The Advocate 07-17-2025

Federal investigation zeroes in on visa scheme

Several La. police chiefs accused in probe of fake crimes

BY ASHLEY WHITE Staff writer

Since 2015, hundreds of non-U.S. citizens in Rapides and Allen parishes have applied for special visas claiming they were the victim of or witness to a crime

In virtually every incident, they were listed on police reports as victims of armed robberies. If approved, they could stay in the country legally for at least four years to help law enforcement investigate and prosecute

Except the crimes never happened, according to federal investigators.

Instead, they claim foreign nationals,

most of whom were from India, paid Oakdale business owner Chandrakant “Lala” Patel thousands of dollars to help them obtain a visa. Patel would then pay $5,000 to a law enforcement agent to forge a police report listing the applicant as a victim that could be included with a visa application.

Federal investigators

claim Oakdale Police Chief Chad Doyle, Forest Hill Police Chief Glynn Dixon, former Glenmora Police Chief Tebo Onishea and Oakdale Ward 5 Marshal Michael

“Freck” Slaney worked with Patel to create the false documents. Hundreds of visas were granted through the scheme, federal investigators allege.

Patel, Doyle, Dixon, Onishea and Slaney all were arrested Tuesday in a sweeping operation that involved about 200 officers from various agencies in multiple locations on charges including visa fraud, mail fraud, bribery and money laundering.

“I’ve worked in federal law enforcement for almost 27 years. I’ve never seen

ä See VISA, page 5A

Board removes library director

against firing

BY CLAIRE GRUNEWALD Staff writer

After a year of political turmoil over Livingston Parish libraries seemed to have faded, the system’s director was ousted at the parish president’s direction at a late-night meeting that also resulted in the Livingston Parish Library Board of Control’s leadership quitting. Parish President Randy Delatte proposed the removal about 10 p.m. Tuesday to a small crowd at the board’s latest meeting. The board approved his proposal in a 6-4 vote. This came after a nearly two-hour private annual performance evaluation of Michelle Parrish, the library director Delatte said issues still exist between the library and the community, such as recent contentious split board votes, despite his recent shake-up of the Library Board.

“The only constant that we have is Michelle. We still have the same issues,” he said.

Parrish took the helm in 2023 after her predecessor, Giovanni Tairov, unexpectedly resigned after months of commotion surrounding content restrictions for minors. He had served as director for more than 10 years. In the immediate wake of his departure, the assistant director resigned, leading Parrish, then a branch manager to step up.

Parrish’s removal on Tuesday came as a shock to some residents and board members. Hours earlier,

Trump lashes out over Epstein files

President calls his supporters ‘weaklings’

BY JILL COLVIN Associated Press

NEW YORK President Donald Trump is lashing out at his own supporters, accusing them of being duped by Democrats, as he tries to clamp down on criticism over his administration’s handling of much-hyped records in the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation, which Trump now calls a

“Hoax.”

“Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this “bull****,” hook, line, and sinker,” Trump wrote Wednesday on his Truth Social site, using an expletive in his post. “They haven’t learned their lesson, and probably never will, even after being conned by the Lunatic Left for 8 long years.

“Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work, don’t even think about talking of our incredible and unprec-

director PAGE 3A

edented success, because I don’t want their support anymore! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

The rhetoric marks a dramatic escalation for the Republican president, who has broken with some of his most loyal backers on

ä See TRUMP, page 4A

Execution set for man in shaken baby case

HOUSTON A judge on Wednesday set a new execution date for Robert Roberson, a Texas man who won a last-minute reprieve last year and could become the first person in the U.S. to be put to death for a murder conviction tied to a diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome.

State district Judge Austin Reeve Jackson set an Oct. 16 execution date for Roberson, who was brought in from death row to attend the hearing in Palestine, Texas. Roberson did not speak during the hearing.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office had requested that the execution date be scheduled. Roberson’s lawyers objected, arguing Roberson still has an appeal pending before the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals that his legal team says contains “powerful new evidence of his innocence.” The latest appeal was filed five months ago.

Roberson, 58, was convicted of the 2002 killing of his 2-yearold daughter, Nikki Curtis, in the East Texas city of Palestine. Prosecutors argued he violently shook his daughter back and forth, causing severe head trauma in what’s called shaken baby syndrome.

“At some point we have to say the date needs to be set,” Jackson said.

Gretchen Sween, one of Roberson’s attorneys, argued there was no legal reason to set the execution date but that “perhaps there is a political reason.”

“Right now it makes no practical sense and it makes no moral sense,” Sween said.

Roberson’s legal team said that based on new evidence “no rational juror would find Roberson guilty of capital murder; and unreliable and outdated scientific and medical evidence was material to his conviction.” The new evidence includes statements from pathologists that state the girl’s death was not a homicide and who question the reliability of conclusions by the medical examiner on the cause of death. Searchers recover 3 who drowned in river at park

MACON, Ga. — The bodies of two young sisters and a man were found Wednesday after they drowned in a river at a middle Georgia park.

Bibb County Coroner Leon Jones told local news outlets that 28-year-old Johnny Collins III, 10-year-old Skyler Worthen and 7-year-old Summer McRae were recovered Wednesday from the Ocmulgee River in Macon. Worthen and McRae, sisters, were swimming at Amerson River Park on Tuesday when they started drifting into the deeper waters. Collins jumped in to help, but all three went underwater and did not come back up.

Officials couldn’t immediately confirm the man’s relationship to the children. At least 14 people have drowned at the park since 2009, according to news reports.

Backstreet Boys’ Littrell sues over trespassers

ORLANDO Fla. — Backstreet Boys singer Brian Littrell says a local Florida sheriff’s office isn’t doing enough to protect his multimillion-dollar beachfront property from trespassers and is asking a judge for an order commanding deputies to do so. Under Florida law, any sand on a beach below the high tide water mark is public Many homeowners own the sand down to the average high-water line, though some counties over the decades have passed local ordinances that let the public use otherwise private beaches for sunbathing, fishing and walking if people have historically had access for those purposes.

A spokeswoman for the Walton County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday that the office doesn’t comment on pending litigation

Littrell’s company said that chairs, umbrellas and small tables had been put out on the beach, as well as “No Trespassing” signs, to mark it as private property But that effort had been in vain “as numerous trespassers have set out to antagonize, bully, and harass the Littrell family by regularly, every day trespassing,” according to the petition.

States sue FEMA for ending grant program

BY DAVID A. LIEB Associated Press

Twenty Democratic-led states filed suit

Wednesday against the Federal Emergency Management Agency, challenging the elimination of a long-running grant program that helps communities guard against damage from natural disasters.

The lawsuit contends President Donald Trump’s administration acted illegally when it announced in April that it was ending the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program. FEMA canceled some projects already in the works and refused to approve new ones despite funding from Congress.

“In the wake of devastating flooding in Texas and other states, it’s clear just how critical federal resources are in helping states prepare for and respond to natural disasters,” said Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell of Massachusetts, where the federal lawsuit was filed. “By abruptly and unlawfully shutting down the BRIC program, this administration is abandoning states and local communities that rely on federal funding to protect their residents and, in the event of disaster, save lives.”

FEMA did not immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment It said in April that the program was “wasteful and ineffective” and “more concerned

with political agendas than helping Americans affected by natural disasters.”

The program, established by a 2000 law, provides grants for a variety of disaster mitigation efforts, including levees to protect against floods, safe rooms to provide shelter from tornadoes, vegetation management to reduce damage from fires and seismic retrofitting to fortify buildings for earthquakes.

During his first term, Trump signed a law shoring up funding for disaster risk reduction efforts. The program then got a $1 billion boost from an infrastructure law signed by former President Joe Biden. That law requires FEMA to make available at least $200 million annually for disaster mitigation grants for the 2022-26 fiscal years, the lawsuit says.

The suit contends the Trump administration violated the constitutional separation of powers because Congress had not authorized the program’s demise. It also alleges the program’s termination was illegal because the decision was made while FEMA was under the leadership of an acting administrator who had not met the requirements to be in charge of the agency

The lawsuit says communities in every state have benefited from federal disaster mitigation grants, which saved lives and spared homes, businesses, hospitals and schools from costly damage.

20 Democratic AGs call for unmasking ICE agents

BY JESSICA HILL Las Vegas Review-Journal (TNS)

Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford and a coalition of 19 other attorneys general urged members of Congress to pass legislation prohibiting federal immigration agents from wearing masks to conceal their identity

In a letter sent to members of Congress on Tuesday the attorneys general called for legislation requiring Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) officers to show their identification and agencyidentifying insignia.

Last week, Democratic Sens. Cory Booker, Alex Padilla and others introduced a bill that would ban immigration enforcement officers from wearing masks and requiring them to display identification during public-facing immigration enforcement actions.

The attorneys general, all Democrats, criticized ICE’s conduct and expressed concern over masked officers dressing in plainclothes and driving in unmarked vehicles while detaining people. They argue those tactics pose safety risks and instill fear rather than promoting public safety

The attorneys general argued that without clear identification from agents, individuals may not recognize them as federal officers and intervene in operations, which could tie up local law enforcement resources or escalate situations They also said the lack of identification of officers could enable individuals to impersonate ICE agents to exploit members of the community

Ford said masking of federal agents should be limited to special circumstances because it undermines principles of transparent governance that Americans expect. “For this reason, Congress should act immediately to end these reckless tactics and implement proper accountability to federal immigration enforcement,” Ford said in the statement.

The Better Nevada PAC, a political action committee linked to Republican Gov Jo Lombardo, criticized Ford in a Wednesday statement, calling the attorney general’s push a “disgusting new low.”

“It’s clear that when it comes to protecting our men and women in law enforcement and ensuring public safety, radical political agendas come first for Ford,” the committee said in a statement.

Calif. authorities take custody of 21 kids; surrogate moms say couple misled them

BY ED WHITE Associated Press

Twenty-one children are in the custody of a California child-welfare agency while authorities investigate a Los Angeles-area couple and whether they misled surrogate mothers around the country

Fifteen children were removed from the couple’s opulent home in Arcadia after an abuse allegation in May, and another six living elsewhere were also located, Arcadia police Lt. Kollin Cieadlo said. They range in age from 2 months to 13 years, with most between 1 and 3.

“We believe one or two were born biologically to the mother,” he said. “There are some surrogates who have come forward and said they were surrogates for the children.”

Silvia Zhang, 38, and Guojun Xuan, 65, are believed to be the legal parents, Cieadlo said. They were arrested in May after a hospital reported that their 2-month-old

infant had a traumatic head injury, the result of a nanny at the home violently shaking the baby, Arcadia police said. The child was not taken to the hospital for another two days.

Cieadlo said neglect charges were not formally pursued in order for an investigation to continue. The couple told police that they “wanted a large family,” the lieutenant said.

Zhang produced what appeared to be legitimate birth certificates, including some from outside California, that list her as the mother of the children, Cieadlo said.

TV stations in Los Angeles quoted women who said they were surrogate mothers for the couple but that they didn’t realize so many other surrogates were also involved.

Business records with the California Secretary of State show a company called Mark Surrogacy Investment LLC was previously registered at the couple’s address. The most recent filing shows the business license was terminated in June.

Young dino steals show at auction

Mars meteorite sells for over $5M

BY DAVE COLLINS Associated Press

The largest piece of Mars ever found on Earth was sold for just over $5 million at an auction of rare geological and archaeological objects in New York on Wednesday But a rare young dinosaur skeleton stole the show when it fetched more than $30 million in a bidding frenzy

The 54-pound rock named NWA 16788 was discovered in the Sahara Desert in Niger by a meteorite hunter in November 2023, after having been blown off the surface of Mars by a massive asteroid strike and traveling 140 million miles to Earth, according to Sotheby’s The estimated sale price before the auction was $2 million to $4 million.

The identity of the buyer was not immediately disclosed. The final bid was $4.3 million. Adding various fees and costs, the official sale price was about $5.3 million. The live bidding was slow with the auctioneer trying to coax more offers and decreasing the minimum bid increases.

The dinosaur skeleton, on the other hand, sparked a bidding war With a preauction estimate of $4 million to $6 million, it is one of only four known Ceratosaurus nasicornis skeletons and the only juvenile skeleton of the species, which resembles the Tyrannosaurus rex but is smaller

Bidding for the skeleton

started with a high advance offer of $6 million, then escalated during the live round with bids $500,000 higher than the last and later $1 million higher than the last before ending at $26 million. People applauded after the auctioneer gaveled the bidding closed. The official sale price was $30.5 million with fees and costs. That buyer also was not immediately disclosed.

Parts of the skeleton were found in 1996 near Laramie, Wyoming, at Bone Cabin Quarry, a gold mine for dinosaur bones.

Specialists assembled nearly 140 fossil bones with some sculpted materials to recreate the skeleton and mounted it so it’s ready to exhibit, Sotheby’s says. It was acquired last year by Fossilogic, a Utahbased fossil preparation and mounting company It’s more than 6 feet tall and nearly 11 feet long, and is believed to be from the late Jurassic period, about 150 million years ago. Ceratosaurus dinosaurs could grow up to 25 feet long, while the T. rex could be 40 feet long.

The bidding for the Mars meteorite began with two advance offers of $1.9 million and $2 million. The live bidding slowly proceeded with increases of $200,000 and $300,000 until $4 million, then continued with $100,000 increases until reaching $4.3 million. Wednesday’s auction was part of Sotheby’s Geek Week 2025 and featured 122 items, including other meteorites, fossils and gem-quality minerals.

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Jill Biden aide invokes Fifth to decline testimony

BY MATT BROWN Associated Press

WASHINGTON — A former senior aide to Jill Biden on Wednesday became the second person to invoke the Fifth Amendment and decline to answer questions from House Republicans who are investigating President Joe Biden’s mental state and use of the autopen while in office.

Anthony Bernal, who previously served as chief of staff to former first lady Jill Biden, was subpoenaed for his testimony by the House Oversight Committee He declined to answer questions, invoking the protections that prevent people from being forced to testify against themselves in government proceedings.

“Well, unfortunately, that

was quick,” said Rep James Comer, chair of the House Oversight Committee, after the deposition ended. “I believe the American people are concerned. They’re

concerned that there were people making decisions in the White House that were not only unelected but no one to this day knows who they were.”

Bernal was accompanied by his lawyer, Jonathan Su, who was a deputy White House counsel to the former president. Su in a statement provided to the committee noted that pleading the Fifth is not evidence of wrongdoing. In a recent interview with the New York Times, Biden said that he delegated responsibilities when necessary as president but was actively involved and knowledgeable of all of his administration’s actions, including on granting clemency

“I consciously made all those decisions,” Biden said. Comer has has sought testimony from nearly a dozen former Biden aides as he conducts his investigation, including former White House chiefs of staff Ron Klain and Jeff Zients; for-

DOJ fires prosecutor on Epstein case

BY ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and ERIC TUCKER Associated Press

WASHINGTON The Justice Department has fired Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI director James Comey and a federal prosecutor in Manhattan who worked on the cases against Sean “Diddy” Combs and Jeffrey Epstein, three people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Wednesday

There was no specific reason given for her firing, according to one of the people. They spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters.

Maurene Comey was a veteran lawyer in the Southern District of New York, long considered the most elite of the Justice Department’s prosecution offices. Her cases included the sex trafficking prosecution of Epstein, who killed himself behind bars in 2019 as he

mer senior advisers Mike Donilon and Anita Dunn; former deputy chief of staff Bruce Reed, former counselor to the president Steve Ricchetti, former deputy chief of staff Annie Tomasini and a former assistant to the president, Ashley Williams.

Democrats have been dismissive of the Republican probe as mere political theater “They still look like losers,” said Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, who sat in on Bernal’s committee deposition.

But many Republicans see the investigation as a top priority for their caucus and a politically salient issue for voters ahead of the midterm election.

“This is corruption at the highest level, because if you cannot answer a simple question about Joe Biden’s

capabilities, then that further demonstrates that he was not in charge of his administration,” said Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., who sat in on Bernal’s deposition. Donalds said “every member of the Biden administration, at this point, needs to be subpoenaed,” including Vice President Kamala Harris and Jill Biden. Comer did not rule out seeking testimony from Harris or members of Biden’s family “We’re going to bring in everyone. We’re moving up the line,” Comer said. “We’ve started with the lower level staffers that we think were the ones that actually put the documents in the autopen and pressed power Now we’re moving up to the people that we think told the staffers to use the autopen.”

was awaiting trial, and the recent case against Combs, which ended earlier this month with a mixed verdict. She didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment Wednesday It’s the latest move by the Justice Department to fire lawyers without ex p la nation, which has raised alarm over a disregard for civil service protections designed to prevent terminations for political reasons The Justice Department has also fired a number of prosecutors who worked on cases that have provoked President Donald Trump’s ire, including some who handled U.S Capitol riot cases and lawyers and support staff who worked on special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecutions of Trump. Maurene Comey was long

seen as a potential target given her father’s fraught relationship over the last decade with the Republican president. The Justice Department recently appeared to acknowledge the existence of an investigation into James Comey, though the basis for that inquiry is unclear Most recently she was the lead prosecutor among six female prosecutors in the sex trafficking and racketeering case against Combs. The failure to convict the hip-hop mogul of the main charges, while gaining a conviction on prostitution-related charges that will likely result in a prison sentence of just a few years, was viewed by some fellow lawyers as a rare defeat by prosecutors. But she was successful in numerous other prosecutions, most notably the conviction of Ghislaine Maxwell on sex trafficking charges for helping financier Epstein sexually abuse underage girls. In that case, she de-

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livered a rebuttal argument during closings, as she did in the Combs case. Her firing comes as Attorney General Pam Bondi faces intense criticism from some members of Trump’s base for the Justice Department’s decision not to release any more evidence in the government’s possession from Epstein’s sex trafficking investigation. Some right-wing internet personalities, like Laura Loomer, who have been critical of Bondi’s handling of the Epstein files had been calling for Maurene Comey’s firing. James Comey was the FBI director when Trump took office in 2017. But his relationship with Trump was strained from the start, and the FBI director resisted a request by Trump at a private dinner to pledge personal loyalty to the president — an overture that so unnerved the FBI director that he documented it in a contemporaneous memorandum.

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issues in the past, but never with such fervor Though Trump cannot run for another term, he will need strong support from a united party to pass his remaining legislative agenda in a narrowly divided Congress and an energized base to turn out in next year’s midterm elections.

The schism centers on the Trump administration’s handling of documents related to Epstein, who was found dead in his New York jail cell in August 2019, weeks after his arrest on sex trafficking charges. Last week, the Justice Department and the FBI acknowledged in a memo that Epstein did not maintain a “client list” to whom underage girls were trafficked. They also said no more files related to the investigation would be made public, despite past promises from Attorney General Pam Bondi that had raised the expectations of conservative influencers and conspiracy theorists.

“It’s a new administration, and everything is going to come out to the public,” she had said.

The reversal sparked fury among Trump’s most loyal defenders, who have turned on Bondi, in particular But Trump has repeatedly said he maintains confidence in his attorney general and had instead chided those who continue to press the issue.

“I don’t understand what the interest or what the fascination is,” he said Tuesday, after unsuccessfully urging his “‘boys’ and, in some cases, ‘gals’” to stop wasting “Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about.”

In an Oval Office appearance Wednesday after the Truth post, Trump made clear that he was done with the story and said he had “lost a lot of faith in certain people.”

“It’s all been a big hoax,” he told reporters. “It’s perpetrated by the Democrats, and some stupid Republicans and foolish Republicans fall into the net.”

He complained that Bondi has been “waylaid” over her handling of the case and has given out all “credible information” about the wealthy financier “If she finds any more credible information she ll give that, too,” Trump said. ”What more can she do than that?”

Trump and many figures in his administration, including FBI Director Kash Patel and his deputy Dan Bongino, have spent years stoking dark and disproved conspiracy theories like those surrounding Epstein, including embracing QAnon-tinged propaganda that casts Trump as a savior sent to demolish the “deep state.”

Anger still brewing

Trump’s comments have not been enough to quell those who are still demanding answers. Some of the podcasters and pro-Trump influencers who helped rally support for Trump in the 2024 campaign said Wednesday they were disappointed or puzzled by his comments.

Far-right conspiracy theorist and podcaster Alex Jones called Trump’s handling of the Epstein situation “the biggest train wreck I’ve ever seen.”

“It’s not in character for you to be acting like this,” he said in a video Tuesday “I support you, but we built the movement you rode in on You’re not the movement You just surfed in on it.”

Benny Johnson, a conservative podcaster, said on his show that he is a fan of Trump’s movement but is trying to “give tough love and speak on behalf of the base.”

“Maybe it hasn’t been framed correctly for the president,” Johnson said. “I don’t know.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, in an interview on Johnson’s show Tuesday had called for the Justice Department to “put everything out there and let the people decide.”

His first-term national security adviser, retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, implored Trump in a lengthy message to correct course.

“All we want at this stage is for a modicum of trust to be reestablished between our federal government and the people it is designed to serve. That’s all (PERIOD!),” he wrote. “With my strongest recommendation, please gather your team and figure out a way to move past this.”

Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk on his podcast attempted some damage control on Trump’s behalf.

“Don’t take too seriously this

whole Truth Social here,” Kirk told his audience. “I know some people are getting fired up about this. I don’t believe he was trying to insult anybody personally.”

He also offered a message to Trump.

“The grassroots is not trying to make you look bad,” he said. “We want to try and make sure the bad people that have done such terrible things to you can finally be held accountable.”

Other Trump allies have stuck by his side, suggesting he does not need the influencers who have capitalized on Epstein conspiracy theories to make money and earn viewers

“He lent you his clout and voters,” Brenden Dilley, the head of a group of meme makers who have lent their support to Trump, wrote on X on Wednesday “They don’t belong to you.”

Broader disapproval

While those speaking out represent a fringe of Trump’s most vocal online base, they are not the only ones dissatisfied with the government’s handling of the

Epstein case, according to recent polling.

A CNN/SSRS poll, for instance, found that about half of U.S. adults are not satisfied with the amount of information the federal government has released about the Epstein case. About 3 in 10 said it doesn’t matter either way and about 2 in 10 didn’t know enough to offer an opinion. Almost no one said they were satisfied with the amount of information released.

Looking ahead to 2026 midterm elections, some Democrats are clear-eyed that the Epstein files may not be a front-and-center issue for voters who tend to put a premium on kitchen table issues, but they see it as part of a broader pattern that could hamper Trump and the GOP

“There is something breaking through to voters getting at this idea of a Republican Party working for these big, corrupt, wealthy, famous people and not fighting for their constituents,” said Katarina Flicker, of the House Majority PAC, Democrats’ super PAC for congressional races.

anything quite like this,” said acting U.S. Attorney of the Western District of Louisiana Alexander Van Hook. “We brought these allegations against who we allege to be corrupt officials We are not alleging that these are corrupt police departments.”

The 21-page indictment handed down by a federal grand jury on July 2 lays out 62 total counts against the four defendants

Each defendant is facing one count of conspiracy to commit visa fraud.

Additionally, Patel faces one count of bribery, 24 counts of mail fraud and eight counts of money laundering.

Doyle and Dixon each additionally face six counts of visa fraud, six counts of mail fraud and one count of money laundering. Slaney also faces six counts of visa fraud, six counts of mail fraud and two counts of money laundering. Onishea also faces six counts of visa fraud and six counts of mail fraud.

The defendants and their attorneys could not immediately be reached for comment.

A multiagency investigation, which included the FBI, Homeland Security and the Internal Revenue Service, began in July 2024. A tip first came in to Homeland Security Van Hook would not say how investigators became aware of the scheme, but thinks it has been ongoing since December 2015. Investigators allege that the conspiracy centered around creating false police reports for foreign nationals to apply for the “U nonimmigrant status visa,” or “U visa.”

A U visa, established in 2000, is designed to protect victims or witnesses of certain crimes. It also extends to their family members. The idea is that victims or witnesses granted a U visa will then help law enforcement in their investigation and pros-

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board president Jennifer Dorhauer said the private evaluation session would not elicit any decision, which no one outright disagreed with “I thought there would be no actionable issue once we went into executive session,” Dorhauer said “I could block his motion currently, but (Parrish) has requested that we go ahead and vote on this.”

Some parish residents and ousted board members have consistently called for new leadership during previous library meetings.

Former board member Summer Smith thanked Delatte for his motion.

“The library alliances throughout every parish that I’ve been paying attention to are very, very horrible,” she said “Yeah, we’ve had some pretty bad goes at it sitting on this board, and I know it had to do with the leadership in our library.”

Parish Council member Erin Sandefur mentioned how she has seen completely different boards in the past few years but believes the most recent one has a great group. At least 10 board members have resigned or been removed by the Parish Council since summer 2024.

“The one constant is the director,” she said. “We’ve changed the board Something is clearly wrong.” During public comment, some residents made pleas to the board to not remove Parrish. They said the same issues will still exist, regardless of whether there is a new director Parish resident Wade McCallister said Parrish’s evaluation should not be political but based off her performance.

“Michelle has guided this library system through political attacks, budget battles, book challenges and disinformation campaigns. Through it all, she has remained professional transparent and focused on

ecution of the crime. When status is granted, a U visa is valid for four years, but extensions are available, including if there’s a request from law enforcement or if a person has filed for a green card

Those seeking a visa would give thousands of dollars to Patel, who owns convenience stores and a fastfood restaurant in Oakdale and Glenmore. Patel would then pay law enforcement officers $5,000 to falsify a report listing the person as a victim. Each report investigated in this case listed several victims, Van Hook told reporters Wednesday “There was an unusual concentration of armed robberies of people who were not from Louisiana in some of our smaller communities in Louisiana,” he said Hundreds of visas were granted through the scheme, Van Hook said. He did not know how the applicants

were connected to Patel. As the investigation continues, applicants will be questioned about what they knew about the scheme and if they thought it was legitimate.

Patel himself was granted a U visa in 2023 because of an armed robbery, according to the federal indictment. It does not state whether that incident was fabricated.

Yearlong investigation

The yearlong investigation was complex, Van Hook. It involved tracking financial transitions, covertly pulling police reports and surveillance, including electronic surveillance, he said.

“It really brought all the tools of law enforcement to solve a significant problem,” he said.

In a February incident, which is the impetus of the bribery charge against Patel, the business owner tried to pay a Rapides Parish

The Livingston Parish Library Board of Control voted Tuesday to remove library director Michelle Parrish.

“Michelle has guided this library system through political attacks, budget battles, book challenges and disinformation campaigns. Through it all, she has remained professional, transparent and focused on serving the people.”

WADE MCCALLISTER, Livingston Parish resident

serving the people,” McCallister said.

Former board member Francine Smith said Parrish’s predecessor, Tairov, was pushed out because of drama, and believes removing Parrish is a bad idea. “I worked with Michelle when I was on the library board, and she tried really hard to be a good leader, but there were people who were literally trying to undermine her,” she said. Parrish called for the vote on her removal.

Board members Jonathan Davis, Kristan Whann, Sheila Goins, DeWanna Christian, Trey Cowell and Delatte voted yes. Dorhauer, board Vice President Becky Morgan and board members Patricia Wilson and Rodlyn Hammond voted no.

With the final vote, Parrish said, “My chapter is done,” and walked out of the meeting room

The four board members who voted no, including the

president and vice president, promptly resigned from the board and walked out behind Parrish.

Library assistant directors Dustin Cotton and Julia Falcon are now the acting library directors Both were adamant that not only did they not want to step into Parrish’s role, but that they were not best suited for the job.

“I do not have a vision to move this system forward. I am a work horse not a show horse,” Cotton said.

Falcon told the board she does “not want to be the interim director I know nothing about finance the budget is coming up. I am not up for the task.”

Along with new library system leadership, the remaining five board members and Delatte, as an ex officio board member, swiftly elected new board leadership. Davis is president and Whann is vice president. The board’s new leadership said they will have a meeting soon to discuss next steps.

After the meeting, Delatte said he had come to this decision only recently, after learning about the annual evaluation a few weeks ago. He said he does not know how he will handle the community’s response to this.

“It’s an emotional thing. It’s got me choked up,” he said.

Email Claire Grunewald at claire.grunewald@ theadvocate.com.

Sheriff’s Office agent to falsify a police report. At that point, the Sheriff’s Office was working with federal investigators and the visa application was not submitted.

Federal prosecutors are seeking to have thousands of dollars’ worth of assets seized from the defendants. They claim that dozens of bank accounts were opened and property and vehicles were purchased with the profits of the scheme.

“We expect law enforcement to protect the public and to honor their trust,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnathan Tapp, “not to sell that trust and the honor of their badges for personal gifts.”

After the indictment was handed down by the grand jury, investigators prepared to arrest the defendants and conduct searches of places they allege held evidence of the scheme — all at once. Armed law enforcement

officers descended on the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Baton Rouge on Tuesday to arrest Doyle and Dixon while they were attending a law enforcement conference. Van Hook said they “were not expecting resistance but we planned for contingencies.” Patel, Slaney and Onishea were arrested elsewhere.

At the same time, about 200 law enforcement officers executed 11 search warrants and several searches in connection with the case, said Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Eric Delaune.

What happens next

The defendants made first appearances in federal court Tuesday Van Hook said. Alexandria federal Judge Jerry Edwards Jr is presiding over the case.

Van Hook said prosecutors asked that Patel be detained until trial because of his connections outside of the U.S.

The other defendants were released until trial. If convicted, each defendant could face decades in prison. Patel could be deported, Van Hook said. The case and ongoing investigation are important to the community and the nation, Van Hook said. And the arrests are an important step in restoring the public’s trust in their local law enforcement agencies. He is unsure if President Donald Trump who has long alleged there is fraud and abuse in the U.S. immigration system, is aware of the case, but Van Hook reported the investigation to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.

“I hope the president will be pleased with the work that we’ve done,” Van Hook said. “It certainly is in line with his priorities.”

Email Ashley White at ashley.white@ theadvocate.com.

U.S. producer prices

unchanged

WASHINGTON U.S. wholesale inflation cooled last month, despite worries that President Donald Trump’s tariffs would push prices higher for goods before they reach consumers.

The Labor Department reported Wednesday that its producer price index was unchanged last month from May after rising 0.3% the previous month. June wholesale prices rose 2.3% from a year earlier, the smallest year-over-year gain since September Both measures came in below what economists had expected.

Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so called core producer prices were also unchanged from May and up 2.6% from June 2024.

The report on wholesale inflation arrived a day after the Labor Department reported that consumer prices last month rose 2.7% from June 2024, the biggest year-over-year gain since February, as Trump’s sweeping tariffs pushed up the cost of everything from groceries to appliances.

Consumer prices and producers prices do not always move in tandem, however Bradley Saunders, North America economist at Capital Economics, saw some signs of the impact of Trump’s tariffs in a 0.3% increase in core wholesale goods prices. Furniture prices rose 1% from May and home electronics 0.8%, he noted. Both of those types of goods are heavily imported.

But producer prices at steel mills fell 5.5% despite Trump’s hefty 50% tax on imported steel.

TSA may up carry-on liquid allowance

WASHINGTON Travelers giddy about being able to keep their shoes on while walking through Transportation and Security Administration’s checkpoints at the airport again may have something else to look forward to: changes to how much liquid they can carry Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Wednesday during a conference hosted by The Hill that she is questioning “everything TSA does” and spoke of possible changes to the amount of liquids travelers can tote in their carry-on baggage. “The liquids, I’m questioning So that may be the next big announcement is what size your liquids need to be,” Noem said. “We have put in place in TSA a multilayered screening process that allows us to change some of how we do security and screening so it’s still as safe.”

She gave no details about precisely what those changes might be or how quickly travelers could expect to see them. Under the TSA’s current guidance, travelers can carry liquids in travel-sized containers 3.4 ounces or less per item in their carry-on bag Those containers must be placed in a 1-quart resealable plastic bag. Bigger containers must go in checked baggage, though there are exceptions for medications and baby formula.

GM to move Escalade production to Michigan

Come 2027, General Motors will move production of the Cadillac Escalade out of Arlington Assembly and into Michigan. The Dallas-Fort Worth area manufacturing plant, which employs over 5,000 people, was previously touted as being “home to every new full-size ICE powered SUV in General Motors product lineup sold around the world.”

The move was first reported by Reuters on Tuesday Despite the Escalade’s move, production at Arlington Assembly is expected to remain consistent, the report noted.

The moves are designed “to help meet continued strong customer demand (and) further strengthen our manufacturing footprint,” the company said in a statement provided to The Dallas Morning News.

Trump musing on firing Powell rattles Wall Street

BY STAN CHOE AP business writer

NEW YORK — President Donald Trump sent the U.S. stock market on a jagged round trip Wednesday after saying he had “talked about the concept of firing” the head of the Federal Reserve. Such a move could help Wall Street get the lower interest rates it loves but would also risk a weakened Fed unable to make the unpopular moves needed to keep inflation under control.

Stocks had been rising modestly in the morning, before news reports saying that Trump was likely to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell quickly sent the S&P 500 down by 0.7%.

When later asked directly if he was planning to fire Powell, Trump said, “I don’t rule out anything, but I think it’s highly unlikely.” That helped calm the market, and stocks erased their losses, though Trump added that he could still fire Powell if “he has to leave for fraud.” Trump

has been criticizing a $2.5 billion renovation project underway of the Fed’s headquarters.

Trump’s main problem with Powell has been how the Fed has not cut interest rates this year, a move that would have made it easier for U.S. households and businesses to get loans to buy houses, build factories and otherwise boost the economy Lower interest rates could also help the U.S. government, which is set to borrow and add a lot more to its debt after approving a wide range of tax cuts.

Powell, meanwhile, has been insisting that he wants to wait for more data about how Trump’s stiff proposed tariffs will affect the economy and inflation before the Fed makes its next move.

The Fed has two main jobs: keeping the job market strong while keeping inflation under control. Lowering interest rates would help boost the economy but would also give inflation more fuel when tariffs

may be set to push prices for U.S. households higher

A report on Wednesday said inflation at the wholesale level slowed to 2.3% last month, which was better than economists expected. It’s an encouraging signal, but it came a day after another report suggested that Trump’s tariffs are pushing up the prices U.S. shoppers are paying for toys, apparel and other imported products.

Trump’s tariffs are making their weight felt across financial markets. ASML, the world’s leading supplier of chipmaking gear, warned that it can’t guarantee growth next year, after delivering an expected 15% growth in sales for 2025.

GrabAGun, an online retailer of firearms and ammunition, swung sharply after combining with Colombier Acquisition Corp. II and taking its spot on the stock market under the ticker symbol “PEW.”

Donald Trump Jr., the son of President Trump, is joining the company’s board. The stock quickly went from an early gain of 19% to a drop of 31% before finishing with a loss of 23.9%, with several halts in trading along the way All told, the S&P 500 rose 19.94 points to 6,263.70. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 231.49 to 44,254.78, and the Nasdaq composite gained 52.69 to 20,730.49. In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury fell to 4.45% from 4.50% late Tuesday. It had been as low as 4.44% earlier in the day, but it climbed following the reports that Trump was likely to fire Powell. A new Fed chair friendlier to Trump could mean lower shortterm interest rates but also the opposite effect on longer-term yields. That’s because a less independent Fed would raise worries that it may also let inflation run higher in the future by being slow to raise interest rates.

GAME PLAN

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By DANIELLE CHARBONNEAU

Chuck’s Arcades, a concept from the Chuck E. Cheese organization, cater to adults but still feature many modern games and VR, sprinkled with retro gems like Skee-Ball, Centipede, Ms. Pac-Man, Dig Dug and Mortal Kombat. Some old games have been reimagined, such as the modernized Space Invaders game.

Chuck E. Cheese opens arcades for adults, has 10 locations in eight states

BY DANIELLE CHARBONNEAU

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

(TNS)

For almost half a century

Chuck E Cheese has been a place “where a kid can be a kid.” But what happens when kids grow up?

Enter Chuck’s Arcade: a new concept branding itself as a place where an adult can be a kid.

One might think this concept would include beer and Chuck E. Cheese’s signature pizza alongside games. Several media outlets have even misreported that it does.

Alas, it does not.

With the exception of one location in Kansas City, Missouri, that does serve food and drinks, the 10 new Chuck’s Arcades in eight states across the country are simply as the name implies: arcades. A handful of the Chuck’s Arcades were previously Fun Spot arcades (also owned by CEC Entertainment) that have been redecorated and rebranded.

Mark Kupferman, executive vice president and chief marketing and insights officer for Chuck E Cheese, said there were three main factors that guided the company’s decision to create the adult-centric Chuck’s Arcade.

The first was that the brand, now 48 years old, has an intergenerational following.

The second was that Chuck E. Cheese is, self-reportedly, the largest owner of arcade games in the world. The company was founded by Nolan Bushnell, the co-founder of Atari who originally built the Pizza Time Theater as a place to showcase Atari games

As more than 400 locations across the country have modernized their game floors, renovating

the spaces with large screens, virtual-reality games and other high-tech offerings for Gen Alphas and Z’ers, the older classics have needed new homes.

“We also have the largest technical staff than anybody else,” Kupferman added. “So if you put those two together, it made a really interesting proposition to take some of these games, take some of the memorabilia, take some of the old animatronics that we have, and in some cases, some of the artwork that people grew up with. We would have an experience that might be really fun for people.” Chuck’s Arcades still feature many modern games and VR, but are also sprinkled with retro gems like Skee-Ball, Centipede, Ms. Pac-Man, Dig Dug and Mortal Kombat. Some old games have been reimagined, such as the modernized Space Invaders game. The last reason Kupferman said the company keyed in on the Chuck’s Arcade concept was that “nostalgia is in.” The brand can transport hearts and minds to bygone times. Spencer Brose, 24, of Athens, Georgia, fits that target. Brose, who was visiting the Chuck’s Arcade in Buford, Georgia, on Saturday, reminisced about how he grew up playing games at the Chuck E. Cheese in Santa Cruz, California. He held his fifth birthday party there. As he’s entered his 20s, he said he still longed to play arcade games from his youth.

“I still always wanted to play, but I didn’t feel comfortable going into a (Chuck E Cheese) because there’s so many children,” he said. “I’m a grown man. To go

by myself, people are going to look at me a little weird. Being able to have a spot that’s more catered back to us, it’s a nice change of pace.” While the company does not have any restrictions on adults dining or playing at Chuck E. Cheese locations without children (as has frequently been rumored), public perception has kept adults away

The games in traditional Chuck E. Cheese locations also have been programmed for young children.

For example, the game Halo in Chuck E. Cheese locations has violence settings turned down for the average player age of 5. The blood is not red; instead it is colorful and cartoonish.

“In Chuck’s Arcade, it is a fullblown Halo experience like you might find in other arcades,” Kupferman said. One other distinction at Chuck’s Arcade is the presence of the brand’s retro logo on some merchandise and prizes, and, more notably the presence of display cases showcasing the animatronic characters from Chuck E. Cheese’s Munch’s Make Believe Band, which was a fixture at the restaurant until the 2020s, when locations began phasing them out.

At the Buford Chuck’s Arcade, an animatronic Chuck, the brand’s mainstay mouse (who, fun fact, was a rat until the company changed it in 1993), is entombed in a tall, glass case by the entrance.

“I feel like with how crazy the world’s been right now, people are really starting to go back to the things that made them happy as kids,” Brose said. “We’re trying to relive that magic.”

Power shifting from workers to employers

BY EMMA NELSON

The Minnesota Star Tribune (TNS)

The federal government job was hybrid when Sarah Reynolds accepted it, meaning she could live in Hudson, Wisconsin, and work in St. Paul.

But within months of her landing in the Midwest — Reynolds’ fourth crosscountry move for work in less than a decade — the federal government had called its employees to the office.

“This was not what I signed up for,” said Reynolds, 42, who took a buyout amid the Department of Government Efficiency overhaul of federal agencies. “I had all this flexibility, and it got taken away from me.”

After the work-from-home days of the pandemic and the Great Resignation that followed, power that had shifted to workers has swung back to employers. Gone are the plentiful openings, hiring bonuses and flexible schedules. In their place: fake online postings, recruiters who ghost candidates and return-to-office mandates.

“It’s hard to believe that five years ago, people were wondering if we were really ever going to go back to the office,” said Alan Benson, associate professor at the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.

Coming out of the pandemic, he said, employees and employers seemed to agree that work-from-home was working Workers were happy with the arrangement, and productivity was high.

More recently, though, executives have started to question success in areas that are harder to measure: acclimating new hires to company culture or coming up with innovative ideas. In other words, “watercooler stuff that you miss out on if you are trying to work hybrid or trying to work remote,” Benson said.

“I think that’s really what’s behind some of the big pitch to get people back to the office,” he said. At the same time, rising unemployment has given employers more bargaining power

The momentum shift began in 2022, when the labor market was hot and prices were high, said Aaron Sojourner, senior researcher at the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.

The labor market has since cooled but stayed relatively strong, with unemployment hovering at 4% nationally Still, economic uncertainty — particularly around President Donald Trump’s ever-evolving trade war — has many employers hitting pause on hiring, leaving people without jobs in limbo and people with jobs feeling stuck. Return-to-office mandates, while “not as dramatic as hiring or laying somebody off,” Sojourner said, signal the change in power

A worker called back to the office three years ago might have felt confident about quitting and finding another job, Sojourner said, but “right now people definitely shouldn’t be that confident they can get another offer.”

Trump hosts Gulf leaders at White House

BY CHRIS MEGERIAN Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump hosted a pair of Arab Gulf leaders at the White House on Wednesday as violence between Israel and Syria renewed doubts about his pledge to impose peace on the Middle East.

Trump held a meeting in the Oval

Office with Bahrain’s crown prince and dined privately with Qatar’s prime minister.

The Republican president has lavished attention on the Persian Gulf, a wealthy region where members of his family have extensive business relationships. He has already visited Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on the first foreign policy trip of his second term.

With little progress to share on the region’s most intractable problems, including the war in Gaza, Trump was more focused Wednesday on promoting diplomatic ties as a vehicle for economic growth

“Anything they needed, we helped them,” Trump said in the Oval Office while meeting with Bahrain Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa. “And anything

we needed, they helped us.”

Meeting Bahrain’s crown prince Bahrain is a longtime ally that hosts the U.S. Fifth Fleet, which operates in the Middle East. Like other Arab leaders, Al Khalifa was eager to highlight the lu-

crative potential of diplomatic ties with the U.S., including $17 billion of investments. “And this is real,” he said “It’s real money These aren’t fake deals.”

According to the White House, the agreements include purchasing American airplanes, jet en-

gines and computer servers. More investments could be made in aluminum production and artificial intelligence. Bahrain’s king, the crown prince’s father is expected to visit Washington before the end of the year An important part of the relationship will be an agreement, signed Wednesday, to advance cooperation on civilian nuclear energy

Dinner with Qatari prime minister

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the prime minister of Qatar and a member of the country’s ruling family, was at the White House for a private dinner with Trump on Wednesday evening.

Trump visited Qatar during his trip to the region, marveling at its palaces and stopping at the Al Udeid Air Base, a key U.S. military facility

Trump wants to use a luxurious Boeing 747 donated by Qatar as his Air Force One because he’s tired of waiting for Boeing to finish new planes. However, the arrangement has stirred concerns about security and the ethics of accepting a gift from a foreign government.

“It’s rich, it’s stable, it’s populated by authoritarians with whom the president feels very comfortable,” he said. Fighting in Syria

The fighting in Syria began with clashes between Sunni Bedouin tribes and Druze factions in the country’s south. Government forces intervened, raising alarms in Israel, where the Druze are a politically influential religious minority.

On Wednesday, Israel launched strikes in the Syrian capital of Damascus. A ceasefire was later announced, but it was unclear if it would hold.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was in the Oval Office for Trump’s meeting with the crown prince of Bahrain, said the fighting was the result of “an unfortunate situation and a misunderstanding.” He said “we think we’re on our way to a real de-escalation” that would allow Syria to “get back on track” to rebuilding after years of civil war

Aaron David Miller, who served as an adviser on Middle East issues to Democratic and Republican administrations, said the Gulf region “represents everything that Trump believes is right about the Middle East.”

Another key ally quits Netanyahu’s governing coalition

BY TIA GOLDENBERG Associated Press

TELAVIV,Israel Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suffered a major political blow on Wednesday as a key governing partner announced it was quitting his coalition government, leaving him with a minority in parliament Shas, an ultra-Orthodox party that has long served as kingmaker in Israeli politics, announced that it would bolt the government over disagreements surrounding a proposed law that would enshrine broad military draft exemptions for its constituents — the second ultraOrthodox governing party to do so this week.

“In this current situation, it’s impossible to sit in the government and to be a part-

ner in it,” Shas Cabinet minister Michael Malkieli said in announcing the party’s decision

But Shas said it would not undermine Netanyahu’s coalition from the outside and could vote with it on some legislation, granting Netanyahu a lifeline in what would otherwise make governing almost impossible and put his lengthy rule at risk.

Once their resignations come into effect, Netanyahu’s coalition will have 50 seats in the 120-seat parliament.

Netanyahu’s rule, for now, doesn’t appear threatened.

Once Shas’ resignations are put forward, there’s a 48hour window before they become official, which gives him a chance to salvage his government.

The party’s announcement

also comes just before lawmakers recess for the summer, granting Netanyahu several months of little to no legislative activity to bring the parties back into the fold with a possible compromise on the draft law

But if the coalition isn’t shored up by the time the Knesset reconvenes in the fall, it could signal that Israel may be headed to early elections, which are currently scheduled for October 2026.

The political instability comes at a pivotal time for Israel, which is negotiating with Hamas on the terms for a U.S.-backed ceasefire proposal for Gaza. Shas’ decision isn’t expected to derail the talks.

But with a fracturing coalition, Netanyahu will feel more pressure to appease his other governing allies,

especially the influential far-right flank, which opposes ending the 21-month war in Gaza so long as Hamas remains intact. They have threatened to quit the government if it does end.

The embattled Netanyahu is on trial for alleged corruption and critics say he wants to hang on to power so that he can use his office as a bully pulpit to rally supporters and lash out against prosecutors and judges. That makes him all the more vulnerable to the whims of coalition allies.

On Tuesday, the ultraOrthodox United Torah Judaism party said it was quitting over Netanyahu’s failure to pass a law on the military draft exemptions. Military service is compulsory for most Jewish Israelis, and the issue of exemptions has long divided the country Those rifts have widened since the start of the war in Gaza as demand for military manpower has grown and hundreds of soldiers have been killed.

A decades-old arrangement by Israel’s first prime

minister granted hundreds of ultra-Orthodox men exemptions from compulsory Israeli service. Over the years, those exemptions ballooned into the thousands. The ultra-Orthodox say their men are serving the country by studying sacred Jewish texts and preserving centuries’ old tradition. But most Jewish Israelis see the exemption as unfair, as well as the generous government stipends granted to many ultra-Orthodox men who study instead of work throughout adulthood.

BY MELANIE LIDMAN, WAFAA SHURAFA, and JULIA FRANKEL Associated Press

TEL AVIV Israel Twenty Palestinians were killed at a food distribution center run by an Israeli-backed American organization in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, mostly from being trampled, the group said. They were the first deaths reported at one of the group’s sites, though hundreds have been killed by Israeli forces on the roads leading to them, according to witnesses and health officials.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation accused the Hamas militant group of fomenting unrest at the food distribution center, causing the stampede. For the first time since its operations

began in May, “a large number” of people in the crowd were armed with pistols, GHF spokesperson Chapin Fay told reporters He said an American medic was stabbed and wounded Witnesses said GHF guards threw stun grenades and used pepper spray on people pressing to get into the site before it opened, causing a panic in the narrow, fenced-in entrance.

GHF said it believed that 19 of the dead died from trampling at its food distribution center between the southern cities of Khan Younis and Rafah and one was killed by a stabbing in the crowd.

The Gaza Health Ministry said 17 people suffocated at the site and three others were shot. It was not clear if the shootings took place

during the crush or earlier on the road to the center. Witnesses said Israeli troops fired toward the crowds as they headed to it. GHF said a contractor fired warning shots in the air in order to rescue a child from the stampede.

The United Nations human rights office said Tuesday that 875 Palestinians were killed while seeking food since May Of those, 674 were killed while en route to GHF food sites. The rest were reportedly killed while waiting for aid trucks entering Gaza.

Israeli strikes killed 22 people in Gaza City, including 11 children and three women, and 19 others in Khan Younis. Strikes in central Gaza killed 13 people, including three children.

Explainwhy your nomineeshouldreceive theGoldenDeeds Award. Tell us in your ownwords aboutthe most memorable things they’vedoneinservice to thecommunity Tell us howtheir actionstouched your heart; howtheymadea difference. Give specificexamplesofwhatthey’ve done Maximumof750 words. Nominations must meet specificrequirements to be considered.

Astronomers capture birth of planets

Earliest seeds of rocky planets forming around a sun-like star

BY MARCIA DUNN AP aerospace writer

CAPE CANAVERAL,Fla.— Astronomers

have discovered the earliest seeds of rocky planets forming in the gas around a baby sun-like star, providing a precious peek into the dawn of our own solar system.

It’s an unprecedented snapshot of “time zero,” scientists reported Wednesday, when new worlds begin to gel.

“We’ve captured a direct glimpse of the hot region where rocky planets like Earth are born around young protostars,” said Leiden Observatory’s Melissa McClure from the Netherlands, who led the international research team. “For the first time, we can conclusively say that the first steps of planet formation are happening right now.”

The observations offer a unique glimpse into the inner workings of an emerging planetary system, said the University of Chicago’s Fred Ciesla, who was not involved in the study appearing in the journal Nature.

“This is one of the things we’ve

This image shows HOPS-315, a baby

have observed evidence for

been waiting for Astronomers have been thinking about how planetary systems form for a long period of time,” Ciesla said.

“There’s a rich opportunity here.”

NASA’s Webb Space Telescope and the European Southern Observatory in Chile teamed up to unveil these early nuggets of planetary formation around the young star known as HOPS-315.

It’s a yellow dwarf in the making like the sun, yet much younger at 100,000 to 200,000 years old and

some 1,370 light-years away A single light-year is 6 trillion miles In a cosmic first, McClure and her team stared deep into the gas disk around the baby star and detected solid specks condensing — signs of early planet formation. A gap in the outer part of the disk gave allowed them to gaze inside, thanks to the way the star tilts toward Earth. They detected silicon monoxide gas as well as crystalline silicate minerals, the ingredients

for what’s believed to be the first solid materials to form in our solar system more than 4.5 billion years ago. The action is unfolding in a location comparable to the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter containing the leftover building blocks of our solar system’s planets. The condensing of hot minerals was never detected before around other young stars, “so we didn’t know if it was a universal feature of planet formation or a weird feature of our solar system,” McClure said in an email. “Our study shows that it could be a common process during the earliest stage of planet formation.”

While other research has looked at younger gas disks and, more commonly, mature disks with potential planet wannabes, there’s been no specific evidence for the start of planet formation until now, McClure said.

In a stunning picture taken by the ESO’s Alma telescope network, the emerging planetary system resembles a lightning bug glowing against the black void.

It’s impossible to know how many planets might form around HOPS-315. With a gas disk as massive as the sun’s might have been, it could also wind up with eight planets a million or more years from now, according to McClure.

‘Recession pop’ surges while streaming slows

BY MARIA SHERMAN AP music writer

NEWYORK Halfway through 2025, a few music trends have become clear, according to Luminate’s 2025 Midyear Report, which was released Wednesday: In the U.S. and globally, more music is being streamed than ever before, but growth has slowed, and in the U.S. specifically, there’s been a resurgence in Christian music and “recession pop.”

In its midyear report, Luminate, an industry data and analytics company, provides insight into changing behaviors across music listenership.

Global on-demand audio streams reached 2.5 trillion in the first half of 2025 — up from 2.29 trillion in the same period last year. And in the U.S., on-demand audio streams grew to 696.6 billion in 2025, compared to 665.8 billion in 2024.

But the rate of growth is slowing down. In 2024, U.S. and global ondemand audio streams grew 8% and 15.1%, respectively In 2025, those numbers have dropped to 4.6% and 10.3%.

In the U.S., streaming accounts for 92% of all music consumption. On-demand streams were up in 2025 as physical and digital album sales dropped.

BY SETH BORENSTEIN AP science writer

The leader of Camp Mystic had been tracking the weather before the deadly Texas floods, but it is now unclear whether he saw an urgent warning from the National Weather Service that had triggered an emergency alert to phones in the area, a spokesman for camp’s operators said Wednesday Richard “Dick” Eastland, the owner of Camp Mystic, began taking action after more than 2 inches of rain had fallen in the area along the Guadalupe River, said Jeff Carr, a spokesman for the family and the camp. He said Eastland had a “home weather station” and was monitoring the rain on July 4.

But after initially portraying to the media this week that Eastland got the weather alerts about a flash flood, Carr told The Associated Press that critical moment in the timeline of the tragedy isn’t as clear as the family and staff first thought. No one in the family or camp staff, Carr said, could now say whether Eastland got the alert at 1:14 a.m

“It was assumed that just because he had a cellphone on and shortly after that alert, he was calling his family on the walkietalkies saying, ‘Hey, we got two inches in the last hour We need to get the canoes up. We got things to do,’ ” Carr said.

The new account by the family comes as Camp Mystic staff has come under scrutiny of their actions, what preventive measures

were taken and the camp’s emergency plan leading up to a during the catastrophic flood that has killed at least 132 people.

The flash-flood warning that the National Weather Service issued at 1:14 a.m. on July 4 for Kerr County triggered an emergency alerts to broadcast outlets, weather radios and mobile phones. It warned of “a dangerous and lifethreatening situation.” The weather service extended the warning at 3:35 a.m. and escalated it to flash-flood emergency at 4:03 a.m. Eastland died while trying to rescue girls and was found in his Tahoe that was swept away by the floodwaters, Carr said.

Even without a storm, the cellphone coverage at Camp Mystic is spotty at best, so campers and staff turn on their Wi-Fi, Carr

said. He called ridiculous criticism that Eastland waited too long before beginning to evacuate the campers, which he said appears to have begun sometime between 2 a.m. and 2:30 a.m.

“Communication was a huge deficiency,” Carr said. “This community was hamstrung, nobody could communicate The first responder, the first rescue personnel that showed up was a game warden.”

According to Carr, Eastland and others started evacuating girls from cabins nearest the overflowing river and moved them to the camp’s two-story recreation hall. Of the 10 cabins closest to the river, the recreation hall is the furthest at 865 feet with the closest cabin about 315 feet, according to an Associated Press analysis of aerial imagery

R&B/hip-hop remains the most popular genre in terms of on-demand audio streaming volume. Though streams of new music — music released in the last 18 months — are slightly down from the same time last year, new Christian/gospel music has defied that trend, said Jaime Marconette, Luminate’s vice president of music insights and industry relations. He attributed the genre’s growth to “younger, streaming-forward fanbase,” which is 60% female and 30% millennial.

“Recession pop” — the term for upbeat hits like Kesha’s “Tik Tok,” Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the U.S.A.” and other carefree pop music that emerged in 2007-12 around the time of the Great Recession — has also seen a jump this year. Luminate found that U.S. on-demand audio streams of pop music from that era have increased 6.4% in 2025.

Our Lady of the Lake in arena talks

Hospital could pay up to $50M for 10-year naming rights

BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER Staff writer

Baton Rouge hospital Our Lady of the Lake has been in talks to pay as much as $50 million over a decade for the naming rights to a proposed new LSU arena. No deal to develop the arena has been finalized, and Lake spokesperson Alexandra Deiro Stubbs said Tuesday that “terms are still under negotiation.”

Iranian LSU doctoral students released

Couple held for weeks in ICE facility

BY CHRISTOPHER CARTWRIGHT

Staff writer

A pair of LSU doctoral students from Iran have been freed more than two weeks after federal immigration agents detained them, the American Civil Liberties Union said Wednesday

The organization also claimed Louisiana State Police used “false pretenses” to detain the couple.

Pouria Pourhosseinhendabad, who was studying mechanical engineering, was arrested in late June along with his wife, Parisa Firouzabadi, who is also a mechanical engineering student. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has not said reasons for the detentions and did not respond to a request for more information.

An ACLU news release said ICE used State Police “to effectuate a ruse in which agents pretended they were responding to a hit-and-run the couple reported previously.”

“Police used these false pretenses to lure Parisa and Pouria out of their home so that ICE could arrest them,” the release added State Police referred The Advocate to ICE for details about the case.

Pourhosseinhendabad holds an active F-1 student visa, making him legally admitted to the United States, the release stated.

It said that Firouzabadi’s visa was revoked in 2023 and not renewed, adding that such conditions don’t impact a student’s permission to continue their studies in the U.S. Todd Woodward, a spokesperson for LSU, did not respond to a request for more information and comment from the university administration.

LSU had more than 1,600 international students enrolled in 2023, according to a university report.

The two were arrested following President Donald Trump’s order to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities.

Nora Ahmed, legal director for the ACLU of Louisiana, said in the release that the case represents “the same kind of discrimination that occurred with the internment of Japanese Americans in the 1940s, which we committed never to repeat.”

“Pouria and Parisa should never have been detained and we’re relieved they’re finally free,” she added.

ä See STUDENTS, page 2B

A draft document dated November sent to developer Oak View Group by LSU officials spells out a proposal with an “existing naming prospect” to pay $5 million a year for 10 years. Though a specific entity is not identified in the term sheet, renderings included in other records show the arena bearing the Lake name, and Stubbs has confirmed the hospital was pursuing a naming rights deal. A spokesperson for Oak View Group said Tuesday that the company is still “working closely with our partners at LSU” on the project. “As part of this process, we are seeking a naming rights partner who shares a strong commitment to the Baton Rouge community and is dedicated to supporting its long-term cultural and economic growth,” Oak View Group said. “We will share additional details at the appropriate time.”

If the arena deal is finalized, records show, the roughly $400 million facility would stand near Nicholson Drive, just south of

Gourrier Avenue, on the current site of the LSU Golf Course. Oak View Group would own the stadium, while LSU Athletics would hold a lease agreement for men’s basketball, women’s basketball and gymnastics. The venue would also feature live entertainment acts. Last week, Oak View Group’s then-CEO Tim Leiweke was indicted on federal charges in Texas.

PLANNING SESSION

Area faces threat of heavy rains, flooding

System expected to have greatest impact on Friday

BY ELLYN COUVILLION Staff writer

A flood watch is in effect for the Baton Rouge area through late Friday night as forecasters continue to monitor an area of low pressure slowly drifting over the Florida panhandle, the National Weather Service said.

The disturbance was expected to enter the northern Gulf and make landfall over the Louisiana coast but “regardless of any further development, contin-

ued thunderstorm development around the low and plentiful Gulf moisture will bring the threat for flash flooding,” the National Hurricane Center said.

“Generally, 3 to 6 inches of rain is forecast, with locally higher amounts of up to 10 inches possible” in the Baton Rouge area, the National Weather Service said this week. The heaviest rain is expected to fall along and south of the Interstate

Trump

ABOVE: Members of the community examine renderings Wednesday at the Old State Capitol during a town hall on a new master plan for downtown, dubbed Plan Baton Rouge III. LEFT: Attendees listen to updates at the meeting, which aimed to present how the planning consultants hired for the city have incorporated public feedback into an updated proposal.

PHOTOS By APRIL BUFFINGTON

signs Cassidy’s fentanyl bill into law

BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed legislation sponsored by U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy that gives law enforcement another tool to go after those who illegally sell fentanyl. Surrounded by family members holding portraits of people who died from fentanyl overdoses, Trump signed Halt All Lethal Trafficking Fentanyl Act, or HALT Fentanyl Act, during a ceremony in the White House East Room.

Trump thanked Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, who sat on the front row along with other senators involved in passing the legislation. Gov Jeff Landry also attended the ceremony Cassidy said Tuesday the cartels that sell fentanyl often slightly change the formula so that technically the drug sold is not the powerful synthetic pain killer “What our bill says is that even if you take fentanyl and change it just a little bit, if it addicts, if it kills, if it looks like it, tastes like it, smells like it, it’s still fentanyl. And you will be prosecuted,” Cassidy said.

Police: Suspects have ties to label

6 arrested in series of drug, weapons raids

Staff report

An investigation and a dozen raids in East Baton Rouge Parish have resulted in the arrest of suspects with ties to a local rap label — Major League Entertainment, authorities said. While the raids resulted in six arrests as well as the seizure of more than $300,000 in drugs, cash and weapons, two other suspects are still at large, according to authorities.

The Sheriff’s Office Gang Intelligence and Enforcement Division launched the investigation earlier this month. After surveillance and a controlled purchase of crack cocaine, agents identified a dozen sites used by the group to store and distribute narcotics, a news release states. On Tuesday, agents executed search warrants

on those locations with assistance from numerous agencies and divisions.

The seized items included 242 pounds of marijuana, with a value of approximately $290,400; 8 ounces of fentanyl, which the release said was about enough for 2,240 lethal doses; and 2.6 pounds of synthetic marijuana, as well as Oxycodone, Hydrocodone and $14,620 in cash, the release states.

A number of firearms were also found, several of which had been reported as stolen.

Those arrested and the charges they are facing:

n Jornell Keelen, 31, conspiracy to distribute Schedule II narcotics; possession with intent to distribute Schedule I narcotics (marijuana); possession of drug paraphernalia.

n Dyrell Daniels, 29, conspiracy

2 BR men killed in separate shootings

BY QUINN COFFMAN Staff writer

Two Baton Rouge men are dead following separate shootings late Tuesday and early Wednesday morning.

Michael Anderson, 67, was found by Baton Rouge police when they responded to a shooting in the 2400 block of Highland Road just after 7 p.m. Tuesday He had been shot while on the porch of a residence. Anderson was transported to a hospital, where he

died from a gunshot wound.

The suspect and motive are unknown at this time.

Eddie Johnson, 41, was killed after multiple shots were fired into a residence in the 5300 block of Bank Street shortly after 3 a.m. Wednesday.

Johnson was struck by gunfire and died from his wounds.

The suspect and motive are unknown at this time.

Both investigations are ongoing.

Staff writer Ellyn Couvillion contributed to this report.

to distribute Schedule II narcotics; possession with intent to distribute Schedule I narcotics (marijuana); possession with intent to distribute Schedule II narcotics (fentanyl); possession with intent to distribute Schedule II narcotics (Oxycodone); possession of drug paraphernalia; illegal carrying of a firearm by a felon; illegal carrying of a firearm with drugs; illegal possession of a stolen firearm.

n Bjorn Merriell, 32, conspiracy to distribute Schedule II narcotics; possession with intent to distribute Schedule I narcotics (marijuana); possession with intent to distribute Schedule II narcotics (fentanyl); possession with intent to distribute Schedule II narcotics (Hydrocodone); illegal possession of a stolen firearm.

n Darren Keelen, 32, possession with intent to distribute Schedule

I narcotics (marijuana).

n Chasity Fields, 28, possession with intent to distribute Schedule I narcotics (marijuana).

n Dyneisha Daniels, 25, possession with intent to distribute Schedule I narcotics (marijuana)

Two other suspects remained at large:

n Derrick Keelen, 35, conspiracy to distribute Schedule II narcotics; possession with intent to distribute Schedule I narcotics (marijuana); possession of drug paraphernalia.

n Dantrell Barber, 31, conspiracy to distribute Schedule II narcotics; possession with intent to distribute Schedule II narcotics (fentanyl); illegal possession of a stolen firearm.

A Baton Rouge company under the name Major League Entertainment LLC is registered to an address on Seneca Street, but the registered agent’s name is listed as “Jornell Kellen.” The Seneca

BILL

Continued from page 1B

Illegal fentanyl is largely manufactured in Mexico from raw materials supplied by China. Some of the parents addressed the audience about the loss of their children.

Street address was not included in the raids.

The business’s charter was revoked in May by the Secretary of State’s Office.

“The seizure of more than 2,200 lethal doses of fentanyl is a clear reminder of the deadly threat these drug trafficking networks pose to our community,” Sheriff Sid Gautreaux said in the release.

“This type of criminal enterprise doesn’t just deal in narcotics — it brings violence, stolen weapons, and danger to every neighborhood it touches.”

Assisting the Sheriff’s Office in the investigation were units from the Baton Rouge Police Department, Louisiana State Police, the Zachary Police Department, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Staff writer Quinn Coffman contributed to this story

ARENA

Continued from page 1B

Department of Justice of-

ficials say Leiweke rigged the bidding process for Oak View Group’s Moody Arena at the University of Texas Austin — a facility LSU officials have repeatedly called the inspiration for the effort for a new arena in Baton Rouge. The company has paid $15 million in fines related to the allegations.

The day after the indictment was announced, LSU Athletics said it was “evaluating the implications” Leiweke’s charges might have on the arena project. LSU officials in May identified Oak View Group as the lone finalist.

LSU Athletics spokesperson Zach Greenwell said much of the process is still under negotiation and the records obtained by The Advocate are “preliminary.”

“While a partner of Our Lady of the Lake Health’s stature would clearly benefit the arena project and the region, LSU will not comment directly on potential naming rights agreements or other arena-related negotiations as none have been finalized or presented to the board or university leadership for approval,” Greenwell said in an emailed statement. “Our Lady of the Lake Health has been a tremendous partner for LSU, and we look forward to continuing to collaborate on ways to benefit the community and university.”

Email Patrick Sloan-Turner at patrick.sloan-turner@ theadvocate.com.

FLOODING

Continued from page 1B

The heaviest rain is expected Friday

STUDENTS

Continued from page 1B

“However, this case also underscores that when the government’s power is allowed to go unchecked, entire communities are left vulnerable to sweeping abuses of power.” Shannon Smitherman, a U.S attorney in Pourhosseinhendabad’s court case, did respond to a request for comment.

‘A grave risk’

On Monday, Magistrate Judge

Joseph H.L Perez-Montes of the Western District of Louisiana recommended Pourhosseinhendabad’s

“Pouria and Parisa should never have been detained and we’re relieved they’re finally free. However, this case also underscores that when the government’s power is allowed to go unchecked, entire communities are left vulnerable to sweeping abuses of power.”

NORA AHMED legal director for the ACLU of Louisiana

release after finding there was “a grave risk he will suffer irreparable harm,” according to the release. Perez-Montes also ordered Pourhosseinhendabad not to be re-

The Senate bill had 31 co-sponsors, including Sen. John Kennedy, R-Madisonville.

The House version had 61 cosponsors, including Rep. Clay Higgins, R-Lafayette.

“I’m proud to work with President Trump to get results that matter for Louisiana families,” Cassidy said in

Anne Fenton, who lost her son to fentanyl, said, “in the last four years, fentanyl has become the No. 1 killer of children.” Drug overdoses, largely driven by fentanyl, are the leading cause of death among adults 18-45 years old. Synthetic opioids like fentanyl account for 68% of the total U.S. overdose deaths In 2023, there were an estimated 107,543 drug overdose deaths 74,702 of which were attributed to fentanyl, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

moved from the United States or transferred to another jurisdiction without further proceedings or orders from the court, records show The recommendation followed the filing of a habeas corpus petition for Pourhosseinhendabad on July 10. Another was filed Tuesday for Firouzabadi’s release, records show Habeas corpus is a legal procedure and constitutional right that ensures people imprisoned by the government can challenge their detention in court. Pourhosseinhendabad was being held in the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center near the rural town of Jena, according to a government database. Owned by the for-profit private prison company

a statement released by his campaign committee after the event.

“Together, we’re cracking down on fentanyl, cutting reckless spending, creating better jobs, making America healthy again, and securing our border That’s the kind of conservative leadership people expect, and it’s what we’re delivering.”

Email Mark Ballard at mballard@theadvocate.com.

The GEO Group, the LaSalle Parish facility attracted national attention after Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil was taken there. Alireza Doroudi, an Iranian mechanical engineering student who studied at the University of Alabama, was also held at the facility According to the college’s student newspaper The Crimson White, the government alleged he posed “significant national security concerns” and held him for nine weeks without bail until he self-deported in June.

Email Christopher Cartwright at christopher.cartwright@ theadvocate.com.

The rain chances on Thursday are at 90% during the day and 50% during the night Friday’s prediction is a 90% chance of rain during the day that drops to a 30% chance at night. East Baton Rouge Parish has made sandbag preparation available at multiple sites. Residents should bring their own shovels.

Two shelters in the parish have also been opened.

More than 30 parishes are included in the flood watch that began Wednesday In the Baton Rouge area, those include Pointe Coupee, Livingston, West Feliciana, East Feliciana, Iberville, West Baton Rouge, Assumption and St. James parishes.

Email Ellyn Couvillion at ecouvillion@theadvocate.com.

Chenier, Charles Sacred HeartofJesus Catholic Church,2250 Main Street,Baton Rouge,LAat11am.

Coleman, Joe Miller& DaughterMortuary, 5905

Zachary-Slaughter Hwy,Zachary, La at 12pm

Francis, Claudia St.Catherine of Sienna Church,421 Saint PatrickStreet, Donaldsonville Louisianaat11am.

LeGrange,Carlton

St.Alphonsus Catholic Church 14040 Greenwell Springs Rd Greenwell Springs,LAat11am.

Obituaries

Bourgoyne, Simone Kneppert

Simone Kneppert Bour‐goyne passedawaypeace‐fully at home on July 13 2025, surrounded by family atthe ageof90. Shewas a residentofPortAllen and nativeofNancy,France. Si‐monewas afaith-filled lov‐ing wife of 59 yearstoElliot Bourgoyne;motherand grandmother whoput fam‐ily first, hada greatlove for hergrandchildren and had apassion forcooking. SimoneattendedHoly FamilyCatholicChurchand was amemberofthe ado‐rationchapel. Sheretired fromthe West BatonRouge ParishSchool System Food Serviceswhere sheman‐agedthe Port AllenEle‐mentary Cafeteria. Visita‐tionwillbeatWilbert Fu‐neral Home in Port Allenon Saturday, July 19, from 9:30 to11:30 am with aMassof Christian Burial at Holy FamilyCatholicChurch, PortAllen at 12:00 p.m., celebratedbyFr. Jerry Mar‐tin.Entombmentwillfollow atSt. John theBaptist Catholic Church Cemetery inBrusly. Simone is sur‐vived by hersister, Genevieve Chism; daugh‐ter,Daphne Schaefer (John); son, PhillipBour‐goyne (Debra); sixgrand‐children, ChelseaTackett (Ryan), MarissaSchein (John), Patrick(Mary), Michael,Samueland Grace Bourgoyneand four great-

grandchildren Eleanor Scheinand Delaney, Owen and Cora Tackett. Simone was preceded in deathby her husband,ElliotBour‐goyne,parents,Fernand and Marguerite Kneppert and siblings Gerard Knep‐pert (Jacqueline) and Monique Dussart(Claude). Our specialthanksgoto Simone’scaregivers, CassieKimball,Olive Jar‐reau, Dana Babinand Fanny McClain. In addition, weare grateful forthe wonderful care from her physician,Dr. Philip Pad‐gettand AudubonHospice In lieu of flowers, dona‐tions canbe made to Holy FamilyCatholicChurch or PortCityEnterprise. Please share memories at www wilbertservices.com

Adrian Butch" Latham Brunson III, alifelong Louisiana native and proud resident of St. Amant, passed awayonJuly12, 2025,atthe ageof71. Butch was born on August 22, 1953,inBaton Rouge to Adrian Latham BrunsonJr. and Kathleen Smith. He graduatedfrom Broadmoor High School and spentover 30 years working as an insulator foreman at Rubicon and through Local53. He was a hard worker,a great storyteller, and someone who always made time forthe people and thingshe loved. If you knew Butch, you knew he loved fishing—especiallydown in Grand Isle—and never misseda chance to tella goodfishtale. He found joy insimplepleasures: caring forhis Yorkies, sitting on the front porch watching hummingbirds,cooking up something tasty, watching LSU games, or spending time at the camp. He also enjoyed shooting hisguns and, more thananything, being with his family. He is survived by his mother,

KathleenSmith;his partner of over 20 years, Suzy Watts; hischildren, Sandy Holden(Micah) and Adrian "Latham" Brunson IV (Audrey); and his fivegrandchildren: Isabella,Landry, and Bryce Holden, and Charlotte and Lucy Brunson. He also leaves behind his brothers, Bill(Cathy), Drew (Barbara), and GordonDean(Judy); nieces, Jessica Trosclair(Burke), Jennifer Marion(Tommy), and Shannon Moak (Spencer); nephews, Reed and Daniel Brunson;and specialfriendsBree Lavigne, Lukas,Finn, and Ellory. He was preceded in death by his father, Adrian Latham BrunsonJr. Family and friends are invitedto celebrate his life at Greenoaks Funeral Home, 9595 FloridaBlvd., Baton Rouge, on Saturday, July 19, 2025. Visitation begins at 9:00 a.m. witha memorial serviceat12:00 p.m.In lieu of flowers,the family asks that donations be madetoC.A.S.T.for Kids, an organizationthatbrings thejoy of fishing to children with special needs.

Rose MarieThomas Collins enteredintoeternal restatOchsner Medical Center, Jefferson, LouisianaonTuesday,July8 2025 at 9:15 am.She wasa 65-year oldnativeand resi‐dentofBaton Rouge, Louisiana.Viewing at Glo‐rylandBaptist Church on Saturday, July 19, 2025 at 9:00amuntil Celebrationof LIfeService at 11:00 am conducted by Dr.Rayford T. Iglehart,Sr.;interment at SouthernMemorialGar‐dens. Arrangements en‐trusted to Miller &Daugh‐ter Mortuary

Clifford J. Gillie,89, of BatonRouge,passed on June 30, 2025. ANavyVeteran and SteamOperations Engineer. Preceded in death by his wife, Nena LewisGillie,survived by four children, ahost of grandand great-grandchildren,and many loved ones. Services: Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, July21, 2025.

Lewis, Robert Christopher Robert Christopher LewisofBaton Rouge passed away on July 1, 2025, at theage of 71 after abrief illness. He is survivedbyhis brothersand sisters,Sara ("Sally") LewisGinsberg, James ("Jack") Lewisand wife Lisa, Richard Lewisand wife Beverly, JaneLewis Alexander and husband Mark, and Vivian Williams. Robert is also survivedby numerous belovednieces and nephews who affectionatelycalled him "Unc, Melanie Forbes, Jennifer Vargas and husband Juan, Sara Ardoinand husband Marc, Joe Magnoliaand wife Missy, Betty Pecue and husband Henry, Jim Lewis, CaseyWilliams and wife Lauren, Timothy Lewis, Katy Bourgeoisand husband Blake, David Lewis, JacobLewis,and Emily LewisRomero and husband Jordan, as wellas several great-nieces and great-nephews and one great-great-niece. He was preceded in death by his father, Dr. JamesWillard Lewis, his mother, Betty Folse LewisBennett, his nephew, NicholasLewis and twogreat-nephews, HenryLeslie Fuqua Pecue IV and Carter Keith Williams. The youngestofthe Lewischildren, Robert was born on February 27, 1954, in LaGrange, Georgia.He graduated from Baton Rouge HighSchool and served in theU.S.Air Force for four years. Robert returnedtoBaton Rouge where he workedasa machinist welderand spent

hissparetimerebuilding andridingHarley-Davidson motorcycles. Always a character, Robert truly had aheart of gold andwas adored by his niecesand nephewsand even several of hisnephews' friendsalways taking the time to teach them aboutwhatever he was working on in his shop. No matter what, Robert washappiest on theopenroad with his Harley-Davidson. Although hislifeonthisearth has ended, we pray that he has foundeternal peace and joyonthe open road in eternity. Visitation will be held on Friday, July 18, 2025, at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church beginning at 9a.m. with afuneral Mass to follow at 10 a.m. A"Celebration of Life"will be held at Vivian and Robert's home on Sunday, July 20, 2025, at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, please planta tree or consider adonation to the charity of yourchoice in Robert's memory.Arrangements entrustedtoNeptune Society. Thefamilysends its heartfelt thanks to Dr. Shravani Surakanti, the nursesand staff at Baton Rouge General Medical Center Bluebonnet, andeveryoneatCarpenter House Hospice forthe compassionate care andsupport providedtoRobertand the familyinhis final days.

Larry E. Thomas de‐partedthislifeonMonday, July7,2025, at hisresi‐dence in Thibodaux, LA.He was 73, anativeofThibo‐daux, LA.VisitationonFri‐day,July18, 2025, at Williams &SouthallFuneral Home, Thibodaux, LA from 9:00amtoreligious ser‐vices at 11:00am.Inter‐mentprivate.Arrange‐ments by Williams & SouthallFuneralHome, 1204 ClevelandSt.,Thibo‐daux, LA (985) 447-2513. To signthe guestbookand offercondolences,visit our websiteatwww.william

Seafood labelinga good idea that’s gaining steam

Louisiana’sseafood producers havelong braved harsh conditions to bring their catches to ourplates. Aside from thehazardsofthe job, they have also had to navigateincreasingly challenging market conditionsoverthe past two decades as cheap imports have flooded the U.S., pushing down prices. Since 2021, the U.S. shrimp industryhas lost almosthalfofits market value, according to the Southern Shrimp Alliance.

OUR VIEWS YOUR VIEWS

But our seafood industry is nothing if not resourceful. In recent years, it has begun to fight back with avariety of tactics, frompushing federal legislation to crack down on illegal imports to making surelocal festivalshighlight local seafood.

One strategy that is increasingly gaining traction is more stringent labelingofdomesticand foreign seafood. Louisianahas been aleader in this effort, passing its first lawrequiringlabels disclosing theoriginofthe seafood on packaged shrimp and crawfish and on restaurant menus in 2019. An updated law,passed in 2024, went into effect in January.Itadds heavier finesfor lawbreakers and gives new enforcement power to the state Department of Healthand theLouisianaDepartment of Agriculture andForestry. It also goes aftermisleading packaging thatuses Louisiana images or styles for productsthatare not caught in Louisiana.

Other Gulf Coast stateshave taken note, and some have beguntopass labelingrequirements of their own. An Alabama law that went into effect in 2024 requires labelingofany fish or shellfish by country of origin or noticethatitis imported. Mississippi’slaw on seafood labeling that went intoeffect July 1requires all seafood or crawfish sold in thestatetobelabeled“imported” or “domestic.” The TexasLegislature alsopassed alabeling law thatwill go into effect on Sept. 1and requires all shrimpsold in Texas to bear a“clear and conspicuousnotice” of whether it is foreign or domestic.

This is one effort we’d like to seegonational. It’snot justamatter of boosting alocal product,those in theindustry say.Consumers deserve to know because some foreign imports come from aquaculture facilities thatoftenuse antibiotics and hormones.

We know some restaurants andgrocersmay balk at the added step of labelingseafood. And it’s true that some consumers won’tcareand just want the cheapest product available. We also know that, given thecare we Louisianans take in making ourgumbos, jambalayas and other dishes, we wantthe best seafood we canafford. And we certainly wanttoknow that when we pay for Gulf shrimp,we’re getting Gulf shrimp Given the choice, we believemost people will supportour fishers andshrimpers. Strong seafood labeling laws let us know where their products are —and aren’t. The rest isuptoall of us.

LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR ARE WELCOME. HERE AREOUR GUIDELINES: Letters are published identifying name, occupation and/or title and the writer’scity of residence TheAdvocate |The Times-Picayune require astreet address andphone number for verification purposes, but that information is not published. Letters are not to exceed 300 words. Letters to the Editor,The Advocate, P.O. Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588, or email letters@ theadvocate.com. TO SEND US A

Cassidyneeds to stand with TrumponMedicare

Recently,Sen. BillCassidy madeheadlines for proposing Medicare cuts as part of the president’sOne Big Beautiful Bill —specifically cuts to Medicare Advantage, the Medicare program thatsomany Louisianans depend on. Fortunately,President Donald Trump nixed the idea, but Sen. Cassidy has said he’ll try again later Respectfully,the senator should reconsider According to Sen. Cassidy,his No UPCODE Actattempts to save the federal government $270 billion over tenyears by eliminating wasteand fraud in Medicare Advantage.That sounds like agood idea, but Sen. Cassidy’sproposal is abridge too far thatwould actually result in higher costsand reduced benefits for Louisiana seniors who are using Medicare Advantage as itsarchitects intended.

Medicare Advantage reflectsthe very market-based, choice-driven principles

thatRepublicans support. It hasdelivered quality care for seniors and real savings for taxpayers —more than $140 billion over the past decade —all while giving seniors the freedom to choose the coverage thatbest fitstheir needs. President Trump knows how importantMedicare Advantage is to America’sseniors, which is whyhe said he wouldn’tstandfor any Medicare cutsinhis signature tax bill.

We’vealready seen what Medicare Advantage cuts can do: Joe Biden tried it,and it led to coverage disruptions, higher costs and reduced benefits forseniors. That’sbad policy and bad politics. IhopeSen.Cassidy won’ttry to go down this road again.

Sen. Cassidy should help President Trump keep his promise to seniors —by strengthening and protecting Medicare Advantage.

STEVENRISHER Denham Springs

Whyare representativesafraidtostand up to tyranny?

Iworry about theAmerica that you and Igrew up in. Your kids and grandkids will grow up in acountry ruledbyagovernment you and Iwould not recognize Who knew that ourdemocracy could be fragile enough to be degraded into a budding dictatorship in just six months? Please, don’tsay you can’tsee it happening. Look out your window,listen to the news fromalmostany channel. Many others see it too.

Listedbelow areafew similaritiesthe present administration and the rather well-known administration of Adolf Hitler have in common.

Hitler’swordwas above the law

Hitler’stop-level appointees pledged allegiance to Hitler,not the Constitution.

In this administrationthe appointees are megadonors, lawyers and cronies from Trump’sprivate life, and Fox News employees, 23 of them. What better place to get training for high-level government positions requiring top security and decision-making powersthat determine the future of ourdemocracy?All appointees

Lawyer

approvedbyLouisiana senators.

Hitler removed non-Germans from federal positions in law,military,government andeducation. Substitute DEI purges in the present administration.

Hitler was given power over the military and police. Troops were placed in towns whereanti- government activities wereanticipated. This action now equates withthe power given to Trump in orderto place the National Guard in towns on anticipation of demonstrations or activities thatproclaim issues with the administration’sactions or policies, no matter what the size of the event.

Undesirable noncitizens and citizens snatchedoff thestreet and sent to concentration camps in foreign countries without due process or notification of family or contacts.They just disappeared.

Louisiana’srepresentative and senators need expose thethreats that are making themand theircolleagues send 300 million Americans down the road to dictatorship.

NORMAN WARNOCK Stonewall

suing BigOil does little more than enrich himself

The front-page article about attorney John Carmouche and company shows what is wrong with the legal system in this state. Suing an industry that employs thousands of workers here withthe claim that they did something wrong does not fix the issue but greatly enriches the lawyers.

They are making millions of dollars in lawyers fees and not doinganything constructive.

The Legislature needstocontrol lawsuits such as these thatharm ourmost importantindustry

RICHARD LEVY NewOrleans

Articleexposes issues with building MississippiRiver bridge in fragile ecosystem

In May,Haley Miller wrote aperceptive article on what is at stake in Laura and Cliff’s Comeaux’sfight to protect their historically and ecologically valuable property from the impact of aproposednew Mississippi RiverBridge at Plaquemine Point in Iberville Parish. Unfortunate experience with similarmassive infrastructure projects has demonstratedthatsecondary andcumulative impacts to the affected ecosystem are too oftenworse thanoriginally anticipated. In the case of the oldgrowth cypress and fragile habitatofthe A.E. LeBlanc site andadjacentarea, road accessthrough their property for bridge pylonconstruction andrelated activities will affect hydrology andalter the fragile ecosystem beyond the forest’scapacity to recover As Haleystatesinher article,LSU research on the site hasdetermined that the LeBlanc site is arare example of vanishing naturally regenerating cypress forests in Louisiana.Ina letter to the state Department of Transportationand Development, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife andFisheries stated thatthe significantecological value of the LeBlanc property justifiedthe designation of the site as an officially recognized Natural Area. The letter furtherstatedthat“should this site be within or adjacent to the finalfootprint of this project,irreversible harm would be causedtothe ecological integrity” of this site, and requestedthatanalternative to the A.E. LeBlanc Natural Areabechosenfor the new bridge location. We are in full agreement with Wildlife and Fisheries —the ecological costs clearly outweigh the ostensible benefitstobederived from amassive bridge over the A.E. LeBlanc Natural Area and Old-Growth Cypress Forest.

ANGELLE BRADFORD ROSENBERG chapter chair,Sierra Club Delta Chapter

La.death rowprisoner, nowruled

innocent,deservesrelease on bail

Quin Hillyer

It is almost impossible to think of a punishment too severe for someone who —Ihate to even writethese words raped and murdered atwo-year-old On the other hand, unless you were the two-year-old or her loved ones, it is hard to imagine many fates worse than spending 32 years in prison, and at least nominally on death row,for amistaken conviction for supposedly havingcommitted such agodawful crime. And if adistrict judge, upon seeing new science, rules that you are “factual[ly] innocen[t]”ofthe crime indeed, that the evidence suggestsno rape or murder even happened —then the apparently innocent man surely deserves bail and release, withappropriate safeguards, while the stateappeals the judge’s ruling.

That issue —releaseon bail,ornot is the focus of ahearing scheduledJuly 22 in Monroe for longtimedeath-row inmate Jimmie “Chris” Duncan, who wasarrested in 1993 for causing the death of the 23-month-old daughter of hislive-in girlfriend. He was convicted of rape and murder but, if JudgeAlvin Sharp is reading the new evidence correctly,hewas responsibleinstead only for extremely stupid negligence. This column can’tpretend to declare Duncan innocent. That would require sitting through days and days of opencourt testimony.Itis, however,worth understanding that, all along, there have been two wildly divergent stories of what happened to young Haley Oliveaux—and thata judge, hearing copious evidence relying on new scientific understandings, has now found Duncan innocent.

The prosecution’sstory is that Dun-

can,while babysitting Haley and giving her abath, suddenly lost his mind andabused and then killed her by drowning her in abathtub. Duncan’s story is that he left her,healthy,taking abath while he went into the kitchen to wash dishes, and that he returned to find herface down, accidentally drowned

It is certainly arguable that leavinga two-year-old alone in abathtub amounts to criminal negligence. Still, that is afar cry from the sickeningly heinous actfor which prosecutors convicted himand put him on deathrow

It is undisputed that Duncan, who had absolutely zero criminal history and noevidence of sexual deviance, carried thechild’sbody to aneighbor whileweepingand asking them to call paramedics. Prosecutors say that what may have been bite marks on her face, along with inflammation in her posterior region, indicated violent foul play

As famed author John Grisham explained in these pages,alleged bite-mark evidence of this sort is now considered junk science, and the two medical “experts” who analyzed the supposed bite marksnow have seen nine of the people convicted by their testimony later set free becausetheir analysis turned out to be inaccurate. Meanwhile, when Judge Sharpheard the newevidence presented to him, it includedarespected doctor saying the girl evidenced no injuries in any way consistent with rape. Andthe detective whoinvestigated the case said there was “no blood, no signs of struggle, no cleaning ragsand no cleaning agents” in the bathroom. Meanwhile, Duncan for all these years has been amodel prisoner.He even worked as aGeneral Educational Development instructor,coaching

16 of his fellow inmates into earning GED diplomas.

Tuesday’shearing is not about Duncan’sguilt or innocence, but about whether to grant him bail, and under what conditions, while thestate insists on appealing Sharp’sfinding that Duncan is innocent. The man is hardly a flight risk. He presumably would live with his family and be restricted in how far he could venture from home, perhaps while wearing an ankle monitor

Andall this, not for aman who is awaiting trial while copious evidence indicates he is guilty of murder,but instead one now found actually innocent in acourt of law

The prosecutors’ brief makes compelling argumentsthat Sharp erred in finding Duncan innocent after all these years. The brief by Duncan’slawyers makes compellingcounter-arguments that no violence was committed.

Legally,ajudge must cross ahigh bar to find actual innocence years after ajury found someone guilty. Once he does, though, prosecutors must clear a very high bar to have thejudge’sfindings overturned. As of right now,though, the law and plenteous logic bothconsider Duncan an innocent man. After 32 years in prison for an alleged crimeofheinous violence that ajudge now says never even happened, it makes no sense not to grant Duncan adegree of freedom pending thestate’sappeal. Even Haley’smother says she believes Duncan is innocent.

To be imprisoned 32 years for what may have been tragic negligence, but no violence, is certainly punishment enough.

Quin Hillyer can be reached at quin. hillyer@theadvocate.com.

Howthe pandemic sparkedan epidemic of intellectual malpractice

Gender gap growswider andwider

The gendergap, we’re informed by some of the best pollinganalysts in thebusiness, is biggerthan ever.Ever, in this case, means sincethe election of 1980, whenmen weremore willing than womento vote forRonaldReagan andoustJimmy Carter Thatspurred political journalists to emit multiple articles examining just exactlywhatwas on women’sminds andprobing theirdifferentand presumably superior opinions.The assumption wasthatthe gendergap was costing Republicans votes. Being of acontrary disposition,inOctober 1982, Iwrote an opinionarticletitled(paraphrasing Sigmund Freud),“WhatDoMen Want?” For mostoffour decades, thegendergap wobbledaround three or four points. Now,coinciding —perhaps notaccidentally —withthe era of President Donald Trump, it is bigger. In 2024, according to analyst DanielCox,the gendergap was 11 pointsamong Black voters, 12 pointsamong Whitevoters, and13 pointsamong Hispanics. Anditseems to be getting wider amongthe young. Democraticpollster David Shor sees agender gap of around 5% amongover-70s andaround 10% amongthose 35 to 70, dwarfed by agap skyrocketing amongthe young, up above 20%

Pollinganalyst Nate Silver,probingthe sharp differences in partisan preference amongyoung men andyoung women —men are farmoreRepublican,women farmore Democratic— built on long-standing findings that women tendtobemore risk-averse thanmen.“Young men takeamore risk-onviewofthe economy,” he wrote, while Democrats “emphasize security —minimizing downside risk —above theopportunity to compete andmaximizing upside outcomes.”

On arelated issue, Silver notes the long-standing research on happiness that showsyoung men are significantlymore likely than young women to self-describe as happy,and other research showing thatself-described conservatives report themselvesmuchhappierthanself-describedliberals. On happiness studies, as Silver notes,“Age and religiosity matter alot —religious people arehappier, young peopleare sadder —but theliberal/ conservative gapoutweighs almostall other characteristicsexceptage.”

George Will

The worst public health crisis in 100 years became arguably the worst public policy failure in U.S.history becauseofsocial pathologies that the pathogen triggered. The coronavirus pandemic is over.What it revealed lingers: intellectual malpractice and authoritarian impulses infecting governmental, scientific, academic and media institutions. This is unsparingly documented by two Princeton social scientists, Stephen Macedo and Frances Lee, in “In Covid’sWake:How Our Politics Failed Us.” The most comprehensive and aggressive mobilization of emergencypowers in U.S. history,wielded with scant regard for collateral consequences, exacerbatedinequalities, included “extraordinary restrictions on free speech” and constituted a“stress test” that “the central truth-seekingdepartmentsofliberal democracy: journalism, science, and universities” frequently flunked. Macedo andLee say the“moralization of disagreements” stifled dissent,employingcensorship and shaming. Incantations to “follow thescience” obscured this: Science cannot “tell us what to do” becausegargantuan government interventions in society involve contestable judgmentsacross the range of human values.And largeuncertainties, requiring difficult choices demanding cost-benefit analyses that were neglectedduring the pandemic

The authors, self-described as “on the progressive side,” detail how “the class biases of pandemic restrictions” —favored the “laptop class” of knowledge workers and others able to work remotely.“Essential workers,” about one-third of the workforce, largely working class and disproportionately minorities, were expected to carry on There was no historical precedent for successinwhat was attempted: using non-pharmaceuticalinterventions lockdowns, social distancing,masking, etc. —tostifle apandemic. Andthere was, Macedo and Lee report, “norelationship between the stringency of state”restrictions and COVID mortality rates.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By LESLIEWESTBROOK

Avolunteer prepares adose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in 2021 at theOchsnerLafayette General Medical Center

Thebiomedical establishment, academia and remarkably unquestioning media reacted ferociously —politically, notscientifically —against thetheory that the pandemic’sorigin was aleak from aChinese lab doing “gain of function” researchthat engineers especially transmissible and/or virulent viruses. This origin is now widely deemed plausible,evenprobable. The authorsnote that Anthony S. Fauci, the leading U.S. infectious-disease specialist,initiated the writing of apaper,morepolitical than scientific, asserting thevirus’snaturalorigin,then cited the paper against the lab-leak hypothesis. He repeatedly andclearly misled Congress withemphatic denials of his involvement in funding gain-of-function research. The threeeminent epidemiologists whowrote theOctober 2020 Great BarringtonDeclaration —proposing pandemic mitigations focused on the elderly and persons withcomorbidities —were disparaged by Francis Collins, then head of the National Institutes of Health, as “fringe” figures. This adjective conveys apresumption against departures fromgroupthink.Galileo was afringe figure.

In September 2020, about 100 Stanford public health professors denouncedacolleague —author of five books of health care policy —whose sin was arguing that policy should “minimize all harms,”not simply to stop the coronavirus “at all costs.” Two months later,Stanford’sFaculty Senate votedoverwhelmingly to censure him

Censure, not refute. Those declaring thescientific consensus unquestionable included two professors of comparativeliterature and aprofessor of theater and performance studies. Despite thefact,quickly known, that COVID largely spared theyoung, the heads of the major teachers unions called for prolonged school closures, during which their members were paid. Even after the ineffectiveness of masking was revealed, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said children as young as 2should wear them all day In theever-overwrought Atlantic magazine, Georgia’sdecision to end lockdowns was called an “experiment in human sacrifice.” But cumulatively, theconsequences of unfocused measures taken against thecoronavirus —from cancer screenings missed because of lockdowns, to ageneration’s learning loss and alegacy of chronic absenteeism from schools, to myopia in children from excessive screen time, to accelerated dementia among the isolated elderly —were worse than the disease, whose infections were mostly (morethan 98%) mild. The costsof hysteria, partly driven by “noble lies” to panic thepublic intocompliance with authoritarian measures, will, Macedo and Lee say,affect “the health, well-being, and longevity of the whole population years intothe future.”

“The ‘pandemic,’”writeMacedo and Lee, “was routinely said to have closed schools, businesses, theaters, travel, and so on, rather than government officials’ decisions.” The authors have produced themost dismaying dissection of U.S. policymaking since David Halberstam’s Vietnam Warpolicy autopsy, “The Bestand theBrightest ” Their book is moredismaying, but also exhilarating. Vietnam revealed the insularity and hubris of asmall coterie of foreign policy shapers. Macedo and Lee identify much broader and deeper cultural sicknesses. Buttheir meticulous depictions and plausible explanations of the myriad institutional failures demonstrate social science at its finest.

Email George Will at georgewill@ washpost.com.

“I was honestlysurprised by howstrongthe relationship is,” Silver writes in apassage many of his political analyst readers found stunning. “Among voters whoreport poor mental health, liberalsoutnumber conservatives 45 to 19 percent. Among those who report excellent mental health, conservatives outnumber liberals51-20.”

He concludes that young men being“loweron agreeableness andneuroticism”than women translates intogreater support forTrump andfor what hasbecome aTrump Republican Party

More partisan analysts attribute thegrowing gendergap amongthe young to youngwomen’s greater neuroticism.Reflecting on resultsofa survey on whether doctors have ever toldrespondents they have amental health problem, Republican stafferAndrew Follett, in apartisanand perhapshysterical tone, tweets, “Literally half of young left wingwoman …the cat ladieswho are thebasisfor theirparty …are mentally ill. Young left wing MEN are morementally ill than conservative WOMEN.”

Lest youthink this comment is hyperbolic,considerarecentdescriptionofAmericatoday by TaylorLorenz, asocial media writer who is far enough from the fringetohave been hiredand givenbylines by both The NewYork Times and The Washington Post.

In onecharacteristictweet in 2023, Lorenz, who constantlywearsamask in public,presented an ultra-pessimisticviewofAmericaand theworld. “We’re livingina late stagecapitalist hellscape during an ongoing deadlypandemicwithrecord wealth inequality, 0social safety net/job security, as climate change cooksthe world.”

Amore measured viewcomes from theRepublican pollster andauthorPatrick Ruffini. “Unhappiness is afeature of being on theleft thesedays. Agreater beliefinsocietal ills is internalized, reinforced by beingonline 24/7. Theytalkoften about right-wingers or Trump policiesliterally killing people.”

The partisan gender gap is perhaps theleast dangerousresult of this frenzied andbreathtakingly ahistoricmindset. Talk show host Erick Erickson points to theAxiosreport that aHouse Democrat says constituents say “what we really need to do is be willingtobeshot.”

Thenthere is the evidence of less contact between young men andwomen, withromances discouraged on campuses andatworkplaces,fewer marriages, increasing childlessness andbelowreplacement birthrates, which threaten thefundamentalsofsociety.But that’sabiggersubject, for anotherday

The partisan gender gap, begun some40years agoasfeminists decried toxic masculinity, has been widening in recentyears as bros recoilattoxic femininity. In time, perhaps it will narrow, with agreater appreciation of nontoxic humanity MichaelBaroneisonX,@MichaelBarone.

Baton Rouge Weather

SPORTS

SAINTS PREVIEW LINEBACK ERS

Stable LBsfacepotential transition year

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

As faraspositionsfor theNew Orleans Saints go, linebacker is pretty much as set as they come.

Demario Davis starts in one spot. Pete Werner takes the other.Even DannyStutsman, afourth-round rookie out of Oklahoma, has aclear path to lock up the third spot. But could this be ayear of transition? Davis, 36,isenteringthe finalyearofhis contract. Werner,despitesigning athreeyear,$22.5 million extension last season, likelywill have to provehe’sasolid fit under new defensive coordinator Brandon Staley And Stutsman, if his yeargoes right,may be in line to be aconsistentstarter in 2026 For now,the linebacker foundation is solid, but the pecking order might very wellchange

depending on how this season shakes out. Best case

Davis fights off Father Time.

The36-year-old finally started to slow down ayear ago. He still wasa relatively pro-

ductive player,but his 16 missed tackles were thesecond-most on the Saints —behind only cornerbackAlontae Taylor. Andthough Davis technically hadmore missed tackles in 2022 with 17, he playedata high enough level thentoland on an All-Pro team. No one thought Davis’ play warrantedthathonor last season. His slight decline doesn’t mean he’s finished. It would be great for theSaints if Staley can get Davis back to

ä See SAINTS, page 5C

LSU quarterback

MichaelVan Buren rolls out of the pocket duringthe team’s spring practice on April 12 at Tiger Stadium.

Pocket progression

BYWILSON ALEXANDER Staff writer

ATLANTA— For the past four years,LSU hasmaintained one of the best quarterback situationsinthe country.It brought in afuture Heisman Trophy winner,and there was aclear line of succession from Jayden Daniels to Garrett Nussmeier. Nussmeier returning for asecond andfinal season as the starter ensured another year of stability

But what about 2026?

After Nussmeier leaves, LSU’sfuture at quarterback is uncertain again. Hisreplacementmight be on the roster with Mississippi State sophomore transferMichael Van Buren and redshirtfreshmanColinHurley.But it might

not,inwhich case LSUwould have to pursue one of the top players in thetransfer portal.

LSU tried to establish another line of succession by recruiting five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood. His flip to Michigan derailed that plan, and LSU did not sign aquarterback in the 2025 class. Instead, it added VanBuren in thewinter portal window.After starting eight games last season, VanBuren likely will be Nussmeier’stop backup. “He showed alot of promise as afreshman,” Mississippi State quarterback Blake Shapen said Wednesday at SEC mediadays. “He’svery talented andcan throw the ball down the field. He’sfast, he can run, he can takeoff and

ATLANTA— The takeonthe LSU defensesover thepast two years has been this:

n 2023: Bad.Abjectly,historically bad. Brian Kelly had to clean house on his defensive coachingstaff—startingwith defensive coordinator Matt House —itwas so bad.

Jaguarsfull of optimism at SWAC mediaday

BY TOYLOYBROWN III Staff writer

There was abuzz Wednesday in Birmingham,Alabama.

Every coach and player representing a SouthwesternAthletic Conferencefootball team shared optimismfor the upcoming season at the 2025 SWAC media day inside the Sheraton Birmingham Hotel ballroom No games have been played. New rosters forged in the transfer portal still have their luster.Coaching staffs are fresh and ready to enact plans forpreseason camp.

Southern football is no different.

The Jaguars, led by second-year coach Terrence Graves, believe they have achampionship-quality team. So do their competitors, as Southern waspredicted to win the SWAC West andhad themost first-place votes (17) in both divisions in the preseason poll.

Here are four takeaways on Southern from SWAC media day

Lingeringsting

The hope Graves has for2025 is accompanied by lingering pain left from last season’s SWAC championship gameagainst Jackson State.

Southern fell 41-13 to the Tigers after turning the ball over four times.

“Wejust gottofinish,”Graves said. “You knowthe thing that really sticks in my craw forthe most part,isthe four turnovers in the championship game. The ball game completely changed.”

Star defensive end Ckelby Givens, whois the preseason SWAC Defensive Player of the Year,said the result gnawsathim,too.

“I know Icould’ve played better,” the seniorsaid. “As adefense, we felt we could play better.”

The last game of 2024 is now extra motivation forthe team,Givens said.

Breakout forMorris?

While Givensisanexciting returneron defense,the same canbesaidabout wide receiver Darren Morris. The redshirt junior was theleading receiver forthe Jaguars with 37 catches for 434 yards and three touchdowns in 12 games.

Morris andGravesbothagreed he still hadn’treached his full potential.

“He wasbanged-up alittlebit last year,

n 2024: Better than historically bad. Much better.But still overwhelmingly average: 59th out of 133 FBS teams in scoring defense, 61stin total defense. Logicand circumstantial offseason evidence both suggest theTigers will be even better defensively in 2025. It’stheir second season under defensivecoordinator BlakeBaker.In

sports, continuityisking. The talenthas been upgraded with returners such as linebackers Whit Weeks and Harold Perkins, transfers such as defensive end Jack Pyburn and cornerback Mansoor Delane, and freshmen such as five-star corner DJ Pickett. The problem is plain and must be solved for LSU to be aCollege Football Playoff contender and national championship contender.It must have achampionship-caliber defense, or at least something within hailing distance of what is expected to be aprolific offense.

5

3

Rose, now 45, won’t concede his dream win just yet

BY STEVE DOUGLAS AP sportswriter

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland

Justin Rose has been dreaming of winning the British Open since the age of 8. He’s approaching 45 now and has yet to lift the claret jug.

He knows the clock is ticking.

“Obviously, later in your career you’re never quite sure how many chances are going to be left,” Rose said at Royal Portrush on Wednesday, a day before he begins his 22nd attempt to win his home major “And when you do come close, clearly it’s like, ahh.”

And, boy, has this English Rose come close to adding a late-career major to his résumé.

He challenged for the Open Championship at Royal Troon last year, finishing second to Xander Schauffele He was then one putt away from winning the Masters in April, losing out to Rory McIlroy in a playoff in a major finish for the ages. Rose has a major title in his collection — the U.S. Open in 2013 — as well as an Olympic gold medal and four Ryder Cup victories He has been No. 1 in the world, too.

But he wants more, even at his age.

“What I’m chasing at this point in my career are the big moments in the sport, whether that’s Ryder Cups, major championships. Those are the memories I’m trying to make,” Rose said. “I feel like I’ve been lucky enough to achieve a lot in the game, and I’d like to have achieved more of the same things, more majors, more wins, more everything.”

Finally winning the British Open would be the sweetest of all moments for Rose, who first made a name for himself as a 17-year-old amateur at Royal Birkdale in 1998 when, wearing a baggy red sweater, he holed out for eagle to secure a tie for fourth place.

“As a British player it’s been the one that I’ve dreamed about winning and holed the putt many times in my mind,” Rose said.

Rose isn’t slowing down in his pursuit, remaining supremely fit in an attempt to keep in touch with the younger players on the circuit

In the United States, he travels to tournaments with a custom-made RV that’s essentially a traveling gym — containing things like a cold plunge and a sauna — and he posts videos on Instagram of him working out

It is keeping him competitive — he’s the world No. 21 — and a definite contender this week as he bids to become the second-oldest winner of the British Open, behind Old Tom Morris, who was the champion at age 46 in 1867.

“I would say overall week in and week out, it’s going to be hard to get a ton better and transform my game to suddenly add new dimensions to it where I can kind of become incredibly dominant over the top young players,” Rose said. “But I think in certain situations and in certain environments, I can still kind of bring my best.”

He showed that at Augusta National, where he had a front-row seat as McIlroy achieved the career Grand Slam.

Rose said it stung but that he wasn’t “completely devastated” because of how well he played.

“I think I’m over it,” he said. “I don’t know Who knows?”

BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS

Ex-Saints great Graham crosses ocean, sets record

Former Saints tight end Jimmy Graham was a part of a four-person team that set a world record for crossing the Arctic Ocean on Monday

The 584-mile challenge took a little more than 10 days, the Saints reported.

The quartet also included Andrew Tropp, Hannah Huppi and John Huppi. The group broke the previous record of 15 days, five hours and 32 minutes from Ocean Revival in 2023.

Expect the unexpected

British Open packs new experiences for world’s best golfers

BY DOUG FERGUSON AP golf writer

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland The crowds following Rory McIlroy for three days at Royal Portrush have been enormous, a reminder of the expectations. On banners and flags and buntings of grandstands there are images of the claret jug, a reminder of what’s at stake at the British Open.

But add this to the list of what makes golf’s oldest championship so distinct from the other majors: Every year feels like a new experience Justin Thomas contemplated that Wednesday when he finished up his third day playing the course, a practice schedule that is never this full at any other major

“I came to the realization the last couple of years that playing is better, because your ball goes into weird places,” he said. “I can go out and chip all day and get used to the turf and the speed of the greens. But the more you play, the more shots you’re hitting in places where you never would in practice.

“You get out here in a different wind and it can be, ‘Wow, I didn’t think I’d be here.’ ” There is another element to this major that stands out from the U.S. Open and PGA Championship. Amid the nerves and pressure of a major is the true joy of playing links golf.

“I feel like I’m learning more and more each time I come over here,” said Scottie Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 player who is in his fifth British Open. “Each golf course is different, too Irish links so far is quite a bit different than Scottish links. It’s a bit greener over here. You have to play more shots in the air. There’s a lot of different shots you have to play

“It’s an interesting course. And from what I’ve seen, it seems to be really fun to play and very fair.” Fair is a loose word in these parts, with all of the humps and crazy bounces, with pot bunkers to be avoided on so many shots, with a hole like the par-3 16th known as “Calamity Corner” that lives up to the name by looks alone.

McIlroy isn’t sure he got a fair deal in 2019 when his opening tee shot went left, normally not a big deal except at Royal Portrush there is internal out of bounds and McIlroy went just beyond the stakes, which sent him into a downward spiral — a quadruple bogey, a 79 and a short week. He did not return to the Portrush links in his native North-

11th hole during a practice round Wednesday. ‘I feel like I’m learning more and more each time I come over here,’

fler said.

ern Ireland until Monday morning, and then he was out playing all three days of practice.

“I have a real appreciation for how well bunkered it is off the tee,” McIlroy said. “It’s like ‘OK, I can’t hit 2-iron off the tee, but that brings this bunker into play But then if I hit driver, it’ll bring in this bunker.’ So you have to take on the shot.”

The forecast? It’s generally been referred to as “mixed,” which in these parts tends to mean it changes without notice. The final day of practice was sunshine and breezy

Thomas was playing the 16th hole while his father showed video of them watching in the final round in 2019, wind and rain ripping so hard that umbrellas were useless. Thomas remembers standing on the 17th tee and calling over a rules official to ask whether they were meant to be playing He wanted to hit 3-wood off the tee, but it was 209 yards to the fairway and the wind was so

strong he didn’t think he could get there. So he went with driver, hit some 75 yards off line and made triple bogey

On his final day of practice, with sunshine and a helping wind, he hit a mini-driver that would have stopped near the front of the green on the 409yard hole if it hadn’t found a bunker

This is what he loves about links golf.

“Not only do the holes change, how easy or hard they are, your lines off the tee can change,” he said “You have elevation. You’re never writing ‘uphill’ or ‘downhill’ in the yardage book like you are at an Open Championship. You have a game plan, but you really can’t until you’re out there and whatever the weather is giving you.

“If I could only play one course the rest of my life, it would be links. Because you could play the same course every day for a month and get something different.”

The group was the first mixedgender team to cross the Arctic Ocean, and the first all-American team to cross a polar ocean. Graham is the first Black person to cross a polar ocean, and Hannah is the first American woman to cross a polar ocean.

Oakmont golf course bans Clark for damaging locker

OAKMONT, Pa. Oakmont is banning former U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark from returning to the club until he pays for damaging his locker Golf Digest obtained a letter that club president John Lynch has sent to Oakmont members. Clark damaged the locker during last month’s U.S. Open and a photo was leaked that went viral. Lynch said Clark won’t be allowed on the property until he pays for the damage, makes a charitable donation to the club’s choice and seeks counseling. Oakmont has hosted the most U.S. Opens.

The next one is in 2033. That’s when Clark’s 10-year exemption from winning runs out.

LSU adds RHP Moore from Kansas via transfer portal Kansas sophomore right-handed pitcher Cooper Moore is heading to LSU, he announced on social media Wednesday Moore had a 3.96 ERA in 882⁄3 innings this past season for the Jayhawks. He struck out 85 walked 19 in 14 starts after throwing 331 3 innings as a freshman. He is the second right-handed pitcher and fifth pitcher LSU has added out of the transfer portal this offseason, joining Division II transfer and right-hander Dax Dathe, Oregon left-hander Santiago Garcia, Tennessee left-hander Ryler Smart and North Dakota State left-hander Danny Lachenmayer Following the departures of right-hander Anthony Eyanson and left-hander Kade Anderson, the Tigers needed to rebuild their starting pitching depth.

MLB All-Star Game has slight drop-off in viewers

NEW YORK — Baseball’s All-Star Game which featured the contest’s first swing-off to determine the winner — averaged 7,185,000 viewers Tuesday night on Fox, according to Nielsen.

It was Fox’s most-watched telecast since the Super Bowl and the network’s best audience for a Tuesday night since last year’s Game 4 of the World Series. However, it was a 3.5% decrease from the 2024 game and the secondlowest for the Midsummer Classic. Baseball continues to have the best ratings for an event featuring All-Stars. The NHL did not have an All-Star Game this year, while the NBA’s averaged 4.7 million on TNT

The NFL’s Pro Bowl games, a series of skills competitions and flag football, also averaged 4.7 million on ABC.

Pogacar crashes late as Abrahamsen wins Tour stage

TOULOUSE, France Norwegian rider Jonas Abrahamsen attacked from the start and won the 11th stage of the Tour de France while race favorite Tadej Pogacar crashed near the finish. Three-time champion Pogacar crashed with 2.4 miles remaining. His rivals for the general classification slowed down so he could get back on his bike and rejoin them.

It’s Abrahamsen’s first stage win at the Tour and the first in this race for his team, Uno-X Mobility Van der Poel was 7 seconds behind in third, while the GC group including Pogacar and yellow jersey-holder Ben Healy finished 3:28 back Healy still leads by 29 seconds from Pogacar

SECMEDIA DAYS

THREEAND OUT: SCOTTRABALAISBREAKSDOWNDAy 3INATLANTA

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IS BAMA STILLBAMA?

There’sacertain electricity absentfrom SEC media days, and it’seasy to define: Alabama’smystique has leftthe building.The Crimson Tide looks likeAlabama and talkslike Alabama, andthe Tide certainly still must be respected as a CFPcontender.But after going 9-4 this past season, Kalen DeBoer’s bunch doesn’t strikepreemptivefearintothe hearts of other SEC teams likeitdid under …you knowwho. LSU playsat Alabama on Nov. 8.

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THETWO FROM OU

Askingplayers about teammates whotransferred to other SECschools has become aregular partofSEC media days.Itwas that wayWednesdayasOklahoma safety RobertSpears-Jenningswas asked about former OU receiver Nic Anderson and tight end Bauer Sharp, both nowatLSU.“Ifeel LSU is getting twogreat guys. Bauer is averyvocal leader,great personality,comes to work everyday.Nic, sameway,greatguy, lovesplaying football.”LSU goes to Oklahoma on Nov. 29.

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THEY KNOW JACK OneofLSU’s top transfersisdefensiveend Jack Pyburnfrom Florida. His job when the Gators visit TigerStadium on Sept. 13 will be to sack Florida quarterback DJ Lagway. For now, Lagwayissinging his praises: “LSUis definitely getting aheck of aplayerand aheck of aleader.” Florida defensivelinemanCalebBanks had this description of Pyburn: “He runs throughpeople’s faces.Theygot agood one. I’m not going to lie.”

Tide finally acceptsDeBoeras‘ourguy’

BY WILSON ALEXANDER Staff writer

Notebook

ATLANTA— Entering his second season at Alabama, head coach Kalen DeBoer recognized the Crimson Tide did not meet its own expectations in his first year After DeBoer replaced Nick Saban Alabama went 9-4 and finished outside The Associated Press top 10 forthe first time since 2007. It was rankedNo. 11 in thefinal College Football Playoff rankings, but ACC champion Clemson took the last spot in the 12-team field.

“Wefell short of making the playoffs,” DeBoer said Wednesday at SEC media days. “It’sassimple as that, right? Giving yourself a chance to go compete for achampionship. Ithink there’sa lot of things that I’m super proudofthat have happened within the program that are part of the progression.”

Alot changed at Alabama after Saban retired. At the Manning Passing Academy in late July,redshirt junior quarterback Ty Simpson said the players had to learn to trust DeBoer

“Last year was so uniquebecause the greatest coach of all time is not there anymore, and this stranger comes in and is like, ‘Hey,we’re going to do it this way,’ ”Simpson said. “Not many people —a lot of people trusted him, but they didn’t trust him fully.Ithink this year, everybody trusts him.

“Everybody understands, ‘Hey, this is our guy.Coach Saban is not coming back in the door.’ We’re going to make sure that all our attention is on coachDeBoer,and we’re going to do it his way.”

Simpson believes the Crimson Tide has accepted DeBoer’smethods and approach, whichhe said sharesome similarities with Sa-

LSU

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make plays with his feet.”

VanBuren became Mississippi State’s quarterback afterShapen suffered aseason-ending injury in Week 4. VanBuren, who was afourstar recruit in the 2024 class, completed 55% of his passes for1,886 yards with 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Three of his starts came on the road against teams that made the College FootballPlayoff.

“When you’re atrue freshman coming in and playing these tough games that we have, it’sreally tough,” Shapen said. “Especially playing away games at Georgia and at Tennesseeand at OleMissand places like that, obviously,it’stough.

“He’sgot alot of room to growin that aspect. Just getting older,and he can’tcontrol that. Youkind of just got to learn as you go.But like Isaid, he’satalented player.He has every aspect and trait thatyou need to be agood quarterback.” Junior safetyIsaac Smithprac-

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“I know that we have not played the kind of defense necessary to win anational championship,” Kelly said here Monday at SEC media days.“Ithink we put a roster together in this offseason, along withyoung players that have taken lumps along the way as they’ve developed, and given Blake now the tools to play championship-level defense.” Tiger fans should not anticipate aunit that will eclipse the high-level defenses LSU fielded en route to winning the 2003 BCS championship or playing for the national title in 2011. But theexpectation should be for adefense reasonably good at getting offthe field, getting after quarterbacks and disrupting opposing offenses with turnovers.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By HUNTER DAWKINS

Alabama coachKalen DeBoer discusses the upcomingseason during thethirdday of SEC media days on WednesdayinAtlanta.

ban. At leastone teammateagreed.

“You definitely seeguys are definitely boughtin,” redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Tim Keenan said.“If they’re not here —no knock to them —but everyonehere now,they believeinthe system, they believe in coach DeBoer.”

DeBoer saidWednesday that Simpson wouldbethe starting quarterback if the Crimson Tide had to play right now.Simpson, a formerfive-star recruit, has been competing with redshirt sophomore Austin Mack and five-star freshman Keelon Russell Looking back at hisfirst season, DeBoer said Alabama has to be “better in thebig moments.”Itlost three one-score games “Sometimes there’sups and downsthat youhavetogothrough, unfortunately,thatwehad to experience,” DeBoer said. “But in the end,we’re goingtotakeadvantage

ticedalotagainstVanBuren.Hesaid VanBuren“can spin it really well” as apasserand fit the ball into tight windowsdownfield.AsVan Buren develops, Smith believes he needs to work on hiseye progressionsohe doesn’tstare down receivers.

“As afreshman, Ifeel like he didagreat job,” Smith said. “As he gets older, Ithink he’s gonna develop into agreat quarterback.”

VanBuren was thrown into some tough spots on a2-10team. He made mistakes that he needed to learn from.But he flashed potential, especially when he passed for 306 yards and three touchdowns in a41-31 loss at Georgia. He also rushedfor five touchdownsonthe season.

“I hate that he left, but, you know, everybody has theirown life choices and decisions, their own path thatthey havetotake,” Smith said.“Iwish him thebestofluck.

He did agreat job forus.”

LSU also has Hurley,another four-star recruit in the2024 class. Going into preseason practice, he is more of an unknown.

Hurley reclassified to enroll ayear early,making him 17 years old last

Thereis one area where LSU definitely must improve over last season. One areathat proved to be the Tigers’ Kryptonite(note the cleverly crafted oblique reference to the newSuperman movie there). That is containing dualthreat and mobile quarterbacks. Whyisthat so important? Well, this year’sLSU football scheduleisloaded with them. Chock a block, asthe Cajunfolks say Theparadeofelusive throwers starts with theTigers’ Aug. 30 season opener at Clemson (6:30 p.m., ABC) against Cade Klubnik.The name may not roll off thetongue, butthe kid has wheels. He threw for 3,639 yards and36touchdownslast season, andran for 463 net yards and seven scores. LSUhosts FloridaonSept.13. Gators quarterback DJ Lagway maynot beadual threat in the classic sense but can move the pocket,and he basically beat the

of the failures we’vehad andbe better because of it

TigerStadiumtest

As he answered questionsabout his health Wednesday, Florida quarterback DJ Lagway used humor to downplay concerns. Lagway waslimited during spring practicebyashoulderinjury.Heplayed five snaps in the Gators’ spring game, all of which ended in handoffs.

“I don’thave aprosthetic arm, just letting y’all know,” Lagway said, drawing alaugh. “I’mactually getting better at things. I’mnot just trying to getback to throwing the ball. I’vebeen working on mechanics that’sgoing to help my accuracy this year,help my decision-making.” Lagway,speakingfor thefirst time thisoffseason,dodged a question about whether or not he underwent acore procedure. He said he can make all of the throws

season.LSUwouldhavegottenacloserlookathisdevelopmentthisspring, butHurleywasinjuredinasingle-car wreck in January.Hereturned to the team three months later

“Unbelievable,” coach Brian Kelly said Monday about Hurley’s recovery. “I didn’tthink he’dmake it back for thefall. Imean, the injury was real. We were worried about cognitive issues with him Buthehas been amazing.”

The extentand nature of Hurley’sinjuries remain unclear.Citing his age, LSU declined to release much information and Kelly said “a lot” of Hurley’srecovery was left to his family

“Because of that incident —it was kind of awatershedmoment in his life,” Kellysaid. “Hehas beenfabulous.It’sgoing to be fun to watch him grow.”

Even if LSU thinks VanBurenor Hurleycouldbethestarternextyear, it will need to addanother quarterback.Four-starBoweBentleypicked Oklahoma over LSUlast month,and alate push forfour-star Bryson Beaver wasn’t enough to stop him from committing to Oregon. Only three of

Tigers in Gainesville on one leg last season.

“Playing against agreat LSU team, I’m excited to go to Death Valley this year,” Lagway said Wednesday.“It’sgoing to be fun. Funfor LSU and Florida will be determined by how well the Tigers can contain the sophomore, whose arm is regarded as one of thebest in college football.

The middle of the season puts LSUface-to-face with atrio of running quarterbacks: SouthCarolina’sLaNorris Sellers on Oct. 11 in Tiger Stadium,Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia on Oct. 18 in Nashville and Texas A&M’sMarcel Reed in Baton Rouge on Oct. 25. Reed,you may recall, allowed the Aggies to do a180 against LSU at Kyle Field last season. He was inserted in a desperation moveinthe second half and went intosome sort of turbo modethat left theTigers in thedust of a38-23 defeat. Finally in the regular-season

he did last season.

“I’m going to make more of them,” Lagway said. “But that’s not my biggest thing right now My biggest thing is making the boring throws more consistently That’s where Iwant to improve my game.”

Hy began throwing earlierthis summer,and Florida coach Billy Napier saidhehas been throwing three times aweek alongwith the rest of the quarterbacks.

Lagway completed 60% of his passesfor 1,915 yards with 12 touchdowns and nine interceptionslast season. He averaged 10 yards perattempt, whichranked secondinthe country behind Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart

Though he started seven games as atrue freshman, Lagway has not started an SEC gameonthe road. His first SECroad start will come Sept. 20 in Tiger Stadium

“Death Valley is an amazing atmosphere,” Lagway said. “I’ve been to games there as arecruit, and it’s pretty hectic. I’m just excited to go out thereand play football. It could be in Death Valley,itcould be in the parking lot at Walmart. As long as I’m outthere playing football, that’s all thatmatters.”

Smellingfresh

Alabama left tackle KaydnProctor has been wearing cologne since elementary school, and now he owns about 170 bottles.

“If you’re abig guy,you can’t stink,”said Proctor,who’s 6-foot7and 360 pounds. “You’ve got to be fresh, man.The narrative right now is, if you’re big, you stink, you smell, you’re sweaty.That’snot howitgoes for me.That’swhat I’m saying, flipthe narrative.”

With his dad’shelp, Proctor started wearing cologne so he could smell good for“the little ladies” at school.

thetop-50 quarterbacks, according to the247Sports composite rankings, are uncommitted. They have notbeen linked to LSU.

The 2027 class is more promising. Three of the top quarterbacks in the country,per the 247Sports composite, are from Louisiana: five-starBaton Rougenative Elijah Haven, four-star Shreveport native Peyton Houston and four-star Benton native Malachi Zeigler Colton Nussmeier,Garrett Nussmeier’s younger brother,isalso a top-50 prospect, giving LSUmultiple options with ties to the school Untilthen, LSU will needtofigure outwhat to do next season. Underwood could have stepped in if everythingwentasplanned,but offensive coordinator Joe Sloan expressedconfidence in what LSU ended up with instead. Over the next few months, LSU will see what it has with VanBuren and Hurley “Wecouldn’tbemoreexcited about howeverythingworked out,” SloansaidinMarch. “I think Michael has done an excellent job. We may not have been in the same situation if that wasthe case.”

finale, LSU goes to Oklahomafor the first time andlikely will have to deal with dual-threat quarterback John Mateer,atransfer from Washington State, as itsnemesis. Mateer was also here Wednesday,talking about the delicious prospectsofpingponging between passes andruns to keep defenses guessing.

“Tobeable to design and schemeaquarterback run is huge,”saidMateer,who had nearly 4,000 total yards and 44 total TDs forWazzu in 2024. “But catching ateam off guard is also important.”

Kelly won’ttruly winover LSU Nation’shearts and minds until he putsa defense out there that in someway atones forthe 2023 defense. Aunit that shriveled in the shadow of asupersonic, recordsettingoffense led by Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels. A unit that is easy to argue cost the Tigers aberth in the then four-

ON STAGETHURSDAY

ARKANSAS

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

COACH: SamPittman (6thyear)

PLAYERS: QB Taylen Green,DL CamBall, LB Xavian Sorey

THEBUZZ: Sevenwins, including abig upsetvictoryoverTennessee, loweredthe temperature of Pittman’shot seat, but afew close lossesprevented Arkansas from taking asignificant stepforward. Priority No.1 forthe Razorbacks is protecting Green,a fifth-yearsenior back fora second year undercenter.

MISSOURI

LAST YEAR: 10-3 (5-3 SEC)

COACH: Eli Drinkwitz (6thyear)

PLAYERS: CConnor Tollison, S Daylan Carnell, DE Zion young

THEBUZZ: Quarterback Brady Cook is gone.So, too, is receiver LutherBurden. But Drinkwitz told Paul Finebaum in March the rosterthat star duo left behind is the most talented one he’s built so faratMissouri. If that’strue, then athird straight 10-win season is in the cards for the Tigers.

KENTUCKY

LAST YEAR: 4-8 (1-7 SEC)

COACH: Mark Stoops (13thyear)

PLAYERS: LB Alex Afari, DB Jordan Lovett,TE Josh Kattus

THEBUZZ: Stoops, the SEC’s longest-tenuredcoach, is hoping his Kentucky program can bounce back from the worst season it’shad since 2013 —his first year in charge.A pair of defensivelinemen (David Gusta and Mi’Quise HumphreyGrace) are the stars of atop-15 transfer class tasked withturning thingsaround.

TEXAS A&M

LAST YEAR: 8-5 (5-3 SEC)

COACH: MikeElko(2ndyear)

PLAYERS: CB Will Lee, RG Ar’maj Reed-Adams, LB Taurean york

THEBUZZ: Dual-threat

quarterback Marcel Reed flashed immense potential as afreshman. NowTexasA&M is hoping he’s more consistentin his sophomore season, his first full year as astarter. Remember the Aggies haven’t won10games since JohnnyManziel’sHeismanwinning 2012 season. Reed can getthemoverthat hump. ReedDarcey

team CFP

Youcan’tunscramble the egg, but Kelly deserves credit for owning what the Tigers weretwo years ago.

“Clearly the 2023 offensive football team we had was good enough to winanational championship,” Kelly said. “Weweren’t good enough as ateam. Alot of that had to do with addressing someshortcomings we had on defense. We think we’ve done that. “I love ourroster,our team,the camaraderieofthe group, the seriousnessand thefocus, intent. Ithink we’regoing to have a defensethat’sgoing to be representative.”

The waythe Tigers represent againstthe dual-threat quarterbacksontheir schedule may be themost telling testofall.

For more LSUsports updates, signupfor ournewsletter at theadvocate.com/lsunewsletter

Sidelined again

Clark hurts groin with All-Star weekend ahead; Reese misses game

By The Associated Press

The Indiana Fever might be without star guard Caitlin Clark again for a bit after she injured her groin Tuesday night late in a win over the Connecticut Sun She was out for the team’s game on Wednesday night against New York and her status for WNBA All-Star weekend, which Indiana is hosting, is up in the air

Clark is supposed to compete in a loaded 3-point contest Friday night and is captain of one of the All-Star teams.

“No discussion yet about this weekend,” Indiana coach Stephanie White said “There was imaging done, but there hasn’t been any discussion beyond tonight.”

White said Clark’s management team will figure out whether she’ll be able to participate this weekend.

“For me, it’s a big deal for us to have All-Star in Indianapolis, and of course, with Caitlin being a focal point of all of that As the coach of the Indiana Fever, it’s not a bigger deal than our long-term season, but it’s also part of the fun,” White said. “Those are conversations that Caitlin will have with her group. I probably won’t be a part of those, but we’re going to support her no matter what.”

White said Clark had imaging done Wednesday afternoon and deferred to the team’s training staff for more details except to say that she considered it good news.

“For me, anything that we’re talking about that’s still day to day is always good news for me, but that’s a layman’s viewpoint,” she said.

Clark got hurt with under a minute left. She walked downcourt holding her right groin after assisting on the Fever’s final basket.

As teammate Aliyah Boston tried to console her, Clark walked to the basket stanchion and banged her head against it before heading to the bench During the timeout, she covered her head with a towel and appeared to be holding back tears.

“Someone who continues to have setbacks from an injury standpoint it’s very frustrating. You feel like you’re trying to do everything that you can to put yourself in position to get past it or to move forward,” White said. “When there’s a setback, it’s mentally and emotionally tough, so of course she was upset.”

Clark had been durable throughout college and her first season in the WNBA, never missing a game.

Now she’s had four different muscle injuries so far this year

She missed the preseason opener with tightness in her quad but

Wildfire smoke concerning ahead of 2026 World Cup

By The Associated Press

TORONTO The 2026 World Cup being hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States is less than a year away, and FIFA’s protocols for matches affected by wildfire smoke remain unclear

The 48-team World Cup will run from June 11-July 19, 2026. Canada is hosting 13 matches — seven in Vancouver and six in Toronto. The day after Toronto’s air quality was among the worst in the world, the organizing committee for the World Cup in Canada declined to reveal guidelines for postponement or air quality related contingencies with soccer’s international governing body No policies are posted publicly

The Air Quality Health Index rating for Toronto was over 10, or “very high risk,” on Monday morning, dropping to a “high risk” rating of 8 by late afternoon.

This year’s fire season, according to Canadian government data is the second-largest on record. Canada’s most destructive wildfire season was in 2023, with more than 6,000 fires burning 37 million acres of land, according to Natural Resources Canada.

Dr Howard Shapiro, Toronto’s associate medical officer of health, said in a statement that Toronto Public Health is actively reviewing the latest evidence and best practices for air-quality issues as the city prepares for the World Cup.

“TPH may provide guidance and recommendations on public health risks, including environmental health concerns such as extreme weather and wildfire smoke,” the

statement read. “This includes contingency planning to support the health and safety of residents, visitors, and participants during the tournament.”

Outdoor activities on days when the Air Quality Health Index rises higher than 7 should be rescheduled, said Dr Andrew Halayko, a professor of physiology and pathophysiology at the University of Manitoba, to protect the most vulnerable. Those include people who are 65 or older, pregnant, young children and those with existing health conditions.

Others say it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly when the air quality reaches a threshold where sporting events should be canceled.

“I personally think that we can’t, based on good evidence, have general statements about what AQHI is unacceptable for a given event. Everything is contextual,” said Dr Christopher Carlsten, the head of the respiratory medicine division at the University of British Columbia.

That context includes the age of the general audience and the forecast of the air quality, and events should be judged on a case-by-case basis, he said. The impact of poor air quality on athletes is a subject of debate.

Some experts think athletes can better handle poor air conditions because they are generally young and healthy, making them less likely to suffer long-term health effects.

Michael Brauer, a professor at the University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Medicine, said that studies show that even low levels of pollution affect cognitive ability

Ogwumike moves into 6th on scoring list as Storm strikes

By The Associated Press

played the next day in an exhibition game at her alma mater, Iowa. She suffered a quad strain against New York on May 24 that kept her out for five games. Clark returned June 14 and played in five games before suffering another injury to her left groin that kept her out for four contests and the Commissioner’s Cup final.

“I think the biggest thing is just try to keep her in good spirits,” White said “Had a lot of setbacks with all these little injuries. And, you know, we just had to take it one day at a time. It’s frustrating for her, I’m sure I think for us as a staff and as a team, just try to keep her encouraged and try to keep her to stay the course.”

Reese sits out Sky’s loss

In Chicago, Angel Reese didn’t play Wednesday in the Chicago Sky’s final game before the AllStar break because of a leg injury

The All-Star forward from LSU sat on the bench as the Sky hosted the Atlanta Dream. She is set to make her second All-Star Game appearance this weekend in Indianapolis.

Reese had 22 points and 10 rebounds Monday for her ninth straight double-double in Chicago’s 91-78 loss to Minnesota. She leads the WNBA with 12.6 rebounds per game.

SEATTLE Nneka Ogwumike scored 22 points to move into sixth place on the WNBA’s alltime scoring list and the Seattle Storm beat the Golden State Valkyries 67-58 on Wednesday Ogwumike passed Candice Dupree (6,895 points) by one point and is now behind Tamika Catchings, who scored 7,380 in her career The Storm (14-9) went to Ogwumike quite often down the stretch. She had 11 of her 22 points in the fourth quarter, including a pivotal layup with 2:09 remaining and a pair of free throws at the 1:18 mark to put Seattle up 61-54. Erica Wheeler had a strong third quarter sinking back-toback 3-pointers early and following with a running layup at the 7:41 mark to put the Storm up 39-33. With 2:32 to go in the third, Wheeler converted a three-point play to give Seattle a 45-37 lead. The Valkyries (10-12) made it 56-54 with just 4:48 to go in regulation on a layup from Veronica Burton. Ogwumike’s late efforts were enough to stymie the late Golden State push. Wheeler had 15 points. Skylar Diggins scored 10 and Lexie Brown scored seven off the bench. Cecilia Zandalasini had 12 points and Janelle Salaun scored 10 for the Valkyries.

LYNX 79, MERCURY 66: In Minneapolis, Kayla McBride scored 18 points, Courtney Williams had 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists, and Minnesota beat Phoenix to improve to 12-0 at home this season heading into the AllStar break. Minnesota, which led 37-33 at the break, made a 3-pointer on three straight possessions in the third quarter to extend its lead to 57-44. Phoenix made four of its first five field goals of the third before missing six straight as Minnesota went on a key run.

Jessica Shepard’s one-handed putback just before the thirdquarter buzzer made it 64-49.

The Lynx made five 3-pointers in the quarter to outscore the Mercury 27-16. Napheesa Collier scored eight of her 10 points

in the third and Alanna Smith finished with 11 points for Minnesota.

LIBERTY 98, FEVER 77: In New York, Breanna Stewart had 24 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists to help New York past Indiana Fever, which played without star guard Caitlin Clark.

Sabrina Ionescu, who will also be in the 3-point contest, added 15 points and nine assists for the Liberty (15-6).

Stewart got the Liberty off to a strong start as they led 32-24 after one quarter and were up 15 at the half. The Liberty’s AllStar forward had 13 points, nine rebounds and five assists by the break.

DREAM 86, SKY 49: In Chicago, Brittney Griner scored 15 points, Brionna Jones and Allisha Gray each added 14 points, and Atlanta cruised past Chicago. Atlanta opened the third quarter on a 14-0 run and closed the period with a 74-36 lead. The Dream made 13 field goals in the third — one more than the Sky had through three quarters. The score was 62-26 before the Sky made their second field goal of the second half with 3:24 left in the third. The Dream led by as many as 43 in the fourth.

Italy’s Cristiana Girelli celebrates with teammates after scoring her team’s second goal during the Euro 2025 quarterfinals on Wednesday in Geneva, Switzerland.

Italy nips Norway at end in Euro 2025 quarterfinals

BY GRAHAM DUNBAR AP sportswriter

GENEVA On a night of goals and drama for two veteran star strikers, Cristiana Girelli got the better of Ada Hegerberg to send Italy into the semifinals of the Women’s European Championship on Wednesday Girelli’s 90th-minute header, her second goal of the game, sealed a 2-1 win over Norway, whose captain Hegerberg had tied the game after missing a penalty Italy will return to Geneva on Tuesday to face either Sweden or England for its first Women’s Euros semifinal since 1997.

“It’s something magical. I felt something special since we came to Switzerland,” the 35-year-old Girelli said.

She had seized the lead for Italy in the 50th by deftly guiding in a shot fired across the Norway goal by Sofia Cantore. With extra time looming, Girelli met Cantore’s perfectly weighted

cross with a graceful leap at the far post to direct her header just under the crossbar

“The joy is huge. My heart is full of pride,” said Italy coach Andrea Soncin, who joined his players and staff in an euphoric postgame team photo in front of their fans who got close-up views of Girelli’s goals.

Hegerberg leveled the score in the 66th with her first scoring chance just six minutes after missing a penalty kick for the second time at Euro 2025.

Hegerberg ran clear to a long pass and poked a shot past onrushing goalkeeper Laura Giuliani. The slow-rolling ball just beat the Italian defenders in a race to the goal line.

“She gets the goal after the (penalty) miss, that tells a lot about her,” Norway coach Gemma Grainger said. “It’s heartbreaking to concede so late, it taints the feeling of the game.” Girelli now has 61 goals for Ita-

ly and the last three all went into the same net at the mountains end of the Stade de Genève stadium.

She also scored one of the goals of the tournament, curling in a 25-yard shot against Portugal that shaped up to be decisive in the group stage until Italy conceded an 89th-minute equalizer

“We felt at home here,” Girelli said of the Swiss city with a big Italian community where the Azzurre will play a third game next week.

“Maybe I could ask Juventus to play in this stadium, I’m joking.”

The Norway star has taken two penalty kicks at Euro 2025 and missed both, placing her two shots wide of each post. She also scored in each of those games and has 51 career goals for Norway Hegerberg won this spot-kick by falling under a grappling challenge from Italy captain Elena Linari trying to meet a high cross. Replays suggested Hegerberg might have been offside.

Brooks showsend of last season with Pels no fluke

BY RODWALKER Staff writer

Keion Brooks has only 14 games on his NBA resume. But the New Orleans Pelicans forward, entering his secondyear, made the most of those 14 opportunities as an undrafted rookie last season.

He’shoping more chances follow Three games into Summer League play and Brooks has shown the more minutes he gets,the more he’ll produce.

Brooks had his best showingin Las Vegas on Tuesday night inthe Pelicans’ 93-87loss to thePortland Trail Blazers.

Brooks came offthe benchand finished with 16 points andfive rebounds. He made 5ofthe 9shots he took. He also had asteal and an assist. He didn’thave any of the 26 turnovers the Pelicans committed. “I’m just trying to get better at the thingsIwas already kinda good at already,” Brooks said.“I know much isn’tgoing to be expected of me as far as creating my own shot. So it’sjust about being a real good glue guy.” For Brooks, it’sall about doing

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and we sat down with himand we had ameeting, aheart-to-heart, and told him what he needed todo to, you know,help eliminate those nagging injuries,” Gravessaid

The words from Graves and wide receivers coach Quentin Burrell resonated with Morris whodominatedduringthe spring game andwants to do thesamein the regular season.

“I’m ready to go out and just make aname for myself and have that (breakout) year,” Morris said. His impact also will be determined by his growth as aleader

“I try to embrace (leadership), but Idon’ttry to be too hard on theguys,” Morris said. “I just try to hold everybody accountable for their actions andhow they approach day-to-day practice.”

Wild-cardtransfer

Southern’stransfer portal philosophy is to target needs first and foremost, Graves said.

This offseason, the team had more needs on the defensive line. Rebuilding that positiongroup around Givens was anecessity. One playercapable of beinganimpact player is De’Myrion Johnson

The redshirt freshman defensive tackle transferred from LSU.

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being moreof apass rusher.He hadonly two sacks last season after 13 over the two years prior And Davis is still among the Saints’ smartest players: His instincts will make the defense better,aslongas he’sfast enough.

The Saints need moreout of Werner.Infour seasons, he has produced only one interception, two forced fumbles and ahalfsack. Werner makes plays —and the Saints badly missed him in his four-game absence last year —but theyhardly change thegame at a consistent enough level

Then again, maybe Staley’s scheme will help Werner thrive. The Saints saw firsthandlast year how former Saint Zack Baun flourished under Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator VicFangio —one of Staley’smentors whose scheme Staley and plenty of others have tried to copy.MaybeWerner’sproduction will see an uptick without having to change teams.

Worstcase

The Saints have downplayed

STAFF FILE PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

Pelicans forwardKeionBrooks attempts areverse layupagainst theMiami Heat duringthe first half of their game on April 11 at the Smoothie King Center

thelittle things “Rebounding anddefendingand making open shots andguarding multiple positions,” he said. “I want tokeepgettingbetteratthatstuffbecause there is always value in that.”

TheLouisianaproductissomeone

Graves and Southern recruited in high school.Theystill believe in histalent

“He’sgonna play.Now,how much he plays, he determines that,” Graves said.

Challenginghomeschedule

Southernwill open the season a week earlier thanthe rest of the conference when it plays North CarolinaCentral in theMEACSWAC ChallengeinAtlanta on Aug. 23.

Southern’shome slatefeatures five games against Alabama State, JacksonState, Prairie View,Florida A&M and Texas Southern.

Four of those teams had.500 or better conference records the previous season. Jackson State, the reigning SWAC champion, was 8-0 last season in conference playand is predicted to finish first in the SWAC East.Florida A&M, whichwas 5-3 last season, is expectedtofinishsecondinthe SWAC East.

This is the kind of challenge Graves seeks.

“Itreminds me of when Iwas here back in the 90s,” Graves said.

“The stands should be packed and running over every week, having a schedule like that.”

Morriswelcomes the strong competition, saying it will make wins even sweeter

“I love it. Ilove it,”Morris said.

“It’s gonna be agreat year.”

the significance of switching to a3-4 defense after being in a4-3 scheme for almost adecade under Dennis Allen.It’sworth noting that Davis, at the beginning of his career,struggled in a3-4 when he was with the New York Jets and ClevelandBrowns. What if it happensagain?

The Saints can’treally afford to seeDavis’ playtake afurtherdip.

He’sone of their better defenders and despite drafting Stutsman, there’snoguarantee therookie will be readytostep into astartingroleif Davis can no longer hold one down.

TheSaints’depthatlinebackeralso has alot to prove. Sewell, Jackson and Ford can contribute on special teams, but they haven’thad many opportunities to see the field more than that. As mentioned, theSaints struggledmightilywhenWernerwas forced to miss amonth last season withahamstringinjury.IfWerneror Davis miss an extended stretch next season,thisgroupsuddenlybecomes ahuge question mark Prediction in 10 wordsorless Davis playswellenough to earn another contract with Saints.

Email Matthew Paras at matt paras@theadvocate.com

Brooks,who startedhis college career at Kentuckybefore transferring to Washington, spent most of last seasonwith theBirmingham Squadron, the GLeague affiliateofthe Pelicans.

“I’ve been comfortable thewhole time. Last year, Igot some good experience being able to playinthe leagueand playagainst some really good players. Now it’s just amatter of time of things falling intoplace.”

KEIONBROOKS Pelicans forward

He was signed to atwo-waycontract in January.Hestarted five of thelast sixgames of the season as theinjury-riddled Pelicans limped to the finish line. He recorded a double-double(13 pointsand 10 rebounds) in aloss to the Milwaukee Bucks. Fourdays later,hescored a season-high20points in arematch against the Bucks.

“He’sshowing that he belongs here,” teammate Jose Alvarado said during that late stretch of the season. “It’snot only about scoring, but it’sabout his effort in everything he does. Defensively and rebounding. Obviously,the offense

is going to show.I’m happy for him. He’s going to be agood player in the NBA.” Brooks’ minutes steadily increased in thefirstthreegames of SummerLeague.Hescored just three points in the first game against the Minnesota Timberwolves when he played 16 minutes. In the second game against the Los Angeles Lakers, he scored nine pointsin18minutes. On Tuesday,helogged 26 minutes and was the second-leading scorer behind Antonio Reeves (18points) and Derik Queen (17 points).

The Pelicans played their fourth game late Wednesdaynight against the OklahomaCity Thunder Brooks creditshis time playing in those 14 games afew months ago with helping him play like he played Tuesday

“I’ve been comfortable thewhole time,” Brooks said. “Last year,I gotsome good experiencebeing able to play in the league and play against somereally good players. Now it’sjust amatter of timeof things falling into place. My coaches neverstoppedbelieving in my abilities and what Ican do. It’s just amatter of putting it together all the time.”

Southern notbasking in preseasonadulation

BY TOYLOY BROWNIII Staff writer

Nearly30minutesinto the 2025 Southwestern Athletic Conference media day Wednesday in Birmingham, Alabama, theSWACrevealed its football preseason poll.

The voting body of SWAC coaches andsports information directors decided that Southern is the team to beatinthe SWAC West Its17first-place voteswere more thanany team in bothdivisions. Jackson State, which beatSouthern 41-13 in theSWAC championship gamelast season, was voted the No. 1team in the SWAC East with 16 first-place votes.

The belief in theJaguars’ championship odds is adifferent perspective than last season,when theywerepicked to finish fourth in the SWAC West.

This year’s prognosticationis areturntowhat Southern has grown accustomed to in recent years. It was picked to finish first in the preseason polls in 2023 and 2022, and was second in 2021.

SWAC PRESEASON POLL

SWACWest

1. Southern: 120 points (17 firstplace votes)

2.Alcorn State:90points(2)

3. Prairie View:72points(1)

4.TexasSouthern:60points

5. Grambling: 55 points

6.Arkansas-Pine Bluff: 28 points(1)

SWACEast

1. Jackson State:126 points(16)

2. Florida A&M: 99 points(3)

3.Alabama State:91points(2)

4.Alabama A&M: 62 points

5. Bethune-Cookman: 45 points(1)

6. Mississippi ValleyState: 24 points

Southern coach Terrence Graves, who is entering his secondseason, said the preseason distinction is notsomething that sways himinany direction.

“Weappreciate being thought of in thatregard, but again, you got to putussomewhere, andatthe end of the day you got to play the game,”hesaid. “So, you know,it’s

good,it’snicetobefirst, but the goal is to be first in the postseason. So, you know,wetake it for what it’sworth, and we’re going to still stay focused and do what we need to do.”

The last two times Southern was pickedtofinish atop the division it finished third in 2023 and first in 2022.

Star defensive end Ckelby Givens also was not moved by the distinction.

“Like coach Graves says, ‘You gottoput us somewhere,’ ”he said. “So we’re just staying evenkeeled, and we knowwhatwe have to get the job done. We want to be first in thewhole SWAC at the end of the season.” Southern has internal pressure to get aSWACtitle for the first timesince 2013.

“Just blessed to be No. 1,” redshirt junior wide receiver Darren Morris said. “Still got to go out there and play those games and showeverybody why we’re No. 1.”

Email Toyloy BrownIII at toyloy.brown@theadvocate.com.

the tiebreaker at the MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday night in Atlanta. Schwarber hit three home runs in the swing-off to earn MVP honors.

Finishing with a bang

Schwarber’s homers in All-Star Game’s first swing-off lift NL over AL

BY RONALD BLUM AP baseball writer

ATLANTA Kyle Schwarber was nervous. He had played in Game 7 of the World Series and homered for the United States in the World Baseball Classic.

But he had never walked up to the plate in an All-Star Game swing-off.

No one had.

“That’s kind of like the baseball version of a shootout,” he said after homering on all three of his swings, going down to his left knee on the final one, to overcome a twohomer deficit. That held up when Jonathan Aranda fell short on the American League’s final three swings, giving the National League a 4-3 swing-off win after a 6-6 tie Tuesday night in which it wasted a six-run, seventh-inning lead.

Schwarber earned the MVP award, going 0 for 2 with a walk as the NL won for the second time in its past 12 tries He became the first non-pitcher MVP without a hit.

“It will be interesting to see where that goes,” said AL manager Aaron Boone of the New York Yankees. “There’s probably a world where you could see that in the future, where maybe it’s in some regular-season mix. I wouldn’t be surprised if people start talking about it like that.”

Concerned about running out of pitchers in an era when no All-Star throws more than one inning, Major League Baseball and the players’ association made the change in 2022

In baseball’s equivalent of soccer’s penalty-kicks shootout, the game was decided by having three batters from each league take three swings each off coaches.

Boone picked Brent Rooker Randy Arozarena and Aranda on Monday, and Los Angeles Dodg-

ers manager Dave Roberts picked Eugenio Suárez, Schwarber and Pete Alonso for the NL. Because Suárez was hit on the left hand by a fastball in the eighth inning, the NL turned to its alternate, Kyle Stowers.

Players from both teams stood outside their dugouts, some already in street clothes, jumping and shouting after each long ball from their side. Yankees coach Travis Chapman threw to the AL batters and Dodgers coach Dino Ebel to the NL hitters.

Rooker put the AL ahead by homering on his last two swings, and Stowers hit one. Randy Arozarena boosted the AL lead to 3-1.

Ebel had thrown batting practice to Schwarber two years ago at the WBC.

“He asked me right before, he was like, ‘Where do you want it?” ’ Schwarber recalled. “I’m like, just middle. And he’s like, ‘I gotcha.’”

He took two pitches and deposited the third just over the center-field fence. Schwarber took another, then hit a 461-foot drive over the right-center bullpen.

After letting two more go by, he dropped to a knee while pulling the third, craned his neck and held his bat in the air as the ball landed in the fourth row of the Chop House seats.

“I didn’t hit it, obviously my best, but I was thinking I got enough of it,” Schwarber said. “And I was just kind of down there, hoping, saying: go, go, go. And it went And it was awesome.”

Aranda followed with a fly well short of the center-field warning track, drove a pitch about a foot shy of the top of the right-field wall and hit an opposite-field pop that dropped in medium left.

Alonso, a two-time Home Run Derby champion, didn’t have to bat and patted Schwarber on the head as fireworks went off at Tru-

ist Field.

“I felt like a closer going into a game,” Alonso said, “and then it’s like, wait, the guy in the field got a double play to end the inning. You’re not going in.”

What was the score?

MLB, after consulting with the Elias Sports Bureau, said in 2022 that All-Star Games ending in a swing-off would be listed as tied, with a notation of the game being decided in a swing-off. MLB’s official postgame notes listed Tuesday’s outcome as a 7-6 NL victory

In earlier action

Ketel Marte’s two-run double in the first had put the NL ahead, and Alonso’s three-run homer off Kris Bubic and Corbin Carroll’s solo shot against Casey Mize opened a 6-0 lead in the sixth.

The AL comeback began when Rooker hit a three-run pinch homer against Randy Rodríguez in a four-run seventh that included Bobby Witt Jr.’s RBI groundout. Robert Suarez allowed consecutive doubles to Byron Buxton and Witt with one out in ninth, and Steven Kwan’s infield hit on a threehopper to third off Edwin Díaz drove in the tying run.

Heat on the mound

Paul Skenes, the first pitcher to start the All-Star Game each of his first two seasons, reached 100 mph on four pitches in a perfect first. Jacob Misiorowski, a controversial inclusion after pitching in just five major league games in his rookie season, fired nine pitches of 100 mph or more in a one-hit eighth 34 days after his major league debut.

The 23-year-old righty, added to the NL roster by baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, reached 102.3 mph. There were 21 pitches of 100 mph or more, down from a record 23 last year

Four of five challenges reverse calls in first All-Star use of robot umpire

BY RONALD BLUM AP baseball writer

ATLANTA Cal Raleigh was just as successful with the first robot umpire All-Star challenge as he was in the Home Run Derby Seattle’s catcher signaled for an appeal to the Automated BallStrike System in the first inning of the National League’s win Tuesday night, getting a strikeout for Detroit’s Tarik Subal on San Diego’s Manny Machado.

“You take ‘em any way you can get ’em, boys,” Skubal said on the mound. Four of five challenges of plate umpire Dan Iassogna’s calls were successful in the first All-Star use of the ABS system, which could make its regular-season debut next year

Athletics rookie Jacob Wilson won as the first batter to call for a challenge, reversing a 1-0 fastball from Washington’s MacKenzie Gore in the fifth inning that had been called a strike.

Miami’s Kyle Stowers lost when ABS upheld a full-count Andrés Muñoz fastball at the bottom of the zone for an inning-ending strikeout in the eighth.

Mets closer Edwin Díaz earned a three-pitch strikeout against Randy Arozarena to end the top of the ninth on a pitch Iassogna thought

was outside.

Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk used ABS to get a first-pitch strike on a 100.1 mph Aroldis Chapman offering to Brendan Donovan with two outs in the bottom half.

“The fans enjoy it. I thought the players had fun with it,” NL manager Dave Roberts of the Los Angeles Dodgers said. “There’s a strategy to it, if it does get to us during the season. But I like it. I think it’s good for the game.”

Skubal had given up Ketel Marte’s two-run double and retired the Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman on a groundout for his first out when he got ahead of Machado 0-2 in the count. Skubal threw a 89.5 mph changeup, and Iassogna yelled “Ball down!”

Raleigh tapped his helmet just before Skubal tipped his cap, triggering a review by the computer umpire that was tested in spring training this year and could be adopted for regular-season use in 2026.

“Obviously, a strike like that it was, so I called for it and it helped us out,” Raleigh said.

An animation of the computer analysis was shown on the Truist Park scoreboard and the broadcast. Roberts laughed in the dugout after the challenge.

“I knew it was a strike,” Machado said.

Skubal doesn’t intend to use challenges during regular-season games if the ABS is put in place. He says he’ll rely on his catchers.

“I was joking around that I was going to burn two of them on the first balls just so that way we didn’t have them the rest of the game,” he said. “I’m just going to assume that it’s going to happen next year.”

Before the game, baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred indicated the sport’s 11-man competition committee will consider the system for next season.

“I think the ability to correct a bad call in a high-leverage situation without interfering with the time of game because it’s so fast is something we ought to continue to pursue,” Manfred said.

ABS decisions may have an error of margin up to a half-inch.

“Our guys do have a concern with that half inch, what that might otherwise lead to particularly as it relates to the number of challenges you may have, whether you keep those challenges during the course of the game,” union head Tony Clark told the Baseball Writers Association of America.

“Does there need to be some type of buffer zone consideration? Or do we want to find ourselves in a world where it’s the most egregious misses that we want focus in on?”

77;

Chicago, 77; Crow-Armstrong, Chicago, 71; Schwarber, Philadelphia, 69; Wood, Washington, 69. HITS — T.Turner, Philadelphia, 112; Machado,

Chourio, Milwaukee, 106; E.De La Cruz, Cincinnati, 105; Riley, Atlanta, 104; Arraez, San Diego, 102; Donovan, St. Louis, 102; Ohtani, Los Angeles, 102. DOUBLES — Alonso, New York, 26; Chourio, Milwaukee, 25; F.Freeman, Los Angeles, 25; Suzuki, Chicago, 24; Olson, Atlanta, 23. TRIPLES — Carroll, Arizona, 10; J.Lee, San Francisco, 8; Ohtani, Los Angeles, 7; Moniak, Colorado, 6. HOME RUNS Ohtani, Los Angeles, 32; E.Suárez, Arizona, 31; Schwarber, Philadelphia, 30; Suzuki, Chicago, 25; Crow-Armstrong, Chicago, 25. STOLEN BASES — On.Cruz, Pittsburgh, 29;

HBP — S.Smith (Suárez). Umpires — Home, Dan Iassogna; First, Marvin Hudson; Second, Chris Segal; Third, Jansen Visconti; Right, Erich Bacchus; Left, Jeremie Rehak.

A — 41,702 (41,149). American League Leaders BATTING — Judge, New York, .355; Ja.Wilson, Athletics, .332; Aranda, Tampa Bay, .324; Peña, Houston, .322; Meyers, Houston, .308. RUNS — Judge, New York, 85; Raleigh, Seattle, 65; Buxton, Minnesota, 64; Ju.Rodríguez, Seattle, 63; Neto, Los Angeles, 61; Rooker, Athletics, 60; V.Guerrero, Toronto, 59; Witt, Kansas City, 57. RBIs — Raleigh, Seattle, 82; Judge, New York, 81; Greene, Detroit, 78; Ward, Los Angeles, 65; Caminero, Tampa Bay, 60; Torkelson, Detroit, 59. HITS — Judge, New York, 125; Ja.Wilson, Athletics, 113; Witt, Kansas City, 112; Bichette, Toronto, 111; Rooker, Athletics, 106; Y.Díaz, Tampa Bay, 105. DOUBLES — Witt, Kansas City, 32; Bichette Toronto, 25; Ja.Duran, Boston, 25; M.Garcia, Kansas City 25; Butler, Athletics, 24; Judge New York, 24; Perez, Kansas City, 24. TRIPLES — Ja.Duran, Boston, 10; McKinstry, Detroit, 8; Buxton, Minnesota, 4; Isbel, Kansas City, 4; Bellinger, New York, 3; M.Garcia, Kansas City, 3; R.González, Boston, 3; Haggerty, Texas, 3; Henderson, Baltimore, 3; Ju.Rodríguez, Seattle, 3; Volpe, New York, 3; Waters, Kansas City, 3; Witt, Kansas City, 3. HOME RUNS — Raleigh, Seattle, 38; Judge, New York, 35; Greene, Detroit, 24; Caminero, Tampa Bay, 23; Buxton, Minnesota, 21; Torkelson, Detroit, 21; Ward, Los Angeles, 21. STOLEN BASES Caballero, Tampa Bay, 31; Ramírez, Cleveland, 29; Simpson, Tampa Bay, 26; Witt, Kansas City, 25; Robert, Chicago, 22; M.Garcia, Kansas City, 18. PITCHING — Fried, New York, 11-3; Skubal, Detroit, 10-3; Crochet, Boston, 10-4; Valdez, Houston, 10-4; Rodón, New York, 10-6; deGrom, Texas, 9-2. ERA — Crochet, Boston, 2.23; Skubal, Detroit, 2.23; deGrom, Texas, 2.32; H.Brown, Houston,

6-1, 230 KR: Travis Terrell, Jackson St., So., 5-8, 165 PR: Taco Dowler, Montana St., Jr., 5-9, 175 AP: Michael Wortham, Montana, Grad, 5-9, 177 Cycling Tour de France 11th stage; A 97-mile ride in Toulouse 1. Jonas Abrahamsen, Norway, Uno-X Mobility, 3:15:56. 2. Mauro Schmid, Switzerland, Jayco AlUla same time 3. Mathieu Van der Poel, Netherlands, Alpecin-Deceuninck, 3:16:03. 4. Arnaud De Lie, Belgium, Lotto, 3:16:49. 5. Wout van Aert, Belgium, Team Visma ‘ Lease a Bike, same time. 6. Axel Laurance, France, Ineos Grenadiers same time 7. Fred Wright, Great Britain, Bahrain Victorious, same time 8. Mathieu Burgaudeau, France, TotalEnergies, same time. 9. Quinn Simmons, United States, Lidl-Trek, same time 10. Davide Ballerini, Italy, XDS Astana, 3:17:07. Overall standings 1. Ben Healy, Ireland, EF Education-EasyPost, 41:01:13. 2. Tadej Pogacar, Slovenia, UAE Team Emirates-XRG, 41:01:42. 3. Remco Evenepoel, Belgium, Soudal Quick-Step, 41:02:42. 4. Jonas Vingegaard, Denmark, Team Visma ‘ Lease a Bike, 41:02:59. 5. Matteo Jorgenson, United States, Team Visma ‘ Lease a Bike, 41:03:19. 6. Kevin Vauquelin, France, Arkea-B&B Hotels, 41:03:39. 7. Oscar Onley, Great Britain, Picnic PostNL, 41:04:37. 8. Florian Lipowitz, Germany, Red Bull — BORA — hansgrohe, 41:04:47. 9. Primoz Roglic, Slovenia, Red Bull — BORA — hansgrohe, 41:04:54. 10. Tobias Johannessen,

ANOTHERRECIPE

Granola

Homemade granolaisinmy DNAand sharingitistruly like kindness confetti 2D

CRecipe, Salmon Tacos

Topped with Coleslaw 2D

LIVING IVIN

Mom’s Gazpacho

Makes about 3pints. I can recall my mother blanching and peeling tomatoes for the silkiest gazpacho. Itried the nopeel wayand loved the results. Someversions call for bread, this is how mom made hers.

4medium fresh ripe tomatoes (about 1¼ pounds), cut into quarters

1medium cucumber,peeled, and coarsely chopped

1small onion, coarsely chopped

1medium bell pepper, coarsely chopped 2cloves peeled garlic

BY APRIL HAMILTON Contributingwriter

omfort food knowsnoseason, and spreadingalittle joy is also always in fashion.Asthe beneficiaryofendless generosity,Iembrace everychance to give back. When Igraduated from nursing schooljust ayear ago, afriendgave me aname badge reel that says “sprinklekindnesslikeconfetti.” It becomes contagious.

When it’shotter than July,Ilean on cooling gazpachothat tastes like anourishing sip of summer.Itcan transportyou to faraway Spain and soothe what ails you. My mother possessed such apenchant for this cold soup that Ihear her pronouncing the word while my blender whizzes garden tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, onions and other good things into liquid gold. She made it on repeat in ourFloridakitchen

ä See COMFORT, page 2D

¼cup cold water

2tablespoonsvinegar

1teaspoon fine seasalt 2tablespoons extravirgin olive oil

1. Place the tomatoes, cucumber,onion, bell pepper, garlic, water, vinegar and salt in the container of a blender(do this in batches depending on the size of your blender). Begin blending on low,then increase to medium then high until the mixture is smooth.

2. With the center of the lid removed, drizzle in the olive oilonlow andcontinue blending untilcombined. Replace the center of thelid andblend on medium, then high, to emulsifythe mixture.

3. Pour into awaiting Mason jars or container of your choice. Deliver immediately,orcover and chill forupto5days.

BY JUDYBERGERON Staff writer

In agastronomical switcheroo, New Orleans restaurateur Edgar “Dook” Chase IV makes his Food Network debut Thursday night, but he won’t be cooking alick. Rather, themastermind behind multipleCrescentCity dining

Salmon Tacos Topped with Coleslaw

Yields 2servings. Recipe is by Linda Gassenheimer.

2teaspoons olive oil

¾pound wild-caught salmon

fillet

1teaspoon smoked paprika

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2teaspoons lime juice

1cup deli coleslaw

2sliced radishes

2tablespoons coarsely chopped cilantro

4(8-inch) light flour tortillas

1. Heat oil in large skillet. Add thesalmon skinside up and saute5minutes. Turn salmon over with skindown Sprinkle smokedpaprika, andsalt and pepper to taste over the cooked side. Pour lime juice overthe salmon

2. Continue to cook 3minutes. Ameat thermometer should read110 to 115 F.

3. Remove salmon to a plate, scrape off the skin, and using two forkspull

thesalmonapart intosmall pieces.

4. While fish cooks, wrap tortillas in apaper towel andplaceinamicrowave oven for 30 seconds. Or wrap them in foil and place in atoaster oven or under abroilerfor 30 seconds to warm through.

5. Place two tortillas each on two dinner plates. Divide the salmon into four helpings and place onthe four

Salmon

Should yourinse afterbrushing?

TNSPHOTO By

LINDA GASSENHEIMER

tortillas. Add the coleslaw on top of thesalmon. Add the radishes to the tortillas andsprinklewiththe cilantro. Fold the tortillas in half and serve.

NUTRITION INFO PERSERVING: 607 calories (45 percent from fat), 30.6 gfat (5.3 g saturated, 7.8g monounsaturated),106 mg cholesterol, 42.6 gprotein, 48.5 gcarbohydrates,14.5 gfiber,849 mg sodium

Dear Heloise: My dentist is adamant about no rinsing after brushing. If thetoothpaste has fluoride, he claims that rinsing will wash it away —Charlie, in Pennsylvania Charlie, this is a matter for debate. Somedentists feel that rinsing out after brushing washes away thefluoride. Yetother people say that swallowing toothpaste upsets their stomach, or rinsing cleans out bacteria and food parti-

cles that were just brushed out from their teeth. Both sides present valid arguments. —Heloise Travelingalone

By The Associated Press

Recipe

1. Preheatovento325 F. Line alarge rimmed baking sheet* with parchment paper.

2. Combine the oats, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, coconut, pecans and almonds in alarge bowl. Stir well to combine.Pour in the oliveoil and maple syrup and stir again until the mixtureiswell coated. Sprinkle in the salt and stir again. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet and spread into an even layer 3. Bakeinthe center of the oven, stirring every15-20 minutes, until deep golden brown, about 45 minutes to one hour.Remove the bakingsheet from the oven and let cool on acooling rack before stirring in the dried fruit. Transfer to airtight containers and share witha smile.

COMFORT

Continued from page1D

The memories bring me comfort, and bonus: it also transports easily in aMason jar and keeps for afew days in the fridge so Ican share that comfort with anyone who needs it. Another family-favorite for sharing is big-batch granola, which validates turning on the oven for an hour in the summer.Oats, nutsand seeds glazed with a blend of olive oil and maple syrup, then slow baked until the whole house smellsof the goodness, is astaplein my kitchen. The concoction can vary with your whim and what’sonhand. The

Continued from page1D

much from her,”Chase said by phone last week. “And, not only did she teach me, she just gave me that confidence and that comfort level. So that connection of me and her working together was great.” Chase and Spencer had initially met virtually on a Zoom call with part of the ‘Showdown’team. Unbeknownst to Chase, this was actually his show audition “Westartedtalking about food childhood memories. I had some Ishared, and Octavia had some that she shared. And when youstarttalking about food and childhood memories, you realize how similar we all are growing up,” Chase recalled. “There’s always afood experience, there’salways afood memory.Nomatter if you are a celebrity or you’re achef, everyone has those memories.” Accordingtothe show synopsis, “each episode welcomes family duos to the kitchen as they prepare their most cherished recipes for a$10,000 prize.” Together,Spencer and Chase will sample dishes before being joined in the final round by arotating panel of

onlyrule here is to make a lot and sharewith abandon. Send it with individual cartonsofyogurt for a wholesome snack Bringingadish to afriend —after surgery,duringthe trials of cancer treatment, to anew mom, an exhausted caregiver or just because —helpsall involved. Fancy isn’tarequirement, but there are afew tipstofollow.Online meal sharing organizer sites likeMeal Train and Take Them A Meal can take the guesswork out of quantities, delivery times and dietary preferences. Consult with therecipientinadvancefor permission andparameters, then spread theword Miss Mannerssuggests returning aneighbor’s dish

guest judges and Spencer’s celebrity friends —including Reese Witherspoon, Jessica Chastain, Danielle Brooks, EricStonestreet, Tina Knowles,Kandi Burruss, TimGunn and Al Rokerwith hisdaughter Leila. In taste-testing the families’ finished products, even the well-seasoned chef Chase said he did digest a few new ideas.

“My grandmother (Leah Chase) was 96 in that restaurant reading cookbooks. So every day, we experience someone else’s cuisine,someoneelse’sculture,someone else’stradition we’re learning,” hesaid. “It gavemea sneak peek of how other people grew up. Whatwere their celebrations?Whatwere the timesthat they were having growing up? Whatmeals did theyhave at this occasion? What meals did they have at this occasion?

“And you learn from that and you take from that. So as achef, yes, Ilearned from each and every dishthat was displayed in front of me.”

Even withall the Chase family’s treasuredrecipes, it didn’ttakelongfor him to respond on which one he’d bring to the show if hewere competing.

His choice is meaningful:

gumbo

Anyone who’scookeda

*NOTE that dark baking sheets willget hotter than light colored ones, and the granola will cook much more quickly or burn. Using thelighter colored aluminum baking sheetsismy preference.

refilled with somethinggood in atimely fashion andwith athank you note. To free the recipientofthe burden of rememberingtoreturn whose dish to whom or at all, Isuggest sending food in disposable or reusablecontainers with awell wishes note and an idea or two of how to repurpose thecontainer when the time is right. Ikeep astock of mason jarsfor these occasions and love their limitless functionality

When Istarted my nursing job this time last year,a quotebySally Koch posted on our schedule grabbed my attention andcontinues to steer me: “Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us every day.”

gumbo, affirmed Chase, knows you cannotcook a small pot, so it’sanecessity to invitepeople to the table to enjoy the dish.

“Mygrandmother often said gumbo helpedchange thecourse of America. Even from the Civil Rights days where youhad theleaders, bothBlack and White, walkingthrough that door,wefed them gumbo,” Chase said. “Presidents andcelebrities that came through that door, we fed them gumbo.Our neighbors, our community, we fedthemgumbo. Welcoming people back after natural disasters, we fed them gumbo in celebration.”

Having gained on-camera experience through his “Showdown” stint,Chase hashis eyeonmoresuch projectsinthe future.

“I lovewhatthis (show) means,towhat food does for people and conjuring up those memories that they have growing up,” he said.

“Those memories last alifetime. Youwant each generation to have thesame memories or experiences that you grew up with.SoIhopethis show continues on. Ihope to be apart of it because Ithink this one is that important.”

Email Judy Bergeron at jbergeron@theadvocate. com.

Hints from Heloise

Dear Heloise: Travel is something I’ve always loved, especially to foreign places, but Iused to go with my husband. We’re no longer together,yet Istill wantto travel. But to be honest, I’mscared to travel alone. Noneofmyfriends will go with me to other countries

TODAYINHISTORY

California.

In 1945, following Nazi Germany’ssurrender

Today is Thursday July 17, the 198th day of 2025. There are 167 days left in the year

Todayinhistory: On July 17, 1955, Disneyland opened in Anaheim, California, after its $17 million, yearlong construction; the park drew amillion visitors in itsfirst 10 weeks.

Also on this date:

In 1862, during theCivil War, Congress approved theSecond Confiscation Act, which declared that all slaves taking refuge behind Union lines were to be set free.

In 1902, Willis Carrier produced aset of designs for what would become the world’sfirst modernairconditioning system.

In 1918, Russia’sCzar Nicholas II and his family were executed by theBolsheviks.

In 1936, theSpanish Civil Warbegan as right-wing army generals launched a coup attempt against the Second Spanish Republic.

In 1944, during World WarII, 320 men, two-thirds of them African-Americans, were killed when a pair of ammunition ships exploded at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine in

President Harry S. Truman,Soviet leader Josef Stalin and British Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill began meeting at Potsdam in the final Allied summitofWorld WarII.

In 1981, 114 people were killed when apair of suspended walkways above the lobby of the Kansas City Hyatt Regency Hotel collapsed during atea dance.

In 1996, TWAFlight 800, aEurope-bound Boeing 747, exploded and crashed off Long Island, NewYork, shortly after departing John F. Kennedy International Airport, killing all 230 people on board.

In 2014, all 298 passengers and crew aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 werekilled when the Boeing 777 was shot down over rebel-held eastern Ukraine; both Ukraine’s government and proRussian separatists denied responsibility

In 2020, Civil Rights icon John Lewis, whose bloody beating by Alabamastate troopers in 1965 helped galvanize opposition to racial segregation, and who wentontoalong and cele-

because they’re married or their careers don’tallow fortoo much time off. Gigi, in Mapleton,Utah Gigi, you can go with a group that has similar interests as you do, and any travel agent can help you plan your excursion. If you decide to go by yourself, you might find that you enjoy traveling on your own, or you might meet people whoenjoy traveling as much as you do. —Heloise Send ahinttoheloise@ heloise.com.

brated career in Congress, died at age 80. In 2022, areport said nearly 400 law enforcement officials rushed to amass shooting that left 21 people dead at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, but “egregiously poor decision-making” resulted in achaotic scene that lasted more than an hour before the gunman was finally confronted and killed.

Today’sbirthdays: Former sportscaster Verne Lundquist is 85. Queen Camilla of the United Kingdom is 78. Rock musician Terry “Geezer” Butler is 76. Actor Lucie Arnaz is 74. Actor David Hasselhoff is 73. Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel is 71. Film director Wong Kar-wai is 67. Television producer Mark Burnett is 65. Singer Regina Belle is

cAncER (June 21-July 22) Keep your thoughts and emotions to yourself. Offering too much personal information will put you in a vulnerable position. Concentrate on taking care of your responsibilities and your finances.

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Participate in groups making a difference. The people you meet and the things you learn will encourage you to become a leader. Work hard and take pride in your accomplishments.

VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) Stop before you do or say something you will regret. Look inward and fine-tune your attitude and goals. You cannot put a price tag on loyal connections fighting for the exact cause or results

LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Visual learning will change your perspective on how educational pursuits impact you. A charismatic instructor will hold your attention and encourage you to be more entrepreneurial.

scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Hands-on learning is the best kind To gain ground, you must open your mind and be willing to try new things to see if they help or spark ideas that work for you.

sAGIttARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Speak up and exude charm, and you'll have a positive impact on others. Craft a distinctive style that sets you apart from the competition. Being at the forefront will help you gain notoriety.

cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Listen and dissect what you hear; it will help dismiss confusion and mistakes. Believe

in yourself and your attributes. Leave nothing to chance or in someone else's jurisdiction.

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Point yourself in a good direction and get going. You can make headway if you maintain focus, drive and insight into your goals. Make an effort to spend some time with a loved one.

PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Put yourself first. Arrange your schedule to ensure you have time to relax and pamper yourself. Change may be daunting, but settling for less than what you want will lead to regret.

ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Pay attention, think and decline an offer if you feel uncertain. Keeping a low profile will help you avoid trouble and provide the peace you need to pursue your interests.

tAuRus (April 20-May 20) Take pentup energy and apply it to challenging physical activities. If you take on debt and responsibilities, it will be tough to achieve your objective. Making a change at home can boost your morale.

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Follow your heart, but don't share personal information or feelings with others. Give yourself time to digest and rethink your next move. Choose peace and love over discord.

The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact. © 2025 by NEA, Inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1to9inthe empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

Puzzle Answer

By PHILLIP ALDER

Anna Quindlen, an author and journalist,said,“Lifeisnotsomuchaboutbeginnings and endings as it is about going on and on and on. It is about muddling through the middle.”

Bridge deals, though, are about all of thetricks,thebeginning,middleandend. One must be careful about jumping to conclusions at the beginning. In this deal, how should South play in three no-trump after West leads the spade eight?

When North balances with two clubs, hemaybidacoupleofpointslighterthan hewouldhaveneededinsecondposition. So when South advances, he should add a couple of points for his actions — hence two no-trump, not three no-trump. But North, because he has a full-weight overcall, raises.

Declarer starts with seven top tricks: one spade, three hearts, one diamond and two clubs. Obviously, the clubs will provide several extra winners. Also, because the spade queen can be established immediately, it looks natural for declarer to play low from the board at trick one.

However, that could be fatal. East can win with his spade king and shift to diamonds. Then, when he gets in with his club trick, the defenders run the diamonds. (Yes, if South first cashes his major-suit winners, East will have to unblock diamonds, keeping a low card, but West’s carding should have made it clear to do that.)

Instead, declarer should take the

By Andrews McMeel Syndication

InstRuctIons:

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Jessie'sPlumbingislookingfor a PlumberorPlumber's Helper.Trans‐portationrequired. Must Have 2yrs NewResidential Plumbing experience Health insuranceofferedafter 1yrof employment.Weekly Bonuses.To Apply, Call 225-324-5029 or emailre‐sumestocharles@jessiesplumbing com.

costs. Questionsabout this pro‐cedure shallbedirected to theDesignerat: ColemanPartners Architects,LLC 3377 NorthBlvd. BatonRouge,LA70806 Telephone: 225-387-4414

E-mail: jheltz@cparch. com

Allbidsshall be accom‐panied by bidsecurityin an amount of five per‐cent (5.0%) of thesum of thebasebid andall al‐ternates.The form of this security shallbeas stated in theInstructions to Biddersincludedin theBid Documentsfor this project.

p sionsand requirements of this Sectionand those stated in thebidding documentsshall notbe waived by anyentity. When this projectis fi‐nanced either partially or entirely with StateBonds or financed in wholeorin part by federalorother fundswhich arenot readilyavailable at the time bids arereceived, theaward of this Con‐tractiscontingentupon thegrantingoflines of credit,orthe sale of bondsbythe Bond Com‐missionor theavailabil‐ityoffederal or other funds. TheState shall incurnoobligationtothe Contractor until theCon‐tractBetween Ownerand Contractor is fully exe‐cuted.

FACILITY PLANNING AND CONTROL ROGERE.HUSSER, JR DIRECTOR 147606-jul3-10-17-3t $163.08

Questions aboutthispro‐cedure shallbedirected to theDesignerat: Parish Engineering, LLC 7600 Innovation Park Drive BatonRouge,LA70820 Telephone: 225-332-0222 E-mail: adeshotel@ parisheng.com Allbidsshall be accom‐panied by bidsecurityin an amount of five per‐cent (5.0%) of thesum of thebasebid andall al‐ternates.The form of this security shallbeas stated in theInstructions to Biddersincludedin theBid Documentsfor this project.

to submit abid Contract,ifawarded,will be on thebasis stated in theInstructionstoBid‐ders.Nobid maybewith‐drawnfor aperiodof45 days afterbid opening except as provided by law.

Biddersmustmeet the requirements of the StateofLouisiana Con‐tractor’sLicensing Law, R. S. 37:2151 et seq. West BatonRouge Parish Government reserves the righttoaward thepro‐ject on whatever basisis in theinterestofthe Ownerand to accept or reject anyorall bids and to waivetechnicalities andinformalities JasonManola, Parish

ThesuccessfulBidder shallberequiredtofur‐nish aPerformance and PaymentBondwrittenas describedinthe Instruc‐tionstoBidders included in theBid Documentsfor this project. APRE-BID CONFERENCE WILL BE HELD at 10:00 AM on Friday July 18, 2025 at LouisianaState Univer‐sity,Digital MediaCen‐ter, 340 East Parker BatonRouge,LA70808 Bids shallbeaccepted from Contractorswho arelicensedunder LA R.S. 37:2150-2192 forthe classification of Building Construction.Bidderis required to comply with provisions andrequire‐mentsofLAR.S 38:2212(B)(5). No bidmay be withdrawnfor ape‐riod of forty-five (45) days afterreceipt of bids,exceptunder the provisions of LA.R.S 38:2214. TheOwner reserves the righttorejectany andall bids forjustcause.Inac‐cordance with La.R.S 38:2212(B)(1), the provi‐i d i

FacilityPlanningand Controlisa participantin theSmall Entrepreneur‐ship (SE) Program (the Hudson Initiative)and theVeteran-Owned and Service-ConnectedDis‐abledVeteran-Owned (LaVet)Small Entrepre‐neurshipsProgram.Bid‐ders areencouragedto consider participation. Informationisavailable from theOffice of Facility Planning andControl or on itswebsite at https:// www.doa.la.gov/doa/ fpc/ If youhavea disability andwould like to request an accommodationin ordertoparticipate in this meeting, please con‐tact ChristinaCardona at Christina.Cardona@la govor(225) 342-6060 as soon as possiblebut no laterthan48hours be‐fore thescheduled meet‐ing.

STATEOFLOUISIANA DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATION

Building,Conference Room 1-145. FOR: Replacementof EmergencyGenerators StatePoliceHeadquar‐ters,Logistical Support Center CentralPlant,and OMV District Office BatonRouge,Louisiana PROJECTNUMBER: 01-107-18-02, F.01004423 Complete Bidding Docu‐mentsfor this projectare availableinelectronic form.Theymay be ob‐tained withoutcharge andwithout depositfrom Parish Engineering, LLC. Printedcopiesare not availablefromthe De‐signer butarrangements canbemadetoobtain them throughmostre‐prographic firms. Plan holdersare responsible fortheir ownreproduc‐tion costs.

ThesuccessfulBidder shallberequiredtofur‐nish aPerformance and PaymentBondwrittenas describedinthe Instruc‐tionstoBidders included in theBid Documentsfor this project.

APRE-BID CONFERENCE WILL BE HELD at 10:30 AM on Tuesday, July 22, 2025 at Building D, Facility Services Conference Room D45, 290 East AirportDrive Baton Rouge, LA 70806. Bids shallbeaccepted from Contractorswho arelicensedunder LA R.S. 37:2150-2192 forthe classification of Electri‐cal.Bidderisrequiredto comply with provisions andrequirementsofLA R.S. 38:2212(B)(5). No bid maybewithdrawn for a period of forty-five (45) days afterreceipt of bids,exceptunder the provisions of LA.R.S 38:2214.

TheOwner reserves the righttorejectany andall bids forjustcause.Inac‐cordance with La.R.S 38:2212(B)(1), theprovi‐sionsand requirements f hi i d h q of thisSection and those stated in thebidding documentsshall notbe waived by anyentity. When this projectis fi‐nanced either partially or entirely with StateBonds or financed in wholeorin part by federalorother fundswhich arenot readilyavailable at the time bids arereceived, theaward of this Con‐tractiscontingentupon thegrantingoflines of credit,orthe sale of bondsbythe Bond Com‐missionorthe availabil‐ityoffederal or