The Advocate 04-02-2026 by The Advocate

Trump vows U.S. will ‘finish the job’

President says war with Iran nearing completion

BY WILL WEISSERT, JON GAMBRELL and DAVID RISING Associated Press

ä Trump lashes out at NATO over war. Page 7A

ä Kidnapped reporter known for gutsy assignments. Page 7A

was within two to three weeks. He promised U.S. forces would continue to hit Iran very hard.

“For years, everyone has said that Iran cannot have nuclear weapons. But in the end, those are just words if you’re not willing to take action when the time comes,” Trump said.

But he spent much of his time repeating some of the same things he said in recent weeks, while also suggesting that the U.S. was close to meeting its major military objectives in Iran and his estimated timeline for concluding operations

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump said U.S forces will “finish the job” in Iran soon as “core strategic objectives are nearing completion,” offering a full-throated defense of the war Wednesday night in his first national address since the conflict began more than a month ago Trump got a wide audience and a chance to articulate clear objectives for the war after weeks of changing goals and often contradictory messages about whether he’s winding down or ready to escalate military operations — even as Iran kept up its attacks on Israel and Persian Gulf neighbors and airstrikes pounded Tehran.

The president said, “In these past four weeks our armed forces have delivered swift, decisive, overwhelming victories on the battleﬁeld” and slammed previous decades of U.S. policy, saying previous presidents “made mistakes, and I am correcting them.”

ä See TRUMP, page 5A

LIFTOFF

Artemis II, NASA’s first lunar voyage in decades, rockets toward the moon

BY MARCIA DUNN AP aerospace writer

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla Four as-

tronauts embarked on a highstakes ﬂight around the moon Wednesday humanity’s first lunar voyage in more than half a century and the thrilling leadoff in NASA’s push toward a landing in two years.

Carrying three Americans and one Canadian, the 32-story rocket rose from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, where tens of thousands gathered to witness the dawn of this new era. Crowds also jammed the surrounding roads and beaches, reminiscent of the Apollo moonshots in the 1960s and ’70s. It is NASA’s biggest step yet toward establishing a permanent lunar presence.

ä Launch holds special meaning for N.O students.

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“On this historic mission, you take with you the heart of this Artemis team, the daring spirit of the American people and our partners across the globe, and the hopes and dreams of a new generation,” said Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, the launch director “Good luck, Godspeed Artemis II. Let’s go.” Artemis II set sail from the same Florida launch site that sent Apollo’s explorers to the moon so long ago The handful still alive cheered this next generation’s grand adventure as the Space Launch System rocket thundered into the early evening sky, a nearly full moon beckoning some 248,000 miles away Five minutes into the ﬂight, Commander Reid Wiseman saw the team’s target: “We have a beautiful moonrise, we’re headed right at it,” he said from the capsule On board with him are pilot Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canada’s Jeremy Hansen. It was the most diverse lunar crew ever with the ﬁrst woman, person of color and

ä See LIFTOFF, page 4A

Philanthropic, state money will fund about 100 spots

BY CHARLES LUSSIER

BY HALEY MILLER Staff writer

Weeks after journalists filed a lawsuit against LSU seeking records on how much it was paying athletes through revenue sharing, Louisiana lawmakers advanced a bill Wednesday that would carve out an exemption to public records law and make those payments — as well as amounts allocated to individual sports conﬁdential.

“These are safety protections when it comes to the student athlete,” Rep. Tehmi

ä See PAY, page 4A

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ALEX BRANDON

President Donald Trump speaks about the Iran war from the Cross Hall of the White House on Wednesday.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By CHRIS O’MEARA NASA’s Artemis II moon rocket lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39-B on Wednesday in Cape Canaveral, Fla.

Quadruple amputee

claims self-defense

LA PLATA Md. A quadruple

amputee professional cornhole player acted in self-defense when he shot and killed a passenger in his Tesla during a heated argument, his attorney said Wednesday

Dayton James Webber, 27, appeared in Charles County District Court via videoconference for the bail review Wednesday, where Judge Patrick Devine noted that he left Maryland after the March 22 shooting of 27-year-old Bradrick Michael Wells and ordered Webber to remain jailed without bail.

Webber, who was extradited from Virginia and is charged with first- and second-degree murder, hasn’t entered a plea yet and is due in court for a May 6 preliminary hearing. He also faces assault and ﬁrearm charges.

Defense attorney Andrew Jezic told the court that Webber acted in self-defense and that he anticipates “a lengthy trial” to prove it.

“The truth here is that he would have been a murder victim if he had not acted immediately in defense of his life,” Jezic said.

Taylor Swift sued over ‘Showgirl’ album cover

LOS ANGELES A lawsuit says Taylor Swift’s “The Life of a Showgirl” stole the spotlight from the life of a real one.

Maren Wade says in the trademark infringement lawsuit ﬁled Monday in federal court in California that the branding of Swift’s 2025 album comes too close to her own trademark of “Confessions of a Showgirl.”

That was the name of a column she wrote on backstage Sin City life in the Las Vegas Weekly starting in 2014, which she turned into a live show that she took on a national tour

“Both share the same structure, the same dominant phrase, and the same overall commercial impression,” the lawsuit says. “Both are used in overlapping markets and are directed at the same consumers.”

Wade is described as a “singer, songwriter, comedian, and writer” in the lawsuit ﬁled under her legal name, Maren Flagg, and her “Showgirl” brand encompasses performances, writing and digital media.

Rescuers give up hope for stranded whale

BERLIN Rescuers said Wednesday that they have given up hope for the humpback whale that has become stranded repeatedly off Germany’s Baltic Sea coast and now expect it to die in the inlet where it currently lies.

The whale swam into an inlet on the small island of Poel, near the port of Wismar on Tuesday and got stuck again. Last week, it was rescued from even shallower water at Timmendorfer Strand, a resort town around over 30 miles from its current location, with the help of an excavator, but it soon ran into trouble again.

In recent days, authorities have pursued a strategy of trying to give the exhausted mammal peace and quiet so that it can gather enough strength to swim away under its own steam, while sometimes approaching it with boats to motivate it to set off.

Burkard Baschek, the scientiﬁc director of the Ocean Museum Germany and the scientiﬁc coordinator of the rescue effort, said the whale was breathing at very irregular intervals on Wednesday and that drone photos showed little sign of activity in the sediment under the 39-49 foot animal. It barely reacted when approached.

The whale was a bit more active after rescuers left, “but it is not activity that gives us grounds for hope,” Baschek said at a televised news conference.

“We ﬁrmly believe that the animal will die there.” While the whale on two previous occasions was able to gather enough strength to free itself, it is now weaker and also faces falling water levels, “and the prospects that it will free itself are very small,” he said. “The approach of maximum rest and respect for nature demands at some point that we let it go.”

Court hears birthright citizenship case

Justices seem poised to reject Trump’s restrictions

BY MARK SHERMAN Associated Press

WASHINGTON The Supreme Court seemed poised Wednesday to reject President Donald Trump’s restrictions on birthright citizenship in a momentous case that was magniﬁed by his unparalleled presence in the courtroom.

Conservative and liberal justices questioned whether Trump’s order declaring that children born to parents who are in the United States illegally or temporarily are not American citizens comports with either the Constitution or federal law

Arguments lasted more than two hours in a crowded courtroom that included not only Trump, the first sitting president to attend arguments at the nation’s highest court, but also Attorney General Pam Bondi and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and in seats reserved for the justices’ guests, actor Robert De Niro.

The case frames another test of Trump’s assertions of executive power that defy long-standing precedent for a court with a conservative majority and a robust view of presidential power, which has largely ruled in the Republican president’s favor

In the notable exceptions when the court has not, Trump has responded with starkly personal criticisms of the justices. A de-

ﬁ

who is not.

Chief Justice John Roberts suggested that Sauer was relying on quirky exceptions to citizenship to make a broad argument about people who are in the country illegally “I’m not quite sure how you can get to that big group from such tiny and sort of idiosyncratic examples,” Roberts said.

Justice Clarence Thomas sounded the most likely among the nine justices to side with Trump.

“How much of the debates around the 14th Amendment had anything to do with immigration?” Thomas asked, pointing out that the purpose of the amendment was to grant citizenship to Black people, including freed slaves.

The justices heard Trump’s appeal of a lower-court ruling from New Hampshire that struck down the citizenship restrictions, one of several courts that have blocked them. The restrictions have not taken effect anywhere in the country

nitive ruling is expected by early summer Trump, the media-savvy president, spent just over an hour inside a courtroom that prohibits cameras and all electronic devices for arguments made by the Republican administration’s top Supreme Court lawyer Solicitor General D. John Sauer. The president departed shortly after lawyer Cecillia Wang began her presentation in defense of broad birthright citizenship.

After court adjourned, Trump posted on Truth Social: “We are the only Country in the World STU-

PID enough to allow ‘Birthright’

Citizenship!” Actually, about three dozen countries, nearly all of them in the Americas, guarantee citizenship to children born on their territory

Trump heard Sauer face one skeptical question after another Justices asked about the legal basis for the order and voiced more practical concerns.

“Is this happening in the delivery room?” Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson asked, drilling down into the logistics of how the government would actually figure out who is entitled to citizenship and

The birthright citizenship order, which Trump signed on the first day of his second term, is part of his Republican administration’s broad immigration crackdown. Birthright citizenship is the first Trump immigration-related policy to reach the court for a final ruling. The justices previously struck down global tariffs Trump had imposed under an emergency powers law that had never been used that way Trump reacted furiously to the late February tariffs decision, saying he was ashamed of the justices who ruled against him and calling them unpatriotic.

Protesters take to the streets in Jerusalem

Israel OKs death penalty for Palestinians convicted of murder

BY JULIA FRANKEL Associated Press

JERUSALEM Hundreds of protest-

ers took to the streets across the embattled Palestinian territories on Tuesday, a day after Israel’s parliament passed a measure establishing the death penalty by hanging for Palestinians convicted of murdering Israelis. Palestinians young and old held sit-ins and marches in the Israelioccupied West Bank, the territory where the new law is most sweeping. The Fatah political party has called a general strike in the northern part of the West Bank for

Wednesday

The legislation orders West Bank military courts — which try only Palestinians to make the death penalty the default sentence for those convicted, except in special circumstances.

“Time is running out and silence is deadly,” read the signs carried by protesters in the central West Bank city of Nablus, which showed an animation of a prisoner wearing the Palestinian kefﬁyeh scarf next to a noose. “Stop the law to execute prisoners, before it’s too late.”

The bill passed its ﬁnal vote in the Israeli parliament late Monday to cheers and applause. Itamar Ben-Gvir, the Israeli firebrand minister of national security who spearheaded the push for the legislation, described the law as long overdue and a sign of strength and national pride.

The law is set to take effect in 30 days but its implementation could be delayed by pending court proceedings at Israel’s highest tribunal.

The measure is not retroactive and won’t apply to current prisoners. Still, it signaled an extreme hardening of Israeli penal policy that elicited fear from the protesters for all Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails — emblems of national resistance.

“You are the symbol of struggle, You are the symbol of steadfastness,” the protesters in Nablus chanted, some holding up signs with the faces of friends and family currently in Israeli prisons.

Palestinian officials released statements saying the death penalty measure violated international law and asking other countries to intervene. Amnesty International has said that the use of the death

New DNA testing links unsolved death of Utah teen to Ted Bundy

17-year-old went missing from Salt Lake City in 1974

BY HANNAH SCHOENBAUM and REBECCA BOONE Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY — New DNA testing has deﬁnitively linked the unsolved death of a Utah teenager in 1974 to the infamous serial killer Ted Bundy, the local sheriff’s ofﬁce said Wednesday Laura Ann Aime, 17, went missing Halloween night 51 years ago after she left a party alone to go to a convenience store. About a month later, her body was found by hikers on the side of a highway in American Fork Canyon Aime was bound, beaten and without clothing. Authorities said the evidence indicated that she had likely been kept alive for several days after her abduction.

Investigators long suspected that Bundy was responsible — police said he verbally acknowledged his culpability leading up to his execution in Florida in 1989 — but the case remained open until they could be certain.

Bundy was one of the nation’s most pro-

liﬁc serial killers, with at least 30 women and girls’ deaths linked to him in several states in the 1970s. His murders — which occurred in sorority houses, parks and elsewhere — set the nation on edge. Bundy’s arrest drew widespread fascination, in part because many considered him to be charming and handsome.

Investigators had carefully preserved the evidence from Aime’s case, and forensic investigators were able to analyze that evidence to select the portions that seemed most likely to have usable DNA samples Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason said.

The state crime lab got new technology in 2023 that allows investigators to extract DNA from samples even if they are small, degraded from age or contain DNA from multiple people, he said. That technology allowed them to identify a single male DNA profile, which they submitted to a national law enforcement database.

Bundy’s DNA was a match, Mason said.

Aime’s family described her as a free spirit who loved the outdoors and found joy in everything she did.

“Laura Aime is the quintessential daughter of Utah County,” Utah County Sheriff’s Sgt. Mike Reynolds said in a news conference earlier Wednesday.

“We felt the pain the family feels when she was taken. We felt the pain that you felt this whole entire time, and we’ve had the desire to deliver to you some type of healing, we can’t really say closure.”

penalty under the new measure could violate the right to life and the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, as enshrined in international law

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry called for sanctions on Israel’s parliament and its suspension from international bodies.

“The law represents a critical turning point in the formalization of extrajudicial killings under a legal guise,” the statement said, adding that the ministry “stresses that this law, in its essence, constitutes an institutionalized policy of ﬁeld executions based on discriminatory and racist standards.”

The bill’s passage was the culmination of a yearslong push by Israel’s far right to escalate punishment against Palestinians convicted of attacking Israelis.

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ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO

Accused murderer Ted Bundy leans back in his chair as trial judge Edward Cowart speaks in Tallahassee, Fla., on April 26, 1979.

COURTROOM SKETCH By DANA VERKOUTEREN

Cecillia Wang the American Civil Liberties Union legal director standing center argues before the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday as President Donald Trump, right, departs shortly after Wang began her presentation in defense of broad birthright citizenship.

GOP leaders announce plan to end shutdown

Johnson, Thune have plan to fund DHS

BY KEVIN FREKING and STEPHEN GROVES Associated Press

WASHINGTON House Speak-

er Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune announced a plan Wednesday to fully fund the Department of Homeland Security, moving past a split between the two Republican leaders that resulted in Congress leaving Washington last week without a ﬁx to a record-setting partial government shutdown.

They said in a joint statement that “in the coming days” Republicans in Congress will return to a Senate plan to fund most of the department through an agreement with Democratic senators, with the exception of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Border Patrol. Republicans would then try later to fund those agencies through party-line spending legislation. Neither outcome is guar-

anteed, and the strategy could potentially still face opposition from the GOP’s own ranks even though President Donald Trump has given his support

“We appreciate and share the President’s determination to once and for all bring an end to the Democrat DHS shutdown,” said Johnson RBenton, and Thune, RS.D.

The plan represents a do-over of what senators had in mind when they passed a bipartisan funding agreement through unanimous consent last Friday. The Senate could approve similar legislation as soon as Thursday morning through unanimous consent, but even if that happens, it’s unclear how quickly the bill could move through the House. It will likely take several months for Republicans to act on the second part of Trump’s plan and pass budgeting legislation to fund ICE and Border Pa-

trol.

House Republicans refused to go along with the Senate plan last week, instead changing the bill to fund all of DHS for 60 days.

As a result, the shutdown continued as lawmakers left for their home states and congressional districts for a two-week recess. The DHS shutdown reached its 47th day on Wednesday Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement, “Republican divisions derailed a bipartisan agreement, making

American families pay the price for their dysfunction.”

The announcement from the GOP leaders showed that for now, Thune and Johnson are on the same page. Their working relationship experienced a rupture late last week when Johnson — at the urging of many House Republicans rejected Thune’s plan.

The top Republicans hoping the path ahead will win over skeptical GOP colleagues, but the most conservative lawmakers are likely to seek full funding

for all of Trump’s immigration and deportation operations.

“Let’s make this simple: caving to Democrats and not paying CBP and ICE is agreeing to defund Law Enforcement and leaving our borders wide open again,” Rep Scott Perry, R-Pa., posted on X. “If that’s the vote, I’m a NO.”

It is uncertain whether Johnson could ﬁnd enough support from the House to recall lawmakers back to Washington before their spring recess ends in midApril.

Meanwhile, the narrow budget package being prepared for later this year is expected to fund ICE and Border Patrol through the remainder of Trump’s term, as a away to try to ensure those agencies are no longer at risk from Democrats objecting to the president’s immigration enforcement agenda.

Ea rl ie r We dn es da y, Trump weighed in on the shutdown, using a social media post to seemingly call on Republicans to fund the immigration portions of DHS through a bill that

would not require Democratic support. He said he wanted the legislation on his desk by June 1.

“We are going to work as fast, and as focused, as possible to replenish funding for our Border and ICE Agents, and the Radical Left Democrats won’t be able to stop us,” Trump said. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries released a statement saying, “It’s time to pay TSA agents, end the airport chaos and fully fund every part of the Department of Homeland Security that does not relate to Donald Trump’s violent mass deportation machine.” The vast majority of Homeland Security workers continue to report to work during the shutdown, but many thousands have been going without pay That led to more Transportation Security Administration agents calling out from work, causing frustrating security lines at some of the nation’s biggest airports. Those bottlenecks appeared to be clearing this week as agents began receiving backpay, per an executive order from Trump.

Sanctions lifted on Venezuela’s acting president

BY REGINA GARCIA CANO and FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press

BY GABRIELA AOUN ANGUEIRA Associated Press

WASHINGTON Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on Wednesday rescinded a rule that DHS expenditures over $100,000 be personally approved by his office, ending a widely criticized policy implemented by his predecessor Kristi Noem that critics said put a particular burden on the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s work aiding disaster response and recovery

The decision marks the first major action by the new Homeland Security leader, sworn in last week, to change a policy implemented by Noem, whom President Donald Trump ﬁred in March.

Mullin’s move is expected to ease a spending bottleneck that lawmakers and states said delayed disaster response and recovery funds, though those impacts are unlikely to be widely felt until after the end of the DHS shutdown, now in its 46th day A DHS spokesperson conﬁrmed that Mullin rescinded the rule Wednesday, telling The Associated Press the secretary “re-evaluated the contract processes to make sure DHS is serving the American taxpayer efficiently.” CBS News first reported Mullin’s decision.

ing to natural and manmade disasters across the U.S.

The policy created “an untenable situation for emergency managers,” Morton said, and a bottleneck that also hindered mitigation and preparedness programs, “putting Americans at increased risk from disasters.”

A recently released report by Democratic members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee found the approval rule had delayed at least 1,000 FEMA contracts, grants or disaster reimbursements by September

The spokesperson said Mullin’s action will streamline the contracting process and allocate aid more efficiently

The International Association of Emergency Managers praised Mullin’s decision. “We appreciate Secretary Mullin’s common-sense approach to this matter, and we look forward to working with him,” said Josh Morton, president of IAEM-USA. Noem issued a directive last June requiring that she personally approve any Department of Homeland Security expenditure over $100,000. Critics said the rule undermined FEMA in particular, an agency that routinely issues contracts and reimbursements well over that amount in its work preparing for and respond-

The policy came under scrutiny after news reports linked it to unstaffed call centers and delays deploying FEMA Urban Search and Rescue teams to Texas during deadly ﬂoods last July, and brought sharp rebuke from some state ofﬁcials and lawmakers, especially Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, whose state is still recovering from devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene in 2024.

“You’ve failed at FEMA,” Tillis told Noem at a Senate hearing the day before she was ﬁred.

About $2.2 billion in recovery and mitigation dollars were in the DHS approval queue Wednesday, according to FEMA data seen by the AP

“It’s got a great mission, and I think people at FEMA want to do their job,” Mullin told lawmakers at his March conﬁrmation hearing, sparking cautious hope that he would ease the tumult experienced at the agency under Noem.

WASHINGTON The U.S. on Wednesday lifted sanctions on Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez, according to an Ofﬁce of Foreign Assets Control entry on the Tr easury Department website. The newly announced sanctions relief is the latest U.S. recognition of Rodrí-

guez as a legitimate authority in Venezuela ever since the U.S. military captured her predecessor, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife on Jan. 3 in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas. The pair have since been taken to New York to face drug trafficking charges and both have pleaded not guilty

The move allows Rodríguez to more freely work with U.S. companies and investors. Without explicitly mentioning the sanctions targeting her, Rodríguez, in a statement, expressed hope for U.S.-Venezuela relations. “We value President Don-

ald Trump’s decision as a step toward normalizing and strengthening relations between our countries,” she said on her Telegram channel after the Treasury’s announcement. “We trust that this progress will allow for the lifting of current sanctions against our country, enabling us to build and guarantee an effective bilateral cooperation agenda for the beneﬁt of our people.” Rodríguez and her brother, Jorge Rodríguez, were hit with U.S. sanctions during Trump’s first term for their role in allegedly undermining Venezuelan democracy

Thune

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MARIAM ZUHAIB Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-Benton., speaks during a news conference Friday.

Rodriguez

Artemis launch holds special meaning for N.O. students

BY POET WOLFE Staff writer

As launch time neared, dozens of spectators gathered around the two projector screens on classroom walls, watching as the engine ignited in an orange glow and the rocket rose on a pillar of ﬁre from the launchpad. Applause erupted as it disappeared into the sky at 5:35 p.m.

“Humanity’s next great voyage begins,” the broadcast declared.

The massive rocket lifted off Wednesday from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, sending four NASA astronauts — three Americans and one Canadian on a 10-day journey around the moon and back. The mission, Artemis

Continued from page 1A

non-U.S. citizen riding in NASA’s new Orion capsule.

Tensions were high earlier in the day as hydrogen fuel started flowing into the rocket. Dangerous hydrogen leaks erupted during a countdown test earlier this year, forcing a lengthy flight delay To NASA’s relief, no significant hydrogen leaks occurred The launch team loaded more than 700,000 gallons of fuel into the 32-story Space Launch System rocket on the pad, a smooth operation that set the stage for the Artemis II crew to board.

NASA also had to deal with some issues beforehand but was able to resolve them and allow the launch to proceed without delay, one of them related to commands not getting through to the rocket’s flight-termination system, which is needed to send a self-destruct signal in case the rocket veers off course and threatens populated areas. That issue was quickly resolved, according to NASA. It also had to troubleshoot one of the batteries in the capsule’s launch-abort system. Launch controllers scrambled to understand why the battery’s temperature was out of limit. Ultimately, it didn’t prevent the launch from taking place.

The astronauts will stick close to home for the first 25 hours of their 10-day test ﬂight, checking out the capsule in orbit around Earth before firing the main engine that will propel them to the moon.

They won’t pause for a stopover or orbit the moon like Apollo 8’s first lunar visitors did so famously on Christmas Eve 1968, reading from Genesis But they

PAY

Continued from page 1A

Chassion, D-Lafayette, who authored the bill, said. Revenue sharing refers to funds paid to athletes directly out of athletic department budgets.

The original bill, filed in late February, sought to make contracts with college athletes through a university’s revenue sharing program private. But amendments added Wednesday went a step further, clarifying that dollar amounts and percentages of the pool of money allocated to speciﬁc athletes and individual sports would not be public record.

Legislators raised questions about the proposed law obfuscating how public funds are spent.

“This is really broad,” Rep. Beryl Amedee, R-Houma, said. “And I’m concerned that we’re expanding confidentiality so much that we’re losing necessary transparency.”

Separate from name, image and likeness deals, revenue sharing payments are public dollars, First Amendment expert and attorney Scott Sternberg said Sternberg is representing the journalists suing for the records.

Sternberg also represents The Advocate | The TimesPicayune in some legal matters. The newspaper is not

II, marks the ﬁrst time anyone has traveled this far from Earth since 1972.

Like the rest of the nation, the audience at Nunez Community College in Chalmette anticipated the historic launch, huddled at classroom desks as the 10-minute countdown clock ticked. A boy dressed in an astronaut suit placed a toy space helmet over his head as he proudly posed next to balloons shaped like rockets. Popcorn popped in a machine, and a celebratory frosted cake waited to be cut.

For many in the room, the excitement ran deeper than the mission’s historic significance Nunez alums helped build the Space Launch System rocket that pow-

ered the mission.

The college offers Louisiana’s only aerospace technician program, created in partnership with Boeing and NASA to prepare students for careers at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans East and other regional employers. Since the program started in 2018, more than 300 credentials have been awarded, according to Nunez Chancellor Tina Tinney “It’s historic for our country, but it’s also historic for Nunez Community College, for graduates that have had this opportunity,” Tinney said. “We’re part of their story now.”

Standing 322 feet tall, the SLS rocket is the only one that can send the Orion spacecraft, astronauts

and cargo directly to the moon in a single launch, according to NASA. Nearly 90% of the rocket — including the orange core, which provides much of the power — was constructed at Michoud.

Nicknamed “America’s Rocket Factory” by NASA, Michoud links New Orleans to the nation’s space legacy and serves as an economic anchor in an area that has long struggled to diversify in technology and manufacturing since Hurricane Katrina. For more than a decade, Boeing, the lead contractor of the project, has built key components of the SLS rockets there, including the version used in Artemis I, which traveled 280,000 miles into space without a crew in 2022.

stand to become the most distant humans ever when their capsule zooms past the moon and continues another 4,000 miles beyond, before making a U-turn and tearing straight home to a splashdown in the Paciﬁc. Once settled in a high orbit around Earth, the astronauts plan to assume manual control and practice steering their capsule around the rocket’s detached upper stage, venturing within 33 feet. NASA wants to know how Orion handles in case the self-ﬂying feature fails and the pilots need to take control.

An amazing sight in store

Four days later into the lunar ﬂyby, the moon will appear to be the size of a basketball held at arm’s length. The astronauts will take turns peering through Orion’s windows with cameras. If the lighting is right, they should see features never before viewed through human eyes. They’ll also catch snippets of a total solar eclipse, donning eclipse glasses as the moon brieﬂy blocks the sun from their perspective and the corona

a party to the lawsuit ﬁled against LSU.

Following the House v. NCAA settlement in 2025 that allowed schools to pay athletes directly, Louisiana passed a law that raised the state tax on online sports betting to 21.5% and funneled a quarter of those proceeds to subsidize public universities’ athletics programs.

“We’re effectively saying, ‘Sorry, we know you passed this tax, but we’re not going to let you see where the revenue goes,’” Sternberg said. “In no other instance would that be OK.”

Chassion argued the exemption to public records law would protect student athletes from harassment. While presenting the amendments to the House Education Committee on Wednesday, he frequently referenced his daughter, a walk-on guard for the University of Connecticut women’s basketball in 2020-21.

“If my daughter happened to have made $50,000 from Insomnia Cookies as a member of the UConn women’s basketball team, I don’t want anyone knowing what she makes,” Chassion said.

“It shouldn’t be public information.”

As the bill heads to the ﬂoor the 19th Judicial District Court will also hear a case concerning whether LSU’s revenue sharing payments belong to the public record.

Journalists Piper Hutchin-

is revealed.

All of NASA’s moon plans — a surge in launches over the next several years leading to a sustainable moon base for astronauts assisted by robotic rovers and drones — hinge on Artemis II going well.

It’s been more than three years since Artemis I, the only other time NASA’s SLS rocket and Orion capsule have soared With no one aboard, the Artemis I capsule lacked life-support equipment and other crew essentials like a water dispenser and toilet.

These systems are now making their space debut on Artemis II, ratcheting up the risk That’s why NASA is waiting a full day before committing Wiseman and his crew to a four-day trip to the moon and four-day journey back.

“There’s always been a lot riding on this mission,” NASA’s Lori Glaze said ahead of launch. But the teams are even more “energized” now that the space agency is ﬁnally accelerating the lunar launch pace and laser-focusing on surface operations seismic changes announced

son, of the Louisiana Illuminator; Todd Horne, of Tiger Rag; and Chris Nakamoto, of WAFB, represented by Sternberg, filed a suit in March against LSU arguing the payments are “textbook public documents.”

“These revenue-sharing payments are made from funds comprised of Louisiana public dollars appropriated to and controlled by LSU,” the petition said. “They represent an expenditure of public funds by a public body and are quintessential public records.”

Reached for this story, LSU spokesperson Meg Sunstrom said the university cannot comment on pending litigation but referenced its comment when the suit was ﬁled.

“LSU has not been served with the lawsuit but believes the records are exempt from public disclosure for various reasons,” the statement said.

“Releasing this information puts LSU at a competitive disadvantage on the field and runs contrary to the privacy interest of our student athletes.”

The term “competitive disadvantage” was not used in the House Education Committee meeting Wednesday, with legislators instead emphasizing the point of athlete safety Sternberg said that concern does not apply to other public salaries.

“The salary of every public employee in the state of Louisiana is a public record,” Sternberg said.

recently by new administrator Jared Isaacman.

A fresh beginning

With half the world’s population not yet born when NASA’s 12 moonwalkers left their boot prints in the gray lunar dust, Artemis offers a fresh beginning, NASA’s science mission chief Nicky Fox said earlier this week.

“There are a lot of people who don’t remember Apollo. There are generations who weren’t alive when Apollo launched. This is their

Mayor Helena Moreno said Wednesday’s mission serves as “a reminder that big things are possible in New Orleans and when we’re all in, the sky, and even the moon, is the limit.”

“The team at Michoud is once again showing the level of innovation possible right here in New Orleans,” Moreno said in a statement

Beyond city and school leaders, the launch left the Chalmette students inspired about their own career paths. Rachel Madron, who joined the aerospace technician program last year and hopes to one day build rockets for NASA, sat in the front row during the launch.

“They showed how much they wanted to do it,” she said. “And they got it done.”

Apollo,” said Fox, who was 4 when Apollo 17 closed out the era.

NASA is in it for the long haul this time. Unlike Apollo, which focused on fast ﬂags and footprints in a breakneck race against the Soviet Union, Artemis is striving for a sustainable moon base elaborate enough to satisfy even the most hardcore science ﬁction fans. But make no mistake: Isaacman and the Trump administration want the next boot prints to be made by Americans, not the Chinese.

Until Isaacman’s program makeover, Artemis III was crawling toward a moon landing no sooner than 2029. The billionaire spacewalker slid in a new Artemis III for 2027 so astronauts could practice docking their Orion capsule with a lunar lander in orbit around Earth. Astronauts’ momentous landing near the moon’s south pole shifted to Artemis IV in 2028 — two years before an anticipated Chinese crew’s arrival.

Like Apollo 13 — astronauts’ only moon landing miss — Artemis II will use a free-return, lunar flyby trajectory to get home with gravity’s tug and a minimum of gas The gravity of both the moon and Earth will pro-

vide much if not most of the oomph to keep Orion on its out-and-back, figure-eight loop.

Inherent dangers

The danger is right up there for Artemis II. NASA has refused to release its risk assessment for the mission. Managers contend it’s better than 50-50 — the usual odds for a new rocket — but how much more is murky

The SLS rocket leaked flammable hydrogen fuel during ground tests, a recurring problem that engineers still do not completely understand. The hydrogen leaks and unrelated helium blockages stalled the ﬂight for two months, coming on top of years of vexing delays and cost overruns. Both problems also thwarted Artemis I, whose capsule returned with excessive heat shield damage. To NASA’s relief, Wednesday’s countdown was leak-free. Beating the Soviet Union to the moon made the huge risks acceptable for Apollo, said Charlie Duke, one of only four surviving moonwalkers.

“I’m cheering you on,” Duke said in a note to Wiseman and his crew before their ﬂight.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By CHRIS O’MEARA

Astronauts, from left, mission specialist Jeremy Hansen, pilot Victor Glover, Commander Reid Wiseman and mission specialist Christina Koch pose for a photo after leaving the operations and checkout building for a trip to Launch Pad 39-B for Wednesday’s launch of NASA’s Artemis II moon rocket.

UNO to see some academic cuts under LSU

Several programs being eliminated, changed

BY MARIE FAZIO Staff writer

After months of speculation about what the transition of the University of New Orleans to the LSU system would mean for faculty and students, LSU has revealed plans to modify or cut several academic programs. The changes will affect programs in art, international studies and education.

The announced changes include eliminating or changing five undergraduate programs and four graduate programs and are the first indication of academic shifts as UNO becomes part of LSU. The transition, which becomes official July 1, was floated in hopes of stabilizing the university, which has struggled with low enrollment and a glaring budget deficit.

LSU ofﬁcials said the proposed

“The situation has been going on for 47 years and should’ve been handled long before I arrived in ofﬁce,” he said. Trump also acknowledged rising oil prices and volatile financial markets, but insisted those would be temporary Polling, meanwhile, shows many Americans feel the U.S. military has gone too far in Iran even as more American troops move into the region for a possible ground offensive. Trump opted not to deliver such an address closer to when the U.S. and Israel first launched attacks, and questions remain about whether it is now too late for what he says to break through. Iranian missile ﬁre targeted Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and Israel just before Trump’s speech.

The president, in comments during an Easter

DAY CARE

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fund from $0 to $773,204. The current legislative session, where it will vote on the state budget, ends June 1. Eligibility for seats in child care centers is determined by family income levels set by the federally funded Child Care Assistance Program. That program helps pay for child care for more than 21,000 children across Louisiana.

The matching grant is being handled by the local school system via its nonprofit Foundation for East Baton Rouge Parish School System Participating childhood centers are part of a network overseen by the parish school system.

“We are optimistic about the doors this will open for children in our parish,” said

changes were made after a “datainformed review of enrollment trends and program viability.”

Some programs will be eliminated, while others will be renamed or revamped as minors. University ofﬁcials said students enrolled in programs slated to end would be able to ﬁnish their degrees, and no faculty would be laid off because of the program shifts.

“These changes are not about reducing opportunity, rather, they are about strengthening it,” UNO

President Kathy Johnson said in an email to faculty staff and students.

“We are aligning our academic portfolio with where student demand is growing and where career opportunities are strongest, while continuing to honor the disciplines that deﬁne us.”

Johnson added that the university is in the process of developing programs in high-demand ﬁelds,

including engineering management, hospitality and tourism management, data science and health care management. The following programs will be changed:

n Bachelor of Arts art history will be renamed B.A. studio art; art history will be offered as a minor

n B.A. film and theatre will be renamed B.A. film arts and the theater track will be discontinued; theatre arts will be offered as a minor

n B.A. international studies program will be discontinued; international studies will be offered as a minor

n Bachelor of Science elementary education and special education (grades 1-5) will be cut.

n B.S. mathematics will become a new B.S. in data science program.

n Master of Arts in teaching elementary education & special education (grades 1-5) will be cut.

lunch on Wednesday afternoon, said of Iran: “We could just take their oil. But you know, I’m not sure that the people in our country have the patience to do that, which is unfortunate.”

“Yeah, they want to see it end. If we stayed there, I prefer just to take the oil,” Trump said. “We could do it so easily I would prefer that. But people in the country sort of say: ‘Just win. You’re winning so big. Just

Superintendent LaMont Cole. “With support from our philanthropic partners and the state, more families will be able to enroll their kids into programs that get them a jump-start on reading and other developmental milestones.”

The $1.1 million is more than 10 times what the school system has received in the past from this state fund-matching program

“This funding is a testament to what we can accomplish when we prioritize collaboration over competition,” said Jennifer Lightfoot, executive director of the school system’s nonprofit foundation. “When foundations work together we can unlock resources and opportunities that create real progress for our community’s children.”

Widespread public pre-K provides access to education for the vast majority of economically disadvantaged

win. Come home.’ And I’m OK with that, too, because we have a lot of oil between Venezuela and our oil.”

The media was not permitted to watch the president’s remarks at the lunch, but the White House uploaded video of the speech online before taking it down. The White House did not return requests for comment from The Associated Press on the video and why it was taken down.

4-year-olds in Baton Rouge.

Younger children, however, have much more limited options. In 2024, the parish school system estimated that almost 11,000 young children under the age of 5 from low-income families did not have a publicly funded option available.

“We know from the research that few investments have a greater impact on a child’s future than highquality early education. These funds help make that quality accessible — supporting working families today while strengthening economic mobility for the next generation,” said David Beach, president and chief executive ofﬁcer of the Huey and Angelina Wilson Foundation.

The parish school system’s network lists 102 participating Type III early learning centers Interested families can visit ebrearlychildhood. org for more information.

n M.A.T secondary education & special education (grades 6-12) will be cut.

n Select theater-related tracks and concentrations from Masters of Fine Art ﬁlm & theatre will be discontinued and degree will be renamed.

n M.S. in tax accounting will be cut.

Transition underway

The planned academic changes come as UNO prepares to revert to the LSU system, which governed UNO from its founding in 1958 until 2011. Last year, state legislators approved the shift, which was backed by the Board of Regents.

At public transition committee meetings this academic year, the LSU Board of Supervisors said the university was refocusing on key areas they see as connected to growing regional industries, such as health care, engineering, and tourism and hospitality

In a social media post

earlier Wednesday, Trump maintained a belligerent tone, demanding that Iran stop blocking the Strait of Hormuz the waterway vital to global oil supplies — or the U.S. would bomb the Islamic Republic “back to the Stone Ages.” The president has also said the U.S. “will not have anything to do with” ensuring the security of ships passing through Hormuz, an apparent backtrack from a previous threat to attack Iran’s power grid if it didn’t open the strait by Monday

In the same Easter lunch, the president reiterated some of his complaints about NATO allies for their reluctance to get involved in securing the Strait of Hormuz while suggesting that China, Japan and South Korea could also step up to reopen the waterway “Let South Korea, you know, we only have 45,000 soldiers in harm’s way over there, right next to a nuclear force — let South Korea do it,” Trump said of efforts to

Among other things, the transition committee suggested building an on-campus hotel and culinary institute where students could get on-hand hospitality experience.

LSU President Wade Rousse hinted cuts were coming in February when he said there would be an “honest evaluation” of programs and possible cuts to ones that don’t attract students or prepare them for available jobs in the region.

UNO Senate Faculty President Christopher Summa said in a statement that program directors or faculty were consulted over changes in recent weeks.

“Our academic programs should be preserved wherever possible to best serve our students,” the statement said, “and we continue to hope that all our current programs will be allowed the chance to ﬂourish during this transitional time of reintegration into the LSU System.”

reopen the strait. “Let Japan do it. They get 90% of their oil from the strait. Let China do it.”

In another morning social media post, Trump wrote that “Iran’s New Regime President” wanted a ceaseﬁre. It wasn’t clear to whom the U.S. president was referring since Iran still has the same president. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, called Trump’s claim “false and baseless,” according to a report on Iranian state television.

Speaking earlier to Al Jazeera, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi signaled Tehran’s willingness to keep ﬁghting. “You cannot speak to the people of Iran in the language of threats and deadlines,” he said. “We do not set any deadline for defending ourselves.”

Hours before Trump’s address, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian posted a lengthy letter in English on his X account appealing to U.S. citizens and stress-

ing that his country had pursued negotiations before the U.S. withdrew from that path “Exactly which of the American people’s interests are truly being served by this war?” he wrote. Grip on Strait of Hormuz

Since the war began on Feb. 28, Trump has offered shifting objectives and repeatedly has said it could be over soon while also threatening to widen the conﬂict. Thousands of additional U.S. troops are heading to the Middle East, and speculation abounds about why Trump has also threatened to attack Iran’s Kharg Island oil export hub. And the U.S. could decide to send in military forces to secure Iran’s uranium stockpile — a complex and risky operation, fraught with radiation and chemical dangers, experts and former government ofﬁcials say

Adding to the confusion is what role Israel which has been bombing Iran alongside the U.S. — might play in any of these scenarios.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ALEX BRANDON

President Donald Trump speaks about the Iran war from the Cross Hall of the White House on Wednesday.

Reese’s products to revert to classic recipes

Hershey said Wednesday it will use classic recipes for all Reese’s products starting next year a change that comes after the grandson of Reese’s founder criticized the company for shifting to cheaper ingredients.

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups have always been made with real milk chocolate or dark chocolate and peanut butter But a small portion of Hershey’s and Reese’s products, like mini Easter eggs, are now made with a coating that contains less chocolate Hershey said that in 2027, it will shift those products to “their classic milk chocolate and dark chocolate recipes.”

The Hershey, Pennsylvaniabased company said it will also be making other changes to its sweets portfolio next year, including transitioning to natural colors and enhancing Kit-Kat’s recipe to make it creamier The company said it plans to increase its research and development funding by 25% next year.

Software firm Oracle lays off thousands

Software giant Oracle on Tuesday started laying off workers as it looks to rein in costs and double down on artiﬁcial intelligence On LinkedIn, Oracle employees, including software engineers, account executives and program managers, shared publicly that they were affected by a mass layoff at the company and were looking for new jobs Oracle was founded in California, but moved its headquarters to Austin, Texas, in 2020.

The company, which sells software and other services to help businesses manage and store data, hasn’t said publicly how many jobs were cut. CNBC, citing people familiar with the matter reported that Oracle was slashing thousands of workers As of May 2025, Oracle had 162,000 workers.

Oracle has ofﬁces throughout the world, including in California in Irvine, Santa Monica, Redwood City and Santa Clara. It’s unclear if the mass layoff also affected workers in California Oracle declined to comment. The company is the latest tech firm to shed workers as it focuses more heavily on AI. Meta, Block, Amazon, Salesforce and other tech giants have continued to lay off their workers even as they hire for other roles and spend billions of dollars on AI data centers and products

Retail sales rose in February before war

NEWYORK — Shoppers increased their spending in February before gasoline prices spiked because of the attacks on Iran by the U.S. and Israel Retail sales rose a better-thanexpected 0.6% in February from a revised 0.1% decline in January, the Commerce Department said Wednesday Retail analysts say it was a strong showing given that inﬂation has rattled American households, but that the war in Iran may have dented the psyche of consumers with spending on gasoline racing higher over the past ﬁve weeks.

“While the overall numbers are good and suggest a continued trajectory of reasonable expansion for retail, they do not reﬂect the problems that have arisen since the start of the Iran conﬂict,” wrote Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData “Since the start of March our own numbers show that consumer sentiment has soured and that rising gas prices are starting to spook consumers.”

This week the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline eclipsed $4, the ﬁrst time it’s done so since 2022, and it jumped another 4 cents overnight to $4.06, according to motor club

SpaceX takes step to go public

Company files preliminary paperwork to sell shares

BY BERNARD CONDON and KEN SWEET AP business writers

NEW YORK Elon Musk’s space exploration company has filed preliminary paperwork to sell shares to the public according to two sources familiar with the filing, a blockbuster offering that would likely rank as the biggest ever and could make its founder the world’s first trillionaire. A SpaceX IPO promises to be one

of the biggest Wall Street events of the year, with several investment banks lining up to help raise tens of billions to fund Musk’s ambitions to set up a base on the moon, put data centers the size of several football ﬁelds in orbit and possibly one day send a man to Mars.

The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk publicly about the conﬁdential registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SpaceX did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

Exactly how much SpaceX plans to raise has not been disclosed but the ﬁgure is reportedly as much as $75 billion. At that level, the of-

fering would easily eclipse the $29 billion that Saudi Aramco raised in its 2019 IPO. The offering, coming possibly in June, could value all the shares of SpaceX at $1.5 trillion, nearly double what the company was valued in December when some minority owners sold their stakes, according to research ﬁrm Pitchbook, before an acquisition that increased its size.

Musk owns 42% of the SpaceX now according to Pitchbook, though that ﬁgure will change with the IPO when new owners are issued shares. In any case, he is likely to pierce the trillion dollar mark because he is already close, with a net worth estimated by Forbes

magazine at $823 billion.

In addition to making reusable rockets to hurl astronauts and hardware into orbit, SpaceX owns Starlink, the world’s largest satellite communications company The company also recently brought under its roof two other Musk businesses, social media platform X, formerly Twitter, and artificial intelligence business, xAI, in a controversial transaction because both the seller and the buyer were controlled by him.

SpaceX has become the biggest commercial launch company in its industry, responsible for sending payloads into orbit for customers across the globe, but has also beneﬁted from big taxpayer spending.

EU warns oil, gas prices won’t immediately return to normal

BY MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS

Associated Press

NICOSIA, Cyprus Skyrocketing oil and gas prices in Europe as a result of the ongoing Iran war won’t return to normal levels any time soon, even if peace is declared tomorrow, the European Union’s energy commissioner warned Tuesday Commissioner Dan Jørgensen said although there are no immediate oil and gas supply shortages in the 27-member bloc, there’s pressure on diesel and jet fuel supply as well as “increasing constraints” in global gas markets that are resulting in higher electricity prices.

“What I ﬁnd extremely important is to state as clearly as I can, that even if that peace is here tomorrow, still we will not go back to normal in a foreseeable future,”

Jørgensen told a news conference after a meeting of EU energy ministers.

He said the EU’s executive arm is preparing a string of measures designed to help families and businesses weather the huge spike in oil prices that have resulted

in about a 70% price hike for gas and 60% for oil in Europe. Since the start of the war, the EU’s bill for imported fossil fuels has jumped by 14 billion euros, according to Jørgensen.

Closely coordinated action between all EU members is necessary to “avoid fragmented national responses and disruptive signals to the markets,” he said.

The “toolbox” of measures now in the works will be unveiled “quite soon” and will include ways to make it easier for states to decouple gas prices from electricity prices, the commissioner said. He added that a tax cut on electricity, as suggested by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is also being weighed.

Jørgensen said although he doesn’t foresee a repeat of the 2022 natural gas crisis where companies reaped huge proﬁts from a massive gas price hike, a one-time “windfall tax” on such companies “is a possibility.”

There are now “good opportunities” for member states to ﬁnancially support vulnerable groups or industries now under “extraordinary stress” and that the Commission

would make “these possibilities even simpler and wider,” said Jørgensen.

Jørgensen also encouraged EU members to consider the International Energy Agency’s 10-point plan which includes work from home, reduced highway speeds, encouraging public transport and increasing car sharing. He said the EU stands by its ban on Russian gas purchases, which is meant to reduce dependence on Russian gas and choke off funding for Russia’s war in Ukraine. Reliance on Russian gas dropped from 45% before the war to 10% now and will be reduced to zero once imports from other suppliers ramp up, especially from the U.S. The EU is looking at new energy sources from Azerbaijan, Algeria and Canada as well as smaller producers around the world.

The commissioner warned the EU should never “repeat the mistakes of the past allowing Putin to weaponize energy against us and blackmail member states.” He added that “it would be totally unacceptable” for the EU to continue buying energy that would “indirectly help ﬁnance the terrible war that Putin is conducting in Ukraine.”

Stocks rally as oil prices ease on hopes for end to war

BY STAN CHOE Associated

across Europe

and Asia, including an 8.4% surge in South Korea, which were catching up to Wall Street’s rally from Tuesday The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 224 points, or 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 1.2%. Oil prices also fell

presi-

dent as saying that it has “the necessary will to end the war” as long as certain requirements are met, including “guarantees to prevent a recurrence of aggression.” The worry on Wall Street has been that the war may last a long time and keep oil and natural gas from the Persian Gulf out of global markets, which could create a brutal blast of inﬂation. But hope has been quick to reverse to doubt on Wall Street, triggering manic swings back and forth for ﬁnancial markets since the war with Iran began. Trump has also made statements that lifted markets, only to see the gains

quickly disappear after increasing his military threats.

Shortly before Wall Street began trading on Wednesday, Trump claimed in a post on his social media network that Iran “has just asked the United States of America for a CEASEFIRE!”

“We will consider when Hormuz Strait is open, free, and clear Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or as they say back to the Stone Ages!!!”

But Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, quickly called that claim “false and baseless,” according to a report on Iranian state television.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MICHAEL PROBST

The sun sets Tuesday behind a gas station in Frankfurt, Germany. Oil and gas prices have skyrocketed in Europe as a result of the Iran war

State’s drilling revenue rises by $47 million

Money to be used to restore coast

BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer

WASHINGTON — Louisiana expects to receive this week an annual check from the federal government for offshore oil production that’ll be about $47 million more than last year, to be used to help restore the coast and protect against hurricanes.

The U.S. Department of Interior

announced a record $460.9 million distribution of energy revenue from federal waters to be split between Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and Alabama. That’s up from $375 million last year

Louisiana is receiving a total of $203.7 million, which is up from

$156 million from last year’s share of dollars the federal government allots under the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006, according to the department.

The reason is House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, inserted wording that raised the GOMESA annual revenue sharing cap in last summer’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which provided tax cuts and other items on President Donald Trump’s domestic policy agenda.

“Louisiana dedicates these millions of new dollars from offshore energy exploration and production directly to coastal restoration and hurricane protection efforts, helping to protect the lives and livelihoods of those in southeast Louisiana who work each and every day to bring this energy to market for the beneﬁt of families and small businesses all across America,”

Scalise said. GOMESA requires the federal government to share a portion of its proceeds from energy production in federal waters with the four states that provide the oil companies bases of operations for their offshore activities. That share is calculated by a formula but can’t exceed a legally set amount. The rest of money goes into the U.S. treasury

“By returning offshore revenues to the Gulf region, we are supporting the infrastructure, restoration work and local economies that make continued production possible,” Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said in a statement.

Most of Louisiana’s portion is headed to the state via the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority But a portion is given to coastal parishes. For instance, Plaquemines Parish will receive

Trans-Atlantic rift widens

Trump lashes out at NATO allies

BY JILL LAWLESS and JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press

LONDON U.S. President

Donald Trump says he’s strongly considering pulling the United States out of NATO, ratcheting up his criticism of European allies and exposing a wider rift in the trans-Atlantic alliance — this time over the Iran war

While Trump’s talk of a possible NATO pullout dates back years, the comments to The Telegraph newspaper in the U.K., published Wednesday, were among the clearest and most disparaging yet — suggesting that the fracture has deepened perhaps to a point of no return.

Asked whether he would reconsider U.S membership in the alliance after the conflict in the Middle East ends Trump replied: “Oh yes, I would say (it’s) beyond reconsideration.” Congress passed legislation in 2023 that would prevent any president from pulling out of NATO without its approval. The Trump administration, during his first term, had insisted the president had such authority on his own. It’s unclear whether Trump would challenge in any way the new law, which is the first of its kind and with the NATO provision specifically championed at the time by Trump’s secretary of state, Marco Rubio, who was a Florida senator at the time.

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that his government was “fully committed to NATO” and called it “the single most effective military alliance the world has ever seen.”

U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, and Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat, said in a joint statement that “NATO is the most successful military alliance in history” and stressed that the Senate “will continue

to support the alliance for the peace and protection it provides” the United States, Europe and the world

Many European leaders have felt political pressure over the war, which faces opposition in their countries and has sent petroleum prices soaring as Iran has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil passes.

“Whatever the pressure on me and others, whatever the noise, I am going to act in the British national interest in all the decisions I make,” Starmer said Wednesday

The U.K. is working on plans that could help assuage Trump, and Starmer said military planners will work on a postwar security plan for the strait.

On Thursday, British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper will host a virtual meeting of 35 countries that have signed up to help ensure security for shipping in the strait after the fighting ends.

Iulia-Sabina Joja, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, alluded to Trump’s exhortation on Tuesday for allies to “go get your own oil” — in a social media post insisting it wasn’t America’s job to secure the strait

“The Europeans are not keen to go into an active warfare situation, to so-called

‘get’ their energy out of the strait,” said Joba, a former deputy project manager at NATO Allied Command Transformation in Virginia. Long-simmering tensions within the alliance have bubbled up again over the war

As energy prices have spiked, Trump has been desperate to get countries to send their ships to the Strait of Hormuz. He has called NATO allies “cowards.”

Since his ﬁrst term, Trump has urged the allies to assume greater responsibility for their own security and spend more on defense. He has argued that the U.S. has done more for them than the other way around.

A U.S. pullout would essentially spell the end of NATO, which ﬂourished for decades under American leadership.

Speaking Tuesday on Fox News, U.S Secretary of State Marco Rubio said: “I do think, unfortunately, we are going to have to reexamine whether or not this alliance that has served this country well for a while is still serving that purpose.”

Rubio raised questions with interviewer Sean Hannity about whether NATO has “become a oneway street where America is simply in a position to defend Europe — but when we need the help of our allies, they’re going to deny us basing rights and they’re going to deny us overﬂight.”

Trial in killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO now delayed until October

BY MICHAEL R. SISAK and LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press

NEW YORK — A judge on Wednesday granted Luigi Mangione only a slight dela y of his federal trial in the killing of Unite dHealthcare

Mangione

CEO Brian Thompson, moving it from September to October instead of next year, as his lawyers had wanted.

U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett tied her decision to the schedule of Mangione’s state murder trial, which is set to begin June 8 and take four to six weeks. She rejected a defense request to postpone the fed-

eral case until January or February 2027 so that it could then seek to delay the state case until September.

Mangione’s lawyers had argued that back-to-back trials on a compressed timeline would violate his constitutional rights.

However Garnett said their proposal to push the federal case into 2027 and slot the state case in its place doesn’t “solve any of these problems because it shifts the very same problems from the summer to the fall.”

Jury selection in the federal case will begin on Oct 5 instead of Sept. 8, followed by opening statements and testimony on Oct. 26 instead of Oct. 13, Garnett said.

The schedule could change again if the state trial is delayed, she said. Mangione, 27, has pleaded not guilty He wore leg

shackles as he entered the packed courtroom Wednesday and spoke only to conﬁrm that he had agreed to let his lawyers speak to the judge about trial strategy and attorney-client matters in her robing room without him present. He faces the possibility of life in prison if he’s convicted in either case, which are set to occur two blocks apart in lower Manhattan.

“There really is no way around taking into account the events in the state case,” Garnett told lawyers at a hearing in Manhattan federal court. “Whether we like it or not, we’re at the mercy of the state case.”

However Garnett said, “I am skeptical of moving the (federal) trial wholesale into 2027 when the state trial has not been adjourned. It is a little bit of a tail wagging the dog.”

$3.9 million; St. Charles, $1.4 million; Orleans, $2.9 million; Jefferson, $3.3 million; and Lafourche, $1.7 million, according to the Interior Department.

The Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority was expecting more money this year because the cap was raised and the GOMESA revenues due the four states routinely exceeds the legal cap, said Michael Hare, the state agency’s executive director

Without a cap, the states would receive more money particularly since the Trump administration is pushing for more energy production.

Hare said the money will be sent to shore up the state’s portion of various coastal protection projects.

For instance, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is in the permitting stage of building a ﬂood

BY SAMYA KULLAB Associated Press

BAGHDAD American freelance journalist Shelly Kittleson often worked without formal assignments from editors and on a shoestring budget, taking shared taxis to lawless corners of Iraq where militia rule outweighs government control.

Kittleson, 49, has lived abroad for years, using Rome as her base for a time and building a respected journalism career across the Middle East

gate in Lac Des Allemands and strengthening levees to reduce storm surge ﬂooding for portions of six parishes. Just which projects get money depends on which need the money the most now as determined by cash ﬂow, timing and construction needs.

“It’s the most optimal way to use those dollars right here, right now,” he said.

While the federal government provides most of the money for the pumps, levees and other infrastructure that protects communities from hurricanes and floods, state and local governments also must put up a portion a difﬁcult ask for projects that often cost hundreds of millions of dollars. The GOMESA dollars, which are not governed by the Legislature, can be used to help cover the state and parish portions and thereby allow the projects to continue.

ian news agency ANSA, who has known Kittleson since 2011, when she worked as a translator for the agency “I said to her, ‘You don’t need to be in a war zone to do good journalism,’ and she told me, ‘I think my work is worth something when I am in those areas,’” Nissirio said.

On Tuesday, she vanished after being forced into a car by two men at a busy Baghdad intersection, surveillance camera footage showed.

“She is a great reporter and always wants to go to areas where no one wants to go,” said Patrizio Nissirio, a former editor at Ital-

Friends and fellow journalists describe Kittleson as a determined, gutsy reporter who spent over a decade reporting from Iraq, Syria and the wider Middle East for a variety of news outlets including Al-Monitor, a regional news site.

Deeply curious and selfdirected, she often embedded herself in local communities, sometimes staying with families rather than in hotels.

Her independence meant

frequently working alone, traveling long distances and carrying heavy belongings with her at all times, while operating without the backing of a larger news organization that might have offered some protection. The Wisconsin native is kind and spiritual, friends say, and she embraced Islam.

She left Wisconsin in 1995, when she was 19, and headed first to Italy where she went to school and worked as a nanny, according to her mother, Barb Kittleson. She spent about 10 years in Italy before eventually settling in Iraq, she added. In recent weeks, Iraq has been caught in the crossfire of the Iran war as the only country facing strikes from both sides. Iranian-backed militias in Iraq have launched regular attacks on American facilities there since the start of the fighting.

Kittleson

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By FRANK AUGSTEIN Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during a news conference at Downing Street in London on Wednesday.

Activist vessel strikes krill trawler

‘Attack’ happened in Antarctica’s waters

BY JOSHUA GOODMAN Associated Press

MIAMI — A ship operated by a group founded by anti-whaling activist Paul Watson collided with an industrial krill trawler in Antarctica in what the ship’s Norwegian owner said was a “deliberate attack” that endangered its crew and could’ve caused a disaster in the same environmentally sensitive waters the activists claim they want to protect A two-minute video provided to The Associated Press by the Aker QRILL Co shows the moment Tuesday when the M/V Bandero, operated by the Captain Paul Watson Foundation slowly steams toward the stern of the ﬁshing vessel, hitting its port side at a slight angle.

The collision underscores the growing battle in the frigid waters of the Southern Ocean over the future of Antarctic krill, a shrimplike crustacean central to the diet of whales and critical buffer to global warming that’s also in demand for

use in health supplements, ﬁshmeal and other products.

Aker said Wednesday that the Bandero came within centimeters of striking a diesel tank on its vessel, the Norwegianﬂagged Antarctic Sea, and put at risk a habitat teeming with multiple whale species, seals and seabirds all feeding on the Southern Ocean’s abundant but environmentally sensitive krill population.

The company said its multinational crew was shaken but unharmed and it would pursue all available legal action.

“Our crew were put at risk in some of the most remote waters on Earth, and only luck avoided potential environmental damage,” Aker CEO Webjørn Barstad said in a statement.

The Captain Paul Watson Foundation did not respond to a request from the AP about Aker’s accusations. But in its own news release, it characterized its actions as “aggressive nonviolence.”

It said the crew, led by French activist Lamya Essemlali, managed to disrupt all krill ﬁshing during a ﬁve-hour “direct intervention” against two Aker-owned vessels. It also provided images showing the crew launching giant metal net

shredding devices intended to disrupt ﬁshing.

Watson himself was not on the ship, which departed Australia in February as part of what the Watson foundation called Operation Krill Wars.

“Throughout the encounter, the crew witnessed Antarctic wildlife in the surrounding waters, including penguins, seals, and even a whale, underscoring what was at stake as a small ship challenged a powerful industrial krill operation in a stark David-and-Goliath scenario,” the foundation said in a statement. Watson founded the global Sea Shepherd conservation movement in the 1970s and for decades won a fearsome reputation for ramming vessels and other aggressive tactics in confrontations on the high seas that repeatedly landed him in jail. He was last detained in Greenland for ﬁve months in 2024 on a Japanese warrant that was later rejected by Denmark. Japan’s coast guard sought his arrest over an encounter in 2010 in which he was accused of ordering a captain of his ship to throw explosives at what the Japanese labeled a whaling research ship.

approves weight-loss pill from Eli Lilly

BY JONEL ALECCIA Associated Press

Federal regulators on Wednesday approved Eli Lilly’s new weight-loss pill, a second daily oral medication to treat obesity and other weightrelated conditions.

The Food and Drug Administration granted expedited approval to orforglipron, a GLP-1 drug that works like widely used injectable medications to mimic a natural hormone that controls appetite and feelings of fullness.

The drug, which will be branded as Foundayo, is expected to begin shipping Monday The company said people with insurance may be able to get the drug starting at $25 per month with a Lilly discount card. Prices for people paying cash will range between $149 per month to $349 per month, depending on the dose.

The new pill joins drugmaker Novo Nordisk’s oral Wegovy pill, which has spurred more than 600,000 prescriptions in the United States since it was approved in December

The FDA authorized Eli Lilly’s drug as part of a new program aimed at cutting drug approval times. The agency said it reviewed the company’s application in 50 days.

In a clinical trial of more than 3,000 adults with obesity, participants who received the highest dose of orforglipron, 36 milligrams, lost 11.2% of their body weight –- about 25 pounds on average –- over more than 16 months That compared with a 2.1% weight loss, or less than 5 pounds, in patients who received a placebo, or dummy pill, according to the New England Journal of Medicine. Both the Lilly and Novo Nordisk pills resulted in less weight loss than the average achieved with Lilly’s injectable Zepbound, which results in a 21% average weight loss, or Novo Nordisk’s injectable Wegovy, which averages about 15%.

Both once-daily pills promise convenience, but orforglipron is a small-molecule GLP-1 drug that can be taken without restrictions. The Wegovy pill, a peptide, must be taken with a sip of water in the morning on an empty stomach, with a 30-minute wait before eating or drinking.

Users of orforglipron also saw improvements in waist circumference, blood pressure, triglyceride levels and cholesterol levels, the study found. Side effects, mostly gastrointestinal issues, led between 5% and 10% of participants in the orforglipron study to discontinue treatment, compared with nearly 3% in the placebo group.

About 1 in 8 people in the U.S. have used injectable GLP-1 drugs, according to a survey from KFF, a nonproﬁt health policy research group. But many more have trouble affording the costly shots.

PROVIDED IMAGE FROM VIDEO

An activist ship, operated by the Captain Paul Watson Foundation, collides with the Antarctic Sea a vessel operated by Aker Qrill Company, in Antarctic waters on Tuesday.

Letlow’s DEI comments targeted

Cassidy, Fleming raise campaign issue

BY TYLER BRIDGES Staff writer

U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy went on the offensive again Wednesday against challenger U.S. Rep Julia Letlow after Fox News reported that Letlow called for greater diversity, equity and inclusion efforts by the University of Louisiana at Monroe when she applied to

be president there six years ago. Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, has been saying for weeks that Letlow favored so-called DEI policies in recruiting and hiring when she held senior staff positions at the university policies that enrage conservatives, including President Donald Trump, who has endorsed Letlow R-Baton Rouge.

Fox’s news report which was picked up by other news outlets — gave political oxygen on the issue for Cassidy and state Treasurer John Fleming, the other major Republican in the Senate race. Letlow has said she consistently votes against DEI initiatives in Congress. Fox News cited an August 2020 videotape where Letlow, inter-

viewing to be UL-Monroe’s president, was asked whether she would support hiring a certain percentage of female faculty at a university where a majority of the students were female. Letlow responded that she would create a strategic plan “to address those concerns that you just raised, and those metrics and those num-

BORN TO RUN

ABOVE: Birthday boy Archie Champagne, 4, runs with a group of kids after rounding second base during LSU’s kids run the bases promotion at Alex Box Stadium following the Tigers’ win over Kentucky on Sunday in Baton Rouge.

Kids round second base at Alex Box Stadium.

BR developer fraud case may end before trial

Resolution may come soon in housing deal investigation

BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER Staff writer

The case against a local developer who received nearly $1 mil-

lion in federal dollars through the city-parish for a housing deal may be headed toward a pretrial “resolution.” In a Baton Rouge courtroom Wednesday, Assistant Attorney General Alex Calenda and Joe Long, defense attorney for Baton Rouge developer Bradly Brown, told Judge Louise Hines they are “working to resolve” the case together before any trial. Both attorneys declined to comment further and neither said whether they meant a plea deal or something else. Brown is accused of bank fraud, falsifying public records and theft of money from the cityparish. His ﬁrm, KMT Holdings and Development LLC, was approved for $6 million in federal funds in 2021 through East Baton Rouge Parish to build affordable housing in Scotlandville known as “Housing for Heroes.” He received about $1 million of that money Upon his arrest, Brown’s bail was initially set at $500,000. Court records show he spent about a

Ninth Elayn Hunt death in recent months under investigation

CRIME BLOTTER staff reports

An inmate in the Elayn Hunt Correctional Center in Iberville Parish died Tuesday and the cause of death is under investigation, the state Department of Public Safety and Corrections said.

An autopsy for the inmate, 50-year-old Paul Gauthreaux, has been ordered, the department said. Gauthreaux’s death marks the ninth death of an Elayn Hunt prisoner over roughly the past six months. A 45-year-old inmate died in September, followed by the deaths in October of a 22-year-old and a 65-year-old. The men were not identified by officials. The death of a 30-year-old inmate, Detroit Draper, was reported in November Two inmates, Justin Rice 37, and Calvin Campbell, 41, died in December In February, a 32-year-old prisoner, who was not named by officials, died. On March 7, David Closson, a 42-year-old inmate, died at the prison. Elayn Hunt, a men’s prison located in St. Gabriel, has also seen a number of its employees arrested in the first quarter of this year In March, a cadet was arrested on a count of malfeasance in office, marking the 10th arrest of

bers, because they are shameful, truly, and I believe that having that strong (DEI) division, having that leadership, if you have a person around the table that is cognizant and ﬁghting for diversity, equity and inclusion before any decision is made for the university, then that’s how you change. That’s how you recruit more faculty.” Cassidy pounced immediately after Fox News aired its report, calling her a hypocrite.

Defense wants BR judge back in rape case

Recusal of justice being appealed to state Supreme Court

BY QUINN COFFMAN Staff writer

One of the men accused of raping LSU sophomore Madison Brooks is seeking reinstatement of the judge who was removed from the case because of texts suggesting a friendship with the defendant’s family

The ruling comes about three years after Brooks died following a night of heavy drinking in Tigerland. Police said she was raped in a vehicle before being dropped off in a subdivision and fatally hit by a car Judge Gail Horne Ray, who had presided over the case for nearly three years, was recused by another Baton Rouge judge in November to “safeguard public conﬁdence” in the judicial process of Brooks’ case. The main issue for Judge Brad Myers, who removed Ray from the case, were texts between the defendant, Casen John Carver, 21, and his family In the texts, Carver suggests Ray is a friend to the family and has a family member who had been accused of similar crimes, so is sympathetic to him.

A text from Carver to his father in February 2023 said: “And the judge we are getting, I think u know about but we are friends with her and she is really good for our case. Her son was accused of rape a while back so she knows to help us.”

Myers, however, rejected arguments that Ray showed any bias toward Carver or other defendants during pretrial motions and said in his ruling that his decision was made to avoid the appearance of an improper conﬂict of interest.

On March 19, a panel of 1st Circuit appellate judges agreed with Myers and upheld the recusal.

Now, Joe Long, one of Carver’s attorneys, has asked the state Supreme Court to weigh in on his attempt to have Ray return to the bench for this case. In his writ, Long argues both that the request for Ray’s recusal was not timely and that neither actual bias nor the potential for bias was proved by prosecutors.

He noted that the case law cited in Ray’s recusal concerns the removal of a judge whose brother was a detective involved in the defendant’s case and who would testify at the trial.

“The recusal of (Ray) in this case, where no court has articulated a substantial or objective basis for recusal, and where no substantial or objective basis exists, would open the ﬂood gates of

Letlow

Fleming Cassidy

RIGHT:

STAFF PHOTOS By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LETLOW

Cassidy noted that Letlow has expressed strong opposition to DEI policiessince she enteredthe House in 2021.

“She was full-throatedlyadvocating for it while going for the position as university president,” Cassidy said in an interview.“Then she said she totally opposed it.There’s alot that is of concern to voters. She has acredibility problem.” Fleming agreed.

“If she was sincere,it would be very difficult to believe, just because she’snow aRepublican congresswoman, she’sdone a180 degree,” Fleming said in an interview.“If she was insincere in saying she was for DEI to getajob, she was dishonest. Either way,the statements she made disqualify her from being electedtothe U.S Senate as apro-Trump, MAGA Republican.”

Letlow,who was executiveassistanttothe president forexternal affairs and community outreach at UL-Monroe in 2020, wasone of six semiﬁnalists but wasn’tchosen as president. At the time, universities were pushing to create more diverse student bodies andfaculty ranks.

Letlow was elected to the 5th Congressional District seat in 2021 after her husband, Luke, wonthe seat in December 2020 and then died from COVID-19.

On March 21,areporter from Fox 44-TV in Baton Rouge asked Letlow about Cassidy calling her pro-DEI and “woke.”

“That’sabsolutely false,” she replied. “I saw it firsthand when Iworked at the university.DEI was presented to us as something that would help peopleachieve the American dream. WhenIquickly witnessedthatitwas hijacked by the radical left and turnedinto indoctrination and actually holding people down, Ispent the past five years in Congress fighting against it.”

Letlow campaign officialsdid notmake her available for an interview on Wednesday.Instead, they releasedastatement saying Trump hasendorsed her “because he knows she willcontinue ﬁghting for his agenda and never back down from the issues that matter to Louisiana voters.”

Sixweeks to theelection

The brouhaha over DEI comes six weeks before Republican andno-party voters willchoose whether to support Cassidy,Letlow,Fleming or little-known Mark Spencerinthe May 16 Republican Party primary

Three Democrats will alsoface off in the Democratic Party primary on May 16, Gary Crockett, Nick Albares and JamieDavis. Since the Senate race beganin earnest with Trump’sendorsement of Letlow on Jan. 17, attentionhas focused on the Republican candidates, with political pros saying Cassidy faces an uphill battle to win athird six-year term in the Senateinthe face of the president’sopposition.

No one can say for sure which twoofthe three Republican candidates will finish firstand second in the May 16 primary andadvance to the June 27 Republican runoff. Cassidy on Wednesdayexpressed confidence that he will win reelection, saying he has asolid conservative voting record and hasdelivered billions of dollars in federal money for roads, bridges, drainage and the like throughout Louisiana. Fleming, who served in the U.S. House from 2009-17 representing Shreveport and surrounding towns, is pitching himselfas the most conservative candidate among the three Republicans.

Cassidy has put Letlowon the defensive during much of the campaign, aided by ahuge money advantage and asuper PACthathas been regularly running attack ads on TV

Many of them center on Letlow’s failure to follow congressional rules requiring her to report individual stock trades within 45 days of the trades. Sheacknowledged in January that she had reported more than 100transactions more than ayear late. She blamedher Merrill Lynch financial adviser, saying he buys and sells stocks withouther input and failedto inform her to report the trades on time.

While Congress is in recess, she is holding aseries of fundraisers to reduce her money gap. She held one at Juban’srestaurant Tuesday night in Baton Rouge. According to the invitation, hosts includedlobbyist Paul Rainwater,lobbyist Nial Patel, Bernhard Capital Partners co-founder Jeff Jenkins and Kurt Ainsworth —aformer LSU star pitcher whosebrother, Kevin, is engaged to Letlow Over the next two weeks, she has morefundraisers scheduled for Monroe, Shreveport,Alexandria and Metairie.

Alfred Singleton, N.O. chef,diesat46

Co-owner brought Café Sbisaback to former glory

BY IAN McNULTY Staff writer

ANew Orleans chef whobrought aprominent French Quarter restaurant back toits former glory andinspired many along the way hasdied.

AlfredSingleton, executive chef and co-owner of Café Sbisa, died Friday from ahealth-related issueatOchsner Medical Center in Gretna, his business partner Craig Napoli conﬁrmed. Singleton was 46. “His passion, creativity,and dedicationshaped notonlyour menu, but our identity,”a message on therestaurant’ssocial media accounts reads. “He built more than akitchen —hebuilt a

family.”

Café Sbisa,at1011DecaturSt., will remain open, Napoli said.

The restaurant is in adeeply historic French Quarter building dating to 1820 that has been arestaurant in oneform or another since 1899.

Singleton started working at Café Sbisaasa prep cook in 2000, when Napoli and his family ranit. He swiftly rose to becomechef before Hurricane Katrina shut it down in 2005. In the years after Katrina,the restaurant was mired in on-again, off-again limbo with asuccession of different operators. In the meantime, Singleton went on to become executive chef at Dickie Brennan’sSteakhouse. Then, in 2016, he brought a businessproposaltoreopenCafé

Sbisatohis former boss, Napoli. Today,Napoli said it was the prospect of working with Singleton again that convinced him to get back into the business.

“He had that love of food, and he had the personality that brought out the best in people,” Napoli said. “He had great respect from everyone who workedwith him, everyone who methim. He was morethan achef.”

The partnership madeCafé Sbisa one of thefew Black-owned restaurants in the tourist hub of theFrench Quarter,and one of only ahandful of upscalerestaurantsinthe city with aBlack chef at the helm as co-owner.Itwas a distinction Singleton viewedasa mandate to lead by example, and he embraced his role as mentor to up-and-coming chefs.

“Tobefrom the city,tobean African American chef in this position, to know what Icameup through, I’m still baffled some-

times that I’mhere,” he saidin a2021interview.“ButI’m in this position for areason. It’sthe people Isurrounded myself with, the people Idevelop relationships with.”

Singleton’srole at Café Sbisa came after alifetimeinthe business. Anative of the Lower 9th Ward, hisfamily once ran aplate lunch and po-boy joint called Ross Restaurant on JohnsonStreet. His first restaurant experiencewas there, peeling shrimpfor po-boys andhelping around thekitchen after school.

“Food is whoweare,” Singleton said in a2021 interview.“We celebrate food in this city.Food is family,food is us and there’sjust so much in Creolefood to celebrate.” Funeral arrangements are pending.

Email Ian McNultyat imcnulty@theadvocate.com.

allegedly raped in the back of acar before beingdropped off in anearbyneighborhood.

BLOTTER

Continued from page1B

an Elayn Hunt employee in 2026. Eight of thosearrestedwereofﬁcers at the prison and two were nurses. Anew warden for the prison, Travis Day,was named in February,replacingKeithe Turner,who ran the prison for eight months.

Arecent Louisiana State Police investigation has helped prison ofﬁcialscrack down on contraband, and the prison hasimplemented newvisitor search procedures.

Ex-bus driver accused of distributing cocaine

Twoformer Livingston Parish school employees were arrested by the Sheriff’sOfﬁce, accused of distributing and possessing crack cocaineinthe Walker area. Livingston Parish sheriff’s deputies seized 19 guns, 19.6grams of suspected heroin,1.3 grams of crack cocaineand packaging materials.

Reginald Stewart, 49, of Walker, was arrested on counts of pos-

FRAUD

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week in parish prison before prosecutors agreed toasubstantial reduction, lowering his bail to $17,500. He then posted bail. After he was awarded the city-parish housing deal in 2021, investigators say Brown defrauded three banks for atotal of about $1.2 million. Civil court filings show Brown defaulted on a$787,000 mortgage backing part of the property plannedfor the “Housing for Heroes” project.Records indicate the mortgage taken out just weeks afterhe was initially awarded the city-parishdeal. Federal authorities issued subpoenas in 2024 aboutthe project.

Brown’sarrest in December wasthe ﬁrst of a slewoffraudand public corruption cases ﬁled by the Attorney General’s

session with intent to distribute Schedule Iand II drugs, creation and operation of aclandestine laboratory. Stewartwas aformer custodian.

Bridgette Stewart,54, of Walker,was arrested on counts of possession with intent to distribute Schedule II and IV drugs and creation and operation of aclandestinelaboratory.She was aformer bus driver

They are no longer employed with the Livingston Parish school system

Deputy accusedofforging mortgage documents

ALivingston Parish sheriff’s deputy was arrested after an investigation that beganwhenher ex-husband discovered hiscredit score had dropped, the Sheriff’s Ofﬁce said in astatement.

Courtney Moran, 46, was booked into the Livingston Parish Detention Center on March 23 on ﬁve countsofforgery, theSheriff’s Ofﬁce said.

Moranhad workedwith the Sheriff’sOfﬁce for eight years, most recently as aclerical deputyatthe parishjail. She has re-

Ofﬁce that target Baton Rouge agencies, ofﬁcials and initiatives funded by taxpayer dollars.

Arresting documents for multiple defendants show that much of the evidenceinthose state cases so far stems from evidence previously collectedbythe FBI andother federal authorities.

Thejudge scheduled Brown’snext court date for June 11. Both his attorney andthe prosecutor saidthey aim to havethe caseresolved by then.

LOTTERY

TUESDAY, MARCH 31, 2026

PICK 3: 1-9-0

PICK 4: 0-1-7-2

PICK 5: 2-6-1-6-7

signed, thedepartment said.

The ex-husband came to detectives after he tried to get acar loan, but learned his credit score was bad.

“Upon his own research, he identiﬁed severalsuspicious documentshebelieved wereforged,” theSheriff’s Ofﬁce said. The documentswere mortgage related,about deferred payments and loan modifications, the department said.

“Through our investigation, detectives were able to determine thatseveral names wereforged on notarized documents,” Sheriff Jason Ard said in the statement.

“Witnesses saidtheydid notconsent to their signature, name/identity beingused to verifyany legal document.”

Theinvestigationiscontinuing, Ardsaid.

Documentarysubject accused of sexcrimes

ADenhamSprings man, who is the subject of “The Devil Wears Dunks” documentary with millions of views, was arrested on accusations of sex crimes.

Ricky Foster,46, is accused of

DEFENSE

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arbitrary recusal motions based only on unsubstantiated allegations of impropriety,” Long’sargument to the state SupremeCourt states. Carver,ofDenham Springs, was one of four men in the vehicle with Brooks when prosecutorsallege shewas sexually assaulted He faces charges of firstand third-degree rape and a charge of video voyeurism. Should he be found guilty of ﬁrst-degree rape, Carver is subject to amandatory life sentence. Carver and two otherdefendants are accused in Brooks’ rape, but not her death.

Prosecutors originally sought Ray’srecusal after Carver asked for abench trial, rather than ajury trial. It is now scheduled forAugust before Judge Fred Crifasi.

Email Quinn Coffman at quinn.coffman@ theadvocate.com.

third-degree rape, extortion and sexual battery,Livingston Parish SheriffJason Ardsaid Wednesday Ard saida victim, whostated she was in arelationship with Foster in 2023, said that on numerous occasions— without herconsent —she was forced to perform sexual acts with Foster The victimalsopresented evidence to the Sheriff’s Ofﬁce that Foster took out credit card loans —worth over $70,000 —without her knowledge, police said.

The Sheriff’s Office also said Foster would sexually extort this victim by saying “ifshe didn’t submit to these sexualacts, he would not pay her back.”

“Wealsobelieve more victims could be out there. I’masking you to comeforward and workwith our detectives,” Ard said. Foster was recently the subject of aYouTube documentary series called“TheDevil Wears Dunks.” The documentary,which wasborn from asneaker deal, accuses Foster of having lied about business partners,houses, investments andmore. The three episodes each already have over 1million views.

When youneed thenews. Wherever youreadthe news

STAFFFILE PHOTOByTRAVIS SPRADLING

Afoliage-draped cross, flowers andsignswith thewriting washedawaybyrain mark aspotonBurbank Drive near whereMadison Brooks wasfatally struck by acar on Jan. 15, 2023, authorities said. The 19-year-old LSU sophomorewas

Singleton

Veal,Monique Winnfield FuneralHome, 7221 Plank Road,atnoon. Wesley,Anthony RestorationChristian Center,11406 Spring St.at12pm Williams,Robert

TheRenew Church,8160 Pettit Rd at 11am

Obituaries

Collins, Juliette C.

Juliette C. Collins departed this life on Saturday, March 28, 2026 at the age of 74.

Juliette leaves to cherish her memories four daughters, grandchildren, and great grandchildren: Sharlette Jackson (Troy V.), her children Alacia Cormier Brue (Carlos) and Braylon Cormier, bonuschildren, and grandchildren. Tonya L. Collins; Sonja C. Graves (Troy M. Sr.) and son Troy M. Graves, Jr.; Karen C. Popillion (Chadwick J.) and daughter Rosemarie Ivy Popillion. Her sisters, Sylvia Bob (Walter), Anna Whitaker (Clyde) and Lisa Holmes (Brian) as well as ahost of nieces, nephews, friends and loved ones.

Juliette was preceded in death by her husband of 40 years, William Collins; parents, Henry and Lillie Mae Clay; grandparents, Ivy and Luedeal Odom; sister, Karen Spicer; nephews Kevin Franklin and Reginald Cook. Juliette's memorial service will be held at 10 a.m Friday, April 3, 2026 at Winnfield Funeral Home.

Paul David. The visitation willbeheld at Niland's Funeral Home in New Roads, La on Thursday, April 2, 2026from6:00 pm until 9:00 pm. Aprivate burial willfollow at alater date

Lefebvre, Emma LeePourciau

Emma Lee Pourciau

Lefebvre departedthis earthlyworld to join her beloved family members in Heaven on April 1, 2026. Emma Lee was bornin Blanks,LAonSept. 2,1935, the third child of Jules & LauraHernandez Pourciau, from Chenal &Bayou Goula respectively.She grew up in Port Allen,LAwhere she met &eventuallymarried George "Zip"Raymond Lefebvre,Jr. on June 18, 1955. They lived inBaton Rouge thenmoved to Lake Charlesbut returned to Port Allenin1965.Soon thereafter they purchased ahome in Port Allen where they wouldspend the remainderoftheirlivestogether.Thishouse quickly became ahome...filled with love &laughter. The front door was always openfor friends &family todropbyfor avisit, & therewas usuallya fresh pecanpie &coffee to share.Their yearsofmarriage were fullofadventures& changes, as they learnedtoadapt tothe changing world around them. They purchased& renovateda small camp on Grand Isle where they wouldtakethe familyfor vacation. To the kids this was vacation but to the family it was an opportunity to fish &shrimp thereby fillingthe freezer with food forthe year. They planted &nurtured apecan orchardwith papershell varietieswhich theyeventu-

ally harvested &sold. Emma Lee& her sister-in-law Sherry openedSherry Lee's Gift ShopinPort Allen, &atnight Emma did theaccounting for Bourg's Drug Storewhich was owned by her brother Lynn. Always seeking the best educational opportunitiesfor theirchildren, they enrolledthemat Hardwick McMasters in Baton Rouge.Todefray the cost of tuitionEmma Lee gother CDL license & drove theschoolbus that carried kids fromWestBatonRouge parish to Baton Rouge. After 1year at Hardwick,theyhelpedestablish WestSideAcademy, asmall privateschool in Lobdell where their childrenreceived an excellent education for 5years. In 1970, Emma's onlysister Bettypassed away suddenly. Despiteher own griefshe was able to provide love &guidance to Betty's 11 children. At this point she also accepteda full-time secretarial position at Baton RougeMarine Contractors, filling thepositionwhich Betty previouslyhad.She proudly workedfor Baton Rouge Marine for25years as an Executive Secretary &Human Resources person. She occasionallycatered gatherings on theships thereby meeting awidevarietyofpeople &sharing her deliciousfoodwith them. She &Zip occasionally catered family events. Whereas he was known for making jambalaya or redfish supreme, Emma was known forcasseroles& desserts. She was known to bake 14 full-sizepecan pies in asingle day. She was an excellent cook,& she even madea personal cookbook withsome of her favorite recipes. Many family &friendshavebeen gifted acookbook, thus these precious recipes live on. Never shying away from achallenge,Emma even catered her granddaughter Jessica's wedding which was no small fetegiven that thewedding was heldinMississippi.With thehelpofmany family members, thisevent was asmashing success. Emma Lee was activein community events. She served as aBoardMember for theCapital Area Human Services &was amember of boththe WestSide Women's Club and the WestBaton Rouge Historical Association. She was also amember of Holy FamilyCatholicChurch & proudly served on theBei f

reavement Committee,offering solace to thegrieving in her community. If youwere fortunate enough to haveknown Emma Lee, youknowthatshe was a true lady. She had arefined beauty such that she alwayslookedlovely,yet she would roll up her sleeves &paint thehouse if needed. She wasalways kind &compassionate, even bottle feeding kittens when necessary despite not being acat-lover. Emma was agenuine friend who seemed ageless, with her friendsranging in age from their 20's to their90's. Living in Port Allen gave her theopportunitytotruly have life-long friends, many with whomshe &Zip traveled theworld viamultiplecruises. She was also blessed to live in such a small town where friends &neighbors were actually countedasfamily.Althoughwenever asked,it is safe to assume that Emma's greatest accomplishment in life was her family. She had four children, 9 grandchildren, 8greatgrandchildren, and 22 nieces &nephews. She was proud of every oneof them, so if youknew her, youknew them! She reveled in thejoy of spending time with them, often celebrating holidays, birthdays,& special occasions such as graduations. She also madea celebration out of dailyactivitiessuch as shopping, going out to eat,& getting aChantilly snowball from Snowballs Plus. Her greatest joywas simplybeing with those that she loved! Emma Lee is survivedbyher daughters Gisele Allement,Gigi Lefebvre (CindyCuller), & Germaine Wall (Kurt Wall). Also survivedbyher grandchildrenMiranda Gros, Lara Bynum (Russell), Elissa Logsdon (Doug), JaredAllement (Emilee), Jessica Allement O'Neal (Tyler), Whitney Rusha (Patrick), Kate Bassett (Chris), Erica Fertitta (CameronTownsend), & Anna Wall. Surviving great grandchildrenincludeKannonBynum, Davis Logsdon, Madeline Allement, Eleanor Logsdon, JudeBassett, Stephen Allement, Beau Bassett, &Jayden Rusha. Numerous relatives fromthe Lefebvre, Pourciau, Altazan, &Bergeron families also survive her She was preceded in death by her husband George Raymond Lefebvre, Jr., her sonGordonJules Lefebvre, her son-in-law Stephen Allement,& her great d B d Ti th

grandson Baden Timothy Bynum, herparents Jules Pourciau &LauraPourciau O'Neal, hersister Betty Pourciau Altazan,her brother-in-law Doyle "Dutch"Altazan,her brother LynnJulesPourciau,& hersister-in-law Sherry LopezPourciau.Inshort, she wasthe remainingmatriarchofthe Lefebvre, Pourciau,Altazan,& Bergeron families... the last of hergreat generation.Visitationwill be at Wilbert FuneralHome in Port Allenon Friday, April 3rd,from5 to 8p.m.,and again on Saturday from 11 a.m. until12:30 p.m. AScripture Service will be at Holy Family Catholic Church in Port Allenat1 p.m.,conducted by Rev. JerryMartin. Burial will be private in ResthavenGardensof Memory in Baton Rouge at alater date. Pallbearers will be Jared Allement, Kurt Wall, Tyler O'Neal, Russell Bynum, Doug Logsdon, &Cameron Townsend. In lieu of flowers, donations canbe made to St.Jude Children's ResearchHospital or Holy FamilyCatholic Church.Or if you prefer,simply do a kind deed for others or for theenvironment in her honor.Please share memories at www.wilbertservices.com.

Veal, Monique MoniqueVealofBaton

born on July 11, 1996 in Lithia Springs, Ga. He leaves to mournhis children,Ethan Ray and Grace Isabella; hisparents, Sara andAnthony Wesley;sister, Dereka (Earl)Kelly; brotherJalen Wesley; nephew JaColston Kelly; grandmothers Ada Sanders andGenevaWesley; anda host of aunts, uncles,familymembers andfriends. Afuneral service will be held from12:00 PM to 1:30 PM on 2026-0402 at Restoration Christian Center,11406 SpringSt. Areception will be held from1:30 PM to 4:30 PM on 2026-04-02 at Zachary Men'sClub, 5746 Rollins Rd

Mr.RobertWilliams, born on December 29, 1946,

Williams, Robert

Howcan La. combat political corruption?

The guilty plea in federal courtonTuesdayby Jack Montoucet, former headofthe Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, marks a sad end to the political careerofaone-timealligator farmer turned state politician. But it is also afamiliar story to us in Louisiana. Far toomany of our state and local officials leave office amid scandals that sometimes land them behind bars In Montoucet’scase, it was abriberyscheme that involved takingkickbacks for giving acompany alucrative contract to runonline education andother courses for LDWF.Hepleadedguilty in U.S.DistrictCourt in Lafayette to one count of conspiracy and faces up to five years in prison Montoucet, whowas appointedbyGov.John Bel Edwards in 2017, abruptly resigned from his position in April 2023 when this newspaper uncovered through apublic recordsrequest that he was the sole signer of the contract. He was months away from retirement asLDWF secretary,where he earned about $125,000 ayear, when the scheme came tolight.

Court records showed that the company was to give Montoucet money afterretirement and an all-terrain vehicle valued at around $14,000in return for his help.

All of this leads us, once again, to wonderwhy so many Louisiana politicians forgetwho it is they are elected to serve.

Of all the states, Louisiana has always ranked among the highest for public corruption. We sometimes joke about howmany ofour former governors and mayors endedupservingtime butthe truth is that corruption steals ourtax dollars, keeps ourstate from attracting businesses and saps voter conﬁdence that those in government areservingthe public interest instead of theirown.

We note with sadness thatinour cities, former New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell and former Lafayette Mayor Josh Guillory areunderindictment,and atop aide of former BatonRouge Mayor Sharon Weston Broome is facing charges in akickback scheme. While these caseshave to go through the court systemand all partiesare innocentuntilprovenguilty, it is distressing that these charges exist at all.

There should be clear,bright linesthatpoliticians cannot cross. We knowthereare many good public servants who truly work everyday to make our state better.Itistheywho should be insisting thatour laws and customs reinforce transparency, accountability and integrity But that is not alwaysthe case.Too often, our politicians vote to gutpublic records laws or pushthrough projectswithout public debate. And, as revealed in arecent WWNOreport,they are increasingly being askedbyLouisiana Economic Development to sign nondisclosure agreements about upcoming projects.

Such practices open thedoor forbad actorsand inviteevengoodpeopletotolerate behavior that would be condemned in the light of day. If we ask ourselves how wecan remake our politics so that corruption isn’tsotempting,part of the answer has to be valuing sunlight, and shunning secrecy,ingovernment.

LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR ARE

WELCOME. HERE AREOUR

GUIDELINES: Letters are published identifying name, occupation and/or title and the writer’scity of residence

TheAdvocate |The Times-Picayune require astreet address andphone 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.

TO SEND US A LETTER, SCANHERE

Isn’tittime we all woke up and smelled the roses?

At one time, we entrusted those elected to public office to make decisions that would benefitall Americans —not themselves. Yettoday, Congress operates without term limits. U.S. senators may serve unlimited six-year terms, and representatives unlimited two-year terms. Recentgovernment shutdowns have disrupted the lives of Americans. In October,one of the longest shutdowns extended intoNovember In February,apartial shutdown affected Homeland Security. These events were avoidable and point to a broader failure to govern effectively Instead of working towardsolutions, elected officials too often remain divided, withlittle willingness to compromise. The consequences reach far beyond Washington. Ser-

In regards to thearticle, “Hog Dogs in Action,” published March 30, how can you give front-page coverage to such adisgusting activity? Iunderstand that wild hogs are an invasive species, but according to your article, Uncle Earl’sDog Trials grooms these hogs for alifetime of terror by repeatedly being in pitswith Catahoula dogs who are bred and trained to chase, corner,bite and hold thehogs in their teeth. This is how each hog spends their lifetime —being tortured over and over their whole life because there are over 600 matchups just this year

Youfailed to mention that the tusks of wild hogs are removed for use in hog-dog baying competitions, and this is done to avoid injury or death

Supporters of the MAGA movement turn into contortionistswhen it comes to defending thepolicies and actions of the Trump administration.

Blaming Kamala Harris for the deaths of twoMinneapolis American citizens who wereexercising their First Amendment rights, as arecent letter writer did, is as ludicrous as it would be to blame everyone who vot-

vice memberscontinue to serve abroad, while federal employees and others affected by shutdowns are expected towork without pay,all while facing rising living costs. Public service requires responsibility,cooperation and acommitment to thepeople. Political gridlock should never result in unnecessary hardship for working families or risk to Americans. Elected officials must work together in good faith to fulfill their duties —orstep aside for those whowill. Votersalso play arole. It is importanttoevaluatethose in office, consider how long they have served, and decide whether their actions reflect effective leadership. It is time we all wake up and smell the“elected roses.”

TAMMY

L. GARIG NewRoads

to thedogs. So, theorganizers take away the hogs’ only meansofdefense.

Your article says that “due to concerns about animalcruelty,hog baying is illegal in Florida and many Northern states.” It appears the newspaper has no suchconcerns about animal cruelty because you have gloriﬁed this practice by placing this article as ahugearticle with photographs tohelp illustrate the barbarism

Conversely,Iamhoping that your reporting will alert animal activists to this sickening activity,and laws can be strengthened to makethis illegal, at least in Louisiana. JOEL D’AQUIN THIBODEAUX Baton Rouge

ed for Donald Trump for these tragic murders. The lack of border control during the Bidenpresidencywas misguided and amistake. The immoral and at times illegal actions of the ICE agents areaperfect example of the remedy being much worse than the disease MARK WEBER NewOrleans

Iwould like to respond to Cal Thomas’ columnonTexas Senate candidate James Talarico. It seems his ﬁrst blind spot is that progressive Christians don’t adhere to the fundamental beliefs as he does. We do. Although how we apply those beliefs is radically different in the way we approach the world. He speaks of Talarico as afalse prophet. I wrote to apastor friend concerning this accusation. These are his words, with his permission, that Iwant to share as I agree with him.

“I take seriously that Jesus said to be aware of false prophets. The problem is having aright doctrine about the resurrection, or belief in the reliability of scripture, doesn’tgive you afree pass from becoming afalse prophet. There are people on the conservative side who have afew of these key doctrines in place, but the fruit of their lives, and their political teachings, end up being bigoted, violent, racist and self-righteous. On the conservative side, there are people who are lying about other people, bearing false witness against their neighbors. Take alook at the tone of so many political conservatives, including those expressly claiming faith, and compare it to the fruits of the spirit or James 3:17-18. On top of that, there’s issues where the scripture is not razorsharp, where both progressives and conservatives act as if the basic tenets of the Democratic and Republican parties are gospel truth. The progressives are actually muchmore humble about this. Conservatives are looking at Republican Party teachings as if they have the weight of scripture, even to the point of writing people out of the kingdom of Godbecause they’re not Republican. Don’ttry that on Jesus.” RHONDAROUYER Mandeville

The names of the physicians who treated the staged truck wrecks should be submitted to the Louisiana Board of Medical Examiners for review Someone had to document these fake injuries for insurance claims. Iwould bet the lawyers used the same doctors who would be friendly to their clients claimed injuries. Everyone involved in this scam should be held accountable. MARYHARRIS NewOrleans

In hiring Will Wade again, LSUwades into amorass

LSU’srehiring of Will Wade,the basketball coach it ﬁred just four years ago due to ﬂagrant cheating,raises obvious and problematic questions. Before indulging emotional responses to those questions,let’suse some facts and logic.

The LSU administration andsome fans seem to think the only thing that really matters is that Wade wins games. Many say his transgressions, largely revolvingaround illicitpayments to players, are immaterial now that the SupremeCourt has ushered in the ageof “name, image andlikeness” which allows massive money to ﬂow legally throughout the sport.

Hmmm Let’sdoathought experiment. Think of another sportscheating scandal, even arelatively small one, perhaps the New England Patriots’ 2007 “Spygate” practices involvingsecretvideotaping of opposingcoaches’ signals. There’s no doubt such ﬁlming could give the Patriots acompetitive advantage against opponents by letting thePats know the opposing play calls in advance.

Now imagine thatthe league later changedthe rules, with theideathat technology is so ubiquitousnow that every team hasaccess,somehow or other,toopposing signals. The question is, would this rule change make thePatriots’ cheating OK retroactively?

Logic says there’sonly one acceptable answer: Of course not.Ifit was cheatingbackthen, thus giving an unfair advantage, the cheating cannot be erased. It’snot the contentofthe rule that determines the wrongness; it is the very existence of therule. If even asingle team obeyed the rule, thus suffering acompetitive disadvantage againstothersthatbroke it,thenthe rule-breaking was wrong. Likewise, dealing marijuana for major,illegal proﬁtin1980 is noless wrong in retrospect just because many jurisdictions now legalize marijuana. Thecreation of an illicit andoften violent underworld was harmful to society and surely cost lives. Currentlegality doesn’tretroactively expungethe sin.

Now,consider just how corruptly Wade acted. His violations were exposedinnot just an NCAArulesprobe but an FBI criminal investigation that earned 10 convictions, includinga sentence for the very crook Wade used as amiddleman. Wade was recorded speaking of having made “f****** a strong-ass offer” to arecruit. Separately,his text messages spokeofpayoffs to aplayer’s ﬁancée to keep her quiet about payments to her beau.

The NCAA committee’sletter to LSU at thetime also said Wade approved of an assistantcoach paying arecruit $300,000, providing an apartment and car for therecruit’scousin, ascholarship for the recruit’sfriend and more. It said other evidence shows that Wade, throughajoint account with his wife, paid akey “inﬂuencer” to steer aplayer to LSU. Then Wade spent morethan two years impeding theinvestigation into hismisbehavior and never turned over more than half of the records required. The NCAA wrote that a“numberofother” violations were credibly alleged, but it couldn’t“substantiate fully” those charges speciﬁcally because of Wade’sroadblocks.

The NCAA’s probe concluded that other programs, not to mention their school communities, were seriously harmed. Wade’s“intentional” or “reckless”conduct, said thereport, “provided .substantial or extensive recruitingorcompetitive advantages,” that “involved unethical or dishonest conduct which seriously undermined or threatened theintegrity” of the sport.

Just how intentional, and just how brazen?Well, the massive schemeinvolving the assistant coach’s$300,000 plus beneﬁts to family and friends occurred,according to the report, in 2020 after the prior tape recording was public andWade knew he was under

scrutiny Yet, apparently,hekept on cheating. In response, Sports Illustrated’sPat Forde wroteascathing column detailing copious “collateral damage” caused by Wade and rightly lambastingLSU’s “rock-bottom depths of athletic accountability.

Belatedly,then-universitypresident William Tate and athletic director Scott Woodward wrote in an open letter that “Our responsibilitytoprotect and promote theintegrityand well-being of our entire institution and our studentathletes will always be paramount.”

Apparently,the new regimeatLSU doesn’tbelieve integrity is paramount anymore, or that it even matters.

The great scholar and essayist on “The Idea of aUniversity,”St. John Henry Newman, wrote of the importance of “the ethical character,which thecultivated intellect will form.” Someofusactually believe integrity and ethics should remain an inherent part of education, especially “higher education.” Otherwise, it’snot really education; it’sjust atwisted form of training. By hiring thevery coach it previously ﬁred for massive cheating Louisiana’s ﬂagship university makes a mockeryofeducational ideals.

Email QuinHillyer at quin.hillyer@ theadvocate.com

“A primary purpose of the First Amendment is to enable the press to publish whatitwill andthe public to read what it chooses, free of anyofﬁcial proscription,” wrote Federal District Judge Paul L. Friedman. Friedman was explaining his decision to overturn an egregious administration policythat effectively barred independent reporters from working inside the Pentagon. But his words have afar larger meaning when America is engaged in ahighly unpopular war that has alreadykilled 13 U.S. soldiers, wounded200 more and blastedthe budgets of working familiesthrough skyrocketing fuel prices.

In the latest Reuters poll, only 37% approve of the warand 59% disapprove, including 1in5 Republicans. Disillusioned defectors from MAGA Nation accuse President Donald Trump of breaking his campaign promise to avoid new conﬂicts. Asenior intelligence ofﬁcial, Joe Kent, resigned in protest, saying “Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation.”

We Americans areanimpatient lot. If we must engage in warfare, we would prefer it be wrapped up in weeks, not months, and certainly not years like World WarII, Korea and Vietnam. In those wars we had thedraft, so more Americans were engagedin ﬁghting and watching their progress, or lack thereof.

Today,while recruiting numbers have increasedinour all-volunteer military,the taste for war among the public has declined. One of President Donald Trump’spositions that attracted voters was his promise to end wars, not start new ones.

Puttingatimeline on when awar will endisdangerous because if theprediction fails to come true it erodes public support, which is already low for this conﬂict.

Anew Pew Research Center poll finds“Weeks into the U.S. military campaign against Iran, majorities of Americans say striking that country was the wrong decision and disapprove of President Donald Trump’s handling of the conflict.” Here’s the key takeaway from the poll: “About six-in-10 Americans (61%) disapprove ofTrump’shandling of the conflict, while 37% approve.”

Granted, any candidate runningfor president can change his position once in ofﬁce should circumstances change as they sometimes do. This is what happened to George W. Bush after 9/11, though that warwentonfar toolong and while Osama bin Laden,the architect behind the terrorist attack,was eventually killed in 2011 duringthe Obama administration, thevirus thatis fanatical Islam willcontinuetospread if it is not stopped.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has claimed the Iran war is expected to last “weeks, not months.” ButYemen’sHouthis, one of Iran’s proxies, launched an attack on Israel last week, their ﬁrst sincethe Iran war began.

My generation used to talk about “the lessons of Vietnam.” Public opinion on that war was strongly favorable at thebeginning, but declined rapidly as American forces got bogged down and theenemypersevered. What were then called “hawks” initially supported the war Only 26% were “doves.”In1966, roughly 47% of Americans wanted to increase the ﬁghting and believed in the dominotheory,that if Vietnam fell to the communists, surrounding nations would,too. By January 1969, as Americanswere dying in much larger numbers and Americanssaw body bags on their TV screens increase, 52% of Americans felt that entering thewar was amis-

take. By 1973, 60% of Americansbelieved the U.S.entrywas amistake. By September 1970, 55% of the public supported bringing all troops home by theend of 1971. Vietnam remains acommunist country, but signs of capitalism are more visible than before thewar began.

Members of theTrumpadministration should stop predicting when the Iran Warwill end and explain the goal of the religiously fanatical regime that appears to remain in control of the country despite the killing of many of its leaders and the destruction of its Navy,Air Force andother critical targets.

Coupled with high gas prices and the dysfunctional Congress that won’t, or can’t, end the partial government shutdown that is frustrating travelers who must wait four or more hours at some major airports, this does not bode well for Republicans hoping to hold on to much less increase —their Senateand House majorities. President Trumpneeds to clearly explain why the Iranian ruling regime must be completely destroyed or they will eventually develop nuclear weapons and the missiles to deliver them, not only on Israel but also on the United States.

Email Cal Thomasattcaeditors@ tribpub.com

The administration has reacted furiously by intensifying attacks on its critics. The restrictive Pentagon rules are part of awide-ranging effort by Trump and his toadies to undermine press scrutiny in the name of national security

Trump has denounced news organizations as “Highly Unpatriotic” for questioning his conduct of the war,and even suggested that they “should be brought up on Charges for TREASON forthe dissemination of false information!”

Brendan Carr,chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, has warnedbroadcast television networks that “hoaxes and news distortions” could lead to the revocationoflicenses for local stations —anempty threat, but one that Trump said he was“so thrilled to see.”

They have it exactly wrong. In time of war,national security requires more scrutiny of ofﬁcial actions, not less. Demanding accountability is an act of profound patriotism, an afﬁrmationofthe nation’shighest values.

“Those who drafted the First Amendment believed that the nation’ssecurity requiresa free press and an informed people andthat such security is endangered by governmentalsuppression of political speech,” wrote Friedman. “That principle has preserved the nation’ssecurity for almost 250 years. It must not be abandoned now.”

The press’ role in examining the administration’swar effort is even more vital because Trump has such atenuous connection to reality Under the headline, “Trump Is Hiding the Truth About the WarinIran,” The New York Timeseditorial board writes: “From his ﬁrst announcement of the attack on Iran on Feb. 28, President Trump has issued astream of falsehoods about the war.”

Those falsehoods started last summer, when Trump boasted that American attacks had“obliterated” Iran’sability to build nuclear weapons. That was clearly untrue —afact Trump tacitly admits now,since he’sordered new raids against Iran’sbomb-making operations.

Trump lied again 12 days into the war when he proclaimed, “We’ve won. Let me tell you, we’ve won.”

He hasfalselyaccused theU.S.media of advancing fake videos that depict American defeats when, in fact,the media hasactivelydebunked many of those fakes. Andheblamed Iran for amissile strike thatkilledmore than 100 schoolchildren in thecityofMinabwhenhis own intelligence team nowadmitsthatAmericanswereatfault

Trump has always trafficked in untruths, notes the Times, but “lying about warisuniquely corrosive. When apresident signals that the truth does not matter in wartime, he encourages his cabinet and his generals to mislead the country and one another about how the warisgoing. He creates a culture in which deadly mistakes and even war crimes can become more common. He makesit harder to win by hiding the realities of conflict and by making allies wary of joining the fight. Ultimately,heundermines Americanvaluesand interests.”

Another waythe White House is “hiding the realities of conﬂict” is through ablizzard of memes on social media that use cultural ﬁgureslike SpongeBob SquarePants and video games like Call of Duty to glorify the destructioncausedby American munitions.

There is no mention of cost —inbodiesexploding on the ground or gas prices exploding at the pump. Just amindless magniﬁcationof carnage and calamity,ampliﬁed by ear-pounding soundtracks.

“The White House’sIran videos espouse no ideals beyond domination and power,” writes the Times’ TV critic, James Poniewozik. “There is little sense in them of the war’spurpose, besides to be won.” It takes truth-tellers like Judge Friedman to insist that our national ideals are far more potent than our missiles, and always have been.

Email Steven V. Roberts at stevecokie@gmail. com.

Quin Hillyer

Steve Roberts

Cal Thomas

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

NewLSU men’sbasketball coach Will Wade greets the student section followingan introductorynewsconference on Monday

regionals

BY SCOTT RABALAIS Staff writer

For a long time in college gymnastics, advancing from NCAA regional competition to nationals was practically a given for the nation’s top teams.

Not anymore.

LSU is the No. 2 national seed and hosting an NCAA regional at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center for the ﬁrst time in seven years. That means the Tigers are a huge favorite to be one of the two teams that makes it through this weekend to Fort Worth, Texas, and the NCAA championships in two weeks.

But it is hardly a given.

Since the current NCAA regional format was installed in 2019, upsets have been frequent. That included LSU in 2022, when the Tigers didn’t even reach the regional ﬁnal.

LSU is on a streak of three straight NCAA championship performances since then, including the 2024 national championship. But LSU coach Jay Clark doesn’t take this round of the NCAA competition for granted.

“Getting out of the round of 16 (regional ﬁnal) to the round of eight (NCAA nationals) is the equivalent of the old Super Six,” Clark said. “We’ve trimmed the numbers at the top and there are more good teams.”

Very good teams such as No. 7-seeded Stanford, No. 10 Michigan and No. 15 Clemson, the ACC champion, in LSU’s regional. And talented but lurking teams such as Auburn and North Carolina.

The Tigers will have to navigate them all to get to back to Fort Worth — now the traditional host of the NCAA women’s

Maravich Assembly Center First round

Thursday

Top two teams advance

Force

Session I, No. 7 Stanford, No. 10 Michigan, North Carolina, Utah State, 1 p.m.

Session II, No. 2 LSU, No. 15 Clemson, Auburn, Nebraska, 7 p.m.

Regional final

Saturday

Top two teams advance to nationals TBD, 5 p.m ä

LSU GYM, page 4C

LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier drops back to pass against Alabama on Nov. 8 at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa,

Nussmeier, is the offensive coordinator

Would Saints pick a QB for 4th draft in a row?

BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff

BY WILLIAM WEATHERS

Contributing writer

After Alix Franklin singled to lead off LSU’s fourth inning in Saturday’s game against No 5 Oklahoma, Tigers hitting coach Bryce Neal had advice for Kylee Edwards before her plate appearance.

“He said I was having really good at-bats, just sell out for a big swing,” Edwards said. “He said it didn’t matter if it makes you look silly It worked out in my favor.” Th e

Sooners weren’t laughing about what followed.

Edwards got ahead in the count against Oklahoma pitcher Allyssa Parker, then sent a 1-0 offering over the center-ﬁeld fence for a 3-0 lead that combined with Jayden Heavener’s completegame, two-hit effort helped the Tigers secure a 3-1 victory

“That was like a dream come true,” Edwards said “I think last year I hit one home run in the SEC. I wanted to bring that power to the SEC. Oklahoma has some of the best pitchers in our game.” Edwards, a junior, has been celebrated for her work at shortstop but yearned to show off the kind of power that would make her a

BY ROD WALKER Staff writer

The emotional high the New Orleans Pelicans were on this time two weeks ago has faded. The Pelicans’ ﬁve-game home winning streak and their 10-5 record since the All-Star break don’t feel quite as promising now as it did then.

Pelicans at Blazers, 9 P.M.THURSDAy GCSEN

That’s what happens when such a solid run is followed by a ﬁve-game losing streak the Pelicans will take into their upcoming west coast trip. The Pelicans play the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday followed by a Friday night game against the Sacramento Kings. They’ll be looking to remove the bitter taste of their current skid that was capped by Sunday’s 134-102 home loss to the Houston Rockets.

“We’ve always responded,” Pelicans interim coach James Borrego.

“We’ve had our moments where we haven’t been our best. I think the biggest thing right now is responding to it and finishing the season out in a competitive fashion, which is what we’ve done for the bulk of this stretch.

“Over the last 70 games, this group has responded and played with competitive spirit and fought every night. I didn’t see that for 48 minutes in the last game.”

The 32-point loss to the Rockets is tied for the worst loss of the season. The Pels (25-51) also lost by 32 points to the Boston Celtics in the third game of the season. Now there are just six games remaining, and the Pelicans will miss the playoffs for the second straight season. It’s also the ﬁrst time in franchise history the Pelicans have lost 50 or more games in back-to-back seasons, but Borrego’s message to his team has been to run through the ﬁnish line.

“Win games, compete and just play our brand of basketball,” forward Trey Murphy said.

STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

Ala. His father, Doug

of the New Orleans Saints.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU shortstop Kylee Edwards drives the ball for a home run against Oklahoma in the second inning on Sunday at Tiger Park

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU gymnast Kaliya Lincoln celebrates after her floor routine against Arkansas on March 13 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center Lincoln and the Tigers are hosting an NCAA regional this week.

4p.m. FloridaSt. at Virginia ACC

6p.m. Arkansas at Auburn ESPN

6p.m. Texas at South Carolina SECN

7p.m. Louisville at Duke ACC MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

6p.m. NIT: NewMexicovs.TulsaESPN

7p.m. Crown: Stanford vs.W.Virginia FS1

8:30 p.m. NIT: Illinois State vs.AuburnESPN

9:30 p.m. Crown: Rutgers vs.Creighton FS1

LSUhoping Moorecan return for A&Mseries

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

LSU pitcher CooperMoore is progressing in his recovery fromtriceps soreness, and the hope is that he’llreturn to the mound when LSU hosts Texas A&M in two weekends,coach Jay Johnson said Wednesday Moore, ajunior right-hander, suffered the injury duringhis start on March 20 against Oklahoma, and Johnson ruled him out for three weeks because of the ailment. His projected return againstthe Aggies in two weeks would ﬁt into Johnson’stimetable

“There will be aprogression in coming back, it’snot goingback to ﬁve innings… rightout the chute,” Johnson said. “But anything we canget out of himwill be valuable

“He’snot going this weekend on the trip (toface Tennessee). He’snot going to pitch this weekend. Ithink next weekend we’ll see, but that would be astretch But Ihopewehave him available in somecapacity the following weekend.”

Along with Moore, LSU did not have starting catcher CadeArrambide against Kentucky last weekend or Louisiana Tech on March 24. And althoughJohnson at one point said Arrambide wasn’tinjured, he wasn’thealthy last week either.

Arrambide fouled aballoff his leg the week before, and, as Johnson described,“it looked like agorilla took abite out of his leg.” The ailment wasn’tenough to make him unavailable. He could have pinchhit,and may have beenable to play behind the plate last weekend before reaggravating the injury the day before the series started.

Instead of forcing theissue, Johnson wanted himtorest last week and not catch against Kentucky,ateam notorious forplaying small ball and forcing catchers to move around alot.

during agame against NortheasternonFeb.28atAlex Box Stadium.

Skenes

CINCINNATI

BROADCASTHIGHLIGHTS

COLLEGE SOFTBALL

4p.m. WisconsinatPurdue BTN GOLF

12:30 p.m. Augusta Women’sAmateur Golf

3p.m. PGATour:TexasOpen Golf

6p.m. LPGA Tour:Aramco Champ. Golf HORSE RACING

Noon America’s Dayatthe Races FS2

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

1p.m. Minnesota at Kansas City MLB

8:30 p.m. N.y. Mets at SanFrancisco MLB

8:30 p.m.L.A.Lakers at OklahomaCityPRIME

9p.m. NewOrleans at Portland GCSEN WOMEN’S SOCCER

11:40 a.m. RealMadridatBarcelona CBSSN 2p.m.WolfsburgatLyonnesCBSSN TENNIS

10 a.m. WTA: Charleston earlyrounds Tennis

4a.m.ATP: Bucharest, Marrakech *Tennis *Friday

LSU

SouthernonTuesdaynight

LSUtakes down Southern aftertwo weatherdelays

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

There was nothingconventional about Tuesday night’sbaseball gameatAlex Box Stadium.

On thesurface,therewasn’t much surprise. LSUbaseball beat Southern 16-6 in seven innings, blasting fourhome runs and pulling away from the Jaguars by the fourth inning to eventually invoke the10-runmercy rule.

Butthe ﬁnalscore only told a part ofthe story.Therewere also two weather delays, aSportsCenter Top-10-worthy catch from Jaguars center fielder Jacoby Radcliffe and an early five-run lead for Southern.

“That was agood hurdle for us to getover,”LSU coach Jay Johnson said. “We’ve been alittle better. not really the way Iwould’ve loved to have drawn up thegame.”

Despite Radcliffe’sbest efforts andSouthern’shot start, LSU’s dominant showing at the plate overcameall of it

TheTigersscored four runs in thethird inning, seven in the fourthand four in the ﬁfth.Sophomore Derek Curiel kick-started theoffense with agrand slam in the thirdthat cut Southern’slead to one, andjunior StevenMilam andsophomore John Pearson bothhomered in the fourthtohelp hand LSUa 12-6 lead.

“Coaching for along time, I’ve seen thismoviebefore, if that makes sense,” Johnson said.“Really believe when you have good players, if they’re not hitting, they will comearound.”

Milam’sblasttiedthe game at 6-6, butmoments later,itwas followed by aweather delay that pausedthe game for onehour and 13 minutes.

Theholdup came after the 30-minuterain delay that pushed back Tuesday’sstart time to 7p.m

“This one was pretty simple,” Johnson said,referring to the second weatherdelay that halted

15 Southern0330000—662 LSU014740x— 16132 E—White (2), Stewart (1), Stanﬁeld (2), Pearson (4). DP —Southern1,LSU 1. LOB —Southern9,LSU 6. 2B —Bradley (3). 3B —Dardar (1). HR —Curiel (3), Pearson(5) Milam 2(3).SF—Yorke(4).SB— Radcliffe (3),Serna (1), Curiel, Yorke(3).CS—White (16) SouthernIPHRERBBSO Prosper 33 54 11 Lebron, L, 0-2 1 3 45 510 Bagby 1/2 22 220 Blackwood 3 14 431 Tolbert12 3 20 002 LSUIPHRERBBSO Noot 1 3 33 310 Plog 2 3 22 021 Benge 11 10 03 Lachenmyr, W, 1-0 10 00 01 Ricken 11 3 00 010 Primeaux 3 00 001 Paz1 00 021 WP —Blackwood (1), Paz(3).HBP —by Prosper (Stanﬁeld),byRicken (Bradley), by Ricken (Gregory),byPrimeaux(Hunter), by Tolbert(Harden) Umpires —HP: Zachary Edgens;1B: Jeff Beaman 2B:JeremyHayes 3B: Jeff

the game in the fourth inning. “It’s like ‘Hey,there’s thisone lightning band, quick cell of weather, and then we’re going to be going at this time.’ ” Milamwent 3for 4and also homered in the second inning. LSU freshman OmarSerna had three hits. Pearson and ﬁfth-year senior Seth Dardar recorded two hits apiece, including aDardar triple. Southern pitching, meanwhile, walked seven batters and theJaguars’ ﬁrst three relievers —righthander AlexavierLebron, lefthanderNoahBagby andrighthander Rupert Blackwood —combined to surrender 11 earned runs in 11/3 innings.

Radcliffe’sleaping grab, which robbed at least adouble and an RBIfromjuniorJakeBrown, came in the ﬁfthinning. Southern (10-17) still allowed four runs on three hitsand three walks in the inning despite his heroics with the glove.

“It’s probablyjust (about) more guys playing closer to theircapability at one time,” Johnson said when asked about howthe offense hastaken astep forward over the past three games. “I hope that’sa sign of good things to come. We’ve been working really hard.”

LSU (20-10) needed that offensive outburst to blow past Southern after trailing 6-1 headinginto the bottomofthe third inning. TheJaguars took a3-0 lead in the second on atwo-run single from Radcliffe and arunscoring single from right fielder Ryan Hunter, and then added three more in the third on amassive mistake by LSU left fielder Chris Stanfield.

With two outs andthe bases loaded,Stanfield couldn’tcatch aroutine line drive smacked by thirdbaseman Kenyon Hughes. Insteadofthe inning coming to aclose,the ball skippedoff Stanﬁeld’s glove and rolled to the warning track, clearing the bases and giving Southern its largest lead of the night.

“Stanfield’sdonesomuch for this program,”Milam said. “We pickedhim up. He’spicked us up multiple times.”

LSU hits theroad for itsnext matchup against Tennessee on Friday,the ﬁrst gameofathreegame series. The ﬁrst pitch from Knoxville,Tennessee, is set for 4:30 p.m., and the gamewill be available to watch on the SEC Network.

Southern resumes Southwestern Athletic Conference play against Bethune-Cookman on Friday.The ﬁrst pitch from LeeHines Field is 6p.m.

LSU signee Denton posts 5under in Augusta event EVANS, Ga. LSUsigneeRaeganDenton hada stellardebut Wednesdayinthe Augusta National Women’s Amateur The18-year-old Australian fired abogey-free 5-under 67, putting her two off the lead in atie for sixth place at Champions Retreat Golf Club. ColombianMaria Jose Marin of Arkansas, the 2025 NCAA champion,and SouthKorea’sSoomin Oh weretied for first at 7-under 65. LSU sophomore Rocio Tejedo, competing in the event for a third time, started well at 2under through six holes. But she faded to a4-over 76 with six bogeys over her final12holes,putting herina tie for59th place. The top 30 players and ties after Thursday’ssecond round advance to Saturday’s final round.

LSU women’sassistant to make$370K annually

LSUsignednew women’s basketball assistant coach Gabe Lazo to atwo-year deal worth $740,000, according to acopy of his term sheet obtained by The Advocate. Lazo, aformerTennessee assistant, is stepping into the role left behind by Gary Redus— the ex-LSU assistant who’snow thehead coach at Rutgers.Redus earned $305,000 annually in histime with the Tigers, and now Lazo will pocket a$370,000 base salary annually —the same amount he earned when he was working for the Lady Vols.

Thetermsheet runs from Wednesday through the 2027-28 season.

Coach KimMulkey announced thatshe hadhiredLazoonTuesday —just four days after he resigned from his job at Tennessee.

LSU freshman Gilhool to enter transferportal

LSU freshman Matt Gilhool will enterthe transferportal, he announced on Instagram on Wednesday

The 6-foot-11, 213-pound freshman didn’tappear in agamethis season and is the secondfreshman on the team to decide to leave. Gilhool,aPhiladelphia native,was the No.109-ranked high school player in the country in 2025.

Theannouncement comestwo days afterWill Wade’s introductory newsconference on Monday Gilhool committed to LSU when former coach Matt McMahon led the program.Hepickedthe Tigers over offers from Georgia Tech, Georgia, Iowa, Miami, Maryland, Mississippi State and others. He is the ﬁfth player to announce he will enter the transfer portal, joining Dedan Thomas, Ron Zipper andMazi Mosley,and Jalen Reed

Izzo said he seriously mulledtaking Suns job

Michigan State basketball coach TomIzzo said he considered coaching the Phoenix Suns afterdiscussing thepossibility last year with one of hisformer players, MatIshbia, who owns the NBA team.

“Wetalked seriously about it,” Izzo said Wednesday on “The Dan Patrick Show”during avirtual interview from his ofﬁce.

The71-year-old Hall of Fame coach chose to lead the Spartans for a31st season and extended his record of reaching 28 consecutive NCAA Tournaments. They wereeliminated by Connecticut in the Sweet 16.

Ishiba, awalk-on guard on Izzo’s nationalchampionship team in 2000, hired former Michigan State video coordinator Jordan Ott to coach the Suns instead.

Kansas basketball coach

Selftoreturnnextseason

struckout ﬁve in the Pirates’ 8-3 win over the CincinnatiReds “I’m prettyinsulated froma lot of stuff that’sout there. The stuff that Idosee or hear,Idon’treally care anyway because it doesn’t have anything to do with the play. I’m just thinking about getting back to execution and execut-

ing my pitches,” Skenes said. “Nothingmatters except for the game and thepitches.” Skenes walked Cincinnati’sTJ Friedl, then retired eightstraight, including three strikeouts. He walkedFriedl twice in three innings before Elly De La Cruz singled for the Reds’ ﬁrst hit. Twobatterslater,Nathaniel Lowe doubled in De La Cruz,ending Skenes’ 31-inning scoreless streak against Cincinnati. Skenes’ scorelessrun was the fourth-longest by aPiratespitcher againstanopponentsince 1961

Vernon Law holds the mark, blanking the Mets for 40 innings during 1965-66. The right-handerretired four of the last five batters he faced and departedafterthrowing 77 pitches, including 51 strikes.

“Deﬁnitelyprogress. Nice to get somevolumeand be out there for more than two-thirds,” said Skenes, whoimprovedto5-0 witha 0.53 ERAinsix career starts against the Reds.Hehas 45 strikeouts andonly four walks while holding Cincinnati to a.197 batting average. Further helping Skenes,the Pirates gave strong runsupport, scoringthree in the ﬁrst on Oneil Cruz’shomer to right.

“With Skenes on themound, you hatetogivethem anything early

becauseyou know you’re going to have to ﬁght to get anything you can get,” Reds manager Terry Francona said.

ManagerDon Kellysaidhewanted to avoid overworking Skenes early,especially after his37-pitch, two-thirds-inning start in the Mets’ opening daywin on Thursday Skenes allowed ﬁve runs, tying a career high,with twowalks anda strikeout in the 11-7 loss.

“When you’regoing offone outing and37pitches,wehad targeted 80 for him,” Kelly said.“It was something that we need Paul for the long haul, and he did agreat job getting through ﬁve.Aswego, he’s going to be throwing more than ﬁve (innings) and77(pitches).”

Kansas basketball coach Bill Self is returning fora24th season with the Jayhawks. The program released astatement fromSelf on Wednesday conﬁrming his return for another year with theprogram he has led to 21 regular-season conference championships, four Final Fours and apair of national championships The 63-year-old Self hasa record of 840-272, not including the 15 wins thatwerevacated by the NCAA, putting him 12th on the career list. He passed Phog Allen as the winningest coach at Kansas with a77-69 winover Michigan State on Nov. 12, 2024. Kansas’ season endedMarch 22 against St. John’sinthe second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Skenes

PHOTO By PATRICK DENNIS

center fielder Derek Curielwatches his grand slam leave the park during the third inning against

at Alex Box Stadium. It wasCuriel’sthird homerun of the season.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU pitcher Cooper Mooretips his cap whilewalking off the field

Gainey wants to unite fans at NC State

BY BOB SUTTON Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. — Justin Gainey

vowed Wednesday to bring toughness and stability back to NC State after his alma mater suddenly had a coaching vacancy for the second year in a row

The former Wolfpack guard said he can be a bridge to different eras of the program as he becomes a head coach for the ﬁrst time.

“I’m humbled.

I’m grateful and I’m ready,” Gainey said as he was formally introduced. “It’s a surreal moment for me.

It’s like a dream come true that hasn’t fully set in.”

But it was really a reintroduction billed as a homecoming celebration — to a player who was a staple in the NC State lineup for four seasons from 1996-2000.

“It’s time for us to have that home feel that we deserve,” Gainey said.

The hiring comes less than a week after Will Wade’s agent informed NC State ofﬁcials that he was leaving following one season to return to LSU. NC State athletic director Boo Corrigan was tasked with ﬁnding the next coach, but Gainey had been involved in the interview process last year, so much of the vetting had taken place.

Corrigan seemed relieved to have someone on board with Wolfpack ties.

“Welcome home,” he said Many of the boosters who attended what was billed as a “closed event” but had elements of a pep rally were pleased that one of their own would occupy the coaching position.

“It’s a full-circle moment to say a former player became coach,” said TJ Warren, a former NC State and NBA player who attended the formal introduction.

Without directly addressing Wade’s abrupt departure and the hurt feelings associated with that, Corrigan said Gainey’s arrival should be celebrated as a sign of “the right moral compass for this fan base, who understands what NC State is all about.”

While Wade’s introduction in March 2025 came with plenty of bravado, Gainey was more grounded — perhaps in line with how he played when he was in a Wolfpack uniform.

“I’m going to bring that toughness,” he said Gainey, 49, spent the past four seasons as associate head coach under Rick Barnes at Tennessee.

He’ll leave behind the rigors of the Southeastern Conference to compete amid the traditionrich area of North Carolina that includes Atlantic Coast Conference neighbors Duke and North Carolina.

“I understand what being on Tobacco Road is all about,” Gainey said.

Gainey, an in-state product of a Greensboro Day School program that regularly churns out Division I players, said he’ll make in-state recruiting a priority and branch out from there He said tapping into the transfer portal will be part of the process in building a roster, but he stressed a no-exceptions philosophy of examining the character of any players he signs. And, of course, success on the court will be among the goals.

“We’re in this to win championships,” Gainey said.

NC State went 20-14 under Wade, reaching the NCAA Tournament’s First Four before a second loss of the season to Texas for its eighth defeat in the ﬁnal 10 games.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

digital sign

Talk of the town

Miracle shot has Mullins’ hometown eager for a Final Four reunion with the UConn star

BY MICHAEL MAROT AP sportswriter

GREENFIELD, Ind. — UConn guard

Braylon Mullins might be the talk of college basketball this week. He is still just a small-town Indiana guy at heart.

Here in his hometown of Greenﬁeld, the streets carry common names such as Main and State American flags and stone buildings dot the town square and those who put this usually low-key 25,000-person city on the map — there aren’t many — are revered like family

So naturally in a state that treats basketball like a religion and the sport’s biggest stars like royalty, nobody casts a bigger shadow in this community now than the slender 6-foot-6, 196-pound, 19-year-old freshman who changed Final Four weekend with one brilliant shining moment Sunday afternoon Mullins’ 35-foot game-winning 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left didn’t just make him an instant celebrity or send the Huskies to their third Final Four in four years. In a community full of fans who typically root for Indiana, Purdue, Notre Dame or Butler, Mullins has suddenly turned Greenﬁeld, Indiana, into a haven of UConn fans.

“We knew he was good, but for him to go and play all the minutes he has and to perform as well as he has at UConn after being injured the ﬁrst portion of the year, that’s great,” Greenfield-Central High School athletic director Jared Manning said. “But to do it and have that moment that’s going to live on forever, in maybe the biggest game of his life to this point on national television, we couldn’t have dreamed this up.”

Now comes the tougher job for Mullins — fulﬁlling the dozens of ticket requests for family, friends and towns folk.

“I think everybody is excited to be the supporting edge for me,” he said Tuesday “I am just trying to get as many tickets as I can for everybody, I get to see everybody at the game and after the game. It is going to be different. I am so happy I get to go back home.”

A star is born

Mullins seemed destined for this type of fame when he started turning heads in middle school though that’s anything but the norm in this city, just a 37-minute drive from Lucas Oil Stadium where the East Region champion Huskies (33-5) will face South Region champion Illinois (28-8) on Saturday for a trip to the national championship game.

Ask workers and customers at the local coffee counter to name the city’s best athletes and former Major League Baseball pitcher

MEN’S FINAL FOUR

ä Illinois vs. UConn.

5:09 P.M. SATURDAy,TBS,TNT,TRUTV ä Michigan vs.Arizona.

7:39 P.M. SATURDAy TBS TNT TRUTV

Kyle Gibson and pitcher Drey Jamison, who is in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization, are often recited. The actual title probably belongs to Jaycie Phelps, who was part of the 1996 Olympic champion gymnastics team dubbed “The Magniﬁcent Seven.”

Mullins is now part of that list, regardless of whether he leaves Indianapolis with a national championship.

Indiana is rife with high school basketball lore and seemingly every school, large or small, owns a chapter in that book. GreenﬁeldCentral has been a rare exception: Neither the boys nor the girls teams have won a state title, and the boys team hasn’t won a sectional championship since 1998 despite featuring Mullins for three seasons.

How tough was it? When Luke Meredith took over as coach in 2019-20, he inherited a team that went 4-20 the previous year amid four straight losing seasons. Meredith left as the winningest coach in school history (109-37) following the 2024-25 season, success that came in large part because of Mullins and his family

Josh, the father, was a former college player at IUPUI now known as IU-Indianapolis, and served as an assistant for Meredith. Mullins’ younger twin brothers, Cole and Clay, also played and are expected to play at a nearby Division III school next season.

It didn’t take long for coaches and fans to realize the oldest brother, Braylon, was different He personiﬁed Meredith’s motto — “juice, compete, standard” — by scoring 16.9 points as a sophomore and 25.0 as a junior before averaging 32.9 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists and 4.2 steals as a senior

He broke the school’s single-game scoring record twice in his final prep season, scoring 51 and later 52 points. He wound up as the school’s scoring leader (2,158 points) and became the first player in school history to win the prestigious IndyStar Indiana Mr Basketball Award winner as well as becoming the program’s first McDonald’s AllAmerican. So when Mullins made that incredible shot Sunday nobody in Greenfield was surprised.

“We’ve watched him play basketball since he was in middle school,” Mayor Guy Titus said. “We saw that shot many times here at Greenfield-Central when he was growing up, when he was playing varsity ball here. But to see it on national TV with like everybody comparing it to the Christian Laettner thing — I’m old enough to remember that. It was one of those magical moments.”

Unifying a town

The Final Four on Saturday will not be the first time Mullins has played close to home since heading to Storrs.

In February, a large contingent of city residents made the short drive into Indianapolis to one of Indiana’s most revered basketball cathedrals, Hinkle Fieldhouse. The hometown hero responded well, scoring 13 of his 15 points in the ﬁrst half of an 80-70 victory over Butler

Another little exodus could happen again: Manning said he anticipated having discussions this week about whether the school would cancel classes, offer bus rides or both for fans to attend UConn’s open practice on Friday, which is scheduled to be held at noon. Even if not, Greenﬁeld faithful are expected to go and cheer their new favorite son.

“When he calls home and asks his dad about this or that, it just reminds he’s still a young man who is just like every other college kid,” said Chuck McMichael, deputy chief of the Greenﬁeld Police Department.

SOFTBALL

Continued from page 1C

complete player. With four homers in her last five games, including three against Oklahoma, Edwards believes she’s reached that standard with No. 20 LSU (23-12, 4-8 in SEC) visiting Missouri (20-18, 4-5) this weekend.

The three-game series begins at 6 p.m. Thursday at Mizzou Soft-

ball Stadium, continues at 3 p.m. Friday and concludes at 2:30 p.m

Saturday

“That’s something I took to heart and really worked on,” Edwards said. “I’m ﬁnally becoming a fullrounded player, which has always been a dream of mine. I’ve been told I was too small to hit home runs, that I’m not a power hitter It doesn’t matter about the size. Just put a good barrel on the ball and the ball’s going to ﬂy.” The 5-foot-6 Edwards jumped

from ﬁve to nine home runs in her second season at Mississippi State in 2025. She had a career-best .290 average with 37 RBIs and stole seven bases as a sophomore before opting to transfer to LSU after the season. “I told myself that I was going to go on all of my visits and experience this opportunity,” Edwards said. “I came here and that all changed I committed the day I was here and had to cancel all of my other visits. It’s been awesome.”

Edwards has given LSU a veteran presence at shortstop and has turned in her share of highlightreel plays. After a slow start at the plate, she’s given the Tigers an emerging force on offense. She didn’t homer in her first 18 games, and after hitting one against Memphis, she went another nine games without a homer until her recent torrid stretch. Edwards, who has batted .455 in her last ﬁve games, has raised her average to .306 — the third-best

Auriemma enters Final Four with his 9th unbeaten team

BY STEPHEN HAWKINS Associated Press

Geno Auriemma is taking an undefeated UConn team into the women’s Final Four for the ninth time.

This group, while extremely talented like the rest, is a bit different than the previous ones for the coach.

Auriemma recalls those earlier teams with AP Player of the Year winners Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Tina Charles, Maya Moore and Breanna Stewart as having “that kind of swagger trash-talking kind of mentality” when wondering why people were surprised that they hadn’t lost any games.

“We don’t walk around with that attitude,” Auriemma said.

“That’s why I think, for me, I just keep my fingers crossed because it’s not the kind of team that I’ve had in the past that has gone this far undefeated It’s not

“They don’t have that kind of mentality off the court, on the court.”

The NCAA’s winningest men’s or women’s coach with 1,288 victories and 12 national championships instead calls them

“just a bunch of really nice kids that play hard for each other.”

They are an unbeaten bunch with their own AP All-America teammates Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong going for their second national title, along with Big East Conference top freshman Blanca Quiñonez. They have a 54-game winning streak that began with three-time All-America guard and WNBA top overall pick Paige Bueckers during the Huskies’ championship run last year, and could give Auriemma only his second 40-0 record in 41 seasons.

“What we’ve done the last (38) games was all in preparation for moments like this,” said Fudd, the ﬁfth-year star guard seen all over TV commercials and social media during March Madness. ”So when it comes down to it, we have full conﬁdence in ourselves, in each other We know the coaches feel the same.” UConn (38-0) is in its record 25th Final Four since the women’s NCAA Tournament debuted 44 years ago.

Part of a quartet of all No. 1 seeds in Phoenix, and the same four teams as last year, its semifinal Friday will be against South Carolina (35-3) in a rematch of last year’s national championship game.

Staying unbeaten this season

These Huskies are winning by an NCAA-best average margin of 37.8 points a game, with a 72-69 win over Sweet 16 team Michigan in November their only game decided by fewer than 13 points. They have set NCAA single-season records with their 890 assists (23.4 per game) and 597 steals (15.7 per game), and also are tops nationally in scoring defense (50.1 ppg) and ﬁeld goal shooting both on offense (52%) and defense (33.4%).

Sophomore standout forward Strong averages 18.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists. Fudd, the most outstanding player in last year’s Final Four after coming back from a torn ACL that limited her to two games during the 2023-24 season, is at a career-best 17.5 points per game.

mark on the team — and is tied for the team lead in homers (six) with first baseman Tori Edwards and slugging percentage (.561) with outﬁelder Jalia Lassiter.

“I’ve felt like my whole life I’ve been pretty small compared to the majority of girls on my team,” said Edwards, who has turned 25 career double plays defensively

“Me being a power hitter was really never a question until I got to college. I’ve just got a thing that works for me.”

Auriemma

Gainey

Mullins

PHOTOS By MIKE MAROT

outside Greenfield Central High School in Greenfield, Ind., congratulates the UConn men’s college basketball team and Greenfield graduate Braylon Mullins on Monday after the Huskies’ Elite Eight win over Duke in the NCAA Tournament.

The McDonald’s All-American and Indiana Mr Basketball jerseys of Braylon Mullins are displayed in Greenfield Central High School’s gymnasium in Greenfield, Ind., on Monday.

Faulk: Joy seemed lacking for 2025 Jaguars

BY TOYLOY BROWN III Staff writer

Joy is an ingredient to successful football in the eyes of Marshall Faulk

The Pro Football Hall of Fame player turned Southern coach shared that part of his philosophy after being asked at Wednesday’s spring practice whether he had speciﬁc benchmarks for the team during this period. Faulk said he wished he had goals to point to, but he believes that would be futile since no matter how much ﬁlm he watches, he “didn’t know half his team.” Faulk did understand one thing before the spring.

“What I know is when you’re excited, you’re happy, you enjoy what you’re doing, you play better,” Faulk said. “Last year, it didn’t look like a team that enjoyed what they were doing. And it’s kind of funny, they got to the Bayou Classic, and they found themselves. You guys were like me. I was like, ‘Who is this team? Who is this team?’ ” Southern (2-10) beat Grambling 28-27 in the ﬁnal game of last season. Faulk said players have been upbeat during spring practices, and he’s pleased with their mindset of trying to get better, even if it isn’t achieved overnight.

Fans will have the opportunity to watch the growth for the ﬁrst time at Southern’s spring showcase at 11 a.m. Saturday at A.W. Mumford Stadium. Faulk prefers not to call it a “spring game” because it won’t resemble a traditional contest.

While portions of it will be like a normal scrimmage, that won’t last

LSU GYM

Continued from page 1C

finals, the college gymnastics equivalent of Omaha in college baseball.

LSU begins its road to Fort Worth at 7 p.m. Thursday in Session II of the regional against Clemson, Auburn and Nebraska. Session I will be at 1 p.m. and includes Stanford, Michigan, North Carolina and Utah State.

The top two teams from Thursday’s sessions advance to Saturday’s regional ﬁnal, set for 5 p.m. Individual regional champions in the all-around and on vault, bars, beam and ﬂoor also will be determined Thursday

The top two teams Saturday, plus the top two unattached individuals in each event from Thursday, go to nationals.

“Regionals used to be an afterthought,” Clark said. “But we’re prepared for it.”

LSU enters NCAA competition coming off a third-place finish in the Southeastern Conference championships behind NCAA No

SAINTS

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consecutive year using a top150 pick to select a quarterback. Shough was so impressive that he finished second in The Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year voting despite starting only nine games. There is no doubt that Shough will be the starting quarterback when the 2026 season begins, and if he performs anything like he did as a rookie, he likely will hold onto that position for some time. Spencer Rattler should be in line to remain his primary backup after he played solidly while starting the first eight games of the 2025 season. While Rattler put up an abysmal 1-13 record as a starter in his first two seasons, he’s shown flashes of NFL starter ability and is more than a competent backup.

Email Rod Walker at rwalker@ theadvocate.com. 4C

New Orleans also recently signed free agent Zach Wilson. The former No. 2 overall pick never has put it together as a professional, and the Saints now represent his fourth team. But Wilson is still just 26 years old and is an intriguing talent to try and develop in the No. 3 spot. There is not much incentive for the Saints to add another young player to the mix. But, hey, never say never

While it’s safe to assume New Orleans won’t use one of its premier draft assets on another quarterback, that doesn’t mean the Saints wouldn’t pull the trigger on a late-round selection if they really like someone. Let’s take a look at some possibilities.

the entire duration. There will be some form of special-teams component in every drive and designed moments to practice red-zone situations While the hope is to leave without injuries, there also will be some tackling during the showcase.

3 seed Florida and No. 1 Oklahoma.

Kailin Chio continued her stellar sophomore season for LSU, winning the SEC all-around title as well as the vault championship.

Fellow sophomore Kaliya Lincoln shared the SEC ﬂoor title despite having an ulnar nerve issue in her elbow that led to pre-meet numbness in her hand, making her questionable to compete Clark said the Tigers dealt with a rampant stomach bug at SECs but that illness and concerns about Lincoln’s elbow seem to be behind the Tigers. Clark wants his gymnasts to be free and focused for the tough task of performing at a high level twice in three days.

“Our conﬁdence should be brimming,” Clark said. “Just go attack. Compete free and fearless. Enjoy it. This is what you’ve worked for. This is the whole goal to get to this point, to mix it up with the best teams and see where we land.”

LSU assistant coach Haleigh Bryant was one of those LSU gymnasts trying to maintain a high level in last year’s regional at Penn State.

“You try not to let the moment

In case of a fall

LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier 6-foot-1, 205

pounds: The former Tigers quarterback likely wouldn’t be on this list if it wasn’t for the family connection, but that’s not something to write off. Not only is Nussmeier’s father, Doug, the offensive coordinator, but several members of the Saints coaching staff have worked with the elder Nussmeier for years and have watched Garrett grow up. There is intimate familiarity here.

This wouldn’t have seemed that far-fetched after the 2024 college football season, but Nussmeier endured a difficult and injury-plagued senior season in Baton Rouge, watching his draft stock fall in the process. But, at both the Senior Bowl (where he won MVP) and his recent pro day, Nussmeier appeared to put some of the injury concerns behind him with impressive performances.

His stock is therefore back on the rise, most likely putting him out of the Saints’ range. But if he does end up falling to Day 3 would it really be a surprise to see the Saints take a swing?

And this wouldn’t just be about the family connection: At his best, Nussmeier’s ability to play with anticipation would ﬁt nicely with head coach Kellen Moore’s offense.

Athletes to develop

Arkansas QB Taylen Green, 6-6, 227: There aren’t many athletes like Green at this position. He’s built like an NBA wing, and he put on a dazzling show at the NFL combine, where he ran a 4.36-second 40-yard dash and recorded a 43inch vertical leap. He needs time to develop as a

“We will have elements of tackle,” Faulk said. “We’ll have a scrimmage and we’ll do a lot of our short-yardage, goal-line, redzone stuff, we’ll have that live as well. “But the whole thing won’t be live. We’re gonna try to do this

smart so you guys can see, like, ‘OK, we see what they’re building, we see the foundation.’ And hopefully we can get out of it with a lot of information about the players that we want, the guys that’s competing, who’s kind of taking a step forward but also

GYMNASTS TO WATCH

Gymnasts to watch in this weekend’s NCAA Baton Rouge regional at the PMAC: Kailin Chio, Soph., LSU Leads nation in scoring in all-around, vault and beam. Won two SEC titles and has NCAA-best nine perfect 10s.

Kaliya Lincoln, Soph., LSU Shared SEC floor title despite elbow injury All-American tied for second nationally on floor. Konnor McClain, Jr LSU An All-American on bars and beam, where she ranks T8 and T11, respectively Anna Roberts, Soph., Stanford Ranked fifth nationally in the all-around, T9 on floor. Third in the country with three 10.0 scores Maggie Slife, Jr., Air Force A two-time first-team All-American, rank-

be bigger than it needs to be,” Bryant said. She added that being at home “should make for a more comfortable environment, but you can’t take it for granted that we’re going to walk through this thing. Hopefully it plays out as an advantage for us.”

Chio and Lincoln, along with fellow All-America teammate Konnor McClain, won’t be the only top gymnasts in this weekend’s regional.

passer his raw ability is evident, but there isn’t much polish. Green threw 35 interceptions in his college career, and his completion percentage hovered around 60% every year Time is something the Saints can afford, especially if they envision a way to use Green’s talent in other ways — something this organization has done in the past.

It would be unfair to Green to suggest a Taysom Hill-like role, because there is a lot more that goes into it than physical ability But a small package of plays that evolves as Green develops seems reasonable.

Georgia Tech QB Haynes King, 6-2, 212: Since we’re on the Hill train, King is the one player who has most often drawn that comparison in this year’s draft class.

As a pure quarterback, King is not much of a prospect — like Green, he threw a lot of interceptions (34) in college, and his accuracy as a passer leaves plenty to be desired. But, like Green, he is an exceptional athlete.

King plays with a tough mentality and he has proven himself as a physical runner He racked up 36 touchdowns and more than 2,300 yards rushing in his final three seasons at Georgia Tech. He is solidly built and he impressed at the combine with a 4.47-second 40-yard dash.

Late-round flier

Baylor QB Sawyer Robertson, 6-4, 216:

If the Saints are looking to roll the dice on a Day 3 quarterback prospect, Robertson checks some boxes. He has NFL size, functional mobility (4.64-second 40-yard dash) and was productive in two years as a starter, throwing for 6,700 yards and 59 touchdowns during his last two seasons.

(stay) healthy.”

Wide receivers and associate head coach Curtis Johnson also emphasized last week that the goal of the showcase is to get a clearer picture of the team without players getting hurt. He also admitted that he wants to see the same things that most fans want.

“(As) an offensive guy, I want to see some receivers catch some touchdowns,” the former Tulane head coach said with a chuckle.

The Saturday event also will be used to look at some position battles, especially at quarterback. Faulk wants to decide on a quarterback as early as possible. The remaining practices and the showcase will be important in deciding who is atop the depth chart.

While pure throwing talent matters, Faulk also values intangibles such as a quarterback’s “command of the huddle.”

“That’s where leadership is,” he said. “Commanding the attention of the offense, getting everybody on one accord, breaking and going out and execute. We’re trying to see which one of the quarterbacks is better at it and who has the ability to lead — not just when things are going good but when things are going bad as well.”

Southern retained quarterbacks Ashton Strother and Dillon Compton from last season The program also signed quarterbacks Vashaun Coulon from St. Augustine, Mario Litmer from Highlands High School in Kentucky and Wyatt McCauley who spent his freshman year at Long Beach City College in California. Spring practice for Southern concludes on Tuesday

ing seventh as an all-arounder, eighth on bars.

• Brie Clark, Sr., Clemson First-team All-American on ﬂoor. Won ACC ﬂoor title, leading Clemson to ACC team crown.

• Isabella Minervini, Sr., Towson Earned second-team All-American honors ranking 14th on bars. Competing as individual.

• Sienna Robinson, Fr Stanford ACC specialist of the year who is tied for 20th nationally on uneven bars and beam.

• JoJo Valahovic, Soph., North Carolina First-team All-ACC on vault, where she is ranked T19 nationally

• Julianne Huff, Jr Auburn An All-SEC selection on ﬂoor, Huff ranks T21 nationally as an all-arounder.

Stanford is led by its own super sophomore in Anna Roberts, ranked fifth nationally as an allarounder and tied for third in the country with three perfect 10s this season. Air Force’s Maggie Slife is a two-time first-team All-American this season in the all-around and on bars. And Clemson’s Brie Clark is a first-team All-American on floor winning the ACC individual title in that event. As with the other three NCAA regionals, the competition in Baton

PELICANS

Continued from page 1C

Murphy has missed the past three games with an ankle injury, but Borrego said “he’s deﬁnitely in the mix” to return Thursday or Friday

Borrego said Monday that he hasn’t had any discussions with executive vice president of basketball operations Joe Dumars to shut any star players down for these last six games of the season.

“Six games is still a lot of basketball to continue to build habits and get better,” Borrego said “Young guys and vets, ﬁnishing strong. You don’t want to go into the offseason on the down swing. You want to keep the spirit uplifted and the momentum in the right direction, which is what we have done.”

Well, at least until the previous ﬁve games when they lost to four of the top teams in the Eastern Conference (Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons and Toronto Raptors) and then the Rockets. The losses to the Knicks, Pistons and Raptors all came on the road.

Rouge will be shown on a streaming only basis on ESPN+. Nebraska 195.600, Air Force 194.475

Slife swept all ﬁve event titles, but Nebraska had the better team overall as it won the regional ﬁrst-round meet at the PMAC on Wednesday

Slife posted scores of 9.90 on vault, bars and ﬂoor, and a 9.85 on beam for an all-around score of 39.550. But the Falcons had to count a fall on bars from Anna Kristianson (8.825) and was never able to catch the more consistent Cornhuskers. Nebraska didn’t have to count worse than a 9.725 in any event.

“We did a great job of adapting,” Nebraska coach Heather Brink said “When things didn’t go well, we were able to get back to our normal.” Air Force coach Jennifer Lyerly Green, a former LSU gymnast, said aside from Slife, her team was “a little out of place” from warmups on.

“It’s sports,” Green said. “It just wasn’t our day.”

Borrego wasn’t pleased in how his second unit played in Sunday’s loss to the Rockets. The Pelicans got outscored 39-18 in the second quarter of that one When asked what went wrong in that quarter, Borrego was blunt.

“I subbed,” he said.

But Borrego liked the way his team responded at Tuesday’s practice. The energy was high and the practice was competitive.

“The goal is now to respond in Portland,” Borrego said. “There is no doubt this group will respond and have a great effort on Thursday night. They don’t want this to end. That’s when you know you’re going in the right direction.

“This group really cares about each other Nobody wants to see the season come to an end. Now we have to do our part to make sure this doesn’t happen next season.”

“The road trip was a tough road trip,” Borrego said. “Some winnable games there. But now it’s about ﬁnishing strong. It’s our job. We’ve got to ﬁnish strong Do your job and be competitive and bring it every single day That’s the job of a professional.”

Pelicans forward Trey Murphy, left, and guard Jeremiah Fears play defense as Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell passes at the Smoothie King Center on March 21.

STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

Southern quarterbacks run drills together during football practice at the practice field next to A.W Mumford Stadium on March 25.

THE VARSITYZONE

NewGlenOakscoach Wade reunites with Randall

BY JACKSON REYES Staff writer

When Glen Oaks High School

principal Eric Randall glanced over potential candidatestobecome theschool’snext football coach there were plenty of impressive résumés.

But afamiliar namecaughthis eye in Byron Wade, who Randall coached when Wade wasa player at Southern Lab 25 years ago. When Randall was head coach at Baker,Wade spent three years with him as offensive coordinator In 2020, Wade became head coachatBelaire,where he held therolefor four seasons. He then stepped down and spent two years as offensive coordinator at Istrouma. Randall knew ﬁrst-hand theman and coach Wade is, and when he saw he was interested in taking over at Glen Oaks, he calledthe decision a“no-brainer,” and hired him on March 16.

“Itwas awide-eyed,bushy-tailed moment,” Randall said. “Oh, man,

“The things that he poured into me, Iwant to pour intothesemen, and we’ll do it together.I want to makehim proud.”

ByRONWADE, newGlenOaks football coach

this could be great if we could get this.”

Wade said the opportunity to work with his mentor was perfect.

He emphasizedhow thetwo are aligned in theirgoals andthinking. Now,hehopes to give back to the manwho shapedhim intothe person he is now throughout their 30-year-longrelationship.

“The thingsthat he poured into me,I want to pourintothese men, and we’ll do it together,” Wade said. “I want to make him proud.”

Wade knows the importance of the relationship between coach andadministration. To have someonewho knows him so well is something he doesn’ttakefor granted

“You don’tever ﬁnd that type of work relationship with theadmin-

istration,” Wade said. “Itcouldn’t get any better than that.”

Along with Belaire, Baker and Istrouma, Wade has had coaching stintsatCapitol and Forest Park Middle. He spent two years as athletic director during his tenure at Belaire.

His time as athletic director helped him learn to delegateroles to his coaching staff. He sees himself as an independent person, but when he juggled head coach and AD responsibilities, he saidhe couldn’tdoitall himself.

“There’snoway you’re going to get to do everything,” he said. “You have to delegateresponsibilities andtrust that those individuals will execute all tasks.”

Wade has been aplay-caller at every stop. He said he will call the

U-High ralliespast Catholic in seventh

BY JACKSONREYES

Staff writer

Mackie Musgrovestepped to theplate for UniversityHigh in the final inning Wednesday.The Cubs trailed Catholic by one run, but they had runners at second and third with two outs.

Musgrove was hitlessthrough his first three at-bats, but he had achance for areprieve in his first at-bat against Catholic reliefpitcher Mills Richardson, one of Musgrove’sbest friends. With afamiliar opponent on the mound, Musgrove knew it was his moment. He got apitchheliked andlined it toward the second baseman, who stretched out to make the catch as the ball bouncedoff his glove and into the dirt. Musgrove sprinted through first base as his teammates rounded the bags and scoredfor a5-4 walk-offwin at Alex Box Stadium on Wednesday

“I didn’tknow if he was going to catch it or not,” Musgrove said. “As soon as Isaw it hit the glove, our baserunner was rounding hard, and Iknew that was it.” U-High coach Jon Ramsey said it was greattowin aclose game

like that in arivalry game against agreat team such as Catholic. He credited Musgrove’sability to stay poised after an 0-for-3 start.

“Italways has to be thenext atbat,”Ramseysaid. “Hestruggled abit earlier,but he got barrelto ball, and that’swhat we look for.It worked out for us.”

After twoscoreless innings, both sides got the batsgoing in the third.

HarrisonKidder led offthe top of the third for Catholic with an inﬁeld single. After awalk, two runners were on with nobody out. Richardson then smacked atwo-run double that landedinchesfair along the left-ﬁeld line to make it 2-0.

U-High (22-7) responded in the bottom half of the third. IanMcCauley led off with asingle before stealingsecond.After consecutive outs, Trey Sotile singled to shallow center ﬁeldtodrive in arun and

makeit2-1 after three innings. Catholic(24-4)platedtwo more runs in thefourth. Kooper Childs singled to lead off theinning. After two outs, Myles Auxt reached second on athrowing error by the Cubs secondbaseman to put runners at second and third.

Kidder then knockedasingle that landed just in front of the center fielder to bring both runners home. Catholic led 4-1 at the end of the fourth. The Cubs led off thebottom of the fifth with adouble off of Bears reliever Lucas Lawrence. After consecutive strikeouts, U-High hitter ShepherdGammon hit adeep triple that hugged theright-field line to score arun. Lawrence thentossed apitch that went past thecatcher and allowedGammontoscore from thirdand makeitaone-run deficit Lawrence gotastrikeout to keep Catholic in front after five.

Nicholas Zeringue took the mound in the fifth and pitched threescoreless innings for U-High to keep it close. After ascoreless sixth, the Cubs walked it off in theseventh on Musgrove’sheroics.

plays to start, but hopestotransitionplay-calling duties to assistant offensive coordinator Devin Shropshire.

He caters his offensive scheme to his personnel,looking to maximizethe talent he’s working with rather than aset scheme.

Through his ﬁrst week, he’sbeen impressed withthe talent, especially in the junior class, and said his team can improve on last year’s 3-7 record quickly

“I do strongly believethatit’s notgoing to takemuchtime for us to be competitive,” Wade said. “GlenOaksispeakingfromatalent standpoint.”

Along with Shropshire, Sean Beauchamp will be theassociate head coach anddefensive coordinator

Randall’srelationship with Wade helpedhim know that he was ready for this role. He can improve the team, but more importantly,hehas what it takes to develop kids into young men.

“Hehas astory,” Randall said.

“He can captivate kids. He can give those clichés, those types of

things thatour kids thatmay not have fathers in their homes need to hear.”

He saw up close that Wade can makeadifference on the ﬁeld and in the classroom.

“I wasn’tlooking for just a coach,” Randall said. “I wanted somebody who understood academics.”

WhenWadeand Randall talk about helping kids, they both use the same saying. The seeds you plant todayare notthe dayyou’re going to eat the fruit.

The process to developa winning programtakes time,but there’s plenty of optimism forRandall. He spent three decades mentoring players, telling them about the possibilitiesthatarise fromhard work.

“He is right here in front of me, applying fora jobthatIhaveto hire,” Randall said. “They say that the seed that you planted today youwon’t eatthe fruittomorrow. We’llcertainly eat thefruit today of something that was planted way back 25 years ago.”

BY JACKSON REYES Staff writer

In astrongseason for high school basketball in the Baton Rouge area, several athletes werenamed to the LSWAClass 2A all-state team. The French Settlement girls team won its ﬁrst state title since 1964 after defeating Westlake 4436 in the Division III nonselect championship.

Lions senior guard Stella Allison was named to the Class 2A all-state ﬁrst team after she averaged 19.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, four assists and 3.7 steals this year.The Northwestern State signee scored 22 points in the statetitle game. Coach Jake Bourgeois was namedcoach of theyearafter leading French Settlementtoa statetitle while balancing coaching the boys and girls basketball teams Three Baton Rouge-area athletes madethe girls second team

East Feliciana junior Kariah Dunn averaged 17 points per gameand helped the Tigers reach their first state semifinal appearance. Episcopal seniorCaroline Watson averaged 28 points, five assists and four rebounds this season. She finished hercareer as a 2,000-point scorer Northeastseventh grader Ja’Rian Riley averaged 20 points per game. She averaged 10 steals per gameand totaled morethan 240 steals this season. On the boys’ side, twoDunham athletes madethe first team.Senior guard AJ Olivier averaged 19.6 points, four rebounds and four assists. He helped lead the Tigers back to the state semifinals.

Juniorforward Elijah Haven averaged 14.4points, 6.5rebounds and ﬁve assists for Dunham. After Havenand Olivier made the all-state second team last year,bothearned ﬁrst-team honors this year

PHOTO By APRILBUFFINGTON

Passover and Easter are both on thecalendar this week. These holidays are signiﬁcant religious celebrations that call for cooking and eatingwith friends and family.Because of these rites of spring grocery store shelves are stocked with everything from matzah (unleavened bread) to egg decorating kits. April in Louisianabrings with it seasonal producelike radishes, carrots, springonions, leeks and leafy greens. As Iperused the shelves, trying to decide what to cook foracelebration of spring at ourhouse, I sawthat the producedepartment had watermelon radishes. These radishes are acooler weather

A slice of life

BY GRETCHEN McKAY Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (TNS)

Everyone has different ideas when it comes to the best foods, but one simple truth goes unchallenged: Sweet or savory,served by the slice or folded into asingle-serving turnover,everyone loves pie. And the best part is you don’t even need to be celebrating something special to enjoy it. While a homemade pastry crust can give some cooks pause, there are some tricks to make it easier First, start with very cold butter.Then, be careful not to overwork the dough with your ﬁngers (overworking it will makethe crust tough) and don’tforget to let the dough rest in the fridge forabit before rolling so it’s relaxed when it hits the oven. Otherwise, you won’tachieve those ﬂaky layers that make pie such adelight. Agraham cracker crust is even easier.You need just three ingredients and afork to stir it together

crop and can be hard to find in summer.They contain avibrant pink color and mild flavor that is less bitter than “regular” small, red-skinnedradishes. Iput acouple of thewatermelon radishes in my basket, along with fresh carrots, cucumbers and tomatoes.Once home, Idecided to makeacrisp crudite plate full of fresh spring vegetables servedwithasimple homemade green goddess dip —a delightful spring appetizer that can be served as part of any holidaymeal. Eggs area symbolofrebirth and renewal, and as such, aperfect choice for Passoverand Easter meals.This year,Imade truffled devil eggs. This recipe sounds fancy,but it is quiteeasy.

Simply mix the yolks of hard boiled eggs with mayonnaise, abit of Dijon mustard and trufﬂeoil to makeatangy rich ﬁlling for the egg whites. This is ano-fail use of eggs this holiday season with plentytoshare at acommunal table. My college-aged daughter Olivia sent me aphotoofabig bowl of pasta, vegetables with acream sauce and said, “Let’smake this during spring break.” Ilove when my kids crave and askfor meals at home. To satisfy this dinner request,I madea dish with penne pasta, chicken sausage, roasted asparagus and tomatoes.Tobind thepasta and vegetables, drizzle acreamy Alfredo saucemade with freshly

Because it can be so hard to makeupyour mind when it comes to pie, we have tworecipes to choose from: asavory, grab-and-go chicken curry hand pie madewith apastry crust, and atart-sweet key limepie that marries acreamy, citrusy ﬁlling with arich and buttery graham cracker crust. The hand pie can be served either hot from the oven or at room temperature with an optional yogurt- or chutney-based dipping sauce. The key lime pie should be refrigerated for at least three hours to ensure it’sproperly set before slicing. Celebrationornot, enjoythese 2easy-to-make pies,one sweetand theother savory

BY SONO MOTOYAMA

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (TNS)

Elected “ingredient of the year” by TheNew York Times, vinegar can have manyuses andpersonalities far beyond its genericrole in asalad dressing or as adecorative balsamic reduction. Youcan use asplash as a ﬁnish to lentil soup or chili to adddepth.Somebartenders

are throwing it intomocktails. There are folks who use raw vinegar for itssupposed health beneﬁts.Itcan even be lightly sprayed onto cookies Longbefore its current momentinthe spotlight,Filipinos used vinegar as an integral elementintheir cooking. Aloveofacidity Filipinos use not only vinegars from different sources but also underripe fruits, such as tamarind, to add acidity Filipino vinegar can be madefrom cane, coconut or palm.The type employed depends largely on regional custom andpersonal taste. Spanish colonizers expanded thePhilippines’ indigenous sug-

arcane plantations, and sugarcane remains an economically signiﬁcant crop in the country Cane vinegar is the mostcommon type used. For their condiment or dipping sauce —called suka sawsawan —Filipinos up the acid ante by adding the native citrus fruit calamansi, also knownas aPhilippine lemon or lime. Fish

PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE/ TNS PHOTO By GRETCHENMcKAy Curried Chicken Hand Pies

Clockwise from left, Green Goddess Dressing; Penne Pasta with ItalianSausage, Asparagus and AlfredoSauce, and Deviled Eggs

Liz Faul

PHOTO By LIZ FAUL

By The Associated Press

Today is Thursday, April 2, the 92nd day of 2026. There are 273 days left in the year

Today in history:

On April 2, 2005, John Paul II, the Polish pope born Karol Józef Wojtyła, died in his Vatican apartment at age 84. The ﬁrst non-Italian pope in over 450 years, John Paul II became one of the most inﬂuential leaders of the late 20th and early 21st centuries while

playing a crucial role in the fall of communism in Europe and the former Soviet Union.

Also on this date: In 1792, Congress passed the Coinage Act, which authorized establishment of the U.S. Mint.

In 1865, Confederate President Jefferson Davis and most of his Cabinet ﬂed the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia, after Union troops broke through Confederate lines in the Third Battle of Petersburg.

DREAMSTIME/TNS PHOTO

Filipino ceviche uses vinegar to cook raw fish.

Traditional Chicken Adobo sa Gata

Serves 4-6. Recipe is by Kimberley Ashlee Haugh.

2-2½

peppercorns,

(REGIONAL):

2 or 3 Thai chiles (common in the Bicol

1 small onion, sliced (not always traditional but common in home kitchens)

1. Combine chicken, garlic, soy sauce and half the vinegar Marinate 30 minutes to 2 hours (or cook immediately — both are authentic).

VINEGAR

Continued from page 1D

sauce, soy sauce, garlic, peppercorns onion and chiles are also common components. Personal condiments are used to adapt all types of dishes but especially seafood. They can be a dipping sauce for crab, for instance, or fried fish or pork ‘The original fusion cuisine’ Filipino cooking integrates influences from Chinese, Spanish, Indo-Malay and American cultures. However adobo considered the unofficial Filipino national dish, is uniquely Filipino and has indigenous roots. Although

2. Heat oil in a heavy pot over medium heat.

3. Remove chicken from marinade and brown on all sides. Add garlic from marinade and saute until fragrant. Pour in marinade remaining vinegar, bay leaves, peppercorns and water

4. Do not stir for the ﬁrst 5 minutes — this allows the vinegar to mellow Simmer uncovered 20-25 minutes until chicken is tender and sauce reduces.

5. Lower heat and stir in coconut milk. Simmer gently 10-15 minutes until sauce thickens and coats the chicken. Taste and adjust saltiness with a splash of soy or water not sugar Optional: Let oil slightly separate for a richer, traditional ﬁnish.

6. Remove bay leaves before serving

the name comes from the Spanish world adobar meaning “to marinate,” the dish — chicken or pork braised in vinegar predates the arrival of Spanish colonizers. With cooking, vinegar’s sharpness mellows.

Cane vinegar is most commonly used for adobo, as well as for a dish called paksiw, ﬁsh or pork cooked in a sour and savory broth containing vinegar Coconut vinegar — which can be made from fermented coconut juice, sap or blossoms is used often in the southern Philippines.

Cane or coconut vinegar is used to make a Filipino ceviche, called kinilaw; ﬁsh is “cooked” in vinegar rather than Latin-style citrus. It is often mixed with calamansi, ginger, chile and coconut milk.

Truffled Deviled Eggs

Serves 12. Recipe adapted from Rommel’s Catering.

In 1917, President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to declare war against Germany, saying, “The world must be made safe for democracy.” (Congress declared war four days later.)

Court, in Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency ruled 5-4 that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases were air pollutants under the Clean Air Act.

2013 for the shootings.)

Today’s birthdays: Disc

is 81.

is 79.

65.

In 1992, mob boss John Gotti was convicted in New York of murder and racketeering; he was later sentenced to life in prison without parole. (Gotti died in prison in 2002.)

In 2007, in its ﬁrst case on climate change, the U.S. Supreme

is 85.

In 2014, a soldier opened ﬁre on fellow service members at Fort Hood in Texas, killing three people and wounding 16 others before taking his own life. (More than a dozen people were killed at the same base in a 2009 attack by an Army major and psychiatrist who was sentenced to death in

Key Lime Pie

Makes 1 pie. Recipe is by Gretchen McKay Post-Gazette. How easy is this tart-sweet dessert pie? You will end up waiting longer for it to cool to room temperature than it takes to mix and bake it. It can be topped with homemade or canned whipped cream.

FOR CRUST:

9 graham crackers, crushed into crumbs (about 1½ cups)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

3 tablespoons sugar

½ teaspoon salt FOR FILLING:

cup lime juice

tablespoon grated lime zest, plus more for garnish 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

large egg yolks FOR TOPPING: Homemade or canned whipped cream Fresh lime zest

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.

2. Combine graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, sugar and salt in a medium bowl; mix well.

3. Press into a 9-inch glass pie plate, and bake until lightly browned, about 12 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack until completely cooled.

4. Reduce oven to 325 F. 5. Prepare ﬁlling: In a medium bowl, gently whisk together condensed milk, egg yolks, lime juice and zest. Pour into the prepared, cooled crust. 6. Return pie to oven, and bake until the center is set but still quivers when the pan is nudged, 15-17

minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

7. Spoon whipped cream over cooled pie or pipe it around the edges. Garnish with lime zest and cut into slices.

Curried Chicken Hand Pies

Makes 6 hand pies. Recipe is by Gretchen McKay, Post-Gazette. Hand pies are a great option for a desk lunch and a casual dinner because they’re fun to eat and can be customized with any ﬁlling — often leftovers. These are packed with a (slightly) spicy chicken curry made with boneless, skinless chicken thigh. For perfect circles, start with dough balls patted into a smooth-edged round, and move the dough, not your rolling pin. It also helps to use an upside-down bowl as a guide.

FOR CRUST:

2½ cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled) 1 teaspoon coarse salt

cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces

tablespoons ice water FOR FILLING:

tablespoons vegetable oil

1 large potato, peeled and cut into small chunks

1 cup chicken stock Generous pinch of salt Egg wash, for glazing hand pies

1. Prepare crust: In a food processor, pulse flour and salt. Add butter a couple of pieces at a time, pulsing until mixture resembles

coarse meal, with a few pea-size pieces remaining.

2. Add water, pulsing until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed. If necessary add up to 2 tablespoons water; I added an additional ½ tablespoon.

3. Divide dough into 2 disks, wrap each in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour (or up to 2 days).

4. While dough is chilling, prepare ﬁlling. In a large pan, heat oil until sizzling. Add onions and fry over medium heat for 10 minutes, or until slightly browned.

5. Add garlic, ginger and carrot, and cook for 1 or 2 minutes while stirring. Add garam masala, cumin, turmeric and coriander, followed by ﬂour and stir to combine. Cook until the spices start to smell aromatic, about 1 minute.

6. Add cubed chicken thigh and potatoes, and stir well to coat the chicken with the spice mixture. Gradually add chicken stock and a pinch of salt. Bring to simmer and cover with a lid, let it cook for 15 minutes. Remove from stove and allow to cool.

7. When ready to make pies, di-

vide chilled dough into 6 equal, smaller pieces. Shape each piece into a ball.

8. Preheat oven to 375 F.

9. Working with 1 piece of dough at a time, roll each ball into a 4or 5-inch disc that’s about ½ inch thick. (For a perfect circle, it helps to use a bowl as a guide.) Brush the bottom crust with an egg wash before adding ﬁlling.

10. Spoon about ¼ cup of ﬁlling on half of the dough circle, and use a pastry brush to dampen the edges with water

11. Fold dough over to create a half circle, and press edges together ﬁrmly with a fork that’s been dipped into flour (to keep from sticking) or crimp by hand to prevent leakage. Cut 1 or 2 openings in the top with a butter knife to allow steam to escape.

12. Brush tops with beaten egg, and bake pies in a preheated oven for around 20 minutes, or until golden brown and the pastry is cooked underneath.

13. Remove to a cooling rack and allow to cool slightly before serving.

Fresh thyme leaves, chives or parsley garnish (optional)

PHOTO By LIZ FAUL Truffled Deviled Eggs

1. Depending on the size of the pot, you may need to boil the eggs in batches. Bring the water to a boil over high heat. When the water boils, carefully add the eggs in a single layer Let the eggs boil gently for 12 minutes to avoid cracking. This sets the yolks and provides a creamy texture.

3. Slice the hard boiled eggs in half and carefully remove the yolks into the bowl of a food processor Add the mayonnaise, mustard, trufﬂe oil, salt and pepper to the bowl. Blend the egg yolk mixture together until creamy and smooth.

4. Fill the holes in the egg whites with the truffled egg yolk mixture. Garnish each egg with fresh thyme leaves, chives or parsley

2. While the eggs are boiling, prepare an ice bath by adding ice and water to a large bowl. Once the eggs are ﬁnished boiling, remove them with a large slotted spoon and transfer the eggs to the ice bath. Let them sit in the ice for about 15 minutes. Then peel the eggs.

1 For the Alfredo sauce: In a sauce pan, over low heat, melt the butter while stirring slowly. Then add the minced garlic and stir Pour in the heavy cream and stir the butter, garlic and cream together over medium-low heat. Be careful not to overheat and curdle the sauce. Stir in the lemon juice. Then add the grated Parmesan cheese. Season with salt, pepper and a pinch of nutmeg.

2. In a large pot of boiling water, cook the penne pasta according to package directions, usually about 8 minutes. Then drain into a colander

4. Meanwhile, add olive oil to a pan and heat to medium heat; add the sliced sausage and sauté the sausage until it’s browned on both sides. This will take about 15 minutes. If the sausage renders a lot of fat, consider transferring the cooked sausage to a plate that is lined with a paper towel to absorb some of the fat before adding it to the pasta.

5. In a large pasta bowl, add the cooked pasta, cooked sausage, roasted vegetables and stir together Then pour the prepared Alfredo sauce over the pasta dish. With two large spoons, stir so the sauce evenly coats the pasta, sausage and vegetable. Garnish with the chopped fresh parsley and grated Parmesan cheese.

3 Preheat the oven to 400 F, then prepare baking sheet with parchment paper Snap the hard woody ends of the asparagus and cut each stalk into thirds. Cut each cherry tomato in half. Spread the asparagus and cherry tomatoes evenly on the prepared baking sheet and drizzle the vegetables with olive oil, salt and pepper Place the baking tray with asparagus and tomatoes in the oven and bake them for about 20 minutes.

Green Goddess Dressing

PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE/TNS PHOTO By GRETCHEN MCKAy Key Lime Pie

Penne Pasta with Italian Sausage, Roasted Asparagus and Cherry Tomatoes

Faul.

jockey

Demento

Actor Linda Hunt

Musician Emmylou Harris

Actor Christopher Meloni is

Tennis Hall of Famer Todd Woodbridge is 55. Actor Pedro Pascal is 51. Actor Adam Rodriguez is 51. Actor Michael Fassbender is 49. Country musician Chris Janson is 40. Actor Jesse Plemons is 38. Rapper Quavo is 35. Country musician Zach Bryan is 30. Actor Emma Myers is 24.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) Calm down, think matters through and refuse to agree to something you know little about. Research is necessary before you trust someone to act or speak on your behalf.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Change only what's necessary, regardless of the temptations and weak moments that leave you vulnerable. Avoid taking on more than you can handle. Avoid indulgence.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) It's time to hit the reset button and get back on track. Whether you've neglected yourself or your responsibilities, you can turn things around with smart choices and responsible actions.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) An open discussion will mend a misunderstanding or encourage you and those you talk with to have a concise view of what's possible. Refuse to let negativity lead the way.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Consider changing direction. Discover what's available and start the process to reinvent or restructure your life to suit your needs. Don't limit yourself when it's up to you to march forward with enthusiasm.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Education will change your life for the better. Check out courses, skills and pastimes that you may be able to turn into a profit.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Letting go is essential; wasting time on things you cannot change will help no one. Make

your initiative crystal clear, and open doors that lead to a healthy, efficient lifestyle.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Stand up and be counted, and you'll expand your interests and friendships. Refuse to adopt someone else's dream over your own. Know when to give it your wall and when to exercise restraint.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) You can extend a helping hand, but you should be wary of people trying to take advantage of your generosity. Put your energy into home improvement, earning your living and managing your finances.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Partnerships that keep you on track and accountable are the backbone to your survival and success. Refuse to let emotional situations lead to poor choices.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) It's all about how you handle your responsibilities, money and contracts today. Refuse to be a follower. Show diversity and discipline, and deliver what you promise, and rewards will follow.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Explore the possibilities. Stand up and be counted. Use the power of your voice to make a difference. Don't sit alone when feedback is what you need to move forward.

By Andrews McMeel Syndication

FAMILY CIrCUS

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

TODAy'S CLUE: G EQUALS W

CeLebrItY CIpher

For better or For WorSe

FrAnK And erneSt

SALLY Forth

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

SherMAn’S LAGoon dooneSbUrY

bIG nAte

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. Theobject is to place the numbers 1to9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. Thedifficulty level of theSudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

nea CroSSwordS La TimeS CroSSword

THewiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

Bridge

BY PHILLIP ALDER

George Bernard Shaw said, “I never resist temptation, because Ihave found that things that are bad for me do not tempt me.”

At the bridge table, though, it can be difficult to recognize bids and plays thatwill prove to be bad for you. In this deal, forexample, defending against a contract of four spades, West leads the club ace: three, two, eight.What should he do next?

The auction was straightforward. North made athree-spade game-invitational limit raise, showing10-12 support points (high-card points plus shortage points, not thathehad any of those here) and eight losers (onespade, one heart, three diamonds and three clubs).South had an easy raise to game. One of themost irresistible temptations fora defender is to casha winner. Here,less experienced players would take the club king at trick two, then look around for inspiration. But declarer would be in clover, losingonlytwo clubs and one heart

Instead,Westshouldtrusthispartner’s trick-one signal. Eastdropped the two, hislowest card being discouraging. (If you and yourpartner use upside-down signals,Eastshouldplaythenineattrick one.)Thisdenies thequeen (unlesshe has exactly queen-two-doubleton, which is veryunlikely). So West shouldshift at trick two, hoping his partner can get on lead early enough to pushaclubthrough South.

wuzzles

Here, any lead other than aspade at trick two defeats the contract, assuming Eastleadsaclubwhenhegetsinwithhis heartace.

Each Wuzzle is awordriddlewhich creates adisguised word, phrase, name, place, saying, etc. For example: NOON GOOD =GOOD AFTERNOON

Previous answers:

word game

InstRuctIons: 1. Words must be of fourormore letters. 2. Words that acquire fourletters 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 wordsare not allowed toDAY’s WoRD MEDIAn: MEE-dee-in: Avalue forwhich there is an equal number of values above and below.

Average mark20words

Timelimit 30 minutes Can you find 27 or morewords in MEDIAN?

YEstERDAY’s WoRD —IncIsIVEnEss

iciness incense

nine nisei cense scene seen seine sense seven sieve since sine vein vice vine vise envies even evince

loCKhorNs

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles

hidato

mallard fillmore

and Unclassi

Unclassified Service. The unclassified service shall include the following officers and employees in the state and city civil service:

(1) elected officials and persons appointed to fill vacancies in elective offices;

(2) the heads of each principal executive department appointed by the governor,the mayor,orthe governing authority of acity;

(3) city attorneys;

(4) registrars of voters; (5) members of state and city boards, authorities, and commissions;

(6) one private secretary to the president of each college or university;

(7) one person holding aconfidential position and one principal assistant or deputy to any officer,board, commission, or authority mentioned in (1), (2), (4), or (5) above, except civil service departments;

(8) members of the military or naval forces;

(9) teaching and professional staffs, and administrative officers of schools, colleges, and universities of the state, and bona fide students of those institutions employed by any state, parochial or municipal agency;

(10) employees, deputies, and officers of the legislatureand of the offices of the governor,lieutenant governor,attorney general, each mayor and city attorney,ofpolice juries, school boards, assessors, and of all offices provided for in Article Vofthis constitution except the offices of clerk of the municipal and trafficcourts in New Orleans; (11) commissionersofelections, watchers, and custodians and deputy custodians of voting machines; (12) railroad employees whose working conditions and retirement benefits areregulated by federal agencies in accordance with federal law; and

(13) the director,deputy director,and all employees of the Governor’sOffice of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. Additional positions may be added to the unclassified service and those positions may be revoked by rules adopted by a commission. Additional officers, positions, and employees may be added to the unclassified service in the state civil service by law and such additional officers, positions, and employees may be removed from the unclassified service only by law.

Section 3. Be it further resolved that on the official ballot to be used at said election thereshall be printed aproposition, upon which the electors of the state shall be permitted to vote YESorNO, to amend the Constitution of Louisiana, which proposition shall read as follows:

“Do you support an amendment to allow the legislaturetoremove or add officers, positions, and employees to the unclassified state civil service?” (Amends Article X, Section 2(B))

Proposed Amendment No. 2 Regular Session, 2025 ---ACT No. 218 ----

SENATE BILL NO.25 BY SENATOR EDMONDS AND REPRESENTATIVECHENEVERT

AJOINT RESOLUTION

Proposing to amend Article VIII, Section 13(D)(1) of the Constitution of Louisiana, relative to certain effects and purposes for the proposed St. George community school system in East Baton Rouge Parish which shall be regarded and treated as aparish and shall have the authority granted parishes with respect to operating aschool system, including the purposes of certain funding and the raising of certain local revenues for the support of elementary and secondaryschools; to provide for submission of the proposed amendment to the electors; to specify an election date for submission of the proposition to electors and to provide for aballot proposition.

Section 1. Be it resolved by the LegislatureofLouisiana, two-thirds of the members elected to each house concurring, that thereshall be submitted to the electors of the state, for their approval or rejection in the manner provided by law,aproposal to amend Article VIII, Section 13(D)(1) of the Constitution of Louisiana, to read as follows: §13. Funding; Apportionment Section 13. ** * (D)(1) Municipal and Other School Systems. For the effects and purposes of this Section, the Central community school system, the St. George community schoolsystem, and the Zachary community school system in East Baton Rouge Parish, and the municipalities of Baker in East Baton Rouge Parish, Monroe in Ouachita Parish, and Bogalusa in Washington Parish, and no others, shall be regarded and treated as parishes and shall have the authority granted parishes. Consistent with Article VIII of this constitution, relevant to equal educational opportunities, no state dollars shall be used to discriminate or to have the effect of discriminating in providing equal educational opportunity for all students.

Section 2. Be it further resolved that this proposed amendment shall be submitted to the electors of the state of Louisiana at astatewide election to be held on April 18, 2026, if House Bill No. 625 of the 2025 Regular Session of the LegislatureofLouisiana becomes effective. If House Bill No. 625 of the 2025 Regular Session of the Legislatureof Louisiana does not become effective, this proposed amendment shall be submitted to the electors of the state of Louisiana at astatewide election to be held on November 3, 2026. Section 3. Be it further resolved that on the official ballot to be used at said election thereshall be printed aproposition, upon which the electors of the state shall be permitted to vote YESorNO, to amend the Constitution of Louisiana, which proposition shall read as follows: Do you support an amendment to grant the St. Georgecommunity school system in East Baton Rouge Parish the same authority granted parishes for purposes of Article VIII, Section 13 of the Constitution of Louisiana, including purposes related to the minimum foundation program, funding for certain school books and instructional materials, andthe raising of certain local revenues for the support of elementary andsecondary schools? (Amends Article VIII, Section 13(D)(1)) Proposed Amendment No. 3 Regular Session, 2025

and to repeal Article VII, Sections 10(F)(4)(d), 10.1, 10.8(A)(3) and (C)(3), and 10.16(A)(9), relative to monies in the state treasury; to repeal the Education Excellence Fund within the

requireadditional state general fund expenditures for the Minimum Foundation Program relative to such pay raises; to direct the state treasurer to take certain actions with respect to monies in repealed funds; to provide for calculation and transfer of such monies to the Overcollections Fund for use by specified entities pursuant to outlined restrictions; to execute technical changes; to provide for submission of the proposed amendment to the electors; and to provide for related matters. Section 1. Be it resolved by the LegislatureofLouisiana, two-thirds of the members elected to each house concurring, that thereshall be submitted to the electors of the state of Louisiana, for their approval or rejection in the manner provided by law,a proposal to amend Article VII, Section 10.8(A)(1), (2), and (4), (B), and (C)(1) of the Constitution of Louisiana and to enact Article VII, Section 10.17 to read as follows: §10.8. Millennium Trust Section 10.8. Millennium Trust (A) Creation. (1) Thereshall be established in the state treasury as aspecial permanent trust the “Millennium Trust”. After allocation of money to the Bond Security and Redemption Fund as provided in Article VII, Section 9(B) of this constitution, the treasurer shall depositinand credit to the Millennium Trust certain monies received as aresult of the Master Settlement Agreement, hereinafter the “Settlement Agreement”, executed November 23, 1998, and approved by Consent Decree and Final Judgment entered in the case “RichardP.Ieyoub, Attorney General,exrel. State of Louisiana v. Philip Morris, Incorporated, et al.”, bearing Number 98-6473 on the docket of the Fourteenth Judicial District for the parish of Calcasieu, state of Louisiana; and all dividend and interest income and all realized capital gains on investment of the monies in the Millennium Trust. The treasurer shall deposit in and credit to the Millennium Trust the following amounts of monies received as aresult of the Settlement Agreement: (a) Fiscal Year 2000-2001, forty-five percent of the total monies received that year (b) Fiscal Year 2001-2002, sixty percent of the total monies received that year (c) Fiscal Year 2002-2003 and each fiscal year thereafter seventy-five percent of the total monies received that year each fiscal year as aresult of the Settlement Agreement. However,beginning in Fiscal Year 2011-2012 after the balance in the Millennium Trust reaches atotal of one billion three hundred eighty million dollars, the The monies deposited in and credited to the Millennium Trust, received as aresult of the Settlement Agreement, shall be allocated to the various funds within the Millennium Trust as provided in Subsubparagraphs (2) (b), (3)(b), and (4)(b) and (c) of this Paragraph. TOPS Fund. (d) For Fiscal Year 2000-2001, Fiscal Year 2001-2002, and Fiscal Year 2002-2003, ten percent of the total monies received in each of those years for credit to the Education Excellence Fund which, notwithstanding the provisions of Subparagraph (C)(1) of this Section, shall be appropriated for the purposes provided in Subsubparagraph (d) of Subparagraph (3) of Paragraph (C) of this Section.

(2)(a) The Health Excellence Fund shall be established as a special fund within the Millennium Trust. The treasurer shall credit to the Health Excellence Fund one-third of the Settlement Agreement proceeds deposited each year into the Millennium Trust, and onethirdofall investment earnings on the investment of the Millennium Trust. The treasurer shall report annuallytothe legislatureastothe amount of Millennium Trust investment earnings credited to the Health Excellence Fund.

(b) Beginning Fiscal Year 2011-2012, and each fiscal year thereafter,the The treasurer shall credit to the Health Excellence Fund one-third one-halfofall investment earnings on the investment of the Millennium Trust. The treasurer shall report annually to the legislature as to the amount of Millennium Trust investment earnings credited to the Health Excellence Fund.

(c) (b) Beginning on July 1, 2012, after After allocation of money to the Bond Security and Redemption Fund as provided in Article VII, Section 9(B) of this constitution, the state treasurer shall depositinand credit to the Health Excellence Fund an amount equal to the revenues derived from the tax levied pursuant to R.S. 47:841(B) (3).

(4)(a) The TOPS Fund shall be established as aspecial fund within the Millennium Trust. The treasurer shall deposit in and credit to the TOPS Fund one- thirdofthe Settlement Agreement proceeds deposited into the Millennium Trust, and one-third of all investment earnings on the investment of the Millennium Trust. The treasurer shall report annually to the legislatureastothe amount of Millennium Trust investment earnings credited to the TOPS Fund. (b) Beginning Fiscal Year 2011-2012, and each fiscal year thereafter,the The treasurer shall credit to the TOPS Fund one hundred percent of the Settlement Agreement proceeds deposited into the Millennium Trust, and one-third one-halfofall investment earnings on the investment of the Millennium Trust. The treasurer shall report annuallytothe legislatureastothe amount of Millennium Trust Settlement Agreement proceeds and investment earnings credited to the TOPS Fund. (c) Upon the effective date of this Subsubparagraph, the state treasurer shall deposit, transfer,orotherwise credit funds in an amount equal to such Settlement Agreement proceeds deposited in and credited to the Millennium Trust received by the state between April 1, 2011 and the effective date of this Subsubparagraph to the TOPS Fund. *** (B) Investment. Monies credited to the Millennium Trust pursuant to Paragraph (A) of this Section shall be invested by the treasurer with the same authority and subject to the same restrictions as the Louisiana Education Quality Trust Fund. as provided by law However,the portion of monies in the Millennium Trust which may be invested in stock may be increased to no morethan fifty percent by aspecificlegislative instrument which receives afavorable vote of two-thirdsofthe elected members of each house of the legislature. The legislatureshall provide for procedures for the investment of such monies by law.The treasurer may contract, subject to the approval of the State Bond Commission, for the management of such investments and, if acontract is entered into, amounts necessary to pay the costs of the contract shall be appropriated from the Millennium Trust. (C) Appropriations. (1)(a) Appropriations from the Education Excellence Fund shall be limited to an annual amount not to exceed the estimated aggregate annual earnings from interest, dividends, and realized capital gains on investment of the trust allocated as provided by Paragraph (A) of this Section and as recognized by the Revenue Estimating Conference. Amounts determined to be available for appropriation shall be those aggregate investment earnings which areinexcess of an inflation factor as determined by the Revenue Estimating Conference. The amount of realized capital gains on investment which may be included in the aggregate earnings available for appropriation in any year shall not exceed the aggregate of earnings from interest and dividends for that year (b)(i) For Fiscal Year 2011-2012, appropriations from the Health Excellence Fund shall be limited to an annual amount not to exceed the estimated aggregate annual earnings from interest, dividends, and realized capital gains on investment of the trust and credited to the Health Excellence Fund as provided by Subsubparagraph (A) (2)(b) of

pursuant to the provisions of this Section shall be restricted to expenditure for pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade instructional enhancementfor students, including early childhood education programs focused on enhancing the preparation of at-risk children for school, remedial instruction, and assistance to children who fail to achieve the required scores on any tests passage of whichare required pursuant to state law or rule for advancementto asucceeding grade or other educational programs approved by the legislature. Expenditures for maintenance or renovation of buildings, capital improvements, and increases in employee salaries areprohibited. Section 4. Within two weeks of the effective date of this Act, the State BoardofElementary and Secondary Education and the BoardofRegents shall each coordinate with the Department of Treasury to certify amounts maintained in the Louisiana Quality Education Support Fund held to the agency’scredit within the fund. The state treasurer is hereby authorized and directed to transfer to the Overcollections Fund an amount equal to the certified balances of each agency.Monies held in the Overcollections Fund for each agency shall be appropriated and used in accordance with the following:

(A) Higher Education. Monies attributable to the certified balance of the BoardofRegents shall be appropriated to the Board of Regents and allocated for any or all of the following

(2) The endowment of chairs for eminent scholars.

(3) The enhancement of the quality of academic, research, or agricultural departments or units within acommunity college, college, or university.These funds shall not be used for athletic purposes or programs.

(4) The recruitment of superior graduate students.

(B)Elementary and Secondary Education.Monies attributable to the State BoardofElementary