Deathtollrises to 82 as officials warn more rain, flooding likely
BY JIM VERTUNO and JOHN SEEWER Associated Press
KERRVILLE,Texas Families sifted through waterlogged debris Sundayand stepped inside empty cabins at Camp Mystic,anallgirls summer camp ripped apart by flash floods thatwashedhomes off their foundations and killed at least 82 peopleincentral Texas. Rescuers maneuvering through challenging terraincontinued their desperate searchfor the missing, including 10 girls and a counselor from the camp. For the first time since the storms began
THEBEAR
poundingTexas,Gov.GregAbbott said there were41people confirmed to be unaccounted for across the state and more could be missing. In KerrCounty,home to Camp Mystic and other youthcamps in theTexas Hill Country,searchers have found the bodies of 68 people, including 28 children, Sheriff Larry Leitha saidinthe afternoon. He pledgedtokeep searching
Agolden orb weaver spider hangs out on asnare of its ownasHunter Hicks,
Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Bear Program, left, and program biologist Tony Vidrine
scented attractant above abear hair snare in St.MaryParish.
Low-tech methodsusedtotrack former endangered species’ population in AtchafalayaBasin as statedetermineshunting limits
Twoyearsago,with flags, speeches and the clang of ahammer,Fort Polk became Fort Johnson, shedding itsConfederate namesake and honoring aBlack World War Ihero. Now,inanother ceremony this month, Louisiana’slargest military installation will become Fort Polk once again.
But the base’s oldnamenow refers to anew person: Gen. James H. Polk, awarded the Silver Star for his World WarIIservice.
To many in the conservative, veteran-heavy Vernon Parish, the moveisawelcome reversal, returning the fort to the namethey’d continued using anyway
Bear hairis snagged in abarb in a snare Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries agents use to track the state’s black bear population.
ä See BEAR, page 3A
Tony Vidrine jerks his head to one side, then the other,dodging briars as he maneuvers his ATVthrough thick underbrush. It’sthe hour before the day’s heat becomes oppressive, when the last of the morningdew still clings to knee-high blades of grass. Cruising ahead of him is 21-year-old Hunter Hicks,a recent Northwestern State Universitygraduate. Thetwo are traveling to ahunting camp in St.Mary Parish,hoping the bait theyset theweekbefore will prove fruitful. After working for 40 years as abiologist forthe Louisiana DepartmentofWildlife and Fisheries, Vidrine spends his
“If youdid apoll, youwould probably find 90% are happy,” said Phillip Hunt, an at-large council member in Leesville. “That’swhat they’ve knownitas.”
But to the family of Sgt. William Henry Johnson—who wasposthumously awarded aPurple Heart in 1996, the Distinguished Service Cross in 2002 and theMedal of Honor in 2015 —the moveisa disappointment in the long fight for Johnson to get the recognition he deserves.
His granddaughterTaraJohnson doesn’twant to fight anymore. Somehave suggested that the name change, one of seven that President Donald Trumpannounced in June, could be reversed in four years, Johnson said by phone this week. “No, it won’t. Please don’tdothat,” she said. “Take allseven of them andnamethemafter something new
“Something new and vibrant that is not tainted by racism.”
rykah Badudidn’tintend to share the spotlight duringthe 2025Essence Festival of Culture’ssecond night in the Caesars Superdome. But on Saturday she found herself engaged in an unexpected virtual “duet” with AmericanSignLanguageinterpreter Cheyenne Atkins Badu,the Mad Hatter of contemporary soul, noticedAtkinsonthe Superdome’smassive LED screen above the terrace level seats. A close-up view of Atkinsfilled the screen’s right half;adistant view of Badufilled theother “Is thereaway you can make her portion
Keith Spera ä See ESSENCE, page 5A
Erykah Badu performs Saturday at the Caesars Superdome during the Essence Festivalof Culture’s second night.
Members of both Polkand Johnson’sfamilieshavebeeninvited to theFridayrenaming ceremony, spokesperson ChuckCannonsaid. Officials arelooking at ways to honor Johnson at the base, he said, namingastreet or building after him. “Wewill somehow honor him.”
Founded in theearly 1940s, the fort originally bore the name of LeonidasPolk, aConfederate general, slave owner and Louisiana’s first Episcopal bishop. The name change, required after Congress approvedthe National Defense Authorization Act of 2021, was part of abroader efforttoremovethe
STAFF PHOTOSByLESLIE WESTBROOK
atechnician supervisor in theLouisiana
replace abait bagand araspberry-
Volunteers searchfor flood survivors along the banksof the Guadalupe River on Sunday in Hunt, Texas
ASSOCIATED
STAFF PHOTO By JOHN McCUSKER
Seven bodies found at fireworks warehouse
ESPARTO, Calif. Authorities in Northern California have found the bodies of all seven people missing since an explosion last week at a fireworks warehouse that caused a wildfire and shook a tiny farming community
The barrage of fireworks that exploded Tuesday caused a massive blaze that led to other spot fires and collapsed the building in Yolo County, about 40 miles northwest of Sacramento.
All human remains have been recovered from the charred warehouse site, but the identities of the deceased were being withheld pending family notifications, the county said in a statement Sunday
“Crews are continuing to mitigate explosive hazards present at the scene,” the statement said. The cause of the explosion was under investigation
Two people were treated for injuries following the blast in the town of Encarto, officials said.
The warehouse was managed by Devastating Pyrotechnics, which has more than 30 years of experience designing and producing fireworks shows, according to a screenshot of its website before it was taken down.
“Our hearts and thoughts are with those we lost, their families, and everyone impacted in our community,” the company said in a statement last week.
The wildfire covered nearly 80 acres and scorched surrounding agricultural fields, officials said. Boko Haram kills 9, injures 4 in Nigeria
ABUJA, Nigeria Islamic extremists killed nine people and injured four in Borno state in northeastern Nigeria, authorities said Sunday
The attack was carried out by Boko Haram militants on the Malam Fatori community, Babagana Zulum, the state governor, said He did not say when the attack happened.
The community, very close to the border of Chad, is about 167 miles from Maiduguri, Borno’s capital city.
The governor, represented by Sugun Mai Mele, the commissioner for local governments, visited the community and warned residents against collaborating with Boko Haram militants.
“Anyone found collaborating with the insurgents to bring harm or attack to the people of Malam Fatori will be cursed,” he said, adding that there are measures being put in place to fortify the town against future attacks. Islamic extremists have repeatedly overrun military outposts mined roads with bombs and raided civilian communities, raising fears of a possible return to peak Boko Haram-era insecurity despite the military’s claims of successes
Musk asks X users about new political party
BRIDGEWATER, N.J Elon Musk said he’s carrying out his threat to form a new political party after his fissure with President Donald Trump, announcing the America Party in response to the president’s sweeping tax cuts law Musk, once an ever-present ally to Trump as he headed up the slashing agency known as the Department of Government Efficiency, broke with the Republican president over his signature legislation, which was signed into law Friday
“When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy,” Musk said Saturday on X, the social media company he owns. “Today the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.”
Musk, who spent at least $250 million supporting Trump in the 2024 election, could impact the 2026 elections determining control of Congress if he is willing to spend significant amounts of money Spokespeople for Musk and his political action committee, America PAC, didn’t immediately comment Sunday Musk on Sunday spent the morning on X taking feedback from users about the party and indicated he’d use the party to get involved in the 2026 midterm elections.
New details emerge on Gaza proposal
BY WAFAA SHURAFA, ABBY SEWELL and KAREEM CHEHAYEB Associated Press
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip
New details of the Gaza ceasefire proposal emerged on Sunday as Israel sent a negotiating team to Qatar ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s White House visit for talks toward an agreement. Inside the territory, hospital officials said Israeli airstrikes killed at least 38 Palestinians.
“There are 20 hostages that are alive, 30 dead. I am determined, we are determined to bring them all back. And we will also be determined to ensure that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel,” Netanyahu said before departing, emphasizing the goal of eliminating Hamas’ military and governing power
A person familiar with the negotiations shared with The Associated Press a copy of the latest ceasefire proposal submitted by mediators to Hamas, and its veracity was confirmed by two other people familiar with the document. All three spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the sensitive talks with the media.
The document outlines plans for a 60day ceasefire during which Hamas would hand over 10 living and 18 dead hostages, Israeli forces would withdraw to a buffer zone along Gaza’s borders with Israel and Egypt, and significant amounts of aid would be brought in. The document says
the aid would be distributed by United Nations agencies and the Palestinian Red Crescent.
Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli facilities would be released in exchange for the hostages, but the number is not yet agreed upon.
The proposal stops short of guaranteeing a permanent end to the war — a condition demanded by Hamas — but says negotiations for a permanent ceasefire would take place during the 60 days. During that time, “President (Donald) Trump guarantees Israel’s adherence” to halting military operations, the document says, adding that Trump “will personally announce the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli strikes hit two houses in Gaza City, killing 20 Palestinians and wounding 25 others, according to Mohammed Abu Selmia, director of Shifa Hospital, which serves the area. Israel’s military said it struck several Hamas fighters.
Israeli strikes killed 18 Palestinians in Muwasi on the Mediterranean coast, where thousands of displaced people live in tents, said officials at Nasser Hospital in nearby Khan Younis.
Israel’s military had no immediate comment on those strikes but said it struck 130 targets across Gaza in the past 24 hours. It claimed it targeted Hamas command and control structures storage facilities, weapons and launchers, and that they killed a number of militants in northern Gaza.
Tariffs, Middle East issues lead summit
BY MAURICIO SAVARESE and ELÉONORE HUGHES Associated Press
RIO DE JANEIRO The BRICS bloc of developing nations on Sunday condemned the increase of tariffs and attacks on Iran, but refrained from naming U.S. President Donald Trump. The group’s declaration also took aim at Israel’s military actions in the Middle East.
China’s President Xi Jinping did not attend a BRICS summit for the first time since he became his country’s leader in 2012. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who will make an appearance via videoconference, continues to mostly avoid traveling abroad due to an international arrest warrant issued after Russia invaded Ukraine.
The group’s declaration raised “serious concerns” about the rise of tariffs which it said were “inconsistent with WTO (World Trade Organization) rules,” the document says The group added that those restrictions “threaten reduce global trade, disrupt global supply chains, and introduce uncertainty.”
Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva criticized NATO’s decision to hike military spending by 5% of GDP annually by 2035 That sentiment was later echoed in the group’s declaration.
“It is always easier to invest in war than in peace,” Lula said at the opening of the summit.
Iran in attendance
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who was expected to attend the summit before the attacks on his country in June, sent his foreign minister Abbas Araghchi to the meeting in Rio.
Araghchi told leaders he had pushed for every member of the United Nations to condemn Israel’s strikes strongly, which he called an “invasion,” state media reported. He added Israel and the U.S. should be accountable for rights violations. The Iranian foreign minister said the aftermath of the war “will not be lim-
ited” to one country. “The entire region and beyond will be damaged,” he said.
On Ukraine, “We recall our national positions concerning the conflict in Ukraine as expressed in the appropriate fora, including the U.N. Security Council and the U.N. General Assembly,” the group said in its final declaration.
Avoid Trump’s tariffs
Brazil, the country that chairs the bloc, has picked six strategic priorities for the summit: global cooperation in healthcare; trade, investment and finance; climate change; governance for artificial intelligence; peace-making and security; and institutional development.
It has decided to focus on less controversial issues such as promoting trade relations between members and global health, after Trump returned to the White House, said Ana Garcia, a professor at the Rio de Janeiro Federal Rural University
“Brazil wants the least amount of damage possible and to avoid drawing the attention of the Trump administration to prevent any type of risk to the Brazilian economy,” Garcia said.
‘Opportunity for emerging countries’
BRICS was founded by Brazil Russia, India, China and South Africa, but the group last year expanded to include Indonesia, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates.
As well as new members, the bloc has 10 strategic partner countries, a category created at last year’s summit that includes Belarus, Cuba and Vietnam.
Despite notable absences, the summit is important for attendees, especially in the context of instability provoked by Trump’s tariff wars, said Bruce Scheidl, a researcher at the University of Sao Paulo’s BRICS study group.
“The summit offers the best opportunity for emerging countries to respond, in the sense of seeking alternatives and diversifying their economic partnerships,” Scheidl said.
Combs gets ovation from inmates after victory, lawyer says
BY MICHAEL R. SISAK and LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press
NEW YORK Sean “Diddy”
Combs got a standing ovation from fellow inmates when the music mogul returned to jail after winning acquittals on potential life-in-prison charges, providing what his lawyer says might have been the best thing he could do for Black incarcerated men in America.
“They all said: ‘We never get to see anyone who beats the government,’” attorney Marc Agnifilo said in a weekend interview days after a jury acquitted Combs of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges.
Combs, 55, remains jailed after his Wednesday conviction on prostitutionrelated charges and could still face several years in prison at an upcoming sentencing after being credited for 10 months already served.
After federal agents raided his homes in Los Angeles and Miami in March 2024, the lawyer said he told Combs to expect arrest on sex trafficking charges.
“I said: ‘Maybe it’s your fate in life to be the guy who wins,’ ” he recalled during a telephone interview briefly interrupted by a jailhouse call from Combs. “They need to see that someone can win. I think he took that to heart.” Blunt trial strategy works
The verdict came after a veteran team of eight defense lawyers led by Agnifilo executed a trial strategy that resonated with jurors. Combs passed lawyers notes during effective cross-examinations of nearly three dozen witnesses over two months, including Combs’ ex-employees.
The lawyers told jurors Combs was a jealous domestic abuser with a drug problem who participated in the swinger lifestyle through threesomes involving Combs, his girlfriends and another man.
“You may think to yourself, wow, he is a really bad boyfriend,” Combs’ lawyer Teny Geragos told jurors in her May opening statement. But that, she said, “is simply not sex trafficking.” “This was a major victory for the defense and a major loss for the prosecution,” said Mitchell Epner, a lawyer who worked with Agnifilo as a federal prosecutor in New Jersey over two decades ago. He credited “a dream team of defense lawyers” against prosecutors who almost always win.
Agnifilo showcased what would become his trial strategy — belittling the charges and mocking the investigation that led to them last September in arguing unsuccessfully for bail. The case against Combs was what happens when the “federal government comes into our bedrooms,” he said.
Questioning witnesses
During an eight-week trial, Combs’ lawyers picked apart the prosecution case with mostly gentle but firm cross-examinations. Combs never testified and his lawyers called no witnesses. Sarah Krissoff, a federal prosecutor in Manhattan from 2008 to 2021, said Combs’ defense team “had a narrative from the beginning and they did all of it without putting on any witnesses. That’s masterful.” Ironically, Agnifilo expanded the use of racketeering laws as a federal prosecutor on an organized crime task force in New Jersey two decades ago, using them often to indict street gangs in violencetorn cities.
Prosecutors “didn’t have a conspiracy they just didn’t,” he said. “They basically had Combs’ personal life and tried to build racketeering around personal assistants.”
Some personal assistants, even after viewing videos of Combs beating his longtime girlfriend, Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, had glowing things to say about Combs on crossexamination.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By SILVIA IZQUIERDO
From left, Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and China’s Premier Li Qiang pose for a group photo Sunday at the 17th annual BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro.
semi-retirement as theboss of the “Bear Crew,” agroup of Wildlife and Fisheriesbiologists and interns tasked with collecting Louisiana black bear hair samples from 115 sites in St. Mary and Iberia parishes.
It’sthe first bear population study since 2013 conductedin thelowerAtchafalayaBasin
—home to one of the state’s oldest and densest bear populations. Next winter, the area will also be another site of Louisiana’srevived black bear hunt,expanded from last year’s11tags —orhunting permits —to26, making it 15 in Tensas Parish, three in Pointe Coupee Parish and eight in St. Mary
The return of blackbear huntinginLouisiana, first banned in the 1980s,isseen by many as the culmination of aconservation success story.In1992, after it was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, “Save the Louisiana Black Bear”license plates were introduced to fund habitat restoration. Around the same time, federal and state programs began paying landowners to return unproductive farmlandto forest.
Sincethe 1990s, hundreds of thousandsofacres of bottomland hardwoodhabitat have been restored in Louisiana, according to the LSU AgCenter
But not everyone is afan of the hunt. Some simply don’t likekilling the beloved animals, acomplaint likelytogo unheard in the Sportsman’s Paradise. Others believe there is still work to do for the state symbol.
“The state describes the success story as acompleted story,” saidBrennan Spoor, an attorneyfor TheAtchafalaya Basinkeeper, an environmental group. “It seems like there is adecent bit more that needs to be done.”
Lowtech, high yield
The technology behind collecting bear hair is simple. Crews wrap two lines of barbed wire around acluster of three to four trees to create abear-sized enclosure.A thin rope is then tied about 5to6feet up one tree and stretched across the space to another,bisecting the enclosure.
Armed with cans of bear spray, Hicksand Vidrine spendthe morningrebaiting snares by tying abiodegradable dog wastebag near the middle of the thin rope Doughnuts —remnantsof Lafayette’smorning rushat Rickey Meche’sDonut King —are placed inside the bags. Hicks then ties an unlikely olfactory lure to the trap:a tampon he’ssprayed with an intense, oil-based raspberry scent.
“I’ll buy about 10 packs from Walmart,” Vidrine said of the femininehygiene products. “The cashier will usually give you akind of funny look.” June is the height of breeding season, and male bears can travel up to 20 miles aday in search of amate. With asense of smell over 2,000 times more powerful than humans, the goal is that
WESTBROOK
Hunter Hicks, atechnician supervisor in the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Bear Program, sprays raspberry-scented attractant near abait bag filled with doughnuts in abear hair snare.
bears will lumber through the snares throughout the summer,leaving behindhair samples but remainingunharmed
“Once they find it, they usuallykeep coming back,” said Vidrine.
The snares are checked weekly,and hair samples are collected andlabeled.After analyzing the DNA, biologists first profile the initial batch of samples to “mark”genetically unique individuals, then compare those with asecond batch collected aweek later to identify which bears were “recaptured.” Bymultiplying thetotal unique individuals fromeachbatch anddividing by the number found in both, scientists are able to estimate the population size. Themethod, acornerstone of ecological research called capture-mark-recapture, is repeated throughout the summer
“That is how we get our population estimates,” said John Hanks, Wildlife and Fisheries’largecarnivore programmanager —ormore accurately,the state’s“Bear Czar.” “Wedoone (area) every year for fiveyears.”
Swampbearlife
At nearly all the snares, fist-sized golden silk orbweaver spiders have attached their sprawling webs to the bait ropes for structure. Farther up the canopy, apair of barred owls hoot in the morningsun, adding to a buzzing symphony of cicadas and deer flies. In between visits to thesites, Vidrine halts theATV to point outvarious flora Louisiana bears forage for: muscadines,elderberries and pokeweed.
Coastal bears here are a genetically singular subspecies called Ursus americanus luteolus. Throughoutthe 20th century,asLouisiana’s bottomland hardwood forests were converted to agriculture, natural corridors for blackbearstoroam were cut off. Meanwhile, overhunting, datingback to President Teddy Roosevelt’slegendary Louisiana black bear hunt, further accelerated their decline. By the1960s,the population had plummeted below 100, prompting the state to import bears from Minnesota to repopulate central Louisiana,where they mixed with northern populations. Meanwhile,the coastal bears remained isolated Hanks and Vidrine have observed thebears regularly swimming across the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers, andevenmaking their dens in hollowed-out cypress or tupelo trees jutting from the brackishmarshwater
“Sometimes it will be 8 or 10 feet deep underthose trees,” said Hanks. “They don’thaveany problem swimming.”
These bears are among the apex predators of the AtchafalayaSwamp,amillion-acre flood plain and the nation’s largest andmostproductive wetlands. Its southerndelta, with about 20 miles of coastline, is theonly part of Louisiana’scoastwhere landis actively building due to sediment deposition.
While theBasinkeepers’ main focusisonhow decadesofalteredriver hydrology and increased sediment threaten the basin’sflood capacity—and, by extension, the future of southern Louisiana —theyhaverecently becomevocaland litigious advocatesfor blackbear protection. Alongside groups like theSierra Club, they have sued over the bear’s delisting, petitioned against last year’shunt and oppose the expandedhunt,arguing thatLouisiana’spopulation monitoring is inadequate.
Whenthe Louisiana black bear was removedfrom the threatened list in 2016, Wildlife and Fisheries estimated thebearpopulation was between 500 and1,000, and agreed to sevenyears of post-delisting monitoring withthe U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. However, theBasinkeepers point to thefactthat themost recent 2023 report —largelyusedto revive thehunt —relied on 2021 data from northern and centralLouisiana,not recent coastal counts.
Most estimatesplace Louisiana’scurrent black bear population between 1,200 and1,500. The last published study found about138 bears in thecoastal populationof St. Mary and Iberia parishes as of 2013.
“The issueis, we can’tknow thatifwehaven’tchecked anything in 13 years,” Spoor said. “They are telling us the population is good enough to hunt,but they don’teven have recentdata to show that.”
Differentdefinitions
As Vidrine andHicks check themorning’sfinal snare, golf balls from an adjacent country club are scattered just afew dozenyardsaway The area, moreurbanthan northern parishes,has seen some of themore frequent bear encounters in the state. Vidrine says it’snot uncommon to hear complaints from farmers aboutbears munching on sugar cane, and during thesummer,he’scalled to collect bear roadkill about once aweek
Many believe the bear’s increasing nuisanceto farmers, motorists, hunters andanyone wholeaves theirtrash out is evidence of agrowing population andthe need for ahunt. In 2024, after thenew lottery systemfor bear hunting permits was introduced lawmakers amended the black bear license plate program so proceeds could be used for population management, in addition to habitatrestoration
“Louisiana is saying that if theroadkillrates are increasing, the population is increasing,”Spoor said. “In my head, if you’re an organization taskedwith conserving thebear they should try to increasethe habitat.”
Hanks, who oversawthe 2024 hunt, argueed that the population has reached its modern carrying capacity
“This is not ‘we’regoing out to kill the bears,’” he said, noting that last year’s hunt helped generateadditional revenue toward conservation and increase awarenessabout bears. “Wehavesurplus bears.”
Louisiana’slandscape can no longersupport pre20th-century bear populations, Hanks said.
“Maybe therecould’ve been 20,000 bearsinLouisiana hundreds of years ago,” he said. “Wecertainly don’tneed that now.”
Hanks said that data collected this summer will help determine whether to expand or shrinkthe 2026 hunt in St.Mary Parish.
Oncethe weather cools offinthe earlyfall, he’ll begin collaring females to analyze breeding habits. During thattime, hunters across thestate will vie for oneofthe fewlucky lottery tickets. Last year,there were over 900 applications —a demand unlikely to diminish in Louisiana.
“The whole idea is to keep checking on themto make sure we don’tget out of hand,”Hanks said.
EmailAidan McCahill at aidan.mccahill@ theadvocate.com.
FORT
Continued from page1A
names of Confederates from military facilities.
To get around that law,the new batch of names honor different people. Polk now refers to aGeneral James H. Polk, aWorld WarII cavalryman who became a commanderofU.S.Army Europe, bolstering NATO’s defensive posture during the Cold War’sheight, according to an announcement from the Joint and Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk.
Twoyearsago,the fort was telling the story of another milit ar y hero. Johnson, of New York,enlisted in 1917, two months after the U.S. entered WorldWar I. On night patrol in theArgonne Forest, the 5-foot-4 soldier fended off asurprise German attack with grenades, his rifle,and when his cartridges were spent, his bolo knife.
He earnedthe nickname “Black Death” and the Croix de Guerre avec Palme, France’shighest military honor
But it would take decades before his own country recognized his heroism
“Fort Johnson is now named after asoldier who fully embodied the warrior spirit,” Brig.Gen.David Gardner, thefort’scommanding general, said during the 2023 ceremony.“We are honored to bear his name.”
Tara Johnson, who livesin Toledo,Ohio,attendedthat “wonderful” ceremony.She was surprisedtolearnthis month aboutthe reversal and has tried to wrap her head around the reasoning. Shesuspectsit’spartlypolitics, “to get back at (President Joe) Biden,”and partly about race, noting that the new honoree is White.
But she refuses to let this move muddy hergrandfather’slegacy.The mostimportant recognitionwas the
Medal of Honor,she said. “Granddad, it doesn’ttake your medal away that we fought for,” the 66-year-old said. “We’re good. We’re good. We’re absolutely good.”
On Fort Polk’sFacebook announcement of the change, residents, retirees and afew people from elsewhere in the country debated the news. Several calledfor recognition forJohnson, listing his acts of heroism. Afew questioned the cost of the switch. But most cheered the return to Polk. The fort plays an enormous role in the parish, said Hunt. It employs some15,000 soldiers, plus contractors and civilians, andisa big part of why manyveterans settle in the area. “Without them, I don’tknowwhatour population would be,” he said. Hunt, personally,didn’t have strong feelings about the original renaming and could see both sides.
“I don’tcare what youcall it,” he said then, as long as the fort didn’tclose,asitdid in the 1950s. But he got calls asking, “Why’d you allow this to happen?”
The change didn’tjust affect Fort Polk, he noted.Everylocal businessthatused the fort in their marketing hadtoreprint theirflyers and update their websites. Leesville hada mural on an underpass that read, “WelcometoLeesville and Fort Polk.”
Officials hadbeenmaking plans to repaint it, Hunt said, whenTrump made his announcement.
STAFF PHOTO By LESLIE
W. Johnson
How weather conditions set the stage for deadly floods
BY MICHAEL PHILLIS Associated Press
WASHINGTON Incredible amounts of moisture in the air fueled a storm that moved slowly and dumped rain over central Texas, creating conditions for fatal flash floods in the early morning hours when it was easy to catch people by surprise, meteorologists said.
More than 12 inches of rain fell in the Texas Hill Country over a span of several hours early Friday causing water levels to quickly rise, according to the weather forecasting company AccuWeather The area is prone to flash flooding, but this was an especially bad storm. Dozens of deaths have been reported along with numerous rescues.
Meteorologists said that an atmo-
until “everybody is found” from Friday’s flash floods. Ten other deaths were reported in Travis, Burnet, Kendall, Tom Green and Williamson counties, according to local officials. The death toll is certain to rise over the next few days, said Col. Freeman Martin, of the Texas Department of Public Safety The governor warned Sunday that additional rounds of heavy rains lasting into Tuesday could produce more life-threatening flooding, especially in places already saturated.
Families were allowed to look around the camp beginning Sunday morning. One girl walked out of a building carrying a large bell. A man, who said his daughter was rescued from a cabin on the highest point in the camp, walked a riverbank, looking in clumps of trees and under big rocks.
A woman and a teenage girl, both wearing rubber waders, briefly went inside one of the cabins, which stood next to a pile of soaked mattresses, a storage trunk and clothes. At one point, the pair doubled over, sobbing before they embraced.
One family left with a blue footlocker A teenage girl had tears running down her face looking out the open window, gazing at the wreckage as they slowly drove away
Searching the disaster zone
While the families saw the devastation for the first time, nearby crews operating heavy equipment pulled tree trunks and tangled branches from the water as they searched the river
With each passing hour, the outlook of finding more survivors became even more bleak. Volunteers and some families of the missing who drove to the disaster zone searched the riverbanks despite being asked not to do so. Authorities faced growing questions about whether enough warnings were issued in an area long vulnerable to flooding and whether enough preparations were made.
President Donald Trump signed a major disaster declaration Sunday for Kerr County, activating the Federal Emergency Management
sphere warmed by human-caused climate change can hold more moisture and allow bad storms to dump more rain, though it’s hard to connect specific storms to a warming planet so soon after they occur
“In a warming climate we know that the atmosphere has more moisture to give, to hold on to and then to release. But also the thing that we know about climate change is that our rain events are not as uniform as what they used to be,” said Shel Winkley a meteorologist with Climate Central. “So, you’ll get these big rain events happening in localized areas, tapping into the historic level of moisture in the atmosphere.”
In recent weeks, flash flooding driven by bursts of heavy rain turned deadly elsewhere in Texas and in West Virginia. In San Antonio
in June more than 7 inches of rain fell over a span of hours, prompting dozens of rescues from the fast-rising floodwaters and killing at least 13. And in West Virginia that month, at least nine people died when as much as 4 inches of rain fell within 40 minutes and caused flash flooding in the Wheeling area.
‘Sudden surge’
Robert Henson, a meteorologist and writer with Yale Climate Connections, said this latest Texas rain storm was roughly a once-in-a-generation event. It fell in the Texas Hill Country where water quickly shoots down rugged hills into narrow river basins that swell quickly
“As is often the case with the worst disasters, many things came together in a terrible way,” Henson said.
Agency to Texas.
The president said he would likely visit Friday “I would have done it today, but we’d just be in their way,” he told reporters before boarding Air Force One back to Washington after spending the weekend at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey “It’s a horrible thing that took place, absolutely horrible.”
The destructive, fast-moving waters rose 26 feet on the river in only 45 minutes before daybreak Friday, washing away homes and vehicles. The danger was not over as flash flood watches remained in effect and more rain fell in central Texas on Sunday Searchers used helicopters, boats and drones to look for victims and to rescue people stranded in trees and from camps isolated by washedout roads. Officials said more than 850 people were rescued in the first 36 hours.
Harrowing escapes Survivors shared terrifying stories of being swept away and clinging to trees as rampaging floodwaters carried trees and cars past them. Others fled to attics inside their homes, praying the water wouldn’t reach them.
At Camp Mystic, a cabin full of girls held onto a rope strung by rescuers as they walked across a bridge with water whipping around their legs.
Among those confirmed dead were an 8-year-old girl from Mountain Brook, Alabama, who was at Camp Mystic and the director of another camp up the road.
Two school-age sisters from Dallas were missing after their cabin was swept away Their parents were staying in a different cabin and were safe, but the girls’ grandparents were unaccounted for.
Locals know the Hill Country as “flash flood alley,” but the flooding in the middle of the night caught many campers and residents by surprise Warnings before disaster
The National Weather Service on Thursday advised of potential flooding and then sent out a series of flash flood warnings in the early hours of Friday before issuing flash flood emergencies a rare alert notifying of imminent danger
At the Mo-Ranch Camp in the community of Hunt, officials had been monitoring the weather and opted to move several hundred campers and attendees at a church youth conference to higher ground. At nearby Camps Rio Vista and Sierra Vista, organizers also had mentioned on social media that they were watching the weather the day before ending their second summer session Thursday Authorities and elected officials have said they did not expect such an intense downpour, the equivalent of months’ worth of rain for the area.
Trump, asked whether he was still planning to phase out FEMA, said that was something “we can talk about later, but right now we are busy working.” He has previously said he wants to overhaul if not completely eliminate FEMA and has been sharply critical of its performance.
Trump also was asked whether he planned to rehire any of the federal meteorologists who were fired this year as part of widespread government spending reductions.
“I would think not. This was a thing that happened in seconds. Nobody expected it. Nobody saw it. Very talented people there, and they didn’t see it,” the president said.
Plus, the area had been in a drought, so the water ran down the dry, hard land fast. That made it more dangerous for children attending camp
“A sudden surge of rain like that is going to have a harder time getting absorbed,” said Brett Anderson, a senior meteorologist at AccuWeather “It just runs right off of it. It’s like concrete.”
Former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief scientist Ryan Maue, a private meteorologist, calculated Saturday morning that the storm had dropped 120 billion gallons of water on Kerr County, which received the brunt of the storm.
A storm with plenty of fuel Moisture fueled the storm from
many directions. Tropical Storm Barry formed briefly last weekend, moving over Mexico and then its remnants continued up into Texas. But the jet stream, a current of air that moves weather patterns, wasn’t there to push that moisture away
“Normally weather systems and the remnants of tropical systems will get picked up by the jet stream, and that’s just not over Texas currently,” said Winkley, the Climate Central meteorologist. “It’s essentially a weather system without a road to get away from the Lone Star State.”
The warm water of the Gulf fueled the moist atmosphere. Even more moisture came from areas over the Pacific Ocean to the west The combination gave the storm plenty of fuel once it got started.
La. sends first responders to Texas
BY HALEY MILLER Staff writer
A 12-person team of Louisiana first responders specializing in swift-water rescue and urban search and rescue was dispatched Saturday to aid in Texas flood emergency efforts.
At least 82 people have died and dozens remain missing, including at least 10 campers and a counselor at a girls summer camp, per The Associated Press and Reuters, since the devastating floods in central Texas began Friday Authorities warned that heavy rain would continue in hard-hit areas through Tuesday
The teams are experienced in swift-water rescues, said Ken Pastorick, a spokesperson for the Office of the State Fire Marshal — the sort of operations authorities have been performing across Hill Country after the Guadalupe River overtopped its banks and inundated whole communities.
The crew arrived in Texas shortly after 1:30 a.m. Sunday, Baton Rouge Fire
Department Chief Michael Kimble said, and is made up of highly trained firefighters.
“People have bent over backwards to help Louisiana in a time of hurricane or flood that we experienced, like in 2016,” Kimble said.
“Now it’s our time to give back to another state that’s in need.”
The Louisiana firefighters are in the process of receiving an assignment from the division supervisor in Texas to aid in ongoing rescue efforts, Kimble said
The team is composed of personnel from Louisiana task forces 2 and 3, including responders from Baton Rouge, Zachary West Feliciana, East Side and Shreveport fire departments.
Louisiana first responders have long deployed to Texas in the wake of natural and humanitarian disasters there, including following hurricanes and in response to the crisis on the U.S border with Mexico in recent years.
Texas frequently returns the favor sending National Guard troops and other teams in the wake of major
storms and other disasters.
“I am incredibly proud of our teams and their unwavering willingness to stand alongside our sister states,” Bryan J. Adams, principal assistant of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections, said Saturday in a release from the Office of the State Fire Marshal.
Their presence will provide critical support to overwhelmed local emergency departments, the release says. The members of the team have trained yearround for missions such as this one, it added
“We are incredibly proud of the professionalism, courage, and selflessness these men and women demonstrate each time they are called upon,” the release says. “Their willingness to leave their homes and families to help others in need is a true testament to the spirit of Louisiana’s first responders.” Staff writer James Finn contributed to this report. Email Haley Miller at haley.miller@theadvocate. com.
HOUSTON CHRONICLE PHOTO By JASON FOCHTMAN
Myra Zunker takes a moment while searching for her missing niece and nephew Sunday along the Guadalupe River in Hunt, Texas.
ASSOCIATED
People
Ukraine.
Russia, Ukraine trade drone strikes
Kyiv signs deals to boost production
By The Associated Press
Russia and Ukraine struck each other with hundreds of drones on Sunday, throwing Russian air travel in disarray, shortly after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced deals with Western partners that would allow Kyiv to scale up drone production.
Photos circulating on social media showed crowds huddling at Russian airports including key international hubs in Moscow and St. Petersburg, as hundreds of flights were delayed or canceled due to Ukrainian drone strikes on Saturday and overnight, according to Russia’s Transport Ministry
The flight disruptions hit Moscow’s Sheremetyevo and St. Petersburg’s main Pulkovo airports. Other airports in western and central Russia also faced disruptions.
Russian air defenses shot down 120 Ukrainian drones during the nighttime attacks, and 39 more before 2 p.m. Moscow time on Sunday, Russia’s Defense Ministry said. It did not clarify how many had hit targets, or how many had been launched in total.
Early on Sunday, Ukrainian drones injured two civilians in Russia’s Belgorod region near the border, its Gov Vyacheslav Gladkov said Sunday The Ukrainian attacks came just days after Russia pummelled Kyiv with waves of drones and missiles overnight into Friday, in what Ukrainian officials called the largest such strike since Moscow’s allout invasion. The sevenhour onslaught killed at least two civilians, wounded dozens more and caused widespread damage, Ukraine said while Moscow ramped up its push to capture more of its neighbor’s land. In total, Russia launched 550 drones and missiles across Ukraine that night, according to the country’s air force. The barrages have coincided with a concerted Russian effort to break through parts of the roughly 620-mile front line, where Ukrainian troops are
under severe pressure
Large-scale Russian drone strikes on Sunday injured three civilians in Kyiv and at least two in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city in the northeast, officials said. A Russian attack involving Shahed drones also targeted port infrastructure in Mykolaiv in central Ukraine, according to local Gov Vitaliy Kim. He reported warehouses and the port’s power grid were damaged but there were no casualties
Hours later, Russia launched a glide bomb and a drone at the front-line town of Kostyantynivka in eastern Ukraine, killing four civilians and injuring a fifth the prosecutor’s office said. The drone struck a car in which a married couple were traveling, killing the 39-year-old woman and 40-year-old man on the spot, it said.
Zelenskyy said on Saturday that Ukraine had inked deals with European allies and a leading U.S. defense company to step up drone production, ensuring Kyiv receives “hundreds of thousands” more this year Zelenskyy did not name the U.S. business in his nightly video address to Ukrainians, but said Ukraine and Denmark have also agreed to co-produce drones and other weapons on Danish soil. His remarks came days after the U.S. paused some shipments of military aid to Ukraine, including crucial air defense missiles.
Ukraine’s main European backers are considering how they can help pick up the slack. Zelenskyy said plans are afoot to build up Ukraine’s domestic arms industry, but scaling up will take time.
Ukraine has previously used homemade drones to hit high-value military targets deep inside Russia, demonstrating its capabilities and denting Moscow’s confidence. Last month, Kyiv said it destroyed more than 40 Russian planes stationed at several airfields deep inside Russia in a surprise attack.
Outmanned and outgunned, Ukraine’s army has also turned to drones to compensate for its troop shortage and shore up its defenses. While Russia has ramped up offensives this summer on two fronts in Ukraine, analysts say the front isn’t about to collapse.
ESSENCE
smaller?” Badu asked from the stage. “It’s way bigger than me.”
As Badu tapped out beats on a percussion pad, Atkins attempted to illustrate the rhythm for the hearingimpaired with a herky-jerky motion.
Badu, watching Atkins up on the screen, made more beats, seeming to enjoy making her move.
Atkins, who lives in Philadelphia, has signed at Essence the past two years. But, she said after her remote collaboration with Badu, “I’ve never had to break it down before.”
Also new for Atkins: actor Anthony Anderson, one of the night’s hosts, jumping into the frame alongside her and pretending to sign along.
Essence had asked Badu if the big Dome screens could be used during her performance. But, she noted, “they did not tell me what was going to be on the screen.”
Saturday’s Essence Fest attendance was stronger than Friday’s. The floor seating and plaza-level bleachers were much fuller, even if side sections and upper rows in the terrace level were empty And unlike Friday’s weehours marathon of eight main stage acts, which ran two hours late and culminated with Lauryn Hill playing to an empty Dome, Saturday’s far more sensible program of five acts stayed more or less on schedule.
An international flair
Saturday’s roster boasted a decidedly international flavor Ghanian-American singer/songwriter Moliy opened with a brief set Following a turn by Chicagoborn Donell Jones, the presentation shifted much farther south for a spirited set by gruff-voiced Jamaican reggae/dancehall singer Buju Banton, whose saxophonist earned plenty of time on the stage screens.
Ever since she first sang at Essence nearly 30 years ago, Badu has followed her own, sometimes meandering muse. One such meandering on Saturday morphed into a spare take on “On & On.” Later she navigated “Didn’t Cha Know.”
Her hodgepodge attire was as eclectic as her set It involved a bulbous black hat, oversize black shoulder pads, an extra-large black T-shirt torn down the back, a weathered denim apron smeared with what appeared to be paint and a blue floral-print skirt
When she wasn’t preoccupied with Atkins, Badu was also distracted by a woman who set her purse down on the edge of the stage.
“Is nothing sacred?” Badu asked, after announcing that she was about to render “my last $26 of music.”
Following Badu’s chill musings, Davido pumped up the volume and energy The afrobeats star was born in Atlanta but raised in Nigeria, where he has emerged as one of the most promi-
nent voices in African pop.
For his first New Orleans show, Davido, his band and his half-dozen dancers delivered a sweaty, high-energy performance, all churning rhythms and full-throated enthusiasm.
Jill Scott and friends
Jill Scott, Saturday’s headliner, got underway 10 minutes after midnight, roughly 40 minutes later than scheduled. With the stage draped in long strips of diaphanous fabric, the longtime Essence Fest favorite stood front and center projecting confidence and poise for what was billed as “A Philly Jawn” featuring special guests Jazmine Sullivan and Patti LaBelle, both of whom also have Philadelphia roots.
“This is live music,” Scott said ahead of “Whatever.”
“Ain’t no thingy-majiggys on the microphone.”
Just how prominently spoken word factors into Scott’s songs was evident on “Exclusively,” as she painted a picture of a young cashier literally sniffing out infidelity
Whether her lyrics are spoken or sung, there’s a lushness to Scott’s music. Her supple band made that apparent in “Cross My Mind” and elsewhere. Also apparent was how much her lyrics luxuriate in sexuality, as in “Love Rain.”
Twenty-five minutes into her set, Scott said, “It is a highlight of my life to wel-
come the exquisite Jazmine Sullivan to the stage.”
She departed for a wardrobe change as Sullivan led Scott’s band through her own “Let It Burn,” her voice brassy and clear Sullivan recalled how Scott visited her middle school: “Just her presence allowed me to be here.”
After the kiss-off of “Pick Up Your Feelings,” Sullivan’s too-short 10-minute hit was over She accepted a bouquet of flowers from Scott and departed.
Scott ruminated on how she “likes to write about a lot of things. Some of it is love. Some of it is passion. Some of it is awakening. Some of it is rage, because I feel that too. Some of it is sweetness and goodness.”
She offered up an example of the latter with the sumptuous “The Way.”
At 1 a.m., she introduced LaBelle with, “You’ve been rocking with this lady for 50 years.” In a flowing purple and green robe, LaBelle wailed “Love, Need and Want You,” stamping her trademark vocal high jumps on the end.
After “If Only You Knew,” LaBelle’s 10 minutes were up. She, too, received flowers from Scott, who had again used the time to change clothes. In a goddess-style headdress, Scott locked into the cadence of “A Long Walk” as her band carved out a groove. “He Loves Me (Ly-
zel in E Flat)” continued on her themes of passion and love.
With the Dome clearing out, she concluded with the modest club beat of “Golden” just past 1:30 a.m. That she, Sullivan and LaBelle never actually sang together felt like a missed opportunity That would have made for a memorable Essence Moment. Instead, “A Philly Jawn” turned out to be a Scott show with Sullivan and LaBelle popping in for separate 10-minute guest turns. Which was
PRESS PHOTO
hide in a metro station being used as a bomb shelter Saturday during a Russian drone attack in Kyiv,
STAFF PHOTO By JOHN McCUSKER Davido performs Saturday.
STAFF PHOTO By JOHN McCUSKER Buju Banton performs Saturday. GETTy IMAGES PHOTO FOR ESSENCE By BENNETT RAGLIN Jill Scott shared her time onstage Saturday with singer Jazmine Sullivan, above
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Schools, food banks struggle to feed kids
Rising costs make providing summer lunches difficult
BY ELYSE CARMOSINO Staff writer
The smell of baking garlic bread and chicken nuggets filled the air inside the Collins Elementary School cafeteria in Jefferson Parish on a recent summer afternoon as more than 100 children loaded up their lunch trays.
Some of the students, who ranged from ages 5-12 and wore cowboy hats and boots to celebrate “Western day,” held their plates to their noses, inhaled and let out an audible “Mmmm.”
“We like to get feedback from the kids about what they like and don’t like,” said Destiny Uhle, district area manager for Jefferson Parish schools, as she bustled from table to table chatting with students. “They aren’t shy about telling us.”
The school is one of many in Louisiana that participate in the Summer Food Services Program, a federal program under the U.S Department of Agriculture that provides free breakfast and lunch to children 18 and under
Jefferson Parish purchases Hope Haven
Former Marrero orphanage sells for $3.8M
BY LARA NICHOLSON Staff writer
Jefferson Parish officials can move forward with major renovations at the Hope Haven campus in Marrero, a former orphanage laden with allegations of abuse against children by clergy members, after finalizing the purchase of the property from the Archdiocese of New Orleans.
The parish bought the 15-acre property using $3.8 million in state and parish funds after leasing the property since 2018. With the campus now in its hands, the parish will convert the property and its centuryold, Spanish Renaissance-style buildings into a public, multiuse complex for recreation, entertainment and education, said Jefferson Parish Council member Deano Bonano.
“The opportunities are endless,” Bonano said. “We’re really excited about it.”
The parish hopes to construct festival grounds, a natatorium and additional recreational areas on the property, as well as lease out its historic, 30,000-squarefoot main buildings once the parish guts, shores and stabilizes both buildings for $5 million
While $3.8 million for a property originally appraised at $8 million seems like a steal, the parish will face millions in construction costs to accomplish the proposed transformation.
The state already dedicated over $7 million toward renovations, and Bonano set aside about $10 million in “seed funding” for the natatorium
They’re also working with U.S. Rep Troy Carter to secure federal funding, and hope to solicit additional dollars from state sources and private donors, Bonano said.
In the immediate future, the parish plans to tear down a house originally intended as a transitional home for
when school is not in session. Local food banks also help many low-income families fill their pantries over the summer when children are home from school.
But that mission has become more difficult this year due to rising food costs and a growing number of families seeking assistance, according to school systems and local food pantries.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration this year cut about $1 billion in federal aid that had helped schools, child care centers and food banks across the country purchase food from local farmers.
Families’ need for assistance remains high. About 25% of Louisiana children live below the poverty line, well above the national average of 16%, according to a 2025 report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, which tracks children’s well-being nationwide
While many students rely on school meals during the academic year, participation plummets during the summer In 2023, only about 8% of Louisiana students
who typically received free or reduced-price lunch at school participated in the summer food program, according to a report from the Food Research & Action Center In Jefferson Parish, where more than 75% of the district’s roughly 46,000 students come from low-income families, the district has served about 30,000 summer meals this month, said Claire Delerno, the district’s executive director of food services. Each of the 10 distribution sites serve between 100 and 300 students daily a larger number than in the past, Delerno said.
“With the way people’s budgets are shrinking,” she said, the summer program “takes an economic burden off families and it ensures that kids are receiving regular meals they would get while they’re at school.” Jefferson Parish is predominantly a low-income district, and all enrolled students are eligible to receive reimbursement for
ä See STUDENTS,
EyE ON THE BALL
brother, Braylon, also planned to do some fishing
Qualifying is this week for Slidell mayor’s race
Election expected to be between two candidates
BY BOB WARREN Staff writer
When candidates for the special Slidell mayor’s race begin signing up on Wednesday, it won’t likely take long for the ballot to fill up. At this point, it appears the Oct. 11 election will be between two well-known candidates: Bill Borchert, an at-large Slidell City Council member who became mayor when Greg Cromer resigned in January, and Slidell Police Chief Randy Fandal, who is term limited and wants to continue a line of police chiefs moving into the mayor’s office. Cromer, who had served as
Boy, 16, drowns on Fourth of July while swimming
water,
Slidell’s mayor since 2018, left office about 18 months before the end of his regular term in June 2026. The Oct. 11 special election was called to formally fill that seat until next year, when residents will decide who will be mayor for a new four-year term. That election takes place in March, with the winner taking office in July Cro mer stepped down to take a job in Gov Jeff Landry’s administration. Per the city’s charter, the at-large City Council member who had received
Family was visiting White Sands in Washington Parish
BY JAMES FINN Staff writer
A teen boy drowned during Fourth of July festivities at a popular swimming spot in Washington Parish, authorities said. Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies and emergency services personnel responded to reports of a drowning at White Sands Lake
Fandal Borchert
STAFF
PHOTO By BRETT DUKE
Braxton Armstrong, 8, practices football with his father, Byron, recently along Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans Braxton and his 10-year-old
STAFF PHOTO By JOHN McCUSKER
Students are served lunch in the summer food program at Collins Elementary in Marrero on June 27.
page 2B
Autopsy scheduled for Cleco lineman
Northshore mourns death of Wade Singletary
BY BOB WARREN Staff writer
An autopsy is scheduled Monday for a Cleco line worker who died on the northshore, the St. Tammany Parish Coroner’s Office said.
The worker was identified in social media posts and media stories as Wade Singletary. Facebook posts by the Slidell Police Department and St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office said Singletary died on the job.
The Sheriff’s Office post said Singletary died Wednesday, call-
ing him “a devoted lineman who tragically lost his life while serving our community last night.”
Continued from page 1B
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of a local dedicated lineman, Wade Singletary, who gave his life in the line of duty,” the Slidell Police Department post said, later adding, “As police officers, we routinely work alongside side these brave men, who play a crucial role in our community They are often the first to respond during natural disasters working tirelessly in hazardous conditions to bring communities back online.”
about Singletary’s death, Cleco spokesperson Jennifer Cahill replied: “Our focus is on supporting the family of our colleague and our team right now. We ask for privacy and compassion as we grieve this loss together.”
entire family
In a Facebook post Saturday, Cleco said Singletary was supervisor of distribution construction in Slidell.
breakfast and lunch during the school year at no charge. The district’s summer program costs the district $3 per meal for breakfast and $5 per meal for lunch, which the district receives reimbursement for through the USDA.
Contacted Saturday and asked
WWL Louisiana reported that Singletary was a husband and father of three children. Friends in Pearl River said Singletary was well-known and worked to make the community a better place. A death notice posted on the website of Williams Funeral Home in Pearl River said Singletary, 38, worked for Cleco for 17 years.
“He was a family man through and through and made friends wherever he went,” the death notice reads, adding that Singletary, known as “Little Wade,” was devoted to his wife, kids and
“Wade’s kindness, dedication and spirit touched everyone lucky enough to work alongside him. We are grieving together and leaning on one another as a team. Our thoughts are with Wade’s family, loved ones and all who are feeling this loss.”
Williams Funeral Home in Pearl River said the funeral will be at 2 p.m. Friday at the funeral home, 67525 La. 41, Pearl River Visitation will be from 10 a.m. until the time of the funeral.
A GoFundMe has been established for the Singletary family
HOPE
Continued from page 1B
18-year-olds as they aged out of the orphanage and turn it into additional parking for the walking trail and recreational area already on the campus.
Officials also will soon add an additional walking trail to a wooded area on the southwest corner of the property
Bonano said once completed, he envisions the campus as the future “center for health and fitness on the West Bank,” in accordance with a 2022 master plan for the property
Hope Haven opened as an orphanage for boys aged 14 and older in 1925 on the west side of Barataria Drive and expanded through 1940 with Madonna Manor, another orphanage for young children, across the street.
Hundreds of lawsuits claiming abuse have been mounted against the archdiocese in re-
Continued from page 1B Singletary
who was visiting with a group of children from her St. Tammany Parish church congregation, said her group had been on the beach for about 45 minutes when she noticed “what looked like an intense situation.”
A group of bystanders, she realized, were searching for someone who had disappeared under the water Then, she said, a man suddenly emerged from the water “carrying the limp body of a teenage boy.”
Several minutes passed, during which Courseault Trumbach said staff for the beach company seemed to be trying to decide what to do. The staff are not lifeguards, though they are CPR-trained, according to the company’s website.
“They didn’t seem to have any emergency equipment,” Courseault Trumbach said.
White Sands Lake Day Beach’s website warns visi-
cent decades, including several from adults claiming they were molested, beaten and berated as children by the priests and nuns running the two orphanages.
The archdiocese offloaded the property, along with nearly a
dozen others, to raise money for a bankruptcy settlement that would compensate survivors of clergy sex abuse.
Officials hope the proposed changes can revitalize and create a new use for the former
orphanage, and they plan to include a granite monument to memorialize survivors of abuse at Hope Haven.
Email Lara Nicholson at lnicholson@theadvocate.com.
While federal budget cuts have resulted in a decrease in some supplemental funding, Delerno said, the district’s primary funding through the USDA has remained stable, so far allowing them to continue to serve every student in need — with a few adjustments.
“It does limit our flexibility in menu planning,” Delerno noted. “Especially for incorporating higher-cost ingredients.” Meanwhile, some local organizations are struggling to keep up with the growing need this summer
The Baton Rouge Food Bank, which serves nearly a dozen parishes in the region, has seen the number of people seeking help in recent years grow by about 5%10% annually, said CEO Mike Manning. At the same time, 40% of the food bank’s federal funding has disappeared, reducing the number of families it can serve.
Over the summer the food bank provides backpacks with take-home meals that families can pick up at their local libraries.
“Because of the hangover of the inflation we’ve had to deal with,” Manning said, “families are much more focused on trying to take advantage of these opportunities.”
SLIDELL
Continued from page 1B
the most votes in the most recent election — Borchert in this case — became mayor Borchert says he will campaign as though he was the incumbent. He says his strategy is to “do a great job as mayor so people don’t want to replace you.”
Fandal, meanwhile, wants to follow in the footsteps of Freddy Drennan and Ben Morris, both Slidell police chiefs who went on to become mayor
“I’ve felt all along we’d have a lot of support and it’s been absolutely exceptional,” Fandal said. With the special election still more than three months out, the candidates agree the campaign isn’t likely on the radar of many of the city’s 18,000 registered voters. But that will likely change as their campaigns heat up, they say “I would expect a low turnout,” Borchert said. “The key is getting out your voters.”
Fandal added: “I’m looking forward to October.”
tors that they are responsible for any risk that comes from entering the water
“Our staff members are certified in CPR but are NOT lifeguards,” the website reads.
“The staff members are stationed along the water front and are tasked with watching the water for fair and safe play.”
A nurse visiting the beach with her family stepped in and “took charge,” Courseault Trumbach said, and a man started doing chest compressions. At one point, the teen appeared to cough up water.
The boy’s mother walked up and collapsed on the sand in tears.
“I just held her hand, hugged her, praying,” Courseault Trumbach said. Joseph Ford, another witness on the beach, described to WWL-TV a scene of “panic.”
“I was watching and praying,” Ford said. “I couldn’t take my eyes off that young man.”
Both witnesses said that when an ambulance arrived
— at least 30 minutes after 911 was called, she said — its wheels became stuck in the sand. Dozens of people ran to help push it off the beach, the witnesses said.
Located roughly midway between Bogalusa and Franklinton, White Sands Lake Day Beach is a privately run swimming hole in an old gravel pit
The water along the lake’s shoreline is “shallow,” according to a “frequently asked questions” page on the beach company’s website. It reaches a depth of about 18 feet just beyond a set of large inflatable water toys about a dozen yards from the sandy beach, the website says. In all Courseault Trumbach estimated 40 to 50 minutes passed between when bystanders began searching for the child under the water and when the ambulance drove off the beach.
“I have images that I don’t know that I will ever get out of my head,” she said. “Some of our kids, unfortunately do as well.”
The former Hope Haven property was purchased by Jefferson Parish, who will convert the property and its century-old, Spanish Renaissance-style buildings into a public, multiuse complex for recreation, entertainment and education.
In March, workers stabilized the interior of the former Hope Haven property in Marrero.
Deaths
Obituaries
Claiborne, Mathilda White
MathildaWhite Clai‐borne,a belovedmother, grandmother,and cher‐ished member of hercom‐munity,passedaway peacefullyonJuly1,2025 atthe ageof98. Born on June4,1927, to the late Girod andFanny Griffinina life filledwithlove, re‐silience, anddevotion. She isprecededindeath by her sisterAmandaPearson and brother, GirodGriffin, Jr. Mathildaleavesbehind a legacy of faith, respect and compassion.“Teal as she wascalled, waspre‐ceded in deathbyher de‐voted husband,Jerry White, with whomshe
shared 45 wonderfulyears ofmarriage. Together,they built alovinghomeand raised10children, instilling ineachofthemthe values offamily, faith,and perse‐verance.Her children in‐clude JerryWhite,Jr. (Lor‐raine), Robert White, Sr (deceased)(Jane), Mary WhiteCole, Donald White, Sr.,Wilbert White (de‐ceased),FannyeWhite Strickland(deceased), David White,Sr. (Linda), Carol White Johnson (Aaron),Lynnette WhiteColin,and Michelle WhiteJulien(Gerard,Sr.). Addi‐tionally, Mathildaem‐bracedher role as agrand‐mother, nurturing her32 grandchildren,59great grandchildren and12 great,great grandchildren who allcherished herbe‐yondmeasure.She adored them, nevermissing anyof their milestones.She was alsoprecededindeath by Allen Claiborne, whomshe married in 1992 andwas stepmothertoCherylClai‐borne (deceased) and Allen Claiborne, Jr.(de‐ceased).Mathildagradu‐atedfromMcDonogh 35 HighSchool andCohenson School of Nursing. Sheen‐joyed acareerasa li‐censedpractical nurse and later worked as atelecom‐municationsprofessional atBellSouth.A womanof immensestrengthand compassion, Mathildatrea‐sured herfamilyabove everything else.Her stead‐
fastdedicationtoher fam‐ily,and herunwavering faith were hallmarksofher life. Sheattended theInter‐nationalChurch of God. Those who knew herwill rememberher gentle smile,her kind wordsand everencouraging support. She wasoften describedas the nicest person you’ll evermeet.She wasa seamstress, avoracious reader, sheloved garden‐ing andwas an outstand‐ing cook!She prepared amazing mealsfor every familycelebration,which brought warmth to her heart andhappiness to the family’sappetites. Her familyand friendsloved to see herdance,which she continued to do until the end.Mathilda'spassing marks theend of an era, but herspiritwillliveonin the hearts of herchildren, grandchildren andthe countless livesshe
touched. Relativesand friends of thefamilyare in‐vited to attend aFuneral Service at D.W. Rhodes Fu‐neral Home,3933 Washing‐ton Ave.,New Orleans, LA onTuesday,July8,2025 at 9:30am. Visitation will begin at 9:00am until 9:30am. Internment:Provi‐dence Cemetery,Metairie, LA. Arrangements en‐trusted to D.W. Rhodes Fu‐neral Home,3933 Washing‐ton Ave.,New Orleans, LA 70125. Please visitwww rhodesfuneral.comtosign theonlineguestbook,
No FEMA? No problem, or maybe thereisfor Louisiana
Sure, FEMA can dissolveand let the state handle emergency responses.
We have one of the best-managedstategovernments in the U.S.
We have some of the best-managed and cheapest home, storm and auto insurance in thenation
We have some of the best-maintained roads, bridges and infrastructure in the nation.
Our Office of Motor Vehicles is the most technologically advanced and efficient in the U.S.
We have one of the best-maintained power grids. We don’thave to worryabout losing powerfor weeks or months after storm damage or heavy wind andrain storms.
Our state health services are the best. They keep us informed of possible health issues that are forthcoming. Our vaccine response is great.
Louisiana has the best governor and legislators.They always putthe needs of the constituents above party politics Taxes are no problem. Our taxes are well used. We need to fund more posters of the TenCommandments and less on needed libraries, internet and helpful books. Internet accessisnot neededinrural areas.
We have some of the best-funded and supported public schools, teachers and school support staff. Who needs public schools when you can opt out for state-funded private schools?
We have one of the greatest state prison systems. We don’t have the largest prison population in the U.S. Storm surges, flooding andhurricanes are not aproblem. We can move farthernorth and build tornado shelters. We don’tneed meteorological assistance from the feds or the state. Satellites justcause debris to fall from the sky.Wecan just look up weather in the Farmers’ Almanac or use a wet finger held up in the windlike the old folks used to do. I’m sure Ileft out plenty of things about our well-maintained state. Take care and be safe.
BJ RIEDIE Belle Chasse
Don’tlet bridge project destroyrarecypress forest
The A.E. LeBlanc old-growth cypress forest in Iberville Parish is one of the rarest places left in our nation —aliving remnant of theonce-vast cypress forests that blanketed Louisiana. With trees over 300 years old —and thepotential to liveover 1,000 —this forest has stood undisturbed for centuries, providingirreplaceable benefitstopeople and wildlife. Now it faces destruction if theMississippi River bridge project proceeds through this ancientforest instead of one of two viable alternativeroutes.
Less than 1% of easternU.S. forests have remainedintact long enough to develop oldgrowthcharacteristics. The A.E. LeBlanc forest is not merely old —itisecologically functional. Its mature root systems slow floodwaters, reduce erosion and improve water quality.Its canopy and deep soils store carbon,helping regulate climate amid intensifying storms. It provides critical habitat fornativewildlife and migratory birds that cannot thriveinyounger or fragmented for-
ests.
This is one of thefew privately protected old-growth forests in Louisiana and one of just afew hundred recognized by the OldGrowth Forest Network. Destroying it would be short-sighted and irreversible.
Shintech can rebuild infrastructure. But we cannot rebuild an old-growth forest. We cannot manufacture time.
Fragmentingthis forest alters everything —temperatures rise, humidity drops, native species decline and invasives spread. These aren’tjust trees —they are part of an ancient, irreplaceable system. Once damaged, it cannot be restored.
This forest is not for sale. If it’slost, it will be because it was taken from thefamilies workingtopreserve it.
Let us be thegeneration that said no. Protect theA.E. LeBlanc old-growth cypress forest.
Once gone, it is gone forever JOAN MALOOF founder,Old-Growth Forest Network
Researcher’s loss felt,but Tulane clinic stillcommitted to environmentallaw
Recently,the paper reported the resignation of Kim Terrell, staff scientist for the Environmental Law Clinic at Tulane Law School,citing university censorship and infringement of her academic freedom. Speakingonmyown behalf and not theuniversity’s, and from my experience as the current director of the clinic, I’d like to clarify afew things.
First, theclinic will continue to rely on Terrell’spowerful work in its advocacy.Wehope andexpect there will be moretocome.
tinginreturn. Butpeople of this state are better off when their voices can be amplified withscience and when courthouses are accessible to them. Law students are better off with interdisciplinary advocacy and experience practicing thehighest ideals of the profession in representing clients whowould otherwise go unrepresented on controversial matters.
Pope Leo’s family tree showshow race is an absurd construct
Imagine that you discovered, all in one day,that you are pope and that you are Black. DoesGod have asense of humor,orwhat? Ithink that’swhat happened to Robert Francis Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV.His grandparents were Black NewOrleanians until they moved to Chicago around 1910 and became White.
Twoparts of the family were ripped apart by the pernicious, ridiculous concept of race and all the political, social and cultural assumptions that came with it in the early 1900s. That ridiculousness and manyofthose assumptions are still with us. Now, morethan acentury later,this family is reuniting, curious about each other and celebrating their common ancestry
So yes, Godhas asense of humor as away of getting our attention. But the purpose of the lesson is reconciliation. This newspaper reported how Ellen Dionne Alverez, 77, alifelong Black NewOrleanian, discovered lately through family records that she is Pope Leo’ssecond cousin, once removed.
Malcolm Moore, 70, grew up just afew miles away from Alverez in Broadmoor.Healways considered himself White. He is also the Pope’s second cousin once removed. So Godhas asense of humor and also asense of irony.How clever of him to put it out there on the world stage —the ridiculousness, the speciousness, the made-up-ness, of the concept of race. Yes, our imagined racial identities have shaped all of our self-concepts, sometimes forbetter,sometimes forworse. How long will it take to blot out the concept of race once and forall, not just on our birth certificates, but from our collective social psyche?
ORISSA AREND NewOrleans
Landry,lawmakers helped move state forwardwith insurancereforms
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. TO SEND US ALETTER, SCAN HERE
Second, despite theloss of avaluable staff scientist, the clinic continues to practice and advocate on behalf of our clients. We know there are those who are afraid of Louisiana residents having access to legal representation to enforce environmental laws.And some are afraid of peer-reviewed science that shedslight on the environmental and public health costs of pollution and takes an honest accountingofwhat we are truly get-
Accolades to whoever had theAndrea Bocelli concert visit New Orleans. It was fabulous andextremely entertaining. Now for thebig problem: The parking dilemma needs to be resolved. All of the“open” gates at the Superdome need to be opened so all traffic heading east on Poydras can park quickly Thankfully,the concert was delayed by about20minutes for those caught in the rain
Marie Curie stated, “Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood.” The governor’s triumphant response to Terrell’sresignation reveals aperceived victory of politics over sciencebut it is as misplaced as it is premature. We understand that it is our clients’ voices thatare the true target, and so we follow our clients’ lead and fear not. The clinic is still here,the science isn’tgoing away, and we will notgodown withouta fight.
LISA JORDAN director, Environmental LawClinic,Tulane Law School
and trying to park somewhere. Samewith theSmoothie King Center —more entrances need to be madeavailable for the public.
Let’ssee if an engineer with the city can work on resolving this issue with the traffic and parking. It is quite aggravating forall drivers at any concert or sporting event.
MICHAEL
BOWEN Baton Rouge
Landry
Iwant to express appreciation to the Louisiana Legislature and the progress it madeinpassing important reforms to Louisiana’scivil justice system One of these reforms is Senate Bill 231. While we still have along waytogoinreducing insurance costs in Louisiana, we have madeastart. The governor has been aleader in this issue as well. He signed SB231 into law,bringing more balance to Louisiana’slegal landscape. This will send asignal that we are open forbusiness by bringing our policies in line with those of other pro-growth states.
D.L. RICARD NewOrleans
STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS
Abald cypress tree towers above asloughatA.E. LeBlanc Natural Area and Old-Growth Cypress Forest.
COMMENTARY
SEA YOUINCOURT!
Louisianahas watereverywhere. It must be tough to be alittle fish down there. In this week’s underseascenario, here’s aplace where theycan settletheirdisputes.
So,what’s going on in this cartoon? youtell me.Bewitty,funny, crazy,absurd or snarky —just trytokeep it clean.There’snolimit on the number of entries.
The winning punchlinewill be lettered into the word balloon and runonMonday, July 14, in our printeditionsand online. In addition, the winner will receivea signed print of the cartoon along witha cool winner’sT-shirt! Somehonorable mentions will also be listed.
To enter,emailentriestocartooncontest@theadvocate.com.
DON’T FORGET! Allentriesmust include your name,homeaddress and phone number.Cell numbersare best.
The deadline for all entries is midnight on Thursday, July 10.
Good luck, everyone!— Walt
COLUMBIA, South Carolina As Icruised west on I-20 toward the state’scapital city,mycar’sthermostatmeasured the outsidetemperature at 103 degrees and this was without factoring in the heat index, which would have raised it to about 109.
Letthe countdown begin to 250
Those annoying countdown clocks the cable TV networks use to letusknow howmuchtime remains before apresidentialaddress or something else regardedasworthy of ourattentionmight be useful as America begins the countdown to the 250thanniversary of the publication of the DeclarationofIndependence. Aquestionthatwould be helpful fordiscussion during ourincreasingly dividedtimesmight be: “Whatdoes it meantobe an American”? Is it defined in the lyrics of the LeeGreenwood song “I’m proud to be an American where at least Iknow I’m free”? That doesn’tfully answerthe question: whatisanAmerican and even more, what is America?
Schoolchildren once studiedsuch things before American history was rewritten in many public schoolsand universitiestofita progressive narrative Theylearnedthatthe country was namedfor the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci,whose claim to fame was the discoverythatthe land he wasexploring, the New World, was notapartofAsia, but aseparatecontinent. German cartographerMartin Waldseemuller used Vespucci’s first name, whose Latin versionwas “Americus,” to labelthe future United States on amap he drew in 1507. The name “America” wasquickly and universally accepted. Today we might have hada naming contest.
Thatstill doesn’tanswer the questionastowhatisAmericaand who are Americans?
Frank Sinatra gave his answer in a song titled“The House ILive In.” In the run-up to singing it, Sinatra’snarration includes: “Only in Americacould all that’shappened to me, happentoaguy like me.Anywhere else Imight have wound up digging coal.”
Thatgetsclose to answering the questions.
The last time Iwas this hotwas four years ago, when my son and Idrove across the Mojave Desert in July en route tohis newhome in California. Ata rest stop midway,Ispotteda proud flowering shrub, walked over and congratulated it. Back in the car with Leo, apit/border collie hybrid panting lovingly down our necks, we gazed at the gas gauge’sremaining miles and compared the figure withthe miles to our destination —amuch larger number.Then Iestimated howmuch water we had left and tried nottothink about howlong we’d last if the worst happened. Suddenly,myson and Iboth screamed. Aroad sign suggesting a town —Ludlow —had materialized through the waves of heat.Another sign read, “Next Services 27 Miles.” Surely this meant gasoline, no? Searchingthe horizon, we saw what looked like alow building with asign perched high above bearingthe number 76 encircled in orange. Gas!
We took the exit and were ecstatic to find apump in front of ashuttered store. Just one, but it worked. Ludlow, population 9, is in California and was once an important water stop for the railroadalong Route 66. Otherwise, it seems to be aplace where aperson goes to be forgotten by the other 8. The heat let up by about 45 degrees when we reached Ventura on the coast, and we thought we’d landed in heaven. I’ve known few happier moments, which is testament to theimportance of one’senvirons to well-being. Vacations speak to this, too. Alas, the heat in South Carolina shows no sign of relenting, even if the dome relocates. Nearly everyone thinks it’s becoming hotter each year,and science seems to bear this out. Thenumber and intensity of heat waves are increasing, as are the frequency and severityof hurricanes. As long as we do nothing to curtailgreenhouse-gas emissions, temperaturesare projected to rise more —though South Carolina is aregional
leader intrying to mitigateclimate change, as wellasstorm surges and other environmental repercussions, according to theSouthern Environmental LawCenter
Otherstates, notably Washington, Oregon,California, Vermont, Massachusettsand Maryland, areahead of the rest in taking stepstoprotect theenvironment. Theseexceptions notwithstanding, my drive to Columbia convinced me that Homosapiens is the stupidest species on the planet
If you’ve been on an airplane recently,you can’thave missed them, scattered on theoutskirts of cities and towns —densely populated minidesertswith naryatree. Not even a proud shrub.
Theaffordable-housing shortage of thepast several years has given rise to fast-and-cheap development that no one seems to want but that developers and officialdom justify as necessary Sure, we need more houses witha patch of grass for first-time home buyers,preferably near workplaces and schools.
Butwhy not afew trees, too?
Bulldozing old-growth forests to make way for chockablock housing a stone’sthrow from the interstate is illogical,ifnot counterintuitive. Trees conserve water by absorbing stormwaterrunoff, and they reduce erosion by stabilizing soil.
Most anyone prefers ayard with
trees andthe shade they provide, but developersclaim critical costsavings are passed on to buyers. This might be so, but why not raise standards that ultimately benefitthosebuyers, as well as their communities?
The same lack of imagination governs the paved parking lots that resemble asphalt deserts. Tryfinding ashade tree to parkunder next time you’re at WalmartorCostco. With allour smarts and technology,wecan’tcome up with abetter way to provide parking than impermeable asphalt?Thereare alternatives,but first we must demand them. I’ve wandered abit from Ludlow here, but thetheme is thesame. We need to adapttohotter times, not by becoming accustomed to the heat but by changing the way we build and preserving our natural resources. As someonewho grew up in Florida beforeschools and most homes were air-conditioned, I’m as heat-tolerant as anyone. ButIcan assure you that theFlorida heat and humidityfrom decades ago can’tcompare to what so manyAmericans have been experiencing during thepast week’sheat wave. Ourdesertlike heat these days should motivate us to start acting smarter,orit’sonly going to get worse.
Kathleen Parker is on X, @KathleenParker
Baton
Americaisa land of opportunity for those who can seeitand seize it. If you can’t make it here,you are unlikely to do as well anywhere else. America is also aboutovercoming obstacles. Their storiesusedtoinspire people who hada bad start in life before we acceptedthe false notionthatweare entitled to whatothers ownand don’thave to work for it.
Americaisanideainacontinuing quest forthe ideal.Whenwehavefailed to live up to the Declaration and our constitutional principles, we don’tgive up. We try to make things right because we have astandard —a foundation— that defineswhatisright. “Wehold these truths to be self-evident.” Such truths (“endowedbyour Creator with certain unalienable rights”) helped us overcome the evil scourge of slavery and the denial of civil rights to those who descended from the enslaved. What other nation offers suchopportunitiesand hope?
Freedom is not“just another word for nothing left to lose,” as Janis Joplin sang. But with freedom comes responsibility, including the expectation it will be renewedbyeach succeeding generation. As Ronald Reagan correctly stated: “Freedom is nevermore than one generationaway fromextinction. We didn’t pass it to ourchildreninthe bloodstream. It must be fought for,protected, andhandedonfor themtodothe same, or oneday we will spend our sunset yearstelling ourchildren and our children’schildrenwhat it was once like in the United Stateswhere menwere free.” Let’shaveaconversation during these next 365 days aboutwhat it means to be an American andwhatwewill do to renewAmerica forthe next generation while preserving it for the current ones. In answertothe questions about Americaand Americans, it’shardtoimprove on the motto inscribedonthe Great Seal of the United States—Epluribus unum, “frommany, one.” Letthe countdown begin.
Email Cal Thomas at tcaeditorstribpub. com.
Kathleen Parker Cal
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JULIA DEMAREENIKHINSON
AU.S.Capitol Police officer pours water on his head outsidethe Capitol in Washington.
NewOrleans Forecast
SUMMER BREW
BY ROD WALKER Staff writer
Corey Brewer has done a little bit of everything in basketball.
He won back-to-back national championships at the University of Florida, earning Most Outstanding Player in the 2007 Final Four He won an NBA title with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011.
His 13-year NBA career included a 51-point game for the Minnesota Timberwolves against the Houston Rockets on April 12, 2014.
He even finds time to play in the Big3, the 3-on-3 league founded by Ice Cube Brewer, entering his sixth season on the New Orleans Pelicans coaching staff, now gets to do something he’s always wanted to do. He’ll sit in the coveted first chair on the bench as head coach of the Pelicans’ Summer League team.
“It’s a great opportunity for me,” Brewer said. “Thanks to the Pelicans organization and coach (Willie) Green for letting me have this role of being a head coach and coming out here and teaching these guys.” Brewer conducted his first practice
BY RONALD BLUM AP baseball writer
NEW YORK Dodgers pitcher
Clayton Kershaw was picked for his 11th All-Star Game, and Paul Skenes, James Wood and Elly De La Cruz boosted the 23-andunder group to five when they were picked Sunday for the July 15 showcase at Atlanta’s Truist Park. Wood at 22 is the youngest of the 65 All-Stars, while Skenes, De La Cruz and fan-elected starters Pete Crow-Armstrong and Jacob Wilson are all 23. Cal Raleigh and Yoshinobu Yamamoto joined Wood, Wilson and Crow-Armstrong among 19
See BREWER, page 4C
first-time All-Stars. Wood was acquired by Washington in the August 2022 trade that sent outfielder Juan Soto to San Diego. “It’ll just be cool being around some of the best players in the game,” Wood said. Kershaw last week became the 20th pitcher to reach 3,000 strikeouts, and commissioner Rob Manfred made the lefthander the 65th All-Star as a so-called Legend Pick, his first since selecting Miguel Cabrera and Albert Pujols in 2022 under a provision in the collective bargaining agreement. Kershaw gives the Dodgers
ä See MLB, page 4C
BY DOUG FEINBERG AP basketball writer
NEW YORK For the second straight season to begin her professional career, former LSU standout and national champion Angel Reese is a WNBA AllStar Reese was selected Sunday among the reserves for the WNBA All-Star Game that is set for July 19 in Indianapolis. Reese was a starter during
39.1% from the field. She is the only player in the league averaging at least 10 rebounds per game. When Reese’s selection was announced to her teammates prior to the Chicago Sky’s game Sunday against the Minnesota Lynx, they celebrated and goaded her into a speech.
“I’m very thankful for you guys,” Reese said. “I don’t think individual awards happen without the team so I appreciate you guys for standing with me, sticking by me publicly and privately through the whole season, so thank you guys. I love you guys.” Also announced Sunday, Kayla Thornton, Gabby Williams, Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron will be making their AllStar debuts as reserves.
Thornton has been in the league for nine years and finally is getting her chance to play in the exhibition game She was selected in the expansion draft by Golden State last year from New York and has helped the expansion team get off to a good start.
“It would be such a reward for her,” said New York coach Sandy Brondello, who will be one of the All-Star coaches. “She’s been a role player all her career, but to go into a new organization and do so well, I voted for her as an alternate to get there because she deserves it.” Williams has been in the league for six seasons, although she’s missed time to play with France’s national team. She’s having a strong season for Seattle this year Washington rookies Iriafen and Citron join Dallas’ Paige Bueckers as first-year players on the All-Star team. Bueckers was chosen as a starter It’s the first time that three rookies will be playing in the game since 2011.
Other reserves chosen include Seattle’s Skylar Diggins, Phoenix’s Alyssa Thomas, Atlanta’s Rhyne Howard, Indiana’s Kelsey Mitchell, Los Angeles’ Kelsey Plum, Minnesota’s Courtney Williams and Las Vegas’ Jackie Young.
“It means a lot to go with these other two,” said Diggins, who will be making her seventh All-Star appearance, of playing with teammates Nneka
ä See REESE, page 4C
revelations of his financial and legal woes surfaced. The Pistons pulled their $42 million offer and signed someone else, leaving Beasley to wonder what’s next. He could be exonerated, or he could be suspended or banned if linked to gambling on NBA games. The reflex reaction is to lament
the perils of legalized gambling, which is a simplistic and unhelpful response. There are perils to alcohol use and other societal vices, but they’ll never be abuse-free, no matter how many disclaimers and warning labels are attached. Online gambling has become a multibillion-dollar industry, and the states that legalize it now up to 39 — reap tax revenue. A lot of money is being made, and yes, a lot of money is being lost. But you’re kidding yourself if you think this is a raging new-age problem. Legalization
brought gambling out of the shadows, but it didn’t eliminate shadowy irresponsibility and the addictive nature of humans.
Creating temptation
Online sites such as FanDuel and DraftKings are required to regulate and monitor When gambling improprieties are suspected, they’re usually uncovered by professional sites and casinos, which report them to authorities. According to ESPN, the feds
ä
Van Gisbergen masters Chicago
He sweeps Xfinity, Cup road courses
BY JAY COHEN AP sports writer
CHICAGO Shane van Gisbergen burned out his tires in celebration, sending white smoke into the air
He signed a rugby ball and punted it into the stands in downtown Chicago.
It was a familiar scene.
Van Gisbergen completed a Windy City sweep Sunday, winning the NASCAR Cup Series race on the tricky street course in downtown Chicago.
“Epic weekend for us. I’m a lucky guy,” van Gisbergen said A talented one, too.
The 36-year-old New Zealand native became the second driver to sweep the Xfinity and Cup races in a single weekend from the pole, joining Kyle Busch at Indianapolis in 2016. With his third career Cup win, he also became the winningest foreign-born driver on NASCAR’s top series.
It was van Gisbergen’s second victory of the season after the Trackhouse Racing driver also won last month on a Mexico City road course.
“He’s the best road course stock car racer that I’ve ever seen,” Trackhouse owner Justin Marks said. “I think when he’s done with us all and walks away from the sport, I think he’s going to walk away as the best road course racer that this sport has ever seen.” Marks brought van Gisbergen
over from Australia’s Supercars for the first edition of NASCAR’s Chicago experiment in 2023, and he became the first driver to win his Cup debut since Johnny Rutherford in the second qualifying race at Daytona in 1963.
He also won Chicago’s Xfinity Series stop last year and the first stage in the Cup race before he was knocked out by a crash
“This joint, it’s changed my life,” van Gisbergen said “I didn’t have any plans to do more NASCAR races when I first came over here, and I never thought I’d be in NAS-
CAR full time.”
In what might be the last NASCAR race on the downtown Chicago circuit, Ty Gibbs was second and Tyler Reddick finished third. Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch rounded out the top five.
“My team called a great strategy and got me in position to get me up front to compete for the win,” Gibbs said “It worked out for us today, so I’m glad to have a good finish, but we wish we could have gone for the win.”
Michael McDowell joined van Gisbergen on the front row and quickly moved in front. He won
Stage 1 and led for 31 laps before he was derailed by a throttle cable issue.
Van Gisbergen regained the lead when he passed Chase Briscoe with 16 laps left. As fog and rain moved into downtown Chicago, van Gisbergen controlled the action the rest of the way
AJ Allmendinger was sixth, and Ryan Preece finished seventh.
Ryan Blaney, who won the second stage, was 12th.
“I thought overall it was a pretty decent day It was nice to win that stage,” Blaney said.
William Byron’s day was cut short by a clutch problem. The Hendrick Motorsports driver leads the point standings by 13 points over Chase Elliott.
After McDowell seized the lead early in the race, Carson Hocevar caused a multicar crash when he hit the wall and spun out between turns 10 and 11. Brad Keselowski, Austin Dillon, Daniel Suárez and Will Brown were among the drivers collected in the wreck.
“I didn’t see it until the last second,” Keselowski said. “I slowed down and I actually felt I was going to get stopped and then I just kind of got ran over from behind.
It’s just a narrow street course and sometimes there’s nowhere to go.”
Ty Dillon and Reddick moved into the third round of NASCAR’s inaugural in-season tournament when Keselowski and Hocevar were unable to finish the race.
Dillon, the No. 32 seed, eliminated Keselowski after he upset topseeded Denny Hamlin last weekend at Atlanta.
Campbell wins second PGA playoff of season
The Associated Press SILVIS, Ill. — Brian Campbell won for the second time this year on the PGA Tour, both in a playoff, when he closed with a 4-under 67 and beat Emiliano Grillo with a par on the first extra hole Sunday in the John Deere Classic. It extended the win-or-bust season for Campbell, who won the Mexico Open in a playoff in late February He has finished out of the top 30 in every tournament except for his two victories. This one might be enough to get him into the British Open, depending on how high up he moves in the world ranking published Monday traditionally used as the alternate list.
Campbell appeared to have control of the tournament with three birdies in a four-hole stretch to start the back nine. But he fell back with a double bogey into the
trees on the 15th, and it was a wild scramble to the finish.
Grillo, who also closed with a 67, took the lead when Campbell made double bogey, only to threeputt for bogey on the 16th. Campbell, one of the shorter hitters on tour, blasted a 3-wood to 18 feet for a two-putt birdie on the par-5 17th and narrowly missed a 25-foot birdie on the 18th. He was the first player to post at 18-under 266.
Grillo got up-and-down for birdie on the 17th, holing an 8-foot putt, and caught a bad break on the 18th when his drive settled into a divot. He hit wedge to just inside 40 feet and two-putted for par to join Campbell at 266. David Lipsky was poised to join them when he hit a punch 3-wood to 8 feet for eagle on the 17th to tie for the lead But he hooked his drive on the 18th, couldn’t reach the green, and his 15-foot par putt
to get into the playoff caught the left lip and spun away He shot 68 and tied for third with Kevin Roy (65). The playoff lacked any real drama. Campbell hit a beautiful trap draw to about 15 feet on the 18th. Grillo, who caught a break when his drive to the right was sitting up in trampled rough, sent long over the green. His flop shot didn’t quite reach the putting surface, and his par attempt from 25 feet never had a chance.
“I got myself there. I gave myself a chance,” Grillo said. “I made some good putts. Hit a good putt on the 72nd and that’s all I can do.” Campbell becomes the fifth player this year to have multiple victories in individual tournaments on the PGA Tour, joining Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy Sepp Straka and Ryan Fox.
Brewers RHP Woodruff tosses gem after long layoff
Milwaukee Brewers righthander Brandon Woodruff struck out eight and threw two-hit ball through six innings against Miami on Sunday to win his first start in the majors since Sept. 23, 2023.
The two-time All-Star hadn’t pitched in the big leagues since having shoulder surgery after the 2023 season.
Woodruff (1-0) struck out the side in the first inning and was lifted after six innings and throwing 53 of his 70 pitches for strikes without a walk in the 3-1 victory
Both of the hits he allowed were by Marlins left fielder Heriberto Hernandez, who singled in the third and homered in the fifth.
“No one could have expected six innings, two-hit ball or whatever it was,” manager Pat Murphy said
Guardians place outfielder Thomas on injured list
Guardians outfielder Lane Thomas was placed on the 10-day injured list because of plantar fasciitis in his right foot Sunday before Cleveland faced the Detroit Tigers.
The move is retroactive to Saturday Infielder Will Wilson was recalled from Triple-A Columbus.
Thomas also missed 11 games in late May and early June because of plantar fasciitis in his right foot. Manager Stephen Vogt said before the game that next week’s All-Star break should give Thomas plenty of time to rest up for the second half of the season.
Thomas also missed five weeks because of a right wrist bone bruise after getting hit by a pitch during the April 8 home opener against the Chicago White Sox.
Cavaliers re-sign Merrill, bring back ex-Pel Nance
The Cleveland Cavaliers will have a pair of familiar players back next season.
The Cavs announced Sunday they have re-signed Sam Merrill to a four-year contract and brought back Larry Nance Jr for a second stint on a one-year deal.
Merrill averaged 7.2 points and made 137 3-pointers in 71 games last season. The fifth-year guard had 27 points and nine 3s on Feb. 2 at Dallas. Merrill was the final pick in the 2020 draft by New Orleans before joining the Cavaliers in March 2023.
Nance, a former Pelicans player, spent parts of four seasons with the Cavs from 2018-21. He appeared in 182 games, including 76 starts, and averaged 9.5 points and 7.5 rebounds
Cowboys return man, WR Turpin arrested near Dallas
All-Pro return man KaVontae Turpin of the Dallas Cowboys was arrested in a Dallas suburb on misdemeanor charges of marijuana possession and unlawful carrying of a weapon, authorities said Sunday Turpin was arrested by police in Allen on Saturday The 28-year-old is out of jail on bond. There is no record of an attorney for Turpin. The team declined to comment.
The former TCU standout is going into his fourth season with the Cowboys and recently signed an $18 million, three-year contract.
The Cowboys signed Turpin out of the USFL in 2022. He had played in several satellite football leagues before joining the USFL. Turpin had career-bests of 31 catches for 420 yards and scored two touchdowns last season.
Irish offensive lineman
He finished about a half-hour ahead of the final group, but Campbell chose to stay in the clubhouse to see whether his score would hold up instead of staying loose on the practice range. He said it was hot enough that it was better to cool off and get some rest, and there was no arguing with the result — he drilled his drive down the middle and put all the pressure on Grillo with his approach to the green. Max Homa, winless in more than two years, ran off three straight birdies early in the round to briefly take the lead. He played the last 14 holes in 1 over, missing key putts to stay in the game, and wound up with a 69 to tie for fifth. It was his first top 10 on the PGA Tour in nearly 15 months. Five others tied for fifth, including 47-year-old Matt Kuchar, who closed with a 66, and Lucas Glover, who shot a 64.
Jagusah injured in crash
Notre Dame offensive lineman
Charles Jagusah broke his left arm Saturday in a utility task vehicle crash in Wyoming.
School officials announced Sunday that Jagusah had surgery to repair his fractured humerus, which is a bone located between the shoulder and elbow They said the initial prognosis was “favorable” and that he would return to campus this week for continued care. This marks the second consecutive year that Jagusah, one of Notre Dame’s most promising offensive linemen, has suffered a major injury before the season.
Jagusah was projected to open 2024 as Notre Dame’s starting left tackle, but he tore his right pectoral muscle during preseason practice. He came back to play in the Fighting Irish’s final three College Football Playoff games.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ERIN HOOLEy
Shane van Gisbergen does a victory burnout after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at the Grant Park 165 on Sunday in Chicago.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHTO By ERIN HOOLEy
Shane van Gisbergen holds the trophy after winning a NASCAR Cup Series race Sunday in Chicago. He also won the Xfinity race on Saturday
Mexico beats U.S. for 10th Gold Cup
By The Assoicated Press
HOUSTON Edson Álvarez scored a tiebreaking goal in the 77th minute after a video review reversed an offside call, and Mexico beat the United States 2-1 on Sunday night for its record 10th CONCACAF Gold Cup title.
Chris Richards put the U.S. ahead in the fourth minute, heading in a Sebastian Berhalter free kick for the second time in the tournament, but Raúl Jiménez tied the score in the 27th with his third goal of this Gold Cup.
Mexico was awarded the free kick when Diego Luna fouled Alexis Vega on a flank. Johan Vásquez flicked the restart across the goal mouth and Álvarez burst past the defense, redirecting the ball from 3 yards just inside Matt Freese’s far post. While the play was initially called offside, the goal was awarded by the VAR, and Mexico defended its title from 2023 while improving to 6-2 in Gold Cup finals against the U.S. Patrick Agyemang had a chance two minutes into stoppage time, but he didn’t make good contact on his short-range shot that was blocked by goalkeeper Luis Malagón.
“We’re disappointed obviously to not come away with a win,” U.S. captain Tim Ream said. A sellout crowd of 70,925 at NRG Stadium was about 70% pro-Mexico and booed U.S. players when they walked out for pregame warmups. Mexico dominated with 60% possession and had 12 corner kicks to none for the Americans.
This was the last competitive match for the U.S. and Mexico be-
Mexico midfielder Edson Álvarez celebrates after scoring against the
CONCACAF Gold Cup final match in Houston on Sunday.
fore co-hosting next year’s World Cup with Canada.
The U.S., which has seven Gold Cup titles but none since 2021, used a starting lineup with only a handful of players currently projected as World Cup starters, missing regulars because of vacation, injuries and the Club World Cup.
Coach Mauricio Pochettino used their absence to evaluate players who could push for starting jobs
during the friendlies this fall and next spring, and Luna, Agyemang and Freese emerged as contenders for World Cup roster spots.
Richards put the U.S. in front when he headed Berhalter’s free kick from about 40 yards off the crossbar The ball bounced straight down and just crossed the goal line.
Jiménez scored his 42nd international goal, third-most in Mexican history He burst past the
defense and one-timed the pass from Marcel Ruiz, beating Freese from about 10 yards on a shot that might have nicked Ream.
Jiménez celebrated by grabbing a Mexico No. 20 jersey with “DIOGO J” in honor of Diogo Jota, his former Wolverhampton teammate who died in a car crash Thursday in Spain. Jiménez ran to a corner, sat down with the jersey and mimicked playing a video game.
Norway, Switzerland prevail in Women’s Euro
BY GRAHAM DUNBAR AP sports writer
SION, Switzerland Norway winger
Caroline Graham Hansen showed Sunday why she was second in the Ballon d’Or vote last year to her superstar Barcelona teammate Aitana Bonmatí.
Graham Hansen lifted Norway into the quarterfinals of the Women’s European Championships with a decisive late goal in a 2-1 win over Finland.
It meant Norway became the first team in the knockout rounds as the winner of Group A after host Switzerland beat Iceland 2-0 in the later game Sunday In the 84th minute of a tied game, there seemed little danger when Graham Hansen got the ball tight on the right wing marked by two Finland opponents 45 yards from goal.
She dribbled past both players detailed to stop her, darted into the penalty area, met two more defenders, deceived them and created space to float a deft chip that went into the net off the far post.
Maybe it was a cross aimed for Norway captain Ada Hegerberg but it still looked great.
“It was a half-shot, half-cross,” Graham Hansen said “If it wasn’t going in, it was going to Ada. You have to make something happen
EURO CUP ROUNDUP
out of nothing.” Just three minutes earlier, she had missed a much easier chance to win the game by scooping a shot
over the bar when having almost too much time to think and pick her spot
“You maybe feel like that was the chance that could have secured the victory,” Graham Hansen said.
“But you can’t stay in the past.
SWITZERLAND 2, ICELAND 0: In Bern, Switzerland, host nation Switzerland put its Women’s European Championship campaign back on track with a win over Iceland, eliminating its opponents in the process and avoiding the possibility of a penalty shootout in its final group match
Géraldine Reuteler netted with 14 minutes remaining as the Stadion Wankdorf erupted in celebration in a sea of red, and Alayah Pilgrim sealed the result right at the death to leave their team on the brink of history.
“This is something special I have to say,” said Switzerland coach Pia Sundhage, who steered the United States to two Olympic titles. “I did not believe that Swiss people could create this kind of atmosphere.”
It was only a second-ever win at the Euros for Switzerland, which has never made it to the knockout stages.
It will now be all to play for on Thursday when Switzerland meets Finland in their final group match, with a place in the quarterfinals at stake Both teams are level on three points — three points behind Norway, which beat Finland 2-1 earlier and has now advanced to the knockout stage as Group A champion.
Nationals clear out manager, general manager
By The Associated Press
WASHINGTON Manager Dave Martinez and general manager
have been investigating Beasley for 18 months — back to his one season with the Milwaukee Bucks after getting tipped by a U.S. sportsbook. The Detroit News also reported Beasley has been sued numerous times for debt repayments.
Gambling used to be a tedious, dangerous endeavor, run by neighborhood bookies and organized crime. Now everyone — at least in states with legalized gambling basically has a casino on their phone, a pocketbook in their pocket. Convenience creates temptation and consequences. The mechanisms are new, but the debate isn’t, and there’s no turning back. Sports and gambling sites are inextricably linked by sponsorship and viewership. Is it too pervasive and unseemly? Well, that question can’t be answered unless you answer these: Are $200 million contracts in pro sports too pervasive and unseemly? What about the rivers of money flowing through college sports now? What about the rising cost of tickets?
Everything about sports in America is overwrought, and I won’t be hypocritical here. I cover sports for newspaper, radio
and TV, which all make money from gambling ads You lose the “Sports Are Too Big” argument when it’s so lucrative, and fans are so passionate, and so many livelihoods are tied to it.
Legalized gambling has elevated sports’ popularity and rocketed revenue for better or worse. Since gambling was legalized after a Supreme Court ruling in 2018, it has become a cumbersome part of the viewing experience. But it also has set up guardrails and guidelines.
Beasley is the latest NBA player to come under scrutiny In April 2024, Jontay Porter of the Toronto Raptors was suspended for life for manipulating prop bets and sharing information with gamblers. In that same case, Charlotte guard Terry Rozier was investigated and ultimately cleared In 2007, long before legalized gambling a scandal shook sports to its core. NBA referee Tim Donaghy was found guilty of betting on games he officiated and sharing information with gamblers. He spent 15 months in prison, and the NBA spent untold time assessing damage to its reputation. That’s partly why the league now so closely tracks betting activity
The problem is, one case stirs suspicions of more, and suspicion tears at the foundation of sports. In the infamous 1919
Black Sox Scandal, White Sox players were accused of throwing the World Series, which led to suspensions and trials. I doubt that was the only gambling issue then, just like I don’t assume the NBA cases are completely isolated.
Collateral consequences
The issue is churning toward college athletics, too. The NCAA is considering a proposal that would allow athletes and staff to bet on pro sports. The governing body would focus instead on illegal betting on college events, which are more susceptible to gambling influences, with athletes living among thousands of students. The NCAA always is ripe for hypocrisy charges, and probably realizes a blanket ban on online gambling isn’t practical. The business is still expanding, with gambling sites’ revenue up a reported 30% last year Two huge markets are still untapped, as the largest states — California and Texas have yet to legalize. Unfortunately, there are collateral consequences There’s a hidden toll on athlete-fan interactions, which rears in ugly ways Players in all sports have complained about social media threats from gamblers who blame athletes’ miscues for losing a bet. Anonymity breeds cowardice and contempt. Numerous fanheckling incidents have been tied
to angry losers. It’s even more personal with prop bets, in which people gamble on a single player’s statistics, such as how many points or rebounds they record.
That was noted in the Beasley investigation, when a game between the Bucks and Blazers on Jan. 31, 2024, was flagged by sportsbooks for abnormal betting volumes. According to ESPN, Beasley’s over/under rebound total was set at 2.5 and gamblers bet heavily on the under Beasley actually went over, with six rebounds. Again, no charges have been filed.
Prop bets can create problems because they’re more easily manipulated, usually involving only one athlete, unless part of a larger parlay. Is one solution to eliminate prop bets and allow wagering only on wins and losses and team totals? Some states have adopted that approach. But props and parlays are extremely popular, with gambling sites offering hundreds of options.
The Beasley situation brought it closer to home and illuminated the danger, but it’s always been there in some form. There’s a massive, shared incentive for leagues and gambling entities to police the system. If the integrity of a solitary bet is questioned, it can raise suspicions about the integrity of the game itself. And if that ever happens on a regular basis, all bets are off.
Mike Rizzo were fired by the Washington Nationals on Sunday, more than halfway through their sixth consecutive losing season since winning the 2019 World Series.
The move came after the Nationals were swept by the Boston Red Sox. They are 3753, and the only other National League club with a worse record is the Colorado Rockies
“Our family is eternally grateful for their years of dedication to the organization, including their roles in bringing a World Series trophy to Washington,” owner Mark Lerner said in a statement. “While we are appreciative of their past successes, the on-field performance has not been where we or our fans expect it to be. This is a pivotal time for our club, and we believe a fresh approach and new energy is the best course of action for our team moving forward.”
Rizzo’s time running the Nationals is over after more than a decade and a half. One of the Lerners’ first hires when they assumed control of the organization, Rizzo had been GM since 2009 and had president of baseball operations added to his title in 2013.
“He played an instrumental role in leading the transformation of our farm system and building a roster that reached an unprecedented level of organizational success,” Lerner said. “Mike helped make us who we are as an organization, and we’re so thankful to him for his hard work and dedication.”
Senior vice president and assistant general manager Mike DeBartolo is taking over for Rizzo on an interim basis. Washington has the No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft.
Martinez became the fourth manager fired since the start of the season after Pittsburgh’s Derek Shelton, Colorado’s Bud Black and Baltimore’s Brandon Hyde. It was not immediately clear who would succeed Martinez, who last month bristled at a question about how to spread the blame among players and coaches.
“It’s never on coaching,” Martinez said in June. “Never on coaching. Coaches work their (butts) off every single day We’re not going to finger point here and say it’s coaches It’s never on the coaches. They work hard. The message is clear All the work is done prior So, sometimes, they have to go out there and play the game. It’s always been about the players. Always.”
Martinez had never been a manager at any level when Rizzo hired him to replace Dusty Baker before the 2018 season. The Nationals went 82-80 in Martinez’s first season and got off to a 19-31 start the next year, leading to some calls for him to be replaced.
But Rizzo stuck with Martinez, and that decision paid off in a big way Led by starting pitchers Stephen Strasburg, who earned World Series MVP honors, and Max Scherzer, rookie outfielder Juan Soto, young shortstop Trea Turner and a string of veterans — including Howie Kendrick, Ryan Zimmerman and Anthony Rendon the Nationals won the franchise’s first title. They took a step back in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, and then Rizzo began tearing apart the roster, making a series of trades that sent Scherzer, Soto, Turner and others elsewhere.
The reconstruction has continued, without much in the way of concrete progress in the standings to show for it, although the team does have some building blocks that show promise, including starter MacKenzie Gore, shortstop CJ Abrams, and outfielders James Wood and Dylan Crews. Gore and Wood are NL All-Stars
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ALESSANDRA TARANTINO Norway’s Caroline Graham, left, celebrates with Ada Hegerberg after scoring her side’s second goal during the Euro 2025, group A, soccer match between Norway and Finland at Stade de Tourbillon in Sion, Switzerland on Sunday.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ASHLEy LANDIS
United States in the second half of the
Martinez
Rizzo
Guardiansendurelongest skid in 13 years
BY JOE REEDY AP sports writer
CLEVELAND Stephen Vogt has tried to look at the bright side despiteeverything that has gone wrong for his Cleveland Guardians over the past two weeks.
“We’re all wearing it. It’sfrustrating, but the only way to get through frustrating situations is to stay positive and keep working,” the manager said before Sunday’s game against Detroit.
Vogt’spower of positivity is going to be tested over the next week.
Sunday’s7-2 loss to the Tigers in 10 innings extended the Guardians’ losing streak to 10 games, the first time since 2012 they’ve had a double-digit skid
It is the 11th time in franchise history they have lost 10 straight in a single season. The team recordis 12,set in 1931.
Clutch hitting hasbeeneven worse. The Guardians are 5of52 during the losing streak with runners in scoring position,including 2for 31 with two out.
“I feel like we’re getting our runners on just waiting for that onebig hit.The pitchersare doingwhat theyhave to do. We had some good defense last couple days,” said Steven Kwan, who earned his second straightALAll-Star selection on Sunday Cleveland went9-15inJune and hada.206 batting average, which is tied forthe third-worst batting monthinfranchisehistory with at least 13 games played.
TheGuardians arewinless in six July games, including two shutouts.
dropped 21 points to .297.
Pitching for the most part has been solid, but has faltered at key times. On Sunday,closer Emmanuel Clase threw awild pitch on a99.9 mph cutter on a1-2 count with two outs in the ninth inning, allowing pinch-runner Zach McKinstry to score the tying run.
Trey Sweeney’sthree-run homer in the10th inning markedthe first timethatsomeonehad gone deep on Cade Smith in 81 appearances and782/3 innings.
“We’re all wearing it. It’sfrustrating,but the onlyway to get through frustrating situationsis to stay positive and keep working,” Vogt said.
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at least fiveAll-Stars for the sixth straightseason. The oldest NL AllStar at 37 and most senior All-Star with 11 selections, Kershaw is joined by Yamamotoand fan-elected starters Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Will Smith. Kershaw said he didn’twant to discuss the selection on Sunday. Detroit and Seattle will have four players eachatthe game
Starting pitchers Hunter Brown of Houston, Garrett Crochet of Boston, Jacob deGrom of Texas, Max Fried of the New York Yankees and Tarik Skubal of Detroit were voted to the AL staff by players, managers and coaches. Relievers Aroldis Chapman of Boston, Josh Hader of Houston and Andrés Muñoz of Seattle also made it. Chapman is the oldestAll-Star born 19 days before Kershaw AL reservespicked by players included Toronto catcher Alejandro Kirk, Tampa Bay first baseman Jonathan Aranda and second baseman Brandon Lowe, Houston shortstop Jeremy Peña, Boston third baseman AlexBregman, Athletics designated hitter Brent Rooker,and outfielders ByronBuxton of Minnesota, Steven Kwan of Cleveland and Julio Rodríguez of Seattle MLB used itssix picksonpitchers Kris Bubic of Kansas City, Yusei Kikuchi of the Los Angeles
At 40-48,the Guardians are assured of goingintothe All-Star break under .500 for the first time since 2015
Cleveland is 61/2 games out of a wild-card spot after it won the AL Central and reachedthe AL Cham-
“This game felt like akick in the pants. It really did. Gut-wrenching. Heart-wrenching,” Vogt said Cleveland is an AL-worst 9-22 since June 1, including a4-12mark at home. The Guardians have droppedeightoftheir last10threegame series and have been swept four times
pionship Series lastseason. Repeatingasdivisionchampions is outof reach with a151/2-game deficit to the Tigers after beingswept over the weekend.
To say the Guardiansare struggling at theplate would be kind. Theyare batting .166 duringthe skid, their worst 10-gamestretch since posting a.163 average in 2020.
MLB ALL-STAR GAME ROSTERS
American League
Starters C: Cal Raleigh(SEA)
1B: Vladimir GuerreroJr. (TOR)
2B: Gleyber Torres (DET)
3B: José Ramírez (CLE)
SS: Jacob Wilson (ATH)
OF:Aaron Judge (NYY)
OF:Riley Greene (DET)
OF:Javier Báez (DET) DH: Ryan O’Hearn (BAL)
Reserves
C: AlejandroKirk (TOR)
INF:JonathanAranda(TB)
INF:Alex Bregman (BOS)
INF:Jazz Chisholm Jr. (NYY)
INF:Brandon Lowe (TB)
INF:JeremyPeña (HOU)
INF:BobbyWitt Jr. (KC)
OF:Byron Buxton (MIN)
OF:Steven Kwan (CLE)
OF:Julio Rodríguez (SEA)
DH: BrentRooker (ATH)
Starting pitchers
RHP: Hunter Brown(HOU)
LHP: Kris Bubic (KC)
LHP: Garrett Crochet (BOS)
RHP: Jacob deGrom (TEX)
LHP: Max Fried (NYY)
LHP: Yusei Kikuchi (LAA)
LHP: Tarik Skubal (DET)
RHP: ShaneSmith (CWS)
RHP: Bryan Woo(SEA)
Relief pitchers
LHP: Aroldis Chapman (BOS)
LHP: Josh Hader (HOU)
RHP: Andrés Muñoz (SEA)
Angels,Shane Smith of the Chicago White Sox and Bryan Wooof Seattle, alongwith Yankees infielder Jazz Chisholmand Kansas City shortstop Bobby Witt Jr Smith becamethe second player since 2000 to becomeanAll-Star in the season after he was selected in the Rule 5draft,following Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla in 2006,according to theElias Sports Bureau. Smithwas left unprotected by Milwaukeeand joined Wilson (Athletics) as the only rookies onthe All-Star rosters.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By CARLOS AVILA GONZALEZ KaylaThornton, left, of the Golden StateValkyries drives tothe basket against the Seattle StorminSan Francisco on June 29
REESE
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Ogwumikeand Williams. Thomas will be making her sixth all-star appearance and first with Phoenix.
“Anytime you’re an All-Star, it’sa huge honor,” Thomas said “There are alot of greatplayers in the league. To be around this long and it to be my sixth is agreat honor.” The reserves were selected by the WNBA’s 13 head coaches, who each voted for three guards, fivefrontcourtplayers andfour players at either position regardless of conference. The coaches were not able to vote for their own players Captains Caitlin Clark and Napheesa Collierwilldraft their teams for the All-Star Game. First they’ll choose from the eight other starters: Breanna Stewart,A’ja Wilson, Bueckers, Ogwumike, All-
WNBA ALL-STARROSTER
Captains Captainsdraft teams Tuesday, July 8 Caitlin Clark, G, Indiana Napheesa Collier, F, Minnesota Starters Paige Bueckers, G, Dallas Sabrina Ionescu, G, New York A’ja Wilson, F, Las Vegas Breanna Stewart, F, New York Aliyah Boston, F, Indiana NnekaOgwumike, F, Seattle Satou Sabally,F,Phoenix Reserves Sonia Citron, G, Washington Skylar Diggins, G, Seattle Rhyne, Howard,G,Atlanta Kiki Iriafen,F,Washington Kelsey Mitchell, G, Indiana Kelsey Plum, G, LosAngeles Angel Reese, F, Chicago Alyssa Thomas, F, Phoenix Kayla Thornton, F, Golden State Courtney Williams, G, Minnesota GabbyWilliams, G, Seattle Jackie Young, G, Las Vegas
isha Gray, Sabrina Ionescu, Satou Sabally and Aliyah Boston. Some notableplayers left offthe team were Washington’sBrittney Sykes, Atlanta’sBrionna Jones, New York’sNatasha Cloud and Los Angeles’ Dearica Hamby. Connecticut was the only team withoutanAll-Star selection.
National League
Starters
C: Will Smith (LAD)
1B: FreddieFreeman (LAD)
2B: Ketel Marte (AZ)
3B: MannyMachado (SD)
SS: Francisco Lindor (NYM)
OF:Ronald Acuña Jr.(ATL)
OF:Pete Crow-Armstrong (CHC)
OF:Kyle Tucker (CHC)
DH: Shohei Ohtani (LAD)
Reserves
C: Hunter Goodman (COL)
INF:Pete Alonso (NYM)
INF:Elly De La Cruz (CIN)
INF:Brendan Donovan(STL)
INF:Matt Olson(ATL)
INF:EugenioSuárez (AZ)
OF:Corbin Carroll(AZ)
OF:Kyle Stowers (MIA)
OF:Fernando TatisJr. (SD)
OF:James Wood (WSH)
DH: Kyle Schwarber (PHI)
Starting pitchers
LHP: Matthew Boyd (CHC)
LHP: MacKenzie Gore(WSH)
LHP: Clayton Kershaw(LAD)—Legend Pick
RHP: Freddy Peralta(MIL)
LHP: Robbie Ray(SF)
LHP: Chris Sale(ATL)
RHP: Paul Skenes (PIT)
RHP: Logan Webb (SF)
RHP: Zack Wheeler (PHI)
RHP: Yoshinobu Yamamoto (LAD)
Relief pitchers
RHP: Jason Adam (SD)
RHP: Edwin Díaz (NYM)
RHP: Randy Rodríguez (SF)
Pittsburgh’sSkenes, Washington’sMacKenzieGore, Atlanta’s Chris Sale,San Francisco’sLoganWebband Philadelphia’s Zack Wheeler wereelected to the starting rotation by players. Relievers Jason Adam of SanDiego, EdwinDíazofthe New York Mets andRandy Rodríguez of San Francisco also made the squad. Skenesstarted last year’sAllStar Game just 66 days after his major-league debut, pitching a hitless inning in the NL’s 5-3 loss at Arlington, Texas.
BREWER
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practice.
“Weare going to play hard,” Brewer said. “That’sgoing to be our identity.Weare going to be thehardest-playing team, and we are going to get some wins.”
While winning is welcomed, the ultimate goal is to give the rookies and younger players achance to showcase their talents in what will be for manytheir first taste of the NBA. For Brewer,it’sachance to get ataste of being ahead coach. His players liked what they saw in their coach after the first practice.
“He’sone of thoseguys whois going to continue to push you and continue to giveyou every piece of advice he’sgot,” rookie guard Jeremiah Fears said. “As aplayer, somethingI’m takingfrom him is continuing to pickhis brain. He’s picking my brain, so I’mgoing to continue picking hisbrainand learn everything Ican from him.”
Fears and Brewer have somethingincommon. Both were selectedwiththe No.7overall pick in their draft class.
Fearswas taken with the seventh pick last month.Brewer was selected seventh in 2007 when Fearswas just 8months old.
Rookie forwardDerik Queen, drafted with the 13th pickin June, specifically remembers one
“Wehaven’tbeen great at situational hitting. We have to continue to work on that. It’s frustrating,” Vogt said. Kwan and third baseman José Ramírez are the only everyday players batting above.240. Even Ramírez, the AL’s starting All-Star thirdbaseman, has cooled off, going 3for 31 in the last10games.His batting averageduringthe skid has
Vogt hastried to remain calm whilewhile stressingthatalot of theseason remains. But with the tradedeadlinelessthana month away,time mayberunning out.
“It doesn’tdoany good to loathe or talkabout negativesand moan and complain,” Vogt said. “That’s notproductive.We’vegot to keep working to get better.There is light at the end of the tunnel. Imean, it’s going to turn.”
Player-elected NL reserves were Colorado catcher Hunter Goodman, Mets first baseman PeteAlonso, St. Louis second basemanBrendan Donovan, Cincinnati’sDeLaCruzatshortstop, Arizona third baseman Eugenio Suárez, Philadelphia DH Kyle Schwarber,and Washington’s Wood, Arizona’sCorbin Carroll and the Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr in the outfield. MLB’sNLpicks were Yamamoto, the Cubs’ Matthew Boyd, Milwaukee’sFreddy Peralta and the Giants’ Robbie Ray for the pitching staff. Atlanta first baseman Matt Olson andMiami outfielder Kyle Stowers were the position choices.
play from Brewer’scareer.Onthe play, Brewer stole apass and went in for aslam dunk before falling hard on his back. While Queen maynot have been impressed by Brewer’sfallsix seasons ago, he didlike thefirstpracticeunder
Brewer
“He drew up this set and Ihad never seen it before,” Queen said.
“It was agood play.Weexecuted it well.” Brewer wants to see that execution travel to Vegas. He wants to see guys such as Fears and Queen shine as they get their first experience of NBA basketball.
Perhaps one day,Brewer will get to see his own son in the NBA, too. Kellen Brewer will be ajunior at Metairie Country Day this fall. As asophomore, Brewer andCurtis McAllister (son of legendary Saints running back DeuceMcAllister) led CountryDay to astate title. Brewer is expected to be oneofthe top playersinthe Class of 2027. A social media video of him throwing down two thunderous slams this summer went viral, making Brewer one proud father
“He’sbeen working,” Brewer saidofhis son. “Hopefully he keepsgetting better.” Knowing howtoseparate being acoach and adad can be difficult at times, Brewer admits.
PELICANS SUMMER LEAGUE ROSTER
Trey Alexander, G Tytan Anderson, F Will Baker,C KeionBrooks, F Hunter Dickinson, C JeremiahFears, G AJ Hoggard, G Chase Hunter,G yves Missi, C Micah Peavy, G *Antonio Reeves, G Derik Queen,F/C LesterQuinones, G Christian Shumate,F Trey Townsend, F
*Reeves is playing forthe Pelicans’ Summer League team despite getting waived last week.
“It’sbeen different,”hesaid. “Being aplayerand thencoaching and being adad is three different people, Iguess you can say.Iwant to coach him. But then Iwant to yell at him.But then I’mlike, ‘Let me sit downand be Dad.’” Brewer the dadknows his son’s opportunities will come. Brewer the coach is hoping to makethe mostofthe opportunity that has come to him this summer in Vegas.
“My goal is to be ahead coach,” Brewer said. “So it’sone step towards that.”
Email RodWalkeratrwalker@ theadvocate.com.
PELICANS ADD EX-LSU PLAYERBAKER FORSUMMER
LSU men’sbasketball fans will see afamiliar face in the NBASummer League in LasVegasstarting this week
The NewOrleansPelicans addedformer Tigers big man Will Baker to their Summer League team.The 6-foot-11, 240-pound center playedone season for coachMatt McMahon in 2023-24. Baker averaged11points and 4.8 rebounds in his senior year at LSU,which went 17-16 and 9-9 in the SoutheasternConference. He shot 50.2% from the field and 35.7% from the 3-point line
This past season, Baker played27games forthe Iowa Wolves in the NBAGLeague. He averaged4.4 points and 2.3 rebounds in 9.3 minutes. ThePelicans also added former McNeese State playerChristian Shumate for Summer League. The 6-6 wing averaged 10.4 points and 6.5 rebounds last season.
Brown III
Toyloy
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By PHIL LONG
Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt watches his team before a game against theDetroit Tigers on Sunday in Cleveland
AlcarazrunsWimbledon winstreakto18matches
BY HOWARD FENDRICH AP tennis writer
LONDON Carlos Alcaraz’slatest up-and-down Wimbledon performance began with adroppedset. Later Sunday,hewas in danger of getting broken to fall further behind in the third. And then, as heso often does, Alcaraz seizedthe moment, producedsome magic and moved closer to athird consecutive title at the All EnglandClub.
Alcarazstretched hiswinning streak in the grass-court Grand Slam tournament to 18 matches
—and his current unbeaten run across all events to 22 —bycoming back to beatNo. 14 seed Andrey Rublev 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 at Centre Court to return to thequarterfinals.
In this fortnight’s firstmatchup
between two men ranked in the top 20, No. 2Alcaraz broughtout his best while down 3-2 in the third set. First, he needed to fend off abreak chance for Rublev,doing so witha forehand passing winner
After eventually holding to 3-all, Alcaraz earned his own breakopportunity and didn’tlet Rublev escape. On an eight-stroke exchange, Alcaraz sprinted from one corner of the court to the other and, with astomp of hisright foot anda bit of aslide, he flicked across-court forehand winner
Alcaraz spread his arms wide, pointed to his right ear and basked in the crowd’sloud adulation, the noise bouncing off the underside of the stadium’sclosed roof.
Rublev sat in his sideline chair, looked up at his guest boxand made asarcastic “OK” hand signal. Just 10 minutes later,that set belonged to Alcaraz, who will face 2022 semifinalist Cam Norrie —the last British player in singles —onTuesday for aberth in the final four
“I always said that it’sjust about belief in yourself. It doesn’tmatter that you are one-set-to-love down,” Alcaraz said. “Tennis is asport that can change in justone point. One point can change the match completely,turn around everything.”
The 61st-ranked Norrie,who
Spain’sCarlos Alcaraz gestures as he plays Russia’sAndreyRublevduring afourth-round singles match at WimbledononSundayinLondon.
played collegetennis at TCU in Fort Worth, Texas, advanced with a6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-7 (7),6-7 (5), 6-3 win over qualifier Nicolas Jarry,who hit46aces. Norrie hada chance to close things out much earlier than he didbut failed to convert a match pointwhile ahead 6-5 in the third-set tiebreaker The other men’s quarterfinal Tuesday will be No. 5TaylorFritz vs. No. 17Karen Khachanov.Fritz, last year’sU.S. Open runner-up, had ashort day because his opponent,Jordan Thompson, quit after about 40 minutes withback and leg injuries that he’d been dealing with throughoutthe tournament. Alcaraz is just 22 and already ownsfive Grand Slam trophies, the latest arriving in June at the French Open.Hehasn’tlosta matchanywhere sinceApril 20 against Holger Rune in the final at Barcelona. There have been lapses, of course,including when Alcaraz fell behind bytwo sets against No. 1JannikSinnerinthe final at Roland-Garros. Or when theSpaniard
lostfour points in arow after going up 5-3 in theopening tiebreaker against Rublev He hasn’t been as close-to-perfect as others over the past week: Sinner,No. 10 Ben Shelton and No. 22 Flavio Cobolli haven’tdropped a set heading into their fourth-round contests. Alcaraz has ceded five setsalready Also on Sunday,No. 1Aryna Sabalenka reached the quarterfinals at her 11th consecutive Grand Slam tournament, defeating No. 24 Elise Mertens6-4, 7-6 (4), and will play unseeded Laura Siegemund, the 37-year-old German whofollowed up herelimination of Australian Open champ MadisonKeys by beating Solana Sierra 6-3, 6-2. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova beat Sonay Kartal 7-6 (3), 6-4 to return to thegrass-courtmajor’s quarterfinals forthe first time in nine years. Pavlyuchenkova’sopponent Tuesday will be Amanda Anisimova, the13th-seeded American who got past No. 30 Linda Noskova 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 at night.
‘Deactivated’electronic
BY HOWARD FENDRICH AP tennis writer
LONDON Aballthatclearly landedlong in amatch at Centre Court wasn’tcalled out Sunday because theelectronic system that replaced line judges at Wimbledon this year accidentally was shut off forthree points. And, because the replay review procedure that usedtobeinplace also has been scrapped, the chair umpire called forado-over on thepoint at 4-all in the first set much to the dismay of Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the player who would have wonthe game if the propercallhad been made originally Pavlyuchenkova wound up getting broken there to trailSonay KartalofBritain, but she eventually didcomeback to win the match7-6 (3), 6-4and reach the quarterfinals at the AllEngland Club for the first timesince 2016.
“You took the game away from me,” Pavlyuchenkova told chair umpire Nico Helwerth at the changeover after the game ended.
Pavlyuchenkova, who is Russian, also said in the momentthat the decision-making there went in Kartal’sfavor because she is a local player Nextfor Pavlyuchenkova is amatchagainstNo. 13 Amanda Anisimova of the United States, a 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 winner against No.30 Linda Noskova on Sunday night. Anisimova also wasaWimbledon quarterfinalist in 2022; her best Slamshowing was making the 2019 French Open semifinals at age 17. At her newsconference, Pavlyuchenkova said Helwerth told her after the match that he did thinkKartal’sshot landed out.
“I think he felt bad, alittle bit,” Pavlyuchenkova said. “He probably felt like he should have taken theinitiative and called it out.”
Pavlyuchenkova also said Helwerth“probably was scared
to take such abig decision.”
Pavlyuchenkova was serving and had agame point whenKartal hit abackhand that landed beyond the opposite baseline, TV replays showed.But there was no sound of oneofthe recordedvoices being used forthe first timeat Wimbledon to reflect when the technology being used in place of human officials determinesthata ball landed out.
At least Pavlyuchenkova could joke about the whole episode later.Asked how she’d feel about it had she lost the match, Pavlyuchenkova respondedwith a laugh: “I would just saythatI hate Wimbledon and never come back.”
She also cracked that chair umpiresare “very good at giving fines and code violations” and never miss those, but perhaps it would be beneficialifthey did a betterjob of noticing mistaken calls.
Kartalsaidshe couldn’tsee where her shot went.
“That situation is ararity.I don’tthink it’s really ever happened—ifithas. It’s tough.What can youdo? The umpire’strying his best in that situation, and he handled it fine,” Kartal said. “I think the system just malfunctioneda little bit, and the fairest waywas whathedid: replay the point.”
Helwerth delayedplaywhile he madeaphone call from his stand. Eventually,play resumed, Pavlyuchenkova missed aforehand on thereplay, then lost thegame a fewpoints later
The tournamentlooked into it afterward andblamed “humanerror,” saying that the linecalling setup “was deactivated in erroronpartofthe server’s side of the court forone game by those operating the system,” according to an All England Club spokesperson, who added: “Wecontinue to have full confidenceinthe accuracy of the ball-tracking technology.”
Mosttypingmistakes are corrected with Wite-Out. Onelocal writerletsher mistakes change the course of her poem
“I think that the spirit of that free-flowingcontent is what’sat the heart of this typewriter poetryatevents,” said Madi Zins, a poet who gives guests on-the-spot, personalized poemsasanovel memento to keep or share.
On Friday,Zinsled alobby love letterpop-up at theEliza Jane Hotel in New Orleansincelebration of Pride and all thingslove. She sat in thePress Room, alibrary lounge dedicated to ElizaJaneNicholson, the New Orleans Picayune’sfirst femalepublisher.
With her typewriter atop awooden table, Zins sat on one side, and an emerald leather armchair stood on theotherside,waiting forthe next guest.
‘There’ssomething about the ceremonyofsitting at the typewriter with ablank pagein,’said Madi Zins, apoet whogives guests onthe-spot, personalized poems.
ers,” Zins said. “And getting to just meet abunchofdifferentpeople and have these conversations that are insightful into their lives, it’s like ahuge gift.”
Cozy touchescomplementpoetry
The hotel‘scozy touches like Persian-styled rugs,plushsofas and dimmed lamps concocted the perfect atmosphere to ponder love andpassion with apoet. Vintage hardback books lined the burgundy walls, alongwith ornamentslike retro briefcases and world globes.
Navigating apathy in patients with frontotemporal dementia
Howcan apathybemanaged in an individual with frontotemporal dementia?
Frontotemporal dementia or frontotemporal degeneration (FTD)refers to arange of disorders that impact the brain’s frontal lobes (regions behind forehead) or its temporal lobes (regions behind ears). These areas of the brain are commonly associated with personality, behavior and language.
Apathy in FTD is one of the mostchallenging aspects of the disorder forcaregivers and health care professionals to manage. FTD affects the individual enjoying everyday activities, participation in social events, performing household tasks and even personal hygiene and self-care. Managing apathy in those with FTD should be individually tailored, and effective interventions and environmental strategies should be delivered and promoted with understanding and patience.
Caregivers can assist in the journeyofFTD by learning allabout the disease-related changesinthe brain thatare affecting their lovedones. Getting educated aboutFTD andits processescan help to maintain the caregiver’sempathetic connectiontothe individualand thus reduceangerand frustrationin the relationship of both parties. The individual with FTD feels apathetic mostdays, with no motivation and/or the ability to initiate anything. The needs and interests of the individual with FTD should be assessed, and in that way,amore personcentered approach can be maintained.
The nomadic poet,bouncing between theBig Apple and the Bywater,moved to New Orleans about four years ago to sit at her typewriter,marvel with onlookers about their passions and compose instant poems. Regardless of whichcityshe’sin, Zins’ clicks and clacks fill the air,and her words, spoken or written, seem to tug at heartstrings.
Barand hotel guestslounged as they waited their turn to chat with Zins. As each guest sat down, Zins asked them to provide atopic, story or word. From there, they chatted, usually forfive to 10 minutes, and then Zins got to typing, about another 10 minutes. Oncedone, Zins recitedthe poem andhanded theguest theode to keep.
Sitting across the lounge were New Orleans residentsBianca Le and her husband, Jacob Cheramie. Thetwo hadjust talked to Zins
“I think, in today’shyper-digital era, connecting with other people canfeelintimidating with strang-
ä See POETRY, page 2D
Vacation with mindfulnesstoget most outoftrip
BY CHRISTOPHER ELLIOTT
Troubleshooter
Chloe Bennet says she felt unwelcome when shevisitedVenice recently.And she had adecision to make “It was acombinationofthe high visitor taxes, signage prohibiting certain actions, suchas sitting on steps or eating outdoors, and critical looks when Iused English,” says Bennet, an editor who works foranacademic publisher based in Tampa. “The unspoken message was: My presence wasn’twelcome.” Bennet didn’t know what to do. Anditturnsout that alot of visitors may be in asimilar situation this
Demonstrators march and shout slogans protesting against masstourism in Barcelona, Spain, in 2024.
What motivates him or her? What brings joy? What music could be played? Cover all the individual’sbiography,including spiritual, emotional, physical, nutritional, intellectual and social interests. Develop activities based on this biography and adapt them accordingly as abilities change during the progression of the disorder
Eliminating the need to makedecisions and having a planned structure are helpful and necessary ways to manage and reduce apathy.Individuals with FTD require alot of time to process information and instructions, so it is important not to rush communications or the prescribed activity
External cueing may be necessary to start an activity and keep the individual engaged. Reliance just on verbal cueing will be less effective as FTD progresses, so caregivers may need to take moredirect action or mimicthe action they want their loved ones to perform. Incorporate acustomized music playlist forthe individual and promote physical activity like walking or dancing. Repetitive activities also work well, such as folding laundry, as these are consistent with someofthe behavioral symptomsassociated with FTD Additionally,multisensory activities mayoverwhelm the individual, so these need to be
STAFF PHOTOSByBRETT DUKE
Poet Madi Zins typesa custom poematthe ElizaJane Hotel in NewOrleans.
Pollen counts arehighest they’vebeenindecades
Dear Doctors: Ihave hay fever, but usually it’snot that bad.This year,however,ithas been awful. I’m plugged up, my eyes are itchy and by the end of the day,Ihave aheadache. We live near Atlanta, anda lot of people here are miserable. Over-the-counter meds aren’t helping. What can Ido? Dear reader: We suspect your body is responding to pollen, the powdery substance emitted by many plants, grasses and trees in thereproduction process. The National Allergy Bureau,anarm of the American AcademyofAllergy,Asthma and Immunology, compiles daily readings of pollen counts. This spring, theirdata show the highest pollen counts recorded in decades in many re-
Dr.Elizabeth Ko
Dr.Eve Glazier ASK THE DOCTORS
gions ofthe United States
The NABmaintains about85 pollen counting stationsacross the U.S. Devices at each station capture pollenand mold spores, andthey collect samples every 24 hours. They examine the samples under amicroscope to get readings on thenumber of pollengrains per cubicmeter of air. Thehigherthe
number,the moreairborne pollen. According to NAB data, the Atlanta area is recording its highest pollen counts in 35 years. Hay fever is thebody’sresponse to this pollen. The medical term for this unique form of discomfort is allergic rhinitis. Breathing in pollen spores triggers theimmune system tosend out chemical messengers called histamines. These set off an inflammatoryresponse meant to repel and kill thepollen invaders. The congestion, itchy eyes and headache you have are common symptoms of hay fever.Other symptoms can include sneezing, postnasal drip, watery eyes, coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, sore throat and fatigue.
Keep handsawayfromface
Dear Heloise: Ihave ahint for Holly H. of Arcadia, Florida. When Iwas ateenager,Ihad an acne condition that centered around my jawline like hers. Iwent to adermatologist who gave me the best advice anyone could give me after he cleared my face.
Many people with allergic rhinitis get relief from over-the-counter antihistamines. Although they can be helpful, it is possible to build up atolerance to their effects. Immunotherapies, such as allergy shots or tablets, are also an option. This year’ssuperchargedpollen counts can even botherpeople who don’thaveallergies. This is known as nonallergic rhinitis. Antihistamines are noteffective forpeople with nonallergic rhinitis because histaminesdon’t cause their symptoms. They can try over-the-counter decongestants. Asaline sinus rinse to wash away sporescan also help. Always use distilledorsterilized water in sinus rinse,asbacteriacan be present in tapwater Pollen counts are highest in the
morning, at night and when it’s windy.Taking medication before heading out at those times can get ahead of symptoms. Agood mask can provide aphysical barrier Pollen spores cling to surfaces, including skin, hair and clothes. Ashower before bed and washing clothes thoroughly can also limit exposure. If severe symptoms persist, check in with your doctor about other options, such as prescription medications.
Sendyour questions to askthedoctors@mednet.ucla edu, or write: Ask theDoctors, c/oUCLA HealthSciences Media Relations, 10880 Wilshire Blvd.,Suite1450, Los Angeles, CA, 90024.
By The Associated Press
Hints from Heloise
During the treatment, Iwas to keep away from cheese, nuts and chocolate. But the permanent advice that Iuse to this day (I’m now 93) is to keep your hands away from your face. This is the same advice health care providers gave us during the coronavirus lockdowns Should Ineed to rest my faceonmyhand, Iuse a napkin, atissue, or the collar on my blouse (anything to keep my hands off my face). No one has ever criticized me for doing this
VACATION
all these years. TodayI get more compliments for having such smooth skin —Carmelina M., via email Carmelina, this is excellent advice, andhere is another hint:Don’trest your head on your hands because you’re just stretchingout your skin.Wash your hands before touchingyourselftoeliminatecross-contamination. Anddon’t use aloofah or a rough washcloth on your face.
—Heloise
Your last gift
Dear Heloise: Nottobe maudlin, but creatinga will canbeavery real problem. Recently amost unexpected death in ourfamily has very keenly illustrated the vital need for each ofusto have awill and aconversation with aloved one about final wishes.
start thinking about it is now
When someone dies without plans in place, thefamily is left with heartache, deep grief, and important questions without answers Awill and final wishes that are known to afriend or relative are our last giftsto our family —Lynn, in Rutland, Vermont Lynn, Iagree. There is usually less hurt or surprise when awill is read and everyone knows what aperson’sfinal wishes are, which might include requestsfor aburial or messages.
But one lastnote: Awill is often read after someone is buried, so if you have any special requests, it’s best to let your loved ones know what it is that you want. It might be that you wish to be cremated instead of buried or thatyou areanorgandonor —Heloise
Send ahinttoheloise@ heloise.com.
Today is Monday, July 7, the 188th day of 2025. There are 177 days left in the year
TodayinHistory
On July 7, 1981, President Ronald Reagan announced he was nominating Arizona Judge Sandra Day O’Connor to become thefirst female justice on theU.S. SupremeCourt. Also on this date: In 1865, four people were hanged in Washington,D.C., for conspiring with John Wilkes Booth to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln:Lewis Powell, David Herold, George Atzerodt and Mary Surratt, thefirst woman to be executed by thefederal government
In 1898, President William McKinley signed the Newlands Resolution, approving theannexation of theRepublic of Hawaii.
In 1976, the United States Military AcademyatWest Point included female cadets forthe first time as 119 womenjoined the Class of 1980.
ended with Johnson being killed by abomb delivered by apolice robot. Today’sBirthdays:
In 2005, terrorist bombings in three Underground stations and adouble-decker bus killed 52 people and four bombers in the worst attack on London since World WarII.
In 2010, Los Angeles police arrested and charged Lonnie Franklin Jr.inthe city’s“Grim Sleeper” serial killings. (Franklin, who wassentenced to death for the killings of nine women and ateenage girl, died in prison in March 2020 at the age of 67.)
In 2016, Micah Johnson, aBlack Armyveteran who served in Afghanistan, opened fire on Dallas police, killing five officers in an act of vengeance for the fatal police shootings of Black men;the attack
Continued from page1D
will be more exasperated than ever as crowds of tourists descend on their city “Popular destinations have alove-hate relationship with tourists, especially this summer,” explains Susan Sherren, who runs the travel design companyCouture Trips. “They can’tlive without tourists funding their economy.But at thesame time, localaffordability concerns and overcrowding have skyrocketed, making thelocals quiteupset.Ireally can’tblame them, and would not wish that influxof humanity in my city.” Should yougohome?
So what should you do if you feel like people don’t want you there? Turn around and go home? No.
As it turns out, thereare provenways to defuse these hostilities andset your trip on the right track. Iknow because I’m on the road almost every day out of the year, and I’ve had to deal with almost everywhere Igo. But first,let’sget back to Bennet’sstory.She could allow the unfriendly looks and the high taxes ruin her trip —orshe could do something about it. She decided to do something. “I had wantedtoexplore Venice for many years and hoped to bond with the city without feeling like Iwas disrupting its rhythm,” she says.“Idecided to modify my behavior to improve the situation. Even basicItalian phrases like ‘Buongiorno’ and ‘Grazie’ made anoticeable difference when Iused them.”
Bennet also decided to supportlocal businesses instead of visiting well-known tourist spots, and she stayed away from attractions during peak times.
“I noticedthatlocalsbecamemore welcoming when they saw my efforts to honor their cultural norms,” she adds. Could it be that simple?
Just stop acting like atourist? Maybe.
Feelingunwelcome
Experts say you can avoid achilly receptiononyour next vacation. But the time to
“Feeling welcome as atraveler starts long before your planelands,”saysJessica Flores, chief experience officer for Tourism Cares, anonprofit dedicated to advancing sustainability in the travel and tourism industry.“The best way to ensure apositive experience is to do your homework before arriving.”
Don’tgoalone. That’sthe advice of Diane Rulke, aprofessor of organizational behavior atCarnegie Mellon University who haslived in Europe for thelast 25 years.
“Travel with alocal guide, if possible,” she adds. Alocal will help you avoid the most touristy areas, thebiggest crowds, andwill help you have amore authentic experience.
Also, there’sstrength in numbers, so travel with friends and respect local customs.
Respect the locals. Lisa Mirza Grotts, an etiquette expert who specializes in travel issues, says Bennet hadthe right idea. “Pay close attention to local customs and social norms,” shesays. The visitors who get the cold stares areusuallythe ones whofloutlocal practices— speaking loudly in acountry that values peaceand quiet or wearinginappropriateor immodestclothingina more traditional country Make apersonal connection How do youdo that?“A few wordsin thelocal language, genuine curiosity about their culture, and adhering to community rules can quicklyease tension,” explains JohnRose, chief risk andsecurity officerat ALTOUR. “By remaining flexible, respectful,and informed, youincrease your chances of turninga frosty reception into amemorable, positive travel experience.”
It’strue —Americans who assume everyone else speaks English rankamong thetop annoyances at popular destinations. In otherwords, get some local advice —and takeit. And don’tact like the place belongs to you (because it doesn’t).
Andhow do Iknow that’s true?Well, I’ve had some experiencewith this.
Turningthingsaround
Youmight find this hard to believe, but even journalists like me are often unwel-
come in places we visit. (OK, that was ajoke.)
I’ve always felt welcome in places like Turkeyand the Middle Eastern Gulf states or theAmerican South, which have long traditions of welcoming strangers. I’ve felt less wanted —which is a politeway of saying I’ve felt unwelcome —inplaces like Australia, Braziland parts of the Caribbean. The first thing Ialways try to do is understand why they dislike tourists. And usually,there’s apretty good reason, ranging from silly (“You drive on the wrong side of theroad”) to serious (“You’veexploited my island for generations”).
Rachel McCaffery,a sustainable tourism expert,recalls stepping off acruise ship in Corsica only to be greeted by protesters. But insteadofwalkingpast them,she stoppedand asked them why they were demonstrating.
“There were five or six enormouscruise ships that docked in their small town harbor every day,” she says. “Turns outthe continual churning of giant engines meanssmokeregularly billows into nearby homes, affecting people’shealth.”
That was aclassy move. Youdon’twanttobegrouped with all theannoyingtourists —you know,the ones who crowd the town square snapping selfies. It’s the best way to set yourself apart withgood manners and respect for local culture. So that’swhat Itry to do.
Kindness works
My final strategy is the hardest:Itry to return their rage withkindness.When they grimace, Ismile. And when they ignore me, Ilean into my politeness.
Anditusually works. Thanks to these strategies, I have friends in someofthe least hospitable places on Earth. Andyou can, too.
Christopher Elliott is an author,consumer advocate, and journalist. He founded Elliott Advocacy, anonprofit organization that helps solve consumer problems. He publishes Elliott Confidential,atravel newsletter,and theElliott Report, anews siteabout customer service. Email him at chris@elliott.org.
POETRY
Continuedfrom page1D
andwere waitingfor their poem. Many think of alover when craftinga love letter, but after Le and Cheramie saw an email notification announcing the pop-up, the couple thought of their best friends who are moving out of New Orleans.
“It’ssort of therapeutic because ourfriends are leaving,” Cheramie said. Le chimed in, chuckling, saying, “This is how we process theend of an era.”
While thepoem is being mailed as agoing-away gift,the couple’sfriends will receive it in theirnew mailbox,otherwise making it ahousewarming gift.
“Itwas really fun,”Le said. “It was like meeting a newperson andjust being able to pour your heart out if you feel like.”
Zins’ hobby beganasan investment during the coro-
APATHY
Continuedfrom page1D
introduced one sense at a timeastonot distract the individual or cause him or her to lose interest. Overall, any engagement withthe individual with FTD should be enjoyable, nonthreatening and purposeful to generate motivation and to garner moreenthusiasm,
navirus pandemic. After buying atypewriter,ironicallybrandedasa SmithCorona, at avintage shop downher street, Zins said she neverlooked back.She ownstwo othertypewriters, but theSmith-Corona is ol’ reliable.
“There’s something about theceremonyofsitting at the typewriter with ablank page in,” Zins said. “And every timeyou’re transcribing something, it’s with the weight of the keys andthe sounds andthe physicality of being able to seeitcome out.”
Her typewriter stamped lettersontosmall slipsof cardstock at Friday’s event. Sometimes herpoems go onto herown handmade sheets, sourced from recycled paper,water and extra bits like natural fibers, flowers and seeds.
“We’re ahotel for everybody,” Fitz said. “And doing it during Pride month reemphasizes ourcommitment to welcoming everybody to our hotel.”
Papermaking and typing business cards go hand-inhand. Zins carriesseveral business cards in her wallet crafted from herhandmade paper.She had typed herwebsite link andphone numberontothe card. Belowthat, hername is signed by hand in red ink. ElizaJane lead concierge John“Fitz” Fitzpatrick greeted guests as they sauntered inside the building. The bar,right acrossthe Press Lounge,was busy, he said,and thepop-upbrought “an extra oomph” to things. June was theperfect time foranevent like this, Fitzpatricksaid. While hanging out, guests couldsip thelimited Pride-themed cocktail, “Fizzing withPride,” amix of Ford’sGin, passion fruit, lemon juice and tonic water, garnished withadehydrated lime,berry andPride flag.
pleasure and to maintain a quality of life. Many caregivers feel guilty about “not doing enough” fortheir loved ones, which adds undue stress. Joining asupport group specifically forFTD caregivers can help caregivers express their feelings in addition to learning moreways and suggestions to manage apathy in their loved ones. Contact the Association
Email MaddieScott at madison.scott@ theadvocate.com.
forFrontotemporal Degeneration (www.theaftd.org or (866) 507-7222) formore information and resources.
Dana Territo is an Alzheimer’sadvocate and authorof“What My Grandchildren Taught Me About Alzheimer’sDisease.” She hosts “TheMemory Whisperer.” Email her at thememorywhisperer@ gmail.com.
Musicianconductor DocSeverinsen is 98. Former Beatle Ringo Starr is 85. World Golf Hall of Famer Tony Jacklin is 81. Actor Joe Spano is 79. Actor Roz Ryan is 74. Actor Billy Campbell is 66. Basketball Hall of Famer Ralph
STAFFPHOTO By BRETT DUKE
Poet Madi Zins, right, speakswithaguest before typing acustom poem for them at the Eliza Jane Hotel in NewOrleans on June 20
cAncER (June 21-July 22) Turn your attention to domestic matters, comfortand peace of mind. Refuse to let othersdictateyour future.Followyour passion and promote what you have to offer.
LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Social or networking events will change how you approach meetings. Speak from the heart, questionanything that doesn't sound legitimate and proceed confidently.
VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) Take amoment to realign your thoughts and body language to suit your situation.Maintain a state of calm andthink matters through before you share your plans
LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Put your responsibilities first before moving on to more pleasurable tasks. Theorder in which youdothings will affect the outcome and how others perceive you.
scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Refuse to let your emotions cause work-related problems that can negatively influence your reputation or long-term goals. Mixing business with pleasureisinyour best interest.
sAGITTARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Blowing situations out of proportion will cost you. Useyour intelligence to initiate a positive stepforward. Overspending on unnecessary items will be your downfall. Strive for stability.
cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Check what's available andwithin your budget before proceeding with aproject. Knowledge will help youavoid emotional mistakes
Choose your associates withcare and think twice beforeparticipating in a joint venture.
AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Trust your instincts, intelligence and experience. Personal gain and growth willimprove your lifestyle andrelationships. Don't be afraid of alittle competition.
PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Developing a fair plan will be difficult if emotions and ego get involved. Composure willbenecessary if you want to gain ground. Be willingtocompromise, but don't allow anyonetotake advantage of you.
ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Determination will get you everywhere. Direct your energywhere it offers the highest return.Take care of yourself first, and you'll feel better about yourself and more willingtohelp others.
TAuRus(April20-May20) Communication willleadtoopportunity,new connections and tips that will helpsolve domestic concerns. An energetic approach will help you fast-track your way to the top.
GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Networking will help you recognizewho is on your side and who poses athreat. Astute behavior will foilanyone trying to outmaneuver you. An avant-garde appearance and friendly demeanor will seal adeal.
Celebrity Ciphercryptograms are created fromquotations by famous people, pastand present.Each letter in the cipher stands for another.
ToDAy's cLuE: MEQuALs u
CeLebrItY CIpher
bAILeY
Mother GooSe And GrIMM
Sudoku
InstructIons: sudoku is anumber-placingpuzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers The object is to place the numbers1to9inthe empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficultylevel of thesudoku increases from monday to sunday.
Saturday’s Puzzle Answer
THewiZard oF id
BLondie
BaBY BLueS
Hi and LoiS
CurTiS
Bridge
By PHILLIPALDER
Sydney J. Harris, anewspaper journalistfrom Chicago who diedin1986, said, “An idealist believes the short run doesn’t count. Acynic believes the long rundoesn’t matter.A realistbelieves that whatisdoneorleft undone in the short rundetermines the long run.”
Abridge playerknows that counting is important in the long run —the 13 tricks of adeal. Here, how should Southplay in three no-trumpafter West leads the club 10?
If youwere sittingSouth, would you have opened onediamond or oneclub, or passed?
With ace-king, ace, you should almost always open the bidding. It is textbook to bid onediamond because if West overcalls one spade and North makes anegative double, you can rebid two clubs. Note also that after you open one diamond, if West passes and North respondsone heart, it is better to rebid two hearts (missing afourth trump) than oneno-trump (with no spade stopper)or twoclubs(whichpromisesfivediamonds andrisks ending in a4-2 diamond fit).
Inthegivenauction,twoclubswasNew MinorForcing,askingopenertodescribe hishand further. Twodiamonds denied both threespadesand four hearts.
South hasseven top tricks: one spade, two hearts andfourclubs. If an idealist crosses to his hand with aheart to take adiamond or spade finesse, he will go down with this layout
Each Wuzzle is awordriddle which creates adisguised word, phrase, name, place, saying, etc. For example: nOOn gOOD =gOOD aFTErnOOn
Previous answers:
word game
InsTRucTIons: 1. Words must be of four or moreletters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,”are not allowed. 3.
ToDAy’s WoRD AssERTs: uh-SERTZ: States positively and often forcefully.
Average mark 13 words
Time limit 20 minutes
Canyou find 17 or more words in ASSERTS?
sATuRDAy’s
and
wuzzles
loCKhorNs
Have youhumbledyourself before Jesus? G.E. Dean
marmaduKe
Bizarro
hagar the horriBle
Pearls Before swiNe
garfield
B.C.
PiCKles
dIrectIons: make a2-to 7-letterword fromthe letters in each row. add points of each word, using scoring directions at right. Finally, 7-letterwords get 50-point bonus. “Blanks” used as any letter have no point value. all the words are in theOfficial sCraBBlE® players Dictionary, 5th Edition.
Saturday’s Puzzle Answer ken ken
InstructIons: 1 -Each row and each column must contain the numbers 1thorugh 4(easy) or 1through 6 (challenging) without repeating. 2 -The numbers within the heavily outlined boxes, called cages, must combine using the given operation (in any order) to produce the target numbers in the top-left corners. 3 -Freebies: Fill in the single-box cages with the number in the top-left corner. HErE is
WiShinG Well
Scrabble GramS
Get fuzzy
jump Start
roSe
DuStin
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p must payparticular at‐tentiontoall applicable laws andregulations of theFederal government andthe Stateof Louisiana. TheBureauofPurchas‐ingusescommodity codestonotifysuppliers of therelease of asourc‐ingevent andsubse‐quentmodificationsvia addendum. Note that you wouldreceive thosenoti‐ficationsifyou selected thefollowing commodity code(s) before there‐leaseofthe sourcing event: COMMODITY CODE(s): 961-75
TheCityofNew Orleans strongly encourages mi‐nority-owned and women-ownedbusi‐nesses, socially andeco‐nomicallydisadvantaged businessesand small businessestorespond to this solicitation,orto participateinsubcon‐tracting opportunities pursuant to this solicita‐tion Formoreinformation aboutthissourcing event, go to www.nola. govand clickon“BRASS SupplierPortal” under “BIDS& CONTRACTS” Once on theSupplierPor‐tal, search “Open Events.” Thankyou foryourinter‐estindoing business with theCityofNew Or‐leans.
tracting opportunities pursuant to this solicita‐tion Formoreinformation aboutthissourcing event, go to www.nola. govand clickon“BRASS SupplierPortal” under “BIDS& CONTRACTS” Once on theSupplierPor‐tal, search “Open Events.” Thankyou foryourinter‐estindoing business with theCityofNew Or‐leans. JamesSimmons,Jr. ChiefProcurement
prohac vice), 111 SouthWacker Drive,Chicago,Illinois 60606, Telephone: (312) 881-5400, Email: gregory.pesce@whitecase.com -and- Andrew Zatz, Barrett Lingle (admitted prohac vice), 1221 Avenue of the Americas,New York, New York 10020, Telephone: (212) 819-8200, Email: azatz@whitecase.com, barrett.lingle@whitecase.com, ProposedCounsel to Debtors and Debtors-in-Possession -and- KEN ROSEN ADVISORS PC, Kenneth A. Rosen, 80 CentralParkWest New York, New York 10023, Telephone: (973) 493-4955, Email: ken@kenrosenadvisors.com, Proposed Co-Counsel to Debtors and Debtors-in-Possession In re: CBRM Realty Inc.et al , Debtors.1 ) ) ) Chapter 11 Case No.25–15343 (MBK) (Jointly Administered) NOTICEOFDEADLINES FOR THE FILING OF PROOFS OF CLAIM, INCLUDING REQUESTS FOR PAYMENTS UNDER SECTION503(b)(9) OF THE BANKRUPTCY CODE THECLAIMS BAR DATE IS: JULY28, 2025, AT 5:00 P.M. (PREVAILINGEASTERN TIME) THEGOVERNMENTAL CLAIMS BAR DATE IS: NOVEMBER 17, 2025, AT 5:00 P.M. (PREVAILING EASTERN TIME) Deadlines forFiling Proofs of Claim.OnJune 27, 2025, theUnited StatesBankruptcy Courtfor the DistrictofNew Jersey (the Court”) enteredanorder [Docket No.227] (the Bar Date Order”) establishing certain deadlinesfor the filingofproofs of claim,including requests for paymentunder section 503(b)(9) of theBankruptcy Code (collectively,“Proofs of Claim”),inthese chapter11cases of the following debtors and debtors in possession (collectively,the Debtors”): DEBTOR,CASE NO.: CBRM Realty Inc., 25-15343 (MBK); CrownCapitalHoldings LLC, 25-15351 (MBK); Kelly Hamilton Apts LLC, 25-15352 (MBK); Kelly Hamilton Apts MM LLC, 25-15350 (MBK); RH Chenault Creek LLC, 25-15349 (MBK); RH Copper Creek LLC, 25-15346 (MBK); RH Lakewind East LLC, 25-15344 (MBK); RH Windrun LLC, 25-15345 (MBK); RH New Orleans Holdings LLC, 25-15348 (MBK); RH New Orleans Holdings MM LLC,25-15347 (MBK). The Bar Dates.Pursuanttothe BarDate Order all entities (except governmental units),including individuals,entities, estates, trusts,person or entitywho is,ormay be included in, or representedby, apurportedclass action, class suit,orsimilar representativeaction filed,orthatmay be filed, against the Debtors thathave aclaim or potential claim against the Debtors (includingany claim against anyDebtor’s officers,directors,or managers, in each case,intheir respectivecapacities as such) that arose prior to May19, 2025, no matter howremoteorcontingent such righttopaymentorequitable remedy maybe, including requests for paymentunder section 503(b)(9)ofthe Bankruptcy Code,MUST FILE APROOF OF CLAIM on or before July 28, 2025 at 5:00 p.m., prevailing Eastern Time (the Claims BarDate”) Governmental entities thathave aclaim or potential claim against the Debtors thatarose prior to May19,2025,no matter howremote or contingentsuchrighttopayment or equitableremedy maybe, MUST FILE APROOF OF CLAIM on or before November17, 2025, at 5:00 p.m., prevailing Eastern Time (the Governmental Bar Date”). All entities holdingclaims arising from the Debtors’ rejection of executorycontracts
