Issuu

Gov. Jeff Landry arrives in Greenland 6A

SPRING FORWARD

ABOVE: Berkeley Bolinger walks with her service-dog-in-training Harlan during LSU’s spring commencement ceremony Friday for the College of Agriculture at the Maddox Fieldhouse in Baton

tiger cap in honor of LSU’s mascot.

LSU graduates largest class ever over two days

BY HALEY MILLER Staff writer

LSU graduated its largest class to date across Friday and Saturday, with more than 5,700 degrees awarded during its spring commencement ceremonies.

Senator never recovered from backing conviction of Trump

TYLER BRIDGES Staff writer

In retrospect, U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy sealed his defeat for reelection on Feb. 13, 2021. That’s the day he voted to convict thenformer President Donald Trump on impeachment charges that Trump incited the assault by his supporters on the Capitol ﬁve weeks earlier — just after Cassidy had won reelection with Trump’s endorsement.

Trump felt deceived, got U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow to jump into the Senate race in January this year with his endorsement and exacted retribution Saturday night when Cassidy finished third in the Republican Senate primary Letlow and state Treasurer John Fleming finished first and second and advance to the June 27 runoff. Cassidy’s reelection campaign is done. He will serve out the final six months of his Senate term. “Cassidy’s political career is over,” Ed

ä See CASSIDY, page 4A

LSU saw increases in the number of degrees award-

“This record-setting class represents more than an important milestone for LSU,” Chancellor Jim Dalton said in a release. “These graduates will serve communities, strengthen industries drive discovery, and help move Louisiana forward for generations to come.” The Pete Maravich Assembly Center Maddox Fieldhouse and Student Union Theater were seas of purple and gold as thousands of students from 12 schools walked the stage over the course of the two days of ceremonies. They crossed a lavender carpet as their names were read out and families and friends cheered from the audience.

BY CHARLES LUSSIER Staff writer

The nearly universal rejection on Saturday of a new St George school district is a huge setback for that educational independence movement, which has already lasted about 15 years, but it also will give pause to any other community in Louisiana seeking to do the same. The picture is radically different than the one years ago when Baker, Zachary and Central rode waves of discontent with East Baton Rouge Parish public schools, fueled by a 51-year-old desegregation effort, to gain

Murrill at center of GOP efforts to reshape New Orleans

BY JAMES FINN Staff writer

In the span of less than a month, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill indicted New Orleans’ outgoing sheriff, threatened to remove eight of the city’s leaders from ofﬁce and won a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case limiting the Voting Rights Act. Murrill’s ofﬁce also notched sev-

eral less high-profile arrests and convictions in that period: people accused of possessing child pornography, and a dancer who disrupted last year’s Super Bowl halftime show The intensive pace Murrill has set as Louisiana’s top legal officer reflects her wide-ranging effort to reshape the Attorney General’s Office in her image. A Republican often discussed as a potential candidate

for governor, Murrill wields the ofﬁce as a do-everything juggernaut that seeks to implement her conservative vision at all levels of jurisprudence.

“Many lawyers are afraid to bring certain issues to a decision-point for fear of making ‘bad law,’” said Stephen Gele, a New Orleans-based

ä See MURRILL, page 4A

STAFF PHoToS By MICHAEL JoHNSoN

Rouge. TOP: Madeline Jarreau wears a bejeweled

Mark Reese hops onstage to receive his diploma Friday.

BRIEFS FROM WIRE REPORTS

10 random shootings leave 4 hurt in Austin

AUSTIN, Texas Two suspects were being sought in at least 10 random weekend shootings in Austin, Texas, including at ﬁre stations, that left four people injured, the city’s mayor said Sunday

The city ordered residents of a large part of southern area of the Texas capital city to shelter in place Sunday while the search continues.

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson spoke about the shootings at a news conference and said an investigation continues.

The shootings occurred Saturday night and Sunday morning, two of them at ﬁre stations, leaving one person with serious injuries and three others with minor ones, Police Chief Lisa Davis said.

Davis said the suspects appeared to be stealing vehicles as they traveled.

Police identiﬁed the suspects as Hispanic men in their late teens and released what appeared to be screenshots taken from video.

“We don’t have any specific motive that has been identiﬁed. In fact, these actions appear to be random,” Watson said. “It appears that as part of this, people are changing vehicles.”

Davis said at least four vehicles have been used by the suspects.

Taiwan’s leader defends U.S. arms purchase

TAIPEI,Taiwan Taiwan’s president on Sunday stressed that arms purchases from the United States are “the most important deterrent” of regional conﬂict and instability, after President Donald Trump called into question continued U.S. support of Taiwan following his visit to China.

U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and security cooperation between the two sides are not only governed by law but also a catalyst for regional peace and stability, President Lai Ching-te said in a statement.

“We thank President Trump for his continued support for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait since his first term, including the continuous increase in the scale and amount of arms sales to Taiwan,” he said. His statement came days after Trump raised doubts over his willingness to continue to sell arms to Taiwan, the island democracy that China claims as its own breakaway province, to be retaken by force if necessary

The U.S., like all countries that have formal ties with China, doesn’t recognize Taiwan as a country but has been the island’s strongest backer and arms supplier Washington is bound by its own laws to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself and sees all threats to the island as a matter of grave concern.

Trump already approved in December a record-breaking $11 billion arms package to Taiwan including missiles, drones, artillery systems and military software.

In an interview aired Friday on Fox News, just as Trump wrapped up a high-stakes visit to China, he said he has yet to greenlight a new $14 billion arms package to Taiwan and that it “depends on China.”

Bulgaria singer wins Eurovision Song Contest

VIENNA Bulgarian singer Dara won the 70th Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday with her infectious party anthem “Bangaranga,” giving the southeast European country its ﬁrst-ever victory in the competition.

Israeli competitor Noam Bettan came second after a contest in Vienna clouded by protests and a boycott over the country’s participation.

Dara beat 24 other competitors during Saturday’s grand ﬁnal of the sequin-drenched pop music competition. The song’s infectious beats and tightly choreographed dance routine proved a hit with both national juries in participating countries and viewers around the world, whose votes together decide the winner “This is unbelievable,” Dara said at a post-show news conference early Sunday “I don’t even know what’s going on.”

She thanked “everyone who felt the bangaranga and felt connected to the force.”

Drone strikes UAE nuclear plant

BY JON GAMBRELL and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates

A drone strike sparked a fire on the edge of the United Arab Emirates’ sole nuclear power plant on Sunday in what authorities called an “unprovoked terrorist attack.” No one was blamed, but it highlighted the risk of renewed war as the United States and Iran signaled they were ready to ﬁght again.

There were no reported injuries or radiological release. The UAE, which has hosted air defenses and personnel from Israel, recently accused Iran of launching drone and missile attacks.

Tensions have risen over the Strait of Hormuz, a vital energy waterway gripped by Iran, which is under a U.S. naval blockade.

“For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them,” U.S President Donald Trump posted on social media shortly after a call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, whose attack on Iran with the U.S. sparked the war on Feb. 28.

Trump has repeatedly set deadlines for Tehran and

then backed off.

“Our armed forces’ fingers are on the trigger, while diplomacy is also continuing,” Mohsen Rezaei, a military adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, said on state television.

The ceasefire remains tenuous, with diplomatic efforts for a more durable peace having faltered. And ﬁghting has heated up between Israel and the Iranbacked Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon despite a nominal ceaseﬁre there.

The UAE Defense Ministry said three drones came over its western border with Saudi Arabia, with the other two intercepted. It was investigating who launched them. Iran and allied Shiite militias in Iraq have launched drone attacks targeting Gulf Arab states in the war

The attack, “whether carried out by the principal actor or through one of its proxies, represents a dangerous escalation,” Anwar Gargash, a diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, said on social media.

Saudi Arabia condemned the attack, and later said it had intercepted three drones that entered from Iraqi airspace.

The $20 billion Barakah nuclear power plant was built by the UAE with the help of South Korea and went online in 2020. It is the only nuclear power plant in the Arab world and can provide a quarter of the energy needs in the UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms that is home to Dubai.

The UAE’s nuclear regulator said the ﬁre didn’t affect plant safety and “all units are operating as normal.”

The International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, said the strike caused a ﬁre in an electrical generator and one reactor was being powered by emergency diesel generators.

It’s the first time the four-reactor Barakah plant has been targeted in the war Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels, whom the UAE has battled as part of a Saudi-led coalition, claimed to have targeted the plant while it was under construction in 2017, which Abu Dhabi denied.

The UAE signed a strict deal with the U.S. over the nuclear power plant, known as a “123 agreement,” in which it agreed to forgo domestic uranium enrichment and reprocessing of spent fuel to ease any proliferation concerns. Its uranium

comes from abroad. That’s very different from the nuclear program in Iran that is at the heart of long-running tensions with the United States and Israel.

Iran insists its program is for peaceful purposes, but it has enriched its uranium close to weapons-grade levels and is widely suspected of having had a military component to its program until at least 2003. It has often restricted the work of U.N. inspectors, including since the 12-day war with Israel last year Israel is widely believed to be the only nucleararmed country in the region, but has neither conﬁrmed nor denied having atomic weapons. Iran struck near Israel’s Dimona nuclear facility during the war Nuclear plants have increasingly been targeted in wars in recent years, including during Russia’s fullscale invasion of Ukraine that began in 2022. During the Iran war, Tehran repeatedly claimed its Bushehr nuclear power plant came under attack, though there was no direct damage to its Russian-run reactor or any radiological release. Israel is coordinating with the U.S. about a possible resumption of attacks, said two people familiar with the situation, including an Israeli military ofﬁcer They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing confidential military preparations.

WHO declares global emergency over Ebola outbreak

U.S. and Iran signal they are prepared to resume war 88 deaths reported as cases found in Congo, Uganda

BY CHINEDU ASADU and SALEH MWANAMILONGO Associated Press

ABUJA, Nigeria The World Health Organization declared the Ebola disease outbreak caused by a rare virus in Congo and neighboring Uganda a public health emergency of international concern on Sunday, after more than 300 suspected cases and 88 deaths

WHO said the outbreak doesn’t meet the criteria of a pandemic emergency like COVID-19, and advised against the closure of international borders.

WHO said on X that a laboratory-conﬁrmed case has also been reported in Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, which is about 620 miles from the outbreak’s epicenter in the eastern province of Ituri, suggesting a

on X on Sunday, the WHO Regional Office for Africa said that a team of 35 experts from the WHO and the Congolese Ministry of Health had arrived in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, along with 7 tons of emergency medical supplies and equipment.

possible wider spread. It said the patient had visited Ituri and that other suspected cases have also been reported in North Kivu province, which is one of Congo’s most populous and borders Ituri.

On Sunday the rebel government of Goma, eastern Congo’s largest city, said in a statement that the ﬁrst confirmed case of Ebola was detected in the city

The infected person traveled from Ituri province and was currently under isolation, the statement said. Goma was the site of a rapid rebel offensive in early 2025, and the conﬂict between the Con-

golese armed forces and the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel paramilitary group has displaced hundreds of thousands.

Ebola is highly contagious and can be contracted via bodily fluids such as vomit, blood or semen. The disease it causes is rare, but severe and often fatal.

WHO’s emergency declaration is meant to spur donor agencies and countries into action. By WHO’s standards, it shows the event is serious, there is a risk of international spread and it requires a coordinated international response.

In a separate statement

4 crew members eject safely after 2 Navy jets crash during air show

BY REBECCA BOONE and MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press

BOISE, Idaho All four crew members ejected safely after two Navy jets collided and crashed on Sunday during an air show at the Mountain Home Air Force Base in western Idaho, officials said.

The collision involved two U.S. Navy EA18-G Growlers from the Electronic Attack Squadron 129 in Whidbey Island, Washington, said Cmdr Amelia Umayam, spokesperson for Naval Air Forces, U.S Paciﬁc Fleet.

The aircraft were performing an aerial demonstration when the crash happened, Umayam said in a statement. The four crew members from both

jets safely ejected and the crash was under investigation, she said.

The crew members were in stable condition, base ofﬁcials said.

Nobody at the military base was hurt, said Kim Sykes, marketing director with Silver Wings of Idaho, which helped to plan the air show

“Everyone is safe and I think that’s the most important thing,” Sykes said.

The base said in a social media post that it was locked down immediately following the incident. The remainder of the air show was canceled.

Videos posted online by spectators showed four parachutes opening in the sky as the aircraft plummet to the ground near the base about 50 miles south of Boise.

The EA-18G Growler is a variant of the F/A-18 Super Hornet ﬁghter jet with sophisticated electronic warfare systems.

Shane Ogden said he was filming the two jets as they came close together A video he captured shows the two aircraft appear to make contact and then spin in tandem as the crew members eject and their parachutes open.

The planes then fall together, exploding into a ﬁreball upon impact as the crew members drop to the ground nearby

“I was just ﬁlming thinking they were going to split apart and that happened and I ﬁlmed the rest,” Ogden said in a text message. He said he left soon after the crash because he did not want to get in the way of emergency responders.

The global response to previous declarations has been mixed. In 2024, when WHO declared mpox outbreaks in Congo and elsewhere in Africa a global emergency, experts at the time said that it did little to get supplies like diagnostic tests, medicines and vaccines to affected countries quickly Health authorities say the current outbreak, ﬁrst conﬁrmed on Friday, is caused by the Bundibugyo virus a rare variant of the Ebola disease that has no approved therapeutics or vaccines. Although more than 20 Ebola outbreaks have taken place in Congo and Uganda, this is only the third time that the Bundibugyo virus has been detected.

Congo accounts for all except two of the cases, both of which were reported in Uganda, WHO said.

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ASSoCIATED PRESS PHoTo By VAHID SALEMI

People walk Sunday past a mural depicting a U.S aircraft carrier under missile attack in downtown Tehran, Iran.

ASSoCIATED PRESS PHoTo By HAJARAH NALWADDA People wait to have their temperature taken on Saturday in front of Kibuli Muslim Hospital in Kampala, Uganda.

Energy deliveredatafractionofthe cost, in afractionof thetime.

Spot in Democratic Senate runoff decided by 284votes

BY MATTHEW ALBRIGHT Staff writer

Jamie Davis and Gary Crockett

CASSIDY

Continued from page1A

Chervenak, apolitical scientist at the University of New Orleans, said on Sunday Still, as Democratic political strategist James Carville noted “Two termsinthe Senate is nothing to sneezeat.”

Breaking down theloss

will face each other in arunoff election for the Democratic Party primary on June 27 after competition for second place went down to the wire in Saturday night’selections.

Davis, acorn, soybean andcotton farmer in northeast Louisiana who has the state Democratic Party endorsement, was the clear front-runner, winning 48% of the vote. Crockett, aNavy veteran and NewOrleans businessowner,got 26% of the vote —passingupNick Albares by only 284 votes. Albares is apolicy analyst in New Orleans who was backed by his former boss,ex-Gov.John Bel Edwards.

Crockettand Albaresran so close to eachother that, by late Saturday night, Albareswas ahead by afew hundred votes with almostall ballots counted. But Caddo Parish was delayed in releasing the results of early voting until after midnight When the results came in, Crockett pulled ahead of Albares, claiming the second spot in the runoff. Thewinner of the June 27 follow-up election will compete in November elections againstwhoever wins the Republican runoff election, U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow or state Treasurer John Fleming Incumbent Sen. Bill Cassidy came in third place in that raceand was eliminated from contention

MURRILL

Continued from page1A

ethics attorney who has represented Murrill and Gov.Jeff Landry. Murrill “litigatesissuestoaconclusion,” Gele said. “That’s the only way to know what the law really is.” Murrillhas pursuedcriminal cases in greater numbers than past attorneys general, prosecuting corruption by public ofﬁcials and child sexual abuse at proliﬁc clips and across the state. Her deputies have defended controversial state laws, including arequirement that public schools post the TenCommandments in classrooms, and sought to hasten death row executions at the federal appellate level. And she has pushed conservative positions on issues from social media to the historic voting rights case before the U.S. Supreme Court.

But perhaps nowhere has felt the brunt of her efforts like New Orleans, where Murrill has emerged at the forefrontofseveral Republican-backed efforts to overhaul local government.

Last month, Murrill secured criminal charges against Sheriff Susan Hutson on the eve of her departure from ofﬁce. And then, after tangling for weeks with New Orleans leaders over aRepublican-led effort to shrink the city’s courts, Murrill sharply escalated that feud by threateningtoremove the mayor,districtattorney and a bulk of the City Councilfromofﬁce last week if they did not meet her demands.

The letters were explosive.The recipients said they would not back down. Some Republicans both publicly and privately questioned whether Murrill had overstepped.

“The attorney general is correct on the law,” said Laura Cannizzaro Rodrigue, aformer Orleans Parish prosecutor and Murrill ally,onthe social media site Xonher Bayou MamaBears account.“That being said, is this battle strategic?” Rodrigue added that arace for a combinedclerk of court seat that causedthe scuffle would eventually happen, and that “the net gain here for the AG is small and temporary. Murrill became attorney general three years ago as Landry,her predecessor, stepped into thegovernor’soffice. Landry’scampaign pledge to “bend (NewOrleans)to my will”had stirred anxiety among local officials of alarge-scale state takeover.But Landry,alsoaRepublican, later showed awillingness to strike transactional alliances with Democratic local leaders, even as he has opposed some of them on issueslikeimmigrationand home-

In hisﬁnal race, Cassidy had to run inaclosed Republican primary created by Gov. Jeff Landry that seemed designed to hamstring Cassidy. Under the new rules, registered Democrats who had traditionally votedfor Republicans couldnot votefor him unlessthey changed theirparty registration to no party or Republican

Throughout the campaign, Cassidy touted his ability to workwith Trump conservatives, saying the president hadsigned fourpieces of his legislationintolaw andnoting thatRobert F. Kennedy Jr.wouldn’t have been conﬁrmedashealth secretary without his support. At the same time, Cassidy appealed to moderates by saying he knew how to work with Democrats to deliver money for Louisiana.

In trying to threadthe needle between the twocampsofvoters, Cassidy fell short, winning only 24.8% of the vote, compared to 44.8% for Letlow and28.2% for Fleming.MarkSpencer,who called himself a“guns and Bible conservative,” won 2% of the vote.

Conservatives didn’t thinkCassidy was conservative enough.

“Cassidy betrayed Trump,” said avoter named Judy on Saturday outside apolling station at aNew Orleans firestation. “I voted for Letlow.”

Cassidy openly appealed to Democrats to switch theirregistration

But only7,488 Democrats did so after Feb. 1. Thatwas 1.8% of the 401,118 people who votedinthe Republican primary.

“Bill obviously gotcaught in a vise tryingto appeal to Trump voters when it was pretty apparent that he was not supported by Trump and trying to appeasemore moderate voters whowere upset by hisvotefor Kennedy. That createdthe scenariothatplayedout

lessness.

Though she has collaborated with local officials oncrime-fighting, Murrill’sremoval threats sharpened agrowing feelingwithin political circles that the state attorney general— rather than the Cajun in the governor’smansion— is pursuing thestate’s boldest effort in years at reshaping New Orleans’ politicalleadership.

Ryan Berni, atop adviser to former Democratic Mayor Mitch Landrieu, was reminded this week of amissive formerLouisiana Gov Earl Long leveledatthen-stateAttorney General Jack Gremillionin the 1960s as Gremillion protested the newly-adopted Voting Rights Act. “If you want to hide something from Jack Gremillion,”Longsaid, “put it in alaw book.”

“Sadly, Liz Murrill is worse, the most lawlessattorney generalin the nation,” Berni said.

Murrilldeclined multiplerequests to be interviewed for this story and her spokespersondid notrespond to alist of emailed questions. Last week,a recall petition was filed against her in Baton Rouge.

“When you ﬁnally hold criminals and corrupt elected officials accountable,people get uncomfortable,” she said of that effort in a statement.

NewOrleans clashes

Last month’sSupreme Court ruling in the Voting RightsAct case, Louisiana v. Callais, declared the state’scongressional map an illegal racial gerrymander.Murrill received praisefrom national Republicansasthe decision rekindledredistricting wars across thecountry

“No group of elected officials make abigger impact than Republican AGs,” said Adam Piper, executivedirectorofthe national Republican Attorneys General Association. “RAGA is proud to have leaders like Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill among our ranks.”

The indictment of Hutson landed the same afternoon at New Orleans’ criminal courthouse.

Analysts say that prosecution could face challenges, given potentialnegative attitudes among prospectivejurors toward aRepublican officialprosecuting a local Democraticleader.Public corruption prosecutions are common in New Orleans’ political history,but have historically been the domainofthe local U.S. attorney Federal court drawsjurors from a 13-parish districtrather thanfrom New Orleans alone.

Hutson’scharges are among a bevy of corruptionindictments

Murrill has secured, including

yesterday,that he didn’tmake the cut,” saidJay Dardenne, who preceded Cassidyinthe state Senate.

Cassidy didn’trespond to an interview request.

John Couvillon, aBaton Rougepollster who conducted surveys for Fleming, saidCassidy performed well in moderate Republican parishes: East BatonRouge, Jefferson andOrleans.

“Itwas the one vote that people wouldnot forget in aRepublican primary contest.”

steps needed to win an election. He pounded then-Sen. Mary Landrieu, aDemocrat, in the 2014 election forhaving voted for President Barack Obama’sAffordable Care Actﬁve yearsearlier.

JoHN CoUVILLoN, Baton Rougepollster

ButLetlow smoked him on theInterstate 12 corridor and in theparishes along Interstate 10 west of Baton Rouge.

“The more Republican the region,the worseoff Cassidy did,” Chervenak said.

20 yearsinpolitics, undone

Cassidy,68, is aBaton Rouge nativewho earned undergraduate and medical school degrees from LSUand becamealiver specialist at the capital city’scharity hospital.

He won election to thestate Senate in 2006 andthenclimbedthe politicalladderbywinning three terms in the U.S. House,thenSenate victories in 2014 and2020.

Throughout his 12 years in the Senate, Cassidy hasbeen known as apolicy wonkwho would rather study how to reduce healthcare costs thananalyze how to play the political angles to ensure that he beneﬁted from abig decision.

Reﬂective of that, Cassidypreferredtobeknown as “Dr. Cassidy” rather than “Sen. Cassidy.”

To be sure,hecould take the

against aBaton Rouge council memberand the mayor of Winnsboro,both Democrats.Some political analysts say her record of primarily indicting Democratic public ofﬁcials raises eyebrows.

“This attorney general has chosen to be an activistcriminal prosecutor,” said Robert Collins, aprofessor of public policy and urban studiesatDillard University.“And that’scaused some people to question …whether this is theofﬁce weaponizing its power to target Democratsfor political purposes.”

Murrill’sletterslastweek were not her ﬁrst such warnings to New Orleans leaders. Late last year, she threatened local ofﬁcials with criminalchargesiftheydid not change aNew Orleans Police Department banonhonoringfederal immigration detainers.

This spring, state Republicans went on the offensive against New Orleans’ courts in the ongoing legislative session, where Landry backed abill to dissolve the city’s criminal court clerkshipand shift itsresponsibilities beneath the separate civil clerk’sofﬁce. Supporters called it aneeded reform in the only Louisiana parish with separatecivil and criminal legal systems, though thecourts themselveswill remain separated under thebill.

Opponents called the measure retaliation against Calvin Duncan, aformer jailhouse lawyerwho won the criminal clerkship in a landslide last fall despite Murrill’s opposition. She sent cease-and-desist letterstothe campaign, orderingDuncan —who spent decades in prison until ajudge ruled him innocent of amurder that landed himthere —tostop callinghimself “exonerated.”Landrysigned the bill eliminating Duncan’sjob four days before he was totake office. Morenoand District Attorney Jason Williams responded by asking theCityCouncil to call aspecial election for the newly merged clerk seat, arguingthatthe legislation created anew position that voters must fill. The council voted to hold theelection last Monday Murrill’sletters came two days later “Once she picks aside, she fights at allcosts, even if it loses her ground in thelong run,” Moreno said in amessagethe daybefore she received Murrill’sletter.“And whether you agree with her or not, she approaches everyissue with intensity.”

Murrill defended the letters in an interview Friday with WWL Radio host Newell Normand, the former Jefferson Parish sheriff. She said she calledMorenoand CityCouncil members multiple times ahead

into the president’sgood graces,to have agood working relationship withthe WhiteHouse andtoget things done forLouisiana, according to people closetohim. Cassidy triedtoconvince voters in Louisiana that he was succeeding.

Cassidy’sSenateofﬁceevensent outnews releases when he merely appeared at events with Trump. By the beginning of 2026, however,private polls showedthatmany more votersviewedhim negatively than positively.That’stypically a deathknell in political races

Akey date thatcameand went was Jan.14. Thatwas the deadline forCassidy to register as apolitical independent, which would have enabled him to bypass the party primariesand run in the November general election againstthe Republican andDemocratic candidates. Trump endorsed Letlow on Jan. 17. Cassidy wasstuckrunning as a Republican

But as Couvillon noted, Cassidy received his comeuppancethis year fromLetlowfor his 2021 vote to convictTrump.

“It was the one vote that people would not forget in aRepublican primary contest,” Couvillonsaid.

Immediately after that vote, Cassidy saidhehad grownangry at how Trump “lied” about claiminghehad won the 2020 election against Joe Biden. The senator added that the evidence showed clearlythatTrump hadincited the attack on the Capitol.

Cassidy immediatelyfaced blowback in Louisiana as thestate Republican Party censuredhim But, he told reporters, he thought that time would heal the political wounds by 2026.

“He had acomfortable six years ahead of him,” Dardenne said. “It wasalmost like he decided, ‘I’m going to do what Ireally believe.’ He didn’tthink Trump would win a secondterm. Thatwas obviously a miscalculation.”

Trying to winhis wayback

After Trump returnedtothe White House in 2025, Cassidy did everything he could to get back

of last Monday’smeeting, asking them to hold off until the courts resolved thedispute.

“Now allofa sudden, I’mthe person whohas blown up theirworld, shesaid. “Theyblew up their own world. They did it on purpose.”

“They knew it was wrong, they acknowledged that it was wrong. …They saidthey were going to do it anyway,” Murrill said. “And they knew that Iwould be compelled to act, because thelaw requiresme to do something whenthey defy an act of theLegislature and rewrite thelaw themselves.”

‘Preparedfor adeposition’

For decades, state attorneys general largely stayed in thelanes of defending state laws, issuing legal opinions and stepping in when local prosecutors recused themselves from criminal matters. Theplaybook wielded by Murrill emerged from Republican attorneys general of the2010s,includingTexas’ Ken Paxton and Murrill’spredecessor in Louisiana.

Landrybroadened the office’s purviewinhis eight-year tenure, litigating culture-war issues, such as limiting access to children’s books with sexual content, and rebranding the ofﬁce’sinvestigative division,the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation. He clashedwith ofﬁcials in New Orleans, at one point threatening to withhold funding over city leaders’support forabortion access.

Murrill “understands the playbook better than me,” Landry said in an October interview

“She enters every public appearance like she has prepared for a deposition,” said Mary-Patricia Wray,a BatonRouge-based political consultant and lobbyist. “Ifshe says something that seems radical or outrageous or extreme, you can betthatshe hasconsidered that before she’ssaid it.”

National scope

Politicalinsiders say Murrill enjoyscertain advantages Landry lacked as attorney general. She has aRepublican ally in

“That wasnot coincidental timing,” Dardenne said, noting that Cassidy said at the time that he thought Trumpwould steer clear of his race.

As the qualifying period approached in February,Cassidy’s chances looked so iffy in political circles that speculation abounded thathewould forgo his reelection.

“Unless you’re God’sperfect idiot, the result waspredictable,” U.S. Sen. JohnKennedy said on Sunday. “Everybody knew ayear ago that Bill was in trouble. The president endorsing Congresswoman Letlow was the icing on the cake. Irespect him forrunning anyway.”

On electionnight at Boudreaux’s Catering in Baton Rouge, the hordes of people who had been with Cassidy on histriumphal nights in 2014 and2020 were gone Only four elected ofﬁcials were spotted: Senate President Cameron Henry,R-Metairie; Rep. Foy Gadberry,R-West Monroe; Rep. Laura Ventrella, R-Greenwell Springs; andRandy Delatte, LivingstonParish’spresident.

Food on abuffet table was mostly uneaten

Abartenderoffering glasses of celebratory Champagne from “Team Cassidy” was asked if she hadmanytakers.

“Only afew,” she said. “Only a few.”

the governor’smansion, whereas Landry spent time taking shots at policiesofDemocraticformer Gov.John Bel Edwards. Murrill also faces afriendlierjudicial landscape than Landry did, legal scholars say, as both the New Orleans-basedU.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appealsand theU.S.Supreme Court have shifted rightward. At thecenter of many of Murrill’slegal victories is her solicitor general—a positionLandry created forher when he was attorney general —named Benjamin Aguiñaga, who has alaw degree from LSU but is not aLouisiana Bar Associationmember.Hehas gained attention by arguingseveral of the ofﬁce’scases before the U.S SupremeCourt.

Murill and Aguiñaga have not enjoyed uniform success there. Most recently,the Supreme Court pauseda 5th Circuit ruling they secured which barred abortion pills frombeing mailed into Louisiana. The appellate court’sdecision had raised eyebrows: SarahIsgur,a Justice Departmentlawyer in the ﬁrst Trump administration, called the decision “Bonkers Town-adjacent” if not “full Bonkers Town.” The high court’sjustices have at times directly criticized Murrill’s ofﬁce, most notablyduring 2024 arguments over asocial media case, Murthy v. Missouri. “I have such aproblem with your brief,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor, an appointee of President Barack Obama, told Aguiñaga.

The justices ruled against Louisiana and Missouri in that case, 6-3. But they have handed Aguiñaga and his boss victories in arguably moresigniﬁcant ones. In Callais, Aguiñaga arguedto the court last fall that Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act was unconstitutional in part because it “placed states in impossible situations where the only sure demand is moreracial discrimination.” The court agreed sevenmonthslater in its landmark 6-3 ruling.

Email James Finn at jﬁnn@ theadvocate.com.

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PHoTo By PATRICK DENNIS

Sen.Bill Cassidyand his wife, Laura, greet supporters Saturday night after election returns showedhis loss.

GRADUATES

ed across the board for each demographic compared to spring 2025. Here are some highlights provided the LSU Ofﬁce of Data and Strategic Analytics:

n 5,710 total degrees

(spring 2025: 5,428)

n 4,215 bachelor’s degrees (spring 2025: 4,073)

n 1,069 master’s degrees (spring 2025: 907)

n 3,428 female graduates (spring 2025: 3,237)

n 2,282 male graduates (spring 2025: 2,191)

n 871 degrees awarded to Black students (spring 2025: 736)

n 525 degrees awarded to Hispanic students (spring 2025: 449)

n 3,482 in-state graduates (spring 2025: 3,369)

n 2,002 out-of-state graduates (spring 2025: 1,864)

Outside of Louisiana, the state with the greatest num-

ber of graduates in the class was Texas, with 533. Florida was a distant second, with 170 students awarded degrees this spring, followed by California, Georgia and Maryland. Foreign countries with the most LSU graduates were Nigeria, China and Honduras. The record-breaking graduating class reflects LSU’s soaring enrollment and application numbers. More than 62,000 potential incoming freshmen applied this cycle, according to institutional data, compared to 18,122 in 2016.

University ofﬁcials speculated that the draw of the SEC and the prestige of a ﬂagship university might be pulling more students, particularly out-of-state applicants, to Baton Rouge.

“If they’re not from the state or from the region, they see us on ESPN on a Saturday night,” LSU Vice President for Enrollment Management Emmett Brown said in

an interview in February.

LSU leaders have made subtle moves to heighten the selectivity of the institution and balance increasingly strained resources as the campus population swells.

The LSU Board of Supervisors voted in February to reinstate the standardized test score requirement at the main campus in Baton Rouge after making scores optional during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dalton said at the time there would be no minimum score to gain admission, but the information would be used as “one component of our comprehensive evaluation of students.”

In December, the university broke ground on the $200 million South Quad freshman dorm project to bring 1,266 additional beds to campus.

LSU system President Wade Rousse recently told the Louisiana Illuminator the ﬂagship may have to consider an enrollment cap in the coming years as demand for parking and housing grows.

The proposed constitutional amendment for St. George failed by a whopping margin, with 64% of voters in Louisiana voting no. An even larger proportion of East Baton Rouge Parish, nearly 69%, rejected the idea.

The measure needed the approval of both to take effect.

A chorus of nos

All five constitutional amendments on the ballot Saturday failed badly, weighed down by a sour electorate.

The St. George proposal, Amendment 2, was the second most popular of an unpopular quintet. Amendment 2 earned the assent of voters in only two parishes in Louisiana Livingston and West Feliciana. The other 67 parishes all rejected the idea, most by wide margins. Orleans Parish led the state with 84% of residents voting no. That alone put the St George proposal nearly 57,000 voters in the hole.

In East Baton Rouge Parish, about 75% of voters living outside the city of St. George voted no Only 23 of 250 precincts outside the city voted in favor.

While state ofﬁcials have yet to report how the school district proposition fared within the city of St. George, that support looks to have been modest St. George residents cast ballots at 79 precincts. Some of those precincts are split, though, meaning they include a mix of St. George and non-St. George residents. On election day, almost 20,000 people living in those 79 precincts voted, and of those only 56% voted yes to the new school district.

Using his own method, John Couvillon, a Baton Rouge-based pollster and political analyst, estimates that about 61% of St. George voters said yes. Couvillon

noted that St. George has struggled with public support since the 2019 vote that created the new city; in that vote, only 54% were in favor of creating the city while 46% opposed

“You did not have a unanimity of support,” Couvillon said. It might not have made a difference. Even if every voter in St. George had said yes, the proposal would have still failed parishwide by thousands of votes.

Trouble early

The early vote was bad — 60% no statewide, 67% no in East Baton Rouge — and those negative margins were worse on election day

St. George Mayor Dustin Yates said after early voting he knew Amendment 2 was in trouble. Yates said he’s doubtful he and other St. George supporters could have done anything different to turn the tide.

“I don’t know if just one thing would have made a difference,” Yates said A strong turnout of Black voters sealed matters. Couvillon described it as “nearly unanimous opposition.” Black opposition was already high during early voting, especially in East Baton Rouge. Couvillon estimates Black voters opposed a St. George school district by an

88% to 12% margin state-

wide. In East Baton Rouge Parish, he said, that opposition was an even greater margin of 95% to 5%.

On top of that, the pollster estimates that White voters said no as well by a 55% to 45% margin, with a similar split in the Baton Rouge region, despite much more publicity about the election.

The racial tensions in the St. George vote were unmistakable. The main opposition group adopted the logo “Fight for Fair Schools,” complete with an illustration inspired by the famous Norman Rockwell painting of Ruby Bridges, the 6-year-old Black girl who in 1960 enrolled in an all-White elementary school in New Orleans.

St. George opponents coordinated with the Louisiana Democratic Party and other groups across the state on a “No On All Amendments” campaign. That campaign was fueled by discontent with Gov Jeff Landry, whose standing, particularly with Black voters, has fallen with the recent congressional redistricting, which reduced the number of majority-Black congressional districts in Louisiana from two to one.

Local opponents of a St. George school district also reported receiving a late

contribution of more than $100,000 from the National Education Association.

A bar too high Louisiana law makes it very difﬁcult to form and operate a new school district. The key hurdle is the need to amend the state constitution to receive state per-pupil education funding.

Even so, Baker then Zachary and ﬁnally Central managed to clear this high bar in 1995, 1999 and 2006. First, they had to obtain two-thirds approval from the state Legislature. Then they had to pass muster with the electorate. All three were buoyed by solid support within East Baton Rouge Parish. That support ranged from 56% for Zachary in 1999 to 69% for Central in 2006.

Central’s multiyear path to a school district was the key model and a source of continuing inspiration for St. George supporters.

In 2001 and again in 2004, leaders in Central fell short

in persuading lawmakers to let them go to the voters for approval to form their own school district. A key concern was that, unlike Baker and Zachary, Central was not a city in its own right, just a large semirural area where residents typically attended Central High School. Central quickly ﬁxed that problem. In just a year, residents incorporated the previously unincorporated area into a new city of Central. When they returned to the Legislature in 2006, lawmakers greenlighted a statewide election.

St. George’s path was much longer, more controversial and ultimately unsuccessful.

In 2012 and 2013, supporters asked lawmakers to let them create a forerunner to a St. George school district, what was to be called the Southeast Baton Rouge Community School System. Unlike Baker Central and Zachary, they ran into stiff local resistance. The most outspoken opponents were

parents of children in magnet schools. They worried they would lose access to those popular programs or that the new district would hurt those schools.

Following the model of Central, they shifted gears to form a city Unlike Central, that ﬁght lasted more than a decade.

Opponents argued it would divide communities that have historically identiﬁed as residents of Baton Rouge The debate was also often divided along racial lines, with some Black residents describing the proposed new city as modern segregation. The St. George incorporation fight culminated in an October 2019 vote to create the city That vote, however, was open only to residents of the proposed city By contrast, Saturday’s vote on a St. George school district included thousands of East Baton Rouge voters excluded in 2019.

Email Charles Lussier at clussier@theadvocate.com.

STAFF PHoTo By MICHAEL JoHNSoN

Jamie Catalanotto fixes the tassel of her daughter Marissa Catalanotto before the commencement ceremony for the College of Agriculture on Friday at the Maddox Fieldhouse in Baton Rouge. LSU graduated its largest class to date across Friday and Saturday, with more than 5,700 degrees awarded during its spring commencement ceremonies.

Landry visits Greenland

La. governor says goal is to develop relationships there

BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer

Gov Jeff Landry and his wife, Sharon, arrived in Greenland on Sunday reports from local media there show

In a video interview with DR, Denmark’s national broadcaster

Landry was told that some Greenlanders are worried about his intentions and wondering whether he was there as part of President Donald Trump’s intermittent push for the U.S. to acquire the Danish territory.

dent publicly mused about the United States acquiring the island Greenland is a quasi-autonomous territory of Denmark; ofﬁcials in both Greenland and Denmark reacted with alarm to Trump’s talk of a takeover.

Landry arrived in Nuuk, the capital city, a little after noon local time, according to DR. Greenland’s minister of foreign affairs, Mute Egede, told the Danish outlet that Landry is part of a delegation with Ken Howery, U.S. ambassador to Denmark.

“I’m here to simply to build relationships and to look and listen and to learn and to see if there are opportunities to expand the relationship between Greenland and the United States and Denmark,” Landry responded. “It’s a great day I’m excited, I really am.”

Landry also told the outlet that he spoke Saturday night with Trump, who, according to Landry, told him, “Go over there and make as many friends as we can.”

Trump named Landry special envoy to Greenland in December, as the presi-

Landry is on the list of participants attending the Future Greenland business conference scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday.

“Future Greenland focuses on Greenland’s role in development A country with ambitions for greater autonomy needs a strong business sector,” the conference website says. In late January, Trump in social media posts announced that, after a meeting with NATO SecretaryGeneral Mark Rutte, a “framework of a future deal” had been reached regarding Greenland and “the entire Arctic region.”

It has been unclear what Landry’s duties as Greenland special envoy entail. He has said his goal is to develop relationships with Greenlanders, not to negoti-

ate with top ofﬁcials.

However, on Sunday, Danish television station TV 2, reported that Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and Landry are set to meet Monday

A spokesperson for Landry said Sunday she could not immediately answer questions about the visit.

Landry’s trip comes at a volatile political moment for Louisiana.

On Saturday, voters soundly rejected a raft of proposed constitutional amendments, four of which were backed by Landry. But conservatives also turned out in force to hand U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow a decisive lead in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, where she has Trump’s endorsement and Landry’s support.

Democratic and progressive voters in recent weeks have expressed anger at a Republican effort to redraw Louisiana’s congressional map. Landry canceled elections for the U.S. House after the Supreme Court ruled the current districts unconstitutional. The new map will likely ax one majorityBlack, Democratic district in favor of a safe GOP seat and will be used for U.S. House elections rescheduled for fall.

The Louisiana Legislature is trying to wrap up that redistricting effort before it adjourns on June 1.

Staff writer Tyler Bridges contributed to this report

Senate parliamentarian deals blow to $1B security proposal for White House

BY MARY CLARE JALONICK and KEVIN FREKING Associated Press

WASHINGTON A proposal to fund $1 billion in security additions for the White House campus and the president’s new ballroom fails to meet procedural rules, according to the Senate parliamentarian, dealing a blow to Republican plans to include it as part of a bill to fund immigration enforcement agencies for the next three years. The parliamentarian’s ruling, described late Saturday by Senate Democrats, said that funding for a project as large and complex as President Donald Trump’s massive East Wing renovation is too broad to be included in the narrow GOP budget bill, which cannot be ﬁlibustered and only needs a simple majority to pass. It’s unclear if Republicans will be able to immediately salvage any part of the billion-dollar Secret Service proposal, which would fund security for Trump’s ballroom along with other parts of the White House, including a new visitor screening center, additional training for agents and extra reinforcements for large events Republicans said Saturday night that they are revising the legislation based on the parliamentarian’s advice.

Ryan Wrasse, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader John Thune, wrote in a post on X that “none of this is abnormal” during the complicated budget process that Republicans are using to try and pass the immigration enforcement and White House security money on a partisan basis.

“Redraft. Refine. Resubmit,” Wrasse said in the post.

Democrats have seized on the security request, accusing Republicans of dedicating precious federal resources to the ballroom effort instead of focusing on helping Americans with rising costs. Republicans have insisted that private donations will be used to build the ballroom and that the federal dollars are focused just on much-needed security enhancements.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., took credit for the ruling after Democrats argued to the parliamentarian that the security money doesn’t belong in the bill.

“Republicans tried to make taxpayers foot the bill for Trump’s billion-dollar ballroom,” Schumer said Saturday evening. “Senate Democrats fought back — and blew up their first attempt.”

Schumer added that Democrats “will be ready to stop them again” as Republicans say they will revise the bill.

The ruling from the Senate parliamentarian is just advisory, but such rulings are rarely if ever ignored when lawmakers put together legislation that can pass with a simple majority Most bills are subject to a filibuster and thus need 60 votes for passage — meaning Republicans must ﬁnd some Democratic support in the 53-47 Senate.

Republicans are looking to approve a roughly $72 billion package to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection until the end of Trump’s term after Democrats have blocked the money for months.

As part of that package, Republicans included $1 billion for White House security enhancements, part of it connected to Trump’s new ballroom. The Secret Service had requested the money after a man was charged with trying to assassinate Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner last month.

The overall budget package is providing another boost of funding for Trump’s immigration and deportation agenda, fueling operations through September 2029. It comes on top of ICE and Border Patrol funds Congress provided last year in the big tax breaks bill Trump signed into law

Washington.

Thousands flock to D.C. for America-themed prayer rally

Rededicate 250 event held on National Mall

BY TIFFANY STANLEY Associated Press

WASHINGTON Thousands of people streamed onto the National Mall for a daylong prayer rally Sunday billed as a “rededication of our country as One Nation under God.”

Against the backdrop of the Washington Monument, worship music blared from a stage that made clear the event’s Christian focus Arched stained-glass windows, set underneath grand columns resembling a federal building, depicted the nation’s founders alongside a white cross.

Most speakers celebrated Christianity’s ties to American history, a blending of ideas that critics flagged ahead of the prayer gathering as supporting Christian nationalism.

President Donald Trump read a passage of Scripture in a video shown at the rally. Filmed in the Oval Ofﬁce, it was the same footage used during a marathon Biblereading event last month. The verses from 2 Chronicles are often cited by those who believe America was founded as a Christian nation.

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways,” Trump read, “then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

Other top Republicans, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, were also on the schedule as part of the celebrations this year marking 250 years of U.S. independence.

Only one name on the Rededicate 250 program was not Christian Most were among Trump’s longtime evangelical supporters, including Paula White-Cain of

the White House Faith Office and evangelist Franklin Graham of Samaritan’s Purse.

“We are deeply concerned that what is really being rededicated is a nation to a very narrow and ideological part of the Christian faith that betrays our nation’s fundamental commitment to religious freedom,” said the Rev Adam Russell Taylor, a Baptist minister who leads the progressive Christian organization Sojourners. The conservative Christian lineup featured guests who often argue that the United States was founded as a Christian nation, a narrative disputed by many historians and other religious traditions.

Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, noted the religious diversity of early America, including Jews, Muslims and Indigenous people. “I want to shine a light on America’s history as a nation that welcomes, celebrates, and protects people of all faiths and those of no faith,” Pesner said.

Many in the crowd wore Trump hats and patriotic colors, joining the festivities under a sweltering sun.

“It’s all about Jesus,” said Denny Smith, 72, of Rhode Island, who rented a motorized scooter to traverse the National Mall.

Retha Bond, 58 and from southern Illinois, also heard Trump speak not far away on Jan. 6, 2021. She said she did not join the protesters who rioted later that day at the Capitol but has remained a steadfast Trump supporter

“I’m not saying Trump is the savior,” Bond said. She added that “this is one of the most important things that could be going on in the world, for us to rededicate our nation back to God.”

At least one event speaker mentioned the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk from the stage. Kirk’s activism has been a powerful example for Alessandra Seawright, 15, of Santa Fe, New Mexico, who came to

Rededicate 250 with her mother

“I think we just need more of this in our country, and we just need to share the word of the Lord,” she said. “We love going to events like this.”

They also attended Kirk’s memorial service, which mixed Christian worship and political messages. Events like these, Seawright said, help her feel less alone in her conservative Christian beliefs.

Hegseth, who has infused Christian language and worship with his role leading the Pentagon, asked the gathering in a video to pray to “our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Referencing George Washington’s faith, he said, “Let us pray without ceasing. Let us pray for our nation on bended knee.” Orthodox Jewish Rabbi Meir Soloveichik was the only non-Christian religious leader listed on the program. To applause, he told the crowd, “Antisemitism is utterly un-American” — a seeming reference to debates dividing the right. Soloveichik serves on the Trump administration’s Religious Liberty Commission along with White-Cain, Graham and Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Bishop Robert Barron, Catholic clerics also featured on the program. The event was organized by Freedom 250, a publicprivate partnership backed by the White House. Congressional Democrats have questioned the nonprofit’s structure and finances, which they see as a Trumpcontrolled end run around a separate commission charted by Congress a decade ago to prepare semiquincentennial events. Progressive groups staged counterprogramming. Among them were the Freedom From Religion Foundation, which advocates a strict separation of church and state, and the Christian organization Faithful America. The two groups displayed a large balloon near the mall of a Trumplike golden calf, in a biblical reference to idolatry

BY SAMYA KULLAB Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine One of Ukraine’s largest drone strikes on Russia killed at least four people, including three near Moscow, and wounded a dozen others, local authorities said Sunday Debris fell on Russia’s largest airport without causing damage.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the drone strikes, saying that they were “entirely justiﬁed.” Russia has repeatedly launched similar attacks on Ukraine’s capital and other cities during the war, and an expert said that the strikes appeared to be retaliation for recent Russian attacks on Kyiv Russian drone strikes on Ukraine overnight wounded eight people, Ukrainian authorities said.

In Ukraine’s strikes on Russia, a woman was killed after a drone hit her home in Khimki, a Russian city just northwest of Moscow, and two men died in the vil-

lage of Pogorelki, which is 6 miles north of the capital, according to local Gov Andrei Vorobyev Ukrainian drones had also damaged unspeciﬁed “infra-

structure” and several highrise buildings, Vorobyev said on social media.

One man was also killed after a drone struck a truck in the Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, according to local authorities.

In Moscow itself, at least 12 people were wounded in the nighttime strike, mostly near the entrance to the city’s oil reﬁnery, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported. Sobyanin reported that the “technology” of the refinery hadn’t been damaged.

Hours later, the Indian Embassy in Moscow reported that an Indian worker died in a drone strike “in (the) Moscow region,” while three other Indian nationals were hospitalized with injuries. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the worker was one of the three people reported dead by Moscow region ofﬁcials, or a further fatality.

Russia’s largest airport — Moscow’s Sheremetyevo said that drone debris had fallen on its grounds without causing damage or affecting ﬂights.

Russian defenses shot down 81 drones headed for Moscow overnight, state agency Tass reported, citing Sobyanin, marking one of the largest attacks on the city since Russia launched a fullscale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

Russian air defenses overnight destroyed 556 drones over Russia, the occupied Crimean Peninsula and the Azov and Black Seas, the Russian Defense Ministry said Sunday morning. Shortly after midday local time it reported that more than 1,000 drones had been shot down or jammed in the previous 24 hours. Zelenskyy said that the drones had ﬂown more than

310 miles from Ukrainian territory, and that Ukraine was “overcoming” Russian air defense systems concentrated in and around the capital.

“Our responses to Russia’s prolongation of the war and attacks on our cities and communities are entirely justified. This time, Ukrainian long-distance sanctions have reached the Moscow region, and we are clearly telling the Russians: their state must end its war,” Zelenskyy said.

Nigel Gould Davies, senior fellow for Russia and Eurasia at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a London-based think tank, said that Ukraine’s largescale attack appeared to be “the retaliation or revenge that President Zelenskyy promised after the ﬁerce attacks that Russia carried out on Kyiv.”

Landry

ASSoCIATED PRESS PHoTo By JULIA DEMAREE NIKHINSoN

A person prays Sunday during Rededicate 250, a mostly conservative Christian prayer gathering in honor of the United States’ 250th anniversary, on the National Mall in

PRoVIDED PHoTo

A house burns Sunday after a Ukrainian attack in Khimki, just outside Moscow.

Man released after conviction vacated

He spent more than 3 decades in Angola

BY CLAIRE GRUNEWALD

Staff writer

A man imprisoned at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola for more than three decades, whose murder conviction and sentence were vacated last year, was released from prison Tuesday to wait for a new trial after his $1 million bail was reduced.

Keith Ezidore, a 73-year-old man from St. James Parish, was sentenced to life in prison without parole in 1993, after he was convicted of seconddegree murder in the 1991 stabbing death of Ralph Flowers. Then, in 2025, a court of appeals vacated Ezidore’s conviction and life sentence.

The vast majority of the state’s case rested on testimony from a 15-year-old with a juvenile criminal record, some of which was not presented to Ezidore’s defense attorneys.

The Louisiana 5th Circuit

BR Symphony releases 2026-27 season

Themes include fate, destiny, hope and more

Staff report

The Baton Rouge Symphony, founded in 1947 and currently led by maestro Adam Johnson, has released its 2026-27 season, titled “From Darkness to Light.” The shows will explore themes of fate, destiny, identity, hope, perseverance and community

Some of the music will be centered on milestones like the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the 200th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven’s death and the 50th anniversary of the “Star Wars” franchise.

“These moments invite reflection not only on history, but on the enduring human journey through challenge, resilience and transformation,” Johnson said in a news release.

The show schedule is as follows. Subscription package and single ticket information is available at brso.org/2627season. Single tickets will be available Aug. 1. Holiday concerts and special events are not included in season packages.

Orchestral series at the River Center Theatre

240 St. Louis St.

n “Ellis Island: The Dream of America”: Sept. 17

n “Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5”: Nov 12

n “Beethoven Symphony No. 5”: March 4

n “Shostakovich Symphony No. 5”: April 15

n “The Music of ‘Star Wars’”: May 13 Lamar Family Chamber Series

n Bachtoberfest: Oct. 9 at the Main Library, 7711 Goodwood Blvd., Baton Rouge

n Holiday Brass: Dec. 2 at St. Joseph Cathedral, 401 Main St., Baton Rouge

n Chamber Percussion Ensemble: March 11, at Unitarian Church of Baton Rouge, 8470 Goodwood Blvd Baton Rouge

n Chamber String Quartet: April 1, at Unitarian Church of Baton Rouge Holiday concerts

n “Holiday Brass”: Dec. 3, at The Mallory, 5747 Commerce St., St. Francisville

n “Holiday Brass”: Dec. 6, at Houmas House and Gardens, 40136 La. 942, Darrow

n “Home for the Holidays”: Dec. 12, at River Center Theatre Pops concerts and special events

n “Family Fright Night”: Oct. 28-29 at Irene W. Pennington Planetarium at Louisiana Art & Science Museum, 100 S. River Road, Baton Rouge

n “Bach to the Beatles”: Nov 19, at Cary Saurage Community Arts Center 233 St. Ferdinand St., Baton Rouge n “Space The Final Frontier”: May 4-5, at Irene W. Pennington Planetarium

n “Beethoven to Beyoncé”: May 27, at Cary Saurage Community Arts Center

n “Dancing in the Street — Music of Motown”: Feb. 20, at River Center Theatre

Court of Appeal found that this violated the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1963 Brady v. Maryland decision, which requires prosecutors to disclose to defense attorneys any evidence that tends to show a defendant is not guilty

The Louisiana Supreme Court upheld the lower court’s decision, vacating Ezidore’s conviction and sentence and remanding it for a new trial. However, Ezidore remained behind bars for months after his conviction was vacated because a 23rd Judicial District Court judge

set Ezidore’s bail at $1 million. In April, however, the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled that the bail was excessive and ordered the district to set bail at a maximum of $100,000.

Ezidore’s $100,000 bail was paid last week by Operation Restoration, a New Orleans organization, allowing Ezidore to be taken from Angola to the St. James Parish jail, where he walked out on Tuesday with family members, according to Innocence & Justice Louisiana.

Richard Davis, legal di-

rector of Innocence & Justice Louisiana and one of Ezidore’s attorneys, said Ezidore’s release was possible because the state Supreme Court recognized that Ezidore had an “extraordinary case.”

Davis said Ezidore has a retrial set for June 9.

“The Attorney General’s Ofﬁce will be trying to send him back to Angola,” Davis said. “The AG’s Ofﬁce should not be endorsing this original failed investigation and trying to send an innocent 73-year-old great-grandfather

back to prison for the rest of his life.”

The Louisiana Attorney General’s Ofﬁce prosecuted the case during Ezidore’s bail hearings and had previously requested the court to deny bail altogether or set it at no less than $1 million with ankle monitoring requirements, according to the bail order

A spokesperson with the Attorney General’s Office said the ofﬁce does not have a comment at this time on the bail update or the upcoming retrial.

FoCUSED FISHING

Disaster response housing unit prototype unveiled

BY JOEL THOMPSON Staff writer

It’s nothing more than a prototype right now, but sitting in the University of Louisiana at Lafayette LITE Center is what some are hoping could be the next major innovation in disaster response.

Todd Burkman, CEO of RoadRunner, who developed the prototype, calls it a Disaster Mobile Unit, a self-sustaining mobile housing unit powered mostly through green energy RoadRunner, a disaster relief operation that provides mobile units and emergency plate lunches to ﬁrst responders, was founded by Burkman in 2021.

He says the new units are able to operate completely independently of traditional power sources in order to make them accessible to areas without reliable electricity

“There’s no fuel in a disaster area during a hurricane. It’s a major drain on your ability to be productive during relief projects,” Burkman said.

The units will allow volunteers to live and operate at ground zero, which Burkman says will allow for greater efﬁciency in disaster relief efforts.

“This greatly reduces work time, travel time and expense in rebuilding our schools and hospitals,” Burkman said.

The units are mostly powered by solar energy, with some reliance on propane RoadRunner also created a design for a hydrogen-powered unit. Right now the units are only prototypes, but Burkman is hopeful that soon, they’ll be out in the ﬁeld.

“This prototype lets people know that this is tangible. It’s

By LESLIE WESTBRooK

A 3D printer constructs a demo model of a Disaster Mobile Unit during an unveiling ceremony Thursday at the REDII Works FabLab in the Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise Center in Lafayette. The unit is being developed through a partnership between RoadRunner Disaster Relief and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s Louisiana Entrepreneurship and Economic Development Center and office of Innovation Management.

real. It brings us closer to being able to ﬁnance a livable unit,” Burkman said.

RoadRunner plans to conduct a $100,000 fundraiser to raise funds to build two units. The two units, Burkman said will be used to house eight homeless veterans in the area.

Burkman, a veteran, says a portion of the proceeds from each unit sold will be donated to the American Veterans Association and hopes that the units could also be used to provide temporary shelter for veterans in rural communities.

“Louisiana is No. 1 in veteran suicide As a veteran I think we really need to address that. A lot

of what we provide could also be provided to rural Louisiana veterans who don’t always get those services so easily,” Burkman said.

The 3D prototype was created in conjunction with UL’s Louisiana Entrepreneurship and Economic Development Center, which operates 11 3D printers. The center provides consultation services as well as technical assistance to aspiring entrepreneurs in the Acadiana area, particularly in the region’s rural areas.

“It’s very difﬁcult for people outside major metros to access the resources they need to bring their ideas to market. That gen-

erates jobs and income for the community,” said Chad Lacomb, who serves as UL’s director of the Office of Innovation Management. RoadRunner says in addition to a continued partnership with the LEED Center, all units will be produced in Louisiana through a New Orleans-based manufacturer

“I think these are something that’s really going to help Louisiana,” said Lacomb. “It won’t just provide disaster relief it’ll provide opportunity.”

STAFF PHoToS

STAFF PHoTo By JoHN BALLANCE

Paul Drake fishes recently at BREC’s Perkins Road Park. Drake said he tries to visit every day to fish.

Farmersstruggle afterHawaiiflooding

Fewerveggies come to market afterworst floods in

20 years

BY JENNIFERSINCO

KELLEHER Associated Press

WAIALUA, Hawaii

The reddish-brown mud that smothered Bok Kongphan’sHawaii farm has hardened in the tropical sun. Irrigation tubes lie in atangle where his lemongrass, cucumber and okra onceﬂourished His niece, Jeni Balanay, lost hercrops too— amustardy green called choy sum, bitter melon, tomato. The leaves of her recently planted banana, coconut and mango have gone yellow, the trees unlikely to survive.

Across Oahu’sNorth Shore, an area famed for its big-wave surfing, the small farms that help supply the island’sfoodare struggling after back-to-back storms in March brought the state’sworst floodingin two decades. Officials are pleading with farmersnot to give up, stressing that local agricultureiscrucial for the isolated archipelago. “In some casesentire farms have been wiped out,” said Brian Miyamoto,executive director of the Hawaii Farm Bureau.“These arefarmers whowerejust days or weeks away from harvesting and now they have to start over.” According to data collected by farming advocates, more than 600 of Hawaii’s 6,500 farms reported nearly $40million in damage,including to crops, livestock and machinery.But Miyamotosaid the Farm Bureau estimates that the full extent ofthe destruction is much broader —$50 million

MENGSHINLIN

ASSoCIATED PRESS PHoTo By

BokKongphan stands at his farminWaialua, Hawaii, on May4.Across oahu’sNorth Shore, the small farms that help supplythe island’sfood are struggling after back-to-back stormsinMarchbrought the state’sworst flooding in twodecades.

at close to 2,000 farms.

Atypeofagriculture

For most of the late19th and 20th centuries, plantation-style agriculture dominatedHawaii,ascompanies like Dole and conglomerates founded bymissionary descendants grew immense ﬁelds of sugarcane or pineapplefor export. Theoperations drew largenumbers of immigrants, primarily from Asia and Portugal. But that large-scale monoculture faded bythe 1990s amid international competition, andofﬁcials began to promote smaller farms some, like Kongphan’s, just afew acres —withawider array of cropsthat could be sold to local grocery stores or at farmers markets.

Worldwideshipping disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic reinforced theimportance of having alocal food supply in Hawaii, and thestate in recent years has offered additional support to thefarms.That includes money for infrastructure, afarm-to-school programand loansfor those

who have been denied credit from banks.

But they still face challenges. Unlike manyof theircounterparts on the mainland, Hawaii farmsare often too smalland diversiﬁed to be able to afford or qualify for crop insurance.

Many of the farmers are immigrants who were barely eking out aliving even before thestorms, Miyamoto noted.

Themajority of Hawaii’s farmsreportlessthan $10,000 in annual sales, according to theU.S.Department of Agriculture.The flooding, along with high winds and poweroutages, killed or stressed livestock and destroyedequipment, vehicles and infrastructure.

Farmersindespair

Without insurance, Kongphan, an immigrant from Thailand, has been trying to obtain government aid and ﬁgure out how to level earth moved by thefloodwaters. His niecehas been helping him and other Thai farmers navigate the process. Available help includes federal di-

saster relief, one-time $1,500 emergency grantsand longterm loans from the state, and acharitable fund that raised about$850,000 in the weeksafter theﬂoods. Many farmers also have online fundraising pages.

In an interview interpreted by Balanay,Kongphan called the ﬂoods “very devastating,” butsaid he will continue working the 5-acreplothe’sleased for five years,growing vegetableshesells at farmers markets, aswap meet, and at shopsand stalls in Honolulu’sChinatown.

Kongphanpointed to a faint, thigh-highlineon aplywood wall showing wherethe water reached inside his home, which he builtfroma shippingcontainer.Inside, there’snow a donated tent,but he usually sleeps outside.

Fliesswarmed as he carried adirt-caked generator he hopes to salvage. Nearby sat aToyota Yaris, covered inside and out in the same dried sludge.

Balanay,who learned farming from hermom af-

ter the family immigrated to Hawaii, isn’tsure she wantstokeep at it. She recalled the torrent rising to her waist in seconds and wiping out her crops in the middle of the night.

“Will it happen again?” she asked. “Whenyou look at the land and it’sall destroyed, you want to give up.”

Theflooding is the latest crisis forHawaii’sfarmers, on topofwildfires, pests and volcanic tephra— ash and debrisejected by an erupting Big Island volcano, said thestate’stop agriculture official, Sharon Hurd.

“These are the farmsthat we really need to getstarted again,” Hurd said. “Wecannot have them give up.”

Officials have been conducting tests to assure farmers that their soil is safeand providing them with seedsand plant starts, she said.

Sparser offerings

Some farmers have been unable to make it to farmersmarkets, akey source of their income. Many who do have less to offer, Miyamotosaid.

Farmer Kula Uli isaid her family has been bringing roughly one-quarter of their usual output. Instead of 200 pounds of tomatoes at weekendfarmers markets, they might sell 60 pounds.

They lost starts that were due to be planted this month andfacemonthsoflimited harvest, she said. She’sunsure about the status of her farm’scontractswith grocery stores, given that it can’tmeet demand.

Even the taro, which thrivesinwater,islost, she said, after it was submerged in the contaminants carried by the ﬂoods.

“It’sall gone,” Ulii said. “Wecan’tuse any of it.”

Associated Press writer Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu contributed.

Canada confirms 1positivehantavirustest

By The Associated Press

VANCOUVER, British Columbia

Canada’snational health agency Sundayconfirmed that one of four Canadians who returned home from a cruise ship hit with ahantavirus outbreak has tested positive for the virus.

The Public Health Agency of Canada confirmed the positive test aday after the public health ofﬁcerfor the province of British Columbia said the person had received a“presumptive positive” but

further testingwouldbeconducted at the National Microbiology LabinWinnipeg.

“One individual’ssample was confirmed positive for hantavirus,” thenational agency said in astatement

Asecond individual who was atraveling partnerof theconﬁrmed case was confirmed negative, the statement said. Both people, a couple in their 70s from the Yukon, arein ahospitalin Victoria

The four Canadiancruise passengers returned to Brit-

ish Columbia last Sunday.Besidesthe couple, therewas a person in their70s from VancouverIsland anda British Columbia person in their50s who lives abroad.

All areinisolation

Three people have died since the hantavirus outbreakbeganonthe cruise ship MV Hondius. The Canadian patient is the10th person from theship to test positive.

Amongthe threewho died are aDutchcouple who health ofﬁcialsbelieve were

the ﬁrst exposed to thevirus while visiting South America.

The Canadianpublic health agency said it is taking aprecautionaryapproach to ensure citizens areprotected

“The overallrisk to the generalpopulation in Canada from theAndes hantavirus outbreak linked to theMV Hondius cruiseship remains low at this time,” the statement said. “All confirmed cases to date have been passengersorcrewonthe MV Hondius cruiseship.”

The agency said it provided the information about the positive case to the World Health Organization andwillshareinformation to support the ongoing global investigation of the outbreak.

BY PHILIP MARCELO and MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press

NEWYORK New York Gov. Kathy Hochul implored unions representing workers for the LongIsland Rail Road, North America’s largest commuter rail system, to resume bargaining Sunday, saying along strike hurts workers and hundreds of thousands of commuters.

“This is my ofﬁcial invitation. We didn’twant you to leave.You left. You’re welcome to come back. I’ll provide refreshments, whatever you like. Just c’mon back,” Hochul told anews conference as the strike —the ﬁrst in three decades —entered its second day Hochul, appearing with the chiefexecutive of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority that runs the railroad more commonly known by commuters as the “LIRR,” urged the unions to try to reach adeal beforethe Monday morning commute.

“Weall know that the railroad is the lifeblood of Long Island. Without it, life as we know it is simply not possible. The bottomline is, no one wins in astrike. Everyone is hurt,” she said.

The LIRRserves hundreds of thousands of commuters who live along a118-milelong landmass that includes Brooklynand QueensinNew York City andthe Hamptons, asummertimeplayground forthe rich and famous near its eastern tip. The railroad has long providedcommuters relief from its rush-hour clogged highways Most of its riders live outside New York City in two counties populatedbynearly threemillion people. After thenews conference, the International Association of Machinistsand Aerospace Workersand the Transportation Communications Union saidinastatementthat the union workers “are notasking for special treatment theyare simply fighting to keep up with the skyrocketingcost of living in the New York region after years with-

out araise.”

Therailroadclosed down andworkerswentonstrike just after midnight Friday after ﬁve unions representing about half its workforce walked off the job. Theunionsand the MTA have been negotiating for months on anew contract, withtalks stalled over the question of workers’ salaries and healthcarepremiums. President Donald Trump’sadministration triedtobrokera deal, but theunionswere legally allowed to strike starting at 12:01 a.m.

Notbeing able to manage abudget just makes ourcountry weaker

Idon’tunderstand today’spolitical environment. It calls for the politician to do what is best for his/her constituents, but so often that means workingcontrary to the economic environment our state or country might be in. And it ignores necessary solutions that would be better for all in thelong run. Iamseriously concerned that we are living beyond our means.

Ihave experience with large as well as small companies, and Ihave seen companies succeed andfail.

Negligent managementisgenerally the key reason acompany fails, mostly because it can’t manage the debt load incurred on the balance sheet. Our state and country are in aseriously negative ﬁnancial state at present, and it’sbecause our political leaders are more focused on continuing to please their public with tax cuts and support programs we can’tafford.

The damage excessive debt bringsisaloss of ﬂexibility, and at the levels we currently have, it’sthe cost to keep debt on the books —costs that ultimately mean not less taxes but more, and the elimination of critical programs when they are needed most.

At the rate we are adding toour debt load, Ican only conclude that our leaders are willing to leave this mess for the next political group to deal with, which will leave it to future generations.

This means aloss of the progressive, creative focus for an improvedtomorrow

We need credible politicians whorecognize the problem and whowill deal with this serious problem with real solutions even when it may not be what thepublic wants to hear.It’sa difﬁcult task for ageneration that has lived on such “support thinking that “tomorrow,things willbebetter.”

Yes, real change takes intellectual courage.

C. GERONHARGON Baton Rouge

NILhas ruined LSUbaseball

As with manyLSU baseball fans, Iagonize over theteam’srecord this year.Let me be clear about one thing:Jay Johnson is one of, if notthe, best coaches in baseball. This is not about coaching —it’sabout NIL,which hasruinedcollege sports. When theNCAA rolledoverand played dead when thisﬁrst came about, it vacated its moral authority and opened thedoor for what we see today even though there were several commonsense things it could have done to have controlled some of this Anytime you give alarge sum of money to aperson whoisbasically akid mentally,if not physically,only bad thingscan happen. Several players LSUgave money to thisyear have not played anywhere near theway they playedbefore LSU showed‘em the money Whynot? Complacency! They got the money,

so theﬁre is gone. It happens in the pros, so why is anyone surprised a21-year-old is not playing as well as last year?

In my opinion, if akid wants to be paid like apro, then treat him like one. Incentivize the NIL contract by reducing the upfront amount and adding step bonuses for milestones in play,e.g., fewererrors, stolen bases, battingaverage and ERA. Don’tjust hand them abucket of cash and thinkthey’ll play lightsout,because they won’t. More likely,they are thinking about thecar,gold bling, cruise or tropical vacation they want. When push comes to shove, Indiana had theright idea: Take athree-star 23- or 24-year-old who may or may not make thepros but still wantstoplay

DUDLEY GARIDEL Baton Rouge

Even Trump’scritics must admit somethinghad to be done aboutIran

Recently,A.R.P.Rau submitted aletter condemning our president for boorishlanguage when he cavalierly suggested the U.S. might wipe out an ancient civilization (Persia).

He also accused our president of actions “illegal under all national and international laws and military codes.” Finally,Rau cutely reminded us that Mahatma Gandhi thought Western civilization would be a good idea, obviously implying theWest is not too civilized.

Iwill agree that President Donald Trump is bombastic.

Title Xfunding is used to support comprehensive, affordable family planning and related preventive health services —especially for people with low incomes or without insurance. Lately,however,Health and Human Services has begun steering funding away from contraceptive services to counseling patients to use natural planning services. Natural family planning uses temperature ﬂuctuations to predict when awoman will ovulate. Such predictions are helpful forincreasing the likelihood of conception but are statistically unreliable forpreventing pregnancy

In acomplex economy such as ours, Ibelieve that it is important forwomen to control the size of their families in order to provide emotional, nutritional and educational support foreach child. The rate of teen pregnancies has declined dramatically in the last 20 years. This has reduced the rate of childhood poverty and beneﬁted the economy.The federal government should not be making the choice for poor women to have morechildren.

MARCIA COOKE

Neworleans

Politicians havesold out Louisianaand itscitizens

Louisiana has surrendered to corporations and politicians interested in personal ﬁnancial gain.

rational people should ﬁnd acceptable Agreatlyimproved Middle East mayvery well one day thank the“unhinged boor” that is Rau’s description of our president. At thepresent, it seems most Iranians themselvessee the beneﬁt of the actions taken by theU.S. and Israel and understand eggs need to be broken to make an omelet. The argument that currentactions violate military codes is hogwashonface value.

Lastly,and in defenseofWestern civilization,Gandhi was aweird, ﬂawed manwho shouldn’tearn too many points forﬂippantly critiquing the West.

To SEND US ALETTER SCAN HERE

OUR GUIDELINES: Letters are published identifying name and the writer’scity of residence.The Advocate |The Times-Picayune require astreet address and phone number for verification purposes, but that information is not published. Letters are not to exceed 300 words. Letters to the Editor,The Advocate, P.o. Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588, or email letters@theadvocate.com.

Thatsaid, his actions have been measured andeffective. The attack on Iran has been carried out with surgical precision (very few civilians have died relative to the scope of the effort). The action was necessary because the proudPersian civilization had been hijacked by religious nutswho would bomb TelAviv with less discrimination than

Ivaluethe role your paper plays in our community,but I’mconcerned by the growingnumberofletters that rely on inﬂammatory rhetoric and personal attacks rather than thoughtful argument. Strong opinions are important, but namecallingand exaggerated claims only deepen divisionand lower the qualityofpublic discourse. Theletters page should encourage

People/societies who live in glass houses need not throw stones. The West has contributed moretoman’sprogress over the lastcouple of millennia than any other region on the planet by alarge margin. Rau knows that —helives hereand not in India.

KEVIN KELLY Baton Rouge

respectful, fact-based discussion —even when viewpoints differ sharply I’m not asking you to limit perspectives, only to uphold standards that promote civility and substance. Your editorial choices help set thetonefor the community,and Ihope thattone can be amore constructive one.

MIKENORTON Metairie

Soon, you won’t be able to sue the oil industry based on damage caused by climate change. Why? Because those politicians supporting these efforts do not care about Louisiana, you or your children’s future. They live forthe moments, and the momentistocash grab everything possible. How much more must we take before we send politicians and judges to jail forviolating their oath of ofﬁce and not representing our best interests? Instead, they are funded by industries like the oil industry to choose against our best interests. The rich do not deserve the earth morethan we do; it’stimewerecognize that Louisiana is taking the corrupt pathway,much like the administration in the White House. How much must we lose before it is too late?

We allowed money to dominate how elections are run, operated and how outcomes are determined. It’s timetotake money out of politics and support real people, honest people, people whocare about citizens and this democracy

If one of our politicians supports acriminal, then by association, they are no better Their money keeps them out of jail; it’stimetochange that. Who are we talking about? Watch the political ads on the media today.It’s never been clearer.They are so corrupt that they don’teven care what we think anymore.

JOHN SFIRE Neworleans

STAFF PHoTo By MICHAEL JoHNSoN

LSUhead coach JayJohnson walks back to the dugout during the May2 game at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge.

2026 LEGISLATIVERUNDOWN

As bills move in the Louisiana Legislature, we are featuring the issues that mattermosttoyou

ISSUES INTHE SPOTLIGHT

La.trailsother SECstatesinschoolchoice

SB157

Educatorsneed paidparental leave

In football’sSoutheastern Conference, you don’tsit on awinning game plan and refuse to run it. When you’ve got the playbook, the recruitsand the crowd behind you, you takethe field. That’sexactly where Louisiana found itself last year.After fouryears and12separatebills,the Legislature in 2024 passed the LA GATOR Scholarship Program —Louisiana’sfirst education scholarship account program —and Gov. Jeff Landry signedit into law.For tensof thousands of families, it was along-overdue breakthrough. LA GATOR funds appropriated to the program can be used by families to pay for private school tuition, stand-alone courses, textbooks and curricula, tutoring, supplies and other approvededucational expenses. These dollars “follow” children to the school or learning environment that their families —those who know them best —believe is the best fitfor their individual needs and values. Unfortunately,when presented with the opportunity to make this areality, the Senate FinanceCommitteepunted. When the 2025 budget season arrived, Landry requested $93.5 million for LA GATOR, and the House backed it. But the Senate FinanceCommittee cut $50 million, leaving just enough to continue covering roughly 6,000 students already receiving statefunded scholarships —and onlya tiny fraction of the new students who had applied.

Nearly 40,000 Louisiana families applied for LA GATOR last year,with roughly 35,000 meeting eligibility requirements. Most were low-income families seeking better optionsfor their children. Yetall but about700 wereleft waiting. This spring,the state received more than 17,000 eligible applications. On May 7, some of those families came to Baton Rouge. Parents drove in from across the state. Students sat before lawmakers and shared what education choice has meant to them. For hours, senators heard something no spreadsheet can measure:Education is notone-sizeﬁts-all, and tax dollars should follow the child —not the system.

Our neighbors are sleeping outside tonight. They are co-workers, cousins, the woman who used to do hair around the corner.Ifwedon’t know them, someonedoes.

House Bill 211 would ﬁnethem up to $500 and imprison them foruptosix months for havingnowhereto sleep. Asecond offense would be afelony: up to $1,000 and onetotwo years in prison, with or without hard labor

Nearly 1in5 Louisianans already lives below the poverty line, the highest rate in the country.HB211 would deepen ourpoverty,perpetuate homelessness and waste public money. It punishes aresult, sleeping outside, instead of dealing with the cause: the lack of affordable housing people can access, affordand maintain. The answer is stable housing, with help to obtain and keep it. Mostpeople experiencing homelessness are not committing crimes. ANational HealthCare for the Homeless Council study found nearly half are themselves victims of violence, comparedtoabout 2% of the general population. Some do commitcrimes, but HB211 does not address that. It makes survivingasbest you can acrime.

Meanwhile, Louisiana’sSEC neighbors aren’twaiting. Arkansas passed theLEARNS Act in 2023 and now offers universal education freedom accounts. Florida now serves more than half amillion studentsthrough scholarship programs. Alabama passed theCHOOSEAct andisexpandingfunding and eligibility.Tennessee joined them in 2025. Georgia just increased in size and scope its Georgia Promise scholarship program. These aren’t abstract policy wins. These are families in Little Rock, Mobile, Nashville and Miami who can choose theschool that ﬁts their child —not just theone assigned by their ZIPcode. Louisiana families want anddeserve the same opportunity SenatePresident Cameron Henry says caution is warranted, citing concernsabout long-term costs. Fiscal responsibility matters. ButLouisiana is already competing against states investing boldly in education choice.

Texaslawmakers approved a$1billion appropriation for school choice. Florida’sprograms costeven more —and Florida continues to win the competition for jobs, population and opportunity

$1,200. Enforcementwould clear a sidewalkoranencampment. Arrest someone for sleepingoutside and theywouldgotojail. When they came out,they would still have nowhere to sleep. The next arrest would be for afelony. HB211 would turn survival into afelony HB211offersanalternative to jail: Amandatory treatment program through anew Homelessness Court, paid for by the defendant directly or worked offthrough unpaid labor

AndAlabama, about the same size as Louisiana, will be spending $200 million on its scholarship program, without even coming close to busting thestate’sbudget Families votewith their feet.Increasingly,they’re choosing states that trust parents.

Lastyear’sfunding of just over 700 studentsout of over 35,000 wasn’ta demand problem.Itwas apolitical will problem.

The LA GATOR law is already on thebooks. Gov.Landry is ready.The House is ready.Education leaders are ready.Families are ready —and they proved it by showing up.

The only question now is whether theSenate Finance Committee will let it work —orwhether Louisianawill keep watching the rest of itsconference pull ahead while Baton Rouge debates whether to run theplay When Alabama is beating you on the ﬁeld and in the classroom, it’stime to ask hard questions in Baton Rouge. LaneKifﬁn didn’tcome here to punt. Neither should theSenate Finance Committee.

Don GallatyIIisafather of twoand founder of LA Families Want LA GATOR.

The Louisiana Legislature’spossible implementation of paid parental leave for public schoolteachers and other employees is laudable andwelcome Most workers cannot afford to take unpaid parental leave. Senate Bill 157 would enable K-12educators to have six weeksofpaid leave when theyneed to care for anew child without losing their income, savings or much-needed paid sick days.

Having paid parental leave would promote the health and well-being of Louisiana educators and their families. It would aid schools in the recruitment and retention of teachers. Peer states suchas Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee already have paid parentalleave policies for teachers and have found thatonly about 2% use the policy annually Quality teaching can be maintained by schools developing lists of qualiﬁed teachers (often retirees) who may be substitutesfor those on leave. Louisiana is greatly concerned about both teacher shortages and, more generally,outmigrationand the loss of population. Implementing paid parental leave for teachers would be apositive step in helping Louisiana be abetter,more competitive state. PHYLLIS RAABE

Neworleans SB365

GOP membersshowed how little they care for voters

On the surface, the April 8Senate Governmental Affairs Committee hearing of Senate Bill 365 seemed to be democracy in action, but in reality,it waspolitical theater at best.

People traveled from all over the state to voice their support of the bill by state Sen. Royce Duplessis, aDemocrat, which proposed aLouisiana Voting Rights Act. The chairman of the committee, Sen. Caleb Kleinpeter,a Republican, was courteous, permitting everyone who wishedtospeak to do so without atime limit and thanking themfor their testimony.Twenty individuals testified in favor of SB365, 138 people submitted green cards of support and 70 emails of support were receivedby the committee. Only four individuals submitted red cards in opposition to the bill but none of them testified. When state Sen. Gary Carter, aDemocrat, made the motion that the bill be reportedfavorably, the chair objected and asked that avote be taken. The three Democrats on the committeevoted favorably,and the four Republicans present voted no. The Republican members of the committeedid not engage with the bill proceedings at all. They asked no questions. They expressed no opinions. They were silent until the vote. Ihave never witnessed acommitteehearing where the bill was voted down without an explanation of why Did they not believe the history of blatant Black voter suppression that was expressedbymanyof those who testified?

Did they believe that those issues had beenresolved?

Did they vote to maintain the tools of gerrymandering, poll closures, voter list purging andothers to beneﬁt their party’shold on the state?

Two-thirds of people living in placesnot ﬁt for humanhabitationdonot use illicit drugs. Of thosewho do,42% beganonly after losingtheir housing. Anxiety and depressionare common, but they are most often theconsequence ofbeing unhoused, notthe cause. The bill also assumes people will not accept help unless threatened with jail. The primary barrier is not willingness.Coercion causes compliance.Trust builds transformation. WhenSeattle surveyednearly 900 unhoused residents, 93% said they would come inside if offered safe, affordable housing

The Legislature cannot even tell taxpayers what HB211 would cost Their own ﬁscal analysis says the cost of the new court system is “indeterminable.” Ajail bed in Louisiana costs $60 to $75 per day.That is $1,800 to $2,250 a month. Rent in New Orleans averages

Residentialrehab in Louisianaaverages$4,400 aweek,orroughly $17,600 amonth. Court-mandated treatment producesworse outcomes than voluntary care, including higherrates of fataloverdose. For those whodoneed treatment,inpatient rehab without stablehousingfails Nationwide, 69% of people who werehomeless when they entered

substance use treatment were still homeless when they left.Treatment did nothouse them. What works is integrated care: stablehousing first, treatment alongside it.Housing first is fiscally responsible. It costs less than jail and less than inpatient rehab andisproven to work for people to access, afford andmaintainhousing. HB211 would alsochipaway at local decision-making. Cities could notopt outinfavor of what they knowisbest for their community.Home for Good hashoused over 1,000 New Orleaniansand closed eight encampments HB211 would dramatically impedeits work Minneapolis is acautionary tale. That city hasspent $5.5 to $7.5 million on forced encampmentclosuressince 2020, 75% of it on police. WhenMinneapolis chose outreach over coercion,costs dropped81%.Atthe Near North encampment, 26 of 28 residents were housedwithin three months. Not moved down theblock.Housed. The path to permanent supportive housing is outreach,not arrest. Louisiana is my chosen home. It’s likenoother place. We deserve elected leaderswho knowthe difference between governing andgiving up. As Paul Wellstone,a cherishedleader from Minnesota,myfirst home state, said, “Weall do better when we all do better.”

Sheila Delaney is aNew Orleans resident and the principal of Dovetail Action, ahousing-focused consultancy

SB365 sought to ensure that all citizens of Louisiana have an equal opportunity to participate in the political process. Opponents of the bill didn’tgive citizens the courtesy of explaining their votes. We should all wonderwhy ESTHERDEJONG Neworleans HB804

Lawmakersseek to protect oil companies at expenseofcitizens

House Bill 804, currently before the Louisiana Legislature, provides immunity to oil and gascompanies from lawsuits for climate-related damages, while forcing taxpayers to cover costs for disasters and coastal damage. This bill mirrors efforts at the federal level, which reﬂect success by gun manufacturers in passing the despicable Protectionof Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA).

It is important that this Louisiana bill notsucceed. The sooner consequences are enacted for the shameful waythe fossil fuel industry has polluted the planet, the fewer severe catastrophic effects will occur.Salutary reversals still have achance of allowing us to evade extremeheat, weather, ﬁres, sea level rise and more that will be inevitable otherwise.

According to data from the Louisiana Ethics Administration website,state Rep. Brett Geymann, who sponsored the Louisiana bill, hasreceivedat least $28,000 from oiland gascompaniesand their PACs in campaign donations from 2002-2025. While this hardly ranks as high corruption, it conﬁrms the suspicion that campaign donations direct egregious legislation.

MARION FREISTADT Neworleans

JAVIER GALLEGoS

Students from different schools gather during arally forthe LA GAToRschool voucher program at the Pentagon Barracks in Baton RougeonApril 22.

Don GallatyII GUEST CoLUMNIST

Sheila Delaney GUEST CoLUMNIST

The cloudyand wetconditions that we had yesterdaywill probably repeat to alesserdegree today. So,expect apartlytomostlycloudy, warmand humid Monday. Temperatures thisafternoon will rise into the mid- to upper 80s.Windswill be southeasterly at 10-15 mph with gusts up to 20 mph.Rain chances willberight around 30%,so expect some scattered showers and possiblyastormortwo.Even with the cloudyskies today, the UV Index will be at the “veryhigh” level.

Trump administration promotes eligibilityprogram

I’m acitizen, that the passport exists,’”hesaid in an interview

Entire voterrolls reviewed

BY JOHN HANNA Associated Press

TOPEKA,Kan. Even as Democratic officials fight the effort in court, the Trump administrationhas run millions of voterregistrations through government databases to determine their eligibility in aprocess that critics worry could end up purging valid voters from the rolls before the November elections. At least 67 million registrations, primarily from Republican-controlled states, have gone through a beefed-up verification program at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security,and tens of thousands of those have been flagged as potential noncitizens or people who have died. Some statesallowonly amonth for people to prove their eligibilityand others suspend it immediately

The scanning of state voter rolls at the national level is part of abroader effort by Republican President Donald Trump to federalize certain election functions and promote his messaging that elections are marred by noncitizen voting, even though instances of that are rare. Voting and civil rights advocates say the DHS system is error-prone and can mistakenly ﬂag people who are eligible to vote.

Trumphas been trying to overhaul U.S. elections,including calling for afederal list of verified voters, and his Department of Justice has pushed states to hand over unredacted voter information formass checks throughthe DHS programknown asSAVE.

The Justice Department has sued states that refuse, saying the government is trying to ensure thatthey are complying with federal law andhaveaccurate voter lists. Statesalreadytake anumber of steps to maintain the accuracy of their voter rolls.

SAVE, short for Systematic Alien Veriﬁcationfor Entitlements,was created underanimmigration law mandating that DHS help federal, state and local agencies prevent government beneﬁts from going to noncitizens. U.S. Citizenship andImmigration Services, an arm of DHS, said more than 1,300 agencies use it.

AnthonyNel, anativeofSouth Africa, became aU.S.citizen more than a decade agobut was flagged as apotential noncitizen when Texas ran its voter file through the U.S. DepartmentofHomeland Security’sbeefedup verification program known as SAVE. Criticsfeara

“If avoter is wrongly removed, by the time they learn aboutitand correct it,they may miss their opportunity to vote in that election,” said Freda Levenson, alawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio.The group is challenging an Ohio law requiring monthly checks with the DHS system. Voters such as 29-year-old Anthony Nel have been caughtinthe middle.

The native of South Africa, who became acitizen more than adecade ago, was flagged as apotential noncitizen whenTexas ranits voter file through the DHS verification system. Nel’slocal election office in Denton, north of Dallas, temporarily canceled his registrationlast fall while he was waiting foranew passport to replace an expiredone.

“I’m like, ‘You should know that

At least25stateshaveused SAVE tocheck their voter rolls since April 2025, after the Trump administration significantly expandedits search abilities, and60 million registrations were checked in ayear’stime,according to Citizenshipand ImmigrationServices. That ﬁgure doesnot include an additional7.4 millionregistrations from North Carolina, where Republicanscontrol the state election board,thatwererecentlyrun throughthe system.

Citizenship and Immigration Servicessaidinanemailed statement that it is “committed to helping eliminate voter fraud”to restore Americans’ trust in their elections.

“SAVE is one of the most important tools states have to verify voter information,” Kansas Secretary of StateScottSchwab, aRepublican,recently told aU.S.House committeeexamininghow states keep voterrollsclean. Schwab’sendorsement is notable becauseheoncewas publicly skeptical that noncitizens represented asigniﬁcant voterfraud threat RepublicansciteSAVEsearches

Citizenship and Immigration Servicessaidthe 60 millionvoter

registration checksidentified about 24,000 potential noncitizens. U.S. Assistant AttorneyGeneral Harmeet Dhillon, whoruns the Justice Department’sCivil Rights Division, said duringa recentFox News interview that those checks also identified about350,000 people who appear tohave died. North Carolina’sState Board of Elections said its check had identified another 34,000 registered voters who are potentially deceased. Even if all thoseeventually were verified as ineligible,they would represent small percentagesoftotalregisteredvoters. The figure for noncitizens would be about 400 for every1 million registrations. Some 384,000 people identified as potentially deceased in about 67 million registrations is afraction of 1%.

Some voters have been mistakenly ﬂagged. In Dallas, election officials recently canceled the registration of DomingoGarcia, a68-year-old lawyer and voting rightsactivist, withoutexplanation.Hehas been voting regularly for 50 years, most recently in the state’sMarch 3primary,and suspects that ofﬁcials

concluded he was deceased. “I should not have been on any lists,” he said.

Falsepositives arepopping up

Voting rights advocates have filed at least sixfederal lawsuits over SAVE checks, either against the Trump administration or states using theprogram Nel, a29-year-old college administrator,isaplaintiff in one of them, filedrecently in the District of Columbiaagainst the JusticeDepartment. It allegesan“illegaland unprecedented quest” by the administrationfor “millions of Americans’ confidentialvoter data.”

Lawyersalsoargue that eligible voters will be disenfranchisedby hits from outdated or incomplete data.

Nel came to the United States fromSouth Africa withhis parents at age 8. His parents became citizens when he was 16, making him acitizen, as well. He said he has voted regularly since he was 18. Yethereceiveda letter in October in awhite envelopethatlooked to him like junk mail. It told himhe hadbeen identiﬁedasa potential

noncitizen through aSAVEcheck of Texas’ 18 millionvoter registrations.Hehad 30 days to prove otherwise —a deadline he missed because of the time it took to get a new passport. “It’sclear that this process that they’veput into place for this doesn’twork,” he said.

Defenderssay SAVE is step one Republican officials said the administration does not portray SAVE searchesasfoolproof.Instead, it identifies registrations that should be further investigated, they said.

In Kansas, Schwab’s ofﬁceisstill investigating itslistofﬂaggedregistrationsand hasyet to disclose the number of hits of potentially ineligible voters from aSAVE check of the state’s2million registrations.

Once his office forwards flagged names to countyofficials, astate law enacted this year requires them to listthe registrations as “in suspense” or “pending” until thecases areresolved. Aflagged person still can vote, but the ballot is set aside forfurther review and might not be counted.

Texas is supposed to give people with ﬂagged registrations 30 days to prove they areproperly registered. NorthCarolina will require county elections boards to give peoplewhose registrationsare challenged ahearing before they can be canceled.

Anew Ohio law requires local election boardsto“promptly” cancel the registrationsofpeople whomthe secretary of state identiﬁesasnoncitizens during registration checks that the ofﬁcial is required to makeatleast monthly Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, aRepublican, said in an email that people’svoting rights are not in danger because “all they need to do to immediately restore their registration status is show proof of citizenship.”

But Levenson, the ACLU lawyer, describedthe approach differently “Shoot first and ask questions later,” she said.

Associated Press writersJack Dura in Bismarck, NorthDakota, and GaryRobertson, in Raleigh, NorthCarolina, contributed to this report.

ASSoCIATED PRESS PHoToByJULIoCoRTEZ

N.O. hasworktodobeforereturntoprime time

Saints haveone evening game scheduledin’26

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

The New Orleans Saints’ loneprime-time game in 2026 came on thedirect ordersof NFL commissioner RogerGoodell.

No,the league’s topexecutivedidn’tmandate that the Saints needed to be featured after being shut out of thespotlight in 2025 But Goodell did want the league’sschedulemakers and networks torecognize the 20th anniversary of the Saints’ ﬁrst game

ANALYSIS

Struggles on the mound continued forTigers

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

Anightmarish regular season for LSU baseball ﬁnally came to aclose on Saturday, when the Tigers were sweptfor aﬁfth time in six weeks this weekendbyFlorida LSUlost to Florida 11-8 on Thursday,11-1 in seven innings on Friday and 15-11 on Saturday

Next up for LSU is atrip to Hoover,Alabama, where the Tigers will play at least one game at the SEC Tournament. LSU, the No 14 seed,willface No. 11 Oklahoma on Tuesday before potentially facing No. 6Auburn the next day For LSU to make the NCAA Tournament, it will need to win the SEC Tournament by earning ﬁve victories in sixdays. But before the festivities in Hoover get underway, here are ﬁve takeaways from this weekend’s three-game set with Florida.

WhySchmidt andEvans didn’t start

With LSU’sfate sealedheading intothe weekend in needing to win ﬁve games in six days at the SEC Tournament to make an NCAA regional, LSU coach Jay Johnson decided to pull back and rest his top two starters ahead of the Tigers’ﬁrst game in Hoover.

Evans threw 41 pitches in reliefonFriday, while Schmidt wasn’teven on the active rosterthis weekend. Theslowweek for both sophomore right-handers meantthatthey’ll both be available to throw against Oklahoma on Tuesday night.

Johnson wasn’t happy with hisown decision.

“Do Ilove not havingWilliamSchmidt andCasan Evans against Florida?”Johnson said. “No, Ihate it. It makes me sick in my stomach.”

Is Sernaok?

Afterblasting ahomerun and adouble in the ﬁrst two gamesofthe series, LSU’s freshman catcher sat out Saturday’sgame to rest ahead of the SEC Tournament.

ä See LSU, page 5B

back in the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina —sohemade sure they wereaware to schedule theSaints on “Monday Night Football” against the Atlanta Falcons, anod to thesame matchup that took place all the way back then.

“Itwas arequirement straight from the boss that it landed on our schedule,” NFL vicepresident of broadcast planning Mike North said on acall with reporters to discuss this year’sschedule.

Otherwise,the Saints still have work to do before they’reonce again regarded as a marquee team in the NFL.

Alate-season win streak,the emergence of quarterback Tyler Shough and abuzzy offseason weren’tenough to completely

turn around New Orleans’ perception, at least in the eyes of the league’s stakeholders. While the Saints were granted theright to play theNFL’s ﬁrst gamein France —another standalone window, albeit onenot in primetime —New Orleans’ schedulefeatures 13 of its 17 games at noon. That’s three more noon outings thanlast year,when the black and gold had 10 noon games and six in the late-afternoon window. Given the setup, it is fair to wonder whether theSaints would have been shut out of primetime again hadthere not been asigniﬁcant

ä See SAINTS, page 4B

DAYTIMETV

Neworleans’schedule features 13 of 17 gamesat noon.Lastyear, the Saints had10noon gamesand sixinthe late-afternoon window

Sunday

CLEANSWEEP

BY JIM KLEINPETER Contributing writer

LSU softball didn’t simply get redemption; it left no doubt,and it was the seniors leading the way

The Tigerswashed away the bad memories of last year’sregional collapse with athird consecutive dominant performance in beating Virginia Tech, 7-2, in the championship game of the Baton Rouge RegionalSunday at Tiger Park.

Senior transfer Paytn Monticelli shackled the powerhitting visitors after surrendering an early lead, retir-

ing the ﬁnal 16 batters she faced. Senior captains Jalia Lassiter and Maci Bergeron keyed the offense with two runs batted in each to propel LSU (40-17) into the Super Regional roundatNo. 1overall seed Alabama next weekend.

“I don’teven know wheretostart on our team,” LSU coach Beth Torina said. “I’m so proud of this entire group. I’m proud of their growth and the seniorleadership.Every timeour seniorclass decidesthatit’stime to go, those are the ones that go the best.”

Amazingcatch highlights regional forLSU

LSU right fielderAlix Franklin racedback toward the wall, futilely it seemed, trying to chase down alongflyoff thebat of VirginiaTech’s Addison Foster TheHokieshave been known for their prodigioushome run power,hitting 108 in all. Despite astrong south wind howling into TigerPark,this certainly looked like No. 109. Then,Franklin, allher lifebefore this season spent as an infielder,made the play.The catch. The whatever-you-want-to-call-it, reaching over the wall as she slammed into it with frightening force to rob

Foster and Virginia Tech of apotentially momentum-shifting moment. “Jalia (Lassiter,LSU’s center ﬁelder) and Ipracticed balls at the wall like that Idon’tknow how manytimes,” said Franklin, who fortunately didn’tfracture any bones to makeher “SportsCenter”worthy play

It wasjust the bottom of the ﬁfth inning (why hometeams in regionals must ever be the visiting team has always been beyond me) Virginia Tech, which scored six remarkable runs in the top of the seventh Saturday night to eliminate Akron 7-6 and get into this NCAA regional ﬁnal with LSU,still had time.

ä See RABALAIS, page 5B

Scott Rabalais

STAFF PHoTo By MICHAEL JoHNSoN

LSU pitcher Paytn Monticelli delivers apitch against Virginia Tech in the fourthinning of aregional championshipgame on

at TigerPark.

STAFF FILE PHoTo By MICHAEL JoHNSoN

LSU pitcher CasanEvans deliversapitch against Kentucky in the thirdinning on March 27 at Alex Box Stadium. Evans threw 41 pitches in relief on Fridayagainst Florida

p.m.Montreal at Buffalo

MEN’S SOCCER

2p.m.Burnley at Arsenal USA TENNIS

3a.m.(Tue.) RolandGarrosqualifying Tennis

5a.m.(Tue.) RolandGarrosqualifying Tennis WNBA

7p.m.Washington

RairunsawaywithPGA Championship

He becomes first English-born player in more than acentury to winevent

BY DOUG FERGUSON Associated Press

NEWTOWNSQUARE, Pa.— Aaron Rai

shifted intohigh gear Sunday and pulled away froma world-class

ﬁeld with one amazing shot after another until he becamethe ﬁrst English-born player in more than acentury to capture thePGA Championship.

Rai, who dreamed of being a Formula 1driver until he turned to golf as aboy,was three shots behind and approaching the turn at AroniminkGolf Clubwhenhe delivered aperformanceworthy of amajor champion.

He made a40-foot eagle putt on thepar-5 ninth during astretch when he one-putted sevenstraight greens to take the lead. And on theclosingholes when the contenders needed himto stumble, Rai holeda birdieputtof some 70 feet across the 17th green for the clincher.

The 31-year-old Rai, who joins two-timePGA champion Vijay Singh as major champions of Indian heritage, closed with a5-under 65.

“Tobehere is outside my wildest imagination,” Rai said Jon Rahm,Rory McIlroy,Xander Schauffele, Cameron Smith, Justin Rose, all major champions, all of them in position until they were undone by untimely mistakes or failure to get goodlooks at birdie.

McIlroy,who closed witha 69, played the par 5s in even for theweekand he chopped up the reachable par-4 13th for abogey He also glared and softly cursed at afan who said, “USA,”after

McIlroy hit awedge from the rough to the bunker on the par-5 16th.It was an indication McIlroy knew hishopes were all but gone. Rai, who finished at 9-under 271, is thefirst player from England with his name on the Wanamaker Trophy sinceJim Barnes in 1919, the second edition of this major and thefirst after World WarI He wound up winning by three shotsover 54-hole leaderAlex Smalleyand Rahm,who had his best finishinamajor sincedefectingtoLIV Golf at theend of 2023. Rahm was slowed by apair of bogeys on the front nine,and managed only one birdie on the back nine fora 68. Smalley lost thelead with a messy double bogey on the sixth hole, and hisbest golf was too late. Rai already had his eye on theWanamakerTrophy.Smalley made birdieonthe 18th for a70.

Justin Thomas made a16-foot parputt onthe ﬁnal hole fora65 and pulled himwithin one shot of the lead asthe ﬁnalgroup was in the second fairway.For the longest time, as Aronimink got tougher andthe pressure gottighter, it looked likeThomasmight have a

chance.

Like everything elseonthisﬁnal day,Rai ended those hopes, too.

So concluded amost remarkable week in the Philadelphia suburbs, where no one could separate themselves on Aronimink. The 22 players within four shots of the lead going into theﬁnal round was aPGA Championship record. From that pack emerged the 31-year-old Rai,withone PGA Tour title, three on the European tour, and no ﬁnishes inside thetop 15 at any of the majors.

He might not be well known amongcasual observers, but he is astarinthe eyes of his peers for his humility and gracious personality.

“You won’tﬁnd oneperson on propertywho’snot happy for him,” McIlroy said.

“Super pumped for him andhis team,” Schauffele said. “All-world gentleman, no doubt.”

He wears two gloves, ahabit he started as akid in England to battle the cold winters when he was practicing —and he wasalways practicing. Even more unusual for Rai is the plastic coversoneach iron, areminder of his roots.

He once said his father sacriﬁced to buy the nicest golf clubs and then would clean the grooves with baby oil afterhis son was done playing. Rai has leftthe iron covers on since then “to remember where Icam from and to respect what Ihave.”

“Anybody that uses head covers in his irons because he coveted his irons when he was akid so much thathewanted to respect the equipment and to still do it? Yeah, it shows alot aboutaperson,” Rahm said. “What he did today is nothing short of special.”

Thoseseven straight one-putts included ashort putt forbogey on thepar-3 eighth, leaving Rai three behind Matti Schmid,who had three birdies in aﬁve-hole stretch on the front to take the lead. Rai hit 5-wood into the ninth for his 40-foot eagle putt. He saved par witha10-foot putt on the 10th. He hit wedge to 4feet to adangerouspin on the 11th forbirdie.He got up-and-down from behind the 12th green forpar Andonthe 292-yard13th hole, which tripped up McIlroy and Schauffele andNick Taylor of Canada when they were right in the mix, Rai blasted out of abunkerto6feet for abirdie to become theﬁrst player allweektoreach 7 under.And thenhekeptright on going.

Thomas wound up in atie for fourth at 5-under 275 with Ludvig Aberg (69) and Schmid,whose 5-foot par puttonthe 18th hole gets him into his first Masters next year.Smith, who didn’tdrop ashot until the 17th hole, had a68 to join McIlroyand Schauffele (69) another shot back. Reigning championScottie Schefﬂer missed a4-footbirdie puttonthe third hole and twice missed 3-foot par putts on the back nine in hisclosing roundof 69 to tie for 14th, his ﬁrst timeout of the top10atamajor sincethe 2024 U.S. Open.

LSUmen’s golf team headswesttoNCAAregionals

Tigers areNo. 2seed forregionalinArizona

BY SCOTT RABALAIS

Staff writer

The LSU men’sgolf team is hoping achange of direction will mean areversal of fortune from ayear ago as theTigers head to NCAA regional play In 2025, LSU headed eastasthe top seed in the regional in Amherst, Virginia, but ﬁnished ninth overall and failed to advance to theNCAA championships. This year,the Tigers are going west as the No. 2seed in theregional in Marana,Arizona, at The

Gallery Golf Club just north of Tucson. The 54-holetournament runs MondaythroughWednesday.The top ﬁve teams advance to the NCAA championships May 29-June 3atthe La Costa Resort &Spa in Carlsbad, California, where the LSU women are teeing it up starting Fridayintheir NCAA championships.

“Last year we werethe one seed in areally tough regional,” LSU coach JakeAmos said.

“This year we’re thetwo seed and theonly way to getthrough it is to tryto winit, honestly. If youfocusonthe minimum, you will get the minimum.” The Tigers bolted out of the gate in the fall with three team

victories, rising to No. 2inthe national polls. LSU didn’twin in thespring but was solid with nothing less than afourth-place finish until theTigersfinished 12th in stroke playatthe Southeastern Conferencechampionships last monthand wereunable to advance to match play.

“Ifwe’d had abad fall and then hadthreewins thisspring, we’d have been delighted,” Amos said.

“You can ﬂip it both ways. Obviously,wehad abad SECs, but SECs is like thehardestevent in theworld. It’sridiculously tough.” Amos will take sixplayers, including an alternate, to Arizona, with five competing each day

andthe lowfourscores counting. The lineup includes senior Matty Dodd-Berry and freshman Dan Hayes from England, juniorsNoah McWilliamsfrom Benton and Jay Mendell from Lafayette,and sophomoreArni Sveinssonfrom Iceland. Baton Rouge’s Luke Askew,asenior is the alternate. Mendell, McWilliams andSveinssonall have stroke averagesunder 70 this season at 69.56, 69.60 and69.83, respectively Live scoring is available at scoreboard.clippd.com. The website babygrandegolf.com will stream action from all NCAA regionals on apay-perview basis.

Woad wins in Cincinnati for second LPGA Tour title

CINCINNATI Lottie Woad held off Haeran Ryuona gustySundayat MaketewahCountry Club in the Kroger Queen City Championship. Three strokes ahead of playing partner Amanda Doherty and four ahead of Ryu entering the round, Woad closed with a1-under 69 for atwo-stroke victory.The 22-yearold English player finishedat 12-under 268. Ryuhad adouble bogey on the par-4 13th in a67. She played ﬁrst nine in 5-under 30.

Nelly Korda shot a67totie for eighth at 5under afterwinning in her previous two starts. She began the daynine strokes back after a third-round 72.

Woad won for the second time on the LPGA Tour,following avictory last year in the Women’s Scottish Open in her professional debut.

Astros hit again by injuries as Altuve heads to IL HOUSTON Secondbaseman

JoseAltuve will be placed on the injured list with agrade 2left oblique strain, the latest blowtoa Houston Astros team that has been ravaged by injuries.

Manager Joe Espada announced the injury following Sunday’s8-0 loss to the Texas Rangers that dropped the Astros to 19-29 this season.Hedidn’tprovide atimeline for how long they expect Altuve to be out.

Altuve wasinjured in the ninth inning of Saturday night’s4-1 win over theRangers after taking an awkward swing.

He was not madeavailable to reporters after Sunday’sgame. Not counting Altuve, the Astros have 14 players on the injured list.

Paloulookstorepeat at Indy 500, wins pole spot

INDIANAPOLIS Alex Palou had his best qualifying attempt on hisﬁnalfour-laprun Sundayand took hissecondcareerIndianapolis 500 pole with an average speed of 232.248 mph. He’s the ﬁrst reigning champion to claim the No. 1 starting spot since 2010. He’sthe only starter on the 33car starting grid with aqualifying average topping232.Alexander Rossi will start acareer-best second after going 231.990. He’ll start between Palouand Team Penske driver David Malukas on the front rowinnextSunday’ssold-out race. Malukas went231.877.

Felix Rosenqvist, of Sweden, ﬁnished the third and ﬁnal round with a231.375 and will start fourth. Palouistrying to become the seventh driverinrace history to winback-to-back 500s.

Sinner wins Italian Open, matchesDjokovic’srecord

ROME Italian tennis fans had waited for thismomentfor a half century.For JannikSinner, though, it wasn’tjust about becoming the ﬁrst Italian man to winthe Italian Open since Adriano Panatta 50 years ago.

Thetop-ranked Sinner’s6-4,6-4 victory over Casper Ruud in Sunday’sﬁnal on the red clay of the Foro Italicoalsomade himonlythe second man after Novak Djokovic to winall nineMasters 1000 events —the biggest tournaments outside the Grand Slams.

Djokovic completed the career set in 2018 in Cincinnati at age 31 —and thenwentontowin each event at least twice. Sinner is 24, and his only real rival, Carlos Alcaraz, is sidelined duetoa right wrist injury

Rousey uses armbar,beats Carano in 17 seconds

INGLEWOOD,Calif. When Ronda Rousey finally got back into a mixed martial arts cage after 91/2 years away from her sport, she couldn’twait one more minute to collect anotherarm —and to have her own arm raised one last time. RouseystoppedGina Carano with her signature armbar just 17 seconds into the two iconic ﬁghters’double comebackboutSaturday night.

After ﬁnishing Carano, 44, with aferocity that evoked her famous heyday,the 39-year-old Rousey reafﬁrmed that thiswas onlythe epilogue on her historic MMA career Carano, who hadn’tfought in 17 years, was all smiles even after the swiftend to one of the longest layoffs in pro sports history.Rousey and Carano hugged and raised each other’sarmsinvictory

ASSoCIATED PRESS PHoToByCARoLyN KASTER

AaronRai, of England, celebrates after his shotonthe 17thgreen during the final round of thePGA Championship on Sunday at Aronimink Golf ClubinNewtown Square, Pa

ASSoCIATED PRESS PHoTo By MATT SLoCUM

AaronRai holds the Wanamaker Trophy after winning the PGA Championship on Sunday.

Cavaliers rout Pistons to reach East finals

BY BOB TRIPI

Associated Press

DETROIT Donovan Mitch-

ell scored 26 points, Jarrett Allen and Sam Merrill each added 23 and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Detroit Pistons 125-94 on Sunday night in Game 7 to advance to the Eastern Conference ﬁnals.

The fourth-seeded Cavaliers ousted the East’s top seed and will face the thirdseeded New York Knicks. Game 1 of that series tips off Tuesday in New York. Evan Mobley had 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who advanced to the conference finals for the first time since 2018 and the ninth time in team history It’s their deepest run since LeBron James’ final season with the franchise.

Detroit Pistons forward Tobias Harris in the first half of Game 7 on Sunday in Detroit.

Daniss Jenkins scored 17 points, and Cade Cunningham and Duncan Robinson each finished with 13 for the Pistons, who fell one win shy of their

Edwards, Timberwolves still trying to climb over hump

BY DAVE CAMPBELL AP sportwriter

MINNEAPOLIS Once the Minnesota Timberwolves had conceded defeat midway through the fourth quarter of their seriesclinching loss to the San Antonio Spurs, Anthony Edwards came out of the game and sat down next to Donte DiVincenzo.

All those double-teams Edwards faced in the second round once he crossed halfcourt could’ve been a lot easier to counteract with a simple pass to his trusty teammate DiVincenzo in the slot to set up a 3-point shot and make the Spurs think twice about trapping.

“Missing Donte is big for us, man,” Edwards said after the season-ending defeat on Friday night. “He spreads the ﬂoor like no other.”

When DiVincenzo went down with a torn right Achilles tendon midway through the ﬁrst round, the Timber-

wolves in an instant lost one of their headiest and steadiest players on both ends of the ﬂoor He combined for a plus-40 rating and 31 points over their Game 2 and Game 3 victories against Denver that took control of that series.

Then after DiVincenzo’s crushing injury in the opening minute of Game 4, Edwards joined him on the sideline with a hyperextension and bone bruise in his left knee. He returned ahead of schedule to start the second round, but his usual explosiveness wasn’t there.

Sixth man Naz Reid was available the whole way but he had to ﬁght through a lingering right shoulder injury that hindered him throughout the regular season Edwards, who’d also been playing through pain in his right knee for much of the year quickly zeroed in on strength and conditioning when he spoke about his focus for the upcoming off-

season.

“The basketball stuff,” Edwards said, “it’s not last, but when it comes to me being injured a lot this year, I’ve got to really focus on my knees, my ankles, my hips.”

The young core isn’t quite so young anymore, as the four-time All-Star began to find out with his body this year Edwards will turn 25 in August.

“I think it’s been eyeopening for him in the sense that he realizes how fragile sometimes these things can be,” coach Chris Finch said on Saturday morning at team headquarters as players went through exit meetings with staff. “Yeah, 100% health is going to be absolutely key for him. There’s going to be skill pieces to his game that he’s going to always want to add or polish, but to me it’s more about his approach and how he sees himself coming into the season and what the team really needs.”

Thunder, Spurs make up an epic matchup in the Western ﬁnals

BY TIM REYNOLDS

AP basketball writer

OKLAHOMA CITY This is not a one-of-a-kind matchup in the Western Conference ﬁnals. And it’s not the NBA Finals, either

It may just seem that way In one corner, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, winners of 64 games this season In the other corner, Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs, winners of 62 games this season — and four against the Thunder That’s the West ﬁnals matchup, with Game 1 on Monday in Oklahoma City

“Just the words — ‘conference ﬁnals’ is crazy,” Wembanyama said “It’s something I heard my whole life and now being in it is just special.”

This is only the seventh time in NBA history that a playoff series features two teams that won 62 games (or had an equivalent winning percentage of .756 or better, when taking into account the years without an 82-game schedule). It’s the first since Chicago vs. Utah in the 1998 NBA Finals. The others: Chicago-Utah in the 1997 finals, ChicagoSeattle in the 1996 finals, Boston-Los Angeles Lakers in the 1985 finals, BostonPhiladelphia in the 1981 Eastern Conference finals and Lakers-Milwaukee in the 1972 West finals. The first four such matchups obviously decided the NBA champion for that season, because those were all in the finals. The two previous conference finals showdowns between teams with records this good ultimately

ä Spurs at Thunder 7:30 P.M.MoNDAy NBC

led to championships as well, with the Celtics taking the title in 1981 and the Lakers in 1972.

“It’s fitting because both teams earned their way here,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said Sunday. “I mean, that’s how it works. You’ve got to win four games to advance and then you’ve got to win four games again and if you do that, you’re in the Western Conference ﬁnals. And that’s what makes it ﬁtting.

It is a team we have a ton of respect for We know what they’re capable of. It’s an opponent that is incredibly worthy and that we’re going to need to be our best to beat and we understand that.”

The series

It’s the first playoff matchup between the clubs since 2016, when the Thunder beat the Spurs in six games in the Western Conference semifinals. Only five players from that series Kevin Durant, Steven Adams, Russell Westbrook, Kyle Anderson and Kawhi Leonard — remain in the NBA and none are still with either the Thunder or the Spurs.

The Spurs went 4-1 against the Thunder this season, winning three of those games by 10 or more points. The rest of the league has a combined six such wins over Oklahoma City this season.

“You could take a bit from it,” Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox said. But the playoffs is a different story, obviously.”

The Thunder may get a big piece of their lineup back for Game 1. Guard Jalen Williams, who has been out for

SGA wins second NBA MVP award

BY TIM REYNOLDS AP basketball writer

OKLAHOMA CITY He’s the best player on the best team. And the voters say he’s the best player in the league, too.

Again. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder won the NBA’s Most Valuable Player on Sunday for the second consecutive year He became the 18th player to win at least two MVP awards and the 14th to win them in back-to-back fashion.

“Who he is has never changed,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said “I think he’s touched up the edges on his game and on his leadership and on his perspective, just like anybody else that’s coming of age.”

The win for Gilgeous-Alexander, who is Canadian, marks the eighth consecutive time that the NBA’s MVP was born outside the U.S. The run started with Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo (born in Greece of Nigerian descent) in 2019 and 2020, then Denver’s Nikola Jokic (Serbia) in 2021 and 2022, Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid (born in Cameroon but has since become a U.S. citizen) in 2023 and Jokic again in 2024.

was Gilgeous-Alexander, Jokic and Antetokounmpo.

— In 2024, it was Jokic, then Gilgeous-Alexander and then-Dallas guard, now Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic of Slovenia.

— In 2023, it was Embiid, then Jokic, then Antetokounmpo.

— In 2022, it was Jokic, then Embiid, then Antetokounmpo.

Gilgeous-Alexander and Wembanyama will face off Monday night when the Thunder and Spurs open Game 1 of the Western Conference finals in Oklahoma City NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is expected at Monday’s game to formally present Gilgeous-Alexander with a trophy for the third time in 12 months the MVP award last May, the NBA Finals MVP award last June, and now this. The MVP win is Gilgeous-Alexander’s second major individual award this season; he was also voted the league’s Clutch Player of the Year by an overwhelming margin — he got 96 of 100 firstplace votes in that balloting, paying tribute to how great his performances tend to be in the final five minutes of close games. Then again, he’s pretty good no matter how much time is on the clock.

the league. Emotions aren’t worth his time; staying calm is always his preferred move.

nearly a month with a left hamstring injury, was not on Oklahoma City’s initial injury report filed Sunday afternoon — a sign that he should be available for the series opener Edge in this round

The Thunder has a huge edge when it comes to having experience this deep into the playoffs

Only five current Spurs have scored in a conference ﬁnals or an NBA Finals game — and since the postseason started only one of those five, Luke Kornet, is averaging more than 10 minutes per contest. Harrison Barnes is playing 9.8 minutes per game and the remaining three Spurs of Kelly Olynyk, Mason Plumlee and Bismack Biyombo aren’t in the regular rotation.

But the Thunder has 12 players who have scored in Rounds 3 or 4 of the playoffs, most of that coming on the run to last season’s title. Chance at history

Going back to Game 7 of last season’s playoffs, the Thunder has won nine consecutive playoff games — it is 8-0 this season.

A victory on Monday would make this Oklahoma City club the 11th team in NBA history to have a 10game postseason winning streak. The Thunder could also become the eighth team to begin a postseason run with a 9-0 record.

“Everything that we’ve done so far is behind us,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We still haven’t reached our goal We have two more series to win until we reach our ultimate goal and that’s what we’re focusing on.”

And in 2025 and 2026, SGA is the MVP “Shai’s so good at creating separation when he’s able to play 1-on-1,” Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “He’s just really hard to stop, for any defender.”

International players finished 1-2-3 in the MVP balloting for the fifth consecutive season, with Jokic and San Antonio’s star French center Victor Wembanyama the other finalists this year — Last season the order

Gilgeous-Alexander was second in the league with 31.1 points per game, second only to Doncic and his 33.5-point average. He also extended his NBA-record streak of regular season games with at least 20 points to 140 and counting; it’ll carry into next season as well.

He’s delightfully boring — one of the few midrange specialists in the game, someone who excels at drawing fouls, isn’t a look-at-me type and gives some of the most thoughtful answers of anyone in

“It just gives me the best chance to make the right decision on the next play which is what’s most important,” Gilgeous-Alexander said “I’ve noticed throughout my career and through personal experiences that emotions only get in the way of critical and smart thinking — especially in those moments when I want to get the job done the most I try to put my emotions aside and stay locked in on what’s present and what matters most.” Jokic not winning the award continues an odd trend: those who average a triple-double often thought of as the holy grail of ingame accomplishment, almost never win MVP Jokic had the seventh instance of a player finishing a season averaging a triple-double — at least 10 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds per game — by putting up 27.7 points, a league-best 12.9 rebounds and a league-best 10.7 assists per game. It wasn’t good enough for MVP Russell Westbrook averaged a triple-double four times and won MVP only once in those years. Oscar Robertson averaged a triple-double in 1961-62; he didn’t win MVP that season. And now, Jokic has done it twice with no MVPs to show for it, though he has won the award on three other occasions. Golden State’s Stephen Curry was the last player born in the U.S. to be in the top three of the MVP balloting; he was third in 2021 behind Jokic and Embiid. The last U.S. winner of the award was James Harden, then of Houston, in 2018. Harden has played for four different franchises since then.

The more Kiffin talks, the better Sumrall looks

BY MIKE BIANCHI orlando Sentinel (TNS)

ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida Gators

athletic director Scott Stricklin

may not have realized it in December, but losing Lane Kiffin to LSU could eventually look less like a rejection and more like a fortunate escape. Or maybe not. None of what I am about to write will matter once the season kicks off. New Gators coach Jon Sumrall is going to have to win, just as Kiffin will have to win at LSU There are no offseason championships in the SEC, no trophies handed out for charisma, sound bites or recruiting rankings in May But sitting here today, I trust Jon Sumrall more than I trust Lane Kiffin, and that sentence would have sounded completely insane to most of Gator Nation five months ago

When Kiffin chose LSU over Florida in December, the mood felt somewhere between heartbreak and existential crisis. Florida fans didn’t just want Kiffin; they needed him. They wanted the swagger, the offensive genius, the trolling personality, the celebrity coach who could instantly make Florida feel nationally relevant again. Instead, the Gators ended up with what many fans initially viewed as a fallback option: Tulane coach Jon Sumrall. The reaction was predictable. Another Group of Five coach from Louisiana? Didn’t Florida already try that with Billy Napier? There was a sense of depression hanging over the program Many fans treated the hire like Florida had gone shopping for a Ferrari and driven home on a pawn shop bicycle. But something funny has happened since then. Sumrall has completely changed the energy around the program, while Kiffin has spent the offseason setting his own reputation on fire yet again Sumrall has injected urgency accountability and toughness into a program that desperately needed all three. He’s recruiting like his hair is on fire. Florida currently sits with the No. 7 recruiting class in the nation. He’s energized donors. He’s re-engaged a fan base that had become emotionally numb. And maybe most importantly he doesn’t sound like a coach trying to manage perceptions. He sounds like a football coach trying to fix a football team. That matters, especially after the sterile corporate monotony of the Napier era Sumrall hasn’t hidden the fact that he inherited a soft program.

“I can’t speak to what went on last year,” Sumrall told me a couple of months ago. “I just feel that what I ﬁrst experienced around this team (when he arrived) was way too casual for me, too nonchalant. I didn’t feel the urgency and intent initially.” That’s not coach-speak That’s confrontation, and it’s exactly what Florida fans have been starving for Shortly after arriving, Sumrall stripped the iconic Gator-head logo from team-issued apparel.

“Gotta earn it. Gotta earn the logo,” Sumrall said. “We ain’t earned it yet. We haven’t earned a damn thing.” And unlike so many modern coaches who tiptoe around entitled players who earn sevenﬁgure salaries, Sumrall sounds refreshingly unapologetic about demanding more of his mercenary millionaires.

“I’ve got expectations to win every game we play,” Sumrall said a few days ago on the Action Sports Jax podcast. “I’m not comfortable with anybody going, ‘Hey how many games are you comfortable winning this year?’ If anybody tells me bowl eligible, we’d better be, or I’ll be at the top of the stadium getting ready to do something stupid. To me, you have to have urgency every day As soon as you put a ceiling or a cap on what you can do and start to think with limits in mind, you’re automatically handicapping yourself For me, our expectations are for our guys to expect to win every freaking time that we take the ﬁeld.”

Now let’s compare that energy to the chaos surrounding Kifﬁn right now His exit from Ole Miss already turned him into one of the biggest villains in college football.

COMMENTARY

Hamlin beats Briscoe at Dover in All-Star Race

ByTheAssociated Press

The Rebels were enjoying the greatest season of the modern era and preparing for the College Football Playoff when Kifﬁn bolted for LSU in spectacularly messy fashion.

He reportedly fought with administrators over whether he could continue coaching Ole Miss during the playoff while simultaneously taking over a direct SEC rival. Staff members were caught in the middle. Players were blindsided. The entire thing looked less like a professional transition and more like a reality television meltdown.

And then this week came perhaps the most tone-deaf moment yet. In a Vanity Fair interview, Kifﬁn tried explaining why LSU is easier to recruit to than Ole Miss, essentially saying some Black recruits and their families didn’t want to play in Oxford, Mississippi, because of the school’s racial history

Factually, he’s not entirely wrong. Politically, socially and publicly, though, it was an absolute disaster because Kifﬁn coached at Ole Miss for six years and never once seemed interested in publicly discussing Mississippi’s complicated racial history while cashing paychecks and winning games there. Now suddenly, he talks as if LSU is the Stanford of the South in terms of diversity and progressiveness.

Kifﬁn is like the employee who leaves Applebee’s for Chili’s and suddenly brags about the international cuisine.

The comments reopened every uncomfortable conversation tied to Ole Miss and Mississippi’s past — the Confederate imagery, the old “Dixie” traditions, Colonel Reb and even the origins of the “Ole Miss” nickname itself. Whether Kifﬁn intended it or not, he walked directly into a cultural mineﬁeld while simultaneously making himself look opportunistic and self-serving

That’s the problem with Kifﬁn. He’s brilliant offensively. He’s magnetic. He’s entertaining. But eventually the storm always follows him. Drama follows him. Chaos follows him. Self-inﬂicted wounds follow him.

Florida fans wanted the Lane Train because they were desperate for excitement, but excitement and stability are not the same thing

Meanwhile, Sumrall seems to be trying to build something that at least appears rooted in discipline, toughness and accountability.

While Kifﬁn takes hot yoga classes, Sumrall is lifting weights at 6 a.m. with his players.

What Sumrall seems to understand is that the Gators lost their edge and their identity years ago. They stopped looking hungry and, too often, looked comfortable being mediocre. Sumrall finds that unacceptable. Will any of this guarantee victories? Of course not. The SEC doesn’t care about offseason culture victories. Florida still has to beat Georgia, survive nine SEC games and prove it can matter nationally again. And maybe Kiffin wins huge at LSU while Sumrall flames out in three years. That’s entirely possible

But sitting here today five months after Florida fans thought the sky was falling because Kiffin said no — it suddenly feels possible that the Gators may have ended up with the better fit after all.

DOVER, Del In the debut of the All-Star Race at Dover Motor Speedway, the Monster Mile lived up to its billing as one of NASCAR’s most treacherous tracks.

Even for winner Denny Hamlin, surviving Dover was a high-wire test for the $1 million prize.

Rebounding from a qualifying spin to start from the pole position, Hamlin steered clear of trouble on Sunday for his second NASCAR All-Star Race victory. He led the final 30 laps and outdueled Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe while avoiding the eight caution flags that involved 23 of 36 drivers in the field, which was inverted after the first 75-lap segment.

“It makes it a lot easier when you’ve got a car this fast,” said Hamlin, whose No. 11 Toyota led a race-high 103 of 200 laps in the last segment “We strive to be No. 1, and we did it today. It really challenged us to have to go through trafﬁc, but I deﬁnitely like the invert. Obviously, it caused some chaos there and took out some good cars, but overall, it’s a typical All-Star Race when that stuff happens.”

Briscoe finished 0.887 seconds behind Hamlin with a No. 19 Toyota that was heavily damaged in a practice crash Saturday

“It was obviously a really fast car,” Briscoe said after his career-best second in the AllStar Race. “I’m just proud of our group. I knocked the wall down in practice, and we basically rebuilt the whole car So for them to be able to just get the car back to where it was competitive, it says a lot about the guys.”

It’s the third consecutive win

SAINTS

Continued from page 1B

anniversary of one of the franchise’s biggest games.

But if the Saints feel as if they deserve more of the spotlight, they wouldn’t be alone. Five teams didn’t even get one prime-time game including the Tennessee Titans, who were shut out for the second straight year

Gone are the days when teams would automatically be rewarded with a night game.

The league changed that rule eight years ago, North said. These days, the league aims to schedule its most compelling matchups in prime time with the right to swap out for another matchup later in the year if the “crystal ball” isn’t as clear as the league had hoped.

“Anybody else who felt like they didn’t get as much national television exposure as they were hoping to, that’s what ﬂexible scheduling is for,” North said. “That’s why we put it in. That’s why we work with our partners every year to ensure that the teams that have played their way into bigger television windows have an opportunity to get rewarded when we get into November or December.”

Last year, Saints general manager Mickey Loomis admitted he was “surprised” at the league’s decision to shut out the team from prime time. “That’s what the league thinks of us,” he told reporters at the team’s annual celebrity golf tournament. But the executive also acknowledged the team couldn’t complain about the snub. The Saints would just have to go out and earn those opportu-

on the 1-mile oval for Hamlin, who won points races at Dover in 2024 and last year He also started from the pole when he won the All-Star Race in 2015 at Charlotte Motor Speedway At 45, Hamlin became the secondoldest winner of the All-Star Race after Mark Martin (who was 46 in 2005).

Erik Jones, who was involved in a nine-car crash to end the ﬁrst segment, completed a top-three sweep by Toyota, followed by Austin Dillon and rookie Connor Zilisch.

Several crashes during the ﬁrst two 75-lap segments collected more than half the 36-car field.

There were 19 drivers locked into the 200-lap dash for $1 million but Chase Elliott and Ross Chastain still were eliminated because their cars could not be repaired, and backups weren’t allowed.

The field was narrowed to 26 cars for the ﬁnal segment Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Bubba Wallace and Christopher Bell started the last stage with cars that were damaged and slower than the rest.

Larson retired from the race with 60 laps remaining because of a power steering failure.

By winning an online fan vote, Daniel Suarez advanced to the ﬁnal segment with a damaged car and ﬁnished four laps down.

Untimely exits

Elliott, voted eight times as the most popular driver in the Cup Series, was knocked out after his No. 9 Chevrolet was caught in two wrecks during the first segment.

“It was pretty wild,” said Elliott, the 2020 Cup Series champion and 2020 All-Star Race win-

nities, he said.

A year later, the Saints would likely be the ﬁrst ones to admit they still haven’t fully reached that point. Throughout the offseason, Loomis and other members of the organization have cautioned against reading too much into the team’s four-game win streak down the stretch. The Saints ultimately ﬁnished 6-11, a one-win improvement from 2024.

Of course that record surpassed many of the expectations that predicted the Saints to be one of the worst teams in the NFL. But that alone doesn’t guarantee multiple spots in prime time.

“There’s a lot of talk about everything, but for me, I want to keep getting better,” Shough said last month. “I only played nine games I haven’t really shown anything yet.”

If there is an argument that the Saints did deserve more of a showcase, the case would start

ner “I hate to get caught up in that I knew better I saw it getting crazy I should have bailed.” Chastain was eliminated in a three-car crash on the sixth lap of the second segment.

“Bummer, because we thought we executed that ﬁrst stage really well,” Chastain said. “We weren’t passing anybody, but we were able to maintain, which has not been the case for this downforce package. The car drove a lot better, so a lot to look forward to if we can take another step like that.”

Early crash

The event got off to a ﬁery start with a Lap 2 crash that involved three former All-Star Race winners. The wreck was triggered by Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing driver Ryan Preece, who came down the banking in Turn 1 and made contact with Todd Gilliland.

Larson, a three-time All-Star Race winner, hit the wall in his No. 5 Chevrolet after colliding with Gilliland’s No. 34 Ford. The pileup also included past All-Star winners and series champions Blaney and Elliott, as well as Daniel Suarez, John Hunter Nemechek and Michael McDowell.

Preece’s No. 60 Ford made a heavy impact with the outside wall, causing the rear end to erupt in ﬂames. Preece climbed out unscathed and was quickly seen and released from the track’s inﬁeld care center “I’m fine, I seem to take big hits,” said Preece, who was involved in a memorable rollover in the August 2023 race at Daytona. “I don’t know what happened. But if it was anything, it was probably just too close on my part to go into Turn 1 and just got sideways. So if it was my fault, I’m sorry.”

with Shough. Promising young quarterbacks not only bring hope, they sell games. Look at the New York Giants, who were rewarded with four prime-time games after Jaxson Dart’s promising rookie season. And in his case, Shough ﬁnished ahead of Dart in voting for Offensive Rookie of the Year

But there are differences. This offseason, the Giants notably hired John Harbaugh a bigname coach who figures to provide a baseline of competence that should keep the Giants more competitive in that spotlight. And there’s no doubt New York is a bigger market than New Orleans, even if market size doesn’t solely factor into being awarded primetime contests. (The New York Jets were surprisingly not given a night game.)

And at least Shough was fortunate enough that the Saints will get to play on “Monday Night Football.”

Neither Tennessee’s Cam Ward nor Las Vegas’ Fernando Mendoza the ﬁrst overall picks in backto-back drafts — saw their teams get chosen for prime time.

“Not to be ﬂip, but we don’t draft our way into prime time,” North said. For the Saints’ perception to truly change, they simply have to start winning again.

Case in point: the Jacksonville Jaguars. Though they’re another small-market team, Jacksonville’s dramatic turnaround in 2025 left networks clamoring.

The Jaguars were awarded three prime-time spots after having just one last season.

“They earned them,” North said. “You play your way into prime time.”

FILE PHoTo By DAVID GRUNFELD Saints quarterback Tyler Shough takes a snap against the New york Jets during the first half of a game on Dec. 21 at the Caesars Superdome.

ASSoCIATED PRESS PHoTo By DERIK HAMILToN

Denny Hamlin celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR All-Star race at Dover Motor Speedway on Sunday in Dover, Del.

STAFF PHoTo By SoPHIA GERMER Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall walks on the sidelines during the first half of a College Football Playoff game against ole Miss at Vaught Hemingway Stadium in oxford, Miss. on Dec. 20.

Kiffin

“I just told him, I hope today is the last day off he ever has at LSU,” Johnson said. “Unfortunately, we’re in a position (where) you can make that decision that’s deﬁnitely best for him.”

Serna has been dealing with a back injury since the South Carolina series He sat out LSU’s ﬁnal midweek game against Tulane because of the ailment

Johnson said that he’ll be ready to go on Tuesday against Oklahoma.

“It’s probably better to get him in position to play on Tuesday,” Johnson said, “and try to play as many games as we can there than use him today.”

Eye-popping pitching stats

Without Schmidt or Evans available to start this weekend, matters got even worse for LSU on the mound.

Florida pushed 37 runs across the board across the three-game series. LSU pitchers surrendered 35 earned runs in 25 innings, posting a 12.60 ERA with 23 walks and 10 home runs allowed.

It was a continuation of the Tigers’ struggles last week in Athens, Georgia, when they registered a 14.32 ERA against Georgia. But their issues on the mound extend past the last two weeks.

In the ﬁve series in which LSU has been swept over the last six weeks, the pitching staff had a 10.46 ERA, walked 103 batters and gave up 38 home runs in 123 innings.

“I believe in some of the pitchers that can return, but they have to get better They have to get a lot better,” Johnson said. “And they know it, and they want to get better And we’re going to make sure that we do

everything in our power to put them in a position to be successful. And I think there are guys that can be a lot better than they are.”

Was that it for Milam?

If Saturday was Steven Milam’s ﬁnal game at Alex Box Stadium, the Tigers shortstop ﬁnished it off with a bang. The junior went 2-for-5 with a three-run home run in his last at-bat in the ninth inning.

But what if that wasn’t it for Milam? He didn’t crack MLB.com’s top-150 draft rankings, and he didn’t make The Athletic’s top100 draft prospects list either

Since the question has been raised, Johnson has insisted that there is no chance that Milam will return to school. But LSU fans on Saturday still chanted “one more year” during his at-bat in the eighth inning.

“Somebody’s going to give him $2 million,” Johnson said. “I mean, I appreciate (the chant).

“He loves it here. That’s the one thing we have going for us.

It’s just, I don’t think 30 teams are going to mess it up.”

The stakes vs. Oklahoma Oklahoma came into the week as a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament field, meaning that its spot in the tourney was secure even after losing two of three games to Tennessee this weekend

There’s not a lot riding on Tuesday’s game for the Sooners, since their odds of hosting a regional are next to nothing. But don’t be surprised if Oklahoma turns to its usual Friday starter, right-hander LJ Mercurius, on Tuesday Mercurius only threw one inning in relief against Tennessee on Saturday

Email Koki Riley at koki.riley@ theadvocate.com For more LSU sports updates, sign up for our newsletter at theadvocate. com/lsunewsletter

RABALAIS

Continued from page 1B

But the Hokies, the Tigers and everyone watching knew this was something huge, something too big for Virginia Tech to overcome The kind of moment that so often deﬁnes monumental victories, like the 7-2 decision that went LSU’s way Sunday afternoon.

“I tell them all the time,” LSU coach Beth Torina said. “That’s the kind of play you’re going to have to have on the way to the (Women’s) College World Series.”

The Tigers are still many miles away from the Women’s College World Series. There’s ﬁrst the matter of a little detour to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, this coming weekend to take on Alabama, the No. 1 overall seed in the entire NCAA tournament, in the super regional round But to the victor go the spoils. And the dreams. After the way the Tigers (40-17) played and pitched this weekend, outscoring Akron and Virginia Tech twice by a combined tally of 232, why not dial up the imagination as big as it can go?

“We trained all season for this moment,” senior catcher Maci Bergeron said, clearly not willing to let it end now One of the things you need to make a deep run into the softball or baseball postseason is pitching depth. LSU displayed a bumper crop of that in the pitcher’s circle this weekend. The Tigers got complete game shutouts in the ﬁrst two games from Jayden Heavener and Cece Cellura to zip up the Zips and handle the Hokies in matching 8-0, 8-0 run-rule decisions.

ASSoCIATED PRESS PHoTo By MARK J.TERRILL

Ohtani getting on track with season-high 5 RBIs vs. Angels

BY DAN GREENSPAN Associated Press

ANAHEIM, Calif

A few days off seems to have helped Shohei Ohtani get on track as the Los Angeles Dodgers slugger drove in a season-high ﬁve runs against his old team Saturday night.

Ohtani went 2 for 4 with two walks and scored two runs in the Dodgers’ 15-2 win over the Angels — and even had a Little League home run in the eighth inning.

“We were hoping to get a reset with a couple days off,” manager Dave Roberts said, “and I think that’s what happened.”

Virginia Tech touched LSU Sunday starter Paytn Monticelli — a vagabond right-hander with previous stints at Wisconsin and Oklahoma for two early runs. But after a two-out RBI single from Foster in the second inning, Monticelli set down the ﬁnal 16 Hokies, a streak that owed its existence to Franklin’s ﬁreworks.

“I saw her smile in the third inning,” Torina said of Monticelli, “and I said, ‘All right, we’re good.’ ” Good may not be good enough for the Tigers to survive a super regional test at Alabama (51-7), a team that LSU did not face in the regular season or the SEC tournament. But that’s a worry for another day Sunday was a day for the Tigers to give thanks for their 11th super regional appearance. They’re still two huge wins short of returning to the WCWS for the first time in nine years. But the point is, they made it this far One year earlier, Torina was fighting through the emotions and her players were fighting back tears after getting eliminated from another home NCAA regional by two losses to upstart in-state rival Southeastern. It is fun being the Goliath in the state until David shows up with a loaded slingshot.

In this regional, this year David had to go look for another mark somewhere else, as the seat everyone ﬁgured was getting hot in Torina’s ofﬁce is now turned cool once again. The Tigers are moving on to the next weekend, one of the last 16 teams still playing Still looking for that next special, momentum-making play “I hope we have one next weekend,” Torina said, with a smile that will last all the way from Tiger Park to Tuscaloosa.

Jo Adell didn’t play the ball at first, calling for a ground-rule double. But when no ruling was made, Adell was left trying to play catchup. His throw into the inﬁeld wasn’t on target, allowing Ohtani to score on the error after a two-run triple.

The netting down to both foul poles is a new addition to Angel Stadium this season and was not here when Ohtani won two American League MVP awards in six seasons with the Angels from 2018-23.

“I just kept running,” Ohtani said through a translator in a postgame television interview

With another large contingent of Dodgers fans in attendance for the second game of the three-game Freeway Series, Ohtani got back to his highlight-reel self late in the game. He ripped a ball into the right ﬁeld corner in the eighth and it took an awkward bounce off the netting down the ﬁrst-base line.

Angels manager Kurt Suzuki challenged the play in vain, hoping a fan had touched the ball when it hit the net before going back into play

Ohtani then cracked a double with the bases loaded in the ninth, drawing “MVP” chants while notching his first game with five RBIs since June 22, 2025. It was his third extra-base hit in two games, including a double in the ﬁfth inning on Friday, after getting one in the ﬁrst 12 games in May

The loss of power started during an 0-for-17 slump from April 29-May 4.

“Just happy to be performing in front of both Dodger fans and Angels fans,” Ohtani said. “I’m really happy I was able to contribute a lot today.”

REGIONAL

Continued from page 1B

LSU didn’t even make it to Sunday in last year’s regional, falling twice to No. 4 seed Southeastern. After a slow start against a tough schedule, it finished strong and took it up a notch once the regionals began with run-rule victories in the ﬁrst two games.

“We trained all season long for this moment this weekend,” said Bergeron, who had six hits in 10 at-bats in her ﬁnal performance before the home fans. “I’m super proud of everyone. We executed and had a lot of energy in the dugout. I couldn’t ask for a better team and coaching staff to be around.”

Virginia Tech (48-12) took an early 2-0 lead with single runs in the ﬁrst and second innings, but Monticelli (9-3) did not allow another base runner She struck out two and walked none despite some early butterﬂies.

“I was nervous,” said Monticelli, whose path led from Wisconsin to Oklahoma and finally Baton Rouge. “Butterﬂies, it was all good feelings I wasn’t playing scared. It was easy to settle in after that ﬁrst inning because my teammates had my back and gave me the breathing room. I needed to take a breath, take a second and realize I was OK.”

Torina, who spent her first game in the third base coaching box this season, said she knew Monticelli would be OK when she “saw her smile” after the second run. “After the two runs, she slowed down,” Torina said. “Her pace was super fast the first two innings. I got on her a little bit. When I saw her smile, I thought ‘Oh, we’re good, we’re fine, she’s smiling.’

The Tigers put up four runs in the third in a rally started by Lassiter’s solo home run to left ﬁeld. Bergeron drilled a two-run single to make it 3-0 before Ally Hutchins added a run-scoring double.

RBIs by Lassiter and Sierra Daniel in the ﬁfth padded the lead and

another run scored on an error in the sixth. LSU had 12 hits and at least two baserunners in every inning, keeping up the pressure with four walks and a hit batter Monticelli made it stand up, cruising through the order with a strong pitching mix and flawless defense, highlighted by Alix Franklin’s home run-robbing catch at the right-ﬁeld wall in the ﬁfth. Franklin snagged the ball before crashing into the wall on a high drive by Addison Foster Lassiter ran over from center field and bear-hugged her afterward.

“Jalia and I have practiced balls at the wall I don’t know how many times,” said Franklin, who was moved to tears recalling the hug from her teammate. “Shout out to Easton (Lonibos) who hits them to us. I couldn’t believe it. It was so awesome, I had never played outfield before. To make that catch was really cool.”

LSU pitching held the Hokies, who entered the regional ﬁfth in the nation with 105 dingers without a homer in 13 innings.

STAFF PHoTo By MICHAEL JoHNSoN LSU shortstop Kylee Edwards, left, chest bumps right ﬁelder Alix Franklin after the pair scored runs against Virginia Tech in the third inning of an NCAA regional championship game on Sunday.

STAFF PHoTo By MICHAEL JoHNSoN

LSU center ﬁelder Jalia Lassiter holds the bracket while celebrating with teammates after defeating Virginia Tech in the NCAA regional championship game on Sunday at Tiger Park LSU won 7-2 to advance to the super regional round in Alabama.

Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei ohtani hits a two-run triple during the eighth inning of a game against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday in Anaheim, Calif.

THEDEPTHS OF HISTORY

This steamboathad multiple identities before sinkinginBayou Teche. What’s itsstory?

BY ROBIN MILLER Staff writer

Stories of Civil War gunboatbattles along Bayou Teche havenot been lost to history

After all, the bayou was a vital economic artery in south Louisiana, as well as agateway into the state’sinterior, which made it acontested route between theUnionand Confederacy.So, Josh Hall wasn’tatall surprised to learn that aformer armored Civil Warboat is buried beneath the bayou’smuddy bottom and bank in New Iberia.

Still, he wasn’tfamiliar with the boat’shistory

“This boat was called theTeche, but that was just oneofits identities,”the Lafayette reader said.“I’velooked it up, and I’m ﬁndingthat it wentby several names, anditwas used fora different purpose undereach of those names. And now it’sburiedinBayou Teche. What’s its story?”

Neverskirmished

Though Bayou Techeisthis boat’s ﬁnal resting place, it neverskirmished on the southwestLouisiana waterway. And its connection to the state really begins at the end ofits story when, in 2005, New Iberia architect Paul Allain

discovered its wreckage.

According to theCharles E. Pearson’sreport in the 2006 Bulletin of theLouisiana Archaeological Society, theboat, called the “Teche,” was discovered in November 2005 during construction of abulkhead for aproposed marinesewagepump-out facilityalong the bayou in New Iberia.

Pearson’sreport said Allain was overseeing the project, which was funded by theUnited States Fish and Wildlife Service and the Louisiana Division of Wildlife and Fisheries.

“The wreckage was discovered on the ﬁrst day of construction when thecontractor recognized apiece of boat structure in thematerial being removed from Bayou Teche with a

Ahistorical marker along the NewIberia Boardwalkat Weeks Street commemorates the site of the sunken steamboat Teche in the Bayou Teche. The boat servedinboth the Confederate and Union navies during the CivilWar and wasused as atransport boat at the timeofits wreck.

PRoVIDED PHoTo By THE HISToRICAL MARKERDATABASE

bucket dredge,”Pearson wrote.

Coastal Environments Inc., of Baton Rouge, was then hired to research the sitein2006 to determine its National Register eligibility.The wreck has since been designated the “New Iberia Shipwreck,” aLouisiana archaeological site at thefoot of Weeks Street on thewestern side of Bayou Teche.

Beneath4feetofmud

Today,the wreck is nestled beneath 4feet of mud at Bayou Teche Boardwalk at Weeks Street in New Iberia’s historic district.It’scommemorated by ahistorical marker installed by the Iberia Parish Convention and Visitors Bureau.

ä See CURIOUS, page 2C

Artistsreunite on Dayofthe Dead in newMet Opera

BYMIKE SILVERMAN Associated Press

Racked by unrelenting pain, Mexicanpainter FridaKahlo wrote in her diary shortly before she died: “I joyfully await the exit —and hope never to return. Yetreturn she does —if only brieﬂy —onthe Day of the Deadin“El Último Sueño de Frida yDiego” (“The Last Dream of Frida and Diego”),

aSpanish-language opera receiving its Metropolitan Opera premiere this May The opera, with libretto by playwright Nilo Cruz and music by Gabriela Lena Frank, imagines Kahlo’sspectral reunionthree years afterher death with Diego Rivera, the great Mexican muralist with whom shehad atempestuous romantic relationship

ä See OPERA, page 2C

In shelters, newborn kittensare uniquely vulnerable

Aworkshop aims to change that

BY MAURAFOX TheSan DiegoUnion-Tribune (TNS)

Isabel Leonard as Frida Kalho, foreground center,and Carlos Álvarez as DiegoRivera performinarehearsal for ‘ElÚltimo Sueño de Frida yDiego’atthe Metropolitan opera in Newyork

PHoTo By MARTy SoHL/ METRoPoLITAN oPERA

SAN DIEGO It was about17 yearsago that Hannah Shaw found ablack kitten stuck in a tree in aPhiladelphia park. She didn’tknow how to care for the little cat,which had one of its eyes sealed shut with an infection —but her friend advised her not to bring it to alocal animal shelter,where it could be euthanized forits young age. So she adopted it and named it Coconut, or Coco forshort. It’s theclassic story—a kitten rescued after getting stuck in a tree— andit could have endedthere

But forShaw, the moment set her lifeon anew track, one focused on helping especially young kittens that require around-theclock specialized care.

29%

The share of deaths by neonatal kittens —under 4 weeks old—at catshelters, which was the largest share.

“(Coco) was my best friend for15years,” Shaw said. “She’s the reason that Iopened my eyes to this issue.”

Shaw is now the founder of the Orphan Kitten Club, aSan Diego-based nonproﬁt she started in 2016 dedicated to providing kitten resources to animal shelters around the country,including funding for stafﬁng, kitten formulaand medical treatment At the beginning of the month, Orphan Kitten Club partnered with the San Diego Humane Society for athree-day workshop for11animalshelters to learn techniques for caring fornewborn kittensuptoeight weeks old, the time in acat’slifewhen it’smost vulnerable. In 2025, neonatal kittens under 4weeks old—accounted for the largest share of cat deaths in animal shelters in the U.S., at 29%,according to ShelterAnimals Countdata. Weaned kittens, from 4to8weeks old, accounted foranother 21%.

“This populationhas been categorized as unhealthy and untreatable,” Shaw said. “So Orphan Kitten Club exists to change that.”

After Shaw rescued Coco, she became her neighborhood’sgoto whenever akitten was found in need —somuchthatshe was dubbed “the kitten lady,” anamethat has stuck over the years. Entirely self-taught and with adegree in psychology, she’swritten several books and offers educational materials on kitten care on her website.

The Orphan Kitten Club’s workshop at the Humane Society providedparticipants an education on several subjects, including how to bottle-train kittens without mothers, tactics forpreventing and treating diseases and how to build engagement with foster families for the kittens. Such kittensare achallenging demographic to care for, Shaw explained. They need to be fed every two hours, andsome are so dependent they can’tregulate their ownbody temperature. They’re especially susceptible to infection, and their rate of decline is faster than an adult cat if they do get sick —sokeeping themina clean environment is also important.

That can be easier saidthan done, especially at ashelter

“An animal shelter is where a

ä See KITTENS, page 2C

PRoVIDED IMAGE

Though thisisaphotoofthe gunboat USS Mound City, this is howthe USSTensas, later renamed theTeche, appeared in the Union Navy fleet after it was converted into atinclad gunboat.

By The Associated Press

Today is Monday, May 18, the 138th day of 2026. There are 227 days left in the year

Today in history: On May 18, 1980, the Mount St. Helens volcano in Washington state erupted, leaving an estimated 57 people dead or missing.

Also on this date:

In 1863, the Siege of Vicksburg began during the Civil War, ending on July 4 with a Union victory that gave its forces control of the Mississippi River In 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Plessy v. Ferguson, endorsed “separate but equal” racial segregation (The decision was reversed in 1954 by Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.) In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a measure creating the Tennessee Valley Authority, the largest

CURIOUS

Continued from page 1C

That’s where it is now but how did it get there?

The vessel’s story begins in 1860 as a sidewheel steamboat called the Tom Sugg, which operated as a merchant vessel in Arkansas. In records compiled by the Encyclopedia of Arkansas the vessel measured more than 91 feet long and 22 feet wide. By the spring of 1862, the boat was commissioned the CSS Tom Sugg, serving in the Confederate Navy’s ﬂeet in Arkansas.

“Captain John W. Dunnington ‘armored’ it with cotton bales and mounted an 8-inch cannon on its bow so that it could be used against Major General Samuel R. Curtis’ Army of the Southwest,” the Encyclopedia of Arkansas continues. “While there are no reports that the Tom Sugg saw action during this period, it continued to serve the Confederacy on the White and Little Red rivers.” That is, until 1863, when Union Forces captured and conﬁscated it on the White River, then transported it to the U.S. Naval Base in Cairo, Illinois.

“The navy purchased it from an Illinois prize court for $7,000 on September 29, 1863, at the urging of Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter, who said that the steamboat was ‘an excellent

KITTENS

Continued from page 1C

lot of sick animals go,” Shaw said. “When a baby kitten comes in, it’s kind of like bringing your newborn to a music festival.”

That’s why the Orphan Kitten Club aims to teach animal shelter staff how to support young kittens and give them the best chance at life.

Kitten season — when the most kittens are born typically lasts during the warmer months from the spring through fall, but in San Diego

public utility in America. In 1973 Harvard law professor Archibald Cox was appointed Watergate special prosecutor by U.S. Attorney General Elliot Richardson. In 1981 the New York Native, a biweekly newspaper directed toward gay men and lesbians, carried a story informing of “an exotic new disease” among LGBTQ+ people; it was the ﬁrst published report about what came to be known as AIDS. In 1998, the U.S. government ﬁled an antitrust case against Microsoft, saying the powerful software company had a “choke hold” on competitors that was denying consumers important choices about how they bought and used computers. (The Justice Department and Microsoft reached a settlement in 2001.)

In 2018, a Boeing 737 chartered by Cuba’s nation-

vessel, and will make one of our most useful gunboats,’ the Tom Sugg’s name was changed to (USS) Tensas,” the encyclopedia states.

Didn’t see action here

Though the USS Tensas didn’t see action in Louisiana, Porter, the admiral who sang the boat’s praises, was a signiﬁcant ﬁgure in the Union’s 1864 Red River Campaign that stretched through the state.

While Gen. Nathaniel Banks commanded the Union Army’s failed effort that resulted in the burning of Alexandria, Porter headed the U.S. Navy, whose ﬂeet of 14 ironclads and 20 tinclads found themselves stranded in Alexandria on the north side of the Red River’s rapids during low water season

This situation resulted in Union Col. Joseph Bailey’s construction of a makeshift dam that rose water levels just high enough to get the boats to the other side of the rapids. Though it was an embarrassment to the Navy, Bailey’s feat is still considered a military engineering masterpiece today

It was Porter who, a year before the Red River Campaign, encouraged the navy to convert the USS Tensas to a tinclad gunboat and arm it with a pair of 24-pounder howitzers The boat was commissioned on Jan. 1, 1865, in Mound City, Illinois, and Acting Master E.C. Van

it can be year-round thanks to the mild weather, Shaw said.

“It’s a really interesting city for kittens,” she said.

“We have some of the highest need but also some of the best resources.”

Fostering young kittens can be a game-changer since they need regular care and it gives them the chance socialize with other cats Many can’t be adopted until they’re eight weeks old Shaw encourages people to sign up to be fosters — and to call local organizations like the Feral Cat Coalition to come spay and neuter cats in the community to ad-

al airline from a Mexican company crashed a short distance from Havana’s Jose Marti Airport, killing all but one of 113 people on board. Cuban aviation ofﬁcials later said errors in calculating the weight and balance of the plane led the crew to lose control of the aircraft during takeoff. Today’s birthdays: Baseball Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson is 80. Musician Rick Wakeman (Yes) is 77. Musician-composer Mark Mothersbaugh (Devo) is 76. Country musician George Strait is 74. Actor Chow Yun-Fat is 71. Hockey Hall of Famer Jari Kurri is 66.

Tennis Hall of Famer Yannick Noah is 66. Comedianwriter Tina Fey is 56. Rock singer Jack Johnson is 51. Figure skater Alina Zagitova is 24. Heisman Trophy

winner Travis Hunter is 23.

Actor Hala Finley is 17.

Pelt commanded it on the Mississippi River for the remainder of the war

Then came the boat’s third and ﬁnal iteration as the Teche, along with its journey to its bayou namesake. Brought to New Iberia

The Tensas was hauled back to Mound City after the war, where it was decommissioned on Aug. 7, 1865. Shortly after New Iberia businessman E.B. Trinidad of New Iberia bought it at auction for $6,200.

He was the one who renamed the boat the Teche and used it to transport goods through his Attakapas Mail Transportation Co. It wrecked and sank in Bayou Teche in 1868. And that’s where it’s been since.

Author Shane K. Bernard, in his 2016 book, “Teche: A History of Louisiana’s Most Famous Bayou,” states that “parts of the vessel have been excavated, including a section of the keel.”

But the remainder continues to rest in a muddy grave beneath the murky waters of the Bayou Teche.

Do you have a question about something in Louisiana that’s got you curious? Email your question to curiouslouisiana@ theadvocate.com. Include your name, phone number and the city where you live.

dress the problem at its root.

“There’s too many coming in,” she said.

She hopes the Orphan Kitten Club can expand to a point where the work isn’t so needed. She says she does it less for the love of cats — she doesn’t like cats any more than any other animal — than to serve as a bridge to get the kittens stable.

“It’s about recognizing a vulnerable state that somebody is in,” she said. “Once you get to 8 weeks, it’s all smooth sailing. So it’s like building this bridge to get them there. That’s what it’s about for me.”

In a twist on the Orpheus legend, Rivera has grown weary of life without Kahlo and — on the holiday that honors the dead and welcomes the return of their spirits — he summons her from the underworld in the hope they may be eternally reunited.

For mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard, who stars as Kahlo, the opera is “a journey of emotions that every human can possess, told through the lens or perspective of iconic humans that many of us admire.”

Joining her in the cast are baritone Carlos Álvarez as Rivera, soprano Gabriella Reyes as Catrina, gatekeeper to the underworld, and countertenor Nils Wanderer as Leonardo, a spirit who impersonates Greta Garbo. Met music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts six of the seven performances Thursday through June 5, with the May 30 matinee broadcast to cinemas worldwide in HD.

Two decades in the making

The idea for the work dates back more than 20 years, when the late Joel Revzen, then director of the Arizona Opera, asked Frank to write an opera about Kahlo.

The collaborators agreed they wanted to avoid conventional approaches and instead leaned into magical realism.

“I wasn’t interested in writing a biopic,” Cruz said. “We had the movie with Salma Hayek and I’d seen a couple of monologues that had to do with Frida and her life.

“So this whole concept of Diego approaching the end of his life, especially on the Day of the Dead, I thought was interesting,” he said. “I think opera should be bigger than life, so anything that’s mythical makes for a good opera.”

In setting Cruz’s text, Frank said she steered away from melodies and rhythms that would too closely echo

ographer Deborah Colker and set designer Jon Bausor — to create a new production Bausor and Wilberth Gonzalez collaborated on the costumes.

“It’s not anything against the original,” Gelb said. “But when you have a work as important and appealing as this there’s no reason why there shouldn’t be more than one production. It’s a sign of its artistic success.”

Finding inspiration

traditional Latin music.

“What I wanted to convey instead was something very colorful, something that sounded otherworldly, sometimes ancient,” she said

“You will hear a lot of instruments you won’t always hear in opera,” Frank said.

“The marimba is in almost every scene It might be covering the clarinet line or the voice and you didn’t realize it was there. But it makes it sound to me as if it’s from Central America.”

In praising the score, New Yorker critic Alex Ross wrote that “the challenge of intermingling biography and myth might have defeated a less adroit composer One can imagine a score cluttered with Mexican folkloric effects and supernatural noises. Instead, Frank establishes a dreamlike, liminal mood from the start.”

‘Ainadamar’ team reunion

The opera had its COVIDdelayed premiere in San Diego in 2022. It was a huge success, and the original production has been performed in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and elsewhere.

When the Met decided to stage it, general manager Peter Gelb hired the team that worked on Osvaldo Golijov’s “Ainadamar” in 2024 — director and chore-

Bausor said his inspiration for the set design was an oil painting by Kahlo titled “Tree of Hope, Remain Strong” that depicts two Fridas. One shows her in an elegant Mexican dress seated on a hospital gurney that rests on cracked earth. Another Frida lies behind her on the gurney, swaddled in sheets with angry red stitches in her back — a reminder of the constant pain she suffered after a 1925 bus collision with a streetcar

There’s no literal tree in the painting, but the title gave Bausor the idea for one of the centerpieces of his set: a large, blood red tree with twisting branches and roots that resemble arteries of the human body The sides and rear of the stage are draped in recycled

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Put your energy to work for you. Focus on finishing what you start and surpassing expectations. An open mind and stellar plan will push you to the winner's circle.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Knowledge and experience are powerful, and your ability to dance circles around others will help you gain momentum and add value to your portfolio. Thinking ahead will help you stay in front of the crowd.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Look at every angle of a situation before you get involved. A disciplined attitude will give you the leverage necessary to zigzag your way to victory.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Everything is yours to discover if you open your eyes, ask questions and use your imagination to create the life and conditions you wish for. Choose to act instead of taking the path that leads nowhere.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Ask questions, and consider the outcome of a change before you commit. Nothing will be as it appears. A last-minute adjustment will signal that you should probably take a step back and reconsider your next move.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Live and learn. Experience is what you gain when you communicate, volunteer and initiate changes that will jump-start a lull in your life. Be the one to stoke the flame and make people think.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Put your energy into discovery, learning and verifying information to ensure you make head-

way instead of creating chaos. Look for opportunities to travel or learn something new.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Consider how to balance situations by implementing lifestyle changes that complement what you are trying to achieve without jeopardizing what those you love are struggling with.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Don't trust hearsay; get what you want in writing Someone will use false advertising to attract attention. Don't buy into someone else's inflated version of what's possible.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Make things happen. You're sitting in an excellent position, so don't waste time. A lifestyle change will boost your energy, mood and idea of what you want your schedule to look like.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Take a moment to analyze the situations around you before you participate. Problems will erupt at home as well as when you indulge in conversations that involve your beliefs, passions and people you love.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) Originality, drive and desire will help you turn a thought into something new and exciting. Share your intentions. Self-improvement is favored.

By Andrews McMeel Syndication

FAMILY CIrCUS

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

TODAy'S CLUE: N EQUALS P

CeLebrItY CIpher

For better or For WorSe peAnUtS

And erneSt

bIG nAte

SALLY Forth

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM SherMAn’S LAGoon

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle basedona9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1to9inthe empty squares so that eachrow,eachcolumn and each3x3 box containsthe samenumber only once. The difficultylevel of the Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

Saturday’sPuzzleAnswer

BY PHILLIP ALDER Bridge

Partneropens,say, one heart,the next player passes, and you respond two spades. What are you showing? Therearetypicallytwoanswerstothat question:aweak or strong hand. Aweakjumpshiftshowsasix-cardsuit andsome4-8 high-card points. Butthis week, let’s lookatthe strong variety.

In the old days,a strong jumpshift promised 17-19 points. However, it is much bettertouse a13-16-point range: sufficienttoinsistongame, but then wanting partnertodecide whether to go higher.(More on why tomorrow.)

The responder hasone of twohandtypes: an excellent one-suiter with six or more cards in his suit,ora good twosuiter with fiveorsix cardsinhis own suit and four or five in partner’s suit With the two-suiter, he rebids in partner’s suit. With theone-suiter,responder does something else, usually rebidding in his suit or in no-trump. In thisdeal, South learnsall about his partner’s hand and should have no troublesettling into seven no-trump. AfterWestleads the diamond queen,how should declarer play? South can count 14(!) tricksvia fivespades,five hearts, two diamonds andtwo clubs.The only dangerisa4-0

wuzzles

spadebreak. But declarer can avoid a loser whatever theposition as long as he starts with dummy’sace (or king). This keeps one high honor in each hand to captureanopponent’s lower honor (the jack). South can finesse either way to stop that jack from taking atrick. ©2026 by NEA, Inc., dist.

By Andrews McMeel Syndication

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

Previousanswers:

word game

InsTRucTIons: 1. Words mustbeoffourormoreletters. 2. Words that acquire fourletters by theadditionof“s,” such as “bats” or “dies,”are not allowed. 3. Additional wordsmade by adding a“d” or an “s” may not be used. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexuallyexplicit words arenot allowed.

ToDAY’s WoRD FosTER: FOSS-ter: Encourage; promote the growthor development of.

Average mark 13 words Time limit20minutes

Canyou find 17 or more words in FOSTER?

sATuRDAY’s WoRD —cAPIToL

thought

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

today’s

“The Lord is in his holy temple,the Lord’s throne is in heaven: his eyes behold,his eyelids try, the children of men.” Psalms 11:4

loCKhorNs

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles

hidato

mallard

VS ALEX SPIKES AND RAQUEL SPIKES

East BatonRouge Parish ADVERTISED DATE April17, 2026 May 18, 2026 $229.60 entitled andnumbered cause, dated, February 24, 2026 andtomedi‐rected,I didseize and will,beginning at 10:00 o'clocka.m.onMay 20, 2026, viaanonlineauc‐tion site at www bid4assets.com/EBR SOsheriffsales,offerfor sale at public auctionthe followingdescribed mortgagedpropertybe‐longingto: MARTHA P PERRYAND SCOT CRAIG PERRY ONE(1) CERTAINLOT OR PARCEL OF GROUND,to‐gether with allthe build‐ings andimprovements thereon, knownasLOT THIRTY-FOUR(34), of OLD EAST PLACESUBDIVI‐SION,located in Section 80, T4S, R1W, City of Zachary, East Baton RougeParish, Louisiana, as more fullyshown by theofficial plat of survey of OldEastPlace Subdivi‐sion,preparedbyWilliam CharlesMonroe, regis‐teredlandsurveyor, datedAugust15, 1985, anddulyrecordedinthe official recordsofthe Parish of East Baton Rouge, Stateof Louisiana, as Original 453 of Bundle 9780. Said LOT 34 having the dimensions andbeing subjecttothe servitudes anddedications as set forthon theofficial map.

Onecertain lotorparcel of ground together with allbuildings andim‐provements thereon, and allthe rights, ways,privi‐leges, servitudes,appur‐tenances andadvan‐tagesthereuntobelong‐ingorinanywise apper‐taining, beingsituatedin theParishofEastBaton Rouge, Stateof Louisiana, in that subdi‐vision knownasSOUTH DAYTON,and designated on theofficial plan thereof, on file andof record in theoffice of the Clerkand Recorder of the Parish of East Baton Rouge, Stateof Louisiana, as LOTNUM‐BERONE HUNDRED THIRTY-TWO (132),said subdivision, said lothav‐ingsuchmeasurements anddimensionsand beingsubject to such servitudes as areshown on said subdivisionmap Whichhas theaddressof 5217 Frey Street,Baton Rouge, LA 70805,

TERMSOFSALE: Cash to thehighest bid‐der, at Public Auction WITHOUTAppraisement andaccording to law.

SidJ.Gautreaux,Sheriff East BatonRouge Parish ADVERTISED DATE April17, 2026 May18, 2026 $227.04

p g appurtenancesand ad‐vantages thereuntobe‐longingorinanywise ap‐pertaining,situatedin theParish of East Baton Rouge, Stateof Louisiana; in that subdi‐vision knownasPARK RIDGESUBDIVISION,SEC‐TION Iand designated on theofficial mapthereof acopyofwhich is on file andofrecordinthe of‐fice of theClerk and Recorder of theParishof East BatonRouge,State of Louisiana, as LOT ELEVEN (11),saidPark Ridge, Section1,saidLot No.11measuring accord‐ingtosaidmap eight-five (85) feet frontonGroom Road by adepth between parallel linesofone hun‐dred forty(140) feet beingsubject to such servitudes of record and as shownonsaidsubdi‐vision map. Beinga portionofthe same property acquired by vendor herein by act of record in Book 1512, folio 449 of theCon‐veyanceRecords of the Parish of East Baton Rouge, Stateof Louisiana. This sale andcon‐veyanceismadeand ac‐cepted subjecttorestric‐tionsofrecordinBook 1497, folio 459 as amendedinBook 1519, folio 235 of theCon‐veyancerecords of the Parish of East Baton Rouge, Stateof Louisiana, referenceto whichinstruments is not intended to nordoesit hereby reimpose the same butmerelycalls them to theattentionof thepurchaser Municipaladdress: 6214 Groom Rd Baker, LA 70714

TRATRIXOFTHE SUCCES‐SION OF TAMARA HALL DESPENZA,DECEASED BatonRouge,LA 19thJudicialDistrict Parish of East Baton RougeState of Louisiana Acting under andby virtue of Writ of Seizure andSaleissuedout of thehonorable court aforesaid,inthe above entitled andnumbered cause,dated,February 24, 2026 andtomedi‐rected,I didseize and will,beginning at 10:00 o'clocka.m.onMay 20, 2026, viaanonlineauc‐tion site at www. bid4assets.com/EBR SOsheriffsales,offerfor sale at public auctionthe followingdescribed mortgagedpropertybe‐longingto: DAWN MARIE TAYLOR SOLELY IN HER CAPACITY AS ADMINIS‐TRATRIXOFTHE SUCCES‐SION OF TAMARA HALL DESPENZA,DECEASED ONE(1) CERTAINLOT OR PARCEL OF GROUND,TO‐GETHER WITH ALLTHE BUILDINGSAND IM‐PROVEMENTS THEREON, SITUATED IN THEPARISH OF EAST BATONROUGE STATEOFLOUISIANA,IN THAT SUBDIVISION KNOWNASREDWOOD LAKE SUBDIVISIONAND BEINGDESIGNATEDON THEOFFICIAL PLAN OF SAID SUBDIVISION, ON FILE ANDOFRECORDIN THEOFFICEOFTHE

SHERIFF'SSALE Suit No:(17) 773885 CARRINGTON MORTGAGE SERVICES LLCVSMAL‐COLM BAKER BatonRouge,LA 19thJudicialDistrict Parish of East Baton RougeState of Louisiana Acting under andby virtue of Writ of Seizure andSaleissuedout of thehonorable court aforesaid,inthe above entitled andnumbered cause, dated, February 25, 2026 andtomedi‐rected,I didseize and will,beginning at 10:00 o'clocka.m.onMay 20, 2026, viaanonlineauc‐tion site at www. bid4assets.com/EBR SOsheriffsales,offerfor sale at public auctionthe followingdescribed mortgagedpropertybe‐longingto: MALCOLM BAKER Two(2) certaintractsor parcelsofland, together with allthe buildingsand improvements thereon, andall of therights, ways,privileges, servi‐tudes, appurtenances andadvantagesthere‐untobelonging or in any‐wise appertaining,situ‐ated in Section28, TSS, R1 E, GreensburgLand District,EastBaton RougeParish, Louisiana, beingdesignatedas LOTS G-2-A& G-2-Bon a mapentitled, "Map Showingthe Resubdivi‐sion of LotG-2 of theRe‐subdivisionofLots"G" and"H" of FelicianaLand CorporationPropertyto Form Lots G-2-A& G-2-B, LocatedInSection28, T5-S, R-1-E, in East Baton RougeParish, LA forGary Riles" by ToxieCraft datedDecember10, 1986, said survey beingon ﬁle andofrecordatOriginal 945, Bundle 9893 of the ofﬁcial recordsofEast BatonRouge Parish StateofLouisiana.Said lots having such mea‐surementsand dimen‐sionsand beingsubject to such servitudes and restrictions as aremore particularly shownon said map TERMSOFSALE: Cash to thehighest bid‐der, at Public Auction WITHOUTAppraisement andaccording to law. SidJ.Gautreaux,Sheriff East BatonRouge Parish ADVERTISED DATE April17, 2026 May18, 2026 $250

SHERIFF'SSALE Suit No:(17) 774304 BatonRouge,LA LANDMARK BANK VS THE UNOPENED SUCCESSION OF JAMESE.CARROLL ANDHIS KNOWNHEIRS AND/OR UNKNOWNHEIRS ANDTHE UNOPENED SUC‐CESSION OF CHRISTINE CARRAWAY CARROLL ANDHER KNOWNHEIRS AND/OR UNKNOWNHEIRS

TERMSOFSALE: Cash tothe highestbid‐der, at Public Auction WITH Appraisement and accordingtolaw SidJ.Gautreaux,Sheriff East BatonRouge Parish ADVERTISED DATE April17, 2026 May18, 2026 $352.10

SHERIFF'SSALE Suit No:(17) 773865

FREEDOMMORTGAGE CORPORATIONVS MARTHA PPERRY AND SCOT CRAIGPERRY BatonRouge,LA 19thJudicialDistrict Parish of East Baton RougeState of Louisiana Acting under andby virtue of Writ of Seizure andSaleissuedout of thehonorable court aforesaid,inthe above

BatonRouge,LA 19thJudicialDistrict Parish of East Baton RougeState of Louisiana Acting under andby virtue of Writ of Seizure andSaleissuedout of thehonorable court aforesaid,inthe above entitled andnumbered cause, dated, February 27, 2026 andtomedi‐rected,I didseize and will,beginning at 10:00 o'clocka.m.onMay 20, 2026, viaanonlineauc‐tion site at www bid4assets.com/EBR SOsheriffsales,offerfor sale at public auctionthe followingdescribed mortgagedpropertybe‐longingto: THEUN‐OPENED SUCCESSIONOF JAMESE.CARROLL AND HISKNOWN HEIRS AND/OR UNKNOWNHEIRS ANDTHE UNOPENED SUC‐CESSION OF CHRISTINE CARRAWAYCARROLL ANDHER KNOWNHEIRS AND/OR UNKNOWNHEIRS That certainpiece or por‐tion of ground,together with allthe buildingsand improvements thereon, andall therights, ways privileges,servitudes, d d

That

Sonceria Evans, BoardMember

AldenChustz,Board

MichaelMaranto, BoardMember •Mrs.TeriBergeron, BoardMember •Mr. Matthew Daigre‐pont,President Aquorumwas made Thefollowing were ab‐sent Dr.Atley Walker Sr BoardMember Ms.ChareekaGrace BoardMember

4. Approval of Minutes Be it Resolved,Thatthe approval of theminutes of theRegular Board MeetingheldFebruary 18, 2026 be approved as presented. TheChairmandeclared the ﬂoor open forpublic comment Motion made by:Mr. AldenChustz Motion seconded by: Mrs. Hayley Clouatre Voting results: Unani‐mously Approved

5. Superintendent's Re‐port Dr.Smith went over his attached Superintendent Report Thechairmandeclared the ﬂoor open forpublic comment Informationalitem, No action necessary 6. Report from Commu‐nity Committees/Agen‐cies dowCAPSMEETING. Re‐port good on safety 7. Unﬁnished

CITY OF ST.GEORGE BY ST GEORGE CITY COUNCIL: ORDINANCE NO. 2026-011 TO AMENDTITLE 7, UNIFIEDDEVELOPMENTCODE, TO ESTABLISH NEWBASE ZONING DISTRICTS, UPDATE ALLOWED USES ANDDIMENSIONAL STANDARDS AND REORGANIZE SOME SECTIONS; REZONEALL PROPERTY IN THECITYTOTHE NEWBASE ZONING DISTRICTSAND TO PROVIDE FOR RELATED MATTERS.

WHEREAS, on July 23, 2024, the St.George City Council adopted Ordinance No.2024-002, in part, adopting the EBR Unified Development Code (with some changes) as the City’sinterim Unified Development Code (“UDC”); and WHEREAS, the UDChas been incorporated into the St.George Code of Ordinances as Title 7; and WHEREAS, the UDCcurrently includes forty-five (45) base zoning districts and three (3) overlay districts; and WHEREAS, the City has determined that it does not need 45 base zoning districts-many of which aresonarrowly tailoredastohave almost no application while others aresobroad that they allow almost any type of use and aremapped throughout the City; and WHEREAS, the City desires to elevateits development standards, be moreintentional about how it progresses in terms of housing stock and stormwater management, particularly in away that does not exacerbate existing localized flooding issues by emphasizing less on intensity and moreonlot configuration, minimum widths, and overallsite design that supports long-term resiliency and neighborhood quality; and WHEREAS, the City’splanning staffhas recommended the changes to the UDCand Zoning Mapattached as exhibits to this Ordinance; and WHEREAS, apublic hearing was held on the proposed changes on February 2, 2026, beforethe City of St.George Zoning Commission in accordance with the notice requirements set forth in La.R.S. §33:4724; and WHEREAS, the Zoning Commission recommended approval of the textamendmentsand rezonings.

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the St. George City Council, State of Louisiana,asfollows:

Section 1:Thatthe deletions andadditions to the UDCset forth in Exhibit 1attached hereto arehereby adopted.

Section2:Thatthe changestothe zoning of particularproperties as shownonExhibit 2attached hereto arehereby adopted.

Section3:The specifictermsand conditions of this Ordinanceshall prevailagainst otherexisting ordinances of the City to the extentthat there maybeany conflict.

Section 4:Severability.Ifany provision of this Ordinanceisdeclared invalid by anycourt of competent jurisdiction, the otherprovisions shall remain in full force andeffect

Section 5:Effective Date. This ordinanceshall be effective upon publication.

This ordinancehaving been submitted to avote;the vote thereon was: For: Cook, Dellucci,Edmonds, Himmel, Monachello, Murrell, Talbot Against: Absent /Abstaining /Recused:

Adoptedthis 28th day of April, 2026 Signedthis 6th day of May,2026

LorraineBeaman,City Clerk

Approved:

Dustin Yates, Mayor Received from the Mayor on the day of ______________, 2026 AdoptedOrdinancepublishedinThe Advocateonthe day of 2026 187777-648574-May