The Times-Picayune 07-14-2025 by The Advocate

FACEVALUE

Debate over access to facial recognitiontechnology raises tensions betweenNew Orleans, privatenetwork

BY JOHN SIMERMAN Staff writer

Bryan Lagarde, the architect of theProject NOLA crime camera network,says NewOrleans can keep its handsoff his facial recognition system. The shopkeepers,schools and residentswho signed up to hostahigh-resolution camera on the nonproﬁtnetwork didn’tbuy intogovernment watch, Lagarde said. At least not this government.

Lagarde said ofﬁcials with Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s administrationrecently proposed an agreementthat wouldgive the city’s Ofﬁce of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness direct access to asystem that can match faces on the streetagainst uploaded images from afew blocks away.

Aportable towerloaded with cameras is used by Project NOLAfor special events around NewOrleans.

Until April, ofﬁcers could receive text alerts on their phones from Project NOLA, flagging facial recognition “hits” on wanted people. The city’s proposalwenteven

further,Lagarde said.

“That’swhen we said, ‘No, we’re notdoing that,’” he said.“It’satrust issue.We don’ttrust thisadministration with access to our facial

recognition. Butmore so, we also believe it might be best practice not to allowany police department to have direct access to our platform.”

That platform, and what Project NOLAhas been doing with it for more than two years across New Orleans, hasthe city at the forefront of amuch wider public debate over artificial intelligence in law enforcement, the power to surveil and its implications for privacy and policing.

With the City Council poised next month to consider looseningrestrictions on facial recognition and other high-tech tools, Project NOLA’s stance on transparency andoversight could prove key to theoutcome.

NewOrleans PoliceDe-

ä See FACE, page 5A

Officials announce fixesin inmate releases

BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer

In some cases, Louisiana has taken so long to convict defendants, calculate their sentences and then let them out of prison that they end up spending more time behind bars than their sentence requires.

For years, thisoverdetention has drawn criticism from federal judges andinvestigatorsand spurredmultiple lawsuits.

But now,state ofﬁcials say they have made big stridestowardﬁxing the issue.

“This is notgoing to be an issue going forward,” Jonathan Vining, general counsel at the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections, said during aMay meeting of the House Civil Law Committee. “I don’t believe it’sanissue. Ireally don’t. And you won’tﬁnd anybody in our agency to say otherwise.”

The agency set up an online portal where clerks of court and sheriffs can electronically submit an offender’s sentencing information, speeding up the calculation process.

‘Wehad to step away’

Hospitalityentrepreneursayspost-pandemic N.O. ‘the toughest developmentenvironment’

BY ANTHONY McAULEY Staff writer

Robert Thompson came to New Orleansfouryears agowithbig plansinthe city’shospitality sector In shortorder,the successful restaurant entrepreneur bought up several properties, starting with the Frenchmen Hotel, a 27-room hipster lodging in theMarigny witha pool andoutdoor bar.Through his firm Angevin& Co., he teamed up with GBX Group,aCleveland-based ﬁrm in which Saints great Drew Brees is apartner, to buy the historic Whitney Hotel on PoydrasStreetfor $16.9 million Later,Angevin bought

Mandates still 18 months away

BYEMILYWOODRUFF Staff writer

Louisiana health ofﬁcials said they will spend the next 18 months preparing for anew federal mandate that requires many adult Medicaid recipients to work, study or volunteer if they want to stay insured.

The new rules, part of President DonaldTrump’s“BigBeautiful Bill,” will require Medicaid recipients ages 19 to 64 to work, study or volunteer at least 80 hours per month. People who are pregnant,disabledorcaring for childrenunderage 14 areexempt. The law requires states to check eligibility every sixmonths, though states can perform the checks more frequently In Louisiana, people depend on Medicaid more than almost anywhere else in thecountry,withabout onethird of the state enrolled. The state Health Department expects“very few current enrollees would lose eligibility,” according to astatement sent by spokesperson Emma Herrock. Butoutside experts and DemoLouisiana prepares

PROVIDED RENDERING By FAMDESIGN

French Quarter Boulangerie was abreakfast and lunch restaurant planned for the former homeofK-Paul’s on Chartres Street. It neveropened duetofunding issues.

See RELEASES, page 4A

STAFF PHOTOSByCHRIS GRANGER

BryanLagarde watches liveviews of people walking the streets of downtown NewOrleans and theFrench Quarter fromthe offices of Project NOLA.

EU delays retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods

PARIS The European Union will suspend retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods scheduled to take effect Monday in hopes of reaching a trade deal with the Trump administration by the end of the month.

“This is now the time for negotiations,” European Commission

President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters in Brussels on Sunday, after President Donald Trump sent a letter announcing new tariffs of 30% on goods from the EU and Mexico starting Aug. 1. The EU America’s biggest trading partner and the world’s largest trading bloc had been scheduled to impose “countermeasures” starting Monday at midnight Brussels time. The EU negotiates trade deals on behalf of its 27 member countries.

Von der Leyen said those countermeasures would be delayed until Aug. 1, and that Trump’s letter shows “that we have until the ﬁrst of August” to negotiate. Europe’s biggest exports to the U.S. are pharmaceuticals, cars, aircraft, chemicals, medical instruments and wine and spirits.

“We have always been clear that we prefer a negotiated solution,” she said. If they can’t reach a deal, she said that “we will continue to prepare countermeasures so we are fully prepared.”

Farmworker who fell off roof during ICE raid dies SAN FRANCISCO A farmworker who fell from a greenhouse roof during a chaotic U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid last week at a California cannabis facility died Saturday of his injuries.

Jaime Alanis, 57, is the first known person to die during one of the Trump administration’s ongoing immigration enforcement operations. Yesenia Duran, Alanis’ niece, conﬁrmed his death to The Associated Press. Duran posted on the fundraising site GoFundMe that her uncle was his family’s only provider and he had been sending his earnings back to a wife and daughter in Mexico. Alanis worked at the farm for 10 years, his family said. The United Farm Workers reported Alanis’ death prematurely late Friday The Ventura County Medical Center later issued a statement authorized by the family saying he was still on life support.

“These violent and cruel federal actions terrorize American communities, disrupt the American food supply chain, threaten lives and separate families,” the UFW said recently in a statement on the social platform X. The union does not represent workers at the raided farm.

Biggest piece of Mars on Earth up for auction

NEW YORK For sale: A 54-pound rock. Estimated auction price: $2 million to $4 million. Why so expensive? It’s the largest piece of Mars ever found on Earth.

Sotheby’s in New York will be auctioning what’s known as NWA 16788 on Wednesday as part of a natural history-themed sale that also includes a juvenile Ceratosaurus dinosaur skeleton that’s more than 6 feet tall and nearly 11 feet long.

According to the auction house, the meteorite is believed to have been blown off the surface of Mars by a massive asteroid strike before traveling 140 million miles to Earth, where it crashed into the Sahara. A meteorite hunter found it in Niger in November 2023, Sotheby’s says The red, brown and gray hunk is about 70% larger than the next largest piece of Mars found on Earth and represents nearly 7% of all the Martian material currently on this planet, Sotheby’s says. It measures nearly 15 inches by 11 inches by 6 inches.

“This Martian meteorite is the largest piece of Mars we have ever found by a long shot,” Cassandra Hatton, vice chairman for science and natural history at Sotheby’s, said in an interview

“So it’s more than double the size of what we previously thought was the largest piece of Mars.”

It is also a rare ﬁnd. There are only 400 Martian meteorites out of the more than 77,000 ofﬁcially recognized meteorites found on Earth, Sotheby’s says.

Search for Texas flood victims briefly paused

Heavy rains bring new threat of high water

BY GABRIELA AOUN Associated Press

KERRVILLE, Texas

More heavy rains in Texas on Sunday temporarily paused a weeklong search for victims of catastrophic ﬂooding along the Guadalupe River and led to high-water rescues elsewhere as ofﬁcials warned that the downpours could again cause waterways to surge.

It was the first time a new round of severe weather had paused the search since the July Fourth ﬂoods, which killed at least 129 people. Authorities believe more than 160 people may still be missing in Kerr County alone, and 10 more in neighboring areas.

In Kerrville, where local ofﬁcials have come under scrutiny over the failure to adequately warn residents about the rising water in the early morning hours of July 4, authorities went door to door to some homes after midnight early Sunday to alert people that ﬂooding was again possible. Authorities also pushed phone alerts to those in the area.

During the pause in searches, Ingram Fire Department officials ordered crews to immediately evacuate the Guadalupe River corridor in Kerr County, warning the potential for a flash flood is high.

Late Sunday afternoon, the Kerr County Sheriff’s Ofﬁce announced that search teams in the western part of that county could resume their efforts. The Ingram Fire Department would resume their search and rescue efforts Monday morning, said agency spokesman Brian Lochte.

Gov Greg Abbott said on X that the state was making rescues in San Saba, Lampasas and Schleicher counties and that evacuations were taking place in a handful of others. Texas Task Force 1, a joint state and federal urban search and rescue team, had rescued dozens of people in the Lampasas area, Abbott said.

The latest round of ﬂooding damaged about 100 homes and knocked down untold lengths of cattle fencing, said Ashley

Johnson, CEO of the Hill Country Community Action Association, a San Sababased nonproﬁt.

“Anything you can imagine in a rural community was damaged,” she said. “Our blessing is it was daylight and we knew it was coming.”

With more rain on the way, county ofﬁcials ordered everyone living in ﬂoodprone areas near the San Saba River to evacuate. Johnson said people were being moved to the San Saba Civic Center, which has become a safe, high place for people to receive aid and shelter

“Everyone is in some way personally affected by this,” she said. “Everyone is just doing what they can to help their neighbors.”

The weather system brought multiple rounds of heavy rains and slow-moving storms across a widespread area, pushing rivers and streams over their banks Heading into the afternoon and evening, the heaviest rains were expected along the Interstate 35 corridor and east, said meteorologist Patricia Sanchez from the National Weather Service’s Fort Worth ofﬁce.

“A few spots might see up to 2 to 4 (inches per hour), pretty much through the evening, before the rain, the coverage of rain and the intensity of the rain, slowly decreases,” Sanchez said.

Forecasters warned that the Guadalupe River could rise to nearly 15 feet by Sunday afternoon, about ﬁve feet above ﬂood stage and enough to put the Highway 39 bridge under water in Hunt, the small town where Camp Mystic is located along the river

“Numerous secondary roads and bridges are ﬂooded and very dangerous,” a weather service warning said.

The rains were also causing other waterways to swell further north in Texas, where emergency crews rescued one motorist who was left stranded in waisthigh rapids on a submerged bridge over the Bosque River The man leaned onto the vehicle for support as crews tried to reach him with life jackets.

“He drove into it and didn’t realize how deep it was,” said Jeff Douglas, president of the McGregor Volunteer Fire Department. “Luckily he was able to stand next to the vehicle.”

2 killed in church shooting;

suspect dead, authorities say

BY BRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press

Two women died Sunday at a church in Lexington, Kentucky in a shooting rampage that began when a state trooper was wounded after making a trafﬁc stop, police said. The suspect in both shootings was also killed.

The suspect carjacked a vehicle after the traffic stop near Lexington’s airport and ﬂed to Richmond Road Baptist Church, where he opened ﬁre, city Police

Chief Lawrence Weathers said. Killed in the shootings at the church were a 72-year-old woman and a 32-year-old woman, the local coroner said.

Two other people were wounded at the church and taken to a local hospital, the police chief said. One victim sustained critical injuries and the other was in stable condition, Weathers said.

The suspect was shot by police and died at the scene, he said. The suspect was not immediately identiﬁed pending notiﬁcation of family, he said.

“Preliminary information indicates that the suspect may have had a connection to the individuals at the church,” the

police chief said at a news conference.

The trooper stopped the vehicle after receiving a “license plate reader alert” and was shot about 11:30 a.m., Weathers said. The trooper was in stable condition, he said.

Police tracked the carjacked vehicle to the Baptist church, the police chief said.

The church is about 16 miles from where the trooper was shot.

The shootings remain under investigation, Weathers said.

Fayette County Coroner Gary Ginn said the church is home to a small, tightknit congregation.

“Please pray for everyone affected by these senseless acts of violence, and let’s give thanks for the swift response by the Lexington Police Department and Kentucky State Police,” Kentucky Gov Andy Beshear said in a social media post.

State Attorney General Russell Coleman said detectives with his ofﬁce were ready to support local and state agencies. “Today, violence invaded the Lord’s House,” Coleman said in a statement. “The attack on law enforcement and people of faith in Lexington shocked the entire Commonwealth.”

Israeli strikes kill at least 32 in Gaza

Palestinian war deaths top 58K

BY WAFAA SHURAFA and IMAD ISSEID Associated Press

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip

Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip killed at least 32 people on Sunday, including six children at a water collection point, while the Palestinian death toll passed 58,000 after 21 months of war local health officials said.

Israel and Hamas appeared no closer to a breakthrough in indirect talks meant to pause the war and free some Israeli hostages after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Washington visit last week. A sticking point has emerged over Israeli troops’ deployment during a ceaseﬁre.

Israel says it will end the war only once Hamas surrenders, disarms and goes into exile, something it refuses to do. Hamas says it is willing to free all the remaining 50 hostages, about 20 said to be alive, in exchange for the war’s end and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces.

Frustrated, families of some hostages demonstrated outside Netanyahu’s ofﬁce Sunday evening. “The overwhelming majority of the people in Israel have spoken loudly and clearly: We want to do a deal, even at the cost of ending this war, and we want to do it now,” said Jon Polin, father of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an Israeli-American hostage killed in captivity Throughout the war in Gaza, violence has surged in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Funerals were held there Sunday for two Pal-

estinians, including Palestinian-American Sayfollah Musallet, killed by Israeli settlers, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry In central Gaza, ofﬁcials at Al-Awda Hospital said it received 10 bodies after an Israeli strike on a water collection point in nearby Nuseirat Among the dead were six children.

Ramadan Nassar, a witness who lives in the area, told The Associated Press that around 20 children and 14 adults had been lined up to get water He said Palestinians walk some 1.2 miles to fetch water from the area. The Israeli military said it was targeting a militant but a technical error made its munitions fall “dozens of meters from the target.” In Nuseirat, a small boy leaned over a body bag to say goodbye to a friend.

“There is no safe place,” resident Raafat Fanouna said as some people went over the rubble with sticks and bare hands.

Separately health officials said an Israeli strike hit a group of citizens walking in the street on Sunday afternoon in central Gaza City killing 11 people and injuring around 30 others. Dr Ahmed Qandil, who specializes in general surgery, was among those killed, Gaza’s Health Ministry said. A ministry spokesperson, Zaher al-Wahidi, told the AP that Qandil had been on his way to Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital. In the central town of Zawaida, an Israeli strike on a home killed nine, including two women and three children, officials at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said. Later, Al-Awda Hospital said a strike on a group of people in Zawaida killed two.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ERIC GAy

Rain falls Sunday over a makeshift memorial for flood victims along the Guadalupe River in Kerrville, Texas.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By OHAD ZWIGENBERG Destroyed buildings in the Gaza Strip are seen Sunday from southern Israel.

TrumptomeetwithNATOsecretary general

Plan takesshape forUkraine weaponssales

BY AAMER MADHANI Associated Press

BRIDGEWATER, N.J NATO

Secretary General Mark Rutte is set to meet President Donald Trump this week on the heels of the U.S. leaderannouncing plans to sell NATO alliesweaponry that it canthenpassonto Ukraine. NATO announced on Sun-

day that Rutte will be in Washington on Monday and Tuesday and would hold talks with Trump,Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Defense Secretary PeteHegseth as wellas members of Congress. The White House did not immediately respond to arequest forcomment about the visit.

Atop ally ofTrump, RepublicanSen.LindseyGraham, of SouthCarolina, said Sundaythatthe conﬂictis nearinganinﬂection point as Trump shows growing interest in helpingUkraine fight backRussia. It’sa

cause thatTrump,who duringhis campaign made quickly ending the war a toppriority, hadpreviously dismissed as being awaste of U.S. taxpayer money “Inthe coming days,you’ll see weapons ﬂowing at arecord level to help Ukraine defendthemselves,”Graham saidonCBS’ “Face the Nation.” He added, “One of the biggest miscalculations (Vladimir) Putinhas made is to play Trump. And you just watch,inthe coming days andweeks, there’sgoing to be amassive effort to get Putin to the table.”

The Rutte visit comes as Trumplast week teased that he would make a“major statement” on Russia on Mondayand as Ukraine struggles to repelmassive andcomplexair assaults launchedbyRussianforces. Graham and Democrat Richard Blumenthalof Connecticut,who appeared with theSouth Carolina lawmaker on CBS, said there is also growing consensus on Capitol Hill and among European officials about tappingsome of the$300 billion in Russianassets frozen by Group of Seven

countriesearly in thewar to help Ukraine “It’stime to do it,”Blumenthalsaid. Rubio said Friday that some of the U.S.-made weapons that Ukraine is seeking are deployed with NATO alliesinEurope. Those weapons could be transferredtoUkraine, with Europeancountries buying replacements from the U.S., he said.

“It’salot faster to move something,for example, from Germany to Ukraine than it is to orderitfrom a(U.S.) factory andget it

there,” Rubio told reporterslastweek during visit to Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia. French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornuinaninterview published Sunday in La Tribune Dimanche said that European ofﬁcials have been making the case to the Trumpadministration to bolster air defense capabilities with anycoming packages He added that France is in a“capacity hole”and will have to wait until next year before being able to provide Ukraine new ground-air missiles.

Nursinghomes struggle with Trump’simmigration crackdown

BY MATT SEDENSKY AP national writer

NEW YORK Nursinghomes

already struggling to recruit staff are now grappling with President Donald Trump’s attack on one of their few reliable sources of workers: immigration.

Facilities for older adults and disabled people are reportingthe sporadicloss of employees who havehad their legal status revoked by Trump. Buttheyfeareven more dramatic impacts are ahead as pipelines of potential workers slow to atrickle with an overall downturnin legal immigration.

“Wefeel completely beat up right now,” says Deke Cateau, CEO of A.G. Rhodes, which operates three nursing homes in the Atlanta area, with one-third of the staff made up of foreignborn people from about three dozencountries.“The pipeline is getting smaller and smaller.”

Eight of Cateau’sworkers are expected to be forced to leave after having their Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, revoked. TPSallows people already living in the U.S. to stay and work legally if their home countries are unsafedue to civil unrest or natural disastersand

nonprofit focused on the caregivingworkforce.

Theaging of themassive BabyBoom generation is poised tofuelevenmore demand for caregivers, both in institutional settings andinindividuals’ homes.

BLS projects more growth amonghome healthand personal care aides than any other job,with some 820,000 new positionsadded by 2032.

Nursinghomes,assisted livingfacilities, homehealth agencies and other such businesseswere counting on immigrants tofill many of those roles, so Trump’sreturn to the White House and hisadministration’s attackon nearly all forms of immigration has sent achill throughoutthe industry.

Katie Smith Sloan, CEO of LeadingAge,whichrepresentsnonprofit care facilities,says homesaroundthe countryhavebeenaffected by the immigration tumult Some have reported employees who have stopped coming to work, fearful of araid, even though they are legally in the country.Othershaveworkers who are staying home with children theyhave kept out of school because they worry about roundups. Many others see a slowdownofjob applicants. “This is just like apunchin

are notdrawn to applying andworking in thepositions thatwehave available,”she says.

Front-line caregivers are overwhelminglyfemale and amajority are members of minority groups, according to PHI, earning an average of just $16.72 hourly in 2023.

Long-termcarehomes sawanexodusofworkers as COVIDmade an alreadychallenging workplace even more so.Some facilities werebeginning to seeemployment normalize topre-

‘I’m going to go to Germany and they’re welcoming me withopen arms.’”

Looking around afacility witha majority-immigrant staff, the son of Filipino immigrantswonderswhere his future recruits will come from.

“I don’thave ICE coming in my door andtaking my people,”Sanchez says, “but the pipeline that wasflowingbefore is now comingin dribs and drabs.”

Long-term care workers are routinely lured away not justbyhospitals anddoctors’ ofﬁces, but restaurants, stores andfactories. Half of the average nursing home’s staff turns over each year according to federaldata, making theattraction and retentionofeveryemployee vital to their operation.

Robin Wolzenburg of LeadingAge in Wisconsin began working to place an influx of people from Afghanistan

after the U.S. pulledout its final troops four years ago and thousands of refugees arrived in her state. Care homes began hiring the refugees and were so delighted withthem, somefacilities beganhiring refugees who arrivedfromUkraine,Somalia and Congo. Though many homes hademployee retentionrates around 30%, Wolzenburg said the ﬁgure was above 90% with refugees. Trump has halted most refugeeadmissions, meaning Wolzenburg’ssuccessful outreach program has no new arrivals to target. “It’sbeen really devastating,”Wolzenburg says. “Our communitiesthat were actively working with the resettlement agenciesare not seeing those referrals to long-term care like we were. There’snorefugees coming in.”

Lynne Katman, the founder of Juniper Communities, which runs 21 facilities across five states, says it’s hard enough to ﬁnd the right workers with apassion for older adults. Now,just as homes gird for an inﬂux of residentsbrought on by the country’sdemographic shift, they’re facing another challenge to astable workforce.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOByREBECCA BLACKWELL

Awoman uses awalker on July 4asshe exits an assisted living building at the Toby and Leon Cooperman Sinai Residences in Boca Raton, Fla.

Wildfire destroys historic Grand Canyon lodge

BY FELICIA FONSECA Associated Press

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — A fast-moving wildfire destroyed a historic lodge and dozens of other structures on the Grand Canyon’s North Rim, forcing officials to close access to that area for the season, the park said Sunday The Grand Canyon Lodge, the only lodging inside the park at the North Rim, was consumed by the flames, park Superintendent Ed Keable told park residents, staff and others in a meeting Sunday morning. He said the visitor center, the gas station, a wastewater treatment plant, an administrative building and some employee housing were among the 50 to 80 structures lost. “Numerous” historic cabins in the area also were destroyed, the park said.

Two wildﬁres are burning at or near the North Rim, known as the White Sage Fire and the Dragon Bravo Fire. The latter is the one that impacted the lodge and other structures. The park initially was managing it as a controlled burn but then shifted to suppression as it

RELEASES

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And a state law passed last year gives incarcerated people less “good time” credit, which means fewer people will be immediately eligible for release upon sentencing, according to Vining. Inmates in Louisiana can earn such credits for good behavior, shaving time off their sentence On top of all that, the state is getting ready to launch a program that will perform automated release date calculations, Vining told lawmakers.

“The ability to compute time accurately was heavily affected by local variables out of the state’s control, including whether the pre-trial paperwork was provided in a timely fashion, the time the individual spent in pre-trial custody, as well as the sentence given,” state Attorney General Liz Murrill said in a statement. “The system has been overhauled. That has dramatically diminished, if not completely eliminated this problem.”

But some aren’t so sure the problem has been resolved.

“I have seen no data supporting that,” said William Most, an attorney who represents plaintiffs in overdetention cases Most is one of the lawyers handling the two class action lawsuits.

Some state lawmakers also expressed skepticism.

“When they say that they’ve ﬁxed this problem, I’m not sure that they have,” said state Rep. C. Denise Marcelle, D-Baton Rouge. “At this point, I’m a little skeptical.”

System criticism

In January 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice released a report saying Louisiana held thousands of inmates past their release dates each year — and that the problem went back to at least 2012.

rapidly grew to 7.8 square miles because of hot temperatures, low humidity and wind, ﬁre ofﬁcials said. No injuries have been reported. Millions of people visit Grand Canyon National Park annually,

In addition to delays in getting an inmate’s records from clerks of court and sheriffs’ offices to the corrections department, the report said the agency was too slow to process sentencing calculations. Errors in those calculations could also contribute to overdetention, it said.

Between January and April 2022, 1,108 inmates were held too long, according to the report.

“The median number of days an overdetained individual was held past their release date was 29; 31 percent were held over for at least 60 days; and 24 percent were held over for at least 90 days,” it said.

At that rate, the DOJ estimated, overdetention cost Louisiana about $2.5 million each year

Those findings prompted the DOJ to sue Louisiana over its detention practices at the end of the Biden administration.

The state has disputed the DOJ report.

In a statement, Murrill said overdetention “has been blown entirely out of proportion by factually incorrect and flawed reports by the federal Department of Justice and we’ve requested that they be retracted.”

Louisiana also is under less heat from the federal government. Shortly after President Donald Trump took ofﬁce for his second term, the DOJ put the lawsuit on hold.

The agency declined to answer questions about whether it planned to pursue the case.

Status of litigation

There are two potential class action lawsuits pending against the state over its detention practices. Both are being handled by Most and lawyers from the Promise of Justice Initiative.

The lawsuits, Giroir v LeBlanc and Humphrey v. LeBlanc, allege that Louisiana holds thousands of inmates past their release dates each

with most going to the more popular South Rim. The North Rim is open seasonally It was evacuated last Thursday because of wildfire, and will remain closed for the rest of the season, the park said in a statement Firefighters at the North Rim and hikers in the inner canyon were evacuated over the weekend. The park said along with the fire risk, they could potentially be exposed to chlorine gas after the treatment plant burned. Chlorine gas is heavier than air and can lead to blurred vision, irritation or respiratory problems if high amounts of it are breathed in, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Rafters on the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon also were told to bypass Phantom Ranch, which has a set of cabins and dormitories along the river The Grand Canyon Lodge was often the first prominent feature that visitors see, even before viewing the canyon. A highway ends at the lodge, which was known for its sloped roof, huge ponderosa beams and massive limestone facade. By

year and that the problem goes back to at least 2012.

In Giroir, the lawsuit asks the court to order the state to ﬁx the problem, while in Humphrey, it seeks monetary damages.

Kara Crutcher, an attorney for the plaintiffs working on both cases, said they are waiting on Judge John deGravelles to rule on “whether or not the classes will be certified.” In class action lawsuits, judges must decide whether the suit’s individual plaintiffs can represent a larger group, Crutcher said.

In a 2022 court ﬁling, the state denied that overdetention was a systemic problem and said it did not violate anyone’s civil rights.

Two new laws

This past legislative session, lawmakers passed two laws that pertain to overdetention.

Act 46, formerly House Bill 23, requires sheriffs to submit data about inmates electronically through the portal the state says it launched, according to state Rep. Nicholas Muscarello Jr., R-Hammond, who sponsored the legislation.

Another bill was more controversial: it requires all individuals who wish to sue for monetary damages for overdetention claims to ﬁrst go through the Department of Public Safety and Corrections’ administrative review process.

State Sen. Jay Morris, RWest Monroe, sponsored Senate Bill 39, which became Act 317. Murrill, the attorney general, backed the legislation.

It is unclear how the new law will impact federal lawsuits; it appears more likely to affect false imprisonment claims brought in state court.

Advocates for the law argued that it would make resolving overdetention disputes more efﬁcient and prevent unnecessary litigation.

“The (administrative review) process is designed to

walking across the lobby and descending a stairwell, visitors could get their first view of the Grand Canyon shining through windows across the “Sun Room.”

“It just feels like you’re a pioneer when you walk through there (the lodge),” said Tim Allen, a longtime resident of Flagstaff, Arizona, and yearly visitor to the Grand Canyon. “It really felt like you were in a time gone by.”

Allen said the North Rim felt special and more personal because of its remoteness and reduced number of tourists. He often spent time there camping and doing rim-torim hikes, trekking all the way to the bottom of the canyon and back out.

“It’s heartbreaking,” he said of the destruction caused by the ﬁre.

Aramark, the company that operated the lodge, said all employees and guests were safely evacuated.

“As stewards of some our country’s most beloved national treasures, we are devastated by the loss,” said spokesperson Debbie Albert

An original lodge burned down from a kitchen fire in 1932, four

resolve these disputes quickly to avoid any inmate being ‘overdetained,’” Murrill said in a statement.

Morris said he believed overdetention was “rare” in Louisiana.

“The design of it was to prevent needless litigation but to still preserve their right if they were indeed detained too long to have a claim,” he said of the law

“Every legislator that opposed this bill always comes down on the side of the criminal.”

Critics, including criminal justice advocates and some Democratic lawmakers, say the new law adds barriers to obtaining justice for an already vulnerable population. They say it also may require those who were overdetained to obtain a favorable ruling from a 19th Judicial District Court judge in Baton Rouge before they can sue.

years after construction was completed, according to the Grand Canyon Historical Society The redesigned lodge using the original stonework opened in 1937.

Meanwhile, officials reported progress in battling a second wildfire burning north of the Grand Canyon Fire lines on the White Sage Fire that forced evacuations at the North Rim and in the community of Jacob Lake were holding, ofﬁcials said. By Sunday afternoon the fire had charred 63 square miles of terrain.

On the southern edge of the ﬁre, hand crews and bulldozers were working uphill, and the spread of the blaze had been minimal.

But to the east and north, the fire has spread rapidly, with grasses and standing dead trees contributing to the fire’s intensity, officials said. The fire was pushing downhill toward the Vermilion Cliffs area, and crews were assessing opportunities to create buffer zones that help slow or halt the fire’s progress. Associated Press writer Bruce Schreiner in Louisville, Kentucky, and Jaimie Ding in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

“Prior to SB39, inmates who were illegally held past their release dates could ﬁle a federal lawsuit for compensation, without extra steps,” Most said in a statement.

“Now they may have to ﬁle multiple parallel lawsuits in different courts meaning more use of public resources without any beneﬁts to the public or to the person who was illegally imprisoned.”

Some people file overdetention claims after they are released from prison. It is unclear whether released inmates have the right to ﬁle an administrative grievance, Most said, adding that he has never seen the administrative review process award damages.

“I just think that this is making it harder on people who have a computational time problem,” state Sen. Gary Carter Jr., D-New Orleans, who opposed the leg-

islation, said during a May meeting of the Senate’s Judiciary A Committee. If any other state department was making errors, Carter said, lawmakers would be making it harder on the department, not on the people seeking a remedy Some state lawmakers, including Marcelle of Baton Rouge, said there ought to be a state law requiring Louisiana to compensate people who have been overdetained. Also this past session, state Rep. Edmond Jordan, D-Baton Rouge, said he ﬁled a bill that would have set up a fund to provide such compensation by raising the gambling tax. House Bill 560 did not make it out of the House’s Administration of Criminal Justice Committee.

Email Meghan Friedmann at meghan.friedmann@ theadvocate.com.

partment Superintendent

Anne Kirkpatrick said she wants the city to build its own facial recognition system someday But the city’s existing camera network, which police access through the Real-Time Crime Center, doesn’t have that capacity Project NOLA, meanwhile, has linked up thousands of high-resolution cameras across New Orleans More than 1,000 of them can be put to the facial recognition task, Lagarde said, with servers capable of “activating” 200 cameras at a time The system goes beyond faces; it can track clothing, cars, bicycles.

Bias in the tech?

The technology has been controversial for years. Facial recognition systems have been dogged by research showing bias embedded in the algorithms, revealing a higher risk of false positives and misidentiﬁcations for darker-skinned people, among other groups.

The best systems have narrowed that bias in their algorithms in the years since, though it’s not reflected in reality on the street, said Thaddeus Williams, a Georgia State University criminology professor who has led recent research into police use of facial recognition.

That research showed a positive impact on violent crime in a study of about 200 cities that have used the technology over two decades. Those results “told us perhaps we shouldn’t be so quick to pass these blanket bans,” Williams said of the findings. But the research also showed that facial recognition technology widened racial disparities in arrests.

“If you already have biases in your outcomes, these will amplify them or exacerbate them,” Williams said.

While Kirkpatrick said she supports broader use of the technology, in April she shut down a quiet arrangement with Project NOLA that for two years allowed NOPD ofﬁcers to receive text alerts, after a Washington Post investigation exposed the hushed practice Kirkpatrick said she was concerned the partnership ran afoul of a 2022 ordinance that lifted a ban on facial recognition but set limits and reporting demands on the city’s use of the technology

That ordinance is at the heart of the council’s policy discussions set for next month. As it stands, City Council members Oliver Thomas and Eugene Green are proposing changes that would further ease prohibitions on facial recognition technology to investigate a broad variety of crimes. They would also enable investigations using characteristic tracking, such as logos, clothing or markings on vehicles; cell-site simulators that enable police to identify people around a crime; and what’s described as “predictive policing” tools.

Furthermore, the changes would require the NOPD to document use of facial recognition or characteristic

tracking in a police report and set reporting and data retention rules. The existing ordinance bans the city’s use of facial recognition simply to probe someone’s immigration status or for violations of abortion laws.

Kirkpatrick argued this month that the best way to ensure safeguards on the technology is for the city to operate its own system. Critics say they aren’t quite sure what’s worse: A private operator like Project NOLA that has no obligation to reveal its algorithms, camera locations, or much else; or a city that may not be able to protect the data if it tried.

“If they try doing it right now,” Lagarde said of the city, “it could honestly be catastrophic.”

Expanding tech use

The city’s ordinance doesn’t affect Louisiana State Police troopers, federal agents and local sheriff’s deputies, all of whom can access Project NOLA facial recognition alerts through their phones or seek its help to investigate crimes using the technology In fact, Project NOLA cameras have steered state troopers to a steady diet of arrests since last summer

The city did not respond to questions about the level of access it’s seeking from Project NOLA or its past work with the nonproﬁt. An NOPD spokesperson acknowledged in a statement that the agency will need a formal deal with Lagarde going forward.

“The New Orleans Police Department supports facial recognition as a valuable investigative tool — but only when used lawfully, transparently, and with strong public safeguards,” the statement read. We do not have live facial recognition and cannot access Project NOLA without their cooperation Superintendent Kirkpatrick paused mobile alerts out of respect for city ordinance. We are not seeking unrestricted access — any future use would require mutual agreement, legal clarity, and oversight.”

The pivot from the NOPD — ﬁrst pulling the plug, then seeking more power to use facial recognition has civil

opposes expanding use of facial recognition

He and other opponents point to a new state law that criminalizes local law enforcement ofﬁcers who don’t fully cooperate with federal immigration investigations In a recent Instagram post, Morrell dismissed the idea that the city could protect that data under its local ordinance.

libertarians and some police watchdogs concerned.

Stella Cziment, the New Orleans independent police monitor questioned whether city officials aim to run their own facial recognition system through the RealTime Crime Center, which is outside of the police department and oversees hundreds of public cameras, many on poles ﬂashing blue and red across the city Only the NOPD falls under the monitor’s purview

“Who’s going to have access? Who’s going to have the algorithm? Who can edit it? Whose actions will be captured in an audit trail? Is conﬁdentiality and data security going to be ensured?”

Cziment asked

“If it’s in the government’s hands, it could be more vulnerable depending on the political tide we’re in.” Concerns for civil liberties

The issue has produced some early divisions on the City Council.

Council members Lesli Harris, Helena Moreno, JP Morrell and Freddie King have authored a separate proposal to set up a public reporting process to track and audit the city’s use of facial recognition or other proposed technologies on an online dashboard

Morrell, for one, said he

“I’m being kind when I say that’s naive,” Morrell said. Lagarde said he’s all for a dashboard that would track NOPD requests for facial recognition searches, for instance. But he argues that the private network is far better equipped than the city to protect people’s privacy Lagarde said he has rebuffed

poised next month to consider loosening restrictions on facial recognition and other

requests from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.

He insisted that the nonproﬁt will never sell its data, which he said is deleted in 30 days.

“This is a communitybased system. What we’re doing we find works very well, and we’re able to protect people’s privacy extraordinarily well,” he said.

The network’s approach to privacy includes keeping its facial recognition powers out of neighborhoods without heavy crime, Lagarde said, despite a clamor from customers.

That’s cold comfort to civil liberties groups who warn of built-in bias in the placement of those cameras in high-crime neighborhoods, arguing against government

use of “live” facial recognition and other tools with the power to surveil and track. Scanning faces for matches to hand to police is invasive even in a place as heavily trafﬁcked as the French Quarter, said Sarah Whittington, advocacy director for the ACLU of Louisiana. Kirkpatrick recently likened Project NOLA’s work to the tips generated from eyewitnesses who call police when they spot a criminal suspect. Whittington called that a poor analogy

“My expectation of privacy is that a camera that I walk past will not be reporting my movements in real time to law enforcement,” she said. “We don’t know where these cameras are currently We don’t know where NOPD would deploy these cameras. There’s no check or balance on assessing for bias and overpolicing and what it would mean for that community to be surveilled at a heightened level.”

While critics fear an automated dragnet, Rafael Goyeneche, president of the Metropolitan Crime Commission, said facial recognition is a tool that requires verification for probable cause to arrest someone, as a backstop for bad matches.

“I think what should eventually happen is Project NOLA’s camera feeds tying into the Real-Time Crime Center,” Goyeneche said. “If there are certain things with Project NOLA’s proprietary things that they’re uncomfortable with, they can tell Project NOLA to shut off that component.”

The debate arrives just as the federal consent decree that governs the city’s police force is in its ﬁnal, phaseout period. Cantrell’s administration is asking a federal appeals court to end it sooner Cziment, the independent police monitor, noted that the debate isn’t about whether the technology gets deployed or not.

“You’re being watched. That part is not changing,” she said. “The question is, what can we do with the reality that you’re being watched?”

Project NOLA has linked up thousands of highres cameras across New Orleans. More than 1,000 of them can be put to the facial recognition task, with servers capable of ‘activating’ 200 cameras at a time.

STAFF PHOTOS By CHRIS GRANGER

Bryan Lagarde, of Project NOLA,

headquarters in New Orleans.

theChartresStreetbuilding that had housed K-Paul’sLouisiana Kitchen, the site of legendary Creole and Cajun chef Paul Prudhomme’srestaurant. Renderings at the time showedThompson’svision for “French Quarter Boulangerie,” achic all-daybreakfastsetup that wasplanned for the 12,000-squarefoot space. All of those projects fizzled out andThompson is now back in his home base of Denver

In an interview,hesaid there is an “untoldstory” abouthow thepandemic is still reverberating through thehospitality sector and killing offbusinesses, especially new ventures. Also, he said the business environment in New Orleans made those headwinds more challenging.

“Welove New Orleans —it’sour favorite city,” said Thompson, who hadmoved with his family into an Uptown house after leaving Punch Bowl Social, anational bowlingthemed restaurant chain he founded and grew to a20-venue, $300 million operation at its peak.

“After 30 years of building and operating businesses coast-to-coast, I cansay without hesitationthat the NOLA circumstances were the toughest development environment I’ve ever worked in,” he said in an email exchange earlier this month “Wehad to step away.”

Toughtimefor businesses

For sure, the hospitality sector nationwide has struggled to recover from the pandemic.

Industrytrackers likeCoStar and Tourism Economics reported a strong bounce in U.S. hoteloccupancy in the two years after the start of the pandemic in 2020, drivenmainly by pent-up leisure travel demand. But that rebound ran out of steam in thepast two years. At the start of the year,CoStar

MEDICAID

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cratic lawmakers warn the requirement will cause paperwork errors and administrative delays that could push eligible residents off the rolls.

According to an analysis released in April by the Urban Institute, roughly 116,000 to 132,000 could be pushed off Medicaid due to the work requirement. About 7in10adults in Louisiana with Medicaid are working, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation Howwillsystemwork?

The LouisianaDepartment of Health expects to receive more guidance from Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.bythe end of 2025, Herrock said.

“Weview the work requirements provisions as a means to grow our economy, while reinforcing the value of work andself-sufficiency,” Herrock said in astatement. “This also allows the program to preserve coverage for the most vulnerable populations while eliminating waste, reducing improper payments and combating fraudulent activity.”

To understand what a verification processmight look like in Louisiana,look at what happenedafter the

PROVIDED PHOTO By ANGEVIN&CO.

TheWhitneyHotel, aseven-story

predicted only amodest 1.6% rise in revenue per available room the industry’skey performance measure —for 2025. It hassince trimmed that to below 1% after a weak ﬁrst quarter and signs that the economy is slowing.

NewOrleanshas successfully bucked thetrend withabumper ﬁrst three months of 2025 due to SuperBowlLIX. New Orleans &Co., the city’stourism marketing agency, recently cheered astudy showing visitor levels last year returnedto pre-pandemic levels, driven by the Taylor Swift concerts in October and other events.

Butthere have been plenty of local restaurant closures within the past few months, including highproﬁlesones like chef NinaCompton’s BABs in Bywater andJustine in the French Quarter.Owners have complained that event-driven surges don’tmake up for slow periods. And while the hotelsector remains steady for many of the big brands, some smaller properties arefacing more difﬁculties.

‘Bad luck’

Though Thompson had to deal with these widespread pressures, two former senior managersat

COVID-19 pandemic, when thefederal government halted Medicaid coverage protectionsand required states to resume income eligibility checks, saidKevinCallison, ahealth economist at Tulane University.Though Medicaid is meantfor people with low to moderateincomes, theusual yearly income checks were pausedduring the pandemic.

In alittleover ayear after the change, more than 650,000 people were removed from Louisiana’s Medicaid rolls, which had swelled to over 40% of the population during the pandemic. Of those, 7in10lost coverage forprocedural reasons,such asnot submitting paperwork on time, rather than because they were found to beineligible.

“When you add these burdens,itresults in people losing coverage, even ifthey wouldbeeligible,”Callison said.

Louisiana experimented with quarterly wage checks before the pandemic,a model that Callison saidoffers another glimpse at what could happen

“About half of recipients were veriﬁed automatically but the other half hadtorespond to paper requests in the mail,” he said. Roughly 80%ofpeoplewho lost coveragedid so because they didn’treturn the forms, not because they wereineligible,hesaid.

his properties said there were also some management missteps.

Aplan for live music at the Frenchmen Hotel’spool area, called “Midnight Revival,” never got going, according to one of Thompson’s former managers. Work to restore thepool was never completed, the manager said, and problemsrenewing the liquor license meantthe bar remainedclosedfor thebetter part of ayear

“It was achallenge when they came into the New Orleansmarket,” said the former manager,who still works in the industry andwasn’t authorized by anew employerto speak publicly.“People who don’t have agood grasp of handling hotels and especially liquor licenses in the South are in for arough ride.Robert hit abunch of snags and the city chewed him up.”

“He got out over his skis,” said the other formersenior Angevin executive,who didn’twant to be quoted as he also still works in the industry and wasn’tauthorized to speak publicly.“The Frenchmen was losing money from day one and it didn’t look like it was ever going to make any money.”

Thompson said theFrenchmen Hotelproject faced acomplicated set of issues.

“At Frenchmen, we ran into additionalbad luck,”hesaid, citing Hurricane Ida in 2021 and aﬁre at aneighboring building thatcaused “major damage just as we were ﬁnishing the remodel.”

“That, combined with soaring costs andinsurers whostrategically stallpayouts, forcinglitigationthat is still unresolved, put the project behind the eight ball,”headded.

SortisCapital, the Oregon-based ﬁrm thatlentThompson$8million to ﬁnance the project,took control of the property last year andbrought in Kasa,based in San Francisco, to manage the hotel in January

Kasa also took over management of theLafayette Hotel on St. Charles Avenue last year.Itisone of the newer type of “tech ﬁrst”operators,

Implementation timeline

U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy,RBaton Rouge, said thestate would have time to put a system into place to keep people from losing coverage “just becauseofa bureaucratic snafu.”

“Thisdoesn’t go into effect tomorrow,” Cassidy said. “There is atimeframe in whichthese systems are to be worked out.”

The requirement begins Jan.1,2027. Still, some critics warn the burden of compliancewill result in people going withouthealth insurance.

“I fy ou hadtorenewyour driver’s license every six months, there’d be a whole lot of people driving without …one,” said U.S. Rep. Troy Carter,D-New Orleans.

Democratic push back

Carter joined House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-Brooklyn, and other members of the HouseDemocratic Steeringand Policy Committee at CrescentCare in New Orleans on Friday, part of atour aimed at draw-

offering virtual check-in and limited housekeepingand other services. Neither Sortis norKasaresponded to requests forcomment. Thompson didn’traise the money to complete the conversions planned forThe Whitney Hotel and French QuarterBoulangerieprojects. He said thesupplychain crisis and soaring inﬂation meant they werehit by a50% rise in construction costs and adoubling of borrowing costs in the months afterheacquiredthose properties.

Plus, therewere local issues.

“InNew Orleansspeciﬁcally,the challenges were compounded,”he said, citing Ida,soaring insurance coasts andthe spike in violent crime during the pandemic

New Orleans developer Zach Kupperman took over Thompson’sinterest in The Whitney Hotel. Kupperman,whose projects have included theHotel St. Vincent in the Lower Garden District, said GBX Group is still an investor in theproject and they are working on anew plan to revive the hotel

The HistoricNew Orleans Collection boughtthe K-Paul’sbuilding and recently completed a$6.4 millionrenovation so thespace can be used to support itsmuseumactivities.

Otherprojects, othercities

While his NewOrleans projects were starting to sputter,Thompson turnedtoother concepts. In late 2021, he opened ThreeSaints Revival, atapas restaurant and bar in downtown Denver,and began buildinga pickleball-focused“eatertainment” concept called Jaguar Bolera, which he hoped to launchinseveral states.

Three SaintsRevival closed permanently last year after atwo-year run. Jaguar Bolera, whose backers included Good Alpha, one of the owners of Major League Pickleball, opened one venue in North Carolina before investors took control of the holding company. Thompson saidthe tapasrestau-

ing attention to health care cuts in what they callthe “Big Ugly Bill” andwarning of its potential impact on Medicaidrecipients in Louisiana.

rantwas avictimofdowntownDenver’spost-COVIDmalaise.

“Foot trafﬁc collapsed, homelessness in thearea rose, and corporate office occupancy dropped below 30%. We dealt with severe safety issues, including drug activity, employees’ and customers’ cars regularlybroken into,” he said.

Thompsonwas laterorderedto paythe landlord $540,000 to settlea lawsuit forbreakingthe lease. Sergio Romero, whohad been Thompson’sexecutive chef while they grew Punch Bowl Social from itsﬁrst Denver outlet to 20 locations in 18 states, andwho wasaconsultant on the Jaguar Bolera project, said his former boss hit an extraordinary period of badluck.

“Dude,wewere guns ablazing before the pandemic,” Romero said. “But when you’re a25,000-squarefoot establishment with ‘social’ in your name, there’snoway you could cover expenses when they put on those restrictions. We endedupjust having to walk away.”

Thompson’smain backer in Punch BowlSocial,private equity ﬁrm L Catterton, sold its stake of just under 50% to Cracker Barrel in 2019 for about $140 million, valuing the companyatmore than $280 million

Ayear later,Punch Bowl Social filedfor Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and was acquired by CrowdedOut Capital for$32 million in outstanding debt

Still, Thompson, ever the hospitalityentrepreneur,iscontinuing to press forward. He has now moved on to Valhalla SC Arena,anindoor soccer “sportstainment” concept under development in Denverthat combinessoccer withfood andbeverageofferings

He said he has no hard feelings about his timeinthe Big Easy “I don’twant to be seen as negative on New Orleansjustbecause things didn’tworkout,” he said.“It always seemstocome back.”

Email AnthonyMcAuleyat tmcauley@theadvocate.com.

At the event,Carter emphasizedthe importance of community-basedoutreach to help people stay enrolled, outlining efforts to partner with CrescentCare, nonprofits, andreligious organizations. He pointed to pop-up curbside events heldinhis district to help residents complete paperwork.

“Wewilldothatonsteroids across the country,” he said.

“We’re going to launch an organizational effort that is community-based, unlike anything that the state or country haseverseen to try to makesure that as manypeople as possible can retain their Medicaid coverage,” Jeffries added. Email Emily Woodruff at ewoodruff@theadvocate. com.

After Butler, changes at Secret Service, but questions linger

Man attempted to assassinate

1 year ago at Pa. rally

BY REBECCA SANTANA Associated Press

WASHINGTON In many ways, the assassination attempt against Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania campaign stop was a perfect storm of failings coming together that allowed 20-year-old Michael Thomas Crooks to climb on top of a nearby building and take eight shots at the once and future president.

One attendee was killed, two others wounded and a bullet grazed Trump’s ear before a Secret Service counter sniper opened ﬁre on Crooks and killed him. That day jolted an already chaotic race for the White House and solidiﬁed Trump’s iconic status in his party and beyond. It also became a turning point for the agency tasked with protecting the president. As more details emerged about what went wrong, questions multiplied: What happened to the Secret Service’s planning? Why was a rooftop with a clear line of sight to Trump left unguarded? What motivated the shooter?

Another incident in September where a gunman camped in the shrubbery outside one of Trump’s golf courses before being spotted and shot at by a Secret Service agent also raised questions about the agency’s performance.

A year after Butler, multiple investigations have detailed the breakdowns that day Under a new leader hired by Trump, the agency has been pushing to address those problems but key questions remain.

“This was a wake-up call for the Secret Service,” said retired supervisory agent Bobby McDonald, who’s now a criminal justice lecturer at the University of New Haven.

A Senate committee and federal auditing agency over the weekend released reports about the Secret Service’s actions.

Here’s a look at what went wrong, what’s been done to

address problems and the questions still unanswered.

All the investigations zeroed in on a few specific problems

The building with a clear sight line to the stage where the president was speaking only 157 yards away was left unguarded. Crooks eventually boosted himself up there and ﬁred eight shots with an AR-style riﬂe.

The Secret Service’s investigation into its own agency’s conduct said that it wasn’t that the line-of-sight risks weren’t known about ahead of time. It was that multiple personnel assessed them as “acceptable.”

Supervisors had expected large pieces of farm equipment would be situated to block the view from the building. Those ultimately weren’t placed, and staffers who visited the site before the rally didn’t tell their supervisors that the line-ofsight concerns hadn’t been addressed, the report said.

Another glaring problem: fragmented communications between the Secret Service and the local law enforcement that the agency regularly relies on to secure events.

Instead of having one unified command post with representatives from every agency providing security in the same room, there were two command posts at the rally. One investigation described a “chaotic mixture” of radio, cellphone, text, and email used to communicate that day.

And a year later the investigations are still coming.

“There were multiple, unacceptable failures in the planning and execution of the July 13 Butler rally,” said the Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs in a report released Sunday

The committee found that the agency denied “multiple requests for additional staff, assets and resources to protect President Trump” during the presidential campaign. The committee said that included at least two requests for the Butler rally

The agency’s former director, Kim Cheatle, last year told a House panel before she resigned that the agency didn’t deny any requests for the rally

In a statement released Sunday in response to the Senate report, Cheatle said, “For the Butler rally, I actually did direct additional assets to be provided, particularly in the form of agency countersnipers.”

Another report by the Government Accountability Office requested by Republican Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley criticized the agency’s practices for sharing threat information That report said senior-level agency officials knew of a specific threat to Trump in the days leading up to the rally It wasn’t specific to the rally but it wasn’t shared with the agents or local law enforcement planning for it

The report said the lack of information-sharing was due to the agency’s “siloed information sharing practices.”

The report didn’t offer details on the threat although reporting at the time indicated that a threat to Trump’s life from Iran prompted additional security in the days before the Butler rally

The agency said Sunday that following the assassination attempt, they took a “serious look” at their operations and have undergone significant reforms to address what happened that day

The agency issued its own report Thursday about what it has done.

“Since President Trump appointed me as director of the

United States Secret Service, I have kept my experience on July 13 top of mind, and the agency has taken many steps to ensure such an event can never be repeated in the future,” said Sean Curran, whom Trump tasked with leading the agency Curran was one of the agents standing next to Trump as he was hustled off the stage after the shooting.

The agency said it had implemented 21 of the 46 recommendations made by congressional oversight bodies. The rest were either in progress or not up to the agency to implement Some of what they’ve done involves new equipment and a greater emphasis on addressing threats from above. They’ve created a new Aviation Division to oversee aerial operations like drones. The agency said it has two armored ATVs for use on golf courses and is producing another three And they’re purchasing mobile command vehicles that will be pre-positioned around the country

But much of what the agency says it has done is about changing policies and procedures to address those July 13 lapses — things like

revising their manual to “advance procedures and communication practices” when it comes to coordinating with local law enforcement or clarifying who’s responsible for events where protectees are appearing. They’ve updated their procedures about documenting line-of-sight concerns and how those concerns are going to be addressed.

So far it doesn’t appear that anyone has been or will be ﬁred, although the agency’s director at the time, Cheatle, swiftly resigned. The agency said Thursday that six staffers have been disciplined with suspensions ranging from 10 to 42 days without pay; the six were placed on restricted duty or nonoperational positions. Their identities and positions were not released.

The lack of firings has led to criticism. The Senate report said more than six people should have been disciplined and the penalties were too weak to match the severity of what happened.

In many ways Crooks and his motivations are still a mystery

He was killed by a Secret Service countersniper and

did not leave much information about why he did what he did. Investigators say they believe he acted alone and they didn’t ﬁnd any threatening comments or ideological positions on social media that shed light on his thinking. And while it’s clear what went wrong in Butler, questions linger about how things that were so clearly problematic — like that open roof — weren’t addressed ahead of time.

Anthony Cangelosi, a former Secret Service agent who is now a lecturer at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said that without being able to read the interviews with the agents involved in the Butler planning it’s hard to know exactly why they did what they did. A year later, he still struggles with how so many things went wrong.

“I can’t understand how many errors were made on that site that day,” he said. “If they agreed to leave that roof unoccupied I can’t understand it for the life of me.” The widow of Corey Comperatore, who died during the Butler assassination attempt, echoed some of that sentiment during an interview with Fox News this week.

“Why was that such a failure? Why weren’t they paying attention? Why did they think that that roof didn’t need covered? I want to sit down and talk to them,” Hel-

other federal government jobs. McDonald said he suspects part of the problem ahead of the Butler rally was that the Secret Service might have had a hard time understanding that the type of protection Trump needed wasn’t the same as for other former presidents.

Sunday Buhari died Sunday in London, where he had been receiving medical treatment. He ﬁrst took power in Africa’s most populous nation in 1983, after a military coup, running an authoritarian regime until fellow soldiers ousted him less than 20 months later When he was

elected in 2015 on his fourth attempt, he became the ﬁrst opposition candidate to win a presidential election there. Buhari rode into power in that election on a wave of goodwill after promising to rid Nigeria of chronic corruption and a deadly security crisis. He led until 2023, during a period marked by Boko Haram’s extremist violence in the northeast and a plunging economy Current President Bola Tinubu in a statement described Buhari as “a patriot, a soldier, a statesman to the very core.” Tinubu dis-

patched the vice president to bring Buhari’s body home from London.

Others across Nigeria remembered Buhari as a president who left the country of more than 200 million people — divided between a largely Muslim north and Christian south — more at odds than before.

“The uneven response to Buhari’s death, with muted disillusionment in some quarters and sadness in others, is a reﬂection of how difﬁcult it is to unite a country and his inability to do so after decades in the public eye,” said Afolabi Adekaiyaoja, an Abuja-based political scientist.

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NASA contractor lays off hundreds

Company serviced N.O., Miss. facilities for nearly 10 years

BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL Staff writer

Nearly 300 workers at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility have been laid off after the company that employed them lost its contract with the space agency, according to a notice the company

Marines being sent to ICE facilities

Mobilization of up to 700 troops approved

BY MARCO CARTOLANO Staff writer

Members of the U.S Marine Corps are coming to Louisiana to aid U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement with administrative and logistical work as ICE continues its immigration crackdown across the country, according to the Department of Defense’s U.S. Northern Command.

About 200 Marines will be the “ﬁrst wave” assisting ICE. The Marines will mainly be sent to Florida, but there will be support locations in Louisiana and Texas, the government said last week.

The Marines are prohibited from direct contact with people in ICE custody or to take any part in the process of detaining people, according to the Department of Defense.

ä See ICE, page 2B

Art exhibition cancels 2027 show

Prospect cites political climate, cuts to arts funding

BY DOUG MacCASH Staff writer

Beginning in 2008, New Orleans has periodically hosted a largescale international art exhibition titled Prospect that ﬁlled its museums and other public spaces with a feast of cutting-edge sculpture, painting, photos and installations.

The last Prospect — titled Prospect.6 closed in February and the next would have opened in the fall of 2027. But last week, the Prospect organization announced that it has no plans for a future exhibition at this time.

In a statement, Prospect’s most recent director, Nick Stillman, cited the current political climate, “when arts organizations are particularly imperiled,” as a reason for canceling the next show “It feels crucial for Prospect

sent to the Louisiana Workforce Commission Syncom Space Services, which provided operations and facilities maintenance at Michoud and the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi for nearly 10 years, said in a federally mandated Worker Adjustment and Retraining Noti-

ﬁcation ﬁled with the commission that it would lay off 296 employees at Michoud at the end of last month because its contract with NASA expired June 30 and had not been renewed.

NASA declined to comment. But in a post on its website, the space agency said it had selected

a new contractor, NOVA Space Solutions of Anchorage, Alaska, to take over the $822.7 million contract at Michoud and Stennis.

The notice does, however, say that dozens of positions were affected, including electricians, environmental technicians,

It is not clear how many of the affected employees were based at Michoud and how many were at Stennis. The WARN notice that S3, as the company is known, ﬁled with the commission does not specify where the jobs were located. S3 did not ﬁle a WARN with the Mississippi Workforce Commission, according to that agency’s website.

ROLLING & RUNNING

ABOVE: Roller derby skaters use plastic bats to hit the butts of participants of the Running of the Bulls during the 19th annual San Fermin in Nueva Orleans on Saturday LEFT: Participants gather in front of Gallier Hall in New Orleans.

New library board set

Two members come after months of debate

BY WILLIE SWETT Staff writer

Ending months of wrangling over appointments to St. Tammany’s controversial Library Board of Control, the Parish Council on Thursday appointed two members who have expressed different visions of how the library should approach access to its collection for youth. Dinah Thanars, who was nominated by Democratic Parish Council member Jimmy Strick-

land, and Glenn Baham, a Slidell native who had the support of some Republican organizations, are the two newest board members, joining Travis Thompson who was appointed last month.

Eight of the Parish Council members voted for Thanars over Jill Kesler, who received five votes and had the backing of some Republican organizations. Both were current board members whose terms had ended and required reappointment. Thanars was appointed in February after a resignation, and Kesler had been on the board for just over a year The appointments of Baham and Thanars capped off months of

Vote on zoning rule cut

Residents oppose allowing apartments under certain classification

BY WILLIE SWETT Staff writer

With some St. Tammany Parish residents strongly opposed to reinstating apartments as an allowable use in the vast area of the parish zoned Highway Commercial 2, the Parish Council voted unanimously on Thursday to remove the item from consideration entirely Around 5,946 acres in the parish are zoned HC-2. Both the parish

administration and parish zoning board had recommended reinstating apartments in that zoning classiﬁcation. The reinstatement also had support from some parish business groups and Mike Saucier, a developer who argued the parish had essentially taken away his building rights by removing apartments from HC-2. But the reinstatement faced strong criticism from some residents. Jake Airey, who was on the Parish Council when it removed apartments from HC-2, joked he was having “PTSD.”

“I just don’t think — we looked at this — that HC-2 is appropriate for

ST. TAMMANY PARISH COUNCIL

STAFF PHOTOS By SOPHIA GERMER

Claiborne bridge closed for 4 weeks

BY RICH COLLINS Staff writer

Commuters traveling between New Orleans and St. Bernard Parish have lost one of their primary routes for the next month. The Claiborne Avenue Bridge closed for maintenance for four weeks starting at 6 a.m. Monday, according to the state Department of Transportation and Development. The work is scheduled to continue through 6 p.m. Aug. 8. The bridge, officially named the Judge William Seeber Bridge, spans the Industrial Canal in the 9th Ward. According to the DOTD, contractors have been investigating a problem with the drawbridge not properly resetting when it is lowered from the upright position. Repairs are needed to the bridge’s bearing pedes-

tal and pads, which are the concrete areas that support the structure’s driving span when it is in the down position for vehicular crossing “Efforts were made to resolve the problem without needing a full bridge closure. Ultimately to fully resolve the issue, concrete must be repoured in certain areas and requires time to cure before it can support vehicle weight again. Expansion joints will also be cleaned during the process,” the department said.

During the closure, drivers can use alternate routes, including the St Claude Avenue Bridge and the Florida Avenue Bridge Interstate 10 provides access to Chalmette via the Interstate 510 exit. Civil & Environmental Consultants Inc., a Lafayette-based contractor, will perform the work

19-year-old arrested in fatal hit-and-run

BY RICH COLLINS Staff writer

Police arrested a 19-yearold early Saturday in a hitand-run crash that resulted in the death of a bicyclist in Bywater Thomas Riggio, of St. Bernard, was booked into the New Orleans jail on one count of hit-and-run driving resulting in death. The Orleans Parish Coroner’s Ofﬁce had not released the victim’s identity by late Sunday New Orleans police got a call at 4:27 a.m. and arrived at Alvar Street and

ICE

Continued from page 1B

“Service members participating in this mission will perform strictly non-lawenforcement duties within ICE facilities,” the news release read.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth approved a mobilization of up to 700 troops from active, National Guard and reserve forces to assist ICE in response to a Department of Homeland Security request from May, according to the Northern Command. Louisiana has nine detention facilities that house immigrants waiting for legal proceedings or deportation All but one are operated by private prison ﬁrms.

n Winn Correctional Center in Winnﬁeld

n Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Jena

n Jackson Parish Correctional Center in Jonesboro

n South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile

n Richwood Correctional Center in Monroe

n Pine Prairie ICE Processing Center in Pine Prairie

n River Correctional Center in Ferriday

n Alexandria Staging Facility in Alexandria

n Allen Parish Public Safety Complex in Oberlin

St Claude Avenue to find a man had been struck by a vehicle in the left-turn lane, officials said. Paramedics declared the man dead at the scene. The driver fled before first responders arrived. Police were looking for a dark gray or black fourdoor sedan with damage to the windshield and headlight on the passenger side. A photo captured from surveillance footage was released to media.

The St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Ofﬁce helped ﬁnd the vehicle and driver

The Jena facility drew national attention as the facility that housed pro-Palestinian activist and Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil after he was arrested in New York City in March. Khalil was ordered released by a federal judge in June and he filed a $20 million lawsuit against the Trump administration on Thursday.

Alireza Doroudi, 32, an Iranian doctoral student studying at the University of Alabama, was also detained in Jena after he was arrested over an allegedly revoked visa. He decided to self-deport to Iran.

Rumeysa Ozturk, a Tufts University student who also allegedly had her visa revoked over support for Palestinians, was detained in Basile before she was ordered to be transferred to Vermont.

ICE arrests of Louisiana residents have also made headlines. The detention of Mandonna “Donna” Kashanian, a 47-year resident of New Orleans originally from Iran, drew local outrage and she was released following outreach by U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise the second-ranking House Republican — to Homeland Security

Email Marco Cartolano at marco.cartolano@ theadvocate.com

Deputy assaulted inside jail

BY RICH COLLINS Staff writer

A deputy was assaulted by an inmate Sunday during an incident inside the New Orleans jail, according to the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Ofﬁce.

The deputy received medical attention and staff brought the situation under control quickly according to a social media post from the agency Sheriff Susan Hutson

NASA

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engineers, maintenance workers, millwrights and power plant operators.

S3 did not respond to a request seeking comment and NOVA Space Solutions could not be reached for comment. The change in contractors does not necessarily spell longterm job losses for all of the affected workers. In many cases, new vendors with large contracts will extend offers to rehire some, if not most, of the employees into similar or comparable positions.

Questionable future

The changes at Michoud comes just three months after Boeing, the lead contractor on NASA’s Artemis space program, said it would lay off 89 employees at Michoud, raising fresh doubts about the future of the program and the role New Orleans may play in getting astronauts back to the moon.

Even before President Donald Trump’s election last fall, NASA’s Artemis program, a $24 billion initiative to return manned crews to the moon and, eventually, to Mars, was

ART

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to step back rather than jump right into another exhibition cycle,” Stillman said.

In an interview with ArtNews magazine, Stillman didn’t rule out the return of the Prospect series in the future. But, he said, “that is not the focus right now.”

Stillman noted that cuts to government funding of the arts and other factors have made the possibility of paying for the multimillion-dollar art exhibit “ominous.” Reached via text, Stillman said he is no longer with the Prospect organization.

Prospect was conceived by curator Dan Cameron as an American version of the large international art exhibits in Venice, Italy; São Paulo, Brazil; and elsewhere.

Much of the artwork in the first Prospect was inspired by Hurricane Katrina and the devastating 2005 flood The citywide exhibit aided in the New Orleans’ struggle to

ZONING

Continued from page 1B

apartments,” Airey said.

and her executive team are conducting a comprehensive review and the inmate, who was evaluated by medical and mental health personnel, will be rebooked on additional counts “if appropriate,” a Sheriff’s Ofﬁce spokesperson said.

“OPSO extends its sincere gratitude to the deputy involved and to all deputies working inside the Orleans Justice Center who continue to put

their safety on the line to keep the jail and the city secure,” the spokesperson said.

The Sheriff’s Ofﬁce did not immediately respond to a request for additional information.

The incident took place nearly two months after 10 inmates escaped from the jail by crawling through a hole in the wall behind a toilet. One escapee, convicted murderer Derrick Groves, is still at large.

facing cost overruns and delays.

Trump said earlier this year he wanted to phase out the Space Launch System rockets, which are built at Michoud, that power Artemis and replace them with more cost efficient, commercial rockets. But the One Big Beautiful Bill passed by Congress on July 3 and signed by Trump, includes $4.1 billion in funding for two upcoming Artemis missions, as well as $120 million for improvements at Stennis and $30 million for improvements at Michoud.

Still, the administration has said it wants to replace SLS with less expensive commercial rockets after the launches of Artemis II and III, scheduled for 2026 and 2027. Any cuts to Artemis would signal yet another blow to Michoud The facility, and the parts of the space program it supports, has been touted as one of the economic bright spots in New Orleans East.

Email Stephanie Riegel at stephanie.riegel@ theadvocate.com.

recover by attracting artloving tourists, inspiring the foundation of new art galleries along St. Claude Avenue and elsewhere, and otherwise adding to an unexpected creative ﬂowering in the post-Katrina era.

Subsequent Prospect shows in 2011, 2014, 2017, 2021 and 2024 included their shares of marvelous artworks and drew visitors to the city, but never quite matched the first Prospect’s sense of purpose.

Instead of mounting an exhibit in 2027, the Pros-

pect organization plans to publish a book titled “20 Years of Prospect” that details the history of the exhibition series. According to the news release announcing the book, the Prospect organization “is now shifting its focus to explore and adopt new sustainable models for presenting global artistic discourse, while creating an archive of its past work and lasting impact on the community.”

Lending the book an elegiac tone, Prospect refers to it as a “legacy initiative.”

contentious debate over three openings on the library board. Last month, the Parish Council also appointed Thompson, a Republican, after the discussion largely centered on the political afﬁliation of the nominees That prompted council member Larry Rolling, a Republican, to urge the council to think independently “No group should control us,” he said.

Thanars’ appointment to the board in February came after Strickland vowed to increase the racial diversity of the board in response to its discussion of the young adult novel “The Hate U Give,” which Strickland said showed how “out of touch” the thenall-White board was. With the appointment of Baham and Thanars, the board now has two Black members.

‘Access’

Baham said in an interview that while on the board he wants to focus on the library’s budget, as well as kids’ access to library materials.

A military veteran, Baham said he has worked in politics around the country, and has served as a political consultant, including for Strickland. Baham also once ran for Slidell City Council as a Republican in 2018, losing to Democrat Leslie Denham. Minors’ access to materials with sexual and LGBTQ+ themes have been central to the controversy in the parish’s library system over the past three years. Soon after the controversy began, the library adopted a tiered card system that gives parents control over what minors can access.

But after a recent push by some ofﬁcials, the new board members may be involved in debates around what counts as “access” — whether it means available for checkout, as Gov Jeff Landry once suggested as attorney general, or available to take off the shelf at the library

“Is the stuff going to be accessible right off the shelf?” Baham asked. He said he thought some library materials should be in a section of the library that kids can only access with permission from their parents. He added he wants to do so in a way that is not cumbersome for library staff. Thanars has generally taken a different approach to the issue.

At a meeting in April, Thanars joined a majority of the board in voting against a resolution calling for Attorney General Liz Murill to issue an opinion about what “access” means.

On Thursday, in a statement read aloud by Thanars’ husband, Don Thanars, Thanars praised the library’s tiered card system, but also said it was important to “acknowledge the realities of the digital age.”

“Teenagers are already exposed to mature things through gaming, social media and online platforms,” Thanars said.

“A more effective approach may lie, not in outright restriction, but in a balanced strategy that includes ageappropriate access, parental involvement and ongoing education to help young people navigate such content responsibly,” she said.

Other residents who spoke Thursday raised concerns about drainage issues and exacerbated flooding problems from increased development.

“Apartments don’t belong in Highway Commercial 2,” said Ross Favaloro, a resident who was a vocal opponent of a development Saucier had planned in the Mandeville area.

Apartments were an allowable use in HC-2 or HC-2A for years until the parish adopted a new Unified Development Code, which came into effect in August 2024.

That change came after the Parish Council and

Parish President Mike Cooper became embroiled in controversy over an apartment complex in an area zoned HC-2 in Covington. The complex never got built, and the developer ended up suing the parish after estimating a loss of $6 million. The parish eventually agreed to settle for an undisclosed amount.

After apartments were removed from HC-2 Saucier, who had plans to build hundreds of apartments and retail on about 30 acres near Mandeville, asked the council to rezone the area from HC-2 to HC3, a Highway Commercial classiﬁcation that does allow apartments. But the Parish Council shot the proposal down in December On Thursday council member Arthur Laughlin,

whose district includes the development proposed by Saucier, initially proposed postponing the reinstatement of apartments in HC2, until the parish ﬁnishes its housing study, which is expected to wrap up in the fall. As part of the study, the parish recently launched a survey of residents to understand their housing needs.

But council member David Cougle suggested instead the parish remove the item from the agenda entirely, which is what the council did. That way, he said, if the item is introduced again, the council will have to wait a month before passing it.

“The council made many important decisions Thursday night, and I support the actions they took,” said Cooper in a statement.

Meanwhile, though St. Tammany’s library board did not request an opinion about “access,” council member David Cougle said Thursday that Murrill’s ofﬁce had told him they were working on an opinion. That comes after a lawmaker from a different part of the state, Rep. Beryl Amedee, R-Gray asked Murrill to issue an opinion, nodding to St. Tammany in her letter

STAFF FILE PHOTO By DOUG MacCASH

‘Mexica Falcon’ by California artist rafa esparza is featured at the former Ford assembly plant in Arabi during the Prospect.6 international art exhibit in New Orleans.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By BRETT DUKE

The core stage of the Artemis II rocket is rolled out at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans in 2024. The Artemis program is facing cost overruns and delays.

NewOrleans Area Deaths

AllenSr.,John

Cahill, Evelyn DavisSr.,John Washington, Georgine

NewOrleans

DW Rhodes

Washington, Georgine

River Parish

Hobson BrownFH

Albert,Audrey

St Tammany

EJ Fielding

AllenSr.,John Cahill, Evelyn

Honaker

DavisSr.,John

Obituaries

Albert, Audrey Bazile

30, 2025

by her

WayneSr., Brian

Paula, Deidra, Shawn, the late Larry Jr., and Carl Sr., 21 grandchildren, 25 great grandchildren, siblings, nieces, nephews other relatives, and friends.

Parishioners of St. Joseph Catholic Church and all neighboring churches are invited to attend the mass of Christian burial scheduled for Tuesday July 15, 2025, at 11am at the above named church 2130 Rectory St. Paulina, LA with visitation from 9amuntil service time. Lazarus Panthagani Priest officiating Interment in Church Cemetery.

Professional Services entrusted to the Caring Staff of Hobson Brown

Funeral Home, 134 Daisy St., Garyville, La 70051, (985) 535-2516.

AllenSr. D.D.S.,Dr. John Edward 'Johnny'

Dr.John“Johnny” Ed‐ward AllenSr.,D.D.S passedawayonThursday, July10, 2025. He wasborn inColumbus, TexasonSep‐tember7,1943. He is sur‐vived by hiswifeof59 years,Roberta Devoe Allen;his children, Matthew (Kim), Donald (Carolyn),Ethan,and John Jr. (Katherine); hisgrand‐childrenAshley, Katherine, Morgan, Alex,George, Mar‐ilyn, Lily,Blythe, Annabelle and Cecilia;and great grandsons Torinand Se‐bastian.Heisalsosurvived byhis siblingMaryMargret Allen Haydel,numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and many wonderfullife‐longfriends.Hewas pre‐ceded in deathbyhis par‐ents, ClarkEustace Allen and Margaret Russel Allen; siblings, Donald Russel Boy” Allenand Russel Clark Allen; andson,Clark PotterAllen. Johnny, of Covington,Louisiana,lived a life marked by quiethu‐mility, unwavering kind‐ness, anda deep commit‐menttoserving others.A dedicated dentistfor over 40years,hetreated every patient with compassion and respect, earninga place in theheartsofgen‐erationsoflocal families Anoutstanding athlete throughouthis life,Johnny was abeloved swimming and tennis coach, sharing not just hisskillsbut his encouragement andjoy withfuturegenerations.He never lost hischildlike en‐thusiasmfor thethingshe loved,especiallyfamily, friends,nature, andtime spent outdoors. More than his accomplishments, Johnnywillbe remem‐bered forthe wayhelived: withgentleness, integrity, and adeep reverencefor life. He gave generously loved fully, andleft the world better than he found it. In lieu of ﬂowers, contri‐butions in memory of JohnnyAllenmay be made tothe TheNorthshoreFood Bank, 125W 30thAvenue, Covington,LA70433; 985893-3003; https://northsh orefoodbank.org and NorthshoreRiverwatch, 13058 MajorLaneFolsom, LA70437;985-590-1385; https://www.nsriverwatch.

orgtosupport thecommu‐nityand rivers he loved. Relatives andfriends are invited to attend an evening visitation at E.J. FieldingFuneral Home 2260 West21st AveCovington, LA70433 on Thursday July 17, 2025 at 5:00PM until 7:00 PM. E.J. Fielding Funeral Homehas been entrusted withfuneral arrangements The Allenfamilyinvites you to sharethoughts, fondest memories,and condolences online at E. J. FieldingFuneralHome Guest Book at www.ejﬁeld ingfh.com

Cahill,EvelynMann

Evelyn Mann Cahill,age 96, passedawaypeacefully onThursday,July3,2025

She wasborninRoby, TX onDecember16, 1928. She issurvivedbyher son, Kelly Theron Cahill (Mar‐sha); hergrandchildren,Dr. Kelly Theron Cahill,Jr. (Kelly)and Ashley Cahill Noto(Christopher);and great grandchildren, Pay‐ton Noto,Avery Noto, WilliamCahill, Audrey Cahilland BennettCahill. She is also survived by her brother,James Mann. She was preceded in deathby her husband,Gerald “Jerry”Cahill; herdaugh‐ter,Laura GlynnCahill; her parents Marvin andVera Mann; andbrother,Glenn Mann. Shewillbemissed byall who knew andloved her.The familyextends its heartfelt gratitudeto Brookdale Assisted Living including thewonderful staff andcompassionate caregivers. They allwere truly ablessing. Relatives and friendsare invitedto attendthe memorial ser‐vices at E. J. Fielding Fu‐neral Home,2260 W21st Avenue,Covington LA 70433 on Monday,July14, 2025, at 2:00 PM with visita‐tiononMondaybeginning at1:00PM. Intermentwill followinPinecrest Memor‐ial Gardens. E.J. Fielding FuneralHomehas been en‐trusted with funeral arrangements. TheCahill familyinvites youtoshare thoughts, fondestmemo‐ries, andcondolences on‐line at E. J. Fielding Funeral

Home GuestBook at www ejﬁeldingfh.com

DavisSr.,JohnA.'Buck'

John A. Davis, Sr., affec‐tionately knownas“Buck,” passedawayonSunday, July6,2025, at theage of 93. Born April3,1932, in his homeinLacombe,LA, he was alife-long resident of Lacombe andSlidell, LA Buckwas marriedtothe loveofhis life,LenellO Davis of Slidell, LA,for 68 years,and together they built afamilylegacyof lovethatlives on.Inaddi‐tiontoLenell, Buck is sur‐vived by hisfourchildren: JohnA.“Chip”Davis,Jr. (Vicki,)D.Scott Davis(Deb‐bie,) Dawn McCormick (MichaelDee,)and Karen Rewerts (Carl.)Buck adoredhis eleven grand‐children: KatiePapasan (Brett,)Mallory Onarecker (Tim,)TreyDavis,Jason Davis (Lauren,)WillMc‐Cormick,Chris Davis, Lau‐ren Petit(Pierce,) Claire Quintana(Michael,)Stuart Davis (Madison,) Glendon Rewerts (Lucy,)and Lydia Rewerts;and histwelve great-grandchildren:Davis Papasan,Elise Papasan, Eleanor Onarecker, Ben Onarecker,Elizabeth Onarecker,ElleDavis,Cole Davis,Myles Quintana, HarperGrace Quintana CallumQuintana, Margot Petit,and Pierce Petit, Jr Buckissurvivedbyhis sis‐ter-in-law, Peggy Davis, brother-in-lawCharles O’Neill (Ruthie,)special niece Elaine Jackson, and numerousniecesand nephews.Buckwas pre‐ceded in deathbyhis par‐ents, WilliamH.Davis,Sr. and Margaret Thom Davis; his sisters, Marjorie Moran, Doris Wherritt, Juanita Love, EleanorStorm,Lucy Lockwood,Frances Pear‐son;and hisbrother WilliamH.“Billy”Davis,Jr. Buckenlistedinthe U.S. ArmyonMay 5, 1953, and servedhis countrystate‐sideand in Germany, achieving therankof SergeantE-5,and being honorably discharged on April 19, 1956. Buck’s ser‐viceismemorializedatthe NationalWWIIMuseumon the HonorRollofCharter Members.Buckgraduated from LouisianaState Uni‐

versityin1960 with aBach‐elorofScience degree in MechanicalEngineering. Hewas an avid LSUfan and enjoyedengaginghis grandchildren in lively de‐bates over thesuperiority ofLSU over allother uni‐versities.Buckenjoyed a successfulcareer in facil‐ity engineeringand man‐agement at theNASACom‐puter ComplexinSlidell Heloved workinginthe aerospace industry and was selected to participate inand observethe launch ofthe NASA SpaceShuttle Discovery (STS-53) at Cape Canaveral,Florida.Buck had aspecial interest in forestry, andwas alongtimememberofboththe Louisiana Forestry Associ‐ation andthe St.Tammany ForestryAssociation. Buck’sfavoritethingsin lifewerehis family, coach‐ing littleleagueteams,at‐tending athletic events and dance recitals,leading Boy Scouts, participatingin mission trips, assisting withinnumerable piano recitals, gardeningatan expertlevel,repairing the irreparable,and feeding and caring foranimals mostfondlyhis long-time friendand companion, Boudin. When life gothard, Buck’susual advice was, Go geta Coke anda candy bar.”Inlieuof ﬂow‐ers,memorialgifts maybe madetoSt. Tammany RecreationalDistrict#4at 61100 North12thStreet,La‐combe,LA70445. Relatives and friendsofthe family are invitedtoattendthe FuneralService at Alders‐gateUnitedMethodist Church,360 Robert Blvd., Slidell, LA on Friday,July 18, 2025, at 10:00 A.M. Visi‐tationatthe church on Fri‐day after 9:00 A.M. untilfu‐neral time.A privateinter‐mentwillfollowatthe Southeast LouisianaVeter‐ans Cemetery in Slidell, Louisiana.Pleasevisit www.honakerforestlawn. comtosignguest‐book.Arrangementsby Honaker FuneralHome, Inc.,Slidell, LA

called home to dwellwith our Heavenly Father in par‐adise.Georginewas born August26, 1934 in Tyler‐townMississippi,and was raisedinNew Orleans, Louisiana.She movedto Chicago, Illinois where she met herlifetimelove, ErnestWashingtonJr. They shared67years of devo‐tionuntil hisdeath.To their uniontwo daughters wereborn. Yvette (Lloyd) Dickerson,and Cheryl (Johnny) Williams.She re‐tired from JeffersonParish School Boardafter 45 years ofservice.Devoted wife mother, grandmotherand friend. Hergenerousheart and kind spirit made her easytolove. Georgine was proceeded in deathbyher husband Ernest Washing‐ton Jr mother MazieLuddBradford, brothers,John. L. Ludd, andSmith Earl Ludd and son-in-law LloydVin‐centDickerson.Inaddition toher daughters, Georgine alsoleavestocherish her memory, threegrand‐daughters KristinaDicker‐son of Dallas,Texas,Torrie (Devin) Rogers,New Or‐leans,Louisiana andLau‐ren (Paul) Carter,Gretna, Louisiana.Seven greatgrandchildren Jeremy, Joshua, andJadyn Holt Devin II, andTorrinRogers, Logan, andClark Carter Brother-in-lawLaverne (DeAnna)Washingtonof Brooklyn, NewYork, God daughterLorrieJones-San‐difer,GodsonTyroneJef‐ferson, as well as ahostof nieces, nephews, extended family, andfriends.The familywould like to extend special thanks to Georgine’scaregivers, Bru‐enickaThomas, Demetria Berry,Annette Stevens, and Donna Frazier. Theen‐tirestaff at Wynhoven Community Care Center and NotreDameHospice Relatives andfriends of the familyare invitedtoattend a gravesidememorialhon‐oring Georgine’s life and legacyatWestLawn Cemetery, 1225 Whitney Ave Terrytown, Louisiana 70056, on Tuesday, July 15, 2025 at 10:00 am.Arrange‐ments entrustedtoD.W RhodesFuneral Home,1020 VirgilStreet,Gretna, LA 70053. Please visitwww rhodesfuneral.comtosign the online guestbook, share memories andcon‐dolenceswiththe family. A repasswillbeheldimme‐diately followingthe memorialatThe White House,209 Lafayette Street,Gretna, Louisiana 70056.

Audrey Bazile Albert peacefully passedaway

Monday June

Audrey is survived

children

Sr.,

Washington,Georgine 'Jean'

On July 3, 2025, Georgine “Jean” Washington was

What will Zurich Classicget getfrom LIVGolf?

Likeletter writer Kathy Higgins, Iamnot in favor of the state spending $7 million tobring the LIV tournament to New Orleans in 2026 without more details about how New Orleans and who in Louisiana would beneﬁt from this expected $60 million LIV spending.

As amember of the Fore! Kids Foundation, the nonproﬁt organization that runs the PGA Zurich Classic of New Orleans, I am familiar with what’srequired to orchestrate and work such an event. We do it with hundreds of volunteers.

As anonprofit, the foundation distributes the net profitsfrom the tournament to children’s charities throughout Louisiana. According to the website, “Fore! Kids has raised just over $51 million to date, providing health care, education, and hope for over 200,000 children.” That’sa real benefit to Louisiana and it’s very transparent. Will LIV donate to Louisiana charities and educational institutions from this tournament?Who willwork the tournament as marshals, standard-bearers, concession workers and transportation drivers? How was the estimated $60 million of spendingdetermined? If $2 million of the $7 million is used to improve the Bayou Oaks course for the tournament, what will be the increase in ongoing maintenance costs for these improvements? Will these enhancements require an increase in green fees for the everyday golfer? Without more details about all the aspects of the event, Iwould rather seethe taxpayer moneygotolocal needs, such as theUniversity of New Orleans. Doing so would have amuch longer positive impact on the city and the state as opposed to maybe aone-year event

CHARLES HIRLING RiverRidge

is aformer co-generation plant that is

Let’snot pretendmarketis demandingcarboncapture

In aguest column on thefuture of Louisianaand its tietocarbon capture, utilization andstorage, Spencer Martin says global markets demand cleaner energy solutions. Respectfully,Iwould ask for some evidence of that assertion. This is amantra, but no one canproduce areceipt. There may be hard left ideologues whowant American subjugation via“cleaner energy,” but no market is demanding it. Ask Germany,which just signed along-term LNG contract last year with theU.S.and buried carbon is not in the equation As to geological advantages: While Louisiana may have somegreat geologic formationstobury carbon, we also have somethat are uniquely unsuitable and dangerous for burying carbon.Weneed to be wise. Martin says we might lose business to Texas if we don’t“lead” in carbon management. The Texas Railroad Commissioner tells me no such thing is in the plan for the Lone Star State. He

sent alettertothe House Natural Resources Committeetothat effect. I’dbegladtoshare thatletterwith anyone who is interested Martin speaks of compliance: Isay it is uniquely not our culture to comply with bad things. We shouldn’tbend our knee to climate ideologues who want to take our liberties and land. I’ll agree that captured carbon might createjobs, but put it in fuels, concrete or fertilizer.Noone is demanding it be buried except hard-left climate alarmists. At theend of his article, Martingets to the issue of billions of dollars. On this front, he is completely correct. BillionsofU.S. tax dollars are creating asynthetic demand foran activity that is unproven and probably very risky.Norational market or consumer wants or cares about burying carbon. If the U.S. tax credits disappear,burying carbon will, as well.

STATEREP.CHARLES OWEN District 30

Vaticanhas thewealthtocompensatevictims

In rebuttal to arecent letter titled “Catholicfaithful should consider making amends to abuse victims,” IamaCatholic faithful and Idisagree.

Ilove my church and supportits local mission to providespiritual guidance and education toits parishioners.

Withdrawing from thefrayas Americanscan’t debate civilly anymore

This letter will be my last as a recent encounter with someone I’ve knownfor ﬁve years mademe realize just ageneral comment can cause aviolent reaction.

Iasked him what he thinks about the protests in California, where they wereburning stores and looting. He immediately launched into avulgar tirade against the president and vice president.

Be mindful, no mention of the president and vice president was presented in my statement. If every comment someone makes about events in the country turns out like this, this country will never heal. Ialso could have retaliated. He’s retired and earns extra money as a greeter foralarge retailer,where the employees wearblue vests. But Ichose to take the high road. As an independent, Iwant to thank everyone whoexpresses their opinions. Idon’talways agree with what’sbeing written by either side, and as someone whowould like honest roundtable debate, I know that after the ﬁrst question is asked, it would devolve into an angry tirade.

DAVE HEBERT Lafayette

Reliving Cuba’s slide into totalitarianism

Isee scary similarities between the dictatorial regimeinCuba for the last 66 years and our newly elected presidential administration. Ilived in Cuba forthe ﬁrst 12 years of my life, so Ihave clear memories of those times.

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

If thatwriter had ever visited the Vatican as Idid in 2023, he might not have held thatopinion. The vastamount of priceless artwork, sculptures, busts andother pieces boggled my mind. Iasked our tour guide, alocal, how the church had amassed all this.Hesaid that at one time, the pope was considered aking,and if anyone found something of value, thechurch would take it. Ididn’tresearch that, but it didn’tmatter to me

My issueisthat themother church seemingly has so much wealth thatitcertainly can afford to assist the diocesesaround the world to help pay for theabuse of their parishpriests/religious workers, etc. Ithink most everyone would agree that the church leadership, from thelocal parishestothe Vatican,all knew abusewas being perpetrated on innocent children and did not do nearly enough to address it.

Ibelieve that, due to theirnegligence throughout thechurchleadership chain, the Mother Church, notits faithful parishioners, should be held accountable monetarily for theirsins and takeany necessary steps to compensate the victims MARK RICARD Slidell

What woke really meansand whyitisa threat

Ilearned in American history classes that Paul Revererode through the countryside wakinghis neighbors up to prepare for the British soldiers coming to capture revolutionary leaders. Ilearned that the Wide Awakes were ayouth organization cultivated by the ﬂedgling Republican Party in 1860 that were instrumental in helping Abraham Lincoln to be elected U.S.president. Iremember my mother telling me to stay alert and look for cars bothways before crossingthe street.I workedfor apetrochemical company which expected me to watch out for safety hazards and to address those hazards to prevent injury to my fellow workers and myself.

These examples are part and parcel of woke philosophy that is debated in our society today.Isuggest that woke philosophy in its many forms is embedded in our cultural fabric. It won’tbediminished. It won’tbe eliminated. Ithink that our current U.S. administration is very awake as to its intention to diminish what it labels as woke. It intends to guide us towardhiding our heads in the sand so that it can accomplish what they feel is good —for whom, Iamnot sure.

My fellow Americans, stay awake. Stay woke.

STEPHENPASTOREK Baton Rouge

An early target of the Castro regimewere universities; several wereclosed by the government. The regimedid not trust the media. Eventually,newspapers and TV stations were allowed to broadcast only government-approved news. Blind loyalty to the Castro regime was demanded in all aspects of life. The government chose the leaders of block committees based on their loyalty.Their mainduty wasto inform the higher-ups on whowas sympathetic or not to the government. Dueprocess was nonexistent. People in my neighborhood would suddenly disappear and their families didn’tknow where they were. Reminds me of ICEkidnapping people today

My own father was abducted by the government one day from our family table while having lunch. We did not see him again for23days. Someone reported he wascounterrevolutionary

This déjà vu has caused me PTSD.God help us.

ADATORRES NewOrleans

LOUIS SHEPARD NewOrleans Maybewhat’smissing in schoolsisn’t Ten Commandments

Maybe instead of posting and teaching the TenCommandments in the classroom, they should post and teach the Constitution.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILEPHOTO

Covanta

nowclosed.Itwas located in Delano, Calif.

COMMENTARY

What ahaul! We received 553 entries in this week’sCartoon Caption Contest.There were tons of great punchlinessentinand alot of cleverpuns. Our winner,anavid viewerofcriminal justice shows, came up with acaptionthat soundedstraight out of acourtroom dramaand fitthe cartoon

everyone! As always, when we have duplicate entries,and we always do,wepick the earliestsentin. —Walt

EDWARD LASCELLE, PINEVILLE: “No, I don’t think this is agoodtime to break for lunch!”

MIRTILE DUGAS,CARRIERE, MISS.: “But judge,I didn’t know it washis worm!”

JEFFREY NAY, NEW ORLEANS: “your Honor! Iwouldliketo file aquick ingestion injunction!!”

DAVID DELGADO,NEW ORLEANS: “Boy, have Igot a fish storyfor you!”

GREG STEEN, METAIRIE: “This verdict was aload of carp!”

MICHAEL B. RIEMER, JEFFERSON: “He should have neverbeen let off the hook.”

MARYMALONE, NEW ORLEANS: “What do youMEAN that this is too big for small claims court?!”

SHEREE MURRAY, BATONROUGE: “I call my first witness Charlie Tuna!”

JOSEPH KOVACS, NEW ORLEANS: “I think we’reabout to graduate to criminal court…”

SHERI LINDSEY,BATON ROUGE: “Please don’t throwthe hook at me!”

Lots of groups willbeharmed by President Donald Trump’sOne Big Beautiful Bill, which recentlybecame his One Big Beautiful Law.Among them: the poor, the young, themath-literate.

But it’salso worth assessing who will beneﬁt from the GOP’srearrangement of ﬁscal priorities. The answer is not only the rich and corporations; it’salso America’sgrowing immigration industrial complex.

STUART CLARK, LAFAYETTE: “I’m afraid thebig guy’sgoing for an open and shut case!”

HARPER VICIDOMINA-MILLS (AGE 10), METAIRIE: “Isn’tthis illegal because onlysmall fish are supposed to be here, right?”

BOBBRUMBERGER, BATONROUGE: “Was toldhewas avegan.”

PHILLIP T. GRIFFIN, NEW ORLEANS: “I don’thavea chance; he ate my attorney on the wayin!”

HOWARD W. STREIFFER, METAIRIE: “I’m requesting an expedited ruling here!”

BOBUSSERY, NEW ORLEANS: “What do youmean,‘Where’smylawyer?’He’sright behind me.Isn’the?”

MICHELE STARNES, KENNER: “I’d like youto subpoena his stomachcontents!”

RAYAUTREY,MORGANCITY: “your Honor,I seriously object to this line of questioning!!”

GINA VILLAVASO,NEW ORLEANS: “All I toldhim was his story sounded ‘fishy’!”

BRYANREUTER,METAIRIE: “Judge, Iknowyour docket is underwater,but you’vegot to do something.”

MARYANN RIDDLE,BATON ROUGE: “Judge, help thesmall fish forachange.”

RICHIE CORVERS, RIVERRIDGE: “I plead the5th!!Now hurry up and take me intocustody.”

JEFF HARTZHEIM, FUQUAY-VARINA, N.C.: “Hesaid he wants apretrial herring.”

TIM PUJOL, MAUREPAS: “I need to reporta hostile takeover.”

MARTHA STARNES, KENNER: “I was just minding my ownbubbles!”

CHARLESE BROWN, NEW ORLEANS: “Where’sthe LARGEclaims court?”

RORY STEEN,DENVER,CO.: “I’m beginning to suspect this victory will be short-lived.”

CHARLESSMITH, ST.ROSE: “DoIreally need to explain my intimidation claim?”

LAUREN GAUTHIER, KENNER: “yes he’s mad, he’shaddock with these jokes!”

Rahm Emanuel’sstint as ambassador to Japan followed his twoterms as Chicago’smayor,which followed his 20 months as Barack Obama’sﬁrst White House chief of staff. But before he formally begins his likely campaign forthe Democrats’ 2028 presidential nomination, he has becomeasocial scientist.

As an avid bicyclist, Emanuel, when he retired from the mayor’sofﬁce, took atwo-week, 900-mile ride around Lake Michigan with a friend. During the ride, he madeasociological discovery: “The worse the cellphone coverage is, the nicer people are.”

Niceness is sometimes secondary forEmanuel, whose salty vocabulary expresses the serrated edge of his personality.But his discovery of the inverse relationship between smartphones and congeniality indicates his interest in today’sculture, and his party’scontribution to its strangeness. Although politics is the Democratic Party’sbusiness, it currently has scant aptitude forit.

that for most other law enforcement agencies combined. This includes the FBI, Bureau of Prisons, Drug Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. ICEspending this year will also be larger thanmost other countries’ military budgets.

the potential pool of people theycould be snatching off the streetsand jamming into overcrowded detention centers is rapidly expanding.

Politics is mostly talk. In an interview,Emanuel says, moreinanger than in sorrow,that too manyDemocrats speak as though their words have been “focus-grouped in a faculty lounge.” He has apoint. If the progressives whocoined the term “Latinx” had knowna fewHispanics, they would have knownthere was no interest in a “nonbinary” (more progressivespeak) namefor members of an ethnic group whohave said they prefer to be called “Americans.” Between 2020 and 2024, Donald Trumpincreased his portion of the Latino vote from 36% to 48%. When progressives refer to people in jail as “justice-involved populations,” voters are apt to be mystified, then bemused, and ultimately unlikely to fill public offices with peculiar people whospeak aprivate language.

Emanuel wishes someDemocrats would worry less about “a child’sright to pick his pronouns” and moreabout “children whodo not know what apronoun is.” He is proud of an education reform he instituted as mayor: Before handing adiplomatoahigh school senior,the student had to hand over aletter of acceptance from afour-year college, acommunity college, an armed service or avocational school.

Funding for ICE agents speciﬁcally is expected to quadruple in the last year of Trump’ssecond term,according to estimates from Bobby Kogan, aformer Senate budget staffer and researcher at the Center for American Progress.

Emanuel mused about all this afew days before the 65% of New York City’sregistered Democrats whovoted in the mayoral primary nominated (by aplurality) a33-year-old who resembles an adjunct professor of applied Trotskyism (free stuff foreveryone!) who wandered out of asatirical campus novel. In 1992, Emanuel says, Bill Clinton won while promising not to “defund” the police but to hire 100,000 moreofthem.In1996, Emanuel says, Clinton becamethe first Democratic president reelected since Franklin D. Roosevelt by running 40% of his ads promising to “end welfare as we know it.” In 2008, candidate Obamacampaigned by stressing that it is easy to father achild but hard to be afather Emanuel sees signs of incipient sanity in the fact that in this year’sgubernatorial contests, the twomost important contests, Democrats have nominated twocentrists with national security backgrounds: in NewJersey,Rep. Mikie Sherrill, aU.S. Naval Academygraduate and former helicopter pilot; in Virginia, Abigail Spanberger,aformer CIAofficer and congresswoman. (The uber-progressive president of New Jersey’steachers union finished fifth in aprimary field of six.)

Trump’snew mega-law invests $178 billion in additional immigration enforcement over thenextdecade, primarily through new funding to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.Tobeclear,this is notmerelyabout“border security,” which has signiﬁcant bipartisan appeal. Democrats tried to beef it up last year,though Trump ordered Republican lawmakers not to cooperate. It’slargely for more detention centersand boots on the ground within the U.S. interior.Thismeans spending more dollars to round up gardeners, home health aides, gradstudents,nannies, construction workers, etc.

In other words, the administration is going after your family, neighbors and friends, regardless of how long they’ve been here, whetherthey present any “safety” threat or how much they’ve contributed to theircommunities.

Adollar ﬁgure this huge can be challenging to wrapone’sarms around. So here are some ways to put it in context:

Trump has some ﬂexibility on when he spends the new money Congress gave him (which comes in addition to the usual annual appropriations that immigrationrelatedagencies receive),but it’sreasonable to assume that this year’sannual budget for ICE alone will be larger than

As former president Joe Bidenhas oftensaid, “Show me your budget, and I’ll tell you what you value.” Today,American valuespoint in one direction: expanding the immigration police state. What might thesenew investments mean in practice? ICE, with thehelp of lawenforcement personnel seconded from other federal, state and local agencies, has already sown terroracross the country with far fewer resources. Agents have descended upon big cities and smalltown America alike, often masked, armed and refusing to show warrants or identification. With daily arrest quotas to meet, agentsare filling detentioncentersnot withcriminals and gangbangers,but people withnocriminalhistory whatsoever In fact while the number of convicted criminals held in ICE detention is about 1.6 times what it was before Trumptook office, the number of detainees with zero criminal convictions or charges is up nearly 14-fold, according to government data analyzed by Syracuse University researcher Austin Kocher Turns out, maintaining amassive immigration police state is expensive. ICE has been burning through cash and running lowonfunds. Meanwhile, ICE agents are still not meeting their daily quotas, and

That’s because Trumpisnot merelysiccing immigration forces upon those who had been undocumented (with or without criminal records).Under the stewardship of DeputyChief of Staff Stephen Miller this administrationhas also been working to “de-document” hundreds of thousands of immigrants who are here legally These include Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans who camein withadvanced permission under aBidenera program,after undergoing onerous screening abroad and securing asponsor here in the United States. It also includes Hondurans and Nicaraguans who had been living and working in the United States legally for decades, as Trumpannounced recently.Some of our Afghan allies, including many who supported U.S. military efforts at great personal risk to themselves and their families, are in the crosshairs as well. As are some Ukrainians and many,many others.

Many of these policies have been challenged in court and have either been paused or otherwise not yet taken effect. But the administrationischarging ahead anyway.The Justice Department recently announced plans to prioritize revoking citizenship from naturalized U.S. citizens. Aftera recent SupremeCourt ruling, the administrationisalso still trying to strip birthright citizenship from babies bornin the United States, including those bornto both undocumented and many authorized immigrant parents.

Perhaps it’snowonder,then, thatICE needs all those funds. Have you seen the price of cribs these days?

Email Catherine Rampell at crampell@ washpost.com. She is on X, @crampell.

Emanuel is wagering that “candor and authenticity have currency,” and that “strength, conﬁdence and optimism” can be projected by ignoring “the culture police” on his party’s left. He tickles optimism from afact about Chicago’ssummer country-music festival: It features anumber of Black singers of agenre associated with rural America. That is thin evidence fornational reconciliation, but Emanuel thinks the 2026 midterm elections will give his party momentum for2028.

He says that in midtermswhen the same party controls the presidency and both houses of Congress, turnout is usually higher forthe out-of-power party,independents break 2-1 forthat party,and turnout drops forthe inpower party.This drop might be particularly pronounced next year because manysupposed supporters of the incumbent party are actually just fans of its entertaining leader,whose absence from the ballot will makepolitics unappetizing.

Mayor Emanuel did not halt Chicago’sslide toward bankruptcy,and as anational candidate he must shed the stigmaresulting from Democratic control of sagging cities (New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, etc.). And there will be the dramaofwatching progressives of the “globalize the intifada” stripe (see their choice forNew York mayor) ponder acandidate whose middle nameis“Israel.”

Email George Will at georgewill@washpost. com.

WINNER: Brian Hanley, Baton Rouge

Catherine Rampell

George Will

SPORTS

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

LSU baseball sophomore lefthanded pitcherKade Anderson was selected Sunday by the Seattle Mariners with the No. 3overall pick in the ﬁrst round of the 2025 MLB Draft Anderson is the third LSU player to go in the ﬁrst three picks of thedraft in the past three years,joiningNo. 1 Paul Skenesand No. 2Dylan Crews in 2023. “Still doesn’treally feel real. And when Iheard my name, obviously it’swhat you dreamabout,” Anderson said. “And just super grateful to be selected by an organization thatI really got to kind of meet and takein. Ithink just everything happens for a reason, and for me to be selected by the Mariners truly means alot.” He was acandidate to go No. 1

overall to the Washington Nationals, but they elected to select high school

shortstop Eli Willitswiththe top choice.The LosAngeles Angels followed by choosing UC SantaBarbara right-handed pitcher Tyler Bremner Anderson posted a3.18 ERA in 119 innings for the Tigers this season. He struck out 37.4% of thebatters he facedand walked only 7.3% of the hitters while leading the country in strikeouts by the end of the year

His180 strikeoutsplacedhim third on LSU’ssingle-season strikeouts list, trailing only Paul Skenes(2023) and Ben McDonald (1989).

“Whenyou geta pitcher thatcan throw four pitches and they’re plus on our scale, andhecan touch 96 mph on the 130th pitch of abig game,”

Scott Hunter,the vice president of amateur scoutingfor the Mariners, said,“Ithink the sky’sthe limit for

guys like that.”

Anderson also threw two shutouts, and Baseball America named him

the2025 College Pitcher of the Year

He was afirst-team All-American and an All-SEC selection, and he was awardedthe National Pitcherofthe Year Award by the American Baseball Coaches Association.

“(Mariners assistant general manager) Andy McKay actually came to my house maybe aweek and ahalf or two ago,” Anderson said. “Sat down for about an hour,and we kind of talked things out. Andit’sfunny enough, he was the only guy that came to my house.

“It reminds me alot of (LSU pitchingcoach Nate Yeskie)ina lotof ways.”

AndersonbecameanLSU legend this season after guiding the Tigers to theireighth national championship

andsecond title in three years this summer

TheLouisiana native and draft-eligible sophomore tossed ashutout in Game 1of theCollege World Series ﬁnal against Coastal Carolina. LSU earned the 1-0 victory before clinching the national championship in Game 2with a5-3 win thenext day

His heroics in Omaha won him theMost Outstanding Player Award at the College World Series.

“Just being able to watchhim in the College WorldSeries at theend, Iwas actually on aﬂight coming back from thecombine,” Hunter said.“Ithink that was amoment for us that said, ‘Man, even when he doesn’thave his best stuff,hecan ﬁnd away to

ä See ANDERSON, page 4C

offensive tackle when he signed withLSU out of highschool, is one of 15 players from LSU’sClass of 2023 whohas alreadyleft the program

VANISHING ACT

BY WILSON ALEXANDER

Staff writer

Twoyears ago, Brian Kelly and his staff signed their first fullrecruiting class. It included oneplayer whohas already turnedintoa star, linebacker Whit Weeks,and afew others who have become starters.

But by the time the spring transfer portal closed, most of those playershad

leftLSU before their junior year LSUsigned25high school recruits in the2023 class, and15ofthem(60%)are gone. Fourteen transferred, while one withdrew before he ever practiced Traditionally,juniors formed the backbone of ateam. They had developed, and they hadone moreseason beforethey could leave for theNFL. But that won’t be the case this fall, and LSU isn’talone in theSoutheastern Conference.

Twoyears afterthe 2023 class arrived, eight SEC teams have lost at least half of theirhigh school signees, mainly to the transferportal. Arkansas (86%) and Mississippi State (81%) have lost the highest percentageoftheir classes. Missouri (28%) and Texas (28%)are tied forthe lowest.

Recruiting missesare nothing new,

BY HOWARD FENDRICH AP tennis writer

LONDON Jannik Sinnerinsistedearly on at Wimbledon that he put an excruciating loss to Carlos Alcaraz in their epic French Open final behind him. Sinner was sure that one defeat wouldn’thaunt him, wouldn’tprevent aquick recalibration and certainly wouldn’tmean athing at the All England Club. Sure wasright about all of that. Exactly five weeks after the devastating defeat at Roland-Garros against his rival, Sinnerreversedthe result, defeating thetwo-time reigningWimbledon championAlcaraz 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday to winhis first championship at the grass-court major “At the end of the day,itdoesn’treally matterhow youwin or youlosethe important tournaments. Youjust have to understand what you did wrong. Trying to workonthat— that’sexactlywhatwe did. We tried to accept the loss and then just kept working,” Sinner said Sunday, hisshiny gold hardware in hishands “And this is, for sure, why I’m holding this trophy here.”

The No. 1-ranked Sinner earned his fourth Grand Slam title overall, moving him one away from No. 2Alcaraz’stotal as the two established stars of the game separate themselves from the rest of the pack in men’s tennis.

Sinner,a 23-year-old Italian, put an endtoseveral streaks forAlcaraz, a 22-year-old Spaniard.

Alcaraz had won their past ﬁve matches,mostfamously across ﬁve sets and nearly 51/2 hours on the redclayofthe French Open on June 8. Sinner took a two-set lead, then held atrio of match points, but couldn’tclose the deal.

Asked during Week OneatWimbledon whether that created lingering doubts, Sinner immediately replied: “Why negative feelings? Because Ilost in (that) ﬁnal?”

Then he continued: “No. Look, it’sa new tournament, new Grand Slam,new

Just three minutes into the secondquarter Saturdaynight, Lester Quinones threw apass to Jeremiah Fears. Fears, the New Orleans Pelicans’ No. 7overall draft pick, buried a3-pointer That pass by Quinones was the last assist of the night for the Pelicans. They went the ﬁnal 27 minutes without another assist, which tells you all you need to know about why the Pelicans were on the wrong end of a

94-81 loss to theLos Angeles Lakers

ThePelicansfinished with six assists —fourinthe first quarter and two in the first three minutes ofthe second quarter

“We’ve got to have more ball movement,” PelicansSummer League coach Corey Brewer said. “Weare runningstuff, but everybody is (playing iso ball).

It’salittle bitonme. I’ve got to put them in situationstomove the ball. We got to run moremotion stuff.”

The Pelicans looked every bit like ayoung team playing just their second game together

The Lakers, meanwhile, were much morecohesive in what was their ﬁfth game together The Lakersplayed three games in the California Classic Summer League before thestartof theregular Summer League. The Lakershad 24 assists, equaling the number theMinnesotaTimberwolves had against thePelicans in the Summer League opener Thursday.The Pelicanshad just 13 assists in that game. So that’s19assistsin two games, asubpar 9.5 assists per gamefor

JOHNSON

LSU offensivelinemanLance Heard, right, blocks Auburnlinebacker Jalen McLeod on Oct. 14, 2023, at TigerStadium. Heard, a five-star

ä See TENNIS, page 3C

Gotterup earns British Open invite

He holds off McIlroy for Scottish Open win

The Associated Press

NORTH BERWICK, Scotland Chris Gotterup had a plane ticket for California to play an oppositefield event in Lake Tahoe. The only change in itinerary would be to take down Rory McIlroy at the Scottish Open before a sellout crowd expecting the Masters champion to claim his 30th title on the PGA Tour Gotterup handled it all with poise to go with his great strength.

He delivered all the right shots — the short birdie putt on the par3 12th to build a two-shot lead, the 10-foot birdie on the par-5 16th to restore a two-shot lead — and closed with a 4-under 66 to hold off McIlroy and Marco Penge of England.

The victory sends him to Royal Portrush for his British Open debut, an extended trip to links golf that is starting to suit him.

Time to cancel that ﬂight.

“I might do it right now in front of you,” said Gotterup, the trophy

at his side that also sends him to the Masters next year for the ﬁrst time.

He earned those perks Gotterup, tied with McIlroy to start the ﬁnal round, drove into a bunker and had to make a nervy 4-footer for bogey on the opening hole.

That was a reminder nothing was going to come easily

“I deﬁnitely was the villain out there today,” he said “I felt like I was ready and prepared mentally today And that’s kind of what I’ve been talking about over the last couple of weeks, that I’ve kind of gotten into the mix a little bit and just faded away a little bit. And today, my goal was to hang in there tough and I felt like I did that really well.”

He ﬁnished at 15-under 265 and moves into the top 50 in the world for the ﬁrst time.

“Chris played a great round of golf. He was so solid,” McIlroy said. “Made the bogey on 15 but bounced back with a really nice birdie on 16. After he got a couple

ahead, I just couldn’t claw back.”

Gotterup was one shot ahead of McIlroy when he hit his tee shot on the 196-yard 12th hole to 2 feet for birdie — McIlroy missed from 4 feet — to take command. His lead was down to one over McIlroy and Penge, but McIlroy missed a 12-foot birdie at the par5 16th and Gotterup hit a right-toleft putt from 10 feet in the heart of the cup for a two-shot lead with two to play

Gotterup was so emotional when it was over he could barely speak, rubbing his eyes before saying, “Everyone at home this is awesome. I’m not going to be able to keep it together.”

Gotterup earned one of the three ﬁnal British Open spots through the International Qualifying Series, joined by Nicolai Hojgaard and Matti Schmid.

Hojgaard closed with a 64 to move up 11 spots into a tie for fourth to join his twin brother at Royal Portrush Schmid shot 71 and tied for 17th, helped by Jake Knapp’s late collapse.

Knapp was tied for the lead

through five holes, but he took double bogey on the par-3 ninth and the rest of the back nine didn’t go much better He closed with a 74, losing on a chance to win and to play next week at Royal Portrush. McIlroy had said he was playing his best golf since going into the Masters. This was the ﬁrst time he had seriously contended since that Masters victory, good timing with the Open in his native Northern Ireland starting on Thursday “I’m really happy with where my game is the way I played over the weekend, the shots that I hit, how I controlled my ball ﬂight,” McIlroy said “It has been a great week. Missing the trophy, that’s about it.”

Former U.S. Open champion

Matt Fitzpatrick had a 67 and tied for fourth with Hojgaard, picking up valuable FedEx Cup points in what has been a down year Scottie Schefﬂer, the world’s No. 1 player coming off a two-week break, had a 67 and tied for eighth. It was his 10th consecutive tournament ﬁnishing eighth or better, a streak that began in the Houston Open.

Kim wins ﬁrst LPGA major after wild ﬁnish

The Associated Press

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France Grace Kim always dreamed of winning a major on the LPGA Tour What happened Sunday in a wild ﬁnal hour at the Evian Championship was beyond her imagination.

“I don’t know how it happened, really,” Kim said after an eaglebirdie-eagle ﬁnish to win on the second playoff hole against Jeeno Thitikul.

A final round at Evian Resort that nearly saw Lottie Woad become the ﬁrst amateur to win a major in 58 years ended with Kim standing upright after her 12-foot eagle putt dropped, with her hand over her mouth, motionless as she tried to digest what had transpired.

Two shots behind on the final hole, Kim hit a 4-hybrid so perfectly that it slowed at the top of a slope behind the ﬂag and rolled back to 2 feet for an eagle and a 4-under 67 to force a playoff with Thitikul. Her approach to the par-5 18th in a playoff bounced off a cart path, over rocks and into the water, while Thitikul was in good position to make birdie. Tournament over? Not quite. Kim pitched over the pond and across the green and into the cup for birdie to stay alive.

“I was pretty bummed to ﬁnd out that my ball was in the middle of the water But, again, it’s not quite

ﬁnished until the very end,” Kim said “Just wanted to make sure I got it there Yeah, just happened to have chipped it in. I don’t know if I can do it again.” Back to the 18th for a third time — twice in the playoff — the Australian again hit 4-hybrid to 12 feet. Thitikul, who missed an 8-foot birdie putt in regulation for the win, missed the green to the left and chipped to 5 feet. She never had to putt Kim holed the eagle putt to capture her ﬁrst major and second LPGA title. She is the second straight Aussie to win a major, fol-

lowing Minjee Lee. “It’s a huge achievement for me,” Kim said. “I’ve had a lot of doubts early this year. I was kind of losing motivation. I kind of had to get some hard conversations done with the team. Yeah, kind of had to wake up a little bit. So to be sitting here next to this trophy is deﬁnitely surreal.”

It was a big setback for Thitikul, who along with Ai Miyazato is the only woman to have reached No. 1 in the world ranking without winning a major Thitikul’s biggest challenge had been Woad, the No. 1 amateur who

Browns rookie RB Judkins arrested on battery charge

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Cleveland Browns rookie running back Quinshon Judkins was arrested Saturday night in Florida on a charge of battery and domestic violence. According to Broward County arrest records, Judkins was jailed overnight and was awaiting his ﬁrst court appearance. The charge is described in the arrest report as “touch or strike/battery/domestic violence.” The charge is a misdemeanor A Browns spokesman said the team is aware of the incident and gathering more information.

The 21-year-old Judkins was the 36th overall pick in the April draft after rushing for 1,060 yards and 14 touchdowns at Ohio State last season. The Browns drafted Judkins to help replace veteran Nick Chubb, who signed with the Houston Texans. Cleveland also drafted Dylan Sampson from Dutchtown.

Cardinals activate Herrera; OF Nootbaar heads to IL

The St. Louis Cardinals activated catcher Iván Herrera from the 10day injured list on Sunday before the series ﬁnale against the Atlanta Braves.

In a corresponding move, the Cardinals placed outﬁelder Lars Nootbaar on the 10-day IL with a left rib injury Herrera hasn’t appeared in the lineup since June 19 when he strained his hamstring rounding first base after a hit in the first game of a doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox. Herrera is hitting .320 with eight homers and 36 RBIs.

Nootbaar left Saturday’s game in the sixth inning and did not return. He has battled rib pain and an intercostal strain for several weeks.

Astros All-Star Paredes will skip Tuesday’s game Houston Astros third baseman Isaac Paredes has dropped out of Tuesday’s All-Star Game to attend to a family matter Paredes was added to the roster Wednesday after Cleveland’s José Ramírez opted out to rest a nagging Achilles tendon injury Paredes was in the Astros’ lineup at designated hitter Sunday for the ﬁnale of a series against the Texas Rangers, and manager Joe Espada said he wouldn’t miss any time after the break because of the issue. It was the second straight season Paredes had been named an All-Star The 26-year-old is in his ﬁrst season with the Astros after a trade from the Chicago Cubs. He entered Sunday hitting .254 with 19 homers and 49 RBIs.

Marlins All-Star Stowers goes deep three times

was coming off a win in the Irish Women’s Open and at one point had the lead on the back nine of Evian Resort. She closed with 64 and then waited to see if that would be enough.

Woad was bidding to become the ﬁrst amateur to win a major since Catherine Lacoste at the 1967 U.S. Women’s Open.

Thitikul birdied the 17th to take the lead, and the Thai player was on the verge of her first major when she laid up short of the pond and hit wedge into 8 feet on the ﬁnal hole.

But then Kim appeared with the sublime 4-hybrid to 2 feet for eagle. Thitikul’s birdie putt for the win just missed to the right, and she shot 67 to join Kim at 14-under 270.

“I think I’m so proud of myself on battling out there today,” Thitikul said.

Woad tied for third with Lee (68) and now has secured an LPGA card for the rest of this year and all of next year if the senior-to-be at Florida State chooses to turn pro. Woad already is in the Ladies Scottish Open and Women’s British Open.

Kim’s victory extended what already is a record streak in the LPGA Tour’s 75-year history, the 18th consecutive tournament to start a season with a different winner It also makes 13 different winners in the last 13 majors.

All-Star Kyle Stowers had his first three-homer game and drove in six runs against his former team, leading the Miami Marlins to an 11-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday Stowers is the first Marlins player to hit three homers in a game since Brian Anderson on Sept. 18, 2020, against Washington. The 27-year-old left fielder also joins fellow Marlins Mike Lowell (2004) and Cody Ross (2006) in accomplishing the feat.

Stowers led off the second inning with a shot to right against Brandon Young (0-4) to open the scoring. An inning later, he sent Young’s ﬁrst-pitch curveball 398 feet for a two-run blast to rightcenter In the ﬁfth, Stowers homered over the scoreboard in right.

Two-time champion Els withdraws from British Open

Former champion Ernie Els has withdrawn from the British Open, the second time this year he has chosen not to compete in big championships.

The R&A did not give a reason Sunday for the withdrawal of the 55-year-old South African. Els was replaced in the field by Si Woo Kim, who was next on the alternate list.

Els won the British Open at Muirﬁeld in 2002 after a four-man playoff. He won again in 2012 at Royal Lytham & St. Annes when Adam Scott lost a late lead. Open champions are exempt to play until they are 60.

Els also chose not to compete this year in The Players Championship, for which he qualiﬁed by winning the Kaulig Companies Championship at Firestone in 2024.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MALCOLM MACKENZIE

Chris Gotterup of the U.S competes at the Scottish Open on Sunday at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick, Scotland

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By LAURENT CIPRIANI

Grace Kim of Australia, celebrates with her trophy after winning the Evian Championship women’s golf tournament on Sunday in Evian, eastern France.

Swiatek conquers grass woes after difficult year

BY HOWARD FENDRICH AP tennis writer

LONDON For weeks while back home in Warsaw last year Iga Swiatek hung out with friends and made new ones, but she didn’t dare tell them about a doping case that was hanging over her

“Obviously, in the back of my mind,” she said Saturday evening at the All England Club, “I had this thing.” There was more going on, too, and she only opened up to her family and her team. A coaching change. A long-for-her title drought. A ranking drop. Her grandfather’s passing.

“It all (happened) together,” Swiatek said. “It wasn’t easy.”

And so, in some ways, the Wimbledon championship Swiatek claimed Saturday with a 6-0, 6-0 victory in 57 minutes over Amanda Anisimova could be viewed as more than merely a signiﬁcant oncourt result. It mattered, of course, that she ﬁnally conquered grass courts, in general, and that venue in particular That the 24-year-old from Poland became the youngest woman with at least one major trophy on all three surfaces since 2002 when Serena Williams did it at age 20. That Swiatek now needs only an Australian Open title to complete a career Grand Slam.

In the bigger picture, though, this triumph followed a difﬁcult 12-plus months and provided the

TENNIS

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surface I’m not concerned about my level I can play. I’m not concerned that one loss can influence you for so long a time. I believe that here is a new chance that I can do something good.” Great, even. This time, he didn’t waver, asserting himself in a match that featured moments of terrific play by both men, but also the occasional lapses — and one memorable, brief, interruption right before a Sinner serve when a Champagne cork came flying out of the stands and settled on the turf.

Alcaraz stepped into the sunlight bathing Centre Court with a career-best 24-match unbeaten run. He had won 20 matches in a row at the All England Club

“It’s difficult to lose,” Alcaraz said. “It’s always difﬁcult to lose.”

The last man to beat him at Wimbledon? Sinner, in the fourth round in 2022. So this served as a bookend win for Sinner, who would be forgiven for at least thinking a bit about his collapse in their last match es-

following takeaway, in Swiatek’s

words: “The lesson is just that even when you feel like you’re not on a good path, you can always get back to it if you put enough effort and you have good people around you.”

There was a not-long-ago stretch in which she was considered farand-away the best in women’s tennis.

“She’s an unbelievable player,” Anisimova said. Swiatek held the No. 1 ranking for most of the past three seasons.

She put together a 37-match winning streak in 2022 that included six tournament titles until it ended at Wimbledon.

She won ﬁve Grand Slam titles, four on the red clay at the French Open and one on the hard courts at the U.S. Open, and established herself as a star

Except there was always the matter of what went on when she played on grass Zero titles. Zero ﬁnals. One quarterﬁnal run at the All England Club.

The questions kept arising, from herself and from others.

Then those doubts spread to other events and other surfaces.

She left the 2024 Olympics, held at Roland-Garros, with a bronze medal after losing in the semifinals. She departed Wimbledon last year in the third round, the U.S. Open in the quarterfinals. She exited the French Open last month in the semifinals, ending her bid for a fourth consecutive championship there.

pecially when facing two break points while serving at 4-3, 15-40 in the fourth set Sunday

But he calmly took the next four points to take that game before eventually taking the championship

“Very happy that I (held) my nerves,” Sinner said.

When it ended, he put both hands on his white hat. After embracing Alcaraz, Sinner crouched with his head bowed, then pounded his right palm on the grass.

“Thank you for the player you are,” Sinner told Alcaraz. “It’s so difﬁcult to play against you.”

Sinner has participated in four consecutive major ﬁnals, including triumphs at the U.S. Open — shortly after the world learned about a doping case that eventually led to a three-month ban — and the Australian Open.

Wearing the same tape job and white arm sleeve to protect his right elbow that he has been using since falling in the fourth round, Sinner never showed any issues, just as he hadn’t while eliminating Novak Djokovic on Friday

In the ﬁnal, Sinner and Alcaraz produced scintillating points, with few, if any, half-measures They sprinted at top speed and swung

France, England advance after comfortable wins

The Associated Press

BASEL, Switzerland Inspired by Delphine Cascarino’s stunning six-minute spell in the second half, France surged past the Netherlands 5-2 on Sunday to reach the quarterfinals of the Women’s European Championship.

France’s third straight win ensured it won Group D, ahead of England, which routed Wales 6-1 to ﬁnish runner-up.

The French would have been eliminated by a three-goal loss and, when the Netherlands led 2-1 at one stage, rued a bad miss by Cascarino shooting over an unguarded goal. But the San Diego Wave winger responded with a devastating burst of running and shooting to settle the game.

Cascarino said she had been “really frustrated in the ﬁrst half because I barely touched the ball. So I was determined to do much better in the second half.”

First, Cascarino stole the ball from the Dutch at halfway and ran directly at the defense to set up Marie-Antoinette Katoto for a neat ﬁnish in the 61st.

Cascarino was even better three minutes later, taking a high ball 50 yards from goal and dribbling directly at goal to unleash a rising shot from outside the penalty area. In the 67th, Cascarino scored with a well-placed shot when the ball came to her after Katoto’s shot struck the inside of both posts. Sakina Karchaoui added a penalty in stoppage time.

Describing Cascarino as a star, France coach Laurent Bonadei said: “At some point you have to light the ﬁre so she can show her full potential.”

England performance saw the defending champion demolish Wales and book its spot in the quarterﬁnals of the Women’s European Championship.

England had bounced back from losing to France in its opener by routing the Netherlands 4-0, and it raced into a 4-0 halftime lead against Wales following goals from Georgia Stanway, Ella Toone, Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo.

Substitutes Beth Mead and Aggie Beever-Jones added more in the second half either side of Hannah Cain’s stylish consolation for Wales.

“We’re just happy that we continued the standards that we’d set against the Netherlands,” Stanway said. “It was super important that we continue where we’d left off and we could build momentum post that.”

The result saw Sarina Wiegman’s team advance as runnerup in Group D. England will play Sweden in the quarterﬁnals and could then face either Norway or Italy

Had they won the group, the Lionesses would have encountered Germany before a possible semiﬁnal against World Cup winner and tournament favorite Spain, which plays host nation Switzerland in the last eight.

England beat Sweden 4-0 in the Euro 2022 semifinals, although the two subsequent matches between the two nations have ended in draws.

“It’s a completely different tournament, it’s really hard to compare anything that happens in other tournaments,” Stanway said. “Our focus is on us, our focus is making sure that we know our things going into the game.

Swiatek went more than a year without reaching a ﬁnal anywhere.

Then there was the matter of a one-month doping ban she accepted after failing an out-ofcompetition drug test. The International Tennis Integrity Agency accepted her explanation that the result was unintentional and caused by the contamination of a nonprescription medication she was taking for issues with jet lag and sleeping.

“The second half of last year was extremely challenging for me, especially due to the positive doping test and how circumstances completely beyond my control took away my chance to ﬁght for the highest sport goals at the end of the season,” Swiatek wrote in a social media post in March, adding that the episode “forced me to rearrange certain things within myself.”

On June 12, a month to the day before facing Anisimova and a week after her 26-match French Open winning streak came to a close, it was time to get to work Swiatek headed to the Spanish island of Mallorca to practice on grass. Next was a trip to Germany for more training before entering a tournament there. She made it all the way to that ﬁnal before losing and tearing up during the postmatch ceremony Two weeks later, at Wimbledon, Swiatek was all smiles, and as she left her last interview of the day, she joked: “That was a good therapy session.”

away with full force, rarely bending to the other’s will.

From 4-2 down, Alcaraz took four games in a row That spurt included a 140 mph ace that sprayed the air with a cloud of white chalk dust and a set-capping, ﬂick-of-abackhand winner at an impossible angle after barely getting his racket on the ball. As fans rose and roared, Alcaraz pointed to his ear and spun around, then pumped his right fist overhead.

Sinner was undaunted, quickly breaking to lead the second set. He returned exceptionally, even as Alcaraz served aggressively, which did lead to 15 aces — but also to a 53% ﬁrst-serve percentage and seven double-faults.

Much like at the French Open, there was often an unrelenting intensity to these three-plus hours, and any slight misstep created problems. It was Alcaraz who had more of those, although Sinner might have had the most memorable, blowing an overhead right after coming up with a behind-theback, through-the-legs half-volley in the third set. In all, these guys showed why they combined to win the past seven Grand Slam trophies, and nine

France returns to Basel to face Germany on Saturday, with the winner on a path to play Spain in the semiﬁnals. Spain plays host nation Switzerland in the quarterﬁnals on Friday in Bern. ENGLAND 6, WALES 1: In St. Gallen, Switzerland, another rampant

“Today we focus on the result that we’ve just had and how proud we are to get out of the group. There’s been many days this tournament where we could have actually been going home, so to be in this situation, to be staying a few more days is something that we can be proud of.”

of the last 12. “I’m just really really happy about having this rivalry with him,” Alcaraz said about Sinner “It’s great for us, and it is great for tennis.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By KIRSTy WIGGLESWORTH Jannik Sinner, left, of Italy

hugs Carlos Alcaraz of Spain after winning the men’s singles ﬁnal at Wimbledon in London on Sunday

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By KIN CHEUNG

Iga Swiatek of Poland celebrates with the trophy after beating Amanda Anisimova of the U.S. to win the women’s singles championship at Wimbledon on Saturday in London.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ALESSANDRA TARANTINO France’s Delphine Cascarino celebrates after scoring her side’s third goal during the 2025 Women’s Euro, Group D against the Netherlands on Sunday at St. Jakob-Park in Basel, Switzerland.

Record 17 shortstops

takenin1st round

BY CHARLES ODUM AP sports writer

ATLANTA— The Washington Nationals selected Oklahomahigh school shortstop Eli Willits on Sunday night with the No. 1pick in Major League Baseball’samateur draft in aselectionseen by some as asurprise.

The 17-year-old Willits is the youngest player taken No. 1overall since Ken Griffey Jr.with Seattle in 1987.He’sthe son ofexbig leaguer Reggie Willits, who played sixseasons with theLos Angeles Angels and also coached with the New York Yankees.

The Willits pick kickedoff arecord total of 17 shortstops out of 32 ﬁrst-round picks. According to Baseball America, the previous record total of shortstops taken among the top 30 picks was 10 in 2021 and 2023.

Willits, from Fort Cobb-Broxton High School, is aswitch-hitter who is expected to develop apower swing.

“I feel like Ihave good hitability and I’m going to takethatto the next level,” Willits said when asked about his strengths. “And I feel like my power is up and coming, but Ineeded to getinto an organization like the Nationals that can help develop that and take that to the next level.

Thedraft came oneweekafter the Nationals ﬁred longtime general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez. The timingofthe movesadded more uncertainty to adraft that might be one of the most unpredictablein recent years, including the choice of the No. 1pick.

Nationals interim general manager Mike DeBartolo said Willits wasthe team’sNo. 1choicebecause he was viewed as “the best hitter in the draft and best ﬁelder in thedraft”whilealso boasting arare “makeup and intangibles” for a17-year-old player

“It made this very easy for us,” DeBartolo said.

Added Nationals vice president for amateur scouting Danny Haas: “He makes the routine plays about as easy as anybody you can see, much less a17-yearold.” Willits will likely get asigning bonus below the $11.08 million value assigned to the ﬁrst overall pick, allowing Washington to redistributethose savings to later selections.

The Los Angeles Angels added another surprise with the No. 2 pick by selecting UC Santa Barbara right-hander Tyler Bremner Seattle followed by taking LSU lefty Kade Anderson.

The Colorado Rockiespicked shortstop Ethan Holliday at No. 4,

“I feel like Ihavegood hitability and I’m going to takethat to the next level. And Ifeel likemypower is up and coming,but Ineeded to getinto an organization like the Nationalsthat canhelp develop that and takethat to the next level.

ELI WILLITS, Nationals draft pick

landing the son of longtimeRockiesstarMatt Holliday.Ethan, from Stillwater,Oklahoma, was a candidate to go ﬁrst overall, just like brother Jackson Holliday with did with Baltimorein2022. They would have been the first brothers to be drafted with the ﬁrst overall pick.

Colorado shared an image on social mediaofayoung Ethan Hollidaywielding apurple batatCoors Field while sucking on apaciﬁer

“The Rockies organization, I’m just so thankful,” Ethan Holliday said. “Obviously with the family andthe backgroundand my dad being drafted by them, that just adds such acool thing. And knowingeverybodyinthe organization since Iwas born,I’m superthankful.”

More highly rated players followed with St. Louisselecting Tennesseeleft-handerLiam Doyle at No. 5, followed by Pittsburgh’schoice of right-hander Seth Hernandez from Corona (California) High School.

JoJo Parker,a shortstop from Purvis (Mississippi) High School, was theNo. 8pick by Toronto

Another high school shortstop, SteeleHall from Hewitt Trussville(Alabama),was No. 9by Cincinnati.

With the No. 10 pick, the Chicago White sox made Billy Carlson the sixth shortstop and the second player from Corona High School selected in the ﬁrst 10 picks.A third Corona HighSchool player, shortstop Brady Ebel, wasthe No. 32 pick in the ﬁrst roundby Milwaukee. Ebel is an LSUcommitment.

Therewereonlytwo catchers selected in thefirst round, and both landedwith Baltimore.The OriolespickedIke Irish from AuburnatNo. 19 and Caden Bodine from Coastal Carolina at No. 30. Texas, SanFrancisco, Tampa Bay and Minnesota also took shortstops before Texas high schooler Kayson Cunningham, theNo. 18 overall pick by Arizona, became the 11th shortstop drafted.

Thefirst three rounds were scheduled for Sundaynight, with the remainderofthe draft to followonMonday

LSUpitcher Chase Shores watches his teammates rush the field after throwing the final strike of the Baton Rouge super regional on June 8atAlex Box Stadium. Shores was drafted by the Los AngelesAngels with the No. 47 pick on Sunday night.

STAFFPHOTO By

MICHAEL JOHNSON

Shores goes No.47 as second Tigerpicked

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

Therewere two LSU players andfourLSU high school signees selected during theﬁrst two rounds of the 2025 MLB Draft on Sunday

Sophomore left-handerKade Andersonwas the firstLSU player selected, going No. 3overall in the first round to the Seattle Mariners. Butthe first surprise of the nightfrom an LSU perspective came in thesecondroundwhen redshirt sophomoreright-hander Chase Shores became thesecond Tigerpickedinstead of junior right-hander Anthony Eyanson.

The Los Angeles Angelspicked Shores with the No. 47 overall selection in the second round, despite Shoresstrugglinginhis ﬁrst season afterreturningfrom Tommy John surgery.Heposted a5.09 ERA in 632/3 innings. Buthis formimproved after moving to the bullpen midway through the year,ashethrew 22/3 scoreless innings to close out LSU’snational championshipclinching winoverCoastal Carolina in Game 2ofthe CollegeWorld Series ﬁnal. Shoresstruck out 9.90 batters

pernine innings this season but also had some issues with his command, walking more thanfour batters per nine innings. Eyanson was not picked in the first two rounds. Neitherwas juniorsecondbaseman Daniel Dickinson, despite being atop-100 player in the draft on MLB.com, TheAthletic and ESPN’sdraft rankings. Theﬁrst LSUhighschoolsignee whowas selected Sunday was third baseman Brady Ebel.He was picked by the Milwaukee Brewers withthe No. 32 overall pick, acompensation pickinthe ﬁrst round of the draft. Ebel was the No. 64 player in MLB.com’sdraft rankings. He attended CoronaHigh in SouthernCalifornia and is the son of Los Angeles Dodgers third-base coach Dino Ebel. After Ebelwas Jaden Fauske, an outfielder and catcher from Illinois. The LSU signee was selected by the Chicago White Sox withthe No. 44 overall pick in the secondround. Fauske was the No. 57 player in MLB.com’sdraft rankings,the No.31player in ESPN.com’srankings and the No. 42 player on The Athletic’sbig board.

He attended Nazareth Academy in La Grange Park and was the Gatorade Player of the Year in Illinoisthis season.Hebatted .461 with six homeruns and 36 runs driven in forNazareth in 34 games. Fauske’sselection was quickly followed by shortstop Quentin Young, who was picked by the Minnesota Twins 10 slots later in the second round at No. 54 Young, the nephewofformer major-leaguers Dmitri and Delmon Young, was the No. 37 player in MLB.com’srankings. He attended Oaks Christian High in California and was the No. 11 player in the nation,according to Perfect Game.

Outﬁelder Dean Moss came after Young at pick No.67togive LSU its third high school signee picked in the second round. Moss was theNo. 56 player in MLB. com’sdraft rankings. He’sfrom California but attended IMG Academy in Florida beginning in eighth grade. According to Perfect Game, he’s the No. 2outﬁelder in the country and the No. 12 overall player The draft will resume Monday with rounds 4-20 beginning at 10:30 a.m

FeverwinsﬁrstWNBAgame betweenClark andBueckers

By The Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckerseach produced remarkably efﬁcientstat lines in their ﬁrst professional matchup against each other Sunday

The ultimateresult wasn’tnearly as close.

Clark helped Indiana dominatethe secondquarter,leading theFever past the Dallas Wings 102-83. Clark had 14 points anda season-high 13 assists, needing only 25 minutes to earn the 19th double-double of her two-year career

Bueckers wound up with 21 points, four rebounds, four assists and four turnovers in 33 minutes in ahead-to-head matchupthat lived up to the hype of the past two No. 1overall picks squaring off.

“It’sfun to watch, notasanopponent on theother sideline.But for alot of young players that come into this league,there’s a learningcurve,” Fever coach StephanieWhite said.“And how quickly they figure it outisalways interesting to see. Paige, she’sﬁgured it out ”

at Dallas. But Clark, last year’s Rookie of the Year,missed the game with an injured left groin. Indiana still won 94-86 despite Bueckers ﬁnishing with 27 points, six assists, twostealsand two blocks.

So WNBA fans waited until Sunday for their next chance.

They previously squared off in the2024 FinalFourwhen Clark helped Iowa rally past UConn 7169 to reach the national championship game. Clarkgot the upper hand again Sunday, but Bueckers also demonstrated why so many consider herthis year’s Rookie of the Year favorite —she’snot afraid of mixing it up with anyone, includingClark,onthe professional level.

“We’re just trying to be aggressive, read what the defenses are doing, get out in transition and do what we’ve been doing,” Bueckers said after matching Clark’s seven-point first quarter.“My teammatesare doing agreat job setting screens, getting me open.”

The biggest difference: Clark’s ability to getteammates involved. Indianaﬁnishedwith30assists on 40 baskets, including one midway through the second quarter that began with ablock by Clark. All-Star center AliyahBoston grabbedthe ball, gotitahead to Clark who immediately whipped aperfect touchdown-like pass over the outstretched hands of onedefenderand into the hands of Sophie Cunninghamfor alayup midwaythrough the second quarter

The play started a14-5 run that put Indiana in control and allowed the Fever to score aleague-high 64 ﬁrst-half points.

Clark did give the Fever abrief scare, though, with an awkward collision with the basketball stanchionona missedlayup. She stayed downmomentarily and left the game for afew minutes before returning to help Indiana deliver the knockout punch.

IMG Academy, Fla.

24. Detroit Tigers, Jordan Yost,SS, Sickle H.S Fla.

25. San DiegoPadres, Kruz Schoolcraft, LHP Sunset H.S Ore.

26. Philadelphia Phillies, Gage Wood, RHP Arkansas.

27. Cleveland Indians, Jace LaViolette, OF TexasA&M Prospect Promotion Incentive Pick

28. Kansas City Royals, JoshHammond, SS, Wesleyan Christian Academy, N.C. Compensation Picks

29. Arizona Diamondbacks, PatrickForbes RHP,Louisville. 30. BaltimoreOrioles, Caden Bodine, C, Coastal Carolina.

31. BaltimoreOrioles, Wehiwa Aloy, SS Arkansas.

32. MilwaukeeBrewers, Brady Ebel,SS, Corona H.S Calif. CompetitiveBalance Round A

33. Boston RedSox (from Milwaukee),Marcus Phillips, RHP,Tennessee.

34. Detroit Tigers, Michael Oliveto, C, Hauppauge H.S N.Y.

35. Seattle Mariners, LukeStevenson, C, North Carolina.

36. Minnesota Twins, Riley Quick, RHP Alabama.

37. BaltimoreOrioles, Slater de Brun, OF Summit H.S Ore. x-FIRST ROUND

38. New York Mets, Mitch Voit,TWP,Michigan.

39. New York Yankees,Dax Kilby, SS,Newnan H.S.,Ga.

40. LosAngeles Dodgers, Zachary Root, LHP, Arkansas. x-LAD,NYM and NYY penalized10draft slots for exceedingthe second surcharge threshold of the CompetitiveBalance Tax

Thehighly anticipated matchup between Clark and Bueckers was supposed to take place June 27

ANDERSON

Continuedfrom page 1C

get you. Anderson’sleap in production comesafterasolid freshmanseason, wherehepunched out 13.81 batters per nine innings and had a3.99 ERA in 381/3 innings as a midweek starter and late-inning reliever

To begin this season, Andersonrose to become LSU’sFriday night starterand neverrelinquishedthe role, serving as one half of the Tigers’ dynamic onetwopunch atop their with junior right-hander Anthony Eyanson. Without Anderson and Eyanson, LSUwill have to rely on new faces atop therotationnextseason. Butit’snot asituation that coach

Bueckers went9 of 15 from the floor and2 of 4from beyond the arc while Clark’sshooting struggles continued. She was 4of12 from the field and 2of7 on 3s but also had five steals.

Jay Johnson is unfamiliar with. LSU replaced its top two starters from 2024 and 2023. After the 2024 season,the Tigers turned to Anderson and added Eyanson from thetransfer portal to replace Luke Holmanand Gage Jumpafterthey were selected with the 71st and73rdoverall picks of the 2024 draft, respectively After LSU’s national championship in 2023, Johnson had to replace Paul Skenesand Ty Floyd when Skenes was selected No. 1 overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates and Floyd was picked in the second round. LSUhas options when it comes to replacing Andersonand Eyanson. Freshman right-hander Casan Evans emerged as an elite arm after posting a2.05 ERA and 31.7% strikeout percentage in

“I thought my playmaking was really good, there was no reason formetoshoot that much,” Clark said. “When we have ﬁve people in double ﬁgures, we’re going to be pretty hard to beat. We were just kind of clicking on allcylinders, moving the ball well, getting to the next action.”

522/3 innings. Juniorright-hander Zac Cowancould return after a year in which he posted a2.94 ERA in 52 innings. After those two,the Tigers have plenty of returning depth. Atalentedfreshmanclass —including left-hander Cooper Williams, and right-handers Mavrick Rizy and WilliamSchmidt —isexpected to makealeap in its second season. Redshirt sophomore righthander Jaden Noot and junior right-hander Gavin Guidry are eligible to be drafted but are strong candidatestoreturn to Baton Rouge. Sophomore right-hander Deven Sheerin, after missing the entire year with atornACL, is back pitching in the Cape Cod Baseball League this summer Email Koki RileyatKoki. Riley@theadvocate.com.

SECMEDIA DAYS

ON STAGEMONDAY

LSU

SOUTH CAROLINA

THE BUZZ:Ole Miss built aplayoff-caliber team aroundquarterback Jaxson Dart last season butnarrowlymissed the freshly expanded field.After arosterreset,its hopes fora CFP berth now liesquarely on the shoulders of Simmons, aredshirtsophomoreand former four-star recruit who’sbeginning his firstyear as astarter

LAST YEAR:9-4 (5-3 SEC)

COACH:Shane Beamer(5th year)

PLAYERS:QBLaNorrisSellers,DTNick Barrett, SDQSmith

THEBUZZ:South Carolina almostmade the Thenitbrought back Sellers, oneofthe country’s ylanStewart, one of its best edgerushers; and Nyck wide receiver oozing potential.TheGamecocks look like the top of the SEC again.

VANDERBILT

LAST YEAR:7-6 (3-5 SEC)

COACH:Clark Lea (5th year)

PLAYERS:QBDiegoPavia,CBMartel Hight, SRandon Fontenette

THE BUZZ:Pavia challengedanNCAA eligibility

rule and won, earninghimself achancetolead Vanderbilt to another bowl win.The Commodoreswent 2-10 in 2023. Nowtheycan scare(and maybe evenupset) the SEC’stop programs. Just askAlabama, which learned that lessonthe hard wayinOctober

Reed Darcey

LSU defensiveend Da’Shawn Womack, left, divestomakeatackle on South Alabamaquarterback

Womack is one of 15 players from LSU’s Classof2023 whohas left the program

LSU

Continued from page1C

and sometimes players are encouraged to enter thetransfer portal. The numbers show just how common it has been to lose large chunks of ahigh school recruiting class in an era with unlimited transfers, immediate eligibility and unchecked NIL inducements.

Arkansas, now entering its sixth season under coachSam Pittman, only has three players left from the class. Seventeen transferred —13ofthem to other power-conference programs —and one player medically retired. To make up for the lack of retention, the Razorbacks signed 54 transfers over the past two years.

Mississippi State actually lost more players —21total with 19 to the transfer portal —but it started with alarger class than Arkansas. The 2023 recruiting cycle was also the last before the sudden death of coach Mike Leach. Mississippi State changedcoachesagain ayear later,and rosters often undergo signiﬁcant upheavalduring transitions.

Alabama and TexasA&M stand out for that reason. Alabama has lost 12 of its 26play-

WALKER

Continued from page1C

with guys trying to provethey belong in the NBA. Sharingthe ballisn’talways apriority in Summer League play

Fears made just 5ofthe 21 shots he took. His 3-pointer on the Pelicans’ ﬁnal assist of the night was the only shot he made on his ﬁrst11attempts. Many of his shotattempts came up empty as he drove to the basket.

Van Gisbergen continues road course wizardry

BY JENNA FRYER AP auto racing writer

SONOMA, Calif. Another road course win was so expected for Shane van Gisbergenthat Trackhouse Racing hadextra tiresreadyfor his Sonoma Raceway victory celebration. VanGisbergen wonfor thethird time in ﬁve races andsecondstraight on Sunday when he dominated on the California road course.The New Zealanderonceagain showedhe’sina completely differentclass on road and street coursesthan his rivals as he led 97 of 110 laps to win from the pole at Sonoma Raceway He celebrated with the traditional burnout,thenhis Trackhouse crew changed thetires on theNo. 88 Chevroletsohecould do asecondsmokeinducing spin on his way to victory lane. He also kept with hisown tradition andkickeda rugby ballinto the grandstands.

“It means everything. That’swhy I race cars. Ihad an amazing time in Australia, and then to come here and the last couple weeks, or years, actually,has been adream come true,” van Gisbergen said. “I’ve really enjoyed my time in NASCAR. Thanks, everyone, for making me feel so welcome. I hope I’m here for along timetocome.” All threeofhis wins this year have been from the pole —which tied him with Jeff Gordon fora NASCAR recordofthreeconsecutive road course victories from the top starting spot. Gordondid it between the 1998-99 seasons. He joins Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin andKyleLarsonasthe only drivers with three wins this season and this one moved him into third for playoff seeding. VanGisbergen was 33rdinthe standings and notyet qualiﬁed forthe playoffs just ﬁveweeks ago.

ers,but even with coach Nick Saban’sretirement, anew staff haskept the majority of the class intact.Texas A&M,which ﬁred coach Jimbo Fisherduring the2023season, haslostonly 42% of the class.

Meanwhile, thehighest rates of retentionoverthe past two yearswereatMissouri, Texas and Florida, in that order. Texas signed 25 players, including quarterback ArchManning and linebacker Anthony Hill,and onlyseven have left theteam. For comparison, LSU, Oklahomaand Tennessee signed the same number of recruits, but all three teamshave lost at least half of their 2023 classes

Even though the Florida Gators have gone 13-12 sincethat recruiting cycle, coachBilly Napier’sﬁrstfullclass largely has remained intact amid speculation abouthis job security.Only six of the 20 high school signees (30%) have transferred For LSU, the25-member class was supposed to set the foundation of Kelly’s team after the rocky end of the Ed Orgeron era. The group was ranked No. 5in the country,according to 247Sports, which is the highestranked class of Kelly’stenure to this point

Butheading into preseason camp next month, there are only10players left. One of

“I like the aggressiveness, but we’ve got to make some layups,” Brewer said. “You have to look at ﬁlmand makerim decisions. You’ve got to make (the shot) or you’ve got to kick it out,whichis something he’s going to learn. You’d rather him do it now than later.It’s good that he’sgettingthere (to the basket).”

Fears got going in the third quarter and ﬁnishedwith15 points.

“Just continue to stay aggressive,” Fears said. “When you stay aggressive, everything

them, running back Trey Holly, remains indefinitely suspended as he awaits trial foranillegal weapon charge Six of the 11 top-200 prospects, according to the 247Sportscomposite rankings, are gone. That includes the two highest-rated recruits, five-staroffensive tackle Lance Heardand top-50 edge rusher Da’Shawn Womack Heard left after one year for Tennessee, andWomack went to OleMissafter strugglingto crack therotation fortwo years. Twotop-100 wide receivers, Jalen Brown andSheltonSampson,never contributed before they transferred. For the most part, the players who left were going to need to develop or could findearlier playing time elsewhere.But the only top-100 prospect still on the team, defensive back JavienToviano, hasbounced aroundthe secondary withoutfinding amajor role yet.

So far,the biggest success has been Weeks, who finished second in the SEC in tackles as asophomore and will represent LSU at SEC media days in Atlanta on Monday. Twoothers, offensive lineman DJ Chester and cornerback Ashton Stamps, startedevery game last season.

The rest of the remaining class has yet to make an impact,but that could change in

else will open up.” Queen, the other first-round draft pick, recorded his second straight double-double with12 pointsand 13 rebounds to go along with an assist, asteal and ablocked shot. Butheshot just 4of12from thefloor It’sjusttwo games into Summer League play,soit’sway too earlytoassess what Fears and Queen will become. Antonio Reeves, the Pels’ second-round draft pick in 2024, finished with 20 points to go withsix rebounds and three steals.Micah Peavy,the

the fall. Tyree Adams is expected to start at lefttackle afterwaiting behindWill Campbell, and Toviano will compete at safety. Runningback Kaleb Jackson andoffensive guard Paul Mubenga could have roles.

Kelly has talked often about building the roster on high school signees and then retaining them. He still believes in that approach, butontop of losing so much from 2023, LSU only has four players on the rosterwho were in the 2022 or 2021 classes: quarterback Garrett Nussmeier,wide receiver Chris Hilton, linebacker Harold Perkins andbackup offensive lineman Bo Bordelon. Of the 37 combined players in those classes, 22 of them transferred. Without ahighrate of retention,LSU supplementedits needs through the transfer portal, especially this year.While signingthe No.1 classinthe country,according to 247Sports, it looked forveterans who could start, trying to address theinexperience on theroster created by so much attrition.

LSU may not add that many transfers in the future.Itstill would prefer to retain its recruits, andsofar,ithas done a better jobwith the 2024 class. After oneyear,only four of them have left the team

Pelicans’ second-round draft pick, didn’tsuit up forthe game because of an ankleinjury in Thursday’sgame against Minnesota. He was replaced in the lineup by Quinones, wholed the Pelicansinscoring in the ﬁrst gamewith 20 points. This time, Quinones led the team in assists with just two. Fourother players (Queen, Keion Brooks, Hunter Dickinson and Christian Shumate) had one assist each.

Email RodWalker at rwalker@ theadvocate.com

Victorynumberfour for van Gisbergen— whostunned NASCAR in 2023 whenhepopped into the debut Chicago street course race fromAustralian V8 Supercars and won—seemed agiven before teamseven arrived at the picturesque course in California wine country.His rivals have lamented that vanGisbergen has abraking technique he masteredDownUnder that none of them —all oval specialists —can learn. That win in Chicago two years ago led van Gisbergen to move to the United States for acareer change driving stock carsfor Trackhouse Racing. He and Ross Chastain have pumped energy into the team over this summer stretch with Chastain kicking it off with aMemorial Day weekend victory at the Coca-Cola 600.

VanGisbergen is the fastest driver to winfour CupSeries races —inhis 34th start— sinceParnelli Jones in 1969. He’salso the winningest driver born outside the United States.

“It’sunreal.TodoChicago, an experiencethatI really enjoyed, andnever thought it would lead to more let alone moving over here and doing things,” he said. “Its been amazing, everything that Ihoped it could ever be.”

The Sonomawin madeitfour victoriesfor Trackhouse in eight weeks. Van Gisbergen wassecond from the pole in Saturday’sXﬁnity Series race. Chase Briscoe was secondina Toyota forJoe Gibbs Racing.

“I neverplayedbasketballagainst Michael Jordan in his prime, but Ifeel like that’s probably what it waslike,” Briscoesaidafter notbeing able to pass van Gisbergen on two late restarts the last with ﬁve laps remaining. “That guyisunbelievableonroad courses He’sjust so good. He’sreally raised the bar on this entire series.” Briscoe wasfollowedbyChase Elliott in aChevrolet for HendrickMotorsports. MichaelMcDowell in aChevy for Spire Motorsports was fourth and Christopher Bell in aToyota for Joe Gibbs Racing was ﬁfth. In-SeasonChallenge

The midseason tournament that pays $1 million to the winner is downtofour drivers.

Alex Bowman ﬁnished 25th and eliminatedTyDillon, who ﬁnished26th. TylerReddick (11th) knocked out Ryan Preece (16th); John Hunter Nemechek knocked out teammate ErikJones as they finished 21st and22nd; and Ty Gibbs, with aseventh-place finish, eliminated Zane Smith. Bowman, at eighth, is the highestseeded driver still in the challenge, which debuted this year

STAFF FILEPHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

Gio LopezonSept. 28 at TigerStadium.

Creativity is amuscle.Themore youtap into it, the moreit grows. In the process of redeﬁnition that happens,I tapped into areal purposeIdid not plan, andit’strulyagift.” KATE FUSILIER

ScrimstraysintosophisticatedNew York magazine

BY DOUG MacCASH Staff writer

spans. What seems heart-poundingly crucial at one momentswiftly dims inthe next. This applied even to Scrim, the furtive terrier mutt that once carried the hearts of New Orleanians on his small shoulders ashe scampered through the streets. Afterseveralharrowingmonths, Scrim was brought to heel in early

February and ensconced in alovinghome. Videos show him dozing and dallying in domesticity But captivity just isn’tterribly captivating, andalmost immediately Scrim slipped from our imaginationsthe way he once slipped away from pursuers. So alengthy,lovingly written story aboutScrim that recently appeared in the New Yorker online magazine alreadyhas an airof

ALZHEIMER’SQ&A

Recent studyshows benefits of having active lifestyles

Does sustaining an active lifestyle in midlife lower the risk of dementia?

In aFebruary 2019 study highlighted in Neurology,researchers reported that staying both physically and mentally active in midlife (40s) mayprotect the brain decades later

The study involved 800 Swedish women with an average age of 47 whowere followed for44years and who werescored in twoareas of mental and physical activities. Women whowere assigned to high levels of mental activity were46% less likely to have developed Alzheimer’sdisease and 34% less likely to have developed dementia overall than the womeninthe group whoperformed lower levels of mental activity practices. With regards to physical activity, 52% of the womeninthe study wereless likely to have developed atype of dementia associated with cerebrovascular (refers to blood ﬂow in the brain) disease and 56% less likely to have developed moregeneral dementia than the women in the group whoremained less physically active.

While the results indicate that levels of both physical and mental activities could affect cognition later,physician and study author Jenna Najar of the Institute forNeuroscience and Physiology at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, noted that physical activity may lower the chances of vascular dementia in particular The study’sconclusions also showed how the twoeffects mental and physical activity are distinct.

As Najar put it, “Wefound that mental activities in midlife,such as reading abook, doing crossword puzzles, singing or attending concerts, to name afew,reduced the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’sdisease, regardless of how physically active the women were. Physical activity,meanwhile, in midlife reduced the risk of more vascular forms of dementia, regardless of how mentally active the women were.”

Scrim was recently profiled onlineinthe Newyorker magazine.

Experts agree that more studies need to be conducted to find the physical pathway connecting lifestyle factors in midlifetospecific protective effects in the brain. Brain health has long been promoted foroverall aging and cognitive health, and in that respect, the study was aconfirmation and offered morevalidity that being mentally and physically active can lower the risks of cognitive decline in aging. While research is still developing, strong evidence exists that individuals can reduce their risk of cognitive decline by making key lifestyle changes, including participating in regular physical and mental activity, staying socially engaged, and maintaining good heart health. According to the Healthy Brain Initiative by the Centers of Disease Control and Preven-

Stem cellsbeing researched to help with Type 1diabetes

Dear Doctors: Ihave Type 1diabetes.Itry to stay healthy andkeep my blood sugar under control, but it feels like aﬁght every day Iread there’s astudy usingstem cells for acure. Are there any updates? Does it seem like this might lead to atreatment?

Dear reader: Type 1diabetes is achronic autoimmune disease. The immune system mistakenly targets and destroys betacells in the pancreas. These cells are mainly responsiblefor producing insulin, the hormone crucial to glucose metabolism. Without enough insulin, the body is unable to keep blood glucose within a healthy range. Ways to manage blood sugar in these cases include injectable insulin, acarefully curated diet and healthy lifestyle choices.

By The Associated Press

Today is Monday,July 14,the 195th day of 2025. There are 170 days left in the year

Todayinhistory: On July 14, 1789, in an event symbolizing the start of the FrenchRevolution, citizens of Paris stormed the Bastille prison and released the seven prisoners held there. Also on this date: In 1798, Congress passed the Sedition Act, making it afederal crime to publish false, scandalous or malicious writingabout the United States government.

In 1881, outlaw William H Bonney Jr., alias “Billythe Kid,” was shot and killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett in Fort Sumnerin present-day New Mexico

In 1933, all German political parties,except the NaziParty, were outlawed by the government of Nazi Germany

In 1960, 26-year-oldJane Goodall ﬁrst arrived at the Gombe Stream Reserve in present-day Tanzania to begin her study of the wild chimpanzees living there

In 2009, disgraced ﬁnancier Bernard Madoff arrived at the Butner FederalCorrectional Complex in North Carolina to begin serving a150-year sentence for his massive Ponzi scheme. (Madoff died in prison in April 2021.)

In 2013, thousands of demonstrators across the country protested aFlorida jury’sdecision oneday earlier to clear George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin

In 2016, terror struck Bastille Day celebrations in the French Riviera city of Nice as alarge truck plowed into afestive crowd, killing 86 people in an attack claimed by Islamic State extremists; the driver was shot dead by police.

In 2020, researchersreported that the ﬁrst COVID-19 vaccine tested in the U.S. boosted people’simmune systemsas scientists had hoped; the vaccine was developed by theNational Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc.

Today’sbirthdays: Formerfootball player and actor Rosey Grier is 93. Actor Vincent Pastore (TV” “The Sopranos”) is 79. Music company executive Tommy Mottola is 77. Movie producer Scott Rudin is 67. Singersongwriter Anjelique Kidjois 65. Singer-guitarist Kyle Gass (Tenacious D) is 65. ActorJane Lynch is 65. Actor Jackie Earle Haley is 64. Actor Matthew Fox is 59. Rock singer-musician Tanya Donelly is 59. Olympic gold medal snowboarder Ross Rebagliati is 54. Country singer Jamey Johnson is 50. Hip-hop musician Taboo (Black Eyed Peas) is 50. Actor/writer/producer Phoebe Waller-Bridge is 39. Rock singer Dan Reynolds (Imagine Dragons) is 38.

LIFESTYLE

Continued from page1D

is avital part of healthyaging and quality of life is emerging.” Public health professionals are gaining abetter understanding of brain disorders and riskfactors, and the public health community should embrace cognitive health as apriority

Dana Territo is an Alzheimer’s advocate and author of“What My GrandchildrenTaught Me About Alzheimer’sDisease.” She hosts “The Memory Whisperer.” Email her at thememorywhisperer@gmail. com.

Dr.Elizabeth Ko

Dr.Eve Glazier ASK THE DOCTORS

Introduced in 1922, injectable insulin revolutionized diabetes treatment. Before that, life expectancy with thedisease was just a few years. Today, even with the beneﬁt of insulin, people with diabetes areat an increased risk of developing serious complications, including cardiovascular disease, nerve damage, kidney disease and eyedamage. As you point out, the vigilance required to manage

blood sugar can be bothdaunting and tiring. That brings us to your question. Stem cells arewhat is known as undifferentiated cells. That means they have not yet developed aspeciﬁc function, like muscle, bone or nervecells. Because stem cells are like a blank slate, they can develop into other types of specialized cells. They can alsoself-renew.These unique qualities have made stem cells the focus of research into treatmentfor awide range of diseases,including Type 1diabetes

In theclinical trial you asked about, participants were infused with stem cells “taught” to behave like betacells. It was asmall study withjust 17 patients, but thepreliminary resultswere en-

couraging. One participant’sbody began to produce insulin and release it in response to blood sugar ﬂuctuations. On the other hand, because these stem cell infusions introduce foreign tissue into the body,they require antirejection drugs. These drugs can cause side effects that can be hard to tolerate. Several participants dropped outofthe study due to theadverse effects.

The 27 locations of upcoming trials include cities in Illinois, Florida, California, Maryland, Texas, Massachusetts, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Trials in Canada and Europe are scheduled as well. For moredetails, visit clinicaltrials.gov and search for VX-880.

Sendyour questions to askthedoctors@mednet.ucla edu, or write: Ask theDoctors, c/oUCLA HealthSciences Media Relations, 10880 Wilshire Blvd.,Suite1450, Los Angeles, CA, 90024.

Many readers have asked for information about upcoming clinical trials into this line of research. Earlier this spring, the researchers announced they are moving on to the next expanded phase of research. As with all clinical trials, the parameters for participation are quite speciﬁc. In this case, the study is recruiting people with Type 1diabetes whoalso have severe episodes of hypoglycemia or have impaired awareness of hypoglycemia. Due to the antirejection drugs, it is important to remember there is also an element of risk.

Anotherreminderthat‘Ms.’ exists,isuseful

Dear Miss Manners: Suppose Miss Jones marries Mr.Smith and decides, for whatever reason,toretain hermaiden name. She is still deserving of the married honoriﬁc, is she not?

Is “Mr.Smithand Mrs. Jones,” therefore, the proper form to put on an envelope, tobefollowed by street address, city and state?

Gentlereader: Deserving?

“Deserving”?

predates the more restrictive abbreviations “Mrs.” and “Miss.”

So it is “Ms. Jones and Mr Smith.”

regrets that youare unable to serveasbridesmaids after all, having been unaware of the cost.

Miss Manners chooses to believe thatyou only made an unfortunate word choice, not that you believe that it is an honor for alady to be married, and that the title “Mrs.” reﬂectsthat.

Butthen why do you not accept the fact that this problem was solved with the 20th-century revival of the 16th-century title “Ms.”? It is an abbreviation of thehonoriﬁc “Mistress,” which was the respectable equivalent of “Mister,” tobeused regardless of maritalstatus. “Ms.” long

FUSILIER

Continued from page1D

like capes, pajama sets, caftans, dresses and more. She is currently designing the pieces that will appear on aManhattan runway this fall, when Cosmic Collection is highlighted at the Flying Solo “Ones to Watch” show during New York Fashion Week on Sept. 14.

“Kate’sworkstood out for its distinct creative vision,meticulous craftsmanship, and strong editorial appeal,” said arepresentative fromFlying Solo NYC, afashion company noted for platforming emergingdesigners—and placing them in front of top outletslike Vogue, Elle and Harper’sBazaar

Fusilier said,“The New York collection is brightand robust. It’san homage to New Orleans,and how huge our parades are as partofthe culture. There’saplay on marching band hats, there’sfeathers with fringe, mixing patterns —it’s awhole collection of cosmicideas and colors.”

Oneofher current pieces is a bodicedesigned fromthe vibrant colors and textures of horse show ribbons, in another play on the spirit of pageantry that evokes fun, hard work and joyous spectacle.

Fusilier is at thebeginning of her designing career,and she’s planning forbig thingstocome

“I expecttobeinVogue,”she said.

SCRIM

Continued from page1D

nostalgia. It’s comical to consider New Yorker readers unbuttoning their tall starched collars, pushing back their top hats and squinting through their monocles to learn about the scruffy,outlaw New Orleanshound thatﬁrst appeared in print on “lost dog” ﬂyersstapled to telephone poles inMid-City

The story, titled“How to Save aDog,” was written by journalist David W. Brown, whowas amemberofthe dedicated Scrim rescue team that,uh, doggedly tracked thecelebrity stray.Brown reveals that he was the first member of thepet posse to lay eyes on Scrim on the day the fugitive was ﬁnally captured in Mid-City

This was before Scrim’slegendary dive to freedom from asecond story window to begin anew phase of his life as afugitive.

Also, you forgot theZIP code.

Dear Miss Manners: Allthe bridesmaids for an upcoming wedding recently received anote from the bride’smother stating that we owe asubstantial sumofmoney to help pay for thebridal shower

The shower has ballooned in size and scope to rival some weddings I’ve attended in thepast, so Iamnot surprised it is proving to be expensive. ButIhad no input as to how big this shower has become, and being asked —no, told —to pay for it strikes me as inappropriate. Am Iwrong?

Ihave no idea how to respond. How should Ireply?

Gentle reader: Allofyou should respond by asking the bride’s mother to give her daughter your love, along withyour profound

Bridesmaids aresupposedly chosen because theyare the dearestpeople to the bride. Why then,are theyconsidered exploitable for both labor andmoney?

This calls fora strike

Dear Miss Manners: The neighbor who lives directly across the street from me parks in front of my house. If this was occasional, Iwouldn’tcare, but it’sbecome thedaily routine.I can’t imagine consistently doing this.

Ienjoy looking outmywindow in theevening, but now my view is acar every night.

Today aworktruckparked in front of my house, so the neighbor parkedintheir owndriveway (which is always clear,asistheir curb). When the truckleft, they moved their car back to my curb, leaving their driveway empty the rest of the day Irealize this could sound petty, but our otherneighbors respect this unwrittenrule.

Gentle reader: In additionto unwritten, the rule is possibly unknown to this neighbor.Miss Manners trusts thatyou don’t think the car is purposely parked with the intentionofblocking your view, andthatyou realize thatothers have alegal right to park on apublic street. Therefore,the neighbor would be doing youa favor by refraining fromparking there. And to aska favor requirespurging any annoyanceyou feeland admitting thatcomplying would be a voluntary kindness.

An amusing confession of your staring-out-the-windowhabit would be more effective than an admonishment for violating neighborhood expectations. Sendquestions to Miss Manners at herwebsite, www missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mailtoMiss Manners, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City,MO 64106.

In the span

numerous celebrities.

“I will getinElle magazine.” And she isn’tjust claiming it. Fusilier is working hard in anticipation of ameteoric rise —and there’sno place to go but up. After all, this is adesigner who launchedanaccessoriesbrand, afashion company,and awhole new career in amatter of months

after leaving rehab foralcoholism in 2020. She said that she will be five years soberinNovember, and “in many waysmycompany represents thephoenix of my sobriety.”

“IfIhadn’tgottensober,this would not be my reality right now,” according to Fusilier.“Cre-

Brown’silluminating insideraccount is written from an earnest animal-lover’s point of view,with

none of the tongue-in-cheek tone superimposed on the Scrim situation by some journalists.

ativity is amuscle.The more you tap intoit, themore it grows. In the process of redefinition that happens,I tappedinto areal purpose Idid not plan, and it’struly agift.”

Email Joanna Brownatjoanna. brown@theadvocate.com.

Browndeclinedtocomment for this story.Michelle Cheramie, the founderofZeus’ Rescues animal adoption service and Scrim’s presentowner,did notreply to arequest for comment. As Brown explainedinhis story, at theheightof Scrim’spopularitythe rescue team decided to no longer communicate with the press.

Oneofthe best passagesin Brown’sstory expresses theapprehensions of the Scrim team when the stray seemed to disappear and was feared dead. It also served as a premonition of Scrim’sfuture.

“I noticed that, without admitting it, the team had started talkingabout himinthe past tense,” Brownwrote. “Wewere each, in our own way, preparing forapostScrim world.”

“The world wasbetterwith Scrim walking through it, and Iwanted his legend to endure,” Brownconcluded.

Email Doug MacCashat dmaccash@theadvocate.com.

While Scrim wasonthe lam,his pursuers posted fliers around New Orleans pleading withthe public to help find him.

PROVIDED PHOTOByLAURA FLANNERy

of ayear,and at the ageof40, Fusilierhas learned to sew, started afashion label and dressed

Judith Martin MISS MANNERS

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Dream it, believe it and follow through. You have choices, and at the end of the day, what's important is that you have no regrets. Be open to suggestions, but follow your heart.

LEO (July 23-Aug 22) What you do will far exceed what you say. Actions speak louder than words. Watch out for people who try to slow you down. Think positive thoughts, and rewards will follow.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Take better care of yourself, your reputation and your job. Concentrate on taking care of your responsibilities and helping others. Positive suggestions will take flight.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Test your theories privately before sharing your thoughts. Too much of anything will backfire. Add to your qualifications to ensure you head in your chosen direction.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Test your talents. Focus on completing tasks on time. Refuse to let partnerships suffer due to poor communication, anxiety or trust issues. Emotional spending will lead to regret.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Changing how you earn a living or handle your cash looks promising. The happier you are, the less money you'll spend. Contentment and gratitude have healing powers.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Expand your interests and friendships. Take better care of your physical well-being by

making healthy choices. Refuse to let temptation and indulgence interfere with personal and physical progress.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Pay attention to detail, and you'll surpass your expectations. Use your imagination to implement changes at home. Romance is evident; however, jealousy and emotional instability are also present.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Direct your energy wisely. Show passion in all you do, and let your actions reflect your feelings. Once you express your position and digest responses from others, you'll know which path to take.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) Set a budget, and you'll have more cash to enjoy your favorite pastime, hobby or entertainment. Pay attention to your emotional well-being. A fitness routine can improve your outlook.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Arguing is a waste of time. Participating in community events can foster friendships with individuals who share your values, ethics and beliefs. Broaden your horizons, and new interests will develop.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) You may crave change, but before you make a move, consider if you are trying to please yourself or someone else. Boredom will lead to regret. Use your intelligence to ward off poor choices.

FAMILY CIrCUS

CeLebrItY CIpher For better or For WorSe

SALLY Forth

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM SherMAn’S LAGoon

Sudoku

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

Saturday’s PuzzleAnswer

THewiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS CurTiS

BY PHILLIP ALDER Bridge

Will Rogers said “An economist’s guess is liable to be as good as anybody else’s.”

A bridge expert’s guess is liable to be better than a lesser player’s. In this deal, how should South plan the play in four spades after West leads the club queen?

South’s jump to four spades is normal, but he might guess to rebid three notrump. North would then have to guess whether to pass (he has 4-3-3-3 distribution) or to remove to four spades (he has four trumps). Here, three no-trump has nine easy tricks.

South has four potential losers: three hearts and one diamond. In real life, he mightguessthateitherEasthastheheart ace or West has the diamond king. But in a lesson setting or a newspaper column, declarer should know that East will have thediamondkingandWesttheheartace. How can South still survive?

If declarer wins the first trick, draws trumps, and takes the diamond finesse, East wins with his king and shifts to the heart queen — the contract is kaput.

Instead, South should duck the first trick. He takes the club continuation with his ace, draws trumps ending on the board, throws a diamond on the club king,cashesthediamondace,andcontinues with the diamond jack. If East plays low, declarer discards a heart and has 10 tricks (six spades, two diamonds and two clubs), even if West produces the king. If East covers, declarer ruffs, returns to dummy with a trump, and cashes the last diamond. He is home with no guesswork. © 2025 by nEa, inc., dist. By andrews mcmeel syndication

wuzzles

Each Wuzzle is a word riddle which creates a disguised word, phrase, name, place, saying, etc. For example: nOOn gOOD = gOOD aFTErnOOn

Previous answers:

word game

InstRuctIOns: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of

thought

your name’s sake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity; for it is great.” Psalms 25:11

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles

dIrectIons: make a 2- to 7-letter word from the letters in each row. add points of each word, using scoring directions at right. Finally, 7-letter words get 50-point bonus. “Blanks” used as any letter have no point value. all the words are in the Official sCraBBlE® players Dictionary, 5th Edition.

ken ken

InstructIons: 1 Each row and each column must contain the numbers 1 thorugh 4 (easy) or 1 through 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 a