The Advocate 04-03-2026

BR garbage service could be reduced

Republic proposal calls for weekly pickup at same price

BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER Staff writer

Talks to renegotiate the city-parish’s garbage contract are underway at City Hall, with the current service provider proposing to reduce the number of collection days, documents show Republic Services’ pitch would reduce garbage collection from two days a week to one at the current price to residents, according to documents obtained by The Advocate.

If approved, the plan would include an increase in “boom truck” service for bulky waste pickup, though the details of that are unclear

In a statement Thursday, MayorPresident Sid Edwards declined to take a position on Republic’s proposal, noting that the talks are in the early stages.

“While negotiations are still preliminary my goal is to ensure residents receive fair value and that

“While negotiations are still preliminary, my goal is to ensure residents receive fair value and that we are being responsible with their dollars.”

we are being responsible with their dollars,” Edwards said. “Maintaining a clean city and parish remains a top priority, and I believe we can achieve that by working closely with the Metro Council and our partners like Republic.”

But the proposal has drawn pushback from some Metro Council members.

Darryl Hurst says residents should not have to pay the same for less service.

a disservice to our taxpayers,” Hurst said. Hurst also says once-weekly pickup would be unsanitary for homeowners.

“When we talk about trash, a lot of people think about haves and havenots, the rich and the poor, Black and White. But what we all have in common in south Louisiana is a love for seafood,” Hurst said. “Imagine crawfish, shrimp, crabs, sitting in your trash for a week, bringing flies, larvae, transmitting diseases through mosquitoes and things like that.”

$1B Newtron Group founder planned for firm to be donated

BY IANNE SALVOSA Staff writer

A national industrial electrical contractor is now owned by the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, bringing a $1 billion asset to the foundation and strengthening both groups’ ability to contribute to charitable causes.

More than a decade ago, Newton Thomas, the founder of the company, set up plans that ensured the company would maintain its business and charitable operations after his death. Thomas died in July at age 81. The Newtron Group was donated to BRAF under no financial terms, effective March 17. With annual revenues of $1 billion, The Newtron Group is one of the largest privately held specialty electrical construction companies in the

Bill to let DAs change judges advances

BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer

The current contract provides service to the city of Baton Rouge, the parish’s unincorporated areas, St. George and Central.

Reached Thursday, Republic General Manager Sharon Mann said their once-weekly plan would include an extra garbage bin for

“Moving to one day a week and paying the same amount or more is

SID EDWARDS East Baton Rouge Parish mayor-president ä See GARBAGE, page 4A

Trump fires Attorney General Bondi

Move comes after scrutiny over handling of Epstein files

BY ALANNA DURKIN RICHER, ERIC TUCKER, MICHAEL BALSAMO and MICHELLE L. PRICE Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump said Thursday that Pam Bondi is out as his attorney general, ending the contentious tenure of a loyalist who upended the Justice Department’s culture of independence from the White

House, oversaw large-scale firings of career employees and moved aggressively to investigate the Republican president’s perceived enemies.

The departure followed months of scrutiny over the Justice Department’s handling of files related to the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation and failed efforts to meet Trump’s unwavering demands for criminal cases against his adversaries. As Trump’s own frustrations mounted, he began privately discussing firing Bondi, people familiar with the matter say “Pam Bondi is a Great Ameri-

can Patriot and a loyal friend, who faithfully served as my Attorney General over the past year,” Trump said in a statement He added, “We love Pam, and she will be transitioning to a much needed and important new job in the private sector, to be announced at a date in the near future.” Trump named Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, one of his former personal lawyers, as the acting attorney general. Three people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Thursday that he has privately

ä See BONDI, page 4A

Louisiana district attorneys could soon be able to have new judges assigned to criminal cases when defendants opt not to have jury trials. A bill that would make that change is the latest in a series of proposals rankling defense advocates, who say the new rules would stack the decks to favor prosecutors.

Proponents of the legislation, including state Attorney General Liz Murrill, argue House Bill 381 is needed to keep defendants from “judge shopping.” But defense attorneys say it would give prosecutors the power to do exactly that. The bill comes as lawmakers also consider

ä See JUDGES, page 5A

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MARK SCHIEFELBEIN President Donald Trump speaks with Attorney General Pam Bondi during a roundtable discussion on public safety at a Tennessee Air National Guard base on March 23.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By TRAVIS SPRADLING

Republic Services is proposing to cut garbage collection in East Baton Rouge Parish to once a week.

Thomas

Saharan dust storm turns Greek sky red

ATHENS Greece A powerful storm front that lashed Greece over the past 24 hours brought gale force winds and flooding that left one man dead and turned the sky over Crete a deep red.

The sky’s surreal red hues were reminiscent of apocalyptic scenes over Crete where the storm that hit the island with gale-force winds combined with a Saharan dust storm.

On the mainland, Greek media reports said a 55-year-old man died after becoming trapped under a car as he was swept by surging waters in the town of Nea Makri, some 16 miles northeast of the Greek capital Athens. Fire Department official Yiannis Tsingas told state radio that fire engines responded to some 500 calls for assistance including cutting felled trees, pumping water out of flooded homes and rescuing 33 people trapped by the high floodwaters.

German artist sentenced for Putin carnival display

MOSCOW A German artist who created carnival displays mocking Russian President Vladimir Putin was sentenced in absentia on Thursday to 81/2 years in prison by a court In Moscow Jacques Tilly was convicted on charges of spreading false information about the Russian military and insulting religious feelings. Carnival parades in Germany are famed for their floats mocking a wide variety of domestic and global political figures, and Putin has frequently been a target Tilly, 62, has been designing and building floats for Düsseldorf’s Carnival parade — one of Germany’s best-known since 1984. In recent years, his designs have depicted Putin scrubbing himself in a bathtub filled with blood and painted in the colors of the Ukraine flag, while another featured a red-faced Putin biting into Ukraine, which was decorated with the words “Choke on it!”

Sunken Danish warship found after 225 years

COPENHAGEN, Denmark More than 200 years after being sunk by Adm. Horatio Nelson and the British fleet, a Danish warship has been discovered on the seabed of Copenhagen Harbor by marine archaeologists.

Working in thick sediment and almost zero visibility 49 feet beneath the waves, divers are in a race against time to unearth the 19th-century wreck of the Dannebroge before it becomes a construction site in a new housing district being built off the Danish coast.

Denmark’s Viking Ship Museum, which is leading the monthslong underwater excavations, announced its findings on Thursday, 225 years to the day since the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801.

“It’s a big part of the Danish national feeling,” said Morten Johansen, the museum’s head of maritime archaeology

World’s oldest known tortoise still alive

LONDON Reports on April

Fools’ Day of the death of the world’s oldest living land animal — a 193-year-old tortoise called Jonathan were greatly exaggerated.

Jonathan is still kicking — albeit slowly on the island of St. Helena.

“It was a hoax,” Anne Dillon, head of communications on the island, told The Associated Press on Thursday “I can just assure you that he is very much alive.”

News of the Seychelles giant tortoise’s demise spread rapidly on social media on Wednesday

An account on X, falsely claiming to be by Joe Hollins, a veterinarian who had worked with the reptile on the island in the south Atlantic Ocean between Africa and Brazil, said he was heartbroken to announce the death of the “gentle giant” that “outlived empires, wars, and generations of humans.”

The post quickly accumulated nearly 2 million views through Thursday mostly an outpouring of condolences.

Trump says he’ll sign order to resume pay

Homeland Security funding lapse likely to continue

BY KEVIN FREKING, JOEY CAPPELLETTI and COLLIN BINKLEY Associated Press

WASHINGTON — President Donald

Trump said Thursday he will soon sign an order to pay all Department of Homeland Security employees who have gone without paychecks during the record-long partial government shutdown that has reached 48 days.

Despite that unilateral move announced in a social media post, the funding lapse for some DHS needs is likely to stretch into next week as the House contemplates passing a Senate plan it had previously rejected to fund the bulk of the agency, though not its immigration enforcement operations.

Trump used a similar maneuver to resume pay for the Transportation Security Administration after many employees had called out from work, resulting in long delays at airport security lines for travelers. Trump’s latest intervention is expected to apply to other non-law enforcement employees at the department, including many employees at the Federal Emer-

gency Management Agency, U.S Coast Guard and the agency responsible for coordinating federal cybersecurity efforts.

Trump said their families “have suffered far too long.”

“Nevertheless, help is on the way for our Brave and Patriotic Public Servants who have continued to work hard, and do their part to protect and defend our Country,” Trump said.

There was no legislative resolution Thursday after both the House and Senate met for just a few minutes in pro forma sessions. Nonetheless, the Republican leadership and Trump have coalesced around a plan to fully fund DHS as part of a two-step process. The agreement puts the congressional leaders on the same page for ending the impasse after they had pursued separate paths that resulted in Congress leaving Washington last week for its spring recess without a fix.

During the brief sessions, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., put aside the House plan to fund the entire department for 60 days. Then the House met briefly

without taking up the bipartisan Senate plan that had been worked out with Democrats, though Thune is looking toward eventual passage.

“I don’t know the particulars around what the House will do with it,” Thune told reporters. “My assumption is, at some point, hopefully, they’ll move it.”

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, and Thune, announced Wednesday that they would return to the Senate measure, which funds most of DHS with the exception of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Border Patrol. Republicans will try later to fund those agencies through party-line spending legislation that could take months to finish.

Neither outcome is guaranteed, and the strategy could potentially still face opposition from the GOP’s own ranks even though Trump has given his support.

Johnson’s embrace of the twotrack plan marks a sharp reversal from less than a week ago, when he derided it as a “joke” and said he was “quite convinced that it can’t be that every Senate Republican read the language of this bill.”

Artemis II astronauts rocket toward the moon

BY MARCIA DUNN AP aerospace writer

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. NASA’s Artemis II

astronauts fired their engines and blazed toward the moon Thursday night, breaking free of the chains that have trapped humanity in shallow laps around Earth in the decades since Apollo.

The so-called translunar ignition came 25 hours after liftoff, putting the three Americans and a Canadian on course for a lunar fly-around early next week. Their Orion capsule bolted out of orbit around Earth right on cue and chased after the moon to nearly 250,000 miles away

It was the first such engine firing for a space crew since Apollo 17 set out on that era’s final moonshot on Dec. 7 1972

NASA said that preliminary reports indicate it went well.

“Humanity has once again shown what we are capable of, and it’s your hopes for the future that carry us now on this journey around the moon,” said Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen.

He said they were glued to the windows to take in the view, calling it “phenomenal.”

NASA had the Artemis II crew stick close to home for a day to test their capsule’s life-support systems before clearing them for lunar departure.

Now committed to the moon, the Artemis II test flight is the opening act for NASA’s grand plans for a moon base and sustained lunar living.

Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Hansen

will dash past the moon then hang a Uturn and zip straight home without stopping on land. In the process, they will become the farthest humans have ever

traveled from Earth, breaking the Apollo 13 distance record set in 1970. They also may become the fastest during their reentry at flight’s end on April 10.

Glover, Koch and Hansen already have made history as the first Black, the first woman and the first non-U.S. citizen to launch to the moon. Apollo’s 24 lunar travelers were all White men.

To set the mood for the day’s main event, Mission Control woke up the crew with John Legend’s “Green Light” featuring Andre 3000 and a medley of NASA teams cheering them.

“We are ready to go,” Glover said.

Mission Control gave the final goahead minutes before the critical engine firing, telling the astronauts that they were embarking on “humanity’s lunar homecoming arc” to bring them back to Earth.

The engine accelerated them to 24,000 mph to shove them out of Earth’s orbit.

Koch replied: “With this burn to the moon, we do not leave Earth. We choose it.”

The next major milestone will be Monday’s lunar flyby

Orion will zoom 4,000 miles beyond the moon before turning back, providing unprecedented and illuminated views of the lunar far side, at least for human eyes. The cosmos will even treat the Artemis II astronauts to a total solar eclipse as the moon temporarily blocks the sun from their perspective.

While awaiting their orbital departure earlier Thursday the astronauts savored the views of Earth from tens of thousands of miles high. Koch told Mission Control that they can make out the entire coastlines of continents and even the South Pole, her old stomping ground.

After crash, Tiger Woods said he was talking to president

BY R.J RICO Associated Press

After crashing his SUV last week in Florida, Tiger Woods took out his phone and told a deputy, “I was just talking to the president,” according to body camera footage released Thursday showing Woods’ arrest on a DUI charge.

The phone conversation was not captured on video, but Woods could be heard saying, “Thank you so much,” as he hung up and the deputy approached It wasn’t clear if Woods was referring to President Donald Trump, whose former daughter-in-law, Vanessa Trump, is dating Woods.

Shortly after the golfer’s March 27 arrest, Trump was asked about Woods and told reporters: “I feel so badly He’s got some difficulty Very close friend of mine. He’s an amazing person. Amazing man. But, some difficulty.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Trump spoke to Woods after the crash. The footage also shows how Woods appeared to be astonished as he was handcuffed after failing a sobriety test and a video from the back of the patrol car shows the handcuffed golfer hiccupping, yawning and repeatedly appearing to nod off during the 15-minute ride. Woods told authorities he was looking at his phone and changing the radio station when his speeding Land Rover clipped the back of a truck and rolled onto its side on a residential road on Jupiter Island No one was injured.

“I looked down at my phone, and all of a sudden — boom,” Woods told an officer as he knelt on a lawn, prior to his arrest.

Body camera footage shows Martin County sheriff’s Deputy Tatiana Levenar then conducting a roadside sobriety test and telling Woods: “I do believe your normal faculties are impaired, and you’re under an unknown substance, so at this time you’re under arrest for DUI.” “I’m being arrested?” Woods responded.

“Yes, sir,” Levenar said.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By J SCOTT APPLEWHITE

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks to reporters

measure by unanimous consent that would fund most of the Department of Homeland Security, if the House agrees, at the Capitol in Washington.

Trumpthreatens 100% drug tariff

Ordertargets companies withoutdeals with administration

BY WYATTE GRANTHAMPHILIPS Associated Press

NEW YORK President Donald Trumpsigned an executive order Thursday that could slaplong-threatened pharmaceutical tariffs of up to 100% on some patented drugs from companies that don’treach dealswith his administration in the coming months. Companies that have signed a“most favored nation” pricing deal andare actively building facilities in the U.S. to onshore productionofpatented pharmaceuticals and their ingredients will have a0% tariff. For those thatdon’t have apricing dealbut are building such projects in the U.S., a20% tariff will apply but will increase to 100% in four years.

Asenior administration official told reporters on a presscallthatcompanies still have months to negotiate before the100% tariffs kick in —120 days for bigger companies, and 180 days for everyone else. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to preview the executiveorder before it wasissued, did not identify any companies or drugsthat were in jeopardy of getting hitwith theincreasedtariffs but noted the administration had already reached17pricing deals with majordrugmakers, 13ofwhichhave signed.

In the order,Trump wrote that he deemedsuchactions necessary “to addressthe threatened impairment of the national security posed by imports of pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical ingredients.” It arrivedonthe first anniversary of Trump’s so-called Liberation Day, whenthe presidentunveiled sweeping new import taxes on nearlyevery country in theworld that sent the stock market reeling.Those “LiberationDay”tariffs were

amongthe duties theSupreme Court overturnedin February

Some warned of consequences of the coming tariffs announced Thursday Stephen J. Ubl, CEO of pharmaceutical company trade group PhRMA, said taxes “oncutting-edge medicines will increase costsand could jeopardize billions in U.S investments.” He pointed to America’salready large footprint in biopharmaceutical manufacturing and noted medicines sourced from other countries “overwhelmingly come from reliable U.S. allies.”

Trumphas launched abarrage of new import taxes on America’strading partners since the start of hissecond termand repeatedly pledged that sky-high levies on foreign-made drugs were on theway.But theadministration has also used the threat of newleviesto strike deals with major companies —like Pfizer, Eli Lilly andBristol Myers Squibb —over thelastyear,with promises of lower prices for new drugs.

BY JAMIE STENGLE Associated Press

DALLAS Federal prosecutors on Thursdayaccused rapper Pooh Shiesty and eight others of robbing three menatgunpoint and kidnapping themearlier this year in Texas following acontract dispute involving rapperGucci Mane’srecord label.

TheU.S.Attorney’sOffice in Dallas declined to name thevictimsand an FBIaffidavit attached to acriminal complaint only refers to them by their initials. One victim, R.D., is describedas theowner of 1017Records, the label belonging to Gucci Mane, whose legal name is RadricDelantic Davis.

“The victims in this case

cametoDallas to conduct legitimate business andthey were met withfirearms and violence,” Ryan Raybould, theU.S.attorney forthe Northern DistrictofTexas said at anews conference Thursday Publicists for Gucci Mane didn’t respond to emailedrequests forcomment.

The allegedconfrontation happenedJan.10afterthe three victimsflew to Dallas forwhattheythought wasa business meeting at amusic studio, according to the affidavit.Prosecutors saidPooh Shiesty,whose legal is name Lontrell Williams Jr., arrangedthe meeting,allegedly to discuss theterms of his contract with1017 Records.

“Oncethese threemen were inside therecording studio,Williams Jr.and eight co-conspirators —several of whom traveled from Memphis, Tennessee— executed acoordinated, armed take-

BY MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press

WORCESTER, Mass. Asupervisor and two instructors with aMassachusetts State Policetactical unit pleaded not guilty Thursday in the death of arecruit who suffered aconcussion duringa sparring session and blunt force injuries aday later in what investigators called an

over,” said Raybould,who described Pooh Shiestyas the“ringleader.” Raybould describedthe three victims as music industry professionals. In the affidavit, the other twovictims arereferredtobythe initials M.M. andB.P The affidavit said Pooh Shiesty hadasked to speak with thelabel owner privatelyin arecording room. The label owner then entered the room with Pooh Shiesty,Pooh Shiesty’sfather and rapper Big30, whoselegal name is Rodney Wright. Both LontrellWilliams Sr.and Wright are also defendants. Pooh Shiesty produced contract termination paperworkand toldthe ownerto sign.Theyargued andPooh Shiesty pulled apistol and forced him to sign, police said.Pooh Shiestythen took the man’swedding ring, watch, earrings and cash, the affidavit said.

discussed Lee Zeldin, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, as a permanent pick

In her own statement, Bondi called the job “the honor of a lifetime” and said she would be working over the next month to transition the position to Blanche.

Bondi came into office 14 months ago, pledging that she would not play politics with the Justice Department. But she quickly set out to do Trump’s bidding, heaping lavish praise at congressional hearings and White House events, firing prosecutors deemed insufficiently loyal to the president and opening investigations into his political foes. The intense turmoil contributed to the resignations of hundreds of employees, with the norm-breaking actions stirring concern that the department was being wielded as a tool to advance Trump’s personal and political interests

“Pam Bondi oversaw an unprecedented weaponization of the Justice Department that brought our nation’s rule of law to its knees,” said Sen. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat.

Bondi rejected accusations that she politicized the Justice Department and said her mission was to restore the institution’s credibility after overreach by President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration, which included two federal criminal cases against Trump. Bondi’s defenders have said she worked to refocus the department to better tackle illegal immigration and violent crime and brought much-needed change to an agency they believe unfairly targeted conservatives.

Protecting the president Bondi’s public embrace of the president, however, marked a sharp departure from her predecessors, who generally took pains to maintain an arm’s-length distance from the White House to protect the impartiality of investigations and prosecutions. Bondi postured herself as Trump’s chief supporter and protector, praising

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customers, and that the push for a change started with the city-parish not the company

“For us, we don’t necessarily have to do anything,” Mann said. “We could keep doing what we’re doing. Republic did not go to the administration or the council about this.”

Edwards’ administration did not say whether it started conversations about changing the contract or Republic did.

Some council members are in full support, with the boom truck service Republic has offered their districts serving as the major enticement.

Council member Twahna P. Harris understands some people might not like the schedule change but says constituents in her district, which includes parts of the Florida Boulevard corridor and Mid-City, have been pining for regular boom truck service to be restored.

“Districts are being bom-

and defending him in congressional hearings and placing a banner with his face on the exterior of Justice Department headquarters.

She called for an end to the “weaponization” of law enforcement that she said occurred under the Biden administration, even though Biden’s attorney general, Merrick Garland, and Jack Smith, the special counsel who produced two cases against Trump, have said they followed the facts, the evidence and the law in their decision-making Bondi’s critics, meanwhile, said she was the one who had politicized the agency

“You’ve turned the People’s Department of Justice into Trump’s instrument of revenge,” Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary committee, said at a February hearing Bondi delivered a combative performance but few substantive

barded with illegal dumping day in and day out,” Harris said “We have landlords who evict tenants and just pile their trash right there in front of that property If we can pick up the phone, give Republic a call, and they’ll take care of it, that’s great.”

Harris called the company a partner in her mission to eliminate blight in her district. The current contract was approved by the Metro Council in 2022, with twiceper-week pickup at $35.23 per resident. At the time, Republic tried to move to once-weekly pickup, which would cost homeowners $23.50. After pushback from residents, Hurst proposed compromising by setting the price at the current level in order to keep the twice-weekly pickup schedule.

He and seven other council members — Laurie Adams, Denise Amoroso, then-member LaMont Cole, Carolyn Coleman, Aaron Moak, Brandon Noel and Jen Racca — approved the amended terms. Regular large-waste pickup with boom trucks

answers at that hearing, as she angrily insulted her Democratic questioners with name-calling and praised Trump for the performance of the stock market “The Dow is up over 50,000 right now!” —- and openly aligned herself as in sync with a president whom she painted as a victim of past impeachments and investigations.

Even Republicans began to challenge her, with the GOP-led House Oversight Committee last month issuing a subpoena to her to appear for a closed-door interview about the Epstein files.

Under Bondi’s leadership, the department opened investigations into a string of Trump foes, including Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, New York Attorney General Letitia James, former FBI Director James Comey and former CIA Director John Brennan. The high-profile prosecutions of Comey and James were short-lived as they were quickly thrown out by a

was eliminated under that contract, leaving a void the city-parish has tried to fill through private service by Richard’s Disposal, which residents pay to pick up large debris like woody waste.

Included in the existing contract is an annual cost increase to the city-parish of 4%. Republic has agreed not to collect on that in recent years. If the company chooses to, some council members fear it could add millions of dollars to the parish’s debt.

If the proposal is approved, Mann said it would not mean any significant financial gain for the Republic.

“We are doing this for the mayor, the council and the constituents,” Mann said. “Republic is getting nothing. I promise you, we are getting nothing. I’d have to spend $5 million to buy boom trucks So we’re really just trying to help clean up the city That was the only goal.

Hurst says Republic’s current contract terms are “extremely lucrative” for the company and he can’t in good conscience let them renegotiate to something that

reduces service.

judge who ruled that the prosecutor who brought the cases was illegally appointed.

Trump repeatedly praised and defended Bondi publicly but also showed flashes of impatience with his attorney general’s efforts to meet his demands to prosecute his rivals. In one extraordinary social media post last year, Trump called on Bondi to move quickly to prosecute his foes, including James and Comey telling her “We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility.”

Bondi oversaw the exodus of thousands of career employees — both through firings and voluntary departures — including lawyers who prosecuted violent attacks on police at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021; environmental, civil rights and ethics enforcers; counterterrorism prosecutors; and others.

Fumbling the Epstein files

She struggled to overcome ear-

ly stumbles over the Epstein files that angered conservatives eager for government bombshells about the case, which has long fascinated conspiracy theorists. She herself had fed the conspiracy theory machine with a suggestion in a 2025 Fox News Channel interview that Epstein’s “client list” was sitting on her desk for review The department later acknowledged that no such document exists.

Bondi was ridiculed over a move to hand out binders of Epstein files to conservative influencers at the White House, only for it to be later revealed that the documents included no new revelations. And despite promises that more files were going to become public, the Justice Department in July said no more would be released, prompting Congress to pass a bill to force the agency to do so. Ultimately, the department said it had complied with its obligations by releasing millions more records.

Jess Michaels, an Epstein survivor who traveled to the U.S. Capitol last year to press for the files’ release, said she was optimistic when Bondi took office but lost faith after Bondi distributed the binders at the White House.

“I think she had this opportunity to be a hero and to really do right by survivors of sexual violence and trafficking, and she chose not to,” Michaels said by phone. “It is outrageous, the volume of miscalculation she has made.”

The Epstein files fumbles led to a stunning public criticism from White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, a close friend of Bondi’s, who told Vanity Fair that the attorney general “completely whiffed.” The Justice Department’s release of millions of pages of Epstein files did little to tamp down criticism, prompting a House committee, with the support of five Republicans, to subpoena Bondi to answer questions under oath.

Bondi, who defended Trump during his first impeachment trial, was his second choice to lead the Justice Department, picked for the role after former Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida withdrew his name from consideration amid scrutiny over sex trafficking allegations.

“They’ve made tons of money off the backs of our

taxpayers. And so for tons of money, we should get tons of service,” Hurst said.

“But now they want to do even less work for the same price? Not on my watch.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By J SCOTT APPLEWHITE

Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks during a House Judiciary Committee hearing at the Capitol, in Washington, on Feb 11.

JUDGES

proposalsthat aimtoallow district attorneys to force jury trials, on the one hand, and make fewer misdemeanor defendants eligible for jury trials, on the other HB381’ssponsor,Rep Josh Carlson, R-Lafayette, told the House Administration of Criminal Justice Committee Wednesday that defendants should not be able to keep their cases before favorable judges after waiving jury trials He was quickly backed by Murrill, who said HB381 aims to “prevent judge shopping in criminal cases and manipulation of the criminal justice system.”

If the bill passes, adefendant who waives his rightto ajurytrial would havehis case randomly reassigned to another judge in the same court unless the district attorney waived the reassignment. The law would only apply to district courts with at least three criminal judges. Defense advocates challenged the notion that the changewould promote fairness, noting that criminal cases are already randomly assigned to judges. They also said the change would create extra work for the courts by putting cases before newjudgesunfamiliar with the evidence presented. For the state to have the power to decide whethera

State Rep. Josh Carlson, R-Lafayette, right, is sponsoring House

would allow district attorneys to force criminal cases to be randomly reassigned to newjudges when defendantsopt forjudge trials.

casetriedbyajudge gets reassigned, “thatisforum shopping, and thatisforum shopping by the district attorney,” said SarahWhittington,advocacy director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana.

Kelly Carmena, who spoke on behalf of the Louisiana

Association of Criminal DefenseLawyers,saidreas-

signing cases can take 30 to 60 days. She argued HB381 would cause delays and clog dockets.

In aterse exchange with the Administration of Criminal Justice Committee’s chair,state Rep. Debbie Villio,Carmenasaiditwould be difficult to advise aclient whether to proceed with a judge trial without knowing whowas handling the case.

“Sounds alot like forum shopping, too. ButI think you made the case for why the bill’snecessary,” said Villio, aRepublican from Kenner

The twoalso sparred over whether the bill would affect manydefendants, with Villio contending it wasrare fordefendants to forego jury trials.

Villio’scommitteesent

HB381 to the full House in a9-3 vote. Three Democrats

—Rep.Vanessa LaFleurof Baton Rouge, state Rep. Pat Moore of Monroe and Rep. Alonzo Knox of NewOrleans —voted against the bill.

This year,the Legislature is also considering Senate Bill 97 by state Sen. Jay Morris, R-West Monroe, whichwould allow voters to decide whether district attorneys shouldneedto approve whendefendants opt out of jury trials. That change would require aconstitutional amendment.

AndHouseBill52, authored by Villio, would amendLouisiana lawso that defendantsaccused of misdemeanors would only be entitled to jury trials if the crime’s possible penalty exceeded a$2,500 fine or 6 months imprisonment. Currently,the threshold penalty is a$1,000 fine or six months’ imprisonment. Under that bill, prosecutors could also agree to cap penalties in advance to avoid jury trials.

The full House has yet to take up HB52, but the Senate passed SB97 in a26-11 vote. It, too, now needs approval from theAdministration of Criminal Justice Committee.

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country,working on residential, commercial and industrial projects, including data centers. Thecompany is headquartered in Baton Rouge and has offices in Westlake, Texas; Sparks, Nevada; and Martinez, California, withmore than 4,500 total employees.

The Newton B. Thomas Support Foundation, apublic charity housed under BRAF, will facilitate thetransition.

The nonprofit was created about 15 yearsago as the group’scharitable arm, distributing funds to charities using donations from the company The Newtron Group’s staff, leadership and day-today operations will remain the same.

“Weare self-managed, and that’show we’ll continue to operate,” saidJohn Schempf, president and CEO of The Newtron Group. Such transactions, referred to as business purpose trusts, are uncommon but slowly rising in popularity.Yvon Chouinard, founder of outdoor clothing brand Patagonia, andhis family transferred ownership of the multibillion-dollar company to anonprofit and a trust under the company name in 2022 to funnel profits toward combating climate change.

Thegroup’suse of abusiness purposetrust is a deviation from most companies’ succession plans, which could include passing leadership down to afamily member, another executive or selling the company to another group, all of which could drastically change business operations

“Newton was really ahead of his time,” BRAF CEO

“He didn’tfeel likehe wanted to leave his children with that burden of having this company to deal with, and so hisway to preserve it, for it to continue on and continue to operate as we have for the last 52 years, wasto do this transaction and put it in asafeplace. And BRAF is asafeplace.”

JOHN SCHEMPF,presidentand CEO of The Newtron Group

Chris Meyer said. MeyersaidThomas’ donation of his company to BRAF was away to preserve the companyhebuilt and maintain its contributions to causes that weredear to him, like early education. Since The NewtronGroup and BRAF hadfinalized howthe transaction would playout in the past fiveto 10 years, the relationship between thetwo groups will largely remain the same.

“Instead of talking about the plan, we’ll be living out the plan,” Meyer said Long time in themaking

Forabout 25years, Thomas worked on plans to maintain the company after his death. He thoughtvery highly of John W. Barton Sr., oneofthe founders of BRAF,and the two forged arelationship that would be keytothe ownership transfer.Thomas also worked closely with former BRAF CEO John Davies to planthe donation of the company Schempf said.

Astronglyheld belief of Thomaswas profit-sharing with employees, who as a whole canreceivebetween 40% to 60% of TheNewtron Group’s pretaxprofits. Under BRAF’sownership,

an additionalpercentage would go toward the Newton B. Thomas SupportFoundation,which has more than $20 million, and about 5% each year goes to charity The company’sstock is now housedunderthe support foundation as well.

“Basically,ittakes theplace of the owner,” Schempf said. “Soinstead of it going to an owner,itultimately gives BRAF who is the owner, into the support foundation, and then we have annuitizedgiving out of that nest egg.”

TheNewtron Grouphas participated in BRAF projectsinthe past,and Schempf said it’s possiblethatthe two may workonmore projects together in the future, though it’snot set in stone.

As aresultofBRAF’sownership of the company,The Newtron Group’searnings will appear as an additional asset on BRAF’sbalance sheet

Ultimately, the newownership serves as away for the company to keep benefiting its workers and community “He didn’tfeel like he wanted to leave his children withthat burden of having this company to deal with, and so his way to preserve it, for it to continue on and continue to operate as we have forthe last 52 years, was to do this transaction and putitinasafe place,” Schempf said. “And BRAF is asafe place.”

STAFF FILE PHOTO By HILARySCHEINUK

Bill 381, which

CONFLICT IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Iran firesonIsrael, Gulf neighbors

Trumpclaimsthreatfrom Tehran nearly eliminated

BY JON GAMBRELL, DAVID RISING and MIKE CORDER Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates Iran

fired more missilesatIsrael and Gulf Arab states Thursday,demonstrating Tehran’scontinued ability to strike its neighborsevenasU.S. President Donald Trumpclaimed the threat from the country was nearly eliminated.

Iran’sattacks on Gulf states along withits chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz have disrupted the world’senergy supplieswith effects far beyond the Middle East. That has proved to be Iran’s greatest strategic advantage in the war.Britain held acall withnearly three dozen countries about how to reopen the strait once the fighting is over Trump has insisted the strait can be taken by force —but said it is not up to the U.S. to do that. In an address to the American people Wednesday night, he encouraged countries that depend on oilfrom Hormuz to “build some delayed courage”and go “take it.”

Before the U.S. and Israel started the war on Feb. 28 with strikes on Iran,the waterwaywas open to traffic and 20%ofall traded oil passedthrough it. Iran respondeddefiantlyto Trump’sspeech, in which the

American president claimed U.S militaryactionhad been so decisive that “one of the most powerful countries” is “really no longer athreat.”

Aspokesman forIran’smilitary, Lt. Col. Ebrahim Zolfaghari, insisted Thursday that Tehran maintains hidden stockpiles of arms,munitionsand production facilities.

He said facilities targeted so far by U.S. strikes are “insignificant.”

Just before Trumpbegan his address —inwhichhesaidU.S. “core strategic objectives are nearing completion”— explosions were heard in Dubai as air defenses worked to intercept an Iranian missile barrage.

Less than ahalf-hour after the president was done, Israel said its military was also working to interceptincoming missiles. Sirens sounded in Bahrain, hometothe U.S.Navy’s 5th Fleet, immediately after thespeech Attacks continued across Iran on Thursday, with strikes reported in multiple cities Iran state media reported that strikes on theB1bridge, which was still under construction, killed eight people and wounded 95. The outlet, citingauthorities in Alborz province, said thevictimshad gathered under the bridge and along the riverbank forNature Day,which Iranians celebrate by gathering outside.

In apostonXthat included a picture of what appeared to be thesame bridge, Iran’sForeign MinisterAbbasAraghchi wrote, “Striking civilian infrastructure only conveys the defeat and moral collapse of an enemy in disarray.”

Trumpposted footage on social media showing what he said was the collapse of Iran’s biggest

bridge and threatening, “Much moretofollow.” It was not immediatelyclear if thefootageTrump shared wasthe B1 bridge, reportedly the tallest in the Middle East.

In Lebanon—where Israel has launched aground invasion against Iran-backed Hezbollah militants Israeli strikes have killed 27 peopleinthe past 24 hours, the Health Ministry said.

More than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran during the war, while19have been reported dead in Israel.Morethantwo dozen peoplehavediedinGulfstatesand the occupied West Bank, while 13 U.S. servicemembershavebeen killed. More than 1,300 people have been killedand more than1 million displaced in Lebanon. TenIsraeli soldiers have also died there.

on September19, 2019 in the recordsofEastBalon Rouge Parish,Louisiana Whichhas theaddress of2155 DovefieldAvenue Zachary,LA70791 TERMSOFSALE: Cash to thehighest bid‐der,atPublicAuction WITHAppraisement and accordingtolaw SidJ.Gautreaux,Sheriff EastBaton RougeParish ADVERTISED DATE April03, 2026 May04, 2026 $219.38

BATONROUGE PARISH LOUISIANA,FOR PHIL GAGLIANO"', by John M, Bankston, Registered ProfessionalLandSur‐veyor,dated 11/1/93, a copyofwhich is filedof recordasOriginal981 Bundle10475, Official ConveyanceRecords of EastBaton RougeParish, LA, said TractC-3 being bound NorthbyLower Zachary Road;Eastby Tract C-2; SouthbyTracts E-2 &E-3;and West by Tract C-4, said tracthav‐ing said dimensions as shown on said plat and being subjecttoall servi‐tudes andrestrictionsas shown on said-plat Whichhas theaddressof 6376 LowerZachary Road, ZacharyLA70791

TERMSOFSALE: Cash to thehighest bid‐der,atPublicAuction WITHOUT Appraisement and accordingtolaw SidJ,Gautreaux,Sheriff EastBaton RougeParish

ADVERTISED DATE April03, 2026 May04, 2026 $270.41

describedaccording tothe official mapof saidsubdivision,on file and of record in theof‐fice of theClerk and Recorderfor thesaid Parishand StateasLot Seven HundredSixty-8 (760-8),saidsubdivision, saidlot having such measurementsand di‐mensionsand beingsub‐jecttosuchservitudes asshown on thesaid map TERMSOFSALE: Cash to thehighest bid‐der,atPublicAuction WITHAppraisement and accordingtolaw SidJ.Gautreaux,Sheriff EastBaton RougeParish ADVERTISED DATE April03, 2026 May04, 2026 $257.67

ginningat10:00 o'clock a.m.onMay 06, 2026, via anonlineauction site at www.bid4assets.com/ EBRSOsheriffsales, offer for sale at public auction the followingdescribed mortgaged property be‐longing to:SEDRICK DE‐WAYNE MCCRAY,JR. A/K/A SEDRICKD.MC‐CRAY, JR.A/K/A SEDRICK MCCRAY,JR. One(1) certainpiece or portion of ground,situ‐atedinthe Parish of East Baton Rouge, Stateof Louisiana,inthatsubdi‐visionknown as RedOak SecondFiling, anddesig‐nated on theofficial plan thereof,on file andof recordinthe office of the clerk andrecorderofthe ParishofEastBaton Rouge,State of Louisiana,aslot number ninety-three(93),said subdivision,saidlot hav‐ing such measurements and dimensions and being subjecttosuch servitudesasare more particularlydescribed on saidsubdivision map. TERMSOFSALE: Cash to thehighest bid‐der,atPublicAuction WITHOUT Appraisement and accordingtolaw SidJ.Gautreaux,Sheriff EastBaton RougeParish ADVERTISED DATE April03, 2026 May04, 2026 $214.27

sale at public auctionthe following described mortgaged property be‐longing to:BURYCHKA PROPERTIES, LLC "One (1)certain lotor parcelofground,to‐getherwithall thebuild‐ingsand improvements thereon,and allofthe rights, ways,privileges, servitudes, appurte‐nancesand advantages thereuntobelonging or in anywise appertaining situatedinthe Parish of EastBaton Rouge, State ofLouisiana in that sub‐divisionknown as Kodiak BusinessPark(Acom‐mercial Subdivision) Lots 1 thru 7(inclusive) and Tract PS Beinga Subdivi‐sionofTract "A"A Por‐tionofthe LillianG KleinpeterPropertyand V.J.Broussard Property Located in Section51, T8S-R2E,Greensburg LandDistrict, East Baton Rouge Parish,State of Louisiana forKodiak BusinessPark, LLC" dated 6/20/24,byMREn‐gineering& Surveying, LLC,on file andof records at Original 208, Bundle13318, in theof‐fice of theClerk and Recorderofthe Parish of EastBaton Rouge, State ofLouisiana,asLot Num‐ber Seven(7),ofsaid subdivision,saidlot hav‐ing such measurements and dimensions and being subjecttosuch servitudesand restric‐tions as aremorepartic‐ularlyshown on said map." TERMSOFSALE: Cash to thehighest bid‐der,atPublicAuction WITHAppraisementand accordingtolaw SidJ.Gautreaux,Sheriff EastBaton RougeParish ADVERTISED DATE April03, 2026 May04, 2026 $262.78

Parish of East Baton Rouge StateofLouisiana Acting under andby virtueofWritofSeizure and Sale issued outof the honorablecourt aforesaid,inthe above entitledand numbered cause,dated,February 11, 2026 andtomedi‐rected, Idid seizeand will, beginningat10:00 o'clock a.m. on May06, 2026, viaanonlineauc‐tionsiteatwww bid4assets.com/EBR SOsheriffsales,offerfor saleatpublicauction the following described mortgaged property be‐longing to:BENJAMINA DARTEZ(A/K/ABEN‐JAMIN ARMSTRONG DARTEZ) One(1) certainpiece or portion of ground,to‐getherwithall thebuild‐ingsand improvements thereon,and allofthe rights, ways,privileges. servitudes, appurte‐nances, andadvantages thereuntobelonging or in anywise appertaining situatedinthe Parish of EastBaton Rouge, State ofLouisiana,inthatsub‐divisionknown as HUNTERS'LAKESUBDIVI‐SION, FIRSTFILING, and designatedonthe offi‐cialplanthereof,on file and of record in theof‐fice of theClerk and Recorderofthe Parish of EastBaton Rouse, State, ofLouisiana,asLOT NUMBERTHIRTYFOUR (34),saidsubdivision saidlot having such measurements..and di‐mensionsand beingsub‐jecttosuchservitudes asare more particularly described on said subdi‐visionmap Whichhas theaddressof 2108 HuntersWay Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70816. TERMSOFSALE: Cash to thehighest bid‐der,atPublicAuction WITHAppraisementand accordingtolaw

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOByEMILIO MORENATTI

Aboy who fled with his family followingIsraeli strikes in southernLebanon sits Thursday inside the vantheyare using as shelter in Sidon, Lebanon.

CONFLICT IN THE MIDDLE EAST

More than 40 countries eyestrategytopress Iran

Summitdiscusses ways to facilitate reopeningofstrait

BY JILL LAWLESS Associated Press

LONDON Britain accused IranonThursday of holding the world’seconomy hostage as diplomats from more than 40 countries held talks on ways to press Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz,a vitaloil route thathas been choked off by the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.

The U.S.didn’t attendthe virtual meeting, which came after U.S. PresidentDonald Trump made clear that he thinks securing the waterway is not America’sjob Trump hasalso disparaged America’sEuropean allies for failing to support the war and renewed his threats to pull the U.S. out of NATO.

U.K. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the talks, which focused on political and diplomatic rather than military means, showed“the strength of our international determination” to reopen the strait. The 41 countries represented came from all continents except Antarctica, areflection of the global tremors from awar that has sparked shortages of fuel and fertilizer and higher prices for food far beyond the Middle East.

“Wehave seen Iran hijack an international shipping route to hold the global economy hostage,” Cooper said

at thestart of themeeting Cooper said “unsustainable” spikes in oil and food prices were “hitting households and businesses in every corner of the world.”

Shipping slowstotrickle Iranian attacks on commercial ships, andthe threat of more, have halted nearly all trafficinthe waterway that connectsthe Persian Gulf to the rest of the globe’soceans, shutting acritical path forthe world’sflow of oiland sending petroleum prices soaring.

Therehave been 23 direct attacksoncommercial vessels in theGulf since the war began on Feb. 28, and 11 crew members have been killed, according to shipping data firm Lloyd’sListIntelligence. Trafficthrough thestrait has slowed to atrickle, with what remains dominated by sanctions-evading tankers carrying Iranian oil, Lloyd’s List Intelligencesaid in a briefingThursday. It said amurky operation under which Iran vets who can pass continues to operate asTehran maintains its chokehold over the key waterway In atelevisedaddress on Wednesday night,Trump said countries that depend on oilflowing through theStrait of Hormuz “must grab it and cherishit” —because theU.S would not.

No country appears willing to try andopen thestraitby force while fighting rages and Irancan target vesselswith anti-ship missiles, drones, attack craft and mines.

French PresidentEmmanuel Macron said opening the strait by forceis“unrealistic.”

Thereopeningofthe strait “can only be done in coordination with Iran,” through negotiations that wouldfollow apotential ceasefire, Macron told reporters Thursdayduring avisit to South Korea.

France is pushing for an international missioninvolvingEuropeanand nonEuropean nations to escort oil and gastankersthrough thewaterway after the most intense phase of the conflict is over.The British government saidmilitary planners from an unspecified number of countrieswill meet next week to plotwaystoensure securityoncethe fighting ends, including potential mine-clearing work and “reassurance” forcommercial shipping.

The U.K. hopes Thursday’smeeting will helpisolate Tehran and weaken its desire to block shipping. Cooper said participants senior officialsfrom countries including France, Germany, Italy,Canada, Japan and the United ArabEmirates —discussed increasing diplomatic pressure over Iran’s“reckless” attacks and tightening economic screws to prevent Tehran profiting from control of the strait.

The meeting also discussed workingwiththe U.N.’sInternational MaritimeOrganization to free 2,000 ships and 20,000 seafarers trappedby theconflict, she said.

BY KONSTANTIN TOROPIN Associated Press

WASHINGTON DefenseSecretary Pete Hegseth has asked the Army’stop uniformed officer to step down, the Pentagon said Thursday without givinga reason for thedeparture as the United Stateswages awar against Iran.

Gen.Randy George“will be retiring from his position as the41st ChiefofStaffof the Army effective immediately,”saidSean Parnell, the Pentagon’stop spokesperson.George has held the post of Armychief of

staff,which typically runs for four years, since August 2023 underthe Biden

GETTy IMAGES PHOTO By LEON NEAL

British Foreign SecretaryyvetteCooper speaks Thursdayduring avirtual summit at the Foreign &Commonwealth Office in London with more than 40 countries to discuss ways of reopeningthe StraitofHormuz.

Pope revives Holy Thursday ritual of foot-washing priests

By The Associated Press

ROME Pope Leo XIV washed the feet of 12 priests in the traditional Holy Thursday ritual, restoringa tradition his predecessor had broken by including laypeople and nonChristians in ceremonies at prisons, juvenile detention hallsand centers for asylum-seekers.

The priests included 11 ordained by Leo last year,along with the Rev Renzo Chiesa, the directorofthe Rome Diocese’sprimary seminary Leo poured water from agolden pitcher over the priests’feet before drying them with awhite cloth and bestowing akiss,inwhat the pontiff in his homily called a“gratuitous and humble gesture” that demonstrates “the true omnipotence of God.”

“Indeed, through this act,Jesus purifies not only our image of God –from the idolatry and blasphemy that havedistorted it –but also our image of humanity,” Leo said in his

homily inside theArchbasilicaofSt.

JohnLateran,the official ecclesiastical seat of the pope as the bishop of Rome.

“For we tend to considerourselves powerful when wedominate, victorious when we destroy our equals, great when we are feared,”said the pontiff, who has been outspoken against war.“In contrast, as true God andtrueman,Christ offers us theexample of self-giving, service and love.”

The Holy Thursday foot-washing ceremony is ahallmark of every Holy Week and recalls the footwashing Jesus performed on his 12 apostlesatThe Last Supper together before he was crucified. Francis revolutionized the ritual for the Vatican byinsisting, from his first Holy Thursday as pope in 2013, that it include women and people of other faithsamong the 12. Previ ously, popes performed the ritu on Catholic men onlyatthe Rome basilica.

Leo’sdecision to restore the prominent place of priestsduring the ritualisbothareturntotradition anda gesture consistent with what seemstobehis effort toencourage Catholic clergy and reinforce his appreciation of their service.

Pope Francis often criticized priests and what he called the “clerical” culture that places priestsona pedestal,above thelaity.Francis believed such an attitude was responsible for the abuses of power and authorityepitomized by the clergy sexual abusecrisis.

Leo, though, has spoken out about the need to protect priests’ rights. He devoted his April prayer intentions to priests in crisis, those who have losthope because of loneliness,

EPAproposalcould lead to limits for waterutilities

BY JENNIFER MCDERMOTT and ALISWENSON Associated Press

The EnvironmentalProtection Agency proposed Thursday to includemicroplasticsand pharmaceuticals on alist of contaminants in drinking water forthe first time, astepthatcouldlead to newlimits on those substances for water utilities.

EPAAdministrator LeeZeldin said they are responding to Americans whohave worried aboutplastics and pharmaceuticals in their drinkingwater The gesture also aims to hand a win to Health

Secretary Robert F. KennedyJr.’s MAHA movement, which for months haspressured Zeldinto furthercrack down on environmental contaminants.

The EPA’sContaminant Candidate List identifies contaminants in drinking water not regulated underthe Safe Drinking Water Act. The agency is publishing the draft of thesixthversionofthe list, whichopens a60-day public comment period. It expects to finalize the list by mid-November

“I can’tthink of an issue that hitsclosertohomefor American familiesthanthe safety of their drinking water,” Zeldin said at EPA Headquarters. Studies have looked at the prevalence of microplastics in drinking water andinpeople’shearts, brains and testicles. Doctors and

conventional wastewater treatment plantsfailtoremove them.

The EPAusesthe list to prioritize research, funding and regulatory decision making, but rarelymoves pollutants off the list to set limits for how much is allowed in public drinking water.The EPAsaid in Marchthatitwill notdevelop regulations forany of the nine pollutants fromthe list it most recently examined.

“It’s thebeginning of avery long process that routinelyends in nothing,” said Erik Olson,a senior attorney at the Natural Resources DefenseCouncil who workson drinking water protection Still, some who areurging the government to do more to stop plasticpollution say theannouncement is agood start.

“Including it in thelist wouldbe the first step toward eventually regulating microplastics in public water supplies andhopefullythis is notthe last step,” saidJudith Enck, aformer EPAregionaladministrator who now heads up Beyond Plastics.

Dr.Philip Landrigan, director of the Global Observatory on Planetary Health at Boston College, said that while theEPA is moving in therightdirection,ifthe United States doesnot rein in the accelerating growth in plasticproduction, which leadstoplasticpollution, it will makelittle difference. The U.S. is participating in talks on a treatytoaddressthe global crisis of plastic pollution, but strongly opposes limitsonplasticproduction Food &Water Watch says the listing is important but it ultimately falls short of their callfor monitoring. EPAuses the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule to collect data for contaminants that aresuspectedtobepresentin drinking water

The American Chemistry Coun-

FESTIVAL PASSES FESTIVAL PASSES PERFECT YOURFEST PERFECT YOURFEST E

Zeldin

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ANDREW MEDICHINI

Pope Leo XIV washes and kisses the feet of 12 Romanpriests during the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Catholic Holy ThursdayinSt. John Lateran Basilica in Rome.

Burbank project rearranges lanes

$2.1M project will fix area near soccer complex

BY QUINN COFFMAN Staff writer

Motorists dealing with standstill

traffic and nearly-blind turns on Burbank Drive could see some relief in the next few years, thanks to a $2.1 million improvement project that would rearrange lanes

and add a tree-lined median to the roadway

Speaking over the sound of passing cars Thursday morning, St. George Engineering Director Stephanie Phillips Gros said the project will hopefully make getting up and down Burbank Drive safer and easier — especially on

soccer tournament Saturdays.

“I’ve talked to so many parents that are thrilled about this project that still have kids out here that practice here on the weekdays, and they’re excited,” Phillips Gros said.

She explained that with the current turn lane setup, cars waiting to turn into the Burbank Soccer Complex

“We also want this place to look great,” said St. George Mayor Dustin Yates, speaking under a pavilion outside the soccer complex.

“Because I like to say we didn’t

To fight this, new center turn lanes under the project will be separated, giving space to see oncoming traffic. A longer right-turn lane into the soccer complex will also be added. The new median will be lined with trees, too, which Phillips Gros said will reduce traffic by 3 to 15 mph in both directions. Finally, the signage and striping along Burbank will be refreshed.

HOLy THURSDAy

The Rev. Cleo Milano washes the feet of a parishioner of Our Lady of Mercy on Holy Thursday as Deacon Richard Grant, right, assists. The ceremony commemorates Jesus, who washed his disciples’ feet at the Last Supper

Police: School fight ends in shooting

Permit for Atchafalaya Basin dam ruled invalid

Structure harms crawfish harvests, some say

staff reports

A school fight at Scotlandville Magnet High School between two juveniles led to an off-campus shooting, injuring one of the teenagers, on Monday Police responded to a shooting around 2:17 p.m. at 2400 Fairchild St. where a 15-year-old had been shot in the arm. A 13-yearold and a 14-yearold were also fired at but not injured. Police found six bullet casings at the scene, according to the arrest warrant. Byron Martin Jr., 17, was arrested by police on Tuesday for attempted first-degree murder and illegal use of a weapon. Police talked to the 15-year-old victim, who identified the shooter as “100%” Martin. The victim said earlier that day he got into a

BY CLAIRE TAYLOR Staff writer

The permit allowing a dam in the Atchafalaya Basin to remain in place, blocking freshwater flow to crawfish grounds, has been declared invalid by a judge.

Instead of ordering the removal of the dam, however which crawfish farmers say has severely damaged some crawfish grounds and hindered boat passage, the judge stayed the matter This will allow the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which initially granted the permit after the dam’s construction, to rectify deficiencies.

U.S. District Court Judge Brian Jackson, of the Middle District of Louisiana, on Tuesday issued his ruling on a 2023 lawsuit filed by the Atchafalaya Basinkeeper and Louisiana Crawfish Producers Association West. In September 2021, the Miller Hunting Club, without getting a Corps permit built a dam across Pat’s Throat, a waterway in the Atchafalaya Basin, for members to access additional hunting grounds. The dam has small culverts that let some water through, but not boats. In October 2021, the Atchafalaya Basin-

keeper notified the Corps of the dam, saying it had completely stopped navigation of the bayou and warned that the structure reduces water speed, altering the area’s hydrology

Later that month, the Corps issued the hunting club a notice for violating the Rivers and Harbor Act and Clean Water Act. After the Basinkeeper and crawfishers sent a notice in November 2021 to the Corps and landowner that they planned to file a lawsuit, the hunting club owner sought an after-the-fact permit from the Corps in January 2022.

The Rivers and Harbor Act, Jackson wrote, gives the Corps several options if a permit applicant builds a project without obtaining Corps authority first The Corps can either take legal action, require initial corrective measures, voluntarily restore the waterway or submit an after-the-fact permit. The Corps granted the permit in March 2022 without visiting the site, relying on photographs submitted by the hunting club, and without knowing the waterway’s bottom elevation or whether it is navigable by fishers. The plaintiffs filed the lawsuit in December 2023.

Man found guilty in gun,

drug case

Alleged gang member awaiting second trial

BY QUINN COFFMAN Staff writer

A Baton Rouge jury convicted an alleged Bleedas member March 26 for keeping guns and fentanyl at his family home. Police searched the place after the man allegedly robbed an ATM technician alongside other gang members in 2023. Nepton Hatfield Jr., 27, was found guilty of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, possession of a firearm with narcotics and handling of machine guns. Prosecutors were able to tie Hatfield to a modified handgun hidden in the home’s attic after he was recorded asking his family if police “went in the attic” while speaking to them on a jail phone call. Hatfield’s attorney, Wendell Woods, argued in court that the state’s case relied on circumstantial evidence, since no witness testified to ever seeing Hatfield with the modified firearm, nor to Hatfield ever buying or selling the fentanyl.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL DUNLAP

Amazon reportedly seeks to buy Globalstar

Covington-based satellite telecom would seek to rival Starlink

BY RICH COLLINS Staff writer

Amazon is reportedly in talks to buy Covingtonbased satellite telecommunications company Globalstar, a deal that has the potential to reshape the northshore firm’s role in a space arms race between two of the world’s tech giants.

The Financial Times first reported Wednesday that Seattle-based Amazon is negotiating a purchase of Globalstar for up to $9 billion as it seeks to build a satellite business that will rival Starlink, a network of 10,000 satellites owned by Elon Musk’s company SpaceX Amazon is owned by Jeff Bezos, who also has a space company, Blue Origin. The development comes at a time of significant growth for Globalstar which operates a network of satellites that power voice communications, data transmission and asset-tracking services for consumers, businesses and governments. In 2022, Apple announced a partnership with Globalstar, whose satellites power the iPhone’s Emergency SOS connectivity service. Apple has since invested more than $1.5 billion in the company In 2023, former Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs, a Silicon Valley luminary, was named Globalstar’s CEO. Over the past 12 months, Globalstar’s stock price has more than doubled. Following reports Wednesday of

CASE

Continued from page 1B

“They accused him of being in possession of a machine gun. They never had a photograph, an eyewitness or anybody to show him handling, possessing, having in his physical possession a machine gun or anything,” Woods said. “He happened to have been injured and was at his mom’s house where the gun was found. He was convalescent. He could barely walk.”

Woods said there wasn’t any way for his client to have even gotten up to the attic to plant the weapon due to him having a gunshot injury to the leg. Hatfield’s original arrest

BLOTTER

Continued from page 1B

fight with Martin.

the potential sale to Amazon, its shares rose 12.3% in premarket trading.

Globalstar and Amazon did not respond to requests for comment.

Tulane University Economist Peter Ricchiuti said the deal has “long been rumored and makes sense.”

“Globalstar’s coverage covers the globe, except for maybe a few penguins,” Ricchiuti said. “That’s a valuable and enviable position to be in.”

West Coast to Northshore

Globalstar has been headquartered in Covington since 2010, but it began in the early 1990s on the West Coast when semiconductor manufacturer Qualcomm and defense contractor Loral partnered to create a satellite communications service.

The partners launched their first satellites in 1998, but high costs and slow adoption of satellite phone technology led to a bankruptcy a few later In 2004, Denver-based private equity firm Thermo Capital Partners purchased Globalstar’s assets and, a few years later, moved its headquarters to Covington to take advantage of lower operating costs and Louisiana’s digital interactive media incentives and tax credits.

The move was celebrated a major economic development win for the state.

Thermo’s managing partner Jay Monroe, is a Tulane graduate with a history of investing in and leading tech companies. He has served as Globalstar’s chair since 2004 and was CEO from 2005 until 2020.

For the next decade or so, Globalstar operated largely

warrant was secured in March 2024, after he allegedly held up an ATM technician at Regions Bank on Florida Boulevard the previous December Hatfield acted alongside other Bleeda members and members of other gangs in the robbery, police said in his arrest affidavit. A total of $260,270 was taken from the ATM during the robbery

Then, on March 6, 2024, officers executed the search warrant on Hatfield’s family home on Crestaire Drive, where they found 49 grams of fentanyl, illegal firearms and machine gun conversion devices.

When officers arrived, Hatfield’s family, including his mother and father, exited the residence. Several minutes later, Hatfield and

out of the spotlight, operating a network of low-orbit satellites that power connectivity for hikers, first responders, offshore energy workers and others without access to cell networks or standard phone service.

In 2022, Globalstar caught the attention of the larger tech, telecommunications and aerospace industries when it partnered with Apple. The company’s stock value has risen 265% since last March, when Jacobs joined House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson,

his girlfriend exited as well, with Hatfield using a walker since he’d shot himself in the leg a month earlier, according to the affidavit.

The 49 grams of fentanyl, in whitish-gray powder form, were found in a shoe box in an exterior utility room. Hatfield’s parents, when interviewed by police, said that Hatfield used the outer room to record his rap.

Woods said that since that outer shed had other people frequenting it to record music, there wasn’t a direct connection showing the fentanyl found there was Hatfield’s.

Other drugs and paraphernalia were found as well, including scales; a few grams of marijuana flower; a pill and a half of hydrocodone; a

and other politicians in Covington to celebrate the opening of a new satellite control center in Globalstar’s 66,000-square-foot office building near Interstate 12 and North Causeway Boulevard. At the time, the company said it has about 160 employees in Louisiana and 400 worldwide.

“Credit for all this goes to Jay Monroe,” Ricchiuti said. “He has believed in the company and its stock through some very dark times.”

Hurdles still to clear According to industry

bottle of promethazine; and nearly a pound and a half of synthetic marijuana.

Detectives said that “Bleedas” clothing and merchandise were also found in the home.

On a landing in the attic, police found a Glock 9 mm pistol modified with a machine gun conversion device, or Glock switch. A separate conversion device was also found hidden nearby Hatfield’s parents told police they knew of no firearms in the home, including in the attic.

Detectives wrote in Hatfield’s affidavit that they believe the modified Glock and extra Glock switch were hidden in the attic just before Hatfield exited the residence.

“There were no signs of

experts, Amazon is pursuing Globalstar because it is trying to build a network of more than 3,000 satellites to rival Starlink, which has roughly three times that many in operation.

Amazon, so far, has launched more than 200 satellites as it builds the network it has dubbed “Leo.”

Globalstar has 180 Ricchiuti said the deal still has to clear several hurdles before it is finalized Globalstar’s relationship with Apple, which owns 20% of the local company, could potentially complicate things.

dust collecting on the items as one would reasonably believe should be present if they had been there for a longer period of time,” the affidavit read.

In a recorded jail phone call from the day of the search, Hatfield asked a family member if officers had gone into the attic.

Hatfield has prior arrests for gun and drug charges and charges of attempted first and second-degree murder From one previous bail agreement, Hatfield was not supposed to possess any firearms.

For his three-charge conviction, Hatfield faces a potential maximum of 40 years in prison, according to Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore. His sentencing before Judge Carson Marcantel

While it’s too soon to say what the sale would mean for Globalstar’s local presence, it would spell the end of local ownership of yet another publicly traded company in a state that has lost a steady stream of them over the past 30 years. “If completed, another public company would be gone,” Ricchiuti said. “It’s now down to just a handful.”

Email Rich Collins at rich.collins@theadvocate. com.

is scheduled for June 29.

“We are grateful the jury held Nepton Hatfield Jr responsible for these extremely serious crimes that too frequently result in the death of people in Baton Rouge,” Moore said. “Members of gangs such as The Bleedas will be prosecuted to the fullest extent that the law allows.”

Hatfield and his co-defendants are still awaiting trial in the original ATM robbery for which he is charged with armed robbery and participation in a criminal street gang.

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

The victim said Martin was fighting another student when the 15-year-old victim attempted to pull him off the other student, according to the arrest warrant.

One of the males yelled, “They he go” and opened fire on the 15-yearold.

On March 31, the day after, police executed a search warrant at Martin’s

Both students were suspended from the school and sent home early Around 2 p.m., the victim and the two other juveniles were walking from his house to a store and encountered two males in black ski masks at the intersection of Elm Grove Garden Drive and Fairchild Street

house and found ammunition and the same ski mask in his bedroom Martin was arrested and booked into the East Baton Rouge Prison. He is being held with a $90,000 bail.

Police: Body found inside vehicle at mechanic shop

Someone was found dead inside a vehicle parked at a Baton Rouge mechanic shop on Thursday afternoon, police said.

The cause of death is unknown pending an autopsy, a Baton Rouge police spokesperson said.

The body was discovered shortly before 1 p.m. at a business in the 3500 block of Florida Boulevard, at its intersection with Saguara Avenue, the spokesperson said.

Police, Emergency Medical Services and the Coroner’s Office responded to the scene.

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

Long-term mortgage rate highest in months

The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate climbed for the fifth straight week, reaching its highest level in nearly seven months, another setback for home shoppers in the midst of the spring homebuying season.

The benchmark 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate rose to 6.46% from 6.38% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday One year ago, the rate averaged 6.64%.

The last time the average rate was higher was Sept. 4, when it was at 6.5%.

Meanwhile borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, also rose this week. That average rate rose to 5.77% from 5.75% last week. A year ago, it was at 5.82%, Freddie Mac said.

The U.S. housing market has been in a slump since 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows.

Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes were essentially flat last year, stuck at a 30-year low They have remained sluggish so far this year, declining in January and February versus a year earlier Mortgage applications fell 10.4% last week from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association Much of the decline stemmed from fewer applications for mortgage refinancing loans.

Tesla sales rise after brutal year of boycotts

NEW YORK — Sales of Tesla vehicles rose in the past three months in a possible sign recovery is afoot after a brutal year of boycotts over Elon Musk’s politics but still fell short of expectations.

The company Thursday said sales rose 6% to 358,023, the first time in three years it posted a first-quarter increase from the year-earlier period.

The sales in the three months through March were 6% lower than the 381,000 that financial analysts had expected, according to a survey by researcher FactSet. They were also way off their first-quarter peak going back to 2023. The company sold 423,000 vehicles in the first three months of that year, nearly a fifth higher Chinese maker BYD recently reported it had made 2.26 million electric vehicles last year versus Tesla’s 1.64 million to become the new record holder White House wants to cut CFPB by two-thirds NEW YORK The Trump administration has scaled back its plans to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, laying out a plan for an agency that would be significantly smaller than it was under President Joe Biden but still bigger than the one President Donald Trump envisioned right after he took office.

Under the new plan, the bureau’s headcount would be reduced from 1,700 authorized employees before Trump’s second term to roughly 550 staffers. The administration originally intended to shrink staff to around 200 employees.

The plan is opposed by the CFPB’s employee union and would likely require the approval of a federal judge. The new plan for the bureau was laid out in a memo and court documents this week in a lawsuit between the CFPB’s employee union and Russell Vought, Trump’s budget director and acting director of the CFPB.

Congress cut the CFPB’s operational budget by a little less than half in the One Big Beautiful Bill signed by Trump last year

The proposed cuts at the CFPB would be broad-based if implemented Roughly five out of six positions in the bureau’s supervision division, the part of the bureau that oversees bank’s compliance with federal banking and consumer protection laws, would be eliminated. Enforcement staff would drop by roughly four-fifths as well.

Stocks recover from early losses

BY DAMIAN J. TROISE Associated Press

NEW YORK — Stocks shook off an early stumble to finish with slim gains on Wall Street Thursday and close out their first winning week since the start of the Iran war

The early decline for stocks was driven by a surge in oil prices following a national address late Wednesday from President Donald Trump. He vowed the U.S. will continue to attack Iran and failed to offer a clear timetable for end-

ing the conflict in the Middle East. Oil prices eased slightly during the day, but still remain elevated well above $100 per barrel.

Crude oil prices have been the main force behind the sharp swings for stocks globally Shipping traffic has been severely curtailed in the Strait of Hormuz, where a fifth of the world’s traded oil passes through during peacetime.

The U.S. only relies on the Persian Gulf for a fraction of the oil it imports, but a disruption anywhere affects prices everywhere.

Airlines and other travel-related companies were among the biggest losers Thursday. United Airlines fell 3% and Carnival shed 3.5%.

Several big technology stocks gained ground to help counter losses elsewhere in the market. Intel jumped 4.9% and Advanced Micro Devices rose 3.5%. Treasury yields remained relatively steady in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to to 4.30% from 4.32%.

Wall Street is worried that higher energy prices are adding to

already stubbornly high inflation. Rising fuel prices take a bigger chunk out of consumers’ wallets in several ways. Directly, gasoline prices in the U.S. have surged 36% from a month ago to average $4.08 per gallon, according to AAA. Indirectly, rising fuel prices tend to make a wide range of services and goods more expensive. Flights become more expensive as airlines raise ticket prices to offset rising fuel costs. Consumer goods become more expensive as shipping and transportation costs rise.

McDonald’s tries simpler approach with new McValue menu

BY DEE-ANN DURBIN Associated Press

After two years of tweaks to its value menu, McDonald’s has a new strategy: keep it simple.

The fast-food giant’s budgetfocused McValue menu will have 10 items that each cost under $3 starting April 21. The breakfast items include hash browns or a Sausage McMuffin. A small order of fries or a McDouble burger are among the options the rest of the day

Some of the items already cost less than $3 in some parts of the U.S., but others don’t. The standardized selection will replace McDonald’s current McValue menu, which lets customers choose from a limited array of $1 items if they purchase a regularpriced item. The shift to simpler value menu messaging and more flexibility follows similar by moves by rivals of McDonald’s. In January, Taco Bell launched a Luxe Value Menu, which also features 10 items that cost $3 or less.

Panera Bread introduced its first value menu in February, with 10 items priced at $4.99 each.

Wendy’s revamped its Biggie Deals value menu in January It now features $4 Biggie Bites, a $6 Biggie Bag and an $8 Biggie Bundle. KFC recently added $5 bowls to its U.S. menu.

Value menus are designed to offer customers more affordable options, even as fast-food companies also bring out higher-priced items like McDonald’s Big Arch burger or Burger King’s limitedtime Peppercorn BLT Whopper

Chains have emphasized value for several years to win back customers who were frustrated by food price inflation. Historically, prices for food away from home rise 3.5% per year but in 2023 they rose 7%, in 2024 they rose 4% and in 2025 they rose 3.8%, according to government figures.

“In all retail, including quickserve restaurants, ‘value’ has become a promotional expectation,” said Roger Beahm, an emeritus professor of marketing at Wake Forest University’s

School of Business.

In June 2024, McDonald’s introduced a $5 Meal Deal; it will add a $4 Breakfast Meal Deal on April 21. It debuted the McValue menu in January 2025, and last fall it brought out Extra Value Meals, which promise a 15% discount for a bundled meal compared to buying items individually “Value matters more than ever to our customers, and we take that responsibility seriously,”

Alyssa Buetikofer the chief marketing and customer experience officer for McDonald’s USA, told The Associated Press. Buetikofer said McDonald’s has improved customers’ perceptions of value and affordability since 2024. But the company decided to revamp its McValue menu after customers said they wanted more flexibility and better value in the morning. Half of the items on the under-$3 menu are breakfast items.

Scott Rodrick, a McDonald’s franchisee in California, praised the new strategy He thinks ordering will go more smoothly be-

cause customers will have fewer questions about the deals.

“The value proposition is super clear no deep explanation or mental gymnastics needed to understand where value is on my menu board,” Rodrick said.

Rodrick said the changes received broad support from franchisees and most U.S. stores will be offering them. Around 95% of McDonald’s U.S. stores are owned and operated by franchisees, who set their own pricing. Fast food’s juggling act — investing in value through promotions and discounts while raising prices on some premium items appears to be paying off, according to Revenue Management Solutions, a restaurant consulting company

But the term “value” is at risk of overuse, Beahm said. Over time, the surprise-and-delight of a deal loses its appeal, and customers forget what they used to pay for certain products, he said. “If everything is always positioned as a value, then can anything really be a value?” Beahm said.

Company backed by Trump sons looks to sell drone interceptors

BY BERNARD CONDON Associated Press

NEWYORK — A drone maker backed by President Donald Trump’s two oldest sons is trying to sell to Gulf countries while they are under attack by Iran and dependent on the U.S. military led by their father

The sales drive by Florida-based Powerus which announced a deal last month to bring aboard Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr — positions the company to potentially benefit from a war that their father began

“These countries are under enormous pressure to buy from the sons of the president so he will do what they want,” said Richard Painter, a former chief White House ethics lawyer under President George W.

Bush

“This is going to be the first family of a president to make a lot of money off war a war he didn’t get the consent of Congress for.”

Powerus co-founder Brett Velicovich told The Associated Press that the company is making sales pitches that include drone demonstrations in several Gulf countries to show how its defensive drone interceptors could help them ward off Iranian attacks.

“Our team is doing many demos across the Middle East right now for our interceptors,” Velicovich said in an text exchange. “We have very incredible tech that can save lives.”

He declined to name the countries or give more details.

The Trump brothers’ deal with Powerus could give them sizable

equity stakes. Their father, as commander in chief, launched the strikes with Israel against Iran over a month ago that began the war, the impetus for why these Gulf countries now need protection.

Powerus denied there were any conflicts when the Trump brothers’ stake was first announced. Velicovich emphasized its determination to help the U.S catch up with Chinese and Russian drone makers and beat them.

“We are at war, my friend, we are in an arms race and America will lose if we don’t build fast,” said Velicovich, an Army veteran who had come under fire from the same Russian drones now being used by Iran. He added, “We should be thankful anyone is trying to invest in American manufacturing now

That idea transcends politics.”

The president’s oldest sons have expanded their business interests beyond hotels and golf courses since their father took office again.

This latest Trump venture has its sights on $1.1 billion set aside by the Pentagon to build up a U.S. manufacturing base for armed drones to fill a hole left when the Trump administration banned such imports from China. The Trump Organization, where the two sons are executives, didn’t respond to a request for comment, but has dismissed claims of conflicts of interest in the past. The sons have said they didn’t get credit for their restraint in expanding their businesses in their father’s first term so have decided not to hold back much this time.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By DAMIAN DOVARGANES

The oldest operating McDonald’s restaurant, in Downey, Calif., pictured Tuesday, still has the original Golden Arches façade.

Former N.O. teacher faces more deepfake charges

Benoit Cransac initially booked on child porn counts

BY MARCO CARTOLANO Staff writer

A former New Orleans teacher and coach at Isidore Newman School accused of possessing child sexual abuse material was rearrested Wednesday with 60 new counts of unlawful

deepfakes, according to Attorney General Liz Murill’s office.

The new charges come less than two weeks after Benoit Cransac, 49, had an additional 17 counts added for video voyeurism.

Cransac was first arrested on Jan. 8 at Newman’s campus following an investigation into online accounts that uploaded child sexual abuse material, which the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children tied

to Cransac, according to investigators.

He initially was booked on 22 counts of child sex abuse material. Dozens of additional counts have been added as the investigation progresses, and Cransac now faces over 100 counts related to child pornography and video voyeurism.

Louisiana’s deepfake law makes it a crime for anyone to create or possess deepfake material involving a minor engaging in sexual

New Orleans’ $171 million road safety plan lacks funding

conduct.

The office of Attorney General Liz Murrill did not provide additional information on the large number of deepfake-related counts.

In an email sent to parents on Thursday, Newman officials said that they are continuing to cooperate with law enforcement and were unaware of the identities of the teenage girls in the deepfakes.

“We continue to monitor and address the situation

with the seriousness it deserves. We understand the unsettling nature of this development,” Dale Smith, head of school, said in the email.

Newman spokesperson Emily Bomersback said Smith’s email serves as the school’s official statement.

In addition to possessing child pornography, Cransac is accused of taking photos of students inside a classroom in November 2024, court records show Inves-

tigators found 17 photos of fifth grade girls in a classroom, some of which were collaged with explicit images. Not every child was identifiable, but two sets of Newman parents identified children in the photos as their daughters.

Cransac’s bail totaled more than $8 million after he appeared in Orleans Parish Magistrate Court Thursday afternoon on the latest counts.

BY JONI HESS Staff writer

Hours after a woman in New Orleans East became the latest victim to die in a hit-and-run car crash, New Orleans officials on Thursday lent their support to a plan aimed at eliminating crashes that have recently plagued some of the city’s busiest arteries.

The plan, which Mayor Helena Moreno’s administration presented Thursday, seeks to improve safety for vehicle drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists It calls for 66 miles of roads across New Orleans to receive $171 million worth of improvements such as curb extensions and speed cushions. The plan has yet to be funded.

Officials said distracted driving, speeding, poor lighting and other issues contributed to more than 8,000 serious traffic crashes in New Orleans over the last two years. One of them, early Thursday morning, happened as a driver mowed down a woman who was walking across Chef Menteur Highway, according to the New Orleans Police Department.

The crash shut down the eastern foot of the Danziger Bridge for at least two hours.

“If we’re not addressing the problem, then we’re sort of continuing the problem

PROJECT

Continued from page 1B

become a city to be the most OK city in the state We did it to become the best.”

for the next generation,” said Department of Public Works Engineer Jennifer Ruley to the City Council’s Transportation Committee later that morning. “Let’s figure it out. We’ve got an action plan. How can we make changes today?”

“It’s desperately needed in the city of New Orleans,” council Vice President Matthew Willard said about the initiative

City officials launched the plan more than a year ago, armed with a $750,000 federal grant to study safety improvements. Last year, the city’s Department of Public Works, Office of Resilience and Sustainability and Department of Health launched a survey to gather community input to incorporate into the plan.

Officials found that in 2025, there were 4,126 crashes across the city led to injury, though that was a 14% decrease from the previous year, said NOPD Captain Anthony Micheu, who joined Ruley at the council meeting. In 2025, there were 53 fatal vehicle crashes, another 14% decrease from 2024. Micheu credited the declines to police’s more frequent intoxication checks, educational campaigns and targeted enforcement in high-risk areas.

There were also 24 fatal crashes involving pedestrians in 2025, a 20% decrease from 2024. Many of those cases involved people trying to cross highways, distracted drivers or speeding.

Micheu said police are “doing our due diligence” to determine who killed the woman along Chef Menteur

on Thursday They have not released her name.

The plan to curb crashes would target roads in various neighborhoods, including Broad Street, Chef Menteur Highway and North Claiborne Avenue. The streets would receive separated intersections between pedestrians and drivers, more lighting and more signalization. Less than 20% of the city’s signalized intersections have pedestrian signals, officials said.

To curtail speeding, the city would establish traffic calming measures, like speed bumps. They would also reduce speed limits on major thoroughfares.

City leaders say they need $171 million to bring the proposed improvements to reality, and have no planned date for the start of any construction. The city is pinching pennies to stave off a potential $222 million deficit

Ruley said the city is urging the state to put up money for 19 miles of roads in the plan that fall under its jurisdiction. Those include Hayne Boulevard and Elysian Fields Avenue, among others. Council members also urged drivers to slow down and avoid crashes.

“I’m putting out a warning to the people that are speeding that it’s costing lives,” said council member Eugene Green. “We had to lose so many people in our city to people who hit others and run. Stay around and take responsibility but also help those people,” he said.

Email Joni Hess at joni hess@theadvocate.com.

BASIN

Continued from page 1B

Jackson concluded that the Corps “reached unreasonable conclusions” about whether three conditions for building the dam were met. Because the structure could only obtain a permit if it adhered to those condi-

tions, he wrote, the court will vacate the permit.

But Jackson wrote that he does not have enough information to determine whether the structure actually violates the required conditions.

As a result, he denied the Basinkeeper and crawfishers’ request to prohibit the structure.

In addition, Jackson disagreed with the Basinkeeper and crawfishers, ruling that the Corps did not exceed its authority to grant general permits under the Rivers and Harbors Act or that regulations allowing after-the-fact permits also exceeded the Corps’ authority

Contact Claire Taylor at ctaylor@theadvocate. com.

Since the project would make the roadway both safer and more beautiful, Yates said it was a good candidate to submit for federal funding. While the project is funded both locally and federally, U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy’s office worked to secure $2 million for the improvements.

“So when Congress puts dollars out there and says

Yates said the safety and traffic improvements are a must because of how busy the site gets with traveling soccer families. Thousands of local families go to the complex weekly for practices or matches, and those same pitches are also used for statewide tournaments almost every weekend of the year, Yates said. All of the cross traffic can become fairly dangerous when the complex is “packed,” Yates added, gesturing toward Burbank Drive

‘Senators compete for them,’ those dollars can go anywhere in the nation. If it can go anywhere in the nation, I want it to go anywhere in Louisiana,” Cassidy RBaton Rouge, said, standing in front of the field’s rows of soccer pitches.

Cassidy said the project was cost-effective, wellplanned and backed by strong local leadership, making it an easy choice to fund.

Engineers plan to break ground in early 2027, with construction planned to take around nine months.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By BILL FEIG

Crawfish are caught in the Atchafalaya Basin in 2018 near Bayou Sorrel. The permit allowing a dam in the Atchafalaya Basin to remain in place, blocking freshwater flow to crawfish grounds, has been declared invalid by a judge.

Diggs, Effren

Effren Diggs, age 66, of Donaldsonville, Louisiana, passed awaypeacefully on Thursday, March 26,2026. He will be remembered for his presence, strength, and the impact he had on those who knew and loved him Afuneral service will be held on Monday, April 6, 2026, at 10:00 a.m.

Hill, Gloria 'Reese'

Lefebvre, Jr.onJune 18, 1955. They livedinBaton 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 theyeventually harvested& sold. Emma Lee &her sister-in-law Sherryopened Sherry Lee's Gift Shop in Port Allen, &atnight Emma did the accounting for Bourg's Drug Storewhich was ownedbyher brother Lynn. Always seeking the best educational opportunitiesfor theirchildren, they enrolled them at Hardwick McMasters in Baton Rouge. To defray the cost of tuition Emma Lee got her CDL license & drove the schoolbus that carriedkids from West Baton Rouge parish to Baton Rouge.After1 year at Hardwick,they helped establish WestSideAcademy, asmall private school

in Lobdellwhere their childrenreceived an excellent education for 5years. In 1970, Emma's onlysister Bettypassed away suddenly. Despite her 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 worked for 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 occasionallycatered family events Whereas he was known for making jambalaya or redfish supreme, Emma was known forcasseroles& desserts. She wasknown 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'swedding 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 aBoard Member for theCapitalArea Human Services &was amember of boththe WestSide Women's Club and the WestBaton Rouge Historil i i h

cal Association. Shewas also amember of Holy FamilyCatholicChurch & proudly served on theBereavement 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 h d i Sh

such as graduations. She also made acelebration outofdaily activities such as shopping, goingout to eat,& gettinga Chantilly snowballfromSnowballs Plus. Hergreatest joywas simply beingwith those that she loved! Emma Lee is survivedbyher daughters Gisele Allement, Gigi Lefebvre (Cindy Culler), & GermaineWall (Kurt Wall). Also survivedbyher grandchildrenMiranda Gros, LaraBynum (Russell), Elissa Logsdon (Doug), JaredAllement (Emilee), Jessica Allement O'Neal (Tyler), Whitney Rusha (Patrick), KateBassett (Chris), Erica Fertitta (Cameron Townsend), & Anna Wall. Survivinggreat grandchildrenincludeKannonBynum, Davis Logsdon, MadelineAllement, Eleanor Logsdon,Jude Bassett, StephenAllement, Beau Bassett, &Jayden Rusha. Numerous relatives from theLefebvre, Pourciau,Altazan,& Bergeron familiesalso survive her. Shewas preceded in death by herhusband George Raymond Lefebvre,Jr., her son Gordon JulesLefebvre, herson-in-law Stephen Allement, &her great 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 L P i I h t

Lopez Pourciau 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

OPINION

By hobbling FEMA,White Houserisks next Katrina

The Federal EmergencyManagement Agency helps Americans prepare for and recoverfrom disasters when statesand localitiesare unable to cover the financial and operational burdens.

But as disasters have become more frequent and severe, the Trump administration has been working to dismantle the agency and its resources, arguing that states should assume more responsibility.Through personnel cuts, elimination or alteration of grantprograms and new formulas that will restrict aid in the future, President Donald Trump’scampaign to make FEMA “go away” is setting the U.S. up for another catastrophe at the level of Hurricane Katrina. The strategy to dismantle FEMA has been multipronged. For starters, the administration is actively curtailing recovery and mitigation funding, with the most immediateimpact felt in the restriction of federal disaster money.First, the administration dis-

mantled apopular grant program that paidfor disaster mitigation projects. Then it attached conditions to FEMA’s grants requiring state and local recipients to confirm they hadhelped enforce federal immigration law or risk losing all federal funds administered by theDepartment of Homeland Security

Both movesare currently being challengedin court because Congress appropriated the money and the executive branch cannot arbitrarily change the conditions.

Even with aid in place, the administration has made it more difficultfor FEMA to do its job.

So far,Trump has cutmore than 2,000 positions at FEMA through layoffs or early retirements. The number of peoplewho have been let go also includes the agency’s leadership. Acting administrator CameronHamilton was firedin early May after testifying before Congressthatthe agency should not be eliminated,and David Richardson stepped down in Novem-

berafter various controversies, including his response to the July Texasfloods. At the beginning of 2026, DHS announced more potential layoffs, with theagencyset to cancel multiyear contracts. A massive winterstorm that hit the Midwest, Northeast andSouthern states ledtoatemporary pause in the layoffs, but discussions on contract cancellations within the agency have nowresumed If that wasn’tenough, new recommendations to reshapethe agency would result in the loss of more than 12,000 positions. These recommendations come froma January 2025 executive order that created the FEMA Review Council. Per the order,the council’spurpose is to determine whether the agency needs“improvements or structural changes.”But Trump andhis now-former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem both stated earlyonthatthe real purpose was to “eliminate” FEMA, andNoem’s replacement, Markwayne Mullin, is notlikely to go against the president’swishes. The council’sjourney has been a

Statecan’t afford to ignore warningsigns of seniors

When AI-assisted conversational tools were quietly deployed across multiple senior-serving environmentsinmetro New Orleans —including two senior housing communities, an additional elder site and dozens of low-income older adults living independently —the truth surfaced faster andclearer than anyone expected. Seniors across Louisianaare deteriorating quietly,and the state ispaying amassive financial penalty forpretendingnot to see it. Over just 64 days, older adults produced hundreds of real-timeemotional, behavioral and stability-related signals revealing what no stateagency, Medicaid program or public health systemiscurrently tracking:Louisiana has almost no meaningful visibility intothe day-to-daywell-being of its aging population.

The technology detected early decline. Seniors lived the struggle daily.Louisiana’soversightsystems missed it entirely.And that absence of visibility is not neutral —itis costing the statemillions every year. Across three different senior environments, older adults revealed apattern of distress that nevershowsupinformal documentation. Seniorsdescribed persistent loneliness that directly predicts hospitalization risk, food insecuritythatnever reaches case files and addiction struggles that remain hidden until crisis.

warningsigns that modern toolscan detect days or weeks in advance.

The state’saging and Medicaid systems still rely heavily on paperwork, outdated incident reports, occasional wellness checks, overburdened staff, stretched caregivers and residents self-reporting issues.

The AI-assisted tools did what thesystem could not; they provided continuous distress trendlines, early frustration markers,food insecurity spikes, relapserisk signals, trauma-activation patterns, navigation confusion, emotional instability indicators and multiple early de-escalation moments. They produced real-time insights without adding tasks to staff already carrying unsustainable workloads.

real roller coaster.Its recommendations were due on Nov.16. According to The NewYork Times, that deadline wasapparentlyextended because thedraft report’scontentdid notmeet the administration’sapproval. Noem was allegedly so unhappy that she was in the process of cutting the 100-page report down to 20 pages. But the real twistcame in December. The council was settovote on therecommendations when everything was unceremoniously canceled after CNN publishedan exclusive detailing thecontents of aleaked draft

The main issue withTrump’s strategy is that shifting disaster costs to the states doesn’taccount for whethertheycan actually afford them. The National Association of Countieshas found that current FEMA reimbursement delays have ledlocal governments to eitherimplement austerity measures or seek temporary funding through loans or bond issuance. Eliminating aidentirely would hurt thesecommunities, especially ruralareas that lack the funding or staffing to maintainthe

operational capacity thefederal government once provided. Thankfully,FEMA hasbroad support in Congress,and there are efforts to keep it alive.The FEMA Act of 2025, bipartisan legislation advanced in theHouse, seekstoprotect theagency’sindependencewhile addressing some of itsmostcommon criticisms, like adifficult grant application process andcash-aid disbursementsthatare often slowand time-consuming. Abipartisan group of senatorsisalso gathering support fora plantorestructure FEMA Butunless these bipartisan efforts in Congress can rescue FEMA,Trump may gethis way andmakethe agency “go away.” By crippling FEMA’s capacity and shifting disaster costs to states, theadministration’s “federalretreat” risks acatastrophic failure in disaster response —one that would have been easytopredict. Matt Sedlar is aclimate analyst at the Center forEconomicand Policy Research,a think tank basedinWashington.

Discretionisimportant in economic developmentdeals

As an education leader, Iviewthe economic landscape of Louisiana not just through spreadsheets, but through thefutureofour students. Iamproud that ourstate is finally succeeding in securing development projectsthat are landing in communitiesacross our region.

If this much need emerged from asmall sample of just over 60 older adults, the statewide implications are staggering. Louisiana has thousands of seniors in subsidized housing, tensofthousands on Medicaid waivers,hundreds of senior-living sites and countless older adults aging aloneacross ruralparishes.

Behavioral health needsgounreported every day

In many cases, the earliest signsof mental health decline wentcompletely undetected. Frontline workers are overwhelmed, understaffed andtrying to do the impossible without real-time visibility They were not negligent; they were abandoned by outdated processes. Meanwhile, the consequences of these missed signals show up unmistakably in emergency rooms, psychiatric admissions, EMS transports, long-term care placements, Adult Protective Services investigations and evencoronerreports. Louisiana isn’tpreventingcrises. Louisianaispaying for them.

If policymakers in Baton Rouge want to understand why Medicaid costscontinue to spiral, the explanation is painfully straightforward: The state waitsfor seniors to break, then spendspremiumdollars on avoidable emergencies.

Asingle fall can cost $15,000 to$40,000. Apsychiatricstay can run$6,000 to $12,000. Detoxepisodes exceed $4,500. Avoidable hospitalizationscommonly range from $18,000 to $32,000. These are notrare outliers. They are the predictable and expensive result of missingearly

The state has no real-time distress monitoring system of any kind. If two months of data revealed hundreds of warning signs, the true statewide volumelikely reaches tens of thousands every quarter

This is notmerely abehavioral health challenge or ahousing concern. It is a statewide public healthemergency that Louisiana has never measured, managed or prepared for Louisiana now faces achoice: Continue pouringmillions into preventable crises or act decisively by adopting real-time distress monitoring, detecting emotional declinebefore crisis, preventing avoidable emergencies, modernizing oversight and bringing visibilitytoaging services

If Louisiana wants to protect seniors and reduce costs, real-time monitoring cannot remain optional. Hospitals have ICU monitors, airplanes have control systems and cars havedashboard indicators. Louisiana seniors currently have nothing. That must change.

Real-time insight into senior well-being is notaluxury —itisinfrastructure. Overdue, essential andunavoidable. The price of ignorance is too high. AndLouisiana has alreadypaid enough.

Eno Edetisthe founder of MyBestFriend, Inc

For that reason,I believe we must reconsider the pushback against the“secret”negotiations and nondisclosure agreements, or NDAs, utilized by Louisiana Economic Development. The result of these standard businesspractices hasbeen amassive investment wave, reportedly as large as $76 billion. While residents have valid questionsabout environmental impacts— questionsthat must be understood,answered and addressed by regulators— attacking the negotiation processitself is dangerously shortsighted.

How quickly some may forget that our state has added jobs and population at the slowest rate in the South over the lastdecade. Economic stagnation is not aneutral position; it is adecline In central Louisiana —and Ibelieve it’s probably true for most areas of the state —wewant economic growth to arrive as quickly as possible.IfLouisiana wishes to reverse its sluggish trends and stem itspopulationout-migration, we must accept ahardreality: In high-stakes economic development, discretion is not aconspiracy —itisa competitive necessity

As an educator,Isee the human cost of this stagnation annually.Weinvest deeply in our students, equipping them with skills and degrees, only to watch many of them export thattalentacross state lines in pursuit of better opportunity. This “braindrain” is adirect result of aprevious failuretocompete aggressively Corporations demand confidentialityduring site selectiontoprotect tradesecrets, prevent stock volatility and avoid speculative land inflation. If Louisiana unilaterally demands full transparency beforeadeal is signed, we aren’tchanging the game;weare forfeiting it.

Companies will simply take their billions —and thehigh-paying jobs that

accompany them—toTexas,Alabama or Tennessee. These competitorstates understand thatsilenceisoften the keytosecuring newcareers for their residents.

We believe in, andactively defend, the value of sunshine laws. However the recentarguments made about LED suggesteda binary choice: total transparencyortotal secrecy.This is afalse narrative

Current laws areworking to provide public commentand input at the appropriate time

We believe thatour state and local leadershaveagoodtrack record of seeking to secure investments with discretion, andthenproviding ample time for environmentaldue diligence before permits areissued. This distinction is keyfor an economy that is on the precipiceofmuch-neededjob gains.

We have long lamentedour lack of growth andthe loss of our brightest talent.

Now,facing a$76 billionpipeline of opportunity spanning from north to centraltosouth Louisiana, we are debating the opticsofmeetings rather thanthe value of results.

Louisiana faces achoice: Do we want to seesustained levels of job growth thatattract andretain people? On behalf of ournonpartisan policy organization, we support LED’saggressive approach to jobcreation to secure this lifeline forour state. If anything, it’s long overdue.

Heather Spillers Poole is the chancellorofCentral Louisiana Technical Community College and immediate past chairofLeaders fora Better Louisiana.

Heather Spillers Poole GUEST COLUMNIST

STAFF FILE PHOTOBySOPHIA GERMER Workers prepare forthe future Meta AI data center in Holly Ridge.

ISSUE OF THE WEEK THEMIDTERMS

With the midtermelectionsonthe horizon, both parties are tryingtogaugethe mood of voters.While Republicans worry many are fed up with the policies of President DonaldTrump,there are pitfalls forDemocrats as well.Trumphas been skilled at highlighting areas wherethe opposing party is out of step with the majority of Americans.With Trumpnot on the ballot, what will be animating voters as theygotothe polls and what messages will help turnout voters? Here are twoperspectives.

Theidea-free gladiatorial season,or, themidterms

NOMINEE, n. Amodest gentleman shrinking from the distinction of private life and diligently seeking the honorable obscurity of public office. —Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’sDictionary”

Candidates in this year’selections will soon be bouncing around like corn being popped. By November,the nation might long for arebirth of political reticence. In 1876, although Rutherford B. Hayes was Ohio’sgovernor and the Republicans’ presidential nominee, he doubted eventhe propriety of attending Ohio Day at the Philadelphia celebration of the nation’scentennial.Fifteen decadeslater,ambition is no longer demure. But what arecandidates ambitious to do? As politics has become more tribal, it has becomemore gladiatorial, and the satisfactionsofcatharsis —the expression of animosities —have supplanted expectationsofagendas for governing.

ties. But without him on theballots in 2026, will his voters bestir themselves?

Trump, himself ahighly caffeinated creature, has been caffeine for the electorate: astimulant, who in 2024 upended the axiom that higher voter turnout is better for Democrats. Lastspring, David Shor,adata scientist, calculated that if more people had voted, Kamala Harris would have fared even worse. Trumpwould have won the popular votebyalmost five points instead of 1.4 points.

Democratsbewarned— Trumpknows theweakspots

Trump,however,will never again be on aballot. So, what is the foreseeable political residue of Trump, who, in his Louis XIV (“L’Etat, c’est moi”)mood, has said, accurately,“IamMAGA”?

AEI’sTimothy P. Carney has examined Pennsylvania and discerned arealignment —the working class becoming more Republican, upper-middle-class suburbanites becomemore Democratic —that is notsymmetrical:

Sure, the“No Kings” marches drew millionsrightly protesting Donald Trump’sassaultsonour democratic institutions. ButDemocrats must dig deeper and ask how Trumpcould actually win another term after trying to overturn the 2020 election results with aviolent attack on the Capitol. It wasn’tasthough most Americansadored him. Gallup’s approval rating for Trumponelection eve was asad 46%.

Trumpcarried the 2024 vote by playing theDemocrats on three issues that aggravate evenmoderate Americans. They are open borders, thedemonization of law enforcement and racial, ethnic and other preferences embodied in theDEI (diversity,equity and inclusion) movementbeing adopted by companies, schools and government agencies.

Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan,aliberal with aconservative disposition (he thought conservatism is adisposition), once said, “Liberals are people who would like to see things improved, and conservatives are people whowould like to see things not worsened.” Today,many voters at both ends of theideological spectrum primarily want thesamething: to see the other side lose. Theoretically, people vote, then the resultshave consequences. Actually,today,voting is its own consequence: catharsis.

In this era of presidential dominance, voters thinking (if they do) about midterm congressional elections might wonder, what’sthe point? Adam J. White of the American Enterprise Institute writes that presidents use Congress’sinertia to justify their own assertiveness, “butthis gets the situation backwards. Thedefining fact of our era is: Congress won’tact, becausePresidents will.”

Today’spresidential dominance serves Republicans because their party’s raison d’être is nothing but subservience to thepresident. The Economic Innovation Group’sSarahEckhardt, Connor O’Brien and Ben Glasner reportthat in 2024 Trump received alarger portion of the vote than in 2020 in 90 percentofcoun-

TheDemocrats’ gains are largely from former Republicans switching parties out of disgustwithTrump.The Republicans’ gainsinclude many former blue-collar Democrats, but “more disaffected nonvoters coming out of political inactivity tovote for aonce-in-a-lifetime candidate.” Hence theasymmetry:

“Many of those former Republican voters are now firmly country club Democrats, while many of those working-class voters neverquitebecame Republicans —they weresimply Trumpvoters.”

Thus, whenTrumpdisappears, “the countryclub will still be very Democratic but the working-class Whites will go back to being missing Whitevoters.”

Now,never underestimate the Democrats’ ability to make asow’sear out of a silk purse.

As an Israeli diplomat once said of the Palestinians, they never missanopportunity to miss an opportunity.Ifmany Democratic candidates try to pumpup deflatedhysterias —democracy is dying, the planet is frying —they can make themselves resemble a(to recycle a phrase) basket of deplorables. Failure is achoice.

Email George Will at georgewill@washpost.com.

Trumpweaponized the mostinflammatorystatements coming from the fringe left. With themidterms on the horizon, he’sdoing it again with bait meantto provoke Democratsinto taking radical positions.

It helped them little that in 2024, Joe Biden had, in fact,secured the border Buthewaited until theend of his term after tolerating caravans of migrants surging intothe U.S. The U.S.-Mexico border had just seen arecord million migrant encounters in one year.The hesitancy left the strong impression that Biden acted only under political pressure. On immigration, Trumpseems intent on antagonizing Democrats with military-stylespectacles of migrants being roughed up, including many whoare fully documented. Gone was the sensible plan to deport those convicted of crimes and deal with otherwise law-abiding workers lacking papers in amore humanemanner Andsowhat did Democrats do? They voted towithhold funding forthe Immigration and CustomsEnforcement agency until certain reforms were made. ICE enforces immigration law inside the U.S. Denying it the money to operate sounds alot like “defunding thepolice,” aslogan that cost Democrats seats in Congress and perhaps thepresidency While Republicans are in power,the desired changes won’tbemade. But as

long as Democrats cater to their radicals, they won’t winenough races to take that power away.Meanwhile, Trump has shrewdly downshifted on the ICE excesses in the cities, letting them fade from the news. As forracial and ethnic preferences, Trumphas crusaded against DEI. White males especially resent them, not without reason, and many others consider DEIincompatible with amerit-based democracy Biden wentoverboard on making race abasis forhires. His low point wasannouncing early on that his next Supreme Court nominee would be ablack woman.When the timecame, he named Ketanji BrownJackson. Thing is, Jackson was asuperbly qualified candidate —magna cum laude from Harvard, clerkships fortwo federal judges and one supremecourt justice, service on both atrial court and appellate court, plus experience in private practice. By announcing that his choice had to be aBlack woman, Biden excluded Whites, Latinos, Asians and all men from acandidate pool in which Browncould wellhave prevailed on her own merits. Trumpgoads the left’sidentity-mongers to double-downonracial arguments —and entertained the racist right —by demonizing individual Blacks, notably individual Black women Social media flamethrowers will push Democrats to take positions hostile to moderate voters. Remember,partisans, their reward is getting attention. Your reward should be winning elections.

To recap: Trumpwould not have won in 2024 had Democrats not helped him He exploited their refusal to secure the border earlier,fixation on identity (above all, that inexplicable obsession on transgender issues) and hostility toward law enforcement. That put Trumpover the top despite aclose popular vote and weak Democratic opponent.

Democrats, Trumpknowsyour vulnerabilities. He’salready exploiting them to survive the midterms, which, without, he’sbasically toast.

Froma Harrop is on X, @FromaHarrop. Email her at fharrop@gmail.com.

George Will

Froma Harrop

STAFFPHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER

Peoplewalk intoHynes Charter School in New Orleans to cast their vote on Election Dayin2024.

‘No

room for doubt’

LSU gets season-high score to advance to regional final

BY SCOTT RABALAIS Staff writer

ä Chio posts two more perfect 10s. SEE PAGE 4C

Konnor McClain perched the LSU stick crown on her head and stuck her tongue out the side of her mouth. Ashley Cowan stuck her uneven bars landing and drew an imaginary bow and arrow Kaliya Lincoln nailed her balance beam routine and did a brief but happy dance. And, oh yes, Kailin Chio got two perfect 10s.

The name of the game in NCAA gymnastics regional competition, like the one Thursday night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, is survive and advance

The top two teams in the evening session were set to move on to Saturday’s regional final.

LSU did that and then some, storming through with skill, swagger and a slew of superb scores to finish first by a mile in Session II of the regional’s second round with a season-high team total of 198.375. The Tigers’ previous best score was a 198.325 on Feb. 13 in the PMAC against

Auburn. The No. 2 national seed, LSU advanced along with No. 15-seeded Clemson, which earned the second transfer spot with a 196.800 score. Auburn was third at 195.500 while Nebraska, which won a first-round meet Wednesday against Air Force, finished fourth at 195.000.

“What do you say?” LSU coach Jay Clark asked. “It was awesome. They left no room for doubt They ought to be superbly confident going into Saturday.”

LSU and Clemson will face No. 7 Stanford and No. 10 Michigan, the top two teams from Thursday afternoon’s session at 5 p.m Saturday in the PMAC. The top two teams from the regional final stamp their tickets to the NCAA Championships, April 16 and 18 in Fort Worth, Texas.

Chio or Ch10 as she’s referred to on LSU’s social media accounts — was the star once again. She bookended her night with perfect 10s in the anchor spot on vault and in the fifth spot in the Tigers’ floor lineup.

They were Chio’s 10th and 11th 10.0 scores this season, the most in a season by a Tiger The sophomore now has 12 10s

ä LSU at Tennessee, 4:30 P.M.FRIDAy,SECN

for her career, trailing only Haleigh Bryant’s 18 in LSU history

Chio also shared the regional title with a career high-tying 9.95 on uneven bars, the only event in which she hasn’t gotten a 10 She took a step on her landing on balance beam, another event in which Chio leads the NCAA in scoring, and got a 9.875, a pedestrian score by her lofty standards.

Chio “atoned” for that minor step with a precision performance on floor for yet another 10.0 mark.

That Chio did so well with so much going on around her — four events simultaneously swirling in the regional format speaks not only to her skill but her level of concentration.

“Any gymnast has an uncanny way of blocking out noise,” Chio said. “ I go through a mental process of my own, get in my zone and stick with what I know I just do my gymnastics.”

LSU gymnasts swept the regional individual titles. In addition to Chio’s 10s, McClain, Cowan and Chio tied for first on bars with 9.95s. Lincoln and Amari

ä See LSU GYM, page 4C

Wade was

BY TOYLOY BROWN III Staff writer

“What guys are out there?” That was the question

Before Schroyer left his position as athletic director of McNeese State, he coached college basketball for 12 years at four schools. The next stage of the conversation centered on the need to rejuvenate the fan base. Ausberry said “apathy” had seeped in after a fourth consecutive season of missing the NCAA Tournament and a third bottom-two finish in the Southeastern Conference in four years. The only person the athletic department and the board of supervisors knew would energize people was former coach Will Wade.

fits what LSU is, he

LSU offense adapting to Ki

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

Harlem Berry couldn’t feel the speed. He was, though, close enough to see it back in September, when he watched from the sideline as coach Lane Kiffin’s fast-paced offense started to wear down the LSU defense.

Berry remembers that Ole Miss’ tempo forced linebacker Whit Weeks to vomit through his facemask and onto the field between plays. That clip circulated online not long after the Rebels beat the Tigers last season, and it popped back into Berry’s head last week, when LSU kicked off its first spring practice under Kiffin.

“This is a real fast offense,” he said Thursday It didn’t take long for Berry — a sophomore running back from New Orleans and former five-star recruit — to learn that lesson. He’s one of a handful of incumbent offensive players who decided to return to LSU through the coaching change that ended Brian Kelly’s tenure and started Kiffin’s.

So far, Kiffin has led the Tigers through five spring practices He’s using the time to implement changes both stylistic and schematic — none bigger, perhaps, than the speed at which the offense is supposed to operate. No FBS team ran more plays in 2025 than Ole Miss, which finished the season ranked second nationally in total offense and 10th in scoring. LSU, on the other hand, ranked near the bottom of the FBS in all three of those categories. That’s one of the reasons Kiffin landed the job.

“It’s our job to set the tempo,” Kiffin said Tuesday “We get hired as coaches not just to draw up plays We’ve got to set the tempo by the way that we work, by the standards that we have, by the habits that we develop.

“We show them. And then I believe that trickles down.”

Take the rushing attack, for example. LSU couldn’t control the pace of its games last year in large part because it struggled to run the ball. More than 120 FBS teams rushed for more yards per

STAFF FILE PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

LSU coach Jay Johnson gives encouragement from the dugout during a College World Series game against Arkansas on June 14 in Omaha, Neb

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU gymnast Konnor McClain celebrates with her teammates after her uneven bars routine in the second rotation on Thursday at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center McClain scored a 9.95 in the event.

4:30

6

UConn, South Carolina meet again

BY DOUG FEINBERG AP basketball writer

PHOENIX Dawn Staley and Geno Auriemma have met on women’s basketball’s biggest stage the past few years with a national championship on the line.

Now they’ll play a game earlier as South Carolina and UConn tip off in the Final Four on Friday. UCLA and Texas play in the second national semifinal game of March Madness.

The Huskies and Gamecocks played last season for the title and UConn came away with an 82-59 rout for the school’s 12th national championship UConn also beat South Carolina during the 2024-25 regular season.

“This is a different South Carolina team than the one we played last year,” Auriemma said. “Our two wins against them last year don’t really mean anything going into tomorrow The way (the championship game) was played has no bearing on tomorrow They have added some really key pieces I think they’re a much better team than they were last year.”

The Gamecocks also feel last season’s games are in the past and don’t have much bearing on Friday’s rematch. The two teams didn’t play during the regular season for the first time in more than a decade.

“I just remember getting beat by 20, honestly,” South Carolina guard Raven Johnson said. “We got new players in This is their first time experiencing the Final Four I think Coach Staley, the other coaches, are doing a good job of keeping the main thing the main thing and keeping us ready when the moment is here.”

UConn has continued winning since the championship game, going 38-0 this season so far. They enter the Final Four undefeated for the ninth time and are riding a 54-game winning streak. Sensational sophomore Sarah Strong, who was honored as the AP Player of the Year on Thursday, is a big reason why

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley celebrates cutting down the net after South Carolina beat TCU in the Elite Eight on Monday in Sacramento, Calif.

Last ride for Fudd

Azzi Fudd is trying not to think about how her UConn career will end this weekend either with another championship or a loss. She’s focused on staying in the moment.

The All-America guard will be a potential lottery pick in the WNBA draft in a few weeks.

“I feel like I’ve been kind of in denial thinking about how this is my last weekend I know, but I haven’t really accepted that yet,” said Fudd, who was the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four last year. “I’m really just trying to enjoy every single moment.

I’m trying not to think about that. I mean, I feel like this program has left such an impact on me, I can’t even begin. I don’t know I don’t

know I have no idea (smiling).” Fudd has been healthy this season and has been one of the faces of the tournament. She’s averaging 17.5 points while shooting 48.5% from the field, 45.5% from the 3-point line and 95.5% from the foul line.

“If we win tomorrow and if we win Sunday, Azzi will be crowned one of the greatest of all time. If we don’t win tomorrow and we don’t even get a chance to play on Sunday, she’s going to feel like this was a disappointing year for her,” Auriemma said. “I try to make it that it’s November don’t think about January Hey, it’s January,

don’t think about March. Let’s just enjoy what we’ve got right now.”

For the Hall of Fame coach, getting to the Final Four was all that Fudd had to really do

“Once we won, once we beat Notre Dame to get here, to me Azzi’s job was done,” he said. “What happens here the next game, that’s all just bonus. ’Cause getting here is the hard part, you know?”

Not playing like freshmen

UConn’s Blanca Quinonez and South Carolina’s Agot Makeer have raised their play in the NCAA Tournament. Quinonez is averaging 17.3 points in the NCAAs — second to Strong. She also averaging 4.8 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 1.3 blocks. Auriemma has been impressed with her confidence.

“Her belief in herself I think is one of the things that separates her I think a lot of kids today, they don’t necessarily have that belief. They don’t necessarily have that level of confidence,” Auriemma said. “They walk around like they do, but they really don’t. Hers is real. I think it’s infectious, you know?”

Staley sees similar characteristics in Makeer, who had a careerhigh 18 points in the Elite Eight win over TCU.

“For us, Gotti thinks highly of herself and her talents, which she should,” Staley said. ‘I think that is the thing that propelled her to play like she’s playing, is she thinks very highly of herself.”

Both Quinonez and Makeer missed time this season with injuries. UConn’s young star had shoulder issues and Makeer had ankle problems and a concussion. Now they are healthy and playing well.

“I feel like my mindset changed. Starting in the SEC Tournament, I just started approaching games differently,” Makeer said. “And I feel like it wasn’t just one-dimensional thinking. I just wanted to go and do whatever I can to get the team to win. So just in this tournament, I’ve just thought whatever I can do to get this team a win is what I need to do.”

UCLA and Texas get Final Four rematch

BY JOHN MARSHALL

AP sportswriter

PHOENIX UCLA’s bid to play for a first NCAA championship came to a harsh end with a blowout loss to eventual national champion UConn in the women’s Final Four The Bruins are back, along with the rest of last year’s Final Four teams, and hope to have better luck in the desert.

Standing in the way is Texas, the only team to be the beat them in what was otherwise a dominating season.

“For us, it’s just coming out ready to go,” UCLA guard Gabriela Jaquez said on Thursday “The main thing is being ready to play, coming out to get every loose ball, play as a team, just playing like we know how to play.” The Bruins (35-1) spent most of the season pushing around opponents, winning by an average of 20.9 points per game fifth nationally — on their way to a school record for wins. The Longhorns (35-3) became the bully when the teams met Nov 26 at the Players Era Championship in Las Vegas.

Texas’ physical guards harried the Bruins into a string of turnovers to lead by 20 at halftime and staved off UCLA’s late charge to win 76-65. UCLA also had a hard time getting the ball to All-American center Lauren Betts, who had a season-low eight points on just eight shots.

“Coming out with a certain level of aggression is important and I’m going to make sure I do that,” Betts said.

UCLA rebounded to beat Duke by 30 the next day, kicking off a school-record streak of 28 straight wins that included four double-digit

wins in the NCAA Tournament.

The Longhorns kept rolling, opening the season with 18 straight wins before consecutive setbacks at No. 5 LSU and No 4 South Carolina. The losses frustrated Texas coach Vic Schaefer, but his irritation peaked a month later with a 16-point loss at Vanderbilt that had him saying his team was “soft” and “had no heart.”

The Longhorns responded by dominating every team they went against after that, winning 12 straight games by an average of 26.5 points per game That included a 17-point win over South Carolina in the SEC tournament title game and four straight NCAA Tournament blowouts in which they allowed an average of 49.4 points per game.

Texas, in the Final Four for the fifth time, is seeking its first national championship since going undefeated in 1986.

“Right now they’re playing as good as any team I’ve ever had,” said Schaefer, in his fifth season as Texas’ coach.

Limiting turnovers

A huge key in Friday’s second Final Four game will be whether UCLA can handle Texas’ pressure.

The Longhorns hounded the Bruins into 20 turnovers, converting those into 18 points.

UCLA had similar problems taking care of the call against Duke in the Elite Eight, turning it over 12 times to trail at halftime for the second time this season. The Bruins rallied from the eight-point deficit to win 70-58 but finished with 18 turnovers.

LSU softball explodes late to run-rule Missouri

LSU used a seven-run sixth inning and the dominant pitching of ace Jayden Heavener to rout Missouri 9-1 in six innings on Thursday in Columbia, Mo.

Tori Edwards started the LSU sixth-inning explosion with a tworun home run to deep center field. Jalia Lassister followed with an RBI single and Sierra Daniel smacked a two-run single to make it 7-0.

The visiting Tigers (24-12, 5-8 SEC) got another big blow on Kylee Edwards’ towering home run, this one a two-run shot to left field to score Daniel. Missouri (20-19, 4-6) avoided the shutout in the bottom of the sixth with a bases-loaded walk, but coudn’t score again as the game ended via the mercy rule. The teams meet again at 3 p.m. Friday for Game 2 of the series.

Mickelson cites injury, pulls out of Masters

AUGUSTA,Ga.— Three-time champion Phil Mickelson withdrew from the Masters on Thursday, citing a personal health matter with his family that kept him out of all but one of the five LIV Golf events this year

“Unfortunately I will not play in the Masters Tournament next week and will be out for an extended period of time as my family continues to navigate a personal health matter,” Mickelson posted on social media.

Tiger Woods said Tuesday he was taking an indefinite leave to seek treatment after his arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence in a Feb. 27 crash in Florida. It will be the first time neither Woods nor Mickelson will be at the Masters since 1994.

UConn’s Strong named AP Player of the Year

PHOENIX Sarah Strong of UConn was named The Associated Press women’s basketball Player of the Year on Thursday after leading the Huskies to an undefeated season, setting the stage for a run to the Final Four Strong became just the fifth player to win the award in her sophomore year, joining Oklahoma’s Courtney Paris (2007), UConn stars Maya Moore (2009) and Breanna Stewart (2014), and USC’s JuJu Watkins, who won it last year The AP started giving out the award in 1995.

It’s the 13th time that a Huskies player has won the award with Paige Bueckers being the last to do it before Strong in 2021.

Strong received 25 votes from a national media panel.

Vanderbilt’s Ralph named AP Coach of the Year

PHOENIX Shea Ralph of Vanderbilt was named The Associated Press women’s basketball Coach of the Year on Thursday after turning the Commodores into one of the top teams in the nation.

Ralph led a team that returned just one starter to the most successful season in school history

The team went 29-5, with 13 of those wins coming in the regular season against a rugged Southeastern Conference schedule The Commodores finished tied for second in the conference, which matched the best finish in program history They earned a 2-seed in the NCAA Tournament and reached the Sweet 16. Ralph received 23 votes from the 31-member national media panel that votes on the AP Top 25 each week.

LSU signee remains on amateur leaderboard

LSU signee Raegan Denton scrapped her way to an even-par 72 on Thursday, keeping her high on the leaderboard going into Saturday’s final round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur

The Longhorns have big, physical guards who put constant pressure on ballhandlers, a big reason they force 22 turnovers per game.

All-American impact Another key will be the performance of the teams’ two first-team AP All-Americans. Betts had a dominating season, averaging 18.5 points and 7.6 rebounds while shooting 60.1% from the field to be named an All-American for the second straight season a year after becoming the program’s first women’s All-American.

She’s the fourth player in NCAA history with at least 600 points, 300 rebounds, 100 assists and 70 blocks in a season. Texas junior Madison Booker has the size of a forward at 6-foot-1, but the skills of a guard, making her a brutal matchup for any opposing team.

The Australian is at 5 under 139, in a tie for sixth place after two days at Champions Retreat Golf Club in Evans, Georgia, just outside Augusta. The top 30 and ties from the 72-player field advanced to Saturday’s final round at Augusta National Golf Club. Denton is six strokes back of Asterisk Talley, who finished as runner-up last year

LSU sophomore Rocio Tejedo shot

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JUSTINE WILLARD

Crescent City Classiccontinues to grow

Annual 10Krace, celebrationset for Saturday in N.O.

BY SPENCERURQUHART

Staff writer

The Crescent City Classic 10K is in its 48th year, and there are over 20,000 participants set to run or walk 6.2 miles throughthe streets of New Orleans on Saturday

The number of signups for this year’sNew Orleans-based road race was at 18,000 as of Wednesday, with the expectation being that the race will reach its participant limit. More than 18,000 people signed up for asold-outClassic last year

The number of starting corrals has increased this yearwiththe expectation of more runners. The race has continued to bounce back after shifting to avirtual model in 2020 because of COVID-19.

“The numbers are up significantly,which is always agood thing,” racedirector Eric Stuart said. “The race is growing. We got zapped duringCOVID,got thesails knocked outofus. People have beenwith us,and it’scome back significantly each year.”

The race begins at Poydras Street near the Caesars Superdome before headingthrough theFrench Quarter up Esplanade Avenue and finishing at City Park. Spectators traditionally gather along the route to cheer on participants.

Acourse change has been considered because of thisyear’s increased participation. More oncourse entertainment is expected.

“(Increased participation)is going to make us have to adjust

JOHNSON

Continued from page1C

—needed someextra thought.

“That’satthis time. Again, I haven’tbeen,” he said before taking amoment. “I haven’tbeen offered an MLBjob,iswhatI’ll say.” Never during his conversation with reporters on Wednesday did Johnson rule out the possibility of ajump to the major leagues.Before Vitello, who left Tennessee— which faces LSU for athree-game seriesinKnoxville, Tennessee, beginning on Friday(4:30 p.m., SEC Network) —for the San Francisco Giants last fall, no college coach had made the leap to becoming an MLB manager without any experience coaching or playing in pro baseball.

If Johnson decided to leave college for the big leagues, he’dbe following the same path as Vitello.

“It’s what madethe Tony Vitello hire such ashock to people,” ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passansaid.“The Giants didn’tjust hire acollege coach. They hired acollege coach who had no experience in professionalbaseball.

“And around the industry,there were alot of people who looked at it and said, ‘Boy,that’svery interesting. That’salittle bit risky. They must think that this is aspecial type of leader,’ and, well, we’re about to findout.”

The start of Vitello’stenure in San Francisco has had its ups and downs.

The Giants were 2-4 before their gameThursday night against the New York Mets. They were swept by the New York Yankees in their opening series, held to one run in three games before bouncingback with two wins overthe San Diego Padres on the road. And much like his timeinTennessee,Vitellohas had his share of soundbites sincehearrivedinthe big leagues.

“I can’ttalkdowntoguysanymore, they’re my age,” Vitello quipped during an in-game interview on Fox. “Or it feels like they’re close to it.”

things even more next year if we want to go higher,but it’sagood problem,” Stuart said. “There will be more dancegroups and DJs (along the course).”

The Classic used to pay elite runners to participate, but that’s no longer the case because of increased appearance fees. The focushas instead shifted to increasinglocal participation.

The Classic’smotto, “A Race For AllY’all,” encourages participants to eitherrun or walkthe 6.2-mile course as they please.

“Wedidn’tthink (bringing in elite runners) was adraw forthe race,” Stuart said. “If youhave localpeople coming in and having great times and enjoying themselves,it’sabetter experience for everybody.”

Local running clubs suchasthe NewOrleans-based Power Milers feature some of this year’stop local participants such as Bryant White, aNew Orleans native who’saphysical education teacher at Immaculate Conception School in Marrero.

White finished secondinlast year’sClassic with atime of 31 minutes, 33 seconds andishoping to crossthe finishline in first this year

“I’m prettyconfident,” White said. “Training is going really good. This is arace Iwould like to win.”

White has participated in the Classic every year since 2022. The 27-year-oldwas adistancerunner at Southeastern Louisiana and has been apartofthe Power Milers club since 2016.

“I had no idea how big thisrace was (in2022),” White said. “The atmosphere is great.”

Covington native Evan Pardo, a distance runner at UNO, wasthe Classic’stop finisher last year with

SanFrancisco has155 games left to play this season. Afew games in April and March don’tmean a wholelot inthe bigger picture. However,Vitello’s experiment is something Johnson will keep an eye on.

“I think it’scool.Ithink it’sawesome,” Johnson said. “I’m followingitclosely.That was my team I’mfrom northernCaliforniaanyway

“I’m very interestedtosee how it goes.”

Vitello’ssuccess, or lack thereof, won’tnecessarily determine Johnson’schancesofbecominga major league manager someday Johnson’srésumé is arguably stronger than Vitello’s, with two nationalchampionships in three years and having developed atrio of top-three MLB draft picks over the past three seasons. And even if Vitello’shiring wasunique, it followedanoffseason trendofMLB teams taking high-risk bets on new managers.

AweekbeforeThanksgiving,the Washington Nationals hiredBlake Butera —a 33-year-old Metairie native —as their new manager.His appointment made himthe youngest manager in the big leagues since 1972.Craig Stammen, an MLBrelief pitcher who retired as aplayerin2023, washiredinNovember as thePadres’ manager despite having minimal coaching experience.

“I don’tknowthis to be true.

And frankly,I’m alittlehesitant to say it,” Passan said. “But when the Giants hired Tony Vitello, the first thing Ithought to myselfwas, ‘Boy,the (Los Angeles)Dodgers and theirdominance are making organizations look at every single possibility of getting (an) edge or value,orone up.’ Because winning in auniverse where they exist, you have to take risks.

“If we’re not going to be able to outspend them, and they’ve shown an incredible ability to develop players, where are some areas that we might be abletoget alittle bit of an extra edge?”

In some respects, Vitello is a trailblazer forJohnson and elite college coacheslike him. But he’s also not thefirst coach to have

atime of 31:10.New Orleansresident Kir Selert was the top female finisher with atime of 36:07.

Apostrace festival in City Park will include livemusicfrom New Orleans-based band Flow Tribe. Awards will be givenout on stage to the Classic’stop finishers, and acostumecontest follows the awards ceremony

“(The postrace festival) has grown, too,” Stuart said. “More food options, drink options. Got a bigger charityvillage than we’ve ever had before, which is what we really want to grow.We’re really happy.”

Email Spencer Urquhart at surquhart@theadvocate.com.

ON DECK

WHO: LSU (20-10, 4-5 SEC) at Tennessee(19-10, 3-6) WHEN: 4:30 p.m.Friday WHERE: LindseyNelson Stadium ONLINE/TV: SEC Network RADIO: WDGL-FM, 98.1 (Baton Rouge); WWL-AM, 870 (New Orleans);KLWB-FM, 103.7 (Lafayette)

RANKINGS: LSU and Tennessee are not ranked by D1Baseball

PROBABLE STARTERS: LSU —RHP Casan Evans (2-1, 5.00 ERA); Tennessee— RHP Landon Mack (3-2, 3.89)

PREGAME UPDATES: theadvocate. com/lsu ON X: @KokiRiley

WHATTOWATCH FOR: LSU has trailed by at least five runs in its past twogames.The Tigers were down 7-0 to Kentucky before coming back to win 17-10, and theytrailed Southern6-1 on Tuesdaybefore blowing out the Jaguars, 16-6.Tennesseetook down AustinPeayonTuesday, 134, bouncing back from aseries of crushing defeats to Vanderbilt.The Volunteers gotwalkedoff three times in the series sweep.

KokiRiley

managed at both the collegiate and MLB levels.

Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy was thecoach at ArizonaState from 1994-2009 and led the Sun Devils to fourCollege WorldSeries appearances.Bobby Winkles won three national championships at ASU before managing the California Angelsand Oakland Athletics in the 1970s. Dick Howser was the coach at Florida State for oneyear before becoming the manager of theYankees and a World Series-winning manager for the Kansas City Royals in the 1980s And contractually,ifanMLB team ever wantedtohire John-

son,the club wouldn’tneed to buy outhis contract at LSU.Johnson’s new deal, which he signed in July, includes a$7million buyout if another college were to hire him before August. Thereisnomentionof MLBnor probaseballinthat section of thecontract.

“That’sall they’relooking for: Who’s awinner?” Passan said. “And if you’ve won at LSU, if you’ve won national championships, andif you’ve won SEC titles, and if you’ve wonthese glossy items that say a lotaboutyourskills, then chances areanopportunity is going to come alongatsomepoint.”

Noneofthis means that Johnson’sdeparture for the Chicago White Sox,PhiladelphiaPhillies or SeattleMarinersisa formality Alongwith stating he wants LSU to be “the best program in the country forever,” he was quick to point out some major differences betweenpro and college baseball.

“It’sa completely different game, though; it’s adifferent world,” Johnsonsaid. “Ifpeople think college football and the NFL are different, like (MLB) and (college) andwhatgoes on,it’sthe moon.

MLB, in Johnson’s estimation, is geared toward rewarding individual success morethan team success. Given the competition for sparse jobs among players andthe game being players’ livelihoods, Johnsonwould prefer to work in aleague where it would be easier to promote aculture thatisabout the team first.

He also said he believes that MLB frontoffices,which are generally run by Ivy League graduates who are well-versedinbaseballanalytics,piecetogether thelineup each dayinstead of themanager. Thatdynamic is something he probably wouldn’tbeafan of.

“You can ask Jake Brown how coach Johnson would feel if somebody was telling him what lineup we were doing,” Johnson said. But the college game is still, at least arguably,closer to MLB now than ever before. Like in MLB, money has become aprominent factor in college baseball. The transferportal andNIL have made it more difficulttoculti-

vate thekind of team-first environmentthat Johnson hastried to promote.

“I bet, and Idon’tknow this to be true, but if you ask coach Vitello,” Johnson said on the Mik’d Up podcastwith Mikie Mahtook andJared Mitchell on Wednesday, “all of the volatility (in college sports), all of that probably (played afactor) in him deciding to go (to MLB).”

College players have become more prominent in the MLB draft. PaulSkenes, Dylan Crews andKadeAndersonare just a handful of college stars who have seen theirstocksrise because of their collegiate success.

“I think the hiring of acollege coach to be abig-league manager is part of alarger evolution in therelationshipbetween college baseball and Major League Baseball,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in an interview with KNBR, alocal sports radio station in SanFrancisco. “The college programs, many of them,are reallyhighquality.Theyproduce players that we draft in increasing numbers every year

“So Idon’tthink there’sanything unusualabout thedevelopment thatsomebodywho hasbeen tremendously successful at the college level would get amajor league job.”

Johnsonand Vitello have exchanged words since the latter coach left for San Francisco. Johnson first congratulated him on getting the job and complimented him on theworkhedid at Tennessee. Vitello eventually responded, saying “somethingtothe effect of, ‘I’m notgoing to miss seeing youfor a while,’ ”before Johnson came back with awitty observation.

“I was like,well, youjusttraded us for the Dodgers.”

Butthe only tradestuck in LSU fans’ minds is whether Johnson would deal theTigers in for ashot at becoming an MLB manager Fornow,hesayshehas no interest. The circumstances around him, however, are built to testhis patience.

“We’ll see. Things change,” Johnson said. “But, right now,this is where I’m happy.”

STAFFFILE PHOTOS By SCOTT THRELKELD

Evan Pardo of NewOrleans wins the 47th Crescent City ClassicinNew Orleans on April 19.

Runners finish the 47th Crescent City ClassicinNew Orleans on April 19.

LEARNMORE

Derek Curiel LSU Baseball, Outfielder

Chio dazzles once again for LSU

Super sophomore posts two more perfect 10s

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

It had all the trappings of a classic Kailin Chio vault. The LSU gymnastics star achieved her desired height and amplitude after she rocketed off the table, and then, of course, she nailed her landing. What followed was a familiar sequence of events for the Tigers. Another 10 for Chio. Even more perfection for perhaps the top gymnast in the country It’s not supposed to happen this often, but it did two more times in the NCAA regionals on Thursday, when LSU moved one step closer earning its fifth trip to nationals under coach Jay Clark.

“Chio’s unbelievable,” Clark said. “I don’t know if she’s human sometimes.”

Chio was already enjoying one of the best seasons an LSU gymnast has ever put together this year Then, on Thursday, she collected 10s on vault and floor, tied the top all-around score any gymnast has posted this season (39.825) and helped the Tigers advance to Saturday’s regional final. Their 198.375 team score was a season high.

LSU GYM

Continued from page 1C

Drayton also tied for first on beam with 9.95s.

Chio won the all-around title as well with a 39.825, just off her season high of 39.875, which is also tied for the nation’s best all-around mark.

LSU gymnasts hit a mental reset button after finishing third being fellow No. 1 regional seeds Florida and Oklahoma in the Southeastern Conference Championships two weeks ago.

“There’s a lot we talked about coming out of SECs,” Clark said. “Joy and intensity We have an aggressive mindset and are finding the joy in what we’re doing with each other in each moment.

“When they do that, that’s magic.” In all, LSU gymnasts tied seven career or season highs in the meet and posted a team season high of 49.625 on uneven bars

McClain said the Tigers can be even better

This year, Chio has now posted 50 total scores — on vault, bars, beam and floor Eleven of them have been perfect. That’s more than 20% And she’s only a sophomore. To put that feat into perspective,

“That’s still not our best,” McClain said. “We’re capable of so much more. We’re having the time of our lives, but it isn’t over yet. We’re ready for Saturday.”

First vault in Saturday’s regional final is set for 5 p.m. All four NCAA regionals are being streamed on ESPN+.

Session I

In Thursday’s first session, No. 7-seeded Stanford and No 10 Michigan advanced to Saturday’s regional final on scores of 197.175 and 196.600, respectively North Carolina was third at 196.250 and Utah State was fourth at 195.750.

Stanford gymnasts swept the five individual titles, led by freshman Ana Barbosu. She won the all-around with a total of 39.575, took beam with a 9.925 and shared the floor title with Cardinal teammate Alana Walker (9.95)

Stanford’s Taralyn Nguyen also won vault with a 9.95. All-American Anna Roberts won bars with a 9.90 and was second in the allaround to Barbosu with a 39.300.

it took Haleigh Bryant — arguably the greatest gymnast in LSU history four years to rack up her 18 career perfect 10s. Chio already has 12 such scores, and if Thursday’s meet is a sign of what’s to come, she might have

NCAA BATON ROUGE REGIONAL

At Pete Maravich Assembly

Center

First round

Wednesday Nebraska 195.600,Air Force 194.475

Second round

Thursday

Top two teams advance

Session I, No. 7 Stanford 197.175, No. 10 Michigan 196.600, North Carolina 196.250, Utah State 195.750. Session II, No. 2 LSU 198.375, No. 15 Clemson 196.800, Auburn 195.500, Nebraska 195.000

Regional final

Saturday

Top two teams advance to nationals LSU, Clemson, Michigan, Stanford, 5 p.m.

LSU

alongside running back Stacy Gage during the first day of LSU spring football practice on March 24.

SPRING

Continued from page 1C

game in 2025 than the Tigers did. Their top two ballcarriers finished with only 505 and 491 yards on the ground.

Both of those runners — junior Caden Durham and Berry decided to return to LSU. Kiffin and his staff needed to add depth behind them, so they signed four transfer running backs: Dillin Jones from Wisconsin, Raycine Guillory from Utah, Stacy Gage from UCF and Rod Gainey from Charlotte.

None of them have played in Kiffin’s system before, so they’re all using spring practices to acclimate themselves to its faster pace. Kevin Smith the running backs coach who followed Kiffin from Ole

Miss to LSU wants them to work with a sense of urgency In portions of practice open to reporters, he’s run through drills himself, tucking a ball and crashing through a set of tackling dummies. That hands-on approach is new for some LSU players — but not for star edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen, who’s one of four new Tigers who played for Kiffin at Ole Miss. “I’ve just been trying to tell the guys on the offensive side that they better buckle up,” Umanmielen said, “because it’s going to be a lot of fun for sure, especially watching from the sideline as a defensive player.”

Before LSU’s new-look offense can play at Kiffin’s preferred pace, it needs to figure out how to run the ball, and before it can figure out how to run the ball, it needs to set a first-team offensive line. The Ti-

gers are expected to hold position battles at both their guard spots and at right tackle in preseason camp.

On Thursday, in the 20 minutes of practice open to reporters, LSU had Maryland transfer Aliou Bah and Ole Miss transfer Devin Harper at the guard spots in a quick red zone drill. Returning sophomore Weston Davis was at right tackle. Berry and Durham are expected to form a 1-2 punch at running back They’re still a long way away from solidifying their roles in Kiffin’s offense. But what they do know now is that things are changing — and that they need to condition themselves before they can make the adjustment.

“This is different,” Berry said, “but we embrace it, and we’re working. We’re just trying to get in the best shape we can.”

When the Tigers moved to the uneven bars, Chio turned in a 9.95, and when they went to beam, she took a half step forward on her dismount and posted a 9.875. It was only the sixth time this season that she didn’t score at least a 9.90. Then Chio rebounded and flawlessly executed her two floor passes to post her second 10 of the night. She’s now been perfect three times on that event this season. Just another night at the office.

“Kailin is a different breed,” junior Amari Drayton said. “I do not even know how to go into an explanation. I don’t know I can just look at her and be like, ‘OK, period. It’s a 10.’ Just call it right then and there.”

some more perfection left to achieve before she even hits the halfway point of her collegiate career “As she went on vault,” junior Konnor McClain said, “I was just like, ‘It’s insane.’ Like, she stands at the end of the vault runway, and she does the same thing, and she puts up the same vault every single week, and I was just like, ‘I do not understand.’ ” In regional action last year, Chio delivered at least a 9.90 in six of the seven routines she performed. Her top mark was a 9.95, which she earned on balance beam in the regional final. Chio blew past that mark in just the first rotation of Thursday’s meet. LSU started on vault, and three of the event’s four judges said that the superstar sophomore was perfect in her execution of a Yurchenko 1.5 — enough for her to land her third 10 of the season on vault.

WADE

Continued from page 1C

Dale Brown era. We had some hit and misses there You know, John Brady went to a Final Four

But really, it wasn’t a rich basketball history That’s the culture we’re trying to change here.”

Hours before LSU’s new coach exited the plane that flew him from Raleigh North Carolina, where he coached at North Carolina State for a season, to Baton Rouge on March 26, the thrill that came from his return captured the intrigue of sports fans nationally and intensified the excitement of the LSU faithful.

Wade, who replaced Matt McMahon, built a reputation as a consistent winner during his run as LSU coach from 2017-22. He led the program to three NCAA Tournament berths in five seasons, an overall record of 105-51, a Sweet 16 appearance and an SEC regular-season title in 2019. Wade, who was fired by LSU for cause in 2022 after an NCAA investigation, also displayed a bravado that resonated with the sensibilities of LSU supporters

“It takes a big personality to coach in the SEC, and especially under the spotlight of LSU,” Ausberry said at the news conference. “We want coaches who embrace the expectations and want them. Will is here for the challenge.” What also made Wade the perfect hire in the eyes of Ausberry, Schroyer and LSU president Wade Rousse was the built-in familiarity All three have a relationship with the Tigers’ coach.

Ausberry was a senior administrator in LSU’s athletic department during the entirety

“It takes a big personality to coach in the SEC, and especially under the spotlight of LSU We want coaches who embrace the expectations and want them. Will is here for the challenge.”

VERGE AUSBERRy LSU athletic director

of Wade’s first stint. Rousse and Schroyer hired Wade at McNeese in 2023. They all preached how those tight connections breed alignment, which led to strong results at McNeese.

“The way I look at this is what we had at McNeese, we did it on a regional scale,” Wade said. “We can take that same formula with more resources and more support just because of the financial aspect of it all and move that to LSU, and we can make us a national force.”

With the Cowboys (2023-25), Wade led them to the regular season and Southland Conference Tournament championships to earn an NCAA Tournament berth in each of his two seasons there. In his single season with NC State, the team went 20-14 and 10-8 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Wade has had six 20win campaigns in his past seven seasons.

While the success speaks for itself, Schroyer doesn’t want one other factor to be forgotten in why he has confidence in Wade. That’s his character

“Will Wade treats people that can’t help him better than anybody I’ve ever been around with his stature,” Schroyer said “He is a phenomenal human being You know, all the stuff that you might read or hear, I’m just telling you behind (the scenes), he is an unbelievable human being.”

STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

running back Harlem Berry right, drinks water

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU gymnasts chant ‘10’ after teammate Kailin Chio’s vault in the first rotation on Thursday at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center Chio indeed got her 10 and one later on floor

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU gymnast Kailin Chio flips through the air in the vault during the first rotation on Thursday at the PMAC.

SCOREBOARD

p.m.

(Cease 0-0) at Chicago White Sox (Burke0-1), 1:10 p.m.

(Singer 0-0) at Texas(Gore1-0) 3:05 p.m. Chicago Cubs (Horton 1-0) at Cleveland (Cantillo 0-0), 3:10 p.m. TampaBay (Boyle 0-0) at Minnesota (Ober 0-0), 3:10 p.m. Baltimore(Bradish 0-0) at Pittsburgh (Keller 0-0), 3:noon Milwaukee (Patrick 0-0) at Kansas City (Wacha 0-0), 6:45 p.m. Seattle (Woo 0-0) at L.A. Angels (Detmers 0-0), 8:38 p.m. Houston (Javier 0-0) at Athletics (Springs 0-0), 8:40 p.m. College baseball

State scores, schedule Tuesday’s games McNeese 10, UL 7 UNO 2, South Alabama 1 Southeastern 5, Southern Miss 1 Tulane 6, Nicholls 2 LSU 16, Southern 6(7inn.)

Wednesday’s games None scheduled.

Thursday’s games Southeastern 9, Incarnate Word 3

UL 5, James Madison4

Tulane 4, Wichita State 2 McNeese State 4, UNO 3 Houston Christian 3, Nicholls 0 Friday’s games Southeastern at Incarnate Word,2:05 p.m. UL at James Madison,4 p.m. LSU at Tennessee, 4:30 p.m.

Bethune-Cookman at Southern, 6p.m. Tulane at Wichita State, 6:05p.m. McNeese at UNO,6:30 p.m. Nicholls at Houston Christian, 6:30 p.m.

College softball

State scores, schedule

Tuesday’s games None scheduled. Wednesday’s games None scheduled.

Thursday’s games

Troy 5, UL 4

Southeastern 4, McNeese 0 Nicholls 9, East TexasA&M 1 Nicholls 8, East TexasA&M 0, 2ndgame

LSU 9, Missouri 1 Friday’s games East TexasA&M at Nicholls,noon Southern at TexasSouthern (DH), 1p.m.

Southeastern at McNeese, 1p.m.

LSU at Missouri, 3p.m.

Troy at UL, 6p.m.

College basketball

NCAA Men’s Tournament

National semifinals At Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis

Saturday

UConn vs.Illinois, 5:09 p.m.

Arizona vs.Michigan,7:49 p.m.

National championship

Monday Semifinals winners, 7:30 p.m.

Men’s NIT

Semifinals Thursday’s games At HinkleFieldhouse,Indianapolis Tulsa 74, New Mexico 69 Auburn vs.Illinois St.,n

Championship Sunday’sgame At GainbridgeFieldhouse, Indianapolis Semifinals winners, 7p.m. NCAA Women’s Tournament National semifinals At Mortgage Matchup Center,Phoenix Friday UConn vs.South Carolina,6 p.m.

BY CHARLES SALZER Contributingwriter

West Feliciana needed to turn in

flawless performance in order to pick up awin Thursday nightatBrusly,but it was the Pantherswho played error-free baseball.

Brusly took advantage of West Feliciana mistakes in the field, andgot acomplete-game pitching effort from Aubrey St. Angelo as the homestanding Panthers took a10-0 over the Saints.

The game was abattleofDistrict 6-4A teamsrated in the top 10 of the Division II non select powerrankings,and it wastopranked Brusly (23-5, 5-0) that looked the part. The Panthers hit their average of 10 runs pergame and picked up their ninth shutout of the season. The win was also the14th consecutive forBrusly Brusly got started early with four runs on two hitsinthe bottom of the first inning. The Panthers werehelped by awalk, two batters that were plunked, andan outfielderror that broughtinan unearned run.

“Wealways talk about having agood start, and we put afourspot on them in the first,” Brusly coach Jason Lemoine said. “They made amistake in the outfield and we made them payfor that,and from there we just settled in.

“(St. Angelo) threw 72 pitches and gave up no runs, so it was agreat job by him and ourdefense.”

St.Angeloretired thefirst10 battershefaced,and Brusly led 7-0 by the timeWest Feliciana (17-12, 3-2) picked up back-toback one-outhitsinthe fourth inning. ASaints baserunning mistake helped St. Angelo get out of theinningunscathed,and he worked around hit-by-pitch runners in the fifth and sixth innings. Brusly picked up single runs in the bottom of the fourth and fifth innings, and closed outthe runrule wininthe sixth. TreDaley bounced alead-offsingleupthe middle, andscored on Brayden Ray’sdouble to left. Ray finished the game 3for 3, andwas oneofeight Panthersto collect ahit. In all, Brusly had 11 hits, and also drew six walks. West Feliciana’s first scoring threat came in the fourth, when Ruston Kleinpeterand MasonRogilio singled with oneout.Kleinpeter was picked offsecondbase, and Parker Girlinghouse grounded out to third to end the at-bat. In the sixth, the Saints had Ezra Morrow reach base after he was hit by apitch. Morrow was thrownout trying to take third on an infield ground out. “Hats off to (Brusly). They have agreat team,”West Feliciana coach Gannon Achord said. “It feels like Aubrey St. Angelo has been pitching against us for six years. He makes it tough on our offense, but defensively we’ve got to clean it up if we want to have a chance in these games.”

NCAA MEN’S TOURNAMENT

Michigan-Arizona matchuptop flight

BY LARRYLAGE AP sportswriter

ANN ARBOR, Mich. AMarch

Madness masterpiece might be on tap

Get your popcorn, kick up your feet and get ready for what shapes up to be an epic showdown in the Final Four nightcap on Saturday night. Michigan and Arizona, topseeded teams in the NCAA Tournament after beingat or near the top of the AP Top 25 all season, will face off with aspot in the championship game on Monday night at stake.

The nation’stop two teams in KenPom rankings will be on the same court at the Final Four for just the second time since 2015.

Michigan wasfavored on Thursday by 11/2 points against Arizonaand was aslight favorite overthe Wildcats to win the national title, accordingtoBetMGM Sportsbook. Connecticut and Illinois will meet in the first game Saturday night in Indianapolis.

The Wolverinesand Wildcats, who are acombined 71-5, are not used to playing in closely contested games. Sincethe tournament’s expansion to 64 teamsin 1985, this is the first Final Fourmatchup with teams that won each of their four previous games by double digits.

Andasthe pointspread suggests, the game looks like it will be up for grabs.

Michigan averages 87.7 points, barely apointmore than Arizona scores per game. The Wildcats allow 68.8 points agame, eighttenths of apoint less than the Wolverines give up agame.

Here’s alookatsome of the matchups:

Balancedoffenses

Michiganopened the season scoring 69 pointsinthe first half of a121-78 win over Oaklandand didn’t cool off TheWolverines arethe firstteam to score 90-plus points in four double-digit wins in the NCAA Tournament.They havescored 381 points entering theFinal Four,trailing just Kentucky’s388 points in 1993 and Oklahoma’s 387 in 1988

Michigan star Yaxel Lendeborg, an Associated Press All-America player,has 20plus points in threestraight games, including a27-point performance against Tennesseeinthe regional final.

Five of his teammatesare scoringindouble figures and asixth is averaging 9.5 points on apass-happy team. Arizona, likewise, is very balanced offensively.

Brayden Burriesand JadenBradley,honorable mention AP All-America players, combinetoaverage nearly 30pointsa game as part ofa startinglineupwith five double-digit scorers. Sevenplayers in the regular rotationhavescored at least 20 in agame, and eight playershaveshared or led the teaminscoringinagame this season.

TheWildcats rankedNo. 4nationally in paint points during the regular season at 42.7 per game and were 360th of 365 Division I teams by attempting just 16 3-pointersper game, seven fewer than the average team.

Pounding the ball inside also helps them get to the line. Arizona is shooting18plus more free throws than opponents in thetournament.

Tall,disciplined defense

Arizona’ssize has been an advantageall season,but Michigan also has length in the frontcourt.

TheWildcats’ defense is anchored by 7-foot-2 Motiejus Krivas, an adept shot blocker, andhewilllikely squareoff with7-foot-3 centerAday Mara. Arizona also has 6-8 freshman Koa Peat and6-8,

250-pound reserve Tobe Awakatocreate problems foropponents. TheWildcats’ guards are big and agile, able to playaggressively up top because of thesize behind them.

Coach Tommy Lloyd wants the Wildcats to play tough defense without fouling —something they’ve succeeded at, making more free throwsthan opposing teams have attempted.

Michigan turns defense into offense, pressuring the ball all over the court to cause turnovers and trigger its fast break.

Marahas 100 blocks, setting asingle-seasonrecord, and the team has blocked at least eight shots in each of its four gamesinMarch Madness. Morez Johnson, a 6-9 forward, and Lendeborg have combined to block 70 shots to give the team three players to protect the rim.

The Wolverines also throw an arrayoftraps at teams, forcing turnovers that allow them to turn up the tempo. Coachesrising stars

Both coaches might be high on North Carolina’s wishlist to replace fired coach Hubert Davis.

Lloyd spent 21 years as an assistant at Gonzaga, helping coach Mark Few turn the Zags from amid-major from easternWashington no one hadheard of into anational powerhouse. He has been excellentatmaking adjustments, allowingthe Wildcats to turn close gamesat halftime into lopsided wins as they did by overcoming a seven-point halftime deficit to beat Purdue79-64 in the EliteEight Michigan coach Dusty

UConn’sMullins finds it difficult to turn thepage

BY MICHAEL MAROT

AP sportswriter

INDIANAPOLIS Everywhere

NOTEBOOK

Will Tschetter provides depth in the frontcourt and is oneoftwo holdovers, along with starting guard Nimari Burnett, from Howard’sfinal season.

Intangiblesabound

May had madethe mostof the transfer portal, plucking players out of it in each of his two years to remarkably rebuild aprogram that lost a school-record 24 games two years ago before firing formerFab Five player Juwan Howard.

May’sstaff looks for players wholike to pass, believing it’sanunselfish characteristic that paves the way to be agood teammate. The former student manager at Indiana underBob Knight is makinghis second trip to the Final Four as ahead coach, following FloridaAtlantic’s improbable run in 2023.

Deep benches

Awaka and sharpshooter Anthony Dell’Orso were starters last season, but shifted to benchroles with theinflux of talentonthe roster Awaka makes the most of his 21 minutes per game by grabbing rebounds and providing aphysical presence. He leadsArizona with 9.1rebounds per game and his of-

fensive rebounding percentage of 20% leads the nation.

Dell’Orso had some midseasonstruggles, but regained his shooting touch late in the season, providing ahuge lift when he enters the game.

FreshmanDwayne Aristodeisone of themostathletic players on the team and can score in bunches as he did when he made 6of9 3-pointers in an 18-points performance againstNorthern Arizona.

Trey McKenney,afreshman guard, nearly averages double figures as Michigan’s top player off the bench.

If Elliot Cadeau’sallergic reaction limits his playing time, McKenney or senior RoddyGayle wouldsee more action.Gayle, whois in his second season with the Wolverines after twoyears at Ohio State, averages seven-plus points agame.

May said Cadeau, who averages 10.2 points and 5.8 assists, is “fine” after being driven to Indianapolis by a Michigan staffer

The Wildcats seem to play better when there’smore at stake or in the face of adversity.Arizona opened the season with asix-point win over reigning national champion Florida and took down agauntlet of ranked opponents the rest of the season. Bradley has been asuperb point guard in his third season at Arizona, orchestrating the offense while making big plays at the big moments. He’shad aknack for taking over in tight games and hit adifficult game-winning jumperatthe buzzer in Arizona’swin over IowaState in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals.

Lendeborg seems to be getting better everygame and the point forward has achance to cap his remarkable story,which includes playing just 11 games of high school basketballand validating his mother’sbelief that he could be acollege basketball player

The Wolverines have been relatively relaxed andloose all season, dancing together to pop songs when they warm up for games and celebrating teammates —particularly seldom-used reserves when they get achance to play —during games.

Mullins

UConn guard Braylon Mullins looked Sunday night and Monday, he saw the same thing —another replay of his heroic 35foot, gamewi nn in g 3-pointer to beat Duke. He couldn’tavoid it. Eventually,though, the freshman guard decided he needed to turn off the television, tune out the chatter and move on.

“The firstday,itwas countless,” Mullins said Thursday when asked how many times he’d seen the replay.“Iwas like every scroll on the feed. But it’sjust after the first day, Iwas like ‘Hey,you’ve got to scroll past it. You’ve got to move on, flip the page.’ ” Of course, just because Mullins —and the Huskies —want to leave that memorable moment in the past doesn’tmean others will, as they found out in Indianapolis. On the first day of Final Four weekend at Lucas Oil Stadium, Mullins’ interviews

with national television and radiooutletsran long, delayinghis arrival to the locker room. Whenhefinally madeit, ahorde of reporters swarmed hislocker and, naturally, the topic turned to the shot that sent UConntoits thirdFinal Four in four years.

“It’sinsane just knowing that shot’s going to be played every March Madness and I’m apart of that moment,” he said. “That’ssomething I cancherish.”

Bannertime

Dan Hurley made one thing perfectly clear: UConn doesn’t intendtosettlefor anything less than leaving Indianapolis with another title.

In his firstseven seasons with the Huskies, he already won back-to-back championships in 2023 and 2024. The run endedwith a77-75 second-round loss to eventual national champ Florida last season, but nowUConn is back looking for the school’s seventhtitle —the first coming in 1999.

“Everyone that comes to theFinal Four gets abeautiful watch, butonly onegroupis going to get aring,” the coach said.“So get off social media,

stopinjectingthe dopamine into your arm and getserious about the preparation and the practice because we don’t hang bannersfor Final Fours at UConn. We hang national championship banners.Ifyou wanttohang abanner, you’ve got to get your eyes off social media, get your face outof the phone and get locked in on Illinois.”

No distractions

Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said Thursday he isn’tfocusing on anythingbeyond his team’sgoal of winning a national championship. That includes questions about him as apotential candidate to fillthe coaching vacancy at blueblood program North Carolina.

“Listen, I’ve got my full focus on this team,” Lloyd said.” Nothing is distracting me. That’s just how I’ve decided to approach it.”

UNCfired HubertDavis on March 24 after five seasons, leaving thejob vacantfor nearly 10 days.

“I’m asimple guy.I am kind of just onething at a time,” Lloyd said. “I’m not a multitasker.You can ask my wife. I’m100% locked in on Arizona basketball right now, and I’m excited to see what this team can do.”

THE SAME BUT DIFFERENT

BaileyZimmerman (“FallinLove,” “Where It Ends,”“Rock and aHard Place”), considered one of countrymusic’sfastest-rising stars, brings his “Different Night Same Rodeo Tour” to theRaising Cane’s River Center Arena at 7p.m. Friday. Tickets startat$45.35 at ticketmaster.com

ART FOR SALE

The monthlyBaton RougeArtsMarket runs from 8a.m. to noon SaturdayatFifthand Main streets downtown. Peruse small, local and handmadework from 60-plus artists, including ceramics, paintings,woodwork, textiles,handcrafted jewelry, hand-poured candles, artisanal soapsand more. artsbr.org

FESTFOR THE FAMILY

Alivegospel music and entertainment festival, LifeFest returns from noon to 6p.m

It’s that perfect timein Louisiana —winter’schill has passed andsummer’sscorching temperatureshaven’tarrived just yet.Spring is the time to get outside and enjoy the state’sbeauty,culture and community The following is acalendar of fairs and festivals in the Baton Rouge and Acadianaareas happening now through the endofMay Don’tsee your event listed? Email the info to red@theadvocate.comand we’ll make sure to addit.

FRIDAY-SUNDAY, APRIL3-5

LOUISIANA LAONEW YEAR CELEBRATION: WatThammarattanaram Temple, 7913Champa Ave., Broussard. Lanexang Village celebrates with live music, abeauty pageant, parades, sand castle building,kidsactivities, and several vendors selling clothes, jewelry,music and food from Southeast Asia. (337) 378-9469.

THURSDAY-SATURDAY, APRIL9-11

LOUISIANA RAILROAD DAYS FESTIVAL: DeQuincy Railroad Museum grounds, DeQuincy Celebrating the heritageof the railroad industry. Includes

aparade, food booths, craft booths, nonselling booths, carnival rides, Miss/Jr. pageanton Thursdaynight, gospel music on Fridaynight, and all-day musiconSaturday. https:// ä See FESTIVALS, page 3D

BY JUDYBERGERON

Staff writer

Baton Rouge-based brass

band The Michael Foster Project will open the spring season of Live After Five on Friday, April 10, at Rhorer Plazain downtownBaton Rouge.

The band blends jazz, funk, Latin, pop and hip-hop.

The six free outdoor concerts this season will run from 5p.m. to 8p.m. each Friday

“This spring’sLive After Five lineup is ahigh-energy Louisianashowcase that will bring great vibes and broad appeal to downtown each week,” J. Hover,managing director,saidina newsrelease. Thelongest-standingconcert seriesinthe city also will feature: n April 17: Baton Rouge Blues Fest kickoff featuring Garry Burnside, son of legendary bluesartist R.L. Burnside;plus Doussan Garrett Benoit LeBlanc,aLouisianablues/rock supergroup formed by the four respective band leaders

Breakout teen performeriscomingtoBRwitha

BYJUDYBERGERON

Legal Tour” as theAustin, Texas, nativecelebrated his18th birthday in July Tickets go on sale to the public starting Fridayat raisingcanesrivercenter com. Limit eight tickets per person. Myers, whose musical styleleansintoblues, rock, soul andcountry,released his second album, “Heavy On The Soul, last week through Records Nashville/ Columbia. Early releases from the recordinclude “Message to You,” “Leaving Carolina, Through a Screen,” “Come On Over,Baby” and“TwoTrains (feat.

radio’s

top 15 and climbing. Thenew 33-date United States tour opens June 11 in Sidney, Maine, and wraps with aNov.21 stopinFort Worth,Texas. Myers’ other nearby concert will be Oct. 3 in Brandon, Miss. Supporting acts along the wayinclude Brent Cobb, Lanie Gardner and Benny G. “Inciting heartthrob-levelpandemonium on theroad,the fastrising phenomenon followed his first sold-out headline run with a sold-out 73-date trek ‘The Select Tour’ wrapping Feb. 27 in Columbia, SC.,”anewsrelease from Sweet Talk Publicity states. “Set to make his Stagecoach debut and support Luke Combs’ ‘My Kinda Saturday Night Tour’ at stadiums thisspring,he’spreviously opened for

Williams Sr.ofNathan & the ZydecoCha Chas

FRIDAY-SATURDAY

8:30 p.m.-10 p.m., BRECHighland Road Park Observatory 13800 Highland Road. See the majesty of the night sky in these publicviewings for those 6and up.hrpo.lsu.edu/ events.

SATURDAY STRONG &CALM WARRIOR

YOGA: 8a.m.-9 a.m., USS KIDD Veterans Museum, 305 S. River Road. https://www usskidd.com/. BATONROUGE ARTS MARKET:

8a.m.-noon,Fifth and Main streets, downtown. Vendors sell avariety of unique, original works of artincluding pottery,woodwork, textiles, glass, paintings, sculptures, photographs, handmade soaps, handmade toys,jewelry and more. artsbr.org.

RED STICK FARMERS MARKET: 8a.m.-noon, Fifth and Main streets, downtown. The annual StrawberryJam featuring family-friendly activities, livemusic, cooking demonstrations and lots of the fresh, locally grownberries. Also, farm-fresh produce and goods. breada.org

FAMILY-HOUR STARGAZING:

10 a.m., Irene W. Pennington Planetarium at theLouisiana Art &Science Museum, 100 S. River Road.Learnabout the stars and constellations in the local nighttime sky followedbyanall-ages show. lasm.org.

“BILLYIDOL SHOULDBE DEAD” (FILM): 2p.m. and 6p.m., Manship Theatre, 100 Lafayette St. Feature-length documentary tracing thelife and career of thepunkpioneer turned rock ‘n’ roll icon.

$9.50. manshiptheatre.org.

MONTHLYCONTRA DANCE:

3p.m.-5:30 p.m., St. Alban’s Chapel,corner of Highland Road andDalrymple Drive. Newcomer instruction at 2:45 p.m. Singles and couples welcome. $7 per person; free for first-timers. Louisianacontrasandsquares.com or (225) 803-9194.

FAMILYDINNER IMPROV COMEDYTROUPE: 7:30 p.m., Hartley/Vey Studio Theatre, Manship Theatre, 235North Blvd. An evening of improvisational antics, unscripted hilarityand surprises. $14 manshiptheatre.org

MONDAY “MADAMA BUTTERFLY” VIEWING PARTY: 1p.m., Main Library at Goodwood, 7711 Goodwood Blvd. In celebration of OpéraLouisiane bringing the Giacomo Puccini operaback to aBaton Rouge stage. Free. ebrpl.com.

TUESDAY

JURASSIC JAM!: 10:30 a.m.-

2:30 p.m.,Manship Theatre, 100 Lafayette St. Aspring break eventwith afull day of movies, crafts, games, activities, picnics, dance parties and dinosaur egg hunts. Therealsowill be aballoon drop and dance party after the movie. Free, butreservations recommendedat manshiptheatre.org

BATONROUGE CHESS CLUB:

6p.m.-8 p.m., La Divina Italian Cafe, 3535 Perkins Road, Unit 360. Achance to play and learn; alllevels welcome. Free.

“THE GODFATHER” (FILM, 1972): 7:30 p.m., Manship Theatre, 100Lafayette St. The mob drama classic, based on Mario Puzo’s novelofthe same name, focuses on the powerful Italian-American crime family of Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando). $5. manshiptheatre.org

WEDNESDAY

INTRO TO D&D FORTEENS:

2p.m., Greenwell Springs Regional Branch Library,11300

PROVIDED PHOTO ILLUSTRATION FROM PBS KIDS

Ascreening of ‘Dinosaur Train: What’satthe Center of the Earth’ will be partof Jurassic Jam! on Tuesdayatthe Manship Theatre. Free, but reservationsrecommended at manshiptheatre.org

Greenwell SpringsRoad. Learn thebasics of Dungeons &Dragons by running asimpleone-shotcampaign.Total beginners welcome; pre-ade character sheets provided. Registration requiredbycalling (225) 274-4470.

LOUISIANA GRASS ROOTS SCREENING: 6p.m., Main Library at Goodwood,7711 Goodwood Blvd. Celebrate Louisiana’snativelandscape, beginning with aguided tour of thelibrary’s newnative plantgarden.Then, at 6:30 p.m watch ascreening of “Louisiana Grass Roots,” ashort documentary on the state’s coastal prairie, followedbyadiscussion with producer Dr.Phyllis Baudoin Griffard. Free. ebrpl.com.

SCIENCE ON SCREEN:“ETERNALSUNSHINEOFTHE SPOTLESS MIND”: 7p.m., Manship Theatre, 100 Lafayette St. After apainful breakup, Clementine (Kate Winslet) undergoes a proceduretoerase memories of her former boyfriend Joel (Jim Carrey) from her mind. $10. manshiptheatre.org.

THURSDAY RED STICK FARMERS MAR-

KET: 8a.m.-noon, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, 6400 Perkins Road.Farm-fresh produce, goodsand more. facebook.com/redstickfarmersmarket.

OPEN MIC POETRYSLAM: 5:30 p.m., Eden Park Branch Library,5131 Greenwell Springs Road. MarkingNationalPoetryMonth, adults areinvited to hear poetry from writers andcreators in theBaton Rougearea. Refreshmentsprovided. Free. ebrpl.com.

OUTDOOR COMMUNITY YOGA: 6p.m.-7 p.m., pavilion by thepond, LSU Hilltop Arboretum, 11855 Highland Road. Drop-in; noregistration required; bring your ownmat. Free, butdonationswelcome. www.lsu.edu/hilltop.

WEEKLYSOCIAL BIKE RIDE: 7p.m., Geaux Ride, 521 N ThirdSt., SuiteA.Free. fareharbor.com

ONGOING BATONROUGE GALLERY CENTER FORCONTEMPORARYART: 1515 Dalrymple Drive. “Real Life Experience: Juried High School Exhibition,” through April 26. Hours: noon-6 p.m.Tuesday-Sunday batonrougegallery.org.

CAPITOL PARK MUSEUM: 660 N. FourthSt. “Groundsfor Greatness: Louisianaand theNation,” The Louisiana Experience: Discovering the Soul of America,” “African American History,” “Music and Musicians” and“Mardi Gras,” permanent exhibits. (225) 342-5428 or louisianastatemuseum.org

CARY SAURAGE COMMUNITY ARTS CENTER SHELL GALLERY: 233 St. Ferdinand St. “Dennisparkercelloetc,” exhibit of cellist Dennis Parker’s transformations of musical instruments into sculptural works, through April 17. Hours arefrom9a.m. to 4p.m. weekdays andfrom10a.m. to 2p.m. Saturday. artsbr.org. THE GALLERY AT MANSHIP:

100 Lafayette St.“Brandon Lewis —When All God’s Children Get Together.”Hours are9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday, 9a.m.-10 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 9a.m.-11p.m.Friday, 10 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday, and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday

KNOCKKNOCK CHILDREN’S MUSEUM: 1900 Dalrymple Drive. Museum- and EBR Schools-hosted art exhibition for K-5students, “Big Ideas, Little Hands: EBR Schools’ K-5 Masterpiece,”through April 12. knockknockmuseum.org

LOUISIANA ART&SCIENCE

MUSEUM: 100 S. River Road.

“Then, And Now, And Always: The Artwork of Nick Bustamante,”through July19, SoupConGallery; “Pinpointing the Stars,” through Aug. 1; “Crossroads &Connections: ACentury of the Railway in Baton Rouge,”through Oct. 1; “Going Places: Transportation Toys of thePast,” through July 6, and “Shelf Queens: Model Train Masterpieces, also through July6.(225) 3445272 or lasm.org.

LSU’SBARNES OGDEN GALLERY: 31 S. Campus Drive.

LSU School of Art Spring 2026 Grad Walk, 5:30 p.m.-8 p.m. Thursday, April 9. Open-studio event featuring ascheduled walk between School of Art MFAgraduate studios, music, glowing lantern installationand refreshments.

LSU’SGLASSELL GALLERY: ShawCenter for the Arts, 100 Lafayette St.“Mia Isabel Pons: this body held others” and “Sarah Moschel Miller: To be closer,”both LSUSchool of Art MFAthesis exhibitions, through Saturday, April 11. Hours: noon-8 p.m.

LSU MUSEUM OF ART: Shaw Center forthe Arts, 100 Lafayette St.“Daphnis and Chloe and Other Lovers: Lithographs by MarcChagall,” through May24. “AI: Artistic Interpretations, Studio Art Quilt Associates,” through May10. (225) 389-7200 or lsumoa.org.

MANSHIP THEATRE JONES

WALKER FOYER: 100 Lafayette St.“Look up: APhilosophy for Birding and Life”byGail Suberbielle. Free and open duringregular ShawCenter building hoursunless thereis aprivate event.

MAGNOLIAMOUND MUSEUM

+HISTORIC SITE: 2161 Nicholson Drive. Guided and selfguided tours. Hours arefrom 10 a.m. to 4p.m.MondaySaturdayand from 1p.m.to 4p.m.Sunday. brec.org/facility/MagnoliaMound.

OLD GOVERNOR’SMANSION:

502 North Blvd. Open for tours. Hours arefrom9a.m to 4p.m.Monday-Friday. Free admission. oldgovernorsmansion.com.

OLD STATECAPITOL: 100 North Blvd. “Japanese War Brides: Across AWide Divide,”through June 13. “A More Perfect Union: Reconstruction’sLegacy in Louisiana,” permanent exhibit. Free. louisianaoldstatecapitol.org.

USS KIDD VETERANS MUSEUM: 305 S. River Road. Displays of avariety of artifacts that celebrate veteran and navalmilitaryhistory.Note: Vessel is in Houma for dry dock repairs. usskidd.com.

WEST BATONROUGE MUSE-

UM: 845 N. Jefferson Ave.,Port Allen. “Talented Student Art Exhibition,” through Saturday. “Finding Alice: Artists Exploring Wonderland,” through May24. (225) 336-2422 or westbatonrougemuseum.org.

Compiled by Judy Bergeron. Have an open-to-the-public event you’d like to promote? Emaildetails to red@theadvocate.com. Deadline is 5p.m.Friday for the following Friday’s paper

—BATON ROUGEAREA

3p.m.

FRIDAY

CHRIS OCMAND: BLDG 5, 3p.m

MATT SMITH: Agile Brewing, 5:30 p.m.

STEVE GUSTAFSON: Stab’s Restaurant, 6p.m

RACHAEL HALLACK &ERIC

CANTRELLE: Sullivan’s Steakhouse, 6p.m

CHRIS LEBLANC: Tallulah Crafted Food and Wine Bar, 6p.m

PETER SIMON: BLDG 5, 6p.m.

KIRK HOLDER: GalvezSeafood, Prairieville, 6p.m

LEE SERIO BAND: T’Quilas, Denham Springs, 6:30pm

BRIAN RITTENHOUSE & CYPRESSCOVE: Papi’sFajita Factory,Watson, 6:30 p.m.

DAMON KING &BOJAMISON: On The Half Shell, Prairieville, 7p.m

GARRETT REMSON: Bin 77, 7p.m

BAILEY ZIMMERMAN: Raising Cane’s River Center Arena, 7p.m

THE BLACK JACKET SYMPHONY PRESENTS ‘LED ZEPPELIN IV’: River Center Theatrefor Performing Arts, 7:30 p.m.

KITTY STEADMAN/KATIE

LOVE: Mid CityBallroom, 8p.m

RHETT GUILLOT: Spanky’s, 8p.m

HENRY TURNER JR. &ALLSTARS: Henry Turner Jr.’s Listening Room, 8p.m

IAN WEBSTER &TAYLOR

CLARK: The Vineyard, 9p.m.

PRESS1FOR ENGLISH: Icehouse TapRoom, 9p.m

PETTY BETTY: Fred’sonthe River, Prairieville, 9p.m

N’TUNE: The Showroom, 9p.m.

SATURDAY

RHETT GUILLOT: ChowYum

MYERS

Continuedfrom page1D

Bowen, OldDominion, Tim McGraw and Willie Nelson, among others.”

BRITTON MAJOR: Sullivan’s Steakhouse, 5:30 p.m

STUDIO4: Victoria’s Mexican, Denham Springs,6 p.m

BLOCKER HARVISON: BLDG 5, 6p.m.

ARNETT HAYES: Stab’s Restaurant,6 p.m

CHRIS ROBERTS: On The Half Shell, Prairieville,7 p.m

PERIQUE: Bin77, 7p.m.

GIULIA MILLANTA: Henry TurnerJr.’s Listening Room, 8p.m.

SPANK THE MONKEY: Fred’s on theRiver,Prairieville,9 p.m

DERRICK LEMON: The Vineyard,9 p.m

LETTERS IN RED: O’Hara’s Irish Pub, 9p.m.

SUNDAY

ERICBASKIN: Watermark Hotel,10a.m.

RHETT GUILLOT: Tallulah Crafted Food and Wine Bar, 11 a.m.

JUSTIN BURDETTE TRIO: Superior Grill-MidCity, 11 a.m.

JOVIN WEBB: RedStick Social, noon DOWN SOUTH: Fred’s on the River,Prairieville,3p.m.

SONGWRITER SUNDAYS: La Divina Italian Cafe,5p.m.

LUCY YOES: PizzaByronz, 5p.m. OPEN MIC JAM: FatCat Saloon, Prairieville, 7p.m.

MONDAY

JEFF BAJON PROJECT: Superior Grill-MidCity, 6p.m.

TUESDAY

RHETT GUILLOT: Superior Grill-MidCity, 6p.m.

EDDIE SMITH: On The Half Shell, Prairieville,6:30 p.m

With 1.2 billion-plus global streams to date, Myers gained career traction on Spotify,and recently was chosen for Spotify’sRadar program.It’s“an initiative created to spotlight up-andcoming music talent, giving them an opportunity to broaden theirfanbase and supporting them on their path to superstardom,” the release also states.

LIVE

Continuedfrom page1D

n May 15:Big Sam’s Funky Nation, an explosive New Orleans powerhouse led by trombone giant Big

LSU BIG BANDS/JAMESANDREWS:

SONGWRITERS

CompiledbyMarchaund Jones.Want yourvenue’s music listed? Email info/ photos to showstowatch@ theadvocate.com. The deadline is noon FRIDAY forthe following Friday’s paper

Other artists who have participated in theRadar program includeReneé Rapp, Peso Pluma, Sexyy Red, Zach Bryan —who will be performing in LSU’s Tiger Stadium on Saturday night —and more than 900 others. Visit www.tymyersmusic. com formore information.

SamWilliams; plus,Ambush ReggaeBand, an oldschool rootsreggaeband bringing deep grooves and nonstop island vibes

Email Judy Bergeron at jbergeron@theadvocate. com.

n May 22: Rouge Krewe Party Band, aversatile group delivering high-energy favorites,dance hits and crowd fun. For updated information, follow the series on Facebook, Instagram or at down townbr.org/live-after-five.

Email Judy Bergeron at jbergeron@theadvocate. com.

FESTIVALS

larailroaddaysfestival.com/.

FRIDAY-SUNDAY, APRIL 10-12

PONCHATOULA STRAWBERRY

FESTIVAL: 11 a.m.-8 p.m.

Friday, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, Memorial Park, 301 N. Sixth St. Live music including Paperchase, Kings of Neon Mothership, Thomas Cain, Rouge Krewe and Swampland Revival. Food and drink booths featuring strawberry as well as savory treats. Parade rolls at 9:30 a.m. Saturday. Plus, contests, rides and more. https://www.lastrawberryfestival.com/.

BOOKS ALONG THE TECHE

LITERARY FESTIVAL: various venues, New Iberia. Focusing on Great Southern Writers, this year with Rick Bragg, and highlighting Iberia Parish authors and others who write about the unique culture of Louisiana. Cooking demos, workshops on writing, book fair, receptions, poetry, music, children’s activities, Cajun dance lessons and more. https://booksalongthetecheliteraryfestival.com/ or (337) 606-5977.

BOUDIN FESTIVAL: 125 Lions Club Road, Scott. Live entertainment and music, local food vendors, queen’s pageant, children’s pageant crafts, fireworks, Sunday family day and Sunday Mass on the festival grounds. scottboudinfestival.com.

SATURDAY, APRIL 11

BATON ROUGE MARGARITA FESTIVAL: noon-6 p.m., Court

To Table Kitchen & Bar, 7477 Burbank Drive. Margarita tasting contest, live DJ, food vendors, beer garden and a trip giveaway. The winning bar or restaurant gets $1,000. A portion of the proceeds supports children’s charities. Nonsampling admission, $25.79; sampling admission $55.92; VIP sampling, $72.97. eventbrite.com.

FRIDAY-SATURDAY, APRIL 17-18

BATON ROUGE BLUES FESTI-

VAL: Along North Boulevard, downtown. Celebrating the blues and all the genres it inspired, this year’s headliners will be Kenny Neal, Chris Thomas King, Chris LeBlanc, Jovin Webb and Jonathon “Boogie” Long. Free admission, but VIP tickets also available. The festival’s first day offers a half-day of shows on two stages. www.brblues.org.

FRIDAY-SUNDAY, APRIL 17-19

EL FESTIVAL ESPANOL DE

NUEVA IBERIA: Bouligny

Plaza/Steamboat Pavilion

102 W. Main St., New Iberia Celebrat ing the founding of New Iberia by the Spanish with gala, “Running of the Bulls” dog-friendly 5K/1mile fun run, parade, paella/tapas/ jambalaya cook-off, Spanish dessert bake-off, Spanish re-enactment, Spanish family genealogy displays, live music, arts and crafts show, Spanish dance lessons, visiting royalty paella eating contest, children’s tent and Mass. (337) 349-7343.

LA FETE DU MONDE: Behind the Louisiana Cajun Bayou Tourist Center, Raceland. Also known as the Lockport Food Festival, the event offers authentic Cajun food, amusement rides and games for all ages, live music, dancing and a pageant.

SATURDAY, APRIL 18

CAJUN TWO STEP FESTIVAL: 1211 Service Road, Kentwood Hosted by social media sensation StaleKracker, the high-energy celebration of bayou culture features the

SCCA Louisiana State Championship crawfish cook-off, all-you-can-eat seafood, live Cajun and zydeco music, activities for kids and local vendor booths. thecajuntwostep.com.

WEDNESDAY-SUNDAY, APRIL 22-26

FESTIVAL INTERNATIONAL DE LOUISIANE: downtown Lafayette. It’s the 40th year for this cultural celebration featuring music from around the world, gourmet food, handcrafted artworks and more. Free admission. https://www festivalinternational.org/

THURSDAY-SATURDAY, APRIL 23-25

ÉTOUFFÉE FESTIVAL: 370 Main St., Arnaudville. The familyfriendly celebration offers a pageant, carnival rides, live music, and booths. Check out the 5K run, étouffée cook-off, auto show and bingo for all ages. 5 p.m.-10 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and 11 a.m.10 p.m. Saturday. arnaudvillecatholic.org.

FRIDAY-SUNDAY, APRIL 24-26

ITALIAN FESTIVAL: Next to the City Hall, U.S. 51, Tickfaw. Italian food, live music, carnival rides and games from Gold Star Amusement, parade at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, tomato toss. https://www.theitalianfestivalorg.com/

SATURDAY, APRIL 25

SPRING FESTIVAL: Antique Village, North Range Avenue, downtown Denham Springs. Hundreds of vendors, games, kiddie rides, food booths, antique shopping, art exhibits, Old City Hall exhibits and music at the Old Train Station. denhamspringsantiquedstrict.net.

SUNDAY, APRIL 26

FLAVORS OF LOUISIANA:

10 a.m.-4 p.m. Capitol Park Museum, 660 N. Fourth St., Baton Rouge. This is a new culinary and cultural event celebrating food, music and community, with an “Anything Over Rice” cook-off, tastings, live music and a Louisiana vendor marketplace. Tickets start at $5 for museum members and $10 for general admission, available for purchase at www.capitolparkfriends.org/fola. Proceeds support the Friends of the Capitol Park Museum.

FRIDAY-SUNDAY, MAY 1-3

CRAWFISH FESTIVAL: Parc Hardy, 1290 Rees St., Breaux Bridge. This world-famous festival has been around since 1960. Dancing to the sounds of Cajun, zydeco and swamp pop music on three stages, crawfish cooked all sorts of ways by food vendors, dance contest, crawfisheating contest, crawfish races, Cajun dance lessons, crawfish etouffee cookout,

parade, arts & crafts booths and carnival. bbcrawfest.com.

THURSDAY-SATURDAY, MAY 7-9

BOGGY BAYOU FESTIVAL: 4473

Heritage Road, Pine Prairie. Live music, food, arts and crafts vendors, carnival rides, a parade and mutton bustin’ Proceeds go directly to Prairie Manor Nursing Home, helping provide items and support for its residents. www.boggybayoufestival.com.

RAYNE FROG FESTIVAL: 300 Frog Festival Drive, Rayne. Parade, carnival rides, live music, frog etiquette eating contest, frog leg quantity eating contest, frog croaking contest, arts and crafts, diaper derby pageant, frog derby, queen contest, frog jumping contest, kids area with free activities, and a frog kissing booth. https://www.raynechamber. net/coming-soon-03.

FRIDAY-SUNDAY, MAY 8-10

COCHON DE LAIT FESTIVAL: 1832 L’Eglise St., Mansura. Plenty of the namesake dish, the famous cochon de lait (French for roast suckling pig), along with music, arts & crafts, queens’ pageant, rides and food vendors. cochondelaitfestival.com.

THURSDAY-SUNDAY, MAY 21-24

JAMBALAYA FESTIVAL: LamarDixon Expo Center, 9039 S. St. Landry Ave., Gonzales. Carnival rides, games, live music, jambalaya cook-off, food vendors, and arts and crafts. jambalayafestival.net.

FRIDAY-SUNDAY, MAY 22-31

CAJUN HEARTLAND STATE

FAIR: 444 Cajundome Blvd., Lafayette. This kick-off to summer features rides, food, craft vendors, free attractions and family-oriented games. Admission is $5 Sunday-Thursday and before 7 p.m. Friday- Saturday, $10 after 7 p.m. FridaySaturday. cajundome.com.

SATURDAY, MAY 23

LUNCHBOX COMEDY FESTIVAL

IV: 10 a.m.-10 p.m., Cabin & Courtyard Events, Gonzales. Event will feature 25-plus comedians, 20-plus vendors, four full comedy shows, live band, reptile petting zoo and hot dog eating competition. All-day pass, $25; VIP pass, $40. eventbrite.com.

SATURDAY-SUNDAY, MAY 23-24

BATON ROUGE SOUL FOOD

FESTIVAL: 11 a.m.-8 p.m., Main Library at Goodwood, 7711

Goodwood Blvd. Featuring blues, soul, R&B, gospel and Christian music, along with a vendors’ village, a judged soul food cooking contest, and new this year — a mustard greens and cornbread eating competition. Free. https://hitcitydigital. wixsite.com/brsoulfoodfest.

By The Associated Press

Today is Friday, April 3, the 93rd day of 2026. There are 272 days left in the year

Today in history: On April 3, 1996, Theodore Kaczynski, the Harvard-educated mathematician known as the Unabomber, was arrested at a remote Montana cabin by FBI agents. From his offthe-grid location, Kaczynski waged a 17-year bombing campaign that killed three people and injured 23 others, permanently maiming several of his victims. (He died in prison on June 10, 2023, at age 81.)

Also on this date: In 1860, the first Pony Express mail delivery rides began, one heading west from St. Joseph, Missouri, and one heading east from Sacramento, California.

In 1882, outlaw Jesse James was shot and killed in St. Joseph, Missouri, by

Robert Ford, a member of James’ gang. In 1944, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Smith v. Allwright, struck down a Democratic Party of Texas rule that allowed only White voters to participate in Democratic primaries.

In 1968, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr delivered what was to be his final speech, telling a rally of striking sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee, “I’ve been to the mountaintop. I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land!” (The following day, King was killed by an assassin’s bullet at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis.)

In 2009, a gunman opened fire on a room where immigrants were taking a U.S. citizenship exam in Binghamton, New

York, killing 13 people before taking

FILE PHOTO By DAVID NORMAND

Face painter Jensen Henderson, left, paints on Preston Cangelosi’s face as Riley Avants holds his hair during last year’s Denham Springs Spring Festival in the Antique Village.

ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Take a closer look at your personal relationships and what you can do to nurture and protect what matters most to you. Change requires thought, energy and the support of those closest to you.

tAuRus (April 20-May 20) You may crave change but you must consider the consequences. Your emotions will skew your perception, causing you to make bad decisions. Personal growth and selfimprovement are called for.

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Concentrate on honing your skills and connecting with people who have as much to contribute as you. Speak up and carry out your plans. Positive thoughts and actions will pay off.

cAncER (June 21-July 22) Social events won't disappoint. Get out and strut your stuff, and you'll attract attention. Partnerships are on the rise and will have an impact on how and where you live.

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Take better care of yourself, your reputation and your relationships. Avoid participating in gossip or revealing secrets that aren't yours to disclose. Choose to keep busy and stay out of other people's business.

VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) An unexpected change or encounter will change your plans. Keep the momentum flowing, make new acquaintances and do your best to stick to your budget.

LIBRA (sept. 23-oct 23) Look at the big picture, but keep your plans simple, affordable and realistic. The aim is to avoid costly mistakes while reach-

ing the finish line on time and without regret or stress.

scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Dodge any unnecessary conflicts by maintaining a cool, calm and positive attitude. Not reacting to emotional meddling will require discipline and a smart choice of words. Choose love over hate.

sAGIttARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) An opportunity to enhance your lifestyle may tempt you, but you must weigh the pros and cons before you make a commitment When it comes to a residential move or home improvements, hidden costs are likely. Play it safe.

cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Keep your eyes open and your mind alert, and protect your physical well-being. Stick close to home, get your facts straight and take on only what you know you can handle.

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Pay attention to money management. Take a pass on offers that sound too good to be true. Upgrade your resume or qualifications to ensure you can maintain your status quo.

PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Kick loose, socialize and have fun. Love is in the stars and can impact how or where you live. A positive change is heading your way. Don't skip a beat; prepare to launch.

The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact. © 2026 by NEA, Inc. dist By Andrews McMeel Syndication

FAMILY CIrCUS

CeLebrItY CIpher

For better or For WorSe

FrAnK And erneSt

SALLY Forth

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM SherMAn’S LAGoon

bIG nAte

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle basedona9x9 grid with severalgivennumbers. Theobject is to place thenumbers 1to9inthe emptysquares so that each row, each column andeach3x3 boxcontains thesamenumber only once. Thedifficultylevelofthe Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

THe wiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

CurTiS

Bridge

By PHILLIPALDER

Ronaldinho, aBraziliansoccer star, said, “Thehardestopponents for me are the defenders who are tough in the way they play —where you can’t see away through.”

Declarer at the bridge table is trying to see away through the best that theopponents can do to trytostophim from making hiscontract. However, occasionally he can callonhis opponents forhelp.

In this deal,Southisinfour hearts. Westleads the diamond three. East wins with his king, cashes the diamond ace and shifts to alow club. How should declarer continue?

After South opened one no-trump, North used afour-level Texas transfer toget his partner to play in four hearts. This allowed the opening lead to come around to the strong hand, rather than through it

Probably South’sfirst thought is to take thefinessesineach blacksuit. But thereisasafer plan. What didWest lead from in diamonds?

It was surely from queen-thirdor queen-fourth. If so,when declarer ruffs adiamond on the board, he either establishes hisdiamond jack as atrick or sets up an endplay.

South, after winning thethird trick with hisclubace, should ruff adiamond high on the boardand draw trumps ending in hishand. Then he leads the diamond jack. Yes, West covers with his queen, but declarer calmly discards a black-suit card fromthe dummy. If West returnsa spade, Southtakes two spades, six hearts and two clubs. If Westleadsbackaclub,declarerwinsone spade, sixheartsand threeclubs.South’s opponent comes to hisrescue. ©2026 by NEA, Inc., dist. By AndrewsMcMeel Syndication

Each Wuzzleisaword riddle which creates adisguised word, phrase, name, place, saying, etc. For example: NOON GOOD =GOOD AFTERNOON

Previousanswers:

word game

InstRuctIons: 1. Words mustbeoffour or more letters. 2. Wordsthat acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,”are notallowed. 3. Additional wordsmade by adding a“d” or an “s”may notbeused. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are notallowed.

toDAy’sWoRD ADMonIsH: ad-MON-ish: To express warningordisapproval to Averagemark19words Time limit 40 minutes Can youfind31ormore words in ADMONISH?

yEstERDAy’s WoRD —MEDIAn

wuzzles

loCKhorNs

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marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

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the electors of the state, for their approval or rejection in the manner provided by law,a proposal to amend Article X, Section 2(B) of the Constitution of Louisiana, to read as follows: §2. Classified and Unclassified Service Section 2.(A) (B) 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, andofall offices provided for in Article Vofthis constitutionexcept 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.

Additionalpositions 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 2. Be it further resolved that this proposed amendment shall be submitted to theelectors 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 YES or NO,toamend the Constitution of Louisiana, which proposition shall read as follows:

“Do you support an amendment to allow the legislaturetoremove or addofficers, 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 REPRESENTATIVE CHENEVERT 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 andpurposes 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 submittedtothe 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 YES or NO,toamend 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, and the 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 ---ACT No. 222 ---HOUSE BILL

enact Article VII, Section 10.17, 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

with

to

school

payment of those retirement system liabilities; to 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 deposit in and 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, ex rel. 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 depositinand 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-thirdofthe 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 annually to the 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-half of all investment earnings on the investment of the Millennium Trust. The treasurer shall report annuallytothe 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 deposit in and 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 depositinand 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 annuallytothe 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-half of all investment earnings on the investment of the Millennium Trust. The treasurer shall report annually to the 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 afavorablevote of two-thirds of the 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 availablefor 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 availablefor 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 this Section and as recognized by the Revenue Estimating Conference. (ii) For Fiscal Year 2012-2013, and each fiscal year thereafter appropriations 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) (A)(2)(a) of this Section and as recognized by the Revenue Estimating Conference and the amount of proceeds credited to

13(B). (3) For the purposes of this Paragraph, the following terms shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise: (a) “Personnel” shall mean persons employed in the positions for which an across-the-boardpay raise wasproposed in the

or other local public school board; charter school; and any other elementary or secondary school governing authority Section 2. Be it resolved by the Legislature of Louisiana, two-thirds of the members elected to each house concurring, that there shall be submitted to the electors of the state of Louisiana, for their approval or rejection in the manner provided by law,a proposal to repeal Article VII, Sections 10(F)(4)(d), 10.1, 10.8(A)(3) and (C)(3), and 10.16(A)(9). Section 3. Within two weeks of the effective date of

2026-2027. Use of monies received pursuant to the provisions of this Section shall be restricted to expenditure for pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade instructional enhancement for 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 twoweeks 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 certi

(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