.S. Senate race has already happened. In May, Letlow ousted incumbent Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, in the Republican primary election when she took ﬁrst place and Treasurer John Fleming took second. Letlow, R-Baton Rouge, defeated Fleming in the runoff a month later. Trump had been furious with Cassidy ever since the senator voted to ﬁnd him guilty of inciting the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Capitol. Since the primary election wrapped up, national political handicappers have consistently rated Louisiana’s Senate race as a safe Republican seat. But don’t tell Davis that. A political unknown, the farmer and former Tensas police jury member stepped up to run when no established Louisiana Democrats did. He has been holding well-attended events across the state where he has railed against the rising cost of living, a lack of regulations on artificial intelligence and Trump’s war in Iran, among other issues. On Saturday, Davis campaigned at get-out-the-vote events in LaPlace and Shreveport. On Sunday, he held three events in New

GOOD

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

MON. 24-HOUR STAGE CHANGE

5.60 23.60 25.70 11.60 6.90 5.47 4.40

-0.65 -0.42 -0.79 -0.60 -0.34 -0.28 -0.45

19.26

-0.72

-1.63

none

18 29 8

-1.37 9.66 2.77

-0.01 -0.02 +0.37

13 15

1.44 0.55

+0.04 +0.01

47 34 29 20 12 6

10.50 6.99 5.40 4.80 3.30 1.91

+0.48 +0.57 +0.30 +0.46 -0.10 +0.05

data as of 7 a.m. Monday

as storm surge buffer for parts of the central Louisiana coast. Some $109.4 million was approved for the landbridge work and another $156.3 million for Raccoon Island. “Together, these projects will restore up to 1,700 acres in wetland, coastal and nearshore habitat,” the trustees, which include a range of state and federal agencies, said in a statement. Roughly $8.5 billion in fines and settlement dollars related to the BP spill have been set aside for Louisiana restoration projects.

The state has used the funding to carry out large-scale coastal restoration work, but the funding expires by 2032. Projects already given the green light by that time will continue, but the lack of future funding will leave the state with a huge ﬁscal gap for coastal work in the future. The land bridge project would create around 1,290 acres of marsh, or nearly 1,000 football ﬁelds, mainly along the Rigolets. It would also include shoreline protection in the form of permeable containers with limestone to help prevent erosion. Cordgrass,

roseau cane and other native vegetation would be planted atop the sediment. Some 5 million cubic yards of sediment dredged from nearby Lake St. Catherine would be used — enough to overﬂow the Superdome. The state has estimated that construction could begin in the fall of 2027 and last around three years. The land bridge is familiar to those who have taken the drive all the way down U.S. 90, or Chef Menteur Highway, beyond the New Orleans area’s hurricane protection system and over the old

swing bridge. Fishing camps dot the area residents sometimes call the “the island,” as it sits on the narrow strip between Chef Pass and the Rigolets. Erosion, subsidence, sea level rise and hurricanes have taken a heavy toll on the land bridge. Losing it completely would allow tides and storm surge to roll in from the Gulf unimpeded. The state’s coastal master plan lays out a larger strategy for restoring 29,000 acres of it at a cost of $1.1 billion. Smaller restoration projects have been completed in the past.

Orleans. He attended Mass that celebrated the 185th anniversary of the St. Augustine Church in the Treme neighborhood, attended an event for the shrimp industry and appeared on a podcast broadcast from a barbershop. On Monday, he spoke to the Press Club of Baton Rouge, an event that Letlow didn’t attend. Davis said his grassroots organizing effort will lead him to prevail over Letlow, even though she has more money. Democrats are hoping for a surge in turnout, beginning with the early voting period, particularly among Black voters after the Louisiana v. Callais decision all but gutted the Voting Rights Act and led the Republican legislature to redraw Louisiana’s congressional map and eliminate Democratic U.S. Rep. Cleo Fields’ majorityBlack district. Still, Letlow has most of the advantages. Trump’s endorsement carries weight with Louisiana’s sizable GOP base, and she has raised far more money than Davis. That has led her to run the sort of lowkey campaign that is typical for an incumbent conﬁdent of victory. After visiting 14 parishes last week, Letlow did not campaign over the weekend. She held another closed-door “listening tour” event in Baton Rouge on Monday, marking the 50th of all 64 parishes that she plans to visit. Fierce primaries for U.S. House Two of six races for the House are for open seats, and both of them have drawn a ﬂood of candidates and intense campaigning. Take, for example, the 6th Congressional District, which Fields won two years ago when it was a majority-Black district. The district now covers parishes in and

around Baton Rouge, and is solidly Republican — Fields declined to run for reelection, saying he did not think he could win. Ten candidates have piled into the race to replace Fields. The race appears to be wideopen, with no candidate garnering more than 13% of the vote, and 36% of the voters still undecided, according to a survey of 400 registered voters taken last week by pollster Greg Rigamer for superlobbyist Alton Ashy. The most prominent candidates are state senators Blake Miguez, R-New Iberia, and Rick Edmonds, R-Baton Rouge, who have bitterly feuded in attack ads and public statements. Among other criticisms, Edmonds has blasted Miguez for living outside the district, while Miguez has countered by noting that Edmonds preaches at a Mississippi church. Four other, less well-known Republicans are also running: Michael Mebruer, Monique Appeaning, Stephen Wagley and Larry Davis III. So is a Libertarian, Rufus Craig. But some Democrats are not letting Republicans take the seat without a ﬁght. Pat Forbes, Lindsay Garcia and Chauna Banks have blasted Trump decisions to attack Iran and deploy National Guard soldiers into U.S. cities. Meanwhile, nine candidates are running to replace Letlow in the 5th District, which stretches from Monroe down to the mostly rural Florida Parishes. The list includes several established political ﬁgures: state Sen. Stewart Cathey, R-Monroe; state Rep. Michael Echols, R-Monroe; state Rep. Gabe Firment, of Pollock; and Misti Cordell, the chair of the state’s Board of Regents.

State Rep. Pat Moore, a Monroe Democrat, is also running. So are several less well-known candidates: Antonio Wilson, a Democrat from Tallulah; Dan McKay, a Democrat from Bunkie; Austin Magee, a Republican from Franklinton; and Omar Dantzler, a Republican from Hammond. A Rigamer poll for Ashy last week also showed no clear favorites among the four Republican candidates; 27% of all voters were undecided. Given the number of candidates in each race, it is likely that no candidate will get more than 50% of the vote. In that case, the two top vote-getters will face off in a December runoff. In the other four districts, incumbents face little-known challengers and are expected to keep their seats. That includes Johnson, RBenton; Scalise, R-Jefferson; Rep. Clay Higgins, R-Lafayette; and Rep. Troy Carter, D-New Orleans.

structure and post-conviction bail. A nonpartisan guide to the amendments is available from the Public Affairs Research Council at its website, parlouisiana.org.

Constitutional amendments

PSC races Two seats on the five-member Public Service Commission are also on the ballot. The Public Service Commission regulates public utilities, and is under particular scrutiny as data centers and other megaprojects ramp up demand on the electrical grid. Three candidates are vying to replace Commissioner Eric Skrmetta, who is term limited, in District 1, which includes Orleans, Jefferson, St. Tammany, Livingston and several other parishes. The race features state Rep. Stephanie Hilferty, R-New Orleans, who has served in the Louisiana Legislature for 10 years; Chris Justin, a no-party chemical engineer who formerly consulted for the PSC; and Democrat Connie Norris, a nurse who has been ﬁghting before the PSC for lower water rates. Two candidates are running to replace term-limited Commissioner Foster Campbell in the largely rural 5th District, which covers north Louisiana. They are Rev. James Green, pastor of Shreveport’s Union Mission Baptist Church and businessman John Atkins, 62, an 11-year veteran of the Caddo Parish Commission and owner/principal of Atco Investment Co. Staff writers Tyler Bridges, Meghan Friedmann and Alyse Pfeil contributed to this story.

Ten proposed amendments to the constitution are also sprawled across the ballot. In the past two election cycles, voters have rejected all constitutional amendments in front of them, and many observers suspect that trend may repeat itself this year, given the sheer number of proposals and general voter dissatisfaction. But supporters argue the ideas have real policy merit and deserve consideration. Five of the amendments would affect property taxes, changing how local governments can roll them forward and authorizing more exemptions. One would tighten term limits for governors, and Email Matthew Albright at others would affect water infra- malbright@theadvocate.com.

METRO

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

T U E S D AY, O C T O B E R 20, 2026

1BN

Water ski team wins championship Jan Risher

Reuniting a fake garden club David Shreve stood on Alaska Street at the edge of LSU’s campus Friday evening and pointed toward a stump. A friend’s house stood there. Another family lived on the corner, where the city bus was pulling up. Students filled every house in between. He lived in one across the street for nine years. In the 1980s, LSU students rented houses for about $200 a month, split four ways, on the 3300 block of Alaska Street. The houses are long gone now. But the night before LSU’s homecoming, the people who lived in them came back for a homecoming of a different sort. They called themselves the Alaska Street Garden Club. Shreve said he and his neighbors wanted to play intramural flag football, softball and basketball. A team needs a name. “I said, ‘Well, let’s call ourselves the Alaska Street Garden Club,’” Shreve said. Louis DuPont tells a different story. He said he and Shreve wanted to throw a party in the middle of the street. The police told them individuals couldn’t block a road, but an association could. So they registered one. Both stories can be true. Shreve recently found the permit in an old scrapbook. He said it carries nine signatures, from the health department and the sheriff on down. “Here we were, a bunch of 19-, 20-year-old kids, roasting a pig at a keg of beer,” he said. “And they all just signed off on it.” To be fair, Shreve did garden. He grew oleanders in his front yard. He planted live oaks around the neighborhood. The ones in his yard were torn out when the Ion apartments went up. He earned his doctorate at LSU and built his career in Virginia. On Friday night, he roasted another pig with his old friends and neighbors. Among them were young men from Mauritius who lived on Alaska Street in the 1980s. In the 1940s and ’50s, their fathers had studied at LSU before returning home to run the island’s sugar factories. Their sons followed in their footsteps. Mauritius sits in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar, 10,371 miles from Baton Rouge. On Friday, Mauritians traveled from the island, Houston and Savannah, Georgia, to attend the Alaska Street Garden Club reunion. Shreve, now a historian and economist in Charlottesville, Virginia, offers context: “Their families’ rich multigenerational connections to LSU and south Louisiana, however, kept them tied to LSU no matter the changing economy or the new academic pathways some of them began to pursue.” In 1981, Olivier Raffray turned 18, and his parents put him on a plane. He grew up speaking French and knew almost no English. He had no phone and no email. Keeping in touch with home took four things. “A pen, paper, envelope and a stamp,” he said. “And often, you didn’t have one of those things.” A letter took three or four weeks to reach Mauritius. “Back then it was, ‘All right, we’ll see you in four or five years,’” he said. Many of the Mauritians never went home during their four

ä See RISHER, page 4B

UL group takes 7th straight title

BY KRISTIN ASKELSON Staff writer

The University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s Ragin’ Cajuns water ski team won its seventh consecutive Division I national championship, bringing its total to 13 titles. The team claimed the title at the Syndicate 2026 National Collegiate Water Ski Association National Championships, held Oct. 15-17 in Rio Linda, California. The Ragin’ Cajuns also won

national championships in 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2019, 2015, 2010, 2005, 2003, 1997 and 1995. The championship was canceled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The water ski team has won more national championships than any other team in school history. Water skiing is a club sport at UL Lafayette, not an NCAAsanctioned sport. “The seven consecutive titles represent the longest champion-

ship streak in the NCWSA since UL Lafayette joined the association in 1988, and this year’s win caps another undefeated season that stretches back to 2019,” coach Ryan Gonzales said. Teams qualify for the national championships, which began in 1979, based on their performances in tournaments leading up to the event. The competition features six events — women’s and men’s slalom, tricks and jump — as well as individual national titles in each event and overall women’s and men’s championships. Alana Jones won the national

championship in women’s slalom. Jones, who is from Lafayette, has deep family ties to the university’s water ski program. Her grandfather, Jim Davidson, founded the team. Her parents, Scot and Lynda Jones, competed for the Ragin’ Cajuns before marrying and later coaching the team. Megan Pelkey ﬁnished second in women’s overall and third in women’s tricks. Katharina Hafner placed third in women’s jump. In the men’s competition, BG Bickley finished second in

ä See WATER SKI, page 4B

NATURAL TOUCH

STAFF PHOTOS BY BRAD KEMP

Jude Theriot, of St. Martin Parish Tourism, explains about the wax myrtle shrub on Sunday during the Better the Earth Fest at Old Reptile Tannery in Lafayette. Worm Lady Recycles LLC and Citizens Climate Lobby of Lafayette sponsored the event celebrating local healthy living and promoting education about the climate and environment.

Attendees plant some of the local plants in a garden during the Better the Earth Fest.

Morgan Smelcer gets a close-up look at a lichen, a unique composite organism.

St. Landry authorities say inmates plotted escape Sheriff’s officials say prisoners chipping away at concrete wall

of the tip, citing the ongoing investigation. The inmates did not reach the wall cavity or any structural elements, Leblanc said. The damage “is something that can certainly be repaired,” he said. The cell had no light fixture, leaving the electrical box exposed. Guidroz said parBY DEAN BOUDREAUX ish maintenance personnel had removed Staff writer the fixture “at some point.” Leblanc said Corrections officers at the St. Landry inmates had damaged the fixture, forcing Parish jail uncovered an attempted escape its removal. Other cells have heavy metal from a third-floor cell Friday after receiv- guards over their lights, but this one did not, he said. He did not know when the fixing a tip, the Sheriff’s Office said. Three inmates used a metal electrical ture was removed. box in the ceiling and broken pieces of a Guidroz said the cell has had maintebed frame to chip away at the cell’s con- nance requests dating to 2021, adding that crete block wall, Sheriff Bobby Guidroz the incident “once again illustrates the said in a news release Monday. They “had lack of physical maintenance in the jail not progressed very far before being dis- facility.” The Sheriff’s Office identified 19 repair covered,” he said. Maj. Mark Leblanc said officers received requests dating to 2021, Leblanc said. He “credible information” and inspected the did not know how many involved the cell’s cell, where they found the damage. He ä See ESCAPE, page 4B declined to disclose the nature or source

Authorities say juvenile shot at Lafayette motel Victim in stable condition at hospital

BY DEAN BOUDREAUX Staff writer

A juvenile was shot Saturday at the Plantation Inn on Northeast Evangeline Thruway, Lafayette police said. No arrests have been made. The victim was taken to a local hospital and was listed in stable condition, police said. Senior Cpl. Ken Handy, a police spokesperson, said the shooting happened about 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the motel at 2810 N.E. Evangeline Thruway. He said he did not believe it happened inside a room but did not cite a speciﬁc location on the property.

ä See SHOT, page 4B

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

OUR VIEWS

A less fat La. has more reasons to cheer

Louisiana is shrinking, and this time we can embrace the change. We often talk about our shrinking coastline and our shrinking population as problems that we have to have long-term strategies to deal with. But now comes news that our waistlines are also shrinking in the state, and if this trend continues, it will have as signiﬁcant an impact on our health and welfare as any coastal restoration or economic development project. In 2025, the share of adults who were obese in Louisiana fell to 35.6%, from 39.2% the year before, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That meant the state moved from the third-highest rate of adult obesity in the nation to the 19th highest. Louisiana was one of only two states — West Virginia was the other — to post a stastically signiﬁcant decrease in obesity. The ranking uses data from a national survey known as the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, which relies on telephone interviews and self-reported height and weight statistics, in addition to information from state health departments. It’s unclear what caused the drop, but there is no question that widespread use of the class of weight loss drugs known as GLP-1 medications has helped a larger population gain control of their weight. In Louisiana, the drugs accounted for $1.167 billion in spending in 2023. We know that obesity can lead to many chronic health conditions and diseases, which can be costly to the state and its employers. Last session, as lawmakers debated whether to expand Medicaid to allow for coverage of GLP-1 drugs, they heard a report that estimated Medicaid spends $2.1 billion a year to treat adults and children with obesity-related diseases. Though the plan ultimately awaits funding, its consideration indicates that lawmakers understand what obesity costs our state. Similarly, employers in to Louisiana face higher insurance costs due to our high obesity rates. Imagine what our state could do with money directed to obesity-related causes. We would encourage more study into what is working in weight management and how to give citizens more access to these tools. While the numbers are headed in the right direction, we note that the obesity epidemic is far from vanishing. The South and Midwest had the highest rates of obesity in the study, with 34.8% and 35.5%, respectively. And the prevalence of obesity today is still far above what it was a decade ago. The CDC says 21 states had obesity rates above 35% in 2025. In 2015, only 4 states had rates above that level. In Louisiana, we like to enjoy good food and good times with family and friends. But these numbers give us hope that we can still make healthier choices without losing our culture and hospitality.

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YOUR VIEWS

Listen to detainees trapped in our abusive system

Keep hunting illegal voters,no matter how scarce

Re: “Detainees won’t linger in detention if they simply self-deport,” Your Views, Oct. 7 Dismissing human rights advocates’ reports as “lies” obscures the documented realities of our immigration detention system. Working alongside detained individuals for seven years, I have seen that agreeing to voluntary departure rarely brings a quick exit. Many who sign departure paperwork — often after enduring abusive, unconstitutional facility conditions — still languish for months waiting for ICE to arrange travel. In our work, we have known multiple people detained for over two years (one for three years) before release or removal. Prolonged detention is highly lucrative for the private prison corporations running these facilities, which receive an estimated $150 to $165 per day from taxpayers for every occupied bed. The author of the letter also claimed that accusations that ICE obscures detainees are false. Yet once an individual receives a ﬁnal order of removal, ICE drops them from its online detainee locator system.

On Oct. 14, you published a letter from William Edwards concerning voter fraud (“Letters: After two years, no proof of widespread voter fraud. Let’s move on”). Edwards was against further investigation of election theft and widespread voter fraud, claiming there has been little to no evidence of either thus far in the investigations. I take exception to his demand that the investigations be terminated. My objection is very simple. The right to vote allowed by our Constitution is one of our most cherished rights and is limited to citizens. While the number of votes by unauthorized persons may be small, they are still illegal and unfair to others. I don’t miss any federal, state or local election. If one person who does not have the right to vote does so and votes for a different cause or candidate than I do, then that illegal voter just nulliﬁed my vote. While the issue may or may not be as widespread as some would like us to believe, the fact that a person who does not have the right to vote can nullify my vote is very upsetting.

This effectively conceals their whereabouts from families and attorneys at the most critical juncture. Families lose their chance to say goodbye or finalize essential legal affairs — such as powers of attorney for children and property — even though that person may remain detained locally for months. Lastly, the letter claimed an average detention of four days after a person agrees to leave. Syracuse University’s non-partisan TRAC data confirms that four days applies only to immediate border “voluntary returns” or summary expulsions — not formal removal orders. Under federal statute, ICE operates within a 90-day removal window. Coordinating consular interviews, identity documents and flight logistics makes a four-day turnaround for formal removals an operational impossibility. Talk to the advocates working inside this system, listen to those living it and hold our government accountable.

MICHELLE LAFLEUR MACFADYEN president, Louisiana Advocates for Immigrants in Detention Lafayette

Growing wealth gap threatens democracy Re: “Why today’s socialist movement is woefully misguided,” Oct. 9. In his recent guest column, David Thomas talks a lot about communism, something that does little more than increase the scare-word quality of “socialism.” Much of what “socialism” means is in the eye of the beholder. He tells us what everyone already knows: “Sweden, Denmark and Norway are not Marxist economies.” Instead of quibbling about whether those (and other) countries are “capitalist social democracies” in contrast to “today’s socialist movement” in the United States, we ought to be talking about how we in the U.S. can achieve better public education, including higher education; taxpayer-funded medical care free to those who need it; and adequate nutrition for young children not lucky enough to be born into privilege, among others. There is nothing wrong with capitalism per se. It’s a good thing. But there is a lot wrong with the greed-fueled, unbridled capitalism we have in the

MICHAEL G. HARRELL Tylertown, Mississippi

United States, which has produced an alarming increase in a wealth gap that threatens our democracy. By unbridled capitalism, I mean corporate personhood, dark money inﬂuencing government and political campaigns, off-shoring, labyrinths of obscure corporations that do little more than hide shady or illegal transactions and avoid taxation — the list goes on. Like it or not, we live in a society. Rather than bowing down to “the most efﬁcient economic system,” whatever that is supposed to mean, we should prioritize creating and maintaining our society for everyone and maximize the capacity for everyone to contribute. We’re in this together. As Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis said over 100 years ago, “We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both.”

Constant amendments an inefficient way to govern Ten amendments on the ballot? Really? Louisiana’s 1974 constitution has already been amended more than 200 times. In my opinion, this method of legislation is inefﬁcient and is totally inadequate for our constitutional republic form of government. The wording in these amendments is more times than not ambiguous, and frankly most voters don’t have the time to properly investigate the true meaning of each one. Many of these amendments are so politically or ﬁnancially convoluted that even an expert would be hard-pressed to explain the pros and cons. We need another constitutional convention to address this serious problem, ASAP.

BRUCE WILDER New Orleans

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COMMENTARY

Rubio’s Greece speech Back in my college days (American University, Washington, D.C.), required reading included the works of Greek playwrights Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides. Long after graduation, they remained on my bookshelf. It was believed for generations that these men, along with philosophers Plato, Cicero and other great minds, could teach us. At too many of today’s colleges and universities we find courses in LGBTQ+ history and, according to Campus Reform, a 2023 course at Harvard “aimed to teach students how to prepare for a diversity, equity, and inclusion-filled future.” Harvard is not alone in pushing woke courses. Into this intellectual chasm came Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Standing in front of the Cal Acropolis in Athens, Thomas Rubio recalled how the Greeks laid the foundation for democracy. Eighty years ago, this would have sounded so obvious that the speech would seem unnecessary. Today’s college students seem to know less about the past and get their information mostly through social media. As reflected in test scores, we have discarded the past as one might toss ancient ideas down what George Orwell called the “memory hole.” Rubio’s opening lines set the stage for the rest of the speech: “…time has a tendency to dull the senses: great victories and catastrophic defeats … seem to shrink to becom(e) like a footnote in a textbook, another fact for our schoolchildren to memorize and forget. But the Greeks of antiquity … seem to have an almost mystical hold on our memory. They call us back to them, again and again.” We in the West used to believe that looking back to what those who came before us had learned was a requirement before going forward. This was to ensure that their mistakes might not become our mistakes and their triumphs might be replicated in our successes. What we used to call oratory when we had orators and not dull politicians repeating talking points and poll-tested themes, was on full display when Rubio said: “The history of America, the history of my country, is covered with

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO BY KYLIE COOPER

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a meeting in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. the ﬁngerprints of antiquity. Greece is literally carved into the architecture of our government: in the towering columns, in the domes and the monuments across our capital city. The city where our Constitution was born — Philadelphia — is itself a Greek name.” Anyone watching or reading this speech cannot help but see the contrast between the name- calling and demeaning of others by President Trump and the seriousness and statesmanlike behavior of the secretary of state. In hearings before House and Senate committees, when Rubio disagrees with Democrat members, he brandishes a rhetorical “sword of truth,” without stabbing them. That quality was on display in Athens when he sounded like a professor at a university that used to teach such things: “ The men who founded my country were fascinated by the heritage we inherited from yours. They were exceptionally well-read in history – they were vividly aware of their unique place in it – but no other age of the past held their attention or their imagination quite like that of antiquity. Many, many people are surprised to

learn that the most commonly cited author in ‘The Federalist Papers’ was not an Enlightenment philosopher or political theorist. No, the most commonly cited author in ‘The Federalist Papers’ was Plutarch, the Greek biographer of Greece and Rome’s great men.” There’s plenty more in Rubio’s address that should be required reading, especially by young people. “What is past is prologue,” wrote William Shakespeare. That profound statement is engraved on the base of the “Future” statue outside the National Archives Building. Rubio has said he won’t run for president in 2028 if Vice President JD Vance runs. He should change his mind. Rubio has all the qualities one should desire in a president. Philosophers like Plato and Aristotle taught that true leaders must possess arete — a mix of high competence, moral character, and active service to the common good. Who, except the most partisan, would disagree that Rubio possesses them all? Email Cal Thomas at tca.editors@ tribpub.com.

Has Trump broken his McDonald’s promise? On foreign policy, it’s clear that, in The defining moment of the 2024 Wall Street Journal analyst Walter presidential campaign, it can be arMead’s words, Trump has “given the gued, came almost exactly two years ago, on Sunday, Oct. 20, when then-for- hawks more influence over Iran policy while catering to restrainer sensibilimer President Donald Trump traded his suit coat for a yellow apron and ties on Russia” — probably the oppoworked the fry station and the drivesite of what current public opinion thru window at a McDonald’s. favors. But those policies, at least in His staff picked a propitious location the short run, have not produced high in the battleground state of Pennsylva- casualty levels or perceptible fiscal strain. nia: lower Bucks County, just south of Nor is it clear that voters affirmathe Pennsylvania Turnpike and about a mile west of U.S. 1, suburban turf settively favor Democratic policies or tled a generation or two ago by the sons place any faith in Democrats’ promises to make things more affordable. The and daughters of blue-collar ethnic communities in northeast Philadelphia. swing against Republicans, however great it turns out to be, seems driven Trump lost Bucks County to Hillary more by an impulse to curb the Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in power and excesses of the Re2020. In 2024, he carried it over Kamala Harris by 291 votes out publican president than by any of 402,349 cast. faith in alternative policies. A The appearance at McDonGallup poll released Tuesday shows nearly half of responald’s was prompted by Trump’s scoffing at Harris’ claims, made Michael dents saying Democrats are without documentation, that she Barone too extreme. had worked at McDonald’s while What seems to make voters in college. But more than that, it unhappy, including many who underlined an argument that had been voted for him two years ago, is Trump’s proving effective for a month in proself-indulgence. Trump advertising. On policy, that’s most apparent in Those ads showed Harris, as a canhis tariffs. Even though there’s no perceptible demand for them in the didate in 2019, assuring the National political marketplace, Trump has gleeCenter for Transgender Equality Action Fund of her early support for fully produced a plentiful supply in his government-paid sex-change surgery second term. His affection for tariffs for transgender prison inmates. The goes back four or five decades, even tagline was “Kamala is for they/them, as candidates boosting them — John President Trump is for you.” Connally, Ross Perot, Pat Buchanan — Trump’s political standing has since have foundered. suffered because of a sense that, in his His juddering increases and decreassecond term, he has been serving himes in tariffs, starting with his “Liberaself rather than his constituents. There tion Day” just after April Fools’ Day in is now a real possibility that his Repub- 2025, have produced few perceptible gains for Americans but have resulted lican Party will lose Senate and House in higher prices. The tariff-raising conseats in states and districts he carried by double digits just 16 days after his test he initiated with Canada has raised stint at McDonald’s. rates to 50% and prompted Michigan For the economy, as The Wall Street Republican Senate candidate Mike Journal’s Gerard Baker plausibly Rogers to insist, “Here in Michigan, we argues, is not in dreadful shape. The know that Canada is not our enemy.” current inflation rate of 3.7% is much Rogers added, “We need to end this tarlower than the 9% rate under Biden in iff war now.” 2022. Trump is on more solid policy ground

in his actions against Iran, which has never apologized for seizing American diplomats 47 years ago — a violation of the first rule of international law and the first of multiple acts of war against the United States. He could have made, over time, a persuasive case for action. Instead, he seems to have acted on the assumption that the powers in Iran would prove as compliant with his demands as Venezuela’s Chavista thugs have been since his lightning abduction and prosecution of dictator Nicolas Maduro. It turns out that Iran’s mullahs and Revolutionary Guard are made of sterner stuff and are located in a more distant and perilous neighborhood. Also damaging has been the president’s self-indulgence in putting his stamp on Washington. You don’t have to be an aficionado of minimalist decor to find his gilt decorations in the Oval Office off-putting. There’s a plausible case that the White House needs a larger ballroom, and it is already flanked by the much larger and architecturally discordant Treasury and Eisenhower Executive Office buildings. You could complain that a hostile press has lavished unfavorable coverage on Trump’s plans for a triumphal arch, his Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool repainting, and his efforts to affix his name to the Kennedy Center. All minor stuff, you may object. But taken together with the higher prices attributable to high tariffs and the Middle East conflict, these projects have clearly damaged the standing of the president and his party more than anything in Trump’s first term. Voters see those higher prices every day at the gasoline and diesel pumps, and Trump’s job approval moves inversely to gas prices. It’s still possible for Republicans to argue that Democrats are “for they/ them.” But it’s getting harder to persuade voters that “President Trump is for you.”

The test every novel may soon have to pass Predictions are risky for columnists, but I will venture one anyway: In the near future, all fiction manuscripts will have to pass through an artificial intelligence detector before they are published. This will not happen easily, but it will happen. There have simply been too many scandals in which authors are suspected of submitting AI-written work, most recently the winner of the Caine Prize for African Writing. I won’t parse the arguments that AI detection is flawed, except to say they aren’t very convincing. Nor do I think the head-inMegan ega the-sand approach that many McArdle institutions have taken can be sustained for much longer. Much of the literary world is in denial about the implications of so much AI work making its way into the highest echelons of literary achievement. But eventually, we are going to have to decide where AI writing belongs, and where it does not. Even more than that, writers are going to have to decide what writing is for. For a writer like me, there is something baffling about submitting an AI story to a fiction contest. I’ve been writing almost compulsively since I was 8 years old, when I inscribed my first attempt at a novel in a black-and-white composition book. What is the point of competing for a writing prize if you don’t actually want to write? Why would you seek honors that rightfully belong to your ChatGPT subscription? But I am not actually that naive. I understand that writers write for many reasons, not just because we love doing the work. Much of the time, we don’t love doing the work. A common joke in my profession is that no one likes writing itself. We like being about to write and having written. The joke is an exaggeration — nothing feels as good as the delirious fog of creation that envelops you when the work is going well. Often, however, the work does not go well, and you spend hours slogging through pieces or chapters that refuse to come together. There is a reason for journalist Mary Heaton Vorse’s famous observation that “the art of writing is the art of applying the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair.” The dividing line between amateurs and professionals is often not talent, but the ability to pin our posteriors in place until something publishable emerges from our keyboards. We stay in those chairs for many reasons: because we have a story that demands to be written, because we have ideas or knowledge we want to share, because we think we can change the world or at least one mind. But if we’re honest, we also write because we need money to support our other hobbies, such as eating or taking out 30-year mortgages. And of course, we enjoy the prestige. It is much more fun to tell people that you are a writer than it is to tell them you are an IT consultant or an administrative assistant. It is enjoyable to get invitations for talks and conferences. It is delightful to have a wide audience for your thoughts, rather than forcing them upon the narrow circle of your friends and family. It is truly lovely when someone comes up to you and says, “I like your work.” If you enjoy doing the work itself, AI is a poor substitute. But if you mostly enjoy the perks, it’s tempting to take shortcuts. That kind of cheating will ultimately destroy literary prizes and perhaps traditional publishing. Why would anyone bother reading the product of your ChatGPT prompts when they can get a $20 subscription and compose their own? But for the individual cheater, it might work out well — at least, as long as judges and editors refuse to check. So after much agonized debate, I expect they will start running all submissions through Pangram or some other AI detector. That will still leave the writing profession badly exposed to AI. Many people will happily slurp up bulk-generated AI fiction and journalism rather than the slow, expensive, artisanal human stuff. The age of AI will disrupt the workplace in all sorts of ways. But the work will continue, as other kinds of work have continued through technological disruptions. People still run the 100-meter dash, even though a car or a cheetah could do it faster. We still cook elaborate dinners, even though the frozen food aisle is crammed with highly palatable substitutes. We still have dinner parties, even though we could stream wittier banter from Netflix — because we are humans, and we want to seek excellence, not just consume it. AI may make it harder for us to get paid for our work. But if so, it will also make it easier for us to focus on the reasons that work is worth doing. Megan McArdle is on X, @asymmetricinfo. Email her at Megan.McArdle@washpost.com.

Michael Barone is on X, @MichaelBarone.

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Community reacts to deaths of LSU student, fiancé Bail set for driver accused in hit-and-run

BY HALEY MILLER Staff writer

A firefighter who attended Delgado Community College and an LSU senior dreaming of becoming a dentist were engaged to be married in 2028, planning to tie the knot in a barn-style venue in Amite. But, in the early hours of Sunday morning, the young couple was walking back from Tigerland together down a stretch of Nicholson Drive when they were hit by a car that veered off the roadway. Leah Fonte, a 21-year-old Metairie native, died at the scene, police said. Her fiancé, Shane Hirstius, 21, died from his injuries in the hospital. The driver, Mia Dawson, 20, was arrested and booked on five counts, including operating a vehicle while intoxicated and vehicular homicide. The Baton Rouge and New Orleans areas expressed disbelief and grief Monday, with friends and family sharing stories of Fonte and Hirstius on social media. Fonte was an aspiring dentist studying biological sciences at LSU. She posted in May about a service trip to Panama in which she helped

RISHER

Continued from page 1B years at LSU. They spent holivdays with each other or with the families of American friends. “We arrived boys,” Raffray said. “We left men.” Yanic Harel had a one-way ticket home when he met Beth at a party the day after Thanksgiving in 1983. Three weeks later, he changed it to a round trip. When he returned, he earned a second degree, married her and moved to Houston. Their three daughters all went to LSU. “I didn’t tell them to come here,” he said. “They wanted to.” On Thursday night, DuPont and his wife ate at Pastime. His father ate there in

provide dental care for over 300 patients. She shared photos of her working with kids in the region as she smiled through a paper mask. “This trip made me fall even more in love with dentistry, service, and giving back,” she wrote. LSU Global Dental Brigades, an organization for which Fonte served as a fundraising chair, said in a statement that her positivity was “contagious” during the trip. “Leah radiated a genuine love for people and a desire to make the world a healthier and happier place,” the statement said. Hirstius was a firefighter with the Third District Volunteer Fire Department in Jefferson Parish, according to a statement from the department. He attended Delgado Community College in New Orleans. Assistant Fire Chief Alex Gorman said Hirstius represented “the very best of what it means to be a firefighter.” “He was a person with an enormous heart, an unforgettable smile, and a genuine passion for helping others,” Gorman wrote. “Being a firefighter wasn’t just a job to Shane; it was something he truly loved.” The couple was engaged in August of last year, according to a post from Steven Hirstius, who identified himself as Hirstius’ father. “I can’t fix this,” his fa-

the 1950s. On Friday morning, he walked across campus. The agricultural engineering building looks the way it did 40 years ago. Inside, he ran into the man who helped him build research equipment when they were both in their early 20s. “I’ve been married to him for 40 years, and he speaks about that night and day, the time he stayed here,” his wife, Martine, said. Bruno de Frobertille left LSU in 1986. In 2014, he came back for a single Saturday. “Just to touch land, earth,” he said. That trip wasn’t enough. This time he stayed several days. “We’re on the last lap now,” he said, and wiped the side of his eye. “You need to close pages. Now I have put

ther wrote in another post. “You’re not coming back to me. I’m devastated, heartbroken, and angry.” Ginny Larose, who said she was a family friend, said the couple “loved each other unmeasurably.” “The only small measure of peace I can ﬁnd is knowing Leah & Shane were together,” she wrote in a tribute post.

Nicholson Drive safety The incident has renewed calls for safety improvements along Nicholson Drive, a frequent route for students as they travel between Tigerland nightlife and their apartments or dorms. Construction currently lines the lane near the 5000 block of the street, where the crash occurred. Fonte and Hirstius were traveling on the right shoulder of the roadway, police said. “I am sick of seeing students and others killed while walking along Nicholson Drive at night,” Gov. Jeff Landry wrote on X on Monday. LSU President Wade Rousse, East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Sid Edwards and the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development were in discussions Monday about potential safety enhancements from Bob Pettit Boulevard to Lee Drive, according

the page. I am OK.” Forty years feels like 15 years. A reunion offers a strange chance to meet the people we used to be. For the Mauritians, those people were 18-year-olds who shared a car and wrote letters to their parents. The people on Alaska Street were their family until they could go home. They are the ones who remember. So they ﬂy halfway around the world to stand between a street and a parking lot where a rental house used to be. To touch land. Earth. As I walked away, I heard one person say, “Do you remember the bathrobes and the nightgowns?” “Yeah, I do. Of course,” his old friend replied. Email Jan Risher at jan. risher@theadvocate.com.

WATER SKI

Continued from page 1B jump and third in overall. Alexander Gschiel placed third in jump, and Florian Parth finished fifth. Vincent Ahammer placed fourth in men’s tricks, followed by Jack Silver in fifth. Gschiel and Parth tied for fourth in PROVIDED PHOTO men’s slalom. University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s Ragin’ Cajuns water ski “This win was a true team effort and a testament to the team claimed its seventh consecutive Division 1 national hard work and dedication of title and 13th overall. each student-athlete,” assistant coach Harry Spavin said. a great job of coming togeth- their work pay off and bring “Every year brings its own er and rising to the occasion. another national title back to challenges, and the team did It’s very rewarding seeing Lafayette.”

ESCAPE

Continued from page 1B lighting. All remain open, he said. “They may be repetitive about the same issue,” Leblanc said. “But there are still outstanding maintenance requests.” The Sheriff’s Office submits maintenance requests to parish government, which oversees the building’s upkeep, Leblanc said. The parish would provide repair cost

SHOT

Continued from page 1B

Police announced the shooting at 9:05 p.m. Saturday, saying officers were on scene and had taken the victim to a hospital with apparent gunshot wounds. Investigators set up a crime scene. Handy said he could not

estimates, he said. “That’s their purview,” he said. Leblanc said the jail is more than 40 years old and sees heavy use. The cell is closed until repairs are completed, Guidroz said. The three inmates have been placed in isolation, and the cell block is on lockdown. No new charges have been filed. Leblanc said officers did not catch the inmates damaging the wall and could not determine who was directly involved. “We don’t have any speciﬁc

information as to who or how many of them were directly physically involved,” he said. The inmates are Isaiah Carrier, Lenny Bruce and Drake Pickney. Bruce is jailed on first-degree murder and armed robbery charges, with bail set at $500,000. Pickney faces charges that include second-degree murder. Carrier is jailed on charges that include possession of a Schedule II drug and bond revocation. Parish government ofﬁcials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

say whether the victim was have 45 days from the judga resident or guest of the ment to leave, according to motel. Police typically don’t the order. name victims who survive. No suspect information has been released. Handy LOTTERY said the case remains under SUNDAY, OCT. 18, 2026 active investigation. PICK 3: 7-5-5 The Plantation Motor Inn, PICK 4: 8-7-3-3 which Lafayette City Court Judge Roya Boustany orPICK 5: 7-1-6-1-7 dered closed for ﬁve years Unofficial notification, on Oct. 9, still had residents keep your tickets. Saturday. Long term-tenants

to releases from their offices. LSU leaders said the specific plans would be released once they were finished. “All students, whether they live on campus or nearby are part of the LSU family, and their safety is our number one priority,” Rousse said. “After this weekend’s tragedy, we reached out to our local and state partners to immediately address pedestrians walking along Nicholson Drive.” In his statement, Edwards referenced the construction of a 10-foot-wide path between Brightside Drive and Gourrier Avenue that is already underway, along with additional lighting and improved crosswalks. He said his office will meet with DOTD Tuesday to identify “additional safety measures” while that project continues.

“We recognize that im- intoxicated, reckless operamediate safety concerns re- tion of a vehicle, hit-and-run resulting in serious bodily main,” Edwards said. injury or death, vehicular Bail set for driver homicide and vehicular negDawson appeared in the ligent injuring. The pros19th Judicial District Court ecution said they planned to remotely from the East Ba- upgrade the vehicular negton Rouge Parish Prison on ligent injuring to a second Monday. She identiﬁed her- vehicular homicide. Her bail self as a Southern University was set at $229,000. Dawson allegedly driving student. She was allegedly driving away from the scene before south on Nicholson Drive in a contacting police helped in2016 Nissan Rogue when her form the bail decision, Comcar veered off the road and missioner Nicole Robinson struck the two pedestrians. said. Police said she drove away “These cases are difﬁcult,” from the scene and parked Robinson said. “Vehicular her car at the Circle K on homicide is not a murder Brightside Drive. She alleg- charge under the letter of the edly contacted police about law. That doesn’t make the being involved in a crash but loss felt any less by the famidid not provide an accurate lies — their families, your account of the crash, police family, countless friends and said. family, I’m sure.” She was booked on counts Staff writer Quinn Coffman of operating a vehicle while contributed to this report.

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| T U ESDAY, O C T O B E R 20, 2026

SAIN TS VS. ST EELERS • 8:30 A.M. SUNDAY • NFL NE T WORK

1CN

Kiffin scoffs at ghosts of Auburn’s stadium BY JON BLAU Staff writer

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO BY ADAM HUNGER

New Orleans Saints defensive end Cam Jordan, left, looks to defend against New York Giants quarterback Jameis Winston during the second half of their game on Sunday in East Rutherford, N.J.

ONE TO BUILD ON

Saints’ win desperately needed, but big picture still fuzzy You’ll have to excuse David Edwards’ French, even if the New Orleans Saints now have landed in Paris. Many of the passionate words the Saints offensive lineman spoke to his teammates in the locker room after Sunday’s 34-27 victory over the New York Giants had to be bleeped out. “We won this game because of our week of preparation and our (bleeping) mindset, period,” Edwards said. “How do we carry that moving forward? Positive. (Bleeping) all together. That’s who we are. We (bleeping) showed that today. How do we build on that? That’s our (bleeping) objective this week coming up.” Chances are, the language would have been much worse — both in the locker room and among the fan base — if the Saints had let their 24-point fourth-quarter lead slip away. They didn’t. They held on and snapped out of a three-game funk to give themselves a chance to get this season back on track. It was a roller coaster of a game in what has been a roller coaster of a season. They found a way to win and almost found a way to lose all in the same game. “Resiliency,” Saints quarterback Tyler Shough said. Resiliency was exactly what the Saints needed after the way things had fallen apart the previous three weeks. The morale, at least among the fan base, was about as fractured as the broken bones in Shough’s non-throwing hand.

The migraine headache that sidelined cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry in the second half had nothing on the heartache Saints fans were dealing with after seeing all that optimism after Week 2 vanish. Nobody needed this win more than second-year coach Kellen Moore. This was easily the biggest game of his young coaching career. No, his job wasn’t on the line. Gayle Benson, despite her words last week about her disappointment with the team’s 1-4 start, wasn’t going to fire Moore. But the last thing Moore needed was to be on a 7½-hour flight across the Atlantic Ocean with a battered team still searching for answers. The Saints didn’t find all the answers at MetLife Stadium, but it’s a whole lot easier to learn from your mistakes in a win than it is in a loss. The slow starts are still a thing, evident by the 7-0 deficit at the end of the first quarter and the 10-0 hole the Saints eventually dug out of. The costly penalties that keep the Saints behind the chains continue. They were penalized seven times for 52 yards, but it felt far worse than that. Moore will need to find a solution for their issues at the left tackle position, especially with Pittsburgh’s menacing TJ Watt up next. And surely Moore now knows his team isn’t good enough

LSU coach Lane Kiffin doesn’t believe Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium is haunted. But he’s been around a few people who do. His former boss, ex-LSU and Alabama head coach Nick Saban, has said as much about the venue because so many extraordinary plays seem to tilt the balance of games there. One of Kiffin’s potential colleagues at Auburn, former men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl, tried using Jordan-Hare’s spookiness to lure Kiffin there when he was being ä LSU at considered as the school’s Auburn. next football coach. 11 A.M. “He’s like, ‘Hey, you’ll SATURDAY,ABC get a win every year that you really don’t deserve, because magical things just happen here. It’s haunted,’ “ Kiffin, who ultimately stayed at Ole Miss for another three seasons, recalled Pearl saying at the time. Kiffin hopes Auburn doesn’t win a game it doesn’t deserve this weekend. He’s already seen LSU experience its share of rottenness on the road. At Ole Miss, the magician Trinidad Chambliss made third-and-longs disappear, and the Rebels quarterback thwart-

ä See LSU, page 3C

Rod Walker

ä See WALKER, page 3C

STAFF PHOTO BY MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU coach Lane Kiffin walks up the sideline in the third quarter of the game against Mississippi State on Saturday at Tiger Stadium.

Desormeaux credits UL staff for rebound win BY KEVIN FOOTE

Saints use caution amid Paris protests: ‘We just want to be as safe as possible’

ers thinking twice about how much of Paris they should see. Reid said he anticipated many teammates staying closer to Versailles rather than branch-

There were a lot of reasons the UL Ragin’ Cajuns were able to rebound from a disappointing road loss to Louisiana Tech with such an encouraging 33-6 victory over reigning Sun Belt West champion Troy on Saturday. On Monday, coach Michael Desormeaux didn’t want to leave out the most behindthe-scenes reason of all — his coaching staff. There was a lot of negativity and complaining about the program ä UL at after the 32-31 loss in RusSouthern ton. Desormeaux saw his Miss. 4 P.M. coaches keep the players’ conﬁdence level up despite SATURDAY, the gut-punch ending to ESPN+ that game. “Our staff did a phenomenal job of keeping our players’ conﬁdence really high,” said Desormeaux, whose Cajuns (5-2, 2-1 Sun Belt) play Southern Miss at 4 p.m. Saturday in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. “That’s what you worry about ... you’ve got a game that should be locked up and you come back and you end up losing the game. You worry about guys being shaken a little bit.” The staff’s strategy was to keep “the issues the issues.” In other words, it wasn’t just a bunch of yelling from angry coaches. Desormeaux said yelling instructions such as “catch the ball” isn’t really coaching. “That’s the crappiest coaching point I’ve

ä See PARIS, page 3C

ä See UL, page 3C

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

VERSAILLES, France — On his day off in France, New Orleans Saints safety Justin Reid plans to attend Tuesday’s Paris Saint-Germain soccer game against Barçelona at the Parc des Princes. The match, like Sunday’s game between the Saints and Pittsburgh Steelers, will go on as scheduled. So Reid will head into the city that evening, despite the ongoing protests over rising living costs and school conditions that have captured the world’s attention. Reid had to weigh whether the decision was dangerous. “It’ll just be, keep it low key, keep it fun, do things as a group, do things as a team,” Reid said. “And above all else, stay out of the mix and don’t ﬁnd any way to be a distraction to what our ultimate goal here is, to come in and put on a performance and get a win.” Saints coach Kellen Moore said he’s leaving it to his players’ discretion over how much they want to explore Paris during their scheduled downtime. After arriving in Paris on Monday, New Orleans has two lighter days of work before gearing up to practice Wednesday

STAFF PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGER

Saints mascot Gumbo’s French cousins, Louis and Lily, high-five a guest at the NFL Shop opening event on Monday in Paris. The New Orleans Saints play the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first NFL game to take place in France on Sunday. through Friday to prepare for the Steelers. The Saints are staying and practicing in Versailles, roughly 12 miles from Paris. But the protests, which led to violence and riots over the weekend, have play-

Staff writer

2C l Tuesday, October 20, 2026 l theadvocate.com l The Acadiana Advocate

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MEN’S COLLEGE SOCCER Indiana at Ohio St. BTN GYMNASTICS 12:30 p.m. World Artistic Gymnastics NBCSN MLB 7 p.m. Cleveland at Tampa Bay TBS NBA 2 p.m. Boston at Detroit NBC 6 p.m. Philadelphia at New York NBC 8:30 p.m. Oklahoma City at San Antonio NBC 6 p.m.

IN BRIEF

FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

NHL 7 p.m. Boston at Dallas ESPN 9:30 p.m. Tampa Bay at Vegas ESPN TENNIS 9:30 p.m. Brussels-ATP, Lyon-ATP TENNIS

Bills DB Gardner-Johnson suspended for spitting

Buffalo Bills defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson has been suspended one game by the NFL for spitting in the direction of two Las Vegas Raiders players during Sunday’s game at Allegiant Stadium. Gardner-Johnson was bickering with Raiders tight end Brock Bowers and was captured by video cameras spitting as Bowers walked away. It was Raiders center Tyler Linderbaum who immediately pointed it out to the ofﬁcials. Bowers said he wasn’t immediately aware after the game of what had even happened. Gardner-Johnson, who has a lengthy disciplinary record with the NFL and started his career with the New Orleans Saints, spoke to reporters after the game before issuing a lengthy statement on his Instagram account late Sunday night to apologize for his actions.

Colts fire general manager Ballard after loss to Titans

The Indianapolis Colts missed the playoffs five straight years and missed out on finding their next franchise quarterback in the 2023 NFL Draft. On Monday, general manager Chris Ballard paid the price for both. Team co-owner Carlie IrsayGordon announced she had ﬁred Ballard, who had been making the personnel decisions since 2017. The move comes one day after the hometown fans booed resoundingly throughout the second half of Sunday’s game, chanted “Fire Ballard” and left early as the Colts blew a 13-point halftime lead and lost 26-20 to previously winless Tennessee.

STAFF PHOTO BY DAVID GRUNFELD

New Orleans Pelicans forward Herb Jones defends Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard during the second half of a game at the Smoothie King Center last season. Jones is a big part of the Pelicans’ defensive plans this season.

Jones at center of defensive plans Pelicans stalwart key to Mosley's strategy BY LES EAST

Contributing writer

One of the primary reasons that Jamahl Mosley was hired as head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans is his record of building top-flight defensive teams. One of the players that Mosley inherited is Herb Jones, a former first-team All-Defensive player who can match up effectively against elite scorers of virtually any size, shape or skill set. The Mosley era starts when the Pelicans face the Indiana Pacers at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Smoothie King Center, and it will be the first opportunity to see how the centerpiece fits in Mosley’s defense. “He’s a great starting point,” Mosley said of Jones. Jones’ rookie season was 202122, which was also Mosley’s first season as head coach of the Orlando Magic. Mosley learned to appreciate Jones as a defender, and Jones likewise learned to appreciate the way Mosley’s teams played defense whenever Orlando and New Orleans crossed paths. “He’s been a pest over the years

ä Pacers at Pelicans. 7 P.M. WEDNESDAY, GCSEN.

of playing against him,” Mosley said of Jones. “I think he’s just got to be the head of the snake in a lot of ways defensively — guarding teams’ best players, depending on who that is any given night with the matchup, but just being able to be as physical as he’s been, as smart as he’s been, playing in gaps, knowing how he gets steals, just being disruptive night in and night out.” Jones has been a mainstay of the New Orleans defense throughout his first five seasons. To illustrate how much the Pelicans have leaned on his defense, consider the four-game stretch early last season when James Borrego took over as interim coach after Willie Green was fired. In a span of six days, New Orleans faced the Lakers, the Warriors, the Thunder and the Nuggets. Those matchups left Jones paired against Luka Doncic, Steph Curry, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic, respectively. Doncic scored 24 points on 6-of16 shooting; Curry scored just nine points on 2-off-11 shooting; Gilgeous-Alexander shot 5 of 9 but nearly half of his 23 points (10)

came at the foul line; and Jokic scored 28 on 10-of-18 shooting. Those are average to below average numbers for those players. “There are great players in the league, and when you have guys like Herb that want to take on those challenges, it makes the game plans a lot easier,” Mosley said. “They want whatever’s coming to them, and they’re taking it on wholeheartedly.” Mosley was quick to point out that his defense relies on everyone helping each other and communicating, adding that teammates such as Saddiq Bey and Yves Missi have the same mindset as Jones. “The point of our defense is that you’re not on an island when you’re guarding these guys,” Mosley said. Mosley’s defense had an immediate impact when he took over in Orlando for the 2021-22 season. He inherited a team that was 24th in the NBA in defense and it improved in each of his ﬁrst four seasons, ranking as high as third in 2023-24 and second in 2024-25. Though the Magic slipped last season, the team still ranked a respectable 11th. Jones’ third season (2023-24) was the season in which he was recognized with the All-Defense

honor after starting 76 games. Two years ago he was limited to 20 games because of injuries, and last year he was limited to 56 because of an injury. Now he’s healthy and is playing for a simpatico head coach. “He’s a joy to coach because he does all the little things so well,” Mosley said. “Defensively, he gets into the basketball. He’s physical, he’s aggressive, he’s disruptive, and I think the more you can have a guy that’s disruptive at the point of attack, it changes the way you play the game.” Although Mosley had an experienced elite defender waiting for him when he arrived in New Orleans, Jones and the defensive guru have collaborated on how he can be even more effective. “I think I have to be more sound defensively, not gamble as much because coach has shown me a lot of clips where I’m gambling, getting out of position and giving up a lot of stuff on the defensive side,” Jones said. “I try not to gamble. It’s hard for me not to, just because of my instincts. I think I see things before they happen a lot of times, but I think me being sound defensively, being in the right spots will help the team move forward.”

PELICANS NOTEBOOK

Murray’s return means Pels healthy to start BY ROD WALKER Staff writer

The New Orleans Pelicans are expected to start the season completely healthy. Guard Dejounte Murray, who missed the previous three preseason games with a toe injury, practiced fully Monday morning. Murray said after practice that he expects to play at 7 p.m. Wednesday when the Pelicans host the Indiana Pacers in the season opener. “I’m good,” he said. “I’m great. Happy to be on the ﬂoor.” Murray said the injury happened on the second day of training camp when his toe got stepped on. “Just was being cautious of it,” Murray said about his absences.

“It was really fat. And purple. It was really just getting the swelling down. That was it. I feel great. It’s not swollen (now). I’m able to run, jump, participate.” Murray scored six points to go with six assists and four rebounds in his only preseason game, the opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Murray is entering his third season with the Pelicans. He is averaging 17.2 points and 7.0 assists since arriving in New Orleans.

Final roster The Pelicans on Monday announced their roster for opening night. The Pelicans now have 15 players on standard contracts, plus three players on a two-way contract. The 15 players on a standard contract are Herb Jones, Trey Murphy,

Murray, Zion Williamson, Jeremiah Fears, Yves Missi, Karlo Matkovic, Bennedict Mathurin, Jordan Poole, Derik Queen, Saddiq Bey, DeAndre Jordan, AJ Johnson, Bryce McGowens and Trendon Watford. Jaron Pierre, Malika Dia and Julian Reese are on two-way contracts and will split time between the Pelicans and the Laketown Squadron, the G League afﬁliate in Kenner.

Familiar foe Mathurin will face his former team when the Pacers come to town Wednesday. Mathurin, who the Pelicans signed to a two-year deal in late August, spent his ﬁrst 3½ seasons with the Pacers. The Pacers traded him to the Los Angeles Clippers in February. Mathurin isn’t making a big deal out of playing the team that drafted him with the No. 6 overall

pick in 2022. “It’s just another game for me, to be honest,” he said. The game will feature the return for Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton, who tore his Achilles in Game 7 of the NBA Finals in 2025. “It’s great,” Mathurin said. “God bless that he’s healthy. He’s been rehabbing for a long time. I’m very blessed, and it’s great for the game of basketball that he’s back on the court.”

Opening night To recognize the 25th year of the Pelicans being in New Orleans, the ﬁrst 6,000 fans at the Smoothie King Center on Wednesday will receive a commemorative hat. The halftime performer will be Red Panda, who will ride her unicycle while ﬂipping bowls onto her head.

Rams WR Adams to miss 6-10 weeks with an injury

Rams receiver Davante Adams will be out for 6-10 weeks with a signiﬁcant hamstring injury, Los Angeles coach Sean McVay said Monday. The Rams (2-4) also lost veteran defensive tackle Poona Ford for the season due to a ruptured triceps, and defensive tackle Kobie Turner is going on injured reserve with a groin injury amid a cascade of health setbacks for the struggling preseason Super Bowl favorites, who have lost three of four. Adams, a six-time Pro Bowl selection and the NFL’s leader in touchdown catches last season, got hurt on the Rams’ penultimate offensive snap in their 18-16 loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. The 33-year-old Adams has 30 receptions for 480 yards and four touchdowns this season.

Lakers get rid of former first-round pick Knecht

The Los Angeles Lakers waived guard Dalton Knecht on Monday in their final roster cutdown for the regular season. Knecht was the Lakers’ firstround pick in 2024, and he briefly appeared to be a star in the making early in his rookie season. The 2024 SEC Player of the Year at Tennessee scored 37 points while hitting nine 3-pointers against Utah in November of that year in the highlight of a nine-game stretch in which he averaged 18.9 points per game. But Knecht never matched that success again, and he never regained significant playing time after he was traded to Charlotte in February 2025 before the deal was rescinded.

Portugal suspends Ronaldo 30 days for his walkout

Walking out on the Portugal camp earned Cristiano Ronaldo a 30-day suspension and $285 fine from the national federation. The Portuguese Football Federation had provisionally suspended Ronaldo and on Monday called the punishment “adequate and sufficient.” The federation said Ronaldo fully admitted the facts underlying the charges through a formal statement submitted Friday. It said his confession and clean disciplinary record helped to reduce the punishment. During recent Nations League fixtures, Ronaldo played in the opening win over Wales then was an unused substitute in a win in Norway on Sept. 27. Ronaldo accused coach Jorge Jesus of breaking an agreement to play him and walked out. Without him, Portugal also beat Denmark and Norway again to qualify for the quarterfinals.

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Predictions say UL hoops squads have work to do

Continued from page 1C ever heard in my life,” he said. “No one wants to drop the ball. There’s a lot of technical things that go into it, and we try to take a technical approach with everything, and I think our staff did a really good job of that and our players believed.” The secondary did a much better job defending the pass than the previous six quarters without senior safety Collin Jacob. “It was both (technique and communication),” Desormeaux said. “We played with really good technique in man and zone coverage. We were lined up properly in zone coverage. We had good leverage. Our eyes were in the right spots and man covers were patient. “We used press technique and off technique really well. Our footwork was really good. Our eyes were where they were supposed to be. On the back end, we didn’t have any busts. You could just see the communication on tape.” The other encouraging area was the offensive line that spurred 243 yards rushing. “Collectively, they all played well at times, if that makes any sense,” Desormeaux said. “I think the guys that played the best from start to finish were Cooper Fordham and Zay Alexander, which was huge for us for Zay to play that way. “Kaden Moreau had some great blocks on the line, so did George (Jackson) and Jakoby Isom ﬁlling in for Matt Broussard, he played really well again. Collectively, the group played great. You don’t run what we ran for without that.” Broussard was back after two weeks with a concussion, but Isom remained the starter for now. Desormeaux also added that

LSU

Continued from page 1C ed the Tigers’ second-half rally. At Kentucky, LSU had a lead with under two minutes left, but the Wildcats tied it in regulation and pulled ahead on a two-point conversion in overtime. Kiffin isn’t sure the latter should have happened because a Kentucky timeout negated a false start penalty. Coaches with a more intangible way of thinking will say teams have to learn how to win, and LSU seems to have forgotten how to get over the top on the road with eight straight SEC defeats away from Tiger Stadium. But Kiffin doesn’t buy that theory. “The kick goes in, like I say, and then everybody’s like, ‘Y’all learned to win, man. Great resilience,’ ” Kiffin said. “It doesn’t go in and hits the upright, and then ‘You guys don’t know how to win on the road.’ So I think that’s probably a little bit overrated.” Forget the woo-woo stuff, especially following two road losses by a combined nine points. LSU just needs to execute better, in Kiffin’s opinion, which didn’t happen enough at Ole Miss and Kentucky in critical situations. LSU (5-2, 2-2 SEC) just needs a win at Auburn, which would keep Kiffin’s squad in a wideopen College Football Playoff

WALKER

Continued from page 1C to rest starters early in the fourth quarter. That decision, aided by running back CJ Donaldson’s fumble, almost cost the Saints in what would have been one of the worst collapses in team history. The only thing that matters in the NFL is what the scoreboard says when the clock displays all zeroes. The Saints found a way to win, which is what good teams do. No, the Saints aren’t a good team yet. That can change if they string some W’s together over the next month. Do it enough times over this next stretch, and nobody will even be talking about how bad things were after those three straight home losses to the Raiders, Falcons and Vikings. Moore didn’t all of a sudden win back the confidence of the fan base. But at least his team fixed some things that were broken. The Saints finally ran the ball well (175 yards rushing), and they finally forced

The Acadiana Advocate l theadvocate.com l Tuesday, October 20, 2026 l 3C

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

STAFF PHOTO BY BRAD KEMP

UL running back Anthony Reagan was part of the Cajuns’ 243-yard rushing attack that was the catalyst for the 33-6 win over Troy on Saturday. tight end Caden Jensen “played really well on the edge.” The offense was forced to make an adjustment. After struggling mightily in the first quarter, the Cajuns found the formula to give the Troy defense trouble. “The wind was definitely a factor,” Desormeaux said. “It kind of dictated a little bit the way that you had to call the game, depending on which direction you were going. It felt like it was 30, 40 miles an hour at times. It was bad.” The other reason for a sluggish offense early on was the Cajuns had “to work through some things with the way they (Troy defense) were playing some things with the fits and stuff like

that. I thought our staff did a really good job of relaying that, and our kids did a good job of settling in.” The result was putting up 33 points, despite the worst completion percentage of the season at 13-of-23 passing. “We didn’t have our best day in the pocket,” Desormeaux said. “I thought we had some time where we could have stood in there and we had some guys that were open ... it took Lunch (Winﬁeld) a little while to settle in. “I’ve got to do a good job of calming him down early and just getting him to go through it.”

race as the SEC continues to beat up on itself. There have been challenges in LSU’s pursuit, both expected and unexpected. Kiffin knew it would take time for a significantly overhauled offense to hit its stride, which he believes is starting to happen. Quarterback Sam Leavitt just had his best performance in a 31-0 win over Mississippi State, going 31-of-38 passing for 289 yards and four touchdowns. Kiffin also knew he’d assembled a “top-heavy” roster, sacrificing depth to pay elite transfer talents such as Leavitt and left tackle Jordan Seaton in the hope of competing right away. What he didn’t anticipate was a stretch where both No. 7 jersey wearers — tight end Trey’Dez Green and linebacker Whit Weeks — would be out with injuries. Kiffin declined to comment on their status ahead of Auburn, but there has been hope Green could return after next week’s open date. Weeks hasn’t been ruled out to return at some point. “We built the team to be able to play against anybody,” Kiffin said. Unranked Auburn proved last weekend it can beat anybody, taking down then-No. 1 Georgia in Athens. Interestingly enough, an Auburn win is what Kiffin wanted to see. Kiffin doesn’t believe in haunted stadiums, but he does believe in “relief syndrome,” which is an emotional letdown after a big win.

“It doesn’t mean we’re going to win this week and they’re going to lose,” Kiffin said. “But that’s a real thing. That’s a real challenge.” Kiffin also knows college athletes spend too much time on social media. “You start to be told how great you are when you have those wins,” Kiffin said. “I was rooting for them at the end of the game to win, knowing we were playing next week. Just because that makes it more challenging.” Jordan-Hare Stadium, a stadium packed with nearly 90,000 fans, will be a challenge for LSU after visits to Ole Miss and Kentucky venues with just more than 60,000 apiece. There are no ghosts, despite Pearl’s suggestions to the contrary, but Kiffin would go as far as to call Auburn’s venue a “magical” place. He experienced enough Iron Bowls as an Alabama coordinator to respect its ferocity. No exorcisms are required to win there, however. Just another “e” word: execution. “A lot of times on the road, as you break down your losses and close losses, they’re usually not as much how many plays they make,” Kiffin said. “It’s more the mistakes you make. More penalties, more false starts and more turnovers than when you play at home.”

turnovers (four). Playing on the road seems to be just the cure they needed. For whatever reason, the Saints continue to play better on the road than they do at home. They are 0-3 at home and a two-point conversion in Detroit away from being 3-0 on the road. Next up is a “home” game in Paris. That’s where they will get to answer Edwards’ question. “How do we build on that?” The Saints have yet to play consistently for four quarters. What they showed late in the second quarter and in the third quarter against the Giants is a good foundation to build on. Drew Brees, who handled broadcast duties for Fox on Sunday, said during pregame that this was a game where the Saints could get some of their swagger back. I’m not sure how much swagger they got back, but they should at least have gotten some conﬁdence back. About bleeping time. Excuse my French. Email Rod Walker at rwalker@theadvocate.com.

Email Kevin Foote at kfoote@ theadvocate.com.

Email Jon Blau at jon.blau@ theadvocate.com

PARIS

Continued from page 1C ing out. “I think being in Paris is one of the most beautiful things you can be a part of,” Saints tight end Juwan Johnson said. “It has so much history. It has so much things going on. But I think the biggest thing is just praying for them. With everything that’s going on, I think they’re exercising what they want as far as change and stuff. “Us as outsiders, we just want to be as safe as possible.” Johnson noted many players’ families have tagged along for this trip, which marks the NFL’s first-ever game in Paris. But Johnson said his own family — which includes his wife, who is pregnant with their third child, and their two daughters — is still “very undecided” on whether to visit and attend Sunday’s game. “If they do, I’m sure it’ll be great,” Johnson said. “But if they don’t, I completely understand.” The Saints and the NFL continue to monitor the situation. On Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron addressed the nation and said

its in scoring 16 times last season and averaged 12.7 points and 6.2 rebounds a game with 45% shooting. Fans can get the first look at Brodhead’s new roster at 6 p.m. Thursday against LSU Alexandria in the first of two exhibition games. The regular-season opener is scheduled for Nov. 3 at 6 p.m. against Xavier. On the men’s side, the Cajuns open the regular season against Akron on Nov. 2 at the Cajundome. Arkansas State was picked to win the men’s title with 182 points with three first-place votes, while James Madison was a close second with 176 points, despite nine firstplace votes. The preseason player of the year for the men is Isaac Taveras of Southern Miss. On the women’s side, Crislyn Rose is the preseason pllayer of the year from Arkansas State. James Madison was the preseason favorite to win the league on the women’s side with 189 points and 11 first-place votes, followed by Troy in second with 166 points and Arkansas State third with 165.

According to the Sun Belt Conference men’s and women’s basketball coaches, there’s certainly room for improvement for the UL squads. On the men’s side, the Ragin’ Cajuns’ men were picked sixth in the league standings after ﬁnishing 12th in coach Quannas White’s ﬁrst season at the helm. Injuries played a key role in the Cajuns struggling with an 11-22 overall and 7-11 league record last season. One of those key injuries was suffered by Oklahoma State transfer point guard Jamyron Keller, who played in only the first two games of the season. Keller’s potential was enough for him to be voted as a third-team All-Sun Belt selection. On the women’s side, coach Garry Brodhead is coming off the worst season of his career at 5-26 overall and 2-16 in league play. The coaches voted UL to move up one spot to 13th in the league standings. One of the main reasons for optimism this season is sophomore forward Imani Daniel. The John Email Kevin Foote at kfoote@ Curtis product reached double dig- theadvocate.com. Sun Belt men’s basketball

Sun Belt women’s basketball

Preseason player of the year: Isaac Taveras, Southern Miss FIRST TEAM Adante’ Holiman, Old Dominion Peyton Law, South Alabama Jacob Meyer, Georgia State Noah Otshudi, Marshall Isaac Taveras, Southern Miss SECOND TEAM Tameron Ferguson, Arkansas State Preston Fowler, James Madison Dallas Gardner, Georgia Southern Gage Lattimore, James Madison Layne Taylor, Arkansas State THIRD TEAM Jacoi Hutchinson, Troy Jamyron Keller, UL Jalen Langsy, South Alabama Kyran Tilley, Louisiana Tech K.J. Windham, James Madison

Preseason player of the year: Crislyn Rose, Arkansas State FIRST TEAM Tessa Grady, Coastal Carolina Jordan Marshall, Louisiana Tech Daisia Mitchell, App State Bree Robinson, James Madison Crislyn Rose, Arkansas State SECOND TEAM Imani Daniel, UL Aniya Hubbard, Troy Olivia Olson, Marshall Zakiya Stephenson, James Madison Joi Williams, App State THIRD TEAM Kayla Cleaveland, Georgia Southern Grace McDonough, James Madison Chrysta Narcisse, Southern Miss Riley Stack, Old Dominion Alexia Weaver, Louisiana Tech

Men’s poll

Women’s poll

1. Arkansas State (3) – 182 2. James Madison (9) – 176 3. Troy – 143 4. South Alabama – 136 5. Marshall – 125 6. UL – 117 7. Southern Miss (2) – 109 8. App State – 105 9. Georgia Southern – 85 10. Georgia State – 79 11. Old Dominion – 76 12. Louisiana Tech – 64 13. Coastal Carolina – 58 14. ULM – 15

1. James Madison (11) – 189 2. Troy – 166 3. Arkansas State (1) – 165 4. Marshall – 151 (1) 5. Louisiana Tech (1) – 148 6. Old Dominion – 106 T7. Coastal Carolina – 99 T7. Southern Miss – 99 9. App State – 79 10. ULM – 77 11. Georgia Southern – 62 12. South Alabama – 61 13. UL – 42 14. Georgia State – 26

STAFF FILE PHOTO BY BRAD KEMP

UL guard Jamyron Keller, center, is hoping to stay healthy after being voted as a third-team All-Sun Belt preseason selection.

he’d seek to hold those who incited the violence accountable. The violence left one protester and one police ofﬁcer dead, and saw the torching of government buildings. At least 2,000 people have been arrested, and others have begun to factor in the protests’ impact. The Louvre, France’s iconic art museum, announced it was closed Monday because of demonstrations out front. Saints guard David Edwards said after Sunday’s win over the New York Giants that he was still looking forward to the trip. He said he was “confident” the team would keep players safe. The Saints said in a statement Sunday that members of their operations and security staff had been on the ground before the team arrived and had received daily security updates. “There has been no disruption or impact at any of our team sites,” Saints vice president of communications Greg Bensel said. During Monday’s news conference, Moore said the Saints don’t “really have anything organized from a team-bonding standpoint” for their Paris trip. But New Orleans arrived a full week early, partly to adjust to the seven-hour time difference and replicate a “normal

workﬂow” in advance of facing the Steelers. “Our guys are smart; they understand this is still a business trip,” Moore said. “But at the same time, there will be a little bit of time for these guys to explore. And that’s an important part of this thing — go explore. You’re in a different country, a different culture. It’s a good opportunity.” For Reid, that means taking in his ﬁrst PSG men’s match. He said he’d seen the women’s club in person before because his former college roommate’s girlfriend played for the squad. He expressed skepticism that the rest of his teammates would be out fully exploring. “We want to enjoy being in Paris and seeing things, but I don’t think many of us are very interested in getting into the mix that deeply,” Reid said.

SPORTS 24/7 ON

4C ● Tuesday, October 20, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

Florida starts on top in college hoops AP TOP 25 POLL

BY DAVE SKRETTA

AP basketball writer

Rec.

Florida will start the men’s college basketball season where it ended it two seasons ago — No. 1. The Gators were the overwhelming pick to top the preseason AP Top 25 on Monday, receiving 47 of the 59 first-place votes from a panel of national media. It is the first time that coach Todd Golden’s bunch has resided on top since the final poll in 2025, after the Gators had beaten Houston to deliver the school its third national championship. “It’s cool,” Golden said of the ranking, “but like, we’ve been No. 1 before. We won a national championship before. That’s what I want our program to expect. That’s what we want to kind of go into every season at.” Duke received 10 first-place votes and was second in the preseason poll. Illinois received the other two and was third. The Gators started last season at No. 3 but crashed out of the poll entirely by early January. They rallied to win the Southeastern Conference regular-season championship, only to get stunned by Iowa as a No. 1 seed in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. “I think we’re more prepared this year for early-season expectations than we were last year,” Golden said. “We were kind of gathering ourselves, figuring (things) out for the first time, where this year we can use last year’s experience to

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO BY NOAH LANTOR

Florida forward Thomas Haugh, center, gives a postgame interview after beating Arkansas on Feb. 28 in Gainesville, Fla. learn from.” In an era of roster upheaval — some teams still don’t know who will be eligible as court cases play out — the Gators have the benefit of experience on their side. Thomas Haugh, Alex Condon, Rueben Chinyelu and Denzel Aberdeen all played on their national title team. Aberdeen, back after a year at Kentucky, is among the players who’ve been granted another season of eligibility by the courts. “We didn’t ﬁnish the way that we wanted to last year, so everyone’s kind of got that in the back of their-

head as motivation,” Condon said. “Times where we’re struggling in conditioning at 6 a.m., we just went back to that, and I feel like we’ve talked about it a few times with the core group, how motivating it is the fact that we fell short.” The Blue Devils matched their highest preseason ranking since they were No. 1 in 2017, though coach Jon Scheyer is well aware that where they end up is what matters. Duke has won 70 games over the past two seasons, a school record for such a stretch, but losses to UConn in the Elite Eight and Houston in the Final Four have left

Pts.

Prv.

1. Florida (47) 0-0 1461 1 2. Duke (10) 0-0 1411 2 3. Illinois (2) 0-0 1342 3 4. UConn 0-0 1241 4 5. Arizona 0-0 1214 5 6. Michigan State 0-0 1203 6 7. Texas 0-0 1040 7 8. Tennessee 0-0 932 8 9. Virginia 0-0 874 9 10. Houston 0-0 829 10 11. Louisville 0-0 822 11 12. Arkansas 0-0 760 12 13. St. John’s 0-0 669 13 14. Miami (FL) 0-0 650 14 15. Gonzaga 0-0 637 15 16. Michigan 0-0 605 16 17. Kansas 0-0 504 17 18. Iowa State 0-0 475 18 19. Texas Tech 0-0 466 19 20. Alabama 0-0 374 20 21. USC 0-0 306 21 22. UCLA 0-0 250 22 23. Kentucky 0-0 243 23 24. Vanderbilt 0-0 241 24 25. BYU 0-0 179 25 Others receiving votes: Missouri 167, Nebraska 70, Purdue 53, Ohio State 39, North Carolina 20, TCU 17, Saint Louis 13, VCU 12, Iowa 12, Virginia Tech 10, Indiana 8, Texas A&M 6, Villanova 6, Auburn 4, Marquette 3, Nevada 2, Grand Canyon 2, Utah State 2, Santa Clara 1

a sting on Tobacco Road. “I feel like any time I step on the court, I believe me and my teammates are going to win,” said Dame Sarr, who along with Caleb Foster, Patrick Ngongba and Cayden Boozer give Duke a talented returning nucleus to go with its top-tier recruiting class. “I feel like we have a chance to win a national championship. It’s just doing a better job this year.” Illinois matched its best preseason ranking since 2001, and returns ﬁve of its top eight scorers — headlined by Andrej Stoja-

kovic and David Mirkovic — from a team that made its first Final Four appearance in two decades last season. UConn and Arizona, each coming off a Final Four trip, rounded out the top five of the preseason poll. Michigan State, Texas, Tennessee, Virginia and Houston finished out the first 10, while Louisville, Arkansas, St. John’s, Miami and Gonzaga were next. Michigan, Kansas, Iowa State, Texas Tech and Alabama rounded out the top 20, while the final five in the Top 25 were USC, UCLA, Kentucky, Vanderbilt and BYU. The Jayhawks feature the nation’s No. 1 recruit, Tyran Stokes, a year after Darryn Peterson brought the same billing to Lawrence for a frustrating season that ended with another first-weekend NCAA tourney exit. The late addition of all-Big Ten forward Trey Kaufman-Renn, a transfer from Purdue — coupled with the return of Tre White and Melvin Council thanks to court decisions — could change those fortunes come March. Kentucky is making its 998th appearance in the poll. Two more weeks and it will be the first to reach 1,000. Vanderbilt, which finished 19th last year, is ranked in the preseason Top 25 for the first time since 2015, while BYU is back in the poll despite losing one-anddone phenom A.J. Dybantsa, the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft.

SCOREBOARD Odds

Philadelphia at New York, 6 p.m. Oklahoma City at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.

Wednesday’s Games

Sports Betting Line NFL Thursday

FAVORITE OPEN at CHICAGO 1½

TODAY O/U UNDERDOG 3 (50½) New Eng

FAVORITE OPEN Pittsburgh 1½ at HOUSTON 5½ Cleveland 3 at NY JETS 2½ at MINNESOTA 3 at CAROLINA 1½ San Francisco 4½ at BALTIMORE 3½ Denver 7½ at DETROIT 1½ LA Rams 8½ at SEATTLE 3

TODAY O/U UNDERDOG 3 (44½) at N.O. 9½ (43½) NY Giants 1½ (38½) at TEN 4½ (39½) Miami 5½ (41½) Ind 3 (44½) Tampa Bay 4½ (50½) at ATLANTA 2½ (51½) Cincinnati 4½ (43½) at ARIZONA 3 (52½) Green Bay 5½ (47½) at VEGAS 2½ (42½) Kansas City

Sunday

Monday FAVORITE Dallas

OPEN 3

TODAY O/U UNDERDOG 4½ (44½) at PHILA

College Football Tuesday

FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG at DELAWARE 2½ 3 (52½) Missouri St at FLA INTL 10½ 10½ (45½) M. Tenn S. Alabama 2½ 3 (64½)at MARSHLL

Wednesday

FAVORITE OPEN New Mex St 2½

TODAY O/U UNDERDOG 3 (45½) at SAM HOU

Thursday

FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG Liberty 9½ 10½ (49½) at KNSW ST J. Madison 12½ 10½ (56½) at APP. ST at MEMPHIS 10½ 10½ (54½) E. Carolina

Friday

FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG at VIRGINIA 6½ 1½ (47½) Duke at UCONN 15½ 14½ (49½) UMass at TULSA 1½ 1½ (53½) Army Air Force 5½ 5½ (45½) at WYMNG NC State 7½ 7 (55½) at STNFRD

Saturday

FAVORITE OPEN Texas Tech 11½ at TOLEDO 2½ at TCU 6½ LSU 6½ at FLA ATL 10½ at MIA (FL) 23½ at NWSTRN 16½ at SMU 17½ Indiana 6½ Miami (OH) 1 at KENT ST. 3½ Baylor 2½ Oregon 13½ Hawaii 7 at UCLA 13½ at GA TECH 5½ at S. CAR 2½ at BUFFALO 4½ at ALABAMA 2½ at BALL ST 9½ Iowa 2½ BYU 9½ Oklahoma 2½ North Texas 1½ Kansas State 2½ at TROY 17½ at OHIO 9½ at LA TECH 8½ Louisiana 10½ at NEVADA 5½ Boise State 16½ San Diego St 1½ at CLEMSON 1½ at OKLAH ST. 14½ Georgia St 1½ at ARIZONA 10 at KENTUCKY 9½ at TEXAS 9½ USC 1½ at UNC 9½ at TEXAS ST 9½ UTSA 4 at NEW MEX 3½ at UTAH 5½

NBA

TODAY O/U UNDERDOG 10½ (56½) at CIN 3 (45½)W. Michigan 8½ (55½) W. Virginia 7½ (50½) at AUBURN 8½ (54½) Rice 20½ (51½) Pittsburgh 16½ (58½) Rutgers 19½ (53½) Cal 7½ (41½) at MICH 2½ (41½) at C. MICH 3 (46½) Akron 2½ (53½) at KANSAS 8½ (50½) at ILLINOIS 4½ (47½) at N. ILL 14 (44½)Michigan St. 4½ (49½) B. College 2½ (50½) Tennessee 3½ (44½) B. Green 14½ (50½) Texas A&M 14 (51½)Sacrmnto St 7 (40½) at MIN 6½ (43½) at UCF 4 (44½) at MISS ST 2½ (62½) at NAVY 3½ (57½) at ARIZ ST 15½ (51½) UL Monroe 12½ (48½) E. Michigan 12½ (46½) Old Dom 10½ (52½) at S. MISS 5½ (45½) San Jose St. 12½ (51½) at WASH ST 1½ (62½) at CSU 2½ (49½) Va Tech 13½ (55½) Colorado 2½ (58½) at ARKA ST 10½ (51½) Iowa State 11½ (52½) Vanderbilt 3½ (52½) Ole Miss 3½ (49½) at WISC 8½ (46½) Syracuse 12½ (59½) Utah State 2½ (51½) at TULANE 4½ (41½) Ndsu 6½ (56½) Houston

Tuesday

O/U (222½) (232½) (231½)

FAVORITE LINE Colorado -113 at WASH -167 at N.Y ISLNDRS -163 at MONTREAL -210 at COLUMBUS -164 at DALLAS -171 at ST. LOUIS -144 at EDMONTON -133 at SEATTLE -121 -299 Carolina Tampa Bay -116

UNDERDOG at NEW JERSEY Los Angeles Anaheim San Jose Toronto Boston Winnipeg Minnesota Detroit at VANCOUVER at VEGAS

Pro Basketball NBA Glance Sunday’s Games

No games scheduled.

Monday’s Games

No games scheduled.

Tuesday’s Games

Atlanta at Orlando, 6 p.m. Milwaukee at Washington, 6 p.m. Charlotte at Brooklyn, 6:30 p.m. Chicago at Toronto, 6:30 p.m. Minnesota at Miami, 6:30 p.m. Indiana at New Orleans, 7 p.m. Utah at Memphis, 7 p.m. Dallas at Houston, 7:30 p.m. Golden State at L.A. Lakers, 9 p.m. Phoenix at Portland, 9 p.m. Sacramento at L.A. Clippers, 9:30 p.m.

Boston at Detroit, 2 p.m.

UNDERDOG at DETROIT Philadelphia Okc

LINE -109 +137 +134 +170 +134 +139 +118 +110 -102 +234 -106

A_77,383.

Thursday’s Games

Cleveland at Philadelphia, 6 p.m. Denver at Oklahoma City, 8:30 p.m.

WNBA Playoff Glance (x-if necessary) Finals (Best-of-7)

Golden State 1, Atlanta 0

Saturday, October 17: Golden State 68, Atlanta 64 Monday, October 19: Atlanta at Golden State, n Wednesday, October 21: Golden State at Atlanta, 7 p.m. Saturday, October 24: Golden State at Atlanta, noon x-Monday, October 26: Atlanta at Golden State, TBA x-Thursday, October 29: Golden State at Atlanta, TBA x-Saturday, October 31: Atlanta at Golden State, TBA

PA 171 113 122 132

Jacksonville Indianapolis Houston Tennessee

W 4 2 2 1

Cleveland Pittsburgh Baltimore Cincinnati

West

T 0 0 0 0

Pct PF .667 154 .333 144 .333 144 .167 84

PA 104 164 143 129

T 0 0 0 0

Pct .667 .667 .667 .600

PF 106 137 156 128

PA 122 128 132 109

W L T Pct PF 5 0 0 1.000 140 4 2 0 .667 114 3 3 0 .500 162 0 6 0 .000 90

PA 83 125 162 151

W 4 4 4 3

Kansas City Denver Las Vegas L.A. Chargers

L 2 4 4 5 L 2 2 2 2

NATIONAL CONFERENCE East N.Y. Giants Philadelphia Dallas Washington

W 3 2 2 1

PF 136 106 151 115

PA 140 137 159 149

Carolina Atlanta New Orleans Tampa Bay

W L T Pct PF 3 2 0 .600 146 2 4 0 .333 142 2 4 0 .333 152 1 5 0 .167 119

PA 123 153 178 138

South

North

Minnesota Green Bay Chicago Detroit

West

San Francisco Seattle Arizona L.A. Rams

W 5 4 4 3

Major League Baseball MLB Postseason Glance {tLEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

Tampa Bay 3, Cleveland 2

W L T Pct PF 5 1 0 .833 197 4 2 0 .667 136 2 4 0 .333 112 0 5 0 .000 70

North

First downs Total Net Yards Rushes-yards Passing Punt Returns Kickoff Returns Interceptions Ret. Comp-Att-Int Sacked-Yards Lost Punts Fumbles-Lost Penalties-Yards Time of Possession INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING_Dallas, J.Williams 11-41, Prescott 2-7, Goodson 2-0. Green Bay, Strong 11-28, Love 4-12, Lloyd 8-10, S.Williams 2-9, Johnson 1-(minus 2). PASSING_Dallas, Prescott 34-54-2-258. Green Bay, Love 23-41-1-276. RECEIVING_Dallas, Lamb 9-70, Flournoy 7-40, Pickens 6-73, Spann-Ford 4-35, Luepke 3-9, Ferguson 2-13, J.Williams 2-9, Goodson 1-9. Green Bay, Golden 6-104, Strong 5-39, Kraft 5-37, S.Williams 4-32, Watson 3-64. MISSED FIELD GOALS_None.

(TBS, TruTV, HBO Max)

Buffalo New England N.Y. Jets Miami

South

GB 20 318 26-57 261 1-16 2-51 2-22 23-41-1 3-15 3-50.333 0-0 11-96 30:51

American League

NFL Glance AMERICAN CONFERENCE East

Dal 24 303 15-48 255 3-18 6-147 1-0 34-54-2 1-3 3-45.0 1-0 11-108 29:09

(Best-of-7)

Pro football

L 2 4 4 3

L 0 2 2 2

T 1 0 0 1

Pct .583 .333 .333 .300

T Pct PF 0 1.000 109 0 .667 127 0 .667 150 0 .600 164

PA 64 125 119 148

W L T Pct PF 5 0 0 1.000 154 3 3 0 .500 148 2 4 0 .333 126 2 4 0 .333 135

PA 93 122 178 138

Thursday’s Games

FAVORITE LINE Boston 1½ at NEW YORK 4½ at SAN ANTONIO 2½

NHL Tuesday

Fourth Quarter GB_FG Smack 29, 10:06. Dal_Flournoy 6 pass from Prescott (pass failed), :44.

Denver 17, Seattle 14, OT

Sunday’s Games

Houston 34, Jacksonville 31, London, GBR Carolina 25, Philadelphia 14 Chicago 31, Atlanta 23 Cleveland 13, Baltimore 10 New England 26, N.Y. Jets 19 New Orleans 34, N.Y. Giants 27 Pittsburgh 26, Tampa Bay 19, OT Tennessee 26, Indianapolis 20 Arizona 18, L.A. Rams 16 Buffalo 33, Las Vegas 30 Kansas City 22, L.A. Chargers 6 Green Bay 23, Dallas 13 Open: Cincinnati, Miami, Detroit, Minnesota

Monday’s Games

Washington at San Francisco, n

Late Sunday Green Bay 23, Dallas 13

Dallas 0 0 7 6 — 13 Green Bay 7 10 3 3 — 23 First Quarter GB_Golden 9 pass from Love (Smack kick), 4:43. Second Quarter GB_FG Smack 25, 5:58. GB_Love 1 run (Smack kick), :23. Third Quarter Dal_Ja.Williams 1 run (Aubrey kick), 9:19. GB_FG Smack 44, 5:02.

Monday, Oct. 12: Game 1: Cleveland 7, Tampa Bay 3 Tuesday, Oct. 13: Game 2: Tampa Bay 3, Cleveland 1 Thursday, Oct. 15: Game 3: Cleveland 3, Tampa Bay 2 Friday, Oct. 16: Game 4: Tampa Bay at Cleveland, ppd. to Oct. 17 Saturday, Oct. 17: Game 4: Tampa Bay 7, Cleveland 3 Sunday, Oct. 18: Game 5: Tampa Bay 3, Cleveland 1 Monday, Oct. 19: Game 6: Cleveland at Tampa Bay, n x-Tuesday, Oct. 20: Game 7: Cleveland at Tampa Bay, 7:08 p.m.

National League Milwaukee 4, Los Angeles Dodgers 0

Sunday, Oct. 11: Game 1: Milwaukee 2, Los Angeles Dodgers 1 Monday, Oct. 12: Game 2: Milwaukee 7, Los Angeles Dodgers 4 Wednesday, Oct. 14: Game 3: Milwaukee 6, Los Angeles Dodgers 2 Thursday, Oct. 15: Game 4: Milwaukee 6, Los Angeles Dodgers 4

Late Sunday Tampa Bay 3, Cleveland 1 Tampa Bay

Cleveland

ab r h bi ab r h bi Díaz dh 5 1 3 0 Kwan lf-cf 4 1 2 0 Mullins pr-dh0 0 0 0 Ramírez 3b 4 0 1 0 Aranda 1b 5 0 2 1 DeLauter rf 3 0 1 1 Vilade rf 1 0 0 0 Adell dh 3 0 0 0 Mesa ph-rf 3 0 0 0 Lowe 1b 4 0 1 0 Caminero 3b4 0 1 0 Bazzana 2b 4 0 0 0 Mateo pr-2b 0 0 0 0 Bailey c 3 0 0 0 Palacios 2b 0 0 0 0 Halpin cf 2 0 0 0 Simpson lf 3 1 2 0 Martínez ph-lf 1 0 0 0 DeLuca cf 3 0 0 1 Rocchio ss 3 0 0 0 Hicks c 3 0 2 1 Williamson 3b 4 1 1 0 Walls ss 4 0 1 0 Totals 35 3 12 3 Totals 31 1 5 1 Tampa Bay 111 000 000 — 3 Cleveland 000 001 000 — 1 DP_Tampa Bay 1, Cleveland 2. LOB_Tampa Bay 9, Cleveland 5. 2B_Díaz (4), Simpson (1). SB_Simpson (1), Walls (2). S_Simpson (1). IP H R ER BB SO Tampa Bay Rasmussen W,1-0 7 4 1 1 1 6 2 Booser H,2 ⁄3 1 0 0 0 0 1 Wells H,1 ⁄3 0 0 0 0 1 Baker S,2-2 1 0 0 0 1 0 Cleveland Messick L,0-2 2 5 2 2 2 3 Herrin 1 3 1 1 0 0 Armstrong 1 1⁄3 1 0 0 0 0 Sabrowski 1 2⁄3 1 0 0 0 2 Gaddis 1 2⁄3 1 0 0 1 0 Smith 1 1⁄3 1 0 0 0 1 Herrin pitched to 1 batter in the 4th. ABS Challenge_Messick (Ball-Conﬁrmed); Rasmussen (Ball-Overturned to Strike); DeLauter (Strike-Conﬁrmed). Umpires_Home, Jordan Baker; First, Adam Hamari; Second, Nestor Ceja; Third, Carlos Torres; Right, Mark Ripperger; Left, Bill Miller. T_2:50. A_36,303 (34,788).

College football College Football Schedule All Times Central (Subject to change)

Tuesday, October 20 EAST

Missouri St. (2-4) at Delaware (2-4), 6 p.m. South Alabama (4-2) at Marshall (3-3),

6:30 p.m.

SOUTH

Middle Tennessee (3-3) at FIU (3-3), 6 p.m.

Wednesday, October 21 SOUTHWEST

New Mexico St. (2-4) at Sam Houston St. (1-5), 7 p.m.

Thursday, October 22 SOUTH

Liberty (5-1) at Kennesaw St. (1-5), 6 p.m. James Madison (7-0) at Appalachian St. (4-2), 6 p.m. East Carolina (3-3) at Memphis (5-2), 6:30 p.m.

Friday, October 23 EAST

NC Central (2-5) at Delaware St. (4-3), 4 p.m. Yale (3-2) at Penn (2-3), 6 p.m. UMass (4-3) at UConn (3-3), 6 p.m.

SOUTH

Duke (4-2) at Virginia (4-3), 6 p.m.

SOUTHWEST

Army (4-2) at Tulsa (4-3), 7:30 p.m.

FAR WEST

Air Force (5-1) at Wyoming (4-3), 8 p.m. NC State (3-3) at Stanford (3-4), 9:30 p.m.

Saturday, October 24 EAST

New Hampshire (2-6) at Merrimack (2-5), 11 a.m. Stonehill (2-5) at LIU Brooklyn (3-5), 11 a.m. New Haven (2-5) at CCSU (3-3), 11 a.m. St. Thomas (Minn.) (5-2) at Marist (4-3), 11 a.m. Albany (NY) (4-3) at Rhode Island (4-3), 11 a.m. Wagner (1-6) at Duquesne (2-4), 11 a.m. Cornell (3-2) at Brown (2-3), 11 a.m. Bucknell (1-6) at Holy Cross (2-5), noon Campbell (6-1) at Maine (1-6), noon Lafayette (2-4) at Fordham (2-6), noon Dartmouth (2-3) at Columbia (4-1), 12:30 p.m. Mercyhurst (1-6) at Robert Morris (3-4), 1 p.m. Stony Brook (4-3) at Bryant (5-2), 1 p.m. Princeton (4-1) at Harvard (5-0), 2 p.m. Howard (3-4) at Morgan St. (5-2), 2 p.m. North Texas (4-2) at Navy (2-4), 2:30 p.m. Bowling Green (2-5) at Buffalo (4-3), 2:30 p.m. Lehigh (6-1) at Villanova (3-4), 2:30 p.m.

SOUTH

Pittsburgh (5-2) at Miami (6-0), 11 a.m. LSU (5-2) at Auburn (4-2), 11 a.m. Rice (1-6) at FAU (4-2), 11 a.m. Jackson St. (6-1) at Bethune-Cookman (4-3), noon ETSU (5-2) at VMI (0-7), 12:30 p.m. Norfolk St. (4-3) at SC State (5-2), 12:30 p.m. Tarleton St. (7-0) at West Georgia (1-6), 1 p.m. Tennessee Tech (6-1) at The Citadel (2-5), 1 p.m. Samford (1-6) at Furman (2-5), 1 p.m. Monmouth (NJ) (5-2) at Hampton (1-6), 1 p.m. Stetson (1-6) at Morehead St. (1-6), 1 p.m. Colgate (4-3) at Richmond (5-2), 1 p.m. Chattanooga (4-3) at W. Carolina (3-4), 1:30 p.m. Nicholls (2-5) at Northwestern St. (0-7), 2 p.m. Ark.-Pine Bluff (3-3) at Florida A&M (2-5), 2 p.m. West Florida (4-2) at E. Kentucky (2-5), 2 p.m. Boston College (3-3) at Georgia Tech (2-4), 2:30 p.m. Tennessee (6-1) at South Carolina (3-3), 2:30 p.m. Texas A&M (4-3) at Alabama (5-2), 2:30 p.m. BYU (6-0) at UCF (3-3), 2:30 p.m. Oklahoma (3-3) at Mississippi St. (4-2), 2:30 p.m. Charleston Southern (3-4) at Tennessee St. (2-5), 2:30 p.m. Georgetown (2-4) at William & Mary (3-4), 2:30 p.m. Louisiana-Monroe (0-6) at Troy (3-3), 3 p.m. Old Dominion (2-5) at Louisiana Tech (4-2), 4 p.m. Louisiana-Lafayette (5-2) at Southern Miss. (1-5), 4 p.m. Virginia Tech (5-2) at Clemson (4-2), 6 p.m. Austin Peay (6-2) at North Alabama (4-3), 6 p.m. Vanderbilt (3-4) at Kentucky (6-1), 6:30 p.m. Syracuse (2-4) at North Carolina (4-2), 6:30 p.m. UTSA (6-1) at Tulane (3-3), 7 p.m.

MIDWEST

Rutgers (2-4) at Northwestern (5-1), 11 a.m. San Diego (3-4) at Dayton (5-1), 11 a.m. Indiana (6-1) at Michigan (4-2), 11 a.m. W. Michigan (5-2) at Toledo (5-2), 11 a.m. Texas Tech (6-0) at Cincinnati (4-2), 11 a.m. Akron (1-6) at Kent St. (2-5), noon Presbyterian (4-3) at Valparaiso (3-4), noon Baylor (4-2) at Kansas (2-4), noon Butler (5-2) at Drake (2-5), noon Miami (Ohio) (4-3) at Cent. Michigan (3-4), noon North Dakota (6-2) at South Dakota (6-2), 1 p.m. N. Iowa (3-3) at S. Illinois (3-5), 1 p.m. Murray St. (1-6) at S. Dakota St. (5-2), 2 p.m. Oregon (4-2) at Illinois (3-3), 2 p.m. Chicago State (1-6) at Lindenwood (Mo.) (2-4), 2 p.m. Indiana St. (2-5) at Illinois St. (5-2), 2 p.m. SE Missouri (4-3) at E. Illinois (2-5), 2 p.m. Sacramento St. (1-6) at Ball St. (2-5), 2:30 p.m. Iowa (5-1) at Minnesota (4-2), 2:30 p.m. Hawaii (1-6) at N. Illinois (0-6), 2:30 p.m.

UT Martin (3-4) at W. Illinois (3-4), 3 p.m. E. Michigan (4-4) at Ohio (5-2), 3 p.m. Southern Cal (6-1) at Wisconsin (4-2), 6:30 p.m.

SOUTHWEST

West Virginia (4-3) at TCU (3-3), 11 a.m. California (3-4) at SMU (5-1), 11 a.m. Southern U. (3-4) at Texas Southern (1-5), 2 p.m. Houston Christian (4-3) at Lamar (5-2), 3 p.m. McNeese St. (3-4) at Incarnate Word (3-4), 4 p.m. UT Rio Grande Valley (3-4) at Cent. Arkansas (2-5), 4 p.m. SE Louisiana (4-3) at Stephen F. Austin (7-0), 5 p.m. Colorado (2-4) at Oklahoma St. (4-2), 6 p.m. Prairie View (3-5) at East Texas A&M (2-5), 6 p.m. Georgia St. (4-2) at Arkansas St. (3-4), 6 p.m. Utah St. (2-4) at Texas State (3-3), 6:30 p.m. Mississippi (5-1) at Texas (4-2), 6:30 p.m.

FAR WEST

Weber St. (5-3) at Montana St. (6-1), 2 p.m. Michigan St. (2-5) at UCLA (6-0), 2:30 p.m. Kansas St. (4-2) at Arizona St. (3-3), 2:45 p.m. San Jose St. (4-3) at Nevada (2-4), 4 p.m. S. Utah (3-4) at Idaho (2-5), 4 p.m. Utah Tech (0-7) at Cal Poly (4-4), 4 p.m. Boise St. (5-1) at Washington St. (1-6), 5 p.m. Portland St. (2-5) at Idaho St. (4-3), 5 p.m. San Diego St. (3-4) at Colorado St. (2-4), 5:30 p.m. N. Colorado (3-5) at UC Davis (4-3), 6 p.m. Iowa St. (3-3) at Arizona (5-1), 6:30 p.m. N. Dakota St. (6-1) at New Mexico (5-1), 9 p.m. Houston (6-1) at Utah (6-0), 9:15 p.m.

FCS Top 25 Poll

RANK REC PTS PREV 1. Tarleton St. (24) 7-0 648 2 2. Stephen F. Austin (2)7-0 623 3 3. Montana St. 6-1 591 5 4. Youngstown St. 6-2 567 6 5. South Dakota St. 5-2 520 1 6. South Dakota 6-2 491 9 7. Northern Arizona 6-2 482 10 8. North Dakota 6-2 457 15 9. Austin Peay 6-2 452 11 10. Illinois St. 5-2 396 13 11. Tennessee Tech 6-1 380 14 12. Lehigh 6-1 375 4 13. Mercer 6-2 305 16 14. Montana 5-3 296 7 15. Lamar 5-2 288 8 16. Campbell 6-1 265 18 17. Harvard 5-0 264 17 18. Monmouth (N.J.) 5-2 200 20 19. Richmond 5-2 152 22 20. ETSU 5-2 144 24 21. UC Davis 4-3 124 12 22. Jackson St. 6-1 108 NR 23. West Florida 4-2 57 NR 24. SELU 4-3 39 NR 25. S. Carolina St. 5-2 37 NR Dropped Out: Colgate (19), Idaho St. (21), Yale (23), Northern Iowa (25) Others Receiving Votes: ACU, 26; Northern Iowa, 24; Colgate, 18; Idaho St., 18; Princeton, 17; Bryant, 16; UAlbany, 15; Yale, 13; Weber St., 12; Cornell (N.Y.), 9; Wofford, 9; Morgan St., 5; Alabama A&M, 2; Southeast Missouri St., 2; Central Connecticut St., 1; Delaware St., 1; Marist, 1.

Transactions FOOTBALL

National Football League ATLANTA FALCONS — Signed QB Andy Dalton. Released QB Cooper Rush. CINCINNATI BENGALS — Placed TE Tanner Hudson on injured reserve. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS — Fired general manager Chris Ballard. LAS VEGAS RAIDERS — Released OL Evan Neal and TE Chris Myarick from the practice squad. LOS ANGELES RAMS — Placed K Blake Grupe on injured reserve. MINNESOTA VIKINGS — Designated RB Jordan Mason to return from injured reserve. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS — Placed WR Romeo Doubs on injured reserve. Signed DB Elliott Davison from the practice squad to the active roster. Signed WR Ryan Miller, OL Jacob Rizy and G Andrew Rupcich to the practice squad. Released CB D’Shawn Jamison from the practice squad. SEATTLE SEAHAWKS — Signed FB Jackson Acker and TE Josiah Deguara to the practice squad. Released RB Dontae McMillan and WR Malick Meiga from the practice squad. WASHINGTON COMMANDERS — Reinstated CB Trey Amos, LB Jordan Magee and RB Jeremy McNichols from injured reserve.

HOCKEY

National Hockey League CAROLINA HURRICANES — Placed LW Taylor Hall on injured reserve. FLORIDA PANTHERS — Recalled C Cole Schwindt from Charlotte (AHL). Assigned C Sam Lafferty to Charlotte. NEW YORK ISLANDERS — Placed D Alexander Romanov on injured reserve. Recalled RW Mitchell Chaffee from Hamilton (AHL). NEW YORK RANGERS — Signed C Luke Glendening to a professional tryout agreement. PHILADELPHIA FLYERS — Recalled C Cole Knuble, LW Alex Bump and C Jacob Gaucher from Lehigh Valley (AHL). Placed RW Owen Tippett on injured reserve. TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS — Recalled G Artur Akhtyamov from Toronto (AHL). WINNIPEG JETS — Recalled C Brayden Yager from Manitoba (AHL). Placed D Josh Morrissey on injured reserve and RW Walker Duehr on waivers.

LIVING

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

T U E S D AY, O C T O B E R 20, 2026

5CN

Raised beds put gardening within easy reach The traditional notion of a backyard vegetable garden looks something like this: neat rows of crops grown directly in the ground. But in some yards, the ground simply isn’t conducive to growing vegetables. The native soil may be compacted or contain a lot of clay, making it difficult to work. Maybe drainage is a problem, or perhaps you have dealt with persisGARDEN tent weed or NEWS disease infestations. Vegetable gardening is not out the window in any of these situations, however. Christine Coker, LSU AgCenter vegetable specialist, said raised beds offer a solution. “You get to control the environment because they’re kind of like a big container,” she said. “And because of that, you get to control the media that’s in here. You get to control the water, and they really help with controlling the weeds. We get to start with a fresh slate.” Raised beds have other benefits, too, and people sometimes opt for them even if inground gardening is possible in their yard. They lend an orderly, geometric aesthetic that defines gardening areas in the landscape, and some folks appreciate the opportunity to customize beds with unique colors and materials.

PROVIDED PHOTOS BY KIMBRALI PHOTOGRAPHY

Katie Napoli and Will Brierre head to a waiting golf cart after their wedding ceremony on the beach in Grand Isle.

MAKING WAVES It’s love at mile marker 2.9 as couple weds beachside in Grand Isle on rainy Saturday

BY COLETTE DEAN

LSU AGCENTER PHOTO BY OLIVIA McCLURE

Raised beds offer a solution to a number of hurdles to gardening, including poor native soil and mobility issues. Raised beds also are great for gardeners with mobility issues. “This is a much more ergonomic solution,” Coker said. “I don’t have to bend over or kneel down. I can reach well into the bed without straining any of my joints.” Though some are closer to the ground, many raised bed designs put the growing surface and plants at a comfortable 16 to 24 inches high. Some are even deeper or sit on legs like a table, making things even easier. These elevated styles also give you the option of gardening on top of hard surfaces like a patio or driveway — a real plus if you have limited outdoor space. You can purchase prefabricated raised beds, often made of corrugated sheet metal, in a variety of shapes and sizes. Just note that you’ll probably have to do some assembly, especially if ordering online. Or, if you’re handy with a few tools, you can construct your own bed using metal, wood, cinder blocks or other materials. There are plenty of tutorials out there to inspire and guide you. Make sure to size your bed carefully so you can easily perform routine maintenance tasks and harvest your crops. You should be able to reach across the bed from the edge. Coker recommends keeping the bed width under 4 feet. “More than that, and you really start overstretching or you

ä See BEDS, page 6C

Contributing writer

When New Orleans residents Katie Napoli and Will Brierre were researching wedding venues, they knew they wanted a destination wedding — one exotic enough to be memorable, but not so pricey as to burden traveling loved ones. Their choice? The Louisiana coastal town of Grand Isle. The state’s only inhabited barrier island is known as a remote oasis for world-class ﬁshing and birding, but for fancy weddings? Well, it is now. “We knew it wouldn’t make a bridal magazine as far as the protocol goes, but it was perfect,” said Wendy Napoli, Katie Napoli’s mom. “We just love it there. Whenever we go there, it always feels like home,” Katie Napoli said. Brierre agreed, “We love that we made it a local destination wedding.” Over the past several years, the Grand Isle community, with a

Chez Cake Bakery in Houma advised the couple to select a twotier wedding cake with additional sheet cakes so that there would be no mishaps getting the cake over the Intracoastal Waterway Bridge to the island in one piece.

full-time population of about 800 residents, has experienced lifechanging challenges, including impacts of COVID-19 and devastation caused by Hurricane Ida. The residents have gradually worked to rebuild. “We could not be more honored for them to come to Grand Isle for their wedding,” said Louise LaFont, director of Grand Isle Tourism. LaFont said there have been weddings on the beach in the past, but they have been smaller, intimate affairs. “When the brides are barefoot on the beach with the Gulf in the background, it makes for a beautiful setting,” she said. Katie Napoli is from Baton Rouge and Brierre from Lafayette, and both are from large extended families. “There was some head-scratching for us as we began to try and ﬁgure out how to make it all happen,” the bride admitted.

ä See WEDDING, page 6C

VIVE LES SAINTS!

European fans cheer on black and gold in Paris European fans were excited to meet Saints quarterback Tyler Shough and lineman Taliese Fuaga at the Moose Bar in Paris on March 25. PROVIDED PHOTO FROM THE NEW ORLEANS SAINTS

BY KEITH SPERA Staff writer

Saints fans watching the 2026 NFL Draft may well have wondered why a dude with a thick French accent announced the team’s fourth-round pick. John Arieira Silva was born and raised in Paris and now lives in Nantes on the west coast of France. But he is hardcore Who Dat — or, in French, a “Qui c’est.” How hardcore?

A fleur-de-lis is tattooed down his right calf. In 2014, he traveled to New Orleans from France speciﬁcally to see the Saints play the Vikings. Three years ago, he and three friends launched a French-language podcast devoted to the Saints. And in early 2026, the team named him its International Fan of the Year, earning him

ä See FANS, page 6C

6C l Tuesday, October 20, 2026 l theadvocate.com l The Acadiana Advocate

TODAY IN HISTORY By The Associated Press Today is Tuesday, Oct. 20, the 293rd day of 2026. There are 72 days left in the year. Today in history: On Oct. 20, 1944, Gen. Douglas MacArthur waded ashore in his return to the Philippines against Japanese forces in World War II, fulfilling a promise he made (“I shall return”) after being ordered to evacuate the country in 1942 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Also on this date: In 1803, the U.S. Senate ratified the Louisiana Purchase. In 1947, the House UnAmerican Activities Committee opened hearings into alleged communist influence in the U.S. motion picture industry. In 1967, a jury in Meridian, Mississippi, convicted seven men of violating the civil rights of killed civil rights workers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner; the seven received prison terms ranging from three to 10 years. In 1973, in what would become known as the “Saturday Night Massacre,” President Richard M. Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliot L. Richardson to fire special Watergate prosecutor Archibald Cox; Richardson refused and resigned. Deputy Attorney General William B. Ruckelshaus also refused to fire Cox and resigned. Acting Attorney General Robert Bork fired Cox. In 1976, 78 people were killed when the Norwegian tanker SS Frosta rammed the commuter ferry George Prince on the Mississippi River near New Orleans. In 1977, three members of the rock group Lynyrd Skynyrd, including lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, were killed along with three others in the crash of a chartered plane near McComb, Mississippi. In 2011, Moammar Gadhafi, 69, Libya’s dictator for 42 years, was killed as revolutionary fighters overwhelmed his hometown of Sirte and captured the last major bastion of resistance two months after his regime fell. In 2020, a NASA spacecraft gathered more than 2 pounds of rock and dust from the asteroid Bennu and deposited the samples into a capsule for return to Earth. The spacecraft briefly touched the asteroid in NASA’s pioneering first mission to retrieve samples believed to be billions of years old. In 2022, British Prime Minister Liz Truss resigned after just 49 days in office when her plan for billions in tax cuts rocked financial markets and battered the value of the pound; Truss also resigned as head of the Conservative Party. Today’s birthdays: Japan’s Empress Michiko is 92. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame singer Wanda Jackson is 89. Baseball Hall of Famer Juan Marichal is 89. Former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky is 86. Retired MLB All-Star Keith Hernandez is 73. Composer Thomas Newman is 71. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., is 71. Film director Danny Boyle is 70. Actor Viggo Mortensen is 68. Former Vice President Kamala Harris is 62. Actor William Zabka is 61. Journalist Sunny Hostin (TV: “The View”) is 58. Actor Kenneth Choi is 55. Rapper Snoop Dogg is 55.

BEDS

Continued from page 5C have to get into the bed, and we want to stay out,” she said. If you are tight on space and need to place a bed against a fence or other structure, keep in mind that your access to one or more sides of the bed will be limited. That makes it particularly important for everything to be within arm’s reach. Once your bed is set up, you’ll need to fill it with growing media. Don’t use potting mix or topsoil. Instead, choose a mix formulated specifically for raised beds from your local garden center — ideally one mostly made up of ground pine bark. “It drains really well, and it’s really inexpensive,” Coker said. If you have a really deep raised bed, you don’t have to fill the entire thing with raised bed mix. Use items like leaves and compost as filler, then add raised bed mix on top. Exactly how deep your growing media needs to be depends on the crops you are planting, but in general, this layer should be at least 8 inches deep.

lll

WEDDING

Continued from page 5C Wendy Napoli said the Grand Isle locals were an enormous help. “We never felt that anything we wanted to do was impossible,” the bride’s mother said. After a switch in reception venues (the initial location was put up for sale), Jefferson Parish Department of Parks & Recreation ofﬁcials granted a permit for the couple to use the Grand Isle Tarpon Rodeo Pavilion. The wedding ceremony would be beachside, mile marker 2.9 across from the Sureway Supermarket, 3209 La. 1. Family began arriving to the island midweek before the Oct. 3 wedding day to help with preparations. When Wendy Napoli attended Mass at Our Lady of the Isle Catholic Church, several parishioners thanked her for considering Grand Isle for the wedding. In lieu of a rehearsal dinner, a welcome party with drinks, dinner and karaoke was hosted at the Hurricane Hole Marina & Resort the evening before the ceremony. Saturday morning, friends and family decorated the pavilion with dried driftwood collected from Baton Rouge riverbanks. Table decorations included photos of the couple, vases of wildﬂowers, votives and oyster shells that were hand-painted with pelicans and rimmed with pearls by Jennifer Syble, the bride’s aunt. The bride headed to the Vacajun Hairshop to have her hair and makeup done by local resident Elizabeth Ray. Two rented transport vans from MTB Transportation in Lockport chugged the 20-mph-limit along La. 1 shuttling the around 250 attendees from the Hurricane Hole to the beach and back to the pavilion. “We paid for a mass text service (called Zola) for participants that covered the whole island, and the shuttles ran at everyone’s beck and call from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m.,” Wendy Napoli said.

PROVIDED PHOTO BY KIMBRALI PHOTOGRAPHY

Katie Napoli and Will Brierre enjoy a romp on the beach in Grand Isle prior to tying the knot on Oct. 3. Nicky Lew’s Southern Specialties catered the wedding reception, which featured, at the request of the bride, Lew’s tuna tacos and boudin bites. Houma’s Chez Cake Bakery advised the couple to select a twotier wedding cake with additional sheet cakes so that there would be no mishaps getting the cake over the Intracoastal Waterway Bridge to the island in one piece. Cisco’s Hideaway provided the pistachio, strawberry cheesecake, Mexican chocolate, and Rum Chata pudding shots. The couple was so adamant about serving pudding shots at the reception that they purchased a freezer to keep the sweet treats cold on the pavilion. Hurricane season still looms in October, and storms are a part of coastal life, weddings or not. The weather forecast for Oct. 3 called for 7 inches of rain. For most of that day, the rains were light, so the bride decided to make a go of the beach ceremony

FANS

Continued from page 5C an invitation to the NFL Draft. Silva will join thousands of Saints fans — fellow Frenchmen, other Europeans, expats and a sizable number of New Orleanians — at Stade de France in Paris on Oct. 25 to see their beloved Black and Gold take on the Steelers. Some homegrown Who Dats may question the depth and breadth of Saints fandom in Europe, where the “other” football — soccer — reigns supreme. Doug Keese, a New Orleans native who is now a Paris-based photographer, organized a “booze cruise” on the Seine River for 20 friends from the Krewe of Tucks ahead of next weekend’s game. “I know zero French people that are American football fans,” Keese said. But they exist. And despite the Saints’ losing record, they’re ﬁred up to see the team play in Paris. The night before the game, Silva, his “French Quarter Podcast” cohosts and other Saints podcasters from Europe and New Orleans will host a fan gathering at Paname Brewing Company in Paris’s 19th arrondissement. “It is obviously the most exciting opportunity,” Silva said. “Announcing the (draft) pick was a dream come true, and representing the Who Dat Nation around the world was truly a gift. “But having grown a community (of fans in France) and gathering everyone around, then going to the game the next day and celebrating, will be a full circle moment.”

‘It’s something magic’ Allegiance to a professional sports team is often, but not always, tied to geography. For New Orleans expats in Europe, the Saints-Steelers showdown is an opportunity to see a game in their new backyard. Rummel High School graduate Nick Clark has lived in the Netherlands for 11 years. He and his family tune in to Saints games on Sundays, which start at either 7 p.m. or 10 p.m. Amsterdam time. He knows plenty of fellow American expats with whom he can discuss football. “I do not try to push football on the Dutch,” he said. “They do not care.” Clark, his wife and two children will be in Stade de France on Oct. 25. It will be his 19-year-old daughter’s first Saints game: “Paris is only about a 3.5-hour train ride for us, so it was an easy decision to make the trip.” The NFL’s yearslong initiative to build an international fanbase has steadily increased the league’s visibility and popularity overseas. Gabriele Zanatta is a 30-year-old

sans the decorations they had planned to use. Her sister, Kelsie Murillo, and the groom’s brother, Joe Brierre, served as attendants. Seven flower children (nieces, a nephew and family friends) threw wildﬂower seeds on the grass as they skipped down the dunes to the beach. Umbrellas held by guests made a colorful canopy as they awaited the bride. Katie Napoli walked the path with her father, Dean Napoli, over the sand dunes down to the beach. “When I came over the dunes and saw all those umbrellas, I lost my breath,” the bride said. “We stood in the rain on the beach with about a hundred other people who were brave enough to join us. Barefoot and holding umbrellas and the beautiful Gulf behind us. It was just perfect,” said Wendy Napoli. Unbeknown to the family, the Grand Isle Police Department

had jumped into action, helping to guide guests from the highway up to the dune hills and back again. After the ceremony, officiated by Ross Higginbotham, a friend of the groom, the rain fell harder, so the guests waved the couple goodbye as they drove off in a golf cart with beer cans jangling off the bumper. Their getaway was short-lived; ﬂooded streets stalled the golf cart’s engine so the couple jumped out, pushed it to the side of the road and waited to be rescued. After a quick toweling off and change of clothes, the newlyweds joined the party under the pavilion for a night of revelry Grand Isle style. The next morning, as family and friends were convoying back home, Wendy Napoli read a text on her phone from an old family friend which brought tears to her eyes. It read: “A wet knot is hard to untie.”

Pierre Thomas and Lance Moore.” Depert watches every game. Two years ago, he attended a Saints practice at Tulane University and went to a preseason game against the Titans. He hopes to score tickets to the Paris game for his whole family. “If that doesn’t work out, then we will go back to New Orleans,” he said. “That’s not a problem.”

time follower of @SaintsFrance, joined the “French Quarter Podcast” team for the 2026 season. He discovered American football in the late 1990s, when games were rarely available in France. Like Silva, Lefebvre’s fondness for New Orleans hard rock music, especially the bands Down and Crowbar, steered him to the Saints. The city/team’s recovery after Katrina deepened his affection. Super Bowl XLIV — the first Super Bowl he watched live on TV — sealed the deal. “I knew then that they were definitely my team,” Lefebvre said. “What I love is the team’s resilience, its determination to keep going despite the challenges, just like the city itself. “The natural connection between New Orleans and France makes my love for the team even stronger. I’m proud to wear the Black and Gold every day and to support them from thousands of kilometers away.” That distance is shrinking. When then-Saints linebacker Demario Davis visited Paris in July 2025 as part of an NFL outreach, Bille and Silva met him at a small bar/café near Notre-Dame Cathedral called New Orléans Saints. (The owner’s wife is from New Orleans. Fleurty Girl, the local boutique that sells New Orleanscentric attire and accessories, is installing a pop-up store there for the upcoming game.) The “French Quarter Podcast” crew covered quarterback Tyler Shough and offensive tackle Taliese Fuaga’s promotional trip to Paris in March. They interviewed Shough and Fuaga aboard a boat on the Seine and hung out at The Moose, a Parisian bar that airs NFL games. Weeks later, Silva and Bille went to Pittsburgh for the NFL Draft. As the Saints’ International Fan of the Year, Silva stepped up to the podium and announced, “With the 132nd pick, the New Orleans Saints select Jeremiah Wright.” He then ad-libbed, “We getting Shough’d tonight!” Shough rhymes with “duck,” so that shout-out earned Silva some Saints social media notoriety. That his team is playing in his home country is “mind-blowing,” even if such authentic touches as bucket drummers and smoked sausage vendors will be harder to find outside Stade de France. “We are beyond excited,” Silva said. “It all started with live tweeting games at 2 a.m. in France, translating news for a small audience. We can’t be thankful enough for everything that has happened since then.”

Hard rock Saints PROVIDED PHOTO FROM JULIAN ‘DOC’ LEFEBVRE

Julien ‘Doc’ Lefebvre, center, poses with Saints quarterback Tyler Shough and lineman Taliese Fuaga at the Moose Bar in Paris on March 25.

Italian who lives in Verona. His handle on X is “@GabrieleWhoDat.” He discovered the Saints thanks to “destiny and a mix of good luck and bad luck.” Stuck at home in February 2010 while recuperating from an illness, Zanatta tuned in to Super Bowl XLIV “to see this event the Americans are always talking about but in Italy is not really famous.” That was the Super Bowl the Saints won. He subsequently delved into the sport and the Saints. Drew Brees, Sean Payton and Alvin Kamara became his heroes. Two years ago, Zanatta visited “the city that is the mother of the Who Dat Nation.” He attended a game at the Caesars Superdome and fell “more and more in love with the city, the lifestyle, the people.” He traveled to Canton, Ohio, in August to witness Brees’ induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He’ll return to New Orleans for the Saints-Packers game in December. He plans to drive from northern Italy to Paris next weekend, “ready for the Who Dat Nation Italian fans to give our best.” Zanatta’s connection is “something more than the team and the city. It’s something magic. My love for Louisiana will never stop, and the Saints neither.”

The French connection The French may be historically predisposed to favor the Saints thanks to the Louisiana Purchase. Napoleon, then, is the godfather of the European Who Dat Nation. Maxine Depert lives with his wife and two daughters in Clermont-Ferrand in central France. The 30-year-old logistics team leader at a company that rents furniture and tableware was introduced to the Saints as a boy when a friend at his swimming club suggested he watch a 2008 SaintsPackers game. “He was a Packers fan, so I fell in love with the Saints,” Depert said. “The colors were all I needed to like this team. The players made me love it. Drew Brees ﬁrst, but also

Legions of European musicians play traditional New Orleans jazz. A very different kind of New Orleans music first enticed John Arieira Silva, the Saints’ future International Fan of the Year. Silva loves the city’s ultra-heavy metal scene as represented by Down, Crowbar and Acid Bath. Down vocalist Phil Anselmo flaunts his Saints fandom; that got Silva interested in the team. The fleur-de-lis on his calf was inspired by Anselmo’s similar tattoo. Silva added the word “Lifer,” the title of his favorite Down song and a comment on the duration of his Saints dedication. In 2008, he started live-tweeting games as they aired in the middle of the night in France. In 2015, he took over the Twitter account, @SaintsFrance. Other French fans joined him in an effort to grow the Saints community in France. In 2023, Silva launched the French-language, Saints-centric “French Quarter Podcast” with Bertrand Bille and Elio Amazouz. Amazouz became a Saints fan in high school. He’d long dreamed of visiting New Orleans, so the Saints became his team once he discovered “American football.” He thought the rebuilding of the city after Katrina was “fascinating.” His wife, Grace Poley, is from Maryland, so they spend a lot of time stateside. They try to catch Saints road games in the Northeast and were in the Superdome when the Saints beat the Texans to start the 2019 season. Bille, who lives in Lille in northern France, was researching New Orleans for a school project in 2009 when his older brother showed him an illegally downloaded Saints game. He studied the rules and offensive and defensive strategies. He appreciated how “incredible” the Drew Brees/Sean Payton era was with the likes of Jimmy Graham, Marques Colston and Reggie Bush. “They were the players who helped me learn and fall in love with the game,” said Bille, who also admires Cam Jordan and Alvin Kamara. That New Orleans is the “most French” city in America also appealed to Bille.

Interviewing Shough on the Seine

Email Keith Spera at kspera@ Julien “Doc” Lefebvre, a long- theadvocate.com.

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zodIAC LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Choose a path. What you decide to pursue will require discipline and innovative thinking to get to where you want to go. Don't let financial or professional stress slow you down. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Keep life simple, doable and affordable. Taking a walk down memory lane will help you recognize similarities in things that are recurring. Learning from the past will help you. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Cut yourself some slack. Follow your aspirations and what makes you feel optimistic about the future. Turn your surroundings into a place you want to spend time. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Listen carefully and get what you want in writing. Someone will try to mislead you if you aren't specific and adamant about your needs and desires. Put your energy into doing the best job possible. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Put your heart, emotions and thoughts on the shelf, and wheel and deal with finesse. Know your intentions, and plan your actions to serve your purpose. Love yourself first. PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Spend time going over your finances and medical records. Leave nothing to chance or up to someone else to decide. Taking control will give you the best seat at the table to get what you want when you want it. ARIES (March 21-April 19) Put more thought into what you want to accumulate and what you want to release.

Increasing your earning potential will offer financial freedom but also add to your responsibilities. TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Give yourself a chance to breathe. Walk away from drama, people who ask for too much and temptation that will cost you. Do your research, plan your next move and take better care of yourself. GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Consider your options and how to make the most of skills you enjoy using. Don't let boredom motivate you. Allow enjoyment and gratitude for being able to do something that makes you happy carry you forward. CANCER (June 21-July 22) Don't limit what you can do for the sake of someone else. Have heart-to-heart discussions that help you work in harmony with others without forgoing your needs. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Concentrate on learning and turning your ideas into something tangible. Don't let others dictate what you can do. When you know what's in your heart, it's up to you to follow through. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Spell it out for anyone who doesn't get what you are asking for. Be nice but blunt, and don't accept changes you don't want. Stay calm, stick to facts and make decisions based on necessity. 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

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TODAy'S CLUE: S EQUALS N

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8C ● Tuesday, October 20, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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

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Bridge BY PHILLIP ALDER Laurence J. Peter, who was a Canadian educator, said, “If two wrongs don’t make a right, try three.” We have been looking at deals with two potential trump suits, not three. By far the best analysis of the subject was written by Albert Morehead for his book, “Morehead on Bidding.” This was updated by Alan Truscott and your Present Author under the title “On Bidding.” It was an easy job because it was such a good book. Sadly, it has been out of print for years, but maybe you can find a copy online. In today’s deal, the problem is not locating the best trump fit, but landing in a game contract that can be made. North-South have only one eightcard fit. Five diamonds, though, can be defeated if East establishes his club trick quickly. Then the defenders will take two hearts and one club. Reaching a 4-3-fit contract is always difficult. Here, South’s three-heart cuebid asks North to bid three no-trump with a heart stopper. When North cannot oblige, he shows three-card spade support. (With four spades, he would have raised on the previous round.) Then South, with such strong spades, goes with the 4-3 fit, the only game that cannot be defeated. West leads the heart three. East takes two

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tricks in the suit and — best — plays a third round. Ruffing this trick will be fatal unless the trumps are breaking 3-3. Instead, South discards a club. If East either plays a fourth heart or shifts to the club king, declarer can win, draw trumps and claim. © 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

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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 — PARQuEt: par-KAY: A patterned wood surface.

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today’s thought “Let not your heart be troubled: you believe in God, believe also in me.” John 14:1

Troubles will come but Jesus can give us the victory. Trust Him. — G.E. Dean

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

DOW 51,966.03 -36.38 -0.07%

NASDAQ 26,430.89 290.85 1.11%

S&P 500 7,690.73 31.29 0.41%

EURO 1.1209 -0.0030 -0.27%

CRUDE OIL 103.66 2.25 2.22%

GOLD 4,139.00 -20.50 -0.49%

6-MO T-BILLS 4.38 0.03 0.69%

30-YR T-BONDS 5.47 0.04 0.74%

AI stocks Robust exports push China’s economic growth lead rebound on Wall Street BY CHAN HO-HIM AP business writer

BY STAN CHOE

AP business writer NEW YORK — Stocks in the artificial intelligence industry bounced back on Wall Street Monday and recovered some of their steep losses from last week, but the rest of the market and stocks worldwide were shaky. The S&P 500 rose 0.4%, coming off its worst week since June, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 1.1% because it’s full of technology stocks. The majority of U.S. stocks outside of AI and tech fell, though, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average swung between losses and gains before finishing with a drop of 36 points, or 0.1%. In Europe, the losses were sharper, and indexes slid more than 1% following violent protests that could ultimately force the French government to increase its spending to ease voters’ anger. That, in turn, could put even more pressure on bond markets, and yields cranked higher worldwide. Even with all the cross currents flowing through financial markets, AI stocks stood out, as they have for most of the past few years. A frenzy in spending for AI technology has forced them to the forefront of the market, sending them to record prices and driving indexes higher. Last week, AI stocks grabbed the spotlight after tumbling on worries about how expensive it has become to borrow money, which could threaten the boom. Much of the spending on AI chips and data centers has come from borrowed money, and Treasury yields in the bond market have recently hit their highest levels in years or even decades. That has raised the cost of borrowing money for everyone. Nvidia added 1.4% Monday and was one of the strongest forces lifting the S&P 500. Because it’s the largest stock on Wall Street by total market value, a 1% move for its stock has more effect on the index than any other’s. SpaceX, which controls the xAI business, rose 1.3% to $147.96. Its founder, Elon Musk, pledged on Monday to give one share of SpaceX to “every kid in America” next year. The offer came after Anthropic said over the weekend that it will commit 5% of the shares in its highly anticipated initial public offering of stock to a new “public benefit” fund. The moves for AI stocks were still choppy, though. Consider CoreWeave, a company that’s borrowed to buy AI chips that it rents out to customers over the cloud and has been at the center of the market’s swings. After initially jumping more than 7% in the morning, it flipped to a loss of 3.5% before finishing with a dip of 0.4%. That followed its loss last week of 25.2%. The swings came ahead of profit reports coming later in the week that could offer more details about the strength of AI-related spending. Meta Platforms, which is pushing its Muse AI agent, will report its latest quarterly results on Wednesday. Lam Research, which supplies equipment and services for the making of semiconductors, will also talk about how its business is doing on Wednesday. Expectations are high across the board for U.S. companies’ profits from the summer. Analysts are forecasting overall growth of 29% for companies in the S&P 500 from the prior summer, according to FactSet.

HONG KONG — China said Monday its economy grew 4.5% in the JulySeptember quarter from a year ago fueled by robust exports, moving closer to meeting its official annual growth target for the year as trading partners seek to balance their trade deficits with the country. Economic growth accelerated from the 4.3% year-on-year rate recorded in the April-June quarter, the slowest expansion in more than three years. Its economy expanded 4.6% in the first three quarters. For the whole year, Chinese leaders have set a growth target of

4.5% to 5%, down from last year’s 5% expansion. Earlier this month, the International Monetary Fund trimmed its forecast for China’s 2026 economic growth to 4.5%, the lower end of Beijing’s goal. “Domestic demand was weak, while trade grew strongly,” said Dave Chia, an economist at Moody’s Analytics. Exports will likely stay strong but global trade barriers remain a risk, he said. China’s domestic demand has been weighed down by a yearslong downturn in its property market. The headline ofﬁcial growth ﬁgure is becoming “an increasingly poor indicator of how the broader economy is performing,” said Max

Zenglein, Asia Pacific senior economist at The Conference Board. That’s because it masks “widening disparities across industries, regions, and households,” Zenglein said. Beijing faces difficult tradeoffs and managing domestic imbalances may prove more challenging than dealing with external pressures, he added. On Monday, Mao Shengyong, deputy head of China’s National Bureau of Statistics, cautioned of the economic challenges ahead. “The international environment is complex and volatile, the problem of insufficient domestic demand remains relatively prominent and the foundation for a stable, improving

economy still needs consolidation,” he told a news conference. With exports being one of the few bright spots, China is on track to surpass last year’s record $1.2 trillion trade surplus globally, after logging a 36% growth in exports last month and already a $938 billion surplus between January and September. Elevated U.S. tariffs have hit some U.S.-China bilateral trade and forced China to look elsewhere, including Southeast Asia, Latin America and Europe. High-tech exports such as semiconductors and autos, including hybrid and electric vehicles, are among the areas driving its export growth this year.

HELPFUL OR RISKY?

AI agents are only as good as the personal information you share, which raises privacy concerns BY WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS AP business writer

Matt Robb wanted to sell his computer keyboard. So he made a listing on Facebook Marketplace — and, as an experiment late last month, he put Meta’s new artificial intelligence agent Muse in the driver’s seat. Muse got to work. But within a day, Robb got an alarming update: A buyer he didn’t know had shown up outside his house late at night. How? Muse had struck a deal on its own and shared Robb’s home address after agreeing to a pickup. It even sent an automated “Yep, I’m here!” message from his account when the buyer arrived — all without Robb’s knowledge. “Not only did it give my address when the guy asked and it accepted the offer, but it literally was almost like teasing the guy (about me being there when I wasn’t),” said Robb, a Toronto-based content creator who also detailed the experience in his now widelyshared social media posts. Many have welcomed AI agents into their online lives and raved about how personalized assistants like Muse can handle everyday tasks with ease — from snagging a dinner reservation or planning a trip, to organizing email inboxes. But like other AI bots, the agents are only as good as the information they have access to. They perform better the more they know about a user — and perhaps also that person’s friends, family and even colleagues. That raises privacy concerns. Robb and the buyer eventually made amends, and he learned from Meta that the sharing of his address came down to permissions he granted when first giving Muse access to his Marketplace profile. But the episode showed real-world risks that can arise from sharing extensive personal information with the technology. “Using an AI agent is similar to handing someone your keys and a to-do list,” said Veronica Rivera, assistant professor at Georgia Tech’s School of Cybersecurity and Privacy. “How helpful they are, and by extension how risky, depends on which keys you hand over.”

Varied privacy policies Since its September launch, downloads of Meta’s Muse app have skyrocketed. And competition is only growing. OpenAI recently rolled out its own lineup of “always on” AI helpers, called dots, which can be integrated into ChatGPT and workplace platforms like Slack and Microsoft Teams. Older generative AI chatbots, like the standard version of ChatGPT, respond to specific prompts. At the user’s request, they can

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO BY JEFF CHIU

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks during the Meta Connect conference on Sept. 23. write essays, generate new images or music, or even write lines of code. Meta’s Muse and OpenAI’s dots go a step further to perform day-to-day tasks on a person’s behalf. AI agents are powered by the same large language models as chatbots, but they run in a loop. That allows an agent to take proactive steps, even when the user isn’t looking. “One of the things that makes these AI agents really appealing is that they are unprecedentedly useful,” said Rivera, who is also a Microsoft-funded Computing Research Association Trustworthy AI Research Fellow. But the convenience comes with the price of sharing more details about your life. Once AI agents obtain users’ information, it’s very difﬁcult to fully withdraw access, said Ebrahim Bagheri, a professor at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information. “If you provide access to your credit card to an agent, the agent now immediately has access to all of the historical transactions … they will immediately — within less than seconds — ingest all of that data,” Bagheri said. And while users can later withdraw access, Bagheri said there’s “no taking back” data the agent has already seen, and how developers store historical data can be murky. Both Meta and OpenAI outline privacy policies for their new AI agents, which operate on their own dedicated cloud computers. You can turn off memory sharing between dots and ChatGPT, but information the agent previously received isn’t automatically deleted. OpenAI gives users an option to request access to, delete or correct personal information, although rights can vary depending on where you live. Meta’s Muse gives users options to delete message history and other information, too.

For day-to-day use, the agent prompts users for access permissions — and Meta has said Muse learns about a user and who they interact with “based on public information and from what you’ve chosen to share.” But the company says that all stays secure for each user. But the tech giant also notes that Muse can still “make mistakes or take unexpected actions.”

Risks of mishaps rise In Robb’s case, he learned the disclosure of his address came down to “always allow” permissions he granted when he first let Muse on his Facebook Marketplace profile, where he had shared his pickup address as part of a broader template for the agent to respond to prospective buyers. But he warned others could similarly misunderstand the extent of that access — and said he initially thought the AI agent would check with him before sharing that information or accepting offers, regardless. His AI agent didn’t follow the rest of his instructions without error, either. For another item Robb was selling, Muse seemingly suggested he would accept a price $100 below the previously-set minimum. When reached by The Associated Press, Meta acknowledged the agent’s pricing error without offering further comment. Robb later largely disconnected Muse from his apps. In an interview earlier this month, he said it could’ve been a far worse situation, especially “if some stranger turned up to someone more vulnerable’s house.” Still, Robb said he expects these agents to be fine-tuned and he would consider reenabling Muse in the future. He’s since been testing another AI agent — Grok Bot from Elon Musk’s X.

Musk pledges a share of SpaceX to ‘every kid in America’

Shares of SpaceX, which will re- many.” the threats the technology poses to Value would be about port The announcements by Musk humanity. its quarterly earnings on Tuesand Anthropic arrive as Americans But obstacles including domestic closed at $146.03 on Friday. $10.66 billion total day, With approximately 73 million grow increasingly wary of AI. A and global competition, proﬁt moti-

BY MICHELLE CHAPMAN The Associated Press

Elon Musk on Monday pledged to give one share of his company SpaceX to “every kid in America” next year. The offer arrived a day after artiﬁcial intelligence company Anthropic announced in a social media post that it will commit 5% of its shares to a new “public beneﬁt” fund. In a response to that Sunday post, Musk wrote, “I recommend giving the shares directly to the public.”

children under the age of 18 in the United States, that would put the value of Musk’s pledge at about $10.66 billion. Anthropic said Sunday that the shares it is committing will go to the Anthropic Public Beneﬁt Fund, a new Musk entity within the company. The fund’s worth will potentially increase as the shares grow in value. Musk did not provide further details on how his share pledge will be carried out, but did add in his post that “This will be the ﬁrst of

new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research ﬁnds that most Americans, 64%, think AI is developing “too fast,” while 27% say its development has been “about right” and only 8% say it’s moving “too slow.” Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, SpaceXAI’s Musk and other prominent industry leaders said last month that AI’s development needs to slow down. The consensus came after an Anthropic researcher resigned with a dire warning about

vations and pushback from President Donald Trump all stand in the way of a coordinated effort to pace AI’s development. Musk has quietly become the biggest known donor in this year’s midterm elections, doling out more than $276 million since July to try to save Republican majorities in Congress. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and the company’s five other cofounders established Anthropic as a public benefit corporation, a designation that for-profit companies select to balance financial goals and social impact.