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LAFAYETTE PARISH

Sheriff’s Office breaks ground on center

New facility will consolidate 11 locations, improve public access BY DEAN BOUDREAUX

Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Valerie Ponseti said in an email that the project is funded through state capital outlay money and the Sheriff’s Ofﬁce. Sheriff Mark Garber said the agency is paying a 25% match. City Council member Kenneth Boudreaux has worked with the Sheriff’s Ofﬁce on the project for the past four years. He said no local government money is going toward the center. Garber said the agency’s current spread-out locations make it harder to manage operations and for residents to access services. “This center will be a one-stop

Staff writer

The Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Ofﬁce broke ground Tuesday on a $40 million law enforcement center on West Willow Street that will consolidate 11 locations across the city and parish into one building. The more than 84,000-squarefoot, three-story building is expected to take about 18 months to construct, said Mike Lemoine, a representative of The Lemoine Co., the project’s general contractor. The company spent close to two years in preconstruction, he said.

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shop for all Sheriff’s Office services,” Garber said at the groundbreaking ceremony. The new building will replace 11 locations, including the agency’s approximately 42,000-square-foot downtown office space. Garber said bringing employees together will improve communication by allowing staff to interact in person rather than relying on phone calls and emails. “It’s been studied over and over again organizationally that you get so much better communication with watercooler talk, with break

STAFF PHOTO BY BRAD BOWIE

Sheriff Mark Garber speaks during the groundbreaking of the future ä See CENTER, page 4A location of the Lafayette Parish Law Enforcement Center on Tuesday.

ELECTION

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‘Everybody ought to vote’

Residents head to the polls for midterm elections

Cleanup by Corps stops short of full dredging

BY TYLER BRIDGES Staff writer

Jim Altazan had a simple explanation for why he was among the tens of thousands of people who showed up to cast a ballot Tuesday as the sevenday early voting period began throughout Louisiana. “If I don’t ä At vote, I can’t campaign complain,” Altstop, Sen. azan, an engineer, said with Kennedy a laugh in Baton defends Rouge outside Medicaid of the Louisiana State Archives cuts. building, which PAGE 1B had 18 booths where people slipped behind a curtain to vote from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. The early birds showed up in solid numbers throughout Tuesday at 112 locations throughout the state — at the archives, at city halls and at other governmental offices — as voting kicked off in advance of the Nov. 3 midterm election. Early voting continues every day through Tuesday except for Sunday. As many as 40% of voters will cast a ballot early. Altazan, a fan of President

Vermilion River clearing to begin BY CLAIRE TAYLOR Staff writer

STAFF PHOTO BY PEARL SPURLOCK

A line of voters heads into the Louisiana State Archives building in Baton Rouge on Tuesday, the first day of early voting. Donald Trump, said he voted for U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow, the Republican candidate in the marquee Senate election. “She’ll follow what the pres-

ident is looking for,” Altazan ponent, Tensas Parish farmer said. Jamie Davis. But plenty of people said “We need changes,” said Ed they showed up early to vote ä See VOTE, page 5A for Letlow’s Democratic op-

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is scheduled to begin removing hundreds of obstructions from the Vermilion River on Friday, a cleanup intended to improve drainage, navigation and safety but that stops short of the full river dredging many residents want. The work will begin near the Milton Bridge and move north toward the Pinhook Bridge. Trees, tires and other debris have accumulated in the river, which runs about 30 miles through Lafayette Parish. The ﬁrst phase is expected to be completed by March 31, according to Lafayette Consolidated Government. After that work, the Corps plans to evaluate the river to identify locations that could beneﬁt from spot dredging, Col. Scotty Autin, commander and district engineer of the Corps’ New Orleans District, told the Lafayette City and Parish councils in August. The Corps also plans to remove

ä See VERMILION, page 5A

Benson, La. officials say protests won’t affect Paris festivities, game BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL Staff writer

Louisiana officials, league executives and New Orleans Saints owner Gayle Benson remained confident Tuesday that the first NFL game in Paris, along with the whirlwind series of pregame festivities and business events, will STAFF PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGER go on safely as planned despite the French graffiti, which translates in English to ‘the state in flames,’ is recent unrest across France. scrawled on a wall in Paris on Monday. The team ﬂew straight to France

WEATHER HIGH 82 LOW 52 PAGE 10A

ä French officials say curfew

will continue. PAGE 8A

after their win over the Giants in New York on Sunday, the same day that President Emmanuel Macron was addressing his country after riots engulfed Paris and other cities. Gov. Jeff Landry, Mayor Helena Moreno, other local state and local leaders and thousands of Saints fans are also arriving in the

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country. As of Tuesday afternoon, the major events leading up to the game — and the game itself, set for Sunday morning in the Stade de France four miles north of Paris — are on schedule. “We do not have any concerns,” said Benson during a phone interview as she was making her way to the airport Monday afternoon.

ä See PARIS, page 4A

102ND YEAR, NO. 113

2A l Wednesday, October 21, 2026 l theadvocate.com l The Acadiana Advocate

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

$963K in trading cards stolen from FedEx truck SANTA ANA, Calif. — Police in California are investigating the theft of trading cards worth at least $963,000 that were taken from a FedEx truck parked outside of a company that veriﬁes memorabilia. The truck was broken into on Oct. 13 near Professional Sports Authenticator, also known as PSA, which authenticates trading cards, autographs, comic books, and other memorabilia and grades their condition, Santa Ana Police Department spokesperson Natalie Garcia said in a news release. Pokémon and sports cards were among the items that were stolen, the release said. The driver had left the truck unattended, Garcia said in a follow-up email Tuesday. How long the driver was gone is part of the investigation, she said. The truck’s lock was gone and two pallets were taken, she said. A third pallet was disturbed. “The estimated value of the stolen cards at the time of the incident was $963,000. However, the exact value of the stolen items has not yet been determined,” Garcia said in the news release. Nick Andrews, a card collector near Boston, told The Associated Press the value of what was taken could be much higher. PSA’s parent company, Collectors, said it has “deactivated the certificates for the stolen cards and notiﬁed marketplace partners so they can be on the lookout for rare and serialized items.”

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Alberta voters reject independence Referendum overwhelmingly denied in victory for Carney

BY ROB GILLIES

Associated Press

EDMONTON, Alberta — Voters in oilrich Alberta province overwhelmingly backed remaining in Canada, according to referendum results released Tuesday, delivering a boost to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s push for national unity as U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war and annexation threats rally Canadians around their country. With more than 1.8 million votes counted and results reported from 84% of voting areas and locations, 75% of voters supported remaining in Canada, while 25% backed beginning a process toward separation, according to unofﬁcial results from Elections Alberta. The referendum was not a direct vote on independence. Approval would have set Alberta on a path toward a future vote on separation from Canada. “It’s a great result for Canada

that Albertans have chosen unity,” Carney told reporters Tuesday before a Cabinet meeting in Ottawa. Carney said that the roughly onequarter of Albertans who voted to begin the separation process did not necessarily want independence, saying only a smaller “hard core” group may actually want to leave Canada. Some voters said they supported another referendum to express frustration with Ottawa rather than a desire to leave Canada. “The result is absolutely clear. It’s a vast majority in favor of staying in Canada. And now is the time to work together for all Albertans and all Canadians,” Carney said. Carney said he spoke with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on Tuesday morning about the referendum’s results and greater federal-provincial cooperation, including immigration. He said their ﬁrst priority was supporting victims and families affected by the

deadly military training ﬁre at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright. Alberta’s separatists, however, saw a silver lining. “It is fair to say that at least a quarter of Albertans feel that Alberta needs to be treated better,” said Keith Wilson, a leader of the separatist movement. Smith welcomed the early results, saying they showed widespread support for remaining in Canada. “Albertans have voted for a stronger Alberta in a united Canada,” Smith posted on social media. Smith, who called the referendum amid pressure from separatists within her governing United Conservative Party, or UCP, despite opposing independence, said that she would address the province Tuesday evening about the results and Alberta’s future. “We are a solid country that’s united from coast to coast to coast,” Thomas Lukaszuk, a former Alberta deputy premier who led the For-

Whistleblower program announced Public encouraged to report alleged fraud BY DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press

Man arrested in $126M U.S. postage scheme

LAHORE, Pakistan — Pakistani authorities acting on intelligence arrested a man Tuesday accused of running an online counterfeit postage operation that U.S. prosecutors say caused more than $126 million in losses to the U.S. Postal Service, Pakistan’s cybercrime investigation agency said. Faheem Akram, 33, was arrested after a weekslong search involving raids across several parts of the country, a senior official at the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency, Atif Ameer, told reporters. Akram, a resident of Khanewal in eastern Punjab province, was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the district said in a Sept. 28 statement. The office alleged that Akram operated LabelsBank.com, an unauthorized website that sold more than 5.1 million counterfeit postage labels to more than 5,200 customers. The labels typically cost $2 each, regardless of a package’s weight, size or destination. The counterfeit labels allowed customers to ship packages at prices far below legitimate postal rates, resulting in lost revenue and shipping costs for the Postal Service, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Its estimate of more than $126 million represents alleged losses to the Postal Service rather than proceeds from the website’s sales. It was unclear whether Akram would be extradited to the United States or face trial in Pakistan.

Official: Attack in eastern Mali kills 48

BAMAKO, Mali — A weekend attack by militants affiliated to the Islamic State group killed 48 people in the Ménaka region of eastern Mali, a lawmaker told The Associated Press Tuesday. Fighters from the Islamic State in Sahel Province, or ISSP, attacked on Sunday night into Monday morning and casualties included children and elderly, Moussa Ag Acharatoumane, a Tuareg leader and member of the National Transitional Council, said. According to Moussa Ag Acharatoumane, the armed group attacked civilians, accusing them of revealing ISSP positions to the Malian army who had been conducting a drone strike on the group. ISSP operates mostly in the Ménaka region of Mali, where it faces stiff competition from another militant group, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), and in the neighboring countries of Burkina Faso and Niger. It has not claimed responsibility for the attack.

ever Canadian campaign against separation, told supporters. Alberta, home to the world’s fourth-largest proven oil reserves, is cowboy country and a conservative stronghold whose political culture has long had more in common with the American West than much of Canada. Resentment toward Canada’s federal government in Ottawa runs deep, but hasn’t traditionally translated into widespread support for independence. Despite the overwhelming rejection, separatist leaders have said they turned a fringe cause into a movement that won’t disappear. Separatist parties traditionally attracted only 1% or 2% of the vote, former Premier Jason Kenney said. Anger over COVID-19 restrictions helped mobilize activists who later embraced the separatist movement, he said. At a separatist referendum night gathering in Edmonton, the crowd fell quiet as results rolled in. “We’re not going anywhere,” said Jeff Rath of the Alberta Prosperity Project.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO BY ANDRII MARIENKO

Rescuers with a search dog look for victims among the rubble of a house after a Russian air attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday.

Ukraine to receive early missile warnings again

the U.S. and Ukraine over intelZelenskyy says call with tween ligence sharing and weapons supplies emphatically denied that the Trump Rubio helped with alerts but administration has made any changes to

BY HANNA ARHIROVA and BARRY HATTON Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday that Kyiv is once again receiving early warnings from its partners about incoming Russian missiles following recent strikes that he said occurred without enough notice, leaving civilians vulnerable. For at least a week, the Ukrainian leader has said that his country has not received early warnings about ballistic missiles aimed at the capital. Such intelligence, he said, saves lives by allowing the public to be alerted and giving military units time to try to intercept the missiles. Zelenskyy said the change happened after talks with his American counterparts, including a phone call with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. “We are thankful that intelligence works now, and I’m speaking about early warning, which is very important for our people, for children, adults, civilians, because we can hear when ballistic is coming,” Zelenskyy said on a visit to Norway. “So we are thankful to American side now that it works.” Speaking to reporters in India, Rubio acknowledged mutual frustration be-

previous policy on either issue.

U.S. envoy to go to St. Petersburg In other developments, Russia unleashed another missile and drone blitz of civilian areas in Ukraine, killing at least nine people, ofﬁcials said, as Zelenskyy sought more American and European help. Zelenskyy was joined in Norway by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, who has tried without success to steer Russia and Ukraine toward a settlement to end the war. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb also met with the Ukrainian president in Norway’s capital. Gahr Støre said Witkoff planned to ﬂy to St. Petersburg on Wednesday to meet with Russian leaders, exchange ideas from the Oslo meeting and share proposals from European and American colleagues. “Today was a good day for peace,” Stubb said. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow is willing to listen to new U.S. proposals about Ukraine but doesn’t expect any “miracle” from Washington. At the White House, President Donald Trump stepped up the pressure on Zelenskyy to come to an agreement with Russia as relations between the two men have soured again.

Pompeii’s grandest house gets $1.6M restoration by private donor By The Associated Press MILAN — An ancient residence believed to be the grandest in the Pompeii archaeological site is being restored with the entire $1.6 million cost being covered by a private sponsor, officials announced Tuesday. The house of Marcus Fabius Rufus, modeled after Rome’s imperial palaces and buried in the eruption of Mt. Vesuvio that destroyed the ancient city in 79 A.D., has been inaccessible to the public since 1980. Originally built on Pompeii’s city walls, it features four floors connected by a maze of corridors and staircases. Part of it is expected to open to guided groups by Christmas, officials for the Archeological Park of Pompeii said. The renovation is being paid for by a German entrepreneur, Frank Hoefer,

who contacted the archaeological park after reading superintendent Gabriel Zuchtriegel’s 2023 book: “Pompeii: The Enchanted City.” “Restoring the spectacular residence of Marcus Fabius Rufus … is a project I ﬁnd exciting,” Hoefer said in a release. “I also have the impression that Pompeii is very open to innovative approaches to preservation and public access.” Zuchtriegel said the goal is to expand such sponsorships. “This does not mean that from tomorrow on if we had 50 such sponsors we would be able to abolish the entrance ticket, putting it at just a symbolic oneeuro price, but it is a perspective towards which we have to work to develop the site,” Zuchtriegel said in a video statement.

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday announced a $25 million program to encourage the public to blow the whistle on suspected fraud in the U.S. government as they ramp up efforts to end the abuse of federal programs and dollars. The White House said that under the Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program, anyone who submits a tip that leads to a fraud conviction or a signiﬁcant federal enforcement action is eligible to receive up to $30,000, and that the Justice Department will administer the program. During the announcement, Trump said payments will amount to a 1% commission on the amount of fraud the tip helps uncover. Trump also said

he will decide who gets reward money in cases where more than one person claims to have provided the tip. “I will be the arbitrator of all of these decisions,” Trump in the Oval Ofﬁce with Vance and other administration officials standing behind him. “It’ll be a binding arbitration.” The Republican president has undertaken an aggressive effort to eliminate fraud in government, establishing a task force on the topic in March and putting Vance in charge of it. Critics have accused Trump and his family of proﬁting from the presidency through their many business ventures. The White House says Trump acts only with the best interests of the American people in mind. Vance, who said his work leading the task force is “fun,” said tax dollars are being stolen. “The president has said it must stop. It is stopping. And if you want to help us stop it, you get to share in the rewards,” the vice president said.

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Preston

Tour bus operator

“The future’s happening here in Richland Parish.” Kaycie

Coﬀee shop owner

Lindsay

Food truck owner

$1.6 billion for Louisiana businesses. Catering for 40 people used to be a good week. Now they hit 400. And that’s just the tacos. From coﬀee shops to bus tours, Meta’s Richland Parish investment is already paying oﬀ for businesses across Louisiana.

The future is for everyone. meta.com/BuildingLouisiana

4A l Wednesday, October 21, 2026 l theadvocate.com l The Acadiana Advocate

CENTER

Continued from page 1A

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partment’s efficiency and security, Roddie said. The move also could create an opportunity for redevelopment of the agency’s downtown property. Garber called downtown Lafayette “a diamond in the rough” and said moving the Sheriff’s Office could attract investors and generate more tax revenue. He also said the move could spur plans to relocate the jail, but he did not describe any specific plans. Boudreaux said the vacated property could be used for commercial development or to address housing needs. Asked how long the project had been overdue, Garber said he would not characterize it that way. The project has been in development since 2021 and first appeared in state appropriations in 2022, he said. “It’s a little bit surreal for me to be standing here right now,” Garber said at the ceremony.

room talk, with people being able to walk down the hall and interact with each other on a personal level rather than by phone calls or emails,” Garber said. The new center also will provide residents with a place to pay civil and criminal fines and conduct tax-related business, Garber said. It will include secured parking for deputies, who currently have no secured parking lot. “It may seem like a small thing to a non-law enforcement person, but it’s a huge thing to have a secure area to get in and out of your car,” Garber said. The building was designed by Grace Design. Katie Roddie, a representative of the firm, said the company met with each Sheriff’s Ofﬁce department to assess its current space and future needs. Bringing the agency’s opera- Email Dean Boudreaux at dean. tions together will beneﬁt the de- boudreaux@theadvocate.com

STAFF PHOTO BY BRAD BOWIE

Sheriff Mark Garber, third from left, and other stakeholders break ground on the future location of the Lafayette Parish Law Enforcement Center on Tuesday.

PARIS

Continued from page 1A She said that she’s been kept up to date on the situation in France by House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Metairie, who has been in contact with high level ofﬁcials in both countries. Brett Gosper, the head of Europe and Asia-Paciﬁc for the NFL, said during an interview in Paris on Tuesday that there’s no contingency plan to move the Saints game against the Pittsburgh Steelers to a different site and that the unrest isn’t expected to affect game logistics. “All systems go — totally all systems go,” Gosper said. The remarks came after a weekend of intense protests across the country. Groups set fires in the streets and looted businesses in Paris, Lyon, Marseille and other cities. The violence followed nationwide protests Saturday against rising living costs and poor conditions in schools. French authorities estimated Monday said that 2,400 people had been arrested and that at least 3,000 businesses had been damaged or looted in several cities. And on Monday night, local authorities issued an overnight curfew in two Parisian neighborhoods in an effort to tamp down any additional violence.

STAFF PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGER

Busy schedule

A shop window in Paris shows damage from rioters on Monday, one week before the New Orleans Saints play the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first NFL The unrest has threatened to game to take place in France.

upend a carefully planned rollout of events surrounding the NFL matchup, the first-ever in Paris. For the league, the game is part of a long-term play to grow its international fan base. And the Saints, who control the marketing rights in the country and secured the chance to play in Paris two years ago, have spent much of the past year ramping up for the game with grassroots outreach that includes in-person appearances by team members and the creation of flag football leagues. Meanwhile, Louisiana’s economic development arm and several local businesses are seizing the opportunity to connect with European companies and executives. On Tuesday, ofﬁcials with LED were preparing for a daylong business expo, Louisiana Now, modeled after a similar event held

before the 2025 Super Bowl in New Orleans. The event is scheduled for Friday at one of the most exclusive luxury hotels in Europe near the famed Champs Elysees. LED Spokesperson Emma Wagner said from Paris that she’d seen scars from some the weekend’s violence on her way to the venue Tuesday, but that life in the busy French capital appeared to returning to normal. “People are bustling about, going to work, sitting in the cafés,” she said. Saints players were set to attend a Champions League soccer match between FC Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday, part of a series of community and cultural events that were planned for the week, the team said. Landry’s staff is also preparing for an exclusive event of 100 or so

dignitaries and business leaders scheduled to be held Wednesday night. His spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but during an interview Monday at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, Landry said the league and law enforcement agencies were working together to ensure the event would be safe. “The NFL said that the game is going to go on, and they feel very conﬁdent that there’s not threats to the stadium,” Landry told WWL Louisiana during an interview Monday. Gosper, from the NFL, said the league is working closely with local law enforcement agencies and that no demonstrations are planned for the Stade de France, which located in Saint-Denis north of Paris and away from areas

where people have been demonstrating. The Saints players, coaches and support staff are in Versailles, about 15 miles west of downtown Paris, while other club executives are staying in a hotel downtown. Macron, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Landry, Moreno and the executives of major companies — including SpaceX, Meta, Sodexo and Chanel — are among the invitees to the various events, along with many members of Louisiana’s congressional delegation. Moreno said in a news release Tuesday that she has “a packed schedule of meetings focused on bringing new ideas, partnerships and economic opportunities back home.” Thousands of other Saints fans who won’t be part of the VIP festivities are also are proceeding as

planned with their trip. Season ticket holder Rick Madura, a New Orleans environmental engineer, and his wife, artist Rebecca Madura, are already in London enjoying a few days in the British capital before ﬂying to Paris late Thursday. Rebecca Madura, a seasoned traveler who plans to take in a museum while her husband and his friends from back home are at the game, said they’re not worried about the unrest. “Protests should not be a problem,” she said. “Apparently, they’re pretty isolated.” Staff writer Jeff Duncan and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Email Stephanie Riegel at stephanie.riegel@theadvocate. com.

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The Acadiana Advocate l theadvocate.com l Wednesday, October 21, 2026 l 5A

VOTE

A poster of the ‘I Voted’ sticker by Terrance Osborne is put on display during early voting at City Hall in New Orleans on Tuesday.

Continued from page 1A Britton, after voting outside the Secretary of State’s Ofﬁce. “Letlow represents the same old, same old.” Besides electing one of the two candidates to succeed U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, voters are choosing whether to reelect four incumbents in the U.S. House. Also on the ballot are two open congressional seats and two open seats on the Public Service Commission. There will also be elections for district attorneys, mayors, constables, judges, chiefs of police and a state representative in Kenner — and 10 proposed changes to the Louisiana Constitution. One of them, Amendment 4, would limit governors to no more than two terms, meaning a two-term governor could not sit out a term and run for a third one.

STAFF PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER

What voters are saying By deﬁnition, early voters are more informed voters. Gary Sharpless, a retired TV and movie producer in New Orleans, said he wanted to perform what he called “my civic duty.” Sharpless said “the current administration needs to be changed,” referring to Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican who will run for reelection next year. “Louisiana is giving away billions of dollars in taxes” for the Meta and SpaceX projects, he said. Landry says they will produce an economic boon for Louisiana. Yvette Oliver, an interior decorator in Baton Rouge, said she came out Tuesday because “a lot of people died for my right to come out to vote. I owe it to them and to my children and to my children’s children.” Susan Brennan, a business owner, said she voted early in New Orleans because she and her husband are traveling to Paris for the Saints’ game on Sunday. “Everybody ought to vote,” Brennan said. Mike Cook, who works for an industrial engineering company in Baton Rouge, was among the many people who said they worked out beforehand on the Secre-

VERMILION

Continued from page 1A debris south of Milton through Vermilion Parish to the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, where more than 600 obstructions have been identified, according to LCG. The cleanup does not include dredging the river to increase its capacity during floods, a long-standing demand among some residents and local officials. In August 2016, 20 inches of rain fell on the city, parish and region, flooding thousands of homes. Afterward, residents and officials pressed the Corps to dredge the Vermilion River. They argued that the river’s limited capacity during heavy

tary of State’s GeauxVote app who they planned to vote for. Cook said he pulled up the app on his cellphone when he was in the voting booth and quickly registered his choices on the voting machine. “I tell everybody in my office to go vote, but only after studying the candidates first,” Cook said. Denise Claflin said she also used the GeauxVote app to come prepared when she voted early in Baton Rouge. “It’s a really good tool,” she said, adding that she voted for Republican candidates because Democrats favor “opening up the border again.”

Geographic splits show Homer Fouquier, a retired insurance company executive in Lafayette, said he voted early for Letlow “because she’s pro-life and proLouisiana.” Candyce Tompkins, who works for the city of Carencro, outside of Lafayette, said she voted for Letlow “because she’ll do a great job.” In New Orleans, though, the sentiments heavily fa-

rainfall contributes to flooding in areas that drain into it. Despite $50 million in federal funds being allocated for river dredging by 3rd Congressional District Rep. Clay Higgins, R-Lafayette, nothing has been done to this point. The Corps and Higgins, in February 2020, presented the findings of a study concluding that the $150 million it would cost to dredge the Vermilion River is too high a price to prevent a few hundred homes in Lafayette Parish from flooding. The study, conducted by the Watershed Flood Center at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette for the Corps, modeled the river based on the 2016 flood. It was designed to help deter-

vored Davis in a city where he is likely to win a huge majority. Whitman Wilcox, who owns Wilcox Academy of Early Learning in New Orleans, said he voted for Davis because “he won’t be a puppet for Republicans. Louisiana is not for sale.” Yolanda Hall said she voted for Davis and for the reelection of U.S. Rep. Troy Carter, a Democrat from New Orleans, because of her anger with Trump. “Jan. 6 is what I’m most upset about,” Hall said, referring to the attack on the Capitol more than ﬁve years ago by Trump supporters intent on stopping Congress from declaring that Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election. In Shreveport, the sidewalk outside the Caddo Parish Registrar of Voters Ofﬁce was busy in both directions Tuesday morning. “There’s been very few times I actually voted on Election Day,” said Shreveport resident James Anderson. More than 20 years ago, Anderson had back surgery that caused him to miss his

mine whether the Vermilion River should be dredged in spots or in whole, whether that would help alleviate ﬂooding in Lafayette Parish and whether it would help or harm Vermilion Parish to the south. At the August council meeting, Autin said the Corps would evaluate the river for possible spot dredging after the debris removal. Members of Dredge the Vermilion and others continue to call for dredging the entire river. They say it should be restored to a navigational depth of 9 feet and width of 100 feet, dimensions they say are legally required.

chance to vote on Election Day. Ever since, he said, he’s voted early. “I’ve never missed a day since. I’m going to hit the early election and make darn sure that I don’t miss,” Anderson said. Katherine Brown, another Shreveport resident, said she also votes early in almost every election. She said that’s always been an insurance policy against circumstances popping up that’d keep her from casting a ballot, but this year she feels an early vote is especially important. “It’s important to go ahead and get the vote cast so that any shenanigans that might occur down the road will be eliminated by doing it early,” Brown said. “That’s all the president has been talking about is doing stuff to muck up the works.”

Home-stretch pitches Letlow and U.S. Sen. John Kennedy held a get-out-the-

vote rally before about 100 supporters at Rock ‘n’ Bowl in Lafayette. “My ask, if you want to continue to save this country, and I can’t even believe I have to say it, is to save it from socialism and the socialist Democrats,” she told the crowd, standing in front of a giant American ﬂag. “It’s so important for you to exercise your right to vote, that vote that men and women laid down their lives for. Please, encourage your friends, your family, go invite that cousin who always says he’s going to vote and never does. Bring him to the polls.” Kennedy followed Letlow in speaking to the crowd. “Republicans are not perfect,” he said. “But let me tell you something — the other side is crazy.” Davis, meanwhile, held a get-out-the-vote rally at The Broadside event space in New Orleans. Accompanying him were Carter, Sen. Lisa Blunt

Rochester from Delaware and Peter Robbins-Brown, assistant to the president of the AFL-CIO in Louisiana. Davis exhorted people to vote, telling the crowd that he wants to reduce the cost of prescription drugs and restore cuts to Medicaid imposed by Congress and Trump in the One Big Beautiful Bill. Davis also said the Iran war is raising the cost of fuel, including diesel for farmers such as himself. Davis held a fundraiser Tuesday night with Carter, Rochester, New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno, former Gov. John Bel Edwards, Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams and several members of the New Orleans City Council. Adam Duvernay contributed to this article from Shreveport. Email Tyler Bridges at tbridges@theadvocate. com.

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Houthis attack city in Yemen, cut off supply routes U.N. says Taiz at ‘grave risk’

BY MARZOUK AL-JABERI and SAMY MAGDY

Associated Press

TAIZ, Yemen — Iran-backed Houthi rebels struck a residential area in Yemen’s thirdlargest city on Tuesday, killing two teenage girls and renewing attention on the dangers faced by civilians in Taiz, which has been under attack and siege during the country’s escalating conﬂict. The Houthis have largely encircled Taiz, cutting it off from most supply routes and putting civilians at “grave risk,” U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk said Tuesday. The U.N. says the siege of the strategically important city in southwestern Yemen has left many residents without food and other necessities as prices soar. The attack on Taiz came a day after a Houthi strike on a government military camp killed 73 recruits, the

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO BY MARZOUQ AL JABRI

Residents walk on debris of their homes at Seina district in Taiz, Yemen, after a missile strike on Tuesday. deadliest strike since the resurgence of the conflict over the summer, according to a senior Yemeni government official. The conflict has intensified since forces from the internationally recognized government and Saudi-led coalition launched airstrikes on Houthi-held Sanaa International Airport in July, shattering a 2022 ceasefire deal that largely stopped fighting

in the country’s civil war. Yemen has become a widening front in the Iran war that began in February — and the Houthis have increasingly launched attacks on Saudi Arabia because it supports Yemen’s internationally recognized government. Britain said on Tuesday that it would expand its military support for Saudi Arabia to include “defen-

Libya approves contentious maritime deal with Turkey rights.” The European Union has Greece, Cyprus sovereign Cyprus also condemned said the agreement violates the vote, calling the memo- the rights of third countries. condemn vote on randum “illegal, null, and Turkey is not a party to the Mediterranean void.” U.N. Convention on the Law The Libyan-Turkey agree- of the Sea. waters Egypt, a longtime backment defines maritime ju-

BY HAMZA FAHMY Associated Press

CAIRO — Libya’s parliament unanimously approved a contested maritime agreement with Turkey on Tuesday, reversing years of opposition and reviving a dispute with Egypt, Greece and Cyprus over rights in the eastern Mediterranean. The House of Representatives, the eastern-based parliament aligned with military commander Khalifa Hifter, voted to adopt the memorandum of understanding signed in 2019 by Turkey and Libya’s then-government in Tripoli, the Government of National Accord. Greece’s Foreign Ministry rejected the vote, saying in a statement that it “does not alter the illegal, invalid and groundless nature of the memorandum.” The ministry said Turkey and Libya do not have opposite or adjacent coasts that could provide a legal basis for delimiting maritime zones. It said the agreement disregards the rights of Greek islands, which lie between the Turkish and Libyan coasts. “Geography and the international Law of the Sea cannot be changed by unilateral, legally unfounded parliamentary decisions,” the ministry said. It added that Greece had informed its partners and allies and “will take all appropriate measures to safeguard its

risdiction areas between the two countries in the Mediterranean, where major natural gas discoveries in recent years have fueled competing claims to offshore waters. Lawmakers also repealed two resolutions passed in 2020, parliamentary spokesman Abdullah Bliheg said. One rejected agreements with Turkey, while the other cut political ties with Ankara. Parliament had opposed the accords at a time when Turkey was backing the Tripoli government against Haftar’s forces. Officials in both camps welcomed Tuesday’s vote. Saddam Haftar, Khalifa Haftar’s son, said in a statement that the decisions reﬂected “a move toward overcoming disputes of the past.” He called the maritime agreement a tool to protect Libya’s economic interests in the Mediterranean and described Turkey as “a signiﬁcant regional power.” The Foreign Ministry of the Tripoli-based government, led by Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, called the vote “a positive development” for relations with Turkey. It said cooperation would proceed “in accordance with the relevant rules and principles of international law.” Dbeibah also met Tuesday in Tripoli with Turkey’s intelligence chief, Ibrahim Kalin. A government statement said they discussed security, regional developments, and migration.

er of Haftar and Libya’s eastern parliament, also rejected the accord. In August 2020, Cairo and Athens signed their own maritime agreement in response. Greek officials have said it effectively nullifies the Turkish-Libyan deal. Tuesday’s vote means Egypt’s main allies in Libya now endorse an agreement Cairo has opposed. Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said he discussed the situation in Libya and the eastern Mediterranean in a phone call with his Greek counterpart on Tuesday, without directly mentioning the vote. The vote follows a rapprochement in recent years between Turkey and eastern Libya. Libya plunged into chaos after a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime ruler Moammar Gadhaﬁ in 2011. The oil-rich country later split between rival governments in the east and west. Dbeibah heads the internationally recognized government in Tripoli, in the west, while Prime Minister Ossama Hammad leads the eastern administration. Haftar, who commands the Libyan National Army, also holds power in the east. The North African country is also a major transit point for migrants from Africa and the Middle East ﬂeeing war and economic hardship and attempting dangerous sea crossings to Europe.

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sive” air patrols by Royal Air Force jets. Heavy fighting between the Houthis and Yemeni government forces caused extensive damage in a densely populated residential area of Taiz. Six people were wounded in the Houthis’ deadly attack there. Resident Zainab Ali said she was away when the strike occurred but returned to find her home had been destroyed. “We are a family of orphans, and we do not know what to do,” she said. Late on Tuesday, Yemen’s government forces claimed — without providing evidence — that they had thwarted Houthi attacks in several areas across Taiz and had killed dozens of Houthi fighters. The claim could not be independently veriﬁed, and the Houthis did not immediately comment. The rebel group rarely releases

its own casualty figures. A strategic gateway to southern Yemen, Taiz has been a focal point of fighting since the civil war began more than a decade ago; it is also one of Yemen’s most important historic and cultural centers. Houthi fighters began advancing again on Taiz last month, after capturing the port city of Mokha, an area vital to controlling shipping through the Red Sea. The Houthis have besieged Taiz as part of their monthslong offensive, repeatedly targeting Yemeni government forces with missiles and artillery. “Humanitarian aid must be immediately allowed to enter the city and its passage must be facilitated. Civilians wishing to leave must be allowed to do so freely and safely,” Türk, the U.N. human rights chief, said. He urged the Houthis and

Saudi-backed government forces to avoid using explosive weapons in areas where they could hit civilians and civilian infrastructure. While Saudi Arabia said Tuesday that it intercepted a ballistic missile fired by the Houthis, the country has struggled to defend against the rebel group’s missile and drone attacks despite far superior U.S.-supplied arms. “Saudi Arabia is in a very difficult position,” but the United States is not prepared to send troops to help, Tom Barrack, the U.S. envoy to Syria and Iraq, told the Global Security Forum in Doha, Qatar. Barrack said President Donald Trump “has been clear that he supports Saudi Arabia, and the backing that they need logistically we’ll supply, but America getting involved in a ground kinetic battle somewhere else seems fruitless.”

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France announces curfews Democratic candidate in Ohio governor race ‘for as long as necessary’ pushes back against ad Paris, other big cities impose regulations amid demonstrations

Unattributed online attack features estranged mother

BY TOM NOUVIAN Associated Press

PARIS — Fresh curfews were being imposed across the city centers of Paris and Lyon on Tuesday after the first quiet night since France’s most destructive rioting in years, as Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said a “massive” security operation was planned for new protests Saturday. Paris police said the curfew in two designated zones — around Place de la République and the Les Halles shopping district — had restored “public peace” overnight and would remain in place “for as long as necessary.” The curfew zones leave out other areas hit on Saturday, including the ChampsElysées and the area around the Saint-Lazare train station and parts of the Rue de Turbigo in central Paris, where protesters set up barricades and lit fires. In Lyon, one of France’s largest cities, authorities also renewed a curfew in the city center from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., saying no disturbances had been recorded overnight. Marseille, France’s secondlargest city, imposed a curfew for unaccompanied minors starting Tuesday night. Lecornu said the targeted curfews “helped keep last night calm.” Student unions and groups from the “ yellow vest ” movement, whose protests over fuel prices shook France in 2018 and 2019, have called for another day of protests Saturday. Soldiers from Sentinelle, the anti-terrorism operation that has patrolled French cities since the 2015 Islamic State group attacks, will take over guarding sensitive sites to free up more police officers and gendarmes for crowd control, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told lawmakers Tuesday. “The deployment (of police forces) for next Saturday will be mas-

BY JULIE CARR SMYTH Associated Press

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHE ENA

People watch a burned-out car in Paris on Tuesday after a quiet night under curfew, the first since weekend protests over the cost of living turned into rioting and looting across France.

sive,” Lecornu told the National blamed the violence on far-left Assembly, France’s lower house of groups and opportunistic looters. parliament, without giving figures. At least 2,400 people were arrested after rioters in cities across France Suspect held over Limoges fire on Saturday clashed with police, Police on Tuesday arrested a set cars on fire and stormed public suspect in the arson attack that buildings, during nationwide procharred the historic city hall in Li- tests against rising living costs and moges, in central France, Justice poor conditions in schools. On Sunday evening, small groups Minister Gérald Darmanin said, adding that the person was being set fire to trash bins, bicycles and held in police custody and may not other objects in the streets and looted businesses in Paris, Lyon, have acted alone. French media reported that the Marseille and other cities. In Paris on Monday night, a posuspect was close to radical environmentalist movements and was lice helicopter circled over Place on a watchlist of people considered de la République overnight, a cenpotential threats to national securi- tral point in the weekend clashes, ty. Darmanin declined to comment sweeping the square with a searchon the suspect’s profile, but said light to check that the curfew was far-left groups appeared to have being respected. organized to attack symbols of the Early Tuesday morning, workers state throughout France. used a crane to remove a giant fluoFootage of the 143-year-old build- rescent yellow vest draped over the ing in flames, its bell tower collaps- statue at the center of the square, ing, spread widely online over the then used pressure washers to blast weekend. U.S. Vice President JD graffiti off the monument. Louise Belanger, a volunteer Vance shared it on X, blaming the unrest on immigration and writ- who came to help with the cleanup, ing, “I pray that France, a beauti- said she still could not apprehend ful country of amazing people, will the level of violence. “Normally stop this madness before more of when you are 20 you should be opits landmarks burn.” President timistic, you should be starting to Donald Trump, who also relayed build something (...) If you are only the video, said migrants had “tak- anger and violence, what are you going to do? This is sad for everyen over France.” French officials have instead body in society,” she said.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Dr. Amy Acton, the Democratic candidate for Ohio governor who has made no secret of a difﬁcult childhood that included homelessness and sexual abuse, pushed back forcefully Tuesday against an unattributed ad circulating online in which her long-estranged mother calls her “a liar” and insinuates she has mental health issues. The ad began circulating overnight, just two weeks before Election Day. Acton, Ohio’s former public health director, is in a tight race with Republican billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy, a 2024 presidential candidate who has beneﬁted from spending on his behalf that has exceeded $120 million. The online ad, which first surfaced in a post by an Ohio political blogger, spread quickly across social media platforms. It does not include the “paid for” tag that is legally required to air on TV so viewers can know who produced and paid for it. D.J. Brynes, who blogs as “The Rooster,” told CNN he got the video from a voter who viewed it as part of a poll and recorded it. It was not clear if Acton’s mother was paid for the one-minute spot. Her last known telephone number has been disconnected. Acton suggested Ramaswamy was behind the ad. “I won’t normalize somebody who has said that my childhood is just something I’m complaining about, who today just released an ad using my birth mother, who I was removed from at the age of 12 for severe abuse and neglect, and sexual abuse,” she told Spectrum News, a cable news outlet in Ohio. She said Ramaswamy was accused of similar personal attacks during his run for the GOP presidential nomination: “This is a life-

Albanian police clash with anti-government protesters

long pattern with my opponent.” Ramaswamy’s campaign issued a statement that did not address if he was responsible for the ad or knew who produced it. In the statement, campaign spokeswoman Connie Luck said Acton “has some serious problems with the truth that the public needs to be aware of.” In a statement released by Acton’s campaign, her brother, Philip Stearns, said the two were removed from their mother Donna Arthur’s custody as children after their stepfather, Arthur’s husband, was indicted for raping Acton as a child. Acton has not seen Arthur, whose last known address was in Pennsylvania, since they were in a courtroom together in 1978. Later Tuesday, the Acton campaign released a response ad featuring Stearns, who recalls his older sister taking “the worst” of the abuse they faced as children in order to protect him and disparages Ramaswamy and his allies for exploiting the situation. According to police and court documents obtained by The Associated Press, Cledith Arthur was arrested and charged with the rape of his stepdaughter, then 12, in July 1978, after Acton’s biological father reported his alleged conduct to authorities. The abuse allegedly happened from December 1976 to April 1978. Cledith Arthur pleaded not guilty. He was indicted by a grand jury that September, but failed to show at a court hearing and remained a fugitive until at least 1981. He has since died. High-proﬁle Republicans who back Ramaswamy — including Donald Trump Jr. and inﬂuencer Laura Loomer — elevated the video in online posts. But other Republicans joined Democrats in condemning the ad. Meghan McCain called it “dastardly” and Dan Hauser, a strategist for Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, said he deleted his retweet of the ad once he realized “the very serious accusations that caused their issues.”

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TIRANA, Albania — Police ﬁred tear gas and used water cannons to push back protesters Tuesday on the eighth straight day of violent antigovernment demonstrations in the Albanian capital, Tirana. High school and university students demanding lower tuition fees, greater state investment in education and protesting corruption in the education system have joined a broader anti-government movement calling for the resignation of Social-

bombs and ﬁreworks at police who have used batons, water cannons and tear gas in clashes in the city center. Albania is one of a number of European countries experiencing protests over rising fuel costs, discontent with the state of schools, declining public services and a housing crisis, including France and Italy. In Spain and Portugal, tent camps have sprung up to protest unaffordable housing, while a rally and a protest were also being planned in Greece on Tuesday evening and Wednesday. In Albania, the latest protests follow months of rallies organized by the so-

opment on Albania’s southern coast linked to an investment ﬁrm founded by Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law. “A wave of stones, an attempt to overthrow the government and change those in power through the imposition of violence — something that will never be allowed to happen, in any form or for any reason,” Rama said after a meeting Tuesday with teachers and representatives of Tirana’s schools. He argued that legitimate concerns were being hijacked by people deliberately causing violence during the protests.

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HIGH

84° 54°

LOW

84° 56°

Beaumont 83/56 Port Arthur 82/60

Baton Rouge 83/49

Lake Charles 83/53

New Orleans 80/57 Houma 80/51

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

Hattiesburg 83/48

Alexandria 83/47

Lafayette 82/52

10s

20s

30s

40s

50s

HIGH

81° 58°

LOW

83° 58°

TEMPERATURE Jackson 83/50

Many 85/43

LOW

YESTERDAY

Lafayette through 5 p.m. Tuesday

Longview 82/49

-0s

84° 53°

Monroe 84/49

Shreveport 83/49

-10s

LOW

Well, the great weather that we’ve been experiencing since last weekend continues again today. Expect a mostly sunny, warm and breezy day. Temperatures this afternoon will be above average, rising into the mid-80s. The winds today will be out of the northeast at 10 to 15 mph, so the air remains dry, dew points low and humidity hardly noticeable. If you’re headed to Paris for the Saints game, expect mostly cloudy skies, lows in the 40s, afternoon highs in the 50s and scattered rain every day.

60s

70s

80s

90s 100s 110s

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

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

OCT 25

NEW

NOV 1

Austin Boston Dallas Fairbanks Honolulu Las Vegas Louisville Miami Nashville

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

4:49p 10:38a 2:32a 4:47a 6:01a 5:48a 7:09a

FT.

TODAY

85 54 82 27 87 82 73 85 77

55 46 57 17 73 64 47 71 45

FIRST

NOV 9

s c s c pc t s s s

NOV 17

86 63 84 28 87 73 72 84 77

THU. Lo

53 42 61 7 71 55 48 71 46

LOW

0.00” 0.89” 3.01” 47.05” 51.71”

FT.

HIGH

0.7 3:15a 0.3 1.6 8:27p 0.8 2.2 7:29a 1.8 1.7 11:07a 1.1 1.2 4:31p 0.6 1.5 2:59p 0.8 1.5 5:33p 0.7

7:14 a.m. 6:31 p.m. 3:53 p.m. 2:36 a.m.

LAST

City

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

HIGH

Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today FULL

PRECIPITATION

80°/55° 80°/59° 83°/52° 91° in 1926 33° in 1989

s pc s pc pc t s t s

FT.

--- ----- --12:15p 1.9 2:48p 1.3 --- ----- ----- ---

READING 53 MAIN POLLUTANT Particulates

MAIN POLLUTANT Ozone

SOURCE: LOUISIANA DEQ AND AIRNOW.GOV

LOW

FT.

--- ----- --5:41p 0.9 9:32p 0.7 --- ----- ----- ---

City

8:10a 8:48a 9:26a 10:07a 10:52a 11:44a 12:13a

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

1:59a 8:32p 2:37a 9:10p 3:15a 9:49p 3:55a 10:30p 4:39a 11:17p 5:30a ---6:28a 12:43p

TODAY

80 82 66 88 64 70 75 77 84

57 61 45 70 35 41 48 66 63

s s s t s s s t s

82 81 70 82 64 74 76 73 82

2:21p 2:59p 3:37p 4:18p 5:04p 5:57p 6:58p

THU. Lo

61 60 46 64 43 44 51 61 62

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

s s s t s s s t s

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

4.50 23.20 25.50 11.20 6.50 5.27 4.00

-1.16 -0.43 -0.20 -0.40 -0.40 -0.20 -0.31

18.33

-0.93

-1.77

-0.14

18 29 8

-1.36 9.65 2.89

+0.01 -0.01 +0.12

13 15

1.33 0.55

-0.11 none

47 34 29 20 12 6

10.42 6.96 5.12 5.01 3.70 2.03

-0.08 -0.03 -0.28 +0.21 +0.40 +0.12

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‘A life marked by hard work’

2015, and his colleagues chose Former council member Pat Lewis remembered after death him to serve as vice chair. After

BY KRISTIN ASKELSON Staff writer

Former Lafayette City Council Chair Patrick “Pat” Lewis, who served on the City-Parish Council and later on the City Council, has died unexpectedly at 69, according to sources with Lafay-

ette Consolidated Government. Lafayette City Council Chair Kenneth P. Boudreaux and Mayor-President Monique Boulet issued statements mourning Lewis’ death and remembering his commitment to public service. A graduate of Lafayette High School, Lewis earned a bache-

lor’s degree from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He spent 14 years in banking before working for 26 years in the Lafayette Parish school system’s transportation and sales tax divisions. Lewis was elected to the ninemember City-Parish Council in

a Home Rule Charter amendment split the council into separate ﬁve-member city and parish councils, he was elected to the City Council in 2019. The council selected him as its ﬁrst chairman in 2020. In fall 2023, Lewis ran for

STAFF FILE PHOTO BY LESLIE WESTBROOK

Former Lafayette City Council member Pat ä See LEWIS, page 4B Lewis has died at age 69, officials said.

Vatican rejects Lafayette deacon’s appeal Man left church over priest's sexual abuse of his son

BY KRISTIN ASKELSON Staff writer

PHOTOS BY LEE BALL

The Iberia Performing Arts League presents a number from ‘You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown’ on Sunday during the New Iberia Beneath the Balconies in New Iberia. The event was a series of theatrical presentations and musical performances on selected balconies in New Iberia’s historic district. It was presented by the Iberia Preservation Alliance and New Iberia Main Street Program.

BALCONY PERFORMANCES

The Vatican has upheld the excommunication of former Lafayette Diocese deacon Scott Peyton, rejecting his appeal of a decision that came months after he left the Catholic Church following a priest’s sexual abuse of his son. In a May 22 decree, the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith rejected Peyton’s appeal of the Peyton excommunication imposed by Lafayette Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel in March 2024. The ruling leaves the excommunication in place. The Vatican’s decision was initially reported by The Guardian. Peyton left the Catholic Church in December 2023, saying years of clergy sexual abuse allegations and

ä See APPEAL, page 4B

Kennedy defends Medicaid cuts

Lauren Allain and her daughter Emma Allain enjoy a balcony performance.

Senator takes aim at Democrats in Lafayette trip

The Iberia Performing Arts League cast presents a selection from ‘Fiddler on the Roof.’

The National WWII Museum’s Victory Belles perform during the event.

Opelousas man convicted on child rape counts BY DEAN BOUDREAUX Staff writer

A St. Landry Parish jury on Friday convicted an Opelousas man of raping children, finding him guilty on four counts after less than an hour of deliberation, the District Attorney’s Office said. Kenneth Paul Rene, 46, was convicted of three counts of aggravated rape of a child under 13 and one count of first-degree rape of a child under 13, according to

a news release from District Attorney Chad Pitre’s ofﬁce. Prosecutors said the abuse spanned 10 years at homes in St. Landry Parish and began when the victims were 4 and 7 years old, according to the release. Assistant prosecutors Patsy Randall Duhon and Kylie LeBlanc tried the case. Rene has a prior conviction for child sexual abuse, the District Attorney’s Office said. He was convicted in Texas in 1998 of fel-

ony aggravated sexual assault of a child under 13 and served eight years in prison, according to the release. “Justice for these young survivors has ﬁnally been delivered,” Pitre said. “This man will never harm another child.” Both aggravated rape and ﬁrstdegree felony rape carry a mandatory sentence of life in prison at hard labor without parole, probation or suspension of sentence under Louisiana law, the release

said. Rene is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 7, 2027, at 9 a.m. in the 27th Judicial District Court. Pitre also praised Donna Slate, the state’s victim rights coordinator, who he said sat with the victims throughout the trial. “She really helps calm their fears and uncertainties,” Pitre said. Email Dean Boudreaux at dean.boudreaux@theadvocate. com.

BY JOEL THOMPSON Staff writer

U.S. Sen. John Kennedy defended Republicans’ economic record and federal spending cuts while criticizing Democrats during a Tuesday appearance before Acadiana business leaders and elected ofﬁcials. K e n n e d y, R R-Madisonville, spoke at the Oil Center Association’s Lunch and Learn series in River Ranch, two weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm Kennedy elections, as Republicans ﬁght to retain control of Congress. Armed with his folksy demeanor and trademark witticisms, Kennedy, who is not up for reelec-

ä See KENNEDY, page 4B

2B l Wednesday, October 21, 2026 l theadvocate.com l The Acadiana Advocate

lll

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

OUR VIEW

La. farmers face threats with little support Even in ordinary years, farming is a risky business. Weather, pests or disease outbreaks can ruin crops in the field before they can be brought to market This year, however, the threats to farming income have multiplied. The high cost of diesel fuel and fertilizer due to the war in Iran has squeezed budgets. Tariff and trade policy has limited farmers’ potential markets. Immigration crackdowns have made it hard to find workers. And looming on the horizon, the expansion of new industries like data centers, solar farms and LNG facilities in many rural areas is making farmland more attractive to developers. It’s no wonder then that when this newspaper’s Megan Wyatt talked to farmers across the state — from Richland to Cameron parishes — they expressed concerns about how long they’d be able to continue to till land that for many has been handed down to multiple generations. We know how important agriculture is to Louisiana. As state Agricultural Commissioner Mike Strain likes to point out, it is the top industry in the majority of parishes in the state. In Louisiana, which has fertile land that supports raising everything from cattle to crawfish to soybeans to sugar cane, we’re in better shape than many places, but that doesn’t mean our farmers don’t need help. We previously have urged our delegation in Washington to oppose policies that hurt farmers — including the disastrous cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development, which ended food programs that enabled many places around the world to buy Louisiana crops. We also urged Congress to reconsider restrictions on H-2B visas that were hampering the ability of crawfish farmers to get enough workers for harvest season. Those calls fell on deaf ears, so forgive us if we’re not hopeful that Congress will act. The state did take some action to give farmers relief, including an executive order eliminating a tax on red dye diesel, a kind normally used for tractors — a move later followed by the federal government. But most farmers see that as only a drop in the bucket, and we agree. We hope that by continuing to raise awareness as to their plight, they will at least know they are not forgotten. President Donald Trump announced a new $8 billion bailout for farmers affected by high diesel prices on Monday. But we suspect most would prefer changes that help them thrive rather than handouts. We support the aims of the Louisiana Farm Bureau, which is advocating for more sensible policies on trade and on agricultural labor as well as increased competitiveness among farm suppliers. Louisiana farmers are the backbone of our state, making possible much of the cuisine that we are known for throughout the world. We celebrate their contributions at festivals and appreciate their hard work every time we visit a farmers market. But if that support doesn’t extend to the halls of power, it may not help them much after all.

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

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

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YOUR VIEWS

Trump’s favoring of Putin harms vital partnerships

American children are losing their parents to mass deportation Thank you for your reporting on the fate of Vilma Palacios, a 22-year-old LSU nursing grad from Honduras who had lived in the U.S. since she was 6. After being swept up in our nation’s mindless mass deportation policies last summer and spending months in a detention center in Basile, Louisiana, Vilma was unable to obtain a U.S. visa and chose to launch her nursing career in Canada. As the editors stated, clearly we have lost our way as a country when we no longer welcome those who contribute to society. Our country is only just beginning to see the costs, human and ﬁnancial, that indiscriminate mass deportation is causing American society, with homes not being constructed or repaired, a shortage of elder-care workers and increased dairy and produce prices. What many are not aware of is how reckless immigration policies are impacting children — our society’s future and most precious gift. A recent Brookings Institute report

found that over 145,000 U.S. citizen children of immigrants lost a parent to detention/deportation from January 2025 to April 2026 as a consequence of indiscriminate mass deportation policies, including over 2,900 U.S. citizen children in Louisiana. Readers with young children will understand how distraught a child would be at the sudden loss of a parent. Why are we doing this to our children? Some may be shocked that so many Louisiana citizen children have been harmed by the traumatizing loss of mom or dad, but not immigrant families and folks walking with immigrants. In my metro-area Catholic parish, we have lost 13 faith-ﬁlled, peace-loving, hard-working immigrant parishioners to these cruel policies since January 2025. In the coming election, I urge readers to please vote for candidates who will help our country ﬁnd our way again.

In February 2022, Russia, a country with hegemonic ambitions, a second-rate conventional military and an economy no larger than Italy’s, invaded Ukraine. In naked aggression, the attack rivaled Germany’s 1939 invasion of Poland. Fighting for over four years, Ukraine, with creativity and courage, has bloodied and blunted Russia. President Donald Trump too often favors the world’s thugs and outcasts ruling our long-time adversaries, especially Russia’s Vladimir Putin, and disparages the elected heads of state governing our longtime friends. A reason may be the president’s sense of personal grievance — that he dislikes those European and other world leaders who he believes fawned over President Barack Obama and privately regard him lightly. But doing so trashes what America has stood for and undermines the partnerships that make us stronger. Recently, Trump has decided to buy diesel fuel from Russia, a ﬁnancial lifeline to Putin; exempted Russia and its leaders from recently adopted congressional sanctions; criticized Ukraine’s — but not Russia’s — drone targeting of energyrelated installations; threatened that the United States might suspend all assistance to Ukraine, such as military intelligence; and again blamed invaded Ukraine, not the invader Russia, for the war. Over the past 80 years, excluding the Trump terms, America has had 13 presidents, 20 secretaries of state and 26 secretaries of defense. George Marshall, Dean Acheson, John Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, George Shultz, George H.W. Bush, James Baker, Robert Gates — these are people who helped to make America great. Can you plausibly suggest one who would not have been, or is not, appalled by and cringing at Trump’s longstanding preference and recent intercession for Russia? I cannot. And if we can’t, what does that say about what we are doing?

SUE WEISHAR New Orleans

Protect schools from violence, address causes compassion, respect for life, personal responsibility and care for our neighbors. That work begins at home. Parents must be present, listen closely, set boundaries and work alongside teachers. Churches and communities must support families, help children who are struggling and take warning signs seriously. This is a shared responsibility. Our educators need support, our children need guidance and troubled young people need timely help. Here in Louisiana, we should ask ourselves what we can do today to strengthen those relationships in our own schools. Let us protect our children while doing the patient, faithful work of prevention. We owe them both.

The school shooting in Oregon Oct. 15 weighs heavily on my heart. I pray for the grieving families, the wounded and every child and educator whose sense of safety has been shaken. As a lifelong security professional, chaplain and firm supporter of the right to bear arms, I support Kaylub Giamanco’s courageous intervention to protect innocent lives. I pray he finds peace as he carries the emotional weight of that day. My experience has taught me the importance of sound security, preparation and trained responders. My faith convinces me we must also address the roots of violence long before an attacker reaches a schoolhouse door. I firmly believe bringing God and stronger parent involvement back into our classrooms and halls is essential to that work. Faith must be lived through

NORRIS D. YARBROUGH LaPlace

If Dems win, they plan to reverse what Trump has done With midterm elections rapidly approaching, political consultant Karl Rove complained in The Wall Street Journal recently that the Democrats have no agenda in the event of victory. I think he’s wrong. Their agenda (harbored more than revealed) is to torch any accomplishment connected to Trump, regardless of whether his actions might be

judged good or bad, i.e., in the interest of the nation or of President Donald Trump. That is the predictable outcome of elections in a nation that embraces identity politics. As the Romans would have it, “caveat elector.”

RICHARD PETRE Mandeville

ROBERT HEBERT Baton Rouge

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COMMENTARY President’s war on electric vehicles boomerangs on us Why on earth did Ford stop making its heralded electric truck? As Americans shudder at high gasoline prices, prospective truck buyers are lining up at car lots to buy used F-150 Lightning and other electric vehicles. Ford stopped making the F-150 Lightning last December. There are several reasons American automakFroma ers pulled back from an Harrop earlier determination to enter the electric era with the rest of the world. And for their customers to be left to scrounge when energy prices revived demand. But the biggest reason is Donald Trump, and here’s an educated guess why he had it in for clean, renewable energy: money. During the 2024 campaign, Trump pitched the fossil-fuel industry on a promise, since kept, to gut Joe Biden’s fuel-efficiency and climate rules. That helps explain why oil and gas interests poured $23 million into Trump’s reelection coffers, becoming his fourth biggest source of cash. The Iran War has further raised energy prices, bringing more good news to certain bottom lines. As a recent Wall Street Journal headline put it, “American Oil Refiners Are Printing Money as Wars Shrink Global Energy Supplies.” We’re not saying that Trump is waging war to help his contributors. What’s clear, however, is that by deepsixing Biden’s campaign to reduce America’s dependency on fossil fuels, he left Americans vulnerable to the vagaries of their prices. Now he’s turning against Ukraine in its heroic fight against the Russian invasion, apparently to bring more Russian oil and gas back onto world markets. That could lower pump prices and, Trump hopes, save a few Republican seats in Congress. How did second-term Trump try to kill off the American market for

STAFF PHOTO BY JILL PICKETT

A Chevrolet Blazer EV sits on the lot at Red River Chevrolet in Bossier City, La. electric vehicles, putting domestic carmakers at a global disadvantage? Count the ways: In 2025, Trump pushed Republicans to end the $7,500 tax credit to buy EVs. Ford CEO Jim Farley said that the sharp drop in sales that followed was the main reason his company reconsidered its large EV investments. It’s also why General Motors scaled back, taking a $6 billion charge that included billions in canceled supplier contracts and settlements. He greatly weakened the fuel-economy standards for cars and trucks, which had pushed automakers to produce more energy-efﬁcient vehicles. He froze money allocated to building EV charging stations. Many Americans who wanted EVs put off getting them for fear of running out of power far from a charging area. Trump wanted to keep those fears alive. His Energy Department canceled grants to clean-energy manufacturing programs, including support for making batteries in this country. And Trump ﬁlled media with a drumbeat of dumbo remarks about EVs: They don’t go far, they cost a lot to buy, and they’re made in China. EVs do cost more to buy than comparable

gas-powered models, but they are cheaper to maintain and cheaper to power, now very much cheaper. And yes, they are made in China, where automakers are cleaning the clocks of EV makers in North America and Europe. At the recent Paris Motor Show, Chinese companies represented a third of all brands on display. BYD, the world’s biggest selling EV brand, unveiled an SUV that could ﬁll a battery in about ﬁve minutes. Chinese EV automakers now have models that allegedly go over 600 miles on a single charge, and even some of their budget models approach 500 miles. Chinese EVs sell big in Europe but are pretty much locked out of the American market due to high tariffs and software bans. Trump recently said they’d be acceptable if built in the U.S. That further freaked out Detroit, which still makes some EVs and plans to introduce more. Trump fought the future. The future won, and Americans are paying the bill. Froma Harrop is on X, @FromaHarrop. Email her at fharrop@gmail.com.

A rumpled Democrat may ride Ohio anti-Trumpism back to the Senate ZANESVILLE, Ohio — Before the interstate president, toward whom almost all conhighway system enabled drivers to gressional Republicans are vigorously enjoy efficiency by forgoing interestsubservient. This year’s surprising annoyances ing experiences, traffic to and from for voters are data centers serving the the East and Midwest on Route 40, artificial-intelligence infrastructure. “the National Road,” flowed through, Inconveniently for Husted, Trump rather than around, cities. At this one, adores them as much as many Ohioans it crossed the famous Y Bridge that spans the confluence of the Licking and detest them. The electricity and water these centers require are hardly inMuskingum rivers. Depending on which fork of superable challenges, but they the Y drivers choose, they can symbolize irresistible change cross the bridge and wind up imposed by unfathomable techon the same side of a river they nocracies. started on. The structure is a Trump was his colorful self metaphor for Ohio’s current (“We’re gonna shove it up their U.S. Senate race. George ass, OK?”) when, in a recent Two years ago, Democrat speech 116 miles from here, Will Sherrod Brown failed to win a he delivered this endorsement: fourth Senate term, losing by “Even if you hate Jon Husted just 3.6 points while Donald Trump was … you’re gonna vote.” He immediately carrying Ohio by 11.3 points. This year, amended his stream of semiconsciousTrump is as unloved in football-crazed ness, saying “nobody” hates Husted. So Ohio as Michigan’s Wolverines. Brown there. probably will turn 80 in 2032 as a senaOn a college campus here recently, Brown spoke empathetically about the tor. Ohio farmer he met who said he will He plunged from Yale into politics, pay an extra $100,000 — approximately elected to the state legislature at age the farmer’s anticipated profit this year 21. His thinking is familiar to Ohioans — because of higher fertilizer prices. after half a century advocating ecoFarmers might blame these on an innomic populism and cultural liberalism. He was for same-sex marriage creasingly disorderly world. Will they during his seven terms in the House of vote as if Trump is somewhat blameRepresentatives, two decades before worthy? the Supreme Court settled the issue. Ohio soybean farmers, most of whom His protectionist credentials are so surely voted for Trump, are suffering impeccable he must feel plagiarized from a promise Trump has kept. Preby Trump. He favored protectionism dictably, other nations have targeted before this foolishness became fashU.S. agricultural exports in retaliation against the tariffs that are Trump’s ionable. signature achievement. Regarding the Brown’s opponent, Sen. Jon Husted, price farmers are paying for diesel was appointed in 2025 to the seat JD Vance filled for just over two years be- fuel, largely because of the Iran war, fore becoming vice president. Husted’s Republicans in Ohio, as elsewhere, say: Let’s talk instead about trans people — thinking might not be a concern for voters. They might reasonably assume boys in girls’ sports, OK? Addressing a late-afternoon gatherhis convictions are supplied by the

ing here, Brown, who will turn 74 six days after Election Day, was younger than many of the 100 or so in the room. Elderly Americans have more time than most others to pay attention to politics. And more reason to. Medicare and Social Security are 36% of spending by the federal government, which is increasingly an elder care institution with a military. Brown spoke about his devotion to Social Security, but not — why spoil a balmy autumn day? — about the 2032 exhaustion of its trust fund. There will be plenty of time after the election to ignore this certainty. The Almanac of American Politics calls Ohio “the first entirely American state,” the first neither to begin as a British colony nor to be carved from three of the original 13. Ohio was a swing state that swung in tandem with the nation in all but two 20th-century presidential elections. Brown, whose two dogs are named Franklin and Walter, for Franklin D. Roosevelt and Walter Reuther, militant head of the United Auto Workers, 1946-1970, might make Ohio less crimson, briefly. With tousled hair, imperfectly pressed clothes and a voice sometimes sandpapery from half a century of selling progressivism in a zillion Zanesvilles, Brown sometimes resembles an unmade bed. But for voters recoiling from the synthetic in politics — Trump’s persona is an acquired taste, but certainly authentic — Brown’s familiarity breeds contentment. He has the unprepossessing manner of someone who actually enjoys the activity that is 98% of what democracy demands of its practitioners: making small talk with strangers. Amazing.

War in Iran exposes intolerable vulnerability of the U.S. Churchill said that “wars are not won by evacuations,” and sometimes, he might have added, they are simply embarrassing. The U.S. hastily flew its B-1 bombers out of RAF Fairford in the U.K. for fear of a potential Iranian drone attack, the latest in a series of successful Iranian operations to crimp U.S. bases, this time more than 2,000 miles away. The Trump administration has found -- by opening a channel to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and blockading Iran -- a strategy to pressure Iran that may yet produce a favorable outcome to the war. Still, the conflict has exposed glaring U.S. military deficiencies, with our inability to protect our bases in the region high on the list. Rich Acting Navy Secretary Hung Lowry Cao has said the Iranians “blew the hell out of Bahrain,” referring to the headquarters of the Fifth Fleet in the tiny Gulf kingdom. They have also hit U.S. facilities in Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. The vast majority of U.S. casualties have resulted from attacks on our bases. Whereas it once seemed that having so many bases in proximity to Iran was useful to containing the Islamic Republic, when Tehran began firing on these facilities, it became clear that the short distances made them vulnerable targets. Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, where buildings and radar domes were hit, is just over 60 miles away. A number of bases have been fully or partly evacuated, and the effects have been felt on U.S. operations. One reason that there was so much strain on the USS Abraham Lincoln during its lengthy deployment is that Bahrain was no longer available as a supply hub. We had to rely on facilities in Diego Garcia and Singapore, creating a supply chain thousands of miles long. The Iranian missile and drone threat to our bases was foreseeable, and yet we didn’t do enough to protect them. One option now is a broad pullback of our presence in the region. But so long as hydrocarbons power the modern economy, this is a nonstarter. The Gulf states would have an incentive to look elsewhere for strategic partners, most worryingly to Russia or China, and might conclude that they should do more to accommodate an Iran that would have effectively chased us from the Persian Gulf. The answer to the threat to the bases is the same thing that created the threat in the first place -- innovation. We’ve long had bases in the Gulf, including a naval command headquarters in Bahrain since 1948, but the purpose and the nature of the presence has changed over time. As Kristian Alexander writes in an analysis for the Stimson Center, during the Cold War we didn’t have a large land presence at bases. After Saddam Hussein’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait, that changed. Today, the question is how to reconfigure our presence again to make it more defensible and sustainable. “U.S. bases,” Alexander writes, “remain indispensable for intelligence collection, command and control, maritime security, air and missile defense, logistics and longrange power projection.” One option is to locate more facilities in Israel. Elliott Abrams of the Council on Foreign Relations points out that the Jewish state is much further away -- more than 1,000 miles from Iran -- and would impose fewer restrictions on our access and overflight rights. But we still require bases in the Gulf. We’re going to need to disperse them, harden them (including with more underground elements) and build in more redundancy. The air defense needs to be more robust and layered, and less dependent on expensive missiles that are in short supply. The war with Iran was supposed to represent a short, sharp defanging of the Iranian regime. Instead, it has dragged on and served as a lesson in key shortcomings of U.S. military power that must be addressed, lest they bite us again in a conflict with a much more powerful adversary. Rich Lowry is on X, @RichLowry.

Email George Will at georgewill@washpost.com.

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The casket of Samuel Pierre Jr., who was killed in action during the Korean War, rises out of the rubble of bricks that once made up his burial site at the historic Sweet Olive Cemetery on Oct. 12 in Baton Rouge.

STAFF PHOTO BY LESLIE WESTBROOK

U.S. Sen. John Kennedy, R-Madisonville, speaks Tuesday during a Senate campaign rally for U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow, R-Baton Rouge, at Rock’n’Bowl in Lafayette.

STAFF PHOTO BY MICHAEL JOHNSON

KENNEDY

Damaged grave site of La. soldier to be addressed Burial structure destroyed at Sweet Olive Cemetery

BY ELLYN COUVILLION Staff writer

The ﬁnal resting place of a U.S. Army soldier killed in action 74 years ago during the Korean War is in shambles, and the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs is on a mission to change that. Louisiana native Samuel Pierre Jr., a private ﬁrst class, was buried in the historic Sweet Olive Cemetery, which takes up two blocks of South 22nd Street in Baton Rouge. His military casket, made of 20-gauge metal, is intact and remains sealed, though a large dent can be seen across its top. It appears as if the casket was somehow forced upward from the ground, destroying the brick burial structure that had covered it. “Right now, our goal is to protect this grave as soon as possible,” said Daniele Palen, director of communications for the state Department of Veterans Affairs. “We’re going to do everything we can to repair this gentleman’s grave or relocate it in the most respectful way possible.” A 1952 newspaper article informed the department that Pierre was 22 when he died July 1, 1952.

LEWIS

Continued from page 1B Louisiana House District 44, seeking to succeed state Rep. Vincent Pierre, D-Lafayette, who was barred by term limits from seeking reelection. Lewis lost the Oct. 14 election to Lafayette Parish School Board member Tehmi Chassion.

APPEAL

Continued from page 1B the church’s response to the molestation of his son had “shaken my faith and trust in the institution.” He and his family joined the Anglican Communion in January 2024. The Vatican’s decree recounts Peyton’s argument that he did not intend principally to separate himself from the Catholic Church but instead sought to preserve his and his family’s faith in Christ. It also acknowledges his claim that the excommunication caused serious harm to his family and that the diocese failed to follow the required procedures. The document states the Vatican considered those arguments in reviewing the case. The ruling, however, upholds the excommunication. Peyton’s son was 16 when former priest Michael Guidry molested him in 2016. Guidry pleaded guilty to the abuse in 2019, admitting he provided the teenager alcohol and molested him while he was intoxicated, according to court records and related litigation. Peyton and Guidry served together at St. Peter’s Church in Morrow, a small community in northern St. Landry Parish. In his December 2023 letter to Deshotel, Peyton said the pain suffered by his son

A native of New Orleans, he grew up in Baton Rouge, where he attended McKinley High School, then went on to graduate from Gaudet High School in New Orleans. Pierre attended Southern University and entered the Army in April 1951. He was sent to Korea that November. Through its research, the veterans affairs agency has not been able to identify any living immediate family members. “His mother’s obituary shows that she died in 1970. His father would be well over 100 years old today, and no spouse, children or siblings were named in records from the time,” the department said in a statement Tuesday. The agency learned of the state of Pierre’s grave last week, when a man from Florida left a voicemail about it. The caller had seen a picture of the damaged grave site posted on the social media website Reddit, Palen said. The man was a veteran and had immediately been moved to call the department, she said. A nonprofit community group, Friends of Sweet Olive, has mowed the grass at the cemetery, which was established in 1898, and kept it looking neat for many years, Palen said. “They’ve done a great job,” she said. “We are truly grateful to the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs for their willingness to work toward a solution for Private Samuel Pierre Jr.’s

grave,” Markeda Cottonham, founder of the Friends of Sweet Olive, said in a statement Tuesday. “Our hope and preference would be to restore Private Pierre’s grave at Sweet Olive, provided that it can be made secure and preserved for the long term,” Cottonham said. The group noted that two additional, unidentified graves are in the same burial area with Pierre. “Although we do not yet know their names, their resting places deserve the same care, dignity and preservation,” she said. “At the same time, our priority is the dignity and proper care of everyone resting there,” Cottonham said. “If a thorough assessment determines that restoration at Sweet Olive is not a sustainable option, we would be open to discussing relocation.” Sweet Olive is the resting place of more than 40 veterans, she said. The Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs said it is working with the Governor’s Office, the Louisiana Cemetery Board and the state Attorney General’s Office to provide a fitting grave site for Pierre. “Any action will comply fully with Louisiana cemetery, public health and historic preservation laws,” the veterans agency said.

Email Ellyn Couvillion at ecouvillion@theadvocate.com.

Boudreaux, who served alongside Lewis on the former City-Parish Council beginning in 2016, said Lewis brought commitment and perspective to public service. “Pat lived a life marked by hard work, perseverance, and a genuine concern for others,” Boudreaux said. After his careers in banking and the school system, Lewis became a business owner and

elected official, Boudreaux said. He described Lewis as approachable and humble, with a willingness to help people regardless of their circumstances. “Today, we remember Pat not simply for the office he held, but for the man he was,” Boudreaux said. Boulet also expressed condolences, saying Lewis was always looking for ways to help the people he repre-

sented. “I’m heartbroken to hear of the unexpected passing of Pat Lewis,” Boulet said. “Pat honorably served our community as a former city councilman and was always looking for ways to help the people he served. David and I are praying for his family.” Additional details about Lewis’ death and funeral arrangements were not immediately available.

and family, coupled with what he called a systemic failure to address and prevent clergy sexual abuse, left him unable to reconcile his commitment to the church with his conscience. His departure, he wrote, was not a rejection of his faith in God or Christian principles but a necessary step to preserve his family’s faith and values. Deshotel later wrote that a bishop never wishes to impose a censure but has duties he cannot neglect. He also acknowledged the trauma Peyton’s family suffered, while arguing that leaving the church was not the answer. The Diocese of Lafayette previously accused Peyton of using “calculated and activist” social media posts to manipulate public opinion. Peyton’s son sued Guidry and the diocese. The case was settled in 2021 for an undisclosed amount. As part of the settlement, the diocese issued an apology acknowl-

edging the victim’s credibility and denouncing Guidry’s actions. The diocese has not responded to previous ques-

tions about the excommunication and whether it could be viewed as a threat to victims of clergy sexual abuse and their families.

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Continued from page 1B tion until 2028, took aim at Democrats while arguing that Republicans’ prospects in the Senate are especially important to the party’s agenda. “If you put this group in charge of the Sahara Desert, they’d run out of sand,” Kennedy said. He also criticized what he described as the “Hamas” wing of the Democratic Party. Kennedy, a former Democrat who switched to the Republican Party, said retaining control of the Senate could be more important to Republicans’ success moving forward. He argued that it would be easier to persuade a small number of House Democrats to support Republican proposals than to win over Senate Democrats. The economy and cost of living also featured prominently in Kennedy’s remarks. “Inflation is a cancer to the American dream,” he said. Kennedy maintained that the U.S. economy remains strong, citing a reduction in the number of federal employees and a decline in inflation during President Donald Trump’s second term. “I wouldn’t trade this economy for any other in the world,” Kennedy said. “We were able to get our inflation down to 2.7%, and then we got into Iran and now it’s 3.7%.” Kennedy also highlighted federal funding he said has benefited Acadiana, including $51 million in grants for the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, as well as funding for Acadiana Regional Airport and the South Central Coastal Project. “I just want Louisiana to get its fair share,” Kennedy said. “I work hard to do that every single day.” Kennedy defended Republican-backed cuts to government programs, including Medicaid, approved last year as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill. The changes could put health coverage at risk for some of the 1.4 million Lou-

isianans enrolled in Medicaid when provisions take effect in 2027. Kennedy argued that the changes would reduce wasteful spending in some states’ Medicaid programs. “Medicaid used to be for the poor and elderly. Now in some states Medicaid will pay for your house or hire you a chef,” he said. One benefit Kennedy appeared to reference is California’s program providing medically tailored meals to eligible patients with chronic conditions. The meals are intended to address patients’ nutritional needs as part of their care. Kennedy also supports work requirements for Medicaid recipients younger than 60, saying recipients should work at least 20 hours a week or participate in community service as an alternative. He criticized what he described as inefficiencies in the healthcare system, particularly the use of hospital emergency rooms for nonemergency treatment. “If you’ve got an emergency, get your rear end to the ER, and we’ll figure out a way to pay for it,” Kennedy said. “If you’ve got a cold and you don’t want to go to the 7 Eleven to buy some antihistamine, you can’t go to the ER.” Despite his criticism of Medicaid spending, Kennedy argued that the United States remains generous in providing assistance to people in need. “We spend trillions of dollars every year on those who are less fortunate than us,” he said. “In just about every other country, if your neighbor gets down on his luck, they let you die in a ditch. Not in America. If you’re hungry, we’ll feed you. If you’re homeless, we’ll house you.” Kennedy also appeared with Julia Letlow, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, at an event later Tuesday at Rock’n’Bowl in downtown Lafayette. Early voting continues through Tuesday, excluding Sunday. Election Day is Nov. 3.

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P A C E R S A T P E L I C A N S • 7 P. M . W E D N E S D A Y • G C S E N

Life’s easier for Saints while on run BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer

VERSAILLES, France — So that is what the New Orleans Saints offense can look like when the run game is going. When the Saints have enjoyed successful offensive performances the last two seasons under coach Kellen Moore, more often than not it was because quarterback Tyler Shough and receiver Chris Olave were dragging the rest of the offense along with them. That was not the case Sunday against the New York Giants. The Saints ran the ball ä Saints 38 times for 175 vs. Steelers. yards. What is some8:30 A.M. SUNDAY, what funny about NFL NETWORK the performance is that the downto-down efficiency was not that great. The Saints’ 37% rushing success rate was a few percentage points worse than their season average. The bulk of their yardage came on explosive plays, which is something new. New Orleans racked up six runs of 10 or more yards, five of them by running backs Alvin Kamara, Kendre Miller and CJ Donaldson. To put that in perspective, Saints running backs had accounted for four runs of 10 or more yards in the first five weeks of the season combined. The Saints were successful on both zone- and gap-scheme runs, and they also got more out of Shough as a rusher (five carries, 32 yards) than they had all season. Rookie guard Jeremiah Wright, who entered for the injured Cesar Ruiz, definitely played a part in helping unlock some things. All but one of those explosive runs came after Wright checked into the game. New Orleans will have a chance to keep that going this week against a Pittsburgh defense that has allowed at least 4 yards per carry in four of its six games this season.

ä See SAINTS, page 4C

STAFF PHOTO BY DAVID GRUNFELD

New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson poses for a photograph during media day Sept. 28 at the Smoothie King Center.

NOW OR NEVER?

BY ROD WALKER

Staff writer

New Orleans Pelicans fans thought they’d be dancing by now. Zion Williamson thought so, too. That’s what Williamson promised when he stared into the TV camera that June night in 2019 and said “Let’s dance.” But Williamson enters his eighth NBA season still trying to deliver not only to a city starving for some hoops success but also for himself. The Pelicans are coming off the worst back-to-back stretch in franchise history, winning just 26 games last season and 21 the year before that. They aren’t where they want to be. Neither is Williamson when it comes to his career so far. “I’m not where I want to be,” Williamson said. “Not where I need to be. Not where I want to be.” Where he wants to be is in the playoffs. The Pelicans have made it twice since Williamson arrived in the NBA, but he was injured both times and had to watch from the bench.

Zion enters Year 8 with renewed focus, plans to push Pels toward greatness

Where he also wants to be is among the NBA elite, the place everyone expected him to be by now. Kris Chrisp, who began training Williamson in November, is trying to be the GPS to help Williamson reach his desired destination to ﬁnally silence the critics. “Every athlete sees what people say about them,” Chrisp said. “I don’t care how big of a star they are. He saw the comments that people made about his body. He saw the people they say are better than him. I remind him of it. I try to instill so much conﬁdence in him. ‘Hey man, you need to get back to your spot.’ ” Chrisp admits he wasn’t so sure how things would go with his new client when he was asked to train him. “To be honest, I was a little skeptical given some of the media reports and some of the things I had heard about him,” Chrisp said. “But it felt like a challenge I was prepared for. Once we got started, I was amazed. I said, ’Bro, you are nothing like what people said you were.’ They said he didn’t’ work. But he

ä See ZION, page 4C

LSU seeks to right SEC road wrongs

Brodhead: UL women ‘fell forward’ last season

BY KOKI RILEY

UL women’s basketball coach Garry Brodhead isn’t running from last year’s many trials that produced a 5-26 campaign. But as he enters his 14th season with the Ragin’ Cajuns, he isn’t discouraged by it. “I’m not a person that’s going to get discouraged,” Brodhead said during the Sun Belt basketball media days Zoom call Tuesday. “I think the biggest thing ... has been learning, learning, learning. You learn how to change, you know? “We had to do some changes ... not only with the way we were doing things, but also with the ... the lineups and going out and recruit, and, you know, that the whole college sports has changed so much that we need to adjust to it.” UL fans will get their ﬁrst look at Brodhead’s new team in an exhibition game against LSU-Alexandria at 6 p.m. Thursday in the Cajundome.

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

Staff writer

When Lane Kifﬁn walked up to the podium on Monday ahead of LSU’s third road game of the year this Saturday at Auburn (11 a.m., ABC), it marked an anniversary of sorts. It had been exactly two years since LSU won a road game in Southeastern Conference play, a fact that hadn’t been lost on the ﬁrst-year LSU coach. “We haven’t won on the road at LSU in 24 ä LSU at months,” Kiffin said. Auburn. “And yet, there’s one 11 A.M. SATURDAY, other nonconference ABC road game; it was at Clemson, and LSU won.” LSU’s last road win against an SEC foe came midway through Brian Kelly’s third season, a 34-10 win at Arkansas. That night, then-freshman running back

ä See LSU, page 4C

STAFF FILE PHOTO BY BRAD KEMP

UL women’s basketball head coach Garry Brodhead and assistant coach Temeka Johnson have the Cajuns worlds ahead of where the program was a year ago.

There are many reasons to believe the Cajuns can make a rapid improvement in the Sun Belt standings, despite the coaches picking UL to finish 13th. One is the coaching staff has been intact throughout the offseason, unlike last year. Because of that, Brodhead is convinced the program’s “fall” to five wins last year was largely misinterpreted. “I’m lucky to have some young coaches that help me with that (changes),” he said. “People say you fall, but I felt like we fell forward. We did not fall back. We continue to fall forward.” For most of last season, there were very few options on the bench. This year, the roster is filled with promising newcomers. “We really believe in what we have now,” Brodhead said. “We haven’t gotten to some of the things that I really want to do. We’re still on the basic part of our deal. Right

ä See UL, page 4C

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BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS On TV MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL 6 p.m. Louisville at Kansas ESPNU COLLEGE FOOTBALL 7 p.m. N.M. St. at Sam Houston St. ESPN2 COLLEGE GOLF 3 p.m. Abilene Christian Intercollegiate GOLF WOMEN’S COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL 6 p.m. Kentucky at Tennessee SECN GOLF 9 p.m. BMW Ladies Championship GOLF

GYMNASTICS 12:30 p.m. World Artistic Championships NBCSN HORSE RACING noon America’s Day at the Races FS2 3 p.m. America’s Day at the Races FS2 NBA 6:40 p.m. Minnesota at Miami ESPN 7 p.m. Indiana at New Orleans GCSEN 9:05 p.m. Golden State at L.A. Lakers ESPN NHL 6:30 p.m. Philadelphia at Buffalo TNT

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MEN’S SOCCER Shakhtar Donetsk at Inter Milan CBSSN Forge FC at CF Montreal FS2 St. Louis City at Columbus CBSSN WOMEN’S SOCCER 9:45 a.m. Japan vs. France FS2 12:45 p.m. Ghana vs. Brazil FS2 TENNIS 9:30 p.m. Brussels-ATP TENNIS WNBA 7 p.m. Golden State at Atlanta USA

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Pelicans exercise options for Missi, Fears, Queen On Tuesday, the Pelicans exercised a fourth-year option on center Yves Missi, and third-year options on guard Jeremiah Fears and forward/center Derik Queen, the team announced. Missi was drafted by the Pelicans with the No. 21 overall pick in the 2024 draft and was voted to the second team on the All-Rookie team. Fears was drafted with the No. 7 pick in the 2025 draft and averaged 14.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists. He played in all 82 games last season. The Pelicans traded up in the 2025 draft to select Queen with the 13th pick. He averaged 11.7 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists in his ﬁrst season. Fears and Queen both were second-team selections on the All-Rookie team last season.

Auburn LB Atkins leaves program, plans to transfer

STAFF PHOTO BY MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU forward Grace Knox, left, finishes a layup against Tennessee forward Zee Spearman last season at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Knox and the Tigers enter this season ranked No. 9 in The Associated Press poll.

LSU women start in Top 10 again BY REED DARCEY

Staff writer

The LSU women’s basketball program again will begin a new season as a top-10 team. Coach Kim Mulkey’s Tigers took the No. 9 spot in The Associated Press Top 25 preseason poll, which was released Tuesday. LSU has been a preseason top10 team in four consecutive seasons. It began the 2023-24 season ranked No. 1 after winning the 2023 national championship, then started at No. 7 in 2024-25 before coming in at No. 5 in 2025-26. Last year, the Tigers earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the ﬁrst time since 2008 but lost to No. 3 seed Duke on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer in the Sweet 16. Mulkey and her staff then lost Flau’jae Johnson to the WNBA and three key contributors to the transfer portal. But AP voters decided they wound up adding enough talent to stay in the hunt for a trip to the Final Four. Mikaylah Williams is back for another year, alongside senior guard MiLaysia Fulwiley and sophomores ZaKiyah Johnson and Grace Knox. LSU’s top newcomers are former Iowa State point guard Jada Williams, McDonald’s All-America forward Lola Lampley, ex-Florida guard Laila Reynolds, Spanish forward Noa Morro and Russian center Anna

AP TOP 25 POLL

Rec. Pts. Prv. 1. South Carolina (23) 0-0 764 1 2. UConn (6) 0-0 746 2 3. USC (2) 0-0 668 3 4. Duke 0-0 647 4 5. Michigan 0-0 644 5 6. Texas 0-0 618 6 7. Louisville 0-0 557 7 8. Vanderbilt 0-0 536 8 9. LSU 0-0 512 9 10. Iowa 0-0 492 10 11. UCLA 0-0 442 11 12. North Carolina 0-0 396 12 13. Notre Dame 0-0 368 13 14. Kentucky 0-0 325 14 15. TCU 0-0 301 15 16. Washington 0-0 272 16 17. Minnesota 0-0 238 17 18. Ohio State 0-0 234 18 19. Ole Miss 0-0 223 19 20. Maryland 0-0 222 20 21. Oklahoma 0-0 206 21 22. Oklahoma State 0-0 202 22 23. Illinois 0-0 128 23 24. West Virginia 0-0 73 24 25. NC State 0-0 51 25 Others receiving votes: Nebraska 47, Arizona State 36, Baylor 31, Virginia 30, Michigan State 16, Kansas 12, Tennessee 9, Alabama 7, Syracuse 5, Villanova 5, Fairﬁeld 2, Oregon 2, Rice 2, Georgia 2, Colorado 2, Virginia Tech 1, Clemson 1

Minaeva. LSU is one of seven Southeastern Conference teams that landed spots in the preseason poll. Voters ranked the Tigers behind South Carolina (No. 1), Texas (No. 6) and Vanderbilt (No. 8) but ahead of Kentucky (No. 14), Ole Miss (No. 19) and Oklahoma (No. 21). Mulkey’s new-look group will play three preseason top-25 teams in November and December as part of its nonconference slate: No. 2 UConn on Dec. 20 in Nashville, Tennessee; No. 12 North Carolina on the road Dec. 2; and No. 25 North Carolina State in Fort

Meyers, Florida, on Nov. 28. LSU’s season tips off in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Nov. 2 against Southeastern Louisiana. Before then, the Tigers will play two exhibition games in the PMAC — one on Thursday against UNT Dallas and another on Oct. 29 against Loyola-New Orleans. LSU has now been a top-10 team at some point during all six seasons of Mulkey’s tenure, which ties the longest such stretch in program history. The program also spent time in the top 10 every year from 2002-08. The Gamecocks received 23 first-place votes from the 31-member national media panel. UConn, USC, Duke and Michigan rounded out the top five. It is the fifth time in the past seven years that Dawn Staley’s team has been ranked No. 1 in the preseason. “It’s a gift and curse,” Staley said. “I tend to not look at the number, but our players do. They look at it and feel like there’s a sense of respect to being No. 1. They also know that it’s pressure packed with the type of nonconference schedule we have, we’re going to be challenged. If we stand there at No. 1 at the end of our nonconference season, that’s something to be truly to be proud of.” South Carolina will face five ranked teams in the first month of the season, including UConn, USC

and Duke. UConn, which lost to South Carolina in the Final Four last season, garnered six ﬁrst-place votes and has been ranked in the top 10 of every preseason poll since 1994. This is the third consecutive year that South Carolina and UConn have been 1-2 in the preseason poll, though the Huskies were on top a year ago. The two play each other on Nov. 24 in Uncasville, Connecticut. Southern California picked up the other two ﬁrst-place ballots. Expectations are high for the Trojans, who have a healthy JuJu Watkins back after she missed last season while recovering from a torn ACL suffered in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. The No. 3 ranking matches the one they had two years ago. Texas, Louisville, Vanderbilt, LSU and Iowa round out the top 10. Reigning national champion UCLA is next with North Carolina, Notre Dame, Kentucky and TCU following the Bruins. Washington, Minnesota, Ohio State, Ole Miss and Maryland are 16-20 while the final five in the Top 25 were Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Illinois, West Virginia and N.C. State. The Big Ten has nine teams in the Top 25, the most ever for one conference in the preseason poll. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Notre Dame ground attack gets surprise boost BY MIKE COPPAGE Contributing writer

Heading into the season, Notre Dame junior Braxton Meche was expected to provide change-ofpace depth behind senior tailback William Lavergne. Lavergne, who led the charge at fullback last year for an offense that produced the area’s leading rusher in Joachim Bourgeois, has battled injuries, which thrust Meche into a more prominent role. “Braxton has picked up some of the slack and really stepped up for us,” Notre Dame coach Lewis Cook said. “And he’s made the big play.” With the Pioneers trailing Catholic New Iberia with less than two minutes remaining in Week 4, Meche caught a pass in the middle of the field, then juked past defenders for a 61-yard gamewinning touchdown. “In junior varsity games last year, we noticed that Braxton is a strong runner,” Cook said. “He always seemed to move the pile

forward, and he has some speed.” Meche (5-foot-11, 170 pounds) ran for more than 100 yards in weeks 4 and 5, and rushed for 93 and 94 yards in his two latest outings against Abbeville and Basile, respectively. “He had some big runs in the Cecilia game,” Cook said. “(Braylon) Calais scored to make it a onepossession game. We came right back with a nice drive. Braxton carried it four or ﬁve times, and we scored.” Lavergne, who had a huge performance in a Week 3 win over Teurlings Catholic, didn’t play last week, although he’s expected to get the green light in this week’s District 7-2A home contest against Lake Arthur (7-0, 2-0). “We always try not to overload one back in the I-formation,” said Cook, who will also get star offensive lineman Brodie LeJeune back against Lake Arthur, which is No. 6 in the Division IV nonselect power ratings and has outscored its ﬁrst two league opponents (Basile and Kinder) by a combined 102-

7 margin. “I’ll tell you what, it’s been a really unusual year (with injuries). We played Cecilia without two of our starting offensive linemen and amazingly found a way to win.” The Pioneers also lost 200-pound sophomore fullback Sam Prevost to an injury, which resulted in Jack Miller and tight end Gabe Smith taking snaps in the pivotal blocking position. “I’m really proud of the kids,” Cook said. “Whoever has gone in has gotten the job done. If you told me we would have all these injuries, I would have never thought we’d be 7-0. The kids don’t hold back. They bow their necks and say, ‘Let’s go.’” The Pioneers are No. 1 in the power ratings of Division III select, which is jam-packed with parity with the likes of No. 7 University High (5-2) and No. 2 St. Charles Catholic (6-1) moving down from Division II. Calvary Baptist (7-0), which defeated Notre Dame in last year’s semiﬁnals, will be in the mix along

with old district rival Lafayette Christian (5-2). Catholic New Iberia (4-3), Newman (6-1) and reigning champion Dunham (4-3), which is No. 10 in the power ratings, will make sure that Division III is exciting when the postseason comes around. Lake Arthur features one of the state’s most productive running backs in Jaydon Prudhomme, who had rushed for 994 yards with 16 TDs entering last week’s 42-0 win over Kinder. “We knew they had a lot coming back,” Cook said of the Tigers. “The running back has been giving people fits. They have two threats in the backﬁeld with the quarterback, and they have a veteran defense with seven returning starters.” Meche said that regardless of who is in the game, the Pioneers’ offensive philosophy remains the same. “We just plan on getting the ball down their throat the entire time and wearing them down as much as possible,” he said.

AUBURN, Ala. — Auburn standout linebacker Xavier Atkins is no longer with the program. Atkins made the announcement late Monday on social media, saying he plans to enter the transfer portal when it opens later this year. The Tigers have since removed Atkins from their online roster. “I have nothing but respect Auburn University and will continue to support my teammates this season,” Atkins posted on X. “My focus is on my health, my family and on ﬁnishing up the academic semester strong, and I’ll be entering the transfer portal at the appropriate time.” Atkins sat out last week’s upset of then-No. 1 Georgia for undisclosed reasons, with coach Alex Golesh saying he would keep the details “in house.”

Giants release RB Harris after 2-carry, 4-yard game

NEW YORK — The New York Giants released running back Najee Harris on Tuesday, 48 hours after he had just two carries for 4 yards in a 3427 loss to New Orleans. In the locker room afterward, Harris was critical of his role with the team, saying it was impossible for anyone to get into a rhythm without a steady workload. Harris, who is coming off a torn left Achilles tendon and signed with the Giants late in training camp, rushed for 99 yards in ﬁve games this season, an average of 3.2 yards an attempt. The 28-year-old started against the Saints on Sunday when Harbaugh and his staff reduced Cam Skattebo’s role after the second-year running back fumbled in overtime at Washington the previous week.

Commanders WR McLaurin out for season with injury

Washington Commanders receiver Terry McLaurin is out for the remainder of the season with a torn left patellar tendon, coach Dan Quinn confirmed on Tuesday. He will have surgery to repair the injury. McLaurin, 31, suffered the injury on Monday against the 49ers and had to be carted off the field with an air cast on his left leg. He returned to the area and underwent an MRI to confirm the injury. The eight-year veteran has played in five games so far this season and has 15 catches for 230 yards and a touchdown. In his place, the Commanders will turn to Stefon Diggs and rookie Antonio Williams to produce more in the receiving game.

Timberwolves, McDaniels agree to 1-year extension MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Timberwolves have long viewed Jaden McDaniels as a vital part of their long-term core, and they furthered their commitment by signing the two-way standout on Tuesday to a one-year, $40 million contract extension that goes through the 202930 season. The seventh-year small forward has three seasons left on a ﬁve-year, $136 million contract he signed right before the 2023-24 season. The extension also makes McDaniels eligible for another one in two years at a higher rate, thanks to the hefty raise he’ll get from about $29.8 million in 2028-29 to the $40 million in 2029-30. The 6-foot-9 McDaniels had an excellent season in 2025-26, posting career bests with an average of 14.8 points per game, 41.2% shooting from 3-point range and 83.5% from the free-throw line.

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UL FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK

Cajuns looking to build momentum ahead of bye BY KEVIN FOOTE

Staff writer

This week, UL wants to maintain the kind of determination that produced a 33-6 win over Troy for one more week at Southern Miss because there’s the reward of an open date on the other side. No team wants to go into a bye week coming off of a loss. “For us, it’s been a long stretch,” UL coach Michael Desormeaux said. “This will be eight in a row without a bye. We’ve got to go ﬁnish this four-game stretch in the middle right here really well. We’ve got to go ﬁnd a way to get a win on the road. If the Cajuns can win in Hattiesburg for just the third time in 27 tries, UL would enter its open date 6-2 and 3-1 in the Sun Belt. To prepare, Desormeaux hinted at changing some practice routines. “We’re going to change some things,” he said. “We’ll get into it this week to keep our guys healthy and fresh. I think if we can show up every weekend as healthy as can be — fresh and ready to go — I think we have a chance to win every week. “The last bus trip we took, you know, we came up a little short,” he said about losing to Louisiana Tech in Ruston. “So, we get to get on the bus and go over there and go try do it a little bit better.”

Finished better When the Cajuns got to halftime with a 19-0 lead over Troy on Saturday, there had to be some trepidation after watching a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter disappear the week before in Ruston. “So what I told them at halftime this week was, I said, ’We’re going to ﬁnd out a lot about our team in the second half of this game,’ ” Desormeaux said. “How much have we grown up? How much have we learned? They were all saying the right things, but talking and doing is different.” Initially, things didn’t go well. Troy opened the third quarter with its best possession of the night, driving 75 yards on eight

Continued from page 1C now, we’re spending a lot of time on defense. We want to make sure that everybody can defend.” There are still some veterans around in seniors Jazmyne Jackson, Mikaylah Manley and Kahlen Norris, as well as seasoned sophomores Imani Daniel and Amijah Price. “Jazmyne is shooting lights out, man,” Brodhead said. “I’m excited about her. Mikaylah is an offensive threat every time she catches the ball. “Imani is a special player. She’s one that’s the ﬁrst one in the gym and the last one out. She doesn’t have an injury. She can be hurt — break her ﬁnger or do whatever — and she’s going to continue to

SAINTS

Continued from page 1C

About the finish The Saints took care of the most important thing by winning the game, but they almost let it slip through the cracks against the backup to the backup quarterback. J.J. McCarthy entered for Jameis Winston while trailing 34-10 with about 11 minutes to go in the game. His 243 yards passing in the fourth quarter were the ﬁfth-most by an NFL quarterback in NFL history. McCarthy completed 11 passes against New Orleans in that ﬁnal quarter, and here is what those plays gained in terms of yardage: 19, 27, 8, 49, 24, 11, 13, 46, 17, 20, 9. That is an average of 22.1 yards per completion — the most by an NFL quarterback (minimum 10 completions) since Derek Carr posted the exact same line (11 completions, 243 yards) for the Saints against the Cowboys in Week 2 of the 2024 season. There was some luck involved. His longest completion, a 49-yarder to Charlie Jones, was a 50-50 pass that Quincy Riley probably should have intercepted. But by and large, New Orleans failed to generate much of a pass rush, al-

STAFF PHOTO BY BRAD KEMP

The UL football team celebrates its 33-6 win over Troy on Saturday at Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium. ä UL at Southern Miss. 4 P.M. SATURDAY, ESPN+

plays in 4:12 to trim the Cajuns’ lead to 19-6 with 10:48 left in the third quarter. Instead of wilting, UL responded with arguably the drive of the season so far, marching 91 yards on 16 plays in 8:22 to deliver a resounding message the Cajuns were ﬁnishing on this day. “I was incredibly pleased with the way we played,” Desormeaux said. “The 91-yard drive with 16 plays for eight and a half minutes to go back to 26-6 was huge. Then you get three fourth-down stops in the game. “That’s the way you want to ﬁnish.”

More DL praise

“Our D-line played their tails off all night,” St. Andre said. “A lot of our success comes from those guys, winning the line of scrimmage at the point of attack and them knocking it back. Even when they don’t make the tackle, the linebacker may make the tackle, because they’re knocking it back and we’re ﬁtting for them.” Fitzgerald West recorded four tackles, including a tackle for loss. The former Lafayette Christian standout credited strength coach Mark Hocke for reminding the defense about the goal of putting up zero points. “Our goal was to go for the shutout to make it really easy on the offense in the second half,” West said. “We try to harp on getting back to our goose egg stuff. Coach Hocke, he was harping on it a lot. I think him putting that in a lot of people’s minds and us really going out there and attacking them ... I think everybody saw where what he was saying was coming from and it worked.”

Jake St. Andre on Saturday led UL in tackles with eight, followed by star Maurion Eleam, cornerback Brent Gordon and linebacker Micah Johnson with ﬁve apiece. And yet, the UL defensive line was getting a lot of postgame at- Email Kevin Foote at kfoote@ theadvocate.com. tention.

play. That’s the kind of toughness we need.” UL also added size in 6-foot-3 freshmen from Senegal, Aminata Sowe and Ndioba Lo, as well as 6-2 Kayllis Walker from Laurel, Mississippi. “(Assistant coach) Temeka (Johnson) has kind of been all over the world, and she had some connections,” Brodhead said of the international additions. UL also added two junior-college guards in Malaya Jones from Trinity Valley Community College and Kennedi Johnson from Tyler Junior College. Perhaps the biggest impression so far has been left by 5-7 John Curtis standout Bailey Timmons. “Bailey Timmons has really, really, really surprised me coming in,” Brodhead said. “She’s 17 years old and some of the things that she’s improved on this sum-

mer ... she’s probably our best defensive player already. Offensively, she’s pretty close to being the best offensive player already, too.” The other freshman newcomers include Justyse George from Teurlings Catholic, Kelis Dansby from Clarksville, Indiana, and Janja Dragistic from Montenegro. “I thought we had a pretty good summer, and now we’re building on it,” Brodhead said. “We got a lot of work left to do, though. We’ve got some newcomers and we’ve got a lot of young kids who are working, but we’re excited about. Defensively, we need some work, and offensively, we need some work, but it really has been going pretty good.”

lowing McCarthy to sit back and pick apart its zone coverage. The Saints generated pressure on only six of McCarthy’s 23 dropbacks.

But if Donaldson is going to get more run, he’s going to have to avoid the type of costly mistakes he made against New York: His fumble with 9:03 to go is what ignited the Giants comeback. n Shough got off to an uneven start, completing just 7 of his first 18 passes. This felt like a combination of good Giants defense and some accuracy issues from Shough. There were a few missed opportunities. On one play in the ﬁrst quarter, the Saints lined Olave up in the backﬁeld and faked a screen, which was a brilliant call. New York bit hard on the play and left Devaughn Vele open down the right sideline for what would’ve been a gain of 20 or more yards, but Shough sailed the throw. Saints receivers also dropped two passes, and Giants rookie linebacker Arvell Reese blew up a pair of screen passes. Shough eventually got hot, starting with his fourth-down touchdown to Bryce Lance. He completed nine straight passes. n The offensive line had a nice bounce-back effort in pass protection, allowing zero sacks on 30 drop-backs. The Giants pressured Shough on 11 of those drop-backs but often had to rely on the blitz to heat up the Saints quarterback.

Looking ahead Quarterback Aaron Rodgers and receiver DK Metcalf may be the biggest names on the Pittsburgh Steelers offense, but the focus for the Saints this week should be on running back Jaylen Warren. The Pittsburgh back enters Week 7 with 460 yards rushing, which ranks seventh in the NFL. His 5.5 yards per carry average is behind only Kansas City’s Kenneth Walker and Atlanta’s Bijan Robinson. New Orleans is coming off one of its better performances against the run, but it has struggled to contain some of the NFL’s premier backs. Only four NFL teams have allowed more runs of 10-plus yards than the Saints (21) this season.

Odds and ends

Email Kevin Foote at kfoote@ theadvocate.com

n Donaldson isn’t going to be confused with Jahmyr Gibbs or Robinson any time soon. While he lacks the top end speed to be explosive, he has added juice to the Saints run game. Sunday against New York, he ripped off runs of 11 and 17 yards, and he is now leading the team with an average of Email Luke Johnson at 4.8 yards per carry on 17 attempts. ljohnson@theadvocate.com.

ZION

Continued from page 1C

Guard Jeremiah Fears, when asked what has set the tone for the competitiveness during training camp, had this to say: “It starts with Zion,” Fears said. “He sets the tone and everybody else just falls in line.” It hasn’t taken long for Williamson to impress coach Jamahl Mosley, who is in his first season in New Orleans after spending the last five seasons as coach of the Orlando Magic. “To see him from the other sideline, you always knew how competitive he was, how tough he was,” Mosley said. “Now just sitting with him and watching film and breaking down some of the things he’s working on, (you see) his basketball IQ and work ethic. His ability to continue to put the work in. He’s done that. Trusting his work and his process is something that stands out for me more than anything.” Williamson often has been the last player to leave practice. He’s spending countless hours working with assistant coach God Shammgod on his 3-point shot, something he wants to add to his game. Mosley is the fifth coach Williamson has played for in his eight years. That coaching carousel (Alvin Gentry, Stan Van Gundy, Willie Green, interim James Borrego and Mosley) is yet another reminder of how unsteady things have been since Williamson arrived in New Orleans. “It’s not the way I would have wanted it to be,” he said. “That’s a part of this business, part of this game. All you can do is adjust with it and hope things get better.” How well Williamson plays will go a long way in determining whether things get better or if this will be a season of the same ole same ole. In fact, you could use the same headline heading into Wednesday’s season opener against the Indiana Pacers as the one we used for last year’s season opener. “Is this the season new and improved Zion Williamson delivers for Pelicans? New Orleans hopes so. Williamson hopes so, too. He knows time is ticking, which he reflected on at media day. “Time has flown,” Williamson said. “As I was getting dressed, I said, ‘Wow, this is Year 8 for me.’ ” Seven years ago, Williamson was supposed to be the future. As he enters Year 8, his future feels like now or never. “I’ve improved with trusting myself and trusting my game and trusting the work I’ve put in where I’m not second guessing myself,” Williamson said. “More leadership. Not just demanding greatness of myself, but of my coaches and teammates and everybody in the building.” But he knows it starts with himself as he tries to get to where he wants to be.

has done every single thing that I have asked him to do.” The work started paying off right away. Williamson played in 62 games last season, the second most in his career. When Williamson strained his right hip abductor in November, he was supposed to be out for weeks. He ended up missing just six games, a speedy return for a guy whose injuries normally had lingered. It was that quick recovery that helped Chrisp gain Williamson’s trust. They focused on every detail. Making sure Williamson was getting enough sleep. Making sure he was drinking enough water. That included things as simple as watching videos to show Williamson what a dehydrated muscle looks like and why they are more likely to suffer strains. Once they checked those educational boxes, the strenuous workouts began. Typically, there were two workouts per day. The workouts were more intense during the summer when Williamson would often do three a day. Chrisp made sure to post videos of those workouts on social media. “Leave it up to me, I wouldn’t post nothing,” Williamson said. “I would just go through the whole summer workout and just show up (for training camp).” But Chrisp felt it was important for the rest of the basketball world, from Zion fans to Zion haters, to see what he was seeing. “We’re in a small market,” Chrisp said. “Given the type of athlete he is, if you don’t show it on social media, people don’t believe it happened. They don’t know what the work looks like. I thought it was very important to showcase the level of work he puts in on a given offseason day.” Williamson loves the small market, particularly New Orleans. When Chrisp tried to get him to travel to different places for workouts this summer, Williamson insisted they stay in New Orleans. Chrisp was ﬁnally able to persuade Williamson to have some sessions in South Carolina, where he was joined by teammate Saddiq Bey. Chrisp likes what he’s seen. So do the people inside the building like executive vice president of basketball operations Joe Dumars. “When you’re a young professional, at some point you just want the player to get it,” Dumars said. “What I mean by get it is this: If someone has to call you every morning to drag you out of bed to get you to work out, you don’t get it yet. But when you’re up and you’re doing it and you’re leading it, then you start looking at that guy and you say, ‘OK, he’s getting it now.’ That’s what I saw from Zion.” His teammates have seen a dif- Email Rod Walker at rwalker@ theadvocate.com. ference, too.

LSU

Continued from page 1C Caden Durham ran for three scores, Whit Weeks intercepted a pass that set up an LSU touchdown and quarterback Garrett Nussmeier completed 23 of 34 passes for 233 yards. LSU has gone 0-8 in SEC road games since, losing to Texas A&M and Florida in 2024; falling to Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, Alabama and Oklahoma in Kelly’s final campaign; and dropping its ﬁrst two away games to Ole Miss and Kentucky this season. The Tigers’ victory over Clemson to start last season is their only road win since that Arkansas game in 2024. “A lot of times on the road, when you break down your losses and your close losses, it’s usually not (about) how many plays they make; it’s more (about) the mistakes you make,” Kifﬁn said, “more penalties, more false starts and more turnovers than when you play at home.” Some of their losses have been somewhat justifiable. Last season, Nussmeier played with a spinal cyst that caused abdominal and oblique pain, greatly affecting his capabilities as a passer. Interim coach Frank Wilson was in charge when the Tigers lost to Alabama and Oklahoma last year. But in a handful of those defeats, LSU simply let the game slip away. The Tigers blew a 10-point halftime lead to Texas A&M. In Norman, they surrendered a lead to Oklahoma in the final minutes by allowing a 58yard touchdown pass. The Kentucky loss two weeks ago was arguably the most frustrating one: a 35-34 overtime loss. “I don’t think there were any secrets; that was a really hard

week,” Kiffin said. “Just for the players to regroup, coaches to regroup, after one that in so many ways, obviously, we handed away.” As of Tuesday, LSU is favored by more than a touchdown (7.5 points) over Auburn, but Kiffin likely believes that line is deceiving. In his opinion, winning on the road in the SEC is a challenge like no other. It’s the deepest conference in the country, an opinion backed up by the fact that 12 of the conference’s 16 schools have appeared in the Top 25 poll at some point this year. “You can win because your No. 1 seed is better, like the last couple of years, which is true, and credit to the Big Ten with that,” Kiffin said about the national championships. “That doesn’t mean that your conference is deeper because you win the national championship. So our middle to bottom, whoever you declare those teams, those are still really hard places to play.” LSU’s trip to The Plains is its third of five conference road games, a result of the SEC expanding its conference slate from eight to nine games this season. The Tigers’ remaining road trips are to Tennessee and Arkansas. For LSU to have any hope of making the College Football Playoff — its odds of making the playoff are at 28%, according to ESPN — the Tigers will have to win at least two of the three remaining road matchups and likely need to win all three. Their margin for error is slim because of a frustrating trend that started two years ago. “Winning is hard no matter what level you’re at,” safety Ty Benefield said. “But it is different when it’s the SEC, and especially when you’re (at) those away games.”

LIVING

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

W E D N E S D AY, O C T O B E R 21, 2026

5CN

Greta Gerwig debuts ﬁrst look at ‘Narnia’ BY JAKE COYLE AP film writer

NEW YORK — Greta Gerwig debuted a first look at “Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew” last week, previewing a full-hearted adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ allegorical adventure and an IMAX-sized spectacle made for Netflix but designed for the big screen. Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” scores the trailer, which was also released online. A few hours earlier, Gerwig unveiled the trailer and behindthe-scenes footage on an IMAX screen at the AMC Lincoln Center in New York, where she spoke with Stephen Colbert about her “Barbie” follow-up. Netflix, in a dramatic reversal for the company, is giving “Narnia” a wide theatrical release beginning Feb. 12. The film will land on the Gerwig streaming service on April 2. Gerwig said she wrote her first draft in 2020 and 2021 after approaching Netflix chief executive Ted Sarandos at a cocktail party. “I told Ted I only know how to make movies for the big screen,” Gerwig said. “He said, ‘Make the movie for the biggest screen you can imagine.’” With a $280 million budget, “Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew” is one of Netflix’s most ambitious films. It’s also a novel way into the “Narnia” series, starting not with the first book, “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” but the sixth. “The Magician’s Nephew,” published in 1955, is a prequel. It follows two children in 1900 London who, through a magic ring, are transported into another world and witness Narnia’s creation by the lion Aslan. That entryway to Narnia thrilled Gerwig, who noted Lewis urged readers to tackle “The Magician’s Nephew” first. The trailer features the line: “Have you ever seen a world born?” “Movies this size are usually about destruction,” said Gerwig. The trailer only hints at the film’s already debated portrayal of Aslan, a thick-maned representation of Jesus in Lewis’ Christian fable. Voiced by Meryl Streep, the character appears as a cosmic outline and roars but doesn’t speak. Some conservative pundits have criticized casting Streep as Aslan, a male character in the books. Gerwig didn’t address Streep’s casting in her remarks, though she thanked Lewis’ family and estate for their public support of the film. Newcomers David McKenna and Beatrice Campbell star in the film, with an ensemble made up of Daniel Craig, Emma Mackey, Ciarán Hinds and Carey Mulligan. The film was initially slated to open in November, but Netflix pushed it into 2027, Gerwig said, to give it a global theatrical release. Gerwig described the story as a spiritual quest, which made the choice of “Stairway to Heaven” fitting to her. She met with Robert Plant and Jimmy Page to secure the song’s seldom-given rights permission. “They did it because they saw the heart in the story,” Gerwig said. “And they, too, love C.S. Lewis.” The three previous “Narnia” movies were all produced by Walden Media, a family-valuesoriented entertainment company owned by billionaire Philip

ä See ‘NARNIA’, page 6C

STAFF PHOTOS BY LESLIE WESTBROOK

Owner and chef Keith Amonsin places Thai basil atop a bowl of combination Panang at Mae Sone Noodle House in Lafayette.

ON THE HOUSE

They know your name — and your order. Meet the family behind longtime Lafayette restaurant. BY JA'KORI MADISON Staff writer

At Mae Sone Noodle House, a small family is the face of nearly every part of the restaurant. Keith Amonsin and his wife, Khamsamone, prepare the food, while their daughter, Sierra, serves customers and handles takeout orders. Together, the MAE SONE Amonsins have NOODLE kept the Lafayette restaurant runHOUSE ning since 1999, 4807 Johnston St., with help from one other server. Lafayette l 11 “We have cusa.m. to 2 p.m. and tomers that are 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. r e g u l a r s f r o m Tuesday through when their kids were kids, and they Saturday still come to this An order of Vietnamese coffee is day, and their children are in their served at the table dripping over a layer of sweetened condensed milk 30s now,” Sierra Amonsin said. The family knows many custom- at Mae Sone Noodle House. ers by name and often knows what they will order before they do. “The familiarity helps us because That familiarity helps the small even though we’re small-staffed, staff keep service moving, even the service is moving even when when the restaurant is full. the restaurant is full,” Sierra said.

Consistency is another reason customers return. The ingredients have remained largely the same since the restaurant opened, and some of its signature dishes include pad Thai, an eggplant entrée made with deep-fried Japanese eggplant topped with stir-fried meat and a touch of sweetness, and deep-fried spring rolls served with a dipping sauce made in-house. Khamsamone prepares sauces, appetizers, salads and soups, including the restaurant’s chili oil, garlic oil and spring-roll dipping sauce. Keith handles much of the cooking, focusing on noodles, stirfries and dishes such as pad Thai. Keith came to Louisiana from Laos in 1984 while still of high school age. He later worked in restaurants, including one in Morgan City, before leaving the industry and moving to New Iberia, where he worked at a family-owned store. The store belonged to Khamsamone’s brother, and that is where Keith met his future wife.

ä See NOODLE, page 6C

BEST THINGS WE ATE THIS WEEK

Uncover new fusions to consider at area restaurants Japadog from Oni 225

Staff report

Japadog

n Oni 225, a Baton Rouge pop-up

with regular appearances at Radio Bar, 3079 Government St., and Pelican to Mars, 2678 Government St. Check social media for details.

STAFF PHOTO BY MADDIE SCOTT

I grabbed some drinks with friends at Radio Bar, and right as I was leaving with a grumbling stomach, Oni 225 appeared. They’re an onigiri and

Asian street food pop-up, usually in front of Mid City bars, but they post their schedule every week on Instagram. The “Japadog” grabbed my attention, a hot dog with eel sauce, Kewpie mayonnaise, furikake and fried shallots. A truck bed made the perfect perch for indulging in the American-fusion delicacy. This was one of those

ä See BEST, page 6C

6C l Wednesday, October 21, 2026 l theadvocate.com l The Acadiana Advocate

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An evergreen response Getting dogs to take medication to unsolicited advice Dear Miss Manners: I have a not merit a genuine “thank young child with a severe you” — something that and visible disability. He sounds either dangerous or is under the care of a wellcritical — the words of your trained team of proresponse are still the correct ones. But in fessionals. those cases, you may My husband and omit the smile and I often receive add a warning coolwell-meaning but unwanted advice. ness to your tone of When we receive voice. Judith unsolicited informaDear Miss Mannersv: Martin I’m fairly new at tion, it is helpful to MISS my workplace, as is remember these MANNERS another lady, who people are usually has been there about sharing it out of a four months longer than place of love because they me. I’m really trying to get care and want to help. I have a practice of taking along with everyone, since my last job was a nighta deep breath, smiling, and saying, “Thank you. That’s mare. I endured relentless something for me to think bullying to the point that I about.” In my experience, got anxiety from it. nearly none of these friends This current job doesn’t follows up. They don’t need involve grueling physical to know I only thought about labor in the heat, but I still it long enough to decide it is ﬁnd my temperature rising, not worth pursuing. so to speak. Gentle reader: It is gracious I feel that this other lady and correct of you to start looks down on me because from the assumption that I’m a secretary. I have been people are well-meaning — interrupted by this person even if you are, of course, (as has another employee), aware that not everyone is. which I ignored. She’s conMiss Manners would only stantly talking about what add that when you get unshe owns, who she knows, what her husband did for solicited advice that does

work, what they drive, who her daughter’s ex’s dad is (a jailer, apparently) and what brand of clothing or shoes she’s wearing. When her mouth opens, you can bet it’s going to be about her. I’ve tried tuning her out, but she wants everyone to hear just how important she is. What’s a tactful and polite way to let someone know their behavior is rude? Or should I continue to try and ignore it? I know we can’t change others as much as we’d sometimes like to, but it’s grating. Gentle reader: Why bother? You know she is rude, and you also know she is trouble. Remember that this is work — not your social life. It is rude to correct another person’s manners, but then Miss Manners would also think it would be foolish to make an enemy when you have the luxury of a fresh start. Plus, there is the daughter’s ex’s jailer dad. Send questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com.

Dear Heloise: My vet’s clerk used on lenses because of suggests this way to get the tendency to scratch dogs to take pills. (I’ve tried them. The most common cheese and mixing them recommendation is to use with the dogs’ food, a microﬁber towel, but they sniff them although soft cotton out and eat around works well, too. — Jathe pills.) She sugnet P., in Houston gested that I wrap Clean keys them in liverwurst and give them anDear Heloise: You Hints from asked how we clean other chunk right Heloise our keyboards; I use after the loaded one. a disinfectant wipe They can’t smell the and swipe across the whole pill and gobble it down. — keyboard. It cleans well and Bill H., in Bloomsbury, New Jersey Bill, I’ve tried everything evaporates quickly. There’s no worry about water or else, so I think I’ll give this a try. My dog is just so liquid getting down between stubborn when it comes to the keys. — Laurie G., via email taking a pill. — Heloise

No towels on glasses Dear Heloise: I appreciate the dish soap and water hint for cleaning eyeglasses. But using paper towels to dry the lenses? No! Paper towels are made from wood and should never be

24-hour fan

Dear Heloise: In a recent column, someone wrote in about dealing with fans and suggested turning them off when one’s not in the room. But for those of us in humid climates, this could be a mistake. Mold

and mildew love “still humid air.” I have a ceiling fan that runs quietly for 24 hours a day on its lowest speed for the past 16 years in my master bedroom. There’s no draft, which keeps the air moving. It can’t be using much electricity, but it still provides enough air movement to keep mold from starting. It also maintains an even temperature. This room openly adjoins a bathroom, but there’s never any problems in either space. — R.S.F., via email R.S.F., it’s the same for me. My ceiling fan goes on a little before Easter and runs day and night until nearly Christmas, just as it has for over 30 years. I’ve always admired the pioneers who settled in Texas before airconditioning. — Heloise Send a hint to heloise@ heloise.com.

TODAY IN HISTORY By The Associated Press Today is Wednesday, Oct. 21, the 294th day of 2026. There are 71 days left in the year. Today in history: On Oct. 21, 2014, Paralympic runner Oscar Pistorius was convicted of culpable homicide for shooting and killing his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. The conviction was later upgraded to murder; Pistorius was released on parole in January 2024. Also on this date: In 1797, the U.S. Navy frigate Constitution, also known as “Old Ironsides,” was christened in Boston Harbor. In 1805, a British fleet commanded by Vice Adm. Horatio Nelson defeated a French-Spanish fleet in the Battle of Trafalgar; Nelson, however, was killed. In 1940, Ernest Hemingway’s novel “For Whom the Bell Tolls” was first published.

In 1944, U.S. troops captured the German city of Aachen — the ﬁrst German city to fall to American forces in World War II. In 1959, the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Guggenheim Museum opened in New York. In 1966, 144 people, 116 of them children, were killed when a coal waste landslide engulfed a school and some 20 houses in Aberfan, Wales. In 2013, a seventh grader at Sparks Middle School in Sparks, Nevada, shot and killed a teacher and wounded two classmates before taking his own life. In 2021, Actor Alec Baldwin was pointing a gun on the set of the Western movie “Rust” in New Mexico when it went off, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. Charges of involuntary manslaughter against Baldwin were dropped in July 2024. In 2024, jury selection

began in the trial of a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Daniel Penny, for placing a man who was acting erratically on a New York City subway train in May 2023 in a deadly chokehold. In December 2024, Penny was cleared of all charges, including criminally negligent homicide. In 2025, Japan’s parliament elected ultraconservative Sanae Takaichi as the country’s ﬁrst female prime minister. Today’s birthdays: Rock singer Manfred Mann is 86. TV’s Judge Judy Sheindlin is 84. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is 77. Film director Catherine Hardwicke is 71. Actor Ken Watanabe is 67. Republican Sen. Ted Budd of North Carolina is 55. Actor Andrew Scott is 50. Actor Will Estes is 48. Reality TV star Kim Kardashian is 46. Model Amber Rose is 43. Actor Glenn Powell is 38. Country singer Kane Brown is 33. Singer Doja Cat is 31.

STAFF PHOTOS BY LESLIE WESTBROOK

Tom Yom, a Thai hot and sour soup, clockwise from bottom; Pad Thai; fried eggplant with shrimp and chicken; and Keith’s Special are on the menu at Mae Sone Noodle House.

NOODLE

Continued from page 5C “I said I didn’t want to work in a restaurant business anymore, and then I changed my mind after my aunt said, ‘Let’s open a restaurant,’” Keith said. Mae Sone Noodle House opened June 16, 1999. The restaurant initially occupied one room and offered takeout only, but customers kept asking to dine inside, Keith recalled. When a Cuban restaurant next door moved out, Keith took over the space and expanded. With little money for renovations, he knocked down the wall himself to connect the two spaces. Sierra was about 4 or 5 years old when the restaurant opened. She grew up spending time there, often doing homework after get-

Sweet rice in coconut milk with mangoes is on the dessert menu. ting off the school bus. As she got older, she began to understand how much work went into keeping the business running. “My parents motivate me because even at their age, they don’t stop,” she said. “Even when we’re closed on Sundays and Mondays, they’re here, and sometimes I am too.” The restaurant’s workweek doesn’t end when the doors close. The family often comes in on Sundays

Owner and chef Keith Amonsin and his daughter Sierra talk about their family restaurant.

‘NARNIA’

Continued from page 5C Anschutz. In 2018, Netflix acquired the global rights to the “Chronicles of Narnia” book series. Gerwig, 43, was raised as a Unitarian Universalist in Sacramento, California, and

and Mondays to prepare for the days ahead. Keith cleans the kitchen, takes care of the ﬂoors and prepares food, including wrapping egg rolls. Khamsamone makes sauces and prepares appetizers, while Sierra helps when she can. “Even when the restaurant is closed to customers, it’s just us, so we all have a role in keeping it running,” Sierra said. But the work has become more challenging as costs have risen. Ingredient prices can change from one week to the next, adding pressure to a small business where the family handles much of the work. Still, Keith said, his love of cooking and seeing customers come in to eat keep him going. “Over here, the local people help out a lot,” he said. “They’re so nice, all my customers. They help me out a lot.” Sierra said she has come to appreciate her parents’ work ethic and the relationships they have built with customers over nearly three decades. Their connection to the restaurant has made working alongside them feel less like a job and more like time spent together. “We clown so much that it’s not like I’m working,” she said. “I feel like I’m just hanging out with my mom and dad.” Email Ja’kori Madison at jakori.madison@ theadvocate.com.

Strawberry and shrimp salad from Jed’s Local in Baton Rouge

BEST

Continued from page 5C hot dogs where the quality was evident upon ﬁrst bite. The extra toppings made it unlike any dog I’ve ever had, and it was delicious. Next time I stumble on the pop-up, I’ll upgrade the dog by a few bucks extra to try the “Snowdog,” which is the same thing but with snow crab. I’m looking forward to it. — Maddie Scott, features reporter

Crawfish cake and shrimp salad

n Jed’s Local Restaurant and

Bar, 672 Jefferson Highway, Baton Rouge

attended an all-girls Catholic high school — an upbringing she dramatized in her solo-directing debut, “Lady Bird.” Faith, Gerwig said, “has been a thread through all of my ﬁlms.” “For me, film and faith have always gone hand in hand,” she said, calling both communal experiences. Gerwig described read-

ing Lewis’ “Chronicles of Narnia” books as a foundational experience to her youth. The only comparable experience, she said, was reading Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women,” which Gerwig adapted in her 2019 ﬁlm. “I would not be who I am without these books,” said Gerwig. “They created me.”

I stopped in for lunch at Jed’s Local last week because, despite all of the good things I had heard, I hadn’t tried it yet. I was in the mood for comfort food, so I ordered two appetizers, the fried pickled okra and the crawﬁsh cake. I love fried okra, and the pickling was a bonus. The crawﬁsh cake was well

STAFF PHOTO BY JOY HOLDEN

came with the salad, I prefer it on the side for a little dash here and there. — Joy Holden, features reporter

Mykonos bowl

n Mercy Kitchen, 1312 Verot

School Road, Lafayette

Mercy Kitchen is known for having various power PROVIDED PHOTO bowls that are packed with flavor. To the eye, whether Mercy Kitchen’s Mykonos reading the menu or lookBowl ing at the dish, it seems like a lot of food. But after seasoned with crunchy eating only a few bites, batter and drizzled with I felt full but not heavy, remoulade sauce — my which is what I love about favorite part was the fried power bowls. green tomato served alongI tried the Mykonos bowl at Mercy Kitchen, which side the dish. features layers of romaine, For my entree, I opted mint pistachio pesto, for lighter fare to balcucumber-tomato tzatziki ance out the fried goodsalad, couscous and pickness, so I went with the strawberry and shrimp led red onion. The bowl salad. The sauteed shrimp was not only flavorful but were tasty served over also contained ingredients a bed of greens with red that could be substituted onion, strawberries and and paired well together. If pecans. The honey-lemon you’re wanting something vinaigrette was sweet and healthy, but flavorful and tangy, a complement to the dense, then this would be a seasoned shrimp and fresh go-to meal. strawberries. Although — Jakori Madison, crumbled blue cheese features reporter

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Wednesday, October 21, 2026 ● 7C

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FrAnK And erneSt

roSebUdS

zItS

zodIAC LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Set your plans in motion. Don't wait for others to catch up. Lead the way and see what happens. Be the motivator by striking a chord that resonates with like-minded people. scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Be kind to yourself. Take time to reflect and to put your plans in proper order. Taking the right step at the best time will lead to success. Don't rush what isn't meant to be. sAGIttARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Knowledge is king when dealing with others. Having an open mind will allow you to shift and sift through other people's thoughts while developing a plan that works. cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Use your intuition when dealing with those asking for too much. Comparisons will help you deal with situations and accommodate others adequately without taking a loss. AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) No trade-offs will do. Shoot for the stars, ask for what you want and work with what you end up with. Life is about assessing and dealing, doing your part and thriving. PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Mixed emotions are rising along with commitment, desire and what's best for you. Don't linger too long or you may miss out on something special. Communication is crucial. ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Dominate what you want to see come to fruition. Make the moves, set the pace and indulge in building strong relationships with the

people who can strengthen your position. tAuRus (April 20-May 20) If you are too blatant about your wants and needs, you'll give others the advantage. If you show curiosity and claim what's yours in a quiet but loving manner, you'll find the rewards more gratifying. GEMInI (May 21-June 20) You'll confuse people if you jump from one idea to another without clarification. Speak from the heart, and be accountable for your words. You have plenty to gain if you are true to yourself. cAncER (June 21-July 22) If you lean on your resources, intelligence, connections and ability to charm a crowd, you will outperform any competition that gets in your way. Question others, and refuse to put up with lies and bullying. LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Be kind and generous when dealing with those who oppose you. Weave your way carefully through the crowds until you feel comfortable and at rest with those around you. VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) Saddle up and get ready to ride. Put your energy into the power and momentum you require to reach your destination. There is magic in the air. Maintain what's meaningful and walk away from what isn't. The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact. © 2026 by NEA, Inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

For better or For WorSe WonderWord

peAnUtS

SALLY Forth

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

toDAy's cLuE: X EQuALs s

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

SherMAn’S LAGoon FAMILY CIrCUS

dooneSbUrY

8C ● Wednesday, October 21, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

CurTiS

Hi and LoiS

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

BaBY BLueS

BLondie

THe wiZard oF id

nea CroSSwordS

La TimeS CroSSword

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Wednesday, October 21, 2026 ● 9C

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B.C.

Bridge By PHILLIP ALDER We have been looking at deciding between two possible trump suits. Of course, to have this quandary, two suits usually have to be bid and raised. And in this direction, if a fit is found and one player has a two-suiter, he often should show his second suit, especially in a competitive auction. For example, look at today’s deal. Both South and West can help their partner’s high-level bidding decision. After South opens one spade, West passes, North raises to two spades, and East overcalls three clubs, what should South do? If a jump to four spades would silence the opponents, that would be a sensible choice (although it is an overbid). But what if West competes with five clubs? Should North-South let them stew or go on to five spades? Neither player knows. However, if South rebids three diamonds, showing his second suit, North will be aware of the double fit and can happily bid on at the five-level. And, yes, West can also make a good bid. Over South’s three-diamond rebid, West should advance with three hearts. This cannot just be advertising a long heart suit and sufficient values to compete at the three-level, because West did not intervene on the first round. This bid shows heart length and club support

garfield

Pearls Before swiNe

hagar the horriBle

(although admittedly not necessarily as good as queen-fourth). Now look at the full deal. You will see that five clubs is unbeatable for plus 600. But five spades doubled goes down only two, minus 500. When you have a double fit, it is usually best to declare, especially with the minority of the high-card points. © 2026 by NEA, Inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

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

PiCKles

Previous answers:

mallard fillmore

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

toDAy’s WoRD — GouRMEt: gor-MAY: A connoisseur of food and drink.

Bizarro

marmaduKe

Average mark 19 words Time limit 35 minutes Can you find 29 or more words in GOURMET? yEstERDAy’s WoRD — PARQuEt pare part pate pear peat pert prate pure aper rapt rate

reap quart urea erupt tape taper tare tarp taupe tear trap

true

loCKhorNs hidato Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

today’s thought “Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by me.” John 14:6

Jesus is the One and only way to Heaven. Follow Him. — G.E. Dean

10C l Wednesday, October 21, 2026 l theadvocate.com l The Acadiana Advocate

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

DOW 52,495.88 529.85 1.02%

NASDAQ 26,424.82 -6.07 -0.02%

BRIEFS

FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

Netflix posts higher Q3 profit but shares lower Netflix, which announced layoff plans last week, posted a third-quarter profit above Wall Street’s expectations, but investors sent shares down after the streaming company lowered its ad sales guidance, prompting worries about slowing revenue growth. Netflix said Tuesday it earned $3.66 billion, or 87 cents per share, for the July-September period. That’s up 44% from $2.55 billion, or 59 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 12% to $12.87 billion from $11.51 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet predicted earnings of 82 cents per share on revenue of $12.87 billion. “With Netflix under pressure to find alternative lines of revenue beyond subscriptions, it’s concerning that the company lowered its estimate for its ad business,” said Emarketer senior analyst Ross Benes. “Revamping content strategy is not enough to fix this challenge but it is a worthwhile start. Guidance is not as aggressive as investors have grown accustomed to.”

S&P 500 7,712.57 21.84 0.28%

EURO 1.1235 0.0023 0.20%

CRUDE OIL 98.54 -2.87 -2.83%

GOLD 4,122.40 -16.60 -0.40%

6-MO T-BILLS 4.37 -0.01 -0.23%

30-YR T-BONDS 5.42 -0.05 -0.93%

Most stocks rise after strong profit reports

BY STAN CHOE

AP business writer NEW YORK — Most of the U.S. stock market rose Tuesday following strong proﬁt reports from Equifax, Hasbro and other companies, while oil prices eased back after nearing their highest levels since the war with Iran began. The S&P 500 added 0.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 529 points, or 1%, while more swings for stocks in the artiﬁcialintelligence industry sent the Nasdaq composite to a modest loss of less than 0.1%. Stock prices tend to follow the

path of corporate profits over the long term, and several companies delivered results for the latest quarter that were better than analysts expected. Big expectations for growth generally are what have allowed the U.S. stock market to hit records recently despite worries about high inflation, higher interest rates and other challenges weighing on Wall Street. Equifax rallied 11.3% for one of the market’s biggest gains after reporting a bigger profit for the summer than analysts expected, despite high mortgage rates slowing some parts of its business. Hasbro climbed 11.2% after the

toy company said its “Magic: The Gathering” game made more than $600 million in revenue during a quarter for the first time. 3M rose 5.8% after the company behind Ace bandages and Scotch-Brite sponges likewise reported a stronger-than-expected profit, even as shoppers broadly feel discouraged by high inflation. Stocks got a lift after the price for a barrel of Brent crude erased an early gain to fall 0.7% to $108.79. Earlier in the morning, it got near $112 and approached its highest price since the war with Iran began in late February. The drop in oil prices will relieve

some of the pressure on inﬂation, if it lasts. Brent’s price has been yo-yoing between $97 and $112 per barrel this month on uncertainty about when the energy industry will return to normal. For now, airlines and other companies with big fuel bills enjoyed the benefit of Tuesday’s drop. American Airlines rallied 3.7%, and United Airlines flew 2.3% higher. Another winner was Braze, a customer engagement platform. Its stock soared 51.7% to $45.57 after Salesforce said it would buy the company for $47.50 in cash for each share.

Instacart settles federal claims of discrimination The federal government has reached a $5 million settlement with Instacart for allegedly discriminating against U.S.-born workers in its hiring practices. According to the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Instacart was advertising jobs through the Permanent Labor Certiﬁcation, or PERM, program. The program lets employers hire temporary visa holders and sponsor them for permanent resident status as long as they have also made a good-faith effort to hire U.S. workers. The agencies said Instacart created a burden for U.S. workers by requiring that applications be physically mailed to the company for jobs that were listed as part of its PERM recruitment program. Instacart allows electronic applications for its standard job recruitment process. San Francisco-based Instacart said Tuesday that its hiring practices complied with U.S. laws and regulations, but it agreed to the settlement in order to remain focused on its business. “We’re proud to be a U.S.based grocery technology platform, employing thousands of American workers and serving millions of customers, retailers, shoppers and brands,” the company said.

China defends DeepSeek after ban HONG KONG — China hit back Tuesday at a U.S. ban on the use of Chinese artiﬁcial intelligence startup DeepSeek’s products by federal civilian agencies and warned of retaliatory measures as the two AI powers race to develop the technology. The Department of Homeland Security said the agencies should remove DeepSeek products as well as third-party products and services developed using DeepSeek from their IT systems, according to a notice Monday. The latest warnings reﬂect “the depth of strategic distrust between Beijing and Washington” even as U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping work hard to keep their personal relationship “warm and constructive,” said George Chen, partner and chair of digital practice at Washington-based The Asia Group consultancy. The Homeland Security order, dating back to late July, also blocks civilian agencies from procuring DeepSeek products and services. DeepSeek’s open-source models are widely available in countries including the U.S. and are mostly free to use.

The Boeing 737 Maz 10 airliner has been approved for passenger service after years of delays, the Federal Aviation Administration announced Tuesday. ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO

BACK IN FLIGHT FAA clears way for airlines to put Boeing’s long-delayed 737 Max 10 into service

BY JOSH FUNK and RIO YAMAT

Associated Press

Boeing’s 737 Max 10 airliner has been approved for passenger service after years of delays, the Federal Aviation Administration announced Tuesday. The Max 10’s certification represents another milestone in Boeing’s efforts to restore its reputation and financial footing after years of safety, quality and production challenges. With production approved, the aircraft can now be sold to domestic and foreign carriers. “After extensive safety reviews — including thousands of hours of test flights — the team at the FAA is ready to approve this critical aircraft for sale,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement. “This is a major win for American manufacturing and our nation’s status as a global aviation powerhouse.” The Max 10 — the largest version of Boeing’s bestselling 737 family — is an important piece of the company’s effort to regain ground in the narrow-body market. For airlines, the larger plane offers a way to carry more passengers on a single flight, potentially lowering costs per seat. For travelers, it could eventually mean more seats on popular routes, though the impact on fares will depend on how airlines deploy the planes and how much competition they face. Stephanie Pope, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said in a

statement that “completing the certification program clears the path for us to deliver a Boeing airplane that will set a new standard in commercial aviation.” The Max 10 will typically seat 185-210 passengers, according to Boeing, compared with 175-195 on the Max 9 and 160-180 on the Max 8. The single-aisle jet was introduced at the Paris air show in 2017 to help Boeing compete with rival Airbus. But technical and regulatory hurdles repeatedly delayed certification. Boeing said in its 2020 annual report that it expected to make the plane’s first delivery in 2023. The company now expects to begin deliveries in 2027. The delays have held up a key part of Boeing’s business. More than 30 customers worldwide have ordered 1,555 Max 10s that Boeing has yet to deliver, accounting for more than 30% of its total 737 Max backlog. Major customers for the Max 10 include United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and Ryanair. Alaska Airlines joined that list in January, ordering 105 Max 10s, with options for 35 more. Boeing’s struggles have been particularly acute since two deadly crashes involving the smaller Max 8 killed 346 people in 2018 and 2019 off the coast of Indonesia and in Ethiopia. In 2024, a panel flew off of an Alaska Airlines Max 9 in midair, renewing scrutiny of Boeing’s manufacturing and safety practices. The Max 10 is intended to compete with

Airbus’s A321neo model family, which entered service in 2017. The largest A321neo can carry more passengers and fly farther without refueling than the Max 10. Still, Boeing designed the Max 10 to carry more passengers while burning less fuel than older aircraft — a potentially attractive combination for airlines facing soaring jet fuel costs amid the U.S. war with Iran. Those rising costs have put added pressure on airlines to control expenses. The Max 10’s certification completes the lineup of four 737 Max models. The FAA cleared the smaller Max 7 for airline operations in August. Certification means the FAA has determined that the Max 10’s design meets safety standards, following engineering reviews and flight testing. But Boeing must continue to show it can consistently build the aircraft to the approved design, and each plane must be cleared before it can fly passengers. In the wake of the fatal Max 8 crashes, the FAA overhauled how it certifies Boeing aircraft. But over the past 18 months, the agency has gradually eased some of its restrictions on the company, increasing the limit on how many planes Boeing can produce. In July, the FAA also said Boeing could once again issue airworthiness certificates for its 737 Max and 787 planes at the end of production, allowing the company to take back some responsibility for determining whether finished aircraft are ready to fly.

23andMe to pay $6 million to settle allegations BY CAROLINE PETROW-COHEN Los Angeles Times (TNS)

Chrome Holding Co., formerly known as 23andMe, is set to pay $6 million to the state of California to settle allegations that it failed to protect customers’ genetic data and sold that data without consent during its bankruptcy process. The settlement was filed this week in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Eastern District of Missouri and is pending court approval. It resolves two separate lawsuits — one related to a 2023 data breach that affected nearly 7 million 23andMe customers, and another concerning the 2025 sale of genetic data and biological samples follow-

ing the company’s bankruptcy. “Companies cannot evade California’s consumer protection and privacy laws by filing for bankruptcy,” California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said in a statement. “I am proud to ﬁght for the privacy rights of Californians and to deliver this settlement for consumers who put their trust in 23andMe.” Co-founded by Anne Wojcicki in 2006, 23andMe popularized athome genetic testing, allowing customers to send in a saliva sample and receive a DNA analysis. The Mountain View company attracted celebrity attention and spawned a cottage industry of ancestry hunters and true crime sleuths. After it went public in 2021, 23andMe was

briefly valued at $6 billion. However, the business never turned a profit, failed to attract repeat customers and fell victim to internal squabbles. Last March, it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and was sold to TTAM Research Institute, a nonprofit founded by Wojcicki and based in Palo Alto. The sale raised concerns that sensitive genetic data could fall into the wrong hands. The California Department of Justice tried to block the sale, arguing it was inconsistent with California’s Genetic Information Privacy Act, which requires a customer’s explicit consent before the sale or transfer of genetic data. Although the Bankruptcy Court

and the District Court overruled the Department of Justice’s objection, the department later appealed that decision, leading to this week’s settlement. Meanwhile, TTAM Research Institute has ambitions of reaching 100 million users and is selling ancestry kits as well as more expensive DNA and blood analysis services. The $6 million settlement also resolves allegations against Chrome Holding Co., the corporate debtor name that 23andMe is operating under during bankruptcy. Bonta sued Chrome Holding Co. earlier this year, saying that 23andMe did not do enough to protect its customers’ data.